RTHK: Labour quits Brexit talks as fourth vote looms

Britain's main opposition party has ended six weeks of Brexit compromise talks with the Conservative government, saying was becoming too unstable.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the gaps between them could not be bridged - and he had no confidence that Theresa May's successor would stick to any bargain they might have reached.

The discussions have "gone as far as they can", Corbyn said in a letter to May. "The increasing weakness and instability of your government means there cannot be confidence in securing whatever might be agreed between us."

Corbyn said Labour would therefore continue to oppose the government's EU divorce deal as it stands.

MPs have three times rejected the deal May struck with Brussels, forcing her to delay the date of Brexit twice and to reach out to Labour. The new deadline is October 31. Parliament is due to vote for a fourth time early next month.

An ashen-faced May said lawmakers would be faced with a stark choice: voting to deliver Brexit, or "to shy away again".

She was speaking at a rare campaign event ahead of the European Parliament elections, to be held in Britain on Thursday, in which polls suggest her Conservative Party could even come fifth. Britain was never meant to take part in the elections but will do so because of the postponements to Brexit.

The collapse of the talks came the day after May agreed to set out a timetable for her departure following next month's vote on the withdrawal agreement. The arrangement was agreed in a closed-door meeting with rank-and-file MPs.

It is thought that May will trigger a leadership contest once the Withdrawal Agreement Bill either falls, as seems likely, or reaches completion. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Former Vice President Joe Biden made his pitch to unite the country in Philadelphia on Saturday, for the third and final phase of his presidential campaign roll out.

Biden held his first campaign rally in Eakins Oval near the famous "Rocky steps" of the Philadelphia Art Museum on Saturday afternoon.

The rally, which was announced the same day Biden officially entered the race in April, was intended to focus on his vision for unifying America with respected leadership on the world stage -- and dignified leadership at home, according to a press release from the campaign.

The event was seen as an unofficial bookend to the campaign launch.

Biden made the case for uniting America, rather than enduring another four years of what he described as the divisive leadership of the current president, referring to him early in the speech as the "divider-in-chief."

I believe America is always better just best when America is acted as one America, Biden said. One America. One America maybe a simple notion, but it doesn't it doesn't make it any less profound. This nation needs to come together. It has to come together, folks. We started this campaign, and when we did, I said I was running for three reasons. The first is to restore the soul of the nation, the essence of who we are. The second is rebuild the backbone of this nation, and the third to unite this nation. One America.

Biden defended this bipartisan approach to politics, pointing to his record of reaching consensus on big issues like the economic recovery.

Now some of these same people are saying, you know, Biden just doesn't get it, he continued. You can't work with Republicans anymore. That's not the way it works anymore. Well folks, I'm gonna say something outrageous. I know how to make government work. Not, not because I've talked or tweeted about it, but because I've done it. I've worked across the aisle to reach consensus.

I did it when I was a senator. It's what I did is your vice president work with Barack Obama. Its what I will do as your President,  Biden said to cheers.

But Biden said he wouldnt be afraid to go toe-to toe-with Republicans if thats what it takes, as was the case with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

I know there are times there's only a bare knuckle fight will do," he said. "I know we have to take on Republicans to do what's right, without any help from them. That's what it took to pass the Affordable Care Act. That was a tough fight. And it was a big, a big deal. 

Throughout the speech, Biden directly took on President Trump, most notably on Trump on taking credit for the strong economy.

I know President Trump likes to take credit for the economy and economic growth, and the low unemployment numbers, but just look at the facts, not the alternative facts. President Trump inherited an economy from Obama Biden administration, that was given to him, just like he inherited everything else in his life. Just like, just like everything else he's been given in his life, he's in the process of squandering that is well.

The single most important thing we have to accomplish is defeat Donald Trump.

Biden spoke to a number of policy proposals he will take on in the campaign, reiterating his support for free community college, strengthening the ACA and providing a public option like Medicare, and building a new green infrastructure.

The former vice president also spoke out about his view on climate change, after coming under fire from progressive Democrats like Alexandria Orcasio-Cortez for reportedly considering a middle ground climate change policy.

Let's stop fighting and start fixing. And we can only do it together. We're gonna deal with the existential crisis posed by climate change. There's not much time left. We need a clean energy revolution. We need it now. We have to start now.

But Biden said above all, defeating Trump was the first step on his climate policy:

If you want to know what the first and most important plank in my climate proposal is: beat Trump.

Following chants of "defeat Trump," Biden asked the crowd "are we a nation that rips kids away from their parents?" The crowd responded, "We don't....Trump does!"

Working the rope line after his speech, Biden told ABC News Stephanie Ramos he would work to restore direct aid to three Latin American countries known collectively as the "Northern Triangle" -- El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala -- that Trump cut in March.

"Is there a crisis at the border?" Ramos asked the former vice president.

"No, I think the crisis at the border is the way they're treating people who are seeking asylum," he told ABC News. "There should be a process for them I tried to set it up and the idea that this guy is cutting 740 million dollars that I provided for those three Latin American countries to better their circumstances.... is wrong. "

During his remarks, Biden also made a pledge to not speak ill of another Democrat during his campaign.

"Our politics has become so mean, so petty, so negative," Biden said. "It is ripping this country apart at the seams."

The rally was much larger than Bidens previous events in early voting states like Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. A campaign official told ABC News that a crowd of 2,000 was expected at the event.

The campaign has placed a heavy focus on Philadelphia as the "birthplace of American democracy," and the rally location was chosen for that reason. But even in celebrating Philadelphia, the veteran U.S. Senator could not eschew his beloved state of Delaware.

Everyone knows Jill's a Philadelphia girl," Biden told the crowd. "She loves this city. I do too. But to paraphrase the poet James Joyce, I have to say this folks because Im near my state, when I die, Delaware will be written on my heart.

Biden promised the crowd that he would outwork the other 22 candidates vying for the Democratic Nomination

This campaign is just getting started, I promise you this," Biden vowed. "No one -- no one's gonna work longer, no one's gonna campaign harder to win your hearts your trust and your support, then the son of Katherine Eugene Finnegan from Scranton, Pennsylvania: Joseph R Biden Jr of Delaware.

The campaign announced Thursday Philadelphia would also be home to their headquarters.

Philadelphia is a thriving city and a testament to the American spirit, built by the ingenuity and tenacity of ordinary people who did extraordinary things. Its storied history and celebrated diversity will serve as an inspiration for Team Biden, and is the ideal setting to continue our fight for the soul of this nation, Bidens campaign manager Greg Shultz said in a press release announcing the headquarters.

Both Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, were born in the key swing state that will be vital for any Democrat taking on Trump to win in 2020, and a Quinnipiac poll out this week indicates Biden has strong appeal among Democrats in the Keystone State. Biden took the top spot in the poll, with 39% of Democratic voters in Pennsylvania naming the former vice president as their preferred candidate.

The poll also found Biden beat Trump in a head-to-head in a match-up in the state, 53% to 42%.

Since announcing his presidential run on April 25, Biden has focused his message on why he decided to run -- his view that the country is in a battle for the soul of America, and restoring the middle class as the backbone of the economy.

A campaign official told ABC News that following the rally Saturday, the campaign will shift to a new phase -- focusing on Bidens policy proposals, and what he will do as president.

The rollouts will give specifics of the policies that Vice President Biden has believed in and has fought for his entire career and will make the centerpiece of a Biden White House, according to the official.

The former vice president plans to travel to Tennessee, Florida and Texas in the coming weeks -- three states Trump won in 2016. Bidens full schedule for those trips has yet to be announced.

Since getting into the race, Biden has taken the top spot all polls of the Democratic field, according to FiveThirtyEights poll tracker.

Biden has maintained he will "not speak ill of a fellow Democrat," but his frontrunner status has put a target on his back from his fellow Democrats. Biden has faced criticism from his opponents on issues from criminal justice reform, to climate change -- a sign of what could come in the Democratic debates next month.

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
One of the 20th century's most renowned contemporary architects, I.M. Pei, died on Thursday evening at his Manhattan home, as his son, Li Chung Pei, confirmed to The NY Times. He was 102 years old, and his cause of death is still unclear.

Over his lifetime, Pei developed a distinctive modernist architectural style, rooted in striking geometric shapes. The museums, pavilions, and hotels he designed are peppered around the world, from Doha, Qatar's Museum of Islamic Art to the glass pyramids towering in front of the Louvre, in Paris, France. New York City played an especially critical role in Pei's career, too, from his early days as an architect to designing commanding structures across several boroughs.

Pei, who was from China, immigrated to the United States in the 1930s and studied architecture at M.I.T. and Harvard. After he graduated from his masters' program in the late 1940s, the real estate tycoon William Zeckendorfwho offered up the land that would become the United Nations's permanent hub, and who wanted to build a "dream airport" in Midtown Manhattanhired him to helm designing buildings for his firm, Webb & Knapp, in New York City.

During his time working with Zeckendorf, Pei garnered experience working with high-rise developments. In 1955, he established his own firm, I.M. Pei & Associates. Together he worked with Zeckendorf on the likes of the Silver Towers, near NYU (Buildings that halted the university from erecting a 38-story tower when they were designated as a landmark in 2008) and the apartment complex Kips Bay Plaza, replete with a courtyard and 1118 units.

Eventually, Pei parted ways with Zeckendorf and continued his ascent as an architect with his own firm. He went on to work on Syracuse's Everson Museum of Art and the East Building of the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C., and was selected from a crop of architects to design the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1964.

When he wasn't designing the likes of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, and Hong Kong's iconic Bank of China Tower, Pei continued dreaming up spaces in New York City, where he was based. He designed one condo, Central Park South's Centurion, as well as the ritzy Four Seasons Hotel. The hotel opened its doors in the 1990s, with the idea of nostalgic hotel stays in mind: "To this end, the guest rooms have the feel of apartments, and public areas are designed around personal service and discreet ceremony," as the late architect's firm, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, puts it. That includes the posh as hell Ty Warner Penthouse, a suite that features one bed and is available for a cool $50,000 a night.

Pei's fingerprints are still seen everywhere around the city, from cultural to residential spaces. That includes the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, a space that plays host to the likes of mega-fandom conventions including New York Comic Con. He conceptualized a "superblock" in Crown Heights with more public space in mind, as well as a transportation hubthe gorgeous Sundrome terminal at JFKthat was razed a few years back to make way for more of JetBlue's airplane parking spots and boarding gates. He also created the Guggenheim Pavilion at Mount Sinai Medical Center, a project "guided by the conviction that a good environment aids healing."

Pei retired from his firm in the 1990s to work on artchitectural projects with his sons, as Architectural Record notes.
" " Flickr (CC BY-2.0) Hey dude, where are your socks? How can emperor penguins stand around on ice for months at a time without their feet freezing?

How long could you stand on Antarctic ice before your bare feet froze solid? A minute, maybe two? If you're an emperor penguin, you can do it for two months, and in wind chills as low as -75 degrees Fahrenheit (-59.4 degrees Celsius). Those naked bird feet may look positively frigid, but their special circulation acts as a kind of antifreeze to keep them just warm enough that they don't freeze.

Penguins legs and feet have evolved to lose as little heat as possible. Penguin feet hold onto heat by restricting blood flow in really cold weather, keeping foot temperature just above freezing. Penguin legs work like a heat exchange system; blood vessels to and from the feet are very narrow and woven closely together, cooling the blood from the body on the way to the feet and heating the blood as it returns to the body. Feet get cool blood so there's less heat to lose, while the body stays toasty.

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This special ability is part of how penguins keep their eggs warm until they hatch. Male emperor penguins incubate a single egg on top of their feet for two months in the dark of winter while females are out feeding at sea. They also cover the egg with a flap of warm belly skin called a brood pouch to keep it out of the elements.

Nurturing doesn't stop there for these dedicated dads. If females haven't returned with food by the time the chicks hatch, male emperors feed their babies for a few days on a kind of "milk" made from special cells inside their throats.

Humans have the ability to restrict blood flow to their extremities in cold weather too, although not as dramatically as penguins. Your hands get whiter during freezing weather because there's less blood in them  it's been redirected to the core of your body to make sure vital organs stay warm.

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Now That's Interesting After blood vessels in your hands and feet constrict due to cold, they can sometimes dilate again and warm your extremities back up. Constricting and dilating repeats in an irregular cycle called the hunting response  the body is "hunting" for equilibrium in the skin's temperature.
YEREVAN, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenias minister of transport, communication and information technologies Hakob Arshakyan met with Chief Commercial Officer and Vice President of Atos information technology company Robert Vassoyan on the sidelines of the VivaTech 2019 international technological exhibition in Paris, France, the ministry told Armenpress

The meeting was also attended by Armenias Ambassador to France Hasmik Tolmajyan.

Minister Arshakyan introduced Robert Vassoyan on the Armenian governments policy in technology field and the ongoing actions on this path. The minister informed that Armenia has a new ministry of High Technological Industry and presented the structural changes as a result of which the field of high technologies will develop in Armenia.

In his turn Robert Vassoyan highlighted the efforts of the Armenian authorities aimed at technological development and touched upon Armenias potential in the field of high technologies. He said he visited Armenia few years ago and is impressed with the Armenian talents, adding that the Armenian companies of the technological field can compare themselves with the worlds leading companies that operate in China, India, US and Silicon Valley. He also expressed readiness to cooperate, contribute to the development of Armenias technological sector and assist the governments all projects.

Minister Hakob Arshakyan thanked for the proposal to support and cooperate and invited Robert Vassoyan to take part in the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT-2019) which will take place in Yerevan on October 6-9.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan






















YEREVAN, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS. Over 100 museums of Armenia and Artsakh will be open for free to the public on May 18 on the occasion of the Museum Night and International Museum Day.

A number of events are scheduled which will further increase the interest towards the museums.

The Museum Night pan-European event is being in Armenia for already the 16th time and in Artsakh for the 7th time.

International Museum Day is an international day, a celebration that held every year on May 18, coordinated by the International Council of Museums. The event highlights a specific theme that changes every year and that is at the heart of the international museum community's preoccupations.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS. Be creative and develop new technologies which will make easier the peoples life and will improve the life quality: this is the activity principle of the German leading company Fraunhofer. The research company with 70 years of history has improved its acting style and expanded the activity geography over years. In recent years Fraunhofer is implementing cooperation programs also with Armenia.

About Fraunhofer

The German Fraunhofer Society is Europes largest application-oriented research organization. The company has 72 institutes and research bodies in Germany. Majority of over 26.000 employees of the company are qualified scientists and engineers. The organization conducts research at various directions and areas, in particular information, digital and laser technologies, security, energy, communication systems, healthcare, microelectronics, food safety and reprocessing, environment and etc.

The companys turnover comprises 2.6 billion Euros annually. The 2.2 billion Euros of this comes from the research contracts signed with university, international and corporative organizations. Both manufacturing companies and representatives of the service field, as well as state bodies are cooperating with Fraunhofer.

The organization carries out cooperation programs with the worlds leading research and innovative companies.

The company executives state that the works of their researchers and programmers greatly affect the improvement of the life quality of the people, improve the methods and technologies, open new prospects by building a brighter future.

Armenia is cooperating with the German company

The cooperation of Armenia with the German company started in 2016 within the frames of the digitization and virtual recovery program of the ancient and medieval manuscripts of Matenadaran. Fraunhofer assisted in digitization and restoration of the manuscript of the Narek prayer book of the 13-14th centuries. This manuscript was in poor condition, some pages even didnt exist. But thanks to the unique technology of the company the digitization and virtual restoration of the pages of the manuscript have been carried out.

The first successful cooperation was important for several reasons. First of all, the digital restoration was the first step towards the physical restoration of the manuscript. In addition, the use of such technologies is vital for restoring such manuscripts, as well as in terms of transferring the values of cultural heritage to the next generations.

Armenian President Armen Sarkissians visit to Fraunhofer IPK

Highlighting Armenias technological development President Armen Sarkissian during various visits and events emphasized his approach that digital and information technologies are going to be the main driving force of the 21st century, and that Armenia has a huge potential in this regard. Its not a coincidence that he has accepted the proposal of German Chancellor Angela Merkel made in Yerevan to visit Fraunhofer IPK and met with the company representatives. Shortly after receiving the proposal the Armenian President visited Fraunhofer IPK during his official visit in Germany in November 2018.

At the meeting with the leadership, the President was introduced on the Institutes activity directions and discussed the future cooperation opportunities with Armenia.

At the end of the meeting President Sarkissian stated: There are preliminary agreements which will lead us to a new cooperation, and this cooperation is not only that with the Matenadaran. The talk is about a great, industrial cooperation.

From agreements to practical steps

At the invitation of President Sarkissian, Fraunhofer IPKs delegation visited Armenia in May 2019. The purpose of the visit was to explore the Armenian field and turn the agreements reached into tangible results.

The delegation led by Director for European Policy and Business Development at Fraunhofer IPK, Jens Gunter, met with President Armen Sarkissian, minister of transport, communication and IT Hakob Arshakyan, the representatives of leading Armenian IT companies, research and educational centers during the visit in Armenia.

Interesting meetings are taking place, but I think its still too early to talk about concrete decisions. But I am sure that we will find concrete cooperation directions. Its very impressing to see how Armenia takes care of its youth, creates opportunities for being closer to the IT field, Jens Gunter told reporters in Yerevan.

The delegation members left Armenia with great impressions, new ideas and projects. They promised to sum up the results of the visit already with the proposals for concrete projects and new ideas of cooperation. They expressed confidence that Armenia and Fraunhofer IPK have a lot to do in the future especially in automation, artificial intelligence fields and finding new technological solutions.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS. Rival demonstrations numbering around 200 people are underway outside a Yerevan courthouse as the court is expected to deliver a decision whether ex-President Robert Kocharyan will be freed from jail amid the ongoing trial into the deadly 2008 post-presidential election unrest.

The decision is expected to be delivered at 16:00, but both supporters and protesters of Kocharyan have gathered outside the courthouse since morning. Supporters want the ex-president released, while protesters are chanting life imprisonment.

Heavy police presence is seen outside the court building.

On May 16, Artsakhs President Bako Sahakyan and former President Arkady Ghukasyan personally arrived at the Yerevan court to vouch for the release of Kocharyan, who also served as President of Artsakh in the early 90s. The court adjourned to examine the personal guarantees.

Kocharyan, along with several other former officials, is charged with overthrowing Constitutional Order during the 2008 March protests in Yerevan when 8 protesters and 2 security officers died. The former President is accused of unlawfully ordering the military to intervene. He vehemently denies wrongdoing.

2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, who ruled the country from 1998 to 2008, spent two weeks in jail in summer of 2018, but was eventually freed. But on December 7, a higher court overruled the release and ordered him to be remanded into custody pending trial again.

At the time the court announced the verdict, Kocharyan turned himself in to authorities.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, who is in Kazakhstan on a working visit, today held a telephone conversation with President of the Supreme Judicial Council Gagik Harutyunyan, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

Issues relating to the current situation were discussed during the phone conversation.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS. A Yerevan court today approved the personal guarantees from Artsakhs President Bako Sahakyan and ex-President Arkady Ghukasyan to free former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan from pre-trial detention.

Judge David Grigoryan delivered the verdict today, on May 18th.

Supporters of Kocharyan in the courtroom began cheering.

Rival demonstrations are taking place outside the courthouse.

On May 16, Artsakhs President Bako Sahakyan and former President Arkady Ghukasyan personally arrived at the Yerevan court to vouch for the release of Kocharyan, who also served as President of Artsakh in the early 90s. The court adjourned to examine the personal guarantees. Sahakyan and Ghukasyan vouched that Kocharyan will not obstruct justice.

Kocharyan, along with several other former officials, is charged with overthrowing Constitutional Order during the 2008 March protests in Yerevan when 8 protesters and 2 security officers died. The former President is accused of unlawfully ordering the military to intervene. He vehemently denies wrongdoing.

2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, who ruled the country from 1998 to 2008, spent two weeks in jail in summer of 2018, but was eventually freed. But on December 7, a higher court overruled the release and ordered him to be remanded into custody pending trial again.

At the time the court announced the verdict, Kocharyan turned himself in to authorities.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS. Shortly after a Yerevan court ordered Robert Kocharyan to be freed from pre-trial detention, the ex-president was released from the National Security Service jail in downtown of the city.

Kocharyans attorney Hayk Alumyan told reporters outside the jail building that the ex-president left the area by car from the back exit.

The court ordered the release around 16:05 May 18th and Kocharyans lawyer immediately headed to the detention center in downtown Yerevan to submit the warrant.

Kocharyan was freed after a court approved the personal guarantees of Artsakhs President Bako Sahakyan and former President Arkady Ghukasyan, who vouched on May 16th that Kocharyan will not obstruct justice amid the ongoing trial into the deadly 2008 post-presidential election unrest. Kocharyan was the outgoing president at that time.

Robert Kocharyan also served as President of Artsakh in the early 90s.

Heavy police presence was seen outside the courthouse today as rival demonstrations numbering few hundred were taking place.

2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, who ruled the country from 1998 to 2008, spent two weeks in jail in summer of 2018, but was eventually freed. But on December 7, a higher court overruled the release and ordered him to be remanded into custody pending trial again.

Kocharyan, along with several other former officials, is charged with overthrowing Constitutional Order during the 2008 March protests in Yerevan when 8 protesters and 2 security officers died. The former President is accused of unlawfully ordering the military to intervene. He is also charged with bribery.

He vehemently denies wrongdoing.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS. On May 18, at 17:01 local time, the Seismic Protection Survey Seismological Network of the Armenian ministry of emergency situations detected an earthquake at the northern latitude 40.840 and eastern longitude 44.300 geographic coordinates (Armenia, 3km north-east from Spitak town) with 2.2 magnitude and 10km depth, the ministry told Armenpress.

The tremor measured magnitude 2-3 points at the epicenter area.

The earthquake was felt in Spitak town with magnitude 2-3 points.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Sarkissian, who is in Kazakhstan on a working visit, on May 18 met with the Armenian community representatives in Nur-Sultan, his Office told Armenpress.

The meeting was also attended by Armenians who arrived from Uzbekistan.

At the meeting President Sarkissian appreciated the contribution of the Armenian community to the development of Kazakhstan. Its very important for you to be good citizens of Kazakhstan. But at the same time you shouldnt forget your religion and culture and should proudly represent the Armenian people, he said.

Armen Sarkissian said in the 21st century the human resource, rather than natural resources, are the most important. In this sense he highlighted the use of the Diasporas potential and the fact of the Armenian peoples being united. Our strength is in our unity. We need to learn to live together and support each other. We are small, but one nation and ought to support each other. The first one is our national unity. There is no other way to success. This is one of the guarantees to success, the Armenian President said.

He also mentioned the honest and dedicated work as the next guarantee to success.

At the same time the President highlighted providing the new generation with higher education as a guarantee to a firmer and reliable future. We have wealth, that is the human wealth, that is you and your children. For me the next generation is very vital. Starting from schools we should be able to educate right our children. As a President I consider my duty to guide the people with certain concrete visions. And the first one from these visions is that the attention to the children in the country should be a priority issue. The soldier, that will defend the homeland tomorrow, is todays child. In order to be able to defend his country tomorrow, he should have the latest technology because he will not defend it with a weapon, but with drones. And for this he should have received right education. Armenia should produce its own drone. But for this purpose it must have a high-quality education system, starting from kindergartens up to universities, he said.

The President said the 21st century belongs to Armenians, and they have an opportunity and potential to become a successful nation.

In the end Armen Sarkissian listened to the Armenian community representatives and answered their questions.



Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
At SITDEF 2019, the International Defense Exhibition in Lima, Peru, French Company Naval Group showcases its solutions created for modern navies, offering surface ships and submarines solutions along with high tech systems and solutions for the entire vessels life cycle. Naval Group is a world leader in naval defence and has been the main provider and partner of the French Navy for over four centuries.



Naval Group booth at SITDEF 2019 defense exhibition in Lima, Peru. May 17, 2019. (Picture source Army Recognition)

Naval Group is one of the rare players in the naval industry to have the capacity to design, build, service and upgrade surface combatants as well as submarines, but also naval infrastructures and naval bases. It is one of the few manufacturers in the world to design a ship as a whole, including the platform, the combat system and the integration of equipment, in order to optimize its performances.

Naval Group is an international and global player that strengthens its footprint worldwide through its presence on 4 continents and in 18 countries to ensure a sustainable presence close to its clients. Naval Group is significantly increasing its multi-domestic presence in Peru and Latin America to strengthen its long-lasting cooperation with the navies in the region.

Naval Group is currently competing in Peru for the naval projects developed by the Marina de Guerra del Peru offering state of the art vessels as well as ambitious and tailor-made transfers of technology, that will benefit to the entire naval and maritime Peruvian industries. Naval Group has a unique experience of successful transfers of technology for the construction of both surface ships and submarines, but also of naval facilities. Egypt launched its first Gowind built in Egypt in September 2018 and Brazil launched its first Brazilian built Scorpene submarine in December 2018, while India already operates its own submarines at sea. Transfer of technology has also been performed or is currently on track- in many countries.

In South America, Naval group has recently reinforced its presence through two major contracts with Chile and Brazil, thanks to the Scorpene class submarine, but also in Argentina with a contract to provide 4 offshore patrol vessels (OPV) benefiting from the Gowind class design and technology. Naval Group is also proud of its successes in the combat management system (CMS) retrofits on U209 submarines in the region which demonstrates its ability to work closely with the navies and local industrial partners, even on submarines not of its own design.



The Gowind design is a family of steel monohull corvettes developed since 2006 by French Company Naval Group. (Picture source Naval Group)

Gowind is the multimission frigate proposed to Peru for the buque multirole. Gowind is Naval Groups response to 21st-century defence and security challenges. The platform combines high survivability characteristics with outstanding anti-air (AAW), anti-surface (ASuW) and anti-submarine (ASW) warfare performances thanks to the MU90 and to the CANTO-V.

The Gowind is operated with the SETIS. This state-of-the-art combat is combat-proven on the French Navys FREMM frigates and interoperable with NATO systems. It provides the operator with the best management and decision-making aids, ensuring the Gowind supremacy over conventional and asymmetric threats.

Nine of the ten Gowind vessels contracted are being built with foreign partners in Malaysia and Egypt. The first Gowind built in Egypt was launched on September 6, 2018.

Scorpene is the conventional submarine proposed to Peru for its fleet replacement. Naval Group combines a unique platform and combat system skills to provide operational superiority and safety benefits from the French Navy legacy. Naval Group contributes to strengthening the sovereignty of its customers through long-term partnerships, industrial cooperation and through-life support services, as proven by its strong credentials.

Scorpene is ideally suited for action and operational effectiveness. Robust and enduring, its an ocean-going submarine also designed for shallow waters operations. Multipurpose, it fulfills the entire scope of missions such as Anti-Surface and Anti Submarine Warfare, special operations, offensive minelaying and intelligence gathering.

Standing as the latest generation of combat system, Subtics addresses the growing challenges of modern submarines missions in blue and shallow waters such as Anti-Surface and AntiSubmarine Warfare, intelligence gathering, land-attack or deep strike. Highly modular and scalable, Subtics can be integrated either on new platforms or as part of modernisation programs for existing submarines.
Underpinned by collaboration between government, the mobile industry, the private sector, civil society organisations and development agencies, mobile technology can play a role to address major challenges the country faces.

There is real potential for mobile technology to be transformational in helping the country to achieve upper middle-income status by 2050, a key part of PNGs strategic Vision 2050.

PORT MORESBY  Papua New Guinea has more than eight million people, over 800 spoken languages and one of the lowest population densities in the world.

These include a high poverty rate (two million people below the poverty line), gender inequality, violence and corruption, natural disasters and climate change and the lack of a robust identity system (up to 80% of the population has no access to any written form of identification).

Stakeholders need to act now to ensure that PNGs digital future is inclusive and leaves no one behind.

Access to and use of mobile technology in PNG have been shaped by several events and daily realities, such as the arrival and investment of a large mobile group in 2007 (Digicel, currently the dominant player), a predominantly rural and off-grid population, and low average revenue per user.

In 2016, PNG began a process of compulsory SIM card registration, largely driven by a security agenda, requiring every SIM card holder to register in person with their mobile network operator.

PNGs infrastructure and literacy challenges have made it difficult to register SIM cards in rural communities where most central government services do not reach. In August 2018, deactivation commenced in urban areas, with further extensions to people in towns and rural areas.

Although 67% of the population is within reach of mobile coverage, a large proportion of PNGs population remains unconnected, mainly due to the complexity of extending mobile networks in remote and mountainous areas with low population density.

Although mobile internet penetration continues to grow (reaching up to one million unique subscribers and with 4G representing 21% of all connections), mobile broadband availability and network quality, affordability of devices and services, and limited digital literacy skills are key barriers to adoption and use.

With less than 15% of the population having access to electricity and 87% living in rural areas, more needs to be done to ensure the majority of the countrys population has access to reliable and affordable electricity, one of the chief enablers of a digital ecosystem.

Prioritising efforts to target these barriers will be key to ensure the digital divide doesnt grow and further exclude communities, including women.

Previous research has shown that key barriers to mobile phone ownership and usage faced by women in PNG include affordability, accessibility (including limited access to identification documents, electricity and limited mobility to access network coverage), safety concerns, and usability and skills.

Although the percentage of PNGs population with access to formal financial services has largely improved over the past years (37% in 2018), financial exclusion remains the norm, especially for rural communities, women and among micro, small and medium enterprises.

Under the second national financial inclusion strategic plan (2016-2020), the government aims to reach two million more unbanked, low-income citizens, 50% of whom will be women. To achieve this goal, digital finance has been prioritised for scaling up financial access and reaching remote parts of the country.

With efforts from local banks and mobile operators, mobile money services could improve financial inclusion through widespread digital financial education and training, an extensive mobile money agent network to facilitate transactions and the digitisation of payment streams, including for wages, farming activities, and health payments.

Launched in 2012, MiBank offers MiCash mobile financial services (leveraging Digicels network), and by December 2018 it had more than 67,000 MiCash accounts, of which 55% are active across urban (56%) and rural (44%) customers.

As PNGs minister for commerce and industry has stated, technology and connectivity are extremely important in the micro, small and medium enterprises sectors.

Port Moresby eagerly awaits the new internet Coral Sea Cable System (to be connected by the end of 2019) while PNG becomes a cradle for digital experiments with frontier technologies such as blockchain.

There is an opportunity to harness the entrepreneurial energy PNG has to offer to address local challenges.

A new generation of talented entrepreneurs is emerging and further support needs to be provided to educate and train leaders, and create start-up success stories.

The agricultural sector represents a large part of the PNG economy (25-40% of GDP in the last 40 years) and digital tools would help modernise the sector and make it better equipped to face current and upcoming challenges.

With a large proportion of stunting children in some regions and extreme weather events on the rise, addressing food security issues will increasingly be one of the biggest challenges for development.

By enabling farmers to have access to better information on agricultural inputs, nutrition, crop prices, and weather data, and by facilitating access to finance through mobile money channels, some of these challenges could be addressed and productivity boosted.
Bill Shorten, Scott Morrison at the 2019 Federal Election. Source: Getty

Election day is well underway, and Aussies have already eaten their fair share of democracy sausages at polling booths.

On top of that, the Australian Electoral Commission revealed 4.5 million Aussies had already voted, four days out from the actual polling day.

If youre one of the early birds, or just keen to know which party will form government, heres how long youll be waiting for tonights outcome.

Polls close up shop at 6:00pm

Election officials wont start counting the votes until polls close on election night, which is 6:00 pm local time in each state.

This means voting at Australian polling booths is officially completed by 8:00pm Australian Eastern Standard Time.

Pre-poll votes that were cast at polling booths will be counted tonight, but other votes, like declaration votes, wont be counted until the days after the election.

The ABCs Antony Green said the massive amounts of pre-poll votes already cast could actually contribute to a delay in calling the election.

Will it be really late?

First preference results have historically been finalised by around 8:00pm, but larger districts wont be finalised until after 9:00pm.

If a clear swing against the Coalition is detected in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania, the Guardian reports a Labor majority could be imminent.

But, given its a tight race this year, local results could buck the general trend, which means we wont have a clear result until late on Saturday night, or even days later.

In fact, it could even be a hung parliament, and if thats the case, the party that can win the crossbenchers support will form government. The outcome of this will take even longer.

The recheck

After polling day, votes will be rechecked to ensure the first count was completely accurate.

Postal votes have until close of business on May 31 to arrive with the AEC, and once theyre checked, the AEC can declare the final results in each electorate.

In the 2010 federal election, held on 21 August, Labor and the Coalition each won 72 seats in the House of Representatives, which resulted in the first hung parliament since 1940. Prime Minister Julia Gillard, for Labor, wasnt officially sworn in until September 14, three weeks after the election.

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Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz dramatically pulled the plug on his coalition government and announced fresh elections Saturday after an explosive camera sting claimed the scalp of his far-right deputy. Media reports on Friday alleged Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache promised public contracts in return for campaign help from a fake Russian backer he met on the island of Ibiza a few months before 2017's parliamentary elections in Austria. "I have suggested to the president of the republic that new elections be carried out, at the earliest possible date," Kurz said in a televised statement. On Friday Germany's Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung published hidden-camera recordings of the sophisticated sting operation at a luxury villa. "After yesterday's video, I must say quite honestly: Enough is enough," said Kurz, adding that he had been personally insulted in the footage. "The serious part of this (video) was the attitude towards abuse of power, towards dealing with taxpayers' money, towards the media in this country," he said. Strache, 49, announced his resignation earlier on Saturday, saying he was the "victim of a targeted political attack" which had used illegal means to entrap him. Loud cheers erupted at Kurz's announcement among the thousands of demonstrators who had gathered outside the chancellery building in central Vienna over the course of the day to demand the government's resignation. The "Ibiza affair" scandal appears to have been the last straw for Kurz after a string of controversies over extremist sympathies among officials from Strache's Freedom Party (FPOe). "Even if I didn't express myself publicly at the time, there were many situations that I found difficult to swallow," Kurz said of his time in government with the FPOe since December 2017. He said that in meetings on Saturday, FPOe leaders hadn't shown the willingness to make the changes necessary to stay in government. - 'Stupid, irresponsible' - President Alexander Van der Bellen said the videos showed a "disturbing moral image which does a disservice to our country and its people", and "a brazen lack of respect for our citizens". "They are shameful images, and no-one should have to be ashamed of Austria," he said. He said he would be meeting Kurz on Sunday to discuss the next steps in arranging elections. In the recordings Strache and his party's group leader in parliament, Johann Gudenus, are seen discussing with a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch about how she can invest in Austria. "Yes, it was stupid. Yes, it was irresponsible. Yes, it was a mistake," he said, describing what he did as "alcohol-influenced macho behaviour". He appeared close to tears as he apologised to his family, friends and supporters, in particular his wife for trying to impress his "attractive host". Strache said he was also resigning as FPOe leader, with Transport Minister Norbert Hofer taking over. In the recordings, the woman says she specifically wants to gain control of the country's largest-circulation tabloid, the Kronen Zeitung. Strache is seen suggesting that new owners could make staff changes and use the paper to help his party in its election campaign. He goes on to say the woman would then be able to gain access to public contracts. According to the newspapers, Strache says that there would be no resistance among the Krone's editorial staff as "journalists are the biggest whores on the planet". Both the newspapers that published the footage say they don't have any firm information over who set up the elaborate sting. - Politicians 'for sale' - Strache in the footage evoked the possibility of privatising part of Austria's public broadcaster ORF and said he would like Austria's media landscape to resemble that of neighbouring Hungary. Hungary's right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has overhauled the country's public media into a government propaganda organ while allies have steadily bought up swathes of the private media sector. The FPOe has mounted repeated attacks on the ORF's coverage, accusing it of being biased against the party. Strache also appeared to hint at possible ways political donations could be made to a foundation linked to the FPOe and not to the party directly, apparently in order to escape legal scrutiny. German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacted to the scandal by warning of the dangers of far-right politicians "for sale". "We are confronted with currents... who want to destroy the Europe of our values, and we must stand up to that decisively," Merkel said. Austria's government had already been under pressure due to a stream of scandals linked to the FPOe. In April an FPOe vice-mayor had to resign after writing a poem comparing migrants to rats. The putative link to Russia in the latest scandal is particularly embarrassing as the FPOe has a cooperation agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party. The perception of closeness to Russia wasn't helped by Putin attending the wedding of Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl -- nominated by the FPOe -- last summer. Austria's Vice-Chancellor and chairman of the Freedom Party FPOe Heinz-Christian Strache said he was considering legal action Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the chancellery building in Vienna over the course of the day to demand the government's resignation Kurz said he had been personally insulted in the recordings In the recordings Strache (C) is seen discussing with a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch about how she can invest in Austria
Bunnings is selling homes for less than $100,000.

Kapiti Coast builder Simon Hinds told Stuff.co.nz hes made 21 flat pack homes over the past year and a half sold under Bunnings Clever Living Co.

The homes vary in size from two to four bedrooms.

A look at the living room in the Suffolk model. The Suffolk has two bedrooms. Source: Bunnings.co.nz

Unfortunately for Australians, theyre only being sold in New Zealand at this stage.

Mr Hinds added the homes range from about A$75,000 for a two bedroom home over 60 sqm to about $123,000 for one with four bedrooms over 106 sqm.

The bathroom in the Angus model. It has three bedrooms. Source: Bunnings.co.nz

The homes feature heat pumps and security cameras along with vanities.

Bunnings New Zealand general manager Toby Lawrance told Stuff.co.nz the release of the homes has been on the down-low while the hardware store tests the market.

An outside look of the Highland model. This model features four bedrooms. It's not known if there's any plan to rollout the homes in Australia. Source: Bunnings.co.nz

There are five different types of homes available for purchase.

Its not known when or if Bunnings plans to sell the homes in Australia.

Bunnings Australia has been contacted for comment.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

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An irate independent candidate filmed unleashing a racist rant against two African men in Melbourne claims she was defending herself on the street.

Former One Nation and Palmer United Party candidate Teresa van Lieshout was filmed shouting and pointing at the men in the inner Melbourne suburb of Northcote on Wednesday night.

According to NITV, the Voter Rights Party candidate for Cooper in Melbournes north tells the men they must respect her because I was born here.

The confrontation was filmed by Rikefe Ohwofi after Ms van Lieshout allegedly bumped into him and his friend, NITV reports.

But she has rubbished those claims, telling Yahoo News Australia the men refused to move out of her way.

I was walking down High Street and on the footpath away from the pre-poll when these two really tall men were walking directly towards me and wouldnt get out of my way, she said.

I said, please get out of my way, I was busy and a bit stressed.

They started abusing me and swearing at me and insulting me and calling me all sorts of disgusting names and said I was racist but I said nothing about the colour of their skin and ethnicity.

Teresa van Lieshout was filmed in a racist tirade in Northcote, Melbourne. Source: NITV

Mr Ohwofi told NITV he was looking as his feet when she sort of barged through me.

He claims she said, get out of my way, get out of my country.

But Ms van Lieshout says she had never publicly degraded anybody based on their ethnicity.

Because they were abusing me and insulting me I got upset, she told Yahoo News.

Youre voting for Liberal or Labor so we can be murdered

The candidate is heard on the video asking the men if theyre a Christian before they reply, whats that got to do with you?.

Because Im an Australian-born teacher and Im in the federal election, she says.

Story continues

One of the men can be heard calling her a racist idiot before she says: Youre here to vote for Liberal or Labor so we can be murdered. Foreigners are brought here for votes so that Australian-born citizens can be murdered.

The candidate then tells the men they have to respect her.

Teresa van Lieshout with campaign posters in the federal electorate of Cooper. Source: Facebook

Why do I have to respect you? one of the men asks.

Because I was born here and Im a teacher, she responds.

She then asks the men what country they are from and unleashes further when they say it doesnt matter.

If I go to your country and destroy your rights, what do you say about that? she says.

Im going to go to your country and destroy all your peoples rights and make you all unemployed, homeless and drugged.

How would you like that? Thats what those politicians are doing to my people.

A passerby then tells Ms van Lieshout she should be ashamed of herself because shes a racist.

Were being murdered lady, the candidate responds.

Ms van Lieshout said she had since watched the video and believes she was measured during the confrontation.

I was really upset. I was on my way somewhere. Im a teacher, I was born here, Im in the federal election and I get abused, she said.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

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A former left-wing guerrilla leader wanted by the United States for drug trafficking was hospitalized in police custody Saturday with what authorities said were self-inflicted arm wounds. Officials at the Bogota hospital where Jesus Santrich was taken said the 52-year-old blind former leader of the FARC rebels, was in stable condition. In addition to the wounds to his arms, it said he had an "altered state of consciousness." Santrich had been freed earlier in the day from prison following an order by the special court tasked with judging crimes committed during Colombia's half century of armed conflict -- but he was then immediately re-arrested in connection with the drug trafficking investigation that has the US seeking his extradition. Washington, through its Bogota embassy, had strongly opposed Santrich's release and demanded that the ruling that set him free be "urgently" reviewed. The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) had ordered the release to comply with the "non-extradition guarantee" that formed part of the 2016 peace accord that ended the FARC insurrection, converting the former rebels into a political party. "Santrich has just been recaptured at the door" of the prison, the FARC political party said on Twitter. Upon leaving La Picota prison in a wheelchair, he was immediately detained by public prosecutors before being taken away in a police helicopter. In a statement, the public prosecutor's office said it "acted on" an arrest warrant related to the drug-trafficking investigation. Santrich, whose real name is Seuxis Paucias Hernandez, is suspected of participating in the trafficking of 10 tons of cocaine to the United States in 2017 and 2018, crucially after the peace accord was signed in December 2016. The agreement stipulated that former guerrillas who commit crimes after the pact's signing would be tried in a normal court, losing the benefits afforded by the accord -- such as a ban on extradition. President Ivan Duque said he was "outraged" by the peace tribunal's decision, warning that the case was not "closed" and that he was willing to authorize Santrich's extradition. The FARC, the Spanish acronym for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, has denounced the accusations against Santrich as a "setup." He has always proclaimed his innocence. Jesus Santrich is suspected of participating in the trafficking of 10 tons of cocaine to the US between June 2017 and April 2018 Santrich was arrested and taken away by police helicopter shortly after his release from prison
Voting in one of India's most acrimonious elections in decades entered its final day Sunday as Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrambled to hang on to his overall majority. The seventh and final round of voting ended the world's biggest election with 900 million eligible voters from Goa's beaches to Mumbai's slums and Ladakh's Himalayan monasteries. Long queues formed outside polling stations in eight northern states electing the final 59 candidates to India's 543-seat lower house. Polls close at 1230 GMT with vote counting on Thursday. Heavy security was imposed in West Bengal, which has seen street battles between followers of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition groups. An improvised bomb was thrown from a motorbike at one polling booth in the state capital Kolkata but no one was injured, officials said. One group attacked a makeshift BJP office in the city and police also cleared other activists blocking polling stations. Modi's constituency in Varanasi, the holy city in Uttar Pradesh state, was also among those to vote. The conservative BJP has campaigned aggressively on Modi's strongman image and played up recent cross-border air strikes against Pakistan. The opposition, led by the Congress party and its leader, Rahul Gandhi, have accused him of pursuing divisive policies and neglecting the economy. Modi and Gandhi have hurled insults at each other on a near daily basis with the prime minister calling his rival a "fool" while Gandhi derides Modi as a "thief". - Jaded voters - The animosity has taken a toll on voters. "All the abuse and misconduct claims suggest that standards in Indian politics have slipped badly," Asit Banerjee, a history teacher in Kolkata, said as he queued to vote. "Endless mudslinging and bitter comments pervaded the campaign. We are losing hope in democracy, it is time for a reset," the 60-year-old told AFP. Writing in the Hindustan Times, political commentator Karan Thapar said Modi's message "played on our insecurities and strummed upon our deep inner fears". He also criticised Gandhi's campaign. Pollsters say Modi remains personally popular but his party's overall majority is at risk from a backlash. The 68-year-old Modi has held 142 rallies across India during the campaign, sometimes five a day, but pollsters say the BJP could lose dozens of the 282 seats it won in its 2014 landslide. - $7 billion vote - On Saturday Modi, dressed in a long robe and saffron sash, trekked to a Himalayan shrine to meditate. Indian media widely used images showing him seated on a bed inside a cave in the country's north. The Delhi-based Centre for Media Studies estimates that the outlay on this election could top $7 billion, making it one of the priciest contests globally -- with the lion's share of the spending by the BJP. Much has been spent on social media advertising and messages, with the parties using armies of "cyber warriors" to bombard India's hundreds of millions of Facebook and WhatsApp users. Fake news and doctored images have abounded, including of Gandhi and Modi having lunch with Imran Khan, prime minister of arch rival Pakistan, or of a drunk Priyanka Gandhi, a politician and the sister of Rahul. Violence has also broken out. Maoist rebels killed 15 troops and their driver in the western state of Maharashtra on May 1, the latest attack in a decades-long insurgency. Gandhi, 48, has tried several lines of attack against Modi, in particular over alleged corruption in a French defence deal and over the plight of farmers and on the economy. Modi's government has fallen short on creating jobs for the million Indians entering the labour market every month, the shock introduction of a cash ban in 2016 caused huge disruption to livelihoods, and Indian banks are gasping under bad debts. Lynchings of Muslims and low-caste Dalits for eating beef, slaughtering and trading in cattle have risen during Modi's tenure, leaving some of the country's 170 million Muslims feeling threatened and anxious for their future. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is showered with petals during a campaign stop Factfile on India, where 900 million eligible voters get the opportunity to vote in the 2019 general election, taking place from April 11 to May 19. The holy city of Varanasi was among those voting Gandhi has struggled to make himself heard above the din of the BJP's campaign juggernaut Some 900 million people were eligible to vote in the multi-stage election, with results to be announced on May 23
As the one true known quantity in the Democratic nomination race, former vice president Joe Biden sits atop the pack of 2020 presidential contenders, relishing the prime position as he hosts a kickoff rally Saturday. No one knows whether the man who served as number two to popular Democratic president Barack Obama for eight years will run away with this contest -- his third White House bid in as many decades -- or fade out in the months-long test of political skill and stamina to come. But the former longtime senator and lion of the Democratic Party is gearing up for what is certain to be a titanic battle against President Donald Trump. After a month of modest events at union halls and pizza joints in early-voting states like Iowa, Biden is counting on making a splash at a rally in Philadelphia, the largest city in must-win Pennsylvania, a state Trump snatched from Democrats in 2016. He has made Philadelphia his campaign headquarters, in a further sign of the importance he is placing on winning back the state for his party in 2020. His kickoff will be held near the Philadelphia art museum steps immortalized by the scrappy boxer's run in the movie "Rocky." Biden was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and the rally is a nod to his modest roots. But far from being the underdog, Biden is looking to cement his status as the man to beat, the blue-collar voter whisperer who is best positioned to take on and defeat Trump. And while his delayed entry into the race drew criticism that he might not be ready to mount a thoroughly energized campaign, the slow-and-steady strategy appears to be paying off. By setting his own terms, limiting media engagements and minimizing chances for going off-script, the gaffe-prone Biden is emphasizing his status as preeminent party dignitary. Polls give Biden, 76, a comfortable lead over the 22 other hopefuls. The latest RealClearPolitics aggregate puts him at 39.1 percent support, more than double the 16.4 percent of his nearest rival, liberal Senator Bernie Sanders. No one else is in double digits. After a deeply divisive 2016 race, Democratic voters may be looking for an antidote to Trump, the brash politically inexperienced billionaire. "What matters to them at the moment is a safe choice, a known entity, and somebody who they believe could beat President Trump at his own game," Lara Brown, director of George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management, told AFP. Nearly nine months before the first nomination votes are cast, Biden is the lone Democrat, aside from perhaps Sanders, with the celebrity status that comes close to Trump's. But as voters start paying more attention, Biden -- who to date has campaigned mostly in broad strokes -- will be under pressure to flesh out positions on everything from health care and wages to immigration. "Biden is the right man for the moment," Brown said. "Whether he will be the right Democrat eight months from now is still really up in the air." - Blue-collar appeal - Biden's dominance has already changed the race's dynamic, with its early stars like senators Sanders, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren forced to play catch up, and leveling criticism at the frontrunner. Warren and Sanders, each of whom is highlighting the need to narrow the nation's economic inequalities, are expected to ramp up criticism of Biden as the embodiment of the Washington establishment. Several rivals are from a newer generation, putting them at odds with the old-school Biden, whose major challenge may well be appealing to younger voters. And while candidates like ex-congressman Beto O'Rourke are keeping up relentless schedules, honing their messages at townhalls and meet-and-greets, Biden has opted for more protected environments. "Let's see what happens when he's taking questions that haven't been vetted," Brown said. Doing so will require fleshing out his policies, something that has already sparked controversy. Biden caught flak from liberal groups and candidates for failing to embrace more progressive positions on climate change. He says he will lay out a climate policy in the coming weeks. He has aligned himself closely with Obama, drawing major support from African American voters, a crucial constituency. But he will also need to be prepared to lean leftward to acknowledge the party's more progressive tilt. At the same time, he styles himself, like Trump, as an ardent defender of working class Americans, someone who can win back the Midwestern white, male blue-collar voters who went for the Republican in 2016. "If you're appealing to older, more mainstream voters, I think the story that's emerging from his campaign is not that he's the agent of radical change, but that he's going to be a more stable leader," said political science professor Robert Boatright of Clark University. Former US vice president Joe Biden is in prime position leading the crowded 2020 Democratic nominations race ahead of his kickoff rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The former vice president's major challenge may well be appealing to younger voters Biden styles himself as an ardent defender of working class Americans, someone who can win back the Midwestern white, male blue-collar voters who went for Trump in 2016
The Battle of Queensland appears to have been won by the Morrison coalition government.

Labor is struggling to have an impact in the state, where a slew of marginal seats were up for grabs and was the focus of heavy campaigning by both sides.

The controversial Adani coal mine project - and Labor's ambivalent response to it - appears to have played a part in central Queenslanders giving their vote to the Liberal National Party.

Senior Labor frontbencher Brendan O'Connor has blamed the heavy spending by Clive Palmer and his party and One Nation directing preferences to the LNP.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton looks likely to hold his northern Brisbane seat of Dickson.

Scott Morrison coalition has won the battle of Queensland beating Bill Shorten's Labor party. Source: AAP

George Christensen, who was dubbed the MP for Manila for the number of days he spent visiting his fiancee in the Philippines, is expected to be returned in Dawson without any problem.

The LNP is also leading in the Townsville seat Herbert - won by Labor's Cathy O'Toole in 2016 by just 37 votes - where Clive Palmer's United Australia Party appears to have failed.

The LNP has also retained the coastal seats of Flynn, Capricornia and Leichhardt.

Senior Labor senator Penny Wong told the ABC Queensland "is tough for us."

She said climate change was a significant issue in the election, with the coalition talking about it in a scare campaign.

Liberal senator Arthur Sinodinos said the anti-Adani convoy, which drove through Queensland half-way through the campaign, annoyed Queenslanders.

Labor and Liberal volunteers respond with grief and joy to the Coalition's success. Source: AAP

"The Bob Brown caravan which went up there to talk about stopping Adani, had locals thinking, "Hang on, you are not going to tell us how to live"," he told the ABC.

Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie told Nine she was not surprised that Mr Christensen had been returned.

Story continues

"He has been backing jobs in his electorate, and that is part of the fight," she told Nine.

"The fact is, this is a seat that relies on mining jobs, and George is at the front of that fight."

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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.
Italian populist leader Matteo Salvini on Saturday gathered Europe's disparate nationalists for a unifying rally overshadowed by a major corruption scandal shaking Austria's far-right coalition. The Milan rally hoped to see leaders of 12 far-right parties marching towards their conquest of Brussels after next week's European parliamentary elections. Headliners Salvini of the anti-immigrant League and Marine Le Pen of France's far-right National Rally (RN) want their Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group to become the third largest in Brussels. "Stop the bureaucrats, bankers, do-gooders, migrant boats," read one pro-Salvini banner. "Italy first," read another as the speeches began. Hundreds gathered in a Milan park for a counter-demonstration - "Welcome migrants, expel Salvini," read one banner - as the city's central Duomo square filled with League supporters massed under a light rain to listen to leaders' speeches. But explosive graft allegations against the leader of Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) and Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache meant the party's top candidate in next week's elections pulled out of the Milan rally. German media published hidden camera footage filmed two years ago in Ibiza appearing to show Strache promising a fake Russian backer public contracts in return for positive coverage in Austrian media. Strache resigned and the FPOe's coalition with Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's centre-right People's Party (OeVP) collapsed after Kurz on Saturday announced new elections. "There are no extremists, no racists, no fascists in this square," Salvini told the crowd, brandishing rosary beads, hailing Europe's "Judeo-Christian" roots and invoking the Virgin Mary. Le Pen slammed "the dilution of nations", saying "no" to immigration she said was "submerging our countries, endangering our people's security." "Basta Islam," repeated the Netherlands' Geert Wilders. "The political elites in Brussels no longer deserve our trust." But besides thundering against Brussels and immigration, no mention was made of new policies. "Europe needs more Salvinis," said Wilders, who heads the Party for Freedom. - Relations with Moscow - Despite their shared dislike of immigration, multiculturalism, the left and the EU, Europe's populists remain divided on many other key issues, including budgetary discipline, migrant distribution and relations with Moscow, as highlighted by the Austrian scandal. French lawmakers recently called for a probe into links between the RN and US President Donald Trump's former strategist Steve Bannon after he discussed paying back a Russian loan to Le Pen's party in a documentary. Most of Europe's rightwing nationalists are currently divided into three blocs and a tangled web of alliances in the European Parliament -- an institution Salvini and Le Pen would like to overhaul if not destroy. The ENF includes Austria's Freedom Party, Belgium's Vlaams Belang and Wilders' Party for Freedom. Notably absent from the rally was Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party and Poland's governing PiS (Law and Justice party). Orban has voiced admiration for Salvini and promised "cooperation" after the vote, but refuses any alliance with Le Pen. He has his own problems after allegations from a rights group Saturday that his election landslide last year was marred by vote-rigging and fraud. Smaller parties such as Bulgaria's Volya or Slovakia's Sme Rodina, which is set to win a single MEP seat, joined the Milan rally. - 'Life or death' - While Salvini and Le Pen have close ties to Russia and President Vladimir Putin, eastern European far-right parties are wary of Moscow's ambitions. Critics say that an enduring alliance between the League and the Alternative for Germany (AfD), also due in Milan, would be impossible. "Salvini for instance wants a European redistribution of refugees, (AfD lead candidate Joerg) Meuthen doesn't want a single refugee," leading German Green Party member Sven Giegold told Italy's AGI news agency. "What's more, Meuthen doesn't want to give a single cent to southern Europe," he added. Salvini hopes the future right-wing bloc will be able to implement laxer EU budget rules, which would be a boon for Italy's struggling economy. Salvini's coalition relationship with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement of fellow Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio is increasingly fraught since they formed a government last June. Recent opinion polls suggest that the League will go from six MEPs to 26, Le Pen's RN from 15 to 20 and German's AfD from one to 11. burs-cjo/pma Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who organised the rally, is trying to unite Europe's nationalists into a powerful force in the European Parliament Austria's Vice-Chancellor and chairman of the Freedom Party FPOe Heinz-Christian Strache has resigned after being caught in a political sting captured on video France's Marine Le Pen, the leader of Czech far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) Tomio Okamura and the Netherlands' Geert Wilders at a conference of the rightwing Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group European nationalists rallied near Milan Cathedral far-right leaders gathered in Italy Several hundred counter-protesters demonstrated in Milan
If Uttar Pradesh were a country, it would be one of the world's most populous. And this poverty-striken northern melting pot of over 200 million people is the biggest prize in India's election ending on Sunday. Uttar Pradesh (UP) has 80 parliamentary seats, the most of any state, and at the 2014 election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept up 71 of them. This helped give BJP a three-decade record of 282 seats in the 545-seat parliament to oust India's grand old Congress party, which sunk to a record low of 44, just two of them in UP. "To be in Delhi, you need to perform very well in UP," Ashok Upadhyay, political scientist at Banaras Hindu University, told AFP. Many analysts credit the BJP's previous electoral success to a fragmented opposition and a massive shift of disparate caste groups towards Modi over an array of issues, including emotive religious appeals. UP, which has given India nine prime ministers, lies at the centre of the country's vast northern Hindi-speaking belt, home to around a third of India's 1.3-billion population and which in 2014 formed the core of the BJP's support. - Dalit voting power - But the landlocked region, home to the Taj Mahal and roughly the size of Britain, is also a cauldron of religions and castes and in this election an unlikely anti-Modi alliance has been formed. One part of it is the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), headed by Mayawati, the formidable "Dalit Queen" whose championing of India's lower castes helped her become UP chief minister four times. She has partnered with her former sworn foes the Samajwadi Party (SP), led by another former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, and the smaller Rashtriya Lok Dal party (RLD). Absent from the tie-up though is Congress. "Our aim is to oust the BJP and for the entire opposition to be united," Vandana Singh, spokeswoman for Yadav's Samajwadi Party, told AFP. The state's chief minister is currently the BJP's hardline Yogi Adityanath, a shaven-headed, saffron-robed Hindu monk whose uncompromising rhetoric has alienated many voters. The BJP insists it is confident but experts say the ruling party knows it is going to lose support in UP. As a result the party is aiming to make up for losses by picking up seats in north-eastern and eastern India, most notably in West Bengal where it faces another tough challenger in the hard-left Mamata Banerjee. "Getting a majority (in parliament) means a comprehensive electoral performance across the country," Nalin Kohli, a BJP spokesman, told AFP. - Vital Varanasi - But personal honour is also at stake in UP for both Modi and Rahul Gandhi, the head of Congress hoping to become the fourth member of India's venerable Gandhi-Nehru dynasty to become prime minister. The UP city of Varanasi, where Hindus are cremated on the banks of the holy Ganges 24 hours a day, is where Modi is standing, and the 68-year-old's popularity there is unparallelled. He won the seat with a huge majority in 2014, telling voters that he wasn't an outsider -- he hails not from UP but from Gujurat -- but Varanasi's "son of the soil". Locals praise him for his efforts to develop the city dotted with temples and thronging with pilgrims and tourists in a state that is a byword for chronic underdevelopment. But he may have overstepped the mark with his ambitious plan to urbanise the city, razing centuries-old homes to clear the view to a Hindu temple. "People of Uttar Pradesh are angry with Modi and I think both Modi and BJP will pay politically for it," Santosh Singh, a restaurant owner in Varanasi, told AFP. "BJP is no longer a people's party, its just about Modi," he said. Gandhi, 48, meanwhile is standing in Amethi, a family bastion in the state. But he is also contesting a constituency in the southern state of Kerala, something allowed under Indian election rules -- just in case. UP, which has given India nine prime ministers, lies at the centre of the country's vast northern Hindi-speaking belt, home to around a third of India's 1.3-billion population and which in 2014 formed the core of the BJP's support Ashok Upadhyay, political scientist at Banaras Hindu University, says success in the elections could be dependent on success in Uttar Pradesh The landlocked region, home to the Taj Mahal and roughly the size of Britain, is a cauldron of religions and castes The UP city of Varanasi, where Hindus are cremated on the banks of the holy Ganges 24 hours a day, is where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is standing, and the 68-year-old's popularity there is unparallelled Modi's ambitious plan to urbanise the city of Varanasi, razing centuries-old homes to clear the view to a Hindu temple has angered some locals
According to federal Internal Revenue Service tax filer migration data, the top destination for those who left Chautauqua County from 2011 to 2016 is Pennsylvania. Statewide, Pennsylvania is the sixth-most popular destination for those who move away from New York state.

Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, R-Jamestown, and County Executive George Borrello shared their thoughts for Pennsylvania's popularity last weekend with The Post-Journal's Dennis Phillips. Many of the things that make Chautauqua County a nice place to raise a family can be found in Pennsylvania. Pennsyvlania's proximity to Chautauqua County makes it easy for someone to get a job in the Jamestown area where wages may be higher and still live in Pennsylvania, where the cost of living is lower than Chautauqua County's already low cost of living. Small business owners can indeed free themselves of New York's onerous regulations by locating in Pennsylvania and working in New York.

New York has met its competition. What can it do to lure Pennsylvanians into New York?

The answer isn't money. As much as the state has tried to throw money at downtowns throughout New York state through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and the Regional Economic Development Committee approach, such programs aren't likely to reverse the county's outmigration trend with Pennsylvania. Adding a bunch of spiffy new attractions to downtown Jamestown might make Warren-area residents come and visit more often, but won't make those Warren residents move here.

Whatever the reason, it's obvious what the state has been doing for the past couple of decades isn't working for upstate. If New York is serious about getting to the bottom of its Upstate population decline, and if has the will to listen to what people say, then state legislators should create a statewide task force or committee to listen to people's opinions and form recommendations based on them.

The region could lose even more of its voice in state and federal government when the time comes to redraw the lines for U.S. House of Representatives seats and positions in the state Assembly.

We've heard enough jokes and political rancor about the state's rural population losses. It's time for the state to get down to brass tacks, figure out what's making people move away and fix it.

 The Post-Journal, Jamestown

Juveniles who support terrorist groups actively can escape serious prosecution under federal law because of a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, The Associated Press reported this week.

Already, that has prompted federal prosecutors to skip proceedings against some minors, allowing state courts to handle their cases. In one, a Texas court sentenced Matin Azizi-Yarand to 20 years in prison, with possibility of parole after 10 years.

Azizi-Yarand was 17 when he plotted to go on a shooting rampage at a shopping mall, in support of the Islamic State terrorist group. Fortunately, he was arrested before he could act on his plan.

Federal law provides that juveniles can be prosecuted for aiding terrorist groups or, like Azizi-Yarand, planning their own attacks. But there is a catch: Minors have to have committed a "crime of violence" in order to be charged with aiding foreign organizations.

The Supreme Court, in a case last year, found the "crime of violence" provision was unconstitutionally vague. It did not define violence adequately, justices explained.

Federal prosecutions of juveniles for terrorism-related acts, including conspiracies, are rare. But several Islamic terrorist groups work hard, often via the internet, to recruit minors. As the Azizi-Yarand situation makes clear, they sometimes are successful.

That means Congress should rethink the relevant statutes. If a precise definition of "crime of violence" is necessary, it should be drafted and enacted.

No one should be given a pass on federal prosecution for planning or carrying out a terrorist act, regardless of what organization is being supported.

 The Evening Observer, Dunkirk

It was pure poetic justice that the weather ruined Mayor de Blasio's latest stunt  turning his plans to preen about his Green New Deal efforts outside Trump Tower into a humiliating debacle inside the building.

Forced indoors by rain, the mayor found his remarks drowned out by lobby music and protesters, some of whom ruined every picture by holding up "Trump 2020" and "Worst Mayor Ever" signs.

It's justice because de Blasio's approach is so cynical. The stunt targeted Trump buildings for their greenhouse-gas emissions even though several other edifices  Mount Sinai Medical Center, the Time Warner Center, the MetLife building  have bigger problems by the same standard.

And the standard itself is junk: It only threatens fines in 2030  11 years in the future, if buildings don't refit to cut their emissions. Plus, more than half the city is exempted. Indeed, the scheme effectively targets industries that use a lot of energy, such as tech, media and life sciences  sectors that provide good jobs.

Anyway, the initiative for the law came from the City Council; de Blasio just rushed to take the credit and then to pretend that Trump buildings are particular trouble.

Yet the mayor's green hypocrisy doesn't end there. He has also come out against the proposed Williams pipeline, a billion-dollar project to bring natural gas to Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. Without it, National Grid warns it will immediately have to start refusing new gas customers.

De Blasio is claiming that his Green New Deal will somehow make up the difference, but its promised payoffs are years in the future, and he'll be long gone from office when those promises prove false.

The mayor, in short, is doing nothing about the real issues facing the city, just trying to polish his own image. He totally earned those "Worst Mayor Ever" signs.

 The New York Post

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" " Although the Hell Angels are a well-known outlaw motorcycle club, they were not the first. Olaf Wagner/ullstein bild via Getty Images

An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle club that flies independently from any approved or sanctioned organization. The American Motorcycle Association, or AMA, is usually in charge of approving and sanctioning motorcycle clubs that operate in the United States, but you'll never find bikers in outlaw motorcycle clubs rubbing elbows with the AMA. In fact, outlaw motorcycle clubs are sometimes referred to as "1 percent" motorcycle clubs, to emphasize the contrast between these organizations and the remaining 99 percent: the sanctioned, noncriminal clubs. Outlaw clubs have been known to finance their lifestyles through illegal activities such as drug trafficking and murder-for-hire and sometimes get into turf wars with rival clubs. So although outlaw motorcycle clubs make up a relatively small percentage of motorcyclists, they've had a strong effect on the public perception of motorcycle culture, thanks to their depiction in movies, on TV and in the news.

The Hells Angels are the best-known and biggest outlaw motorcycle club in the United States and Canada, but they're not the oldest biker gang around. That honor goes to the appropriately named Outlaw Motorcycle Club. The Outlaws are known to be particularly violent, and they operate by the motto "God forgives, Outlaws don't." The group started in 1935 in a bar near Chicago. Though the Outlaws were based in the Chicago suburbs for their first 15 years, membership grew in the city, and the club eventually moved its home base to Chicago proper.

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The club's notoriety grew in the 1960s, when the AMA banned club insignia at races and other AMA-sponsored events. As the club grew and established new chapters, its rivalry with the Hells Angels grew stronger as they fought for control of the United States' borders with Canada and Mexico. Today, the Outlaws are believed to have about 1,700 members across the East and the Central United States, made mostly of local Outlaw chapters spreading outward from the Great Lakes region.
A man who died while in custody at the Coconino County jail in January had pneumonia caused by strep throat, the Coconino County Medical Examiner found.

The medical examiner wrote that Kyle Martinson, 20, had almost one and a half gallons of fluid putting pressure on his lungs when he died. Specifically, Martinsons pneumonia had developed into fluid in the lining of his lungs, which Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer with the American Lung Association, said is a complication of pneumonia.

It doesnt occur in every infection, but occurs in infections that are more severe, Rizzo said.

Pneumonia can be treated with antibiotics and can cause symptoms like exhaustion and difficulty breathing as fluid gathers in the lungs, Rizzo said.

Martinson's family members have questioned whether the jail facility staff could have taken more action to prevent his death. Lisa Black, Martinsons aunt, said no one in his family ever imagined Martinson would die in jail.

Im so angry at them. I feel like they robbed something from us, Black said. They were supposed to take care of him.

Matthew Figueroa, jail commander for the Coconino County Detention Facility, said his agency takes Martinson's death seriously and is investigating the circumstances of his death.

"The Coconino County Detention Facility is saddened by the passing of Mr. Martinson and sends its deepest sympathies to the family of Mr. Martinson as they grieve this loss," Figueroa wrote in an email. "The facility is committed to the safety and health of every inmate in its custody and care."

Figueroa said they were unable to provide more comment on details relating to Martinson's death, but said they are confident in their staff's ability to deliver patient care.

The sheriff's office reports detail Martinsons multiple complaints about his health, but nurses and officers on staff did not take Martinson to a hospital.

Martinson was being held on bond for more than $6,500 related to multiple charges including marijuana possession, speeding and failing to stop at a scene after damaging a vehicle. In January, Martinson was found lying in his cell with his hands behind his head, and his body was stiff and cold, according to sheriff reports.

Nurse and officer response

Reports show that Martinson had first complained to officers in the facility at least six days before his death.

On Jan. 17, a nurse checked Martinson and observed that Martinson was fidgety and his back was tender to her touch. She added in an interview with sheriffs office investigators that his response appeared to be exaggerated for that type of touch.

On Jan. 19, a different nurse reportedly received a complaint that Martinson was in a lot of pain and couldnt breathe. The nurse spoke with a detention officer who said that Martinson becomes more animated when he sees nursing staff on the floor.

She explained to the investigator that she did not open the door to assess Martinson, and instead asked the officer questions relating to Martinsons condition.

The sheriff's report did not detail that Martinson had received any medicine beyond Tylenol.

On Jan. 21, the officer in a separate interview said he saw Martinson exhibit signs of physical weakness, including when he and a second detention officer had to carry Martinson by supporting him under his armpits to a separate cell for observation.

The same officer reported to investigators that Martinson asked if he could be placed on 24-hour watch because he was afraid to go to sleep without being watched.

He had a hard time breathing and walking, the officer said to the investigator.

On the morning Martinson died, a detention officer checked Martinsons oxygen levels and blood pressure at 1:35 a.m. when he was seen hyperventilating inside his cell. His oxygen level was 91, which another officer said put Martinson above the standard (90 or higher) to remain in jail. Rizzo explained that 91 is low for Martinson's age and would be a sign of concern.

At 4:13 a.m., a detention officer opened Martinson's cell "after failing to find any evidence for signs of life," according to the sheriff's report.

When he approached Martinson, he touched the inmate's chest and immediately believed that Martinson had died, according to the sheriff's report. Medics were notified and attempted to revive Martinson, but eventually failed.

Scott Buffon can be reached at sbuffon@azdailysun.com, on Twitter @scottbuffon or by phone at (928) 556-2250.

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Christian Science Society of Flagstaff: 619 W. Birch Ave. We hold Sunday worship services and Sunday School (for children and young people up to the age of 20) at 10 a.m. The subject of this week's sermon is "Adam and Fallen Man." We also have Wednesday testimony meetings at 5:30 p.m. each week. Our Christian Science Reading Room, a quiet place for prayer and study, is open from 4-5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and 10:00 a.m. - noon on Saturdays or by appointment. 928-526-5982.

The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany: 423 N. Beaver St., Flagstaff. Mission: Bringing the love of God to all people. Vision: Reconciling all to God, so the world will know peace and justice. 423 N. Beaver St. Worship days and times: SAT 5:30; SUN 8 and 10:30 a.m. ; TUES 12:15PM Healing Service ; Priest Marianna Gronek celebrates, and Chaplain Brad Eubanks preaches at all services; SUN 9:15 MORE: Ryan Cagle / Why a Loving God Can't Stop Evil; 10:30 YOUTH Sunday; SAT 5/18 9:00AM Community Clean-up Crew; 11:00 a.m. Episcopal Cursillo Ultreya; SAT 5/25 8:00 Wisdom Walkers; 5:30PM Taize'/ Eucharist; Open Doors Gallery  Art In Action: Border Crossroads. 928-774-2911. epiphanyaz.org.

Riverside Church: 419 S. Verde Street, Flagstaff. Sunday School 9:30 a.m., Sunday Morning Service 11:15 a.m. 602-621-1878. riversidecogic.com.

First Congregational Church of Flagstaff: Sun. 10:30-11:45 a.m., 740 N. Turquoise Dr.. Reverend Nathan Watts will preach on "From Tough Love to Just Love" based on John 13:31-35 and Acts 11:1-18. Please join us for fellowship after worship. 928-774-0890. http://fccflagstaff.org.

Unity of Flagstaff: Sun. 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 417 W. Santa Fe Ave. Let's see intention as a resource that moves us closer to that authentic place of peace and satisfaction. Join Rev. Penni as we discover together new insight of "Sincerely Set Intentions". Also enjoy the music of Lucky Lenny and Friends. 928-526-8893. http://unityofflagstaff.org.

Church of the Resurrection: 740 W. University Heights Dr South. The COR church family wishes Pastor Bob Norton a blessed retirement. Sunday Worship Service Time: 10 a.m. Guest PCA Pastor David Bennett will teach on Mark 1:21-28, "Jesus - Madman, liar, lunatic or God? The gospel brings out the worst in you so God can put his best into you. A look at spiritual opposition." Sunday School for Children & Youth: 10 a.m. Please join us for fellowship after worship. 928-699-2715. cor-pca.org.

Living Christ Lutheran Church: 6401 N. US Highway 89, Flagstaff. We hold Sunday worship services starting at 10:00 a.m. with fellowship following. We worship through music, teaching, prayer and sacraments. Pastor Kurt Fangmeier will be leading worship on Sunday, May 19 with scripture readings from Acts 11:1-18 and Gospel reading from John 13:31-35. 928-526-8595. http://livingchristflagstaff.org.

Spiritual Center for Intentional Living: Sun. 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Ponderosa HS, 2384 N. Steves Blvd, Flagstaff. Rev. Jerry Troyer from Associated New Thought Network (ANTN) will be our Guest speaker May 19th. Following the service Rev. Troyer will facilitate a Visioning Workshop for our Spiritual Center. 928-522-9103.

Holy Cross Orthodox Church: Please join us Sunday for our 8:55 a.m. 'Orthos' and 10 a.m. Divine Liturgy with Father Earl. (928) 225-3814. http://holycrossflagstaff.org.

Greenlaw Baptist Church: 3400 E. Lockett Road. Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. with classes for all ages. Pastor Barry Hall will bring the morning message titled Grateful and Gainful Prayer, A Clarity on Prayer Life. The church will continue Thursday worship service at 4 p.m., Thursday dinner will be at 5 p.m., followed by two breakout groups at 6:00, which are a Bible study on Baptism led by Pastor Hall, and Celebrate Recovery [CR] led by Pastor Manny Martinez. Tel. 928-526-4939. Website: greenlawbaptist.org

Calvary Bible Church: Sunday teaching by Pastor Aaron Hulbert: Living in a Gray World from James 4:11-12. Sunday 9:30 a.m. Overview of the Old Testament. Mid-Day Worship Service 10:45 a.m. 6 p.m. Evening service 'Life of Christ study' Child care and Children's Church. Wednesday 6 p.m.: Bible Study/Matthew, then prayer time. Teen AWANA on break for summer. http://calvarybibleflagstaff.com.

Flagstaff Federated Community Church: 9:30 a.m.- noon. 400 W. Aspen Avenue. This Sunday is Confirmation Sunday and we will confirm one of our youth and affirm our commitment as a family of faith. Using the scripture John 13:31-35 we will contemplate the idea of glory and what it means to glorify God while looking at the new covenant that Jesus gave us. Children's Church and adult classes will happen on a regular schedule. 928-774-7383. flagstafffederatedchurch.org.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon): Sunday services held at four Flagstaff locations: 4165 S. Lake Mary Road, 625 E. Cherry Ave., 2401 E. Linda Vista Dr. and, for young single adults, 239 E. Saunders Dr. Meetings are also held in Williams at 1111 Stockmens Road and at the Shrine of the Ages on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Check azdailysun.com or "Locations and Schedules" at LDS.org for meeting times by ward/branch. Sunday services consist of Sacrament Meeting, Sunday School and special instruction for various age and interest groups (Priesthood Meeting for men, Relief Society for women, Young Men/Young Women for youth and Primary for children).

Shepherd of the Hills ELCA: 1601 N. San Francisco St, Flagstaff. Our services include a Spoken Word service at 5 p.m. on Saturday, a Contemporary service at 9 a.m. on Sunday, and a Traditional service at 11 a.m. on Sunday, all led by Pastor Adam Barnhart. 928-774-4832. http://sothflagstaff.org.

Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation: 10-11 a.m. Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 510 N. Leroux St., Flagstaff. Cultivating Compassion. Compassion is an opening up of the heart to the recognition of other's distress. By cultivating our ability to respond with compassion to the distress of others we may ease their suffering and simultaneously our own as well. Town Hall meeting will follow service. 928-779-4492. http://beaconuu.com.

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A few weeks ago, a Palestinian hip-hop artist named Tamer Nafir performed what he himself labeled an "anti-Semitic" rap during a conference held at UNC Chapel Hill.he told the audience as it sang and clapped along.The interim chancellor of UNC Chapel Hill, Kevin Guskiewicz, said he wasOther critics reacted similarly after viewing a video by filmmaker Ami Horowitz that depicted not only Nafir's song but also offensive statements made by others participating in the "Conflict Over Gaza" conference , which was held March 22-24 by, among others, the UNC Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies and co-sponsored by a wide range of university departments.The three-minute Horowitz video, inevitably, went viral. Local television stations and, eventually, other media outlets covered the controversy, which came on the heels of other troubling incidents on campus such as racist graffiti scrawled on the Unsung Founders Memorial and anti-Semitic posters discovered in the graduate library.As distressing as these events are, they have created a teachable moment about freedom of speech on public property.Perhaps I missed it, but I've seen no UNC official or outside critics, including Horowitz, say Nafir or others espousing anti-Semitic or anti-Israel views should be banned from speaking at a public university. Nafir didn't exhort the audience to commit violence. He didn't threaten anyone. Regardless of whether you think his words were facially and appallingly anti-Semitic, or clumsily worded satire, or just ill-informed and awkward expressions of Palestinian rage, they constituted protected speech.On public property, in particular, freedom of speech isn't constrained by intentions or offensiveness. If you want to grunt out an anti-Semitic rap on my property, I can boot you off of it. But if you are otherwise complying with the rules and expressing yourself on public property, no such response is permissible.With what rules must you comply? As I mentioned, you can't exhort people to violence or criminality. In addition, you may have to accept time, place, and manner restrictions that serve to facilitate and protect free expression on campus.For example, not everyone can speak, hold an event, or march in precisely the same place at the same time. A scheduling system is not only permissible but necessary as long as it applies strictly to scarce public spaces and is administered fairly. Related to that, freedom of speech does not extend to a "heckler's veto." If my student group schedules a speaker on campus and you show up to shout down or obstruct the speaker, you aren't exercising free speech. You're trying to shut it down. Removing you is, again, not just permissible but necessary to protect freedom of speech.As for the other recent incidents, obviously freedom of expression does not extend to defacing monuments or artwork. Posting announcements of upcoming events on a bulletin board may be permissible, but simply throwing anti-Semitic flyers around tables in the library isn't freedom of speech. It's littering.To their credit, UNC administrators reacted to the "Conflict Over Gaza" incident swiftly and responsibly. Sponsoring organizations demanded that they be removed as listed co-sponsors of the conference and that any money they spent promoting or staging it be refunded. Martin Brinkley, dean of the law school, accused the UNC Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies of a "breach of trust" with its campus colleagues. So it was.The organizers of the conference joined Guskiewicz in condemning anti-Semitism. But they also contended that the video Horowitz produced had been "heavily edited" andWhen my Carolina Journal colleague Kari Travis asked for proof of this assertion , she was told that the conference had not been recorded.Horowitz didn't record the entire event, either - because the organizers booted him from the public event, even though he was not exercising a heckler's veto or otherwise disrupting it. A teachable moment, indeed.
Allen Thomas, the new executive director of the Global TransPark, says he's eager to make the 2,500-acre, state-owned industrial park live up to its initial promise. (CJ photo by Don Carrington)

From Allen Thomas Instagram account

From Allen Thomas Instagram account

From Allen Thomas Instagram account

A scathing report from N.C. State Auditor Beth Wood released Wednesday, April 24, found the accounting methods used by the N.C. Global TransPark Authority were so bad thatThe executive director of the GTP during the audit period, Allen Thomas, is a Democratic primary candidate for the open seat in the 3rd U.S. Congressional District. Early voting is under way for the April 30 primary.The audit covered the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018. Thomas became head of the GTP in July 2017 and resigned from his position March 25 before the audit was complete.Auditors found the lack of management oversight and cooperation led to inadequate internal controls over financial reporting and significant misstatements.Specifically, auditors found the financial statements didn't match accounting records, and management couldn't explain the differences. An entry for $454,407 was recorded to balance financial statements, but management wasn't able to provide a basis for the entry. Operating expenses were overstated by $1,268,205, or 75 percent of the final audited balances. Beginning balances were misstated by $89,893, even though the state controller provided management the correct amount.Auditors also said GTP management failed to fully cooperate with the audit process. Specifically, it failed to provide all financial statements until Feb. 14, 2019, 146 days later than promised. Release of the audit report was delayed because management didn't respond to auditors' repeated communications. Management also failed to inform auditors that Thomas resigned.As a result of the poor management, the auditors concluded information about the authority's financial condition is misleading and that fraud could occur and go undetected.The audit report included a response from GTP Interim Executive Director Richard Barkes and Chairman David Howard. They concurred with Wood's findings and recommendations for better management and board oversight.While leading the GTP, Thomas posted regularly on his Instagram account, including photos from domestic and overseas trips he took to Las Vegas, Thailand, and England, among other places. It's unclear if he paid for this travel with GTP funds.The 3rd District seat became open after the death of Rep. Walter Jones. Thomas served as mayor of Greenville from 2011 to July 2017, when he joined the GTP staff. Thomas didn't respond to aemail request for comment on the audit.The TransPark is administratively housed in the N.C. Department of Transportation.
Western Carolina University students gather to watch the August 2017 'super eclipse.' (Photo from WCU Flickr account)

Kelli Brown

The University of North Carolina System Board of Governors on Thursday, April 25, named Kelli Brown chancellor of Western Carolina University. Brown's appointment comes after a search - which at one point became contentious - that lasted nearly a year.The position came open June 17 after David Belcher, a leader well-liked by many in the University of North Carolina community, died after a two-year battle with brain cancer. The search hit a roadblock July 12, when the board failed to vote on a candidate appointed by then UNC President Margaret Spellings. BOG members spent about two hours in closed session, and raised voices could be heard outside the room. No vote was taken, and an undisclosed chancellor candidate withdrew from consideration a few days later.Lou Bissette, the board's former chairman, said board member Tom Fetzer was largely responsible for the disruption, thesaid in a story. Email records obtained byshow Fetzer hired an outside firm to investigate Spellings' candidate after reviewing the appointee's CV.The UNC BOG restarted the search process after the tumult.Thursday, the BOG met in Chapel Hill to vote on Interim UNC President Bill Roper's recommendation for Brown to serve as the next WCU chancellor. Most of the meeting was held in closed session, and a vote was held with no open discussion from the board.Roper said in a news release after the vote.UNC BOG Chairman Harry Smith had similar praise for Brown.Smith said.Brown has an extensive resume, participating in several professional health education organizations and community health outreach projects. She holds a doctorate in education from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, master's and bachelor's degrees from the University of Toledo, and an associate degree in dental hygiene from Michael J. Owens Technical College in Ohio.Brown currently serves as provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at Georgia College and State University . During her time at GCSU, Brown revitalized the Center for Student Success and helped increase the four-year graduation rate by 25%. Brown got her start at GCSU as a professor in the School of Health and Human Performance in June 2013.In July 2016, Brown served as interim president of Valdosta State University before returning to her position at GCSU in January 2017.said Patricia Kaemmerling, chair of the WCU Board of Trustees and co-chair of the university's chancellor search committee.Brown will start no later than July 1, 2019, and will receive an initial annual salary of $325,000. WCU will provide her a home in Cullowhee and will reimburse all reasonable moving expenses.
Good teaching is vital for college students to learn, but the work demands on professors and what type of work is actually rewarded means that teaching can be of secondary importance.To keep teaching quality high, the University of North Carolina system tries to recognize great teaching.For 25 years, the UNC system has given the Awards for Excellence in Teaching to reward teachers who improve teaching on UNC campuses. This year, 17 faculty members (one at each UNC system school) received the award and a $12,500 prize to encourage good teaching.UNC Board of Governors chair Harry Smith said in a press release.It's easier to evaluate a professor on their research output or time spent doing service work for their department. But knowing what makes a good teacher is more complicated. As colleges will get the results that they measure, encouraging professors to improve their teaching skills can become only words if schools don't find ways to reward good teaching. The UNC teaching award is one way of ensuring teaching isn't ignored.Each school called a special committee to nominate professors, and the UNC Board of Governors then selected the winners. It's not clear, however, what the criteria were for selecting professors. Knowing how the committees chose professors would be helpful. If they rely on student evaluations, for instance, it could mean the awards favor professors who are entertaining over professors who make students work harder to learn more and get an "A."For the most part, the award-winners had high praise for their schools.Scott Laird, an instructor of the humanities at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, said in an email.Laird is representative of the professors who responded to Martin Center inquiries.David Wilson-Okamura, an English professor at East Carolina University, said in an email.Dianne Welsh, the Hayes distinguished professor of entrepreneurship at UNC-Greensboro, said in an email.Multiple professors also mentioned the importance of young professors finding teaching mentors on campus.Patrick Rand, a distinguished professor of architecture at North Carolina State University, said in an email.Without strong mentors, it's harder for professors to adjust to a new university, even when students are similar from one school to another.said Johnathan Livingston, a professor of psychology at North Carolina Central University.Good teachers also inspire students to choose an academic career.Livingston said, who attended UNC-Asheville as an undergraduate.Some award-winners also expressed concerns about time demands on professors and the next generation.Welsh said.The demands of teaching, research, and service all compete for an academic's time. John Ziker, an anthropologist at Boise State University, conducted a study in 2013 on how BSU faculty spent their time: He found that they worked 61 hours per week, with 40 percent of their time spent on teaching activities and about 20 percent spent on research.Ziker wrote, as professors did more research on the weekends and more administrative, service, and other university duties during the weekday.Since Ziker's study, he's measured BSU faculty time use twice and found similar results.he said in an email.Though the struggle for professors' time is often presented as between research and teaching, it's not always the only-or main-battle.Wilson-Okamura said. Service can mean drafting and revising policies and curricula, assessing student and research outcomes, personnel work, and "playing defense" against administrative proposals, among other duties.As more is expected of professors, their working hours creep up.Rand said of his personal experiences.Administrative supportRand added, which means that professors are doing work once done by administrators. The growth in administrators tends to be in student affairs or other non-academic areas of a college, rather than in support staff for professors.Rand said.This "more economical" attitude extends to the use of adjunct professors. Though the reliance on adjuncts has leveled off in recent years, professors still worry about its effects.Wilson-Okamura said.At NC Central, Livingston said fewer adjuncts are around than before, partially from Central hiring more faculty.he said.Entry into the professoriate is also more difficult than a generation ago in many fields. The quality of research expected, and its quantity, has crept higher and higher. Sociology, for instance, has doubled its publishing expectations for new professors.For research, though, some colleges may be shifting their expectations. Welsh at UNC-Greensboro mentioned a $5,000 bounty for research published in high-quality journals. And at BSU, Ziker said his department is revising policy to emphasize research quality and instead of the number of published articles or books. Though the changes are anecdotal and not systematic, they show that some colleges are aware of faculty concerns.College administrators can address faculty concerns by taking their teaching experiences into account and going beyond teaching awards for a few faculty members. Offering resources and teacher training on campus, like UNC-Greensboro and Winston-Salem State, can show faculty that the school cares about teaching beyond its mottos in faculty manuals and pamphlets for prospective students.Livingston said. It attracted him to an academic career and, if the UNC system listens to its award-winners, UNC can learn how to attract its next crop of professors, too.
Nursing professor Amanda Laughlin presents Haley Whitener with the Award for Outstanding Leadership.

Nursing professor Amanda Laughlin presents Tony Jordan with the Katie Paul Award for Clinical Excellence.

Nursing professor Amanda Laughlin presents Haley Whitener received the Award for Highest GPA.

Nursing professor Amanda Laughlin presents Sara Alston with the Award for Overall Nursing Student.

Jamie Hauser is pinned by nursing professor Molly Wells.

Tony Jordan is pinned by nursing professor Molly Wells.

Evan King is pinned by nursing professor Molly Wells.

Haley Whitener is pinned by nursing professor Molly Wells.

Attila Nemecz

Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator

Beaufort County Community College

5337 U.S. Highway 264 East

Washington, N.C. 27889

Ph : 252-940-6387

: 252-940-6387 Cell : 252-940-8672

: 252-940-8672 attila.nemecz@beaufortccc.edu

Beaufort County Community College congratulates the 37 students who graduated from the Associate Degree Nursing program on May 10. The families and supporters of the graduates packed the Harvest Church. The ceremony precedes the main commencement exercise, and it has been a tradition of the nursing program since its inception.The graduates finished a five-semester program, including clinical experience in nursing homes, hospitals and other healthcare agencies. Clinical rotations can involve 12-hour shifts, on top of studying for exams and taking classes. Students are trained in general nursing, long-term care, home health, medical surgical nursing, and intermediate and intensive care.Of the graduating class seven where members of Gamma Beta Phi, the honor society at BCCC, and 27 were part of the Beaufort County Association of Nursing Students (BCANS), a professional organization that also gives back to the community through service projects. These commitments, in addition to the long hours of study and clinical rotations, show the dedication of this class to their community and profession.A number of students have pushed through personal challenges, deaths in the family and one childbirth. Some of the students are returning for a second degree, already having cycled through one career. Five of the students were part of TRiO Student Support Services, a program to help first-generation college students to succeed.Graduates Sara Alston and Connor Gurkin share lessons learned, anecdotes about their faculty and the struggles and triumphs, both shared and personal, they went through to get to through the program.Kent Dickerson, director of the nursing program, asked all the people in the audience who helped with paying bills, babysitting and emotional support to stand. Much of the crowd ended up standing. Dickerson iterated that in a similar way, the graduates will not only deal with the patients, but their families. Nurses set the tone for interactions between the family and the hospital.ADN instructor Amanda Laughlin gave out awards to the graduating class. She presented Haley Whitener with both the Outstanding Academic Performance Award and the Award for Outstanding Leadership. Sara Alston received the Outstanding Nursing Student Award, and Tony Jordan received the Katie Paul Award for Clinical Excellence.Molly Wells, ADN instructor, presented the DAISY in Training Awards to graduates for their delivery of clinical care in an extraordinary and compassionate way to patients and their families as they are learning. Presented through the DAISY Foundation, and in collaboration with Vidant Health, these students get hand-carved stone sculptures that represent healing and have their name placed on a national list of recipients. Wells presented Tony Jordan and Cecilia Claudio with the awards.Students graduating from the program must pass the nursing board exam before being employed. Four of the graduates are part of the Regionally Increasing Baccalaureate Nurses (RIBN) program where they will receive their Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree one year after receiving their ADN. The RIBN program seeks to increase the number of nurses with four-year degrees across the state.These graduates will fill high-demand positions regionally with hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities, in fact almost all of them have secured positions, some with as many as three job offers. BCCC congratulates them and thanks them for their commitment to the health of our community.
Have Sheriff Offices in North Carolina, possibly even Beaufort County's Sheriff Office, become too political in the discharging of their sworn constitutional duties?

No, the sheriff is a constitutional officer.

Yes, the Sheriff Office, on strong occasion, often reverts back to political patronage in the dispensation of their sworn constitutional duties.
In a culinary academy in Florence, I asked an architect-turned-chef-turned-restaurateur about the passions that had changed her life: How did she know that she was choosing the right one?

Ah, signora, she replied. We do not choose our passion. Passion chooses us.

I understood. Italy chose me.

More than thirty years ago, shivering in a frigid Swiss station after a talk in Gstaad, I impetuously headed south to a sun-kissed country Id never visited. I had no reservations, no itinerary, no inkling of what I might discover. The last thing I expected was to fall in lovebut I did.

Day by day, sometimes hour by hour, Italy seduced me with tastes, sounds, scents, and sensations Id never encountered before. At first, Italys symphony of chaos simply swept over me. As I returned year after year, Italy tugged me deeper into its explosive energy. Without realizing exactly how, I became appassionata, a word that dates back to the fourteenth century and translates as swept away by passion.

A few years ago I set off to discover the sources and secrets of la passione italiana, travelling north to the Dolomites and south to Sicily, from Sardinias rugged western coast to Venices labyrinth of canals. My explorations inspired La Passione: How Italy Seduced the World, a portrait more of a spirit than a nation.

Italians, born to the peal of church bells and the bite of pasta al dente (literally to the tooth), inhabit a more complex and confounding country than the one Ive come to love. But my perspective enables me to notice what they may take for granted. In Parma, at the end of an interview with a young man named Stefano in  of all places his familys prosciutto processing plant, my guide, who had been listening nearby, walked over and hugged me. A bit taken aback by this unexpected gesture, I looked at him quizzically.

La nostra bellezza! (Our beauty!), he exclaimed. You have seen what we cannot see because we live inside it. The things we Italians do yes, its work, but you realize that what gives it meaning is passion. You didnt ask Stefano what he does but what it means to him. And maybe for the first time in his life, he recognized that what he feels for this place, for this work, is passion.

La passione italiana, I discovered, sprouts in all sorts of places, including crowded airports. In several I came across grand pianosat first, I assumed only for display. Then I read the sign perched atop one: Suonami! (Play me!). Passengers, pausing as they slogged to and from airline gates, did just that.

While waiting for a flight from Rome to Palermo, I listened to a young girl tentatively finger the melody of Volare. Two teenagers giggled through a fast-paced pop song. Then a wiry, curly-haired man in his thirties stopped, took off his jacket, sat down, and launched into a sonata that stopped passersby in their tracks. Eyes closed, fingers never slowing, oblivious to flight announcements and the gathering crowd, he played with utter concentration, his music echoing through the crowded terminal.

I didnt recognize the piece, but I knew what I was hearing: la passione italiana. And once again I was swept away.

This post is adapted from LA PASSIONE: How Italy Seduced the World. Dianne Hales is also the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the Worlds Most Enchanting Language and MONA LISA: A Life Discovered. For more information, visit diannehales.com.
Text messages came in almost as quickly as cars passed in a driving simulator at Skyview High on Friday.

Students, wheel in one hand, phone in the other, scrambled to respond, much less keep up with reading the stream of notifications. Their digital cars wobbled across the road on a video screen; when a program leader flipped a switch for drunken-driving mode, it didn't take long for most kids to end up in a ditch.

Skyview hosted the "Save a Life Tour" on Friday. In addition to the simulator, students heard from speakers about the importance and consequences of their behavior behind the wheel.

Part of the inspiration is rooted in a fatal wreck in the Billings' Heights last year that killed a 20-year-old woman and severely injured a 16-year-old. Police cited alcohol and speed as likely factors in the crash.

"We want to be proactive for the rest of our student body," special education teacher Jessica Bulluck said.
When I was in third grade she was a teacher of mine. I was so saddened, and I thought there have to be other students who feel this way and will be heartbroken by this, Ferris said.

On Sunday, May 19, Ferris is hosting the Let There Be Music, event at the 307 Bar and Grill from 2 to 5 p.m. The fundraising event will have live music, a silent auction and a donation jar.

The two highlights of the silent auction are a Yogo Sapphire necklace, donated by Montana Gem in Columbus, and a baby grand piano from the Rex Hotel donated by owners Nicki and Rick Larson.

"I was really hoping that we might get somebody from Billings that has fond memories of the piano," Ferris said. "Thats kind of a slice of Billings Americana."

The piano won't be taken to the auction, but will be delivered to the buyer later, Ferris said.

Late in the week, Ferris was still accepting donations for the silent auction, and there were still slots available for local musicians. There will be live music for the event, and 10% of total sales at 307 Bar and Grill for the day will be donated to the fund.
This is great news for American ranchers and exporters who now have full access to the Japanese market for their high-quality, safe, wholesome, and delicious U.S. beef, Perdue said. We are hopeful that Japans decision will help lead other markets around the world toward science-based policies.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that this expanded access could increase U.S. beef and beef product exports to Japan by up to $200 million annually. The agreement is also an important step in normalizing trade with Japan, as Japan further aligns its import requirements with international standards for bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

The North Dakota Stockmen's Association cheered the news.

This is fantastic news for the U.S. beef industry and cattle ranchers across the country. The expanded access is expected to increase U.S. beef exports to Japan by up to $200 million a year. Equally important, it knocks down a substantial nonscience-based trade barrier that has restricted opportunities for U.S. cattlemen and women and sends the message to other U.S. trading partners that they should do the same," said North Dakota Stockmens Association president and McVille, North Dakota, cow-calf producer Dan Rorvig.
On the issue of bison reintroduction on BLM land, the draft alternative noted, If public lands are proposed for bison restoration, the BLM would work closely with the State of Montana through the BLMs established planning processes. Any consideration of placing wild bison on BLM-administered lands would also include full involvement by tribal and local governments and the public.

Although that type of action may be far in the future, the agency is processing a request from the American Prairie Reserve to modify grazing permits on BLM lands by removing interior fencing to allow its bison herd to roam. No decision on that request has yet been made, although the Montana Legislature passed a resolution urging the Department of Interior to deny the request.

In its draft proposal, the BLM specifically addresses the issue writing: Privately owned bison are considered livestock and, as such can be permitted by the BLM. The primary test in making this distinction is whether the owner of the animals qualifies as an applicant under the requirements of the grazing regulations. The grazing regulations define qualified applicants and apply equally to all qualified applicants, regardless of the class of livestock. Privately owned bison may be authorized to graze under the regulations, provided it is consistent with multiple-use objectives. As with other classes of livestock, bison may be permitted to graze where environmental review indicates no conflict with resource objectives or attainment of Standards for Rangeland Health.
North Dakota lawmakers this year made changes to how school districts are funded that could have positive and negative impacts on schools.

School districts receive state funding each year through a formula, which takes into account student enrollment and other factors. The formula includes a per-pupil payment, or a designated amount of money per student.

Districts receive their per-pupil payments based on their previous year's enrollment. This means growing districts such as Mandan, which gained nearly 200 students this year, don't see funding for additional students until the following school year.

The way school districts are paid has been criticized by some lawmakers and Gov. Doug Burgum. Hence why lawmakers passed an expansive education funding bill this year that makes a number of changes.

The first change was a proposal Burgum introduced in his executive budget: to move districts to on-time funding, or have them receive per-pupil payments based on their current enrollment.

Burgum also proposed increasing the per-pupil payment by 2% in each year of the 2019-21 biennium. Lawmakers agreed to this proposal, increasing the per-pupil payment, which has remained flat over the past three years, to $9,839 this upcoming school year, and $10,036 for the 2020-21 year.

As for on-time funding, lawmakers declined to make the switch completely, citing the high price to do this.

"It was mostly the cost," said Sen. Donald Schaible, R-Mott, who was chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

Schaible said the Senate, which wanted to switch to full on-time funding in the second year of the biennium, agreed to compromise with the House and instead go to 50% on-time funding starting in 2020-21.

This means districts that gain students that year will get a 50% per-pupil payment. Lawmakers also approved to increase it by 10% annually until it reaches 100%.

In a meeting with the Tribune editorial board earlier this month, Burgum and Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford were critical of the partial move to on-time funding.

"We feel like that's a miss or a partial victory," Sanford said. "We feel it was a slow walk that could've been done right away and would've really helped those areas that are growing."

Burgum also said the switch to half on-time funding won't completely help burgeoning districts in the west and could harm workforce recruiting.

"Someone may not even make their way to Williston to talk to a Realtor, because if they Google online and see elementary kids in temporary trailers and 35 kids in a class, that may be all they need to know," Burgum said.

Creating equity

In 2013, North Dakota lawmakers implemented a new K-12 funding formula tied to the cost of providing an adequate education, which is funded by a combination of state and local taxes.

Added to the formula in 2013 was a "hold harmless" clause, which protects smaller districts that are losing students. Basically, districts with declining enrollments are given the option to continue to get the per-pupil payment they received in 2012-13, or switch to the formula  whichever amount is higher.

This year, the Legislature changed that aid baseline from the 2012-13 level to the 2017-18 level, which is $9,646 per student. Districts will still be able to choose whether to stay at the baseline amount or switch to the formula.

Lawmakers decided this year that districts not on the formula will continue to be able to select from the higher amount, but will see a gradual reduction to the baseline funding over the next three years.

This change has raised questions as to how these smaller school districts with stagnant or declining enrollment will be affected.

"(On-time funding is) a huge infusion of money for (growing) districts," said Sen. Erin Oban, D-Bismarck. "On the flip side, there are going to be districts that this is going to be a challenge for."

Of the 176 operating school districts in North Dakota, about 80 are not on the formula, according to Dale Wetzel, a spokesman for the Department of Public Instruction.

The education funding formula is complicated, and this year state lawmakers also passed legislation for a mandatory interim study of the formula as a whole.

Rep. Mark Owens, R-Grand Forks, who was chairman of the House Education Committee, conceded there are some issues with formula that have gone unaddressed since 2013, and have caused inequity among the schools.

"We have to adjust that," he said.

Oban said she agrees with the gradual decrease in baseline funding for small districts not on the formula, as it will "help take some of that sting out." Though she would rather switch to on-time funding right away for school districts gaining students, including hers in Bismarck, she doesn't want to harm other small school districts.

"How do you help some and hurt others, when the whole goal (of the formula) was to create equity?" she said.

Lawmakers' decision to move closer toward on-time funding, and effectively get all districts on the formula, will have to be discussed at the local level, she said.

"It won't force any closures, but it will make people discuss, 'Can our property taxpayers sustain what we're going to have to contribute to keep a school in our town?'" she said.

Impact on Bismarck, Mandan schools

Bismarck and Mandan public schools will benefit from the move to partial on-time funding.

Darin Scherr, business and operations manager for Bismarck Public Schools, said the district could stand to see about $1 million more a year if the switch is made completely to on-time funding. This factors in the district's three-year average gain of 50 to 70 students, he said.

"We're very appreciative of what the Legislature did this session for us," Scherr said. "Would we have liked (on-time funding) this year and 100%? Yes, but sometimes it takes time with budgets to be able to afford some things."

Mandan superintendent Mike Bitz said he's "happy" lawmakers agreed to move toward on-time funding. His district has had to deficit spend in recent years in response to stagnant per-pupil payments, so he welcomes the yearly 2% increase in those payments, as well.

"I think on-time (funding) is important, especially when you gain a large number of students. You have to provide for them and hire staff for them, so if you can get the money upfront, it certainly is helpful," he said.

State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler said she's pleased that lawmakers decided to boost funding to public schools, but hopes they continue to probe the merits of on-time funding.

"We really need to seize the opportunities in good times to make sure that our rapidly enrolling school districts really are being funded with on-time funding," Baesler said.

Mandatory study of education funding formula

State lawmakers passed legislation mandating a study of the education funding formula.

An Education Funding Formula Review Committee will study the formula, including "the components, adjustments and weighting factors." The committee will include the chairpersons of the House and Senate education committees, as well as a bipartisan group of three senators and three representatives familiar with the formula.

Schaible, who was chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said he's hopeful the study will "look at the whole gamut" of how changes to the formula impact small and large schools, as well as provides for all students across the state.

"We're on the path to get everybody on the formula, but are there some more tweaks that we need to do to help kids?" he said.

Reach Blair Emerson at 701-250-8251 or Blair.Emerson@bismarcktribune.com.

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WASHINGTON  Bogged down in a sprawling trade dispute with U.S. rival China, President Donald Trump took steps Friday to ease tensions with America's allies  lifting import taxes on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum and delaying auto tariffs that would have hurt Japan and Europe.

By removing the metals tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Trump cleared a key roadblock to a North American trade pact his team negotiated last year. As part of Friday's arrangement, the Canadians and Mexicans agreed to scrap retaliatory tariffs they had imposed on U.S. goods.

"I'm pleased to announce that we've just reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico, and we'll be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs, or major tariffs," Trump said in a speech to the National Association of Realtors.

In a joint statement, the U.S. and Canada said they would work to prevent cheap imports of steel and aluminum from entering North America. The provision appeared to target China, which has long been accused of flooding world markets with subsidized metal, driving down world prices and hurting U.S. producers. The countries could also reimpose the tariffs if they faced a "surge" in steel or aluminum imports.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said the removal of the tariffs was "encouraging news for the North Dakota industries who felt the pain of these tariffs and an important step towards approving USMCA."

"The threat of limited market access and greater uncertainty caused by these tariffs, enacted during USMCA negotiations, will no longer be a concern," he said. "If approved, this trade agreement is a resounding win for North Dakota, which exported nearly $5 billion in goods to Canada and Mexico last year; the deal includes fixes to grain grading for our farmers, and automotive and machinery provisions that will help our manufacturing workforce."

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said he appreciated that the Trump administration heeded calls to lift those tariffs.

Lifting the steel and aluminum tariffs is important both for manufacturers and for our agriculture producers who were impacted by increased prices and retaliatory tariffs, said Hoeven. This action will be helpful in our continued efforts to move the USMCA through Congress. Our farmers and ranchers ultimately need better trade deals, and its important that we finalize this agreement.

In Washington, some were urging Trump to take advantage of the truce with U.S. allies to get even tougher with China.

"China is our adversary," said Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. "Canada and Mexico are our friends. The president is right to increase pressure on China for their espionage, their theft of intellectual property, and their hostility toward the rule of law. The president is also right to be deescalating tension with our North American allies."

Earlier Friday, the White House said Trump is delaying for six months any decision to slap tariffs on foreign cars, a move that would have hit Japan and the Europe especially hard.

Trump still is hoping to use the threat of auto tariffs to pressure Japan and the European Union into making concessions in ongoing trade talks. "If agreements are not reached within 180 days, the president will determine whether and what further action needs to be taken," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

In imposing the metals tariffs and threatening the ones on autos, the president was relying on a rarely used weapon in the U.S. trade war arsenal  Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962  which lets the president impose tariffs on imports if the Commerce Department deems them a threat to national security.

But the steel and aluminum tariffs were also designed to coerce Canada and Mexico into agreeing to a rewrite of North American free trade pact. In fact, the Canadians and Mexicans did go along last year with a revamped regional trade deal that was to Trump's liking. But the administration had refused to lift the taxes on their metals coming into the United States until Friday.

The new trade deal  the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement  needs approval from legislatures in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Several key U.S. lawmakers were threatening to reject the pact unless the tariffs were removed. And Canada had suggested it wouldn't ratify any deal with tariffs still in place.

Thomas Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the lifting of the tariffs "will bring immediate relief to American farmers and manufacturers. Critically, this action delivers a welcome burst of momentum for the USMCA in Congress."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau credited his government for holding out to get the tariffs removed.

"We stayed strong," he said. "That's what workers asked for. These tariffs didn't make sense around national security. They were hurting Canadian consumers, Canadian workers and American consumers and American workers."

Trump had faced a Saturday deadline to decide what to do about the auto tariffs.

Taxing auto tariffs would mark a major escalation in Trump's aggressive trade policies and likely would meet resistance in Congress. The United States last year imported $192 billion worth of passenger vehicles and $159 billion in auto parts.

"I have serious questions about the legitimacy of using national security as a basis to impose tariffs on cars and car parts," Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement Friday. He's working on legislation to scale back the president's authority to impose national security tariffs under Section 232.

In a statement, the White House said that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has determined that imported vehicles and parts are a threat to national security. Trump deferred action on tariffs for 180 days to give negotiators time to work out deals but threatened them if talks break down.

In justifying tariffs for national security reasons, Commerce found that the U.S. industrial base depends on technology developed by American-owned auto companies to maintain U.S. military superiority. Because of rising imports of autos and parts over the past 30 years, the market share of U.S.-owned automakers has fallen. That has caused a lag in research and development spending which is "weakening innovation and, accordingly, threatening to impair our national security," the statement said.

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Seven Democratic presidential candidates gathered on national television early in the 1988 campaign to debate each other.

The field of candidates, derided by Republicans as the Seven Dwarfs, pales in comparison to the 24 Democratic candidates who have  at last count  declared their candidacy for president.

The seven Democrats on the stage in 1988 represented an unprecedented number of candidates vying in a presidential primary. Now, 17 of the 24 declared Democratic presidential candidates have currently met the standards set by the Democratic National Committee to qualify for participation in this election cycles debates.

And in 2016 the GOP used two debate stages to accommodate the 17 declared candidates.

I study political parties and their role in electoral politics. And I believe the rise in the number of presidential candidates in recent years results from divisions within the party coalitions and from easier access to vital campaign resources  money and media  that were not present in previous election cycles.

The old way

Political parties are not monolithic organizations. Parties consist of a network of groups with different policy interests who work together.

For example, within the Democratic Party there are labor organizations, environmentalists and civil rights groups, each with different priorities. Each group would ideally prefer a candidate who will champion their ideas and strongly support their policy preferences.

But a primary filled with many candidates who attack one another risks harming the eventual nominees standing with voters.

Likewise, these divisive primaries may cause supporters of a candidate who fails to win the nomination to withhold their support of the nominee.

So to avoid the problems created by a divisive primary, these groups must coordinate behind a single candidate who may not be everyones  or anyones  first choice.

This requires the groups within the party to compromise, subordinating their groups interests in favor of a win for the party.

In previous election cycles, where the average number of candidates who declared their candidacy and campaigned actively through the first primaries and caucuses was much smaller, these groups have worked together effectively to stand behind one candidate.

Money, media and staff

As my research shows, unified parties are able to discourage candidates from running or encourage them to drop out.

They do this by making it difficult for the candidates they dont prefer to acquire the vital electoral resources that are necessary to win the nomination: media coverage, campaign funds and quality campaign staff.

Donors, staff and the media take cues from party elites about which candidates are the partys choice. They are less likely to support, work for or cover those lacking the partys support.

Reforms to the presidential nomination process in the early 1970s took choosing a nominee out of smoke-filled back rooms. But parties have continued to influence the outcome through their control of the money and other campaign resources necessary to win the nomination.

While these resources are available in abundance within the party network, they were previously harder to find outside of that network. In previous years, candidates who realized it would be hard to amass the necessary resources through party support ultimately declined to run or dropped out quickly, resulting in much smaller presidential fields.

Declining party influence

In recent years, things have changed.

Parties may still have the ability to push a candidate through the nomination when they are united. But I believe party unification and power over electoral resources has also declined in these four areas:

1. Media control

In the past, candidates were reliant on the media to publicize their candidacy and get their message to voters. Party leaders and elites consistently have better connections with the media establishment and use those connections to promote preferred candidates.

But todays media environment allows candidates to bring their message directly to voters. Social media bypasses reporters and editors and those who have connections to them so more candidates have easier access to this key campaign resource.

2. Candidate ambitions

Before, running for president was almost entirely about advancing ones political career. As Paul Tsongas, the former senator and presidential candidate, once said, When you get to the Senate, half the people around you are running for president. You see them and you think you are just as good as they are  So you start to think about running yourself.

Now, a run for higher office can be a means to other opportunities outside of politics. Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, a presidential candidate in 2016 and 2012, became a pundit on CNN. Another candidate, the GOPs 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, ended up with a show on cable news.

While parties still pressure candidates to withdraw, candidates may be less responsive than in the past. Thats because they care less about the desires of party elites since they may not be as interested in a career in party politics.

3. Fundraising

Changes in campaign finance have also helped candidates find sufficient money outside of the party network to launch their campaign.

The rise of super PACs and other independent political entities has allowed candidates to gain access to large sums of money from a small number of donors. Campaign finance rules previously encouraged candidates to rely on a larger base of wealthy donors  many of whom took cues from party elites.

At the same time, the internet and social media have also expanded the role of small donors who are not traditionally involved in party politics. Small dollar donations have taken a more important role in campaign funding.

4. Party disunity

Lastly, party coalitions have also become more divided.

Divisions within the Republican Party coalition became more evident during the Tea Party movement. Similar ideological divisions have emerged in the last two election cycles between Democratic Party leaders and the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party. The rise of differences and divisions within the parties makes it harder for the groups within the party network to coordinate on a single candidate.

Here to stay

While the number of candidates running for president in 2020 may be unprecedented, a crowded debate stage is unlikely to be a strange sight in the future.

The divisions within parties and the availability of money and media coverage outside of the traditional party network mean that potential candidates will continue to see  and take  opportunities where previously they did not.

___

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Pangea was founded by Al Goldstein, a Deutsche Bank investment banker who quit to found a massive, intercontinental payday lending outfit; he tapped the investors that he enriched with his payday lending business to stake him $180 million and bought up thousands of low-rent buildings in Chicago's poorest neighborhoods (which are also Chicago's blackest neighborhoods).



Pangea took over buildings (some of them derelict and abandoned or squatted) and renovated them, and rented them out, becoming the city's largest landlord and collecting many public accolades for their work in helping Chicago's affordable housing crisis.

But on the way, Pangea also reinvented how tenants get evicted in Chicago, taking eviction from a rarity in the city to a commonplace occurrence, inventing a playbook for rapid evictions that other landlords are now following, creating an epidemic of evictions in a city where eviction was once unheard-of.





A very long, in-depth report in the Chicago Reader investigates the conditions in Pangea rental units, and finds many tenants who have complaints about substandard maintenance, including problems with mold, asbestos, toilets, power, etc, as well as a bewildering array of fees levied against them (along with surprise rent-hikes). Tenants struggle to get justice, not least because Pangea owns its buildings through thousands of shell companies that trade the titles around between them, making it hard to name the right owner in court filings.





The business has grown by 13,323% since its founding, with annual revenues of $113m.





Pangea's eviction playbook involves dragging tenants in arrears into court  Chicago's eviction courts are incredibly stilted and one-sided and don't even keep transcripts of hearings to be used in appeals  and then getting them to sign paperwork saying they'll pay high fees and penalties as well as paying back-rent, paperwork that also makes tenants surrender their right to legal remedies for the hazardous conditions in their homes.





Illinois has a large pool of "homelessness prevention grants" that could save tenants facing evictions from Pangea, but Pangea will not accept these grants (according to a nonprofit that administers these grants, Pangea is the only landlord in the city that won't accept them). Pangea doesn't fully explain why they won't accept these grants, but they do say that they won't accept money that "restrict our legal remedies or rights under the terms of the rental agreement"  and to get the grants, Pangea would have to suspend their eviction proceedings, which would allow tenants to retain the right to demand working heat, toilets and water, as well as mold abatement and other basic maintenance.

Getting evicted is a lifelong trauma: financially distressed tenants don't just lose their homes and their possessions, but they also face penalties everywhere else they rent, with higher security deposits and fewer options for every other lease they sign. That's one of the reasons Chicago took so many measures to prevent evictions, which worked until Pangea figured out how to get aroudn them.

Meanwhile, Chicago's eviction courts remain a shambles: no record-keeping, a 60% eviction rate for tenants, and no legal representation for the majority of tenants facing evictions.





In theory, Chicago tenants have access to an alternative system, mediation via the the Center for Conflict Resolution, which routinely mediates eviction disputes with the majority ending in agreements that are fulfilled by both parties. But Chicago eviction courts do not inform tenants of their right to access this system, and so they go through the courts, lose their homes, and are cursed by the stain of an eviction forever.



The building in Austin where Eyevie McHenry lived had a lot of problems. Department of Buildings records indicate tenants complained about leaky ceilings, mice, roaches, and bedbugs once Pangea took over in 2015. When the Reader visited her in early March last year, McHenry, 30, was heating her one-bedroom apartment with the stove because the radiator wasn't working and her maintenance calls had gone unanswered. She'd lived there for nearly a year with her fiance and their small scruffy dog, but they hadn't bothered to get much furniture for fear of the mice eating through it. Squeals from inside the walls periodically interrupted our interview. Despite these conditionsand despite the fact that they regularly heard gunshots outsidethe rent was $850. Not long after they moved in, in May 2017, her fiance lost his job. Unable to pay rent in one lump sum, they'd bring the company a few hundred dollars at a timethough they knew they accrued nearly $30 in late fees every month they didn't pay in full. For three months Pangea took the partial payments. McHenry showed the Reader the receipts they got from the company and said they were never told making partial payments put them at risk of eviction. By her calculation she only owed Pangea $100 at the beginning of September. But when she went to the office the property manager couldn't accept paymentthe company had filed for eviction. In court Pangea's lawyers offered a pay-and-stay deal: she could stay in the apartment in exchange for sticking to a payment plan for her arrears and the ongoing monthly rent; if she didn't make her payments she agreed to an eviction judgment without a trial. Court records filed by Pangea indicate that on November 16 McHenry made a $1,000 down payment toward her nearly $3,000 debt (which included $400 in court costs Pangea passes on to tenants when making such deals). Going forward, she agreed to pay $930 for rent on the first of the month and $323 toward her debt on the 15th of every month. The deal seemed unfairespecially since her rent had been $80 lower until thenbut McHenry didn't have a lawyer and said she didn't know she could negotiate.

Pangea has taken thousands to eviction court. The story of an apartment empire [Maya Dukmasova/Chicago Reader]





(Thanks, Anon Reader!)

(Image: Mr.TinDC, CC-BY)


In 2014, Quentin Tarantino sued Gawker for publishing a link to a leaked pre-release screener of his movie "The Hateful Eight." The ensuing court-case revealed that the screeners Tarantino's company had released had some forensic "traitor tracing" features to enable them to track down the identities of people who leaked copies.



Working from court records, as well as documents from the North Korea/Sony hack, a patent lawsuit against Tarantino's forensics company, and the forensic company's own patent filings, Matthew Fuller and Nikita Mazurov do an incredible job of sleuthing to uncover the interior, technical workings of the secretive world of digital copyright-enforcement forensics.

The paper itself is published in the journal Theory, Culture and Society and frames the investigation in the context of cultural studies. It begins with a lot of theory that I found to be quite a struggle, but the technical detail (which is on pages 9-18) is really fascinating.

Fuller and Mazurov use their technical analysis to make some notes towards a "counter-forensics" of techniques that would defeat the traitor-tracing measures.





This reminds me of the work Ed Felten and co did on SDMI more than a decade ago, in which they presented the general hypothesis that watermarks could be robust (hard to remove) or imperceptible (not so obtrusive as to wreck the user's enjoyment) but not both. If a watermark adds no perceptible data to the signal, then it can be removed with no perceptible loss  and since you can compare two or more copies of a work to find the watermarks, it's never that hard to find the marks in order to remove them.



Recalling that Deluxe's 'SecureCinema Digital Screener Platform' presentation mentions that its FCT watermarking technology is patented, a search was performed to identify possible patents and patent applications filed by Deluxe or its subsidiaries. Two relevant patents were found during this discovery stage. The first patent application submitted, filed in 2003 and published in 2005, appears to discuss the aforementioned standard mode of coded symbol-based visual water-marking, a method for incorporating into film frames 'images or patterns that appear as unobtrusive defects or artifacts', specifically constituting 'a pattern of small, unobtrusive specks'. However, as the Deluxe presentation explicitly stated that 'no visual artifacts are added to picture', it would seem that this was an early prototyping of Deluxe's watermarking technique, as opposed to a mechanism currently in use, at least under the FCT banner. A patent filed in 2004 and published in 2006 and reissued in 2015, proposes a video watermarking scheme in which objects in a given frame are themselves augmented, wherein '[i]tis preferred to do this by enlarging an image slightly so that one or more edges of the image is moved relative to the same edge in the video master'. Given that this technique is in accord with the dictum that no visual artifacts are added to the video, as only existent images are manipulated, it would thus seem that this patent is that covering the 'FCT Film' components of Deluxe's FCT watermarking schema.Recalling the mention of the server name in the sample Web Watch report, the patent further notes that the altered (watermarked) video is stored on a given 'modification' server after it is encoded and water-marked from the master copy on the master server. Thus, the aforementioned server name in the Web Watch report may presumably identify which modification server the given copy of the film was stored on.A second patent, filed in 2007 and issued in 2008, deals with the 'FCT Sound' component of Deluxe's watermarking scheme and proposes a method for watermarking audio tracks notvia the addition of extraneous audio artifacts, but via the removal of existent ones. Specifically, 'the analog soundtrack is altered by selectively muting portions of the analog soundtrack at the selected location for the insertion of the identifiable code'. Whilst the patent literature is thus more explanatory than Deluxe's official web-facing material and news sources, more explication still maybe found in legal proceedings. In 2010, the Swiss company Medien Patent Verwaltung AG filed a complaint in US courts stating that Deluxe had infringed on its (American) anti-piracy watermarking patent, alleging that Deluxe had manufactured film prints which employed Medien's anti-piracy techniques. Amongst other documents Deluxe filed a reply memorandum contesting Medien's claims which was in turn denied by the court , centering around the fact that since its audio water-marking system functioned around the subtraction of information not its addition, that its own patent did not infringe upon Medien's patent which only discussed 'markings', not their removal. During the course of the various court dockets, however, Deluxe divulged further information about the inner workings of its FCT sound watermarking procedure, including sample images of water-marked film prints with portions of the film's audio track being obfuscated to create 'mutes or micro-second cancellations' . In another court docket Deluxe crucially revealed that '[i]mportantly, these codes are hidden in sound effects so that they are not noticeable to the audience'). The information extracted from these legal proceedings reveals that the FCT sound watermarks operate via the deletion of micro-second durations of parts of a film's audiotrack, and may likely occur during sound effects in the soundtrack, so as to attempt to mask their perceptibility.



A Counter-Forensic Audit Trail:Disassembling the Case of The Hateful Eight [Matthew Fuller and Nikita Mazurov/Theory, Culture and Society]





(Thanks, Matthew!)
News / National

by Staff reporter

A 29-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday after he was found in possession of dynamites and various other explosives at a roadblock along the Harare-Beitbridge Highway in Bubi.Godknows Nkomo is still assisting police with investigations while his accomplice is still at large after disappearing at the roadblock.The duo was travelling in a Toyota Granvia.The incident occurred at around 9:40pm and it is suspected that they wanted to smuggle the explosives to South Africa.National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident."Police officers at a security roadblock at the 209km peg stopped a Toyota Granvia and one of the occupants excused himself and disappeared. Police then searched the vehicle and recovered seven dynamites, 275 capped fuses, four rolls of nylon coated detonating cables that were stashed in a sack, a small bag and a satchel," he said.Ass Comm Nyathi said after being questioned, all the occupants in the vehicle indicated that the person who disappeared was the owner of the explosives.Investigations carried out led to the arrest of Nkomo who was still in the vehicle.In another related incident, police in Norton have also arrested six men for illegal possession and transportation of explosives."The incident occurred on 11th May 2019 along the Harare-Bulawayo Road near Norton, the suspects' car was searched by police officers and they found 29 emulite explosives and loose dagga."Explosives are dangerous and should be handled with care by people who are properly licenced to do so," said Asst Comm Nyathi.The two incidents come after a Zimbabwean woman was recently arrested while smuggling an assortment of explosives into South Africa through Beitbridge Border Post.The woman has since appeared in court and denied bail by a Musina Magistrate.Linda Katiyo (38) was arrested by Musina police on April 28 at 8am during routine border searches.South Police Services (SAPS) Limpopo province spokesperson Constable Maphure Manamela said the accused was remanded in custody to May 21 pending further police investigations.She said Katiyo, who was travelling in a bus from Zimbabwe, was arrested during routine police operations at the border."The bus that she was travelling in had just crossed over when it was directed to the searching bay for inspection."During the search, two hundred units of Superpower 90 Blasting cartridges were recovered in her luggage wrapped inside plastic bags."The origin and destination of these explosives will be determined by the ongoing police investigations. Police investigations are still continuing," said Cst Manamela.Meanwhile, police in Beitbridge have arrested a Revival Bus Crew who were travelling from South Africa en-route to Bulawayo after a contraband of dagga was discovered in the luggage compartment of the bus.The incident occurred on May 11 at the Beitbridge Border Post.When the bus was searched, police recovered a blue 25 litre container with 936 twists of dagga and four paperbags with loose dagga.
News / National

by ZimLive

The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), which announced rolling power cuts early this week, is owed millions of dollars by top government officials.Reduced electricity production at the Kariba Power Station owing to low water levels at Lake Kariba has seen ZESA introduce a load shedding programme, with households and companies going for as many as eight hours without power in a day.ZESA is too broke to import power to cover the shortfall from regional countries as it owes Mozambique's Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa and South Africa's Eskom a combined US$80 million.The power utility's problems are being compounded by top government officials who have neglected to pay their electricity bills.The latest official to be dragged to court is Local Government Minister July Moyo, who owes ZESA subsidiary, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) $414,775 in unpaid electricity bills.ZETDC is suing Moyo at the High Court claiming payment of the outstanding amount after efforts to compel him to pay through letters of demand failed."The defendant (Moyo) is indebted/liable to the plaintiff (ZETDC) as at May 6, 2019, in the sum of $414,775.79 being charges in respect of power/electricity supplied by the plaintiff to the defendant at the latter's special request and instance in terms of the running electricity supply contract between the two, for account number 2346569," the power utility said in its declaration.He is not the only one targeted in ZESA's new push to force political leaders and big businesses to pay up.Former foreign minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi is also at the High Court, accused of failing to settle a $273,150 bill for his Pandamantenka farm in Kwekwe.Former deputy police commissioner Innocent Matibiri is being pursued over a $167,000 debtRedwing Mine in Mutare is being sued over a $3.2 million debt, while Metallon Gold owes $9.3 million, according to ZETDC.Meanwhile, ZESA says it is trying to mobilise funds to settle its debt with regional suppliers to boost imports.ZESA currently imports 50MW from South Africa and up to 100MW from Mozambique, but can access up to 450MW from the two regional power utilities if it extinguishes its arrears.ZESA spokesperson Fullard Gwasira said: "As a result of an outstanding payment, the two countries Mozambique and South Africa have reduced exports from their respective utilities to 50MW and 100MW until their arrears have been cleared."
News / National

by Staff reporter

THREE police officers who used a service pistol to rob a Chipinge farmer of his household property following a failed macadamia nuts deal have been hauled before the courts on robbery charges.The trio - Alex Shati (32), Innocent Masimba (27) and Cedrick Godknows Singo (26) - were charged for contravening Section 126(1) (a) of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23.They were denied bail and advised to make an application at the High Court since they were facing a Third Schedule offence.The suspects are all stationed at Chipinge Rural Police.Shati resides at Number 1456 Gaza , Masimba stays at Number 401 Medium Density while Singo resides at Number 242 Medium Density in Chipinge.The court heard that on April 6 this year at around 7am the suspects met the complainant, Richard Ngadziore (27), who resides at Buzi Tea Estate in Chipinge.They met the complainant at GP Filling Station in Chipinge and gave him $360 and R800 for him to buy and supply them with 600kg of Macadamia nuts within three days after receiving the cash.On April 18 the complainant advised Shati through a text message that the nuts he had bought were stolen from the bush. Shati demanded back his money with an interest.The court heard that on May 4, the three suspects, acting in common purpose, teamed up and went to the complainant's house.Upon arrival they knocked at his door and woke him up in the presence of his wife, Memory Mhianga.Shati then produced a pistol and pointed it at the complainant demanding his money back.Masimba started assaulting the complainant with open hands. Shati then produced some papers and forced the complainant to append some signatures.The complainant's mother, Maria Maguuya was forced to witness the signing of the papers. Singo took some chains and then handcuffed the complainant.The suspects then took the complainant's property which included radio speakers, memory cards, auxiliary cables and a solar panel which they removed from the roof.Shati ordered the complainant to carry one of the speakers to their motor vehicle which was parked at Simango's Plot Number 11.The suspects then drove the complainant to Junction Gate Township and later released him without his property.As a result of the assault the complainant sustained some injuries on his ear.On May 9 the three suspects were arrested by detectives from Chipinge.Shati voluntarily led the detectives to the recovery of the stolen property from his residence at House Number 1456 Gaza Township.Value of the stolen property is $350.The cops are denying the charges.They are ever denying robbing the complainant as alleged. Shati insists that he lent some money to the complainant who was in a dire financial crisis.The complainant was supposed to repay the money in three days but he failed to do so and became evasive.To set off the debt the complainant offered his property.
News / National

by Mandla Ndlovu

MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has welcomed the proposal by South African Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mphakama Mbete who said the SADC region is ready to provide a facilitator for the National Dialogue.Mbete was speaking at the National Dialogue launch on Friday.Said Chamsia, "We welcome the wise words by the South African Ambassador Mphakama Mbete. He said: the national dialogue must be inclusive and participatory take into account the views of all Zimbabweans.We restate that dialogue can't be credible when it ignores the views of 2,6m votersMbete had told the gathering that, "If necessary for credibility, the leadership of Zimbabwe wishes to consider a facilitator from outside Zimbabwe, we as a region will be ready to propose names from the African Continent."Chamisa added that Zimbabwe's crisis was political and not legally."Zimbabwe's crisis is political. We haven't had genuine and true political settlement since the days of Lancaster, Unity accord and GPA GNU. Deceptive, manipulative politics upon fake dialogue is the source of all our national discohesion. This breeds false, disputed & rigged processes," he said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Zimbabwe's anti-corruption drive this week suffered a big blow after the southern African nation dropped three places to position 160 out 180 rated on the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI).According to the latest CPI for 2018 which was released this week, Zimbabwe remains on the tail-end of tackling corruption despite renewed government efforts to fight graft both in the public and private sectors.The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people. It uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. More than two-thirds of countries, according to the report scored below 50 on this year's index, with an average of just 43. Zimbabwe scored 22."Corruption is much more likely to flourish where democratic foundations are weak and, as we have seen in many countries, where undemocratic and populist politicians can use it to their advantage," said Delia Ferreira Rubio, Transparency International chairperson.The Transparency International report was released two days after President Emmerson Mnangagwa criticised Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi for the lethargic pace in dealing with corruption cases. "The Minister of Justice, who also chair the inter-ministerial taskforce in Parliament is relaxing; don't relax," Mnangagwa said."I am disappointed that corruption cases are not moving. I implore all those who play a mammoth role in dealing with corruption cases to remain steadfast and deal with the cases."After being appointed in 2017, Mnangagwa set up a special prosecution unit under his office to deal with graft which often been cited as endemic in most government departments. Critics say high levels of corruption have also scared away investors.This report also comes at a time the Zimbabwe National Road Administration has been rocked by a series of scandals that prejudiced the state-owned agency of millions of dollars. Several officials have since been brought before the courts in connection with the graft cases.Two years ago the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI)'s Zimbabwe Corruption in Business Survey revealed that the police and the then State Procurement Board were the most corrupt institutions in the country while the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority also made it to the hall of shame as the third most corrupt.First launched in 1995, the corruption perceptions index has been widely credited with putting the issue of corruption on the international policy agenda.The global watchdog has over the years ranked Zimbabwe among the most corrupt countries.
News / National

by Daniel Itai

The recent fifth South African national and provincial elections were certified free and fair by the local and foreign observers but they were not without their critics.27 political parties lobbied various number of lawsuits against the Independent Electoral Commission which were quickly shoved down the drain by the electoral board for lacking substantial evidence.However, Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) recently confirmed that they were some irregularities with the elections especially with the issue of double voting regardless of the findings, StatsSA said that the findings were not an issue of concern as far as the results' outcome was concerned.Although the 27 parties were smacked in the face it seems as if they were up to something.The presidential inauguration is expected to be held at the Loftus Versveld Stadium in Pretoria on the 25th of May which many ANC fanatics are looking forward to.Although it will be a time of merry, in the Eastern Cape where the ANC seemed to have won resoundingly, there is a small area which is called Makhanda which is going through a severe drought.The presidential inauguration is expected to cost 100 million Rand and on the other side of the country, the people of Makhanda are in need of only 30 million Rand to help them go through this horrendous period.Though other South Africans will be trying to figure out how to quench their thirst, Ramaphosa and his calibre will be popping champagnes and sipping on whiskey.Same like the ZANU-PF mantra as if it's not enough, the people implicated in the state capture shenanigans are already making their way to the parliament regardless of the daunting evidence that came out of the Zondo Commission last year and earlier this year.The likes of Nomvula Mokonyane the former minister of water and sanitation, Bathabile Dlamini the former minister of social development, Malusi Gigaba the former minister of finance as well as home affairs and Mosebenzi Zwane the former minister of mineral resources are already in transit to the National Assembly regardless of playing in the murky waters.It also seems the ANC will continue running South Africa not only for now but for decades to come as this is the mantra of revolutionary parties in Africa.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Areas of patchy fog early. Cloudy early with partial sunshine expected late. High 78F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear during the evening followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 64F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has confirmed that it will be drawing US$500 million on Monday to supply the interbank forex market.The interbank market has for the past few weeks not been all that active as firms found it difficult to access hard cash from the banks.The move has had negative implications on the ability of several firms to stabilise prices on the back of soaring parallel market rates.However, RBZ Governor, Dr John Mangudya revealed in a statement on Saturday that US$ 500 million forex package for the interbank will be availed on Monday."Government through the RBZ is drawing down US$500 million on Monday, 20 May 2019, to supply the interbank forex market to meet the forex payment requirements of business and individuals. This amount shall go a long way to stabilise the exchange rates and prices of goods and services in the economy," said Dr Mangudya.According to the central bank, commodities such as gold, platinum, chrome, diamonds and nickel account for more than 60 percent of foreign exchange inflows against an excess demand of forex by industries and firms.
News / National

by SAfm

A shoot-out ensued between the police and the suspects at the scene where the money was to be handed over.Eastern Cape police have rescued Mthatha businessman from five days of captivity at the hands of his alleged kidnapper's. They demanded a ransom of one-million rand from the family and threatened to kill him within two days.A shoot-out ensued between the police and the suspects at the scene where the money was to be handed over. One suspect, a Zimbabwe national, died on the scene. Two others have been arrested."Today, police went to the scene where they said they want to meet with the police to give them money. They fired some shots to the police and then one of the guys died. He is a Zimbabwean and the arrested man is a Zimbabwean guy and the other one is from Libode. We would like to thank the community of Ngqwarha for assisting us in arresting these suspects as they tried to escape the arrest," says Dineo Koena who is the Police spokesperson.Family spokesperson and business partner, Sizwe Kupelo says they were losing hope daily when the death threats from the kidnappers intensified."It has been a week of hell, a very traumatic week being threatened almost on daily basis, having to raise a huge amount of money because they demanded a ransom. We had to raise a million rand within a week. They gave us only two days on the first day and we bought time. It was even worse yesterday because we were ready to give them money with the help of the SAPS of this country, they became very aggressive," says Kupelo.
Opinion / Columnist

On 8 November 1978, at the age of 61 years Chief Khayisa Ndiweni, formed the United National Federal Party (UNFP), as a break away from the Zimbabwe United Peoples Organization (ZUPO), a political party formed by the joint Council of Chiefs of Mthwakazi and Zimbabwe, which was led by Chief Chirawu as the President of the Council of Chiefs, the Vice President Chief Khayisa Ndiweni became its Vice President.ZUPO had been formed on the bases of equal representation for the two Territories. The joint Council of the Chiefs of both Zimbabwe and Mthwakazi had approved that each Territory shall be divided into eight regions to be used as election constituencies and ensure local representation in any future elections. ZUPO pledged itself to select candidates in each region from amongst the local people. The candidates will have to be locally known and respected persons, familiar with the particular constituency's life and problems. This was the first political party in Southern Rhodesia to recognize the different Territories which have their natural rights to be represented by their own trusted and elected representatives.During the formation of the Zimbabwe-Rhodesia government under the 3 March 1978 agreement, the Executive Council of four (EXCO), which formed the presidency happened to have one white and three Zimbabweans with no Mthwakazi representative, and the Ministerial Council lacked equal representation.In September 1978, ZUPO changed its original Policy of Equal Representatation. Its National Executive without the participation of the Mthwakazi Chiefs held a meeting and resolved that the country shall be divided into four regions, three of which to report to Salisbury (Harare in Zimbabwe) the forth was to report at Bulawayo, in Mthwakazi. When the internal settlement was formed, MaShonaland region got represented by Chief Chirawu, Manicaland by Bishop Muzorewa and Victoria region by Ndabaningi Sithole in the ESCO that formed the collective presidency with Ian Douglas Smith representing the whites. All the three regions happened to form one country, Zimbabwe. Mthwakazi was not represented in the Council of Four. The Cabinet which made all the decisions was also dominated by the Zimbabwe Ministers, with only four Mthwakazians out of 18 Ministers.Later on in 1979, when the Lancaster House Constitution was made, the four provinces of the internal settlement were styled the electoral colleges and each of the three Zimbabwe regions was allocated 20 seats making a total of 60 seats, against 20 seats allocated to Mthwakazi. Re-Awakening of the abolition of the Rule by ConquestIn May 1978, the Mthwakazi chiefs felt uneasy and held a meeting at Ntabazinduna and resolved that the Executive Council be enlarged by another member to include a representative of Mthwakazi. The request never materialized. At a further meeting the chiefs charged Chief Khayisa Ndiweni with the formation of a political party, the policy of which should be aimed to ensure that any future government will be based on the principle of non-domination.On 8 November Chief Khayisa resigned from his posts both in the Transitional Government and in ZUPO. On 16 November, he announced the UNFP which advocated and ensured that any future system of government will be based on the principle of non-domination. The UNFP decided that the only solution which could save Rhodesia from a complete break up and could secure unity was the establishment of federation of the two Territories. Chief Chirawu and the National Executive of ZUPO accused Chief Khayisa of tribalism for demanding equal representation for his Territory, while they practiced not just tribalism, but sheer nepotism. The UNFP had limited funds, but relied on the solution that it offered to the nation which was just and sensible. It urged its supporters to spread the Party's message and distribute its printed policies. However it was soon overshadowed by the Patriotic Front War Lords and failed to gain strength after the decolonization of Zimbabwe, and the subsequent transfer of the racial domination by the tribal domination of Mthwakazi.However the vision of non domination remained living within the Inter-Cultural Society of Mthwakazi, until after the Gukurahundi Genocide, when its victims and survivors started to re-initiate it. That came as the birth of many small organizations which advocated for the abolition of the Rule by Conquest and the automatic restoration of the Kingdom of Mthwakazi, and subsequently the union of the victims and survivors became the nucleus of U-Mhlahlo we Sizwe sikaMthwakazi on 11 June 2006. U-Mhlahlo is walking on the footsteps of the founders of the UNFP and carrying forward their unfulfilled mission.
Opinion / Columnist

There is little doubt that the recent garbled, inane vitriol against Chief Ndiweni, emanated from the office of the Zimbabwean President. Rarely does one find such a match between messenger and message as was discernible from simply watching the body gestures of one of the two frontmen chosen to courier the incoherent disjointed allegations accompanied by direct threats against Chief Ndiweni.What was that nincompoop talking about when referring to the "tribe that is supposed to be taking the chieftainship"? What does he know about the institution of chieftainship in Matebeleland and how succession issues are conducted?Whatever happened to the conventional wisdom of not opening one's mouth until the brain was in gear?The way the issue of Chief Ndiweni is being handled bears all the hallmarks of the modus operandi of the Zanu regime. No space for reasoned arguments based on facts but instil fear and stifle any mature, fact based idea exchanges. This has always been the disdainful way Zanu has always treated people of Matebeleland. There are no depths of depravity these people will not sink to.The threats against Chief Ndiweni carried the hallmarks of what the Islamists call a fatwa, that is declaring open season for any malefactors intent on harming or even eliminating anyone who dares to stand up and call out the odious regime for what it is.Perhaps an unintended consequence has been to starkly expose the fallacy that Zimbabwe can ever be a one nation state. The values and basic tenets of the two main cultures are of such a disparate nature that attempting to mould them together is simply futile. One cannot weld iron to a stone or mould barbarism and gentry into a one phase mix.Build a palace for a hog and all it will do will simply mess all over the refinery!In one of the two cultures chieftainship means an elevated position for self-aggrandisement and enrichment. Thus, in that culture chiefs exist to praise-sing for the bounty that comes from utter subservience, even to a devilish regime such as what has been inflicted on the Zimbabwean people for coming close to forty years now.In Ndebele culture the raison d' etre of a Chief is as custodian of all that the people hold dear. The Chief exists for his people, does all he can to safeguard the people's beliefs, hopes and aspirations. Even though a named individual holds the position, chieftainship is an institution and any pronouncements by whoever is Chief are a collective view of the people's wishes.What is perhaps even more worrying is the mooted response from the plethora of parties and media houses, mostly led and populated by non-Ndebele people to what by any standards, was a barbaric physical attack on Chief Ndiweni.Ah, de javu! Did we not see a similar response to the Gukurahundi genocide? Gukurahundi genocide which was happening directly under everybody's noses? In any decent and cultured population, the profanity visited on Chief Ndiweni would have met with universal condemnation. But almost all non-Ndebele media outlets saw no evil, heard no evil. Mum is the word. It is partly this myopic tribal partisanship which will ensure that any attempts at moulding a one nation state in Zimbabwe remains forever stillborn. The best that they could do was spew vitriol against the Chief and attempt to distort history, the chief culprits being the Herald and Chronicle. They attempted to divert the people's anger by accusing the Chief of self-staging the assault incident and they even went to the extent of saying that Chiefs were/are chosen by spirit mediums, this is alien to the Ndebele culture, chiefs were chosen by the King with the help of other chiefs after someone had shown gallant deeds in the life of the nation e.g military prowess.The Bambanani Association, which in its small way wishes to conscientise the people of Matebeleland, wherever they are in the world of the importance of the critical role of culture in defining identity and self-worth. We stand firmly with our Chief, Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni in his stand for national respectability and values. Bayethe wena ka Mkheswa!
Opinion / Columnist

The tragedy in Zimbabwe is that those who can least afford it have again and again been forced to subsidise the filthy rich. One prime example is Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube's 2% tax on all electronic transactions aim at roping in the country's 90% unemployed who are not paying any PAYE tax. Most of these people ilk a living as street vendors earning as little as US$30 or less a month in a country with a poverty datum line measured at US$650 per month.Minister Ncube was not content the vendors pay sells tax, council rates and other indirect charges such as ZESA bills, water bills, etc. even when these services have not been provided; fixed charges are payable regardless of power or water cut. The transaction tax was to ensure government took another cut from the vendors' meagre earning!It is no secrete that country's filthy rich ruling elite are earning millions of dollars from their generous salaries and allowances, wholesale looting of the nation's resources, etc. and they are not paying any income taxes and have often got away with not paying their regular bills. Minister Mthuli Ncube did not even make an effort to get these people to pay their fair share of the tax, he went for the soft target - the impoverished majority.ZESA has an impressive list of Zanu-PF ruling elite and associates who have not been paying their electricity bills.Local Government Minister, July Moyo $414,775Former foreign minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi $273,150Former deputy police commissioner Innocent Matibiri $167,000Redwing Mine in Mutare $3,200,000Metallon Gold $9,300,000Zimbabwe has struggled to meet the country's growing demand for electricity fuelled by the Zanu-PF government's lopsided policies. The regime was obsessed with connecting more and more people to the grid, great for grabbing headlines and winning cheap popularism; whilst doing nothing to increase generation capacity to meet the increased demand. Zimbabwe has failed to maintain the generation stations it inherited from Ian Smith in 1980 much less invest in building new generation plant.Zimbabwe has relied more and more on imported electricity to augment its inadequate generation. The country has not paid its electricity bills for the imports for various reasons including wrong electricity tariffs, the criminal waste of money due to corruption and mismanagement in ZESA and the filthy rich not paying their electricity bills. The countries that have sold electricity to Zimbabwe have reduced the imports for none-payment of existing debts."ZESA currently imports 50MW from South Africa and up to 100MW from Mozambique, but can access up to 450MW from the two regional power utilities if it extinguishes its arrears," reported Bulawayo24.com.Thank God Mozambique and SA have not decided to switch off the supply; things would be a lot worse for Zimbabwe. As it is Zimbabwe is having a rolling 10 hours electricity power cuts which affect both domestic and industrial consumers alike.So Zimbabwe is in this difficult situation of having to import electricity because the country failed to invest in local generation plant. The country is failing to pay for the imported power because it is not earning enough foreign currency to pay for the imported power because it the country killed off local production reducing its foreign currency earning and having to import even those goods it should be producing locally.If ZESA supplied the 300MW, balance of the potential imported power, at cost to consumers who pay their bills, prompt without failure, and the money is ring-fence to pay for the imported power; Zimbabwe will be importing the full 450MW right now!"The defendant (Moyo) is indebted/liable to the plaintiff (ZESA) as at May 6, 2019, in the sum of $414,775.79 being charges in respect of power/electricity supplied by the plaintiff to the defendant at the latter's special request and instance in terms of the running electricity supply contract between the two, for account number 2346569," the power utility said in its High Court declaration.It is intolerable that impoverish Zimbabweans should subsidise the July Moyo's of this world but why should impoverished South Africans and Mozambicans be collared to do the same! ZESA's load shedding is collective punishment of all Zimbabwe electricity consumers for the sins of the few filthy rich ruling elite ZESA did not have the guts to punish for failing to pay their bills!
2 provinces with deepest ties are Alberta and B.C., according to report

From migration to trade, Alberta and B.C. have possibly the closest relationship of any two provinces in the nation, according to the Business Council of British Columbia.

In an update to a 2017 report, the council shows the two provinces are deeply connected and economically dependent despite heated rhetoric over pipelines and warnings of "turning off the taps" that have threatened to sour the relationship.

"We exported $9 billion worth of services to Alberta and $6.9 billion of goods. This means B.C.'s merchandise exports to Alberta exceeded the value of its goods exports to China ($5.7 billion) in the same year," reads the report.

"In 2015, Alberta exported $6.9 billion worth of goods to B.C. Its exports of services to B.C. amounted to $7.4 billion in the same year. As such, Alberta's goods exports to B.C. significantly exceeded its goods exports to all of Asia in 2015."

More trade than to Asia

B.C. exports more goods and services to Alberta than to any other province, while B.C. ranks as Alberta's second-largest export market after Ontario, according to the report.

Alberta is also dependent on its neighbour for shipping goods to Asia.

"Last year, it exported more than $5 billion in goods to China, $2 billion to Japan, and another $1 billion to other Asian countries," according to the report.

"Nearly all of these Alberta goods destined for offshore markets are shipped through British Columbia ports."

That movement of goods benefited the B.C. economy as well, the authors note.

"Interestingly interprovincial trade kind of flows below the radar and doesn't always get a lot of attention and it's surprising that our trading relationship in many ways is more significant than our international exports," said report author Ken Peacock.

Movement of people

It's not just dollars and cents that bind the two western provinces, whose relationship has been tested of late by battles over the flow of oil to the coast.

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B.C. and Alberta show the highest levels of bilateral migration between any two provinces in Canada.

"Much of this movement is motivated by employment opportunities and differing labour market environments, but housing costs, lifestyle choices, companies transferring employees and family considerations are also factors that influence interprovincial flows," reads the report.

Over the past 10 years, more than 225,000 people from B.C. have moved to Alberta, while almost 253,000 Albertans moved the other way.

"In many respects, the B.C. and Alberta labour markets function as a broader western Canadian labour market," according to the council. "Much of the interprovincial migration reflects people moving for employment and career reasons."

He says it's important for policymakers to keep these facts in mind at a time when politics and pipelines are hurting the relationship.

Free trade area

The report concludes with the observation that B.C. and Alberta "pioneered" the elimination of trade barriers between provinces  although some barriers remain  with the creation of the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement, which paved the way for the New West Partnership.

That latter deal now envelops B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba and aims to create a single, free market in the West.

B.C. and Alberta are also two of the most prosperous areas of Canada, leading average GDP growth over the past 10 years.
'It's everything we've always asked for': Steel and aluminum industries welcome end of tariffs

Representatives from Canada's steel and aluminum industries welcomed news on Friday that the government has struck a deal with the U.S. that will bring an end to tariffs on the two metals when they are exported to America.

"It's everything we've always asked for," said Jean Simard, spokesperson for the Aluminum Association of Canada, in a phone interview.

"We are very happy with what we know has been agreed to which is a total repeal of tariffs without any quotas," he said. "We think it's a great victory for Canada, for the industry and the North American industry as a whole."

On Friday afternoon, the two countries put out a joint press release announcing the end of the tariffs within 48 hours, an end to WTO disputes between themselves on the issue, and an agreement to work together to monitor whether or not other countries are trying to flood the market with cheaper alternatives.

"This decision reflects what is known to be true by friends on both sides of the border: Canada has been America's most steadfast ally for more than a hundred years, and our long-standing partnership and closely linked economies make us more competitive around the world and improve our combined security," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters at a news conference at a steel plant in Hamilton on Friday.

"With this decision, Canadian and American businesses can get back to what they do best, working constructively together to the benefit of our economies, our people, and our communities."

No quotas

There had been some concern from both industries that a possible solution to the impasse might include quotas, which would mean that Canadian product could be shipped to the U.S. free of surcharges, but total amounts would be capped.

The agreement laid out Friday makes no mention of that, which is great news, according to Ken Neumann, the national director for Canada at the United Steelworkers union.

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"There's no quotas imposed whatsoever, which was one of the things that had been contemplated, [so] we are very pleased with that," he said in an interview.

Neumann said his organization is pleased with the agreement, but the government needs to do more to protect Canada's domestic steel industry from cheap imported steel.

Other countries do a lot more to protect foreign suppliers from flooding domestic markets with cheaper steel, so Canada's lack of action on the matter makes the industry vulnerable.

"I am a bit concerned by that position because there is overcapacity of steel and aluminum around the world and if Canada hasn't protected itself and if you're one of those countries that has overcapacity and is looking for a home, Canada becomes a big target."

The U.S. targeted Canada in the first place because it alleged it was effectively being used as a back door by other countries to get their excess steel into the U.S., first by getting it into Canada and then into the U.S. by exploiting the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"Canada was never ever the problem," Neumann said. "We've had a trading relationship for decades and we have an integrated market  this was just so wrongheaded from so many angles."

Neumann added that 600 members of his union were given layoff notices in the past year because of the tariffs. He's hopeful that many of those jobs can now be saved as companies feel confident to spend and invest in Canada.

The group that represents Canada's steel industry also welcomed the news.

"It's a good day for the industry and our employees," said Catherine Cobden, president of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, in an interview with CBC News.

She added that the ten months of tariffs was an "unsustainable" situation that never should have happened. She welcomed Friday's news because "it will return us to free and unencumbered trade with the U.S."
VENTURA, Calif. (AP)  Team Bahrain-Merida spent most of the fifth stage at the Tour of California at the front of the peloton, setting a hard pace but leaving nobody quite sure what their end-game might be.

Turns out it was Ivan Garcia Cortina.

The 23-year-old Spanish cyclist moved to the front after the final couple of solo attacks were reeled in by the rest of the field, then sprinted ahead of Maximiliano Richeze and Sergio Higuita to win a stage Thursday that was racked by brutal crosswinds of up to 45 mph near the finish.

Tejay van Garderen finished safely in the main field to retain the overall race lead.

"It was really windy for us," he said. "We survived OK. The team kept me safe, kept the breakaway in check and we were able to survive another day."

In the women's race, which began with an out-and-back ride to Ventura, reigning Olympic champion Anna van der Breggen got loose in the final couple miles to win the opening stage.

After a chaotic and controversial fourth stage, when crashes near the finish put the overall lead in the hands of the race jury, the fifth stage of the men's race was relatively straightforward.

The opening breakaway covered most of the lumpy, 136-mile run from Pismo Beach before it was brought back in the closing miles. Tim Declercq gave it a solo shot with about 6 miles to go, building a substantial lead, but he was swept up on the final climb before the finish.

Former overall winner George Bennett also attacked on the windy run-in, but the group came together for the final mile and it was Cortina who got to the front to win the bunch sprint.

"The team had full confidence in me," said Cortina, who got his first WorldTour win after several close calls last season. "I was thinking about, if I can give 200 percent I can win."

Richeze followed across for Deceuninck-Quick Step, which had won each of the previous three stages with different riders. Higuita rounded out the podium for EF Education First, which did a masterful job of controlling the race and keeping van Garderen in the yellow jersey.

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"It was just a really fast day," said van Garderen, whose lead dropped to four seconds over Kasper Asgreen and six over Gianni Moscon heading into the tour's penultimate day.

Van der Breggen will have the yellow jersey for Stage 2 of the women's race after the world champ, fresh off her victory at La Fleche Wallonne, showed veteran patience all afternoon.

Olga Zabelinskaya tried to attack late in the race, and Lizzie Deignan soon joined her in the pursuit. But the duo was caught as the field approached the same finish as the men, and van der Breggen surged ahead to seize control of the race she won two years ago.

"The team performed well," said Danny Stam, the manager of van der Breggen's powerful Boels-Dolmans team. "Katie (Hall) attacked after 53 kilometers (33 miles), causing the break. After that we brought back the leader just in time for Anna to place her final attack. She brought home the victory."

Elisa Balsamo took second place and Arlenis Sierra rounded out the podium.

Now comes the crucial stage for both the men and women.

The sixth stage for the men Friday takes riders just 79 miles, but it includes the torturous climb up Mt. Baldy, where the overall race is likely to be decided. Some sections of the climb reach a grade of 16%, eclipsing even some of the steepest European climbs.

The women also will trek through the San Gabriel Mountains before ending up at Mt. Baldy, where defending race winner Katie Hall will stretch her climbing legs in an attempt to win again.

"The feeling in our team, the mood is really good," van Garderen said. "We have three riders in the race still with the potential to win on Baldy, we're super confident that we have the strongest team here and I think in our mind we're still playing for the victory."

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Photo credit: Iconic - Getty Images

From ELLE

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas reunited in Cannes today as Chopra continues her first visit to the Cannes Film Festival ever. The actress is in the French city to promote documentary film 5B, which is about the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco.

She and Jonas were shot walking around the city in the afternoon, both coordinating in light blue and white. Chopra was in a gorgeous blue dress with a white belt and hat, while Jonas complemented her in a cream two-piece suit and a pale blue top with white sneakers.

Photo credit: Iconic - Getty Images

The two were shot being affectionate, with Chopra and Jonas holding each other's hand as they walked around town and being generally handsy. When in France and in love...

Photo credit: Iconic - Getty Images

Chopra made her red carpet debut solo yesterday. The actress stepped out during the Rocketman premiere red carpet, wearing a stunning Roberto Cavalli dress with Chopard jewels. It's not clear yet whether Jonas and Chopra will be on the red carpet together tonight. If they do go together, it would be a big moment for them as a couple: their first Cannes premiere ever together.

Photo credit: George Pimentel - Getty Images

Chopra gave a brief interview to Page Six yesterday, where she talked about married life and why she doesn't ask her new sister-in-law Sophie Turner for Game of Thrones spoilers. Being married to Jonas, its so different. I love it, Chopra said.

As for why she doesn't ask the real-life Sansa what her fate on Game of Thrones is, Chopra explained she empathizes with Turner's situation. Im an actor, I understand the stress around it, she said. Ive never asked, because I wouldnt want to put her in that position.

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The elimination of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum is great news for Saskatchewan companies such as Evraz Regina, says the president of the United Steel Workers local that represents workers at the steel company.

Mike Day said he's hopeful some of the product lines that have been hampered by the tariffs will soon benefit from the deal and see an increase in production.

On Friday, Canada and the U.S. agreed to end the nearly year-long tariff war between the two countries.

Mark Blinch/Reuters

The deal applies to tariffs the U.S. imposed last June, citing national security  25 per cent on imports of steel and 10 per cent on aluminum  as well as Canada's retaliatory tariffs on steel, aluminum and other consumer products.

As part of the deal, the Trudeau government has agreed to end its legal case against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization on the tariffs.

The deal also includes a monitoring system to watch out for any potential surges in the metals markets.

Day said members of the union are especially pleased the deal doesn't include quotas  which could limit how much steel Canada can export to the U.S.

"I'm still shocked that there is no quota system," Day said. "We'd spoken with [Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia] Freeland back in October and she told us they weren't going to accept a quota system. We didn't want one and there isn't one so it is very, very good."

Federal minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale held a news conference at the Evraz office to talk to reporters about the breakthrough.

Goodale, who represents Regina-Wascana and is the lone Liberal MP in Saskatchewan, said he's happy to see the two countries reach an agreement.

He added the problems with the steel market was not really between the U.S. and Canada.

CBC News

It's other countries that are dumping steel into North America which are to blame, he said.

"That is the primary source of the difficulty," Goodale said. "Not the trade between Canada and the United States, but the product that comes in offshore that's unfairly subsidized or dumped into the North American market."

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Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who will be in Washington, D.C., next week, said the agreement will be good for the province.

"The removal of tariffs from our steel and aluminum products is a good step in strengthening jobs and economic growth, and removes barriers to Canada's relationship with our most significant trading partner," Moe said Friday in a press release.

"Canada's steel is among the most sustainably produced in the world, and we in Saskatchewan are proud that our steel products are an integral part of so many industries across North America," said Moe, who will be in Washington, D.C., next week for talks with U.S. politicians.
FILE - In this June 5, 2018, file photo, Beckie Scott speaks at a news conference following the World Anti-Doping Agency's first Global Athlete Forum in Calgary, Alberta. A law firm found no evidence that WADA members bullied Scott, though it concluded that one members comments to her could be viewed as aggressive, harsh or disrespectful. WADA released a 58-page report Wednesday night, May 15, 2019, that was conducted to determine whether Scott, the Canadian Olympic champion, was bullied at a contentious meeting last September when officials lifted the suspension of Russias anti-doping agency over her protest. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

MONTREAL (AP)  The culture of bullying and harassment collided with the Olympic universe after two strong-voiced women in the World Anti-Doping Agency received back-to-back rejections over the span of 48 hours.

Among conclusions from an investigation into one of those episodes was that WADA leaders need to undergo mandatory training "to help sensitize members as to how culture and gender differences and perceptions can affect communication."

That recommendation came as part of a 58-page report into athletes' chair Beckie Scott's allegations of bullying. The report, delivered to the WADA foundation board Thursday, offered the latest illustration of how the largely white, largely male Olympic aristocracy can come off as tone-deaf and not fully aware of the needs of athletes and others in the movement.

"I think this experience really shows why people don't come forward," Scott told The Associated Press, referencing the longstanding problem of getting whistleblowers to feel comfortable standing up to help catch cheaters.

The report came out a day after Norway's Linda Helleland, the most outspoken pro-athlete candidate in the race to replace Craig Reedie as WADA president, was left off the ballot in favor of two men in an election ultimately won by Poland's Witold Banka.

"I think people who are outspoken and want change within WADA all experience the same thing," Helleland told AP. "I'm worried for the future of WADA because we don't have the balance when it comes to diversity of people. I think too many people who want to see changes ... they just disappear."

Reedie didn't agree with the notion that WADA has a culture problem, or doesn't listen to dissenting views. He blamed the tensions of the past two years on the "huge pressures that came from the Russian saga," referring to allegations of state-sponsored doping by Russia at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

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"That caused healthy debate within, particularly, the WADA executive committee," Reedie said. "But I don't think there's any culture at all of continued disagreement of one group against another group."

According to this week's report, delivered by the law firm Covington and Burling LLP, Scott was not subjected to bullying or harassment during a contentious meeting last September, even though Francesco Ricci Bitti, an IOC member who also serves on WADA's executive committee, directed behavior toward her that could be viewed as "aggressive, harsh or disrespectful."

Some were skeptical of that conclusion.

"I hope it's not the case that the new standard of behavior for this organization is one that can be 'aggressive, harsh or disrespectful,' as long as it doesn't reach the threshold of bullying," said Clayton Cosgrove, New Zealand's representative on WADA's foundation board. "But that's the finding ... and I've not seen any official apology on behalf of the organization for that."

One of the IOC members targeted in Scott's complaint, Patrick Baumann, died last October, about a month after the meeting that was being investigated. The other, Ricci Bitti, was in no mood for apologies, telling AP he didn't want to comment, partially out of respect for his fallen friend.

"But if I did, you can imagine what it might be," Ricci Bitti said. "The decision (no bullying) was the right one."

At the heart of the episode was a tense exchange between Ricci Bitti and Scott at the meeting where WADA reinstated Russia's banned anti-doping agency over Scott's objections.

Ricci Bitti called Scott's attitude "victimisitc," and the report acknowledged that language cut more deeply with women who witnessed the exchange than with men.

Scott was an Olympic gold medalist in cross-country skiing, the winter sport that, outside of hockey, had more doping positives in 2017 than any other. She got robbed of her victory ceremony in 2002 by a pair of Russians who were later found to have doped. She sat there Thursday, stone-faced, while lawyers from Covington sat across the room and spelled out their conclusions, including a detailed deconstruction of her decision to not participate in the probe .

"It was demoralizing," she said. "I was actually surprised they went to that degree."

In calling for sensitivity training, the investigators wrote that while they understood there could be deep differences of opinion, that "dialogue on those matters  including criticism of others' positions  can still be conducted with the utmost respect."

WADA said it will consider the recommendations, which also include adopting a formal code of conduct and complaint policy for the executive board, at its next meeting.

The agency is hardly alone among those in the Olympic space grappling over how to deal with deteriorating relationships between administrators and athletes, men and women, Eastern and Western cultures.

In the United States, a sex-abuse scandal in gymnastics has shined a light on a culture that critics say exploits girls to win medals and make money. Some of those gymnasts, including champions Simone Biles and Aly Raisman, are finding a voice, but they're still waiting for reforms that will give them more say in the system they compete in.

After the setbacks for women seeking reform at WADA, it's clear the problems aren't relegated to one country or one sport.

"There have been incidents, there have been difficult and tense discussions on some matters, but it's not a culture," WADA director general Olivier Niggli said. "We need to address that, and we're going to look at those recommendations and see how we can implement them."

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Justin Trudeau was elected in 2015 in part because he changed the way many Canadians felt about politics. But if Trudeau is going to be reelected in 2019, party insiders admit he needs to change the way many Canadians feel about him now.

Federal and provincial Liberals who spoke to CBC News concede what was unthinkable just months ago  that in the wake of the SNC-Lavalin controversy, Trudeau's leadership has gone from one of the party's greatest strengths to one of its biggest liabilities.

It's even an issue in Atlantic Canada, the region the party swept in 2015. Provincial candidates in Newfoundland and Labrador  where the Liberals were reduced to a minority government on Thursday  were surprised at the amount of anti-Trudeau sentiment they encountered while going door-to-door.

Many voters in the energy-reliant and financially-challenged province were worried about the impact Trudeau's environmental agenda would have on the local offshore oil sector. Others were angry about the Liberals' approach to immigration. Those issues, combined with the SNC-Lavalin controversy, have transformed voter attitudes about Trudeau.

What a difference three months made

"Three months ago he would have been an asset for us," said one senior Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal. "Now, not so much."

That dynamic is showing up in private focus groups that are reinforcing the public polls: Trudeau's reputation as a strong leader has been badly damaged by the SNC-Lavalin affair  a public conflict between Trudeau and his then-justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould that saw both the minister and her colleague, Jane Philpott, resign from cabinet to protest what they alleged was high-level pressure to secure a deal to allow the Quebec-based engineering company to avoid a trial on corruption and fraud charges.

Geoff Robins/The Canadian Press

The collapse of the Crown's case against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, with its accusations of political interference on the part of the government, merely compounded the party's image crisis.

Story continues

"I don't think something happened in the broader environment that forced the change. I think it was what happened here in Ottawa with SNC-Lavalin," said David Coletto, CEO of polling firm Abacus Data, in a recent interview.

"That was a moment that seems to have completely reset people's impressions of the prime minister and now he's living with the consequences of that."

Pharmacare, finances over climate change

One of the consequences of that "reset" is an effort by Liberals to recalibrate how they're positioning themselves to seek re-election. The Liberal climate plan is an important part of that. But there is a deep recognition in party circles that talking about climate change alone won't be nearly enough to save the government.

Many Liberals acknowledge that the Conservatives have smartly tapped into the issue of affordability and economic anxiety. This was reflected in the Ontario Liberal caucus's ranking of platform priorities, leaked to CBC News, that put personal financial security ahead of climate and reconciliation. At the top of the Ontario MPs' list was a national pharmacare plan, which is certain to be a centrepiece of the Liberal platform.

But a platform can only work if the leader can sell it. There is a hope among senior Liberals who spoke to CBC News  both elected officials and political staff  that a busy slate of international travel over the next few months can help rehabilitate Trudeau's reputation as a leader.

'A desire for change still requires an acceptable alternative'

The prime minister is expected to attend the G20 in Japan in June and the G7 in France in August. Trudeau was in Paris this week sharing the global spotlight with French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at a summit to denounce online extremism.

Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press

The Liberals hope that events like this will help strike a contrast between Trudeau and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, whom the Liberals have accused of cosying up to extreme political elements here in Canada  a claim the Conservatives angrily deny.

That direct contrast with Scheer is a key factor in Liberal re-election hopes in the face of dismal polling. Many Liberals point to past victories by Ontario Liberal premiers Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne  two leaders who entered election campaigns trailing their Conservative opponents but won in the end.

The theory is that turning the election into a choice between Scheer's agenda and Trudeau's favours the Liberals. But if the election becomes a referendum on Trudeau alone, it favours the Conservatives.

"You either have to get people to reconsider their views of the prime minister or, what's more likely ... get them to think differently about the alternative that's waiting in the wings, and that's Andrew Scheer and the Conservatives," said Coletto. "A desire for change still requires an acceptable alternative."

PMO staff changes

But to get there, multiple Liberal insiders say they need to improve the performance of the Prime Minister's Office as well. The hope is that the recent addition of Ben Chin as a senior adviser will add some urgency to the PMO's communications and issues-management efforts  work that some Liberals say needs to accelerate from a think-tank's pace to war-room speed.

Senior Liberals also concede that the party needs to sharpen its pitch to suburban swing voters while it attempts to deepen the contrast between Trudeau and Scheer. Seats in British Columbia, and in that the wide band of ridings that run between Windsor, Ont. and Quebec City, are key to the Liberals' re-election hopes. But the party finds itself fighting a mood of economic uncertainty, in spite of blistering job growth numbers in many of these areas.

In the party's plus column, Liberals like to point to a solid party infrastructure that ought to serve them well in the upcoming campaign. The appointment of Jeremy Broadhurst as campaign director has rallied some Liberals who have grown disillusioned during recent months.

And while the Conservatives have raised more money at the national level (the party enjoyed a massive first quarter this year), the Liberals have raised significantly more funds at the local riding level than in 2015. This, party insiders say, will allow candidates to open their headquarters months before the official start of the campaign.

Of course, this entire strategy depends on an assumption that the fallout from the SNC-Lavalin and Mark Norman controversies are largely over, the government avoids any more self-inflicted wounds and public opinion stabilizes to the point where the Liberals can see a possible path back to government.

"If we're within the margin of error, bring it on," said one Liberal.

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These tips will help you bake the best batch of Christmas cookies, check out a few ways to cope with holiday stress, and more hacks for the holidays.
A Chippewa County animal nutrition and health company was awarded for its entrepreneurship last week.

ABECS Global LLC, a Stanley-based animal health and nutrition company, was named Chippewa County Entrepreneur of the Year by the Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation for growing its business into a national and international source for custom products.

The name ABECS is an acronym for multi species  avian, aquatics, bovine, equine, exotics, canine, caprine, cats, swine and sheep.

The company was founded in 2016, mainly for farm animals.

Dr. Vijay Sasi took over the company as president and CEO in January 2018, and since then extended the product line to include items for food and companion animals.

The company formulates custom products for their customers needs, and has also expanded their products to include not only powdered supplements but also gels, pastes, capsules, topically applied items and others.

Vasue Sasi, director of operations at ABECS Global, said the companys growth over the last several years has been due to working towards a goal they had in mind when taking Sasi took the lead of the company.

She said a history of working with animals has also informed their businesses model.

The experience working in this field came in handy, Sasi said.

According to the CCEDC, the award was in recognition of expanding significantly in recent years from what the company started with.

Dr. Vijay Sasi also said that his prior work as a veterinarian had given the company a useful point of view for product development and growth.

I understand the problems and the products that are missing, Sasi said.

He said that in the future, they would like to continue their growth out of purely custom products and develop some branded products as well.

Charlie Walker, president of the CCEDC, said the award was acknowledgement of that bootstrapping that the company had done to get where it is currently.

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Two Chippewa Falls residents have been charged with operating a drug house after authorities discovered that marijuana was being mailed to the home from California.

Lauren T. Hasenmueller, 22, and Shane A. Doebler, 29, both of 816 Prentice St., were each charged with two counts of possessing marijuana with the intent to deliver, maintaining a drug trafficking place, and obstructing an officer.

According to the criminal complaint, on Feb. 3, a K-9 unit detected drugs in a package at the U.S. Post Office that was sent from a home in California to the house on Prentice Street. The West Central Drug Task Force obtained a search warrant to open the package, where they discovered 960 grams of marijuana.

The drug enforcement agency then obtained a search warrant for the home, which they searched Feb. 4. No one responded when they arrived, so they forced entry. Inside, they found $10,844 in a safe in one of the bedrooms. Marijuana was found in large and small amounts throughout the house, including 765 grams in a bag behind the dryer, 207 grams in a cupboard, and 115 grams on a coffee table.

When police interviewed them, Doebler said he previously lived in California, and someone he knew there was mailing the drugs to him.

Doebler and Hasenmueller both return to court July 23.

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When Bill Brenner gets on an airplane Saturday morning in La Crosse for a one-day trip to Washington, D.C., his wife and four of his five children will be there to cheer him on.

Brenner, 75, is taking a Freedom Honor Flight to see the memorials and monuments in the nations capitol. Brenner served in the U.S. Navy from 1962 to 1966. While he didnt get sent to Vietnam, his ship went toward the hostile shores of Cuba, where he vividly remembers being shot at.

Brenners trip to Washington D.C. has been in the works for a few years, but it has been moved up, as he was recently diagnosed as having stage 4 lung and prostate cancer.

Ive been waiting to do this a long time, Brenner said. Im glad Im going. I want to see the (Vietnam) wall  thats my main thing. Im looking forward to seeing all those monuments.

His wife, Julie Brenner, is excited that Bill is getting the opportunity.

He didnt think hed be able to go, she said. I dont know if he would have been (selected) to go if it wasnt for the cancer. Im very proud. He wears a veterans cap when we go out in public. Youd be amazed at how many handshakes he gets from strangers.

Brenner worked at a variety of jobs over his lifetime after leaving the service, including more than a decade as a custodian in the Chippewa Falls School District.

John Kinville, a Chippewa Falls social studies teacher, helped fill out the paperwork for Brenners Freedom Honor Flight, and he worked to get Brenners trip moved up after learning of Brenners cancer diagnosis.

On Friday, students at the school held a fundraiser, selling ribbons, with the money going to the family to pay for Brenners brother, Brad, to join him on the trip to Washington. Kinville said students know Brenner as the friendly custodian who always had polka music playing on his custodial cart.

To me, its a perfect merging of honoring those who served our country and honoring our capitol city, and its a merging of community, Kinville said.

The goal was to raise $500 for the trip.

He gets to bring an attendant, but the attendant has to pay his own way, Kinville said.

A Chippewa Falls native, Brenner graduated from Chippewa Falls High School in June 1962. He joined the military that September.

I enlisted. My older brother was in the Navy and my next-oldest brother was in the Army, Brenner recalled. I was a machinist. I worked in the machine shop. I did that in high school and I liked it.

While Brenner and Julie were already dating, he actually didnt tell her he had decided to join the Navy. She was initially upset, but they later married in 1965, and she lived on the East Coast with him for his final year in service.

I didnt know he was going, but Im glad he went, Julie Brenner said. Im proud hes a veteran.

Bill Brenner recalls waking up outside the Bay of Pigs in Cuba, and seeing ships as far as his eye could see. He was shot at but was uninjured. His ship was assigned to leave for Vietnam in 1966, but Brenner had fewer than six months left on duty, so he was re-assigned rather than depart with the ship.

Freedom Honor Flight serves three states with day trips to the memorials, bringing more than 200 veterans annually, according to the organizations website. More than 1,800 veterans have participated since the group was founded.

To learn more, visit freedomhonorflight.org

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If you are keeping track of the percentage of the states to raise the tobacco purchase age to 21, it is now 28%. On Friday, May 17th the State of Vermont became the 14th State in the U.S. to raise the tobacco age to 21. A bill which was passed in the Maryland legislature was signed into law by Governor Phil Scott.

The new law begins to go into effect September 1st. An exemption is made for members of the military who are at least 18 years old.

Maryland joins Hawaii, California, New Jersey, Maine, Oregon, Massachusetts, Virginia, Utah, Washington, Illinois, Delaware, Arkansas, and Maryland as states where the tobacco purchase age is now 21.

There are now several federal bills in Congress proposing raising the tobacco purchase minimum age to 21 on a national level. Its a movement supported by Tobacco-Free Kids, Tobacco 21, and most recently, Altria has announced support for a federally-mandated minimum tobacco purchase age of 21. This is a movement most in the premium cigar industry have chosen not to fight.
WASHINGTON  The House passed sweeping legislation on Friday that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The bill, passed 236-173, comes as departments across the Trump administration have dismantled policies friendly to gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, like barring transgender recruits from serving in the military or formally rejecting complaints filed by transgender students who are barred from restrooms that match their gender identity.

The question before us is not whether the L.G.B.T.Q. community faces outrageous and immoral discrimination, for the record shows that it clearly does, said Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. The question is whether we, as Congress, are willing to take action to do something about it. The answer goes straight to the heart of who we want to be as a country  and today, that answer must be a resounding yes.

The legislation, which amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibits discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in both the public and private sectors, offering civil rights protections in businesses, hospitals and welfare services. It explicitly states that individuals cannot be denied access to a locker room or dressing room on the same basis.
Lakeview High School graduate Andrew Herley this fall is making his way to Brookings, South Dakota, to attend South Dakota State University.

Soon-to-be Lakeview senior Ethan Goldfish Vinson already has plans of attending Purdue University in Indiana after completing high school in spring 2020.

While the two teens are heading to different universities, they both are preparing to attend the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) National Leadership Conference being held in San Antonio this June.

The duo this year was part of an 89-member FBLA group at Lakeview, which FBLA adviser Tara Dlouhy noted is the largest student-led business organization in all of Nebraska Class C. Goldfish Vinson will be attending the conference as the recently elected vice president of Nebraska FBLA, and Herley is set to compete in the Sales Presentation division at Nationals after walking away with a first-place finish at the states April Leadership Conference held in Omaha.

One of our many goals is just to promote leadership and business practices among our students, Dlouhy said. We compete in different projects with different objectives and tests, and we also do different trips.

Goldfish Vinson and Herley  along with Dlouhy  are the schools lone representatives at this years National Convention. Herley, whose Sales Presentation project was to discuss and promote the PopSockets found on the backs of cellphones, competed against 17 other students from around the state.

Interestingly enough, Herley thought he performed poorly. Not because of a lack of preparation, but because his digital presentation wouldnt work during the time he had to present to a three-judge panel.

Everything was flawless multiple times before it, Dlouhy said of Herleys presentation. And then we went to compete and his presentation wouldnt pull up on the screen, so he had to completely wing it.

Herley noted how he was able to keep his composure and get through it.

I knew that I had to do it for myself, and I wanted to make Lakeview look good, Herley said. So I just put all of myself into it and gave it my heart.

While Herley was making his presentation, Goldfish Vinson was in the process of learning that he had just been elected vice president. Twenty students from around the state applied for the positions of president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and parliamentarian.

They passed out all of these ballots to all of the voting delegates in the auditorium, and they voted and then they passed them in and they counted them right in front of you, Goldfish Vinson said. So the minutes in-between the voting and then passing them in were so nerve wracking.

For the next school year  and starting this summer  Goldfish Vinson will network on behalf of FBLA around the state.

Now that I have been elected vice president Im pretty much the student face  one of a (handful)  representing the State of Nebraska, he said. And I have to go out and visit chapters, I will attend board meetings with the state of Nebraska education system and I come up with new ideas and try to enforce them throughout Nebraska FBLA."

Dlouhy, in her second year advising, noted how proud she is of Herley and Goldfish Vinson. They have made her job extremely rewarding.

Both Ethan and Andrew have made my job a lot easier, they have taught me so much about FBLA, she said. Just being a newer adviser I didnt know what to expect. But they have stepped into leadership roles in the chapter, and now at the state level, as well, and have taught me more than I ever thought possible.

 They have impacted me more than they will ever know.

Sam Pimper is the news editor of The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at sam.pimper@lee.net.

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If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man. -Mark Twain

Recently I have seen a rise in aggressive dogs in our community. I have dealt with at least three different stray dogs that were being overly aggressive towards myself or officers that respond to the call. It is an unpredictable situation when you roll up on a stray. Most are happy to see you and are excited to go on a car ride. Some are apprehensive towards strangers and they will shy away from you. A few will openly try to attack when they are approached.

In the five-and-a-half years I have served as Animal Control Officer, I have never needed an officer to shoot a dog that was aggressive.

Many other jurisdictions are not so lucky. Almost weekly in the news you will see a dog that had to be shot by an officer. A simple Google search of Police shoots dog, returns hundreds of results. I opened up and read about 30 articles that occurred just in 2019.

It is very disheartening reading multiple incidences that could have been avoided with proper training and tactics. On the other hand, I feel that many of these officers had no other choice but to defend themselves.

Once believed that everything was born Tabula Rasa, a black slate. Early philosophers and some psychologists believed that we were all born without built in mental content. Saying that we learn from experience and perception. This was all due to the nature versus nurture debate. As science advances our understanding of genetics increase. Genes play a large part in who we become. The same can be said for our pets.

Though a dog can be trained, it still is driving by its genes. This is something we look at in bite cases. After a dog bites someone, we need to determine why. By state law, the dog can be deemed dangerous, potentially dangerous, or not deemed at all. Therefore, when the dog bites someone we try and look at all factors.

We look for provocation, which is a situation that an expected reaction is to bite or attack. Dogs are territorial animals. Your home is its home. It needs to protect it. In many instances, the dog will bark and growl as someone approaches the home. This is a warning to stay clear. If that person ignores this warning, the dogs only other option is to bite. When looking at this scenario, I take into account where the bite happened. If the victim entered your residence or yard then that could be provoked. If they were just walking on the sidewalk and the dog attacked them then it is unprovoked.

Another provocation can be startling the animal. When startled their first reaction is to turn and attack. I know that this is a fact when I scare my dog. She will turn around snarling and ready to bite. You can actually see her face change from anger to happy when she realizes it was me. Along with this, a dog is prone to chase. Whether you are running or riding a bike or driving a car, dogs like to chase. It is a form of play. You see this behavior when they are playing with each other. They will chase and either tackle or bite to bring down each other. This is what some dogs are doing when they chase you running or biking. Now some dogs are being vicious in these cases.

More reasons a dog might bite is if it is injured. Trying to assist an injured dog could result in it biting you. Trying to capture a loose dog could also end in an attack. In the many stray dogs that I have picked up some of them did not want to be grabbed. This is why we have equipment to assist us. This is for our protection, the dogs protection and the publics protection. I know that I have had cases where citizens trying to get a stray dog would be bitten and then the dog runs off. This only results in a series of rabies treatments for them.

Animal Control will not do breed-specific laws because we still feel that in many cases a dog biting is because of provocation. I know that there are some breeds that are innately violent but not all animals in that breed are that way. We know that some dogs are just raised to be mean, which is a shame.

Shawn Flowers is lead animal control officer for Columbus Animal Control.

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As Elisia Flaherty watched her son being honored last week for his perfect ACT score, the governors words transported her back to her life 18 years earlier.

When the time comes to settle down," the governor said to the record number of perfect-score honorees, we want you here in Nebraska.

Eighteen years earlier, Flaherty was a student, newly married and facing complications from her first pregnancy that required tests and hospital stays that were covered by Medicaid.

Sitting in the state Capitols Warner Chamber with other proud parents, she figured the state was getting a pretty good return on its investment in her son, a senior at Grand Island High School who aced his ACT on the first try and was offered a full-ride scholarship to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Did the governor  who opposed Medicaid expansion that voters ultimately approved through a ballot initiative and now has a plan that will take two years to implement  realize the role Medicaid played in her sons early years?

Medicaid, she said, provided a safety net that saved her and her husband thousands of dollars of debt  and possibly bankruptcy.

Her husband worked at a hospital and had minimal insurance that only covered routine pregnancy costs including one ultrasound, she said. Both she and her husband were attending community college and Flaherty had to stop working because of the complications, which started with severe morning sickness.

Doctors worried her son wasnt growing correctly and it meant weekly tests, months of bed rest and regular ultrasounds. When she started having pre-term contractions, she was hospitalized.

Ultimately, a healthy, 7-pound baby was born and his parents named him Samuel.

All of that is to say is ... Medicaid is what kept us afloat, she said.

Without the coverage provided to her and her son, she said, shes sure the medical bills would have been overwhelming. She cant imagine she and her husband could have finished school.

As it turns out, Samuels father earned his masters degree and his mom her bachelors. Flaherty is remarried now, and Samuel is the oldest of her four children. She works as a piano accompanist for Grand Island Public Schools.

Samuel grew up loving to read, participating in show choir and band, competing in science competitions and performing in plays and musicals. He filled his high school schedule with advanced placement classes that undoubtedly helped prepare him for the ACT he took with the rest of his junior class last year.

He just made the drum line for the NU Marching Band and hell study mechanical engineering, his mom said.

Flaherty had jokingly told him that if he got the chance he should tell the governor he was a Medicaid baby (he didnt)  and it really hit her when the governor made an appeal to the high-achieving students to choose Nebraska as their home. She took to Twitter to express her opinion.

"I just think the governor might have a wrong impression of what it means to need Medicaid," she said. "It's people like my son."

Flaherty doesnt remember exactly why she was covered by Medicaid  besides their low income  but it was likely because she was pregnant.

For years, Medicaid in Nebraska has covered certain groups of low-income people: pregnant moms, kids, some parents, people with disabilities and senior citizens. There are different income guidelines for each of those groups that fall between 58 and 213 percent of the federal poverty level.

That represents an income for a single person between $604 and $2,217 a month (household income for children).

Medicaid expansion will create coverage for about 90,000 people: childless adults up to 138 percent of poverty  those who make about $16,000 a year  and parents whose income means they fall in a gap between Medicaid and subsidies provided under the Affordable Care Act.

The governor has made improving customer service for Medicaid and other state assistance a priority since taking office, said his spokesman Taylor Gage.

While supporters of Medicaid expansion have criticized Ricketts' two-year implementation timeline, Gage said the governor's budget reflects the vote of the people and his team met the deadline set in the ballot initiative to submit an implementation plan.

Flaherty likely would have been covered even without the Medicaid expansion, but she falls squarely on the side of supporting expanded coverage because her  and her sons  story could have turned out very differently without it.

"I truly believe we should have universal health care, health care for all," she said. "I just think health care is a human right and people should be able to access the services they need."

And in the polarized debate about Medicaid, some would have seen her as someone mooching off the state, she said, but shes raised a bright, successful son the state now is courting to make his home here.

"I would definitely say my struggle opened my eyes to how these issues actually affect people," she said.

If you want success in the long term, she said, you need to spend the money up front on things like access to health care and early childhood education.

It pays off in the long run, she said.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSreist.

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The Eagle Riders Pony Express Ride Across Nebraska made a stop Friday in Columbus, on its way to Lincoln to advocate for increased mental health funding.

The riders are delivering a series of letters from children living in Nebraska asking state lawmakers to provide greater mental health care for children. The Columbus stop was one of five on Friday, with stops also happening in Grand Island, York, Norfolk and Fremont.

Were here as a state to advocate for our children (and) for them to live a life that is full of possibilities, said Holly Stevens, coordinator of the Pony Express Ride. Our part of that is bringing the awareness for childrens mental health, the services that are needed as well as the services that are provided, that families have voices and children have voices, so we can break the stigma of mental health.

The rides have been held since 2007, stopping at organizations that assist local children and families in dealing with significant mental health issues. The ride is a reenactment of the Pony Express main delivery service which included stops in Nebraska during the 1860s.

Youth and Families for Christ hosted the transfer of letters to the riders, which will be delivered in Lincoln today as part of a special ceremony. The Pony Express Ride contributes money to the organizations summer camp, which will take place June 3-6 at Mahoney State Park.

Theyve actually been, historically, a big supporter of us, said Jeremiah Penn, executive director of young mens ministry at YFFC. When they asked us to make these letters for them, we absolutely, wholeheartedly wanted to help them out. We also believe in increased mental awareness.

Penn has first-hand knowledge of how teens and young adults deal with mental health issues. He says that his organization provides services that help teens through difficult life situations, while also giving them a place to relax with their peers.

We want to be able to be that support whenever they need it, Penn said. A lot of times, we see that a lot of kids dont have parents. Mom and Dad are gone (dead); theyve walked out, left, not there, or theyve checked out; theyre there, but not really there. We want to continue to let the youth know that they are loved, that theyre valued and theyre important and that theyre worth our time.

Many of the people that come through YFFC are high school students struggling to find their place in the world. Penn said that watching the problems of these students on a daily basis is deeply hurting.

It just breaks my heart, Penn said. Im working with youth who at the end of the day, didnt have the opportunities that I did or the support that I did. I see the need (for increased mental health funding).

Penn said that increased funding will help YFFC and organizations like it provide greater services to children throughout the state.

Hopefully, it will help those we serve, Penn said. The kids we serve, we see mental health issues in their life. We see it in their families, we see it with their mom and dad and its heartbreaking. By seeing an increase in mental health awareness through the state, Im hoping that those that need it can get the help that they need.

Rain or shine, the riders will continue on to Lincoln today to deliver the letters to state officials. Stevens and the riders are hoping that politicians and people in Lincoln will heed their words and provide the assistance that is sorely needed.

We are hoping that people will gain further information about mental health awareness and suicide prevention, Stevens said. We are giving people the opportunity to seek the information they need to make informed decisions (about mental health).

Zach Roth is a reporter for the Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at zach.roth@lee.net.

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While every participant of this years Columbus Community Hospital Project SEARCH group had individual and unique needs, all members exhibited one common trait: strong work ethic.

In fact, prior to Fridays graduation ceremony, all three men part of this years program were busy at work helping out with a Human Resources project. Thats right, on the day of their graduation.

They are so hardworking, they are the hardest working group of interns, said Skills Trainer Barbara Olnes. They would rather work than play on their phones or have free time, and that was really fun to see.

Clad in their caps and gowns, Silas Tellez, Ian Henry and CJ McCann were honored by their friends and family inside of a community gathering room located at CCH. For about 6  hours daily from August through May, the trio spent their days inside of the facility completing various rotations designed to provide them with a variety of work experience that will benefit them when they enter the workforce.

Tellez and Henry graduated from local high schools  Lakeview and Columbus, respectively, and McCann from Central City.

Project SEARCH, founded in Cincinnati in 1996, is a program designed to transition adults with varying disabilities who have completed their high school requirements into jobs suited for their abilities. Columbus Community Hospital is one of 16 Project SEARCH sites located throughout the state, said Melinda Allen, human resources education coordinator at CCH and Project SEARCH business liaison.

Project SEARCH representatives partner with various school districts to find students  up to age 21  who could use some help improving various skills before diving into careers. In addition to completing different job training rotations, the three students spent time in the classroom with Olnes covering eight key areas of focus: team building, workplace safety, technology, self-advocacy, maintaining employment, financial literacy, health and wellness and preparing for employment.

This is the eighth class of graduates that have gone through CCHs program. While three graduated this year, another spent a lot of time at the hospital interning but moved to Ohio prior to receiving her cap and gown.

We actually had four participants, but one moved out of state toward the end of the program, Allen said of 20-year-old Julissa Nave. But she is doing well and has obtained employment, so that is a success story, as well.

All three graduates polished their skills through their time spent at the hospital. Henry ended up adding extra rotations  in addition to the standard four  because of his outstanding work habits and pursuit of learning.

Some people just call me Macho Man, he said, with a smile.

Tellez said he most enjoyed his time spent working in the maintenance department, and McCann was a big fan of Fun Fridays where the group and staff played educational games.

Everyone affiliated with this years Project SEARCH program grew in one way or another, Allen said. And this is something she has learned to expect during her years helping coordinate the operation.

Its nice knowing that she plays a role in helping graduates succeed.

Its absolutely fulfilling, just the best experience being able to see these kids come in very nervous, very much in their shell, and then they just break out of that and just gain a whole bunch of confidence, Allen said.

Sam Pimper is the news editor of The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at sam.pimper@lee.net.

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SATURDAY, May 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors might want to be more aggressive about treating children who swallow a button battery and appear to be out of danger, a preliminary study suggests.

The small, round batteries -- found in everything from watches to remote controls to toys -- have become an increasingly common cause of young children's trips to the emergency room.

"Button batteries are everywhere," said lead researcher Dr. Racha Khalaf. "And they're small and shiny, and attractive to kids."

Whenever a child swallows a battery -- or might have swallowed one -- parents should get to the hospital right away.

The biggest worry is a battery stuck in the esophagus, according to Khalaf, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora.

When that happens, the battery can quickly burn through the tissue there and cause serious, or even fatal, damage. So doctors act right away, threading an endoscope down into the throat to remove the battery.

The situation is different if X-rays show the battery has moved into the stomach. If it's not causing symptoms, guidelines say doctors can wait to see if the child passes it naturally.

But in the latest study, Khalaf's team found that even in symptom-free children, button batteries that make it into the stomach can damage the lining there. That suggests doctors should consider removing them in those cases, too, the researchers said.

The findings are based on records from 68 children treated at four pediatric hospitals between 2014 and 2018. All had an endoscopy procedure to retrieve a button battery from the stomach. Many had no symptoms when they arrived at the hospital.

Overall, Khalaf's team found, 60 percent of the children showed some erosive damage to the stomach lining.

"We saw one major adverse event," Khalaf said.

In that case, she explained, the battery created a hole in the child's stomach because it sat there for so long. (Doctors estimated it had been there for nearly five days.)

But even in less-severe cases of stomach-lining erosion, Khalaf said, the concern is that the damage could progress: Doctors can't know if or when the battery will pass.

Button batteries are a concern both because they can cause severe injury -- and because of their ubiquity in home products, according to Dr. Danielle Orsagh-Yentis, a pediatric gastroenterology fellow at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

In a study published in the May issue of Pediatrics, Orsagh-Yentis and colleagues found that about 100 U.S. children per day land in the ER after accidentally swallowing a foreign object. The rate is almost double what it was in the mid-1990s.

There was a rise in ingestions of batteries, specifically -- and a button battery was to blame almost 9 times out of 10.

The new findings, Orsagh-Yentis said, suggest that button batteries may cause stomach erosion more often than doctors think.

"The findings are interesting, and as clinicians we need to reflect on them," said Orsagh-Yentis, who was not involved in the new research. "They underscore a need for vigilance in managing these cases."

However, she said, this type of study -- a review of patient records -- cannot prove that removing button batteries from the stomach rather than letting nature take its course actually improves kids' outcomes.

In addition, any medical procedure has potential risks. Removing a battery via endoscope does carry a small risk of bleeding or perforation, Khalaf noted.

For parents, she said, the most important thing is to prevent these incidents in the first place: Always store battery packs in a safe place where kids can't reach them. And when replacing a battery, dispose of the old one properly -- never leave it lying around.

If your child does swallow a battery -- or you think he or she has -- get medical care right away, Khalaf stressed.

Khalaf was to present the findings Saturday at the annual Digestive Disease Week meeting, in San Diego. Studies presented at meetings are generally considered preliminary until they are published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The National Capital Poison Center has more on button battery ingestions.
The International Day of Light (IDL) was observed on May 16 by UNESCO. The year 2019 marks the global celebration of Second International Day of Light after its inauguration in 2018.

About IDL

It is an annual, global initiative which provides a focal point for continued appreciation of light. It calls to harness potential of scientific cooperation and strengthen it so as to foster peace and sustainable development.

The day marks the anniversary of first successful operation of laser by engineer and physicist Theodore Maiman on 16 May 1960.

on 16 May 1960. Background: Following a highly successful International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies in 2015, which saw more than 13,000 activities implemented in 147 countries, the Executive Board of UNESCO, at its 200th session ( 200 EX/Decision 27 ), established 16 May of every year to be observed as International Day of Light. Thus the first IDL was celebrated at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 16 May, 2018.

Following a highly successful International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies in 2015, which saw more than 13,000 activities implemented in 147 countries, the Executive Board of UNESCO, at its 200th session ( ), established 16 May of every year to be observed as International Day of Light. Thus the first IDL was celebrated at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 16 May, 2018. Objective: It aims to raise awareness about critical role played by all the light-based technologies in the lives of people all around the world in areas of education, art and culture sustainable development, science and technology and in fields as diverse as medicine, communications and energy.

It aims to raise awareness about critical role played by all the light-based technologies in the lives of people all around the world in areas of education, art and culture sustainable development, science and technology and in fields as diverse as medicine, communications and energy. Significance: IDL contributes to building new bridges between education and scientific disciplines. By encouraging worldwide community-driven actions in science outreach and education it offers The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) an opportunity to fulfill its mission of promoting international cooperation in basic sciences and STEM Education (which includes four specific disciplines- science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

IDL 2019
Ieoh Ming Pei, the globe-trotting, versatile, preeminent Chinese-US architect who created a distinct brand of modern building design with his sharp lines and exquisite structures, has died at age of 102 years.

Background

I.M. Pei was born on 26 April 1917, in Canton, China and in 1935 he came to United States with plans to study architecture. He studied architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University and had plans to practice in China. But World War II and revolution in China prevented him from going back

Renowned Works of I.M. Pei

In 1948 in US he started his early work of designing low-income housing, office buildings, and later shifted to designing mixed-used complexes to a worldwide collection of municipal buildings, hotels and museums. Some of them are Society Hill apartment complex in Philadelphia, Mile High Center office building in Denver, and Kips Bay Plaza Apartments in Manhattan.

His other renowned works includes:

The trapezoidal addition to National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.,

in Washington, D.C., The chiseled towers of National Center of Atmospheric Research that blend in with reddish mountains in Boulder, Colorado.

that blend in with reddish mountains in Boulder, Colorado. The multi-shaped Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , that is on shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Shows he captured the spirit of rebellion.

, that is on shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Shows he captured the spirit of rebellion. He revived The Louvre with a Giant Glass (about 22-metre) pyramid in Paris

with a Giant Glass (about 22-metre) pyramid in Paris Bank of China tower in Hong Kong,

in Hong Kong, He even designed the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, which opened in 2008 to fanfare.

Awards Conferred to I.M. Pei
On May 17, 2019 in a landmark decision, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage thus giving gay couples the Right to Marry.

Key Highlights

About: The Taiwanese parliament took the historic step by passing a law in favour of same-sex couples and allowing them to form  exclusive permanent unions .

The Taiwanese parliament took the historic step by passing a law in favour of same-sex couples and allowing them to form  . Features:

The bill was passed on 17 May which is celebrated annually as the  International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia .

. The law contains a clause that allows couples to apply for a marriage registration with the government agencies.

It also offer few adoption rights to same-sex couples like allowing spouses to adopt biological children of their partner. But does not allows same-sex couples to co-adopt.

LGBTQ Rights : Taiwan has long been a hub for LGBT activism. Even its annual gay pride parade is the largest in the region. The Taiwanese LGBTQ community has now been campaigning for years to have similar and equal marriage rights as heterosexual couples. The move marks a huge victory for the communitys struggle and rights.

: Taiwan has long been a hub for LGBT activism. Even its annual gay pride parade is the largest in the region. The Taiwanese LGBTQ community has now been campaigning for years to have similar and equal marriage rights as heterosexual couples. The move marks a huge victory for the communitys struggle and rights. Significance: With even president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen campaigning for a platform of marriage equality, and the historic judgement that followed, this places Taiwan at the vanguard of Asias rapidly growing gay rights movement.

With even president of Taiwan, campaigning for a platform of marriage equality, and the historic judgement that followed, this places Taiwan at the vanguard of Asias rapidly growing gay rights movement. Importance: It is a good start and major step towards true equality and ending discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Geographical Facts: Taiwan
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0108263 License for publishing multimedia online



Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349
Roberta Baker, who was tried by the court Monday for the February 2018 death of her son, has been found guilty of Class B felony abuse or neglect resulting in death.

Circuit Court Judge Wendy Wexler Horn announced her ruling on Thursday afternoon.

Baker, who waived her right to a trial by jury, had been charged with Class A felony abuse or neglect of a child resulting in the death of her infant son, Elijah.

On Thursday, Judge Horn told Baker that when she had heard the testimony and heard evidence, she had no doubt that Baker was guilty of a terrible crime, but her delay had come from not knowing exactly which crime it was.

Judge Horn continued to say that under the elements of law, she did not believe she could find Baker guilty of the Class A felony, but instead she believed Baker was guilty of Class B felony abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death.

I relied heavily on the medical evidence in reaching my verdict in this case, said Judge Horn. I dont feel that the medical evidence was enough to rise to the level of Class A felony, but definitely is enough for the Class B felony.

The judge advised Baker that because Baker is a prior and persistent offender, she will still face the same range of punishment for the Class B felony as she would have for the Class A felony: 10 to 30 years or life in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Judge Horn ordered a sentencing assessment report to be completed by probation and parole. She scheduled Bakers sentencing for July 19 at 8 a.m.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Courtney Goodwin said that even though Judge Horn found Baker guilty of the Class B Felony, rather than Class A, she still feels good about the case because Baker will still face the same range of punishment.

This was a case where regardless of what happened no one really won because the child is still gone and there really is not anyone to get justice for, said Goodwin.

Baker was arrested for the death of her son, Elijah, on Feb. 23, 2018. Baker gave birth to her son at home and initially told investigators that she had given birth just a few hours prior to the 911 call of infant in full arrest.

In a second interview, Baker then confessed that she had given birth to the child in the early morning hour of Feb. 22 and that she had no gone to the hospital or requested help because she had active arrest warrants and didnt want to return to prison.

It was determined during the trial, based on Bakers testimony, that she had known she was pregnant. It was also argued by the prosecution that she had also known the baby was premature. In addition, Baker had admitted to using meth during her pregnancy and the toxicology report on the infant child revealed meth in his system.

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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Two local residents have been charged in connection with child pornography.

Andrew Hotchkiss, 33, of rural Bonne Terre, has been charged with two counts of statutory sodomy in the first degree and felony possession of child pornography. His bond has been set at $200,000 cash only.

Roseann Nickles, 28, of rural Bonne Terre, has been charged with felony endangering the welfare of a child. Her bond is set at $25,000.

According to a probable cause statement by Detective Ken Wakefield of the St. Francois County Sheriffs Department, an officer from the Oregon State Police contacted Wakefield earlier this month regarding a possession of child pornography case.

According to the document, Oregon police found photographs showing child pornography that had been taken with a cellular phone.

Wakefields report states that the images contain metadata, which can be used to determine where the photographs were taken using global positioning coordinates (GPS). The coordinates revealed that the photos had been taken at a Quiet Lane address north of Bonne Terre.

A deputy in the sheriffs department who was familiar with Hotchkiss because Hotchkiss had previously been a Leadwood police officer, viewed the photographs of a white male and was able to identify the man depicted in the photographs as Hotchkiss.

On Friday, a warrant was issued for the Quiet Lane residence. Investigators were able to determine that 12 separate photographs showing child pornography were taken in a bedroom of the residence.

The report states the photographs contain images of Hotchkiss performing sexual acts on a child less than 12 years of age. Nickles was seen in one of the photos lying in bed next to the child while Hotchkiss performed sex acts on the child.

Both Hotchkiss and Nickles were taken into custody and are being held at the St. Francois County Jail.

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Tom McCuin served two tours as an Army public affairs officer in Afghanistan, and worked closely with local nationals hired by American forces.

"They were not only our language interpreters, they were our cultural interpreters," he wrote on clearancejobs.com, a site that lists openings for individuals with government security clearances. "Our interpreters were our bridge to the local population. They were locals themselves, who knew the lay of the land. Their service was, in a word, invaluable."

One of those locals, whom McCuin called "Hamid" in his post, was severely wounded in an attack that killed his brother and another interpreter. And yet when Hamid tried to immigrate to America under a special visa program that rewards "faithful service" to the United States by Afghan and Iraqi nationals, he was turned down as a security risk.

"If Hamid is a threat to American security, then so am I," wrote an outraged McCuin. The rejection of his visa "is a stain on our national reputation."

Yes, it is -- an indelible stain. And yet, the shameful stories of Hamid and U.S. employees like him in both Afghanistan and Iraq are largely unknown. They are victims of a broad and brutal crackdown on all legal immigrants by the Trump administration, which harbors a special animosity toward potential newcomers from Muslim countries.

The president, after all, during the campaign, called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States." He had to settle for a partial travel ban after repeated defeats in federal court, but he continually throws up bureaucratic roadblocks that have been quite effective at thwarting potential immigrants like Hamid.

Only 1,650 Afghan employees of the U.S. mission immigrated to America during fiscal year 2018 under the special visa program -- a drop of 60 percent. Many thousands remain on waiting lists, and while Congress did add 4,000 visas to the program last January, delays and denials amount to a death sentence for many of those left behind.

"This is a betrayal of the brave men and women who stood by the side of U.S. armed forces in the face of great personal risk," Scott Cooper, founder of Veterans for American Ideals, told the journal Foreign Policy.

Hamid's experience of sacrificing for America is repeated by Afghans like Mohammed, who worked for the United States on agricultural development projects and emigrated under the special visa program three years ago. He was forced to leave his homeland after a criminal gang kidnapped his 10-year-old brother; he liquidated his life savings to ransom his brother back.

"I've been more faithful to this country than many people who were born here," Mohammed told us recently. The foreign nationals who work for American missions abroad "defend American values; we contribute to American safety."

He is one of the lucky ones. His visa application took almost three years, but finally came through. Many others have not been so fortunate.

An Afghan named Naseri "survived countless ambushes in the more than five years he spent interpreting for U.S. troops," reports the Washington Post. His visa application was approved in June of 2017, but the Post recounts the torment that followed: "Naseri sold everything he had -- his car, furniture, clothes, appliances, his children's toys -- and flew to Dubai with his wife and three young daughters on a flight bound for Houston. Then he was stopped in the airport. There was a problem with their visas, but no explanation."

Naseri and his family were forced to return to Afghanistan. Taliban gangs have tried to break into his house and threatened to kill him. He remains in hiding while former military officers he once worked with try to revive his application.

"These guys were trusted to be in one of the most austere environments to fight to the death with Americans if need be," John Farris, a retired Marine, told the Post. "We became brothers out there."

The betrayals of Hamid and Naseri typify U.S. policy. Thousands of Afghans and Iraqis who served this country honorably and fearlessly, who fought side by side with American troops and became their brothers, are being abandoned by this administration. And the stain is not just a moral one. This perfidy will seriously damage America's ability to recruit allies and employees in other places at other times.

"It sends a message the United States can't be trusted to keep its word," Rep. Michael Waltz, a Florida Republican and former Army Green Beret, told the Post.

In this and so many vital areas, that violation of trust has become this president's lasting legacy around the world.

Steve and Cokie Roberts can be contacted by email at stevecokie@gmail.com

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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.

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Iraq so far is holding roughly a dozen French nationals who fought for the Islamic State. France's response: Keep them.





Now that the Islamic State (IS) is considered largely contained, the next challenge is what to do with the thousands of jihadis captured and awaiting trial, many of them in Iraq.





In addition to thousands of its own people imprisoned for fighting for IS, Iraq is under pressure to receive and try some 1,000 foreigners in the hand of Syrian Kurds. It would seem expedient to try the detainees there, rather than shipping them back to the roughly 50 other countries involved.





Paris doesn't want these fighters back and French President Emmanuel Macron, for one, thinks the trials should be conducted in Iraq  except for the strong possibility Iraq will sentence many of them to death.





The Iraqi judiciary often issues death sentences against IS members. France outlawed the death penalty in 1981, the last execution was carried out in 1977.





In January 2018, French officials threatened to intervene should death sentences be issued against two extremist French nationals. Yet Macron now says French IS fighters who were captured in Iraq and Syria must be tried in the countries where they face charges.





A judicial source told Al-Monitor that Baghdad is preparing to try French nationals "who fought alongside IS in Iraq and Syria and who were arrested by the Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria a few weeks ago. So far there are about a dozen, but more are expected.





Watheq al-Hashemi, president of the Iraqi Group for Strategic Studies, told Al-Monitor that Iraqi President Barham Salih also thinks the trials should take place in Iraq. However, Iraq is concerned with the financial burden of handling 1,000 prisoners and is seeking about $2 billion from the other countries to cover the costs.





Iraqi officials also worry about Iraqi prisons becoming recruiting ground for IS or other terrorist groups.





Former Iraqi parliament member Rezan Sheikh said she fears IS will restructure itself inside Iraqi prisons.





Our prisons have many problems and are not correctional facilities. And they can easily lead to the creation of a new terrorist organization, which is why Iraq should not accept this deal, she told Al-Monitor.





Al-Monitor received information that in Iraq, overcrowding in prisons and detention centers exceeds 120%. Iraq doesn't have new prisons and detention centers that match the international standards France and other countries will want Iraq to meet.





Hisham al-Hashemi, a researcher at al-Nahrain Center for Strategic Studies, also warned that Iraqi prisons could become like Bucca Camp, where terrorist organizations were born.





It's not in Iraq's interest to try [foreign IS] members inside Iraq. Issuing death penalties against such members will lead international human rights organizations to side against Iraq, and keeping them in prison will give them an opportunity to shuffle their cards, he told Al-Monitor.





Razaw Salihy, an Amnesty International campaign leader, concurred, telling Al-Monitor, We met many families who said that their male relatives had joined IS after being held in prisons such as the Bucca Camp.





The French government is facing pressure from several media outlets and human rights organizations that question the fairness of the Iraqi judiciary and reject the death penalty. So, even though France wants Iraq to keep French nationals, the public wants Macron to pressure Iraq to not sentence them to death.





Based on what we have seen in recent years, the death penalty is very likely," Salihy added. "Iraq remains among the countries that resort to the death penalty the most. Authorities [there] often respond to terrorism-related attacks by announcing executions."





The concerns of human rights organizations seem justified, given Salihs statements during a Feb. 25 visit to Paris that the convicted in Iraq may face execution. The prisoners "will be tried according to Iraqi law," he said.

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

al-monitor.com, Staff, May 18, 2019
Lawyers for Liberty has called for a halt to the execution of yet another Malaysian in Singapore, scheduled for next Friday.





In a statement, its adviser N Surendran also urged the Malaysian government to make strong representations for the death sentence imposed on P Pannir Selvam, 32, to be commuted to imprisonment.





Surendran also lamented the short notice given to the inmate's family of his imminent execution.





"Pannir's family in Kuala Lumpur was notified by Singapore on May 17 that he would be executed by hanging at Changi prison at dawn on May 24.





"In the letter of notification, the Singapore Prison Service has asked the family to make the 'necessary funeral arrangements for Pannir.





"The mere one-week notice for the family to prepare for the hanging and to spend time with Pannir is oppressive and unjust to both Pannir and his family," said Surendran.





Pannir was convicted on June 27, 2017, of trafficking in 51.84g of diamorphine at the Woodlands Checkpoint, in September 2014.





He has denied knowing he was carrying prohibited drugs, and the Singapore High Court judge, in convicting him, had also found that he was a mere drug mule, said Surendran.





Drug trade





According to the lawyer, Pannir had also assisted the Singapore authorities by providing critical information about a fellow Malaysian, who is believed to be the mastermind, and had allegedly duped Pannir into carrying the package to Singapore.





The individual is believed to be still active in the drug trade in Malaysia.





Despite this, Pannir was "unreasonably" denied the certificate of assistance by the public prosecutor.





"The certificate would have enabled the court to pass a sentence of life imprisonment instead of death."





Surendran also pointed out several alleged instances where the clemency petition to the Singapore president was handled in a rushed manner.





Thus, he urged Malaysian intervention in the matter.





"Malaysia cannot stand by and watch as our citizen's rights are denied and subsequently executed. We urge the government to make strong representations to Singapore for the execution to be halted, and for the sentence to be commuted to imprisonment.





"This is particularly so as the Malaysian government has announced that the death penalty for drug offences in Malaysia will be abolished.





"We further urge Singapore not to proceed with the hanging of this young Malaysian. Singapore will not rid the island of the drug problem by hanging low-level drug mules. Instead, it will only gain the abhorrence of the civilised world for its brutal and ineffective methods."

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
Legal advocacy group Lawyers For Liberty today accused the Singapore government of bulldozing through procedures to hang another Malaysian who was found to merely be a drug courier and not a mastermind in illicit substances.





The groups adviser N. Surendran said Pannir Selvam, 32, is scheduled for execution in Changi Prison in the republic in just six more days, adding that his family was only notified of it and told to make the necessary arrangements to claim his body later yesterday.





The execution by hanging is to be carried out at dawn on Friday 24th May 2019, he said in a statement.





He said the 1-week notice is oppressive and unjust to both Pannir and his family.





The last known Malaysian to be executed in Changi Prison on similar charges of carrying drugs into Singapore was Prabu N. Pathmanathan, 31, in October 2018. Like Pannir, Prabu was said to be just a drug mule.





RELATED | Lawyer calls on Singapore to halt yet another execution of Malaysian





According to Surendran, Pannir was convicted on June 27, 2017 by the Singapore High Court of allegedly trafficking in 51.84 grammes of diamorphine at the Woodlands Checkpoint on September 3, 2014 despite consistently pleading innocence.





But the lawyer also asserted that there were several irregularities in the Singapore legal process that will see the young Malaysian hanged next week even though the latter has strong grounds to obtain clemency.





Once again, Singapore is planning to execute a mere drug mule, whilst the drug kingpins continue to ply their trade with impunity.





More disturbingly, Pannir's final recourse of a clemency petition to the President of Singapore has been tainted with illegality and unlawful acts by the Singapore authorities, Surendran said.





The former lawmaker highlighted that Pannir had aided the Singapore authorities by providing critical information about one Anand, believed to be the mastermind who had duped Pannir into carrying a package containing drugs to Singapore.





However, he claimed the Singapore public prosecutor unreasonably denied the certificate of assistance to Pannir that would have enabled the court to sentence the Malaysian to life imprisonment instead of death.





He also highlighted irregularities in the Singapore President Halimah Yacobs rejection of clemency to Pannir and the notice of execution to the Malaysians family in Kuala Lumpur.





The letter from the President refusing clemency is dated 17 May 2019, but the letter notifying family of the execution was posted out on 16 May 2019. How can the prison proceed to execution prior to the date of refusal of clemency by the President? Surendran asked.





He said the irregularity suggests executive interference in the clemency process as Halimah could not have given proper thought to the plea as she is duty-bound to do under Article 22P of the Singapore Constitution.





It is appallingly clear from the cavalier and irregular way in which the President's office and the Prison Services dealt with Pannir's clemency that they intended all the while to proceed with the execution come what may, Surendran said.





He also urged the Malaysian government to intervene in Pannirs case and ask the Lion City to drop the execution, reminding Putrajaya of its own move to end the mandatory death penalty for drug offences and several other laws.





Malaysia cannot stand by and watch as our citizen's rights are denied and subsequently executed, he said.





Despite all that, Surendran called on the Singapore government not to proceed with the execution of Pannir but to commute his sentence to life imprisonment instead.





Singapore will not rid the Island of the drug problem by hanging low level drug mules. Instead, Singapore will only gain the abhorrence of the civilised world for its brutal and ineffective methods.





A recent survey by the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs found only half of its youths are for the death penalty for drug-related offences even as they applaud their governments tough stance against illegal substances.





The Malaysian Parliament passed amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 in 2017 and took effect in March last year.





No Malaysian convicted on drug-related charges were executed domestically last year.





The Pakatan Harapan government is expected to table Bills to end the mandatory death sentence at the next parliamentary sitting in July.





Source: malaymail.com, Staff, May 18, 2019









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A kindergarten classroom at Takena Elementary doubled as an operating room on Friday morning.

Five- and six-year-olds donned surgical masks and gloves and practiced pulling organs  the stuffed pretend variety  out of each other as part of the Mini-Medical School experience offered by Western University of Health Sciences.

The program started in 2011 when the school opened a campus in Lebanon, but this is the first year its traveled to Albany. Previously, the event was held at the COMP-Northwest campus and schools from Lebanon and Sweet Home were invited to send students to learn about skeletal structure, heart health and germs.

On Friday, first-year medical student Halle Burley had a group of kindergartners thrilled at the thought of being able to hear their own heartbeat. She rounded the table and helped little hands put the stethoscope to their chests, watching one by one as faces lit up at the sound.

We use a lot of hand motions, she said about how she managed to bring real-life medical concepts down to a kindergarten level. We talk about things simply. Everyone knows about exercise, so we talk about that and tie it into heart health."

Next door, first-year medical student Austin Kleint, an East Linn Christian Academy graduate, was assisting students in surgery as two kindergartners lay on faux operating tables with stuffed organs inside a fake rib cage. Classmates pulled the parts out in an attempt to find the unhealthy one. He emphasized the importance of heart health, explaining that a healthy heart means a healthy life.

Were learning about community, said kindergarten teacher Shaina Adams, as she watched students switch out hearts for lungs. One place in the community is clinics and doctors offices.

She said her students were excited at the chance to perform surgery and what they learned on Friday would be folded into the classroom even after the medical equipment was packed up and on its way back to Western University of Health and Sciences.

Fellow kindergarten teacher Megan Ciaffoni oversaw the hand-washing station where students washed their hands with special soap that leaves behind a substance meant to represent bacteria. They were given the chance to wash their hands again, making sure to scrub at the invisible germs and then run their hands under a black light to reveal what they had missed.

Students also had the opportunity to visit the skeleton station and learn about how bones and joints work together to help them move, as well as where certain bones in the body are located.

According to the colleges public affairs manager, Michelle Steinhebel, medical students do not receive school credit for their trip to Takena. Instead, it was part of a community service effort and not an official class.

This event gives kids a hands-on opportunity to explore what it means to be a doctors, she said, adding that it also highlighted the importance of preventative medicine.

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Andy (Neal Andre) Wyatt, of Lebanon, died March 23, 2019. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 25, 2019 at the Cannon Beach Community Church in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Cremains will be interred at 12 p.m. on Sunday, May 26, 2019 in the family's section of Fir Crest Cemetery outside Monmouth, immediately followed by the family's 105th Memorial Day picnic at Sarah Helmick State Park, also near Monmouth. Friends and family are welcome at either or both events. Contact Andymemorial@wycoeast.com or text 503-871-3330 for more information.
Lara Trump isn't supposed to be the brightest of the Trump menagerie and she's certainly always welcome at Fox. Yesterday she was babbling some incoherent nonsense about how sad it is that Democrats want to beat her father-in-law, almost universally recognized as the worst"president"-- if history will even remember him as a president-- on history. "Shouldnt you want someone that you think can run the country well, thats gonna do the best job at being president, not just beat Donald Trump? But I think it actually speaks to the fact that there are still a lot of people who out there that are very upset that Hillary Clinton did not win in 2016." There may be, but the only people I know who pine for Hillary are people who recognize how much better she would have been than Trump. Anyone-- even Status Quo Joe, the worst of the Democratic alternatives, would be better than Trump.





 Delegitimating oversight

 Using the bully pulpit for disinformation

 Legitimating conflict of interest

 Using national emergency power to replace legislating

The Worst. Ever. So... according to Newton's third law of physics, "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." That suggests that following Trump-- the worst-- the U.S. is ready for-- not some mediocrity like Status Quo Joe Biden-- for someone as good as Trump is bad-- a Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren or-- better yet-- the two of them on a unity ticket.













Today, Bernie, basically ignoring the ugly and demeaning Trumpism that almost defines everything in our world, delivered an important education policy speech in Orangeburg, South Carolina-- as if Trump didn't exist. He called for a ban on all for-profit charter schools-- pretty much the opposite of what both corporate Democrats and the Republican Party have been working for-- and a moratorium on the funding of all public charter school expansion until after a national audit, a policy suggestion that comes from the NAACP.





California already has a new ban on for-profit charter schools. This will immediately put Bernie at odds with more corporate Democrats-- particularly Beto, Cory Booker, Tim Ryan and McKinsey Pete all of whom have admitted to being for charter schools, No other Democratic candidate has called for a ban on for-profit charter schools yet, but probably will now that Bernie has. These are the positions he laid out today:

 Mandating that charter schools comply with the same oversight requirements as public schools

 Mandating that at least half of all charter school boards are teachers and parents

 Disclosing student attrition rates, non-public funding sources, financial interests and other relevant data

 Matching employment practices at charters with neighboring district schools, including standards set by collective bargaining agreements and restrictions on exorbitant CEO pay

 Supporting the efforts of charter school teachers to unionize and bringing charter schools to the negotiating table

Watch who lauds Bernie's position and who unmasks themselves as the corporate whores being paid off to go on the warpath against him. I wonder how long Biden can keep quiet on the subject and not take a stand one way or the other. See if you can identify the corporate whore below (hint: she's completely in sync with both Betsy DeVos and that wretched Trumpanzee daughter-in-law).

Sanders will concede that the initial goal of charter schools-- to help kids with unique learning needs-- was admirable. But he will argue the system has been corrupted by wealthy activists who spent millions to privatize these schools, leaving them unaccountable and draining funds from the public school system.



Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, lauded the Sanders plan. In a statement to CNN, she called the proposal "vitally important" and said that it would provide real checks and balances for the charter school system.



"For the last several decades, the unregulated growth of private charter schools has siphoned off money from public schools, with little protection against fraud, and little attention paid to equity or quality when it comes to educating kids," Weingarten said. "The senator's plan takes tangible steps toward making the charter school industry accountable to parents and the public."



Those who operate these schools feel differently. Amy Wilkins, senior vice president of advocacy at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, points out that three California branches of the NAACP broke with the national organization's call for a moratorium on funding. She noted that there was evidence that charter schools have helped thousands of children in at-risk situations.



"Sanders' call is out of touch-- as usual-- with what African Americans want," Wilkins said in a statement to CNN. "More disturbing, the senator-- for personal political gain-- would literally lock African American students into schools that have failed them for generations."

Really? Out of touch? Here's Bernie's plan ; please read it and decide if he's out of touch, the way the charter school shills-- like Jonathan Chait -- are saying he is. "Our nation," he wrote, "used to lead the world in the percentage of young Americans with college degrees. We were number one. Today, we are number 11, behind countries like South Korea, Japan, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Australia-- and that is not acceptable. And here is the simple truth: 40 or 50 years ago, in California and Vermont, virtually any place in America, if you received a high school degree, the odds were pretty good that you would be able to get a decent paying job, raise a family, buy a house, buy a car, all on one income. That was the world 40 or 50 years ago. But that is not the world we live in today. The world has changed, the global economy has changed, technology has changed, and education has changed. Over the past decade, states all over America have made savage cuts to education, while, at the same time, providing massive tax breaks to the wealthiest people and largest corporations in America. Our kids and our students are too important to cut back on education, especially when those cuts reduce educational opportunities for underserved students, students of color, low income students, LGBTQ students and students with disabilities."

In the twenty-first century, a free public education system that goes from kindergarten through high school is no longer good enough. If we are to succeed as a nation, public colleges and universities must be tuition free. Higher education should be a right for all, not a privilege for the few. That means we have got to make public colleges and universities tuition free and we must substantially reduce student debt. Each and every year, hundreds of thousands of bright and qualified young people do not get a higher education for one reason and one reason alone: their family lacks the income. That is unfair to those families; and it is it is unfair to the future of this country.



Instead of pursuing their dreams of being an environmentalist, a teacher, a social worker, or an artist, too many Americans end up taking higher-paying jobs on Wall Street or as accountants or as corporate managers simply to pay back their student loans. We need environmentalists. We need people to take care of the poor. We need health care providers to choose to work in community health centers. We need good teachers. Each and every American must be able to get the education they need to match their skills and fulfill their dreams.



In fulfilling those dreams, we must make teaching a highly attractive profession again. Teachers have one of the toughest and most demanding jobs in America. Teachers have been the leaders in the fight to improve public schools, reduce class sizes, and provide every student with books, computers and safe, high quality schools. What encourages me and gives me so much hope about the future is that teachers across the country are standing up and saying enough is enough! The wealthiest people in America cannot have it all, while public schools all over America are falling apart.



Over the past year, tens of thousands of teachers across the country have gone on strike to demand greater investment in public education. The wave of teacher strikes throughout the country provides an historic opportunity to make the investments we desperately need to make our public education system the best in the industrialized world, not one of the poorest.



Bernies education plan addresses the serious crisis in our education system by reducing racial and economic segregation in our public school system, attracting the best and the brightest educational professionals to teach in our classrooms, and reestablishing a positive learning environment for students in our K-12 schools. This plan calls for a transformative investment in our children, our teachers and our schools and a fundamental re-thinking of the unjust and inequitable funding of our public education system.

Universal school lunches and a $60,000 floor on teachers salaries, which Bernie proposed in his South Carolina speech today-- seem like a pretty good straight-forward idea too. Right? Where do you think the opposition to those two proposals will come from? Come on, take a guess. It's not a trick question. On a macro-level, it hasn't changed since the debate in the colonies on whether or not we should declare our independence. A third of the population opposed that. Many fought on the side of the colonial occupiers. Don't remember? Starts with con...
-by Reese Erlich





[Reese Erlich is on assignment in Moscow. He offers this humorous memory about a long ago visit to that famed city. His current reporting from Russia will appear in two weeks.]





I was only 19 when I visited the USSR with my parents and sister in 1966. It was quite exotic for Americans to visit Moscow in those days and nothing was more exotic than eating at the Peking Restaurant at the Peking Hotel. It was an enormous dining hall with high ceilings, representing the best of Stalinesque architecture.





We perused the menu, which was written in four languages. One item stumped us: trepangs. My father suggested I consult the French version as I was the resident expert, having recently completed two years of high school French. The French menu had the same item, trepangs, although it sounded better pronounced with a French accent.





We asked our waiter, who consulted the Russian menu, and declared that the dish was called trepanskis, or some such Russian transliteration of the mysterious dish.





We never did order trepangs, but the word took on an almost mythic character in our family lore. For years it was synonymous with any profoundly unknowable concept. For example, Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman created gripping dramas full of deep trepang.





In 1980 I made my first of many reporting trips to the People's Republic of China. In those days, workers road to work every day on bicycles, wearing unisex Mao jackets. Bicycles outnumbered cars on the streets by about 100-1. And government officials held elaborate, 15-course meals for special guests. And I was one such special guest.





"Mr. Erlich," intoned our host, who was dressed in a Mao jacket just a bit too tight around the middle. "We have a specialty dish for tonight's dinner, trepangs."





My throat went dry. My hands began to shake. Could it be that after all these years, I was about to learn the secret of the trepang?





I calmed myself and with a steady voice I replied, "Ah yes, trepangs, a dish often discussed by my family."





"I would like one or two of them," I said cautiously.





Our host brimmed with great delight. "Most westerners aren't fond of trepangs," he said. But since they are your family's favorite, you cannot order one or two. We'll have an extra plate."





I nodded reluctantly, not knowing what I was getting into. I knew enough about Chinese customs not to refuse a host's offer and feared an international incident if the food was inedible.





This far into the story, you might be expecting some culturally inappropriate description of a disgusting food eaten by the Chinese, something like the apocryphal stories about monkey brains served from live monkeys in Hong Kong.





It's worse.





The trepangs arrived. They are sea slugs, marine animals with a slippery, gelatinous texture. Trepangs are also translated as sea cucumbers, a name that gives them a certain panache. Wikileaks notes, "In some cultural contexts the sea cucumber is thought to have medicinal value. Most cultures in East and Southeast Asia regard sea cucumbers as a delicacy."





And to tell you the truth, after 14 years of mystery, they weren't so bad. The best that can be said is that trepangs have no flavor of their own. They absorb the sauce in which they are immersed. And my Beijing hosts ordered hot, spicy trepangs. I actually enjoyed them, although I had some trouble eating the second plate.





So what did I learn from all these foreign adventures? If you want to know the name of a particular Chinese dish, ask someone who speaks Chinese.




There are a lot of farmers losing a lot because of Trump's pig-headed, badly-handled trade wars. Including, presumably, a lot of sleep. Family farms are particularly badly hit and farmers have been losing their land; many more are on the verge of bankruptcy. Soybean farmers have been hit worse than anyone else. There are 11 states that each produce over 100 million bushels of soybeans annually-- Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Missouri, South Dakota, Arkansas, North Dakota and Kansas. Most of them are red states, but even in the two blue states with massive soybean production, the counties with the soybean farms are red counties. Illinois and Minnesota are the first and second-biggest soybean states. The big 3 soybean counties in Illinois are Trump bastions. Trump's victory margin over Hillary in each:

 Iroquois- 75.3% to 19.3%

 Livingston- 67.5% to 26.5%

 McLean- 46.9% to 45.5%

The big 5 Minnesota soybean counties and their Trump over Hillary wins:

 Redwood- 67.5% to 24.8%

 Renville- 64.3% to 27.8%

 Faribault- 62.9% to 29.0%

 Polk- 60.7% to 31.8%

 Lac Qui Parle- 59.4% to 33.81%

Vox asserted that These counties are too red to flip blue. But there are farmers who will not vote for Trump and will not vote for Republicans. Last year, in fact, McLean County in Illinois-- the least red of the big Illinois soybean counties-- went strongly for Democratic challenger Betsy Dirksen Londrigan in her bid to replace GOP incumbent Rodney Davis. It was a tight race, Davis' reelected by around 2,000 votes of over 270,000 cast-- 50.4% to 49.6%. McLean county broke blue-- D+25. Next year Davis could well lose his seat because of underperformance in rural areas that are being devastated by Trump's trade wars. Yesterday,asserted that farmers are losing patience with Trump . And not just soybean farmers.

Trump insists that his trade war will benefit farmers, but its actually crushing them. It seems unlikely that China will scrap the 25 percent tariff on American soybeans anytime soon, and now its adding higher taxes on American apples, oranges, pork, and almonds, too.



Thats why farmers are freaking out. Some are facing financial ruin now that millions of Chinese consumers, who once bought about 60 percent of American agriculture exports, have stopped buying their products. Exports to China from Minnesota dropped about 25 percent after the first round of tariffs went into effect last year, said Paap, who is president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau.



The patience of American farmers has worn very thin, Shayne Isane, who is borrowing money to keep his pork and soybean farm running in northern Minnesota, told me. If a trade deal can be reached then it was all worth it, but if it doesnt getting settled soon, it will be disastrous for American farmers.



Isane, who voted for Trump, told me that the president may lose political support from farmers if the trade dispute continues. Rural Americans were some of his biggest supporters, he said. Now that support is a little tenuous.



Trump seems to be acutely aware of this, and has taken steps to help farmers who have been hurt by the trade war-- and shore up their support going into the 2020 election campaign. Last year, Trump created a $12 billion bailout program for farmers, and on Monday, he outlined another plan to give them an additional $15 billion.



But its not clear if those bailouts will be enough to keep farmers happy. We dont want another check from the government, Isane said. People dont realize that once you lose a market, its hard to get it back.



Every year before planting season, US farmers take out loans to cover operating costs. But lately, farmers have been defaulting on their loan payments, and many went out of business last year.



A total of 84 farms in the upper Midwest filed for bankruptcy between July 2017 and June 2018, according to the Federal Reserve of Minneapolis. Thats more than double the number of Chapter 12 filings during the same period in 2013 and 2014 in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana.



Farms that produce corn, soybeans, milk, and beef were already suffering due to low global demand and low prices, according to economists, but Trumps trade war is ruining them. The problem got so bad that the Trump administration launched a $12 billion aid package for US farmers coping with retaliatory tariffs that foreign countries have imposed on their products.



But that bailout has not been enough to keep farms open. Paap, one of the Minnesota farmers I spoke to, said the money they got from the government last year was barely enough for his family to get by on.



Another bad harvest season would send farmers over the edge. Not to mention the other industries that are getting hit too.



Over the past year, the US has placed about $200 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, in part to make Chinese products more expensive so Americans dont buy them. The administration has also placed steep tariffs on all imported steel, angering other major U.S. trade partners.



The idea was to level out the trade deficit and make China buy more U.S. goods, but, as expected, China responded by slapping its own tariffs on American imports. And Trumps steep tariffs on all imported steel and aluminum, which went into effect in March 2018, have led other US trading partners to add their own retaliatory duties on American goods, including dairy, pork, apples, and potatoes.



Auto manufacturers and appliance makers in the U.S. are fuming about the cost of paying more for steel. A few sectors, like the American steel industry, are thrilled about the new taxes on steel from foreign competitors.



But the impact of tariffs on the U.S. agricultural industry is no joke. Prices for agricultural products like soybeans have dropped to a 10-year low since Trump imposed sweeping tariffs. And farmers across different markets have grown increasingly nervous about how their businesses will fare if the trade war continues.



Thats why Trump in July proposed the idea of a government program to stabilize the agriculture industry in three ways: by giving farmers direct cash assistance, buying surplus crops and giving them to food banks, and a vague trade promotion program.



The administration used a Depression-era program to borrow up to $30 billion from the Treasury without congressional approval, according to the Washington Post. In September, the Agriculture Department sent farmers about $12 million in aid.



On Monday, he announced plans for another round of aid-- $15 billion this time. But Trump was either badly mistaken or lied when he said China would pay for the bailout with money from the tariffs. Its actually businesses and consumers who will end up paying.



But even if these bailouts do keep some farms open, they dont address the fact that Trumps trade policies just arent working.



...In 2018, Americas trade deficit with China reached an all-time high: $419 billion. Thats a 13 percent increase compared to the previous year. Ford, Americas second-largest car company, said in August that Trumps tariffs cost the company $1 billion, and the company now expects massive layoffs. GM made a similar announcement a few months later.



This impact of Trumps trade policies is striking, considering how often he repeated that his goal is to boost US manufacturing. His trade war might help the small US steel industry, but its hurting nearly every other sector of the US economy. And now taxpayers are stuck with the bill of Trumps latest $15 billion bailout.



Still, Trump insists that somehow this is all good for rural America. Our great Patriot Farmers will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of what is happening now, Trump announced on Twitter Monday.



So far, though, theyre the biggest losers.

And by targeting apples, almonds, oranges and pork, the Chinese were being very politically strategic. Apples will hurt Trump in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Republican congressmen who could be hurt because of the apple retaliation include Dan Newhouse (WA-04) Chris Collins (NY-27), Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Tom Reed (NY-23), John Katko (NY-24), Fred Upton (MI-06), Justin Amash (MI-03) and Bill Huizenga (MI-02), Lloyd Smucker (PA-11), John Joyce (PA-13), and Duncan Hunter CA-50).





Almond farmers in California aren't going to do Trump and damage but the almond vote is important for Kevin McCarthy, Devin Nunes, Doug LaMalfa and Tom McClintock and votes in almond growing counties could easily cost Nunes and LaMalfa their seats.





Tariffs on oranges are going to sting in Florida, California, Texas and Arizona. The 4 biggest orange-growing counties in Florida all went for Trump in 2016:

 Polk- 55.4% to 41.3%

 Hendry- 55.8% to 41.5%

 Highlands- 64.7% to 32.7%

 DeSoto- 62.7% to 35.0%

Two Republican congressmen could be especially hurt by the tariffs-- Tom Rooney (R-17) and Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25). And Trump's 49.1% to 47.8% win in Florida won't withstand a soybean-sized disaster to the orange industry. In Arizona, the orange industry is now gigantic and it is primarily in Yuma county. Trump won the county nattily-- with just 50.5%. The GOP is extremely worried about losing Arizona. Chinese retaliatory tariffs could do the trick. Last year, Martha McSally lost statewide in her Senate run but won Yuma County with 51.5%. When McCain died she was appointed to his seat and will face the voters again next year. Voters employed by Yuma's orange industry, may not feel well-disposed towards her.





There are 5 states that have pork-producing industries that bring in over a billion annually: Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina and Indiana. It's not just that tariffs on pork could swing Iowa and North Carolina, but it's also which Republican members of Congress are most likely to be hurt by the pork tariffs. These are the 10 biggest pork-producing counties in America, along with their member of Congres:

 Sampson, NC- David Rouzer (R)

 Duplin, NC- David Rouzer (R)

 Texas, OK- Frank Lucas (R)

 Sioux, IA- Steve King (R)

 Washington, IA- (open seat in 2020)

 Martin, MN- Jim Hagedorn (R)

 Plymouth, IA- Steve King (R)

 Lyon, IA- Steve King (R)

 Hardin, IA- Steve King (R)

 Beaver, UT- Chris Stewart (R)









Daily News: Trump Administration Showers Brazilian Crooks With $62M Bailout Money Meant For Struggling U.S. Farmers. King, Rouzer and Hagedorn could all be vulnerable. Salt-pork? No, but Trump has some salt to rub on the wounds of farmers his tariffs are putting out of business. Chris Sommerfeldt broke the story for the New York

The Trump administration has forked over more than $62 million-- taxpayer cash that was supposed to be earmarked for struggling American farmers-- to a massive meatpacking company owned by a couple of corrupt Brazilian brothers.



The Department of Agriculture cut a contract in January to purchase $22.3 million worth of pork from plants operated by JBS USA, a Colorado-based subsidiary of Brazils JBS SA, which ranks as the largest meatpacker in the world.



The bailout raised eyebrows from industry insiders at the time, as it was sourced from a $12 billion program meant for American farmers harmed by President Trumps escalating trade war with China and other countries.



But previously undisclosed purchase reports obtained by the Daily News this week reveal the administration has since issued at least two more bailouts to JBS, even as Trumps own Justice Department began investigating the meatpacker, whose owners are Joesley and Wesley Batista-- two wealthy brothers who have confessed to bribing hundreds of top officials in Brazil.



Both brothers have spent time in jail over the sweeping corruption scandal.



Local prosecutors rescinded the Batistas plea deals last year after accusing them of withholding evidence. The seedy brothers arent allowed to leave Brazil as their complex cases go to court.



The Justice Department, meanwhile, is probing JBS for possible violations in the U.S. of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, according to filings in an unrelated court case reviewed by The News. Reuters reported in December that Justice Department investigators interviewed the Batistas in Brazil late last year as part of that investigation.



Nonetheless, Trumps Agriculture Department issued $14.5 million in bailout cash for pork products from JBS in February and another $25.6 million earlier this month, totaling more than $62.4 million, according to the purchase reports.



The sheer size of the payouts stoked outrage from industry watchdogs, who question how subsidizing a deep-pocketed, Brazilian-owned company would help farmers in the American heartland.



Why is the USDA bailing out plants operated by JBS, the largest meatpacker in the world, with a program designed to help domestic companies and producers under economic duress? said Tony Corbo, a lobbyist at Food & Water Watch, noting that the meat giant reported a net income of $273 million for the first quarter of 2019.



Moreover, JBS appears to have benefited from the trade tensions between Beijing and Washington that the bailouts are supposed to mitigate.



The companys exports to China ballooned to more than 24% in 2018, compared to less than 21% the previous year, according to public records, raising questions about the need for the Trump subsidy.



This company does not seem to be hurting, Corbo said.



By comparison, a similar Trump bailout to Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, which is owned by a Chinese firm, was cancelled last year amid pushback from members of Congress that money meant for American farmers was ending up in the hands of foreigners.



...It is clear the president is not the least bit knowledgeable about trade policy, nor aware of the chaos his failed approach has caused said Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who introduced a bill earlier this year restricting the administrations bailouts to American-owned companies.



We now know that tens of millions of these dollars went to large, multinational corporations-- including Brazilian-owned JBS-- who are racking up profits while family farmers face collapse. That is outrageous.



In addition to payment restrictions, DeLauros bill would require the Agriculture Department release explanations for its bailouts.



Their incompetence and lack of transparency has shown that they cannot be trusted to get this right, she said.
















Ride-hailing services should be managed differently from traditional transport firms if the digital economy is to be promoted, information minister says.

In a letter to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said there should be a new legal framework for ride-hailing services like Grab and Go-Viet so that technology could bring social and economic benefits as seen in countries like the U.K., Singapore and Indonesia.

While traditional taxi firms provide a whole gamut of the transport services, ride-hailing services only provide a part and so should be managed differently, he explained.

He proposed a new definition in the law for ride-hailing firms as companies which provide platforms to connect drivers and passengers using technology.

Vietnamese officials have been scratching their heads about how to manage ride-hailing services since traditional taxis are crying foul, claiming their business is being damaged by new competitors like Grab.

In its latest version of a bill on managing these services, the Ministry of Transport has tightened conditions for ride-hailing firms. They should have signs on top like regular taxis, the bill said.

But Hung believes there should be a different approach. He said that the government should use technology to manage and supervise the ride-hailing firms.

Instead of requiring them to have signs on top like regular taxis, authorities should ask them for access to data on the cars participating in the platform, he said.

Traditional firms should also be allowed more flexibility to compete, he said, explaining that instead having fixed fares they should be allowed to negotiate the fare with customers booking on apps.

He has said in the past that the digital transformation would create new business models that challenge or replace existing ones, citing the examples of ride-hailing firms challenging traditional taxis and fintech firms challenging banks.

"The question is whether the government will accept these new businesses. Digitizing the economy requires a revolution in terms of policies rather than technology."

The battle between ride-hailing firms and traditional taxis continue. In December, a HCMC court ordered Singapores Grab to pay domestic taxi firm Vinasun VND4.8 billion ($206,000) in compensation for alleged losses the former has caused the latter.

Grab appealed, saying it did not commit any wrong against Vinasun, a move supported by the HCMC prosecutors.
Vietnams rapid economic growth in recent years has put pressure on its aging infrastructure. Photo by VnExpress/Vo Thanh

Vietnam is soliciting domestic and foreign investment in eight components of the North-South Expressway as it seeks to improve infrastructure for its robust economy.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Nhat said at a forum Friday that the public-private partnership (PPP) model would be adopted for them and global accounting companies Deloitte and Ernst & Young would help review the financial structure of the projects and prepare bid invitations and contracts.

The forum attracted 100 local investors and 50 from South Korea, Japan, China and other countries.

"The process of selecting investors has been researched thoroughly, complying with Vietnamese and foreign laws to guarantee fairness, competitiveness and transparency."

Nguyen Viet Huy, deputy head of the Ministry of Transports public-private partnership department, said government funds for land acquisition have been allocated and local authorities would be responsible for acquiring land.

Huy said 80 investors have collected bidding documents for the projects, many from Japan, South Korea and China, and more are likely to join them in the next two months.

But the government has not approved risk-sharing policies related to currency conversion guarantees and revenue guarantees, he said.

Vietnams rapid economic growth in recent years has put pressure on its aging infrastructure, and it is in the process of upgrading it.

Eleven components of the North-South Expressway are among the governments top priorities this year. Three of them are publicly funded and the rest will be built under PPP model.

They are expected to cost VND118 trillion ($5.06 billion), with VND55 trillion ($2.36 billion) coming from the government.

Together, they will stretch 654 kilometers as part of the 2,000-kilometer expressway from Nam Dinh near Hanoi to Vinh Long Province to the southwest of Ho Chi Minh City.

The expressway is scheduled to be finished in 2025.
Renowned designer Park Youn Hee will present her latest collection today at the Fashion Voyage 2 show in Ha Long Bay.

Park Youn Hee will present her latest collection on a Ha Long Bay catwalk Saturday. Photo courtesy of Park Youn Hee's instagram

Park will be the distinguished guest at the event, held on an island in the world-famous Ha Long Bay. She said she was excited to return to Vietnam, having presented her collection earlier in Hanoi.

Founder of the Greedilous fashion brand, Parks costumes have been worn by many global celebrities like Beyonce, Anne Hathaway, and Paris Hilton.

She presents her collections often at the worlds most prominent events including Paris Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week and Seoul Fashion Week.

She has also collaborated with famous brands such as Prada, MiuMiu, Givenchy or Zippo.

Fashion Voyage 2, themed Lost in Wonder, will also feature top models and designers in Vietnam. Its first edition took place on the Golden Bridge in Da Nang City.

Vietnamese designers Lam Gia Khang, Nguyen Tien Truyen, Hoang Minh Ha and Ha Nhat Tien will also present their collection at the event.
Saigon police rescued 13 women Saturday from 6 massage and coffee places that offer erotic services in the city and neighboring provinces. Photo by Shutterstock/Rafal Bloch

Thirteen women coerced into prostitution in massage parlors and other establishments in Saigon and neighboring localities were rescued Saturday.

The women were beaten, held against their will, tortured and forced into sex work to "pay off debts" at 6 massage parlors, hair salons and coffee shops.

Police have arrested Do Van Tuan, 27 and four others for extortion and illegally detaining people. The five were responsible for tricking dozens of women into working for massage parlors offering erotic services, the police said.

Tuan posted job offers on social media channels like Zalo and Facebook and tricked unsuspecting girls into working for establishments that offered erotic services. He would collect between VND8 million ($342) and VND10 million ($427) as referral fees from the owners, after which the girls were forced to work to pay off the "debt."

Do Van Tuan. Photo courtesy of the police.

The rescue happened after an unnamed woman reported to the police that her 24-year-old daughter had been tricked into a massage parlor on Nguyen Anh Thu Street in Saigons Hoc Mon District.

The daughter said she was not allowed to go out and was forced to repay debts set by her employer, adding there were many other girls in the same situation.

A police raid followed, targeting the six massage parlors, hair salons and coffee shops in Saigon and the neighboring provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai.

"The tricking of young girls into working for erotic massage places and prostitution dens in HCMC is not new. But many still fall for such tricks due to promises of easy jobs with high salaries," a police officer said.

Around 3,000 people are believed to be working as sex workers in Saigon, according to official data.

Under Vietnam's Penal Code, sex workers are given a warning and fined VND100,000-300,000 ($4.3-12.8), while pimps and sex ring organizers can get between six months and five years in jail.
Vam Cong Bridge crosses the Hau River, a branch of the Mekong River in Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress/Cuu Long

A long-awaited bridge over the Hau River in the Mekong Delta will open to traffic on Sunday.

The Vam Cong Bridge between Dong Thap Province and Can Tho City opens after six years of construction and repairs, and will replace the 100-year-old ferry service across the river.

The $270-million, six-lane cable-stayed bridge was built by South Koreas GS E&C with funding from that countrys official development assistance.

Its construction began in September 2013 and it was originally set to open to traffic in late 2017, but a crack four centimeters wide and two meters long was detected in one of its girders due to stress concentration, residual stress and low welding quality.

The repairs were delayed as the Cuu Long Corporation for Investment, Development and Project Management of Infrastructure (Cuu Long CIPM), the transport ministry firm overseeing the construction, blamed GS E&C for "not taking drastic enough measures" and not being "active enough."

The Korean company said it faced financial difficulties since Vietnamese authorities had not refunded value-added tax or the insurance premium it had paid.

In December last year Cuu Long CIPM said the repairs had been done with help from South Korean experts, promising the bridge would open in summer this year.

It also hired an independent local consultant, the Institute of Transport Science and Technology, and a foreign consultant, to evaluate the quality, Tran Van Thi, its CEO, said.

Vo Thanh Thong, Chairman of Can Tho, said the Vam Cong Bridge would be a key piece of infrastructure, providing a convenient link between the delta and the rest of the nation.

The bridge is the second cable-stayed bridge over the Hau River, one of two tributaries of the Mekong River in Vietnam. The first bridge, Can Tho, opened to traffic in 2009.

It is expected to help ease traffic jams at the end of holidays when people from the Mekong Delta return to work in Ho Chi Minh City and its neighboring industrial provinces like Binh Duong and Dong Nai.

The traffic jams would often last for hours, especially outside the ferry station.

Thong also pointed out, "The bridge will benefit farmers in the Mekong Delta as their products will be able to reach markets in HCMC much faster."
Four women have been named suspects days after two bodies entombed in concrete were discovered in southern Vietnam.

Police in Binh Duong Province said on Saturday they have detained the women pending investigation of the grisly murder case which took place in a rented house in Hung Hoa Commune, Bau Bang District, less than two hours from Saigon.

"For now, three of them have admitted to committing the murder and putting the two bodies in the tanks with concrete. They said personal conflicts instigated the killing," a senior officer said, adding that they are investigating the remaining womans role.

Two of the women, Pham Thi Thien Ha, 31, and Trinh Thi Hong Hoa, had lived in the house with the two victims from October 2018, according to the house owner.

Pham Thi Thien Ha (L) and Pham Thi Hong Hoa, two of the four suspects in a murder case of two men in Binh Duong Province in southern Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Binh Duong Police.

No information has been given about the relationship between the other women and the murdered men, the specific reason for their murder, and how it was actually committed.

The murder was discovered on Thursday when a man who bought the property was cleaning up the place.

In one bedroom, he found a water tank filled with concrete. He had some workers break it in order to move it out, and found a decomposing body encased in the concrete.

When the police arrived and searched the property, they found another plastic water tank filled with concrete. This one contained a body too.

A water tank on the side of a house in Binh Duong Province, in which police found a body hidden in concrete. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyet Trieu

Police said the victims were male, aged 30-35, and were most probably killed about a month earlier. One body had ten stab wounds on the back and a one-meter string around the neck while the other one was covered with tea leaves and packed in sponge, glue and silicon.

Investigators had first looked for Ha and Hoa, with local media publishing their images within the past day. In the early hours of Saturday, Nguyen Quang Khai, who works for a local hotel, reported to the police that the two women were staying there.

Khai said Ha and Hoa rented a hotel room in early April for long-term stay with two other women for VND7 million ($300), with Ha submitting her ID card while checking in.

"The four rarely went out and only communicated with the hotel staff when necessary; but they did not show any abnormal signs," he said.

On learning that their whereabouts has been discovered by the police, the group immediately checked out and demanded Has ID back.

But Khai told them that he had already given the card to the police, in an effort to delay them.

As the four got into a seven-seat car to leave, the police arrived and arrested them.
A pregnant woman poses for pictures during an interview with Reuters in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, March 13, 2014. Photo by Reuters/Alex Lee

New laws being drafted in Cambodia on commercial surrogacy must not criminalize surrogate mothers, women's rights campaigners said on Friday,

The call came after 11 women jailed for agreeing to carry a client's baby were released from prison.

The Southeast Asian nation has seen an uptick in commercial surrogacy after the practice was banned in Thailand in 2015, and has since been scrambling to draft a law to stamp out the trade.

In the meantime, dozens of surrogates have been charged under human trafficking laws and face up to 20 years in prison - a scenario that must change under the new law, said Chak Sopheap, head of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR).

"The effect of the law should be to focus on the perpetrators and agents of surrogacy, who are often men, not the women who carry the children," she said.

"The possibility that these women were coerced or driven by poverty to become surrogates is high."

Surrogates told the Thomson Reuters Foundation they were offered $10,000 to carry a baby, more than six times the average annual salary in a nation where one-third of the population lives on the poverty line.

Family pressures, often brought about by excessive debt, can drive young women into surrogacy, women's rights experts said.

The release on bail last month of 11 surrogate mothers - some of whom gave birth in detention - follows that of 32 in December who were carrying babies for Chinese clients.

All were freed on the condition that they raise the babies as their own, but they still have human trafficking charges and potential 20 year prison sentences hanging over them.

"They agreed to not sell the babies, so we released them. But they remain under the supervision of the judge," Chou Bun Eng, deputy head of the National Committee for Counter Trafficking, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"The law will follow them. In cases (where) they sell, they will be sent back to prison."

While no details of the new law have been made public and there is no timeframe for its introduction, Bun Eng indicated that surrogate mothers will be treated at the very least as criminal accomplices.

"They cooperate with the traffickers, so they are involved in the crime," she said.

A spokesman for Cambodia's Justice Ministry referred questions about the drafting of the law to the Women's Affairs Ministry, whose spokesman could not be reached.

Ros Sopheap, director of the charity Gender and Development for Cambodia, said that surrogacy should be outlawed in Cambodia, at least for now, as the safety of procedures could not be guaranteed.

Regardless, she said, new laws would likely be ineffective in a market fuelled by poverty.

"As long as demand is there, secret networks will continue to operate," she said.

Cambodia told the United Nations in June the new law would "protect women from exploitation and ensure that the rights of any children born through surrogacy are protected".

But CCHR's Sopheap said that the government had yet to provide clarity on how these protections would work, leaving those already engaged in surrogacy in limbo.

"This lack of clarity has driven surrogate mothers into hiding, and increasingly dangerous and precarious positions, for fear of unknown repercussions from the authorities," she said.
Comesa has deployed a short-term election observer mission to the Tripartite General Elections in Malawi set for May 21, 2019. The tripartite elections will include the election of the President, National Assembly members, and local government councilors.

The COMESA delegation now in Lilongwe, is led by Ambassador Mohamed Ahmed Abdelghaffar Karrar, a member of the COMESA Committee of Elders from the Republic of Sudan.

The observer mission comprises representatives from COMESA Member States and supported by members of staff from the Secretariat. The deployment of the mission follows an invitation by the Government of Malawi to COMESA through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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As part of its mission, the COMESA observers are undertaking pre-election observation which will include consultations with political parties, the Malawi Electoral Commission, security agencies, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the Media and other relevant electoral stakeholders.

The pre-election observation will inform the mission on election-related issues as well as enable the mission to assess the preparedness of the respective stakeholders ahead of the election. COMESA observation will be based on the Malawi electoral code of conduct, the constitution and other relevant international instruments governing the conduct of elections.

The observers will also engage with other election observer missions on the ground in the three regions of Northern, Central, and Southern. The findings of this election observer mission will be included into the detailed report that will be submitted to the MEC and the Government within 90 days from the election date.

The observer mission will use this opportunity to contribute to the strengthening and consolidating the democratic processes in the Republic of Malawi.
Hiking the high desert of northeastern Nevada offers some great benefits, and challenges, due to the remote landscapes.

For example, Seitz Canyon on the west side of the Ruby Mountains gets few visitors. I had hiked into this canyon three times without seeing another person. On the fourth visit, however, I came around a corner in a thick aspen grove and encountered another hiker. We stopped and both of our faces registered annoyance at having our solitary hikes interrupted. We good-naturedly grumbled about the mountains filling up with people and then we went our own ways.

Not all trails in the high mountains of Nevada offer that level of solitude, but they do offer a chance to get away from other people. The Lamoille Lake Trail in the Ruby Mountains may be crowded on a summer weekend, but many other trails get very few hikers. The trails in the Jarbidge Mountains are so remote it is difficult to find out about them. People using the trails are loathe to share information.

Many of the trails access wilderness areas such as the Ruby Mountains Wilderness, the East Humboldt Wilderness and the Jarbidge Wilderness. In Nevadas high mountain areas, it does not take much hiking to reach elevations of 9,000 or 10,000 feet.

Some high mountain trails are accessed only on bumpy two-track roads, using 4-wheel drive. But others can be easily accessed.

Smiths Lake in the East Humboldt Range is one of my favorite destinations, only a 1.5-mile hike from Angel Lake and its paved access road. Yet this alpine lake is rarely visited by hikers.

Lamoille Canyon offers a paved road into the Ruby Mountains and access to several high trails, including the north end of the 40-plus mile long Ruby Crest Trail. The southern trailhead is accessed by a two-mile long, rough dirt road. Sometimes it is easier to hike the extra two miles and begin at a good, gravel, county road.

The problem with mountain solitude is that you are, well, alone. Some times you need other people, like if something goes wrong. Enjoyable solitude one day can become a nightmare the next day if you manage to injure yourself or become sick. Traveling in solitude requires hikers to be able to take care of themselves.

Self-reliance starts with others knowing where you are going and when you will return. Cellphone coverage in the mountains is spotty, at best. Solar-powered phone chargers can keep cellphones available for that rare coverage. Devices like the Spot satellite messenger can alert outside help.

High altitude hiking is exhilarating but there is always the chance of altitude sickness. Elevations over 8,000 feet offer less oxygen. A hiker leaving home at 3,000 feet, driving to a trailhead at 7,000 feet and hiking up to 9,500 feet, the elevation of many Ruby Mountains lakes, can face symptoms such as headaches, vomiting, tiredness, trouble sleeping and dizziness.

Symptoms of mild altitude sickness may appear that first night or the next day and go away a day or two later, as your body adjusts to the change in altitude. These symptoms can take the fun out of a trip.

A better plan might be to stay that first night in a town at 5,000 feet, or camp in a campground at 7,000 feet. Then hike the next day, giving your body an extra 24 hours to adjust to the altitude.

Even at high elevations inside wilderness areas, it is advisable to filter drinking water. No confirmed cases of Giardia have been reported in the Ruby Mountains but filters are so cheap to buy, and so easy to use, that it is not worth the risk of contracting this nasty intestinal disease.

Soldier Canyon offers a good trail giving access to Robinson Lake at 9,100 feet and Hidden Lakes at 9,500 feet. Most of the trail is inside the Ruby Mountains Wilderness. Dispersed campsites can be found in the canyon before the trailhead. Soldier Canyon dirt road is accessed off of the paved State Route 229, using the gravel Lower Lamoille Road. Get a map of the Ruby Mountains or stop at the U.S. Forest Service office in Wells or Elko.

Smiths Lake trailhead can be reached by a paved road beginning in Wells. The lake is at 9,100 feet elevation and inside the East Humboldt Wilderness. The 1  mile trail begins next to the Island Lake Campground at 8,400 feet.

Jarbidge Lake lies at 9,500 feet elevation and is surrounded by peaks over 10,000 feet. The Jarbidge River trail is mostly inside the Jarbidge Wilderness. The six-mile trail requires wading a stream close to the trailhead. The trail is most easily accessed by driving U.S. Highway 93 to Rogerson, Idaho, and then driving east through the town of Jarbidge to the trailhead. Jarbidge offers lodging, restaurants and bars. Dispersed campsites are available farther up the canyon.

A good hiking source is my Hikers Guide; Trails in the Elko Area.

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While visiting my grandmothers farm one summer vacation many years ago, we watched the Division of Forestry measure the heights of some trees in her woodlot. They used a surveyors transit that consisted of a small telescope mounted on a tripod that could tilt to get the angle of the treetop with respect to the ground. By knowing the distance from the base of the tree and using some trigonometry, the height was easily determined.

They told us the largest tree there in the grove had a height of 131 feet and that it was the tallest elm in upstate New York. Before they left that day one of the workers said they think its age was well over 200 years, meaning it started growing well before the time George Washington was president!

When living on the East Coast you dont often get to see many old trees except in parks and preserves because many have been cut down in the last two centuries to make way for modern progress. It was interesting to find this week a study by the University of Arkansas on a stand of bald cypress trees in North Carolina that actually date from Roman times. It claims one tree is over 2,600 years old!

In the article authored by geosciences Professor David Stahle, in Environmental Research Communications, the trees were found in 2017 in a forested wetland preserve along the Black River south of Raleigh, and were accurately documented for age using dendrochronology  the counting of tree rings. The inner samples were also submitted to radiocarbon dating methods for age confirmation. At this point they are the oldest known living trees in eastern North America and the oldest known wetland tree species in the world.

As found on the University of Arkansas website, the ancient trees are part of an intact ecosystem that spans most of the 65-mile length of the Black River. It is exceedingly unusual to see an old-growth stand of trees along the whole length of a river like this, Stahle said. Bald cypress are valuable for timber and they have been heavily logged. Way less than 1 percent of the original virgin bald cypress forests have survived.

In addition to their age, the trees are a scientifically valuable means of reconstructing ancient climate conditions. The oldest trees in the preserve extend the paleoclimate record in the southeast United States by 900 years, and show evidence of droughts and flooding during colonial and pre-colonial times that exceed any measured in modern days. Perhaps from this data we can say global warming really started back in the Middle Ages?

For this study, researchers used non-destructive core samples from 110 trees found in a section of the wetland forest they had not previously visited.

The area of old growth bald cypress was 10 times larger than I realized, Stahle said and we think there are older trees still out there.

Lets look at some other record holders.

Europes oldest tree whose age has been fully documented is a 1,075-year-old Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii) named Adonis growing in the Pindos mountains of northern Greece. The tree took root in AD 941, when the Vikings were still raiding along western European coastlines.

In 2013, Swedish dendrochronologist Paul Krusic took a 24-inch sample from Adonis to count its rings, but his coring tool was too short to reach the center of the tree. Even so, counting the rings he obtained revealed the tree was more than 900 years old. In 2016 the team came back to take more samples but this time armed with a coring instrument over three feet long.

Other trees in Europe are known to be at least 700 years old, but because countries there have been densely populated for so long, most trees that sprouted more than 500 years ago have been long since cut down.

The Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi sacred fig tree in North Central Province, Sri Lanka deserves honorable mention. It is a sapling from the historical Bodhi tree under which Buddha became enlightened and was planted in 288 BC, making it the oldest living human-planted tree in the world.

Concerning the West Coast of the United States, the current record-holders for individual, non-clonal trees are the Great Basin bristlecone pines from California and Nevada. Many trees through tree-ring counting have been shown to be almost 5,000 years old. Today, the oldest individual living pine of this type is appropriately named Methuselah, a 4,848-year-old specimen from the White Mountains of California. When sampled in 1957 by Edmund Schulman and Tom Harlan they determined an estimated germination date of 2833 BC  about the time Moses was playing as a child on the banks of the Nile River.

The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is a protected area in Inyo County where the trees grow between 9,800 and 11,000 feet in elevation. Methuselah is not marked in the forest, to ensure protection from vandals.

On Sept. 4, 2008, a California arsonist set fire to the Schulman Grove Visitor Center and several bristlecone pines. The building and all the exhibits within were destroyed.

Gary Hanington is Professor Emeritus of physical science at Great Basin College and chief scientist at AHV. He can be reached at garyh@ahv.com or gary.hanington@gbcnv.edu.

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ELKO, NEV.  A quarter of a million people walked the California Trail in search of land, gold and a better life in the 1840s and 50s, making it the largest American mass migration. Most travelers began their journey along the Missouri River and, if they were lucky enough to survive, ended it in what we now call California, Oregon or somewhere near the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Modern-day authors and filmmakers have documented what the experience must have been like. However, there is no better way to comprehend the hardships, the number of lives affected, and the various historical outcomes than taking a tour of the California Trail Interpretive Center.

Without the trail, people would have had to have gone by ocean, said Gregory Feathers, park ranger for the center located eight miles west of Elko, Nevada.

The center's exhibits explain many of the consequences of so many people traveling a similar route through the region.

A lot of people dont realize this, but when the trail was first established people were migrating to Mexico, Feathers said.

California and Nevada were then Mexican territory.

The Humboldt River sustains all life in this area, Feathers said. This is where the plants are that you gathered for wintertime. In 1850 you had almost 50,000 people coming through here in the span of two months and they decimated everything. They were so afraid of Native Americans that they would shoot on site in some cases.

The Bureau of Land Management has operated the museum since it was completed in 2008. Since that time it has expanded to grow its exhibitions and programs.

The curious observer walks down the trail, enlightened by dioramas and other displays that depict the many daily migrant experiences. Children can try on pioneer clothing and adults can ponder over the dubious moves that led the Donner Party into a troubled and deadly winter in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Geographical features that can be experienced include the Humboldt River and the Forty-Mile Desert. The river is what made the journey through this part of Nevada possible and the lengthy, water-free desert outside of Fernley killed many who made it this far.

Walking 2,000 miles in a terrible pair of shoes [was difficult,] Feathers said. Many traded for Native American footwear. When they were coming through this area it was July, August or September, the worst time of the year. The dust was one of the biggest things they complained about. Thousands of wagons were kicking up the dust and the water in the river was foul by that point.

Cattle, horses and humans also used the area for waste. Both animals and people died along the trail and were left or buried nearby. Needless to say, the sanitation was horrible.

It was very easy to get sick on this section of the trail, Feathers said.

He said the Gold Rush period of 1850 to 1852 was the worst time for the masses of people coming through. There was competition for everything in this unique social environment. Feathers said many of the migrants came from rural areas in the East and this was the largest number of people they had ever encountered at one time.

The center also highlights the people who lived in the Great Basin before white settlers passed this way. These people knew how to survive in the tough landscape, and interaction between natives and pioneers was difficult at best.

There is a theme-oriented gift shop in the museum. Visitors can select from coonskin hats, historical books, rock collections and other memorabilia.

The museum grounds also offer a glimpse into the past. Several wikiups depict a typical Shoshone or Paiute dwelling site. A covered wagon shows the method of transporting rations and the sick or injured. The walkway to the front doors is inscribed with the names of scouts and other party leaders who sometimes took varying routes, both successfully and unsuccessfully.

Throughout the year the center offers a number of free educational programs. Many of these are hands-on. A temporary exhibit, The Forgotten: The Chinese and the Transcontinental Railroad, honors the hard-working Asian railroad employees that built the Central Pacific Railroad. About 90 percent of the railroads employees (about 12,000 people) were migrant workers from China.

The exhibit sheds light on the experience of these great yet hidden men, and celebrates the 150th anniversary of their collective accomplishment in completing Americas first Transcontinental Railroad, Feathers said.

The exhibit is composed of 20 panels placed chronologically. Feathers did all of the research and text for the show, which will be on display through June 16.

The center can be reached off of Interstate 80 at Hunter Exit 292.

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ELKO  One of two men charged with murder in an Elko County home invasion pleaded guilty to first degree murder this week in district court.

Tieres Allan Lopez, 24, pleaded guilty to first degree murder, a category A felony, in Elko District Court before Judge Nancy Porter on May 14.

In exchange, he agreed to a sentence of life in prison to be eligible for parole after a minimum of 25 years, according to court documents.

District Attorney Tyler Ingram told the court the family of Bradley Smith had been informed about the plea deal and Smiths family was in agreement with the terms noted in the plea agreement. A family member was present in court and confirmed the statement.

In the plea agreement, Lopez pleaded guilty to first degree murder in perpetration of burglary, home invasion and attempted robbery.

On July 7, intruders kicked in the front door of Smiths home on Wrangler Circle and a gunfight ensued. Smith, who had been shot multiple times, was transported to Northeastern Nevada Hospital where he died of his injuries.

Lopez was arrested the following day and charged with first degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and attempted home invasion. He remains in custody at the Elko County Jail.

About 10 days after the crime occurred, a second suspect, Alan Joseph David Honeyestewa, 24, was arrested and booked on charges of open murder and burglary while in possession of a gun or deadly weapon.

Honeyestewa was injured in the gunfight and was transported to Salt Lake City for treatment of his wounds. He was arrested after he returned to Elko.

According to court records, Honeyestewa is expected to go to trial by the end of the year.

Law enforcement identified two other suspects: Taylor Robert Miller and Tyrell Mitchell Holley.

Miller was arrested April 17 on a warrant for failure to appear after bail on a felony crime, according to Elko Daily Free Press files. On May 9, he pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace and was sentenced to 512 hours in jail.

Holley was arrested April 20 on a warrant for failure to appear after bail on a misdemeanor crime.

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Another judgment, another instance of the English court seizing jurisdiction in a patent dispute. In Ablynx NV and Anor v VHsquared Limited and Ors [2019] EWHC 792 (Pat), His Honour Justice Hacon (sitting as a High Court judge) has provided a useful judgment concerning the application of the Brussels Regulation to patent disputes where there is also a purported choice of jurisdiction by contract. Even in circumstances where the parties have made such a choice, a forum shopping defendant might well find the shelves to be bare. of the English court seizing jurisdiction in a patent dispute. In, His Honour Justice Hacon (sitting as a High Court judge) has provided a useful judgment concerning the application of theto patent disputes where there is also a purported choice of jurisdiction by contract. Even in circumstances where the parties have made such a choice, a forum shopping defendant might well find the shelves to be bare.





Ablynx is the exclusive sub-licensee of certain fields of use for three patents (now expired) protecting an invention relating to immunoglobulins derived from camelid antibodies [camelid refers to several even-toed ungulates, not just camels, so we can leave puns involving humps and deserts at the door, please] . Broadly speaking, the Defendants were licensees in relation to other fields of use. The Defendants are alleged to have infringed the UK designations of the patents during their term by encroaching on Ablynxs field of use. This allegedly provided an illegitimate springboard for work completed following the expiry of the patents. There is ongoing litigation relating to the same subject matter in the Netherlands and Belgium, and there was earlier litigation in the Netherlands.

Apparently called a "camel" stretch, therefore topical





The Defendants contended that the relevant licence agreement conferred exclusive jurisdiction on the court of Brussels to settle any disputes arising in connection with the agreement (including the present one). The High Court was therefore asked to give effect to this choice of jurisdiction pursuant to Articles 25 and 31(2) of the Brussels Regulation, and to stay the proceedings pending the Brussels courts decision on whether it has jurisdiction under the Agreement. The Claimants meanwhile relied on Article 24(4), on the basis that the proceedings are concerned with the validity of patents, in respect of which the English court has exclusive jurisdiction. The Defendants had not entered an appearance, and had not (yet) formally challenged the validity of the patents. It was however clear from evidence that were the Defendants application for a stay to fail, the Defendants would counterclaim for invalidity (among other defences e.g. non-infringement and experimental use).





JP Morgan Chase Bank NA v Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) Anstalt des Offentlichten Rechts [2010] EWCA Civ 390. JP Morgan concerned Article 22(2) of Regulation 44/2001, which is materially identical to Article 24(2) of Brussels I Recast. This Article confers exclusive jurisdiction in relation to proceedings which have as their object, among other things, the validity of the constitution and decisions of companies/organs registered in a particular Member State. The CoA observed that it is not necessarily the case that the courts of the "home" Member State will be best placed to hear such a dispute, particularly if the parties have expressly chosen another jurisdiction to solve their disputes. Therefore, said the Defendants, the best place for this dispute was the Brussels court. Hacon HHJ disagreed, and distinguished patents from the CoAs observation on the basis that the grant of patent rights is an exercise of national sovereignty, and to adopt the approach in JP Morgan might have constitutional implications in some Member States. The Defendants attempted to persuade the judge to follow, by analogy, an observation by the Court of Appeal inconcerned Article 22(2) of Regulation 44/2001, which is materially identical to Article 24(2) of Brussels I Recast. This Article confers exclusive jurisdiction in relation to proceedings which have as their object, among other things, the validity of the constitution and decisions of companies/organs registered in a particular Member State. The CoA observed that it is not necessarily the case that the courts of the "home" Member State will be best placed to hear such a dispute, particularly if the parties have expressly chosen another jurisdiction to solve their disputes. Therefore, said the Defendants, the best place for this dispute was the Brussels court. Hacon HHJ disagreed, and distinguished patents from the CoAs observation on the basis that the grant of patent rights is , and to adopt the approach inmight have constitutional implications in some Member States.



Therefore, the question of jurisdiction turned simply on the meaning of concerned with...the validity of patents. Here, Hacon HHJ did follow the CoA in JP Morgan, which adopted a fairly permissive interpretation of the analogous wording in Article 24(2). In the judges view, proceedings are concerned with the validity of patents if, pursuant to an overall assessment, the proceedings are in substance or principally concerned with validity. On the evidence before him, the judge concluded that were this claim to progress to trial, the proceedings would be concerned with the validity of the patents. The Defendants' remaining planned defences appeared to be subsidiary, and the judge was also sceptical of the Defendants' argument that any trial would primarily concern arguments regarding the scope of the patent licence. Therefore, he refused to grant the stay sought by the Defendants: the English court had exclusive jurisdiction pursuant to Article 24(4). The judge also held (obiter) that if he were wrong about jurisdiction under Article 24(4), the Defendants had a prima facie case that the Brussels court would have exclusive jurisdiction under Article 25. His summary of the interplay between Articles 24, 25 and 31(2) is succinct and useful:

When a stay is sought under Article 31(2), if an argument is raised that the court before which the stay is sought has exclusive jurisdiction under Article 24, that court must decide whether the argument is correct. If the court has exclusive jurisdiction under Article 24, Article 31(2) is not engaged. There will be no stay. If the court does not have exclusive jurisdiction under Article 24, it must decide whether at least prima facie there is an agreement which satisfies Article 25 and confers exclusive jurisdiction on the courts of another Member State. If so, provided the defendant has not entered an appearance in a manner which satisfies Article 26, there must be a stay of the proceedings.

(Readers will recall that Article 31(2) was introduced into Brussels I Recast in order to deter the so-called Italian torpedo tactic i.e. a race to seise first a court that is expected to deal with the claim slowly, thereby excluding the court that the parties previously agreed would have exclusive jurisdiction until the first court rules whether it in fact has jurisdiction).
Another 15 soldiers of Ukraine's Armed Forces wounded in Donbas to be treated in Bundeswehr clinics - German Embassy

This week, 15 Ukrainian soldiers have been brought to the clinics of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Germany - the Bundeswehr  for treatment, who were injured in Donbas hostilities.

"This week, the Bundeswehr has transported fifteen Ukrainian soldiers wounded during the hostilities in Eastern Ukraine to Germany for treatment at Bundeswehr clinics. We wish the soldiers a speedy recovery!" the German Embassy said on Twitter on Friday evening.
Russia's hybrid military forces mounted seven attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas on Friday, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as wounded in action, the press service of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) has reported.

"One Ukrainian soldier was wounded amid hostilities. Each enemy provocation had an adequate response," the JFO staff said in its update on Facebook on Saturday morning.
The team of President-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky suggests introducing in Ukraine a system of democracy based on the principle of "direct democracy," which will include fair and high-quality referendums, a mandatory response to popular initiatives and a "people's veto" on decisions taken by key authorities.

"The system of people power that we suggest is a system that is called "direct democracy" throughout the world. We studied the experience of the Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, Canada, the United States, and from each country we tried to take those things that would enable people to feel real control and power in this state," Zelensky's ideologist Ruslan Stefanchuk, who is in charge of reforming state institutions and law-making work, said on the 112.Ukraine TV channel.

He noted that it is necessary to revive the system of fair, correct and high-quality referendums. "As we don't understand why the referendum, which gave birth to Ukraine as a state, has never been used for the benefit of Ukraine after that?" Stefanchuk stressed.

Zelensky's advisor also pointed out the importance of the issue of popular initiatives. "These are not petitions which are written many times and not executed. There will be a mandatory approach to respond to all popular initiatives, both at the national and at the local level," he explained.

Stefanchuk pointed out that the third and conceptually important issue is the "response system" of the highest authorities. "When a person, people, nation have the opportunity not only to recall a deputy, carry out the procedure of impeachment of the president, but also to veto the decisions taken, that is, the system of "people's veto," he noted.
No matter how long our path on returning Crimea is, we will go it along with Crimean Tatars - Zelensky on anniversary of Crimean Tatars' deportation

President-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, on the day of the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the deportation of Crimean Tatars, expressed hope that Ukraine would be able to liberate Crimea from occupation.

"Today is the 75th anniversary of the deportation of Crimean Tatars. This day reminds us that it is possible to destroy people, but the spirit of an entire people - never. The Crimean Tatars have returned to their historic homeland. And now they are again victims of repression - like those who remained loyal to Ukraine in the occupied Crimea," wrote Zelensky on his Facebook page on Saturday.

He expressed hope that Ukraine will be able to liberate the homeland of the Crimean Tatars from occupation.

"Our support, our efforts, our thoughts are with them every day. I believe that we will liberate the homeland of the Crimean Tatars from occupation. And no matter how long the path on returning Crimea is, we will go through it with the Crimean Tatars. We will do it together. Don't forget that even the darkest night ends with the dawn," the elected president wrote.
The Russian Federation asks to convene a meeting of the UN Security Council in connection with the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the law "On ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as a state language," spokesperson for the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations Oleg Nikolenko has said.

"It has become known today that the delegation of the Russian Federation appealed to the President of the UN Security Council with a request to convene a meeting in connection with the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the law on ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the national language. The meeting may take place on Monday," he wrote on Facebook.

Nikolenko noted that the functioning of the Ukrainian language in Ukraine in no way threatens international peace and security, the maintenance of which is the task of the UN Security Council, therefore, "there is no point in commenting on this absurd request, which has surprised not only Ukraine."

"This law is our internal question, which the Kremlin is trying to politicize," Nikolenko said.

He sees such Russia's attempts as an attempt to marginalize the world's key security platform, "to turn it into an evening show used to be aired on Russia's major propaganda channel."

"The decision on the date and time of the meeting should be approved by the president. In May, it is the head of Indonesia's delegation," he added.

As reported, on April 25, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, passed as a whole a draft law on the Ukrainian language, which provides for the mandatory use of the national language by government agencies, local self-government and in other spheres of public life.

On May 15, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed the document, and on May 16, the text of the law was published in the official press.
Human rights defenders have presented their report on the directed persecution of civil activists in Russia-annexed Crimea.

"Since 2014 in Russia-occupied Crimea, two main groups of persons have been persecuted: 'political' Ukrainians and representatives of the Crimean Tatar people. They are persecuted according to various categories, these persecutions are connected with the violation of human rights, forced abductions of people, with arbitrary detentions," said Tamila Tasheva, founder and board chairwoman of the public organization Crimea SOS (Krym SOS) at a press conference at the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Friday.

Tasheva said in the last year and a half, "an entire arsenal of tools of persecution is used" against activists of the Crimean Solidarity movement, activists of the Crimean Tatar national movement, or Mejlis.

The report, titled "Combat Terrorism or Terrorize Activism," was written after a joint monitoring mission visited Crimea to collect information on the raid, searches and detentions on the peninsula on March 27, 2019, as a result of which 23 Crimean Tatar activists were detained. It is indicated that it was the largest-scale action of Russia-occupation security officials in Crimea.

The report says that on March 27, 2019, at about 06:00, Russian security forces began a large-scale coordinated operation throughout the Crimean peninsula. Dozens of armed men in masks broke down doors and entered private dwellings. Entire settlements were surrounded, and aggressive searches were conducted in the residences of "suspects," their relatives and neighbors.

The report said the searches, arrests and detentions of 23 Crimean Tatars are gross violations of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

"Those arrested apparently became subjects of the raid because of their own ethnic and religious affiliation, which violates freedom of religion (Article 9 of ECHR) and the prohibition of discrimination (Article 14)," the report says.

Crimea SOS, International Partnership for Human Rights and the public organization Truth Hounds organized a monitoring mission to Crimea a week after the raids. The result of the collected materials, evidence and legal analysis was included in the report.

The document provides detailed information about the raids, the context of the events, the legal analysis of the crimes committed, as well as recommendations to the international community and the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The international community is invited to continue imposing sanctions on individuals and organizations responsible for violating human rights in Crimea, as well as to urge Russia to release the Crimean political prisoners.

As for the prosecutor of the ICC, he is urged to include the stated facts and arrests to the competence of the preliminary examination and to demand a full investigation as soon as possible.

The report's authors also urge Russia's ombudswoman to investigate human rights violations set forth in the report.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has said that in December, at a NATO summit in London, Ukraine should officially declare its desire to receive an action plan for membership in the Alliance (MAP).

"And already in December this year, at the NATO Summit in London, we will be able to formally inform NATO members that we insist on the MAP and have a strong intention to join this defense military-political alliance," Poroshenko said on Europe Day in Kyiv on Saturday, enumerating the tasks of the new Ukrainian government in the context of implementing the course set forth in the Constitution of Ukraine for the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the country.
Poroshenko calls on new Ukraine's govt to continue course in EU, seek strengthening of sanctions against Russia until restoration of territorial integrity

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has called on the team of the new president to continue the movement of Ukraine to the European Union, to preserve the international coalition against Russian aggression and to seek strengthening of sanctions against Moscow until the full restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

"The new President of Ukraine will take up duties the day after tomorrow. I firmly hope that he will continue the course of Ukraine to the European Union. This cannot be ignored, as the absolute majority of Ukrainians stand for these positions," Poroshenko said on Europe Day in Kyiv on Saturday.

He also advised those who tomorrow "will embody the state strategy and implement Ukraine's foreign policy," to preserve the trust and solidarity of the European Union and Ukraine, and the pro-Ukrainian international coalition that opposes Russian aggression.

"Strengthen the sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation, which should liberate the Ukrainian land, to ensure the restoration of Ukrainian sovereignty over the occupied territories," said Poroshenko.

He also called on the new government to effectively implement the Association Agreement with the EU and the Free Trade Area.

As reported, the inauguration of President-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will begin at 10:00 on Monday, May 20, in the session hall of the parliament.
On display are more than 150 documents, maps and images, which were formed throughout the operation of the logistics route from the North to the South during the anti-American war. They are archives of the National Archives of Vietnam II, Vietnam News Agency and families of officers, soldiers, and witnesses involved in activities along the trail.

Nearly 100 artifacts once used on the route like bikes and ration stamps are also on show.

As part of activities to mark the 129th birth anniversary of the late President Ho Chi Minh (May 19, 1890) and 60th anniversary of the founding of the trail (May 19, 1959), the exhibition was curated to demonstrate the trails formation and role, Binh Phuoc as its ending point, and the trail amid current integration and development.

On May 19, 1959, the Politburo and President Ho Chi Minh opened a strategic logistics route to assist the southern battlefield. A special military unit, later named Group 559, was established to build the route, which ran along the Truong Son mountain range through 20 provinces of the three Indochinese countries.

The Ho Chi Minh Trail was the main artery from northern Vietnam to battlefields in southern Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. It has a total length of nearly 20,000km, plus a secret route 3,140km long and 1,400km of petrol pipeline.

The route played a decisive role in the victory over the US and for national liberation.

At present, the route still serves as an important road in the national construction and development cause in all aspects of culture, economy, society, security and defence.

Recently, the ending point of the war time trail  at Km No. 1200 in Chon Thanh town, Chon Thanh district of Binh Phuoc  was recognised as a special national relic.
Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, who leads the Cambodian delegation, expressed his deep sorrow and condolences over the passing away of the former President.

The Cambodian PM described General Le Duc Anh as a close friend and a comrade who contributed to the liberation of Cambodia from the genocidal regime in 1979.

He again thanked the Party, State and Government of Vietnam as well as General Le Duc Anh for providing support for Cambodia and helping the country build an army with all three forces.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen in Hanoi on May 2 (Photo: VNA)

Head of the Lao delegation, Politburo member of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party and President of the Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC) Saysomphone Phomvihane, conveyed the deep sorrow from the Lao Party, State, National Assembly and LFNC to their Vietnamese counterparts over the death of the former President.

He praised the valuable contributions made by General Le Duc Anh to the revolutionary cause of Vietnam and the Vietnam-Laos traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation.

On behalf of the Party, State, Government and people of Vietnam, Prime Minister Phuc thanked leaders of Cambodia and Laos for their expression of sympathy and for sending delegations to Vietnam to attend the funeral of General Le Duc Anh.

The PM took the occasion to reiterate the importance that Vietnam attaches to the friendly neighbourliness and comprehensive cooperation with Cambodia, and the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation with Laos.

He shared the guests resolve to work closely together to further develop the Vietnam-Cambodia and Vietnam-Laos relations.

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 national mourning for the former President on May 3 and 4.

A State funeral was held for General Le Duc Anh on May 3.
This is the first official visit to Vietnam by a high-ranking Bhutan leader since the two countries set up diplomatic ties in 2012, Ngan said.

The Vietnamese top legislator expressed her belief that the visit will significantly contribute to building and promoting the fruitful friendship between the two States and their peoples.

She congratulated Tashi Dorji on his election as Chairman of the National Council of Bhutan, and believed that under the leadership of the Chairman and other leaders, Bhutan people will reap more successes and the country will become more prosperous.

For his part, Tashi Dorji congratulated Ngan for being Vietnams first NA Chairwoman and expressed his fine impression on Vietnamese land and people.

He spoke highly of Vietnams organisation of the 16th UN Day of Vesak 2019 which is taking place at the Tam Chuc Buddhism Culture Centre in Kim Bang district of northern Ha Nam province from May 12-14.

NA Chairwoman Ngan briefed her guest on Vietnams socio-political-economic situation, saying the countrys economy grew 7.08 percent in 2018, the highest pace since 2008.

Last year, the number of foreign tourists to the country hit a record high of 15.5 million. Besides, Vietnam has become a destination of foreign investors, with 26,000 projects valued at US$334 billion from 126 countries and territories worldwide.

In the sphere of trade, Vietnam ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific, signed and implemented 12 free trade agreements (FTAs) and is negotiating four others, both bilateral and multilateral.

Of note, the countrys hosting of the second summit between the US and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) in Hanoi last February has proven its position as well as international confidence in the country as a responsible member of the world community that can contribute to peace, security and stability in the region and the world at large, she said.

The Vietnamese NA leader congratulated Bhutan for achievements that the country  with the highest Gross Happiness Index in the world - has gained so far.

At the talks, the two leaders agreed that since the two countries set up diplomatic relations in 2012, the bilateral friendship and cooperation have been growing but yet to match the strength and potential of both sides.

Dorji held that Vietnam and Bhutan share many similarities in culture and religion, especially Buddhism values and love for peace. Therefore, the two sides can share experience in national development and expand partnership in various areas

Amidst the modest bilateral trade, the two countries should foster collaboration through the use of chartered flights, encouraging localities to strengthen their connections, while fostering the affiliation between the two national tourism agencies, he stated.

Ngan expressed her hope that the Chairman will help increase exchanges of delegations at all levels and through all channels such as Party, State, National Assembly, localities and people-to-people contacts, thus enhancing mutual understanding and trust.

Alongside, Bhutan should give more favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to seek business opportunities in the country, especially in areas of Bhutans demand such as agricultural machineries and tourism.

The Vietnamese top legislator declared that Vietnam is willing to share experience with Bhutan in economic development, especially agriculture, rural development, education and social welfare.

She proposed that the two sides soon sign an agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders, while considering the appointment of Honorary Consuls in each country to act as bridges for bilateral friendship.

Regarding regional and international issues, Ngan thanked Bhutan for supporting Vietnam at international organisations, showing her hope that Bhutan will continue collaborating closely with Vietnam for a consensus voice at organisations of which both countries are members.

Currently, Vietnam has been nominated as the only candidate of the Asia-Pacific region for the seat of a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure, she noted, expressing her wish that Bhutan will soon voice its support to Vietnam in the field.

Speaking highly of Vietnams great achievements, Dorji stressed that the country has risen to stardom as a good economic development model in the region amid various challenges, and hoped it will reap further success in the time ahead.

He suggested Vietnam and Bhutan promote bilateral cooperation in agriculture. As Bhutan sees Vietnam as a role model in agricultural development, particularly agriculture mechanization.



Regarding the tourism sector, he said that Bhutan, with a total population of 700,000 people, focuses on high-quality tourism, and has policies to limit the number of foreign visitors so as to protect the environment.

However, as the country looks to welcome more Vietnamese nationals, he expressed his hope that the Tourism Council of Bhutan and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism will work together to promote cooperation in the coming time.

Touching on supporting Vietnam to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, he said that he will relay the issue to the parliament and the foreign minister for consideration.

Last year, the two foreign ministers discussed measures to set up a bilateral consultation mechanism, he said, wishing that with sound coordination, they will successfully organise their first meeting in 2019.

At the talk, he briefed NA Chairwoman Ngan on Bhutans parliament, with three tenures since 2008, while hoping to learn experiences from neighbouring countries, including Vietnam.

The Vietnamese top legislator, for her part, highlighted that since its establishment more than seven decades ago, the Vietnamese National Assembly has had many reforms in its operation and activities and affirmed its increasing role in the countrys political life.

She wished that the two parliaments will bolster delegation exchanges at all levels, as well as promote coordination and support for each other at international parliamentary forums, especially the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The same day, NA Chairwoman Ngan hosted a banquet for a high-ranking delegation from Bhutan, led by Tashi Dorji.
>>> PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives JBIC Governor

Politburo member Binh, who is also Head of the Party Central Committees Economic Commission, made the statement while receiving JBIC Governor Tadashi Maeda in Hanoi on May 17.

He spoke highly of the fruitful development of the Vietnam-Japan relationship across spheres, especially economy, trade and investment. He affirmed the Vietnamese Party and States consistent policy of regarding Japan as a leading and long-term partner.

The official lauded the JBICs role in infrastructure, energy and loan supply, helping to promote Japans investment in Vietnam.

For his part, Maeda briefed the host on his delegations working trip to Vietnam, during which they proposed new cooperation initiatives that aim to encourage energy development, particularly renewable, clean and environmentally-friendly energy.

He also talked about the banks orientations to increase its loans for Vietnam in the projects with the participation of Japanese investors and exporters.

Applauding these initiatives, Binh asked the bank to push ahead with negotiations to materialise them and consider expanding loans for Vietnamese firms or joint ventures of the two countries, especially in infrastructure and energy.

The successful implementation of these initiatives will help the Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership develop in a more comprehensive and pragmatic manner, the host added.
The PM appreciated the results of the working session between the agriculture ministries of Vietnam and Brazil during the ministers visit, which he said will help promote bilateral partnership in this potential field.

Acknowledging the positive developments of the comprehensive partnership between the two countries over the past 30 years, PM Phuc affirmed that Vietnam treasures the relationship with Brazil and urged bolstering cooperation in trade, investment and agriculture.

PM Phuc suggested that the two countries increase the exchange of delegations and promote trade and investment. He added that the two sides should early hold the third meeting of their joint committee to build specific programmes and projects for bilateral cooperation in the time ahead, while encouraging their businesses to set up partnership in fields of potential and mutual strength.

He said Vietnam is willing to serve as a bridge for ASEAN and Mercosur, and proposed that the two sides work together on studying the possibility of starting negotiations on a Vietnam-Mercosur trade agreement.

The Vietnamese PM also recommended increasing cooperation in defence and education.

He took the occasion to thank Brazil for supporting Vietnams bid for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure.

The Brazilian minister said Brazil attaches importance to ties with Vietnam, and her current visit aims to promote cooperation with Vietnam, especially in agriculture, a field in which both countries have great potential for development.

Brazil wants to export to Vietnam its strong products, including farm products such as beef, she said, adding that the presence of representatives from around 20 Brazilian firms in her delegation this time demonstrates the attention that Brazilian businesses pay to Vietnam.
To implement this agreement, Vietnam is developing and operating Vietnams timber legality assurance system (VNTLAS), improving its legal framework, andpromoting the management of origin of forestry products in production and business activities.

The country is also strictly prohibiting the import, export, logging, processing and trading of illegal forestryproducts in accordance with Vietnamese and international laws.

Furthermore, Vietnam is continuing to improve the legal documents aligned with its commitments, including the building of a decree regulating VNTLAS provisions. The decree is scheduled to be submitted to the Government for promulgation by the end of 2019.

The Government of Vietnam has paid great attention to ensuring sustainable forest management for many years,demonstrated in the Vietnam Forestry Development Strategy in the 2006-2020 period as approved by the Prime Minister in 2007.

The strategy intends to establish, develop and sustainably use 16.2 million ha of forest land by 2020 and have at least 30% of production forest area (equivalent to two million ha of forest) to be certified for sustainable forest management.

Vietnams forestry products processing and exports have witnessed strong growth with the consumption market expanded to more than 120 countries worldwide and increasing the export turnover of wood and forestryproducts. The country reported US$9.38 billion worth of forestry products exports in 2018, exceeding the target of US$7.8 billion set in the Forestry Development Strategy for the 2006-2020 period.

However, the Vietnamese forestry processing and export industry is facing big challenges. Many import markets of Vietnamese wood and wooden products require very highstandards of origin of materials in addition to stricterinternational standards for sustainable forest management. This has urged Vietnamese wood manufacturers and exporters to ensure the use of legal materials withsustainable forest management certification to be eligible for export to major markets.

In fact, there are only 237,000 ha of forest in 23 provinces across the country achieving the certification of sustainable forest management, which is quite modest compared to the set target.

Therefore, state management agencies should urgently complete policies to effectively operate the national forest certification and sustainable forest management systemsapplied for the entire forest area in order to improve the value of forestry products.

It is also necessary to boost the coordination between domestic and international organisations, particularly forest owners and forestry production enterprises to operate the national forest certification system in order to promote Vietnams prestige in the international arena, contributing to the stable exports and development of the forestry industry.
The book is the first of its kind written by an Egyptian author on the two countries relations.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt Tran Thanh Cong said it covers various fields, including the two nations politics, economy and culture.

Additionally, it records hallmarks of the bilateral relations and stated future cooperation prospects in many spheres after 55 years of the establishment and development of the diplomatic ties.

Also included in the book are assessments and sentiments of Egyptian politicians and experts towards the Vietnam-Egypt ties and President Ho Chi Minh.

The diplomat added that the publication proved efforts of author Refat Khaled, in contributing to the substantive development of the bilateral relations.

The 200-page book was mainly written in Arabic, along with some writings of Egyptian scholars in English, reflecting practical results of the people-to-people exchanges between the two countries over the time.

The book also touched upon the journey of President Ho Chi Minh in Egypt and the friendship between the late Vietnamese leader and late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, which set the foundation for the current bilateral ties.

For his part, author Khaled voiced his hope that the book will bring people of the two nations closer and contribute to the Egypt-Vietnam relations in the time to come.
Irans ambassador to the United Kingdom has said that even after the recent 60-day deadline set by Tehran, his country will continue to act based on the terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement.

Hamid Baeidinejad in an interview broadcast by the BBC World Service on Saturday, May 18 said, if during this time the problem is not resolved, Iran will take further steps but I assure you these will be within the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Acton (JCPOA).

He also insisted that Iran has not made a decision yet to leave the nuclear agreement, but it remains one of the options it will consider.

On May 8, the first anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from JCPOA, Iran announced a 60-day deadline for Europe to take effective measures for trade. Three European powers, the United Kingdom, France and Germany remain signatories of the agreement and Iran demands they facilitate trade with Iran despite U.S. sanctions.

Europeans have rejected the deadline, calling it an ultimatum they would recognize.

The Iranian ambassador, however, repeated today that Iran expects the other signatories of JCPOA respect their end of the bargain.

The nuclear agreement was concluded with the underlying premise of undoing international sanctions imposed on Iran earlier, by the UN Security Council.

Baeidinejad emphasized that Irans economic expectations related to the nuclear agreement have not been satisfied.
Bahrain is ordering all of its citizens to immediately leave Iraq and Iran, amid rising tensions in the Persian Gulf.

Earlier in May the U.S. ordered more of its naval and air forces to go to the region, as a signal to Iran not to engage in any provocative act, after Tehran had threatened shipping in the strategic Strait of Hormuz and also U.S. interests and allies.

Days later four civilian vessels were mysteriously attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and Houthis, Irans allies in Yemen, targeted Saudi oil installations with drones.

The U.S. has two naval facilities in Bahrain and close cooperation with the kingdom.

Bahrain's Foreign Ministry made the announcement via its state-run news agency Saturday afternoon.

It cited the "unstable situation in the region and the grave developments and threats that threaten security and stability."

Baharin is a small, Sunni-ruled island nation off the coast of Saudi Arabia. It regularly accuses Iran of stirring dissent in its Shiite-majority population. Iran considers Bahrain a stooge of its regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia.

Reporting by AP
The spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, Abbas Mousavi, says Iran's offer of prisoner exchange with the United States is "serious and with precedent." Meanwhile he charged that the United States "lacks a proper understanding of the concept of negotiations."

On Wednesday April 24, when Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran was ready to swap prisoners with America, an unnamed U.S. Department of State official had written to a reporter that the Iranian regime can demonstrate its seriousness regarding consular issues, including Iranians who have been indicted or convicted of criminal violation of U.S. sanctions laws, by releasing innocent U.S. persons immediately.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday that the United States' reaction has been a "hurried decision" that demands "unilateral release of U.S. prisoners." He charged that "U.S. officials do not have a proper understanding of the concept of negotiations and agreements."

He added that "if there is a will [for negotiation] in America, the Iranian Foreign Minister's suggestion is clear and straightforward."

This could mean that as human rights activists have charged, Iran may be using prisoners, mainly dual nationals, as pawns or hostages in the negotiations they hope to start with the United States.

Zarif had said in New York on Wednesday that he is authorized to negotiate a prisoner swap with America, adding that he had made the same suggestions six months earlier but he has not received any response from the American side.

Zarif's claim about being in a position to start talks about prisoner exchange contradicts his previous claims about Iranian Judiciary being independent of the executive branch. He even repeated that claim yesterday when he was asked about other prisoners including Canadian-Iranian dual nationals in jail in Iran.

Meanwhile, Hadi Ghaemi, of the Iranian human rights watchdog ICHRI, tweeted on Thursday that in his remarks Zarif made three glaring admissions: "That Iran is holding dual nationals as political hostage, that Iran's Judiciary is not independent from the government, and that Iran does recognize dual nationality. "

Previously, Iranian officials including Zarif have denied all of these three statements.

Hours after Zarif's statement, the unnamed State Department official had written that he is aware of the Iranian Foreign Ministers' remarks about U.S. Citizens "wrongfully detained in Iran."

The official said that he noted Zarifs reference to a humanitarian resolution of those cases." However, he suggested that Iran should release those prisoners immediately in order to prove its seriousness.

The official has named some of those unjustly detained U.S. persons as Xiue Wang, Siamak Namazi, Robert Levinson and Nizar Zakka among others.

U.S. Officials including President Donald Trump have said repeatedly that in order for Iran to become a normal country with which they could cooperate, Tehran needs to meet 12 conditions. Secretary Mike Pompeo has also said that If Iran wishes to come to the negotiating table it should first meet those 12 conditions, including respect for human rights.

Nevertheless, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday he would not begin any negotiation before all the pressures on Iran are removed and the United States apologizes for its actions and begins to treat Iran with mutual respect.

Meanwhile, Zarif had suggested swapping British Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghary-Ratcliffe with an Iranian prisoner in Australia, Negar Qods Kani. The United States has called for Kani's extradition on charges of violating US sanctions against Iran.

But in his interview with Reuters later, Zarif said he did not suggest swapping Zaghari-Ratcliffe with an Iranian in jail in Australia, adding hw was talking only about American prisoners.



British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, however, described the way Zarif handled the issue as generally appalling.

Although prisoner swaps between Iran and U.S. are not totally unprecedented, some Western analysts maintain that such behavior encourages further hostage taking of dual nationals by Iran, which usually detains them arbitrarily for political gain.

The Trump administration has criticized policies of his predecessor when deals were made to release prisoners.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says a war with America is not likely to happen. He also reiterates that Iran is not going to negotiate with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program.

Speaking during a meeting with Iranian state officials in Tehran on Tuesday May 14, Khamenei likened negotiation with America to "poison".

"There will be no war, and the Iranian nation's final choice is resisting against the United States," adding that "In this confrontation, it is America who will be forced to withdraw," said a defiant Khamenei.

He further explained, "This is not a military confrontation as a war is not supposed to happen. Neither us, nor them are after a war. They know that it is not in their interest."

Khamenei made the remarks only hours after U.S. President Donald Trump denied planning to deploy 120,000 troops to the Middle East to confront Iran.

During the past weeks, while calling on Iran to return to the negotiating table, U.S. officials spoke about their preparedness to confront the Islamic Republic. At the same time, they ruled out the possibility of an attack on Iran.

However, following "sabotage attacks" on a number of commercial ships and oil tankers off the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah, Trump warned that Iran will be in trouble if Tehran does any mischief.

"It is going to be a bad problem for Iran if something happens, I can tell you that," Trump told reporters.

In one of the latest developments following the Fujairah incident, pro-Iran Houthi rebels in Yemen launched a drone attack on a Saudi oil establishment Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said that the United States was preparing both military and diplomatic initiatives for "an appropriate response" in case Iran "makes a bad decision" and attacks U.S. interests.

In his speech on Tuesday, Khamenei said that Iran's missile program and its "strategic depths" are among the country's points of strength and cannot be the subject of any negotiation.

"They say let us talk about your defensive weapons and the range of your missiles, so that if we strike, your missiles would not reach our bases," said Khamenei, adding "such a negotiation is a mistake as the Americans will not stand by their promises."

Earlier, Iranian officials had warned that in case the United States attacks Iran, the region will not remain peaceful and that Iran will attack U.S. bases in the Middle East and also target Israel and the United States' Arab allies.

Speaking on Trump's remarks about protest demonstrations in Tehran, Khamenei teased the U.S. president by saying, "You see how wrong are their calculations. Their President says there are anti-regime demonstrations in Tehran every Friday. But he should know it's not Fridays. It's Saturdays. And it is not in Tehran. The demonstrations are in Paris!"

Two years ago, an interior ministry official had said that there have been 43,000 protest demonstrations in Iran since Rouhani took office in 2013, which makes it 30 demonstrations a day.

According to a CNN report, Trump has given his phone number to Iran via the Swiss embassy which runs the U.S. interest section in Tehran just in case Iranian officials wanted to call Trump.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi responded by telling reporters in Tehran: "U.S. officials have our number!"

The Iranian government's critics have occasionally lashed out at Tehran for not reaching out to Washington for negotiations. "It's really bad that Trump is holding the flag of negotiations and we turn our back to him," Said former deputy interior minister Mostafa Tajzadeh.

Meanwhile, a hardliner cleric in Tehran, Mahmoud Nabavian, suggested that Iran should send IRGC Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani to negotiate with Trump.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet with his counterpart from Venezuela, Jorge Arreaza, in Moscow on May 5 to discuss possible steps to help solve the power struggle that is crippling the South American nation.



"There will be an exchange of views on the situation in Venezuela and around it in connection with the attempted coup d'etat in this country, on the prospects for a political and diplomatic settlement of differences within the framework of the Venezuelan Constitution, as well as options for international mediation efforts to facilitate the dialogue between the Government and the opposition," Russia's Foreign Ministry said on May 4.



The talks will come ahead of Lavrov's scheduled meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo next week in Finland amid simmering tensions between Moscow and Washington over the crisis in Venezuela.



Washington views President Nicolas Maduro's reelection last year as illegitimate and has recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president.



Russia, Iran, China, and Cuba are among countries supporting Maduro, who started a second term in January following a May 2018 election marred by an opposition boycott and claims of vote-rigging, leading to mass street protests.



Moscow, which has substantial economic ties to Maduro's government, sent planes to Venezuela in March, carrying nearly 100 military personnel who the U.S. government believes included special forces and cybersecurity experts to Venezuela.



Meanwhile, Venezuela's Supreme Court has ordered the rearrest of influential opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez -- who on April 30 appeared alongside Guaido after being freed from house arrest.



On April 30, Guaido called for a military uprising against Maduro, prompting Venezuelan National Guard troops to fire tear gas at protesters who took to the streets following Guaido's call.



Lopez has since taken refuge at the Spanish Embassy. Madrid has said it would not hand over Lopez to Venezuelan authorities, nor would it ask him to leave.




Nepali embassy institutes online provisions for no-objection certificate, but public laments it as too little, too late

As the requirement has helped curb human trafficking, no steps have been taken to lift the provision, say officials
The IRGC is only second to Ayatollah Khamenei  the supreme leader  in terms of influence in the Islamic Republic. Some even believe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is even stronger than the commander-in-chief of Irans armed forces; Khamenei himself. The supreme leaders decision to appoint new commanders for the IRGC reflects the main apprehension, anxiety, worries, and concerns the Islamic establishment is struggling with. These can be divided into four: 1. Concerns about widespread anti-regime protests in the streets by the people who are fed up with the chaotic social and economic conditions of the country 2. Increased U.S. pressures on Iran's sensitive and crucial points, including its banking transactions and oil exports that act as the respiratory system of the Islamic establishment 3. Concerns about the possibility of the downfall of the Islamic regime in the event of 80-year-old Khameneis death. (The scramble to succeed him will come with a myriad of hazards). 4. Threats that emanate from nonconformist blocs and foreign-based subversive opposition groups, as well as the position of the IRGC against such menaces.

The job of politicians and military commanders, ever loyal to the leadership core, will be to eliminate threats linked to these concerns. Let's have a closer look at the record of the new commanders of the IRGC. Hossein Salami, promoted to major general, and appointed as the new commander of the IRGC on April 21, was one of the military commanders during the bloody and devastating Iran-Iraq war of 1980 to 1988. Born in the city of Golpayegan in Iran's central province of Isfahan in 1960, IRGC Major General Salami is an extremely anti-American figure. He believes in battle cries, war rhetoric, and taking an aggressive position in war of words against the so-called Great Satan as well as Israel. He has maintained that, in the last four decades of the post-Islamic revolutionary era, Iran has repeatedly defeated America. According to him, Iran has been responsible for creating at least three epic days (known as Yom ul-Allah, or Gods Day), all of them symbolizing America's defeat, and bringing it to its knees.

First, the downfall of the pro-west monarchy (February 11, 1979), then, invading the U.S. embassy in Tehran and taking 52 American diplomats hostage (November 4, 1979), and finally the aborted U.S. military mission to rescue its captured diplomats in the sands of Tabas in eastern Iran (1980). Meanwhile, as the most vociferous anti-U.S. and Israel IRGC commander, Salami also believes in ruthless and unsparing suppression of all protesters and other local anti-Islamic establishment dissidents. IRGC's new vice commander, rear admiral Ali Fadavi, is a mirror image of his new boss. A year younger, he is also from Isfahan and a veteran of the Iran-Iraq. Fadavi, chief commander of the IRGC navy from 2010 to 2018, was immediately appointed as the IRGC deputy coordinator in August last year. In February 2016, he received first class Fath (Victory) medal for capturing United States Navy sailors, whose boat inadvertently entered Iranian territorial waters in January 2016. Again, as his new boss, Fadavi is notorious for his saber-rattling against the U.S. The IRGC-run Fars News Agency (FNA) cited Fadavi as saying in May 2014, the immense size of the US carriers makes them an "easy target" for Iranian forces. Furthermore, he said contingency plans to "target American carriers" are a "priority" for the IRGC's naval forces.

The next figure in the recent reshuffle, the IRGC Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqhdi, replacing Fadavi as the IRGC deputy coordinator, is mainly renowned for his extremely conservative political tendencies, as well as his belief in suppressing critics and opposition parties with full force. Naghdi, joined the IRGC in 1980 and since then has served in Qods Force, law enforcement, general staff and from 2009 to 2016, chief commander of the organization for mobilization of the oppressed, known as the Baseej (Basij). Immediately before his recent promotion, Naqhdi served in the IRGC joint staff. On February 23, 2011, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Naqhdi, "for being responsible for or complicit in serious human rights abuses in Iran," adding him to the Office of Foreign Assets Control blacklist. The action subjects him "to visa sanctions" and "seeks to block any assets" he may have under U.S. jurisdiction, and "bans U.S. citizens from financial transactions with him. A vice commander but not quite Based on the formal structure of the IRGC and on paper, the deputy chief commander (DCC) of the elite militia is the second in command of the forces. However, in practice, the DCC has no direct supervision on the chief commanders of the IRGC's four forces, (air, sea, land and the Qods). It is quite a known fact today that the position of the current chief commander of Qods force, major general Qassem Soleimani, is much higher than the DCC's. Soleimani's exceptional standing in the eyes of the supreme leader, as well as his role in Iran's Middle East policies, are even overshadowing the position of the IRGC chief commander. Furthermore, the DCC has no direct role in commanding the IRGC's powerful and fearsome Intelligence Organization, as well as its Security Department (airports and Ansar security forces). The IRGC Intelligence Organization, under its longstanding commander, 56-year-old mid-ranking cleric, Hossein Ta'ib, has swiftly expanded and gained power in recent years to the extent that it has even challenged the position of the IRGC's chief commander. Meanwhile, the DCC has no influence on IRGC's Counterespionage Organization (IRGCCO) that has direct close ties with the office of the Supreme Leader and is accountable only to him.

IRGCCO has turned into a fearsome entity in charge of keeping an eye on the commanders and other members of the elite militia. Having said that, one cannot dismiss or dismiss the DCC's position as irrelevant or unimportant. On the contrary, the post has specific characteristics that highlight its prominence and capacities. As it has already seen twice, the DCC could be the next chief commander of the IRGC Fadavi, rising star who captured Americans Apparently, challenging America, if not the most critical concern of the clergies and their allies dominating Iran, is definitely one of their primary sources of anxiety. The IRGC's newly appointed VCC, rear admiral Ali Fadavi, has a 30-year reputations as a symbol of anti-Americanism. During the last weeks of Iran-Iraq war, when the U.S. Navy engaged with the IRGC's speedboats, Fadavi was in charge of its Navy's intelligence unit. Since then, Fadavi has always appeared as an uncompromising anti-American figure. As the chief commander of the IRGC Navy, Fadavi played a pivotal role in creating new challenges for U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf, deepening the crisis between the two countries. On January 12, 2016, 10 U.S. Navy sailors (nine male and one female) were detained by the IRGC naval forces when one of their boats became disabled and drifted closer to Iran.

Pentagon officials said the incident occurred near Farsi Island in the Gulf. They said one of their two small boats had mechanical trouble, causing one or both to run aground. The sailors were then picked up by IRGC forces and taken to the island. Although the IRGC officially declared at the time that the U.S. boats had inadvertently drifted into the Iranian territorial waters (and freed the sailors a day later), Khamenei chose to "exclusively" invite the IRGC's Naval commander Fadavi, along with other IRGC commanders responsible for arresting American sailors, to express his gratitude to them in person.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 18

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 18, 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 18

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

There is renewed momentum building for the peaceful resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and the US Congress can play a very constructive role in ensuring the maintenance of this momentum, as stated in the article of Rob Sobhani, CEO of Caspian Group Holdings, published in The Washington Times, Trend reports.

The author writes that members of the US Congress could help end this 30-year-old conflict and promote American interests in a strategically important region.

He notes that today the Armenian forces control not only the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, but also of 7 adjacent districts.

According to Sobhani, the possibility of renewed conflict and escalation into all-out war exists, despite the two parties having a cease-fire agreement.

Thankfully, recent events have created a positive outlook for a peace agreement, he added.

The Congress, according to Sobhani, could prepare a resolution encouraging the preservation of this momentum.

"A simple congressional resolution written in cooperation between the Armenian and Azerbaijan caucuses will send a powerful message to not only the leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan but to the peoples of the both countries that the United States is fully committed to a fair and equitable resolution of the conflict, the article says.

Sobhani noted that that President Trump and his foreign policy team need to know that in their quest for peace, members of the US Congress will be their allies.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 18

Trend:

The 129th session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe was held in Helsinki, Finland, May 17.

At the meeting, which ended the six-month Finnish presidency of the Committee of Ministers, Azerbaijan was represented by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mahmud Mammadguliyev, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the Ministerial meeting marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Council of Europe, the threats facing the organization, possible reforms and future trends were discussed.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev first touched upon the cooperation with the Council of Europe and spoke about the implementation of the recently approved Action Plan of the Council of Europe on Azerbaijan. He also reiterated the principled position of Azerbaijan on the entry of international institutions into the conflict zones in the European continent and stated that possible activities in these zones should be agreed with the legitimate central authorities.

The deputy minister referred to the situation arising as a result of the ongoing military occupation of the Azerbaijani territories by Armenia and emphasized the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights on "Chiragov and Others v. Armenia" case in 2015, where in its crucial judgement it concluded that Armenia exercises effective control over the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.



The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has also addressed the issue of the conflicts in its member states. Thus, the political statement adopted as a result of the session expressed concern over the confrontations and ongoing conflicts that some parts of the European continent have been exposed to and declared that joint efforts should be made for reconciliation and political settlement in accordance with the norms and principles of international law. More importantly, support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all member states within the framework of internationally recognized borders was approved by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in the relevant decision on member states' rights and obligations.



Following the session in Helsinki, Finnish presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe ended and the chairmanship passed to France for the next six months.

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 18

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

Azerbaijani MP Sabir Hajiyev will be in Paris on May 19-21 to participate in a meeting of the PACE Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, Trend reports.

The meeting will discuss issues of protection and assistance to victims of terror, the results of the conference held in St. Petersburg on countering international terrorism, the situation in Kosovo and inter-parliamentary dialogue with Algeria, as well as the mission and the future role of the Parliamentary Assembly.

Hajiyev will speak at the meeting and express his views on the topics discussed.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 18

Trend:

On the sidelines of his working visit to France, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with the Vice-President of the National Assembly of France Carole Bureau-Bonnard and the President of France-Azerbaijan Friendship Group in National Assembly Pierre-Alain Raphan, Trend reports referring to Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.

During the meeting the sides exchanged their views on the current status of cooperation in the parliamentary dimension, as well as the prospects of development in the political, economic, cultural and other fields between Azerbaijan and France. They expressed the importance of exchange of mutual visits at different levels between the two countries.

The sides noted that the activities of the Azerbaijani-French Friendship Group contributed to the development of cooperation between the two countries, and expressed hope for the further development of relations.

During the meeting, the sides also discussed current issues of the cooperation agenda between Azerbaijan and France.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 18

Trend:

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has congratulated President of the the Republic of Cameroon Paul Biya.

I extend my sincerest congratulations to you and the people of your country on the occasion of the national holiday of the Republic of Cameroon.

On this remarkable day, I wish you the best of health, success in your endeavours, and the friendly people of Cameroon peace and progress, President Aliyev said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 18

By Ilhama Isabalayeva - Trend:

The export of Azerbaijans crop products to European markets has acquired a large scale, said Goshgar Tahmazli, chairman of the Food Safety Agency, Trend reports.

According to him, the existing requirements for the supply of Azerbaijani products to European markets comply with international standards.

"Azerbaijani products are easily exported to EU countries. International structures recognize Azerbaijans phytosanitary certificates," he remarked.

Tahmazli added that the agency cooperates with a number of international organizations in the field of food safety.

The chairman also noted that a State Program on Food Safety has been adopted in the country for the first 7 years, which will be implemented step-by-step with the support of other government agencies in the coming years.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 18

Trend:

Turkic-speaking States established the Joint Chambers of Commerce and Industry at the signing ceremony organized by the Turkic Council Secretariat in Nur-Sultan (former Astana) as part of the Astana Economic Forum, Trend reports via the press office the Turkic Council.

The Statute of the Joint Turkic Chambers of Commerce and Industry has been signed by the Heads of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Turkic Council Member States in the presence of Askar Mamin, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Baghdad Amreyev, the Secretary General of the Turkic Council at the ceremony, that took place on the margins of the Astana Economic Forum on May 17, 2019 in Nur-Sultan.

The Permanent Secretariat of TCCI will be located in Istanbul, at the premises of Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey.

In his welcoming address, Mamin expressed satisfaction with the establishment of Turkic Chambers of Commerce and Industry, an important step forward towards institutionalization of the existing multilateral cooperation among business communities of the Turkic Council Member States.

The prime minister also underlined special importance and full support given by the government of Kazakhstan to the Turkic Council and its undertakings in the field of economy. He expressed confidence in the newly established Turkic Chambers of Commerce and Industry and its high potential to provide productive programs, projects and activities to the Turkic world in the upcoming years.

Amreyev, in his speech, welcomed the participants to the signing ceremony of TCCI, which is an historic event for the cooperation among Turkic States. He also pointed out that among many areas of cooperation of the Turkic Council; economy was the area that the Heads of State particularly emphasized during the last Summit in Cholpon-Ata.

He stated that this year will be the year of economy in the Turkic Councils agenda and underlined that the establishment of Joint Turkic Chambers will be one of the extremely important steps towards this end.

He also said that the Turkic Council intensifies its efforts in cooperation with the Member States on the establishment of the Joint Investment Fund and this will be a significant financial instrument for supporting Small and Medium sized Enterprises.

Secretary General also informed the audience that on the eve of the next Turkic Council Summit, which will take place in October 2019, a large scale Business Forum of the Turkic Council will be organized in Baku.

He added that todays signing of TCCI as well as the establishment of the Joint Investment Fund along with other efforts in the regard make the economic cooperation between Turkic States more effective and institutionalized.

President of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ASK), Mammad Musayev, Chairman of the Board of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Atameken, Ablay Myrzakhmetov, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of the Republic of Turkey (TOBB), Rifat Hisarckloglu and Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic, Nurlan Musuraliev participated in the signing ceremony followed by working meeting moderated by Secretary General B. Amreyev.

In his remarks, Hisarckloglu, referring to the establishment of the Turkic Chambers of Commerce and Industry as an historic moment, expressed appreciation to the Turkic Council Secretariat for successful follow-up of the project and its current undertakings such as Joint Investment Fund, emphasizing the importance of additional financial resources available for the projects of private sector concerning the Fund. He reiterated the readiness of TOBB in extending all kinds of assistance for the development and implementation of projects such as organized industrial zones, Turkic Trade Houses and similar programs enhancing the mutual trade among the Turkic-speaking States.

Mammad Musayev invited the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Turkic Council Member States to the Business Forum planned to be organized on the margins of the forthcoming 7th Summit of the Turkic Councilin Baku. Recalling the recently established KOBIA, he expressed satisfaction with the dedication of the Summit to the development to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

Chairman of the Board of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Atameken, AblayMyrzakhmetov stated that the newly established Turkic Chambers of Commerce and Industry will contribute to the improvement of the investment climate. Touching upon current economic outlook in the Turkic-speaking countries and the current barriers in front of the intra-trade in the region, Chairman A. Myrzakhmetov proposed the parties to focus on and foster in priority sectors, set up industrial zones, eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers.

Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic Nurlan Musuraliyev supported the idea of organizing a Business Forum by the Turkic Chambers of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) on the sidelines of the 7th Turkic Council Summit and underlined the importance for the Secretariat of TCCI of elaborating concrete joint projects and programs especially focusing on transport, textile and tourism.

Following the meeting, Secretary General Baghdad Amreyev informed the audience on realization process of the initiative, objectives of TCCI in short and long term.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 18

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

The ongoing fiscal reforms will bolster the net assets of Azerbaijan, Trend reports referring to the report by Moody's Investors Service on the current state of the Azerbaijani economy.

Among such reforms, the agency noted a new fiscal rule and the government's debt strategy. In particular, Moody's noted that the new fiscal rule will also lend support to economic stability, if the authorities apply its discretionary, countercyclical provisions effectively.

However, the economic benefits will only materialize over time, as business and consumer confidence over the effectiveness of fiscal policy builds, the report reads.

As noted, the sovereign credit profile of Azerbaijan is supported by significant and growing position of net assets. As such, the sovereign wealth assets of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) amounted to $40.3 billion as of the end of March 2019, which is 12.5 percent higher than in late December 2017, and approximately 1.7 times higher than the the sum of the government's direct debt and its explicit guarantees as of the end of 2018.

According to the report, Azerbaijan's net sovereign wealth assets (the asset value after subtracting government debt) are substantial, when compared to similarly rated hydrocarbon producers, at around 53 percent of 2018 GDP.

The agency expects this net asset position "to increase further, fostered by the government's fiscal reforms.

Touching on reforms, Moody's also mentioned strategic roadmaps adopted in December 2016, covering various sectors.

Among these focuses, we assess tourism and transport and logistics as having the greatest diversification potential, as stated in the report.
China sends 64,578 tourists to retain top spot as source market

China retained the top spot as Nepals tourism source market in the first four months of 2019, sending 20.64 percent more tourists year-on-year. Nepal received 64,578 Chinese tourists during the period January-April, according to the statistics of the Department of Immigration.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 18

By Fakhri Vakilov  Trend:

The first Uzbek-US-Canadian business forum was held in the Uzbek city of Navoi, Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan.

As a result, 10 agreements were signed, five of them in the trade and investment sphere totaling $ 150 million, and the rest in the area of expanding cooperation in the fields of education and health care.

In particular, the administration of Navoi region concluded an agreement with the American company Calatrava Grace on the implementation of the project to build a monoblock plant and affordable housing with a $100 million investment.

Cooperation has been established with the Canadian company Advanced Bio-Oil Technologies, to create a crop growing cluster for the production of biofuels with foreign investment of up to $24 million.

One of the most important documents was the agreement on the establishment of sister city relations between the cities of Zarafshon and Clinton.

Thus, Zarafshan became the third city in Uzbekistan, which has sister city relations with the US cities. Previously, such relations were established between Tashkent and Seattle, as well as Bukhara and Santa Fe.

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Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 18

Trend:

On May 14, a representative of the largest Lebanese construction company HOMAN visited the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Trend reports via the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The company has 30 years of experience and is engaged in infrastructure projects in Lebanon, Africa and Central Asia. HOMAN specializes in the construction of roads, irrigation systems, bridges and other specifications.

During the meeting, Giorgi Vekua, Director of Services and Regional Development Department presented information on the investment potential of Georgia and current and planned infrastructure projects in Georgia, including road works and deep-water port of Anaklia.

The business development manager of the company, George Rizk, inquired about Georgias tax system, and also received information on free trade agreements that would allow Georgian products to gain access to multinational markets. At the meeting, the representative of the Lebanese company expressed a desire to find potential partners and expressed hope for long-term cooperation in Georgia.

Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized the meeting of "Homan" Manager with the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure and Regional Development, as well as with the members of the members of Infrastrusture construction companies association.

Marcel-David Khouzami, honorary consul of Georgia in Lebanon, was present at the meeting in the chamber.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 18

By Elnur Baghishov  Trend:

Iran has held necessary discussions with Azerbaijan with regards to electricity exchange in summer, Mohsen Tarztalab, head of Iran's Thermal Power Plants Holding Company (TPPH), told ISNA, Trend reports.

According to Tarztalab, 22 power station units will be put into operation in summer.

Some of them will be commissioned in mid-May, while some others will be commissioned in in July-August, according to Tarztalab.

He also said that more than 90 percent of the fuel used by the power plants is provided by natural gas.

Due to the approaching summer heat and increasing electricity consumption, the Iranian Ministry of Energy has taken into account various ways for preventing electricity shortages.

It was stated earlier by Davoud Farokhzad, Managing Director of Iran Grid Management Company (IGMC), that electricity consumption has suddenly increased in the last couple of days, with the rise in air temperature in May.

According to Iran's Ministry of Energy, electricity consumption in Iran exceeded 57,000 megawatts last summer, and this year it is expected to reach about 60-61,000 megawatts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 18

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

Finland welcomes Azerbaijans infrastructure development projects, Paivi Peltokoski, Head of Unit for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, told Trend.

"Azerbaijan is a strategic energy partner to the European Union due to the Southern Gas Corridor. We welcome Azerbaijans infrastructure development projects. If Baku aspires to become a leading transport hub in the greater region, functioning air, land, and sea transport components are all needed. Finland has large companies in ports logistics and shipbuilding industries," said Peltokoski.

She said that Finland has a state agreement on direct international railway services with Russia and it applies also to third countries, including Azerbaijan.

"For European transport and logistics companies, the choice of the transport route is a result of several factors. Today environmental values also are an important factor for many companies, because their customers want to know how much their transports burden the environment. Finland can offer its expertise for sustainable energy solution in turning the sea transport industry clean," she added.

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, May 18

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

The 2nd stage of negotiations on the conclusion of a 5-year contract for the supply of Turkmen gas to Russia is set to begin in Ashgabat in the near future, Trend reports referring to the local ORIENT news agency's report from a source in the oil and gas sector of Turkmenistan.

The volumes of supplies of the Turkmen gas, as well as its cost, will be subject to negotiations. Deliveries can begin in the 2nd half of 2019. Turkmenistan's state-owned Turkmengas concern will be waiting for a delegation of Gazprom for resolving these issues and concluding a medium-term contract, said the report.

Earlier, Russias TASS news agency reported (citing a statement by Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Anatoly Yanovsky) that the volumes could reach levels that were up to 2016.

Turkmenistan resumed the export of natural gas to Russia on April 15, 2019 after a three-year break. Gazprom company intends to purchase up to 1.155 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Turkmenistan till June 30, 2019.

Turkmenistan transports its gas to Russia via the Central Asia-Center pipeline, built during the Soviet period and monopolized by Gazprom. Until 2009, Gazprom was the biggest buyer of Turkmen gas, purchasing up to 40-42 billion cubic meters a year.

Despite the contractual arrangements, at first the volumes decreased to the level of 10-11 billion cubic meters per year within five years. The annual volume decreased by 2.5 times and amounted to four billion cubic meters in 2015.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 18

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Azerbaijans total gas exports will rise to 16 billion cubic metres per year (bcma) by late 2021, Trend reports citing Moodys Investors Service.

The report shows that in 2018, the country's hydrocarbon sector contributed 92 percent of total goods exports, 79 percent of industrial production, and 42 percent of GDP, among the highest of rated hydrocarbon producers.

Moodys does not expect a significant reversal in these shares over the next three to five years.

In fact, the contribution from the hydrocarbon sector is more likely to increase, as gas production and exports from Shah Deniz 2  the second stage of Azerbaijan's largest gas field  ramp up, while oil production remains stable. The completion of the section of the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) that transports gas to Turkey (Ba3 negative) has already lifted gas exports, while the pending section of TANAP and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline that will transport gas to the European Union (Aaa stable) will be ready by the end of 2020. Under this baseline scenario, total gas exports will increase to 16 billion cubic metres per year (bcma) by the end of 2021, compared to average gas exports of 7.4 bcma over 2012-17, reads the report.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 18

By Aysham Rustamova  Trend:

A new agricultural insurance mechanism will be launched in Azerbaijan till late 2020, Firdovsi Agashirinov, head of the Insurance Supervision Department of the Financial Market Supervisory Authority of Azerbaijan (FIMSA), told Trend.

"Turkeys and Spains agricultural insurance mechanisms were chosen as samples for the development of the bill on agricultural insurance," he said.

"The task of creating an agricultural insurance mechanism has been set before both FIMSA and the Ministry of Agriculture," Agashirinov said. "A working group has been created to review the international practice. The advanced models of agricultural insurance of Spain, Turkey, the US, Canada and Israel have been considered."

"However, the attention was also paid to the negative moments in these mechanisms, so that we act flawlessly in the future taking into account the mistakes," he said. "The draft law on agricultural insurance has been prepared on the basis of these models, taking into account Azerbaijans peculiarities."

In his words, after the law enters into force, agricultural insurance will be used on the basis of a mechanism of cooperation between the state and the private sector and will be implemented through a joint insurance system. The agrarian insurance will be managed via an e-information system.

He continued by saying, "A group of experts specializing in agricultural insurance will be set up. Today, insurance companies render agricultural insurance services individually, and reinsurance companies are not interested in providing them. After the new mechanism is applied, insurance services will be rendered on a vast scale, rather than individually, which will be interesting and attractive for reinsurance companies."

Agashirinov stressed that in accordance with the new law, each direction of the agricultural sector, be it animal husbandry or crop production, will be regulated according to its rules.

"There will be separate acts and rules for each sector," he added. "There will be methodologies and rules for risk assessment and damage management. The experts will work according to these regulations. The representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy and FIMSA work together on these issues."

"To attract independent experts, FIMSA is negotiating with the Azerbaijan State Agrarian University," Agashirinov said. "The work is underway to create an independent expert institute for agricultural insurance."

"The law also envisages the subsidization of insurance premiums, one part of which be paid by the farmer and the other by the state," he added. "This also implies guarantees for reinsurance on the accumulated funds."

"The state guarantees will be a step higher than reinsurance," Agashirinov added. "This is a new mechanism. Thus, the problem of ensuring the protection of farmers from risks will be solved. At the same time, the burden of the state will decrease and the sustainability of agricultural production will be ensured."

He noted, "There will be conditions for the growth of financial opportunities, the level of urbanization will decrease, and food security will be enhanced. All these advantages will be possible after implementation of the new agricultural insurance system."
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday that China and Iran are strategic partners with comprehensive collaborative relationship, Trend reports citing IRNA.

In a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, he added that the two countries should promote mutual cooperation, as major regional and international developments are unfolding now.



China is strongly opposed to US unilateral sanctions and its prejudgments. China understands Irans conditions and concerns and safeguards its legitimate interests, he said.



Reiterating that nuclear deal is protector of the UN might as well as the international principles and norms, Yi said that disputes around the deal are clear sign of conflict between unilateralism and multilateralism.



He also appreciated Iran for fully fulfilling its commitments under the deal, saying that Iran has shown in practice that it is not willing to walk away from JCPOA.



China is interested to cooperate with Iran to counter interventionism and get out of the situation so that the deal will be fully implemented, he said.



Elsewhere in his talks, Chinese foreign minister referred to Silk Road Initiative and thanked Iran for its active presence in the plan.



China is keen on further cooperation and deepening relations with Iran, he said.



Zarif, for his part, said that Iran is not responsible for the tensions around the nuclear deal, as it is not interested to exit the deal.



Iran is willing for cooperate with China and other parties to the nuclear accord to help implement the JCPOA. Iran does not want war and favors peace and stability in the Persian Gulf, he said.



Iran is thankful of Chinas major role in nuclear deal and is willing to continue bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Beijing based on the mutual interests,Zarif said.



Describing China as strategic partner for all the times, he said that Iran is ready to seize the opportunity of the Silk Road Initiative to strengthen bilateral relations.
The Bank of Italy plans to adopt investment criteria which reward companies that take action on climate change, joining other central banks, commercial banks and fund managers in ratcheting up pressure on boardrooms to go green, reports Trend citing to Reuters

The criteria will apply by end-June to the Italian central banks roughly 8 billion euros ($8.9 billion) in shareholdings and later be extended to its 1 billion euros in corporate bond holdings, the bank said in a statement posted on its web site.

The criteria exclude firms that do not adopt U.N. principles on human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption.

The Bank of Italy is a member of the Network for Greening the Financial System, a global financial group which treats climate change as a threat to financial stability.

An independent adviser will help the Bank of Italy to spot the best-in-class companies in terms of environmental, social and governance standards, the bank said.

As a result of the new criteria, greenhouse gas emissions from companies within its portfolio will fall 23%, and energy and water consumption will drop 30% and 17% respectively.

The central bank did not give a timeframe for when the new investment criteria would apply to corporate bond holdings.
Exxon Mobil has evacuated all of its foreign staff from Iraqs West Qurna 1 oilfield and is flying them out to Dubai, three sources told Reuters on Saturday, reports Trend citing to Reuters

Production at the oilfield was not affected by the evacuation and work is continuing normally, overseen by Iraqi engineers, Iraqi oil officials said.

Production is managed by Iraqi engineers anyway, the foreigners are advisers. We have a closed circuit television link with them (foreign staff) and can communicate with them whenever we need, said an official at Iraqs South Oil Company.

Staff were evacuated in several phases late on Friday and early on Saturday, either straight to Dubai or to the main camp housing foreign oil company employees in Basra province.

Those in the camp were en route to the airport on Saturday morning, the three sources - an employee at a security company contracted by Exxon, an Iraqi oil official, and a staff member of a foreign oil company - said.

Last night 28 employees were evacuated to the airport and the rest were sent to the camp. This morning they were evacuated to the airport and no (foreign) staff remain in the field, said a private security company official who oversaw the evacuation.

Days of saber rattling between Washington and Tehran have heightened tensions in the region amid concerns about a potential U.S.-Iran conflict.

The United States on Wednesday pulled non-emergency staff members from its embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad out of apparent concern about perceived threats from neighboring Iran, to which Iraqi Shiite militias are allied.

Washington has increased economic sanctions and built up its military presence in the region, accusing Iran of threats to U.S. troops and interests. Tehran has described those steps as psychological warfare and a political game.
Construction work on 200kV substation resumes

Construction work on a 200 kV substation in Paharebesi, Nuwakot, which had stalled following protests by locals, resumed on Friday. Officials of the Nepal Electricity Authority visited the construction site on the banks of the Trishuli River on Thursday to talk with the residents about their grievances.
Israel hosted the Grand Final of the 64th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, with Madonna set to showcase Europe's annual music extravaganza, Trend reported citing Philly.com.

Some 200 million people around the world were expected to be watching as 26 countries competed to be crowned Europe's top pop act and follow in the footsteps of past winners such as Swedish icons ABBA and Celine Dion, who once represented Switzerland.

The Eurovision debuted in the wake of World War II to heal a divided continent. Over the years, the earnest show of European unity has ballooned into a campy, over-the-top, gay-friendly spectacle that brings together acts from 41 countries, including those with little or no connection to Europe, such as Australia.

Israel earned the right to host the show after Netta Barzilai won last year's competition with her catchy pop anthem "Toy."
A former commander of the Marxist FARC rebel group was released from prison on Friday and immediately re-arrested after new evidence came to light, the attorney generals office said in a statement, Trend reports citing Reuters.

In a move likely to rattle an already delicate peace accord with the now-demobilized insurgents, Seuxis Paucias Hernandez, known by his war alias as Jesus Santrich, was escorted out of prison in a wheelchair and moments later, as he left prison gates, was taken back inside by police.

Hernandez, 52, was indicted more than a year ago by a U.S. grand jury for conspiracy to export 10 tonnes of cocaine, worth $320 million in street value. He was ordered released on Wednesday by a special tribunal.

As a result of international judicial cooperation, in the last few hours new evidence and elements have been incorporated that clearly account for the circumstances of time, manner and place of alleged conspiracy to conduct drug trafficking, the attorney general said in a statement.

The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), which prosecutes leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas, who handed in their weapons under a 2016 peace deal, had said evidence provided by prosecutors did not allow it to evaluate whether, or when, he allegedly conspired to move cocaine to the United States.

The JEPs ruling caused an institutional crisis when the attorney general immediately resigned in protest.

Because the JEP has jurisdiction over all crimes during the war, Hernandezs extradition can only go ahead if the alleged crime took place after the accord.
The Iraqi army on Saturday killed six Islamic State (IS) militants and destroyed their hideouts in Iraq's central province of Salahudin, the Iraqi Defense Ministry said, Trend reported citing Xinhua.

The Iraqi army's gunships pounded an abandoned house believed to be used as a hideout by IS militants in a desert area in Salahudin, the ministry said in a statement.

The troops later searched the site and found six bodies of IS militants with three explosive vests and six roadside bombs, according to the statement.

Acting on intelligence reports, the troops and the gunships raided two other IS hideouts with a tunnel between them in Salahudin's desert.

After searching the site, the troops found an explosive vest and other equipment before blowing up the hideouts.

The security situation in Iraq was dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017.

IS remnants, however, have since melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas as safe havens, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.
Dublin: Bangladesh defeated West Indies by five wickets at Dublin on Friday in the finals of the Tri-nation series. This is the first time Bangladesh have won an ODI tournament final.

Due to rain, the match was shortened to 24 overs per side. Chasing a score of 210 runs in 24 overs, Bangladesh got off to a quickfire start as the openers Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar scored 59 runs inside six overs.

Diana slays Cannes 2019 as a Golden Beauty

West Indies which came to bat first, scored 152 runs in the allotted 24 overs, but their score was adjusted on the basis of Duckworth-Lewis and their score was increased to 209 runs as they had lost the only wicket after the completion of 24 overs. Pa Shai Hope and Sunil Ambris played knocks of 74 and 69 respectively to allow West Indies post 152 runs on the board. Both the openers stitched together a partnership of 144 runs in 22.4 overs. Hope (74) was dismissed by Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the 23rd over.

Kangana resembles a Fairy on Cannes Red carpet

West Indies dismissed Iqbal (18) and Sabbir Rahman (0) in quick succession reducing the team to 60 for two. Sarkar along with wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim put together a partnership of 49 runs, but West Indies dismissed the key batsman Sarkar (66) in the 12th over. Windies dismissed both Rahim (36) and Mohammad Mithun (17) in quick succession to gain the upper hand in the match.But, Mosaddek Hossain had other plans and he played a knock of 52 runs off just 24 balls to allow Bangladesh to gain a remarkable victory over West Indies.
Kathmandu: Three journalists from Nepal's state are under probe for reporting news about Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama. Journalists Mohani Risal, Somnath Lamichhane and Jivan Bhandari who work for the foreign desk of Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) are being investigated over the news on Dalai Lama - much to China's anger.

"They are under probe for dispatching such content which is very sensational for us," Hari Adhikari "Syamal", chairman of the RSS informed.

The probe was started after the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology ordered an investigation of the issue.

"They are being probed for the issue of a Dalai Lama related story following instructions by Ministry (Communications and Information Technology). The journalists have given their answer about coverage, they have mentioned that it was based on humanitarian ground and had a strong news sense and value as it was an issue of concern for all," an investigation team official informed ANI.

"This is not the first time that a journalist from RSS has been probed. Previously, the Chinese Embassy has had us pressured to censor news content as well as highlight those of their interest. Working space has been crippled due to this," a senior reporter confirmed.

"We only wrote the news that we received from a subscribed foreign wire service. We transcribed the English contents mainly about the admission of Dalai Lama in hospital, improvement in health condition and his discharge. This caught the attention of the North because it bore a New Delhi dateline," one of the reporters being probed claimed, referring to China as "North".

The Government of Nepal under the Prime Ministership of KP Sharma Oli last week have had registered the particular new bill in Parliament Secretariat proposing to fine journalists, media outlets, editors, publishers if they are found to be violating media code of ethics.

"The council can also get the aggrieved persons or institutions compensated if they suffer any loss due to the publication or broadcast of the material violating the code of conduct issued by the council," the section 18 (1) of the new bill states.
New Delhi: Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be offering prayers at the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand. PM Modi's visit to the holy shrine comes a day before 59 parliamentary constituencies, including Varanasi, will go to polls in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The results of 2019 Lok Sabha polls will also be announced on May 23.

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Keeping in view PM's arrival, security has been tightened near the shrine. Tripti Bhatt, Commandant State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) has directed all officials in the Kedarnath valley to maintain vigil in view of the Pm Modis visit to the temple.

The Himalayan shrine, dedicated to Lord Shiva, has been visited multiple times by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his ongoing term in the office. In November 2018, PM Narendra Modi had visited the Kedarnath shrine during Diwali. In 2017, he paid visits to the temple twice, once in May after its gate had opened following a six-month winter break and again in October, before the temple gates again closed for winters.

This year, the portals of the Kedarnath temple in the Garhwal Himalayan range of Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district were thrown open to pilgrims on May 9 after a six-month-long winter break.

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Rameshwaram is one of the holiest place in India for the Hindus. It is an island located in Tamil Nadu off the east coast, it is one of the 12 Jyotir Lingams - the most sacred spots for Shiva worshipers. This illustrated history of the holy city of Rameshwaram - taken from the epic Ramayana - recounts the legend of Lord Rama, Lakshmana, Sita and Hanuman, who worshiped the Shiva Lingam on the southeastern coast of India to rid themselves of the sin of killing Ravana - the King of Lanka. After forging a friendship with Sugriva through the mediation of the mighty apes, Lord Rama sends Hanuman in search of his abducted wife Sita.

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Hanuman goes to Sri Lanka, locates Sita and delivers the message of Rama and brings back as a token her head ornament chudamani to Rama. Having learned about the whereabouts of Sita, Lord Rama decides to proceed to Lanka. He sits in meditation praying to the Ocean God Samudraraja to make way for him and his army. Annoyed with the delay, he takes the bow and gets ready to dart the arrow against Samudraraja. The lord of the oceans surrenders and shows the way for the construction of a bridge across the sea. While Lord Rama is busy supervising the construction of the bridge, he noticed a squirrel wetting its body. Then rolling in the sand and taking the sticking sand to be added to the bridge under construction.

While Hanuman and his ape associates are engaged in the building of the bridge, the squirrel contributes its share to the construction work. A grateful Lord Rama blesses the squirrel by caressing its back thereby forming three streaks. This gave rise to the story about how the squirrel got those white lines on its back! After the bridge was constructed, Lord Rama, Lakshmana, and Hanuman reached Sri Lanka. Seated in the chariot of Indra and armored by the Aditya Hridaya Mantra of sage Aghasthya, Rama and succeeds in killing Ravana with his Brahmastra weapon.

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Washington DC: US airlines flying warned by The Federal Aviation Administration over the Gulf to exercise caution "due to heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the region." The advisory, which also covers airspace over the Gulf of Oman, comes amid rising tensions between the US and Iran.

FAA advisory released late Thursday said, Increased tensions in the region "present an increasing inadvertent risk to US civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or mis-identification. It also warned that aircraft flying in the area could encounter "inadvertent GPS interference and communications jamming, which could occur with little to no warning."

Indian Muslim boy serves Iftar to over 2,500 people in Dubai

Washington has deployed an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the region against what it claims is an imminent threat from Tehran. President Donald Trump's administration has also ordered non-essential diplomatic staff out of Iraq, citing threats from Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups.

Nepal: Three Journalists under scrutiny for news about Dalai Lama

The White House however has sent mixed signals in recent days, amid multiple US media reports of infighting in Trump's cabinet over how hard to push Washington's arch foe.

According to US media reports, Trump's long-hawkish national security advisor John Bolton is pushing a hard line on Iran, but others in the administration are resisting.
Acute kidney injury in a context of cardiac amyloidosis may be due to renal infarction, report scientists in a new study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Rochester, MN, May 15, 2019 - Systemic amyloidosis is a major cause of renal injury, mostly due to direct kidney damage caused by deposits of abnormal protein called amyloid, in the kidney parenchyma. In patients with cardiac amyloidosis, renal infarction is associated with acute kidney injury according to a new study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, published by Elsevier. Investigators recommend that a diagnosis of renal infarction should be systematically considered in patients with unexplained acute kidney injury in the context of cardiac amyloidosis.

Amyloidosis is a heterogeneous group of diseases, classified according to the main precursor protein forming the amyloid fibrils. The most prevalent types are acquired systemic immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis (AL amyloidosis); circulating acute-phase reactant serum amyloid A protein amyloidosis (AA amyloidosis); non-mutated or wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis; and hereditary forms caused by genetic variants which encode abnormal proteins. Cardiac involvement (the most relevant prognosis factor) is increasingly being diagnosed in these patients and is frequently accompanied by significant dysfunction of other major organs. Amyloid cardiomyopathy may be associated with thromboembolic events, mostly due to atrial fibrillation, leading to intracardiac thrombus formation, or promoted by the hypercoagulability state observed in patients with nephrotic syndrome.

"The prevalence of renal infarction and the risk factors for this condition have never before been assessed in this patient population," explained lead investigator Vincent Audard, MD, PhD, Service de Nephrologie et Transplantation, Groupe Hospitalier Henri Mondor-Albert Chenevier, Universite Paris Est Creteil, Creteil, France. "Computed tomography scans and magnetic resonance imaging are the gold standard method for confirming renal infarction but may be unsuitable in patients with systemic amyloidosis because these patients frequently exhibit impaired renal function and/or have heart devices."

In this observational study, investigators at the Amyloidosis Referral Center of Henri Mondor Hospital assessed the frequency of renal infarction in 87 patients with confirmed cardiac amyloidosis who underwent 99mTc-labeled DMSA renal scintigraphy from October 1, 2015, through February 28, 2018. Three groups of patients were defined on the basis of the underlying amyloidosis disorder: AL amyloidosis in 24 patients; mutated-transthyretin amyloidosis in 24 patients; and wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis in 39 patients.

One of the study's most significant findings is that acute kidney injury in a context of cardiac amyloidosis may be due to renal infarction. The prevalence of renal infarction was relatively high (20.7 percent) among the 87 patients with a definitive diagnosis of confirmed cardiac amyloidosis. These cases were evenly distributed between the three groups. At the time of renal scintigraphy, the frequency of acute kidney injury was higher in patients with renal infarction, and the likelihood of renal infarction diagnosis according to the presence or absence of acute kidney injury was 47.1 percent and 14.5 percent, respectively.

The investigators suggest that several factors, including direct kidney damage due to deposits of amyloid and indirect mechanisms of damage, such as renal failure due to low cardiac output, may be involved in the renal failure observed in these patients.

This study showed that after excluding heart transplant cases, patient survival did not differ significantly between patients with and without a diagnosis of renal infarction. By contrast, the authors found that death- and heart transplant--censored renal survival was significantly lower in patients with renal infarction.

"Overall, these data suggest that renal infarction should probably be added to the spectrum of renal manifestations related to systemic amyloidosis in cases of heart involvement," concluded Dr. Audard. "We recommend that a diagnosis of renal infarction should be systematically considered in patients with unexplained acute kidney injury in the context of cardiac amyloidosis."

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Researchers at the Smithsonian Institute have proposed a 'demographic safe space' for Asian elephants, to improve conservation of these and other large, slow-breeding animals

Conservation decisions based on population counts may fail to protect large, slow-breeding animals from irrevocable decline, according to new research coinciding with Endangered Species Day.

"Critical thresholds in so-called vital rates - such as mortality and fertility rates among males and females of various ages - can signal an approaching population collapse long before numbers drop below a point of no return," says lead author Dr. Shermin de Silva, President & Founder of Asian elephant conservation charity Trunks & Leaves. "We propose that conservation efforts for Asian elephants and other slow-breeding megafauna be aimed at maintaining their 'demographic safe space': that is, the combination of key vital rates that supports a non-negative growth rate."

A mammoth insight

Published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, the study suggests that a combination of key vital rates governing population growth is a better indicator of a species' viability than short-term trends in population size and distribution.

"History bears this out," argues de Silva. "Genomic studies of the last mammoths isolated on Wrangel Island - between Russia and Alaska - have shown that although they were able to persist for thousands of years beyond the extinction of mainland populations with just ~300 individuals, they had accumulated numerous genetic mutations that may have eventually contributed to their extinction."

In other words populations of megafauna can become biologically inviable long before they disappear, if pushed beyond their 'demographic safe space.'

Females and calves key to saving the Asian elephant

The group applied the 'demographic safe space' concept to the case of the Asian elephant.

"Asian elephants are classified as 'Endangered' under the IUCN Red List because populations are thought to have declined by at least 50% in less than a century," explains de Silva. "There are fewer than 50,000 wild Asian elephants living today."

Studies show that wild Asian elephants breed extremely slowly, the majority producing just one calf in six years or more. Using mathematical modeling, de Silva and colleagues found that near-optimal reproduction and high calf survival is necessary to maintain non-negative population growth in the face of even modestly increased mortality among adult female age classes.

The approach shows a clear conservation priority for Asian elephants, a species in which the vast majority is tuskless.

"Measures to enhance survival of calves, and particularly females, are key to saving the Asian elephant," emphasizes de Silva.

"But while the attention of the world has been focused on the ivory trade, for critically endangered Asian elephant populations the greatest threat is habitat loss - followed by illegal trade in live animals and parts.

"Habitat loss can create something known as 'extinction debt' by slowing down birth rates and increasing mortality rates. For slow breeding long-lived species, even incremental changes make a big difference, but their longevity can obscure the risk of extinction."

A demographic safe space for all megafauna

Conservation efforts for other large, slow-breeding species - such as giraffes, rhinos, Bactrian camels and eastern gorillas - could also benefit from modelling the interaction between vital rates. Data for these species in the wild are a scarce yet urgent necessity, suggest the authors.

"Rather than rely on simple population counts or estimates of near-term extinction probability, we urge that conservation resources for slow-breeding megafauna also be invested in identifying demographic tipping points and how to maintain populations within their safe spaces.

"Populations of slow-breeding taxa need proactive management well before numbers become critically low, when returns on investment are potentially greater and populations less likely committed to extinction," concludes de Silva.

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Please link to the original research article in your reporting:

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2019.00171/full

Questions may be directed to lead author Dr. Shermin de Silva:

shermin@trunksnleaves.org / +1.925.639.1585

Frontiers is an award-winning Open Science platform and leading open-access scholarly publisher. Our mission is to make high-quality, peer-reviewed research articles rapidly and freely available to everybody in the world, thereby accelerating scientific and technological innovation, societal progress and economic growth. Frontiers received the 2014 ALPSP Gold Award for Innovation in Publishing. For more information, visit http://www.frontiersin.org and follow @Frontiersin on Twitter.
When Stephen Pruett-Jones, PhD, an ecologist at the University of Chicago, first came to Chicago in 1988, he stumbled on a unique piece of the city's history: the monk parakeets of Hyde Park.

The squat, bright-green birds aren't native to Illinois, or the United States at all. The U.S. originally had two native parrot species: the Carolina parakeet and the thick-billed parrot. The Carolina parakeet is now extinct; the thick-billed parrot, a Mexican species that ranged into the southwestern states, was driven out of the U.S.

In the 1950s and 60s, tens of thousands of monk parakeets were imported from South America as pets. Inevitably, many of them escaped or were released. By 1968, they were found breeding in the wild across 10 states, including a colony in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, home of the University of Chicago campus.

Pruett-Jones, who usually studies wrens and other wild birds in Australia, noticed a large group of the parakeets on his daily commute. He started sending students out to study the birds and eventually organized an annual lab project to count them.

"I have never actually held a wild parrot in the United States," he said. "But indirectly I've become the spokesperson for parrot research here because when I saw the monk parakeets in Chicago, I realized nobody else was working on them."

Those monk parakeets aren't the only parrot species thriving in the U.S. as a result of the pet trade. In a recent study, Pruett-Jones teamed up with Jennifer Uehling, a former UChicago undergraduate student now working on a PhD at Cornell University, and Jason Tallant of the University of Michigan to research data on bird sightings from 2002 to 2016. They found that there were 56 different parrot species spotted in the wild in 43 states. Of these, 25 species are now breeding in 23 different states.

"Many of them were escaped pets, or their owners released them because they couldn't train them or they made too much noise--all the reasons people let pets go," Pruett-Jones said. "But many of these species are perfectly happy living here and they've established populations. Wild parrots are here to stay."

A diverse new landscape for parrots

The study, published in the Journal of Ornithology, uses two different databases of bird sightings to track this diverse new landscape of naturalized parrot species. The first, the Christmas Bird Count, is an annual survey organized by the National Audubon Society that captures a snapshot of birds in the U.S. during a two-week period from December 14 to January 15 each year. The second resource, eBird, is an online database for bird watching enthusiasts to log all the birds they have seen.

Once Uehling, Tallant, and Pruett-Jones compiled the data, the most common species were monk parakeets, the Red-crowned Amazon, and the Nanday Parakeet. Most of these birds are concentrated in the warmer climates of Florida, Texas and California, but there are other large populations concentrated around cities like New York and Chicago. Pruett-Jones says there are now more Red-crowned Amazons living in California than there are in their original habitats in Mexico.

"The entire conservation focus for this species is now on a non-native, introduced, naturalized population," he said. "The survival of the species is most likely going to come from efforts to save it someplace where it never existed before."

Monk parakeets are reported to be agricultural pests in South America, but other than a few isolated examples, there is no evidence that any of the feral parrots in the U.S. are invasive or competing with native birds. Monk parakeets are the only species of parrot that build their own nests, however, and the bulky structures are known to damage utility lines.

Good luck talisman

The story of Chicago's parakeets is one with the city, that of tenacious survival in spite of the elements. Most of the year they feed by foraging in parks and open grassy areas. They don't migrate, but one of Pruett-Jones' students discovered that they survive Chicago's harsh winters by switching almost exclusively to backyard bird feeders from December to February.

Harold Washington, Chicago's first African American mayor, lived across the street from one of the city's best-known parakeet colonies and called them a "good luck talisman." After he died in 1987, the USDA tried to remove the birds, but local residents threatened a lawsuit.

The parakeets stayed but their numbers have dwindled from a peak of about 400 birds to just 30 today. Some of the them have dispersed to greener areas in the suburbs, although the largest colony is now under the Skyway bridge connecting Illinois to Indiana. There are also signs of a nationwide decline in all birds, perhaps due to a disease or parasite.

Pruett-Jones may have become a national expert on parrots by accident, but he says this work is crucial to understand conservation of endangered species and how non-native or invasive species can spread.

"Because of human activity transporting these birds for our own pleasure, we have inadvertently created populations elsewhere," he said. "Now for some of these parrots, they may become critical to the survival of the species."

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Through Dec. 30, 5-9 p.m.

Henson Robinson Zoo 1100 E. Lake Shore Dr., Springfield Lake Springfield Area

Adults $7, kids 3-12 $5, ages 2 and under are free

Holiday Happenings

Take a stroll through the zoo and enjoy thousands of lights and displays. Enjoy the hot cocoa bar or roast a marshmallow over the fire pit for a delicious s'more. Grab the family and gather at one of the photo opportunities for your holiday pics! See the Zoo animals as they enjoy the lights too; red wolves, arctic fox, eagles, barnyard, cougars, birds of prey and many others that are all out on the grounds or viewable still this time of year! There will be bonus features scheduled for certain dates, so keep an eye on our schedule for all. 217-585-1821
Description

LI's First High School Choral Festival will be heading to the Long island Community Hospital Amphitheater at Bald Hill this spring. Competitions will be held from 12 PM - 5 PM and there will be a concert with all the student performers at 6 PM.



Rain Date - Sunday, May 19th
Deliveroo is a British company that allows users to order food deliveries from nearby restaurants using an app.

In December, Deliveroo, which grew by 116 percent globally in 2017, opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in Hong Kong.

Amazon AMZN is leading a $575 million funding round for Deliveroo, taking the total the food delivery app has raised to date up to $1.53 billion.

Others taking part in the funding round include existing investors T. Rowe Price, Fidelity Management, and Greenoaks.

Deliveroo is a British company that allows users to order food deliveries from nearby restaurants using an app. Its U.K. rivals include Uber Eats and Just Eat, but the firm operates across 14 markets including Australia, Germany, Hong Kong and the UAE.

Deliveroo said in a press release Friday that it would use the funding to grow its engineering team in its London headquarters and expand its delivery reach to offer its service to new customers. Will Shu, founder and CEO of Deliveroo, said in the press release that the new investment would offer restaurants new opportunities to grow and expand their businesses.

"Amazon has been an inspiration to me personally and to the company, and we look forward to working with such a customer-obsessed organization," he said. "This is great news for the tech and restaurant sectors, and it will help to create jobs in all of the countries in which we operate."

In December, Deliveroo, which grew by 116% globally in 2017, opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in Hong Kong. Deliveroo Food Market serves as a kitchen for delivering online orders as well as a consumer-facing storefront where consumers can choose from 15 dining concepts.

At the time, the company said it would expand the concept globally if all goes well, but it already had plans to open a second location in Singapore this year.

British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported late last year that Deliveroo is eyeing a 2020 IPO, quashing rumors that a takeover deal from Uber was in the works.

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Seema Shah, global investment strategist at Principal Global Investors, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Friday that services like Deliveroo  which "technified" traditional industries  had significant long-term potential.



"The problem that they face is that there's so many competitors coming in  all of these large tech companies are developing other technologies that can enable them to do similar stuff, so I think it's going to be tough going forward," she said. "But there's so much interest, especially when you think about the millennial contingent that's coming through  that's the only way that they're going to be operating."



However, Deliveroo has faced similar issues to Uber when it comes to sentiment among its employees. In June last year, a group of 50 U.K. workers won a six-figure payout from the firm in a settlement of an employment rights claim. The claim alleged the riders were denied rights such as the legal minimum wage after being given contractor status instead of classified as employees.

In December, the tide turned in Deliveroo's favor when it won a case in Britain's High Court, which rejected claims that categorizing riders as self-employed breached their human rights.

- CNBC's Uptin Saiidi contributed to this report.





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VIENNA, May 18 (Reuters) - The leader of Austria's opposition Social Democrats, Pamela Rendi-Wagner, will not oppose a snap election if a bill proposing one is put to parliament, she told national broadcaster ORF on Saturday.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Saturday proposed a snap election and President Alexander Van der Bellen expressed support for the idea. Van der Bellen can dissolve parliament but elections are usually called by legislation passed by lawmakers. (Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian)
Many emerging market economies might not have the same magnetic appeal they once had for investors, tarnished by economic volatility and concerns about stability, but for David Rubenstein  co-founder and co-executive chairman of the Carlyle Group  now is the perfect time to plow money into ventures in the countries that make up this group.

Right now I am putting a lot of my own personal money into emerging markets because I think thats where the greatest reward is likely to be in the next couple of years as the cycle turns, he said during a keynote address at a global private equity conference in Washington, D.C. If everybody was rushing into the emerging markets now, I would be nervous  but they are not, therefore I think there is greater opportunity, he said.

Rubenstein invests through his family office, which he set up after stepping down as chief executive officer of Carlyle, at the end of 2017.

Theres no doubt that the emerging markets are recognized as having greater growth prospects, Rubenstein said, However, right now the bloom is off the rose because the emerging markets have not done as well in the last couple of years  money is pulling away from the emerging markets, and people are nervous about investing in emerging markets.

That is the best time to invest in emerging markets, he declared.

Rubenstein argued the worst has passed when it comes to issues negatively affecting the appeal of emerging market economies  such as commodity price declines, corruption and a lack of transparency, as well as the dearth of viable deals.

Speaking during an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the same event, Kamran Anwar  SS&C GlobeOps Managing Director of Private Equity Services  agreed that the biggest issue the private equity industry faces when it comes to investing in emerging market economies is around governance, such as board independence, compliance, and the quality of internal risk controls, good recordkeeping, to name a few issues. A good example is the Abraaj Group, a Dubai-based private equity group that at its height had $14 billion in assets under management, before collapsing in 2018 under a $1.1 billion debt load and accusations of misappropriating investor funds.

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Anwar believes such major economic and governance crises create a jumpstart mechanism for industry reforms, and can serve as catalysts for change. He said emerging market companies are better governed today than they were a few years ago. As they compete for global capital, they are better able to respond to global demands around transparency.

Anwar echoed Rubensteins bullish view on the outlook for emerging market investments, noting that uncertainty has been synonymous with emerging market economies, as exemplified by crises in the nineties in Argentina and Brazil, oil price volatility in the Middle East and, the continued tensions between India and Pakistan. This, in turn, has led to a better understanding of identifying, analyzing and quantifying risk.

That is the best time to invest in emerging markets,David Rubenstein, Carlyle Group co-founder.

The ability of investors to navigate constantly-changing political dynamics and events in these countries is time-tested, he said, and private equity firms now have more experience today when it comes to allocating capital.

Uncertainty in emerging market counties leads to the greatest amount of opportunity, such as below-market valuations, Anwar said, adding that those who are experienced enough can navigate these challenges at the right risk premium.

Uncertainty in any environment leads to opportunities, and the advantage goes to managers who are able to identify hidden gems at attractive valuations, Anwar said. High growth dynamics in emerging markets, large and young populations, as well as several instances of path-breaking innovation all create an attractive investment opportunity set. He cited at Safari Telecom in Kenya as an example of disintermediating banks in the money transfer processes.

Anwar added that given growth patterns and latent demand from young, consumer-oriented populations, emerging markets are well positioned to become larger economically than many OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries within our lifetime.

Rubenstein delivered his remarks at the Emerging Market Private Equity Associations (EMPEA) Global Private Equity Conference this month. EMPEA highlighted the central role being played by family offices in particular, who are increasingly attracted to emerging markets. This is fueled by a greater willingness to take risks, he said, as they do not have the same level of fiduciary responsibilities placed on managers of entities such as pension and sovereign wealth funds.

Looking ahead, while historically the rates of return on investing in emerging market economies have not exceeded the yields on investments in developed countries, Rubenstein said he believes that in time the return on capital allocated to emerging market ventures will outpace developed markets. This will be due to less competition, better access to financing, improved accounting standards and the countries themselves will become more sophisticated.

Rubenstein noted that only 17 percent of the money invested in private equity funds is allocated to emerging market ventures, even though their home countries are responsible for 55 percent of global economic activity (including China and India). Eventually, their large contribution to global economic growth will translate to a more representative share of private capital being invested.

So he expects to see a lot more money flowing to countries in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia relative to what it is today.

One area that is unlikely to witness a major influx of investment is the Middle East, SS&Cs Anwar said, noting countries in the region are not usually major magnets for private equity funds. For example, in the Arab Gulf countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council, the dominant role of oil production (a largescale, machine-intensive industry) has left their SMEs sector too small and informal to be an attractive proposition for outside investors.

On the other hand, there are some regional champions in logistics, retail, food processing and packaging which have received interest from private equity firms. Anwar believes impact investing in this region may be an alternative track. We are also seeing some governments provide attractive incentives to attract impact investing tools, expertise and capital, he said.

And while the enormous pools of capital held by endowments, family offices, and sovereign wealth funds, etc. mean there are many limited partners to be found in the region, the health of most economies in the region remains closely tied to the oil market. A drop in the price means reduced revenues and governments dipping into their reserves to maintain high levels of domestic spending  reducing the amount available for investment.

The response of countries like Saudi Arabia to the Arab Spring underlined how much GCC economies rely on social welfare largesse to keep their citizenry happy. It remains to be seen what effect the ongoing war in Yemen and a potential military conflict between Iran and the U.S.  which could suck in Gulf Arab nations  would have on the availability of surplus capital from these countries for investing, Anwar said.

The post Carlyle Co-Founder Sees Emerging Markets Yielding The Greatest Reward in the Coming Years appeared first on Emerging Market Views.
Province 5 sees high number of women dying unnatural deaths

As many as 364 cases of suicide among women have also been reported in the same time period, against a nationwide number of 1,538. Police believe that most women committed suicide due to excessive physical and mental torture, sometimes at the hands of their own families.
By Yawen Chen and Se Young Lee

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Thursday slammed a decision by the U.S. government to put telecom equipment giant Huawei on a blacklist and said it will take steps to protect its companies, in a further test of ties as the economic heavyweights clash over trade.

China is strongly against other countries imposing unilateral sanctions on Chinese entities, a Commerce Ministry spokesman said, stressing that the United States should avoid further damaging Sino-U.S. trade relations.

The crackdown on Huawei came as U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he would visit China soon for more trade talks. Hopes for a deal to end their trade war have been thrown into doubt after the world's two biggest economies raised tariffs on each other's goods in the past week.

The U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday it was adding Huawei Technologies Co and 70 affiliates to its so-called "Entity List" in a move that bans the Chinese company from acquiring components and technology from U.S. firms without prior U.S. government approval.

President Donald Trump separately on Wednesday signed an executive order barring U.S. firms from using telecom equipment made by companies deemed to pose a national security risk.

The order did not specifically identify any country or company, but U.S. officials have previously labeled Huawei a "threat" and lobbied allies not to use Huawei network equipment in next-generation 5G networks.

"China has emphasized many times that the concept of national security should not be abused, and that it should not be used as a tool for trade protectionism," Gao Feng, spokesman at the Chinese commerce ministry, told reporters.

"China will take all the necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights of Chinese firms."

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Trump backed the decision to "prevent American technology from being used by foreign-owned entities in ways that potentially undermine U.S. national security or foreign policy interests."

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In response, Huawei, which denies its products pose a security threat, said it was "ready and willing to engage with the U.S. government and come up with effective measures to ensure product security."

It said restricting Huawei from doing business in the United States would "limit the U.S. to inferior yet more expensive alternatives, leaving the U.S. lagging behind in 5G deployment and eventually harming the interests of U.S. companies and consumers."

Putting constraints on Huawei's supply chain could also delay its procurement of components and parts needed to help Chinese telecom operators roll out 5G in China, Jefferies wrote in a note, unless Beijing manages to negotiate with Washington to help Huawei get out of "jail".

"Assuming the U.S. export ban on Huawei remains unresolved for the next 12-24 months, we highly doubt if China would stick to its timetable of building 5G aggressively," the U.S. brokerage wrote.

The sanctions on Huawei were also likely to have ramifications beyond the company itself, rattling the global tech supply chain, analysts said.

China is also angry about Canada's arrest of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou in December. Meng faces extradition to the United States on charges that she conspired to defraud global banks about Huawei's relationship with a company operating in Iran.

She and the company deny the charges.

Also on Thursday, China's Foreign Ministry announced the formal arrest of two Canadian citizens who have been detained shortly after Meng's arrest.

While Canada says China has made no specific link between the detentions of the two men and Meng's arrest, experts and former diplomats say they have no doubt it is using their cases to pressure Canada.

UNCERTAIN OUTLOOK

Trump had softened his trade rhetoric on Tuesday and insisted talks had not collapsed. He also announced plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at a G20 summit in Japan late next month.

When asked about media reports that the two leaders had to meet face to face to resolve the trade dispute, Gao said those reports were not true.

He added that he had no information on any plans for a U.S. trade delegation to visit China.

Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, asked if China had invited U.S. officials for more talks, said China always advocated resolving disputes through dialogue.

"Negotiations and consultations, to have meaning, must be sincere," Lu told reporters at a separate daily briefing.

"First, there must be mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. Second, one's word must be kept, and not be capricious."

TARIFF ESCALATION

As negotiations toward resolving the U.S.-China trade war stalled last week, the United States ramped up the pressure by raising tariffs on a list of $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25% from 10%.

China retaliated with higher tariffs on a revised list of $60 billion worth of U.S. products.

Trump has threatened to launch 25% tariffs on another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods.

"The tariff hike by the United States will only bring greater difficulties to the consultations," Gao said.

"We urge the United States to cancel the wrong practices as early as possible, avoiding greater losses to Chinese and American companies and consumers, and causing a 'recession-like' impact on the world economy."

Three differences remain between the two countries, according to China.

China believes tariffs were the genesis of the trade dispute, and that all tariffs must be eliminated in order to reach a deal.

The second issue centers on the additional volume of U.S. goods that China will agree to buy, Vice Premier Liu He, China's lead trade negotiator, said last week without giving details.

The third is over how balanced the text of the draft agreement of the trade deal should be, he said.

"To reach any agreement, China's three core concerns must be properly resolved," Gao said.

(Reporting by Yawen Chen and Se Young Lee; Additional reporting by Michael Martina; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore & Kim Coghill)
By Ben Blanchard and David Shepardson

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - China struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States on Friday, suggesting a resumption of talks between the world's two largest economies would be meaningless unless Washington changed course.

The tough talk capped a week that saw Beijing unveil fresh retaliatory tariffs, U.S. officials accuse China of backtracking on promises made during months of talks and the Trump administration level a potentially crippling blow against one of China's biggest and most successful companies.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, asked about state media reports suggesting there would be no more trade negotiations, said China always encouraged resolving disputes with the United States through dialogue and consultations.

"But because of certain things the U.S. side has done during the previous China-U.S. trade consultations, we believe if there is meaning for these talks, there must be a show of sincerity," he told a daily news briefing.

CNBC, citing sources, said the trade talks had stalled and the next round of discussions was "in flux."

The United States raised Beijing's ire this week when it announced it was putting Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the worlds biggest telecoms equipment maker, on a blacklist that could make it extremely hard to do business with U.S. companies.

The U.S. Commerce Department may soon scale back restrictions on Huawei by issuing a temporary general license to allow time for companies and people who have Huawei equipment to maintain reliability of their communications networks and equipment, a department spokeswoman said.

The possible general license would not apply to new transactions, the spokeswoman said, and would last for 90 days.

China has yet to say whether or how it will retaliate, although its state media is sounding an increasingly strident note. The ruling Communist Party's People's Daily published on Friday a front-page commentary that evoked the patriotic spirit of the country's past wars.

"The trade war can't bring China down. It will only harden us to grow stronger," it said.

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Global stocks, which rebounded this week on the prospect of another round of U.S.-China talks, suffered a fresh bout of selling and China's yuan slid to its weakest against the U.S. dollar in almost five months. Prices of U.S. government debt were trading higher.

The increasingly acrimonious trade dispute has rattled investors who fear that the countries are careening dangerously down a track that will badly damage global supply lines and put the brakes on an already slowing world economy.

The South China Morning Post, citing an unidentified source, reported that a senior member of China's Communist Party said the trade war could reduce China's 2019 economic growth by 1 percentage point in the worst-case scenario.

"Both sides might need some prodding, but we've had a very clear opportunity for one side or the other ... to say this isn't going to work ... and neither side did," said Derek Scissors, an expert on Sino-U.S. economic relations at the American Enterprise Institute think tank, who put the chance of a deal this year at over 50/50.

AUTO TARIFFS

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has embraced protectionism as part of an "America First" agenda aimed at rebalancing global trade, has accused China of backing out of a deal earlier this month that would have ended the 10-month dispute.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported China had backtracked on commitments to change its laws to resolve core U.S. complaints about theft of intellectual property, forced technology transfers and other practices.

Trump punctuated two days of talks in Washington last week with a decision to raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 percent from 10 percent. The negotiations ended in a stalemate.

On Monday, Beijing said it would raise its tariffs on a revised list of $60 billion in U.S. goods effective June 1. Trump, in turn, said he is considering slapping tariffs on the remaining $300 billion in Chinese imports to the United States.

The U.S. president also continues to dangle the possibility of imposing tariffs of up to 25% on imported cars and parts, a move that could be devastating for a number of U.S. trading partners, including Japan and Germany.

The White House said on Friday that Trump's decision on auto tariffs would be delayed by up to six months to allow more time for trade talks with the European Union and Japan. Trump faced a Saturday deadline to make a decision.

It added, however, that the U.S. president agreed with findings by the U.S. Commerce Department that imported vehicles and parts can threaten U.S. national security, a designation likely to anger some U.S. allies.

Automakers have strongly opposed the tariffs, saying they would hike prices and threaten thousands of U.S. jobs. There is also strong opposition in the U.S. Congress, with many prominent members of Trump's Republican Party rejecting the idea.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, praised the administration's decision to delay the auto tariffs.

"Positive step. The pressure must be strong on China, not on our allies who we should encourage to join us in confronting China," Schumer tweeted.

The United States and Canada also announced on Friday a deal to remove tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium in exchange for new curbs to keep dumped metals from China and other nations out of the U.S. market. The Mexican president's office later said Mexico had reached a similar deal with the United States.

The metals tariffs were an aggravation for the Canadian and Mexican governments and had been a major hurdle to enacting the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the deal that would replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Gao Liangping in Beijing and David Shepardson in Washington; Additional reporting by Steve Scherer in Ottawa, Anthony Esposito in Mexico City, Karen Freifeld and Lewis Krauskopf in New York and David Lawder, Alexandra Alper, and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Paul Simao; Editing by Susan Thomas, James Dalgleish and Sandra Maler)
FILE PHOTO: Pavel Sorokin, Russian Deputy Energy Minister (C), and Andrei Rybakov (L), Chairman of the Belarusian state oil company Belneftekhim, speak to the media in Minsk, Belarus, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko/File Photo

By Andrei Makhovsky, Vladimir Soldatkin and Olga Yagova

MINSK/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Clean Russian oil had reached the border with Belarus by midday on Monday, a Russian official said, five days after European refineries suspended imports because of contamination in the Druzhba pipeline.

Poland, Germany, Ukraine, Slovakia and other countries on the network suspended oil imports via the Druzhba pipeline after finding contaminants that can damage refinery equipment.

"As planned, at 1200 (0900 GMT) on April 29 oil ... has reached ... the Druzhba pipeline's Unecha border station," Ilya Dzhus, spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, said in a statement.

Belarus had earlier said that clean Russian oil had yet to reach its borders via the pipeline -- a major source of oil supply across Europe -- after tainted crude prompted several importers to halt flows last week.

State-run oil company Belneftekhim said that Belarusian refineries were still running at reduced capacity, though Moscow had said it would start pumping clean crude through the Druzhba network from Monday.

Negotiations with Moscow over Belneftekhim's oil supply will continue, one of its deputy chairmen, Vladimir Sizov, told Reuters as he left talks at the Russian Energy Ministry on Monday.

The Druzhba network supplies refineries as far west as Germany. Belneftekhim spokeswoman Marina Kostyuchenko said that clean Russian oil may reach the country later than Monday.

"For now, I don't see that it (oil) will arrive today ... Even if oil has reached the Russian side (of the border), time is needed (for it) to arrive to us," she said.

Moscow had also said on Friday that it would take two weeks to stabilise supplies across the Druzhba network, which has northern and southern pipeline spurs.

A source with a buyer at the northern Druzhba leg on Monday said that supplies via Adamova Zastava to Poland and Germany remained halted and were not expected to resume in the short term.

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'NO SOLUTION'

The problems arose when an unidentified Russian producer contaminated oil with high levels of organic chloride, which is typically used to boost oil output but which must be separated before shipment to avoid damaging refiners' processing units.

It remains unclear how contaminants got into the pipeline system near the Russian city of Samara on the Volga river.

"Clean Urals is about to reach the Belarus border, but it doesnt solve anything. No solution. The situation is worse than it seems," an industry source familiar with the talks told Reuters.

Russia has not offered specifics about how it planned to clean out contaminated oil from the whole network. Druzhba can ship up to 1 million barrels per day, amounting to 1 percent of global crude demand.

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin told reporters in Minsk after Friday's talks that one option was to mix clean oil with the contaminated crude.

Another is to transport clean oil by rail tankers, Russian Railways said last week.

Some Western buyers last week refused to take Urals cargoes loading from the Baltic port of Ust-Luga, which also received contaminated oil. A port official and traders on Friday said loadings had resumed.

Traders working with the port told Reuters on Monday that loadings were continuing but the organic chlorides content in the crude was rising.

"It has reached around 200 ppm (parts per million) in cargoes recently loaded from the port," one trader said. The regular ratio is about 10 ppm.

Oil flows from nearby Primorsk as well as Novorossiisk and Kozmino in Russia's far east were not affected, traders said. In total Russia exports about 4 million barrels of oil per day.

Some European refineries have turned to supplies through other pipelines, but analysts say those routes have limited capacity.

Czech oil refiner Unipetrol has asked the government to lend it crude from state reserves, with amounts to be discussed at a meeting on Monday.

Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft is investigating the matter, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday, adding that this could lead to a wider inquiry, possibly including law enforcement agencies.

The pipeline issue has cut off a major supply route for Polish refineries owned by PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos, as well as plants in Germany owned by Total, Shell, Eni and Rosneft.

(Reporting by Andrey Makhovsky in MINSK, Robert Muleer in PRAGUE, Olga Yagova, Gleb Gorodyankin, Vladimir Soldatkin, Darya Korsunskaya and Maria Tsvetkova in MOSCOW; Writing by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Edmund Blair and David Goodman)
She alights from a black Ferrari convertible, her Christian Louboutin stilettos glinting in the sunlight. The lid of her black lacquer grand piano is propped open in the living room of her plush Beverly Hills home.

"I own a chain of elderly care facilities," she says into the camera on Bravo's reality television show "The Millionaire Matchmaker." ''My net worth is $3 to $4 million, probably."

Stephanie Costa was 30 and enjoying a lifestyle supported in part by six board-and-care homes she owned in California's Central Valley. But half of that fortune was threatened when she and her company initially were cited for about $1.6 million for labor violations, including wage theft - not paying 11 employees for working much of 24 hours a day, six days a week.

Costa, who declined to be interviewed for this story, is a rare public face of a burgeoning multibillion-dollar elder care industry that is enabling operators to become wealthy by treating workers as indentured servants. Across the country, legions of these caregivers earn a pittance to tend to the elderly in residential houses refurbished as care facilities, according to an investigation by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting.

The profit margins can be huge and, for violators of labor laws, hinge on the widespread exploitation of thousands of caretakers, many of them poor immigrants effectively earning $2 to $3.50 an hour to work around the clock. The federal hourly minimum wage is $7.25.

Reveal interviewed more than 80 workers, care-home operators and government regulators and reviewed hundreds of wage theft cases handled by California and federal labor regulators, workers and local district attorneys. The investigation found rampant wage theft has pushed a vast majority of these caregivers into poverty.

Workers are left feeling desperate and trapped. Many caregivers say they rise before daybreak to cook meals, shower residents and scrub toilets. At night, they are deprived of sufficient sleep because they have to wake to change adult diapers, dispense painkillers, return wandering dementia residents to their beds and shift the bedridden every two hours to thwart bedsores.

Workers describe sleeping in hallways and garages, on couches and the floor. Some care homes deduct $25 a day from caregivers' paychecks for "lodging."

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Exploited caregivers rarely are allowed a day off; even then, they often must pay their substitutes. Two caregivers recounted having miscarriages after their bosses refused to allow them time off or to stop lifting heavy residents.

Because these workers often live where they work, they are under the watchful eye of their bosses. They are bullied into not cooperating with investigators. In some cases, care-home operators have threatened to report undocumented workers to authorities.

Human trafficking - in which workers, particularly Filipinos, are coerced, manipulated and exploited - also is not uncommon, according to prosecutors and attorneys. For example, several family members were charged last year with human trafficking and labor abuse in a case involving caregivers in San Mateo County, California, south of San Francisco.

"It's a classic tale of human greed," said Tia Koonse, legal and policy research manager at the UCLA Labor Center. "Their entire business model is predicated on not making payroll. It relies on people being willing to work for 24 hours a day for less than a dollar an hour. Only trafficked people will put up with that."

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The growth of board-and-care homes in neighborhoods across the United States is tied to medical advances, enabling aging baby boomers to live longer despite debilitating illnesses. This has resulted in an increasing number of gravely ill people or their family members seeking an alternative to costly nursing home care. There were about 29,000 residential care communities nationwide and about 300,000 full-time caregivers in 2016, according to the most recent federal figures available. About two-thirds are smaller facilities with four to 25 residents, many with dementia. California leads the nation with more than 7,300 residential care facilities licensed by the state.

Stephanie Costa provides a case study in exploiting workers, getting caught breaking labor laws and circumventing full punishment.

In 2013, 11 workers brought wage theft claims after providing around-the-clock care in the care homes Costa owned. They changed adults' diapers, comforted the dying and hoisted infirm residents into bed. They worked six days a week and subsisted on meager wages, according to interviews and court documents.

The workers said they risked being fired if they left the facilities and had no off-duty rest breaks during the day. Costa's care homes promoted 24/7 care for frail clients.

"We knew we were being underpaid," said Juliet Delos Reyes, 60, a former caregiver employed by Costa. "But we were helpless. We didn't know our rights. How could we leave?"

Reyes said she was not allowed to leave the home without permission when clients were present.

In many cases, workers in the industry fall into jobs that become increasingly abusive. A substantial number are working in the U.S. without authorization or applying to remain legally in the country. They are paid less than they're promised, isolated and restricted to the facilities.

Residents in these care homes typically are more than 60 years old. The annual national median cost for each resident is about $48,000. Dementia residents often pay more. Some owners tack on extra charges for those who are incontinent or desire more than two showers a week.

Over the last decade, care-home operators across the nation broke minimum wage, overtime or record-keeping laws in at least 1,400 cases, federal data shows. About 35 percent of them were in California. Data obtained by Reveal through a California Public Records Act request shows senior care facilities in the state have pending wage theft claims against them or have been ordered to pay back wages and penalties in more than 110 additional cases.

Three months after Costa's star turn on Bravo in 2013, the state labor commissioner's office ordered Costa and her company, Bedford Care Group, to pay about $1.6 million for unpaid wages and penalties. That's when she changed tactics.

Papers were then filed with the state to create two new residential care-home companies called Clear View Retirement Group LLC and Copper River Retirement Group LLC. Costa's mother, Alice Hayes, is secretary, one of two officers, of these companies, according to licensing records. Hayes declined to comment.

These new companies then received licenses from the state to run the six former Bedford care homes. But the structure and administrative staff in the care homes? Hayes assured residents that they would remain the same. In December 2014, following an appeal, the amount owed for the labor violations was reduced to $665,000. But around the same time, Costa's Bedford Care Group filed for bankruptcy, a legal maneuver that allowed her to effectively slash the amount she owed workers by settling the case for about $200,000, which she paid.

Three weeks after Costa's care-home business filed for bankruptcy, her father registered a new company with the state called Property Investment Housing LLC. The company then took over as the new owner of Costa's six care homes. Her father did not return a call seeking comment. Stephanie Costa is the company's chief executive, records show.

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Stephanie Costa represents a rare case in which an operator paid up, if only a partial amount of the original fine. Residential care facilities for the elderly receive among the largest wage theft judgments of any industry. Yet Reveal found that some facility owners caught cheating their workers are able to evade fines and judgments.

Many companies play shell games by not keeping money or real estate holdings in the name of the company against which judgments or fines are entered. They simply abandon their company names - and the judgments against those named entities - rendering the penalties and wage theft judgments meaningless.

Across the country, states are charged with regulating board-and-care facilities. In California, the state labor commissioner's office and U.S. Department of Labor, in addition to some local governments, are charged with investigating wage theft. State and federal regulators say privately that they need many more investigators and lawyers to chase down scofflaws and force them to pay.

The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division declined to make top officials available for an interview. But in a written statement, a Labor Department spokesman said: "Last year the division recovered a record-setting $304 million in back wages for workers and conducted a record-setting 3,600 outreach events to provide information to employers, employees, and other stakeholders about the requirements of the law."

The agency noted that in California, it has conducted investigations and "extensive outreach" to care-home operators "ensuring that they pay their workers the wages they have legally earned."

At least 20 companies providing care for the elderly, disabled and mentally ill in California continue to operate illegally - many of them under their original names - after ignoring judgments for back wages and penalties totaling more than $1.4 million, Reveal found. A 2016 law barred companies with outstanding wage theft judgments from conducting business in the state. But the state Department of Social Services' Community Care Licensing Division, which is in charge of licensing facilities for the elderly and disabled, has not followed through.

Pat Leary, acting director of the Department of Social Services, declined through spokesman Michael Weston to be interviewed. But in an email, Weston wrote that while the law allows his agency to deny a new license or not renew an existing one, the agency can take these steps only if it finds residents' health and safety have been threatened.

For her part, Costa's former employee Juliet Delos Reyes desperately needed the total back pay she was owed before the bankruptcy of Costa's company. She now cares for her husband, who is on dialysis. His medical bills are crushing.

"We didn't save anything. It affected us badly," Reyes said through tears. "I just hope that someday the government will look at how caregivers are treated."

In mid-2016, the California Social Services Department banned Costa from the assisted living business for life after finding multiple health and safety violations. Among the violations: caregivers working without required criminal background checks; caregivers lacking the proper skills to test the glucose of a diabetic resident whose hands had been amputated; taking in hospice patients without the state's permission; and arguing with the friend of a resident who was sent to the hospital, prompting staff there to ask her to leave.

Costa ignored the ban and continued to hire and fire workers at the care homes. So state licensing officials in April 2017 had Costa's mother sign a declaration promising Costa would not be involved in "any capacity" with the companies - Copper River Retirement Group and Clear View Retirement Group - that operate the care homes she once ran.

But even after that meeting, records show, Costa listed herself as a managing member of Clear View Retirement Group. Costa's name has since been removed from the most recent business filings received by the state.

A representative for the care-home industry readily acknowledged wrongdoing but blamed thin profit margins for necessitating the practice of underpaying workers.

"Are there problems? There are lots of problems," said Ronald Simpson, a founding director of 6Beds Inc., a lobbying and advocacy organization that represents more than 1,000 operators of small residential care facilities for seniors in California. "Elderly people aren't able to pay what they'd need to pay for these homes to be compliant."

Still, for workers earning anemic pay, "it's possible they're happy, too," he added.

Simpson then lashed out at Reveal for investigating wage theft in the industry.

"What you're doing is not a service to the industry," he said. "It makes the whole industry look like they're getting rich and ripping people off."

As he spoke, Simpson was busy organizing one of the group's all-day workshops for care-home operators on labor laws, which the 6Beds website promised would give them a key bit of advice: how to "minimize labor costs."

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For four years, Sonia Deza rose every morning at 5 a.m. to cook, clean, and wash and medicate her charges at Scienn Hail Home Care IV in Antioch, California, a city of about 100,000 people in the San Francisco Bay Area. She could not sit down again to rest until 10 p.m., after she tucked residents into bed and organized their prescriptions for the next day.

A long night still lay ahead; some wandering dementia residents needed help back to bed, and others had to be shifted every two hours. Deza rarely took a day off, as she would need to pay her substitute. She earned about $2 an hour. She worried she would be fired if she complained.

Then in 2013, federal regulators ordered Deza's bosses, Glenda and Rommel Publico, to pay Deza and 21 other workers more than $133,000 in back wages for violating federal minimum wage and overtime laws.

The Publicos wrote Deza two checks totaling more than $17,700 in back wages. But instead of letting her deposit the checks, Rommel Publico demanded the money back, claiming it was his, Deza said in an interview. She said she was frightened he would fire her if she refused. So she served her residents lunch and then took a rare break on two afternoons in July 2013. Rommel Publico picked her up from work and drove her to two different banks.

"I took the checks into the banks, then returned to the car and gave him the cash," said Deza, 66. "Oh my goodness, that's my money. I worked so hard for it. I really needed that money. It's big money for me."

Publico let her keep $1,000. He called it a bonus, she said.

Three of Deza's co-workers said in interviews that they also were forced to return the back wages. According to federal Labor Department records, the Publicos submitted false documents to labor investigators purporting to show they'd paid the back wages. Still other workers never received a check in the first place. They still are waiting.

Prosecutors from the Contra Costa County district attorney's office have charged the Publicos with multiple felonies, including grand theft and tax fraud. The case is pending.

In a phone interview, Rommel Publico defended the treatment of his caregivers and said the charges against him "hurt my feelings."

"When we ran the business, we were like a family," Publico said through tears. "My caregivers, I treat them like my mom. I've never been like, 'I'm the boss.'

"Every time I turn around, I have problems," he said of the pending case against him. "It breaks my heart. I cry."

Another Publico employee who was not paid back wages is Normita Lim. She worked around the clock as a caregiver in one of their care homes for nearly a decade, earning about $2 an hour. Rarely allowed a day off, she kept working, afraid she would be fired if she complained. On Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays, her three children visited her in the cramped room she lived in down the hall from the residents.

"I'm still struggling," said Lim, 75. "I needed that money for my medications and food, but he got away with murder by not having to pay. I'm angry, but what can we do?"

In late 2017, the Publicos sold the care home where Lim worked. She said she stayed on as a caregiver for just a month under the new owner. She earned about $600 that month to work around the clock, seven days a week, for less than a dollar an hour. A man at the care home said the facility is now called Elizabeth Care Homes 2. But the property still is licensed to Glenda Publico, records show.

"I thought, 'This is worse,' so I quit," Lim said.

___

Workers often fear reporting their mistreatment to authorities. They routinely are harassed and fired if they report abysmal pay or overtime violations, according to interviews and court documents. Reveal found 90 caregivers in California who said their bosses intimidated them, threatened to report them to immigration authorities or blacklist them in the industry.

In 2014, federal investigators caught Lake Alhambra Center in Antioch cheating its workers - for a second time. When an investigator visited, an employee put him on the phone with Mehrangiz Sarkeshik, who owned the home with her husband.

She excoriated the investigator for the intrusion: "You didn't tell me you were coming. Leave right now!"

Then the investigator overheard Sarkeshik shout at the worker over the phone: "You need to get him out of there or you will be fired!" She called the police and upon arriving at the home, she again threatened to fire any workers who cooperated with the investigator, according to a court document. When the investigator tried to follow up, workers told him that they were too scared to talk. Soon afterward, the facility changed hands and now operates under a different name. No wage theft fines have been issued to this operator to date.

Precilla San Miguel, an owner of San Miguel Homes for the Elderly, which operates three facilities in Union City, near Silicon Valley, kept timesheets that showed caregivers worked eight hours a day, even though their employment manual required them to be available 24 hours per day, seven days a week to seniors.

She went as far as fabricating evidence to cover up her wage theft, court documents show. Workers said she offered them bribes to falsify timesheets and required them to sign agreements not to sue her. She also installed surveillance cameras in her care homes to monitor caregivers, workers said. The court ordered the defendants to pay $425,000 in back wages and damages.

Last year, four members of a family were charged with various felonies, including human trafficking and labor abuse, in San Mateo County, south of San Francisco. State prosecutors say Gamos family members preyed on Filipino immigrants and "enslaved" some in their Rainbow Bright facilities. Family members forced some to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and some caregivers had their passports withheld, prosecutors say.

In court filings, prosecutors allege that some workers slept on mattresses on the floor and in garages and were prohibited from leaving the facilities, where they cared for children, the disabled and some seniors. Some workers who were injured on the job were told to lie to emergency room doctors about how they were maimed. They also were forced to pay their medical bills, according to the court documents.

Even as his family cheated workers out of more than $9 million in wages from 2009 through 2018, Joshua Gamos, one of the facilities' owners, collected a fleet of cars, including a Lamborghini and a Ferrari, prosecutors allege in court documents. Gamos also is charged with raping a caregiver. She was 21 when she began working for the facilities shortly after arriving from the Philippines. Joshua, Noel and Carlina Gamos are in jail awaiting trial. A fourth defendant, Gerlen Gamos, pleaded guilty to two felony charges, including wage theft, and is awaiting sentencing. Her attorney declined to comment.

Attorneys for Joshua and Carlina Gamos said no workers were forced to work at the facilities. An attorney for Noel Gamos did not return calls seeking comment.

"Those allegations are false," said David Cohen, an attorney for Joshua Gamos. "People wanted to work because they wanted the money. It is true that these charges have been brought, but when you actually look at the evidence and the statements that were made, it's a completely different story."

Meanwhile, Reveal learned of cases in which workers suffered abuse with devastating consequences. Two caregivers reported having miscarriages after lifting heavy residents and being denied time off.

One of them was Julie Riduta, 45, of Concord. More than a decade ago, she arrived from the Philippines to work as a caregiver in a care home in Contra Costa County. She earned $2 an hour to work 24 hours a day.

The work was grueling, but she needed the pay to educate her daughter, left behind in the Philippines, from the age of 8. For the first three years, Riduta slept on a thin piece of foam on the floor next to the residents. When they needed help, she said they kicked her awake.

"I told my daughter I struggled so much," Riduta recalled. "I feel abused."

Then one day in the summer of 2014, she found out she was pregnant. Overjoyed, she and the baby's father, a co-worker with whom she is in a relationship, posted the news on Facebook.

She also was overcome with morning sickness and was concerned about having to lift heavy residents. But when she begged her boss for two days off, Riduta said she refused.

"Go to the mirror and look at yourself," Riduta recalled her boss saying. "Ask if you're allowed to complain."

Riduta had a miscarriage two weeks later. The cause was unknown. The fetus was nine weeks old.

"I was crying all night," Riduta said. "I still have this dream that there's a baby crying all the time. They treated us like animals."

___

While some are unsure how to pay their workers properly, care-home owners are certain about one thing: There is money to be made.

Entrepreneurs on YouTube urge people to jump into the real estate end of the business by buying single-family homes and converting them into care facilities. One man explains how "to turn a single-family home into a cash flow machine." Another calls care homes "America's untapped business opportunity. . This business is very profitable."

Jesse Quezada used to flip houses with his wife. When the market cooled, he said, they looked into opening a care home after a friend told them they could make thousands a month.

"Coming from our background, we thought, '$3,500 a month? Wow. Would people actually pay that?' But the demand is there. People are living longer and they're sicker."

Quezada and his wife enrolled in a course required by California to run a home. In just two long weekends, they were qualified. They now operate several care homes.

"When you have multiple homes, you can literally make $20,000 profit a month," he said.

Training requirements for care-home administrators and staff in California are feeble. Administrators must undergo an initial 80-hour program and pass an open-book exam comprising 100 questions. Those overseeing small facilities with 15 or fewer residents must be 21 and have a high school diploma or the equivalent. Staff in assisted living facilities need not be nurses or have any medical expertise. In fact, manicurists in California require more training.

Quezada was among more than 200 care-home owners, many of whom arrived in BMWs and Teslas, for a daylong seminar at a Southern California community hall last October. Among the presenters were labor regulators and attorneys who took questions from the crowd.

Attendees sought advice on proper pay practices and other labor issues and were advised by the presenters to follow the law.

Then George Kutnerian, senior vice president of public policy and legislation for the 6Beds group, took the stage as one of the last speakers. Operators should slash costs by leveraging labor laws to their advantage, Kutnerian urged them.

For example, owners do not need to hire two caregivers when they could get away with one, Kutnerian said.

"There is no staffing ratio. A lot of people think, 'I can't have one caregiver alone.' That's not true," he advised.

"You gotta learn how to use one caregiver," he said. Plus, there's a "nice exception" in state law, Kutnerian continued. Care homes with just one caregiver on duty can require that worker to stay for rest and meal breaks, he noted, adding: "If you have two caregivers there, they have to be able to leave. It's more efficient, OK?

"What this is getting you out of is the penalty," Kutnerian boomed over the microphone. "That's the trick. How do you keep them on the premises for rest and meal breaks?"

For owners who treat their workers properly, the market pressure is intense. While there are operators who comply with the law and turn a profit, some care homes charge less to attract residents searching for affordable care.

"It's frustrating to be undercut," said Jose Umana, who runs Premiere Cottages, which operates several care homes in Long Beach and Huntington Beach. "It's hard to stay in the market when you're competing with other homes that have lower rates. The caregivers are bearing the brunt."

William Murphy, a prosecutor with the Alameda County district attorney's office in the San Francisco Bay Area who has handled a dozen wage theft cases involving care homes in the last five years, says the business model depends on squeezing workers. He summed it up in two brief sentences:

"It's extreme greed by the owners. The workers are treated horribly."

___

Data reporter Melissa Lewis contributed to this story. Jennifer Gollan can be reached at jgollan@revealnews.org. Follow her on Twitter: @jennifergollan.
Margrethe Vestager has already taken on big tech firms over competition infractions.

Now she wants to see the likes of Facebook, Amazon and Google pay more tax.

The EU's competition commissioner told CNBC Friday that Europe, and the rest of the world, must push for a solution on digital taxation to create fairness among companies.

In March, the French government introduced a digital tax aimed at internet behemoths like Google, Facebook and Amazon. This came after the European Union, as a whole, failed to agree on a region-wide system with several nations voicing opposition. During the same month, Chip Harter, the U.S. Treasury's top international tax official, said digital levies were "ill conceived" and discriminatory against U.S. businesses.

The EU's Margrethe Vestager has already taken on U.S. internet giants in her role as competition commissioner and she is now standing for Europe's top job, that of EU Commission president.

Speaking to CNBC's Karen Tso at the VivaTech conference in Paris, the Danish official said she wanted to see "fairness" in digital taxation.

"There are so many companies that do pay their taxes. They create jobs, they contribute to the economy," she said, before adding: "It is not fair that they have to see competitors for capital, for skilled employees, get away with paying less than half the same amount of taxes."

Vestager said while France and some other European states had created their own rules, there should be a wider and more unified approach.

She added that the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is currently the driving force behind a global drive to revise the tax rules for digital firms.

"Fortunately, the OECD is on it, very much inspired by the line of thinking of my colleagues (at the EU) responsible for taxation, so we can have the global push as well. Because that is indeed needed," she said.





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Kazakh Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Aset Magaulov speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Astana Economic Forum in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan May 17, 2019. REUTERS/Mariya Gordeyeva

By Mariya Gordeyeva and Alla Afanasyeva

NUR-SULTAN/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Kazakh oil flowing via Russia to be loaded on tankers at the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga has been contaminated and Kazakhstan plans to seek compensation from Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft, a senior Kazakh energy official said.

Russia's oil export flows have been disrupted since April, when high levels of organic chloride were found in crude pumped via the Druzhba pipeline to Ust-Luga and other European countries.

Six tankers with 598,000 tonnes of tainted oil were loaded at Ust-Luga, Kazakh Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Aset Magaulov told Reuters.

"First, companies that sold the oil will talk to buyers about a discount, then ... (Kazakh pipeline operator) Kaztransoil will have separate talks with Transneft," Magaulov said.

Neither Transneft nor the Russian energy ministry replied to a Reuters request for comment.

Magaulov added that two separate tankers with 199,000 tonnes of clean Kazakh oil were loaded from Ust-Luga between May 10 and May 15. Russia's energy ministry said earlier that clean oil had started to be loaded at Ust-Luga.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said on Thursday that Transneft would compensate all parties for losses incurred from contaminated oil if they could prove the damage, while the first European refinery declared force majeure.

"Based on the oil agreement with Transneft, given the fact that we supplied clean oil but it got contaminated ... there should be compensation from Transneft," Magaulov said.

Kazakhstan, which produces around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil, is the second-biggest oil producer among former Soviet countries after Russia. Kazakhstan exports around 12 percent of its oil via Russia's Ust-Luga.

Magaulov said a preliminary agreement had been reached with buyers under which they would take the contaminated oil at a discount. However, talks on such a discount are continuing and there is no estimate of potential compensation.

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ExxonMobil, Chevron, Eni, CNPC and Lukoil are among the international companies producing oil in Kazakhstan.

The Druzhba pipeline splits in Belarus into a northern spur to Poland and Germany and a southern leg via Ukraine to Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Only Hungary has resumed test flows to see whether its refinery equipment can withstand the contaminated oil.

Druzhba can pump 1 million bpd, or 1 percent of global oil demand. Ukraine and Belarus have said they will ask Transneft for compensation.

CLEANING UP

On Thursday, Russia's Kozak said it would take 22 days to clean one branch of Druzhba and seven days for the other, without specifying which was which.

Meanwhile, Poland has increased seaborne oil imports and Czech refiner Unipetrol will start drawing the second batch of an emergency loan of crude from state reserves overnight.

France's Total has suspended operations at some units of its 230,000-bpd Leuna refinery in Germany for technical checks following the Russian contamination.

Total said it was trying to manage any long-term supply complications and planned to resume operations on Saturday using crude sent via the Polish port of Gdansk.

Russian oil production remained under pressure due to the pipeline debacle. Output from May 1-16 fell to 11.156 million bpd, below the 11.18 million bpd level set in a supply-limiting deal with producer group OPEC, two industry sources said.

Before the contamination, sources indicated Moscow wanted to pump more from July along with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which was considering whether to raise output if Venezuelan and Iranian supply dropped further.

A panel of OPEC and non-OPEC ministers meets on Sunday in Saudi Arabia to discuss the market and make recommendations. The group, known as OPEC+, gathers in June to decide whether to renew the supply-cutting deal.

(Reporting by Mariya Gordeyeva in NUR-SULTAN and Alla Afanasyeva in MOSCOW; Additional reporting by Jan Lopatka in PRAGUE; Gleb Gorodyankin and Olesya Astakhova in MOSCOW; Bate Felix in PARIS; Writing by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Dale Hudson)
FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is seen at the high profile startups and high tech leaders gathering, Viva Tech,in Paris, France May 16, 2019. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

By Karen Freifeld

(Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday it may soon scale back restrictions on Huawei Technologies after this week's blacklisting would have made it nearly impossible for the Chinese company to service its existing customers.

The Commerce Department, which had effectively halted Huawei's ability to buy American-made parts and components, is considering issuing a temporary general license to "prevent the interruption of existing network operations and equipment," a spokeswoman said.

Potential beneficiaries of the license could, for example, include internet access and mobile phone service providers in thinly populated places such as Wyoming and eastern Oregon that purchased network equipment from Huawei in recent years.

In effect, the Commerce Department would allow Huawei to purchase U.S. goods so it can help existing customers maintain the reliability of networks and equipment, but the Chinese firm still would not be allowed to buy American parts and components to manufacture new products.

The potential rule roll back suggests changes to Huawei's supply chain may have immediate, far-reaching and unintended consequences.

The blacklisting, officially known as placing Huawei on the Commerce Department's entity list, was one or two efforts by the Trump administration this week allegedly made in an attempt to thwart national security risks. In an executive order, President Donald Trump also effectively barred the use of its equipment in U.S. telecom networks.

The United States believes Huawei's smartphones and network equipment could be used by China to spy on Americans, allegations the company has repeatedly denied.

The latest Commerce move comes as China has struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States, suggesting talks between the world's two largest economies would be meaningless unless Washington changed course.

A spokesman for Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Out of $70 billion Huawei spent buying components in 2018, some $11 billion went to U.S. firms including Qualcomm, Intel Corp and Micron Technology Inc.

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If the Commerce Department issues the license, U.S. suppliers would still need separate licenses to conduct new business with Huawei, which would be extremely difficult to obtain, the spokeswoman said.

The temporary general license would last for 90 days, she said, and would be posted in the Federal Register, just as the rule adding Huawei to the entity list will be published in the government publication on Tuesday.

"The goal is to prevent collateral harm on non-Huawei entities that use their equipment," said Washington lawyer Kevin Wolf, a former Commerce Department official.

The entity listing bans Huawei and 68 affiliates in 26 countries from buying American-made goods and technology without licenses that would likely be denied.

The entities list identifies companies believed to be involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.

In a final rule posted on Thursday, the government tied Huawei's entity listing to a criminal case pending against the company in Brooklyn, New York.

U.S. prosecutors unsealed the indictment in January accusing the company of engaging in bank fraud to obtain embargoed U.S. goods and services in Iran and to move money out of the country via the international banking system.

Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, daughter of the company's founder, was arrested in Canada in December in connection with the indictment, a move that has led to a three-way diplomatic crisis involving the U.S., China and Canada.

Meng, who was released on bail, remains in Vancouver, and is fighting extradition. She has maintained her innocence, and Huawei has entered a plea of not guilty in New York.

Trump injected other considerations into the criminal case after Meng's arrest when he told Reuters he would intervene if it helped close a trade deal.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Leslie Adler, Grant McCool, Chris Sanders and Diane Craft)
By Aref Mohammed and Hadeel Al Sayegh

BASRA, Iraq/DUBAI (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil has evacuated all of its foreign staff, around 60 people, from Iraq's West Qurna 1 oilfield and is flying them out to Dubai, a senior Iraqi official and three other sources told Reuters on Saturday.

The evacuation came just days after the United States withdrew non-essential staff from its embassy in Baghdad, citing a threat from neighboring Iran, which has close ties to Iraqi Shi'ite militia.

Production at the oilfield was not affected by the evacuation and work is continuing normally, overseen by Iraqi engineers, said the chief of Iraq's state-owned South Oil Company which owns the oil field, Ihsan Abdul Jabbar. He added that production remains at 440,000 barrels per day (bpd).

"Exxon Mobil's evacuation is a precautionary and temporary measure. We have no indication over any dangers, the situation is secure and very stable at the oilfield which is running at full capacity and producing 440,000 bpd," he said.

"The foreign engineers will provide advice and perform their duties from the company's Dubai offices and we have no concerns at all," Jabbar said, adding that production is managed by Iraqi engineers and the foreign staff were there mainly as advisers.

Exxon Mobil is the lead contractor in a long-term deal with Iraq's South Oil Company to develop and rehabilitate the oil field to increase its production. Exxon declined to confirm the evacuation.

"As a matter of practice, we don't share specifics related to operational staffing at our facilities," said spokeswoman Julie King.

"ExxonMobil has programs and measures in place to provide security to protect its people, operations and facilities. We are committed to ensuring the safety of our employees and contractors at all of our facilities around the world."

Exxon Mobil's staff were evacuated in several phases late on Friday and early on Saturday, either straight to Dubai or to the main camp housing foreign oil company employees in Basra province.

Those in the camp were en route to the airport on Saturday morning, sources - including an employee at a security company contracted by Exxon, said Iraqi oil officials and a staff member of a foreign oil company.

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"Last night 28 employees were evacuated to the airport and the rest were sent to the camp. This morning they were evacuated to the airport and no (foreign) staff remain in the field," said a private security company official who oversaw the evacuation.

Iraq sent an official letter to Exxon asking about the work hours of staff in Dubai and when they would return to the oilfield, because their absence affects costs and salaries, Abdul Jabbar said in an interview.

"There are over 1,700 people working in the oilfield, 1,300 are South Oil Company staff and 400 are Iraqis working with foreign companies. Only around 60 people have left and they're all advisors, administrators and finance staff."

Days of saber rattling between Washington and Tehran have heightened tensions in the region amid concerns about a potential U.S.-Iran conflict.

Washington has increased economic sanctions and said it was building up its military presence in the region, accusing Iran of threats to U.S. troops and interests. Tehran has described those steps as "psychological warfare" and a "political game".

Separately, Abdul Jabbar said that Iraq's oil exports from its southern ports had reached 3.5 million bpd by Saturday.

(Reporting by Aref Mohammed in Basra and Hadeel Al Sayegh in Dubai; Additional reporting by Gary McWilliams in Houston; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Ros Russell and Jane Merriman)
Haven, the new health venture led by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan, just lost its No. 2 exec

Stoddard is out after nine months on the job at Haven.

Haven is the joint health venture formed by Amazon, J.P. Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway.

Stoddard said his commute from Philadelphia to Boston was taking him away from his family.

Haven , the health joint venture formed last year by Amazon AMZN , Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A and J.P. Morgan JPM , has lost Chief Operating Officer Jack Stoddard just nine months into his new role.

Stoddard , who was most recently general manger for digital health at Comcast CMCSA , confirmed to CNBC on Thursday that he departed Haven for personal reasons, including the length of his commute from his home in Philadelphia to Haven's headquarters in Boston. Stoddard was Haven's second hire in 2018, following Atul Gawande, the renowned author and surgeon who was named CEO last June.

"Jack played an important role in the early stages of Haven, but we understand his decision to leave the company for family reasons," a spokesperson from Haven said in a statement. "We want to thank him for all of his contributions."

Stoddard officially ended his tenure at Haven last week, and no replacement has been named.

Losing such a key executive so early in the process could be a big setback for Haven, which has laid out an ambitious effort to bring down health-care costs, starting with the combined 1.2 million employees at the three companies. The entity, which is set up as a nonprofit, was named Haven in March and at the time had about a dozen people.

Other key executives include Chief Technology Officer Serkan Kutan, formerly of ZocDoc, and Dana Gelb Safran, who Haven hired from Blue Cross Blue Shield in Massachusetts to run analytics projects.

Prior to joining Haven, Stoddard worked at Accolade, a health-technology start-up, and at Comcast, the parent company of CNBC. He said the the frequent travel to Boston  five hours by car and around 90 minutes by air each way  was taking him away from his family.

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"I wish Atul and the group the best," he said.

Challenges ahead

With or without Stoddard, Haven faces some stiff challenges. Before coming up with a name or bringing a product to market, the group found itself deep in a hiring dispute with insurance company UnitedHealth Group UNH , which sued former executive David Smith for stealing trade secrets and taking them to Haven.

Stoddard interviewed Smith for the Haven job. Previously, Stoddard was part of the executive team that created Optum, which was later acquired by UnitedHealth. According to court testimony, Stoddard indicated that Haven planned to make health care easier to understand, less expensive and ideally produce better outcomes for employees, which could be a competitive threat to incumbents.

Haven's website says its other focuses include Improving the process of navigating the complex health-care system and helping with access to affordable treatments and prescription drugs.

WATCH: This is the man in charge of changing health care
Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A)(NYSE: RDS-B) and its MLP Shell Midstream Partners (NYSE: SHLX) both pay high-yielding dividends. However, as attractive as Shell's 5.8% payout might be, Shell Midstream's distribution is even better. Not only does the MLP offer a higher yield at 7.8%, but it also expects to grow its payout at a faster pace given its target of increasing it at a mid-teen rate this year.

That high-octane growth rate could stretch even further into the future. The midstream company recently added more fuel to its distribution growth engine by securing another needle-moving acquisition from Shell. That makes Shell Midstream Partners an increasingly attractive option for investors seeking both a high yield and high growth.

A man counting money while filling up a gas tank.

Image source: Getty Images.

Details on the latest deal

Shell Midstream recently agreed to acquire additional interests in two pipeline systems from Shell for $800 million. The company will purchase a 25.97% interest in the Explorer Pipeline Company, boosting its stake in that system to 38.59%. The MLP will also buy a 10.125% interest in the Colonial Pipeline Company, which will increase its stake to 16.125%. Those two systems have the capacity to transport about 3 million barrels of refined petroleum products per day from refineries in the Gulf Coast region to market centers along the East Coast and in the Midwest.

The deal does three things for Shell Midstream Partners. First, it provides further diversification by enhancing its onshore presence as well as its exposure to the more stable refined-products market. Second, the deal boosts its stake in two assets that have growing cash flows from contractual rate increases. Third, the transaction will provide the company with incremental income to support the continued growth of its high-yielding dividend.

Keeping the growth engine well fueled

Shell Midstream Partners already had plenty of resources to achieve this year's distribution growth plan. That's because the company completed a $1.22 billion deal with Shell last May that not only provided it with an immediate income boost but also near-term growth. Driving the growth is the expectation that oil volumes on the acquired system will increase from 300,000 barrels per day (BPD) at the time of the deal up to 400,000 BPD by the end of this year as new offshore oil projects come on line. That will provide Shell Midstream with steadily rising income to support continued distribution growth in 2019.

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On top of that, the company currently covers its high-yielding distribution with cash flow by a comfortable 1.2 times. That leaves it with plenty of wiggle room to support a higher payout. Meanwhile, with the incremental income from its latest deal, Shell Midstream should have the resources to continue growing its payout at a mid-teens rate for several more quarters.

The company has plenty of flexibility to continue growing. One factor driving that view is the financing it arranged with Shell to pay for its latest deal. Instead of using up the $226 million of cash it had on hand, Shell Midstream paid 25% of the price by issuing more of its units to Shell and funded the other 75% of the cost via a credit facility with its parent. That wasn't the first time Shell provided its MLP with the financing to support its growth plans. Earlier this year, Shell gave Shell Midstream $50 million of support by reducing its management fees so that its MLP had some extra cash to fund growth. Because of that, it still has plenty of financial flexibility to make additional acquisitions from either Shell or third parties.

And the company should continue to benefit from the embedded organic growth of its legacy oil and gas pipeline infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. Not only does Shell have new oil projects coming on line in the region, but so do several third-party producers. As that happens, it should drive volume growth on several of the MLP's systems in the area, which will provide some incremental cash flow.

More growth ahead

Shell Midstream continues to work with its parent to make deals that move the needle. Its latest one is a perfect example: It not only provides further support for this year's mid-teens growth rate but also gives it a head start on next year's increase. And Shell's support should enable its MLP to continue growing its distribution at an above-average rate for the next few years. That makes it an option that income-seeking investors won't want to overlook.

More From The Motley Fool

Matthew DiLallo 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.
(Bloomberg) -- Japan Display Inc., a struggling supplier of screens for Apple Inc.s iPhone, has to find an additional investor to get an 80 billion yen ($727 million) rescue package from a group of Chinese and Taiwanese firms, according to the Asahi newspaper.

Negotiations with the consortium, which includes Taiwans TPK Holding Co., Harvest Tech Investment Management Co., Cosgrove Global Ltd., and Topnotch Corporate Ltd., wont advance until the extra source of capital is found, Asahi said, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. JDI said in a statement on Saturday that there was no truth to the report, without elaborating.

The new investor, which will have to contribute tens of billions of yen to the deal, is necessary because the backers have discovered that JDI is in far worse shape than was estimated when the infusion was first announced in April, according to the report.

JDIs stock has been trading near a record low on pessimism over demand for new iPhones and concern that long-term growth may be harder to come by in a maturing market. The company racked up $3.9 billion in losses over the past five years, prompting the search for additional capital.

Apple, its biggest customer, is also shifting to next-generation organic light-emitting diode displays, which the Japanese company doesnt produce in mass quantities. The screen maker earlier this month announced plans to cut executive salaries and eliminate 1,000 jobs through buyouts.

(Updates with companys denial in second paragraph.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo at palpeyev@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Beth Thomas, Naoto Hosoda

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Michael Bennet: I Got Lucky With My Cancer Treatment, But Many Americans Go Bankrupt. That's Why We Need a Public Option

Nobody is ever ready to hear a diagnosis like the one I received from my doctor back in March: You have prostate cancer.

I was preparing to announce my candidacy for president, and this was not the news I expected after a routine physical. Fortunately, it was caught early. Within a matter of weeks, I had successful surgery and a clean bill of health.

My cancer was treatable because it was detected through preventive care. The $94,000 bill didnt bankrupt my family because I had insurance through my wifes employer. But a diagnosis like this means something very different for the tens of millions of Americans who do not have health insurance. Its pitiful that we are the only industrialized country in the world that has not figured out how to fix that.

We need to cover everyone, lower costs, and improve the quality of insurance and care in our country. My plan to create a public option, called Medicare-X, is the most effective way to achieve these goals.

As a country, we spend almost double what other advanced economies spend on health care. About 27 million Americans still lack health insurance. The growing costs of coverage, care, and prescription drugs burden or bankrupt families and small businesses every day.

Some say the only way forward is to replace our current health care system with Medicare for All, giving everybody the same, government-provided coverage. I can understand this impulse, given its our current system that is causing so much misery. But lets examine the facts. Under Medicare for All, 177 million people who currently have private insurance, 70% of whom like it, would have that coverage taken away from them. Another 20 million who receive insurance through Medicare Advantage would lose it too. According to an Urban Institute study, Medicare for All would cost $32 trillion. Even Vermont, when it tried to pass a system like this, couldnt because of the large tax increases needed to pay for it.

This cant be our best offer to the American people. And it doesnt have to be.

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Medicare-X is a true public option, an insurance plan that would be available on the exchange for people to buy if they had no insurance or didnt like their private insurance. It would start in rural areas with one or no insurer, where the market is currently failing too many people, to increase competition and lower costs. For the first time, it would allow the federal government to negotiate to reduce drug prices. Because Medicare-Xs payment rates to medical providers would be lower than those for private insurance, this public option would actually save taxpayer dollars and therefore reduce the deficit.

Medicare-X provides people with a better choice. Its a plan I have discussed in living rooms across the country that people can understandwhether from rural or urban areas, Republican or Democrat, young or old.

If were going to make progress in Washington, we need a proposal that has broad support from the American people. This is the only way we will effectively beat back the Trump administration and congressional Republicans attacks on Americans health care.

In 2010, when I was first running for the Senate, I traveled to some of the most conservative parts of my state to explain my vote for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It wasnt easy; people called it a Bolshevik takeover. But now those same people thank me for fighting for the ACA and for thinking of their rural communities first with Medicare-X.

In 2018, when Democrats won back the House of Representatives, they did it by winning in purple and red districts where they promised to improve and protect peoples health care. They didnt win by promising to repeal the ACA or to abolish every private health insurance plan in the country.

We cannot afford to wait another day, another month, or another election to provide the high-quality, affordable care Americans need. Lets enact a plan that would immediately provide a better option that is strong enough to improve our broken system and withstand the partisanship in Washington. Lets enact Medicare-X.

Michael Bennet is a candidate for president of the United States. He is a U.S. senator from Colorado, and a former school superintendent and businessman.

More opinion in Fortune:

Why you should pay less attention to all those IPOs

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The U.S. needs responsible capitalism, not socialism

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Disneys CEO deserves his $66 million pay package. Heres why
Patrick Byrne, CEO of online retailer Overstock and high profile blockchain enthusiast, has moved to defend his recent sale of around 900,000 shares in the company. He did so as Overstocks stock price slumped mid-week and shareholders kicked up a fuss. In a take no prisoners letter, he said: An unanticipated stir has been created this week among shareholders by my sale of approximately 900,000 shares of founders shares of Overstock, referenced in Form 4 filings on 15th May 2019, and today on 17th May 2019. Oddly, people of whom I have never heard are writing me demanding answers regarding my timing, reasoning, and purpose in such sales. Apparently, some find it unsettling and demand answers from me about why, after 20

Patrick Byrne, CEO of online retailer Overstock and high profile blockchain enthusiast, has moved to defend his recent sale of around 900,000 shares in the company.

He did so as Overstocks stock price slumped mid-week and shareholders kicked up a fuss. In a take no prisoners letter, he said: An unanticipated stir has been created this week among shareholders by my sale of approximately 900,000 shares of founders shares of Overstock, referenced in Form 4 filings on 15th May 2019, and today on 17th May 2019. Oddly, people of whom I have never heard are writing me demanding answers regarding my timing, reasoning, and purpose in such sales.

Apparently, some find it unsettling and demand answers from me about why, after 20 years of working (generally without salary or compensation), I might sell several tens of millions of dollars worth of stock, he continued. Frankly, I had no idea that shareholders would demand explanations of why and how I might want to use my cash derived from my labour and my property to pursue my ends in life. Not once have I ever asked a shareholder for his reasons in any decision he made. Yet, given the consternation this has caused, I will give answer, to preclude further recurrence of mass vapours.

A year ago, Byrne told shareholders that he would be making significant sales to fund a variety of projects. He has since invested $12.5 million in blockchain projects, approximately 2/3 of that directly alongside your companys investments (thus, I am not only not running from eating my own cooking, I have been asking for a double helping of it). I have donated and pledged to donate approximately $50 million to charity, much of it involving education and education reform.

Last Friday, I pledged another $1 million to cancer research (assuming the PMC hits its $60 million goal this year). And most exciting, I am working on an interesting (though as yet unapproved) $1 million art project in Birmingham, Alabama in honour of Dr. King. While I was taught it is gauche to make a big deal of ones giving, such explanation has been called for by the numerous far more gauche letters I have been receiving. So, there it is.

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He explained that he could not sell for much of the past year due to being in possession of information that made it unethical to do so. And he pointed out that for many years he did not draw a salary in his role as CEO, and even today its a matter of public record that my annual salary is $100,000.

I do not intend to ever give such an explanation again. I owe shareholders staying within the law and not making decisions based on inside information, not explanations of my life and projects outside Overstock, Byrne concluded.

Overstock, one of the first major retailers to accept cryptocurrency, previously announced its intention to sell its retail business to focus on blockchain ventures, although it now appears to have put the brakes on these plans.

The post Miffed Overstock boss responds to gauche shareholder letters appeared first on Coin Rivet.
1. Yes. The economy is strong and unemployment low. Thats a good basis for a solid year.

2. Yes. Health experts are getting a handle on COVID. 2022 should be a better year.

3. No. If any large-scale COV ID-related shutdowns take place, it will hit the nation hard.

4. No. Inflation is still too much of a wild card. It could really cause a drag on the economy.

5. Unsure. There are too many variables at play to predict with any degree of certainty.

Vote

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP)  Missouri's Republican-led House on Friday passed sweeping legislation designed to survive court challenges, which would ban abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy.

If enacted, the ban would be among the most restrictive in the U.S. It includes exceptions for medical emergencies, but not for pregnancies caused by rape or incest. Doctors would face five to 15 years in prison for violating the eight-week cutoff. Women who receive abortions wouldn't be prosecuted.

Republican Gov. Mike Parson pledged to sign the bill , but it's unclear when he'll take action. When pressed on the lack of exceptions, he told reporters that "all life has value."

The Missouri legislation comes after Alabama's governor signed a bill Wednesday making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases.

Supporters say the Alabama bill is meant to conflict with the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationally in hopes of sparking a court case that might prompt the current panel of more conservative justices to revisit abortion rights.

Missouri Republicans are taking a different approach.

GOP Rep. Nick Schroer said his legislation is "made to withstand judicial challenges and not cause them."

He cited extensive "legislative findings" included in the bill about fetal development that are aimed at backing up the state's interest in limiting abortion if the measure is challenged, as well as new judges appointed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by President Donald Trump.

Republican House Speaker Elijah Haahr said the measure was drafted with a legal team and based on previous court rulings across the U.S.

"We spent hours upon hours researching what courts have said in their decisions and what they believe to be important," Haahr said.

If courts don't allow Missouri's proposed eight-week ban to take effect, the bill includes a ladder of less-restrictive time limits that would prohibit abortions at 14, 18 or 20 weeks or pregnancy.

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"While others are zeroing in on ways to overturn Roe v. Wade and navigate the courts as quickly as possible, that is not our goal," Schroer said.

Kentucky , Mississippi , Ohio and Georgia also have approved bans on abortion once fetal cardiac activity can be detected, which can occur in about the sixth week of pregnancy. Some of those laws already have been challenged in court , and similar restrictions in North Dakota and Iowa previously were struck down by judges.

Democratic Sen. Jill Schupp said she believes the eight-week ban goes against Roe v. Wade, under which justices noted that viability typically was 24 to 28 weeks. But she said parts of the wide-ranging bill likely will survive.

"I do believe that there are probably some provisions that will pass court challenges," Schupp said.

Missouri's bill also includes an outright ban on abortions except in cases of medical emergencies. But unlike Alabama's, it would kick in only if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

Clinicians reacted with disgust to the passage of the bill.

"Ob-gyns and other women's health care providers should not be threatened with criminal penalties for delivering evidence based, necessary health care," the Missouri Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said in an emailed statement.

The Hope Clinic for Women, which performs abortions in Granite City, Illinois, just across the river from St. Louis, noted it already sees Missouri patients on a daily basis.

"Our doors remain open for any patient who needs abortion care," Executive Director Dr. Erin King said in a statement.

Abortion-rights supporters in the House chanted, "when you lie, people die" and "women's rights are human rights" during debate on the measure before being escorted from the chamber. Outside, they shouted "shame, shame, shame" after lawmakers voted 110-44 to pass it.

Several women dressed as characters from the "The Handmaid's Tale" watched silently. The Margaret Atwood book and subsequent Hulu TV series depicts a dystopian future where fertile women are forced to breed.

"Since you're fine with forcing children who have been raped to have their rapist's babies, I truly hope when y'all go to sleep tonight that you think about that," Democratic Minority Leader Crystal Quade told Republicans on the House floor.

A handful of abortion opponents protested outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis on Friday. Among them was 21-year-old Teresa Pettis, a Catholic who is five months' pregnant with her first child.

She said she supports the bill even though it outlaws abortions for women who have been raped.

"Honestly, I don't think it's right to punish the child for something the child can't control," Pettis said. "The baby might be born in unfortunate circumstances, but it's still a human life."

Rep. Shamed Dogan was the only Republican to vote against the bill. He cited the lack of exceptions for pregnancies borne of rape and incest, and said most residents of his suburban St. Louis district "think that's going too far."

One Democrat voted in favor.

A total of 3,903 abortions occurred in Missouri in 2017, the last full year for which the state Department of Health and Senior Services has statistics online. Of those, 1,673 occurred at under nine weeks and 119 occurred at 20 weeks or later in a pregnancy.

About 2,900 abortions occurred in 2018, according to the agency.

The bill also bans abortions based solely on race, sex or a diagnosis indicating the potential for Down Syndrome.

If Parson signs, most provisions of the bill would take effect Aug. 28.

___

Associated Press writers David A. Lieb and Jim Salter in St. Louis contributed to this report.

___

The Latest updates: http://bit.ly/2EhvlsU
FILE PHOTO: A logo is pictured during the 152nd Annual General Meeting of Nestle in Lausanne, Switzerland April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

By Gabriela Mello

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Nestle SA will increase its natural and organic products in Brazil, its No. 4 market worldwide, as part of a wider Americas plan to cut sugar, sodium and saturated fats in its food, a spokesman said.

The local subsidiary of Swiss-based Nestle has 25 initiatives in its pipeline for 2019, compared with 20 last year, with most geared toward natural and healthier products, its Brazil head of Marketing and Communications, Frank Pflaumer, told Reuters.

Like other packaged food makers, the producer of Nescau chocolate powder and Kitkat bars is aligning itself with a worldwide consumer shift toward healthier food.

Nestle Brazil allocated 400 million reais ($99.66 million) to innovation in the last five years, Pflaumer added. He declined to give estimates for capital expenditure in the coming years, but said investment levels were unlikely to fall.

Pflaumer said Nestle has cut over 14,000 metric tons of sugar, 5,000 tons of saturated fats and 300 metric tons of sodium from its manufacturing process in Brazil since 2014.

Last year, Nestle opened a new quality assurance lab and launched its first organic food line in Brazil.

"Producing organically is not the hardest part, the most challenging is producing organically on a large scale," Pflaumer said, adding that Nestle is about to enlarge its portfolio with four flavors of a new organic baby food later in May.

Partnerships with startups, including Colombian delivery firm Rappi, are also underway as the company looks for new ways to bring its products to consumers, he said.

Asked about potential acquisitions, Pflaumer said Nestle is monitoring all opportunities, while it remains focused on four priority business areas: coffee, pet care, children's nutrition and water.

"There is no fixed-budget for innovation ... Deals can happen," he added.

Outside of Brazil, Nestle has been actively acquiring other businesses. In 2018, the Swiss company bought a majority stake in Terrafertil, an Ecuadorian firm selling natural and organic plant-based foods, after a deals in the U.S. for Blue Bottle Coffee, Sweet Earth vegetarian foods, Chameleon Cold-Brew Coffee and ready meals group Freshly.

($1 = 4.0135 reais)

(Reporting by Gabriela Mello; Editing by Susan Thomas)
Recently, Nokia Corporation NOK announced that it has been chosen by Ooredoo Qatar  a leading telecommunications company  to build the latters 5G cloud native core network. The Finnish telecom equipment vendors solution will be deployed in Ooredoos avant-garde datacenters in Doha, to deliver improved mobile broadband services to customers.



Notably, the technology companys cloud-based architecture for core network is scalable, agile and flexible. Nokia AirFrame, CloudBand, voice and Cloud Packet Core, and Nuage Networks Software Defined Network are being deployed in the core network. Nokias solution provides low latency and high throughput that will likely support Ooredoos business objectives. It supports mobile access network technologies and allows customers to bring new 5G services to market.



Nokias comprehensive 5G portfolio is likely to provide Ooredoos customers with ultra-high bandwidth and low-latency services, alongside new applications in areas like virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence. Enterprises are also likely to gain from various IoT vertical use cases enabled by 5G as it will help enhance operational efficiency and user experiences while providing new revenue streams.



In addition, Nokias deal-win rate appears encouraging with remarkable success in the key 5G markets of the United States and China. It is expanding business into targeted, high-growth and high-margin vertical markets to address opportunities beyond its traditional markets. Rollout of next-generation 5G networks are expected to improve market conditions considerably through 2019 and beyond, auguring well for Nokias business development.



To stoke its competitive position, Nokia helps its customers to move away from an economy-of-scale network operating model to demand-driven operations by offering easy programmability and flexible automation needed to support dynamic operations, reduce complexity and increase efficiency. Supported by expected 5G ramp up, Nokia has reiterated its guidance for 2019 and expects non-IFRS operating margin between 9% and 12%. Non-IFRS EPS is expected in the range of 0.25-0.29.



Nokia continues to execute its strategy with particularly good progress in Nokia Software and expansion to select enterprise vertical markets. It aims to accelerate strategy execution, sharpen customer focus and reduce long-term costs. This will help the company position itself for long-term 5G leadership and reaffirm commitment to full-year 2020 non-IFRS operating margin between 12% and 16% and non-IFRS EPS in the range of 0.37-0.42 guidance.



Shares of Nokia have incurred an average loss of 21.5% against the industrys rise of 16.9% over the past three months. This can be attributed to increased competition, resulting in loss of its market share. However, the company is witnessing healthy underlying momentum in its strategic focus areas of software and enterprise, which augurs well for its licensing business.





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A few weeks ago, my brother-in-law purchased an ice cream machine on sale. Although he might be the human version of Bob the Builder and incredibly well-versed in just about any task he sets his mind to, my brother-in-law is no chef or ice cream maker. Why, then, purchase the tool? To make akbar mashti, of course! my husband said after I doubted his brothers latest expenditure.

Immigrating to America in the mid-1970s in an effort to fulfill his American dream and avoid being persecuted for being Jewisha notion that became a reality during the 1979 Iranian revolutionmy brother-in-law still holds his country of origin dear, often reminiscing about the culture that has shaped his current outlook on life. Much of that love and devotion is connected to the foods he ate growing up. Although he gets to devour khoresht, tadeegh, and ghabaleequintessential Persian foods made with ingredients easily found in specialty storesauthentic, perfectly prepared Iranian desserts are much more difficult to find. And when it comes to akbar mashti, traditional Persian ice cream, the feat becomes nearly impossible.

Enter Saffron & Rose and Mashti Malones Ice Cream, two specialty shops that brought the treat to Los Angeles. Given the large Persian population that calls L.A. home, it is no surprise that the two families helming the stores chose the California city as their home base. It is also no surprise that a sort of rivalry has arisen between the two businesses: half-hour away from each other, they cater to the same crowds, are masters at their craft, and each boast an origin story that adds that much more value to their already exotic products.

But this isnt a story about industry rivalries, a battle of the ice creams on paper. This is a look at how a quintessential Iranian dish has not only shaped the childhood of an entire nation but has found its way to the center of an American citys gastronomical culture despite staggering cultural differences among the two nations. What is it that makes bastani, Persian ice cream, so great?

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Authentic Flavors

To start, a note on terminology: although bastani translates to ice cream in Farsi, many Tehran natives refer to it as akbar mashti, the name of one of the first men to serve the treat in Iran back in the day. Considered more of a slang term than a proper reference to the dessert, both Saffron & Rose and Mashti Malones are sellers of bastani.

If you think about Persian ice cream, youre going to be thinking about three iconic signature products, explains Farbod Papen, who co-owns Saffron & Rose with his uncle Mike Kashani. The first is a saffron ice creama blend of rose water, milk, saffron, pistachios and chunks of creamwhich he dubs the vanilla ice cream of the United States and is referred to by most Iranians as bastani sonnati (authentic ice cream).

A scoop of passionfruit ice cream from Saffron & Rose, Los Angeles, Calif. | Saffron & Rose

A plainer variety of the authentic stuff, rose water ice cream is prepared without the saffron and pistachios and is called bastani sahde (plain ice cream) in Farsi.

Both shops also serve a treat that most closely resembles a sorbet. Originally prepared with shaved ice, lemon juice, and cherry, faloodeh now also includes vermicelli noodles, an update that Papen attributes to the silk trade route, when products were brought from China and distributed through the Middle East and Europe.

Ice Cream With Roots

Faloodehs history kicks off over 5,000 years ago, before the country benefited from electricity or running water. Iranians would build pyramid-like structures in the desert, huge mounds of sand with giant holes underneath them. During cold winter nights, wind would get trapped in the holes, bringing the temperature to below zero and effectively turning the area into a makeshift freezer. The structures were called yakh chol (yakh translates to ice and chol means ditch), a term that means refrigerator in todays vernacular. In the summer, folks would grab blocks of ice from the ditches, take them back to the city, shave them and serve the cool treat with lemon juice and cherry.

The story of how faloodeh was born is one of the many gastronomical attributes that deepen the importance of Iranian food. Most popular American treatsfrom hamburgers to bagels to apple pies trace their roots to other countries (Germany, Poland, and England, respectively) and, although indicative of Americas position as a hotbed of immigrants, they do little to add historical relevance to the local culinary scene. Were a country of immigrants who surely appreciate our adopted home, but still cling tight to the places were from.

That loyalty is likely what has helped propel the popularity of bastani, at least in Los Angeles. Home to an estimated 300,000 to half-a-million Iranians, plenty of whom relocated to California in an effort to escape the 1979 revolution, certain parts of Los Angeles are so embedded in Persian culture as to sometimes be considered an extension of the Middle Eastern country itself. Just a few years ago, the mayor of the city dubbed Westwood Boulevard, Persian Square, says Papen, whose shop is in the area.

Mashti Malone, Los Angeles, Calif. | Mashti Malone

Home to ten Persian restaurants, six Persian grocery stores, antique stores, and rug shops, Persian Square is almost a replica of an Iranian village smack-dab in the middle of Los Angeles. Signs are pointing to an expansion: Mashti & Malones calls Hollywood home and Saffron & Rose is opening a second location in Orange County.

Although other smaller shops have attempted to take over the Persian ice cream market, Mashti & Malones and Saffron & Cream reign supreme. Both were opened in 1980 by immigrant Muslim families and sell a la carte and packaged treats distributed across restaurants and stores all over the country, the two shops have also surmounted similar challenges in their quest to reach success. Sure, catering to a number of immigrants might make for a good business model, but appealing to a wider range of customers that have yet to discover their love for Middle Eastern ice cream would help them carve out a more permanent space in the citys landscape.

In the 1980s and even the 1990s, it wasnt that easy to convince a non-Persian or an American to try rose water, says Mehdi Shirvani, who co-owns Mashti & Malones Ice Cream with his brother, Mashti Shirvani. It always reminded them of air fresheners, soaps. Papen echoes his sentiments: When you think of rose water or cucumbers, you think of a spa, of facial treatments. You think of skin products and lotions and stuff and its because the Western world has associated those fragrances with beauty productsbut that doesnt necessarily mean that they wont like it.

Mashti Malone

Today, from speakeasies selling $18 drinks made with previously unheard of ingredients to restaurants specializing in non-American cuisines, venues all over America have been embracing the trend of the unfamiliar, selling products with flavor profiles reminiscent of distant lands, appealing to all kinds of palates.

We have been using these ingredients in our foods for centuries, says Papen. Generations of Middle Easterners have been incorporating these in things that they eat and its almost like a shock factor to a lot of non-Middle Eastern people when they try this. But that shock has clearly paid off, catapulting Persian ice cream to the top of an American citys foodie offerings.

More must-read stories from Fortune:

Foraging for ice cream with West Coast wunderkind Salt & Straw

Toronto is home to a thriving Syrian food scene

Acclaimed chef Thomas Keller on fine dining and eating local

The Dolomites: Where Italian cuisine and adventure reach new heights

Follow Fortune on Flipboard to stay up-to-date on the latest news and analysis.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 17, 2019) - Pure Energy Minerals Limited (TSXV: PE) (the "Company" or "Pure Energy") announces that it has distributed to all shareholders, by mail or email, its Notice of Meeting, Information Circular and Proxy (the "AGM Package"), for an annual general and special meeting to be held on May 28, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. Pacific time, at 1040 W. Georgia St., #1500, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The Board has unanimously determined that the terms of the earn-in transaction to be voted upon by shareholders, as disclosed in a news release dated May 1, 2019, are in the best interests of the Company, are fair and reasonable to the Company, and unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favour of the resolutions contained in the AGM Package.

The AGM Package has been posted to the Company's website at http://www.pureenergyminerals.com/2019-annual-and-special-meeting/ as well as on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Shareholders are urged to download a copy of the AGM Package, if not already received by mail, and to vote in favour of the special resolution therein. The transaction will not become effective without the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by Pure Energy shareholders who vote in person or by proxy on the special resolution at the Meeting.

About Pure Energy Minerals

Pure Energy Minerals is a lithium resource developer that is driven to become a low-cost supplier for the growing lithium battery industry. Pure Energy has consolidated a pre-eminent land position at its Clayton Valley Project in the Clayton Valley of central Nevada for the exploration and development of lithium resources, comprising 948 claims over 23,360 acres (9,450 hectares), representing the largest mineral land holdings in the valley. Pure Energy's Clayton Valley Project adjoins and surrounds on three sides the Silver Peak lithium brine mine operated by Albemarle Corporation. The Company has completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for the Clayton Valley Project (news releases of June 26, 2017 and April 5, 2018).

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Quality Assurance

Walter Weinig, Professional Geologist and Qualified Person as designated by the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America (MMSA registration #01529QP), is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Mr. Weinig is not independent of the Company, as he is a former officer.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD



"Mary L. Little"

Mary L. Little

Director

CONTACT:

Pure Energy Minerals Limited (www.pureenergyminerals.com)

Email: info@pureenergyminerals.com

Telephone: 604 608 6611

Cautionary Statements and Forward-Looking Information

The information in this news release contains forward looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Often, but not always, forward looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "will", "expects", "intends" and similar expressions as they relate to the Company. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information relating to the exploration and development of the Clayton Valley Project and the proposed transactions with the Investor. Forward looking information pertaining to the Company is subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable laws.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

The securities offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined under the U.S. Securities Act) absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES.

Corporate Logo

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44890
Walmart has revealed details for a new HQ in its home town of Bentonville, Arkansas as it looks to step up its digital strategy and attract the next generation of talent. Associates have heard leadership say time and again, Walmart is people-led and tech-empowered. For that statement to continue to guide us, we need a modern, connected campus, says Dan Bartlett, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs. We expect this will accelerate Walmarts digital transformation and help attract the next generation of talent with state-of-the-art technology and contemporary conveniences. Demolition of existing buildings, infrastructure and utility construction will begin this summer. In the next 18-24 months, the support and office buildings will be designed and construction will begin. The goal is

Walmart has revealed details for a new HQ in its home town of Bentonville, Arkansas as it looks to step up its digital strategy and attract the next generation of talent.

Associates have heard leadership say time and again, Walmart is people-led and tech-empowered. For that statement to continue to guide us, we need a modern, connected campus, says Dan Bartlett, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs. We expect this will accelerate Walmarts digital transformation and help attract the next generation of talent with state-of-the-art technology and contemporary conveniences.

Demolition of existing buildings, infrastructure and utility construction will begin this summer. In the next 18-24 months, the support and office buildings will be designed and construction will begin. The goal is to open in phases between 2020 and 2024.

Further info here.

Enter blockchain

Blockchain technology is playing a key role in Walmarts digital transformation efforts.

It invested over $11 billion in technology last year, it revealed at NRF 2019, which took place in New York earlier this year. That makes it the third biggest spender in the world after Amazon and Alphabet.

It is also looking to hire 2,000 technology experts this year to support its omnichannel efforts. The worlds biggest retailer is on the hunt for the likes of data scientists, software engineers and designers to work in nine offices from Silicon Valley to Bangalore, Walmart Chief Technology Officer Jeremy King said. The group that King leads currently has about 7,500 employees after hiring 1,700 last year.

King is, somewhat unsurprisingly, inundated with ideas from others. He gets a pitch every day about blockchain. But any initiative has to include a conversation about scale. Most dont build solutions for a Fortune 1 company, he said.

Im always talking to people about, Thats a great idea, he added. Now, how do you scale it to 5,000 stores?

The post Tech empowered Walmart is getting new digs appeared first on Coin Rivet.
From the first swish of tahini sauce over chickpeas at breakfast to the final crunch of baklava at dessert, Toronto has become a land of opportunity for Syrian immigrant and refugee restaurateurs looking to share a taste of their homeland with their new city and its constant parade of visitors.

Since late 2015, a refugee resettlement program in Canada brought more than 60,000 refugees into the country from war-torn Syria (joining the small population of Syrians already in the country)a stark contrast to the U.S., which NPR reported had allowed in only 11 during the first four months of 2019.

Many of the immigrants that came to Torontowhether as part of the refugee surge or beforefound a home in the citys diverse, exciting restaurant scene: small shops and food stalls made it an easy business to get into, without too much English required. And, between the welcoming, food-loving population, and the growing Syrian community, there is plenty of appetite for the countrys specialties.

The elder statesman of the Toronto Syrian cuisine scene is Crown Pastries, a wonderland of rosewater, pistachios, and the thinly shredded pastry that envelops so many Middle Eastern desserts called katafi or knafeh. The shop, opened in 2015 by a pair of refugee brothers from Aleppo, takes its name from their grandfathers bakery back home where they learned to make pastries like the esh al ashfourbirds nestsfull of syrup-soaked pistachios and shortbread cookies called graybeh that they sell.

Just down the street is one of the newest arrivals, which hails from the same city in Syria. Aleppo Kebab is a partnership between a chef from Aleppo, whose family had worked in the restaurant business there since 1936, and a restaurateur who had owned his own restaurant in the city of Bosra before fleeing the war. The restaurant serves a huge menu, including their eponymous specialty, ground in-house and infused with smoke from the grill.

But Scarborough can be a trek from central Toronto, and knafeh-craving locals can now find a special twist on the sweet treat at Soufis in Queen West. When Jala Al-Soufi came to Toronto to study, she was disappointed in the lack of Syrian food, so when her family followed her, they opened this shop specializing in the topped flatbreads called manaeesh that are common in their hometown of Damascus and knafeh, a dessert made of the frizzled pastry of the same name over melty sweet cheese. Aside from tastes of home like the manaeesh topped with zaatar (wild thyme) or sujuk (spiced beef), they offer a uniquely Canadian version of knafeh called banoffeh, which mixes in the flavors of banoffee pie: sliced bananas with coconut tahini caramel.

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Knafeh made at Soufis in the Queen West neighborhood of Toronto, Canada. | Naomi Tomky

Soufis is sleek and modern, with stylized old photos hung on the walls and everything seemingly laid out perfectly to appeal to the Instagram generation. Across town, Zezafoun is the oppositethe embroidered cushions sit under a large painting and the walls hang with musical instruments and books. The mother-daughter shop serves homestyle Syrian food thats a change from the street food or restaurant cuisine of the other shops, but also hopes to serve a little Syrian culture with their music nights. Brunch brings cardamom-spiked Syrian lattes, and pomegranate and sizzled nuts top the fattehlayers of chickpeas and fried pita afloat in warm tahiniwhile later in the day diners dig into maldoum, a beef ball and eggplant stew, or sayadyeh, fish over rice.

Naomi Tomky

As each of these immigrant-owned restaurants makes its way in the competitive Toronto food scene, a startup in Kensington Market looks at another way to help refugees serve their food in their new home. The Livelihood Project is a tech non-profit aiming to help refugees train in transferrable skills, but it also runs a cafe staffed by (mostly Syrian) refugees, serving their food so they can work as they build a sustainable life in Canada. The menu includes mezzes, Syrian tea, and a Syrian breakfast: spiced bread with labneh, fig jam, vegetables, and herbs. Beyond signs reminding customers this shop is all about the employees, not guests, this cafe could be like any other.

But at the heart of Kensington Marketlong a neighborhood that has welcomed immigrants and their businesses and is still one of the citys most diverse areasit serves as a small reminder among the Jamaican patty counters and South Asian spice shops of how immigrants have influenced Canadas culinary culture.

More must-read stories from Fortune:

Foraging for ice cream with West Coast wunderkind Salt & Straw

How Persian ice cream found its way to the center of LA food culture

Acclaimed chef Thomas Keller on fine dining and eating local

The Dolomites: Where Italian cuisine and adventure reach new heights

Follow Fortune on Flipboard to stay up-to-date on the latest news and analysis.
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday declared that some imported vehicles and parts pose a national security threat but delayed a decision for as long as six months on whether to impose tariffs to allow for more time for trade talks with the European Union and Japan.

The unprecedented designation of foreign vehicles imported to the United States from some of its closest allies sparked anger from automakers, dealers and foreign governments after a White House document hinted it would seek voluntary export quotas on autos from U.S. trading partners.

Toyota Motor Corp, which said in March it is investing $13 billion in U.S. operations through 2021, called the designation "a major set-back for American consumers, workers and the auto industry" and said it sent the message "our investments are not welcomed."

European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said on Twitter that "we completely reject the notion that our car exports are a national security threat. The EU is prepared to negotiate a limited trade agreement (including) cars, but not WTO-illegal managed trade."

World Trade Organization rules bar voluntary export restraints and the EU has repeatedly said it would not agree to any quotas on auto exports.

Trump's decision, at least for now, averts what was shaping up to be a new dramatic escalation in the Trump administration's trade disputes around the world, including a trade war with China.

On Friday, Trump continued his rhetoric attacking foreign imports from the EU. "They have trade barriers. They don't want our farm products, they don't want our cars. They send Mercedes-Benz's in here like they're cookies," he told a group of real estate agents. "They send BMWs here. We hardly tax them at all."

The president had faced a Saturday deadline to make a decision on recommendations by the Commerce Department to protect the U.S. auto industry from imports on national security grounds and imposing tariffs of up to 25 percent.

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Trump directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to pursue negotiations with the EU, Japan and any other country he deemed appropriate and report back within 180 days. If no deal is reached, Trump will decide by then "whether and what further action needs to be taken."

In a proclamation released Friday, Trump agreed with a Commerce Department study that found some imported cars and trucks are "weakening our internal economy" and threaten to harm national security, but it stopped short of naming specific vehicles or parts.

Automakers warned the tariffs cost hundreds of thousands of auto jobs, dramatically raise prices on vehicles and threaten industry spending on self-driving cars.

A group representing major German and Asian automakers including Daimler AG, Volkswagen AG, Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co, called the suggestion some auto imports are a national security risk "absurd."

The group added that "no one in the industry has asked for tariffs or other protection from the government."

"The truth stands: imported autos and auto parts are simply not a national security threat," said Cody Lusk, president of the American International Automobile Dealers Association. "Using this spurious claim as justification to force our trading partners into new negotiations will only create more uncertainty for America's entire auto industry."

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group representing General Motors Co, VW, Ford Motor Co and others, said the companies remained "deeply concerned that the administration continues to consider imposing auto tariffs."

The group said that since 2017 automakers have invested $22.8 billion in new and existing facilities in the United States, but "increased auto tariffs threaten to undo this economic progress. At the end of the day, you can have tariffs or investment, but you can't have both."

Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat, criticized Trump's finding and said his "petulant threats will only make it less likely our allies will work with us to confront our collective challenges with China and to fix real trade problems."

A revised U.S. trade deal with Mexico and Canada signed in November effectively shields existing imports from the two nations to the United States from national security tariffs.

The auto tariffs face strong opposition in Congress, including from many prominent Republicans. The White House has refused to release the auto import study to Congress.

Trump's proclamation said "domestic conditions of competition must be improved by reducing imports" and said a strong U.S. auto sector is vital to U.S. military superiority.

The reports cited statistics that U.S.-owned companies' share of the U.S. automobile market has declined from 67 percent, or 10.5 million units produced and sold in the United States, in 1985, to 22 percent, or 3.7 million units produced and sold in the United States, in 2017.

At the same time, the Commerce Department report stated that imports nearly doubled - from 4.6 million units to 8.3 million units.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Trump that "successful negotiations could allow American-owned automobile producers to achieve long-term economic viability and increase R&D (research and development) spending to develop cutting-edge technologies that are critical to the defense industry."

The report called the European Union and Japan "protected foreign markets" that "impose significant barriers to automotive imports from the United States, severely disadvantaging American-owned producers."

The United States also has barriers to imports, most notably a 25 percent tariff on pickup trucks from outside North America.

(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Nick Zieminski and James Dalgleish)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said the European Union is less fair to the United States on trade than even China, which is embroiled in a months-long trade war with Washington.

"The European Union treats us, I would say, worse than China, they're just smaller," Trump told a gathering of real estate agents in Washington.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Doina Chiacu)
Alpha Delta Kappa

Lambda Chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa met at the home of Nancy Knoell in Fremont on May 6. Alpha Delta Kappa is an international organization for women educators. Lambda Chapter members are from Fremont and Blair.

The meeting was called to order by co-president Nancy Meier.

The guest speaker was Nebraska Alpha Delta Kappa State President Linda Brown. Brown talked about her experiences as state president this past year. She gave a brief report on some of the amendments that will be up for discussion at the Alpha Delta Kappa International Convention in Minneapolis this July.

Brown also informed Lambda Chapter that three members of Alpha Delta Kappa in Nebraska have homes that were damaged or lost due to flooding. Money was collected at the state convention in York to help these members. Brown also is encouraging Alpha Delta Kappa chapters across Nebraska to donate money as well.

Lambda Chapter members voted to contribute money individually to Lambda Chapter for this and then the chapter will give the money to the Nebraska Alpha Delta Kappa state treasurer. The money collected from the state chapters will be divided equally among the three members whose homes were damaged or lost due to the flooding.

Co-president Nancy Knoell and president-elect Nancy Morris gave a report on the Alpha Delta Kappa State Conference held in York on April 13. Lambda Chapter member Nancy Skokan was recognized for being a member of Alpha Delta Kappa for 35 years. Sandy Sanders was recognized for being a member of Alpha Delta Kappa for 25 years. The Chapter received the World Understanding Award.

On the local level, Lambda member Tina Cope received the Wanda Samson Friend of Track award for all of her work at Fremont Senior High track meets.

Meier announced that Lambda Chapter had received the Distinguished Program Award.

Lambda Chapter members will serve food to workers of Habitat for Humanity in June as a chapter altruistic project. Members will also participate in the Alzheimers Longest Day fundraiser by walking for one hour around Johnson Lake on June 21.

In the Spotlight a Sister portion of the meeting, Meier read some information about another member from an information sheet she had filled out. She did not name the member. The other Lambda Chapter members had to guess who the mystery member was. This is an ongoing activity designed to help chapter was Meier.

Hostesses Knoell and Marilyn Clark provided dinner for everyone at the meeting.

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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.

Bob Bruner Memorial Fishing Derby, 9 a.m. to noon, Lake 16, Fremont Lakes State Recreation Area. No fishing license or park entry permit is required. There will be prizes, free hot dogs, sloppy joes and pop while supplies last. Each child must be accompanied by a parent to be entered into the derby and casting contest.

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.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

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.

SundayAmerican Red Cross blood drive, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Fremont Nazarene Church, 960 Johnson Road, Fremont. To schedule an appointment to donate blood, download the free Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit www.redcrossblood.org or call 800-733-2767.

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.

Arlington High School graduation, 1 p.m., Arlington High School gym.

West Point-Beemer High School graduation, 1 p.m., West Point-Beemer High School gym, West Point.

Music by Claude Bourbon, 2 p.m., Keene Memorial Library, Fremont. His guitar playing music includes Spanish and Middle Eastern styles. He incorporates all five fingers on each hand during his playing. The program is free and open to the public. Refreshments will follow. For more information, contact the library at 402-727-2694.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, 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 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.

American Red Cross blood drive, noon to 6 p.m., Christensen Field, 1710 W. 16th St., Fremont. To schedule an appointment to donate blood, download the Blood Donor App, visit www.RedCrossBlood.org or call 800-733-2767.

Veterans Auxiliary meeting, noon, Godfathers Pizza, Fremont. For more information, call 402-317-2676.

American Red Cross blood drive, 12:30-6:30 p.m., Mohr Auditorium, Scribner. To schedule an appointment to donate blood, contact Doris at 402-567-2363 or Connie at 402-664-3458.

Keene Memorial Library board meeting, 3:30 p.m., Keene Memorial Library, Fremont. The meeting is open to the public.

Planning Commission meeting, 5 p.m., Fremont Municipal Building, 400 E. Military Ave. The meeting is open to the public.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

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.

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.

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 854 meeting, 7 p.m., Fremont Eagles Club.

Alcoholics Anonymous 12x12 meeting, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

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The Elkhorn Valley Community Theatre and its building have a decades-long history.

When the old movie theater in Valley burned down in 1940, a private owner built the structure at 101. E. Gardiner St., a year later.

Legend has it that, at one point, the buildings owner got mad, said Janice Lee, executive and artistic director. The owner left a key to the structure at the city office, donating it to the city.

The city gave it to DC West School in Valley, which used it off and on for years, until it fell into disrepair and the school decided to sell it.

Lee said the theater group started in 1982 in Elkhorn.

We used the high school theater and then we had some borrowed spaces around and went to Waterloos high school for a while  and then we bought the old hardware store in Waterloo in 1992, she said.

The theater, a nonprofit organization, used that building until it bought the structure in Valley in 2006, because it needed more space.

We raised money and spent about a quarter of a million dollars renovating it, she said.

A variety of musicals have been staged in this building, also home to the summer theater for youths from second through 12th grades.

The theater has received some donations since water came up through the floor during mid-March flooding.

On the Facebook post, Lee stated: You can give on our website www.theevct.org or mail a contribution to The EVCT P.O. 135 Valley, NE 68064.

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234 - Walking Trousers I ripped the knee out of my trousers when I tripped on Boxing Day.

228 -233 6 X Books One new and five second-hand

227 Jumper from Toast It was in the sale and exactly what I was looking for.

226 - Small kitchen bin

215 - 225 Assorted Christmas Presents

215 - Wooden Box I am easily influenced.

214 - Sink Protector My new sink had a little rust mark on it!! Not good.

213 - Dish Rack Suitable for a wooden worktop.

212 - A Coat I have spent two days deciding whether or not to buy this coat. Decision made and coat is now hanging in the hall cupboard.

207 -211 5 x Balls of Wool I am knitting some very small Christmas presents.

206 Winter Weight Duvet Given to me by TB. Too heavy for him and just right for me.

205 - Book Another lifestyle book about simplifying one's life.

203-204 IkeaFreezer Bags I love these.

202 - A very expensive blanket I justified this by making the decision not to buy a new winter coat.

200 - 201 Two Bottles of Essential Oils See previous entry.

199 Epsom Salts I am very suggestible.

198 Shirt I needed something new for a party and this was in the sale.

194 - 197 Selection of Books

193 Packet of plastic envelopes I bought these while on holiday but forgot to list them.

192 Coasters I bought four but counting as one item.

191 Book I bought this a couple of weeks ago but forgot to list it.

190 Pinafore I bought this online from Toast.

189 - Jars I am counting these as one item as they are so small. Jars for decanting toiletries into.

188 - One Fitbit I have wanted one of these for ages.

186- 187 Two Bars Soap I bought myself a present

185 - Small Suitcase Carry on luggage here I come.

183-184 Small paintbox and paper

182 - Print I got another Peter Yates print.

179-181 Three Books

178 - Black Dress If you go shopping in the sales you end up making unplanned purchases to state the bleeding obvious.

177 - Pillow

176 - Skirt I needed a summer skirt for work or that's what I'm telling myself.

174-175 Two Small Glass Bottles/vases Very cheap and one has some very realistic imitation flowers in.

173 - Denim shirt dress I bought this from Toast and it was far too expensive but I justified by telling myself it is a dress for all seasons. (I also bought a pair of PJs in the sale but as I threw away a pair they don't count)

172 - Tee Shirt This was a freebie which I had to wear for a work event

171 - Small Rucksack

169-170 Two Books

167-168 Two sets of pastry cutters

166 - Pair of shorts I think I must have been having some kind of temporary insanity fit when I bought these. They were cheap and from M&S.

165 - Pair of Red Shoes These remind me of the type of shoes my mother wore once she was over 70- ho-hum.

164 - Water Spray Bottle I bought this rather than buying a new iron.

163 - Packet of Coloured Pens I may be doing some colouring in.

160 - 162 Three books.

158 - 159 Two Teeshirts I bought these in TK Maxx and both are from the sports range.

155 - 157 3 Books

154 - Large Kitchen Book This was given to me by the company from whom I'm going to buy a kitchen.

152 - 153 Two Small Succulents

150 -151 Two Bras

149 - Stripey T-Shirt I will get rid of two t-shirts to make up for this.

145 to 148 Shirts x 4 OK this is not how a minimalist behaves but I have got rid of so many clothes I actually need to start buying stuff. All from Uniqlo.

144 - Hornsea Coffee Pot Charity shop find although was not particularly cheap.

143 - Book I went to a book launch so I had to buy the book.

142 - Cashmere Cardigan I bought this last month and forgot to list it.

140 - 141 Trousers and Shirt I bought a pair of quirky and v. cheap trousers from Uniqlo and a less cheap shirt also from Uniqlo.

139 - The Duhks CD

138 - Box of Candles It's hygge all the way here.

136 - 137 Two Books I got quite a lot of tokens for my birthday so I bought the latest Marie Kondo and a novel.

129 - 134 Assorted birthday presents

128 - New lamp I have needed a new bedside lamp for ages.

127 - Plain Black Trousers Sensible trousers for work.

126 - Pair of Shoes Sensible (the only kind I every buy) shoes for work.

110 - 125 Assorted Christmas Presents

108 - 109 Two Storage Jars Kilner jars are always useful.

107 - Large Jug A present I gave to my mother that is now returned to me.

106 - Framed Photo This is a picture of me that hung on my mother's sitting room wall.

105 - Vintage Cake plate Cake plate - some stuff from my mother's house which has been stored at my sister's flat.

102 -104 100 tealights and two boxes of candles.

99 -101 Three Books

98 - A Pair of Slippers My Christmas present to myself.

97 - Large Roll of Brown Paper Wrapping

96 - Rita Hosking CD The first CD I have bought this year,

95 - New Curtains I have had the previous curtains since1997. I stopped liking them in 1998 but have lived with them ever since.

94 - Television My television was 9 years old but the freeview box stopped working and I decided it was time to upgrade.

93 - Postcards I have bought a lot of postcards this year.

92 - Leggings I have joined a yoga class and realised that I had decluttered my old pair.

91 - Cashmere cardigan I have been planning to buy this for ages. Hello winter.

90 Book This is the book by TNMA that I have been meaning to buy for ages.

88 Print I bought this last month and forgot to list it. I am very pleased with this purchase.

87 Fridge Magnet Present from Japan

86 - Perfume L'Eau d'Issey from duty free.

85 Large pine cone Picked up on the camino close to Santiago de Compostela

82 - 84 Portuguese Camino Momentos Shell, credencial and compostela.

81 Grey Cardigan I tried to buy a skirt while I was on holiday and ended up in H&M which is so cheap but did not sell skirts.

80 Sake Cup Gift from Japan

79 Small Notebook I really didn't need this but I want a new notebook for my camino journal.

78 Guidebook to Portuguese Camino Getting excited now.

76-77 Two T-shirts I have disposed of so many old t-shirts I needed to buy some new ones.

74 -75 Two Paintbrushes I bought these because I'm sure I've thrown away the old ones.

71 - 73 Three cardboard boxes I brought these home from work as I have to empty some cupboards while work is carried out in my kitchen.

67 - 70 Four glasses I bought these from the museum shop at Louisianna in Copenhagen. They were very cheap and lovely.

66 - Wooden Dog Small Tim dog from Bojesen. I so wanted this.

61 - 65 - Packet of Plastic Folders I bought these from Hay.

60 - Selection of postcards

59 - Fridge Magnet Very tasteful.

58 - Tourist leaflets from Copenhagen I am counting this as one object and I don't care if that is cheating.

57 - Book I got a nicky french from the telephone box library.

56 - Raincoat My raincoat is around 12 years old and very tatty. This one is very plain and hopefully will last I will not be buying another one for at least ten years.

55 - Book on Running As one of the authors is a long time blog friend I had to buy this.

54 - Foot Cream My heels are in serious need of pampering.

53 - Dress I bought a dress in the sale in Cos. I shouldn't have but I did.

52 - Papers From My Mother's House When I was in Ireland my sister gave me a little bundle of papers which my mother had kept - postcards I sent her and photos.

50-51 Two books I am collecting virago books and there were two in the telephone box library this morning. I will need to make a deposit to make up for this.

49 - Chanel No.5

48 - Art Fund Book I was expecting a card but it came with this book.

47 - Pair of Stan Smith Original Sneakers OK I admit it I'm weak. God knows how long this list would be if I wasn't trying to restrict the stuff I bring into the house.

45 - 46 Two White T-Shirts Essential items of clothing which need replacing every year. I don't feel guilty about these.

43-44 Two Tops From Uniqlo I blame That's Not My Age and Belgian Waffle for reminding me about what good stuff you can get in Uniqlo.

41-42 Two Kilner Jars They were cheap and there might be some jam making in the offing.

40 - Book Old, slightly damaged book.

39 - Poole Saucer I bought this along with a book for a pound. How could I say no?

38 - White Cotton Top This is from Muji and reminds me of the kind of thing Mrs Watts, our PE teacher wore in the 1970s.

34-37 Four Books I went a bit mad in the LRB bookshop.

33 - Small basket This was very expensive but I believe it is a work of art. I used the money I earned doing the count. At least I will have one positive thing as a result of the election.

32 5 x Postcards I couldn't resist buying 5 postcards at the Ravilious exhibition - counting this as one item.

28 - 31 Four novels. I went a bit mad in Waterstones. I will have to donate some books to the telephone library this week.

25 - 27 Stuff from walkthewalk - t-shirt, hat and bra. All a bit tacky but for a good cause.

23-24 Two Books Another copy of Time Out Book of Walks - my fourth copy so far? I also bought a book about walking which was a mistake as it involves very little reading but lots of fey nonsense.

22. Packet of AAA batteries I didn't need to buy so many but they only came in packets of 12 and my television remote controller had stopped working and I didn't want to be restricted to watching only BBC2.

21. A Hand Brush I know I shouldn't have but I did.

20. A pair of shoes I also bought a pair of really expensive shoes in M&S. Pale blue loafers which are either a brilliant buy or a terrible mistake. I haven't decided yet which it is.

19. Shoes I have to go to a work event next week which involves a bit of dressing up so I had to buy some dressing up shoes. I bought a mega cheap pair from M&S. I resent having to do this.

18. Fridge Magnet The only thing I bought in Istanbul. Fridge magnets are the only kitsch objects I now allow in my flat.

17 St Matthew's Passion Programme Given free at the concert at the Barbican.

16 Denim Skirt I did want to buy a denim but I hadn't planned to buy a mid calf tight one. Oh well.

15 A Pair Of Trousers I didn't really need these but I was in M&S and I tried them on and they were very flattering and well, what can I say?

14 Dress I feel quite guilty about this and must dispose of 3 items of clothing to make up for it. Another very plain dress but, but it was so cheap and will be very good for work.

13 Charcoal filters See 12

12 - Mould Cleaner Rock and roll! I went mad in Lakeland.

11 - Packet Of Large Plastic Envelopes I bought these to parcel up the items I am planning to sell on eBay.

10 - A packet of 100 tea lights This is one item. I don't care what you say.

7 - 9 Three small containers. What can I say? I went to Ikea and everyone knows if you try to leave without buying something they send you back to go round again.

2 - 6. Kenwood Chef I have wanted one of these for at least 20 years. I bought a second hand one which died after a few weeks. This was in a sale and was less than half price. I now have the problem of getting rid of the second hand one. I am counting this as five objects; bowl, mixer and attachments; spatula; spanner; recipe book; and blender.
WASHINGTON  Despite the worst measles outbreak in decades, few state legislatures this year have reconsidered the exemptions that families use to avoid inoculating their children.

As many legislative sessions wind down, only Washington state, which has had one of the highest numbers of measles cases, has sent a measure to the governors desk. Gov. Jay Inslee signed it into law May 10.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 839 cases of measles in 23 states through May 10, the worst outbreak in the United States since 1994.

Every state allows schoolchildren to skip inoculations for medical reasons, such as a compromised immune system or an allergy to a vaccines components. And all but three states  California, Mississippi and West Virginia  also give passes to families who claim personal or religious objections to vaccinations.

In many states, that number has been growing. For example, the Houston Chronicle reported recently that nonmedical exemptions granted in Texas rose 14% in 2018-2019, continuing a 15-year upward trajectory.

Major medical associations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, oppose nonmedical exemptions.

To be sure, the current outbreak began after most state legislative sessions were underway. But proposals to scale back exemptions that did emerge faced vehement opposition from anti-vaxxer groups, which scuttled them in several states.

Dr. Sean OLeary, a Colorado pediatrician who serves on the infectious diseases committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics, blamed such groups for the failure of a bill in his state.

The anti-vax groups are loud and pretty organized and have worked for years, he said.

The distinction between exemptions for religious versus personal beliefs can be blurry. Few, if any, organized religious groups oppose vaccinations, and personal belief exemptions are far more common. Immunization experts say legislators often feel more squeamish about being accused of interfering with peoples religious beliefs.

The Oregon House passed a bill eliminating religious and personal beliefs exemptions, but it was nixed as part of deal between the Democratic governor and state Senate Republicans to end a walkout over school funding. In Maine, the two chambers disagree about whether to eliminate all nonmedical exemptions or just the one based on personal beliefs, as opposed to religious objections.

In other states, including Arizona, Hawaii, Iowa and New York, bills have stalled in committee or have otherwise failed to advance.

The Washington bill would eliminate the personal beliefs exemption for the MMR vaccine, while preserving the religious exemption. The MMR vaccine provides protection from measles, mumps and rubella and is given to children in two doses, usually between the ages of 9 and 15 months and again between 4 and 6 years. Despite medical evidence to the contrary, many anti-vax advocates repeat the myth that vaccines are related to autism.

The Washington state bill did not attract much GOP support, but Republican state Rep. Paul Harris of Clark County, the epicenter of the outbreak, was its author and champion. Clark County had reported 71 measles cases, all among schoolchildren, as of late April, according to the Washington State Department of Health.

State Rep. Monica Stonier, a Democrat who cosponsored the bill, said she would have preferred to eliminate all nonmedical exemptions for all vaccines required for school entrance. She reluctantly accepted the more limited bill, she said, in part because of the current crisis.

The MMR vaccine is incredibly effective, Stonier said. The argument for people who opt out might have been stronger if it wasnt as effective as it is.

She also noted that families in Washington who opt out use the personal beliefs exemption more often than the religious one.

In response to an inquiry from Stateline, the state Department of Health reported that in 46 of the cases in Clark County, the child may have received an exemption. The state was able to verify the existence of 22 exemptions. Seventeen of those were based on personal beliefs and four were for religious reasons.

Overall, studies have shown an increase in the number of nonmedical exemptions across the country. The spike has coincided with the rise of an anti-vaccination movement fueled largely by the erroneous claim that the MMR vaccine causes autism. That view gained credence based on a 1998 study in the Lancet, which the British medical journal retracted in 2010.

A 2014 article in the American Journal of Public Health that reviewed 42 studies on the subject found a 19% increase in the rates of nonmedical exemptions granted by the states from 2009 to 2013.

Studies also have shown correlations between the granting of exemptions and vaccination rates and disease outbreaks.

The biggest measles outbreak this year  690 cases  has occurred in New York state, chiefly among unvaccinated or under-vaccinated ultra-Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, Queens and Rockland County. Judaism does not prohibit vaccination, but New York City officials say anti-vaccine activists have targeted the community with misinformation about the debunked link between the MMR vaccination and autism.

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

James Colgrove, a professor of public health at Columbia University and an expert in immunization policy, said most states began requiring vaccinations for school attendance in the 1960s and 70s. As those laws spread, so did nonmedical exemptions.

The 2014 measles outbreak at Disneyland in California, which ultimately infected at least 145 people, sparked a debate over such exemptions.

Public health officials blamed the outbreak on the states relatively poor vaccination rates, prompting the California State Assembly to eliminate exemptions for both religious and personal beliefs in 2015. Vermont scrapped its personal beliefs exemption the same year.

After California got rid of the nonmedical exemptions, medical exemptions nearly tripled over the next three years.

Colgrove said the California case highlighted the complexity of the issue.

States differ not just whether they have exemptions, but they differ procedurally too, he said. In California, parents just needed to sign a form to get an exemption.

Other states, he said, have higher hurdles, requiring notarized forms, affidavits from clergy, meetings with health counselors on the risks of failure to inoculate, or annual reapplication rules. Some require parents to submit statements explaining their moral or philosophical objections.

Mississippi, one of the three states without any nonmedical exemptions, is usually a laggard on health measures. But in the 2017-2018 school year, it had the highest MMR immunization rate for kindergarten-age children in the country.

We are very proud to have one of the nations strictest immunization laws for school-age children, said Liz Sharlot, a spokeswoman for the states health department.
Retiring University of Colorado system President Bruce Benson follows the advice hes giving graduates at this years commencement ceremonies.

Sometimes, the best-laid plans arent planned.

I never planned to do politics or this job, he told graduates Friday at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. We see where the opportunities are and take them. Dont miss opportunities because they dont exactly fit.

He urged graduates to respect others because everybody has a place in this world.

Another tip from the oilman and businessman whos headed the CU-system for the past 11 years: surround yourself with capable people to leverage your success.

Youve got to have people around you that know what theyre doing, he said. I feel so strongly about that.

Its the same advice hes given to his successor, Mark Kennedy, who takes over as president of the four-campus system on July 1.

This place is so complicated, youve got to utilize the good people around you, Benson said in an interview.

We have a fine group of vice presidents and chancellors. They have a lot of experience and knowledge, and I urged Mark to pay attention to them.

The CU Board of Regents named Kennedy, president of the University of North Dakota and a former Republican congressman from Minnesota, as the sole finalist on April 10. On a party-line vote, the Republican majority voted 5-4 on May 2 to offer him the job.

The decision was highly unpopular, facing stiff opposition from students, faculty, politicians and LGTBQ groups, immigrants and minorities, who opposed Kennedys conservative congressional voting record, coupled with past statements on such issues as same-sex marriage.

Benson wasnt surprised by the reaction but said the backlash he received 12 years ago when he was being considered for the presidency was even worse.

Mine was a lot rougher than his. They came after me hitting hard, he said. Im a conservative oilman with a bachelors degree. That doesnt fit.

Regarding the resistance to the regents pick, Benson said if he had been running the town halls, he would have said, Enough, to protesters.

I would have said, Shouldnt we be talking about how hes going to run a $4.5 billion enterprise with 34,000 employees and over 70,000 students? Those are the questions people should have been asking.

Abortion rights and gay rights and other issues that were raised with Kennedy dont often come up on the presidents agenda, Benson said. Those primarily are handled at individual campus levels, he said.

Kennedy will be in Colorado for a few days next week to meet with Benson, vice presidents and chancellors. Hell return on June 15 to soak up as much as he can before Benson leaves.

Ill be sharing everything I can share with him and introduce him to various people, Benson said. Were here to help him transition successfully. Hes going to have a learning curve.

Under Bensons leadership, the CU system has weathered several scandals, hit record research funding topping $1 billion and doubled its endowment from $650 million to $1.3 billion.

But Bensons chief source of pride during his tenure is the culture hes built. Using his motto of Lets teach the kids how to think and not what to think, Benson started a Western Civilization program seven years ago that brings in a conservative visiting professor each year.

It used to be that Republican and Democratic professors held a ratio of 1:1, he said. But thats crept up over the years to 1:10 and now possibly 1:20.

Thats not good for students, Benson said.

The program helps balance the increasing growth of liberal faculty in higher education, he said, and has been replicated at other universities. A tenured professor now is being hired to run the program, he said.

Weve raised $12 million to $14 million of an endowment because I want this to last forever, Benson said. When I leave, I want to make sure the next guy keeps this program going. Its changing the culture to get people to collaborate and cooperate. You get so much more done that way.

The 80-year-old Benson says hes not retiring. Hes just changing jobs. Hes returning to the oil company hes owned since 1965. And hes not happy with stricter regulations the Democratically controlled Colorado Legislature are imposing on oil and gas development.

Its ridiculous, he said of this past sessions legislation. Theres going to be a lot of battles.

Fresh off a hip replacement a few weeks ago, Benson and UCCS Chancellor Venkat Reddy conferred 1,496 degrees Friday. Of those, 1,111 graduates walked in the ceremony, held at The Broadmoor World Arena.

Reddy also presented Benson and his wife, Marcy, with an award of appreciation.

Benson normally stands and shakes hands with graduates, but this year he sat on stage to rest his hip.

He has two more to go in his career, CU Denver on Saturday and CU Anschutz Medical Campus on May 24. That adds up to more than 90 commencement ceremonies where hes been on stage.

People say, Thanks for being here, and I say, Isnt it our job to graduate kids? Yes, it is our job, and I want to be here for the culmination of that.

Contact the writer: 719-476-1656.
A heated debate takes place every year around Christmas time. Its not about which relatives house you should visit for the holidays, its a topic with greater importance. Its a question everyone wants to know the answer to but cant seem to agree on. Is the 1988 film Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis, a Christmas movie?

You voted:
As tensions rise in the Persian Gulf, American commanders are pondering the strength of the Iranian military and U.S. options if battle comes.

The prospect of war with Iran is a local issue in the Pikes Peak region, which has more than 4,000 Fort Carson soldiers in the region with the posts 3rd Brigade Combat Team, a heavily armored unit equipped with M-1 tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

Those few ground troops are now backed by a Marine contingent and massive air power flown to the region in recent days to back a Navy task force centered on a carrier.

Several news outlets say the Pentagon is bracing for a far larger commitment to the region with 120,000 troops or more heading overseas to counter Iranian threats. President Donald Trump dubbed reports of Pentagon war plans fake news on Tuesday but also issued a statement that sent shock waves to Tehran.

If we did it, we would send a hell of a lot more troops than that, Trump said.

So, whats going on? There are probably real threats. But the tension between Iran and the U.S. has also made for good politics on both sides.

Trump campaigned on a platform that included getting tough with Tehran. He withdrew from a nuclear arms treaty and slammed down heavy sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy. Saber rattling has been popular with Trumps base and has pushed the Mueller report out of headlines.

In Tehran, the government is seeing unrest at a level unseen since the 1979 overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Students are rioting, and so are residents of outlying provinces. The criticism of the Tehran regime ranges from mismanagement of resources to its totalitarian reliance on Sharia.

What kicked off the showdown? The Trump administration has released few specifics and Tehran has claimed innocence, but issues between the U.S. and Iran have been building for nearly 20 years.

So, what happens if a war kicks off?

Both sides are hiding their cards, but some things are evident.

The U.S. has a massive advantage in the air and at sea, and given time will have one on the ground. Given Trumps dislike of Americas occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, though, a ground campaign isnt a top option. That leaves the U.S. to strike Iran with bombs, missiles and computer warfare.

Iran is on the losing side in a conventional fight, even with more than 500,000 troops. Its air Force and navy are built with mainly cast-offs and antiques. It has plenty of missiles, but the U.S. has plenty of ways to shoot them down. That leaves Iran with one of its few advantages: terrorism. And thats an option that could see attacks far from the Persian Gulf.

Trumps former national security adviser H.R. McMaster explained the options for nations like Iran during a speech in Colorado Springs a few years ago.

There are two ways to fight the U.S. military  asymmetrically or stupid, he said. Our enemies will interact with us in ways to evade our strength and attack what they see as our vulnerabilities.

Contact Tom Roeder: 636-0240 Twitter: @xroederx
Theres always a backstory.

Thats one thing Ive learned from a lifetime in journalism. Whenever something significant or unusual happens, there are usually larger forces at work. Its a journalists job to ferret out these forces and illuminate the backstories behind the headlines. The backstory is usually where the ultimate truth resides.

Take Oprah Winfreys commencement speech Sunday at Colorado College, which caps an interesting, challenging year for the small, overachieving institution in our midst, and a fascinating backstory that the whole town can benefit from.

Her speech is one of many cairns in a ongoing effort by CC to become a more inclusive school, and, perhaps, a beacon of inclusivity in our community. Hers follows speeches by several other prominent African Americans at the school this year, including Ta-Nehisi Coates, the author and activist who won the National Book Award for Between the World and Me and who also writes storylines for Black Panther and Captain America comic books. His visit came on the heels of a talk by Shaun King, writer and civil rights activist and a driving force behind Black Lives Matters, and before that Ron Stallworth, the former Colorado Springs police officer and author of the book that inspired Spike Lees Oscar-winning movie, BlacKkKlansman.

The string of speeches is no accident. Oprah, Coates, King and Stallworth all came to the campus during a very deliberate anti-racism, pro-inclusivity campaign that was launched by the school last fall.

The initiative came in response to racist emails that were sent out to the student body boasting of the superiority of whites and the economies of majority-white countries.

The pain and damage resulting from last years anonymous anti-black, racist, trans-antagonistic email made it very clear that we have a lot of work to do to be the community that we aspire to be, President Jill Tiefenthaler told faculty, alumni and students.

She didnt mince words. An important step to becoming an anti-racist campus is acknowledging that racism exists right here. We cant address racism if we dont talk about it. We cant be an equitable and inclusive community if we arent honest that we are not there yet, and that making progress is an active and ongoing process of engagement.

CC brought in consultants, launched a study and added professors to help diversify the curriculum.

The Class of 2019 even adopted as its motto a statement uttered by Black Panther Party activist Angela Davis: You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.

Of course its one thing to invite speakers like Oprah, hire inclusivity experts, do special classes. Its another thing to daily make people of different backgrounds and stories feel comfortable in our schools and city.

Some CC students complained to me that the schools anti-racism efforts are all very structural and academic, and that on the ground, minority students still feel pretty isolated.

But I give credit this year to CC for starting more conversations about race, for widening our horizons. The specifics of what these speakers have to say I think we can all take to heart, even in a privileged, elite place like CC (full disclosure: Im an alum). At the very least, such visits prod us to think outside our boxes.

"When we have an event at CC, people sometimes think of it in terms of a venue -- but it's more than that," said Steven Hayward, chair of the English Department and director of the school's Journalism Institute. "It's the institution itself and what the college stands for, and stands behind. We bring to Colorado Springs visitors who are part of the national conversation in order to foster a community-wide anti-racist conversation."

When King was here in February, I had a chance to sit down with him for an hour, talking about journalism, race, polarization, and his effort to revive Frederick Douglass seminal newspaper, The North Star. The conversation made me wish for more such conversations, and beyond that, more such friendships. One of his best observations, I thought, was that its easy to ignore or misunderstand people on two levels  when youre not in relationship with them, and with the way stories are told, if you dont know their names or their humanity.

Those of us from different cultures and different viewpoints, we need to know each other better. We need to have more face-to-face conversations. Its not enough, King told me, just to sit back and say were not racist or were post-racist, we have to be actively inclusive, have to actively intersect and become friends with people outside our own insular cultures.

Colorado is a complex place, King bluntly told his audience at the college. Clearly its not perfect, this campus is not perfect. But there are brilliant beautiful things going on on this campus. Some brilliant beautiful things going on in Colorado. But there is some equally problematic things going on here as well. And I think thats indicative of our country.

With our divisiveness and the rise of hate speech and hate crimes, King believes were at a dip in the development of human moral behavior and it will require concentrated action to get out of it.

Were at a problematic point in the life of our country. Its not a partisan statement. Its not even a political statement. We confuse the steady improvement of technology with the steady improvement of humans.

So how do we get past this divisive moment to someplace better? How does CC do this better, how does Colorado Springs, with its often monotone culture, do this better?

Change is hard but it comes best out of relationships, King believes in his gut. The people Ive gotten the best work done with are people that have become my friends. Im talking about real friends.

King, who has a million Twitter followers, tells a funny story about a high school orientation he went to in New York. He heard people 5 feet from him whispering, theres @shaunking.

They still see me as my social media handle even in person, said King.

It was an awakening moment. Social media has changed the way we see and think about each other. And some of what is ailing us in the age of social media is we have redefined friendships to a heart emoji on your Instagram page.

He reminded me of one of Martin Luther King Jr.s best quotes: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

My life has changed when I have had friends who are deeply different than me. For the first 34 years of my life, most of my friends were black and heterosexual. I started feeling like I was not honestly living that quote out.

By and large, King said that, like most of us, he primarily fought for people in his small little circle. But then, because of that King quote, he purposefully started developing meaningful friendships outside his circle. Im Christian, but over the past six years, some of deepest friendships have been developed with devout Muslims  so when the Muslim ban was announced, I took it personally. Why? Because it affected friends.

When you have friendships with people who are not like you it will cause you to have a deeper sensitivity to their pain and their issues.

Most of the time we are ignorant to our own privilege, were Kings parting words.

Some of us have a whole toolbox full of privilege. Some of us only have a little screwdriver. Whatever tool you have, use it to empower the people who dont have it. Its our job and our duty to constantly say, How am I using the privilege that I have to bring other people along, put people in front of me, to give other people access.

And keep on doing it, he urged.

A little more justice anywhere improves justice everywhere.
A week into Denvers mayoral runoff campaign, challenger Jamie Giellis found herself embroiled in a racially charged controversy over an acronym, lowriders, a late-night social media purge and a decade-old tweet about Chinatown.

On Thursday, as her campaign said Giellis, who is white, wanted to talk about the issues that Denver is facing even while declining interview requests, incumbent Michael Hancock, Denvers second African-American mayor, blasted Giellis for a pattern of cultural and racial insensitivities and called the first-time candidates response to the furor flippant.

Defeated mayoral candidates Lisa Calderon, who is black and Latina, and Penfield Tate III, who is black, came to Giellis defense Thursday  three days after the former rivals endorsed her  and accused Hancock of trying to distract voters with a manufactured controversy.

Hancock swung back hard at Calderon in an interview, saying the longtime critic of his administration was only overlooking Giellis missteps and misstatements so she could pile on Hancock, speak[ing] to her willingness to waver when her self-interest is involved.

Giellis and Hancock face off in a June 4 runoff election. Ballots for the all-mail election go out to voters beginning Monday.

Giellis acknowledged Thursday night in an interview with 9News that she made a mistake but declined to say what the mistake was.

Instead she said, Were all going to misstep at one time. I dont know how people are going to perceive it, but Im putting myself out here to be open to it.

It started Tuesday when Giellis couldnt say during a live interview that NAACP stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Hancock pounced, tweeting: This is alarming.

In a written statement issued Wednesday, Giellis said she had momentarily struggled to recall what NAACP stood for  National African-American ... ? shed said in the interview  but that it came to her after the show, she told the hosts and apologized.

This campaign has expanded my knowledge of other cultures, their wants, struggles and successes, she added. I am learning more every day.

But the controversy snowballed late Wednesday when questions arose about a Giellis fundraiser at a Mexican restaurant featuring lowriders and a 2009 tweet from her personal account, which read: Heres a question: Why do so many cities feel it necessary to have a Chinatown?

My concerns are growing, tweeted state Rep. Leslie Herod, a Denver Democrat and Hancock supporter. First the @NAACP gaffe and now this?? Does she have any idea the history behind Chinatowns across this country?

Soon after, as criticism on social media mounted, Giellis personal Twitter and Instagram accounts disappeared, along with the Instagram account operated by her campaign.

In a statement sent about 2 a.m. Thursday, Giellis said she had turned off my personal accounts when I felt like personal statements were being taken out of context for the purpose of diverting the conversation from the issues that Denver is facing and voters care about.

She added that she was working on restoring the campaign Instagram page, which appeared online again Thursday afternoon.

As for the old tweet about Chinatown, Giellis, an urban planner, wrote: Throughout my work and travels I have shared personal observations about what I was seeing in neighborhoods around the world. The comment about Chinatowns is one example. I was noticing that those neighborhoods were changing, that Chinatowns became less of the cultural centers that they once were.

Later Thursday, Giellis campaign spokeswoman said the candidate wouldnt be conducting interviews.

At this time we feel that directing time and energy toward listening to community members and organizing a discussion about the state of the Black community in Denver is a more productive use of time, an emailed statement said.

Her campaign also distributed a response to recent news from Tate and Calderon.

The lengthy statement said Giellis plans to hold a frank conversation with the community about race, culture and history and concluded nearly every paragraph with a jab at Hancock.

Every public official should know the history and contributions of such an esteemed historic civil rights institution as the NAACP. We appreciate Jamie Giellis taking full responsibility for her recent statements and not making excuses, which will be a refreshing change from the current administration, Tate and Calderon wrote.

They continued: We hope the same kind of outcry about Jamie not knowing the historic significance of the NAACP extends to an even louder outcry against the high rate of displacement and economic inequity African Americans in Denver have experienced over the past eight years.

Hancock, in an interview, called Calderons participation in the response indefensible.

Its contradictory to what I think for years Lisa has espoused in terms of missteps, misstatements by people, he said, adding: If Id made a similar mistake, shed be all over me.

Hancock continued: It makes it clear it was never about the community; it was always about Lisa and her interests on these issues. Its hard for them to defend the pattern of cultural and racial insensitivities we have seen over the last 48 hours from Jamie Giellis. I dont know how you defend that.

The mayor also slammed his opponents responses and dismissed the suggestion she would hold a conversation about race in the 19 days until the election.

Ive always said, were more judged by how we respond to circumstances than by circumstances themselves, Hancock said.

Its important to us to see how Jamie Giellis is responding right now beyond just statements. This is serious.

He added: I dont think its OK to have a flippant attitude about it and say, Ill learn and get over it. This is the basic life of someone who seems to be very secluded from a diverse group of people. It just shows how secluded her life has been.

In a statement provided by Giellis campaign, Calderon and Tate rejected Hancocks criticism and reiterated their attacks.

Rather than focusing on the needs of the Black community and taking accountability for one of the highest displacement rates in the country, and his failure to meet minority and women contracting goals, Michael Hancock wants to distract with a manufactured controversy, they wrote.

We are taking the case directly to the people by creating a Black agenda for economic development for the first time in the past eight years.
By Benjamin Jumbe.

Government has reiterated its commitment to peaceful and friendly relations with Rwanda on the basis of respect for each other and mutual benefit.

The statement has been made by the Minister of foreign affairs Sam Kuteesa while briefing the diplomatic corps on the status of the Uganda Rwanda relations.

Kuteesa says Rwanda is a neighboring country with which Uganda shares historical, cultural, economic and social ties adding that government is convinced that the current hitches in the state of bilateral relations will be resolved

He said Uganda has and will continue addressing any issues raised by Rwanda through the diplomatic channels and not the press with governments channels of communication open.
CORRECTION: The headline of this story has been changed to reflect the baby suffered 36 rib fractures.

WESTGATE  A Westgate man has been arrested for allegedly killing an infant he was looking after in April 2018.

Court records indicate that Dean Alan Hettinger, 22, and his girlfriend were looking after her relatives 4-week-old child, Holten Patrick Smith, on April 29, 2018, when the baby was taken to the hospital and later died.

Hettinger was arrested Thursday for first-degree murder and child endangerment causing death. The murder charge carries a life prison sentence without parole.

When Holton was born, he was removed by the Iowa Department of Human Services because he and his mother tested positive for meth, according to court records. The baby was placed with a relative, who was living with Hettinger at 23837 90th St in rural Westgate, records state. The couple was also caring for their own 7-month-old son.

On the night of April 29, 2018, Hettinger and his girlfriend brought Holten to Community Memorial Hospital in Sumner because the child was having seizures and was unresponsive.

The baby was transferred to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City where doctors found a brain bleed, according to court record. Doctors said the injury was likely the cause of recent non-accidental head trauma.

The child lingered in the hospital for a month and died on May 27, 2018, of the injuries, according to the Fayette County Sheriffs Office.

During the autopsy, doctors found 36 rib fractures, court records state.

During initial interviews with authorities, neither Hettinger not his girlfriend had an explanation for the injuries, according to court records.

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Four Mason City youth participated in the eighth annual World Food Prize Iowa Youth Institute in late April at Iowa State University.

The event brought together 304 students from 130 high schools to explore critical global food security issues and discover academic and career paths in STEM fields.

Participating from Mason City were: Emma Yarahmadi, Gabrielle Johnson, Britta Elsbernd and Tabitha Ryal.

The Iowa Youth Institute has hosted participants from over 71 percent of Iowa high schools since its inaugural event in 2012.

In gathering here for this event, I know that Dr. Norman Borlaug would want you to focus on the important mission of eliminating hunger around the world. It was that objective that motivated him every day of his life, said Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. My hope for all of you is that, having been here today, you will carry with you a part of Dr. Borlaugs legacy and that as a member of the next generation of young Iowans, you will commit yourself to continue your education, build your careers, and conduct your lives focused on that goal, that unites us all and makes us so very proud to be Iowans: using the power of science and STEM to feed the world.

Mentored by Dawn Guritz from Mason City High School, Elsbernd researched infrastructure in Haiti; Yarahmadi researched climate volatility in Honduras; Ryal researched malnutrition in Cyprus; and Johnson researched sustainable agriculture in Peru.

To participate, students identify a challenge affecting food security within a specified country and propose their own solution to address the challenge. Students then present their ideas to a roundtable of peers and experts at the institute, participate in interactive activities in labs and classrooms on campus, and connect with innovative leaders from across the state.

All students who participate automatically receive a $500 scholarship to Iowa State Universitys College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and are eligible to apply for the Wallace-Carver Fellowship program in partnership with the USDA.

The top Iowa participants will also be selected to join scientists and policy experts from around the world at the three-day World Food Prize Global Youth Institute in October.

The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. It was founded in 1986 by Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, recipient of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize.

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imsmoitra wrote:

Hi,

As mentioned in the subject line,my profile is briefly as follows:

Demographic: Indian Male(Doomed Lol)

GMAT 750 (Q50,V41,IR 8 AWA 5)

B.Tech: WBUT,CGPA 8.7/10

M.Tech: NIT NAGPUR, 7.97/10

WORK EX(4 Years): 2.3 Years of experience working in Automotive domain in India. In that time, I have been involved in multiple roles from developing mobile applications to troubleshooting ECUs (sort of like a CPU, but of a Car) for an Indian Car maker. Post this, I started working for a British Luxury Carmaker in their Global HQ in UK in a domain that they like to call 'connected cars', which is a cutting edge frontier technology in my domain. I have been working here for 1 year and 8 months and counting.

ECA: ECAs are a bit light in my case. I have been involved in lot of science quiz competitions in my high school years and have few trophies etc. I was involved in organising committees in college fests in my undergrad years. Don't know if this qualifies as ECA, but I conducted a research work under my mentor's supervision during my masters where I developed a proprietary algorithm to separate Noise from Signal in Hospitals in critical care environments. I published a paper on the same, which was prominently cited and featured in my mentor's essay on the same topic in Springer Science Journal, Germany. Also, based on this work, the university received research grant from Government of India.



Post-MBA, I would like to work in the tech domain(not planning for an industry shift). But I do realise that it will require function shift and in all likelihood location shift. I am eager to know which schools might be in my range based on my profile in North America and Europe.

It would be very helpful if you can point me in the right direction in terms of the b schools I might aim for ( both dream and maybe).

Thanks in advance!



Posted from my mobile device
Grand Old Partisan highlights the career of Benjamin Franklin Whittemore, born in Massachusetts this day of 1824. He studied at Amherst College and became a Methodist Episcopal minister. During the Civil War, this patriot served as chaplain for two regiments. Superiors noted "his unwavering devotion to his duties in the field, bravery in battle, faithfulness to the sick and wounded  one of the very few of the chaplains that followed his regiment at all times, whether under fire, in the trenches, on the march, or in the hospital."

Onset of peace found him deployed to South Carolina. Opting to remain, Whittemore published a Unionist newspaper and encouraged African-Americans to assert their civil rights. In 1868, the SCGOP named him its first chairman. He wrote the new state constitution's bill of rights. Later that year, he won election to the U.S. House of Representatives and was delegate to the Republican National Convention. His "unusual aptitude for the business of legislation" helped secure passage of the 15th Amendment.

In 1870, Whittemore resigned his congressional seat for having taken a bribe in return for an appointment to the Naval Academy.

Here is a Video Version of this article on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AyvqVIfei4Y

Michael Zak is author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party, a history of GOP civil rights achievement.

Each day, Michael Zak's grandoldpartisan YouTube channel and Grand Old Partisan blog celebrate more than sixteen decades of Republican heritage. And, see Speech Raves for audience feedback from his presentations in thirty-one states so far.

He also wrote the 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar.

Clarence Thomas cited Back to Basics for the Republican Party in a Supreme Court decision.

Buy the book at Amazon

See www.youtube.com/q?v=IzxKCiXc5Qc for a brief video of a Texas Republican praising Back to Basics for the Republican Party.

"This is the most amazing book about politics that I have ever read. The Overview should be required reading for anyone with even a minor interest in government. The remainder is an enthralling history lesson that I will never forget. For years, we have all been misled about the true nature of the GOP. This is the real deal! Read it and be proud!"

"Michael Zak wrote the definitive history of the GOP."

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party is the most significant contribution to the Republican Party in the last twenty years apart from Ronald Reagan."

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party is more important to our party now than ever before."

and

"one of the best books I ever read"
DAVENPORT, IOWA  Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said Saturday that he was recently asked why it took him so long to announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the 2020 presidential election.

Truth is, I was governing, he told a crowd of about 50 people that came to hear him speak at Baked Beer & Bread in the Village of East Davenport. I signed my last bill on Monday, announced on Tuesday, and by Thursday I was in Iowa.

Bullocks stop in Davenport was the eighth and final city he visited on his first trip to Iowa as a presidential candidate.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who endorsed Bullock this week, was on hand to introduce him at Saturdays meet and greet.

Miller said Bullock was not a moderate; rather, he is sort of a mainstream progressive liberal.

He described the governor as a man of very high character who connects with people.

If hes president, this is exactly the kind of person we want as president, Miller said, to bring our country together in a real way, to work for things that will affect Americans in a positive way, and bring character back to the White House.

Bullock, 53, who is serving his second term as governor, said Saturday that far too many of us have seen the impact of a broken economy and that the average American is working harder but making less money.

In the 1970s, 90% of people of at least 30 years old were doing better than their parents. Today, only half are, he said. And two-thirds of towns across the country have lost businesses, Bullock said.

You look at a broken economy, you look at a broken political system, no wonder folks get frustrated, he said. No wonder folks get cynical and angry about the system. But instead of actually doing something to fix that, Donald Trump has poured gasoline on that fire.

He added, Thats why, first things first, we have to win this election. We have to make sure to bridge some of the divide so Washington is working for us. Not the Koch brothers or the Trumps or others.

Bullock talked about his efforts in Montana to expand Medicaid and tackle campaign reform to keep dark money from impacting elections.

During Saturdays event, he fielded several questions about diversity, gun violence, health care and education from members of the audience.

Speaking about gun violence, Bullock said the issue should be looked at as a public health issue rather than a political issue.

Forty percent of households in America own a gun, he said. But from a public health approach, gun owners and those that dont both want to keep their families safe, and they dont want guns falling in the wrong hands.

Bullock said a majority of Americans think universal background checks would be a dang good idea, as well as red flag laws where guns are removed from a household or area where domestic violence occurs.

Bullock said the country has to address the corrupting influence of dollars from organizations like the NRA and find common values to approach it as a public health issue.

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Gov. Steve Bullock announced his campaign for the presidency, arguing that he brings an extra ingredient to the already crowded Democratic field: the ability to win a red state. Yet, elections for governor and president are separate universes in Montana. He will need to confront that realitys root cause, which has befuddled Democrats nationwide since 1964  the tension between Democratic priorities on racial justice and its relationship with white voters.

Montana is not a red state. Its not a blue state, either. Its both. The Democratic Party has dominated governor and U.S. Senate elections for most of the states history. Its earliest coalition came together around the politics of labor unionism, antimonopolism and conservation. Such issues provided the backdrop against which political giants like Sens. Burton Wheeler and Mike Mansfield emerged. That past still exerts considerable influence over the currents of Montanas present politics, which remain hostile to right-to-work laws and the privatization of our last best places. Yet, Democrats deep roots in state politics dont offer any certitude of stability for the road ahead.

In the 1960s the Democratic Party, and Montana, changed. The partys decision to embrace the cause of civil rights helped unleash forces that rent the partys liberal consensus. In 1964, LBJ became the last Democrat to win more than 50% of the states votes for president. The connection here is not obvious. Montana was far from the frontlines of Americas culture wars, lunch counter sit-ins and school busing riots. Yet, Montanans joined the cacophony decrying the Democratic Partys abandonment of middle class white voters in favor of other priorities.

A quick scan of old Montana newspapers reveals that sense of loss and fear among white Montanans. An op-ed from the Dillion Tribune-Examiner in October 1964, for example, likened desegregation to the federal government (entering) your home like Hitlers men walked into the lives and homes of good people only to make slaves of them.

In the fallout of the 1960s, Republicans built a power base in Montana organized around a new national conservative identity that bucked government interventionism and racial integration. By the 1990s this bled into former Democratic strongholds in Montana, as conservatives effectively lambasted Democrats alleged coastal orientation.

This trend threatened the Democratic Party with irrelevance in Montana. In 1996, Marc Racicot won 67% of the vote in the oldest of blue-dog bastions, Silver Bow County. Democrats might have gone quietly into the dark altogether, if not for the GOP-led fiasco of utility deregulation, which killed the Montana Power Company and deeply wounded old Democratic haunts like Butte. Democrats returned from the brink, but the pull of Goldwaterism and Reaganism still influences the state politics  and has split them between local and national electoral identities.

The Democratic Party survived in Montana because it thrives in a space separated from broader debates about our national character, and our nations wrestling with race. In a largely white state, a largely white Montana Democratic Party focuses locally, avoiding Americas culture wars that have been Democrats political third rail here since 1964. Bullock will inevitably have to come to terms with this.

I applaud Gov. Bullocks decision to run for president. However, as he prepares to make his case to voters, he has to muster a better argument for his worthiness than electability and his record in a red state. Bullock must instead build a case for why he should he should lead a national Democratic Party, whos coalition is far more diverse than his natural constituency, by demonstrating that he can convince rural white voters that national Democratic priorities, especially on racial justice, should also be theirs.

Aaron Hyams is a native of Billings, and a visiting assistant professor of American history at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, where he specializes in Native American history and the history of the American West. Hes currently working on a book detailing the political history of Montana.

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Continuing to invest in Yellowstone National Park, two concessionaires are seeking permission to add RV sites, small modular homes and laundry and bathroom facilities to alleviate crowding for seasonal workers at Canyon Village and West Yellowstone.

The work is outlined in a draft environmental assessment published by the park and now open for public comment until June 14.

Additional housing is needed because concessions staffing levels have increased to accommodate growing visitor use and expanded visitor services; however, housing supply has not expanded commensurate with staffing levels, according to the assessment. Some housing is available in gateway communities, but distances to places of work make daily commuting impractical, especially for employees in the parks interior.

West Yellowstone is the most popular entrance to the park and Canyon Village sits on the edge of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Upper and Lower waterfalls.

West

Near the parks West Entrance, Delaware North Corp.  which operates 12 general stores within the park  is proposing to build 25 RV sites and a bath house adjacent to an already developed area that includes the General Store Warehouse. The sites would be used for seasonal housing for General Store employees from late March through early November.

Delaware North already owns several properties in West Yellowstone, including hotels, apartment buildings, and an RV Park for visitors and employees, according to the document, but theres no room to expand its existing RV park.

Officials are still working out how the new RV sites could be hooked into the small towns maxed-out sewer and water systems. Since 2016 the town has notified residents that theres little capacity for either system to add new residential or commercial customers. The towns primary water source, Whiskey Springs, has seen its flow decrease.

The problem is noted in the report, which states that the park will work with West Yellowstone to secure necessary permits prior to any new water use for the RV sites.

Although West Yellowstone has the second largest sewage plant in Gallatin County, it lacks lagoon space to accommodate additional sewer hookups. The EA said the town is in the process of developing a new sewage lagoon to handle more use.

Canyon

At Canyon Village, Xanterra Parks & Resorts would use a now-abandoned wing of a campground for as many as 14 RV sites and six modular homes, each about 650 square feet in size. Existing facilities would be rehabilitated to provide shower and laundry services.

As visitation has grown, it will be nice to have enough facilities for our employees, said Mike Keller, general manager of Xanterras Yellowstone National Park Lodges.

At full staffing Canyon has 550 employees, Keller said.

This would be the first of several planned improvements for Xanterra at Canyon Village. In the future the company has plans to: renovate its 50-room dormitory that was built in 1956, build a new dormitory with another 60 to 80 rooms, construct four new cabins and a bathhouse for wranglers, as well as a pub and recreation hall for its workers.

At Lake, Xanterra has plans to rebuild the lodge cafeteria and the hotel kitchen in the future.

Adding up

The proposals are the most recent in a string of improvements Xanterra has made in the nations first national park, which annually is attracting about 4 million visitors.

Since 2003 Xanterra has built new employee housing at Old Faithful and Lake, constructed five new lodges at Canyon, updated its Canyon restaurant, and refurbished the historic Lake Hotel and cabins, Old Faithful Inn and renovated Grant Village lodging facilities. All told the company owns nine lodging facilities in the park that can house 2,287 people.

So far Xanterras investment in infrastructure has added up to more than $170 million since 2013 with another $25 million being invested to upgrade the Fishing Bridge campground built in 1963 and the remaining 66 Lake cabins, Keller said.

It never ends here, he said.

Keller added that his company sees the spending on infrastructure as a good investment.

Its also our responsibility to keep these facilities up and running to meet visitor needs, he said.

Also in the works in Yellowstone is the Park Services modernization of the historic Mammoth Hotel.

Unique requirements Building new facilities in Yellowstone, working at the sites or living temporarily in the park comes with conditions that are unique to the wildland setting. For example, the EA requires the concessionaires to provide bear-proof lockers for barbecue grill storage at each modular and RV site. In addition, park requirements say, All contractors and employees would be given an orientation about working in grizzly bear country and briefed on proper food storage and safety measures. Orientation would include information about park regulations regarding food storage, disposal of garbage and other bear attractants, safety measures, and approaching or harassing wildlife.

To comment Comments on the environmental assessment may be submitted online at: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/concessionshousing. Hand-deliver comments during business hours to: Albright Visitor Center, Attention: Concession Housing EA, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190. Mail comments to: Compliance Office, Attention: Concession Housing EA, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190.

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By Benjamin Jumbe.

The prime minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda has expressed government commitment to solve the Land conflict in Apaa

The conflict has left a number killed, several injured and hundreds displaced

Now addressing the nation on efforts to address the problem, DrRugunda said cabinet recently came up with a resolution to resettle all the people in the contentious piece of land offering them resettlement packages

He says all what government wants is having a lasting solution to the problem.

Meanwhile, Minister for Disaster preparedness and refugees Eng Hillary Onek called on politicians in the area to stop politicizing the matter for their selfish political interests
DECATUR  Police said a Decatur woman was arrested after she whipped her 17-year-old daughter with a belt, leaving welts and bruises on the teen after becoming angry with her.

The 37-year-old woman is facing a preliminary charge of domestic battery, which is subject to review by the Macon County State's Attorney's Office.

A sworn affidavit said police were contacted by the girl's school on Tuesday after a social worker noticed the injuries. Police spoke with the teen, who told officers her mother became angry with her after coming home from work on May 7 and finding her in bed with her boyfriend. She said her mother hit her with a belt, leaving bruising and marks that she showed to police, the affidavit said.

She told police in the affidavit that her mother made her stay home for two days to try to let the injuries heal. A detective noted "belt-like outline marks on both arms and bruising on both arms."

The mother was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Macon County Jail. She was released on $5,000 bail and ordered to not have any contact with her daughter without approval from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

2019 mug shots from the Herald & Review

Contact Analisa Trofimuk at (217) 421-7985. Follow her on Twitter: @AnalisaTro

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DECATUR  Once a panda, always a panda.

Teachers and administrators past and present gathered at Harris Elementary School on Friday to say goodbye to their building, which will close at the end of the school year on May 24 preparatory to becoming the district's alternative school in August. The school mascot is a panda.

Denita Hentz taught for 23 years at Harris, 620 E. Garfield Ave. It was her first teaching job.

For me, one of the things was the staff and the relationships, said Hentz, who is now a reading recovery specialist at Stevenson School.

It's like a family here, said Nancy Johnson, who retired in 2005 and whose classroom was across the hall from Hentz's. If we didn't have something, if we needed help, it was always there. Everybody helped everybody. Some of the rooms were special ed and some were regular ed, and it just didn't matter. It was really nice.

Harris opened in 1952 and was named for William Harris, a retired Decatur superintendent who led the district through the challenges of the Depression and beyond. Otto C. Keil, president of the board of education during some of those years and in whose honor the administration building on Cerro Gordo Street is named, praised Harris' exceptional executive ability. Harris was in attendance at the dedication.

The original building was 16 rooms, but an addition was later added. When Sunnyside School closed in 2003, the special needs students were dispersed to other Decatur buildings, and many of those with physical disabilities moved to Harris, which is all on one level.

The get-together on Friday was engineered by Jill Hackman, a teacher of visually impaired students. She started a Facebook page when the district's five-year strategic plan was finalized and the announcement was made that Harris would be closed.

That page, said Principal Sarah Schrader, allows staff both past and present to keep up with each other's lives and will allow them to continue to stay in touch even after they've moved on to other buildings in August. Regular education and Essential Skills students will move to Hope Academy, while Life Skills students will move to Enterprise School.

Our school is closing, so it's not going to be Harris School any longer as we knew it, Hackman said.

Schrader said she'd promised herself she wouldn't cry, but she did.

There's just something about Harris, she said. It's hard to put into words.

One of the special things about it, said retired principal Kathy Thompson, is that Harris is the last neighborhood school in the district. Nearly all the students live close enough to walk to school, whereas most Decatur schools have a large number of kids who ride the bus. Some families have lived in the area for generations, so the school staff knows them.

What we do is hard, Schrader said. It's always been a close-knit staff. It feels like a community here. Our kids are very needy and need a lot of support and it's hard to shut off when they leave, so you just have this really close impulse to support the kids and support each other.

Contact Valerie Wells at (217) 421-7982. Follow her on Twitter: @modgirlreporter

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DECATUR  In the wake of an Illinois State Police probe into Macon County Sheriffs Office employees bidding at foreclosure real estate sales, interdepartmental memos and emails obtained by the Herald & Review show senior staff seeking direction on what to do.

The investigation began in March and centers on whether members of the sheriffs department can legally take part as bidders in foreclosure real estate sales conducted by the sheriffs office. Lt. Kris Thompson, who resigned from the sheriff's office Friday, runs a side business as a buyer, seller and renter of family homes, and shopped, when off-duty, at sales conducted by the sheriff's office that involved foreclosed properties.

In a March 6 email obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, Sgt. Matt Reynolds wrote: Given the present circumstances, I would like some guidance on how to correctly proceed with conducting sheriff house sales.

Reynolds, the county's animal control administrator, said he was requesting a meeting between the sheriff's office, Judge Thomas E. Little and Macon County State's Attorney Jay Scott for legal advice. I think this should be something incorporated into our SOP (standard operating procedure), he said.

Sheriff Tony Brown typed a response within a few minutes of receiving the message, saying I will reach out to the appropriate entities to schedule a meeting for guidance about the matter.

The results of any such consultations were not given in the FOIA response from the sheriffs office, which added a note saying preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, memoranda and other records in which opinions are expressed or policies or actions are formulated, are exempt from FOIA requests.

Correspondence from Thompson shows him telling the sheriff that I dont have any intentions of returning (to duty) until I have written closure civilly and criminally, he said.

The documents also showed that Thompson has made his own FOIA requests of the sheriffs office, trying to obtain copies of letters, emails and all written/electronic communications about how the state police investigation came about.

Thompson sought all content related to variants of his name and terms including sheriff sale, sheriff sales, auction, civil, deed,confirmation, judge, court order, real estate, internal and Illinois State Police from Jan. 1 to April 2.

Lt. Jonathan Butts, the Freedom of Information Officer for the sheriffs office, replied April 5 that the request had been granted. But Thompson shot back the same day that he had received not a sufficient response, citing an absence of relevant emails between Brown and other administrative staff.

When processing a FOIA request, you must use a good faith effort to conduct a search for records requested using methods which can be reasonably expected to produce the information requested, Thompson told the sheriffs office.

The FOIA documents the Herald & Review received indicate Thompson was ready to resubmit his requests if I need to be more clear, but there was no response listed to his message.

Thompson since told the Herald & Review he never received all the information he had sought.

Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid

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Remarks: This was the number one song on the US R&B chart this year, 2021. It went to #1 in the US on both the R&B and pop charts and made the top 20 on po...

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Cars for export and import are stored in front of containers on May 16 at the harbor in Bremerhaven, Germany, with 2 million vehicles per annum one of the largest automobile hubs in the world. AP



The government is studying whether the country was in fact granted auto tariffs relief by Washington, as the latter's decision to delay these did not clearly mention it, a senior trade official said Saturday.



President Donald Trump said Friday that he was putting off a decision to impose tariffs of up to 25 percent on imported autos and parts by six months after trade negotiations with Japan and the European Union got underway.



Washington earlier vowed to conduct a review on levying duties on imported autos on national security grounds based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which had to be finished by Saturday.



The White House said in a statement Friday that it was delaying making the decision by six months, although it added that unfair trade barriers imposed by the European Union, Japan and "other countries" were hurting the U.S. industry.






Since that announcement, details of the relevant intelligence have gradually trickled out through the media. This was reflected in the Times report, which cited American officials as saying that satellite images showed the Iranians loading military equipment and missiles onto small naval vessels belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This hardline paramilitary has a long history of smuggling weapons to militant groups such as the Houthis in Yemen and the allies of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. But the unusually visible transfers in recent weeks raised concerns about the possibility that those weapons might be deployed in Persian Gulf waters by the IRGC itself, or transferred in higher quantities to regional proxies in preparation for attacks on US forces.

Whats more, Business Insider reported that subsequent intelligence has pointed to the probable targeting of US troops in Iraq, as well as commercial shipping vessels and energy infrastructure. These threats became uniquely real on Sunday when four tankers, including two belonging to the United Arab Emirates, were damaged by explosions believed to originate with aquatic drones. Then, on Tuesday, an aerial drone attack was carried out on an oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia. Both incidents have been tentatively connected to Iran, thereby corroborating the recently-cited intelligence and further justifying the American response.

In addition to deploying a carrier group and bombers, the White House has reportedly reviewed plans for the deployment of 120,000 military personnel. When asked about this, President Donald Trump suggested that American media had inaccurately reported upon issues relating to Iran. While he insisted that he has no intention to initiate military conflict, he also said that if a military deployment was made necessary by Iranian action, it would be considerably larger than the 120,000-person figure. When asked directly whether the US and Iran were on a path to war, the president responded, I hope not.

As well as alleging inaccurate reporting on the current tensions, Trump suggested that the Iranian regime was consequently confused about what to expect. But this is a good thing, he said on Friday according to Agence Prance-Presse. The apparent implication was that by virtue of not knowing what to think, Tehran might be inclined to set policy according to its worst expectations. On the other hand, it is not entirely clear what that might mean, especially in view of the regimes track record of foreign provocations.

On Thursday, Reuters quoted Garret Marquis, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, as saying that Irans default option for 40 years has been violence. This, he warned, could necessitate the US acting to protect U.S. personnel and interests in the region, although the purpose of American military deployments so far has been to send a message to Iran underscoring the consequences of further provocation. American officials have been consistent about counterbalancing a commitment to such deterrence with a commitment to avoiding the instigation of military conflict.

The same cannot be said of the Iranians. This fact was highlighted by Anwar Gargash, the UAEs Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, in an interview with CNN on Friday. Irans responses on many issues are contradictory and this is part and parcel, I think, of the trust factor that affects Iranian politics, he said in response to a question about Irans efforts to deny responsibility for the oil tanker sabotage incidents near the UAEs coast. I can come up with five, six statements that contradict each other coming out of Iran, he added. I can see that very, very clearly.

This pattern of contradiction has been on display in the responses of Iranian political and military figures to the escalating tensions and the American efforts to pursue a strategy of maximum diplomatic and economic pressure on the Iranian regime. The Washington Post released video on Thursday of Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in conference with Japanese officials, insisting that Tehran regards American escalation as unacceptable. Despite this, Zarif said, Iran has shown maximum restraint.

But of course such claims stand in stark contrast to the Iranian missile transfers and other suspicious behaviors that set the stage for much of that escalation. And more to the point, Zarifs commentary is contradicted by virtually simultaneous statements from other figures who appear ready to acknowledge the accuracy of the aforementioned American intelligence.

Qassem Suleimani, the commander of the IRGCs foreign special operations wing, the Quds Force, recently said in no uncertain terms that Iran-backed militias in Iraq should prepare for proxy war. According to Fox News, a senior intelligence official said that this wasnt far off from a call to arms. Meanwhile, the same could be said of responses to US deterrence from some of the proxy groups over which Suleimani has control. The Associated Press identified some of these groups on Friday in a report that said Iran could rally regional proxies in case of war. The report also credited Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the Lebanese paramilitary Hezbollah, as saying that in a conflict scenario, Iran will not be alone.

Zarifs assertion for maximum restraint was further undermined on Friday when Irans Fars News Agency quoted Mohammad Saleh Jokar, the IRGCs deputy head of parliamentary affairs, as boasting about the ability of Iranian missiles to strike US Navy ships that have lately arrived in the Persian Gulf. According to the New York Post, Jokar also declared that America cannot afford the costs of a new war, and the country is in a bad situation in terms of manpower and social conditions.

The same reporte noted that these remarks closely coincided with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei once again expressing his regimes commitment to avoiding all negotiations concerning an agreement to restrain malign activities, unless the US first withdraws all existing pressures. But despite Tehrans apparent willingness to court conflict, Business Insider noted that two American destroyers had entered the Persian Gulf without incident on Thursday. In fact, one US defense official was quoted as saying, It was the quietest transit we have seen in a long time, being absent any confrontational maneuvers by the small IRGC vessels that are at the heart of some of the most recent intelligence warnings.

This arguable speaks to the tentative success of American pressures, in the sense that they may have compelled Iran to restrain some of its familiar activities even in the wake of a recent outpouring of plots and provocations. Yet this is not to say that the US or its allies are likely to let their guard down. Indeed, just one day before the destroyers arrival, non-essential American personnel were withdrawn from the US embassy in Baghdad and the US consulate in Erbil, in response to the latest threats from Irans militant proxies.

In a surprise meeting with Iraqi officials the previous week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo explained that some such groups had apparently moved missile installations closer to American bases. An Iraqi military source was quoted by Fox News as saying that Pompeo had clearly communicated the expectation of guarantees that Iraq would stop those groups threatening US interests.

But as well as taking precautions against further such threats, the US also proactively deployed a Patriot anti-missile battery to the region, according to the Associated Press. The same Iraqi military source noted of the visiting Americans, They said if the U.S. were attacked on Iraqi soil, it would take action to defend itself without coordinating with Baghdad.

In avoiding harassment of American vessels, the IRGC and the Iranian regime may hope to minimize the likelihood of such proactive responses close to home, while also focusing attention upon areas of foreign influence for the sake of plausible deniability, and in line with Tehrans preference for asymmetrical warfare tactics. Along these same lines, the regime may expect its own restraint in certain areas to cast doubt upon allegations that Iranian forces are behind the tanker explosions, pipeline attack, and other incidents.

But the latest reporting suggests that even if this is Irans intention, it is not generally being taken seriously. An editorial by US military veteran and defense expert Brett Velicovich stated on Friday that the specified attacks have Irans fingerprints all over them. Two days earlier, the AP reported that Saudi Arabia had been quick to blame Iran for providing the drone technology and logistical support necessary for carrying out the pipeline attacks that had been claimed by the Houthi. That same report quoted Ali Shihabi of the Arabia Foundation as saying that if Iran is allowed to get away with such activities, the whole security infrastructure in the Gulf will be called into question.

Finally, Reuters published a report on Friday which explained that an oil tanker insurer, Norwegian Shipowners Mutual War Risks Insurance Association, had completed an assessment and determined that the IRGC was most likely to blame for the explosions off the UAE coast. This determination derived from a number of factors, including known information about Iranian military technology and the alignment between such attacks and Irans strategic objectives.

According to the report, one possible objective for Iranian attacks on foreign tankers is to send a message regarding the possibility of interrupting non-Iranian oil trade without closing off the Strait of Hormuz, as Iranians have threatened to do countless times in recent months. In this sense, the regimes latest tactical moves can be said to represent a withdrawal in one area, but an escalation in another.
Citizens Against Child Abuse to hold meeting

CHARLESTON -- Citizens Against Child Abuse will hold its annual meeting at 9 a.m. Monday at Conference Room 1, 825 18th St., Charleston.

This meeting is open to anyone interested in the prevention of child abuse or neglect. Presenting will be Stacey East and Debbie Smith from DCFS. A continental breakfast will be served.

If you have questions, please contact Toq Lawrence, president, at 217-259-1808.

Duplicate Bridge results announced

CHARLESTON -- The results of the duplicate bridge game played on May 13 are:

1 Rich Brummer - Grant Sterling

2 Ann Lang - Bill Morgan

3 Eric Bizzell - Donna Swick

The next game will be held on Monday at 6:45 p.m. at the First Christian Church in Charleston. All bridge players are welcome.

Foster family discussion Monday

EFFINGHAM -- Learn more about the crucial need for local foster families at 6 p.m. Monday in the Workman Room in the Suzette Brumleve Memorial Effingham Public Library.

Local child advocates will provide their perspectives and explain how foster families fill a critical need in the community.

Every year, thousands of foster families across Illinois provide a temporary safe haven for children who have been placed in DCFS care by local courts. DCFS strives to reunite children with their birth families, and nearly half of all foster children are reunified with their families within 12 months. When reunification simply is not possible, as determined by the courts, many foster families choose to adopt the children they have cared for.

Registration is not required for this free event. For more information contact Johnna Schultz, assistant director, at 217-342-2464

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MATTOON  One man is dead and another is in custody following an early Friday morning shooting at Sunrise Apartments, 1817 S. 9th St.

Mark Currie, 29, who lived in the apartment building, was shot in the torso and later pronounced dead, Coles County Coroner Ed Schniers confirmed.

An investigation into the shooting led to the arrest of a suspect, Keith McGrew III of Chicago, at 7:30 a.m. Friday after police located him on foot on Lake Road, a few miles southwest of Mattoon, authorities said in a news release. He was taken into custody without incident.

Officers were dispatched to the apartments at 1:10 a.m. in regards to an unknown disturbance, according to Mattoon police. Upon their arrival, officers located a Currie on the floor of an apartment adjacent to a sliding glass door.

The man had been wounded in the torso and was bleeding. Officers rendered CPR, and Currie was then transported to Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center where he was pronounced dead from gunshot wounds.

According to the news release, McGrew said he came to Mattoon from Chicago last Saturday, and that he was staying with a female at Sunrise Apartments.

The release went on to say McGrew became an acquaintance of Currie over the past few days. Mattoon Police Chief Jason Taylor said McGrew allegedly purchased drugs from and used drugs with the victim.

Early Friday, the two fought, which led to McGrew allegedly shooting and killing Currie, police said. McGrew indicated Currie made "unwanted sexual advances" toward him leading up to the shooting, Taylor said.

McGrew was taken to the Coles County jail on a preliminary charge of murder. Preliminary charges are subject to review by the state's attorney's office.

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DECATUR  Dominic Walker, the 16-year-old from Mattoon who went missing from Decatur on Saturday, died from drowning, according to the Macon County Coroners Office.

An autopsy revealed no evidence of assault, strangulation, blunt trauma or tumor, Macon County Coroner Michael Day said in a statement.

Dominic's body was found by a youth fishing at Dreamland Lake in Fairview Park on Thursday evening, Day said. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:40 p.m.

Police had closed Fairview Park about 5:50 p.m. Thursday and pulled a body from the water, but authorities did not confirm his identity until Friday.

Day said Dominic had been taken to McLean County for a "lengthy and involved post-mortem examination." An inquest is pending.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Dominic's family," Day said.

Dominic, who police said was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and ADHD, was last seen at his father's house in Decatur at 3 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. Saturday. Police on Sunday first announced that he was missing and sought the public's help.

Decatur police detective Sgt. Chris Copeland said this week that police searched Dominic's electronic devices and wooded areas near the location Dominic was last seen.

He said bloodhounds were brought in from Cook County Monday to assist in the search and lead police to no new leads. A special purpose K-9 unit joined the search Tuesday morning, also leading to no new information, Copeland said.

As the search continued Wednesday, officers reviewed surveillance footage from homes and businesses within several blocks of the Decatur home where Dominic was last seen, Copeland said. Police spoke with registered sex offenders in the area and combed through more than 50 abandoned homes and buildings in the area of the 1000 block of West King Street.

Copeland said they searched cemeteries, parks and bodies of water nearby, as well.

Police closed Fairview Park about 5:50 p.m. Thursday. Decatur police, Decatur Park District Police and Decatur Fire Department personnel and other law enforcement agencies were on the scene, along with a police crime scene investigation van.

This story will be updated.

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A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these is legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked these out. Here are the real facts:

CLAIM: Health care law does not mandate that nurses give vaccines.

THE FACTS: Mandatory flu or pneumococcal vaccinations are not a requirement under the Affordable Care Act passed by Congress in 2010, as a post circulating on Facebook suggests. The Affordable Care Act, commonly called "Obamacare," requires insurance providers to cover the full cost of preventive vaccines but the legislation does not require hospital staff to administer those shots to unvaccinated patients. Information in the Facebook post, which is attributed to a nurse whistle-blower, wrongly suggests nurses must give the flu or pneumococcal vaccination to patients who have not had them, even without their consent. "If (nurses) were giving vaccines without consent, that would be assault and we don't do that," John Cullen, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians and a doctor in Alaska, told The Associated Press.

CLAIM: A woman who is raped and seeks an abortion in Texas could be put to death.

FALSE: Women cannot be put to death in Texas for seeking an abortion as a post circulating online this week suggests, although one lawmaker has proposed legislation that would criminalize the procedure. The inaccurate claim sets up a hypothetical situation: "A woman is raped and impregnated by her rapist. She seeks an abortion to end her unwanted pregnancy. Her government puts her to death, but not her rapist. Sharia law in some Islamic country? Nope. Texas." It began appearing on Facebook this month after a bill that would have made abortion a capital offense failed to move forward in the Texas legislature. Women can still legally undergo an abortion in Texas up until 20 weeks of pregnancy. After that point, abortions are banned except in cases where the mother's life is at risk or the fetus has a severe medical abnormality. "The way the law stands currently in Texas there are no criminal penalties for women who have abortions," said Drucilla Tigner, a reproductive rights strategist for the ACLU of Texas.

CLAIM: Photo shows military moms hosted by Melania Trump on Mother's Day.

THE FACTS: The photo, which circulated on Facebook on Mother's Day, May 12, was falsely captioned. Melania Trump did not host such an event on that day. The photo was taken during a Joint Armed Forces Officers' Wives' Luncheon in April 2018. It shows Ivanka Trump  not Melania Trump  who was the guest speaker at the event, seated among members of the Air Force Officers' Spouses' Club of Washington, D.C., one of the groups that attended the luncheon. That group posted the photo on Twitter in April 2018. Facebook users shared it this past Mother's Day and falsely said it was taken 'today.' The caption also suggested the group of women lacked diversity by saying: "What's wrong with this picture?" President Donald Trump and his wife held a Military Spouse Appreciation Day event at the White House on May 10, the Friday before Mother's Day, to honor military mothers and spouses. The first lady tweeted photos of the event last week, which showed a diverse group of attendees.

CLAIM: A Facebook post shows Joel Osteen Ministries refusing to accept a prayer request submitted on the social media platform unless the person pays a $24.99 monthly donation.

THE FACTS: The image circulating on Facebook that appears to show the popular televangelist demanding a donation in exchange for a prayer is a hoax, a spokesman for Osteen's Houston-based Lakewood Church told the AP. The manipulated image shows a screenshot of a Facebook account made to look like that of Joel Osteen Ministries seeking donations from a woman who requested a marital prayer. It is not from Osteen's account. Anyone can submit a prayer request in person, by phone or on the church's website, free of charge, a church official said. Millions of viewers tune in weekly to his televised sermons. "Joel Osteen Ministries never requests money for prayer," Donald Illoff, a spokesman for the church, said in an email to The Associated Press. "The image being circulated is from an impostor account." Last year, 225,000 prayers were submitted to the church, according to Illoff.

CLAIM: Photo shows President Barack Obama bowing to Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

THE FACTS: The photo has been manipulated. Two photos were combined to create the false image that appears to show Obama bowing to Khamenei. It has circulated on social media previously and resurfaced this week on Facebook with a caption that read, "America will not apologize or bow to anyone ever again!!" The original photo of Khamenei was taken by an Agence-France Presse photographer during Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's inauguration ceremony in August 2005. In the photo, Khamenei is seated with his hands crossed as Ahmadinejad bows to him. Obama, then a U.S. Senator, was not present at the event. The other photo used in the altered image was taken by White House photographer in May 2009 when Obama bent over to accommodate the request of a staff member's young child who asked to touch the president's hair while visiting the Oval Office.

This is part of The Associated Press' ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook to identify and reduce the circulation of false stories on the platform.

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SAN FRANCISCO  A California cafe is brewing up what it calls the world's most expensive coffee  at $75 a cup.

Klatch Coffee is serving the exclusive brew, the Elida Natural Geisha 803, at its branches in Southern California and San Francisco.

The 803 in the coffee's name refers to the record-breaking $803 per pound the organic beans sold for at a recent auction after winning the Best of Panama coffee competition, said Bo Thiara, co-owner of the Klatch branch in San Francisco. He calls the annual competition the coffee world's equivalent of the Oscars.

Only 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of the beans were available for purchase, and most went to Japan, China and Taiwan, Thiara said. Klatch secured 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) and is the only chain in North America to have it.

The coffee's high quality and limited supply set off a bidding war that determined its astronomical price, topping last year's winning beans that sold for $601 per pound, Thiara said.

Klatch describes the coffee as a rare variety of Arabica from Panama that has a floral, tea-like flavor with hints of jasmine and berries. The 10 pounds of beans will produce about 80 cups of coffee, Thiara said.
But the results have been disappointing.

China has used its WTO membership to flood other countries with exports, while limiting foreign access to its own market. "Their vision is in a lot of ways zero sum," said Blaine Johnson, a policy analyst who specializes in Asia at the liberal Center for American Progress.

The result is a badly lopsided trading relationship: The U.S. trade deficit with China last year hit a record $379 billion.

"China has effectively used the multilateral trading system to its own advantage, enjoying the benefits of those rules of engagement while not always following those rules in spirit," said Eswar Prasad, a Cornell University economist and former head of the China division at the International Monetary Fund.

Critics now say the Geneva-based WTO, which sets trade rules and mediates disputes, was ill-equipped to handle China's unorthodox blend of capitalism and state control. In the Chinese system, it is tough to tell whether a company is seeking profits in the conventional way or is acting with the support and on behalf of the government to achieve China's strategic goals. The U.S., for example, says that the telecommunications equipment supplied by China's Huawei can be used to spy on foreign countries.
A company that operates prisons and detention centers is increasing what it pays for a job considered one of the worst in America.

The starting pay for corrections and detention officers at The Geo Group has increased to $13 an hour. The pay will rise to $14 in 2020 and $15 in 2021.

The company, based in Boca Raton, Fla., has been getting more detention center contracts from the federal government to house illegal immigrants as the numbers crossing the countrys southwest border has swelled.

Geos CEO George Zoley said he expects the wage hikes to set help recruit employees. We recognize the importance of employee pay, working conditions and total compensation, Zoley said in a news release Monday.

When asked about Geos previous minimum wage, Geo spokesman Pablo Paez said he couldnt elaborate beyond the news release.

Correctional officer jobs are considered one of the worst jobs in America, according to a 2018 ranking by CareerCast. Corrections offers have among the highest injury and illness rates.
President Moon Jae-in gives a speech at a ceremony marking the 39th anniversary of the Gwangju Democratization Movement at Gwangju in South Jeolla Province, Saturday. Yonhap



President Moon Jae-in called for an end to wasteful political strife over the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju, Saturday, saying the country still owes a huge debt to the residents of the city.



Attending the 39th anniversary of the movement against the then military junta led by Chun Doo-hwan, he offered an apology, as the country's sitting president, for the many deaths that resulted in the brutal crackdown that followed.



He lamented continued reckless remarks by some politicians and scholars to distort or play down the truth behind the historic event, officially named the Gwangju Democratization Movement.



"As a Korean, I feel tremendous shame when facing the reality of preposterous remarks denying and insulting the May 18 Democratization Movement still being uttered out loud without any hesitation," he said in a speech at the ceremony held in the city, 268 kilometers south of Seoul.



Earlier this year, three lawmakers with the conservative main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) came under fire for publicly describing the Gwangju uprising as a riot, linking it with North Korea and insulting the bereaved family members of the victims.



Moon said that 20 years ago, "We already reached a national consensus about the historic significance and nature of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and brought relevant legal matters to a close."



"No more controversies about this issue are necessary now. They would simply be a meaningless waste," he stressed. "The truth about the May 18 movement cannot differ between conservatives and liberals."



He emphasized it was aimed at protecting freedom and democracy, saying only "the would-be heirs of a dictatorship" would see it in a different way.



The junta dispatched tank-led paratroopers to crack down on the nine-day uprising, initiated by college students and later joined by many of the city's residents. More than 200 people were killed and 1,800 others wounded.



Moon pointed out, "Much more remains to be done to reveal the truth regarding those in charge of the massacre, secret burials of victims, sexual violence and the firing on protestors from helicopters."



He stressed: "Our task now is to uncover the truth that has yet to be clarified. This will allow us to put down the heavy historical burden that Gwangju has so far shouldered and turn the May of tragedy into the May of hope."



Last year, the government introduced special legislation to create a fact-finding committee, although this has yet to be launched amid a political controversy over its members.



"I urge the National Assembly and those in politics to take on this task with a greater sense of responsibility," the president said. (Yonhap)


Kason Fiedler will perform a recital for the benefit of the Lincoln Music Teachers Association Music Outreach Program (LMTA-MOP) at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 19, in Engel Hall at Union College, 4811 S. 48th St.

The recital is open to the public. A freewill offering will be taken at the door to benefit LMTA-MOP, which provides low-cost music lessons, instruments and their upkeep, and free sheet music to students who could not otherwise afford music lessons.

Fiedler has received piano lessons from Dr. Marina Fabrikant through LMTA-MOP and is now paying it forward by fundraising for the LMTA for Give to Lincoln Day. While studying with Fabrikant, he has consistently received superior ratings in piano performance, theory and ear training at Nebraska Music Teachers Association (NMTA) festivals. In 2016, he won second place in the NMTA state senior piano division competition. Fiedler is now studying music at the University of Nebraska with a tuba emphasis.

Your donation at the recital and online between today and May 30 for Give to Lincoln Day will be eligible for a percentage match from the Lincoln Community Foundation and other donors. Go to GiveToLincoln.com and direct your donation to the Lincoln Music Teachers Association to support its Music Outreach Program operations. To find out more about the LMTA-MOP, see LMTA.info (Music Outreach Program) or (MUSIC Endowment).

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Taking the stage with the rollicking Satan Pulls the Strings, then shifting into the quiet break-up Morning Song, The Avett Brothers kicked off the 2019 Pinewood Bowl season in impressively beautiful fashion, again verifying they are Americas best roots music band.

Shifting through styles  old-timey stomp, to country balladry, a yodel about divorce and rock n roll, the North Carolina band entranced and had the capacity crowd of 4,700 clapping and singing along.

A back-to-back with a no-stop, four-song string midway through the show perhaps best illustrates the Avetts magic. Following the beautiful story song Famous Flower of Manhattan, the band hit the rowdy Distraction #74, then the sweet ballad Go to Sleep."

That was followed by Left on Laura, Left on Lisa, which saw Scott Avett put down his banjo to move to piano and sing Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise, drawing a cheer with the lyric, Your life doesnt change with the man thats elected.

Thats a song from 2016s True Sadness. But it wasnt the nights freshest song  that belonged to a hushed new number that was performed sans title.
Drop-off locations are: Heartland Optical, 1012 N. 27th St.; America's Best, 400 N. 48th St.; Walmart, 84th and Andermatt; Russ's Market at 33rd & Highway 2 and 6300 Havelock Ave.; Super Saver at 27th & Cornhusker Highway, 56th & Highway 2, 27th & Pine Lake Road and the Fallbrook store; Hy-Vee at 84th & Holdrege, 70th & Pioneers Boulevard, 27th & Superior and 6001 Village Drive; Pearle Vision Centers at 125 S. 66th St. and 1201 O St.; Blumenstock Family Eyecare, 1501 Pine Lake Rd.; Boever Family Eyecare, 5801 Hidcote Dr., Suite 200; Sutton and Sutton Eye Specialists, 1710 S. 70th St.; Dr. Thomas Graul, 1610 S. 70th St.; Signature Eyecare, 5630 S. 84th St.; LensCrafters at Gateway Mall; Bud's Thrift Shoppe, 2226 O St.; Lincoln Eye and Laser Institute in the Fallbrook Bryan Health Plaza; and U-Save Pharmacy in Waverly.
Each year, 63 agencies that help those in need in Lincoln receive support from the United Way/Community Health Charities fundraising campaign. Hundreds of volunteers were involved last year in the annual campaign that started in 1923, and many were in the Lincoln Cornhusker Marriott Hotel ballroom April 29 to hear that their efforts had raised $6.7 million to help meet basic needs in three focus areas -- health, income and education.

Linda Robinson Rutz, community volunteer and president of the United Way board of directors, stood in for Jim Barone of Ameritas, who chaired the 2018 campaign. She recognized leaders in the campaign such as Pacesetters that kicked off the campaign last summer and increased their giving over 5%.

Tocqueville members, who give $10,000 annually, added 11 new members and represented over 14% of the total campaign. Thirty-two new businesses contributed to the 2018 campaign, and agencies that are supported by United Way increased their own giving by 12%. More than 400 companies and organizations overall were involved in the effort.
Mabel Lee joined in 1924 and Bess Richards in '25. Maude Paine (Miller & Paine) was an early member and Barbara Bush, no relation to G.W., joined as well.

In 1969, two women were accepted for membership and one of them is present at the Nebraska Club Tuesday, sitting at the head of the long table.

Margaret Penney wears her white hair in a short bob, a long-retired P.E. instructor at the university down the street.

The remaining attendees -- teachers and professors and musicians -- sit in order of their tenure, from Lillian Lemon (1973) to Mary Kay Quinlan (2012).

They spend their last formal gathering recalling the fabulously funny skits, the singalongs with Dorothy Applebee (1975) on the keyboard, the places they met, the traditions that remain -- tapping their long-handled wooden spoons on the table in appreciation.

You had to dress for dinner, says Theresa Reinhard (1993), who grew up watching her mom get ready to go to the monthly supper club. It just looked like so much fun.

She recounts the time that her mother, Louise Alfrey (1976), went to a spring meeting in an Easter bonnet made from a Frisbee strung with plastic eggs, sombrero style.
Investigators interviewed 16 Medicare beneficiaries, including a Lincoln woman, who identified Sutko in a photo lineup. Vaccaro said she was shown a list of knee, ankle and back braces that his company billed on her behalf between 2014 and 2015 and said she hadn't received any of them.

Better Lives billed Medicare $4,359.05 and received $3,120.38. The Lincoln woman said she didn't receive any of the money, either.

Vaccaro said investigators talked to another Lincoln woman who recalled Better Lives doing a presentation at her senior living facility. She said company representatives showed her and other residents braces and back pillows they could order.

She was having trouble with her knees and was told her doctor could prescribe knee braces. She got them later in the mail. But she never saw the diabetic shoes she was promised by Better Lives. And, she said, it never responded to the messages she left asking about them.

Vaccaro said the documents show the company billed Medicare $3,273.19 for the woman's knee, back and wrist braces, the shoes and a heating pad. Medicare paid out $2,351.14.
The ninth year of the Nebraska Ag Sack Lunch Program has been the biggest one yet. By the time the program wraps up later in May, nearly 5,250 fourth-grade students from 108 schools will have participated in this years program.

The Ag Sack Lunch Program provides free sack lunches to Nebraska fourth-graders who visit the State Capitol Building as part of their curriculum. While the students eat their lunch, they listen to a short presentation about agriculture in Nebraska. The sessions are led by Ag Ambassadors, University of Nebraska-Lincoln students who are passionate about agricultural education.

The event is designed to be a fun learning program for the students and, by extension, their parents, to demonstrate the importance of agriculture to Nebraska and show them where their food comes from.

Teachers whose classes have participated continue to give the program positive reviews:

I appreciate the information that was presented because it caught the attention of the kids," said Pam Schrader, who teaches at Lincoln Christian School. "The deck of cards will further inform the kids with interesting agriculture facts.
Crete School Board President Justin Kuntz on Saturday morning released a statement explaining why Crete Public Schools ended the school year Thursday  a day earlier than scheduled.

The statement said school administrators were advised by the Saline County Sheriff's Office on Thursday night that a person with ties to students and staff had expressed an intent to harm local schools.

Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol interviewed the person and determined that the person was not a danger to others, according to Kuntz. District officials asked local law enforcement about restraint or surveillance of the person during school hours Friday, but law enforcement declined to provide those services.

"Consequently, the Crete Board of Education and our team of Administrators felt that we had to err on the side of caution and cancel class when we could not be guaranteed to know the location of this individual between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday," Kuntz wrote.

He mentioned a similar situation recently in the Millard Public School District, when a similar threat resulted in the arrest and detention of a person threatening harm.
Joel Green, local author and mentor of Lincoln Public Schools' highly gifted students, encourages his students to compete in writing contests. The just-completed school year in particular yielded excellent results.

Green, whose book "Robbers Cave: Truths, Legends, Recollections" is being considered for the Nebraska Book Award, has been mentoring gifted students in writing for LPS for 14 years.

This year, five of his students have received honors for writing:

John Neihardt Young Poets Contest (140 entries from across the state) - Clara Kendrick (8th grade, Irving), 1st place; Jude Kroeze (8th grade, Irving) 2nd place.

VFW Patriots Pen Essay Contest - Daniel Schafer (8th grade, Irving), 1st place; Jude Kroeze (8th grade, Irving) 2nd place; Clara Kendrick (8th grade, Irving) 3rd place.

Letters About Literature Contest - Maren Steinke (6th grade, Irving), alternate winner.

Bess Street Streeter Aldrich Short Story Contest - Zan Harner (5th grade, Sheridan), 2nd place; Maren Steinke (6th Grade, Irving), 3rd place.

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Walker said he's not very impressed with the proposed Nebraska Parkway name, but his bigger concern is the work that will be involved with a street name change. He said the address change will affect payroll, bills that get sent to the diner and a number of other documents.

"There will be considerable work involved in it," he said.

He joked that he would not consider changing the name of the restaurant, though.

There are a few street name change requests in the city each year, but they usually are small and often cover roads that haven't been built yet.

Large changes such as Nebraska 2 don't occur very often.

"Rosa Parks Way is about the last one I can think of," Henrichsen said of the section of Capitol Parkway that was changed in 2007 to honor the civil rights pioneer.

Construction of the South Beltway will result in one other new street name.

Henrichsen said the city is proposing a connector road going from the beltway to 27th Street be called Jamaica Avenue.

The name pays homage to the town of Jamaica, which was platted in the area in the 1880s but never developed.

Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.

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This staff tends to stay even if the money isn't great, because there's a lot of professional development, parents are highly involved and the student body tends to be stable and homogenous.

What would happen if we yanked all the great teachers out of high-performing schools and swapped them with middling- to low-performing educators whose professional goals were merely to make it to retirement?

Maybe not much.

As if we don't have enough research to prove that the rich keep getting richer while even the poor who manage to pull themselves up by their bootstraps get poorer, new data out of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) says that all the things we think matter in education take a back seat to socioeconomic status.

"The most talented disadvantaged youth don't do as well as the least-talented advantaged youth," says the CEW report "Born to Win, Schooled to Lose: Why Equally Talented Students Don't Get Equal Chances to Be All They Can Be."
Redistricting shouldnt sneak up on the Nebraska Legislature  it always comes every 10 years.

In 2020, a new U.S. census will be conducted. The updated demographics will be released the following year, with the Legislature then required to partition new districts, based on population, for the state.

Yet, following the acrimony and controversy of the 2011 redistricting, no meaningful reform has occurred. Several efforts  including one that reached Gov. Pete Ricketts desk in 2016  have failed, and action on two competing plans introduced this year has been delayed until next year.

The Legislature left itself little margin for error to complete this needed reform heading into 2020s 60-day session. Unless senators pass and the governor signs a bill in next years packed window, the same framework will govern the redistricting process.

Here, the status quo is less than ideal.
PLEASANT PRAIRIE  The village Plan Commission has approved the first phase of construction for a German candy makers first Wisconsin manufacturing facility with a corporate campus in the Prairie Highlands Corporate Park.

Following a public hearing on May 13, the commission voted unanimously favoring approval of a zoning text amendment, along with preliminary site and operation plans for Haribo of America Manufacturing. The candy maker expects to begin the initial phase of construction this fall, as part of a four-phase development, on the 137-acre property at 12488 Goldbear Drive in the corporate park, which is located west of Interstate 94 and south of Highway 165.

The initial phase includes construction of:

A three-story manufacturing facility, with a four-story administrative support building and office spaces;

A fire pump utility building;

A central wastewater pretreatment building;

A gatehouse for a buffer warehouse;

And a buffer warehouse for incoming raw materials and finished goods.

The largest of the buildings in the first phase are the 602,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and the 162,500-square-foot warehouse. The building site is on about 6 million square feet, according to the companys plans submitted to the village. Haribo officials have said the new facility expects to employ 450 employees and will produce and store about 66,000 tons of gummy candies each year.

Employee amenities

According to Jean Werbie-Harris, the villages community development director, future phases are expected to include a distribution center, multistory parking, a retail store, a helicopter pad, a museum, a fitness center and a day care facility.

Haribo officials have said the fitness center and day care would be for company employees to start, with possible consideration for public use in the future.

According to the plans, construction would begin this fall or by spring of next year. Much of the warehouse construction is expected to be completed by the fall of 2020, with the manufacturing facility anticipated to be finished the following year in the fall of 2021.

During the public hearing, Patrick and Jayne Perlman  Bristol residents who live near the site  wondered about the change in parapet screening for mechanical equipment that would be on the rooftop of a packaging area of the Haribo development.

According to Werbie-Harris, while the village zoning ordinance calls for it, the need for additional screening would not be necessary as developers plan to move the equipment several hundred feet away from the wall at the roofs edge.

Project manager and senior engineer Brian Dunn, of Mead & Hunt, which represents the Haribo development, said large building elements on the west side of the building would screen almost all the mechanical equipment.

You will be able to see some mechanical equipment on the roof from that corner (at 120th Avenue), but not a lot of it, he said.

Currently, the village work crews are constructing stormwater facilities and other public improvements at the site, Werbie-Harris said. The improvements are expected to be completed by October.

In approving the plans, Mike Pollocoff, a village trustee and Plan Commission member, said they represent an excellent development in the village. The plans will advance to the Village Board later this month.

Were looking forward to the next phase of this construction, and Pleasant Prairies very pleased you chose us here, said Mike Serpe, the Plan Commission chairman and Village Board member. I guarantee you wont regret that decision.

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Area residents may know the DeKoven Center as an interesting historic site in our community  one whose roots date back more than 150 years to its founding as Racine College, and that today serves as a wedding/reception venue and Retreat & Conference Center.

Soon, the DeKoven Center will also be known to people everywhere for offering some of the Midwests most unique Airbnb accommodations. Weve been busy in recent months converting several apartments on our historic, lakefront property into newly-furnished units, designed specifically for Airbnb rentals.

For those unfamiliar with Airbnb, it is a global online marketplace through which people rent out their own properties, or spare rooms, to guests. It offers todays travelers an intriguing variety of accommodations and experiences. And we are excited to be able to share DeKovens unique brand of hospitality with a wider audience, through Airbnb.

Two of the units offer one-bedroom apartment accommodations, located in the Gatehouse on the south end of campus. A third, two-bedroom unit is in one of DeKovens East buildings, facing Lake Michigan. All three will offer guests the historic charm that DeKoven is known for, along with comfortable new furnishings, full kitchens, WiFi access, free onsite parking and easy access to Lake Michigan and Downtown Racine.

Keep an eye out for these rental units on the Airbnb website, as we plan to launch them there soon. And keep them in mind next time you have family or friends coming to town, or are just looking for a fun, affordable place to escape to for a weekend!

Dr. Who and more

In the meantime, we continue to host a wide range of groups at DeKovens Retreat & Conference Center, while our wedding chapel and reception venues are already in motion for their busiest season.

This summer, DeKoven will also offer two of our own retreats, which are open to the general public. First up is the Long Summer Retreat, taking place June 16-20 in Taylor Hall.

This annual retreat draws people from throughout the Midwest in search of deeper spiritual reflection and fellowship. Jesus is the Answer: Whats Your Question? is the topic of this years retreat, to be led by the Rev. Brian Hastings of Chicagos Episcopal Church of Our Saviour. All are welcome.

In July, fans of the BBC television series Dr. Who will recognize a familiar sight on the DeKoven Center grounds. A TARDIS  Dr. Whos fictional time machine and spacecraft  will be stationed outside during a new retreat taking place here July 19-21 that will explore The Gospel According to Dr. Who.

Led by the Rev. Deborah Woolsey, the two-night retreat will feature screenings of past episodes and discussions of the Christian themes that can be found in them. But, you dont have to be a Dr. Who fan, or of any particular faith, to participate. Even those who have yet to see a single episode are welcome to join this time of finding God in all of time and space.

Woolsey, who serves as rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Athens, Ohio, led a series of The Gospel According to Dr. Who programs with her parish last year. And several parishioners who did not know about Dr. Who were delighted to learn something new and appreciate learning to look for the sacred in the secular, she said. They, too, had a TARDIS on the church grounds and found that it reminded them that interacting with the Holy Spirit can be playful and joyful and still be holy, Woolsey said.

More information about these, and other DeKoven sponsored retreats is available at www.dekovencenter.org/new-events. Information and registrations are also available by calling 262-633-6401, ext. 110, or sending an email to lroberts@dekovencenter.org.

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RACINE  A homeless man faces burglary charges after he allegedly attempted to enter several homes before sunrise and stole car keys, a bicycle, a lighter and a purse from a home in West Racine last month.

Racine Police to carry free books for kids in squad cars again RACINE  After a five-year absence, the books-in-squads program from Cops N Kids and the Racine Police Department is coming back.

According to a criminal complaint:

At about 4 a.m. on April 21, a man was seen by a womans security camera in the 1200 block of Blaine Avenue. In the video, the man attempted to open the front door, but appeared to be scared off by dogs inside the home.

Nine hours later, Racine police officers were called to the 3400 block of Wright Avenue in reference to a burglary, about two blocks south of the other address. Officers were told that car keys and a purse were missing from a home, and the homeowners suspected that they had mistakenly left a door unlocked, someone had entered during the night and took some of their belongings.

Later that day, police were called to the 3400 block of First Avenue, about 3.5 miles to the northwest, for a report of a suspicious person. In the backyard of a home, they found a man  45-year-old William Latarus Vinson  lying on the ground.

Vinson was reportedly wearing the same clothing as the man recorded on the security cameras that morning. He also allegedly had in his possession the lighter that had been taken from the Wright Avenue home that morning, as well as a bicycle that had reportedly been taken from the basement, which the owners didnt initially realize was gone.

Vinson was charged Friday with attempted burglary of a building, burglary of a dwelling and two counts of misdemeanor bail jumping.

He was convicted in January for theft and sentenced to 10 days in jail after pleading guilty, according to online court records. Since, hes been charged with disorderly conduct in February and possession of THC in April.

Since 1992, Vinson hasnt gone more than four years without a criminal conviction in Wisconsin, according to police.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Thursday at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave. He remained in custody as of Friday night at the County Jail.

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RACINE  A Racine man, already serving prison time on a drug charge and accused of providing a fatal dose of cocaine to a 33-year-old man, was sentenced Friday to an additional three years in prison.

Rebecca Madsen, mother of Ryan Spencer, said the day her son died  Feb. 18, 2018  was the worst day of her life.

A part of me was torn out of my body and left a hole that will never be filled, Madsen said through tears.

Investigators believe that friends of her son  Matthew Halkowitz, 37, of the 3400 block of North Main Street, and Jana L. Mehevic, 31, of Caledonia  traveled to Milwaukee to purchase drugs for Spencer, who later died of a drug overdose. An autopsy indicated that the Spencers death was caused by cocaine and fentanyl intoxication.

Halkowitz and Mehevic initially faced charges for first-degree reckless homicide, delivery of cocaine and delivery of schedule I or II narcotics. On Feb. 28, Halkowitz pleaded guilty to delivery of cocaine. The rest of the charges were dismissed but considered for sentencing purposes.

Mehevic pleaded guilty to two counts of delivery of cocaine. She is scheduled to be sentenced Monday.

Madsen called Halkowitz an evil presence in her sons life. A friend would have told Ryan he did not need drugs, Madsen said.

When addressing the court on Friday, Halkowitz apologized to Spencers family and said he wished things had turned out differently.

I do think about him every night, and I wish things hadnt turned out the way they did, Halkowitz said. I am living my consequences every day, every day I wake up.

Halkowitz is serving a four-year sentence stemming from a 2013 possession of heroin case in Racine County. He was originally sentenced to community supervision for that charge, but his probation was revoked. Halkowitz will serve three additional years after his January 2022 release date for the 2013 conviction.

You have devoted your life, and thrown away the many fine things that were laid upon your table, in exchange for whatever is it that you feel when you take any of the myriad drugs that you have spent your life pursuing, Racine County Circuit Court Judge Mark Nielsen said.

New drug charges

Halkowitz netted new drug charges in December after he was reportedly found with heroin on Dec. 29 at the Sauk County Jail.

According to the Sauk County criminal complaint, a deputy found a small rock of heroin wrapped in a piece of paper in Halkowitzs sock during a search of a jail pod. A plastic bag with 4.3 grams of heroin was later found hidden inside Halkowitzs anus. He later tested positive for opiates.

Its clear that he is not changing his mindset, hes not understanding the seriousness of his offense, Racine County Assistant District Attorney Micha Schwab said. What has changed? Because he is locked up, hes getting heroin in the prison and lying about it.

Drug epidemic

Every day on the news we hear about the drug epidemic in the country, and Judge, today, you are seeing it. You are seeing the catastrophic events that this drug epidemic is having, specifically on Racine County, said Schwab.

Halkowitzs attorney, Robert Keller, said that Halkowitz and Spencer are addicts, something he often sees while serving as an attorney. He said Halkowitz did not intend to hurt anybody and had purchased drugs from Spencer in the past. He (Spencer) has engaged in the same type of behavior that is being looked at today, Keller said.

Schwab admitted that while Spencer took the drugs himself, Halkowitz and Mehevic also played a role in his death. She also pointed to a pre-sentence investigation report, which she said shows that Halkowitz only feels bad for himself.

Nielsen himself called Halkowitzs responses in the report breathtakingly narcissistic.

You have devoted your life and thrown away the many fine things that were laid upon your table in exchange for whatever is it that you feel when you take any of the myriad drugs that you have spent your life pursuing. Mark Nielsen, Racine County Circuit Court judge

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CALEDONIA  A man with a criminal record was reportedly arrested Friday morning when 8.3 pounds of marijuana plus 499 vape cartridges containing 1 gram of THC each were found in his home.

In a statement, Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling called out the man, Goran Ivic, 38, for receiving food stamps while also having about $44,860 worth of illegal marijuana-based substances in his home.

According to the Sheriffs Office, the local street value for one pound of marijuana is $3,000 and THC-laced vape cartridges cost between $30 and $50 each.

I understand the debate about marijuana, but it should anger all of us that Goran Ivic, a convicted felon, is a recipient of the taxpayer-funded FoodShare Wisconsin program, also known as QUEST, (and) was busy selling thousands of dollars worth of illegal drugs to the very community who financially supports and feeds him. Mr. Ivic provided no proof or verification of legitimate employment whatsoever, Schmaling stated.

Racine Police Chief focuses on opioids, cocaine RACINE  While violent crime has reduced significantly in Racine over the years, drugs remain a problem.

The Racine County Sheriffs Office said Friday that the countys Metro Drug Unit was assisted by the Caledonia Police Departments K-9 unit when executing a search warrant on Ivics home in the 4700 block of Douglas Avenue.

Also found in his home were a digital scale, drug paraphernalia and drug packaging tools.

The vape cartridges appear to have been made legally in another state, then likely were shipped to Ivic. The same goes for the marijuana, according to the sheriffs office.

Ivic is a convicted felon, with drug-related offenses committed in New Hampshire, sheriffs officials said.

Ivic remained in custody Friday night at the County Jail on pending charges of possession of THS with intent to deliver; keeping a drug house; and possession of drug paraphernalia.

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RACINE  Lights, camera, action!

Tonight teens from throughout Greater Racine will flock to Festival Hall in Downtown Racine for the 2019 Racine Rotary Post Prom.

The event, which features a parade of vehicles dropping off students, a red carpet, food and activities, is a Racine tradition dating to 1953. It has grown to include nine area high schools and more than 1,300 participants, according to early estimates from the Racine Founders Rotary Club, which hosts the annual event.

In past years there have been students arriving on elephants and horses. Animal-drawn vehicles and animal riders are no longer permitted, but students arrive in everything from classic cars and convertibles to fire trucks, farm tractors or pizza delivery cars.

The parade is scheduled to be broadcast live on WCGV-TV (Channel 24) and will stream online at www.my24milwaukee.com from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The Journal Times plans to post photo galleries of students from all schools tonight at journaltimes.com.

Parents and spectators are welcome to watch the Rotary Post Prom in person from behind barricades or from the Rotary VIP seats, which can purchased in advance at www.racinefounders.org, or in person starting at 7:30 p.m. at the white ticket booth near the red carpet. Seats are $10.

The following is the list of schools participating in the Post Prom parade, their departure times from their schools and arrival time at Post Prom. Times are approximate.

St. Catherines: Departs school at 8:15 p.m., arrives at Festival Hall at 8:30 p.m.

Walden III: Departs school at 8:35 p.m., arrives at 8:40 p.m.

Lutheran: Departs school at 8:25 p.m., arrives at 8:45 p.m.

The Prairie School: Departs school at 8:30 p.m., arrives at 8:55 p.m.

Horlick: Departs school at 8:40 p.m., arrives at 9 p.m.

Park: Departs school at 9:10 p.m., arrives at 9:20 p.m.

Union Grove: Departs school at 9:10 p.m., arrives at 9:40 p.m.

REAL School: Departs school at 9:20 p.m., arrives at 9:55 p.m.

Case High School: arrives at 10 p.m.

About Rotary

Hosting the Rotary Post Prom is one of the ways Rotary embodies its slogan Service Above Self and has been serving the Racine community for more than 100 years, Rotary members said in a news release about the event.

The clubs mission is to provide service to local and international communities with a focus on youth while promoting integrity and generosity through fun and active fellowship of community leaders.

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RACINE  The State of Wisconsin lost 1,161 people in the Vietnam War. Forty-seven of them were from Racine.

At Fridays opening ceremony at Pritchard Park, 2800 Ohio St., for the Moving Wall, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Pat Adams, the coordinator for the Moving Walls Racine appearance, read the names of all 47, in the order in which they died.

Their family members and friends knelt to place a poppy under their name. For those who didnt have anyone representing them, women dressed as Donut Dollies, the Red Cross workers who cared for soldiers during the war, placed the flowers instead.

The first person from Racine who died in Vietnam was Gilbert Nickerson, in 1965, two years after he and Adams graduated from St. Catherines High School.

Adams, a member of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 767, remembered that she was already a nurse doing medical evacuations when she heard the news. Fifty-four years later, she still has a hard time talking about it.

Struggling to speak

The silence surrounding their service is common among Vietnam veterans. While Korea is commonly called the forgotten war, many of the people who lived through and lost loved onesin the Vietnam War still struggle to talk about that conflict.

Tom Banner, who also helped organize the wall visit, said that he was friends with someone for more than 25 years before they both realized they were both Vietnam veterans. Unlike World War II, when it seemed everyone was behind the war effort, Banner said Vietnam was so polarizing he didnt talk to people about his service because he didnt know how they would react.

It became a political war, said Banner. It was a war fought by politicians, not the military.

Banner said he believes that while some technology made the war more deadly, having medical evacuation helicopters to transport the wounded to safety also saved a lot of lives.

But those survivors had to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder at a time when it was not well understood. Banner remembered that when his battalion was in Vietnam, they didnt lost a single soldier.

But the first night they went back to the U.S. for training, one of his fellow soldiers drank too much, drove head-on into a tree and died. Several more died during those six months from incidents that Banner believes were spurred by PTSD. None of their names are on the wall.

Thats the main reason we bring (The Moving Wall), is to educate the community, said Banner. About the price the war had on veterans and the community.

Banner credits a May 2010 event, LZ Lambeau Welcome Home Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans  which included a documentary and book on Wisconsin Vietnam veterans war stories  for giving veterans an opportunity to share their stories.

Educating the next generation

Before Fridays opening ceremony, a group of about 60 kids from Gifford School had visited after learning about the Vietnam War in history class.

Racine Mayor Cory Mason was among those who spoke at the opening ceremony; he talked of raising a generation that doesnt understand what their grandparents generation went through.

I was thinking about my parents generation and where they are ... and I was thinking about our kids, and where our kids are, and whether or not theyve heard these stories, and whether or not they know about the sacrifice of those who served during the Vietnam War made, said Mason.

So bringing this here to the City and the County of Racine really gives a great opportunity for those who served to reflect here in their hometown ... but also for those in our community who dont know the story, and havent had the opportunity to give the reverence to those in our community who served and gave the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their country.

The Moving Wall will be available for viewing 24 hours a day until 3:30 p.m. Monday.

Editor's Note: This report has been update to correct the spelling of Robert Bairs name in the list of Vietnam casualties from Racine County.

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RAYMOND  A Franklin man died after his pickup crashed into a construction crane Thursday morning on Seven Mile Road, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation reported Friday.

The man has been identified as 58-year-old Peter Kaishian, Racine County Medical Examiner Michael Payne said Friday afternoon.

At 8:05 a.m. Thursday, a GMC Sierra reportedly driven by Kaishian was traveling east on Seven Mile Road from the West Frontage Road when it crossed the center line and struck a parked Terex construction crane.

According to the DOT, Kaishian was not wearing his seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle. Raymond Fire Department EMTs transported Kaishian to Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa, where he was pronounced dead.

The Racine County Sheriffs Office in addition to the Raymond Fire and Rescue Department responded to the scene.

Payne said Friday he is awaiting autopsy results to determine Kaishians cause of death.

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RACINE  Racine County veterans and their families and friends will once again have the opportunity to visit a traveling half-scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial today through Monday at Pritchard Park.

According to the Moving Wall website, the wall was created after veteran John DeVitt went to the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., in 1982. He was so moved that Devitt vowed to share that experience with those who did not have the opportunity to go to Washington.

The Moving Wall was built by Vietnam veteran volunteers and went on display for the first time in Tyler, Texas, in October 1984. For the past 35 years, between April and November, two structures of The Moving Wall travel the country.

Vietnam Veterans Chapter 767 of Racine hosted the wall in 2005 and 2015. Although it is typically a 10-year wait to host the wall again, The Moving Walls custodians were so impressed with the presentation and response in Racine that they requested that the chapter host it again for their 35th anniversary this year.

Pat Adams, who is coordinating The Moving Wall event for the third time, said Moving Wall custodians were impressed with the way Chapter 767 organized and displayed the wall and the response from the community, of course, Adams said.

In 2005 and 2015, Adams said, approximately 30,000 attendees came to view the wall each time. Racine is very veteran-oriented, which is a wonderful thing, Adams said.

The Moving Wall will be available for viewing at Pritchard Park, 2800 Ohio St., starting at noon today. It will be available to see around the clock until 3:30 p.m. Monday, when it will be taken down and moved to Greenfield.

Adams said the reason Chapter 767 got involved with the event was because of a belief that children are not being taught in school about the Vietnam War in the same way they are learning about other wars. The kids are not made aware of what this war was about, Adams said. We teach the kids about the war and the effect of the war on the community.

Events planned

On Friday, a Ride to the Wall is planned. Motorcycles will begin staging at 3 p.m. at The Nash, 522 Sixth St., and depart from there at 4 p.m. Also at 4 p.m., a concert featuring the Belle City Brassworks will begin at Pritchard Park.

During the opening ceremony, which is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Friday, the names of the 47 Racine County Vietnam veterans who lost their lives in the war will be read. Adams said 35 of the lives lost will be represented; however, anyone with a relationship with the remaining 12 may place a rose during the opening ceremony. For more information on rose-laying ceremony, call Don Heck at 262-639-2124.

On Saturday, Quilts of Honor of Southeast Wisconsin will present handmade quilts to veterans at noon. A Mass is also set for 4:30 p.m. at the small pavilion.

On Sunday, a nondenominational sunrise service is scheduled to be held at 9 a.m. A concert featuring Gilmore Fine Arts Choir is also planned for noon, followed by closing ceremonies at 1 p.m.

Adams said the event is still desperately in need of volunteers, as volunteers are needed to staff The Moving Wall 24 hours a day. For volunteer information or opportunities, call Ellen Myers at 262-638-8705 to sign up. For more information, contact Adams at 262-634-6859.

Donations can be sent to: Moving Wall 2019, P.O. Box 081036, Racine WI 53408-1036. Donations are tax-deductible.

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The Wisconsin Department of Corrections, under the direction of Gov. Tony Evers secretary-designee, Kevin Carr, recently decided to give a $5 per hour increase to correctional officers and other staff in every maximum security prison in Wisconsin  except the Boscobel Prison.

The DOC told me that they did not give Boscobel the same raise as other comparable prisons because Boscobel doesnt have as dire a vacancy rate as the other prisons. Yes, they still have vacancies, but their rate isnt as bad as other prisons, so their staff doesnt get a raise. So, basically, the staff at Boscobel is being punished for doing a good job of retention and recruitment. All of their staff lose out on a $5 per hour raise because they are not suffering enough.

The DOC has made an unfair decision, and it is a mistake.

I believe that the DOC may create a new vacancy problem at the Boscobel Prison by picking winners and losers. Why would anyone, who is able to move to another facility, stay? They have the opportunity to make $10,000 more per year for doing the same job.

When the DOC announced this decision, it did not provide this information to staff at Boscobel or the legislators who represent them until we found out from workers at other institutions. Once it did, Rep. Travis Tranel, R-Cuba City, and I immediately reached out to secretary-designee Carr to request his reconsideration. To date, all we have received is a fact sheet on the raise pilot program for other institutions and a withdrawn invitation for a listening session.

Despite Gov. Evers consistent call for transparency and bi-partisan collaboration, I was personally uninvited to a listening session between DOC leadership and staff at the Boscobel Prison on May 8, 2019. Several constituents who work there contacted me to tell me about the session and encouraged me to attend so I could hear what they were going to hear firsthand. I planned to attend and communicated this to DOC leadership.

On the morning of the meeting, I received a phone call and was told that I was not allowed to attend the meeting because it was an internal meeting and not open to the public. As the legislator who represents these workers and whom is also working on the state budget, I thought this reason was rather concerning.

Further, I have been told by a staff member that the DOC officials told them, at the meeting, that if they want a raise, they need to grow their vacancy rate (in other words  fail) or start blaming legislators. Again, I didnt hear this first hand, because I was uninvited, but it is deeply concerning that leadership in the department would lead their staff to this conclusion.

I was also told that staff at Boscobel were told at the meeting that they will not be allowed to transfer to another institution that is paying more for the first three months of this program and even then, it will be based on seniority. So, not only is the department offering other workers more money for the same job, they may also be preventing the staff at Boscobel from leaving now that we have pointed out the threat that the DOC is creating to the vacancy rate at Boscobel. If this is true, it directly contradicts the FAQ document the DOC gave to me. I have asked the DOC to tell me if this is true, but they have not responded. I hope this is a mistake, but this is what one staff member took away from the listening session.

I continue to be disappointed in the departments decision to give every other maximum security prison a temporary $5 per hour increase in their wages. The staff at Boscobel should not be punished for doing a good job. I have asked the secretary-designee to reconsider this decision.

In addition, as a member of the Joint Finance Committee, I will continue to work on the overall compensation plan for the Department of Corrections. This has always been the plan.

We are in the middle of the state budget process and compensation for DOC will be part of this conversation. However, I have concerns about how this unfair, inequitable pilot program will impact our conversation. I hope that Gov. Evers and the DOC will work with us to solve these problems and restore transparency and collaboration in this process. No matter what, I will continue to work hard on behalf of the people I serve.

For more information and to connect with me, visit my website http://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/17/marklein and subscribe to my weekly E-Update by sending an email to Sen.Marklein@legis.wisconsin.gov. Do not hesitate to call 800-978-8008 if you have any questions or need assistance with any state-related matters.

Republican Howard Marklein, Spring Green, represents the 17th state Senate District.

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David and Diane Hoffman of N3267 Mohawk Valley Road, Stoddard, will host the Vernon County Open Woods event, Saturday, May 25, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of the Wisconsin Woodland Owners Associations (WWOA) 40th-year anniversary celebration.

All are welcome to join the Hoffman Family at their Lone Willow Tree Farm for this free event. Are you a woodland owner who would like to learn more about caring for your woodlands and keeping it healthy? Perhaps youre thinking of purchasing woodlands? Or maybe you would just like to spend a beautiful spring day in the woods with your family? This day is for you.

The Open Woods event will begin at 9 a.m. The day will start with a welcome from the landowners and introduction of the speakers. At 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., join Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Forester Christine Walroth and UW-Extension Forester Randy Mell as they walk (or ride) through the woods. The guided walk will go through portions of the 120 acres of woodland that has been in Managed Forest Law for 44 years with lots of walnut, oak and maple trees. Learn tree and invasive species identification. Watch a portable sawmill demonstration. Stump the Forester with your questions while on the walk. The Hoffman Family invites you to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature while you eat. Motorized tours will be available to accommodate those of all mobility ranges. Event partners at this location are Vernon County Farmers Union and Organic Valley.

Lone Willow Tree Farm is located at N3267 Mohawk Road near Stoddard. It is 3 miles south of La Crosse off Hwy. 35. Turn left on Mohawk Valley Road. Drive 1.5 miles to farm. Watch for Open Woods signs.

The Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association is a nonprofit, educational organization, established in 1979 for and by Wisconsins private woodland owners interested in becoming better stewards of their woodlands. WWOA offers year-round educational opportunities for novice and experienced private woodland owners who want to improve the health of their woods. Learn more about WWOA by visiting wisconsinwoodlands.org or for a free informational packet, contact WWOA at wwoa@uwsp.edu or 715-346-4798. Additional Open Woods sites can be found on the website under the Events tab at Open Woods Events.

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A former Washington state bank CEO was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Wisconsin to one year in prison for multi-year tax fraud of more than $800,000, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

U.S. District Judge William M. Conley sentenced Victor Karpiak, 64, of La Crosse, formerly of Seattle, to one year and one day in prison, one year of supervised release and a $150,000 fine for filing a false tax return.

Karpiak failed to report more than $2.3 million in income on his taxes while President and CEO of First Savings Bank Northwest in Renton, Wash., according to the U.S. Justice Department.

According to the Justice Department:

Karpiak, who retired in 2013, was originally charged in the Western District of Washington but chose to have the case moved to La Crosse after moving to the Midwest.

Karpiak was a trustee and consultant for a woman who was the beneficiary of a family and marital trust for about six years, between 2010 and 2016. During that time, he paid himself more than $3 million but reported less than a third of that income, about $940,000.

The tax loss on more than $2 million in income is about $860,000. Karpiak will pay the IRS about $860,000, as well as any civil penalties or interest. Interest alone could amount to more than $140,000.

Prosecutors said Karpiak engaged in tax fraud despite having a high salary and benefits as a bank CEO. Karpiak has four homes across two states, multiple luxury vehicles and a pension of more than $150,000 annually, according to the Justice Department.

As part of his sentencing hearing, Karpiak made a payment on his tax obligation of more than $1 million.

Our system of government relies on individuals -- particularly high-earners such as Karpiak -- to pay a modest portion of earnings toward communal projects and programs.  (T)he true victim of Karpiaks greed remains the public and his fellow taxpayers, from whom he effectively stole, prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.

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La Crosse County criminal justice practitioners are getting better at predicting whether the countys offenders will have a repeat offense, thanks to a study by a UW-La Crosse professor and her students.

With help from several UW-L students, the Evidence-Based Decision Making Team is evaluating three questions they ask offenders during their initial booking, called the Arrest Proxy.

The survey is given to those arrested to assess their risk of re-offending.

The proxy score is used in the initial booking into jail and in some parts of the pre-trial process to determine the best response in order to promote public safety and a successful return to the community says Lisa Kruse, assistant professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice. It is very important that this is an accurate initial indicator of risk.

Kruse says results suggest that two of the three questions accurately assess the risk to re-offend. She and her team of students have suggested that the first question be eliminated to increase the accuracy on risk.

As the chair of the nationally funded Evidence-Based Decision Making group for La Crosse County, Kruse was asked to validate the questions. The local criminal justice system in La Crosse has committed to being evidence-based in their practices, she explains. It was important to them that an initial assessment of risk was backed by evidence.

Kruse involved students from her classes in the study to provide high-impact practices for students planning to enter criminal justice-related work. Their effort was both service-learning and research. Being able to validate the arrest proxy gives students the opportunity to take what they are learning in the classroom and apply it to a real-world example, she says.

Kruse says their work also exposes them to leading practitioners in the area, increasing their recognition and opportunities to gain employment. And their results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

They can put the work, the presentation to the Criminal Justice Management Council, and the publication on their resumes, she notes.

The research also allowed for the collaboration of students and faculty between the departments of Sociology and Criminal Justice and Mathematics and Statistics. Working across disciplines can be challenging, Kruse says.

We often exist in silos and it can be difficult to bridge disciplines in terms of methods, approaches and so on, she says. But, it is hard to think of a topic that cannot benefit from an interdisciplinary approach.

Kruse says working with the Mathematics and Statistics Department has been productive, and has opened doors to work together in the future.

Interdisciplinary work can bring important and diverse perspectives to the table, new ideas for addressing problems, different ways to tackle issues and develop methods, she says. It also helps to see how different majors and minors can complement.

The hands-on work also achieves the universitys strategic planning initiative to increase community engagement, along with advancing transformational education opportunities for students.

Along with the most recent study, Kruse has spent recent years tracking cumulative disadvantage in the criminal justice system  understanding how racial inequality exists at various points in the system and how it has a cumulative impact on offenders.

She plans to continue using students to produce quarterly and yearly reports on the tracking.

I hope to provide a service-learning opportunity once a year for students to work on these reports, she says.

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The regalia had been in his family for generations, and when DJ Scott donned the traditional bear claw necklace, floral beaded apron and pipe breastplate, he was filled with pride.

Hued in earth tones, representative of the Bear clan and Woodland Tribe to which his family belongs, Scott, 18, wore the treasured clothing in honor of his paternal ancestors Saturday as he joined the Woodland dance at the annual La Crosse Area Three Rivers Traditional Pow Wow.

The reason why I dance is for my grandfather, Scott said. He is too old to dance now.

Scott, who has been dancing since age 4 and lives in Black River Falls, has been coming to the Pow Wow, sponsored by the Ho-Chunk Nation, for the past eight years. Each element of his outfit held significance, from the beaded moccasins to the pelt sash, covered in mirrors to ward away spirits, frightened by their reflection.

The Pow Wow, held Saturday and returning today at UW-L Mitchell Hall, has been a local celebration for more than 40 years, hosted in partnership with UW-La Crosse Multicultural Student Services and the Native American Student Association. Up to 1,000 tribal members from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska were expected to attend the two-day event, which included a Grand Entry, color guard ceremony, dances, drums, mocassin games, and pelts, jewelry and garments for trade or sell. Attendees enjoyed a meal of indigenous foods, including corn soup and fryer bread, from Wild Bearies catering.

It is to commemorate our culture, our traditions, our way of life that we have, Charles Hindsley said of the event. Its a celebration of life, a collaboration of people meeting each other, renewing kinships, enjoying each others spirit and having respect for one another. Most of all loving one another.

For Victoria Houghton of Black River Falls, the celebration was a chance to immerse daughter Niyanna, 8, in Native American culture, the little girl fascinated by the energetic dances and booming drums. Keeping traditions alive in the younger generations is a priority, said Levi Blackdeer of La Crosse.

Were trying to inspire the spirit of the young people so they want to do what were doing, Blackdeer said.

One of five veterans in attendance and a part of the flag raising, Blackdeer also stressed respect for those who served in the military. More tha 42,000 Native Americans served in Vietnam, and 44,000 in World War II. Those assembled in the telephone squads used their native languages to create secret battle communications, indecipherable to the enemy.

The Code Talkers, they saved a lot of lives, said Blackdeer, who engaged in combat in Vietnam.

Blackdeer wore his war bonnet, each feather representative of a life taken in combat, as he stood tall with his fellow veterans for the ceremonial flag song and veteran song. A procession of dancers followed behind while hundreds formed a circle around them, rapt with attention.

This Pow Wow wouldnt be here without the people who defended our country, Blackdeer said. All these songs are honor songs for our veterans.

The Three Rivers Traditional Pow Wow continues today in Mitchell Hall. Admission is free, with a non-perishable food donation for The Hunger Task Force requested. The Grand Entry will take place at noon.

Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net.

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Assyrian Stone Tablet Traces Early Christianity in China

Syriac, the classical Assyrian language, on the bottom of the stele, explains the names of missionaries and local landscapes. ( Xi'an Beilin Museum) When did Christianity first appear in China? Well, you may come across a much reasonable answer by examining the over 4,000 stone tablets at Xi'an Beilin Museum, or Stele Forest, located in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

A much-justified answer to that question is in 635 AD during the early Tang Dynasty (618--907), the time of which was inscribed on the world famous Nestorian Stele, a 279-centimeter tall limestone block.

It's the monument that helps unravel some of the mysteries regarding Christianity and its less influential branch, Nestorianism (Jingjiao in Chinese or the Luminous Religion), which stresses the independence of the divine and human natures of Christ.

In modern times, Nestorians are represented by the Church of the East, or Persian Church usually referred to in the West as the Assyrian, or Nestorian, Church. Most of its members - numbering about 170,000 - live in Iraq, Syria and Iran.

In a sense, the Nestorian Stele epitomizes flourishing cultural exchanges in ancient time between China and Asian countries.

Based on the texts written in Chinese and Syriac, an ancient version of the Syrian language, those countries were referred to as Daqin, denoting the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire (395--1453), as held by mainstream scholars in China.

The stone tablet carries about 2,000 Chinese characters in total. Based on it, in the year 635, a man named Alopen came to the City of Chang'an, the capital of Tang Dynasty, along with his fellow Syriac missionaries. Emperor Taizong of Tang sent his chancellor Fang Xuanling and other officials to welcome their arrival.

A close-up view of the unique pattern of Nestorianism on an ink rubbing version of the Nestorian Stele. ( Xi'an Beilin Museum)

It seems Nestorianism was well-received, as soon, there were churches set up across the Tang territory. In addition, the tablet serves as a concrete proof to China's earliest celebrations of Christmas, during which it says the emperor of the time held special rituals and shared the delicious food to people who believed in Christianity.

Lu Yuan is a retired research fellow at Xi'an Beilin Museum. After working there for more than 30 years, he spent more than two years working out a 260,000-character book explaining Nestorianism in China and the Nestorian Stele. He thinks highly of the stele's significance to both the general public and academicians in evaluating the presence of Christianity in ancient China.

In his book, published in May 2009, Lu quoted Frits Holm, a Danish scholar and adventurer who came to Xi'an in 1907, and attempted but failed to take the monument to Europe, by saying that the Nestorian Stele ranks on top of the four most famous stone tablets of the world, with the other three being the Rosetta Stone of Egypt, the Mesha Stele of Jordan, and the Aztec Sun Stone of Mexico.

The Nestorian Stele documents a nearly 150-year history of Christianity in China's Tang Dynasty. ( Xi'an Beilin Museum)

Lu told CGTN in an interview that when different cultures and traditions meet, they clash with each other, and then integrate, the pattern of which conforms to the trajectories of human history. In his perspective, this best explains the prevalence of Christianity in ancient China.

Echoing Lu's words, Will Chen, a museum educator working at the same Beilin Museum, explains an underlying meaning of a unique pattern on top of the tablet, which is formed by a cross, a lotus, and auspicious clouds. According to Chen, these three elements reflect the inclusion of local cultures of Buddhism and Taoism of ancient China into Christianity.

As the stone tablet was erected in 781, it sheds much light to a nearly 150-year development of Christianity in the Tang Dynasty, since Alopen came to China in 635. During an era of religious suppression by subsequent Tang emperors, the monument was buried in the year 845.

It was only rediscovered in 1625 during the Ming Dynasty. Then in 2002, considering its cultural and historical values, China decided to prohibit the famous stone tablet from attending any overseas exhibitions.
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Military veteran and expectant mother: many people don't associate the two roles.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is trying to correct that misconception while it boosts outreach to the fast-growing segment of female veterans. This month, the agency is holding dozens of baby showers for pregnant women and new moms across the country.

On Thursday at the VA's West L.A. campus in Brentwood, pink and blue balloons led to a room filled with cupcakes, baby supplies, and expecting parents cooing over tiny socks.

But don't let the cute decorations fool you. These are tough mothers.

Take Gena Smith, a former missile radar technician in the Navy.

"My job was to maintain and operate the system that allows for us to shoot those missiles that go boom," she said.

Monica Exley (left) and Gena Smith (right). (Libby Denkmann/LAist)

Now Smith is 20 weeks pregnant with her first child.

She says female veterans can be underestimated, or mistaken for the wives of servicemembers when they come to VA campuses for healthcare.

"There's always that question of like, 'are you a veteran?'" Smith said. "I get a chuckle out of it. I don't get too bent out of shape."

The share of the veteran population that's female, now a little over 9 percent, is expected to double over the next 25 years. Women veterans, however, are less likely to use VA healthcare and other services than their male counterparts.

Donna Callaway and her boyfriend AJ Perez play a baby shower game at the West Los Angeles VA's second-annual baby shower. (Libby Denkmann/LAist)

The VA faces several persistent problems when it comes to attracting female patients.

One is cultural. Women may be less inclined to visit the VA because they don't feel welcome in the 'boys club' atmosphere of a traditionally male-oriented space. Female veterans are also often dealing with the lingering effects of service-related trauma like military sexual assault.

And there's the issue of identity, says Melissa Lee with the UCLA Veteran Family Wellness Center.

"Women veterans typically don't identify themselves [primarily] as veterans, so they don't access resources at the VA,"she said.

At Thursday's shower, Lee handed out fluffy hand-crocheted baby blankets donated by volunteers.

"[Female vets] typically are underserved," she said. "So this is a really important event to let women know, 'hey, there are things at the VA for me to take advantage of.'"

Renee Andreassen, the Women Veterans Program Manager for the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, says that baby showers and programs like anti-harassment training are meant to show female vets that VA care is also geared for them.

"It's not just a man's VA anymore," Andreassen said.

Renee Andreassen with the VAGLAHS. (Libby Denkmann/LAist)

There are now two designated women's health providers at every VA clinic, Andreassen said. At large facilities like West L.A. and Sepulveda, there are comprehensive women's health clinics with primary care, OB-GYN services, nutrition, pharmacy and mental health care.

"Many veterans don't even know we have this care," said Dr. Fatma Batuman, the Medical Director for Women's Health at the Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare system. "If women need to see a cardiologist, or get a mammogram, our care coordinators manage all that."

The VA's Dr. Fatma Batuman. (Libby Denkmann/LAist)

"The women really like that because it's their own separate area, and it's a one-stop shop," Andreassen said.

Wellness programs are available for new and expecting moms at the VA, but women can't get prenatal care or give birth at VA facilities. In Los Angeles, a VA "maternity care coordinator" connects patients with nearby hospitals or other outside providers and stays in touch throughout their pregnancy.

"Our maternity care coordinator is very easy to get in touch with and reaches out a lot," said Natascha Frith, who served in the Army for nearly five years, including two tours in Iraq. "We don't get the same respect. But it's improving."

Frith has a four-year-old son and is looking forward to the birth of her baby daughter.

"I hope that she gets to do anything she puts her mind to," Frith said. "And I hope it gets better for women, whether she decides to be in the armed forces or another male-dominated field. I want her to feel comfortable, whatever she does."
Saturday, May 18, 2019

In 2014, the Supreme Court decided Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, where it held that it is possible for a for-profit corporation to have a religious identity, derived from the religious commitments of the humans who own and control those companies. In so holding, the Court relied in part on state laws that permit even for-profit corporations to pursue purposes beyond stockholder wealth maximization. As the Court put it:

Not all corporations that decline to organize as nonprofits do so in order to maximize profit. For example, organizations with religious and charitable aims might organize as for-profit corporations because of the potential advantages of that corporate form, such as the freedom to participate in lobbying for legislation or campaigning for political candidates who promote their religious or charitable goals. In fact, recognizing the inherent compatibility between establishing a for-profit corporation and pursuing nonprofit goals, States have increasingly adopted laws formally recognizing hybrid corporate forms. Over half of the States, for instance, now recognize the benefit corporation, a dual-purpose entity that seeks to achieve both a benefit for the public and a profit for its owners. In any event, the objectives that may properly be pursued by the companies in these cases are governed by the laws of the States in which they were incorporatedPennsylvania and Oklahomaand the laws of those States permit for-profit corporations to pursue any lawful purpose or act, including the pursuit of profit in conformity with the owners religious principles.

So it was a bit of an eyebrow-raiser to read this April Executive Order in which Trump declares:

The majority of financing in the United States is conducted through its capital markets. The United States capital markets are the deepest and most liquid in the world. They benefit from decades of sound regulation grounded in disclosure of information that, under an objective standard, is material to investors and owners seeking to make sound investment decisions or to understand current and projected business. As the Supreme Court held in TSC Industries, Inc. v. Northway, Inc., 426 U.S. 438, 449 (1976), information is material if there is a substantial likelihood that a reasonable shareholder would consider it important. Furthermore, the United States capital markets have thrived under the principle that companies owe a fiduciary duty to their shareholders to strive to maximize shareholder return, consistent with the long-term growth of a company.

(emphasis added),

As readers of this blog are likely aware, academics love to argue over whether existing law requires that corporations be run solely to maximize stockholder wealth, and of course over whether such law  if it exists  is a good idea or a bad idea. See generally Joan MacLeod Heminway, Shareholder Wealth Maximization as a Function of Statutes, Decisional Law, and Organic Documents, 74 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 939 (2017). Usually, however, these battles occur in the context of state law. And while federal law  securities regulation, and so forth  often implies a corporate purpose of wealth maximization, I have to admit, I dont recall seeing so blatant a statement about it before.

In any event, this section of the Executive Order directs the Department of Labor to review its existing guidance re: ERISA plans involvement in ESG matters. Its a follow-up to last years Labor Department release  which I blogged about here  warning that ERISA plans may violate their duties to plan beneficiaries if they engage on ESG matters, or vote for ESG-related proxy proposals, for reasons other than plan wealth maximization.

As Ive previously discussed, the SEC is currently reviewing rules governing the proxy process  including the role of proxy advisory services  to determine if additional regulation is needed. Much of this fight is, of course, about shareholder involvement in ESG matters and corporate governance more generally. I assume from this latest Executive Order that were about to see something of a two-pronged effort to limit shareholder power, with new guidance and/or regulations issuing from the SEC on one side and the Labor Department on the other. Anyones guess how successful this effort is likely to be, but I will highlight Andrew Tuchs recent article, Why Do Proxy Advisors Wield So Much Influence? Insights From U.S.-U.K. Comparative Analysis, B.U. L. Rev. (forthcoming), pointing out that proxy advisory services have far less influence in the UK than in the United States, which he attributes to the fact that US shareholders have less power, and have reached less consensus on best practices in corporate governance, than shareholders in the UK. He concludes that many of the attempts to limit shareholder power  and the power of proxy advisors  in the US will not only be ineffective, but will actually strengthen proxy advisors hand.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/business_law/2019/05/the-trump-administration-versus-the-supreme-court.html
I.M. Pei, one of the best-known architects of the 20th century, has died. He was 102.

Born in China, Ieoh Ming Pei moved to the United States in 1935 to study architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.

Peis works around the world include museums, government buildings, hotels, schools and other structures built with stone, steel and glass.

One of his best-known and most disputed works was built 30 years ago. Pei created a new entrance for the world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris.

Pei first spent four months studying the museum and French history. He then drew plans for a 21-meter-tall steel and glass pyramid, with three smaller pyramids nearby. It was a very futuristic style of work for the 12th-century building.

A French newspaper denounced Peis pyramids as an annex to Disneyland. An environmental group said they belonged in a desert. Others accused Pei of ruining one of the worlds greatest landmarks.

Pei said the Louvre was the most difficult job of his career. He argued that he had wanted to create a modern space that would not take away from the traditional part of the museum. He said the glass pyramids were based on the works of French landscape architect Le Notre. They honored French history.

The pyramids opened in the spring of 1989. Over the years that followed, the structure came to be loved by most, if not all, of its critics.

Other well-known Pei buildings include the John F. Kennedy Library in Dorchester, Massachusetts, the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the Dallas City Hall in Texas.

Pei officially retired in 1990. However, he continued to work on projects -- including museums in Luxembourg, Qatar and his ancestral home of Suzhou.

I'm Caty Weaver.

Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on Reuters and New York Times news reports. Caty Weaver was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

architect - n. a person who designs buildings

pyramid - n. a very large structure built especially in ancient Egypt that has a square base and four triangular sides, which form a point at the top

annex - n. a building that is attached to or near a larger building and usually used as part of it
San Francisco officials have approved a ban on the use of facial recognition technology by local law enforcement and agencies.

The citys governing Board of Supervisors approved the ban this week. The board is expected to give final approval to the measure during a second vote next week.

If given final approval, the ban would be the first of its kind passed by an American city. The measure bars the use of facial recognition by local police and all other city agencies.

The ban is part of a bill that restricts surveillance technologies. The measure also orders San Francisco agencies to describe any current or future facial recognition activities.

Use of facial recognition technology by government agencies across the U.S. has continually increased over the past 10 years. The machine-learning methods that power the technology have also greatly improved in recent years.

But the systems are not perfect.

Privacy groups supporting the ban argue that facial recognition systems make too many mistakes and can violate personal rights. For example, they say failures of the technology to correctly recognize race could violate a persons civil rights. Several studies have shown the technology can have difficulties correctly guessing a persons race.

Opponents of the ban included law enforcement agencies and some technology companies. They say the use of facial recognition systems should be permitted to help police identify and catch criminals. They also argue the technology can be a useful tool to help find lost children or older people.

American technology company Microsoft is one company developing facial recognition. However, it has joined critics in calling for restrictions on use of the technology by government agencies. Microsoft president Brad Smith said last year he saw an urgent need to begin placing limits on the systems to avoid the kind of surveillance state described in George Orwells book "1984."

Alvaro Bedoya heads the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown University in Washington. He told the Associated Press he thinks facial recognition is one of those technologies that people get how creepy it is.

Bedoya noted that San Francisco is considered the most technologically advanced city in America. A ban on facial recognition systems there could send a warning to other police agencies thinking of trying out the technology, he said.

California state lawmakers are already considering a proposal to ban the use of facial identification technology with police body cameras. And a bill before the U.S. Senate would restrict businesses from using the technology on individuals without their permission.

But Daniel Castro, vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, says he is not sure what effect San Franciscos ban could have nationwide. He said he believes the measure may be too extreme to serve as a general model.

It might find success in San Francisco, but I will be surprised if it finds success in a lot of other cities, Castro said.

San Francisco police say they stopped testing face recognition technology in 2017. Spokesman David Stevenson said in a statement that police officials look forward to developing legislation that addresses the privacy concerns of technology while balancing the public safety concerns of our growing, international city.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

surveillance  n. the activity of watching people carefully, often secretly, especially by an army or police force

creepy  adj. strange or frightening

advanced  adj. having progressed to a high level
From VOA Learning English, this is American Stories.

Our story is called The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky. It was written by Stephen Crane. Today, we will hear the second and final part of the story.

Dont know whether there will be a fight or not, answered one man firmly, but therell be some shooting -- some good shooting.

The young man who had warned them waved his hand. Oh, therell be a fight fast enough, if anyone wants it. Anybody can get in a fight out there in the street. Theres a fight just waiting.

The salesman seemed to be realizing the possibility of personal danger.

What did you say his name was? he asked.

Scratchy Wilson, voices answered together.

And will he kill anybody? What are you going to do? Does this happen often? Can he break in that door?

No, he cant break in that door, replied the saloon-keeper. Hes tried it three times. But when he comes youd better lie down on the floor, stranger. Hes sure to shoot at the door, and a bullet may come through.

After that, the salesman watched the door steadily. The time had not yet come for him to drop to the floor, but he carefully moved near the wall.

Will he kill anybody? he asked again. The men laughed, without humor, at the question.

Hes here to shoot, and hes here for trouble. I dont see any good in experimenting with him.

But what do you do in a situation like this? What can you do?

A man answered, Well, he and Jack Potter -- 

But, the other men interrupted together, Jack Potters in San Antonio.

Well, who is he? Whats he got to do with this? Oh, hes the town policeman. He goes out and fights Scratchy when he starts acting this way.

A nervous, waiting silence was upon them. The salesman saw that the saloon-keeper, without a sound, had taken a gun from a hiding place. Then he saw the man signal to him, so he moved across the room.

Youd better come with me behind this table.

No, thanks, said the salesman. Id rather be where I can get out the back door.

At that, the saloon-keeper made a kindly but forceful motion. The salesman obeyed, and found himself seated on a box with his head below the level of the table. The saloon-keeper sat comfortably upon a box nearby.

You see, he whispered, Scratchy Wilson is a wonder with a gun -- a perfect wonder. And when he gets excited, everyone gets out of his path. Hes a terror when hes drunk. When hes not drinking hes all right -- wouldnt hurt anythingnicest fellow in town. But when hes drunk -- be careful!

There were periods of stillness. I wish Jack Potter were back from San Antonio, said the saloon-keeper. He shot Wilson once, in the leg. Hed come in and take care of this thing.

Soon they heard from a distance the sound of a shot, followed by three wild screams. The men looked at each other.

Here he comes, they said. A man in a red shirt turned a corner and walked into the middle of the main street of Yellow Sky.

In each hand the man held a long, heavy, blue black gun. Often he screamed, and these cries rang through the seemingly deserted village.

The screams sounded sharply over the roofs with a power that seemed to have no relation to the ordinary strength of a mans voice. These fierce cries rang against walls of silence.

The mans face flamed in a hot anger born of whiskey. His eyes rolling but watchful, hunted the still doorways and windows. He walked with the movement of a midnight cat. As the thoughts came to him, he roared threatening information.

The long guns hung from his hands like feathers, they were moved with electric speed. The muscles of his neck straightened and sank, straightened and sank, as passion moved him.

The only sounds were his terrible invitations to battle. The calm houses preserved their dignity at the passing of this small thing in the middle of the street.

There was no offer of fight -- no offer of fight. The man called to the sky. There were no answers. He screamed and shouted and waved his guns here and everywhere.

Finally, the man was at the closed door of the saloon. He went to it, and beating upon it with his gun, demanded drink. The door remained closed.

He picked up a bit of paper from the street and nailed it to the frame of the door with a knife. He then turned his back upon this place and walked to the opposite side of the street. Turning quickly and easily, he fired the guns at the bit of paper. He missed it by a half an inch.

He cursed at himself, and went away. Later, he comfortably shot out all the windows of the house of his best friend. Scratchy was playing with this town. It was a toy for him.

But still there was no offer of fight. The name of Jack Potter, his ancient enemy, entered his mind. He decided that it would be a good thing if he went to Potters house, and by shooting at it make him come out and fight. He moved in the direction of his desire, singing some sort of war song.

When he arrived at it, Potters house presented the same still front as had the other homes. Taking a good position, the man screamed an invitation to battle.

But this house regarded him as a great, stone god might have done. It gave no sign. After a little wait, the man screamed more invitations, mixing them with wonderful curses.

After a while came the sight of a man working himself into deepest anger over the stillness of a house. He screamed at it. He shot again and again. He paused only for breath or to reload his guns.

Potter and his bride walked rapidly. Sometimes they laughed together, quietly and a little foolishly.

Next corner, dear, he said finally.

They put forth the efforts of a pair walking against a strong wind. Potter was ready to point the first appearance of the new home. Then, as they turned the corner, they came face to face with the man in the red shirt, who was feverishly loading a large gun.

Immediately the man dropped his empty gun to the ground and, like lightning, pulled out another. The second gun was aimed at Potters chest.

There was a silence. Potter couldnt open his mouth. Quickly he loosened his arm from the womans grasp, and dropped the bag to the sand.

As for the bride, her face had become the color of an old cloth. She was motionless. The two men faced each other at a distance of nine feet.

Behind the gun, Wilson smiled with a new and quiet cruelty.

Tried to surprise me, he said. Tried to surprise me! His eyes grew more evil. As Potter made a slight movement, the man pushed his gun sharply forward.

No, dont you do it, Jack Potter. Dont you move a finger toward a gun yet. Dont you move a muscle. The time has come for me to settle with you, and Im going to do it my own way -- slowly, with no interruption. So just listen to what I tell you.

Potter looked at his enemy. I havent got a gun with me, Scratchy, he said. Honest, I havent. He was stiffening and steadying, but at the back of his mind floated a picture of the beautiful car on the train. He thought of the glory of the wedding, the spirit of his new life.

You know I fight when I have to fight, Scratchy Wilson. But I havent got a gun with me. Youll have to do all the shooting yourself.

His enemys face turned pale with anger. He stepped forward and whipped his gun back and forth before Potters chest.

Dont you tell me you havent got a gun with you, you dog. Dont tell me a lie like that. There isnt a man in Texas who ever saw you without a gun. Dont think Im a kid. His eyes burned with anger and his breath came heavily.

I dont think youre a kid, answered Potter. His feet had not moved an inch backward. I think youre a complete fool. I tell you I havent got a gun, and I havent. If youre going to shoot me, youd better begin now; youll never get a chance like this again.

So much enforced reasoning had weakened Wilsons anger. He was calmer. If you havent got a gun, why havent you got a gun?, he asked. Been to church?

I havent got a gun because Ive just come from San Antonio with my wife. Im married, said Potter. And if I had thought thered be a fool like you here when I brought my wife home, I would have had a gun, and dont you forget it.

Married! said Scratchy, not at all understanding.

Yes, married. Im married, said Potter, clearly.

Married? said Scratchy. Seemingly for the first time, he saw the pale, frightened woman at the other side. No! he said.

He was like a creature allowed a glance at another world. He moved a pace backward, and his arm, with the gun, dropped to his side.

Is this the lady? he asked.

Yes, this is the lady, answered Potter.

There was another period of silence.

Well, said Wilson at last, slowly. I suppose we wont fight now.

We wont if you say so, Scratchy. You know I didnt make the trouble.

Potter lifted the bag.

Well, I guess we wont fight, Jack, said Wilson. He was looking at the ground.

Married!

He was not a student of good manners. It was merely that in the presence of this foreign condition he was a simple child of the wildlands. He picked up his fallen gun, and he went away. His feet made deep tracks in the heavy sand.

_______________________________________________________________

QUIZ

Try this Listening Quiz to check your understanding.

Quiz - 'The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky,' Part Two Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

___________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

feverishly - adv. done in a way that involves intense emotion or activity : feeling or showing great or extreme excitement

muscle - n. a body tissue that can contract and produce movement

Old West / Wild West - expression. the western United States in its frontier period characterized by roughness and lawlessness

pace - n. a single step or the length of a single step

passion - n. a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something

saloon - n. a business where alcoholic drinks are served

saloon-keeper  n. a person who runs a bar; a bartender

whiskey - n. a strong alcoholic drink made from a grain (such as rye, corn, or barley)

Teachers, here is a lesson plan for this story:
Believe it or not  Aviation English is one of the most in-demand forms of English around the world. Why? Because English is the language of the skies.

The International Civil Aviation Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations. In 2003, the organization set a deadline of March 2008 for pilots and air traffic controllers at international airports to pass English proficiency exams. A high level knowledge of English continues to be required in international aviation today.

Some form of Aviation English is commonly used by many people working in the industry. But pilots and air traffic controllers must also learn a special form of English to communicate with each other by radio and -- more recently -- by computer. This coded language is a combination of technical terms and plain English. For example, the term Roger means message received and Wilco means I will comply. The good news is that there are only around 300 such terms.

Aviation English differs from Standard English in a few other important ways. For example, it typically avoids question forms and negative forms. There is also almost no use of modal verbs, such as the word can. And, since this language is made of short, direct commands and responses, subject pronouns, such as you and I, are not used.

Few pilots know this specialized language better than Clarence Clyde Romero.

A native of New York City, he worked as a pilot for 38 years before retiring in 2015. He began his career in the U.S. Air Force, first as a pilot then a flight instructor. Later, he became a commercial airline pilot and captain with Piedmont Airlines, followed by U.S. Airways and American Airlines.

Clyde Romero now lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He joins us by phone to tell us about aviation communication and some of his experiences as an active pilot.

Mr. Romero  thanks so much for speaking with us today.

CLYDE ROMERO: No problem.

AB: Can you start by telling us a little bit about the language of pilots and air traffic controllers?

CLYDE ROMERO: OK, theres a phonetic alphabet that you have to be familiar with. So, in other words, you never say a over the radio, you say, Alpha. You never say z over the radio, you say Zulu. So, you have to be familiar with the phonetic alphabet, so that if you have to spell something out, thats how you spell it.

Youre very specific when you say numbers and when you speak because you have to make sure the other person really understands it. You would say niner instead of nine, and then, if you had to say 19, you dont say 19 over the radio, you say Roger that. Its one-nine.

AB: OK, great. So the alphabet is phonetic and numbers are said individually. Give us an example of a message or communication between a pilot and air traffic controller.

CLYDE ROMERO: Ill give you an example. You could be on a gate, saying, Roger. This is American Airlines 551, requesting pushback, Delta 21, LaGuardia. So he [the air traffic controller] knows what flight number you are, what gate youre at, you want a pushback, and youre going to LaGuardia [Airport]. 

AB: OK. So, there is a lot of information in very few words. Could you give examples of where English language challenges may play out on the job?



CLYDE ROMERO: The biggest challenge that people who are -- where English is not their primary language -- is that, in the aviation field, people tend to talk fast. And, unless you have the ear for it, youll miss a lot. Even people who English is their normal language, well have people say, Say again, and thats a normal term that pilots use all the time. So, if you can imagine somebody where English is not their primary language and people are talking fast, you can see how things could get missed. And, where this is really important is during emergencies."

AB: So, given the speed and technical nature of the language, do you have any suggestions or encouragement for non-native English speakers who are interested in the field?

CLYDE ROMERO: Aviation terms and phrases is a language unto itself.

I would recommend that they listen to air traffic control people. They have numerous places where you can listen in on the radio and how they talk and how they interact. And, its like anything else. Its a foreign language. So, how do you learn a foreign language? You start hearing it and you start mimicking it, and then you learn about it.

AB: Great! Now  every job has humorous moments. Are there any humorous stories that involved miscommunication from your time as an airline pilot?

CLYDE ROMERO: Yeah, well, Ill give you a story. We were going into L.A.  Los Angeles. And theres an arrival called the La Jolla Arrival. But, when you look at it, its spelled with a J  its spelled J-O-L-L-A. Okay, so, were going into L.A. and Im flying the airplane and the other guy [pilot] is on the radios and hes never been into L.A. and were on the La Jolla Arrival.

But he said, Well, were on the La-JOLL-a Arrival. Well, air traffic control said, Well, out here in California, we say our Js like Hs. Youre on the La-HOY-a arrival.

So, I picked up the radio and said, Oh, really? So its Hanuary, Hune and Huly out here? So after I said that, naturally, Im not the only one on the radio. Theres Delta, American, Eastern  everybody else. And they said, 'Wow, American, you got him good there, didnt you?' So thats a true story."

AB: Now thats a good one! So, when you speak to air traffic control, all of the other airlines can hear your radio talking.

CLYDE ROMERO: Yeah, when youre on center frequency, there could be as many as two or three hundred airplanes on that same frequency, so youre hearing everybody talk along with yourself. So what that does to you, it builds situation awareness around you [about] what's going on.

AB: Just out of curiosity, how many messages might you hear in one minute?

CLYDE ROMERO: In one minute, probably 50. If its busy, it could be more than that. And a lot of times you dont have the time to respond. If they say, American 785, turn right, heading 250, break. Delta 521, descend and maintain 2000 feet. Eastern 521 youre clear to approach runway 13 LaGuardia, break. And thats what you hear. Thats exactly how fast they will talk. And you will not have time to respond. Any of the big airports, 95 percent of the time, you will not have a chance to respond. You will just do it."

AB: Mr. Romero, thanks again for speaking with us.

CLYDE ROMERO: OK, great. Im glad I could be of assistance.

Im Alice Bryant.

Alice Bryant wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Do you work in or are you interested in working in the aviation field? Write to us in the Comments section below or visit our Facebook page.

_____________________________________________________________

Helpful Words and Terms

air traffic control (ATC)  a system through which workers on the ground give instructions by radio to aircraft pilots

altitude  n. the height of something (such as an airplane) above sea level

arrival  n. the act of coming to or reaching an airport

break  a term used to note separation between parts of a message 

cabin  n. the part of an airplane where the passengers sit

center frequency  n. the central radio communications used by pilots and air traffic controllers

clearance  n. official permission for a pilot or airplane to do something

crew  n. the group of people who operate an airplane, train or ship

gate  n. refers to the place (inside or outside an airport) for departure or arrival

land  v. to return (an aircraft) to the ground after a flight

mayday  a distress signal, preferably spoken three times; a word used to call for help when an airplane is in danger

over  a term used in radio communications to show that a message is complete

pushback  n. the movement of an airplane from a parking spot, usually with help from a specialized ground vehicle

runway  n. a long strip of ground where aircraft take off and land

Roger  means: I have received all of your last message

say again  means: Repeat all, or the following part, of your last message

stand by  means: Please wait

takeoff  n. the moment when an aircraft leaves the ground and begins to fly

taxiing  n. movement of an airplane at low speed on wheels along the ground

Wilco  means: I will comply 

_______________________________________________________________

Finding the Right Program

Any good Aviation English training program should contain activities that address six language skill areas: pronunciation, structure, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and interactions.

Types of activities the program should have:

1. Interactive listening exercises. These exercises should make the learners give spoken responses.

2. Information exchange and role-play activities.

3. Speaking practice for vocabulary and grammar (structure).

4. Using tools (such as charts) and numerical data (tables and displays) to make students speak in a way that mirrors the work environment of pilots and air traffic controllers.

5. Group problem solving activities.

Source: ICAO

Aviation English Exams

Aviation professionals are required to take English proficiency exams every few years. ICAO divides English proficiency into 6 levels. Pilots and air traffic controllers must maintain at least ICAO Level 4.

There are two possible exams:

ELPAC  English Language Proficiency for Aeronautical Communication. This one meets the ICAO standards and language proficiency requirements.

TEA  Test of English for Aviation. Mayflower College in Britain designed this test, though it is not endorsed by ICAO.

Your aviation school decides which of these exams you must take.
There are rules for living in the neighborhoods of San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

Everyone knows them: There are places you do not go without permission. When driving, it is best to leave the windows of the car down so gang members can see who is inside. And, it is safest to stay home after dark, leaving the streets to the armed men and drug dealers who kill easily.

Honduras second-largest city is where many recent caravans of migrants have formed to head north to Mexico and then to the United States. The people in the caravans are fleeing violence, poverty and corruption.

The northern district of San Pedro Sula is home to nearly 230,000 people. Just 50 police officers watch over its 189 neighborhoods.

The most dangerous neighborhoods are Planeta, Lomas del Carmen and La Rivera Hernandez. Police inspector Wilmer Lopez says he has arrested gang members as young as 9 years old.

Police officers carry handguns, and soldiers armed with assault rifles follow them closely. They make us feel safer, Lopez said.

On a recent night, reporters with the Associated Press joined police as they drove through some of the most dangerous parts of San Pedro Sula.

Lopez said nine different gangs are known to operate in this part of town. They include the well-known 18th Street and Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13. Both formed more than 20 years ago in Los Angeles, California. They spread to Central America after the United States deported some of their members. The gangs grew into very violent transnational organizations that cause the high death rate and other crimes in Central Americas so-called Northern Triangle  Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. They are famous for the bodies and graffiti they leave behind.

On this night, the area is mostly peaceful. Police check identification cards at drinking places. But by 6 in the morning, police find the first body of the day -- just behind the Rivera Hernandez police station.

San Pedro Sula was the worlds most murderous city from 2011 to 2014.

At a small restaurant, news comes on the television that a man at a nearby tire shop has been killed. The mans body appears on camera. People in the restaurant keep eating.

People are not shocked when someone gets killed, said Salvador Nasralla. He is a former opposition presidential candidate.

The National Civil Police say killings have dropped a lot nationally in recent years. In 2011, the rate was 86 killings for every 100,000 people. Last year, the rate was 41 per 100,000 residents. But the country still has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

In San Pedro Sula, some say violence has decreased since about 800 gang members got moved from a prison in the city to a prison in the western mountains. In the first prison, they continued to run their criminal dealings.

People from all over Honduras go to San Pedro Sula whenever a new migrant caravan is about to leave.

Lara is a 27-year-old laborer. He left San Pedro Sula, even though he had a good job there helping build a church. The gangs, he said, were trying to force him and his friends to join.

They are collecting young people to work for them, Lara said. He added, its not voluntary, and if you say, No, they kill you.

Many Hondurans blame the countrys problems on President Juan Orlando Hernandez. He was re-elected in 2018 even though the countrys constitution bans second terms. Hernandez promised Hondurans a better life. But he has been unable to deliver that promise for the countrys poorest and most endangered people.

The United States has threatened the Northern Triangle countries with security and humanitarian aid cuts if they do not stop the caravans of migrants. But, observers say the move could have an opposite effect if jobs and anti-poverty programs suffer.

Im Susan Shand.

The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

caravan - n. a group of vehicles (such as cars or wagons) traveling together

graffiti - n. pictures or words painted or drawn on a wall, building, etc.

restaurant - n. a place where you can buy and eat a meal

resident - n. someone who lives in a particular place
An Oregon City man convicted of possessing child pornography was sentenced to 16 months in the custody of the Oregon Department of Corrections on Friday afternoon in Linn County Circuit Court.

Michael Irizarry, 41, was found guilty of 10 counts of first-degree encouraging child sex abuse after the conclusion of a two-day jury trial in mid-April.

Its clear Mr. Irizarry didnt share this content with anyone else, said Judge David Delsman, in explaining the sentence.

The case had a strange beginning, prosecutor Alex Olenick said. Irizarrys computer was found on the side of an area road, and in the process of trying to find the owner, authorities discovered numerous images of child pornography.

This was something that just fell into law enforcements lap, Olenick said.

Olenick argued for a prison sentence of more than 13 years. The victims in these recordings deserve those sentences to be imposed, he added.

Defense attorney Tim Felling countered that such a sentence would be excessive for Irizarry, who had no prior criminal history.

I dont think theres any question that this type of material is offensive and troubling, Felling said.

Be he said that Irizarry viewed the child pornography and then tried to delete the files. Irizarry didnt produce or distribute the materials, he added.

There are different layers of culpability, Felling said.

Felling asked for jail time, with the hammer of a lengthy prison sentence if Irizarry committed a probation violation.

He said his client was ashamed and upset about his actions.

I never intended to share or distribute anything like this, Irizarry said. I was clicking on hyperlinks not knowing what was going to be downloaded, he added.

Kyle Odegard can be reached at kyle.odegard@lee.net, 541-812-6077 or via Twitter @KyleOdegard.

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The man who allegedly started a chemical fire at the Lebanon Walmart left the store, met up with a friend, admitted to setting the blaze and said it was just a trial run, said prosecutor Coleen Cerda during a hearing in Linn County Circuit Court on Friday afternoon.

He poses a substantial risk of doing this again, in his own words, Cerda added.

Joel Lee Reynolds Jr., 49, was charged with first-degree arson.

Judge Rachel Kittson-MaQatish set his bail at $100,000, as requested by Cerda, and scheduled the next hearing in the case for May 28.

The pool chemicals fire was reported at 12:49 p.m. Tuesday at the Lebanon Walmart, 3290 S. Santiam Highway.

Investigators determined that several pool chemicals inside the store had been mixed, and the chemicals then ignited.

What exactly happened is still under investigation. All we know is two chemicals were mixed, said Detective Tim Trahan of the Lebanon Police Department. The investigation will include surveillance cameras inside the Walmart, he added.

While fire damage inside Walmart was mostly contained to one aisle, the smoke contaminated a large portion of the store, according to a Lebanon Police Department news release.

Walmart remains closed due to the fire, and the cost of the damage is not known, the news release states.

Walmart has suffered substantial damage due to this mans action.  Walmart is out millions and millions and millions of dollars, Cerda said.

When officers arrived, Walmart employees were already evacuating customers from the store.

Due to the risk of chemical smoke exposure, surrounding businesses were evacuated at the direction of the Lebanon Fire District, the news release states.

About 100 employees and an unknown number of customers were inside the store when the fire started. No injuries have been reported, according to the news release.

Reynolds has a limited criminal history in Oregon, according to the states online court database.

However, A Lebanon Police Department news release states that he has had multiple contacts with police. In 2018, he was trespassed from the Walmart store after a theft arrest, the news release states.

Cerda said Reynolds was convicted in Lebanon Municipal Court of third-degree theft.

Investigation into the fire continues. Those with information about the case should contact Lebanon Police Department Detective Chris Miner at 541-258-4314.

Kyle Odegard can be reached at kyle.odegard@lee.net, 541-812-6077 or via Twitter @KyleOdegard.

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Mid-Willamette Valley residents woke up to a winter wonderland the day after Christmas as a storm dumped three inches or more of snow on the area.
Darius Luff rolled his way from an embarrassing spot into what could be a double-gold medal Saturday in the hurdles at the state track meet.

The Lincoln High senior fell while clearing the fifth hurdle in the preliminaries of the 300 intermediates at Burke Stadium. He somersaulted to his feet, staying in his lane to avoid a DQ, and won his heat.

But the spill cost him the coveted Lane 4 for the qualifying leader Saturday. Hell be in Lane 7.

What happened was a first for Luff in his prep career.

I always have problems with that hurdle, he said. I tried to get my trail leg up higher and sooner. I guess I just fell. I dont remember much. I just fell and got back up. I had to do what I could to win.

Luff came close to his state-record time in the 110 highs with a 13.85  three-hundredths of a second from last weeks 13.82 at districts. He said that shows him he has things to clean up before the final.
He put the puzzle together differently than I did, he said. We were on the same playing field for a while, and it was interesting and gratifying to see how I either came up with a different way of doing something, or else followed what he did.

Nelson premiered The Cold Blue in May 2018 to an audience that included those veterans featured in the film, at a special screening in Dayton, Ohio where the actual Memphis Belle airplane, also restored to its former glory, was also unveiled. Nelson said he was gratified by the response from the veterans, who felt that he had gotten the details right; one veteran told him that halfway through the film, he felt like he was back in the air on a mission.

One of the reasons we rushed this out the door is that I wanted to show the film to the guys, the nine guys who are in the film, he said. Every year there are 20 to 30 percent fewer people at their reunions. This film needed to get made and needed to get out. I wanted these guys to know that theyre not going to be forgotten.

The special Fathom screening will include a bonus featurette showing how The Cold Blue was made, as well as Nazi newsreel footage showing how the air war looked from the German side.
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Jimmy Kimmel took the issue of extinction to the streets, asking people what they would be willing to do to save Homo sapiens. One young man said he would not dedicate $100 per month to the effort, but $50 per month. One young woman said, I dont know what Homo sapiens is. If they go extinct, its sad. But at the end of the day, I dont care.

We can start by caring  by democratizing the funding and citizen participation in decisions about wildlife and Wisconsin public lands away from the current paradigm: "Hunters, anglers and trappers fund 90 percent of fish and wildlife management in Wisconsin through (killing) license fees and excise taxes.

These are the opposition vested in the status quo of power and domination that Watson references: "We have solutions and so no more excuses: we must live on earth differently. UNESCO is committed to promoting respect of the living and of its diversity, ecological solidarity with other living species, and to establish new, equitable and global links of partnership and intra-generational solidarity, for the perpetuation of humankind.
This week, Wisconsin and the nation observe National Police Week and Peace Officers Memorial Day in remembrance of law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.

In 2018 alone, 163 fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and loved ones lost their lives serving as a police officer across the country. Wisconsin lost two of its officers in 2018  a somber reminder of the ultimate sacrifice these men and women give to protect our communities and our families.

It may be difficult to believe, but currently in Wisconsin, if you are a law enforcement officer and are killed in the line of duty, your spouse and children lose their health insurance benefits  a traumatic fact and a cold reality for a family that just experienced the worst day of their lives.

In 2009, Wisconsin passed a law requiring municipalities to continue to provide health insurance coverage for surviving spouses and children of fire fighters who died in the line of duty. Unfortunately, law enforcement was not included in the legislation.
Methodists host yard sale

RUPERT  The annual multi-family church yard sale for the Rupert United Methodist Church will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 1 on the front lawn of the church, 605 H St.

This is the place to meet and greet friends you havent seen in awhile or make new friends. For more information, call 208-436-3354.

Feed My Sheep is today at the Mustard Seed

TWIN FALLS  The Feed My Sheep outreach team from the Episcopal Church of the Ascension will provide a hot meal from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Mustard Seed, 204 Main St. N., Twin Falls. All who are in need of a hot meal and companionship are welcome. There is no charge for the meal.

Ascension will celebrate Holy Communion at 9 a.m. Sunday at the church, 371 Eastland Drive N., with the Revs. Lauren and Rob Schoeck presiding. Child care for infants to five-year-olds will be available from 8:45 a.m. until after worship. Following the service during coffee hour, representatives of Voices Against Violence will explain more about their program ministering to victims of abuse and violence. All are welcome.

Living the Questions, an adult video and discussion program, will be from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the First Presbyterian Church, 209 Fifth Ave. N., Twin Falls.

The handwork group meets from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesdays. Bible Study meets from 11 a.m. to noon Thursdays, discussing the Bible readings and themes for the upcoming Sunday, led by the Rev. Rob Schoeck.

All are welcome for worship, study and fellowship at Ascension Episcopal Church which is handicapped-accessible. For more information, call 208-733-1248 or go to episcopaltwinfalls.org.

Always the beautiful answer for Unitarian Universalists

TWIN FALLS  Poet e. e. cummings once said, Always the beautiful answer that asks a more beautiful question. In some ways, this statement is at the heart of Unitarian Universalism, which believes that truth is constantly unfolding in a world we will never totally understand but before which we can stand in reverence and faith, called to our best selves.

In this, her last sermon to the Magic Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, the Rev. Elizabeth L. Greene will reflect upon the answers and questions that arise in religious homes.

The public is welcome to hear Greene speak 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.

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An Idaho man accused in the September killing of a man has been charged with the additional crime of cannibalism and authorities in court documents said the suspect believed he could "cure his brain" by eating some of the victim.
HAZELTON  Two people were taken to hospitals after a car drove into the median of Interstate 84 near Hazelton on Saturday, Idaho State Police said.

Sheridan T. Jensen, 24, of Rupert, was driving east in a 2006 Chevrolet Impala at 6:48 a.m. when the car went off the left shoulder of the road near mile marker 195 and hit the guardrail in the median, ISP said.

Passenger Heaven M. Jensen, 21, of Rupert, was taken by ambulance to St. Lukes Magic Valley in Twin Falls. A juvenile passenger was flown to St. Lukes Medical Center in Boise.

Sheridan and Heaven were both wearing seat belts, ISP said. The juvenile was in a safety seat.

The eastbound lanes were blocked for about three hours.

Idaho State Police was assisted at the scene by the Jerome Sheriffs Office, Magic Valley Paramedics and First Segregation Fire Department.

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President Donald Trump spoke plainly May 15y in declaring his support for law enforcement.

He called for the death penalty for anyone convicted of murdering a law enforcement officer. Trump also said those who file false police reports should face full legal consequences  an apparent reference to actor Jussie Smollett, suspected of faking a race-motivated hate crime in Chicago.

Trump spoke in Washington to a large crowd of cops, survivors of slain officers, and politicians gathered for the 38th annual memorial service for officers killed in the line of duty. The service falls in the middle of National Police Week, which began Sunday and ends Saturday.

Our men and women in blue are no longer seen as peace officers who are there to serve and protect, said Chuck Canterbury, national president of the 346,000-member Fraternal Order of Police, in an introduction of Trump.

Instead we have become targets of scorn and disrespect, and all too often of violence.

Canterbury complimented the president for unwavering support of law enforcement. He looks forward to the day Congress hands Trump a Protect and Serve Act to sign into law. The law would designate law enforcement officers as a protected class, imposing federal hate crimes penalties on acts of violence against them. It is a great idea.

It is long past time our countrys leaders emphasize protecting those who risk their lives protecting and serving the public.

Without good law enforcement, nothing else works. Without the men and women in blue, we lose our cars to criminals. We lose our homes. We are not safe to walk the streets. Businesses lose inventory to thieves. Our money is not safe in banks.

This is not theory. Lack of honest law enforcement is a condition common among impoverished, underdeveloped countries. When lives and property are not safe, no one has the ability to produce the services and goods essential to humanitys well-being.

Without civil liberties, we cannot flourish. Gun rights, free speech, freedom of association and property rights mean nothing without law enforcement personnel sworn to uphold them.

The American dream of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness starts with those who protect us from tyranny, Canterbury said. Security is the most important role of government.

Police work has never been without risk. In recent decades, car crashes posed the greatest hazard. As hostility toward cops has grown, fomented by left-wing activists and sensational media, shootings of officers have increased. In 2018, gun murders killed more officers than crashes for the first time since the 1980s.

There were 106 law enforcement officer deaths in 2018 alone; 55 of those officers were killed feloniously, says an article about Police Week on the FBIs website.

Each death leaves a family mourning, a department missing a colleague, and a community going without one of the men or women who worked to keep them safe.

In acknowledging Police Week, the FBI is highlighting eight cases involving six officers slain by suspects who remain uncaptured.

Rue the day police work becomes so disrespected, so dangerous, that we suffer serious shortages of law enforcement officers. If that happens, we wont recognize our country.

Communities must always be vigilant to ensure officers have adequate safety equipment and compensation, and a surplus of vocal community support.

And, yes, Congress should send Trump the Protect and Serve Act. Make it a hate crime to attack anyone working to keep the peace.

This Police Week, and throughout the year, give thanks to our law enforcement officers. Because of them, we enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

REPRINTED FROM THE COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE

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Microscopic image of an HIV-infected T cell. Credit: NIAID

New clinical research supported by the National Institutes of Health shows that increasing the intensity of treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) over time improves alcohol-related outcomes among people with HIV. This stepped approach to AUD treatment also improves HIV-related disease measures in this patient population. A report of the new study, led by researchers at Yale University, is now online in The Lancet HIV.

"These research findings demonstrate the potential of integrated treatment for AUD and HIV in improving health outcomes," said George F. Koob, Ph.D., director of the NIH's National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), which provided primary funding for the new research, with additional funding provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). "Moreover, it underscores the importance of integrating treatment for alcohol problems into mainstream health care."

In the United States, estimates of the prevalence of people with HIV who either drink heavily, or who have AUD, range from 8 percent to 42 percent. Alcohol misuse can increase risky behaviors that increase the likelihood of acquiring HIV or transmitting it to others. Alcohol misuse may also speed the progression of HIV in individuals with HIV infection and make it harder to follow medication regimens.

"Many people with HIV are unaware of, or not seeking treatment for, their alcohol use problems," said first author E. Jennifer Edelman, M.D., M.H.S., associate professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine. "In addition, HIV clinicians often do not realize that there are effective medications and counseling that they can easily integrate into their practice for patients with alcohol use problems."

Noting that previous studies have found that integrating the treatment of opioid use disorder into HIV clinics improves both HIV and substance-related outcomes, the researchers wanted to evaluate whether such a model would similarly benefit people with HIV and AUD.

Treatment for AUD often occurs apart from an individual's HIV clinical care. The current study integrates the treatment for AUD with treatment for HIV.

Dr. Edelman and her colleagues conducted a randomized clinical trial in five Veterans Affairs-based HIV clinics with 128 people who had HIV infection and AUD. The researchers investigated integrated stepped alcohol treatment (ISAT)an approach that involved consecutive steps of increased AUD treatment intensity if lower intensity treatment did not produce desired results.

People in the ISAT group started their AUD treatment with an on-site addiction psychiatrist, focusing on the use of medications for AUD. If that step did not stop heavy drinking, the next step included the addition of a behavioral intervention conducted on-site to boost motivation to change drinking behavior and teach coping skills for managing high-risk situations. Researchers defined heavy drinking as five drinks or more per day for men and four drinks or more per day for women, on one or more days during the previous 14 days. Patients who continued to engage in heavy drinking were advanced to the final step of referral to specialty addiction treatmentsuch as intensive outpatient treatment or residential treatment depending on locally available resources. Patients in the control group received treatment as usualwhich included alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to specialty addiction treatment at the VA at the discretion of their HIV clinician.

At the end of the six-month study, while both groups reported reduced alcohol intake, the researchers found no differences in drinks per week or HIV outcomes between the ISAT and control groups. Both groups then continued AUD treatment under treatment as usual (control) conditions. At the 12-month follow up, individuals who had initially received ISAT were found to have fared better than individuals who only received treatment as usual. People in the ISAT group, for example, reported having fewer drinks per drinking day than people in the control group and a greater percentage of days abstinent. The ISAT group also had a higher percentage of people who reported no heavy drinking days.

"Importantly, we also observed that participants randomized to stepped AUD treatment were more likely to achieve an undetectable HIV viral load," said Dr. Edelman. "We believe that with decreased alcohol consumption, participants in the ISAT group were more likely to take their HIV medications consistently, translating into improved HIV viral control."

In an invited commentary on the new research in The Lancet HIV, co-authors Lorenzo Leggio, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Investigator in the NIH Intramural Research Program at NIAAA and NIDA, and Roberta Agabio, M.D., a psychiatrist at the University of Cagliari in Italy welcomed the new findings as important for the HIV field and beyond.

"Stepped care approaches have been found to be effective for treating a variety of chronic diseases," said Dr. Leggio.

"These findings are a first indication of their potential value for treating AUD in the context of HIV treatment. The results warrant further investigation on how to optimize its use among people with HIV, and to explore its integration in other medical care settings. Indeed, the study is a compelling example of the need for trained clinicians across the spectrum of health care to recognize and treat AUD as a medical disorder amenable to a variety of treatment approaches."

Explore further Study confirms value of exposure therapy for vets with PTSD, alcohol problems

More information: Roberta Agabio et al. HIV and alcohol use disorder: we cannot ignore the elephant in the room, The Lancet HIV (2019). Roberta Agabio et al. HIV and alcohol use disorder: we cannot ignore the elephant in the room,(2019). dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3018(19)30074-8 Edelman E, et al (2019). Integrated stepped alcohol treatment for patients with HIV and alcohol use disorder: A randomised controlled trial. The Lancet HIV. dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3018(19)30076-1
Seated at a table in the Masquer Theatre on Friday, two actors exchanged dialogue from a new script in progress by award-winning playwright Martyna Majok.

After running through a short sequence, they stopped. Then they'd pick apart the lines.

For instance, Majok and Michael Legg, the artistic director of the Montana Repertory Theatre, and dramaturge Sarah Lunnie, discussed the emphasis of a few words delivered by Esau Mora, a visiting actor.

Underneath it all, what was Mora's character conveying when he said a phrase as concise as "I can't"?

When he says "I can't," with the emphasis on "can't," it implied one thing. Changing the emphasis to "I" changes the meaning to him and the character played by his scene partner, Aline Dufflocq, a recent University of Montana graduate.

They ran through it again and moved ahead, stopping frequently and, as Legg put it, "microscopically," to discuss the subtext or subtly change lines, or remove extraneous words.

They've been working on the play since Wednesday. Majok was rewriting the entire time. On Friday, Majok brought in 12 new pages. By Saturday, they'll have the first staged reading of the script, called "Sanctuary City."

Majok is here for the new iteration of the Colony, an annual program of workshops and staged readings presented by the Montana Repertory Theatre, a professional company in residence at the University of Montana.

Michael Legg, the Rep's new artistic director, restructured the event, and partnered with the national Dramatists Guild Foundation's Traveling Master's Program to bring the writers like Majok to Missoula. (The new version doesn't have a title yet, and naming rights are open to an interested sponsor.)

He hopes that these Rep workshops can show audiences the process of developing a play from the very beginning. Masquer sessions were open to the public, a draw especially to local playwrights, and could bring three dozen people through on a given day. He hopes the workshops build relationships so that perhaps in the future, the Rep can stage a full production of a new play like "Sanctuary City" right here in Missoula.

Last year, Majok won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for "Cost of Living." The Pulitzer website described it as "an honest, original work that invites audiences to examine diverse perceptions of privilege and human connection through two pairs of mismatched individuals: a former trucker and his recently paralyzed ex-wife, and an arrogant young man with cerebral palsy and his new caregiver."

Majok, whose last name is pronounced "my-oak," was born in Poland and her family immigrated to the United States, where she grew up in Chicago and New Jersey.

"Most of the plays that I write tend to be personal stories that come from my having grown up in a large immigrant community," she said. It was too early in the stages of "Sanctuary City" to talk about specifics, but the title alone implies a lot.

She doesn't think of her work as "political" in the sense that people might think, but "there's also a political aspect that I can't take out of these people's lives."

"Immigration law dictates what they can and can't do in the world, and that affects the choices they have to make in the world that they live in," she said.

Majok said workshops like these, in a less urban environment than New York, are beneficial.

"I like to be away from my life as much as I can when I'm working on a play," she said, since it can limit the distractions and provide inspiration.

"I find it useful to be far from what I assume to be true," she said. Leaving the city can help her "realize I've made certain default decisions about how I'm supposed to be living my life, or how a life is supposed to go," she said.

On Wednesday, she brought in a draft of "Sanctuary City." She said she knows where it's going, but this week's project was to determine "the most satisfying journey" there  finding which parts are honest and refine the storytelling.

Legg, who came to the Rep last year from the Actors Theatre of Louisville, said workshops like these are a normal part of the professional play development process, and can take many different forms and have different results  sometimes scripts change more than others.

Last week, the visiting playwright was Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin, a Brooklyn playwright, who was working on a play called "Butter Knife." Her script evolved radically over the course of the workshop, and will likely continue to do so, according to Lunnie, who as dramaturge is a key part of the process.

"Kaela left feeling excited about the discoveries and what she learned, and also a new set of questions, so I would imagine that that script would continue to change drastically," she said.

Lunnie was the literary director at Playwrights Horizons and has worked on developing new plays around the country and teaches at New York University.

As dramaturge, she thinks of herself as a collaborative editor. She works most frequently with playwrights, but also directors and designers, and the nature of her contributions varies on when in "the life cycle of a project" that she gets involved, she said.

In Majok's case, the draft was polished and already workshopped, and she's still learning Majok's language, so she's here "as a sounding board, and to help facilitate conversation."

Some of the actors came from outside Missoula. Mora is a former collaborator of Legg's and Majok's. Brian Tibayan was here from the University of Idaho in Moscow. Legg hopes to draw on actors from the larger region for the Rep projects, which have expanded to a full season. Others are students or recent grads like Dufflocq.

"For everybody here, it's an educational experience," Legg said. "These folks are experiencing this play for the first time, they're learning what it means to work with a director and a dramaturge and a playwright in real time here in these circumstances."

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Shannon is an intelligent spitfire that would love to go on adventures or snuggle up with you to watch some television. She whelped an adorable litter of puppies here at the Humane Society of Western Montana, and now she's ready to be the center of attention in a new home. Because she can sometimes be a bit on the sassy side, she would prefer to live in an adult-only home as the only pet. (After all, she's had enough kids in her life the past eight weeks!) This smarty pants already knows "sit," "touch," and is working on loose-leash walking with our behavior team. We're not sure what breeds Shannon might be, but she sure acts like a clever herding breed mix. She can be a bit pushy in order to get what she wants, but people experienced with herding breeds will appreciate her intelligence and personality. Her adoption comes with a complimentary package of private lessons with one of our certified trainers. Shannon wants to invite you to a family-friendly adoption event at Comfort Inn University on Saturday, May 25, from noon to 2 pm. Big Dipper Ice Cream will be on site along with adoptable animals and kids activities. Email paws@myhswm.org to learn more about Shannon.
Two draft public lands plans affecting hundreds of thousands of Montana acres appeared on Friday, and both quickly drew critics from conservationists.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Managements Missoula and Lewistown offices 90-day public comment periods on their resource management plans run through Aug. 15. The Missoula plan affects 163,000 surface acres mostly in Missoula, Powell and Granite counties. The Lewistown plan covers 651,000 surface acres, but also expands energy development opportunities on another 1.2 million acres in north-central Montana.

The Missoula district does not have oil and gas, and we dont manage sage grouse, so we dont have some of the more controversial issues that Lewistown has, Western Montana District Field Manager Joe Ashor said on Friday. Were 90% covered in trees. The key programs were known for are forestry, recreation, minerals, grazing and wildlife.

The Missoula-area plan recommends cutting 7.9 million board-feet of timber a year, up from the 1986 plans 7.2 million board-feet. However, Ashor said the district on average produced about 6.6 million board-feet annually.

But the plans preferred Alternative B has no backcountry conservation areas recommended for protection. The district has 46,389 acres proposed for that status in Alternative C, particularly in the remote Garnet Mountain Range.

It also considers just 2,500 acres as having wilderness-quality characteristics out of almost 59,000 acres it considered. By comparison, the University of Montanas Wilderness Institute and the Montana Wilderness Association inventories identified at least 16,000 acres. And it continues a 1986 recommendation to oppose federal wilderness status for two 11,000-acre wilderness study areas.

Its disappointing to see a plan release from the BLM that almost suggests the wilderness study areas should be released from status, Montana Wilderness Association western field representative Erin Clark said on Friday. Thats some of only remaining roadless areas in the Garnet Range. If they are released, if they become roaded, we move to a situation where the Garnet Range is forever altered.

Conservation monitors in the Lewistown region were louder in their criticism, saying the new drafts diverged widely from proposals worked out in 2014. A comparison of the old and new resource management plans shows a removal of protections for all sensitive areas and an emphasis on energy development.

Its very different from what we expected and what was originally proposed back in 2014, said Mark Good, MWAs senior conservation advisor. Most significant in the new plan, theyve zeroed out all the land with wilderness characteristics. Initially they had proposed broad protections for about 100,000 acres. All those protections that existed were zeroed out in this plan, in the preferred alternative.

BLM Montana communications director Al Nash acknowledged the local staff had received direction from the Washington office to change planning priorities after President Donald Trumps administration replaced that of President Barack Obama.

We were asked by our superiors in Washington to do some additional analysis and broaden the range of alternatives, Nash said. We shifted some components from preferred to other alternatives.

Nash said while the plans preferred alternatives indicated the likely direction the BLM intends to go, the public can argue for reconsideration of items in the other versions. Both plans also have separate reviews of several Areas of Critical Environmental Concern. Nash also noted that BLMs forecast of possible development in the Lewistown area predicts a very low chance of seeing any appreciable interest in attempting to develop oil and gas in the area.

A final decision on both plans should be made around November.

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The Bass Strait is a waterway separating the Australian provinces of Victoria and Tasmania.

It's unlikely that many people in the United States are aware of it, let alone its name, but Gabriel Hendrix, a seventh-grader at Target Range School, didn't have any trouble recalling the name of the strait at a Montana geography bee in March.

Hendrix's answer earned him first place at the Montana GeoBee in Bozeman, as well as a paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the National Geographic GeoBee from Sunday through Thursday.

Hendrix will be one of 54 students from across the nation competing in the geography bee that covers an array of topics for which students spend months studying.

"I studied more and I just kind of progressed further," Hendrix said, shrugging off his victory.

Armed with a copy of the "National Georaphic Bee Ultimate Fact Book, Hendrix said the national bee includes questions on rivers, national parks, provinces, territories, states and "all sorts of stuff in certain countries or states."

Hendrix's mother, Brigette, said that studying for the test has taken a lot of self-motivation on Gabriel's behalf.

"Hes just kind of been studying on his own, looking at books, the U.S. atlas, taking notes on different states, getting online and looking at maps for other countries," Brigette said.

He also watched final rounds of the competition from previous years, and arranged study sessions with his social studies teacher, Ryan Delaney.

Delaney isn't a stranger to the bee. Each year at Target Range, fifth-graders are required to compete in a class bee. The top students go on to a school bee, and from there, the top student takes a test to qualify for state.

Hendrix is the third student from Target Range to qualify for the national GeoBee in the past eight years, following Claire Hinther in 2011 and Jesse Zhang in 2014.

Hendrix previously qualified for state in fifth grade.

"Since he went to state in fifth grade, hes really been excited about it and has wanted to do well," his mother said.

"I put a lot of time into it so winning it was somewhat spicy," Hendrix said of his state win.

Delaney said he tries to give students a basis of geography with each unit he teaches.

"I break up geography based on what were learning so if were learning about the Roman empire, well do a geography unit on Europe. If were learning about ancient China, we do a geography unit on Asia," Delaney said.

Hendrix said he didnt think he would get very far in the national bee compared to students from other states, but Delaney disagreed.

"I think he's got just as good of a chance as anyone else," Delaney said. "He's ready."

Hendrix is used to competing as well. In addition to the GeoBee, he placed as a finalist in the Missoula County spelling bee this year, and also competes in Quizbowl and Math Counts.

"He's an incredibly well-rounded kid," Delaney said. "Academically and socially. All his peers love him."

Hendrix, his mom, dad and brother leave for Washington on Saturday. When they arrive, he'll split from his family to join the other competitors in a variety of activities organized by the event. Hendrix said he thinks and hopes they include a visit to the zoo.

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The new director of strategic enrollment technology at the University of Montana works in the chain of command of his wife, vice president for enrollment and strategic communications Cathy Cole.

The vice president does not directly supervise her spouse. However, the reporting structure can run contrary to some human resource policies, and Jeff Cole received a quick promotion and significant pay increase compared to the outgoing computer analyst.

At the same time, communications director Paula Short and Cathy Cole note Jeff Cole has driven improvements to a system that sorely needed it at a critical time for UM; he has repaired a broken software system that manages enrollment, is helping to bring new students to campus, and is ensuring recruiters can manage the recruitment pipeline.

This week, the UM employees shared the way the recruitment took place and the improvements made for the flagship as a result.

For example, UM has planned six orientations this spring for new students coming to campus in the fall, and all of them have been full, said Cathy Cole, who started at UM last summer.

UM also counts more applicants who have been admitted to date  2% more compared to one year ago. Enrollment has been a top priority for UM because it has experienced a steep and persistent decline for several years.

Additionally, UM said software fixes made by Jeff Cole will allow recruiters to send targeted communication this summer to prospective students who have not yet enrolled.

Theres been a number of faults within the software that Ive addressed, and its been fun to do. I like solutions, Jeff Cole said this week.

Priority: enrollment

Enrollment is a top priority for UM, but Cathy Cole said the software system was not sending out necessary communications to students last fall in the middle of recruitment for the following year. It was a critical time for the flagship.

We needed someone who could just step in and take care of it, Cathy Cole said.

According to UM, Jeff Cole started work Nov. 5 in a temporary role in Information Technology. Jeff Cole said he did so after being turned down for another UM position, but he said associate vice president for enrollment Mike Heitkamp quickly saw his skills could benefit the campus and urged him to turn down a more lucrative offer off campus and wait for a new job to open at UM.

We had many conversations about what the job was going to be, and on that basis, I turned down the other opportunity, Jeff Cole said.

Cathy Cole said Heitkamp, who reported directly to her, informed her Jeff Cole could help UM and was the best candidate for a permanent position in the Admissions Office. The job he holds is four positions removed from Cole.

I questioned him (Heitkamp) very deeply about that at the time. I said, Are you sure? Is this something youre saying because you think you need to or is it something you really believe? Cathy Cole said. He assured me Jeff was the perfect candidate for the job.

Heitkamp told her Jeff Cole was not only making fixes to the system, but said the staff liked him and he was teaching them to use the CRM  Constituent Relationship Management software  in a way they had not been able to in the past. (Heitkamp no longer works at UM and an attempt to reach him was unsuccessful.)

I recused myself immediately from any part of the hiring, Cathy Cole said.

UM is a large employer in Missoula and a number of married couples work at the university.

Salary upgrade

A recruitment authorization form filed with Human Resource Services notes a computer systems analyst position opened in the Admissions Office on Nov. 9. UM noted the pay for the outgoing computer analyst was $46,528, and the form requested an upgraded salary.

The form was signed by Cathy Cole, UM President Seth Bodnar via a staff member, and another official whose signature is illegible (Short said the signature is from interim finance vice president Rosi Keller). Cole said the previous person had been in the job so long it was no longer at market value, and compensation review is standard practice.

Human Resource Services paperwork noted the title for the new position as director of strategic enrollment technology, with a "compensation final approval" stamp dated Nov. 21. The new position bumped up some responsibilities and was eligible for a contract, which ended up being $60,000, according to UM.

The recruitment authorization form initially noted UM would hold an open recruitment with people off campus eligible to apply. However, the job posting said a "campus-only recruitment" would take place with only current employees eligible, including temporary staff and students.

Its my understanding that Rosi (Keller) and Mike (Heitkamp) decided to make it an internal posting because there were a handful of people on campus that could move into the position without us losing any time. I had no part in those conversations. None, Cathy Cole said.

The job was posted from Dec. 6 to Dec. 18, and Short said three people applied, although one was ineligible. UM noted the other two were screened and interviewed.

Jeff Cole said the job was less money than the one he turned down, and much less than he had earned as a manager in Florida. But he said it was appealing because he would have time off, maximize retirement contributions and do meaningful work.

"If I'm not adding value, I don't want to be here. If I didn't get the job on merit, I didn't want it," Jeff Cole said.

He also described himself as old school. In the interview, he was asked why he should get the job, and Jeff Cole said instead of making a pitch, he said he wanted the job if he was the best candidate.

Im also sensitive to the fact that Im in the same division (as Cathy Cole). Why would I want to make things difficult? Its just not who I am, Jeff Cole said.

Heitkamp chaired the search committee and remains on contract with UM through June, but he is no longer on the job. Short said there are plans to backfill his position, which is currently the top post between the vice president and Jeff Cole.

Transparency is key

Mark Marsen, a special expertise panelist for the Society for Human Resource Management, said its generally wonky in theory to have family members working for family members, but it is going to happen in the real world.

It becomes a matter of transparency and making darn sure that its very clear that the person who is hired is the most eligible, the most qualified, said Marsen, who noted he himself previously worked in a chain of command where he was considered the doctors wife and had to overcome coworker skepticism.

Some organizations have policies that prohibit spouses from working in the same chain of command or the same department, he said, and some even go so far as to prohibit spouses from working in the same building.

But Marsen said bosses can have all kinds of biases and give preferential treatment to a variety of employees, not just significant others. He has worked in human resources some 30 years.

In cases where family members come on board, he said hiring institutions should be mindful of how the recruitment looks and be prepared to explain it.

This is what we have done to make sure that we have made the best decision given the circumstances, Marsen said.

He said he advocates for transparent processes and open communication.

It really comes down to being professional, being an adult, and really not being afraid to communicate candidly, Marsen said.

Improved efficiency

Jeff Cole provided the Missoulian with a copy of his resume, which highlights developing and launching software that improved the efficiency of a manufacturing business and mentoring and training staff. The resume notes Cole most recently worked as a plant manager for Florida Custom Marble starting in 2012, driving production and profitability.

Coles resume also lists a bachelor's degree in manufacturing management from North East London Polytechnic. Short noted he holds a post-graduate certificate in education (mathematics and physics).

"His expertise is principally in systems, process and automation, and he works to examine them to optimize performance," Short said in an email. "This is the key strength he brings."

Jeff Cole said being able to get software to do what it should do has always been fairly easy for him. Hes turned many stones and found many problems with the software at UM and its implementation, and hes addressed them as much as possible.

The CRM holds roughly 500,000 records from the last two years. The fixes mean recruiters now have more autonomy in working within the system and can be more nimble in their outreach to prospective students, Cathy Cole said.

It has given our recruiters the ability to control how and when they talk to students or prospects. Weve never been able to do that before, Cathy Cole said. It was always driven from the top down.

She said the access also means recruiters can give her immediate feedback on which communications are working and which are not so she can write pieces that have more impact. It has revitalized the entire recruitment cycle.

The current system also has limitations, and Jeff Cole said the work he is doing behind the scenes to improve it serves to prepare him to more quickly ramp up and integrate a new system once UM starts an anticipated upgrade.

Its still a flawed piece of software, but at least its a flawed piece of software thats working. Its a work in progress, Jeff Cole said.

Cathy Cole said UM plans to issue a request for proposals for a new system this summer.

UM also plans to hire a computer systems analyst to assist Jeff Cole, who is currently handling management responsibilities along with housekeeping duties for the CRM.

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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Deer Lodge District Court Judge Ray Dayton imposed the maximum sentence on Friday for an Illinois man who was convicted on three counts of felony sexual intercourse without consent with a girl under the age of 12: 300 years in the Montana State Prison with no chance of parole for 50 years.

A jury found Charles Michael Byrne, 47, of Warren, Illinois, guilty of the charges in December.

At the time of the assaults, the girl's family and Byrne's were very close and did many things together, with Byrne and his wife even occasionally babysitting the girl, according to testimony during the trial.

And it was not the first time Byrne has been in trouble for sexual assault of children. He was previously incarcerated in Illinois for molesting two girls he was also close with.

Byrne did not express emotion as Judge Ray Dayton delivered the sentence.

"I have an absolute conviction in my heart and mind that you are a dangerous man," Dayton told Byrne from the bench. "I think you are very manipulative and a present danger to the community. On three distinctly different occasions, you raped a little girl, and I worry that if you are given a 25-year parole restriction that you will still be a danger to others."

The 25-year parole sentence Dayton referred to is the minimum allowed in the law for each offense.

Dayton sentenced Byrne to three consecutive 100-year sentences with no chance of parole for 50 years on any of the charges. No time was suspended or deferred on any of the sentences.

Byrne will be registered as a tier-two sexual offender, and he was ordered to pay restitution for all counseling and treatment for the victim that exists now and in the future not paid by insurance.

During the sentencing hearing on Friday, the Illinois victims testified separately by video conference about how Byrne's actions have impacted them since they were molested at ages 6 and 8.

In their testimony, they both said Byrne had been a friend of their families and that they had trusted him. They both said they didn't tell anyone about his actions for a long time because they were afraid. Both said after his assault they could no longer trust men, even their fathers, brothers, or other male family members.

They said they were terrified when Byrne was released on parole.

Montana Department of Corrections Probation and Parole Officer Jacob Miller prepared the pre-sentence report and told the court that Byrne denied the offenses of the past and continues to deny all charges in this current case. Miller stressed the importance of Byrne completing phase one and two of intensive sex offender treatment before any consideration for parole.

The young Deer Lodge victim read a statement to the court thanking her mother and older brother for supporting her through her experience.

"He (Byrne) betrayed me and everyone else," she said. "He invaded me in my house, the safest place I should be. I have terrifying nightmares and have had a lot of counseling to be more comfortable in myself. I don't want him to do anything to others like what he did to me."

The girl stated that thousands of sexual assaults  an estimated three out of every four  are not reported each year and that it is important to listen to people who do come forward.

"I believe he (Byrne) should be incarcerated so he can't take something precious from someone else," she said.

Powell County Deputy Attorney Patrick Moody addressed the severity of Byrne's crimes in his closing arguments.

"There are lines we do not cross," Moody said. "They are very egregious crimes  homicide, slavery, and child molestation  and there must be severe consequences. Child molestation is not a simple occasion victims can get past and move on.

"Byrne molested three girls ages 6, 8, and 9 after he manipulated and groomed them and their families so they trusted him and the girls could not fight back," Moody continued. "They were the most vulnerable in society, and now the victims do not trust people any more, their relationships are damaged forever, and (their) families do not know what to say. He is a serial child molester, convicted five times, with indications there are others, and there is no indication he will stop. He is dangerous."

Byrne did not testify.

After court recessed, Moody said, "I have infinite admiration for the victim and her family. It has been a long and difficult process. Justice has been done."

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Blood, whiskey bottle, theft

Butte police received a report Thursday afternoon of woman with a bloody face and a whiskey bottle walking along Oro Fino Gulch Road with a man and near a silver car pulled over on the shoulder.

When officers arrived, they identified the woman as Sarah Bartsch, 27, of Butte and the man as Taylor O'Neal, also 27 and from Butte.

Police then say they connected the pair and the vehicle to an incident that occurred earlier Thursday at the Sears Hometown Store where a store employee reported the theft of an electric wrench.

The employee's description of the alleged thieves matched Bartsch and O'Neal, police say. So did the license plate of the silver vehicle the two were driving and that was found on Oro Fino Gulch Road, according to police.

Bartsch and O'Neal were each booked on a single misdemeanor theft charge.

Squatter's rights denied

Police responded Thursday night to a report of a man inside the garage of an unoccupied house on the 500 block of South Idaho Street, where there is a row of houses slated to be removed to make way for an expansion of the nearby Town Pump.

When the arrived, officers say they found Burton Stover, 43, of St. Cloud, Minnesota, inside the structure.

According to police, Stover claimed he had squatter's rights to be in the garage. Police arrested him anyway on suspicion of criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor.

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ARCHIVED - Migrant baby missing in the Atlantic off Gran Canaria



24 Africans reached the Canaries and 55 more were intercepted in the Mediterranean on Thursday

As is to be expected with the arrival of warmer weather and calmer sea conditions, the issue of unauthorized migration from Africa to the southern coasts of Europe is beginning to occupy more and more column inches in the Spanish press, and the first couple of days in second half of May have coincided with a couple of incidents which highlight the problem.

Most of the migrants heading for the Spanish coastline do so by undertaking crossings of the Mediterranean aboard perilously small and fragile boats, and this was the case of 55 people who were intercepted by the maritime rescue service in the Mar de Alboran (the Mediterranean between Morocco and Andalucia) on Thursday. The authorities were informed that the boat had set out at 7.27 in the morning, but it was not until 17.30 that the air forces Rescue 32 craft located it and the Rio Segura and Salvamar Spica vessels were sent to the rescue.

However, there is also another maritime route from Africa to Spain which is used by would-be immigrants, running from Morocco and the Western Sahara to the Canary Islands, and in the early hours of Thursday morning a boat carrying 24 people reached the coast of Gran Canaria near Arguineguin. While attempting to land, though, three of the passengers, an 18.month-old baby and two adults, fell overboard and disappeared. The body of a woman has already been recovered, but despite an extensive search operation the other two are still missing.

The other 21 passengers on the boat, including 11 women, one little girl and two babies, landed safely and are now in custody, with the children initially having been taken to hospital for check-ups.

Follow Murcia Today on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest news, events and information in the Region of Murcia and the rest of Spain: https://www.facebook.com/MurciaToday/.
On a Friday morning call with analysts, Josh Jepsen, director of investor relations, said in response to market dynamics Deere is reducing production in its agriculture business to levels below retail sales. Production will be lower at some of its large North American plants for the remainder of the year.

He said the changes are mostly affecting the production of large agriculture equipment, with its major plants shipping around 20% less than the previous year.

Locally, Deere manufactures large agriculture equipment, such as combines and tractors, at its factories in East Moline and Waterloo.

Deere spokesman Ken Golden said the company is not specifying where production cuts are being made, only that it plans to under-produce market demand in the second half of the year.

"Production changes can be accomplished without changing the size of the workforce," Golden said in an email. "We have not announced any change in workforce."

Deere lowered its earnings outlook to $3.3 billion for the year, down from the previous forecast of around $3.6 billion. It also lowered its expectation for revenue to increase 7%, now anticipating 5% growth.
Edgmond also addressed concerns about downed trees along South Houser Street. The trees were cut down as part of the West Side Trail project and have been along the street for an extended period.

Edgmond said because the project is funded in part by federal dollars, federal rules apply including those of the endangered species act. He said according to federal regulations, trees cannot be cut down from April through October, so the trees were cut down prior. The Indiana bat and the long-eared bat are on the endangered species list and trees in their habitats may only be cut down when the animals are hibernating, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Edgmond said a request for proposals to remove the trees have gone out for bid, with only one coming back to Public Works. He also said the project could be done "quicker and safer" if the road was closed and made a request to council for a two-day closure.

Without closing the street, he said, the project would likely last one week, traffic would have to alternate around work crews and flagmen would have to be stationed entire time. The RFP did request cost estimates for each scenario: closing the road or leaving it open.
Donations are continuing to be accepted at QCCommunityFoundation.org and the foundations office at 852 Middle Road, Suite 100, in Bettendorf. For Project NOW assistance, call 309-793-6391. For Community Action of Eastern Iowa, call 563-324-3236.

A Flood Fest benefit will be held Friday, June 7, at 7:30 p.m,, at the RiverCenter, 136 E. 3rd St., Davenport, that will also support downtown Davenport recovery efforts. The musical guest lineup is in the process of being finalized and will be announced as soon as details are available.

Tickets for the concert are $25 and available at Ticketmaster.com. A stand-alone option for those not purchasing a ticket but wishing to donate to the flood relief fund may also do so via Ticketmaster. People also have the option to purchase a ticket and make a donation over and above the cost of concert admission. Ticketmaster has reduced ticket fees for the concert and waived fees associated with any stand-alone donations.
A K9 unit was called in and gave a positive alert to the presence of narcotics in the package.

Later that day, the tactical operations bureau, NETS (Neighborhoods Energized to Succeed) Unit, Emergency Services Team and the postal inspector conducted a controlled delivery of the package at the Western Avenue home.

The package was accepted by a woman and brought inside the home. Police watching the area saw her place the package back out onto the front steps after the postal inspector left.

About eight minutes later, a black Jeep Grand Cherokee arrived and parked in front of the home. Turner got out of the drivers side of the vehicle, retrieved the package and placed it in back seat and got back into the jeep.

Officers approached the vehicle and blocked him in and took Turner into custody.

Officers searched the vehicle and found the package, which contained eight individually packaged vacuum sealed bags containing raw marijuana. The packages had a total weight of 4,228.40 grams, or more than nine pounds, of raw marijuana.
The biggest cryptocurrencies on the market are going strong, and major exchanges remain optimistic about the future of the industry.

South African Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange Luno said at the beginning of this year that it looked forward to a number of advancements in the blockchain field in addition to further recognition from regulators.

It also cautioned investors and cryptocurrency owners to temper their expectations and remain cautious about dubious technologies.

Luno provides South African cryptocurrency fans with an archive of tutorials and advice to help educate newcomers on the advantages and potential dangers of purchasing cryptocurrency, making it a central goal of the platform to improve secure adoption of the technology.

The cryptocurrency exchange is still working hard and expanding its presence, and MyBroadband spoke to Luno Africa general manager Marius Reitz about the companys plans for this year.

Luno in 2019

Reitz told MyBroadband that Luno is working on its customer support platform as well as a number of new features.

We are investing heavily in better customer service and product experience in 2019, in addition to some exciting new product features and country launches, Reitz said.

Since launching our new Africa HQ in Johannesburg, weve worked extremely hard on expanding our footprint across new markets and will soon announce new African country launches.

Luno recently launched its new African regional headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, from where it plans to expand into additional markets on the continent.

Weve also launched a new team, Luno for Business, dedicated to working with businesses to help them onboard easier and create products and services that they need, Reitz said.

He added that Luno is working on new updates to its mobile applications, which will be aimed at improving the newcomers experience in the world of cryptocurrency.

Safety and support

Luno has worked hard to improve its customer support infrastructure, which is a common stress point for cryptocurrency exchanges.

The complex nature of cryptocurrency paired with the high-stakes environment makes support systems invaluable for cryptocurrency exchanges like Luno.

Some of the new features recently launched include faster customer service through live chat to all customers using Luno on our desktop and mobile applications, Reitz said.

Luno also launched a new security feature which allows users to disable the sending of cryptocurrency out of their Luno wallet.

You have complete control over the cryptocurrency that gets sent out of your Luno wallet, reducing the risk of losing money if your account ever gets compromised, he said.

The local cryptocurrency exchange aims to release a number of new features going forward, all of which are aimed at improving the user experience and confidence in the platforms security.
The prices of solid state drives in South Africa have fallen considerably and SSD hardware has become more accessible in recent years.

It is uncertain whether this trend will continue however, with Western Digital senior sales manager for Africa Ghassan Azzi stating that it is unclear how prices will change going forward.

Azzi told MyBroadband at a media briefing in Johannesburg that predicting how quickly prices will decrease for SSDs is incredibly difficult.

He said that SSD prices are based on the demand for these products, which makes any predictions almost impossible.

The more that we are selling, the more the price goes down, said Azzi. We dont know how much that will go down, it depends on the market.

Western Digital SSDs

One of Western Digitals key markets is SSDs  from cheap, entry-level products to those which offer premium performance.

Western Digital classifies its SSD ranges by colour, making it easy to identify the purpose and function of each product.

Western Digitals Green range of SSDs are its cheapest SSD products, offering slower speeds than the rest of their SSD offerings.

range of SSDs are its cheapest SSD products, offering slower speeds than the rest of their SSD offerings. Blue is the standard range, and is targeted at everyday home users.

is the standard range, and is targeted at everyday home users. Western Digitals Black range offers superior performance at a slightly more expensive price.

Western Digital also makes M.2 PCIe SSDs, which use a newer, more advanced interface that provides greater speeds to users.

Brad Bennett, senior channel marketing manager for the Middle East and Africa, said that M.2 PCIe drives are particularly focused on gamers, and since there is a big global gaming market, the technology will evolve and improve.

Were at the leading edge. We compete very strongly with the Samsung Evo range, said Bennett. Going forward, capacities will get better and speeds will increase.

Bennett also said that the biggest challenge faced by Western Digital in the M.2 PCIe market is that other hardware  such as motherboards  isnt developing fast enough to cope with the new storage technology.

When asked whether M.2 PCIe SSDs are likely to decrease in price in the near future, Azzi said that this will also depend on how much demand there is for these storage devices.
Who doesnt Support Senior Housing  raise your hand! If St. Helena really wants to help low-income seniors, then another Woodbridge Village must be built. The beautiful 50-unit apartment complex at 727 Hunt Ave. is HUD-subsidized, income-qualified housing for seniors and disabled people. I know it well because my daughter lives there. There is so much demand for these units, applicants cant even get on the waiting list.

But St. Helena City Council wants to build housing for workers  not seniors. So it has co-opted Vineyard Valley Mobile Home Park to be able to check the box on providing housing for low-income seniors, while not spending a dime.

The Star wrote it again in the May 9 issue: The June 4 ballot measure would give Vineyard Valley residents the choice between a long-term lease subject to the parks usual rent increases or a short-term lease subject to rent stabilization. Maximum rent increases for rent stabilized leases would be tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This superficial summary of the rent control Measure F provisions comes nowhere close to describing how this 25-page ordinance would change the fortunes of Vineyard Valley Mobile Home Park forever. (The council voted to review how the ordinance is working in two years, but according to the city attorney it can only be changed or rescinded by another ballot measure.)

1. While VV residents on rent control may have a choice, Vineyard Valley will not have a choice. Their operation will be micro-managed by city government.

2. Long-term leases are not subject to the parks usual rent increases. Leases provide for 3 percent increases  as stated in writing and signed by new lessees. Leases are now 15 years. No rent control needed. No city managed park.

3. Maximum rent increases may be tied to the CPI  except when the park owner completes an onerous and invasive process for larger rent increases.

An example of what Measure F requires follows:

Page 10 Clause B7

The Mobile Home Park Owner shall, at the same time, file with the Administrator two copies of the notice and summary of expenses required in Section 9.24.080 (B)(1), along with two copies of all relevant financial records, bills or documents which substantiate the level of increase proposed. This financial information shall be verified in writing by an auditor or certified public accountant or certified in writing as true and correct under penalty of perjury by the Mobile Home Park Owner. This information will be made available at City Hall for inspection and copying by the Affected Homeowners.

In other words the business will have to make private financial records public. What if Steves Hardware had to do that? Gotts Roadside? Merryvale? All other residential landlords? They could be next.

In Get the Real Facts about Measure F Susan Kenward writes, Without the RSO there are no limits on annual rent increases. This is fake news. Vineyard Valley has been operating without an RSO for 44 years. During that time all leases allowed up to 3 percent annual rent increases, which will again be the case if Measure F is defeated.

Mariam Hansen

St. Helena
1949-2019

Kay Luthi passed away on May 12, 2019 after battling cancer. She is survived by her husband Peter, sons Alex (Jessica) and Thomas, sisters Kathleen, Kristine, Karryl, Kellie and brother Kenton.

Kay was born in Woodland, Calif. in 1949 and graduated from UC Davis with a BS in Food Science and Technology. After a career in the food industry Kay received her teaching credentials in Math and Science and taught at local high schools in Sacramento and Napa.

Kay was a student and a teacher of several martial arts but in 1998 decided to focus primarily on healingtoo frequently physical limitations would prevent the full participation of a student in her class. She sought out and became a student of her root guru Dzochen and Tibetan Qigong Master Zi Sheng Wang of the Vajrayana lineage. She also studied Tibetan Buddhism of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage with the Venerable Khenpo Karma Namgyel Rinpoche from Bhutan and with other eminent Tibetan Buddhist teachers.

Kay practiced and taught Tibetan Qigong for over 30 years and helped establish The Center for Tibetan QigongNapa Valley in 2008.

The Center is a non-profit created to teach Tibetan Qigong methods for self-healing and provides a local resource for Tibetan Qigong practice and meditation. The Center also receives donations and provides assistance to Tibetan monasteries. Through the Center Kay helped facilitate visits for Khenpo Karma Namgyel Rinpoche and other visiting Tibetan Buddhist lamas to teach workshops in the Napa and the San Francisco Bay Area.

To help spread the healing benefits of Tibetan Qigong Kay also published books and companion DVDs to share the knowledge she received from her dharma teachers.

Memorial services will be private; in lieu of flowers please send donations to Drukpa Mila Center, Garchen Buddhist Institute or CTQNV. Donation information can be found at donate.ctqnv.org
SAN FRANCISCO  A suspect was arrested in a March 1974 killing in California after investigators used the same advanced DNA testing that helped crack the Golden State Killer case, authorities said Thursday.

John Arthur Getreu, 75, was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting and strangling 21-year-old Janet Ann Taylor, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office announced.

Taylor was last seen alive attempting to hitchhike from Palo Alto to her home in nearby La Honda. Her body was found along a busy street.

Getreu was already in custody in Santa Clara County after being charged last year with sexually assaulting and strangling Leslie Perlov, another 21-year-old woman, in 1973.

Investigators previously believed the killings of Perlov and Taylor were connected. But their cases had gone unsolved until DNA testing evolved enough to deliver credible results from the degraded DNA collected at both killing scenes.

Authorities in both counties submitted DNA samples to the same publicly available DNA database used to identify Joseph DeAngelo, who authorities believe is the Golden State Killer.

Getreu was linked to both killings after the testing connected him to both crime scenes, investigators said.

In the Golden State Killer case, investigators used DNA from the attacks to locate a relative of DeAngelo then turned to traditional techniques to find the suspect.

Authorities have linked the Golden State Killer to 13 attacks of women throughout California between 1974 and 1986.

"Law enforcement is not giving up on victims," Assistant San Mateo County Sheriff Gregory Rothaus said at a news conference on Getreu in Redwood City. "We have new DNA technology that is a great tool for us."

Santa Clara County court records show Getreau is represented by the county's public defender's office, which didn't return a call.

Getreau has not yet been appointed a lawyer in San Mateo County.
Jerry and Judy Nunn had big plans in 2008. The longtime Napa business owners, then in their 60s, had recently received permission from the city of Napa to turn their family home at 1042 Seminary St. into a bed and breakfast, cheese shop and deli.

They hoped to revive their family-run eatery from the 1970s and 80s, Nunns Cheese Barn, formerly located on Main Street.

Instead, things took a bad turn. Their son David, who had been previously been diagnosed with a brain tumor, was not doing well. David had four young children and Judy and Jerry wanted to help support their son.

In 2008, the couple asked their bank for a modification of their adjustable rate mortgage.

It was very important to get that loan modified, said Judy Nunn. It would have lowered our payments and we would have been able to proceed with our business plans and still help our son.

According to the Nunns, in 2009, the bank that was by then responsible for their mortgage, JP Morgan Chase, told them to stop making mortgage payments on the Seminary Street house, which would then qualify them for a mortgage modification program.

To the Nunns dismay, instead of getting their mortgage modified, JP Morgan Chase refused the loan modification, stopped accepting additional mortgage payments and began foreclosure proceedings on a home that Jerry Nunn said had been in his family for 50 years.

We had believed in our bank and all of sudden, they turned on us, said Judy Nunn. They misled us all the way through their process.

We put all our faith and trust into the bank, but Chase Bank is stealing our home, said Jerry Nunn, now 78.

More than 10 years and $400,000 in legal fees later, the Nunns are still fighting to reclaim their house.

Searching for justice

Its been a heart-wrenching journey, said Judy Nunn, who is also now 78.

Over the past decade, the Nunns have hired least three attorneys to try and keep their house. That led to two lawsuits filed in Napa County Superior Court on behalf of the Nunns.

The first, filed in 2011, centered on the modification agreement the Nunns believed they had established with Chase in 2009. According to the lawsuit, after the Nunns made three modified payments, Chase refused to allow further payments or to honor the modification. The Nunns also later added a claim that in 2016 Chase wrongly foreclosed on their home.

After a number of court rulings, both in favor and against the Nunns, they have continued to litigate the foreclosure of their home.

In 2017, a second lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Nunns to reclaim legal possession of the Seminary Street house. Since then Chase has filed a number of eviction lawsuits that the bank itself dismissed and refiled. The Nunns are appealing the most recent eviction ruling.

Asked to comment on this story, a representative for JP Morgan Chase noted that the Nunns have not made a payment on their Seminary Street mortgage for 10 years.

During this time, we tried to resolve the matter with them on multiple occasions with several different settlement options, said a statement from JP Morgan Chase. Unfortunately, we couldnt reach a mutually agreeable resolution. So we proceeded with litigation to protect our interests.

The case could be compared to David versus Goliath, said members of the Nunns current legal team.

Its all about profit and greed, said Ronald Freshman, the Nunns attorney, who is based in southern California. They dont care that this was a family home for 40 years.

We think its worth that fight, said Kimberly Cromwell, a paralegal who is working with Freshman.

They just want to get on with their lives and if Chase will agree to return the title and implement the modification, they will start making payments again, said Cromwell.

Jerry and I are so shocked the bank would treat us like this asking for help when our son was terminally ill, said Judy.

The Nunns son David passed away in 2009. Thats what motivates us for justice, said Judy. If their son was alive today, Hed say, Mom dont take that treatment.

JPMorgan Chase was one of a number of large banks involved in the mortgage meltdown that preceded the Great Recession.

The business practices of JP Morgan Chase, and other mortgage lenders, were later investigated. In a 2013 settlement deal with the U.S. government, JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay some $13 billion in fines and other payments related to mortgages and mortgage securities that helped cause the financial crisis that began in 2007.

When asked if the couple ever considered just cutting their losses and moving on, the Nunns said no.

Its the principle, said Judy. We were brought up to tell the truth and treat others as you want to be treated. Weve had our homeowners rights taken away. It wasnt our fault.

The couple said they are making their story public so that people realize what they and others who have lost their homes to foreclosure have experienced.

When you hear of someone in foreclosure you think theyve done something wrong, said Judy. But dont look down on them, she said. Most of the time its not their fault.

As the cases drag on, the Nunns said they are getting by. They live in a house on El Monte Way in Napa - a home with a JP Morgan Chase mortgage. Jerry Nunn receives some income from a military disability policy. He was in the Army from 1959 to 1962.

However, life isnt easy, the two said. By having their commercial plans thwarted on Seminary Street, they have lost both past and future income. For health reasons, doctors have advised them to stop attending legal depositions.

Were trying to enjoy our grandkids, said Judy. But this has really consumed us.

Recently, a coming soon for sale sign was installed in front of the house on Seminary Street. The house has been vacant for some time.

Jerry Nunn said hes not sure how the property could be sold while the possession of the home is contested.

To draw attention to their situation, the couple stood outside their former home on Friday holding a large yellow banner.

Chase Bank stealing our home the sign said. A few cars that passed by honked in support and Jerry Nunn waved in reply.

Nunn, a former paratrooper in the 101st airborne division, quoted something he learned in the Army: There is no such thing as quit.

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YOUNTVILLE  It wasnt the rain that stopped a group of volunteers from cleaning gravestones at the Yountville Veterans Home ceremony, but a water source that couldnt be turned on.

Still, that didnt dampen the spirits of roughly a dozen volunteers who gathered Saturday morning to serve those who served by cleaning gravestones.

The Napa Valley Marine Corps League Detachment 870 coordinated the volunteer event. Marines share a sense of brotherhood that spans generations, borne partly out of respect for tradition, said former Marine Kevin Goza of Napa. Saturday, which was also Armed Forces Day, was about honoring the service and sacrifice of the fallen, he said.

You always have to take care of those before you, he said.

More than 5,800 gravestones are located on a hilly 11-acre lot dotted with Oak trees and tucked in a corner of the Veterans Home. Buried there are veterans who served in the Civil War, Spanish-American War, Mexican-American War and both World Wars.

Deer meandered through the long rows of gravestones, chewing grass, while volunteers gathered, sipped coffee and ate doughnuts.

Matthew Decker of Napa, a former Marine, said Marines share a strong tradition of service.

My mission right now is to serve those who served, he said.

Kirsten Hensley of Napa came to volunteer because its a way to give back. Her grandfather and cousin both served in the military, and to her, cleaning the gravestones was a way to appreciate those who protect the country.

Its a lot of people buried that have given their service, Hensley said. We have to do what we can.

Dave Krueger, a Napa resident and veteran of the Vietnam War, said he volunteered out of a desire to show respect for late service members. Theres a possibility that the group might try to work on other cemeteries in disrepair, he said.

J.T. Bikul of Napa, who helped coordinate the volunteer event, noted that the cemetery is tucked back into the Veterans Home and many of those buried were from elsewhere. They planned the event for that Saturday to start maintenance ahead of Memorial Day, he said.

The volunteers werent able to clean any gravestones because the water supply to the cemetery couldnt be turned on, but the Napa Valley Marine Corps League Detachment 870 didnt give up. They hope to return soon and make the gravestone-cleaning an annual or even quarterly affair, Bikul said.

But if more community members dont decide to volunteer, the Marine Corps League will still be there.

Thats how Marines work, Decker said.

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A truck overturned in Browns Valley on Friday morning, shutting down a portion of Redwood Road until late afternoon.

The truck was carrying argon and liquid nitrogen tanks that released gas when they were tipped over, according to a City of Napa spokesperson. The incident prompted a precautionary evacuation of Lynn Drive. City officials went door-to-door to warn residents within 300 feet that they should shelter in place.

The driver was not injured, according to the city. Napa Police Department announced in a Nixle alert at 4:20 p.m. that the evacuation order was lifted and the road was open.

The collision occurred on a twisting section of Redwood along a creek. Barricades were set up on Redwood at West Pueblo Avenue and at Browns Valley Road.

The truck was reported removed by mid-afternoon, leaving a city crew to repair the guardrail next to the creek.

Officials with the city, Napa Fire Department, Napa Police Department, Napa Public Works Department and Napa County Environmental Health Division were on the scene, the city said. The American Red Cross and CrossWalk Community Church assisted those affected by the crash.

Napa Police first sent out a Nixle message at 7:22 a.m., announcing that Redwood Road near Lynn Drive would be closed for an extended period due to an industrial vehicle collision.

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YOUNTVILLE  The Napa Valley swimming center shuttered by a contract dispute with the state is now in state hands.

Yountville has formally handed control of the Community Pool at the Veterans Home of California back to the state veterans agency, town officials announced Thursday. The transfer  induced by a state audit suggesting the towns long-term lease on the pool was illegal  closes the book, at least for now, on more than three decades of shared use by Yountville townsfolk as well as military retirees.

Whether and when the Veterans Home pool will reopen, and whether local residents will regain access, was not immediately clear. An email was left late Thursday night with Joshua Kiser, spokesperson for the state-run retirement center.

Mounting maintenance needs and declining visitor counts have affected the Yountville pool operation in recent years, and increasing difficulty hiring lifeguards and staff led the town to sharply reduce hours and eliminate its learn-to-swim classes. But the final straw was a report published in January by the office of state Auditor Elaine Howle, which declared that leases for the pool and other Veterans Home facilities have been mishandled, returning too little money for residents welfare.

Among the auditors targets was Yountvilles 20-year contract with the state Department of Veterans Affairs, which entrusted the town with upkeep and operations in exchange for a dollar a year in rent. That deal, signed in 2005, violated a five-year limit on such leases on state land, Howle wrote.

In April, Yountville canceled this years pool season, which was to run from June to September. Town Council members had warned that trying to open the swimming facility on an invalid contract could expose the town to lawsuits in case of accidents.

Although CalVet offered Yountville a new pool management deal with terms similar to the old  but limited to five years  the town declined, citing maintenance costs and expectations of annual deficits. Yountville has spent about $2.5 million operating the swimming center under the 2005 contract, more than half that total for upgrades in the first two years.

With Yountville out of the public pool business, funds already budgeted for this summers swim season will be returned to the general fund, Public Works Director Joe Tagliaboschi told the town Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission.

A town program this year will reimburse residents 75 percent of the cost for passes at public pools in Napa, American Canyon, St. Helena and Calistoga.

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Im writing to you in regards to the immigration crisis that we are dealing with in the United States. This country was made as a sanctuary to those immigrating from their countries, looking for refuge. The great lady liberty says it herself Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free

Why is part of this country fighting so hard to go against her wishes? The U.S. has been doing this for over 80 years. Whether its turning away Jewish immigrants running from the Holocaust or Guatemalan and Salvadoran immigrants running from their civil war.

In 2018, we turned away 700 migrants from Honduras who were fleeing from gang threats and the lack of work.

George Santayana, a philosopher from Spain, said, Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. He was quite right.

The U.S. government also tends to make those who dont share the same ideals as them disappear. Just as they did to Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, who were activists for anarchy for things such as labor unions, workers rights, women's rights and access to information about birth control.

Now that undocumented immigrants are fighting for their rights the government has been conducting more ICE raids in residential and business areas.

President John F. Kennedy stated at the 50th annual Anti-Defamation League, It is a proud privilege to be a citizen of the great republic, to hear its songs sung, to realize that we are the descendants of 40 million people who left other countries, other familiar scenes to come here to the United States to build a new life, to make a new opportunity for themselves and their children

Immigrants do a large part of the agricultural work in the United States. If the president were to deport all immigrants, the United States government would surely suffer and the cost of food might even rise.

In 2011 Governor Robert Bentley of Alabama signed a bill that combated illegal immigration. As a result, many undocumented workers left the state. There arent many workers that are willing to do the tough job of picking crops and many farmers are looking to replace the workers they lost before their crops rot.

Georgia passed a similar law and because of this, farmers lost over 40 percent of its workers and $140 million dollars worth of blueberries, melons, onions, and other crops.

It is often believed that immigrants dont pay taxes. However, its been estimated that they pay $10 billion in taxes each year.

Why does the United States work so hard on deporting immigrants who are just seeking help and a better life? Why does it fear ideas that dont match theirs or try to fight immigrants who help the economy? The U.S. is a bully that keeps repeating its mistakes from the past. When will this country learn?

Jamilet Solano

American Canyon
Tripura police on Saturday arrested two suspected Bangladeshi nationals from Agartala railway station.

Police officials said mobile task force arrested the two suspected Bangladeshi nationals Agartala railway station around 4.15 pm. The arrested persons have been identified as Saha Alam, 18, and Jafar Hossain, 19.

Police recovered two kgs of suspected dry ganga and approximately four kgs of suspected drug substance from their possession.

Anti narcotics has examined the dust substance with drug detection kit. The dust substance is having highly burning sensation and during detection process kits are badly damaged.

The detained persons and seized articles were handed over to government railway police for formal investigation.
MFA: Possibility of meeting of special representatives of Armenia and Turkey in Moscow is being discussed

Baku supports normalization of relations between Ankara and Yerevan

Azerbaijani MFA says tension between Baku and Tehran eliminated

Cavusoglu says Armenia-Turkish's representatives 1st meeting to be held in Moscow

Magnitude 5.2 earthquake hits Iran

Ibrahim Kalin: Armenia-Turkey process will destroy arguments of Armenian diaspora in US

Zas assesses situation on border of Armenia and Azerbaijan

Armenia 2nd President on Meghri option: Azerbaijan president refused to sign at last moment in Key West

Kocharyan: Armenia has washed its hands of Karabakh

Armenia 2nd President: We continue losing propaganda war to country where power is hereditary

Copper is getting cheaper

UN Secretary General Guterres urges to prepare for a new pandemic

Opposition MP: Armenia authorities attempting to create internal political crisis in Artsakh

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We lost control not only over those 40-45 km but over ten times larger areas

59 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

At least 13 people killed in Bolivia floods

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyans year-end press conference

World oil prices fluctuate

Armenia premier: Discussions that followed my interview on Karabakh peace process revealed some falsifications

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan to hold year-end press conference today starting at 11am

Russian peacekeepers ensure entry of about a thousand vehicles into Nagorno-Karabakh

Researchers report aurora borealis at equator

Armenia PM Pashinyan will rule for another 10 years if opposition does nothing, says political scientist

Peskov labels topic of NATO's security guarantees as 'a matter of life and death' for Russia

Armenian political party: Artsakh can never be a part of Azerbaijan, no govt can subordinate will of people

Armenia PM responds to criticism from Karabakh officials in regard to his statements

Armenia and Karabakh Ombudspersons issue statement on Nikol Pashinyan's statements

Karabakh President responds to Armenia PM Nikol Pashinyan

Taliban advise US to not interfere in Afghanistan's domestic affairs

Karabakh Parliament Speaker: We are in a sad situation, sirs

Armenia opposition MP: Nikol stole from Karabakh-Armenians their small homeland, did he steal their dignity too?

2 more persons die of coronavirus in Karabakh

Armenia opposition MP on Pashinyan's recent statements on Artsakh and Karabakh legislature's upcoming session

Turkish drone strikes Kurds' Kobani in Syria - mass media

Karabakh Parliament to convene special session for adoption of statement

102 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Stoltenberg wishes to convene session of NATO-Russia Council on Jan. 12 - mass media

2 earthquakes hit coasts of Kamchatka Peninsula in one hour

Armenian President congratulates Justin Trudeau

Macron calls launch of the James Webb telescope a historic event

Iran closes land border with neighboring countries due to omicron strain

Ariane successfully launches with latest James Webb telescope

Turkey and Azerbaijan Foreign Ministers discuss situation in South Caucasus

Pashinyan congratulates Trudeau on his anniversary

Flight to Yerevan cancelled due to plane engine fire

Yerevan ex-mayor Marutyan submits letter of resignation from his city council seat

Artsakh Prosecutor's Office: Chartar village resident killed by long-range shot by Azerbaijan

4 dead after Sri Lanka policeman opens fire on fellow officers

Newly appointed Yerevan mayor takes oath of office

At least 16 people die after boat full of migrants capsizes off Greece coast of

Amirabdollahian: Iran Azerbaijan charted roadmap to further enhance ties

Christmas Eve does not pass without incident for Biden

118 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

New mayor of Yerevan to swear in today

Huge ichthyosaur fossil reveals new theories about evolution speed

Rare walking fish spotted off Tasmania coast for first time in 22 years

Rice-sized microchip placed under skin can become Covid vaccination passport

Thailand authorities seize $30M of crystal methamphetamine hidden in boxing punch bags

Newspaper: No contract signed with any lobbying organization since Makunts appointment as ambassador to US

Newspaper: Armenia ex-President Kocharyan to also hold press conference

Newspaper: Armenia authorities instruct but investigative body can no longer continue

Armenia PM: There are no legal grounds for existence of enclaves

Armen Ashotyan to Pashinyan: Real catastrophe took place when a nincompoop like you came to power in Armenia

Armenia PM: Catastrophe took place in Karabakh negotiations in 2016

Armenia PM on first meeting held in '3+2' regional format

Armenia PM on opening of communications

Yerevan mayor's oath-taking ceremony to be held on Dec. 25

Putin to not call Biden on the phone to wish him a Merry Christmas

Armenia PM on granting status of observer to Azerbaijan within Eurasian Economic Union

Georgia Parliament Speaker resigns

Armenia's Pashinyan: I refuse to discuss any issue related to the army publicly

Armenia PM: If the Armenian-Turkish negotiations are a success, of course, there will be a meeting with Erdogan

Earthquake hits Armenia-Georgia border zone

Armenia PM: I returned from meeting in Sochi with a feeling of satisfaction

Armenia PM says he will attend non-official summit of CIS countries, will have contact with Aliyev

Armenia's Pashinyan: We returned the captured Azerbaijani servicemen without preconditions

Azerbaijan to deploy special military detachments in Karabakh's Hadrut region

Azerbaijan President is blatantly threatening Armenia again

Armenia FM meets with members of ruling parliamentary faction

Armenia PM giving press conference

Armenian PM attends Requiem Service for wife of National Hero of Armenia Karen Demirtchyan

Analyst clarifies what will disturb Turkey and Azerbaijan from opening so-called corridor via Armenia

NEWS.am daily digest: 24.12.21

Republican Party of Armenia: Authorities are creating barrier between Diaspora and historic homeland with their policy

Turkey, Qatar sign memorandum on joint management of Kabul International Airport

Armenia ex-defense minister Davit Tonoyan to remain in custody

Representatives of Azerbaijani and Armenian communities meet in Moscow for first time after Karabakh military conflict

Dollar still losing value in Armenia

Parliament vice-speaker receives American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia board chairman

Republican Party spokesperson: Armenia authorities decided to smoothen ties with Turkey after defeat in war

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
His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians hosted today General Secretary of the ACT Alliance Rudelmar Bueno de Faria at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, with the accompaniment of Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the WCC Armenia Inter-Church Charitable Round Table Foundation, Bishop Mushegh Babayan and Executive Director, Dr. Karen Nazaryan, reports the Information System of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

The General Secretary presented the organizations activities and informed that it carries out its humanitarian mission in more than 125 countries and consolidates more than 150 churches and faith-based and church organizations. The General Secretary also stated that in addition to rapid reaction to disasters and advocacy and development programs, the ACT Alliance also provides assistance to the countries entangled in conflicts and devastated by natural disasters, particularly Christians subjected to violence.

His Holiness welcomed the Alliances cooperation with various church organizations and stated that this also promotes effective implementation of the Churchs mission. In this regard, the Supreme Patriarch particularly expressed appreciation to the General Secretary of the ACT Alliance for the humanitarian aid provided to Armenia during the Four-Day Artsakh War in April 2016.

The Catholicos of All Armenians and the ACT Alliances General Secretary also talked about the efforts being made for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the involvement of the Armenian Church in this process. His Holiness welcomed the ACT Alliances proposal to hold a conference devoted to the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict along with the WCC Armenia Inter-Church Charitable Round Table Foundation.
YEREVAN.  Hayk Alumyan, one of the legal defenders of Armenias second President Robert Kocharyan, called on the relevant authorities not to allow the rally noted to be held Saturday outside a capital city Yerevan court. Alumyan stated this at a press conference on the same day.

He cited the Facebook post by Hayk Sargsyan, an MP from the ruling majority My Step faction, and in which it is written as follows: There is information that Robert Kocharyans judge is being subjected to pressure and today he wants to commute his pretrial measure [of custody].

One cannot allow to release a person who has seized the city of Yerevan with tanks, taken the lives of 10 people, crippled the fates of thousands of people, by the guarantees of 2 presidents of Karabakh and under the pressure of the Freedom to the Hero actions by 20-30 supporters at the courtyard of the court.

Only a large crowd of people, their rising fury, and the inevitability of punishment will compel the judge to make a fair decision.

Today at 13:00 [1pm] all of us [lets go] to the court of Nor Nork.

Hayk Alumyan noted that this post, first of all, grossly violates the presumption of Robert Kocharyans innocence.

Second, even the SIS [Special Investigation Service] doesnt attribute to Kocharyan the taking the life of 10 peopleof even one person, he added, in particular. Being an MP of the ruling party faction, Mr. Sargsyan is making such calls and statements. What is this, if not the most brutal, direct pressure on the court. After this, should they say to us that the pressure on the courts are now ruled out in Armenia? That thesis is a fairy tale; the pressure on the courts in Armenia has risen in the past one year.

Also, Hayk Alumyan made an appeal:

I call on the President of the Republic of Armenia: Honorable Mr. [Armen] Sarkissian, I call on [to you] to fulfill the duty placed upon you under the Constitution; that is, to ensure the constitutional order. And what Hayk Sargsyan has posted on his Facebook page, and which is being disseminated on the page of their supporters, is nothing more than a direct call for overthrowing the constitutional order; that is, exerting pressure on the judge by assembled people [so] that the judge continues to keep Mr. Kocharyan in custody

Second, I appeal to the law enforcement system. Dear Mr. prosecutor, I call on you to accept this statement as a crime report and to file a criminal case on the fact that some person is attempting to exert pressure on the court, in order to get the judicial act he desires.

I call on the Chief of Police of the Republic of Armenia and the Police of Armenia to take immediate action so that this assembly does not take place because the objective of this assembly is not peaceful. Pressure on the judge has been announced as the objective of this assembly, which has no right to take place.

I am not calling for ensuring the security of anyone, the public order there. In this case, I call on to do everything that this assembly does not take place.

I call on the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. Honorable Mr. Prime Minister, we all know that these people will not make any such statement if not for your approval to it. Honorable Mr. Prime Minister, I call on to you not to let, even at the last moment to prevent these developments. Dont allow your supporters to carry outin fact, also on your behalf, at least with your permissionwhat Hayk Sargsyan has noted in his call.

I call on the SJC [Supreme Judicial Council] and its chairman Gagik Harutyunyan. Dear Mr. Harutyunyan, at least once carry out, ultimately, the obligation that is put upon the SJC. () for the first time support the independence of the judiciary [in Armenia].

I call on all human rights advocates. Raise your voice for the independence of the judiciary [in Armenia].

There should be no manifestation of exerting of pressure on the judiciary by the crowd.

I call on all international missions that are working in the Republic of Armenia. Follow these developments very closely. Do everything within your power to make the Republic of Armenia authorities reach the impermissibility of such manifestations.
After going through something as life-altering as a car accident, the best thing you can get out of it is...
The decision of the court on changing the measure of restraint of Armenia second President Robert Kocharyan will have a strong influence both on the pro-life processes in Armenia and in terms of internal political solidarity, the head of the office of the Armenian second president, Victor Soghomonyan told Armenian News - NEWS.am

The courts decision was fair, he said adding that in the near future, Robert Kocharyan will have the opportunity to meet with his supporters.

According to him, early next week, probably on Monday, Robert Kocharyans office will inform the public about the ex-Presidents plans.

At the same time, he expressed concern over the threats agains Judge David Grigoryan.

As reported earlier, a Yerevan court on Saturday ruled for the release of Kocharyan from pretrial custody, and based on a respective personal pledge.

Artsakh Republic (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) President Bako Sahakyan and second President Arkadi Ghukasyan on Thursday submitted a personal pledge at the aforesaid court, and for commuting Robert Kocharyans pretrial measure of remanding in custody.

In March, the court had granted the Special Investigation Services petition to extend Robert Kocharyans pretrial measure of custody for two more months. The period of this pretrial measure concludes on Sunday.

Robert Kocharyan is charged with breaching the constitutional order of Armeniaand in connection with the tragic events that occurred in Yerevan, in March 2008and, by using his official position, taking a particularly large bribe. His attorneys, however, maintain that these charges are groundless and a political persecution is carried out against him with this fabricated case.

On March 1 and 2, 2008 the then authorities of Armenia used force against the opposition members who were rallying in downtown Yerevan, and against the results of the presidential election on February 19, 2008. Eight demonstrators as well as two servicemen of the internal troops were killed in the clashes.
Greece does not demand revenge for the genocide of the Pontic Greeks, but demands justice and recognition of the Turkish crime, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said at a meeting with the Pontic Greeks.

The meeting was held in connection with the centennial genocide, when hundreds of thousands of Greeks were killed in Turkey, RIA Novosti reported.

According to him, he decided to form a mixed commission with the participation of government representatives and organizations of Pontiacs to create a theme park in Thessaloniki and a museum in Athens dedicated to the victims of Pontiacs. A department of Pontic studies will be created at the Faculty of History and Archeology of Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, he added.

Tsipras also said that on Sunday evening, on the anniversary of the centenary of the Pontiac genocide, the parliament building would be highlighted in the colors of Pontic Hellenism - red and black.

In Greece, May 19 is the memorial day of the genocide of the Pontic Greeks. His victims, according to various sources, were from 350 thousand to a million Greeks.
Verbal targeting by presidents. Online harassment, especially of women. Low pay and sometimes economic hardship. And in some countries, danger. Why would anyone want to be a journalist in Latin America, or even the U.S., these days?

Understanding how journalists view their profession, what challenges they face on the job, and what contributions they make to their societies are the goals of the third round of the groundbreaking multi-country study, called The Worlds of Journalism Study.

Members of the network, all journalism researchers at universities around the globe, survey working journalists using a comparative methodology at a time of intense transformation in both journalism and politics.

Academics working in 16 Latin American and Caribbean countries will gather at the University of Miami Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas on May 22 and May 23 to plan the third round of the study. In the second round, more than 27,000 journalists in 67 countries were surveyed.

Despite the growing challenges and profound transformations in journalism and public communication globally, journalism continues to be a vitally important profession that attracts committed professionals.

With the exception of star television journalists, high pay is not what could attract someone to journalism, said Sallie Hughes, associate professor in the School of Communications Department of Journalism and Media Management.

Its a vocation, added Hughes, who is also faculty director at the institute. Journalists can monitor powerful actors and denounce abuses, as well as construct compelling narratives about people who otherwise would be forgotten by societys mainstream.

The results of the second round of study were published throughout the world, in peer-reviewed journals, university presses and policy-focused reports, as well as shared with journalists and journalism associations in numerous presentations.

As the researchers plan for the third round of study, the Latin American and Caribbean regional teams are convening for their first regional meeting. The goal is to determine regional priorities to be included in the global study questionnaire, as well as plan comparative publications that highlight issues uniquely important in the region.

Hughes and Jyotika Ramaprasad, professor in the School of Communication, are world region coordinators in the global networkHughes for Latin America and the Caribbean, and Ramaprasad for central Asia where she collected data in India and Botswana for the last study.

Hughes co-lead the Mexico team in the second round of the study and recently helped to form a network of researchers from 11 Mexican and U.S. universities to undertake the third round of the study in that country next year. Mexico is one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, which complicates survey research there, Hughes said. The university professors are all experts in this sort of research, making numerous contributions to the growing academic literature on journalism and risk.

At the Miami meeting, leaders of the research teams from Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico will attend.

Hughes says the study, which will take about three years to complete and publish, has gained prestige worldwide because of its methodological rigor and theoretical insights.

Worlds of Journalism: Journalistic Cultures Around the Globe, the main academic book published from the second round of the study, will be available in June from Columbia University Press. Ramaprasad was an editor and Hughes was co-author of two chapters.

The regional workshop is being co-sponsored by the School of Communications Knight Chair in Visual Journalism, Alberto Cairo, who is working with the Google News Initiative to visualize the results of the second round for worldwide dissemination.

By helping to catalyze the regional network, the meeting exemplifies UMs role as a hemispheric university and UMIAs role for convening and showcasing high-level research on vitally important issues for the Americas and the globe, Hughes said.
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(Adds criticism from advocacy group backing Warren)

By James Oliphant

PHILADELPHIA, May 18 (Reuters) - Seeking to build on early momentum in his 2020 presidential bid, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday condemned "anger" within his own Democratic Party and pledged to work to unify the country in the wake of Donald Trump's presidency.

At a rally in downtown Philadelphia, Biden, as he has done throughout the beginning stages of his campaign, made Trump his central target, blasting him as "the divider-in-chief."

But he also chided other Democratic presidential candidates in the field, suggesting that anger toward Trump within his party was not enough to win next year's presidential election.

His message, Biden said, was expressly aimed at Democratic, Republican and independent voters alike.

"Some of the really smart folks say Democrats don't want to hear about unity," he said. "They say Democrats are so angry, and that the angrier your campaign will be, the better chance you have to win the Democratic nomination. Well, I don't believe it."

About 6,000 people attended the rally, which had, by design, the feel of a general-election event. With his poll numbers currently swamping the rest of the Democratic field, Biden has often acted as if his current opponent is Trump and not the other 23 Democrats vying for the party's nomination.

"If the American people want a president to add to our division, to lead with a clenched fist, closed hand, a hard heart, to demonize the opponents and spew hatred - they don't need me, they've got President Donald Trump," Biden told the crowd, which was bookended by large video monitors.

Democratic nominating contests begin next February, giving the dynamics of the race plenty of time to shift. But Biden, 76, has opened up a more than 20-point lead over his nearest rival, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, in several public opinion polls.

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Biden, a U.S. senator for 30 years and a two-term vice president under Barack Obama, has argued he is best positioned to take on Trump next year.

Attendees at the event said they agreed.

"He's going to be the one who takes Trump out of office," said Daril Murard, 27, of Langhorne, Pennsylvania. "That's why I'm here."

Tim Reihm, 48, drove to the event from his hometown of York, Pennsylvania.

"I think there's been a tendency in the party to drift a little too far left and I think that's going to disenfranchise a large section of the country," Reihm said. "Joe represents a sort of a more middle ground where we can bring people together instead of becoming more and more fractious."

Biden also answered critics who have mocked his pledge to work with Republicans as unrealistic should he win the White House.

"I'm going to say something outrageous," he said. "I know how to make government work."

Biden's remarks drew a swift response from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a liberal advocacy group that backs another candidate, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren.

A fundraising memo sent to members after the rally accused Biden of trying to splinter the party.

"Joe Biden is dividing Americans when, after the historic 2018 election, he tells voters they are wrong to be angry - and wrong if they don't want 'unity' with corrupt Republican politicians," the memo said.

"We don't need a Democratic nominee who rejects the fact that people are righteously angry in the Trump era," it said.

Biden has established his campaign headquarters in Philadelphia, illustrating the importance of Pennsylvania to Democratic hopes next year. Trump narrowly won the state over Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Trump will hold an event of his own on Monday in northeast Pennsylvania.

Prior to Biden's speech, the Republican National Committee in a release pointed to statistics showing how Pennsylvania's economy has improved during Trump's presidency.

Biden will not have the luxury of shrugging off the rest of the Democratic field much longer.

In recent weeks, he has been criticized by Senator Kamala Harris for his past support for the 1994 crime bill that critics say led to mass incarceration of African-Americans, by Sanders for his support of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and by Warren for his ties to the credit-card industry.

With Biden the clear front-runner, those attacks are likely to intensify. But Biden on Saturday said he would keep his focus on Trump and not his rivals for the nomination.

"You will not hear me speak ill of another Democrat," Biden said.

Following the Philadelphia event, Biden is expected to spend the next several weeks focusing on policy announcements and raising money.

(Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by James Dalgleish, Tom Brown and Daniel Wallis)
(Adds comment)

By Steve Scherer

OTTAWA, May 18 (Reuters) - Canada will move quickly to ratify the new North American trade pact, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Saturday, a day after the United States agreed to lift tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

U.S. President Donald Trump had imposed the global "Section 232" tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum in March 2018 on both Canada and Mexico on national security grounds, invoking a 1962 Cold War-era trade law.

The metals tariffs were a major irritant for Canada and Mexico and had caused them to halt progress toward ratification of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the trilateral trade deal signed last year which will replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

"We were very clear that as long as the 232 tariffs were there it would be very, very hard for us to ratify the new NAFTA, and that is why we did not table the legislation," Freeland said in an interview broadcast by CBC radio.

"Now that that big obstacle is lifted, full steam ahead," she said, without saying when the agreement would be presented to parliament, which closes down in June ahead of an October national election.

"I hope all members of the house will support this agreement," she added.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday he would meet with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa on May 30 to discuss "advancing" ratification.

While several U.S. Democrats applauded removal of the tariffs, some on Friday said USMCA was not yet ready for their support.

"When it comes to the new agreement, House Democrats continue to have a number of substantial concerns related to labor, environment, enforcement, and access to affordable medicines provisions. Those issues still need to be remedied," said U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal on Friday.

Freeland said Canada was in the process of reaching out to American Democrats to allay their concerns.

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"We have been meeting with many leading Democrats to talk to them about the new NAFTA," Freeland said. "We have a good, strong conversation happening."

Despite the breakthrough on tariffs and the USMCA agreement last year, Freeland said Canada was still worried about U.S. protectionism.

"I am still concerned about U.S. protectionism and I think it would be naive for anyone to think that there is any kind of permanent safety or security. The reality is that this U.S. administration is openly, explicitly, and proudly protectionist," Freeland said. (Reporting by Steve Scherer Editing by James Dalgleish)
(Adds State Department spokeswoman, background)

SHANGHAI, May 18 (Reuters) - China's senior diplomat Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday that recent U.S. words and actions had harmed the interests of China and its enterprises, and that Washington should show restraint, China's foreign ministry said.

Speaking to Pompeo by telephone, Wang said the United States should not go "too far" in the current trade dispute between the two sides, adding that China was still willing to resolve differences through negotiations, but they should be on an equal footing.

On Iran, Wang said China hoped all parties will exercise restraint and act with caution to avoid escalating tensions.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement that Pompeo spoke with Wang and discussed bilateral issues and U.S. concerns about Iran, but gave no other details.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have increased in recent days, raising concerns about a potential U.S.-Iran conflict. Earlier this week the United States pulled some diplomatic staff from its Baghdad embassy following attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf.

China struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States on Friday, suggesting a resumption of talks between the world's two largest economies would be meaningless unless Washington changed course.

The tough talk capped a week that saw Beijing unveil fresh retaliatory tariffs, U.S. officials accuse China of backtracking on promises made during months of talks, and the Trump administration level a potentially crippling blow against one of China's biggest and most successful companies.

The United States announced on Thursday it was putting Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's largest telecoms equipment maker, on a blacklist that could make it extremely hard to do business with U.S. companies.

The U.S. Commerce Department then said on Friday it may soon scale back restrictions on Huawei. It said it was considering issuing a temporary general license to "prevent the interruption of existing network operations and equipment."

Potential beneficiaries of this license could, for example, include telecoms providers in thinly populated parts of U.S. states such as Wyoming and Oregon that purchased network equipment from Huawei in recent years.

On Friday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, asked about state media reports suggesting there would be no more trade negotiations, said China always encouraged resolving disputes with the United States through dialog and consultations. (Reporting by Twinnie Siu in HONG KONG, David Stanway in SHANGHAI and David Brunnstrom and Nadita Bose in Washington; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
(Adds FARC comment, detail)

BOGOTA, May 17 (Reuters) - A former commander of the Marxist FARC rebel group was released from prison in Bogota on Friday and immediately re-arrested after new evidence came to light on drug trafficking charges, the attorney general's office said in a statement.

In a move likely to rattle an already delicate peace accord with the now-demobilized insurgents, Seuxis Paucias Hernandez, known by his war alias as Jesus Santrich, was escorted out of prison in a wheelchair and moments later, as he left prison gates, was taken back inside by police.

Hernandez, 52, was indicted more than a year ago by a U.S. grand jury for conspiracy to export 10 tonnes of cocaine, worth $320 million in street value. He was ordered released on Wednesday by a special tribunal.

"As a result of international judicial cooperation, in the last few hours new evidence and elements have been incorporated that clearly account for the circumstances of time, manner and place of alleged conspiracy to conduct drug trafficking," the attorney general said in a statement.

The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), which prosecutes leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas, who handed in their weapons under a 2016 peace deal, had said evidence provided by prosecutors did not allow it to evaluate whether, or when, he allegedly conspired to move cocaine to the United States.

The JEP's ruling caused an institutional crisis when the attorney general immediately resigned in protest.

Because the JEP has jurisdiction over all crimes during the war, Hernandez's extradition can only go ahead if the alleged crime took place after the accord.

The Revolutionary Alternative Common Force (FARC), the political party that emerged after the peace accord, protested the recapture of Hernandez and said it was a "a setup."

President Ivan Duque has called a meeting on Monday with leaders of political parties to discuss the situation.

Duque promised during his 2018 campaign to make changes to the peace accords, that he has said are far too lenient on former FARC commanders. Colombia is very much divided between those who support the peace agreement that ended five decades of war that killed 260,000 people, and those who want to see the FARC leaders jailed or the war ended on the battlefield. (Reporting by Helen Murphy and Luis Jaime Acosta Editing by Sandra Maler)
(Adds Sikorsky statement, background)

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - Sikorsky, a unit of Lockheed Martin Corp, has been awarded a $1.1 billion contract for 12 CH-53K King Stallion helicopters, including logistics and other support, the Pentagon said on Friday.

The Lockheed Martin unit said it will build the helicopters at its Connecticut plant and that their deliveries will begin in 2022, according to the contract from the U.S. Navy.

The CH-53K, which offers three times the carrying power of its predecessor, made its international debut at the Berlin Air Show in April last year.

It is competing with the twin-rotor CH-47 Chinook helicopter built by Boeing for a German military helicopter tender, which is expected to cost Germany around 4 billion euros ($4.46 billion) in the longer term, a big prize for the winning bidder.

Last month, the U.S. Defense Department awarded Lockheed Martin a $1.15 billion contract for services related to the F-35 Lightning II aircraft. ($1 = 0.8964 euros)

(Reporting by Eric Beech in Washington and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by David Alexander and Sandra Maler)
(Adds Israeli military declines comment)

BEIRUT, May 18 (Reuters) - Syrian air defenses targeted projectiles fired from the direction of Israel for the second night in a row, Syrian state media said on Saturday.

The projectiles came from "occupied territory" into the airspace in southern Syria, state news agency SANA said, referring to territory held by Israel.

Israel's military declined to comment on the report.

Israel has been more open in recent months about targeting sites inside Syria that it says belong to Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, both of which have forces aiding President Bashar al-Assad.

Residents said loud blasts echoed across Damascus late on Friday, as Syrian state media reported "enemy targets" coming from neighboring Israel.

Israel deems Iran its biggest enemy and the heavily armed Shi'ite Hezbollah movement as the main threat on its borders.

Israeli officials, alarmed by Tehran's expanding clout next door, have acknowledged carrying out scores of strikes during the eight-year conflict in Syria. Iran and Hezbollah have played a key role in helping Assad's army defeat rebels and militants.

Tensions between Tehran and its regional enemies rose this week after attacks on four oil tankers in the Gulf, sparking concerns about a potential conflict between Iran and the United States, Israel's closest ally. (Reporting by Ellen Francis in Beirut, additional reporting by Hesham Hajali in Cairo and Kinda Makieh in Damascus Editing by Peter Graff)
(Updates death toll)

BENGHAZI, May 18 (Reuters) - Two guards and a soldier were killed and four other people were kidnapped early on Saturday in a suspected Islamic State attack targeting Libya's Zella oilfield, a security source said.

The death toll was confirmed by the National Oil Company (NOC) which condemned the attack in a statement on Saturday evening.

The attackers struck at an entrance gate to the field, which lies near the town of Zella about 760 km (470 miles) southwest of the capital, Tripoli, before fleeing, according to the source and local residents who asked not to be named.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its Aamaq news agency later on Saturday.

The Zella field belongs to Zueitina Oil Company, which pumped 19,000 barrels per day on average in the last quarter of 2018 across all its fields.

An engineer told Reuters workers at the field were safe and facilities had not been damaged.

Libya's NOC chief said on Saturday continued instability in the country could cause it to lose 95 percent of oil production.

Speaking in Saudi Arabia ahead of a ministerial panel gathering on Sunday of top OPEC and non-OPEC producers, Mustafa Sanalla also confirmed the Zella attack.

Islamic State has been active in Libya in the turmoil since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The militant group took control of the coastal city of Sirte in 2015 but lost it late in 2016 to local forces backed by U.S. air strikes.

In the last two years, the group has targeted three state institutions in Tripoli, home of the U.N.-backed government of national accord led by Prime Minister Fayez Serraj.

Saturday's assault took place as general Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), which is allied to a rival administration in eastern Libya, mounts an offensive to control Tripoli. (Reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli; Writing by Ahmed Elumami and Ahmed Eljechtimi; Editing by Helen Popper and Daniel Wallis)
1990 Folsom will offer 100% affordable housing through a partnership of two local non-profits | Renderings: SF Planning

The crisis in affordable housing in San Francisco may be at a fever pitch, but some relief is on the way. A new 100% affordable housing development broke ground last week in the Mission, and one of its partners is also readying to open a 100% affordable Tenderloin project that's near completion.

Casa Adelante, the development on the site of a former bakery at 1990 Folsom St., is a joint effort between the Mission Economic Development Agency and the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation. It will include 143 affordable units, more than half of which will have two or three bedrooms.

LMS Architects is designing the building, which is expected to be ready for residents to move in by the first quarter of 2021.

1990 Folsom, currently a vacant lot. | Photo: Google

25% of the units at Casa Adelante will be reserved for families choosing to relocate from older public housing that's being updated under the HOPE SF program.

While HOPE SF guarantees public housing residents a place to live during these renovations, moving to a newer building will allow them to avoid the hassle of having to move multiple times within the building to accommodate construction.

A rendering of the planned Casa Adelante development.

The ground floor of the new development will provide a permanent home for two Mission-based nonprofits, Latinx art space Galeria de la Raza and at-risk youth organization HOMEY. A licensed child-care center operated by the Felton Institute will also be located on-site.

The new development is the third of five major affordable housing projects in MEDAs pipeline, and has received financing from the Mayors Office of Housing and Community Development, the San Francisco Housing Authority, Bank of America, Barings, California Debt Limit Allocation Committee, California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, Nibbi Brothers General Contractors, Leddy Maytum Stacy (LMS) Architects and U.S. Bank.

A rendering of the Casa Adelante development, as viewed from 16th Street.

Meanwhile, construction is winding down at another 100% affordable TNDC building, at the corner of Eddy and Taylor streets in the Tenderloin. The first tenants are expected to move into the new eight-story, 113-unit mixed-use building on May 20, according to Don Falk, chief executive of TNDC.

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The Tenderloin building includes 30 units that are reserved for residents that are currently or formerly homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless.

Another 23 are earmarked for families, and five are reserved for adults that have a developmental disability or who are exiting long-term care health institutions and dont have access to stable housing. TNDC will also have its own on-site offices to house the property management and program staff.

TNDC's new affordable housing complex at Eddy & Taylor streets is nearing completion. | Photo: Carrie Sisto/Hoodline

While each unit has its own private kitchen, the new building also includes a massive shared courtyard and community kitchen for residents.

Top Leaf Farms has installed two 12 by 30-foot roof planters, where staff will grow food to distribute through the building via community cooking events, TNDC project manager Nick Wilder said. The roof also has a solar array to provide power to the building.

The roof at 222 Taylor St. has a solar array and will have a rooftop garden maintained by building staff | Photo: Carrie Sisto/Hoodline

Construction on the TNDC offices started this spring, and work on the building's two ground-floor retail spaces, which will both have entrances on Eddy Street, will start soon, Falk said.

Corner store Daldas will move across the street into a space twice the size of its current location, where it will offer an expanded selection of groceries and some prepared foods.

Daldas, located just across Taylor Street, will take a ground-floor space in the new development. | Photo: Google

The other ground-floor space will go to nearby restaurant Yemen Kitchen, offering it a space three times the size of its current location at 219 Jones (near Turk).

In exchange for the upgrade, Yemen Kitchen has committed to offering three healthy food options at all hours of the day for $7.50 or less, varying by meal period. The restaurant has been working with TNDC's community organizing team to decide what to offer, and the food will be available to anyone in the Tenderloin neighborhood, not just the new building's residents.

Daldas is expected to open in November, while Yemen Kitchen will debut sometime in the first quarter of 2020, Falk said.
South Florida Sun Sentinel

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. The Holbrook family of Michigan stepped off Royal Caribbeans Odyssey of the Seas frustrated and angry after the cruise ship they were on returned to Port Everglades from its eight-night voyage. Christopher Holbrook, 49, tested positive for COVID-19 while aboard and spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in his room in isolation. It was the worst Christmas, Holbrook said ...
VALLETTA, Malta (AP)  Malta's prime minister has announced that two armed forces members have been arrested in connection with a fatal drive-by shooting of a migrant from Ivory Coast.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Saturday on Twitter that an internal investigation would determine whether the men acted alone "or as part of something wider." It is believed to be Malta's first racially motivated murder.

Lassana Cisse, 42, was killed in the drive-by shooting on April 6 as he walked on a road near a migrant center. Two other men, a 22-year-old from Guinea and a 28-year-old Gambian, were injured in the attack.

Authorities are investigating whether either suspect was also involved in a hit-and-run on the same road that injured a 17-year-old from Chad.

Opposition leader Adrian Delia condemned the slaying as "a hate crime."
I Dream of Weenie. | Photo: Stefany V./Yelp

Looking to try the top food stands around?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top food stands in Nashville, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to satisfy your cravings.

1. I Dream Of Weenie

Photo: amber h./Yelp

Topping the list is I Dream of Weenie. Located at 113 S. 11th St. in East End, the food stand, which offers hot dogs and more, is the highest-rated food stand in Nashville, boasting 4.5 stars out of 183 reviews on Yelp.

2. Semper Sliders

Photo: octavia r./Yelp

Next up is Pennington Bend's Semper Sliders, situated at 2416 Music Valley Drive. With five stars out of 64 reviews on Yelp, the food stand, which offers burgers and more, has proven to be a local favorite.

3. Constant Smoke BBQ

Photo: jacob s./Yelp

Hermitage Hills' Constant Smoke BBQ, located at 3414 Lebanon Pike, is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the food stand, which offers barbecue and more, 4.5 stars out of 22 reviews.

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.
Despite some ups and downs, Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE: JNJ) pharmaceutical division consistently outperforms its peers in terms of branded drug sales. As a result, pharmaceutical sales are now responsible for a majority of the healthcare conglomerate's total revenue.

Sales of J&J's former top product, Remicade, have started sliding, thanks to competition from lower-cost biosimilars. The company recently presented a smorgasbord of reasons why its pharmaceutical segment can continue outperforming despite the pressure. Here are six of the most important ones J&J wants you to know about.

Doctor sharing information with a patient.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Doing better than you might think

Thanks to consumer and medical-device segments that have been taking steps back, overall annual revenue rose from a meager $74.3 billion in 2014 to $81.6 billion in 2018. The company's a long way from a crisis, though, thanks to pharmaceutical sales that have been growing a lot faster than you might think.

From 2010 through 2018, total pharmaceutical sales rose at an 8.9% annual rate. That was nearly double the growth rate of the global branded market.

2. There's a lot to look forward to

There are 18 drugs in Johnson & Johnson's product lineup that have earned approval since 2011, and the company is set up to continue this pace. The company has at least 10 potential new drugs in its late-stage pipeline and could file for approvals and possibly launch them between now and 2023.

Johnson & Johnson isn't neglecting the products it's already launched. It anticipates more than 40 line extensions to bring existing drugs to a larger audience. At least 10 of these extensions could boost annual sales of drugs already on the market by $500 million or more.

Three healthcare providers from different fields with their thumbs up.

Image source: Getty Images.

3. Fingers in lots of pies

Johnson & Johnson has been able to raise its dividend payout each year for 57 consecutive years because it always has an eye open for the next big thing in healthcare. With a whopping $18.5 billion in free cash flow over the past year, there's plenty of powder available to fire in interesting new directions.

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Through heaps of different partnerships, Johnson & Johnson's clinical-stage pipeline covers a lot of bases. In oncology, there's a cellular cancer therapy beginning the second half of a phase 2 study this year and a multi-specific antibody that brings immune cells in contact with cancer cells that's in clinical-stage testing, as well. In 2020, J&J will begin human studies with engineered viruses that selectively replicate inside cancer cells before bursting out to infect more cancer cells.

Johnson & Johnson's late-stage pipeline also includes a gene therapy directed at a rare eye disease and an injectable RNA interference drug for people infected with the hepatitis B virus that it licensed from Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals. The company's also targeting the human microbiome with a potential treatment for inflammatory bowel disease, and there's an experimental gene therapy that could cure a rare eye disorder in clinical-stage testing.

4. J&J's immunology segment doesn't end with Remicade

First-quarter Stelara sales surged 32% year over year to an annualized $5.6 billion and they're probably going to continue climbing. Successful phase 3 results with ulcerative colitis patients who didn't respond to other treatments could help Stelara become a new option for around 1.7 million people around the globe with the disease.

In the psoriasis arena, J&J's recently launched Tremfya is wiping the floor with Cosentyx from Novartis. Sales of the Swiss pharma giant's psoriasis injection reached an annualized $3.2 billion in the first quarter, but Tremfya could end up devouring its share of patients. During a head-to-head study with Cosentyx, a significantly higher percentage of psoriasis patients taking Tremfya achieved 90% skin clearance.

Doctor with a lot of cash money in his pocket.

Image source: Getty Images.

5. Investing heavily in immuno-oncology

At the moment, J&J's oncology strategy isn't leaving many stones unturned. Johnson & Johnson has 17 potential new oncology drugs that entice the immune system to recognize and attack cancer in different ways, and 10 of them are already in clinical trials.

First-quarter sales of the company's leukemia therapy Imbruvica bounded 34% higher year over year to an annualized $3.1 billion. So far, it's been approved in 10 indications across six diseases, and the company could file eight potential new drug applications for Imbruvica in the foreseeable future.

6. Shareholders are still a top priority

It might look like Johnson & Johnson is getting carried away and throwing more money at experimental new drugs than it can afford to, but that isn't the case. In 2018, J&J spent an eye-popping $10.8 billion on research and development, but operations also generated $18.5 billion in free cash flow over the same period.

With plenty of profits to pay for drug development, the company had no qualms about beginning a $5 billion share-repurchase program recently. That's on top of $9.5 billion in dividends that the company paid to shareholders in 2018.

At recent prices, the stock trades at 15.9 times forward earnings expectations. That's a steep price for a company growing this slowly, but there's also a good chance that Johnson & Johnson's pharmaceutical segment can pull this train uphill a little faster than expected.

More From The Motley Fool

Cory Renauer owns shares of Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Their unconventional career rewind has been uncommonly successful. The pair identified a potential new drug treatment for the disease, and with the support of Stanford SPARK  a program launched in 2006 to advance promising discoveries from the lab to the clinic  Teresa Purzner went on to test it in mice and to coordinate the launch of a phase-1 clinical trial that recently began enrolling patients. The two published their findings in Science Signaling in September 2018.

This was completely unbiased discovery science, said developmental biologist Margaret Fuller, PhD, who advised the Purzners during the latter part of their graduate work. Teresa and Jamie used an unbiased screen to identify a new component of a well-known developmental pathway, identified where in the pathway it functions and then showed that blocking this step can kill medulloblastoma cells implanted into mice. Its a remarkable achievement.

Along the way, the pair faced many challenges, including the myriad difficulties of escorting a basic science finding through preclinical studies in animals to testing in humans. Teresa Purzner took charge of marshaling support from funding agencies, national research consortiums and drug companies often wary of the fraught arena of clinical trials that enroll terminally ill children. The couple also started a family; their three children were born during their graduate school careers.

Not bad for some seemingly misplaced neurosurgeons.

There are 101 valid reasons to not do what we did, and 100 more reasons why we should have failed once we decided to do it, Teresa Purzner said. But we benefited from an amazing cast of collaborators at Stanford and elsewhere who spent hundreds and hundreds of hours helping to overcome many hurdles in the path to this trial. We were all very dedicated to doing everything possible to help these kids.

In the lab (and home) of Matthew Scott

Matthew Scott, PhD, now professor emeritus at Stanford, was a developmental biologist in January 2012 when he received an email from Jamie Purzner inquiring about research positions. Scott was taken aback. Its not often that neurosurgeons want to come train in my lab as graduate students, he said. I thought, These people are doctors; they dont really want to do research full time. It was totally unbelievable, and unprecedented, for people with their training and skill.

Scott, who is married to Fuller, is known for his 1984 discovery in fruit flies of a short DNA sequence called a homeobox. Homeobox genes coordinate the activities of sets of other genes, acting within cells or groups of cells to control development. Proteins made from homeobox genes bind to specific DNA sequences throughout the genome to control genes used during early embryonic development to determine body patterning  ensuring that the wings, legs and abdominal sections fall neatly into place to generate the tiny flies drawn to the overripe fruit on your kitchen counter.

At first blush, none of this seems like something that would have especially interested pediatric neurosurgeons intent on discovering a new cancer treatment. But Scott also was known for identifying and studying signaling systems that allow groups of cells to communicate with one another during development  an area with more obvious relevance to the couples interest. Mutations in some of these pathways, Scott found, are linked to the development of some types of cancers, including medulloblastoma.

In the early 1990s, the Scott lab began working on an important system called hedgehog signaling  first in fruit flies and later in mammals. Its named hedgehog because a mutation in the gene for a key protein in the signaling system results in fruit fly embryos that are spiny, like hedgehogs.

The hedgehog protein is produced and secreted by particular cells in the fruit fly embryo. When it binds to a receptor protein called patched on the surface of a cell, a cascade of activity is triggered that begins with proteins on the cell surface and ends with other proteins entering the nucleus. There, they stimulate the process by which genes lead to the production of proteins that govern how cells multiply and develop. In the absence of hedgehog binding, patched keeps the pathway turned off.

In 1996, Scotts research into the pathway revealed that mutations in patched are often found in people with an inherited condition associated with frequent skin cancers and skeletal abnormalities called basal-cell nevus syndrome. When patched is missing or mutated, the hedgehog pathway is constantly active, and the cells receive ongoing signals to grow and divide. Carriers of patched mutations not only develop frequent basal-cell skin cancers, but they also often develop medulloblastomas.

The Scott lab then showed that during normal development, hedgehog signaling triggers growth of the cerebellum, the portion of the brain at the back of the head near the spinal cord. Loss of patched lets the normal growth signal happen when it should not. This explanation for the development of medulloblastomas piqued the Purzners interest.

But choosing to come to America to work as graduate students put the Purzners in a funding gray area. They could no longer apply for grants meant to support Canadian clinicians doing research in Canada. They also couldnt qualify for funding meant for Americans. Although they eventually secured enough money to support themselves and their growing family, including funding from Stanford Bio-X, their financial stability was far from certain when they arrived at Stanford in June of 2012 in a truck packed with boxes they loaded the day after their last neurosurgical calls ended.

We had no American bank account or credit cards and no plan for where we were going to live, Teresa Purzner recalled. Matt and Margaret realized this and insisted we live with them until we found a place to rent.

Most common childhood brain cancer

About 350 people a year in the United States are diagnosed with medulloblastoma, which develops in the cerebellum. It is the most common brain cancer in children. Even with the best treatments, only about 70 percent will live five years or more after their initial diagnosis and the prognosis for those who experience a recurrence is dire.

Frequently, the tumors spread to other parts of the brain and central nervous system. Treatment options are bleak and include whole brain and spinal radiation in combination with chemotherapy for as long as a year. Children are particularly susceptible to damage from these therapies because their brains are developing.

About 25% of all medulloblastomas are caused by mutations in genes for proteins involved in the hedgehog pathway, including patched. Although drugs that inhibit the pathway can often temporarily shrink tumors in patients, the cancer cells rapidly become resistant to the treatment when the cells develop mutations that reactivate the pathway. Targeting the very last step  the moment when the proteins reach the nucleus and bind to the DNA to turn genes on  should leave the cancer cells fewer options to wiggle out of the treatment, researchers believe. But how to do that?

It was pretty darn fun combining our expertise and thinking over the problems together from two perspectives.

The Purzners focused on the granule neuron precursor cells in the brain that give rise to hedgehog-associated human medulloblastomas. In mice, GNPs rapidly multiply between day one and day seven after birth in response to hedgehog pathway signaling. Between day seven and day 14, the proliferation rate slows and the cells begin to become granule neurons. After day 14, any remaining GNPs mature into granule neurons, which are the most common type of neuron in the brain.

Occasionally, however, GNPs ignore the normal developmental signals and keep multiplying after day 14. This increases the chance that the cells will accumulate additional mutations and become cancerous. Learning why this happens might be the key to stopping the rapid increase in medulloblastoma cells, the Purzners reasoned.

A chance encounter with Joshua Elias, PhD, assistant professor of chemical and systems biology, whose laboratory was one floor above Scotts, gave the Purzners an idea of how to start. The Elias lab focuses on proteomics  the study of all aspects of proteins in a cell or tissue to learn how cells and tissues develop and function.For example, a cell often adds or removes small chemical tags, called phosphate groups, from proteins to control their function. A phosphate tag in one location on a protein may cue it to bind to a second protein, move to another part of the cell or latch onto DNA to activate certain genes, whereas a tag in a different location on the same protein could trigger another set of biological outcomes. Conversely, removal of these phosphate groups can quickly inhibit the proteins activity.

The cells ability to toggle a proteins activity in this way allows the cell to react quickly and appropriately to changing conditions or developmental stages. For researchers, the ability to chart changes in the patterns and locations of phosphate tags across a panel of proteins over time can provide an intimate look at the workings of a cell during development or disease progression.

Combining expertise

Teresa Purzner decided to compare the pattern of phosphate tags, or protein phosphorylation, on GNP proteins isolated from the brains of newborn mice at day seven with those of GNPs isolated at day 14 and day one. Jamie Purzner, in contrast, focused on sussing out changes in which proteins are produced at different cell stages. Although Teresa Purzners approach yielded more immediately promising results, they remained closely involved in each others projects.

It was pretty darn fun combining our expertise and thinking over the problems together from two perspectives, she said.

The Purzners found that the protein phosphorylation pattern of the rapidly dividing day seven GNP cells more closely resembles that of medulloblastoma cells than that of GNP cells on day one or day 14. Further detective work homed in on a phosphate-adding protein called CK2 that is likely responsible for many of the phosphate-tagging events observed in day seven cells  including some that are critical to the last steps in the hedgehog pathway.

Blocking CK2 activity in mice during days three to seven left the animals with significantly fewer granule neurons than control animals had, the Purzners found. Furthermore, a CK2 inhibitor slowed or stopped the growth of mouse medulloblastoma cells implanted in mice  even cancer cells resistant to other hedgehog pathway inhibitors.

Wed put these angry medulloblastoma cells into the flanks of mice and see complete tumor regression when CK2 was inhibited, Teresa Purzner said. When we transplanted the medulloblastoma cells into the cerebella of mice, we found that, although the control animals had to be euthanized within 17 days due to cancer progression, 43 percent of mice treated with a CK2 inhibitor for 30 days lived past 100 days  basically until the experiment was terminated.

This was astonishingly effective, Scott said. The kinase acts very late in the hedgehog pathway, so its difficult for the cancer cells to mutate around it. Its really a great example of the application of basic science. The Purzners didnt start off looking for a protein involved in the hedgehog pathway. But once they did, Teresa Purzner embarked on shepherding this finding all the way from a basic science investigation to preclinical tests that have now launched a clinical trial.

Getting to the clinical trial wasnt easy, however.

What to do next

I had this beautiful, targeted small molecule inhibitor of CK2 that works in animals, Purzner said. But I had absolutely no idea how to go from there to get it to patients. This was far outside my realm of experience.

Enter Stanford SPARK. The program matches academic researchers with volunteers from the pharmaceutical, biotech and financial industries to streamline drug development and make it faster and cheaper. SPARK was founded in 2006 by Daria Mochly-Rosen, PhD, professor of chemical and systems biology at Stanford, who co-directs the program with Kevin Grimes, PhD, professor of chemical and systems biology.

They started setting me up with world leaders  experts in every part of the drug development process to help me understand step-by-step what would be required to go from my discovery in the lab to a patient in the clinic, Purzner said. It went from a seemingly impossible task to something difficult but achievable. And then we started just tackling each milestone one after the other.

I didnt fully grasp just how heart-wrenching it would be to have a child with a serious medical issue until I had my own children.

Important steps included convincing a Taiwanese company called Senhwa Biosciences Inc., which was producing the only human-tested CK2 inhibitor, CX-4945, for use in a trial of basal-cell carcinoma, to agree to provide their drug for a pediatric clinical trial. Purzner was also able to secure the involvement of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium, formed by the National Cancer Institute to improve the care of children with brain tumors across the country.

The FDA approved the phase 1-2 clinical trial of CX-4945 in children with hedgehog-pathway dependent medulloblastoma on Jan. 4, and the consortiums Central Institutional Review Board signed off on Feb. 28. The study opened on March 1.

An absolute triumph

Its so exciting, Purzner said. This took hundreds of hours and dozens of people to accomplish because in many ways it was not a typical trial to put together. There were at least two or three times I thought, This could be the end. All of our work could be for nothing, and these kids are never going to get to see this drug.

Scott said, This was an absolute triumph of the translation of a series of basic scientific discoveries into a clinical trial. In 1980, we identified the first mutations in hedgehog and patched in fruit flies.

Sixteen years later we reported a connection with cancer; 16 years later we had our first FDA-approved drug targeting the hedgehog pathway in basal-cell carcinoma. So it took 32 years from pure, curiosity-driven Huh, thats interesting  when we found some genes that control patterning in fly larva  to a point where patients were being treated. Now, 32 years is either way too long, or not too bad in the big picture of drug development. But Teresa did it in five, he said.

The Purzners have returned to Canada to complete their neurosurgical residencies.

It remains to be seen whether the CX-4945 will be safe and effective in children with hedgehog-dependent medulloblastoma. A success in mice doesnt always translate to humans. But Teresa Purznersintensive approach to solving the problem has led to a promising new target in the field.

Having my own children gave me a very sobering perspective about what these families are going through, she said. I didnt fully grasp just how heart-wrenching it would be to have a child with a serious medical issue until I had my own children. Getting to this clinical trial has been very emotional. And Im not an emotional person. It is just such a huge relief to get to this point and know that I did what I came to do.
Is Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) a good dividend stock? How would you know? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. If you are hoping to live on the income from dividends, it's important to be a lot more stringent with your investments than the average punter.

A 1.7% yield is nothing to get excited about, but investors probably think the long payment history suggests Abbott Laboratories has some staying power. Some simple research can reduce the risk of buying Abbott Laboratories for its dividend - read on to learn more.

Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Abbott Laboratories!

NYSE:ABT Historical Dividend Yield, May 18th 2019

Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

Payout ratios

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. Looking at the data, we can see that 82% of Abbott Laboratories's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. Paying out a majority of its earnings limits the amount that can be reinvested in the business. This may indicate a commitment to paying a dividend, or a dearth of investment opportunities.

In addition to comparing dividends against profits, we should inspect whether the company generated enough cash to pay its dividend. Of the free cash flow it generated last year, Abbott Laboratories paid out 44% as dividends, suggesting the dividend is affordable.

Is Abbott Laboratories's Balance Sheet Risky?

As Abbott Laboratories has a meaningful amount of debt, we need to check its balance sheet to see if the company might have debt risks. A rough way to check this is with these two simple ratios: a) net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and b) net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA measures a company's total debt load relative to its earnings (lower = less debt), while net interest cover measures the company's ability to pay the interest on its debt (higher = greater ability to pay interest costs). Abbott Laboratories has net debt of 2.29 times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA). Using debt can accelerate business growth, but also increases the risks.

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We calculated its interest cover by measuring its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), and dividing this by the company's net interest expense. Net interest cover of 6.13 times its interest expense appears reasonable for Abbott Laboratories, although we're conscious that even high interest cover doesn't make a company bulletproof.

We update our data on Abbott Laboratories every 24 hours, so you can always get our latest analysis of its financial health, here.

Dividend Volatility

Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. Abbott Laboratories has been paying dividends for a long time, but for the purpose of this analysis, we only examine the past 10 years of payments. The dividend has been cut by more than 20% on at least one occasion historically. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was US$1.60 in 2009, compared to US$1.28 last year. The dividend has shrunk at around -2.2% a year during that period. Abbott Laboratories's dividend has been cut sharply at least once, so it hasn't fallen by -2.2% every year, but this is a decent approximation of the long term change.

Dividend Growth Potential

Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. Earnings have grown at around 3.0% a year for the past five years, which is better than seeing them shrink! Abbott Laboratories's earnings per share have barely grown, which is not ideal - perhaps this is why the company pays out the majority of its earnings to shareholders. When a company prefers to pay out cash to its shareholders instead of reinvesting it, this can often say a lot about that company's dividend prospects.

Conclusion

To summarise, shareholders should always check that Abbott Laboratories's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratios are within a normal range for the average corporation, and we like that its cashflow was stronger than reported profits. Unfortunately, earnings growth has also been mediocre, and the company has cut its dividend at least once in the past. Ultimately, Abbott Laboratories comes up short on our dividend analysis. It's not that we think it is a bad company - just that there are likely more appealing dividend prospects out there on this analysis.

Companies that are growing earnings tend to be the best dividend stocks over the long term. See what the 19 analysts we track are forecasting for Abbott Laboratories for free with public analyst estimates for the company.

We have also put together a list of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%.

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 (AP)  The Trump administration has told lawmakers that it probably will cost more to care for migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico than the $2.9 billion in emergency money requested just two weeks ago.

In a White House letter released Saturday, acting budget chief Russell Vought said "the situation has continued to deteriorate and is exceeding previous high end estimates."

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a separate letter that needs for the unaccompanied children account "could grow further and be closer to the worst-case scenario HHS had proposed be the basis for the supplemental request, which was $1.4 billion higher."

The notice comes as lawmakers are trying to put the final touches on legislation, at $19 billion and growing, for hurricane and flooding relief and other disaster needs. Democrats also have offered money to care for the influx of immigrants from Central America, though they say they will deny President Donald Trump's request for additional immigration agents.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., wants to get the long-overdue measure completed by the end of next week. Negotiations are going better of late but it's not clear when a deal may be reached. Talks are focusing on conditions that Democrats want to place on the border assistance.
Alabama executed a convicted murderer on Thursday, a day after the state enacted a near-total ban on abortions  two actions on contentious social issues that often have people across the political spectrum invoking the sanctity of human life.

Its a contradiction that I always observed, said Hannah Cox, the national manager of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, an advocacy group. Approving of executions, Ms Cox said, is a stance that cheapens the pro-life argument.

Ms Cox, who is originally from Alabama and opposes both abortion and the death penalty, said that more conservatives were coming to feel the same way, offering as evidence Republican-sponsored bills to repeal the death penalty that have been introduced in 11 state legislatures.

Michael Brandon Samra was executed by lethal injection on Thursday evening, according to Alabama attorney general Steven T Marshall. Samra and a friend, Mark Duke, were convicted in 1997 of killing four people  Dukes father, the fathers girlfriend and the girlfriends two young daughters  after a dispute over a pickup truck. Both defendants were sentenced to death, but Dukes sentence was later overturned because he was 16 at the time of the killings; Samra was 19.

Though the timing was coincidental, the actions taken by Alabama on consecutive days served to highlight widely held positions on the political right that some people say are in conflict, with protecting human life held paramount in one context but not another.

Governor Kay Ivey, who declined to halt the scheduled execution, has expressed some discomfort with her role in the death penalty. Early in her tenure, she said she did not relish the responsibility that I hold in capital cases, and she has repeatedly depicted it as an unwelcome duty of her office.

How to proceed when faced with a potential execution is one of the most difficult decisions I will ever have to make as governor, she said after one execution. No governor covets the responsibility of weighing the merits of life or death; but it is a burden I accept as part of my pledge to uphold the laws of this state.

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Even so, Ms Ivey has not used her authority under the state constitution to reprieve or commute any death sentence since she took office in April 2017. The state, which carries out executions at an ageing prison near the Florida border, has now executed seven people during her tenure.

A spokesperson for the governor did not respond to messages on Thursday seeking comment, but Ms Ivey issued a statement after Samra was put to death.

Alabama will not stand for the loss of life in our state, and with this heinous crime, we must respond with punishment, the statement said. These four victims deserved a future, and Mr Samra took that opportunity away from them and did so with no sense of remorse. This evening justice has been delivered to the loved ones of these victims, and it signals that Alabama does not tolerate murderous acts of any nature.

Alabama currently has 176 more prisoners awaiting execution. All but two of them were convicted of murder; 65 have been on death row for more than 20 years.

While death penalty opponents like Ms Cox wonder how Christian conservatives like the governor can oppose abortion but uphold execution, others say the two stances become coherent when viewed through a lens of innocence and guilt.

In a sense, its perfectly comprehensible, said Mark Silk, a professor of religion at Trinity College. Their view is that unborn babies and foetuses are innocent life. Theyve done nothing to merit the death penalty. Whereas murderers have done something to merit the death penalty. Its an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Its how they look at the world.

Mr Silk said that white evangelicals in particular, who make up more than half the electorate in Alabama, may run into difficulty when men or women find their way to Jesus while on death row.

So much of evangelicalism has to do with conversion, he said. Thats such a core experience for them. A murderer or rapist finding their way to God is as powerful a manifestation of conversion that you can find.

Ms Cox said she found the argument that life is something to be protected only when it is innocent to be flimsy.

People should be still held accountable, but there should be more nuance, she said. You are not the sum of the worst thing youve ever done.

The Catholic Churchs teachings oppose both abortion and capital punishment on similar grounds.

Pro-life values are meaningless when they are inconsistent, said Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of the Catholic Mobilising Network, a group working to end capital punishment. The sanctity of human life applies to each and every person, innocent and guilty, she said, adding that the church teaches that a persons God-given dignity is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes.

The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest evangelical denomination, says its support of the death penalty has roots in biblical teachings. Imposing the death penalty can help the murderer restore the broken relationship with their creator, not just with humankind, says an article posted by an arm of the convention that addresses public issues. While we have an interest in a criminals return to society, we should be even more concerned with the state of their soul.

The New York Times
* Cannes Film Festival runs until May 25

* "Pain And Glory" gets warm response from critics

* Almodovar film autobiographical but "not literal"

* Cruz, Banderas speak of acting challenges

By Sarah White

CANNES, France, May 18 (Reuters) - Pedro Almodovar is used to a good reception from what he called "faithful" audiences in France - so much so, the director joked on Saturday that he was "Franco-Spanish."

His latest movie, a loosely autobiographical portrait of a tormented filmmaker, could up the ante for the Oscar winner after an enthusiastic response from critics at the Cannes Film Festival, where it is a contender for the top Palme D'Or award.

"Pain and Glory" reunites Almodovar long-time collaborators Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz in a wistful dive into the world of cinema and the highs and lows of creativity.

As aging director Salvador, played by Banderas, looks back on his life, other themes dear to Almodovar take hold too, including the character's relationship with his mother and his explorations of desire and love.

"I project myself in this film, but it's not to be taken literally," Almodovar, wearing dark glasses, told a news conference following the movie's Cannes premiere the night before, where it received a standing ovation.

From a scene about Salvador's sexual awakening to a tense discussion with his mother, many episodes were invented, he said, adding though his experiences had informed the fiction.

"I did live through a love that was broken off at a moment when the flame was very much still alive, because of a set of circumstances," Almodovar said.

"That's a very painful thing. It's not natural to have to end it...it's like cutting off your own arm."

"DON'T ASK"

Delving into Almodovar's life was also a challenge for a cast deeply connected to the director - starring in his early movies propelled both Banderas and Cruz into international stardom.

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Cruz, who featured in "All About My Mother" and "Volver" among other Almodovar classics, said she had felt unusually shy about grilling the filmmaker in preparation for "Pain And Glory," where she plays the protagonist's mother.

"It was curious," Cruz said. "I think there was a form of respect towards someone who is laying themselves bare...There was something inside me that made me think 'don't ask'."

Banderas said he had tried to wipe the slate clean in his eighth collaboration with Almodovar.

"To create this character I had to kill Antonio Banderas," he said.

Almodovar, 69, headed the jury at Cannes in 2017, but has never won the Palme D'Or.

"Pain And Glory," which already premiered in Spain, was one of the filmmaker's "best and most personal movie in years," IndieWire critic Eric Kohn wrote after its Cannes screening.

"Driven by Banderas' lovely, nuanced turn and the slow-burn exposition, it's impossible not to feel the emotional turmoil on both sides of the camera," Kohn said.

Almodovar's "All About My Mother" won the best foreign language film Oscar in 2000 while his drama "Talk To Her" clinched the best original screenplay Academy Award in 2003. (Reporting by Sarah White; Editing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian)
BEIRUT, May 18 (Reuters) - Air strikes stopped in northwest Syria over the past 12 hours, rescuers said on Saturday, as Turkey-backed rebels arrived at the fronts to help fight the army and its Russian ally.

A spokesman for rebels said they rejected a ceasefire proposal from Moscow as long as government forces remain in villages they had advanced into in recent weeks.

There was no immediate comment from Ankara or Moscow.

At least 180,000 people have fled an upsurge in violence in northwest Syria, the last major stronghold of rebels who have fought against President Bashar al-Assad's government since 2011. Government bombing has killed dozens in the past three weeks.

It marks the biggest escalation since last summer between Assad and his rebel enemies in Idlib province and a belt of territory around it.

The region, home to an estimated 3 million people including many who fled other parts of Syria as government forces advanced in recent years, has been partly shielded by a truce deal since last year, brokered by Russia and Turkey. Much of the recent fighting has hit a buffer zone agreed under that deal.

Air strikes have struck 18 health facilities and violence has destroyed at least 16 schools, the United Nations says.

The Syrian government says it is responding to attacks by militants linked to al-Qaeda.

Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, the head of the Idlib civil defense - a rescue service that works in opposition territory - said the warplanes had not struck on Saturday.

The commander of a Turkey-backed rebel faction said it sent around 110 fighters to help insurgents in Idlib with a counter attack.

The reinforcements came from a nearby stretch of territory to the north under the control of rebels that Turkey supports close to its border. Another allied faction also sent scores of insurgents to Idlib.

"We consider the battles as seeking to eliminate all opposition factions," Abou al-Hassan told Reuters.

The dominant force in Idlib is Tahrir al-Sham, the latest incarnation of the former Nusra Front which was part of al Qaeda until 2016. Others, including some with Turkish backing, also have a presence.

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Under its agreements with Russia, Ankara has deployed forces into the region at a dozen positions.

"We will not stop the combat operations and will try to take back the areas," said Naji Mustafa, spokesman for the National Liberation Front (NLF) rebel grouping in Idlib.

He said the rebels had refused Moscow's offer for a ceasefire, which came via Ankara, and wanted people to be able to return to their villages. He added that pro-government forces tried to advance on Saturday on one frontline in the Hama countryside near Idlib. Syrian state media said militants shelled army positions there. (Reporting by Khalil Ashawi in Syria, Ece Toksabay in Ankara and Tom Miles in Geneva Writing by Ellen Francis Editing by Peter Graff)
Cabinda (Angola) (AFP) - Since he came to power in 2017, Angolan President Joao Lourenco has promoted himself as a transparent, moderate leader keen to draw a line under the 38-year rule of Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

But in the northern oil-rich province of Cabinda, Lourenco is accused of turning the screws on separatists who say they have been targeted by a new wave of state repression.

Cabinda is a small, poor, coastal province that produces 60 percent of Angola's oil -- despite being entirely cut off from the rest of the country, sharing its borders instead with the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In January, the security forces targeted supporters of the Independence Movement of Cabinda (MIC), a small secessionist group.

About 70 people were arrested as they prepared for a demonstration to mark the 134th anniversary of the treaty that made Cabinda a Portuguese territory in 1885.

"What the Angolan state is doing to us is persecution. The authorities treat us as terrorists," Jeovanny Ventura, a longtime Cabinda independence activist, told AFP.

"And it has not improved under Joao Lourenco -- everything we organise always ends up with supporters being taken into detention."

With a population of 400,000, Cabinda has experienced a low-level separatist insurgency since it officially became part of Angola at independence in 1975.

The struggle has been led by FLEC (the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda) and fuelled by anger over the government taking huge profits from the province's oil reserves that make Angola one of Africa's top two producers.

- 'Angola is doing nothing here' -

"The people of Cabinda have never benefited from its oil," said lawyer Arao Bula Tempo, who campaigns for independence.

"The unemployment rate is 88 percent and the infrastructure that exists dates back to colonial times -- Angola is doing nothing here."

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have denounced cases of torture and arbitrary detention in Cabinda.

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"Unlike other parts of Angola where we have seen progress in the right to protest and in freedom of expression, the situation in Cabinda remains tense," Zenaida Machado, Angola specialist at HRW, told AFP.

"Arbitrary arrests happen on a monthly basis."

Driving from Cabinda city airport, the pot-holed road reveals the province's dire plight.

The city's roads flood every time it rains, and many neighbourhoods have no electricity, drinking water or sewage systems.

Last November, Lourenco held a rare cabinet meeting in Cabinda. "I will personally follow up on all the Cabinda projects in order to improve the situation," he told the gathering.

For residents, such promises mean little.

"The government regularly promises new infrastructure but these are just lies," said Carlos Vemba, general secretary of MIC.

"So our fight continues. We will do everything we can to raise awareness and fight for our independence."

For Vemba and his fellow activists, the fight comes at a high cost -- two weeks in jail for him, up to three months for others, until they are released without charge.

The government's tactics include harassment and manhunts, all carried out by the thousands of police and soldiers deployed in Cabinda, say independence campaigners.

- Angolan soldiers killed? -

"It is catastrophic because the Angolan government does not want to talk to us," said Alexandre Kwang N'sito of the Association for the Development of Human Rights Culture (ADCDH), a Cabinda civil rights group.

Provincial governor Eugenio Laborinho disagrees.

"I speak with all opposition parties," he said. "I do not talk to them every day but every time they ask for an audience, I receive them.

"The situation is calm and under control. There was a bit of social unrest around unemployment but no more. Everyone says 'FLEC, FLEC, FLEC,' but I've never seen it."

FLEC regularly claims to have killed Angolan soldiers in guerilla ambushes, but military and civilian authorities in Luanda never comment and independent verification is often impossible.

As the conflict grinds on, FLEC's bold statements claiming victory have become rarer.

"Our will to defend Cabinda against Angolan colonisation remains intact," insists FLEC spokesman Jean-Claude Nitza.

"We are open to dialogue, but the Luanda government does not want to negotiate a solution."

FLEC has recently asked for a mediation process led by Felix Tshisekedi, the new president of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

That suggestion -- like others in the past -- has received no response from Luanda, but the separatists say they are still pushing for a breakthrough.

"I ask Lourenco to be flexible," said Arao Bula Tempo, the lawyer. "

If nothing is done, more Cabindans will die, and so will Angolan soldiers."
By Hanna Rantala

CANNES, France, May 18 (Reuters) - Antonio Banderas said a heart attack he suffered two years ago spurred him into a health kick but also allowed him to reinvent himself as an actor, including as he prepared to take on the lead role in Pedro Almodovar's autobiographical new movie.

"It was fantastic advice for my life," Banderas told Reuters in an interview in Cannes, where Almodovar's "Pain And Glory" is vying for the French film festival's top Palme D'Or prize.

"I don't smoke anymore, I do more exercise than ever. I feel more clear in my brain and I kind of reinvented myself."

The 58-year-old Spaniard, known for films like "The Mask of Zorro" and "Evita," recently took on the role of painter Pablo Picasso in television drama "Genius."

"I am reflecting very much about my acting career. And I feel very fresh and very new," he said.

"Pain And Glory" - about an aging, tormented film director who looks back at his life - reunites Banderas with Penelope Cruz, also a longtime Almodovar collaborator.

Both were left teary-eyed after its Friday screening at Cannes and Banderas choked up at a news conference on Saturday, saying the months spent working on the film had been some of his happiest yet as an actor in a career spanning over 100 movies.

Banderas said his health scare had also helped him wipe the slate clean as he prepared to play protagonist Salvador, something Almodovar was very demanding about.

"He wants you new, fresh, different, getting rid of all these mannerisms," Banderas told Reuters.

The actor said he had not known at first that Almodovar, a close friend, would be digging deep into his personal life for the plotline of the new movie, which the director has described as part autobiography, part fiction.

"(Almodovar) called me on the phone and he said 'I'm going to send you a script that you are going to find (has) a lot of references to people that you know'," Banderas said.

"So he sent it to me and I read it and I was (like) 'oh my God, it's him.'" (Additional reporting by Sarah White; Writing by Sarah White; Editing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian)
Buenos Aires (AFP) - Filmmaker Juan Solanas declares himself an atheist but says that if God did exist he would wear a green handkerchief, emblem of Argentina's pro-abortion movement and subject of his documentary that premieres at the Cannes Film Festival Saturday.

Solanas, 52, says the film was shot on the spur-of-the-moment when he became inspired by television reports of massive women's pro-abortion protests in Argentina.

He grabbed his camera and took to the streets of downtown Buenos Aires to get amongst them, "fascinated by so much talent, life and creativity in the Green Movement."

Months of protests to decriminalize abortion in Pope Francis' homeland culminated in a make-or-break Senate vote on a cold, wet night in February.

Having passed through Congress the year before -- despite strong pressure from the Catholic Church -- the abortion bill fell at the final hurdle in the Senate, defeated by 38 votes to 31.

- 'Anger, indignation'-

"That night I died from the cold, from the rain, I almost broke my camera," Solanas told AFP.

"I felt anger, indignation," said the director, son of the celebrated filmmaker Fernando "Pino" Solanas, who won Cannes' Best Director prize for his 1988 film "Sur."

"I grew up in an atheist family, although my paternal grandmother was very devout. I respect people's beliefs, but it is medieval and violent to impose them on people who don't think the same."

The resulting documentary, "Que Sea Ley" (Let It Be Law), is peppered with testimonies from women who took to the streets in a rage against Argentine conservatism.

"I'm not a guy who cries. I'm hard... but I was moved to see a wonderful, super-powerful women's movement on television."

"I fell in love. It was a shock. Women are incredible."

Those "heroines will be with me in France," he told AFP before leaving Buenos Aires for Cannes, where the film premieres in the "Special Screenings" section on Saturday.

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Solanas -- maker of such features as the 2005 "Northeast" and the 2012 movie "Upside Down" -- is better known in France than in his homeland, having spent most of his life there.

In moving to France he followed in the footsteps of his father, who as a target for Argentina's military dictatorship had fled to the country to develop his film career -- leaving Juan with his mother.

"My mother and father were militants all their lives, they were going to kill him."

Now aged 83 and an opposition senator, the elder Solanas made an impassioned speech in favor of decriminalizing abortion on the night of the vote.

In Argentina abortion is only allowed in case of rape, a threat to the mother's life or if the fetus is deemed non-viable.

Various charities estimate that 500,000 illegal, secret abortions are carried out every year in Argentina, resulting in around 100 deaths.
Former FBI director James Comey has accused Attorney General William Barr of sliming his own department by questioning the creation of the Trump-Russia investigation.

Mr Comey also suggested the head of the US justice department  who has launched a review into the origins of the 2016 election meddling probe  had been acting as a spokesperson for Donald Trump.

The AG should stop sliming his own Department, the former FBI chief tweeted. If there are bad facts, show us, or search for them professionally and then tell us what you found. An AG must act like the leader of the Department of Justice, an organization based on truth. Donald Trump has enough spokespeople.

The attorney general has asked John Durham, the US attorney in Connecticut, to examine how the probe into Russian election interference began and whether laws were broken while intelligence was collected on the Trump campaign, it was revealed earlier this week.

On Friday Mr Barr said the review would focus on the actions of the US intelligence community before the FBI opened a formal inquiry in July 2016.

Government power was used to spy on American citizens, the attorney general told The Wall Street Journal. I cant imagine any world where we wouldnt take a look and make sure that was done properly.

Mr Barr told a Senate subcommittee last month that he believed spying did occur. He said: The question is whether it was adequately predicated and Im not suggesting it wasnt adequately predicated, but I need to explore that.

The attorney general has provided no details about what spying may have taken place but he could be alluding to a surveillance warrant the FBI obtained on former Trump associate Carter Page and the FBIs use of an informant while investigating ex-Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos.

The AG should stop sliming his own Department. If there are bad facts, show us, or search for them professionally and then tell us what you found. An AG must act like the leader of the Department of Justice, an organization based on truth. Donald Trump has enough spokespeople.  James Comey (@Comey) May 18, 2019

His suggestions that members of the Trump campaign were unfairly targeted have been welcomed by the president and his associates, who have repeatedly claimed investigations into the campaign were motivated by political bias.

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The president said that he did not request Mr Barr launch the review, but that he thinks its a great thing that he did it.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress earlier in May that he has no evidence the FBI illegally monitored the Trump campaign and doesnt consider court-approved FBI surveillance to be spying.

Mr Comey has said the FBI doesnt spy, the FBI investigates. He has been a consistent critic of Mr Trump since he was fired as FBI director by the president in May 2017, calling him morally unfit to be president.
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government had delivered a miracle result in Saturday's election where it unexpectedly looks set to retain office, saying the victory was for the "quiet Australians" who supported him.

"I have always believed in miracles!" Morrison told an exuberant room of Liberal Party supporters around midnight.

The coalition government is in position to remain in power with more than half the votes counted on Saturday, though it is unclear whether it can govern with an outright majority and final results may not be known this weekend.

The results stand in stark contrast to pre-election polls, which had predicted centre-left Labor would win.

(Reporting by John Mair; Editing by Alison Williams)
VIENNA, May 18 (Reuters) - Austria's conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is due to issue a statement at 7:45 p.m. (1745 GMT) after far-right Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache stepped down on Saturday, Kurz's office said.

Kurz has yet to speak publicly since a video of Strache was published by German media on Friday evening, apparently showing Strache offering to funnel state construction contracts to a company in exchange for political and financial support. Opposition parties have called on Kurz to call a snap election. (Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Alison Williams)
VIENNA, May 18 (Reuters) - Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz will meet with Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache at 1100 local time to discuss his future, news agency APA said citing sources.

The coalition government was teetering on the brink of collapse on Saturday after video footage published by German newspapers apparently showed Strache discussing state contracts with a potential Russian backer in return for political support.

(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle. Editing by Jane Merriman)
DUBAI (Reuters) - U.S.-allied Bahrain warned its citizens on Saturday against travel to Iraq and Iran and asked those already there to return "immediately" for their safety, state news agency BNA said. The Bahrain foreign ministry cited, "unstable regional circumstances, dangerous developments and potential threats," according to BNA. The warning comes amid simmering tensions between the United States and Iran. Washington on Wednesday pulled non-emergency staff members from its embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad out of apparent concern about perceived threats from neighboring Iran, to which Iraqi Shi'ite militias are allied. Earlier on Saturday Exxon evacuated its foreign staff from an Iraqi oilfield. (Reporting By Maha El Dahan)
By Ginger Gibson

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders on Saturday announced an education policy proposal designed to pump billions of dollars into the public schools system in a direct appeal to black voters who shunned the U.S. senator in his previous presidential bid.

The 10-point plan Sanders will detail in a speech in South Carolina is designed to end racial disparities in the public education system. America's education policy debate has long been steeped in discussions of race and racial discrimination.

Sanders struggled in the 2016 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination against Hillary Clinton to garner support among African-Americans. His chief Democratic rival in the run-up to the 2020 election, former Vice President Joe Biden, has polled well among black voters.

"Every child has a right to a quality K-12 education, regardless of your race, regardless of your income, and regardless of your zip code," Sanders said in a statement on the proposal.

Sanders built his 2016 campaign on a series of liberal policy ideas that at the time made him unique among Democrats, but now are shared by many of his rivals. More than 20 Democrats are vying to challenge President Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee.

Sanders has struggled to distinguish himself in the current field, frequently complaining that he deserves credit for everyone else's agreement with him.

The senator from Vermont titled his new education proposal the "Thurgood Marshall Plan for Education," a nod to the Supreme Court justice who before being on the bench successfully argued the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case of 1954 that desegregated public schools.

On Friday, the Sanders campaign previewed the portion of the proposal that would overhaul charter schools, the publicly-funded schools that operate independently of government oversight.

The remaining portion of his proposal covers everything from teacher pay to school lunches.

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Sanders said he would push for funding to better integrate some schools. He also called for a federal funding minimum and getting away from using property taxes to pay for schools. Critics argue that using property taxes results in wealthy areas having better schools than more impoverished neighborhoods.

He wants to spend an additional $5 billion a year on summer school and after school programs across the United States.

Sanders also called for an increase in federal funding for programs for students with disabilities.

Teacher salary should be set at a minimum of $60,000 a year, Sanders said, and tied to regional cost of living.

He wants to require schools to provide free meals, breakfast, lunch and snacks, to all students.

He wants to provide another $5 billion to increase community services at schools, including health and dental care, mental health and job training.

For schools that continue to lack the infrastructure necessary to teach students, Sanders wants to provide federal funds for more school construction.

And finally, Sanders proposed making schools safer and more inclusive, including passing gun control legislations and enacting laws to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) students.

(Reporting by Ginger Gibson; editing by Grant McCool)
You might think that the choice between Aphria (NYSE: APHA) and Aurora Cannabis (NYSE: ACB) is an easy one. Aphria underperformed Aurora last year and has done the same in 2019 so far -- and by a wide margin.

But there's a lot more to consider than just past stock performance in choosing between Aphria and Aurora. Which of these two Canadian marijuana stocks is the better pick now? Here's how Aphria and Aurora stack up against each other.

Giant marijuana leaf in a shopping cart.

Image source: Getty Images.

The case for Aphria

It's important to understand the reasons behind Aphria's relative underperformance. The company was hit by short-seller allegations in late 2018 that it drastically overpaid for LATAM Holdings in a transaction that benefited key Aphria insiders. Aphria also posted disappointing fiscal Q3 results in April.

But a review by a special committee made up of independent members of Aphria's board of directors found that the price Aphria paid for LATAM Holdings wasn't out of the ballpark of similar transactions made by its peers. Also, a change in the company's growing methods and initial packaging challenges with adult-use recreational cannabis hurt Aphria's Q3 sales. The good news is that these are all temporary issues.

Aphria appears to be in great shape from a production capacity standpoint. With its Aphria One facility now licensed, the company claims an annualized production run rate of 115,000 kilograms. Aphria is on track to boost its annual capacity to 255,000 kilograms.

It also is positioned to succeed in the Canadian adult-use market over the long run. Aphria secured supply agreements with all of Canada's provinces plus the Yukon Territory. The company teamed up with Southern Glazer's, the largest wine and spirits distributor in North America, to distribute its adult-use cannabis products throughout Canada.

Aphria has operations in 10 countries outside of Canada with medical cannabis markets. The most important of these is Germany, where the company was one of three to be awarded a license to cultivate medical cannabis inside the country.

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Perhaps the strongest argument for Aphria right now is that its valuation is more attractive than those of many of its peers. Aphria's market cap is well below that of most Canadian marijuana producers with similar production capacity. This could make the company more appealing to major players in industries that could be disrupted by cannabis that are looking for a cannabis partner.

The case for Aurora Cannabis

Pretty much everything seems to be going right for Aurora Cannabis these days. Unlike Aphria, Aurora beat revenue expectations in its latest quarter. The company's future looks even brighter for several reasons.

Aurora continues to generate strong sales growth in the Canadian adult-use recreational cannabis market. But international medical cannabis sales are growing even faster. Aurora remains the industry leader in terms of total international sales. It was also, along with Aphria, one of the three companies to be awarded a license to cultivate medical cannabis in Germany.

The company also leads the industry in funded production capacity. While Aurora's annualized production run rate currently stands at more than 150,000 kilograms, it expects to increase its capacity to more than 630,000 kilograms. Another big plus is that Aurora's annual oil extraction capacity now stands at nearly 16,000 kilograms. This is especially important as the market for cannabis derivative products opens up in Canada later this year.

This tremendous capacity is also giving Aurora economies of scale that help it lower its costs. The company thinks that it will be able to get the production cost per gram at its Sky class facilities well below 1 Canadian dollar. Aurora expects to generate positive EBITDA in its current quarter by controlling costs while its sales soar.

Aurora doesn't have a partner from outside the cannabis industry like some of its peers do. However, that could change in the near future. The company brought billionaire investor Nelson Peltz on board in March as a strategic advisor to, among other things, line up potential partners in key industries that could be disrupted by cannabis. Peltz's connections in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry could be especially helpful.

Analysts view Aurora quite favorably because of all these factors. Cowen's Vivien Azer particularly likes the company's significant production capacity, with demand exceeding supply in Canada and in international markets.

Better buy

My view is that both of these stocks could perform well over the long run as the global cannabis market expands. Which is the better pick? I think the decision comes down to a couple of factors.

Aurora's current production capacity is roughly 30% greater than Aphria's. But Aurora's market cap is more than five times the size of Aphria's market cap. Aphria is also positioned well in the most important international markets where Aurora operates. My take is that while Aurora is arguably the stronger company, Aphria has more room to run and gets the nod as the better stock right now.

More From The Motley Fool

Keith Speights 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.
Philadelphia (AFP) - Democrat Joe Biden made a passionate appeal for national unity Saturday but also took square political aim at Donald Trump, branding the president a "divider in chief" who must be ousted in 2020.

At a boisterous rally in Philadelphia, the former vice president urged voters to end the mean-spirited pettiness and partisan squabbles that have left Americans angry and dispirited in recent years.

"This nation needs to come together," the veteran politician told a crowd estimated at 6,000 in Philadelphia, in the largest rally of his nascent campaign.

"Our president is the divider in chief," he added, accusing Trump of demonizing opponents and using scapegoats to fuel animosity.

"If the American people want a president to add to our division, to lead with a clenched fist, closed hand and a hard heart, to demonize opponents and spew hatred, they don't need me," Biden said in a raised voice. "They've got President Donald Trump."

Biden, 76, came to Washington in a less polarized era, and he cited his work across the aisle during his 36 years in the US Senate to assure Democrats that "compromise is not a dirty word" and can lead to successes going forward.

"Let's stop fighting and start fixing," he said.

The number two to popular president Barack Obama is now making his third White House bid, and relishes his prime position atop the pack of 2020 Democratic contenders.

But the party eminence appeared to ignore the primary jockeying with his Democratic rivals and cast his eye directly at the general election battle against Trump.

After a month of more modest events, the large-scale rally in Pennsylvania's largest city highlighted the importance Democrats place on winning back the swing state that Trump snatched in 2016.

Biden was born and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and the sun-splashed downtown event was a nod to his modest roots.

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But far from being the underdog, Biden is looking to cement his status as the man to beat.

He is a blue-collar voter whisperer who claims he is best positioned to defeat Trump. But Biden must also balance the concern that while he is the most experienced candidate out there, he embodies the Washington insider cachet that many voters rejected in 2016 when they chose Trump over former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

"Maybe he's a little bit establishment, but he was always Joe from Scranton," Mickey Kirzecky, a health care consultant who attended the rally, told AFP.

"He still has that, and I think that's going to be tough for Trump to fight."

Polls give Biden a growing lead over the 22 other hopefuls.

The latest RealClearPolitics aggregate puts him at 39.1 percent support, more than double the 16.4 percent of his nearest rival, liberal Senator Bernie Sanders.

No one else is in double digits.

- 'Beat Trump' -

As voters start paying more attention, Biden -- who to date has campaigned mostly in broad strokes -- will be under pressure to flesh out policies on everything from health care and wages to immigration.

Next month he will be expected to provide details on multiple positions -- and engage his party rivals more directly -- when Democrats gather for their first televised debate of the 2020 season.

Biden has already called for a clean energy "revolution," and in his Saturday speech assured that he supports the traditional Democratic goals of protecting voting rights and broadening access to health care.

But Biden warned that none of those goals could be achieved should Trump secure another four years in the White House.

"If you want to know what the first and most important plan in my climate proposal is: Beat Trump," he said. "Beat Trump. Beat Trump."

- Blue-collar appeal -

Even as some supporters encourage Biden to take the high road, the Democrat displayed a willingness for confrontation as he said the president "embraces dictators and tyrants like (Vladimir) Putin and Kim Jong Un."

Biden has aligned himself closely with Obama, drawing support from African-American voters, and he went out of his way Saturday to praise Obama's "courage," character and vision.

In doing so he took another swipe at the current Republican president, who has routinely boasted about the well-performing US economy.

"President Trump inherited an economy from the Obama/Biden administration that was given to him, just like he inherited everything else in his life," he said.

Biden styles himself, like Trump, as an ardent defender of working class Americans, someone who can win back the Midwestern, white, male blue-collar voters who went for the Republican in 2016.

Trump has insisted he does not see Biden "as a threat."

But he has bestowed a negative nickname on his rival -- "Sleepy Joe" -- and scheduled a campaign rally for Monday in northern Pennsylvania, near Scranton.
By James Oliphant

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday will hold a presidential-style rally intended to make his march toward becoming the Democrat to take on President Donald Trump seem inevitable, even as rivals search for ways to slow him down.

Since entering the race last month, Biden, 76, has largely ignored the other 23 contenders in the Democratic field, instead training his fire on Republican Trump.

Trump, in turn, has regularly knocked Biden, making the 2020 presidential contest sometimes feel like a general election more than a year before the vote takes place.

Biden's outdoor rally in Philadelphia, where he has established his campaign headquarters, illustrates the importance of Pennsylvania to Democratic hopes next year. Trump narrowly won the state over Hillary Clinton in 2016.

After Biden leaves, Trump will hold an event of his own on Monday in the northeast part of the state.

In his remarks, Biden will attempt to reach out to Republicans and independent voters as well as Democrats by striking a moderate tone.

"Some say Democrats dont want to hear about unity. That they are angry, and the angrier you are, the better," Biden will say, according to excerpts of his address released in advance. "Thats what they are saying to have to do to win the Democratic nomination. Well, I dont believe it."

And as he has done during his campaign, he will directly confront Trump.

"If the American people want a president to add to our division, to lead with a clenched fist, closed hand and a hard heart, to demonize the opponents and spew hatred - they dont need me," Biden is expected to say. "They already have a president who does just that."

Biden will not have the luxury of shrugging off the rest of the Democratic field much longer. While opinion polls show him with a substantial lead, other candidates have begun targeting him.

An emerging antagonist has been U.S Senator Kamala Harris, who this week mocked calls by Biden supporters that she join him on the Democratic ticket as vice president. Harris said it should be the other way around.

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"I think that Joe Biden would be a great running mate," Harris told reporters. "As vice president, he's proven that he knows how to do the job."

Biden, a U.S. senator for 30 years and a two-term vice president under Barack Obama, has argued he is best positioned to take on Trump next year.

The remark by Harris underscored the tension that runs through the Democratic Party as its activist wing grapples with the notion of nominating a moderate white male such as Biden rather than a progressive woman such as U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren or person of color like Harris.

MIDDLE OF THE ROAD?

Democratic nominating contests begin next February, giving the dynamics of the race plenty of time to shift. But Biden has opened up a more than 20-point lead over his nearest rival, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, in several public opinion polls.

In New Hampshire this week, Harris took issue with Biden's assertion that a sweeping 1994 crime bill Biden backed in Congress did not lead to mass incarceration of prisoners.

African-Americans, a key voter demographic for both Biden and Harris, have been particularly critical of the legislation, saying it devastated black communities.

Warren has criticized Biden's support of the credit card industry while a senator. Sanders has blasted Biden's past support of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Iraq War.

U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is not running for president but holds influence over young progressive voters, appeared this week to criticize Biden after Reuters reported that he likely would advance a plan to tackle climate change less sweeping than Ocasio-Cortez's 'Green New Deal.'

Biden pushed back at Ocasio-Cortez, saying he has never been "middle of the road" on the climate issue.

"There are very loud voices on the very new progressive side of the agenda, and I think it's useful," Biden said in New Hampshire. "I think they're good. They're smart people, and they should be able to be making their case."

(Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Rosalba O'Brien and James Dalgleish)
New York (AFP) - The vibe at a gathering this week for blockchain enthusiasts felt decidedly less exuberant than its predecessor a year ago after dizzying swings in bitcoin.

Last year's Consensus blockchain conference took place just four months after the virtual currency hit almost $20,000, spawning a legion of bitcoin millionaires who rode in swanky luxury cars and partied in over-the-top soirees.

Despite bitcoin's latest bounce, this year's gathering, again held at a hotel in New York, featured less ostentatious displays of wealth and a more sober sensibility.

The shift is partly a reflection of bitcoin's dramatic price swings, as well as a sign of the evolution of blockchain technology into more real-life, less trendy applications.

"It's definitely less buzz, less show," said Wes Fuldord, chief executive at Bitfarms Technologies, a cryptomining operation based in Quebec. "But it's reflecting signs of a more mature market."

Blockchain is a digital ledger that is the underlying technology of bitcoin with broad applications in finance and many industries that permit multiple users to share data and information in real time. The technology is considered secure because the data cannot be altered.

"In 2018, we just had a lot of powerpoint presentations," recalled Francois-Xavier Thoorens, founder of blockchain company Ark. "This year, we have real products."

Display stands at the event included a Deloitte product of three screens that employs blockchain for cybersecurity, and an application from startup Riddle & Code that authenticates expensive watches.

Speakers included representatives of Pfizer and AstraZeneca, who discussed blockchain applications in pharmaceutical research, and Microsoft, which is marketing a blockchain-based "decentralized identity" to secure personal data.

Attendees also discussed solutions to manage the ownership of digital assets and the various legal and regulatory issues that have surfaced.

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This year's conference, sponsored by the digital media company CoinDesk, follows a turbulent year for bitcoin, which bottomed out at $3,200 in December in a decline that sparked skepticism on the potential of blockchain.

- Mysterious bitcoin rally -

The recent rally in bitcoin -- doubling to $8,000 from $4,000 in late March -- failed to push conference attendance to the 2018 count of 8,000. This year's event drew just 4,800 people.

The volatility in bitcoin prices as especially troubling for some observers. Fuldord said some smaller players have exited the market, leaving it to more established companies.

"Some of the hype has slowed down in the back of price weakness in 2018," Fuldord said.

Some blockchain experts have questioned whether the latest rise in bitcoin as a result of financial market uncertainty due in part to protracted US-China trade talks, with investors seeking "refuge" in the crypto market.

But for many the rally in the digital currency remains a mystery.

"We're still at the stage with bitcoin of alternating between euphoria and despair," said Thoorens, adding that more attention from regulators should with time lead to a more normalized market.

Thoorens noted that the crypto universe has come a long way from one that only two years ago could lead to banks closing an account linked to a crypto trading platform.

"All technologies go through the same steps, from fringe, to frontier, to mainstream," said Margaret Rosenfelds, an attorney who specializes in blockchain at K&L Gates.

At this point, finance is the most seasoned when it comes to understanding cryptocurrencies and using blockchain, she said.

But many other sectors are looking at applications, and devotees still expect to see growth is expected, even if the technology remains a bit abstract to a non-specialist.

Comparing it to the technology underlying email and many other now-common applications, Rosenfelds said, "The average person dont need to understand how it works to adopt and use it."
Bitcoin is no biggie, according to the European Central Bank.

By CCN: The European Central Bank (ECB) has found that crypto does not pose risks to financial stability in the Eurozone. The central bank does recommend, however, that European legislatures create a uniform approach to crypto-assets.

Crypto Market? Too Small to Matter, ECB Says

The ECB has set up an advisory committee called the Crypto-Assets Task Force (ICA-TF) to examine the ramifications and impact of cryptocurrencies on the European economy. Their May 2019 report, Crypto-Assets: Implications for financial stability, monetary policy, and payments and market infrastructures, has some interesting findings.

The Task Force found that, at the current market size, crypto assets do not represent a threat to the European economy or Euro area monetary stability:

Crypto-assets do not fulfil the functions of money and, at the current stage, neither do they entail a tangible impact on the real economy nor have significant implications for monetary policy.

Implicit in this finding is that it would be different if the crypto market were larger. Parsing the language the Task Force used in the report, one senses that the ECB is advising regulators across Europe to be prepared for when crypto markets are larger.

Be Ready for Expansion

While the report finds that the very low number of merchants that allow the purchase of goods and services with bitcoins indicates no influence of the most prominent crypto-asset on price-setting, it also warns that the influence of crypto could grow.

The report concludes by highlighting the potential for cryptos to become disruptive to the European economy as the market grows and their use becomes more widespread. Per the Task Force, it is:

Read the full story on CCN.com.
First-period goals by Ivan Barbashev and Tyler Bozak held up thanks to a 29-save performance by goalie Jordan Binnington, and the host St. Louis Blues beat the San Jose Sharks 2-1 Friday night to even the Western Conference finals at two wins apiece.

Binnington was truly under siege in the final couple of minutes, as was the whole Blues team, but they held strong for the victory -- an outcome that eluded them two nights earlier.

Game 5 of the best-of-seven series will be Sunday afternoon in San Jose, Calif. The West champion will advance to meet the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final.

On the heels of their controversial loss in Game 3, the Blues were looking for a quick start and received exactly what they were looking for when Barbashev scored just 35 seconds into the clash.

Sharks defenseman Brent Burns coughed up the puck from behind the net, weakly moving it along the side boards where Barbashev grabbed it and sent a sharp-angled shot that ricocheted off Gustav Nyquist's stick and past startled San Jose netminder Martin Jones.

Things looked really good for the hosts when Bozak's power-play goal with 2:07 remaining in the opening frame doubled the lead. Patrick Maroon's deflection of Vladimir Tarasenko's point shot was denied, but in the chaos, Bozak got a piece of the loose puck before it went into the cage.

The Sharks finally found their much-needed jolt of life with Tomas Hertl put the visitors on the board with a power-play goal at 6:48 of the third period. Binnington made the save on a Burns point shot, but the puck trickled through him like chicken laying an egg and into the crease behind him, and Hertl pushed it home for his 10th goal of the playoffs.

While Binnington delivered a fantastic performance, Bozak was among the many who blocked shots in the Sharks' final push.

Jones made 20 saves for the Sharks, who could be looking at a key injury issue. Standout defenseman Erik Karlsson appeared to be nursing a groin injury that left him on the bench for seven minutes of the third period, though he returned in the final minutes.

--Field Level Media
Chimore (Bolivia) (AFP) - Bolivian President Evo Morales launched his campaign Saturday for a fourth term, rejecting opposition allegations that he leads a corrupt and dictatorial government.

Morales, 59, is Bolivia's first indigenous president and is aiming to be reelected in October.

Bolivia's 2009 constitution, promulgated by Morales himself, limits a president to two consecutive terms of office.

A 2016 referendum saw Morales defeated in his bid to secure public support to remove term limits. But his government rejected the result while the constitutional court, filled with Morales loyalists, ruled it was his human right to seek reelection.

Before a massive rally of more than one million people, the leftist leader asked for "five more years (of leadership) to guarantee this liberation for life."

In the next "10 years, maybe 15 years, maximum 20 years, Bolivia will be an economic power," Morales promised in his speech delivered on the airport runway in Chimore.

Bolivia, which was among Latin America's poorest countries for decades, is enjoying relative economic security under Morales on the back of exports of natural gas to Brazil and Argentina, and other raw materials such as lithium to other countries.

Yet 13 continuous years of Morales rule have been overshadowed by criticism for alleged corruption and heavy public spending.

Right-wing presidential candidate Oscar Ortiz recently listed 94 decrees signed by Morales and 13 laws passed by Congress that allow for direct contracting of public works, without bidding. Ortiz said the relaxed regulations resulted in projects possibly in excess of $1 billion.

While Morales has not been caught up in any corruption personally, he has been widely criticized for buying a new presidential jet and building a lavish presidential office building.

"Never, ever have we stolen anything. We have not come here to rob anyone, but to serve the people," Morales said.

Five months before the October election, the opposition is still divided into eight candidates and none has announced a specific plan.

Morales is part of an alliance of Latin leftist leaders including those in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
The View of the World from Ninth Avenue in Saul Steinbergs 1976 cover for The New Yorker will resonate with anyone whos ever lived or worked in Manhattan. From Ninth Avenue, the islands grid is enlarged and disproportionate. The Hudson lies before a scattering of other cities and states. Beyond the river is the Pacific Ocean, then China, Japan, and Russia dotted along the horizon. As for whats beyond that  who cares?

Paul Johnsons A History of the American People paints a rather different picture. In a thousand pages he explains the founding of the colonies, done primarily for religious purposes, the distinct character of this extraordinary nation; its discovery, its growth, and its rise to dominance on the world stage.

Johnsons whimsical grab-bag of American history proved a valuable companion as I left Manhattan and headed west. First to Nebraska  flat, and smack-bang in the middle  then to coast and mountains of California.

**

Omaha, Neb.

Honestly, its not for everyone, reads the official state tourism slogan. American self-deprecation is a rare and treasurable thing.

Nebraska, I learn, has more miles of rivers than any other state. Omaha, where Im visiting my sister and her fiance, who is in the U.S. Air Force, is on the Missouri River.

This March a bomb cyclone caused massive flooding, which destroyed 2,000 homes and 340 businesses, as well as roads, levees, and crops, amounting to around $1.3 billion in damages. Three people were killed, including a farmer who was trying to tow a trapped car with his tractor.

He was a good Samaritan, he didnt even know the people he was going to help, one local told me.

As in A History of the American People, Christianity is evidently still a prominent feature in Nebraskan culture. In the 1830s, the first missionaries set up camp in Bellevue. The exhibit at Omahas Durham Museum explains:

The missionaries intentions were good. They eased suffering by providing medical care and food. In their own ways, and for different reasons, the fur traders and the missionaries each contributed to the Indians loss of their culture.

Story continues

Of course, this is a vastly different interpretation from the one you hear in New York.

On arriving at the Durham Museum, I asked the lady at the front desk  an elderly volunteer  what her favorite exhibit was. She looked surprised  No one has ever asked me that before  and said something about the furniture that reminded her of her childhood. It occurred to me how young America is. Plastic fruits, inauthentic Indian tepees  these were nothing like the homegrown artifacts in British museums.

The Durham Museum is housed in Omahas old Union Station, which was built in 1929 out of the old 1899 station. It impressively documents 150 years of transcontinental railroads, launched with Lincolns 1862 Pacific Railway Act. A redheaded fifty-something volunteer showed my sister and me around a train cabin from the 1930s.

Heres where the travelers could take a shower. They only got three minutes. I dont know about you, but I couldnt warsh my hair in three minutes!

My sister asked me quietly if shed really just said warsh. She had. And, to our delight, she said it again.

Omaha is rightly proud of its zoo, which is far superior to any other Ive ever been to (in Manhattan or Europe). The buzz that week was over a five-day-old baby giraffe. The baby also made the front page of local newspaper, the Omaha World Herald, which I picked up in the airport along with a book of Omaha proverbs:

 Stolen food never satisfies hunger.  No one mourns the thriftless.  A man must make his own arrows.  The path of the lazy leads to disgrace.

And my personal favorite, which I gave to my sister to make of it what she will, A handsome face does not make a good husband.

**

Upon arriving in San Francisco, I saw a homeless man with his pants (we would say trousers) down, under the influence, having soiled himself, and being trailed by a police car. The guidebook chose a rather different emphasis: San Francisco has more restaurants per capita than any other American city.

Before the Europeans came, the San Francisco area was home to two main Native American tribes, the Oholone and the Miwok. Francis Drake managed to sail past the bay in 1579, when he stopped off at Point Reyes. In the late 1700s, some Spanish settlers and missionaries set up camp. But it wasnt until 1835 that San Francisco was founded by an Englishman by the name of William Richardson.

The waters of the Pacific are far more attractive than those of the Atlantic, I think. The Pacific must be the latter in Katharine Lee Batess famous line, from sea to shining sea. From the coast we drove to the mountains of Yosemite. Many of the trees were scorched from the wildfires last year, which was the deadliest and most destructive season on record and killed more than 80 people.

This is strange to me. When you grow up in the United Kingdom, the idea of extreme weather, floods and fires, the sort that wrecks communities and kills people  is so foreign. The same goes for wild animals. Yosemite is also home to around 300 to 500 bears. Black bears. If you see one, youre advised to make a lot of noise, which will likely scare it off. Theyre mostly harmless. Unlike the grizzlies of Yellowstone, who will kill you just for the fun of it.

Are the extremities in American weather and wildlife comparable to its politics and temperament? Ive heard it said, for instance, that where in Britain you find eccentricity, in America you find fanaticism. I asked my dad what he thought of this, but he wasnt listening. He was looking out at the valley in silent wonder.

Back at my desk in New York, I leave you with Paul Johnson:

We must never forget that the settlement of what is now the United States was only part of a larger enterprise. And this was the work of the best and the brightest of the entire European continent. They were greedy. As Christopher Columbus said, men crossed the Atlantic primarily in search of gold. But they were also idealists. These adventurous young men thought they could transform the world for the better. Europe was too small for them  for their energies, their ambitions, and their visions. In the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries, they had gone east, seeking to reChristianize the Holy Land and its surroundings, and also to acquire land there. The mixture of religious zeal, personal ambition  not to say cupidity  and lust for adventure which inspired generations of Crusaders was the prototype for the enterprise of the Americas.

More from National Review
Los Angeles (AFP) - A US federal court on Friday heard the first of many challenges to President Donald Trump's declaration of an emergency to pay for construction of a wall along the southern border with Mexico.

The first hearing on two lawsuits filed in Oakland, California challenging the declaration adjourned after dealing with procedural issues, with the judge giving no indication of when a ruling may be handed down.

About 20 states, including Democratic strongholds New York and California, along with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), environmental groups and border communities are involved in the suits, which claim the emergency declaration violates the constitution.

"We are hopeful that today's hearing stressed what is truly at stake with Trump's border wall -- the endangerment of communities and destruction of our environment," said Gloria Smith, managing attorney at the Sierra Club, one of the plaintiffs.

Trump made the construction of a wall to stem illegal immigration from Latin America central to his successful 2016 campaign for the presidency.

But despite saying Mexico would pay for the barrier, he's had to ask Congress for $3.6 billion in funding to make the project happen, along with an additional $2.5 billion to fight drug traffickers.

The tug-of-war over funding for the barrier caused a record 35-day federal government shutdown beginning on December 22, 2018, and lawmakers have thus far allocated only $1.4 billion to pay for fencing and other barriers along the border.

Following the hearing, Dror Ladin, staff attorney at the ACLU's national security project said, "It was striking to hear the government claim out loud in court that Congress never denied Trump funding for his wall. That is patently wrong."

The lawsuits question the urgency of Trump's emergency declaration, and asks the court to halt wall construction work that the Defense Department said could start as soon as May 25.

It also claims the government violated environmental protections by failing to assess the impact of the wall's construction in California and New Mexico.

Among the plaintiffs' evidence are statements Trump made at his press conference following the emergency declaration where he said, "I could do the wall over a longer period of time," and "I didn't need to do this, but I would rather do it much faster."
Ottawa (AFP) - Ottawa plans to proceed "full steam ahead" on ratification of a free trade agreement with the US and Mexico, Canada's foreign affairs minister said Saturday, after the neighbors scrapped reciprocal tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Canada had been "very clear" that as long as the tariffs were in place "it would be very hard for us to move forward with ratification," Chrystia Freeland told CBC News.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump announced the lifting of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico. Ottawa and Mexico City also announced the elimination of reciprocal duties.

The steep US tariffs imposed last year -- 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum -- became a major stumbling block to ratifying a new North American trade pact negotiated last year by the three countries.

With the removal of the obstacle, "our government now intends to move forward with the ratification," of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Freeland said, describing the process as progressing "full steam ahead."

However, she did not specify when the deal would be presented to Parliament, which remains in session only until June.

Freeland acknowledged that despite the lifting of the aluminum and steel tariffs, it would be "naive" to think US protectionism is no longer a threat.

"Eternal vigilance is required," she said.

Meanwhile, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Saturday the US move to withdraw tariffs was a "triumph" for Mexico.

"It was a triumph for the Mexican government negotiators, a triumph of diplomacy. We even gave a bit of little help to the government of Canada. Not to brag," Lopez Obrador told reporters in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.

He stressed that his administration is working toward "free trade, not a trade war."
By Steve Scherer

OTTAWA, May 18 (Reuters) - Canada will move quickly to ratify the new North American trade pact, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Saturday, a day after the United States agreed to lift tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

U.S. President Donald Trump had imposed the global "Section 232" tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum in March 2018 on both Canada and Mexico on national security grounds, invoking a 1962 Cold War-era trade law.

The metals tariffs were a major irritant for Canada and Mexico and had caused them to halt progress toward ratification of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the trilateral trade deal signed last year which will replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

"We were very clear that as long as the 232 tariffs were there it would be very, very hard for us to ratify the new NAFTA, and that is why we did not table the legislation," Freeland said in an interview broadcast by CBC radio.

"Now that that big obstacle is lifted, full steam ahead," she said, without saying when the agreement would be presented to parliament, which closes down in June ahead of an October national election.

"I hope all members of the house will support this agreement," she added.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday he would meet with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa on May 30 to discuss "advancing" ratification.

While several U.S. Democrats applauded removal of the tariffs, some on Friday said USMCA was not yet ready for their support. Freeland said Canada was in the process of reaching out to American Democrats.

"We have been meeting with many leading Democrats to talk to them about the new NAFTA," Freeland said. "We have a good, strong conversation happening."

Despite the breakthrough on tariffs and the USMCA agreement last year, Freeland said Canada was still worried about U.S. protectionism.

"I am still concerned about U.S. protectionism and I think it would be naive for anyone to think that there is any kind of permanent safety or security. The reality is that this U.S. administration is openly, explicitly, and proudly protectionist," Freeland said. (Reporting by Steve Scherer Editing by James Dalgleish)


Aurora Cannabis ACB, Tilray TLRY, and Canopy Growth Company CGC are a few of the hyped up marijuana stocks we saw hit the markets in 2018. The Cannabis Craze had everyone and their brother buying up marijuana stocks. These cannabis stocks didnt have enough free-floating shares to cover the massive amount of buy interest leading them to skyrocket at the end of 2018 far above their fair value.

Canadian Legalization

Investors jumped into these stocks on the announcement of Canada legalizing recreational marijuana, which was official on October 17th of last year, on the hopes that the United States would follow suit promptly.

The logic behind investing in a Canadian cannabis company isnt entirely flawed. These companies have established infrastructure and economies to scale that would allow them to quickly address the needs of American pot smokers if federal legalization were to take place in the US. This would represent a considerable upside potential for any marijuana company already in operation.

Unfortunately, I believe that the optimism of US weed legalization is somewhat misplaced considering the complexity of our federal legislative system would delay this legalization for years. Even though individual states have been able to legalize marijuana, it will be many years before it is federally legalized, leaving all the growth expectations for these Canadian cannabis stocks on the back burner for an indefinite amount of time.

Since the initial rally in marijuana stocks, most of these equities have plunged. Tilray (TLRY) is down over 72% since mid-October, Canopy Growth Company (CGC) is down about 22% in the same time frame, and ACB is down about 25%. Aurora hasnt fallen as fast as Tilray because the firm has been showing accelerating topline growth, but unfortunately, the firm cant keep its profits above ground level with losses on the income statement the last two quarters.

Story continues

Trend Trading Downside

Cannabis stocks are a new trend, and investors arent entirely sure how to value these firms. Usually, new and exciting stocks and securities attract a lot of interest because of the awe factor that is associated with an intriguing new industry.

We saw it in 1999 with the dotcom bubble. Everyone wanted to get into these soaring tech stocks and it pushed the valuation way beyond their fair value. As we all know, this eventually led to the entire stock market tanking and sent the US into a temporary recession.

More recently cryptocurrencies were all the talk, not just with investors but with everyone, exchanges even creating futures for this new hot commodity. The prices of these cryptos proliferated over a short period of time with Bitcoin exploding 2,273% in less than one year during 2017. Once the hype had diminished, and investors realized that these currencies werent being utilized the value of them fell significantly.

This is what I believe is happening with these marijuana stocks. Investors are overzealous about getting into a cannabis stock, not caring about the valuation. I believe a further realization will hit and these stocks could see a larger downside.



Valuation

In my opinion, these cannabis stocks are still grossly overvalued when assessing their multiples. Too much of US legalization is hinged on these firms valuations and like I mentioned above, I dont see this happening for years to come. ACB is currently trading at 67x price/sales, TLRY at 76x P/S and CGC at 77x P/S which are all astronomical multiples considering that the overall markets P/S is below 3x and the medical products industry is just below 4x P/S. Price to sales is the only multiple I can use for these firms because every other multiple is negative (considering their inability to turn an operating profit).

Aura isnt expected to turn a profit until 2021. Even those estimates have been revised down twice in the past 30 days and could turn negative with this continued pessimism. The firm is expected to lose 250% in EPS this year compared to 2018. Sell-side analysts continue to lower expectation for this firm pushing ACB into a Zacks Rank - #4 (Sell).

Tilray is also not expected to see profits until 2021 and has had multiple downward adjusted EPS revisions over the past 90 days leading TLRY to be a Zacks Rank - #4 (Sell)

Canopy Growth is expected to report a 2019 EPS thats 238% less than last year. Canopy may not even turn a profit until 2022, according to some analysts.

Take Away

These marijuana stocks are extremely speculative and I would be hard pressed to call them anything but a gamble. The fair valuation of stocks in a new industry is somewhat ambigous making it very difficult for a value investor to justify buying. These stocks may have room in a well diversified portfolio if the individual is willing to put on some risk. I personally will be staying away from these and looking to invest in something with sustainable returns, reasonable valuations, and a longer industry track record. Once this industry is more established and these firms can show long term profitablity then I will reassess.

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Green Eggs Cafe. | Photo: Tanya B./Yelp

Interested in finding out about the newest restaurant additions to Philadelphia? From a breakfast spot to an Asian fusion restaurant, read on for a rundown of the newest hot spots to arrive around town.

Olly

Now open at 700 S. Fifth St. in Queen Village is Olly, a spot to score comfort food and more. The casual restaurant offers a large menu of appetizers, soups, salads, seafood, desserts and more. Check out the brunch and happy hour menus which include beer, wine and cocktails.

Green Eggs Cafe

PHOTO: DYLAN K./YELP



Wander over to 2800 W. Girard Ave. and you'll find the new Brewerytown location of Green Eggs Cafe, the fifth installment of this popular eco-friendly chain of eateries. The restaurant serves New American fare for breakfast and brunch, such as chicken and waffles, eggs Benedict and pancakes, as well as soups, salads and sandwiches for lunch.

New Leaf 2 Chinese & Japanese Cuisine

Photo: lorne l./Yelp

New Leaf 2 Chinese & Japanese Cuisine is an Asian fusion restaurant and bar that recently opened its doors at 4260 Main St. in Manayunk. The menu features classic Chinese and Japanese dishes such as sushi, noodle soups, bento boxes, rice platters and more. Don't forget to check out the restaurant's selection of bubble teas.

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.
(Corrects title of Pompeo to Secretary of State in first paragraph)

SHANGHAI, May 18 (Reuters) - China's senior diplomat Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that recent U.S. words and actions had harmed the interests of China and its enterprises, and it should show restraint, China's foreign ministry said on Saturday.

Speaking to Pompeo by telephone, Wang said the United States should not go "too far" in the current trade dispute between the two sides, adding China was still willing to resolve differences through negotiations, but they should be on an equal footing.

Speaking on Iran, he also said China hoped all parties will exercise restraint and act with caution to avoid escalating tensions. (Reporting by Twinnie Siu in HONG KONG and David Stanway in SHANGHAI)
Gipf-Oberfrick (Switzerland) (AFP) - Nancy Holten is annoying. She is so annoying in fact that residents of the small village in Switzerland she calls home voted, twice, to bar her from becoming Swiss.

The 45-year-old, with her long, flowing dark hair, was born in the Netherlands, but moved to Switzerland when she was just eight years old.

She speaks fluent Swiss German, her children are Swiss and she says she feels Swiss.

"Switzerland is my home," she told AFP in a recent interview in the small apartment she shares with her three teenage daughters in the northern village of Gipf-Oberfrick.

So when she finally got around to applying for citizenship back in 2015, she expected the process to be easy.

She was wrong.

As part of Switzerland's famous direct democratic system, some smaller municipalities leave naturalisation decisions up to a vote by the town assembly.

Critics say the system allows for more emotionally-charged and potentially more discriminatory decisions.

When Holten showed up for the vote in the village of around 3,500 inhabitants, her neighbours had turned out in unusually high numbers, to reject her.

- Ban cowbells? -

The outspoken vegan and animal rights activist had rubbed many in the small, conservative community up the wrong way with her alternative lifestyle and vocal criticism of the ultimate Swiss symbols: the cowbell.

"These bells hurt their ears," she said, picking up a heavy brass cowbell she had purchased.

She passed the colourfully embroidered strap over her head, and covered her ears as the bell clanged loudly around her neck.

"I don't mind traditions as long as they don't hurt anyone," said Holten, who also angered many with calls for silencing the village church bells at night.

"I guess I made too much noise for people," she said.

In the village assembly, many railed against her, booed those who came to her defence and overwhelmingly rejected her citizenship application.

Story continues

"Emotions ran a bit high," said Urs Treier, a spokesman for the village administration, which in vain had urged the inhabitants to allow Holten to become Swiss.

Holten appealed the vote to the regional authorities in Aargau Canton, who asked the village assembly to vote again.

The result? Even more people turned out to reject Holten, with the media dubbing her "too annoying" to receive citizenship.

- 'Painful' -

"It was painful," she acknowledged. "I cried. It was very hard."

But her persistence paid off. Holten appealed again, and this time the canton overturned the decision, and last year she became Swiss.

The case is among several that have raised questions about the pertinence of applying the direct democratic principal in naturalisation cases.

Across Switzerland, citizenship decisions are first taken locally, then approved at the cantonal level and finally at the federal level.

"The most decisive stage is the municipal level," Anita Manatschal, a political scientist at Neuchatel University, told AFP.

The vast majority of municipalities leave the decision up to the town administration or a committee, but some, like Gipf-Oberfrick, continue to give all townspeople a say.

A few years ago, a family from Kosovo saw their citizenship request rejected by an assembly in the village of Bubendorf in Basel Canton, with some reportedly arguing they did not "act" Swiss because they often wore tracksuits, and not jeans.

While such decisions raise questions about the legitimacy of the system, experts argue they are increasingly rare.

Andreas Bamert-Rizzo, of the Aargau cantonal authority, told AFP that the canton is asked by municipalities to grant around 2,000 naturalisations annually, but receives only a handful of appeals of local level decisions.

Accusations of discrimination were far more common around the turn of the century, when some Swiss towns permitted referenda using anonymous ballots to determine citizenship requests.

- 'Outdated'? -

That practice was upended in 2003, when the Supreme Court overturned a controversial referendum in the small town of Emmen in Lucerne Canton, which rejected 48 nationality bids -- nearly all submitted by people from the former Yugoslavia -- finding it discriminatory.

Manatschal pointed to research showing that in the cases prior to the court decision where referenda were used for nationality decisions, the rejection rate on average was 18.4 percent.

That compares to 4.9 percent when the decision was taken by a town assembly and a mere 2.1 percent when a town's executive branch made the call, she said.

"The leeway for discrimination was very problematic until 2003," she said, stressing, though, that "it seems to be fairer since then."

"Laws, not random subjective preferences, should decide whether a person should be naturalised or not," she said.

Holten agrees.

In the year since she became Swiss, she has joined the regional chapter of the Pirate Party, and is vying for a parliamentary seat in cantonal elections in October.

"If I am elected, I will raise this question of access to citizenship," she said.

"I think communal authorities should decide, and not the inhabitants, who are more likely to let their emotions rule."
Sydney (AFP) - Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott, infamous for once calling the science behind climate change "crap", has become the first big scalp in the country's elections Saturday.

Abbott, who was prime minister from 2013 to 2015, was one of the most vocal climate sceptics in parliament and had held his seat of Warringah in Sydney's northern suburbs for a quarter of a century.

But amid a groundswell of activism on climate change among his affluent beachside electorate and a strong challenge from independent candidate and former Olympian Zali Steggall, Abbott was unable to hold on.

While the national election remained too close to call -- with the conservative coalition government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison doing better than expected -- Abbott admitted his defeat, less than three hours after polls closed.

"I can't say that it doesn't hurt to lose," he told supporters, but added, "I'd rather be a loser than a quitter".

"It's often said that all public lives end badly, but I'm certainly not going to let one bad day spoil 25 great years," he said.

The contest in Warringah had become so heated that an Abbott volunteer was stabbed in the stomach with a corkscrew late Friday while putting up campaign posters, with the Liberal candidate saying it reflected the ugliness of the election campaign.

Steggall said earlier Saturday she believed she could win and was running in the election to give locals a choice.

"After 25 years there are a lot of people that are ready for different representation and a different style of politics," she told reporters after voting.

During voting on Saturday near Abbott's surf club, the site of one of the polling stations, anti-fossil fuel campaigners set up a "democracy sausage" stand -- a election day tradition -- with signs "fry sausages not the climate" and "let's snag some climate action".

Story continues

Voters entering the polling booth were greeted by volunteers wearing bright orange "I'm a climate voter" t-shirts and "25 years of climate denial: Vote Abbott out" signs.

Locals emerging from the ocean with their surfboards beside the station said they were voting for a change in direction.

"It's time for Tony to go," 32-year-old surfer Aidan Street told AFP.

At another polling station, Abbott was surrounded and questioned by students who skipped school early this year to protest against government inaction on climate change.

Australia is one of the world's worst per capita greenhouse gas polluters, due to heavy use of coal-fired power and a relatively small population of 25 million.
BOGOTA, May 17 (Reuters) - A former commander of the Marxist FARC rebel group was released from prison on Friday and immediately re-arrested after new evidence came to light, the attorney general's office said in a statement.

In a move likely to rattle an already delicate peace accord with the now-demobilized insurgents, Seuxis Paucias Hernandez, known by his war alias as Jesus Santrich, was escorted out of prison in a wheelchair and moments later, as he left prison gates, was taken back inside by police.

Hernandez, 52, was indicted more than a year ago by a U.S. grand jury for conspiracy to export 10 tonnes of cocaine, worth $320 million in street value. He was ordered released on Wednesday by a special tribunal.

"As a result of international judicial cooperation, in the last few hours new evidence and elements have been incorporated that clearly account for the circumstances of time, manner and place of alleged conspiracy to conduct drug trafficking," the attorney general said in a statement.

The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), which prosecutes leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas, who handed in their weapons under a 2016 peace deal, had said evidence provided by prosecutors did not allow it to evaluate whether, or when, he allegedly conspired to move cocaine to the United States.

The JEP's ruling caused an institutional crisis when the attorney general immediately resigned in protest.

Because the JEP has jurisdiction over all crimes during the war, Hernandez's extradition can only go ahead if the alleged crime took place after the accord. (Reporting by Helen Murphy; Editing by Sandra Maler)
BOGOTA (Reuters) - A former commander of the Marxist FARC rebel group was released from prison on Friday and immediately re-arrested after new evidence came to light, the attorney general's office said in a statement. In a move likely to rattle an already delicate peace accord with the now-demobilized insurgents, Seuxis Paucias Hernandez, known by his war alias as Jesus Santrich, was escorted out of prison in a wheelchair and moments later, as he left prison gates, was taken back inside by police. Hernandez, 52, was indicted more than a year ago by a U.S. grand jury for conspiracy to export 10 tonnes of cocaine, worth $320 million in street value. He was ordered released on Wednesday by a special tribunal. "As a result of international judicial cooperation, in the last few hours new evidence and elements have been incorporated that clearly account for the circumstances of time, manner and place of alleged conspiracy to conduct drug trafficking," the attorney general said in a statement. The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), which prosecutes leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas, who handed in their weapons under a 2016 peace deal, had said evidence provided by prosecutors did not allow it to evaluate whether, or when, he allegedly conspired to move cocaine to the United States. The JEP's ruling caused an institutional crisis when the attorney general immediately resigned in protest. Because the JEP has jurisdiction over all crimes during the war, Hernandez's extradition can only go ahead if the alleged crime took place after the accord. (Reporting by Helen Murphy; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Bogota (AFP) - A former left-wing guerrilla leader wanted by the United States for drug trafficking was hospitalized in police custody Saturday with what authorities said were self-inflicted arm wounds.

Officials at the Bogota hospital where Jesus Santrich was taken said the 52-year-old blind former leader of the FARC rebels, was in stable condition. In addition to the wounds to his arms, it said he had an "altered state of consciousness."

Santrich had been freed earlier in the day from prison following an order by the special court tasked with judging crimes committed during Colombia's half century of armed conflict -- but he was then immediately re-arrested in connection with the drug trafficking investigation that has the US seeking his extradition.

Washington, through its Bogota embassy, had strongly opposed Santrich's release and demanded that the ruling that set him free be "urgently" reviewed.

The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) had ordered the release to comply with the "non-extradition guarantee" that formed part of the 2016 peace accord that ended the FARC insurrection, converting the former rebels into a political party.

"Santrich has just been recaptured at the door" of the prison, the FARC political party said on Twitter.

Upon leaving La Picota prison in a wheelchair, he was immediately detained by public prosecutors before being taken away in a police helicopter.

In a statement, the public prosecutor's office said it "acted on" an arrest warrant related to the drug-trafficking investigation.

Santrich, whose real name is Seuxis Paucias Hernandez, is suspected of participating in the trafficking of 10 tons of cocaine to the United States in 2017 and 2018, crucially after the peace accord was signed in December 2016.

The agreement stipulated that former guerrillas who commit crimes after the pact's signing would be tried in a normal court, losing the benefits afforded by the accord -- such as a ban on extradition.

President Ivan Duque said he was "outraged" by the peace tribunal's decision, warning that the case was not "closed" and that he was willing to authorize Santrich's extradition.

The FARC, the Spanish acronym for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, has denounced the accusations against Santrich as a "setup." He has always proclaimed his innocence.
San Francisco (AFP) - Smiling and affable, the young woman was able to pass herself off as a fellow journalist to reporters including AFP covering a landmark trial in San Francisco on the health risks associated with the weedkiller Roundup.

The relaxed, confident thirtysomething was in fact an employee of Washington-based FTI Consulting, which has a client list that includes Roundup-maker Monsanto and its parent company Bayer.

Her assignment was to take notes on the legal proceedings that unfolded in San Francisco in March, FTI spokesman Matthew Bashalany told AFP.

"Upon learning that said employee misidentified herself during the conduct of that assignment, the firm initiated an internal review and will take necessary and appropriate steps consistent with that commitment," Bashalany said in an email.

"FTI Consulting is committed to operating under the highest standards of ethical conduct, so we take this matter very seriously."

Scrutiny of the apparent deception comes as Monsanto is accused in court of misleading people about its widely-used glyphosate-based weedkiller and the risks of developing cancer.

- 'Tactician' -

The civil trial in March was the second of three Roundup cancer cases that Monsanto has lost in California courts, with overall damages topping $2 billion.

During the hearings, the FTI employee, whose name is being withheld by AFP for her protection, claimed to be a freelance journalist who worked for the BBC and British tech news site The Inquirer.

Her page at career-focused social network LinkedIn indicated she had worked in the FTI "strategic communications" division since May of 2014.

People attending the trial, including journalists, told AFP they did not recall her mentioning any connection to FTI while discussing the Roundup case with media "colleagues" in courthouse corridors.

The BBC and The Inquirer meanwhile told AFP that the woman had not been commissioned to provide them with coverage. AFP was unable to find any tweets or other online posts by her that were about the Roundup trial.

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A check after the proceedings showed that her LinkedIn profile had been changed to "consultant and freelance journalist."

The FTI blog had a three-year-old post credited to her while the website described her as a former reporter as well as an "excellent writer and tactician" who "gives life to many of our campaigns."

She declined to comment and Bayer did not respond when asked whether the company knew that a member of the FTI team had attended the trial.

Bayer said in a statement however it had a "dedicated multi-function team responsible for managing the Roundup litigation, including the Hardeman trial, and FTI Consulting is not a part of this team."

The case follows a complaint in January by environmental NGO EarthRights that two "Exxon-sponsored consultants posing as journalists" had attempted to question its legal counsel, who represents Colorado communities in climate change litigation against the oil giant.

The pair said they were working for a website called Western Wire, an offshoot of the Western Energy Alliance, but didn't initially mention, until confronted later, that the site is funded by the oil and gas industry.

EarthRights said the pair were in reality strategic communications professionals employed by FTI Consulting and working for Western Wire under a staffing contract between FTI and WEA.

FTI called the allegation of deception "false and misleading" and referred to a Western Wire statement denying ever having hidden that it was pro-oil-industry.

- Keeping lists -

German agro-chemicals and drugs giant Bayer, meanwhile, apologized last Sunday after it emerged that Monsanto had a PR agency collate lists of French politicians, scientists and journalists, with their views on pesticides and GM crops.

French authorities have opened a preliminary inquiry into the claims.

"It is clear that we apologize for what has come to light in France," Matthias Berninger, Bayer's head of public affairs, told journalists in a conference call.

But he admitted that "it's very likely that such lists also exist in other European countries."

"We consider what we have seen so far to be completely inappropriate," he said.

AFP has filed a complaint with a French regulatory body, the Commission Nationale Informatique et Libertes, because some of its journalists were on the list.

- Monsanto listening? -

Bayer finalized its $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto last year, but the blockbuster purchase has turned out to be plagued with other massive costs.

Just two months after the acquisition was completed, Monsanto lost a case to a school groundskeeper suffering from terminal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He had sued the company over the glyphosate weedkillers Roundup and Ranger Pro.

Monsanto was initially ordered to pay $289 million to the groundskeeper, before the damages were reduced to $78.5 million.

In March, the company lost another case to an American retiree who blames his cancer on the weedkiller, and was ordered by a court to pay him $80 million.

In a third major legal blow to Monsanto, a jury in California this week ordered the chemicals giant to pay more than $2 billion in damages to a couple that sued on grounds the product caused their cancer, lawyers said.

Bayer has vowed to appeal all the verdicts.

"Monsanto needs to change its conduct; the writing is on the wall," said attorney Brent Wisner, a member of the plaintiff's legal team at the most recent Roundup trial.

"Three juries have spoken; this was a statement, and I hope Monsanto is listening."
Photo: Emily N./Yelp

A new spot to score Creole food with a vegan twist has opened in the neighborhood. The fresh arrival to Oak Cliff, called Vegan Food House, is located at 832 W. Seventh St.

This new restaurant serves Creole fusion cuisine that is entirely meat-free, with menu items ranging from boudin balls and deep-fried battered oyster mushrooms to buffalo mac and cheese. Additionally, the business offers a variety of Creole-inspired dishes using plant-based meat substitutes, including a fried ginger brisket sandwich with seitan, soy blackened "shrimp" tacos and portobello mushroom "steak."

With a 4.5-star rating out of eight reviews on Yelp so far, the newcomer is on its way to developing a local fan base.

Emily N., who was among the first Yelpers to review the new eatery on May 13, wrote, "Really good vegan comfort food! My friend really loved the jalapeno poppers, but everything we got was good."
BLEIBURG, Austria (AP)  Thousands of Croatian far-right supporters gathered in a field in southern Austria on Saturday to commemorate the massacre of pro-Nazi Croats by communists at the end of World War II.

For Croatian nationalists, the controversial annual event near the village of Bleiburg symbolizes their suffering under communism in the former Yugoslavia before they fought a war for independence in the 1990s. But Bleiburg's mayor Stefan Visocnik branded the event "a mask for the glorification of Nazism."

Tens of thousands of Croatians, mostly pro-fascist soldiers and their families, fled to the region in May 1945 amid a Yugoslav army offensive, only to be turned back from Austria by the British military and into the hands of anti-fascists.

Thousands of the so-called Ustashas were killed in and around Bleiburg.

Tens of thousands of Jews, Serbs, Gypsies and anti-fascist Croats perished in Ustasha-run death camps during WWII and the Bleiburg massacre was seen by historians as revenge by the victorious communist partisan fighters.

Austria's anti-fascist groups, waving the former Yugoslavia's flags with the communist red star and signs "Death to Fascism," held small protests during the event attended by some 10,000 Croatians.

Hundreds of Austrian police officers were deployed and police helicopters hovered above the prayer ceremony on the vast field surrounded by mountains. The rally was peaceful and no incidents were reported.

Since last year, Austrian authorities have banned the black Ustasha flags and insignia with the letter "U'' at the gathering in Blaiburg. The local Austrian church refused to take part in the commemoration.

Ruza Tomasic, a conservative Croatian representative in the European parliament, said the commemoration has nothing to do with extremism, and that the massacre represents "a great tragedy."

"In 1945 when the Independent State of Croatia failed, civilians, kinds old and young men, they all started going toward Austria because they were told the English soldiers will spare them," she said. "Unfortunately, when they signed the surrender they turned them to the communists and they just killed them."

"When we come here to remember them in our prayers, we are not allowed. They are putting too much security here as if we came here to start the war or something," she said.

Croatia regained its independence in a war against the Serb-led Yugoslav army in the 1990s.
A man who was executed Thursday turned down the chance to pick his last meal and instead asked his supporters to feed the homeless, his attorney told the Tennessean.

Donnie Johnson, 68, declined to spend the $20 death row inmates at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution can use for their last meal and opted to have what the general prison population ate, the Tennessee Department of Correction said.

Johnson's public defender Kelley Henry told the Tennessean that his client was inspired by Philip Workman, a fellow death row inmate who, in 2007, asked that prison staff spend his $20 on vegetarian pizzas for a local homeless shelter. Though prison officials refused to comply with Workman's request, his supporters spent $1,200 altogether on 150 pies for the Nashville Rescue Mission.

Henry said Johnson, who became an elder in the Seventh-day Adventist Church and led Bible studies while on death row, wanted to follow in Workman's footsteps.

"Mr. Johnson realizes that his $20 allotment will not feed many homeless people," Henry said in an email. "His request is that those who have supported him provide a meal to a homeless person."

Johnson was sentenced to death for the murder of his wife Connie Johnson in 1984. He allegedly suffocated her by stuffing a 30-gallon trash bag down her throat, the Tennessean reports.

Though Johnson nor his legal representation denied the crime, they, along with his supporters, asked Gov. Bill Lee to grant him clemency because of the religious work Johnson did behind bars.

RELATED: Take a look at the 12 last meals of famous death row inmates:

"He has been leading and serving in such a way that what he's doing in there is the exact kind of ministry that we would definitely ordain someone for out here," Pastor Furman F. Fordham II of the Riverside Chapel in Nashville told the paper earlier this month.

Even one of Connie Johnson's children, Cynthia Vaughn, whom Donnie Johnson later adopted, pleaded the governor to step in.

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"Over these past few years, Don has become one of my last connections to my mother, and his execution will not feel like justice to me," Vaughn wrote in an opinion piece.

Still, Johnson's execution proceeded. The 68-year-old died by lethal injection and became the fourth person to be executed by Tennessee since the state reinstated execution last August.

Minutes before prison staff administered the injection, Johnson reportedly said, "I commend my life into your hands. Thy will be done. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen."

He then sang for two minutes before dying.
ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP)  Sculptures made from illegal snare traps that threaten wildlife in Africa are on display at the Detroit Zoo.

The exhibition "Snares to Wares: Capacity for Change " is on view at the Wildlife Interpretive Gallery at the zoo in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak through next March. It includes works created by artisans in Uganda who live near a national park where poaching is a serious problem.

The Snares to Wares Initiative was created by students and conservationists at Michigan State University to provide alternative sources of income for people who may otherwise turn to poaching. Steel wires are often used to create the traps.

Under the initiative, traps are removed and the wire is used for sculptures of animals including lions, giraffes and elephants. The sculptures then are sold.
Top-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic survived two match points in a 3-hour, 4-minute thriller on Friday, and Spanish second seed Rafael Nadal cruised yet again, as both reached the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome.

The duo won't be joined by third-seeded Roger Federer of Switzerland, however, after he withdrew before his quarterfinal match due to injury.

Djokovic, seeking his fifth title in Rome and first since 2015, nearly fell in straight sets to seventh-seeded Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, but he rallied for a 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 victory that ended after midnight local time.

After squandering all six break points -- including three in the final game -- to drop the first set, Djokovic broke del Potro midway through the second and led 5-2. But he missed out on a set point and then was broken for a tie at 5-5, before falling behind 6-4 in the tiebreaker. Djokovic rallied to stave off consecutive match points, then won the next two to take the second set.

In the third, Djokovic converted on his third break point for a 3-2 edge and held serve the rest of the way. He finished with just 2 of 11 break points converted, though he saved 5 of 7 against him.

"I never lost faith I could come back to the match," Djokovic said afterward. "One break of serve, mini break in the tiebreak when he was (leading) 6-4 ... that's all it took for me to come back.

"(He) missed a couple crucial points in the tiebreak. Also, break point third set, quite easy forehand. That's what happens. That's sport. I'm just really pleased to overcome."

In the semifinals, Djokovic will face Argentina's Diego Schwartzman, who ousted Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-2 in 87 minutes.

The unseeded Schwartzman stormed out to a 5-0 edge in the first set before surviving two late breaks to clinch the set. He then broke Nishikori twice in a row to close the match.

Meanwhile, Nadal -- the defending champion seeking his ninth Rome title -- showed no fatigue after weather cancellations earlier in the week required two rounds to be played Thursday.

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Having needed a total of 2 hours and 9 minutes to win both of his Thursday matches -- dropping just two games across four sets -- Nadal had only slightly more trouble on Friday. After a hot start by Fernando Verdasco left him down a break, Nadal downed his fellow Spaniard 6-4, 6-0, winning 27 of 36 points in the final set.

"He was playing great, being honest," Nadal said afterward. "I was not playing bad at the beginning at all. But he was playing unbelievable.

.".. Then after winning that first set, in the second ... of course he slows down a little bit, but I was able to play a little bit more aggressive with the forehand. I did a lot of things well this afternoon."

Nadal will now meet eighth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals for the second consecutive week. The Greek upset Nadal in Madrid, where Nadal has won five times, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 last Saturday before losing to Djokovic in the final.

Before falling to the 20-year-old last Saturday, Nadal had won all three previous meetings with Tsitsipas in straight sets, including in the semifinals of the Australian Open in January. They've split two meetings on clay, with Nadal cruising 6-2, 6-1 in the Barcelona final in 2018.

Tsitsipas will be coming in rested after advancing earlier Friday when Federer bowed out with a right leg injury, just the fourth walkover loss in the 37-year-old's career.

"I am disappointed that I will not be able to compete today. I am not 100 percent physically and, after consultation with my team, it was determined that I not play," Federer said. "Rome has always been one of my favorite cities to visit and I hope to be back next year."

Federer played two matches on Thursday, beating Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-4, 6-3 in 80 minutes and surviving Croatian 13th seed Borna Coric 2-6, 6-4. 7-6 (7) in a 2-hour, 31-minute battle.

--Field Level Media
Like a puppy chasing its tail, some new investors often chase 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without revenue, let alone profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.'

In contrast to all that, I prefer to spend time on companies like Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL), which has not only revenues, but also profits. Even if the shares are fully valued today, most capitalists would recognize its profits as the demonstration of steady value generation. In comparison, loss making companies act like a sponge for capital - but unlike such a sponge they do not always produce something when squeezed.

Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

Check out our latest analysis for Yancoal Australia

Yancoal Australia's Improving Profits

In the last three years Yancoal Australia's earnings per share took off like a rocket; fast, and from a low base. So the actual rate of growth doesn't tell us much. Thus, it makes sense to focus on more recent growth rates, instead. Like a falcon taking flight, Yancoal Australia's EPS soared from AU$0.50 to AU$0.68, over the last year. That's a commendable gain of 35%.

Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. The good news is that Yancoal Australia is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 13.2 percentage points to 26%, over the last year. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in my book.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. For finer detail, click on the image.

ASX:YAL Income Statement, May 17th 2019

Fortunately, we've got access to analyst forecasts of Yancoal Australia's future profits. You can do your own forecasts without looking, or you can take a peek at what the professionals are predicting.

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Are Yancoal Australia Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Like standing at the lookout, surveying the horizon at sunrise, insider buying, for some investors, sparks joy. Because oftentimes, the purchase of stock is a sign that the buyer views it as undervalued. However, small purchases are not always indicative of conviction, and insiders don't always get it right.

In the last twelve months Yancoal Australia insiders spent AU$60k on stock; good news for shareholders. This might not be a huge sum, but it's well worth noting anyway, given the complete lack of selling.

Does Yancoal Australia Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

You can't deny that Yancoal Australia has grown its earnings per share at a very impressive rate. That's attractive. Not only is that growth rate rather juicy, but the insider buying makes my mouth water. So on this analysis I believe Yancoal Australia is probably worth spending some time on. Another important measure of business quality not discussed here, is return on equity (ROE). Click on this link to see how Yancoal Australia shapes up to industry peers, when it comes to ROE.

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. So if you like the sound of Yancoal Australia, you'll probably love this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction

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.
Photo: iStock

At the heart of the Great Lakes region, Detroit was one of Conde Nast's must-visit destinations for 2018. Not only is Detroit known as a leader of American industry, the city's diverse communities also boast major contributions to music, art and architecture. Detroit was the first U.S. city to be named a "City of Design" by UNESCO, and is known as the home of Motown Records and the birthplace of techno. The city also offers many historic museums and arts institutions.

Its more doable than you think. According to travel site Skyscanner, there are plenty of flights from Minneapolis to Detroit in the next few months, and the prices aren't too shabby.

So if you're looking for a change of scenery, here are some deals to put on your to-do list.

(Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in the articles may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. Prices and availability are subject to change.)

Flight deals to Detroit

Currently, the cheapest flights between Minneapolis and Detroit are if you leave on June 4 and return from Michigan on June 8. Spirit Airlines currently has tickets for $119, roundtrip.

There are also deals to be had later in June. If you fly out of Minneapolis on June 29 and return from Detroit on July 1, Spirit Airlines can get you there and back for $134 roundtrip.

Top Detroit hotels

To plan your stay, here are two of Detroits top-rated hotels, according to Skyscanner, that we selected based on price, proximity to things to do and customer satisfaction.

The MotorCity Casino Hotel (2901 Grand River Ave.)

Photo: Trip by Skyscanner

If you're looking to treat yourself, consider The MotorCity Casino Hotel. The hotel has a 4.7-star rating on Skyscanner, and rooms are currently available for $178.

This Detroit casino hotel is near the Masonic Temple and Fox Theatre.

The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit (1114 Washington Blvd.)

Photo: Trip by Skyscanner

Another 4.7-star option is The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit, which has rooms for $179/night.

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This hotel is located close to the airport. Attractions in the neighborhood include Campus Martius Park, Joe Louis Arena and the GM Renaissance Center.

Featured Detroit food and drink

Detroit has plenty of top-notch dining options. Here are a few of the most popular, according to Skyscanner.

Slows Bar BQ (2138 Michigan Ave.)

Photo: Trip by Skyscanner

Let's start with the basics: where to get barbecue. For a popular option, check out Slows Bar BQ, which has an average of 4.8 stars out of 22 reviews on Skyscanner.

"If you love baby back ribs, this spot serves them sliding off the bone," wrote visitor Lou.

Public House (241 W. 9 Mile Road)

Photo: Trip by Skyscanner

Next, there's the Public House, with five stars from five reviews.

"This is a cute little place that serves awesome sliders for a super low price," wrote Megan.

New Parthenon Restaurant (547 Monroe Ave.)

Photo: Trip by Skyscanner

If you're looking for a local favorite restaurant pick, head to the New Parthenon Restaurant, with five stars from five reviews.

"As a former Detroiter, this is a place I love to visit when I come back," wrote Richard.

Top Detroit attractions

Not sure what to do in Detroit, besides eat and drink? Here are two top recommendations, provided by Skyscanner.

The Detroit Institute of Arts (5200 Woodward Ave.)

Photo: Trip by Skyscanner

First up is The Detroit Institute of Arts. It checks in with 4.7 stars from 45 reviews.

Visit the Detroit Institute of Arts for a chance to immerse yourself in artwork and robust collections. The museum features over 60,000 pieces including collections from America, Asia, Africa and Europe.

Greenfield Village (20900 Oakwood Blvd.)

Photo: Trip by Skyscanner

Then, there's the Greenfield Village, in the nearby suburb of Dearborn, with 4.8 stars from 11 reviews.

"This is a great place to spend the day learning about history," wrote visitor Yvonne.

This story was created automatically using flight, hotel, and local attractions data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
* Salvini looks to boost far-right power in Europe

* Key Austrian ally sidelined by video scandal

* France's Le Pen says new alliance will change EU

* EU election graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2EdJ1W2

By Crispian Balmer

MILAN, May 18 (Reuters) - Nationalist and far-right parties from across Europe held a rally on Saturday, led by Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, promising to reshape the continent following next week's EU parliamentary election.

Salvini, who heads Italy's League party, is confident his newly forged alliance will win a record number of seats at the May 23-26 vote, giving it a powerful voice in how the 28-nation European Union is run over the coming five years.

However, the gathering in front of Milan's gothic cathedral was overshadowed by a scandal engulfing one of Salvini's most prominent allies, Austria's Freedom Party, whose leader quit on Saturday as government vice-chancellor after he was videoed offering state contracts in exchange for political support.

While the beleaguered Freedom Party had to skip Saturday's event, parties from 11 countries did show up, including France's National Rally (RN), Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Dutch anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV).

"This is an historic moment," RN leader Marine Le Pen told reporters ahead of the rally, held on a cold, wet afternoon.

"Five years ago we were isolated, but today, with our allies, we will finally be in a position to change this Europe," she said, predicting that the new alliance would be the third biggest group in the next EU parliament, against the eighth spot that the comparable far-right group claimed last time around.

Recent polls suggest the alliance will actually come fourth, but Le Pen said a number of other parties might eventually join it, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party, which is currently anchored to Europe's mainstream right.

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DIVIDED NATIONALISTS

The anti-immigrant Orban has publicly supported Salvini and promised cooperation after the vote, but he has so far refused to join any alliance with Le Pen, underscoring the divisions which have constantly plagued the nationalist camp.

The parties in the group share the broad goals of returning power to EU member states, curbing immigration and preventing the spread of Islam in Europe.

But they often have different social and economic policies, including budgetary discipline, meaning they might struggle to put forward a coherent policy agenda.

Speaking to Reuters on Friday, Salvini predicted that the forthcoming election would shake up the continent, reducing the grip on power that mainstream center-right and center-left parties have enjoyed in Brussels for decades.

League supporters flooded the central Milan square, which is flanked by elegant stores and bars, many of them carrying flags emblazoned with the slogan "Italy First."

"No one in Brussels has the right to tell us what we should do or say. They forced (economic) austerity on us and that can never be allowed to happen again," said Silvio Bianchini, 59, an engineer from the nearby town of Gardone Riviera.

Salvini's League is expected to emerge as Italy's largest party for the first time next week and could double its score from a 2018 national election, when it took some 17 percent.

However momentum for the party has slowed this month, with opponents accusing him of spending too much time on the campaign trail and not enough time behind his government desk.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer Editing by Peter Graff)
Cannes (France) (AFP) - Actress Eva Longoria said restrictive abortion laws passed in Alabama and Missouri are a threat to women, with stars set to protest against the bans on the Cannes red carpet Saturday.

"What's happening in Alabama is so important in the world," the "Desperate Housewives" star said, referring to the US state which has banned terminations even in the case of rape or incest.

"It's going to affect everybody if we don't pay attention," she said.

Longoria warned of a "domino effect" with a dozen other Republican-controlled US states seeking to restrict the rights of women to abortion.

The Latina actress produced the Netflix documentary "Reversing Roe" last year which showed how pro-life groups are mounting a major push to overturn the landmark US Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion in 1973.

Her comments come as a group of female stars led by Charlotte Gainsbourg, Spanish actress Rossi de Palma and French director Claire Denis are set to stage a protest for abortion rights on the Cannes red carpet.

The gathering was originally meant to support the Argentinian documentary, "Let It Be Law", which is premiering Saturday in the festival's official selection.

It tells the story of the struggle for women's rights in the huge, largely Catholic Latin American country, which has become bitterly divided over abortion.

- Red carpet protest -

Months of protests to decriminalise abortion in Pope Francis' homeland culminated in a make-or-break Senate vote in February.

But the eighth attempt to pass a freedom-to-choose law failed at the final hurdle when it was voted down by 38 votes to 31 in the Senate.

The decision led to thousands demonstrating on the streets of the capital Buenos Aires.

"That night (of the vote) I nearly died from the cold, from the rain, I almost broke my camera," the documentary's director Juan Solanas told AFP.

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"I felt anger and indignation," said the director, son of the celebrated filmmaker Fernando "Pino" Solanas, a winner at Cannes for his 1988 film "Sur".

"I grew up in an atheist family (and) I respect people's beliefs, but it is medieval and violent to impose them on people who don't think the same," he added.

He and pro-choice Argentinian activists plan to recreate a "green wave" of women in green handkerchiefs, the symbol of Argentina's pro-abortion movement on the red carpet.

Solanas said restrictions, like those passed in Alabama and Missouri, will lead to women's deaths.

"In Argentina, one woman dies every week following an illegal abortion -- more than one a day in Latin America, where 300 million women live without the right to end their pregnancies."

Longoria, one of the founders of the Time's Up movement, which is pushing for gender equality and women's rights, told a Kering Women in Motion talk at Cannes Friday that it is likely to get involved in the 2020 US presidential election.

"We're trying to figure out what is Time's Up's role in these elections, and how can we have an impact," she added.

Despite the momentum that the movement picked up in Hollywood after #MeToo, she said in the workplace generally "the statistics are going the wrong way. We're not improving."
Cannes (France) (AFP) - Actress Eva Longoria said restrictive abortion laws passed in the US states of Alabama and Missouri are a threat to women, as stars staged a protest against the bans on the Cannes red carpet Saturday.

"What's happening in Alabama is so important in the world," the "Desperate Housewives" star said, referring to the US state which has banned terminations even in the case of rape or incest.

"It's going to affect everybody if we don't pay attention."

Longoria -- a pro-choice Catholic -- warned of a "domino effect" with a dozen other Republican-controlled US states seeking to restrict the rights of women to abortion.

Last year, the Latina actress produced the Netflix documentary "Reversing Roe" which showed how pro-life groups are mounting a major push to overturn the landmark US Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion in 1973.

Her comments come as Spanish star Penelope Cruz joined a group of actresses led by Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rossi de Palma and French director Claire Denis, in staging a red carpet protest for abortion rights.

The gathering was originally meant to support the Argentinian documentary, "Let It Be Law", which premiered on Saturday in the festival's official selection.

It tells the story of the struggle for women's rights in the huge, largely Catholic Latin American country, which has become bitterly divided over abortion.

- Red carpet protest -

At the protest, Argentinian pro-choice activists created a "green wave" of women waving green handkerchiefs, the symbol of Argentina's pro-abortion movement.

One wore a striking green ballgown embroidered around the hem with a slogan in Spanish reading: "Legal, safe and free abortion."

Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, whose film "Pain & Glory" starring Cruz and Antonio Banderas is an early favourite for the festival's top prize, also brandished a green handkerchief in a show of support.

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Months of protests to decriminalise abortion in Pope Francis' homeland culminated in a make-or-break Senate vote in February.

But on its eighth attempt, the law failed at the final hurdle when it was voted down by 38 votes to 31, bringing thousands onto the streets of Buenos Aires in protest.

"That night, I nearly died from the cold, from the rain, I almost broke my camera," Juan Solanas, who directed the documentary, told AFP.

"I felt anger and indignation," said the 52-year-old, son of the celebrated filmmaker Fernando "Pino" Solanas, who won best director at Cannes for his 1988 film "Sur".

"I grew up in an atheist family (and) I respect people's beliefs, but it is medieval and violent to impose them on people who don't think the same," he added.

Solanas said restrictions like those passed in Alabama and Missouri would lead to women's deaths.

"In Argentina, one woman dies every week following an illegal abortion -- more than one a day in Latin America, where 300 million women live without the right to end their pregnancies."

Longoria, one of the founders of the Time's Up movement that pushes for gender equality and women's rights, told a Kering "Women in Motion" talk at Cannes on Friday that the group would likely get involved in next year's US presidential election.

"We're trying to figure out what is Time's Up's role in these elections, and how can we have an impact," she said.

Despite the momentum generated after #MeToo, she said in the workplace generally "the statistics are going the wrong way. We're not improving."
By Jonathan Saul and Gwladys Fouche LONDON/OSLO (Reuters) - Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) are "highly likely" to have facilitated attacks last Sunday on four tankers including two Saudi ships off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, according to a Norwegian insurers' report seen by Reuters. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Norway are investigating the attacks, which also hit a UAE- and a Norwegian-flagged vessel. A confidential assessment issued this week by the Norwegian Shipowners' Mutual War Risks Insurance Association (DNK) concluded that the attack was likely to have been carried out by a surface vessel operating close by that despatched underwater drones carrying 30-50 kg (65-110 lb) of high-grade explosives to detonate on impact. The attacks took place against a backdrop of U.S.-Iranian tension following Washingtons decision this month to try to cut Tehran's oil exports to zero and beef up its military presence in the Gulf in response to what it called Iranian threats. The DNK based its assessment that the IRGC was likely to have orchestrated the attacks on a number of factors, including: - A high likelihood that the IRGC had previously supplied its allies, the Houthi militia fighting a Saudi-backed government in Yemen, with explosive-laden surface drone boats capable of homing in on GPS navigational positions for accuracy. - The similarity of shrapnel found on the Norwegian tanker to shrapnel from drone boats used off Yemen by Houthis, even though the craft previously used by the Houthis were surface boats rather than the underwater drones likely to have been deployed in Fujairah. - The fact that Iran and particularly the IRGC had recently threatened to use military force and that, against a militarily stronger foe, they were highly likely to choose "asymmetric measures with plausible deniability". DNK noted that the Fujairah attack had caused "relatively limited damage" and had been carried out at a time when U.S. Navy ships were still en route to the Gulf. Both the Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker Amjad and the UAE-flagged bunker vessel A.Michel sustained damage in the area of their engine rooms, while the Saudi tanker Al Marzoqah was damaged in the aft section and the Norwegian tanker Andrea Victory suffered extensive damage to the stern, DNK said. The DNK report said the attacks had been carried out between six and 10 nautical miles off Fujairah, which lies close to the Strait of Hormuz. SENDING A MESSAGE Iran has in the past threatened to block all exports through the Strait of Hormuz, through which an estimated fifth of the world's oil passes. According to DNK, it was highly likely that the attacks had been intended to send a message to the United States and its allies that Iran did not need to block the Strait to disrupt freedom of navigation in the region. DNK said Iran was also likely to continue similar low-scale attacks on merchant vessels in the coming period. Iranian officials and the Revolutionary Guards' (IRGC) spokesman were not available for comment. Tehran had already rejected allegations of involvement and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had said that "extremist individuals" in the U.S. government were pursuing dangerous policies. No one claimed responsibility for the attacks. DNK's managing director Svein Ringbakken declined to comment, except to say that "this is an internal and confidential report produced to inform shipowner members of the DNK about the incidents in Fujairah and the most likely explanation". The UAE has not blamed anyone for the attack. Two U.S. government sources said this week that U.S. officials believed Iran had encouraged Houthi militants or Iraq-based Shi'ite militias to carry out the attack. In a joint letter seen by Reuters and sent to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Norway said the attacks had been deliberate and could have resulted in casualties, spillages of oil or harmful chemicals. "The attacks damaged the hulls of at least three of the vessels, threatened the safety and lives of those on board, and could have led to an environmental disaster," the letter said. Last month, the United States designated the entire IRGC as a terrorist organization. Washington had previously designated entities and individuals connected with the IRGC, which controls vast segments of Iran's economy. Tehran responded by designating the regional United States Central Command (CENTCOM) as a terrorist organization. (Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell and Parisa Hafezi in Dubai, Michelle Nichols in New York; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
(Corrects title in 17th paragraph of this May 17 story to say "Chief Financial Officer" Meng Wanzhou, not "Chief Executive Officer".) By Karen Freifeld (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday it may soon scale back restrictions on Huawei Technologies after this week's blacklisting would have made it nearly impossible for the Chinese company to service its existing customers. The Commerce Department, which had effectively halted Huawei's ability to buy American-made parts and components, is considering issuing a temporary general license to "prevent the interruption of existing network operations and equipment," a spokeswoman said. Potential beneficiaries of the license could, for example, include internet access and mobile phone service providers in thinly populated places such as Wyoming and eastern Oregon that purchased network equipment from Huawei in recent years. In effect, the Commerce Department would allow Huawei to purchase U.S. goods so it can help existing customers maintain the reliability of networks and equipment, but the Chinese firm still would not be allowed to buy American parts and components to manufacture new products. The potential rule roll back suggests changes to Huawei's supply chain may have immediate, far-reaching and unintended consequences. The blacklisting, officially known as placing Huawei on the Commerce Department's entity list, was one or two efforts by the Trump administration this week allegedly made in an attempt to thwart national security risks. In an executive order, President Donald Trump also effectively barred the use of its equipment in U.S. telecom networks. The United States believes Huawei's smartphones and network equipment could be used by China to spy on Americans, allegations the company has repeatedly denied. The latest Commerce move comes as China has struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States, suggesting talks between the world's two largest economies would be meaningless unless Washington changed course. A spokesman for Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Out of $70 billion Huawei spent buying components in 2018, some $11 billion went to U.S. firms including Qualcomm, Intel Corp and Micron Technology Inc. If the Commerce Department issues the license, U.S. suppliers would still need separate licenses to conduct new business with Huawei, which would be extremely difficult to obtain, the spokeswoman said. The temporary general license would last for 90 days, she said, and would be posted in the Federal Register, just as the rule adding Huawei to the entity list will be published in the government publication on Tuesday. "The goal is to prevent collateral harm on non-Huawei entities that use their equipment," said Washington lawyer Kevin Wolf, a former Commerce Department official. The entity listing bans Huawei and 68 affiliates in 26 countries from buying American-made goods and technology without licenses that would likely be denied. The entities list identifies companies believed to be involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. In a final rule posted on Thursday, the government tied Huawei's entity listing to a criminal case pending against the company in Brooklyn, New York. U.S. prosecutors unsealed the indictment in January accusing the company of engaging in bank fraud to obtain embargoed U.S. goods and services in Iran and to move money out of the country via the international banking system. Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, daughter of the company's founder, was arrested in Canada in December in connection with the indictment, a move that has led to a three-way diplomatic crisis involving the U.S., China and Canada. Meng, who was released on bail, remains in Vancouver, and is fighting extradition. She has maintained her innocence, and Huawei has entered a plea of not guilty in New York. Trump injected other considerations into the criminal case after Meng's arrest when he told Reuters he would intervene if it helped close a trade deal. (Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Leslie Adler, Grant McCool, Chris Sanders and Diane Craft)
Photo: Urban Egg/Yelp

Visiting Northeast Colorado Springs, or just looking to better appreciate what it has to offer? Get to know this area by browsing its most popular local businesses, from a Malaysian street food eatery to a Latin American restaurant.

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top places to visit in Northeast Colorado Springs, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of neighborhood businesses. Read on for the results.

1. Urban Egg

Photo: urban egg/Yelp

Topping the list is breakfast and brunch and traditional American spot Urban Egg. Located at 5262 N. Nevada Ave., it's the highest-rated business in the neighborhood, boasting 4.5 stars out of 744 reviews on Yelp.

Urban Egg, which describes itself as "a daytime eatery," features such pancake options as Colorado blueberry streusel and strawberry cheesecake, as well as classic, Southwest and Tuscan-style eggs Benedict, burgers, sandwiches and more.

2. Asian Cookery

Photo: Dustin H./Yelp

Next up is Malaysian, Pan-Asian and Singaporean spot Asian Cookery, situated at 6760 N. Academy Blvd. With five stars out of 104 reviews on Yelp, it has proven to be a local favorite.

Specializing in Malaysian and Southeast Asian street food, Asian Cookery's menu options include wonton dry noodles, dumplings and dim sum, rice bowls and Malaysian white coffee.

3. Piglatin Cocina

Photo: Neil B./Yelp

Bar and Latin American spot Piglatin Cocina is another top choice. Yelpers give the business, located at 2825 Dublin Blvd., 4.5 stars out of 295 reviews.

The restaurant, which also has a food truck, offers cocktails, beer and wine, as well as tacos, pineapple pulled pork and pork belly arepas, sandwiches, a veggie bowl and more.

4. Cowboy Star

Photo: tony l./Yelp

Cowboy Star, a steakhouse, cocktail bar and New American spot, is another neighborhood go-to, with four stars out of 203 Yelp reviews. Head over to 5198 N. Nevada Ave., Suite 150, to see for yourself.

Steak and other food, served with Western flair, are the specialties of the house. Entrees include roasted Colorado chicken, pan-seared halibut and daily cut of bison. House-made desserts include chocolate chip bread pudding and peanut butter torte.

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5. Fuji Bistro

Photo: yi L./Yelp

Check out Fuji Bistro, which has earned 4.5 stars out of 159 reviews on Yelp. You can find the sushi bar and Chinese and Thai spot at 6995 Lexington Drive, Suite 100.

Bento boxes, sushi and sashimi are featured menu items, along with salads, soups and appetizers, including golden fried tofu, tempura calamari and baked green mussels.

6. Rock City Cafe

Photo: patrick s./Yelp

And then there's Rock City Cafe, a local favorite with 4.5 stars out of 160 reviews. Stop by 1812 Dominion Way to hit up the traditional American and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers burgers and more, next time you're in the neighborhood.

Burgers, sliders and hot dogs are featured items, along with french fries, onion rings, eggs and omelettes.

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.
BASRA, Iraq, May 18 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil has evacuated all its foreign staff members out of Iraq's West Qurna 1 oilfield and is flying them out to Dubai, three sources told Reuters on Saturday.

Production at the oilfield was not affected by the evacuation and work there is under way normally and being undertaken by Iraqi engineers, Iraqi oil officials said.

Staff were evacuated over several phases late on Friday and early on Saturday, either straight to Dubai or to the main camp housing foreign oil company employees in Basra province.

Those in the camp are en route to the airport now, the three sources - an employee at a security company contracted by Exxon, an Iraqi oil official, and a staff member of a foreign oil company - said. (Reporting by Aref Mohammed; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Alison Williams)
By Aref Mohammed and Hadeel Al Sayegh

BASRA, Iraq/DUBAI (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil has evacuated all of its foreign staff, around 60 people, from Iraq's West Qurna 1 oilfield and is flying them out to Dubai, a senior Iraqi official and three other sources told Reuters on Saturday.

The evacuation came just days after the United States withdrew non-essential staff from its embassy in Baghdad, citing a threat from neighboring Iran, which has close ties to Iraqi Shi'ite militia.

Production at the oilfield was not affected by the evacuation and work is continuing normally, overseen by Iraqi engineers, said the chief of Iraq's state-owned South Oil Company which owns the oil field, Ihsan Abdul Jabbar. He added that production remains at 440,000 barrels per day (bpd).

"Exxon Mobil's evacuation is a precautionary and temporary measure. We have no indication over any dangers, the situation is secure and very stable at the oilfield which is running at full capacity and producing 440,000 bpd," he said.

"The foreign engineers will provide advice and perform their duties from the company's Dubai offices and we have no concerns at all," Jabbar said, adding that production is managed by Iraqi engineers and the foreign staff were there mainly as advisers.

Exxon Mobil is the lead contractor in a long-term deal with Iraq's South Oil Company to develop and rehabilitate the oil field to increase its production. Exxon declined to confirm the evacuation.

"As a matter of practice, we don't share specifics related to operational staffing at our facilities," said spokeswoman Julie King.

"ExxonMobil has programs and measures in place to provide security to protect its people, operations and facilities. We are committed to ensuring the safety of our employees and contractors at all of our facilities around the world."

Exxon Mobil's staff were evacuated in several phases late on Friday and early on Saturday, either straight to Dubai or to the main camp housing foreign oil company employees in Basra province.

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Those in the camp were en route to the airport on Saturday morning, sources - including an employee at a security company contracted by Exxon, said Iraqi oil officials and a staff member of a foreign oil company.

"Last night 28 employees were evacuated to the airport and the rest were sent to the camp. This morning they were evacuated to the airport and no (foreign) staff remain in the field," said a private security company official who oversaw the evacuation.

Iraq sent an official letter to Exxon asking about the work hours of staff in Dubai and when they would return to the oilfield, because their absence affects costs and salaries, Abdul Jabbar said in an interview.

"There are over 1,700 people working in the oilfield, 1,300 are South Oil Company staff and 400 are Iraqis working with foreign companies. Only around 60 people have left and they're all advisors, administrators and finance staff."

Days of saber rattling between Washington and Tehran have heightened tensions in the region amid concerns about a potential U.S.-Iran conflict.

Washington has increased economic sanctions and said it was building up its military presence in the region, accusing Iran of threats to U.S. troops and interests. Tehran has described those steps as "psychological warfare" and a "political game".

Separately, Abdul Jabbar said that Iraq's oil exports from its southern ports had reached 3.5 million bpd by Saturday.

(Reporting by Aref Mohammed in Basra and Hadeel Al Sayegh in Dubai; Additional reporting by Gary McWilliams in Houston; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Ros Russell and Jane Merriman)
From a zombie flick starring Iggy Pop to a tale of Chinese gangsters who decide to take over a city, these are the films vying for the top prize at the Cannes film festival:

- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood -

Quentin Tarantino apparently slaved for four months straight in the editing room to get his odyssey through Tinseltown's darkest year in as a late entry for Cannes.

This panorama of 1969 has Brad Pitt as the stunt double to Western star Leonardo Di Caprio and takes in everything from Bruce Lee to the sinister tale of cult leader Charles Manson. Margot Robbie plays actress Sharon Tate, who was murdered by Manson's followers.

- The Dead Don't Die -

The poster for Jim Jarmusch's zombie comedy claims to have a "cast to wake the dead" -- and they are not kidding. Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Selena Gomez, Tilda Swinton, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover and Chloe Sevigny starred in the opening film alongside musicians Iggy Pop, Tom Waits and RZA.

US indie icon Jarmusch uses the zombie format for a dark indictment of Donald Trump's America and its many addictions, from opioids to consumerism and social media.

- Sorry We Missed You -

Having won the Palme d'Or two years ago with "I, Daniel Blake", which showed the devastation caused by austerity in Britain, veteran director Ken Loach is back with an indictment of the gig economy.

Written by his long-time collaborator Paul Laverty, it is the powerful story of our times, with another Newcastle family battling to keep their heads above water on zero-hour contracts or slaving as a self-employed delivery driver.

- A Hidden Life -

Two decades after "The Thin Red Line", American master Terrence Malick returns to World War II with a haunting story of an Austrian conscientious objector guillotined by the Nazis in 1943.

Goosepimples also seem guaranteed with the final screen performances of the late actors Michael Nyqvist and Bruno Ganz of "Downfall" and "Wings of Desire" fame.

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It is the first time Malick has premiered a film at Cannes since he won the Palme d'Or with "The Tree of Life" in 2011.

- Parasite -

Korean master Bong Joon-ho of "Okja" and "Snowpiercer" fame is another Cannes regular, famous for his dark, gripping, genre-bending creations. This time he tells a tragicomic tale of a poor family's obsession with a rich one after their son gets a job as a tutor to the daughter of a wealthy industrialist.

The tale has echoes of another South Korean movie, "Burning", which became an arthouse hit last year after showing at Cannes.

With Bong regular Song Kang-ho ("The Host" and "Snowpiecer") in the lead, it also stars Choi Woo-shik of the cult horror hit "Train to Busan".

- Matthias & Maxime -

French Canadian wunderkind Xavier Dolan wrote, directed and plays the lead in his latest drama about a group of late twentysomethings in his native Quebec.

Of late, the prolific young auteur -- who made a big splash with "Mommy" and "I Killed My Mother" -- has divided critical opinion. Cannes will be hoping this is a return to form.

- The Traitor -

A biopic of Tommaso Buscetta, the first high-ranking member of Cosa Nostra to break the Sicilian Mafia's oath of silence, it stars Brazilian actress and model Maria Fernanda Candido as his third wife, who convinces him to spill the beans to US prosectors.

Veteran Italian auteur Marco Bellocchio shot the film in Sicily, Rome, London and Rio de Janeiro.

- Young Ahmed -

Three times Palme d'Or winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne return to the scene of their greatest triumphs with "Young Ahmed", a tight and tense tale of a teenager who embraces Islamic extremism.

It is set like the Belgian brothers' previous gritty slices of working-class life in their native French-speaking Wallonia, an area that served as the base for the terrorist cell who carried out the November 2015 Paris attacks.

- Pain & Glory -

Cannes usually only shows world premieres, but the festival has made an exception for Pedro Almodovar's most personal film.

Released in Spain and Mexico in March to almost universal acclaim, it is a psychodrama about the past catching up with a film director. With a bearded Antonio Banderas playing the auteur, and Penelope Cruz his mother, it's no wonder this is the biggest Spanish film of the year so far.

- Nighthawk -

Having wowed Cannes in 2016 with "Aquarius", in which the amazing Sonia Braga shone, Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho is back with a hard-hitting story of a human safari in the Amazonian interior.

- Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo -

The second instalment of "Blue is the Warmest Colour", director Abdellatif Kechiche's trilogy in homage to Sete, his hometown on the French Mediterranean. Critics were divided on whether the first part was a sensual feast or just leery. At four hours, they will have plenty of time to mull their verdict on this one.

- Portrait of a Young Lady on Fire -

Celine Sciamma, who won rave reviews for "Girlhood", her 2014 tale of young black girls growing up in the gritty French suburbs, returns with the story of a painter commissioned to do the portrait of a young woman in the 18th century. The film stars Adele Haenel, one of France's most sought-after young actresses.

- The Wild Goose Lake -

Diao Yinan, who won the top prize at the Berlin film festival in 2014 for another crime story -- "Black Coal, Thin Ice" -- is the sole Chinese contender with this noir thriller. A pair of young lovers end up being chased by both the police and a group of gangsters who have taken control of a city.

- Oh Mercy! -

Arnaud Desplechin, the whimsical French director of the 2004 film "Kings & Queens", is back exploring his northern home town of Roubaix in his latest feature starring Roschdy Zem, Lea Seydoux and Sara Forestier.

- Little Joe -

Austrian-born director Jessica Hausner's sci-fi chiller from the near future is a twisted genetic modification fairytale featuring rising British star Ben Whishaw and Emily Beecham.

- Les Miserables -

French actor-director Ladj Ly, who grew up filming his high-rise Paris suburb and has previously worked with street art megastar JR, makes a striking Cannes debut with this moving story set in the deprived neighbourhood where the 2005 Paris riots began.

- It Must Be Heaven -

Palestinian director Elia Suleiman, who was nominated for the Palme d'Or in 2002 with "Divine Intervention" about a love affair across the Israeli-Palestinian divide, travels to Paris, New York and other cities for this rumination on a life lived in exile.

- Frankie -

US director Ira Sachs casts Isabelle Huppert, Brendan Gleeson and Marisa Tomei in a film about three generations of a recomposed family coming to terms with the impending death of its matriarch during a final holiday in Portugal.

- The Whistlers -

Romanian new wave director Corneliu Porumboiu has a detective fly from Bucharest to La Gomera in the Canary Islands to help a criminal escape from prison.

- Atlantics -

The debut feature of Mati Diop -- the first black African woman director to compete for the Palme d'Or -- is a ghost story set on a Senegalese building site where the workers decide to take to the seas in search of a better life.

- Sibyl -

French director Justine Triet depicts a burnt-out psychotherapist who becomes inspired by working with a distressed young actress played by Adele Exarchopoulos, star of the Cannes-winning 2013 lesbian drama "Blue is the Warmest Colour".

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DESIRE PETROLEUM
Maine teacher says she was fired for breastfeeding breaks. (Getty Images JGI/Jamie Grill)

A former Maine elementary school teacher says she was fired for taking breaks to pump breast milk and breastfeed her young son. Now, shes suing the school system, claiming discrimination on the basis of gender and pregnancy.

Shana Swenson, 33, worked for three years as a reading teacher in the Falmouth Public Schools, and went on maternity leave in January 2017. Before she returned to work in August of that year, she told her schools principal that she would need three daily breaks to pump milk or breastfeed her son, who was at an on-site daycare center at the school, the lawsuit says.

But the principal asked that she cut down her breaks to two per day, and schedule them during her lunch and planning time. Swenson made it clear this wasnt possible, and could even lead to breastfeeding-related health issues.

It was at this time that things took a turn, Swenson claims. The lawsuit alleges that she was subjected to extreme animosity and hostility by some of her colleagues based on her decision to breastfeed and take breaks throughout the day to pump. She also received a negative evaluation two months after returning to work. By May 2018, Swenson was notified that her contract with the school system would not be renewed.

Ms. Swenson was surprised and hurt by the treatment that she was subjected to during her employment. We look forward to the discovery process including depositions and document exchanges to vindicate our clients rights, Adam Lease, a partner with Karpf, Karpf and Cerutti of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, said in a statement Friday, and reported by the Portland Press Herald.

But legal representatives for the Falmouth school system say there was nothing inappropriate about the way Swenson was treated.

Ms. Swensons claim that the Falmouth School Department discriminated against her is false, Melissa Hewey, an attorney from Drummond Woodsum representing the Falmouth Public Schools, told the Bangor Daily News.

Hewey also told the Portland Press Herald that Swensons role was as a probationary teacher and that her contract was not renewed because, her performance was not up to the standards Falmouth expects of its continuing contract teachers.

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Hewey also added that the school system is really ahead of the curve when it comes to supporting employees with children, whether its through parental leave, on-site daycare, or providing time for breast pumping.

Its disappointing she would make these claims after taking advantage of very generous benefits offered to her, said Hewey.

Swenson is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, and is asking the U.S. district court to create a policy that prevents similar discriminatory events in the future, according to the lawsuit.

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Reims (France) (AFP) - "Yellow vest" protesters turned out across France Saturday to mark six months of rallies against President Emmanuel Macron's policies, but with their numbers dwindling, according to a government tally.

A day after Macron appeared to draw a line under the movement, yellow jacket activists -- named after the fluorescent vests they wear -- marched in Paris and several other cities for the 27th consecutive week.

The count from the interior ministry -- routinely dismissed by yellow jackets -- put the numbers across France at 15,500, of whom 1,600 marched in Paris. That was down again from last week's count of 18,600, suggesting a steady decline.

The yellow jackets' own tally put the nationwide total at 41,000.

The numbers were nevertheless certainly down from the massive turn-out at the beginning of the movement, when nearly 300,000 people protested across the country on November 17 in what became one of the biggest challenges to Macron's government.

But many of those who turned out on Saturday were determined to keep going.

"When I hear Macron say that he has done his bit, I can't agree, and that motivates me even more," said Virginie, an executive secretary marching in the southern city of Montpellier.

On Friday, Macron said he felt he had answered the questions raised by the movement and that there was no more to be done politically.

Those who had other ideas about how the country should be governed should run for office themselves, he said. "But democracy is not played out on Saturday afternoons," he added.

A number of yellow vest activists are on lists for the next week's European elections.

The movement was initially launched over fuel tax increases, but snowballed into a widespread revolt against Macron, accused of ignoring the day-to-day struggles of low-income earners in small-town and rural France.

- 'We have sown the seeds' -

Outside the capital, protesters marched in Reims and Nancy in the east of France, and in Lyon, Dijon, Bordeaux and Toulouse across the south, with smaller rallies in other towns and cities.

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In Bordeaux, a few hundred yellow vests joined environmental activists in a march against the agrochemical giant Monsanto, days after revelations that the group kept files on French politicians, journalists and activists.

The group lost its third lawsuit in the United States over the harmful effects of its glyphosate-based weedkiller.

In Reims, the windows of the France Bleu radio station were smashed. Local officials reported the presence of about a hundred hard-core activists, including members of the so-called Black Bloc blamed for much of the violence that has accompanied the demonstrations.

Some 2,000 people marched in Toulouse, one of the strongholds of the movement.

"The government is perhaps going to win this round, but we have sown the seeds," said Aurelien, a man in his 30s, who said he had been with the movement from the beginning.

The movement had revealed the authoritarian side to Macron's administration and damaged his image abroad, he said.

A number of international organisations, including United Nations' human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, have called for an investigation into reports of police violence during the protests.

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 and stun grenades that have seriously injured dozens of people.

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Photo: Quesadilla Gorilla/Yelp

Looking to try the top food trucks around?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable food trucks in Fresno, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to fill the bill.

1. Quesadilla Gorilla

Photo: Jennifer W./Yelp

Topping the list is Quesadilla Gorilla. Located at 608 E. Weldon Ave. in Central Fresno, the food truck and Mexican spot is the highest-rated inexpensive food truck in Fresno, boasting 4.5 stars out of 185 reviews on Yelp.

Dig into one of five specialty quesadillas, or make your own by first choosing a protein (chicken, pork, bacon or shredded beef) before selecting queso, fillings and salsas. Check out the website here for a full lineup of offerings and for more information.

Yelper Alex F. wrote, "I love this little place. It's great that it's relatively fast, fresh and really good. I like how clean and simple this place is. Just order what you like, sit down and get a great, fresh quesadilla; and what you get is actually quite filling."

2. Maria's Tacos

Photo: Brenda Y./Yelp

Next up is Southeast Fresno's Maria's Tacos, situated at 5542 Kings Canyon Road. With 4.5 stars out of 179 reviews on Yelp, the food truck has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a budget-friendly option. Look out for economically pleasing open-face tacos with a variety of meat fillings. Burritos and tortas are also on offer.

Yelper Jaerinne L, wrote, "I think these are the best tacos you can find in Fresno. They give you so much meat and I love that you can put on your own cilantro and onion."

3. Gerardo's Tacos

Photo: fresno b./Yelp

Southeast Fresno's Gerardo's Tacos, located at 3605 E. Tulare Ave., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the affordable food truck and Mexican spot 4.5 stars out of 19 reviews. The food truck serves up street tacos with a variety of protein choices. It also offers quesadillas, tortas and burritos.

Yelper Chio S. wrote, "Best carnitas in town. Hands down the best tacos in Fresno."

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4. 2 Amigos Taco Truck

Photo: jeremy s./Yelp

2 Amigos Taco Truck, a food truck and Mexican spot in Southeast Fresno, is another much-loved, budget-friendly go-to, with five stars out of 16 Yelp reviews. Head over to 4142 E. Church Ave. to see for yourself  on top of its asada, adobada, cabeza, lengua, chicharron and tripa tacos, this spot also serves burritos, quesadillas and tortas.

Melanie C. wrote, "I got the carne asada tacos and they were super delicious. I highly recommend trying this place out."

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.
San Francisco (AFP) - FTI Consulting, the Washington PR firm at the center of complaints over its working methods, is a global business boasting a specialty in helping companies deal with risks to their reputations or bottom lines.

Its clients include Monsanto, which has suffered a series of high-stakes courtroom defeats in California, where three trials have ended with juries siding with plaintiffs blaming the company's controversial weedkiller Roundup for their cancer.

German agro-chemicals and drugs giant Bayer -- also an FTI client -- finalized its $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto last year, but the blockbuster purchase has turned out to be plagued with other costs.

FTI describes itself on its website as an independent consulting firm that helps businesses "manage change, mitigate risk and resolve disputes: financial, legal, operational, political an regulatory, reputational and transactional."

Founded in 1982, FTI says it has some 4,700 employees worldwide and operations in 76 cities. It has had offices in Brussels, Belgium, and has been included in a "transparency" registry in the European Union for several years.

The registry lists "interest groups," sometimes referred to as lobbying groups.

FTI reported that its net income climbed to $150.6 million last year on annual revenue of $2.02 billion.

The company has been billed as a leading "crisis management firm" and, among its services, sells advice on dealing with litigation and forensics in sectors including banking, energy, environment, technology, health, agro-chemicals and cybersecurity.

FTI's notable clients include General Motors, Exxon Mobil, Halliburton and Novartis, along with Internet titans Amazon, Facebook and Google.

- 'Discreet objectives' -

The consulting firm has a "strategic communications" team that it describes as focused on helping companies achieve "discreet business objectives."

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When Bayer announced the acquisition of Monsanto in 2016, FTI deployed consultants in the US, London, Brussels and Germany to "support preparation" for the merger and help the Roundup maker "manage the global media attention."

EuropaBio, the European association for bio-industries, of which Monsanto Bayer is a member, retained FTI Consulting for help dealing with what they saw as "a lack of understanding and acceptance" about plant biotechnology.

In January, environmental group EarthRights claimed that consultants paid by oil giant Exxon posed as journalists while trying to question the NGO's legal counsel about a climate change lawsuit.

EarthRights identified the pair as FTI employees who claimed to work for website Western Wire, an offshoot of the Western Energy Alliance that represents the oil and gas industries.

The pair said they were working for website called Western Wire, an offshoot of the Western Energy Alliance, but didn't initially mention, until confronted later, that the site is funded by the oil and gas industry.

EarthRights said the pair were in reality strategic communications professionals employed by FTI Consulting and working for Western Wire under a staffing contract between FTI and WEA.

FTI called the allegation of deception "false and misleading" and referred to a Western Wire statement denying ever having hidden that it was pro-oil-industry.

According to the Huffington Post, FTI also appeared to have a hand in a campaign against an effort to unionize workers at Delta Airlines.

A website against signing a union contract at Delta was hosted on the same servers hosting FTI websites, according to Huffington Post.

"Our firm did not create the content referenced in that article, nor are we managing the campaign it appears to be associated with," FTI corporate communications director Matthew Bashalany said when asked whether the consulting firm had any connection to the anti-union campaign.
WASHINGTON  In a series of tweets Saturday afternoon, Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., came out in favor of impeaching President Donald Trump, making Amash the first Republican member of Congress to do so.

Amash, who represents Grand Rapids, Michigan, wrote that "President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct" regarding obstruction of justice.

The five-term lawmaker read the entire redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and then delivered his thoughts. The release of Muellers report has provoked debate over impeachment because it did not take a stance on whether Trump or his associates obstructed justice, instead laying out instances in which they potentially obstructed justice.

Amash started his Twitter thread by accusing Attorney General William Barr of distorting the report's conclusions, writing: "In comparing Barrs principal conclusions, congressional testimony, and other statements to Muellers report, it is clear that Barr intended to mislead the public about Special Counsel Robert Muellers analysis and findings."

Here are my principal conclusions:

1. Attorney General Barr has deliberately misrepresented Muellers report.

2. President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct.

3. Partisanship has eroded our system of checks and balances.

4. Few members of Congress have read the report.  Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019

Amash went on to explain that Mueller's finding showed that Trump's actions during the investigation constituted obstruction of justice and would "meet the threshold for impeachment."

"In fact, Muellers report identifies multiple examples of conduct satisfying all the elements of obstruction of justice, and undoubtedly any person who is not the president of the United States would be indicted based on such evidence," Amash wrote.

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And in Amash's view, impeachment does not require that a crime has been committed. Instead, "it simply requires a finding that an official has engaged in careless, abusive, corrupt, or otherwise dishonorable conduct."

U.S Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, speaks to the audience during a town hall meeting on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017 at the Full Blast Recreation Center in Battle Creek, Mich. (Carly Geraci/Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group via AP)

He concluded by criticizing partisanship in Congress and the effect that it has had on the body.

Few members of Congress even read Muellers report; their minds were made up based on partisan affiliationand it showed, he wrote.

Impeachment debate: House Dems wrangle over whether to impeach Trump

Amash has been critical of the president and was one of 13 House Republicans to vote for a resolution to terminate Trumps emergency declaration on border wall funding, a direct rebuke of the presidents border policies.

Additionally, he has also flirted with a third-party presidential bid as a Libertarian. In March, he told CNN that he had not entirely ruled out a Libertarian run for president.

"It is important that we have someone in there who is presenting a vision for America that is different from what these two parties are presenting," he said at the time.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: GOP congressman: 'President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct'
Scientists are trying to figure out whats behind a surge in dead and dying gray whales washing up on the West Coast this year as they migrate north from Mexico to Alaska.

At least 58 gray whales have been found stranded along the coast from California to Alaska as of Thursday, CNN reports.

Thats the highest number of strandings since 2000, when 131 gray whales were found dead, the outlet noted.

Many of the whales have been washing up emaciated, having apparently starved.

Recent autopsies are suggesting that malnourishment is likely to blame, ecologist Elliott Hazen of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Southwest Fisheries Science Center told USA Today.

A beached whale near Pacifica State Beach on May 14 in Pacifica, California. (Photo: Justin Sullivan via Getty Images)

The gray whale population in the eastern north Pacific spends half the year near the Alaska coast and half in the warm waters of Mexico, where mothers give birth. But they do almost all of their eating while near Alaska.

NOAA spokesman Michael Milstein told CNN its still a mystery as to why the whales are malnourished but it could have to do with warming waters near Alaska affecting the whales food source  shrimp-like creatures called amphipods.

A gray whale mother and calf. (Photo: Robert Harding Picture Libr. Ltd via Getty Images)

The waters up there have been very unusually warm for a couple of years, Milstein said, noting that scientists are investigating climate change as a possible culprit in the whale deaths.

Some of the whale deaths this year have been due to ship strikes  but those events can also be influenced by how well-nourished the whales are.

These mother whales are worn out and running on empty, making them even more susceptible to negative human interactions, including ship strikes and entanglements, Padraig Duignan, chief research pathologist at The Marine Mammal Center, said in a statement earlier this month.

Biologist John Calambokidis, of the nonprofit Cascadia Research, told USA Today that the total number of gray whales that have died this season is likely much higher than the number found washed up. He said that, in general, only about 10% of dead whales wind up on the shore.

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A dead gray whale near Pacifica State Beach on May 14. (Photo: Justin Sullivan via Getty Images)

The Seattle Times notes that while the northeastern Pacific gray whale population is considered healthy and strong, experts are nevertheless concerned about the numbers of dead whales theyre seeing.

It is almost too soon to tell, are we in a new world where we are going to see more mortalities in top predators like sea lions and gray whales, is this the harbinger of things to come? Hazen said to the Times. If we start seeing this year in and year out, that is when we should be alarmed.

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Scientist Sounds The Alarm On 9th Dead Gray Whale Off San Francisco

Also on HuffPost

A humpback whale tail breaches off Sydney Heads at the beginning of whale watching season during a Manly Whale Watching tour on June 23, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

A humpback whale emerges from the surface of the Pacific Ocean at the Uramba Bahia Malaga natural park in Colombia, on July 22, 2011. (LUIS ROBAYO/AFP/Getty Images)

In this picture taken on September 23, 2011, an aquarium employee swims with a whale shark in an aquarium tank in the city of Yantai, northeastern Shandong province.

A humpback whale is seen breaching outside of Sydney Heads at the beginning of whale watching season during a Manly Whale Watching tour on June 23, 2011 in Sydney, Australia.

This undated photo released by The Galapagos National Park of Ecuador shows a diver alongside a whale shark in the Galapagos Island, Ecuador.

In this photo taken July 21, 2011, a baby gray whale is seen with its mother in the Klamath River in Klamath, Calif.

Female orca Wikie swims with her calf born by artificial insemination on April 19, 2011 at Marineland animal exhibition park in the French Riviera city of Antibes, southeastern France.

An 8.5 metre-long juvenile humpback whale remains stranded on Anaconda beach in La Paloma, department of Rocha, in southeastern Uruguay, on January 27, 2011. AFP

A humpback whale is seen breaching outside of Sydney Heads at the beginning of whale watching season during a Manly Whale Watching tour on June 23, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

The tail of a humpback whale emerges from the surface of the Pacific Ocean at the Uramba Bahia Malaga natural park in Colombia, on July 22, 2011. (LUIS ROBAYO/AFP/Getty Images)

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  Proponents of New Mexico's energy industry say emails exchanged among environmentalists and a key member of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's cabinet represent a conflict of interest as the state was creating landmark legislation that set ambitious new renewable energy goals.

In one email, state energy secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst asked a renewable energy trade group to review some of the bill's language related to energy storage policies.

Officials with the organization Power the Future say the emails  recently obtained through a public records request  show the secretary was coordinating with several groups that included the same renewable energy firm she led before taking her job with the state.

"It's concerning. It looks like out-of-state environmental groups were major players in writing this bill," said Larry Behrens, Power the Future's western states director.

Power the Future argues that the environmentalists didn't have the interests of average working New Mexicans in mind.

"This bill, from our point of view, is going put thousands of people out of work. It's going to raise electric bills, and so that's why it's important that New Mexicans know who's behind it," said Behrens, who previously worked for former Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.

With much fanfare, the current Democratic governor signed the energy act in March, codifying the requirement that investor-owned utilities and rural electric cooperatives get at least half of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030. That would jump to 80 percent by 2040.

A 100% carbon-free mandate would kick in five years later for utilities. Electric co-ops would have until 2050 to meet that goal.

Aside from the renewable energy quotas, funds will be established to help ease the economic pains of closing the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station near Farmington.

Critics have described the new law as a boon for Public Service Co. of New Mexico, which operates the power plant. Language in the law allows the utility and other owners of San Juan to recover investments in the plant by selling bonds that will be paid off by utility customers.

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At least one environmental group, New Energy Economy, also is concerned the law strips state regulators of their constitutional responsibilities to review utility plans and decide which costs can be passed on to the ratepayers and which must be absorbed by the utility.

Cottrell Propst is defending the law and her role in the legislative process. She said the administration has been clear about its renewable energy agenda and that there were dozens of stakeholders involved.

Cottrell Propst described a flood of emails and conversations surrounding proposed provisions a few days ahead of when the bill was introduced.

One exchange involved the secretary, a legislative staffer and representatives of Environment New Mexico, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Western Resource Advocates. One of the representatives also was a board member of Interwest Energy Alliance, the firm Cottrell Propst worked for.

There were references in the emails to whether utilities would have heartburn over certain renewable energy mandates. One message mentioned the makeup of the independently elected Public Regulation Commission, suggesting the state would have a "responsible" commission by the time the mandates kicked in.

Cottrell Propst said it was her job to shepherd the bill on behalf of the governor's office. She said the priority was boosting New Mexico's renewable portfolio standard and establishing a carbon-free goal.

"There were just lots and lots of people to coordinate with," she said. "I certainly wasn't trying to somehow advantage my former employer. They just happened to be the entity that has the expertise."

Cottrell Propst said her emails were being singled out to "make something out of nothing."

Environmentalists were critical of the energy secretary under the previous Republican administration. They often complained about Ken McQueen's ties to oil and gas, suggesting the former energy executive's policies were favorable to the industry.

Similar complaints were made on the national level about former Vice President Dick Cheney's employment history with oil giant Halliburton.

State House Minority Whip Rod Montoya of Farmington, who previously worked in the coal mining industry for decades, said the same concerns can be raised about Cottrell Propst and her connections to the renewable energy industry. He suggested Democratic officials are going after coal with the energy law and that natural gas and crude oil are next.

"If this is how things are going to be run, I'd like to see that energy secretary step down," he said.

Cottrell Propst said she has worked with industry to reach consensus on other legislation and that the administration is focused on solving problems without steamrolling anyone.

"That's what I do," she said, "so if that sometimes crosses paths with a renewable energy company or even my former employer, I'm not going to run away from it."
CAIRO (AP)  An international rights group says the recent arrests of a rights lawyer and an activist have raised fears of a fresh crackdown by Egyptian authorities on dissent.

Amnesty International said late Friday that Egyptian prosecutors ordered this week Haitham Mohammdeen and Mustafa Maher to remain in custody for 15 days over charges of "aiding a terrorist group," a reference to the banned Muslim Brotherhood organization.

The group says police arrested Mohammdeen after he was summoned Monday to a police station in Giza province, just south of Cairo, for accusations of violating probation terms. Maher was arrested on Tuesday at his home in a Cairo suburb.

Egyptian authorities, in an unprecedented crackdown on dissent in recent years, have often charged political opponents, even secular ones, with supporting the banned Islamist group.
Cannes (France) (AFP) - Veteran US actor Harvey Keitel is headlining a new biopic about Jewish mobster Meyer Lansky, who was a close friend and contemporary of notorious gangster Bugsy Siegel, the distributors said Saturday.

Entitled "Lansky", the film focuses on the latter part of his life when the now retired-boss of Murder Inc. was in his 70s and living anonymously in Florida's Miami Beach, Voltage Pictures said.

When Lansky takes on a journalist to tell his story, played by "Avatar" actor Sam Worthington, the FBI use him as bait to entrap the underworld kingpin whom they suspect of stashing away millions.

The film is in pre-production with shooting due to start in August.

Keitel is known for playing hard-boiled tough guys, taking on roles in cult classics such as Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" (1992) and "Pulp Fiction" (1994), but also starring in Jane Campion's Oscar-winning "The Piano" (1993).

The picture is being directed by Eytan Rockaway, who wrote the script based on a story by Israeli director Ido Fluk and writer/producer Sharon Mashihi.

Although the screenplay is partly fictional, Fluk's story was partially based on interviews with Lansky by the director's father, history professor Robert Rockaway.

"He interviewed Lansky for his research spanning decades for classes that he teaches, and lectures that he gives around the world," the director wrote in an email.

In 1993, his father published a book called "But He Was Good to His Mother: The Lives and Crimes of Jewish Gangsters".

"Eytan's fierce talent and unparalleled access to the psyche of Meyer Lansky will elevate 'Lansky' to genre-best status," said Voltage's chief operating officer and president Jonathan Deckter, describing it as a "mind-blowing story".

Born in 1902, Lansky moved to the United States with his parents at the age of nine and by his mid-teens, he was already running a gang with Siegel and went on to play a key role in liquor smuggling, gambling and guns for hire.

With the FBI hot on his trail and fearing a grand jury summons and prosecution for tax fraud, he tried to flee to Israel in 1970 but after a year or so was deported back to the US.

He died of lung cancer in 1983 and was buried in Miami after an Orthodox Jewish ceremony.
Photo: Katelynn C./Yelp

Looking for some Japanese fare? A new spot has you covered. The fresh arrival in Downtown, called Hatsumi, is located at 1028 Fremont St.

Dan Krohmer, owner of Other Mama on South Durango Drive, brings robata izakaya dining to his new restaurant in the revamped Fergusons Downtown Motel. The menu features fireside cooking, similar to barbecue, with more than 20 kinds of skewers, and offers plates such as pork with crunchy rayu and ginger soy.

The fresh arrival has already attracted fans thus far, with a five-star rating out of eight reviews on Yelp.

Yelper Gary FX L., who reviewed the new spot on May 12, wrote, "Killer meal. Highlights from our meal were the beef tataki, the cabbage salad (vegan), tskune, beef tenderloin and kimchee. But in all honesty, it delivered on all fronts."

And Yelper Emily B. wrote, "For dinner we opted for the omakase, figuring it would be a good way for the chef to showcase their best stuff. We started with the beef tataki which was light and refreshing and had 'crunchy rayu' on top, which is garlic chips and shallots in a chili oil that's drizzled on top. This was a really fun and delicious meal in a new addition to downtown."

Head on over to check it out: Hatsumi is open from 5.10 p.m. on Thursday-Monday. (It's closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.)

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.
By Kanishka Singh

May 18 (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies' founder and chief executive Ren Zhengfei said on Saturday the growth of the Chinese tech giant "may slow, but only slightly" due to recent U.S. restrictions.

In remarks to the Japanese press and reported https://s.nikkei.com/2VMJSaT by Nikkei Asian Review, Ren reiterated that the Chinese telecom equipment maker has not violated any law.

"It is expected that Huawei's growth may slow, but only slightly," Ren told Japanese media in his first official comments after the U.S. restrictions, adding that the company's annual revenue growth may undershoot 20%.

On Thursday, Washington put Huawei, one of China's biggest and most successful companies, on a trade blacklist that could make it extremely difficult for Huawei to do business with U.S. companies, a decision slammed by China, which said it will take steps to protect its companies.

The developments surrounding Huawei come at a time of trade tensions between Washington and Beijing and amid concerns from the United States that Huawei's smartphones and network equipment could be used by China to spy on Americans, allegations the company has repeatedly denied.

A similar U.S. ban on China's ZTE Corp had almost crippled business for the smaller Huawei rival early last year before the curb was lifted.

The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday it may soon scale back restrictions on Huawei.

Ren said the company was prepared for such a step and that Huawei would be "fine" even if U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm Inc and other American suppliers would not sell chips to the company.

Huawei's chip arm HiSilicon said on Friday it has long been prepared for the scenario that it could be banned from purchasing U.S. chips and technology, and is able to ensure steady supply of most products.

The Huawei founder said that the company will not be taking instructions from the U.S. government.

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"We will not change our management at the request of the U.S. or accept monitoring, as ZTE has done," he said.

In January, U.S. prosecutors unsealed an indictment accusing the Chinese company of engaging in bank fraud to obtain embargoed U.S. goods and services in Iran and to move money out of the country via the international banking system.

Ren's daughter, Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Canada in December in connection with the indictment. Meng, who was released on bail, remains in Vancouver, and is fighting extradition. She has maintained her innocence.

Ren has previously said his daughter's arrest was politically motivated. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru Editing by James Dalgleish)
By Kanishka Singh (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies' founder and chief executive Ren Zhengfei said on Saturday the growth of the Chinese tech giant "may slow, but only slightly" due to recent U.S. restrictions. In remarks to the Japanese press and reported https://s.nikkei.com/2VMJSaT by Nikkei Asian Review, Ren reiterated that the Chinese telecom equipment maker has not violated any law. "It is expected that Huawei's growth may slow, but only slightly," Ren told Japanese media in his first official comments after the U.S. restrictions, adding that the company's annual revenue growth may undershoot 20%. On Thursday, Washington put Huawei, one of China's biggest and most successful companies, on a trade blacklist that could make it extremely difficult for Huawei to do business with U.S. companies, a decision slammed by China, which said it will take steps to protect its companies. The developments surrounding Huawei come at a time of trade tensions between Washington and Beijing and amid concerns from the United States that Huawei's smartphones and network equipment could be used by China to spy on Americans, allegations the company has repeatedly denied. A similar U.S. ban on China's ZTE Corp had almost crippled business for the smaller Huawei rival early last year before the curb was lifted. The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday it may soon scale back restrictions on Huawei. Ren said the company was prepared for such a step and that Huawei would be "fine" even if U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm Inc and other American suppliers would not sell chips to the company. Huawei's chip arm HiSilicon said on Friday it has long been prepared for the scenario that it could be banned from purchasing U.S. chips and technology, and is able to ensure steady supply of most products. The Huawei founder said that the company will not be taking instructions from the U.S. government. "We will not change our management at the request of the U.S. or accept monitoring, as ZTE has done," he said. In January, U.S. prosecutors unsealed an indictment accusing the Chinese company of engaging in bank fraud to obtain embargoed U.S. goods and services in Iran and to move money out of the country via the international banking system. Ren's daughter, Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Canada in December in connection with the indictment. Meng, who was released on bail, remains in Vancouver, and is fighting extradition. She has maintained her innocence. Ren has previously said his daughter's arrest was politically motivated. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by James Dalgleish)
TASHKENT (Reuters) - The trade war between the United States and China could be a risk to the world economic outlook if it is not resolved, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde told Reuters on Friday during a visit to Uzbekistan.

"Obviously, the downside risk that we have is continued trade tensions between the United States and China," Lagarde said, referring to the IMF's world economic outlook.

"And if these tensions are not resolved, that clearly is a risk going forward."

The IMF last month cut its growth forecast for 2019 to 3.3%, down from the 3.5% it had previously predicted.

It warned at the time that growth could slow further due to trade tensions and a potentially disorderly British exit from the European Union.

"But we expect that at the end of 2019 and in 2020 it will bounce back," Lagarde said of the world economic outlook on Friday.

The United States infuriated China this week when it announced it was putting Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's biggest telecoms equipment maker, on a blacklist that could make it hard to do business with U.S. companies.

On Friday Beijing suggested a resumption of talks between the world's two largest economies would be meaningless unless Washington changes course.

(Reporting by Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov; Writing by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
Voting in one of India's most acrimonious elections in decades entered its final day Sunday as Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrambled to hang on to his overall majority.

The seventh and final round of voting ended the world's biggest election with 900 million eligible voters from Goa's beaches to Mumbai's slums and Ladakh's Himalayan monasteries.

Long queues formed outside polling stations in eight northern states electing the final 59 candidates to India's 543-seat lower house. Polls close at 1230 GMT with vote counting on Thursday.

Heavy security was imposed in West Bengal, which has seen street battles between followers of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition groups.

An improvised bomb was thrown from a motorbike at one polling booth in the state capital Kolkata but no one was injured, officials said.

One group attacked a makeshift BJP office in the city and police also cleared other activists blocking polling stations.

Modi's constituency in Varanasi, the holy city in Uttar Pradesh state, was also among those to vote.

The conservative BJP has campaigned aggressively on Modi's strongman image and played up recent cross-border air strikes against Pakistan. The opposition, led by the Congress party and its leader, Rahul Gandhi, have accused him of pursuing divisive policies and neglecting the economy.

Modi and Gandhi have hurled insults at each other on a near daily basis with the prime minister calling his rival a "fool" while Gandhi derides Modi as a "thief".

- Jaded voters -

The animosity has taken a toll on voters.

"All the abuse and misconduct claims suggest that standards in Indian politics have slipped badly," Asit Banerjee, a history teacher in Kolkata, said as he queued to vote.

"Endless mudslinging and bitter comments pervaded the campaign. We are losing hope in democracy, it is time for a reset," the 60-year-old told AFP.

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Writing in the Hindustan Times, political commentator Karan Thapar said Modi's message "played on our insecurities and strummed upon our deep inner fears". He also criticised Gandhi's campaign.

Pollsters say Modi remains personally popular but his party's overall majority is at risk from a backlash.

The 68-year-old Modi has held 142 rallies across India during the campaign, sometimes five a day, but pollsters say the BJP could lose dozens of the 282 seats it won in its 2014 landslide.

- $7 billion vote -

On Saturday Modi, dressed in a long robe and saffron sash, trekked to a Himalayan shrine to meditate. Indian media widely used images showing him seated on a bed inside a cave in the country's north.

The Delhi-based Centre for Media Studies estimates that the outlay on this election could top $7 billion, making it one of the priciest contests globally -- with the lion's share of the spending by the BJP.

Much has been spent on social media advertising and messages, with the parties using armies of "cyber warriors" to bombard India's hundreds of millions of Facebook and WhatsApp users.

Fake news and doctored images have abounded, including of Gandhi and Modi having lunch with Imran Khan, prime minister of arch rival Pakistan, or of a drunk Priyanka Gandhi, a politician and the sister of Rahul.

Violence has also broken out. Maoist rebels killed 15 troops and their driver in the western state of Maharashtra on May 1, the latest attack in a decades-long insurgency.

Gandhi, 48, has tried several lines of attack against Modi, in particular over alleged corruption in a French defence deal and over the plight of farmers and on the economy.

Modi's government has fallen short on creating jobs for the million Indians entering the labour market every month, the shock introduction of a cash ban in 2016 caused huge disruption to livelihoods, and Indian banks are gasping under bad debts.

Lynchings of Muslims and low-caste Dalits for eating beef, slaughtering and trading in cattle have risen during Modi's tenure, leaving some of the country's 170 million Muslims feeling threatened and anxious for their future.
DUBAI, May 18 (Reuters) - Iran's supreme court has upheld the death sentence of an Iranian man for killing an American woman seven years ago to steal her car, the state-run daily Iran reported on Saturday.

The mother of three, identified as Theresa Virginia, had been reported missing in 2012 when she had traveled to Iran to visit her Iranian husband's family, the newspaper said.

Police were able to arrest two suspects, aged 20 and 21 at the time, using closed circuit television recordings showing them at a petrol station with her car. One of the men confessed to have strangled the woman and taken her car and cash, while the other admitted helping, the report added.

The number of executions in Iran were halved in 2018 through changes to anti-narcotics laws, but the country was still second in the world after China with at least 253 convicts put to death, according to rights group Amnesty International.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom. Editing by Jane Merriman)
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's foreign ministry on Friday rejected accusations by Saudi Arabia that Tehran had ordered an attack on Saudi oil installations claimed by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia. U.S.-ally Riyadh made the accusation amid growing tension between Iran and its arch-foe the United States, which has built up its military presence in the region alleging threats from Iran to its troops and interests. The Houthis, which have been battling a Saudi-led military coalition for four years, said they carried out Tuesday's drone strikes against the East-West pipeline, which caused a fire but Riyadh said did not disrupt output or exports. "You're still deluded after 1,500 days, isn't that enough?," Irans foreign ministry spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, said on his Twitter account, referring to the length of the Yemen war. Mousavi was responding to Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir who tweeted on Thursday: "The Houthis are an indivisible part of #Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps ... and subject to the IRGCs orders. This is confirmed by the #Houthis targeting facilities in the Kingdom." Mousavi added: "It's time for you to stop your crimes against #Yemeni people. You can't hide your weakness behind such claims." A military coalition led by neighboring Saudi Arabia, which receives weapons from the West, intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted Yemen's internationally recognized government from the capital Sanaa. The conflict is seen as a proxy war between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite Iran. Separately, Mousavi condemned air strikes on Thursday by the Saudi-led coalition on Sanaa and called on international and human rights bodies "to act according to their responsibility to prevent the repetition of these crimes", state news agency IRNA said. The Houthi group denies being a puppet of Tehran or receiving arms from Iran, and says its revolution is against corruption. Iran denies Saudi accusations that it gives financial and military support to the Houthis and blames the deepening civil war crisis on Riyadh. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom, Editing by William Maclean)
By Babak Dehghanpisheh and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin GENEVA/LONDON (Reuters) - An unmanned Iranian boat skips over the waves at full speed and rams into a U.S. aircraft carrier, sending up an orange fireball and plumes of smoke. That attack against a mock-up U.S. warship was part of elaborate naval war games carried out by the elite Revolutionary Guards in 2015. Dozens of speedboats, ships firing missiles, and helicopters were involved. Video of the exercise ran on state TV for hours. U.S. officials are now concerned that Iran has passed this naval combat expertise on to proxy forces in the region, whom Washington blames for attacks against four oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday. Iranian officials denied involvement and said their enemies carried out the attacks in order to lay the groundwork for war against the Islamic Republic. Iran has not addressed the issue of training proxies, but has warned that its allies in the region have the weapons and capability to target enemies if Iranian interests are threatened. Tensions have spiked between Iran and the United States, which sent more military forces to the Middle East, including an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and Patriot missiles, in a show of force against what U.S. officials say are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region. U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from a major 2015 nuclear deal last year and reimposed sanctions in order to cut off Irans oil exports. This was supported by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which said they would increase oil production to keep prices stable. The Revolutionary Guards, designated a "foreign terrorist organization" by Washington last month, have threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, through which one fifth of the world's oil consumption flows, if Iran is not able to export oil. The U.S. embassy in Baghdad began evacuating some staff this week in apparent concern about perceived threats from Iran. If Iran or one of its proxies was involved in the tanker attacks, which did not sink any of the ships or cause fatalities, it was a warning message, experts say. DENIABLE "Iran's actions are conducted in a manner which are both understood by the world to be conducted by Iran, but not to the extent that the international community can justify a response. In this way, the actions are attributable but deniable," said Norman Roule, a former senior CIA officer with experience in Middle East issues. "Attacks against oil tankers produce tremendous publicity for Iran and raise oil prices. The latter has a direct, if temporary, impact on the economies of China and Western Europe, and Iran likely believes this will compel them to pressure the U.S. to make concessions to avoid future such attacks." The tanker attacks on Sunday, followed by armed drone attacks on two of Saudi Aramco's oil pumping stations on Tuesday, pushed up global oil prices, which by Thursday had jumped nearly 4%. The United Arab Emirates said an investigation was under way into the sabotage attacks, stressing it was committed to de-escalation during a "difficult situation" caused by Iranian behavior in the region. Saudi Arabia accused Iran of ordering the drone attacks on its oil pipelines. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, who have been battling a Saudi-led military coalition for four years, had earlier claimed responsibility. The techniques used in the attacks against the tankers off the Emirates' coast were not particularly sophisticated, observers with military and intelligence experience say. The ships may have been damaged by floating or magnetic mines placed by a team of divers, according to these observers. Iran has experienced marines who could have carried out this type of operation, or they could have outsourced the mission to local forces, possibly Houthis, said Hossein Aryan, a military analyst who served 18 years in the Iranian navy before and after the Islamic revolution. "We used to practice it a lot, it's general practice. You place a limpet mine and disable an enemy ship," he said. "Iran has capable marines to do this. It could either send its own people or send some key people to help with locals to do that. It was a soft target." It is also possible that an unmanned boat of the sort Iran used in the 2015 military exercise may have been used in the attacks. Iran is now passing on that naval expertise to allied military forces, officials and observers say. DRONES "Iran is exporting know-how for unmanned boats and drones," said an official from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, who asked not be identified, noting that up to 50 members of Lebanon's Iranian-trained Hezbollah guerrilla group and the Revolutionary Guards train and advise Houthi fighters. Houthi forces are now able to launch drones from boats at sea, according to a Saudi security source. Iran has denied playing any role in the conflict in Yemen. Tensions between Iran and the U.S. in the Gulf are not new: in the late 1980s the American and Iranian navies clashed after Iran was accused of mining shipping lanes. Since that time, the Guards have attempted to send a message about their naval prowess by regularly carrying out operations and military drills in the Gulf. The Guards' navy detained British military personnel in 2004 and 2007 as well as ten U.S. sailors in 2016. All were eventually released. In recent years, the Guards have even taken on missions outside the Gulf. Special forces from the Guards' navy carried out anti-piracy operations for nearly four months in the Gulf of Aden in 2012, their then commander told the Fars news agency. Military forces trained or armed by the Guards have also shown their naval combat skills. In the 2006 Israel-Lebanon War, Hezbollah hit an Israeli warship with a missile, killing four Israeli sailors. Houthi forces in Yemen carried out a series of attacks on Saudi oil tankers last year, leading to a temporary halt of the kingdoms oil exports through the Bab al-Mandeb strait. If the current tensions between Iran and the United States spill over into open conflict, all of the Islamic Republic's allies, as well as its enemy Israel, are likely to be drawn into a regional war, Ibrahim Al-Amin, co-founder of the pro-Hezbollah Al-Akhbar newspaper, wrote on Thursday. He said Iran would receive support from forces in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. "So that nobody is in a state of confusion and so that nobody acts as if they didn't know the nature of the confrontation, Hezbollah will be in the heart of this battle," Al-Amin wrote. (Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva and Bozorgmehr Sharefedin in London; Additional reporting by Stephen Kalin in Riyadh, Ahmed Rasheed and John Davison in Baghdad, and Tom Perry in Beirut; Editing by Giles Elgood)
BASRA, Iraq, May 18 (Reuters) - Iraq's oil exports from its southern ports have reached 3.5 million barrels a day (bpd) crude oil as of Saturday, South Oil Company chief Ihsan Abdul Jabbar told Reuters.

Exxon Mobil's decision to evacuate its foreign staff from the West Qurna 1 oilfield is a "precautionary and temporary measure," he said, adding that the field is still operating at full capacity and producing 440,000 bpd.

Abdul Jabbar is the first named source to confirm the evacuation, which took place late on Friday and early Saturday. (Reporting by Aref Mohammed; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Alison Williams)
Joe Biden gives pitch on uniting the country in Philadelphia originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Former Vice President Joe Biden made his pitch to unite the country in Philadelphia on Saturday, for the third and final phase of his presidential campaign roll out.

Biden held his first campaign rally in Eakins Oval near the famous "Rocky steps" of the Philadelphia Art Museum on Saturday afternoon.

The rally, which was announced the same day Biden officially entered the race in April, was intended to focus on his vision "for unifying America with respected leadership on the world stage -- and dignified leadership at home," according to a press release from the campaign.

The event was seen as an unofficial bookend to the campaign launch.

Biden made the case for uniting America, rather than enduring another four years of what he described as the divisive leadership of the current president, referring to him early in the speech as the "divider-in-chief."

PHOTO: Democratic presidential candidate, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign kickoff rally, May 18, 2019 in Philadelphia. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

"I believe America is always better just best when America is acted as one America," Biden said. "One America. One America maybe a simple notion, but it doesn't it doesn't make it any less profound. This nation needs to come together. It has to come together, folks. We started this campaign, and when we did, I said I was running for three reasons. The first is to restore the soul of the nation, the essence of who we are. The second is rebuild the backbone of this nation, and the third to unite this nation. One America."

Biden defended this bipartisan approach to politics, pointing to his record of reaching consensus on big issues like the economic recovery.

"Now some of these same people are saying, you know, Biden just doesn't get it," he continued. "You can't work with Republicans anymore. That's not the way it works anymore. Well folks, I'm gonna say something outrageous. I know how to make government work. Not, not because I've talked or tweeted about it, but because I've done it. I've worked across the aisle to reach consensus."

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"I did it when I was a senator. It's what I did is your vice president work with Barack Obama. Its what I will do as your president," Biden said to cheers.

But Biden said he wouldnt be afraid to go toe-to toe-with Republicans if thats what it takes, as was the case with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

"I know there are times there's only a bare knuckle fight will do," he said. "I know we have to take on Republicans to do what's right, without any help from them. That's what it took to pass the Affordable Care Act. That was a tough fight. And it was a big, a big deal."

Throughout the speech, Biden directly took on Trump, most notably on Trump on taking credit for the strong economy.

"I know President Trump likes to take credit for the economy and economic growth, and the low unemployment numbers, but just look at the facts, not the alternative facts. President Trump inherited an economy from Obama Biden administration, that was given to him, just like he inherited everything else in his life. Just like, just like everything else he's been given in his life, he's in the process of squandering that is well."

"The single most important thing we have to accomplish is defeat Donald Trump."

Biden spoke to a number of policy proposals he will take on in the campaign, reiterating his support for free community college, strengthening the ACA and providing a public option like Medicare, and building a new green infrastructure.

The former vice president also spoke out about his view on climate change, after coming under fire from progressive Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for reportedly considering a "middle ground" climate change policy

"Let's stop fighting and start fixing. And we can only do it together. We're gonna deal with the existential crisis posed by climate change. There's not much time left. We need a clean energy revolution. We need it now. We have to start now."

But Biden said above all, defeating Trump was the first step on his climate policy:

"If you want to know what the first and most important plank in my climate proposal is: beat Trump."

Following chants of "defeat Trump," Biden asked the crowd "are we a nation that rips kids away from their parents?" The crowd responded, "We don't. ...Trump does!"

Working the rope line after his speech, Biden told ABC News he would work to restore direct aid to three Latin American countries known collectively as the "Northern Triangle" -- El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala -- that Trump cut in March.

"Is there a crisis at the border?" the former vice president was asked.

"No, I think the crisis at the border is the way they're treating people who are seeking asylum," he told ABC News. "There should be a process for them I tried to set it up and the idea that this guy is cutting $740 million that I provided for those three Latin American countries to better their circumstances ... is wrong. "

PHOTO: Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden stands with his wife Jill at the end of a campaign rally in Philadelphia. (Matt Rourke/AP)

During his remarks, Biden also made a pledge to not speak ill of another Democrat during his campaign.

"Our politics has become so mean, so petty, so negative," Biden said. "It is ripping this country apart at the seams."

The rally was much larger than Bidens previous events in early voting states like Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. A campaign official told ABC News that a crowd of 2,000 was expected at the event.

The campaign has placed a heavy focus on Philadelphia as the "birthplace of American democracy," and the rally location was chosen for that reason. But even in celebrating Philadelphia, the veteran U.S. Senator could not eschew his beloved state of Delaware.

"Everyone knows Jill's a Philadelphia girl," Biden told the crowd. "She loves this city. I do too. But to paraphrase the poet James Joyce, I have to say this folks because Im near my state, when I die, Delaware will be written on my heart."

Biden promised the crowd that he would outwork the other 22 candidates vying for the Democratic Nomination

"This campaign is just getting started, I promise you this," Biden vowed. "No one -- no one's gonna work longer, no one's gonna campaign harder to win your hearts your trust and your support, then the son of Katherine Eugene Finnegan from Scranton, Pennsylvania: Joseph R Biden Jr. of Delaware."

The campaign announced Thursday Philadelphia would also be home to their headquarters.

(MORE: Joe Biden tells South Carolina voters he 'must defeat' Donald Trump)

"Philadelphia is a thriving city and a testament to the American spirit, built by the ingenuity and tenacity of ordinary people who did extraordinary things. Its storied history and celebrated diversity will serve as an inspiration for Team Biden, and is the ideal setting to continue our fight for the soul of this nation," Bidens campaign manager Greg Shultz said in a press release announcing the headquarters.

Both Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, were born in the key swing state that will be vital for any Democrat taking on Trump to win in 2020, and a Quinnipiac poll out this week indicates Biden has strong appeal among Democrats in the Keystone State. Biden took the top spot in the poll, with 39% of Democratic voters in Pennsylvania naming the former vice president as their preferred candidate.

The poll also found Biden beat Trump in a head-to-head in a match-up in the state, 53% to 42%.

Since announcing his presidential run on April 25, Biden has focused his message on why he decided to run -- his view that the country is in a battle for the soul of America, and restoring the middle class as the backbone of the economy.

A campaign official told ABC News that following the rally Saturday, the campaign will shift to a new phase -- focusing on Bidens policy proposals, and what he will do as president.

The rollouts will give "specifics of the policies that Vice President Biden has believed in and has fought for his entire career and will make the centerpiece of a Biden White House," according to the official.

(MORE: Biden defends saying he has 'the most progressive record of anyone running')

The former vice president plans to travel to Tennessee, Florida and Texas in the coming weeks -- three states Trump won in 2016. Bidens full schedule for those trips has yet to be announced.

Since getting into the race, Biden has taken the top spot all polls of the Democratic field, according to FiveThirtyEights poll tracker.

Biden has maintained he will "not speak ill of a fellow Democrat," but his frontrunner status has put a target on his back from his fellow Democrats. Biden has faced criticism from his opponents on issues from criminal justice reform, to climate change -- a sign of what could come in the Democratic debates next month.
Goldman Sachs (GS) closed a deal to acquire wealth management company United Capital for $750 million in cash on Thursday, as part of Goldmans long-term strategy to push into wealth management.

[United Capital] will serve as a cornerstone of our business as we execute on our long-term strategy to offer clients solutions across the wealth spectrum, said David Solomon, chairman and chief executive of Goldman Sachs in a statement. United Capital will help accelerate this strategy by broadening our reach.

Goldman expands into the high-net-worth segment

Joe Duran is the founder and chief executive of United Capital, which is based in Newport Beach, California. He built his business to $25 billion in managed assets serviced by 220 financial advisers across 95 offices. Duran said he is excited about the deal.

In our own universe, there really hasnt been a way to partner with Goldman, so this is a really exciting opportunity for us, he said on The Ticker, in his first live interview on Yahoo Finance.

Joe Duran

Goldman Sachs has traditionally been an investment bank, servicing institutions and ultra high-net-worth individuals. This push into the wealth management space signals an appetite to diversify their assets and access a new market segment. For Duran, that works just fine.

Theyre the preeminent brand for 100 million or more. We are preeminent brand for folks with $1 million to $15 million, he said. They have a desire to broaden their reach and offer some of their services, their intelligence and IP to a market segment they havent been able to access.

Leveraging Goldman brand

Duran grew up in war-torn Rhodesia, which is now Zimbabwe, and came to the U.S. at 18 years of age with just $200 in his pocket. He said his experiences are why he focuses on the big picture when it comes to investing.

Most of investing is a mental game, you cant do anything about what the market does, Duran said. We try to remind people to focus on what you can control.

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It is with this mindset that he is confident he can double his business from $25 billion to $50 billion in assets under management in a relatively short period of time  that is, within two to three years.

Much of United Capitals expansion is owed to the white-labeling of United Capitals wealth management operating system, a digital platform that independent advisers use for portfolio management and financial planning. Now under the Goldman Sachs umbrella, that reach can expand.

Goldman has a reputation within its own walls. With Finlife we have a white labelling of our platform which will expand and improve because of what Goldman brings to the table, he said. Im really excited about what can happen with this unique combination. We can completely revolutionize the entire industry together.

President Donald Trump announced lifting of steel and aluminum tariffs for Canada and Mexico at the National Association of REALTORS Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo, Friday, May 17, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The Trump put

Markets have been volatile since trade talks broke down with China as investors have been in a flurry to de-risk their portfolios as well as anticipate what comes next.

The thing thats messy about this is this is not a unilateral debate. We have a president who can take a lot of bandwidth and make it all about his views, but in reality is this is a bilateral discussion, Duran said.

But never fear. Duran said President Trump has demonstrated that he doesnt like to see the market go down.

We have what many call the Trump put. When the market goes down, hes going to send a tweet to make it go up again, he said.

Durans advice to investors? He says, You just have to focus on what you can control.

Grete Suarez is a producer at Yahoo Finance.

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

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Philadelphia (AFP) - As the one true known quantity in the Democratic nomination race, former vice president Joe Biden sits atop the pack of 2020 presidential contenders, relishing the prime position as he hosts a kickoff rally Saturday.

No one knows whether the man who served as number two to popular Democratic president Barack Obama for eight years will run away with this contest -- his third White House bid in as many decades -- or fade out in the months-long test of political skill and stamina to come.

But the former longtime senator and lion of the Democratic Party is gearing up for what is certain to be a titanic battle against President Donald Trump.

After a month of modest events at union halls and pizza joints in early-voting states like Iowa, Biden is counting on making a splash at a rally in Philadelphia, the largest city in must-win Pennsylvania, a state Trump snatched from Democrats in 2016.

He has made Philadelphia his campaign headquarters, in a further sign of the importance he is placing on winning back the state for his party in 2020.

His kickoff will be held near the Philadelphia art museum steps immortalized by the scrappy boxer's run in the movie "Rocky."

Biden was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and the rally is a nod to his modest roots.

But far from being the underdog, Biden is looking to cement his status as the man to beat, the blue-collar voter whisperer who is best positioned to take on and defeat Trump.

And while his delayed entry into the race drew criticism that he might not be ready to mount a thoroughly energized campaign, the slow-and-steady strategy appears to be paying off.

By setting his own terms, limiting media engagements and minimizing chances for going off-script, the gaffe-prone Biden is emphasizing his status as preeminent party dignitary.

Polls give Biden, 76, a comfortable lead over the 22 other hopefuls.

The latest RealClearPolitics aggregate puts him at 39.1 percent support, more than double the 16.4 percent of his nearest rival, liberal Senator Bernie Sanders.

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No one else is in double digits.

After a deeply divisive 2016 race, Democratic voters may be looking for an antidote to Trump, the brash politically inexperienced billionaire.

"What matters to them at the moment is a safe choice, a known entity, and somebody who they believe could beat President Trump at his own game," Lara Brown, director of George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management, told AFP.

Nearly nine months before the first nomination votes are cast, Biden is the lone Democrat, aside from perhaps Sanders, with the celebrity status that comes close to Trump's.

But as voters start paying more attention, Biden -- who to date has campaigned mostly in broad strokes -- will be under pressure to flesh out positions on everything from health care and wages to immigration.

"Biden is the right man for the moment," Brown said. "Whether he will be the right Democrat eight months from now is still really up in the air."

- Blue-collar appeal -

Biden's dominance has already changed the race's dynamic, with its early stars like senators Sanders, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren forced to play catch up, and leveling criticism at the frontrunner.

Warren and Sanders, each of whom is highlighting the need to narrow the nation's economic inequalities, are expected to ramp up criticism of Biden as the embodiment of the Washington establishment.

Several rivals are from a newer generation, putting them at odds with the old-school Biden, whose major challenge may well be appealing to younger voters.

And while candidates like ex-congressman Beto O'Rourke are keeping up relentless schedules, honing their messages at townhalls and meet-and-greets, Biden has opted for more protected environments.

"Let's see what happens when he's taking questions that haven't been vetted," Brown said.

Doing so will require fleshing out his policies, something that has already sparked controversy.

Biden caught flak from liberal groups and candidates for failing to embrace more progressive positions on climate change. He says he will lay out a climate policy in the coming weeks.

He has aligned himself closely with Obama, drawing major support from African American voters, a crucial constituency.

But he will also need to be prepared to lean leftward to acknowledge the party's more progressive tilt.

At the same time, he styles himself, like Trump, as an ardent defender of working class Americans, someone who can win back the Midwestern white, male blue-collar voters who went for the Republican in 2016.

"If you're appealing to older, more mainstream voters, I think the story that's emerging from his campaign is not that he's the agent of radical change, but that he's going to be a more stable leader," said political science professor Robert Boatright of Clark University.
A cafeteria worker who was fired from her job after giving lunch to a child who couldn't pay has earned the praise of celebrity chef Jose Andres, who suggested she should come work for his company.

Bonnie Kimball gained media attention after being terminated on March 28 by a vendor for Mascoma Valley Regional High School in Canaan, New Hampshire. That came a day after she gave a student lunch, even though he was unable to pay.

Andres tweeted about the story Friday, saying, "New Hampshire school cafeteria worker fired for giving food to student who couldn't pay ... The hero is Bonnie Kimball! If she needs a job we have openings at @thinkfoodgroup if you know her, let her know!"

Andres is well-known for providing free meals to federal employees on furlough and survivors of natural disasters, CNN reports.

The school's food supply vendor, Fresh Picks, acknowledged Friday that it had fired an employee that it did not name for violating school and company policy. It later offered to rehire the employee, pay her back pay and work to revise relevant policies, a spokeswoman said.

New Hampshire school cafeteria worker fired for giving food to student who couldn't pay - WHBQ! The hero is Bonnie Kimball! If she needs a job we have openings at @thinkfoodgroup if you know her, let her know! @NewHampJournal https://t.co/o7JHXgRtn6  Jose Andres (@chefjoseandres) May 17, 2019

Kimball has said she will not return to her old job.

She recalled her conversation with the student when she realized his account didn't have sufficient funds: "Tell (your) mom you need money," she said and provided him with a lunch. She said she was familiar with the family and was confident the bill would be paid  it was the next morning, she said.

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At the time of the interaction, a manager asked what she had given the boy and left, she said.

The incident has sparked a backlash in the school community, including a GoFundMe campaign in support of Kimball that had raised thousands of dollars.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jose Andres: Fired cafeteria worker is 'hero' for giving lunch to student who couldn't pay
JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  A Mississippi jury has awarded a total of more than $3 million to five African American strippers after a federal judge found the women worked under worse conditions than their white colleagues.

U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate ruled in the discrimination case last year. After a trial that lasted nearly a week on the question of damages, jurors decided Wednesday that the women would split $3.3 million for back pay and past and future suffering.

The attorney for Danny's Downtown Cabaret, Bill Walter, said Friday he will ask Wingate to reduce the award. If Wingate disagrees, Walter said he will appeal.

"Obviously, the client is disappointed in the verdict," Walter said.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Danny's years ago, saying the Jackson club limited when black women could work and fined them $25 if they didn't show up for a shift. The commission said white strippers had flexible schedules at the club and were not subjected to fines for missing work.

It also said a Danny's manager used racial slurs against a black dancer, and Danny's owners forced black women to work at another Jackson club they owned called Black Diamonds, where conditions and security were worse and dancers were paid less.

Marsha Rucker, the EEOC's regional attorney in Birmingham, Alabama, said in a statement that the commission "will protect employees in any industry who are subjected to such blatant and repeated discrimination."

"This case shows the EEOC will sue any employer, operating any type of business, who violates federal anti-discrimination laws, especially those who will not stop discriminating even after being given repeated chances to do so," Rucker said. "The jury ... sent a powerful message to Danny's and any employer who thinks they are above the law."
GERONIMO, Okla. (AP)  The Latest on severe weather in the Southern Plains (all times local):

5:15 p.m.

Authorities have confirmed a tornado with winds up to 130 mph (209 kph) touched down in southern Oklahoma.

The National Weather Service says the EF2 twister Saturday morning traveled for about a half a mile in Geronimo, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) southwest of Oklahoma City, damaging two homes and sending one injured person to the hospital as a precaution.

They're also investigating reported wind damage in the southeast and north of the state.

In northwest Arkansas, a state official said multiple people are stranded on recreational trails due to downed trees.

Meanwhile, energy companies for both states are reporting tens of thousands of people are without power.

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4:00 p.m.

Arkansas officials say suspected tornadoes have damaged homes, downed trees and cut power to some areas in the western part of the state.

Melody Daniel, spokeswoman for the state's emergency management department, says fallen trees have blocked all lanes of traffic on Route 64 in northwestern Arkansas, while a possible tornado in Fort Smith has caused roof damage to "numerous" homes.

In Paris, about 600 homes as well as the county's emergency dispatch office have lost power, but Daniel says the office has redundancies to provide dispatch services.

___

3:30 p.m.

A spate of tornadoes raked across the Southern Plains, leaving damage and causing few injuries, and parts of the region were bracing for more severe thunderstorms and possible flooding.

Tornadoes touched down Friday in Kansas and rural parts of Nebraska, tearing up trees and powerlines, and damaging some homes and farm buildings, according to the National Weather Service. More twisters destroyed at least two homes and left one person with minor injuries in southwestern Oklahoma early Saturday, KWTV television reports.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch until 8 p.m. Saturday for the western half of Arkansas. Portions of North Texas were under a tornado watch until 5 p.m. and a flash flood warning was issued in the Dallas area until 4:45 p.m.

Forecasters warned of heavy rain, lightning, pingpong ball-sized hail and flooding as a line of storms moves west to east through afternoon, covering an area from south of Killeen, Texas, to north of the Oklahoma state line.

.
* One in five candidates face criminal complaints - ADR data

* Some 40% of BJP, Congress candidates, each, have criminal cases

* Serious charges, including murder, against 13% of candidates

By Munsif Vengattil and Zeba Siddiqui

NEW DELHI, May 18 (Reuters) - India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has one unwanted lead in this month's general election race - according to data from an electoral watchdog it is fielding the most candidates among the major parties who are facing criminal charges. Its main rival, Congress, is just a step behind.

Election laws allow such candidates to run so long as they have not been convicted, on grounds both of fairness and because India's criminal justice system moves so slowly that trials can take years, or even decades, to be resolved.

Still, the number of such candidates accused of offenses ranging from murder to rioting has been rising with each election.

Analysts say political parties turn to them because they often have the deepest pockets in steadily costlier elections, and that some local strongmen are seen as having the best chance of winning.

Nearly one-in-five candidates running for parliament in the current election has an outstanding criminal case against them, inching up from 17% in the previous election and 15% in 2009, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a non-profit organization that analyzed candidates' declarations.

The data shows that 40% candidates from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP face criminal charges, including crimes against women and murder, followed by the Congress party at 39%.

Among the smaller parties, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has an even higher proportion, with 58 percent of its candidates embroiled in criminal cases.

Polls have suggested that the BJP and its allies lead the race to win the mammoth, staggered election that began last month and ends on Sunday. Votes will be counted on Thursday.

"Parties only think about winnability and they know that money power and muscle power of such candidates ensures that win," said Anil Verma, head of the ADR.

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With 240 cases against him, K Surendran of the BJP tops the list of candidates with the most outstanding criminal complaints that include rioting, criminal trespass and attempted murder.

He said most of the cases stem from his involvement in the BJP campaign to oppose the entry of women and girls of menstruating age into the Sabarimala temple in his home state of Kerala.

"I understand that an outsider might feel that I am a grave offender but, in reality, I am completely innocent of these charges," he said. "It was all politically motivated."

Dean Kuriakose from the Congress party has 204 criminal cases against him, the second highest, the data showed. Most of the cases were related to a political agitation against the ruling Communist Party in Kerala, which turned violent.

He was not available for comment. But a party spokesman said Kuriakose was innocent. "He was falsely charged by the police under influence from Kerala government," the spokesman said.

Political analysts say that often people vote for candidates who face criminal charges because they are seen as best placed to deliver results. In some parts of India local strongmen mediate in disputes and dispense justice.

"Powerful people, even if criminals, offer a kind of parallel system of redressal," said K.C. Suri, a professor of political science at the University of Hyderabad.

A separate ADR survey of more than 250,000 voters last year found 98% felt candidates with criminal backgrounds should not be in parliament, though 35% said they were willing to vote for such a candidate on caste grounds or if the candidate had done "good work" in the past. (Reporting by Munsif Vengattil and Zeba Siddiqui; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Alex Richardson)
Tripoli (AFP) - The forces of Libya's internationally recognised Government of National Accord boasted Saturday of new weapons to fight off a rival's offensive on Tripoli, despite an arms embargo on the country.

"The GNA supplies armour, ammunition and... weapons, to its forces who are defending Tripoli," read a statement published on Facebook.

Pro-government forces are currently battling fighters from commander Khalifa Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army, which launched an offensive on April 4 to take the capital.

The GNA said the new weaponry had been supplied "in preparation for a vast operation to annihilate the rebels of the war criminal, the rebel Haftar."

Photos of dozens of armoured vehicles at Tripoli port were also published on the Facebook page, which is run by the media office for the GNA's counter-offensive against Haftar.

A spokesman for the GNA's forces confirmed the shipment to AFP, without detailing where it had come from.

Libya has been under an arms embargo since the 2011 uprising which led to the ousting and killing of dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

But the embargo has been regularly violated by different groups in Libya, according to the United Nations.

In a September report, the UN's group of experts on the country noted an increase in the number of armoured vehicles supplied to Haftar's LNA.

Haftar has been accused by detractors of receiving support including armoured vehicles from foreign states, particularly neighbouring Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

In turn, he has accused Turkey and Qatar of supplying weapons to his rivals.

Initially controlling swathes of Libya's east, Haftar launched an offensive in the south of the country in January before attacking the coastal capital last month.

His forces have been held back from the city centre by pro-government forces, with fighting continuing on the outskirts of Tripoli and particularly in the southern suburbs.
BENGHAZI, Libya (AP)  Libya's coast guard says it has intercepted dozens of Europe-bound migrants, including women and children, off the country's Mediterranean coast.

Spokesman Ayoub Gassim says Saturday that a rubber boat carrying 61 African and Arab migrants, including a child, was intercepted Thursday off the city of Zawiya, 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of the capital, Tripoli.

He says the migrants were given humanitarian and medical aid and then taken to a refugee camp in Tripoli.

Libya became a major conduit for African migrants and refugees fleeing to Europe after the 2011 uprising that ousted and later killed longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi.

Libyan authorities have stepped up efforts to stem the flow of migrants, with European assistance.
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, May 18 (Reuters) - Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) chief said on Saturday continued instability in Libya could make it lose 95% of its oil production.

"Unfortunately if the situation will continue like this Im afraid that maybe 95% of production will be lost," Mustafa Sanalla told reporters in Jeddah ahead of a ministerial panel gathering on Sunday of top OPEC and non-OPEC producers.

Sanalla said an attack had happened near Zella oilfield earlier on Saturday.

(Reporting By Dahlia Nehme and Stephen Kalin, Writing By Maha El Dahan)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sikorsky, a unit of Lockheed Martin Corp, has been awarded a $1.1 billion contract for 12 CH-53K King Stallion helicopters, including logistics and other support, the Pentagon said on Friday. The Lockheed Martin unit said it will build the helicopters at its Connecticut plant and that their deliveries will begin in 2022, according to the contract from the U.S. Navy. The CH-53K, which offers three times the carrying power of its predecessor, made its international debut at the Berlin Air Show in April last year. It is competing with the twin-rotor CH-47 Chinook helicopter built by Boeing for a German military helicopter tender, which is expected to cost Germany around 4 billion euros ($4.46 billion) in the longer term, a big prize for the winning bidder. Last month, the U.S. Defense Department awarded Lockheed Martin a $1.15 billion contract for services related to the F-35 Lightning II aircraft. (Reporting by Eric Beech in Washington and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by David Alexander and Sandra Maler)
* Rivals wrap up campaigning ahead of May 21 vote

* President Mutharika seeks second five-year term

* Three leading candidates in close presidential race

By Frank Phiri and Mabvuto Banda

BLANTYRE/LILONGWE, Malawi, May 18 (Reuters) - Malawi's President Peter Mutharika made a last-ditch bid to win re-election on Saturday as candidates for next week's hotly contested election wrapped up their campaigns at rival rallies across the country.

Former law professor Mutharika, 78, is trying to secure a second five-year term in Malawi, a southern African country heavily dependent on foreign aid which has experienced severe droughts in the past decade.

Addressing thousands of supporters in his stronghold in Blantyre, the nation's commercial capital, Mutharika highlighted the country's relative economic stability during his government and said he wanted to win "without trickery and in peace."

"I found a broken economy. And I have fixed it," he told the crowd, many of whom were dressed in traditional bright blue clothing emblazoned with the symbol of his Democratic Progressive Party.

While there are no reliable opinion polls to forecast the outcome of Tuesday's election, analysts expect a tight race between Mutharika and two leading opposition candidates -- Deputy President Saulos Chilima and Lazarus Chakwera, who heads the second-largest party in parliament.

"I'm confident we're winning this on Tuesday," said Doris Dika, a Mutharika supporter who sells clothes and shoes in Blantyre and attended Saturday's rally.

Voters will also elect a new parliament and local government councilors.

CORRUPTION ACCUSATIONS

On the outskirts of the city of Lilongwe, Mutharika's former ally-turned-foe Chilima told supporters the president was corrupt and should not be allowed to stand, vowing to tackle graft and lower fertilizer prices if elected.

Mutharika denies his government is corrupt and says he has achieved important successes improving infrastructure and lifting agricultural output since he took office in 2014.

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Chilima said on Saturday he would grant a temporary amnesty to anyone who had looted public money in the "Cashgate" graft scandal which was uncovered in 2013, prompting some donors to cut off critical budget support.

Chilima, 46, who has targeted young voters with a vibrant social media campaign featuring hip-hop videos, also said he would set up a fund for young entrepreneurs.

Yotham Phiri, a civil servant at Chilima's rally, said he wanted to see a younger man take over who would halt corruption.

Pastor Lazarus Chakwera, 64, who leads the Malawi Congress Party, the second-largest party in parliament, has also made corruption-fighting a key campaign message.

He told his closing rally on Saturday he wanted to change the law so the head of the country's anti-corruption bureau would no longer be appointed by the president. (Reporting by Frank Phiri and Mabvuto Banda Editing by Alexander Winning and Helen Popper)
VALLETTA (Reuters) - Maltese police on Saturday said they were questioning two soldiers over a drive-by shooting in April in which an African migrant was killed. Ivorian national Lassana Cisse was killed on April 6 when he was shot from a car as he walked down a street in Hal Far, close to an army barracks and a migrants' center. Two men, one from Gambia and the other from Guinea, were injured. Police said the attack was racially motivated and a source in the investigation said one of the suspects had admitted to targeting the migrants "just because they were black". On Saturday, the police confirmed that two Maltese suspects - both soldiers in the Armed Forces of Malta - were in custody. The weapon and the vehicle used in the crime had been seized, police said. The deceased man used to work in a factory near Hal Far, in the south of Malta. He was known for checking on his fellow countrymen in the migrants' center after work, media reported. In a series of tweets, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said an investigation involving other security services would determine whether the suspects were rogue individuals or part of a wider network. He said hatred and division had no place in Malta's society. "There are consequences to spreading such ill-placed sentiments," he said. "We remain steadfast in our call for unity among the Maltese and all those who live in Malta." (Reporting by Christopher Scicluna; Editing by Ros Russell)
WASHINGTON (AP)  A Republican congressman from Michigan on Saturday became the first member of President Donald Trump's party on Capitol Hill to accuse him of engaging in "impeachable conduct" stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller's lengthy investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

But Rep. Justin Amash stopped short of calling on Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump, which many Democrats have been agitating for.

Often a lone GOP voice in Congress, Amash sent a series of tweets Saturday faulting both Trump and Attorney General William Barr over Mueller's report. Mueller wrapped the investigation and submitted his report to Barr in late March. Barr then released a summary of Mueller's "principal conclusions" and released a redacted version of the report in April.

Mueller found no criminal conspiracy between Trump's presidential campaign and Russia, but left open the question of whether Trump acted in ways that were meant to obstruct the investigation. Barr later said there was insufficient evidence to bring obstruction charges against Trump.

Trump, who has compared the investigation to a "witch hunt," claimed complete exoneration from Mueller's report.

Amash said he reached four conclusions after carefully reading the redacted version of Mueller's report, including that "President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct."

"Contrary to Barr's portrayal, Mueller's report reveals that President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment," the congressman tweeted. He said the report "identifies multiple examples of conduct satisfying all the elements of obstruction of justice, and undoubtedly any person who is not the president of the United States would be indicted based on such evidence."

The Justice Department, which Barr leads, operates under guidelines that discourage the indictment of a sitting president.

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A representative for Amash did not immediately respond to an email request to speak with the congressman.

Trump and Republican lawmakers generally view the matter as "case closed," as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., recently declared on the floor of the Senate.

On the other hand, Democrats who control the House are locked in a bitter standoff with the White House as it ignores lawmakers' requests for the more complete version of Mueller's report, the underlying evidence and witness testimony. Some Democrats wants the House to open impeachment hearings, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has resisted, saying impeachment must be bipartisan.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., a freshman who opened her term by profanely calling for Trump to be impeached, applauded Amash.

"You are putting country first, and that is to be commended," Tlaib tweeted. Tlaib is seeking support for a resolution she's circulating calling on the House to start impeachment proceedings.

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Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap
Washington (AFP) - On December 11, 2017, US President Donald Trump signed a directive ordering NASA to prepare to return astronauts to the Moon "followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations."

The dates fixed by the space agency are 2024 for the Moon and Mars in 2033, but according to experts and industry insiders, reaching the Red Planet by then is highly improbable barring a Herculean effort on the scale of the Apollo program in the 1960s.

"The Moon is the proving ground for our eventual mission to Mars," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said at a conference this week.

"The Moon is our path to get to Mars in the fastest, safest way possible. That's why we go to the Moon."

According to Robert Howard, who heads up the lab developing future space habitats at the legendary Johnson Space Center in Houston, the hurdles aren't so much technical or scientific as much as a question of budget and political will.

"A lot of people want us to have an Apollo moment, and have a president stand up like Kennedy and say, we've got to do it and the entire country comes together," he said.

"If that happened, I would actually say 2027. But I don't think that's going to happen. I think in our current approach, we are going to be lucky to do it by the 2037 date."

But Howard said if he were to be pessimistic, and assume political dithering lay ahead, "it could be the 2060s."

- Psychological challenges -

From the design, manufacture, and testing of the rockets and spaceships required to learning the best way to grow lettuce: all the groundwork remains to be done.

Just getting there will take six months at least, as opposed to three days to the Moon.

The whole mission could take two years, since Mars and the Earth are closet to each other every 26 months, a window that must be taken.

Key tasks include finding a way to shield astronauts from prolonged exposure to solar and cosmic radiation, said Julie Robinson, NASA's chief scientist for the International Space Station.

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"A second is our food system," she added. The current plant system ideas "are not packageable, portable or small enough to take to Mars."

And then there's the question of dealing with medical emergencies: astronauts will need to be able to treat themselves in case of any accidents.

"I actually think a big deal is the suits," added Jennifer Heldman, a NASA planetary scientist.

One of the major gripes of the Apollo astronauts was their gloves, which were too inflated and prevented them from doing dexterous work.

NASA is developing a new suit, the first in forty years, called xEMU, but it won't be ready for its first outing in the International Space Station for a few more years.

On Mars, dust will be even more of a problem than on the Moon. The Apollo astronauts returned with huge amounts of lunar dust in their modules. Keeping it out of habitats will be critical for a mission that involves spending months on the Red Planet.

Techniques to exploit Martian resources to extract water, oxygen and fuel necessary for humans to live there don't yet exist -- and must be tested on the Moon by the end of this decade.

Finally there's the most fundamental question: how will a group of people cope with the psychological stress of being totally isolated for two years?

It won't be possible to communicate in real time with Houston mission control: radio communications will take between four and 24 minutes between the planets, one-way. NASA plans to test out delayed-communication exercises on board the ISS in the coming years.

Artificial intelligence must also be developed to assist and guide the astronauts.

A researcher commissioned by NASA to study the likelihood of getting to Mars by 2033 concluded the objective was "infeasible."

"It isn't just budget," said Bhavya Lal of the Science and Technology Policy Institute. "It's also organization bandwidth, how many things can NASA do at the same time?"

For Lal, the more realistic timeframe was 2039.
Morocco will acquire AH-64 Apache military helicopters from the US within the next two years.

The deal to purchase the Apache helicopters has been in the pipeline since April last year, but the timeframe of delivery has only just been revealed.

Morocco has a pressing need for new sophisticated attack helicopters, a source told Moroccan news outlet Le360.

The Moroccan government considered two helicopter models, the US made AH-64 Apache, and the Turkish made T-129 ATAK helicopter, but finally settled for the US model.

Morocco will be the second African country to own the helicopter, after Egypt, which bought a fleet in 1995.

Morocco may use these helicopters to protect its borders from illegal migration and drug trafficking, Morocco World News website noted.

The AH-64 Apache is one of the worlds most advanced multi-role combat helicopters, used by the US army and many international defense forces. It was used in the Gulf War, and as well as in conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Yemen, the website added.

Moroccos military budget slightly increased from MAD 29.4 billion ($3.2 billion) in 2012 to MAD 34.7 billion in 2018 ($3.5 billion), according to the 2018 Trends in World Military Expenditure report released in April 2019 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Morocco received 62% of its arms from the US between 2014-2018.
909 E. Roosevelt St., #4 | Photos: Zumper

According to rental site Zumper, median rents for a one bedroom in Central City are hovering around $1,336, compared to a $975 one-bedroom median for Phoenix as a whole.

So how does the low-end pricing on a Central City 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 price-conscious apartment seekers can expect to find in the neighborhood, which, according to Walk Score ratings, is car-dependent, is fairly bikeable and has good transit options.

Take a look at the cheapest listings available right now, 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.

1233 W. Pierce St.

Here's a studio living space at 1233 W. Pierce St., which, at 450 square feet, is going for $695/month.

In the unit, you can expect air conditioning and tile floors. Extra storage space is listed as a building amenity. Both cats and dogs are permitted. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee, but there is a $150 security deposit.

(See the full listing here.)

909 E. Roosevelt St., #4

Then there's this apartment at 909 E. Roosevelt St., #4, listed at $695/month.

In the unit, you'll get tile floors and extra storage space. Dogs and cats are welcome. The listing specifies a $150 security deposit.

(See the listing here.)

702 S. First St., #2

Check out this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment at 702 S. First St., #2, listed at $750/month.

In the apartment, the listing promises air conditioning, a fireplace and in-unit laundry. Pets are not welcome. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee.

(Here's the listing.)

1846 E. Washington St.

And here's a studio at 1846 E. Washington St., which, with 400 square feet, is going for $775/month.

In the studio, you'll find high ceilings, tile floors and ceiling fans. The building offers on-site management. Pet owners, take heed: Cats and dogs are permitted. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee, but there is a $20 application fee, $400 deposit.

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(Check out the listing here.)

829 N. Fourth Ave., #1

At 829 N. Fourth Ave., #1, you'll find this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment going for $799/month.

In the unit, the listing promises hardwood flooring and air conditioning. If you've got a pet, you'll be happy to learn that cats and dogs are welcome. The building has outdoor space. The listing specifies a $150 security deposit.

(Check out 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.
6008 Ridgecrest Road. | Photos: Zumper

Lake Highlands is moderately walkable, is fairly bikeable and offers many nearby public transportation options, according to Walk Score's rating system.

So what does the low-end rent on a rental in Lake Highlands look like these daysand what might you get for the price?

We took a look at local listings for studios and one-bedroom apartments in Lake Highlands via rental site Zumper to find out what budget-minded apartment seekers can expect to find in this Dallas neighborhood.

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.

7152 Fair Oaks Ave., #1026

Listed at $650/month, this 514-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo, located at 7152 Fair Oaks Ave., #1026, is 16.9 percent less than the $782/month median rent for a one bedroom in Lake Highlands.

In the unit, anticipate air conditioning, hardwood flooring and a fireplace. Pet owners, inquire elsewhere: this spot doesn't allow cats or dogs. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(See the complete listing here.)

6008 Ridgecrest Road

This one-bedroom, one-bathroom, situated at 6008 Ridgecrest Road, is listed for $700/month for its 400 square feet of space.

In the unit, expect high ceilings, spacious living areas and tile flooring. The building offers a fitness center, a swimming pool, a residents lounge and on-site laundry. Cats and dogs are not welcome.

(See the complete listing here.)

7522 Holly Hill Drive, #6

Here's a one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo at 7522 Holly Hill Drive, #6, which, at 736 square feet, is going for $725/month.

In the unit, you'll find air conditioning, carpeted floors and a fireplace. The building features assigned parking. Pet owners, inquire elsewhere: this spot doesn't allow cats or dogs. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee, but there is a $40.00 application fee.

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(See the full listing here.)

9254 Forest Lane, #602

Check out this 748-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo at 9254 Forest Lane, #602, listed at $765/month.

In the unit, expect air conditioning, a fireplace, in-unit laundry and ceiling fans. The building offers assigned parking. Neither cats nor dogs are welcome. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental, but there is a $40.00 application fee.

(Here's the listing.)

12482 Abrams Road, #1001

This one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo, situated at 12482 Abrams Road, #1001, is listed for $775/month for its 778 square feet of space.

In the unit, expect air conditioning, a fireplace and in-unit laundry. Building amenities include assigned parking. Cats and dogs are not allowed. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental, but there is a $40.00 application fee.

(See the 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.
Image: Avengers: Endgame/TMDb

Want to see a movie, but not sure what's worth your time (and money)? Check out this week's lineup of acclaimed movies showing on the big screen in and around Austin.

Read on for the highest rated films to catch, based on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer Score, which reflects the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics.

(Movie descriptions courtesy The Movie Database; showtimes via Fandango. Movie ratings and showtimes are subject to change.)

Booksmart

Two academic teenage superstars realize, on the eve of their high school graduation, that they should have worked less and played more. Determined to never fall short of their peers, the girls set out on a mission to cram four years of fun into one night.

Set to be released on Friday, May 24, "Booksmart" already has a Tomatometer Score of 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Time Out's Joshua Rothkopf said, "Actor-turned-director Olivia Wilde (shockingly, this is her behind-the-camera feature debut) shows off something rarer than technique or comic timing. She's got loads of compassion and has somehow managed to make a high-school movie without villains," while Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com noted, "It's smart, so very funny, and beautifully directed by Olivia Wilde."

You can catch it at AMC Barton Creek Square 14 (2901 Capital Of Texas Highway), Regal Gateway & IMAX (9700 Stonelake Blvd.) and Alamo Drafthouse Slaughter Lane (5701 W. Slaughter Lane) beginning on Thursday, May 23. Click here for showtimes and tickets.

End of the Century

Filmmaker Michael Gramaglia's years-in-the-making biography of the legendary punk band The Ramones entitled "End of the Century" traces nearly all the various and sundry peaks and valleys that the seminal rockers experienced over the course of its 20-plus year career before disbanding in 1995. Beginning with the band's first concert performances in the mid-'70s, Gramaglia explores the eccentric and highly volatile band members  in all the various lineups that were presented over the years  as the Ramones slowly gained fame for their high energy and high-tempo style of music that would later influence generations of punk rockers around the world.

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With a Tomatometer Score of 95 percent and an Audience Score of 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "End of the Century" comes highly recommended

You can catch it at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar (1120 S. Lamar) on Sunday, May 19. Click here for showtimes and tickets.

Avengers: Endgame

After the devastating events of "Avengers: Infinity War," the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos' actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.

With a Tomatometer Score of 94 percent and an Audience Score of 89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Avengers: Endgame" has become a favorite since its release on April 26. The San Diego Reader's Matthew Lickona noted, "The MCU will go on and on, but this chapter  and the American pragmatism vs. American ideals bromance that drove it have well and truly come to their 'Excelsior! Nuff said!' moment."

Catch it on the big screen at AMC Barton Creek Square 14 (2901 Capital Of Texas Highway), Alamo Drafthouse Village (2700 W. Anderson Lane) and AMC Lakeline 9 (11200 Lakeline Mall Blvd.) through Wednesday, May 22; and Regal Arbor @ Great Hills (9828 Great Hills Trail) through Thursday, May 23. Click here for showtimes and tickets.

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This story was created automatically using local movie data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
CANNES, France (AP)  Thirty-nine years later, Jack is still not a dull boy.

In a new pristine restoration, Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday evening. It was the second straight year that a Kubrick movie landed on the Croisette, following last year when Christopher Nolan brought what he termed an "unrestored" cut of "2001: A Space Odyssey."

This time around, Alfonso Cuaron introduced the film, alongside Kubrick's daughter, Katharina Kubrick, and Leon Vitali, Kubrick's longtime assistant. Vitali was himself profiled in the 2017 documentary "Filmworker," also a Cannes entry.

"If anybody hasn't seen it on the screen before, it's a different experience completely," Vitali told the crowd. "Don't worry, you'll all come out of here alive."

Cuaron's presence in Cannes was notable. His film "Roma" was set to premiere at the French festival last year. But when Netflix and the festival couldn't agree on distribution terms for the streaming giant's films, Netflix pulled out of Cannes and "Roma" headed instead to the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Golden Lion prize.

Cuaron didn't oversee "The Shining" restoration. That role went to Steven Spielberg, whose 2018 sci-fi thriller "Ready Player One" included a lengthy homage to "The Shining." But Cuaron lavished praise on "The Shining" while playfully prodding conspiracy theorists that dig into the film for hidden meanings.

"Actually, tonight, we're going to watch it backwards, because backwards, we'll see it with the message Kubrick (intended)," joked Cuaron.

The 2012 documentary "Room 237" chronicled some of those theories, including that "The Shining" is really about the moon landing or about the treatment of Native Americans. Katharina Kubrick used an expletive to describe the guessing games around "The Shining."

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"This is a seriously cool ghost movie. Don't believe any of the conspiracy theories because it's all s---," she said. "I only said that because I've had some champagne."

Cuaron agreed. "Kubrick would have really gotten a laugh out of all of these conspiracy theories," said the director. "By all reports, he believed in films not to be explained but to be experienced. A little bit like music, he used to say."

"The Shining" restoration will be released on home video Oct. 1.

___

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has asked United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to deal with the "illegal" seizure of one of its cargo ships by the United States, state media said on Saturday. "This act of dispossession has clearly indicated that the United States is indeed a gangster country that does not care at all about international laws," the North Korean ambassador to the United Nations said in a letter sent to Guterres dated Friday, according to North Korea's KCNA news agency. Pyongyang's protest to the United Nations over the seizure comes amid mounting tensions since a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, aimed at bringing about the denuclearization of the North, broke down in Hanoi in February. The letter also called for "urgent measures" by Guterres and claimed that Washington infringed the North's sovereignty and violated U.N. charters. With the denuclearisation talks stalled, North Korea went ahead with more weapons tests this month. The tests were seen as a protest by Kim after Trump rejected his calls for sanctions relief at the Hanoi summit. North Korea has said the ship seizure violated the spirit of the summit and demanded the return of the vessel without delay. The U.S. Justice Department said the North Korean cargo ship, known as the "Wise Honest", was seized and impounded to American Samoa. The vessel was accused of illicit coal shipments in violation of sanctions and was first detained by Indonesia in April 2018. (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Paul Tait)
Cannes (France) (AFP) - Jessica Hausner, one of four female directors vying for the Cannes top prize, remembers watching "crazy women" in movies by the great Hollywood masters and sensing something was off.

"I mean 'Vertigo' -- it was clear he was the one who was crazy," she said of Hitchcock's film noir classic in which a traumatised policeman (James Stewart) tracks a "hysterical" woman (Kim Novak).

For Hausner's feminist sci-fi thriller "Little Joe", which is premiering at the world's top film festival, she said she wanted to explore how "crazy" becomes a label used to keep women down.

"I was always fascinated by the films about crazy women. I felt that male perspective and I thought 'Yeah, but what's so crazy about them?'" she said.

"The 'craziness' of women is actually the very interesting point about them because I think it's also about being sensitive and intelligent."

"Little Joe", the Austrian director's first English-language feature, tells the story of Alice (British actress Emily Beecham), a senior botanist in a biotech firm in the UK of the near future.

She leads a team of plant breeders developing genetically manipulated strains of flowers that can make their owners eternally happy if they sniff the pollen.

A single mother, Alice names the blossom "Little Joe" after her young son, whom she worries she is neglecting while she pursues her career.

- 'Unlike a fairytale' -

The top-secret project begins to derail when Alice's male colleagues and her son become addicted to the scent and allow their love for Little Joe to supplant all their human relationships.

Anyone who comes between them and their blossoms soon becomes seen as a threat.

A veteran of the lab (Kerry Fox) is the first to raise the alarm to the dangers of the flowers but is dismissed as batty by her co-workers and, at least at first, Alice.

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Hausner said Alice's "Dr Frankenstein" character, who loses control of her own creation, served as a good metaphor for motherhood and its occasional ambivalence.

"The main character of my film is a woman torn between her responsibility for her work and for the plants she created but on the other hand there is her son that she takes care of," she said.

"It's not a social drama or a psychological drama -- I think the film's more a fairytale-like story. In a fairytale the main character has to overcome all these problems. But unlike a fairytale, in the end (of the film) nothing is more clear than it was in the beginning."

- 'I'm still waiting' -

Beecham told AFP she and Hausner had looked to women researchers like French microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier, who helped develop the gene-editing process CRISPR/Cas-9, and primatologist Jane Goodall for inspiration.

The English actress said Goodall in particular commented on how her relationship with her family had interfered with her research.

"She kind of had to put that on the back burner and put the chimpanzees in the forefront," said Beecham, best known for her part in Joel and Ethan Coen's "Hail Caesar".

Hausner, who began as a script assistant on Michael Haneke's suburban horror film "Funny Games", is a regular of the Cannes sidebar sections who has developed a cult following for unsettling dramas including "Lovely Rita" and "Lourdes". She said she welcomed a debate raging at the festival about movie industry sexism.

"Before that, it was obvious too but no one said anything. It was just the way it was. Male directors dominated the festival and not only this festival but all the festivals," she said.

She said that she knew the deck was stacked against women when she was 16 and her parents gave her a book about great people in history.

"I opened the index and there was one woman and it was (the scientist) Marie Curie," she said.

"And I thought 'Maybe it's only for men' but on the other hand I knew exactly that this is not true -- a woman can do great things as well. So I waited, I thought, 'This will change.' But it didn't change for such a long time. Now I'm 46 so it's 30 years later and I'm still waiting."
And so the Democratic race to become the 2020 presidential nominee reaches two dozen, or 23 depending on how seriously you take all of the candidates. It is the largest field in modern history.

The Democrat races for the 1972 and 1976 elections both topped out at 16, and there were 17 Republicans as Donald Trump began his march towards the White House in 2016.

New York mayor Bill de Blasio is the latest to enter the race this time around, hoping to become the first mayor to gain the presidency.

The closest a mayor has come was in 1812 when DeWitt Clinton  who was also from New York  lost to James Madison in the general election.

It is not just that piece of history De Blasio is fighting  the crowded field means that making it through to become the partys nominee will be unlike any other race.

So why is the field so stocked for 2020?

Well, as you might expect, some of it has to do with the current president. Trump ran a populist campaign with hard lines on immigration, crime and healthcare that have riled politicians and would-be politicians across the spectrum. That has brought more people to the table to fight him.

In his announcement, De Blasio said Trump was a bully who he knew how to fight. Such claims have been typical of the Democratic field.

Its an election that, for Democrats, has a sense of urgency, Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, told Bloomberg recently.

Its a historic election. The sense of the risks of a second Trump term are great, so thats going to inspire more Democrats than usual to go through whats a brutal process: running for president.

Trump also offers hope from an insurgent campaign perspective.

He did not enter the race until June the year before the 2016 election  but he drove to the top of the candidate standings very quickly. We still have at least three weeks until we reach the same point in this campaign.

As well as putting in his own money, he also ended up bringing in 69 per cent of his individual donations from small donors giving $200 or less by election time.

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It is this type of funding that can keep smaller Democrat candidates, who cannot pull in big donations, in the race for longer.

Indeed, the Democratic National Committees rules for the first of the partys debates on 26 and 27 May push candidates towards this. To qualify for one of the 20 spots over two nights, candidates must receive contributions from 65,000 unique donors across 20 states or have at least 1 per cent support in several public polls.

The fundraising may be easier, with some candidates struggling to get pollsters to put their names on the lists of surveys and others polling at essentially 0 per cent. This plays into the larger point that the barriers for entry to the national race are so much lower than they used to be. Campaigners are able to take their message to the people without support from big broadcasters.

With networks stretched for the staff needed to cover events from 20+ candidates across multiple states, the use of Twitter, Facebook videos and adverts and other social media strategies can have a bigger impact.

Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg is a case in point. He received the most interactions on Twitter over a 30-day period into April and, while he has been helped by the reaction to a CNN-broadcast town hall event, social media has no doubt helped his cause.

Another example is Julian Castro, a former housing and urban development secretary in the Obama administration, who spent nearly a quarter of his operating expenses during the January-to-March fundraising period on digital ads, Federal Election Commission records show.

However, social media can be an echo chamber. Buttigieg admitted at an event in South Carolina earlier this month that he needs help reaching black vote  which he will need to make an impact  with some polls placing him at 0 per cent support with African-Americans in the state.

But in the records for the last funding window of January to March, Buttigieg and even less well-known candidate Marianne Williamson  who offers a spiritual manifesto  raised 64 and 60 per cent of their donations respectively from small donors.

That puts them behind only Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang on that metric. In a field that wont likely be cut significantly until February or March 2020, that can keep them in the race.

There have always been issue candidates, the most extreme this year being Mike Gravel, who at 88 merely wants to get on to the debate stage to highlight a non-interventionist foreign policy, direct democracy, and universal health care.

His campaign is being run by a 17-year-old and is not being taken terribly seriously. But, given the fractured political climate, other candidates are happy to ride the wave of one issue.

Washington governor Jay Inslee is concentrating on climate change, while Eric Swalwell is concerned with gun violence.

All it takes is one tweet, or short clip and you can pick up momentum for days. In decades past, this would have been thanks to a soundbite on television. Nowadays, TV will come to you once the message is shared enough via other channels first.

Joe Biden is the frontrunner  big money and name recognition still give a huge advantage to people like him. But candidates appear to feel like they can last longer than in the past, and in such a crowded field, holding on until there are four or five people left may be the key.
The Bakken shale fueled an economic boom in North Dakota in the early part of this decade. Oil drillers flocked to the region for a chance to unlock the treasure trove of oil trapped in that tight rock formation. The state's oil boom, however, quickly went bust when oil prices began crashing in late 2014.

While the region has started coming back in recent years as oil prices have lifted, it's not as in demand as it once was. That's due in large part to the emergence of the Permian Basin. Yet while many in the industry have turned away from the Bakken to that red-hot area, Hess (NYSE: HES) has remained focused on getting the most out of its position in North Dakota. Now, the company is on the cusp of cashing in on its oil riches.

Oil pumps with cash in the background.

Image source: Getty Images.

Ramping back up

Like many drillers, Hess pulled back on drilling in the Bakken during the oil market's recent downturn. It dropped down to just two rigs in 2016, which was enough to keep its production from falling too much. It started ramping back up in 2017, slowly increasing its rig count back up to six by the end of last year. The company plans to keep that six-rig drilling pace through the end of next year.

At that activity level, Hess believes it can grow its production at a 20% compound annual growth rate through 2021. That should boost its output from 110,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/D) at the end of 2017 to more than 200,000 BOE/D by 2021. That makes the Bakken a key near-term growth engine for the company.

Releasing the cash flow gusher

Hess expects to transform the Bakken into a cash flow machine after next year. It plans to begin slowing its drilling pace in 2021 so that it can keep production roughly flat, at around that 200,000 BOE/D level. That will enable Hess to cut capital spending so that it can generate more free cash flow. The company estimates that the Bakken will "generat[e] approximately $1 billion of annual free cash flow post-2020 at a $60 per barrel WTI (Western Texas Intermediate) oil price," according to comments by CEO John Hess on the recent first-quarter conference call.

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Hess has a big enough resource base in the Bakken to continue producing a gusher of cash flow from the region for years to come. The company currently estimates that it has a "15-year inventory of high-return drilling locations," said the CEO on the first-quarter call. That gives the oil producer high confidence in its long-term plan, which has it on track to grow companywide cash flow at a 20% compound annual rate through at least 2025 when combining the Bakken with its position in offshore Guyana. The company believes it could produce between $2 billion and $4 billion in annual free cash flow in the coming years assuming oil ranges between $55 and $65 a barrel.

Hess has few uses for that money given its plan to convert the Bakken into a cash flow engine after next year, especially since it can also fully fund its Guyana development with cash generated as that project's first phase comes on line in early 2020. So the company will likely return the bulk of its rapidly growing stream of free cash flow to investors through either a higher dividend or a share-repurchase program.

From a forgotten region to a money-printing machine

Hess is nearing an inflection point in the Bakken. It has breathed new life into this once-neglected area and has turned it into a near-term growth engine. However, the company expects to idle it after next year so that it can transform the Bakken into a cash gusher. That should allow the company to start returning increasing amounts of money to investors, which could in turn allow its stock to produce market-crushing total returns in the coming years.

More From The Motley Fool

Matthew DiLallo 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.
Photo: KGB Gourmet Food Truck/Yelp

Wondering where to find the best food trucks near you?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable food trucks in Omaha, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to satisfy your cravings.

1. The Dire Lion

Photo: Ian S./Yelp

Topping the list is The Dire Lion. Located at 1314 Saddle Creek Road, the food truck that serves British fare is the highest-rated cheap food truck in Omaha, boasting 4.5 stars out of 21 reviews on Yelp.

The menu features traditional English dishes, such as fish and chips, bangers and mash and a rarebit burger. Add in a scotch egg or a sausage roll, and don't forget the banoffee pie for dessert.

2. Anthony Piccolo's Mobile Venue

Photo: Mike D./Yelp

Next up is Anthony Piccolo's Mobile Venue, situated at 2202 S. 20th St. With four stars out of 21 reviews on Yelp, the food truck specializing in Italian food has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a low-priced option.

Anthony Piccolo's began as a private event venue in Omaha in 1934 and now offers catering services and the mobile food truck. Try the mostaccioli and meatballs or the chicken parmesan sandwich.

3. Johnny Ricco's Brooklyn Pizza

Photo: Kendra D./Yelp

Johnny Ricco's Brooklyn Pizza, located at 346 N. 76th St., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the budget-friendly food truck, which offers pizza and more, four stars out of 13 reviews.

Open since 2015, this mobile pizzeria bakes its pizzas in real, stone-bottom Brooklyn pizza ovens for that authentic taste. Come for the pizza and stay for the other offerings you may not have expected, such as a meatball parmigiana sub, a South Omaha Boy sub with sausage, marinara and roasted red bell peppers, authentic cannoli and homemade fudge. Choose from chocolate, chocolate walnut, peanut butter and peanut butter peanut fudge.

4. Taqueria El Rey Truck

Photo: Yon C./Yelp

Taqueria El Rey Truck, a Mexican food truck, is another low-priced go-to, with four stars out of 11 Yelp reviews. Head over to 2900 Leavenworth St. to see for yourself.

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The extensive menu is full of authentic Mexican favorites, including tacos, tortas Mexicanas (Mexican sandwiches), burritos, quesadillas, nachos, enchiladas, combo platters and Mexican breakfast specialties. A kids' menu offers hamburgers, chicken strips and quesadillas.

5. KGB Gourmet Food Truck

Photo: KGB GOURMET FOOD TRUCK/Yelp

Finally, check out KGB Gourmet Food Truck, which has earned four stars out of 10 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the traditional American and Mediterranean food truck by heading over to 10th and Howard.

Choose from hamburgers, hot dogs, Polish sausage and brats, grilled cheese sandwiches, gyros and salads.

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.
By Mitra Taj

PERU PRESIDENTIAL PLANE (Reuters) - Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra told Reuters on Friday that China could partner with Bolivia and Peru on a massive intercontinental railway project that Peru once dismissed as too costly when pitched by China nearly three years ago.

In an interview on the presidential plane, Vizcarra said studies on the project had continued and that China might be a natural fit because it would be one of the biggest buyers of commodities the railway could deliver from Bolivia and other South American countries to a port on Peru's southern Pacific coast.

"Between the two of us (Peru and Bolivia) we need a third partner to help turn it into reality," Vizcarra said. Asked if China might still be that partner, he said, "Yes, of course, because we need a partner that benefits from the project ... Is it the only one? No."

China previously estimated the railway project would cost some $60 billion.

Last month, Peru signed onto China's global Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, despite U.S. warnings to Latin America against tightening ties with Beijing.

China overtook the United States as Peru's largest trade partner years ago, thanks largely to its imports of copper and other minerals from the South American country.

But Peruvian copper production has been partly impacted by community resistance to large projects. Vizcarra said there was not yet enough support from surrounding communities for Southern Copper Corp's long-delayed $1.4 billion Tia Maria project to start construction.

The project, a 120,000-tonnes-per-year proposed copper mine derailed by deadly protests in 2011 and again in 2015, could face at least another year of delays if the government does not issue a construction license for it before its approval for an environmental permit expires in August.

(Reporting by Mitra Taj, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
Photo: Pizza Napolita/Yelp

A new Italian spot, offering pizza and salads, has debuted in the neighborhood. Called Pizza Napolita, the fresh arrival is located at 541 S. Spring St., Suite 112 in Downtown.

This pizza joint uses Italian flour in its pizza dough to bring out the freshest flavors, according to its website. Pizzas include the Quattro Formaggio with fresh mozzarella, smoked mozzarella, gorgonzola and fontina; the Bianca Prosciutto with prosciutto, arugula, garlic, oregano, fresh mozzarella and parmesan; and the Capricciosa with artichoke, mushroom, ham, olives, fresh mozzarella and tomato sauce. Sides include calamari, brussels sprouts, shishito peppers and fried artichoke.

With a four-star rating out of 15 reviews on Yelp so far, the fresh addition has made a promising start.

J R., who was among the first Yelpers to review the new spot on April 30, wrote, "If you're interested in delicious Neapolitan style pizza and some tasty appetizers then this is the place to visit. The Marinara pizza (dairy-free) had a great balance of ingredients to crust"

Yelper Justin G. added, "What a wonderful addition to the downtown scene and Spring Street Arcade. Pizzas are made to order in a 900-degree gas oven and were delicious, with thin crusts and delicious toppings in Napoli/New York style. They have an awesome selection of beers and four different kombuchas on tap, as well as wine and mimosas."

Head on over to check it out: Pizza Napolita is open from 11:30 a.m.9 p.m. daily.

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.
Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis on Saturday urged journalists to desist from publishing fake news, saying it could cause harm, and instead "take time to understand" issues before reporting on them.

Receiving foreign journalists in the Vatican, the pontiff also urged journalists to remain "humble" saying humility "prevents the rotten flow of disinformation and offers the good bread of truth."

Pope Francis said humility was of great importance as it implies consciousness "that through an article, a tweet, a live broadcast either televised or on radio can do good, but also if one is not attentive and scrupulous, harm."

He also said journalists must be very careful of their choice of words in an era of "hostile language" proliferating everywhere, especially on social media.

"Everyone knows how the search for truth is difficult and demands humility," he said.

He also asked the press to speak of "wars forgotten by society.

"Who still talks of the Rohingyas?" he said. "Who still speaks of the Yazidis? They are forgotten and they continue to suffer."

About 740,000 Muslim minority Rohingya have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since a brutal military crackdown began in August 2017.

Thousands of refugees attempt to flee the Bangladeshi camps each year in pursuit of better opportunities in countries such as Malaysia and Thailand.

They frequently spend their life savings to embark on dangerous boat journeys they believe will improve their lives, but many fall prey to international human trafficking gangs.

The Yazidi community once numbered around 500,000 members in the mountainous Sinjar region of northwest Iraq, but it was ravaged by the Islamic State's 2014 sweep into the area.

Jihadists killed Yazidi men, forced boys to join their ranks as fighters and abducted and imprisoned thousands of Yazidi women as sex slaves.
(Corrects typo in paragraph 10)

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY, May 18 (Reuters) - Pope Francis paid tribute on Saturday to journalists killed while doing their jobs, saying media freedom is a key indicator of a country's health.

In an address to the Foreign Press Association in Italy, he urged journalists to shun fake news and continue reporting on the plight of people who no longer make headlines but are still suffering, specifically mentioning the Rohingya and Yazidi.

"I listened in pain to the statistics about your colleagues killed while carrying out their work with courage and dedication in so many countries to report on what is happening in wars and other dramatic situations in which so many of our brothers and sisters in the world live," he said.

Francis had just heard the association's president, Patricia Thomas of Associated Press Television, talk about journalists killed, imprisoned, wounded or threatened in their line of work.

She mentioned Lyra Mckee, who was shot dead while covering a riot in Northern Ireland, Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who died in a car bomb in 2017, and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year.

"Freedom of the press and of expression is an important indicator of the state of a country's health," the pope said. "Let's not forget that one of the first things dictatorships do is remove freedom of the press or mask it, not leaving it free."

Francis did not mention any countries in his address to about 400 members of the foreign media and their families.

"We need journalists who are on the side of victims, on the side of those who are persecuted, on the side of who is excluded, cast aside, discriminated against," he said.

Francis urged the media to not lose interest in tragedies even when they no longer make headlines.

"Who is talking about the Rohingya today? Who is talking about the Yazidi today? They have been forgotten and they continue to suffer," he said.

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Nearly one million Rohingya Muslims from mostly Buddhist Myanmar have fled to Bangladesh, most following a Myanmar military-led crackdown in 2017 that U.N. investigators have said was conducted with "genocidal intent." Myanmar has denied almost all allegations of atrocities.

Two Reuters journalists jailed in Myanmar after they were convicted of breaking the Official Secrets Act walked free from prison earlier this month after more than 500 days behind bars.

Reuters has said the two men did not commit any crime and had called for their release. They were released under a presidential amnesty for 6,520 prisoners.

Islamic State militants in Iraq shot, beheaded, burned alive or kidnapped more than 9,000 members of the minority Yazidi religion, in what the United Nations has called a genocidal campaign against them. (Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian)
A 2016 Caucus in Nevada, one of just two states with fixed plans to hold them in 2020. Photo: David Calvert/Getty Images

As shorthand many political observers refer to the presidential nominating process as the primaries, even though a significant number of states (most famously Iowa) have traditionally held mass-participation events called caucuses instead. But among Democrats, at least, talking about the primaries will be more accurate than ever in 2020 thanks to DNC rules changes that are leading many states  ten at the moment  to switch from caucuses to primaries. Geoffrey Skelley explains:

DNC delegate-selection rules now say that state parties should try to use government-run primaries if they are available. And if a state party doesnt have that option, party-run events (including caucuses) are required to allow absentee or early voting and same-day voter registration, plus implement procedures for recounts. For a state such as Washington, which was by far the largest caucus state by population in 2016, it was much easier to meet these rule changes by using Washingtons government-run primary than by adapting its caucuses.

Broadening caucus participation is a reform thats been in the air for a while, but it was pushed across the line by widespread complaints from Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign, particularly after the Iowa caucuses produced a razor-thin win for Hillary Clinton with no tabulation of raw presidential preference votes and no recount. Ironically, Sanders went on to win all of the caucuses in the ten states that are now switching to primaries, and he lost in both of the states that will still have them, Iowa and Nevada. These are states with deep caucus traditions (particularly in Iowa, where abandoning the caucuses is as unthinkable as disbanding the State Fair) who have gone to the trouble and expense of complying with the new rules.

Two other states that held caucuses in 2016 (Maine and Wyoming) havent decided on their plans. Most of the former caucus states are indeed shifting to government-sponsored primaries that are just like (or in some cases actually are part of) the nominating contests for Congress and state elected offices. Four states will hold party-sponsored primaries that tend to involve far fewer polling places and more restricted hours to hold down costs.

Its unclear who if anyone the new primary-heavy schedule might help or hurt. Again, Bernie Sanders did well in most 2016 caucuses, but he has enough money and national support to compete under any format. In the past caucuses have most aided candidates who took advantage of them when rivals didnt. Most notably, in 2008 Barack Obama swept caucus states that Hillary Clintons campaign unaccountably ignored, giving him, by most accounts, his ultimate margin of victory in total delegates.

The trend towards primaries probably will boost turnout, as Skelley notes:

One possible outcome of these changes is that we will likely see higher levels of voter participation because turnout tends to be higher in primaries than in caucuses. Caitlin Jewitt, a political scientist at Virginia Tech who has researched the effects of election rules on turnout in primaries and caucuses, told FiveThirtyEight that she believes moving to a primary system could help turnout increase 17-18 percent.

The difference between having many hours [to vote] and having to show up on a Tuesday night [to caucus] is huge, she said, and that increased flexibility helps draw in more voters.

You should remember that when pundits begin attributing higher turnout to Democratic voter enthusiasm, and predict good things for the Donkey Party in November. That may or may not be an accurate prophecy, but making it easier for people to participate in elections really does make a difference.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The United States and China have been trading punches over trade for months. And the slugfest has only intensified this month.

Claiming that the Chinese had reneged on earlier commitments in trade negotiations, the United States on May 10 more than doubled tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods. Beijing lashed back by raising tariffs on $60 billion worth of American imports.

And on Monday the United States spelled out plans to impose 25% tariffs on the $300 billion or so of Chinese stuff it hasn't already targeted  items ranging from sneakers to door chimes.

The events have cast doubt on the conventional wisdom, dominant just two weeks ago, that the world's two biggest economies were edging toward a compromise on trade.

Here's a look at what's happening:

____

WHAT ARE THE U.S. AND CHINA FIGHTING ABOUT?

The United States accuses China of resorting to predatory tactics in a drive to give Chinese companies an edge in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics and electric vehicles. These tactics, the U.S. contends, include hacking into U.S. companies' computers to steal trade secrets, forcing foreign companies to hand over sensitive technology in exchange for access to Chinese markets and unfairly subsidizing Chinese tech firms.

President Donald Trump has also complained repeatedly about America's huge trade deficit with China  a record $379 billion last year  which he blames on weak and naive negotiating by previous U.S. administrations.

Last July, Trump began gradually slapping tariffs on Chinese imports. After Friday's tariff increase, the United States now is imposing 25% taxes on $250 billion in Chinese goods. Beijing has counterpunched by targeting $110 billion worth of American imports, focusing on farm products such as soybeans in a deliberate effort to inflict pain on Trump supporters in the U.S. heartland.

Until the blowup of the past week, the two countries appeared to be making progress. China was expected to beef up protection for trade secrets and offer foreign companies wider access to the Chinese market.

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But stumbling blocks remained, even before the U.S. raised tariffs last week.

U.S. officials are insisting that any deal be strictly enforced so that China lives up to its promises, something they say Beijing has repeatedly failed to do in the past. Also unclear is what would happen to the U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. China wants them lifted. The U.S. wants to keep tariffs as leverage to pressure the Chinese to comply with any agreement.

___

WHAT ARE THE PROSPECTS FOR A RESOLUTION?

Cloudier than they were. Both countries still have an incentive to reach a deal. China's economy is decelerating. The International Monetary Fund expects Chinese economic growth to slip from 6.6% last year to 6.3% in 2019 and 6.1% in 2020. The trade war with the United States has hurt Chinese exporters and eroded business and consumer confidence.

The trade tensions have also rattled financial markets, jeopardizing a U.S. stock market rally that Trump sees as a vote of confidence in his economic policies. And China's retaliatory tariffs are inflicting pain on American farmers, a key part of Trump's political base.

Still, business groups and congressional Democrats are insisting that Trump, having taken U.S.-China relations to the brink, hold out for a deal that requires the Chinese to genuinely change their behavior, reform their economy and open up to foreign companies.

Chinese President Xi Jinping runs a one-party state and doesn't have to answer directly to voters. But he, too, faces pressure not to cave in to American demands.

The two countries are expected to resume talks that broke off Friday but haven't scheduled anything yet. Trump has said that he expects to meet Xi in late June at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan

The two countries have given themselves some breathing room to negotiate. The higher Chinese tariffs don't kick in until June 1. And the U.S. tariff increases don't apply to Chinese goods shipped before Friday. Shipments take about three weeks to cross the Pacific Ocean by sea, giving negotiators more time to reach a settlement before importers may have to pay the increased charges.

___

IS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MAKING ANY PROGRESS ON ITS TRADE INITIATIVES?

Well, yes. On Friday, prospects improved for the North American trade pact the Trump administration negotiated with Canada and Mexico. The United States agreed to lift import taxes on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum.

The regional trade agreement  the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA  needs to be ratified by lawmakers in all three countries. The metals tariffs were an irritant, not just in Canada and Mexico but in the U.S., where key members of Congress complained that they were raising costs for U.S. manufacturers that use the metals. By lifting the tariffs, Trump gave the USMCA a better chance in Congress.

Also Friday, the U.S. decided to wait six months before deciding whether to slap tariffs on imported cars, a move that would have hurt Japan and Europe.

Trump and U.S. Commerce Department have deemed auto imports a threat to U.S. national security. The president has suggested he will go ahead with the tariffs later if U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer can't wrangle concessions from Japan and the European Union on auto trade.

__

Follow Paul Wiseman on Twitter at https://twitter.com/PaulWisemanAP
Photos: Petfinder

Start your day off right by looking at some charming rabbits. There are dozens of rabbits up for adoption right here in Baltimore.

Hoodline partnered with Petfinder, an online adoption site that lists more than 315,000 adoptable pets from nearly 14,000 animal shelters and rescue groups" to bring you this roundup of rabbits near you.

(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.)

Leila, dwarf rabbit

Leila is a female dwarf rabbit rabbit staying at House Rabbit Society MD/DC/NoVA. She has already been spayed. Read more about how to adopt Leila on Petfinder.

Silka, bunny rabbit

Silka is a sweet female bunny rabbit rabbit currently housed at House Rabbit Society MD/DC/NoVA. Silka is already spayed. Read more about Silka on Petfinder.

Crystal, mini lop rabbit

Crystal is a sweet female mini lop rabbit rabbit currently residing at House Rabbit Society MD/DC/NoVA. She's already been spayed. Here's what Crystal's friends at House Rabbit Society MD/DC/NoVA think of her: Read more about Crystal on Petfinder.

Having survived the horrible conditions of the Texas hoarding situation with over 450 other rabbits, little Crystal is ready to start a new life. She is a sweet bunny who is learning to trust humans. Although very shy and skittish at first, she is coming out of her shell and showing her cute personality. She loves to run and explore her living area. Crystal is an enthusiastic eater of food pellets, veggies, hay and healthy treats. Her litter habits are pretty good too. With love, good care, and patience, Crystal would be a wonderful companion.

Sylvie, Flemish giant rabbit

Sylvie is a darling female Flemish giant rabbit rabbit staying at House Rabbit Society MD/DC/NoVA. Sylvie is a social butterfly  she'll get along great with your dogs. She's already been spayed. Sylvie's current caretakers say: Read more about Sylvie on Petfinder.

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Sylvie is a big girl with a big personality. This 12-pound beauty is an active bunny who likes to explore and rearrange her living area to her satisfaction. Although she does not like being picked up, she loves being petted and having her head, shoulders, cheeks, ears and back massaged. She will even snuggle with her foster mom on the floor. She does some adorable binkies too. She is a very smart and assertive bunny, She was initially aggressive toward the kitty in her foster home, but she now gets along with him. In her prior home, Sylvie lived with a dog and older children. Due to her size and activity level, she needs a large area for exercise.

Ursula, bunny rabbit and Jersey wooly rabbit mix

Ursula is a female bunny rabbit and Jersey is a wooly rabbit mix staying at House Rabbit Society MD/DC/NoVA. She's spayed. Here's what Ursula's friends at House Rabbit Society MD/DC/NoVA think of her: Read more about Ursula on Petfinder.

Ursula is mom to Ella  they currently live together and will need to be adopted as a pair. She is a wonderful mama who has had a rough life but still loves people. She needs a home that can groom her daily and tend to her weepy eyes. She walks with a unique back toe movement but gets around fine. The vet cant find anything wrong with her feet or back. Her current favorite pastimes are eating, sleeping, and using her babies as furniture.

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.
A rape victim who had an illegal abortion at the age of 13 has argued that Alabamas new law mandating a near total ban on abortion is an abomination which punishes the woman for being a woman.

Maralyn Mosley, an 81-year-old, had her first illegal abortion 22 years before Roe v Wade  the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion nationwide in 1973.

After being raped by a tenant at her aunts Birmingham boarding house, Ms Mosley's mother took her to a woman the community went to for clandestine terminations of pregnancy, but the 13-year-old was turned away due to her young age.

Ms Mosley was then taken through a door in an alley where she got an abortion at the back of a barbershop from a man who asked for sex before he would do the procedure.

"I had been raped, and this made me feel like I was useless, like I was violated," Ms Mosley told the Montgomery Advertiser.

She said she does not remember a lot of the abortion due to blocking out the memory because it was too painful but that she is able to recall her second illegal abortion far more clearly. The latter abortion she carried out on herself seven years later with knitting needles.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed a controversial abortion bill into law on Wednesday that is the most restrictive abortion bill in the US.

Under the law, doctors would face 10 years in prison for attempting to terminate a pregnancy and 99 years for carrying out the procedure. The strict abortion ban, which has been branded a death sentence for women, would even criminalise performing abortions in cases of rape and incest.

Ms Ivey said the new law might be unenforceable due to Roe v Wade but said the new law was passed with the aim of challenging that decision.

Ms Mosley said she was "extremely saddened" to see a piece of legislation that would not have protected her 13-year-old self.

We are going to return to the back alleys, she said. We are going to return to where women will do abortions to themselves. We will return to the coat hangers and perforated uteruses. We will return to where women will bleed to death. It will be as it was before. It's an abomination."

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She added: "Abortions cannot be made illegal again. Women, girls and children should not have to go through that. I feel my terrible experience and other women's terrible experiences can be repeated, that we will have more deaths. No one talks about the deaths that occurred from illegal abortions, but there were many."

Studies support the view illegal abortions are more dangerous than those carried out in a professional environment. The World Health Organisation estimates that each year between five per cent to 12 per cent of maternal deaths can be attributed to unsafe abortion - with the annual cost of treating major complications from unsafe abortion estimated at $553m (435m).

"I dont think that, if I had tried to take care of a baby at the age of 13, that I would be able to achieve any of the things Ive been able to achieve," Ms Mosley said. "I think it is punishing the woman for being a woman."

At a minimum, Alabamas new law will not go into effect for at least six months and implementation could be postponed further by expected legal challenges.

While supporters of Alabamas decision say they expect the law to be blocked in court, they hope that the appeals process will bring it before the Supreme Court. Alarm bells have been raised that Roe v Wade could be overturned or radically undermined with new conservative justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh - both Trump appointees.

Alabama state lawmakers compare abortions in America to the Holocaust and other modern genocides in the legislation  spurring Jewish activists and abortion rights groups to rebuke the bill as deeply offensive".

Alabamas new bill comes as politicians in several other states propose legislation to restrict abortion such as Georgias recent heartbeat bill. Some 16 other states are trying to impose new restrictions on abortion.

Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio and Georgia have approved bans on abortion once a foetal heartbeat is detected, which can occur in about the sixth week of pregnancy. At six weeks, many women do not yet know they are pregnant.
296 E. Beck St. | Photos: Zumper

Curious just how far your dollar goes in Columbus?

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 Columbus with a budget of $1,600/month.

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.

296 E. Beck St. (German Village Commission)

Listed at $1,600/month, this 1,000-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment is located at 296 E. Beck St.

In the unit, which comes furnished, there are high ceilings and a fireplace. The building features assigned parking and outdoor space; for those with furry friends in tow, know that cats and dogs are welcome on this property. There's no leasing fee required for this rental.

Per Walk Score ratings, the surrounding area is friendly for those on foot, is relatively bikeable and has good transit options.

(Take a look at the complete listing here.)

694 Kerr St. (Italian Village)

Next, there's this one-bedroom, one-bathroom over at 694 Kerr St. It's also listed for $1,600/month.

In the apartment, there are granite countertops, hardwood flooring and air conditioning. When it comes to building amenities, expect on-site laundry and storage space. Pet lovers are in luck: cats and dogs are permitted. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

According to Walk Score's assessment, the area around this address is quite walkable, is quite bikeable and has good transit options.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

892 Dennison Ave. (Victorian Village)

Here's a 1,318-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom at 892 Dennison Ave. that's going for $1,600/month.

In the apartment, you'll get stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and hardwood flooring.The building offers garage parking. If you've got a pet, you'll be happy to learn that cats and dogs are permitted. There's no leasing fee required for this rental.

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According to Walk Score's assessment, this location is very walkable, is very bikeable and offers many nearby public transportation options.

(See the full listing here.)

37 Buttles Ave. (Victorian Village)

Next, check out this 738-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo that's located at 37 Buttles Ave. It's listed for $1,595/month.

Inside, you'll find a balcony, a walk-in closet and granite countertops. The building features a fitness center. Cats and dogs are not allowed. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee.

According to Walk Score, the surrounding area is a "walker's paradise," is a "biker's paradise" and has good transit options.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

789 Dennison Ave. (Victorian Village)

Listed at $1,570/month, this 775-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom is located at 789 Dennison Ave.

In the unit, you'll get stainless steel appliances, in-unit laundry and quartz countertops. Amenities offered in the building include storage, a roof deck and secured entry. Pet lovers are in luck: cats and dogs are welcome. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee.

According to Walk Score, the surrounding area is very walkable, is very bikeable and offers many nearby public transportation options.

(Check out 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.
718 E. Georgia St. | Photos: Padmapper

Curious just how far your dollar goes in Indianapolis?

We've rounded up the latest rental offerings via rental site Zumper to get a sense of what to expect when it comes to locating a rental in Indianapolis if you're on a budget of $1,000/month.

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.

115 S. Pennsylvania St. (Downtown)

Listed at $1,000/month, this 788-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom is located at 115 S. Pennsylvania St.

In the unit, you can anticipate air conditioning, hardwood floors and a dishwasher. The building boasts on-site laundry, a fitness center and secured entry. For those with furry friends in tow, know that cats and dogs are allowed on this property.

According to Walk Score's assessment, this location is quite walkable, is easy to get around on a bicycle and offers many nearby public transportation options.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

1704 N. College Ave. (Near Northside)



Next, check out this one-bedroom, one-bathroom that's located at 1704 N. College Ave. It's listed for $999/month.

In the unit, you'll find in-unit laundry and hardwood floors. The building boasts assigned parking. Cats and dogs are not permitted. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental.

Walk Score indicates that the area around this address is friendly for those on foot, is very bikeable and has a few nearby public transportation options.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

718 E. Georgia St. (Downtown)

Located at 718 E. Georgia St., here's a 736-square-foot studio that's listed for $975/month.

In the unit, you can anticipate hardwood floors, in-unit laundry and a balcony. Building amenities include a swimming pool, a fitness center and garage parking. Pet owners: your furry friends are welcome on this property.

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According to Walk Score's assessment, the surrounding area is somewhat walkable, is quite bikeable and offers many nearby public transportation options.

(See the complete listing here.)

7745 Solana Drive (North Central)

Next, there's this one-bedroom, one-bathroom located at 7745 Solana Drive. It's listed for $961/month for its 671 square feet of space.

In the unit, there are hardwood floors, a dishwasher and in-unit laundry. Pet lovers are in luck: cats and dogs are welcome. Amenities offered in the building include a swimming pool, a fitness center and garage parking. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

According to Walk Score's assessment, the area around this address requires a car for most errands, has minimal bike infrastructure and doesn't offer many public transit options.

(See the complete listing here.)

5702 Castle Hill Drive (Castleton)



Finally, check out this 732-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom that's located at 5702 Castle Hill Drive. It's listed for $950/month.

In the unit, you'll get a mix of hardwood and carpeted floors, a dishwasher and in-unit laundry. Building amenities include a swimming pool, a fitness center and garage parking. Pet owners, rejoice: cats and dogs are permitted.

According to Walk Score's assessment, the area around this address isn't very walkable, is relatively bikeable and has a few nearby public transportation options.

(Take a look 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.
931 Chartres St. | Photos: Zumper

According to rental site Zumper, median rents for a one-bedroom in New Orleans are hovering around $1,084. But how does the low-end pricing on a New Orleans rental look these days  and what might you get for your money?

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.

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.

4518 St. Claude Ave.

Listed at $550/month, this 358-square-foot studio, located at 4518 St. Claude Ave. in Bywater, is 54.2% less than the median rent for a studio in New Orleans, which is currently estimated at around $1,200/month.

Building amenities include on-site laundry, assigned parking and outdoor space. In the unit, anticipate tile floors and ceiling fans. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee. Pet owners take note: cats and dogs are not allowed.

According to Walk Score, the area around this address is friendly for those on foot and is very bikeable.

(See the complete listing here.)

10151 Curran Blvd.

This one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment, situated at 10151 Curran Blvd., is listed for $660/month for its 650 square feet of space.

In the unit, you're promised a dishwasher, a walk-in closet, air conditioning and a balcony. Building amenities include on-site laundry, outdoor space, extra storage and a swimming pool. Pet owners are in luck: both cats and dogs are allowed with an additional deposit.

According to Walk Score, the surrounding area isn't very walkable and has some bike infrastructure.

(See the complete listing here.)

931 Chartres St.

Next up is this 250-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo, located at 931 Chartres St. in the French Quarter and listed for $750/month.

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The building offers outdoor space and on-site laundry. In the unit, you'll find hardwood flooring, air conditioning and a balcony. Pet owners take note: cats and dogs are not welcome. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

Walk Score indicates that the surrounding area is a "walker's paradise" and is great for biking.

(Here's the listing.)

722 Louisa St., #24

This one-bedroom, one-bathroom, situated at 722 Louisa St., #24 in Bywater, is listed for $850/month for its 450 square feet of space.

When it comes to building amenities, expect assigned parking. In the unit, you'll get central heating and air conditioning, stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental. Pets owners take note: cats and dogs are not allowed.

According to Walk Score's assessment, the surrounding area is quite walkable and is convenient for biking.

(See the 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.
2501 Ohio Drive. | Photos: Zumper

Curious just how far your dollar goes in Plano?

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 a rental in Plano if you don't want to spend more than $1,000/month on rent.

Read on for the listings. (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.

2501 Ohio Drive

Listed at $969/month, this 744-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom is located at 2501 Ohio Drive.

In the unit, expect to find a dishwasher, balcony and in-unit laundry. The building features a swimming pool, fitness center and garage parking. When it comes to pets, both meows and barks are permitted. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental.

According to Walk Score, the area around this address is moderately suitable for walking, offers some bike infrastructure and has some transit options.

(Take a look at the complete listing here.)

8412 Memorial Lane

Next, there's this one-bedroom, one-bathroom situated at 8412 Memorial Lane. It's listed for $999/month.

In the unit, expect air conditioning, dishwasher and in-unit laundry. The building features a swimming pool and assigned parking. When it comes to pets, both meows and barks are permitted. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

Walk Score indicates that this location is moderately suitable for walking and biking, and offers minimal transit options.

(See the complete listing here.)

930 E. 15th St.

Next, check out this 554-square-foot studio that's located at 930 E. 15th St. It's listed for $990/month.

In the unit, you'll find hardwood floors, high ceilings and a walk-in closet. The building features a swimming pool, fitness center and storage space. Both cats and dogs are allowed.

(Take a look at the complete listing here.)

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8205 Towne Main Drive

Located at 8205 Towne Main Drive, here's a 609-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom that's listed for $986/month.

In the unit, you can expect hardwood floors, high ceilings and a walk-in closet. The building features swimming pool, fitness center and outdoor space. For those with furry friends in tow, know that cats and dogs are permitted on this property. There's no leasing fee required for this rental.

Walk Score indicates that the area around this address is moderately suitable for walking, offers some bike infrastructure and doesn't have many public transit options.

(See the complete listing here.)

380 Vistacourt Drive

Here's a 612-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom at 380 Vistacourt Drive that's going for $974/month.

The building offers a swimming pool and garage parking. In the unit, expect air conditioning, a dishwasher and a balcony. For those with furry friends in tow, know that cats and dogs are permitted on this property. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Check out 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.
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP)  Syrian state media is reporting that "foreign bodies" have entered Syrian air space from Israel in the country's south.

The late Saturday report on state news agency SANA comes a day after a similar incident that caused loud explosions in Damascus

SANA said Syrian defenses were activated and dealt with the incoming "foreign bodies." The use of the term indicates they may be unmanned drones.

SANA said "the foreign bodies" were coming from the southern region of Quneitra on the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, also like the report Friday.

Israel does not usually comment on reports concerning its strikes in neighboring Syria, though it has recently acknowledged striking Iranian targets there.
Its off to court for the Treasury Secretary. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In a thunderously unsurprising development reflecting his bosss announced determination to reject all congressional subpoenas, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House Ways and Means Committee to turn over the presidents tax returns, as The Week reports:

Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-Mass.) subpoenaed Mnuchin for Trumps tax returns last week and gave him a 5 p.m. Friday deadline to hand them over. Just minutes before that deadline hit, Mnuchin sent a letter to Neal saying his unprecedented demand lacks legitimate legislative purpose, and so he wouldnt be fulfilling it. The next step for Democrats in getting the returns is a lawsuit, Tax Policy Center expert Steve Rosenthal tells The Washington Post.

Despite the delays in making this announcement, and the description of the request as unprecedented, its pretty clear Mnuchin wouldnt have complied even if the subpoena had arrived with an endorsement from the Founding Fathers. Not if he wanted to keep his job. So yes, its off to court for the administration and Congress on yet another dispute involving the administrations efforts to stonewall the co-equal Legislative Branch, as the New York Times explains:

At a Senate hearing this week, Mr. Mnuchin said that House Democrats were trying to weaponize the I.R.S. He said that he had not yet decided how he would respond to the subpoena, but that you can guess which way we are leaning. He said that the judiciary, as the third branch of government, would most likely need to settle the dispute between Congress and the executive branch, signaling the potential for a protracted court fight.

The idea, of course, is that by the time the litigation has reached a crescendo, Trump will either be into a second term in office, still immune from federal prosecution, or back in Mar-a-Lago counting his money and lawyering up.

The Times also reports that Neal has annoyed some of his colleagues by ruling out a contempt citation or any other consequences for Mnuchins defiance other than the admonition that well see you in court:

I dont see what good it would do at this particular time, Mr. Neal told CNN, when asked about the possibility of contempt proceedings. I think if both sides have made up their minds, better to move it over to the next branch of government, the judiciary.

That did not sit well among Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee, who have consistently pushed a more aggressive approach toward getting Mr. Trumps returns. Representative Bill Pascrell Jr., Democrat of New Jersey, argued on Friday that the committee should still consider fines and other possible forms of punishment for defying the subpoena.

What this does, going to court, is absent the Congress from their own responsibilities, Mr. Pascrell said. He added, I think thats a very dangerous position for us to be in.

That reflects the internal argument among House Democrats on the whole range of presidential and administration misconduct and refusal to disclose information: Do you go to every length to hold them directly accountable, a determination that will inevitably lead to impeachment, or turn to the courts and eventually the 2020 electorate for relief from this scofflaw and his subordinates?

That question is getting harder to sidestep with each new act of Executive Branch defiance.
Jason Czora is a retired Captain from the Buffalo Fire Department. He's getting ready to take his third, very long bike ride. In his words "there is no better way to see the country, any section of it, then at ten or twelve miles an hour."
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

More U.S. mothers diagnosed with depression at childbirth

Growing numbers of new mothers are being diagnosed with depression before they leave the hospital with their newborns, according to a U.S. study that suggests screening women at childbirth could help get treatment for those who need it. From 2000 to 2015, the rate of depression diagnoses among women hospitalized for the delivery of a child rose seven-fold, from 4.1 cases per 1,000 patients to 28.7 per 1,000, the study found.

Too much screen time tied to school problems even in little kids

Kindergarteners who get more than two hours of screen time a day may be more likely to have behavior and attention problems in school than their classmates who spend less time in front of televisions, smartphones and tablets, a Canadian study suggests. Doctors urge parents of young kids to limit screen time or avoid it altogether because all of those hours watching videos or gaming have been linked to slowed development of speech and language, fine and gross motor skills, and social and behavioral skills. After all, time spent in front of screens means less time for scribbling with crayons or playing games that help kids learn how to kick a ball or take turns.

Alabama boycott builds as states retaliate against abortion law

A movement to boycott Alabama over its near-ban on abortion gained momentum Thursday as officials in Maryland and Colorado called for economic retaliation and online flyers urged people not to buy anything in, or from Alabama. A day after the southern state passed the country's most restrictive abortion law, Maryland's Democratic Comptroller Peter Franchot said he would advise his state's $52 billion pension fund to divest from Alabama, and urged other states to follow suit.

Missouri follows Alabama by passing restrictive abortion bill

Missouri lawmakers passed a bill on Friday that prohibits women from seeking an abortion after the eighth week of pregnancy, days after Alabama enacted the most restrictive abortion law in the United States. The legislation allows for an abortion after the eighth week only in the case of medical emergencies. On Wednesday, Alabama banned abortions at any time, with the same exception.

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GSK and Novartis liniment marketing misled Australian consumers: court

The Australian subsidiaries of British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline and Swiss drugmaker Novartis misled customers and broke the law by promoting identical liniments as though they could treat specific ills, an Australian court found on Friday. The court said the companies admitted marketing Voltaren Osteo Gel as a treatment for osteoarthritis-related pain when its ingredients were the same as a cheaper Voltaren product, Emulgel.

Smokers have higher risk for multiple strokes

Smokers who have a stroke are much more likely to have another one if they don't quit or at least cut back, a Chinese study suggests. Smoking has long been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and serious cardiac events like heart attacks and strokes. But the new study sheds light on how smoking influences the risk of a second stroke in patients who already had one.

Sunday is 'Hepatitis Testing Day'

Millions of people in the U.S. have chronic viral hepatitis, most without knowing it, so the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other groups have designated May as Hepatitis Awareness Month and May 19 as Hepatitis Testing Day. "Hepatitis is a silent killer. When you get infected, you often don't have severe symptoms that make you go to the doctor," said Dr. John Ward, director of the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination at the Task Force for Global Health in Decatur, Georgia.

AbbVie halts enrollment after brain cancer trial misses goal, shares fall

AbbVie Inc said on Friday it has halted enrollment of patients in all ongoing studies testing its brain cancer treatment after the drug failed to meet the main goal in a late-stage trial. The company's shares fell 1.8 percent to $78.10 before the bell.

Five more U.S. states sue OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma over opioid epidemic

Five U.S. states on Thursday filed lawsuits accusing Purdue Pharma LP of illegally marketing and selling opioids, escalating the wave of litigation over a nationwide abuse epidemic. Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, West Virginia and Wisconsin joined 39 states to file lawsuits targeting Purdue Pharma and its leaders, including former president Richard Sackler and his family.

U.S. FDA labels J&J surgical staplers' recall as severest

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned of risks of serious injury or death from surgical staplers made by Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon unit, labeling a recent recall of the device as its most serious. The recall, initiated early April by Ethicon, covers 92,496 surgical staplers and is now labeled as "Class-1" - the strictest form of recall issued by FDA, where use of faulty devices may cause serious injury or death.
Following is a summary of current odd news briefs.

Raven chicks in the Tower ward off prophecy of doom for Brexit Britain

Britain's political establishment is in chaos over Brexit and Prime Minister Theresa May's days in office are numbered but the kingdom and the Tower of London appear safe from legendary doom after the birth of four raven chicks at the famous fortress. Legend has it that should the six resident ravens ever leave the almost 1,000-year-old Tower, home to the crown jewels and now a popular tourist attraction, then the castle and the kingdom will fall.

Take or pay: Belgian ex-king faces paternity fines

A Belgian court has ordered the country's former king to pay 5,000 euros ($5,600) a day until he takes a DNA paternity test to resolve a long-running case brought by a woman who says she is his daughter. A judicial source said the 84-year-old King Albert II must pay the sum to Belgian artist Delphine Boel, 50, for every day he now fails to heed a court order made last year to provide a sample. Albert, who abdicated six years ago in favor of his son Philippe, is challenging the ruling that he submit to testing.
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Brexit legislation needs to include public vote: Labour's Starmer

The British government's Brexit Withdrawal Agreement Bill needs to include another public vote when it is presented to lawmakers again next month, the opposition Labour Party's Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said on Saturday. After failing to get parliament's approval three times for Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal, the government will now put the bill, legislation which will enact that deal, before parliament for a vote in early June.

Australia's conservative government moves into election-winning position

Australia's Liberal-led conservative government is in position to win the national election with more than half the votes counted on Saturday, media projected, though it is unclear whether it can govern with an outright majority. The results stand in stark contrast to pre-election polls, which had predicted center-left Labor would win.

Austrian far-right leader quits over video sting as coalition teeters

Austria's vice chancellor and longtime far-right leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, said on Saturday he was stepping down over "catastrophic" video footage of him that threatened to bring down the right-wing coalition government. Freedom Party (FPO) leader Strache was shown in the footage of as-yet unknown origin meeting a woman posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch in 2017, shortly before the election that brought him to power.

U.S. issues warning on airspace near Gulf as Iran tensions simmer

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued an advisory to U.S. commercial airliners flying over the waters of the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to exercise caution as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to simmer. The advisory, issued by the FAA on Thursday and circulated late on Friday, said the warning came amidst "heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the region which present an increasing inadvertent risk to U.S. civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or mis-identification."

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U.S. State Department approves possible $314 million sale of missiles to South Korea

The U.S. State Department has cleared $314 million in possible sales of air defense missiles to South Korea, the Pentagon said on Friday, as tensions re-emerge on the Korean peninsula. South Korea, a key Asian ally of the United States, asked to buy up to 94 SM-2 missiles used by ships against air threats, along with 12 guidance systems and technical assistance for a total cost of $313.9 million, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said on its website.

There will be no war as we don't want war, and no can confront Iran: Zarif

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Saturday he did not believe a war would break out in the region as Tehran did not want a conflict and no country had the "illusion it could confront Iran," the state news agency IRNA reported. Tensions have escalated in recent days, with growing concerns about a potential U.S.-Iran conflict. Earlier this week the United States pulled some diplomatic staff from its embassy in Baghdad following weekend attacks on four oil tankers in the Gulf.

Chinese state media hits out at 'fabricated' U.S. tech claims

The United States has "fabricated" accusations that China forces firms to hand over technology in exchange for market access, China's top Communist Party newspaper said on Saturday, the latest salvo in a bitter trade war. China announced this week it would retaliate against a move by Washington to raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports amid complaints Beijing had done little to resolve U.S. concerns about the theft of intellectual property and the forced transfer of technology to Chinese firms.

North Korea asks U.N. chief to address ship seizure by 'gangster' U.S.

North Korea has asked United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to deal with the "illegal" seizure of one of its cargo ships by the United States, state media said on Saturday. "This act of dispossession has clearly indicated that the United States is indeed a gangster country that does not care at all about international laws," the North Korean ambassador to the United Nations said in a letter sent to Guterres dated Friday, according to North Korea's KCNA news agency.

U.S. embassy issues Indonesia security alert ahead of election results

The U.S. embassy in Jakarta has issued a security alert ahead of election results due on Wednesday, as Indonesian authorities have arrested nearly 30 suspected militants, including some who police say are able to detonate bombs using Wi-Fi networks. The embassy advised U.S. citizens to avoid areas where large demonstrations may occur in Jakarta, and in other cities including Surabaya in East Java and Medan in North Sumatra, in a statement that was dated on Friday, May 17.

Argentina's Cristina Fernandez to run as vice presidential candidate in 2019 election: social media

Argentina's Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will run as a vice presidential candidate in national elections later this year, the country's divisive former leader said in a video posted on her social media account on Saturday. The left-leaning populist, who had been widely expected to be the main challenger to center-right incumbent Mauricio Macri, said that she would run for the deputy position with her former cabinet chief Alberto Fernandez as the presidential candidate.
Milan (AFP) - Italian populist leader Matteo Salvini on Saturday gathered Europe's disparate nationalists for a unifying rally overshadowed by a major corruption scandal shaking Austria's far-right coalition.

The Milan rally hoped to see leaders of 12 far-right parties marching towards their conquest of Brussels after next week's European parliamentary elections.

Headliners Salvini of the anti-immigrant League and Marine Le Pen of France's far-right National Rally (RN) want their Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group to become the third largest in Brussels.

"Stop the bureaucrats, bankers, do-gooders, migrant boats," read one pro-Salvini banner. "Italy first," read another as the speeches began.

Hundreds gathered in a Milan park for a counter-demonstration - "Welcome migrants, expel Salvini," read one banner - as the city's central Duomo square filled with League supporters massed under a light rain to listen to leaders' speeches.

But explosive graft allegations against the leader of Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) and Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache meant the party's top candidate in next week's elections pulled out of the Milan rally.

German media published hidden camera footage filmed two years ago in Ibiza appearing to show Strache promising a fake Russian backer public contracts in return for positive coverage in Austrian media.

Strache resigned and the FPOe's coalition with Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's centre-right People's Party (OeVP) collapsed after Kurz on Saturday announced new elections.

"There are no extremists, no racists, no fascists in this square," Salvini told the crowd, brandishing rosary beads, hailing Europe's "Judeo-Christian" roots and invoking the Virgin Mary.

Le Pen slammed "the dilution of nations", saying "no" to immigration she said was "submerging our countries, endangering our people's security."

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"Basta Islam," repeated the Netherlands' Geert Wilders. "The political elites in Brussels no longer deserve our trust."

But besides thundering against Brussels and immigration, no mention was made of new policies.

"Europe needs more Salvinis," said Wilders, who heads the Party for Freedom.

- Relations with Moscow -

Despite their shared dislike of immigration, multiculturalism, the left and the EU, Europe's populists remain divided on many other key issues, including budgetary discipline, migrant distribution and relations with Moscow, as highlighted by the Austrian scandal.

French lawmakers recently called for a probe into links between the RN and US President Donald Trump's former strategist Steve Bannon after he discussed paying back a Russian loan to Le Pen's party in a documentary.

Most of Europe's rightwing nationalists are currently divided into three blocs and a tangled web of alliances in the European Parliament -- an institution Salvini and Le Pen would like to overhaul if not destroy.

The ENF includes Austria's Freedom Party, Belgium's Vlaams Belang and Wilders' Party for Freedom.

Notably absent from the rally was Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party and Poland's governing PiS (Law and Justice party).

Orban has voiced admiration for Salvini and promised "cooperation" after the vote, but refuses any alliance with Le Pen.

He has his own problems after allegations from a rights group Saturday that his election landslide last year was marred by vote-rigging and fraud.

Smaller parties such as Bulgaria's Volya or Slovakia's Sme Rodina, which is set to win a single MEP seat, joined the Milan rally.

- 'Life or death' -

While Salvini and Le Pen have close ties to Russia and President Vladimir Putin, eastern European far-right parties are wary of Moscow's ambitions.

Critics say that an enduring alliance between the League and the Alternative for Germany (AfD), also due in Milan, would be impossible.

"Salvini for instance wants a European redistribution of refugees, (AfD lead candidate Joerg) Meuthen doesn't want a single refugee," leading German Green Party member Sven Giegold told Italy's AGI news agency.

"What's more, Meuthen doesn't want to give a single cent to southern Europe," he added.

Salvini hopes the future right-wing bloc will be able to implement laxer EU budget rules, which would be a boon for Italy's struggling economy.

Salvini's coalition relationship with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement of fellow Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio is increasingly fraught since they formed a government last June.

Recent opinion polls suggest that the League will go from six MEPs to 26, Le Pen's RN from 15 to 20 and German's AfD from one to 11.

burs-cjo/pma
Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi Arabia has called for urgent meetings of the regional Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League to discuss escalating tensions in the Gulf, the Saudi official news agency said on Saturday.

The Saudi Press Agency said King Salman had invited Gulf leaders and Arab states to two emergency summits in Mecca on May 30 to discuss recent "aggressions and their consequences" in the region.

Tensions have soared in the Gulf with the US deploying an aircraft carrier and bombers to the region over alleged threats from Iran.

Four ships including two Saudi oil tankers were damaged in mysterious sabotage attacks Sunday off Fujairah, an emirate located at the crucial entrance to the Gulf.

That incident was followed by drone strikes Tuesday by Yemen's Huthi rebels on a major Saudi oil pipeline, which provided an alternative export route if the Strait of Hormuz closed.

Iran has repeatedly threatened to prevent shipping in Hormuz in case of a military confrontation with the United States, which has imposed sanctions on Tehran in recent months

Despite international scepticism, the US government has been pointing to increasing threats from Iran, a long-time enemy and also a rival of US allies Israel and Saudi Arabia.
JEDDAH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabias King Salman invited Gulf and Arab leaders to convene emergency summits to discuss the implications of this weeks attacks against the kingdom and neighboring United Arab Emirates, the foreign ministry said on Saturday. The meetings are set for May 30 in Mecca, the ministry said on Twitter. Four commercial ships were sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, and two days later drones attacked oil installations west of the Saudi capital Riyadh. (Reportong by Stephen Kalin; editing by Diane Craft)
The Noida Police on Friday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Amazon for allegedly hurting "Hindu sentiments" after products like rugs and toilet seat covers were available for sale with pictures of Hindu gods on its US website.

The complaint was registered under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code which entails -- promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.

Vikas Mishra has filed the complaint against Amazon at the Sector 58 police station for allegedly promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion.

"The foreign-based company regularly puts up products on its website which hurts the sentiments of Hindus. This may lead to communal tension in our country anytime. Hence, it's a request to take strict action against the company so that such incidents are not repeated and Hindus can live with their pride and dignity peacefully," Mishra said.

Piyush Kumar Singh, the Circle Officer, Noida 2nd, said the FIR has been registered against the e-commerce giant and that the matter was being probed.

Meanwhile, an Amazon spokesperson has clarified, "all sellers must follow the company's selling guidelines and those who do not comply will be subject to action, including potential removal of their account." The spokesperson added that such products in question are being removed from our store.

Several social media users had also initiated an online campaign to "boycott Amazon" on Thursday over the issue.

Several complaints were received by the External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj in 2017 about the e-commerce giant selling flip-flops with Mahatma Gandhi's image. There were also reports of Amazon Canada selling doormats on its platform depicting the Indian flag.

Also Read: Sebi refuses to lift market ban on Allied Financial, 7 entities for various violations

Also Read: Fortis Healthcare International to sell stake in MSCL
By Ali Abdelaty

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, May 19 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's crown prince discussed regional developments, including efforts to strengthen security and stability, in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the Saudi Media Ministry tweeted on Sunday.

The announcement came hours after the Saudi king invited Gulf and Arab leaders to convene emergency summits to discuss the implications of this week's attacks against oil installations in the kingdom and commercial ships off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

(Reporting by Ali Abdelaty, writing by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Blantyre (Malawi) (AFP) - Malawian President Peter Mutharika made a final plea to voters on Saturday, promising to develop the country "beyond recognition" if he wins next week's election.

Mutharika, who came to power in 2014, could face a tough battle to hold onto office in Tuesday's election, after his presidency was damaged by corruption allegations.

"We have set Malawi on the path of progress. The opposition have nothing to criticise me on," he told several thousand cheering supporters in Blantyre at his final campaign rally.

"My priorities for this country are development and building skills. When you give me a chance for another five years, I will develop this country beyond recognition.

"I can assure you that we will get to the level of Singapore and Malaysia."

Mutharika, who said he was taking only 40 percent of his salary to help the economy, pledged to construct more schools and factories in Malawi -- a largely agricultural country that is one of the poorest in the world.

"We will continue to build the economy so that we eradicate poverty," he said.

Mutharika also pledged to provide secure accommodation for albino people, who have been killed or mutilated for their body parts in the belief that they contain magical powers.

In a surge of attacks, 163 cases have been reported since November 2014, including 22 murders, Amnesty International said this month.

Mutharika, 78, who has denied rumours of ill health, was greeted by supporters chanting "We all knew our father was alive!"

"He should win again so that we continue living in peace and he should continue with his mission," said businesswoman Flora Malewa, 25, at the rally.

- Uncertain outcome -

The main rivals to Mutharika and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera of the long-established Malawi Congress Party (MCP), and Saulos Chilima of the new United Transformation Movement (UTM).

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"Our message has been so well received, it is electric everywhere," Chakwera told his final rally near Lilongwe.

"We can unite this country that has been paralysed and we can all prosper together -- but we must end corruption and we must follow the rule of law.

"Nothing less than victory -- we are winning, nobody is going to mess with this vote."

Chakwera has made an alliance with former president Joyce Banda, who fled the country for four years after losing the 2014 election amid graft allegations that have never led to charges.

Fellow opposition candidate Chilima is an unknown factor in the election after serving as Mutharika's vice president despite falling out with him and leaving the ruling party to set up the UTM last year.

The party has targeted the massive youth vote and Chilima, 46, told his final rally: "Most of our economic sector is in the hands of a few -- this is what led to the birth of the UTM.

"On Tuesday we are beginning a new journey to become a free nation."

Campaigning ended on Saturday evening ahead of the vote on Tuesday, which is for president, parliament and local councillors.

Under Malawi's "winner takes all" system, Mutharika won in 2014 election with just 36 percent of the vote. This year's winner could secure the presidency with even less.

The country gained independence from Britain in 1964, and was then ruled by Hastings Banda as a one-party state until the first multi-party elections in 1994.
Photo: Flour + Water/Yelp

In this edition, Flour + Water readies an expansion, Union Square gets a new hotspot for omakase sushi and Hayes Valley is about to debut a new slice joint.

Openings

Mission

Flour + Water Pizzeria (702 Valencia St.)

A decade after it first opened its original location at 2401 Harrison St., pizza and pasta spot Flour + Water is ready to open its second location, also in the Mission.

Unlike the original location, this outpost will focus solely on pizza, accompanied by salads, marinated vegetables, beer and wine. Expect to see five red and five white pies on the menu, with soft-serve ice cream for dessert.

Pizza has been part of my life for as long as I can remember," said chef Thomas McNaughton in a statement. Flour + Water's makeover of the former Farina Pizzeria space will keep its existing floor-to-ceiling windows, adding green Heath Ceramics tiles and a wooden bar, tables and chairs.

To drink, the pizzeria will offer four beers on tap, and eight wines available by the glass or bottle. A to-go counter will serve a rotating daily "big slice," as well as soft serve in a cup or cone. Flavor options will be classic vanilla, chocolate or swirl, with toppings like rainbow sprinkles, olive oil and sea salt, Amarena cherries and Mikes Hot Honey.

Union Square

Sushi Nagai (125 Ellis St.)

Photo: Nik T./Yelp

Veteran Hoodline tipster Al M. alerted us that Sushi Nagai, the city's newest omakase spot, is finally open. With a 15-course menu priced in the $200-250 range, it will be one of the most expensive restaurants in the city, according to a report in the Chronicle. (Those seeking a comparative bargain should drop in before June 4, as the restaurant is currently offering a $180 "promotional rate.")

According to its website, Sushi Nagai is led by chef Tomonori Nagai, who started his career as a sushi chef in Japan in the 1990s before working in New York, Hawaii and Singapore.

Nagai will import all of his fish directly from Tokyo, serving classic edomae-style nigiri with seasonal offerings like firefly squid and sea urchin.

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Updates

Hayes Valley

Gioia Pizzeria (579 Hayes St.)

Photo: Teresa Hammerl/Hoodline

First announced last September, Gioia Pizzeria's Hayes Valley outpost is now set to open in the former Two Sisters Bar & Books space early next month.

After six years on Polk Street, Will and Karen Gioia decided to downsize last October, turning over their space for an expansion of Richmond pizzeria Fiorella. High rents and staffing costs in San Francisco contributed to the decision, they said at the time.

At 900 square feet, their new location will be counter-service only, serving whole pies, pizza by the slice, chicken and meatball parm heroes, seasonal salads and daily specials. Everything will be available for take-out and delivery as well.

"We love the edgy feel of the traditional and timeless New York-style pizzeria, elevated with premium, thoughtfully curated California ingredients," Karen Gioia said in a statement.

Thanks to tipster Al M.! If you've seen something new in the neighborhood, text your tips and photos to (415) 200-3233, or email tips@hoodline.com. If we use your info in a story, we'll give you credit.
Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena Saturday granted an amnesty to 762 convicts to mark a key Buddhist anniversary, but resisted calls to release a firebrand Buddhist monk.

Addressing inmates at the main Welikada prison, Sirisena promised financial support to re-integrate them in society, but made no reference to monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara, whose release was demanded Friday by the Buddhist hierarchy.

Sri Lanka has declared two days of holidays for nation-wide celebrations of Vesak, or the commemoration of the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Buddha.

Those who benefited from the amnesty had been serving short jail terms for minor offences and none had been convicted of murder or rape, officials said.

The 762 released Saturday included several women.

"An increase in the prison population is a sign of the declining moral value of any country," Sirisena said in a nationally televised ceremony.

He said Sri Lanka's prison system was designed to accommodate 11,000 inmates but as of Saturday there were 24,332 convicts as well as remand prisoners in judicial custody.

Many Buddhist leaders had urged Sirisena to grant a special amnesty to monk Gnanasara on Vesak day.

Since December, Gnanasara has been serving concurrent jail sentences extending up to six years over his disruptive behaviour in court and intimidating a woman litigant.

He has long been accused of instigating hate crimes against minority Muslims in the Buddhist-majority country. The monk has denied involvement in anti-Muslim riots in 2014 that left four people dead.

His Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), or Buddhist Force, was not linked to the recent anti-Muslim riots that came after the April 21 suicide bombings blamed on Islamic extremists.

Gnanasara had maintained close ties with Wirathu, an extremist monk based in Myanmar, whose hate speech has stoked religious tensions in that country.

Wirathu visited Sri Lanka as a guest of Gnanasara shortly after the 2014 anti-Muslim riots at Sri Lanka coastal town of Aluthgama, and the duo vowed to fight what they called the threat to Buddhism from Islamic jihadists.
Still reeling from the Easter terror attacks, Sri Lanka commemorates this weekend 10 years since the end of a bloody civil war that killed at least 100,000 people, from which the scars are still not healed.

Security was tight in the north of the island, home to Sri Lanka's minority Tamils, ahead of solemn ceremonies on Saturday.

Sri Lanka's government and top military brass were due to hold their own commemoration in Colombo on Sunday.

On May 18, 2009 government forces brought their no-holds-barred military offensive to an end at a lagoon in the northern coastal district of Mullaittivu with the killing of Velupillai Prabhakaran, leader of the rebel Tamil Tigers.

Sri Lanka's then-president Mahinda Rajapakse declared an end to the 37-year separatist conflict -- marked by massacres, suicide bombings and assassinations -- between Tamil militants and the central government, which is dominated by the majority Sinhalese.

But for thousands of war widows and other victims on both sides, this marked the start of a new struggle: to find out the fate of their loved ones.

About 20,000 people are still missing, including 5,000 government troops.

Anandarasan Nagakanni, 61, is still searching for her son Arindavadas.

"He was last seen with the Sri Lankan army, and after that we haven't seen him," she told AFP at a tiny makeshift office in Mullaittivu, where a notice board was covered with dozens of photos of missing people.

Nagaraja Sureshamma, 65, who lost one son and is still looking for the other, recalled the horrors of the final months and how civilians scrambled to escape indiscriminate attacks and shelling.

"We were all going together, but my son happened to go on a different route... Ever since, we have not been able to find him," Sureshamma said.

"If they are not alive, then they need to tell us that at least," said Mariasuresh Easwari, an activist trying to help find the missing.

"Did you murder them? Did you bury them? Tell us."

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- Grieving banned -

Sri Lankan forces have been accused of killing about 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final months of the war, a charge successive governments have denied.

Several mass graves containing skeletal remains have been found in the past two decades, but only a handful of those buried have ever been formally identified.

Until recently, even remembering the war dead was considered subversive and annual memorial services by Tamils were trashed by government forces.

Government forces have set up memorials in the north for fallen security forces and bulldozed Tiger cemeteries, obliterating any sign of the rebels who at their zenith controlled a third of Sri Lanka.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a recent report that the new government's promised political reforms and accountability for wartime atrocities have failed to materialise.

"For many Sri Lankans living in the bitterly contested north and east, the war has never quite ended," it said.

- Islamist terror -

Although the pain for many families remains, and many in the 2.5-million-strong Tamil community still feel disadvantaged, the end of the war did open a peaceful new chapter in which Sri Lanka's economy and tourism boomed.

But this peace was shattered on April 21 when Islamist suicide bombers targeted three churches and three luxury hotels, killing 258 people -- including 45 foreigners.

The attackers were homegrown extremists -- the Islamic State group also claimed credit -- and riots since saw dozens of homes, businesses and mosques of Sri Lanka's Muslim minority vandalised. One man was killed by a mob wielding swords.

According to the ICG, the Easter attacks "compounded the general anxiety, tearing again at the social fabric, unleashing further violence and complicating the road to sustainable peace".

Evoking memories of past dark times, a state of emergency has been in place since April 21 with the return of some wartime restrictions on free movement.

Sri Lanka's army chief Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake has said his troops will ensure that this year's commemoration goes ahead peacefully.

"As much as we mourn the soldiers who were killed in the war, (minority Tamil) civilians also have a right to commemorate their war dead," he said on Thursday.
By Shihar Aneez and Omar Rajarathnam

COLOMBO, May 18 (Reuters) - Buddhist Sri Lankans marked the festival of Vesak in low key celebrations on Saturday amid heightened religious tensions in the Indian Ocean nation following the deadly Easter Sunday attacks that killed more than 250 people.

Vesak, a festival that commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Lord Buddha, is celebrated on a full moon day in May, with the festivities extending for at least a week.

But the typical colorful lanterns and brightly-lit shelters with descriptions of the life of the Buddha were largely missing, as was the tradition of giving out food to passers-by.

The festival comes a week after mob attacks on Muslim-owned homes, mosques and shops in the island nation's northwest, in which one person was killed. Authorities said the rioters included Sinhala Buddhist extremists.

The attacks on minority Muslims follow the April 21 bombings by Islamist militants which killed more than 250 people in churches and hotels in and around the capital Colombo.

The number of Buddhist worshippers at the popular Keleni Raja Maha Viharaya temple on the outskirts of Colombo seemed to have halved from last year amid stepped-up security, a Reuters witness said.

A "checked" sticker was pasted on every visitor after they and their belongings were searched outside the temple.

"We can't only depend on the military, we have to be mindful and do our best to protect ourselves," said Anette Perera, 64, who was on her way to a temple in the Colombo suburb Kaduwela.

"I still feel unsafe and will make a floral offering at the temple and return (home) as soon as I can."

Some Sri Lankans tried to preach a message of peaceful co-existence.

At the Gunawardhanaramaya temple in Colombo, Tamil Hindus and Catholics hosted an "iftar" meal for Muslims breaking their holy month of Ramzan fast in the evening. Some Muslims helped decorate Buddhist temples with flags and Vesak lanterns. (Reporting by Shihar Aneez and Omar Rajarathnam; Editing by Sudarshan Varadhan and Ros Russell)
Matt Tifft Honors Fallen Servicemember at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Posted by: newsla on May 18, 2019 - 10:22 AM Matt Tifft Honors Fallen Servicemember at Charlotte Motor Speedway



Matt Tifft's No. 36 Surface Sunscreen/Tunity TV Ford will pay tribute to Carrollton, Virginia native U.S. Army Special Forces Sgt. 1st Class Joshua "Zach" Beale this Memorial Day weekend. SFC Beale was killed on January 22, 2019 in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations. He was assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina.



SFC Beale had more than seven years of service in the Army. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Old Dominion University in 2008 and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2011. He attended Basic Training in Fort Benning, Georgia, where he graduated from the U.S. Army Airborne School. Beale graduated in 2018 from the Special Forces Qualification Course and was subsequently assigned to 3rd SFG (A).



Beale was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, and the Meritorious Service Medal. He was posthumously promoted to Sgt. 1st Class.



Tifft's No. 36 Ford will display Beale's name across the windshield for the "Coca-Cola 600" on May 26. His car will also feature a star-spangled paint scheme in honor of Memorial Day and NASCAR's "600 Miles of Remembrance" tribute, where each car entered in the race will recognize a fallen U.S. soldier.



"It's really an honor to represent SFC Beale on my car for the Coca-Cola 600," said Tifft. "Participating in this tribute makes you take a step back to not only appreciate the sacrifices that these people have made for their country, but how fortunate we are to have such brave men and women fighting for our freedom every day."



The No. 36 patriotic paint scheme will take to the track on Thursday, May 23 for practice and qualifying. The "Coca-Cola 600" Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race will air Sunday, May 26 at 6:00 p.m. on FOX.



PaddockTalk Perspective




Khartoum (AFP) - Talks between Sudan's military council and protesters are set to resume, army rulers said Saturday, as hundreds of supporters of Islamic movements rallied for the inclusion of sharia in the country's political roadmap.

The ruling military council announced that "negotiations with the Alliance for Freedom and Change" over the planned transfer of power to a new governing body would resume on Sunday.

The announcement follows pressure from key world powers for the military and the protesters' umbrella group to get back to the table, after talks on the composition of the new governing body failed to take place as planned on Wednesday.

Talks have stalled repeatedly, as the protesters have pressed the military council hard to hand over power to civilian rule since autocratic president Omar al-Bashir was deposed on April 11.

Representatives from the United States, the United Nations, African Union and European powers called for "an agreement ASAP on an interim government that is truly civilian-led and reflects the will of the Sudanese people," Tibor Nagy, the US assistant secretary of state for Africa, tweeted on Friday.

Protesters have met a key demand of military council head General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in the last couple of days, dismantling roadblocks that had paralysed parts of the capital.

The generals have allowed protesters to maintain their sit-in outside Khartoum's army headquarters, where thousands remain camped out to demand a rapid transition to democracy.

Before suspending talks this week the two sides agreed on several key issues, including a three-year transition period and the creation of a 300-member parliament, with two thirds of lawmakers to come from the protesters' umbrella group.

- 'Door of hell '-

But Sudanese Islamist movements -- fearing the incipient transition plans exclude them -- held their own demonstration Saturday outside the presidential palace in downtown Khartoum.

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Hundreds took part in the demonstration, the first organised mobilisation by Islamist groups since Bashir's ouster.

"The main reason for the mobilisation is that the alliance (the main protesters' umbrella group) is ignoring the application of sharia in its deal," said Al-Tayieb Mustafa, who heads a coalition of about 20 Islamic groups.

"This is irresponsible and if that deal is done, it is going to open the door of hell for Sudan," he told AFP ahead of the rally.

At the rally, men and women chanted slogans in support of sharia in front of the presidential palace garden, an AFP correspondent said.

"The solution lies in the religion!" chanted some as others shouted "No to Communism, No to atheism!".

"We are here to support the Islamic sharia law and say no to secular rule," said Younus Ali, dressed in a traditional Sudanese robe.

The demonstrators offered evening prayers at the venue and later broke their dawn-to-dusk Ramadan fast, before resuming their chants.

- 'Great mistake' -

Bashir came to power in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989 and Sudanese legislation has since been underpinned by Islamic law.

But activists say sharia was applied inconsistently during his rule.

Thousands of women were flogged for "indecent behaviour", women's rights activists have said.

The Alliance for Freedom and Change has so far remained silent on whether sharia has a place in Sudan's future, arguing that its main concern now is installing a civilian administration.

The main protest movement brings together a wide range of political, social and rebel groups.

The military council's deputy head Mohamed Hamadan Dagalo said on Saturday "people have been arrested" in connection with shooting protesters this week near the ongoing sit-in outside military headquarters.

Protesters have accused Dagalo's paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces -- long close to Bashir -- for the shootings, which killed five protesters and an army major.

But Dagalo did not specify whether RSF personnel had been arrested.

Some worry that the protesters' umbrella group is pushing for a secular Sudan.

"Islam is part and parcel of the identity of the majority of the people of Sudan," Sadeq al-Mahdi -- long Sudan's main opposition figurehead and an ex-premier -- told AFP in a recent interview.

He said it was a "great mistake" for some members of the opposition to "talk about secularism".

Scores of worshippers on Friday staged spontaneous demonstrations in Khartoum after weekly prayers and criticised the protest movement.

"The Alliance for Freedom and Change wants... to build what they call a new Sudan, a Sudan without religion, a secular Sudan," said hardline cleric Abdelhai Yusef in his Friday sermon, according to a video posted on his Facebook page.

"That's why we say no, a thousand times no to this deal. We want a Sudan that is for everyone."

And at Saturday's rally another hardline cleric, Mohamed Ali Jazuli, had a warning for the military council.

"If you consider handing over power to a certain faction, then we will consider it a coup", he vowed.
* Military council took over after Bashir's fall

* Talks with opposition due to resume on Sunday

* Recent violence threatened negotiations

By Nadine Awadalla

KHARTOUM, May 18 (Reuters) - The deputy leader of Sudan's military council voiced his enthusiasm for democratic elections in front of an audience of tribal leaders and senior diplomats on Saturday, while seeking to deflect blame for violence in Khartoum this week.

The clashes threatened to derail the council's talks with an alliance of protest and opposition groups pushing for a swift transition to civilian rule after the fall of former President Omar al-Bashir last month.

Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the youthful leader of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has emerged as the most prominent member of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) that ousted and arrested Bashir following months of protests.

Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, has considerable power. His RSF are deployed across Khartoum, and he is close to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which between them pledged $3 billion in aid to Sudan late last month.

On Saturday he spoke for nearly 20 minutes after breaking the Ramadan fast to an audience including the top official in the U.S. embassy and the Saudi ambassador, as well as local and international media.

"Democracy is consultation ... that's it, we want real democracy," he said, in a speech punctuated by applause and laughter. "We want a man who comes in through the ballot box ... We want free and fair elections."

Many of those present were from Sudan's western Darfur region. Human rights groups accused militias that Hemedti commanded of genocide in the war that began there in 2003, allegations Bashir's government denied.

On Monday and Wednesday, violence broke out in areas of Khartoum where security forces had been trying to clear barricades erected by protesters, including around a sit-in outside the Defence Ministry that started on April 6.

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ARRESTS

Protesters are pushing for civilian rule, and for justice over the deaths of dozens of demonstrators since December.

Some accused the RSF of shooting at demonstrations last week, and witnesses saw troops in RSF marked vehicles opening fire.

Hemedti said those responsible had been found inside Khartoum University and the sit-in.

"These people have been arrested and confessed on camera," he said, adding that they would be presented to the public later.

At least four people were killed on Monday and dozens wounded. After at least nine more people were wounded on Wednesday, the TMC said it was suspending the talks for 72 hours.

Talks are due to resume on Sunday evening. The two sides have agreed to a transition lasting three years before elections, with a legislative council on which opposition and protest groups would have two-thirds of the seats.

However, they have been split over the balance of a mixed military-civilian sovereign council that would hold ultimate power.

Bashir along with senior allies is being held in prison in Khartoum. Hemedti said officials from Bashir's regime who had fled abroad would be brought back to face justice.

"We cannot arrest the entire National Congress Party. There is no prison that would contain it with its seven million members," he added, referring to Bashir's political party. (Additional reporting by Hesham Haj Ali; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
By Nadine Awadalla KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The deputy leader of Sudan's military council voiced his enthusiasm for democratic elections in front of an audience of tribal leaders and senior diplomats on Saturday, while seeking to deflect blame for violence in Khartoum this week. The clashes threatened to derail the council's talks with an alliance of protest and opposition groups pushing for a swift transition to civilian rule after the fall of former President Omar al-Bashir last month. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the youthful leader of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has emerged as the most prominent member of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) that ousted and arrested Bashir following months of protests. Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, has considerable power. His RSF are deployed across Khartoum, and he is close to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which between them pledged $3 billion in aid to Sudan late last month. On Saturday he spoke for nearly 20 minutes after breaking the Ramadan fast to an audience including the top official in the U.S. embassy and the Saudi ambassador, as well as local and international media. "Democracy is consultation ... that's it, we want real democracy," he said, in a speech punctuated by applause and laughter. "We want a man who comes in through the ballot box ... We want free and fair elections." Many of those present were from Sudan's western Darfur region. Human rights groups accused militias that Hemedti commanded of genocide in the war that began there in 2003, allegations Bashir's government denied. On Monday and Wednesday, violence broke out in areas of Khartoum where security forces had been trying to clear barricades erected by protesters, including around a sit-in outside the Defense Ministry that started on April 6. ARRESTS Protesters are pushing for civilian rule, and for justice over the deaths of dozens of demonstrators since December. Some accused the RSF of shooting at demonstrations last week, and witnesses saw troops in RSF marked vehicles opening fire. Hemedti said those responsible had been found inside Khartoum University and the sit-in. "These people have been arrested and confessed on camera," he said, adding that they would be presented to the public later. At least four people were killed on Monday and dozens wounded. After at least nine more people were wounded on Wednesday, the TMC said it was suspending the talks for 72 hours. Talks are due to resume on Sunday evening. The two sides have agreed to a transition lasting three years before elections, with a legislative council on which opposition and protest groups would have two-thirds of the seats. However, they have been split over the balance of a mixed military-civilian sovereign council that would hold ultimate power. Bashir along with senior allies is being held in prison in Khartoum. Hemedti said officials from Bashir's regime who had fled abroad would be brought back to face justice. "We cannot arrest the entire National Congress Party. There is no prison that would contain it with its seven million members," he added, referring to Bashir's political party. (Additional reporting by Hesham Haj Ali; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP)  Sudan's ruling generals say they will resume talks with opposition leaders behind the protests that drove President Omar al-Bashir from power last month over a transfer of power to civilian rule.

The military council says Saturday a new round of talks will take place Sunday after a three-day pause, as the council called for the capital Khartoum's roads to be reopened.

Talks were expected to focus on the makeup of the sovereign council that is to guide Sudan through the transition, and the role the military would have in that council.

The negotiations were suspended Wednesday just hours after both the military council and the protesters announced they had agreed on the make-up of an interim parliament and a Cabinet for the transitional period, which is to last three years.
Longtime televangelist Pat Robertson, who opposes abortion, criticized Alabama's near-total abortion ban that on Wednesday became the nation's most restrictive and one expected to face legal challenge.

"I think Alabama has gone too far," Robertson said Wednesday on "The 700 Club" before the bill was signed into law by Alabama's Republican Gov. Kay Ivey. "It's an extreme law.

"They want to challenge Roe v. Wade, but my humble view is that this is not the case that we want to bring to the Supreme Court, because I think this will lose."

Robertson cited the law's lack of exemptions for rape or incest and its punishment up to 99 years in prison for performing an abortion in the state.

Near-total ban: Alabama governor signs near-total abortion ban into law

25 men voted to ban abortion in Alabama: Do they reflect the rest of America?

Pat Robertson is seen at a Regent University event

The law, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Terri Collins, makes performing an abortion in the state a felony punishable by 10 to 99 years or life in prison. Attempting an abortion would be a felony, with a prison sentence of one to 10 years.

The only exceptions to the ban would be a threat to the life of the mother; a mental illness where a birth might lead to a woman's death or the death of her child; or in the case of fetal anomalies where a child might be stillborn or die after birth.

Where is abortion legal? Everywhere. But ...

"I think it's ill-considered," Robertson told viewers on the Christian Broadcasting Network. The televangelist continued by criticizing the Roe v. Wade decision and emphasizing the need for strict abortion laws in the country.

"But the Alabama case, God bless them. They're trying to do something, but I don't think that's the case, and I don't want to bring it to the Supreme Court," Robertson said.

Collins and other supporters of the law said it is designed to take a challenge to Roe vs. Wade to the Supreme Court.

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Legal experts, however, say the court might not reverse the 1973 decision by taking up cases on strict laws like Alabama's  even with the addition of conservative justices added by President Donald Trump. Taking on cases with lesser restrictions to chip away at abortion rights is more likely, experts say.

Will it go to SCOTUS? Strict anti-abortion laws like Alabama's are aimed at Supreme Court, which may prove to be an obstacle

Contributing: Brian Lyman, Montgomery Advertiser, and Richard Wolf, USA TODAY

Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Televangelist Pat Robertson: Alabama abortion law 'has gone too far,' is 'ill-considered'
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 Stantec Inc.'s (TSE:STN) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. What is Stantec's P/E ratio? Well, based on the last twelve months it is 20.77. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 4.8%.

Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

View our latest analysis for Stantec

How Do You Calculate A P/E Ratio?

The formula for price to earnings is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share  Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Stantec:

P/E of 20.77 = CA$32.96  CA$1.59 (Based on the year 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. That isn't a good or a bad thing on its own, but a high P/E means that buyers have a higher opinion of the business's prospects, relative to stocks with a lower P/E.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

P/E ratios primarily reflect market expectations around earnings growth rates. If earnings are growing quickly, then the 'E' in the equation will increase faster than it would otherwise. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. So while a stock may look expensive based on past earnings, it could be cheap based on future earnings.

Stantec saw earnings per share decrease by 5.6% last year.

Does Stantec Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

The P/E ratio essentially measures market expectations of a company. The image below shows that Stantec has a P/E ratio that is roughly in line with the professional services industry average (20.8).

TSX:STN Price Estimation Relative to Market, May 18th 2019

That indicates that the market expects Stantec will perform roughly in line with other companies in its industry. So if Stantec actually outperforms its peers going forward, that should be a positive for the share price. Checking factors such as the tenure of the board and management could help you form your own view on if that will happen.

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Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits

It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.

Such expenditure might be good or bad, in the long term, but the point here is that the balance sheet is not reflected by this ratio.

How Does Stantec's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?

Stantec's net debt equates to 45% of its market capitalization. You'd want to be aware of this fact, but it doesn't bother us.

The Verdict On Stantec's P/E Ratio

Stantec trades on a P/E ratio of 20.8, which is above the CA market average of 14.8. With modest debt but no EPS growth in the last year, it's fair to say the P/E implies some optimism about future earnings, from the market.

When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, 'In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.' So this free visualization of the analyst consensus on future earnings could help you make the right decision about whether to buy, sell, or hold.

You might be able to find a better buy than Stantec. If you want a selection of possible winners, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20 (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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.
Skywatchers Ensemble performers will take the stage at the group's eighth annual festival this weekend. | Photo: Deirdre Visser

Performance group Skywatchers will host its annual festival in the Tenderloin this weekend, with three days of free performances and art exhibits, along with a shared community meal.

Part of choreographer Anne Bluethenthal's ABD Productions, the organization, which just marked its eighth anniversary, aims to use the arts to inspire social change. Its work is inspired by the stories and experiences of an intergenerational group of Tenderloin residents, and often features them as performers as well.

This year's event, Skywatchers Festival at the Table: Visions, marks the culmination of a two-year effort by Skywatchers to capture changes in the neighborhood, and highlight the communitys role in preserving it. A National Endowment For the Arts grant helped fund the project.

The Skywatchers Ensemble is intergenerational, and largely made up of Tenderloin residents. | Photo: Deidre Visser

The festival will include three performances of Came Here to Live, a performance work featuring the Skywatchers Ensemble, comprised of Tenderloin residents, as well as ABDs artists.

The original work, inspired by performers' life experiences, tackles tough topics like displacement and disfranchisement in the Tenderloin. Staged at the Kelly Cullen Community Center (220 Golden Gate Ave.), each performance will be followed by a community discussion about housing justice and building community in an evolving neighborhood.

As part of the festival, the Cullen Center will also host a multimedia exhibition of artwork created over the past two years by Tenderloin residents, open for an hour before each performance of Came Here To Live

The works on display will include large-scale photo portraits of community members rendered as the god or goddess of their imagination; a short documentary about the Hotel Iroquois, a single-room occupancy hotel where Skywatchers has held performances in partnership with residents; and an exhibition of 200 handmade banners memorializing those who died on the Tenderloin's streets in 2018.

Banners memorializing those who died on San Francisco's streets in 2018 will be on display. | Photo: Pax Ahimsa Gethen

On Saturday evening, Tenderloin residents, neighbors, and community supporters are invited to share a communal meal at the festival, sponsored by Imperfect Produce and Farming Hope, and prepared and served by the staff of GLIDE community church. The meal will offer attendees a seat At the Table to discuss the issues raised by the performance and art installation.

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The festival's schedule is as follows:

Friday, May 17

5:30 - Opening reception

7:00 - Performance of Came Here to Live

Saturday, May 18

4:00 - Performance of Came Here to Live

5:30 - Community meal & conversations

Sunday, May 19

12:30 - Processional from GLIDE to 220 Golden Gate Ave.

1:00 - Performance of Came Here to Live

All events are free and open to the public, and spaces can be reserved on ABDs website.

In addition to ABD Productions and the meal sponsors, the festival is supported by dozens of other neighborhood partners and businesses, including the Luggage Store/509 Community Space, Larkin Street Youth Services, Faithful Fools Street Ministry, Tenderloin Museum, Cutting Ball Theaters, SafeHouse, CounterPulse, Coalition on Homelessness, the Hospitality House, Center City SRO, the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, the Tenderloin Community Benefit District, the Tenderloin Peoples Congress, the California Arts Council, Mazza Foundation, and the San Francisco Arts Commission.
By Frank Jack Daniel MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Tense U.S.-China relations are helping the United States understand the importance of a North American trade bloc, a senior Mexican diplomat said on Friday, after negotiating a deal that ended steel tariffs in the region. The United States struck deals on Friday to lift tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico, the three governments said, removing a major obstacle to legislative approval of a new North American trade pact. Mexico's deputy foreign minister for North America, Jesus Seade, said the U.S.-China trade war was helping the case for a strong partnership between neighbors. "There is a general climate, in which the United States is in a long-term difficult relationship with China and it understands that the big economy the United States has needs to be accompanied by the big North American economic region," Seade told Reuters in a phone interview. Seade helped lead negotiations last year for the new United StatesMexicoCanada Agreement (USMCA) after U.S. President Donald Trump insisted on reworking the quarter-century-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Seade said Friday's tariff breakthrough would help the broad agreement's passage through U.S. Congress. China struck a more aggressive tone in the trade war on Friday, suggesting a resumption of talks between the world's two largest economies would be meaningless unless Washington changed course. That capped a week in which Beijing unveiled fresh retaliatory tariffs and the U.S. leveled a blow against one of China's biggest and most successful companies, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. Seade said such friction made North America look more attractive. "That is why they are negotiating a good deal, and are now treating Mexico and Canada incredibly differently from (South) Korea, which has quotas," he said. When negotiations over the tariffs started a month ago, Seade said, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had pushed Mexico to accept a quota on metal imports. In the end the deal that was struck allows free trade of the metals in the region. South Korea scored an exemption from steel tariffs in March, 2018, but only in return for a quota a third below the previous years' volumes, severely crimping the Asian country's industry. (Reporting by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Stefanie Eschenbacher and Richard Chang)
At least three tornadoes touched down in West Texas and Oklahoma Saturday, damaging a high school southwest of Fort Worth as a slow-moving, 1,400-mile line of severe weather pounded Tornado Alley along a northeast trajectory.

At one point Saturday afternoon, the line of severe storms stretched from Sonora, Texas, in deep West Texas, to Green Bay Wisconsin, pounding a string of cities including Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Kansas City and Des Moines.

The first twister damaged a baseball stadium just outside the town of Ballinger, about 200 miles southwest of Fort Worth, demolishing one home and injuring at least one person, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center.

It also touched down in the town of Baillinger, damaging a country club and high school. It continued to snap trees and power lines as it skipped through the county.

A tornado also hit Silver Valley, Texas, where it downed trees and damaged a church roof. A third twister struck Comanche, Oklahoma, 90 miles south of Oklahoma City, damaging homes and ripping up trees.

The line of storms was poised to rake Fort Worth and Dallas as it snaked its way northeast across Tornado Alley.

"The potential for significant severe wind gusts will exist as storms merge into a fast-moving line," the SPC warned.

A wide swath of Tornado Alley was facing the likelihood of thunderstorms in this forecast map from the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center on May 18, 2019.

Saturday was expected to be one of the worst periods for the Texas-Oklahoma area from a multi-day storm threat forecast for Tornado Alley, which spans from Texas to South Dakota. The storm was forecast to slam the area again Monday and Tuesday.

The SPC posted over 30 preliminary tornado reports in Nebraska and Kansas on Friday as the violent weather took hold.

The fierce weather is being triggered by a high-energy system sweeping in from the Pacific and clashing with warm, humid Gulf Coast air.

AccuWeather meteorologists warn of the likelihood of hailstones so large they could cause serious injury, kill livestock and inflict substantial property damage.

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Around 6:45 p.m. ET on Friday, a tornado touched down near McCook, Nebraska, AccuWeather reported. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Storm Prediction Center reported tree and power line damage along with minor damage to a farm, the Weather Service reported.

As the storm tracked northeast, it spun up rare twin tornadoes near Farnam, Nebraska, around 8:26 p.m. ET. Storm center said the twisters knocked down tress and power lines, forcing police to close one roadway.

AccuWeather Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer was reporting from Nebraska for the AccuWeather Network and intercepted a tornado on foot near McCook, Nebraska, losing his hat in the process.

The threat area is almost a textbook description of traditional Tornado Alley.

The SPC highlighted a risk area for severe weather through Tuesday at least.

Earlier this week, the threat area was on the map for 8 straight days.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tornadoes skip through West Texas, Oklahoma as 1,400-mile line of storm slams nation's mid-section
Sacramento State students said someone is targeting their apartment building and breaking into their cars. Vehicles belonging to several Sac State students who live at The Crossings on Ramona Avenue have had the windows smashed and items stolen over the last couple of weeks. Get the full story in the video above.
Acting Chief Justice asked report about Islamabad encroachment

ISLAMABAD: Acting Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, on Friday, said that despite driving for the past 40 years, he was unable to do so in the city anymore. He made these remarks while hearing a Supreme Court case related to encroachment in the capital. A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Ahmed, summoned Islamabad mayor and National Highway Authority (NHA) Chairman. They were also directed to inform the court of steps taken to clear encroachments from Islamabad and the highways.



The top court also asked for a report with pictures on operations as well as the retrieval of Centaurus Service Roads. Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman informed the court that the service roads had been retrieved while adding that an operation was underway in the Blue Area as well as across the federal capital.



Justice Sardar Tariq Masood noted that even today, barriers had been placed on Margalla Road.



The chairman responded that the city would soon be cleared of encroachments. To which, the justice remarked, Lets go now and see how many encroachments have been cleared.



He added that the Kashmir Highway and Islamabad Expressway were in bad condition. On big roads in the city, there were no pedestrian bridges, he continued.



The judge remarked, There shouldnt be U-turns on a big road in Islamabad, adding, The streets of Islamabad shouldnt appear to be blocked under any circumstance.



The reflectors placed on the streets of the capital are also not working, he noted. Justice Ahmed lamented, I have been driving for 40 years. He continued, Yet, it is not possible for me to drive in the federal capital.



The chairman asserted that they were making the expressway signal-free while adding that after three years, the grant for the expressway had been allocated in the budget.



According to Justice Ahmed, it was impossible to go from Bhara Kahu to Muree. He added that the greenbelt of the Embassy Road had also been taken over.



Hearing this, the CDA chairman responded that work was underway for the extension of Embassy Road. The chairman noted, [We] will satisfy the court with our performance.



Remarking on the lack of public transport in Islamabad, the acting chief justice also asked, Why are there no public transport facilities in the capital? He added that those coming to the Judicial Colony had to get off miles away and walk.
Warsaw (AFP) - European Council chief Donald Tusk on Saturday joined thousands at a pro-Europe opposition rally in Warsaw, calling on his fellow Poles to vote against the eurosceptic governing conservatives in this month's EU elections.

"You have no choice.... You can't leave the future of our children and grandchildren in their hands," Tusk said, referring to the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party.

"Our children and grandchildren would never forgive us.... Go forth towards victory," he added to cheers and applause at the rally organised by the opposition European Coalition.

A former Polish premier, Tusk is widely believed to be eyeing a political comeback at home once his EU term ends in November.

Without referring to him by name, Tusk compared his arch-rival and PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski to an ayatollah during the rally attended by Poles from across the country.

Kaczynski for his part used an election campaign event in the southern city of Krakow on Saturday to claim Tusk's political party lacked credibility.

He said the liberal Civic Platform (PO) -- the leader of the opposition parties comprising the European Coalition -- had reneged on a promise made before joining the EU to always defend Polish interests.

Kaczynski cited examples relating to the economy, traditional values and Polish-US relations to prove his point.

"We know that the Civic Platform very quickly veered to the left in its activity," Kaczynski said.

"The party began to pursue a policy whose goal was the implementation in Poland of everything that makes up the powerful anti-Christian trend of Western Europe."

- 'We want Europe' -

Between 7,000 and 45,000 people marched through downtown Warsaw with Polish and EU flags according to respective estimates from the police and city hall.

Participants chanted "We will win" and "Freedom, equality, democracy" while holding up signs with slogans like "We want Europe".

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One poster read "Duck off" in an allusion to Kaczynski, whose last name is similar to the Polish word for duck.

"Those currently in power are against values that I hold dear," said student Aleksander Jaszczynski.

"We want Poland's voice to be modern, European, tolerant and open-minded," he told AFP.

Computer scientist Miroslaw Janusz said he attended the rally to back a Poland that plays a positive role in the EU instead of "turning its back on the bloc, like the current government."

The PiS, which has frequently sparred with Brussels since coming to power in 2015, has toned down its euroscepticism ahead of the May 26 EU ballot and the Polish general election later this year.

The party also recently announced plans to raise prison terms for paedophilia after a documentary on child sex abuse by Polish clergy sent shock waves through the devout country of 38 million people.

Observers say the film could deal a blow to the chances of the ruling conservatives in the election, given their close ties to the Catholic Church.

The PiS and the European Coalition are currently polling neck and neck, with the new progressive Spring party in third place.
By Amanda Ferguson BELFAST (Reuters) - Thousands of people marched through Belfast on Saturday to demand the recognition of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland, the only region of the United Kingdom where it does not have legal status. Attempts to legislate for same-sex marriage have been blocked by the Democratic Unionist Party, a key ally of British Prime Minister Theresa May, despite opinion polls in recent years showing most in the region are in favor. Sara Canning, the partner of journalist and LGBT rights campaigner Lyra McKee who was murdered in April, led the march alongside a number of gay and lesbian couples. Canning said that she and McKee had been planning to marry. "We pay our taxes, we are governed by the same laws, why should we not be afforded the same rights in marriage" as the rest of the United Kingdom, said Canning, who was wearing a "Love Equality" t-shirt. Protesters waved rainbow flags and placards saying "Love is a human right." Protesters called on May's government to bypass the DUP and introduce legislation in the British parliament in Westminster. The Northern Ireland power-sharing government has been frozen for two years due to disagreement between the DUP and the largest Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein. "If Stormont is incapable of delivering equality for people here, then it is the responsibility of the Westminster to end discrimination against the LGBT community," Amnesty International spokesman Patrick Corrigan said. (Reporting by Amanda Ferguson; Editing by Conor Humphries and Ros Russell)
Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook, on Saturday, challenged the students of Tulane University's graduating class of 2019 to think outside of themselves and challenge the status quo to improve their world.

Cook, who gave the Louisiana university's commencement speech from the stage of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, implored the students to take action against issues including climate change, immigration, criminal justice reform, and economic inequality  and not to be derailed by the country's current, acrimonious political climate.

"When we talk about climate change or any issue with human cost, I challenge you to look for those who have the most to lose and find the real true empathy that comes from something shared," Cook said.

"When you do that, the political noise dies down and you can feel your feet firmly planted on solid ground. After all, we don't build monuments to trolls, and we're not going to start now."

Looking outside of your own worldview

"In a world where we obsessively document our own lives, most of us don't pay nearly enough attention to what we owe one another," Cook said. "It's about recognizing that human civilization began when we realized that we could do more together.

The Apple CEO, who has been an outspoken critic of social networks like Facebook (FB) and their data collection policies, told the audience to push back against the algorithms that create echo chambers reinforcing their established worldviews.

Cook explained that in some ways his generation failed the current crop of graduates by focusing too much on fighting and tearing each other down rather than trying to address the day's biggest issues.

In particular, Cook pointed to the impact of climate change and how it is causing more powerfully devastating storms with greater frequency, evoking the still-raw memory of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, during which survivors huddled within the same arena from which the CEO spoke.

"This problem doesn't get any easier based on whose side wins or loses an election," Cook said. "It's about who has won life's lottery and has the luxury of ignoring this issue, and who stands to lose everything."

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Cook also invoked President Franklin Roosevelt's 1932 speech at Oglethorpe University in Georgia when he, then governor of New York, called for then college graduates to think of new ways to rebuild the country in the midst of the Great Depression. The Apple chief said that such a way of thinking is needed at this point to ensure a better future for the country and world.

"Call upon your grit. Try something. You may succeed, you may fail, but make it your life's work to remake the world," Cook said.

Last year, Cook served as the commencement speaker for his alma mater, Duke University. During his address, Cook, who graduated from the schools Fuqua School of Business, discussed the importance of privacy in technology, as well as addressing today's societal and political challenges.

More from Dan:

Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@oath.com; follow him on Twitter at@DanielHowley. Follow Yahoo Finance on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, andLinkedIn.finance.yahoo.com/
In his studio, Jacopo Tintoretto  whom some consider the greatest painter Venice ever produced  was said to have displayed a motto calling for the draftsmanship (disegno) of Michelangelo and the coloring (colorito) of Titian. The idea was to combine the monumentality of the Florentines human figures with the Venetians virtuosity in the handling of paint.

A landmark exhibition on view at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., until July 7 shows us that the mingling of these two artistic ideals, unquestionably evident in Tintorettos work, was complicated by his impetuous sensibility and inclination to speedy execution. The scale of the mans output was prodigious, and because so much of it involved the decoration of palaces, churches, and other institutional buildings, a gallery exhibit cannot do it full justice. Even so, the National Gallery show is a revelation.

Paintings by Tintoretto (1518 or 15191594) often reveal faults in detail and some are simply unsatisfying. The Florentine architect and painter Giorgio Vasari, in the second volume of his Lives of the Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (1568), described Tintoretto, the low-born, fiercely ambitious son of a Venetian cloth-dyer, as swift, resolute, fantastic and extravagant, and the most extraordinary brain that the art of painting has ever produced  before lamenting that his work displayed more in the way of bold imagination and manual skill than diligent execution. Vasari zeroed in on an inevitably highly dramatic evocation (given the apocalyptic theme) of the Last Judgment that Tintoretto produced for a Venetian church, Santa Maria dellOrto, around 15601562. (Tintoretto is buried in the church.) The large, vertically oriented, lancet-shaped painting was, Vasari observes,

painted with an extravagant invention that truly has in it something awesome and terrible, by reason of the diversity of figures of either sex and all ages that are there, with vistas and distant views of the blessed and the damned. There, also, may be seen the boat of Charon [who ferried souls to Hades], but in a manner so different from that of others that it is a thing beautiful and strange. If this fantastic invention had been executed with correct and well-ordered drawing, and if the painter had given diligent attention to the parts and to each particular detail, as he has done to the whole in expressing the confusion, turmoil, and terror of that day, it would have been a most stupendous picture. And whoever glances at [the painting] for a moment is struck with astonishment; but, considering it afterwards minutely, it appears as if painted as a jest.

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A Florentine devotee of Michelangelo, Vasari highly valued meticulous execution and finish. Our age does not, and is therefore more than ready to indulge the rapid brushwork Tintoretto not infrequently deployed. But even those who share Vasaris reservations to some degree might regret he did not offer a detailed description of Tintorettos majestically panoramic, utterly riveting Crucifixion (1565) in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, the Venetian lay confraternity to which the artist belonged and where he decorated three large chambers with many scenes from Christs life and passion  some of them very powerful  as well as their Old Testament antecedents. The emphatically horizontal Crucifixion, measuring 17-and-a-half by 40 feet, is possibly Tintorettos greatest work.

The Scuola is the best place to appreciate Tintorettos achievement. But the National Gallery exhibit nonetheless allows us to take stock of his artistic development, his formal technique and pictorial outlook, his gift for the vivid depiction of movement and action, and above all the richness of his symbolic imagination, grounded first in a deep Christian faith and second in the legacy of classical antiquity, and revealed through the monumental portrayal of the human body as well as beautiful recreations of the natural world.

Tintorettos early work was strikingly uneven as well as stylistically varied. A large canvas portraying the mayhem surrounding the blinding of Saul on the way to Damascus (ca. 1544) amounts to a botched attempt at portraying a world out of joint, with Saul sprawled on the ground and his company, horses included, scattered hither and yon. The undeniably disjointed landscape reads as an odd collage, and the picture, hardly notable for fine draftsmanship, looks as if it was churned out in a rush. Though a much earlier painting, it belongs in The Last Judgement pile. There are even pictures in the Scuola di San Rocco, such as The Massacre of the Innocents (ca. 158287), in which the somewhat amorphous physical setting and numerous more or less spectral figures composed of rapid, swirling brushstrokes leave us wondering where to draw the line between tempestuous creativity and the press of business. In these cases, however, the collage effect of The Conversion of St. Paul is lacking, as it is in another scene of pandemonium, in which Helen is abducted by Paris and the Trojans in a sea battle evoking Venetian clashes with the Turks. This painting, painted three decades after the Conversion, also appears in the National Gallery exhibit.

The meticulous draftsmanship in two early, highly finished mythological scenes painted for a noblemans ceiling, The Judgment of Midas (a musical competition involving Apollo) and The Fall of Phaeton (both from 154142), is so far removed from the Conversion that one might think they were painted by a different artist. And one might think a third artist was to be held accountable for the partially clad allegorical figure of Spring (ca. 154648) perched on a tree bough with a chain of flowers in her hand. Her anatomical construction is astonishingly inept, with her upper arm out of scale with the shoulder, her head out of scale with her chest, and her clothed leg disengaged from the overall structure of her body. Yet the nearby Summer, from the same cycle of seasonal paintings, is better handled and woven into a pleasing scene fetchingly incorporating natural forms, including the grape vine in whose shade she reposes, a brilliantly colored parrot, and, in the near background, a luminous array of wheat stalks. The tribute to natures beauties in this picture is magnified enchantingly in Tintorettos Creation of the Animals from the following decade, in which the Creator, accompanied by a stunning panoply of birds and fish, wafts across the canvas, parallel to the picture plane, leaving a terrestrial menagerie in his wake. Apart from visual richness, Tintoretto achieved an arrestingly rudimentary pictorial effect in this picture.

* * *

Much of Tintorettos mature work reflects the studio motto attributed to him  though a striking variety in conception and execution would remain a hallmark of his career. The rich reds, greens, golds, and blues and luminous flesh tones associated with the Venetian school and Titian in particular are much in evidence, but in his religious pictures especially Tintoretto ventured into a distinctly atmospheric realm demanding a distinct palette.

The connection to Michelangelo is also complicated. From him, Tintoretto derived an idea of monumentality but not the Florentine masters highly resolved and extremely demanding (and time-consuming) formal technique. That technique was grounded in Michelangelos profound study of Greek sculpture. Anatomical pyrotechnics geared to pictorial effect, especially in the rendering of the male nude, were one of the Venetian schools stocks in trade  its way of getting even with the Florentines. A striking example in the National Gallerys permanent collection is a highly finished but deeply flawed work from the late 1530s by an eminent Venetian, Paris Bordone (150071), The Baptism of Christ. Here the musculature of the Baptists back is preposterously overwrought. We encounter such pyrotechnics in the National Gallery exhibition in undated, formally discombobulated drawings Tintoretto made of reduced-scale casts of sculptural works by Michelangelo. And they appear in some of Tintorettos paintings, for instance in the foreground sledgehammer-wielding figure with his back to us in The Forge of Vulcan (1578), but they are far more restrained and much less distracting.

There are no pyrotechnics in Tintorettos great Crucifixion. The picture immerses us in a twilight world replete with dramatic action emanating from the static, radiant figure of Christ. In the exhibitions powerful Deposition of Christ, painted at the same time as the Last Judgment ridiculed by Vasari, what holds our attention are the skillfully interlaced figures, including the three Marys and the disciple supporting the monumental figure of Christ, with the rendering of the latters shaded head skillfully punctuated by highlights. In The Flagellation from the late 1570s, Christ and his principal tormentor are astutely arranged on a diagonal in a dim, infernal space, with the latter figure in the foreground with his back to us while the Savior  his shoulders, torso, and upper legs in highlights  draws the eye. In his Apparition of the Virgin to Saint Jerome (ca. 1580), Tintoretto meets the daunting challenge of portraying an aged but still heroic male body in a complex pose with limited success, but, even so, the painting as a whole, with its irruption of the Virgin and her angelic retinue in a spatially compressed composition, succeeds brilliantly, with the divine figures not only startling the saint but bursting into our own perceptual space.

In these religious paintings we see forebodings of the spatially compressed world of the Italian baroque  the twilight world created by Caravaggio and his followers, the fallen world in which Christs ministry unfolds, a world frequently populated by superb classically informed but realistically conceived figures.

* * *

There are a number of portraits in the exhibition, most of them underwhelming for the simple reason that Tintoretto did not invest much labor in them. An early self-portrait revealing a handsome young man with his intense gaze turned to us is fine but nothing exceptional by the standards of the Italian Renaissance. A frontal self-portrait showing the artist at age 70 is full of world-weariness and is effective as characterization, but the visage is crudely executed, apart from the exquisitely silvery beard. There is, however, one great portrait in the show, and the National Gallery owns it: A Procurator of St. Marks (ca. 157585). Its excellence is paradoxical because the sitter is rather poorly put together. Tintoretto has reduced the scale of the head in line with the Hellenistic sculptural practice of reducing its proportion to the body to make the figure more monumental. But because Tintoretto conveys no sense of the body beneath the procurators majestic crimson robe with its luxurious ermine lining, the head reads as if it were just tacked on. Our gaze fixes on it even so, for a memorable evocation of spiritual melancholy materializes within its soft outlines. The spatial depth of the procurators head is subtly reinforced by the backlit contour on its left side, making it much more vivid. Otherwise, only the hands, resting on the arms of a chair, are exposed.

The final portion of the exhibit includes, along with religious works, pictures inspired by pagan mythology that are noteworthy for their gorgeous female nudes, such as The Wedding of Ariadne and Bacchus (1578). Perhaps the most noteworthy of these mythological pictures is The Origin of the Milky Way, from the late 1570s, in which the galaxy is portrayed as the creation of milk shooting from Junos breast, to which Zeus directs the infant Hercules so that he can be endowed with immortality. You do not need to be familiar with the pictures theme to be mesmerized by it. Swirling arrays of rich fabrics intermingle with clouds, golden stars in a deep blue sky, signs of the zodiac, peacocks, an eagle, and winged putti whose bows and arrows signify desire as a cosmic force as well as a source of torment. Here we have the cosmos recreated on human terms, with the human body natures supreme symbolic form. This marvelous painting ranks among the truly canonic works of Western art.

In the final room we have an unforgettable pair of pictures from the 1580s with the Virgin situated in landscapes, painted for the Scuola di San Rocco. In one she is reading next to a stream, with a large bay tree close by. In the other she is turned away from us, gazing out over a winding river toward a distant town and the mountains beyond. Near her a large palm looms. The paint in both works has discolored over time, but without obscuring the Virgin and her garments and aureole. The result seems providential, as the landscape is imbued with an unearthly beauty, and her presence in it is all the more magical. In these pictures, the Virgin might remind us of a hermetic Chinese sage cutting a tiny figure in a vast mountainous setting, yet Tintorettos loose but effective handling of the landscape is anything but oriental.

Separately from the main exhibition discussed here, the National Gallery is displaying drawings by Tintoretto and other Venetians as well as prints from his era, including one based on his Crucifixion by Agostino Carracci. They are on view until June 9. The numerous drawings by Tintoretto reveal a formidable mastery of graphic technique while showing us how he worked out the structure, poses and lighting of figures in his paintings.

* * *

Mankind as the cosmic point of intersection between the realms of matter and spirit is the supreme theme of Western art, and it dominates Tintorettos paintings  which also incorporate natures manifold beauties to a degree Michelangelos oeuvre, so closely focused on the human body, most assuredly does not. But it is also important to bear in mind that the prodigious scale of Tintorettos output reflects the foremost practical task confronting the Renaissance artist, that of decorating the structural world, as the late painter and critic Pierce Rice would put it.

The National Gallery exhibition thus shines a bright light on the cultural and even spiritual impoverishment of our own epoch. These days the idiosyncratic expressionism of Van Goghs The Starry Night  in which the humanized cosmos, not to speak of the technical competence, of Tintorettos Origin is no more  is bound to attract a critical esteem uninformed by a sense of the measure of things. As for lack of finish, Tintorettos more problematically dashed-off canvases might be hailed these days as harbingers of, say, the slapdash mutations of the female figure by the modernist master Willem de Kooning, who seems to have been more interested in splattering the contents of his tormented id on his canvases than revealing the beauties in nature that were once taken for tokens of celestial beauties.

Modernism, in short, has brought about the abandonment of a symbolic realm that nourished the imaginations of great artists for thousands of years. Modernitys adepts would appear to have succeeded in politicizing that metaphysical realm, stigmatizing it as an intrinsically reactionary, as well as hopelessly obsolete construct, rather than recognizing it as an invaluable component of the emotional life that sustains not only art worthy of the name but civilization itself. Needless to say, modernity has not devised a sustaining, normative superstructure of any kind to inform contemporary art. Instead, it has merely succeeded in narrowing its imaginative horizons.

More from National Review




The Trump administration moved to cool the simmering trade war with its major trading partners on Friday, ending tariffs on metal imports from Canada and Mexico and announcing a pause on planned tariffs on cars and car parts.

Im pleased to announce weve just reached agreement with Canada and Mexico, Donald Trump said. Well be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs.

The US imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium last March, arguing cheap imports were an assault on our country that was leading to the decimation of entire communities.

Related: Trump's China tariffs are a regressive tax on Americans and risk a recession | Robert Reich

The tariffs have sparked the largest trade war in a generation and set the US against all its major trading partners including the European Union, China, Canada and Mexico.

In a statement, the Canadian government said agreement had been reached for US tariffs to be lifted on Canadian steel and aluminium imports. Retaliatory tariffs imposed on American products will be lifted by Sunday.

The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said the move should clear the way for the ratification of the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) reached late last year, which replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).

We are very optimistic we will be able to move forward in coming weeks, he said, calling the deal was a huge step forward.

On Friday the Trump administration also announced it had paused a plan to impose tariffs on automobiles and auto parts from the EU and Japan. Those tariffs were set to be imposed this weekend but will now be put on hold for 180 days while talks continue.

While Fridays news appeared to signal a breakthrough, China and the US are still locked in an escalating trade war. CNBC reported on Friday that the next round of US-China negotiations were in flux, with both sides refusing to compromise.

US markets have wobbled wildly in the wake of trade news. On Friday all the major US markets ended down  the second straight week of losses.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has asked for files to be prepared on pardoning several U.S. military members accused of or convicted of war crimes, including one slated to stand trial on charges of shooting unarmed civilians while in Iraq, the New York Times reported on Saturday. Trump requested the immediate preparation of paperwork needed, indicating he is considering pardons for the men around Memorial Day on May 27, the report said, citing two unnamed U.S. officials. Assembling pardon files normally takes months, but the Justice Department has pressed for the work to be completed before that holiday weekend, one of the officials said. One request is for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher of the Navy SEALs, scheduled to stand trial in coming weeks on charges of shooting unarmed civilians and killing an enemy captive with a knife while deployed in Iraq. Also believed to be included is the case of Major Mathew Golsteyn, an Army Green Beret accused of killing an unarmed Afghan in 2010, the Times said. Reuters could not immediately identify a way to contact Gallagher and Golsteyn. The newspaper reported that the cases of other men are believed to be included in the paperwork, without naming them. The Department of Justice declined to comment on the report, while the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Legal experts cited in the report said that pardoning several accused and convicted war criminals, including some who have not yet gone to trial, has not been done in recent history, and some worried such pardons could erode the legitimacy of military law. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner and Nandita Bose; editing by Michelle Price, Diane Craft and Cynthia Osterman)
By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Friday acknowledged he would need some support from Democrats to support his immigration and border agenda, even as opponents soundly rejected his latest proposals as the immigration issue heats up ahead of the 2020 U.S. elections. A day after unveiling a plan to shift to a "merit-based" immigration system, the Republican president said there was a "good chance" that Democrats would back him and provide funding to manage record migrant flows along the U.S.-Mexico border. "The Democrats now realize that there is a National Emergency at the Border and that, if we work together, it can be immediately fixed. We need Democrat votes and all will be well!" Trump said in a series of early morning tweets on Friday. Such talk of bipartisan cooperation on the explosive immigration issue for years has ended in failure and finger-pointing. Even though the issue is now back on Trump's agenda, Democrats have shown little interest in compromise. On Thursday, the president called for legal immigration changes that would favor young, educated, English-speaking applicants, instead of people with family ties to those already living in the United States. The proposal, drafted by Trump's son-in-law and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, has little chance of being approved by the divided Congress. The proposals do not address one of the Democrats' key issues: protection for "Dreamers," the roughly 11 million people brought to the Unites States illegally as children. At the same time, Trump is pushing ahead with building portions of a U.S.-Mexico border barrier with money he is diverting from other purposes without lawmakers' approval. As a result of these and other shortcomings, the president's latest plan was "dead on arrival," U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday. His proposal also drew concerns from hardline conservatives who want to reduce immigration; Trump's plan keeps overall numbers flat. Moderate Republicans dismissed Kushner's plan, calling it too narrow to pass Congress. "That's going to be difficult to pass in Congress. The far right is upset with it because it doesn't decrease net immigration. The far left is upset with it because it doesn't do these other things," Republican Representative Will Hurd told MSNBC in an interview on Friday. White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway defended the proposal in a Fox News interview Thursday night, saying it was "not the final word." Trump tied his plan to next year's elections when he unveiled it on Thursday, saying that if Democrats did not support him, Republicans would win back the House in November 2020 and then pass his program -- something they failed to do when they held a majority in the House, as well as the Senate, during the first two years of his presidency. A bipartisan immigration deal hammered out last year failed after Trump refused to back it. Trump has separately requested $4.5 billion from lawmakers to help house, feed, transport and oversee Central American families seeking asylum. Pelosi on Thursday appeared open to approving the emergency funds, saying money to alleviate the humanitarian crisis at the nation's southern border could be included in pending disaster relief legislation. Democrats on Thursday night offered Republicans "several billion" dollars for border relief, a House aide said. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Jeffrey Benkoe and Leslie Adler)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has reached a deal with Mexico and Canada to sell products without tariffs, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday. "We've just reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico and we'll be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs or major tariffs," Trump told a gathering of real estate agents in Washington. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by David Alexander)
Aleem Khan released from jail

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday ordered the release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Abdul Aleem Khan from judicial custody upon submission of surety bonds after he was granted bail earlier this week in a case involving possession of assets beyond means. He was released from Kot Lakhpat jail in the evening.



Aleem Khan, who was arrested in February this year, was remanded to NAB custody for interrogation. After his arrest, the senior PTI minister had submitted his resignation to Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, saying it was not morally right for him to stay in office. On Wednesday, the bench consisting of Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem had granted him bail.



The court had ordered his release on bail and directed the former senior minister to furnish two surety bonds worth Rs 1 million each.



Aleem Khan was in the Punjab Assembly on a production order when the court announced the bail yesterday. Talking to the media outside the assembly, he said he had no complaints. He said he supported Prime Minister Imran Khan not for any personal gain or office but for the betterment of the country. The PTI leader said he would leave politics for good if corruption of a single penny was established against him.



Aleem Khan used the occasion to question the way the NAB goes about conducting its business. He said the NAB should make any arrest only after something tangible was found against a suspect during investigation.



Aleem Khan faces multiple inquiries, including one involving offshore company Hexam Investment Overseas Ltd; one for owning assets beyond his known sources of income; and inquiries into his involvement in the Park View Housing Society and River Age Housing Society.



NAB officials allege that Aleem Khan had misused his authority as general secretary of the Park View Housing Society and as a former member of the provincial assembly to acquire assets beyond his known sources of income. The bureau had in January 2018 sought the records and details of offshore companies reportedly established in tax havens abroad by Aleem Khan and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Moonis Elahi. A Mutual Legal Assistance report pertaining to Aleem Khans case was provided to NAB Lahore earlier in January this year, following which the PTI leader was summoned and later arrested.



According to NAB officials, Aleem Khan had started a real estate business in which he invested tens of millions of rupees. He bought 900 kanals and another 600 kanals through a company set up for this purpose, A&A Private Ltd. However, according to the bureau, the PTI leader was unable to show the sources of income with which he purchased the land.
Ankara (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said Turkey and Russia would jointly produce S-500 defence systems after Ankara's controversial purchase of the S-400 missile defence system from Moscow.

Turkey's push to buy the S-400s has further strained already tense relations with the United States which has repeatedly warned Ankara of the risks including sanctions as a result of the purchase.

"There is absolutely no question of (Turkey) taking a step back from the S-400s purchase. That is a done deal," Erdogan said in Istanbul.

"There will be joint production of the S-500 after the S-400," Erdogan told an audience of young people asking questions.

Ties between NATO allies Turkey and the US have frayed over multiple issues including American support for a Syrian Kurdish militia viewed as terrorists by Ankara and the US failure to extradite a Muslim preacher blamed for the 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan.

Washington says the deal with Moscow is a threat to Western defence and in April suspended deliveries of the F-35 stealth fighter jet to Turkey in a bid to halt the purchase.

Turkish pilots are in the US receiving training on the F-35s, manufactured by Lockheed Martin. Turkey is expected to buy 100 of the jets in total.

Erdogan said Turkey conducted technical studies amid US concerns over the compatibility of the S-400s and the F-35s but found there were no issues.

He also insisted "sooner or later" Turkey would receive the F-35 jets.

Despite the threat of sanctions, Erdogan repeated that the S-400s were expected to be delivered in July, "but this could be brought forward", he added.
BENGHAZI, May 18 (Reuters) - Two guards were killed and four others were kidnapped early on Saturday in a suspected Islamic State attack targeting Libya's Zella oilfield, a security source said.

The attackers struck at an entrance gate to the field, which lies near the town of Zella about 760 km (470 miles) southwest of the capital, Tripoli. They killed the two guards before fleeing, the source and local residents asking not to be named told Reuters.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its Aamaq news agency later on Saturday.

The Zella field belongs to Zueitina Oil Company, which pumped 19,000 barrels per day on average in the last quarter of 2018 across all its fields.

An engineer told Reuters workers at the field were safe and facilities had not been damaged.

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) chief said on Saturday continued instability in the country could cause it to lose 95 percent of oil production.

Speaking in Saudi Arabia ahead of a ministerial panel gathering on Sunday of top OPEC and non-OPEC producers, Mustafa Sanalla also confirmed the Zella attack.

Islamic State has been active in Libya in the turmoil since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The militant group took control of the coastal city of Sirte in 2015 but lost it late in 2016 to local forces backed by U.S. air strikes.

In the last two years, the group has targeted three state institutions in Tripoli, home of UN-backed government of national accord led by Prime Minister Fayez Serraj.

Saturday's assault took place as general Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), which is allied to a rival administration in eastern Libya, mounts an offensive to control Tripoli. (Reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli Writing by Ahmed Elumami and Ahmed Eljechtimi Editing by Helen Popper)
By Ismael Lopez

MANAGUA, May 17 (Reuters) - Eddy Montes, a protestor shot dead in a Nicaragua prison this week, was a naturalized U.S. citizen who served in the Navy, but ultimately returned to the Central American country where he fought for a change in government, his family said.

Montes died on Thursday after he and other prisoners tried to snatch a gun from a guard while the International Red Cross was visiting the prison, the Nicaraguan interior ministry said, adding that the guard acted in self-defense.

He had been jailed after protesting against Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega in October last year, during protests that have killed at least 300 people. The protests erupted over welfare benefits but spiraled into a broader movement to oust Ortega, who is serving his third term as president.

Angered by Montes' death, opposition groups said on Friday that they would stage new protests over the weekend.

The U.S. State Department condemned his death as a killing at the hands of Nicaraguan riot police and urged the government to thoroughly investigate the incident. It also called for other political prisoners to be released.

"The lack of justice for these prisoners and for the hundreds of innocent civilians killed by Ortega's security and parapolice forces shows the regime's utter disregard for human life and democratic freedoms," it said in a statement.

The Nicaraguan government prohibited the demonstrations in November last year and have accused the protesters of intending to cause chaos.

Montes had spent much of his childhood and young adult years in the United States, family members say, but returned to Nicaragua in the early 1980s to study medicine. Ortega and his leftist Sandinista party had came to power a year earlier.

In 1984, Montes organized a protest after the Sandinista government passed a law to introduce military service. Gloria Montenegro, his wife of 18 years, said his activism had put him on the radar of the government.

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"With those anti-government protests, he became a target [for the government]," Montenegro said, recalling a time during the Cold War when dissidents were backed by the United States and the Nicaraguan government by the former USSR.

"So we fled to Costa Rica and after that to the United States, where he decided to join the U.S. Navy." Montes was based out of San Diego. Later, he worked in real estate.

Montes returned to Nicaragua in 1993 and bought farmland in his native Matagalpa. It was not long until he joined anti-government protests again.

"He was always seen as an opponent," said Yader Valdivia, an attorney who once worked with the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights and is now in exile in Costa Rica. "When the protests began, he began to help by bringing in food, supplies and medicine to the students."

Jafet Montes, his daughter, who lives in California, said Ortega should be held responsible. "I blame the government, I blame the president, because he controls everything that happens in that country," she said.

(Reporting by Ismael Lopez; Writing by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
JAKARTA, May 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. embassy in Jakarta has issued a security alert ahead of election results due on Wednesday, as Indonesian authorities have arrested nearly 30 suspected militants, including some who police say are able to detonate bombs using Wi-Fi networks.

The embassy advised U.S. citizens to avoid areas where large demonstrations may occur in Jakarta, and in other cities including Surabaya in East Java and Medan in North Sumatra, in a statement that was dated on Friday, May 17.

Indonesian authorities have said they are heightening security ahead of May 22, when the official result of last month's presidential election will be announced.

Indonesian National Police spokesman, Muhammad Iqbal, told reporters in a briefing on Friday that police this month have arrested 29 suspects linked to Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) - the largest Islamic State-linked group in the country - and confiscated at least five homemade bombs in various locations across Java and North Sulawesi.

Some of the suspects have had paramilitary training and went to Syria as foreign fighters, Iqbal said.

Indonesian police also revealed that some of the suspects have learned how to use Wi-Fi to detonate explosive devices, but it was not immediately clear how advanced their plans were.

Detonating bombs using a Wi-Fi network is considered a new technique, Dedi Prasetyo, another National Police spokesman, told Reuters on Tuesday, and gets around using phone signals, which can be jammed during rallies involving large crowds.

"If there is (cell phone) jammer, then phones are not operable but the Wi-Fi signal will not be disturb, especially when using signal amplifier," Prasetyo said.

The police spokesmen did not answer or return phone calls on Saturday to get more information.

The police arrested EY, a local leader of JAD in Bekasi, near the capital Jakarta, on May 8 in the capital for plotting attacks during next week's announcement of the presidential election. The police identified the suspect only by his initials.

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JAD does not have an official spokesman, and it is not known if any of the suspects have retained legal representation.

"For this group, democracy is an ideology that they do not agree with," Iqbal said on Friday, adding that the National Police advise people not to make unnecessary trips on the day the results are announced.

"This would be dangerous because they want to attack anyone, including officers, with bombs," he said.

The arrests are part of the authority's efforts to tighten security ahead of an announcement by the General Election Commission (KPU) on May 22, when nearly 32,000 police and military personnel will be on standby in Jakarta.

The announcement is expected to confirm unofficial counts by private pollsters that showed incumbent President Joko Widodo as having won the race, a result which has been publicly disputed by his contender, ex-general Prabowo Subianto.

Prabowo's supporters have pledged to protest peacefully if the official result confirms Widodo's victory, and large groups of people could be out in the streets after the announcement. (Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa and Tabita Diela; Additional reporting and writing by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Tom Hogue)
By Doina Chiacu and Anthony Esposito WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The United States slapped sanctions on a Mexican judge and a former state governor on Friday, accusing them of taking bribes from drug traffickers, and saying that government corruption had allowed Mexican drug gangs to grow and operate with impunity. Nine other people and ten groups were also designated in the sanctions for what the U.S. Treasury Department said was their involvement with drug trafficking and links to the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Los Cuinis Drug Trafficking Organization. The CJNG is one of Mexico's dominant drug gangs and the second-biggest seller of drugs on U.S. streets, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). "Our ultimate goal is to destroy and degrade drug trafficking organizations such as the CJNG and Los Cuinis. Today's action is another step toward our goal," said DEA Los Angeles' Special Agent in Charge, David J. Downing. The magistrate judge, Isidro Avelar Gutierrez, accepted bribes from drug trafficking organizations in exchange for favorable rulings for their senior members, Treasury said. The former governor of the Mexican state of Nayarit, Roberto Sandoval Castaneda, was designated for corruption activities including accepting bribes and misappropriating state funds. Sandoval said on Twitter that he ready to give the authorities the information they needed and that he had been truthful and governed according to the law. Sigal Mandelker, U.S. Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, in prepared remarks in Mexico City, said those targeted with sanctions would be cut off from the U.S. financial system and their activities in Mexico disrupted. "Corrupt officials callously enrich themselves at the expense of their fellow citizens and economic sanctions impose a serious cost to those individuals and limit their ability to enjoy their ill-gotten gains," said Mandelker. Mexico's finance ministry said in a statement that the targeted people were on the "blacklists" of both countries. "This is a new era of inter-agency collaboration and coordination between our nations in the fight against corruption, money laundering and the financing of terrorism," said Santiago Nieto, head of the Mexican finance ministry's financial intelligence unit. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office in December, has pledged to stamp out corruption. A senior member of the CJNG, Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytan, who is also known as "El Sapo," was among those hit with sanctions, for what the U.S. said was kidnappings and numerous killings. His wife, Liliana Rosas Camba, had sanctions imposed for handling business activities and laundering drug money, Treasury said. Three of Sandoval Castaneda's family members were blacklisted for holding his "ill-gotten assets in their names," it said. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington and Anthony Esposito in Mexico City; Additional reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Rosalba O'Brien)
DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates said on Sunday that "critical circumstances" in the region require a united Gulf Arab and Arab stand, amid heightened tensions with Iran following last week's attacks on oil tankers off the coast of the UAE. A foreign ministry statement published on state news agency WAM welcomed a call by Saudi Arabia's King Salman to convene emergency summits in Mecca to discuss implications of the tanker attacks and a strike two days later on oil installations in the kingdom. (Reporting by Ali Abdelaty in Cairo; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous; editing by Diane Craft)
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP)  A Nicaraguan-American dual national who died in a prison disturbance in Nicaragua served in the U.S. Navy and was a staunch opponent of the government of President Daniel Ortega, his cousin said Saturday.

Eddy Montes Praslin, 56, was shot dead Thursday at La Modelo prison outside the capital of Managua. Hundreds of Nicaraguans have been jailed over the past year after protesting against the government.

His cousin Marvin Montes told The Associated Press that Montes Praslin moved to the U.S. when he was 13 years old, went to school in California and served in the Navy.

He said Montes Praslin traveled back and forth between the two countries, establishing himself more permanently in Nicaragua since 2006. Montes Praslin at one point studied medicine, and he received a law degree from a Nicaraguan university in 2018, his cousin said.

At least 17 others who had been arrested for apparently participating in anti-government protests were wounded in the prison disturbance. The government said prisoners rushed at guards.

Marvin Montes said his cousin was jailed in October after complaining to police that pro-government activists had occupied several acres of his property in Matagalpa, a city in northern Nicaragua.

The attorney general's office accused him of terrorism, aggravated robbery, obstruction of public services and attacking the mayor's office in Matagalpa.

The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights represented Montes while he was in prison.

"We have an account of the persecution that he suffered over his property going back more than two years," said Vilma Nunez, president of the human rights center.

Nunez said that in addition to the property dispute, Montes had offered to testify as a witness to a murder that he said was committed by government agents.

"Eddy was there and saw everything," said cousin Montes.

Attorney Yonarqui Martinez, who represents more than 70 political prisoners, said via Twitter that there is "proof" that Montes Praslin was shot in the back rather than during a tussle. It's unclear whether an autopsy will be performed.

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Fellow inmates looked up to Montes Praslin, calling him "pastor" because he led religious gatherings and even "father" because he was much older than the many students who are in jail.

Student-led protests against social security reforms began in April 2018 and grew in scope to demand Ortega's exit from office and early elections. The demonstrations were put down forcibly by security forces and armed, pro-government militias, with at least 325 people killed in the crackdown, more than 2,000 wounded and over 52,000 who fled the country, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Daughter Eddy Jafet Montes, who lives in California, told a Nicaraguan media outlet that she would travel to Nicaragua for the funeral, but with trepidation.

"If they threw my father in jail under any excuse, I feel they could do the same to us," she said.

The funeral is expected to take place on Sunday, according to Marvin Montes.

U.S. Ambassador Kevin Sullivan expressed sadness at Montes Praslin's death and said he met with family members Friday to convey the U.S. government's condolences.

"They deserve a comprehensive and credible account of this unjustifiable use of lethal force against an unarmed political prisoner," Sullivan said via Twitter. A U.S. State Department official reiterated the government's call for the release of all political prisoners.
Imran Khan directed govt dept to take steps for flooding in GB-AJK

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday directed the federal and provincial departments to ensure liaison for taking effective steps with regard to impending floods in Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.



The Prime Minister was given a briefing on climate change in Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir during a meeting of Climate Change Committee, a PM Media Office press release said.



Malik Amin Aslam, PMs adviser on climate change, briefed the prime minister about the electric vehicle policy. He pointed out that smoke emitting vehicles are the major cause of environmental pollution in Punjab. It was also informed that besides reduction in environmental pollution, the electric vehicles will also lessen oil imports and increase business opportunities in the country. The prime minister directed the adviser to present the final draft of electric vehicle policy in the federal cabinet for its approval within two weeks.



The prime minister was also briefed on strategy to control smog in the province and was informed that Punjab Green Development Programme has started its working besides 10 smog monitoring centers established in the province. It was informed that smog working groups have been established to create awareness among people regarding preemptive measure. The meeting was informed that brick kiln owners were being guided to adopt modern methods. The prime minister was informed that work on signing MoU with a bio-energy company is under process regarding destruction of crop residues. He was also briefed on 10 billion trees project of the government.



He was informed that various proposals are under consideration to gather financial resources of the project which include Green Sukuk, Forest Bonds and the establishment of Green Fund, a Chinese cooperation project. The prime minister was also informed that all legalities have been completed to check plastic bags use in the federal capital. In this regard, he was informed that complete ban on use of plastic bags will be imposed on August 14 this year.



At a separate meeting regarding the exploration and utilization of Thar Coal, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the federal government will extend all-out assistance to ensure the success of the power project. He said the project will remarkably help overcome energy needs of the country.



During the briefing, the prime minister was apprised that Thar Coal Field was the seventh largest coal reserve in the world with a capacity to produce 100,000 MW of power for next 200 years. It was told that Thar Coal reserves of 175 billion tones had the power production capacity equivalent to 50 billion tons of oil and 2,000 trillion cusec feet of gas.



The prime minister was told that work on the first phase of Second Thar Coal Block has been completed and work on second phase is in progress. Utilizing the Thar coal, power units are being installed in different phases to cope with the countrys power needs. The meeting was told that block-2 of Thar Coal will start producing 5,000MW power by 2025 for the next 50 years.



The prime minister was also briefed on a mining project by Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company. He was apprised about the social welfare projects by Thar Foundation in the fields of education, health, vocational training and tree plantation.
Washington (AFP) - American evangelicals have high hopes that the US Supreme Court, with its newfound conservative majority, will be tempted to chip away at its historic decision to legalize abortion.

Forty-six years after its landmark Roe v Wade decision, the high court is at the heart of a heated offensive led by states with conservative majorities who oppose the voluntary termination of pregnancy.

This week alone, Alabama passed a law banning women from having an abortion even in cases of incest or rape and the Missouri legislature made illegal abortions from eight weeks of pregnancy. Both states have vowed to prosecute doctors who perform the procedure.

Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky, Iowa and North Dakota have enacted laws banning abortion from the moment a fetal heartbeat is detected, around six weeks of gestation, before most women know they are pregnant.

All of these laws flagrantly go against Roe v Wade, which guarantees women's rights to abortion as long as the fetus is not viable -- around 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The new pieces of legislation are therefore widely expected to soon be blocked in court. But their backers seek to go beyond that step, planning to appeal such decisions until they reach the Supreme Court in hopes this will lead to the long-sought conservative goal of overturning the abortion ruling.

"All the conservative states across the US are testing the limits, they see it's a sympathetic court to the conservatives," Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown Law told AFP.

"(President Donald) Trump has changed the balance of the Supreme Court, so that he now has a Supreme Court that is decisively conservative and unfriendly to women's reproductive rights, that's unquestionably true."

During the 2016 campaign, Trump secured the evangelical vote that had been initially hesitant to cast ballots for the bombastic, twice-divorced billionaire by promising to appoint anti-abortion justices at the highest court in the land.

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- Pivot -

Since his election, the president has brought two appointees to the high court -- Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh -- and the progressives are now a minority of four on the nine-person bench.

"We know who put them in the court and why, we know that Trump and (president George W.) Bush are expecting them to vote to overturn Roe. But in the past, presidents have been wrong in their selection," said Mary Ziegler, a law professor at Florida State University.

"There are a lot of uncertainties, so we don't know where the conservative justices stand exactly."

She noted that during his confirmation hearings, Brett Kavanaugh insisted he supported upholding past rulings.

"Chief Justice John Roberts is very aware of how the public perceives the Supreme Court. He likes the idea that people have respect for the court," said Sherry Colb of Cornell Law School.

In February, Roberts joined liberal justices in freezing the Louisiana law that critics say imposed such drastic conditions on doctors who perform abortion procedures that only one of them was left able to provide the service in the entire state.

Two years earlier, however, Roberts had backed a similar law in Texas.

Observers say the shift shows the chief justice places more emphasis on his central role on the bench over his own personal convictions.

- 'Patchwork' -

In another sign of a tempered stance from the court, it has yet to decide whether to take up an appeal from Indiana seeking to uphold a law that treats a fetus as an individual.

Since December, the justices have put the case on their agenda a dozen times without making a decision either way -- a highly unusual process, Ziegler noted.

"They are continuing to kick the can down the road. I don't know what the point of waiting is, sooner or later, if they do want to take it, it starts to push it to 2020," when the next US presidential vote will take place, Ziegler added.

"If the idea is not to have a lot of controversy, stalling a decision to an election year is not a smart move."

A.E. Dick Howard of the University of Virginia School of Law said such moves make it seem "unlikely" that the court will overturn its 1973 decision.

"But it is ready to chip away at it," he added.

"You will see a (conservative) majority that will increasingly relax the limits they place on the states."

Abortion rules vary greatly from state to state, in what Howard describes as a "patchwork" of legislation.

Some states discourage women from seeking the procedure by requiring two separate medical opinions and parental authorization for minors.

Others impose such strict conditions on clinics that most have closed.

Gostin pointed to the problem of unequal access for women in different states.

"A woman of means will always be able to get an abortion in the United States, she will be able to travel to California, New York, (Washington) DC," he said.

"The poor women in rural areas... they are the ones that are going to suffer."
If Uttar Pradesh were a country, it would be one of the world's most populous. And this poverty-stricken northern melting pot of over 200 million people is the biggest prize in India's election ending on Sunday.

Uttar Pradesh (UP) has 80 parliamentary seats, the most of any state, and at the 2014 election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept up 71 of them.

This helped give BJP a three-decade record of 282 seats in the 545-seat parliament to oust India's grand old Congress party, which sunk to a record low of 44, just two of them in UP.

"To be in Delhi, you need to perform very well in UP," Ashok Upadhyay, political scientist at Banaras Hindu University, told AFP.

Many analysts credit the BJP's previous electoral success to a fragmented opposition and a massive shift of disparate caste groups towards Modi over an array of issues, including emotive religious appeals.

UP, which has given India nine prime ministers, lies at the centre of the country's vast northern Hindi-speaking belt, home to around a third of India's 1.3-billion population and which in 2014 formed the core of the BJP's support.

- Dalit voting power -

But the landlocked region, home to the Taj Mahal and roughly the size of Britain, is also a cauldron of religions and castes and in this election an unlikely anti-Modi alliance has been formed.

One part of it is the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), headed by Mayawati, the formidable "Dalit Queen" whose championing of India's lower castes helped her become UP chief minister four times.

She has partnered with her former sworn foes the Samajwadi Party (SP), led by another former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, and the smaller Rashtriya Lok Dal party (RLD). Absent from the tie-up though is Congress.

"Our aim is to oust the BJP and for the entire opposition to be united," Vandana Singh, spokeswoman for Yadav's Samajwadi Party, told AFP.

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The state's chief minister is currently the BJP's hardline Yogi Adityanath, a shaven-headed, saffron-robed Hindu monk whose uncompromising rhetoric has alienated many voters.

The BJP insists it is confident but experts say the ruling party knows it is going to lose support in UP.

As a result the party is aiming to make up for losses by picking up seats in north-eastern and eastern India, most notably in West Bengal where it faces another tough challenger in the hard-left Mamata Banerjee.

"Getting a majority (in parliament) means a comprehensive electoral performance across the country," Nalin Kohli, a BJP spokesman, told AFP.

- Vital Varanasi -

But personal honour is also at stake in UP for both Modi and Rahul Gandhi, the head of Congress hoping to become the fourth member of India's venerable Gandhi-Nehru dynasty to become prime minister.

The UP city of Varanasi, where Hindus are cremated on the banks of the holy Ganges 24 hours a day, is where Modi is standing, and the 68-year-old's popularity there is unparalleled.

He won the seat with a huge majority in 2014, telling voters that he wasn't an outsider -- he hails not from UP but from Gujarat -- but Varanasi's "son of the soil".

Locals praise him for his efforts to develop the city dotted with temples and thronging with pilgrims and tourists in a state that is a byword for chronic underdevelopment.

But he may have overstepped the mark with his ambitious plan to urbanise the city, razing centuries-old homes to clear the view to a Hindu temple.

"People of Uttar Pradesh are angry with Modi and I think both Modi and BJP will pay politically for it," Santosh Singh, a restaurant owner in Varanasi, told AFP.

"BJP is no longer a people's party, it's just about Modi," he said.

Gandhi, 48, meanwhile is standing in Amethi, a family bastion in the state. But he is also contesting a constituency in the southern state of Kerala, something allowed under Indian election rules -- just in case.
Santiago (AFP) - Victims of a Chile-based Nazi pedophile sect said compensation offered by Germany was not enough to make up for decades of slavery and abuse.

Germany said Friday it would pay up to 10,000 euros ($11,000) each to victims of the "Colonia Dignidad" commune founded by a former Nazi soldier.

"It's a help, yes, but it does not solve the problem. We are a lost generation," Horst Schaffrick, a German who arrived at the enclave with his family at the age of three, told AFP.

Schaffrick suffered sexual abuse by former Wehrmacht soldier Paul Schaefer, who founded the sect in southern Chile in 1961.

The commune was presented as an idyllic German family village but in reality, Schaefer, a convicted pedophile, abused, drugged and indoctrinated the few hundred residents and kept them as virtual slaves.

His group had close ties to the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and would torture and "disappear" regime critics.

Germany said Friday it would pay up to 10,000 euros to victims of the sect.

The compensation "covers very little, if you compare it to the 40 years of work without pay," said Schaffrick, who also referred to "the suffering caused by slavery, beatings, drugs and sexual abuse for 20 years."

"How am I going to continue in my old age, how am I going to live? It cannot be solved, that's what is serious about this situation," he said.

- Violence and abuse -

Winfried Hempel, who was born in the commune and lived there until the age of 20, also felt the proposed compensation "is a step forward, but certainly not enough."

"What we would have wanted, and what we are arguing for, would be that we give settlers who are old enough to retire a decent pension, no more and no less," said the lawyer, who is fighting for the victims.

At his office in Santiago, Hempel told AFP they would continue to seek proper compensation.

Some 240 German and Chilean survivors are eligible for the payments, including about 80 who now live in Germany, from a fund valued at an initial 3.5 million euros until 2024.

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The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights said Germany's foreign ministry was "dodging its legal responsibility to compensate the victims" more fully, adding that "many Chilean victims were left out".

A German government and parliamentary committee in its report said Friday that Schaefer "tore families apart, abused countless children and actively collaborated with Pinochet dictatorship henchmen on torture, murder and disappearances.

"The survivors still suffer massively from the severe psychological and physical consequences after years of harm caused by violence, abuse, exploitation and slave labour."

However, it also said that the German government "is of the opinion that no legal claims against the Federal Republic of Germany have arisen" from the abuses in Colonia Dignidad.

The support measures for victims would be paid "exclusively out of moral responsibility and without recognition of a legal obligation", it said.

The scale of the atrocities committed at the fenced-in mountain commune 350 kilometres (215 miles) south of Santiago came to light only after the end of Pinochet's regime.

Schaefer, having initially run from justice, was arrested in Argentina in 2005 and then jailed in Chile for child sexual and other abuses. He died behind bars in 2010 at the age of 88.
Lagos (AFP) - Aminu Magami, a taxi driver in northwest Nigeria, froze in fear when more than 20 gunmen stormed an expressway one night in February, shooting into the air.

"One of them ran towards my car" as Magami was stuck, the road blocked. "I just sat there and raised my hands, begging them," he recounted.

Magami was taken hostage in his native Zamfara State, where he was held captive and tortured for nearly a month.

His home state is reeling from a spate of attacks, with 203 crime-related deaths and 281 kidnappings in the first three months of 2019, according to Nigeria's top police officer, Mohammed Adamu.

This is nearly half the 685 kidnappings countrywide in the first quarter of the year -- an average of seven per day.

Another 1,071 people were killed in crime-related violence, Adamu recently told reporters.

In Nigeria, kidnappings for ransom have been a risk in the oil-rich south for decades.

But in recent years, the practice has spread to other areas, with northwest Nigeria -- the home region of President Muhammadu Buhari -- an increasingly concerning criminal front.

The number of reported abductions across the country is rising, according to security experts.

The causes are multiple, including difficult economic times and overstretched security forces facing threats on several fronts -- Islamist insurgents and land battles between herders and farmers.

- Torture -

Magami and his passengers, two women and three children -- including a baby -- were kidnapped in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara state.

They were chained and held captive in dark huts with dozens of others, in a dense forest that spreads across northwest Nigeria and neighbouring Niger, a haven for criminal and militia groups.

Armed kidnappers called Magami's family daily, demanding huge ransoms. His family -- traders and farmers -- struggled to get together the 440,000 naira ($1,222) to pay the captors.

Magami was freed after 25 days in chains, with no support from the police despite several calls from his family, he told AFP by telephone.

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Debts from the ransom raised will hang over Magami's family for months.

The typical kidnapper profile has changed dramatically in recent years -- as has that of their victims, said Nnamdi Obasi from the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank.

"The gangs involved now appear more organised, operating in larger groups, with more elaborate logistics, striking more audaciously."

And while they previously targeted "relatively well-to-do and high net-worth individuals", today "abductions are increasingly indiscriminate and everyone, rich or poor, is at risk," said Obasi.

As the risk has shifted northwards, the oil-rich region around Port Harcourt in the south, where kidnappings continue, is no longer the worst-affected.

- Bandit gangs -

Obasi pointed out that the country's general security situation has deteriorated as resources have been sucked into the fight against a Boko Haram Islamist insurgency in northeast Nigeria.

In addition, an historic conflict over land resources between herders and farmers across north and central Nigeria has worsened in recent years.

Targeted operations within the last week have led to the arrest of 93 suspected kidnappers across northern Nigeria, with dozens of automatic weapons confiscated, police told reporters Thursday.

But rural areas, often devoid of police, have become increasingly vulnerable to attack, with helpless communities depending on armed vigilantes for a semblance of security.

The rise of various militia and vigilantes, in turn, has led to growing concern about the proliferation of automatic weapons in north and central Nigeria.

Bandit gangs have become common in the rural northwest, stealing cattle, destroying property -- and kidnapping people for ransom.

- Refuge for insurgents -

The northwest has become a focal point where many security challenges overlap, agreed Sambo Junaidu, a top minister of the Sultan of Sokoto, the most important Islamic monarch in Nigeria.

The northwest is becoming "a refuge for insurgents and bandits" Junaidu said. "They are like chameleons, they mix up."

These include Boko Haram fighters fleeing military campaigns in the northeast and heading northwest, where security is more lax.

A common belief in the region is that gangs have been able to act with relative ease due to covert support from security officials and politicians who share in their profits.

"High profile people, politicians in the government, connived with the bandits," Junaidu alleged.

Magami worries for the future. "Things have been getting worse, not better."

He may be free, but the legacy of his captivity endures.

"The chains damaged my hands, I cannot even put on my trousers anymore, let alone talk of working again," he said.

"But I am happy to be alive."
Whatever the opposite of a rush to war is  a crawl to peace, maybe  America is in the middle of one. Since May 5, when John Bolton announced the accelerated deployment of the Abraham Lincoln carrier group to the Persian Gulf in response to intelligence of a possible Iranian attack, the press has been aflame with calls for America to show restraint, pursue diplomacy, and rein in the madman with the mustache before he starts a war.

Never mind that President Trump, Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo, Patrick Shanahan, and Bolton have not said a single word about a preemptive strike, much less a full-scale war, against Iran. Never mind that the presidents reluctance for overseas intervention is well known. The antiwar cries are not about context, and they are certainly not about deterring Iran. Their goal is saving President Obamas nuclear deal by manipulating Trump into firing Bolton and extending a lifeline to the regime.

Its a storyline that originated in Iran. Toward the end of April, Zarif showed up in New York and gave an interview to Reuters where he said, I dont think [Trump] wants war, but that doesnt exclude him basically being lured into one by Bolton. On May 14, an adviser to Rouhani tweeted at Trump, You wanted a better deal with Iran. Looks like you are going to get a war instead. Thats what happens when you listen to the mustache. Good luck in 2020!

And now this regime talking point is everywhere. Its John Boltons world. Trump is just living in it, write two former Obama officials in the Los Angeles Times. John Bolton is Donald Trumps war whisperer, writes Peter Bergen on CNN.com. Trumps potential war with Iran is all John Boltons doing. But it might also be his undoing, says the pro-Iran Trita Parsi on NBCNews.com. Is Trump Yet Another U.S. President Provoking a War? asks Robin Wright of The New Yorker. Guess her answer.

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We cannot repeat the days before the Iraq war when even many of our most reliable news outlets repeated and amplified what was, in fact, a flimsy case for war, Wendy Sherman writes in the New York Times. She would rather our most reliable news outlets repeat and amplify anti-Bolton talking points instead. Sure, America suspects Iran was involved when four commercial tankers were reportedly sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia also reported that drones sent by Iranian-supported Houthis attacked Saudi oil facilities. But, look, Iran has denied this. What more do you need to know?

This is the Iran echo chamber at work. Recall former Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodess admission to the New York Times Magazine in 2016, when he said, We created an echo chamber to attack the Iran deals opponents through leaks and tips to the D.C. press. They were saying things that validated what we had given them to say. And: We had test drives to know who was going to be able to carry our message effectively, and how to use outside groups like Ploughshares, the Iran Project, and whomever else. So we know the tactics that worked. They worked because the average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns. Thats a sea change. They literally know nothing.

And so, when President Obama framed the choice as between his deal and going to war, no one batted an eye. When Obama said the forces of good would triumph despite the money, despite the lobbyists  paging Ilhan Omar  the echo chamber repeated his words. When Obamas administration portrayed President Rouhani and Foreign Minister Zarif as reformers eager to join the international community, even though real power lies with Ayatollah Khamenei and Qassem Soleimani of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reporters dutifully conveyed the preferred narrative. Iranian hostage taking, missile building, terrorism financing, and proxy fighting was downplayed or ignored. Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, were portrayed as the real obstacles to peace.

What baloney. Still, President Obama got his deal  for a few years, anyway. When Donald Trumps victory threatened Obamas foreign-policy legacy, the echo chamber resumed operation. The same Obama officials, journalists, and foreign-policy experts who had pretended Rouhani was Gorbachev spent two years telling us that Donald Trump was a Russian asset, possibly had been since 1987, had committed treason, and would be driven from office after Robert Mueller exposed his crimes. They were ready to throw Trumps incoming national security adviser in jail for violating the Logan Act, even as John Kerry, and now it seems Dianne Feinstein, talk shop with Zarif.

Members of the echo chamber arent for attacking Iran, but they are all for slandering its American opponents. The latest target is Bolton. One of the most ferocious critics of President Obama, he has been an effective and hawkish national security adviser for President Trump. Why is he, not Iran, being blamed for heightened tensions? Its because the Iran deal, and perhaps the Iranian regime, is on life support.

Context is all. On April 8, the president announced he was designating the IRGC a terrorist organization, threatening its financial base. On April 22, Pompeo announced that the United States would end waivers for sanctions on Iranian oil. That same day, Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz. On May 8, one year after the United States withdrew from the nuclear deal, Iran threatened to follow suit.

Rouhani did not signal the end of the deal entirely, reported CNBC.com, but gave Europe an ultimatum: It will have 60 days to either follow the Trump administration or resume oil trade with Iran to save the agreement, violating U.S. sanctions. A failure to do the latter would prompt Tehran to return to high level uranium enrichment, the Iranian leader said.

This isnt diplomacy. Its nuclear blackmail. And its a sign of desperation. The Iranians are in a box. U.S. sanctions are crushing the economy, but if they leave the agreement with Europe, they will be back to square one. To escape the box, you try to punch your way out. Thats why Iran has assumed a threatening posture: Provoking an American attack could bolster waning domestic support for the regime and divide the Western alliance.

America faces a challenging international environment, with trouble spots in Venezuela, North Korea, China, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. The breadth and depth of the crises requires dispassionate analysis and prudent judgment. It also requires us to remember the differences between deterrence, retaliatory strikes, and regime change and ground invasion. Only the first two things are under consideration, as Irans behavior in the Middle East grows worse. Guess what: Weve got a peace fever. And the only prescription is more Bolton.

This column originally appeared in the Washington Free Beacon.

More from National Review
As Americans grapple with a health care system that costs $10,000 per person annually, a form of health care that avoids the insurance system  known as direct primary care  is starting to become an alternative option.

The American Academy of Family Physicians defines direct primary care as giving family physicians a meaningful alternative to fee-for-service insurance billing, typically by charging patients a monthly, quarterly, or annual fee. This fee covers all or most primary care services including clinical and laboratory services, consultative services, care coordination, and comprehensive care management.

The model aims to simplify the system for both health care professionals and patients.

We have significant bottlenecks and barriers in health care both on the provider side as well as the patient side, Dr. Akash Goel, a gastroenterologist at Weill Cornell/New York-Presbyterian Hospital, told Yahoo Finance.

So from a provider perspective, Goel explained, people are rightly frustrated because they're overburdened with [a high number of patients], short patient visits, unsatisfactory timelines to interact with patients, pressure from billing and external pressures that I think are on physicians that make the experience somewhat unsatisfactory.

Health care spending in the U.S. continues to grow. (Source: California Health Care Foundation)

From a patient perspective, people have insurance, but they're paying a lot for it, Goel said. The average person is spending somewhere in the range of $10,000 a year on health care, and they have high-deductible plans, so you have health insurance, but you don't necessarily get to use it because of the high deductibles or you have to pay out-of-pocket for it.

The direct primary care model is a little bit more streamlined in terms of receiving your health care, according to Goel, partly because it limits the number of patients doctors are seeing and gives patients the option to avoid costly insurance plans.

We believe the system is broken

Surgeries handled through the direct primary care method involve patients being able to see the total price for an operation and find a specialist for that price.

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At the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, patients do exactly that. They choose surgeries at specific prices and pay a flat rate up front, with no insurance involved. The center was started by anesthesiologists Keith Smith and Steven Lantier. After years practicing medicine, they felt growing frustration with the health care system.

We both started despising what was going on financially with the patients, Lantier told Yahoo Finance (video above). Because when you look at the bankruptcy statistics  medical bankruptcies for patients now  its egregious. The average American cannot afford health care today, so we believe the system is broken.

A look at the Surgery Center of Oklahoma's website. (Photo: Screenshot)

The reason we could put it online is because we dont take federal money

The Surgery Center of Oklahomas website allows potential patients to look up price quotes for all kinds of surgeries. Individuals simply have to click on the area of the body where they would need a surgery or a procedure done, find the exact name of the procedure, and a price is generated. From there, an option appears to request a specialist for further details.

We took all of the numbers, added them up, then added about a 10 or 15% margin to all of that, and thats the price we put it online, Lantier explained. The reason we could put it online is because we dont take federal money. If we took any federal money  Medicare or Medicaid  we couldnt do that.

Some of the pricing listed on the Surgery Center of Oklahoma's website. (Source: screenshot/Surgery Center of Oklahoma)

Lantier and Smith stressed the importance of price transparency at their establishment. Their website states fees for the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and facility are all included in one low price. There are no hidden costs, charges, or surprises.

They dont disagree with insurance in theory but choose to avoid it in practice.

There will always be some uncertainty in the delivery of something like a medical service, Smith said. And for that, I believe insurance has a role. But our idea is that patients really should know how much theyre going to pay for what theyre going to receive, and receiving quality care and not being bankrupted to receive it just seems like a good model to us.

Keith Smith (L) and Steven Lantier (R) started the Surgery Center of Oklahoma in 1997. (Photo: Courtesy of Surgery Center of Oklahoma)

Match this or I am going to go to Oklahoma City

Smith and Lantier have received patients from all around the world and notably from Canada, where there is socialized health care.

The most common story of a Canadian was a female who needed a hysterectomy that was in a line that was three years long, Smith said. They were tired of getting blood transfusions, so they would come to our facility, pay our all-inclusive price, get their surgery, and be done.

Sometimes, potential patients use their prices as leverage with other hospitals.

Weve also had people that were going to travel here, but instead printed out our pricing, held it up, and showed it to their local hospital administrator and said, Match this or I am going to go to Oklahoma City, Smith said. So, theres a bit of a price war and some price matching thats gone on through the years, and patients have been kind enough to send me an email and notify me about how much money weve saved them even when we havent performed the procedure.

Overall, while this model wont work for everyone  particularly people happy with their insurance  direct primary care has become a potential alternative at a time when health care is the top concern among Americans.

Direct primary care is a great option for docs and patients with high deductibles, Evolution Healthcare Consulting President Susan Childs told the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). Doctors are choosing a lifestyle of seeing patients the way they want to.

Yahoo Finance's Adriana Belmonte calling local hospitals in an attempt to find out how much a tonsillectomy would cost. (Photo: Yahoo Finance)

Theyre just not scaled to deliver at a population level

Given how simple direct primary care sounds, a question arises: Whats the catch?

The Surgery Center of Oklahoma takes no form of insurance, which lessens the hassle for many patients and physicians  but means that patients have to pay for everything out-of-pocket by the time they come in for their procedure. The staff works with patients to help them figuring out financing plans, but the fees must be paid by the day of the operation.

If were not helping these companies save money and get better care for their people, then its on us, Lantier said. The responsibility is right where it needs to be with our model. Thats what keeps us honest.

More generally, the direct primary care model is currently an option for a relatively low number of people.

I imagine that even if they were operating at scale, they would only serve a small percentage of the population, Dr. Goel of Weill Cornell/New York-Presbyterian Hospital said. Theyre just not scaled to deliver at a population level.

A patient speaks to Yahoo Finance at the Surgery Center of Oklahoma. (Source: Yahoo Finance)

Goel noted that the U.S. already has a significant primary care shortage in the country. People are estimating up to 40,000 primary care physician shortage by 2030. You can imagine a model that shrinks [the number of patients a doctor sees] by a third or a quarter. Well basically magnify that physician shortage by the same multiple.

That said, he added, the direct primary care model holds promise at a time when policymakers describe the health care system as inefficient and politicians are proposing major changes to the system.

It's early, Goel said. And I think that as people get more creative with incentives and also building these practices, I think it'll become more of the mainstream.

Adriana is an associate editor for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @adrianambells.

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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Citizens Financial Group (CFG). Shares have lost about 1.7% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Citizens Financial Group due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Citizens Financial Q1 Earnings Top, Expenses Flare Up

Riding on higher revenues, Citizens Financial delivered a positive earnings surprise of 4.5% in first-quarter 2019. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 93 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 89 cents. Also, the reported figure improved 19.2% year over year. Results excluded one-time items of $4 million or 1 cent per share.

Including the benefit, net income came in at $439 million, up 13% year over year. Earnings came in at 92 cents per share, up 18% from the prior-year quarter figure.

Continued growth in loan and deposit balances aiding higher revenues was recorded. Further, pressure on margins seems to be easing. However, elevated expenses and provisions were headwinds.

NII & Fee Income Drive Revenues, Loans & Deposits Growth Continues

Total revenues for the first quarter came in at $1.59 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.58 billion. Additionally, revenues were up 9% year over year.

Citizens Financials net interest income increased 6% year over year to $1.2 billion. The rise was primarily attributable to loan growth and elevated net interest margin. In addition, net interest margin expanded 4 basis points (bps) year over year to 3.25%, mainly backed by enhanced loan yields and the benefit of higher short-term rates. This was, however, partly mitigated by the impact of lower long-term rates and elevated deposit costs.

Also, non-interest income climbed 15% year over year to $428 million. This upside stemmed from strength in almost all components of income, partially offset by reduced service charges and fees.

Story continues

Non-interest expenses flared up 6% year over year to $932 million. The upswing highlights rise in all categories of expenses, partly muted by lower other operating expenses.

Efficiency ratio declined to 59% in first-quarter 2019 from the prior-year quarters 60%. Generally, a lower ratio is indicative of the banks improved efficiency.

As of Mar 31, 2019, period-end total loan and lease balances inched up 1% sequentially to $117.6 billion, while total deposits rose 4% from the prior quarter to $123.9 billion.

Credit Quality: A Mixed Bag

As of Mar 31, 2019, allowance for loan and lease losses remained almost stable year over year at $1.2 billion. Provision for credit losses grew 9% to $85 million.

Also, net charge-offs for the quarter jumped 27% year over year to $89 million. Nonetheless, total non-performing loans and leases were down 10% to $780 million.

Solid Capital Position

Citizens Financial remained well capitalized in the March-end quarter. As of Mar 31, 2019, Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 10.5% compared with 11.2% at the end of the prior-year quarter. Further, Tier 1 leverage ratio came in at 10%, in line with the prior-year quarter figure. Total Capital ratio was 13.4% compared with 13.9% a year ago.

Capital Deployment Update

The company repurchased 5.8 million shares at average price of $34.34 during the January-March quarter. Notably, including common stock dividends, the company returned $349 million to shareholders as of Mar 31, 2019.

Outlook

Second-Quarter 2019 (excluding expected notable items and including impact of acquisitions)

The company expects 0.5% sequential average loan growth.

NIM is expected to remain stable or decline slightly on a sequential basis due to continued but decelerating deposit repricing. However, in second half of 2019, NIM is expected to rise gradually on account of reduced deposit pressure and the benefit of fixed loan and securities repricing at higher rates, along with further balance sheet optimization impacts.

Non-interest income is expected to rise in mid-single digits, given continuing strength in commercial and seasonality benefiting consumer unit.

Management expects non-interest expenses to remain flat or rise 1% on a sequential basis, as seasonal decreases are offset by higher revenue-related expenses.

Also, the company expects to deliver positive operating leverage and further improve its efficiency ratio.

Provision expenses are expected to increase and be in the range of $95-105 million. The tax rate is projected to be nearly 22.4%.

Further, Basel III common equity tier 1 ratio is estimated to be about 10.5%.

Full-year 2019

Average loans are expected to grow in the range of 3-5%.

Management expects NII to grow 5-6.5%. Also, average earning assets are expected to grow 3-5% in 2019. NIM might expand by low-to-mid single digits bps, reflecting benefit of balance sheet optimization.

Non-interest income is expected to grow 11-13%, as the company continues to leverage investments and expand the capabilities. Excluding the impact of Franklin American Mortgage acquisition, fee income is likely to grow 4-6%.

Expenses are anticipated to increase 5.5-6.25%. Excluding the impact of Franklin American Mortgage acquisition, costs are likely to grow 3-3.5%. Also, the company targets to deliver positive operating leverage of 3%.

Notably, efficiency ratio is expected to improve 100 bps.

Provision expenses are expected to be in the range of $400-$450 million.

The tax rate is expected to be 22.75%.

The company is targeting a dividend payout ratio of nearly 30-35% for 2019.

Year-end Basel III common equity tier 1 ratio is estimated to be about 10.2%.

Efficiency Initiatives



In late 2014, Citizens Financial had announced its first efficiency program  TOP I  which resulted in $200 million costs savings. During the second quarter of 2015, the company announced Top II revenue and expense initiatives, which resulted in a pre-tax benefit of roughly $105 million in 2016. Following its success, Citizens Financial launched Top III program, which delivered a pre-tax benefit in excess of $115 million. Further, the company launched the Top IV program, which delivered pre-tax benefit of $115 million by the end of 2018.

Finally, continuing with the trend, Citizens Financial announced TOP V program with its second-quarter results. These fresh objectives target strong positive operating leverage with goal to self-finance growth initiatives and is expected to achieve pre-tax benefit of $95-$105 million by 2019-end.

TOP V Program

Efficiency initiatives



With help from following factors, the company expects to achieve about 67% of targeted benefits:

Branch transformation: Accelerated optimization of its branch footprint

Mortgage simplification: Focus on organizational design and improving fulfillment efficiencies

Process improvement: Next wave of opportunities to re-design end-to-end processes and leverage automation to reduce costs and improve outcomes

Customer journeys: Continue with three current customer journey initiatives to drive simple and excellent customer experiences while delivering cost efficiencies. It also plans to initiate two new journeys

Vendor/Indirect spend: Recognize further contract efficiencies and demand-management opportunities

Revenue Initiatives:

Next-phase data analytics: Develop real-time analytics to drive enhanced personalization, further expand marketing-driven production

Build-out fee income capabilities: Customer journey on commercial payments; and build out of bond-underwriting capabilities

Expand into growth areas: Establish offices in new and attractive MSAs, including Dallas and Houston

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

In the past month, investors have witnessed an upward trend in fresh estimates.

VGM Scores

At this time, Citizens Financial Group has a subpar Growth Score of D, however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with a B. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions has been net zero. Notably, Citizens Financial Group has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.



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Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (CFG) : Free Stock Analysis Report



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A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Philip Morris (PM). Shares have added about 2.8% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Philip Morris due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Philip Morris Q1 Earnings Top Estimates, Revenues Down



Philip Morris delivered first-quarter 2018 results, with the top and the bottom line beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Also, the companys earnings improved year on year. While pricing continued to remain an upside, the quarterly results also gained from improved net shipment volumes. However, lower revenues in the combustible category dented results.



Quarter in Detail



Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.09 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $99 cents. Also, the bottom line improved 9% year over year. Excluding the unfavorable impact of 6 cents from currency fluctuations, the bottom line rose 15% from the year-ago quarters tally.



Net revenues of $6,751 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6,735 million. However, the top line declined 2.1% in the reported quarter. Nevertheless, the metric was up 3.2% on a constant-currency (cc) basis, backed by favorable pricing across most regions.



Revenues from combustible products declined 4.5% to $5,508 million. Except South & Southeast Asia, the category depicted declines across most regions. Further, revenues in the Reduced-Risk Products (RRPs) improved 10.3% to $1,243 million. Growth in RRPs in most regions was partially offset by decline in East Asia & Australia.



Total cigarette and heated tobacco unit shipment volume inched up 1.1% to 175.8 billion units. While cigarette shipment volume were flat at 164.3 billion units in the first quarter, heated tobacco unit shipment volume of almost 11.5 billion units increased 20.2% year over year.



Adjusted operating income went up 3.2% year over year to $2,503 million. The metric rose 9.1% at cc. Adjusted operating margin also expanded 190 basis points to 37.1% on improved pricing variance and reduced manufacturing costs. This was partially countered by higher administration, marketing and research expenses.



Region-Wise Performance



Net revenues in European Union increased 8.6% to $ 2,159 million. Revenues climbed 15.8% at cc, courtesy of favorable pricing and volume/mix. Total shipment volume in the region improved 2.9% to 41,781 million units.



In Eastern Europe, net revenues grew 2.1% to $579 million and rose 13.4% at cc. The upside can be attributed to favorable pricing and volume/mix. Total shipment volumes fell 3.3% to 21,868 million units.



In Middle East & Africa region, net revenues declined 3.5% (up 3.5% at cc) to $927 million. Further, total shipment volumes expanded 13.7% to 34,058 million units.



Moving to South & Southeast Asia, revenues went up 3% (up 8.6% at cc) to $1,113 million. Performance was aided by favorable volume/mix and pricing. Shipment volumes grew 3.2% to 41,492 million units.



Revenues from East Asia & Australia declined 17% to $1,321 million, mainly due to unfavorable volume mix. The downside was partially countered by improved pricing. Total shipment volumes went down as much as 11.5% to 18,962 million units.



Finally, revenues from Latin America & Canada fell 7.9% (down 3.2% at cc) to $652 million. Favorable pricing was more than offset by adverse volume mix. Moreover, total shipment volumes were down 7.4% to 17,634 million units.



Other Financials



Philip Morris ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $3,081 million. Also, the company had long-term debt of $23,131 million and shareholders deficit of $10,185 million. Also, in the reported quarter, management paid quarterly dividend of $1.14 per share.



Guidance



Philip Morris revised outlook for 2019. Earnings are now expected at $4.87 compared with the earlier forecast of $5.28. Adjusted earnings are anticipated to be nearly $5.09, reflecting growth of almost 5.7% from the year-ago reported figure. Excluding the impacts of unfavorable currency of approximately 14 cents, earnings are projected to rise at least 8% to reach $5.23. Further, management expects effective tax rate for 2019 to be roughly 23%.

Story continues

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

In the past month, investors have witnessed an upward trend in fresh estimates.

VGM Scores

Currently, Philip Morris has a great Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with a B. However, the stock was allocated a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, Philip Morris has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We expect a below average return from the stock in the next few months.



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Teenage son of Qamar Zaman Kaira killed in road accident

The teenage son of senior leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party Qamar Zaman Kaira, Usama, was killed in a road accident in Lalamusa on Friday. Kaira, according to reports, was informed of the accident involving his teenage son during a press conference after which he rushed to Lalamusa. The news of the boy's death was confirmed by PPP leader Chaudhry Manzoor. The deceased was a student in Government College Lahore.



The funeral prayers of Usama will be held tomorrow at 3pm at Link School's ground in Lalamusa, PPP media cell said.



Condolence messages poured in soon after news broke of the tragic accident. PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari issued a statement, saying he was "deeply saddened to hear the tragic news of [Kaira's] young son". Bilawal also suspended all party activities for Saturday.



Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed deep sorrow over the death of Kaira's son and prayed that the deceased's soul rests in peace. He also offered his condolences to the family and prayed that they bear the loss with fortitude, Radio Pakistan reported.



Former president Asif Ali Zardari said that the "loss of a young child is unbearable" and prayed for the deceased. He assured that the "Bhutto family and the PPP stands by the Kaira family in this hour of grief".



PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif also issued a condolence statement and prayed that the departed soul rests in eternal peace and that the bereaved family would be able bear the irreparable loss.



Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, in a statement, offered his condolences to Kaira and his family, and "expressed his heartfelt grief on sad demise of Osama Kaira".



May Allah gives strength to bereaved parents and family to bear this irreparable loss," he said in a statement released by the Inter-Services Public Relations.



PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz also tweeted her condolences and prayed for the bereaved family and the soul of the deceased.



"This is how unpredictable life is. My heart goes out to the family," she said.



Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari expressed deep sympathy with the family and said: "What a terrible tragedy for any parent to bear. May Allah give Kaira and his family the strength to bear this massive loss."



PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said that the party was "devastated by the news" and that it was a "terrible loss for any parent and family".
Dividend paying stocks like Wincanton plc (LON:WIN) tend to be popular with investors, and for good reason - some research suggests a significant amount of all stock market returns come from reinvested dividends. Yet sometimes, investors buy a stock for its dividend and lose money because the share price falls by more than they earned in dividend payments.

In this case, Wincanton likely looks attractive to investors, given its 3.7% dividend yield and a payment history of over ten years. It would not be a surprise to discover that many investors buy it for the dividends. The company also bought back stock during the year, equivalent to approximately 0.5% of the company's market capitalisation at the time. When buying stocks for their dividends, you should always run through the checks below, to see if the dividend looks sustainable.

Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis

LSE:WIN Historical Dividend Yield, May 18th 2019

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Payout ratios

Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. So we need to be form a view on if a company's dividend is sustainable, relative to its net profit after tax. In the last year, Wincanton paid out 20% of its profit as dividends. We like this low payout ratio, because it implies the dividend is well covered and leaves ample opportunity for reinvestment.

Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. The company paid out 84% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is adequate, but reduces the wriggle room in the event of a downturn.

Consider getting our latest analysis on Wincanton's financial position here.

Dividend Volatility

One of the major risks of relying on dividend income, is the potential for a company to struggle financially and cut its dividend. Not only is your income cut, but the value of your investment declines as well - nasty. Wincanton has been paying dividends for a long time, but for the purpose of this analysis, we only examine the past 10 years of payments. While its dividends have not been hugely volatile, its most recent dividend is still meaningfully below where it was ten years ago. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was UK0.15 in 2009, compared to UK0.099 last year. The dividend has shrunk at around -4.0% a year during that period.

Story continues

We struggle to make a case for buying Wincanton for its dividend, given that payments have shrunk over the past ten years.

Dividend Growth Potential

Dividend payments have been consistent over the past few years, but we should always check if earnings per share (EPS) are growing, as this will help maintain the purchasing power of the dividend. Earnings have grown at around 7.9% a year for the past five years, which is better than seeing them shrink! With a decent amount of growth and a low payout ratio, we think this bodes well for Wincanton's prospects of growing its dividend payments in the future.

Conclusion

To summarise, shareholders should always check that Wincanton's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. Wincanton's dividend payout ratios are within normal bounds, although we note its cash flow is not as strong as the income statement would suggest. Earnings growth has been limited, but we like that the dividend payments have been fairly consistent. Wincanton has a number of positive attributes, but it falls slightly short of our (admittedly high) standards. Were there evidence of a strong moat or an attractive valuation, it could still be well worth a look.

Earnings growth generally bodes well for the future value of company dividend payments. See if the 5 Wincanton analysts we track are forecasting continued growth with our free report on analyst estimates for the company.

Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of dividend stocks with a yield above 3%.

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.
Shortstop Didi Gregorius could return to the lineup for the New York Yankees next month, and outfielder Giancarlo Stanton could be back sooner, manager Aaron Boone said Saturday.

Gregorius had Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow last October after sustaining the injury in Game 2 of the American League Division Series. At the time, general manager Brian Cashman said Gregorius likely could be back as early as June.

"If everything goes well, I think that's fair," Boone said of the June timetable before Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium.

Gregorius, 29, is scheduled to play Monday in an extended spring training game in Tampa.

Boone also said Stanton, 29, is closing on a return.

The slugger, who has been on the bench since April 1 with a strained left shoulder, could play in a rehab game on Monday night for the Class-A Tampa Tarpons.

"He's been getting live ABs (at-bats) the last couple days," Boone said. "He actually got hit (Friday) on the knee...

"(He's) OK, nothing serious. He's going to get more live ABs (Saturday) with the hope that he will start a rehab assignment with the Tarpons on Monday potentially."

Stanton could come off the injured list within a week or so if there aren't any setbacks. Gregorius still must play in a few extended spring games, then minor league rehab games before returning to Yankee Stadium.

Last season, Gregorius appeared in 134 games for the Yankees, batting .268 with 27 home runs, 23 doubles and 86 RBIs. Stanton played in 158 games, batting .266 with 38 home runs, 100 RBIs and 164 hits.

--Field Level Media
If you are interested in cashing in on Zhongyuan Bank Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:1216) upcoming dividend of CN0.035 per share, you only have 3 days left to buy the shares before its ex-dividend date, 22 May 2019, in time for dividends payable on the 28 June 2019. Investors looking for higher income-generating stocks to add to their portfolio should keep reading, as I take a deeper dive into Zhongyuan Bank's latest financial data to analyse its dividend attributes.

Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

Check out our latest analysis for Zhongyuan Bank

Here's how I find good dividend stocks

When researching a dividend stock, I always follow the following screening criteria:

Is their annual yield among the top 25% of dividend payers?

Has it consistently paid a stable dividend without missing a payment or drastically cutting payout?

Has dividend per share risen in the past couple of years?

Can it afford to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?

Based on future earnings growth, will it be able to continue to payout dividend at the current rate?

SEHK:1216 Historical Dividend Yield, May 18th 2019

Does Zhongyuan Bank pass our checks?

The current trailing twelve-month payout ratio for the stock is 34%, meaning the dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Furthermore, analysts have not forecasted a dividends per share for the future, which makes it hard to determine the yield shareholders should expect, and whether the current payout is sustainable, moving forward.

When thinking about whether a dividend is sustainable, another factor to consider is the cash flow. A business with strong cash flow can sustain a higher divided payout ratio than a company with weak cash flow.

Reliability 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. Unfortunately, it is really too early to view Zhongyuan Bank as a dividend investment. Last year was the company's first dividend payment, so it is certainly early days. The standard practice for reliable payers is to look for 10 or so years of track record.

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In terms of its peers, Zhongyuan Bank produces a yield of 1.8%, which is on the low-side for Banks stocks.

Next Steps:

After digging a little deeper into Zhongyuan Bank's yield, it's easy to see why you should be cautious investing in the company just for the dividend. But if you are not exclusively a dividend investor, the stock could still be an interesting investment opportunity. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, you should always research extensively before deciding whether or not a stock is an appropriate investment for you. I always recommend analysing the company's fundamentals and underlying business before making an investment decision. I've put together three fundamental aspects you should further examine:

Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for 1216s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for 1216s outlook. Valuation: What is 1216 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 1216 is currently mispriced by the market. Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Kerala top state in overall health performance among larger states, Uttar Pradesh the worst, says the 4th Health Index by Niti Aayog.
Donald Knuth is a computer scientist who is so committed to the correctness of his books that he offers one US hexadecimal dollar ($2.56, 0x$1.00) for any bug found in his books, where a bug is anything that is technically, historically, typographically, or politically incorrect. I wanted to get a Knuth check for myself, so I set out to find some errors in his magnum opus, The Art of Computer Programming (TAOCP). I found three and sent them in, and true to his word, he sent me back a check for 0x$3.00.

As you can see, its not a real check. Knuth used to send out real checks, but stopped in 2008 due to rampant fraud. Now he sends out personal certificates of deposit to the Bank of San Serriffe (BoSS). He says hell still send real money if its desired, but that seems like a lot of hassle.

There are two typographical errors and one historical error. Ill describe them in order of triviality from greatest to least.

Typo #1

The first typo is on page 392 of Volume 3, Sorting and Searching, eighth line from the bottom: After an unsuccessful search it is sometime desirable to enter a new record, containing K, into the table; a method that does this is called a search-and-insertion algorithm. The error is that sometime should be sometimes.

Of course, its no surprise that such an error should get made. This post alone is sure to contain several typos (no rewards for finding them though). Whats surprising is that it went undiscovered for so long. Page 392 isnt buried deep in a math-heavy section, its the very first page of Chapter 6, Searching! Youd think that would be one of the most-read sections of the whole thing, and therefore also one of the most typo-free, but I guess not.

By the way, if youve ever thought about reading TAOCP, give it a try. A lot of people will tell you that its a reference work, and its not meant to be read straight through, but that isnt true. The author has a clear point of view and a narrative and an idiosyncratic style, and the only thing that inhibits readability is the difficulty of the math. Theres an easy solution to that though: read until you get to math you dont understand, then skip it and find the next section you can understand. Reading this way, I skip at least 80% of the book, but the remaining 20% is great!

People also say that TAOCP is irrelevant or outdated or otherwise inapplicable to real programming. This also wrong. For instance, the first section after the chapter intro deals with the basic problem of searching for an item in an unsorted array. The simplest algorithm should be familiar to all programmers. Start your pointer at the head of the array, then do the following in a loop:

Check if the current item is the desired one. If it is, return success; otherwise Check if the pointer is past the array bound. If it is, return failure; otherwise Increment the pointer and continue.

Now consider: how many bound checks does this algorithm require on average? In the worst case, when the array doesnt contain the item, one bound check will be required for each item in the list, and on average it will be something like N/2. A more clever search algorithm can do it with just one bound check in all cases. Tack the desired item on to the end of the array, then start your pointer at the head of the array and do the following in a loop:

Check if the current item is the desired one. If it is, return success if the pointer is within the array bound and return failure if it isnt; otherwise Increment the pointer and continue.

With this algorithm, things are arranged such that the item is guaranteed to be found one way or another, and the bound check only needs to be executed once when the item is found. This is a deep idea, but its also simple enough even for a beginning programmer to understand. I guess I cant speak about the relevance for the work of others, but I was immediately able to apply this wisdom in both personal and professional code. TAOCP is full of gems like this.

Searching, searching

For so long

Searching, searching

I just wanted to dance  Luther Vandross, Searching (1980)

Typo #2

The second typo is in Volume 4A, Combinatorial Algorithms, Part 1. There is a problem on page 60 that deals with scheduling comedians to perform at various casinos. Several real-life comedians are used as an example, including Lily Tomlin, Weird Al Yankovic, and Robin Williams, who was not dead when the volume was published. Knuth always includes full names in the indexes to his books, so Williams appears on page 882 as Williams, Robin McLaurim. But his middle name ends with an n, not an m, so it should be McLaurin.

McLaurin was his mothers maiden name. She was the great-granddaughter of Anselm Joseph McLaurin, the 34th governor of Mississippi. His administration does not seem to have been noteworthy. According to Mississippi: A History:

The most important event of McLaurins administration was the United States declaration of war against Spain in the spring of 1898Unfortunately the war may have given some state officials the opportunity to practice graft. McLaurin was accused of various questionable practices, including nepotism and excessive use of his pardoning powers. And in this era of mounting support for the temperance movement, the governors critics charged him with drunkenness, an allegation he publicly admitted.

Historical Error

Consider the traditional multiplication algorithm taught to schoolchildren. How many single-digit multiplication operations does it require? Say youre multiplying m-digit x by n-digit y. First you multiply the first digit of x by each digit of y in turn. Then you multiply the second digit of x by each digit of y in turn, and so on until youve gone through each digit of x. Thus traditional multiplication requires mn primitive multiplications. In particular, multiplying two numbers each with n digits requires n2 single-digit multiplications.

Thats bad, but its possible to do better with a method devised by the Soviet mathematician Anatoly Alexeevich Karatsuba. Say x and y are two-digit decimal numbers; that is, there are numbers a, b, c, d such that x = (ab) 10 and y = (cd) 10 . Then x = 10a + b, y = 10c + d, and xy = (10a + b)(10c + d). FOILing that out gives xy = 100ac + 10ad + 10bc + bd. At this point we still have the expected n2 = 4 single-digit multiplications: ac, ad, bc, bd. Now add and subtract 10ac + 10bd. Some clever rearranging, which Ill leave as an exercise for the reader, yields xy = 110ac + 11bd + 10(a - b)(d - c)  just three single-digit multiplications! (There are some constant coefficients, but those can be calculated by doing only addition and bit-shifting.)

Dont ask me to prove it, but the Karatsuba algorithm (recursively generalized from the example above) improves the traditional methods O(n2) multiplications to O(n(lg 3)). Note that this is an actual algorithmic improvement, not a mental math trick. Indeed, the algorithm is not suitable for use inside the human brain, as it requires a large overhead to deal with recursive bookkeeping. Besides, the speedup doesnt start to kick in until the numbers get fairly large anyway.

This algorithm is described on page 295 of Volume 2, Seminumerical Algorithms. There, Knuth says, Curiously, this idea does not seem to have been discovered before 1962, which is when the paper describing the Karatsuba algorithm was published. But! In 1995 Karatsuba published a paper titled The Complexity of Computations in which he says a few things: 1) Around 1956, Kolmogorov conjectured that multiplication could not be done with less than O(n2) multiplication steps. 2) In 1960, Karatsuba attended a seminar wherein Kolmogorov pitched his n2 conjecture. 3) Exactly within a week Karatsuba devised his divide-and-conquer algorithm. 4) In 1962, Kolmogorov wrote and published a paper in Karatsubas name describing the algorithm. I learned about the article only when I was given its reprints.

Thus the error is that 1962 should be 1960. Thats it.

Analysis

Finding these errors didnt take a lot of skill.

The first typo took no skill at all to find. The error was as mundane as could be, and it was in a relatively visible place (the beginning of a chapter). Any idiot could have found it; I just happened to be the idiot who did. Finding the second typo required luck and diligence, but no skill. The index entry for Williams appears on the penultimate page of the volume, a highly visible piece of book real estate. I happened to be thumbing through the index, and it happened to catch my eye. Because I habitually look things up on Wikipedia, I looked up Robin Williams, and I happened to notice the discrepancy. I wish I could say I did some serious digging to find the historical error, but really all I did was look at the Wikipedia page on the Karatsuba algorithm, the first two lines of which read: The Karatsuba algorithm is a fast multiplication algorithm. It was discovered by Anatoly Karatsuba in 1960 and published in 1962. After that it was just a matter of connecting the dots.

In the future, Id like to find a more substantial bug, especially one in Knuths code. Id also like to find a bug in Volume 1, Fundamental Algorithms. I might have already, but my local public library for whatever reason only has Volumes 2, 3, and 4A.

Financial facts:

In total, my contributions to TAOCP consist of just three characters : one added s, an n to replace an m, and a 0 to replace a 2. At $2.56 a pop, those are some lucrative characters; if you were paid $2.56/character to write 1000 words with an average of 4 characters/word, youd clear ten grand.

My three hex dollars put me in a 29-way tie for being the 69th richest person in all of San Serriffe.

Other Discussions of Knuth Checks

The day after I posted this article, somebody submitted it to Hacker News, where it received 140 comments. And many of them were good!

Perhaps most importantly, one commenter claimed that the sometime typo was not present in the first edition of Volume 3. I went to the library to look it up myself, and its true: the typo was introduced in the second edition. This is good news for pedants and scavengers like me; it suggests that new bugs might always arise, and the number of bugs will never reach zero.

My description of the faster search algorithm received quite a bit of scrutiny. Many were confused by the phrase tack the desired item on to the end of the array  what kind of memory operation is that exactly? Others missed that part of the algorithm entirely, and assumed the algorithm was to search past the array bounds and assume that the desired key is bound to turn up sooner or later. The latter confusion might have been solved with clearer exposition, but the former seems to miss the point. After all, the algorithm is abstract, and how it gets implemented in a real programming language is a separate issue.

There was also a lively discussion about whether the algorithm provides any speedup at all in light of modern architecture and compilers. Much of it is over my head, and its worth reading. The consensus seems to be that sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesnt.

By the way, Knuth mentions a variation of that algorithm in the third chapter of his Selected Papers on Computer Science (Algorithms, 1977). There the algorithm iterates backwards through the list after prepending the item to the beginning. Just imagine what a shitshow it would have been if I had used that version!

The article was also posted to Reddit, where the discussion was much worse.

Finally, as predicted, there were indeed at least two bugs in this post. The first was pointed out by many commenters: techinical for technical. The second was pointed out by just one: a typo in the algebra in the Karatsuba multiplication section.

1 To be clear, theres also a lot of weird stuff, like the bubble sort machine.

2 From Help Wanted:

I try to make the indexes to my books as complete as possible, or at least to give the illusion of completeness. Therefore I have adopted a policy of listing full names of everyone who is cited. For example, the index to Volume 1 of The Art of Computer Programming says ``Hoare, Charles Antony Richard and ``Jordan, Marie Ennemond Camille instead of just ``Hoare, C. A. R. and ``Jordan, Camille.

3 Generalizing this algorithm to longer digits requires some bookkeeping, but isnt too complicated. Still, I would certainly screw up the details, so Im playing it safe by sticking with an easy example.

4 Fortunately, the Karatsuba algorithm has been superseded by even faster methods. In March 2019, an algorithm was published requiring n log n multiplications. The speedup from this method only applies to numbers that are unimaginably large.

5 This is less pathetic than it sounds, as Knuths indexes have Easter eggs hidden in them. For instance, the index for The TeXBook has entries for Arabic and Hebrew, and they both point to page 66. But that page doesnt mention either language; instead, it mentions languages that read from right to left.

6 As of 1 May 2019.
Polls opened Saturday in Australia's nail-biter election, a race that may be the first anywhere decided on climate policy. Just under 17 million people are expected to cast their ballots across the vast island-continent, as final surveys predicted a centre-left Labor victory. Prime Minister Scott Morrison's conservative Liberals had closed a yawning gap on the opposition, but differences over climate may prove the difference. In one Sydney suburb, early rising voters trickled into a beachside surf club to cast their ballots, as volunteers wearing bright orange "I'm a climate voter" t-shirts handed out pamphlets. "I'm worried about the climate and that Australia is not doing enough," the volunteer Catherine Willis told AFP. A season of record floods, wildfires and droughts has brought the issue front and centre in the campaign. In rural areas, climate-hit farmers are demanding action. And in several rich suburbs, eco-minded centre-right independents are running Liberal party luminaries close. Labor has pledged ambitious targets for renewable energy, while the Liberals said they would not risk the coal-fuelled economy's health to make the air cleaner. The Liberal message has been pitched at older and wealthier voters who may see higher taxes under Labor. Final polls show the vote is going down to the wire, with Labor ahead roughly 51-49. But compulsory voting and a complex system of ranking candidates mean an upset is possible. "This will be the closest election we've seen in many, many years," Morrison predicted while making a final pitch to voters in north Queensland. Weeks ago, the contest looked like it might be a rout for Labor. But a final survey by Ipsos Friday showed Morrison's coalition trailing Shorten's Labor 49 to 51 percent, from 48 to 52 percent two weeks ago. In some battleground seats, the race is even tighter, with the electorate split 50-50. "I don't think anyone... thought this is where the election would be the day before," Morrison said. - Candidates egged - The campaign has been an often ignominious pitched-battle, with Morrison -- in lock step with Rupert Murdoch's fiercely conservative media -- mounting a relentlessly negative campaign, warning a Labor government will wreck the already slowing economy. Out on the campaign trail, candidates have been egged, abused and a slew have resigned for racist, sexist and otherwise jaw-dropping social media posts. In one Sydney battleground seat, a 62-year-old man was arrested and charged with thrusting a corkscrew into the stomach of someone putting up campaign banners on the eve of the election. Morrison is scraping for his political life, hoping to avoid entering the history books as one of the shortest-serving prime ministers in Australian history. He took office last August after a party room coup that ousted moderate pro-climate leader Malcolm Turnbull -- the latest in a series of political fratricides that have made Canberra politics look like "Game of Thrones" meets "The Hunger Games." Much of Morrison's cabinet has resigned or gone into virtual hiding because of their unpopularity. If he wins, it would be one of the greatest political comebacks anywhere, akin to US president Harry Truman's defeat of Thomas Dewey in 1948. If Shorten is elected, he would become the sixth prime minister sworn into office in a decade. The former union leader has struggled with low personal approval ratings but has become a more polished campaigner as the election has neared. Still, his relative lack of charisma was underlined Thursday by the death of much-loved former prime minister Bob Hawke, an Oxford-educated lovable rogue, equally at home chugging a pint or debating Keynesian economics. But the upswelling of sadness about Hawke's death could remind voters of less contentious times under Labor. Shorten's hopes of grabbing the top job may hinge on results in Queensland and his home state of Victoria -- where Labor's lead has proved more resilient and where climate change has been a critical issue. Should he win, Australia will likely get a vote on becoming a republic and, as Shorten put it, returning a head of state that Australia has borrowed from the other side of the world for more than two centuries. Polls opened at 8:00 am local (2200 GMT) and the first exit polls are expected around 10 hours later. Environmental campaigners protesting recently against the development of the India-backed Adani coal mine near Bowen in Queensland; climate change is a key issue in Australia's election
President Donald Trump on Friday announced a deal to lift US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico that had created friction between the neighbors and blocked a new North American free trade agreement. "I'm pleased to announce that we've just reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico and will be selling our product into those countries, without the imposition of tariffs," Trump said at an event in the US capital. His statement came moments after Canada released the text of the agreement between Ottawa and Washington in which they agreed to eliminate US tariffs on steel and aluminum, and Canada's retaliatory measures, within no more than two days. Mexico confirmed it had reached a similar agreement with the United States. "Trump's strategy has worked," US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement, crediting the tariffs with reviving US steel and aluminum manufacturers. The steep US tariffs imposed last year -- 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum -- became a major stumbling block to ratifying a new North American trade pact negotiated last year by the three countries. Canada and Mexico initially were exempted from the tariffs Trump enforced using a national security argument, as part of his hardline trade tactics. Once America's neighbors were included, the levies drew retaliation with tariffs on a host of US products. Even after the governments agreed to a revised free trade deal -- the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA -- the tariffs remained in place, but officials in Ottawa and Mexico City said they would not sign unless Washington removed the metals duties. - Not making sense - Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was a shared recognition that "these tariffs were harming workers and consumers on both sides of the border" and "didn't make a lot of sense" in the context of a new free trade deal. "Obviously these continued tariffs on steel and aluminum and our countermeasures represented significant barriers to moving forward with the new NAFTA agreement," he said, referring to the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement. "Now that we've had a full lift on these tariffs we are going to work with the United States on timing for ratification but we're very optimistic we are going to be able to move forward well in the coming weeks," Trudeau said. Mexican chief trade negotiator Jesus Seade likewise tweeted that the lifting of tariffs "clears the way towards ratification of USMCA." Some key members of the US Congress had said they would not agree to vote for the three-country free trade pact unless the Trump's metals tariffs ended. "Hopefully Congress will approve it quickly," said Trump. Democratic US Senator Chuck Schumer applauded the decision to remove the metals tariffs, but said there are other concerns about the USMCA. "It is a good thing these tariffs will be lifted, and we should urge our allies to join us in preventing China's predatory practices," Schumer said in a statement. However, "There are still many other issues that are outstanding before Democrats would support the USMCA." According to the agreement, Canada and Mexico will withdraw all complaints lodged against the United States at the World Trade Organization. The two countries also agreed to monitor imports of steel and aluminum to ensure metals that are sold at "dumped prices" -- below the cost of production -- are not purchased in or shipped through Canada and Mexico. In addition, they agreed to a provision to reimpose steep duties if imports of the metals "surge meaningfully beyond historic volumes of trade over a period of time." The US Trade Representative's office said the agreement "provides for aggressive monitoring and a mechanism to prevent surges in imports of steel and aluminum." "This agreement is great news for American farmers that have been subject to retaliatory tariffs from Canada and Mexico," USTR said. US tariffs on steel and aluminum from Europe remain in place, as does the EU retaliation. Some countries, including South Korea, accepted export quotas to avoid the tariffs. President Donald Trump announced a deal to end US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico that had created friction between the neighbors
While global oil markets are accustomed to factoring geopolitical uncertainty into oil prices, this kind of geopolitical fallout hasnt been seen for a number of years. The worlds largest oil exporter, that still along with its OPEC+ partners, plays the role of global oil markets swing producer, is seeing an escalation of attacks on its oil export infrastructure and shipping.

Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that armed drones had attacked two of its oil pumping stations. This came just two days after the sabotage of two oil tankers carrying Saudi oil near the UAE. Meanwhile, the U.S. military, amid an increasingly tense tit for tat exchange of words between Washington and Tehran, said it was braced for possibly imminent threats to U.S. forces in Iraq from Iran-backed forces.

Tuesdays attacks on the pumping stations more than 200 miles west of Riyadh and Sundays attack on four tankers off the UAE have raised concerns that the U.S. and Iran might be inching toward military conflict. However, on Thursday Trump told media that he did not want a war with Iran.

Also on Thursday, a Saudi-led coalition carried out airstrikes on Sanaa, the Yemeni capital. The deadly airstrikes, that reportedly left six dead, came after Yemens Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who control the capital, claimed responsibility for the Tuesday drone attack on Saudi Arabias critical oil pipeline. All of this, of course, isnt being lost on global oil markets which ticked up on Thursday by more than 1 percent. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures ended the days session at $72.62/barrel, up 1.18 percent, while U.S. oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 1.37 percent, at $62.87/barrel, near its highest level in two weeks.

Global shipping concerns

Global oil traders aren't the only ones closely monitoring increased tensions in the Middle East, global ship insurers also considering their next course of action. On Thursday, London maritime ship insurers met to consider whether or not to increase shipping insurance rates for tankers in the Arabian Gulf.

However, thus far they have failed to reach a consensus. The Joint War Committee, which includes Lloyd's Market Association (LMA) members and representatives from other insurance providers, will meet again on Monday to discuss the matter further, said the LMAs Head of Marine Underwriting Neil Roberts. Related: Peak Gasoline Vehicles Is Already Here

According to reports, the group doesn't have enough information yet to make a decision over rate possible increases. "At the moment there are not many facts or verifiable information (about the attacks on Sunday)," Roberts said on Wednesday. "There is no decision yet on whether to change the listed areas of enhanced risk.

There are a number of options, which include no change. He added that any changes would take seven days to come into effect. "Ships going into the Gulf already have to inform underwriters; the question is whether vessels within the Persian Gulf and operating there are additionally exposed, he said. The last time The Joint War Committee updated the list of high-risk areas was June 2018.

Some are already anticipating an increase in shipping rates, including Asian oil refiners which rely heavily on Middle Eastern crude imports. Asia derives around 70 percent of its crude oil from the Middle East, while disruptions in oil production or shipping routes can severely affect Asian economies, including China and Japan, the worlds second and third largest economies, respectively.

Ashok Sharma, managing director of shipbroker BRS Baxi in Singapore, told Reuters earlier this week there seems to be no increase in [insurance premiums] as of yet, while he warned that if security in the Gulf region deteriorated, then insurers may be left with no choice but to increase marine insurance premiums.

By Tim Daiss for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
With an abundant supply of natural resources, Nigerias oil and gas sector plays a key role in global energy. Its oil deposits have been a major source of crude for decades, while its less developed natural gas fields offer resources that have yet to be fully tapped. In addition to being a traditional heavyweight in terms of output, the energy sector is also notable for its early success in building local content in upstream activity. Policy moves over the past two decades have enabled young firms to acquire and develop oil and gas blocks, build pipelines and distribution networks, and, based on the current project pipeline, refineries as well.

There is still room for improvement, however. Nigerias midstream infrastructure is lacking, and while this holds back overall development, it affects natural gas resources in particular. Consumer fuel subsidies have continued to prove problematic, yet efforts to remove them are often met with public outcry. This has left the country simultaneously resource-rich, yet facing chronic shortages of finished products.

Change in the Air

However, a potential change could be coming soon. Dangote Industries, a Nigerian-based business conglomerate, is constructing one of the worlds largest refineries in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos. Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the state-owned oil company, is working on several fronts to boost domestic refining capacity, including refurbishing the countrys four underperforming refineries and exploring incentive programmes to induce private investors to build new downstream capacity.

Nigeria is the only member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that imports petrol. The NNPC calculates capacity at the states four major oil refineries at 445,000 bpd of crude, which is more than enough to meet domestic demand; however, estimates vary. Neglect and a lack of investment have seen production decline over the years, leading BP to estimate capacity closer to 345,000 bpd. NNPC data shows that throughput has surpassed 100,000 bpd just twice in the past ten years. While a refining revolution would revitalise downstream activities, the sector is also waiting for a legal overhaul to do the same upstream. Forward momentum on this regulatory change, known as the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), has stalled as President Muhammadu Buharis refusal to ratify it has left potential investors without regulatory guidelines. Additional legislation also proposed disassembling the NNPC into a number of new agencies and parastatals to improve regulatory oversight.

Size & Scope

With an estimated 37.5bn barrels of crude oil deposits at end-2017, representing 2.2% of the global total, Nigeria has the second-largest proven reserves on the continent, behind only Libya with 48.4bn barrels, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2018. Production averaged 1.99m barrels per day (bpd) in 2017, up 4.5% from 1.9bn in 2016, but marking the second consecutive year below 2m bpd, with both figures lower than the previous ten-year low of 2.17m recorded in 2008. Production peaked in 2010 at 2.53m bpd, but decreased for the six consecutive years to 2016. Angola was Africas second-biggest producer in 2017 with 1.67m bpd, followed by Algeria with 1.54 bpd.

Proven natural gas reserves, meanwhile, stood at 5.2trn cu metres, representing 2.7% of the global total and the largest reserves in Africa. Natural gas output grew by 11% in 2017 to 47.2bn cu metres and close to the most recent 10-year high of 47.6bn cu metres in 2015. Recent production trends have been less pronounced for gas than for oil, with output totals bouncing between 34.4bn cu metres and 47.6bn cubic metres for the past decade, falling below that threshold just once in 2009.

Oil and gas exploration is ongoing, with major new finds expected in the future, so figures are likely to change; however, if current levels of production and reserves remain constant, the country is forecast to run out of oil in 51.6 years and natural gas in 110.2 years, according to BP data.

Sector Organisation

The most influential government body in the energy industry is the NNPC, which functions as an operator in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors; a joint-venture partner to private sector exploration and production companies; and a regulator. The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the NNPC, acts as the national oil company. The NPDC currently has interests in 28 blocks, five of which it owns outright and nine of which it has a 55% stake in through joint ventures with private operators. Most regulatory powers originally assigned to NNPCs Petroleum Inspectorate in the original NNPC Act of 1977 are now exercised by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), which is a part of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. However, the NNPC still holds considerable authority, including the ability to review and approve the work plans of upstream companies.

On a global level, Nigeria has been a member of OPEC since 1971, and the organisations current secretary-general, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, is a former top executive at the NNPC.

Another important state body is the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB). Formed through the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act of 2010, the NCDMB sets minimum thresholds for using local workers and firms for procurement. Operators are required to submit plans to the NCDMB for approval and pay 1% of contract sums to the Nigerian Content Development Fund, which is overseen by the NCDMB.

President Buhari is the minister of petroleum resources but has designated some of the jobs responsibilities to Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the minister of state for energy. Kachikwu also served as an interim group managing director for NNPC until Maikanti Baru was appointed in July 2016.

Corruption Challenge

Both Buhari and Kachikwu put anti-corruption platforms at the centre of their policies. Several reform efforts beginning in 2015 saw increases in transparency through monthly statistical releases and by the reorganising of the NNPC into five autonomous business units: upstream, downstream, refineries, gas and power, and ventures. However, a number of such reforms have been altered or abandoned altogether, such as the monthly reports, which stopped in May 2016. Related: Mystery Tanker With Iranian Oil Unloads In China

Illegal back-door activities continue to negatively impact the government by depriving it of revenues from oil and gas, and by tying up promising untapped fields in court procedures. The offshore oil prospecting lease (OPL) 245 field, for example, has been tied up in legal battles since then oil minister Dan Etete sold rights to the block to Royal Dutch Shell and Italian oil company Eni in 2011 for $1.1bn. With an estimated 9bn barrels of reserves, it is one of the largest untouched deposits on the continent, holding as much as a quarter of Nigerias total reserves.

Efforts to tackle corruption, however, have made headway, such as the June 2017 decision to end the monopoly of Integrated Logistics Services Nigeria, the service provider at the ports. The decision is expected to give energy companies more control over shipping, increase competition and guarantee a more level playing field for terminal operators.

Legal Reforms

The government has been considering deeper reforms of the NNPC, the DPR and the broader petroleum sector in general since 2008. After years of deliberations, however, the legislation was partitioned into several bills, each with a narrower scope, in an effort to facilitate its passage after President Buhari was elected in 2015. Legislative changes included in the PIB would see a number of widespread reforms including: first, breaking up the NNPC and establishing a more pronounced division between sector regulators and state-owned operators; second, adding rules regarding petroleum revenue management; and lastly, redefining the terms of engagement and profit-sharing arrangements with commercial energy companies.

The PIB was passed by the National Assembly in 2017; however, in August 2018 President Buhari announced that he would not sign the bill into law, citing that the method for revenue sharing between the regulator and the three levels of government would leave the latter with an unfairly small share. Failing to solidify the legal and regulatory environment is expected to have negative effects on private sector investment decisions, which had been postponed in anticipation of new legal reforms.

Upstream

Crude output is expected to increase in 2019 as Totals Egina offshore field begins production in December 2018. The field is notable for its size  production will peak at 200,000 bpd  but also its local content. As an offshore field, it requires a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit, which was built locally at the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL) Free Zone, an island shipyard offering logistics and support services for oil and gas exploration. Total initially hired South Koreas Samsung Heavy Industries and LADOL to build the FPSO unit together. The cooperation between firms was expected to provide an example of how local content could play a major role in the energy sector; however, the contentious relationship between the two companies, as well as allegations of an unsafe workplace, have led to multiple delays since, with ongoing legal actions that could delay first oil.

Amnesty Issue

Crude production peaked in 2005, but has declined since then due to lingering talks over legal reforms and the attacks on sector infrastructure from Delta militants, who damage pipelines or tap them to steal oil and resell it. Opposition to oil extraction from local groups is based on dissatisfaction over environmental degradation and the share of revenue spent on impacted communities.

A programme in place since 2009 has helped by offering militants the chance to surrender their weapons in return for amnesty, job training and cash. However, in 2015 the Buhari administration cut the amnesty payments and sent in the military. This led to an increase in attacks in 2016 and the rise of a new militant group called the Niger Delta Avengers. The actions of such groups pushed oil output from a peak of 2.2m bpd at end-2015 to a 30-year low of 1.4m bpd just nine months later. The government has since decided to reinvest in the amnesty programme, and the 2018 budget included a 30% increase in funding.

Main Producers

International oil companies (IOCs) hold the majority of offshore oil producing fields. Notable fields include Shells 60-sq-km Bonga Field in oil mining licence (OML) 118, Totals Akpo fields in OML 130, and Exxons Erha and Usan fields in OML 133 and OPL 222, respectively. State-owned oil companies are also present, such as Norways Statoil and China National Offshore Oil Corporation.

In the majority of cases, onshore production comes from joint ventures between the NNPC and private entities, whereas offshore production is governed by production-sharing contracts (PSCs). As of 2016 about 44.6% of crude oil was produced by joint ventures and 47.8% through PSCs. Onshore production costs are $8-15 per barrel, and in terms of offshore production, shallow water costs range from $14 to $18, while deepwater costs can be $30-35.

The trend upstream has been for the IOCs to move from onshore joint ventures to offshore PSCs, as Shell, Exxon and others are doing, or to exit Nigeria, as ConocoPhillips did in 2014. It sold its entire inventory  46,700 bpd in productive blocks in which it had minority stakes  to Nigerias Oando for $1.5bn. The joint venture system mandates monetary contributions from all partners, with the NNPCs National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) serving as joint venture partner to IOCs.

However, recent years have seen NAPIMS struggle to meet the funding needs of private companies, with total arrears reaching peak levels of $6.8bn in 2016 before being renegotiated and reduced to $5.1bn. The issue is one that the government was hoping to address with reforms, in part because the joint venture approach is also a complication on the operational level, as NAPIMS reviews and approves work plans for joint venture hectarage, and companies often wait for months or more for these plans to be approved. By June 2018 NAPIMS had made full payment on all joint-venture arrears  a move which is expected to increase investor appetite.

Marginal Fields

The remaining 7.6% of oil production is handled exclusively by a class of domestic start-ups that have ownership of productive or prospective assets. These smaller fields are either bought from IOCs, developed by local entities or transferred by IOCs to locals through the Marginal Fields Programme. In this system, fields explored by IOCs but deemed uneconomic can be transferred to smaller, local companies with lower cost structures, which allows them to make profits from these fields. Those that manage to take this acreage from fallow to productive typically sign a farm-out agreement with the original holders and pay royalties to them.

As of August 2018 there were 14 indigenous oil and gas companies operating Nigerias marginal fields  including Seplat Petroleum Development Company and Seven Energy  that have developed pipelines and gas-processing plants and signed long-term gas-supply agreements with power producers. These investments are generally considered as positive for the economy, though they do come with their challenges. Seven Energy, for example, faced a drop in production in mid-2017 due to disruptions at the Forcados Pipeline System, which is the second-largest network in the Niger Delta transporting between 200,000 and 240,000 bpd. In addition, the firm was not being paid by the government for the gas feedstock it was providing to state-owned power plants. The company, which had been struggling to meet its debt obligations, is in the process of being acquired by Savannah Petroleum of the UK.

Anyala & Madu

While most foreign investors have been awaiting clarity on the legal regime before making final investment decisions, one major project moving forward is an offshore joint venture between NNPC and FIRST Exploration and Petroleum Development Company (First E&P), an indigenous firm. The two fields, Anyala and Madu, are expected to produce 50,000 bpd and 120m standard cu feet per day (scfd) of gas once production reaches its peak. The two signed an agreement with global oil services firm Schlumberger in July 2018, in which the latter will finance $724.1m of the total $1.1bn project cost.

The most recent bidding round for marginal fields was held in 2003. The NNPC has been planning a new round for 2019, although blocks with new owners will likely be limited to those making acquisitions. As of July 2018 Shell was reportedly in talks to sell OML 11 and OML 17 for $2bn to Heirs Holdings, a conglomerate headed by Tony Elumelu, Nigerian businessman and former CEO of United Bank for Africa, one of the countrys largest lenders.

The process for block sales is not a rigid one, but approval is required from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. We might not see more purely Nigerian deals, but we could see local companies combining with foreign capital, Amy Jadesimi, managing director of LADOL, told OBG. Its difficult to get deals done in Nigeria with foreign capital because there is so much de-risking necessary.

Midstream

While refinery capacity has been the controversial topic in Nigeria, its pipeline network remains an important constraint, but also an area in which private investment is already growing. Pipelines in Nigeria are generally operated by the NNPC through its subsidiaries, the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company and the Nigerian Gas Company. The network features roughly 13,000 km of pipes for oil, natural gas condensates and fuels. Various attacks on pipelines as well as breakages and malfunctions created a total loss of N174.6bn ($564.5m) in the period covering 2005 to 2015.

Pipelines can be built or operated by private interests through management contracts or concessions from NNPC. Examples include pipelines built by Seplat Petroleum and Seven Energy to transport gas to power plants, and private networks of gas pipelines to supply major industrial customers in Lagos industrial zones. Roughly 500 km of gas pipelines have been built since 2010, including the 196-km ObenGeregu line, the 110-km Escravos-Warri-Oben line, the expansion of the Escravos-Lagos route and an east-west line referred to as OB3. In March 2017 the government awarded a contract to build the 614-km line to bring gas to the northern cities of Ajaokuta, Kaduna and Kano. This route has in the past been considered as the start of a line that would go north through the Sahara Desert and on to Spain, giving Nigeria access to European markets for its natural gas. The line has been proposed as a joint venture between NNPC and Algerias Sonatrach. Related: Putin Could Cut His Loss As Venezuelan Oil Output Nosedives

In May 2018 Dangote Group revealed a five-year investment plan, which will see the construction of the East-West Offshore Gas Gathering System (EWOGGS) undersea gas pipeline, a project the company has been developing with First E&P. At a cost of $3bn, two 550-km pipelines, each with a capacity of 1.5bn scfd, will transport gas from the Niger Delta to the Lekki Free Trade Zone near Lagos. Aliko Dangote is a minority investor in First E&P, and the pipeline is proposed to land near his refinery, petrochemicals and fertiliser plants in Lekki. The EWOGGS project will help transport gas from First E&P, but will also have room for gas deposits from other companies.

Gas is currently exported as liquefied natural gas (LNG) through Nigerian LNG, the countrys sole LNG plant. A joint venture between the NNPC (49%), Shell (25.6%), Total (15%) and Eni (10.4%), capacity at the six-train facility is 22m tonnes per year as of 2018. Efforts to increase capacity to 30m tonnes per year are under way, with front-end engineering and design contracts awarded in July 2018.

Fuel Imports

The NNPC is the main importer of fuels to Nigeria. Consumption was 50m litres per day as of March 2018, at a daily cost to the state of N774m ($2.5m). Fuel prices are regulated in Nigeria, with petrol pegged at N145 ($0.47) per litre. However, the landing cost of the fuel varies, based on market prices, and is often higher than the pump price. This often leaves the NNPC unable to fully recover its costs, such as in March 2018 when the landing cost was about N171 ($0.55) per litre. The deregulation of consumer fuels is viewed by the government and IMF as necessary to reduce pressure on public coffers (see analysis). The state has also admitted that it is, in effect, subsidising fuel sales in neighbouring countries  because some of what is brought in is later smuggled across borders  as well as propping up large business who consume a greater share of fuel.

Outlook

Without a resolution for the PIB, the country remains, to some extent, an uncertain investment. However, continued progress on sector challenges could mark a pivotal turnaround for domestic industry. With Dangote Industries refinery under construction and state efforts to boost smaller refineries ongoing, we will likely continue to see major downstream development in the medium term. The state has also boosted efforts to resolve the dispute with Niger Delta militants and address corruption with some success. Still, there is ample room for improvement if the country is to take significant advantage of its natural resources wealth. Indeed, some stakeholders have pointed to the Nigerias potential in biofuel production Since Nigeria has immense agricultural potential, there is significant opportunity for growth in the biofuel market, Bashir Namadina Jega, CEO and president of local energy firm Capegate Group. Biofuel production and use could reduce dependence on imports and have a positive environmental impact by lowering emissions.

By Oxford Business Group

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Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) warns that Brent crude oil could reach $90 per barrel stemming the new IMO rules regarding shipping fuels and a weaker dollar courtesy of a de-escalation in the US/China trade war, Reuters reported on Friday.

BofAML claims that the IMO rules regarding the allowable sulphur content, to take effect in 2020, could cause a spike in middle distillate demand, pressuring prices upward. Also pushing up prices could be the weakening dollar should the trade war between China and the United States simmer down.

In February, BofAML estimated that Brent crude would be trading within the $50 to $70 per barrel band through 2024, with prices anchored around $60 per barrel, citing rising US shale supplies and slowing oil demand growth. Shorter term, BofAML saw Brent rising to $70 per barrel citing tighter supply as Venezuela, Iran, Mexico, and OPEC produce less oilsome on purpose and some not.

Last May, BofAML warned that oil could rise as high as $100 per barrel this year. At that time, Brent was trading near $77.

Along with its $90 per barrel warning, BofAML said there was a risk that Brent could dip to $50 per barrel, if the trade war between China and the United States were to hurt consumer sentiment and lead to an economic downturn.

With military tensions rising in the Middle East and trade tensions rising between the U.S. and China, we believe that chances of a tail event driving Brent crude to these price extremes (are) higher than what option markets are currently pricing, BofAML said in a note on Friday.

Brent options show a 10% chance of prices heading north of $90, and just a 6% chance of it falling below $50 per barrel.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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In this article, we will focus on one of the primary aspects of the OXY/APC deal that havent been properly considered by the market. OXY is going to do more with the assets held by Anadarko, and that will create value for

Not so OXY, the victor in this contest. OXY has just been pummeled by the market for its victory. You will note that Occidental stock has lost a staggering 22 percent of its value since the rumor mill first began to churn in early April. What gives? Why is the market so sour on a merger that so soundly achieves one of the premiere tenets of standardization, scale and the efficiencies that come with it?

Almost immediately two things began to happen. First, the stocks of both companies sank, big. They kept sinking proportionately until the news broke at the end of April that OXY Gulfstream jet had been spotted in Omaha, where the CEO, Vicki Hollub had paid a visit to the Oracle. Ms. Hollub must have made a convincing pitch, as she came away with a big $10 bn financial commitment. Chevron stock immediately reversed course, with a 5 percent gain, attenuating this substantially though as the market fretted it would meet and raise OXY. As we now know that didnt happen, and CVX has resumed its upward march.

Occidental Petroleum, (NYSE: OXY), lit up the Permian sky, with its mid-April announcement that it was going to call and raise Chevrons (NYSE:CVX) bid for Anadarko Petroleum, (NYSE: APC).

Occidental Petroleum, (NYSE: OXY), lit up the Permian sky, with its mid-April announcement that it was going to call and raise Chevrons (NYSE:CVX) bid for Anadarko Petroleum, (NYSE: APC).

Almost immediately two things began to happen. First, the stocks of both companies sank, big. They kept sinking proportionately until the news broke at the end of April that OXY Gulfstream jet had been spotted in Omaha, where the CEO, Vicki Hollub had paid a visit to the Oracle. Ms. Hollub must have made a convincing pitch, as she came away with a big $10 bn financial commitment. Chevron stock immediately reversed course, with a 5 percent gain, attenuating this substantially though as the market fretted it would meet and raise OXY. As we now know that didnt happen, and CVX has resumed its upward march.

Not so OXY, the victor in this contest. OXY has just been pummeled by the market for its victory. You will note that Occidental stock has lost a staggering 22 percent of its value since the rumor mill first began to churn in early April. What gives? Why is the market so sour on a merger that so soundly achieves one of the premiere tenets of standardization, scale and the efficiencies that come with it?

(Click to enlarge)

In this article, we will focus on one of the primary aspects of the OXY/APC deal that havent been properly considered by the market. OXY is going to do more with the assets held by Anadarko, and that will create value for shareholders.

And, finally, I will discuss some of the additional assets that OXY might shed to pare down the debt overhang created by the acquisition.

OXY a better aggregator of APC's assets than Chevron?

Let's start by revisiting the thesis for shale development going forward. What have the aggregating super majors told us up to this point? I am referring to BP, (BP), ExxonMobil, (XOM), and Shell, (RDS.A, RDS.B), and to an extent Chevron.

- Shale development and profitability will be driven by technology.

- Low costs of production will reign supreme.

This was previously discussed in an earlier article on shale. You might refer back to it for a little more detail on how I see shale developing over the next few years.

(Click to enlarge)

Source

What this slide is telling us is OXY is performing at a higher level in this core Delaware Basin acreage than competitors (including Anadarko). By folding these assets into their production base, OXY will make better use of them-more oil for invested dollars than is currently being seen.

It is also telling us that the logistics hub they've built with Schlumberger, (SLB), the technological leader in the oilfield, will lower the cost of production from this acreage.

If these two things don't add up to a compelling story for OXY's bid, I don't know what does.

Africa's gone, what's next?

Anadarko's African assets have been peddled to Total, (TOT) for a tidy sum-nearly $9.0 bn, much of which OXY will use to pay down debt. What else might be on the block? In the call, they mentioned $10-15 bn, and we're not there yet.

My guess is Anadarko's deepwater stuff offshore Columbia, Guyana, and Peru will go or may already be on the block. OXY is not and never has been in the deepwater exploration and development business. Exploration like this requires billions of dollars of upfront investment before you make a dime, and is definitely not OXY's style.

(Click to enlarge)

Source

Of particular interest will be the Guyana block. This region is smoking hot as ExxonMobil's Stabroeck development is seems to yield a new billion barrel discovery every quarter. It is worth noting that as soon as the OXY plane was gassed up, management took off for the Hague, to drop in on Shell. I imagine that during the visit with Shell, an aggressive deepwater explorer, the subject of these blocks came up.

What else? There was also some chat on the call about APC's Western Gas MLP asset. Monetizing these while maintaining through-put rights is in vogue right now, so it wouldn't surprise me to see a deal along those lines. After all, they did it just last year, so this is probably bubbling on the stove.

OXY's Q-1, 2019 Metrics

While YoY revenue was up 6.5 percent at $4,089 bn from the prior year, it was down almost 15 percent sequentially. This was primarily due to lower realizations across the board.

(Click to enlarge)

Source

Free Cash flow for the TTM was $2,455 mm, but ran negative to the tune of $3,65 mm for the first quarter. Per share, $3.22, and -$048 respectively. The negative figures were due to a high level of activity and reduced prices for products. OXY is scaling back capex for the rest of the year and expects production figures will be flat YoY-ex the Anadarko transaction.

Production of 719 K BOEPD was ~15 percent higher YoY. The company expects a ramp to around 735 K BOEPD through the second quarter of 2019, while holding capex steady at ~4.5 bn.

(Click to enlarge)

Source

Risks

Of course there are many. I would not argue for a second that OXY hasnt taken a big bite. As Hollub said in the call in answer to a question-

Well, this to me is another one of those kind of transformational opportunities. And its not one that weve moved suddenly in the knee-jerk reaction, as you said, weve studied this very diligently. We feel very confident, were going to be able to achieve value add for our shareholders and there is no risk to this asset. We see no risk in this and thats what we want to be able to communicate and we havent been able to talk about it. And thats a  that puts some pressure on our thought. That was part of the reason we moved forward now, as to be able to get our story out and to talk to all of you.

Source

Any time you have this scenario you run this risk that your assumptions may not prove out. Key risks I see-

The company is forecasting billions of dollar in synergies for the combined entity. They look fairly straight forward, but are still a pipe dream at this point. If they don't materialize to the extent OXY thinks they will, trouble could be on the horizon.

(Click to enlarge)

Source

Debt could become burdensome in low oil price scenarios that don't appear to be likely with current break evens ~$40 bbl for oil, but can't be discounted entirely. Right now, OXY could pay off all of their long term debt of ~$8.5 bn with one year's EBIDTA of ~$9.5 bn. Ex- the transaction closing, this will more than double.

My view, other big oil entities have made major buys resulting in big debt overhangs, i.e. BP (BP), XOM, and Shell. All of them are making good strides at reducing their leverage at current oil prices, and I don't see why OXY can't do the same. Both Hollub and OXY's CFO addressed de-levering in the call.

We want to get back to, if not better than our current levels over time. Were targeting less than two times net leverage by 2021.

Source

I am confident that this is a priority for OXY based on these statements. And, of course, had they not had a cogent plan for de-levering, they wouldn't have gotten Warren's $10 billion.

Your Takeaway

I've made no secret that I am a fan of the deal, contrary to what the market is saying right now. My enthusiasm revolves around the Permian's new status as the premier oil-producing province in the world. OXY at current prices is selling for 6X EBIDTA. For reference, XOM's EV/EBIDTA is ~9.5. CVX sells at ~7.5 EV/EBIDTA.

I think there is room for OXY to move about 15 percent higher over the next year, so the appreciation upside isn't huge in the short term. I like OXY for future growth as the combined companies begin to throw off increased cash flow, justifying a higher multiple, and stock price.

OXY pays a respectable dividend that is well covered by cash flow. Even with the dilution of Warren's 80 mm preferred shares, should continue to be safe with the improvements in the APC assets and cash flow.

OXY could become a target in its own right. I think there is a reasonable chance that one of the super majors, or NOC's wanting a footprint in the Permian will take them out. Thus, putting OXY holders in the same enviable position as Anadarko holders now.

Finally, I dont think this is the end of the deal era in this region. The Permian is being compared favorably to Saudi Arabias super giant Ghawar field. A resource like this is bound to attract additional investment interest.

By David Messler for Oilprice.com
The enormous debt of Mexicos state oil firm Pemex has not increased since the new administration took office in December 2018, and will not increase in the future, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday.

The debt hasnt grown during our time, and its not going to grow, Reuters quoted Lopez Obrador as saying at a press conference.

The Mexican state oil firm has a total of US$106 billion in financial debt, which makes it the worlds most indebted oil company.

Left-wing President Lopez Obradorin office since December 1wants a greater role for Pemex in reversing the downward trend in Mexican oil production.

Pemexs crude oil production has declined in recent yearsaccording to Pemex figures, its crude oil production averaged 1.813 million bpd in 2018. To compare, Pemexs crude oil production averaged 2.429 million bpd in 2014, falling to 1.948 million bpd in 2017.

Apart from boosting oil production and Pemexs role in Mexico, Lopez Obrador bets on a major new oil refinery as part of his goal for energy independence.

Last week, Mexico scrapped plans to tender the construction of the refinery to foreign companies, saying that it would be Pemex that will oversee the project. According to Lopez Obrador, the foreign firms wont be able to meet the government deadline to have the project ready by 2022 and werent happy with the US$8-billion price tag.

The company has secured the financial, technical, human and material resources necessary to complete the project, Pemex said in a statement last week. According to Pemex and Lopez Obrador, the entire project will cost US$8.3 billion (160 billion Mexican pesos) and will create 100,000 jobs. Construction is scheduled to begin on June 2 this year and is expected to conclude in May 2022.

Analysts, however, doubt that Mexico could complete the project on time and on budget, which could put additional strain on government and Pemex finances.

According to Moodys, the project is expected to exceed the planned budgetin a big way, because of Mexicos limited know-how in such large-scale ventures.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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The gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2018 election,Senator Ademola Adeleke has filed a notice of appeal at the Supreme Court against the decisions of the Court of Appeal.

Adeleke prayed the apex court to set aside the ruling of the appeal court and uphold the decision of the Osun election petition tribunal.

This was contained in statement issued by a member of his legal team, Niyi Owolade Esq.

Osun state Election Petition Tribunal had ruled that Senator Adeleke was the rightful winner of the 2018 governorship election,having satisfied the constitutional requirements of majority votes and spread across local government of the state. The tribunal also nullified the rerun election of September 27,2018.

The Appeal Court had reversed the ruling,nullifying the decisions of the tribunal and reinstating Gboyega Oyetola as the winner of the election.

Dr Onyeachi Ikpeazu,SAN leading six other Senior Advocates of Nigeria and 17 other senior counsels had however this week filed four appeals against each of the four majority judgements of the appeal court. The appeals were against majority judgement in favour of Gboyega Oyetola, All Progressives Congres, the Independent National Electoral Commission and the striking out of the cross appeals of Senator Adeleke.

The first Appeal was against the majority lead judgement delivered by Justice J.H.Sankey, it is premised on 13 grounds. Senator Adeleke is seeking the following reliefs from the Supreme court; to allow the appeal, set aside the judgement of the appeal Court delivered in favour of Oyetola,and dismiss Oyetolas appeal against the decision of the Tribunal.

The second appeal is against the judgement delivered in favour of the APC, is premised on 31 grounds of appeal. Senator Adeleke listed particulars of errors committed by the appeal court and sought the following reliefs from the Supreme court: to allow this appeal, set aside the decision of the appeal court and dismiss the appeal of the respondent against the judgement of the tribunal.

The third judgement appealed against was the ruling in favour of INEC, it is based on 17 grounds Senator Adeleke listed particulars of errors committed by the judges of Appeal Court and sought the following: an order of the supreme Court allowing his appeal, an order of Supreme Court setting aside judgement of Court of Appeal and restoring the judgement of tribunal delivered on the 22ndof March.

The fourth judgement appealed against was that against the cross Appeal based on 13.While listing particluars of errors committed by the Appeal Court, Senator Adeleke seeks the following reliefs from the Supreme Court namely; an order allowing this appeal and setting aside decision of lower court which dismissed the appeal; an order granting reliefs sought in appellate case in the cross Appeal, an order restoring the paragraphs struck out from appellate replies to the 2 and 3 respondents replies; adeclaration that the appelants won the election in issue by a wider margin than what was found by the lower tribunal in view of the substantial non compliance with the electoral act 2010 as amended; and a declaration that the rerun of 27th was null and void and of no effect as the appelants had already won the election in issue upon conclusion of the 22nd September election

Other Senior Advocates of Nigeria with Dr Ikpeazu in the appeal include Chief N.O.O Oke,SAN;Dr Paul Ananaba,SAN;Emeka Etiaba,SAN;Emeka Okpoko,SAN; and Kehinde Ogunwuminju,SAN.Other senior counsels on the team include Niyi Owolade, L.N.Iheanacho, Edmund Biriomoni, Wole Jimi-Bada and 13 others.

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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...
" " A closure sign is posted on the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., October 3, 2013 when the federal government shut down for 16 days. JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

"If we don't get what we want ... I will shut down the government. One way or the other it's [the border wall] going to get built." That's what President Donald Trump said in an Oval Office meeting with House and Senate Democrats Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. With yet another a budget deadline looming (this one is Dec. 21, 2018), Americans are wondering if the U.S. government is going to shut down. Congressional lawmakers are currently negotiating a spending bill to keep the government operating, but anything could happen in Washington.

This time around, the issue centers mainly on President Donald Trump's desire to fund a wall on the southern border with Mexico. Trump is demanding billions more in funds for the border wall than the $1.6 billion the Senate has agreed to. At one point during the Tuesday morning meeting (where press was invited) Trump said: "I am proud to shut down the government for border security, Chuck. The people of this country don't want criminals and people that have lots of problems and drugs pouring into our country. I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down. I'm not going to blame you for it. The last time you shut it down it didn't work. I will take the mantle for shutting down. I'm going to shut it down for border security."

If Congress fails to agree on a budget to keep the government operational, it will be the fourth time in more than four years. In 2013, Republicans in Congress forced a shutdown when they tried to defund the Affordable Healthcare Act. The Democrats didn't budge and nearly 800,000 federal employees were out of work without pay for 16 days.

Let's be clear: The entire government will not shut down if lawmakers fail to reach an agreement on the border wall; they could, instead, pass a temporary spending measure. Either way our mail will still be picked up and delivered. The military will still be on guard. However, some things would stop functioning in a shutdown. And the longer it lasts, the worse it would get.

During the last shutdown, all nonessential employees were furloughed with no guarantee that they would be compensated for lost time when the shutdown ended, though they eventually were. Fearful that this would happen again, lawmakers have already introduced legislation that will give federal employees back pay if the government closes.

But what about those people who don't work for the government? Here are five things that could affect you if lawmakers don't cut a spending deal.

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1. Air Travel

While travel in the U.S. certainly won't grind to a halt, (airports would remain open and air traffic controllers and Transportation Safety Administration security officials would remain on the job) you may notice more delays. Nonessential employees would be sent home, and that could spell longer waits. But if you need a passport, apply now. The State Department's passport department is partially funded by federal money. During the 1996 government shutdown, the State Department couldn't process about 200,000 applications, which affected hundreds of thousands of Americans.

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2. Museums, Parks and Monuments

If you plan on visiting a national park or monument, you might want to rethink your trip. During past shutdowns, the National Park Service closed its historic sites and parks, including the Statue of Liberty in New York City, Gettysburg National Park in Pennsylvania and Grand Canyon National Park. In 2013, a man named Chris Cox mowed the lawn outside the Lincoln Memorial when Park Service employees could no longer cut the grass. He also emptied overflowing trash bins. The Smithsonian museums would close, as well, including the Air and Space Museum, the Museum of African American History and the National Zoo.

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3. Social Services Benefits

If you get Social Security payments, don't fret. Social Security is its own mandatory spending program that wouldn't be affected. However, anyone who needs to sign up for benefits will have to wait until the shutdown ends. Still, veterans' benefits and farm subsidies may face delays.

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4. Unemployment Benefits

If you currently depend on unemployment benefits, you shouldn't feel the sting of a shutdown in the short term. Unemployment benefits are paid and administered by states even though the money comes from the feds. People can still collect and sign up during a government shutdown and everything will be cool, if the funds are still available. A long shutdown, however, would put funding in jeopardy. In 2013, the federal treasury had only three weeks' worth of unemployment benefits in its account.

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5. School Lunch, Food Stamps and Housing

If your child is enrolled in a free lunch program at school, they'll still be able to eat because, at least during the last shutdown, most school districts had enough money to fund the program for about a month. If the shutdown lasts longer than that, then the program could be affected.

Some programs administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will be impacted, but just how remains to be seen. Most are administered locally through block grants that have already been allocated. These grants are made to public and private groups. In addition, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly referred to as food stamps, should be OK for a time because it is administered by the states. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will have to determine what will happen if a shutdown lasts for a prolonged period.

Now That's Interesting The U.S. government has shut down 20 times since 1976. The 2013, 16-day shutdown cost the country $24 billion.
" " The USDA's decision to remove animal welfare records from its website could leave the door wide open for wide-spread abuse. ROZ TODARO/GETTY

In early February, the United States Department of Agriculture removed an online database from its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The database contained thousands of records pertaining to the Animal Welfare Act, which is a federal law that protects animals.

The records, which have been available online for decades, have been used by animal welfare advocates to monitor the treatment of animals in laboratories, circuses and zoos. Journalists also used them to document abuses and violations at universities using animals for scientific research.

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The database's sudden removal generated outrage from activists across the country, who say it leaves the door wide open for animal abuse. Going forward, anyone seeking the information contained in the database must submit a Freedom of Information Act request, which can take years to fulfill.

The information was removed due to privacy concerns, and the decision to delete the database was made in 2016, "well before the change of Administration," Tanya Espinosa, spokesperson for USDA-APHIS writes in an email. Espinosa adds that "[APHIS is] currently involved in litigation concerning, among other issues, information posted on the agency's website. While the agency is vigorously defending against this litigation, in an abundance of caution, the agency is taking additional measures to protect individual privacy. These decisions are not final. Adjustments may be made regarding information appropriate for release and posting."

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo calls the removal of the database "shameful." Jeremy Beckham, research specialist for Beagle Freedom Project says in an email that deleting the database is a blow to transparency that could essentially halt what the LA-based nonprofit does.

"It will make it much harder for us to reach out to laboratories that experiment on dogs to help find homes for the survivors of animal testing," he says. Beagle Freedom Project used the database to conduct a mass mailing to every laboratory in the country that uses dogs and cats in testing and scientific experiments to find them adoptive homes. "While BFP still has some information concerning where dogs are being used in experimentation based on past data we procured, the sad truth is that if tomorrow a laboratory starts experimenting on dogs and cats, we won't have any way of even knowing," Beckham says. This is a giant step backward.

Beckham also says APHIS's claim that the removal is about privacy doesn't hold up to scrutiny because the information is still available by filing a Freedom of Information Act request. "While filing a FOIA request is a much more time-consuming and arduous process than the online database, if these records contained information that violated the privacy rights of individuals, why would they still be made available with a FOIA request?"

But not everyone disagrees with APHIS's decision to remove the database. Mindy Patterson, president and co-founder of The Cavalry Group works to protect the rights to own animals and operate animal-oriented businesses from attacks by animal rights extremists.

Patterson notes in an email that her members applaud the change. "The USDA has been releasing information to animal rights extremists and activist organizations, knowing that the information would be used wrongfully against USDA licensees, and with the intent to run them out of business."

Not so, says Beagle Freedom Project's Beckham. "If individuals are wrongfully using objective data, that doesn't justify purging the data, it only demands that others counter the false information with facts, he says. "Removing the only set of objective data we have on this issue is anti-scientific and only serves to further poison our national discourse."

Beckham says Beagle Freedom Project's legal team is already looking at ways to force the government to reverse its decision, and also plans to use this opportunity to work with state and local legislators to strengthen reporting laws. The Humane Society of the United States also sent a letter to the Justice Department threatening legal action if it did not make the records public.

Now That's Interesting On Feb. 5, Matt Herrick, the former USDA spokesman for the Obama administration tweeted that the decision to remove the database was "totally subjective. Same option given 2 past admin. We refused."
MANILA (Reuters) - The top enforcer of a brutal war on drugs in the Philippines on Friday dared prosecutors to go after him for the deaths of thousands of people, after activists warned that his election to the Senate could insulate him from legal action. Ronald dela Rosa, President Rodrigo Duterte's top lieutenant in a crackdown that alarmed the international community, shrugged off calls for him to be investigated for what human rights groups say were systematic police cover-ups, falsified reports and summary executions. The former national police chief, nicknamed "Bato" (rock), was endorsed by Duterte in a May 13 election in which he is all but certain to win a seat in the powerful Senate. "Bring it on, bring it on. Whatever they want, I will not run away," dela Rosa told news channel ANC when asked about a possible probe, including by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague. "Whatever, whatever, whenever," he added. Duterte's allies swept the midterm polls in what was seen as a ringing public endorsement of the president's controversial rule and the war on drugs that has defined it. Dela Rosa and the government insist the more than 5,000 suspected drug dealers whom police have killed in anti-narcotics operations had all put up a fight. "We have to protect ourselves, we have to defend ourselves," he said. Many more have died - the estimates vary from thousands to more than 20,000 - in incidents that police say could be drug-related, but were not part of their operations. Dela Rosa is included in a crimes against humanity complaint lodged by a Filipino lawyer with the ICC, a court of last resort. In February 2018, it announced it had started a preliminary examination into the war on drugs. Accusing the ICC of bias, Duterte a month later canceled the Philippines' ICC membership, a move legal experts say makes no difference as its jurisdiction covers crimes committed during a country's membership period. Duterte promised when elected in 2016 to eliminate crime and drugs. He and dela Rosa publicly admit they failed, but blame that on the scale of the methamphetamine problem rather than what critics say is a flawed campaign designed to shock by targeting users in slums, instead of the big suppliers. In a blog post on Friday, Carlos Conde, Philippines researcher for Human Rights Watch, said dela Rosa "may still have a date with justice". "Now that dela Rosa is a policymaker, there is renewed urgency in bringing all those responsible for 'drug war' crimes to justice," he said. (Reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Nick Macfie)
A cruise ship belonging to the Church of Scientology was cleared of any possible risk of measles infection after it was quarantined in the Caribbean port of St. Lucia.

As of Tuesday, May 14, 2019, all passengers and crew (100%) of the Freewinds have been fully cleared of any possible risk of being infected by the measles or infecting others, Scientology said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.

The quarantine occurred after a passenger onboard tested positive for measles.

Freewinds protocols of safety and medical care, that exceed usual nautical standards, proved highly effective in containing the illness to one single case, it continued. Health authorities in Curacao have acknowledged the Freewinds for its strict isolation protocol, which effectively contained the illness to the single case and prevented it from spreading to any others, allowing officials to shorten the quarantine period.

The ships 300 passengers were unable to disembark after a female crew member was confirmed to have the highly contagious disease, NBC News reported.

St. Lucias chief medical officer Dr. Merlene Fredericks-James said in a previous statement that the case was being investigated.

We got information early this morning through two reputable sources that there was a confirmed case of measles on board a cruise ship which visited our island, she said. As per the Quarantine Act, the Public Health Act, and after internal discussions, as well as discussions with external agencies such as the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), we thought it prudent that we quarantine the ship, so no one was allowed to leave.

RELATED VIDEO: Florida Pediatrician Arrested for Allegedly Giving Partial Vaccine Doses to Hundreds of Children

The PAHO confirmed to PEOPLE that it has been informed about the ships dilemma, but that the final decision to quarantine it was made by the government.

Fredericks-James said officials made that decision because of the highly contagious nature of the disease, which spreads through coughing and sneezing. She also encouraged St. Lucians to get themselves and their children vaccinated.

Story continues

According to the Centers for Disease Control, measles is so contagious that if just one person has it, up to 90 percent of people around that person will also become infected if not protected.

RELATED: Florida Pediatrician Arrested for Allegedly Giving Partial Vaccine Doses to Hundreds of Children

St. Lucia Coast Guard Sgt. Victor Theodore identified the ship as the Freewinds to NBC News, a 440-foot cruise ship owned and operated by the Church of Scientology.

The churchs website says the Freewinds home port is Curacao, and that its home to the Flag Ship Service Organization, a religious retreat that offers spiritual counseling.

The Freewinds provides a safe, aesthetic, distraction-free environment appropriate for ministration of this profoundly spiritual level of auditing, the site says. To a Scientologist, boarding the Freewinds for New OT VIII is the pinnacle of a deeply spiritual journey. Years of training and auditing have brought him to this ultimate point.

The church did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for comment.

Officials told NBC News that the Freewinds is scheduled to leave St. Lucia at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, while Fredericks-James said authorities have no jurisdiction over where it heads to next.

RELATED: JetBlue Plane Quarantined in New York City After Child on Board Was Suspected of Having Measles

The Church of Scientology says its members rely on the advice and treatment of medical doctors, and seek conventional treatments for illnesses and injuries, according to its website.

Rev. John Carmichael, president of the Church of Scientology in New York, told BeliefNet.com in 2006 that the church does not have any precepts or strictures regarding vaccinations as a religious principle.

Scientologists are pretty independent people, though I will say this: they tend to do a little more research, perhaps, on the effect of various medical procedures or whatever, he said. They make their own decisions, but those arent decisions that the church tries to influence in any way.

The CDC urges anyone traveling internationally to get vaccinated against measles, which can eventually lead to pneumonia, encephalitis and death.

Despite being declared eliminated in 2000, measles has seen a resurgence in recent months, with 704 individual cases confirmed this year through April 26 in 22 different states  the most reported in the U.S. since 1994, according to the CDC.

Measles outbreaks, which the CDC defines as three or more cases, are currently ongoing in New York, Michigan, New Jersey, California, Georgia and Maryland, and many are linked to people traveling abroad to places like Israel and the Philippines, where measles outbreaks are occurring.

The cruise ships quarantine came just one day after a JetBlue plane was quarantined at New York Citys John F. Kennedy International Airport after a case of measles was suspected on board.
The Federal Aviation Administration has warned US airlines flying over the Gulf to exercise caution "due to heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the region." The advisory, which also covers airspace over the Gulf of Oman, comes amid rising tensions between the US and Iran. Increased tensions in the region "present an increasing inadvertent risk to US civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or mis-identification, said the FAA advisory released late Thursday. The regulator also warned that aircraft flying in the area could encounter "inadvertent GPS interference and communications jamming, which could occur with little to no warning." Washington has deployed an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the region against what it claims is an imminent threat from Tehran. President Donald Trump's administration has also ordered non-essential diplomatic staff out of Iraq, citing threats from Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups. The White House however has sent mixed signals in recent days, amid multiple US media reports of infighting in Trump's cabinet over how hard to push Washington's arch foe. According to US media reports, Trump's long-hawkish national security advisor John Bolton is pushing a hard line on Iran, but others in the administration are resisting. The White House and Pentagon have been under pressure to demonstrate the reason for the huge buildup in forces and heightened rhetoric of the past two weeks. US coalition partners in Iraq had suggested earlier this week that the threat level there had not risen significantly, and members of Congress demanded to see the information behind the administration's apparent preparation for possible conflict.
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Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committees Economic Commission Nguyen Van Binh made the statement while receiving JBIC Governor Tadashi Maeda in Hanoi on May 17.He spoke highly of the fruitful development of the Vietnam-Japan relationship across spheres, especially economy, trade and investment. He affirmed the Vietnamese Party and States consistent policy of regarding Japan as a leading and long-term partner.The official lauded the JBICs role in infrastructure, energy and loan supply, helping to promote Japans investment in Vietnam.For his part, Maeda briefed the host on his delegations working trip to Vietnam, during which they proposed new cooperation initiatives that aim to encourage energy development, particularly renewable, clean and environmentally-friendly energy.He also talked about the banks orientations to increase its loans for Vietnam in the projects with the participation of Japanese investors and exporters.Applauding these initiatives, Binh asked the bank to push ahead with negotiations to materialise them and consider expanding loans for Vietnamese firms or joint ventures of the two countries, especially in infrastructure and energy.The successful implementation of these initiatives will help the Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership develop in a more comprehensive and pragmatic manner, the host added.

VNA
FORT EDWARD  Most Washington County supervisors oppose the 2019 New York Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act, currently in committee in both the state Assembly and Senate, because they say it puts county farms at risk.

And during Fridays Board of Supervisors meeting in Fort Edward, county lawmakers passed a resolution stating their opposition to the bill designed to give farm workers several workplace protections, including the right to join a union. Fort Edward Supervisor Terry Middleton dissented.

Although I am a firm believer in collective bargaining, this bill is in committee and I dont think its ready to be passed until more work is done on the bill, said Greenwich Supervisor Sara Idleman before Fridays vote. I am opposed to it in the form it is in right now.

As the legislation stands, the bill grants collective bargaining rights to farm laborers; requires one full day off each week; provides for overtime pay after an 8-hour work day; and adds several health and safety provisions.

Id like to see it stay in committee  Id like to see more details, said Idleman. My concern is for the ag community, but also for those people who are working on farms, and making sure that they arent vulnerable, and making sure that theyre safe ... But Id like to see more work done on the bill.

According to the resolution, the effect of a farm labor strike could destroy an entire years worth of crops.

Last week, state Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, met with the owners of the family-run Ideal Dairy Farms in Hudson Falls. During the discussion, Woerner said the bill uses an industrial labor model, not a good fit for agriculture because farming deals with live animals and crops.

I dont think the Assembly is eager to take this up this year, she said. To do this right now could be detrimental to New York agriculture as a whole. This is not a path to success as it stands, and I could not support it.

John Dickinson of Ideal Dairy Farms said he and his daughter, Crystal Grimaldi, have been to previous legislative hearings on the bill, and he believes some version of the labor law will pass this session.

Dickinson said collective bargaining is not a problem, but work stoppage could be a disaster.

If all our workers did not want to milk our cows, were in trouble, he said.

Also, his workers typically work 11- to 12-hour shifts: We all work 12-hour days. Its just the culture, its a business and a lifestyle, he said.

Ideal Dairy employees are paid between $40,000 and $65,000 plus housing, utilities and cable, he said.

Dickinson asked Woerner to do whatever she could to help modify some sections of the bill related to work stoppage and overtime hours.

Regarding opposition to this, I dont want it to be seen as anti-union. Its just that theres some items in it that are unworkable for agriculture, one being striking, said Jackson Supervisor Jay Skellie during Fridays meeting. There are other states that have union bills with no-strike clauses in them. It (striking) puts the animals in danger, it puts the crops at risk.

Also at issue is the overtime requirement after 40 hours.

Its not like a factory, said Skellie before Fridays vote. Its a 24-hour a day job.

Assemblyman Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, agrees.

They are working on a razor-thin margin already, Stec said. The challenges other businesses face, farms do too. And then they are beholden to Mother Nature  they are already teetering. This could finish some of them off.

According to Farm Credit East in Greenwich and Fridays resolution, overtime, combined with the rising minimum wage, would raise labor costs on New York farms by nearly $300 million and reduce net farm income by 23.4 percent.

Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce President Michael Bittel said, if the bills pass, the financial pressure of required overtime after eight hours may lead to more automation and less hours for workers if farmers are to stay in business.

New York state competes in a national and global market, said Skellie. We already pay some of the highest wages, the highest taxes and are one of the most regulated of any of the other agricultural states across the country.

As part of the resolution, supervisors are calling on state lawmakers representing the county to take the necessary steps to defeat the bill.

Kathleen Phalen-Tomaselli covers Washington County government and other county news and events.

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RFE/RLs mission is to deliver accurate, independent, and meaningful news coverage to audiences that lack access to free and fair information. We take seriously all allegations concerning the quality of our journalism. Recent claims criticizing our Tajik-language service, known locally as Radio Ozodi, prompted us to ask two independent country experts and RFE/RLs own Standards Editor to evaluate content alleged to be weak, partial, or misleading in four key areas: reporting on the business interests of members of Tajik President Emomali Rahmons family; articles about top officials and government bodies; coverage of the Tajik opposition, in particular the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT); and use of information from Western experts and human rights groups.

The evaluators main findings are summarized below, and are followed by a description of the measures RFE/RL has implemented to address problems and ensure the integrity of its journalism going forward.

Findings

The evaluators concluded that numerous reports would have benefitted from more points of view and deeper analysis. In those instances when reporting did present both sides, the pro-government view was normally placed toward the beginning of the article and views of the opposition or other divergent voices were left to the end of the piece. Ozodi reports frequently left numerous questions unanswered, indicating the need for more comprehensive explanation. Ozodi reports lacked context explaining how economic decisions taken by government bodies furthered the personal business interests of members of the Tajik presidents family. Reports lacked the necessary background to explain the stakes of specific decisions or policies. Some reports included laudatory coverage of top officials and government bodies while providing little news value. Coverage of social issues was often strong, but other coverage showed a tendency to avoid sensitive topics related to political elites, and in some instances these stories amplified frivolous narratives in support of government officials. The range of experts consulted by Ozodi was limited, and the views presented did not always explain a topic appropriately. In some cases, reports lacked input from experts who are known to hold alternative or opposing views, relying instead on sources who support established narratives. In addition, reports sometimes cited sources who lacked expertise on the given topic. One evaluator shared evidence of how a recent quote that he gave Ozodi was edited in such a way that it misrepresented his views. RFE/RLs Standards Editor found that reporting on the IRPT needs additional balance and context as part of Ozodis mission to feature views and opinions from all sides of the political spectrum in the country. Outside evaluators praised Ozodis coverage of the attack on foreign bicyclists in July 2018 for the informative nature of the coverage and the inclusion of relevant interviews that made the programming engaging. Coverage of key reports on Tajikistan by human rights organizations and western experts was mixed, with some reports covered adequately and others not covered at all, or covered minimally. Ozodi also failed to include reactions from authorities to the reports, or to help audiences better understand the background of the issues and events addressed in those reports.

Remedies

RFE/RL is committed to reporting essential stories that, because of government censorship or political pressure, local media are unable or unwilling to provide. This is the basis of our reputation and our public mandate in all the countries where we work, including Tajikistan. In response to the findings summarized above, RFE/RL has implemented the following measures:

Assignment of new management to the Tajik Service and the Central Asian regional division. Removal from Radio Ozodis website of content judged to be substandard. Establishment of new checks and balances to uphold editorial standards and ensure accurate, critical, and balanced coverage. Implementation of intensive training in the fundamentals of reporting and editing, both internally and, in coming months, through the Poynter Institute. Snap evaluations of Ozodi reporting to augment RFE/RLs standard annual content review of the service, to include spot reviews by external evaluators. Training for Dushanbe bureau and Ozodi staff on security and complaint protocols.

Allegations of non-editorial lapses, which RFE/RL has also received, have been submitted to the State Departments Office of the Inspector General for review.

Daisy Sindelar

Acting President, RFE/RL
Europe dominates the Mercer rankings as standards of living for expats slip in the US

Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, the top-ranked city for quality of life

By Kate Youde and Alex Howlett

Expats seeking the worlds highest quality of life will find it in Vienna, according to new research, while Luxembourg provides the safest environment.

The Austrian capital topped the annual Quality of Living ranking from human resources consultancy Mercer for the 10th year running, while the Swiss city of Zurich took second place.

In joint third place with Munich and Auckland, Vancouver remained the highest-ranked city in North America. Singapore, placed 25th globally, led the way in Asia, while Dubai, in 74th, was the highest-ranked city in the Middle East.

Uruguays capital Montevideo and Port Louis in Mauritius offer the highest quality of living in South America and Africa, respectively.

Montevideo, South Americas most liveable city

Quality of living is determined by factors such as access to public transport, traffic congestion levels, availability of housing and international schools, and culture. Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, came bottom of the rankings.

Quality of Living ranking

1 Vienna, Austria

2 Zurich, Switzerland

3= Vancouver, Canada

3= Munich, Germany

3= Auckland, New Zealand

6 Dusseldorf, Germany

7 Frankfurt, Germany

8 Copenhagen, Denmark

9 Geneva, Switzerland

10 Basel, Switzerland

Source: Mercer

All US cities  bar New York, which rose one place to 44th as a result of its falling crime rates  dropped down the rankings this year.

Londons traffic and pollution held the city back in the rankings

London, which remained in 41st, two places behind Paris, offers the best overall quality of living of UK cities studied. However, it continues to be held back by perennial problems with traffic and air pollution, and having the lowest scores in the UK for safety owing to its crime levels, says Kate Fitzpatrick, global mobility practice leader for the UK and Ireland at Mercer.

Luxembourg took the title of the worlds safest city

Luxembourg heads Mercers new separate personal safety ranking, which is based on cities stability, levels of crime, law enforcement, limitations on personal freedom, relationships with other countries and freedom of the press. Swiss cities took four spots in the top 10, which is dominated by western Europe.

Personal safety ranking

1 Luxembourg, Luxembourg

2= Basel, Switzerland

2= Bern, Switzerland

2= Helsinki, Finland

2= Zurich, Switzerland

6 Vienna, Austria

7= Geneva, Switzerland

7= Oslo, Norway

9= Auckland, New Zealand

9= Wellington, New Zealand

Source: Mercer

At 200th, Moscow was Europes least safe city in the rankings. London was 64th, New York 55th and Paris 60th.

Damascus in Syria, ranked 231st, was deemed to be the worlds most dangerous city.

A closer look at the top three

Vienna

Viennas greenery is one of its most attractive features

Topping Mercers overall Quality of Living ranking for a decade, the Austrian capital, which boasts about 2,000 parks, is also one of the worlds greenest cities.

Its historic centre has held Unesco World Heritage status since 2001, with the horseshoe-shaped Ringstrasse boulevard home to illustrious cultural institutions such as the Vienna State Opera.

Dominique Meyer, director of the Vienna State Opera, recommends living in Neubau, the seventh district, near the city centre, because of its wonderful atmosphere, international mix and beautiful 18th-century architecture.  It has little winding streets with pretty shops, restaurants and cafes, he says.

What you can buy for 5m

Located in the city centre a few minutes walk from Stadtpark, this six-bedroom apartment benefits from the amenities of the adjoining hotel, including a swimming pool, fitness centre and 24-hour concierge service. Christies International Real Estate, $6,100,000 (4,686,020).

Zurich

Residents of Zurich have access to a wide range of outdoor pursuits

Residents of the Swiss financial centre, which ranks second globally for both quality of living and safety, enjoy all-round access to the outdoors. Lake Zurich provides opportunities for swimming, sunbathing and sailing in summer, while Alpine resorts offering winter pursuits are less than two hours drive away.

Christian Spuck, director of Ballett Zurich, enjoys living in Fluntern. This neighbourhood is rather quiet and peaceful, so it is a perfect escape from the hectic city life, he says. At the same time, it only takes about 10 minutes by tram to get to the city centre.

He advises against driving in Zurich or taking cabs, which are expensive. In general, public transport is very good in Switzerland, he says. So unless you need to go to a rather remote place, it will be faster by train, tram or bus.

What you can buy for 5m

With floor-to-ceiling windows across two storeys in the living room, this modern four-bedroom penthouse overlooks Zurich West, a former industrial area that is being transformed into one of the citys trendiest neighbourhoods. Christies International Real Estate, price on application.

Vancouver

Vancouver was the only North American city in the overall top 10 globally

Vancouver, which rose from fifth to third in the overall rankings this year, has the highest quality of living in North America. It also shares top spot for safety in the region with four other Canadian cities.

Enjoying a picturesque mountain-to-ocean setting, with Kitsilano beach on its shoreline and the world-class ski resort of Whistler about a two-hour drive away, residents can lead an active lifestyle. Other advantages of life in the west coast city include access to Canadas longest swimming pool and cultural institutions such as the HR MacMillan Space Centre.

The citys state-run schools are highly regarded and there are establishm ents specialising in international curricula.

What you can buy for 5m

A five-bedroom house only a ten minutes drive away from the city centre, with a first floor terrace and a media room in the basement, this Vancouver property is close to several highly-ranked private schools. Knight Frank, C$ 4,988,00 (2,831,569).

Photographs: Dreamstime; Alamy; Getty Images/iStockphoto
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
It is obvious that Joe Manchin is a Republican in Democrats clothing. If he were a legitimate Democrat, he would support the Build Back Better bill like every other member of his party. He has significantly more power now as a Democrat, and he is using it to undermine President Biden. His leisure time is spent with Republicans, and his ideology is the same as theirs. It is equivalent to being Benedict Arnold when the majority of Americans will suffer if he blocks its passage. Like Republicans he refuses to recognize global warming because he bows to the oil companies that contribute to his campaign. It is disgraceful.
Bullock, 53, who is serving his second term as governor, said Saturday that far too many of us have seen the impact of a broken economy and that the average American is working harder but making less money.

In the 1970s, 90 percent of people of at least 30 years old were doing better than their parents. Today, only half are, he said. And two-thirds of towns across the country have lost business, Bullock said.

You look at a broken economy, you look at a broken political system, no wonder folks get frustrated, he said. No wonder folks get cynical and angry about the system. But instead of actually doing something to fix that, Donald Trump has poured gasoline on that fire.

He added, Thats why, first things first, we have to win this election. We have to make sure to bridge some of the divide so Washington is working for us. Not the Koch brothers or the Trumps or others.

Bullock talked about his efforts in Montana to expand Medicaid and tackle campaign reform to keep dark money from impacting elections.

During Saturdays event, he fielded several questions about diversity, gun violence, health care and education from members of the audience.
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AUGUSTA, Mont. | Crested by limestone reefs of the Rocky Mountain Front, the gates of the Sun River Wildlife Management Area flew open at noon Wednesday and a wave of antler pickers poured through.

At the main gate, a 300-vehicle procession that stretched for nearly a mile snaked its way along. From a separate gate, a mix of sprinters and hikers dashed off. And a venerable stampede of horses glided through a depression and onto the open hillside. Augusta-area Game Warden Brady Murphy glanced in his rearview mirror long enough to make sure horse wrecks were at a minimum before flooring his pickup to the north.

While the vast majority attending the annual antler hunt happily abide by the noon start, multiple reports began trickling in of early trespassers, and Murphy was on his way to investigate.

"Our main job up here today is to make sure nobody ruins it for everybody else," he said of those not following the rules.

Murphy spends considerable time keeping the wildlife management area free of people before it opens May 15. The area exists primarily for elk winter range, and as winter turns to spring, Sun River is where the animals often drop their antlers. With antlers both valuable and collectible, the hunt is a major holiday for many and an obsession for others.

Reports of the early trespassers quickly turned to detailed descriptions as Murphy and other wardens zeroed in. Soon, a call came over the radio that Game Warden Ezra Schwalm had two suspects in sight.

Murphy pulled up and he and Schwalm approached two men from Choteau. At 12:15 p.m. they were more than a mile and a half into the wildlife management area, including over several steep hills and ridges. Their story of not having a watch, and FWP Regional Investigator Bryan Golie seeing them inside the management area's borders nearly an hour earlier, earned them two citations.

For those who do follow the rules, Murphy and the other wardens enjoy stopping to chat, offer congratulations and receive a few reports of people and wildlife.

"That is the fun part of this," he said.

For Chester Game Warden Willie Miller, his first time at Sun River was worth the trip to come down and assist.

"It was a madhouse," he said. "I've always wanted to see it, and maybe I'll have to come back next year."

Even with the late snow, many of the larger bulls had never made it to the wildlife management area from the adjoining national forest, said Mark Schlepp, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks central region wildlife management area manager.

"Each wildlife management area has a unique purpose, and the opener is used primarily to keep it quiet so that animals aren't unduly stressed," he said. "We also use the start to keep it as much of a level playing field as possible; to give everyone a chance to find a horn."

Wildlife managers also see the management area as important in providing wintering elk a place away from neighboring ranches. The antler hunt acts as a tool as well, with a "big flush" of people moving elk out in the spring and into the backcountry, he added.

This year was Schlepp's 28th at Sun River. In that time he has seen the antler hunt evolve. FWP used to open the gates at midnight and a dedicated few would venture out with spotlights in search of antlers. The probability of someone getting hurt or running into a grizzly bear led managers to think better of a nighttime start, and now the noon opener has become standard.

Antler hunting also has become far more popular.

"I think that really started when there started to be a monetary value to antlers, that purpose of finding an antler to sell," Schlepp said. "It's also really evolved from a simple recreation thing to do to a big public event. A lot of gates will swing open at noon today."

Among those finding a trove of antlers was Matt Sweeney from Columbia Falls. For the second year in a row, his Subaru occupied the first spot in line, which required him to park about a month ahead of time.

"I'm just addicted," he said. "It seriously is an addiction, lots of people might sell them, but we just pile them up in our house and look at them. Maybe someday I'll sell some and retire."

Also finding a few shed antlers were Wes Yoder from Colorado and Aaron Helmuth from Ohio. The duo had only heard about the Sun River a few hours before the opener and decided on a whim to come up and check it out.

"I love shed hunting and seeing new country  God's country," Yoder said.

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FARGO, N.D. | North Dakota is once again tops in the nation in the production of honey.

The Agriculture Department says producers with five or more colonies totaled 38.2 million pounds of honey in 2018, up 13% from the previous year. That led the nation for the 15th consecutive year.

The number of honey-producing colonies in North Dakota was up 16% to 530,000. Average yield was down 2 pounds, to 72 pounds per colony.

The total value of honey produced in the state was up 12%, to $71.7 million.

Nationally, honey production was up 2%, to 152 million pounds. Montana produced the second-most honey, followed by California, South Dakota and Florida.

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Problems caused by the exploding popularity of Devils Bathtub are receiving some action  including a changed parking area  after several years of growing alarm.

John Kanta, western South Dakota regional supervisor for the Department of Game, Fish & Parks, spoke to the Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board on Wednesday at the Mystic Ranger District Office in Rapid City. He unveiled short- and long-term plans to deal with parking problems, traffic congestion, trespassing and environmental damage caused by the annually growing herd of visitors to the natural swimming hole in Spearfish Canyon.

Devils Bathtub was formerly something of a local secret, Kanta said, but sharing on social media in recent years has spread its popularity far and wide while drastically increasing visitation to the site. On many summer days, parked vehicles line both sides of a short gravel road near the trailhead and spill out onto both shoulders of U.S. Highway 14A, the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway.

Its gone bonkers, Kanta said.

This summer, signs will direct Devils Bathtub visitors to drive a little farther south along U.S. Highway 14A and park near the historical Homestake Hydro Electric Plant No. 2 building.

A path will be cut in the grass next to the highway for visitors to walk safely from the new parking area to the trailhead, rather than walking on the highway shoulder.

Motorists who park along the shoulders of Cleopatra Place  the short gravel lane that has traditionally been used as a parking area by Devils Bathtub visitors  may be ticketed and towed by the Lawrence County Sheriffs Office, which plans to increase enforcement this summer.

Efforts will also be made to direct hikers onto one definitive hiking trail to Devils Bathtub, rather than any of the numerous winding trails to the attraction that have been worn into the forest.

This is our short-term solution, Kanta said.

Kanta said the long-term solution will hopefully involve a land transfer.

The area around the current Devils Bathtub trailhead is a mix of state-owned public land and privately owned homes and cabins. The private landowners have suffered littering and trespassing on their property and have had difficulty accessing and leaving their property when vehicles clog Cleopatra Place and Highway 14A.

The state also owns the Hydro 2 building, a structure farther down Highway 14A that was formerly used by the Homestake Mining Company to generate power for its mining operations. The rest of the hiking route into the forest to Devils Bathtub and the swimming hole itself are on federal public land managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

Kanta said the state would like to transfer ownership of its land and the Hydro 2 building to a willing partner, possibly for eventual transfer to the U.S. Forest Service. He said various people have discussed the possibility of refurbishing the Hydro 2 building for a visitor center or museum or some other use. He said that would probably cost someone a few hundred thousand dollars.

A new trailhead could ultimately be built near the Hydro 2 building to keep hikers away from the privately owned homes and cabins, Kanta said. The new trail would require a bridge to cross Spearfish Creek, and would then go over a ridge and require a metal staircase to help hikers descend to Cleopatra Creek, where the new trail segment would connect with the existing trail. Kanta said the estimated cost to build the bridge and new trail section is $250,000.

All of those long-term plans are yet to be arranged and funded. Kanta said numerous people and entities are discussing ways to make it all happen.

The goal is to have a plan for a land transfer in place before the winter, Kanta said, so the Legislature can consider it during the 2020 legislative session that starts in January.

Contact Seth Tupper at seth.tupper@rapidcityjournal.com

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Rapid City's Community Development Department is hosting a Builders Roundtable at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the third floor conference room of the City/School Administration Center.

The one-hour session is open to the public as well as builders and will include an informal discussion on issues that include building and energy codes and permit fees.

"This is an opportunity for city staff and local builders to engage in discussion and to share input and insights on items of importance," said Ken Young, Community Development director.

For more information, contact the Community Development Department at 394-4120.

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An independent review into how the Indian Health Service addressed sexual abuse accusations against Stanley Patrick Weber, a former doctor in Pine Ridge, and other IHS staff is set to begin.

Integritas Creative Solutions LLC will take about six months to conduct a medical quality assurance review into "whether laws, policies and procedures have been followed with regard to protecting patients from sexual abuse," according to a news release from the IHS. The review will focus on actions taken from 1986 when Weber began working at the IHS until the present day. Integritas will also suggest any further improvements IHS can make to protect patients.

Integritas, a human resources company based in Kansas, was awarded the $618,000 contract, an IHS spokesman told the Journal.

Weber is currently awaiting trial in Rapid City after being convicted and sentenced to 18 years in prison for sexually abusing boys in Montana. He was indicted in 2017 after multiple people on the Pine Ridge Reservation and Blackfeet Reservation in Montana reported Weber to the IHS or other authorities, but the complaints were either ignored and not investigated, or resulted in an investigation that cleared him of any wrongdoing.

The independent review by Integritas is one of three such investigations into the IHS's handling of Weber. 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.

 Contact Arielle Zionts at arielle.zionts@rapidcityjournal.com.

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RAPID CITY | In light of the recent case of hepatitis A in Keystone, officials at Regional Health said Friday that people who have been potentially exposed can visit any Regional Health primary care physician, one of the Urgent Care clinics in Rapid City or one of the Regional Health urgent care services and walk-in clinics in other Black Hills communities.

The South Dakota Department of Health advises anyone who was a patron at the Subway Restaurant in Keystone from May 2 to May 14 or Turtle Town in Keystone from May 6 to 13 to see a primary care provider.

Regional Health providers can evaluate whether the patient should have a Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) treatment such as the hepatitis A vaccine or immune globulin. If treatment is needed, the provider can administer it.

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Regional Health will offer free blood-pressure screenings from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Rushmore Mall in Rapid City as part of National Blood Pressure Awareness Month.

High blood pressure is often called the silent killer, because most of the time there are no signs or symptoms to alert the person that their blood pressure is high. This is why routine screening is so important to monitor your blood pressure, Sheila Long, a registered nurse and stroke coordinator, said in a press release.
May is National Military Appreciation Month, a time to recognize, honor, and thank all of the men and women in uniform who selflessly serve our state and nation. When I reflect on their service and sacrifice, its hard not to think about my dad and personal hero, Harold, and all of the men and women who today fill the ranks at Ellsworth Air Force Base and the South Dakota National Guard. As any South Dakotan can attest, these soldiers and airmen are the best of the best, and were glad they call South Dakota home.

My dad is a humble guy, so it would take some bragging from those around him before youd ever know he was a war hero  a guy who, as a young man, didnt think twice before piloting one of the many Hellcats that buzzed off the deck of the U.S.S. Intrepid during World War II. He embodies everything that it means to be part of the Greatest Generation: humility, quiet service, patriotism, and dedication to the cause of freedom.

I can tell you, there are few things more humbling than welcoming members of the Greatest Generation who are in Washington to visit the war memorials that have been created in their honor. I recently met a group of South Dakota veterans who served in World War II, the Korean War, or Vietnam, and it was an awe-inspiring experience to see firsthand how meaningful a quick visit to the National Mall can be for them.

Todays military men and women share a lot of the same qualities as those of previous generations, and Ive been fortunate to get to know many of them through Ellsworth and the South Dakota National Guard.

Ellsworth has dominated the headlines lately, and the base deserves the praise. Its been an amazing 14-year journey from first being placed on the Department of Defenses chopping block to today being chosen as the future home to the first B-21 bombers to enter the fleet. It was a team effort, but we worked hard to convince the Pentagon that Ellsworth was a vital national security asset and that moving the existing B-1 fleet would actually cost money and strategic value.

Between then and now, Ellsworths resume has only grown stronger. In 2007, the Air Force Financial Services Center opened at the base. In 2011, it welcomed the 89th Attack Squadron and command and control stations for MQ-9 Reapers. And in 2015, after nearly a decade of work, Ellsworth found itself firmly planted in the expanded Powder River Training Complex (PRTC)  the largest training air space in the continental United States.

Utilizing the PRTC and additional altitude waivers, the base just completed its ninth large force exercise, its first since solidifying its place in the future of the nations new bomber fleet. It featured nearly a dozen different kinds of aircraft, including B-1s, F-16s, and, for the first time, F-35s, and it hosted personnel from around the country. Ellsworth continues to shine, but its the men and women at the base  and their families and the community  who truly deserve the credit.

John Thune represents South Dakota in the U.S. Senate.

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The alleged victim of a domestic violence report was found following search and rescue efforts near mile marker 14 on Highway 93 North on Saturday afternoon.

The Missoula County Sheriff's Office detectives, alongside the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Police, were able to locate the alleged victim of a domestic violence report Saturday afternoon.

Law enforcement agencies searched the area after reports of a man assaulting a 23-year-old pregnant woman and "dragging" her into the nearby woods.

"However, as detectives with the MCSO and CSKT Tribal law enforcement began investigating, conflicting accounts from those involved were made," read an update to a Facebook post by the Sheriff's Office.

Law enforcement contacted the pregnant female and offered medical care for her and the baby. She is not requesting any further assistance from law enforcement, according to the post.

The Sheriff's Office identified the suspect as 30-year-old Devin Allen Joseph Peasley. He is not being sought at this time on charges related to the incident although he does have outstanding warrants for unrelated incidents, according to the Sheriff's Office Facebook post.

The Sheriff's Office said in the post that they dont believe there is any current danger to the public.

The call was determined to be under the jurisdiction of Tribal Police, who are continuing to investigate the incident.

The Sheriff's Office initially reported at about 1 p.m. Saturday that the Special Response Team was deployed to conduct a search following the domestic violence report to dispatch around noon.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Police, U.S. Forest Service law enforcement, Montana Highway Patrol and Two Bear Air all assisted the sheriff's office.

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Sensation prevails after volcanic lava-like inflammable liquid has been reported erupting again in Tripura since Wednesday morning. The incident has been reported from Madhuban under Kathaltali village, on the outskirts of Agartala. This is the fourth such incident in the state in a period of one year. Last year, three such incidents were reported from Sabroom in the southern part of the state, close to Chittagong in Bangladesh.

Lava-like liquid eruption reported again in Tripura. Picture via NeNow

Sensation prevailed when residents of Ananda Nagar and Madhuban in the eastern outskirts of Agartara noticed that fire was coming out of the ground near Jharjharia Biswamata School on Wednesday morning. Some black stones also were coming out of the soil along with the fire.

Sources said, The local residents of Madhuban under Kathaltali village first noticed an underground lava-type eruption and fire. As it started melting the electric poles, it triggered sensation.

The unusual happening caused panic in the area and the locals immediately informed the fire service. Experts from ONGC arrived and the fire was extinguished. But local people remain worried.

ONGC experts collected samples of the stones and soil but could not ascertain the reason behind the sudden eruption. They will analyse the samples but they suspect that the eruption may be due to the accumulation of methane gas underground.

Fire gushes out of soil in Tripura. Picture via Sentinel Assam

Avisek Chaudhuri explained geochemical measurements were required to come to a final conclusion. However the chief geologist also underlined that the present incident was very similar to what happened in Sabroom last year. The latest was linked to methane explosion and subsurface volcanic activity.

There is indeed a fault line that passes through the area. The friction of the tectonic plates creates heat that melts rocks, thus creating a large underground magma chamber  molten rocks.

Such a weird phenomenon is of big concern for the region of Tripura, which is highly vulnerable to earthquakes. The seven northeastern states of India  Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Manipur  is considered the sixth major earthquake-prone belt in the world by seismologists.

The region experienced an earthquake measuring M8.7 on the Richter scale in 1897 that killed at leat 1,600 people.

Here some other articles about underground fires in India:

Fire erupts out of cracks in the ground in India and causes panic among residents

Mysterious burning grounds kill one and create panic among residents in India

Mysterious underground inferno creates smoking sinkholes that swallow a swampy forest in India  An incoming volcanic eruption?

Follow us on FACEBOOK and TWITTER. Share your thoughts in our DISCUSSION FORUMS. Donate through Paypal. Please and thank you

[Nenow, SentinelAssam]
Franklin FTSE United Kingdom ETF's stock was trading at $19.13 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, FLGB shares have increased by 31.7% and is now trading at $25.20.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
Everythings a national security concern these days, but while auto tariffs might have squeaked through on that rule are a bit shaky, Trumps executive order banning U.S. telecommunications firms from installing foreign-made equipment is on more solid ground here. The executive order declares a national economic emergency giving the U.S. government the power to ban the technology and services of foreign adversaries deemed to pose unacceptable risks to national security  including from cyber espionage and sabotage.

Even though the administration does not outright name China--and specifically Huawei--as the intended target of the executive order, shortly after its announcement, the U.S. Commerce Department formally added Huawei, and 70 of its affiliates, to the Entity List of companies considered to be undermining American interests.

The list ensures banning Huawei from buying parts and components from American companies without official approval.From now on, all U.S. companies must apply for a license to sell technology to Huawei, including U.S.-based Qualcomm.

Chinas government has slammed the move as unreasonable....disgraceful and unjust. Huawei says the ban would ultimately hurt American businesses and consumers, and slow down U.S. efforts to develop 5G technology.

The decision could spark retaliation from China and significantly turn the heat upon US companies.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang tolda media that China will take measures to defend the interests of Chinese companies, without providing details.

Huawei, the worlds third-largest smartphone company, after Samsung and Apple, was making a major push to sell phones into the U.S. this year but was thwarted significantly by pressure from the U.S. government.

Related: Ireland Declares Climate Emergency

In fact, earlier this year, U.S. intelligence heads warned American citizens against using Huawei and ZTE products. Its nothing new, really. As far back as 2012, a U.S. Congressional report labeled Huawei as a national-security threat, saying its equipment could allow China to spy on telecommunications networks.

Nor is the U.S. alone here. Australia and New Zealand have made similar movesalso under pressure from the U.S.

In April, Australian Defense department said it was phasing out its use of Huawei and ZTE phones for department officials. Last November, New Zealands security services banned Huawei from supplying mobile network kit to a domestic company on national security grounds.

But its a short list of allies.

The UK isnt playing the same game. In early February, Huawei met with British officials and then announced it would invest $4.2 billion in the UK over the next five years. The Chinese tech giant is also conducting pre-commercial 5G trials in many of the worlds biggest cities in Europe, Japan and Canada.

The spying issue isnt going to sneak by Europe without any drama, though. Dutch intelligence services are currently investigating Huawei for allegedly spying for the Chinese government by leaving a back door open to customer data, according to a new report released today.

By Fred Dunkley for Safehaven.com

More Top Reads From Safehaven.com:
One of the first people I met when my husband and I moved to the Santa Ynez Valley was Doris Holzheu. We met at the Y swimming pool. Doris, being the friendly soul that she is, welcomed me to the area and asked me about myself. When we both spoke of our love of travel, she wanted to know if Id ever been to Germany. I said I had not. Doris, a still-beautiful woman approaching 90, and who speaks with a German accent, was surprised.
Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors generally expressed support for budget proposals from the countys justice-related departments during the second budget workshop Wednesday, although the sheriff was told he might not get everything he asked for. In the midst of the budget presentations, a bomb threat was made against what Sheriff Bill Brown said were the building and several people, which resulted in a 90-minute delay in the board returning from lunch.
By Samuel Shen and Shu Zhang SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Cash is considered among the hardest assets for a company to fake, which is why the disappearance of a combined $6.1 billion from two Chinese companies has dumbfounded investors and forced regulators to take action. Drugmaker Kangmei Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, a constituent of MSCI's global indexes, in April said an "accounting error" led it to overstate cash in 2017 by 29.94 billion yuan ($4.4 billion). This month, Kangde Xin Composite Material Group Co Ltd, a producer of high-polymer materials, said its auditor could find no trace of the 12.21 billion yuan that it said it held in a bank deposit. Regulators are investigating both cases and neither company has offered detailed explanations for the missing billions. Weak governance has long been a black mark against mainland Chinese companies. Yet these cases have still stunned many investors as they involve straightforward cash, and because the sheer size of the disappearances is equivalent to more than half the two groups' combined market capitalization before they disclosed the issues, triggering calls for tougher punishment for any corporate wrongdoing. "If you tell me fish in a pond disappeared, I probably would buy the story... Tens of billions of deposits missing, that's a bit unthinkable," Liu Enqi, vice head of Bank of Nanjing Co Ltd, told Reuters. "If such things happened in the U.S., someone would be jailed." Pan Jiang, chief executive of asset manager Shanghai V-invest Co, said the cases were "beyond description". "If regulators just let bad guys walk away, it would be a huge blow to investor confidence," he said. Officials appear to be listening. China's top securities regulator, Yi Huiman, told a conference on May 11 that "those who did bad things must pay the price". The chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) also vowed to tighten scrutiny of corporate governance and push for tougher punishment. Shi Donghui, a senior researcher at the Shanghai Stock Exchange, at a seminar this month said the bourse would "resolutely" delist any companies found to have seriously violated disclosure rules. FAKING THE UNFAKABLE Accounting issues take place the world over. When it comes to manipulation, common ploys include inflating asset values, faking customers and overstating money owed. Companies also face more straightforward crimes such as theft. But cash, sitting in bank accounts, is low on that list. Any big-sum cash fraud would be tough to pull off without help from bankers or auditors, said accounting consultant Ma Junsheng. Rose Zhang, a partner at Zhong Xi, an accounting firm that audits over 25 China-listed companies, said collusion was likely in cases of disappearing cash because "it is impossible for deposits to vanish out of the blue". Kangmei disclosed its issue on April 30 and has said almost nothing beyond its initial diagnosis of "accounting error". It said China's securities watchdog was investigating the matter. Kangmei's auditor GP Certified Public Accountants was also put under investigation, according to local media reports and the auditor. Kangde Xin also disclosed a CSRC probe. In a series of statements this month, it said it did not exclude the possibility that its cash was appropriated by controlling shareholder Kangde Group. It is also said it was seeking to sue deposit holder Bank of Beijing Co Ltd. Kangde Group's chairman, Zhong Yu, has been detained, the police said in a separate statement without elaborating. Kangde Xin declined to comment further when contacted by Reuters. Repeated calls and a text message to Bank of Beijing went unanswered. Neither Kangde Group nor the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission immediately responded to requests for comment. Reuters could not reach a representative for detained shareholder Zhong. Kangmei did not immediately respond to a request for comment. GP declined to comment. ANTS VS ELEPHANTS The scale of the incidents has sparked calls for China to crack down on corporate wrongdoing. Under securities law, a listed company that makes false disclosure can be fined up to 600,000 yuan, while the criminal law states those who conceal or intentionally destroy accounting records can be imprisoned for up to five years and fined up to 200,000 yuan. "The amount of the fine cannot adequately compensate investor losses caused by corporate fraud," said Xie Lianjie, a partner with Beijing Yingke Law Firm Shanghai Office. His team was contacted by more than 100 investors who lost money in the two stocks following the missing money disclosures. In addition, China does not have a mechanism for group legal action - famously embodied by U.S. class-action lawsuits - making it expensive for small investors to pursue companies for damages. "It's like a war between ants and elephants," said Xu Caiyuan, an activist investor. Jia Wu, U.S.-based accounting professor at University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, said China needs an equivalent to the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which closed a series of accounting and auditing loopholes and made executives personally liable for the accuracy of financial statements. "You need to put wrongdoers behind bars," Wu said. "You need a powerful deterrent." Last year, China ranked 10th in a widely followed regional ranking of corporate governance, far below nearby India, and above only Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea, according to the report by brokerage CLSA and the Asian Corporate Governance Association. Among categories measured, China scored particularly poorly for management discipline, independence from controlling shareholders, and for transparency - a key issue in the Kangde Xin and Kangmei cases. "If information in this market is inadequate, and fake, there's no basis for fair pricing," said Hong Yan, professor of finance at the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance. "That would make the market a casino." (Reporting by Samuel Shen in SHANGHAI and Shu Zhang in SINGAPORE; Additional reporting by Cheng Leng in BEIJING; Editing by Jennifer Hughes and Stephen Coates)
Bangladesh authorities prevented 84 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar from attempting a perilous boat journey to Malaysia, officials said Saturday. Police in Pekua said 67 Rohingya Muslims from Kutupalong -- the largest refugee settlement in the world -- were stopped as they waited to board a fishing trawler. They included 31 women and 15 children. On Saint Martin's, a small Bangladesh island in the Bay of Bengal, the country's coast guard stopped 17 other Rohingya and five Bangladeshi traffickers before they could board a rickety fishing boat. Fayezul Islam Mondol, the regional coast guard commander, said they were acting on a tip off. About 740,000 Muslim minority Rohingya have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since a brutal military crackdown began in August 2017. They joined another 300,000 Rohingya already living in overcrowded camps in the Cox's Bazar area following previous bouts of violence. Thousands of refugees attempt to flee the camps each year in pursuit of better opportunities in countries such as Malaysia and Thailand. They frequently spend their life savings to embark on dangerous boat journeys they believe will improve their lives, but many fall prey to international human trafficking gangs. Most attempt the journey before March, when the sea is calm before the monsoon season sets in, but experts say traffickers are now convincing the refugees to attempt the crossing even in rough waters. "This is a very alarming situation," Jishu Barua, an aid worker specialising in trafficking, told AFP.
By Yawen Chen and David Lawder

BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China and the United States have agreed to hold more trade talks in Beijing, Vice Premier Liu He said as U.S. President Donald Trump ordered his trade chief to begin the process of imposing tariffs on all remaining imports from China.

Liu voiced a measured optimism on reaching a deal, but said there were "issues of principle" on which China would not back down.

"Negotiations have not broken down," Liu, China's chief negotiator in the talks, said in Washington on Friday, according to state television on Saturday. "Quite the opposite, I think small setbacks are normal and inevitable during the negotiations of both countries. Looking forward, we are still cautiously optimistic," Liu said.

Liu's optimism was tempered by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who told CNBC on Friday that there were no further talks with China planned "as of now."

Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday that he thinks China felt they were being "beaten so badly" in the recent negotiations that they may as well wait for the 2020 presidential election "to see if they could get lucky & have a Democrat win - in which case they would continue to rip-off the USA for $500 Billion a year."

"The only problem is that they know I am going to win," Trump wrote on Twitter, "... and the deal will become far worse for them if it has to be negotiated in my second term. Would be wise for them to act now, but love collecting BIG TARIFFS!"

The United States escalated a tariff war with China on Friday by hiking levies on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods in the midst of last-ditch talks to rescue a trade deal. Trump had delayed the tariffs as negotiations between Washington and Beijing were progressing.

On Friday, Trump issued orders for the tariff increase, saying China "broke the deal" by reneging on earlier commitments made during months of negotiations.

Story continues

China strongly opposes the latest U.S. tariff hike, and as a nation, has to respond to that, Liu told a small group of Chinese reporters in the video clip.

"Right now, both sides have reached mutual understanding in many things, but frankly speaking, there are also differences. We think these differences are significant issues of principle," Liu said. "We absolutely cannot make concessions on such issues of principle."

He added that talks would continue in Beijing, but gave no details. Underscoring a lack of progress in the talks, Trump ordered a further escalation of tariffs.

Trump's move would subject about $300 billion worth of Chinese imports to punitive tariffs, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement on Friday. Lighthizer said a final decision has not been made on the new duties, which would come on top of an early Friday tariff rate increase, to 25% from 10%, on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.

CHINA DETAILS DIFFERENCES

Three differences remain between the two countries, according to China's account of the latest talks.

One of those is over tariffs, Liu said, according to a transcript of the Q&A published by Phoenix, a Hong Kong-based television station that is close to Beijing. China believes that tariffs were the genesis of the trade dispute, and that if both sides wanted to reach an agreement, then all tariffs must be eliminated, Liu said.

The second is about procurement, on which an initial consensus was reached between the leaders of the two countries in Argentina late last year. The two sides now have differing views on the volumes, Liu said. The third is over how balanced the text of the draft agreement should be, he said.

"Every nation has its dignity, so the text ought to be balanced," Liu said.

Sources told Reuters this week that China had deleted its commitments in the draft agreement that said it would change laws to resolve core complaints of the United States: theft of U.S. intellectual property and trade secrets; forced technology transfers; competition policy; access to financial services; and currency manipulation.

Liu denied the accusations of China's reneging on promises, saying China thought it was normal to make changes before a final deal. Both sides had differing views on how to phrase it, he said.

Liu said he hoped this issue would be resolved, so it was unnecessary to "over react" to that point. Similar to Liu, Chinese state media said China would not give in on its core interests.

"China clearly requires that the trade procurement figures should be realistic; the text must be balanced and expressed in terms that are acceptable to the Chinese people and do not undermine the sovereignty and dignity of the country," the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily newspaper said in a commentary on Saturday.

The trade war has weighed on the Chinese economy.

When asked about domestic concerns over how the latest tariffs could further pressure the economy, Liu said he was optimistic about China's economy in the longer term, adding that it had entered an up-cycle after bottoming out somewhat last year.

He said he believed the Chinese economy would maintain a stable and healthy trend despite some downward pressure, and that China had ample room for fiscal and monetary policy manoeuvres.

On Monday, hours after Trump said he intended to raise tariffs, the Chinese central bank cut the amount of reserves that some small and medium-sized banks need to hold, freeing up more funds for lending to cash-strapped firms.

(Reporting by Yawen Chen and David Lawder; Additional reporting by Ryan Woo in Beijing; Lucia Mutikani in Washington; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Leslie Adler, Matthew Lewis and Daniel Wallis)
Chinese passenger tries to smash high-speed train window to get some air

Chinese railway police detained a passenger after he tried to smash the door window of a high-speed train to get some fresh air according to mainland media reports.

The 30-year-old man, identified only by his surname Xu, said he tried and failed to unlock the door and then decided to break the glass with an emergency hammer because he had been drinking and felt sick, China National Radio reported on Saturday.

Xu tried to smash the door after mechanical failure had forced the Beijing-bound train from Shanghai to stop at the main railway station in Jinan in Shandong province on Tuesday.

He said the train had been stranded for half an hour when he became impatient and wanted to have some fresh air, according to the report.

Surveillance footage showed the man pulling on the door handle before hitting the glass with an emergency hammer mounted on the wall.

Staff quickly intervened and stopped Xu, who was taken into police custody after the train arrived in Beijing.

I just smashed it once. I assumed this would allow air to come in, so I stopped, Xu was quoted as saying.

I felt unwell at that moment because I had been drinking at lunchtime. I did it on impulse.

He was detained for allegedly intentionally damaging property, an offence that could lead to up to three years in jail.

The incident comes just a few months after a woman tried to use an emergency hammer to smash the window of a moving train on the way from Beijing to Qingdao.

The woman had been arguing with her boyfriend and hit the window in a fit of pique, according to media reports.

She was charged with criminal damage and sentenced to five days in detention.

This article Chinese passenger tries to smash high-speed train window to get some air first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019.
Actress Eva Longoria said restrictive abortion laws passed in the US states of Alabama and Missouri are a threat to women, as stars staged a protest against the bans on the Cannes red carpet Saturday. "What's happening in Alabama is so important in the world," the "Desperate Housewives" star said, referring to the US state which has banned terminations even in the case of rape or incest. "It's going to affect everybody if we don't pay attention." Longoria -- a pro-choice Catholic -- warned of a "domino effect" with a dozen other Republican-controlled US states seeking to restrict the rights of women to abortion. Last year, the Latina actress produced the Netflix documentary "Reversing Roe" which showed how pro-life groups are mounting a major push to overturn the landmark US Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion in 1973. Her comments come as Spanish star Penelope Cruz joined a group of actresses led by Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rossi de Palma and French director Claire Denis, in staging a red carpet protest for abortion rights. The gathering was originally meant to support the Argentinian documentary, "Let It Be Law", which premiered on Saturday in the festival's official selection. It tells the story of the struggle for women's rights in the huge, largely Catholic Latin American country, which has become bitterly divided over abortion. - Red carpet protest - At the protest, Argentinian pro-choice activists created a "green wave" of women waving green handkerchiefs, the symbol of Argentina's pro-abortion movement. One wore a striking green ballgown embroidered around the hem with a slogan in Spanish reading: "Legal, safe and free abortion." Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, whose film "Pain & Glory" starring Cruz and Antonio Banderas is an early favourite for the festival's top prize, also brandished a green handkerchief in a show of support. Months of protests to decriminalise abortion in Pope Francis' homeland culminated in a make-or-break Senate vote in February. But on its eighth attempt, the law failed at the final hurdle when it was voted down by 38 votes to 31, bringing thousands onto the streets of Buenos Aires in protest. "That night, I nearly died from the cold, from the rain, I almost broke my camera," Juan Solanas, who directed the documentary, told AFP. "I felt anger and indignation," said the 52-year-old, son of the celebrated filmmaker Fernando "Pino" Solanas, who won best director at Cannes for his 1988 film "Sur". "I grew up in an atheist family (and) I respect people's beliefs, but it is medieval and violent to impose them on people who don't think the same," he added. Solanas said restrictions like those passed in Alabama and Missouri would lead to women's deaths. "In Argentina, one woman dies every week following an illegal abortion -- more than one a day in Latin America, where 300 million women live without the right to end their pregnancies." Longoria, one of the founders of the Time's Up movement that pushes for gender equality and women's rights, told a Kering "Women in Motion" talk at Cannes on Friday that the group would likely get involved in next year's US presidential election. "We're trying to figure out what is Time's Up's role in these elections, and how can we have an impact," she said. Despite the momentum generated after #MeToo, she said in the workplace generally "the statistics are going the wrong way. We're not improving."
Deputy Minister of Woman, Family and Community Development Hannah Yeoh attends a briefing regarding the update on the Taman Rimba Kiara issue in Kuala Lumpur May 18, 2019.  Picture by Hari Anggara

KUALA LUMPUR, May 18  DAP lawmaker Hannah Yeoh asserted today that her opposition to proposed development on Taman Rimba Kiara will not disrupt her friendship with Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad nor cause cracks within the ruling Pakatan Harapan.

The Segambut MP said that her disagreement with the project is at a professional level as she was elected to speak out against developments that are not her constituents interest.

Yes we are friends. Khalid Samad is my friend and when I was the Subang assemblyman, he came alongside me and protested when the Telekom land, a utility land was used for commercial development.

But I believe as public figures, as members of parliament given mandate by the people, friends can also disagree and friends must disagree if what we are fighting for is not the best for the rakyat.

To preserve Taman Rimba Kiara is a fight worth fighting for, she said at a town hall session held at the Taman Tun Dr Ismail community centre here attended by about 500 people.

Yeoh dismissed the views that she still held onto an Opposition mindset, saying there are many ways to be pro-business and pro-development.

Deputy Minister of Woman, Family and Community Development Hannah Yeoh speaks during a briefing regarding the update on the Taman Rimba Kiara issue in Kuala Lumpur May 18, 2019.  Picture by Hari Anggara

She said combating corruption would benefit all of businesses to have a better future in Malaysia.

I want to remind Yayasan that I have 10 years experience being part of the state government of Selangor, she said, referring to Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YWP).

We were not the Opposition, we were part of government. I have never been in Opposition. I have more experience being in government than the FT minister, said Yeoh.

She was formerly Selangor Legislative Assembly Speaker and for two terms, the Subang Jaya assemblyman when Pakatan Rakyat was in power.

From all the evidence presented, I didnt just fight. We try to be reasonable. We proposed many alternatives and are willing to compromise.

I hope you are satisfied that I dont have opposition mindset. This is good governance mindset.

Story continues

Yeoh, who is also women, family and community development deputy minister, also insisted she had met with Khalid many times to discuss the Taman Rimba Kiara project, contrary to his assertion two days ago.

However, she said an agreement has not been met as those opposing the project disagrees on the encroachment of the public park.

We have met so many times but we cannot agree. Every meeting they will say scale down version, but we say if you want to build, build within the longhouse area.

We have a duty to protect every last piece of greenland. We have more than enough condominiums in KL, so many projects cannot be sold. Why continue to do this, said Yeoh, adding that she has submitted two proposals to Cabinet on the matter.

The first proposal includes cancelling the development order given to the developer, Malton Berhad, and have the government build low density townhouses to replace the current longhouse residence, in which Yeoh said would cost only RM25 million.

The second alternative suggested that the developer continue with the development but only within the 4.4-acre longhouse footprint and not encroach into the park.

Both proposals suggest YWP return Taman Rimba Kiara land to the government to have it gazetted as a public park.

Related Articles Ambiga urges pause to Taman Rimba Kiara development pending MACC probe Waste not: The negative impact of Ramadan waste according to environmental NGOs Dr M's grandchild, family friend keep it honest in documentary M for Malaysia (VIDEO)
A screenshot of the Asia Pacific Travel and Tourism Federation website.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 18  The legitimacy of awards handed out to tourism industry players in the region by the group known as the Asia Pacific Travel and Tourism Federation (APTTF) appears to be more dubious than thought.

Amid a growing spotlight on the awards, a local hotel association revealed that APTTF's claim of having official endorsement from tourism ministries in Asean does not hold up.

Malay Mail spoke to several major organisations in the local tourism industry, but found that many have not heard of the APTTF previously until complaints and negative news reports regarding the latter's recent awards ceremony.

A check of APTTF website shows that it still carried advertisements of its now-controversial Asia Pacific Tourism & Travel Awards 2019, with the date and venue stated to be April 11, 2019 at the Palace of the Golden Horses KL.

When contacted, Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) CEO Yap Lip Seng said the association was not invited to the awards ceremony, but found out about the event one day before it was held and was also informed that the tourism minister would be attending.

At that time we were one of the very first ones whom had raised doubts over APTTF as it was the first time we hear of it. However we did not raise any alarms assuming that it would have been endorsed by MOTAC if the minister is attending, he told Malay Mail, referring to the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

After the event, which was attended by many of our members, we were told of irregularities and the fact that the Minister did not show up. From there we did quick checks and could not find any solid data on APTTF and its awards, he added.

MAH took the extra step of checking with regional counterparts of APTTF's claim of participation from tourism authorities of Asean nations.

From its website and listing on the award certificate, APTTF features a long list of 'member countries' represented by its Ministries or Tourism Boards.

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Being a member of the Asean Hotel and Restaurant Association, we forwarded the matter to other member countries, and most reverted that their respective Tourism Ministries & Boards did not endorse APTTF, Yap said.

From there we alerted MOTAC, Tourism Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines as well as Visa, all of which logos were featured on the award certificates, he added.

Malay Mail's checks of APTTF's website shows it listed 14 countries under the heading of Tourism Ministries  Associate Partners, with the purported partners mainly of Asean members.

Apart from listing official tourism bodies in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and South Korea, APTTF also listed Singapore and Malaysia but without specifying the official tourism ministry or board of these two countries.

Malay Mail found that the addresses provided for the purported partners in Malaysia and Singapore were the same as the alleged office address of APTTF's own purported Singapore office and ASG Management Group Ltd's office in Brickfields.

APTTF's Facebook page claims that it is a non-profit organisation, but states that it is owned and managed by ASG Management Group and registered and operating from Singapore.

The APTTF website also brazenly displayed the logos of Motac and had in promotional material claimed that Malaysias tourism minister would attend the Malaysian edition of the award event.

Earlier this week, Tourism Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said his ministry will take action against APTTF for using his name and the Tourism Malaysia logo without authorisation in its promotional activities for the awards event.

He accused APTTF of fraud for falsely portraying his alleged planned attendance when he did not even receive invitations to do so, while Tourism Malaysia reportedly said it has no links with APTTF which it pointed out was not registered with the Registrar of Societies or the Companies Commission of Malaysia.

Local daily The Star this week reported of award recipients allegedly having to buy tables at the event to receive awards from APTTF, as well as disorganisation where some allegedly did not receive their awards as planned or where awards were given out to the wrong recipients.

When asked if any of MAH members complained or were tricked into paying for the awards, Yap said: We did not receive any official complaints on the awards, but we were informed on members who felt cheated after the event.

However, the payment they made was to attend the event which includes conference, meals and administrative arrangements, they did not pay to be given the awards, he said.

Yap said MAH was not aware if any of its members were planning to take action against APTTF over the awards event, but confirmed it would help if required: MAH is not a direct party in the matter, but we may assist our members if requested so.

Unrecognised, unheard, unknown

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents president Datuk Tan Kok Liang told Malay Mail that he did not know about APTTF, saying: Ive not heard about them until the news about them came out.

Malaysian Inbound Tourism Associationsecretary-general Adam Kamal Ahmad Kamil said the association had never heard of APTTF before this and that theyve never contacted us.

There are many such awards around so they might just want to jump on the bandwagon to give out such awards.

I saw the news about them using the Tourism Malaysia logo without permission, that is wrong. Even for us, when we organise any travel fair and want to use the 'Cuti-cuti Malaysia' phrase, we have to write in to MOTAC to get permission, this is not even a logo, he pointed out to Malay Mail.

Malaysia Budget Hotel Association president PK Leong said APTTF had never contacted his hotel or the association he leads about their awards.

I have heard about them giving out some award once before this but did not think much about it, he told Malay Mail, further disputing their legitimacy as a purported tourism industry organisation.

In the scheme of things, we are a bigger organisation compared to them, we have been around for more than 20 years and MAH has been around for 30 years.

I think they are a private company giving out awards, they do not represent any particular body or associations. They are definitely not industry players and they are definitely a business venture giving out awards to those in the industry, he added.

It is quite common for some organisations to give awards and those attending had to pay for the dinner, such as the per table or per head fees. That is the norm to pay for the dinner, he said.

A check of APTTF's website shows the purported organisation as touting itself to be a leading international organisation in tourism initiatives but without revealing when it was formed, also carrying the peculiar description of being the Asian Tourism Ministry agency as having the responsibility of promoting responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

Shaharuddin M. Saaid, executive director of Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners, said the first time the industry body heard about APTTF was weeks ago just after the awards event.

We have not heard of them. But what we know is they are unrecognised. The hotel and tourism industry have no knowledge of this body, he said, adding that the tourism ministry did not know of APTTF.

He described APTTF's event as a fly by night scheme akin to selling awards to hotels where hotels are told they would receive awards if they pay for tables, saying it does not apply genuine valuation for the awards.

Shaharuddin, whose association has 97 hotel owners with about 200 hotels under them, said MAHO will leave this matter to the Tourism Ministry.

We already informed the ministry and hotels can decide whether they want to take up action against this body, he said.

He said he was uncertain if such dubious awards were common in the hospitality industry, saying: This is the only one we have found out so far. There could be other bodies giving out awards but are unrecognised by the official authorities.

What can be done?

MAH's Yap said the 900-member-strong association knows the recognised industry awards with proven track records and we are often invited to either support, participate or promote the awards.

When asked if dubious awards were common in the hospitality industry, Yap said some awards fall within a gray area.

There are attempts every now and then but it falls in a gray area of legitimacy being a private initiative most of the time.

We can gauge its authenticity somewhat through the award process, from nomination to judging and award criteria. Dubious ones usually do not fulfil such processes, he said.

Yap said MAH does alert its members and partners once dubious practices are made known to the association, but also said the industry body is unable to directly criticise or condemn such awards and their initiators because essentially these awards are not regulated by law.

If it is proven a scam, it will be within our black-list or watch-list for doubtful ones. We will make such information available to our members, he said.

When asked if there should be a law to regulate awards in the tourism industry, Yap noted the challenges if such measures are taken.

As for law, it would be very difficult and could be counter-productive to genuine ones too. The coverage of such awards are actually very wide, and will be difficult to have laws to govern or control it, he said.

Yap instead suggested a guide possibly by the government to assist in evaluating if an award is genuine, saying that this could be a generic guide that applies to any industry as the mechanism would be the same.

A guideline would be a good start, to identify and ensure that awards are genuinely given by nomination and proper judging process. The guideline could serve as a reference to ministries or agencies in determining the legitimacy of the awards, he said.

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Aidil Rusli

MAY 18  June is just two weeks away, and we're already starting to experience an avalanche of big ticket new releases in Malaysian cinemas, which is a sure sign that the summer movie season is just around the corner.

Coupled with the arrival of the fasting month, I couldn't even find the time to see all the movies I'd like to see that opened last week, particularly The Hustle, which is reportedly a female-centred remake of the classic 80s comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

That's because three even bigger and more exciting movies caught my eyes first, and I simply had to go see them before anything else; two of which I'll be writing about here, with Detective Pikachu slightly missing out because while it is entertaining and funny, it's nowhere near unique enough for me to write much about.

And there's even space for A Dog's Journey to compete with these titles in local cinemas, another title that I'll need to find time to catch as well.

But seeing three movies in the cinemas in the space of one week is already more than enough.

John Wick: Chapter 3  Parabellum

If John Wick: Chapter 2 hasn't already made it clear that the John Wick franchise is one of the best action franchises in the whole planet, then Chapter 3 will settle the argument once and for all.

This one continues right after Chapter 2 ended, with John Wick pronounced ex-communicado and given a 60-minute head start before the assassins of the world can then hunt him down for a US$14 million (RM58 million) bounty.

Basically that's all there is to the story, because at least 80 per cent of Chapter 3 is dedicated purely to the mayhem that ensues when one assassin (or group of assassins) after another tries to kill John Wick, who now has nowhere to go to and no one to turn to since he's been declared ex-communicado.

But what glorious mayhem that 80 per cent is.

Chapter 3 basically does what The Beatles did with music in the 60s  take all the best bits from everyone, everywhere else, and make it their own.

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And this one feels just like that, an exhaustive compendium of some of the greatest fight scenes from around the globe in recent memory, the most obvious crib being the fight-on-bikes scene from South Korean flick The Villainess.

But seriously, where does one even begin to describe the amount of artful work put into choreographing, executing, shooting and then editing these glorious fights?

And there are so many great ones to choose from too; my favourites including the fight in an antique store in Chinatown, the opening fight in the New York Public Library, the centrepiece fight using dogs with assistance from Halle Berry in Morocco, and who can ever forget the use of Indonesian language during the fight with Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman?

In short, if relentless bloody mayhem is what you're after, and barring a miracle coming out of nowhere, you'll not find a better fight flick in 2019 than this one.

Brightburn

This film is based on such a brilliant but simple idea that I'm surprised that it wasn't made earlier  what if Superman was evil?

With that one simple hook (I can even imagine the elevator pitch) writers Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn (brothers of executive producer James Gunn, of Guardians Of The Galaxy fame) have successfully imagined and fashioned an involving horror story.

Yes, you read that right, Brightburn is a horror film, with the aforementioned superman (a little baby who crash landed on a farm, with the farm owners taking him in and raising him as their own child), a kid named Brandon Breyer, as the movie's source of fear and thrills.

After growing up a sweet, quiet and intelligent kid, things start to take a turn for the worse when Brandon starts sleepwalking, like he's being drawn to his spaceship, hidden in the barn, with him having no knowledge of his origins, believing himself to be a normal adopted kid.

There are quite a few holes in the story if you really think about it, because the movie never really explained a lot of things, like what the spaceship really is (the movie hints at it being both a prison and a mode of transport) and whether the evil Brandon is actually possessed, simply became darker mentally, or slowly became evil as a sort of after-effects of being possessed by the ship.

But if you leave logic and motivations aside, Brightburn is a really thrilling blend of horror and superhero origin stories, with plenty of outrageous gore in its kills, which are gorier than even some slasher movies!

And, like most good horror films, the acting really sells the emotions here, as the parents wrestle with the thought of having an evil kid, and struggle with what to do when that thought really hits home as their biggest fears come true.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.

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SM Mohamed Idris body being taken from the mosque to the cemetery.  Picture by Opalyn Mok

GEORGE TOWN, May 18  Born in India 93 years ago, the legendary activist SM Mohamed Idris was interred at the Perak Road Muslim Cemetery at 10.30am today.

Best known for his advocacy work as the president of Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), Mohamed Idris was given a respectful send-off by his four children, grandchildren, close relatives and political leaders covering both sides of the aisle, some of whom he had sparred orally with when he was alive.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim pays his respects to SM Mohamed Idris at the mosque.

Hundreds of people paid their last respects to Mohamed Idris at his home along Rose Avenue last night and this morning.

The body was brought to the Jamek Hashim Yahaya Mosque here for prayers before burial.

This morning, the Penang Governor Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas, former Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, State Exco Datuk Abdul Halim Hussein and state assemblymen Jason Ong and Lee Khai Loon also paid their last respects to Mohamed Idris.

The imam performs the final rites before the burial.

PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim arrived at the mosque at around 10am to attend the prayers and later the burial ceremony.

About 500 relatives and friends were gathered around the cemetery for the burial ceremony.

Speaking to reporters later, Anwar described Mohamed Idris as a family friend whom he knew while studying in university and will always remember as a giant among men.

SM Mohamed Idris body being taken from the mosque to the cemetery.

We cant only compartmentalise him as a crusader of consumers, he was outspoken and articulate in his defence on the environment and against greed due to excessive development that ignored the plight of the poor, he said.

He said Mohamed Idris was outspoken in defending the homeless and squatters who were evicted.

SM Mohamed Idris is laid to rest at the Perak Road Muslim Cemetery.

Mohamed Idris died at the hospital at 5pm yesterday after being admitted for breathing difficulties.

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President Nicolas Maduro welcomed Friday the "beginning of talks" with the Venezuelan opposition in Norway, after months of bloody clashes between the two sides. "The talks have begun nicely to move toward agreements of peace, agreement and harmony, and I ask for the support of all Venezuelan people to advance on the path of peace," Maduro said in a declaration at a ceremony in front of 6,500 troops in the northern state of Aragua. Confronted with the worst socio-economic crisis in the oil-producing country's recent history, the socialist leader added that "Venezuela has to process its conflicts" and seek solutions "by way of peace." He declared the "beginning and exploration of conversations and dialogues" with the opposition. Maduro's depiction of the talks was at odds with opposition leader Juan Guaido who Thursday denied they were underway. "There is no negotiation whatsoever," Guaido made clear in comments to reporters. Instead, Norwegian officials were "trying to mediate" with both sides to bring them to the table. Friday's ceremony in Aragua was attended by Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez and Miranda state Governor Hector Rodriguez, the government's representatives in the Oslo talks. Maduro hailed the "good news" hours after Norway reported on preliminary contacts between the parties. Earlier, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza gave the first official confirmation from Caracas of its involvement in what Norway referred to as exploratory discussions in Oslo. The mediation bid comes after a months-long power struggle between National Assembly leader Guaido and the socialist president, with sometimes deadly street clashes. Maduro on Thursday made no direct reference to the meetings, but said Rodriguez was "on a very important mission for peace in the country... in Europe." So far, details of the exact process underway in Oslo have been scant. Norway's foreign ministry said in a statement it had made "preliminary contacts with representatives of the main political actors of Venezuela." These were "part of an exploratory phase, with the aim of contributing to finding a solution to the situation in the country," it added. The opposition said it was being represented by National Assembly vice president Stalin Gonzalez and former lawmaker Gerardo Blyde. US-backed Guaido is recognized by dozens of countries as interim president after dismissing Maduro's presidency as "illegitimate" following his re-election last year in polls widely dismissed as rigged. Maduro has been shunned by much of the international community for presiding over the country's economic collapse, which has led to shortages of basic goods -- forcing millions to flee -- as well as brutally suppressing dissent. He retains the backing of major creditors Russia, China and Cuba, as well as the powerful military. Shortages of basic goods have forced millions to flee Venezuela.
DAPs Lim Kit Siang says Chief Justice Datuk Tengku Maimun Tuan Mats message following her appointment proved she was the right person for the job to return the judiciary towards excellence.  Bernama pic

KUALA LUMPUR, May 18  Veteran lawmaker Lim Kit Siang said Malaysia is progressing steadily on the path towards institutional and political reform with a inspector-general of police and a chief justice leading the way.

As Pakatan Harapan enters the second year of its administration, he said Chief Justice Datuk Tengku Maimun Tuan Mats message following her appointment proved she was the right person for the job to return the judiciary towards excellence.

She declared that the independence of the judiciary does not mean that the judiciary is immune from criticism or accountability to the public which it serves, Lim said in a statement.

He praised Tengku Maimum for saying that the courts respect the right of the public to criticise judges' performance but the criticisms must be based on facts and done responsibly since unfounded and baseless criticisms against the judiciary would weaken the administration of justice and erode the confidence of the public in the judiciary.

The time has come for the Malaysian judiciary to produce luminaries not just in Malaysia but also in the international arena, Lim said, citing the international renown of individuals including the late Lord President Tun Mohamed Suffian bin Mohamed Hashim and senior Federal Court judge Tan Sri Eusoffe Abdoolcader.

Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador also made a great start by clearing the way for the establishment of the Independent Police Complaint and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) something which he noted had been blocked from implementation for some 14 years.

It is even more impressive that the new Inspector-General of Police is visiting police stations in plainclothes and alone, without prior notice or his outrider escorts, to listen to the grouses of police personnel, Lim said.

Alongside Tengku Maimum and Abdul Hamid, he said other appointments earlier this year and last year to pave the way for the changes and reforms include Speaker of Parliament Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, Attorney-General Tommy Thomas, Director-General of National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Tan Sri Abdul Kassim Ahmad, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Mohd Shukri Abdull, and Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus.

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I believe the second year of the Pakatan Harapan government in Putrajaya will see more reforms and changes in the democratic governance of Malaysia.

The stage is set for a greater pace to reset the nation-building process in the second year of Pakatan Harapan government in Putrajaya, the Iskandar Puteri MP said.

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Defending champion Rafael Nadal swept past Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4 to advance to his 50th Masters final and first on clay this season at the Italian Open on Saturday. The eight-time Rome winner had been stunned by Tsitsipas, seeded eighth, in the semi-finals at the Madrid Open last weekend. But the 32-year-old Spaniard was clinical on the red clay of the Foro Italico, winning through in 1hr 42min to reach the final for the 11th time. "It's an important victory for me," said Nadal. "I played a solid match against a good player who is winning a lot of matches on this surface. Last week I didn't play very well in Madrid. Today I did better." Nadal, seeded second, was playing his fourth straight semi-final, but had not managed to go further on clay this season. But he has not dropped a set so far this week and next plays either world number one Novak Djokovic or Argentine Diego Schwartzman, who meet in the second semi-final. Nadal's run to the Rome final comes just a week before he starts his assault on a 12th French Open title at Roland Garros. "The feeling is that I am playing better every week, every day. That's important for me," he said. "It's not a drama to lose in semi-finals. The main thing is recover my level. "I say in Madrid I was playing better, then I played a bad match in the semi-finals, true. "But my feeling, especially after my loss against (Dominic) Thiem in the semi-finals of Barcelona, I think my personal feeling improved and my energy came back a little bit." "I've been through some tough moments after Indian Wells. Recovery of the knee again... was not easy to come back and to prepare myself the right way." - 'What did I do wrong?' - Tsitsipas, meanwhile, who lost the Madrid final to Djokovic, was at a loss to explain his performance as he fell to his fourth defeat in five matches against Nadal. "I'm just trying to realise what I did wrong," said Tsitsipas, "because, I mean, it was just one break in each set, if I'm not wrong." Fellow Greek Maria Sakkari's run was also halted in the women's tournament as she fell 6-4, 6-4 to Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova in 88 minutes. Sakkari, a 39th-ranked Rome qualifier, had won her first WTA title on clay at the Moroccan Open when she beat Britain's Johanna Konta. "I think I ran out of gas," said the 23-year-old. Konta, ranked 42, fought back from a set down to seal victory on her fourth match point against Madrid Open winner Kiki Bertens 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 after almost three hours to set-up a Sunday final clash with Pliskova. Dutchwoman Bertens, the sixth seed, had advanced to the semi-finals after world number one Naomi Osaka of Japan retired with a hand injury before their match Friday. "Karolina's been at the top of the game for years now," said Konta. "She's able to perform on all surfaces. She's able to really show up to every match. "She's very difficult to play in that sense because she has a big serve, she has big shots, but she's also backing it up with being incredibly astute on court. "It's a final of a tournament, so you're not going to have an easy match whoever you play."
Italian populist leader Matteo Salvini on Saturday gathered Europe's disparate nationalists for a unifying rally overshadowed by a major corruption scandal shaking Austria's far-right coalition. The Milan rally hoped to see leaders of 12 far-right parties marching towards their conquest of Brussels after next week's European parliamentary elections. Headliners Salvini of the anti-immigrant League and Marine Le Pen of France's far-right National Rally (RN) want their Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group to become the third largest in Brussels. "Stop the bureaucrats, bankers, do-gooders, migrant boats," read one pro-Salvini banner. "Italy first," read another as the speeches began. Hundreds gathered in a Milan park for a counter-demonstration - "Welcome migrants, expel Salvini," read one banner - as the city's central Duomo square filled with League supporters massed under a light rain to listen to leaders' speeches. But explosive graft allegations against the leader of Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) and Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache meant the party's top candidate in next week's elections pulled out of the Milan rally. German media published hidden camera footage filmed two years ago in Ibiza appearing to show Strache promising a fake Russian backer public contracts in return for positive coverage in Austrian media. Strache resigned and the FPOe's coalition with Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's centre-right People's Party (OeVP) collapsed after Kurz on Saturday announced new elections. "There are no extremists, no racists, no fascists in this square," Salvini told the crowd, brandishing rosary beads, hailing Europe's "Judeo-Christian" roots and invoking the Virgin Mary. Le Pen slammed "the dilution of nations", saying "no" to immigration she said was "submerging our countries, endangering our people's security." "Basta Islam," repeated the Netherlands' Geert Wilders. "The political elites in Brussels no longer deserve our trust." But besides thundering against Brussels and immigration, no mention was made of new policies. "Europe needs more Salvinis," said Wilders, who heads the Party for Freedom. - Relations with Moscow - Despite their shared dislike of immigration, multiculturalism, the left and the EU, Europe's populists remain divided on many other key issues, including budgetary discipline, migrant distribution and relations with Moscow, as highlighted by the Austrian scandal. French lawmakers recently called for a probe into links between the RN and US President Donald Trump's former strategist Steve Bannon after he discussed paying back a Russian loan to Le Pen's party in a documentary. Most of Europe's rightwing nationalists are currently divided into three blocs and a tangled web of alliances in the European Parliament -- an institution Salvini and Le Pen would like to overhaul if not destroy. The ENF includes Austria's Freedom Party, Belgium's Vlaams Belang and Wilders' Party for Freedom. Notably absent from the rally was Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party and Poland's governing PiS (Law and Justice party). Orban has voiced admiration for Salvini and promised "cooperation" after the vote, but refuses any alliance with Le Pen. He has his own problems after allegations from a rights group Saturday that his election landslide last year was marred by vote-rigging and fraud. Smaller parties such as Bulgaria's Volya or Slovakia's Sme Rodina, which is set to win a single MEP seat, joined the Milan rally. - 'Life or death' - While Salvini and Le Pen have close ties to Russia and President Vladimir Putin, eastern European far-right parties are wary of Moscow's ambitions. Critics say that an enduring alliance between the League and the Alternative for Germany (AfD), also due in Milan, would be impossible. "Salvini for instance wants a European redistribution of refugees, (AfD lead candidate Joerg) Meuthen doesn't want a single refugee," leading German Green Party member Sven Giegold told Italy's AGI news agency. "What's more, Meuthen doesn't want to give a single cent to southern Europe," he added. Salvini hopes the future right-wing bloc will be able to implement laxer EU budget rules, which would be a boon for Italy's struggling economy. Salvini's coalition relationship with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement of fellow Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio is increasingly fraught since they formed a government last June. Recent opinion polls suggest that the League will go from six MEPs to 26, Le Pen's RN from 15 to 20 and German's AfD from one to 11. burs-cjo/pma
Top image: Musical Box Museum, Singapore. All other photos by author.

Say the word museum, and a very particular type of institution comes to mind: the iconic rotunda of the National Museum or the glass-and-stone grandeur of the National Gallery. High-ceilinged, ivory-pillared repositories of humanitys cultural heritage, from whose august halls one emerges, smug and enlightened, having spent the last 90 minutes contemplating paintings of statesmen or fragments of pots.

Now consider: can one feel similarly enriched by looking at fans, artwork of cats, or hats?

Niche museums, like the name suggests, are exclusively devoted to a single kind of object. Theres the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum in Tennessee, the Eyeglasses Museum in Shanghai, the Lawnmower Museum in England, and my personal favourite, the Spam Museum in Minnesota. If museums, amongst other things, tell the history of the world in objects, then niche museums focus specifically on footnote 28 to Chapter 5, buried deep in the appendix.

For International Museum Daywhich falls on 18th May (today), and which Id never heard of until assigned to write about itI decided to check out three local niche museums: the Vintage Camera Museum, the Mint Museum of Toys, and the Music Box Museum. In other words, I set off to get cultured by looking at completely random, delightfully obscure items of debatable historical value.

When I arrive at the Vintage Camera Museum at 4 PM on a Friday afternoon, the place is quiet. Apart from myself and one couple, who look to be students, there are no other visitors.

The museums collection holds about 1,000 cameras from around the world, some dating back to the early 1900s. All were personally amassed by the museums owner, an Indian collector and longtime camera enthusiast, over a period of 20 years.

On first sight, the collection is both imposing and unsettling. Being confronted with floor-to-ceiling shelves of cameras is like having 300 pairs of eyes staring at you; the underground room isnt large either, which perhaps heightens the effect. (Trypophobes, this might not be for you.)

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However, as I make my way through the collection, any excitement I feel about going on a field trip in the name of research slowly evaporates. Perhaps its because Im not a camera enthusiastmy experience with them is limited to an old point-and-shoot, and terms like aperture leave me blinking in incomprehensionbut Im quickly realising that my thought process starts and ends at, Oh, cool.

I dont know what else to think, or what to do with my new knowledge.

To be fair, I do learn several interesting facts. For example: equipping pigeons with spy cameras is not the most effective method of reconnaissance, because you will end up with photos of trees and lakes rather than enemy troops. Japanese military pilots in World War II would first practise with machine-gun cameras attached to their planes, before being upgraded to actual machine guns based on the accuracy of their shots.

After a while, however, the manufacturers names begin to pass in a blur: Kodak, Leica, Pentax, Minolta. I hate myself for thinking it, but I begin to feel like: youve seen one twin-lens-reflex camera, youve seen them all.

I perk up a bit at the end of the exhibit, which has an interactive area where visitors can try out a selection of vintage cameras. To my embarrassment, I have no idea how to handle these at all, and the staff member on duty has to very patiently and tactfully explain where the viewfinder is.

In the end, I leave with a grand total of two takeaways: one, random trivia about military photography, and two, that I am apparently useless with anything that is not my smartphone.

The next afternoon finds me at the Mint Museum of Toys, nested in a unit opposite the Raffles Hotel. Im excited for this, but after the previous days experience, wonder if I should adjust my expectations a bit.

Speaking personally, Ive always thought of museums, and the act of visiting them, as fundamentally ambitious in nature. Both are projects of self-betterment: connecting us to our histories, excavating our memories, interrogating how we came to occupy our places in the world; delineating the limits of our knowledge.

But as I ride the elevator to the tinny strains of Its A Small World, I find myself wondering: can I really do this by looking at a vintage Astroboy figurine?

Dont get me wrong: Im not here to throw shade at museums (niche or otherwise), or suggest their existence is pointless.

Niche museums, in fact, raise interesting questions about the boundaries between what we deem high and low or popular culture. History varies depending on whose perspective youre telling it from, and museums, as the traditional domain of the wealthy and powerful, have generally represented the interests of those groups. By putting items from under-studied or marginalised groups on display, museums encourage us to ask: what does our material culture tell us about the workings of power? Why do we value certain things more than others?

Take toys, for example. In theory, toys can tell us a lot about society, even if theyre not traditionally revered like paintings or sculptures. Things like the time and place of manufacture, quality of paintwork, or intended audience can reveal a lot about the economic and cultural conditions under which something was made.

Thing is, Im not thinking about any of this as I wander the museums five floors, spanning some 8,000 toys from the 1840s to the 1970s. The displays dont say much about the toys provenance, apart from the place of manufacture and estimated value, so I have to fill in the blanks myself, trying to imagine what child might have played with them, or which garage these boxes lay in, untouched, until their owners realised they were sitting on US$3,500 worth of vintage dolls.

But before long, my internal monologue descends into a constant stream of How cool or How cute or How bizarre. After only 20 minutes of browsing, I start zoning out.

I end up passing the time by looking for the strangest/creepiest toy I can find, for which there is a surprising number of competitors, including clown figurines, vacant-eyed chef dolls, a Beatles wig, and the infamously racist Golliwog dolls. I learn that the earliest iterations of Mickey Mouse had teeth. (Ever thought about this? No? Well, congratulations. Now you have, and you will never be able to unsee it.)

Im getting bored looking at toys. Somewhere out there, in a parallel universe, my 5-year-old self sighs and rolls her eyes in disgust.

The weekend passes, and when Monday rolls around, I roll up to the Musical Box Museum, tucked away next to the Thian Hock Keng temple in Telok Ayer. By this time, my enthusiasm for this assignment has waned. After the last couple of days, Im prepared to spend the next 45 minutes practising my politely interested face.

To my surprise, I love every minute of it.

When I arrive, the entrance to the collection is shuta tour is still going onbut the sound of nostalgia filters through the doors, to the tinkling notes of Ave Maria. Between the music, chintz chairs, and dark wood furniture of the waiting room, I feel like Ive stepped into a dolls house.

Because its a weekday afternoon and no one else shows up, I end up getting a private tour from Joyce, the docent on duty. She explains that the music boxes are mostly from the private collection of the museums owner, a Japanese businessman, who fell in love with them as a young man and has spent years trawling antique markets and garage sales for new pieces ever since.

Id always thought of music boxes as elaborately painted ornaments, no bigger than a large paperweight. Instead, I find myself staring at boxes of all shapes and sizes, from smaller ones about the size of a vintage typewriter to eight-foot-tall structures which remind me of grandfather clocks.

Maybe its the interactivity (despite their age, several of the music boxes are still in playable condition, and Joyce winds them up or gives me a coin to start them up with). Maybe its Joyces energetic, sincerely passionate chatter. Maybe its just a matter of personal taste, in the arbitrary way we find some subjects more compelling than others.

But, against my expectations, I genuinely enjoy myself. And this, I suspect, is because somewhere along the way, between marvelling at the miniature drum embedded in a Swiss-made box from the 1890s and laughing at the cigarette holder hidden in another piece, I stopped trying to learn anything.

I gave up worrying about retaining information, like whether Id remember the dynamics of Swiss vs. German craftsmanship, or how music boxes were used as markers of affluence and social status. Removing the pressure of trying to make my visit an educational experience brought the magic backwhich, in turn, brought meaning with it, which made me learn something after all, with the funny circular logic of serendipity.

What is the metric by which we measure the value of museum-going? If I walk out of a museum having learned at least one fact about something Ive seen, thereby increasing my knowledge of the world in some way, is that enough? Maybe museum directors and curators and docents would think so; their role, after all, is the collection, preservation, and display of material history for public education.

But we shouldnt forget about the other role of a museum: to provide enjoyment.

Is it such a bad thing to love looking at Ultraman toys or antique lamps or, hell, mustard pots, simply for the quirk factor and sheer ridiculous pleasure of it?

This isnt to say that vintage toys and music boxes have nothing to teach usfar from it. Everything has its place in the tapestry of our cultural heritage, however small; extrapolated far enough, even a robot-shaped toy camera will have something to tell us about kids in 1990s Asia, the same way the Flood Tablets of Nineveh document the origin story of the tale of Noahs Ark.

But if the weirdness of said robot toy camera is what draws you to it, rather than its anthropological value, theres no shame in that. And if the robot toy camera holds more appeal for you than the Nineveh tablets, theres no shame in that either. I cant honestly tell you that Ive been enriched by looking at antique music boxes for an hourI dont know what Ill do with the information I learned, beyond adding it to my party-small-talk folderbut I was a happier person at the end of that hour, and perhaps thats enough.

So heres to loving slightly pretentious, apparently useless, unapologetically obscure artefacts of questionable overall value. And if anyone is thinking of setting up a museum devoted to cheese, earrings, or bookstore tote bags, please let me know.

Do you love museums? Whats the weirdest one youve been to? Write to us at community@ricemedia.co.

The post The Delightful Pointlessness of Singapores Niche Museums appeared first on RICE.
Richwood, TX (77531)

Today

Considerable cloudiness. Near record high temperatures. High near 80F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later at night. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 71F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.
SIOUX CITY -- North High School 11th grader Bernadette Dumkrieger finds inspiration for her art in unusual places.

For instance, a cartoon of a turtleneck-wearing dog influenced her decision to recreate the fashionable Italian greyhound in paper mache.

"I like using animals as models for art pieces because you can exaggerate their features much more than humans," Dumkrieger explained while giving her hipster dog a last-minute, cosmetic touch-up.

Dumkrieger is one of the Sioux City Community School District middle and high school students with artwork on display at the University of South Dakota's John A. Day Gallery in Vermillion.

According to Pat Toben, the school district's arts and community engagement program coordinator, the gallery show, which will end on May 26, was the result of an all-school art show held May 3 at the Ho-Chunk Centre.

"More than 1,000 students had their art displayed during our 2019 ArtWorks exhibit," she explained. "A representative (from USD) asked if they could display approximately 75 pieces from the show and we said absolutely."

While she is pleased that one of her pieces is on display at the college, Dumkrieger acknowledged art is more of a hobby than anything else.

"Art is a creative outlet for me," she said. "It's just something that I like doing."

Dumkrieger would like to go to college and pursue an education either in forensics or in history. Her classmate, Jonathan Gutierrez, would like to, some day, study either science technology or culinary science.

"It's really cool that my work is being seen in a college art gallery," Gutierrez, a North 11th grader, said with a smile. "I'd like to go up to Vermillion to see it."

A music fan, Gutierrez likes to listen to tunes while creating art. He also draws inspiration from album covers and posters.

"I like using lots of colors," he said, while working on a watercolor and acrylic painting. "I think color makes everything stand out."

A bright red apple is the focus of art created by North 10th grader Francisco Trujillo.

"I guess you can call my painting 'Lady eating an apple,'" he said.

The lady in question seems to be holding an apple with what appears to be a skeleton's hand. What is the significance of that?

"I wanted to create a surrealistic work of art," Trujillo explained, noting that the bony hand is completely incongruous with the rest of the work. "My painting is meant to represent surrealism."

Teacher Leah Brockway can't help but smile when her students reveal their creative side through art.

"Art is where you can reveal a lot about yourself," she said. "It can be very freeing."

However, it can also be a bit intimidating.

"The scariest thing is always the first stroke," Brockway allowed. "Social media is great because it has helped to make art more accessible. But kids only see the finished product. They don't see all of the planning and hard work that goes into a piece."

Which is why Brockway always encourages her students to push themselves and move out of their comfort zone.

She also thinks that the partnership between Sioux City schools and the University of South Dakota provides a confidence boost to young artists.

"Most of the students will not go into the fine arts as a career but many fields do have an art component," Brockway said. "Textbooks need illustrators and so do video games. Art isn't something you see on gallery walls.

Having one of your pieces hanging on the wall of the John A. Day Gallery is pretty awesome, Trujillo said.

"Yeah, when I heard one of the pieces was chosen, I was surprised and happy," he said. "It's fun knowing that people are looking at something I made."

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 -- Several Democratic presidential candidates will hold campaign events over the next week in Northwest Iowa, including a first Sioux City appearance by U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris of California.

The other Democrats who have set events are U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, of Colorado, former U.S. Rep. John Delaney, of Maryland, and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, of Ohio.

SATURDAY

Ryan's event will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday at Jitters, 306 Virginia St., in Sioux City.

In two Saturday events, Bennet will speak at 1:30 p.m. at the Morningside College Olsen Student Center, 3609 Peters Ave., in Sioux City, and at 5 p.m. at Better Day Cafe, 518 Lake Ave. North, in Storm Lake.

WEDNESDAY

Delaney will speak at noon Wednesday in an event at Rebos, 1107 Fourth St., in Sioux City. Later that day, Delaney will hold a 4 p.m. immigration policy discussion at King's Pointe Resort, 1520 E. Lakeshore Drive, in Storm Lake, then speak at a 6:30 p.m. event with the Dickinson County Democratic Party at Nature Trails Clubhouse, 465 202nd St., in Milford.

THURSDAY

Harris' campaign team has announced her Sioux City event will be held at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, at a site to be determined. Harris is expected to discuss proposals to provide raises for teachers and to combat climate change.

Iowa is the first state with a contest in the presidential nominee election system. There are more than 20 Democrats running for president.

On Friday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio held two events in Sioux City.

Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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SOUTH SIOUX CITY -- The South Sioux City City Council on Monday approved a police department policy for the use of body cameras by its officers.

Police Chief Ed Mahon said the policy was long in the works, and that the timing of the council's approval -- two days after a deadly officer-involved shooting outside a South Sioux City bar and liquor store -- was a coincidence. Officer Brian Van Berkum was shot and killed an armed man during a gunfight that wounded the officer.

"I don't want this linked to (officer) Brian's situation at all, because what has happened is, we were thinking about getting body cams for a long time, it's just there's quite a bit of unknown with the expense -- not so much with the cameras, but everything else," Mahon said.

For about a year, Mahon said, the department has been acquiring body cameras in a sort of package deal with its dashboard cameras. But the department has not yet begun using body cameras on its officers, because Nebraska now requires requires a written policy be implemented before officers start using body cams. The state law, for instance, requires police departments to disclose when they were turn the cameras on and off.

Now that the council has greenlighted the department's policy, the department will buy more cameras to have enough for all of officers. The department has already been testing the cameras, Mahon said.

"It's time to move out of the testing, and we're going to try to start acquiring more," he said, adding: "Alright, we're done playing with them, let's get them out there even more."

Local officials still must determine where to store the video files captured by the cameras and for what length of time before the video can be deleted.

All the department's marked patrol cars have dash cams, Mahon said -- this would presumably include the cruisers that were on scene at Los Amigos bar and liquor store during the gunfire exchange early Saturday morning. Luis A. Quinones Rosa, died as a result of his injuries in the shooting.

The council also adopted another new policy for police at Monday's meeting. Officers can now start using Narcan nasal to treat victims of opioid overdoses. Police say the spray also will protect officers if they become ill from coming in contract with deadly drugs like Fentanyl.

Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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IOWA CITY -- Calling himself an unlikely figure to become president, Pete Buttigieg called on voters who believe in the traditional American values to join him in not only winning the next election, but winning an era.

We are lucky and unlucky enough to live in a moment of transition between whatever we had and whatever is next, the South Bend, Ind., mayor told a packed house Saturday in Iowa City. The reason everything is so confused and so frightening and so divided and dark is that were pretty much on one of those blank pages between chapters in the American story.

So whatever we do now will decide not just what the next four years looks like, but what like but the next 40 years will look like, Buttigieg told more than 500 people at the Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon. Thats why weve just not got to win an election, but win the era for our values.

Republicans have made claims on those values and Buttigieg is reclaiming them, said Sarah Prineas, who introduced him.

Buttigieg doesnt pay a whole lot of attention to the giant, orange elephant in the room, she said. He is a uniter. He makes us feel like were in this together.

Buttigieg, who made a stop at the Iowa City farmers market ahead of the rally, contends his rhetoric about values appeals to not only his Democratic audiences but to voters who are not tribal, committed partisans.

Think about how many Iowa Obama-Trump voters there were, he said in an interview later. That tells you there are a lot of people ready to vote in any number of ways.

Indianans, he said, voted for both Barack Obama and then Donald Trump, but also voted for Mike Pence for governor and Buttigieg for mayor.

By appealing to shared values like freedom and security and democracy and faith and family ... means there is more to reaching out to independents than moving into the center.

These are things that dont belong to one party unless we surrender them on my side of the aisle, Buttigieg said. If we do that, we shouldnt be surprised that someone family oriented or faith oriented of shooting oriented thinks the Republicans are the only ones speaking to them.

Thats why the mayor of a mid-sized Midwestern industrial city who has deployed wartime military experience might be the Democratic nominee best able to connect with those voters, Buttigieg said.

His military experience was one reason Tina Clawson whose husband is retired military, was in the audience. A Phoenix resident who was in Iowa to attend a nieces high school graduation, Clawson appreciates Buttigiegs intelligence.

Hes calm and comes across as articulate, she said. Hes the real deal.

Republicans werent as generous in their assessment of Buttigiegs campaign swing through Iowa.

Pete Buttigieg hasnt been properly vetted by the American people yet, but we already know hes fully embracing the 2020 Democratic platform of late-term abortion, government-run health care, abolishing the Electoral College and court packing, Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said. He predicted that the more Iowans learn about Buttigieg the more theyll realize hes just another out-of-touch Democrat fixated on smearing President Trump while embracing socialist policies.

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Iowa nearly doubled its acres of cover crops between 2015 and 2017, but the share of farmland with the offseason crops that reduce pollutants flowing into waterways still is less than 4 percent, new data show.

As the government spends tens of millions of dollars subsidizing cover crops, farmers and experts wonder if they instead should encourage offseason cover crops that can be harvested for a profit  not just killed off before the traditional cash crop is planted.

Terry Ward, 68, of La Porte City, Iowa, will harvest a rye crop in June and turn it into food for 125 heifers he feeds for a local dairy farmer. Once the rye is gone, Ward will sow soybeans, a practice known as double cropping because he gets two crops from the same land in one year.

We think its cost effective because we get a years worth of feed and a crop besides, Ward said. We had 51 bushels per acre (of soybeans) last year, which we think is pretty good.

Slow growth

Iowa had 907,000 acres planted in cover crops over the 2017-2018 winter season, or about 3.9 percent of all farmed acres, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Groups 2017 cover crop study of Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. This is up from 592,000 acres, or 2.6 percent of Iowas farmed land, in 2015-2016.

I think its pretty amazing they doubled the footprint, said Soren Rundquist, the groups spatial analysis director and study coordinator. But the sobering reality is that 1 million acres is just a drop in the bucket.

The studys results were similar to the 880,000 acres of cover crops estimated for 2018 by the Iowa Learning Farms, based at Iowa State University.

Illinois had 760,000 acres of cover crops last year, or 3.6 percent of agricultural land. This is up from 2.3 percent in 2015-2016.

Indiana, which has an ambitious goal of 5 million acres of cover crops by 2025, saw only a slight increase between 2015 and 2017, according to the study. The Hoosier State had 878,000 acres, or 7.8 percent of farmed land, last year compared with 7.1 percent two years earlier.

The slow pace has regional and national implications as states, particularly those in the Mississippi River Basin, struggle to reduce nutrient and sediment runoff into waterways that contributes to toxic algal blooms and a dead zone that can kill fish in the Gulf of Mexico.

What happened in Eastern Iowa?

Western Iowa largely is responsible for Iowas jump in cover crop acres, with 27 western Iowa counties adding more than 5,000 acres between 2015 and 2017, the study shows. Woodbury County had the largest increase with nearly 26,000 more acres in 2017.

Northwest Iowa could have gained because there previously was not much there, Rundquist said.

But many Eastern Iowa counties  especially Linn, Johnson and Washington  actually planted fewer acres of cover crops in 2017.

Washington County, long a statewide cover crop leader, had 15,600 fewer acres of cover crops, dropping the county from 12 percent of farmed acres in 2015 to just 4 percent in 2017, the study shows.

Steve Berger, who has been growing cover crops on his farm near Wellman since the 1990s, said he doesnt know why Washington Countys cover crop acres fell off in 2017. Reports from the state climatologist show temperatures and rainfall statewide were close to normal that fall.

But low commodity prices and trade concerns may have taken a toll on local cover crop acres, Berger said.

When there are too many challenges, cover crops will be the first things to go, he said.

The declines occurred despite huge government aid for cover crops.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture paid more than $90 million for cover crop assistance in 2015-2016. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship paid Iowa farmers about $5 million a year in 2017 and 2018 to share the cost of planting cover crops. The Iowa Ag Department estimates farmers contributed $9 million a year to match the state grants.

Double cropping

Some Iowa farmers are growing multiple crops a year to spread out the risk. Double cropping is seen as a way to reduce the effects of climate change because it allows the same parcel of land to produce more food without degrading the soil, according to a 2018 article in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

Double cropping occurred on about 2 percent of U.S. cropland most years from 1999 to 2012, according to a 2014 USDA report.

Soybeans were, on average, the most common crop found on double-cropped acres over this time period, and, in 2012, winter wheat most commonly preceded these soybean plantings, the report stated.

Other viable for-profit cover crops in Iowa include oats, rye and canola.

Gary Schnitkey, a University of Illinois Extension farm management specialist, told Illinois farmers in February a double crop rotation of winter wheat followed by beans is likely to turn a higher profit this year than full-season beans or corn, according to Farmweeknow.com.

Bryan Sievers, of Stockton, grows three crops  corn, winter wheat and sorghum Sudangrass  over a two-year period. The winter wheat is a cover crop, but Sievers also uses it as feed for 2,400 cows or as biomass for his anaerobic digester, which produces methane used to generate electricity.

It gives us versatility, which really enhances the value of that winter wheat, he said.

New message needed

Sarah Carlson, strategic initiatives director for Practical Farmers of Iowa and a Midwest cover crops expert, thinks farmers want to know how cover crops affect their bottom line.

Weve probably gotten the majority of farmers who are motivated by improvements in soil health. Its time for a new message, Carlson said. I believe farmers need to share more strongly about the positive short-term cost-saving benefits through improved weed control and greater ability to access the fields during wet spring conditions.

Terry and Rachel Ward will host a field day for Practical Farmers June 4 in La Porte City in which Eastern Iowa farmers can come see how the Wards grow and use rye as both a cover crop and feed for cattle.

Rundquist, from the Environmental Working Group, said hes encouraged that the Farm Bill directs USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to prioritize spending on conservation practices that have a direct impact on improving water quality.

The Gazettes Erin Jordan and the Indianapolis Stars Emily Hopkins collaborated on this report.

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DES MOINES -- Competitive Congressional races will be as common as Caseys pizza in Iowa in 2020.

All four of the states U.S. House races figure to be competitive, politically intriguing and draw significant national interest throughout this election cycle. Thats not normal: two of the states four districts are regularly competitive, but the other two have been much less so over the past decade.

But this time around, its a 4-for-4 free-for-all.

The 1st and 3rd districts will be competitive as ever thanks to the politically balanced makeup of the voters in those districts and the fact both are being represented by first-term Congresswomen, Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne. That these races will be competitive comes as no surprise.

What makes 2020 unique is the addition of the 2nd and 4th districts as potentially competitive races.

The 2nd District has been relatively safe for Democrats with Congressman Dave Loebsack. But he is retiring from Congress and not seeking re-election. Literally within minutes of Loebsacks announcement, an editor for a national political forecasting publication moved the race from likely Democratic to a toss-up.

And the 4th District historically has been very safe for Republicans. But oft-embattled Republican Congressman Steve King won in 2018 by only 3 percentage points after a series of statements and national media coverage preceded a significant drop in support on Election Day.

Both races promise to be competitive this cycle, giving Iowa intriguing campaigns from river to river and border to border.

The national forecasters see the same thing coming. The Cook Political Report has Iowas 1st, 2nd and 3rd districts rated toss-ups, and the 4th District likely Republican. Larry Sabatos Crystal Ball has the 1st and 2nd as toss-ups, the 3rd as leans Democratic and the 4th as likely Republican.

This is going to be one of the most active election cycles, said Troy Price, chairman of the state Democratic Party. So many races, so many different opportunities here on the ballot. I think its going to be a really exciting time.

Exciting but daunting. Much work lies ahead for the parties as they must go all-in on all four races.

Yes, its exciting. But at the same time, as chair of the party, Im just going, OK, lets take a look at these resources and sharpen the pencils, said Jeff Kaufmann, chairman of the state Republican Party.

The logistical challenges seem likely to increase for the state parties. With four races that could go either way, no stone can go unturned, no voter can go left uncontacted in any of the states 99 counties.

Price and Kaufmann said that planning has already started.

Kaufmann said he expects help --- in terms of resources --- from the Trump campaign and coordination with GOP U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, who also will be on the ballot. Kaufmann said wants to help build one of the most efficient Republican campaign operations in the country. He said the state party is at full capacity with its field staff and is already training workers.

Its changed a lot of planning. Its changed a lot of strategic initiatives in terms of where were going to place offices, Kaufmann said.

Price said Democrats have hired organizers in each Congressional district, which is earlier than most campaign cycles. And he said Democrats will be able to build off the endless string of visits by Democratic presidential candidates by tapping into voter enthusiasm and engagement.

Theres a lot of energy within our party, a lot of excitement within our party at all these levels, Price said. These caucuses are going to allow us to build more infrastructure, get more people activated, get more people identified that we can reach out to.

The opportunities and challenges vary for the two major political parties.

Democrats were on the offense in 2018, when they flipped two seats to gain control of three of Iowas four U.S. House seats. This year, they will be largely on the defensive: they will have to defend two first-term representatives and win an open-seat race --- in a district won in 2016 by Republican President Donald Trump --- in order to keep it in Democratic hands.

Iowa gives us three strong opportunities to pick up Democratic-held seats. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd districts all present very solid chances for Republican pickup, said Bob Salera, with the Republican Partys organization that works to elect GOP U.S. House candidates. Were confident with the way the socialist Democrats have overstepped since taking over the House, Iowans will be ready for new Republican leadership in all three districts, and we look forward to having a strong candidate to provide a clear contrast to the socialist Democratic agenda.

Republicans must attempt to bounce back from their losses in the 1st and 3rd districts in 2018 despite many of the same issues --- health care chief among them --- driving the national conversation. And they must do so in a presidential election year, during which voter turnout historically improves in Democrats favor.

Republicans clearly havent learned the lesson of 2018 because they are continuing to put forth candidates in Iowa who support ending protections for people with pre-existing conditions and who have chosen to stand with big pharmaceutical companies instead of lowering health care costs for families, said Brooke Goren, with the Democrats national U.S. House campaign organization. With health care on the ballot yet again in 2020, Iowa voters are energized and deeply motivated to re-elect Reps. Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne, who have been listening to their concerns and fighting to get real results for working families in Congress.

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2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #20

Posted on 18 May 2019 by John Hartz

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, May 12 through Sat, May 18, 2019

Editor's Pick

12 excuses for climate inaction and how to refute them

Using moral clarity to counter defeatism around the climate crisis.

Shutterstock

Theres a reason why the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has successfully goaded powerful politicians into long-overdue climate action in just six months.

Thunberg, who is on the autism spectrum, has become a moral authority. Again and again, shes clearly articulated how adults have shamefully abdicated their basic duties to protect todays children and future generations from compounding climate catastrophe. This ongoing irresponsible behavior will no doubt be remembered in history as one of the greatest failures of humankind, she told the British Parliament.

You only talk about moving forward with the same bad ideas that got us into this mess, even when the only sensible thing to do is pull the emergency brake. You are not mature enough to tell it like is. Even that burden you leave to us children, she declared at the United Nations.

Her ability to sway politicians and the public, in speeches and through the school strike movement, is now evident: European leaders have called for aggressive new carbon emissions reductions, citing her movement.

Fortunately, Thunberg is just one of many great minds helping us summon moral clarity to address the tricky problem of framing the climate crisis. That includes the writers David Wallace-Wells, George Monbiot, and Anand Giridharadas; the historian Jill Lepore; and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), among many others.

As we dump more carbon into the atmosphere and the planet cooks, their arguments about what were up against  and why we must act now  are essential to cutting through the ties that keep us quiescent.

These thinkers have inspired us to overcome our own psychological roadblocks in facing the climate crisis. The words of writer James Baldwin are helpful here too: Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.

Drawing from these and other wells of wisdom, weve put together 12 short answers to some of the most stymying questions to help you work through climate despair, cynicism, defeatism, and paralysis. We cant delay any more; its past time for productive panic.

12 excuses for climate inaction and how to refute them by Eliza Barclay & Jag Bhalla, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 17, 2019

Links posted on Facebook

Sun May 12, 2019

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Sat May 18, 2019
On Wednesday, Alabama outlawed nearly all abortions, with a prison term for doctors of up to 99 years. Sponsors and supporters of the new law are promoting it as a challenge to Roe v. Wade. But politically, its a disaster. By prohibiting abortions even for rape survivors, the law threatens to antagonize the public and shatter the Republican base.

Banning abortion is unpopular to begin with. Many Americans who dislike abortion dont want it to be prohibited. Normally, they vote on other issues. But when Roe looks shaky, they get scared and vote against politicians who threaten to criminalize the procedure. If youre looking for a single event that could ignite a backlash against Republican candidates, an overturn of Roe is high on the list.

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The Alabama law is even more incendiary. Alabama lawmakers rejected an amendment that would have exempted women who become pregnant by rape. When you extend a ban to these women, you cut the anti-abortion constituency in half. You take an idea that already scares and angers many peoplebanning abortions generallyand make it absolutely toxic. In particular, you alienate voters on the right who distinguish rape survivors from women who chose to have sex. By forcing victims to bear the offspring of their predators, you offend the morals of law-and-order conservatives.

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This isnt just speculation. Through the General Social Survey, a massive public opinion database built by NORC at the University of Chicago, you can see how themes of sex, crime, and punishment affect the abortion debate. One regular question on the GSS asks whether it should be possible for a pregnant woman to obtain a legal abortion if the woman wants it for any reason. On average, over the course of four decades, 39 percent of respondents have said yes, and 57 percent have said no. The most recent GSS sample, taken in 2018, was evenly split, 49 percent to 49 percent.

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When you bring up rape, however, the anti-abortion constituency plummets. Since 1972, the GSS has asked whether it should be possible for a pregnant woman to obtain a legal abortion if she became pregnant as a result of rape. In the multiyear average, 78 percent of respondents have said yes, and 18 percent have said no. In the surveys most recent sample, taken last year, 76 percent said yes, and 21 percent said no. So when the debate shifts to women who became pregnant by rape, abortion opponents lose more than half of their audience, and on average about two-thirds.

Only 30 percent of conservatives reject Alabamas position on unrestricted abortion, but another 40 percent reject Alabamas position on rape.

In particular, they lose the support of conservatives. By a ratio of roughly 3 to 2, people who say that abortion should be permitted for any reason are more likely to identify themselves as liberal than as conservative. But when you ask about rape, the balance shifts. Among people who are open to an abortion ban in theorythat is, people who believe some reasons for abortion are unacceptablethose who say that the procedure should be available to rape victims are, by a ratio of 5 to 3, more likely to identify as conservative than as liberal. In short, when you extend an abortion ban to rape victims, you split the Republican base.

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The cumulative effect is devastating. Only 30 percent of conservatives reject Alabamas position on unrestricted abortion, but another 40 percent reject Alabamas position on rape. Adding rape survivors to an abortion ban cuts the support level of conservatives, based on GSS data, from about two-thirds to one-quarter.

Why do so many conservatives demand a rape exception? One reason has to do with sex. A lot of people think that women who choose to have intercourse should bear the consequences, including motherhood. But rape victims didnt choose to have sex. So its unjust, from this perspective, to make such women carry their pregnancies to term.

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You can see this mentality at work in the GSS. One question in the survey asks, If a man and woman have sex relations before marriage, do you think it is always wrong, almost always wrong, wrong only sometimes, or not wrong at all? Over the four-decade average, 35 percent of people have said its always or almost always wrong. Lets call those people sexual conservatives. At the other end of the spectrum, 43 percent of respondents have said its not wrong at all. Lets call those people sexual liberals. (Lately, the numbers have shifted to the left. In 2018, 24 percent of people said premarital sex was always or almost always wrong, while 61 percent said it wasnt wrong at all.)

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On abortion, sexual conservatives differ from sexual liberals in ways that resemble the gap between political conservatives and political liberals. On the initial questionwhether abortion should be allowed for any reason a woman choosessexual liberals are far more likely than sexual conservatives to say yes. Only 16 percent of people who say yes to this question are conservative on premarital sex. Four times as many, 64 percent, are liberal on premarital sex. But when you advance to the second questionwhether abortion should be available to survivors of sexual assaultthe gap disappears. Among people who agree that there should be limits on the permitted reasons for abortion, those who support abortion for rape victims are as likely to oppose premarital sex as to defend it.

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Again, the cumulative political effect is disastrous. On the first questionwhether pregnancies can be terminated for any reasonabortion opponents lose 17 percent of sexual conservatives. But on the rape question, they lose another 43 percent. They end up with the support of barely one-third of this core Republican constituency.

Across the political spectrum, Americans express more sympathy for rape victims than for women seeking abortions for other reasons. When GSS respondents are asked about various scenarios, theyre far more willing to grant an abortion if the woman has been raped than if she is married and does not want any more children or if the family has a very low income and cannot afford any more children. Among liberals, the sympathy gap between these scenarios is about 20 points. Among conservatives, its 30 to 40 points.

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Sex explains only part of the conservative defection on abortion for rape victims. Another factor is crime. Most people on the right believe in law and order. They think that the innocent should be spared and the guilty should be punished. And theyre less moved by the idea of an innocent embryo than they are by the outrage of making a victim bear her assailants child.

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This psychology, too, can be detected in the GSS. The survey asks, In general, do you think the courts in this area deal too harshly or not harshly enough with criminals? Over the course of nearly half a century, the share of respondents who say not harshly enough has dwarfed the share who say too harshly, 73 percent to 7 percent. More recently, the gap has subsided. In 2018, 54 percent of respondents said courts werent harsh enough. Eighteen percent said they were too harsh.

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On the question of abortion for any reason, 60 percent of law-and-order conservativesthose who say courts dont deal harshly enough with criminalssupport the anti-abortion position. But when the discussion turns to rape cases, most of these supporters drop out. Only 18 percent of law-and-order conservatives agree that abortions shouldnt be permitted for women who became pregnant by rape. Politicians who seek to outlaw abortion lose more of this constituency on the second question than on the first.

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In fact, when you measure respondents by their views on crime, the inclusion of rape victims alienates more people on the right than on the left. On the question of abortion for any reason, people who say courts arent harsh enough support the anti-abortion position, while people who say courts are too harsh divide almost evenly. But when the rape question is put to people who think there should be limits on the permitted reasons for abortion, those who say courts dont deal harshly enough with criminals are more likely than their liberal counterparts to reject the anti-abortion position. The idea of making a woman carry a rapists child offends them.

I understand why some anti-abortion lawmakers refuse to make an exception for rape. If you truly believe that every human embryo is a person, then that persons life should be protected, regardless of how he or she was conceived. But politically, the Alabama ban is catastrophic. If it becomes the focus of the national abortion debate, it wont just mobilize people who believe in womens rights. It will alienate people who believe in punishing criminals and protecting their victims. It will turn conservative America against itself.
Many graduating seniors and faculty members at Taylor University made their displeasure known at having Vice President Mike Pence deliver the commencement address and walked out minutes before he took the stage, according to the Indianapolis Star. The small demonstration culminated a big debate that broke out among members of the community of the nondenominational Christian liberal arts school about whether the decision to invite the vice president was appropriate. Faculty members voted 61-49 to express their disagreement with the decision to invite Pence.

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So its hard to show on twitter from here but dozens of students are wearing a sticker that says We are Taylor too, which has been their form of protest. Its a form of Rebuke against what they consider are Pences anti LGBTQ policies.  Corey Ohlenkamp (@Ohlenkamp) May 18, 2019

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The vast majority of students and faculty did not walk out and even gave the former Indiana governor a standing ovation. But among some of those who stayed to listen to the speech there were those who decided to quietly protest the vice presidents presence with stickers declaring, We are Taylor too. One student, Laura Rathburn, decorated her cap with a rainbow and a message that read, Ally visible for those who cant be. I think his presence makes it difficult for everyone at Taylor to feel welcomed, she said.

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Im also seeing that a tweet I sent earlier didnt post. Some faculty and graduates in the social work dept. wore stickers that said, We are Taylor too in protest of Pences presence at Taylor. Another graduate decorated her cap with a protest message. pic.twitter.com/g9PcfBNfJU  Alexandria Burris (@AllyBurris) May 18, 2019

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During the address, Pence urged students to stand up for Christianity, saying things arent as easy for Christians as they once were. Throughout most of our American history its been pretty easy to call yourself a Christian, but things are different now, Pence said. Lately, its become acceptable, even fashionable, to malign traditional Christian beliefs. So as you prepare to leave this place and will your life on a Christ-centered, world-engaging foundation poured here at Taylor University, be prepared to stand up.

Pence also praised the Trump administrations views on abortion. I couldnt be more proud to be part of an administration that stood strong on the timeless values that have made this nation great, stood without apology for the sanctity of human life, Pence said. The vice president didnt mention the new anti-abortion law that was approved in Alabama.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused Republicans in Congress of trying to turn the United States into a far-right Christian theocracy. The lawmaker from New York fired off a series of angry tweets directed at the GOP extremists trying to invoke the unborn to jail people for abortion, accusing them of hypocrisy. If they were truthful about their motives, theyd be consistent in their principles, she wrote. Theyre not.

To the GOP extremists trying to invoke the unborn to jail people for abortion:



Where are you on climate change? OH right, you want to burn fossil fuels til theres hell on Earth.



If they were truthful about their motives, theyd be consistent in their principles. Theyre not.  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 17, 2019

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Even though Republicans claim they care about babies, they dont do anything to leave them a better world by supporting the Green New Deal or any similar legislation. The GOP doesnt care about babies at allespecially brown, black, or poor ones, Ocasio-Cortez wrote.

If they did, Republicans would at LEAST have a real climate plan, support healthcare, and not stand for the death+caging of babies on our border.

The GOP doesnt care about babies at all - especially brown, black, or poor ones. If they did, theyd:

- cosponsor the Green New Deal or at LEAST have a real climate plan

- guarantee healthcare so ALL can get prenatal care

- not stand for the death+caging of babies on our border  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 17, 2019

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This hypocrisy though is part of a pattern, Ocasio-Cortez said, adding that what angers her most about the GOPs attempts to turn the United States into a far-right Christian theocracy is how dishonest they are about it. At the very least, she noted, Republicans should be forthright about their desire to subvert and dismantle our democracy into a creepy theological order led by a mad king.
For security professionals, the boundaries they must defend are amorphous and fluid. Physical assets, of course, typically remain under the purview of corporate physical security management. But digital assets must be elevated to equivalent levels of oversight. With so many enterprises depending on digital technology for internal business processes, sales, and customer service, any disruption will damage a companys brand, reputation, and relationships.

This complex environment calls for the implementation of preventive intelligence, an approach that spans the online and physical worlds.
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...
Longtime horseman Larry Fitzsimmons was feted on Friday evening (May 17) as the 2019 inductee to the Wall of Fame at The Raceway at Western Fair District.

The native of Hanover, Ont. first fell in love with the horses as a youngster when he would attend the fall fairs with his father. In 1965, he turned that passion into a career when he opened his own stable.

Since that time, Fitzsimmons has not missed a race meet at Western Fair and during his 54-year career has won many Trainer of the Year titles at the London oval. He has bred and developed many top performers. Some of the horses he is best known for include quarter-million dollar winners Stonebridge Celest ($440,000), Angels Uprising ($309,000) and Laurstar ($251,000).

One of his favourites is Chicopee Star, who was his first Ontario Sires Stakes winner and became his first broodmare. She is the grandmother of current Fitzsimmons barn favourite Jake Parrish.

"It kind of caught me by surprise," said Fitzsimmons, who was joined by family and friends as he spoke about his reaction to learning that he was the 2019 inductee. "I'm really happy to join a lot of these guys I knew that are up in the Wall of Fame. I'm quite happy."

Larry Fitzsimmons (pictured with two of his grandchildren) looks on as his photo is unveiled in front of dozens of family and friends.

The featured $12,700 Wall Of Fame Invitational Pace followed the trackside ceremony with

National Debt ($3.80) rallying three-wide through the final quarter-mile to prevail in 1:54.2 as the 4-5 favourite. Driver Robert Shepherd celebrated his birthday with his second visit to the winner's circle of the night. He engineered the winning trip for trainer Colin Johnson and owner Francois Morin. Fine Diamond and Tero completed the top three finish order.

The Wall of Fame honours influential horsepeople and horses that have made a significant impact on The Raceway at Western Fair District. Past inductees are listed below.

1977  Bill Herbert

1978  Duncan R Campbell

1979 - Harold Wellwood

1980  Harry Eisen

1981  J. Russell Miller

1982  Jack Kopas/Suerwave

1983  Cass Allison/Nettie Rumas

1984  Levi Jiggs McFadden

1985 - Neil McRann

1986  Don Corbett

1987  Sadie and Bill Habkirk

1988  Dave Wall

1989  Ray and Hugh McLean

1990  Stan Williams

1993  John Lester

1995  Evan McGugen

1996  Jack Herbert

2000  Norm and Jack Hardy

2002  Arthur Whitesell

2004  Chris Van Bussell

2006  Bert Madill

2010  Ross Battin, Terry Kerr, Don McElroy

2012  Terry Provost

2014  Killean Acres

2015  Camluck

2016  Harry Holme

2017  Mac Lilley

2018  Bridge Street

To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - The Raceway.

(With files from The Raceway)
The Rocknroll Hanover mare Rock N Shard N seems headed for Open company as she won for the third time in her four-race United States career, a 1:51.3 mile over a sloppy +1 surface in the $17,000 distaff pacing feature during a Friday evening card at Harrahs Philadelphia.

Driver Art Stafford Jr. patiently guided Rock N Shard N on her uncovered grind from sixth while Newsday went to the front and set fractions of :27, :55.4 and 1:23.1. These two were close to being on even terms as they turned for home, but despite the overland journey Rock N Shard N proved the stronger late, two lengths to the good of Newsday, with pocket-sitting Ghosttothepost third.

The Kiwi mare is another of a long line of successes for trainer Joshua Parker over the last couple of seasons; Parker also owns Rock N Shard N with Nanticoke Racing Inc. and Barry Spedden.

There were a pair of $16,000 co-features on the card, one for the distaff side-wheeling set on the Filly And Mare Friday card. In that contest, the Captaintreacherous sophomore filly Treacherous Reign proved ready to go from the word go, taking her 2019 bow in 1:52.2. Driver George Napolitano Jr., a five-time winner on the night, surrendered early control to Stonebridge Soul, but was on the move with the winner past the quarter to reassert command, and Treacherous Reign rocketed home in :54.4 - :27.12 over the off going to be well-clear of Stonebridge Soul at the line for trainer Tony Alagna and the ownership of Alagna Racing LLC, Big Als Stables, Let It Ride Stables Inc., and Mr. Dana Parham.

In the co-feature for trotters, the Lucky Chucky mare Lucky Sheila swung wide off of cover late on the far turn, then just had enough to catch pacesetter Spee Club by a neck in a lifetime-best 1:56.2. Pat Berry did the driving for trainer Chris Marino and Robert Weinstein.

The Worlds Fastest Trotter, Homicide Hunter (1:48.4 at Lexington last year), drew post one for a $30,000 Great Northeast Open Series contest for trotters on Sunday. He has to have better luck than he did last week in his 2019 bow at Pocono, where he drew the outside post eight, tucked in, then got shuffled back and could not enter contention. A better trip seems likely for Homicide Hunter and driver Yannick Gingras in the horses second trip for trainer Ron Burke, though first leg winner Meladys Money may have something to say about that.

Despite two horses at odds of longer than 60-1 cracking the top five in Friday night's fifth race at Harrah's Philadelphia, multiple players once again hit the Jackpot Hi-5, lifting the carryover past the $29,000 mark.

Hurrikane Shorty ($9.40, Tony Morgan) keyed a 5-4-9-7-8 combination  also absent 8-5 favourite Narcian Jewel  that returned $419.84 to multiple winners. The carryover now stands at $29,155.90 for the next instance of the Jackpot Hi-5, slated for Sunday afternoon.

The 20-cent wager occurs daily in the fifth race, with the carryover paid out in the event of one unique winner. In the event of no or multiple winners, the carryover progresses to the next card.

First post on Sunday is 12:40 p.m. Eastern.

(With files from PHHA/Harrah's Philadelphia)
I had no idea there was at one time an entire enforcement wing of mob killers.

But this is the simple way that crime families enforced their laws.

It sounds odd at first glance, but it makes perfect sense that they would operate this way.

See, the crime families worked like this. So to keep things from descending into tit-for-tat feuds, a third party was needed to keep the peace.

Interestingly, the five major American mob families were Italian. Their enforcement wing of professional hit-men was, however, comprised of Jewish gangsters.

It was an entire group of mob killers that killed other mobsters!

Before anyone could be killed anywhere, the Syndicate had to okay it. In hotel rooms across the country, these men held court, questioned witnesses, passed judgment. If some family member had to die, the board hired the killers. Since having killers from one family kill wrongdoers from another family could lead to a war, Lansky and Luciano decided to create an enforcement wing, a group of gunmen who would kill just for the Syndicate. They looked for these gunmen mostly in Brooklyn. Since the Williamsburg Bridge went up in 1903 and the Manhattan Bridge in 1909, the slums had moved with the subway to the end of the line. The Lower East Side was melting away. Brooklyn was the place for young criminal talent.

-Rich Cohen, Tough Jews
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Bollinger wins an art award

Alexander Bollinger of Longview, recently was recognized in the Graceland University Art Departments Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition.

He won the Van Biber Award for his 4 Seasons piece of art.

Graceland University is in Lamoni, Iowa.

The juried exhibition consists of art work submitted by students in designated categories and is judged by an individual or a panel of people based on certain measures. The categories are two-dimensional art, sculpture and graphic design.

Grice chosen Home Care Aide of Year

Amanda Grice, a certified nursing assistant, has been chosen the Home Care Aide of the Year by the Home Care Association of Washington (HCAW).

Grice, who has been with Community Home Health & Hospice for six years, received the statewide award that recognizes a home care aide who is a standout in the field at a ceremony in Bellevue, Wash.

Grice received an associates degree in science from Portland Community College.

Hospice chaplain shares insight

Rea Trim, a chaplain at Community Home Health & Hospice recently shared her insight on grief and hospice.

Trim, who is available to give presentation on grief and hospice, draws on personal experience with a touch of humor to connect with audiences in the same way she connects with patients and families during times of great stress, according to a press release from CHHH.

I want to educate people about hospice so they have conversations about it earlier, she is quoted in the release.

She received an undergraduate degree in educational psychology from Mississippi State University and a master of divinity degree from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

After 17 years in college ministry, she completed a chaplain residency at the University of Washington Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

She was a chaplain/bereavement coordinator at Kline Galland Hospice in Seattle and a bereavement coordinator at Adventist Home Health and Hospice in Portland. She received additional training to become a grief recovery specialist.

She also leads grief support groups which are open to anyone who has lost a loved one, not just people touched by hospice.

To schedule Trim for a presentation or for details about the CHHHs grief support groups, call 360-703-0300 or send an email to griefsupport@chhh.org.

Moore gets an honorary degree

Martie Moore, a 1979 graduate of Rainier High School, and a 1992 graduate of Saint Martins University in Lacey, Wash., recently received an honorary degree from SMU for her commitment to serving and improving the field of nursing.

She was recognized as a doctor of humane arts, honoris causa.

Moore is the chief nursing officer at Medline Industries Inc.

According to a press release from SMU, Moore has become a recognized leader in the areas of patient safety, improving clinical practice and transforming culture and delivery systems, including through the integration of new technologies.

Moore graduated from Lower Columbia College in 1984 with an associates degree in nursing and from St. Martins with a bachelors degree in nursing. She also has a masters degree in organizational management.

KHS students place in art competition

Art work of Kimberly Pacheco-Ayala, Aaron Laferty and Miah Montgomery of Kelso High School, placed in the Jaime Herrera Beutler sponsored 2019 Congressional Art Competition.

Kimberlys work, Tia, placed second in the competition. Miahs work Make Up Your Mind and Aarons work Complicated, won third place in a three-way tie with a Battle Ground High School student.

Beutlers office hosted a Student Art Show for the competition participants May 15 in the Columbia Room of the Vancouver Community Library.

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After a 20-year break from school, Natalie Stricker wasnt sure she could afford classes at Lower Columbia College when she enrolled in the pre-nursing program in April last year. But this mother of five was determined to build a better life for her and her children.

We are at poverty level.  Socioeconomics play a huge role in education, so I need to raise my children out of the hole they are in, so that they have a better opportunity, says Stricker, 39, of Longview.

Stricker said she planned to rely on a Washington State Need Grant to cover her tuition, fees and school supplies. But before her first quarter started, she learned she was one of 320 LCC students who were waitlisted because the state ran out of grant money. Stricker was forced to sell her familys car to pay for her classes, laptop and textbooks, she said.

Its kind of disappointing when they say, Well you can have it, but not right now. Later, maybe,  Stricker said. The uncertainty was off-putting. Dont tease me with it.

But in good news for Stricker and potentially thousands of other Cowlitz County students, a bill the Legislature just passed will remove the uncertainty from the State Need Grant, starting in the 2020-21 school year. In effect, the bill is a promise that the state will help pay for college or postsecondary training for all low- and middle-income students, in some cases as much as the full cost of tuition.

That bill, which Gov. Jay Inslee is expected to sign Tuesday, guarantees these grants for any member of a family of four that makes about $92,000 a year or less  the states median family income.

The bill also expands the number of eligible students by increasing the income cutoff, which has been $65,000.

For rural areas like Cowlitz County, with above average poverty and lower rates of educational achievement, the legislation will make higher education more attainable, said Mike Meotti, executive director of the Washington Student Achievement Council, which oversees the grant.

The idea of increasing the income limits was meant to be a recognition that college affordability is a broad problem in our communities, Meotti said. While its felt the most by low-income families, (college) affordability is a challenge even in middle-income families.

The grants apply to two- and four-year college programs, as well as state-certified apprenticeships.

Ted Sprague, president of the Cowlitz Economic Development Council, said he appreciates that (the grant) is not just for four-year universities. I think they tried to go as far and wide as they could to include all types of education, not just four-year.

A maximum grant  which goes to students whose families make up to 55 percent of the median family income, or $46,000 for a family of four  covers all tuition, building fees and service and activity fees at in-state eligible institutions.

The amount of the grants will be prorated based on a familys income and will range from 10 percent to 100 percent of total tuition and fees.

About 70,000 students received a State Need Grant in 2017-18, but another 22,000 were waitlisted. Under the new rules, 110,000 students can count on the state financial aid program. According to a Seattle Times report, many of those students can expect to attend college for free.

Its amazing, Stricker said of the proposed changes. That whole first quarter would have looked entirely different for me.

Kelso Superintendent Mary Beth Tack said the changes to the grant is an incredible support for, and commitment to, the students of Washington, and especially Kelso kids.

For our students pursuing college, the trades and apprenticeship programs, this is a big win and opens post-secondary paths for many of our families, Tack said.

An estimate of how many Cowlitz County students the legislation would benefit was not immediately available last week, but Meotti said it will have a broader reach in Cowlitz County, where the average family income is less than the statewide average.

Half of Cowlitz County households make less than $46,000 each year, while half of all Washington households make at least $73,000, according to the state Office of Financial Management.

There is a huge variation between household income in Cowlitz and the statewide number, Meotti said.

The poverty rate is also higher in Cowlitz County than it is statewide. More than 16 percent of residents in the county live in poverty, as compared to just 11 percent statewide.

What this will likely do is make programs there (at LCC) more affordable to a wider range of students and families in the area, Meotti said.

As it stands under the current rules, more than 1,600 LCC students are eligible for the State College Grant. With the expansion, that number will grow.

The proposed guarantee and expansions to the grant, which are estimated to cost about $373.8 million in the next two years, will be covered by increasing Business-and-Occupation taxes for service-providing enterprises. That includes architecture and engineering services, legal services, insurance carriers, medical services, software publishing and telecommunications services, among other businesses. According to the Seattle Times, the grant bill calls for increased tax rates on about one-fifth all of Washington businesses.

The B&O tax is already widely unpopular with Washington businesses because it is a gross receipts tax, and it must be paid even if a businesses doesnt make a profit. Additionally, the state doesnt offer deductions from the B&O tax for labor, materials, taxes or other costs of doing business, according to the state Department of Revenue.

Increasing the B&O tax was highly opposed by state organizations that represent businesses, including the Independent Business Association, the Washington State Medical Association, the MultiCare Health System, the Associated General Contractors and the Association of Washington Business.

Small businesses have to contract for services like accounting and payroll, and this will have a pyramiding effect on these businesses. Higher education is very important, but funding it this way is wrong, said Jeff Gombosky, MultiCare Health System lobbyist, at a public legislative hearing for the bill.

Representatives of the Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce could not to be reached for comment last week. But Sprague, the Cowlitz Economic Development Council president, said the increased taxes may not hit Cowlitz County businesses as hard as other areas because local industry is manufacturing-based, not service-based. He said, for example, that Amazon and Microsoft will pay almost 5 percent of the total tax.

I think for our small area, it could be a net positive going into the future ... because the grants are based on income, and our median income is lower than the state average, so we will have more families and people eligible than in, say, King County, Sprague said. And then the tax burden will be less because we have less of those big service industries.

However, Sprague said the new taxes will still raise the bottom line for some local businesses, and his organization is always wary of when new taxes are imposed on businesses.

And theres the concern that the initial tax hike might not be enough to meet the new guarantee that all eligible families get the grant, Sprague added.

What happens in five years if (legislators) feel like they didnt increase taxes enough? Will they increase them again? Sprague said. We dont know how many people will take advantage of this grant, and it could overwhelm the program. That inevitably leads to cutting the program or raising taxes.

Stricker, the LCC student, said she thinks the grant will ultimately benefit businesses because it will help more residents earn college degrees. Cowlitz Countys degree attainment rate has historically trailed the state, and just about 26 percent of county residents age 25 or older had a college degree in 2016. Statewide, that number was about 43 percent.

For our community, it means higher enrollment and more people who can look at college as a tool they can use, Stricker said. She added that any investment in education benefits the whole community because LCC grads are more likely to stay and work locally  and spend their paychecks at local businesses.

The Washington Student Association Council, Meottis organization, said the grant will also help train the states workforce. Currently, only 56 percent of adults age 25-44 have a postsecondary credential, which includes a college degree or trades certification. But the Washington Roundtable estimates that 70 percent of Washington jobs will require such training in less than five years.

Washington has invested in a program with proven success in increasing educational attainment. Research shows that students who receive State Need Grant are more likely to finish their degree and have less debt when they graduate, says a WSAC news release. That degree positions graduates for a lifetime of increased earnings compared to adults with only a high school diploma. People with an associate or bachelors degree can expect lifetime earnings of $1.7 to $2.3 million compared to only $1.3 million for people with only a high school diploma.

Stricker said the promise of a better income for her family is what inspired her to enroll at LCC about a year ago.

We are in a position where we cant afford for me not to go to school, Stricker said. By the time I graduate and enter the workforce my son will be 16, and right now I cant afford ... any of the things a normal teenager needs to be a safe, responsible human being.

Once she has her degree, though, Stricker said shell be able to give her children a leg up. Shell be able to finally say yes  if they ask for a new cellphone or money for gas.

Stricker added that she anticipates that earning her degree will help her get a high-paying job, which will in turn get her family off of several federal assistance programs.

This grant, in essence, is helping get me off of the federal disabilities program. It is getting my children off of state Medicaid and the school lunch program, Stricker said. For three years worth of investment by the state, they are getting a lifetime of me not being on welfare anymore. ... It becomes a really positive cycle.

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An apparent typographical error could spell trouble for a Columbia County measure asking voters to renew funding for the Columbia County 911 emergency dispatch center.

Measure 5-273 asks voters to approve a levy of 0.29 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to help operate the Columbia County 9-1-1 call center. But the calculations used in the measure to estimate how much the levy would raise seem to suggest the amount was intended to be 29 cents, not 0.29 cents, per $1,000.

Specifically, the measure asks: Shall the five-year Columbia 9-1-1 operating levy be renewed, at .29 cents per $1,000 assessed value, beginning 2019/2020? This measure renews current local option taxes.

If the numeral is applied literally, the owner of a $100,000 home would pay only 29 cents more in property tax annually under the measure, not $29 as apparently intended. Instead of raising about $4.2 million, the measure would only raise 1 percent as much, or about $42,000. (These numbers do not count taxes collected under a permanent 911 levy that is not on the ballot.)

The error apparently went undetected until a TDN reporter discovered it Friday afternoon. Ballots must be turned in by Tuesday.

Columbia County Elections Clerk Don Clack confirmed that ballots sent to voters used the 0.29 cents figure. He concurred that the amount likely was intended to be 29 cents. The 911 communications district could not be reached Friday to confirm this.

As to whether voters could challenge the amount assessed on their property if the levy goes into effect with its current wording: That would be for the lawyers to decide, Clack said Friday.

Columbia County Assessor Sue Martin said she has never come across this issue before and would have to seek assistance from the Department of Revenue to determine how the levy would actually be collected. Its possible that there would be time to put the measure on a new ballot for another special election, she said.

This is the first its been brought to my attention, Martin said Friday.

The levy was approved by voters in 1998 and has been renewed in 2004, 2009 and 2013.

The levy is not the only head-scratcher on the ballot.

A candidate for the Port of Columbia County commissioners was deemed ineligible for the position, the Columbia County Spotlight reported in April, although she was still on the ballot past the deadline for changes. Amie Jo Kopecky, a Clatskanie resident running for Commissioner position 2, was notified in April that she does not live within the port district, which is a requirement for port commissioners, the Spotlight reported.

Columbia County voters have until 8 p.m. on Tuesday to return ballots in the May 21 special election, which includes another measure and races for several director positions.

Unlike Washington state, ballots must be in the hands of the county clerk by that time, not just postmarked by the election date. This means ballots still not returned should be brought to a drop site or the county elections office, as it may be too late for them to arrive by mail.

Voters will decide the following contested races: Portland Community College Zone 2 Director; Rainier School District Zone 6 Director; Scappoose School District Zones 1, 6 and 7 Directors; Mist-Birkenfeld Rural Fire Protection District Position 1 Director; Port of Columbia County Commissioner Positions 1 and 2; and Columbia 911 Communications Zone 1 Director.

Many other positions are up for re-election but are uncontested.

Voters will also vote on Measure 5-274, which asks voters to approve a tax of seven cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to fund five years of operations at the Rainier Cemetery District.

Drop sites for ballots can be found at the following locations:

Columbia County CH Elections Department: 230 Strand, St Helens (24 hour drop box in the lower parking lot)

Clatskanie Library: 11 Lillich St.

Mist-Birkenfeld RFPD: 12525 Hwy 202

Rainier City Hall: 106 B St. West

Vernonia Public Library: 701 Weed Ave.

Scappoose City Hall 24-Hour Drop Box: 33568 E. Columbia Ave.

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There is not enough analysis data for Capstone Companies.

4.4 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Capstone Companies has received 91 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

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Community Sentiment Capstone Companies has received 65.47% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Capstone Companies and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe CAPC will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe CAPC will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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CoreLogic, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides property information, insight, analytics, and data-enabled solutions in North America, Western Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Property Intelligence & Risk Management Solutions (PIRM) and Underwriting & Workflow Solutions (UWS). The PIRM segment combines property information, mortgage information, and consumer information to deliver housing market and property-level insights, predictive analytics, and risk management capabilities. It also offers proprietary technology and software platforms to access, automate, or track the information and assist its clients with decision-making and compliance tools in the real estate and insurance industries. This segment primarily serves commercial banks, mortgage lenders and brokers, investment banks, fixed-income investors, real estate agents, MLS companies, property and casualty insurance companies, title insurance companies, government agencies, and government-sponsored enterprises. The UWS segment combines property, mortgage, and consumer information to provide comprehensive mortgage origination and monitoring solutions, including underwriting-related solutions, and data-enabled valuations and appraisals. This segment also provides proprietary technology and software platforms to access, automate, or track the information and assist its clients with vetting and onboarding prospects, and meeting compliance regulations, as well as understanding, evaluating, monitoring property values. It primarily serves mortgage lenders and servicers, mortgage brokers, credit unions, commercial banks, fixed-income investors, government agencies, and property and casualty insurance companies. The company was formerly known as The First American Corporation and changed its name to CoreLogic, Inc. in June 2010. CoreLogic, Inc. was incorporated in 1894 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

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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 18, 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.


Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. engages in the exploration, development, and recovery of minerals and precious metals located primarily in Africa. It explores for platinum, palladium, nickel, copper, gold, rhodium, zinc, silver, germanium, and lead deposits. The company's projects include the Platreef project located in the Northern Limb of South Africa's Bushveld Complex; the Kipushi project located in Haut-Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo; and the Kamoa-Kakula project located within the Central African Copperbelt. It also holds a 100% interest in the Western Foreland exploration project covering an area of approximately 2,550 square kilometers located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It has a strategic partnership agreement with China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. to examine exploration, development, and acquisition of mineral projects, as well as production, smelting, and logistics opportunities in Africa. The company was formerly known as Ivanplats Limited and changed its name to Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. in August 2013. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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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.
Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG), a leading global investment group, has entered into a strategic partnership on developing a platform for innovation hubs and coworking spaces known as 500 Spaces.



The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed with GS SHOP, South Korea's leading online and multi-media retailer and part of the GS Group, one of the largest conglomerates in South Korea, and 500 Startups, a global venture capital seed fund headquartered in Silicon Valley, USA.



Once functional, 500 Spaces will provide a complete and sustainable ecosystem for innovation and start-ups, including accelerator and mentorship programs. By leveraging the experience and expertise of the partners involved, the 500 Spaces platform will capitalize on the exponentially growing global coworking space industry.



Krypto Labs has successfully operated coworking spaces in the Middle East is a party to the agreement and will be lending its operational expertise.



500 Spaces would launch a $100million fund to develop and scale the 500 Spaces coworking business model across different regions including the Middle East, the US, Asia, Europe and North Africa.



Mustafa Kheriba, COO of ADFG, said: We are entering a new era that is influenced by innovation and new collaboration models, and stirred by companies and individuals experimenting with new ways of working.



For start-ups, the coworking solution ticks all the boxes of flexible, affordable space and provides a creative hub to foster new ideas and new business, which are all essential components of innovation. With coworking spaces rapidly emerging as the future of work, we see them at the heart of innovation and growth for small businesses and startups.



Through the partnership with GS SHOP, 500 Startups and Krypto Labs, we are looking to foster an incubator culture and spur innovation by ensuring startups and innovation hubs across the globe have complete access to a full-fledged ecosystem, where they can work, grow, collaborate, network and be able to showcase their business to a wider audience, he added.



Christine Tsai, CEO of 500 Startups, said: In 2010, we set out on an audacious mission to discover and back the worlds most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems.



The 500 Spaces partnership with ADFG, GS SHOP, and Krypto Labs will help us further leverage the expansive global startup network weve developed over the years and cement ourselves as the worlds most active global investor. 500 Spaces will provide a physical presence for more startups from around the world to gain access to funding, a strong talent pool, an amazing mentor community and access to a lifelong network.



Best of all, corporations and government agencies are also part of this vision, creating a network of local innovation ecosystems as part of a global vision. Im honoured to deepen the partnerships with ADFG, GS SHOP, and Krypto Labs in a collaborative effort to help even more founders around the world, Tsai added.



Younghoon Park, EVP of GS SHOP, said: "At the height of the Italian Renaissance, sculptors, artists, scientists worked together in common working spaces to create the masterpieces that have endured until today.



Over the years, GS SHOP has invested in startups through funds, accelerators and through direct investments globally. We are excited to see how further ecosystem building will bridge opportunities for startups, corporates as well as investors, not only on a local but on a global scale through a network of associated spaces, created through the collaborative works of ADFG, Krypto Labs, 500 Startups and GS SHOP.



From the 'bottega' of 15th-century Florence to the modern data-driven era, collaboration has remained a key to growth. It is with this spirit that we look forward to the exciting potential of 500 Spaces, Park added.  TradeArabia News Service
Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (Adnic) said it has signed a partnership agreement with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) to offer customers new payment options through Payit, the UAE's first fully-featured digital wallet.

The payit was launched by First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) to support the UAEs goal to become a cashless economy and to drive digital solutions that benefit both residents and merchants alike.

One of the leading regional multi-line insurance providers for corporates and individuals, Adnic said it is continuously seeking to expand its product offering to deliver innovative insurance solutions to individual customers, as well as corporations.

FABs digital wallet is the first of its kind in the region and one of the first integrated sound-based solutions in the world. It is available to all UAE residents with an Emirates ID and is not linked to any specific bank.

The secure, low-cost tool will help to streamline payment collection, providing customers with a convenient alternative to cash, said the statement.

"It gives me great pleasure that Adnic is partnering with FAB to provide our customers with another best-in-class payment option," remarked Abdulla Al Nuaimi, Executive VP (Shared Services).

"Not only will this innovative payment tool reduce cash handling costs, it will also streamline Adnic's payment collection. Payit will serve as a cash replacement tool that removes the hassle associated with physical money as the UAE moves closer to becoming a cashless society," he added.

Hana Al Rostamani, the group head of personal banking at FAB, said: "Our latest partnership with Adnic is testament to the continued success of payit, and we are delighted to work with one of the largest companies in the UAE on this project."

"The payments industry is currently undergoing massive change and we aim to be at the forefront of this evolution. Our objective is to enable UAE-wide adoption of payit, using existing infrastructure to deliver a safe, secure and forward-looking payment experience," observed Al Rostamani.

"At FAB we are continuously investing in the development of innovative solutions to deliver value to our clients," he stated.

Ramana Kumar, SVP and Head of Payments at FAB said: "Our solution to Adnic demonstrates the importance of API banking through payit. We provided immense value to Adnic through seamless integration and outstanding customer experience."

"This partnership is a testament to how corporates can drive greater efficiency in working capital and cash flow management," he added.

Alongside payit, the insurer offers customers an extensive range of payment methods, including cash, credit card, online using payment gateway, and kiosk at 900 locations.-TradeArabia News Service
Our Spring 2019 print sale is a little unusual in that Chester Williams, the photographer, is a TOP reader I didn't know at all before he submitted his picture to one of our "group shows," the so-called Baker's Dozens. I don't know if there's any such thing as a "typical" TOP reader...to paraphrase Garrison Keillor, all TOP readers are strong, good-looking and above average! But he was just a regular reader whose name I didn't recognize.

So I asked him if he'd write about himself by way of introduction. Here's what he sent me:

"I was born on the tiny Caribbean island of St Lucia. My early years were spent enjoying the outdoors, thanks to my father, the late Boswell Williams [a former Governor-General of the Commonwealth Realm of St. Lucia, the sovereign island nation's highest political officesee the postage stamp. Ed.]. My dad bought me my first camera at nine, and this resulted in a profound love, not only for my island, but for nature in general. My brother and I spent hours shooting, developing and contact printing the 120-size (6x6cm) frames, as enlargers were not available on the island.

"After graduating from junior college on the island, I was set to follow a career in banking, and was employed at the Royal Bank of Canada. Three years later, my parents, afraid that their son would not amount to much, shipped me off to pursue a degree in business from Arizona State University. Upon graduation, I got married, moved to Los Angles, and began working downtown for a major bank. Always having a camera, and shooting extensively, especially at Venice Beach, I went on a week-long camping trip to Yosemite National Park and was emotionally awakened to the possibilities of pursuing photography as a side career. Many of the images I shot there were bought by my fellow staff members after they saw them displayed on my cubicle walls.

"Fast forward to a few years later, the early 1990s. By now having a two-year-old daughter, I was eager to have her raised in the islands. My wife and I accomplished that in 1991 by moving back to St Lucia. In 1992, while working a 95 job, I decided to pursue photography full-time after winning two Gold medals at a prestigious art completion on the island. My phone began to ring. In total, I eventually won six Gold medals before I retired from competing.

"Over the years, I did commercial work, calendars, weddings, aerial photography, etc., for a paycheck, but my passion was always landscape and nature photography, which I did on weekends. I was fortunate to have my work printed in such publications as Hello magazine, Bride magazine, and several others over the years, but that came to an end after health issues forced me to cut back on my commercial work.

"More recently, I have been actively involved in sharing my work online and have had several images chosen for inclusion in prestigious Facebook group galleries such as Pure Street Photography. I've been involved in many art exhibitions over the years and regularly sell my work both as loose prints and as framed pieces."

One possible disadvantage of having print sales by "regular readers" is something Chester told me that I didn't foresee...he said he's been very worried about this sale, anxious it might "not sell any" and that he would disappoint you (and me). I told him that's not the way it is...we do this for fun and enthusiasm, not because it's always a good way to make money (sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't). If one person loves and treasures a print they get from us, or if someone buys original artwork who never has before, or if a couple of people have a nice experience giving and getting a photograph as a gift, then that's good enough for me.

So big thanks to Chester for allowing us to yank him into the spotlight.

Mike

Original contents copyright 2019 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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CARBONDALE  A ribbon cutting this month has opened the way for nearly 400 new jobs to come to Carbondale.

Announced last year, the Centene and IlliniCare Health call center has completed work on its 80,000-square-foot facility in the old Ks Merchandise stall at the University Mall. The announcement last year had city officials excited.

Its huge, Steve Mitchell, Carbondales economic director, said last year.

He said based on the citys research, the company is said to treat employees very well.

It is our understanding that the company has an excellent reputation of treating its employees very well, he said, adding that national averages for hourly pay was between $12 and $14.

A media representative from Centene wasnt able to provide specifics about the pay scale and benefit offerings for the new jobs.

IlliniCare Health offers a generous compensation package that is comparable to similar industry jobs in the region, a company spokesman wrote in an email Friday. We know we must attract and retain the highest-quality talent in the healthcare industry to best serve our members, and our employment benefits reflect that.

The representative also said that about 80 percent of the 350 jobs created by the call center will be full-time, with the opportunity for the rest to be flexible part-time jobs. The representative also said Centene is working with Southern Illinois University and other local colleges to establish summer internship opportunities for 2019.

When asked how many of the new positions will be going to people already employed by Centene, who would relocate to Carbondale, the representative said Centene and IlliniCare Health believe in hiring local employees to work in the call center and the service center to best serve local residents of southern Illinois.

350 is a lot of new hires to fill. The Centene representative said the process began last fall. He said they currently have 50 positions filled.

We currently have 50 full-time employees on board, with the goal to bring on up to 50 new staff members each month until we are fully staffed, he wrote.

The Centene center is the second such call center to come in recent months to Southern Illinois. In a similar effort to fill space in its mall, the City of West Frankfort brought in a health care call center to its city-owned mall.

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A Carbondale man on Thursday was sentenced to a total of four years in state prison on charges of residential burglary and theft.

According to a news release from Williamson County State's Attorney Brandon Zanotti, Anthony C. Thompson, 42, pleaded guilty to the charges, which stemmed from an October 2017 Herrin residential burglary and a January 2019 Marion vehicle theft.

Residential burglary is a Class 1 felony, for which Thompson was sentenced to four years in Illinois Department of Corrections. Theft is a Class 3 felony, for which Thompson was sentenced to three years in prison. The sentences will run concurrently. He was also given two years of mandatory supervised release to be served after his prison term.
CARBONDALE  When SIU Police detectives Justin Emery and Renee Eberhard confronted Associate Professor Jeremy Davis with evidence hed stolen thousands of dollars of lab equipment from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, he put his head in his hands.

I f----- up, he said in an interview room at the SIU Police station. I totally f----- up.

The next day, March 29, Davis was charged with one count of theft of governmental property, of total value between $10,000 and $100,000, according to a news release from Jackson County States Attorney Mike Carr, an accusation to which Davis pleaded not guilty.

Incident reports from the SIU Police Department, obtained via Freedom of Information Act request, portray a man deep in debt who resorted to stealing even beakers and pipettes to pay it off.

The investigation began in December of 2018, when an SIU student, whose name appears redacted in the documents obtained by The Southern, reported equipment missing from a laboratory in the Agriculture Building.

Meanwhile, investigators found that an expensive machine called a NanoDrop, which analyzes DNA, RNA, and other proteins, had gone missing from another campus lab: that of Jeremy Davis, in the Center for Environmental Health and Safety.

But Davis knew nothing about the NanoDrop, he told police, and neither surveillance footage nor serial numbers were available for the other two items detectives sought.

The investigation appears to have stalled for about a month, as no new incident reports were filed.

Then, on Jan. 14, 2019, Detective Emery got a call. A DNA amplifier machine called a PCR had gone missing from the Center for Environmental Health and Safety. It had been in its rightful place as recently as June 2018, a source told him.

Emery asked the CEHS office manager to ask colleagues what they knew. Davis responded in an email.

The machine was busted, he wrote, and lab equipment company Bio-Rad had recommended he send it in for repair.

Since its an older model theyre having trouble finding the right part, he added. Ill let him know as soon as I get any info on it.

But when a source asked around, no one else in Daviss work area knew hed sent the machine in, he told Emery. It was a large item that couldve been costly to ship, yet the source believed Davis had no funds in his research account to do so. The witness doubted Davis even knew how to operate the machine, he told the detective.

Eight days later, when Emery contacted Bio-Rad and provided the serial number of the machine, the company reported it hadnt been sent in for repair since 2015.

Thats when Davis became a suspect, police records indicate.

By late January 2019, detectives were going through Davis university email account. There they found multiple indications he was in debt.

A January 2019 email showed that Davis was rejected for a personal loan through LendingClub, a peer-to-peer lending company. An email from November 2018 showed he owed $7,513.14 to PayPal Credit.

Emery got a search warrant for the PayPal account, and used data gathered there to identify Davis eBay account for a possible future warrant.

Then, he called Davis, who agreed to stop by the SIU Police Department on March 28.

First, Davis told officers the PCR had been damaged by a leaky roof, and that he mailed it to Bio-Rad for repair with his own money, police records indicate. Then he changed his story, saying he sent it to another company, because Bio-Rad was too expensive.

As Emery brought up phone records, past internet searches and receipts from shipping, Davis broke down, and admitted he had received payment for the PCR.

Davis appeared extremely stressed out, leaned back in his chair, put his hands on his head and said, I will get it back, Emery wrote in his incident report.

Shortly after, Emery wrote, he stated plainly: I sold it. I sold it, OK.

Davis had been stealing from the university for probably longer than two years, he told investigators  mostly small, low-value items.

A printout from Davis eBay account, which he verified, showed that from January to March of this year, hed sold over 20 university items, taken from Agriculture and CEHS facilities, earning him $2,549.62.

They included sets of glass beakers and lab chemicals, sold for less than $100.

In total, the supplies taken in those three months would cost the university about $6,161 to replace, according to a quote obtained by SIU Police from a supplier.

At some point, Davis also sold at least two higher-cost machines, States Attorney Carr alleges, the PCR and the NanoDrop.

For the PCR, which was valued around $10,000 in the documents obtained by The Southern, Davis earned about $200, the police reports indicate.

The value of the NanoDrop, which Davis also admitted to selling, according to the police reports, is not clearly stated; however, equipment retailer Fisher Scientific lists new NanoDrop machines online for $9,700 each.

From the moment he admitted his actions, records show Davis expressed remorse and intentions to cooperate with investigators and to repay what he had stolen.

I did it, so I should have to be accountable for it, he told detectives, before assisting them to identify stolen items and where theyd been taken from.

He apologized for lying to the detectives, and later contacted his program chair at SIUC to apologize for the damage hed done to the program and its students.

Due to a bad economic situation I placed myself into I started to look for other ways to support myself. So I started to sell items from the university. Most of these things were just sitting around and not in use; thats how I justified it anyways, he wrote in a statement taken by the SIU Police Department.

Davis was placed on leave from SIUC the day after his arrest. He resigned effective March 31, according to SIU Carbondale spokeswoman Rae Goldsmith.

On April 1, the SIU Police Department served a search warrant to eBay for Davis account information, documents show.

"The search warrant indicates we have more investigative work to do. Its likely that more items belonging to the university were stolen," said SIUC Police Chief Benjamin Newman.

Davis lawyer, Thomas Mansfield, could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

Davis' jury trial is scheduled for July 15, 2019, in the First Judicial Circuit Court in Murphysboro, Illinois, according to Carrs office.

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CARBONDALE  Greg Nejmanowski, like many SIU students, enjoys the great outdoors. Of course, hes probably the only one planning to canoe the entire length of the Mississippi River.

Thats right, Nejmanowski will hop in his canoe on May 24 in the Minnesota headwaters of the worlds third-largest river and paddle his way to the Gulf of Mexico. More than just a thrill-seeker, hes doing it for a cause.

Its called Paddle for Patriots, said Nejmanowski, an SIU alumnus, Touch of Nature graduate assistant and Veteran Adventures coordinator. Im going to be raising awareness and money for the Veteran Adventures program.

Veteran Adventures offers outdoor activities to post-9/11 veterans, including hunting, hiking, backpacking trips, whitewater rafting and more. The program is funded through grants and private donations, and it just recently lost a large state grant.

We believe that through camaraderie, shared experiences, support and a common purpose, veterans can receive the tools necessary to navigate and overcome obstacles often encountered by those who have served our nation, Nejmanowski said.

So, to spur donor support, hes embarking on a 2,300-mile trip down the mighty Mississippi. On paper, the plan is simple: Begin in Itasca State Park in Minnesota and spend two to three months canoeing down the river, camping on sandbars and gravel banks.

Of course, thats an oversimplification of what the trip entails. Nejmanowski expects the journey to involve varying circumstances, including more challenging conditions at the beginning, avoiding barge traffic, navigating areas controlled by locks and dams and fast-moving water from Alton to the Gulf.

Nejmanowski, who is American Canoe Association certified, took a 140-mile trip down part of the Mississippi last summer. Hes also previously hiked the Southern Illinois River-to-River trail, which required trekking 160 miles over nine days.

Ive been paddling my whole life, he said. Last summer, I did an adventure race (a multi-disciplinary event, including biking, paddling, hiking, etc.), and it lit a fire under me.

The trip will take Nejmanowski through 10 states and several major cities. He will be reaching out to local news agencies along the way and make his pitch for support of Veteran Adventures.

The relationships formed during high-intensity and challenging situations are some of the strongest humans will ever create, Nejmanowski said. Veteran Adventures aims to build those unwavering bonds with participants by providing challenging and adventurous opportunities that push them outside of their comfort zones."

To learn more visit, ton.siu.edu/program-areas/veteran-adventures.

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SPRINGFIELD  Illinois falls short in providing the funding and worker compensation to keep the health care services industry stable, advocates representing various organizations from around the state said this week.

Of the states 102 counties, 85 are designated as health professional shortage areas, Sara Howe, CEO for the Illinois Association for Behavioral Health, said during a House Appropriations-Human Service Committee meeting Thursday at the Capitol.

Howe said Illinois is a detox desert with limited facilities, a national ranking of fifth for adult binge drinking, and hospitalization rates for adults with serious mental disorders that are 1.5 times higher than the national average.

While requests for substance abuse and mental health services have increased, organizations that provide them have been underfunded for at least a decade, she added.

At the same time, the rates for mental health and substance use disorders have remained stagnant with only sporadic, inconsistent and negligible increases that have not kept pace with the cost of providing quality, evidenced-based services, Howe said.

Rep. Robyn Gabel, a Democrat from Evanston, sponsored HB 2717 to increase by 10 percent the funding for community-based substance abuse center grants available through the Department of Human Services (to $9.2 million) and for certified community mental health centers (to $19.3 million).

Howe said those appropriations would be a down payment to reverse the damage weve seen, but the actual amount needed to bring funding back in pace with cost is most likely higher.

The budget impasse from 2015 to 2017 led to some closures of state facilities providing substance abuse care, she said. Additionally, funding for preventive services programs was slashed from $7 million to $1 million.

The agencies themselves that are gone are not coming back, Howe said. Most of them, their services have not been picked up in other communities.

And the instability caused by underfunding has led to a reduced workforce, especially along the borders where workers travel to nearby states.

Supporting children and the elderly

Several organizations that provide services for the elderly and children hold a common position on funding: They need more money simply to maintain the services provided.

Sister Catherine Ryan, on behalf of Maryville Academy as well as Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, and Dr. Peter Smith, medical director of Almost Home Kids, gave testimony about services provided to children with complex needs and representing stressed populations. Most receive insurance through the state.

Ryan said without alternative programs, children would otherwise be hospitalized, incurring a cost to Illinois checkbook exceeding $3,000 per day for neonatal care or for a stay in a pediatric intensive care unit.

The reimbursement for service through insurance amounts to $683 a day, she added, when the actual cost of services is $950. House Bill 2714, also sponsored by Gabel, would allow alternative, transitional facilities like the ones Ryan and Smith represent to receive a reimbursement of $950.

No one anticipates a premature birth, or that their child will be the victim of gun violence or childhood cancer, but providing such services through alternative care is cost-saving and the right thing to do, Smith said.

These families, as youd imagine, are some of the families under the most stressed and difficult time of their lives in our communities, Smith said. Many of these families did not expect to be in these populations, to be parents of children with medical complexity.

Organizations that provide in-home services for the elderly are also seeking an increase in funding.

House Bill 2776, sponsored by Rep. Jaime M. Andrade, a Democrat from Chicago, would increase in-home workers reimbursement rates from the state to $19.96 per hour for workers at a minimum hourly wage of $12, and to $21.64 per hour for those at a $13 minimum hourly wage.

Home care aide Cathy Everett said she left her $35-an-hour career four years ago after battling breast cancer and watching her father struggle to assist her mother after a dementia diagnosis.

She knew the career switch would result in a pay cut, which was $10 an hour, but she said she didnt think it would amount to an unlivable wage.

I knew I had to focus my time and energy on helping seniors live their remaining years where they want and desire to be, and thats in their own homes, Everett said. ... I didnt enter this industry thinking Id get rich, but I cant believe that for all we do, home care aides dont earn a liveable wage.

Dennis Mondero, executive director of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association, said its difficult hiring and keeping home care aides in the Chicago suburbs because they know they can earn more working in the city.

Potential employees could make more money working at Target, he said.

Stephanie Johnson, with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, said without a funding increase, her organizations community care program will need to lay off 700 people, which would end its program to care for the elderly on the south and southwest sides of Chicago.

Same for Mondero, who said his organization must consider laying off more than 200 if reimbursement rates dont increase, leaving more than 500 seniors without services.

Johnson said the state would save money by paying more for human services instead of waiting for bills from nursing homes.

Marta Pereyra, executive director of Coalition of Limited English Speaking Elderly, said its five times more expensive for a senior to stay and be cared for in a facility than in their homes  in-home care costs average $1,200 monthly, compared to $5,000 to $6,000 at nursing homes.

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London Stock Exchange today (May 18) welcomed Finablr, a global payments and foreign exchange company, to open Londons markets for trading and celebrate the listing of the companys shares on the premium segment of the Main Market of LSE.

Through category-renowned brands, including UAE Exchange, Travelex, Xpress Money, Unimoni, Remit2India, Ditto and Swych, Finablr sits at the centre of these intersecting trends, with an ability to serve both the end consumer and global corporates.

With deep regulatory know-how, a relentless focus on innovation and leading industry partnerships, Finablr group companies provide a broad array of tailored financial solutions for consumers and businesses, said a statement from the company.

Finablr is present across the entire payments and foreign exchange value chain, from origination to processing to last-mile distribution.

In 2018, Finablr managed over 150 million transactions, shifting the equivalent of $115 billion in volumes for its customers. Finablr has a broad global reach spanning over 170 countries and has relationships with more than 100 regulators, it stated.

The truly global reach of the company, sophistication of its technology and the economies of scale of its platform have made Finablr a partner of choice for leading global banks, financial institutions, retailers, mobile wallet providers and payment and technology companies, it added.

On the feat, Founder and Chairman Dr BR Shetty said: "Today marks a momentous milestone for Finablr and the beginning of an exciting new era to support the ever-evolving needs of a global customer and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our global patrons for their trust and faith in our commitment."

Dr Shetty, Finablr's largest shareholder, had bought UK-based Travelex for $1.1 billion in 2015.

The Finablr, which as a group has a global presence in over 170 countries, managed $114.5 billion in annual volumes for its clients last year, said the company in a statement.

The group, comprises of UAE Exchange, Travelex Holdings and Xpress Money, among others, has been seeking to raise $200 from the IPO, it added.

Group CEO Promoth Manghat, said: "We are delighted that Finablr has joined the LSEs Premium Market, providing a new platform to grow over the coming years."

"We are very confident about the long-term prospects of the payments and foreign exchange solutions and the overarching presence of technology in such transactions and remain committed to generating the greatest value for our all our shareholders," he noted.

Amidst unstable global macro and micro market situations bringing uncertainty in the broader socio-economic conditions, a rational price revision to 175 pence per share, down from an initially anticipated range above 200 pence, gave Finablr an implied market value of about

$1.59 billion, said the bookrunner.

Books were covered at full value of the deal worth 192.5 million shares, thereby making the share offering to raise about 337 million.

The deal size shall include a revised base deal size of 175 million shares and 17.5 million of over-allotment option shares.

Barclays, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Cazenove acted as joint global co-ordinators and joint bookrunners, with EFG-Hermes, BofA Merrill Lynch and Numis also acting as joint bookrunners to the listing. Evercore acted as financial adviser to Finablr.-TradeArabia News Service
Claflin University will host the grand opening of its Farmers Market on Thursday, May 23, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. outside of the Jonas T. Kennedy Health and Wellness Complex.

We are excited about providing this opportunity to the community, said Tijuana Hudson, vice president for fiscal affairs who is leading this university initiative.

This was a major consideration during our discussion to expand the Jonas T. Kennedy facility.

The university is serious about promoting and enhancing healthy lifestyles and wellness to our students, faculty and staff as well as our Orangeburg neighbors. The university feels it is the right thing and right time to do it.

The farmers market will be open to the public and provide an abundance of healthy food options. Buyers will be able to purchase various fruits and vegetables, including sweet potatoes, watermelon, cabbage, collard greens, string beans and tomatoes. Herbs and flowers also will be available.

Hudson said the farmers market will be held weekly throughout the summer. The expansion of Jonas T. Kennedy became a reality with funding support from Orangeburg County Council and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This will be a tremendous help for our local farmers, Hudson said. Claflin is delighted to provide this resource for them.

Hudson said the farmers market is sponsored by Panther Health Partners and USDA.

For more information, contact Hudson at 803-535-5197 or Frances Koon at 803-463-8872.

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Posting Policy



This blog may be unique with regard to its degree of transparency about urban ministry. Many people have written to me to say how they cherish the help they have received through this. However, this means that special attention needs to be given to confidentiality in particular. I use the following guidelines for posting on this blog:



I apply the following questions to posts: Are they posted in good faith? Are they balanced? Are they compassionate? Are they informative about ministry? Do they help one better understand a problem or issue?



I consider a post to be unproblematic if a person's identity is unknowable in the post, if the facts are public knowledge, or if a change of particulars (name, place, date, and so on) will truly protect privacy. If I consider that anyone who was not involved in an incident would recognise those who were, then I do not post. If a post could compromise the safety of those I blog about, then I make a post safe, or I do not post.



I believe that these measures should enable me to continue to be "open" about urban ministry while not compromising privacy.



In 2013, ninety percent of the posts on this blog were removed. I then put the question of the freedom of the blog to the South African Human Rights Commission. The position is this: if a post is legal, it is legal. Essentially, all of my posts were OK. There is freedom of expression in South Africa.



Having said this, if any post should even cause discomfort, it will be removed from this blog immediately. This has always been the position. One does need to contact me for that, best through an e-mail or a blog comment, and I prefer to see a name on it. The post will be put back up only if there would seem to be compelling reason for it. It is hoped that there will be the assumption that I wish to address any discomfort satisfactorily, compassionately, and efficiently.
Ramblings of a badly aged Baby Boomer who went from Rebel Without a Cause to Bozo Without a Clue in, seemingly, the same afternoon.
For over 130 years, this site wrote itself into the history books, until it closed in 2012. Around 2,600 people worked at the site.

The 60 hectare site has stood empty for the past 7 years. The one-time home of heavy industry is to receive a new lease of life as a place to live and work in the future.

However, it will be some time until the transformation occurs. In recent years nature has reclaimed the site for its own and it is barely recognisable as the former workplace for 2,600 employees.

Domingos Oliveira explored the large hall and the rest of the site in more detail.

About this series

In this popular series, RTL photographer Domingos Oliveira takes you to hidden places, lesser known locations and buildings with an interesting story.

1) The first instalment captured the last moment of the agricultural centre in Mersch.

2) We then visited Zenningen Zoo, which was closed in the early 80s.

3) Our third trip took us to Hesperange's eery swimming pool which now looks like the setting for an apocalyptic film.

4) The fourth photo series targeted the veritable ghost town "Cite Syrdall."

5) We also visited the iconic cinema Ariston in Esch, which opened in 1962 and closed in 2016. The cinema's history is an eventful one - from erotic films to youth theatre.

6) In the sixth instalment, we took a trip down memory lane and revisited pictures of Luxembourg City's former "centre Aldringen," an underground parking lot and cultural hub that gave way to Centre Hamilius.

7) The seventh gallery in the series took us to Luxembourg's former police museum.

8) And in the 8th instalment we got to take a look at a cemetery for old fire engines.

9) The 9th gallery visited the Lentilles Terres Rouges site in Esch.
A Casper doctor accused of running a pill mill testified for several hours Friday, casting himself not as the center of a lucrative prescription drug scheme but as a well-meaning doctor who placed too much trust in his patients.

Ive learned a great deal now about deception (and) lies, Shakeel Kahn told his attorney, Michael Thompson, Friday afternoon.

Kahn is facing 21 charges related to his alleged criminal activity, including a single count of conspiracy to distribute drugs resulting in death. During his years of practice in Arizona  where one of his patients overdosed and died  and Wyoming, Kahn wrote nearly 15,000 prescriptions for controlled substances, totaling roughly 2.2 million pills, nearly half of which were oxycodone.

But Kahn, dressed in a gray suit and white shirt, told the jury for hours that at all times he followed the law in his efforts to help his patients treat their chronic pain. Asked throughout the day if he thought any of his prescriptions  many of which were for high quantities and high dosages of potent narcotics  were inappropriate, Kahn repeatedly testified that he believed his treatment methods were medically appropriate.

He testified that he tried every route we could to ensure his patients  who regularly paid hundreds of dollars for each office visit  were not abusing their medications. He said he would ask straight up if patients were abusing pills. But he acknowledged that the patients would often deny the accusation, and without any proof, he would continue writing them hefty prescriptions.

Kahn denied ever being suspicious of many of his patients, even when they would call and ask for certain quantities of specific medications. He said he continued writing scripts for one patient even after he heard she had been arrested for selling her pills. He testified that he asked the patient if she was selling them, and when she denied she was, he continued treating her because he had no proof otherwise. He told Thompson and the courtroom that he was concerned that if he fired one of his patients from his pain clinic in Casper, then he might face a lawsuit from that person.

Questionable records

If he was guilty of anything, Kahn said, it was poor record keeping. A staple of the governments case against him is that the doctor allegedly altered medical records to evade scrutiny and punishment from medical boards. He acknowledged doing so Friday, though he said it wasnt to deceive medical authorities; it was for the purpose of completeness in his records.

He admitted to changing a patients pain score  the rating from 1 to 10 of how much pain a patient was in  in that patients records. In that case, it wasnt a desire to have complete records that made him change the patients chart. It was stupidity, he said.

I couldnt give you a logical answer at this time, he said, though he added that he didnt mean to mislead the Arizona Medical Board, which investigated Kahn repeatedly over a period of years for complaints made against him by former patients and pharmacists who were concerned about his prescribing habits.

Kahn maintained that the poor record keeping didnt translate into poor patient care. Though he acknowledged he was careless and sloppy with his records, he called record keeping a bureaucratic nightmare and that he sometimes changed records  like scribbling in an approximate time of a visit from years prior  to avoid nitpicking by investigators from the medical board.

He acknowledged that he had added a patients signature to a form, though he testified that he had the patients permission to do so and that he didnt consider it improper.

At one point, Kahn argued that not surreptitiously updating medical records wouldve been a lie. He said he went back and added results of a urinary test, reasoning that he had performed the test and that to leave the chart without that information wouldve been more dishonest than quietly altering the record itself.

Kahn spoke for hours, his voice often picking up speed to the point where his attorney or the court reporter had to ask him to slow down. He walked Thompson through the forms that his patients had to fill out, which included promises to not abuse or misuse opioid prescriptions.

But they also included a document that featured a list of statements the patient must acknowledge, which Kahn said was included to protect him from legal action. The first item on that list was a statement that Kahn was not a drug dealer, and suggesting that he was is actionable as slander.

Thompson asked whether Kahn was a drug dealer.

No, absolutely not, he replied.

The second item in the list was a statement that acknowledged Kahn did not now or in the past addict me to any controlled substance, and another line in the list forbid the patient from suing Kahn for any liability  like an overdose  that may arise from use of the medications Kahn would prescribe. The final item on the list stated that any patient who brought legal action against Kahn would have to pay the doctor $100,000.

He said that provision was to guard against false allegations. Kahn explained to the court that he created the document after his troubles in Arizona, where patients had accused him of getting them addicted to pills and pharmacists accused him of overprescribing.

$500 office visits

Perhaps most eyebrow-raising was Kahns testimony about how he charged his patients. While he continually painted himself as a physician concerned for his patients pain levels, Kahn showed no leniency when it came to his fees. At the time of his arrest in late November 2016, he was charging a flat rate of $500 for each office visit. Patients were expected to see him for each refill, each month.

He no longer accepted insurance, which he said was because of issues with the companies, and accepted only cash or cards. He testified that he charged more for patients who were higher risk  which seemed to translate to those patients who were on higher doses of narcotics.

Some patients where charged as much as $1,000 a visit. A friend of another patient offered Kahn $1,800 to write him three narcotic prescriptions. Kahn said in court that he would normally charge $500 but that he wouldnt turn down the higher amount. He stressed that he wouldnt write the script without seeing the new patient in person first.

That conversation  between Kahn and the patient who was asking for $1,800 worth of pills  was captured on tape. Kahn replies that I guess I can do that, referring to writing the script. He testified that he didnt find the request suspicious, that he wasnt really paying attention on the call and that he later said he had to see the patient.

Later on that same call, the patient  Deni Antelope, who took a plea deal  asked Kahn if she could get a discount on her office fees. According to the recording, Kahn laughed and said no. He told her that if she wanted to pay less, he could give her fewer pills.

I dont think you want to do that, he said.

When asked by Thompson what he meant by that, Kahn testified that he was telling Antelope that if she wanted to save money, he would write her a smaller script to save money at the pharmacy.

In another call, Paul Beland  who also took a plea deal  asked Kahn to write his friend a script for 120 Xanax. Kahn had not seen this person and told Beland that he was trying to stop writing Xanax scripts. But he told Beland he would do it this one time.

Kahn then testified that he never wrote the prescription and was trying to get Beland off the phone.

Kahn denied that the exact strength of a pill had a corresponding dollar figure, though he said patients on higher doses required more time and thus were charged more. But its unclear what Kahn meant by more time  he said he would have to spend more time talking with and checking those patients, though he also testified that he checked on all of his patients medications and that, in order to get a script, he had to speak with them.

He said the higher-dose patients were often able to get in touch with him easier.

Youre paying for greater access, he told the court.

But in many cases, Kahn said he would write patients prescriptions even if they didnt come to see him for every refill  only as long as they called him and that they paid him. They would be charged for calling in a script just as if they had come in and seen him.

He would regularly split up patients prescriptions if they couldnt pay up front. If a patient could only pay half at the time of the visit, for instance, Kahn would give the patient half of his or her pills. He would write the other half of the prescription after he was paid.

In a business sense, if you give it all up front, you likely wont see them again, he said.

Trades for pills

Kahn acknowledged that he would accept goods in return for his services. He said he traded his doctor visits  and, by extension, the prescription refills  for guns, motorcycles, car batteries  even dentist visits.

He scoffed when his attorney asked him if there was anything improper or illegal about trading his services for his patients things, calling the practice the oldest form of purchasing.

He denied ever selling a patients medications or providing one patients medication to another person. But he later admitted giving a prescription meant for an Arizona patient to his brother, Nabeel  who is also facing two charges. Nabeel, he said, was in legitimate medical need. Kahn had planned on mailing the pills to the Arizona patients, and instead gave them to his brother.

Asked by his attorney if that was improper, Kahn said no. He likened it to when a family member has Vicodin left over after a dental procedure and gives it to a relative in pain.

We all do it, he said.

The doctor repeatedly said he had no reason to doubt his patients, even when they appeared to give him strong warning signs otherwise. An undercover officer once came to his clinic, complaining of intermittent wrist pain and describing the pills he wanted by their color. Kahn said he figured the man had purchased drugs off of the street previously; he gave the officer a low dose of Percocet.

In another case, Kahn said he wasnt suspicious of one patient paying anothers office fee. Another patient was discovered to be doctor shopping  meaning she was getting prescriptions for controlled substances from multiple physicians. Kahn initially kicked her out of his practice. She begged to come back, he testified, and he relented. But he lowered the amount and strength of pills he would give her and required that she see him in person twice a month. He charged her $600 for each visit.

Kahn had maintained that he was writing the prescriptions for his patients based on their legitimate medical need. Why, then, did he seemingly arbitrarily lower this patients dosage?

He said it was for doctor shopping, and that he had to charge her more because she was a high-risk patient who would require more time and observation.

In the case of Jessica Burch and Anthony Vargas, a couple in Arizona, Kahn saw nothing amiss when Burch began picking up Vargas pills from Kahn. Kahn had also photoshopped Vargas signature onto forms, believing he had the patients permission. Vargas had been jailed in Las Vegas, but Kahn kept writing him scripts and Burch kept picking them up. Kahn also acknowledged writing down vital signs for Vargas while the man was in jail, essentially manufacturing the information, which he said was done for record inclusiveness.

Vargas testified earlier in the trial, saying he had become addicted to prescription pills after two or three visits with Kahn. He and Burch sold some of their pills and used others. After he was released in Las Vegas, Burch was changed, he said. One night, he found her passed out near their house. She was unresponsive but breathing.

The next morning, she was dead. Kahn is charged in her death.

Asked about Burchs death, Kahn said he had regrets, shouldve paid more attention to her when she came to his office for refills and that he shouldnt have gone on blind trust alone.

But, he said, hindsight is 20/20.

The case will continue Monday morning, when the prosecution is expected to cross-examine Kahn. Nabeel Kahns attorneys have still yet to make an opening statement and likely will early next week. The two sides will likely make closing statements Tuesday, after which time jury deliberations will begin.

Follow education reporter Seth Klamann on Twitter @SethKlamann

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As Wyomings greater sage grouse team met to revise the states conservation plan, an expert cautioned of a dark cloud that could set population numbers back to 24-year lows.

The warning from the states recently retired grouse leader came as Wyomings Sage Grouse Implementation Team met for an hour and a half with Gov. Mark Gordon to receive his draft executive order protecting the imperiled bird. This reworking will not be a major overhaul, Gordon wrote in a cover letter to SGIT members who expect to finalize the order for his approval in 60 days.

But former Game and Fish Department sage grouse leader Tom Christiansen cast a shadow over the meeting with a preliminary summary from the spring sage grouse breeding ground surveys. The annual census involves hundreds of observers across the state counting strutting male grouse at leks.

There is possibly a bit of a dark cloud on the horizon in terms of grouse numbers, Christiansen told the group in Cheyenne. This years average lek size numbers could come in below a mid-1990s nadir, outside historic range and below the states plan, he warned.

The assessment comes from what Im seeing and hearing in the field and the trend in the last couple of years, Christiansen told the group. Hes heard of similar woes in other states, he wrote WyoFile, though all are secondhand accounts. Final numbers are yet to be tallied.

Although retired, Christiansen maintains connections with the network of Wyoming counters, many of whom are volunteers working with various state and federal agency personnel. Collectively, they survey as many as 1,600 leks annually, an operation that outstrips any other states efforts.

In 1996, a low point, the average lek in Wyoming held 13.1 males, according to a compilation through 2015 by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Christiansen said 1995 was the low point.

Those mid-1990s lek counts were a wake-up call, Christiansen said, and started serious talks about sage grouse conservation. In 2007, Gov. Dave Freudenthal convened a summit and established the sage grouse team that helped develop the states first executive order protecting grouse. That original order was signed in 2008.

Today some media reports paint a rosy picture of grouse numbers. This isnt the case, Christiansen said.

He also cautioned about reading too much into short-range trends. Nevertheless, the situation is serious when youre talking about numbers outside that range of variability, he added.

This springs broods could provide relief and change the outlook in the next few weeks, depending on rearing conditions, Christiansen said. Were set up for a good hatch, he told a full room of perhaps 50 people at Game and Fish headquarters.

I think theres going to be a lot of interest statewide what the Wyoming population is doing if we drop below that 95 level, he said.

Several members of the sage grouse team suggested that Gordons revised order contain a direction to not only maintain but increase grouse populations. Such a goal could address the potential problem Christiansen raised, they said.

My dream is we look for lift  find a way to increase the population  increase carrying capacity, said Brian Rutledge, director of the Sagebrush Ecosystem Initiative for the National Audubon Society.

Sen. Larry Hicks, a natural resource manager with the Little Snake River Conservation District, agreed such an effort is possible. We could do that [in my area,] improve nutrition and survival of chicks, he said.

Gordons executive order would replace the standing order last revised by Gov. Matt Mead. Its just important I have ownership of this, he told the group.

At the same time, he recognized the work of the sage grouse team and the respect Wyomings core-area management strategy has garnered across the West. He approaches the sage grouse work the way he kayaks rivers, he said, entering the stream without interrupting the flow or making it change radically.

His draft order runs six pages and would have nine appendices, according to documents he submitted to the group and which the team immediately made public. Underpinning the entire grouse conservation effort is the understanding that a listing under the Endangered Species Act could have draconian economic consequences for a state that derives much of its revenue from use and development of the so-called sagebrush sea.

I appreciate the concern and understand both the commitment and the precariousness of all that is at stake to protect the greater sage-grouse in Wyoming, his cover letter reads. I believe all responsible engaged parties recognize the sensitivity of ensuring Wyomings established approach continues to be effective.

The draft order would prioritize the maintenance and enhancement of Greater sage-grouse habitats and populations inside the Core Population Areas, connectivity areas, and winter concentration areas, it reads. A number of the 78 comment letters proposing changes to the executive order questioned whether Wyoming would continue to enforce that policy in the face of the federal government offering oil and gas leases in Wyomings core areas.

Despite recent lease sales in core areas, grouse-team chairman Bob Budd said federal agencies have assured Wyoming they will back its core-area strategy.

I would say yes, he said in response to a question, we do have those assurances.

The governors order would recognize and respect valid existing rights and continue existing land uses, particularly agriculture on private lands.

Development impacts would be minimized by prioritizing avoidance, minimization, and where appropriate, compensatory mitigation, the order reads. Audubons Rutledge called avoidance of impacts our greatest protection possible.

The Legislature is working on mitigation laws and legislative changes to the existing compensatory mitigation framework. The result will be accommodated in an executive order appendix, Gordons cover letter read.

The draft order calls for continued research on winter concentration areas. It seeks no changes for seven years in core-area, connectivity and winter-concentration-area maps, absent substantial and compelling information.

In addition to Christiansens population warning, Rutledge said Nevada could be in trouble after recent wildfires burned five million acres. If the greater sage grouse is listed by the federal government as threatened or endangered in that state, there could be cascading consequences for Wyoming, which holds the largest portion of grouse in the world  about 37 percent.

Im one of the Chicken Littles who does worry about what happens in the other states, Rutledge told the sage grouse team.

While Gordon said he was happy to work with other states, he said he wanted the executive order to focus on Wyoming.

Im cautious about engaging with other states, he said. If we start saying in Nevada they they do this, in Colorado they do that, we run the risk of losing our target.

The Trump administration, at the Department of Interior secretarial level, supports what were doing, Gordon told the group. Wyomings strategy should be durable over different political climates, different administrations.

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Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry has announced the formation of the Car Dealers Business Group which aims to unite the voices of member companies, serve common interests and foster public-private sector dialogue on important matters impacting the auto sector in Dubai.



The new business group will provide an ideal platform for companies operating in this space to voice their concerns and share their feedback on regulation impacting industry stakeholders with the support and guidance of Dubai Chamber, said a statement.



The Car Dealers Business Group, the 31st sector-focused business group to be launched under the umbrella of Dubai Chamber, was recently inaugurated during a kick-off meeting held at the chambers headquarters in the presence of Majid Saif Al Ghurair, chairman of Dubai Chamber; senior Dubai Chamber officials; and top executives from AWRostamani Automotive Group; Al Ghandi Auto; Galadari Brothers Co; Al Naboodah Automobiles; AGMC; Gargash Enterprises; Hyundai; Al Habtoor Motors; Al Tayer Motors; Union Motors; Al Naboodah Group Enterprises; Galadari Automobiles; KIA; and Al Rostamani Group.



During the meeting, Michel Ayat, chief executive officer  AWRostamani Automotive Group, was elected as chairman of the Car Dealers Business Group and member companies discussed several key issues and the need to align the groups efforts with the government-led initiatives that utilise autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, and 5G infrastructure, in addition to the groups keenness in contributing to existing and forthcoming legislation.



Al Ghurair described the establishment of the Car Dealers Business Group as an important step in aligning the efforts of key stakeholders and boosting the sectors competitiveness.



He stressed the crucial role that business groups play in supporting Dubai's sustainable growth as these organisations draw on combined expertise and capabilities.



In addition, Al Ghurair noted that the business group would identify key challenges facing car dealers in Dubai, work to develop innovative solutions to address such obstacles and share policy recommendations with Dubai Chamber and concerned government entities.



Michel Ayat, chairman of the Car Dealers Business Group, said: This is a significant step towards enhancing the overall competitiveness of the UAE automotive industry as it embraces the spirit of public-private partnership to support the authorities with global best practices that will raise the standards of the automotive industry and ensure right regulations for the future.



Ayat added: Additionally, with the automotive industry of the UAE, which contributes about Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) to the economy, is witnessing new challenges that must be addressed through joint efforts by highlighting the common interests of dealers, consumers and the government. We look forward to building a sustainable future for the industry.



As a facilitator for business groups and councils in Dubai, Dubai Chamber aims to boost commerce between the business communities of Dubai, ensure a favourable business environment and enhance relations between Dubai and other countries around the world, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Wyoming is known for its vast and inspiring open landscapes, the unbending work ethic of its citizens and for the species and livelihoods that these two characteristics help support. We are also known for our approach to wildlife management  fusing together diverse viewpoints and science through collaborative processes that result in meaningful conservation of wildlife species and their habitats while sustaining economic drivers. Our intact big game migration corridors are valuable and worthy of such a conversation. We, as Wyomingites, once again have an opportunity to come together to find solutions that work for our state and our citizens.

Over the past decade, Wyoming Game and Fish and the Wyoming Migration Initiative, in partnership with other wildlife organizations, have done an admirable job of defining the location and importance of big game migrations in the state. Big game in the West routinely move seasonally across the landscape, chasing green forage and avoiding deep snow. Some migrations in the western part of Wyoming follow long and complex pathways, passed on from one generation to the next. Migrating big game routinely cross private and public lands on their yearly travels.

Migration data collected over the years clearly shows the importance of privately-owned ranches to migrating big game. Identifying migration routes and corridors is one thing; managing and maintaining them is another. Ranching and industry organizations are becoming concerned about what the designation of a migration corridor might mean to their lands or operations. Lack of communication creates uncertainty and concern for affected parties, and hinders conservation of our wildlife resources.

Its time for all affected parties  Game and Fish, landowners, ranchers, industry, county commissions and conservation organizations  to come together and work collaboratively to conserve migration corridors, while also meeting the economic needs of ranches, industry and rural communities. Conservation and management plans arising from productive discussions among knowledgeable landowners, industry and wildlife professionals will be better informed, supported and enduring than resource decisions made through imposed legislation or court rulings.

It is essential in the process to recognize and support the important role landowners are already playing in conserving wildlife movement. We need to flip our approach to conserving corridors. Instead of looking first for threats, lets start by looking at what is working. Why are wildlife using that piece of land? What is going right there? Then lets figure out how to support what is working. Currently, when a wildlife corridor is designated, it is often received as bad news by affected landowners because they fear restrictions, regulations, increased public scrutiny and potentially litigation. Instead, we need to recognize the benefits of working lands, treat landowners as valued partners and find ways to support rather than penalize landowners for providing that habitat.

This can mean a whole suite of things  from simple recognition and appreciation to management flexibility, regulatory assurances, risk mitigation, economic benefits and a greater voice in wildlife management decisions. While much has been learned about migrations, there is more to learn. By implementing an adaptive management approach, conservation plans can be developed based on the best available knowledge, regularly revisited and improved as needed over time. Although collaborative management can be challenging, it remains the best pathway to ensuring plans that are broadly supported.

We appreciate Governor Gordons determination to strike a balance among the needs of the various interest groups, while resolving to conserve our big game resources. This is an opportunity to work together. Our wildlife, economy and way of life depends on it.

Rick Danvir is a founding member and an advisor to Western Landowners Alliance, and Jessica Crowder is WLAs policy director. WLA is a landowner-led network dedicated to the health and prosperity of the American West by working to advance policies and practices that sustain working lands, connected landscapes and native species.

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This just in, as we say in the news business.

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher recently called Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to complain about President Donald Trump.

This is indeed big news, mainly because Thatcher has been dead for six years.

But, if the former vice president says he spoke to Thatcher, who am I to question?

Biden later corrected himself and said he was talking about current Prime Minister Theresa May, who is very much alive. Biden called the mistake a Freudian slip, which is also kind of a strange thing to say.

Ironically enough, Biden make the Thatcher comment during a fundraiser in South Carolina during which he called Trump a clown.

Trump supporters pounced on the Thatcher reference because they like to portray Biden as a sort of inappropriate, forgetful uncle who shows up every Thanksgiving and, after he leaves, youre thankful you dont have to see him for another year.

But, never to be outdone, President Trump returned the favor and gave the left, and the media, yet another reason to gesticulate.

I wrote a few weeks back about how Trump finds a way to insinuate himself into news events that have absolutely nothing to do with him.

He did it with the Notre Dame cathedral fire when he offered firefighters some unsolicited advice on how to extinguish the blaze.

This time the topic was the controversial finish of the Kentucky Derby. The horse that crossed the line first was disqualified for obstructing the path of other horses.

Trump tweeted: The Kentuky Derby decision was not a good one. It was a rough & tumble race on a wet and sloppy track, actually, a beautiful thing to watch. Only in these days of political correctness could such an overturn occur.

The best horse did NOT win the Kentucky Derbynot even close!?

The media immediately noticed both the political correctness reference and the lack of a c in Kentucky. The latter was an honest mistake which Trump later corrected. Nevertheless, the tweet became fodder  as most of Trumps tweets do  for The New York Times, CNN, among others.

Its about the man behind the tweet. A man who also happens to be the leader of the free world, wrote CNNs Chris Cillizza in a full-blown analysis of the tweet.

I dont know what Trump meant by political correctness but at least I spent way too much time thinking about it. Was the winning horse an illegal immigrant? Was he banned from speaking on a college campus? Did he wear a MAGA hat to the Derby?

I told you I spent too much time thinking about it.

Democrats, your serve.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez enjoys sharing videos of herself that make her look clueless. Ocasio-Cortez, keep in mind, is the author of the Green New Deal which would cost somewhere between $51 trillion and $93 trillion and features a variety of unrealistic goals including eliminating fossil fuel use in 12 years and rendering air travel unnecessary.

But in the short term, she has bigger fish to fry, or dispose of, as the case may be.

She posted a video in which she reveals a discovery in her new apartment.

Behold! She gives you...the garbage disposal.

OK everyone I need your help, she says in the video, because I just moved into this apartment a few months ago and I just flipped a switch and it made that noise and it scared the daylights out of me. I am told this is a garbage disposal...Ive never seen a garbage disposal. I never had one in any place Ive ever lived.

Say what you will about Donald Trump but the man knows a garbage disposal when he sees one.

Republicans, back to you.

Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, recently called the presidential candidacy of Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet a Seinfeld campaign  about nothing.

The reference to the popular sitcom did not escape the notice of one of its stars, Jason Alexander, a.k.a. George Costanza, who tweeted, Ive met Bennett. He is a great man and real choice for POTUS. As for Cruz  the jerk store called and theyre running out of you.

If at this point, youre asking, what happened to political discourse in this country?

Heres more breaking news: This is it.

Rich Manieri is a Philadelphia-born journalist and author. He is currently a professor of journalism at Asbury University in Kentucky. His book, We Burn on Friday: A Memoir of My Father and Me is available at amazon.com. You can reach him at manieri2@gmail.com.

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An outdoor business owner from back East called Dave Glenn recently, explaining his hopes to relocate here.

The owner had pretty specific site requests: a boatable class II river, blue ribbon trout fishery and close proximity to an interstate.

Glenn, the deputy administrator of Wyomings new Outdoor Recreation office, listed some towns off the top of his head that fit the bill: Rock Springs, Green River, Saratoga, Casper.

And then I said, I have one more question: Do you want rainbow or brown (trout)? Glenn said, as a way to show Wyoming not only has outdoor amenities, but understands their greater importance to the economy.

Thats the niche the new office hopes to fill. Its charter is to help build and improve Wyomings outdoor recreation economy and infrastructure and promote Wyomings outdoor recreation inside and outside of the state.

Since it was formed by then-Gov. Matt Mead in November 2017, the new office has worked with communities across the state from Evanston to Sundance to help them more fully embrace Wyomings second-largest industry.



Leaders of the outdoor recreation office admit it is still in its infancy. It doesnt have much for formal funding and functions under the umbrella of State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails, Glenn said.

One of the recommendations was not to grow government, Glenn said. Gov. Mead looked at it and said, This is a great idea. I appreciate it and will put it in state parks. Its a really good place to have it because we have good resources, and we are outdoor recreation.

Wyoming then became the sixth state to recognize the importance of outdoor recreation through a designated office. Utah is the oldest office, and it was formed in 2012.

The reason for a singular focus on improving Wyomings outdoor recreation economy is most often explained through numbers.

Outdoor recreation contributes $5.6 billion to the state each year, according to the Outdoor Industry Association. It creates 50,000 direct jobs, supports $1.6 billion in wages and salaries and contributes $514 million in state and local tax revenue.

Promoting outdoor recreation outside of Wyoming, and helping communities build infrastructure they want, will create a snowball effect of more and more visitors, said Domenic Bravo, administrator of the Outdoor Recreation Office and State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails.

The office is also focused on improving access to public land, collaborating with local communities and building an outdoor recreation app that will create a one-stop shop for visitors and residents. The app will have specific information for activities from bird hunting to mountain biking, restaurants and camping. It should launch by 2020.



For Kristi Robison, the state office has been a guide to navigating the fuzzy complexities of creating outdoor infrastructure on public lands.

Robison is co-chair of the Big Horn Basin Outdoor Recreation Collaborative, a group of about 40 representatives from Big Horn Basin communities including Thermopolis, Shell, Ten Sleep and Worland. The group formed in October as a pilot project for the office  a way to see how the state could help communities outside of Wyomings classic tourist destinations like Jackson and even Cody.

While the group is still developing future projects, they have already made some progress, Robison said. The Hot City Alliance, the brainchild of the larger collaborative, will hold an outdoor day June 8. The inaugural event will be a celebration of all things Thermopolis including rock climbing, kayaking and fly fishing. The event will be a celebration of all things Thermopolis including hot springs, river rafting and dinosaur digs. The Hot City Alliance, a collaboration between the local chamber of commerce, city council, hotel and motel owners, and state and federal agencies that formed as part of the Big Horn Basin group.

But mostly representatives from the state have helped facilitate conversations between locals in the area and government land managers.

Its interesting to learn you cant just grab a bunch of volunteers who want to play in the dirt and just go rehab a trail or build a new trail, she said. There may need to be cultural or environmental assessments. Our thinking has shifted from, lets go make new trails to lets see whats on deck and maybe help get some things accomplished.

While Glenn and Bravo are quick to tout the offices early successes, they also admit the limitations without additional funding. Utahs office receives 30 cents from every $100 in lodging tax, for example. Colorados office receives a portion of proceeds from the state lottery.

The Wyoming Legislature considered earlier this year and ultimately voted down a bill to create a 5 percent lodging tax to promote tourism in the state.

We are still working toward that, so when the community of Sundance wants to build a mountain bike trail, maybe theres a pool of money brought in to help meet matching grants, Glenn said. We can continue to build outdoor recreation opportunities throughout the state.

Once people are here, he said, the opportunities they find could help them stay longer.

My mantra  is one more cheeseburger, one more night.

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"My point is and is always the same, is that we need more school counselors," he said. "If the state isn't going to do it, the city must step up."

Farley is pushing to make education a cornerstone of his mayoral campaign, saying that too many politicians  including Democrats in Tucson  are working to find reasons not to address the issue.

"If there is a crisis in our community, you don't use legalistic reasons on why you can't do it," he said.

Local teacher Charlene Mendoza learned of the Tweet Thursday evening and said she was hurt that Farley could write something so damaging.

"The implications throughout his statement are that brilliant students don't know about resources available to them, that disruptive students (whatever that means) don't have what it takes to succeed in college and lead in our economy, and that low-income schools and the students in them are lacking," she wrote on Facebook. "This is more than a poorly worded sentence. This is a statement dripping with privilege, implicit bias and subtractive, deficit perceptions of children, the professionals who do our jobs regardless of underfunding and challenges and the residents (and voters) in Tucson's 'low-income neighborhoods.'"
What I want to do is get above the noise and this conflict and make sure that people have the facts that these vaccinations are safe and effective, the governor said. And Id like to see their kids be vaccinated.

Yet with all of that, Christ said the current rate of immunization of kindergartners statewide is 93%. That, she said is below the 95% level to create herd immunity, which health professionals say is necessary to stop an epidemic should there be an outbreak of measles in the community.

In some areas, its far below that threshold.

Yavapai County, for example, has an MMR immunization rate of just 83.3%. There, according to state figures, one kindergartner out of every eight has claimed a personal exemption.

Mohave and Navajo counties are slightly better with an 88.4% immunization rate, with a personal exemption rate for kindergartners of 10.3% and 7.8%, respectively.

Part of what public health officials say makes the issue of herd immunity so crucial is that there are children who cannot be vaccinated.

Some of these have medical conditions. But some of that group includes newborns who are too young to get the MMR vaccine: The Centers for Disease Control recommends the first dose at 12 through 15 months of age, with a second dose between the ages of 4 and 6 years old.
That isnt stopping Bowers and Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott, from saying they intend to unveil a spending plan on Monday, at least to their own members. At that point they will count noses to see if they can get the necessary votes.

GOP leaders are coalescing around a plan that would cut income taxes in future years by more than doubling the standard deduction available to individuals and couples.

That, paired with some additional tax credits for dependents, should make up for the windfall the state is getting due to changes in the federal tax code, changes that reduce deductions that can be taken by Arizona taxpayers.

Still, one potential sticking point is what to do with the extra dollars already being collected.

The latest figures from the state Department of Revenue show the income tax payments tallied so far this year were $652.9 million compared with $566.0 million for the same period last year.

Agency spokesman Ed Greenberg said the numbers  and the $87 million extra  are preliminary as tax returns are still being processed. There may be other factors that are affecting payments, he said.
Red Pandas will also be part of the Asia expansion, after the Reid Park Zoo hosted a pair for a few months in late 2017.

Zoo staff members are narrowing down specific species for the reptile house, but visitors can expect to see snakes, lizards, insects and a Komodo dragon. Fruit bats will have a habitat outside of the reptile house and the zoo is also planning to house cranes in a rice paddy exhibit.

AFRICA EXPANSION

Design and planning for Phase 2, the Africa expansion, is a few years off, Kluge said, but the zoo is planning to construct an African safari lodge, an underwater hippo habitat and a rhino feeding area. The lodge will offer giraffe feeding from the second floor and hidden barriers between the different habitats will create the impression that guests are looking out at a real African savanna.

Elephants are a hallmark of the zoo, Kluge said, their habitat taking up a quarter of the zoos acreage and a quarter of its animal care staff. The seven-acre exhibit opened in 2012 and is getting ready to welcome another baby elephant next spring, the second born at Reid Park Zoo and in the state since Nandis birth in August 2014.
Davidson said the settlement is a walk-away and that no money will be exchanged.

The lawsuit accused him of being a puppet for Trump and secretly working with Cohen to have Daniels appear on Fox News and falsely deny having sex with Trump. The interview never took place.

More ships slow down to avoid killing whales

SAN FRANCISCO  A growing number of shipping companies are slowing down as they approach San Francisco and other California ports so they are less likely to injure or kill whales.

Marine experts say four of the 10 gray whales found dead near San Francisco this year were killed by ships, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday.

When the campaign started about six years ago, only 17% of incoming ships were slowing down, said Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary superintendent Maria Brown. Now 45% are throttling down by half, to 10 knots.
Malta

Two soldiers arrested in slaying of migrant

VALLETTA  Maltas prime minister has announced that two armed forces members have been arrested in connection with a fatal drive-by shooting of a migrant from Ivory Coast.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Saturday on Twitter that an internal investigation would determine whether the men acted alone or as part of something wider.

It is believed to be Maltas first racially motivated murder.

Lassana Cisse, 42, was killed in the drive-by shooting on April 6 as he walked on a road near a migrant center. Two other men, a 22-year-old from Guinea and a 28-year-old Gambian, were injured in the attack.

South Africa

Actor Schwarzenegger assaulted during event

JOHANNESBURG  Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was assaulted during a public appearance in South Africa on Saturday, but the 71-year-old quickly recovered and said, Im just glad the idiot didnt interrupt my Snapchat.
DMCC, the worlds leading Free Zone for commodities trade and enterprise, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the China Gems and Jade Exchange (CGJE), creating a strategic alliance with Chinas official trading platform for gemstones and jade.



Feryal Ahmadi, chief operating officer, DMCC, and Yuk Chan, co-founder and executive vice president, CGJE, signed the agreement during a high-level official trade visit of the Shanghai Municipal Government to the UAE.



The signing ceremony was attended by Xu Kunlin, vice mayor of Shanghai and a number of senior representatives from the Shanghai Municipal Government.



The partnership is set to create new trading opportunities between the UAE and China by connecting buyers and sellers of gemstones and jade from the two countries.



Additionally, the collaboration will see both parties promote ethical and responsible business practices to their members.



Feryal Ahmadi, chief operating officer, DMCC, said: We are thrilled that the China Gems and Jade Exchange has chosen DMCC as their partner in the region, which reiterates our position as a leading and trusted precious stones trading platform.



This agreement is set to boost our existing and strong economic ties with the Chinese business community. It also forms an integral part of DMCCs strategy to attract, facilitate and drive new trade flows through Dubai, Ahmadi added.



Accompanying the delegation were Jignesh Sanghvi, chief financial officer, DMCC; Ahmad Hamza, executive director  free zone, DMCC; Maryam Al Hashemi, director precious stones and metals, DMCC; and Dr Martin Leake, special advisor  precious stones, DMCC.



The delegation was taken on a tour of DMCC and the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE), where officials were able to observe a live diamond tender taking place.



CGJE was registered in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. It is a national-level gemstone-trading platform approved by the State Council of China. CGJE is an important strategic project established by the Chinese government in the free trade zone to improve the gemstone factor market and aim to promote the rapid development of China's gem and jewellery industry.



Fanny Wong, chairwomen and founder, CGJE, added: China and the UAE have a longstanding relationship and partnerships such as this one will ensure these ties continue to grow. We are excited about working alongside DMCC  the worlds leading free zone  which we believe will enable us to connect with and access some of the fastest growing markets and unlock a host of opportunities in the gemstone industry.



The signing of this MoU emphasises DMCCs support of the emirates wider economic vision and in particular, the strategy to reignite the Dubai Silk Road as outlined in the 'Fifty-Year Charter', announced by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. It also symbolises the importance of Dubais strategic location in the Belt and Road Initiative effort to form strategic alliances internationally.



China is one of DMCCs target markets and as such the Free Zone offers a Chinese language service. DMCC has also signed a number of MoUs with Chinese entities, including the China Council for the Promotion Of International Trade (CCPIT), the largest official institution for the promotion of foreign trade in China. In addition, DMCC has conducted several roadshows to China, as part of its Made for Trade Live international programme, engaging business leaders and government officials and highlighting the ease of doing business in the emirate.  TradeArabia News Service
A stretch of North First Avenue is in the top 10% for pedestrian crashes citywide and was meant to be made safer in the coming years, but a funding gap has put it at risk.
The ferry services across Hau (Back) River in Vietnams Mekong Delta is nearing its final run after nine decades of service as a recently constructed bridge opens to traffic tomorrow, May 19.

Days are numbered for the Vam Cong ferry service, which has been transporting people and vehicles of all kinds between Dong Thap and An Giang Provinces via the Hau River for nearly a century since its first run in the 1920s.

Located just a short distance from the ferry route is the newly built Vam Cong Bridge, scheduled to open this Sunday, which also crosses the Hau Driver, linking Dong Thap and the Mekong Delta metropolis of Can Tho, which borders An Giang.

While the bridge is not a perfect replacement for the ferry crossing, authorities have stated that they expect the new structure to meet the needs of those who commute between Can Tho, An Giang and Dong Thap, making the ferry service, its ten vessel fleet, and staff redundant.

A Vam Cong ferry carries passengers across Hau River, with the bridge to replace it seen in the background, Photo: Mau Truong / Tuoi Tre

As the ferrys final voyage nears, the feelings of nostalgia have cast a gloomy blanket over those who have spent decades maintaining the route.

Nguyen Van Dong, who has spent the past 30 years total working as a ferry captain, nine of which were for Vam Cong, shared that his early days of working for the service included a month of learning the rivers flow and techniques to keep the boat under control.

This isnt the first time his route has been shut down. He was originally transferred to Vam Cong when the previous route he worked was replaced by a bridge. But still, its a feeling he says he just cant get used to.

Words of goodbye are always hard to say, especially to people or things that have become part of your daily life, said Dong as he held back tears.

Nguyen Van Dong, a ferry captain for the Vam Cong Group. Photo: Mau Truong / Tuoi Tre

Other workers who have devoted their lives to the Vam Cong ferry crossing expressed a similar sadness, explaining theyd miss the ferrys bustling atmosphere during rush hour and public holidays.

I dont know how to put this, but it feels like something is missing, 50-year-old ferry conductor Tran Viet Dung said.

We have been through ups and downs together, so separation is hard for me to accept, said Nguyen Duy Tan, another ferry conductor with ten years of experience at Vam Cong.

Its not the salary that is valuable, but the memories that count, said cleaner Phan Van Do.

People who live or make a living in the surrounding area also feel a sense of nostalgia for the ferry line, particularly 75-year-old Tran Thi Yen, the owner of a small coffee shop near the Vam Cong ferry crossing.

Im not ready to say goodbye to a good friend Ive had for 20 years, she said.

A worker writes about the Vam Cong ferry crossing in a diary. Photo: Mau Truong / Tuoi Tre

Le Van Muoi, the director of the Vam Cong ferry group, said Vam Congs ferries and workers will be transferred to other ports after the official opening of the new bridge.

Muoi himself has his own good memories, having worked on ferries since the late 80s and serving as director of the Vam Cong ferry for the past ten years.

Im used to goodbyes and I think the end of something might be a good start of something else, he said.

Automobiles of local officials are parked along the bridge.

Stretching 2.97 kilometers, the Vam Cong Bridge is designed with a total of six lanes, four reserved for automobiles and two for motorcycles. Construction started in September 2013, with investment totaling US$271 million, which was funded by South Koreas ODA (official development assistance) and corresponding capital from the Vietnamese government. Cuu Long CIPM serves as the developer on behalf of Vietnams transport ministry, while the project is conducted by South Korean contractors, namely the Joint Venture of Dasan - Kunhwa  Pyunghwa and the Joint Venture of GS Engineering & Construction Corp and Hanshin. The construction was first delayed in November 2017 after several fractures were found on the steel girders at the top of several abutments. The repair work was expected to be finished in 2018 so that the bridge could be put into operation later the same year. But even the repair faced challenges, forcing contractors to delay its inauguration until this month.

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A border guard unit in the north-central province of Nghe An has put a wooden closet in front of its premises for anyone in need to take clothes.

If you need one, take one, reads the sign hung on the closet at the border guard station of Na Ngoi Commune in Ky Son District.

Clothes of a great variety of sizes, colors, and styles, all in good condition, are available for free from the closet.

And to help those in need make a selection, the border guards have even placed a plastic sheet on the ground to give people an area to try on the clothes.

Free but new and in good condition

The clothes donated by the soldiers come in a variety of sizes and are all in great condition, according to Gia Y dua, 27, who came to the closet to find an outfit for her child.

I feel like I am shopping at a market rather than taking charity clothes, she said, adding that she was able to pick four different outfits for her children.

Xong Ba Lau, another local who was looking for clothes for his family said that even for those with money, it is often extremely difficult to find clothing sellers.

We have to wait for the sellers to occasionally visit in cars loaded with clothes or travel to the district market which is very far away, he elaborated.

Now we can get clothes without having to go anywhere, and theyre also free.

But those who benefit most from the charity are probably the local students who finally have options to chose clothes they like.

I really like this closet because there are many clothes I can choose from with not only beautiful colors, but also pristine quality, said Mua Y Pa, an eighth grader at Na Ngoi Middle School, who found a suitable outfit for school that she said she cant wait to wear.

Properly arranged

The idea of creating a charity closet came from members of the Youth Union of the Na Ngoi border guard station, who wished to help the community while also encouraging people to support and help each other through difficult times.

The soldiers themselves decided they needed to help the local community after noticing the rough state of many locals clothing.

In many cases, people were even wearing clothes unfit for use.

In order to keep the charity closet running, the border guard station calls for donations from benefactors in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

After receiving the donated items we check their quality and classify them before putting them into the closet, Nguyen Ba Ky, a top officer at the station, said.

Even charity clothes must be given in a proper way.

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Twelve well-known international YouTube video bloggers will be invited on a fam trip to promote tourism for the north-central Vietnamese province of Quang Binh, home to the renowned Son Doong Cave.

Quang Binh tourism department is cooperating with representatives from Google and YouTube to come up with the final list of the 12 video bloggers, or vloggers, for the fam trip, Phap Luat (Ho Chi Minh City Law) newspaper reported on Thursday.

The YouTubers to be invited all have millions of subscribers on their respective channels on Google-owned YouTube.

The famous vloggers will have a chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery and mouth-watering local cuisine in Quang Binh and are supposed to share their journeys and experiences with their huge fan bases on YouTube.

It is hoped that the YouTuber personalities will help introduce Vietnamese tourist attractions and the hospitality of its people to the world.

The final shortlist of YouTube vloggers will be announced by next week, Phap Luat reported, citing to the project organizers.

The provincial tourism department has recently worked with a film-making enterprise called Indochina Production and Oxalis, the travel agency specializing in organizing tours to explore caves, including Son Doong, in Quang Binh, to carry out a project in Hollywood to promote the provinces tourism industry.

The event drew attention and participation of over 70 attendees including actors, producers, directors and scriptwriters from top movie productions in the world such as Walt Disney, Paramount Pictures, Netflix and so on.

Quang Binh, along with Quang Ninh and Ninh Binh, are the three Vietnamese provinces where significant portions of the Hollywood blockbuster Kong: Skull Island were shot in 2016.

The Kong director, Jordan Vogt Robert, said he was taken aback by the magnificent beauty of Phong Nha  Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh, and always wishes return there once again.

The U.S. filmmaker also shared that he would cooperate with top movie producers in Hollywood to make new film projects in Quang Binh province in the near future.

The Phong Nha  Ke Bang is a UNESCO-recognized World Heritage Site, which boasts a magnificent cave system that includes the high-profile Son Doong Cave, which is the worlds largest.

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Read whats in the news today.

Politics

-- The seventh session of Vietnams lawmaking National Assembly will take place from May 20 to June 14, with law building on the 12-day agenda, the legislatures General Secretary Nguyen Hanh Phuc said at a press conference on Friday.

Society

-- World Vision International and Vietnams Ministry of Education and Training on Friday signed a cooperation agreement on implementing the humanitarian aid organizations initiative of ending physical violence against children at home and school.

-- The closing ceremony of the sixth Pacific Partnership 2019 mission stop in Vietnam was held in the south-central province of Phu Yen on Friday.

-- Four women were put into temporary detention late Friday night for their alleged involvement in the death of two men, whose bodies were found hidden inside a house in the southern province of Binh Duong earlier this week.

-- As many as six cases of theft have been detected within Tan Son Nhat International Airport in only ten days from May 6, the airdrome security said Friday.

-- Authorities in Quang Nam have destroyed 22 pigs infected with African swine flu, as the outbreak of the highly contagious disease, which is incurable in pigs but harmless to humans, reached the central Vietnamese province.

Business

-- Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply Terresa Cristina Correa in Hanoi on Friday, during which he asked Brazil to facilitate the entry of Vietnamese farm produce, including shrimp and catfish, into the South American market.

-- Vietnam will create optimal conditions for the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Japanese businesses to join key projects on energy, industry, transport and infrastructure, Nguyen Van Binh, head of the Party Central Committees Economic Commission, said as he received JBIC governor Tadashi Maeda in Hanoi on Friday.

Education

-- Ho Chi Minh City-based Hong Bang International University on Friday inaugurated its Indian Studies Center, only the second of its kind in Vietnam following the maiden facility in Hanoi.

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A French psychologist has explained the consequences of allowing children to keep their eyes glued to screens while eating, warning against the long term health impacts of the growing trend.

Scan the dining room of any restaurant in Vietnam and youll notice they all have at least one thing in common: most children in the room are locked into a staring contest with a smartphone or tablet.

Parents throughout the country have chosen to trade in discipline for cartoons, movies, and mind-numbing mobile games in order to keep children in their seats at restaurants, and experts say this is causing considerable damage to the mental development of Vietnams youth.

T., a preschooler in Ho Chi Minh City, is one of literally millions of children in Vietnam whose development has been stunted by screen time.

During meals, T.s grandmother takes the path of least resistance in getting the young boy to eat - simply plopping him down in front of the television and using it as a distraction to shovel food into his mouth.

If T. gets bored or throws a tantrum, she switches the channel and keeps on feeding.

While the grandmother sees it as a way to keep the boy well fed, experts say such practices lead to a dependency on screens and serious health issues.

Children like T. become conditioned to only eat in the shadow of colorful cartoons while parents are happy to have their kid sit still for a few minutes.

Strongly unadvised

In a recent interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, French psychology expert Wilfried Gontran, a psychology lecturer at the University of Toulouse-Jean Jaures in Toulouse, France, said he is terrified of the long term issues consequences of giving Vietnamese children so much screen time.

Gontran, who also teaches at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities  Vietnam National University Hanoi, recently spoke to a group of parents and children at a seminar titled Young People and the Virtual  Fascination for the Screens in the Vietnamese capital, where he discussed the impact that technology, such as smart phones, tablets, and televisions, has on children and the extent to which it should be limited.

Children under three years old are extremely attracted by colorful images and giving them so much exposure to these images at such a young stage of development creates an inevitable attachment that continues into their adolescence, explained the French expert.

Gontran added that these parents are just lulling children to sleep instead of properly feeding them.

The French psychologist, who also is member of the Association for the Development of Education and Psychology in Southeast Asia (ADEPASE), also noted that children aged 0 to five who interact with mobile devices at early ages, face more mental and psychological problems than those who first begin to interact with such devices after the age of ten.

Some of the negative effects that extended screen time can have on children include passing on opportunities to interact with other, passivity, and avoiding dealing with uncomfortable real-world situations.

Two children glued to tablet screens. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Doctor Pham Minh Triet, the former head of the psychology department at Childrens Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, echoed Gontrans view that eating while watching videos is harmful to development.

The Vietnamese expert said many studies have proven a link between watching television during meals can lead to obesity and lead to health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Other problems brought on by mixing screens with meals include language and speaking disorders, aggressiveness, lack of concentration, and a lack of critical thinking skills.

According to Gontran, parents who claim that technology serves as a babysitter while they are busy are only hindering their childs development.

He also stressed that technology is a vital aspect of modern society and that, rather than banning children from these devices completely, time should be limited.

Most importantly, during the time parents are preventing children from using smart phones, tablets, and televisions, parents need to redirect their children to other things or shape their interest so that the children will start going out to the world, Gontran said.

You can go with your child for a walk, have some fun, and maybe even have a bit of a quarrel with the child. Dont forget that children really like quarrels, he joked.

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Four women were temporarily taken into custody late Friday night for their alleged involvement in the death of two men, whose bodies were found hidden inside a house in the southern province of Binh Duong earlier this week.

Binh Duong police started hunting for the four suspects on Friday and managed to put them in temporarily detention just before midnight the same day, according to a source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

The four were nabbed in front of a residential area in the provincial town of Thu Dau Mot, when they were arriving at the place on a seven-seater car.

The four and the vehicle were taken to the police station at around 3:30 am on Saturday.

Three of the women were identified as Trinh Thi Hoang Hoa, 66, Pham Thi Thien Ha, 33, and Le Phu Hanh, 54. Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper said Hoa and Ha is a mother and daughter living in Ho Chi Minh City, whereas Hanh resides in Thu Dau Mot.

The residential area where the four women had been hiding. Photo: Ba Son / Tuoi Tre

The women are held for allegedly being involved in the murder and body tampering of two men in the provinces Bau Bang District.

The two bodies were discovered by a man who moved into his newly bought house in Bau Bang District on Wednesday night.

One of the corpses was found buried in a concrete-filled barrel, while the other, wrapped with tapes, was dumped into another water container filled with used tea leaves at the same residence.

Police officers say an autopsy result has confirmed that both were men, between 30 and 35 years old. Evidence has also indicated that the two men had been dead for many days, with stabbing and strangling signs found on their bodies.

The house in Bau Bang had been rented to different tenants before it was sold to the man who discovered the bodies.

People break the concrete-filled barrel to retrieve the body. Photo: Ba Son / Tuoi Tre

The four women currently in custody were held as they were present at the [rented] house at the time the bodies allegedly emerged, Tran Van Chinh, deputy director of the Binh Duong police department, told Tuoi Tre on Saturday morning.

We are investigating to verify their specific roles in the case.

A source with knowledge of the matter said the four women had been hiding in a hotel inside the residential area in Thu Dau Mot, before they attempted to leave as news of the corpse-in-concrete case began to spread.

A hotel staff realized that four of his guests and their vehicle match the information police had been seeking, and decided to provide a tip-off to law enforcement, leading to the timely detention of the suspects.

People living near the house where the bodies were unearthed confirmed that the four women had lived there for a while. They paid the rents in advance and never contacted anyone in the neighborhood.

Some men occasionally visited the women at their house during their stay here, according to locals. The two barrels with the corpses inside are believed to appear in the house only after the women terminated their rent contract and moved out, they added.

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The sixth Pacific Partnership 2019 concluded its mission stop in Vietnam during a closing ceremony held in Tuy Hoa, the capital of the south-central Vietnamese province of Phu Yen, on Friday.

The ceremony was attended by senior mission leadership, host nation and partner nation participants, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said in a press release.

Throughout our time here, we have strengthened existing friendships and created new ones, said Capt. Randy Van Rossum, Pacific Partnership 2019 mission commander.

It is clear that the U.S., Vietnam, and our partner nations have a strong desire to grow as a team.

This year marked a decade that Pacific Partnership has been invited to Vietnam, but the first time the mission was hosted in Phu Yen.

During their time in Vietnam, the PP19 team collaborated with their respective Phu Yen counterparts to complete five humanitarian and disaster response (HADR) events, four engineering projects, 12 host nation outreach events, nine band concerts, and 18 medical subject matter expert exchanges.

Medical personnel from the U.S., Peru, and South Korea worked side-by-side at Phu Yen General Hospital and several clinics.

U.S. Navy Hospital personnel talk to a Phu Yen Medical College student during a blood drive to deepen strategic partnerships during Pacific Partnership 2019 in Tuy Hoa, south-central Vietnam, May 13, 2019. Photo: U.S. Navy

During this mission stop we gained a better understanding of how critical it is to work well with our partner nations and how much we can learn from each other working side-by-side to combine our knowledge and experiences, said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Avallone, an optometrist assigned to the Pacific Partnership team.

Pacific Partnership began in response to one of the worlds most catastrophic natural disasters, the December 2004 tsunami that devastated parts of South and Southeast Asia. The mission has evolved over the years from emphasis on direct care to an operation focused on enhancing partnerships through host nation subject matter expert and civil-military exchanges.

U.S. Navy Seabees and U.S. Army engineers completed four construction and renovation projects at Vo Thi Sau Elementary School, Hoa Xuan Tay Commune Clinic, Chu Van An Elementary School and Hoa Phu Commune Clinic. The PP19 team also completed a groundbreaking ceremony at Kim Dong Primary School, facilitated by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command.

We were able to complete several projects to help build community resilience, which was rewarding for our team, said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Megan Rogers, officer in charge of the 84th Engineer Battalion team attached to Pacific Partnership 2019.

The U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard also worked alongside local Vietnamese government organizations conducting HADR seminars.

Rear Admiral Murray Joe Tynch meets doctors at the General Hospital of Phu Yen, south-central Vietnam, in the scheme of the annual disaster response preparedness exercise Pacific Partnership 2019, on May 16. Photo: Tran Phuong / Tuoi Tre

Pacific Partnership acknowledges the complexity of disaster response operations and the leading part civilian organizations have, said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Gavin McBean, HADR team lead.

Working alongside the organizations has enabled the HADR team to learn from our partner nations, and given us the opportunity to build relationships.

Pacific Partnership, now in its 14th iteration, is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific.

Each year, the mission team works collectively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase stability and security in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific.

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Saudi Cement reported a net profit of SR132 million ($35.19 million) for the first quarter (Q1) of 2019, a 7 per cent decline year-on-year and a 6 per cent growth compared to the previous quarter.



The results were slightly ahead of the estimate of SR127 million ($33.86 million) by Al Rajhi Capital and the consensus forecast (also at SR127 million), said an Al Rajhi report.



The change was primarily due to healthy growth in top-line (18 per cent y-o-y, 28 per cent q-o-q), driven by significant jump in cement and clinker export volumes and to some extent increase in average selling cement prices, though the price rise is not steep as compared to the peers, said the report.



Saudi Cement reported a revenue increase of 18 per cent y-o-y to SR390 million ($103.9 million), driven by higher export sales volume of cement and clinker.



Gross profit grew at a slower rate than revenue to SR181 million ($48.26 million - +7 per cent y-o-y), implying gross margin contraction to 46 per cent (Q1 2018: 51 per cent). However, operating profit declined 5 per cent y-o-y, due to higher than expected opex (~92 per cent jump y-o-y), the report highlighted.



Cement export volumes increased to 254,000 tonnes, while clinker volumes (mainly exports) jumped to 406,000 tonnes.



Contrastingly, local cement sales volume declined 16.5 per cent y-o-y to 1,193,000 tonnes. Average selling price (cement and clinker combined) declined 7.4 per cent to SR211 ($56.25 million) per tonne on higher clinker volumes, said the report.



Going forward, the company is expected to continue focussing on exports in light of weak domestic demand, it said.  TradeArabia News Service
Politicians who do not stand up for what they believe in have broken British politics, Anna Soubry has said.

The MP said her Change UK party is the only one which can fix the political system, and she called for voters to be courageous, have that courage of your convictions and say enough is enough.

On the European election campaign trail in Edinburgh on Saturday, Ms Soubry said: We are believers in change, changing UK politics, making it less tribal, something that in Scotland youre well familiar with  the terrible tribalism that afflicts politics in Scotland.

The other thing thats got to change is making policy based on ideology and not actually looking at the evidence. Being honest with people about the tough choices and doing policy for the right reasons, rather than a cheap soundbite.

Ms Soubry joined other Change UK candidates for the rally in Edinburgh (Jane Barlow/PA)

Criticising politicians who wont stand up and say what they believe, the former Conservative MP added: That lack of honesty has led us into this terrible, terrible crisis.

She suggested Scotland voted to remain in the EU because it understands the huge positive values of immigration. You get it, as a country.

She added: If you make the case, you win hearts and minds on immigration because you do make the argument and you win the argument because immigration has benefited Scotland and the whole of the United Kingdom.

Scotland understands the positive impact of immigration. Some politicians wont stand up for what they believe in bc theyre afraid. That lack of honesty has led us into this terrible crisis. Do the right thing. Be courageous. We are not the UK of Nigel Farage, @Anna_Soubry pic.twitter.com/1bHQ4NUD6G  Change UK  The Independent Group (@ForChange_Now) May 18, 2019

Commenting on reports that Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has refused the challenge of a debate with Change UK counterpart Heidi Allen, Ms Soubry said: The one thing that Mr Farage cant cope with is when he is confronted with the facts, the evidence and the arguments.

Story continues

Im afraid he likes to rely on fuelling fear and preying on peoples prejudices.

Ms Soubry also called out Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson as someone she believes should be campaigning for a peoples vote.

She was a remarkable advocate  strong, brave and true  during the referendum campaign. She stood out in her determination to speak truth to the growing power of intolerance and abuse that was growing throughout that campaign.

I would say to Ruth, I dont believe for one moment that your views on the European Union have changed.

Ms Soubry admitted Change UK has had a bit of a tough week following the defection of the lead candidate in Scotland, David Macdonald, who came out to endorse the Lib Dems, and the removal of another for controversial posts on social media.

Among the remaining candidates standing for the party are two doctors  GP Kate Forman and consultant pharmacist Cathy Edgeware  and aviation expert Peter Griffiths, who is now in effect the partys lead candidate.

Dr Forman said: Ive never been involved in politics before but my concerns about the damaging effects that Brexit will have on the health and wellbeing of my patients have compelled me to act.

I see first-hand the effect austerity has on my patients, up until three years ago I had never referred anyone to a food bank, but now I regularly do so.

She warned Brexit threatens the number of doctors and nurses in the NHS, and said: Staff are already stretched to the limit and I see the negative effect this has on the overall mental wellbeing of myself and my colleagues. Brexit is likely to exacerbate these problems.
Austria's conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has dissolved his coalition with the far-right Freedom Party after the resignation of vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache amid a corruption scandal.After yesterday's video, I must say quite honestly, enough is enough, Kurz told the media, listing a string of other minor scandals involving the Freedom Party (FPOe), adding that he would recommend to President Alexander Van der Bellen that snap elections be held as quickly as possible."Even if I didn't express myself publicly at the time, there were many situations that I found difficult to swallow," Kurz said of his time in government with the FPOe since December 2017.He said the party was damaging Austria's reputation abroad and that meetings with FPOe representatives on Saturday had left him with the impression that it was not prepared to make the changes necessary to stay in government.Russian setupVice-chancellor Strache, a key figure of the European far-right, announced his resignation on Saturday following revelations that he had promised public contracts in return for help from a fake Russian backer during his campaign in the 2017 parliamentary elections.Strache denounced what he called an illegal "targeted political attack", but said he would quit in order to avoid further damage to the government.Germany's Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung released hidden video footage of a sting operation allegedly filmed at a luxury villa on the Spanish island of Ibiza, months before Austria's 2017's elections.Strache and his Freedom Party's group leader in parliament, Johann Gudenus, are seen in duscussions with a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch, who says she wants control of Austria's largest-circulation tabloid, the Krone Zeitung.Strache is seen suggesting that new owners could make staff changes at the Krone and use the paper to help his Freedom Party in its election campaign.

Austria's conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has dissolved his coalition with the far-right Freedom Party after the resignation of vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache amid a corruption scandal.

After yesterday's video, I must say quite honestly, enough is enough, Kurz told the media, listing a string of other minor scandals involving the Freedom Party (FPOe), adding that he would recommend to President Alexander Van der Bellen that snap elections be held as quickly as possible.

"Even if I didn't express myself publicly at the time, there were many situations that I found difficult to swallow," Kurz said of his time in government with the FPOe since December 2017.

He said the party was damaging Austria's reputation abroad and that meetings with FPOe representatives on Saturday had left him with the impression that it was not prepared to make the changes necessary to stay in government.

Russian setup

Vice-chancellor Strache, a key figure of the European far-right, announced his resignation on Saturday following revelations that he had promised public contracts in return for help from a fake Russian backer during his campaign in the 2017 parliamentary elections.

Strache denounced what he called an illegal "targeted political attack", but said he would quit in order to avoid further damage to the government.

Germany's Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung released hidden video footage of a sting operation allegedly filmed at a luxury villa on the Spanish island of Ibiza, months before Austria's 2017's elections.

Strache and his Freedom Party's group leader in parliament, Johann Gudenus, are seen in duscussions with a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch, who says she wants control of Austria's largest-circulation tabloid, the Krone Zeitung.

Strache is seen suggesting that new owners could make staff changes at the Krone and use the paper to help his Freedom Party in its election campaign.
Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, a key figure of the European far-right, resigned on Saturday following revelations that he had promised public contracts in return for campaign help in Austria's 2017 parliamentary elections from a fake Russian backer."I tendered my resignation as vice-chancellor of Austria to Chancellor Kurz, and he accepted this decision," Strache said in a televised statement.Strache insists he was the "victim of a targeted political attack" which had used illegal means, but said that he was leaving in order to avoid further damage to the government.Germany's Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung published hidden-camera recordings of a sting operation they say took place in a luxury villa on the island of Ibiza a few months before 2017's elections in Austria.In the recordings Strache and his party's group leader in parliament Johann Gudenus are seen discussing with a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch how she can invest in Austria.She says she specifically wants to gain control of the country's largest-circulation tabloid, the Krone Zeitung.Strache is seen suggesting that new owners could make staff changes at the Krone and use the paper to help his Freedom Party in its election campaign.He goes on to suggest the woman would then be able to gain access to public contracts.Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was due to give his reaction to the scandal later on Saturday, with rumours rife that he may push for early elections.

Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, a key figure of the European far-right, resigned on Saturday following revelations that he had promised public contracts in return for campaign help in Austria's 2017 parliamentary elections from a fake Russian backer.

"I tendered my resignation as vice-chancellor of Austria to Chancellor Kurz, and he accepted this decision," Strache said in a televised statement.

Strache insists he was the "victim of a targeted political attack" which had used illegal means, but said that he was leaving in order to avoid further damage to the government.

Germany's Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung published hidden-camera recordings of a sting operation they say took place in a luxury villa on the island of Ibiza a few months before 2017's elections in Austria.

In the recordings Strache and his party's group leader in parliament Johann Gudenus are seen discussing with a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch how she can invest in Austria.

She says she specifically wants to gain control of the country's largest-circulation tabloid, the Krone Zeitung.

Strache is seen suggesting that new owners could make staff changes at the Krone and use the paper to help his Freedom Party in its election campaign.

He goes on to suggest the woman would then be able to gain access to public contracts.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was due to give his reaction to the scandal later on Saturday, with rumours rife that he may push for early elections.
Austrian Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache of the far-right Freedom Party said on Saturday he was stepping down and would be replaced by Transport Minister Norbert Hofer after an embarrassing video of him was published by German media. Announcing his resignation at a press conference, Strache said that he was illegally set up in a political assassination", but added that his behavior in the video was stupid and a mistake".Senior figures in the Austrian government  a coalition of Sebastian Kurzs conservatives and Straches far-right Freedom Party  had held a crisis meeting on Friday night.The video was reported on Friday evening by two of Germanys leading newspapers  weekly Der Spiegel and newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung  purportedly showing a meeting in Ibiza between Strache, another party official and a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch.The newspaper reports also said the video appeared to be a sting operation.Inflated construction contractsThe footage, recorded in July 2017  months before the election that brought this government to power  showed Strache talking to the woman.In it, he appeared to offer to direct inflated construction contracts to a company in exchange for support for his party, though he also said he wanted everything to be done legally.Strache has headed the party since 2005, bringing it back to mainstream electoral success not seen since it was led by the charismatic Joerg Haider. It secured 26 percent of the vote in 2017s parliamentary election.The Freedom Party (FPO) co-chairman, Christian Hafenecker, said the partys lawyers were evaluating the material.Neither Strache nor the FPO ever received or granted any benefits from the persons concerned, Hafenecker said in a statement.Since the video was obviously recorded illegally, we are also preparing appropriate legal steps.Vienna prosecutors said they would study the reports and decide whether there was sufficient cause to open an investigation, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors said.The FPO is finished, ran the headline in the tabloid Kronen Zeitung, which featured in the video since the woman said the oligarch wanted to buy a stake.It remains unclear who was behind the recording.(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

Austrian Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache of the far-right Freedom Party said on Saturday he was stepping down and would be replaced by Transport Minister Norbert Hofer after an embarrassing video of him was published by German media.

Announcing his resignation at a press conference, Strache said that he was illegally set up in a political assassination", but added that his behavior in the video was stupid and a mistake".

Senior figures in the Austrian government  a coalition of Sebastian Kurzs conservatives and Straches far-right Freedom Party  had held a crisis meeting on Friday night.

The video was reported on Friday evening by two of Germanys leading newspapers  weekly Der Spiegel and newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung  purportedly showing a meeting in Ibiza between Strache, another party official and a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch.

The newspaper reports also said the video appeared to be a sting operation.

Inflated construction contracts

The footage, recorded in July 2017  months before the election that brought this government to power  showed Strache talking to the woman.

In it, he appeared to offer to direct inflated construction contracts to a company in exchange for support for his party, though he also said he wanted everything to be done legally.

Strache has headed the party since 2005, bringing it back to mainstream electoral success not seen since it was led by the charismatic Joerg Haider. It secured 26 percent of the vote in 2017s parliamentary election.

The Freedom Party (FPO) co-chairman, Christian Hafenecker, said the partys lawyers were evaluating the material.

Neither Strache nor the FPO ever received or granted any benefits from the persons concerned, Hafenecker said in a statement.

Since the video was obviously recorded illegally, we are also preparing appropriate legal steps.

Vienna prosecutors said they would study the reports and decide whether there was sufficient cause to open an investigation, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors said.

Story continues

The FPO is finished, ran the headline in the tabloid Kronen Zeitung, which featured in the video since the woman said the oligarch wanted to buy a stake.

It remains unclear who was behind the recording.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
Pedro Almodovar recaptures the emotional heft of his finest work with the self-referential Pain and Glory, while Jessica Hausner's sci-fi outing "Little Joe" doesn't live up to its tantalising premise. As a bastion of arthouse cinema and the worlds most glamorous film fest, the Cannes Film Festival always needs to strike a balance between auteur worship and Hollywood star power -- and between devotion to the past and turning to the future. This year promises plenty of stardust on the red carpet and a refreshing crop of emerging directors. But Cannes ritual auteur celebration scaled new heights on Saturday with the screening, out of competition, of The Best Years of a Life by 81-year-old Claude Lelouch. It returned legendary French duo Jean-Louis Trintignant and Anouk Aimee to their former roles in the 1966 classic A Man and a Woman.Earlier on another darling of the Croisette, Spains Pedro Almodovar, gave us the best and worst years of his life in Pain and Glory, his seventh shot at the Palme dOr. I dont like auto-fiction, says the protagonists ailing mother in one of a handful of comedic flourishes that pepper this obviously autobiographical work. In less capable hands, such an unashamedly self-referential project about the life and work of the artist himself would surely have been deemed insufferable (some may find it insufferable still). But Almodovar pulls it off with purpose and grace, delivering a brilliant open-heart dissection of his past -- and in the process recapturing the emotional heft of his finest work.In fact it is crucial that viewers see Almodovars persona behind the films central character Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas, in what is surely a career high), who is otherwise not a particularly compelling or endearing figure. A 60-something director aching both in mind and body, Salvador is afflicted by a startling range of ailments, though as his doctor gently puts it, others in greater pain suck it up with less moaning. The pain has stunted his emotions and thus his creativity, and only a journey through the past -- real or imagined -- can help him recapture the glory.With his previous film Julieta, which competed at Cannes in 2016, Almodovar had warned he may go down the road of austerity from now on. He has certainly toned down the humour and the melodrama, though his films still ripple with the Spanish masters typically vivid, overripe colours and flamboyant decors. In some ways Pain and Glory doesnt have the freshness and boldness of his earlier work. But in this rumination on the declining creative powers of an ageing director Almodovar has found a new way to address many of his traditional preoccupations, including art, sexual awakening, memories of lovers and the ghost of his mother (played in her prime by Penelope Cruz and in old age by Julieta Serrano).Pain and Glory has the most beautiful scene Ive seen in Cannes so far, when Salvador is briefly reunited with a former Argentinian lover (played by Leonardo Sbaraglia) from many years before. Theirs is an extraordinarily candid and generous exchange, full of still-burning passion and regret. It culminates in a torrid embrace, with the emotional force of a first kiss that has matured with age. One could say as much of the film as a whole. There is far more pain in this wistful movie, but the glory stays with you long after its viewing.Almodovars entry marked a welcome change of subject and tone after a string of highly political genre movies here in Cannes. It followed the screening of Jessica Hausners creepy sci-fi outing Little Joe, which also involved characters seeking a form of release from depression -- using neither pills nor journeys into the past, this time, but genetic manipulation.Emily Beecham and Ben Whishaw play a duo of scientists whove designed a genetically engineered plant with a scent that makes people happy. But things get horribly out of hand when the flower starts bringing about other changes to those who inhale its pollen, with events stylishly shot in bright colours and a clinical, chilling light. The premise is tantalising, like an Invasion of the Body Snatchers for the modern-day era of GMOs and commodity happiness. But the thriller peters out, and theres potentially a disturbing message for people suffering from very real depression and who turn to shrinks or chemicals for help.

Pedro Almodovar recaptures the emotional heft of his finest work with the self-referential Pain and Glory, while Jessica Hausner's sci-fi outing "Little Joe" doesn't live up to its tantalising premise.

As a bastion of arthouse cinema and the worlds most glamorous film fest, the Cannes Film Festival always needs to strike a balance between auteur worship and Hollywood star power -- and between devotion to the past and turning to the future. This year promises plenty of stardust on the red carpet and a refreshing crop of emerging directors. But Cannes ritual auteur celebration scaled new heights on Saturday with the screening, out of competition, of The Best Years of a Life by 81-year-old Claude Lelouch. It returned legendary French duo Jean-Louis Trintignant and Anouk Aimee to their former roles in the 1966 classic A Man and a Woman.

Earlier on another darling of the Croisette, Spains Pedro Almodovar, gave us the best and worst years of his life in Pain and Glory, his seventh shot at the Palme dOr. I dont like auto-fiction, says the protagonists ailing mother in one of a handful of comedic flourishes that pepper this obviously autobiographical work. In less capable hands, such an unashamedly self-referential project about the life and work of the artist himself would surely have been deemed insufferable (some may find it insufferable still). But Almodovar pulls it off with purpose and grace, delivering a brilliant open-heart dissection of his past -- and in the process recapturing the emotional heft of his finest work.

In fact it is crucial that viewers see Almodovars persona behind the films central character Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas, in what is surely a career high), who is otherwise not a particularly compelling or endearing figure. A 60-something director aching both in mind and body, Salvador is afflicted by a startling range of ailments, though as his doctor gently puts it, others in greater pain suck it up with less moaning. The pain has stunted his emotions and thus his creativity, and only a journey through the past -- real or imagined -- can help him recapture the glory.

Story continues

With his previous film Julieta, which competed at Cannes in 2016, Almodovar had warned he may go down the road of austerity from now on. He has certainly toned down the humour and the melodrama, though his films still ripple with the Spanish masters typically vivid, overripe colours and flamboyant decors. In some ways Pain and Glory doesnt have the freshness and boldness of his earlier work. But in this rumination on the declining creative powers of an ageing director Almodovar has found a new way to address many of his traditional preoccupations, including art, sexual awakening, memories of lovers and the ghost of his mother (played in her prime by Penelope Cruz and in old age by Julieta Serrano).

Pain and Glory has the most beautiful scene Ive seen in Cannes so far, when Salvador is briefly reunited with a former Argentinian lover (played by Leonardo Sbaraglia) from many years before. Theirs is an extraordinarily candid and generous exchange, full of still-burning passion and regret. It culminates in a torrid embrace, with the emotional force of a first kiss that has matured with age. One could say as much of the film as a whole. There is far more pain in this wistful movie, but the glory stays with you long after its viewing.

Almodovars entry marked a welcome change of subject and tone after a string of highly political genre movies here in Cannes. It followed the screening of Jessica Hausners creepy sci-fi outing Little Joe, which also involved characters seeking a form of release from depression -- using neither pills nor journeys into the past, this time, but genetic manipulation.

Emily Beecham and Ben Whishaw play a duo of scientists whove designed a genetically engineered plant with a scent that makes people happy. But things get horribly out of hand when the flower starts bringing about other changes to those who inhale its pollen, with events stylishly shot in bright colours and a clinical, chilling light. The premise is tantalising, like an Invasion of the Body Snatchers for the modern-day era of GMOs and commodity happiness. But the thriller peters out, and theres potentially a disturbing message for people suffering from very real depression and who turn to shrinks or chemicals for help.
Gay couples in Taiwan plan a mass wedding registration after politicians voted to legalise same-sex marriage.

The vote made Taiwan the first place in Asia with a comprehensive law both allowing and laying out the terms of same-sex marriage and followed two decades of campaigning.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, a supporter of the law, tweeted: On May 17th, 2019 in Taiwan, LoveWon. We took a big step toward true equality, and made Taiwan a better country.

On May 17th, 2019 in #Taiwan, #LoveWon. We took a big step towards true equality, and made Taiwan a better country.    Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) May 17, 2019

At least 20 same-sex couples are planning a mass marriage registration in Taipei on May 24, a spokesman for the advocacy group Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan said.

The newlyweds and hundreds of invitees will hold a mass party a day later on a blocked-off boulevard outside the presidential office, the event organiser said.

The law will give a boost to Jay Lin and his partner, who hope to marry and assume joint custody of their two two-year-old sons. They plan to register after May 24.

People cheer outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei (Chiang Ying-ying/AP)

A lot of gay parents are excited about that already, said Lin, a Taipei-based online streaming service founder.

I think once more people are married and more families are more comfortable being out in public, that will naturally have a beneficial impact on society and on peoples minds, Lin said.

Thousands of people, including same-sex couples, demonstrated on Friday morning in the rainy streets outside parliament before the vote.

Same-sex marriage supporters gather outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei (Chiang Ying-ying/AP)

Many carried rainbow-coloured placards reading The vote cannot fail.

Story continues

About 50 opponents sat under a tent outside parliament and gave speeches favouring marriage between only men and women.

Religion, conservative values and political systems that discourage LGBT activism have slowed momentum toward same-sex marriage in many Asian countries from Japan through much of Southeast Asia, although Thailand is exploring the legalisation of same-sex civil partnerships.

This will help spark a debate in Thailand, and hopefully will help Thailand move faster on our own partnership bill, said Wattana Keiangpa of the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said Taiwans action should sound a clarion call, kicking off a larger movement across Asia to ensure equality for LGBT people and pro-active protection of their rights by governments throughout the region.

A same-sex marriage supporter kisses a flower (Chiang Ying-ying/AP)

Taiwans acceptance of gay and lesbian relationships began in the 1990s when leaders in todays ruling Democratic Progressive Party championed the cause to help Taiwan stand out in Asia as an open society.

Although claimed by China as its own territory, Taiwan is a self-governing democracy with a vibrant civil society dedicated to promoting rights for sexual and ethnic minorities, women, the handicapped and others.

Mainland China, ruled by the authoritarian Communist Party, remains much more conservative and officials have repeatedly discouraged even the discussion of legalising same-sex marriage.
Italian far-right leader Matteo Salvini has invited Europe's disparate nationalists to a rally in Milan on Saturday, seeking to forge a united front ahead of European elections.The rally will see leaders of 12 far-right parties marching towards their hoped-for conquest of Brussels after next week's European parliamentary elections.Headliners Salvini of the anti-immigrant League and Marine Le Pen of France's Islamophobic National Rally hope their Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group will become the third largest in Brussels.But despite their shared dislike of immigration, multiculturalism, the left and the EU, Europe's populists remain divided on many other key issues, including budgetary discipline, migrant distribution and relations with Moscow.Most of Europe's right-wing nationalists are currently divided into three blocs and a tangled web of alliances in the European Parliament, which Salvini and Le Pen hope to reunite to create a powerful voice in the new parliament.The ENF includes Austria's Freedom Party, Belgium's Vlaams Belang and the Netherlands' Party for Freedom, whose head Geert Wilders will be in Milan.Thousands of League supporters are expected to attend the march.Notably absent from the rally will be Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party and Poland's governing PiS (Law and Justice party).Orban has voiced admiration for Salvini and promised "cooperation" after the vote, but refuses any alliance with Le Pen.

Italian far-right leader Matteo Salvini has invited Europe's disparate nationalists to a rally in Milan on Saturday, seeking to forge a united front ahead of European elections.

The rally will see leaders of 12 far-right parties marching towards their hoped-for conquest of Brussels after next week's European parliamentary elections.

Headliners Salvini of the anti-immigrant League and Marine Le Pen of France's Islamophobic National Rally hope their Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group will become the third largest in Brussels.

But despite their shared dislike of immigration, multiculturalism, the left and the EU, Europe's populists remain divided on many other key issues, including budgetary discipline, migrant distribution and relations with Moscow.

Most of Europe's right-wing nationalists are currently divided into three blocs and a tangled web of alliances in the European Parliament, which Salvini and Le Pen hope to reunite to create a powerful voice in the new parliament.

The ENF includes Austria's Freedom Party, Belgium's Vlaams Belang and the Netherlands' Party for Freedom, whose head Geert Wilders will be in Milan.

Thousands of League supporters are expected to attend the march.

Notably absent from the rally will be Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party and Poland's governing PiS (Law and Justice party).

Orban has voiced admiration for Salvini and promised "cooperation" after the vote, but refuses any alliance with Le Pen.
Bookies' favourite The Netherlands has won Eurovision, as Madonna ends up in hot water with organisers after showing Israeli and Palestinian flags during her performance.

It has been 44 years since the country last won the international singing competition.

Represented by Duncan Laurence, The Netherlands with 492 points nudged into first place ahead of Italy, who had 465 points.

The UK's Michael Rice came last with a total of 16 points, but he appeared to win over the hearts of many Brits watching at home, including presenter Piers Morgan who wrote on Twitter: "Cheer up Michael Rice, we may have come last but we were still better than Madonna."

Many saw it as a Brexit-related snub, as it was the first time the UK came last since 2010.

Laurence's stripped back performance of Arcade saw him play piano under a spotlight on an otherwise empty stage.

"To dreaming big," Laurence said after his win was announced. "This is to music first," he added.

The Netherlands performed well in the judges' votes, which had seen the country initially jostle with Italy, North Macedonia and Sweden for first place.

But high votes from the general public boosted Switzerland and Norway into fourth and fifth place with 360 and 338 points - behind Russia who came in third with 369 points.

Sweden, who had been top of the board following the judges' vote with 239 points ended up sixth with 332.

Laurence's win means the contest will be held in The Netherlands next year.

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This year it was held in Tel Aviv, Israel, which sparked a backlash as some argued the country's conflict with Palestinians should not be endorsed.

Madonna performed during the show, despite calls for her and other stars to boycott the event.

She sang her 1989 hit Like A Prayer, with a 35-strong choir, and her new single Future, alongside American rapper Quavo.

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Pro-Palestinian activists accused Madonna of "artwashing" and had urged her to cancel .

During the performance, her dancers turned their backs to the crowd and were revealed to have Israeli and Palestinian flags on their backs. They linked their arms and walked together in the same direction moments before the words "WAKE UP" appeared on a screen behind Madonna and Quavo.

Organisers said it had not been part of the approved act and that the star had been "made aware" the event is "non-political".

Eurovision said: "In the live broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final, two of Madonna's dancers briefly displayed the Israeli and Palestinian flags on the back of their outfits.

"This element of the performance was not part of the rehearsals which had been cleared with the EBU and the Host Broadcaster, KAN. The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political event and Madonna had been made aware of this."

Adding to organisers' headaches, Iceland, who performed a heavy metal song while dressed in bondage gear, waved Palestinian flags in front of the camera during a televised backstage segment.

The band, named Hatari, may be reprimanded over the action.

Eurovision released a statement saying: "The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political event and this directly contradicts the Contest rules. The banners were quickly removed and the consequences of this action will be discussed by the Reference Group (the Contest's executive board) after the Contest."

Hatari's gesture was labelled a "fig-leaf" gesture by Palestinian Campaign For The Academic And Cultural Boycott Of Israel (PACBI), which had demanded all acts pull out of the event.

A spokesperson said: "Palestinian civil society overwhelmingly rejects fig-leaf gestures of solidarity from international artists crossing our peaceful picket line."

Before the final, the band, named Hatari, had challenged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a wrestling match. He did not respond.
The grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 has begun at the Expo Tel Aviv venue in Israel, with a performance by a cohort of the musical extravaganzas former stars.

Israels Netta Barzilai and Dana International, both previous winners, were joined by Swedish champion Mans Zelmerlow for a performance of Omer Adams song Tel Aviv, during which the 26 finalists were introduced before taking their seats to one side of the stage.

Maltas Michela Pace opened the show with her song Chameleon, dancing in front of shifting graphics showing an urban landscape.

Second was Albanias Jonida Maliqi with Ktheju Tokes, a dramatic and slow-paced track with lyrics referencing the Kosovo War

Third in front of the audience was three-piece boy band Lake Malawi with their pop-rock song Friend Of A Friend. The performance saw the group from the Czech Republic pogo-ing around the stage.

Two semi-finals, numerous dress rehearsals and a week of press and audience events have led up to this point.

The finalists will perform for the international public vote, which will make up 50% of the total vote, with the other half determined by a professional jury in each participating country, who cast their votes during performances on Friday.

The Eurovision Song Contest trophy (Thomas Hanses)

Speaking before the performance, the UKs Michael Rice told the Press Association: Im so looking forward to tonight. Im going to sing my heart out and give it my best shot.

Earlier, fans daubed their cheeks with their nations colours and wrapped flags around their shoulders as they made their way to the arena.

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Despite his song being chosen to open the evening, Israeli dance-pop artist Adam, 25, was not present for the event.

He had been invited to perform but declined because rehearsals fell during Shabbat, Israels day of rest.

Extra buses were also scheduled to carry the audience to the venue, compensating for there being no public transport between the Shabbat hours of Friday sundown and Saturday sundown.

The UK, as one of the big five countries, along with France, Germany, Italy and Spain, was assured a place in the grand final.

Rice will perform 16th, after Norway and before Iceland, whose techno-punk outfit Hatari are a favourite to win.

UK fans can vote over the phone, by text or via the Eurovision app, available on iOS, Android and Windows devices.

As per one of Eurovisions most famous quirks, fans can vote up to 20 times but will be unable to select their own countrys entry.

BBC Ones coverage of the Eurovision Song Contests grand final is on Saturday from 8pm, led by Graham Norton.
Lady Gabriella Windsor announced her engagement to Thomas Kingston in September last year after dating for a number of years.

The couple are due to be married in a ceremony in St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle, on Saturday  the third royal wedding at the venue within a year.

Here are some details about the happy couple ahead of their big day.

Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston (Alexandra Diez de Rivera/Buckingham Palace)

Lady Gabriella Windsor

The daughter of Prince Michael of Kent, a minor royal who is the Queens cousin, Lady Gabriella Marina Alexandra Ophelia Windsor was born on April 23 1981. Her mother, Princess Michael, has made headlines over the years for her outspoken comments, being dubbed Princess Pushy by the press.

Her parents married in 1978 and she has one older sibling, her brother Lord Frederick, known as Freddie, who hit the headlines after admitting to using drugs at university.

Lord Frederick married Peep Show actress Sophie Winkleman in 2009 and the pair have two children together.

Lady Gabriella, who is known as Ella, studied at both Brown University in the US and the University of Oxford, with degrees in Comparative Literature and Social Anthropology.

The 38-year-old works as an arts and travel director for brand company Branding Latin America, based in Knightsbridge, London.

Not a working royal, she is also board director for the Playing for Change Foundation, a non-profit organisation aiming to improve education through music.

Prior to her current relationship, Lady Gabriella dated journalist Aatish Taseer, who wrote a tell-all Vanity Fair article earlier this year which claimed they swam naked in the Buckingham Palace pool.

She had been dating Mr Kingston for a number of years when he proposed while they were on the island of Sark last summer.

Thomas Kingston



The groom, 40, is a director of Devonport Capital, which specialises in providing finance for companies in frontier economies.

The Bristol University graduate worked in Baghdad, Iraq, according to the Telegraph, working to procure the release of hostages after joining the Diplomatic Missions Unit of the Foreign Office.

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His financial career credentials include roles at Voltan Capital Management and IDC Securities.

Mr Kingston is close friend of Pippa Middleton  the Duchess of Cambridges sister  with the pair seen out and about together on numerous occasions.

He attended her wedding to James Matthews in May 2017, accompanied by Lady Gabriella.
Dubai's Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) will become the first free zone in the UAE to return cash and bank guarantees to its clients through its new Workforce Protection Programme initiative that is set to roll out in September of this year.

The move by the GCCs largest special economic zone, will provide added benefits to employees and infuse Dh1.3 billion ($354 million) back into the emirates economy that companies can invest in their operations and strengthen their businesses.

The decision is geared towards supporting goals set by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to improve worker rights and protections under the UAE Governments insurance initiative, said its top official.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem the Chairman of the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation and the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority, said: "Jafza welcomes the UAE governments latest initiative as it will play a significant role in taking the country in the right direction."

One of the worlds leading free trade zones, Jafza is home to over 7,500 multinational companies and accounts for 23.9% of total FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) flow into the country and it sustains the employment of more than 135,000 people in the UAE.

"Our people are our greatest assets, and we are committed to providing them with a fair work environment that ensures they receive all the rights, privileges, and protections that should be afforded to them as core contributors to the nations economy," noted Bin Sulayem.

Through the Workforce Protection Programme, Jafza is striving to raise standards for the UAEs private sector by providing businesses with a model they can emulate successfully.

Under the new Workforce Protection Programme, companies will avail insurance coverage that will help protect the workers in case of wage default by their employers.

This coverage will extend to all existing Jafza sponsored employees, and will be applied by default to any new workers from the time they receive their work visas.

DP World, UAE Region and Jafza have adopted critical roles in Dubais economy as key employers, accounting for 16.2 per of the emirates total workforce.

Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone employees are 1.4 times more productive than the average UAE employee, contributing to over 33% of Dubais GDP in 2017. Jafza also generated trade worth $83.1 billion during that year.

As an integrated multi-modal hub, Jafza offers sea, air and land connectivity, complemented by extensive logistics facilities.-TradeArabia News Service
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has welcomed the opening of talks with the opposition, after months of bloody clashes between the two sides. Opposition leader Juan Guaido has denied that any discussions are underway.The supposed talks, brokered by Norway, are a "move toward agreements of peace, agreement and harmony," Maduro declared at a ceremony in front of 6,500 troops in the northern state of Aragua. He asked for the support of all Venezuelan people.Confronted with the worst socioeconomic crisis in the oil-producing country's recent history, the socialist leader added that "Venezuela has to process its conflicts" and seek solutions "by way of peace."He declared the "beginning and exploration of conversations and dialogues" with the opposition.Maduro's depiction of the talks was at odds with opposition leader Juan Guaido who on Thursday denied that discussions were underway."There is no negotiation whatsoever," Guaido told reporters. Instead, he claimed, Norwegian officials were "trying to mediate" with both sides to bring them to the table.Norway's foreign ministry said in a statement it had made "preliminary contacts with representatives of the main political actors of Venezuela."The mediation bid comes after a months-long power struggle between National Assembly leader Guaido and the socialist president, with sometimes deadly street clashes.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has welcomed the opening of talks with the opposition, after months of bloody clashes between the two sides. Opposition leader Juan Guaido has denied that any discussions are underway.

The supposed talks, brokered by Norway, are a "move toward agreements of peace, agreement and harmony," Maduro declared at a ceremony in front of 6,500 troops in the northern state of Aragua. He asked for the support of all Venezuelan people.

Confronted with the worst socioeconomic crisis in the oil-producing country's recent history, the socialist leader added that "Venezuela has to process its conflicts" and seek solutions "by way of peace."

He declared the "beginning and exploration of conversations and dialogues" with the opposition.

Maduro's depiction of the talks was at odds with opposition leader Juan Guaido who on Thursday denied that discussions were underway.

"There is no negotiation whatsoever," Guaido told reporters. Instead, he claimed, Norwegian officials were "trying to mediate" with both sides to bring them to the table.

Norway's foreign ministry said in a statement it had made "preliminary contacts with representatives of the main political actors of Venezuela."

The mediation bid comes after a months-long power struggle between National Assembly leader Guaido and the socialist president, with sometimes deadly street clashes.
Theresa May personally blocked ministers putting forward legislation which could have protected former soldiers from prosecution for alleged offences during the Northern Ireland Troubles, it has been reported.

The Prime Minister issued instructions that a consultation document on dealing with the legacy of the conflict should not contain references to amnesties or a statute of limitations, according to a leaked memorandum seen by The Sunday Telegraph.

It goes on to say that military veterans should be offered equal, rather than preferential, treatment relative to other groups covered by the consultation, which included terrorists.

Tory MP Johnny Mercer, who has campaigned to protect veterans from repeated investigations into historical allegations, described the memorandum as a sucker punch, saying he found the comments genuinely appalling.

Johnny Mercer said he found Theresa Mays comments genuinely appalling (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

That troops, uniformed and sent by the Crown to an unpopular, difficult and bloody war, should not have the Government, at least starting, on their side is totally unacceptable, he said in an article for the Telegraph.

The memorandum, dated March 2018, was said to have been written by Mrs Mays assistant private secretary.

It was sent to the Northern Ireland Office and Ministry of Defence as ministers and officials were drawing up a consultation document on addressing the legacy of Northern Irelands past.

It stated: The Prime Minister has decided that the consultation document should not contain specific reference to a statute of limitations or amnesties, in line with government policy.

The Ministry of Defence should work closely with the Northern Ireland office to ensure that their veterans package offers equal, rather than preferential, treatment relative to other groups or individuals affected by this consultation.

Penny Mordaunt has said she believes Northern Ireland veterans should be given greater protection (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

A number of Northern Ireland veterans are currently facing charges, including Soldier F, who has been charged in relation to the killings of two protesters during Bloody Sunday in Londonderry in 1972.

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The disclosure comes after new Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt last week announced plans for legislation to provide stronger protection from repeated investigations into historical allegations for veterans of overseas conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Under the proposals there would be a presumption against prosecution in relation to alleged incidents dating back more than 10 years, unless there were exceptional circumstances.

As it stands, the legislation will not apply to those who served in Northern Ireland, although in an apparent break with Government policy, Ms Mordaunt said she intended to find a way they could be afforded the similar protection.
Taiwans parliament voted to legalise same-sex marriage on Friday, becoming the first in Asia to do so.Lawmakers had a two-year window to make a decision after Taiwans constitutional court ruled that same-sex couples had a right to marry in 2017.Tens of thousands of supporters waiting outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei in the rain burst into celebration after the vote was announced. LoveWon, President Tsai Ing-wen tweeted. We took a big step towards true equality, and made Taiwan a better country.The weeks leading up to the vote were marked in part by student-led men in skirts events that went viral. At New Taipei Banqiao High School, students organised a week-long event in early May encouraging male classmates to wear skirts to support gender equality and challenge societal norms of what men and women should wear. Teachers at the school joined in as well. In a video posted to the New Taipei Banqiao High School student union Facebook page, principal Lai Chunjin said the event aimed to smash gender stereotypes. Photos of the campaign went viral on Weibo, Chinas version of Twitter, with supporters commending the students for their work and writing that people were free to wear what they liked.The success of the event drew the attention of students at National Taiwan University, who launched their own Men in Skirts day on May 13. "We need to upend gender stereotypes"Lin Huichu, a first-year political science student who helped organise the event, said she and several classmates from her reading group were inspired by the high school students and wanted to created a safe space for people to express themselves freely.> I thought to myself, if high school students are taking a stance like this, then we should be doing even more at a university to promote individual freedom and accept whatever it is that people want to wear. > > Society cant change that quickly, so we need to start by upending stereotypes, and show people that dresses, which can often limit womens bodies and movements, arent just for women. We wanted to create a safe space for people who might feel like its not acceptable for them to wear dresses, and tell them, Wear what you want, and no one will look at you strangely or laugh at you, and you can be happy. > > Around 50 to 70 people participated in the event. People stopped by to hear us talk on their way to class. We provided some skirts and dresses, some of which were from old high school uniforms. But a lot of guys came with their own dresses and wore them all day. > > > > > I received a lot of photos and videos from people who had participated. One of my friends said he didnt want to wear a dress just to school, but to a movie, and wanted to see how society would react. People are happy that the dress, which is a very gendered symbol, is now starting to blur the lines between men and women.> > I hope Taiwan will become the first in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. We have to protect gender equality, and if Taiwan upholds these values and embraces these people, then in the future we can similarly embrace other people who might seem different from us.Many social media users showed their support for the high schoolers' campaign and shared photos of themselves wearing skirts. The bill will take effect on May 24 after Tsai signs it into law. This story was written by Jenny Che (@jsyche).
The Missouri House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, making it the latest US state to pass tough restrictions on terminating a pregnancy. The bill, overwhelmingly approved by the Republican-led legislature and expected to be signed by the Midwestern states Republican governor, would ban abortions from about eight weeks of pregnancy.Doctors who perform abortions could be subject to prison sentences of between five and 15 years. Women who undergo the procedure would not be prosecuted.Republican-led legislatures in several US states have recently passed bills restricting abortion access in a bid to eventually challenge the 1973 US Supreme Court ruling legalizing the practice.Abortion opponents are hoping the moves will prompt the nations highest court, which now has a conservative majority, to overturn its landmark decision in the case known as Roe vs Wade.The Republican-dominated legislature in the southern state of Alabama apassed a bill this week that places a near-total ban on ending a pregnancy, even in cases of rape and incest.The Missouri bill also does not allow exceptions for rape or incest - only in cases where the mothers life is in danger.All of the state bans have either been blocked by a judge or are headed for the courts, and some of their backers have said they want the issue to go all the way to the nine-member Supreme Court.The Republican bid to force a showdown over Roe vs Wade comes as President Donald Trump is ramping up for a 2020 re-election campaign with abortion as a hot-button issue.The Supreme Court has previously reaffirmed a womans constitutional right to an abortion, but some anti-abortion activists believe the time may have come to turn the tables.Since taking office, Trump has appointed two conservative justices - Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh - and liberal members of the top court are now outnumbered five to four.Conservative-leaning Chief Justice John Roberts is seen as the potential swing vote if the constitutionality of abortion eventually comes before the court.Take away legitimacyMary Ziegler, a law professor at Florida State University, said the court may shy away from addressing the bitterly divisive issue for the moment.The court may not have an interest in addressing abortion at all for now, Ziegler said. The court might be, at least temporarily, trying to stay out of it altogether.Lawrence Gostin, a law professor at Georgetown University, also said he believed the Supreme Court was in no hurry to take up the subject.I really dont believe all the hype that the Supreme Court is going to overturn Roe, Gostin said.Several members of the court, particularly Justice Roberts, believe in the integrity of the court, and understand that if the court was to overturn Roe it would make it look like a partisan, political entity, he added. It would take away its legitimacy.Gostin said what he sees happening instead is the continued trend of conservative states restricting access to abortion.They are not going to outlaw it but they will make it so difficult to get, it will be inaccessible, unaffordable, he said.This, he said, would affect women of color and poor, uneducated or rural women in particular.A woman of means will always be able to get an abortion in the US, Gostin added.They will be able to travel to California, New York, DC.Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky, Iowa and North Dakota have enacted laws banning an abortion from the moment a fetal heartbeat is detected. Electoral powerhouses Florida and Texas are considering following suit.The moves to restrict abortion have drawn a firestorm of criticism from Democrats.Access to safe, legal abortion is a constitutional right and Congress can protect it, said Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is one of 23 Democrats seeking the partys 2020 presidential nomination.Were going to fight every right-wing lawmakers attempt to overturn Roe vs Wade, Warren said.California Senator Kamala Harris, another Democratic 2020 hopeful, said people needed to fight back to protect Roe vs Wade as it is under attack.Protect a womens right to make her own health care decisions, she said, urging supporters to donate to groups backing abortion rights.(AFP)

The Missouri House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, making it the latest US state to pass tough restrictions on terminating a pregnancy.

The bill, overwhelmingly approved by the Republican-led legislature and expected to be signed by the Midwestern states Republican governor, would ban abortions from about eight weeks of pregnancy.

Doctors who perform abortions could be subject to prison sentences of between five and 15 years. Women who undergo the procedure would not be prosecuted.

Republican-led legislatures in several US states have recently passed bills restricting abortion access in a bid to eventually challenge the 1973 US Supreme Court ruling legalizing the practice.

Abortion opponents are hoping the moves will prompt the nations highest court, which now has a conservative majority, to overturn its landmark decision in the case known as Roe vs Wade.

The Republican-dominated legislature in the southern state of Alabama apassed a bill this week that places a near-total ban on ending a pregnancy, even in cases of rape and incest.

The Missouri bill also does not allow exceptions for rape or incest - only in cases where the mothers life is in danger.

All of the state bans have either been blocked by a judge or are headed for the courts, and some of their backers have said they want the issue to go all the way to the nine-member Supreme Court.

The Republican bid to force a showdown over Roe vs Wade comes as President Donald Trump is ramping up for a 2020 re-election campaign with abortion as a hot-button issue.

The Supreme Court has previously reaffirmed a womans constitutional right to an abortion, but some anti-abortion activists believe the time may have come to turn the tables.

Since taking office, Trump has appointed two conservative justices - Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh - and liberal members of the top court are now outnumbered five to four.

Conservative-leaning Chief Justice John Roberts is seen as the potential swing vote if the constitutionality of abortion eventually comes before the court.

Story continues

Take away legitimacy

Mary Ziegler, a law professor at Florida State University, said the court may shy away from addressing the bitterly divisive issue for the moment.

The court may not have an interest in addressing abortion at all for now, Ziegler said. The court might be, at least temporarily, trying to stay out of it altogether.

Lawrence Gostin, a law professor at Georgetown University, also said he believed the Supreme Court was in no hurry to take up the subject.

I really dont believe all the hype that the Supreme Court is going to overturn Roe, Gostin said.

Several members of the court, particularly Justice Roberts, believe in the integrity of the court, and understand that if the court was to overturn Roe it would make it look like a partisan, political entity, he added. It would take away its legitimacy.

Gostin said what he sees happening instead is the continued trend of conservative states restricting access to abortion.

They are not going to outlaw it but they will make it so difficult to get, it will be inaccessible, unaffordable, he said.

This, he said, would affect women of color and poor, uneducated or rural women in particular.

A woman of means will always be able to get an abortion in the US, Gostin added.

They will be able to travel to California, New York, DC.

Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky, Iowa and North Dakota have enacted laws banning an abortion from the moment a fetal heartbeat is detected. Electoral powerhouses Florida and Texas are considering following suit.

The moves to restrict abortion have drawn a firestorm of criticism from Democrats.

Access to safe, legal abortion is a constitutional right and Congress can protect it, said Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is one of 23 Democrats seeking the partys 2020 presidential nomination.

Were going to fight every right-wing lawmakers attempt to overturn Roe vs Wade, Warren said.

California Senator Kamala Harris, another Democratic 2020 hopeful, said people needed to fight back to protect Roe vs Wade as it is under attack.

Protect a womens right to make her own health care decisions, she said, urging supporters to donate to groups backing abortion rights.

(AFP)
The grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel is about to start.

Two semi-finals, numerous dress rehearsals and a week of press and audience events have led to this point.

Now crowds of international fans are arriving at the Expo Tel Aviv venue.

The Press Association asked fans outside the venue who they were backing and what they thought of UK entry Michael Rice.

Stuart, 31, from West Sussex

Stuart said it was his first time at Eurovision (Alex Green/PA)

I love Michael Rice and Australia because its a bit weird and part of the Commonwealth. Go empire! Its my first time at Eurovision but not my first time in Israel.

I live in Tel Aviv with my husband. The city has been crazy. Really good week. Lots of fun stuff going on. Its been really good fun.

If Michael gets in the top 10 Id be really happy. But hes not going to win it, I dont think. But its a good song. I like it. Ive been listening to it all week so Im going to sing it along with him.

Jerry, 42, from Edinburgh

Jerry, on the right (Alex Green/PA)

Im supporting the UK of course, like everybody else. Hes not going to win but  top 26 definitely. Hes not as good as last year. SuRie, she was much better, stunning.

Madonna! Ive seen her before, years before. But Im also looking forward to Denmark. Australia as well. Its part of Britain really.
In Syria's northern Idlib province, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and his allies have kept up their air and ground assault in an effort to take back the last remaining rebel stronghold. But while the bombardment has eased since 12 May, the situation on the ground is increasingly worse as resources to care for those fleeing the conflict are pushed to their limit.This latest escalation by Assads forces and Russian support have pushed thousands to flee into the northern camps.As it stands, Idlib is home to some three million people.1.3 million of them are internally displaced persons, hailing from different parts of the country.Last rebel strongholdAs was the case with previous rebel strongholds, weeks of relentless bombardment have been conducted with the aim of taking back these regions.But unlike previous operations, those in the rebel-controlled areas, whether civilians or rebels themselves, have nowhere else to go.The people are quite exhausted and tired says Marwa Awad, the communications officer for the World Food Programme in Syria.She adds that the current situation in Idlib remains quite dire and fears should the escalation of fighting continue, there will inevitably be more displacement and more pressure on humanitarian workers.We know through our partners on the ground that many families successfully reached the camps but the camps are extremely congested, about three to four families per tent up in north Idlib.But she adds that many have been stranded, living in the wild under olive trees, without shelter.With the coordinated help of the WFP and workers on the ground, those people will also get help including emergency food packages and hot meals.Ismail Alabdullah is an activist and volunteer with the White Helmets (also known as the Syria Civil Defence), a medical emergency service that grew out of the war in 2014.It undertakes medical evacuations and search and rescue operations following bombardments.Speaking to RFI from Ad-Dan in northern Idlib he says that most of the towns are emptypeople are fleeing from there and few go to the streets in the north countryside.you can see people lying down and they will live under the trees without any houses, there are no houses for them, there are no shelters, no NGOs are responding to their needs.He clarifies that the NGOs active in the area cannot respond to this huge number. Resources are already stretched thin, so the situation is miserable for the people.Evacuation? To where?Unlike previous operations in the rebel strongholds of Eastern Aleppo, Homs and Eastern Ghouta, the Damascus government, along with international assistance, provided a means of evacuation for those caught in the fighting.But this time, there is nowhere else for them to go.The bombing...[means] big problems will be in the future if they flee says the White Helmet volunteer. There is no [other] place; this is the last stronghold, last area for the people in Syria and [after] there's no place to go.In a video posted on the Hams News Facebook site (later tweeted), soldiers belonging to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA, Assads forces), notes no green buses will be provided this time.Green buses were used during previous evacutation operations.And if the people are not evacuated, the question becomes what happens to everyone who have visibly been working against Assads forces?This is the biggest and most dangerous question for all people and for all the countries says Alabdullah. Were this big number of people and activists and armoured rebels... where they will go?Many others, including himself, believe Assads forces will only take back a part of Idlib. In doing so, the pressure will be taken off Turkey which fears a surge of people enterning its territory.Returning to lifeIn areas where Assads forces have regained control, life is not any easier.Awad notes that while organisations like the WFP continue to deliver food, helping people rebuild their homes is another challenge.I personally met with one family that had recently returned to their home city of Homs. And unfortunately they returned to rubble. Everything has been decimated, razed to the ground describes the WFP officer.I actually happen to walk into the neighbourhood when the father of this family was hauling bags of cement and I asked him 'what are you doing?' He said 'look, Im trying to rebuild my home, physically from scratch. But I don't have money, I don't have a job. The prices of cement and steel are expensive'.She adds that this father is spending about 80 percent of his savings on his food. So extra money to build housing is hard to come by.International communityAlready the current ceasefire in place brokered by Turkish and Russian forces in Sochi in September continues to be violated.After eight years of war, civilians are still bearing the brunt of the fighting.The only answer to the suffering is to stop the fighting, accroding to both Alabdullah and Awad.The best option would be for the conflict to end but also for the ceasefire [to be] respected says the WFP worker. And this is why we're calling on all parties of the conflict to make sure that A: civilians are not stuck in the line of fire and B: [that] we as humanitarians have the safe passage and access to reach them to provide them with whatever they need to survive.On the ground in Idlib, Alabdullah adds that more pressure on the big shots who can call the shots needs to be exerted for them to make the decision to stop thisthis catastrophic situation for the people.

In Syria's northern Idlib province, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and his allies have kept up their air and ground assault in an effort to take back the last remaining rebel stronghold. But while the bombardment has eased since 12 May, the situation on the ground is increasingly worse as resources to care for those fleeing the conflict are pushed to their limit.

This latest escalation by Assads forces and Russian support have pushed thousands to flee into the northern camps.

As it stands, Idlib is home to some three million people.

1.3 million of them are internally displaced persons, hailing from different parts of the country.

Last rebel stronghold

As was the case with previous rebel strongholds, weeks of relentless bombardment have been conducted with the aim of taking back these regions.

But unlike previous operations, those in the rebel-controlled areas, whether civilians or rebels themselves, have nowhere else to go.

The people are quite exhausted and tired says Marwa Awad, the communications officer for the World Food Programme in Syria.

She adds that the current situation in Idlib remains quite dire and fears should the escalation of fighting continue, there will inevitably be more displacement and more pressure on humanitarian workers.

We know through our partners on the ground that many families successfully reached the camps but the camps are extremely congested, about three to four families per tent up in north Idlib.

But she adds that many have been stranded, living in the wild under olive trees, without shelter.

With the coordinated help of the WFP and workers on the ground, those people will also get help including emergency food packages and hot meals.

Ismail Alabdullah is an activist and volunteer with the White Helmets (also known as the Syria Civil Defence), a medical emergency service that grew out of the war in 2014.

It undertakes medical evacuations and search and rescue operations following bombardments.

Story continues

Speaking to RFI from Ad-Dan in northern Idlib he says that most of the towns are emptypeople are fleeing from there and few go to the streets in the north countryside.you can see people lying down and they will live under the trees without any houses, there are no houses for them, there are no shelters, no NGOs are responding to their needs.

He clarifies that the NGOs active in the area cannot respond to this huge number. Resources are already stretched thin, so the situation is miserable for the people.

Evacuation? To where?

Unlike previous operations in the rebel strongholds of Eastern Aleppo, Homs and Eastern Ghouta, the Damascus government, along with international assistance, provided a means of evacuation for those caught in the fighting.

But this time, there is nowhere else for them to go.

The bombing...[means] big problems will be in the future if they flee says the White Helmet volunteer. There is no [other] place; this is the last stronghold, last area for the people in Syria and [after] there's no place to go.

In a video posted on the Hams News Facebook site (later tweeted), soldiers belonging to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA, Assads forces), notes no green buses will be provided this time.

Green buses were used during previous evacutation operations.

And if the people are not evacuated, the question becomes what happens to everyone who have visibly been working against Assads forces?

This is the biggest and most dangerous question for all people and for all the countries says Alabdullah. Were this big number of people and activists and armoured rebels... where they will go?

Many others, including himself, believe Assads forces will only take back a part of Idlib. In doing so, the pressure will be taken off Turkey which fears a surge of people enterning its territory.

Returning to life

In areas where Assads forces have regained control, life is not any easier.

Awad notes that while organisations like the WFP continue to deliver food, helping people rebuild their homes is another challenge.

I personally met with one family that had recently returned to their home city of Homs. And unfortunately they returned to rubble. Everything has been decimated, razed to the ground describes the WFP officer.

I actually happen to walk into the neighbourhood when the father of this family was hauling bags of cement and I asked him 'what are you doing?' He said 'look, Im trying to rebuild my home, physically from scratch. But I don't have money, I don't have a job. The prices of cement and steel are expensive'.

She adds that this father is spending about 80 percent of his savings on his food. So extra money to build housing is hard to come by.

International community

Already the current ceasefire in place brokered by Turkish and Russian forces in Sochi in September continues to be violated.

After eight years of war, civilians are still bearing the brunt of the fighting.

The only answer to the suffering is to stop the fighting, accroding to both Alabdullah and Awad.

The best option would be for the conflict to end but also for the ceasefire [to be] respected says the WFP worker. And this is why we're calling on all parties of the conflict to make sure that A: civilians are not stuck in the line of fire and B: [that] we as humanitarians have the safe passage and access to reach them to provide them with whatever they need to survive.

On the ground in Idlib, Alabdullah adds that more pressure on the big shots who can call the shots needs to be exerted for them to make the decision to stop thisthis catastrophic situation for the people.
Chris Evans (Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Following his full-voiced condemnation of new anti-abortion legislation in the states of Alabama and Georgia, Chris Evans is taking aim at a shocking new policy which could strip the children of LGBT couples of their US citizenship.

The Captain America star tweeted a link to an article on US news site The Daily Beast, calling the policy 'maddening'.

He added: We are regressing.

Take a minute to read this. Its maddening. We are regressing. https://t.co/cQptvKZAar  Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) May 15, 2019

The article investigates how the Trump administration's State Department has passed a new ruling, meaning that children of US couples born abroad via 'assisted reproductive technology' will be considered children born 'out of wedlock'.

As such their birthright citizenship of the US will not be guaranteed.

Read more: Chris Evans slams new anti-abortion bill

This particularly affects the children of LGBT couples, and is to be enforced even if the couple are legally married.

It could mean that parents will face 'legal and logistical hurdles', and could even potentially mean that child is technically 'stateless' and could be deported.

Fans were quick to thank Evans, who has nearly 12 million followers on Twitter, for bringing the story to a wider audience.

It follows earlier remarks from Evans this week, after he expressed his horror at new legislation in Alabama, which would effectively ban abortion in virtually every circumstance.

Read more: Production companies begin boycott of Georgia

The legislation went further than the so-called 'Heartbeat bill' in Georgia, which was voted in last week.

It would prevent women from terminating pregnancies even in the case of rape or incest, only allowing them if they are required to save life.

Followers flooded Evans' timeline with positive messages, after he called the move 'absolutely unbelievable'.
Lady Gabriella Windsor made a beautiful bride as she arrived at the royal wedding on Saturday, wearing a gown by Luisa Beccaria. Prince Michael of Kent's daughter had the perfect accessory to complete her look - an exquisite tiara that was previously worn by her mother Princess Michael of Kent and her grandmother Princess Marina of Greece on their wedding days.

VIDEO: Prince Harry arrives at the wedding

"She was considered one of the most beautiful and elegant women of the time," says the designer of Princess Marina, who married Prince George, the Duke of Kent and youngest son of George V, in 1934. Given to the Princess as a gift by the City of London, the tiara features diamonds set in gold and silver in a classic Russian fringe style. Marina's daughter, Princess Alexandra, wore it on her wedding day in 1963 but after Marina's unexpected death in 1968, the diadem passed to her youngest child, Prince Michael of Kent, and when he wed Marie-Christine von Reibnitz - now Princess Michael of Kent - in Vienna in 1978, his bride wore it for the ball celebrating their marriage.

princess-marina-wedding-tiara

Gabriella's grandmother Princess Marina of Greece wore the same tiara in 1934

By wearing a tiara, Gabriella follows in the footsteps of recent royal brides Duchess of Sussex, who borrowed headpieces from the Queen's collection.

Lady Gabriella's bridal look consisted of a stunning wedding dress by Luisa Beccaria. The bride wore her hair in semi-up do and added subtle makeup to her fresh flawless complexion makeup to complete her look.

Her wedding, hosted almost a year to the day after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex married at the same venue, was attended by members of the royal family including the Queen, proud parents Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, and Lady Gabriella's brother Lord Frederick Windsor, his wife Sophie Winkleman, and their daughters Maud and Isabella.

MORE: Everything you need to know about Lady Gabriella Windsor and Tom Kingston's wedding

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This is similar to what happened with NAFTA and the TPP. Trump also referee to those trade agreements as terrible. He backed out of the TPP and negotiated a replacement deal for NAFTA, the USMCA, that he bragged was much better. Except the ways that the USMCA differs from NAFTA are largely lifted from the text of the TPP Both Mexico and Canada are in the TPP. It looked like they took advantage of the Presidents ignorance to get the US to abide by the TPP rules (at least as they pertain to those two countries).

Of course the Trump Administrations conditions for a nuclear deal with Iran look a lot like Obamas nuclear deal that he rejected. The reason Trump called that agreement a disaster is because Obama made it. He could not cite specific problems with the details of the agreement, because he had no idea what those details were. So now that his war monger if aides are pushing him to attack Iran and the Administration is forced to articulate what Iran has to do to avoid confrontation, those conditions are going to be dictated by the same realities that produced the JCPOA . Except now Iran has even less incentive to believe the US would honor any new deal.
Theres a story about three umpires discussing their trade. Maybe youve heard it. There are these three umpires, and theyre each bragging a little bit, showing off. Theyre each claiming to be the best at what they do. The first one says, I have a good eye, and I call it like I see it. The second one says, thats nothing -- I have a good eye, and I call it like it is. And the third one just shakes his head, and after a long pause he says, it aint nothin til I call it.

Why am I telling you this?

 '     These are My fixed-times, which yall shall proclaim, declaring them holy. (Lev. 23:2)

Thats from this weeks Torah portion, Emor. The verses that follow offer an outline of our festival year in its most ancient form. First and foremost is Shabbat. Time and again, weekday and workday consciousness gives way to Shabbat, which tradition calls a foretaste of the world to come. Thats the weekly rhythm, the flow and ebb, built into the fabric of creation. And it serves and supports a bigger oscillation, the annual rhythm of the festival year.

At Pesach, in the emerging spring, we celebrate liberation from narrow places. The Omer leads us to Shavuot, when we receive revelation. At Rosh Hashanah the universe begins anew -- Pesach is the anniversary of our Exodus, but Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of all creation. At Yom Kippur we answer for our souls. At Sukkot we move outside, celebrating the harvest and recognizing impermanence. And then, after a fallow time, Pesach comes around again.

Now, Torah could have just said that God declares certain times to be holy. Let it be Gods job to declare whats holy and what isnt, whats a special time and whats ordinary. I mean, God speaks the world into being, right? But instead Torah says that we proclaim holy time. We declare its holiness. We have a role to play in making our sacred times what they are. The questions for me are, how and why do we do that? And what happens in us when we do?

Torah and the rabbinic tradition are full of how and why. We declare a time to be kadosh, set-apart, by lighting candles or blessing the fruit of the vine: kiddush, which shares a root with kadosh. Or we build a sukkah, or wave a lulav. Or we set time apart by not-doing things. On Shabbat and festivals, Torah instructs us to cease our working, our rushing to make and create and do. Or we refrain from eating and drinking, as many of us do on Yom Kippur...

What interests me most is not so much the things we do or dont do, but the internal dynamics behind the doing or not-doing. What does it feel like to consciously refrain from working? What does it feel like to kindle a candle and feel something internal shift thanks to its flickering light? What opens up in us as a result of that doing and the feeling that flows from that doing? Beyond that, what opens or changes in us when we do and feel those things together?

Because thats another thing I notice about this verse in Torah: These are My fixed-times, which yall shall proclaim, declaring them holy. Now, Im saying yall because I grew up in south Texas, and even after 27 years in the Northeast I remain convinced that the English language needs a plural form of you, and yall is the plural form of you that I like best. But Im also saying yall because thats what Torahs syntax suggests. This is a communal instruction.

Notice the tension between individual and communal. The how and the why of making time holy are communally-agreed-upon, or at least communally-discussed. The internal dynamics of making time holy -- what awakens in us when we take this work on -- are personal. What happens in me when I kindle candles is not necessarily transferrable. And it shifts over time as I change and grow. Making time holy has a profound impact on who and how I become.

The sage known as the Aish Kodesh teaches that festivals have an innate quality of holiness. (Writing about Purim, he says that even if one is grieving on Purim and cant fully inhabit the holidays requisite joy, the day itself will work its magic. I found that deeply meaningful this year when Purim fell during shloshim, the first month of mourning, for my mom.) Hes not alone in that viewpoint. Theres a strong view in tradition that our holidays themselves are holy.

When it comes to Yom Kippur, our sages teach, the essence of the day itself is what enables us to atone -- together with our acts of teshuvah, yes, but the day itself has a unique quality that helps us get there. And yet theres also a sense that holiness is something we create. In Heschels words, we learn how to consecrate sanctuaries that emerge from the magnificent stream of a year. The Sabbaths are our great cathedrals. We consecrate not space but time.

We consecrate. In instructing us to set holy time apart, Torah implies that something happens when we declare holy time. Maybe something happens in us when we set holy time apart. Experientially, that feels true to me. Theres a difference between being handed something, and making it myself. Theres a difference between being told that a day is holy, and making it holy with my actions and words -- and most especially with my heart and my intention.

It matters to me that we do this with our own hands and hearts. The Judaism that sets my heart afire and tingles my toes is a participatory Judaism. Its a Judaism that doesnt outsource our sense of holiness. Its a Judaism that presumes that every one of us has a role to play in building the Jewish future. A Judaism that encourages every one of us to learn enough about the tradition that we can turn our hearts and hands to building the Judaism that comes next.

In Talmud (Brachot 64a) we read, our children will be taught of God. And then our sages creatively read our children as our builders, recognizing that every successive generation has the responsibility and the opportunity to build the Jewish future, rooted in our own encounters with holiness. The life's work of building Judaism isnt just for the rabbis. Building Judaism belongs to all of us, just as sanctifying time belongs to all of us.

There's something profoundly democratic here, in the lower-case-d sense. God gives us the flow of the festival year, but it's incomplete without our participation. Our spiritual ancestors give us a vast library of texts and traditions, but they're incomplete without our participation, too. They're the recipe, but you can't eat a cookbook. It's our energy and attention, our investment of hands and hearts, that transforms the recipe into nourishing food for the soul.

Judaism asks us to balance what we've received, and what the future asks us to build. Sometimes we build in new ways, through new spiritual technologies, new ways of learning, new texts and prayers and melodies to enliven our experience of ancient texts and festivals and practices. And sometimes we build in ancient ways, letting those ancient practices (like sanctifying time) do their work in us as we open ourselves to becoming and to change.

In the instruction to proclaim the festivals, Torah is telling us that even something as fundamental to Jewish life as holy time is a partnership between us and God. Our sacred times have power, and that power is magnified when we make the choice to declare those times to be set-apart and holy. And when we consciously set time apart, we open ourselves so that holiness can flow through us into the future that is yet to be. Shabbat shalom.

Shabbat shalom.







This is the d'var Torah I offered this morning at Temple Beth Zion in Buffalo where I am (with Rabbi David Markus) Halpern Scholar-In-Residence this weekend. Deep thanks to the Halpern family for bringing us to western New York!

Written with gratitude to my co-founders at Bayit: Building Jewish.
Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE), a major international company that develops and manufactures construction machines, has assembled a dedicated team to proactively support Volvo dealers in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region for providing solutions to problems that can lead to reduced uptime.



Located in Volvo CEs EMEA regional headquarters in Eskilstuna, Sweden, the new uptime centre will assist the entire Volvo dealer network in keeping customers machines up and running.



It will serve as an IT nerve centre, monitoring data transmitted by connected machines through CareTrack and identifying areas where uptime and efficiency can be increased, said the statement from Volvo CE.



The majority of problems we work with should be things that we detect before the dealer or customer does. Thats our goal  to be proactive and provide solutions to problems before they happen, says Fredrik Gerhardsson, vice-president aftermarket within Volvo CE sales region EMEA.



In a bid to become customers number one choice for uptime in EMEA, we have assembled a dedicated team to proactively support Volvo dealers in providing solutions to problems that can lead to reduced uptime, he added.



Case handlers will alert dealers to machine errors codes and alarms so that they can take immediate action on behalf of their customers, reducing unplanned stops, spending on fuel and maintenance and preventing future problems.



When I identify a problem, I make a complete report that I send to the dealer. The dealer goes to provide preventative maintenance, extra training or offer options that will ensure even better uptime or efficiency. A trained operator, for example, can save a lot of money on fuel and unplanned maintenance, says Leif Waad, one of the case handlers in the uptime centre.



The centre is the outcome of a reorganisation of the product support department as effectively guiding dealers with preventative maintenance requires expertise from more than just the aftermarket.



Involvement of all areas of the Volvo CE team help create a culture of uptime and bring customer service to the forefront of the business, says Robert Sundkvist, manager of the uptime centre. -TradeArabia News Service
The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has proposed managing ride-hailing platforms in a different way than other transport firms.

A customer books a car on the Grab application

If the proposal goes ahead, companies like Grab, Uber and GoViet will be managed as a separate entity from traditional taxi firms.

Nguyen Manh Hung, minister of Information and Communications, has submitted a proposal to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on the issue, au Tu (Investment) newspaper reported.

The draft decree on automobile transportation businesses would replace Decree 86/2014/N-CP, which the Ministry of Transport recently submitted to the Government.

The latest draft, the eighth since 2016, includes a new definition for automobile transportation businesses, defining them as a service which includes two major stages: vehicle operation and service fee fixing.

With this definition, any firms involved in vehicle operation and price fixing must be registered as transportation companies, meaning Grab would be a transportation company and managed like taxi firms.

However, the MIC said countries such as the UK, Germany, Singapore and Indonesia have used new management models to aid the development of digital technologies to bring new benefits to society, especially heightened competition.

In Viet Nam, the Government and PM has instructed ministries and agencies to build new legal frameworks to promote innovation.

From that point of view, the ministry said it was necessary to see firms like Grab, Uber and GoViet as a separate entity, in addition to those currently regulated.

For traditional taxi operation, the ministry currently sees three stakeholders, namely taxi firms, consumers and the State. Under the draft, ride-hailing platforms would be the fourth entity.

Hung said the benefits brought by the new business model were clear, including transparency in transport costs and higher quality service.

The ministry proposed suitable management regulations, including use of technology by the State. Instead of requiring cars providing ride-hailing services to have roof signs showing that they were contract vehicles, agencies may request they ensure access to data of vehicles using their platform.

The ministry confirmed it was necessary to increase competitiveness with traditional taxi models, and ride-hailing platforms would be one way to go about this. VNS
Businesses in Vietnam must focus on sustainable practices if they desire long-term growth from regional manufacturing shifts and rising overseas capital inflows.

As a global trade dispute reaches new levels, Vietnam has enjoyed a bit of spotlight as the next big production base for the ASEAN, poised to welcome scores of investors shifting production away from China.

A recent Maybank survey showed that a fifth of China-based manufacturers are rushing to Vietnam to avoid high tariffs set by the United States.

Foreign direct investment in the first quarter of 2019 jumped 86 per cent on-year, with flows mostly into electronics, textiles, garments, and consumer goods production.

However, at last weeks Invest Asia 2019 conference held by Maybank Group in Singapore, experts and investors emphasised that if Vietnamese businesses do not pay close attention to sustainable development, they will not be able to join the global supply chain, attract major foreign investors or retain consumers.

As the next manufacturing hub, Vietnam might want to avoid a similar fate as China, where pollution is becoming a dear cost to quick manufacturing growth, said Nicola de Loisy, president of Hong Kong-based advisory SCMO.

South China Morning Post cited a Chinese University of Hong Kong study stating that air pollution from smog-inducing ozone and fine particles may be shaving an estimated 267 billion yuan ($38 billion) off the Chinese economy each year in the form of early deaths and lost food production.

Melissa Kang, founder and managing partner of Jupiter Impact Partners, a Singapore-based firm in favour of sustainable investment, told VIR that Vietnamese consumers are also becoming more informed about sustainability and demand it from businesses.

Thanks to a number of environmental scandals and social media, consumers, especially the younger generation, want businesses to be responsible towards the environment and community they operate in.

Sustainability isnt something simply nice to have anymore. If companies in Vietnam want to stay in business, join the global supply chains, and keep customers, they must invest in sustainable development, said Kang.

She spoke from her experience as a former investment officer of the International Finance Corporation and Morgan Stanley, and a close observer of Vietnams sustainability practices.

Two months ago, a survey conducted by Oxfam and partners showed that 81 per cent of Vietnamese consumers have at one time or another boycotted a product due to poor business ethics, with environmental and social responsibility making up a prominent part.

At the Invest Asia event, financiers also discussed how the financial industry can push sustainability practices in Vietnam.

Efforts usually come from international investors, stock exchanges, and banks. The message is that if local companies want to receive funding from financial institutions or join the stock exchange, they should pay close attention to sustainability.

When we talk with companies, we dont want the glossy sustainability reports. Well have discussions with executives to see whether this is an integral part of their strategy, because these efforts have to come from the top, said Munib Madni, CEO of Panarchy Partners.

The investor said that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are increasingly used by investment funds that look for companies with not only growth prospects, but also a good impact on the environment and wider society.

Last month, the ESG Global Survey 2019 showed that a quarter of European investors and 20 per cent of those in the Asia-Pacific already adopt ESG for more than half of their investment decisions.

Investors in Asia in particular strongly believed that companies with ESG are more likely to outperform those without it for long-term, and this safeguards the reputation of both investors and their businesses.

In Vietnam, there are already initiatives to push ESG by regulators and overseas investors. One example is Dragon Capital, who oversees $3 billion in assets and quickly realised that previous investments mostly failed due to ESG problems.

To continue raising capital from major investors from across the world, the group has adopted an ESG standard and declined to invest in any Vietnamese companies that do not meet these requirements.

Another strong advocate of ESG investing is Vietnam Holding, who have partnered with sustainability organisations and held annual forums on ESG best practices.

Were a sustainable investor and are driven by shareholder value and the goals of ESG principles. Our investment system includes 36 specific criteria, and our evaluations compare an investee companys ESG improvement over time, said the investment fund.

Market regulators are promoting ESG via legal documents such as Circular No.155/2015/TT-BTC on sustainability, and Decree No.71/2017/ND-CP on corporate governance. The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange has also introduced the Vietnam Sustainability Index for listed companies with the highest ESG scores.

When asked whether Vietnamese companies can comply with regional and global ESG benchmarks, Rajiv Vijendran, regional head of Investment Banking and Advisory at Maybank Kim Eng, said that this is a common problem in frontier markets across Asia, and that opportunities to invest in ESG-compliant businesses are still limited, especially in listed ones. That said, the trend towards ESG is clear, especially with the push from institutional backers.

As more investors put sustainability goals in their portfolios, companies will have to follow if they want to look for funding, Vijendran told VIR.

Nam Phuong

VIR
Savills Hanoi director tells conference of how Vietnam's real estate sector is the equal of most others.

Vietnam is one of the global property hotspots in 2019, Mr. Matthew Powell, Director of Savills Hanoi, told a conference in the capital on May 15.

With robust fundamentals, a positive macroeconomic outlook, and continuous investment into infrastructure, the real estate market is thriving across a multitude of sectors, he said. Strong potential is creating strong investment demand in all property markets.

According to the Savills Impacts 2018 report, at the end of 2017, the value of the worlds real estate reached $280.6 trillion, of which approximately 78 per cent is comprised of residential property.

To give this figure context, the total value of all the gold ever mined is approximately $7.6 trillion, and global GDP is $78.3 trillion, representing 30 per cent of the value of global real estate. Real estate is by far the most significant store of wealth and stands at more than 3.5-times total global GDP.

Equities and gold grew much faster in value than real estate, but rising wealth in emerging economies means there is more capital at large, and real estate is viewed as a safe store for it, Mr. Powell went on.

Investor motives remain a mixture of wealth storage, capital appreciation, and income return. But, increasingly, the income produced by real estate assets and the potential for rental growth has become of greater interest to investors, as yields on fixed-income assets have compressed.

There will be strength in Vietnams residential market, he said, supported by the rapidly growing middle class, strong urbanization, and some of the best rental yields anywhere in the region.

Meanwhile, the office markets in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City continue to be among the most exciting property sectors in the region. We expect to see strong investor demand in the office sector as it continues to mature, he told the gathering.

Hospitality markets are benefiting from growing numbers of both domestic and international tourists, as well as growing numbers of direct international flights.

Its no surprise, he said, that hotel investors are descending upon Vietnam as the next regional hotspot.

Industrial real estate, fueled by growing FDI being poured into manufacturing, improved infrastructure, and a competitive outlook when compared with other countries in the region, represents one of the most active sectors for M&A activity in 2019.

There is massive interest from foreign investors at the moment, Mr. Powell added.

For foreign investors, despite strong interest, what gets in the way of turning it into investment transactions and efficient use of capital is the risks.

Its also important that they are able to make clear comparisons between Vietnam and other countries such as Indonesia or more developed markets like Singapore and Hong Kong (China). To make this comparison, transparent information is essential and becomes a key part of the decision-making process.

Local investors are taking heat from international players with large capital flows and from new property concepts entering the market.

New policies and amendments coming into effect are also creating challenges for developers in financing, constructing, and recovering capital. Global trends such as prop-tech are shaking up the real estate market for all investors, but local developers are certainly less experienced in adapting to such disruptors.

Mr. Powell concluded that the outlook for Vietnam is positive. There is continued and growing investment interest in the property market, shown in growing FDI levels, increasing numbers of M&As, and a surge of new business registrations, he said.

The real estate market, which is linked directly to the performance of the macroeconomy, will continue to be influenced by various policies, including monetary, business, and planning, as well as housing regulations.

VN Economic Times
Concerns on external disputes like the ongoing US - China trade tensions should be tempered as they could present Vietnam with good opportunities, analysts have suggested.

Vietnam has emerged as an attractive destination for foreign investors that intend to move their investment out of China due to their worries over high labour costs and escalating tariffs caused by the trade tensions.

The US raised the pressure by lifting tariffs to 25 per cent from 10 per cent on the US$200 billion list of Chinese imports as negotiations on resolving the ongoing US - China trade war stalled last week.

Meanwhile, President Trump stated he could impose 25 per cent tariffs on another US$300 billion worth of Chinese goods.

China in turn has made clear that it will respond to US tariffs in a similar fashion. The Asian country is scheduled to levy retaliatory tariffs on some 5,000 imports from the US on June 1 onwards.

Analysts believe that the trade war is currently at its peak and it could trigger a global crisis. Failure by the US and China to reach any agreement is likely to result in a slowdown in global trade and escalate the risk of a global recession.

Dr. Le Xuan Sang, deputy head of the Vietnam Institute of Economics noted that the ongoing trade war has yielded obvious impacts on the Vietnamese economy. Sang said whether the US or China comes out on top, but the later seems to record strong growth in its trade surplus.

Sometimes, external disputes such as the trade war could do good for Vietnam, thus we would not voice much concern regarding it, he believes.

Economist Nguyen Tri Hieu said that the ongoing trade war could lead to a global economic crisis. However, the country, with its macroeconomic stability, could suffer from negative impacts only the first six months or one year since the beginning of such crisis.

He underpinned his stance by the fact that in 2008 the Vietnamese economy remained safe amid the global financial crisis and the country only sustained consequences during 2009 and beyond.

According to the International Monetary Fund, the trade war has potentially led to a slowdown in the global economy. However, this may not be bad news for Vietnam and the ASEAN block at large. Compared to the increasing tariffs levied on Chinese goods, products made in Southeast Asia become cheaper and more receptive to US consumers.

Vietnam has always been achieving robust economic growth prior to the beginning of the trade war. Having been backed by labor - based production, the Vietnamese economy gained an impressive growth rate of 7.08 per cent in 2018  the peak level over the past decade.

Adam McCarty, chief economist from the Mekong Economics consulting firm, asserted that Vietnam has emerged as an attractive destination for foreign investors that intend to move their investment out of China due to their worries over high labour costs and escalating tariffs caused by the trade tensions.

Analyst Nick Marro from the Economist Intelligence Unit viewed Vietnam and Malaysia as the countries enjoying the most benefits from the escalating trade tensions, especially those for the production of intermediate components, cell phones, and laptops.

Technology sector has been suffering the most from the trade disputes as electronic items and components top the list of products subject to the tit-for-tat tariffs.

VOV
Vietnams dairy products will enter the Chinese market following the signing of documents between the two governments.

As such, great opportunities have been opened for Vinamilk, TH True Milk and Masan.

In late April, three agreements on the cooperation in the field of agriculture were signed between Vietnams MARD and Chinas General Department of Customs.

One of the three documents was the protocol on veterinary and public health requirements for Vietnamese dairy exports to China. It includes the legal basis to facilitate the exports of Vietnam's dairy products to a potential market with 1.4 billion consumers.

According to World & Research, with economic development and improved living standards, the dairy product consumption level has been increasing rapidly, reaching 31.79 million tons in 2017. The CAGR increased steadily by 2.7 percent in 2013-2017. Meanwhile, the CAGR in dairy product output was only 2.1 percent.

A report of the Chinese customs agency showed that in 2018, the country imported 2.74 million tons of dairy products of different kinds, an increase of 7.8 percent over the same period last year, with total import turnover of $10.65 billion, an increase of 14.8 percent.

FAO reported that the WMP (whole milk powder) volume China imported in 2018 increased by 10.6 percent over the year before, while SMP (skim milk powder) by 11 percent. Chinese consumers have turned their back to domestic dairy products for the last decade after the melamine crisis.

Meanwhile, FAO reported that the WMP (whole milk powder) volume China imported in 2018 increased by 10.6 percent over the year before, while SMP (skim milk powder) by 11 percent. Chinese consumers have turned their back to domestic dairy products for the last decade after the melamine crisis.

According to Fiinpro, Vietnams dairy market is controlled by five big players, Vinamilk, Nestle Vietnam, Nutifood, Frieslandcampina and TH Milk.

VInamilk, the nations leading producer, for the first time in the last five years saw profit decreasing in 2018 (VND10.206 trillion in 2018 vs VND10.278 trillion in 2017).

However, the figure represented a 60 percent growth rate compared with 2014.

However, Vinamilks CEO Mai Kieu Lien is optimistic about the companys growth. Vinamilks products are exported to more than 40 countries and the brand has the biggest advantages among Vietnamese producers in conquering the Chinese market.

VInamilk has 12 milk cow farms including two organic farms meeting European standards.

TH True Milks major products are fresh milk, yoghurt and nut milk. The company also has great advantages in materials with 45,000 cows.

Masan, a big consumer goods manufacturer, plans to join the dairy market from 2021. There has been no information showing that the group has kicked off the plan. However, sources said Masan may take a shortcut with M&A deals.

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Challenges related to network security, customer trust and an inadequate legal framework are road blocks to the digital transformation of Vietnamese banks, experts told a conference in HCM City on Thursday.

According to Vietcombank, 94 per cent of banks in Viet Nam are investing in digitisation and 42 per cent of them consider digital baking a top priority.  Photo courtesy of HDBank

Speaking at Vietnam Banking Conference: Digital Banking, Le Anh Dung, deputy head of the State Bank of Viet Nams Payment Department, said, In Viet Nam, security risks such as fraud, customer fraud, network attacks on bank infrastructure, and user data leakage are rising.

According to Ernst & Young Vietnam, 8,319 cyber attacks occurred on banks last year and 560,000 computers were affected by malwares capable of stealing bank account information.

Banks faced losses of US$642 million caused by computer viruses, while only 52 per cent of customers worried about security while using online banking.

Nguyen Hung Nguyen, deputy general director of National Payment Services Vietnam (NAPAS), said, [The lack of] customer trust is also an obstacle in digital banking.

He said 90 per cent of payments for e-commerce transactions are done through cash-on-delivery because customers do not trust sellers and deliverers.

Nguyen Thi Thu Hang, director of Vietcombanks e-banking services development department in HCM City, agreed with Nguyen about the preponderance of cash.

Vietnamese have kept the habit of using cash for a long time. The habit of buying online is gradually forming but the common payment form is still COD.

According to Vietcombank, 94 per cent of banks in Viet Nam are investing in digitisation and 42 per cent of them consider digital baking a top priority.

Around 30 per cent of the countrys population have a bank account and 70 per cent have smart phones connected to the internet. However, only 20 per cent of customers make online transactions.

Experts at the conference also focused on the lack of regulations governing digital services.

Hang said, There is no legal framework for data sharing, storage and exploitation.

Nguyen said the Government should create a framework for a regulatory sandbox for applying new digital technologies.

He also called for drafting regulations for fintech to serve underbanked customers.

As for the legal framework, Dung said the Government should instruct relevant ministries and departments to create a national database on the population and allow opening, sharing and connecting with services such as banking, telecommunications and insurance.

The Government should create a legal framework for user data security and information security to create a safe and reliable digital transaction system, he added.  VNS
In early 1941, Ho Chi Minh walked across the Chinese border and entered the jungle of north Viet Nam determined to lead a revolution: to drive foreign invaders out of his country and liberate it, or to die trying.

Late President Ho Chi Minh worked at his house in 1957.  VNS File Photo

At that time, the vast majority people in Viet Nam were not familiar with the name Ho Chi Minh.

In 1969, everybody in the country cried over his death.

He died six years before his dream finally came true. In 1975, the Vietnamese liberation forces took the South Vietnamese city of Saigon and renamed it Ho Chi Minh City in his honour.

He might not have lived to witness what he spent his life fighting for, but his legacy remains.

The testament

In 1965, Ho Chi Minh started to write his last testament. The first draft was only 800 words long. Over the next four years, he rewrote and changed the piece from time to time. The final version was completed in 1969.

The first paragraphs of the document are about the Party, one of the issues the late President spent much time considering throughout his revolutionary life because the Party played a decisive role in the victories of the revolution.

According to President Ho Chi Minh, the ruling Partys mandate is to lead the social classes and the nation to successfully build a socialist society. To fulfil this mission, the Communist Party of Vietnam must set an example of morality.

In his testament, he wrote: Within the Party organisation, establishing broad democracy and practising self-criticism and criticism regularly and seriously is the best way to consolidate and develop solidarity and unity.

"Every member and cadre of the Communist Party must truly be imbued with revolutionary morals, be hard-working, practising thrift, integrity and righteousness, and be public-spirited and selfless. It is a must to keep our Party clean and worthy of being the loyal leader and servant to the people."

Professor Hoang Chi Bao from the Ho Chi Minh Academy of Politics said studying and following Ho Chi Minhs morality is important to national construction and development today as the Vietnamese Party and State fight the degradation of political thought, ethics and lifestyle, as well as manifestations of self-evolution and self-transformation among cadres and Party members.

The late President had always been sure about what a transparent ruling Party should be. In Ho Chi Minhs Thought, as the founder, leader and trainer of the Party, he wrote: "Besides the interests of the motherland and the people, the Party has no other benefit."

He wrote in the same work: "A Party that conceals its fault is a corrupt Party. A Party that dares to condemn its shortcomings, define the cause and circumstances which resulted in such limitations and look for ways to correct that defect, that is a progressive, forcible, righteous and genuine Party.

After discussing the Party, Ho Chi Minh talked about the importance of education for the countrys next generation.

He wrote: The Party must foster their revolutionary virtues and train them to be our successors The training and education of future revolutionary generations is of great importance and necessity.

Bui inh Phong, a senior lecturer at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Public Administration, said the late President experienced many hardship and challenges during his youth. Throughout his life, Ho Chi Minh held high regard for the role of young people in the countrys fate.

In 1947, in his letter to the youth, the late President affirmed that the youth were the countrys future masters. He said if the youth wanted to be worthy of this title, they must educate and train their spirit and work hard to prepare for the future. Youth education must be closely attached to social struggles to help them avoid hazardous elements and negative practices, and to learn good and progressive practices.

Young people must be ready to go where the Party needs them and to do difficult tasks when the Party asks them to, he wrote.

Last words

In his 1,000-word will, Ho Chi Minh used just a few words to talk about his personal matters.

All my life, I have served the Homeland, the revolution and the people with all my heart and strength," he wrote. "If I should now depart from this world, I would have nothing to regret, except not being able to serve longer and more.

When I am gone, a grand funeral should be avoided in order not to waste the peoples time and money.

A part of his wish  that his remains be cremated  was only made public later. The Political Bureau said that the reason the Party and State begged to act in a way that was at variance with his recommendation was because they found it was necessary to preserve Uncle Hos body so that in future, people throughout the country, particularly compatriots in the South and foreign friends, could come pay tribute to him and express their deep feelings for him.  VNS
There remains much potential for expanding and diversifying trade between Vietnam and Brazil, said Brazilian Ambassador Fernando Apparicio da Silva.

Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply Terresa Cristina Correa (centre) speaks at the business seminar in Hanoi on May 17

At a Vietnam-Brazil business seminar in Hanoi on May 17, he said over the last 30 years, the countries have made important strides in their diplomatic relations. Many legal documents in other fields have been signed and taken effect. Leaders of Brazil and Vietnam have held regular meetings and discussions, helping to strengthen bilateral ties.

The diplomat noted in 2018, bilateral trade reached 4.4 billion USD, making his country the 21st biggest trade partner of Vietnam. Trade deficit or surplus is not substantial at about 400 million USD, showing that their trade is relatively balanced.

To expand and diversify trade and capitalise on the huge potential, the two sides can open new markets, he said, adding that Brazils agricultural business has considerable competitiveness and the country is seeking opportunities to explore new markets.

The South American nation also has potential for supplying products of the aviation and defence industries, Ambassador Fernando Apparicio da Silva said.

At the event, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said bilateral ties date back to a long time before they officially set up the diplomatic relationship on May 8, 1989. Since this date, Vietnam-Brazil relations have been developing continually.

Bilateral trade surged 58-fold from 75 million USD in 2004 to 4.4 billion USD in 2018, making Brazil the top trade partner of Vietnam in Latin America. The countries businesses have also actively sought and grasped opportunities for investment, business and market expansion in the fields both sides have strength in like agriculture, aquaculture, manufacturing and bio-energy.

Particularly, agriculture is an important aspect as it boasts great potential for cooperation and the countries products are complementary, he noted.

Son added that Vietnam and Brazil have also coordinated closely and supported each other at international organisations and multilateral forums.-VNA
The transformation of Vietnams healthcare sector is racing forwards after successes in the past year, but the countrys lofty goals are still some way off.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien discussedthe readiness of a legal framework, and future opportunities for private businesses that may wish to forge partnerships and expand operations in the Vietnamese healthcare system.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien

Vietnam has made big improvements in universal healthcare coverage, but still faces challenges to achieve the targets set for 2030. How important are public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements in this journey?

Last year the healthcare sector made some great achievements, contributing to the increase in access of primary healthcare for rural people.

The quality of examinations and treatment were also raised, along with the development of the PPP model, and facilitation of business activities.

Also, during 2018, health insurance coverage reached the rate assigned by the National Assembly.

Despite this, the sector is facing obstacles in increasing health insurance coverage, primary healthcare, finance capacity, and the general capacity to provide healthcare services.

Over the past four decades, Vietnam has developed a strong grassroots healthcare network. Now, we are developing further in line with Decision No.2348/QD-TTg, approving the scheme for establishment and implementation of such health facilities.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) is developing a trial family health programme across 26 communes before expanding nationwide in line with models created elsewhere.

The sector is also focusing on taking care of healthy people, and the fight against non-communicable diseases.

To deal with these issues, we are calling for the private sector to join the effort to obtain the goal of universal healthcare coverage by 2030  one of the countrys sustainable development goals.

A number of multinational corporations have shown interest in PPP projects. What are the opportunities for them in the coming future?

The Vietnamese government is encouraging the private sector to invest in healthcare.

We are encouraging domestic private and foreign investors to fund PPP projects, especially in hospitals, grassroots health centres, and primary healthcare facilities.

For example, we are developing a family health model and general clinics.

Under the MoHs health policy reforms, ICT development, infrastructure, medical devices, medicine and vaccine supplies, hi-tech services, and green facilities are among the key reform policies.

Therefore, the sector requires partnership from both the private sector and international groups.

At present, development of infrastructure, equipment, and ICT remains weak. Development of smart hospitals, digital health, and smart management still fails to meet the demand.

Meanwhile, sufficient supply of pharmaceuticals and vaccines remains a challenge.

We are considering and appraising procedures for some PPP projects in healthcare infrastructure and medical equipment, and we are willing to welcome private investors to join.

PPP developers are awaiting a regulatory framework. When will the long-awaited circular be published?

At present, the sector faces challenges in PPP model implementation because of incomplete legal framework.

Vietnam does now have a regulatory framework for PPP investment.

It includes Decree No.63/2018/ND-CP on PPP investment, and Decree No.151/2017/ND-CP on management and use of public assets.

To facilitate further PPP development, the country needs to have transparent incentives.

We are now completing a circular guiding such ventures in the sector in line with Decree 63, and we expect to complete in the next few months.

More importantly, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has announced a draft PPP Law to seek comments in which concerns among domestic and overseas investors are included.

Once the law is initiated, it is expected to improve the countrys attractiveness to private investors in healthcare. VIR

Bich Thuy
Ten years ago, the Vietnamese Government sought to uplift disadvantaged ethnic minority groups in the mountainous region northwest of the country with rubber plantations.

Farming rubber in northwest region is a bad idea, scientists say

Locals tire of slow progress of rubber plantations

Quang Van Dinh, head of village Tham A of Tong Lanh Commune, Thuan Chau District, the northwestern mountainous province of Son La. The rubber trees were planted on the land he contributed 10 years have not been harvested.

However, the promised riches from the white gold has yet to materialise for those relinquishing much of their land to form the large-scale plantations as the latex flow continues to disappoint.

In 2017, Son La Province boasted one of the largest areas of rubber in the northwest region with 6,000ha. The largest was the neighbouring province of Lai Chau with 12,700ha. The expansion of rubber plantation in these localities was through a partnership where the local households contribute their agricultural fields, used for short-term crops like maize or corn, to the local rubber company (whose parent is the State-owned Viet Nam Rubber Group).

In Quynh Nhai District of Son La Province, rubber plantations have covered the barren hills that dotted the region a decade ago.

Local people said the trees are now fully mature and the rubber could be extracted two or three years ago, but so far, harvesting has only been allowed on a small portion of the available plantations while the majority remains in a state of limbo.

Tong Lanh Commune in Thuan Chau District of Son La was the pioneering area in 2008-09 to implement the project, which involves mobilising people to contribute unused land to make large scale rubber plantations. Twelve villages with 400 households in the commune collectively gave some 1,600ha for the Son La Rubber JSC.

A total area, 600ha was ready to be tapped many years ago but the company is yet to do so.

Before, when they called upon the people to contribute land, they said the yield would come in seven years and the money would help people escape poverty, Quang Van Dinh, head of Tham A Village in Tong Lanh, told Vietnam News Agency.

After the villagers handed over all their land, they only had some 12ha fields of rice left. How could we produce enough to fill our bellies with those little fields? Dinh said, adding that the villagers are feeling very impatient.

Tham A Village handed over some 43ha of land to Son La Rubber JSC and the rubber trees were planted in 2008.

The villagers also complained about the company's sketchy practices, saying that only in June 2018 - ten years after the land deal was made - did the company sign contracts with them, with previous arrangements made and followed entirely by volition and unwritten agreements.

Under the canopies of the more developed rubber trees, wild plants shot up, some as high as an adults head while a noticeable number of rubber trees seem to be stunted.

This is one of the rare times that Ive got to know about how the trees are doing on my own land, Dinh said.

I have not really come up here for a long time. The Chau Thuan farm handled taking care of the area, we normal people wouldnt have any business to go here.

Even those with harvestable rubber, their worries have not subsided.

Our family contributed some 0.3ha and the entire area was tapped in 2018, but for the two years 2017-18, we received a meagre VND235,000 from our shares. Some people dont even bother collecting their shares anymore, Lo Van Hoa, head of village Tham B.

Livelihoods further suffered when they were no longer allowed to plant other crops within the rubber plantation once the rubber matured.

Throughout Son La, the area of harvested rubber after 10 years reached only 10-15 per cent of the planted area, a much lower figure compared to initial projections.

Son La ethnic households are still waiting for the economic payoffs from contributing land to the State's rubber plantations but their patient might be waning.  VNA/VNS Photos Le Son

Difficulties abound

Ho Anh Duc, director general of Son La Rubber JSC, said the scheme to give 10 per cent of the rubber revenues to the landowners was carried out once the first stream of rubber was collected and will continue to be done in the until the end of 2021.

This is already a vast improvement on the original policy, which states that if the company didnt reap any profit within the first years then the participating landowners would receive nothing, Duc said.

According to Duc, Son La rubber trees quality is up to par, with decent yield at 0.5-0.6 tonnes per ha in the first years that would continue to rise in the future.

For the rubber trees, the latex output in the three years of harvesting would not be high, in five years, the output started to climb and peak in 14-15 years, Duc said.

In addition, rubber is a perennial industrial crop so its economic gains must be viewed in relation to the plantations whole life cycle and its mixed benefits.

Lo Van Sam, chair of Tong Lanh Commune Peoples Committee, said so far, planting mass areas of rubber trees has helped improve the environment  the frequently dried underground water sources in the commune are now more abundant and stable.

As the rubber plantation widened, social infrastructures like roads, schools and cultural establishments were also built, Sam said.

While the long-term benefits of the rubber trees remain in the pipeline, the lack of economic deliverables certainly presents a headache for everyone involved.

Uncertain future

Rubber prices worldwide nosedived in recent times, with the current price only one third of the peak in 2010-11 period, spelling trouble for Vietnam who export 80 per cent of its latex output.

At the same time, as the input price and minimum wage and other benefits for workers are climbing, so Son La Rubber JSC and the Viet Nam Rubber Group, opted to not expand the plantation area and only consolidate the existing areas.

This, in turn, creates a shortage of job, and as salary is dependent on the output and direct caretaking workload, many contracted rubber workers have quit to find better paying jobs.

Ho Anh Duc from Son La Rubber said in the beginning, many landowners themselves went to work as rubber workers but the number keeps dropping. Today it is 2,500 people.

Once the rubber reaches a certain maturity, there would not be much work to do, so many switched to other jobs. But as the harvesting begins, the company again urged them to return, he said.

But not many are interested in returning to the infamously backbreaking labour.

According to a survey, during 2008-12, the salary of Son La Rubbers worker was at VND1.5-2 million per month, with some exceptions earning VND3 million a month.

But in 2016, on average, a worker only posted a few working days in a month so the average salary dropped by more than 80 per cent.

To Xuan Phuc, a forestry expert at the US-based Forest Trends, said there needs a comprehensive review of the land contributing model on all three fronts  society, economy, and environment  as stated in the Decision 990 by the Prime Minister.

These assessments must be done continually, and the authorities should look at the findings to modify their strategy to help shield the households from the markets risks, Phuc said.

He said the rubber export price would likely not recover before 2030, which would mean the contributing land to rubber plantation would bring more benefits to the participating households.

The authorities need to take stock of how the land is being used as well as how much land each household still owns, to identify the possible causes that could lead to land conflicts and social disorder in the future and tackle them early, he said.

An open dialogue between the rubber company, the people and the local authorities should be held to find solutions that appeal to all stakeholders, he added.

Professor Dang Hung Vo, former minister of environment and natural resources said the only way now is for the two parties to modify the contract under the supervision of the Government, with priority given to the local people.

For the moment, locals can only wait and hope for the best when the central authorities conduct review of the programme to develop rubber industry in the region.

Le Son

VNS
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TCN News

When the Government of Telangana announced the decision to change the name of the Osmania University Library to Dr B R Ambedkar Library, many studies bodies, activists, historians and even the family of the Nizam who founded the University wrote to the Vice-Chancellor, Chief Secretary S K Joshi and to Governor ESL Narasimhan of Telangana requesting their intervention and to halt the process.

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But their protests have been of no use because the authorities went right ahead and re-named the library yesterday, 17th May Friday. A group of students were holding a silent protest even as Prof Sukhadeo Thorat renamed the library to Bharat Ratna Dr BR Ambedkar library and also inaugurated the research centre.

The Osmania University was established by Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan in 1918. His grandson who is also president of the Nizam Family Welfare Association, Nawab Najaf Ali Khan, submitted a petition to VC of the University and also the Governor stating that the name is being changed without considering the sentiments of the people and that of the founder of the University. He applauded Dr BR Ambedkar and the social reforms brought about by him but demanded that the name of the library remain the same.

Nawab Najaf Ali Khan also shared his apprehensions that if names are changed thus, the history and culture of Hyderabad will be lost.

Osmania University had conferred doctorate degree to Dr Ambedkar and Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan had also allotted 54-acre land to for the establishment of Milind Maha Vidyalaya in Aurangabad.

Political party members of Socialist Party(India) and the alumni of Osmania from the USA also submitted petitions to the VC and Secretary to Government of Telangana, Education who had supported his full support in halting the process of renaming the University Library.

Many well-wishers felt that there are other issues of students that need to be addressed and name changing was not at all needed.

The student leader of Muslim Students Organisation is said to have welcomed the renaming of the Library. But some women activists of Hyderabad felt that by renaming a Muslim name with that of a Dalit leaders name the Government is indirectly trying to pitch Muslims against Dalits.

Said one activist on condition of anonymity,  KCR seems to be following the footsteps of the BJP in changing old names or removing structures built by Muslim rulers. Demolishing the Victoria Zenana Hospital built by the Nizam VI in 1907, wanting to construct another building for the secretariat because the present one is not as per Vaastu, changing the logo of the Osmania University, his silence on several Muslim issues, encounter killings of Muslim youth are all signs that he is not that secular as he wants us to believe.

And surprisingly there are 2 groups of people here  one who says that  Had the Nizam been alive, he would not have objected to this name change; while the other say,  If Baba Saheb was alive he would never have approved the name changing.

And as the University authorities did not take heed of the protests or the petitions submitted by the kith of the Nizam and others, Mirza Mohib Baig, the great-grandson of the Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan is said to have that he will move the court of Law to restore the old name.

The Osmania University Library was inaugurated by Dr S Radhakrishnan, the then President of India in 1963.

The library boasts of a collection of over 6 lakh books and over 7,000 manuscripts including the rare palm leaf manuscripts.
Tam Chuc Pagoda, also known as Tam Chuc Spiritual Tourism Complex, has gained popularity for its spiritual dimension.

The Tam Chuc Spiritual Tourism Complex covers 5,000 hectares, including 1,000 hectares of water and 3,000 hectares of mountains

Located in Ha Nam province, just 60 kilometers from Hanoi from the south, it attracts visitors with its hospitable people and tranquil atmosphere in the middle of unspoiled forests.

Legend has it that seven fairies in the shape of seven stars flew from the heaven to the Tam Chuc mountain area to wander the earth.

The charming scenery of Tam Chuc was so attractive that they forgot to return home even though the God of Heaven six times rang bells of recall.

The six islets in front of Tam Chuc Pagoda represent the six bells, while the seven islets behind the Pagoda symbolize the seven fairies.

Nearly 20 years ago, while surveying the construction of Tam Chuc lake, workers discovered vestiges of the ancient Tam Chuc Pagoda - stone and wood pillars, some as big as 1 meter in diameter.

From these artifacts found in Tam Chuc, archaeologists have estimated that Tam Chuc Pagoda has a history of more than 1,000 years.

In 2001, the Prime Minister approved a plan to restore the ruined pagoda and in 2013, the Tam Chuc Pagoda complex was recognized as a national tourism site.

Venerable Thich Minh Quang of Tam Chuc Pagoda said The Tam Chuc Buddhist Cultural Centre is very large and beautiful. It is surrounded by a lake and range after range of mountains. It is a pleasure for us that Tam Chuc was chosen as the venue for the UN Day of Vesak 2019 celebration. This was a great opportunity to promote the people and landscapes of Ha Nam province to the world.

The Tam Chuc Spiritual Tourism Complex covers 5,000 hectares, surrounded by lakes, mountains, and forests. It consists of Ngoc (Pearl) Pagoda, Dien Tam The (The Main Hall of Buddhas of the Three Times), a three-door gate, several shrines, and an International Convention Centre.

Venerable Quang told VOV Inside the Ngoc Pagoda stands a ruby statue of the Amitabha Buddha that weighs 4 tons. The pagoda was constructed of stone blocks by Indian and Vietnamese craftsmen without the use of cement or mortar.

The Main Hall of Buddhas of the Three Times, which sits on 3,500 square meters of land, is the tallest building in the Tam Chuc complex. Inside the two-storey hall are three colossal Buddha statues in black bronze representing the past, present, and future, each weighing 80 tons.

The four giant walls of the Main Hall are decorated with many delicately carved stone pictures, depicting Buddhas life.

Venerable Quang said of the shrines The 12,000 pictures were carved from Indonesian volcanic rock by skilled Muslim artisans. Inside the shrine to worship Lord Buddha is a 150-ton statue and embossments made from volcanic rock depicting the Buddhas birthday, enlightenment, and passing. The shrine to worship a Bodhisattva has a 150-ton bronze statue and embossments of the Bodhisattva saving people from misfortune and danger.

The Tam Chuc Pagoda has 1,000 stone pillars, each 4 meters high and weighing 200 tons, engraved with Buddhist sutras, to create the biggest of its kind in Vietnam. The pagoda is growing a Bodhi tree propagated from Sri Lankas 2,250 year-old Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, the oldest tree in the world.

Ha Thanh, a visitor from Ho Chi Minh City, said Ive been to many pagodas in Vietnam and other countries but none of them amazes me as much as Tam Chuc Pagoda does.

Its hard to see a pagoda sitting on the mountain side and looking to the immense water and mountain like Tam Chuc.

Its amazingly beautiful. The superb statues and sutra pillars and majestic Tam Chuc complex make me feel peaceful in my soul while on a trip to the Buddhas land to learn about Buddhism.

Tam Chuc Spiritual Tourism Complex is next to several famous cultural and scenic spots. This area is part of a 100-kilometer heritage trail in northern Vietnam, which encompasses the Trang An complex, the Hoa Lu ancient capital, the Bai Dinh pagoda complex, the Van Long wetlands reserve, Huong Pagoda, and the Thang Long imperial citadel in the heart of Hanoi.

Located in Ha Nam province, just 60 kilometers from Hanoi from the south, it attracts visitors with its hospitable people and tranquil atmosphere in the middle of unspoiled forests.

VOV5
Thailands Lampang Rajabhat University has published a book on President Ho Chi Minh in Vietnamese and Thai languages, praising the late leaders morals and vision.

Dr. Boonlue Chaimano, head of the Thai language department under the Lampang Rajabhat University, presents the book to Associate Prof. Dr. Somkiat Saithanoo, head of the university.

The book, entitled President Ho Chi Minh who laid foundation for present Vietnam-Thailand relations, was released on the occasion of 90 years since he worked in Thailand and 50 years of the implementation of his testament.

It was compiled by Assistant Professor, Dr. Truong Thi Hang from the Lampang Rajabhat University and Prof. Chuan Petkaew from the Suratthani Rajabhat University, with the support of a consultation council.

With 507 pages in the Thai version and 387 others in Vietnamese, the five-chapter book highlighted President Ho Chi Minhs ideology of international solidarity as well as his journey to spread patriotism in Thailand.

The book has been sent to libraries of 100 universities and academies in Thailand, helping local researchers and readers understand more about President Ho Chi Minh and his role in building the fruitful relationship between Vietnam and Thailand.

The Lampang Rajabhat University is scheduled to present the book to the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand, leaders of Lampang province, the Thailand-Vietnam Friendship Association, the Vietnamese Association in Thailand, universities in Thailands northern provinces, along with relic sites and museums in the country on May 22.

Associate Prof. Dr. Somkiat Saithanoo, head of the Lampang Rajabhat University, said that the book hand-over has helped to promote cooperation between the university and the Vietnamese Embassy in Vietnamese language teaching, scientific research and the preservation of traditional culture of the two countries.

Songpol Sawastham, Governor of Lampang province, said the book introduction and presenting event will contribute to enhancing the friendship between the two countries.

VNA
The Vietnam Science and Technology Day was marked with a ceremony held in Sydney, Australia, on May 18.

Chu Quang Hoa, head of the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technologys representative office in Sydney, said in 2018 and 2019, the office has worked to boost research cooperation and transfer of technologies from Australia to Vietnam, helping with the application of scientific and technological advances in the homeland.

Through meetings with Australias research institutes and businesses working in agricultural and environmental technology, many Vietnamese firms and universities have successfully sought cooperation opportunities.

He added that todays successes of Vietnams science and technology have been greatly contributed by expatriate scientists and researchers, including those in Australia.

Hoa congratulated the club of overseas Vietnamese intellectuals in New South Wales on its first founding anniversary, adding that the club has become a highlight in the technology transfer and research cooperation between Vietnam and Australia.

Under sponsorship agreements between the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology, the clubs members have carried out many projects to apply technologies in Vietnam, he noted.

Congratulating the intellectuals on the Science and Technology Day, Vietnamese Consul General to New South Wales Trinh Duc Hai applauded bilateral cooperation in technology transfer and knowledge connection.

He expressed his hope that expatriate scientists in Australia will continue making high-quality contributions to the two countries strategic partnership, which was set up in 2018.

VNA
A symposium on President Ho Chi Minhs spiritual heritage was held in the city on May 17 on the occasion of his 129th birthday and 50 years of implementing his testament.

Authorities of Russias Saint-Petersburg city, which set up the relationship with Vietnams Ho Chi Minh City, have joined hands with Vietnamese associations to organise a range of activities to celebrate the Vietnam-Russia and Russia-Vietnam Year in 2019 and 2020.

At the symposium

The event saw the participation of hundreds of Vietnamese students and their peers from the St Petersburg University.

Nikolay Bondarenko, St. Petersburgs Vice Governor, highlighted the close relations between St. Petersburg and Vietnam and the citys project on President Ho Chi Minhs spiritual heritage that will last until September this year.

Do Xuan Tuat, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh Institute under the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, said the late President is a symbol of the culture of peace.

Sergey Andryushin, a representative from the St. Petersburg University, said all Vietnamese leaders have followed the path chosen by President Ho Chi Minh, helping Vietnam reap more achievements and affirm its position in the international arena.

The symposium is part of cooperation between the Russian city and Vietnam in politics, science and education.

VNA
A Buddha statue sent by Indian people to President Ho.VNS Photo Minh Thu

HA NOI  Gifts sent from international leaders and people to President Ho Chi Minh were recently put on display at the National Museum of History, Ha Noi.

The exhibition Ho Chi Minh  Portrait of a Person opened yesterday to mark his birthday (May 19) and 50 years of implementation of his testament.

With 200 objects, documents and photos, the exhibition is divided into two parts, Ho Chi Minh  A Life Devoted for the Nation and Ho Chi Minh in International Peoples Hearts.

The exhibition tracks different periods in his revolutionary career. On display includes the original versions of the books uong Kach Menh (Revolutionary Path) and Nguc Trung Nhat Ky (Diary in Prison). Other objects like suitcases, bowls, a stone used as paperweight and clothes showing the simple life of the great leader are on display.

In the second part, the exhibition shows the admiration and respect of Vietnamese and international people to President Ho expressed through gifts.

Each gift also reflects the culture and tradition of the gifting country, for example, a samovar (a heated metal container) from Russia, a Buddha statue from India and a gong from Laos.

Through the exhibition, we want to help local and foreign visitors understand more about the President then they will raise awareness of building and protecting the country, said the museums director Nguyen Van Cuong.

Dr H B Harisha, director of Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (under the Indian Embassy in Ha Noi), said he felt fortunate to attend the exhibition and learn more about the great leader.

President Ho is also famous and admired in India, we have a street named after him in New Delhi, he said.

Im happy and proud to see gifts such as a tea set and a Buddha statue sent by Indian leaders and people here. They prove the close relationship between two countries.

The exhibition will run until the end of August at the National Museum of History, 25 Tong an Street, Ha Noi.

On the same day, an exhibition reflecting the respect of the People's Public Security force for President Ho kicked off at the Museum of People's Public Security, 1 Tran Binh Trong Street, Ha Noi.

Among photos displayed, one capturing Uncle Ho playing volleyball with police in Pac Bo Base is noteworthy. Its a precious photo of the leader showcased to the public for the first time.

Vice Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Son said the exhibits expressed the care and love of President Ho for the police.

The exhibition is a meaningful activity to show admiration of the force to President Ho. This year marks 50 years since when the leader passed away, its also 50 years we have followed his testament to devote ourselves to the nation.  VNS
GRUNDY CENTER  Two Grundy County traffic stops have resulted in arrests for separate incidents.

Gary Susie, 36, of Beaman, was arrested by Grundy County Sheriffs deputies at 11:27 p.m. Friday for second-offense operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, an aggravated misdemeanor. The stop was made in the 28,000 mile of county road T-29, also known as K Avenue. No other details of the incident were available.

Susie remains in jail in lieu of $7,500 bond.

Travis Goodale, 22, of Gowrie, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol troopers at 6:50 a.m. Saturday for second-offense possession of a controlled substance, a serious misdemeanor, and driving while barred, an aggravated misdemeanor. Troopers allegedly found cannabidiol during a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 20 at the 209 mile marker, which is west of Iowa Highway 14.

Goodale was also charged with simple misdemeanors for possession of drug paraphernalia, providing false identification information and speeding. He was allegedly driving 98 mph in a 65 mph zone. He was released on $1,500 cash bond.

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CEDAR RAPIDS  Gun violence erupted into a double killing early Saturday after an assailant fired multiple shots into a vehicle outside a southwest Cedar Rapids tobacco store, authorities said.

Two others were badly wounded in what police described as a targeted altercation about 1:20 a.m. outside the Iowa Smoke Shop, 70 Kirkwood Court. They were hospitalized with what police said were life-threatening injuries.

Investigators sealed off the area for hours, and later were seen towing away a minivan and a sport utility vehicle.

Cedar Rapids police had not announced any arrests or names of those killed and wounded Saturday.

However, a relative identified one of those killed as her grandnephew, Matrell Johnson, 18, of Cedar Rapids.

Ida Johnson said she received a phone call about 1:30 a.m. Saturday telling her he may have been shot. She went to a local hospital where a chaotic and emotional scene unfolded.

There were probably 150 people there, she said. Everyone was crying, and everybody was trying to find what happened to their kids.

Johnson said her grandnephew and other victims had attended the funeral Friday morning of Tyrice D. Reese Douglas  who died on May 6 as the result of injuries sustained in a December shooting.

Police have charged Ezekiel C. Phillips Jr., 30, of Cedar Rapids, in connection with that December shooting and he is being held in jail.

Later that night, after the funeral, Johnson said, her grandnephew and three others headed to a party that took place not far from Saturday mornings shooting.

How and why Matrell Johnson and others ended up at the stores parking lot was not known.

The smoke shop was closed Saturday afternoon. A sign stated it would remain closed the rest of the day and reopen Sunday morning.

A Cedar Rapids police database shows there have been nine calls for service at the smoke shop in the last year, though calls listed can include actions initiated by an officer. The log shows two alarms calls, one business check, one report of a damaged vehicle, one theft and one public service call.

The shooting marks the citys third homicide incident so far this year, and its first double homicide since April 2014, Buelow said.

The citys first homicide of 2019 occurred in February when Tenacious Harris, 20, was shot in the 1800 block of A Avenue NE. He died a few days later and no arrests have been made.

The citys second homicide this year happened Feb. 24 when a fire broke out at the Hawthorne Hill apartment complex on C Street SW. Police said Steven Balvin, 65, was seriously injured in the fire and died a few days later. The fire was determined to be set intentionally. Dallas Tullis, 24, was charged with Balvins murder.

In the citys last double homicide, 22-year-old Quintrell Perkins and 20-year-old Sierrah Simmons were found dead inside a home at 1708 Fourth Avenue SE. Kendu Petties, who was 33 when convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths, is serving two life sentences.

Ida Johnson said her grandnephew was a good kid. Matrell was one of the teens who police recognized for trying to intervene and stop a brawl that took place last summer at Cedar Valley Townhomes, 3000 J St. SW, she said.

Everybody liked him, Ida Johnson said. He was a good kid. His mom  my niece  is having a really hard time dealing with this. That was her baby son.

Police say the shooting was likely unrelated to another incident that was reported at the 100 block of 29th Street Drive SE. Police said that incident occurred about an hour earlier and left one person seriously injured.

Authorities asked anyone with information about the shooting to contact the Cedar Rapids Police Department at 319-286-5491 or Linn County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-CS-CRIME.

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WATERLOO  A planned downtown Cedar River marina is headed to the drawing board.

Waterloo City Council members are scheduled Monday to consider a $127,500 contract with AECOM Technical Services Inc. to develop conceptual and preliminary designs for a Cedar River Marina District.

The city and Waterloo Development Corp. have been working to create a boating facility on the west bank of the river just upstream from the Manatts concrete plant, near the intersection of West Commercial Street and River Road.

The marina is part of the 2015 Iowa Reinvestment District approval, designed to provide $12 million in state sales and room tax funding for several projects on the Cedar Valley TechWorks campus.

A proposed contract indicates the project is expected to include several commercial or residential buildings, parking areas, river docking areas and amenities to create new and unique downtown lifestyle opportunities and improved river access for downtown Waterloo.

The marina district would be connected to the recreational trail system in that area.

A separate agreement calls for the WDC, a private nonprofit corporation working to revitalize the downtown area, to fund the engineering contract using gaming revenues it receives from the Black Hawk County Gaming Association.

An IRD application submitted to the Iowa Economic Development Authority in 2015 estimated the first phase of the marina project to cost $2.7 million and include rental boat slips, a boat fueling station, pontoon rentals and a river-themed restaurant.

The project was expected to be constructed with the state IRD funds, gaming revenue and tax-increment financing along with an investment from private developers.

The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday in City Hall.

Other scheduled business includes:

A public hearing on an application to put the Walnut Street Historic Neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places. Approval could open up tax credit funding opportunities for redevelopment projects in the neighborhood.

A 3:55 p.m. work session to review a proposed bicycle ordinance covering equipment standards, riding rules and other issues related to the use of bikes on public rights of way.

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Help India!

TCN News

May 18, 2019 marks completion of 12 years of Makkah Masjid bomb blast and subsequent police firing which killed 9 people and injured more than 50 people.

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On this occasion Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee (CLMC) have issued a press release condemning the blasts and the injustice done to the victims, survivors and their families by acquitting the accused. In their press release , the CLM committee says that Makkah Masjid terror attack is a classic case of state sponsored terrorism. Expressing grave concern over the denial of justice even after 12 years of the Makkah Masjid bomb blast and subsequent police firing, they said, it is not just a matter of denial of justice to the victims but the collapse of whole criminal justice system. Because of the failure of the judicial procedure terrorists are roaming freely with total impunity. It should be noted that selective use of justice is the worst form of injustice.

Muslims have suffered from three sides on that unfortunate day  one being the blasts that killed and injured innocents who had gathered for the prayers; the second is the indiscriminate firing by the police again on the Muslims who were fleeing the place in terror and third is the false propaganda against Muslims accusing the community of planting bombs in their own mosque.

Even after 11 years those Muslims who have faced these tragedies have not fully recovered from the shock and grief. The Muslims in Hyderabad strongly believe that the government did not take appropriate measures to provide justice to them. That NIA appointed a special public prosecutor, an active member and office bearer of BJP in place of its regular public prosecutor and what followed was daylight killing of justice with entire trail getting sabotaged, witnesses including official witnesses getting hostile and crucial piece of evidences left to punch loopholes in the trail; resulting in crucial pieces of evidence getting side lined for want of supportive evidences which led to an utterly erroneous and shocking judgment pronounced on 16-04-2018 in which the trail court acquitted all the accused.

CLMC in their press release further state that it is high time that the whole nation combats and resists the policy of safeguarding the impunity of terror elements to save the secular and democratic fabric of India. A sincere approach to justice is the only way forward. Otherwise innocent victims, those falsely implicated in terror charges will be perpetually suffering unjustly.

CLMC demands the government of Telangana to initiate proper judicial process for ensuring justice for victims of blast case, including filing an appeal against the impugned judgment or ideally seeking a retrial to re-appreciate the substantial evidence available on record against the accused, by conducting a sincerely monitored prosecution, to restore the confidence of the public in justice delivery system.
CLIVE  A Des Moines-area man said he called person after person after realizing hed won a $2 million Powerball prize, and no one believed him  not even his wife or his dad.

Rob Maser of Urbandale said he quickly realized that he must have a reputation as a jokester.

Ive told my dad that when I win the lottery, Im going to buy him a boat, Maser said as he claimed his prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Clive. So I called today and I told him I won the lottery, and he said Im a liar.

Maser, 49, who works at an automotive dealership, was then able to provide photographic evidence to his friends and family, first of the receipt he received showing that his winning ticket had been cashed by the lottery, and later of the paperwork he was filling out to claim his prize.

This is going to be all retirement, he said. Im not quitting my job or anything, but this is going to be a huge cushion for retirement.

Maser said he also plans to buy some things that he and his wife have talked about for their house, like new carpet and paint. And he wont forget that boat for dad.

Its a huge boost. Its a life changer, he said.

Maser bought his winning ticket at the Kum & Go store at 4585 156th St. in Urbandale, which he said is a regular stop for him on his way to work. He decided on Thursday to stop there to check his ticket from Wednesdays drawing. The staff at the store also apparently didnt believe him at first when he said hed won big, but then they saw the message on the screen of the lottery terminal showing that hed won a $2 million prize.

They said, You did win! Maser recalled with a laugh as he claimed his winnings. Theyve already taken pictures, too. And theyre happy.

Masers ticket came within one number of having at least a share of Wednesdays $250.3 million jackpot. He initially matched the first five numbers but missed the Powerball to win a $1 million prize. But he also added the Power Play option to his purchase, which multiplied the prize to $2 million.

Masers ticket was the only one in the country to win a $2 million prize in Wednesdays drawing.

Wednesdays winning numbers were: 7-17-33-61-68 and Powerball 4. The Power Play number was 2. No one matched all six numbers to win the jackpot, so the big prize climbs to an estimated $270 million annuity ($168.9 million lump-sum option) for Saturday.

Kum & Go will receive a $2,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $2 million-winning ticket at one of its stores.

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Maggie Fergusson in MIL:

Tom remembers the day he decided he wanted to be a theoretical astrophysicist. He was deep into research about black holes, and had amassed a box of papers on his theories. In one he speculated about the relationship between black holes and white holes, hypothetical celestial objects that emit colossal amounts of energy. Black holes, he thought, must be linked across space-time with white holes. I put them together and I thought, oh wow, that works! Thats when I knew I wanted to do this as a job. Tom didnt know enough maths to prove his theory, but he had time to learn. He was only five. Tom is now 11. At home, his favourite way to relax is to devise maths exam papers complete with marking sheets. Last year for Christmas he asked his parents for the 125 registration fee to sit maths GCSE , an exam most children in Britain take at 16. He is currently working towards his maths A -level. Tom is an only child, and at first Chrissie, his mother, thought his love of numbers was normal. Gradually she realised it wasnt. She would take him to lectures about dark matter at the Royal Observatory in London and notice that there were no other children there. His teacher reported that instead of playing outside with other kids at breaks, he wanted to stay indoors and do sums.

One day his parents took him to Milton Keynes to have his intelligence assessed by an organisation called Potential Plus, formerly the National Association for Gifted Children. We told him it was a day of puzzles, Chrissie says. It was my dream world, Tom says. Half a day of tests! His mother waited while he applied his mind to solving problems. When they were shown the results, Toms intelligence put him in the top 0.1% in Britain. Precocious children are often dismissed as the product of pushy, middle-class parents. Nurture and environment clearly do play an important role in any childs intellectual development. Talk to your child about politics over the dinner table and he is likely to develop confident opinions about the way the world should be run. Suggest that your toddler think of slices of cake in terms of angles and she may well display an early aptitude for mathematics. Practice can make perfect. The child with a gift for playing the piano who practises five hours a day is more likely to end up performing at Carnegie Hall than the equally gifted one who plays for just 20 minutes a week.

More here.
Josephine Gierer

En espanol | With so many grandparents living hundreds of miles from their grandchildren, some are turning to a fun way to bridge the distance: vacationing together. About 40 percent of grandparents say they travel with their grandchildren, according to a new "Grandparents Today survey from AARP Research. They report spending an average $1,746 a year on these trips.

The survey found that three-quarters of grandparents had traveled with three or more generations in the past year, while others chose skip-gen travel  vacationing with the grandkids alone, minus the middle generation. About one-third of grandparents have taken their grandchildren on skip-gen trips.

Josephine Gierer, 74, in Westport, Conn., is one fan of skip-gen travel: She took her oldest grandson, Andrew, who lives in Virginia, on a nearly two-week group trip through the Western U.S. two years ago, when he was 16. It was a very special trip, says Gierer. Their Insight Vacations adventure took them to the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Las Vegas, up through Utah to Yellowstone, then South Dakota and home from Denver.
Martin makes wrestling history winning Lakota Nation Invitational

Brock Martin, a 132-pound wrestler for Aberdeen Central, was the only Golden Eagle to compete in the Lakota Nation Invitational, a tournament he won.
Right about the time the new Joe Harris Elementary is opening its doors, in August 2020, so too will the doors to the new $17 million Shining Stars Preschool swing open.

Ground was ceremoniously broken Wednesday morning by school officials and other local movers and shakers, including Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull, who credited the district for its choice, affording a great panoramic view.

When the bulldozers hit the ground, you know were serious, Hull said, happy to see a second new school planned to open in 2020.

The current Shining Stars Preschool, near the intersection of Rockaway and Northern boulevards, occupies what was originally Ernest Stapleton Elementary, an Albuquerque Public Schools building that opened in 1990. At the same time Stapleton opened, APS opened its sister school, Susie Marmon Elementary, which was replaced about a decade ago.

Rio Rancho Public Schools became a district in 1994, absorbing the Stapleton campus, among others. In 2005, a brick-and-mortar replacement for the old APS Stapleton facility opened, also named Stapleton Elementary, and the all-metal original Stapleton campus became the home of Shining Stars Preschool, under the leadership of early childhood expert Suzanne Harper, who became its principal.

Harper was there through the 2013-14 school year. Kim Johns succeeded her and was on hand for the groundbreaking event Wednesday.

Happy to get a new campus in 15 months, Johns told the gathering  which included most of the schools teachers, as SSP students are off on Wednesdays  This is the most incredible staff I have ever worked with. Its not the campus; its what we do within those four walls that makes a difference.

Superintendent Sue Cleveland took a moment to thank the school districts voters, who approved general obligation bonds, with some of those proceeds making a new Shining Stars Preschool a reality.

Not many preschools are built, Cleveland said, and, I believe this will be the model for the state of New Mexico.

Dekker Perich Sabatini designed the campus, while RRPS Facilities Executive Director Melanie Archibeque said will be fast-tracked, built in three phases and completely enclosed. Brycon is the general contractor.

The new campus site is near the intersection of Lionel Road and Montezuma Boulevard, about three-tenths of a mile west of Loma Colorado Boulevard. Montezuma is about three-tenths of a mile north of Loma Colorados intersection with Idalia Road.
A 1-year-old child in Sierra County is the first confirmed case of measles in New Mexico since December 2014, the state Department of Health reported Friday.

Measles is highly contagious and is easily transmitted person-to-person via droplets or through the air.

Early symptoms include fever, red eyes, runny nose and cough. A rash generally appears within a few days, often starting on the face and spreading down the body. Measles is diagnosed by a combination of symptoms and laboratory testing.

The New Mexico Department of Health maintains a 24/7 call system that ensures an epidemiologist is always available to discuss possible measles cases and control measures. That number is 505-827-0006.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently completed additional lab testing on this case, which has been under investigation for over a week.

We have worked with the clinic that treated the child and the patients family to identify people who may have been exposed so we can prevent more cases of the disease, New Mexico Health Secretary Kathyleen Kunkel said. We encourage everyone to check whether you and your family have been vaccinated to protect against measles. Immunization is the best tool we have to protect people from measles.

Vaccines are available without charge to the family for any child in New Mexico, regardless of insurance status, under the Vaccines for Children program. Children who have no insurance coverage can get the vaccine from their health care provider or at their local public health office. Adults needing measles vaccine can contact their medical provider or local pharmacy.

Nationally, officials have said more than 760 cases have been reported as of last Thursday. Its the most in the U.S. since 1994, when 963 were reported. In all, 23 states have reported cases this year.
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

A New Mexico State Police officer from Gallup  one of 50 in Albuquerque for the newly created Metro Surge Operation  pursued a suspect in a stolen vehicle who ran a stop sign Thursday night.

He chased the vehicle into a cul-de-sac and shot at it after the driver did a U-turn and drove toward him, according to court documents. The suspect was shot in the shoulder.

Both the pursuit and the shooting appear to be in violation of policies the Albuquerque Police Department developed for its use as part of a yearslong effort to reform after it was found to have a pattern of unconstitutional use of force.

However, the State Police officers who were brought to Albuquerque from around New Mexico  increasing the number of officers patrolling the city by 9.3%  follow their own policies and are not held to the same standards, and thats raising red flags for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico.

APD officers have been told not to pursue vehicles unless the suspect is a clear and immediate serious threat or is committing a violent felony.

And the departments policy on use of force prohibits shooting at a moving vehicle unless the occupant is using lethal force other than the vehicle itself or there is no other reasonable alternative.

Also, State Police officers are generally equipped with dashboard-mounted cameras but not on-body cameras.

A State Police spokesman did not respond to questions about the agencys policies regarding pursuits and use of force.

The shooting in the cul-de-sac was the first of two that State Police were involved in within about an hour and a half.

The second incident also involved a pursuit, and a pursuit intervention technique maneuver, by a State Police officer before he fired at the vehicle. The driver, later identified as 40-year-old Daniel Franco by police, escaped soon after, when the officer crashed into a bystanders vehicle.

A warrant has since been issued for Franco. It is unclear whether anyone was struck by the gunshot.

Different standards

The back-to-back shootings six days into the operation raised concerns from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico about what the State Police officers will be doing while theyre in town.

Peter Simonson, the executive director of the ACLU, referenced a time when police shootings were happening practically every month and said the organization doesnt want to return to those days.

I think we feel like the State Police need to be held to the exact same standard that APD officers are held to and that the governor and the city should be giving the people of Albuquerque some assurances that will be the case, Simonson said.

In response, Tripp Stelnicki, a spokesman for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, said that shootings are treated with the utmost seriousness but that it would be premature to comment until the incidents have been investigated.

The governor fully expects State Police officers to conduct their duties within the agencys standard operating procedures and at the highest standard of ethical professionalism, whether as part of this project in Albuquerque or anywhere else, irrespective of the settlement between APD and DOJ, Stelnicki wrote in an email.

A spokeswoman for Mayor Tim Keller said that he remains fully committed to constitutional community policing and that the city has made a lot of progress addressing shortcomings at APD through the DOJ settlement.

Other agencies policing within the city, including Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office and New Mexico State Police, are subject to their own policies and procedures, spokeswoman Jessie Damazyn wrote in an email. While the NMSP already has jurisdiction in the city, the additional officers are helping boost the number of uniformed law enforcement personnel on our streets while we continue to recruit and hire more officers. We hold our personnel to high standards and are working closely with NMSP to make sure they are working in ways that contribute to our ultimate goal: reducing violent crime in our community.

An explosive situation

Only a couple of days of planning led up to the Metro Surge Operation, which brought 50 State Police officers from around the state to patrol the city, mainly concentrated along Central.

APD Chief Michael Geier said the first meeting he attended about the initiative was held just two days before Gov. Lujan Grisham and Mayor Keller announced the plan on May 10.

And because State Police officers have statewide jurisdiction, there is no memorandum of understanding or written contract laying out what the officers are going to be doing while theyre here.

Geier said the initial plan was to keep them for about 45 days, through the Fourth of July.

State Police is in our city all the time, Geier said. Most of their emphasis is in traffic enforcement, but they also are with the auto theft unit.  This is just a continuation of the assistance they give us at times. This one just happens to be a little greater magnitude.

Simonson, however, said he was surprised to learn there was not more planning and preparation for what standards the officers will be held to.

He pointed out that State Police officers generally patrol in more rural parts of the state and the situation in Albuquerque is more crowded and chaotic than they are probably used to.

APD officers have found that to be quite challenging, and using force appropriately obviously has been a focus over the past four years, Simonson said. To expect State Police officers to respond appropriately under those conditions  when they havent been given the kinds of training and arent held to all the policies APD is now held to  only sets them up to fail and only creates an explosive situation where we well could see many more police shootings in the future.
When Sen. (Tom) Udall announced on Medium on March 25 he was not seeking re-election in the Senate in 2020, he did not reflect on (his) political career. Instead, he stated he was going right back to work and saw the next two years as an incredible opportunity to fight for New Mexico.

As usual, Udall was a man of his word. Just two weeks later, he spoke on the Senate floor in opposition to David Bernhardts nomination to serve as Secretary of Interior and then voted against his confirmation.

The American public deserves an Interior Secretary who they can trust to look out for their interests  protecting public land, species, the air and the water. But, Mr. Bernhardt has not demonstrated he has the necessary independence from his former clients, Udall said.

Unfortunately, the Senate confirmed the conflict-of-interest-prone  Bernhardt by a vote of 56-41. Regardless, we are grateful for Udalls leadership and commitment to protecting New Mexicans and our public lands. 

In his Medium post, protecting public lands was one of three key priorities mentioned. Thats important because there is much to defend and much to advance. As leaders who represent businesses across our state, we recognize how important protecting our public lands is for sustaining local communities, business owners and our economy. Our public lands are a huge driver behind New Mexicos multibillion-dollar tourism and outdoor recreation industries. The locally owned businesses prospering in these industries are invested in the health and wellness of their communities and are the key to developing strong, resilient local economies that build true community wealth in New Mexico. 

The Land and Water Conservation Fund has protected outdoor access in New Mexico for over 50 years. Its protected iconic landscapes like Chaco Culture National Historic Park and Bandelier National Monument, and its provided funds for our local ball fields and playgrounds. Udall helped permanently re-authorize the LWCF at the beginning of this year, but he is not done. Earlier this month, he introduced a bill to permanently fund this critical program so it may continue to benefit communities for generations to come.

Speaking of Chaco, Udall, along with the rest of the N.M. delegation, recently introduced legislation to withdraw the federal lands around Chaco Canyon from further mineral development so this sacred and beloved landscape can remain a New Mexico treasure unmarred by expanding energy development by big oil companies. Chaco is a UNESCO world heritage site and major tourist attraction that deserves permanent protection.

Another fundamental conservation law that must be protected is the Antiquities Act, which has protected our most iconic landscapes, like Organ Mountains Desert Peaks and Rio Grande Del Norte national monuments. Udall introduced the ANTIQUITIES Act update last year to fight for our monuments, which are a source of huge economic benefits to local communities.

Of course, there are foes of New Mexicos public lands that must be held accountable. Bernhardt, our new Secretary of Interior, has so many conflicts of interest he carries around a list of former clients to keep track of them all. He is a fossil fuel lobbyist and likely to keep pushing former Secretary Ryan Zinkes agenda of favoring special interests over protected public lands. The Senate was wrong to confirm him and Udall was right to stand against his nomination. We must look forward to the public lands fights that we can still win. Were glad we still have Udall to lead them.
WASHINGTON  President Trump has styled himself in foreign policy as the Great Disrupter. And for a time, this unpredictable approach served him reasonably well. Leaders from China, North Korea and Iran found themselves off balance, and they sometimes made what looked like concessions.

Trumps problem is that, after two years, foreign nations seem to have figured him out. Rather than crafting quick deals that Trump could tout as wins, these adversaries have played a waiting game. They appear to sense in Trump an impatience and hunger for the spotlight that undermine his ability to negotiate.

Trump in recent weeks has moved toward confrontations with China, North Korea and Iran. In each case, the White House has maximum goals without a clearly discernible strategy for achieving them. Trumps statements oscillate between hardline rhetoric and invitations to personal diplomacy. Sometimes he appears to contradict positions that his advisers have taken. Once, this back-and-forth might have produced leverage for Trump; now, it often just yields confusion.

Looking at the various global showdowns, you can see a common theme  of adversaries that appear more willing to take risks in resisting Trumps demands. Trumps response is often to double down. This dynamic carries a danger of miscalculation.

In the trade war with China, Trump embraced the perennial U.S. desire for a level playing field. But he pursued it with a blunderbuss, through escalating tariffs. Trump seemed convinced China would eventually make concessions that he could claim as a victory. Such a deal seemed imminent this month, and Trump said Monday it was 95% done when Chinese leaders balked.

U.S. experts offer two theories about why China resisted a settlement. One is Trumps negotiators wouldnt promise to remove promptly all tariffs imposed on $250 billion in Chinese products, and the Chinese didnt trust an erratic American president to eliminate them eventually. Another theory is Trumps bravado had convinced the Chinese he was actually in a weak position and could be pushed.

Either way, Trumps negotiating style seemed to be part of the problem. Trump and President Xi Jinping will meet at next months G20 summit, perhaps for a reset.

The nuclear negotiations with North Korea have been even more puzzling. Trump went for a showy but vague denuclearization statement in his first summit with Chairman Kim Jong Un in Singapore. His State Department advisers then worked to prepare a roadmap for step-by-step negotiations to achieve that goal; but Trump, impatient with slow progress, pushed for another showy maximal agreement at the Hanoi summit in February.

When that summit collapsed, Trump tried flattering Kim and publicly endorsed the incremental approach. Kim, perhaps sensing uncertainty in Trumps changing positions, turned up the pressure by resuming missile tests this month. The U.S. matched Pyongyangs show of strength by seizing a North Korean ship allegedly carrying forbidden cargo.

The bottom line is that with North Korea, as with China, Trumps disruptive style has had diminishing returns.

Which brings us to the most dangerous of the confrontations, the test of strength with Iran. As Trump tightened the vise of sanctions on the Iranian economy, Tehran seems to have opted for counter-disruption. Israel and other Middle East allies have warned of Iranian preparations for sabotage or military action; the U.S. responded with an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers.

When several tankers were damaged off the UAE this week, perhaps by an Iranian mine, The New York Times reported the administration had updated plans to send as many as 120,000 U.S. troops to the region if necessary. But as always with Trump, there have been mixed signals: The White House is exploring whether to refer the tanker incident to the United Nations, and Trump has said hes waiting for a call from Iranian leaders.

Trumps approach as he strides toward the brink in negotiations often seems that of a gambler. Hes operating on instinct and luck, rather than a careful strategy. Hes not counting cards, or precisely calculating the odds. Hes winging it, hoping he can bluff the other players. He plays hunches; he blusters his adversaries and then flatters them; he focuses on the optics of looking strong as opposed to the fundamentals.

The philosopher Isaiah Berlin famously divided people into hedgehogs, who know one big thing, and foxes, who know many little things. Trump may snort like a hedgehog, but his shifting deal-making approach may be closer to a fox  albeit an uncertain one  and the other animals in the forest seem to have figured that out.

Twitter: @IgnatiusPost.  2019, Washington Post Writers Group.
They sealed the deal 14 years ago with a handshake in the New Mexico desert.

Sir Richard Branson and then-Gov. Bill Richardson had flown by helicopter to a site marked with a scaffolding pole at what is now Spaceport America, about 50 miles north of Las Cruces. Build us a world-class spaceport and well bring you a world-class space line, Branson recalled telling Richardson.

It was a huge gamble for both men  one Branson says was based on vision and trust. New Mexicos side of the deal carries a price tag in excess of $220 million, while Branson and other investors have pumped more than $1 billion into the effort to fly tourists into space and return them to N.M.

That gamble may be on the verge of paying big dividends.

Branson, Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced this month the company is ready to move the rest of its flight operations  another 100 personnel including engineers, mechanics, flight crews and pilots  from Mojave in California to New Mexico.

The time is right, Whitesides says, because after successful test flights of Virgin Galactics mothership and spaceship Unity in December and February, the company is ready to take the final steps to launching civilian tourists into space.

New Mexico is becoming the first place to regularly launch humans into space on flights conducted by a private company, Branson said. While Whitesides emphasizes the difficulty of the task and says there is still work to do, there are hints the initial flight could take place within a year. If and when it happens, it will be a historic event with the entire world focused on New Mexico. The opportunities to capitalize on this and take long-term, game-changing steps to restructure our economy are unlimited. Lujan Grisham gets it, and it will be up to her and others to ensure we take advantage.

A journey like this inevitably includes pain. Virgin Galactic has suffered setbacks, including a fatal crash in 2014 of its first SpaceShipTwo. There have been plenty of skeptics in New Mexico who scoffed as the Spaceport struggled to attract tenants and stay above water financially while making improvements  officials have frequently appeared in the Legislature with cup in hand. And multiple delays mean no tourists have traveled to the edge of space yet  by 2012, 3,000 were supposed to have made the trip.

Whitesides notes what Virgin Galactic is trying to do has never been done, but it appears close, and hundreds of people around the world have paid deposits for a $250,000 ride into space. After that? Perhaps point-to-point travel via a global network of spaceports, and in the more distant future cruise ships making an orbit around the moon  all changing human consciousness to reinforce the idea we are one planet.

We want to open space to change the world for good, Virgin Galactic chief flight instructor Beth Moses told the gathering in Santa Fe.

Whitesides notes the first launch with civilian passengers also marks the closing of a circle. The first photos of our planet from space were taken Oct. 24, 1946, with a camera mounted on a captured German V-2 rocket and launched from the U.S. Armys White Sands Missile Range, not far from Spaceport America. The camera captured images every 1.5 seconds as the rocket reached an altitude of 65 miles before crashing back to earth. The film canister survived and produced the grainy images of earth against the black background of space that previously existed only in imagination.

On the verge of taking an unprecedented step in human expansion into the solar system, its worth reflecting on those pioneers at WSMR in 1946 and all those who have followed. Congratulations to Branson and Richardson for their vision, and the Virgin Galactic team and state officials through three administrations for their tenacity and perseverance.

Were not there yet, but its becoming more likely. Imagination could once again become reality.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

President Donald Trumps proposed merit-based immigration system has been called reckless and not in good faith by members of the New Mexico congressional delegation.

Three members of the delegation  Sens. Martin Heinrich, Tom Udall and U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, all Democrats  voiced concerns that the plan does not include protections for DREAM Act recipients.

And Udall predicts the proposal will be dead on arrival in Congress.

The Trump administrations proposal seeks to shift the immigration system from family based to one based on employee skills. It would take into account age, English proficiency and offers of employment and would require civics tests, health screenings and criminal background checks. The proposal includes construction of a border wall at 33 priority locations, and that higher immigration fees would finance continuous upgrades of infrastructure along the border and at ports of entry.

This plan doubles down on the presidents wasteful and ineffective border wall, all while failing to include a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers whose lives remain in limbo, or for other long-term immigrants living in this country, Udall said. On top of that, this plan is void of any attempt to remedy the chaos the president is causing at our southern border.

U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., accused the administration of playing politics with peoples lives.

The administrations plan to pick and choose who comes across our border will not address the problems that exist in our immigration system, he said. This is a plan to intentionally discriminate and disenfranchise some of the most vulnerable populations, and I am not going to stand for it.

Heinrich labeled the proposal reckless and inhumane.

Most importantly, his dangerous plan doesnt provide any solution for the thousands of DREAMers whose futures hang in limbo, the senator said. We need comprehensive immigration reform that reflects American values, not a sham cooked up by President Trump and his cronies.

Torres Small said the immigration system required more than just increasing access to visas and green cards for highly skilled immigrants.

In southern New Mexico, our agriculture industrys labor relies on work visas, and I regularly hear from farmers about the need to improve the program, she said. If we are going to truly address our broken immigration system, it is imperative we address issues such as seasonal worker visas, legal status for DREAMers, and an efficient and fair asylum process.

U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland said the proposed fixes would do nothing to address the humanitarian crisis at the border.

Its clear that we need a comprehensive approach that recognizes the humanity and dignity of the people seeking a better life in our country, Haaland said. This administration is being wasteful with resources  we need to invest in more staff and resources to process families crossing the border, not ignore the real issues that this administration caused.

Republican Party of New Mexico Chairman Steve Pearce  a former congressman  praised President Trumps plan. He told KOAT-TV he felt the plan could help foreign students at the University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University and New Mexico Tech.

I always said lets secure the border, lets fix legal immigration, and then we can take care of people who are here, Pearce said in a Twitter post put out by the party.

Senior administration officials said the plan attempts to do six things: secure the borders; protect American wages; attract the best and brightest; unify families; meet the needs for labor in critical industries; and preserve humanitarian values.
SAN DIEGO  The U.S. Border Patrol said Friday that it would fly hundreds of migrant families from south Texas to San Diego for processing and that it was considering flights to Detroit, Miami and Buffalo, New York.

The flights are the latest sign of how the Border Patrol is struggling to keep up with large numbers of Central American families that are reaching the U.S. border with Mexico, especially in Texas. Moving migrants to less crowded places is expected to distribute the workload more evenly.

Flights from Texas Rio Grande Valley to San Diego were to begin Friday and continue indefinitely three times a week, with each flight carrying 120 to 135 people, said Douglas Harrison, the Border Patrols interim San Diego sector chief.

We dont have an end date, Harrison told reporters. This is a contingency operation. Weve got to give the people in Rio Grande Valley some relief.

Plans to fly from Rio Grande Valley to Detroit, Miami and Buffalo were preliminary, Harrison said. Authorities were researching available airports and the ability for nonprofit groups to provide temporary assistance.

Already, U.S. authorities are moving four buses a day from the Rio Grande Valley to Laredo, Texas, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away. There is also a daily flight contracted through U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to Del Rio, Texas, about 275 miles away (440 kilometers) away.

Agents in the Rio Grande Valley will collect biographical information and do a medical screening before sending migrants to San Diego on flights contracted by ICE, Harrison said. Migrants will go from San Diego International Airport to a Border Patrol station, where they will be fingerprinted, interviewed and screened again for medical problems. Processing at the station typically takes hours.

ICE will decide whether to release or detain the families in San Diego. Its practice since October has been to quickly release families in the U.S. with notices to appear in immigration court.

The flights could further strain the San Diego Rapid Response Network, a coalition of religious and civic groups that has provided temporary shelter to asylum-seeking families since large-scale releases began in October. San Diego County has sued the Trump administration to recover costs.

The San Diego Rapid Response Network said it would shelter migrants who are flown from Texas, just as the organization has done for thousands of migrants released in California. It said the potential influx underscores the urgent need for a permanent, long-term migrant shelter in San Diego.

Short flights cost the federal government about $6,000 each, officials said. It wasnt immediately clear how much longer flights cost.

Border Patrol agents do some processing remotely by videoconference, but Harrison said stations in the Rio Grande Valley had run out of room even to do that. San Diego, he said, had room to hold migrants for up to 72 hours and staff to process them, which stations on the northern border lack.

Border arrests have surged since the summer to 98,977 in April, nearly three times what they were a year earlier. Nearly seven of every 10 came as families or were children traveling alone. The Rio Grande Valley was by far the busiest corridor, followed by El Paso, Texas.

The Border Patrol says it is detaining about 8,000 people at a time in the Rio Grande Valley, double its maximum capacity even with a 500-person tent it opened earlier this month.

The agency said Friday it would open four new temporary structures in the Rio Grande Valley that will have generators, lighting, and air conditioning. It released photos showing people lying on grass or pavement outside two of its stations with Mylar sheets for blankets.

___

Associated Press writer Nomaan Merchant in Houston contributed to this report.
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

A robotics competition was going on at Sandia National Labs this week, but it wasnt just for fun.

Lessons learned from the five-day Robot Rodeo and Capability Exercise may also save the lives of area residents in a bomb-scare situation or a terrorist attack.

Bomb squad teams preparedness skills were put to the test during the event.

Twelve challenges for 10 military and civilian teams were set up for the exercise, which was in its 13th year and wrapped up Friday.

This is a chance to show support for our community, our emergency responders, especially those involved with bomb squads, Sandia robotics manager Jake Deuel said. Officially, this is a competition. But its also a week of training opportunities.

The challenges involved transportation and suspect devices. Deuel said some of the competitions included scenarios that give bomb squads a chance to learn to maneuver robots on vehicles such as buses that could provide training for incidents at events such as the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta and the New Mexico State Fair.

Weve tried to create challenges with robots that  heaven forbid  they (bomb squads) would ever have to face, Deuel said. But he said teams were given 90 minutes during a challenge, while in an actual situation, they may have half a day.

The Albuquerque International Sunport donated a jet plane for the event. Sunport representatives said the aircraft is now used for educational purposes and tours.

Deuel said he presented a cargo airplane scenario to the Transportation Security Administration in Albuquerque, one of several agencies involved in this years event. The organization agreed to send security and explosives specialists to help plan and run the scenario that involved robots maneuvering through the aircraft.

Scenarios also took place at Sandias 200-foot-tall National Solar Thermal Test Facility with the help of Kirtland Air Force Base. One challenge involved mannequins representing terrorists who were killed while rappelling with explosives inside the tower. Teams attempted to maneuver robots and remove the fake explosives. The other challenge at the tower was inside a tunnel where a mannequin was wrapped in simulated traps.

A couple of scenarios at a Sandia warehouse were coordinated with the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, which is near Carlsbad and serves as the nations repository for the disposal of transuranic nuclear waste. One scenario involved an artificial suspicious device identified during mock loading operations, and the other took place in a tunnel where teams used a virtual training system to detect simulated radiation sources.

Deuel said some of the challenges involved timed obstacle courses that would give bomb squad leaders an indication of who their best robot operators were, and who faced challenges.

Teams participating this year were Kirtland Air Force Base Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team, Albuquerque Police Department, Dona Ana County Sheriffs Office, New Mexico State Police, two Navy EOD Teams, Fort Carson Army Base EOD Battalion, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Police, Riverside County Sheriffs Office from California, and the 21st U.S. Army EOD group.

It takes more than a year and multiple agencies to pull off the Robot Rodeo, Deuel said.
WASHINGTON  Turkeys leader spoke of cooperation with the United States during a White House visit two years ago with President Donald Trump, but by days end, the warm rhetoric had been overshadowed by a violent brawl outside the Turkish Embassy that left anti-government protesters badly beaten.

That altercation on May 16, 2017, led to criminal charges against some of President Recep Tayyip Erdogans security officers and civilian supporters. It also spurred lawsuits, now winding their way through federal court, that turn on the question of whether a foreign country can be held responsible in American courts for violence done on its behalf.

One suit goes further, saying the violence meets the legal definition of international terrorism because it was designed to coerce and intimidate a civilian population.

Nobody expects that security forces from a foreign government will come over and beat them to a pulp, and thats the part thats really crazy, Agnieszka Fryszman, a lawyer for the injured protesters, said in an interview.

The suits have diplomatic implications and raise questions about how much legal protection should be extended to the people who protect international leaders from raucous demonstrations when they travel abroad. The legal cases are unfolding as the NATO allies are at odds over a number of issues, including what role Turkey will play in northern Syria as American forces withdraw. The U.S. also has warned Turkey against proceeding with its purchase of an advanced Russian air defense system; the deal, if completed, may incur U.S. sanctions

Turkey has signaled it will argue that, as a sovereign nation, it is immune from being sued, a position that sets the stage for legal and geopolitical wrangling. The strength of Turkeys argument may depend in part on the severity of the assault and the extent of the violence, said Ingrid Wuerth, a professor of international law at Vanderbilt University.

No one would think it legally acceptable if foreign security officers fatally shot protesters, Wuerth said, but on the other hand, they probably shouldnt be liable if maybe all they did was just push someone to the curb, and in that sense, the question is, where exactly do these allegations fall?

Lawyers for Turkey say in court papers that the melee began when security officers were confronted by an encroaching group of apparent terrorist supporters and/or sympathizers who had already defied the commands of local police officers. The lawyers accuse the other side of overly broad sermonizing and say they intend to rebut what they see as unfair criticism of Turkish governance and allegations of human rights atrocities.

Even in an embassy-packed capital where protests are common, including outside the foreign residences that line Washingtons Massachusetts Avenue, the altercation stood out for vivid scenes of violence captured on camera and repeatedly broadcast on TV. Many who say they were injured are American citizens, including some who were there with their young children.

It all began as Erdogan was returning to the ambassadors residence after a White House visit, where he and Trump pledged cooperation in fighting the Islamic State group.

Security officers for Erdogan, including some armed and dressed in military-style clothing, clashed with protesters denouncing Turkeys treatment of its Kurdish minorities and its policies in Syria and Iraq. Plaintiffs in two separate suits say they were brutally punched and kicked, cursed at, and greeted with slurs and throat-slashing gestures. One woman slipped in and out of consciousness and has suffered seizures, and others reported post-traumatic stress, depression, concussions and nightmares, according to the complaints.

Erdogan remained in his car after it arrived at the ambassadors residence, and after conferring with the head of his security detail, ordered a second attack, the suits allege.

U.S. lawmakers swiftly condemned the violence, writing letters to the departments of State and Justice, and urging the Trump administration to hold the attackers legally accountable.

Prosecutors in Washington initially charged 19 people, including 15 security officers for Erdogan. Two civilians pleaded guilty, but many of the other cases have since been dismissed, with defendants leaving the U.S. after the brawl, according to court papers.

Foreign governments are generally immune from being sued in American courts, but there are multiple exceptions, including for terrorism and other actions that cause injury for which financial damages are sought.

Diplomats and other agents of foreign governments have in the past been held accountable for bad behavior in the U.S., though some of the more memorable cases have involved nonofficial duties such as fatal drunken driving crashes. A Georgian Embassy official, for instance, was sentenced to prison in 1997 for a drunken driving crash that killed a teenage girl.

In perhaps the most recent analogous case, a judge entered a default judgment against the Congolese government after it failed to respond to a suit from a protester who said he was badly beaten in 2014 outside a Washington hotel by security officers for President Joseph Kabila. The individual security officers who were sued later sought to vacate that default judgment, and a judge dismissed claims against Kabila.

Turkey, meanwhile, has said for months through its lawyers that it intends to aggressively contest the allegations, and both lawsuits name the country as a defendant. One separately includes as defendants five U.S. and Canadian citizens accused in the attacks. A judge has permitted most of the claims against the defendants, who are not Turkish government officials, to move forward.

Lawyers for the protesters see an opportunity to hold the Turkish government accountable for the violence.

Its important to protect peoples First Amendment rights and the freedom of expression. Its important to show that the United States stands up for those rights, Fryszman said.
UPDATE 8:05 p.m. Saturday, May 18, 2019 - Approximately 3,000 people showed up at the Camp Fire relief event in the Sportsman's Warehouse parking lot on Saturday.

Organizer Stephen Murray said, "People come here depressed... stressed out... haven't left their trailer in weeks or months."

He said the people that arrived to his relief "party" ended up leaving with smiles on their faces.

Murray lived in Paradise for 31 years and is a Camp Fire survivor that has been critical in helping survivors, including many medically vulnerable seniors. He helped rescue dozens of seniors from the trailer park he worked at in Paradise during the Camp Fire. He is considered a hero by many, many people -- including those who have received gift cards, fans, propane and other aid from him.

Fire survivors showed up Saturday for relief in the form of food, toys, bedding, furniture and gift cards. The Lions Club offered more than $2,000 worth of gift cards and the Vietnam Veterans of America's Chico chapter gave out boxes of dried food to veterans who needed help.

---

CHICO, Calif. - It is not too late to donate used furniture, toys, gift cards and other items to Camp Fire survivors. The Stephen Murray love event is taking place Saturday until 4 p.m. in the parking lot of Sportsman's Warehouse in Chico, located at 765 East Ave.

There was a line forming before the event started at 8 a.m., as you can see in the photos above. Donors have a way to easily drive through the event to drop off donations, gift cards or financial contributions.

There are a lot of survivors looking for help in the form of food, children's toys, and gas cards. The Vietnam Veterans of America have assembled food boxes for Camp Fire survivors who are military veterans. The food was donated by veterans groups all over the United States.

Event organizer Stephen Murray just got back from San Rafael where he went to pick up donations from local Rotary Clubs, businesses and individuals. . He brought back donations of furniture, toys, and food to help his community survive the hard days ahead.

Murray asked Action News Now to let people know donations are needed and will be accepted during the Saturday event, which closes down at 4 p.m.

Murray is the Camp Fire survivor who has been helping people get trailers, food, RV's and other supplies since the first days after the fire burned down the town he grew up in. He was very active helping seniors and other vulnerable refugees at the Red Cross shelter, who are very thankful for his help. Many people heard of Stephen Murray after he helped rescue several elderly people from the Apple Tree Village Mobile Home Park in Paradise during the morning of the Camp Fire evacuation.

Murray does Facebook LIVE posts just about every day to let people know what he is doing. One is posted in this article.
PARADISE, Calif. - Sierra Central Credit Union reopened Friday, May 17, with a ceremony.

The business had a ribbon cutting ceremony with music, a barbecue and raffle giveaways for those who attended.

The Paradise branch has been in the town for over 35 years and the building was spared by the Camp Fire.

The company, in partnership with the Treat'em Like a King Foundation, donated a $271,000 check to the North Valley Foundation for recovery efforts.

"We had credit unions in New York send us money," said John Cassidy, the CEO of Sierra Central Credit Union. "The credit union industry in itself, our business partners within that industry and other credit unions throughout the United States sent us [$5 thousand to $20 thousand checks] to help build that fund up as well as some community groups locally."

The company also donated $2,500 to the Paradise Moose Lodge to help the organization rebuild.
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Roughly 12 metric tons of surplus plutonium is currently stored at the Savannah River Site, a figure that was recently declassified by the U.S. Department of Energy, a National Nuclear Security Administration official said Thursday.

The approximate 12 metric tons includes material originally destined for the shuttered Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility as well as material flagged for an ongoing downblending campaign at SRS, the official said. Downblending is a plutonium disposition method.

The DOE Office of Environmental Management  with help from the NNSA  is right now working to downblend 6 metric tons of weapons-usable plutonium, an NNSA spokesperson told the Aiken Standard.

Those 6 metric tons are wholly separate from the 34 metric tons of defense plutonium that was designated for disposal via MOX.

Environmental Management, formed in 1989, is the SRS landlord and is tasked with cleaning up the government's nuclear legacy. The NNSA is a semiautonomous DOE agency in charge of the nation's nuclear outfit and related nonproliferation.

MOX, which the NNSA terminated in October 2018, was designed to turn weapons-grade plutonium into commercial reactor fuel; the project was more than a decade in the making and was over budget when it was axed.

Most of the material bound for MOX was never at SRS, the official said. A "majority" of the material once meant for MOX is right now being held northeast of Amarillo, Texas, at the Pantex Plant.

In May 2018, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry told congressional defense committees that the 34 metric tons of defense plutonium would be dispositioned via a method known as dilute-and-dispose  downblended, essentially.

Dilute-and-dispose involves mixing plutonium with special material and, in this case, sending it to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico for long-term storage.

That MOX-replacing dilute-and-dispose campaign, still in its infancy, is officially known as the Surplus Plutonium Disposition Project. In fiscal year 2019, Congress authorized design work to support the project. Recently, the NNSA requested appropriations for the project as a capital line item.

The Surplus Plutonium Disposition Project entails the installation of three new gloveboxes, ventilation, "fire protections and other support equipment" at SRS, according to the NNSA spokesperson.

The disposition project  which both Perry and NNSA chief Lisa Gordon-Hagerty have said is cheaper and more efficient than MOX  will begin in 2028, according to a NNSA strategic roadmap. The map was made publicly available earlier this year alongside a cluster of other NNSA guidance documents.

If the "appropriate" National Environmental Policy Act analysis is finished before 2028, the NNSA can "begin processing" plutonium at SRS by way of current capabilities, the NNSA spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the DOE is required to get 1 metric ton of defense plutonium out of SRS  out of the Palmetto State more broadly  by 2020. One half-metric ton has already been sent to the Nevada National Security Site, a move later disclosed in federal court documents.

SRS 'integrated mission completion' contract added to Energy Department tracker The "Savannah River Site Integrated Mission Completion Contract" has been tacked on to the first page.

The move to Nevada roiled lawmakers. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has said the clandestine shipments shredded the state's trust in the DOE.

Perry recently promised U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democrat, the DOE would begin relocating the half-metric ton away from NNSS in 2021. The effort will wrap by the end of 2026, Perry said.

Pantex is standing up a plutonium staging mission directly tied to the NNSA's plutonium removal efforts, according to independent oversight documents and confirming comments from the NNSA.

The matter was previously reported by the Aiken Standard.

The total 1 metric ton slated for removal will ultimately be sent to Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, according to a July 2018 NNSA study. It will be used for plutonium pit production, per the same information.

Plutonium pits are nuclear weapon cores.
BAGHDAD  It's hard to tell what's really on the minds of Iranian and US officials in the flurry of words they've exchanged this week, but Baghdad has been perfectly clear about any potential confrontation between the two: not in my backyard.

Amid prolonged dares and double-dares between Tehran and Washington  punctuated with claims from both sides that they don't want a war  Iraq has made it known it won't become a proxy battleground.

The issue becomes a bit murky, however, when factoring in Iraq's pro-Iranian armed military factions.

For example, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, a radical Shiite militia in Iraq, has long been demanding that US troops leave Iraq. The pro-Iran group, an affiliate of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), defines itself as a faction of the Islamic resistance in Iraq, which aims to defend the homeland and sanctities in both Syria and Iraq. Nujaba has been working with the Iranian military's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for a long time. United States recently declared the IRGC a terrorist organization.

On March 7, the US State Department added Nujaba to the US list of global terrorist organizations. Later that month, the US sanctioned Nujaba and its leader, Akram Kaabi.

So perhaps it was no surprise when Nujaba announced May 13 that Iraqi resistance factions are ready to target US interests whenever they deem appropriate. "Confrontation with the United States will only stop once it is eliminated from the region, along with the Zionist entity, it said, referring to Israel.

In response to these threats and others, the US State Department on May 15 ordered US nationals not working in emergency fields to leave Iraq immediately. Germany and the Netherlands then suspended military training operations in Iraq. The Netherlands has 169 military and civilian personnel in Iraq, and Germany has 160 military personnel there training Iraqi forces.

Yet Naim Aboudi, a parliament member for the Sadikun bloc  the political wing of the PMU-affiliated Iraqi Shia military group Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH)  told Al-Monitor, There are no military preparations against the United States in Iraq.

Aboudi added, There is a deliberate attempt to ruin facts and claim the PMU factions are operating outside the states control and preparing to attack US institutions in Iraq.

On the other hand, Hassan Salem, another parliament member representing the Sadikun bloc, told the media May 9, Washingtons [verbal] attack against Iran is a direct attempt [to inflame] Islamic countries. It's a fact that Islamic movements will stand against the United States by all means."

Political analyst, researcher and secretary of the Iraq Media Observatory Mahmoud al-Hashemi told Al-Monitor, Positions remain unclear regarding a possible confrontation because Iran doesn't want the factions to take any military action against the United States at this time. Rather, it wants to wait until the situation becomes clearer since Iran believes that, given the long borders between them, Iraq is important when it comes to strategy, trade and security.

Hashemi added, Factions in Iraq are also facing a conflict of wills."

The United States has a good relationship with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and has no interest in provoking the factions, which could weaken his government, Hashemi added.

Nasr al-Shammari, Nujaba's assistant secretary-general, told Al-Monitor, Nujaba is taking into consideration the Iraqi government's position regarding the US-Iran confrontation. Another consideration is that the government "needs to repay the Iranian people who made many sacrifices in Iraqs war against the Islamic State [IS].

Regarding what position the PMU and its affiliates are likely to take, journalist and activist Walid al-Taei, who has sources close to AAH, told Al-Monitor, Speculations surround the PMUs role in any confrontation involving Iran; it is always shown as automatically receiving orders from Iran. He added, however, The PMU will take into consideration national interests. Statements are not always in line with field action, which is very thought-through.

Many Iraqi parties, especially the Shiite ones, call for supporting Iran should it come under US attack. This stance allows them to avoid calling for an actual attack on the US presence in Iraq. There's no mention of what kind of support they are calling for.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Dawa Party-Iraq Organization  part of the United Iraqi Alliance  issued a statement May 15 showing clear political support for Iran, saying, The US administration beat the drums of war against Iran after it washed its hands of the Iranian nuclear deal."

Also on May 15, two Iraqi security sources told Reuters that US intelligence had detected Iran-backed Shiite militias deploying missiles near bases housing US troops.

Member of Iraq parliament's Security and Defense Committee Ammar Tohme told Al-Monitor, [Such claims] were caused by US fears." He ruled out the possibility of pro-Iranian factions resorting to military action against US interests because they don't want to put the Iraqi government in a difficult situation between Tehran and Washington.

Stating a similar conviction, security and political analyst Fadel Abu Raghif told Al-Monitor, There is little chance for armed factions to attack US forces in Iraq given their involvement in the government institution, and if a party hits the interests of any country within the international coalition, it will be subject to prosecution according to Iraqi law.

Based on their declared political positions, the PMU and its deputies are all in favor of calling for calm but are also all for supporting Iran if a confrontation does break out. However, no one has particularly stated whether it would be moral or military support against the United States, which has been on good terms with the Iraqi government and helped Iraq defeat IS.
GasBuddy is out with a list of the top rated gas station restrooms for every state.

The smartphone app for drivers also says gas station cleanliness ratings are up 6 percent nationwide over the last two years.

Mapco, which has the majority of its locations in the Southeast, took the honors for the state of Alabama, the only state where that brand gained the top spot. Brands have to have at least 20 locations in a state to be included in the survey, which was compiled from ratings and reviews from September 2016 through this April.

A recent addition to Alabama, Texas-based Buc-ees, took the top spot for the highest rated bathrooms in the nation.

As any driver knows, cleanliness in roadside rest stops is sometimes next to impossible. According to GasBuddys 2019 summer travel survey, 40 percent of travelers fear needing to use the restroom but not knowing where to find a clean one, an increase of 3 percent from the previous year.

For a list of all the states, click here.
A 26-year-old Selma man has been convicted in the 2016 murder of another man during a card game. Dallas County jury on Friday convicted Vadarius Hall of murder, attempted murder, shooting into an unoccupied vehicle and certain persons forbidden to carry a pistol. Killed in the shooting was 27-year-old Jermaine Tarver.

The shooting happened on June 12, 2016 on Town Circle in Selma. Authorities said Tarver was playing in a card game when Hall and two others drove up to the location. Hall got out and engaged in conversation with those playing cards.

Hall kept asking Tarver about the gold in his mouth, authorities said. Tarver did not appreciate Halls questioning and the two began to exchange words. Police said Hall pulled out a gun and cocked it. Tarver then pulled his gun and laid it on the table.

Others there pleaded with them to put the guns away because there were children nearby, and they did. Hall said he was leaving, but as he got up and passed Tarver, he pulled his gun again and shot Tarver multiple times.

Hall got back in the car and then began to fire another weapon  a rifle  from inside the vehicle at others at the location. One of the rounds struck a Hyundai Sonata but no one else was injured.

Tarver was taken by private vehicle to the hospital but was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Hall was arrested a month later by U.S. Marshals in Miami.

Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson said the jury deliberated for two hours and 20 minutes Friday before finding Hall guilty on all counts. Hall has not yet been sentenced.

This is another gunslinger who needs to pack his suitcase, Jackson said, because he is going off to prison for a long time.
Less than a third of Alabamians indicated last year that they approved of the provisions of the abortion ban passed by the state Legislature earlier this week and signed by Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday, according to polling conducted on behalf of Planned Parenthoods southeast affiliates.

The survey showed that as lawmakers and the governor signed off on the countrys most restrictive abortion law, its provisions were deeply unpopular among Alabamians overall  and even the states most conservative residents.

Anzalone Liszt Grove Research, a Montgomery-based Democratic polling firm whose clients have included Barack Obama and Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign, sent a memo Wednesday to interested parties pointing out the results of the 2018 survey following the passage of the abortion ban this week.

Polling conducted by ALG Research for Planned Parent Southeast last year showed that banning abortion without exceptions for rape and incest is overwhelmingly a minority position among Alabama voters, the firm said in its memo, which AL.com obtained Friday from Atlanta-based Planned Parenthood Southeast. Further, even among conservative-leaning subgroups like Republicans, evangelicals, and those who attend church at least weekly, more voters back abortion access with, at least, exceptions for rape and incest than support a policy of the type passed through the Alabama legislature this week that bans abortion without such exceptions.

Only 16 percent of those polled said they agreed that abortion should be outlawed except when the womans life is in danger while 15 percent said abortion should be illegal in all cases.

The bill that sailed through the Alabama Legislature and signed by Ivey bans abortion except in cases where the womans health is threatened and criminalizes the procedure for doctors who perform abortions outside of that circumstance.

A plurality of Alabamians polled  29 percent  said abortion should only be legal in cases of rape, incest or the life of the woman is in danger. Two in 10 said abortion should be legal in most cases but with some restrictions and 16 percent responded that abortion should be legal in all cases.

The bills provisions were unpopular even among the strongest conservative subgroups  Republicans, Kay Ivey voters, evangelicals and those who attend church at least once a week. The provisions only had minority support among those subgroups  41 percent among Republicans; 39 percent among Ivey voters; 40 percent among evangelicals; and 36 percent of those who attend church at least weekly.

Planned Parenthood Southeast, based in Atlanta, commissioned the poll last summer in the runup to Alabamas Amendment 2 vote in November 2018. The amendment, which affirmed that Alabama is a pro-life state and would outlaw abortion in the event Roe v. Wade is overturned, passed with 60 percent support.

The telephone poll of 618 likely Alabama 2018 voters between April 27 and May 2, 2018. It had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.
John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for aiding the extremist Muslim group in Afghanistan, is set to be released from federal prison on Thursday.

Lindh was interrogated by Alabama native and CIA officer Johnny Mike Spann, 32, who was the first American killed in combat during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Spanns family has blamed Lindh for the CIA officers killing during an uprising at an Afghan fortress where prisoners of war were being held.

The Spanns were outspoken about Lindhs upcoming release, which is coming years earlier than expected due to good behavior at a medium-security federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. The family held Lindh responsible for the Winfield natives death because Lindh, a fellow American, chose not to warn Spann about the uprising.

He had a chance to say he was an American and save Mikes life and other Americans lives. He did not do that, Spanns father, Johnny Spann, told AL.com in a late March interview. Its no different than if he pulled the trigger.

John Walker Lindh had the opportunity to tell Mike right there, youre an American, Im an American, Spanns mother, Gail Spann, said after Alabama lawmakers passed a resolution honoring hr son and condemning Lindhs release.

Hes a traitor to our country. He could have had an opportunity to save a great man that actually saved a lot of lives that day.

Part of the interrogation was captured on video. From The Guardian:

"In the video, John sits mutely on the ground as he is questioned about his nationality.

"Irish? Ireland?" Spann asks.

"John remains silent.

'Who brought you here? You believe in what you are doing that much, youre willing to be killed here?

Still no reply.

"(Fellow U.S. intelligence agent Dave) Tyson to Spann [for Johns benefit]: The problem is, hes got to decide if he wants to live or die, and die here. Were just going to leave him, and hes going to [expletive] sit in prison the rest of his [expletive] short life. Its his decision, man. We can only help the guys who want to talk to us. We can only get the Red Cross to help so many guys.

Spann was killed during a riot at the Qali-Jangi fortress at Mazar-e Sharif, where he was conducting interviews of Taliban captives.

Lindhs release from prison into supervised release will come with a number of restrictions requested by his probation officer. Lindh initially indicated he would challenge the request but ultimately decided not to protest them, according to court records.

He will be barred from using any Internet-capable device without prior approval, having online communication in any language besides English and prohibited from possessing, viewing or accessing that reflects extremist or terroristic views, according to an early April order signed by T.S. Ellis, the Virginia federal judge assigned to Lindhs case.

Lindh will also not be able to obtain a passport or leave the country without court permission and is banned from communicating with any known extremist. He will also have to undergo mental health counseling.

Lindh Order by hkoplowitz on Scribd

Among the charges initially filed against Lindh was murder conspiracy in the killing of Americans, including Spann.

Lindh claimed during his sentencing in 2012 that he did not play a role in Spanns death and would not have joined the Taliban if he knew the group harbored terrorists like al-Qaeda.
UABs Center for Clinical and Translational Science has been awarded nearly $50 million in federal funding to support ongoing research, career development and pre-doctoral training, Sen. Richard Shelby announced Thursday.

The center, which was established in 2008 through federal funding from the National Institutes of Health, tries to boost clinical research to improve health outcomes, designs clinical trials and conducts experimental training.

After the center, or CCTS, secured more than $123 million in funding over its first 11 years, the NIH is now committing another $50 million in funding over a five-year period, the senator announced.

NIHs decision to continue supporting translational science efforts at UAB is a clear indication of the excellent work taking place at CCTS, Shelby, who chairs the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement. Advancing biomedical research to find treatments and cures for patients is of the utmost importance, and I am proud UAB is receiving additional funding to further this cause. I look forward to continuing to work with UAB, NIH, and my colleagues to improve medical services in Alabama and throughout the nation.

UABs CCTS is translating observations in the laboratory, clinic and community into interventions that improve the health of our citizens and our society overall, said UAB Presidnt Dr. Ray L. Watts. We are proud of the contributions our CCTS and its Partner Network are making to bring more new treatments to more patients more quickly than ever before.

The center is the only such facility in the state funded through th National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

As the sole Alabama-based hub in the NCATS-funded CTSA program, the CCTS has been a driving force for scientific innovation and excellence for the past decade, said Dr. Robert Kimberly, director of the CCTS and senior associate dean for Clinical and Translational Research at the UAB School of Medicine. Through its leadership, as evidenced by an astounding array of research supports and collaborations, the CCTS is transforming the biomedical research environment at UAB and beyond.
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management proposed a $250,000 fine on Alabama Power Company after groundwater tests near the companys coal ash pond in Gadsden showed high levels of arsenic and radium.

According to the proposed administrative order from ADEM, Alabama Power caused or allowed the unpermitted discharge of pollutants associated with ash pond wastewater from the Plant Gadsden Ash Pond to waters of the State.

The proposed $250,000 fine is the largest available to ADEM in a single administrative order.

The violations stem from groundwater test results that the company submitted to ADEM on May 2. The samples were taken from 18 wells around the now-closed coal ash pond on the Coosa River and showed elevated levels of arsenic at two locations and one incidence of elevated radium.

Alabama Power said in a statement that the company proactively reported the test results to ADEM before they were required to by law and that the company has no indication of any effect on any source of drinking water.

Alabama Power said the Gadsden Water Works also tests for water quality on the Coosa River and found no indication of problems with drinking water sources.

Based on evaluations to date, none of the results detected pose a risk to neighbors, nearby waterways or water sources, Alabama Powers statement said.

Alabama Power is in the process of closing all of its coal ash ponds in compliance with new federal coal ash rules enacted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2015.

Plant Gadsden was the first of Alabama Powers ash ponds to close, with work being completed in September 2018. The company said it will conduct additional groundwater testing, in coordination with ADEM, to determine whether any corrective actions are warranted.

All the companys other coal-fired plants are now using dry coal ash storage rather than the wet ash ponds. The company expects to begin dewatering all of its existing ash ponds this year, but the closure process can take multiple years to complete.

In 2018, Alabama Power was fined $1.25 million for groundwater pollution violations near coal ash ponds at six other plants.
The body of a woman found dead in a vehicle on Mothers Day has been identified and deemed to be the victim of homicide.

The Jefferson County Sheriffs Office on Friday identified the victim as Ernamy Padilla. She was 39, and lived in the Pinson area.

The discovery was made just after 2:30 p.m. Sunday on I-22 near exit 89, said sheriffs spokesman Capt. David Agee. Deputies checked the vehicle and found Padilla unresponsive.

Paramedics checked the woman and confirmed she was deceased, Agee said. Her body was taken to the Jefferson County Coroners Office to determine the cause of death.

Agee on Friday detectives found enough evidence to obtain warrants against Jose Afrain Dubon Rodriguez for the charge of murder. They have not said how or why she was killed.

Investigators believe Rodriguez may have fled the area but said they are continuing to track his whereabouts to take him into custody.

Padillas best friend, Bell King, said the slaying has been devastating for friends and family. Padilla was Kings baby sitter growing up and the two moved to Alabama together. Not only were they best friends, Padilla worked in housekeeping at the Hampton Inn in Mountain Brook where King was her supervisor. "She was so hardworking,'' King said. She was one of my best employees.

Padilla leaves behind a 21-year-old son, a 6-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter. "Its very horrible for these children,'' King said.

The two younger children have been taken into the custody of DHR. Padillas closest blood relatives are in Texas. "Were trying to help her family,'' King said. There are a lot of struggles.

Anyone with information on where Rodriguez may be is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. If their information leads to an arrest, they will be eligible for a cash reward.
By Amy Edge, director of a pregnancy resource center in Dothan

Why now? Why have Georgia, Alabama, and other states gone toe-to-toe with the pro-choice movement?

This year when the New York legislature cheered because a 9-month-old baby in utero could be killed, and when the Senate was not willing to pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, the sleeping giant woke up angry. Adding fuel to the fire are a conservative Supreme Court and advances in ultrasound and DNA technology confirming human life begins in the womb.

Prior to working at a pregnancy center, I was no different from many Christians who marginally supported the pro-life movement. For many years my church was a stones throw from our center, but I felt I had greater spiritual issues to tackle with my neighbors than an unplanned pregnancy. Five years ago, through the prompting of a friend, I went to work at Wiregrass Hope Group to help hurting women whether they were Christian or not.

I didnt walk in prejudiced against women wanting to have an abortion. I myself had sex outside of marriage, and I know and love people who still hurt over the loss of their aborted babies. But my compassion grew for this issue as I heard their stories of heartache and poverty. As one young woman living in a motel told me, I am not a monster. I just didnt know what to do. I have encountered women of faith wanting abortions because they didnt know who the father of the baby was or because the baby was the product of date rape. My center urged these women to look past their present circumstances, trust God to help them, and know that wed walk them through the process. After her delivery, one of those women told me she couldnt imagine her life without her baby girl.

One of the many pro-choice arguments is that the pro-life side cares only about bringing the baby into the world but is unwilling to help after delivery. This is simply untrue. The philosophy of our parent organization, CareNet, is that we are pro-abundant life. We want the best life for both the mother and the child. Our center offers a nine-session parenting program. We mentor pregnant women, one-on-one, on how to parent a child and take care of themselves. In light of the changing legislation on abortion, we foresee a greater need to care for mothers and babies after delivery. We plan to start a post-birth program to make sure our women and children are seeing a doctor, utilizing social services, and having social connection. We are fighting for a healthier community, one woman and one child at a time.

Women have faced many challenges throughout the ages. The answer has never been to take advantage of or take the life of the vulnerable. Ive heard it said the womb is one of the most dangerous places in America. As long as abortion is legal, a baby in the womb is literally vulnerable susceptible to physical or emotional attack or harm. Isnt our legal system in place to protect the most vulnerable among us?

On Mothers Day last week, we celebrated the sacrifices our mothers made to feed, clothe, and educate us, and rightly so. Life is a gift for which we sacrifice and celebrate. Unfortunately, nearly sixty million babies have been aborted since Roe v. Wade. These children didnt get to choose the sacrifice they made for their mothers reproductive freedoms. The choice was made for them.
By Cathy Lighton

At this moment the state of women in Alabama seems bleak.

Much of Alabama is rural. If you think being raised in small town means that kids arent sexually active early, think again. I know many who became sexually active as early as 13 in my small town. I also know of several in my class who had abortions. When you are 13, 14 or 15, having a baby is not good for anyone. I also know several of the parents of those pregnant girls are exactly the ones screaming pro-life. How quickly you forget and how extremely hypocritical of you.

I try to let my life be a means of inspiration for others. In order to do that we have to be honest about some of the things we are not proud of. I had an abortion at the age of 15. I was not ready in anyway to have a child and the father of that child was not ready either. We decided to get the abortion. It is certainly not something I am proud of but it is something I had a choice, legally, to do. I remember that day very clearly and I hope no one has to confront such a choice, but the important word here is choice.

Fast forward two years  I was 17 and I was kidnapped and raped by a complete stranger. I had a .357 magnum to my head, I was handcuffed and my clothes were cut off with a switchblade. I was raped, sodomized and tortured for hours. For just a second, put yourself, your precious daughter, your niece, or sister in my shoes. Pretty grim isnt it?

Now imagine going to the hospital and being examined and the nurse tells you that your rapist ejaculated inside of you, and you can take the day after pill or take your chances of being pregnant by the monster that just tortured you. You swallow that damn pill as fast as you can and you pray it works and if it doesnt you plan on an abortion. Thats what you do. Do not dare judge me! You have no right do so.

Lets go ahead another three years, I am now 20 and Im married we have one child and I find out that I am pregnant. I am happy and excited. One night, very unexpectedly, I start bleeding. I am rushed to the hospital and I have a ectopic pregnancy and the pregnancy has to be terminated or I could die. Tough choice but really no choice at all.

Those of you screaming that every life matters really seemed to be concerned about how you can keep us unruly women in our place and less concerned about all the children born into loveless homes, poverty, foster care, and what about poor immigrant children that you give absolutely no regard. What about them? Dont their lives matter? Get your morals and your politics out of womens reproductive health and work on protecting the children that you are neglecting. Alabama women, stand up for yourselves, do not keep quiet.

Cathy Lighton is a yoga studio owner in Huntsville.
By Eva Melton, a pastor and community organizer living in Birmingham

The women of Alabama are under siege.

We are displaced by gentrification: A mother in Birminghams Southtown Court was recently informed she will be given only 90 days notice to relocate before her home in a public housing community is demolished. She will be uprooted, forced to find temporary housing and a new school for any children she may have, she was told. Returning to the place she has long called home is uncertain once the new development is complete.

We endure environmental injustice: A woman in Uniontown was subjected to toxic coal ash containing arsenic and mercury from the landfill in the vicinity of her home. These toxins are in her community because they have been transported from a majority white county in Tennessee to a landfill in her poor and majority black county.

We face inhumane prison conditions: The U.S. Justice Department recently uncovered the deplorable conditions of our prisons. It revealed excessive amounts of violence, sexual abuse and prisoner deaths. Until recent legislation, Alabama prisons did not provide female inmates with tampons or sanitary pads.

Our bodies are disregarded by sexism: We bear the burden of 25 men in our state Senate voting for bil (now law, thanks to our female governor) making abortion a felony in Alabama, even in the case of rape and incest. This disregard for our agency as adults has overreached into our most private physical spaces, limiting our self-determination. We are forced to defend our rights and our bodies.

The women of Alabama are under siege.
By Hayley Minogue

I couldnt wait to get out of Alabama.

It was back in Spring of 2018. I was 26 at the time, pregnant, and I had a boyfriend I adored. I was living a good life in Mobile. It was a happy time. But very quickly things started to go wrong.

My job had become difficult. My contract was terminated, and I didnt know I was pregnant at the time. After that, I got a phone call from a former co-worker who had been at the job a very long time. My co-worker said, Well, your career may be over, but you will find fulfillment as a mother.

I took a job in retail. Its all I could do. Things were spiraling out of control, and I felt like I didnt have anyone or anything that could help. I had to call my parents and say I gotta get out of here. I have nothing here. I hate it here, and need to leave. And every day I thank God I was able to make that call.

But the judgment never really stopped, regardless of what job I was in. Multiple customers at my retail job would tell me that it was wrong to be pregnant and not married.

I was told constantly that they knew I would quit and stay home with the baby once he came.

It wasnt long before I could not wait to get out of Alabama. Even days when people didnt say anything, I could feel a constant sense of judgement and condescending behavior because I wasnt married.

And because I had only been in that job five months when I gave birth, I wasnt entitled to any type of paid leave. In just a short few months, I had lost my job, lost my sense of self, and lost most of my family away from home in my co-workers.

But it wasnt all bad. The people who helped me get Medicaid and get on to the SNAP program for Women, Infants and Children were wonderful. And the doctor who sees Medicaid women at Providence hospital was amazing.

Now, Im happy. Im working in my career field, despite what I was told, off of government assistance, and Im saving to buy a home. I know Im extremely privileged. And I think constantly about those who are not.

Haley Minogue, formerly of Mobile, now lives in Louisville.
By Lindsey Boan, a longtime Alabama resident now living in New York City

I spent 33 years of my life almost to the day, living in Alabama. I know what it feels like to be woman in Alabama, and I know what it feels like to be a woman from Alabama in very different kind of place.

When I moved to New York, I didnt know what people would think of me, but I decided weeks before I put that first piece of clothing in my suitcase that I didnt care. I had to find honest and spiritual people.

I spent my 20s convincing myself I was a strong, independent woman and could be a good Southern Christian wife. And to find the right guy, I was willing to sacrifice strong independence and aspirations of a bigger life (and come to find out, my morals and willingness to look the other way). Eventually I began to realize Christianity and what I knew of religion wasnt panning out as I had expected.

But what was I doing wrong?

I dressed right. I participated in all the right events, and turned a blind-eye when my Republican, Christian guy friends (yes, plural) talked about pushing their girlfriend down the stairs if she was pregnant. Im sure theyd tell me to learn how to take a joke now too while their girlfriend showed only the slightest crack of uncertainty.

This kind of thing happened more times than I can count. I knew I was hitting my breaking point, but I was also dating someone and we were talking about getting married. I was getting the thing I wanted. So I pushed it away and dealt with it, like so many women do. And on my wedding day, I thought to myself, Hes exactly what I wanted, it doesnt matter if we fight, it doesnt matter if I sacrifice what I want. We can make it work and be together forever because this is what Im supposed to have.

But eventually I had to be honest with myself, I was never going to be that wife. I was never going to be the type of Christian girl his family wanted because I couldnt reconcile the way Christian men were failing women, all in the name of religion. No one would do anything. I had to go. I had to find a place that cared about people as people, and more than just the white guy sitting in front of them.

Because I need to be true to myself and put love and empathy for humans on Earth above all, to be brave and stand up for the less fortunate. And to never, ever be quiet again.
By Megan Cheek, Birmingham

We moved to Birmingham five years ago after living in Washington, D.C., for 13 years. Birmingham seemed like a good fit  a small big city close enough to home, but without Atlanta traffic. Here, weve found a community that is full of decent, kind folks always ready to lend a hand. And we have also found people who seem unwilling to move beyond the Democratic and Republican labels in order to engage in a constructive dialogue.

Shortly after the 2016 election, a group of women who were upset with the campaigns rhetoric gathered and formed H.I.V.E. Alabama. Our group of over 500 women is focused on educating ourselves on issues critical to our state in an effort to bring about positive, thoughtful, and intentional change. I strongly believe that deep down, we all want to talk to our neighbors about the things that matter most and find the common ground that makes us a community. When we listen to each other, we learn from each other.

There is a fire within me to work hard to improve the state I love and call home. This past week has caused that fire to burn brighter. I am disappointed that the lives of many women will be jeopardized as part of a political game. But this is not new. Alabama ranks at or near the bottom in most quality of life rankings. Thirteen of our hospitals have closed in the past eight years. We rank near the top in the country for infant and maternal mortality. And women in this state are dying of cervical cancer at extraordinarily high rates.

I want more than this for not only us, but for our children and our childrens children. I want our lawmakers to stop the political pandering and to govern with our people in mind. Alabama, we owe it to ourselves to be engaged and to hold these leaders accountable regardless of party affiliations. We must do better.

Megan Cheek, of Birmingham, is a founding member of H.I.V.E. Alabama
By Patricia Wallwork

Alabama may be making unfavorable waves nationally when it comes to women, but the passionate and determined female professionals that I know in this state are founding and leading businesses with amazing drive, fortitude and achievements. To help Alabama women continue succeeding, it is critical that all business leaders examine and prioritize a diversity and inclusion culture.

Providing equal growth opportunities to women that are available to their male counterparts is an issue that cannot be overstated. This means ensuring females are represented on your board and executive leadership teams. Further than just the top leadership of the organization, corporate culture and benefits should be evaluated for their suitability for females. Does your organization offer full-time, salaried female employees paid healthcare, maternity leave, flex time and reasonable accommodations for pregnant or nursing women? If not, you are missing out on some exceptional talent. At Milos Tea Company, we are intentional in tracking diversity and inclusion metrics, offering robust career paths with training programs and professional development and have expanded our flex-time, maternity and paternity leave. As a result, last year, 54 percent of our wages went to female associates. Half of our executive team and 65 percent of our board members are women. With this diversity of talent, our Sweet Gallon became the No. 1 selling tea item in the United States last year. I credit the diverse team we have with this win and believe every organization that makes diversity and inclusion intentional will see additional success.

When women succeed, we reduce generational poverty and violence; we provide the support families need to flourish; we educate and enrich the lives of the next generation of leaders; and we build sustainable communities based on respect and strength of character.

Patricia Wallwork is the CEO of Milos Tea Co. in Bessemer.
By Rachael Cunningham, who grew up in Alabama and now lives in San Francisco

The news from Alabama this week has upset me deeplyfirst because I believe women should have legal autonomy over their own bodies and second because of my personal experience terminating a pregnancy as a 16-year-old girl in Alabama.

Growing up in Alabama was good for me in many ways because I was white and wealthy. However, there were hurtful messages ingrained in me about being female. The religious culture in Alabama convinced me that I was a bad if I wanted sex, and worse if I used birth control to avoid consequences. Abstinence education abounded, but I was a healthy 16-year-old, so I did it anyway, without protection, and got pregnant.

My boyfriend called Planned Parenthood, and they explained that (way back in 1991) an under-age girl could petition for a judicial bypass to get an abortion without informing her parents. So I did, and the clinic records didnt even bear my name, only initials.

I was only 8 weeks along, and the procedure was quick. I couldnt afford general anesthesia, so I was sedated but awake and aware of everything that happened. It was a safe, clean, professional facility and I healed quickly afterward.

I have always been grateful for this experience because it allowed me to return to high school immediately, finish on time and avoid public shame.

I went to college, though I ended up pregnant again as a college freshman. I have a son who is 24. I finished grad school and became a teacher. I believe I have had a positive impact on many students in my 18 years as an educator.

Safe access to birth control and abortion is a key right for all women, and especially important for poor, minority women.

White, male lawmakers in Alabama seem to have no compassion for women. If their God is real, I pity them his judgement.
By Renee Sullender, an Homewood native currently a medical student in Wisconsin

I was born and raised in Alabama and am a proud graduate of Homewood High School. Im also a future obstetrician/gynecologist (OB/GYN).

As a 4th year medical student at the University of Wisconsin, Ill soon be applying to residency programs where, over the course of four years, I will learn how to become a womens healthcare expert.

Properly caring for women includes abortion care. Lets face it- nobody likes abortion and people dont like to talk about it. Most people dont realize how important access to abortion is until they or somebody they love needs one.

There are a multitude of legitimate reasons in addition to health concerns why a woman would seek an abortion. We should respect womens choices for why they would want to end a pregnancy, whether that is because they are too young, in school, financially incapable, in an abusive relationship, or otherwise. If a woman believes that she should not be a mother, then I agree with her. Before you suggest she give the child up for adoption, kindly consider the children already in the foster care system. Also think about how you would feel about being forced to carry a fetus inside of you for 9 months against your will.

Banning abortions, particularly without exceptions for rape and incest, is cruel. How many of the politicians who voted for the ban have sat in clinic with pregnant rape victims? I worked with a 14-year-old girl about to deliver who had been unable to get an abortion - she said every time she thought about her pregnancy, she thought of her rapist. She bawled, saying she knew she would think about her rape every time she looked into her future babys eyes. What about the life and well-being of this 14-year-old child? Her young life and precious future matters, too.

I respect that many people hold strong religious beliefs about abortion. I hope we can find common ground to reduce the need for abortions by supporting accessible and affordable birth control. But, banning abortion will take us back to the pre-Roe era where only wealthy women could travel for their abortions and poor women would either undergo dangerous procedures or be forced to have a baby against her will.

Half of Alabamas counties do not have a single OB/GYN. The state already has one of the worst records in the nation when it comes to infant mortality. Alabama needs people like me- future physicians who have moved away and are willing to move back. But the states actions on abortion will prevent me and others who want to return and serve Alabamians from doing so. Governor Ivey, I urge you to veto this dangerous bill. Dont scare OB/GYNs away from Alabama- the women and families in the state cant afford it.

Renee Sullender was born and raised in Homewood, Alabama and graduated from Homewood High School in 2009. She is currently a medical and public health student at the University of Wisconsin and intends to become an obstetrician/gynecologist.
By Rosemary Glass

I am a mother of four and a grandparent of five. I have a military family transplanted in Alabama. We lived in Alabama for five years in the late 90s. We came back three years ago to retire here, since two of our four children are still living here. I started out as a working poor single parent. Through hard work with perseverance, including years of part time college for both my husband and I, we became an upper middle class family, by the grace of God.

I have moved 19 times and have sampled a cross section of life in the U S. Alabama women are smart, strong, hard-working and conservative. They believe in working hard, being honest, and making family a priority. They love their children passionately.

While many smart Alabamian Women are working hard outside their homes (as are my daughters), they dont feel they must give up their home lives completely to compete in the workforce. Unlike their more liberal counterparts, they dont need to flash pictures of their private parts, scream and shout their accomplishments or march in violent parades to have their causes heard. Alabama Women prefer to gather peaceably and pray that God himself would intervene to show people that our original Founding Fathers (and Mothers) conservative ways work best. Alabama Women understand that capitalism brings a satisfaction that socialism never could.

Ive seen how both sides live. Conservative values are so much more practical and easy. Just because liberal voices have television stations nearby to broadcast their beliefs, it doesnt mean they are all American Womens views. These are not always the right views.

No one expected Helen Keller to ever amount to anything. No one expected Harper Lees book to expose the truth. No one expected Rosa Parks to boldly take a front seat on the bus. No one expected Coretta Scott King to beautifully raise her four children as a single parent, and also go on to continue her husbands legacy. No one expected President Bush to choose a woman to be his Secretary of State, but Condoleezza Rice served exceptionally well. Today Alabamians do expect a competent woman, Kay Ivey, to be their Governor. As an adopted Alabamian, I am proud to call these women my sisters. Alabamian Women have come a long way from the stereotypical Southern Belle.

Rosemary Glass is the president of the Capital City Republican Women in Tallassee.
When Megan Eller began coordinating a rally opposing Alabamas new abortion ban law, she was expecting that it might draw a handful of people standing outside the courthouse to shout.

But in the past couple of days, the event has grown in size and scope. Now Eller anticipates close to 4,000 people  and maybe more  showing up for a 4-6 p.m. rally Sunday at Butler Green at Campus 805.

Im surprised, but Im not surprised, said Eller, who is helping assist in relocating the event from outside the Madison County Courthouse in downtown Huntsville to a public park that can accommodate a much larger crowd.

I know that some of the people feel the same as I do, but I wasnt expecting so many people willing to speak up, said Eller. So many people would rather keep their opinions to themselves. I am surprised by how much support we really do have.

The event is called My Body, My Choice and is one of handful of organized activities happening in four Alabama cities this weekend in protest against the signing of the Alabama Human Life Protection Act or HB314, which virtually outlaws abortion in Alabama and is viewed as the nations strictest law against the procedure.

The first rally kicks off from 5-7 p.m. tonight at Bienville Square in downtown Mobile and is hosted by the Mobile Bay Green Party. The Protest Against the Abortion Ban encourages attendees to wear black. A similar rally will take place at the same location at 12 p.m. Sunday.

The Huntsville rally was originally created in solidarity with a march starting at 4 p.m. at the Court Square Fountain in Montgomery.

In Birmingham, A March for Reproductive Freedom, will be held starting at 6 p.m. at the 17th Street N and 5th Avenue N corner of Kelly Ingram Park. A rally will take place immediately following the march inside the pavilion at Kelly Ingram Park.

The event also coincides with a rally in support of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. But the organizers say that the two rallies are unrelated to each other.

Speakers to the Birmingham event include the following: Erica Star Robbins, Resist Birmingham; Satura Dudley, March For Our Lives; Rebecca Seung-Bickley, ACLU Communications Director in Alabama; Sheila Tyson, Jefferson County Commissioner; and special guest Shante Wolfe-Sisson, BLK Pearl.

Eller said the rallies arent aimed at making immediate changes to HB314, which was signed by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday.

She said she hopes the events help convey a message to the rest of the world that a good number of Alabama residents dont support the measure.

This is a small step toward changing the bill and making that process happen, said Eller. But its a big step in letting the rest of the world know we dont support what is happening.

Rallies will be held elsewhere next week. A Protest for Reproductive Freedom event will take place from 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the corner of Highway 202 and Noble Street in Anniston. Auburn High School students are hosting a Stand Up, Let Your Voices Heard rally at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 25, outside the Capitol building in Montgomery.
By Isabel Hope, Tuscaloosa

A student in Tuscaloosa and teen founder of the Meddling Kids Movement

Growing up in Alabama, I have seen my representatives bend over backwards to stick to the status quo and reverse the course of gender equality. I am not writing this to give statistics or beg pro-life people to change their minds. Im writing this because I live in Alabama, I am sixteen years old, and my politicians dont want my voice to be heard.

I am writing this because I have to. This abortion ban puts myself, my friends, and future generations in danger. Not to mention any victims of sexual assault or rape. I dont feel safe walking alone ever. How am I supposed to feel knowing that if something were to happen, I would have no options?

If any of the Republican politicians backing this bill were pro-life, they would care about the thousands of women they are endangering with it in the first place. Especially all the young women.

It is not fair that we have to live in a state where old men decide whether or not we have reproductive equality. It is not fair that we are raised to be ladylike as our basic human rights get stripped from us. It is not fair that we were taught in middle school everything we should do to prevent ourselves from being sexually assaulted or raped, but after it happens, we are just out of luck.

Reproductive healthcare shouldnt be a crime, it is a civil right. Medical professionals will die in jail for providing a medical procedure. I hope everyone who supported this law will understand the message they are sending to young girls: your reproductive rights dont matter and neither do you.

I turn eighteen next year and I will be voting for a person who cares about my life more than my ability to provide one.
Two Alabama Media Group brands were recognized Friday during the International News Media Associations Global Media Awards presentation in New York City.

AMGs Chasing Corruption, a television news program on Facebook Watch, won the Best in North America award for Regional/Local Brands. The program, which debuted in September 2018, also won a first-place award in the Best Use of Video category.

Chasing Corruption, which is hosted by Reckon by AL.coms Ian Hoppe, was one of 40 first-place winners across 20 categories aimed at energizing new brands, creating products, engaging audiences, developing customer insights, growing advertising revenue and instilling innovation.

AMGs Its a Southern Thing placed third in the Best Use of Social Media category.

The judging was divided into two groups: Global/national brands and regional/local brands. AMGs entries were grouped into the regional/local brand entries.

The 2019 Global Media Awards competition garnered 664 entries from 165 news media companies in 34 countries. INMA has presented awards for media excellence since 1937.

The awards were presented before more than 400 delegates attending the closing dinner of the INMA World Congress of News Media at the Edison Ballroom in New Yorks Time Square.

Alabama Media Group is a digitally-focused news and information company that combines the up-to-the-minute access of AL.com and gulflive.com with the journalism of The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times and Mobiles Press-Register and The Mississippi Press.
Today marks 27 years since Lachin district of Azerbaijan was occupied by the Armenian armed forces.

At night of May 17, 1992, the occupants began their raid on Lachin district, entering the territory of Azerbaijan through the so-called Lachin corridor. During the capture of Lachin, more than 300 military and civilians died and went missing. About 77 thousand residents of Lachin became internally displaced persons and now live in different regions of Azerbaijan.

As a result of an assault, the Armenian armed forces seriously damaged state and private property of the region - 217 cultural institutions, 101 educational institutions, 142 health institutions, 462 trade objects, 30 communication facilities, two motor transport enterprises and other production facilities were looted and destroyed. Also, more than 200 local historical monuments and 54 monuments of global importance were damaged by invaders. Among the ruined monuments are Albanian Aghoghlan Monastery, Malik Ajdar Tomb, a mosque in the village of Garagyshlag, an ancient cemetery in the village of Zabuh. In addition, the Lachin Historical Museum and the old collection of gold, silver and bronze coins were looted.

On the eve of the 27th anniversary of the occupation of the Lachin region, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement that the Armenian side, grossly violating the requirements of the international humanitarian law, including obligations under the Geneva Conventions, continues illegal activities in both the Lachin region and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan: the geographical names are changed, the natural resources of the region are plundered, the infrastructure is illegally changed. Also, the Armenian authorities, by conducting a targeted settlement policy, are changing the demographic composition of the region. In 2015, the European Court of Human Rights, in the case Chiragov and Others against Armenia, issued a judgment in favor of the citizens of Azerbaijan forcibly expelled from Lachin district, as their property rights, respect for private and family life enshrined The European Convention on Human Rights were violated.

The fact of an armed attack on the Lachin region, including the Lachin air bombing in mid-May 1992, is described in the paragraphs 19-20 of this decision.
And how the legacy of this failure is still endangering lives in Sri Lanka and beyond.

Today, May 18, 2019, marks one decade since the armed conflict in Sri Lanka came to a brutal end. As we remember the victims of the war, it is important not to forget that those who were responsible for protecting them  the international community and institutions  failed miserably and their failure continues to cause more suffering today in Sri Lanka and elsewhere.

In particular, the United Nations  the institution tasked with maintaining international peace and security  not only did not make a real effort to save Tamil civilians from the carnage that unfolded in the months leading up to the end of the war, but to this day is unable to secure the implementation of a proper mechanism of accountability for the mass atrocities committed during the armed conflict.

The UNs failure to act along with the lack of political will in the international community to take action has given the government of Sri Lanka free rein and allowed it flaunt post-war obligations to ensure justice and reconciliation.

Failing to act, failing to protect

Prior to the final stage of the war, the Sri Lankan government compelled international humanitarian organisations, the UN included, to leave the war zone. Then it took the opportunity of the absence of international oversight to launch a merciless campaign against Tamil civilians.

The government started reporting civilian population estimates far below the actual number in order to limit the entry of humanitarian aid. It restricted humanitarian deliveries in various ways and would fail to ensure secure passage for humanitarian convoys. Thousands of civilians were reported to have died due to inadequate medical care and lack of food.

In addition to limiting humanitarian aid with deadly consequences, the Sri Lankan government also did not prevent the army from directly bombarding civilian areas. It encouraged civilians to move to so-called no fire zones which were then shelled repeatedly. Hospitals were also targeted at least 30 times within a five-month period in deadly aerial and shelling attacks. Civilians were allegedly prevented from fleeing the fighting both by Tamil fighters and government forces.

In February 2009, amid the governments deadly offensive, a senior UN staff member visited Sri Lanka, according to an official UN report which did not name him. He was very seized by the growing number of civilian casualties and immediately reported back to his superiors, saying we would be complicit if we do not act on it.

Yet, the UN failed to act.

In fact, UN staffers not only stopped counting casualties several days before the mass slaughter of civilians which culminated in the declaration of the end of the war, but also continued to issue statements supporting the government narrative and presenting the Tamil Tigers as equally responsible for the carnage, despite the overwhelming evidence on the ground that the Sri Lankan army was single-handedly committing mass atrocities.

Ten years on, there is still no accurate death toll due to the absence of a thorough and credible investigation process. While the UN has reported between 40,000 and 70,000 dead, other estimates put the number much higher  at 140,000.

Persistent impunity

Just five days after the end of the war, then-UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Sri Lanka and called for an accountability process to be put into place in order to address violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.

But the UN failed to see this through as well.

Although the Sri Lankan government co-sponsored a number of UN Human Rights Council resolutions which call for the promotion of reconciliation, accountability and human rights, it has not delivered on the commitment it made to the UN chief to ensure justice is served for the victims of the violence.

It continues to praise alleged war criminals as war heroes, promoting some of them to top positions within civilian and military institutions. To date, there have been no trials of people suspected of having committed war crimes and a culture of impunity continues to prevail in the countrys north and east.

A 2015 report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sri Lanka noted that many of the structures responsible for the violations and crimes remain in place.

Meanwhile, the intimidation, surveillance and harassment of Tamil war survivors continue. The Tamil community is still denied the right to collective remembrance of the dead under false claims that such an act would endanger national security. State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardena has even said that commemorating or mourning the war dead was an attempt to discredit the war heroes of the Sri Lankan armed forces.

The persistent lack of genuine political and moral will to address the grievances of the Tamil population demonstrates that no domestic or hybrid mechanism would ever deliver justice to victims and survivors, and only an international independent investigation can hold perpetrators accountable.

That, however, would require a genuine commitment on part of the UN and the international community to pressure the Sri Lankan government into abiding by its international commitments.

When a Panel of Experts report on Sri Lanka was released in 2011, Navi Pillay, the then-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that the disturbing new information in the report will shock the conscience of the international community into finally taking serious action.

Now, eight years later, it appears that the conscience of the international community has still not been shaken into action, neither in Sri Lanka nor elsewhere. The fact that war criminals get away with the mass atrocities they commit has emboldened many others to wage war on civilians without the fear of ever being held accountable.

Two years after the war in Sri Lanka ended, the army of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad unleashed a deadly campaign against the Syrian population resulting in more than half a million deaths (with the UN again deciding to stop counting).

Six years later the Myanmar military launched yet another brutal operation of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people which resulted in the deaths and injury of tens of thousands and the exodus of 700,000 civilians to neighbouring countries.

These are just two examples of many which have taken place because the UN and the international community have failed to act in places like Sri Lanka.

This failure to act is not only preventing true reconciliation but also endangering civilian lives in the country and across the world.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will be back for another term but it is not yet clear if Australias coalition party will need the support of independents.

Al Jazeera reports live from Sydney.
Austria appears set to head to the polls after Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache resigns over a video sting.

Austrias Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has called for fresh elections after his ruling coalition collapsed following an apparent video sting that forced his deputy to step down.

In a statement on Saturday, Kurz said he would ask the countrys President Alexander Van der Bellen to hold a new vote as soon as possible.

The call came hours after Heinz-Christian Strache, the vice chancellor and leader of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) resigned over a covert video that appeared to show him offering government contracts to a Russian woman in exchange for campaign help.

Kurz, a conservative who formed a coalition with the FPO a year and a half ago, said the sting was the last straw in the relationship.

Enough is enough  The serious part of this was the attitude towards abuse of power, towards dealing with taxpayers money, towards the media in this country, said the chancellor, who heads the centre-right Peoples Party.

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Kurz said he could not reach an agreement with the leadership of Straches FPO on carrying forward the coalition, adding that a possible coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats would derail the governments programme of limiting debt and taxes.

Shortly after Kurzs statement, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen expressed support for a snap vote and said he would meet with the chancellor again on Sunday to talk over the next steps.

Opposition parties including the Social Democrats, the liberal Neos party and the Greens have also called for fresh elections in the wake of the scandal.

Catastrophic

The downfall of the Austrian coalition comes just a week before elections for the European Parliament and is a blow to one of the most successful anti-immigrant, nationalist parties that have surged across the continent in recent years. The FPO is a major part of a new nationalist grouping that aims to score record gains in the European vote.

Strache quit as vice chancellor and party leader earlier on Saturday after the video was released by two German news organisations. He acknowledged that the video was catastrophic but denied breaking the law.

In the footage  aired by the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and weekly Der Spiegel newspapers  Strache was seen meeting a woman posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch in 2017, shortly before the election that brought him to power.

Strache and party colleague Johann Gudenus are heard telling the unnamed woman she could expect lucrative construction work if she bought Austrias Kronen Zeitung newspaper and supported the Freedom Party. He is also seen discussing rules on party financing and how to work around them, although he also insisted on having to act legally.

The German publications did not reveal the source of the video.

Heinz-Christian Strache resigned as vice chancellor on Saturday [Leonhard Foeger/Reuters]

In his resignation statement, Strache apologised but said he was set up in a political assassination. He conceded his behaviour in the video was stupid, irresponsible and a mistake.

Strache, whose party has a cooperation agreement with Russias ruling United Russia party, said no money changed hands during the 2017 meeting.

He insisted the only crime that took place was illegally videotaping a private dinner party.

Al Jazeeras Sonia Gallego, reporting from London, described the timing of the scandal as very bad for Straches party because of the upcoming European elections.

This has been quite an extraordinary downfall for the leader of the Freedom Party  just only a week to go until the European elections, Gallego said, adding the incident had raised a lot of questions about how the FPO finances its own coffers.

EU parliamentarian Hans-Olaf Henkel said the FPO as well as many other right-wing parties in Europe are apparently much-supported by Russia.

For the first time, with the Austrian far-right party, we have found a smoking gun and thats why Strache had to resign, Henkel told Al Jazeera from the German capital, Berlin.
Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache told to quit after allegations he promised public contracts for political help.

Heinz-Christian Strache, Austrias vice chancellor and leader of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), has been filmed apparently discussing state contracts to an individual posing as a representative of a Russian oligarch in return for political backing.

The footage, which was published by two German newspapers on Friday, prompted opposition calls for Strache to resign and threw the countrys ruling government coalition into crisis.

Strache occupies the second-highest position in government and his party is part of the ruling coalition with Chancellor Sebastian Kurzs centre-right Peoples Party (OVP), which came to power in 2017 with a hard-line on immigration similar to that of the FPO.

Strache was purportedly filmed talking about the contracts with a woman posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch in the Spanish island of Ibiza in July 2017, months before parliamentary elections, newspapers Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung said.

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In the covert video, Strache and party colleague Johann Gudenus are heard telling the unnamed woman she can expect lucrative construction contracts if she buys an Austrian newspaper and supports the FPO.

According to the two newspapers, the video spanned some six hours of drink-fuelled conversation in a villa. Aside from discussing possible investments in Austria, including the purchase of influential tabloid newspaper Kronen Zeitung, Strache also appears to suggest ways of funnelling money to his party via an unconnected foundation to circumvent Austrian rules on political donations.

End this nightmare

There was no immediate comment by Strache on the video, whose authenticity could not be independently verified. The German newspapers, which did not reveal how they obtained it, said the footage was authenticated by a forensic video expert.

Its time to end this nightmare, the head of Austrias Social Democratic Party, Pamela Rendi-Wagner, said after the reports. Strache and Gudenus must step down today.

She urged Kurz to take responsibility for his government allies: He chose to enter into this coalition.

The FPO became a junior partner in a coalition with Kurzs conservatives in December 2017 after winning 26 percent of the votes in the October elections.

Kurz, who called a crisis meeting late on Friday, is reportedly planning to issue a statement on the case on Saturday.

Werner Kogler, a leading member of Austrias opposition Green Party, also urged Kurz to dissolve the coalition or he himself will become untenable.

There is no indication that any of the discussed Russian investments took place before or after the parliamentary elections.

Vienna prosecutors said they would study the reports and decide whether there was sufficient cause to open an investigation, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors said.
410 polling stations will be open at 8:00am tomorrow , spokesperson of the Central Election Commission of Georgia Anna Mikeladze said at the briefing on Saturday, InterPressNews reports. According to her, there are 402 091 voters eligible to cast ballot in the elections.

The CEC said that each polling station has already been provided with all the necessary equipment.

Tomorrow, on May 19, parliamentary by-elections will be held at Tbilisi #1 constituency. In addition, extraordinary Mayoral Elections will be held in Marneuli, Zestaponi, Chiatura, Zugdidi and Khulo municipalities and municipal by-elections in Sagarejo, Akhmeta, Adigeni, Zestaponi, Chiatura, Tkibuli, Tskaltubo and Ozurgeti municipalities.

410 polling stations will be open on May 19, where 402 091 voters have been registered, the CEC Spokesperson said.

According to the CEC, 6 130 observers of 49 local observer organizations as well as 47 observers of 7 international organizations will observe the elections. The election coverage will be provided by 1 917 accredited representatives of 45 media organizations. Hereby, 6 556 election subject representatives registered to the relevant election commissions will observe tomorrows elections.
This year Brazil has strong representation at the Cannes film festival with a diverse range of films.

It is a big year for Brazilian cinema at the 2019 Cannes film festival, with seven movies on the schedule.

The first screening in Cannes coincided with mass demonstrations back in Brazil against education cuts by President Jair Bolsonaros government. Cuts are also hitting the arts sector particularly hard.

Al Jazeeras Charlie Angela reports from Cannes.
Another 20 people wounded in the explosion that went off in a market in Herat province.

Three children were killed when an explosive device attached to a motorbike went off in a market in Afghanistans western province, an official said.

Another 20 people were wounded in the incident on Saturday, which took place in Herat provinces Oba district, according to provincial governor spokesman Jelani Farhad.





The target of the bombing is yet to be determined, but a remotely-controlled bomb went off when the district chiefs vehicle was passing by the areas main market, according to Farhad.

Earlier in the day Farhad spoke of five people killed, but then revised the toll to three.

Elsewhere, in Kama district of Nangarhar province, five people including three civilians were wounded when an unknown man lobbed a hand grenade at a police checkpoint, provincial spokesman Ataullah Khogyani said.

According to a quarterly report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), explosive devices killed 53 civilians and left 269 others injured in the first three months of this year, a 21 percent increase from the same period last year.

The figures do not include casualties from suicide bombings.

UNAMA said it is very concerned by the increase in civilian casualties from the use of non-suicide improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.

The Taliban, who was removed from power by US-led forces in 2001, has been waging a bloody rebellion against the countrys Western-backed government.

Pro-government forces have been struggling to combat the armed group, which holds sway over nearly half of the war-torn country.

Civilians have repeatedly been caught up in the clashes, with UN statistics showing more than 32,000 killed and 60,000 injured in the past 10 years.
Kevin Mallory was convicted of selling classified US defense information to Chinese intelligence for $25,000.

A former CIA officer has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for spying for China in a case considered part of an alarming trend in the United States intelligence community.



Kevin Mallory was convicted by a federal jury last June under the Espionage Act for selling classified US defense information to a Chinese intelligence agent for $25,000 during trips to Shanghai in March and April 2017, and for making false statements.

The prosecution had sought a life sentence, alleging that Mallory intended to turn over information about human assets working for US intelligence.

The defence had asked for punishment of 10 years, citing the relatively small amount of money involved and the fact that Mallory had voluntarily disclosed his contacts with the Chinese to his former CIA employers.

But a phone that his Chinese handler had given to Mallory to facilitate covert communications, provided evidence of guilt, the justice department alleged.

Your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid, Mallory had said in a text message to a Chinese agent in May 2017.

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Classified information to sell

It was one of a number of communications that talked about classified information that Mallory could sell to Chinas intelligence service. An FBI analysis on the phone that Mallory had consented to uncovered the messages.

It appears he had expected the phones secure messaging features would keep the conversation hidden.

The fluent Mandarin speaker had held a number of positions included working as a covert case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and an intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) the US Department of Justice said in a statement.

He had held a top-secret security clearance until 2012 when he left government service.

Mallory is one of several US officials with high-level security clearances who have arrested and charged over unsanctioned dealings with Chinese intelligence.

At its heart, this was a very basic crime, prosecutor John Gibbs said during Fridays hearing. He was desperate for money, and the most valuable thing he had was our nations secrets.

Gibbs said the $25,000 Mallory received was just the beginning of what would have occurred if he hadnt been caught.

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Betraying their country

This case is one in an alarming trend of former US intelligence officers being targeted by China and betraying their country and colleagues, Assistant Attorney General John Demers said of the Mallory case.



This sentence, together with the recent guilty pleas of Ron Hansen in Utah and Jerry Lee in Virginia, deliver the stern message that our former intelligence officers have no business partnering with the Chinese, or any other adversarial foreign intelligence service.

Former DIA official Ron Hansen faces 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in March to charges of attempting to sell classified information to the Chinese.

In April, a former diplomat, Candace Marie Claiborne, pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about money she received from Chinese intelligence agents in exchange for US documents.

And in the most significant case, on May 1, former CIA Officer Jerry Chun Shing Lee pleaded guilty to spying for China.

Lee, 54, faces a possible life sentence. Arrested in January 2018, he was suspected of having provided Beijing with the information it needed to bring down a CIA network of informants in China between 2010 and 2012.
Ethiopia has started to ration electricity for domestic and industrial customers after a drop in water levels in hydroelectric dams led to a production deficit.

Ethiopias minister for water and electricity Seleshi Bekele said on Friday that the drop in water levels at the countrys Gibe 3 dam led to a deficit of 476 megawatts (MW), more than a third of the countrys electricity generation of 1,400 MW.

Ethiopia also suspended electricity exports to neighbouring Djibouti and Sudan, which earns the country $180m a year, the minister said.

Under the rationing programme, which runs until July, domestic consumers will face blackouts for several hours each day, while cement and steel firms will have to operate fewer shifts due to the cuts, Seleshi said.

Ethiopias $4bn dam project on the Nile river, which has been beset by construction delays and criticism from Egypt, is expected to start initial operations in December 2020.

The project has caused problems with Egypt, which fears the dam will restrict Nile river waters coming down from Ethiopias highlands through the deserts of Sudan to the Egyptian fields and reservoirs.

The planned 6,000-megawatt Grand Renaissance Dam is the centrepiece of Ethiopias bid to become Africas biggest power exporter.
Salvini and like-minded politicians spell out their vision for Europe ahead of European Parliament elections.

Milan, Italy  On their way to the Piazza del Duomo, thousands of supporters of the League  the party led by Italys far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini  marched past a statue wearing a pink scarf on one of the citys ancient gates, Porta Venezia.

Feminist activists had dressed statues across the city in pink and gold in protest against the gathering.

The demonstrators, who included party supporters from across Italy and some delegations from elsewhere in the European Union, headed to the closing event of Salvinis campaign for European Parliament elections, scheduled for May 23-26.

Joining Salvini on stage, far-right and nationalist leaders and MPs from 11 countries spelled out their vision for Europe.

They included Marine Le Pen of Frances National Rally (Rassemblement Nationale), Geert Wilders of the anti-Islam Dutch Party for Freedom (Partij voor de Vrijheid), Jorg Meuthen of the anti-migrant Alternative for Germany (Alternative fur Deutschland or AfD). Slovakia, Austria, Finland and Bulgaria were also represented, among others.

Salvinis supporters chanted Italy is our home and Free Italy, as well as Europe is Christian, not Muslim, holding up banners with slogans including Close the ports and Italians first.

There are no extremists, racists, or fascists here, Salvini told the crowd during the rallys closing speech.

The difference is between those who look ahead, who talk about future and jobs and those who put the past on trial: They are afraid of the past because they dont have an idea for the future. Were building the future.

Salvini also told the crowd that the Europe of common sense was gathered in Milan to free the continent from the illegal occupation orchestrated in Brussels.

The dream of Europes founding fathers, Salvini said, has been betrayed by the Merkels, the Macrons, the Soroses and the Junckers who built a Europe based on finance and uncontrolled migration.

Marine Le Pen, whose party is part of the same group as the League in the European Parliament, the Europe of Nations and Freedom, said this was a historic moment.

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Our Europe is the daughter of Athens and Rome, of Christianity and the enlightenment, the French politician told a cheering crowd.

Jorg Meuthen from Germanys AfD explained the ideas behind this new Europe of Nations.

We are not anti-European as the mainstream always says. On the contrary, we are the true Europeans, Meuthen said, adding that like-minded parties across Europe were hoping to form a new front in the European Parliament.

We are the patriots of Europe and we choose freedom, said Geert Wilders, after reminding the crowd: we have to stop Islamisation.

Salvinis rise

The League is the junior party in a ruling coalition with the Five Star Movement in Italy, but its popularity has surged since coming to power. It is now projected to win the European Parliament elections in Italy next week with around 30 percent of the vote. This would likely make the far-right League the second-largest party in the European Parliament after Angela Merkels Christian Democratic Union (Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands).

Since coming to power, Salvini has waged a campaign against NGOs working to rescue migrants stranded in the Mediterranean and curbed asylum rights. But arrivals to Italy from war-torn Libya had already slowed considerably after the previous centre-left government helped strengthen the Libyan coastguard and encouraged it to focus on bringing back migrants who embarked on the perilous journey across the Mediterranean.

Italians must come first. We pay tax, were citizens of this country and it is only right that a state must be given back to its citizens. Then to the others, but first to Italians, Francesco Rienzo, a 30-year-old lawyer at the rally told Al Jazeera. We have borders and they must be respected.

Beginning its life as a secessionist party advocating for Northern Italys independence, under Salvini the League has refashioned itself with the slogan Italians first, winning the vote of southern Italians who had previously been the subjects of the partys anti-migrant rhetoric.

Last April, Salvini launched a new pan-European group in the European Parliament, the European Alliance of Peoples and Nations (EAPN) alongside Germanys AfD, with the aim of bringing all likeminded parties together after the elections.

According to the European Council on Foreign Relations, if parties loosely identified as right-wing populists were to be successful in forming a united coalition, it would become the largest group in the European Parliament. But the think-tank also said that 97 million voters across Europe remain undecided.

Standing firm against the migrants

Far-right and nationalist parties have made strides across Europe since the last European Parliament elections in 2014 and are now in power in Italy, Poland, Hungary and Austria. In other countries, such as France, they are no longer relegated to the fringes.

Analysts have pointed out that these parties are, however, divided both on the ideological and policy level. Northern and southern parties tend to hold different views on the EUs budget, while Russia is an issue that divides the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party in Poland from Salvini and Le Pen who want a closer relationship with Putin.

Viktor Orban  the Hungarian leader whose party Fidesz has been suspended from the centre-right European Peoples Party grouping in the European Parliament  was a notable absence at Saturdays rally. Nevertheless, when asked in a recent interview with the Atlantic who he believed is the champion of Europe, Orban responded without hesitation:

Matteo Salvini. He leads a large country. Europe can sanction a little country like Hungary. It wouldnt dare go after a country like Italy, with 60 million people. Moreover, Italy has a powerful voice. It is standing firm against the migrants  manning the front line.

At home, Orban has muzzled the press and civil society and his government has been accused of starving migrants stranded on the border, making him the face of illiberal democracy in Europe.

Bedsheets on balconies

A small group of young demonstrators turned up in Duomo square with placards bearing slogans such as Human beings first and We were migrants too, as well as Banners disturb public order in Italy, fascism doesnt.

They were soon surrounded by a cordon of police in riot gear, while getting a fair amount of insults from some of the rally participants.

I am not sure if police is here to protect us, seeing as they are facing us, demonstrator Nicoletta dElia told Al Jazeera.

Im here because I disagree with Salvinis ideas, they are against everything I am as a woman from the south, the 20-year-old student said.

Meanwhile, Milan mobilised against Salvinis rally with an art show and march organised by the feminist movement Non Una Di Meno (Not one less) and anti-racist groups, dubbed the Gala of the Future.

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The idea is to avoid that our future be highjacked by the right, especially because this rally we are opposing is international,Selam Tesfai, one of the movements leaders told Al Jazeera.

These are people who thrive in propaganda, with an obscurantist vision, she continued. Were here united because on the one hand, [their vision] identifies as problems migration, change, and questioning some aspects of our society. On the other hand, attacking womens rights and strengthening the traditional family are two of the main pillars of their politics.

White bedsheets with protest messages were unfurled from balconies across the city.

The protest of the balconies began when a woman in Brambate, Northern Italy, hung a banner from her home last Monday as Salvini was expected in town for an election rally.

When the banner, which read Youre not welcome, was taken down by the local fire department, it sparked outrage with hundreds of people across Italy displaying similar messages in solidarity.
Saudi media reports US request for military deployment in its territories as Iranian FM says no war will take place.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says he does not believe a war will break out in the region as Tehran does not want a conflict and no country has the illusion it could confront Iran, state news agency IRNA reports.

Concerns about a possible conflict have flared since the White House ordered warships and bombers to the Middle East to counter an alleged, unexplained threat from Iran.

Earlier this week the US also pulled some diplomatic staff from its embassy in Baghdad following weekend attacks on four oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

There will be no war because neither we want a war, nor has anyone the idea or illusion that it can confront Iran in the region, Zarif told IRNA before ending his visit to Beijing.

US deployment

Meanwhile, Saudi media reported that the kingdom and a number of Gulf states have agreed to a request by the US to redeploy its military forces in Gulf waters and territories.

According to the reports, the approval came on the basis of bilateral agreements between Washington and Gulf countries.

The motive for redeployment, according to the Saudi reports, was to deter Iran from any attempt to escalate the situation militarily, not to engage in a war with it.

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This all takes root in US President Donald Trumps decision last year to withdraw the US from the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers and impose wide-reaching sanctions.

The move came even as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has verified that Tehran has upheld its obligations under the deal.

Last week, Time magazine quoted Pentagon officials as saying there was no military plan to confront Iran.

On the Iranian side, the Guardian newspaper reported in an exclusive report on Thursday that Tehran had ordered its militias in the Middle East to prepare for a proxy war.

The deputy commander of Irans Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Saleh Jokar, said on Friday that his countrys missiles could easily reach US warships anchored in the Gulf and the rest of the region in case of war.

On the other hand, a senior Iranian legislator, Hashmatullah Falahat Pishe, called for an Iranian-American dialogue in Iraq or Qatar, to de-escalate tensions with Washington.

Amid rising tensions, Bahrain ordered on Saturday all of its citizens to immediately leave Iraq and Iran.

Bahrains foreign ministry made the announcement via its state-run news agency, citing the unstable situation in the region and and the grave developments and threats that threaten security and stability.

Secret reports

Inside the US, congressional sources on Saturday said officials from Trumps administration would make secret statements about the situation with Iran this week, after politicians from the Democratic and Republican parties asked for more information.

Members of Congress have complained for weeks that Trumps administration has not given them enough information about the current tension with Iran, and some Republicans say they have not been briefed on the issue.

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Relations between Washington and Tehran have been strained in recent days after Trump issued a resolution to try to stop Irans oil exports completely, and bolstered the US military presence in the Gulf in response to what officials in its administration said were imminent Iranian threats to Washingtons interests in the region, without explaining the nature of the alleged threat.

Adding to the rhetoric, US diplomats warned commercial airliners flying over the wider Gulf of the risk of being misidentified amid the heightened tensions.

The warning relayed by US diplomatic posts from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) underlined the risks the current tensions pose to a region crucial to global air travel.
Germany is the only EU member state equating the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement with anti-Semitism.

The German parliament has voted to condemn as anti-Semitic a movement that calls for economic pressure on Israel to end the occupation of Palestinian land, grant Palestinian citizens of Israel equal rights and recognise the right of return of Palestinian refugees.

In a move welcomed by Israel, a majority of legislators in the Bundestag voted on Friday in favour of a motion to label the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement as an entity that uses anti-Semitic tactics to fulfil its political goals.

The argumentation patterns and methods used by the BDS movement are anti-Semitic, read the motion submitted by Chancellor Angela Merkels conservatives, their Social Democrat coalition partners as well as the Greens and Free Democrats.

The motion, termed Resisting the BDS movement decisively  fighting antisemitism, calls on the government to not provide premises and facilities under the administration of the Bundestag to organisations that express themselves in anti-Semitic terms or question Israels right to exist.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the Bundestag decision to stop funding organisations that work against the existence of the state of Israel.

I hope this decision will lead to concrete action and I call on other countries to adopt similar legislation, he added.

The BDS movement condemned the motion as anti-Palestinian.

The German establishment is entrenching its complicity in Israels crimes of military occupation, ethnic cleansing, siege and apartheid, while desperately trying to shield it from accountability to international law, it said on Twitter.

The German parliaments equation of the nonviolent BDS movement for Palestinian rights with anti-semitism is based on outright lies. Its not only anti-Palestinian McCarthyism, it is a betrayal of international law, German democracy and the fight against real anti-Jewish racism. pic.twitter.com/qR5uwsIDU0  BDS movement (@BDSmovement) May 17, 2019

The latest battle between the BDS and the Israeli government has been over the Eurovision Song Contest final, which takes place in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

In the run-up to the event, the BDS has called on artists, music fans and broadcasters to boycott the event, arguing it amounts to whitewashing Israels policies towards Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The BDS movement was founded in 2005 after 170 Palestinian civil society organisations issued a call to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel as a form of non-violent pressure in order to make it comply with international law.

It has grown in support over the years, attracting high-profile backers such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Angela Davis and Judith Butler.
Former defence secretary accused of war crimes positions himself as law and order candidate after deadly attacks.

Colombo, Sri Lanka  Former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, accused by rights groups of war crimes during the final months of Sri Lankas long-running civil war a decade ago, has confirmed he plans to run for the presidency in the wake of the Easter Sunday attacks that have shattered the countrys uneasy peace.

Rajapaksa, the brother of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, told Al Jazeera that he would stand as a candidate in elections due by late 2019.

Definitely Im contesting, Rajapaksa said with a chuckle during an interview in the book-lined study of his home in the capital, Colombo, photos from his military career hanging from the walls.

I have decided long time. Otherwise, theres no need for me to renounce my US citizenship.

There has long been speculation that Rajapaksa, a Sri Lanka-US dual citizen, will campaign for the presidency.

Rajapaksa has to renounce his US citizenship in order to run for president. His name does not appear on the most recent quarterly filing to the US registry on those who have lost their citizenship, which covers the three months until the end of March.

He insists he is not being an opportunist in revealing his plans in the wake of the attacks on churches and luxury hotels that killed more than 250 people and have fuelled a wave of mob violence against Muslim communities.

I dont consider it as an opportunity, he told Al Jazeera. It is not the elections, but it is our country and nation. Something I focused on is destroyed. Im worried and saddened because of that.





Strongmans appeal

Investigative journalist Lasantha Ruhunage said Rajapaksa would have a strongman appeal given his role in defeating the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in a conflict that came to a bloody end on a narrow strip of beach on the islands northeast in 2009.

There would be an appetite for him among the masses, Ruhunage said. But its not just him; its the strongman. People are moving towards military strongmen rather than the traditional politicians because of the record of the incumbent politicians.

The Easter Sunday bombings exposed the depth of ill-feeling between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as each blamed the other for the governments failure to act on detailed intelligence warnings that attacks were imminent.

Rajapaksa claims the governments decision shortly after it came to power in 2015 to detain and investigate senior military officers amid allegations of wartime rights violations contributed to the failure.

But during the decade that he was defence secretary, the military was accused of a wide range of abuses  from torture to enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings  creating a climate of fear among journalists, activists and government critics.

A United Nations panel found breaches of international law by both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE. It also said that some 40,000 civilians died in the armys brutal final push against the Tamil Tigers.

Charu Lata Hogg, a researcher at Chatham House in London who has briefed the UN on Sri Lanka, said Rajapaksas return would be a step backwards for justice and accountability.

The real significance is that someone who led an army that has been accused of perpetrating war crimes will not be held to account and will be in a position of political strength, she said. Its also symbolic in the sense of being a slap in the face for Tamil justice and is not at all supportive of reconciliation.

A Tamil woman holds up a picture of a family member who disappeared during the war at a vigil to mark the international day of the disappeared [File: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]

As defence secretary, Rajapaksa said he ran what he describes as a sophisticated and well-trained network of 5,000 military intelligence agents, and dismissed accusations of human rights abuses.

Those are all baseless allegations, he said. You talk about human rights, you talk about freedom of individuals, you talk about reconciliation, but all these depend on national security. If you dont have national security what happens  do you have freedom? Everything depends on national security.

His voice becomes increasingly shrill.

This is a military that defeated such a ruthless, dangerous, powerful terrorist organisation, he said, referring to the Tamil Tigers. Im wondering whether all this was done by rogues. Murderers  Are we saying that our military

There can be individuals. But if you take the whole picture you are generalising. Even internationally, they are generalising this.

Search for justice

The Sinhalese, who are Buddhist, make up around 75 percent of Sri Lankas 22 million people, but the island has significant numbers of mostly-Hindu ethnic Tamils, as well as Muslims and Christians and has struggled with rising communal tension since independence from the British in 1948.

After a series of measures that privileged the Sinhalese over the rest of the population, the Tamil Tigers began their violent campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the islands north and east in the 1970s.

Ten years after the fighting finally came to an end in 2009, there has been little attempt to address the lingering resentments that helped fuel the conflict  even though Sirisena came to power promising reconciliation and accountability. A 2015 pledge to investigate wartime atrocities is still to be met.

According to Amnesty International, Sri Lanka has one of the worlds highest number of disappearances  as many as 100,000 over the past three decades.

Analysts say Rajapaksa, who remained in his post for five years after the war ended, also bears responsibility for the instability that continues to plague the country.

This photograph was released by Sri Lankas military on the day the government declared victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels. Rajapaksa is seen as the architect of the victory [Reuters]

Justice is an essential part of achieving a sustainable peace, Anjali Manivannan, senior legal analyst at People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), told Al Jazeera.

The cause of the conflict, the structural discrimination, the Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism and supremacist beliefs that place Sinhalese Buddhists at a higher level than other communities on the island  None of that has really changed. They defeated the LTTE and won an armed conflict, but there have been no steps to address why that conflict started.

Rajapaksa himself has been accused of war crimes and extra-judicial killings.

In April, Ahimsa Wickrematunge, the daughter of murdered journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge, filed a lawsuit accusing Rajapaksa of instigating and authorising her fathers killing in 2009. He is also facing a case filed by a Tamil man who says he was tortured in 2007 after being detained by the polices Terrorism Investigation Division, which came under Rajapaksas command.

Rajapaksa has denied the allegations.

Once the election is called, and Rajapaksa formally launches his campaign, many believe that the past will probably matter little to the majority of voters, while Rajapaksa will portray himself as the man who can restore stability to a troubled island.

I dont see him limiting his use of existing or new emergency laws just to focus on the problem of Islamist extremism, said Darsha Jegatheeswaran, senior researcher at the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research in Jaffna.

Over the last (few) years, there have been communities that have been critical of the government, of him, human rights people have gone public  My concern is that if he comes back to power and his focus is on a threat to the nation in the past that has been anyone critical of the government.

I think he would be quite heavy-handed.
Zillah oilfield attack comes as head of Libyas NOC warned instability could lead to 95 percent oil production loss.

Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) have killed at least three troops at a security checkpoint in southern Libya, according to officials.

In a statement on Saturday, the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) said the fighters captured four soldiers in the attack on the town of Zillah, 750 kilometres southwest of the capital, Tripoli.

The LNA, led by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar, said its troops were able to free four of the captives.





ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement distributed through its Aamaq news agency.

Reuters news agency, citing a security source and residents, said ISIL fighters struck at the entrance to the Zillah oilfield.

An engineer told Reuters that workers at the field were safe and facilities had not been damaged.

Libya is an oil and gas-rich nation that has been wracked by militia violence and political divisions since the NATO-backed toppling of its long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Following the attack on Zillah, the chief of Libyas National Oil Corporation warned that the continued instability in Libya could make it lose 95 percent of its oil production.

Unfortunately if the situation will continue like this Im afraid that maybe 95 percent of production will be lost, Mustafa Sanalla told reporters in Jeddah ahead of a ministerial panel gathering on Sunday of top OPEC and non-OPEC producers.

The raid on Zillah is the third ISIL attack targeting Haftars forces in recent weeks

In May, an ISIL attack on an LNA training camp in the city of Sebha killed at least nine soldiers. Five days later, gunmen killed two civilians in Ghodwa in southern Libya.

The LNA launched an operation in January to purge southern Libya of terrorist groups and criminals. After securing support from local tribes, it seized several towns.

Haftar then launched an offensive on April 4 to capture Tripoli from the rival United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord. The campaign has raised fears of further turmoil in the country.

Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general, has urged all countries to implement an arms embargo against Libya, saying preventing the proliferation of weapons is important to de-escalate the current fighting and restore stability in the country.

He expressed deep concern in a report to the Security Council circulated on Friday that current military operations in Libya are reportedly being reinforced by the transfer of arms into the country, including by sea.
Some 350 heroin capsules found stashed in the bodies of eight Iranian suspects, who had flown from Hakkari to Istanbul.

At least five kilograms of heroin capsules have been seized in the first drug bust at the newly-opened Istanbul Airport, Turkish media reported.

According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, nine Iranian suspects, who flew to Istanbul from Turkeys southeastern province of Hakkari, were arrested by police on Friday.

After an initial body search yielded nothing, the suspects were sent to a hospital for MR scan, where 350 capsules were detected in the bodies of eight of the suspects. According to the medical report, they were retrieved through defecation.

Following the closure of the Istanbul Ataturk Airport on April 6, Istanbul Airport replaced it as the main airport of the metropolis. It was inaugurated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 31 last year.

The airport is on course to become one of the biggest in the world and is estimated to host 200 million passengers by the time all phases of the airport will be completed by the end of 2028.

In a separate operation in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, police impounded 180 kilograms of heroin as they detained five people, including two Iranian nationals.
'I am sure that as Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said no war will occur as neither are we seeking a war nor anyone else has the illusion of being able to fight with Iran in the region,' Zarif said speaking to IRNA correspondent in Beijing at the last hours of his presence in the Chinese capital.



According to IRNA, Zarif argued that there are some people around US President Donald Trump who want to push him towards a war while he has officially said and has stressed recently that he is not seeking war. He noted that what he described as Team B in his New York visit is a reality.


Washington announced last week it has seized a major cargo vessel belonging to North Korea known as the Wise Honest.

North Korea has demanded the United Nations take urgent measures to help return a cargo ship taken by the United States, calling the seizure a heinous act.

Washington announced last week it had taken possession of the North Korean-registered bulk carrier M/V Wise Honest  a year after it was detained in Indonesia  citing sanctions-violating activities.

This act of dispossession has clearly indicated that the United States is indeed a gangster country that does not care at all about international laws, the North Korean ambassador to the UN said in a letter sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres dated Friday, according to North Koreas KCNA news agency.

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Earlier this week, Pyongyang had slammed the seizure as an outright denial of the spirit of a statement signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump at their first summit in Singapore last year.

The US Justice Department said the North Korean cargo ship was seized and impounded to American Samoa. The vessel was accused of illicit coal shipments in violation of sanctions.

The ship was first confiscated by other foreign maritime authorities in Indonesia in April 2018.

The 17,000-tonne ship, which was also used to deliver heavy machinery to North Korea, is one of the countrys largest bulk carriers, the Justice Department said.

The case marks the first time the US has seized a North Korean cargo vessel for violating sanctions.

The seizure came amid heightened tensions after Pyongyang conducted weapons drills involving short-range missiles in recent weeks, and with nuclear talks deadlocked since the collapse of the Hanoi summit between Trump and Kim earlier this year.

With the denuclearisation talks stalled, North Korea went ahead with more weapons tests this month. The tests were seen as a protest by Kim after Trump rejected his calls for sanctions relief at the Hanoi summit.

North Korea is sanctioned under multiple UN Security Council resolutions for its nuclear and missile programmes, and lifting of some of the measures was a key demand from Pyongyang at the second Trump-Kim summit in February that ultimately broke down without a deal.
Khayyam was a Persian astronomer and writer renowned in Iran as a scientist, while known in other places as a writer.

Omar Khayyam was a Persian astronomer, writer, poet and mathematician renowned in Iran for his scientific achievements.

English-speaking readers know of his extraordinary work through the translation of his collection of hundreds of quatrains (or rubais) in Rubaiyat, an 1859 work on the the Astronomer-Poet of Persia.

In his honour, Google has changed its logo into a dedicated animation, or doodle, in 17 countries with an image highlighting Khayyam and his most important achievements.

But in his lifetime, the scientist and writer was not always appreciated for his work.

This is his story:

Thorough education

Omar Khayyam was born on May 18 in the trading city of Nishapur in what today is known as Iran in the year 1048.

Khayyams father was Ebrahim Khayyami, a wealthy physician, his mothers name remains unknown.

His origins are still unclear but some authors have argued that Omars father earned a living by being a merchant and making tents, as his last name means tent-maker.

Khayyams family were Muslims, but his father was perceived as non-strict, he soon employed mathematician Bahmanyar bin Marzban, a devotee of the ancient Persian religion or Zoroastrianism, to tutor Omar.

Khayyams received a thorough education in science, philosophy and mathematics.

In 1066, when Khayyam celebrated his 18th birthday, his father Ebrahim died just a few months before his tutors death.

These events marked the end of an era in the young pupils life, and after putting his familys affairs in order, he moved on.

The rise of a scientist

Khayyam joined one of the regular caravans making a three-month journey from Nishapur to the city of Samarkand, which is now in Uzbekistan.

In Samakarn, he showed a remarkable interest in mathematics, by writing treatises on arithmetic, algebra, and music theory under the patronage of chief justice Abu Tahir, who was also his fathers friend, and who noticed Khayyams extraordinarily talent with numbers.

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It is presumed that due to his relationship with Tahir, ruler Shams al-Mulk distinctively regarded Omar with esteem.

According to reports the ruler used to show him the greatest honour, so much so that he would make Khayyam sit next to him on his divan.

Probably he was still at Shams al-Muks court around 1073 when peace was concluded with Sultan Malik Shah, who had earlier invaded the territory.

It was then at the age of 26 that Khayyam entered Malik Shahs service and when he was invited to go back to Iran to build an observatory at Isfahan and reform the Persian calendar.





Privileged lifestyle in Iran

He remained in Iran for the next 18 years, where he was paid an extraordinary high salary and enjoyed a privileged lifestyle.

Illustration by Edmund Dulac from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam [Getty Images] During this time the scientist measured the length of a year  tropical year length  with remarkable precision.

Recalibrating the calendar fixed the first day of the year at the exact moment of the passing of the Suns centre across the equinox.

Shah introduced Khayyams calendar, the Jalali calendar, on March 15, 1079, the scientist was 31 years old,

This calendar was used until the 20th century in Iran, he is also believed to have built models illustrating the theory of the Earths revolution on its axis.

The various biographical extracts refer to him as unequalled in scientific knowledge and achievement during his time.

His memory was prodigious, according to Omars contemporary biographer, al-Bayhaqi.

According to the author he was able to memorise a whole book after reading it several times, when he returned the book, the scientist was able to rewrite it from memory showing remarkable resemblance.

He was also a well-established mathematician, and his surviving mathematical works include: A commentary in the difficulties concerning the postulates of Euclids Elements, on the division of a quadrant of a circle, and on proofs for problems concerning algebra.





The Rubaiyat

During Sultan Malik Shahs life both shared a great relationship however his luck changed when his successor, Sultan Sanjar entered to power.

Sultan Sanjar did not favour the scientist, it seems that Omar offended Sanjar while he was still a child, and he was never forgiven.

Upon Malik Shahs death, Khayyam had fallen from favour at court and funding for raising the observatory eventually finished.

He went on a pilgrimage to Mecca and visited Baghdad. In his return he retired to Nishapur, where he appeared to have lived the life of a recluse.

Among his other contributions, Khayyam is also best know for his work as a poet.

The Rubaiyat was his collection of hundreds of quatrains, and it was first translated from Farsi to English in 1859 by Edward Fitzgerald.

The poems celebrated the pleasures of life while illuminating the nuanced political and religious context in which they were created.

Some scholars believed that the scientist and author penned around 150 of the quatrains, other writers after him are thought to have contributed to the remainder.

Beyond the earth, beyond the farthest skies I try to find Heaven and Hell. Then I hear a solemn voice that says: 'Heaven and hell are inside.' Omar Khayyam, the Rubaiyat

Blossoms
The UN estimates that 40,000 civilians were killed in the last few months of the fighting as the government launched its final assault on the Tamil Tigers.

Sri Lanka is marking 10 years since the end of a decades-long civil war that left more than 100,000 people dead.

The United Nations has urged Sri Lanka to investigate alleged war crimes committed by both sides.

But disputes among communities continue to limit progress as 10 years has not diminished the grief for the survivors of Sri Lankas civil war.

Al Jazeeras Bernard Smith reports from a war memorial event in Mullivaikkal.
Victims of civil war seek accountability from both Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels for crimes against civilians.

Saturday marks 10 years since Sri Lankas long civil war ended.

Tamil Tiger rebels made their last stand against the government on a narrow strip of coastline  with 300,000 civilians sheltering from the final battles.

Both sides have since faced allegations of war crimes and rights abuses.

Al Jazeeras Minelle Fernandez reports from Kilinochchi.
Generals say negotiations with protest leaders will resume on Sunday following 72-hour suspension over Khartoum unrest.

Sudans military council has announced plans to resume talks with protest leaders, paving the way for the two sides to iron out differences over an interim body to steer the country towards democratic elections.

In a statement on Saturday, the Transitional Military Council (TMC) said negotiations with the Alliance for Freedom and Change will resume on Sunday.

The two sides have been divided over the composition of a transitional authority that will rule the country following the militarys toppling of longtime President Omar al-Bashir in the face of mass protests on April 11.

Both want majority representation on the sovereign council, which would operate as the top tier of power during the planned transition period.

They had been expected to meet for negotiations over the issue by the end of this week, but the TMC suspended talks with the alliance for 72 hours early on Thursday. It cited a deteriorating security situation in the capital, Khartoum, where demonstrators had erected roadblocks on several key avenues.

At least four people were killed and more than a dozen wounded earlier this week when security forces moved to dismantle the barricades. The UNs independent expert on human rights in Sudan has called for an investigation into the deaths.

On Friday, representatives from the United States, the United Nations, African Union and European powers called for an agreement ASAP on an interim government that is truly civilian-led and reflects the will of the Sudanese people, according to a Twitter post by Tibor Nagy, the US assistant secretary of state for Africa.

Before calling off talks this week the two sides agreed on several key issues, including a three-year transition period and the creation of a 300-member parliament, with two-thirds of legislators to come from the protesters umbrella group.

Islamists protest

Since the suspension, protesters have taken down roadblocks that had paralysed parts of the capital, meeting a key demand from the military council head, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

We have removed the bricks  but if they do not respond to our demands then we will bring the bricks again, protester Sumeya Abdrahman told the AFP news agency on Friday.

The generals have allowed protesters to maintain their sit-in outside Khartoums army headquarters, where thousands remain camped out to demand a rapid transition to democracy.

Separately on Saturday, Islamist movements in Sudan held their own demonstration outside the presidential palace in downtown Khartoum. The groups fear the incipient transition plans exclude them.

Supporters of Sudanese Islamist movements shout slogans as they rally in front of the Presidential Palace in downtown Khartoum [Mohamed El-Shahed/AFP]

Hundreds of protesters took part in the rally, according to AFP, the first by Islamist groups since al-Bashirs removal by the military on April 11.

The main reason for the mobilisation is that the alliance is ignoring the application of sharia [Islamic law] in its deal, said Al-Tayeb Mustafa, who heads a coalition of about 20 Islamic groups.

This is irresponsible and if that deal is done, it is going to open the door of hell for Sudan, he told AFP before the rally.

Sudanese legislation has been underpinned by Islamic law since al-Bashir seized power in a 1989 military coup.

But the protest movement has so far remained silent on whether Islamic law has a place in Sudans future, arguing that its main concern was installing a civilian administration.
Syrian air defences have targeted projectiles coming from occupied territory, a reference to Israel and the Palestinian territories, and brought some of them down, Syrian state television reported.

Loud blasts echoed across Damascus late on Friday, residents said, shortly before the television news bulletin that reported the incident.

SANA, Syrias state news agency, quoted a Syrian military source who said that the air defence system was activated against missiles fired at western Damascus from the direction of Quneitra, in the occupied Golan Heights.

The state television channel also showed footage of the night sky with a point of light firing up into it and the sound of shooting, and reported that air defences had brought down some objects. It did not immediately report casualties or material damage.

Late last month, three Syrian government fighters were wounded in Israeli raids on military positions in the city of Musayaf in the province of Hama.

Syrian military sources said at the time that the Israeli aircraft had carried out raids from Lebanese airspace.

The Israeli military does not usually comment on reports concerning its air attacks in neighbouring Syria though it has recently acknowledged hitting what Tel Aviv claims are Iranian targets in Syria.

Since the civil war started, Israel has carried out scores of military air bombings in Syria against suspected arms transfers and deployments by Iranian forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies which are backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Of its 80 parliamentary seats, the most in any state, right-wing BJP won 71 in 2014, giving the party a record mandate.

If the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) were a country, it would be one of the worlds most populous. And this poverty-stricken melting pot of over 200 million people is the biggest prize in Indias general election ending on Sunday.

UP has 80 parliamentary seats, the most of any state, and at the 2014 election, Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept up 71 of them.

This helped give BJP a three-decade record of 282 seats in the 545-seat parliament to remove Indias grand old Congress party, which sunk to a record low of 44, just two of them in UP.

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To be in Delhi [Indias capital], you need to perform very well in UP, Ashok Upadhyay, political scientist at Banaras Hindu University, told AFP news agency.

Many analysts credit the BJPs previous electoral success to a fragmented opposition and a massive shift of disparate caste groups towards Modi over an array of issues, including emotive religious appeals.

UP, which has given India nine prime ministers, lies at the centre of the countrys vast northern Hindi-speaking belt, home to around a third of Indias 1.3-billion population and which in 2014 formed the core of the BJPs support.

Indias Hindu nationalist PM Narendra Modi during a roadshow in Varanasi [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]

Former foes align against BJP

But the landlocked region, home to the iconic Taj Mahal and roughly the size of Britain, is also a cauldron of religions and castes and in this election, an unlikely anti-Modi alliance has been formed.

One part of it is the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), headed by Mayawati, the formidable Dalit Queen whose championing of Indias former untouchables helped her become UPs chief minister four times.

She has partnered with her former sworn foes, the Samajwadi Party (SP), led by another former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, and the smaller Rashtriya Lok Dal party (RLD). Absent from the tie-up though is Congress.

BJP is no longer a people's party, it's just about Modi. Santosh Singh, Restaurant owner in Varanasi

Our aim is to oust the BJP and for the entire opposition to be united, Vandana Singh, spokeswoman for Yadavs Samajwadi Party, told AFP.

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The states chief minister is currently the BJPs hardline Yogi Adityanath, a shaven-headed, saffron-robed Hindu monk whose uncompromising rhetoric has alienated many voters.

The BJP insists it is confident but experts say the ruling party knows it is going to lose support in UP.

As a result, the party is aiming to make up for losses by picking up seats in north-eastern and eastern India, most notably in West Bengal where it faces another tough challenger in the hard-left Mamata Banerjee.

Getting a majority [in parliament] means a comprehensive electoral performance across the country, Nalin Kohli, a BJP spokesman, told AFP.

Modis popularity faces Varanasi test

But personal honour is also at stake in UP for both Modi and Rahul Gandhi, the head of Congress hoping to become the fourth member of Indias venerable Gandhi-Nehru dynasty to become prime minister.

The UP city of Varanasi, where Hindus are cremated on the banks of the holy Ganges 24 hours a day, is where Modi is standing, and the 68-year-olds popularity there is unparalleled.

To be in Delhi, you need to perform very well in UP. Ashok Upadhyay, political scientist

He won the seat with a huge majority in 2014, telling voters that he wasnt an outsider  he hails not from UP but from Gujurat  but Varanasis son of the soil.

Locals praise him for his efforts to develop the city dotted with temples and thronging with pilgrims and tourists in a state that is a byword for chronic underdevelopment.

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But he may have overstepped the mark with his ambitious plan to urbanise the city, razing centuries-old homes to clear the view to a Hindu temple.

People of Uttar Pradesh are angry with Modi and I think both Modi and BJP will pay politically for it, Santosh Singh, a restaurant owner in Varanasi, told AFP.

BJP is no longer a peoples party, its just about Modi, he said.

Gandhi, 48, meanwhile is standing in Amethi, a family bastion in the state. But he is also contesting a constituency in the southern state of Kerala, something allowed under Indian election rules  just in case.
FAA notice says commercial aircraft flying over the Gulf face potential risk of miscalculation or misidentification.

US diplomats warned commercial airliners flying over the wider Gulf of the risk of being misidentified amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran.

The warning relayed by US diplomatic posts from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) underlined the risks the current tensions pose to a region crucial to global air travel.

It also came as Lloyds of London warned of increasing risks to maritime shipping in the region.

Concerns about a possible conflict have flared since the White House ordered warships and bombers to the region to counter an alleged, unexplained threat from Iran that has seen the US order nonessential diplomatic staff out of Iraq.

US President Donald Trump has since sought to soften his tone.

Oil tanker sabotage

Meanwhile, authorities allege that a sabotage operation targeted four oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Iran-aligned rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for a drone attack on a crucial Saudi oil pipeline.

Saudi Arabia directly blamed Iran for the drone assault, and a local newspaper linked to the Al Saud royal family called on Thursday for the US to launch surgical strikes on Tehran.

On Saturday, sources told Reuters news agency that Exxon Mobil evacuated all its foreign staff members out of Iraqs West Qurna 1 oilfield and is flying them out to Dubai.

This all takes root in Trumps decision last year to withdraw the US from the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers and impose wide-reaching sanctions.

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Iran just announced it would begin backing away from terms of the deal, setting a 60-day deadline for Europe to come up with new terms or it would begin enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels.

Tehran long has insisted it does not seek nuclear weapons, though the US and Israel fear its programme could allow it to build atomic bombs.

The order relayed on Saturday by US diplomats in Kuwait and the UAE came from an FAA Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) published late on Thursday in the US.

It said that all commercial aircraft flying over the waters of the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman needed to be aware of heightened military activities and increased political tension.

This presents an increasing inadvertent risk to US civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or misidentification, the warning said.

It also said aircraft could experience interference with its navigation instruments and communications jamming with little to no warning.

The Gulf has become a major gateway for East-West travel in the aviation industry. Dubai International Airport in the UAE, home to Emirates airlines, is the worlds busiest for international travel, while long-haul carriers Etihad and Qatar Airways also operate in the Gulf.

All three airlines, as well as Oman Air, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday about the warning.

For now, air travel in the Gulf remains unchanged, aviation analyst Alex Macheras told Al Jazeera.

There are no restrictions affecting airlines operating to or from the area, Macheras said.

The region is home to many of the worlds safest airlines, and airlines ensure flight crews are kept up to date with the latest NOTAM updates, which outline any airspace changes to the region, or anything they should be cautious of.

Airlines will also ensure flight crew are very responsive to air traffic controllers, as normal, in order to avoid any misidentification through a lack of communication.

Iran Air flight 655

The warning appeared rooted in what happened 30 years ago after Operation Praying Mantis, a daylong naval battle in the Gulf between US forces and Iran during the countrys long 1980s war with Iraq.

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On July 3, 1988, the USS Vincennes chased Iranian speedboats that allegedly opened fire on a helicopter into Iranian territorial waters, then allegedly mistook an Iran Air passenger jet, flight 655 heading to Dubai, for an Iranian F-14.

The Vincennes fired two missiles at the aeroplane, killing all 290 people on board the flight. The US government issued notes of regret for the loss of human lives, but never formally apologised or acknowledged wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, Lloyds Market Association Joint War Committee added that the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the UAE on Friday to its list of areas posing a higher risk to insurers.

It also expanded its list to include the Saudi coast as a risk area.

US Navy personnel aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln [Jeff Sherman/AP]

The USS Abraham Lincoln and its carrier attack group have yet to reach the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Gulf through which a third of all oil traded at sea passes.

A Revolutionary Guard deputy has warned that any armed conflict would affect the global energy market. Iran long said it was able to shut off the strait.

Benchmark Brent crude now stands around $72 a barrel.
Melbourne, Australia  Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has declared victory in the countrys federal elections after his Liberal-National coalition defied opinion polls and secured a surprise win over the opposition Labor Party.

Morrison, who had campaigned on providing tax cuts and the strength of Australias economy, claimed the win shortly after Labor leader Bill Shorten conceded defeat on Saturday.

I have always believed in miracles  and tonight weve been delivered another one, Morrison told a jubilant crowd of supporters in Sydney.

Tonight is not about me or its not about even the Liberal party. Tonight is about every single Australian who depends on their government to put them first.

While the Liberal-led conservative coalition scored more seats in the 151-member House of Representatives than Labor did, it was unclear whether they will win an outright majority of 76 seats or if they will need to negotiate with independents to form a minority government.

Projections by the Australian Electoral Commission late on Saturday showed the ruling coalition winning 67 seats to Labors 55. The final result will be announced in the coming days.





In his concession speech, Shorten told distraught supporters it was obvious that Labor will not be able to form the next government.

Speaking in Melbourne, the opposition leader said he had called Morrison to offer congratulations.

He added that he would not contest Labors next vote for party leader, and urged supporters to carry on the fight.

Australia has had six changes of prime minister over the past 12 years  mostly the result of internal party fights. Shorten had sold his party as a chance to escape the chaos of the ruling coalition and to create a fairer Australia.

Australian Labor leader Bill Shorten conceded defeat to Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the countrys general election [Andy Brownbill/AP]

Josh Frydenberg, treasurer and Morrisons second-in-command, said: The economic choice at this election was at the heart of the minds of Australian voters. Australias economy has grown consecutively for 28 years.

Shock win

While the election was always expected to be close, the results were markedly different from what virtually all opinion and exit polls had predicted.

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A Nine-Galaxy poll on Saturday showed Labor winning as many as 82 seats in the 151-member House of Representatives.

Newspoll, a poll conducted by The Australian newspaper, showed the coalition trailing Labor for the 50th consecutive time in March.

A final Newspoll released on Friday showed the lowest primary vote intention for the coalition recorded on the eve of an election since Newspoll records began in 1987.

Jayani Nadarajalingam, a lecturer in Australian politics at the University of Melbourne, said Saturdays results suggested an endorsement or unwillingness to get rid of the status quo.

Nationally, the largest swing against Labor came from Australians aged over 65. In addition to raising taxes for high-income earners, Shorten had pledged to remove tax breaks for income made on shares owned by retired Australians  a policy idea branded by the coalition as a retiree tax.





Queensland, typically Australias most conservative state, saw a large swing away from Labor including around the state capital of Brisbane. Penny Wong, a Labor Senator, told local television she would have preferred a better result out of Queensland.

We always knew Queensland was somewhere to watch, but to the extent that it supported the coalition I think surprised many, said Nadarajalingam.

Stupendous result

Several seats in Australias largest city Sydney, however, saw a significant swing against the coalition.

Former Liberal prime minister, Tony Abbott, who had held his seat of Warringah in Sydneys affluent Northern Beaches since 1994, lost to his opponent Zali Steggal, a lawyer and former Olympian.

Abbott, who has been seen as a destructive force within the coalition since he was dumped as party leader in September 2015, was targeted during the campaign by the progressive lobby group, GetUp.





Of course, its disappointing for us here in Warringah. But what matters is whats best for the country  who forms a government in Canberra, said Abbott in his concession speech.

This is a stupendous result for Scott Morrison and the rest of the wider Liberal team.

Julie Bishop, a former foreign minister, said on television that Abbotts loss was punishment for being a climate change denier.

Steggal is an independent who positioned herself as an economic conservative, but who would take more progressive positions on climate and social policy. She had nevertheless said she would back the coalition to form a government.

Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton, another right-wing Liberal who had also been targeted by GetUp, retained his seat.

GetUp and the Labor Party and the Greens have run the dirtiest campaign in history, he told an event in his suburban Brisbane electorate.

The Greens Adam Bandt, member for Melbourne and the partys only parliamentarian in the House of Representatives, retained his seat.
Hong Kong: Health chief visits the Netherlands

Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan visited a university medical centre and a healthcare organisation in the Netherlands to learn more about the countrys latest developments in primary healthcare services.

Prof Chan introduced details of Hong Kongs primary healthcare development during her visit to Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC).

The Government is committed to enhancing district-based primary healthcare services with an emphasis on medical-social collaboration and public-private partnership to change the current focus of Hong Kongs healthcare services on treatment and to alleviate the pressure on public hospitals, Prof Chan said.

She added the Government will set up District Health Centres (DHC) in all districts in Hong Kong. The services offered will focus on primary, secondary and tertiary prevention.

Prof Chan said: With scientific research playing a vital role in public health and primary care, I believe that the visit to LUMC will enlighten us on how DHCs can make use of scientific evidence in enhancing population health.

She also visited Buurtzorg Nederland, a healthcare organisation with a nurse-led model to provide community care in the Netherlands.

At a meeting with Buurtzorg Nederland Chief Executive Officer Josephus Bernardus Imelda de Blok, Prof Chan said the visit to the organisation will be of great reference value to the operation model of DHCs and the primary healthcare development in Hong Kong.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-18. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Irans oil exports slid below 500,000 barrels per day in May under the US sanctions, oil industry sources report. These sources are confirmed by tanker data.

It is reported that this month, the volume of oil supplies from Iran ranges between 250 to 500 thousand bpd. The main destinations for Iranian oil are India and China, Reuters quotes the sources. Iran does not export oil either to Europe or to Turkey.
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.
Remember when activists on the Supreme Court made same-sex "marriage" in essence the law of the land? Elated, Obama said, "Love wins!" He celebrated the unconstitutional destruction of the God-ordained sacred institution of marriage by ordering that the White House be lit in rainbow colors. Leftists decreed that the LGBTQ lifestyle is a "beautiful thing" that Americans had better embrace or suffer severe punishment.

Shockingly, Christian churches began embracing same-sex "marriage." Ignoring the Bible (Leviticus 18:22), deceived and cowardly pastors said, "Love is love. It's a beautiful thing."

I did an internet search for pictures of gay pride parades. I could hardly believe my eyes: men wearing giant genital costumes, nudity, men mock-performing various sex acts on each other. Such public debauchery would normally get one arrested. Because it was happening during a gay pride parade, city officials and police ignored it.

I thought, "Okay, if this lifestyle is such a 'beautiful thing,' why not share the reality of it with the world?" I posted a few gay pride parade pictures on my website. Christian and conservative friends said, "Oh my gosh, has Lloyd lost his mind?" My response was, "Why are you guys upset with me? Christians and conservatives have surrendered to leftists' lie that the LGBTQ lifestyle is a beautiful thing. I'm simply sharing the beauty."

I was severely criticized by my associates and even called a hater by LGBTQ enforcers for simply posting pictures of their gross public behavior. While beating up on me, none of my Christian and conservative friends dared to express any criticism of gay pride parade participants performing vulgar sex acts live in front of thousands of parade-watchers. Somehow, I was the bad guy for posting pictures.

In response to the Supreme Court dismantling marriage, LGBTQ enforcer George Takei gleefully said this is only the beginning. LGBTQ enforcers have been engaged in a well orchestrated marketing campaign to ban biblical morality for decades.

In 1987, homosexual activist Steve Warren published a chilling article titled "Warning to the homophobes."

Henceforth, homosexuality will be spoken of in your churches and synagogues as an "honorable estate."

You can either let us marry people of the same sex [sic], or better yet abolish marriage altogether. You will be expected to offer ceremonies that bless our sexual arrangements[.] ... You will also instruct your people in homosexual as well as heterosexual behavior, and you will go out of your way to make certain that homosexual youths are allowed to date, attend religious functions together, openly display affection, and enjoy each others [sic] sexuality without embarrassment or guilt.

If any of the older people in your midst object, you will deal with them sternly, making certain they renounce their ugly and ignorant homophobia or suffer public humiliation.

You will also make certain that laws are passed forbidding discrimination against homosexuals and heavy punishments are assessed[.] ...

Finally, we will in all likelihood, want to expunge a number of passages from your Scriptures and rewrite others, eliminating preferential treatment of marriage and using words that will allow for homosexual interpretation of passages describing biblical lovers such as Ruth and Boaz or Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

Warning: If all these things do not come to pass quickly, we will subject Orthodox Jews and Christians to the most sustained hatred and vilification in recent memory.

We have captured the liberal establishment and the press. We have already beaten you on a number of battlefields.

You have neither the faith nor the strength to fight us, so you might as well surrender now.

LGBTQ enforcer and homosexual Democrat congressman David Cicilline is sponsor of the Equality Act. Cicilline's evil bill is the most aggressive assault on our constitutional religious liberties in U.S. history. The Equality Act is fully supported by House Democrats. If the Equality Act becomes the law of the land, every outrageous, tyrannical demand in LBGTQ enforcer Steve Warren's 1987 article will become reality.

Please help our faithful Christian patriots at Liberty Counsel fight to stop H.R. 5/S. 788 (Equality Act). Please sign their petition.

Decades of turning a blind eye and passivity have gotten us into this mess. We are on the verge of government forcing Christians to betray Christ, to kneel in worship to the false god of LGBTQ. Foolishly, Christians still believe if we are simply nice enough and ignore biblical teachings, LGBTQ enforcers will end their vitriolic quest to ban Christianity.

When the land that God promised Israel was occupied by giants, only Joshua and Caleb believed that God would help them defeat the giants and claim their land.

Brother and sister Americans, LBGTQ giants are occupying our land. We must believe that God will help us defeat them. Quoting Joshua, I say, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

I eventually removed what leftists describe as "beautiful" gay pride parade pictures from my website, uncomfortable with the ugliness, vulgarity, and satanic debauchery.
Writing for the Center For Security Policy earlier this month, Fred Fleitz pointedly detailed five myths regarding the P5+1 JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) deal the U.S. made with Iran in 2015. His analysis of these myths is intended to legitimize President Donald Trumps withdrawal from that deal. The myths include (1) the JCPOA is a good agreement, (2) our leaving is immoral because the agreement is legally binding, (3) Iran was complying so withdrawal was unnecessary, (4) the U.S. should have stayed in the agreement and fixed it, and (5) our withdrawal is ineffective and will cause war.

Although the article is a thorough reprise of the administrations logic, that deal was a charade and a farce in a way not mentioned in the article. How can you strike a deal without acknowledging that Iran was (and still is) on our State Dept. list of state sponsors of terrorism since 1984? The ayatollahs and mullahs of Iran were behind the 1979-1981 hostage crisis, the Khobar Towers bombing, the bombing of Americans in Lebanon, and involved in the WTC attack. Iran for 40 years has been regularly promoting public, violent anti-American rhetoric. A more complete listing of Irans terrorist activities under this post-Shah regime can be found here. Any one of these actions noted above could have been grounds for declaring war on Iran.

We are negotiating with a rabid and demonic government. How can anyone think negotiations are possible if one reads histories of Iranian politics going back to the Savafid dynasties in the 1500s? We are not dealing with a couple of generations of devilish madmen, but with centuries of bloodthirsty power plays. There is absolutely no history of democratic longing or individual rights in that rotten country. Even street demonstrations about democracy and not wearing hijabs (they are called chadors in Iran) are not measures of Iranian love of freedom. They dont have moderates in the sense we might have of the meaning of moderate.

The Obama administration did not even require that the JCPOA to be signed by Iran. Included in a letter to Rep. Mike Pompeo in 2015, is the following statement: The success of the JCPOA will depend not on whether it is legally binding or signed [my italics], but rather on the extensive verification measures we have put in place, as well as Irans understanding that we have the capacity to re-impose -- and ramp up -- our sanctions if Iran does not meet its commitments.

Despite the enthusiastic endorsement by Ernest Moniz, a former MIT professor who worked as secretary of Energy in the Obama administration, an MIT publication soliciting opinions of other MIT professors of physics and political science provided only limited and half-hearted endorsements of the deal. Most of the professors said that its probably the best deal we could expect, although far from perfect. This is hardly the type of assurance about verification that one would desire or expect from a deal promoting world safety and security.

Further, look at the U.S. negotiation team that signed the 2015 agreement. It was headed by John Kerry. Kerry is Jane Fonda in pants. Despite his dignified demeanor, this writer believes he is driven by fantasies of himself presiding over an ordered world. The key word here is fantasies. That envisaged order is not meant to be; the order he imagines is an illegitimate order. An order that accepts the viability of demented mullahs is not a legitimate order. That is something he and his ilk cannot seem to accept. An order that accepts Joseph Stalin or Mao Zedong is not a legitimate order. An order that accepts those who reject the holy and eternal viability of the individual, an individual created in the image of God, is not to be accepted. It is to be resisted.

He is two-faced and self-serving to an extreme. As he himself expressed with a type of mumbo-jumbo clarity, he was for the Iraq War until he was against it. Various articles at the time referred to his flip-flops and rationalizations of those flip-flops as showing him to be conflicted or nuanced. However, this writer sees Kerry as an opportunist, someone who is gifted at pointing his finger in the air and seeing which way the wind is blowing. He knows how to convert tense, polarizing issues -- like the Vietnam War years ago -- to his personal advantage.

His boss, Barack Obama, had as his goal the weakening of Americas dominance on the world stage, and the strengthening of other world players under the misguided idea that this path strengthens equality and a more harmonious world. The globalist ideal persistently presents itself as most likely to fulfill the human longing for peace. Yet, the man or woman of faith and true understanding knows that manmade peace is only fleeting, especially when consummated with bad actors on the world stage. There was no peace after deal-making and capitulation at Munich over Czechoslovakia by Neville Chamberlain with Adolf Hitler. There was no peace or even accommodation with North Korea after some pseudo-agreements with the Clinton administration. There was no peace after Bismarck concluded his secret treaties with his neighbors in the 19th century. And the treaties guaranteeing divisions of Vietnam and Korea did not bring peace to those embattled lands.

No. The fierce, jealous, and expansionist powers involved in those deals continued to insist on war and conquest. Just as the prophet Jeremiah saw in Judeas perpetual deal-making with Babylonia and Egypt that there was peace, peace when there is no peace, the globalists, including and especially Obama, think they are promoting the family of man, but in actuality are promoting death and endless conflict. The Arab Spring that he and Hillary Clinton nurtured was not a move toward democracy in the Arab world but toward even greater unrest and dislocation than had already existed. Right motives are the key to right thinking.

Thus the Iran deal was wrong because of the motives and philosophies of the leaders on both sides and not mainly in the details of the deal itself. Bad people make bad deals. We had to forego that deal because the Iranians do not deserve to have a deal made with them.
When Joe Biden claimed this week on The View (see it here) that the Obama administration "had not a whisper of scandal" during eight years in the White House, the audience cheered wildly. And why wouldn't it? It's a partisan crowd that overwhelmingly leans left.

Those of us on quite the other side of the aisle didn't bother falling out of our chairs at such an absurd claim. We know how the game is played: make sure that statements such as this from Democrats are played in front of a partisan audience on a biased show that isn't about to challenge the assertion.

As a reminder for candidate Biden, let's review a partial list of the dozens of scandals and all the corruption during the Obama administration:

IRS targeting of conservative 501(c)(3) nonprofits

The $500-million Solyndra scam admitted to by secretary of energy Steven Chu

Attorney General Eric Holder held in contempt for lying to Congress

Mass domestic spying by the NSA

Illegal DOJ investigations of journalists

Complete mismanagement of the war in Syria

Transferring $1.7 billion in cash to Iran

The Benghazi cover-up

Operation Fast & Furious

Secretary of state Hillary Clinton's pay-for-play scam with foreign governments

Falsified Veterans Administration documents after patients died waiting to be seen

The above list could easily be three times as long. It could specifically include Joe Biden, as vice president, pressuring Ukraine into firing its top prosecutor, who, at the time, was investigating illegal activity by his own son, Hunter Biden (which Ukraine did.) On what other grounds would Joe Biden even care?

When presented with a list of these scandals, the Left scoffs and passes them off as right-wing conspiracy theories. Yet every scandal and instance of corruption cited is amply documented.

How is it, then, that Joe Biden can make such a claim without being held accountable? You and I know the answer. It's because shows like The View and the national mainstream media aren't about to hold Biden or any other Democratic candidate accountable. Rather, they want such falsehoods to resonate as believable. (With inserted loud claps of approval to validate them.)

Unfortunately, we are at a point in our nation's history where freedom of the press has reached its lowest point. Not only do the national mainstream media immorally sweep such contradictory statements under the rug, but they are, as President Trump has stated, "an arm of the Democratic Party." Rather than being impartial in news-reporting, their narrative clearly promotes the Democratic Party's agenda and is hypercritical of Republican Party policies and social stances. Can any mainstream reporter deny this with a straight face?

The devious relationship between one party and its willing accomplices in the media has moved beyond the point of eye-rolls and shoulder-shrugs. It has reached a tipping point for our nation. Joseph Goebbels famously stated, "Give me the media and I will make of any nation a herd of swine." This has become the incestuous relationship the Left lustfully pursues with increasing reliability. Through decades of permeation, the media have been given over to the Left, and for leftists, our society has become the herd of swine.

Not surprisingly, the playbook isn't limited to the national mainstream media. Media technology group AllSides published a report that Google News results lean heavily toward media outlets with a "left" bias. The author of the study, John Gable, stated that the bias is a result of "most news outlets and most news consumption online being from a left perspective." The purveyors of Google News are well aware of this egregious bias, but because Google's corporate culture sways heavily left, we can hardly expect the company to create an algorithm that provides a fair and balanced narrative.

Indoctrination of the masses by the Left used to come in the form of opinion pieces. During the Reagan administration, White House network reporters certainly reported the news. However, they steadily began introducing the technique of ending each report with strongly worded opposing viewpoints from critics of the administration. Who were these unnamed critics? The ones holding the microphone.

Thus began the stepped up infiltration of political views into national news. Subsequently, what began as infiltration has become full-on partisanship. The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, NBC, CBS, ABC, and various other "news" outlets used to portray themselves as impartial. Reading an opinion piece masquerading as a news story in a national news publication no longer seems brazen. It has become the new normal.

On any number of subjects, building a wall between Mexico and the United States being a current topic of the day, there are literally dozens of video recordings of Democrats contradicting themselves from the position they took even a decade ago. Joe Biden once pounded the pulpit demanding that we build a wall. With Joe Biden as the Democratic frontrunner for U.S. president, you've seen that contradiction reported all over the national mainstream media, haven't you?

Contrast that with anything and everything Donald Trump says. The media are quick to pull any quote, any tweet out of context or bend it out of shape to promote the narrative that the president is an unhinged liar. With very few exceptions, how can one not be entirely cynical of our news sources and online media?

Remember the Joe Biden interview on The View and the clapping throngs responding to his claim? In a 2017 article by leftist Slate.com (find it here), the subtitle reads, "The Nazi propaganda machine exploited ordinary Germans by encouraging them to be co-producers of a false reality."

Not a whisper of scandal, indeed.

R. Quinn Kennedy is a conservative activist and writer in Colorado.
The State Duma, lower house of the Russian parliament, will study all possible risks when making a decision on the return the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin told reporters on Saturday, TASS reports.

"The national delegation of the Russian Federation in PACE is formed taking into account the views of all factions of the State Duma, and we will discuss further actions with them, study all the risks when making a decision so that no more situations similar to those that occurred earlier in PACE occurred again. Only after that we will apply for participation," he said.

Now its necessary to wait for the PACEs reaction to the statement of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, he added.

"In any case, the Parliamentary Assembly should amend its regulations, fixing the norm on equality of all national delegations, or delegate the relevant authority to the Committee of Ministers," the speaker added.
As the Democrat candidates for president resist any abortion restrictions, Governor John Bel Edwards of Louisiana is going out of his way to say he is pro-life.

This is from the AP:

Nearly three decades ago, when Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards' wife was 20 weeks pregnant with their first child, a doctor discovered their daughter had spina bifida and encouraged an abortion. The Edwardses refused. Now, daughter Samantha is married and working as a school counselor, and Edwards finds himself an outlier in polarized abortion politics. "My position hasn't changed. In eight years in the Legislature, I was a pro-life legislator," he said. When he ran for governor, his view was the same. "I'm as consistent as I can be on that point."

A pro-life Democrat?

Am I the only one who thinks this guy would make a great V.P. candidate? Can you imagine a V.P. candidate who can win Louisiana and speak to pro-life conservatives?

Of course, he will never be selected because of identity politics and the Democrats' irrational commitment to Roe v. Wade.

If V.P. Biden is nominated, then he won't be allowed to pick Governor Edwards even if that's their best chance to win. Why? Two white guys can't happen.

Furthermore, the delegates will never accept a candidate who is pro-life.

What do Democrats like Governor Edwards do in 2020? Well, they will watch a chaotic Democrat convention and see President Trump re-elected.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
Ilhan Abdullahi Omar of Minnesota, a Somalian by birth, and Rashida Harbi Tlaib of Michigan, of Palestinian descent, are the first two Muslim women ever to serve in the U.S. Congress. They have been given carte blanche to do and spew anything they wish without any retribution or repercussions.

These two freshman Jew-haters and anti-Semites did not waste any time to attack Israel and the Jewish people the moment they arrived at Capitol Hill. Like their fellow Muslims, they consider Jews and Israel the sworn enemies of Islam. This hostility dates to the time of Muhammad's own treatment of the Jews in Medina. At first, expediently, Muhammad called the Jews "people of the book" and accorded them a measure of tolerance until he gained enough power to unleash his devastating wrath upon them.

"Israel has hypnotized the world," Omar tweeted in 2012. "May Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel."

Anti-Semitic sentiment has always existed throughout the ages for no valid reason. However, there is a new strain of violent anti-Semitism now widespread throughout the Left, permeating well into the Democratic Party's lowest and highest echelons and their left wing. It is a raw Jew-hatred that covers itself as "anti-Zionism."

For days, the Democrats struggled with whether or not to discipline Omar for her anti-Sematic views, arguing over whether Omar should be singled out, what other types of bias should be decried in the text, and whether the party would tolerate opposing views on Israel. But they could not come up with a way to condemn her simply because she is a Muslim. Muslims all over the world get a free pass simply because elected officials are fearful of being labeled racist, even though Islam is not a race.

By granting Omar a free pass, the Democratic Party officially announced that using anti-Semitic diatribes will be tolerated. It did not comfort when 22 Senate Democrats, including five presidential candidates, voted against legislation aimed at curbing the anti-Semitic boycott movement.

It appears that anti-Semitism is being normalized at the top levels of government. Is it shocking that the hatred of Jews has seeped into academe, where thousands of professors support the anti-Semitic boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement?

Many universities in the U.S. are bastions and incubators of useful idiots. Far-left professors do more than teach their specialty subjects. They feel that they have license to pontificate on any and all matters. That is why they are called "professors." These self-appointed prima donnas cover themselves with the shield of academic freedom. Academic freedom is like liberty  it can be abused often and abused greatly. That is the price of freedom. Yet these abusers of freedom, the far left, will be among the first to be buried under the rubble of a free society's collapse they work so doggedly to bring about.

An example: A university professor refused to write a letter of recommendation for his student when he discovered she was planning to study in Israel . Then more than 1,000 of his collogues signed a petition stating they would do the same thing. It is unconscionable to witness such bigoted behavior on display at an American university.

Unfortunately, social media have become a gutter filled with websites, posts, and comments that reinforce, encourage, and publicize Jew-hatred. I personally have been banned by both Twitter and Facebook for telling the truth and posting a picture of a Palestinian terrorist. There is no accountability whatsoever as to why Muslim terrorists and their fellow Democrats are free to say and post anything without any repercussions, but a conservative is banned or his account is closed for expressing his fact-based opinion.

It is long overdue to have responsible journalists and editors oversee news and editorials, who will put an end to the anti-Israel or anti-Jews bias  which often has anti-Semitic undertones  and present the unfiltered facts.

This does not imply that Israel cannot be criticized, but it does mean that it should be covered with the same level of objectivity as other countries and that its actions be placed in historical and synchronous context.

In short, the Democratic Party has officially joined other anti-Semitic groups all over the world.

The Democratic Party has deliberately put America on a precarious path to lose its freedom, American values, and religious freedom plus many more. We must not only reject, but be as vocal as possible to declare the current Democratic Party as an adversary of the United States and our Constitution. The Democrats' racist and tacit actions against the Jews must be condemned at all levels. The Democratic Party is no longer the party of JFK or Harry Truman. It has become the greatest threat to our national security and America's survival as a nation.
Are the socialist death squads still at it in dictator Nicolas Maduro's Venezuela?

Looks like, it, given a still untranslated story about a dead general turning up in Caracas. Here's a rough Google translation from El Universal:

Caracas.- The former director of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin), Manuel Cristopher Figuera, said that the death of Major Jesus Alberto Garcia Hernandez is a "selective and custom-made" murder, since "he handled sensitive information about the cases of the most frightful and aberrant corruption "of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin).

This is still an unfolding story, but background here tells us a lot.

Figuera is one of the few top Maduro deputies who has defected to the side of Venezuela's democrats, led by acting president Juan Guaido, and encouraged others to follow. He can't be a good guy as chief of Venezuela's feared internal intelligence agency, but his exit was helpful. A few days ago, President Trump lifted sanctions on him.

Now his deputy turns up dead in some Caracas hotel room. And he was the guy who handled a lot of secrets that Maduro would not have wanted to get out.

Nobody thinks it was an accident. Figuera himself, in the statement he put out, writes: "Do you not see the practical execution of state terrorism that Maduro uses to remain in power?"

It comes against a dual backdrop that might just mean the death squads are going to stay busy:

1. The Venezuelans themselves on all sides believe that getting the military to defect from Maduro over to the democratic forces is the key to getting Maduro out of there. That's why the democratic Venezuelans (and the U.S. and Europe) are all onboard for encouraging the generals to defect. A concerted campaign for that has been going on all year.

2. Maduro knows that, too  which is why the Venezuelan military has become a Soviet-style internal terror organization. For all the evil they wreak on the locals on the outside, conditions are even more terror-filled on the inside, kind of like Beria's NKVD or Yagoda's OGPU, or Dzerzhinsky's Cheka.

According to a recent Reuters report, which began with an extended story about the extreme Animal Farmstyle creepiness of the organization:

The incident is just one of many anecdotes that offer insight as to how the Maduro regime  under tutelage of the Cuban Intelligence Directorate, according to the U.S.  manages to keep a tight grip on its military. Such credible threats of arrest, torture and even death to those who veer off course or their loved ones are among the extreme measures used to keep the rank-and-file in line. The other tactic for ensuring loyalty at the higher levels of the military brass comes through promises of riches. Key military officers often get a piece of profits that come as a result of corruption and criminal endeavors, including drug trafficking, according to U.S. officials. Such tactics, which have been effective in Cuba for six decades, are making it difficult to get rid of Maduro. But the underlying question in Venezuela: is the military really loyal to the regime  or its own survival?

The pick-off of the general suggests that the Maduroites are playing a very dirty, very fourth-world game. The death squadstyle killing raises questions about what the man in his sensitive position knew and whether he was going to blow the lid off the Maduro regime in some way, maybe before defecting.

It certainly speaks to the foulness of the socialist regime, which up till now has mostly been reported in the press as solely a matter of economic privation.

Actually, it's about violence, and violence in the name of maintaining socialist power. The ends always justify the means in the matter of preserving what they shout is "socialism or death." And in this case, they wheeled out the death, and not for the first time  there have been other generals who have died under suspicious circumstances over potential defections or even rebellions. Such a putrid, indefensible regime.

Yet here we are, with useful idiots such as Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, all staying firm in their defense of this death-squad regime.

This is what they are defending. What a pretty picture.
For all the good press the green agenda gets in the mainstream media, voters in free countries across the globe are getting wise to just what this feelgood earth religion really about.

Not green jobs, as President Obama liked to promise. Not lower emissions - just ask Germany about that one. Not saving the planet.

Nope, just less money in one's pocket and more power in the government's hand reaching for it.

The Heartland Institute's H. Sterling Burnett, writing for the Washington Examiner, has a good one on just what's going on globally, calling it 'backlash':

From Alberta to Australia, from Finland to France, and beyond, voters are increasingly showing their displeasure with expensive energy policies imposed by politicians in an inane effort to purportedly fight human-caused climate change. Skepticism over whether humans are causing dangerous climate change has always been higher in America than in most industrialized countries. As a result, governments in Europe, Canada, and other developed areas are much farther along the energy rationing path, cutting carbon dioxide emissions as required. However, residents in these countries have begun to revolt against the higher energy costs they suffer under due to high taxes on fossil fuels and mandates to use expensive renewable energy. This is what originally prompted protesters in France to don yellow vests and take to the streets in 2018. They were protesting scheduled increases in fuel taxes, electricity prices, and stricter vehicle emissions controls, which French President Emmanuel Macron had claimed were necessary to meet the countrys greenhouse gas reduction commitments under the Paris climate agreement. After the first four weeks of protest, Macrons government canceled the climate action plan.

He has a whole string of examples to suggest that there's a global revolt in the works around the fake problems, phony promises, soaring costs, and greedy as hell green agenda being shoved down the free world's throat. (Rest assured, the world's tyrannies and socialist dumps are not participating).

Australia's election being reported today, looks like a massive example of the green chickens coming to roost. Look at these headlines rolling out here in my last post about Al Gore.

Which is ironic in the extreme. After all, didn't Al Gore win the Nobel peace prize? Shouldn't that make his green agenda a slam dunk for star-struck Australians? After all, a few Norwegian elites seem to think so.

Nope. And perhaps more significantly, hasn't the press been promoting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her 'green new deal' as the fresh new face of the future? The green future, the new generation? Young people being more idealistic than the last batch of young people?

This global revolt tells us a different story. And it portends the demise of the phony green agenda, which the public is increasingly onto like the emperor's new clothes.

Perhaps that's a follow-on from President Trump's election, with Trump's open skepticism of all the left's claims about global warming, and for that matter, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro's election, too, which has shown increasing hostility toward green demands. Perhaps even more likely, people are sick of being told they are saving the earth when the stats show they are not saving the earth emissions-wise, green profiteers are getting rich, and their taxes and other costs are simply soaring.

If so, it's a move toward sanity. The green agenda has decisively proven to have been a fraud and it's about time something better on the environment, such as cost-benefit analysis, take its place in the name of common sense. The green agenda is a failure and enough of it has been going on for voters to get wise to it. The gig is up. Sorry, Solyndra. Sorry, Sandy.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, that beacon of morality and paragon of Christian uprightness, has taken to lecturing Christians about what's Christian. See, those darn Christians' opposition to abortion means they can't possibly be Christian, according to the Democratic presidential candidate. In fact, the only people who are really Christian by her logic are out aborting babies or else enabling the entire racket, because opposing abortion, she says, is 'against Christian faith.'

According to a report in The Hill, she really thinks this:

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said Thursday during a sit-down with abortion rights advocates at the Georgia Statehouse that laws prohibiting or limiting abortion rights are "against Christian faith." "If you are a person of the Christian faith, one of the tenets of our faith is free will," Gillibrand said at a press conference, according to CBS News. "One of the tenets of our democracy is that we have a separation of church and state, and under no circumstances are we supposed to be imposing our faith on other people," the Democratic presidential candidate added. "And I think this is an example of that effort." Gillibrand's remarks came at a roundtable discussion with abortion providers and physicians, Georgia legislators and women's rights activists following the passage of new "heartbeat" abortion legislation in the state.

That's some 'faith' she's got in the goodness of abortion, which anyone looking at the matter closely already knows is a disaster even to many people who favor keeping abortion legal.

But that's not stopping Gillibrand from trying to shame Christians into supporting abortion as she does, by putting on her pope hat.

Let's take a gander at Gillibrand's impressive theological chops:

Christians favor free will, so that means they must favor abortion, and well, everything else, too  rape, robbery, murder, the whole panoply. By her logic, being in favor of free will means now we let every killer out of the Supermax? Every charmer in the hoosegow also exercised his free will. And every person who's ever stopped a rampaging killer or turned the lock on a jail cell has halted that free will. Continuing with her pinhead logic, those would be the bad guys.

But then she shifts the focus of her argument, mixing up the state with Christianity, which would be about par for a leftist.

"One of the tenets of our democracy is that we have a separation of church and state and under no circumstances are we supposed to be imposing our faith on other people," she said. Never mind that the state isn't the same as Christianity, or that Christianity made the tolerant state we have actually possible. Does she think it's a baby being killed in abortion or not? She skirts that one. Abortion kills babies, and for her, that's somehow some flimsy matter of faith, not an objective reality, the ugly fact of bloody buckets and sold baby parts notwithstanding. To her, anyone who favors keeping a life alive, or a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, is out there imposing his 'faith' on other people.

It's as pinheaded and stupid an argument as it's possible to make, hoping we wouldn't notice that little shift from Christianity to faith in the state.

What's disgusting is what she is really doing: she's trying to shame Christians into supporting abortion as their Christian duty.

She's actually taking a page from Pope Francis, who once decried the construction of a border wall as the act of someone who's "not a Christian." That too was a political intervention over a policy difference, using Christianity as the stick, and it was so bad he backtracked when now-president Trump called him out on it.

Rather than learning from the pope's example, Gillibrand has taken the blunder as a how-to manual. Coming from someone who knows nothing about Christianity, but who also likes its use as a political stick, it shows just how intolerant she is. No wonder she's polling around zero.

One can assume that Christians will notice. Way to reel in those Christian votes, doofus.

Image credit: Phil Roeder, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0
In an amazing piece that forgot to mention that little 's' word called 'socialism,' the New York Times nevertheless has a stunning report about what economists are saying about Venezuela's economic collapse experience under socialism.

Read with caution, because even though we already know that Venezuela's a dump, this report (and its horrifying pictures) will make you sick:

MARACAIBO, Venezuela  Zimbabwes collapse under Robert Mugabe. The fall of the Soviet Union. Cubas disastrous unraveling in the 1990s. The crumbling of Venezuelas economy has now outpaced them all. Venezuelas fall is the single largest economic collapse outside of war in at least 45 years, economists say. Its really hard to think of a human tragedy of this scale outside civil war, said Kenneth Rogoff, an economics professor at Harvard University and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. This will be a touchstone of disastrous policies for decades to come. The institute estimates that the drop in Venezuelas economic output under Mr. Maduro has undergone the steepest decline by any country not at war since at least 1975. By years end, Venezuelas gross domestic product will have shrunk by 62 percent since the beginning of the recession in 2013, which coincided with Mr. Maduro coming to power, according to the finance institutes estimates. (Venezuelas government hasnt released official macroeconomic statistics since 2014, forcing economists to rely on indicators like imports to estimate economic activity.)

To start, that 62% decline is a monster. I remember some extremely huge collapses in other countries over my career reporting news that didn't come anywhere near that 62% and they were overwhelming - Indonesia's in 1998 was a -26% GDP collapse, Argentina's in 2002 was -11%. Impoverishment was massive and both countries saw locals riot, burn, and overturn their governments as a result. We all know what the Obama economy with its low growth numbers was like, so these collapses linked to fiscal mismanagement in the two less destroyed countries were huge indeed. I remember what a wasteland Indonesia became, first with fiery riots and then with dead banks, and then dead businesses - dead radio transmissions because every radio station went under across the Javanese countryside, and all the billboards on the rough neglected roads turned white because nobody could afford to advertise. I remember desperate people eating cats and dogs. I also remember how ragingly angry Argentines were at their lost prosperity, too, kicking in bank windows, pounding them with hammers and covering these beautiful belle epoque buildings with graffiti.

Now there's Venezuela, with about three times the economic meltdown of those countries, a system in complete collapse, far beyond that of the others.

The economists cited say that only a state of war could be worse, but that brings up something important that the old Soviet dissidents used to say about the nature of socialism: That socialism itself is war. And surprise, surprise, its results look exactly like those of countries at war, because, well, it is war, too. The results in Venezuela ought to be a lesson to the lefties out there, desperately trying to ignore that country as they tout socialism over here. (Tim Carney has a fascinating piece about how they are embracing this destructive path out of a quest for community.)

Aleksander Solzhenitsyn wrote a lot about socialism amounting to warfare in the Soviet Union. His 1979 Harvard address described its effects there of that constant war footing as leaving the people in a state of "spiritual exhaustion."

There are a lot of reasons for it, but some Solzhenitsyn quotes about this are useful to consider:

Violence? As we have watched on television, there is a hell of a lot of state violence in Venezuela. The socialist regime is mowing down protestors with armored vehicles in the streets. And of course, it's explicitly to preserve lies. Sounds like war.

Socialism is indeed at odds with human nature - this is why it never works. War, destruction, same thing. The violence and lies follow.

The constant state of warfare is always a byproduct of militant socialism, hollering on about class war, wreckers, hoarders, saboteurs and Jews. So not surprising in the least that the country starts to look as something seen only in warfare, something today's glib socialists in Congress ought to be asked about.

The New York Times story shows with proof positive that socialism is warfare and up close, it's very ugly indeed. War is hell and so is socialism.

Image credit: Voice of America public domain
In The Washington Post's article, "Have the Palestinians received 'more aid than any group' in history?," published May 12, 2019, the author "fact-checks" this statement made by Jared Kushner. Before presenting any findings, however, the author chooses to highlight the fact that the Trump administration has cut off aid to the Palestinians after opening by saying the "Trump administration has been unbashfully pro-Israel in its approach to the long-running conflict," which leads the reader to believe that this aid money was withdrawn unjustly.

Not once in the very long article does the author mention why the aid money was withdrawn. The author even has the audacity to end the piece calling out Kushner as presenting an unbalanced view of history when the author hypocritically did the same as he accused Kushner.

Why did the Trump administration cut Palestinian aid money? Because approximately half of foreign aid money the Palestinians received was paid as stipends to convicted terrorists and their families through the Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund! Interesting how The Washington Post conveniently leaves out relevant facts, leading to an unbalanced and biased view, during a fact-checking article.
Which party is more extreme?

A party that supports allowing abortion all the way up to full term or a party that seeks to limit abortions?

A party that would say it is OK to withhold health care from a fully developed child outside the womb if the mother doesn't want the baby or the other party?

I heard a Democrat from Missouri ask how people sleep when they want to limit abortions to the first eight weeks of pregnancy or when the heartbeat is detected. I would ask how anyone can sleep who would say it is OK to deny health care to a child after he has been born.

Very few countries in the world allow abortion after twenty weeks, yet in the U.S., people who support limitations are described as "extreme." A significant majority of Americans are against late-term abortions, but I have not seen one Democrat running for president stand against late-term abortion. If Democrats said that, they might be labeled as being against reproductive rights.

Democrats say they believe that everyone has a right to health care, but some obviously don't believe it because they are willing to withhold health care from the most vulnerable: a child who has been delivered.

We know that Democrats are more than willing to withhold health care from people they don't deem worthy based on what President Obama said to a woman at a town hall meeting when he was lobbying for Obamacare. She asked if her 100-year-old mother could get a pacemaker if her doctor agreed that she had great zeal. Obama essentially said the 100-year-old had lived long enough, and maybe she should just take a pill.

Obviously, President Obama didn't give a damn about what the woman or her doctor thought. In his thought process, it was up to government to decide. Why don't journalists stop pretending they let people choose when they want the government to choose?

We also know that under Obamacare, which was passed 100% by Democrats, hospitals got bonuses if they didn't readmit as many patients. Again, the government, not the patient or the doctor, was controlling the decision.

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, who helped advise President Obama and Democrats, thinks people live too long.

The public was told that health care would greatly improve for all if Obamacare was passed, but life expectancy went down unexpectedly starting in 2015 for three straight years. Could the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program and a president and his advisers who determined that people may have lived long enough be equated to a death panel?

I see nothing from Democrats that says they want to give people freedom of choice and control of their own health care.

Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, was a progressive, racist, and eugenicist. She wanted abortion to kill minorities, the physically and mentally disabled, and anyone else she deemed necessary to build a cleaner race, and she is celebrated to this day by Democrats. Hillary received the Margaret Sanger Award. Why would anyone be proud of that?

Which party is racist? The party that wants more minority women to have their babies or the party that wants to continue to abort minority children at a much higher rate than their percent of the population?

Democrats say they are the party of science, so why won't they admit that the only date a human life can begin is at conception?

Why do Democrats call themselves progressives? I think they should be called the oppressive, regressive party. Even as science gets better and children can survive better from early childbirth, they lengthen the time to be eligible for abortion.

A nine-ounce baby was born in Japan recently and five months later was able to go home. Think of what a miracle that is, that the baby had all the body parts and organs necessary to survive outside the mother's body at 9 ounces. Democrats would not have even called him a baby at that stage.

Now, which party is extreme?
Russian Far East Development Minister Alexei Kozlov plans to make a working visit to North Koreas capital in the near future, he said in a video streamed on his YouTube channel on Saturday, TASS reports.

"Within the framework of tasks assigned to me - loads of work are ahead with Russian Railways, and the Transport, Finance and Economic Development Ministries - I am planning to visit Pyongyang soon," Kozlov said.
Marysville, CA (95901)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun early, then becoming cloudy later in the day. High 49F. SSW winds shifting to N at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy. Low 34F. Winds light and variable.
The U.S. 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.



U.S. Soldiers with 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Army Air & Missile Defense Command install and check MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems for a readiness exercise at Oberdachstetten range complex, Ansbach Germany, March 13, 2019. (Picture source U.S. DoD)

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.

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 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.

The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system which that has been designed to defend airspace against airborne threats as part of an integrated air and missile defence system.

The PAC-3 upgrade carried with it a new missile design, nominally known as MIM-104F and called PAC-3 by the Army. The PAC-3 missile evolved from the Strategic Defense Initiative's ERINT missile, and so it is dedicated almost entirely to the anti-ballistic missile mission. Due to miniaturization, a single canister can hold four PAC-3 missiles (as opposed to one PAC-2 missile per canister).

The PAC-3 missile is also more maneuverable than previous variants, due to 180 tiny pulse solid propellant rocket motors mounted in the forebody of the missile (called Attitude Control Motors, or ACMs) which serve to fine align the missile trajectory with its target to achieve hit-to-kill capability. However, the most significant upgrade to the PAC-3 missile is the addition of a Ka band active radar seeker. This allows the missile to drop its uplink to the system and acquire its target itself in the terminal phase of its intercept, which improves the reaction time of the missile against a fast-moving ballistic missile target.



Patriot systems have been sold to the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Republic of China (Taiwan), Greece, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Romania. South Korea purchased several second-hand Patriot systems from Germany after North Korea test-launched ballistic missiles to the Sea of Japan and proceeded with underground nuclear testing in 2006.[5] Jordan also purchased several second-hand Patriot systems from Germany.
Sheki will host From Nature to History International Ceramics Symposium on 20 May - 2 June. The event will be held in the ABAD Ceramics and Applied Arts Center, the unique venue for Azerbaijan and Transcaucasian countries, Azertag reports.

During two week of the festival, 26 ceramics masters from 15 countries will create their works that will be exhibited in an open-air museum.
CNBC, citing sources, said the trade talks had stalled and the next round of discussions was in flux.

The tough talk capped a week that saw Beijing unveil fresh retaliatory tariffs, US officials accuse China of backtracking on promises made during months of talks.

Washington/Beijing: China struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States on Friday, suggesting a resumption of talks between the worlds two largest economies would be meaningless unless Washington changed course.

The tough talk capped a week that saw Beijing unveil fresh retaliatory tariffs, US officials accuse China of backtracking on promises made during months of talks and the Trump administration level a potentially crippling blow against one of Chinas biggest and most successful companies.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, asked about state media reports suggesting there would be no more trade negotiations, said China always encouraged resolving disputes with the United States through dialogue and consultations.

But because of certain things the US side has done during the previous China-US trade consultations, we believe if there is meaning for these talks, there must be a show of sincerity, he told a daily news briefing.

CNBC, citing sources, said the trade talks had stalled and the next round of discussions was in flux.

The United States raised Beijings ire this week when it announced it was putting Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the worlds biggest telecoms equipment maker, on a blacklist that could make it extremely hard to do business with US companies.

The US Commerce Department may soon scale back restrictions on Huawei by issuing a temporary general license to allow time for companies and people who have Huawei equipment to maintain the reliability of their communications networks and equipment, a department spokeswoman said.

The possible general license would not apply to new transactions, the spokeswoman said and would last for 90 days.

China has yet to say whether or how it will retaliate, although its state media is sounding an increasingly strident note. The ruling Communist Partys Peoples Daily published on Friday a front-page commentary that evoked the patriotic spirit of the countrys past wars.

The trade war cant bring China down. It will only harden us to grow stronger, it said.

Global stocks, which rebounded this week on the prospect of another round of US-China talks, suffered a fresh bout of selling and Chinas yuan slid to its weakest against the US dollar in almost five months. Prices of US government debt were trading higher.

The increasingly acrimonious trade dispute has rattled investors who fear that the countries are careening dangerously down a track that will badly damage global supply lines and put the brakes on an already slowing world economy.

The South China Morning Post, citing an unidentified source, reported that a senior member of Chinas Communist Party said the trade war could reduce Chinas 2019 economic growth by 1 percentage point in the worst-case scenario.

Both sides might need some prodding, but weve had a very clear opportunity for one side or the other ... to say this isnt going to work ... and neither side did, said Derek Scissors, an expert on Sino-US economic relations at the American Enterprise Institute think tank, who put the chance of a deal this year at over 50/50.

AUTO TARIFFS

US President Donald Trump, who has embraced protectionism as part of an America First agenda aimed at rebalancing global trade, has accused China of backing out of a deal earlier this month that would have ended the 10-month dispute.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported China had backtracked on commitments to change its laws to resolve core US complaints about theft of intellectual property, forced technology transfers and other practices.

Trump punctuated two days of talks in Washington last week with a decision to raise tariffs on USD 200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 per cent from 10 per cent. The negotiations ended in a stalemate.

On Monday, Beijing said it would raise its tariffs on a revised list of USD 60 billion in US goods effective June 1. Trump, in turn, said he is considering slapping tariffs on the remaining USD 300 billion in Chinese imports to the United States.

The US president also continues to dangle the possibility of imposing tariffs of up to 25 per cent on imported cars and parts, a move that could be devastating for a number of US trading partners, including Japan and Germany.

The White House said on Friday that Trumps decision on auto tariffs would be delayed by up to six months to allow more time for trade talks with the European Union and Japan. Trump faced a Saturday deadline to make a decision.

It added, however, that the US president agreed with findings by the US Commerce Department that imported vehicles and parts can threaten US national security, a designation likely to anger some US allies.

Automakers have strongly opposed the tariffs, saying they would hike prices and threaten thousands of US jobs. There is also strong opposition in the US Congress, with many prominent members of Trumps Republican Party rejecting the idea.

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, praised the administrations decision to delay the auto tariffs.

Positive step. The pressure must be strong on China, not on our allies who we should encourage to join us in confronting China, Schumer tweeted.

The United States and Canada also announced on Friday a deal to remove tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium in exchange for new curbs to keep dumped metals from China and other nations out of the US market. The Mexican presidents office later said Mexico had reached a similar deal with the United States.

The metals tariffs were an aggravation for the Canadian and Mexican governments and had been a major hurdle to enacting the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the deal that would replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.
The actor has played all the phases of a man's life in the movie Bharat.

Mumbai: Salman Khan felt this particular phase in Bharat's life was the toughest for him to portray in his upcoming movie, Bharat. The actor has played all the phases of a man's life in the movie Bharat.

During the recent song launch event, the actor was asked which phase in the character's life was the toughest to play. Salman answered in a humorous way saying, "The character of my age was the easiest. This character(during the circus), I had forgotten a few years back so I had to go back and research from my own life and watch old movies of mine. I did remember it in some haze so I had a tough time during this one."

The actor has left no stones unturned for his upcoming movie Bharat. There are 7 phases in the character's life and the actor took a lot of hardship in playing the youngest character of the man in the circus.

Salman Khans upcoming Eid release, Bharat, will have half-a-dozen songs celebrating the different festivals and the spirit of its leading man.

The film stars Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Tabu, Disha Patani, Sunil Grover and Jackie Shroff. It traces India's post-independence history from the perspective of a common man and follows his life from the range of 18 to 70 years of age, as a journey.

Bharat is produced by Atul Agnihotri, Alvira Agnihotri, Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar under the banner of Reel Life Production Pvt Ltd. and Salman Khan Films, presented by T-Series. The film is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language historical period drama film written and directed by Ali Abbas Zafar.
A Hindi film hero playing his age is rare and full marks to Devgn for looking and behaving like one too.

Rating:

Cast: Tabu, Ajay Devgn, Rakul Preet Singh

Director: Akiv Ali

Whenever Hindi cinema has ventured into anything thats different from the tried and tested, filmmakers have gingerly tread on the path with extra caution, and have invariably refused to go the whole hog. Mostly on the pretext of having to face the wrath of audiences, they, perhaps, first introduce a few novel elements in the script, and then are quick to follow the formulae-ridden track the very next moment. De De Pyaar De was written by Luv Ranjan, and his misogyny was evident in his first film, Pyar Ka Punchnama, which he followed in its sequel too, and was also very much an underlying theme in Sonu Ke Titu ki Sweety. His latest, De De Pyaar De, directed by Akiv Ali, a serious issue of a middle-aged man who is separated from his wife, but wants to romance a 26-year-old, is a multi-generational romcom that starts with a lot of promise, then crumbles by the time the film ends.

Fifty-year old Ashish Mehra (Ajay Devgn) leads a great life as an investment banker in London where he boxes in his free time, lives in a swank apartment where he entertains friends (he even arranges a stripper for his friends bachelor party!) and has the occasional flirtatious romp whenever he gets an opportunity. When he runs into the 26-year-old Ayesha, its not just because of his single status that sparks begin to fly. Ayesha is a student, works at a bar, and is all out to enjoy life too, in between her dalliances that include working as a stripper too!

The next thing we know is that the two are in a relationship, much to Ashishs good friend and psychiatrist Samirs (Javed Jaffrey) strong objection. Everything would have been fine if only Ashish didnt have a family back home in Kullu in India  an estranged wife Manju (Tabu), Ashishs father Veerendra Mehra (Alok Nath) and his wife (Madhumalti Kapoor) and Ashishs daughter Ishika (Inayat Sood)  all of whom he has not been in touch with for years.

His decision to marry Ayesha seems rather unpremeditated as all hell breaks loose the moment he arrives in his home unannounced, that too, on the eve of his daughters engagement to her boyfriend. Obviously, over the years, his long absence from their lives is something that the family must have come to terms with, but is not ready to allow his re-entry into their now well-ensconced home.

A bewildered Ashish introduces Ayesha as his secretary in the melee that follows as an equally bemused Ayesha, who feels like an outsider in the house where everyone hates Ashish, is in for another surprise when Ashishs son Ishaan (Bhavin Bhanushali) begins to set his eyes on her. That both Manju and Ashish have grown apart after marital togetherness, rekindles, albeit momentarily, when Manju breaks down one night and has his shoulder to lean on. Post their quiet understanding and comfort that they enjoy, they even make out, leading to Ayesha throwing a fit. Not that the couple develops emotional feelings for each other; its just that their long relationship has a consolation and reassurance that may not be a regular balm in a new liaison.

Tackling a theme that is unconventional in more ways than one can be cumbersome, what with doing away with the usual tropes, and instead, settling for something alternative. Writer Ranjan does have a storyline that is not in the least run of the mill, but beyond a point, he doesnt know how to carry it forward. He pads up each scene with quirky dialogues that one would have to accept as real, but however, digresses from the primary issue several times.

Despite daring and, at times, even brash lingo that the characters speak, the fact that the film is headed towards a compromised ending is known throughout the film. Also, it seems that the team comprising co-writers Surbhi Bhatnagar and Tarun Jain knew from the word go that they had to go in for the most unusual climax to make their film remarkable and noteworthy. Too bad for the eager audiences that despite good performances and tone that try to find a truly perfect balance, what could have been a heart-grabber loses steam.

A Hindi film hero playing his age is rare and full marks to Devgn for looking and behaving like one too. His constant fear of not being able to match up to the sprightly Ayesha and her demands are reinforced several times in the 134-minute drama that has everyone from his friend, his father, to his wife and daughter re-emphasising his huge age gap and rubbing it in several times. At one point, after getting to know about their relationship, his wife even warns, Dus saal ke baad tum bude ho jaoge aur kuch kar nahin paoge toh yeh (Ayesha) kisi aur ko dhoondh legi (Ten years hence when you will be old, and wont be able to perform, Ayesha will find a new man for herself!)

There are some moments that will stay with you. Manjus defence of Ashish when he is hemmed in from all corners for letting everyone down with his absence and then his sudden decision to remarry is memorable. The fights that ensue between family or the chaos that results after Manju introduces Ashish as her brother to her samdhi (Kumud Mishra) are interesting. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is a mess. And all because some stereotypes have to be intrinsically woven in  While that fact that Manju and Ashish sleeping together once since they are not officially divorced can be overlooked, Ayeshas no-holds-barred physical relationship has to culminate in her tying the knot with Ashish.

You see, she being the characteristic Hindi film heroine is not footloose, though she is fancy-free!

Devoid of many cliches, this one has some smart writing that will appeal to the young. It also can boast of a wonderful cast, especially Tabu. Each frame she is in, she virtually owns it. And it isnt just her screen presence, her quiet, dignified look but also her character that has been fleshed out well. When she endorses fighting for married love through all the difficulty, and the heartbreak of a middle-aged woman, you want to hug her for sure. Devgn, in comparison, may not be that great an actor, but he allows himself to be swayed by the flow of the narrative and over blending with the proceedings. Rakul Preet Singh is appropriately bubbly, displaying chutzpah and righteous indignation when the scene demands.

If films go beyond the deal of married love as wonderful, and that its worth the struggle, we would welcome more such stories from Bollywood. And as a sucker for romantic comedies, I would want to see more such stuff. But it needs to be charmingly told, and not cheesy!
The additional flights will also help in bringing down airfares that have shot up ever since Jet Airways suspended its international flights.

With Jet Airways out of picture, several airlines like Air India, IndiGo, Vistara and SpiceJet are now eyeing the prime foreign routes that Jet Airways till recently handled. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Air India has announced to scale up its Delhi-Dubai and Mumbai-Dubai operations from June 1, a route that for the last few years was dominated by Jet Airways. Air India already has one flight each daily between Delhi-Dubai and Mumbai-Dubai and it will be adding two more flights daily taking it to a total of four flights now.

Between 2005-2012, Air India had six flights daily on this prime route which was given to Jet Airways. However, with Jet Airways now out of operations, Air India has decided to restore its previous routes. It is learnt that the next in line may be Pune-Dubai route.

We have decided to increase our flights on Delhi-Dubai and Mumbai-Dubai route. From June 1 we are adding two more flights on these routes. These flights will also return with passengers, hence, total to and fro flights will be eight. The fresh flights have been introduced keeping in mind the Id rush and will continue thereafter, sources in Air India said.

The additional flights will also help in bringing down airfares that have shot up ever since Jet Airways suspended its international flights.

With Jet Airways out of picture, several airlines like Air India, IndiGo, Vistara and SpiceJet are now eyeing the prime foreign routes that Jet Airways till recently handled.

The civil aviation ministry on Friday held a meeting with senior executives of the Indian airlines on the issue of temporary allocation of foreign flying rights of Jet Airways to others.

Following the meeting, civil aviation secretary P.S. Kharola said that his ministry will create a transparent standard operating procedure to allocate these rights on a temporary basis.

The civil aviation secretary, however, added that even though several airlines have sought international flying rights, it is national carrier Air India that will be given priority.

We had asked airlines to confirm their requirement of (domestic) slots and (international) traffic rights...Their requests have been officially logged in. Our people will do an analysis now and we will evolve a transparent SOP based on which the rights will be given, Kharola said.

He, however, added that even though several airlines have sought international flying rights it is national carrier Air India that gets priority and it has already been allotted a few routes. Officials claimed that ever since Jet Airways suspended its operations, government has allocated 480 out of 750 domestic routes to other airlines.
Shah asserted that her candidature is a satyagrah against a fake case of saffron terror.

New Delhi: With the BJP facing severe criticism over remarks by its leaders on Mahatama Gandhi and his killer Nathuram Godse, Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally addressed the issue on Friday saying he will never forgive the partys Bhopal candidate Pragya Singh Thakur for calling Godse a true patriot.

Though she has apologised, I wont be able to pardon her from my heart, said Mr Modi in an interview in Khargone in Madhya Pradesh, hours before campaigning for the last phase of Lok Sabha polls ended.

Whatever has been said about Mahatma Gandhi or Godse, these statements are very bad and worth contempt. In a cultured society, this type of language is not permissible. This type of thinking wont do... Therefore, those who are doing this have to think a hundred times, he said.

The Prime Ministers criticism of his party colleague came on a day when the BJP served showcause notices on three leaders, including Ms Thakur, and expelled its Madhya Pradesh units spokesperson Anil Saumitra for calling Mahatma Gandhi the father of the nation of Pakistan. BJP president Amit Shah, in a statement, said that though the three leaders  Ms Pragya, Union minister Anant Kumar Hegde and party MP Nalin Kateel  have apologised for their statements the party has taken a issue serious view as their statements are against the partys ideology and ethos. Later addressing a press conference along with the Prime Minister, Mr Shah said the BJP regrets the remarks about Mahatma Gandhi and Godse and has taken prompt action.

Asked about Ms Thakurs candidature, he said her candidature and her statements are two different issues.

Mr Shas asserted that her candidature is a satyagrah against a fake case of saffron terror. Ms Thakur is an accused in the Malegaon blast case.

He blamed the Congress for compromising the countrys security for vote bank politics over the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast, saying some people were caught in the case and when the CBI said these people are associated with the LeT and even the US agencies said that these people were associated with the LeT, a fake case of saffron terror was made in which all have been acquitted. He said even the courts have said that saffron terror is imaginary.

So, who is responsible for the people released and given `5 lakh compensation and security compromised for vote bank politics? The Congress party is responsible. I demand that the Congress president apologise for defaming Hindu culture and compromising national security, he said.

Mr Shah said the BJPs disciplinary committee has issued notices to three leaders and has given them 10 days to respond before deciding on appropriate action on them.

During a roadshow in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, Ms Thakur had said that Godse was a patriot, is a patriot, and will remain a patriot and those who call him a terrorist should look within, they will get a reply in this election.

She was responding to a comment made by actor-turned- politician Kaman Haasan, who said Godse was the first Hindu terrorist in independent India.

The Malegaon blast accused later apologised for her statement, claiming that she respected Mahatma Gandhi and his work for the country cannot be forgotten.

Mr Kateel, a BJP MP from Karnataka, had compared Godse with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Godse killed one, Kasab killed 72, Rajiv Gandhi killed 17,000. You judge who is more cruel in this? Mr Kateel had tweeted on Thursday, equating Godse with 26/11 Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab and Rajiv Gandhi.

Union minister Anantkumar Hegde also found himself in the news with a purported tweet justifying Godses action.

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The TDP chief claimed that the EC has ordered repolling in AP after 25 days whereas according to norms, it can be ordered only on the next day.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu after meeting the Election Commission of India at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Seeking to pay a crucial role in bringing together an anti-BJP Opposition, Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu flew into the national capital on Friday and held meeting with senior Opposition leaders. He is schedule to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati on Saturday.

Before meeting CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Mr Naidu went to the Election Commission and submitted a memorandum on the re-polling ordered in five booths in Andhra Pradesh.

The EC decisions are very controversial, one-sided and pro-government. For the last so many days, they have been supporting the government, Mr Naidu said addredding the media outside the EC.

The TDP chief claimed that the EC has ordered repolling in Andhra Pradesh after 25 days whereas according to norms, it can be ordered only on the next day.

I am questioning the way Election Commission is functioning.

On Sunday, Mr Naidu is scheduled to meet Mr Rahul Gandhi in the morning and then fly to Lucknow to meet Mr Yadav and Ms Mayawati.

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Congress chief spokesperson Mr Randeep Surjewala, had a different view than that of the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha.

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad took a complete U-turn from his remarks on Friday. He said, No, it is not true that Congress will not claim the Prime Ministers post. We are the biggest and oldest political party. If the government is to run for five years, the biggest political party should be given a chance. But what I have been saying is that while we are in the midst of elections we should not fight among ourselves. It (PMs post) should be decided by consensus,

Mr Azad had earlier said that the Congress was amenable to a Prime Ministerial candidate from its alliance partners. In a press conference in Patna he had said that a consensus on the candidate for the top post before the results of the Lok Sabha elections are announced would be welcome but the party would not make it an issue if the Prime Ministers chair was not offered to it. He had further added that his party will not make an issue if the Prime Ministers post is not offered to his party.

Congress chief spokesperson Mr Randeep Surjewala, had a different view than that of the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha.

He said that the Congress believes it will be the single largest party in the country, subject to final outcome on May 23. He further added, Naturally, the biggest political party should get a chance to lead. All Congressmen believe that we will be biggest political party and as the biggest political party, we should be leading this country holding hand with all other like-minded political parties interested in giving a stable democratic, liberal and secular government to the country.

As the date of the results of Lok Sabha elections draws closer the opposition parties seem to be closing ranks. A meeting of several opposition parties have been called by the UPA Chairperson Mrs Sonia Gandhi on May 23 to discuss the results.

The Opposition parties including the Congress are confident of a result that will catapult them in a position of forming the next government.

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While most parts of the Valley remained shut on Friday, at places slogan shouting crowds took to the streets to denounce killings.

Srinagar: Normal life was disrupted across Kashmir Valley on Friday due to a strike called by separatists to mourn and protest the killing of eleven persons, including six militants in firefights, and other incidents of violence a day ago.

Meanwhile, curfew continued to be in force in Bhaderwah town of Jammu region where tensions run high in the aftermath of the killing of a local drover by alleged cow-vigilantes.

While issuing the call for shutdown, Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), the alliance of key separatist leaders, had said, Theres no let up in killings in Kashmir, even during the holy month of Ramzan.

Kashmirs chief Musl-im cleric and separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is also on the JRL, told this newspaper, The Indian forces have unleashed a reign of terror in the Valley in the backdrop of Prime Minister Naren-dra Modis antagonistic statements on Kashmir. Even in the holy month of Ramzan, there is no let-up in killings and bloodshed as civilians, armed youth or even Indian forces are getting killed.

The police said that among the six militants killed in separate encounters in the Valleys southern Shopian and Pulwama districts on Thursday was Khalid Bhai, a Pakistani national and a top commander of the outlawed Jaish-e-Muhammad outfit. Two Army soldiers and a civilian were also killed in these clashes. Four more persons died in incidents of violence elsewhere in the restive state on Thursday.

However, the family of one of the three youth slain during the firefight in Shopians Hendew village has refuted the police claim that he was a militant. They and other locals said that after the families of the three were called by the police for identification of their bodies, it was confirmed that out of the three, only two were militants and the third slain person was civilian Ishtiyaq Ahmad Bhat. The police said it is verifying the familys claim, but said that the encounter took place in an open space and it is inconceivable that a person with no links with militants would choose to be around in such a situation.

While most parts of the Valley remained shut on Friday, at places slogan shouting crowds took to the streets to denounce killings. The security forces restricted the movement of people at a few places including in central Srinagar to prevent breach of peace. The authorities also locked Srinagars Grand Mosque to disallow people to hold Friday congregation at the historic place of worship. Earlier they had announced closure of all educational institutions in the Valley and also the suspension of train services as a precautionary measure.

A report from Jammu said that while curfew continued to be in force in Bhaderwah town for the second consecutive day on Friday, the authorities have initiated steps to defuse tensions set off by a shooting incident in which 50-year-old cattle-dealer Nayeem Ahmed Shah was killed and two of his colleagues were injured on Wednesday night. The police said that they have detained seven persons for questioning. However, the main accused is absconding.

Bhaderwah, a communally sensitive town, had witnessed incidents of violence by groups of people protesting against the murder of the cattle-dealer and injuring his colleagues by cow- vigilantes on Thursday following which the authorities imposed curfew there.

J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik in a statement on Friday condemned the loss of a precious life in an unfortunate incident in Bhaderwah. He urged the people not to take law and order in their hand and instead cooperate with the law enforcing agencies. He also advised the prominent leaders of the town to help the police and civil administration in pacifying the protestors and directed the authorities to spare no efforts in bringing the culprits to justice and ensure that no anti-social element succeed in exploiting the situation and shatter the sense of brotherhood and harmony existing among the people of Bhaderwah since centuries.
Vice Admiral Verma had questioned the government's decision of overlooking him for the post of Navy chief despite he being senior.

New Delhi: The Defence Ministry rejected the plea of Vice Admiral Bimal Verma on Saturday, who has challenged the appointment of Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next chief of the Indian Navy.

Verma had questioned the government's decision of overlooking him for the post of Navy chief despite he being the senior most.

Rejecting his statutory complaint filed on April 10, Defence Ministry's Joint Secretary (Navy) Richa Mishra clarified that though seniority is an important criterion while appointing services chiefs but it is not the "sole" criteria. It has been dispensed with in the past too while appointing the Navy chiefs.

The Defence Ministry in its order said, "The Central government after careful examination of the matter is of the opinion that this statutory petition dated April 10 from Vice Admiral Verma regarding his non-selection as the chief of naval staff is devoid of merit and be rejected."

The ministry further said, "Upon examination, the Central government is satisfied that the parameters for selection as evident from consistent practice were applied uniformly to all the officers in the zone of consideration and based on the assessment, Verma being the senior most eligible officer was considered and found unsuitable to tenets of the appointment of Chief of Naval Staff."

"The Central government is also satisfied that no unsubstantiated frivolous, extraneous or irrelevant consideration has had a bearing on this said selection," Richa Mishra said in her order rejecting the Verma's plea.

After the government overlooked him and designated Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Navy chief, Verma who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command approached the armed forces tribunal.

The government last month named Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as next chief of the naval staff, succeeding Admiral Sunil Lanba who will retire on May 31.
He is likely to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Maywati in Lucknow on Saturday.

On Friday, Naidu met Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and discussed possible tie-up in the post-election scenario. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said that he would welcome any party to be a part of an alliance against the Bharatiya Janata Party, once the elections results are declared, including the Telangana Rashtra Samithi.

On Friday, Naidu met Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and discussed possible tie-up in the post-election scenario.

He is likely to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Maywati in Lucknow on Saturday.

Naidu has stepped up efforts to bring together Opposition parties ahead of a possible meeting of the grand alliance after the general election results are declared on May 23.

We are welcoming all such parties (which are against the BJP) to be a part of our grand alliance, Naidu told reporters after a meeting at the Election Commission of India in New Delhi.

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The US will not appoint a permanent ambassador to Ukraine to replace Marie Yovanovitch, who left her post. The duties of the ambassador will be performed by a Charge d'Affaires.

So, according to the media reports, William Taylor, who was the US ambassador to Kiev from 2006 to 2009, could become the US Charge d'Affaires in Ukraine. He can hold this post up to the 2020 presidential elections, Gazeta.ru reports.
Meghan, wife of Britain's Prince Harry, gave birth at private London hospital.

Archie Mountbatten-Windsor was born on 6 May 2019 in the private Portland Hospital in London. (Photo: Instagram @sussexroyal)

London: Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and wife of Britains Prince Harry, gave birth earlier this month at a private hospital in London, her sons birth certificate shows, according to the Press Association.

Former American actress Meghan, who cited her name as Rachel Meghan Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex, gave her occupation as Princess of the United Kingdom.

The birth certificate ends the mystery about where the baby was born after speculation that Meghan, who married Queen Elizabeths grandson a year ago, had planned a home birth at the couples residence on the Windsor Castle estate.

There had been media reports that the couple had made a late dash to the hospital, Londons Portland, because Archie was overdue although until now, the couple have not disclosed any details about the birth or its location.

Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, who is the seventh-in-line to the British throne, was born on May 6.
A cynical political gambit by Kamal managed to strike home at heart of issue RSS had with Gandhi.

Actor-turned politician stirred a hornets nest in calling Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, as the first terrorist of free India. The BJP and RSS came down on him like a ton of bricks even though what Kamal had said was an undeniable historical truth that a Hindu had, in fact, shot Gandhi.

There was more outrage to follow when the terror-accused Sadhvi Pragya termed Godse a patriot and invited outrage to such an extent even within the BJP that she quickly retracted to apologise. Kamal has been far from being apologetic though. The one major point made against him is that he used religion and terror in juxtaposition while campaigning in Tamil Nadu for votes.

What elevates Godses action in the hierarchy of crimes against humanity is that it killed one of the greatest human beings to have sacrificed his life for peace and Hindu-Muslin unity, said Sudheendra Kulkarni, an aide to former Indian PM AB Vajpayee. Considering Godse shot an apostle of peace, any pejorative used to describe such an assassin is good enough for most of the world.

Kamal may have been just another cynical politician  and a marginal one at that as he is a debutant whose party is forecast not to make any great impression among the voters  exploiting religion to plead for votes. Many a Twitter user, however, saw through the ruse and rightly condemned those raising their voice for a coldblooded killer. The arguments raged on both sides with some saying Gandhis mis-steps had also to be talked about freely.

But industrialist Anand Mahindras tweet best summed up the outrage in saying  For 75 yrs, India has been the land of the Mahatma; a beacon when the world lost its morality. We used to be pitied for being poor but we were always rich since Bapu inspired billions globally. Some things must remain sacred. Or we become the Taliban, destroying statues that sustain us.

What Kamal did was to show up a rift in the RSS-BJP on the issue of Gandhi and Godse. There are varied opinions on Gandhi and Kamals Godse comment drew all kinds of responses from within the ruling party itself. He may be a fringe player in the political game, but he has managed to draw blood with the BJP now having to contemplate action against those who reacted in bizarre ways to Kamal by praising the assassin Godse.

The tweets bring out the varied responses and reactions to the Gandhi-Godse issue 

The RSS gets the most exposed in this fight over the father figure of the nation as the organisation is committed to Hindutva. Twitter users may not have had the breadth of words to express more on the subject. It was surprising though that so many reactions should have been triggered that were not so much in favour of the level of reverence with which Gandhi is held in India, particularly by members of the older generations.

The atheist Kamal is a rabid anti-Hindutva campaigner who is known to rub shoulders with the illiberal left as well as the likes of Arvind Kejriwal, the first on ideological grounds and the second for his anti-corruption plank. Kamal may find a breakthrough tough in Dravidian Tamil Nadu but he has hit eyeballs by taking the RSS-BJP head-on.
Karat tried to explain the vacuum created by the Left in a state it ruled for 34 years.

Belpahari (WB): Whatever the brand, poison kills, says CPI(M) Politbureau member Brinda Karat, warning people in West Bengal against voting for either the BJP or the states ruling TMC.

With the saffron party making inroads into the state and the fear that Left votes are getting transferred to it en masse, Karat tried to explain the vacuum created by the Left in a state it ruled for 34 years. You cant think that you can taste this poison or that. The TMCs policies have led to great discontent among the people of Bengal against the party. The BJP is using its central-state powers and huge money to claim that its the only alternative here. It is like offering people two choices of poison BJP and TMC, Ms Karat said.

Sitting in the CPI(M) office in Belpahari, once a Maoist stronghold, around 200 km from Kolkata, she warned the electorate to not vote for either the Trinamool Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party and said, Whatever the brand, poison kills.

Discussing the recent clashes in Kolkata, Ms Karat said it is shameful that participants in a procession led by BJP president Amit Shah vandalised and desecrated a statue of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, a beloved symbol of the Bengal renaissance.

This unprecedented action by these goons is shocking and condemnable and shows the real face of the sangh parivar and its culture. The TMC also played a role to provoke a confrontation as it is equally interested in creating an atmosphere of polarisation. The Elec-tion Commission must immediately release the unedited official footage of the procession and subsequent events. People of Bengal and indeed all citizens have the right to know the truth, she said.

The extent of the BJPs influence in West Bengal can be seen in Jhargram where the party won in all former Maoists strongholds at the gram panchayat level.

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The Iranian armed forces showed they were no pushovers when Saddam Hussein attacked their country back in 1980.

The sanctions, the threats, the arms build-up, the shrill accusations and the allegations against Iran are all from a B-movie we have seen before. They are all part of the march to war that preceded the invasion of Iraq 16 years ago. Thousands of lives and six trillion dollars later, the region and the world are in a far worse place.

But empires never learn from their mistakes. Before Iraq, there was the Vietnam quagmire that cost nearly 60,000 American and hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese lives.

In fact, in its 239 years as an independent country, the US has seen only 17 years of peace. The rest of the time has been spent fighting major and minor wars around the world. From its string of wars against a defenceless indigenous population to heroic actions like the invasion of Panama, the US has used its overwhelming military muscle to impose its will on those too weak to defend themselves. But every now and then, it has encountered foes that had the tenacity and the courage to give it a bloody nose. The North Vietnamese taught the Americans that there were limits to their power, a lesson reinforced by Iraqi militias. And now, the hopelessly outgunned Afghan Taliban are forcing the Americans to eat humble pie in the grinding war of attrition that has been going on for 18 years in Afghanistan.

Given this track record, why do people like John Bolton, the national security adviser to Trump, and Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, think theyll do better against Iran? Granted that they are ideological hawks, and are itching to attack Iran at Israels and Saudi Arabias behest, but an armed conflict will be no walk in the park.

The Iranian armed forces showed they were no pushovers when Saddam Hussein attacked their country back in 1980. After eight years of bloody fighting against a foe that had the support of the West, including help in acquiring chemical weapons technology, the war ended in a stalemate.

Since then, the Iranians have developed a sophisticated arms industry, and a formidable standing army. Their naval assets include hundreds of small, fast boats that carry anti-ship missiles, and can also be used in suicide attacks. They have thousands of missiles that can be launched from caves that honeycomb the coast.

So while an American first strike will do considerable damage, the Iranian response will be ferocious. And American bases in the region will be hostage to Iranian attacks.

Should Israel join the US in its attack, expect Hezbollah to launch a major offensive from its bases in Lebanon. If there is one force in the Middle East the Israelis would prefer not to fight, it is Hezbollah. Battle-hardened, well-armed, highly motivated and trained, it is capable of doing major damage to Israeli targets.

Given all these factors, why do the Americans seem hell-bent on starting a war against Iran? Obviously, Israel, with its massive clout in Trumps White House, has been urging the Americans, using the Iranian nuclear programme as a pretext. Never mind that uranium enrichment has been put on hold since the signing of the deal in 2015.

Despite their string of military setbacks in the recent past, why are so many Americans still so gung-ho about yet another war? What is in the American DNA that has put the country on such a violent path?

By arrangement with Dawn
The Trump administration officially added Huawei to a trade blacklist on Thursday.

Huawei will aim to be technologically self-reliant going forward, He Tingbo said in a letter to staff.

Chip experts are calling out Huawei for its claims that it could ensure a steady supply chain without US help, saying the technology the Chinese telecoms network gear maker buys from American companies would be hard to replace.

The Trump administration officially added Huawei to a trade blacklist on Thursday, enacting restrictions that will make it difficult for the tech giant to do business with American firms, in its latest broadside against the company that US officials have labeled a threat to national security.

The head of Huaweis HiSilicon chip division on Friday shrugged off concerns about disruptions to supply, saying it has long been preparing for this kind of extreme scenario.

Huawei will aim to be technologically self-reliant going forward, He Tingbo said in a letter to staff.

But that is easier said than done, industry experts say.

I would be surprised if HiSilicon can make it without any US suppliers, said Linda Sui, a Strategy Analytics analyst.

A China-based source at a US tech company previously told Reuters that none of Huaweis US suppliers can be replaced by Chinese ones, not within a few years, at least.

As an example of Huaweis reliance on US firms, an expert pointed to the high probability that the tech giant uses chip design software from market leaders Cadence Design Systems Inc and Synopsys Inc.

Huawei designs its microprocessors and other chips for products including the Mate series flagship smartphones.

The U.S firms software is considered gold standard, used by manufacturers globally to perfect chip blueprints and test them before committing them to physical silicon, where a single mistake can set back a chip for months.

Its hard to replace, said Mike Demler, a senior analyst with The Linley Group. Cadence and Synopsys pretty much have all the ground covered for anything you would need, he said.

Im sure theres some equivalent that tries to fill the same roles from Chinese companies, but the Chinese just do not have a presence were aware of outside of the country.

Cadence and Synopsys did not respond to requests for comment. Huawei said it cannot comment.

SPECIALIZED CHIPS, LASERS

Huawei also has exposure to US suppliers of specialty lasers and modules such as NeoPhotonics, Lumentum and Finisar.

The lasers, which are used to send information in the form of light signals through fiber-optic cables, are critical to Huaweis world-leading telecom network equipment business.

Firms like Finisar, which is being bought by II-VI Inc, and Lumentum have put decades of work into being able to make large quantities of lasers, said Philip Gadd, a retired chip executive who once ran Intels silicon photonics division.

Even if the Chinese could do it, I dont think they could come up to scale, he said.

Finisar is trying to determine the impact of the Huawei ban, according to a person briefed on the matter.

Finisar and Lumentum did not return requests for comment. NeoPhotonics, which gets most of its revenues from four firms including Huawei, declined to comment.

Huawei has sought to develop its own capabilities in the field, in part by purchasing a former British Telecom research center in 2012 and startup Caliopa in 2012.

The Chinese have been on an acquisition path, said one silicon photonics executive. Theyve been buying up bits and pieces wherever they could. A lot of the (US government) restrictions have come too late.

But Huawei relies on so-called chip foundries, especially Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), for the complex task of physically producing the chips that it designs. That is a common practice in the chip industry.

By contrast, many silicon photonics firms such as Finisar, still make their own chips.

MARCH TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Huawei has been under pressure since early in the decade over US allegations its gear could be a conduit for Chinese spying, a concern the company says is unfounded.

The United States has ratcheted up the rhetoric in the past year, calling on allies to bar the firm from next-generation 5G mobile networks while locking horns with China in a trade war.

Against this backdrop, Huawei has been a key part of Chinas campaign to develop its own capabilities in chips and reduce reliance on imports from companies such as Qualcomm, Intel and Samsung Electronics .

Huaweis chip division produced more than $7.5 billion worth of chips last year, its rotating chairman Eric Xu had told Reuters. That compares with an estimated $21 billon worth of chips that Huawei acquired from outside vendors.

A Huawei spokesman said the company will use HiSilicon products to substitute banned American components where possible, but declined to provide more details.

HiSilicons He has described the self-sufficiency efforts as a long march in the history of technology that would pay off with the United States crazy decision. All the spare tires we have been making, now is the time to use them!
The veteran from Cape Girardeau Police Department even touched on his experiences handling rape cases.

Missouri: A Republican legislator from Missouri apologised on Friday for saying that some acts of sexual violence and nature are consensual rapes during a debate over new, restrictive anti-abortion bill.

I aint trying to make excuses here, said Rep Barry Hovis, who represents city of Jackson in south-eastern Missouri. Sometimes you make a mistake, and you have no option but to own up to it.

Elected in 2018, the lawmaker, made the remark while talking on the State House floor, debating that the measures eight-week window for abortions gives rape survivors considerable time for the whole procedure. Critics say a lot of women do not know they are pregnant until after eight weeks, and there are no exceptions in rape and incest.

The veteran from Cape Girardeau Police Department then touched on his experiences handling rape cases.

Lets say someone goes out and they are rapes or sexually assaulted one night after a college party because most cases in my time were not the gentleman jumping out of the bushes that nobody ever met before, Hovis said. Those were merely one or two times out of hundred. Most of them were date rapes and consensual rapes, which were all terrible.

Rep Raychel Proudie, a Democrat, quickly rebuked him.

"There is no such thing, no such thing as consensual rape at all," she said to applause from the whole chamber.

Hovis later agree and told The Washington Post that he was wrong to make such a derogatory statement and believes there is no such thing as consensual rape.

He further added in all his years as a law enforcement officer he always took rape cases seriously.

When a rape is reported, you always take the word of the victim, he said.

Missouri's GOP-controlled House passed the anti-abortion bill on Friday, which comes as lawmakers in a number of states have passed restrictive abortion laws that advocates on both sides. This is aimed at getting the Supreme Court to consider overturning Roe vs Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that had legalized abortion nationwide.

Hovis's remarks look back on a controversial comment made in 2012 by Todd Akin, a former congressman, that "legitimate rape" rarely causes pregnancy. After losing a 2012 race for US Senate, Akin tried to clarify his words, saying he should have instead said "legitimate case of rape."
Iran wishes to cooperate with China 'bilaterally and multilaterally, in order to preserve the interests of our two people,' Zarif said.

Wang told Zarif during the meeting that China hopes the Iran nuclear deal can be 'fully implemented.' (Photo:AP)

Beijing: Irans foreign minister praised his countrys relations with China during talks with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing amid heightened tensions and efforts by Tehran to keep its world markets open following the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

Mohammad Javad Zarif met Friday with Wang Yi, whose country has been a major customer for Iranian oil, at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse.

We consider (China) one of our closest partners in the world, Zarif said in opening remarks at the start of the meeting.

Iran wishes to cooperate with China bilaterally and multilaterally, in order to preserve the interests of our two peoples  for peace and security, Zarif said.

Wang told Zarif during the meeting that China hopes the Iran nuclear deal can be fully implemented.

China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions and the so-called `long-arm jurisdiction imposed by the United States on Iran, Wang said, according to Chinas Xinhua state news agency.

The Chinese foreign minister pledged to maintain the nuclear deal and work with Iran to eliminate complicated disturbing factors, Xinhua said.

Along with ratcheting-up pressure on the Islamic Republic, Washington is engaged in an increasingly bitter tariff battle with China.

Wangs comments were inaudible, but China has accused the US of raising tensions in the Middle East with its more assertive approach to Iran, as well as upsetting energy markets and the global economy.

The talks came after Saudi Arabia accused Iran of being behind a drone attack that shut down a key oil pipeline in the kingdom. A local newspaper linked to the Al Saud royal family called Thursday for America to launch surgical strikes on Tehran.

The US has also dispatched warships and bombers to the region to counter an alleged threat from Iran that has seen America order nonessential diplomatic staff out of Iraq.

President Donald Trump decided last year to withdraw the US from the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers and imposed wide-reaching sanctions that have crippled Irans economy.

Zarif arrived following a visit to Japan like China, a major importer of crude oil from the Persian Gulf as part of intense diplomatic efforts to salvage Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers at the center of a crisis unfolding between Iran and the US

Zarif was quoted by Irans official IRNA news agency as chastising the international community, saying in Beijing that it has mainly made statements, instead of saving the deal.

After Trump pulled America out of the deal, other signatories the European Union, France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany have been trying to salvage it.
Vladimir Zelensky, who won the presidential elections in Ukraine, said that Kiev would bring Crimea back.

According to him, the peninsula will become a part of Ukraine sooner or later. We will do this together. Do not forget that even after the darkest night, the dawn comes, RIA Novosti quotes Zelensky as saying.

Earlier, Zelenskys command stated that they did not recognize the results of the referendum on the reunification of Crimea with Russia. Zelensky said that Crimea would return to Ukraine after the change of power in Russia. At the same time, he added that he did not know exactly how to return the peninsula to Kiev.
Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

Windy with showers developing later in the day. High 47F. Winds SW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Considerable clouds early. Some decrease in clouds late. Low 32F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph.
Australian voters turned against center-left opponents pushing aggressive strategies to combat climate change when they reelected Australia's conservative government in the country's national elections on Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Our thought bubble via Amy Harder: "The elections indicate that Australia will continue to closely resemble the Trump administrations positioning on climate change. Climate advocates had said this election would be a referendum on the current leaderships positions on climate change, the results suggest that either voters dont care as much about the issue compared to others or they prefer less aggressive measures, as the current leadership is pursuing."

The big picture via WSJ: Climate change, a thorny problem that has ripped apart governments, re-emerged as an election issue following a summer of wildfires, drought, floods and extreme temperatures: Voter support for policies aimed at addressing climate change was at the highest level since 2007. But, as in the U.S., divisions grew more stark as the issue gathered steam.

From 2016 through 2017, climate change-related marine heat waves caused widespread bleaching and killed parts of the reef, a World Heritage Site and top tourist destination.

One level deeper: Several Liberal Party candidates won in the state of Queensland, near the Great Barrier Reef, per the New York Times.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison campaigned in support of major coal mine projects like the proposed Adani coal mine in that region, which would be one of the largest in the world if approved by the government.

"Voters favored immediate concerns about jobs over the risks of climate change," the Times reports.

Be smart: The Adani mine has been likened to Australias Keystone XL pipeline, in terms of its outsized role in defining the national debate on energy and climate change  just like Keystone has done for a decade here in America.

Go deeper: Amy's recent column reported from Down Under: Why Australia's climate change election matters to the world
2020 presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) revealed a plan on Saturday to reform education with a focus on reducing racial and economic segregation.

The big picture: Sanders K-12 plan focuses on the needs of students of color and low-income students, providing free universal meals and expanding after-school programs. He also addresses reversing changes made by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, including those affecting Title IX and the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights.

Why it matters: Sanders' plan is part of a renewed effort to court black Democratic voters, especially by addressing groups like the NAACP, which has been vocal against like charter schools, reports Reuters.

Key Details:

Combating racial discrimination and school segregation: Sanders wants to increase funding for at-risk schools, public magnet schools, the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Sanders wants to increase funding for at-risk schools, public magnet schools, the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Ban all for-profit charter schools: Sanders argues these schools further discriminate against more disenfranchised students and are part of a larger plan to privatize education.

Sanders argues these schools further discriminate against more disenfranchised students and are part of a larger plan to privatize education. Equitable funding for public schools: Sanders wants schools to cover the cost of college-readiness exams, reexamine the link between tax property and school funding, increase resources to shrink class sizes, support the arts and foreign language studies and provide $5 billion annually for technical education.

Sanders wants schools to cover the cost of college-readiness exams, reexamine the link between tax property and school funding, increase resources to shrink class sizes, support the arts and foreign language studies and provide $5 billion annually for technical education. Strengthen the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Sanders is proposing the government cover at least 50% of funding for special education and address the special education teacher shortage.

Sanders is proposing the government cover at least 50% of funding for special education and address the special education teacher shortage. Raise teacher salaries: Sanders says he will set the starting salary for teachers at $60,000, end the gender pay gap for teachers, create a grant program for school supplies and triple the tax deduction for educator expenses paid out of pocket.

Sanders says he will set the starting salary for teachers at $60,000, end the gender pay gap for teachers, create a grant program for school supplies and triple the tax deduction for educator expenses paid out of pocket. Expand after-school and summer education programs: Sanders wants to spend $5 billion annually to expand access to summer and after-school programs, teen centers and tutoring.

Sanders wants to spend $5 billion annually to expand access to summer and after-school programs, teen centers and tutoring. Universal school meals: Sanders wants to provide year-round free school breakfast and lunch and expand summer EBT programs.

Sanders wants to provide year-round free school breakfast and lunch and expand summer EBT programs. Community schools: The Vermont senator wants $5 billion in annual funding for schools to provide a holistic approach to learning and more services such as job training, GED and ESL classes.

The Vermont senator wants $5 billion in annual funding for schools to provide a holistic approach to learning and more services such as job training, GED and ESL classes. School infrastructure: Sanders wants increased funding to modernize and renovate schools, and adapt them to be more environmentally friendly.

Sanders wants increased funding to modernize and renovate schools, and adapt them to be more environmentally friendly. Make schools a safe and inclusive place for all: He wants to pass legislation to protect the rights of LGBTQ students, increase protection under Title IX, pass comprehensive gun violence protection laws and ensure immigrant children aren't harassed.

Go deeper: Bernie Sanders on the issues, in under 500 words
Theres remembering. Theres forgetting. And then theres false memory, our memory of an event that never actually happened.

Why it matters: Everyone is vulnerable to false memory. Sometimes its subtle: thinking you saw a yield sign when you saw a stop sign. But sometimes its life-altering: eyewitness testimony that leads to the wrongful conviction of innocent people.

People can be very confident in things that never happened, Duke neuroscientist Roberto Cabeza tells Axios.

What's new: In an age of AI, deepfakes and doctored photographs, misinformation can subtly sculpt our memories. And researchers are concerned about how immediately replaying photos and videos will affect how we remember experiences.

Even blatantly doctored photographs  with written disclaimers  of the 2012 London Olympic torch relay and the 2011 Royal Wedding led a subset of viewers to believe more violent protestors had been present and more people arrested at these events than actually were.

How it works: Our memory system often fails not only because we forget things that happen, but also because we remember things that didn't happen, says Cabeza.

The brain can distinguish between false and true memories. Cabeza found that high confidence for true memories was associated with greater medial temporal lobe activity, while for false memories it was associated with greater frontoparietal activity in the brain.

One explanation for this difference is that recollection is strongly associated with the medial temporal lobe, while familiarity is associated with frontoparietal regions.

This flexibility of our memory systems means that not only can memories be altered, but entirely false memories can be planted.

For decades, Elizabeth Loftus, a cognitive scientist at the University of California, Irvine, has pioneered work on false memory to prevent mistaken eyewitness testimonies, consulting on hundreds of criminal cases, including the O.J. Simpson, Ted Bundy and Rodney King trials.

You need independent corroboration to know whether youre dealing with a real memory or a false memory, she tells Axios.

Yet planting false memories isn't necessarily a bad thing, according to Loftus. She found that subjects who were led to believe they loved asparagus as children subsequently were more interested in eating asparagus at a restaurant and were willing to pay more for asparagus in a grocery store.

You can use these suggestive techniques to influence peoples nutritional choices, maybe make a dent in the obesity problem in our society. And I think that can be a good thing.

Go deeper:
Joe Biden is officially kicking off his 2020 campaign with a message about how President Trump is dividing the country on race, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation, according to his campaign.

Details: Biden will say we need a president for everyone  not just Trump's base. And he will ask voters to choose unity (Biden) over division (Trump). His rally will be in Eakin's Oval in downtown Philadelphia and the campaign said they expect 2,000 people. (Kamala Harris' campaign estimated 20,000 people attended her kickoff rally in Oakland, California.)

Why it matters: You'll hear other things, like restoring the soul of America and fighting for the working class. But Biden's focus on Trump fits the general election strategy he's been running all along  and it baits the president to continue attacking him.

Biden will say that despite the deep division in the country, there's nothing that Americans can't do, but only if we fix our broken political system.

The campaign views this Philly rally as the end to their 3-week campaign launch and the introduction to Biden's third pillar of his message: bringing the country together.

There will be watch parties hosted by Biden supporters in all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico.

What to watch: Trump is holding a rally in Montoursville, Pennsylvania on Monday to support Fred Keller, a GOP congressional candidate who has a special election on May 21. Expect him to mention Biden at least once.

Go deeper: Biden plots an early kill.


Australia's conservative government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison won the national election on Saturday as the Labor Party opponent, Bill Shorten, conceded, the Washington Post reports.

Our thought bubble from Axios' Dave Lawler: "Australia has shuffled through 5 prime ministers since 2013, and polls suggested there would be yet another change at the top this week. Instead, Morrison has pulled off an upset in an election where taxes, climate change and Australias approach to China were key issues."

The backdrop: The country's political parties have been starkly divided in policies, especially in battling climate change. The Labor Party was predicted to beat Morrison, whose views generally align with that of President Trump and U.S. Republicans.
As of 2017, more people have been forced by violence and conflict to flee their homes than live in the U.K. or France.

Why it matters: That's upwards of 60 million people  a global nation of refugees. If all of these asylum-seekers, internally displaced people and refugees were a country, they'd be the 21st most populous nation in the world, according to UNHCR estimates. More than half of refugees are under the age of 18.

The big picture: The crisis is the worst its been since World War II, and it's not getting better.

This population will continue to grow as violent conflicts drag on and climate change wreaks havoc.

Host countries and refugee camps will increasingly become permanent homes to tens of millions of refugees while many wealthy nations turn their backs.

The top 5 places:

Syria: Where millions of people have been forced from their homes amidst internal conflict and terrorism by the Islamic State, or ISIS. Afghanistan: Ongoing violence has created one of the largest, longest-lasting refugee crises. South Sudan: Millions of South Sudanese have fled to Uganda and other surrounding nations as a civil war rages. Myanmar: The Rohingya minority has faced deadly, violent persecution and many have fled. Somalia: A combination of natural disasters and 25 years of conflict have produced hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees.

What's next: This crisis of displacement will have an impact on generations.

Climate change is expected to create even more internally displaced people as natural disasters become more frequent and intense.

is expected to create even more internally displaced people as natural disasters become more frequent and intense. An anti-immigrant strain of populism has made it more difficult for international organizations and humanitarian groups to resettle and care for refugees, particularly in Europe and the U.S.

has made it more difficult for international organizations and humanitarian groups to resettle and care for refugees, particularly in Europe and the U.S. "That is the shift in the narrative," said Eskinder Negash, president and CEO of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants and former director of HHS's Office of Refugee Resettlement under Obama, told Axios.

said Eskinder Negash, president and CEO of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants and former director of HHS's Office of Refugee Resettlement under Obama, told Axios. Many who have been displaced internally will continue to suffer from poverty and persecution inflicted by governments, extremists or natural disasters.

will continue to suffer from poverty and persecution inflicted by governments, extremists or natural disasters. Many young refugees face a future of limited education and job opportunities, and some will grow up with mental trauma and little memory of their home countries.

Be smart: The word "refugee" is often used to describe many different types of displaced people, but it's important to understand the different terms and how they should be used.

Refugees have fled and found protection outside of their home nation. A multilateral UN treaty known as the 1951 Refugee Convention has established refugee rights including work, access to the courts, primary education and documentation.

have fled and found protection outside of their home nation. A multilateral UN treaty known as the 1951 Refugee Convention has established refugee rights including work, access to the courts, primary education and documentation. Asylum-seekers have also fled to a new country, but their application for sanctuary there is still pending. They are not yet legally recognized as a refugee.

have also fled to a new country, but their application for sanctuary there is still pending. They are not yet legally recognized as a refugee. Internally displaced people have been forced to leave their homes or areas of the country, but have not crossed international borders. They are vulnerable: They are subject to the laws of their national government, even if those laws are oppressive.

have been forced to leave their homes or areas of the country, but have not crossed international borders. They are vulnerable: They are subject to the laws of their national government, even if those laws are oppressive. Migrant is a general term that typically applies to anyone now residing in a nation that is not their own regardless of legality, permanence or reason.

Original story: A widening world without a home (12/15/18)

What's next: on the refugee crisis
Industries began tallying up the likely costs of President Trump's latest executive orders this week targeting Huawei, the Chinese telecom manufacturer that sits at the center of the U.S./China trade dispute, after Trump essentially barred all U.S. telecommunications firms from using its equipment and blocked it from access to U.S.-made goods.

The impact: Major U.S. telecoms don't use Huawei equipment, but roughly a quarter of smaller rural network providers do, according to a Financial Times story, and those companies may have to spend millions to replace those devices.

The Huawei ban could also make it even harder to bring 5G networks to less heavily populated U.S. regions.

In preparation for the likelihood of the U.S. shutting off its access to parts, Huawei "has been stockpiling critical U.S. components for almost a year," the South China Morning Post reports.

With those moves, analysts suggested, Huawei can probably buy itself up to a year's time to build a supply chain to provide alternatives to the key U.S. components it obtains from companies like Intel and Qualcomm, per SCMP.

Go deeper: Trump may stop Huawei in U.S., but the underseas cable race continues
A court in Yerevan on Saturday ordered Armenias former President Robert Kocharian released from prison pending the outcome of his and three other former officials trial on coup charges.

Announcing the decision, the judge presiding over the trial, Davit Grigorian, cited written guarantees of Kocharians adequate behavior which were signed by the current and former presidents of Nagorno-Karabakh during a court hearing on Thursday.

Kocharian, who governed Armenia from 1998-2008, was set free about an hour later, according to his lawyers.

The trial prosecutors said they will appeal against the judges decision which sparked jubilant scenes among Kocharian supporters present in the small courtroom. The latter included his two sons.

The younger son, Levon Kocharian, said his fathers release from custody was somewhat expected for him. The process is not over, he told reporters. The main parts are still to come.

Hundreds of other backers and critics of the 64-year-old ex-president demonstrated, meanwhile, outside the court building in the citys Nor Nork district. Riot police deployed additional forces there to keep the two rival groups apart.

The first four preliminary sessions of the closely watched trial, which began on May 13, focused Kocharians and his lawyers demands for his release from custody. The prosecution led by Armenias Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian objected to them, saying that the defendant could obstruct justice and even flee the country if freed.

Kocharian dismissed the objections, arguing that he flew back from Europe shortly after being summoned for interrogation in June last year.

Kocharian was first arrested and charged in July with overthrowing the constitutional order in the wake of a disputed presidential election held in February 2008, two months before he served out his second and final presidential term.

The Special Investigative Service (SIS) says that he illegally used Armenian army units against supporters of his predecessor and main opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian, who protested against alleged electoral fraud. Kocharian denies the accusation as politically motivated.

Eight protesters and two police officers were killed in street clashes that broke out in central Yerevan late on March 1, 2008. Citing the deadly violence, Kocharian declared a state of emergency and ordered army units into the capital on that night. Nobody has been prosecuted in connection with those deaths.

The same coup charges were also leveled against Kocharians former chief of staff Armen Gevorgian and two retired top army generals, Seyran Ohanian and Yuri Khachaturov. The three men, who have not been held in pre-trial detention, deny them.

Earlier this year, Kocharian and Gevorgian were also charged with bribe-taking. They reject this accusation as well.

On Friday, Kocharians lawyers showed journalists footage of the 2008 clashes which they said exonerates their client. The Office of the Prosecutor-General responded by accusing of them of resorting to manipulations and putting psychological pressure on Judge Grigorian.

In a statement, the prosecutors also warned that they could take unspecified measures to stop the spread of these lies generated with the help of certain media outlets and real or fake social media users.

One of the defense lawyers, Hayk Alumian, countered on Saturday that the authorities and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in particular themselves have been pressuring courts dealing with the high-profile case. In particular, Alumian said that earlier in the day a parliament deputy close to Pashinian, Hayk Sargsian, urged government supporters to rally outside the court and press the judge to keep Kocharian behind bars.

Pashinians press secretary, Vladimir Karapetian, dismissed those claims shortly after Kocharians release. He said the court order showed that the Armenian judiciary enjoys complete freedom thanks to last years velvet revolution which brought Pashinian to power.

In a Facebook post, Karapetian also signaled Pashinians disapproval of that order. He said that the old judicial system continues to function in Armenia and to be mistrusted by the public.

Kocharian was already freed from custody in August. The Court of Appeals ruled at the time that Armenias constitution gives him immunity from prosecution on charges stemming from the dramatic events of February-March 2008.

Acting on prosecutors appeal, the higher Court of Cassation overturned that ruling in November, ordering the Court of Appeals to examine the case anew. The latter allowed law-enforcement authorities to press charges against Kocharian and again arrest him in December.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili was invited to the inauguration of the elected President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, the press service of the Georgian leader reports.

The presidential office received an official invitation to the inauguration, which will be held on May 20.
By Trend

The ongoing fiscal reforms will bolster the net assets of Azerbaijan, Trend reports referring to the report by Moody's Investors Service on the current state of the Azerbaijani economy.

Among such reforms, the agency noted a new fiscal rule and the government's debt strategy. In particular, Moody's noted that the new fiscal rule will also lend support to economic stability, if the authorities apply its discretionary, countercyclical provisions effectively.

However, the economic benefits will only materialize over time, as business and consumer confidence over the effectiveness of fiscal policy builds, the report reads.

As noted, the sovereign credit profile of Azerbaijan is supported by significant and growing position of net assets. As such, the sovereign wealth assets of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) amounted to $40.3 billion as of the end of March 2019, which is 12.5 percent higher than in late December 2017, and approximately 1.7 times higher than the the sum of the government's direct debt and its explicit guarantees as of the end of 2018.

According to the report, Azerbaijan's net sovereign wealth assets (the asset value after subtracting government debt) are substantial, when compared to similarly rated hydrocarbon producers, at around 53 percent of 2018 GDP.

The agency expects this net asset position "to increase further, fostered by the government's fiscal reforms.

Touching on reforms, Moody's also mentioned strategic roadmaps adopted in December 2016, covering various sectors.

Among these focuses, we assess tourism and transport and logistics as having the greatest diversification potential, as stated in the report.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

There is renewed momentum building for the peaceful resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and the US Congress can play a very constructive role in ensuring the maintenance of this momentum, as stated in the article of Rob Sobhani, CEO of Caspian Group Holdings, published in The Washington Times, Trend reports.

The author writes that members of the US Congress could help end this 30-year-old conflict and promote American interests in a strategically important region.

He notes that today the Armenian forces control not only the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, but also of 7 adjacent districts.

According to Sobhani, the possibility of renewed conflict and escalation into all-out war exists, despite the two parties having a cease-fire agreement.

Thankfully, recent events have created a positive outlook for a peace agreement, he added.

The Congress, according to Sobhani, could prepare a resolution encouraging the preservation of this momentum.

"A simple congressional resolution written in cooperation between the Armenian and Azerbaijan caucuses will send a powerful message to not only the leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan but to the peoples of the both countries that the United States is fully committed to a fair and equitable resolution of the conflict, the article says.

Sobhani noted that that President Trump and his foreign policy team need to know that in their quest for peace, members of the US Congress will be their allies.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

Azerbaijani MP Sabir Hajiyev will be in Paris on May 19-21 to participate in a meeting of the PACE Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, Trend reports.

The meeting will discuss issues of protection and assistance to victims of terror, the results of the conference held in St. Petersburg on countering international terrorism, the situation in Kosovo and inter-parliamentary dialogue with Algeria, as well as the mission and the future role of the Parliamentary Assembly.

Hajiyev will speak at the meeting and express his views on the topics discussed.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

The 129th session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe was held in Helsinki, Finland, May 17.

At the meeting, which ended the six-month Finnish presidency of the Committee of Ministers, Azerbaijan was represented by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mahmud Mammadguliyev, Trendreports referring to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the Ministerial meeting marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Council of Europe, the threats facing the organization, possible reforms and future trends were discussed.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev first touched upon the cooperation with the Council of Europe and spoke about the implementation of the recently approved Action Plan of the Council of Europe on Azerbaijan. He also reiterated the principled position of Azerbaijan on the entry of international institutions into the conflict zones in the European continent and stated that possible activities in these zones should be agreed with the legitimate central authorities.

The deputy minister referred to the situation arising as a result of the ongoing military occupation of the Azerbaijani territories by Armenia and emphasized the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights on "Chiragov and Others v. Armenia" case in 2015, where in its crucial judgement it concluded that Armenia exercises effective control over the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.



The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has also addressed the issue of the conflicts in its member states. Thus, the political statement adopted as a result of the session expressed concern over the confrontations and ongoing conflicts that some parts of the European continent have been exposed to and declared that joint efforts should be made for reconciliation and political settlement in accordance with the norms and principles of international law. More importantly, support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all member states within the framework of internationally recognized borders was approved by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in the relevant decision on member states' rights and obligations.



Following the session in Helsinki, Finnish presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe ended and the chairmanship passed to France for the next six months.

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

On the sidelines of his working visit to France, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with the Vice-President of the National Assembly of France Carole Bureau-Bonnard and the President of France-Azerbaijan Friendship Group in National Assembly Pierre-Alain Raphan, Trend reports referring to Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.

During the meeting the sides exchanged their views on the current status of cooperation in the parliamentary dimension, as well as the prospects of development in the political, economic, cultural and other fields between Azerbaijan and France. They expressed the importance of exchange of mutual visits at different levels between the two countries.

The sides noted that the activities of the Azerbaijani-French Friendship Group contributed to the development of cooperation between the two countries, and expressed hope for the further development of relations.

During the meeting, the sides also discussed current issues of the cooperation agenda between Azerbaijan and France.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By May. 17, 2019

The Paducah Chamber has teamed with the West Kentucky Workforce Board and the Kentucky Career Center to host the job fair. Anyone seeking new employment is invited to stop by and visit with the businesses who will be in attendance to talk about their open positions. Approximately 20 local businesses are participating.





The event is being held as part of Small Business Appreciation Month celebrated each May by the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce.

A variety of employers are participating in the job fair representing multiple business industry sectors, said Mary Anne Medlock, Business Services Representative for the West Kentucky Workforce Board. Whether youre looking for your first job or to make a career change, there will be positions available for different skills.





The event is open to anyone looking for a new career opportunity.





More than half of America's workforce is employed by a small business. With ample opportunities and an inspiring reliance on new ways to stay competitive, small businesses are a great place for employees to make a big impact.





For more information, call Mary Anne Medlock at 270-886-9484, or email her at maryanne.medlock@ky.gov.

PADUCAH - Job seekers are invited to participate in a job fair on Tuesday, May 21 from 4 pm to 6 pm at the Commerce Center, 300 South 3rd St., in the Paducah Bank Community Room.
Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

Rain showers in the morning will evolve into a more steady rain in the afternoon. High 52F. SE winds shifting to WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. Low 38F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Attorney General's Office to help register contractors in Mayfield
Tim Heming Freelance triathlon journalist

Experienced sportswriter and journalist, Tim is a specialist in endurance sport and has been filing features for 220 for a decade. Since 2014 hes also written a monthly column tackling the divisive issues in swim, bike and run. Tim has also written on triathlon for The Times, The Telegraph and the tabloid press in the UK.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has signed a law to protect patients from surprise medical bills after emergency care, according to the Nevada Current.

The legislation, signed into law May 15, limits how much an out-of-network provider can charge a patient for certain medically necessary emergency services. That amount is limited to a patient's insurance copay, coinsurance or deductible, according to the Current.

The bill also includes a process that determines reimbursement from insurers to out-of-network providers for emergency services.

Additionally, it includes a process for out-of-network providers to transfer patients to a hospital that is in the patient's insurance network, or to an independent center for emergency care, within 24 hours, according to the report.

Under the legislation, insurers are required to pay a portion of the contracted rate if the out-of-network provider was previously contracted with the insurer.

Read more about the legislation here.

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Seven recent health IT vendor contracts and go-lives:

1. Carle Richland Memorial Hospital plans to implement an Epic EHR to increase interoperability and transfer of medical records.

2. Lebanon, N.H.-based Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital switched over to an Epic EHR May 11.

3. Ichor Biologics, a New York City-based biotech startup developing antibodies to treat infectious diseases, received a $300,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to specifically target deadly hantavirus infections.

4. Utica, N.Y-based Mohawk Valley Health System will implement an Epic EHR in June.

5. Culbertson, Mont.-based Roosevelt Medical Center is transitioning to an athenahealth EHR.

6. Texas A&M University Health Science Center in Bryan is teaming up with Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes, a telehealth teaching model for clinicians, on a program to address the opioid epidemic.

7. Startup telehealth company, Remote Health Solutions, will integrate the U.S. Air Force's patient monitoring app into its existing product portfolio.
Berkeley Research Group has agreed to acquire the equity ownership of Chicago-based Prism Healthcare Partners in a deal targeted to close in early June, which will result in one of the largest healthcare performance improvement consulting firms in the country.

Here are five things to know about BRG, Prism Healthcare Partners and the combined practice:

1. With the closing of the deal, BRG's healthcare consulting group will expand to 350 consultants with more than 15 years of experience on average. Emeryville, Calif.-based BRG is a global consulting firm with more than 40 offices around the world.

2. The merged practice will be led by Paul Osborne, managing director of BRG's healthcare performance improvement group, and Mukesh Gangwal, president and CEO of Prism.

3. "We are now at the scale of the largest firms in our industry, but we have the ability to partner with our clients in a more cost-effective and agile manner," said Mr. Osborne. "Time is money. Clients shouldn't have to wait to see results. Using advanced analytics and subject matter expertise, we quickly identify performance improvement opportunities and implement results, enabling providers to rapidly increase revenues and reduce expenses in the immediate, intermediate and long-term."

4. "The market today demands increased efficiencies that are sustainable across the organization," Mr. Gangwal said. "Providers must navigate a dynamic and disruptive healthcare environment, declining reimbursements, a need to provide a broader continuum of care, the rising element of consumerism in choice, and a shift from volume to value in payment and care delivery. They need to be strategic, innovative and operationally effective to remain relevant in their respective markets."

5. The two firms have track records of helping multihospital health systems, major academic medical centers and stand-alone community hospitals improve their financial and operational performance in labor, supply chain, revenue cycle, clinical operations, physician enterprise, strategy and growth. BRG consultants work with a proprietary analytics platform to drive data-driven results, and Prism has extensive experience helping a range of providers, particularly academic medical centers, that have specialized needs because of their teaching, research and clinical orientation.
Unionized hospital workers at Toledo, Ohio-based Mercy Health-St. Vincent Medical Center are now in their second week of a strike, according to NBC-affiliate TV station WNWO.

The strike  which began May 6  comes as hospital officials are in negotiations with UAW Local 2213, which represents about 1,000 nurses at St. Vincent, and UAW Local 12, which represents 900 technical and support employees.

Since the walkout began, some workers who didn't initially strike, have joined the picket line, while others who did initially strike have left the picket line, hospital and union officials told WNWO.

Healthcare costs and on-call hours are among the key issues for striking workers. The workers are reportedly seeking more affordable out-of-pocket copays as well as regulated on-call hours.

Hospital officials said in a statement: "Mercy Health-St. Vincent Medical Center and Children's Hospital appreciates and welcomes the compassion and expertise of those who continue to serve our patients, including the hundreds of local associates who have returned to work as well as dedicated healthcare professionals from our sister hospitals and outside agencies" who have helped serve patients during the strike.

More information about negotiations is available here.

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Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss its petition to review a False Claims Act case that began in 2012.

The case at issue was filed in 2012 under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. It alleges Intermountain submitted false claims for medically unnecessary heart procedures performed by a cardiologist at two of its hospitals.

The federal government declined to intervene in the case, and the district court granted Intermountain's motion to dismiss the complaint. The district court held that the whistleblower failed to show that the defendants "knowingly made an objectively false representation to the government that caused the government to remit payment" for the procedures at issue, according to The National Law Review.

The whistleblower appealed the decision, and the Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit reversed the dismissal. The appellate court acknowledged the whistleblower is required to allege "the who, what, when, where and how of the alleged claims," but the court excused certain deficiencies in the whistleblower's pleadings. The court said the deficiencies were caused by the whistleblower's "inability to obtain information within the defendant's exclusive control."

Intermountain filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to weigh in on two issues in the case. First, the health system asked the court to resolve a split between the circuits over a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure that requires fraud lawsuits to include specific allegations of fraud. Second, Intermountain asked the Supreme Court to examine whether the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act are constitutional.

The Supreme Court won't weigh in on those issues now that Intermountain has requested the case be dismissed. The health system is asking the court to dismiss the case because it has reached a settlement, according to Law360. However, the details of that settlement have not been released.

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A couple of months ago, on 02 March, YouTube user and researcher Brian McFarlane posted a video in which he discusses the results of an alleged whistleblower who confessed on several posts published on 4Chan social network that he was one of the many responsible for abducting people and taking them into a Virtual Reality Simulation, something that we know today as the Mandela Effect Phenomenon.

According to Mr McFarlane, the first post of the whistleblower says: I am one of 23 scientists responsible for what you call the Mandela Effect. I am here to answer questions regarding the original timeline and why it is happening. I will not disclose where I work or what I do at work.

The alleged scientist explained that, for some reason, people are remembering things that they were not supposed to remember, and this trend will continue to grow in the future. Not everyone is accepting the updates. For some reason, the veil isnt working on some people. Currently, it is spiralling out of control, and we anticipate a larger population that will experience memory anomalies within the next few years, he said. There are differences in memories because you [people affected by the Mandela Effect] are not supposed to remember any of it. In fact, you have been implanted with multiple layers of memories that are false. Somehow, you have remembered and this is very concerning, he added.

Additionally, the unnamed scientist made a shocking statement: we are all already living in a simulation, since our world was destroyed in 2012. This reality is a close copy of what we call the real Earth, he expressed. Unfortunately, the Earth was destroyed in 2012, he asserted.

Unfortunately, there was an extinction-level event. In order to correct this current version and yet similar, we had to give you some updates. These include a larger liver to process the increased toxins, as well as moving some things around because the body would soon be unable to handle the toxicity of the planet, the informer explained. There are many updates to the body. I dont even know where to start, he continued.

Your consciousness was transferred to a server to avoid another extinction-level event. You may have noticed updates to your body as well as environment. I dont have much longer, the man commented.

Draw your own conclusions

For more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc0BFUqs0GU
HCSC Ventures, the wholly owned investment firm of Blues parent Health Care Service Corp., led a $42 million funding round for Solera Health, a social determinants of health startup.

Based in Phoenix, Solera Health pairs health plans and employers to a network of community and digital health solutions that are paid through medical claims. To date, the startup has contracts that cover more than 60 million lives.

The network includes programs for diabetes management, hypertension, stress, sleep, tobacco cessation, and weight management. With the new funding, Solera Health plans to expand its network for behavioral health and social determinants of health services that include food insecurity, medically tailored meals, transportation, fall prevention and social isolation.



Solera Health has raised a total of $72 million.



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Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan of Sussex departed from royal tradition by delivering their son Archie at an American-owned hospital in London, reports USA Today.

While the royal couple declined to share details of their son's birth, a British wire service obtained a copy of Archie's birth certificate May 17. The document shows the duchess gave birth May 6 at The Portland Hospital, which is owned by Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare.

The Portland Hospital is a private facility that often serves wealthy patients, according to CNN. A normal delivery will cost patients about $7,800, while Caesarean section costs are listed at $10,200 on the hospital's website.

Most royals  including Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge  give birth at the Lindo Wing, a private, upscale maternity ward in London.
Airbus already operates its own wing manufacturing facilities for other aircraft in its portfolio, at Broughton in north Wales and at Filton, near Bristol (stock photo)

The new chief executive of Airbus has said talk of the European aerospace giant acquiring Bombardier's Northern Ireland operation is "premature".

Guillaume Faury was initially quoted as telling reporters on Thursday that the Toulouse-based group was "looking at" potentially buying the Canadian firm's aerostructures division here.

"We will make sure that whatever happens preserves our interest," Mr Faury told The Guardian during a visit to London.

However, the chief executive later said any discussion of an acquisition was "premature".

It's two weeks since Bombardier announced its plan to exit the commercial aircraft business and end its 30-year relationship with Northern Ireland.

Its aerostructures operation - which includes sites next to Belfast City Airport, in Newtownabbey, Dunmurry and Newtownards - employs around 3,600 people.

But the local operation has significantly downsized in recent years. In November the Canadian firm announced plans to shed 490 jobs, which would cut its workforce to around half the 7,356 employed in 2002.

Bombardier's NI division specialises in aircraft components, including engine nacelles (casings), fuselages and wings.

Crucially for Airbus, it manufactures wings for the Airbus A220 aircraft. The European airframer acquired a majority stake in the jet series, formerly Bombardier's C-series, last summer.

US aerostructures manufacturer Spirit Aerosystems and Worcestershire-based aerospace components giant GKN have both been tipped as potential front-runners for the Bombardier business.

Kansas-based Spirit Aero, which has a UK base in Prestwick, Scotland, is heavily dependent on Boeing's crisis-hit 737 Max, and has recently expressed interest in acquisitions to diversify its business.

Both firms have so far declined to comment on any potential move. But The Department for Business in London has said it is in "regular conversation with a wide range of companies".

Bombardier has said any potential negotiations around the sale remain confidential.

During his London visit, Mr Faury said Airbus was open to the prospect of the Northern Ireland aerostructures business being run by another third-party supplier.

"We think wings are very close to our own business," he said. "The production could be coming from suppliers if they are reliable and have a long-term perspective. These are the options we will be looking at."

Airbus already operates its own wing manufacturing facilities for other aircraft in its portfolio, at Broughton in north Wales and at Filton, near Bristol.

The Unite Union has warned a venture capital-led acquisition of Bombardier's operation could spell the "kiss of death" for its 3,600 workforce and thousands more in the supply chain.

The union has called for the operation to be nationalised if a new owner seeks to it break up.
Seamus Mallon was driving home one night in 1975 when his car radio picked up a police despatch of a shooting in a townland near the Co Armagh village of Moy.

"That's Dinny's place," he thought. Arriving on the scene, his worst fears were confirmed. Lying dead in the driveway was his close friend Denis Mullen, the first Catholic to get a job with the ambulance service in Dungannon, and, like Mallon, active in the SDLP.

Sitting beside Dinny's body was his three-year-old daughter in her nightdress. Mallon says it's an image that "will stay with me for as long as I live on this earth". Mullen had been murdered by loyalists, probably from the notorious Gleenane Gang.

A Shared Home Place, the first book by the 82-year-old former MP, SDLP deputy leader and Deputy First Minister of the inaugural Assembly after the Belfast Agreement, is peppered with similarly dreadful memories of evil. On another occasion, he recalls two young RUC reservists, Snowdon Corkey and Ronnie Irwin, being murdered in an IRA ambush in Markethill, while Mallon and his then-13-year-old daughter Orla were in the village to visit the shops.

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Snowdon had rolled under a cattle truck and Mallon knelt by him as "the effluent from the cows was seeping down on top of him" and the young man said: "Seamie, tell them all I love them." For anyone still tempted to glorify political violence, his book is timely reminder that remembering will always be a moral act.

For someone so appalled by violence, it's strange to recall that Seamus Mallon was regarded in the 1970s almost as a secret Provo. That's how suspicions festered in the darkness of the Troubles. He was one of a group of SDLP representatives, alongside Paddy Devlin and Ivan Cooper, who put down a motion at the party's 1976 conference for a British withdrawal, while then-leader Gerry Fitt and future leader John Hume urged caution. Many in the party suspected him of being "the enemy within", but Mallon was always willing to compromise.

At the time of the peace process, he found himself sitting next to UDA member John White, who had brutally stabbed SDLP Senator Paddy Wilson and his Protestant girlfriend Irene Andrews to death in 1973. "I felt if this is what I had to put up with to get an inclusive political settlement, so be it," he writes.

That steadfastness to do the right thing is manifest in the latter half of his book, where, having run, perhaps too briskly, through his entire career, he devotes the remainder of its pages to his thoughts on where nationalism should go next, now that a majority for Irish unity is being giddily predicted in some quarters.

Controversially, the central plank of Mallon's new approach is that the traditional benchmark of "50% plus one" in a border poll to trigger the end of Northern Ireland's constitutional place in the UK needs to be amended, replaced by a concept of "parallel consent", whereby there would need to be at least 40% support from unionists before any united Ireland happens.

This has sparked indignation among republicans, who see in it a confirmation of their longstanding belief that Mallon was never a "real" nationalist.

The former MP's answer to that, as articulated in this book, as it has been throughout his life, is that his Irishness is about bringing people together and that unity without broad consent would be a doleful and dangerous thing.

As someone who has walked the walk when it comes to the politics of reconciliation, Mallon has earned the right to be heard; but shifting the goalposts this late in the game would undoubtedly mark a breach of the Belfast Agreement.

Democracy is not an exact science, but watering it down out of a misguided, paternalistic belief in saving the people from their own folly carries risks of its own, as the Brexit debacle proves.

Mallon may be better advised to explore further the notion that any future united Ireland should be federal in nature, an alternative which he also admits in this book he's "attracted to" and it's one perfectly in keeping with his lifelong vision of "an Ulster of generous, garrulous, combative, hard-working and poetic people, united for the first time in common love of their home place".

That he's willing to keep interrogating his own political ideals is a testament to how Seamus Mallon has never stopped fretting about the future of the place he loves so much and which he knows his political opponents love too.

Having lived his entire life on the edge of a village that's still 90% Protestant, he sees no contradiction in being both "an old-style nationalist in the Parnellite tradition" and "a straight-talking Ulsterman".

He also openly recognises in this book that his preference for plain-speaking set him at odds from the start with John Hume, whose infamous 'Humespeak' made unionists suspicious because it "hinted at things without actually saying them".

Tempered by his huge respect for Hume, Mallon is restrained in his criticism of the damage which the Derryman's approach to peacemaking has done to centre-ground politics in Northern Ireland, especially once it was adopted by the two governments; but his dismay at what subsequently unfolded is unmistakable.

The "egocentric" Hume believed the SDLP would be the beneficiaries of peace; Mallon always feared that Sinn Fein would supplant them. Mallon was right.

"Looking back," he writes, "it is extraordinary that the two governments did not tell Sinn Fein ...that, now they were in government, alongside other democratically elected parties, they could not have an illegal, secret army with all its weapons intact at their back." The result was that "we... legitimised them".

It culminated at a dinner in Hillsborough, where Mallon confronted Prime Minister Tony Blair as to why the SDLP and UUP were being deliberately edged out of the picture. With shocking glibness, Blair replies: "The problem with you fellows, Seamus, is that you have no guns."

He's equally critical of Dublin for being "deferential" towards republican terrorists, who "seemed to be able to get everything they wanted at every point of he negotiating process". He recalls being "cut dead" by senior named officials in Dublin, who only wanted to talk to the Provos.

In a way, the publication of Mallon's book bolsters Jeffrey Donaldson's observations this week on how the relationship between Dublin and Belfast has suffered in recent years, while that between Dublin and London has flourished.

The British and Irish governments tended to see Northern Ireland through the same eyes, closing ranks against anyone who urged a different approach. That the centre ground was sacrificed to keep the IRA on board clearly still rankles with him. Why wouldn't it?

One man who does earn his warmest praise is former UUP leader David Trimble, with whom he shared power in the early days of the post-Agreement Executive. Trimble could be truculent, but they "agreed on two key things: that Sinn Fein and the DUP were out to get us and the two governments were not reliable friends". At one point, Trimble says: "They're shafting us. We'll soon be redundant." That turned out to be right, too.

There are lighter moments in the book. Mallon remembers working as a barman in Warrenpoint in the 1950s alongside Ken Maginnis. The future UUP MP threw out a group of drunken troublemakers, who came back later and, unable to find Ken, turned on Seamus instead. "I fought back as well as I could but I was no match for those guys and they gave me a kicking." For years after, he reminded Maginnis: "You owe me one."

In another incident, he describes he and his colleagues in the SDLP driving to Belfast on the day the power-sharing Executive fell in 1974 and being pulled over dramatically by the police, who'd seen Hume crammed in the back seat between two burly figures and assumed he was being kidnapped.

The truth, though, is that Seamus Mallon has been out of politics for more than a decade now and has little to say about the current political situation. His contempt for both the DUP and Sinn Fein is blistering and Brexit clearly makes him see red, but there is no mention in these pages of the collapse of Stormont in 2017, or demands for an Irish Language Act. He doesn't even say what he thought of the "Chuckle Brothers" act of Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness.

There are many occasions in these pages where he could - and, arguably, should - have said much more. For all that, his essential decency remains incontestable.

When he was elected Member of Parliament for Newry and Armagh in 1986, he was asked at the gate for his thoughts on entering the House of Commons for the first time. He quipped that he was "as good as any man here and better than most".

It's a eulogy which could apply to Seamus Mallon's whole life.
As a lifeboat volunteer and dentist, it has not been unknown for Jane Patterson's patients to insist she answers an emergency call while in the middle of treating them.

It is a measure of the high esteem in which the 30-year-old is held that both her employer and her patients are happy to support her in fulfilling her duties to the vital lifeboat service.

Jane is exceptional in many ways and that was recognised recently when she picked up the top accolade of Scotland's young dentist of the year.

Originally from Ballynahinch, she now lives and works in Aberdeen, where she is married to local Coastguard officer Martin Hier.

Her success at the Scottish Dental Awards in Glasgow in April was a real reflection of her outstanding credentials in her profession, where she is especially known for working with children, nervous patients and kids with autism.

Outside her career she is equally driven and as well as volunteering with the RNLI's Kessock Lifeboat, she is a keen triathlete - a punishing sport she recently took up with her husband.

Jane has worked with Scottish dental chain Clyde Munro Torwood since graduating in 2012 and is one of two Northern Irish dentists in her practice.

While Jane collected the Young Clinician of The Year award, one of the most sought-after accolades in Scottish dentistry, her practice was also shortlisted for the dental team of the year award, narrowly missing out on the night.

Jane's parents George, a retired accountant, and Hazel, a retired chemist, still live in Ballynahinch.

Dentistry runs in the family - her only sister Sarah (28) is also in the profession, based in Birmingham, while four cousins are working in Northern Ireland.

Initially, Jane says she wanted to study to be a vet, but after a brief work experience stint in her cousin's dental surgery she decided caring for people's teeth was the career for her.

She says: "I love animals and growing up I wanted to be a vet, but I realised that the job would entail having to put some animals down and decided that it wasn't for me.

"I did a wee bit of work experience in my cousin's dentist surgery and really liked it. My sister was the same.

"She wanted to study architecture and she also went into my cousin's for work experience and decided dentistry was for her as well."

Jane opted to study at Glasgow University - she fell in love with Scotland and decided to stay, quickly becoming a big part of the local community through her volunteer work with the lifeboats.

Her interest in the lifeboats was also influenced by her family and her childhood.

She explains: "My mum is from Ardglass and growing up we were always at the beach and beside the sea in Newcastle or Murlough.

"I always saw the lifeboat volunteers at their station in Newcastle and on open days and to me they were heroes.

"A few years ago, my home life and work life were both settled and I saw that the RNLI was recruiting and decided to apply.

"I had a load of exams and training to do and I have now been part of the full crew for two years. You are given a pager and I try to make myself available as much as possible.

"Clyde Munro has also been brilliant in supporting me to be part of the lifeboat crew, making sure I have the time I need for all of our training or whenever we are called out for an incident.

"My patients have also really supported me. Of course if I am in the middle of a root canal and my pager goes off I am not going to jump and leave, but there have been many patients I have been treating who say to me 'go, go, go' even though I am in the middle of treating them.

"There was one elderly lady who was having a filling when my pager went off.

"I didn't want to leave her, but she insisted that I go and when I came back an hour and a half later she was happily reading a magazine and having a cup of tea waiting for me."

Jane is part of a 16-person team who are supported by a team of 10 shore crew.

The sensitive nature of some of the emergencies and tragedies she is called to means that RNLI rules forbid volunteers from talking about incidents.

Located close to the Caledonian Canal, a lot of her calls are focused on that particular body of water.

She says: "I feel privileged to be part of the Kessock crew and part of something that is so important in the local community.

"It can be busy enough, but it is really variable. Last year we had 26 shouts and this year so far has been quieter, although two Saturdays ago we were called out twice.

"We have a very close team which is like a big family and we support each other.

"We do see a lot of tragic incidents, but at the end of the day you do know you are helping people."

A major part of Jane's success as a dentist is her ability to reassure young children and other nervous patients.

She says that half are affected by previous poor experiences elsewhere, while the other 50% simply have an irrational fear.

Having had a bad experience at the dentist when she was a child has driven her to take time to reassure children and there are no lengths she will not go to in order to make their visit to the surgery is a positive one.

She says: "When I was in primary five my baby teeth wouldn't fall out and my adult teeth were growing and I had to have the baby teeth all removed.

"My clearest big memory of childhood is having those teeth removed. It's not birthdays or Christmases, my one memory is that visit to the dentist.

"If I can do anything to make it a better experience for kids - to put them at ease so that in the future they will always see visiting the dentist as a positive experience - then I will.

"I will do whatever it takes, even if that means having a tea party on the floor to persuade a child to hop into the seat. And I've lost count of the number of treatments I've performed on teddies."

Jane has also become the go-to dentist in the Highlands for working with autistic children, after her name was shared repeatedly across Facebook groups set up by parents of children on the autism spectrum.

Again, she is prepared to go to any lengths to reassure an autistic child and make the experience as stress-free and painless as possible.

She says: "I treated a couple of autistic children and suddenly I had this big following on Facebook.

"I have carried out consultations on the floor, in the waiting room and in the car; whatever it takes. I don't mind, as long as they are happy."

She has also built a powerful rapport with patients, by chatting about their families, hobbies, interests and personal lives.

One in particular stands out for her: "One of my best successes was a young bride-to-be who'd damaged her teeth in a car accident.

"She was already nervous about getting in the chair and the fact her big day was coming up made it even worse. It was around the time I was planning my own wedding, so I knew exactly how important wedding photos would be.

"It was challenging, because she was so nervous. But we overcame that and also got a brilliant result on her teeth with a combination of really nice white fillings, a couple of crowns and a wee bit of Invisalign braces, to do a bit of straightening.

"Not only did she look absolutely beautiful for her wedding, but six months later she was back for her next check-up, hopped into the chair and was totally relaxed. That was so rewarding to see."

Jane met her own husband, Martin Hier, from Fortrose in the Black Isle, while training at a Crossfit gym in Inverness. The couple married two years ago and started to compete in triathlons and Ironman events.

She says: "We went to the same gym and Martin used to keep his dog Skye, a really cute cocker spaniel, in the car and one day she ran over to me and I petted her. We got talking and kept talking and that was that.

"Every time we are going home to visit my parents they insist that we bring Skye with us. She is the baby of the family.

"We both decided that triathlons were something we could do together and we've been doing them for two years now and really enjoy them.

"We've done a few small ones and our biggest was the half Ironman in Edinburgh - we are planning another in Dublin in August, which we will combine with a trip home to Ballynahinch."

Jane is thrilled to have won such a huge accolade and paid tribute to her employer for enabling her to win the award: "It was such a shock when they called my name out. It has been wonderful working with Clyde Munro.

"I can't thank the senior team enough for all the time and resources they have put into the practice, allowing us to continue to provide the highest standards of patient care."

Jane's success in the awards has prompted her bosses to launch a recruitment drive in Northern Ireland.

Clyde Munro Dental Group has 21 practices In Scotland and employs more than 80 clinicians, with around 150 additional employees, and treats more than 160,000 patients.

To fuel its growth, bosses say that attracting and retaining the best staff is essential to long-term success. The firm believes its offering in Scotland could prove highly tempting for the brightest and best in Northern Ireland.

Jacqui Fredrick, group clinical director, said: "Jane is the perfect example of talented young dentists from elsewhere in the UK who have moved to Scotland and found great success as part of the Clyde Munro Group.

"This includes a significant number of dentists from Northern Ireland.

"We don't just offer careers for dentists; we are also keen to hear from dental nurses, hygienists and other clinicians who think that working in Scotland with a fast-growing and progressive dental group is the kind of long-term career they are looking for."
Newry, the bustling frontier town is all swagger, super-pubs and cross-border Euro-trade. It is the Tijuana of Ireland. Thanks to its position on the north-south axis between Belfast and Dublin it has levels of prosperity most towns across the rest of Ireland deeply envy. What's more, its progressive council is supportive of the arts which means that this is one place whose continuing regeneration is assured.

One of the shining jewels of the region is Newry Chamber Music, an ensemble which has interchangeable members who are all brilliant and from across the globe. Led by world-class musicians, local violinist Joanne Quigley and her pianist brother David, NCM is bringing some much-needed class to the city through a steady supply of performances of early and modern music, some featuring participation of contributors such as Ciaran Hinds.

And it was thanks to a recent visit to Joanne and partner Pat's house in nearby Camlough that I became aware of other green shoots of quality appearing in the area. Two recent developments include the refurbished Killeavey Castle which now boasts a recommended restaurant and Finegan & Son, the cafe restaurant which has operated in the handsome Victorian building on the corner of Kildare Street and Sugar Island for some time now.

Finegan & Son is the first outpost of classic, bearded hipsterdom to grace Newry and already you can feel the locals relaxing a bit. Country towns get a bit uptight when introduced to new concepts, particularly in the hospitality sector. Sure what's wrong with a bit of stew instead of all this new foreign stuff?

But Finegan & Son has won this argument if a lunchtime last week was anything to go by. An ample crowd, the kind of numbers to fill 75% of the dining room made for a busy bright atmosphere, helped by the huge amounts of natural light coming in through those big old shop windows.

The mandatory canteen furniture is suitably worn and slightly wonky and there is a woody echo as people walk past although not so much as to interfere with your enjoyment of the Funkees soundtrack.

The lunch menu is appetisingly unencumbered; seven dishes vie for attention, no sorry, six. The Carlingford mussels in Thai broth, coriander and served with toasted sourdough, have already sold out. Double drat. Instead, there is a seafood chowder. Co-director of road trips Jane Williams sets her sights on the chowder (which turns out to be the best she's ever had and features samphire) so I'm left with a choice of burger, FiveMileTown flatbread (goat's cheese with roast pepper, red onion, rocket and sundried tomato pesto), beetroot hummus and avo toast, 28-day dry aged beef chilli tacos or jackfruit bao buns. I ask for guidance and probably because this is Newry and early days yet for the pioneering hipsters, am warned that this is a vegan dish.

Jackfruit is a weird one. Loved by vegetarians and vegans, it has more porky presence than, er, pulled pork itself. It really does look like a cross between pineapple and compressed pulled pork. In a bao bun with kimchi, chilli red cabbage, shredded iceberg and Korean BBQ sauce, it is a thing of substance, flavour, colour and delicious satisfaction.

It is hugely impressive and proves that the need for weighty, meat-like roast dishes will be quickly forgotten when Extinction Rebellion advocates win the day and we outlaw meat production.

The vegan argument becomes increasingly persuasive as the new generation of woke young things grow intolerant of our destructive ways. Unless the beef , pork and poultry sectors respond with a sound counter-argument, the jackfruit may be the thin end of the wedge.

Finegan & Son is a quality stopping point for shoppers flocking to Newry. It's central, comfortable, relaxing and individual. It's also friendly, warm and imbued with a sense of social good health.

There are no fizzy drinks, not even bottled water. The coffees and teas are the drink of choice here. So, let go of your inner culchie, embrace the new bearded era and enjoy food that will make you feel as good as it tastes.

Look out for their evening dinners which I have on good authority, are very high quality indeed.

The Bill

Chowder 7

Bao 7

Total 14

Joris Revisited: From The Naz to Gusto e

This fine Indian restaurant in the Rosetta district off the Ormeau Road ticks all the right boxes

The Naz, 393 Ormeau Road, Belfast

Finegan & Son 9 Kildare Street, Newry

Tel: 028 3025 7141

The Mustard Seed, Main Street, Ballingarry

When in Limerick why not stop and enjoy the quality of food and hospitality at this hilltop restaurant

Gusto e, 1 Lanyon Place, Belfast

It got off to a wobbly start but this new culinary gem is getting some seriously good reviews
Discrimination claims made by a deceased woman against her former employer, Belfast Bible College, have been dismissed by a fair employment tribunal.

The family of the late Colette Wright took the case on behalf of the ex-employee within the college's administration team.

The mother-of-four from Lambeg died in February 2017 but her husband Brendan transferred the legal action to his name and pursued the case against both the college and its director of operations, Alan McCormick.

The backbone of Mrs Wright's case was that Mr McCormick, as an evangelical Protestant, was "consistently nasty" towards her because she was a Catholic from a perceived nationalist background and that he instigated the alleged discriminatory treatment for this reason.

Her family believe she may have been the only Catholic working at the college and was discriminated against on religious/political grounds.

In addition, it was claimed Mrs Wright suffered discrimination due to her age and gender.

All allegations were contested by the college, founded in 1943 and now based in Dunmurry.

Mrs Wright was employed by the college as a part-time receptionist from November 2003 until her voluntary redundancy took effect in April 2016 when she was almost 61 years old.

It was claimed that when interviews were being carried out in 2008 for the director of operations role, Mr McCormick was the only candidate not to acknowledge Mrs Wright as she sat in the reception area when he left the college afterwards.

Mr McCormick denied that he would have deliberately ignored Mrs Wright and said he may have been preoccupied with the interview.

It was conceded that there was no way at this point Mr McCormick could have known or suspected Mrs Wright was Catholic.

Mrs Wright had also claimed that Mr McCormick drew her religion to the attention of other members of staff, one of whom allegedly said to her: "Alan tells me you are a Catholic."

The tribunal heard that she was annoyed because "it was not Mr McCormick's business to disclose her religion to people at the college".

In another incident, Mrs Wright claimed that she was asked by a colleague what church she went to, who responded "Oh" and walked away when she told him that she attended St Colman's Roman Catholic Church.

In his evidence, Mr McCormick categorically denied ever having discussed her religion with anyone else.

On a further occasion, Mrs Wright claimed he shouted at her for not passing on a message from his wife.

Mr McCormick had asked her to find out or inform him if his wife called as his mother was ill.

He was frustrated later on to learn from Mrs Wright that she had forgotten to tell him about a phone call from his wife.

Mr McCormick admitted that "in the heat of the moment" he had reprimanded her but denied shouting at her.

Mr Wright told the tribunal that his wife "was made to feel uncomfortable" as the only Catholic working in an evangelical college when she was asked to photocopy "anti-Catholic literature" about the Protestant reformer Martin Luther.

He said his wife hadn't made a big deal of it at the time and didn't complain as it was part of her job to photocopy teaching and other materials.

The tribunal also heard that Mrs Wright believed Mr McCormick was behind the decision to make her redundant in late 2015 and she regarded him as "unapproachable and not trustworthy".

The hearing was told that until this point she had "appeared to be very happy" working for the college and had raised no formal complaint or grievance.

However, the college said that Mr McCormick had not been the "decision-maker" when it came to redundancy.

The nine-day tribunal later determined Mrs Wright's unlawful discrimination claims be dismissed in their entirety.

It also ordered that an agreed sum of 1,099 in unpaid wages be paid to her family.

Yesterday, Prof Ken Brown, chair of the college board, said: "While disappointed that any proceedings were brought, since we would prefer to handle matters relationally, we welcome the decision of the tribunal in rejecting all claims of discrimination, thereby exonerating the college and its staff member.

"We hope that the tribunal's conclusion brings resolution for all involved."
Archbishop of Erbil: Is the US Abandoning Assyrians At Risk in Iraq?

Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil speaks at Georgetown University on Feb. 15. ( Jonah McKeown/CNA) Archbishop Bashar Warda, one of the leading voices on behalf of persecuted and displaced Christians in Iraq, released today an urgent statement regarding the retreat of U.S. personnel from key areas in the country.

"We are gravely concerned regarding the recent draw down of the U.S. presence in Iraq," the archbishop said. "Having faced genocide at the hands of ISIS, our shattered communities have drawn immense hope from the promise of the American commitment to Iraqi minority communities spearheaded by the Vice President."

Warda, as Archbishop of Erbil in the Kurdistan region, received tens of thousands of Christian and Yazidi refugees displaced from the Nineveh Plain after ISIS took large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate in 2012.

"The 2011 pullout by the last administration created the vacuum which allowed ISIS to emerge," the archbishop said. "A new vacuum created by American disengagement will likely meet with a similarly unhappy result. We urgently await clarification from the U.S. government concerning its commitments to the endangered minorities of Iraq."

On Wednesday, the U.S. State Department ordered the evacuation of all non-emergency U.S. government employees at the American embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Erbil. The Trump administration said the order was given in relation to a threat connected to Iran. Iraqi authorities have expressed doubt about the threat. U.S. lawmakers have asked President Donald Trump for more information about the situation.

Stephen Rasche, counsel for the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil, told CNA that Archbishop Warda is responding to this partial evacuation.

"We are responding particularly today to unclear information over the past several days from various sources within the U.S. government that the U.S. is preparing to pull back, at least in part, from its prior commitments regarding support to endangered minorities in Iraq," Rasche said.

Rasche said that Christians and other minorities are increasingly nervous because "the Church in Iraq has yet to receive a clear statement from anyone in the U.S. Government as to what the drawdown of personnel means for efforts to help these minorities."

On October 25, 2017, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence committed to defending persecuted Christians in the Middle East.

He told a crowd gathered in Washington D.C. for the annual summit of In Defense of Christians (IDC) that the US "will no longer rely on the United Nations alone to assist persecuted Christians and minorities in the wake of genocide and the atrocities of terrorist groups."

"The United States will work hand in hand from this day forward with faith-based groups and private organizations to help those who are persecuted for their faith. This is the moment, now is the time, and America will support these people in their hour of need," Pence also said.
Lyra McKees mum Joan Lawrie with daughter Nichola Corner at an event last year.

The sister of murdered journalist Lyra McKee pledged she would never be forgotten after collecting a posthumous accolade on her behalf.

Ms McKee was the recipient of the Journalists' Charity Award at the Society of Editors UK awards ceremony yesterday.

Her sister Nichola Corner received a standing ovation when she accepted the award on Lyra's behalf at Savoy Place in London.

Her mother Joan was also in attendance.

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"Since Lyra was taken from us in the most horrific way, our family has said that her death should not be in vain and the ideals she held dearly are remembered," Nichola said.

"We have been deeply moved by the support we have received and are very thankful that Lyra's qualities as a person and as a committed journalist have been recognised with this special award."

The accolade was presented almost a month since the 29-year-old writer's killing by a gunman.

She was shot while observing street rioting in the Creggan area of Londonderry on April 18.

Dissident republican group the New IRA has admitted responsibility for her murder. Yesterday, the PSNI officer leading the investigation issued a direct appeal to the gunman responsible to hand himself in to police.

Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy said the investigation into her death remains "difficult and challenging".

Addressing the murderer directly via the BBC, he stressed the journalist's family and loved-ones deserve answers.

"Come and provide an explanation. Lyra McKee's family deserve an explanation for the events of that night and thus far not one single person has provided a direct explanation to Lyra's family," he said.

He continued that the community had been "incredibly supportive" to the investigation and consistent in its condemnation of the killing.

But he urged anyone with "information as to who the gunman is, where the gunman went, where the gun is or has been, to come forward and talk to me".

Since Ms McKee's death her work as a journalist has been widely shared on social media.

She was published in a wide variety of publications including Mosaic, Private Eye, BuzzFeed News and the Belfast Telegraph, as well as serving as editor for news website Mediagazer. In 2016 Forbes Magazine named her as one of its '30 under 30 in media'.

James Brindle, chief executive of the Journalists' Charity, said Ms McKee's death has been a huge loss to journalism. "What we learned about Lyra in the hours and days that followed her death showed all too clearly that we'd lost a journalist with very special qualities," he said.

"Lyra's courage in bearing witness to violence on the streets of Derry is the type of commitment that journalists admire and hope to possess themselves.

"In addition, she championed the under-represented, gave a voice to those who weren't being heard and held those in power to account. She reached out across the journalistic community to offer her support to people she didn't even know - changing lives with a hand of friendship."

Today Ms McKee's partner Sara Canning will address a marriage equality rally in Belfast, calling for Parliament to legislate for same-sex marriage here.
Belfast MMA fighter Leah McCourt at new store The CBD Farmacy in Belfast

The first in a retail chain of stores dedicated to selling cannabis oil in Northern Ireland will open its doors in Belfast city centre today.

CBD Farmacy in Rosemary Street will be the first of 15 stores to operate across Ireland.

Parent owner the Plant Farmacy has invested 750,000 and hopes to create 65 jobs within 18 months.

Cannabis contains different chemical compounds, or cannabinoids, the most well-known being CBD and THC.

THC causes the psychoactive "high" of the drug and remains illegal, while products containing CBD can be sold as long as they contain little or no THC.

Many users believe CBD oil has medicinal properties like reducing inflammation, pain or anxiety, but this has not been conclusively proven by scientists.

Last November the Government also relaxed rules to allow doctors to prescribe cannabis products.

This followed a number of high profile cases, such as that of Co Tyrone boy Billy Caldwell, whose epilepsy appeared to be improved by cannabis oil.

CBD Farmacy produces its own products at a facility in Belfast, currently making around 300 bottles an hour.

Its managing director Brian Geraghty stressed there is demand from local consumers for CBD products.

"I think it was only a matter of time before cannabis-based products hit Northern Ireland," he said. The market is estimated to grow by 700% by 2020 so it's exciting times."

Mr Geraghty added: "CBD is at an early stage in its life cycle, the scientific research is under way but the public want to use it."

The business will also be running treatment rooms which offer CBD oil massages.

He said the products have already proved popular with athletes, such as Belfast Mixed Martial Arts fighter Leah McCourt

Others, however, have dismissed it as a health fad and one expert even warned it was a "big risk" to use CBD bought from the high street to treat medical conditions.

Dr Tom Freeman of the University of Bath's Addiction and Mental Health Group said last month there was an "information vacuum" over CBD oil. "The profession of medicine is based on clinical trials and scientific evidence and we don't have that for these others," he said.

"CBDs can be effective as a medicine, but these other products haven't been tested and so it is not a suitable medicine and it is a big risk that people are using these."

Mr Geraghty said CBD Farmacy was not promoting the products as medicine, and advised anyone with health problems to consult their doctor first.
A row has broken out following complaints by unionist politicians about views expressed by lecturers at Queen's University.

The University College Union (UCU) at Queen's has hit out at what it termed "wholly unfair and worryingly authoritarian attacks" on local academics' right to voice opinions.

It follows repeated criticism of some staff at the university, notably by the DUP and TUV, in recent months.

The union has now called on Queen's to "robustly and unequivocally reject demands by politicians to censure or silence academic staff".

But TUV leader Jim Allister dismissed the comments as "laughable".

There have been a series of clashes between unionists and Queen's in recent months.

Earlier this year a DUP councillor wrote to the university's vice-chancellor after a Queen's professor, John D Brewer, tweeted that "hell is too good" for Brexiteers.

And last year Mr Allister expressed "strong disquiet" after Brian Walker, an emeritus professor, questioned what he called the over-representation of certain political views on BBC Radio Ulster, including its use of Mr Allister.

The Queen's UCU branch also referred to remarks by former DUP minister Nelson McCausland in this newspaper.

Queen's UCU said unionist complaints were "part of a concerning pattern".

They added: "It's becoming depressingly and predictably familiar: an academic has their say on issues of public interest or political importance - as academics do worldwide - and a local politician petitions the university to have them disciplined or gagged.

"It's an outrageous attack on democracy and the values of free speech that our society holds dear."

The union said calls for universities to discipline employees for expressing differing opinions were "a serious misunderstanding of the role of academia".

It added: "In a democratic society and for the public interest, it is vital that scholars retain the freedom to explore the world they live in, challenge views and engage in intellectual debates, without fear of repression, censorship, or policing to fit the ideology of any political party or private interest." It cited the 1988 Education Reform Act, which gives academics in the UK the legal right "to question and test received wisdom and to put forward new ideas and controversial or unpopular opinions without placing themselves in jeopardy of losing their jobs or the privileges they may have".

But Mr Allister said the union's claims were without foundation.

He said: "The comments by the University College Union at Queen's are frankly laughable.

"They complain about an alleged attack on freedom of speech because of a letter which I wrote to Queen's following an appearance by Professor Brian Walker. Ironically, he had complained about me being allowed to express my freedom of speech and sought to have me silenced."

He added: "Of course academics have freedom of speech. But freedom of speech means that those who disagree with academics have the right to express their views as well."
Martin McElkerney, who was jailed for his role in the 1982 booby-trap explosion

A former soldier who served with one of INLA child killer Martin McElkerneys three victims has said that guilt may have been behind his decision to shoot himself in a Belfast graveyard.

The 57-year-old ex-prisoner and former leader of the INLA in Belfast died yesterday in hospital, almost 24 hours after he turned a gun on himself at the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery.

He was discovered with a bullet wound after 2pm on Thursday and airlifted to the Royal Victoria Hospital where he was placed on life support before later passing away with family members by his side.

Police said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the shooting.

The west Belfast man was jailed in 1987 for his role in a 1982 booby-trap explosion that killed two local schoolboys and a soldier. McElkerney was identified in court as the lookout for the INLA bomber who planted the device at Divis Flats. Kevin Valliday (11), his friend Stephen Bennet (14) and 20-year-old Lance Bombardier Kevin Waller all died as a result of the blast.

Lance Bombardier Waller, who served with the Royal Artillery Regiment, died of his injuries four days after the explosion, just hours after the funeral of Kevin Valliday, who died from his wounds the day after the attack. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last night, Mr Wallers colleague John Blackwood (56), who left the Army in 1986, paid tribute to his friend as a great soldier and a really nice man.

Killing the two schoolchildren and Kevin has obviously been on this guys conscience and that guilt has maybe been at the back of his mind, claimed Mr Blackwood. Its sad. I dont hate McElkerney or any of the terrorists; they were just doing what they thought was right.

Its sad it has ended this way, but everyones at rest now, I suppose.

Mr Blackwood, who revealed that he had only avoided being posted to Northern Ireland as a result of an accident, said that the death of Bradford man Mr Waller had been a terrible blow.

But he said he believed that it must have been even more traumatic for the families of the schoolboys.

I was in Germany when we learned that hed been killed; we were devastated, it was horrendous, he said.

The worst part of the whole scenario, the most horrific aspect of it all, was the schoolchildren getting killed.

Yes, Kevin was killed, but he was there to do a job and he knew the risks.

He was trained and he lost his life, but thats what happens in conflict.

But the two schoolboys were completely innocent victims  their deaths must have been so difficult for their families to understand.

A spokeswoman last night told the Belfast Telegraph that the Valliday family did not wish to comment on McElkerneys death.

In 1999 McElkerney was among the first INLA prisoners to be released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
European Election candidate Mark Durkan has hit back at Sinn Fein's claim that Fine Gael supports militarisation of the EU saying that he never supported bombing anywhere, but that the rival party can't say the same.

Mr Durkan made the pointed reference to Sinn Fein's support for the Provisional IRA's campaign of terror as he responded to criticisms made by his Dublin opponent Lynn Boylan during the campaign.

Ms Boylan has claimed that Fine Gael can't be trusted with Irish neutrality and wants further integration and militarisation in the EU. Mr Durkan said Sinn Fein's claims come from "a playbook of innuendo against Europe".

He said he was someone who negotiated for peace in Northern Ireland and voted against military action in Syria and Libya when he was a Westminster MP.

"I'm someone that's never supported bombing. I didn't support bombing in this country, I haven't supported it in any other country. Sinn Fein cannot say that," he added.

Mr Durkan also referred to the use of clips of European Parliament speeches by Sinn Fein leader and former MEP Mary Lou McDonald by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party.

Its YouTube page features a montage including a variety of contributions made by Ms McDonald in 2008 when the Lisbon Treaty was being debated ahead of the first referendum, when it was rejected by Irish voters.

Ms McDonald said the treaty "gives powerful EU institutions a free hand to further militarise our union".

Mr Durkan claimed Sinn Fein's message provided "grist to Nigel Farage's mill".

He added: "Sinn Fein claim to have moved from being Eurosceptic to being Euro critical but it's clear that they essentially are backing vocalists for Euro disrupters."

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A Sinn Fein spokesperson responded, saying: "This is a desperate attempt by Mark Durkan to make himself relevant."

The spokesperson claimed: "His ignorance to the militarisation of the EU is astonishing, especially when senior European figures have been so open about their support for the establishment of an EU army."

They added that Mr Durkan "seems to forget which party banner he is running under".

Meanwhile, a row erupted between Fine Gael and RTE after Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty claimed Mr Durkan was "excluded" from an upcoming TV debate.

Ms Doherty said her party was not allowed choose which of their Dublin candidates will appear on Monday night's 'Claire Byrne Live' debate as the criteria set out by RTE meant Mr Durkan was disqualified. She said former Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald will take part in the debate but that "RTE took that choice away from us".

RTE's managing editor of current affairs David Nally said: "RTE current affairs decides who appears on its programmes in the best interests of the viewing public and not anybody else."

He said RTE's criteria for the debates are that where a party has two candidates in the same constituency, the one that is currently elected will be invited.

He said: "Frances Fitzgerald is currently elected to the Dail and Mark Durkan is not currently elected to any body. An RTE statement said that Mr Durkan was included in the 'Week in Politics' debate earlier this month.
The late Ian Paisley's brother-in-law and election agent has quit the DUP over the selection of openly gay Alison Bennington as a candidate in the local council elections.

The Irish News has reported that Rev James Beggs has decided to leave the DUP over the issue, saying he "wasn't happy with the direction the party was going in".

Rev Beggs was the minister of Ballymena Free Presbyterian Church from 1966-2000, he is now retired but holds the honorary position of Minister Emeritus at the church.

The 84-year-old is married to Ian Paisley's sister Margaret who he said has never been a member of the party. He acted as the former First Minister's election agent on a number of occasions.

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Rev Beggs said the selection of Ms Bennington as a candidate had been the final straw which caused him to leave the party.

Ms Bennington was the DUP's first openly gay candidate and made history when she was elected to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council earlier this month.

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"I resigned when this news came out. I have to do what I feel I must do as a Christian minister," Rev Beggs told the Irish News.

He said that he had been a "paid-up member" of the party until recently, but felt that he had no choice but to resign.

Rev Beggs had previously said that the decision to run Ms Bennington was "contrary to the word of God".

"This decision to run somebody LGBT, I'm totally opposed to that," he said.

"The word of God outlines the fact that it is against homosexuality  that's quite clear from scripture."

Rev Begg's resignation comes after former DUP Health Minister Jim Wells said that Ian Paisley would be "aghast" at the decision to run an openly gay person as a DUP candidate.

Mr Wells said that a number of party members and representatives at all levels of the party were upset by the decision.

While the DUP currently opposes same-sex marriage, party leader Arlene Foster said that Ms Bennington was a "committed unionist" and that's why she joined the DUP.

However she did acknowledge that a number of party members were "uncomfortable" with the decision.

The DUP has historically been seen as hostile towards the LGBT community. In the late 1970's then leader Mr Paisley led a 'Save Ulster from Sodomy' campaign in an attempt to prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Northern Ireland.
The wife of a Garda officer murdered by the IRA in 1996 has said it will be "a sad day for the world if the mayor of New York is successful" in his bid for the US presidency.

Anne McCabe, whose husband Jerry was gunned down in Adare, Co Limerick during the attempted robbery of a post office van, was among those who sent a letter of complaint to the mayor when he renamed St Patrick's Day as 'Gerry Adams Day' in New York in 2018.

Bill de Blasio, who cannot run again for mayor after two four year terms, has confirmed his plan to challenge President Donald Trump in the race for the White House in 2020.

Anne McCabe, a mum-of-five and now in her 60s, has lived 23 years without her husband and has spent a lot of time in New York trying to counter the Irish republican charm offensive.

She was instrumental in setting up an academic exchange programme at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York in honour of her husband shortly after his murder, to promote the sharing of practices and technologies in policing and criminal justice between Ireland and the United States. She called Mr de Blasio's celebration of Gerry Adams last year, which he said was in recognition of the "power of peace", an "insult" and "sadly misguided".

"IRA/Sinn Fein never once apologised or even condemned the murder of my Jerry. He wasn't involved in the Troubles. He was just doing his job."

"I've been in a room with Mr Adams in New York and see how he works it. Unfortunately, people like the mayor of New York are sadly misguided when it comes to what happened in Ireland north and south over the years. "I confronted Mr Adams on one of his fundraising visits, back in 2006. He didn't know I was there, but I challenged him. He refused to acknowledge my questions. That he still persists in saying he was never in the IRA is simply laughable, but ill-informed politicians around the world like Mr de Blasio fawn over his words.

"I have never met Mr de Blasio, but it says a lot about him if he's willing to take Mr Adams' opinions as fact without even trying to understand what actually happened in Northern Ireland over the last 50 years.

"If the mayor of New York is intent on running for the Presidency and is successful it will be a sad day for the victims of the IRA to have him sitting in the White House as the most powerful man in the world."

Four IRA men were convicted of manslaughter over the death of Jerry McCabe and his widow had to campaign to prevent their early release under the Good Friday Agreement.

Six victims' families wrote to the 58-year-old mayor after he renamed St Patrick's Day in the city in 2018, but over a year later have yet to receive a response, accusing Mr de Blasio of treating them with contempt.

Earlier this year the mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, posthumously honoured Martin McGuinness for "courageous service in the military".

Following an outcry from victims, she apologised for "the pain this certificate has caused".

Launching his Presidential bid, Mr de Blasio, a Democrat, said he was running "because it's time we put working people first." He has been highly critical of Mr Trump on issues such as climate change, immigration and policing, and used Trump Tower in New York to announce his intention to run for President.

Mr De Blasio faces an uphill struggle to stand out among nearly two dozen Democratic contenders, who include former US vice president Joe Biden US senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Although a European Arrest Warrant was issued, it was challenged, reaching the European Court of Justice (stock photo)

A man extradited from the Republic to face a murder trial has been refused bail to return to Dublin for his daughter's first communion.

Francis Lanigan, who lived under an assumed name in the Republic for 14 years, had fought an unsuccessful six-year legal battle not to be returned to Northern Ireland.

The 55-year-old former west Belfast man is accused of the May 1998 murder of John Stephen Knocker, who was shot dead in the car park of the Glengannon Hotel in Dungannon, Co Tyrone.

He is also accused of possession of a 9mm Browning pistol said to have been used in the shooting.

Defence lawyer Barry Gibson said Lanigan's brother was prepared to lodge a cash surety in court, and to travel with him to Dublin and to remain with him over the weekend during the family celebration.

Mr Gibson, while acknowledging that Lanigan had absented himself, fleeing to the Republic and contesting his extradition, said he felt "his life was very much under threat at the time".

However, he said Lanigan had previously been on bail for over three years and had shown he could honour bail conditions and did not "flee when matters were coming to a head".

Crown lawyer Robin Steer said Lanigan had absconded and had been living under an assumed name for some 14 years, obtaining a driving licence, bank account and national insurance number.

When eventually arrested, he fought his extradition, claiming that as a republican he would not get a fair trial.

Refusing bail, Mr Justice Colton said there was a clear history were Lanigan had absconded and obtained a new identity, not only in name, but also with a bank account and tax and national insurance, "a sophisticated attempt at evasion".

Mr Justice Colton added that he could not ignore his previous history, pointing to the very real risk of his absconding again, and said that while in the Republic, the court would have no supervision over him or his bail.

A previous court had heard that Lanigan's days on the run, living and working in Dublin as self-employed barber Ciaran McCrory, came to an end with his arrest in January 2013 after a DNA test on a coffee cup seized by an undercover Garda detective established his true identity.

Although a European Arrest Warrant was issued, it was challenged, reaching the European Court of Justice.

During multiple challenges, Lanigan claimed his life would be at risk from loyalist and republican paramilitaries if extradited, and that on the night of Mr Knocker's shooting, he was actually the target.
A mother-of-nine who gave her friend money to buy drugs which subsequently killed the younger woman was handed a suspended sentence yesterday.

Michelle Gill-Hamner (45) admitted being concerned in the supply of class A diamorphine, and also being concerned in the supply of class C diazepam, on September 14, 2017.

The charges arose from the death of 24-year-old Rose Wilson, whose lifeless body was found in a bedroom in Gill-Hamner's then flat on Dunluce Avenue in Belfast on the evening of September 15, 2017.

At the time of her death Ms Wilson was eight weeks pregnant.

Gill-Hamner, from Chapel Hill Mews in Lisburn, was handed a two-year sentence, suspended for two years, at Belfast Crown Court.

During yesterday's sentencing Judge Paul Ramsey described Ms Wilson's death as "premature and tragic". Issuing a warning about the dangers of drugs, Judge Ramsey said: "The family of the deceased will not be the last or the first family to have to go through this terrible, terrible tragedy."

The emergency services were called to the flat around 7.35pm on the evening in question following a 999 call made by Gill-Hamner. Ms Wilson's body was found lying on the floor in a bedroom, and was displaying signs of rigor mortis.

Gill-Hamner made a number of comments to police at the scene, and said the deceased was a friend who had been staying with her. She said she had lent her friend money to buy drugs, that they had taken diazepam and pregabalin together as well as drinking alcohol, and that her friend had a bag of heroin and had gone into the bedroom to inject the drug.

Gill-Hamner also said she went to bed in the early hours, woke at 7.30pm that evening and had gone to speak to her friend, but found her lying on the bedroom floor, cold and unresponsive.

A post-mortem was conducted on the 24-year-old, and the cause of death was attributed to the intoxicating effects of heroin, diazepam and pregabalin. The autopsy also showed two needle puncture marks on the young woman's arm, as well as her pregnancy.

Gill-Hamner was arrested and interviewed on three occasions. While she answered "no comment" to some questions, she told police she lent her friend money to buy the drugs - but said: "I didn't make her buy the drugs and I didn't make her take the drugs."

It was also noted that before the emergency services arrived at the flat, there had been a clean-up and no traces of drug-taking were apparent.

Judge Ramsey said he accepted Gill-Hamner was now seeking treatment for "chronic drug use" and that the remorse she has expressed concerning Ms Wilson's death was genuine.

Regarding the offences, Judge Ramsey said Gill-Hamner pleaded guilty to essentially facilitating the purchase of drugs in what he described as a "heartbreaking case".
Patricia Fleming says that she is taking part in the Big Lunch walk so that she can be a good example to her teenage children

A fifth of people in Northern Ireland have never spoken to their neighbours.

The finding comes as two locals set off on a two-week walk across the province aiming to bring people closer together.

While Northern Ireland prides itself on strong communities, research shows neighbourhoods are in fact drifting apart.

Almost 70% of us do not really know the people next door - and 46% don't even know their names.

Nearly three-quarters of people here would not introduce themselves to a new neighbour.

The research was commissioned by The Big Lunch, a UK-wide initiative funded by the National Lottery aiming to bring communities closer.

But to show that things don't have to be that way, Rory Mullan from Limavady and Patricia Fleming from Belfast will spend the next fortnight walking around towns and villages and meeting inspirational local people ahead of this year's Big Lunch weekend.

A Big Lunch can be anything from a cuppa to a huge spread for the whole neighbourhood and encourages people to spend some time with others in their local community by sharing food, fun and conversation.

Rory (38) and Patricia (53) set off from Belfast yesterday and will finish in Derry on May 31.

In between they will meet individuals and organisations committed to making their local community a better place and encourage more people to sign up for The Big Lunch on June 1 and 2.

Originally from Portaferry, Patricia, who is married to Matthew (50), is taking part in the walk to be a role model for their 14-year-old twins Lily and Eva by emphasising the importance of community.

She said: "It's staggering to think that so few people in Northern Ireland actually know their neighbours.

"I am the type of person who would always make a point of getting to know people who live on our street.

"Growing up in a rural farming community, everybody knew everyone and when I moved to Belfast it was the opposite, but I made the effort to get to know people as that's what I have always known.

"These days people are rushing about more due to work and family commitments or activities while social media may also be a factor."

Rory, who now lives in Derry City, says he looks forward to increasing community activism in the places he visits.

Anyone who would like to host A Big Lunch and get to know their neighbours better can register for a free pack at thebiglunch.com
A helicopter came into contact with power lines.

Over 1200 homes lost power in the Portrush area on Saturday after a helicopter hit power lines.

The incident took place near the Magherabuoy Road around 11am and the helicopter involved was forced to make an emergency landing in a nearby field.

There were no reports of any injuries during the incident.

Repairs were carried out quickly and power was restored around 40 minutes later.

"A helicopter came into contact with an overhead line in the Portrush area at 11:00 interrupting supplies to approximately 1,240 customers," a Northern Ireland Electricity Networks spokesperson said.

"Power was restored to approximately 1,200 customers at 11:41. Emergency crews are working to repair the damage and to restore power to the remaining 40 customers as soon as possible."
Police have discovered a viable pipe-bomb type device during a security alert in Banbridge, Co Down.

Around 25 homes were evacuated during the alert in the Hawthorne Hill area on Saturday morning.

The alert has now ended and residents have been allowed to return to their homes.

Police said the device has been taken away for further forensic examination.

Local DUP MLA Carla Lockhart said the security alert caused significant disruption for everyone involved.

I condemn this type of activity in what is a quiet residential area of Banbridge. Families were disrupted and had to be evacuated to a local parish hall. Most alarmingly a viable device has been taken away for further investigation," the Upper Bann MLA said.

"I encourage anyone with any information to come forward to the PSNI and report it. It is important that the police apprehend those responsible. It is imperative that information is forthcoming.

"Thankfully no one was hurt or seriously injured. I trust the families who had to suffer significant disruption will have normality restored.

Detective Inspector McCamley said that the police investigation was ongoing.

Police would like to thank the local community for their patience while we worked to keep them safe. Keeping people safe is of paramount importance and we will not take any chances," he said.

"I would appeal to anyone who noticed any suspicious activity in the area or anyone with any information that could help our investigation to contact detectives in Lurgan on 101, quoting reference number 81 of 18/05/19.

"Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime."
UUP candidate Danny Kennedy with party leader Robin Swann at yesterdays European election manifesto launch at the Stormont Hotel

The Ulster Unionist candidate for Europe has said a no-deal Brexit would be "a step into the unknown".

Launching his bid at the Stormont Hotel yesterday, Danny Kennedy called for a "sensible Brexit" that protected businesses, the agri-food sector and jobs for young people.

He also criticised those calling for a second referendum or using Brexit to push for a border poll.

"We need a sensible Brexit. That is what this election is about," he said.

"It is not about refighting the referendum.

"The days of Remainers and Leavers came to an end once the people of the United Kingdom cast their vote in 2016.

"This is about electing voices who will be there to make sure Northern Ireland does not get a raw deal."

Mr Kennedy is competing for one of three seats.

Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson and the DUP's Diane Dodds are favoured to retain their seats, while Alliance leader Naomi Long and SDLP leader Colum Eastwood are also standing.

During his speech, Mr Kennedy said preventing a hard border with the Republic was just as important as preventing one down the Irish Sea.

"I'm a border unionist. I've spent most of my life in south Armagh," he said.

"I understand the border, I know what happens and how it happens.

"I know how crucial it is to trade, to business and to our economy and I also know that we cannot return to a hard border.

"But I have to say that I am disappointed that those who have been loud opponents to a hard border on the island fall silent when it comes to the prospect of a hard border in the Irish Sea."

On the threat of a no-deal, he said: "We simply can't afford to take a step into the unknown.

"I understand that people are keen to see Brexit delivered, but it has to be done in a way which protects business, our agri-food sector and gives maximum opportunity to our young people for the future."

The former Stormont minister warned voters that nationalism was attempting to use Brexit "as a key opportunity to realise their ultimate ideal" of a border poll.

"That is why it is vital that I am returned as a pro-Union voice who will help to bring some certainty, rather than the instability being offered by those who will seek another referendum, whether on EU membership or Irish unity."

Unlike the Alliance and SDLP leaders, Mr Kennedy promised his role as an MEP would be his only job even if the term lasted five weeks, five months or five years.

"But even if it is for a short period of time, it does not mean those who are elected will not have huge implications for Northern Ireland's long-term future," he said.

He added that a no-deal has the potential "to do serious if not fatal damage to many of our industries".

"As someone who loves Northern Ireland, I couldn't stand up and advocate that and I'm astonished that anyone who loves the Union as much as I do would be prepared to tolerate that," he said.

Earlier, Ulster Unionist leader Robin Swann said: "This election is about who you want to represent you in Brussels now, not a re-run of a vote taken in 2016.

"It is about looking to the future, and the future relationship that the United Kingdom - including Northern Ireland - has with the European Union."
The partner of murdered journalist Lyra McKee made a public plea for same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland as she addressed a rally of thousands in Belfast.

Sara Canning told the crowds gathered outside City Hall that a law change would be a "win" for everyone in the region.

After being warmly applauded on to the stage, Ms Canning questioned why same-sex couple were treated differently in Northern Ireland than the rest of the UK, where same-sex marriage is legal.

"We pay our taxes, we are governed by the same laws, we live deeply and we love dearly - why should we not be afforded the same rights in marriage?" she asked.

"Equal marriage is not a green or orange issue, a demand of just one side or the other and it shouldn't be a political football.

"Same-sex couples come from every single political, religious, cultural, and racial background. A vote passing on equal marriage would not be a 'win' for any one side, it would be a win for all sides."

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Police on the ground estimated that around 7,000 to 8,000 people took part in Saturday's noisy and colourful protest.

LIVE: Marriage Equality Rally in Belfast Posted by Belfast Telegraph on Saturday, May 18, 2019

Ahead of the rally, Ms Canning had revealed that she challenged the Prime Minister on the issue when she attended Ms McKee's funeral in Belfast last month, urging Theresa May to step in and legislate on marriage laws above the head of the collapsed Stormont Assembly.

Ms McKee, a 29-year-old journalist and author, was shot dead by dissident republicans as she observed rioting in Londonderry on April 18.

The region's ban on same sex marriage is one of the key disputes at the heart of Northern Ireland's powersharing impasse, with the Democratic Unionists resisting calls from Sinn Fein for a law change.

The socially conservative DUP is firmly opposed to any redefinition of the law, insisting marriage should be between a man and a woman. A majority of MLAs were in favour of lifting the ban when the issue last came to the floor of the Assembly in November 2015, but the DUP triggered a contentious voting mechanism - the petition of concern - to block it.

Ms McKee's death has injected fresh impetus into political efforts to resolve the deadlock at Stormont, with the UK and Irish governments convening a new talks process in the hope of resolving stand-offs over same-sex marriage and other key sticking points, such as Irish language legislation.

Campaigners demanding marriage law reform marched through Belfast city centre before gathering outside City Hall for the rally.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Sara Canning (front centre), partner of murdered journalist Lyra McKee, marching with protesters through Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. Photo credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Sara Canning (front centre), partner of murdered journalist Lyra McKee, marching with protesters through Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Sara Canning (front centre left), partner of murdered journalist Lyra McKee, marching with protesters through Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Sara Canning (front centre), partner of murdered journalist Lyra McKee, marching with protesters through Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Sinn Fein deputy leader Michelle O'Neill (right) and Sinn Fein MEP Martina Anderson take part in a march in Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA People take part in a march in Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA People take part in a march in Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA People take part in a march in Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Rainbow Project director John O'Doherty (right) and his partner take part in a march in Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA People take part in a march in Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Sara Canning (front centre), partner of murdered journalist Lyra McKee, marching with protesters through Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA SDLP leader Colum Eastwood takes part in a march in Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA People take part in a march in Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA People take part in a march in Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA People take part in a march in Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Sara Canning (centre), partner of murdered journalist Lyra McKee, speaking in Belfast city centre during a march demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. Photo credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Sara Canning, partner of murdered journalist Lyra McKee, speaking in Belfast city centre during a march demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Rainbow Project director John O'Doherty (right) and his partner on stage during a march in Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Politics. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Alan Lewis- PhotopressBelfast.co.uk 18-5-2019 Same sex marriage protest at Belfast city hall today where murdered journalist Lyra McKee's partner Sarah Canning called from the platform for legislation to allow same sex marriage to be introduced in Northern Ireland and told the crowd that she had dreamed of marrying "the love of her life" before Lyra was shot dead by the New IRA. Photopress Belfast Alan Lewis- PhotopressBelfast.co.uk 18-5-2019 Same sex marriage protest at Belfast city hall today where murdered journalist Lyra McKee's partner Sarah Canning called from the platform for legislation to allow same sex marriage to be introduced in Northern Ireland and told the crowd that she had dreamed of marrying "the love of her life" before Lyra was shot dead by the New IRA. Photopress Belfast Alan Lewis- PhotopressBelfast.co.uk 18-5-2019 Colum Eastwood, the SDLP leader attending the same sex marriage protest at Belfast city hall today. Murdered journalist Lyra McKee's partner Sarah Canning called from the platform for legislation to allow same sex marriage to be introduced in Northern Ireland and told the crowd that she had dreamed of marrying "the love of her life" before Lyra was shot dead by the New IRA. Photopress Belfast Alan Lewis- PhotopressBelfast.co.uk 18-5-2019 Belfast Lord Mayor Deidre Hargey attending the same sex marriage protest at Belfast city hall today. Murdered journalist Lyra McKee's partner Sarah Canning called from the platform for legislation to allow same sex marriage to be introduced in Northern Ireland and told the crowd that she had dreamed of marrying "the love of her life" before Lyra was shot dead by the New IRA. Photopress Belfast Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning(centre) partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning(pictured) partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning(pictured) partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning(centre) partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. John O'Doherty(right) from the Rainbow Project pictured at the rally with his partner. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Local comedian Nuala McKeever pictured at the rally Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning(third from left) partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 18th May 2019 Same sec marriage campaigners for Northern Ireland hold a march and rally in Belfast City Centre from Writers Square to the City Hall. The rally was addressed by the Sara Canning partner of Lyra McKee who was murdered after being shot dead by dissident republican in Derry last month. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye / Facebook

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Whatsapp Sara Canning (front centre), partner of murdered journalist Lyra McKee, marching with protesters through Belfast city centre demanding same sex marriage in Northern Ireland. Photo credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Ms Canning was at the front as she and friends carried a large cut-out of Lyra's name in rainbow colours.

The event was organised by the Love Equality campaign - an umbrella group made up of organisations that support a law change, such as Amnesty International and LGBT health advocacy group the Rainbow Project.

Rainbow Project director John O'Doherty drew a huge cheer from the crowd as he kissed his partner on stage as he addressed the rally.

"Like so many of you I stand today with my better half, the love of my life - angry and frustrated - that another year has passed without our love being recognised as equal under the law," he said.

"Another year of second-class citizenship and being ignored by those in power.

"No party or group of MLAs should hold a veto over people lives, over people's rights - and this campaign will not be held to ransom by those who seek to hold Northern Ireland back - who refuse to recognise the rights of LGBT people and our families.

"Our message is clear - any return of the Executive and the Assembly must include real reform of the petition of concern. Upfront reform, not an afterthought or a postscript to any deal or a can to be kicked down the road. We need a government for all the people, not just some people. No other government deserves our support.

"And to those who seek to use this veto to deny us our rights - history will judge your actions. Over 75% of people across Northern Ireland now support the introduction of Marriage Equality - and we will not be silenced. We will not be deterred. We will not stop, until we achieve a Northern Ireland that is underpinned by equality and human rights.

"And to Theresa May, (Northern Ireland Secretary) Karen Bradley and the UK Government, our message is simple - human rights should not be based on postcodes.

"This is now happening on your watch. It is up to you to deliver on the promise of equality. Your kind words are no longer welcome - we judge you on your actions."

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International's Northern Ireland director, added: "Belfast today is a city of love.

"But it is a city where loving couples are denied the right to marry by a government in Westminster which refuses to act to end years of discrimination.

"The UK Government likes to champion it's record on LGBT rights, but has shamefully ignored cross-party calls for progress on same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.

"In our thousands, we send a message today from Belfast to London that second-class citizenship for the LGBT community has to end now.

"We must be heard and our calls for equality must be answered."
The family of an Irish academic missing since he fell on Mount Everest have launched a fundraising campaign to help finance search efforts.

Seamus Shay Lawless, from Bray, Co Wicklow, fell as he descended the peak on Thursday having just achieved a lifetime ambition of reaching the summit.

His relatives, who said Mr Lawlesss insurers were not assisting in the search efforts, have asked for the publics help to raise the money needed to gather a team of Sherpas to find him.

Irish people started gofundme page help search for missing @tcddublin professor Seamus Lawless on #Everest. They say the insurance company that provided policy for Seamus are not providing assistance w/ SAR. Please donate & RT as much as you can. Namaste! https://t.co/ge6xFlFjXo  Everest Today (@EverestToday) May 18, 2019

A GoFundMe page set up by the family on Friday night with a target of raising 750,000 euro (660,000) had passed 100,000 euro (88,000) within 15 hours.

Funds were pouring in on Saturday as colleagues at Trinity College Dublin organised a vigil for Mr Lawless, an assistant professor at the universitys School of Computer Science.

A family statement on the fundraising page said: It is with an extremely heavy heart that the Lawless family have had to set up this GoFundMe page to ask for donations.

The insurance company that had provided a policy for Seamus (Shay) are currently not providing assistance with the search and rescue.

The family said he had achieved a lifelong dream when he reached the peak of Mount Everest on Thursday morning.

An assistant professor in artificial intelligence at the School of Computer Science and Statistics at @tcddublin, has gone missing near balcony area of Mt #Everest when he was descending from the summit point this afternoon. https://t.co/wM2ygU1mgk  Everest Today (@EverestToday) May 16, 2019

Tragically, on his descent, Shay fell and has been missing since, they said.

With the weekend upon us, we, the family of Shay, have been left with no other option but to ask for assistance in raising funds to gather a team of expert Sherpas to locate and bring our beloved Shay home to Ireland.

Time is of the essence in the search mission and the costs of running this mission are substantial.

He set out on this incredible journey to summit Mount Everest not only to challenge himself but to raise vital funds on behalf of Barretstown, a charity that provides respite and recreation to children with serious illnesses.

At this moment in time we have little to no information about what happened on Thursday 16th May, nor do we know the current location of Shay. It is our priority to locate him and bring him home and we appreciate all the support that can be offered as we face this hugely challenging situation.
Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Dublin to demand action on homelessness.

With numbers of homeless people at record levels in Ireland, campaigners criticised the Governments record on the issue.

The event organised by the Raise the Roof campaign saw thousands walk through the city centre carrying placards and chanting slogans.

Activists made a series of demands, including the construction of more public housing, an end to evictions, more robust rent controls and a right to housing formally inserted into the states constitution.

Expand Close Eoghan Murphy and Leo Varadkar (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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They also criticised support levels for homeless members of the Traveller community and asylum seekers living in Direct Provision centres.

There are more than 10,000 adults and children without a home and living in temporary emergency accommodation in Ireland.

The symbolic landmark was passed in February for the first time on record, heaping more pressure on the Government to act.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy have face criticism for their handling of the issue, though both insist addressing the problem is a key priority.

The Raise the Roof coalition is made up of trade unions, community groups and some political parties.

The event, which concluded with a rally outside the GPO on OConnell Street, came ahead of next weeks local and European elections in Ireland.

Among the thousands taking part in the march was high-profile homelessness campaigner and cleric Fr Peter McVerry.

Certainly there are more houses being built than before, he told RTE.

But far too few houses are being built to really make a difference.

We need to return to the 60s, 70s and 80s, where we were building seven and eight thousand council houses a year.
For Prince Harry, it was fate he met and fell in love with Meghan Markle  thanks to a mystery mutual friend who organised their blind date.

Despite being from different backgrounds, the grandson of the Queen and the US actress clicked and their romance quickly developed into love.

When interviewed on the day of their engagement announcement, Harry described how destiny appeared to intervene in their lives: So the fact that I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly was sort of confirmation to me that everything  all the stars  were aligned. Everything was just perfect.

It was this beautiful woman just sort of literally tripped and fell into my life, I fell into her life.

Expand Close The couple were not been afraid of public displays of affection like holding hands during a trip to Brixton, south London (Yui Mok/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Harry had never heard of the actress before their blind date in London in July 2016 and he quickly realised he had to make a memorable first impression: I was beautifully surprised when I walked into that room and saw her.

I was like okay, well, Im going to have to up my game  sit down and make sure Ive got good chat.

What cemented their tentative relationship was a short break to Botswana where they camped out with each other under the stars, getting to know each other over five days.

When news of their relationship broke several months later, smitten Harry was described as being happier than he had been in years.

Expand Close The prince and his fiancee met during a blind date (Joe Giddens/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Theatre dates followed, along with romantic African holidays and expeditions to see the Northern Lights, and a shopping trip to buy a Christmas tree together for Harrys Kensington Palace pad.

Being in a long-distance relationship meant plenty of jet-setting between Meghans home in Toronto, where she filmed the hit series Suits, and Harrys London base.

There were reports that Meghan was staying so much at Harrys home she had practically moved in.

The pair share a strong bond through their philanthropy, with Harry supporting military veterans and mental health organisations via his charity work, and Meghan pursuing her role as a humanitarian campaigner.

Even in its early days, their union appeared to be a serious one. Six months in and just days after it became public they were dating, Harry took the unusual step of issuing a lengthy statement condemning media treatment of his girlfriend and criticising the wave of abuse and harassment she was facing.

Kensington Palace has issued a statement this morning about the harassment currently being experienced by Meghan Markle and her family. pic.twitter.com/EuFZ4fmUIj  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) November 8, 2016

Prince Harry is worried about Ms Markles safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her, his office said.

The statement added: This is not a game, it is her life and his.

It was Meghan who offered the biggest insight into their relationship when she was interviewed by Vanity Fair magazine in September 2017 after they had been dating for just over a year.

She revealed they were in love and declared: I can tell you that at the end of the day I think its really simple: Were two people who are really happy and in love.
Flames could be seen from Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire (Ali Mason/PA)

A large fire has broken out on Ilkley Moor, weeks after another large fire on the West Yorkshire moorland.

Several local residents posted images of smoke billowing from the area, with one saying not again  fire on #Ilkley Moor close to Hangingston Road after the Cattle grid.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service tweeted: We are aware of a large moorland fire on Ilkley Moor and have crews in attendance and more on the way.

We are aware of a large moorland fire on Ilkley Moor and have crews in attendance and more on the way   WYFRS Control (@WYFRSControl) May 18, 2019

West Yorkshire Police posted: Hangingstone Road is currently closed while emergency services deal with fires on the moor.

Hangingstone Road is currently closed while emergency services deal with fires on the moor  WYP_Ilkley (@WYP_Ilkley) May 18, 2019

The moor was one of many to catch fire on the warmest Easter weekend on record.

Expand Close Firefighters on Ilkley Moor over Easter (Danny Lawson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service later said 10 fire engines were attending the blaze.

It said it had received more than 65 emergency calls about the fire and said there was a lot of smoke in the area.

The public is advised to avoid the area to allow firefighters to tackle the fire, it added.

The fires last month also hit Moray, Scotland, Blaenau Ffestiniog, north Wales, Dartmoor in Devon, the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland and moors in Derbyshire and Greater Manchester.
A former CIA officer has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges that he spied for China and sought to expose agents who were once his responsibility.

The sentence handed to Kevin Mallory, 62, of Leesburg, Virginia, is less than the life term sought by prosecutors but more than the 10 years requested by the defence.

A jury convicted Mallory last year under the Espionage Act for providing classified information to Chinese handlers in exchange for 25,000 dollars (20,000).

Mallorys scheme began to unravel when he was selected for secondary screening at Chicagos OHare International Airport in April 2017 on a flight back from Shanghai with his son, and customs agents found 16,500 dollars (13,000) in unreported cash.

Your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paidText message from Kevin Mallory

Later, in voluntary interviews with authorities, he was caught off guard when a phone given to him by the Chinese displayed text conversations between Mallory and the Chinese recruiter. He had expected the phones secure messaging features to keep the conversation hidden.

In one text message, Mallory wrote: Your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid.

At its heart, this was a very basic crime, prosecutor John Gibbs said during the sentencing hearing. He was desperate for money, and the most valuable thing he had was our nations secrets.

Mr Gibbs said the 25,000 dollars was just the beginning of what would have occurred if he had not been caught.

His sentence was delayed multiple times as US District Judge TS Ellis III, sitting in federal court in Alexandria, sought clarity on a key point  the value of the information provided by Mallory.

In particular, prosecutors and defence lawyers differed sharply on whether he intended to put human assets at risk.

If you choose to play footsie with another country ... you have committed a crimeDistrict Judge TS Ellis III

Much of the evidence in the case remains classified and even a portion of Fridays sentencing hearing was closed to the public, but at the bottom of it, prosecutors believe Mallory either sent or intended to send evidence that would have led to exposure of human assets described in court as the Johnsons.

Mr Gibbs said Mallory was the Johnsons handler when he worked at the CIA.

Defence lawyers said Mallory never intended to send it and pointed to computer forensic evidence supporting their claim.

Judge Ellis ruled that he could not determine conclusively that Mallory intended to send the information though he suspected the long-term intentions were sinister.

If I had concluded that sources had been compromised  I would impose a far more severe sentence, Judge Ellis said.

Defence lawyers pointed to the relatively small amount of money Mallory received, and the fact that he voluntarily disclosed his contacts with the Chinese to his former employers at the CIA.

But Judge Ellis said the amount of money was small only because Mallory was caught at an early stage in his relationship with the Chinese.

He said Mallorys contacts with the CIA suggest an effort to cover his espionage with the Chinese with a veneer of legitimacy by portraying himself as some sort of double agent.

If you choose to play footsie with another country  you have committed a crime, Judge Ellis said. Dont think that you can be a double agent.

Mallorys lawyers said they plan to appeal against the conviction.
Supporters reach out to Matteo Salvini during the rally (Luca Bruno/AP)

Italys anti-migrant interior minister Matteo Salvini led a rally of right-wing populist leaders on Saturday seeking historic results in next weeks European Parliament elections.

Salvini, the head of Italys right-wing League party, has positioned himself at the forefront of a growing movement of nationalist leaders seeking to free the European Unions member nations from what he called Brussels illegal occupation.

He pledged to close Europes borders to migrants if the League wins not just the most votes of any party in Italy, but also of Europe.

Salvini was joined by 10 other nationalist leaders, including far-right leaders Marine Le Pen of Frances National Rally party and Joerg Meuthen of the Alternative For Germany party.

Expand Close From left, Geert Wilders, leader of Dutch Party for Freedom, Matteo Salvini, Joerg Meuthen, leader of Alternative For Germany party, Marine Le Pen, Leader of the French National Front, Vaselin Marehki leader of Bulgarian Volya party, Jaak Madison of Estonian Conservative Peoples Party, and Tomio Okamura leader of Czech far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (Luca Bruno/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp From left, Geert Wilders, leader of Dutch Party for Freedom, Matteo Salvini, Joerg Meuthen, leader of Alternative For Germany party, Marine Le Pen, Leader of the French National Front, Vaselin Marehki leader of Bulgarian Volya party, Jaak Madison of Estonian Conservative Peoples Party, and Tomio Okamura leader of Czech far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (Luca Bruno/AP)

It was a major tour de force for the expanding movement ahead of the May 23-26 vote.

Still, most of the tens of thousands of supporters that packed the square outside the central Duomo cathedral in Milan were there for Salvini.

League flags filled the square, with a smattering of national flags from other nations.

A short distance away, 2,000 protesters marched to protest against the right-wing gathering.

In front of the Duomo, Salvini railed against unchecked migration and decried Islam, saying it mistreated women.

He said Turkey would never be a part of Europe and rejected the label of extremists for the leaders with him.

In this piazza, there are no extremists. There are no racists. There are no fascists.

If anything in Italy and in Europe, the difference is between who looks ahead, between who speaks of the future  instead of making trials of the past, he said.

The far-right and populist leaders in Milan are making one of the strongest challenges to the European status quo in decades, united under an anti-migrant, anti-Islam, anti-bureaucracy banner.

It is an historic moment important enough to free the continent from the illegal occupation organised by Brussels for many years, Salvini said.

He accused European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker of betraying Europe  by constructing a Europe of finance and uncontrolled immigration.

Notably absent was the leader of Austrias anti-immigrant Freedom Party, Heinz Christian Strache.

He stayed at home to resign as vice chancellor after two German newspapers showed video of him offering government contracts to a potential Russian benefactor in return for support for his party.

Despite the political setback for a key member of the Europe of Nations and Freedom parliamentary group, Le Pen predicted the group will perform a historic feat, moving from the 8th place in Europe to third or maybe second among major political groups in the European Parliament.
President Donald Trump has said that, after two weeks of mixed signals, even Iran may be confused about its future relationship with the United States.

Mr Trump wrote on Twitter: With all of the Fake and Made Up News out there, Iran can have no idea what is actually going on.

Mr Trump said he hoped the US was not on a path to war with Iran, but some wonder if his two most hawkish advisers could be angling for such a confrontation.

A day earlier he expressed a desire for dialogue, tweeting: Im sure that Iran will want to talk soon.

But Tehran has showed no outward sign of preparing to talk.

Mr Trumps recent tone contrasted with a series of moves by the US and Iran that have sharply escalated tensions in the Middle East in recent days. For the past year, national security adviser John Bolton and secretary of state Mike Pompeo have been the public face of the administrations maximum pressure campaign against Tehran.

On Friday, an official with Irans powerful Revolutionary Guard warned that Iranian missiles can easily reach warships in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Expand Close National security adviser John Bolton, right, has a hawkish reputation (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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The semi-official Fars news agency quoted Mohammad Saleh Jokar as saying that Irans missiles have a range of about 1,250 miles and can attack any target in the region.

The escalating rhetoric has rattled members of Congress who are demanding more information on the White Houses claims of rising Iranian aggression. Top leaders in Congress received a classified briefing on Iran on Thursday, but many from both parties have criticised the White House for not keeping them informed.

Iran poses a particular challenge for Mr Trump. While he talks tough against foreign adversaries to the delight of his supporters, a military confrontation with Iran could make him appear to be backtracking on a campaign pledge to keep America out of foreign entanglements.

Members of Congress and allies, however, worry that any erratic or miscalculated response from Mr Trump could send the US careening into conflict.

Mr Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal last year and reinstated sanctions on Tehran that are crippling its economy.

Tensions rose dramatically on May 5, when Mr Bolton announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group would be rushed from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf ahead of schedule in response to a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings, without going into details.

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Since then, four oil tankers, including two belonging to Saudi Arabia, were targeted in an apparent act of sabotage off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, according to officials in the region, and a Saudi pipeline was attacked by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen. The US also ordered non-essential staff out of Iraq and has dispatched additional military assets to the region.

The Senate will receive a classified briefing on Iran on Tuesday, according to Jim Risch of Idaho, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. The House has requested a classified briefing as well.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi said briefings are necessary because informing leaders is no substitute for the full membership of the Congress. She said a failure to inform representatives is part of a pattern for the Trump administration that is not right, because the power to declare war resides with Congress.

Expand Close Nancy Pelosi (J Scott Applewhite/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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I hope that the presidents advisers recognise that they have no authorisation to go forward in any way against Iran, Ms Pelosi said.

Mr Trump has dismissed suggestions that any of his advisers, particularly Mr Bolton, are pushing him into a conflict.

John has strong views on things, but thats OK. I actually temper John, which is pretty amazing isnt it? Mr Trump said recently when asked if he was satisfied with Mr Boltons advice.

I have different sides. I mean, I have John Bolton, and I have other people that are a little more dovish than him. And ultimately I make the decision.
'In the days of at least a generation ago, neighbours made it their business to know all about those who lived close by' (stock photo)

One thing that people from Northern Ireland are famed for is being good neighbours. However, research by the Big Lunch blows a huge hole in that reputation by revealing that one in five people have never spoken to their neighbour, and almost 70% don't really know the people who live next door. Most astonishing of all, almost half of those questioned didn't even know their neighbours' names.

These findings will astonish most people who grew up in rural communities or on the terraced streets of our cities and big towns. In the days of at least a generation ago, neighbours made it their business to know all about those who lived close by. Indeed, their friendliness - or was it inquisitiveness - was a little overpowering in some instances.

But ultimately, most people became friends of varying degrees and were there to lend a helping hand in times of crisis.

So, what has changed? The drift of people from rural communities to urban living has dramatically changed the nature of life in the cities. Apartments mean that people enter their homes, close the doors and rarely see another person.

Shift-working and the pressure of daily life means that many people have little time for socialising except with work colleagues. Communities have become atomised; everyone looks after their own life and has decreasing numbers of truly close friends.

Yet, although the figures in the survey do not differentiate between rural and urban areas, it would be remarkable if there was not a greater sense of neighbourliness in country areas. The sheer nature of rural life - and that fact that so many families living there go back generations - makes it more difficult to live life as a loner.

We should try to recapture our reputation as good neighbours. What about the single old person who rarely sees anyone else? How they would welcome the occasion visit from a neighbour and the reassurance that someone cares about them and could even save their life if they take ill or are exposed to danger.
The fact that the political parties are talking again about how to get devolution and power-sharing back is to be welcomed. However, there is still something vitally important which is missing. That missing ingredient is generosity.

Generosity is something that has been absent from British-Irish relations for centuries. For 120 years, Irish Catholics and nationalists found that the United Kingdom into which their country had been incorporated by the Act of Union was a 'cold house', with little welcome, equality or generosity.

The formation of an independent Irish state in 1918-1922 caused unionists to demand their own state, fearful that the new state would be a cold house for them. David Trimble, who first used the phrase in his 1998 Nobel Peace Prize speech, admitted that Northern Ireland, with its inbuilt unionist majority, was a cold house for nationalists.

Generosity has been in short supply in any of the attempts to deal with the Northern Ireland Troubles over the past 50 years, notably in the relations between the DUP and Sinn Fein in recent years.

In my new book, A Shared Home Place, I make what I hope is a generous new offer to unionism as a former constitutional nationalist leader.

I have come increasingly to the view that the Good Friday Agreement measurement of a bare majority (effectively 50%+1) for unity will not give us the kind of agreed and peaceful Ireland we seek.

The SDLP put a variation of this principle, calling it "parallel consent", into the section of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement dealing with the working of the Northern Ireland Assembly, requiring that key decisions in that Assembly would need the support of parties representing both traditions.

This was to protect nationalists from an inbuilt unionist majority, which might vote as a bloc to undermine their rights in a future Northern Ireland.

My question in this book is whether this clause of the Good Friday Agreement could be extended across into the constitutional space, and thus be used to protect unionists if a future border poll were to result in a narrow overall majority for a united Ireland, but without the consent of both traditions.

My concern is that a very narrow vote for unity would lead to more division, instability and probably violence. Look at the chaos caused by the narrow vote for Brexit in the UK and by the lack of preparation, reasoned debate and public education before that referendum.

As the former Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt says in the book: "If we go for a hasty border poll, we are going to repeat the mistakes of Brexit. If people vote with their hearts without a proper debate, they will not understand the implications of that monumental change ... we all know it would be an utter disaster."

Nesbitt welcomes my parallel consent proposal as "practical, based on a precedent laid down in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and a very generous offer from a leader with impeccable nationalist credentials. If Arlene Foster, or I, were to propose this, it would be shot down - and rightly so.

"Nationalists would say we were being undemocratic; the rules have been set by the Belfast and subsequent agreements, which you signed up to, so you'll just have to suck it up. But the important thing about this proposal is that it is a challenge to nationalism from an icon of nationalism."

In the book, I warn that my proposal will also require a generous response from significant sectors of unionism. That community has to accept that the only way for Northern Ireland to work as a peaceful and consensual society is for unionists and their leaders - notably the DUP - to work alongside nationalists and their leaders - notably Sinn Fein - in a spirit of equality, respect and parity of esteem. That did not happen in the final years of the 2007-17 Executive.

If that spirit of equality and generosity is not shown by the unionists, both in the day-to-day running of Northern Ireland and in their responses to generous proposals like parallel consent, nationalists will simply ignore proposals like mine and let the demographic clock run down to Irish unity, if necessary by the narrowest of margins.

My belief is that, in the long run, only some form of Irish unity - perhaps a confederal Ireland, since I cannot ever see unionists pledging loyalty to a unitary Irish state - can resolve the deep historical divisions that have blighted the north.

But, equally, I believe that my unionist friends and neighbours around my home village of Markethill, personified by the farmer and police reservist I call "Jack Adams", who was murdered by the IRA while out ploughing his fields, have as much right to live in peace and without fear in Ireland as any nationalist.

The dehumanising of individuals, of a community, so they could be killed just for wearing a police or a UDR uniform - that is what I will never support. That man and his family had their home in Co Armagh for 400 years, but he had to be killed because the IRA's Little Green Book said so. The awfulness and nihilism of that is what I am fundamentally opposed to.

My nationalist community, now they are moving into the ascendant, must show the generosity to unionists that was sadly absent from the way in which they were treated by the unionists during 50 years of one-party rule.

We need a nationalism that is the opposite of Sinn Fein's: a philosophy that allows unionists the space and time to put forward their arguments for the continuing Union with Britain in a safe and respectful atmosphere.

Having said that, I see the British eventually leaving Northern Ireland. Their mindset will be that it is no use to them any more.

Given that probability, it must surely become clear to the majority of Irish people that the main obstacle to overcoming the deep and ancient divisions on the island is the unionist fear of Irish nationalism.

To persuade a significant part of the unionist community that their fears are groundless, and there is no need for them to live apart from the rest of the island, is now the only meaningful programme for nationalism.

That is the real search for peace, justice and stability in Ireland.
Bangladeshi police stand guard outside the Supreme Court building during a daylong strike in Dhaka, June 17, 2015.

Bangladeshi journalists asked the nations top court on Friday to withdraw its order prohibiting them from reporting details of trials that are in progress.

The Supreme Court registrars office issued the order, also known as a circular, after online and television news reports divulged details of a recent High Court ruling, sources said.

Supreme Court spokesman Mohammad Saifur Rahman said Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain issued the order to block reports that could damage the courts image.

If any news reports create questions (or) confusion about the dignity of the court  the image of the court would be damaged, Rahman told BenarNews.

The court prohibited news reports or scrolls, which could lose peoples confidence in the judicial system, he said, adding, There are also rules in journalism.

On Thursday, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam asked the Supreme Courts Appellate Division to take action against the High Court Division for what he called an abnormal order.

The Supreme Court, the nations highest tribunal, consists of those two divisions.

Alam suggested that the Appellate Division led by the chief justice forward the issue to President Abdul Hamid, who could take action against the High Court judges for what he described as a preposterous decision in a civil case, according to media reports.

The Bangladesh Law Reporters Forum (LRF), in a letter sent to Chief Justice Syed Mahmud, criticized the order and demanded that it be withdrawn, saying it contradicts his earlier statement in support of independent journalism.

The Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) on Friday joined the call to pull the circular.

It will hamper investigative reporting, BFUJ said in a statement.

The government has passed the Right to Information Act, it said. This directive of the court is unacceptable. The court must withdraw it.
Nestle Skin Health had net sales of CHF 2.8 billion in 2018

Nestle announced that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with a consortium led by EQT and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for the sale of Nestle Skin Health for a value of CHF 10.2 billion. Nestle Skin Health had net sales of CHF 2.8 billion in 2018. The proposed transaction will be subject to employee consultations and approval of regulatory authorities and is expected to close in the second half of 2019. The company will provide an update on the use of proceeds and its future capital structure at that time.

Nestle Skin Health provides science-based solutions to meet the specific skin health needs of healthcare professionals, patients and consumers. It offers a range of leading medical and consumer brands through three complementary business units in prescription, aesthetics and consumer care. Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, Nestle Skin Health employs more than 5,000 people across 40 countries.
Nearly a year after Canada and the United States placed tariffs on each others aluminum and steel, the countries agreed on Friday to drop them. The move will benefit Brandon businesses that work with the metals.

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Morningstar Metal manager Taryn Morningstar in the business's welding shop Friday. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun)

Nearly a year after Canada and the United States placed tariffs on each others aluminum and steel, the countries agreed on Friday to drop them. The move will benefit Brandon businesses that work with the metals.

Morningstar Metal manager Taryn Morningstar said the tariffs had contributed to raising the cost of the metals her business uses, forcing them to raise their prices.

"(The price) of tubing probably went up 30 per cent or so for us," she said.

"I feel good about it. ... We had American customers, and they still found it cheaper to buy from us at times. ... Our American customers will hopefully come back to us."

Welder Darren Cruickshank works on a project at Morningstar Metal Friday. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun)

"Its great," said Darren Blazeiko, general manager at Cancade CBI Ltd. "When you can buy something for cheaper than you could before, its always a good thing for everybody."

Blazeiko told The Sun the tariffs had forced them to raise their prices, as well.

"Its been an impedance to trade for some time now," Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire said. "It wasnt necessary in the first place, and Im glad to see that the retaliatory tariffs on our side have been dropped, as well."

Maguire also said he believes a rebate for Canadian companies that paid tariffs on aluminum and steel should be investigated by the federal government.

The United States announced on June 1, 2018, that it was placing 25 per cent tariffs on imports of Canadian steel and 10 per cent on imports under a law that allows the president to institute tariffs on goods deemed vital to national security. The Canadian government responded in kind with matching retaliatory tariffs.

"We stayed strong because thats what workers were asking. ... Thats what Canadians were saying," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. "These tariffs didnt make sense around national security. They were hurting Canadian consumers, Canadian workers, and American workers and American consumers."

Canada and the U.S. will now work together to get the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), known colloquially in both countries as the "new NAFTA," approved in the coming weeks, said Trudeau.

"This is just pure good news for Canadians, for families, as they head into that long weekend" in several provinces, including Ontario, Trudeau said Friday during an unscheduled, last-minute visit to a Stelco plant in Hamilton, Canadas steel-manufacturing capital.

The agreement also includes provisions for both countries to stop the importation of dumped or unfairly subsidized metals and to stop the shipment of externally made metals from being shipped from one country to another.

If the price of aluminum or steel increases beyond historic levels, either country may consult with the exporting country with the option to impose duties if they deem it necessary.

The U.S. and Canada have also agreed to drop pending litigation against each other before the World Trade Organization regarding the tariffs. Both countries have agreed to end the tariffs no later than two days from Fridays announcement.

 cslark@brandonsun.com, with files from The Canadian Press

 Twitter: @ColinSlark
Touting it as the first step toward creating a future for Gambler First Nations children, Chief David LeDoux headed Fridays groundbreaking of the communitys urban reserve in Brandon.

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Gambler First Nation elder Marjorie Mather, Southern Chiefs Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels, Gambler First Nation Chief David LeDoux, Treaty 2 Grand Chief Eugene Eastman, Indigenous and Northern Services Minister Eileen Clarke, Brandon Mayor Rick Chrest and Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada associate regional director Terry Goertzen take part in the groundbreaking ceremony for the First Nation's urban reserve on 18th Street North in Brandon on Friday. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Touting it as the first step toward creating a future for Gambler First Nations children, Chief David LeDoux headed Fridays groundbreaking of the communitys urban reserve in Brandon.

"This has been a long time coming," he said. "Hopefully, this property will be dedicated for a use so that Gambler is here forever, and our youth are going to be around forever. Well have security for hopefully seven generations."

Dignitaries from the city and First Nations across Manitoba gathered in a now-empty eight-acre field in Brandons north end to mark the occasion. The property itself is at 1725 18th St.

The process to get here started two years ago. It took a significant step forward in March of last year, when the city and the First Nation signed a municipal development and service agreement.

A rendering of the upcoming Gambler First Nation urban reserve development on 18th Street in Brandon. (Submitted)

LeDoux said the reserve will be a way to make money and provide jobs for band members. The First Nations current land is located near Binscarth but doesnt provide many money-making opportunities. The groundbreaking means "security" for the communitys youth.

The urban reserve is a first for both Brandon and Gambler. It joins the nine other urban reserves in municipalities across the province.

A design document of the development shows a gas bar and gaming centre close to 18th Street. Further back on the lot is a hotel tower and multiple retail and office spaces. The first two buildings to go up will be the gas bar and a few of the retail spaces.

"Were trying to get the best use of the land so were making the most of every square inch. Were going build as we go," LeDoux said.

Southern Chiefs Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said Gamblers urban reserve sets an example for future Indigenous development.

Gambler First Nation Chief David LeDoux speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the First Nation's urban reserve on 18th Street North in Brandon on Friday. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

"Brandon is the example, they (have) the best municipal service agreement in the whole province.  Its the best service agreement in all of Manitoba and every single mayor needs to take notice of what happened here because it needs to be the example."

LeDoux echoed the sentiment, saying it sets a precedent.

"I think going forward were going to get reserve creation going in less time than we got this one done.  Nobody believes that it cant be done. Its the start of a better way to do business with First Nations, for sure."

Mayor Rick Chrest said hes proud the municipal service agreement and development is held in high esteem. The urban reserve is a win for both Gambler and Brandon and coming together is in the best interest of both communities.

"Its got a significant scale, and therefore its going to be a very handsome development in our community  its their community among ours, so were really thrilled about it."

It could also be an economic boon for the northern part of the city.

"One of the struggles that Brandon has had for years is the fact that people go zipping by on the Trans-Canada Highway, and people dont realize that just half a mile off the road lies 50,000 people in a pretty dynamic, progressive city," Chrest said.

"The more we get service and community activity pushed out near the Trans-Canada Highway, it helps the whole city and drawing people in."

LeDoux said hes hoping to partner with other First Nations to invest in Gamblers urban reserve. The total cost of the project is around $50 million, so other investment would help offset the cost.

"Like everything weve been involved in with Brandon, it has been fantastic. It has given me the confidence and ability to move forward."

Construction on the first two buildings is planned to start in the next month, and LeDoux said he hopes they will be open by the fall.

 dmay@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @DrewMay_
Update 12.40pm: The search for a missing Irish man on Mount Everest will resume in the next three days.

Trinity College professor Seamus Lawless fell as he descended the peak on Thursday having just achieved a lifetime ambition of reaching the summit.

The search for the 39-year-old has been temporarily stood down because of high winds.

Mingma Sherpa, chairman of Seven Summit Treks in Nepal, says a team of 45 sherpas will resume as weather improves.

A GoFundMe page set up by the family on Friday night with a target of raising 750,000 had passed 120,000 within 16 hours.

Funds were pouring in on Saturday as colleagues at Trinity College Dublin organised a vigil for Mr Lawless, an assistant professor at the university's School of Computer Science.

- Digital desk

Family of man missing on Everest launch fundraising campaign

Update 8am: A fundraising campaign has been set-up for a missing Irish father-of-one on Mount Everest, as the search for him, has now turned into a recovery mission for his body.

Seamus Lawless from Bray, Co Wicklow was fulfilling a life-long dream of reaching the summit of Mount Everest, which stands at 8,848 metres, before he reached his 40th birthday in July this year.

The assistant professor in artificial intelligence at Trinitys School of Computer Science and Statistics, had successfully reached the summit on Thursday along with several others in his group of eight led by world-renowned Co Down adventurer Noel Hanna - just hours before falling up to 500 metres.

The decision was taken by rescuers and those on the Himalayan mountain range to stop the search for Mr Lawless, due to high winds of 55km and frigid temperatures of -27C with a wind chill, making it feel more like -43C.

One of Irelands leading climbers, who scaled Everest twice, and director of Pat Falvey Adventures confirmed that, The search for Mr Lawless which has been stopped is now a recovery mission and has been confirmed as that. I was informed of this by officials in the Capital of Nepal, Kathmandu.

Every climber feels the pain of what has happened to Mr Lawless and no matter what the mountaineering community will rally round in a bid to recover (his remains) when and if it is safe to do so.

Weather temperatures remain frigid at -28C with winds again making it feel as if it is -46C which obviously raised safety concerns.

The guide company, Seven Summit Treks, involved in the climb also confirmed they are now involved in a recovery mission.

Mr Lawless, who was about to become a father for the second time, reportedly fell from an altitude of 8,300m in an area known as the balcony.

A fundraising campaign has been launched on behalf of Mr Lawless wife Pam and their four-year-old daughter Emma, on the crowd funding site, Gofundme.com, to enable the recovery operation when it is given the go-ahead by Nepalese officials.

The family has said that they have been forced to look for donations as the insurance company which provided a policy for Mr Lawless are currently not providing assistance with the search and rescue.

A statement on the page, Search for Seamus Lawless on Mt Everest, which hopes to raise 750,000 said: It is with an extremely heavy heart that the Lawless family have had to set up this GoFundMe page to ask for donations.

"Within hours of the campaign being launched thousands of euro has been donated by the public.

The insurance company that had provided a policy for Seamus (Shay) are currently not providing assistance with the search and rescue.

"Shay achieved his lifelong dream on the morning of Thursday 15th May, when he reached the peak of Mount Everest.

"Tragically, on his descent, Shay fell and has been missing since.

With the weekend upon us, we, the family of Shay, have been left with no other option but to ask for assistance in raising funds to gather a team of expert Sherpas to locate and bring our beloved Shay home to Ireland.

"Time is of the essence in the search mission and the costs of running this mission are substantial.

He set out on this incredible journey to summit Mount Everest not only to challenge himself but to raise vital funds on behalf of Barretstown, a charity that provides respite and recreation to children with serious illnesses.

The statement added: At this moment in time we have little to no information about what happened on Thursday 16th May, nor do we know the current location of Shay.

"It is our priority to locate him and bring him home and we appreciate all the support that can be offered as we face this hugely challenging situation.

Mr Lawless had attempted the mammoth climb to raise up to 25,000 for Barretstown, a charity dedicated to seriously ill children and their families.

Mr Lawless flew to Nepal in April, to prepare for the climb and to allow his body to acclimatise to the thinner air, in a bid to avoid altitude sickness which can be life threatening.

The remaining group which includes Irishwoman Jennifer Shirley, had been forced to stay at Camp Four at 7,900m due to the weather.

They suffered another tragedy on Friday morning when an Indian climber, Ravi Thakar, was found dead in his tent.

Severe altitude sickness is being blamed for his death.

Meanwhile, according to the Himalayan Times, there has been a fourth death of a Bulgarian climber in the Himalayas in as many days.

It is reported that an alpinist from Bulgaria died at Camp IV on Mt Lhotse while descending from the summit of the worlds fourth highest mountain on Friday afternoon.

According to the base camp officials, Ivan Yuriev Tomov, who scaled Mt Lhotse without using oxygen and Sherpa support on Thursday morning, died at Camp IV from severe altitude sickness.

Seamus' colleagues at Trinity College will hold a vigil for him this evening in the Trinity Long Room Hub from 8.15pm.

You can find the GoFundMe for Seamus Lawless here.
New legislation is planned to prevent landlords from evicting long-term tenants without a clear reason.

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy says it is government policy to introduce tenancies of "indefinite duration" in legislation later this year.

"Currently, a landlord can evict a tenant after six years without a reason, but the Minister says that will change," said Minister Murphy writing in today's Irish Independent.

He acknowledge that the situation is an emergency but said that "declaring it one does not mean we can just suspend our laws or the Constitution".

Mr Murphy said that Fine Gael "know that many people, young and old, are in an incredibly difficult situation".

Father Peter McVerry from the Peter McVerry Trust has described the housing situation as morphing from "a crisis to catastrophe".

He welcomed the Housing Minister's statements but said that it doesn't go far enough.

What the government are doing is tweaking the current system - they are increasing the height of apartments, they are reducing car parking space needed, they are reducing the size of apartments.

"They are tweaking the system and we need far, far more than tweaking," said Fr McVerry.

Meanwhile, a rally supporting the Raise the Roof initiative will take place in Dublin later today, calling for action on the housing crisis.

#RaiseTheRoof this Saturday, May 18th, 1pm at Parnell Sq to demand:



1. A legal Right to Housing

2. A declaration of a Housing Emergency

3. A stop to evictions into homelessness

4. Security of tenure and rent.#HomesforAll #EndDP #TravellerHomesMatter pic.twitter.com/02Csoj3G9f  Homeless & Housing Coalition (@_HousingCrisis) May 14, 2019

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is urging members to back the protest, which starts at Parnell Square at 1pm.

ICTU General Secretary, Patricia King says the Government has failed to solve the problem.

"The basic aim of this rally is to continue our campaign to have the current government policy in relation to housing reversed," said Ms King.

"It is a failed policy and from our point of view, we have had a number of demonstrations since last October and we really want to see a much stronger approach in terms of the building of social and affordable housing."
Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Dublin to demand action on homelessness.

With numbers of homeless people at record levels in Ireland, campaigners criticised the Governments record on the issue.
Update 18 May, 7.30am: Robert Nealis has been located safe and well.

Kilkenny gardai seek missing man in his 60s

17 May, 6.20pm: Gardai in Kilkenny are appealing for help to find a 63-year-old man who has gone missing from his home in Kilkenny.

Robert Nealis went missing yesterday when he was last seen at the Dublin Road roundabout in Kilkenny at around 6pm.

He is described as being five feet six inches tall, weighing around 11 stone and he has brown hair.

When last seen he was wearing a wine-coloured jumper, white shirt and navy tracksuit bottoms.

Any information or sightings should be given to Kilkenny Garda Station on 056-7775000 or via the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.
Fuzzy Maiava's life entered a downward spiral on October 7, 2008, a day after his birthday.

On that day the then Qantas flight attendant was twice propelled into the ceiling of an A330 jet when a computer failure sent the plane carrying 303 passengers into uncontrolled nosedives off the West Australian coast. A disaster was averted by the actions of the plane's captain, a former Top Gun pilot, and his first and second officers.

Then, 10 years to the day after Qantas Flight 72's mid-air emergency left him with permanent physical and psychological injuries, Mr Maiava's youngest daughter, Apolonia, was hit by a speeding motorist while walking home in Auckland.

"I received a call from my son at 3am in the morning," Mr Maiava recalled. "He said, 'Dad, you need to come to the hospital'. I thought I had been punished twice."
Theres a year 9 student from Lalor Secondary College who manages his familys money.

His parents do not have the language skills, so this 15-year-old takes care of tasks, such as dealing with Telstra.

His mathematics teacher, Claire Delaney, said the student had learned early the vital skill of money management.

He is actually having to work these problems out because who does if you cant speak English and you have to deal with all these institutions? she said.

Financial literacy has a huge influence on how people's lives pan out, and the OECD has said financial literacy education should start at school and as early as possible.
MOVIE PASSES TO PETERLOO

Acclaimed British filmmaker Mike Leigh's portrayal of one of the bloodiest episodes in British history, the infamous Peterloo Massacre of 1819, marks the 200th anniversary of the notorious event. When a crowd of some 60,000 workers from Manchester and surrounding towns banded together at St Peter's Field in Manchester to demand fair representation in Parliament, authorities declared it an illegal gathering resulting in armed government militias charging the crowd with at least a dozen killed and hundreds injured. The effect of the massacre was a crackdown on reform with authorities fearing the country was heading towards rebellion. Send your details to admin@mbpublicity.com.au for the chance to score one of 20 doubles.

Peterloo Credit:

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL

Boasting a showcase of outstanding Australian and international artists with the master of modern jazz Herbie Hancock returning to Melbourne to close the festival, the 2019 celebration of jazz music and culture kicks off on May 31 in various venues across town ranging from Hamer Hall to intimate jazz clubs and cafes. We have a package worth $720 in total up for grabs and M readers have the chance to head to the Melbourne Recital Centre with two doubles on offer to join the audience for Billy Childs - Rebirth on Friday, May 31, and two doubles to Ms Lisa Fischer & Grand Baton on Wednesday, June 5. Register your details at info@starling.com.au before midnight tonight and you'll enter the draw (please stipulate your preferred performance).
Sydney needs an ambitious tree-planting program in suburban areas to boost human health and provide wildlife habitat, as part of a shift to manage cities as urban forests, planning experts say.

The concept of the urban forest means urban planners would look at tree canopy at a city-wide level and value trees as assets with economic benefits.

Land managers are looking at a tree as a liability, theyve got to prune it, theyve got to maintain it, said Peter Davies, associate professor in environmental science at Macquarie University, who is speaking at the Rethinking the Urban Forest conference in Sydney on Friday. If we went to the other side of the ledger to value the benefits, wed see that tree or that avenue of trees in a whole new light.

Some parts of Sydney have high tree cover, such as the north shore and north-west. Credit:James Alcock

Adrienne Keane, a senior lecturer in urban planning at the University of Sydney, said trees are not always loved because they drop leaves and branches and damage footpaths or underground pipes with their roots.
A volunteer for Clive Palmer's United Australia Party has been fined after he allegedly exposed himself at a Bankstown polling place in western Sydney on Saturday morning.

Police confirmed a 62-year-old man was issued with an infringement notice for offensive conduct and moved on from the voting centre at Bankstown Public School shortly after 10am.

Police confirmed they fined a 62-year-old man for offensive conduct. Credit:SBS

Officers were told the man "had been involved in a dispute with several other people", a NSW Police spokesman said.

"Police will allege the man then committed an offensive act in front of at least three women and one man. Police issued the man an infringement notice for offensive conduct and a move-on direction," he said.
If elected, Ms Allen said she would make the promised removal of the Glenferrie Road level crossing one of her top priorities. Labor's designs on Higgins were strong enough for Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to pay a visit to a voting booth and chow down on a democracy sausage on election day. It was a potent sign of how drastically the electoral landscape has shifted in Australia that a Labor leader would campaign vigorously in a seat previously held by prime ministers Harold Holt and John Gorton, and by treasurer Peter Costello for 19 years. But Ms Allen led by a 3.3 per cent margin at about 10pm with almost 60 per cent of the vote counted.

Yet Labor, which polled less than 15 per cent of the primary vote in Higgins just three years ago, appeared within striking distance of a major upset as the votes were counted, as its candidate, high-profile barrister Fiona McLeod, secured a remarkable swing of 12.6 per cent. However, the Greens vote was flat, with second-time candidate Jason Balls vote down 1 per cent compared with his strong showing in 2016. Bill Shorten high-fives a boy while on the last-minute campaign trail with Labor's candidate for Higgins, Fiona McLeod. Credit:AAP Mr Ball pushed Higgins towards more marginal territory three years ago, shaving the Liberals margin in the seat to 7.4 per cent. "The seat of Higgins is too close to call," Mr Ball said late on Saturday night.

Loading "This is lineball. There's less than a per cent in it. What we know is that a seat that was once a jewel of the Liberal crown, a seat that was held prime ministers and treasurers of the Liberal Party, is no longer a safe seat." Ms McLeod told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald climate had dominated the list of concerns voters raised with her in this educated, affluent part of Melbourne, but argued the issue suited Labor's cause. "Almost everybody, young and old, is raising that as their number one issue," she said. Meanwhile voters in Kooyong, the other Liberal heartland seat of Melbournes inner-east, seemed to keep faith with the party and Mr Frydenberg.

The Treasurer appeared to have retained his seat despite suffering a sizeable swing. Mr Frydenberg cast his vote at Balwyn North Primary School on Saturday morning, with wife Amie and their two children Gemma and Blake. Greens leader Richard Di Natale (centre) smiles for a selfie with their hope for Higgins, Jason Ball (right). Credit:AAP In Kooyong, Mr Frydenberg faced a similar three-cornered fight to hold his seat, with Greens candidate Julian Burnside, a human rights lawyer, rated his biggest threat, followed by Labor's Jana Stewart. With a third of the vote counted, the Liberals had suffered a two-party preferred swing of 7.1 per cent, cutting Mr Frydenbergs margin from 12.8 per cent to 5.7 per cent.

The vote against the Liberals was splintering three ways, with Mr Burnside picking up 22.4 per cent, Ms Stewart 16.7 per cent and independent Oliver Yates, who ran on a platform of climate action, 10.5 per cent. Late on Saturday evening Mr Burnside was still hopeful. Candidates for Higgins: Liberal's Katie Allen (far left), Labor's Fiona McLeod and Greens' Jason Ball at the Toorak Library on Saturday. Credit:Jason South "This is a knife-edge election in Kooyong and what we do not know yet is who's going to win but what we do know is this: the seat of Kooyong has been held by conservatives since Federation," he said. "It's been held by the Liberal Party since it was formed. And this day, May 18, 2019, has changed politics in Australia for ever. You can never take for granted a seat held by the Treasurer of this country because Josh Frydenberg spent maybe $2 million on his campaign  that'd be my assessment  frightened by the Greens.
An exit poll of booths across the nation points to Labor claiming the federal election on the back of a sharp fall in primary support for the Coalition across Victoria and NSW.

The exclusive YouGov Galaxy poll of more than 3300 voters in 33 separate booths showed Labor ahead of the Coalition 52-48 on a two party preferred basis. It is in line with recent Ipsos, Newspoll and Essential opinion polls which all showed Labor leading the Coalition.

In Victoria, where the Liberal Party is at risk of losing up to six seats, the Coalition vote has slumped.

The poll found Labor's primary vote at 41 per cent, a 5.4 percentage point lift on the 2016 election, with the Coalition's combined primary down by 4.8 percentage points.
Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has taken aim at the Greens in the Brisbane seat of Griffith for going after "progressive" Terri Butler after Labor held on to the seat in one of the few bright spots for the party in Queensland on a disastrous election night for the ALP.

Ms Butler held off a strong push from the LNP and the Greens to retain the inner-southside seat.

Her win prompted an angry warning from Ms Trad, who spoke against the Greens as Labor volunteers shouted shame, shame, shame.

Terri Butler celebrates a rare win for Labor in Queensland in the Brisbane electorate of Griffith. Credit:Tony Moore

Rather than take on a tough seat, rather than take on a terrible Tory, they took on our Terri Butler," Ms Trad said.
Labor has been left reeling from a bloodbath in Queensland, as the Coalition celebrated a return to government.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison took a moment to thank Queensland in his victory speech in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton celebrating his return to the seat of Dickson while in Strathpine on election night. Credit:AAP Image/ Glenn Hunt

"How good's Queensland?" he asked, to chants from the party faithful of "Queensland! Queensland! Queensland!"

"I have always believed in miracles. I'm standing with the three biggest miracles in my life, and tonight we delivered another one."
Loading "Tonight is about every single Australian who depends on their government to put them first," he said. "That is exactly what we are going to do. Our government will come together after this night and we will get back to work. "That is our task and that is my undertaking to Australians from one end of the country to the other. "I said I was going to burn for you and I am  every single day."

Mr Shorten singled out Labor deputy Tanya Plibersek, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen and Senate leader Penny Wong for praise in a concession speech to party supporters in Melbourne. "I know that you're all hurting and I am too," Mr Shorten said. Two days after the death of Labor hero Bob Hawke, Mr Shorten said he had wanted to achieve victory for Australians who needed better healthcare, an expanded Medicare, greater school funding and other policies. "Gee, I wish we could have formed a government for these Australians on this evening. I wish we could have won for the true believers, for our brothers and sisters in the mighty trade union movement," he said.

"I wish we could have done it for Bob." Mr Morrison, who won the leadership after Malcolm Turnbull was deposed in a leadership coup last August, was on track in late counting to secure the 76 seats needed to form government and secure one of the most impressive victories in the Liberal Party's history. Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks to Liberal Party supporters at his election party at the Sofitel Wentworth in Sydney. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Mr Morrison's presidential-style campaign focussing on income tax cuts and risks to the economy under Labor led the Coalition to significant gains in Queensland and Tasmania while limiting losses NSW and Victoria. His staunch opposition to Mr Shorten's plans to tax higher-income earners appears to have resonated with voters living outside inner-city seats. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton celebrated his victory over Labor candidate Ali France in the Queensland seat of Dixon by quoting former Labor prime minister Paul Keating.

"This is the sweetest victory of all," Mr Dutton said, before paying tribute to Mr Morrison. "He's been able to campaign in marginal seats, he's been able to put pressure on Bill Shorten, and it's what Bill Shorten deserved." Labor leader Bill Shorten had been a warm favourite and made gains in some seats in NSW and Victoria, while independent candidate Zali Steggall defeated former prime minister Tony Abbott in Warringah. However, the result represents a devastating defeat for the former union leader who quit as Labor leader on Saturday night following the shock loss that left his party reeling. His bid to become Australia's 31st Prime Minister - through an ambitious platform of tax, wages and climate policy reform - receded as election night went on. Labor infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese acknowledged the opposition had a "redistributive agenda" by increasing some taxes to fund health and education, as well as taking action on climate change and do more for indigenous Australians. Mr Albanese praised Mr Shorten and accepted responsibility for the outcome as a member of the frontbench team.

Mr Albanese blamed a Coalition "scare campaign" for the outcome, a view also put by Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek. The Coalition, which has trailed Labor in the polls throughout its turbulent time in government, went in to the campaign with 74 seats and added to that tally across Queensland, where it defeated Labor in Longman and Herbert. Queensland was a disaster for Labor which recorded a 26.6 per cent primary vote in the Sunshine State. The Coalition also wrested the Tasmanian seat of Braddon from Labor and appeared likely to claim the neighbouring electorate of Bass as well. With the electorate enduring more than a decade of unprecedented parliamentary bloodletting - Australia has had seven Prime Ministers in 11 years - many neutral observers were hoping for a period of political stability.

However, the result shows the nation is divided along geographic and ideological lines with Mr Abbott declaring a political "realignment" with Labor making gains in progressive wealthy seats and the Coalition doing better in working class areas. A group of key independents could still hold the key to power. Loading Mr Abbott said the Coalition would be able to retain government even though he conceded he would lose his seat of Warringah, a safe Liberal electorate for years that came under attack from independent candidate Zali Steggall and her campaign for more action on climate change. "The good news is that there is every chance the Liberal National Coalition has won this election," Mr Abbott said. "This is a really extraordinary result, it is a stupendous result, it is a great result for Scott Morrison and the rest of the Liberal team, and Scott Morrison will quite rightly enter the Liberal pantheon forever."

In western Sydney, the electorate of Lindsay fell to the Liberals while the neighbouring electorate of Macquarie appeared to be shifting in the same way. In eastern Sydney, the Liberal Party was confident of regaining the blue-ribbon seat of Wentworth with Liberal candidate Dave Sharma ahead of independent MP Kerryn Phelps, who gained the seat at a byelection last year. The outcomes give the Coalition a narrow majority in the House of Representatives unless it suffers the loss of other seats. Labor gained the seat of Gilmore on the NSW South Coast and the two Victorian seats of Chisholm and Dunkley. Former Liberal Prime Minister John Howard said Mr Shorten had "overplayed the class warfare thing" in his message to voters and that there had been a "whiff of 1993" about the outcome. While the Liberal Party appeared likely to regain Wentworth, independent MPs made gains elsewhere with Victorian independent Helen Haines on track to win Indi and succeed former independent MP Cathy McGowan.

Combined with the victory for Ms Steggall, the election appears to leave Parliament with a crossbench that includes Greens MP Adam Bandt, Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie, Queenslander Bob Katter, South Australian Rebekha Sharkie as well as Ms Steggall and Dr Haines. Loading Mr Wilkie has ruled out doing any deal with a minority government while Mr Katter has backed the Coalition in the past. Others have named climate change policy as a factor in their decisions on whether to support a minority government on votes of confidence and supply. The government's 74 seats in the House of Representatives was down from the 76 it won at the last election due to the departure of former Liberal MP Julia Banks to the crossbench and the arrival of independent MP Kerryn Phelps in Wentworth. Labor started with 69 seats from the last Parliament. Labor described its election effort as its largest "field campaign" in history, putting more than 25,000 volunteers into the field to knock on more than one million doors. Labor claimed its supporters made more than one million phone calls to urge Australians to back their party.

Activist group GetUp said it had mobilised more than 9000 volunteers who had worked on the ground, with a wider group of helpers making more than 700,000 phone calls during the campaign. The ACTU had about 5000 volunteers working during the campaign. Loading Mr Shorten began the final day of the campaign by urging Australians to change the government because Labor would act on climate change, spend more on health, restore stability after the leadership division within the Liberal Party and improve fairness by scaling back tax concessions for the wealthy. He visited Melbourne electorates after an early morning run wearing a t-shirt that asked people to vote for "Chloe Shorten's husband"  an acknowledgement of his wife's importance to his campaign.

Mr Morrison campaigned at a more hectic pace by flying to Tasmania on Saturday morning to woo voters in the marginal seat of Bass before heading to Sydney for the remainder of the day. The Coalition adopted the same approach the previous day with a relentless tour through Queensland marginal seats. The election campaign ended on a subdued note after the death of former prime minister Bob Hawke on Thursday, an event that forced a change of tactics and tone from Labor in memory of its political hero. The memories of Mr Hawke's time in power, recounted in the outpouring of grief over his passing, gave Labor a moment to remember its record on economic reform and counter the Coalition claims that it was not fit to manage the economy. Labor volunteers said Mr Hawke's death had motivated them to campaign harder, although the event also prevented Mr Shorten campaigning in Brisbane electorates such as Forde on Friday, as he had intended.
"And if that strong result stays true, it will mean that we have once again won Brisbane by the biggest margin ever since federation in 1901." That strong result did not quite stay true; by 11pm, Mr Evans had suffered a 1.45 per cent swing against him, but was still well short of losing the seat. Mr Evans thanked Prime Minister Scott Morrison for running a strong campaign, thanked his partner, Roger, and his campaign team for their efforts. Only briefly did the cheerful mood in the Evans headquarters break as former prime minister Tony Abbott conceded the loss of his own seat in Sydney, the room of bright-blue-shirt-wearing volunteers and party members falling silent to listen to his speech. Mr Evans said he was looking forward to "all of the hard work ahead" - after a sleep-in on Sunday morning.

"I always told everybody that you never want to be overconfident but you've got to be cautiously optimistic and you've got to work hard right up to the last moment," he said. "I think this just proves that's a great recipe." Trevor Evans volunteers Greg Holmes, Rafe Berding, Claire Banfield and Amelia Edwards. Credit:Lucy Stone/Brisbane Times Young volunteers in the Evans campaign cited his strong leadership in the marriage equality debate and the LNP's benefits for young voters as reasons why they were wearing the blue-and-yellow volunteer shirts. "I think on issues like marriage equality, Trevor was a key person in the party to make that come through," volunteer Amelia Edwards said.

"For me personally that was a really big thing." The Greens were left with a small swing toward them, carving a little more away from Mr Evans' lead and weakening Labor's first-time candidate Paul Newbury's position. Greens Senator Larissa Waters pays tribute to candidates and volunteers in Queensland. Credit:Lucy Stone/Brisbane Times Senator Larissa Waters, out campaigning on Saturday morning with Mr Bartlett, said her party was hopeful of securing Brisbane, along with two other neighbouring seats - Ryan, held by the LNP on 9 per cent, and Griffith, held by Labor on 1.4 per cent. On Saturday night, Queensland Greens candidates and volunteers set up their party in the Brisbane suburb of West End.

By 10pm, as the verdict of the national polls was being realised, Mr Bartlett took to the stage to address the crowd. "As we all know, literally 10 times, probably 20 times as people all around the state at the moment - if you think of that literally, thousands of people gave their time today ... not just to try and get people to vote Green but to get people to realise the significance of the issues and the values that we stand for," he said. "And whilst I have to admit what's unfolding here ... in regards to the composition of the federal House of Representatives has given me a lot of pause for reflection, I've also noticed that not just Green seats but seats around the state in areas much harder to get support than here ... that Green vote has continued to increase." Labor's interest in Brisbane was focused on Dr Newbury, who also spent time speaking with voters at New Farm State School on Saturday. Battle lines - Labor candidate for Brisbane Paul Newbury (left) and LNP incumbent Trevor Evans work either side of the voting line at New Farm state school Credit:Stuart Layt
Corangamite: Along the Great Ocean Road, some southern suburbs of Geelong, and all of the Bellarine Peninsula. It includes Portarlington, Leopold, Queenscliff, Barwon Heads, Torquay, Anglesea, Aireys Inlet, Lorne and Apollo Bay.

Along the Great Ocean Road, some southern suburbs of Geelong, and all of the Bellarine Peninsula. It includes Portarlington, Leopold, Queenscliff, Barwon Heads, Torquay, Anglesea, Aireys Inlet, Lorne and Apollo Bay. Held by: Liberal MP Sarah Henderson

Liberal MP Sarah Henderson Margin: 0.03 per cent

0.03 per cent Challengers: Labor's Libby Coker, Greens' Simon Northeast, independent Damien Cole

The Liberal incumbent in Victoria's most marginal seat was trailing behind her Labor challenger but refusing to concede late on Saturday night.

The Liberal's Sarah Henderson acknowledged she was behind, saying there were still 14,500 postal votes that needed to be counted.

Were obviously behind but there is a chance we could get over the line, she said at 11pm. Im hoping that we can but even if we dont get over the line I know weve run a first-class campaign.
Luckily some chefs enjoy that challenge, Fable's Paul Cooper among them. His menu at this city fringe winery restaurant often swerves mid-service, usually in a way that's imperceptible to the diner (the 6pm booking got porterhouse, your table is offered hanger steak). It brings an energy and authentic connection to produce that filters through the whole experience.

You've probably heard of nose-to-tail eating and the concept of honouring whole beasts, not just so-called prime cuts? It sounds sensible, right? But chefs need to deal with a little considered consequence of methodically working their way through a complete cow, pig or lamb. It's that bits get used up and when they're gone they're gone. You may have cutlets on a menu but when a beast has relinquished its last cutlet, you cannot pluck another from its rump. Instead, you need to be nimble.

Cooper has recently returned to Victoria after six years in Sydney. We don't need to stir old rivalries but let's just say he's glad to be back. His last job in Melbourne was at venerable South Melbourne pub O'Connell's but Cooper was keen to head country for his homecoming. He's taken on the dining room at Bianchet Winery and has started showing a tired premises some love. The restaurant is cosy enough, with a fireplace and curtains to keep out the valley's chill. The open kitchen is framed by cookbooks, signalling a seriousness of culinary intention. Service is willing and cheerful; Cooper delivers some dishes, sharing tales of dish development.

Brisket wellington. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui

By summer, there'll be a pizzeria and wine bar too but the current focus is on building an audience. That shouldn't be too hard, not least because prices are extremely fair: $49 for three courses is a steal.

Of course, cheap is nothing if the product isn't good; Cooper's food is thoughtful and tasty. A sliver of salmon is poached in buttermilk, then dressed with pickled fennel and tiny vegetable shoots, maybe kale and kohlrabi, tasty wisps of purple and green. It's a beautiful dish with a lovely balance of sweet and acidic, soft and crunchy. Cooper doesn't mind the occasional mind-bender: dehydrated yellow watermelon is scattered with preserved duck (salted, dried then grated like bonito). It's piquant and sweet but the melon is squidgy and odd: I file this one as interesting, not delightful. Perhaps that's another byproduct of the whole-beast thing: when you have odd bits to use, some dishes turn out wonderful, some lean towards weird.

The slow-braised meat items are firmly in the wonderful camp. Braised beef brisket is layered with curried spinach and wrapped in puff pastry. It's somewhere between beef Wellington and a French pithivier and is altogether fabulous. Secondary lamb cuts  neck, shoulder, belly  are brined, braised, thickened with a lamb roux, rolled into sausages and wrapped in strands of spiralised potato. The whole package is then fried. It's the apogee of dressed up meat 'n' spud: fancy, succulent and delicious.
Didnt the exit polls there also favour Hillary Clinton at this time of the night only for the actual election results to go the other way and ... ?

But those who remembered the 2016 US presidential election urged caution. For, hang on, wasnt this also exactly the way it was with Trumps election in 2016?

Early in the night all the exit polls seemed to indicate a thumping Labor win, by at least 10 seats. There were perhaps one or two champagne corks popping here and there among ALP folk.

Well, who saw that coming? Perhaps only those who remembered the lessons of Donald Trump.

And HANG ON, that is what is happening before our very eyes! Seat after seat seemed to be heading to the Libs and Nats, particularly in Queensland and Tassie, despite the exit polls, despite the whole vibe, despite the fact that the bookies, who were meant to know everything, had the LNP at 7-1 against holding on to government when the polls closed!

As the night went on, it was all but confirmed. By close of play it was almost certain that Scott Morrison had held on against extraordinary odds. All the polls were dead wrong.

The explanation? The best guess, surely, is some Trumpian dynamic whereby, in the privacy of the ballot box, enough people were voting in a way that they werent saying publicly before the poll, that the results were skewed away from all expectations.

And the other explanation of course, is that all those intent on turning on the Liberals just happened to be living in the seat of Warringah, where former sitting prime minister Tony Abbott was absolutely thumped by Zali Steggall.

But it was Abbott who also offered the best clue of the lot to what happened when he noted, Where climate change is a moral issue, we Liberals do it tough. Where climate change is an economic issue, as the result tonight shows, we do very, very well. And his supporters cheered wildly!
The NSW Upper House is set to force the Berejiklian government to provide more details about how it spends taxpayers money, as the states tourism and events agency lost another bid to keep secret its expenditure on events like Vivid.

Vivid, which starts on Friday, is one of the highlights of Sydneys events calendar, drawing huge crowds to witness the lighting of the Opera House sails and other city buildings.

But Greens Upper House MP David Shoebridge said the NSW Parliament does not have a clear idea how much money is spent on the government-owned and operated event.

Vivid is the highlight of Sydney's event calendar, but the NSW government will not reveal how much it spends on the event. Credit:Brook Mitchell

The Parliament doesnt have any clear idea what has been spent on Vivid, or other similar events, he said. While Im certain much of the public, including myself, supports Vivid and enjoys the spectacle, nothing should be above scrutiny.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott has lost his seat of Warringah after suffering a swing of more than 13 per cent against him, propelling independent challenger Zali Steggall to Parliament.

Significantly ahead on the primary vote, Ms Steggall's victory is an extraordinary rebuke of Mr Abbott, who won the blue-ribbon seat with a margin of 11 per cent in 2016. He has held it since a byelection in 1994.

Tony Abbott admits defeat to Independent Zali Steggall for the seat of Warringah at Manly Leagues Club. Credit:Jessica Hromas

With half the votes counted at 10pm, the Australian Electoral Commission was projecting an emphatic victory for the independent, on a two-candidate-preferred figure of about 59 per cent for Ms Steggall and 41 per cent for Mr Abbott.

The AEC results showed that 45 per cent of voters had given their first preference to Ms Steggall while 39 per cent had backed Mr Abbott, down from 51.5 per cent in 2016.
London: Australian Jock Palfreeman's family fears he is at risk of starvation as his hunger strike over his treatment in a Bulgarian prison approaches 30 days.

Palfreeman, 32, is 11 years into a 20-year sentence for fatally stabbing Bulgarian law student Andrei Monov, 23, during a brawl in the capital Sofia in 2009.

Jock Palfreeman is serving a 20-year sentence in Bulgaria.

The Sydneysider stopped eating on April 21 to protest the unfair treatment he claims to have suffered for his role in the Bulgarian Prisoners' Rehabilitation Association, the country's first prisoner rights and advocacy group, which he founded in 2013.

His father Simon Palfreeman has not been allowed to visit his son since he began his fast almost a month ago.
There are about 30 militias in Iraq with at least 125,000 active-duty fighters and varying loyalties. Many worked in tandem with the Iraqi military in fighting the Islamic State group, and all report to the Iraqi prime minister's office. The concern in Iraq is focused on the handful of groups with strong ties to Iran. Several are close to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and have members who trained in Iran. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, himself a militia leader, has warned of Iranian influence over rival militias in Iraq. Credit:AP "Unfortunately we have groups that want to be more Iranian than Iran itself," said Salah al-Obaidi, the spokesman for populist cleric and powerbroker Muqtada al-Sadr, who has long railed against Iranian influence. "We have concerns about the possibility that the government cannot control the pro-Iranian groups, and this will be a big problem in Iraq." Iraq, Obaidi said, cannot "be the place where America and Iran settle their scores".

The parallels to 2003 do not escape anyone, but then important US allies like Britain, Canada and Japan supported the Bush administration in going to war; now the Trump administration's hostility to Iran is a far lonelier stance. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last weekend abruptly flew to Brussels, where he sought meetings with the European Union nations that are parties to the Iran nuclear deal. Pompeo was not accorded the symbolic welcome of joining their joint Iran-focused meeting. Instead, he met with foreign ministers one by one. US President Donald Trump (left) and National Security Adviser John Bolton in the Oval Office this week. Credit:New York Times Pompeo "didn't show us any evidence" about his reasons Washington is so concerned about potential Iranian aggression, said one senior European official who took part in one of Pompeo's meetings. The official's delegation left the meeting unconvinced of the US case and puzzled about why Pompeo had come at all. President Donald Trump has long called the Iraq War a mistake, and has said US forces should withdraw from the Middle East and other parts of the world. But his national security adviser, John Bolton, has long advocated military strikes against Iran and regime change there. As a State Department official in 2003, he was one of the more hawkish voices on Iraq.

On the streets of Baghdad, many Iraqis say that if there is an armed conflict between Iran or its proxies and the US, it is more likely to take place in the Gulf rather than on Iraqi soil. Unlike the Iraq of 2003, Iraq today is a US ally. "I am not afraid of a war between Iran and the United States," said Ali Selim, 55, a barber who was drying his towels outdoors. "Then the American target was Iraq. This time it's Iran," he said, adding that the militias would not risk their own survival by provoking American retaliation because at the end of the day, they are Iraqis. President Trump addresses troops during a visit to al-Asad Air Base in Iraq in December last year. Credit:New York Times Others dismissed the increased tensions between the United States and Iran as empty sabre-rattling. "It's just talk, just threats," said Salim Abu Hassan, 48, a worker who had just delivered a shipment of baby scales to a medical supply store. He said he had fought in the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, and was in Baghdad when the US attacked 16 years ago. "Iran and America are each one trying to shout louder than the other."

Jayashi, the Iraqi security council member, also said he believed that the Iranian government did not want war. But he said he worried about the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps acting on its own and possibly encouraging the armed groups it has fostered in the region to act on its behalf. It can be difficult to discern Iran's intentions since its elected leadership and government often sound reasonable, but the Revolutionary Guard Corps and particularly its expeditionary Quds Force, whose leader Qasem Soleimani is in regular touch with Iraqi figures, take a far more antagonistic stance toward the United States. Loading However, Jayashi and other senior Iraqi officials said Iran's only request to Iraq has been to prevent the US from using Iraqi soil to launch an attack on Iranian territory. A senior Iraqi official who asked not to be identified said that the Americans had no plans to do that. The official said Pompeo, who visited Iraq last week, told Iraqi leaders that the US respected Iraq's sovereignty and that it would not launch attacks on Iran from Iraq.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Pompeo's message to the Iraqis. Pompeo said that he had discussed the "importance of Iraq ensuring that it's able to adequately protect Americans in their country". According to the official, Pompeo did not address whether the United States would launch an attack on Iraqi soil against an armed group that struck the United States, a scenario now under discussion at the Pentagon. A week ago,the United Arab Emirates reported that four oil tankers had been damaged in attacks off the UAE's coast. Two of them belonged to Saudi Arabia. US officials said this week that there was no definitive evidence linking Iran or its proxies to the attacks. But British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned this week of "the risk of a conflict happening by accident with an escalation that is unintended on either side". Such an escalation spilling into Iraq, which has been at war for most of the time since the US invasion, is a horror many Iraqis wish to believe could not happen again.
Latest News MoneyMe to acquire SocietyOne Deal brings together two of the fastest-growing brands in the non-bank space

Resimac makes key broker channel hires Two new GMs to bolster broker support

The full ban on trail commission payments for mortgage brokers, as recommended by Commissioner Hayne, has been ruled out following the Coalition's election win.

Liberal party leader Scott Morrison confirmed the news in a Sydney press conference that followed a tense 37-day campaign period.

The results are a positive outcome for the third party channel.

The Liberal-led coalition government was the first to give assurances on broker remuneration and fees for service, assuring Australians that it would protect competition, consumers and property owners, as well as the brokers who work for them.

PM Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg made several commitments to mortgage brokers, in letters, speeches and meetings with industry groups.

Most recently, Morrison wrote a letter highlighting how his government had engaged with brokers before deciding not to prohibit trails, and promising to revisit the issue in three years time.

Unlike Labor, we support you and your industry. We will continue to advocate for you and the interests of the consumers you serve so well, the letter stated.

It took Labor 18 days to confirm its position on remuneration after Commissioner Hayne delivered the final report.

In a statement released at the end of February, the party said: Labor will abolish trail commissions from lenders to mortgage brokers and aggregators on new loans from 1 July 2020 as well as banning volume-based commissions and soft dollar payments being offered to brokers by lenders.

The policies

In contrast to Labor, the Liberals policies on property are widely expected to spur a much-needed uptick in market performance in the second half of the year.

Morrison most recently pledged his commitment to the $500m First Home Buyers scheme, which allows eligible FHBs to buy with only a 5% deposit rather than the standard 20%. Labor also pledged to back the scheme.

Small and mid-sized businesses will also receive a boost under the Liberals. Morrison promised that, if re-elected, he would cut taxes from 30% to 27.5% for small businesses earning less than $50m. He also provided assurances that the rate will be lowered further to 25%, although no timeline has been provided.

The party plans to extend instant asset write-offs to $30,000, with additional promises to help cash flow and provide better access to finance. Morrison has also pledged to create 250,000 new small and family businesses over the next five years.

In the Coalitions 2019 Federal Budget, widespread tax cuts topped the fiscal agenda, while infrastructure spending, support for small business and relief for the agriculture industry, all featured heavily.

There will be more on this story next week.
Dear Reader,

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In 2017, when clinician scientist Gagandeep Kang and her colleagues started an extensive typhoid surveillance study across India, the general perception among the scientific community was that typhoid was significantly declining based on the data reported by big hospitals in India. But when Kangs team began to closely study people at the community level, it found about 20-fold increase in typhoid cases, mostly children, at most study centres in comparison to the numbers reported by the hospitals.

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.



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While campaigning in Begusarai, the Leningrad of Bihar, Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate Kanhaiya Kumar and his supporters were hosted by the mukhiya (who was affiliated to the CPI) of Bahrampur village for lunch. Many young villagers also joined in.

But for several of them, the wholehearted welcome to Kanhaiya was only a good gesture and not because of any love for him. The village has been a CPI bastion for long but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to make inroads in the Lok Sabha election in 2014 when it was riding the ...
While Tapan was quick to tell anyone that Banerjee is the best bet for the state, he admitted that he doesnt know about any of the schemes she has started. Across Indias vast hinterland, the digital revolution has made information instantaneous, but the consequences of that have panned out not in a way the ...

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.



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The US Commerce Department said on Friday it may soon scale back restrictions on Huawei Technologies after this week's blacklisting would have made it nearly impossible for the Chinese company to service its existing customers. The Commerce Department, which had effectively halted Huawei's ability to buy American-made parts and components, is considering issuing a temporary general license to "prevent the interruption of existing network operations and equipment," a spokeswoman said. Potential beneficiaries of the license could, for example, include internet ...
One terrorist was killed in an encounter in Hathlangoo area in Sopore district on Saturday, police said.

"On a credible input, a search operation was launched by police and security forces in Hathlangoo area of Sopore. During the search operation, terrorists hiding at a nearby place fired on the security forces," police said in a statement.

Following this, an exchange of fire between the two sides took place. In the encounter, a terrorist was killed and the body was retrieved from the site.

Police said that the identity and affiliation of the terrorist were being ascertained.

Furthermore, incriminating materials including arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of the encounter.

"With the efforts of police and security forces, it was a clean operation and no collateral damage took place during the exchange of fire," police said.

A search operation is being carried out in the area. Police have requested the locals not to venture around the area till it is completely sanitized.

This is the second encounter, which took place in the state today.

Three terrorists affiliated with proscribed terror outfit -- Hizbul Mujahideen -- were killed in a separate encounter in Pulwama district.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Election Commission of India (ECI) will be deploying 710 companies of security forces to ensure that the last phase of Lok Sabha polling in West Bengal on Sunday goes off peacefully.

"710 companies of security personnel will be providing 100 per cent coverage during the seventh phase of elections in West Bengal. This will include 512 quick response teams (QRTs) led by assistant commandants," said the EC in a statement.

Out of these 710 companies, a total of 147 companies will be deployed in constituencies which fall under the police jurisdiction of Kolkata police jurisdiction. Two QRTs will be deployed in each police station, the EC said.

The seats which go to polls on Sunday are Kolkata North, Kolkata South, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, Jaynagar (SC) and Mathurapur (SC).

The poll body on Wednesday decided to cut short the campaign period in the state after violence was reported during BJP chief Amit Shah's road-show on Tuesday.

BJP and Communist Party of India (Marxist) had complained to the EC over violence and had demanded adequate measures to ensure that polls are held in a free and fair manner.

The campaigning for last phase of elections ended on Friday evening. In all, 59 Lok Sabha seats will go to polls on Sunday in six States and one Union Territory. 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 delegation of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders on Saturday approached Tamil Nadu's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sathyabrata Sahoo alleging that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is distributing money to voters at the four Assembly constituencies where by-elections will be held on Sunday.

Bypolls are scheduled to be held in Aravakuruchi, Sulur, Thiruparankundram, and Ottapidaram assembly constituencies.

"AIADMK ministers still camp in the election constituency even after campaigning has ended. They are indulging in money distribution to voters. AIADMK is transporting money through vehicles. We have collected the details and gave proof to Tamil Nadu CEO. We have demanded that more security be deployed in the by-election constituencies," DMK Rajya Sabha MP RS Barathy told media here after meeting Sahoo along with senior advocates of the party.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has ordered re-polling in 13 booths in Tamil Nadu during the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha polls on Sunday.

Re-polling will be held in eight polling stations in Dharmapuri, two in Theni and one each in Cuddalore, Tiruvallur, and Erode.

Tamil Nadu, which has 38 Parliamentary constituencies, went to polls during the second phase of polling on April 18. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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Rajasthan Police filed a charge sheet against all six accused in the Alwar gang rape case at a local court here on Saturday.

The case pertains to the incident where a Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped by five men while her husband was beaten up in Thanagaji area on April 26. One of the accused also shot a video of the heinous act and reportedly circulated it on social media.

The 500-page charge sheet, along with supporting documents and evidence, was produced in ADJ court SC/ST Alwar. Police have chargesheeted the accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the accused, including sections of interception, kidnapping, and gang rape.

"Today we have produced challan against all the 6 accused. Relevant IPC sections for intercepting, kidnapping, tearing clothes, using casteist comments, gang-rape, dacoity etc have been slammed. IT Act has also been slammed against them, while the sixth accused is also booked under IT Act for making the video viral," said a senior police official.

The official also informed that the charge sheet contains all the requisite proof including technical evidence. He informed that police will produce additional evidence in court after the forensic report is obtained.

On April 26, the woman and her husband were travelling from Lalwadi to Taalvraksh on a bike when about five men aged between 20-25 years, stopped them and took them to a deserted area. The husband was allegedly assaulted and tied up while the woman was gang-raped. The culprits reportedly threatened the couple that they would make the video of the incident viral if a police complaint was registered.

The accused also demanded money from the couple, which was given to them. But later, when the miscreants demanded money again, the couple reported the matter to the police on May 2.

A political slugfest had erupted over the case, with BJP leaders blaming the Congress-led government in the state for an alleged failure of law and order. It had also demanded Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's resignation while accusing him of deliberately taking no action for electoral gains.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
For his continuous support in promoting the cause of children's rights, Anil Kapoor was felicitated by Council of European Chambers of Commerce in India and a European Union delegation in Mumbai.

The event also marked the celebration of EU Day 2019 on Friday. Anil Kapoor, who has been working in collaboration with Plan India, a child rights organisation, was the guest of honour at the event.

Tomasz Kozlowski, EU Ambassador to India said, "Council of European Chambers of Commerce in India traditionally organises EU based celebrations. I am so happy that Anil Kapoor is with us today because he is so famous in promoting cultural ties between India and European countries."

Praising Anil Kapoor, the ambassador added, "Mr. Kapoor is also known as a very devoted promoter of social values, women rights. We spent some time together in October last year, promoting girls' rights in an event organised by Plan India."

The 'Slumdog Millionaire' actor has been supporting girls' and children's rights for which the actor got recognition from the EU delegation.

Presenting the citation to Kapoor, Tomasz said, "On the occasion of Europe Day 2019, Mr. Anil Kapoor is a distinguished exponent in the art of acting and master of his craft."

"He has contributed immensely to the Indian and International film industry and through it connected and inspired many people of the world," he added.

Calling cinema a bridge connecting people, he said, "Cinema transcending across the borders is a strong bridge builder between the people of Europe and India. Numerous Indian films have been shot in Europe."

"Mr. Kapoor has lent his support to various important social causes including girl child campaign by Plan India which was supported by EU," said Kozlowski.

"As an organisation, which has always been a strong advocate for the advancement of women empowerment, girl child rights, and equality, the EU would like to felicitate Mr. Kapoor for his principled stand and relentless efforts in these areas," he added.

After receiving the citation, an overwhelmed Anil Kapoor expressed his gratitude and said, "It's been very educative, very emotional and one of the best evening of my career. I don't know if I deserve this honour but I want to thank you (Tomasz) for giving me this honour."

"And give my regards and best wishes to your wife because she loves Slumdog Millionaire," Kapoor jokingly replied Tomasz who earlier said that her wife really admires Anil's performance in Slumdog Millionaire.

Emphasizing on the need to strengthen Europe-India ties, Anil added, "Europe and India have a lot of things in common, we should encourage that our ties become better and better."

Kapoor congratulated the performers for their spectacular performances towards the end of his short address.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An ATM cloning gang was busted on Saturday here after police got complaints about several unauthorised money deductions from ATMs.

Monika Bhardwaj, DCP, West Delhi said, "We had registered a case on May 11 after we got around 28 complaints about the unauthorised deduction of money from ATM."

Further investigations revealed that around 88 unauthorised transactions in the span of one week were done from two ATMs in Tilak Nagar, West Delhi. A gang of four members -- Dharmendra Saini, Siddharth Gandhi, Sunil Kumar, and Mayank Shukla -- were arrested.

As per the police, Gandhi and Saini were previously involved in such cases.

Bhardwaj said, "Gandhi and Saini have around 20 previous involvements in such cases. They have previously been arrested in Jaipur, Chandigarh, and Mumbai."

The accused had targeted ATMs that did not have any guards while skimming machines, plain cards, and artificial keypads were bought online, Bhardwaj revealed.

"ATMs without guards were targeted. The two ATMs in Tilak Nagar did not have any guard. Moreover, the withdrawals were not done from one single ATM," the DCP added.

Further investigation into the matter is underway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj on Saturday slammed the Delhi Police for not taking action against the accused who had attacked Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the past.

On May 5, Kejriwal was slapped by a man in west Delhi's Moti Nagar area while he was campaigning.

While reacting on Arvind Kejriwal's statement, that his security officers report to BJP and there is a threat to his life, Bhardwaj told ANI, "After Kejriwal became the chief minister of Delhi, he was attacked six times. He was attacked in the presence of Z plus security and even in presence of Delhi police. We have no trust in Delhi police."

"This is a big security failure and even after this incident, the Police Commissioner of Delhi was not suspended. There was no enquiry done on any senior police official, which indicates that the Centre is protecting the police."

Referring to Indira Gandhi's assassination, The AAP leader said, "In past, one of our former Prime Minister was killed by her own bodyguard. So the security of Kejriwal is an important issue which should not be ignored".

When the CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury was asked about Kejriwal's comments regarding his security, he said, "We don't have any information about what Arvind Kejriwal is saying, but if he is saying such a thing with so much confidence then the central government should take it seriously."

"This is a question of security and it should not be dealt in a careless manner," the CPI (M) leader added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Security forces in a joint operation neutralised a Naxal here in early hours of Saturday.

Joint team of 205 COBRA troops and Bihar Police gunned down the naxal during a search operation in Gaya's Lutua.

Arun Singh, Superintendent of Police Gaya said that CoBRA troops recovered the Naxal's body and an AK-47 rifle during a post-encounter search. AK 47 ammunitions were also recovered.

The forces also seized 2 Kilograms of an improvised explosive device (IED) which was destroyed on the spot.

"One Naxal was shot down in an encounter with the Cobra troops. Weapons were also recovered from the body of the Naxal who was killed. We are trying to identify him at the earliest," he said.

Search operation in the Gaya-Aurangabad border area is underway. Additional troops have been deployed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
China's Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui, who is said to have played a signficant role in dousing of tensions during the Doklam standoff and subsequently, will be returning to Beijing after he was promoted to the level of a vice-minister.

According to sources, the Chinese envoy has been widely appreciated for his expertise in India and its foreign policy and his rapport with the political leaders of the country.

Zhaohui played a key role in back-channel talks in piping down by his government on the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as an international terrorist at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and was also stationed in New Delhi during the Doklam crisis in 2017, sources said.

Zhaou has a good understanding of South Asia and has been a very strong advocate of people to people ties between India and China, sources added.

He was also present in Wuhan where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met to conduct their hours-long informal talks in April 2018. The Wuhan summit enabled in resetting the Sino-India ties in the backdrop of the Doklam crisis, sources said.

The person who will replace Zhou has not been announced officially by China.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Verma had questioned the government's decision of overlooking him for the post of Navy chief despite he being the seniormost.

Rejecting his statutory complaint filed on April 10, Defence Ministry's Joint Secretary (Navy) Richa Mishra clarified that though seniority is an important criterion while appointing services chiefs but it is not the "sole" criteria. It has been dispensed with in the past too while appointing the Navy chiefs.

The Defence Ministry in its order said, "The Central government after careful examination of the matter is of the opinion that this statutory petition dated April 10 from Vice Admiral Verma regarding his non-selection as the chief of naval staff is devoid of merit and be rejected."

The ministry further said, "Upon examination, the Central government is satisfied that the parameters for selection as evident from consistent practice were applied uniformly to all the officers in the zone of consideration and based on the assessment, Verma being the senior most eligible officer was considered and found unsuitable to tenets of the appointment of Chief of naval staff."

"The Central government is also satisfied that no unsubstantiated frivolous, extraneous or irrelevant consideration has had a bearing on this said selection," Richa Mishra said in her order rejecting the Verma's plea.

After the government overlooked him and designated Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Navy chief, Verma who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command approached the armed forces tribunal.

The government last month named Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as next chief of the naval staff, succeeding Admiral Sunil Lanba who will retire on May 31.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Differences in the Election Commission have burst out in the open with Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa keeping away from the meetings of the full Commission over his dissent on crucial decisions not being recorded but Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora sought to downplay the controversy saying all the Commissioners are "not expected to be template or clones of each other".

Arora, virtually hit back at Lavasa, saying "ill-timed" controversies should be avoided.

Lavasa, who had dissented on the series of clean chits given by the Commission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah on their speeches during the election campaign, has written a letter to Arora even hinting at "taking recourse to other measures" for restoring the "lawful" functioning of the Commission in terms of recording minority decisions.

"I am being forced to stay away from the meetings of the full Commission since minority decisions are not being recorded. My participation in the deliberations of the Commission becomes meaningless since my minority decisions go unrecorded," he said.

Lavasa said he might consider taking recourse to other measures aimed at restoring the lawful functioning of the Commission in terms of recording minority decisions.

"My various notes on the need for transparency in the recording and disclosure of all decisions including the minority view have gone unheeded, forcing me to withdraw from participating in the deliberations of the complaints," he said in the letter to Arora.

The office of the CEC on Saturday released a statement of Arora which said there has been an "unsavoury and avoidable" controversy reported in the media today about the internal functioning of the Commission in respect of the handling Mode Code of Conduct.

This, he said, has come at a time when all the Chief Electoral Officers throughout the country and their teams were geared for the seventh and last phase of polling on Sunday. All of them and the senior officers of the EC headquarters have been working their utmost during the last six phases of elections which barring an odd incident here and there have been largely peaceful and conducted in a fair, free and transparent manner.

"The three members of ECI are not expected to be template or clones of each other. There have been so many times in the past when there has been a vast diversion of views as it can and should be. But the same largely remained within the confines of ECI after demission of office unless appearing much later in a book written by the concerned ECs?CECs.

"I said few days back in another leading daily that eloquence of silence is always difficult but far more desirable which is to see the election process through instead of creating ill-timed controversies."

Arora said it needs to be mentioned in the last meeting of the Commission on May 14, it was unanimously decided that some groups shall be formed to deliberate the issues, which arose in the course of conduct of Lok Sabha elections just as it was done after the elections in 2014.

Out of the 13 issues and areas which were identified, Model Code of Conduct is one of them, Arora said.

Lavasa had opposed and dissented on the clean chits given by the Commission to Modi and Shah over the alleged violations of the Model Code of Conduct by them during their campaign. The Congress and CPI(M) had complained against Modi's speeches invoking the armed forces in the context of the Balakot aerial strikes and on issues relating to minorities.

Reacting to the developments in the Commission, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the "erosion of institutional integrity" was the "hallmark" of the Modi government.

"Election Commission or Election Omission. Another Dark Day for Democracy. Sh Ashok Lavasa, Member of EC, who dissented on multiple occasions when EC was busy giving clean chits to Modi-Shah duo, opts out of EC as the ECI even refuse to record dissent notes," he said.

"Erosion of institutional integrity iks the hallmark of Modi govt. SC judges going public, RBI Guv's resigning, CBI Director getting removed, CVC giving various reports, Now Dividing Election Commission! Will EC save the embarrassment by recording Sh Lavasa's dissent notes?", Surjewala asked.

He said the Election Commission was working at Modi's behest. Lavasa's letter makes it clear that CEC was not even ready to record the difference of opinion of Lavasa regarding Modi and Sha, he said.

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After some sniping between the coalition partners. Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday asked leaders of his own party Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and of Congress to abstain from commenting against each other.

"We are on the verge of forming a new government at the Centre. At this juncture, where all efforts are being made to form non-BJP government at the centre, the contradictory statements by leaders of coalition partners #Congress-#JDS may mar such efforts," a tweet by Kumaraswamy read.

In his second tweet, he said "Hence my humble request to the leaders of both the parties to restrain from making contradictory- controversial statements in public and to support the cause," his second tweet read.

Congress and JDS are in an uneasy coalition with differences within coming out in open often.

Most recently, in a veiled jibe at his predecessor Siddaramaia of the Congress, Kumaraswamy said on Tuesday, "Mallikarjun Kharge should have become the Chief Minister long ago. I feel that injustice has happened with him. I would like to clearly state that, even I feel that, Kharge has not been given recognition for all the work he has done."

Siddaramaiah hit back saying even H D Revanna, brother of Kumaraswamy, is a chief minister material.

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A dreaded criminal was arrested after an exchange of fire with Kavi Nagar police here on Saturday.

The accused identified as Sharukh was carrying Rs 25,000 bounty on his head.

According to police, "One motorcycle and a licensee pistol have been recovered from the criminal."

One of his accomplices has fled the spot. "A team is carrying out search operations in the area," police said.

One Constable along with the criminal, who was injured in the process was sent to the hospital for treatment.

A case has been registered in this regard. Further investigation is underway.

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From a Kanjeevaram saree to an edgy pantsuit followed by a dreamy white embellished gown, Kangana Ranaut has perfectly cut a dash. As the actor headed to the Chopard event, she chose to be the dove!

'Queen' has never shied away from coming out of the box and once again, the actor chose to dress in her unique style.

Kangana's team shared an applaudable image of the actor as she joins the Chopard party at Cannes. Dolled up in a white gown, the team called her the 'dove' and captioned, "The dove has landed at the Chopard party."

For her fourth look, Ranaut dressed up in a Toni Maticevski plain white gown. It seems like the actor can't get enough of 'white' colour.

With a full sleeve on one side, the white ensemble had a halter neck design on the other with a ruffled neckline. To break the monotony, the actor went for a pair of blue strappy heels.

The 'Manikarnika' actor kept a minimalistic makeup but highlighted the eyes with a blue shimmery winged eyeliner. Keeping her hair tied in a top neat bun, the actor flaunted her oomph in a striking pose. A pair of emerald diamond earrings perfected the look of the 'dove'.

For her red carpet appearance, she wore a customised Falguni Shane Peacock corset with a golden Kanjeevaram sari and burgundy-coloured gloves -- a nod to Audrey Hepburn's iconic retro gloves from the all-time classic movie 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'.

After the red carpet, she changed into an edgy Nedret Taciroglu pant-suit for the Grey Goose party.

Apart from Kangana, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, and Selena Gomez were some of the A-listers who dazzled at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival red carpet.

Other Indian actors who made their debut at Cannes 2019 are Diana Penty and Hina Khan.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Kangana will be seen in Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari's 'Panga'.

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The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday disposed of the actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol's plea for the deployment of paramilitary forces in Gurdaspur.

Deol, who is contesting from Gurdas Lok Sabha seat, sought deployment of the forces on the ground that 'it is prone to violence.'

However, the court turned down his plea after the Election Commission of India assured that appropriate action had been initiated in this regard.

The Bench of Justice Daya Chaudhary and Justice Sudhir Mittal said that representation sent by the petitioner is already under active consideration which clearly shows that action on the representation of the petitioner has already been taken.

"In view of the action taken by respondents No 1 and 2, no further direction is required to be issued in this petition and the present petition is disposed of accordingly," it said.

In his petition, Deol stated, "Gurdaspur Parliamentary Constituency is a Border constituency and witnessed poll violence in the Panchayat polls conducted in the month of December 2018."

The court also mentioned the action which has been said to be taken. "Out of 1826, 111 no of booths are categorized as critical and 467 booths as vulnerable," it said.

Deol has been fielded against Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Sunil Jakhar who won the Gurdaspur seat, which went to by-poll in October 2017 after the demise of BJP MP Vinod Khanna.

Gurdaspur will go to polls on May 19 in the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

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A closer look at the PM's fashion choice for the visit also hinted at subtle messaging intended for those voting in West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh tomorrow in the last phase of voting. When asked about PM's choice, sources travelling with the Prime Minister said that he was wearing a robe like garment similar to a 'Jobba' with a saffron belt around the waist. His headgear of choice was a 'Himachali topi' (cap indigenous to Himachal Pradesh). The 'Jobba' was made trendy by Nobel prize winner and one of West Bengal's most famous sons Rabindranath Tagore while the saffron belt sported by Modi today was a homage to Kolkata-born Hindu philosopher Swami Vivekananda who was often seen wearing one.

The 'Himachali topi' completed PM's attire, which seemed to be an apparent signal to the voters of West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh, who will exercise their franchise tomorrow. PM Modi was also seen meditating inside a cave near the premises of the Kedarnath temple. Sources said the PM would come out of the cave tomorrow morning, only to be disturbed in case of matters that would need his urgent attention. The final phase of polling for 59 Lok Sabha seats will be held tomorrow, in which 13 seats of Punjab, 13 in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat of Chandigarh will be decided. Modi too is in the fray in this phase with Varanasi.

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Three terrorists affiliated with proscribed terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen were killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Saturday, Jammu and Kashmir police said.

"On a credible input, a cordon and search operation was launched today by police and security forces at Pangam area in Awantipora," state police said in a statement.

"In the ensuing encounter, three terrorists were killed and the bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter. The killed terrorists have been identified as Showkat Dar of Panzgam Awantipora, Irfan War of Wadoora Payeen Sopore and Muzaffar Sheikh of Tahab Pulwama," police added.

All the three killed terrorists, according to the police records, were affiliated with proscribed terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen. They were wanted by law for their complicity in a series of terror crimes including attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities. Several terror crime cases were registered against them.

Incriminating materials including arms and ammunition was recovered from the site of encounter. Police has registered a case and all these materials have been taken in the case records for the purpose of investigation and to probe their complicity in other terror crimes.

The Jammu and Kashmir police has requested citizens "not to venture inside the encounter zone since such an area can prove dangerous due to stray explosive materials."

People are requested to cooperate with police till the area is completely sanitized and cleared of all the explosives materials if any.

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The terrorist who was killed in an encounter in Sopore area of north Kashmir's Baramulla district on Saturday has been identified as a resident of Awantipora, police said.

"The terrorist killed in Hathlangoo area of Sopore has been identified as Waseem Ahmad Naikoo of Barsoo, Awantipora," police said in a statement.

According to police records, Naikoo had joined Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in February.

"He had joined proscribed terror outfit JeM after he went missing from his home in February 2019," police said.

A case has been registered and the matter is being investigated.

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Six people have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping of a 64-year-old Mumbai based businessman from the capital, the police said on Saturday.

"Mumbai based businessman who was staying at Hotel Taj was kidnapped on Friday. Kidnappers also took Rs 30 lakh as ransom and fled. The police was informed at 10:50 pm," said Eish Singhal, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), New Delhi.

"A Verna car was used for the kidnapping. We constituted different police teams to nab the gang. Based on call detail record (CDR), the car was tracked down at Laxmi Nagar. Six people were arrested and the man was recused," he said.

The case was solved within six hours. Further investigation is underway.

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HD Deve Gowda, the former prime minister, and chief of Janata Dal- Secular (JD-S) on Saturday reiterated his support to the Congress party in the ongoing general elections.

Gowda, whose party JD-S, is in coalition with the Congress in the Karnataka state, told ANI that the election results will clear the political picture of the country.

"We are with Congress; I do not want to speak anything more. On May 23, results will come, a clear picture will be known to the entire country, and what further development takes place," he said.

Earlier, the JD-S supremo had pledged support to Rahul Gandhi if he becomes the prime minister.

Of the 28 parliamentary constituencies in Karnataka, Congress and JD-S contested on 21 and 7 seats, respectively, as per a pre-poll arrangement.

Counting of votes will begin on May 23.

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday issued a notice to Congress candidate from Khandwa parliamentary constituency in Madhya Pradesh, Arun Subhas Chandra Yadav for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

EC directed the Congress leader to file an explanation on the matter within a day.

The official statement of the Election Commission states, "In a complaint filed on May 3, BJP leader Neeraj accused Yadav of violating the MCC by distributing pamphlets/enrolment form for NYAY scheme."

"On enquiry, it is found that the said forms/pamphlets had the election symbol of the Congress party and a photograph of Congress president Rahul Gandhi," added the statement.

"It is further decided that the Congress candidate Arun Subhas Chandra Yadav should give an explanation regarding the above matter within 24 hours before the Commission."

In Khandwa, Congress candidate Yadav is contesting against sitting BJP MP from Nandkumar Singh Chouhan.

Khandwa will go to polls on the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections tomorrow along with seven other parliamentary constituencies in Madhya Pradesh.

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Australia kick-started polling on Saturday morning to elect their next Prime Minister and members of Parliament.

Around 16.5 million Australians are slated to exercise their franchise by 6 pm today. Over four million eligible voters have already cast ballots in early voting by Thursday, according to Al Jazeera.

The polls are widely being referred to as the "climate change elections" by the local media.

"Climate change is the most important issue right now. I'd like to work towards relying purely on renewables in the next few years," a 24-year-old voter told Al Jazeera.

The two main parties vying for a win are Prime Minister Scott Morrison's centre-right Liberal-National Coalition and the centre-left Australian Labour Party, which is helmed by Bill Shorten.

The parties need 77 seats to win a majority in the House of Representatives. Exit polls indicate that the results will be close as the Coalition currently holds 73 seats while the Labour Party has 72.

Other parties like the left-wing Greens and the United Australia Party may make gains at the polls today. The Greens may especially benefit from voters wanting action on climate change.

Internal fights in political parties have led to Australians witnessing six changes of Prime Ministers over the last 12 years.

The results of the elections are expected to be announced either by Saturday night or by Sunday morning.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday offered prayers at the Kedarnath temple after arriving here earlier in the day.

PM Modi arrived at the hill shrine in a chopper and walked from the helipad to the Himalayan shrine, dedicated to Lord Shiva.

On the way, he also greeted people who were standing at a distance to get a glimpse of the prime minister.

In the temple, Modi sat on the floor in front of the deity and performed rituals.

Thereafter, he also took rounds of the sanctum-sanctorum as per Hindu practice of worship. He also stepped out of the temple premises and greeted the crowd. People gathered around the temple also greeted the Prime Minister with loud chants of 'Har Har Mahadev'.

Modi also took stock of the Kedarnath re-development project and was seen being briefed by the senior officials.

This is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fourth visit in three years.

Prime Minister Modi is also scheduled to visit Badrinath temple during the ongoing Uttarakhand visit.

Modi's visit to the holy shrine comes a day before 59 parliamentary constituencies, including Varanasi, will go to polls in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The results of 2019 Lok Sabha polls will also be announced next week itself.

Keeping in view PM's arrival, security is heightened near the shrine which is located at 11,755 ft above the sea level.

In November last year, Prime Minister Modi had visited the Kedarnath shrine during Diwali.

In 2017, he paid visits to the temple twice, once in May after its gate had opened following a six-month winter break and again in October, before the temple again closed for winters.

This year, the portals of the Kedarnath temple in the Garhwal Himalayan range of Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district was thrown open to pilgrims on May 9 after a six-month-long winter break.

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Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday cornered Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of development of eastern Uttar Pradesh and asserted that it would be 'more historic than a win' if PM loses from Varanasi -- his parliamentary constituency.

Taking to Twitter, Mayawati attacked the 'Gujarat model of development' and wrote, "The Gujarat model of PM Modi was not at all successful in eliminating extreme poverty, unemployment and backwardness of the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh. This is blatant deceit. Instead of development, the Modi-Yogi double-engined government has only given communal tension, hatred and violence to the country."

"This deception and betrayal happened with people of Purvanchal even when PM and UP's CM, both represent this region. If Yogi can be turned down by Gorakhpur, wouldn't the defeat of PM Modi from Varanasi be more historic than his win? Will Varanasi repeat what Raebareli did in 1977?" she added.

Mayawati was referring to the 1977 elections in which the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was defeated from Raebareli constituency.

Campaigning in the bitterly-fought high-stakes Lok Sabha elections, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a second-term, came to an end on Friday evening with parties making claims about their victory ahead of polling in 59 constituencies spread over six states and one union territory on May 19.

The constituencies going to polls tomorrow also include Varanasi.

Modi, who is contesting from Varanasi, did not go for campaigning to his constituency where he did a massive road ahead of the filing of nominations. Congress leader Ajay Rai, who lost to Modi in the last elections, will again face the prime minister while SP has fielded Shalini Yadav from the seat.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be offering prayers at the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand on Saturday.

PM Modi's visit to the holy shrine comes a day before 59 parliamentary constituencies, including Varanasi, will go to polls in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The results of 2019 Lok Sabha polls will also be announced next week itself.

Keeping in view PM's arrival, security has been tightened near the shrine which is located at 11,755 ft above the sea level.

Tripti Bhatt, Commandant State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) has directed all officials in the Kedarnath valley to maintain vigil in view of the Prime Minister's visit to the temple.

The Himalayan shrine, dedicated to Shiva, has been visited multiple times by PM Modi during his ongoing term in the office.

In November last year, Prime Minister Modi had visited the Kedarnath shrine during Diwali.

In 2017, he paid visits to the temple twice, once in May after its gate had opened following a six-month winter break and again in October, before the temple again closed for winters.

This year, the portals of the Kedarnath temple in the Garhwal Himalayan range of Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district were thrown open to pilgrims on May 9 after a six-month-long winter break.

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Setting couple goals yet again, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and her husband, Nick Jonas, stole the show on the Cannes red carpet in coordinated white ensembles on Saturday.

Wearing a gorgeous Georges Hobeika number, PeeCee looked like a dream when she ascended the famous Cannes steps with Nick in tow. Braving a light drizzle, the couple attended the screening of French drama film 'Les Plus Belles Annees D'Une Vie'.

Minimalistic make-up and beautiful Chopard diamonds completed Priyanka's look on her third day at the French Riviera. White tufts of gossamer coupled with a neat hairdo drove home the point that nobody owns fashion like Priyanka does!

What really made us go "aww" though, was when Nick, like a true gentleman straight out of a Jane Austen novel, held the umbrella up as the two went up the famed steps.

Looking dapper in all white, Nick opted for a classic tux with a bow tie and black shoes.

The two have been grabbing eyeballs at Cannes this year, with Priyanka leaving the crowd wanting for more in a black, shimmery Roberto Cavalli gown on her first red carpet appearance at the iconic festival.

Before that, she redefined power dressing when she stepped out in an all-white pleated Honayda jumpsuit with a striking cape, paired with a micro bag from Akris.

She later opted for a lavender Fendi dress for the Chopard party, while Nick looked sharp in a black suit.

Other Bollywood stars who dazzled at Cannes were Kangana Ranaut, Deepika Padukone, Diana Penty and Huma Qureshi. TV actress Hina Khan also made her debut at Cannes this year wearing a stunning Ziad Nakad gown.

While Deepika returned home to Ranveer Singh after giving us a few of the most iconic fashion moments, Diana Penty sashayed into "Day 2 at Cannes" in an Amit Aggarwal saree for the FICCI Forum at the India Pavilion.

She had earlier attended the Chopard party in a fringed golden Celia Kritharioti Couture mini creation, paired with bejewelled boots from the same designer.

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Syrian air defence systems on Friday intercepted "luminous objects coming from the (Israeli) occupied territories, shooting down a number of them," as per Syrian state media.

"Our anti-aircraft systems monitored hostile targets that came from the direction of Quneitra and intercepted them," the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) quoted a Syrian military official as saying.

Anti-air missiles can be seen intercepting at least one target over Damascus in a video footage shot on a cell phone.

Quoting a political analyst, Sputnik reported that warplanes belonging to Israel allegedly targeted two of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sites, located south and southwest of Damascus.

Syria had accused Tel Aviv of carrying out an airstrike on military bases in Masayef last month.

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The Supreme Court on Saturday, said it was "not satisfied" with the progress made by the SIT constituted by Chattisgarh government to probe Edesmeta massacre and referred the case to CBI for expeditious investigation.

The bench of Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice MR Shah directed the CBI to investigate the case and not include the officers in the team who are from the State of Chhattisgarh.

"We are of the opinion that more than five years have passed without any effective investigation or enquiry being done in the matter of the death of tribals in the State of Chhattisgarh. We are convinced that the matter pertaining to the inquiry into the incident should be referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for expeditious investigation."

"The Director, CBI shall ensure that the investigation is done by an officer/officers who are not from the State of Chhattisgarh," the Bench said in its order.

Eight members of a tribe belonging to Madia/Koya community were allegedly killed on May 17, 2013, due to the firing by combined forces.

The petition was filed by government teacher, Degree Prasad Chouhan, seeking constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising of officers from outside the state of Chhattisgarh to investigate and prosecute the members of the combined forces for the alleged massacre.

The plea also sought a direction to the government to pay compensation to the victims and their families.

A Special Investigation Team was constituted by the State of Chhattisgarh on May 28, 2013, to inquire into the incident.

The Bench had earlier directed the State of Chhattisgarh to file an affidavit informing the Court about the progress made by the SIT.

Pursuant to the direction, an affidavit was filed by the Additional Superintendent of Police, District, Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, stating that apart from the witnesses who were examined by the investigation officer earlier, "only five witnesses could be examined by the SIT" and efforts were being made to trace the Naxalites.

The top court said it was "not satisfied" with the progress made by the SIT from2014 till now in conducting an inquiry into the death of eight tribals.

The Bench will hear the case next in July.

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A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar on Saturday for allegedly abusing and threatening BJP workers at a public meeting on Friday in Ghazipur.

The complaint was filed by BJP worker Anoop Singh Chandan earlier today at Hasratganj Kotawali Police Station.

"An FIR has been registered against OP Rajbhar for mistreating and abusing BJP workers at a public meeting in Ghazipur. He has even asked his supporters and party cadres to thrash BJP workers if they attempt to spread any misinformation ahead of the last phase of the polling," Anoop Singh Chandan told ANI.

He further claimed that Rabhar, who attended his party's candidate Arvind's rally, asked his supporters to hit BJP leaders with "boots at least 10 times" if they are found spreading any rumours about SBSP.

Chandan said if police administration will not take any action against the SBSP chief then he will lock Rajbhar's Lucknow residence on 26 May.

"Rajbhar is a person who could not win Gram Panchayat elections on his own. Despite that BJP gave him a place in the party and made him Cabinet Minister. But now he is humiliating BJP workers," Chandan said.

SBSP is an ally of the BJP since 2017 and Rajbhar is a Minister of Backward Welfare in the government led by Yogi Adityanath.

Earlier on May 6, Rajbhar said he had resigned as a cabinet minister from Uttar Pradesh government over the seat-sharing agreement with the BJP.

"I had resigned on the night of April 13 from the post of state minister when they (BJP) said that you have to contest on our symbol. I told them I will contest from only one seat but from my own party. However, they did not agree to that either. Following which, I immediately resigned but they did not accept my resignation," he had said.

He had also alleged that the BJP wanted to "eliminate" the SBSP as it did not give them a single ticket to contest in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh are being held from April 11 and will go on till May 19 in all seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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Candidates who had cleared Uttar Pradesh Police recruitment exam in 2013 staged a protest outside District Magistrate office in Lucknow claiming that even candidates from 2018 batch were appointed but not from the batch of 2013.

"It has been six years but we have not been appointed yet. Even the candidates from 2018 batch have been appointed. If our demands are not heard we will commit suicide" one of the protestors said on Friday.

Another protestor told ANI that they have approached Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, State Home Secretary and other concerned officials but of no avail.

Narrating their ordeal, the protestors have threatened to commit suicide as no option is left with them.

"We had won the case in High Court. The court said that we are given appointment letters but it did not happen. We have met State Home Secretary, Chief Minister and DG-UP Police Recruitment and Promotion Board but to no avail. We have no other option but to commit suicide, also written to the President," a protestor said.

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A US judge on Friday ordered the release of four activists who were detained by US authorities from the premises of the Venezuelan embassy here on Thursday morning.

Embassy Protection Collective activists started living inside the Venezuelan embassy in Washington DC from April 10 in a bid to prevent the United States and Juan Guaido-led government from seizing the premises in the wake of a political crisis in the South American nation.

Tensions between the United States and the Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro-led authorities are high since earlier this year when Washington recognised Venezuelan National Assembly President Juan Guaido as the official interim President of the South American nation. Maduro has accused the US of plotting a coup to oust him from power, labelling Guaido as a US "puppet".

US Secret Service agents forcibly entered the embassy on Monday, ordering all activists to leave the premises or face prosecution and imprisonment. The four activists who ignored the threats and continued to remain there were detained by the law enforcement officials.

The collective's legal counsel, Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, outlined that the US had not charged the four activists with trespassing, according to Sputnik.

Identified as Kevin Zeese, Adrienne Pine, Margaret Flowers, and David Paul, the four activists appeared in a federal courthouse in Washington on Friday. They were charged with "interference with certain protective functions," and are scheduled to reappear in court on June 12.

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Congress leader and Baharampur parliamentary constituency candidate, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, has claimed that Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress (TMC) might incite violence during polling for Kandi and Nowda assembly by-elections in West Bengal.

"TMC will try to incite violence with the help of police to win those two seats. If any violence breaks out then Murshidabad Congress, as well as Bengal Congress, will come out on the streets and immobile Murshidabad and the entire state," Bengal Congress heavyweight Chowdhury said on Friday during a press conference.

Accusing the ruling TMC in the state, the Congress leader said, "In Kandi by-election, Kandi IC and Kandi SDPO are involved in an active conspiracy with TMC leaders and this was informed to the Election Commission. Besides this, we also came to know that to win these two by-election seats, TMC will try to incite violence on May 20."

He further said that the EC and police officials have already been alerted by the state Congress unit for a chance of violence during the polling day.

Chowdhury warned that if any untoward incident happens then the Congress party workers and supporters will out on the street to stage protests.

By-polls to Nowda and Kandi have been announced as Congress' Abu Taher Khan and Apurba Sarkar joined Trinamool Congress and stepped down as MLAs.

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Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan who drew flak from all political quarters and Hindu groups for his remarks on Nathuram Godse, on Saturday once again stoked a possible controversy by saying that the word "Hindu" is of foreign origin and not native to India.

Taking to Twitter, Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Haasan shared a poem on Friday in Telugu saying "the name Hindu was given by foreign rulers".

Haasan said the term 'Hindu' was given by Mughals or by others who came earlier to rule, adding that the British who later ruled the nation seconded the term.

He said that neither the Alwars and Nayanmars, poet-saints in southern India during the first millennium CE, gave the religious note "Hindu".

Citing a Tamil proverb - "Living in harmony has a million benefits", the MNM chief opined that shrinking the nation within religion is commercially, politically and spiritually wrong.

"Neither 12 Alwars nor 63 Nayanmars gave the religious note "Hindu". We were named "Hindu" either by Mughals or those who ruled earlier. British who ruled and returned seconded that adjective. When we have our own identities how ignorant to embrace an outsider given name as our name or religion. Though our identity as "Indian" is recent it would live beyond times. To think of shrinking our wide nation within religion is commercially, politically and spiritually wrong. If we live together we would get crore benefits. How many times this proverb has been told to Tamilians," he said in his tweet.

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Haasan who has been receiving backlash since past few days for his remark that the "first terrorist in independent India was a Hindu" said yesterday that every religion has its own terrorists and one cannot claim oneself as "sanctimonious".

The actor-turned-politician maintained that history has shown that all religions have their extremists.

Reacting to the incident in which stones were thrown at his rally in Tiruchirapally recently, Haasan said, "I feel the quality of polity is going down. I don't feel threatened. Every religion has its own terrorist, we cannot claim that we are sanctimonious. History shows that all religions have their extremists."

Issuing a clarification over his remark that the "first terrorist in independent India was a Hindu", he had said, "I have said the same thing before. It's not the first time but it's been blown out of proportion."

On being asked to respond to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comment during an interview to a news website, Haasan said, "I do not have to reply to Prime Minister Modi. History will answer him."

"I am not afraid of being arrested. Let them arrest me. If they do that it will only create more problems. It is not my warning but only advice," he added.

Following his remarks on Godse, the BJP and its Tamil Nadu ally AIADMK and some Hindu outfits slammed Haasan on the issue saying he cannot mix up an assassination with terror and link it to Hindus.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) on Saturday shot off a letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI), seeking support to ensure free and fair counting of votes in the state.

YSRCP general secretary V Vijayasai Reddy, in the letter to EC, has alleged the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has "trained some unruly elements and appointed them as their counting agents to disturb the counting process in case their candidates are trailing in the state."

The development comes close on the heels of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu launching a campaign against the ECI by terming the poll panel's decision to conduct re-polling at five polling stations under Chandragiri Assembly segment of Chittoor Lok Sabha constituency as "undemocratic."

Reddy has further alleged that the TDP has instructed its counting agents to make all efforts to either delay or postpone the counting process.

"The manual or the instructions book provided by the TDP to its counting agents also states that counting observer has the right to get the counting process stopped or postponed. If the counting observer feels that rigging has taken place or suspects that booth capturing has taken place or feels that the election material has been taken out of the polling station during the prescribed polling time, or the election material has been tampered with or damaged, then the concerned counting observer can stop the counting process or may get it postponed. The decision of the counting observer cannot be overruled by the Returning Officer," reads the letter.

Asking the EC to shift Returning Officer (RO) of Raaptadu assembly constituency, Reddy stated that they have specific complaints about her.

"It is learnt that the RO is Project Director, VELUGU Project, which comes under the jurisdiction of a minister who happens to be the mother of contesting (TDP) candidate. She is weak and cannot withstand the pressure from the ruling party," he said in the letter.

Reddy has urged EC to deploy additional forces, especially from outside the state in few sensitive constituencies such as Chandragiri, Mangalagiri, Uravakonda, Raaptadu, Dendulur, Dharmavaram, Gajuwaka, Tadipatri, etc., to ensure fair counting of votes.

Reddy has also requested the EC to clarify his party's doubts expressed during the counting classes about VVPAT and their tallying with the EVMs for the smooth functioning of the counting process.

Andhra Pradesh went to polls for its 25 Lok Sabha seats and all Assembly constituencies on April 11, the first phase of seven-phased parliamentary polls. The counting of the votes will take place on May 23.

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The YSR Congress Party on Saturday approached the Election Commission of India seeking immediate intervention and necessary orders to ensure free and fair elections in Chandragiri Assembly segment of Andhra Pradesh.

The party has also urged the poll body for re-polling in two booths- Peddagorupadu and Chandragiri constituencies after conducting an inquiry based on CCTV footage.

As per YSR Congress Party, Dalits were threatened on the day of voting and were not allowed to vote in some of the villages in Chandragiri Assembly constituency. The party also stated that DEO/RO did not take up the matter seriously and made no arrangements, either in terms of security or separate booths, to take care of the vulnerable sections that are under threat by the undemocratic forces and anti-social elements from freely exercising their vote.

"Since that didn't happen, as usual, the elections were rigged and Dalits were not allowed to vote in these booths. The DEO despite the availability of CC camera footage refused to look into the complaint and reported that nothing serious or objectionable has happened. Had he gone through CC camera footage, he could have taken a different stand without any political bias. Thereafter, we had no choice except to seek justice in the court of law. However, thankfully, Election Commission intervened after appreciating our evidence and CC footage and decided to order re-polling in 5 out of the 7 booths based on available evidence," the letter penned down by V Vijayasai Reddy, general secretary of YSR Congress Party read.

In the letter, the political quarter has written that they have completely lost confidence in DEO and has sought strict action against him for not taking the matter seriously.

"We earlier approached the Returning Officer to verify the CC footage of two booths, Peddagorupadu, Chinnagorupadu of Pakala Mandal, Chandragiri constituency, wherein Telugu Desam party activists committed mass rigging. Despite our request, the Returning Officer did not bother to look at the CCTV footage which is more or less direct and impeachable evidence. Right from voters' enumeration till the free and fair conduct of the poll, at every stage the Returning Officer has been conducting himself in an absolutely biased manner and playing according to the dictates of the Telugu Desam Party," the letter further read.

The political party led by Y. S. Vijayamma also slammed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for opposing the re-polling in five polling stations under 166-Chandragiri and 25-Chittoor parliamentary constituencies saying, " Shri Chandrababu Naidu, CM of AP and one of the most experienced politicians of the nation, instead of welcoming the Election Commission's decision is making it an issue and outrightly arguing in favour of excluding Dalits and weaker sections from the electoral process. We have not seen any politician in the country who so blatantly takes stand against the poor and vulnerable sections."

In the concluding statement, the YSR Congress Party also claimed that the District Collector is also dancing to the tunes of the Chief Minister instead of discharging his responsibilities in an unbiased manner.

"He failed to provide adequate police protection despite receiving direction from Election Commission. It is high time that the Election Commission may have a look at his conduct and discharge him to avoid jeopardising the counting process. We request a strong message from the Election Commission in this regard. We are confident that the Election Commission will immediately take action in this issue," the letter read.

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Three Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including one involved in the abduction and murder of soldier Aurangzeb last year, were killed in a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Saturday and another militant in a shootout in Baramulla, police said.

Police sources said Showkat Ahmad Dar, a Hizbul militant killed in Punzgam village of Pulwama, was involved in abduction and subsequent murder of Rifleman Aurangzeb, who had participated in the operation in which top militant commander, Sameer Tiger, was killed on April 30 last year.

A second-generation soldier, Aurangzeb of the 44 Rashtriya Rifles was abducted from a private vehicle on June 14 last year from Kalampora village of Pulwama when he was on way to join his family in Poonch district to celebrate Eid. His bullet-riddled body was found in Gusoo village of Pulwama the next day.

The three Hizbul men were killed early on Saturday after an overnight gun battle in Punzgam.

Apart from Dar, who hailed from Punzgam, the other two were identified as Muzaffar Ahmed and Irfan Ahmad from Sopore area of Baramulla.

Another gun battle broke out in Hathlangoo village of Baramulla after a hiding militant fired at a cordon and search party.

"As the cordon was tightened, there was firing from the hideout triggering the encounter. All exit points from the village were sealed and the militant was brought down," an officer said.

The identity of the killed militant was yet to be ascertained.

Following the gunfights, mobile internet services in Sopore and Awantipora area were suspended and train services between Srinagar and Bannihal town of Jammu region also stopped.

--IANS

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A day after campaigning ended for the last phase of Lok Sabha polls, Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Saturday offered prayers at the Somnath Temple in Gujarat.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at the Kedarnath shrine nestled in Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand.

Polling for the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections will take place on Sunday. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.

--IANS

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Australia's opposition Labour Party leader Bill Shorten on Saturday conceded defeat to Prime Minister Scott Morrison in country's general election.

"It is obvious that Labour will not be able to form the next government," Shorten told his party members in Melbourne.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation called 74 seats in the 151-seat lower parliamentary house as wins for Morrison's Liberal-National party coalition, with 65 seats to Labour and 12 undecided.

Seventy-six seats are needed to form a majority government.

Shorten said he called Morrison to congratulate him and announced he would not stand for re-election as Labour leader.

--IANS

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Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has asked for a snap election after his Vice-Chancellor, Heinz-Christian Strache, resigned over a corruption scandal.

Kurz's centre-right People's Party is in government with Strache's far-right Freedom Party. The Freedom Party leader stepped down after secret video footage emerged, the BBC reported on Saturday.

The video appears to show him discussing government contracts with an alleged Russian investor.

Strache blamed his actions on alcohol and acting like a "teenager", saying his behaviour had been "stupid" and "irresponsible", and that he was leaving to avoid further damage to the government.

"I have suggested to the president of the republic that new elections be carried out, at the earliest possible date," Kurz said.

"After yesterday's video, I must say quite honestly: Enough is enough," he said.

"The serious part of this (video) was the attitude towards abuse of power, towards dealing with taxpayers' money, towards the media in this country," Kurz said, adding that he had been personally insulted in the footage.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said a snap election was necessary after Strache stepped down.

He said he had talked about this with Kurz and that they would discuss next steps on Sunday.

A crowd of thousands with placards and banners have been rallying on the square outside Kurz's office, chanting "Snap elections now!"

Kurz has attempted to distance himself from past scandals surrounding the Freedom Party, mostly ones involving party officials and anti-Semitism or racism, but political opponents called for him to respond to the latest revelations.

"This is the tip of the iceberg," Thomas Drozda, from the opposition Social Democrats, told national broadcaster ORF.

"I expect the chancellor, who evidently has known about this video for 48 hours, and that his coalition partner is drowning in a swamp of corruption, to speak and explain his position."

Kurz said that this was not the first time he had had difficulties with the party.

"Even if I didn't express myself publicly at the time, there were many situations that I found difficult to swallow," he said.

The secretly-filmed video shows Strache and Johann Gudenus - also a Freedom Party politician - talking to a woman who claims to be a wealthy Russian citizen looking to invest in Austria.

The meeting reportedly took place at a villa on the Spanish island of Ibiza, in a private room with both politicians relaxing on sofas, smoking and drinking.

In the footage, the woman says she is the niece of a powerful Russian oligarch. She offers to buy a 50 per cent stake in Austria's Kronen-Zeitung newspaper and switch its editorial position to support the Freedom Party.

In exchange, Strache said he could award her public contracts, explaining that he wanted to "build a media landscape like (Victor) Orban", a reference to Hungary's authoritarian prime minister.

The vice-chancellor also speculates that the Russian's takeover of Kronen-Zeitung could boost support for the party to as much as 34 per cent.

"If you take over the Kronen Zeitung three weeks before the election and get us into first place, then we can talk about everything," Strache said.

As part of the deal, he suggests the Russian woman "set up a company like Strabag", the Austrian construction firm.

"All the government orders that Strabag gets now, (you) would get," he continues.

Strache also names several journalists who would have to be "pushed" from the newspaper, and five other "new people whom we will build up".

--IANS

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Google's smartphone business has been struggling to gain ground even as rivals Apple, Samsung and Huawei continue to upend competition with better "specced" devices every quarter.

Samsung grabbed the top position with 21 per cent market share while Huawei, with 17 per cent share was at the second spot and Apple settled at the third spot with 12 per cent share in the global smartphone market in Q1 2019, according to Counterpoint Research.

Google Pixel, on the other hand, has a minuscule global market share despite arriving on the scene in 2016.

The mid-tier Pixel 3a and 3aXL, which cost Rs 39,999 and Rs 44,999 respectively, are now being seen as Google's attempt to revive dwindling sales numbers.

According to Counterpoint, the Internet giant's channel strategy stunted the growth of Pixel 3 and Pixel 3XL.

"While one could always debate about the Pixel 3 price upgrade as compared to its Pixel 2 series ($150 more) vis-a-vis spec upgrade, it was the channel strategy which constrained the growth of Pixel 3," Karn Chauhan, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research, told IANS.

The tech giant, earlier in April, admitted that it sold fewer Pixel phones owing to industry-wide pressure on high-end smartphones.

"Hardware results reflect lower year-on-year sales of Pixel, reflecting in part heavy promotional activity industry-wide given some of the recent pressures in the premium smartphone market," Ruth Porat, Alphabet and Google CFO had said in April.

However, according to Chauhan, Google has a chance to start things from scratch in some of the emerging countries like India where the premium market is growing fast.

"This can help Google to lock in some first-time users who are looking for premium features at affordable prices -- eventually competing in the OnePlus segment," Chauhan told IANS.

But it not be easy in India -- the world's second largest smartphone market with -- budget-conscious buyers.

"For Google, the new Pixels posted a good opportunity to bring its famed camera prowess into the mid-range segment.

"Unfortunately, the mid-range smartphone segment in India is very competitive, with many Chinese brands offering much better value propositions, including flagship grade specs at competitive prices," Prabhu Ram, Head, Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR, told IANS.

For Google, the new strategy is in a way emulating the Nexus path and may unfold well in other mature markets, and not in the hyper-competitive India market.

"I do not anticipate Google to ramp-up much volumes in India from its low market base," noted Ram.

While Apple and Samsung flagships are available in more countries than Google, the reach of the Pixel series was limited to only handful of countries to target a potential user base that was looking to buy something different.

Lack of availability on retail shelves was a challenge for Google too.

"For example, in the US, it was limited to carrier Verizon," Chauhan said.

In India, South Korean major Samsung regained the top spot in the premium segment in the first quarter of 2019, after losing three quarters in a row to Chinese handset maker OnePlus, according to Counterpoint Research.

The road ahead for Google in India is not easy as OnePlus and other Chinese handset makers are very strong in the segment Pixel 3a and 3aXL have entered, say experts.

(Krishna SinhaChaudhury can be reached at krishna.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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Tata International Limited and Dutch Lanka Trailer Manufacturers(DLTM) have executed definitive documents to sell their 50-50 joint venture Tata International DLT Pvt Ltd (DLT) to Canyon Point Investment Holdings.

Singhi Advisors said in a parallel transaction TRF Limited, through its affiliate, has also executed definitive documents to sell its 100 per cent stake in DLTM to Canyon Point. TRF Limted is a part of the Tata Group of Companies.

Singhi Advisors acted as the sole advisor to Tata International and TRF for these divestments.

The total deal value of both the transactions put together is Rs 305 crore, subject to adjustment of actual debt in DLTM, the company said in a statement to exchanges late Friday evening.

Tata DLT's product portfolio comprises of a wide range of trailers, semi-trailers, tippers and vehicle carriers. DLTM, together with its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures trailers and semi-trailers for transport and logistic applications.--IANS

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China reported over 970,000 cases of occupational diseases by the end of 2018 of which 90 per cent cases were pneumoconiosis.

The data was given by China's State Council Information Office.

According to a study, of the 900 million Chinese workers, 25 million are exposed to occupational hazards each year with pneumoconiosis being the most prevalent disease among them.

It's a chronic and deadly lung disease caused by inhaling dust or small particles.

Li Bin, Deputy Director of the National Health Commission, was quoted as saying by Xinhua that the panel would beef up the prevention and treatment for pneumoconiosis in partnership with related departments.

Li also stressed concerted efforts to prevent pneumoconiosis patients from falling into or returning to poverty due to the illness, by means of medical insurance, medical assistance and living support.

The commission will also make efforts to safeguard labor health by improving legislation, government supervision and occupational health training, he said.

A total of 132 diseases of 10 types are classified as occupational diseases in China, Li said, adding that other employment hazards including poison, noise and radiation should be controlled.

--IANS

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Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has decided to stay away from the meetings related to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) due to his dissent on the clean chit given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah, sources said.

Election Commissioner Lavasa is learnt to have written a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora stating that he is forced to stay away from the meetings of the Full Commission since "minority decisions" were not being recorded.

He has recused himself from all meetings on MCC issues from the first week of this month.

Lavasa, in his letter, insisted that he would attend the meetings if his minority decisions were also included in the orders of the Commission.

Sources said that Lavasa has expressed his dissent on clean chit to four speeches of PM Modi and one speech of Amit Shah.

The Full Commission in a majority ruling 2:1, reportedly did not find any MCC violation in the speeches.

The EC on May 4, said that Modi did not violate the model code in his speech in Gujarat's Patan on April 21. The Prime Minister had said that his government kept Pakistan on its toes to secure the safe release of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

This was his sixth speech to be cleared by the poll body. The EC also found nothing wrong in Modi's speech in Nanded, Maharashtra, in which he reportedly referred to the Congress as a "sinking Titanic".

Earlier, the poll body cleared Modi's April 1 speech in Wardha, where he attacked Congress President Rahul Gandhi for selectively contesting from a minority-dominated seat in Kerala.

The EC also cleared him for his April 9 appeal to first-time voters in Latur to dedicate their first vote to "the Pulwama martyrs".

--IANS

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The Congress on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa's letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora regarding his dissent in EC decisions related to the model code of conduct (MCC) going unrecorded and asked whether it was "Election Commission or Election Omission".

Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "Lavasa, one of the three members of the Central Election Commission (CEC), who dissented on multiple occasions when the Election Commission was busy, giving clean chits to the Modi-Shah duo, opts out of EC meetings, as the ECI even refused to record his dissent notes."

In a letter to the CEC on May 4, Lavasa recused himself from the full commission meetings related to the model code of conduct after his "minority decisions" on the clean chit to PM Modi and BJP President Amit Shah on their respective speeches went unrecorded.

Calling it "a daylight murder of constitutional norms, set conventions and propriety", Surjewala said the poll panel's rules express preference for the unanimous view, but provide for a majority ruling in the absence of unanimity.

"Being a constitutional body, the minority view has to be recorded, but this is being trampled to protect Modi-Shah duo," the Congress leader said.

According to him, frustrated by the political pressure on the EC, Lavasa added he might consider taking recourse to other measures aimed at restoring the lawful functioning of the poll panel. "This speaks volumes about the political pressure being exerted by the Modi government on the Election Commission," he said.

"As per the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991, if the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners differ in opinion on any matter, such matters are decided according to the opinion of the majority," the Congress leader said.

"The EC 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 EC," he said.

Omitting the dissent of Election Commissioner Lavasa, simply because he had asked for a notice to be issued to the PM Modi, had severely tarnished the EC's institutional integrity, Surjewala said.

According to him, the Congress had filed as many as 11 complaints to the EC about the brazen poll code violation by Modi and Shah, but the complaints were thrown in the dustbin.

Insisting that erosion of institutional integrity was the hallmark of the Modi government, Surjewala tweeted, "Erosion of institutional integrity is the hallmark of the Modi government! The SC judges going public, the RBI Governor resigning, the CBI Director getting removed, the CVC giving vacuous reports and now the divisions in the Election Commission! Will the EC save itself the embarrassment by recording Lavasa's dissent notes."

He said Modi had taken upon himself the task of denigrating, damaging, decimating, dislodging and diminishing, the sanctity of every institution of India.

"For the first time in 70 years, four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court had to go to the public to seek justice. Four economic advisors stepped down and two RBI Governors were unceremoniously removed for standing to the economic misdemeanours of PM Modi," he remarked.

The Modi government's "sinister attempt" to hide the NSSO data on jobs was exposed by the resignation of the independent members of the autonomous National Statistical Commission (NSC), Surjewala said and added, "The government used the CVC to publish a fallacious report, based on which an incumbent CBI Director was illegally removed."

"The nation has to count only five more days to overthrow the five years of mal-governance of the Modi government," he said.

--IANS

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Chandra Kumar Bose, grand nephew of revolutionary leader Subhas Chandra Bose and BJP candidate from the Kolkata South Lok Sabha constituency, blames successive Congress regimes for suppressing and destroying files on his grand uncle Netaji's disappearance and wants the formation of a special investigative team for unravelling the mystery.

The 58-year-old Bose, an Economics degree holder from the Hendon College of London, also describes the "stealing" of Netaji's Indian National Army treasury as "one of the first scams of the Congress immediately after independence".

Fighting his second electoral battle after having finished third from Bhowanipore Assembly constituency three years back, the grandson of Netaji's brother Sarat Chandra Bose says there is "not a Modi wave, but a Modi volcano across the nation that will propel the BJP to victory in the Lok Sabha polls".

According to Bose, not a "commission of enquiry" but a special investigative team is needed to solve the mystery surrounding his grand-uncle's disappearance in 1945 after a "disputed" air crash at Taihoku airport, Taiwan.

"We need a special investigative team because this is more like a detective work. We had earlier set up three commissions/committee of enquiry -- two of them under retired judges - but that did not do much.

"We have to form a special investigative team consisting of specialists who will examine these documents, go to foreign nations, examine, for example, KGB files, examine confidential files in Tokyo. We have to take a holistic approach to solve the Netaji mystery," Bose told IANS in an interview.

Asked whether he was satisfied with the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose government released a series of classified files on Netaji but that shed very little light on the mystery, Bose said: "I am absolutely satisfied because Narendra Modi has released each and every document pertaining to Netaji. For the last 70 years successive Congress regimes suppressed and destroyed files on Netaji".

He also claimed that Justice M.K. Mukherjee, who headed the Mukherjee Commission of enquiry formed by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government in 1999, had come across certain documents that established that in 1972 then prime minister Indira Gandhi gave instructions to her secretariat "to destroy four critical files pertaining to Netaji's disappearance".

"The Khosla Commission set up to find answers to the mystery regarding Netaji's disappearance was conducting its inquiry during that time. How can a prime minister give instructions without assigning any reason to destroy files on Netaji?" Bose asked.

Bose said despite all efforts, the Modi government cannot resolve this issue because files just don't exist in India.

To examine the possibility of files existing with foreign nations, the Modi-led NDA government has written to Japan, the UK, Russia and Germany.

"If there is some file there, which we can collect, we will be able to solve this mystery," said the former sales manager of Tata Steel.

Bose also came down heavily on the Congress on the mystery over the INA treasure, that comprised a considerable amount of gold ornaments and gems said to have been recovered from Bose's belongings following the a plane crash'.

"After the Second World War, as Japan surrendered, the Indian National Army had to retreat. The INA treasure was stolen because Netaji disappeared.

"There were two people Ramamurthy, and S.A. iyer, who were with the INA. These two gentlemen were basically involved in the embezzlement of the INA treasure," he said.

Bose alleged that when then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru came to know of it, he conducted a private inquiry.

"The prime minister of India cannot conduct a private inquiry. He has to conduct a public inquiry. But he conducted a private inquiry, braught the two and told them that he would take action against them."

But when Ramamurthy and Iyer threatened to "reveal there was no air crash at Taihoku", Nehru entered into a secret agreement with them that "they will not reveal what actually happened to Netaji".

"There must be an inquiry. Because I think it was one of the first scams of the Congress government immediately after independence," he said.

Bose, who has been going door to door from slums to multi storied buildings in the constituency wooing voters, described Modi as a man committed to fulfil Netaji's ideal and denied that BJP was a communal party.

Bose also denied that the BJP was a communal party. "BJP is a national party, the largest political party in the world. Lot of people are involved with the BJP."

"If somebody says we are not inclusive, I will say we are inclusive, my is inclusive. I think we in the BJP do our based on Subhas Bose's ideals. There are various types of people, who have their own notions. But Modi ji is inclusive, so am I," he added.

--IANS

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The Congress party will hold commemorative programmes on May 21 to mark the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to highlight his contribution to the country.

A statement issued by Congress party said: "the youth and coming generations of the nation need to know the unparalleled and unique contributions made by the former PM. In this context the party has decided to observe the death anniversary for highlighting the vision and mission of one of the most venerated political figures the country has ever produced."

The Congress will conduct publicity programmes at the block level across the country to showcase Gandhi's exemplary efforts to take the country into the 21st century, especially his achievement in constructing the information technology and telecom revolutions and laying the foundation for Panchayati Raj institutions to strengthen democracy at the grass-root level.

Gandhi, a Bharat Ratna, was assassinated on May 21, 1991, and the day is observed every year as 'Anti-Terrorism Day'.

--IANS

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As the Opposition parties' apprehensions on glitches in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) continue to simmer, a new spectre looms large on the vote-count day of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, May 23.

With the verdict of millions of voters in 2019 elections sealed inside EVMs, there are fresh fears of foul play and potential manipulations, thanks to certain alleged loopholes in the counting processes of the Election Commission of India (ECI), warns an expert on election laws.

In order to avoid this, there is a clamour that the ECI must provide a printout of the votes cast in each EVM to all candidates or their Counting Agents, which can be later tallied with the final vote-count.

In the EVMs era, for reasons best known to it, the ECI's continues the old and faulty "manual recording and tabulation" of votes, where there is huge scope for manoeuvering, said eminent Nagpur-based lawyer Vinod Tiwari.

He has raised the issue with ECI since 2009 but accused the election body of being "reluctant to take any steps to improve the systems, which can benefit the entire electoral process".

"The old, pre-1990, ballot-paper era style of physical counting and tabulation of the votes, is still in vogue. The Counting Supervisors on each counting table manually record, tabulate the votes displayed on the EVMs, then feed it in excel sheets with further chances of manipulations, before they are fed in computers by government officials deployed for the purpose. There is a big possibility that the final results may be at variance with the actual votes cast," Tiwari said.

Worse is the reality of ignorant Counting Agents, appointed by various political parties, who remain blissfully unaware of such hoodwinking going on before their wide-open eyes, Tiwari said.

In the massive counting halls hired by the EC, for safety and security reasons, a strong wire mesh is erected around all the counting tables, the Counting Agents are kept at least 10-15 feet away, making it impossible to view properly what exactly is recorded on the sheets by the Counting Supervisors.

As per usual practice, from a tiny slot in the wire-mesh, the Counting Supervisors generally take the signatures of a few of the Counting Agents on the prescribed forms on the pretext of attendance before display/counting of the votes begins.

"Here, out of, say, 10 Counting Agents, the signatures of a few may be taken as a formality and the poor Counting Agents fail to gauge the significance or the gravity of their action as the signatures are obtained very casually," said Tiwari, who has pointed this serious issue to the ECI.

Then, he claimed that the 'vote-count games' begin. The Counting Supervisors have no scope to change total number of votes (which is the vertical total), but they can surreptitiously "add" the votes polled by independent candidates or those standing third, fourth or fifth, in multiples of 50 or 100, to a particular candidate who has to be "favoured", without affecting the vertical total.

In a particular booth, if the total number of votes polled is say, 786, then on display of counting of votes, all 786 are shown including NOTA, and the Counting Agents dutifully record the numbers against their candidates, plus maybe their immediate rivals, but not all the candidates.

"As the counting table is not visible from the 10-15 feet distance and the wire-mesh barrier, some Counting Supervisors can simply add up the votes hijacked from independents or other non-serious lower-ranking candidates to their particular 'favoured' candidate," explained Tiwari.

"When the victory margins are very thin -- which is expected in the 2019 parliamentary elections -- these additions of 50-100 votes to the 'favoured' candidates can make or mar elections, for candidates, political parties or alliances," he pointed out.

He said that there are many past instances of prominent candidates being "slaughtered at the counting tables" in Maharashtra and other states, while some others barely scraped through with wafer-thin margins, as pointed out many times to ECI.

In order to avoid and end such intrigues permanently, Tiwari has urged the ECI to provide a printout of the votes polled on each EVM to all Counting Agents of all candidates at the counting table itself, before starting the vote count.

The Counting Agents can later tally the printout figures with the final vote-count to ascertain whether any major errors against their candidates vis-a-vis votes cast have taken place at the counting tables.

Trade Union Joint Action Committee Convenor Vishwas Utagi terms the matter as "portending grave implications for future of Indian democracy".

"All the political parties must immediately take up the matter with the ECI and if necessary move the Supreme Court, as a few officials cannot be allowed to play around with democracy," Utagi told IANS.

In India, the counting of votes is governed by the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and though these have been amended for the EVMs era.

On March 24, 1992, the Rules {vide Notification No. S.O.230(E)} were amended to make them in tune with EVMs era, informed Tiwari, who was the Bharatiya Janata Party's National Co-convenor and Vice-President (Legal & Legislative Cell) from 2012-2017.

"I have taken this up with the ECI repeatedly in the past ten years, but they don't budge. It's a sheer mystery, why -- in the modern EVMs -- the ECI sticks to the outdated manual practices in vote-count, and shies from upgrading to technology counting votes," said Tiwari.

Moreover, only major political parties or serious candidates appoint Counting Agents, many independents or frivolous candidates who may secure a few hundred votes don't even bother to send anybody to the counting centres, leaving the counting tables open grounds for deception.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

--IANS

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Fr Alphonse Aind was convicted along with five other people. He is accused of complicity in a gang rape case involving five women from an NGO. The local diocese is standing by him and will appeal the conviction.

New Delhi (AsiaNews)  A Jharkhand court sentenced six defendants, including a Catholic Jesuit priest, to life in prison in connection with a high-profile rape case that occurred in June 2018.

Additional District Judge Rajesh Kumar of the Khunti District Court sentenced Fr Alphonse Aind yesterday. This was expected Wednesday, but was postponed to Friday. Fr. Alphonse Aind is already behind bars after he was convicted last week.

Meanwhile, the investigation of the two nuns who run the NGO to which the victims belong, continues.

Fr Xavier Soreng, a confrere of Fr Aind, spoke to AsiaNews about the affair. "We will appeal to the High Court. We have faith in the judiciary," he explained. "Under the circumstances, he expected such a sentence, Fr Xavier said after meeting with Fr Aind, a fellow Jesuit.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India has always rejected the accusations against the clergyman as false. For the judge though, there were no doubts about the clergymans complicity in the abduction and gang rape of the victims.

In addition to the six people already convicted, two other people are involved in the case: one is on the run; the other, a minor, was remanded to a juvenile court.

Despite the conviction and sentence, the case against Fr Aind remains murky with respect to the events that led to charges against him.

The rape occurred on 19 June 2018 in Kochang, Khunti District. The victims had to come to the village to take part in a rally against human trafficking and perform in a play at the Stockman Memorial Middle School.

The five victims were four teenage girls and a woman, members of Asha Kiran (Ray of Hope), a rehab centre run by Ursuline nuns in Fudi, about 20 km from Ranchi.

At one point, a group of masked men surrounded the activists as they made their way towards the school, which is next to the Church of the Sacred Heart, where Fr Aind is parish priest.

Threatened by weapons, the five victims were forced to go with the kidnappers into the jungle where they were gang-raped.

The authorities blame Fr Aind for not reporting the incident. The police also accuse him of negligence for allowing the group of women to go out into the street with the nuns, despite the threat of criminals.

However, for Sr Julia George, an Ursuline nun in Ranchi, the charges against the priest are a fabrication. The decision to perform the show in the school where Fr Aind is the principal was pure coincidence.

The play was originally supposed to be held in a market; however, the latter had no public; hence the decision to move to the school.

Sr Ranjeeta Kindo, one of the nuns under investigation, was told that the school had 500 students, and so she changed the venue at the last minute, without warning. Therefore, the prosecutions charge of premeditation does not hold.

(Nirmala Carvalho contributed to this article)
Badkhal lake in Faridabad, which was once a popular tourist gateway for the people of the national capital, has turned into a barren piece of land for the past 20 years thanks to illegal quarrying and mining in the area.

Now, various measures are being discussed at the government level to restore the lake, including construction of a sewage treatment plant (STP), but damaged aquifers, low groundwater level and disturbance of water catchment pathways cast aspersions.

Also, experts feel that restocking of existing forest lands that have been depleted in all these years could hold key to bringing Badkhal lake back to its old glory.

Rajendra Singh, who won the Magsaysay Award in 2001 and the Stockholm Water Prize in 2015, feels rejuvenation of the lake could be done through natural ways.

"The source of water for the lake is forests and they are in a degraded state now. So there is need to ensure greenery in the catchment area for smooth flow of water," said Singh, who is also called the Waterman of India.

Badkhal lake was built soon after the country got Independence in 1947 to facilitate water supply to the nearby farms. In 1972, the Haryana government built a resort off the lake, which was a major tourist attraction during the '70s through to the '90s.

Later, construction boom in the National Capital Region (NCR) drove quarrying and mining in the area at a large scale. As illegal mining and quarrying mushroomed, the downward water flow to the lake was not just obstructed, but aquifers were also damaged, said analyst Chetan Agarwal.

In addition, deforestation and rampant borewell digging in the area owing to urbanisation worsened the situation, leaving the lake high and dry.

"Mining and quarrying disturbed the aquifers in the upstream areas and created some amount of disturbance in the pathway of waterflow. So less water must be coming to the lake now. Groundwater levels too have gone down to 150-200 feet near the Badkhal lake. So water percolates in the ground very fast. Also, shrinking of forests is a major cause of concern," Agarwal said.

Damdama lake, which is about 20 km from the Badkhal lake, has also dried up for similar reasons.

The Aravali Range, which is considered to be the oldest range of fold mountains in India, has witnessed damage to the flora and fauna in this region, which is close to the Asola Wildlife Sanctuary, owing to excavation activities.

While the impact of mining activities on the big carnivore in the area -- the leopard -- has not been assessed properly yet, it has definitely taken a toll on the population of birds and various kinds of trees in the area, Agarwal said.

Ashraf Khan, a youngster who lives near the Badkhal lake, said he never saw water in it.

"My parents told me that there used to be water in the lake earlier and people used to do boating during summers. However, I have never seen the lake full of water except for few puddles during monsoon," he said.

"About two decades ago, the Badkhal lake would be filled with water even during summer months. Now, the tourists hardly go there," a Haryana government official said.

The average booking of three-four rooms daily in the 30-room resort run by the Haryana government, which would remain fully booked 20 years ago, bears testimony to it.

The Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee (IIT-R) was appointed last year to carry out geo-technical survey of the dried-up Badkhal lake under the Smart City project. It has submitted its report to the government recently.

The government is planning to build a sewage treatment plant to fill the lake. The project is in the final stage of the tendering process, sources said.

However, experts are not impressed with the plan.

Singh said the government's plan was not "revival" as claimed but "renovation".

"It is renovation as it is a new physical work. However, if you want to revive and rejuvenate the lake, you need to ensure continuous flow of water into the lake," he told IANS.

(to be continued)

(Saurabh Katkurwar can be contacted at saurabh.k@ians.in)

--IANS

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The Election Commission on Saturday issued notice to Congress candidate from Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa, which goes to polls on May 19, for allegedly violating the model code of conduct by distributing and filling-up enrolment forms of the party's proposed "Nyay" scheme.

Arun Subhashchandra Yadav has been asked to furnish an explanation within 24 hours.

An EC statement said: "Prima facie, it shows that the aforesaid act (distribution and filling up of Nyay enrolment forms) has been done by or on behalf of and within knowledge of the contesting candidate of the Congress, Arun Subhashchandra Yadav, from Khandwa."

A Bhartiya Janta Party member had lodged a complaint on May 3, alleging that the Congress is illegally distributing and filling up Nyay scheme enrolment forms, bearing Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Yadav's pictures along with party's symbol, in three districts in Madhya Pradesh.

The state's Chief Electoral Officer, after investigation, concluded that a case is made out against Yadav, as his associate Sudhansingh Thakur distributed the forms in Khandwa district. An FIR was filed against Thakur on May 5.

After examining the documentary evidence against Yadav, the poll panel told him to submit an explanation in the matter within a day, "failing, which the Election Commission shall take a decision without further reference to him".

Under the Nyay scheme, the Congress has promised Rs 72,000 will deposited yearly in the accounts of poor people, if the party is voted to power.

--IANS

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said manipulation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) was possible and thus demanded that VVPAT slips be used as ballot papers for "transparency" in the electoral process.

Speaking at a seminar here, Naidu said voters should be allowed to collect VVPAT slips after voting and put it in a ballot box so it can be used to tally votes.

"Immediately, voters will put it in the ballot box. They will not take it outside," he said.

At present, voters have seven seconds to see the VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) slips and verify details after casting votes. Subsequently, it goes into the connected box.

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, whose party came to power in 2014 after bagging 117 out of 175 Assembly seats, said he had come across some people who said that election results can be swung in someone's favour by paying money.

"God knows! People are coming to us. They said if Rs 5-10 crore are given, you will be elected. I asked them what is the proof. They said do not bother about all this. It is fraudulent," Naidu said.

Former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi said the suggestion of using VVPAT slips for additional ballot paper voting may be considered.

"The EVM machine goes dead for 12 seconds after one casts his votes. So in the remaining five seconds, it can be done," he said.

Naidu said the possibility of manipulation of EVMs was the biggest challenge and hence he wanted "transparency" in the election process.

"Political parties should have confidence... That is why I am fighting for last 10 years. I will continue doing it tomorrow as well," he said.

Naidu on Friday accused the Election Commission of being "pro-government". He had said that the decisions of the commission were "very controversial", "one-sided", and "pro-establishment".

--IANS

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A former CIA officer has been jailed for 20 years for disclosing military secrets to a Chinese agent in return for $25,000, bringing to a close one of several cases involving Chinese bids to recruit former American intelligence officers, the media reported.

Kevin Mallory, 62, was found guilty of several spying offences following a two-week trial in June 2018 and sentenced by a federal judge in Northern Virginia on Friday, the New York Times reported.

Prosecutors said that he provided a Chinese intelligence officer with classified documents, a violation of the Espionage Act.

The fluent Mandarin speaker from Leesburg, Virginia, held top-level security clearance and had access to sensitive documents. He was convicted of selling secrets to China for $25,000.

Evidence at his trial included a surveillance video which showed him scanning classified documents onto a digital memory card at a post office. He also travelled to Shanghai to meet a Chinese agent in March and April 2017, the US Justice Department said.

"Mallory not only put our country at great risk, but he endangered the lives of specific human assets who put their own safety at risk for our national defence," said G. Zachary Terwilliger, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

"This case should send a message to anyone considering violating the public's trust and compromising our national security. We will remain steadfast and dogged in pursuit of these challenging but critical national security cases," added the attorney.

The Justice Department said Mallory held a number of sensitive jobs with government agencies. He had worked as a covert case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency and as an intelligence officer for the Defence intelligence Agency (DIA).

"This case is one in an alarming trend of former US intelligence officers being targeted by China and betraying their country and colleagues," said Assistant Attorney General John Demers following the sentencing.

Earlier this month, former CIA agent Jerry Chun Shing Lee pleaded guilty to spying for China. Prosecutors said the naturalized American citizen was paid to divulge information on US covert assets.

Last June, former US intelligence officer Ron Rockwell Hansen was also charged with attempting to spy for China.

--IANS

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A three-year-old girl died and her parents were seriously injured when a Telangana legislator's car rammed their motorcycle on Saturday, police said.

The accident took place in Jeedivagu area in Mulugu district.

The car in which MLA Danasari Anasuya alias Seethakka was travelling rammed the two-wheeler coming from opposite direction.

While K. Arun was driving the bike, his wife Vijaya and daughter Sravanthi were riding pillion. Sravanthi died of head injuries while her parents were shifted to a government-run hospital at Eturanagaram.

The couple was taking the baby to drop her at anganwadi centre in a nearby village.

--IANS

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Google on Saturday dedicated a creative and special doodle to Persian mathematician Omar Khayyam on his 971st birthday. He was best known for his work on the classification and solution of cubic equations.

Apart from his maths skills, he was also a well-known astronomer and poet. Born in Nishapur in northeastern Iran, Khayyam spent most of his life near the court of the Karakhanid and Seljuq rulers in the period which witnessed the First Crusade.

His work on the classification and solution of cubic equations is phenomenal of those times as he had provided geometric solutions by the intersection of cones.

Khayyam was first to give a general method for solving cubic equations. Although he didn't consider negative roots, his methods were sufficient to find geometrically all real (positive or negative) roots of cubic equations.

In 2012 as well, Khayyam's 964th birthday was also celebrated by the search engine with a special doodle which was very well received by users.

Apart from India, the doodle would also appear to Google users in Russia, the Middle East, North African nations, the US and Chile.

--IANS

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Google-affiliate Sidewalk Labs's plan to build an Internet-based smart city in Toronto has sparked fear and anxiety among residents, the media reported.

Sidewalk Labs' plan of collecting data through sensors placed all around the harbourside development unsettled some, the BBC reported on Saturday.

The company acquired land in the Canadian city and promised a radical mix of offices, retail and makerspaces with a green agenda, robots and underground waste disposal.

According to a group of citizens called Block Sidewalk, people expressed their unhappiness over the project, announced a couple of years back, at a meeting organised by it.

Few raised questions about lack of transparency in the way Toronto Waterfront had awarded the contract to Sidewalk Labs, others expressed doubt if the firm could deliver such an ambitious project. Some had concerns about the company's long-term plan about the area.

"We have not been talking about the fact that it's normalising massive data collection or even asking whether anyone wants this thing at all. No one here has asked for a sensor-laden neighbourhood," organiser of the meeting Bianca Wylie told the BBC.

"Our waterfront must be developed for the benefit of citizens of Toronto, not the shareholders of a Google-affiliate," Wylie said.

Sidewalk Labs told the BBC it looked forward to "continuing to work with Torontonians to get this right", adding it was "strongly committed to protection and privacy" of urban data.

A report published in the Toronto Star suggested that Sidewalk Labs wanted to build a much bigger neighbourhood at Quayside and provide new transport for it, a claim that has not been disputed by the Google affiliate.

--IANS

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Actress Tara Sutaria, who has wooed the audience with her stylish and glamorous looks in her debut film "Student of the Year 2", says she loves to do makeup.

"I am completely obsessed with makeup. I love to experiment different cosmetic products. I even check social media to have a look at trending makeup and fashion styles...So that I don't miss out anything," Tara told IANS.

She has also shared her own makeup style.

"During day time, I prefer to have a natural look...So I opt for minimal makeup. At night, I like to go a little bold," added Tara, who has been appointed brand ambassador for the global brand, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, in India.

Ater putting on makeup, the 23-year-old makes sure to keep herself hydrated as much as possible.

"The most important thing to do is to keep youself hydrated. So when I apply makeup, I make sure to drink ample amount of water. And it is very much important to take off your makeup from your skin completely before heading to sleep. Cleansing, toning and moisturising is my skin care ritual."

On the work front, Tara will next be seen in "Marjaavaan".

--IANS

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Ahead of the Lok Sabha election results on May 23, Karnataka's ruling allies Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and the Congress are locked in a war of words over the post of the chief minister.

With the continuation or survival of their year-old coalition government hinged upon the verdict of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the southern state, the opposition BJP is waiting in the wings to grab power in case the post-poll allies part ways.

"The arch rivals came together in an unholy alliance after the May 2018 Assembly polls solely to keep our party out of power. But their differences over sharing power are evident now, with their leaders sparring over who should be the next chief minister when their government's survival itself is at stake," state BJP leader G. Madhusudhan told IANS on Friday.

Though the two allies jointly fought the parliamentary elections fielding common candidates in all the 28 seats -- the Congress on 21 and the JD-S on 7 seats -- the results will determine their coalition government's fate.

For now, the war of words on the social media and during the campaign for the May 19 twin Assembly bypolls in Kundagola and Chincholi in the state's northwest and northern regions over who should be the next chief minister indicates that the days of present incumbent H.D. Kumaraswamy, of the JD-S, are numbered.

"The Kumaraswamy government's survival depends on how the Congress performs at the state and national levels in the Lok Sabha polls. In the event of the BJP winning more seats in the state than the allies together or separately, the coalition government will collapse if the dozen rebels in the Congress resign from the party or forfeit their Assembly seats," a political analyst told IANS.

In the 225-member state Assembly, including one nominated, the BJP has 104 seats, Congress 77, JD-S 37, BSP and the Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) 1 each. There is one independent and a Speaker as well as two vacant seats.

"If the Congress fails to retain the two Assembly seats in the bypoll, the coalition government's survival depends on the party reining in its rebels, as Kumaraswamy would have just one more seat (77+37=114) than the halfway mark (113) for a simple majority in the lower house," said the analyst.

There is no love lost between the two allies, especially at the cadre level, as evident from their rivalry during the campaigning. And an adverse verdict in the Lok Sabha polls will lead to a blame game and result in parting of ways if the Congress returns to power at the Centre or emerges as the single largest party.

"The controversy between the two allies over who should be the next chief minister is a deliberate attempt to divert the people's attention from the results, which according to their assessment will spell doom for the coalition government as the prospects of the Congress returning to power at the Centre are remote," claimed Madhusudhan.

With a couple of Congress ministers and a dozen party legislators claiming that their legislative party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah was their chief minister and clamouring for his return at the helm, JD-S leaders, ministers and legislators are upset with their ally.

"Our party is committed to support the JD-S and Kumaraswamy irrespective of the Lok Sabha poll results. The chief minister's post is not vacant as Kumaraswamy will be the head of the coalition government for the next four years," state Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao told IANS here.

While Siddaramaiah, who was the state's Congress Chief Minister from 2013-2018, tried to play down the clamour for his return to the top post by his loyalists, JD-S state President A.H. Vishwanath ruled out the former becoming the chief minister again as the Congress lost the May 2018 Assembly elections under his (Siddaramaiah's) leadership.

"Though we (JD-S) won only 37 seats, we agreed to form the coalition government with the Congress support under Kumaraswamy after contesting against each other in the Assembly polls ostensibly to keep the BJP out of power," Vishwanath told reporters at Mysuru last week.

When Siddaramaiah retaliated against Vishwanath, Kumaraswamy said veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge should have become the chief minister long ago, as he was the state's tallest Dalit leader and rose through the ranks.

Countering Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah tweeted that there were many capable leaders in the Congress and JD-S worthy of becoming chief minister, including Public Works Department Minister H.D. Revanna, the elder brother of Kumaraswamy.

"The alliance partners are displaying their true colours and waiting to strike against each other after the Lok Sabha results. In this game of one-upmanship, the stakes are higher for the Congress than the JD-S, which has nothing to lose with 37 seats in the Assembly," added the analyst.

--IANS

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Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora on Saturday termed as "unsavoury and avoidable" the controversy surrounding the recording of minority decisions on the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa's letter to him in this regard.

He said an Election Commission (EC) meeting was scheduled on Tuesday to "discuss this and related matters".

In a statement issued here, Arora said: "There has been an unsavoury and avoidable controversy reported in sections of the media today about the internal functioning of Election Commission of India with respect to the handling of the Model Code of Conduct."

"This has come at a time when all the CEOs (Chief Electoral Officers) and their teams across the country are geared towards the seventh and last phase of polling tomorrow followed by the gigantic task of counting on May 23," he said.

The statement said that the last EC meeting on May 14 "unanimously decided" that some groups shall be formed to deliberate the issues, which arose in the course of the conduct of Lok Sabha Elections 2019, just as it was done after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

"The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was one of the 13 issues/areas which were identified," he added.

The CEC insisted that Lavasa's letter on the MCC was an internal matter of the poll panel. "It needs to be clarified categorically and unambiguously that this is purely an internal matter of ECI and as such any speculation, innuendos and insinuations in this regard should be eschewed," it said.

Arora said there had been differences between the Election Commission (EC) members in the past, but he believed that "eloquence of silence" was far more desirable "than creating ill-timed controversies".

"The three members of the ECI are not expected to be templates or clones of each other. There have been so many times in the past when there has been a vast diversion of views as it can and should be.

"But the same largely remained within the confines of ECI till demission of office. Unless appearing much later in a book written by the concerned ECs (Election Commissioners) or CECs," he said.

Arora said he had personally never shied away from a public debate whenever required "but there is time for everything".

"There was a reason I told a leading daily a few days back, that eloquence of silence is always difficult but far more desirable to see the election process through, instead of creating ill-timed controversies," he said.

Arora said all the Chief Electoral Officers and senior EC officials have given their utmost in the last six phases of the elections, which barring an odd incident here or there, have been largely peaceful and conducted in a fair, free and transparent manner.

In his letter to Arora, Lavasa recused himself from attending Full Commission meetings held to decide on MCC violations, after his dissent on the clean chit given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah on their respective speeches, went unrecorded.

Lavasa, in his letter, insisted that he would attend the EC meetings if his minority decisions were also included in the orders of the Commission.

The three-member "Full Commission" consists of the CEC and two Election Commissioners, Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra.

--IANS

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Ready-to-eat food stores, supermarkets, restaurants, and households are called upon to revise their lifestyle, consumption habits, sale practices and preparation methods. Households throw away 2.91 million tonnes of food each year.

Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies)  At least 6 million tonnes of food are discarded every year from ready-to-eat food stores, supermarkets, restaurants and households. For this reason, the Japanese government wants to raise awareness among the Japanese people to encourage them to reduce food waste.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), roughly 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally every year, whilst one person in nine in the world  or 815 million  are underfed.

In January, Japans Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry turned to industry groups representing convenience stores and supermarkets, urging them not to overproduce seasonal sushi rolls.

The government also asked shops, supermarkets, and restaurants to sell or serve smaller portions of food.

Government data show that from 2016 to 2017, food-related manufacturing and restaurants sectors threw away 1.37 million tonnes and 1.33 million tonnes, respectively, whilst the retail sector discarded around 10 per cent out of a total 6.43 million tonnes. For their part, at 2.91 million tonnes households alone represented over 40 per cent of the total.

In light of the situation, the government wants to reduce household food waste by 50% by 2030. This is why it is launching a campaign that shows how overproduction of food and its waste are responsible for huge energy consumption and contributes to global warming.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday arrived here in Uttarakhand on a two day visit. He will be praying at Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines over the weekend.

Early in the day, Modi arrived at the Jollygrant airport after he finished his whirlwind election campaigning on Friday ahead of Sunday's final phase of the seven-phased Lok Sabha polls.

He was scheduled to fly directly from Jollygrant to Kedarnath. Apart from paying obeisance, the Prime Minister was expected to also review the reconstruction works in the area.

After spending the night at Kedarnath, Modi would fly to Badrinath on Sunday. He would return to New Delhi on the same day later.

Security has been tightened around both the shrines in view of the Prime Minister's visit, said Ashok Kumar, Director General (Law and Order).

--IANS

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Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday continued his outreach to the Opposition parties in order to firm up a non-BJP front ahead of the announcement of Lok Sabha poll results on May 23.

He met Congress President Rahul Gandhi at the latter's residence here in the morning, and then visited Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav to discuss possible alliances in the post-election scenario.

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister is expected to meet Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati in Lucknow on Saturday evening.

Holding talks with Opposition leaders, who are not comfortable with each other, Naidu has apparently turned into an interlocutor.

He had on Friday said that all parties, including rival K. Chandrashekhar Rao-led Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), were welcome to join the non-BJP Mahagathbandhan (grand-alliance).

The TDP chief also met the Election Commission on Friday and accused it of being biased and pro-government.

--IANS

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Tanushree Dutta's lawyer Nitin Satpute has clarified that police has not given clean chit to actor Nana Patekar who was accused of sexual harassment by the actress.

While interacting with the media on Friday here, Satpute said: "There were rumours that clean chit has been given to Nana Patekar by the police but the truth is that there is no clean chit given to him.

"There is certain process that has to be followed by police where they issue a letter to complainant about the same... So, these are just false rumours and we are going to take action against such rumours. Nana is playing psychological games by spreading false rumours as he wants to get clean chit from the case by the police."

In September 2018, Tanushree came in front of the media and accused the "Welcome" actor of harassing her on the sets of their 2008 film "Horn Ok Pleassss".

Satpute claimed that Nana is "trying to put pressure on police and is misleading the case". He has also refuted the reports which stated that there are not proper witnesses' statements which resonate Tanushree's allegations against the veteran actor.

"Police haven't recorded statement of eye witnesses. Witnesses are scared to come in police station as they are under pressure.

"Police investigation is going on and the matter hasn't gone in the court. We are also going to make application for Narco Analysis Test and Lie Detector Test of the witnesses who have given negative statement in the police station," Satpute added.

Tanushree's case led to the #MeToo wave in India as it opened the floodgates for numerous other women from every walk of life to come forward with their stories.

- IANS

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"The Vampire Diaries" fame star Nina Dobrev is being slammed by a slew of social media users for expressing her views against the Alabama abortion bill.

After the Alabama state Senate passed the "most restrictive abortion bill in the US" earlier this week that could punish doctors who perform abortions with life in prison, Dobrev took to social media to condemn the decision.

She posted a photograph on her Instagram, which read: "Men should not be making laws about women's body".

But Dobrev's post did not go well with many netizens.

One user commented: "So disappointed, I literally loved Nina until this post. How someone can condone the killing of innocents. I have no idea. Guess it's easy when you are the one living. And all these people de-valuing the lives of thos ein adoption/foster should be ashamed of themselves..."

Responding to the comment, Dobrev clarified that "she was not condoning killing of anyone".

"I am merely highlighting the fact that there was not equal representation in the decision...," she wrote.

Another social media user asked the actress to get her facts right as "a woman legislator wrote the ban and a woman governor signed it into law".

Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine too was trolled for putting up a similar photograph reading: "Men should not be making laws about women's body".

Many on social media roasted him as well.

A social media user wrote: "Killing babies isn't right!"

While another, among many others wrote: "Guess you don't care about the baby! Shame on you Adam! And you have children."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
For the first time in Uttar Pradesh, the Nishads have emerged as an important vote bank in the Purvanchal region.

The Nishads have consolidated themselves to such an extent that no political party can afford to ignore the community.

The community includes sub-castes like Manjhi, Kevat, Bind, Mallah and refers to the fishermen and boatmen community that lives along the banks of rivers and thrives on water resources.

They are among the 17 OBC communities that have been proposed for the Scheduled Caste status by the Samajwadi Party (SP) government in 2004 and then in 2016. The state government issued a government order for inclusion of these caste groups in the list of Scheduled Castes but the Allahabad High Court stayed the decision.

This Lok Sabha election marks a turnaround for the Nishad community that has acquired political bargaining power and have been acknowledged by all major political parties.

Nishads began consolidating into a political group in 2013 when the Rashtriya Nishad Ekta Parishad was set up.

To unite Nishads, a Rashtriya Nishad Ekta Parishad was constituted in January 2013. The organisation still exists. To mark a political presence, the Nishad party was registered in August 2016, and made its debut in the UP elections in 2017 and contested 62 seats though it won only in Bhadohi.

The Nishads (Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal) is now a political force with the slogan "Jiska dal uska bal, uski samasyaon ka hal (power rests with those who are a group, only they have the power to solve problems)".

Pravin Nishad, son of the Nishad Party President Sanjay Nishad, asserted the importance of his community when he won the Gorakhpur by-election last year on a Samajwadi ticket, defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He is now contesting the Sant Kabir Nagar seat on a BJP ticket.

Raju Nishad, a member of the Nishad Party, said: "We have to contest on another party's ticket because their symbol is popular. Parties are clamouring to give tickets to Nishads and till we establish our own party, flag and symbol, we will follow this strategy."

To assert their identities, most of the Nishad community members have started suffixing 'Nishad' to their first names.

The Nishads have demanded installation of a statue of 'Nishad Raj' and the BJP and SP have promised to do so at the earliest.

The community also has its own newspaper "Eklavya Manav Sandesh', edited by Jaswant Nishad.

The Nishads, according to sources in the party, has a sizeable presence in 152 of the 403 Assembly constituencies. They have a sizeable population in 19 Lok Sabha constituencies, prominent among them are Bhadohi, Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Kushinagar, Ghosi, Deoria, Basti, Dumariaganj, Salempur, Varanasi, Ballia and Sultanpur.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
One militant was killed on Saturday in a gunfight with the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Police said security forces started a cordon and search operation during night in Panzgam village after receiving information about the presence of militants there.

The hiding militants were challenged after which they opened fire at the security forces, triggering an encounter.

"One militant has been killed and his body has been recovered along with a weapon. Another militant is still believed to be hiding there although firing exchanges have now stopped," a police officer said.

The slain militant is believed to be a local resident belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) outfit, informed sources said.

--IANS

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The Lok Sabha election of 2019 generated a lot of sparks and fury by way of personal attacks, recourse to undignified language and abandoning of the political narrative for tactical use of stray events for some perceived advantage in the immediate term.

With the shrinking of the Congress beyond recognition as an all-India party in 2014, the election this time pushed up the visibility of regional parties -- the product of the phenomenon of caste-based that was so characteristic of India. They filled some of the space vacated by the Congress and this, in a way, facilitated a decisive advance of the BJP as a national party -- the organisational consolidation of this cadre-based party was in any case being ensured by Amit Shah, the new BJP President. The prolonged electioneering helped to spread the presence of BJP to new areas and establish Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the best known political leader at the national level at the end of his five-year tenure. BJP has acquired a lasting presence in India's east and south over this period. It has become the principal opposition to the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. The Congress is scattered across the country but is now a clear second to the BJP in terms of membership.

A parliamentary election is anchored on national consciousness, affirmation of sovereignty and a recognition of the great fundamental of democracy - that all citizens were at the same pedestal as far as their rights were concerned. In a federal system like India's, responsibilities for development, healthcare and education lie primarily on the shoulders of the state governments and the Centre is expected to account more for national infrastructure like highways, railways, power, telecom and river management as also the fiscal policy of the country.

Certainly our Constitution holds the states primarily responsible for law & order maintenance - in which safety of women would come at the top - but in a distorted narrative the opposition tried to make out that it is the Modi government that had failed to protect women against the offences of rape and molestation besides other forms of gender injustice. Likewise, the problems of rural distress, farmer's suicides and unemployment put a major share of responsibility on the states and could not be pinned unilaterally on the Centre. Beyond the fact of loss of jobs in the unorganised sector because of demonetisation, fault lines if any in the economic policy of the Modi government were not defined by the opponents - their campaign progressively became focused on launching personalised criticism of the Prime Minister. At the mass level, the image of Modi as a leader remained intact.

Another learning from this General Election was that the opposition generally shied away from emphasising Indian nationalism in the belief that this gave advantage to the BJP and made the minorities uncomfortable with the reality that this country was, population wise, a Hindu majority nation. The fact, however, is that the Hindus were traditionally divided so much on caste, language and region that the political spectrum here was full of parties flourishing in public life by rooting their in these divisive features of our demography. In the face of a highly divided majority the opposition focused on the votes of the large minority as a matter of practical With the decline of the Congress, however, the caste and region-based parties showed a definite resurgence in their states and struck a meeting of minds with the Congress - the principal opposition - in building an anti-Modi campaign. This fuelled their ambition to share in the rule at the Centre, particularly because India had seen in the past the spectacle of small parties capturing the prime ministership with the outside support of the Congress.

The fact that those governments had short lives is another matter. A vast country like India being ruled by caste-based groups or small regional outfits should be a cause for concern. This country should be governed by all-India parties leading the alternatives so that national perspectives would not be in danger of being overshadowed by lesser politics and group interests. This General Election gave a peep into the harmful fallout from an excessive fractionalisation of the party system in India. This could damage the very substratum of parliamentary democracy here.

In this election, India's sectarian and communal divides came into sharp focus even on the fundamental question of whether the symbols of national identity and integrity could be challenged out of political motives. Hoisting of the national flag, singing of national anthem, advocacy of patriotism, emphasis on Jammu and Kashmir being an integral part of India and appreciation of strong action against Pakistan in the context of cross-border terrorism - all of these were turned into points of controversy for the implicit reason that 'sensitivities' of the minorities had to be kept in view. This comes close to embarrassing an entire community for the sake of the political support of a handful of elite or Ulema who used communal politics for securing power. On the issue of India's air strike at Balakot, the valour of IAF had, of course, to be praised but the political will of the government of the day had also to be acknowledged. By trying to find fault with the Prime Minister by discrediting the strike itself, the opposition fell between two stools. Its argument that the ruling dispensation was taking political advantage of the event fell by the wayside in the process.

It is the constitutional obligation of the political executive governing the country to come off strong and decisive on issues of national security and defence, to sternly deal with the saboteurs on our own soil and to ensure that development and protection of law - the two basic instruments of secularism in a democracy - were extended to all citizens alike. Common people of all communities have the same problems of livelihood, scarcity and exposure to disorder. The opposition could not show that the Modi government practised any sectarian approach in development. On law enforcement, it tried to pin down the Prime Minister whereas it should have taken the state governments to task for failures there.

On the whole, the debates in the run-up to this election created an atmosphere of communal disharmony, dragged the minority community here in the discussions on Pakistan in a manner that tended to put Indian Muslims and this hostile neighbour of India on the same side of the fence and diminished the extraordinary achievement of Indian democracy in establishing the supremacy of every voter - regardless of any distinction - in choosing the rulers. The General Election did manage, notwithstanding the shallowness of campaign by the parties in the fray, to prove that all Indians enjoyed an equality of right in the matter of deciding how their country will be governed. The pattern of street violence during electioneering threatened this right in some areas and the nation must find a way of not letting that happen in future.

(The writer is a former Director Intelligence Bureau)

--IANS

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Police in Rajasthan on Saturday filed an over 400-page chargesheet in the Alwar gangrape case in a Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) court with six people named as accused.

The case will be heard on May 30, said police sources.

Several cases have been registered under different sections against the accused which include kidnapping, manhandling, undressing, gangrape, and dacoity, among others.

A case has also been registered against the accused who filmed a video of the crime which went viral online.

The statements of a total of 35 eyewitnesses have been recorded in this case and voice samples of the accused have also been collected whose Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report will be out soon.

A case has also been registered against a Youtube user who uploaded the video. A letter has also been written to Facebook and Youtube to remove the video from the websites.

Police officials confirmed that action will also be taken against those who revealed the identity of the victim.

The incident occurred on April 26 when a Dalit couple was waylaid at a deserted place by the five accused who beat up the man, raped his wife and filmed the act. They also robbed money from the victims.

--IANS

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The sugarcane crushing season may be long over but the mills in eastern Uttar Pradesh are being pressurized to keep crushing, lest the farming community gets upset and impacts the arithmetic in the polling that takes place on Sunday.

In the seventh and concluding phase of the Lok Sabha polls on Sunday, voting will take place in 13 constituencies in eastern Uttar Pradesh, which is crucial for ruling BJP in the state and the Centre.

Generally, millers prefer not to procure cane in summers as recovery rate -- amount of sugar from cane -- goes down.

However, four sugar mills in Hata, Ramkola, Kaptanganj and Khadda in Kushinagar and Siswa Bazar in Maharajganj are being made to crush cane even though the crop has gone dry.

The state government has issued a circular to mills across the state, making crushing mandatory until the entire cane produce is consumed, presumably keeping in view the defeat that the ruling BJP faced in the Kairana Lok Sabha bypoll in 2018.

It was said then that "Jinnah hara, ganna jeeta" - a reference to the cane arrears issue that prevailed over BJP's polarised politics.

Uttar Pradesh's Cane Minister Suresh Rana said the decision to continue crushing of sugarcane was taken in the farmers' interest.

"In such climate, recovery rate of cane reduces. But it is the commitment of the government to ensure entire cane crop is procured. So the government has issued strict directions to millers that crushing will have to be continued until there is cane in the farms," Rana told IANS.

Congress candidate from Kushinagar R.P.N. Singh said: "This is a ploy by the BJP government to fool the cane growers. They have asked the mills to continue crushing till the elections are over but the farmers are not getting indents for supplying cane. The mill owners express their inability and say they are helpless."

The cane growers are also not happy with this extended crushing season. Badri Prasad, a cane grower, explains: "If we supply cane at this time, it will have low weight due to lack of irrigation. There is no water in the canals and irrigation by diesel pump sets is an expensive proposition. It is better if we sell cane in the local market for juice."

Farmers who have supplied cane to the sugar mills are now wary that the mills will close down in two days, as soon as polling is over, and their payments would be delayed. They would have no option but to burn thousands of tonnes of their sugarcane crop or sell them at a very low price to the crushers.

Kushinagar was once known as the sugar capital of the country. Before Independence, the region had 23 sugar mills, but today there are only eight -- five in Kushinagar and one each in Deoria, Maharajganj and Gorakhpur. The sugar belt has shifted to western Uttar Pradesh where farmers are more organised and get better payment facilities.

According to the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF), Uttar Pradesh has crushed 101.7 million tonnes of sugarcane and has produced 11.7 million tonnes of sugar till May 17.

As many as 32 of total 119 mills in the state are still in operations.

Total production in the country in the sugar year 2018-19 starting October is expected to be 32.9 million tonnes.

With the highest recovery rate of 11.50 per cent in the country, total production in Uttar Pradesh is expected to be 11.8 million tonnes, followed by Maharashtra at 10.7 million tonnes.

Despite different efforts by the state government and Centre, which include last year's Rs 8,000 crore assistance package to the sugar sector, the cane arrears in the state have crossed Rs 10,000 crore.

If sources to be believed, farmers in the state are upset over pending dues of current year though the BJP government has been counting achievements of Narendra Modi government in providing relief to cane farmers.

"Cane arrears are certainly a big issue in the state. It seems the BJP wants to placate the farmers by buying all their produce, even if it is dry," said a source close to the development.

Rana is however confident of cane farmers' support to the BJP owing to "positive incumbency".

"We have cleared arrears worth Rs 65,000-70,000 crores so far. During the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party government, farmers' dues were held for five-six years," he said.

--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.)
Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) President Om Prakash Rajbhar, a BJP ally in Uttar Pradesh till recently, has now asked his party workers to beat BJP leaders with shoes.

In a video clip of his rally here on Friday that has gone viral on the social media, Rajbhar can be heard using expletives and abuses against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.

"BJP netaon ko dus dus joote maro," he said.

Rajbhar said that BJP leaders should be ashamed for using his party's (SBSP) name in the election campaign to garner OBC votes.

"I wrote to the Election Commission to stop this misleading campaign but they did not take any action," he said.

Om Prakash Rajbhar had said that he had resigned from the Yogi Adityanath government but the same has not been accepted as yet.

Rajbhar had resigned after the BJP did not give him seats in the ongoing elections in Uttar Pradesh. The SBSP then fielded its own candidates on 36 seats.

Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said in Lucknow that if Rajbhar actually wanted to resign, he should have sent the resignation to the Governor.

Sources in the BJP, meanwhile, said that his resignation would be accepted once the election process is over.

--IANS

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by Wang Zhicheng

On a visit to Beijing, Javad Zarif hopes China will side-step the total oil sale embargo. Experts doubt Beijing will take a greater stance against the US. Zarif asks the international community for concrete actions to keep the nuclear agreement alive.

Beijing (AsiaNews)  "Iran and China need to think together and work together about preserving a multilateral global order and avoiding a unilateral global order," said Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister Zarif, during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Friday.

The visit by Irans top diplomat is taking place amid growing tensions in the Persian Gulf, with the US and its allies (Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) threatening war against Iran at a time when the latter is increasingly feeling the full weight of the US embargo on oil exports, following Donald Trumps decision to pull out of the nuclear agreement.

China, the largest importer of crude oil in the world, is also one of Iran's largest oil customers. Iran hopes to continue selling oil to China skirting the US embargo. In such a situation, Beijing could expose itself to possible US sanctions, at a time when the two superpowers are already engaged in a trade war.

For his part, Wang said that China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions and the so-called 'long-arm jurisdiction' imposed by the United States on Iran," promising instead to uphold the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, and safeguard the authority of the United Nations and basic norms governing international relations.

Wang also invited Iran to take part in the Belt and Road project, and engage in a cooperation to benefit both countries.

However, for a number of analysts, it will be quite difficult for China to take a decisive stand against the US, which is already putting pressure on its economy, especially in the area of advanced technologies.

"The reality is that relations with the United States are more important for China than those with Iran, said Jean-Francois Dufour, expert with the DCA Chine Analyse think tank, in an interview with Lebanese French-language daily LOrient-Le Jour.

From Iraq to Brazil, not to mention Russia, China now has several alternatives to Iranian oil. Instead, the alternatives are more limited with regard to US technologies, essential for the new goals of Chinas development."

Although China, along with Russia, Great Britain, France and Germany still want to keep the nuclear deal alive, Zarif wants concrete actions.

So far the international community has mostly released statements rather than taking action, Zarif said. However, "If the international community and other JCPOA member countries, and our friends in the JCPOA like China and Russia, want to keep this achievement, it is required that they make sure the Iranian people enjoy the benefits of the JCPOA with concrete actions," he added.
Days after reports of a rift between IndiGo promoters surfaced, the airline's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rono Dutta on Saturday termed the reports as "baseless speculations".

Recently, reports highlighted differences between IndiGo's co-founders Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal over managerial control of the firm.

On Saturday, Dutta in a statement said: "I would like to forcefully address these baseless speculation as they are not in the best interests of our shareholders, our employees and the travelling public."

Further, in the same statement Dutta said on behalf of Gangwal: "I (Gangwal) am categorically and clearly stating that there is no interest or desire whatsoever on the part of the RG Group to take control of the company.

"... I (Gangwal) am placing on record that the RG Group stands by the current SHA which, in any case, expires this October."

According to Dutta, the IGE (InterGlobe Enterprises) group is represented by the law firm of JSA and the RG Group is represented by the law firm of Khaitan & Company which have been on retainer by the founders since 2015.

"...They continue to represent the promoters on various ongoing matters as it relates to their shareholding in IndiGo. Thus, the 4-year-old ongoing retainer history of the law firms should not be presented or seen as a new revelation," he said.

Addressing the employees, Dutta said: "...Please do not believe these baseless speculation, we remain committed to our path of a rapid build-up of airline connectivity within India and to international destinations.

"Reiterating this, the full Board wants to clearly state that IndiGo's strategy in terms of growth and cost leadership remain unchanged, we remain committed to being an institution which benchmarks itself against the best-in-class organisations across the world."

However, Dutta added: "We all know, that in any strong and well-managed company there will always be differences. And, yes, there may be differences currently on certain matters but the Company has a great track record of resolving issues and coming out ahead.

"If the current differences were to not get resolved, you shall certainly hear about it; however, it serves no purpose speculating about it."

--IANS

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A section of grounded Jet Airways' employees comprising members of airline unions have written to SBI Caps seeking asset and other financial details of the crisis-hit company for raising $700 million (Rs 4,917 crore) from a mix of domestic and foreign investors.

SBI Caps is the transaction advisor for the lenders of Jet Airways and managing the stake sale process for the debt-laden carrier. The State Bank of India (SBI) is the lead lender and currently in management control of the airline.

"We would like to assure you that our resources are at your disposal if they can be of any help. Also, as understood by us during the meeting of 2nd May, we are actively working with potential Indian and foreign investors to secure equity based funding commitment of $700 million," Capt. P.P. Singh, Senior Vice President at Jet Airways, wrote to SBI Caps.

Sensing that the options to revive the grounded airline are fast running out, a group of employees had on April 29 proposed to bid for management control of the airline. They claimed to secure a funding of Rs 3,000 crore from outside investors.

The employee group comprises members of Society for Welfare of Indian Pilots (SWIP) and Jet Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Welfare Association (JAMEWA). It is being led by Singh.

The employee-investor consortium has asked SBI Caps to provide details about the level of debt post haircut by banks and restructuring. Among key financial details, Singh has asked as to how much stake investors will get after infusing $700 million and the fund requirements for running the airline for the next 24 months.

Facing a severe liquidity crisis, Jet Airways had suspended its operations on April 17 and remains grounded. The airline lenders are trying to rope in an investor to resuscitate the airline and recover their money.

While lenders are vetting various proposals, most of the top airline executives including its CEO, CFO and the Company Secretary have resigned from their respective positions citing personal reasons. Close on the heels of resignation by airline's whole-time director Gaurang Shetty, Etihad nominee on the board Robin Kamark resigned on May 16.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, which holds 24 per cent stake in crisis-hit Jet Airways, is currently the only solicited bidder for a stake in the airline. But experts have found its bid unattractive for the lenders, given multiple riders attached to it.

Besides offering to invest just Rs 1,700 crore against the requirement of Rs 15,000 crore to revive the crisis-hit airline, Etihad, has in its proposal, put the onus of finding a majority buyer on the lenders. The Gulf carrier also wants exemption from giving an open offer in case its stake goes beyond 26 per cent.

(Nirbhay Kumar can be contacted at nirbhay.k@ians.in)

--IANS

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Senior Australia batsman Shaun Marsh believes that his Test career might be over with the new crop of players cementing their places.

Marsh, 35, was axed from Australia's Test team last summer after a barren series with the bat against world No.1 side India.

He was subsequently not picked against Sri Lanka in the following series.

"It is highly unlikely now with the guys coming in and performing how they did against Sri Lanka," Marsh told The Courier Mail when asked if he feels he will play another Test.

"I had a crack at it. They gave me every opportunity to get it right over the last 12 months after the Ashes when I played really well.

"Unfortunately, it did not work out for me but the guys who came in did well and probably deserved a crack at the (2019) Ashes," he said.

Marsh has featured in just 37 Tests since 2011 due to poor form and injury.

"I just did not manage to find the consistency that good players have," said Marsh, who has scored six Test centuries and 10 ducks.

"I just did not have that throughout my career. Look, I am still really proud of what I achieved. I played Tests for my country and played in some wonderful series wins. There were some lows, but also some great highs which I will cherish forever," he added.

--IANS

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Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday granted amnesty to 762 prisoners to mark Buddha Purnima, also known as Vesak festival.

An event was held at the Welikada prison to free the inmates -- 736 males and 26 females -- in the presence of the President, the Justice Ministry was cited as saying by the Colombo Gazette.

All those freed were in jail for minor offences and did not include convicts jailed for rape, child abuse, heroin use and drug trafficking.

Sri Lanka has declared a two-day holiday to mark Vesak, or the commemoration of the birth, enlightenment and passing away of Gautam Buddha. The celebrations, however, have been minimized following the Easter terror attacks which killed over 250 people and injured hundreds.

In a statement, Sirisena called on all the citizens to remain united and work towards a society that is safe and secure.

He said all citizens must recollect the teachings of Lord Buddha to build a society with boundless peace by avoiding all attempts to destroy each other for the greed for power.

"For a society to blossom without fear, danger and mistrust, the Buddha has preached. Hatred will not heal hatred but kindness will heal hatred. It is time we became strong enough to truly, meaningfully and honestly relate this eternal truth," Sirisena said.

Sri Lanka has witnessed a spate of attacks on Muslim-owned homes and shops as well as mosques following the April 21 attacks by Islamist militants on three churches, three luxury hotels and two other locations. The carnage was claimed by the Islamic State terror group.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the Vesak full moon appeared in the skies as the dark clouds of terror cast a shadow over the nation.

"There is a sense of anxiety and grief throughout society. In such troubling times, the sublime teachings of the Buddha show us the way to unite spiritually and find common purpose in our humanity," he said.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said: "May all forces of darkness, ignorance, bigotry and hatred towards others be defeated in this Vesak.

"This Vesak may herald an era of contentment, peace and evocation. Not just a negative notion of peace defined by the absence of conflict. But a positive peace where we all work to promote dialogue, harmony and justice," he added.

--IANS

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These are interesting times in the price-sensitive Indian smartphone market where one Chinese brand after another is entering the fray like winged insects swarming frantically at light sources during the rains -- only to disappear soon.

Amid all this, a new trend has emerged where certain smartphone leaders have taken the swords out in the open, going beyond just teasers and making social media platforms a new war zone -- giving users more dope to gossip around and create memes and jokes.

Leading the pack is Xiaomi's India Managing Director Manu Kumar Jain who has seen a fruitful 2018 when his company broke all records and beat its rivals throughout the year.

The 2019, however, may have a different story to share.

Manu Jain's first Twitter outburst in 2019 was against Chinese smartphone brand Realme where he hit out at Realme 3 Pro that features Qualcomm Snapdragon 710, saying this is older than Snapdragon 675 used in Xiaomi's latest device Redmi Note 7 Pro.

Madhav Sheth, the CEO of Realme India which became the fastest vendor to sell six million units after its debut in May 2018, reacted, saying Xiaomi is "insecure" of its success in the country.

"Someone is afraid," Seth tweeted.

As retweets picked up pace, the original tweets were immediately deleted.

Manu Jain's worry can be understood from the fact that Realme clocked seven per cent market share in India in the first quarter of 2019.

Despite losing its turf in India a little, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi retained its top slot in the first quarter (Q1) of 2019, garnering 29 per cent market share, according to Counterpoint Research.

Xiaomi's India shipments declined by 2 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) as it had recorded 31 per cent market share in the same quarter last year.

Realme continued to figure among top five brands for the second successive quarter while Vivo's market share reached its highest-ever level in India in Q1 2019 (Manu Jain, however, spared Vivo in his tweets).

"We are targeting to sell at least 15 million handsets this year and I believe in sales numbers," Madhav Sheth, Chief Executive Officer, Realme India, recently told IANS.

Xiaomi, this time joined by Taiwanese smartphone maker Asus, took potshots at OnePlus earlier this week.

While Asus was subtle, Xiaomi took a direct swipe: "Congratulations OnePlus, we heard about your new flagship. Flagship Killer 2.0: Coming soon".

Asus only talked about the battery capacity in its latest ZenFone 6.

Realme is working on to collaborate with 20,000 multi-brand retail outlets across 150 cities in the country.

In December last year, superstar Amitabh Bachchan sent a panic tweet about his Samsung smartphone going kaput for a while when Xiaomi's Jain joined the conversation, and offered Big B to switch over to a Xiaomi device.

Interestingly, Bachchan endorses rival brand OnePlus in India.

Who is next on Manu Jain's tweet radar only time can tell, but social media platforms have become a new ring for smartphone makers to battle it out in India.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As Sri Lanka on Saturday marked the 10-year anniversary since its brutal civil war came to an end, the country finds itself again at a crossroads following the Easter Sunday bombings that ripped through the nations fragile peace and fuelled some of the islands worst fears of returning to violence.

The island nation was set to commemorate the end of the bloody armed conflict between the government and the insurgent group known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil-Eelam (LTTE). The 30-year-long war, fought in the north and east of the country, has brought about serious divisions among a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, reported Efe news.

The anti-Muslim violence that followed three weeks after the Easter Sunday blasts was a dangerous reminder of the 1983 riots against the Tamil community, where mobs made up of members of the majority ethnic group Sinhalese burned Tamil homes and businesses to the ground.

The Easter Sunday bombs have opened a new front for this already polarized community, said Sri Lankan political commentator Kusal Perera.

"There is now a triangular polarization in society. The polarization between the Sinhala and the Tamil communities still exists and now there is Sinhala-Muslim conflict as well, which is further compounded by a Tamil-Muslim polarization," he said.

The Sri Lankan government, which claimed a military victory against the armed group in 2009, has been slow when it comes to working toward reconciliation and reparation.

"There has been no effort by the victor - the Sinhalese government - to offer any political solutions to the Tamil community," Perera said. "Although the idea of reconciliation has been floated around, it has been without a political solution, largely limited to Colombo-centric efforts and infrastructure development."

"The core issues concerning the Tamil community, which was directly affected by the war, have yet to be addressed," he added. "The current government, which came in with the promise of delivering solutions, has failed to deliver on the problems of missing persons, land issues and militarization."

Human rights activist Marisa Desilva, who works with communities in the north and east, said that even after a decade has passed since the end of the civil war, "the Tamil conflict remains unresolved."

"Families of the disappeared and people struggling to return to their lands occupied by the military have continuously protested on the streets, some for more than two years now," she said. "The Yahapalanaya (Good Governance) government elected in 2015 on the promise of change and reform has failed miserably in delivering any lasting solution to the national question, not being able to even deliver on basics such as constitutional and security reforms."

While most of the political issues of the community remain unsolved, psychosocial problems stemming from exposure to decades of violence and conflict have also gone unaddressed. The Easter Sunday attacks have triggered these traumatic experiences for many who lived through the war.

In Vanni, the area most affected by the 30-year conflict, many are staying away from even the villages' Hindu temples. Consultant psychiatrist S. Sivayokan said he felt this reaction was disproportionate to the Easter Sunday attacks.

Fears of further attacks have kept many citizens of the country away from public places, even in areas over 300 km (186 miles) away from Colombo, where most of the blasts took place.

"The attacks on April 21 have triggered the post-traumatic stress disorder issues that many in the community exposed to the war have," he said.

Many have "re-experienced" their trauma caused by wartime horrors since the Easter Sunday blasts. The community that was most affected by the attacks was provided little assistance to deal with the traumatic experiences of 30 years of war, with authorities paying very little attention to the psychosocial wellbeing of those dealing with PTSD even 10 years after the conflict subdued.

While some individuals have recovered from the trauma they faced, many "are still suffering and unable to cope."

The current psychosis of fear is being used by the military to regain lost ground, Perera claimed.

"The fear psychosis of believing that the new group is capable of bombing anywhere is further militarizing society," she said.

In the aftermath of the attacks and subsequent anti-Muslim violence, the military has deployed a large number of troops in an attempt to control the situation, with over 7,000 armed personnel being deployed in the North Western Province alone.

"We observe that there are multiple checkpoints appearing in the post-conflict areas, where even the Tamil community - which had earlier asked for less military presence - calling for military support again," Perera added.

However, Perera said she viewed this as part of the current government's failure to take control of the situation.

Both the government and the military have given repeated assurances of security and safety being established in all parts of the island.

Army Commander Lt Gen. Mahesh Senanayake on Thursday said that the military would maintain the country's "hard-won peace" as it tackles the new threat of global terrorism.

--IANS

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The stage is for the May 19 crucial by-elections to four assembly constituencies and the repolling in 13 booths in Erode, Dharmapuri, Tiruvallur and Cuddalore Lok Sabha consituencies in Tamil Nadu.

The four assembly seats where by-polls are to be held are: Aravakuruchi, Sulur, Thiruparankundram and Ottapidaram.

Voters in these four constituencies will decide the electoral fate of 137 candidates in the fray.

However, the main contest will be between the ruling AIADMK, principle opposition party DMK, and an Independent legislator-floated AMMK party.

Actor-politician Kamal Haasan's party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) candidates are also in the contention.

By-elections for 18 Assembly constituencies were held on April 18 along with the Lok Sabha polls in the state.

According to Election Commission about 16,000 police personnel will be deployed in the four assembly seats for security purposes.

The results of the by-polls for 22 assembly constituencies are crucial for ruling AIADMK, opposition DMK and AMMK parties.

According to analysts, the AIADMK may not find it difficult to win eight seats out of the 22 to continue in power.

In the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, the ruling AIADMK has 113 members (including the Speaker), DMK 88, Congress 8, IUML and Independent one each.

To attain a simple majority, the AIADMK has to win just five seats in the by-elections. In order to be safe against switching of camps by some of the lawmakers, the AIADMK has to win seven or eight seats.

Interestingly, three AIADMK legislators were issued show-cause notices by Speaker P. Dhanapal as the ruling party felt that they were moving towards Dhinakaran.

However, the Supreme Court has stayed the disqualification proceedings against the three lawmakers.

On the other hand, the DMK (88 members) has to win all the 22 seats to take the tally along with its allies Congress (eight members) and IUML (one member) to 119.

DMK President M.K. Stalin said that along with the change in the Central government after May 23 - the day on which the Lok Sabha and by-election results will also be declared -- there will be a change of government in Tamil Nadu.

One interesting factor in this situation will be the election result for the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat. The Congress party's H. Vasanthakumar, representing the Nanguneri Assembly constituency, is contesting in the Lok Sabha polls from Kanyakumari constituency.

It will be interesting to see whether he would retain the Assembly membership or opt for Lok Sabha membership if he wins in the Lok Sabha polls.

"It will be an acid test for Stalin's leadership. Assuming Dhinakaran's AMMK wins some seats, what action Stalin will take will have to be seen," political analyst Raveendhran Dhuraiswamy had told IANS earlier.

It has to be seen whether the AMMK will join hands with the DMK combine to topple the AIADMK government.

"If the BJP retains power at the Centre and the political situation in Tamil Nadu turns fluid, then the former can suspend the Assembly for some time to stall the DMK," political commentator Maalan Narayanan told IANS.

--IANS

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Television actress Sumona Chakravarti has expressed her disappointment over people not taking small screen actors seriously and comparing them to film stars.

Sumona, who is known for shows like "Bade Achhe Lagte Hain", "The Kapil Sharma Show" and "Jamai Raja" on Saturday posted a lengthy note on social media, pointing out the discrimination prevailing in Hindi showbiz against TV actors.

"From stylists saying that designers don't want to give their clothes to TV actors... to type casting us... to not even giving us the opportunity or considering us for film auditions and now for web shows. TV actors being pitted against unsuccessful film actors or just simply the ones who have played small character roles," Sumona wrote in the note.

Her post comes days after TV actress Hina Khan was mocked by a magazine editor for her debut appearance at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival.

"Cannes has suddenly become Chandivali Studios kya?" the editor posted in an Instagram story, which drew ire from a host of TV fraternity members who supported the "Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai" fame actress.

Sumona also shared how she got rejected from getting roles in several projects because of the TV actress tag.

She wrote: "I know how many times my name has been turned down because I am a TV face. Arrey that girl is from 'Kapil...' show . No let's take film actor. It's just sad. Casting people are now telling TV actors to stay away from TV for a while if you want to get considered for web shows. You know what, f**k you."

Sumona also spoke about nepotism in Bollywood.

"We are hard working actors. Not everyone comes from a business/filmy background. We all know the bitter truth of Bollywood (nepotism and casting couch is an existing reality. Let's not kid ourselves).

"An artiste is an artiste, irrespective of the medium. Respect," she concluded.

--IANS

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The Syrian air defences have intercepted "luminous objects" coming from Israel, the media reported.

The report by Syria's state TV is yet to give details on the nature of the "objects", according to Xinhua news agency.

The Syrian Army said that the air defences on Friday were triggered by "enemy targets" coming from the direction of the southern province of Quneitra.

Meanwhile, people in the capital heard explosions reverberating across the capital in the evening.

If confirmed to be an attack, it would not be the first Israeli missile attack to target Syrian sites.

Israel has repeatedly targeted Syrian sites on the pretext that it was targeting sites belonging to Iran-backed militia such as the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

--IANS

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Top Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Odisha's Berhampur on Saturday for waging war against the Indian government.

Additional District Judge-1, Berhampur sentenced Panda after convicting under Section 121 (waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India) of the Indian Penal Code while discharging him under section 124 (unlawful activities).

The court delivered the judgement in a case registered under Bada Bazaar Police Station in Berhampur police district, said public prosecutor Gyanendra Jena.

Deepak Pattnaik, counsel for Panda, said they will move a higher court against the judgement.

He said out of 135 cases, Panda was acquitted in 52 cases so far.

Panda was arrested from a house at Mangalavarampeta in Badabazar on July 17, 2014.

The Maoist leader was allegedly involved in several cases including the murder of Viswa Hindu Parishad leader Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati in Kandhamal district and abduction of two Italian tourists.

--IANS

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US President Donald Trump has agreed to lift tariffs on metal imports from Canada and Mexico, that in exchange agreed to stop punishing American farmers with their own taxes on pork, cheese and milk.

At the same time, he postponed a decision on Friday on whether to impose tariffs on automobiles imported from Europe, Japan and other countries for six months, setting a tight deadline for Washington to reach trade deals that have so far proved elusive, the New York Times reported.

"I'm pleased to announce we've just reached agreement with Canada and Mexico. We'll be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs," Trump said.

The US trade representative said in a statement that the metal tariffs would be removed and both Mexico and Canada "had agreed on the removal of all retaliatory tariffs imposed on American goods by those countries".

The metal tariffs are linked to a broader free trade deal, the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which was signed in 2018. It replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Trump had described the tariffs as a source of leverage in negotiating a revision to that deal, which has yet to be ratified by legislatures in all three countries.

According to the daily, Trump's decision removes the threat of an all-encompassing global trade war and allows him to focus on pushing China to agree to Washington's trade terms as well as pressuring Europe and Japan to reach a trade deal before the 2020 election.

As the White House eased tensions with Canada and Mexico, it continued to pressure allies elsewhere, including Europe and Japan. Those governments are still not exempt from the steel and aluminium tariffs and they are likely to bear the brunt of auto tariffs that could reach 25 per cent, if Trump opts to impose them.

The White House's announcement of a delay in determining whether to impose levies on foreign automobiles gave a temporary reprieve to global automakers and auto suppliers, which had been bracing for punishing tariffs on millions of cars imported into the US each year.

But it also set up a tense six-month period for the White House to reach trade deals with Japan, Europe and other nations that have already been complicated by mistrust and disagreements.

The White House said that Trump "took historic action" in issuing a proclamation that directs US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to negotiate agreements to address a national security threat that is causing harm to the American automobile industry.

In a statement, Toyota called the White House's announcement "a major setback for American consumers, workers and the auto industry," saying that it "sends a message to Toyota that our investments are not welcomed and the contributions from each of our employees across America are not valued".

--IANS

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The US President has postponed for six months a decision on whether to slap tariffs on imports of automobiles and auto parts from trading partners such as the European Union and Japan, the White House said in a statement.

Although Donald Trump made the widely expected choice not to impose tariffs immediately, the statement on Friday said he "took historic action" in issuing a proclamation that directs the US trade representative to negotiate agreements to address a national security threat that is causing harm to the US automobile industry.

The statement said he made his decision after extensively reviewing a report that the Commerce Department had delivered to him on February 17, reported Efe news agency.

That report concluded that imports of automobiles and certain components could impair US national security because the country's "defense and military superiority" depend on the competitiveness of the national automobile industry and the research and development it generates, the White House said.

"The negotiation process will be led by United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and, if agreements are not reached within 180 days, the President will determine whether and what further action needs to be taken," the statement read.

Trump, who faced a Saturday deadline to make a decision, has provided relief to global markets by putting it off for 180 days.

Since taking office in January 2017, Trump has defended tariffs as an effective strategy for gaining influence in trade negotiations.

But the President was warned by experts and the US auto industry that he is running the risk of provoking new global trade confrontations at a time when Washington has hit China with an increase in tariffs from 10 per cent to 25 per cent on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and Beijing has threatened to retaliate soon with tariffs on $60 billion in US imports.

The potential auto tariffs are strongly opposed by the Congress, including political allies of Trump, and have prompted the chairman of the Senate's Finance Committee, Republican Chuck Grassley, to demand that the White House provide him with the Commerce Department's report.

The Trump administration has refused the request.

On Friday, Grassley said on Twitter that the decision to postpone a decision on auto tariffs was a wise move.

Last year, Trump posed a 25 per cent tariff on imports of steel and a 10 per cent tariff on imports of aluminum from the EU, China, Canada, Mexico, Russia and other countries, making the decision after the Commerce Department found that those imports eroded the US's industrial base and posed a threat to national security.

The Auto Alliance, a Washington-based trade group comprising automobile manufacturers that operate in the US, staunchly opposes tariffs on imports of vehicles and auto parts.

"Imposing tariffs on imported vehicles and parts would be a mistake, with significant negative consequences" for the auto industry and its employees," it said in a statement this week.

The EU also says it has drawn up a list of US products that could be subject to retaliatory tariffs if the Trump administration carries out its threat.

Separately, Japan's government said on Friday it is confident the US will not put a cap on imports of Japanese automobiles amid frictions between the two countries during negotiations to finalize a bilateral trade agreement.

Among its negotiating objectives, Washington wants "fair and more equitable trade in the motor vehicle sector," including provisions designed to increase production and jobs in the US.

--IANS

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The US Exxon Mobil oil company has evacuated all its foreign workers from West Qurna 1 oil field in Iraq's Basra province, the media reported on Saturday.

The company started the evacuation on Friday and continued until early Saturday. Some of its staff were moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and some to the company's main headquarters in Basra, Al-Arabiyah television reported.

The oil production of West Qurna 1 oil field was not affected by the evacuation as the work was continued by the Iraqi engineers, the report said.

"There was no indication of threats and the situation was stable," according to an official from Iraq's Basra Oil Company.

The evacuation came amid the tension in the region after US President Donald Trump decided not to re-issue the sanctions waivers for major importers to continue buying Iran's oil when they expired in early May, in a bid to pile up pressure on Tehran.

The US has also increased its military activities in the region recently, citing a threat of Iranian attack.

--IANS

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The US has reached a deal with Canada to lift tariffs on steel and aluminium imports in a move that could lead to approval for a new North American trade deal.

In a joint statement, the US and Canada announced that a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports, and of 10 per cent on aluminium, will end in 48 hours, the BBC reported on Friday.

It is widely expected the US and Mexico will make a similar announcement soon.

The US implemented the tariffs last year on grounds of "national security".

Under the agreement, there will be no quotas on how much steel or aluminium the three countries buy from overseas.

However, the US and Canada will monitor imports and if a country is determined to be buying in too much, one of the other nations can request a consultation and potentially re-impose tariffs.

Getting rid of the tariffs is viewed as a key hurdle to approval for the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal which was signed in 2018. It replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Providing that Washington and Mexico City also announce an agreement to lift levies on steel and aluminium, the US, Mexico and Canada will ask their respective governments to ratify USMCA.

Canada also announced that it would lift tariffs on US imports of steel and aluminium that it implemented last year in retaliation for the Trump administration's levies.

--IANS

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With just one round of polling remaining, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) on Saturday expressed confidence that the regional political parties would garner a major chunk of Lok Sabha seats and would bind in the form of a 'Federal Front' for governance at the Centre.

TRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao has been making efforts for months to form a Federal Front and has personally met Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and CPI-M leader and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

He is also in touch with YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) chief Jaganmohan Reddy and leaders of some other political parties for this purpose.

Rao, who is popularly known as KCR, also met DMK chief M.K. Stalin recently besides holding talks with Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy. Significantly, both the DMK and the JD(S) are allies of the Congress, unlike the SP, TMC, BJD, CPI-M and YSRCP, which have so far displayed equidistance from both the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led coalitions.

Rao's close associate and TRS MP B. Vinod Kumar told IANS over phone that although the party chief was in touch with leaders like Naveen Patnaik, Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav, the discussions were not about who will go where.

He said KCR was in touch with the leaders of various political parties with regard to the formation of a Federal Front.

"When we met Kerala Chief Minister (Vijayan), he also agreed. KCR also spoke to the Karanataka Chief Minister," Kumar said, adding, "All of us will sit together and put forward the decisions before the new government."

However, the "political strategy" will be finalised after the election results are declared, Kumar said.

When pointed out that DMK and JD-S, whose leaders KCR had met, were already part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and whether there was any scope of them leaving the Congress-led alliance, the TRS leader reminded how the UPA was formed after the 2004 Lok Sabha elections and how the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was formed after the 1998 polls.

"KCR's concern is that whatever formulation emerges after the elections, we should put forward our issues by supporting that formulation," the TRS leader said.

Asked about a possibility of TRS, BJD and YSRCP jointly deciding on a common strategy after the elections, Kumar said, "It will depend on the outcome of the polls and whether there will be a necessity of these parties."

Accordingly, a call will also be taken as to which parties to go with, he said.

Kumar, who accompanied his party chief for the meeting with Stalin in Chennai earlier this week, said the discussions focused on how regional parties should have a say in the policy decisions of the government of India.

He said despite the country having a federal structure, the regional parties don't have a say in the governance at the Centre.

This is the idea behind the 'Federal Front', which aims to ensure that the interests of states are taken care of, he said.

"We want that regional parties should have a say in policy decisions of the government of India," the TRS leader said, adding that the main issues were devolution of funds to the states and other matters related to the Concurrent List of the Constitution.

To ensure that, regional parties have to be together and bargain, Kumar said.

"Our idea is that we want to push forward our Federal Front agenda, i.e., the states should be given more power, they should be considered while taking major decisions. We want to discuss all these points. We don't know who will agree to this or what will be the outcome. All these things will happen only after May 23," Kumar said.

"We are together (the Federal Front parties). The NDA had surfaced only after the results of 1998 elections. Likewise, the UPA only surfaced after the elections (of 2004). Some new formulation will come out after the results," the TRS leader said.

"We have issues concerning states which are ruled by the regional political parties. There are many subjects under the Concurrent List which we think should be deleted. Education, health all these issues. There are also other issues regarding devolution of funds," he said.

On the prospective outcome of the Lok Sabha polls, he said, "TRS believes that regional parties will get a major share of seats".

When asked about the contentious issue of who would be the Prime Ministerial candidate of a regional front, if it is in a position to form the government, the TRS leader merely said, "We will discuss, debate and finalise after the results are out."

--IANS

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Eleven members of a polling party were injured when the bus in which they were travelling overturned here Saturday, police said.

The bus carrying around 24 officials, who were on their way to report for duty, lost control and turned turtle near Belgadi village under Jugail Police Station, they said.

The injured, including two women, were rushed to the Chopan community health centre (CHC) from where five were referred to the district hospital, police said.

The remaining officials are undergoing treatment at the CHC, they added.

Polling on the Robertsganj Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh will take place in the seventh and final phase of the ongoing general elections on Sunday.

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Malta's prime minister has announced that two armed forces members have been arrested in connection with a fatal drive-by shooting of a migrant from Ivory Coast.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Saturday on Twitter that an internal investigation would determine whether the men acted alone "or as part of something wider."



It is believed to be Malta's first racially motivated murder.

Lassana Cisse, 42, was killed in the drive-by shooting on April 6 as he walked on a road near a migrant center.

Two other men, a 22-year-old from Guinea and a 28-year-old Gambian, were injured in the attack.

Authorities are investigating whether either suspect was also involved in a hit-and-run on the same road that injured a 17-year-old from Chad.

Opposition leader Adrian Delia condemned the slaying as "a hate crime.

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In a far cry from last year's situation, 26 reservoirs in have reached "zero storage" as on May 18, according to statistics put out by the Water Conservation department of the state government.

The department's website informed that water storage in Aurangabad Division, which comprises Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Parbhani and Osmanabad districts, was 0.43 per cent as against 23.44 per cent at the same time last year.

The dams in these division are Paithan, Manjara, Majalgaon, Yeldari, Siddeshwar, Lower Terna, Sina Kolegaon and Lower Dhudna, all of which have zero storage at the moment, the department informed.

The storage in these dams in May last year was 34.95 per cent in Paithan, 21.24 per cent in Manjara, 17.5 per cent in Majalgaon and 52.03 per cent in Lower Terna.

Other dams that have hit the zero storage level as on May 18 are Kadakpurna and Pentakli in Buldhana, Gosikhurd, Dina and Nand in Nagpur Division, Upper Tapi Hathnur in Jalgaon, Waki, Bham, Bhavli and Punegaon in Nashik Division, Dibhe, Ghod, Pimpalgaon Joge, Wadaj and Temghar in Pune, Bhima, Kundali Tata and Lonavala Tata in Solapur, it informed.

Meanwhile, Tisgaon dam in Nashik and Totladoh in Nagpur have 0.01 and 0.08 per cent water respectively.

It said water storage in the state's 103 large, medium and small reservoirs stood at 11.84 per cent, against 23.73 per cent last year.

Sanjay Lakhe Patil, a social activist, alleged that the state government's distribution of fodder camps for cattle in the drought-affected regions was not proper.

Terming it an "animal farm" situation where only the fittest survive, Patil said, "Only the strong political leaders got cattle camps, fodder, water in their districts in large numbers, whereas drought relief should have been distributed equitably."



He added that drawing dead water stock would impact the safety of the dams.

Dead water storage refers to the water in a reservoir that cannot be drained using the dams outlets and can only be pumped out.

"There is no surface and ground water in most parts of the state. The water quality supplied through tankers is of very poor quality. This is affecting the health of children and pregnant women in the rural areas. The government was in election mode and ignored drought-relief measures. It is monitoring such work from AC offices," he alleged.

"The Central Water Commission has issued an advisory to the government stating that water storage is the lowest in reservoirs here in a decade. Monsoon prediction of the IMD and Skymet is about a delayed one. It will be disastrous if there are no rains in June," he claimed.

Patil had petitioned the Bombay High Court on drought management under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

The state government is already under fire from the opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party which have claimed that it is monitoring drought from air-conditioned offices on mobile phones rather than through on-ground assessment.

Both NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Congress state unit president Ashok Chavan have been routinely attacking the Devendra Fadnavis government on the drought situation in the state.

The BJP, however, has rejected this criticism and has said that it has been putting technology to effective use to monitor the drought situation in the state.

The state government had declared drought in 151 talukas and 260 mandals in October last year.
Four men have been arrested for allegedly cheating 88 persons by cloning their ATM cards in west Delhi's Tilak Nagar, police said Saturday.

The accused have been identified as Dharmendra Saini (38), Siddharth (30), Sunil Kumar (36) and Mayank Shukla (27), they said.

According to the police, Saini and Siddharth were previously involved in over three dozen cases of ATM fraud in Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai.

"The arrest was made after the accused were captured on CCTV footages of the two ATMs where they withdrew cash from," Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Monika Bhardwaj said.

During interrogation, the accused said they targeted ATMs where security guards were not present.

After Shukla would spray chemicals on the CCTV cameras of the ATMs, Saini would install skimming machines, which save passwords when money is withdrawn, Bhardwaj said.

Later, the gang would clone a card, the officer said.

The accused would cheat people to maintain their luxurious lifestyles, she said.

They bought the skimming machines online and had installed them at ATMs in Dwarka, Mahipalpur, Palam, District Centre and Vikas Puri area, the officer added.

The police have recovered over Rs 15 lakh cash, 300 white cards for cloning, 85 used cards, 30 debit cards, small cameras and several other high-end gadgets. Three vehicles were also seized from the accused, Bhardwaj said.

Efforts are being made to ascertain the cheated amount and the source of the recovered electronic devices and country-made pistol, police said, adding they are trying to nab the other accused involved in the case.

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As many as four Union ministers are among the 157 candidates in Bihar whose electoral fortunes will be decided on Sunday in the final phase of general elections.

About 1.52 crore voters will exercise their franchise in the eight Lok Sabha constituencies - Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Arrah, Buxar, Karakat, Sasaram, Nalanda and Jehanabad - at 15,811 booths, according to figures made available by the Election Commission.

Seven of these seats were won by the NDA last time, five by the BJP and two by the RLSP, which is now with the "Mahagathbandhan".

One was bagged by the JD(U) headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, which then fought separately but is now back with the NDA.

By-poll will also be held for the Dehri Assembly seat, which fell vacant last year upon the disqualification of RJD MLA and former state minister Mohd Ilyas Husain, who was convicted in the bitumen scam by a Ranchi court.

The most keenly-watched contest is in Patna Sahib where Ravi Shankar Prasad, one of the most prominent members of the Narendra Modi cabinet, is seeking entry into the Lok Sabha. The BJP has won the seat in both the elections that have taken place since it came into being after the 2008 delimitation.

However, Prasad faces the challenge of retaining the seat for his party by defeating Shatrughan Sinha - the actor- turned-politician, who won it on both occasions and is now in the fray as the Congress candidate.

The neighbouring Pataliputra has become a prestige issue for the family of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, which has contested the seat twice, losing on both occasions to his former loyalists.

While Prasad himself lost to JD(U)'s Ranjan Yadav, his daughter Misa Bharti was defeated by Ram Kripal Yadav, who fought on a BJP ticket and became a Union minister. Bharti is once again in the fray against Yadav.

Arrah is witnessing a battle of ideological extremes as Union minister RK Singh, an IAS officer, who retired as the Union Home secretary before joining the BJP and making electoral debut five years ago, seeks to retain the seat overcoming the challenge posed by Raju Yadav of the CPI(ML).

Yadav's prospects have been boosted with the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan supporting his candidature and the ultra-Left party has reciprocated the gesture by supporting Misa Bharti in Pataliputra.

In Buxar, Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey's bid to retain the seat for the second consecutive term has been challenged by veteran RJD leader Jagadanand Singh, who has represented the Lok Sabha constituency formerly and, unlike the incumbent, who hails from Bhagalpur, is seen as a "local".

Karakat is where RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha made a successful Lok Sabha debut five years ago as an NDA ally and went on to become a Union minister only to part ways in December last year when he joined the Mahagathbandhan.

His bid to retain the seat faces a stiff challenge from JD(U)'s Mahabali Singh, who finished third last time but was the winner in 2009 when his party was with the NDA.

Former Lok Sabha Speaker and veteran Congress leader Meira Kumar is in the fray from Sasaram, which she had represented two times on the trot before losing to BJP's Chhedi Paswan in 2014.

Paswan, who had formerly been the MP from the seat in 1989 and 1991 on Janata Dal ticket, has once again been fielded by his party. Kumar's father, former Deputy Prime Minister Jagjivan Ram, had represented the reserved seat several times, mostly on Congress ticket and twice as Janata Party's candidate.

In Nalanda, second term JD(U) MP Kaushalendra Kumar - a confidant of the Chief Minister, who retained the seat for the party in 2014 surmounting the Modi wave - is once again in the fray.

His bid has been challenged by Ashok Kumar Azad Chandravanshi, who has been fielded by Hindustani Awam Morcha of Jitan Ram Manjhi - a former Chief Minister, who floated his own outfit after quitting the JD(U), started off as an NDA partner but ended up with the Mahagathbandhan.

Jehanabad was won by RLSP's Arun Kumar, but he was expelled by the party and went on float his own outfit which neither the NDA nor the Mahagathbandhan agreed to back. His bid to retain the seat is meeting with a two-pronged challenge from RJD's Surendra Yadav - an MLA from the adjoining district of Gaya, who has been notorious for strong-arm style of politics - and JD(U)'s Chandreshwar Prasad Yaduvanshi.

Another notable candidate in Jehanabad is Angesh Kumar - a rebel candidate initially backed by Lalu Prasad's disgruntled elder son Tej Pratap Yadav, who later pulled back in the larger interest of his father's party.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
DLA Piper said that lawyers from its New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and UK offices also supported the deal. DLA Piper previously worked on the ASX listings of US tech companies, including Credible Labs and Updater.

DLA Piper has been fortunate to advise a number of US tech companies on their ASX listing journey. With a deep heritage in Silicon Valley and one of the most active technology practices globally, DLA Piper has become the go-to law firm for tech based equity raisings and IPOs in Australia, Ryan said.

The work has earned praise from Itamar Novick, Life360 chief business officer, whom the firm worked closely with in managing the IPO.

The DLA Piper team is developing a strong reputation in the Australian market as being the go-to firm in helping list US tech companies on ASX. We can now attest to this having witnessed first-hand how they expertly guided us through all the twists and turns of our IPO and listing process. The team is very commercial and always adopts a pragmatic solutions-focussed approach. We quickly knew we could trust them to help us successfully execute our vision, he said.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe served as the US legal adviser to Life360. The firms team was headed by Silicon Valley partner Gregory Heibel. He was supported by partners Andrew Thorpe, Joseph Perkins, Christine McCarthy, Emily Tabatabai, and Steve Malvey; of counsel Kathryn Montalvo; managing associates Laura Bloxham and Thomas Joraanstad; and associates Jevon Potts and Jake Routhier.
The electoral fortunes of 42 candidates including that of former Chief Minister and Union Minister Shibu Soren will be decided on Sunday in the final phase of the general elections in Jharkhand.

Elections will be held in three seats - Dumka, Rajmahal and Godda on Sunday.

Soren, the chief of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and a 8th term sitting MP is in the fray from Dumka seat once again. He is crossing swords with BJP's Sunil Soren. The JMM leader had defeated his BJP challenger twice in 2009 and 2014.

Altogether 45,64,681 electors, including 22,00,119 female and 21 third gender voters are eligible to exercise their franchise, an Election Commission release said.

While 15 candidates are in the fray in Dumka, 14 are trying their luck from Rajmahal and 13 in Godda.

The JMM, the Congress and the JVM of former chief minister Babulal Marandi have formed 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance), putting up candidates against the BJP nominees in the 14 seats of the state.

JMM's sitting MP, Vijay Kumar Hansda, is facing a tough challenge from BJP's Hemlal Murmu from Rajmahal seat. Hansda had defeated Murmu in 2014.

Murmu, who was a four-time MLA and had won the Rajmahal Lok Sabha seat in 2004 as JMM candidate, joined the BJP in 2014.

Sitting BJP MP Nishikant Dubey is also facing fight from JVM MLA Pradip Yadav from Godda seat.

Chief Minister Raghubar Das and Ajsu party president Sudesh Mahto camped in the Santhal Pargana region for several days, campaigning for the BJP candidates.

This is the first time that Ajsu party has an alliance with the BJP in any Lok Sabha elections with the party getting the lone Giridih seat as per the seat sharing arrangement.

Chief Electorate Officer L Khiangte said that 6,258 control units, as many ballot units and 6,258 VVPATs have been set up in the three constituencies, besides keeping 1,260 control units, as many ballot units and 1,884 VVPATs in reserve.

There are 6,258 polling stations with 27,536 polling personnel manning them.

A total 589 polling stations will have webcasting facility while 137 polling stations will be manned by only women polling personal.

Inspector General of Police (Operation) Ashish Batra said that 37,398 security personnel have been deployed across the three constituencies as part of security arrangements.

An Air ambulance will be available for emergency services, he said, adding locations of sensitive booths will be under helicopter surveillance.

Polling personnel of seven polling stations will be dropped by helicopter, he said.

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Voters stand in a queue to cast vote during the second phase of general elections, at polling station in Tikri of Udhampur district in Jammu and Kashmir, Thursday, April 18, 2019 | Photo: PTI

The world's highest polling station in Tashigang village of Himachal Pradesh's tribal Lahaul and district is all set for action on Sunday, ready to receive its 49 registered voters.

The Tashigang polling station is situated at a height of 15,256 feet above the sea level, State's Assistant Chief Electoral Officer Harbans Lal Dhiman told PTI.

He said the nearby Hikkim polling station used to be the world's highest polling booth earlier but it was replaced by Tashigang during the 2017 assembly elections due to some technical reasons.

Dhiman said the polling station with the lowest number of voters in the state is situated in another tribal district of Kinnaur.

Ka polling station has been set up for just 16 voters, he added.

Both Tashigang and Ka polling stations fall under the Mandi parliamentary seat where the highest number of 17 candidates are in the fray.

However, the direct contest is likely between the BJP and the

Five MLAs, including a state minister, are among the 45 candidates trying to make it to Parliament from the state where polling will be held Sunday, the last phase of voting in the 2019 elections.

There are 53,30,154 registered voters for the four constituencies -- Shimla (SC), Mandi, Hamirpur and Kangra -- in the state. PTI DJI

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A 64-year-old Mumbai-based businessman who was kidnapped from a luxury hotel in Lutyens Delhi was rescued from a building in Laxmi Nagar, police said Saturday.

The accused was abducted from a luxury hotel here on Friday night and was confined in a building in east Delhi's Laxmi Nagar, they said, adding it was a cases of honey trapping.

Police said they were informed at around 11 pm on Friday from one of the businessman's friends that he has been abducted and the kidnappers have



demanded a ransom of Rs 30 lakh for his release.

During investigation, the phone numbers from which the call was received, were put on surveillance. CCTV footages from the hotel were also checked and the businessman was seen leaving the hotel in a car. The vehicle's registration number was noted and a message was passed across Delhi Police's district control rooms and PCR vans to trace the vehicle, a senior police officer said.

CCTV footages on the route through which the car had travelled were also checked, he said.

The businessman's location was traced to a building in Laxmi Nagar following overnight raids and technical surveillance. Around 6 am, the police teams conducted a raid at the identified address and the man was rescued, he added.

Four woman and two men have been arrested for the abduction and the businessman was safely rescued, Eish Singhal, Additional deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) said.

The officer, however, refused to reveal the name of the businessman or the accused arrested for the alleged abduction stating that the matter is under investigation.

Police are investigating the gang's involvement in other cases.

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The All India Radio will continuously broadcast a special programme on results of the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in four states for 40 hours.

News Services Division of All India Radio (NSD-AIR) has made elaborate arrangements for providing authentic and latest results of the polls from May 23 morning.

For the first time, AIR, the biggest radio network of the country, will continuously broadcast a special programme on election results for 40 hours, an official statement said.

The AIR News will mount "Special Janadesh 2019" - bilingual programme in Hindi and English - from 7 am on May 23 to 11 pm on May 24.



The programme will be broadcast on AIR FM Gold and other channels. It will also be available live on YouTube channel of AIR News, the statement said.

AIR correspondents from across the country will continuously provide latest live updates of counting of votes.

Similarly, all 46 Regional News Units of AIR throughout the country will mount special programmes and news bulletins in regional languages of their respective states, it said.

Hourly news bulletins will be available across the country through various channels like FM Gold, FM Rainbow, Vividh Bharati and other local channels of AIR, the statement said.

Along with the Lok Sabha election, assembly polls were held in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha.
Retaining the Ferozepur Lok Sabha seat has turned into a prestige battle for the SAD, which has fielded its president Sukhbir Singh Badal to wrest it from his former colleague and sitting MP Sher Singh Ghubaya, who recently switched over to the Congress.

Caste factor has always played a key role in this constituency, which shares an over 200-km-long international border with Pakistan. The Rai Sikhs are the predominant community here, followed by the Hindus, Kumhars, Jatt Sikhs and the Kamboj.

It has mostly been either Jatt Sikh or Rai Sikh candidates, barring the exception of late Balram Jakhar of the Congress (in 1980).

The seat came to seen as a SAD bastion as the party won five consecutive terms starting 1998. Party stalwart and old horse Zora Singh Mann, a "Jatt Sikh", was elected from the seat three times in a row in 1998, 1999 and 2004.

In 2009, the SAD played the caste card and fielded Ghubaya, a Rai Sikh. He emerged victorious, defeating firebrand Congress leader Jagmeet Singh Brar.

Ghubaya again tasted success in 2014 when he defeated another Congress stalwart, Sunil Jakhar, by 31,420 votes.

Last month, however, Ghubaya joined the Congress and was subsequently given a ticket, a move that left many Congressmen fuming.

Many Congress leaders have denied extending their support, and Ghubaya is banking on his community, which has a sizable chunk of the votes in this segment.

Following the sitting MP's exit from the party, the SAD fielded its top-gun Badal from the seat. Badal is a sitting MLA from Jalalabad.

Calling the Congress candidate a "gaddar" (traitor), the SAD chief said, "Ghubaya has not only betrayed me, but also his mother party which made him MLA and then two-time MP. He has also betrayed the people from his own community."



"Ghubaya pursued his own vested interests and acquired illegitimate money," he added, while terming himself as an "Sidha Sadha Desi Banda (straight forward local honest person)".

Promising to usher in a new era of development in the area, Badal says, "I don't like stunts but like to focus only on delivering what I promise and I love the challenge of promising big and delivering it to the people."



In his response, Ghubaya terms his battle with Sukhbir as one between the "Sarmaidar (affluent)" and the "Garib (poor)".

Claiming that he will cause the biggest upset in the state by defeating Badal, Ghubaya said not only was the Rai Sikh "biradari" (community) standing behind him like a rock, people from all other communities were also supporting him.

The Ferozepur parliamentary constituency, which goes to polls on May 19, has nine assembly segments. Six of these are represented by Congress MLAs, two by SAD legislators and one by the BJP.

The Congress had last won the constituency in 1985, when Gurdial Singh Dhillon defeated Inderjit Singh of the SAD. Since then, the Congress has lost the seat for eight straight terms.

The populace here, especially those belonging to the villages situated along the Sutlej, which zig-zags the Indo-Pakistan border in this area, are sore over the "false promises" made to them every polls.

Those who have borne the brunt of the two Indo-Pakistan wars and the incursion of the furious Sutlej several times in the past, say nothing has changed on the ground.

Harbhajan Lal, a small businessman belonging to village Vasal Mohan in Guruharsahai, though praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his schemes like the 'Jan Dhan Yogna' and others, rued, "Whenever we go to banks to apply loan, it is denied due to poor market value of our land in border areas.

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BJP president Amit Shah Saturday offered prayers at famous Somnath temple in Gujarat along with his family members.

Shah, who is on Gujarat visit, was accompanied by his wife, a son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

They performed rituals at the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located in Gir-Somnath district.

As part of his Gujarat visit, Shah will spend a day with his family members at their residence in Ahmedabad before returning to Delhi on Sunday, party spokesperson Prashant Vala said.

Shah is also a trustee of the Shree Somnath Trust that manages affairs of the temple.

The visit of Shah, the BJP candidate from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, came on the eve of the conclusion of the seven-phase elections.

Counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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Australian election favourite Bill Shorten conceded defeat after his Labour party suffered a shock defeat in national polls Saturday, saying he would resign as party leader.

"It is obvious that Labour will not be able to form the next government", Shorten told disbelieving supporters in Melbourne.

"In the national interest, a short while ago I called (Liberal leader, Prime Minister) Scott Morrison to congratulate him," he said.

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Australians on Saturday voted to elect their next parliament and prime minister, in what has been widely referred to as the climate-change election, with the first exit poll showing a victory for the opposition Labor Party.

After five weeks long election campaigning across the country, around 16 million Australians swarmed to the polling booths across the country to elect the nation's prime minister.

A Nine-Galaxy poll released shortly before the voting stations closed in the east of the country showed a victory for the centre-left Labor party and Liberal Party-led coalition losing its bid for a third three-year term.

The poll showed the Labor winning as many as 82 seats in the 151-member House of Representatives, beating the governing Liberal coalition.

To win a majority in the House of Representatives, either major party will need 77 seats. The Coalition currently holds 73 seats, while Labor has 72.

Some 16.5 million Australians were enrolled to vote on Saturday, with more than 4.7 million having already cast ballots in early voting by Friday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison cast his vote at Lilli Pilli Public School in Sydney while Labor party leader Bill Shorten cast his vote in Melbourne.

Morrison said this federal election was a choice about who you want to continue to be the Prime Minister of this country, myself or Bill Shorten.

Tonight the votes will be counted and we will see what the outcome is. I make no assumptions about tonight. I respect this process. It is dear to my heart, the democracy of our country. I don't take anyone's support in this country for granted, Morrison said.

Shorten after casting his vote said, "Today, vote for change, vote for real change, and vote for Labor. Vote to stop the chaos. Today, vote to stop the cuts to schools and hospitals. For a better childcare system for families. Vote to tackle climate change. Vote Labor.

Hitting out on climate change, Shorten said it wasn't the Aussie way to be missing from the big fights. We will convene the parliament as soon as possible to start action on climate change."



Anger over the government's inaction on climate change may prove the real difference between the two parties.

Australia has experienced some of the worst effects of climate change in recent few years, from deadly bush fires to the destruction of natural wonders like the Great Barrier Reef.

Concern about climate change is now at a 10-year high among Australians, with 64 per cent believing it should be a top priority for the government, according to an Ipsos poll released in April.

The Labor party is promising to cut Australia's carbon emissions by 45 per cent on 2005 levels, compared to the government's minimum pledge of 26 per cent.

Meanwhile, Labor lodged an official complaint against Liberal for allegedly using Australian Election Commission (AEC) colours and telling voters to use their first choice in front of a Liberal candidate in Melbourne seat of Chisholm.

However, AEC responded that the signs were not a breach of electoral rules because they appeared to be properly authorised and there is nothing in the Electoral Act regarding use of colour.

The poll comes just two days after the death of Bob Hawke, a long-serving former prime minister whose achievements have been hailed across the political spectrum.

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Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Saturday warned of a large-scale agitation in Gujarat, alleging that atrocities against the Dalit community in the state were on a rise.

Citing an instance of Dalits being allegedly boycotted by upper caste people in Lohr village in Mehsana district after a youth from the community took out a wedding procession, he said several such incidents have happened in the state.

Following the incident, tensions ran high in the area and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel visited the village.

The Bhim Army chief met the Dalit youth Friday.

He cited another incident in an Aravalli district village where stones were hurled at a wedding procession of a Dalit groom allegedly by upper castes people last week. The incident resulted in violent protests.

"The CM and the government is doing nothing when atrocities against Dalits are on a rise. No action is being taken against erring officers. The incidents are in violation of the basic principles of the Constitution," he told PTI.

He said the state government did little to assuage the concerns of the Dalit community.

"If the state government does not take corrective measures, we will be compelled to launch an agitation. The Dalit community in the state should not think it is in minority. If needed, their brothers from other states will join them and launch a large-scale protest in the state," he added.

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Disgruntled ally SBSP's chief Om Prakash Rajbhar has urged supporters to thrash ruling party workers with shoes if they spread misinformation, prompting the senior coalition partner to suggest that the EC should take note.

Last month, Rajbhar submitted his resignation from the Yogi Adityanath's BJP-led ministry, but it is yet to be accepted.

He has also announced fielding Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Part candidates from several constituencies in

Rajbahr is heard asking his party workers to beat the workers in a video of his address to an election meeting earlier in Ghosi parliamentary constituency. The video has gone viral on

The video shows him asking supporters to beat up workers if they suggest that a local SBSP candidate is not actually contesting.



BJP workers are telling everyone that we have an alliance, and Mahendra is not contesting, he is heard saying in the video clip.

"So, if you find a BJP leaders saying such things, take out your shoe and beat him 10 times with it, he said.

The SBSP has fielded as many as 39 candidates in the state in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Reacting to Rajbhar's statement, state BJP media coordinator Rakesh Tripathi said, "This is extremely unfortunate and objectionable.

We expect the to take cognizance of the remarks and initiate stringent actions. Tough action must be taken for making statements that can spread hatred in society, he said.

The SBSP has fielded as many as 39 candidates in the state in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

The SBSP's flags were also seen in general secretary Priyanka Gandhi's roadshow in Mirzapur on Friday.

The SBSP is a BJP ally in UP, and had won four seats in the 2017 elections. Rajbhar is the UP cabinet minister for Backward class welfare and Divyangjan Empowerment.



Earlier on April 15, Rajbhar had said there was a meeting on the alliance at the chief ministers residence on April 13, in which Union minister J P Nadda was also present.

At that meeting, the BJP had proposed to field an SBSP candidate on its symbol, which was disapproved by him, Rajbhar added. He insisted to use his party symbol even if the SBSP got just one seat to contest.

The UP minister for backward class welfare and 'divyangjan' empowerment said he had sought time from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, but was yet to get an appointment.

Meanwhile, Rajbhar's son and SBSP general secretary Arun Rajbhar said, "The alliance with the BJP is for the assembly polls and not for the Lok Sabha elections.
Johnson Winter & Slattery (JWS) has foiled a bid by Timor-Leste to dismiss a case that seeks hundreds of millions in damages.

JWS is acting for Lighthouse Corporation in a lawsuit against the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and the Electricity Department of Timor-Leste. Partner Tony Johnson and senior associate Nicholas Briggs are acting for Lighthouse.

The company commenced proceedings against the defendants in the Supreme Court of Victoria for alleged breaches and illegal cancellation of fuel supply contracts entered into in October and November 2010. It is seeking damages of about US$328m, plus interest and costs.
Karnataka BJP has expelled its Tumkur district youth wing President from the party's primary membership for a post praising Nathuram Godse on the social media.

"For your post on social media praising Nathuram Godse, you have not only been removed from the post of Yuva Morcha district President, but also expelled from the primary membership of the party," the expulsion order signed by state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa, addressed to T H Hanumantharaju read.

The social media post of Hanumantharaju shared by BJP to the media shows the picture of Godse and a vessel that supposedly contains his ashes decorated with flowers next to it.

The message with the picture calling Godse a "great patriot" says his ashes have still not been immersed in the Sindhu river.

Hanumantharaju is not the first in the saffron party to face the ire of the party leadership for praising Godse.

Earlier, BJP candidate Pragya Singh Thakur too had stirred a controversy by calling Godse, the assassin of mahatma gandhi, a true patriot



During a roadshow in Madhya Pradesh on May 16, Thakur had said Godse was a patriot, is a patriot, and would remain a patriot and those who call him a terrorist should look within, they will get a reply in this election.

She later apologised for her statement.

She was responding to a comment by actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan, who had said "free India's first extremist was a Hindu" remark, referring to Godse.

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TDP President and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday attacked the Modi government, alleging that there has been misuse of electoral bonds and new Rs 500 and Rs 2000 notes were introduced after demonetisation to "buy votes".

Naidu, who was speaking at an event here on the eve of the last phase of polling, also stressed that counting of votes in 50 per cent of VVPATs can easily be done even though the has dismissed the petition on the same and ordered checking of VVPAT slips with only five with the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

"What was the purpose behind the removal of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes? It is very clear, by establishing new Rs 500 and Rs 2000 notes, this can be used to buy votes and people can expect money for each vote especially in the case of postal ballots," Naidu said.



He was addressing a conclave at the India International Centre where experts and former bureaucrats held discussions on the issue of independence of the and electoral process.

Naidu talked elaborately on the misuse of electoral bonds and demonetization, a state government release said.

Electoral bonds were created to assist all political parties in their efforts to raise funds but, Naidu alleged, there is no level playing field and "only some parties are getting these funds and not every party is benefitting from this".

Irrespective of who wins or loses the election, Naidu said there is a need to ensure full and fair democratic election process.

On VVPATs, the TDP chief said that the is not ceding to its demand of counting 50 per cent VVPATs on the grounds that it will delay the entire results by six days.



VVPATs can be counted on the same number of tables that are being used by EVMs and can be done in the presence of a Counting Agent and an Observation Officer to ensure that the counting takes place in a fair and transparent manner, Naidu said.

He claimed that counting of votes cast by EVMs first and then a random selection of 5 VVPATs will throw up a lot of discrepancies in the overall counting and this should be done across all constituencies.

Former judge Madan Lokur, former Central Chief Election Commissioner Naveen Chawla, former Central Chief Election Commissioner S Y Qureishi, retired IAS officer K Raju and former Central Wajahat Habbibullah were among those who participated in the event.
From spruced up ghats, well-lit at night, to a smooth four-lane road connecting the city airport to the temple town, and from a cancer hospital to dirty walls now adorned with vibrant artwork, change in the last five years is evident in many ways in Varanasi.

Ajay Kumar, an autorickshaw driver, can't stop gushing about the new Babatpur Road and he often tells visitors at Varanasi junction to go see the road to feel the change.

In 2014, the same road was in a poor condition and tourists coming to the town would often curse experiencing the rough ride. Now, they can also see nice trees planted there, he said.

In the main city, streets look spruced up with vintage-style lamp posts installed on prominent roads, including the famous Godowlia Chowk that leads to the Dashashwamedh Ghat.

Go and see the ghats, if you want to see the change in Varanasi. It will delight your senses. The PM has turned ghats and city walls into vibrant spaces, he should get another term, said 52-year-old Kamal Upadhyay, who lives near Godowlia Chowk.

But 32-year-old Abhay Yadav, whose runs a hotel-cum-restaurant in an old building overlooking the iconic Dashashwamedh Ghat, is not quite impressed by these fancy lights.

It feels good to see the ghats sparkling at night in dazzling colours. But what about the Ganga? Shouldn't cleaning this holy river be the talking point? All this dazzle has no meaning if the Ganga is not clean. Frankly, I do not feel any change in these five years, except some cosmetic developments, he said.

Yadav, a resident of Katuapura, is a certified tourist guide and feels aghast at the new, ambitious Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project, for which, he said, hundreds of old houses, many over centuries-old, have been demolished.

That was our heritage and should have been preserved, the soul of Banaras lives in its gullies, but in the name of 'vikas', so much of our legacy got bulldozed. On one hand, Modiji talks about making Kashi a Kyoto, and on the other hand, he knocks down our priceless heritage, he rued.

The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, the foundation stone for which was laid by Prime Minister Modi on March 8, is considered a dream project for his constituency. He had then said the project was a beginning of realisation of a dream to really do something for Kashi.

In a way, it is a festival of Bhole Baba's (Kashi Vishwanath temple) liberation ('mukti ka parv hai'), who for ages had been surrounded by walls, Modi had said after laying the foundation stone.

Amit Singh, a bookstore owner, whose shop is located close to the corridor project site, however, is happy about the project, saying, Sometimes, to achieve something big, we have to make small sacrifices.

But, ahead of the polling in the temple town on Sunday, Benares is divided on other issues too related to the five-year term of the Modi government.

Suraj Prajapati, 21, a first-time voter, and resident of Varanasi, who is pursuing an undergraduate course in mathematics at the Allahabad University, said, I appreciate Modiji's good work as PM, but his 'pakoda' remarks had really punctured my morale as a youth of this country.

Should the government of the day not work to ensure jobs to us after we graduate or are we expected to fry 'pakodas' if we don't get jobs? he asked.

And, even during campaigning, I saw on television, references to Pulwama and Balakot airstrike by him and his senior party colleagues. As a conscious youth, I felt it should not have been done, instead they should have spoken about jobs, education and health sectors, Prajapati said.

City-based Ram Chand Patel, 68, a retired government employee, however, feels national security is an important issue, and Modi government has worked on it.

As far as jobs are concerned, those who are hard-working will find jobs, only the lazy ones complain, he claimed.

Ashok Pandey, an autorickshaw driver, gets upset talking about demonetisation imposed by the Modi government in 2016, in a bid to curb black money.

Modiji and his party made big promises. He had promised to bring back black money, where is the black money? I have suffered in the 'notebandi' and my family has felt the pain. I know how bad an impact it had, he rued.

Krishna Murari Sinha, 52, a three-star hotel proprietor, is disturbed over debate on who is a "nationalist" and who is anti-national".

If you do not agree with the government's policy, its supporters would immediately brand you an 'anti-national', and if you support it, you are a patriot. This certificate of 'deshbhakti' or 'deshdrohi' being given out really perturbed me as a citizen, he said.

But 'Modi mania' is appear all pervasive here with books on the prime minister in big demand, and advertisements of the BJP, carrying slogans like -- 'Modi hai to Mumkin hai' and 'Aantakwad ko muhtod jawab' seen on the back of autorickshaws.

At various paan, lassi and misrambu shops fronting the Godowlia Chowk, a special 'Modi clock' is displayed on their walls, with many owners eagerly waiting for the next government.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Police on Saturday filed a chargesheet against the accused in the Alwar gang-rape case in a court here.

Five accused had allegedly gangraped a woman in front of her husband when she was going with him on a motorcycle on Thanagaji-Alwar road on April 26. Another accused had shot a video clip of the crime and circulated it on social media.

"The chargesheet was filed Saturday against the accused," Additional Superintendent of Police Chiranjee Lal told PTI.

The FIR was lodged on May 2 and later the police arrested the five rape accused, Inderraj Gujar, Ashok Gurjar, Chotelal Gurjar, Hansraj Gurjar and Mahesh Gujar, under relevant sections of the IPC and the SC/ST Act. Mukesh Gujar, who had shot and circulated the video, was also held under the IT Act.

The case had triggered widespread protests after the victim's husband alleged that there was a delay in filing the FIR with the police officers asking him to wait till the elections were over.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had met the victim in Alwar's Thanagji on Thursday and assured her of justice.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress Saturday asked the EC not to grant Prime Minister Narendra Modi permission to travel with his motorcade here on polling day as this would amount to a roadshow, a "violation" of the poll code.

In a letter to the Election Commission and the local poll authority, the party's district unit said in such a situation its own candidate would also be forced to move about in a cavalcade which could lead to "unnecessary confrontation".

Modi, who is seeking reelection from Varanasi constituency, is expected to spend at least a part of the day in Badrinath.

The Congress said it had learnt that the prime minister would stay in Varanasi on Sunday and his movement might even affect traffic, which would cause hindrance to voters trying to reach polling booths.

It said that even if his cavalcade moved without affecting or halting traffic, it would still seem like he was holding a roadshow and asked the poll body not to grant him permission for it.

Congress district unit president Prajanath Sharma said it would create a situation of an undeclared roadshow being held during the period when canvassing by candidates is restricted.

He claimed that in Maninagar, Ahmedabad, Modi he merely gone to vote, but his party had planned a roadshow with a prearranged crowd.

Sharma claimed the prime minister had also waved to crowd standing on a moving vehicle.

The party claimed that a large number of outsiders were staying in Varanasi's hotels, guesthouses and even in BJP leaders' houses despite the canvassing being over and demanded that a raid be conducted at these places to remove them from the city.

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Demanding a probe into charges made by Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa,



the Congress on Saturday alleged that eroding institutional integrity has been the hallmark of Modi government and asked whether the poll panel has become Election Omission and a puppet in the PM's hands.

Lavasa is learnt to have written to the Chief Election Commissioner that he will be recusing from EC meetings as his dissent was not being recorded on clearances given by the poll panel to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over alleged poll code violations.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked whether the EC will save itself more embarrassment by recording Lavasa's dissent notes, as he accused PM Modi of "muzzling" democratic institutions.

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said there must be a credible investigation into the issues raised by Lavasa, alleging that the sanctity of the electoral process and the institutional integrity of the Election Commission of India is in jeopardy.

There must be a thorough credible enquiry into the issues raised by Mr Lavasa and restoration of the Commission's independent status as the watchdog of world's largest democracy. Mr Lavasa's letter - contents of which have appeared in the media - is extremely serious.

The sanctity of the electoral process and the institutional integrity of the Election Commission of India is in jeopardy, said Ahmed Patel on Twitter.

In a statement, Surjewala said, "Election Commission has become 'Election Omission'. Shri Ashok Lavasa, one of the three members of the Central Election Commission (CEC), who dissented on multiple occasions when the Election Commission was busy giving clean chits to Modi-Shah duo opts out of EC meetings as the ECI even refused to record his dissent notes.

This is a day-light murder of Constitutional norms, set conventions and propriety. The poll panel's rules express preference for a unanimous view, but provide for a majority ruling in the absence of unanimity. Being a Constitutional body, the minority view has to be recorded, but this is being trampled to protect Modi-Shah duo.

He alleged that Lavasa's minority decisions going unrecorded "speaks volumes about the political pressure being exerted by the Modi Government on the EC".

Omitting the dissent of Election Commissioner, simply because he had asked for a notice to be issued to the PM Modi, has severely tarnished the institutional integrity of the Election Commission, he said.

Surjewala alleged that Modi has "taken upon himself the task of denigrating, damaging, decimating, dislodging and diminishing, the sanctity of every institution of India".

PM Modi demolished the integrity of India's premier investigation agency CBI in a midnight coup to save himself from any scrutiny in the Rafale Scam.

Modi Government used CVC as the 'Colossal Veil to Cover Corruption' to publish a fallacious report, based on which an incumbent CBI Director was illegally removed.

The nation has to count only 5 more days to overthrow the 5 years of Mal-Governance of Modi Government, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A CRPF jawan, deployed at the



residence of former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi here, allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself from his service revolver, police said Saturday.

Giriayappa Kirasoor (29), a constable with 122 battalion of the CRPF, shot himself dead at the RJD leader's high-security Circular Road bungalow on Friday, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Secretariat) A K Prabhakar said.

The body has been sent to the jawan's native village in Bagalkot district of Karnataka, the SP said.

The weapon, an Israeli made rifle, has been seized and investigations are on, he added.

According to reports, Kirasoor had a "heated argument" over phone with his wife the previous day after which he was upset.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The on Saturday rejected Vice Admiral Bimal Verma's petition challenging the appointment of Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Chief, overlooking his seniority.

In its order, the said the appointment was made considering all laid down norms, asserting that seniority can't be the only criteria for the selection, according to officials.

Verma had moved a tribunal questioning Vice Admiral Singh's appointment as the next Chief and the tribunal on April 26 gave three weeks to the to decide on Verma's petition.

The defence ministry, in its reply to Verma's plea, said a robust selection procedure was followed for selecting the next Chief and that the petitioner found unsuitable for the top post, according to the officials.

The ministry held that no unsubstantiated, frivolous, extraneous or irrelevant considerations have any bearing on appointment of the next Navy Chief, they said.

Verma, the senior-most naval commander, had moved the last month after the defence ministry did not respond to his statutory complaint against Vice Admiral Singh's appointment.

The here is scheduled to hear the case on Monday.

A lawyer of Verma said the vice admiral will challenge at the AFT the government's order rejecting his petition.

Verma is at present serving as commander-in-chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command.

He had filed a statutory complaint with the Defence Ministry on April 10, challenging appointment of Singh, and asked it to respond within 10 days.

However, as there was no response from the ministry, he approached the AFT on April 24.

In his petition, Verma wondered why he was overlooked for the top post despite being the senior-most in the line of command, terming as "wrongful" the government's decision to appoint Singh to the post.

The government had in March named Singh as the next chief of naval staff, to succeed Admiral who retires on May 30.

The government made the selection following a merit-based approach and did not go with the tradition of appointing the senior-most eligible officer to the post.

Verma, senior to Singh, was among the contenders for the top post.

While appointing the chief in 2016, the government did not follow the long-held tradition of going by seniority. was appointed chief superseding then Eastern Command Chief Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi and Southern Command Chief PM Hariz.

Besides Verma, the other contenders for the Navy Chief post included Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, FOC-in-C of Western Naval Command Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar and FOC-in-C of Southern Naval Command Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla.

Singh, who is at present serving as the Flag Officer Commanding in Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam, will be the first helicopter pilot to become chief of naval staff.

Verma is brother of former Navy chief Nirmal Kumar Verma.

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The Defence Ministry has rejected Vice Admiral Bimal Verma's petition challenging the appointment of his junior, Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, as the next Navy Chief, holding that seniority is not the sole criteria for selection.

In an order, the defence ministry said Verma's statutory petition dated April 10 against appointment of Vice Admiral Singh to the top post is devoid of merit and has been rejected in exercise of powers under Section 23 of the Navy Act 1957.

Verma, commander-in-chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command and senior-most naval commander, had moved a military tribunal last month questioning Vice Admiral Singh's appointment as the next Navy Chief, overlooking his seniority. Singh will take over as the new Navy chief from incumbent Admiral Sunil Lanba, who is retiring on May 31.

The tribunal had on April 25 directed the defence ministry to decide Verma's petition within three weeks.

"The Chief of Naval Staff is selected from amongst the senior most eligible Vice Admirals of the Indian Navy in the rank of Commander-in-Chief/VCNS (Vice Chief of Naval Staff) through a rigorous selection process, where seniority though an important consideration is not the sole criteria for selection," the defence ministry said in its order in response to Verma's petition.

"Thus in the past too seniority has been dispensed with in appointment of CNS," it said.

In the order, the defence ministry also mentioned about two letters of "Severe Displeasure" issued to Verma on October 28, 2005 and June 29, 2007, saying "it would be incorrect to say that throughout his service tenure he has never been informed or communicated about any shortcomings or misdemeanors against him.

It said he was was also not appointed as Commander-in-Chief of the two operational commands of the Indian Navy -- Eastern and the Western Command.

The defence ministry said a thorough selection process was conducted under which overall service profile of all the contenders for the top post was examined.

It said specific parameters for selection were applied uniformly to all the contenders and based on the assessment, it was found that Vice Admiral Verma, though being the senior most eligible officer, was found unsuitable to hold the post of the Chief of the Naval Staff.

"The central government is also satisfied that no unsubstantiated, frivolous, extraneous or irrelevant consideration has had a bearing on the said selection," the defence ministry said.

In his petition, Verma had mentioned about the Navy Order (Special) 01/2012 which, he said, laid down procedure for selection of officers to ranks of Rear Admiral and Vice Admiral, adding thrust of it was a merit cum-seniority-based approach.

He said the same procedure ought to have been applied for selection of the next Chief of Naval Staff.

To this, the defence ministry said the Navy Order does not cover appointment of the Navy Chief.

The Armed Forces Tribunal here is scheduled to hear the case on Monday.

A lawyer of Verma said the vice admiral will challenge at the AFT the government's order rejecting his petition.

Verma had filed a statutory complaint with the Defence Ministry on April 10, challenging appointment of Singh, and asked it to respond within 10 days.

However, as there was no response from the ministry, he approached the AFT on April 24.

In his petition, Verma wondered why he was overlooked for the top post despite being the senior-most in the line of command, terming as "wrongful" the government's decision to appoint Singh to the post.

While appointing the Army chief in 2016, the government did not follow the long-held tradition of going by seniority. Bipin Rawat was appointed Army chief superseding then Eastern Command Chief Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi and Southern Command Chief PM Hariz.

Besides Verma, the other contenders for the Navy Chief post included Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, FOC-in-C of Western Naval Command Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar and FOC-in-C of Southern Naval Command Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla.

Singh, who is at present serving as the Flag Officer Commanding in Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam, will be the first helicopter pilot to become chief of naval staff.

Verma is brother of former Navy chief Nirmal Kumar Verma.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari Saturday said a National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise was needed to expel illegal migrants from the national capital.

Tiwari met the family members of Dhruv Tyagi who was allegedly killed in Moti Nagar for objecting to his daughter getting eve-teased.

The BJP leader expressed "deep sympathy" to Tyagi's family and said there is no place for such violence in society.

"I was told by locals that the killers of Tyagi could be illegal Rohingya or Bangladeshis. I have also talked to the Commissioner of Police in this regard," Tiwari told PTI.

He alleged there was a spurt in criminal activity in the city due to the increased presence of illegal migrants. An NRC exercise is "necessary" for Delhi, Tiwari said.

The Kejriwal government should not only identify and expel illegal migrants for the safety of the people but also ask the Centre for an NRC exercise in the capital, he said.

"Delhi BJP will continue to fight for justice in this case and for punishment for persons who murdered Tyagi. The family members should be adequately compensated," he said.

The members of society should not remain mute spectators in such matters, Tiwari said.

"This cruel murder is not a matter of politics rather an opportunity to unite to ensure justice to the members of victim family," he said.

Tiwari alleged Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was "silent" over the issue due to "appeasement" politics.

Businessman Dhruv Tyagi, 52, was stabbed to death when he was returning home with his daughter early last Sunday in west Delhi's Moti Nagar area.

The victim's 19-year-old son was also stabbed when he tried to intervene.

A 45-year-old man and his 20-year-old son have been arrested in connection with the killing.

The police apprehended two juvenile sons of the main accused. His wife and daughter were also arrested.

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Bobs achievements are extraordinary, including the transformation of Australia into a modern, globally-competitive economy with a social conscience. History will treat him very well, it said.

Hawkes achievements as prime minister from 1983 to 1991 have made him one of the greatest public figures in Australia. He, along with Treasurer Paul Keating, modernised the countrys economy and made it more accessible to the global market. During his leadership, tax was overhauled, the tariff system was undone, and an industrial-relations renaissance began.

Hawke is also remembered for establishing Medicare, as well as leading the charge for environmental and social causes. He was Labors longest-serving prime minister. Until his death, he was the oldest living prime minister of Australia.

Australia has lost one of its greatest leaders and our firm has lost one of our most valued clients, Holding Redlich said. This is a very sad time but also an opportunity to celebrate a wonderful life of achievement.
Olivia Wilde is glad to have turned director as the actor believes that now her work will not be judged by her physical appearance.

Wilde, who has films such as "Tron: Legacy", "Her" and "Rush" to her acting credits, is making her directorial debut with teen drama "Booksmart".

During an interview with The New York Times, the 35-year-old actor admitted that she felt less pressured when she went behind the camera as earlier she always felt obligated to live up to "everyone's version of a perfect woman".

"I don't have to carry that. It is remarkable that I am 35 years old and this is the first job I've ever had that wasn't entirely dependent on and connected to my looks. It grosses me out to acknowledge it, but I've been thinking a lot about it," Wilde said.

The actor star said that although she finds it "exhausting" to be categorised by her looks, she has become "numb" to this type of objectification.

"Have I ever felt exploited? Yeah. Do I realise that I'd become numb to that? Yes. I had become numb to the fact that every meeting I went on - with men and women, by the way - I was going to be judged on my physical appearance. Because that's what actors deal with, and man, it's exhausting," she said.

Wilde said "Booksmart" was the first project where she was present not for her looks but for her "brain and my heart".

"And the sense of fulfilment that comes from that is really massive. It's a profound shift for me," she added.

"Booksmart" is scheduled to be released in the US on May 24.

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World number one Novak Djokovic saved two match points against former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro to advance to the semi-finals of the Italian Open in a three-set Roman thriller on Friday as defending champion Rafael Nadal swept through without dropping a set.

But Swiss star Roger Federer and women's world number one Naomi Osaka both pulled out injured from the last warm-up tournament before the French Open starting in just over a week.

Djokovic saved match points in the second set tie-break before winning through 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, sealing victory with an ace on his first match point after a three-hour battle.

"I had luck in the decisive moments in the second set tiebreak," said the 31-year-old.

"Towards the end of the first set he just started hitting the ball really well from both corners.

"Also backhand side, backhand down the line. He was playing really well. Gave me a lot of trouble. But I never lost faith," the four-time Rome winner said. "I'm just really pleased to overcome."



Del Potro had pulled out of Indian Wells and Miami with a knee injury, but matched Madrid Open winner Nadal shot for shot, wrapping up the first set 6-4 in just over an hour.

The world number nine received treatment on a bloodied big toe after Djokovic levelled one-set all.

But he kept up the pressure with Djokovic again needing to save three break points on his serve in the fourth game of the final set before breaking for 3-2 as the momentum swung his way.

The 15-time Grand Slam winner next plays Argentine Diego Schwartzman, who eliminated Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-2.

- Nadal, Tsitsipas rematch -



============================Eight-time Rome champion Nadal eased through 6-4, 6-0 against fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco to set up a rematch with Greek rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas for a place in the final.

Tsitsipas advanced after Federer -- returning to clay after a two-year absence -- retired with a right leg injury before their game.

For 32-year-old Nadal it is his fourth straight semi-final on clay this season, but he has not managed to go further before his bid for a 12th French Open title at Roland Garros.

Tsitsipas stunned Nadal in last week's Madrid Open semi-finals before falling to Djokovic, but lost to the Spaniard in the Australian Open semis earlier this year.

"After a lot of years here, I know what happened last week, and I'm going to try to do it better tomorrow," said 17-time Grand Slam winner Nadal.

Reigning US and Australian Open champion Osaka withdrew with a stiff right hand giving Madrid Open winner Kiki Bertens a ticket to the semi-final.

"I woke up this morning and I couldn't really move my thumb," the 21-year-old said.

"I'm not mad, but between sad and disappointed," added Osaka, who still hopes to compete at Roland Garros.

Sixth seed Bertens now goes through to meet Britain's Johanna Konta, who battled past Czech Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

- Raging Pliskova returns -



===========================



Federer, a quarter-finalist in Madrid, was playing in the Italian capital to prepare for his return to the French Open for the first time since 2015.

"I am not 100 percent physically and after consultation with my team, it was determined that I not play," he said.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion had been on court for nearly four hours on Thursday, saving two match points to win through in three sets against Borna Coric after earlier easing to a straight sets win over Portugal's Joao Sousa.

The former world number one had been a late addition to the Rome tournament as he sought clay-court practice ahead of his bid to add to his lone French Open title from 2009.

In a battle between former women's world number ones, Karolina Pliskova won through against Victoria Azarenka 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-2.

The Czech fourth seed next plays Maria Sakkari of Greece who also needed three sets to get past France's Kristina Mladenovic 5-7, 6-3, 6-0.

Pliskova and Sakkari last met in the second round at the Foro Italico when the Czech, furious at a line call, smashed a hole in the umpire's chair after losing in three sets.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Women voters show their fingers marked with indelible ink after casting vote during the first phase of the general elections, at Umpher in Ri-Bhoi district

A total of 82 candidates, including two former Union ministers, are in the fray for the last phase of elections in where voting will be held for eight seats Sunday.

All these constituencies- Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa--are currently held by the BJP.

Over 14.9 million voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.

Prominent candidates in the fray are former Union ministers Kantilal Bhuria and Arun Yadav of Congress, who are contesting from Ratlam and Khandwa seats, respectively.

Yadav is pitted against former BJP Nandkumar Singh Chauhan.

Of the total eight seats, the BJP has renominated only Chauhan and Sudhir Gupta from Khandwa and Mandsaur, respectively.

Gupta is squaring off against Meenakshi Natarajan, once a confidante of Rahul Gandhi, from Mandsaur, which had remained a nerve centre of farmers' protests.

The high-pitched campaign for the last phase resolved mainly around the loan waiver scheme of the state government, which came to power in December last year.

The opposition BJP claims that the scheme remains only on paper.

During his rallies, Prime Minister had claimed that government was sending police personnel as well as recovery notices to farmers rather than writing off their loans.

However, countered the PM saying that several lakh farmers got benefitted due to the scheme.

AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attracted crowds in Ujjain, Ratlam and while seeking votes for her party.

Talking to reporters Saturday, state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) VL Kantha Rao said, "82 candidates are in the fray for eight seats. While six candidates are contesting from Dewas, nine are in the fray from Ujjain, 13 from Mandsaur, nine from Ratlam, seven from Dhar, 20 from Indore, seven from Khargone and 11 from Khandwa.

A total of 18,411 polling booths, including 1157 all-women centres, are set up for more than 1.49 crore voters, he said.

Among other measures, more than 56,000 security personnel, including 83 companies of Central and 49 companies of state forces, have been deployed to prevent any untoward incident.

"The borders of with adjoining districts have been sealed, he said.

Out of the total 29 seats in MP, election in the first phase was held in six constituencies on April 29, followed by the second phase polls for seven constituencies on May 6 and eight seats in the third phase on May 23.

A voter turnout of 69.26 per cent was recorded in first three phases in Madhya Pradesh, the said.

Counting of votes would be taken up on May 23.

(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.)
Looking forward to exercising his franchise once again Sunday, India's "first" voter Shyam Saran Negi Saturday appealed to electors to elect "honest" candidates for all the four Lok Sabha seats in the state.

"Elect honest and active candidates for your parliamentary seats instead of voting for particular parties," 102-year-old Negi told

Negi also expressed his desire to vote again Sunday during the final phase of 2019 general elections.

"A resident of Himachal's tribal district Kinnaur, Shyam Sharan Negi is India's first voter and very important for the state Election Department," Kinnaur District Election Officer Gopal Chand told

A retired school teacher, Negi, as per his official records, was born on July 1, 1917.

Negi still vividly remembers how he became India's first voter.

"India's first election was held in February 1952, but the voting for remote, tribal areas in Himachal was held five months in advance on October 23, 1952 owing to fears of inclement weather rendering the exercise impossible here during winter," he said.

"I was a school teacher then and had been put on the election duty. Due to it, I reached my polling booth at Kalpa Primary School in Kinnaur at 7 am to cast my vote. I was the first one to reach there and cast my vote," he said.

"Later I was told I was the first to cast my vote anywhere in the area," he said with an glint in his eyes.

Negi added he proceeded to join his election duty after casting his vote.

Negi, who also made a special appearance in Hindi film "Sanam Re", said he never missed casting his vote ever since then whether it be a panchayat election or the Lok Sabha polls.

Talking of his desire to vote again, Negi complained of his failing health as possible impediment in fulfilling it.

"It's my last wish to vote again. But I have got immobile legs and aching knees now, besides failing vision and hearing," said Negi.

On Negi's fears, District Election Officer Gopal Chand said, "Negi is very important for us. We will have him brought to the polling booth and drop him back at his home."



"We still take care of his health and other needs. A government doctor regularly visits him to check his health," he said.

Negi is among 999 voters of the state who are 100 or above, a state election official said.

(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.)
An ex-CIA officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday for spying for China in a case called part of an "alarming trend" in the US intelligence community.

Kevin Mallory, 62, was convicted under the Espionage Act for selling classified US "defense information" to a Chinese intelligence agent for USD 25,000 during trips to Shanghai in March and April 2017.

"Your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid," he told the Chinese agent in a May 5, 2017 message.

The fluent Mandarin speaker had served in the US army, then as a special agent for the security service of the State Department, before becoming a covert case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Mallory is one of several US officials with high-level security clearances arrested and charged over unsanctioned dealings with Chinese intelligence.

Former Defense Intelligence Agency official Ron Hansen faces 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in March to charges of attempting to sell classified information to the Chinese.

In April, a former diplomat, Candace Marie Claiborne, pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about money she received from Chinese intelligence agents in exchange for US documents.

And in the most significant case, on May 1, former CIA officer Jerry Chun Shing Lee pleaded guilty to spying for China.

Lee, 54, faces a possible life sentence. Arrested in January 2018, he was suspected of having provided Beijing the information it needed to bring down a CIA network of informants in China between 2010 and 2012.

"This case is one in an alarming trend of former US intelligence officers being targeted by China and betraying their country and colleagues," Assistant Attorney General John Demers said of the Mallory case.

"This sentence, together with the recent guilty pleas of Ron Hansen in Utah and Jerry Lee in Virginia, deliver the stern message that our former intelligence officers have no business partnering with the Chinese, or any other adversarial foreign intelligence service.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Employees of Energy giant ExxonMobil have begun evacuating from an oil field in the southern Iraqi province of Basra but work at the field is still ongoing, Iraqi officials said Saturday.

The evacuation comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran.

The US has already ordered all nonessential diplomatic staff out of Iraq.

As tensions escalate, there are concerns that Baghdad could once again get caught in the middle.

The country hosts more than 5,000 US troops, and is home to powerful Iranian-backed militias, some of whom want those US forces to leave.

An Iraqi oil official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said all those who are being evacuated are foreigners or Iraqis who hold additional national citizenships.

The official did not give numbers but said the first group left two days ago and another batch left early Saturday.

"We continue to closely monitor. As a matter of practice, we don't share specifics related to operational staffing at our facilities," said Julie L King, media relations advisor at ExxonMobil headquarters in Irving, Texas.

She added that ExxonMobil has programs and measures in place to provide security to protect its people, operations and facilities.

"We are committed to ensuring the safety of our employees and contractors at all of our facilities around the world, King wrote in an email.

An Iraqi security official confirmed that ExxonMobil's employees are evacuating the West Qurna 1 oil field in Basra province, adding that "the vast majority of the evacuees are Americans."



He also spoke on condition of anonymity adding that the evacuations began on Thursday.

State-run Iraqi Agency said work at Qurna 1 oil field "is going on normally" and has not been affected by the evacuation of Exxon Mobil's employees.

The head of the Basra Oil Co. Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail told INA the number of employees at the company is less than 70 adding that "they did not withdraw but decided to be in Dubai during this period and run the oil field remotely."



He said the departure of the employees is for a short period and work will not be affected even by 1 per cent in terms of production, maintenance and new projects. "Work in Qurna 1 field is very normal," Ismail said.

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Five alleged bovine smugglers were arrested Saturday as nearly two dozen animals which were being illegally transported in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir were rescued, police said.

Five vehicles, carrying bovine animals without permission, were intercepted during surprise checking at various places on Thanamandi-Surankote road in the wee hours, a police official said.

"All the five drivers have been arrested and a total of 22 animals were rescued during the operation," he said.

He said the five vehicles were seized and the arrested smugglers were booked under relevant sections of law.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A former official of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was Friday sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment on charges of spying for China.

The former official, Kevin Mallory, was convicted under the Espionage Act for selling classified US "defense information" to a Chinese intelligence agent for USD 25,000.

"Former US Intelligence officer Mallory will spend the next 20 years of his life in prison for conspiring to pass national defense information to a Chinese intelligence officer," Assistant Attorney General John Demers said.

This case is one in an alarming trend of former US intelligence officers being targeted by China and betraying their country and colleagues, he said.

"This sentence, together with the recent guilty pleas of Ron Hansen in Utah and Jerry Lee in Virginia, deliver the stern message that our former intelligence officers have no business partnering with the Chinese, or any other adversarial foreign intelligence service," Demers said.

Mallory, 62, was found guilty by a federal jury in June 2018 of conspiracy to deliver, attempted delivery, delivery of national defense information to aid a foreign government and making material false statements.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, in March and April 2017, Mallory travelled to Shanghai to meet with an individual, Michael Yang, who held himself out as a People's Republic of China think tank employee, but whom Mallory assessed to be a Chinese intelligence officer.

Mallory, a US citizen who speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, consented to an FBI review of a covert communications (covcom) device he had been given by Yang to facilitate covert communications between the two.

Analysis of the device revealed a number of communications in which Mallory and Michael talked about classified information that Mallory could sell to the PRC's intelligence service.

FBI analysts were able to determine that Mallory had completed all of the steps necessary to securely transmit at least five classified US government documents via the covcom device, one of which contained unique identifiers for human sources who had helped the United States government.

At least two of the documents were successfully transmitted, and Mallory and Michael communicated about those two documents on the covcom device.

Evidence presented at trial included surveillance video from a FedEx store in Leesburg where Mallory could be seen scanning documents classified at the Secret and Top Secret level onto a micro SD card.

Though Mallory paid to have the paper copies of the eight documents shredded, FBI agents found a carefully concealed SD card containing those documents during a search of Mallory's home, the day of his June 22, 2017 arrest.

A recording was played at trial from June 24, 2017, where Mallory could be heard on a call from the jail asking his family to search for the hidden SD card.

Mallory has held numerous positions with various government agencies and several defense contractors, including working as a covert case officer for the CIA and an intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

As required for his various government positions, Mallory obtained a Top Secret security clearance, which was active during various assignments during his career.

Mallory's security clearance was terminated in October 2012 when he left government service.

"Mallory not only put our country at great risk, but he endangered the lives of specific human assets who put their own safety at risk for our national defense," US Attorney Zachary Terwilliger said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress leader and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for meditating in Kedarnath, wondering what message he wants to give now.

After Modi offered prayers at the Himalayan shrine in Uttarakhand, he went inside a cave nearby to meditate. Television channels showed his photographs in which he was wearing a saffron shawl.

"Today he is sitting in a cave wearing 'bhagwa' (saffron). God knows, what message he wants to deliver. Everybody has been watching him," said Gehlot, who also accused the prime minister of doing "nothing but polarisation".

On Sunday, Modi is expected in Badrinath, another temple in Uttarakhand's 'char dham' religious circuit.

Gehlot criticised Modi for his "silence" on employment, farmers problems, economy and foreign policy and instead raising issues like religion and nationalism.

Commenting on the press conference by Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah Friday, Gehlot told reporters here they did not address the media in the past five years but suddenly came before reporters now.

"See their face and body language during the press conference. The country has seen the message they gave. (Congress president) Rahul Gandhi had challenged them to debate but they backed off.

"Why they stayed away from talking about issues? What they did in five years? What was their vision? They talked (only) about their campaigning and strategy," Gehlot said.

He alleged that both Modi and Shah became a "laughing stock" as everybody was struggling to find the purpose of their press conference.

They appeared as as tired army commanders and Modi is losing the election "for sure", the Rajasthan chief minister claimed.

While PM Modi did not take questions from reporters during the press conference, saying the press conference was called by BJP, Shah gave a detailed report card on the performance of the NDA government and his party's extensive electioneering.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
People might still remember Priya Bapat for her appearances in Sanjay Dutt's critically-acclaimed "Munna Bhai" series but the actor says she never thought that the films would go on to become cult classics.

Priya is now a known figure in the Marathi cinema, but back in early 2000s, the actor starred in "Munna Bhai MBBS" and its sequel "Lage Raho Munna Bhai", where she played the role of a medical student and a coffee shop girl, respectively.

Looking back at the films, Priya says her landing the gig in the 2003 film was a pure happenstance.

"Nothing was planned in my career. When I did 'Munna Bhai...', I was in college. One of our school teachers told me to play the role of a college student. I had to audition for the role and then I got selected as they liked me.

"And for the second part of the film the makers called me directly. I am grateful for the opportunity," Priya told PTI in an interview.

The actor believes she was naive to not understand the scale of "Munna Bhai...".

"I knew Sanjay Dutt is the hero of the film and it is directed by Rajkumar Hirani. When I was acting in the film and even after I attended the premiere of the film and post it's release, I did not realise it will become this huge. I did not foresee it."



The 32-year-old actor says though the films introduced her to the Bollywood scene, she eventually decided to complete her graduation and then take a full-time plunge into acting.

"I had no plans to be an actor. But I just went with the flow. After completing my graduation, I realised I like acting. But once I got into it, I wanted to do films in different languages. Working with right people is important."



Priya, who currently stars in Nagesh Kukunoor's Hotstar web series "City of Dreams", says currently the content is the king and not the star power.

"The story should be a star than an actor or actress. A film works purely on the basis of its content. People go to theatres only if they like the trailer. Things have changed as success of quite a few films like 'Stree' and 'Badhaai Ho', have shown that people want to watch good content," she says.

The actor echoes the popular opinion among the artistes that OTT platform has opened doors for people to showcase their talent.

"Web is as big as films. It is not restricted to India, it is worldwide, so the reach is really more. For example, my web series is dubbed in several languages but when I do a film it is not necessary it will release in more than one language."



"City of Dreams" revolves around the underbelly of politics. It follows the story of an assassination attempt on a powerful politicians that triggers a fight between his rightful heirs -- his son and his daughter.

Talking about gender inequality that is prevalent and often visible in the Indian society, Priya says, "Things are changing but more changes are required. There are times when we do not realise that we are discriminating between man and woman. We do not realise it is happening around us everywhere."



"City of Dreams", which also features Atul Kulkarni and Sachin Pilgaonkar, currently streams on Hotstar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A man was Saturday arrested in Gujarat's Surat district for allegedly paying Rs 10 lakh to two people and getting his father killed, police said.

According to the Crime Branch, Jitesh Patel was upset with his father Prahlad Patel (70) for the last eight months for taking away business responsibilities.

A Crime Branch release said that the accused then decided to the kill his father to inherit a plastic granule factory and a powerloom unit.

It said Prahlad Patel was killed in the factory premises and his body buried there on May 14 by two persons hired by Jignesh.

"Jitesh contacted accused Salim Sheikh, a flour mill worker, and offered him Rs 10 lakh to get Prahlad killed. Salim then contacted Sanjay Tukaram Ramrajya," an official said.

"The three called Prahlad for a business meet at the factory premises on May 14. They murdered and buried him there. On May 15, Jitesh filed a missing person complaint about his father with the Pandesara police station," he said.

When Crime Branch officials probing the case scoured CCTV footage of the area where Jitesh claimed he had dropped his father before he went missing, they saw the 70-year-old walking towards Krunal Estate.

"When cops reached Krunal Estate, they found accused Sanjay Ramrajya. On being questioned, he disclosed the role of Sheikh and Jitesh," an official said.

Before Salim hit the deceased on his head from behind, Jitesh walked out with his father's mobile phone which he set ablaze at another location, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A head constable and an alleged criminal sustained bullet injuries in a gunfight here on Saturday, officials said.

Both persons are out of danger and are receiving treatment at a local hospital, they said.

Kavi Nagar Police Station officials signalled two bike-borne men to stop near Mainapur Road here at 1.30 pm as per routine checks, they said.

After halting, the men fired on the police party and tried to escape, officials said.

An alert was flashed to police posts in the area and a team chased the bike, City Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar said.

Finding themselves cornered, the accused fired on the personnel, who retaliated fire in defence.

One of the accused sustained a bullet injury on his leg, while the other managed to escape, he said.

Head constable Bramhjeet also sustained a bullet wound, the official said.

Both the injured were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The injured accused was identified as Shahrukh, the SP said.

The police have recovered a stolen motorcycle and a licensed pistol manufactured at Kanpur Ordinance Factory from Shahrukh.

The gun was stolen from a retired colonel's house in Bamheta village here, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In Punjab's only Muslim-majority city of Malerkotla, a mosque and a temple share a common wall, a Muslim man sells prasad outside a Hanuman Mandir and a Brahmin-owned press prints greeting cards for Ramzan.

Azan blends with the aarti and clerics and priests recount tales of love and brotherhood, unfazed by the political hustle and bustle in the city in the election season.

Mohammad Yaseen, 33, who sells prasad outside the Hanuman Mandir in the bustling Tajpora market, says Malerkotla did not witness a single communal clash even at the time of Partition.

"The incidents you have heard of were the handiwork of outsiders. Here, Muslims attend Mata ki chowki and Hindus prepare sharbat for Iftar," he says.

"The recent burning of Guru Granth Sahib in Hathoa village of the city was accidental. In 2016, some outsiders desecrated our holy book. Earlier too, inimical elements tried to breach the peace in the city but failed. Our brotherhood has withstood the tests of time," he says.

Across the street, inside the Hanuman Mandir, the 73-year-old chief priest, Phoolchand Sharma, says the people of Malerkotla don't judge each other by their religion.

"The city remains unaffected by the politics of hatred and religion. Candidates do try to seek votes on religious lines, but their attempts to polarise people have proved futile," he says.

'Muslims who own badge-making workshops employ Hindu artisans. The Sikh businessmen hand over the responsibility of their establishments to Muslim employees. And, they never fight over who should become the prime minister of the country," he says.

A kilometre away, in Somsons Colony, a three-year-old temple and a 60-year-old mosque share a nine-inch thick wall and the pujari and the Maulvi's laughter.

The leaves priest Chetan Sharma offers at the Shivling in the Lakshmir Narayan Mandir come from the Bel tree inside the compound of the Aqsa Masjid.

Sharma says he wraps up with the aarti before the namaz starts to avoid any inconvenience to the Muslim devotees.

"Maulvi Sahab greets me with 'Ram Ram' every day. We talk about a lot of things from village life to food but stay away from the politics of mandir-masjid. This place is like Ayodhya but a peaceful one," he says.

Maulvi Mohammad Hashim says the mosque administration provided electricity and water for the construction of the temple and distributed sweets at its inauguration.

"During the 2016 flare-up over the Quran desecration incident, our Sikh and Hindu brothers stood with us shoulder to shoulder. From ladder to water, we share everything," he says.

"No politician can drive a wedge between us. It doesn't matter if it's Rahul Gandhi or Narendra Modi. Elections will come and go, but we have to live together daily," Hashim says.

As he packs a bunch of freshly-printed greeting cards for Ramzan, Ashok Sharma, 61, owner of a printing press, says nobody bothers who is voting for whom in the elections.

"We do not think much about it. In a democracy, every person has the right to elect the person of his choice, but we do not engage in futile political debates," he says.

Arijit Singh, a 52-year-old kitchenware dealer, has five employees, all Muslims. He says the tricolor is more important to him than the flag of any political party.

"What's the need for fighting over mandir and masjid when everything means the same," he says.

Malerkotla falls under the Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency, where the AAP's Bhagwant Mann is pitted against the Congress's Kewal Singh Dhillon and the Shrimani Akali Dal's Parminder Singh Dhindsa.

As per Census 2011, there are around 92,000 Muslims, 28,000 Hindus and 12,800 Sikhs in the city.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Alleging that the BJP was after his life, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that he could be assassinated like former prime minister Indira Gandhi by police personnel deployed for his security.

"My own security officers report to the BJP," the Aam Aadmi Party chief alleged, drawing sharp reaction from the BJP which accused him of playing over the "serious" matter of security and making false allegations against it for "cheap popularity".

Rejecting Kejriwal's charge, the Delhi Police said the personnel belonging to its unit which provides protection to several high dignitaries of all political parties in the national capital, including Kejriwal, "are thoroughly committed to their job and perform duties with a high level of dedication and professionalism".

Kejriwal, who has the highest Z plus security cover, alleged, "The BJP would get me murdered by my own PSO (Personal Security Officer) one day like Indira Gandhi. My own security officers report to BJP."



"The BJP is after my life, they will murder me one day," he told a channel in Punjab, where he had been campaigning for his party which is contesting all 13 seats in the state.

Earlier this month, Kejriwal was slapped by a man during a roadshow in Delhi's Moti Nagar area. The Delhi Police had then claimed that the culprit was a disgruntled AAP worker but the party blamed the BJP for the attack.

"I will be murdered and police would say it was a disgruntled party worker. What does it mean, if a Congress worker is angry with Captain saab (Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh) can he hit him, if a BJP worker is angry with Modi ji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi), can he hit him?" the AAP chief asked.

The Delhi chief minister has a team of 50 police personnel who guard him through the day at different places- his office, while he is moving, his home and when he is interacting with people.

The security is beefed up in instances if there is an intelligence input about any threat or if he is visiting a location that is vulnerable. The local police also provide assistance in this, according to officials.

The security unit of Delhi Police is a professional set up of well trained personnel who are thoroughly committed to their job and perform duties with a high level of dedication and professionalism.

The unit has been providing security cover commendably for several high dignitaries of all political parties. The security personnel posted in the security team of honourable CM, Delhi are equally well committed to their duties,saidAnil Mittal, Additional PRO of Delhi Police.

BJP leader Vijender Gupta questioned why the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief did not file a police complaint if he had doubts about the integrity of his PSO and said he has insulted the police personnel.

"On May 4, before he was slapped, Kejriwal had told his liasoning officer to remove security from his vehicle. His instruction is entered in Roznamcha, which I had exposed earlier. After failing to get political advantage of this incident in the elections, Kejriwal is now saying that his PSO reports to BJP," the Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly alleged.

If Kejriwal had no faith in his PSO, then he should have reported the matter to the police immediately and got him removed, the BJP leader said.

As Kejriwal has made no complaint to the police, he is only trying to get cheap popularity and distracting people's attention by making such statements in the media," he said.

But Deputy Delhi Chief Minister Manish Sisodia hit back at the BJP, asking how did Gupta know about the daily schedule of Kejriwal.

BJP wants to get the chief minister killed. Gupta's tweet proves it that the chief minister's security details are sent daily to the BJP and based on them BJP wants to get him killed, Sisodia said in a tweet.

Kejriwal tagged this tweet and asked "what have I done wrong that the BJP wants to kill me".

What's my fault I am making schools and hospitals for the people. For the first time, positive has started in the country. The BJP wants to end it. But till the last breath, I will continue to work for the country, he said in a tweet.

BJP Delhi spokesperson Harish Khurana Kejriwal said Kejriwal's statements depict his "cheap mentality".

"His statements not only insult Delhi Police but also the security forces that guard us. He should be ashamed of his thinking," he posted on Twitter in Hindi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As the country prepares for the last leg of polling, the excitement among the electorate in the temple town of Varanasi, which gave the country a prime minister last time it voted in the Lok Sabha election, is palpable, with people counting myriad reasons to go out and vote.

"Feeling of being a responsible citizen who has a say in deciding the future of the country," is the reason why Rahul, a first year student and a first-time voter, is excited about participating in the electoral process.

The Sunday voting in this high-profile constituency will be keenly watched not only in the country but also across the globe as it will decide whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns as a parliamentarian in the lower house.

The young and the first-time voters are the most excited lot in the constituency, which in 2014 voted for Modi with a staggering 56.37 per cent vote share -- a 25.85 percentage point swing in favour of the BJP as compared to 2009 when the saffron party's Murali Manohar Joshi won with a vote share of 30.5 per cent.

"We all will go together to cast our votes as being a responsible citizen it is out duty," says 25-year-old Seema, sitting with her friends at the Assi ghat here.

Seema, who is pursuing doctorate from the Banaras Hindu University, said she will cast her first vote in 2014 and has participated in all the elections since then, as has her friends sitting there.

The elections were announced on March 10 and the country has voted in six phases already with social media flooded with people posting selfies flaunting their fingers with indelible ink.

This has inspired a first-time voter Sourav to go out and vote.

"For more than a month or so I am watching my friends from other states post their selfies with ink on their figure. Now it is my turn, I don't want to miss this opportunity," he says.

The constituency has witnessed an extravagant campaigning in the last month or so, with celebrities and high-profile leaders participating in it, which included roadshows by Modi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Besides Modi, there are 25 other candidates who are in fray, but his main challengers are Congress' Ajay Rai and SP-BSP grand alliance's nominee Shalini Yadav.

There was a speculation of Priyanka Gandhi also contesting from this high-profile seat which had raised the stakes of political parties in this constituency.

But the Congress again reposed faith in Rai, who lost his deposit in the 2014 general election.

Rai, who hails from the Bhumihar community, also has a considerable following among Brahmins. He began his political career as a member of the ABVP, the RSS' student wing, and was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly as a BJP candidate from Kolasala thrice in a row between 1996 and 2007.

After being denied a Lok Sabha ticket by the BJP in 2009, he switched to the Samajwadi Party and lost election to Murali Manohar Joshi, who was a BJP nominee, by a margin of 17,000 votes.

Shalini Yadav is the daughter-in-law of Shyamlal Yadav, who was elected as an MP from Varanasi in 1984.

In 2014 Lok Sabha election, Modi had defeated Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal by a margin of 3.37 lakh votes in Varanasi. Kejriwal, who had contested as AAP nominee in 2014, managed to get 2 lakh votes.

Whereas, the Congress could manage only 7.3 per cent votes and the combined vote share of the SP-BSP was only 10.7 per cent in 2014.

In Varanasi, there are 18.54 lakh electorates in the constituency who will cast their votes on Sunday in 1,819 polling booths, out of which 273 are categorised as critical.

Sharing the details about the polling process, local District Magistrate Surendra Singh, who is also the returning officer, said, "The administration has set up 145 model booths and one pink booth which will be operated only by women."



Singh also appealed to voters to come out in large numbers to cast vote in Varanasi, which had reported 58.35 per cent polling in 2014.

There are five assembly segments in Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency -- Rohaniya, Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantonment and Sevapuri.

Last time, Modi had got 56.37 per cent votes out of the total polled and there was a swing of 25.85 votes in his favour from 2009 when Joshi had got 30.5 per cent votes for the BJP, whereas the combined vote share of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party was 46.6 per cent.

In 2009, the SP and the BSP contested separately, their combined vote share was 46.6 per cent which was more that of BJP's 30.5 which had nominated Joshi as its candidate.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An independent candidate contesting for Vatakara Lok Sabha constituency in northern Kerala was attacked with a sharp object and injured Saturday evening, police said.

C O T Naseer, a former municipal councillor, was attacked by unidentified people around 7.30 pm and has been admitted to a private hospital in Kozhikode with injuries.

"He has been taken to a private hospital at Kozhikode. An investigation is on. We are yet to identify the culprits," the investigating officer told PTI.

Naseer, a former municipal councillor, had left the Communist Party of India (Marxist) after differences with the party leadership.

The Congress blamed the Left party for the attack.

"We condemn the attack on Naseer. This proves that the CPI(M) was not ready to shed it policy of violent They are following the Stalinist ideology of suppressing opposition voices in any manner they please," opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said in a statement.

The Congress has fielded senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan from the constituency and the CPI(M) has fielded strongman and its former Kannur district secretary P Jayarajan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Israel launched strikes on southern Syria late Saturday, a war monitor said, prompting air defences into action for the second night in a row.

"Israeli aeroplanes fired at least three missiles from the occupied Golan," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Two of the strikes targeted a Syrian army brigade which supervises the country's Quneitra province, he told AFP, while the third missile was destroyed by Syrian defences.

Syria's official SANA agency reported "foreign objects coming from the occupied territories (Israel)" which Syrian air defences were "dealing with".

The Israeli military did not comment on the reported strikes when approached by AFP.

The strikes come a day after Syrian air defence systems intercepted projectiles coming from Israel, SANA reported.

The "hostile targets" were fired late Friday towards Quneitra province which lies close to the Golan Heights, parts of which are annexed by Israel.

Hundreds of strikes have been carried out by Israel in Syria, most of them against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets.

Israel says it is determined to prevent its arch foe Iran from entrenching itself militarily in Syria, where Tehran backs President Bashar al-Assad in the country's eight-year war.

Israel insists that it has the right to continue to target positions in Syria held by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Kashmiri migrant employees, who were given government jobs in the Valley under Prime Minister's package for migrants, Saturday staged a protest here demanding early completion of residential accommodation for them.

The employees, most of them Kashmiri pandits, assembled at Pratap Park here to stage the protest in support of their demands.

The main demand of the employees was independent accommodation for all 6,000 PM package employees in a stipulated time frame.

One of the protesting employees said nine years have passed since they were employed but the government has failed in providing them accommodation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao Saturday demanded the Centre reduce cost of power production by bringing in changes in the way coal allocations are made.

The chief minister said he would take up the issue with the newly formed government at the Centre soon, according to a release from his office Saturday night.

After visiting the power plant being built by NTPC at Ramagundam in the state Saturday evening, Rao held a meeting with officials.

He said additional 2,000 MW of power be supplied from NTPC to Telangana in view of growing demand.

"The policy being followed by the Centre with regard to allocation of coal to power plants is not proper.

"Coal for Ramagundam NTPC plant is being used by bringing it from Mandakini in Odisha which is at a distance of 950 km, instead of taking coal from Singareni (state-run miner Singareni Collieries) which is nearby. This leads to increase in cost of production," the release quoted Rao as saying.

It also said Fertilisers Corporation at Ramagundam would start production this year. This was stated by the corporation's officials, according to the release.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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In key byelections, two assembly constituencies in Karnataka would go to polls Sunday with the outcome likely to have a bearing on the stability of the JDS-Congress government in the state.

A fierce campaign was witnessed in the two constituencies -- Kundgol and Chincholi, both held by Congress.

The bypolls are crucial for both the ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance and the opposition BJP with the latter maintaining that a victory for it would boost its numbers in the assembly and have political implications.

By-poll to Chincholi has been necessitated by resignation ofUmesh Jadhav, who quit Congress and joined BJP to contest the recent Lok Sabha polls from Gulbarga, while Kundgol seat fell vacant following the death of Minister C S Shivalli.

There are a total of 17 candidates in the fray in Chincholi and eight in Kundgol segments. The main contest will be between the nominees of the Congress, supported by JDS, and the BJP.

The Congress candidates are Subash Rathod in Chincholi and Kusumavathi, wife of Shivalli, in Kundgol.

BJP has fielded S I Chikkanagowdar and Umesh Jadhavs son Avinash Jadhav from Kundgol and Chincholi assembly seats respectively.

There are a total of 1,93,869 voters in Chincholi while 1,89,444 voters in Kundgol, officials said.

Congress is determined to retain both the seats while the BJP has been claiming its tally in the assembly will increase from from 104 to 106.

BJP state chief B S Yeddyurappa has claimed the support of three independent and small party MLAs after the polls and said "any kind of political alterations" may happen after that.

"So we have asked for cooperation and I'm confident that peoplewill definitely support us (in the bypoll)," he said.

In the 224-member assembly with two vacancies and excluding the Speaker, the BJP has 104 MLAs, Congress-77, JD(S)-37, BSP (1), independent (1) (both currently supporting the ruling alliance), one KPJP



There have been speculations about possible change of guard in the state after the results of the Lok Sabha and assembly bypolls on May 23.

Coalition leaders airing differences publicly and growing clamour within the Congress for its veteran Siddaramaiah to become Chief Minister once again have added fuel to the fire.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday granted an amnesty to 762 convicts to mark Vesak, also known as 'Buddha Jayanti', being celebrated by the Buddhist majority nation amid tight security arrangements in the wake of Easter Sunday bombings.

The Sri Lankan government has restricted the five-day national Vesak festival celebrations to just two days citing the prevailing security situation in the country following the massive Easter Sunday bombings on April 21 which claimed nearly 260 lives and injured 500 others.

Vesak, the Day of the Full Moon in the month of May, is the most sacred day to millions of Buddhists around the world. It was on the day of Vesak two and a half millennia ago when the Buddha was born, attained enlightenment and in his eightieth year passed away.

President Sirisena released the 762 prisoners, including 26 women, under a Presidential pardon to mark Vesak. The president, however, made no reference to monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara, whose release was demanded by Buddhist leaders.

Gnanasara, who is in jail for contempt of court, was in the forefront of an anti-Muslim minority campaign since 2013. It was speculated that Sirisena may free him marking Vesak.

Those freed were those who had been convicted for minor offenses other than rape, murder and drug offenses.

Special security arrangements have been made by the security forces including the armed forces, Police and Special Task Force (STF) on Vesak Poya day on Saturday, and the next two days for the security of the devotees, the Colombo Page reported.

In addition to the security measures taken by the security forces over the past few weeks to protect the public while arresting the terrorists, a security programme has been implemented to provide security to all the temples and sacred places where devotees gather.

The Buddhist holy festival was hampered by security fears with a marked decline in the numbers of devotees attending temples.

The suicide bombings killed over 250 people and information gathered from those arrested for links with the local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ) pointed to the possibility of more crowded places being targeted.

Anuradhapura, the sacred city in north central province, the home to the revered Bo tree brought from Bodh Gaya in Bihar, saw less than 5 per cent of the devotees visiting to offer prayers.

The Vesak Day is marked with colourful decorations of flags, lanterns and buntings. The devotees attend temples to observe meditation.

Muslims also joined majority Buddhist community in making Vesak decorations in Muslim-majority areas. This comes just a few days after anti-Muslim rioting in several places.

Amid security fear, the free food offerings on stalls by way side have declined. Upul Rohana, the public health inspectors' spokesman, said there were only 92 approves free food stalls this year, a drop from usual number of around 6,000 around the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Five MLAs, including a state minister, are among the 45 candidates trying to make it to Parliament from Himachal Pradesh where polling will be held Sunday, the last phase of voting in the 2019 elections.

Among the 45 candidates is Congress nominee from Mandi, Aashray Sharma, whose father had to sacrifice his berth in the state's BJP government.

There are 53,30,154 registered voters for the four constituencies -- Shimla (SC), Mandi, Hamirpur and Kangra -- in the state.

A direct contest is expected between the Congress and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which had won all four seats in 2014.

The BJP has fielded the state's Food and Civil Supplies Minister Kishan Kapoor in Kangra after dropping sitting MP Shanta Kumar.

Kangra's Congress MLA Pawan Kajal is contesting against him.

In Hamirpur, three-time MP and former BCCI president Anurag Thakur is in the fray on a BJP ticket. He faces Sri Naina Devi's Congress MLA Ram Lal Thakur.

BJP's Pachhad MLA Suresh Kashyap is contesting against Solan Congress MLA Dhani Ram Shandil for the Shimla (SC) parliamentary seat.

Aashray Sharma, who is the grandson of former Union Telecom minister Sukh Ram, is contesting against BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma in Mandi.

His father Anil Sharma had to resign from the state cabinet after he decided to contest on the Congress ticket.

Anil Sharma's resignation followed an awkward phase during which the minister refused to campaign for his own party's candidate in Mandi, insisting that he would not takes sides.

The state is almost certain to see some assembly by-polls in the coming months to fill vacant seats, as both the Congress and the BJP have fielded MLAs.

Although the state sends just four MPs to the Lok Sabha, political parties spared no efforts during the last days of the campaign.

Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed rallies in the state.

Superintendent of Police (law and order) Khushhal Sharma said elaborate security arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of the polls in the state.

Forty-seven companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been deployed along with the state police and home guard personnel to ensure free and fair elections, he told PTI on Saturday.

State Chief Electoral Officer Harbans Lal Dhiman said 7,723 polling stations have been set up in the state and out of which 373 have been declared as critical and 939 as vulnerable.

Voting in the state will begin at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Results of the Lok Sabha polls in Kerala would be announced later than usual on May 23 due to counting of slips from five EVM's with Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail system, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Teeka Ram Meena said here Saturday.

"The counting of VVPAT slips will take nearly four to five hours. The results will be officially announced after the counting of slips. The results can be seen in the Suvidha website," Meena said.

VVPAT enables Electronic Voting Machines to record each vote cast by generating the EVM slip.

The Supreme Court had recently directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to increase physical counting of VVPAT slips to five random EVMs in each Assembly segment/constituency.

The plea of 21 Opposition parties, for VVPAT verification in 50 per cent or 125 polling booths in each constituency was earlier dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Meena said all arrangements are in place for counting, with 29 locations being arranged, where the exercise will start at 8 AM.

"The counting will start at 8 AM. Postal votes will be counted first. If the margin of victory is less than postal ballot, then we will count the postal ballot again," he said.

The Chief Electoral Officer also said that the counting supervisor, assistant counting supervisor, micro observer, those with ID cards issued by the Election Commission,counting observers and counting agents will be allowed inside the counting halls.

He also said a three tier security has been set up at the counting centres where the first tier will be around 100 meters from the centre and manned by local police.

"Then we will have the Kerala Armed Police Force within the campus as the second tier. And the gate will be manned by the Central Armed Police Forces. We have already got 16 companies with us guarding our strongrooms. We will ask more if needed," Meena said.

He said the first round of training for the Returning Officers and other officials were conducted at Chennai by the Election Commission.

The single phase Lok Sabha poll in Kerala was held on April 23.

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The results of the Lok Sabha election, which will decide the fate of four Union ministers and two Congress stalwarts from Maharashtra, is likely to impact the political situation in the state, which will go to polls few months later.

Prestige is at stake for the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena as well as the opposition Congress-NCP combine in Maharashtra, which sends 48 members to the Lok Sabha, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh's 80.

While the BJP contested 25 Lok Sabha seats and the Shiv Sena 23 seats in Maharashtra, the Congress and the NCP fought on 25 and 19 seats respectively, leaving two seats each for their allies.

Leaders of the Congress and the BJP admit that the party which gets more seats as compared to its ally, will have an upper hand in the seat adjustments in the Assembly polls.

Similarly, the number of votes polled in the Assembly segments will also be the decisive factor for the renomination of sitting MLAs in the state polls.

State Congress spokesperson Ratnakar Mahajan said although the political dynamics for the state and Lok Sabha elections are different, the results of the parliamentary polls do make a notional impact on the assembly

"This doesn't happen always. In 1999, after the Lok Sabha results, those who formed the government at the Centre were defeated in the state assembly polls held later that year," he added.

"However, the party which gets maximum seats in the Lok Sabha will get a morale booster to face the Assembly elections later this year," he said.

Four Union ministers- Nitin Gadkari, Hansraj Ahir, Subhash Bhamre and Anant Gite- and two Congress veterans- Ashok Chavan and Sushilkumar Shinde- were among the 867 candidates who were in the fray in the state, which went to polls in four phases in April.

Gadkari is seeking re-election from Nagpur. He was pitted against Nana Patole of the Congress. In 2014, Gadkari had defeated Congress's Vilas Muttemwar by a margin of over two lakh votes.

Patole was a BJP candidate in 2014, who had defeated NCP heavyweight Praful Patel from Bhandara-Gondiya seat. However, Patole quit the BJP and also resigned from the post to get back to his parent party- Congress.

Barring a few exceptions, Nagpur has always been with the Congress despite the city being the RSS headquarters. The Nagpur seat would be the cynosure of all eyes since Gadkari is being speculated as a prospective PM probable if the BJP loses the majority, but emerge as the single largest party.

However, Gadkari has time and again made it clear that he was not in the race for the top post and Narendra Modi would continue to be at the helm.

Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir is seeking re-election for the fourth term from Chandrapur. This time, he got a stiff challenge from Shiv Sena MLA Suresh Dhanorkar, who switched over to the Congress to fight the election.

Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre contested from Dhule against Congress's Kunal Patil.

In Raigad, Minister of State for Heavy Industries Anant Gite is seeking re-election against NCP's Sunil Tatkare. Gite is the only Shiv Sena minister in the Union cabinet.

Former Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who was also the chief minister of the state, was pitted against Lingayat seer Jaisiddeshwar Swami of the BJP and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi's Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr B R Ambedkar.

Ashok Chavan was one of the only two Congress candidates, who had won the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. This time, he faced a challenge from Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Chikhlikar, who switched over to the BJP at the last minute to take on the former CM from Nanded seat.

In Baramati, the BJP left no stone unturned to wrest the seat from NCP MP Supriya Sule, who had weathered the 'Modi wave' of 2014 to retain the family pocket borough. Sule's main challenger this time was BJP candidate Kanchan Kul, wife of Rashtriya Samaj Paksh (RSP) MLA Rahul Kul.

In Maval, Parth Pawar, son of NCP leader Ajit Pawar is making his political debut. Parth was pitted against sitting Shiv Sena MP Srirang Barne.

In Shirur, noted actor Amol Kolhe, who shot into fame with his portrayals of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Sambhaji in two different television serials, was pitted against sitting Shiv Sena MP Shivaji Adhalrao Patil.

Ahmednagar is important for the BJP as well as the NCP. NCP chief Sharad Pawar had refused to part with the seat to Congress since Sujay Vikhe Patil, son of senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, wanted to contest. Sujay had joined the BJP ahead of the polls, which fielded him from the seat. Local MLA Sangram Jagtap was NCP's choice for the contest.

After the election, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil resigned from his post of the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. The Congress is expected to take action against him before the monsoon session of the state Legislature begins on June 17.

Now, it remains to be seen if the Congress, which has 42 MLAs, will retain the Leader of Opposition post or the NCP will get it when the Legislature commences.

The NCP had 41 MLAs, out of whom Hanumant Dolas, MLA from Malshiras in Solapur district passed away recently.

Even though Congress MLAs Kalidas Kolambkar, Nitesh Rane, Abdul Sattar are rebels, they are technically members of the assembly elected on Congress ticket.

Out of the six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, all eyes will be on whether Congress heavyweights Milind Deora and Priya Dutt, who could not win the 2014 polls, can reclaim their bastions of Mumbai South and Mumbai North Central parliamentary seats respectively.

Another interesting factor would be to watch the performance of actor Urmila Matondkar, who gave a good fight to BJP's Gopal Shetty in Mumbai North. Sanjay Nirupam had lost the seat in 2014 by a margin of 4.40 lakh votes.

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The Madras High Court has suggested that the Tamil Nadu government consider laying underground cables for transmitting high-tension power so that possible effect of high voltage causing cancer be neutralised.

Justices N Kirubakaran and S S Sundar in their interim order also issued notices to the Chief Manager of the Power Grid Corporation, Collectors of Karur, Tiruchi and Dindigul and posted the matter for hearing after four weeks.

The judges said when the power was transmitted through over-head wires, there would be loss of Rs 42000 crore per year.The loss could be averted by laying underground cables which would make the farm lands safe also.

The PIL litigant R Palanisamy sought to quash the prior approval given by the Central Electricity Authority for Pugalur HVDC Station-Thirvalam at Paramathy.

The Judge said the petitioner had studied and done thorough research into the problem caused by overhead electric cables of high voltage. It was a model PIL case for others to follow, they said.

The petitioner said the high tension power lines in the overhead caused many problems including transmission of high voltage. But if the cables were laid under ground, the lines would be out of sight, require only narrow land, emit only electric field, and can be engineered to emit no magnetic fields, have better power loss characteristics.

The underground cables were cost effective solution, reliable, less susceptible to weather related issues, the PIL said, adding they could be monitored better.

The judges said it was also clear from the world cancer report that transmission of high voltage power through overhead high tension lines caused a lot of problem including risk of cancer.

The Judges asked if that was the case, why in India environmental clearance was not insisted for overhead high tension cables.

When the state government submitted that two of the four projects had been completed, the judge said if 50 per cent of the cost had been spent then the government need not refrain themselves from proceeding with the said project.

But for the remaining projects they could consider laying underground high tension wires. When the health of citizens are affected it is the duty of the central and state governments to take serious note of the same, and find alternative methods so that the health of the citizens were protected, the judges said.

It is not proper for the state and central government to proceed with construction of new high tension power lines without sufficient safe guards. It is also admitted that environmental clearance is not required for proceeding with the projects of the state, the judges said.

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Against the backdrop of Commissioner Ashok Lavasa recusing himself from model code violation cases till his dissents are recorded on orders, Saturday said members of the panel are not supposed to be "clones" of each other and divergence of views was natural.

On a day Lavasa's decision to recuse from model code of conduct complaints became public, the EC said the 'full commission' would meet on May 21 to discuss the issue of dissent and "related matters".

In an unprecedented move, Arora came out with a statement on the differences coming out in open, saying the episode was "unsavoury" and "avoidable".

When contacted, Lavasa said the issue was an "internal matter" and he would like to offer no comment.

In his statement, Arora said that in the last meeting of the Commission on May 14, it was "unanimously" decided to form groups to deliberate the issues which arose in the course of conduct of Lok Sabha elections.

"Out of the 13 issues/areas which were identified, model code of conduct is one of them," he said.



"The three members of ECI are not expected to be template or clones of each other. There have been so many times in the past when there has been a vast diversion of views as it can and should be. But the same largely remained within the confines of ECI," Arora said.



He said the differences have come out in the past when a former commissioner or CEC has written a book mentioning details.



The law governing poll panel's functioning states that preference should be for a unanimous view, but provide for a majority ruling in the absence of unanimity.

In a strongly-worded letter to Arora on May 4, Lavasa is learnt to have said that he is being forced to stay away from the meetings of the full commission since minority decisions are not being recorded.

He is learnt to have said that his participation in the meeting is "meaningless" as his dissent remained unrecorded.

He had said that his notes on the need for transparency have not been responded to so he has decided to stay away from model code related complaints.

He is learnt to have written to the CEC on three occasions.

The EC's legal division had opined that dissent cannot be recorded on decisions as model code violations are not part of a quasi judicial hearing where all the three -- the CEC and two fellow commissioners sign.

The majority view is conveyed to the parties concerned. The dissent remains recorded in the file only and not made public.

Lavasa had dissented in some of the 11 decisions EC took on complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah for alleged model code violations.

The two were given a clean chit in all the decisions.

Arora lamented that the report on Lavasa's decision not to take part in model code related issues came at a time when the poll watchdog is gearing up for the last phase of Lok Sabha polls and counting of votes.

Reacting to the development, the Congress demanded a probe into charges made by Lavasa.

The party alleged that eroding institutional integrity has been the hallmark of the Modi government and asked whether the poll panel has become "Election Omission" and a "puppet" in the prime minister's hands.
An FIR was filed against sitting MP from Ratlam and senior Kantilal Bhuria and cabinet minister Honey Baghel for campaigning on Saturday after the end of the Friday 5pm deadline.

Ratlam is one of the eight Lok Sabha seats in the state which will go to polls on May 19.

Alirajpur Kotwali police station in charge Dinesh Solanki said a case was registered under the IPC and The Representation of The People Act for violation of model code of conduct, in force since March 10, based on the inquiry report of the district election officer.

Baghel is an MLA from Kukshi in Dhar district and is also tourism minister in the Kamal Nath government.

Baghel, in contravention of rules, continued to stay in Alirajpur even after the campaign ended.



As per EC rules, political functionaries/party workers - who have been brought from outside the constituency or are not listed as voters there - have to leave the constituency concerned after the campaign period is over.

Apart from Bhuria and Baghel, the FIR also names Alirajpur MLA Mukesh Patel, district Mahesh Patel and Alirajpur municipality Sena Patel.

The case was taken on the basis of a complaint filed by district BJP Kishor Shah who dubbed the Congress' act as one of arrogance.

District president Mahesh Patel said the BJP lodged this complaint out of frustration at an impending poll defeat.

Bhuria is pitted against the BJP's GS Damor.
North Korea has demanded the United Nations take "urgent measures" to help return a cargo ship taken by the United States, calling the seizure a "heinous" act.

Washington announced last week it had taken possession of the North Korean-registered bulk carrier M/V Wise Honest -- a year after it was detained in Indonesia -- citing sanctions-violating activities.

The seizure came amid heightened tensions after Pyongyang conducted weapons drills involving short-range missiles in recent weeks, and with nuclear talks deadlocked since the collapse of the Hanoi summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un earlier this year.

In a letter sent Friday to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Kim Song -- Pyongyang's permanent representative at the UN -- said the incident was "an unlawful and outrageous act", according to North Korea's state agency KCNA.

"This act of dispossession has clearly indicated that the United States is indeed a gangster country that does not care at all about international laws," the letter said.

The North Korean representative asked Guterres to "take urgent measures as a way of contributing to the stability of the Korean peninsula and proving the impartiality of the UN".

Earlier this week, Pyongyang had slammed the seizure as an "outright denial" of the spirit of a statement signed by Kim and Trump at their first summit in Singapore last year.

North Korea is sanctioned under multiple UN Security Council resolutions for its nuclear and missile programmes, and lifting of some of the measures was a key demand from Pyongyang at the second Trump-Kim summit in February that ultimately broke down without a deal.

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TDP chief arrived here Saturday evening to meet leaders of the Samajwadi Party the Bahujan Samaj Party, continuing his efforts to put together a coalition to form the next government at the Centre.

He reached the state capital after meetings in New Delhi with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, CPI leaders G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and LJD leader Sharad Yadav.

Naidu was scheduled to meet BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav, BSP sources said.

Her will meet the BSP president at her home on Mall Avenue, sources added.

The Telugu Desam Party chief has already held several rounds of discussions with various opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

His TDP had been a part of the NDA and had quit the alliance a few months ago.

Opposition parties are pitching for a joint anti-BJP front to steer the next government.

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TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu Saturday met leaders of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party here, continuing his efforts to put together a coalition to form the next government at the Centre.

He reached the Uttar Pradesh capital in the evening after meetings in New Delhi with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, CPI leaders G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav.

The separate meetings with SP president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati take place a day before polling in the last phase of elections.

The SP, BSP and RLD are in alliance in UP, taking on the BJP in the politically crucial state that sends 80 MPs to Parliament.

The Telugu Desam Party chief is pitching for anti-BJP coalition to stake claim to form a government if the numbers permit.

Naidu drove straight from Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh airport to the Samajwadi Party office.

He was greeted with a bouquet by Akhilesh Yadav. The two leaders then went into a closed door meeting, SP sources said.

Later, Naidu drove to Mayawati's Mall Road Avenue residence, sources said.

The Andhra Pradesh chief minister has already held several rounds of discussions with various opposition leaders, including Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal and CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

His TDP had been a part of the BJP-led NDA and had quit the alliance a few months ago.

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A new building of a Nepal's educational institution, built with India's assistance, was inaugurated in the Udayapur district on Saturday.

The campus of the Shree Narad Adarsha in Chaudandigadhi Municipality of Udayapur District has been built with India's help which provided an aid of 3 crore (30 million) Nepali rupees, a statement from the Indian Embassy here said.

Former Urban Development Minister Nepali Congress leader Narayan Khadha inaugurated the two-storied campus building of the Shree Narad Adarsha Education, in the presence of Indian Deputy Chief of Mission Ajay Kumar, it said.

The educational institution was established in 1971 as a secondary school and ungraded to a campus in 2003. It is affiliated to the Tribhuvan University.

Currently, the campus offers three-year Bachelor degree course in management and humanities, apart from 10+2 level course to around 770 students.

At present, a total of 135 students are enrolled, about 70 per cent of which are girls, in the Bachelor of programme run by the institution.

The newly built structure include 12 class rooms, library, meeting hall, separate toilets for boys and girls and furniture, it said.

The new infrastructure will provide access to higher education to rural students of Udayapur and adjoining districts, including Bhojpur, Khotang, Sunsari and Saptari, the statement said.

The project is the part of India's Small Development Programme Scheme under the India-Nepal Economic Cooperation Programme.

A Memorandum of Understanding for the construction of the building was signed in September 2016.

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Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, who was arrested five years ago in Odisha's Ganjam district, was on Saturday sentenced to life imprisonment by a



court here for waging a war against the nation.

Panda, who was implicated in 134 cases in different police stations of Odisha, has been acquitted in 52 cases by varied courts so far. This was the first case in which the 50-year- old home-grown rebel leader was convicted by the local court.

Additional Sessions Judge S K Sahoo, while pronouncing life term for Panda, also slapped Rs 10,000 fine on him. He will have to undergo additional jail term of one year incase of default in paying the fine amount.

Panda was arrested by police from a residential house at Mangalabarapeta Street under Bada Bazara police station limits here on July 18, 2014 by a team of police led by then SP (Berhampur) Anirudha Singh.

During his arrest, police had seized around 800 grams gold ornaments, a revolver, a number of mobile phones and SIM cards, pen-drives, laptop and Maoist literature from his possession. Since then he has been housed in the circle jail here.

Panda was wanted by police in various districts as several Maoist-related cases were pending against him at the time of his arrest.

The court pronounced its verdict after examining the 15 witnesses, including police and others, said additional public prosecutor (APP) Gyanendra Nath Jena.

Deepak Patnaik, advocate of Panda, said he would appeal in the higher court against the verdict of the lower court.

I have enough faith that my client will get justice in the higher court, he said.

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TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu held a flurry of meetings with opposition leaders, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, BSP's Mayawati and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, in an apparent bid to rally support for a non-BJP government at the Centre.

Naidu, who arrived in the national capital on Friday, also met Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav and leaders of the Communist Party of India.

He then flew to Lucknow and met Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party chiefs.

"It is a pleasure to welcome Hon'ble Chief Minister Shri N Chandrababu Naidu Ji to Lucknow," Akhilesh Yadav tweeted.

The Andhra Pradesh chief minister did not speak to the media after any of his meetings.

Sources, however, said Naidu and Gandhi discussed the possibility of forming a joint alliance of all opposition parties.

He told Gandhi to have a strategy ready, in case the NDA falls short of a majority and still stakes claim to form the government, the sources said.

Naidu told all the leaders that "we all should come together and put our act together" to form the next government by keeping the BJP out, a source said.

Later, Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and other Congress leaders met at UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's residence to evolve their party's strategy.

"The campaigning of this Lok Sabha Election 2019 has ended and as we await the last phase of polling, Andhra Pradesh CM Shri N Chandrababu Naidu paid me a visit to discuss the ongoing and future political scenario of our country," Pawar said in a tweet after the meeting at his residence.

Naidu met CPI leader G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja over breakfast, asking them to "come together".

Reddy and Raja separately met Pawar at his residence.

The Telugu Desam Party chief has held several rounds of discussion with various opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Naidu's TDP was a part of the NDA, but quit the alliance a few months ago.

On Friday, Naidu said not only the Telangana Rashtra Samithi but any outfit which is against the BJP is welcome to join a grand alliance after the election results are declared on May 23.

As opposition leaders scramble to form a joint anti-BJP front, hectic deliberations among them are likely to continue in the days ahead.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy urged Congress and his party members to not give controversial statements against each other.

"We are on the verge of formation of a new government at the Centre. At this juncture where all efforts are being made to form a non-BJP government at the Centre, the contradictory statements by leaders of coalition partners may mar such efforts," he tweeted.

"Hence, my humble request to the leaders of both the parties is to restrain from making contradictory- controversial statements in public and to support the cause," Kumaraswamy said.

Former prime minister and JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda said they are all together with the Congress in forming the next government.

There has been a war of words between the Congress and its alliance partners JD(S) in Karnataka for some time now.

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A day before the last phase of polling, leaders of opposition parties have stepped up efforts to cobble up a coalition for formation of the next government, with TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu meeting Congress, CPI, NCP and other leaders here.

Naidu met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and discussed with him the possibilities of all opposition parties uniting and forging a joint opposition alliance.

The Andhra Pradesh chief minister also met CPI leader G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja over breakfast, asking them to "come together".

Naidu also met NCP chief Sharad Pawar and LJD leader Sharad Yadav.

The TDP chief has already held several rounds of discussions with various opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Sources said he is also likely to meet BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow in the evening.

"Naidu reportedly told all the leaders that we all should come together and put our act together", in forming the next government by keeping the BJP out, a source said.

Sources said Naidu also told Gandhi to have a strategy ready, in case the NDA falls short of the majority mark and still stakes claim to form the government.

Naidu's TDP had been a part of the NDA, but quit the alliance a few months ago.

On Friday, Naidu had said that not only the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) but any outfit which is against the saffron party are welcome to join a grand alliance after the election results are declared.

Opposition parties are pitching for a joint anti-BJP front to steer the next government.

Hectic deliberations between various opposition leaders are likely to stepped up before the Lok Sabha results are announced on May 23.

Amid the efforts to bring all non-NDA parties together, Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy urged Congress and his party members not to give controversial statements against each other.

"We are on the verge of formation of a new government at the Centre.At this juncture where all efforts are being made to form a non-BJP government at the Centre, the contradictory statements by leaders of coalition partners may mar such efforts," he tweeted.

"Hence, my humble request to the leaders of both the parties is to restrain from making contradictory- controversial statements in public and to support the cause," Kumaraswamy said.

However, former prime minister and JD(S) leader H D Devegowda said they are all together and with the Congress in forming the next government.

There has been a war of words between the Congress and its alliance partners JD(S) in Karanataka for some time now.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A day before the last phase of polling, leaders of opposition parties have stepped up efforts to cobble up a coalition for formation of the next government, with TDP chief meeting and leaders here.

Naidu met and discussed with him the possibilities of all opposition parties uniting and forging a joint opposition alliance.

The chief minister also met G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja over breakfast, asking them to "come together".

Naidu also met NCP chief and LJD

The TDP chief has already held several rounds of discussions with various opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, national convener and (M) general secretary

Sources said he is also likely to meet BSP chief and in in the evening.

"Naidu reportedly told all the leaders that we all should come together and put our act together", in forming the next government by keeping the BJP out, a source said.

Sources said Naidu also told Gandhi to have a strategy ready in case the NDA falls short of the majority mark and still stakes claim to form the government.

Naidu's TDP had been a part of the NDA and had quit the alliance a few months ago.

On Friday, Naidu had said that not only the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) but any outfit which is against the saffron party are welcome to join a grand alliance after the election results are declared.

Opposition parties are pitching for a joint anti-BJP front to steer the next government.

Hectic deliberations between various opposition leaders are likely to stepped up before the Lok Sabha results are announced on May 23.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who arrived Kuwait on Saturday, will discuss bilateral relations, including visa issues, during a series of meetings with his Kuwaiti counterpart and other top leaders, Foreign office said here.

Tension between Iran and US, talks with Taliban and regional security situation will also be discussed during Qureshi's two-day visit to the oil-rich nation.

Earlier, before his departure, Qureshi told media that he was carrying a special letter of Prime Minister Imran Khan for the Emir of Kuwait.

He expressed confidence that his visit will help to further strengthen relations between the two nations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistani-origin Mayor has called for similar preferential norms for Indian companies and students as those offered to in order to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) from into the British capital.

Indian businesses employ around 50,000 people in and are the second-biggest foreign investors in According to a data of London & Partners (L&P), the Mayor of London's promotional agency, from into London increased by 255 per cent from 2017 to 2018.

The mayor, who reiterated his London is Open message, attacked the UK government's hostile immigration policies as a barrier to increased investments and students coming from into London.

"The government's got to make it easier for businesses to come to London. Immigration policies have got to change, it's got to be easier for Indian students and business people to come here," Khan said on the sidelines of the annual Asian Voice Charity Awards here on Friday evening.

"The government has made some changes to make it easier for China, and I welcome that, but also India deserves the same sort of preferential treatmentI worry because of this government's hostile immigration policies, we aren't seeing many talented students coming to London, particularly talented Indians. I am hoping the government realises this is a huge opportunity lost," he said.

being included on a list of countries offered easier UK student visa application norms is one of the preferential routes currently not open to India.

Khan, a former Labour Party MP who has been a vocal advocate of a second Brexit referendum, said the Theresa May government was a "million miles away" from what was promised during the June 2016 referendum campaign.

Parliament is in gridlock, we should give the British public a say on the deal negotiated by the government with the option of remaining in the I can't think of anything more democratic than giving the British public a final say, said Khan, who was presented with a Political and Public Life Award at the awards ceremony.

The Asian Voice Charity Awards, powered by due diligence network Charity Clarity, reward charities and individuals that try and solve the most pressing in Britain and globally.

Some of the winners this year included Indian-origin Leah Chowdhry, who was named the Most Inspiring Young Person for becoming the first British Asian woman to swim the English Channel to raise funds to combat child trafficking in India.

The Sarvam Trust, which facilitates and supports the work of the Sri Aurobindo Society to help the under-privileged in rural areas of India, was the winner of the Audience Choice Award.

The theme of this year's awards was around combatting knife crime, an issue that has dominated the London Mayor's agenda.

Charities have an important role to play in filling in the gaps in the social safety net, Khan said.

CB Patel, Publisher and Editor of UK-based Asian Voice' weekly newspaper which organises the awards, added: One of the ills that now plagues our community is knife crime, and this requires the collective effort of individuals, families, educational institutions and community organisations to put an end to the menace.

His Editor's Choice Award for the year went to the Damilola Taylor Trust, which provides inner-city youths in Britain with opportunities to play and learn, free from fear and violence.

The Charity of the Year award went to Paul Strickland Scanner Centre, an independent medical charity working to improve the lives of people affected by and other severe medical conditions, and the Social Impact Award was presented to Child Rescue Nepal, which works on the ground to free children from slavery and captivity.

The awards are absolutely unique in that each applicant goes through a rigorous Charity Clarity rating process before the very best are shortlisted for the judges' consideration, Pratik Dattani, from Charity Clarity, said.

(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.)
Polls opened Saturday in Australia's nail-biter election, a race that may be the first anywhere decided on climate policy.

Around 17 million people are expected to cast their ballots across the vast island-continent, as final surveys predicted a centre-left Labor victory.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison's conservative Liberals had closed a yawning gap on the opposition upstarts, but differences over climate may prove the difference.

A season of record floods, wildfires and droughts has brought the issue front and centre in the campaign.

Labor has pledged ambitious targets for renewable energy, while the Liberals said they would not risk the coal-fuelled economy's health to make the air cleaner. Final polls show the vote is going down to the wire, with Labor ahead roughly 51-49.

But compulsory voting and a complex system of ranking candidates mean an upset is possible.

There are growing signs the Liberals' stance on climate may be politically unsustainable.

In rural areas, climate-hit farmers are demanding action, while eco-minded centre-right independents are running them close in once-safe suburban seats that have become make or break for the six-year-old government.

"This will be the closest election we've seen in many, many years," Morrison predicted while making a final pitch to voters in north Queensland.

Weeks ago, the contest looked like it might be a rout for Labor. But a final survey by Ipsos Friday showed Morrison's coalition trailing Shorten's Labor 49 to 51 percent, from 48 to 52 percent two weeks ago.

In some battleground seats, the race is even tighter, with the electorate split 50-50.

"I don't think anyone... thought this is where the election would be the day before," Morrison said.

The campaign has been an often ignominious pitched-battle, with Morrison -- in lock step with Rupert Murdoch's fiercely conservative media -- mounting a relentlessly negative campaign, warning a Labor government will wreck the already slowing economy.

Out on the campaign trail, candidates have been egged, abused and a slew have resigned for racist, sexist and otherwise jaw-dropping social media posts.

In one Sydney battleground seat, a 62-year-old man was arrested and charged with thrusting a corkscrew into the stomach of a man putting up campaign banners on the eve of the election.

Morrison is scraping for his political life, hoping to avoid entering the history books as one of the shortest-serving prime ministers in Australian history.

He took office last August after a party room coup that ousted moderate pro-climate leader Malcolm Turnbull -- the latest in a series of political fratricides that have made Canberra look like "Game of Thrones" meets "The Hunger Games." Much of Morrison's cabinet has resigned or gone into virtual hiding because of their unpopularity.

If he wins, it would be one of the greatest political comebacks anywhere, akin to US president Harry Truman's defeat of Thomas Dewey in 1948.

If Shorten is elected, he would become the sixth prime minister sworn into office in a decade.

The former union leader has struggled with low personal approval ratings but has become a more polished campaigner as the election has neared.

Still, his relative lack of charisma was underlined Thursday by the death of much-loved former prime minister Bob Hawke, an Oxford-educated lovable rogue, equally at home chugging a pint or debating Keynesian economics.

But the upswelling of sadness about Hawke's death could remind voters of less contentious times under Labor.

Shorten's hopes of grabbing the top job may hinge on results in Queensland and his home state of Victoria -- where Labor's lead has proved more resilient and where climate change has been a critical issue.

Should he win, Australia will likely get a vote on becoming a republic and, as Shorten put it, returning a head of state that Australia has borrowed from the other side of the world for more than two centuries.

Polls opened at 8:00 am local (2200 GMT) and the first exit polls are expected around 10 hours later.

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Authorities in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir Saturday warned protesters against disrupting traffic.

"Strict action shall be taken against the protesters indulging in blockade and disruption of traffic," District Magistrate Angrez Singh Rana said in a statement.

According to a district administration spokesperson, "The initiative has been taken to contain the growing incidents of protests and road blockades by a section of Panchayati Raj Institution members and villagers thus creating public nuisance".

Rana has asked the Kishtwar senior superintendent of police to ensure strict action against protesters, the spokesman said.

The district has witnessed a series of protests over various demands including inadequate supply of water and electricity.

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Damascus said it had been informed Iraqi flights to Syria would not resume as planned Saturday after more than seven years, over what it said were "administrative" reasons.

Iraq's national carrier, Iraqi Airways, said Thursday it would resume flights to Damascus for the first time since the Syrian civil war started in 2011.

But the Syrian transport ministry on Saturday said it had been informed of the "decision to postpone the trip of two Iraqi Airways planes today... until further notice."



The flights were postponed to allow for "the completion of some administrative and organisational steps between the company and the Syrian civil aviation" authority, it said in a statement on Facebook.

It posted a photo of an urgent letter sent from the Iraqi embassy in Damascus the same day, informing the foreign ministry both flights had been deferred.

The comes as Iraq faces rising tensions between the United States and its neighbour Iran, and after the Pentagon deployed a carrier group accompanied by B-52 bombers to the Gulf.

The last flight from Baghdad to Damascus took place in December 2011, according to Iraqi Airways spokesman Layth al-Rubaie.

Most airlines stopped flying to and over Syria after the conflict broke out, with many taking longer routes to circumvent the war zone.

But the conflict has wound down in recent years, after major regime advances against rebels and jihadists with Russian military backing since 2015.

Last month, the Syrian government said it had agreed to allow regional aviation giant Qatar Airways to resume flights over the country.

Syria's war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions inside Syria and abroad since starting in March 2011 with a crackdown on anti-government demonstrations.

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The revised fares on auto-rickshaws approved by the Delhi government in March will be notified and implemented soon after the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha election ends, officials said.

The Transport Department officials of the Delhi government said preparations are being made so that fare metres are smoothly calibrated and the revised fares could be charged by auto-rickshaw drivers.

The Delhi government on March 8 had approved recommendations of a committee for hike of Rs 1.5 per km in existing rate of Rs 8 per km for around 90,000 autos playing on the city roads.

It also approved revision in base fare from existing Rs 25 for first two kilometres to Rs 25 for 1.5 kilometres.

Transport minister Kailash Gahlot has directed the department to issue the notification for implementation of revised auto fares after the poll code ends, a Transport department official said.

"The notification will be issued and revised rates will be in place within a week of end of the model code of conduct. But the fare meters will require to be recalibrated to calculate the new rates," he said.

The Transport minister had said fare revision is not a reserved subject and there is no need for the approval of the Lieutenant Governor.

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A priest was found murdered in his church in a small town west of San Salvador, a police source said Saturday.

The Catholic cleric, identified as Cecilio Perez, was found by parishioners in the San Jose La Majada church in Juayua, an agent of El Salvador's National Civil Police told AFP, on condition of anonymity.

The officer said an investigation was in its earliest stages and it was not yet known who might have killed the priest.

The Catholic Church in El Salvador has so far issued no statement on the killing.

El Salvador last year tallied 3,340 homicides. That was 15 per cent less than in 2017, but still amounted to a rate of 51 killings per 100,000 inhabitants, making it one of the world's most violent countries not at war.

Feared gangs are blamed for much of the violence. With an estimated 70,000 members, they make a living mainly from drug trafficking and extortion.

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A second-year undergraduate student of Visva Bharati University here was found dead in his hostel room on Saturday, police said.

Partha Das (19), a student of Mathematics honours, was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his hostel room this morning by his roommate, officials said.

"Prima facie it appears to be a case of suicide. However, the exact cause of the death can only be ascertained after postmortem examination," a police official said.

Partha, who hails from nearby Rampurhat area, returned to the hostel on Friday from his home, according to other hostellers.

He didn't go for breakfast on Saturday morning and was in his room. When his roommate returned, he found the door bolted from inside. Other students then broke into the room and found him hanging, officials said.

He was then taken to the university hospital where doctors declared him dead, they said.

Police said they have interrogated other students staying in Nandan Hostel, where the incident has happened. Partha's family has not lodged any complaint or alleged any foul play.

Founded by Rabindranath Tagore, Visva Bharati, located in Shantiniketan in Birbhum district of WSest Bengal, is a Central university.

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The Saturday came out in support of Prime Minister for not taking questions from the media at a press conference in

On Friday, Modi showed up on the dais at the in for a scheduled press conference by party president Amit Shah, but refused to take any questions, citing party discipline.

leader and Rajya Sabha MP said, "It was Amit Shah's press conference and Modi was present there as a party worker. It is not that he doesn't answer questions. He has given interviews to television and print."



Speaking to reporters here, Raut said the prime minister communicates with people through his speeches, adding that it is better to be silent than answer questions.

To a question on Modi's visit to Kedarnath and Badrinath, Raut said, "It is good he is visiting temples. This is Hindu culture and not politics."



On a query on Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse being called a patriot, Raut said action has been taken against those making such comments and claimed such remarks would not affect the poll outcome.

He sidestepped a query on cabinet expansion in the government and said his party was concentrating on the May 23 Lok Sabha results.

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A clash of titans is on the cards in Patna Sahib where Shatrughan Sinha is seeking to retain the seat for a third consecutive term, this time on a Congress ticket, surmounting a formidable challenge posed by Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Altogether 18 candidates are in the fray for the constituency, which covers the entire Patna city and a part of the outskirts, though the contest is being viewed as essentially a straight one between the actor-turned-politician and Prasad.

Named after a centuries-old Sikh shrine located on the banks of the Ganga where Guru Gobind Singh was born and spent his early childhood, Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat came into being in the delimitation of 2008 and Sinha won it in the 2009 and retained the seat five years later.

Nicknamed 'Bihari Babu' by virtue of his professed attachment to his home state, the flamboyant actor of yesteryears sounds confident of making a hat-trick as he points out "I have won the seat in the past two elections with margins that were the highest for Bihar. This was because of the immense love people have for me. Moreover, I am not a usual party-hopper. The circumstances under which I had to quit the BJP are known to all."



Associated with the saffron party since the early 1990s when it was not much of a force to reckon with, Sinha fell out with the BJP leadership after the ascension of Narendra Modi and the anointment of his confidant Amit Shah as the party's national president.

The outspoken former Bollywood star made his discomfiture with the party leadership public on many an occasion while he was still with the BJP which he had been describing, for quite some time, as a "one man army and two man show".

The announcement of Prasad as the BJP candidate from his seat proved to be the last straw for Sinha, who switched over to the Congress, which fielded him from his sitting seat.

The BJP is, however, dismissive of his prospects and asserts that Sinha's stellar victories were on account of his association with the party.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, arguably the tallest BJP leader from the state, who has never been on good terms with Sinha, points out, "Five out of the six assembly segments falling under Patna Sahib are held by the BJP. This was despite the fact our party faced an uphill task in the assembly polls wherein Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad had joined hands."



"Nitish is now back with us and so is Ram Vilas Paswan who was not in 2009. So our prospects are stronger than ever. Combine that with the unquestionable popularity of Narendra Modi and the fact that the Congress is a spent force in Bihar. Shatrughan Sinha should consider himself lucky if he finds even a polling agent," Modi says.

The Congress, meanwhile, is canvassing in favour of the new entrant with uncharacteristic vigour and is being assisted in the same by its formidable ally, the RJD, which had won one of the six assembly segments here and lost another with a thin margin to the BJP.

Parties like the Aam Aadmi Party, the CPI and the CPI(M), not of much electoral consequence, have also extended their support in the interest of "secularism and defeating the BJP" and their volunteers are doing their bit to add spice to the campaign of the actor who is considered a staid electioneer despite his gift of the gab.

One crucial factor, which worries the BJP and Sinha too is known to be secretly banking upon, is the disgruntlement that Prasad's candidature has caused to Rajya Sabha member Ravindra Kishore Sinha, who wanted the seat for himself or his son Rituraj.

Founder of security solutions behemoth SIS, Ravindra Kishore Sinha is said to be quite popular among members of the Kayastha caste, numerically small overall but in sizeable numbers in the state capital, whom he is known to help in times of distress, financially and otherwise.

The Akhil Bharatiya Kayastha Mahasabha - which claims to have some influence among the largely urbane and highly fractured community - had even come out with a statement that it would not support the BJP candidate unless it happened to be RK Sinha.

R K Sinha last month had a closed door, hour-long meeting here with Bhaiyaji Joshi - the number 2 in Sangh Parivar - which was seen as a damage control exercise by the saffron conglomerate.

Trying to fish in troubled waters, Shatrughan Sinha had remarked a few days later, "I have personal regard for RK Sinha, who is my senior. The party did not do justice to him by denying him the party ticket. Had he been fielded, it would have forced me to have second thoughts about taking him on."



When R K Sinha was recently approached for his reaction on "Shotgun" (another epithet associated with the actor) sounding confident of his victory, he said, "I can assure you I will come to Patna to cast my vote for Ravi Shankar Prasad on polling day" but added cryptically "Shatrughan Sinha is a senior and experienced leader. If he says he can win, he must be having reasons to do so.

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/ -- More than 580 students from Shiv Nadar University were conferred degrees this year



Shiv Nadar University, India's leading comprehensive, research-centric, multidisciplinary university, celebrated its fifth convocation ceremony at its Greater Noida campus today. The University Chancellor, Mr. Shiv Nadar conferred honorary doctorates on four distinguished individuals, namely Dr. Ashok Seth, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, world-renowned cardiologist & the Chairman of Fortis Escorts Heart Institute; Lord Charles Powell, an eminent British diplomat, politician & businessman; Dr. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, distinguished Indian space scientist & former head of ISRO; and Mr. Mike Lawrie, Global Technology Leader & President, CEO and Chairman, DXC Technology, in recognition of their outstanding achievements and significant contributions to society in their respective fields.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/889400/Shiv_Nadar_University.jpg )



The University awarded degrees to more than 580 graduating students, including 20 PhDs, from various streams of Engineering, Natural Sciences, Humanities & Social Sciences, Fine Arts, as well as Management, and recognized best performances with special awards and distinctions. (Sir) Arun Sarin KBE, former CEO of Vodafone, and current board member of Cisco, Accenture and Charles Schwab & a Silicon Valley investor, and Dr. Isher Ahluwalia, Padma Bhushan, a distinguished economist, & Chairperson, Board of Governors, the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), attended the Convocation as the Guests of Honour, and addressed the gathering. The Guests of Honor congratulated the graduates on their success, and commended the University's efforts to create a holistic learning environment for the students. The Convocation was also attended by distinguished members from academia, industry bodies, government, and media, along with Shiv Nadar University's faculty mentors, staff, students and their proud parents.

Dr. Rupamanjari Ghosh, Vice-Chancellor, Shiv Nadar University, said, "This is a proud moment for us at Shiv Nadar University as we graduate our fifth batch of students, who are on their way to join some of the best organisations and institutions in the world. We are also privileged to have among us stalwarts from four major walks of life, who received our honorary doctorates for their contributions towards the society at large. We share similar values and aspirations for excellence. The galaxy of Guests of Honor and Honorary Doctorates present today is an inspiration for the entire Shiv Nadar University community."



Dr. Ghosh further added, "The mission of the University, as conceived by the Founder, has been to develop and educate the path-shapers of tomorrow, who can shoulder the challenges of globally responsible and ethical leadership in the 21st Century. Our emphasis is on 'learning by doing', and making learning curiosity-driven and enjoyable. We help our undergraduate students to understand the nuances of research and innovation right from the beginning. We train them to think critically, solve problems creatively, communicate effectively, and be truly 'skilled' to face the challenges in the 'future of work'."



In the recently released National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF), published by the MHRD, Government of India, Shiv Nadar University was ranked at 52 in the 'University' category. The University has been the youngest institution in the NIRF top-100 'Overall' list for the last 3 years. The University has been selected as an "Institution of Eminence" by the Expert Committee, appointed by MHRD, Government of India.

The University, spread over a 286-acres campus, has a vibrant community of approximately 2,200 students, including more than 175 PhD scholars, and 450 faculty & staff members. The University offers a wide range of degree programs from the undergraduate to the doctoral levels and has five Schools: Engineering, Natural Sciences, Humanities & Social Sciences including Art & Performing Art, Management & Entrepreneurship, and Extended & Professional Development. The University also offers 'Opportunities for Undergraduate Research' (OUR), a unique and flagship program that has paved the way for undergraduate students to conduct original research with faculty. Under the aegis of our faculty, research by our undergraduate students have been recognized by premier institutions.

More than 100 organisations from across sectors visited Shiv Nadar University to recruit students, who opted for placements, from the graduating Class of 2019. Some of the leading organizations that have recruited students from the University include Goldman Sachs, Dell, TCS, WNS, Cognizant, Daikin, Honda, HP, Ashok Leyland, and Schindler.

Shiv Nadar University also announced that a substantial number of students have received graduate admission and financial aid offers from top institutions and Universities across the world, such as New York University, Bocconi University, Technical University of Munich, TU Delft, among others.

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A five-member special investigation team (SIT) was constituted Saturday to probe the death of a person in firing here which triggered violent protests, forcing authorities to impose an indefinite curfew in the communally-sensitive town, officials said.

The Doda district administration had refuted reports that "cow vigilantism" was the reason behind the killing of Nayeem Shah and said some people were trying to give communal colour to the incident to flare up the situation.

"A five-member SIT headed by Superintendent of Police, Bhaderwah, Raj Singh Gouria has been constituted to probe the killing of Shah," Senior superintendent of Police, Doda, Shabir Ahmad Malik told PTI.

Gouria, along with other members of the SIT, and a team of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) visited the scene of the incident at Kachi Nalthi village and collected fresh evidence.

"We are at the scene as part of the investigation after the setting up of the SIT although the probe of the case has already started soon after the incident," he told reporters.

Gouria said a 12-bore gun which is believed to have been used in the killing was seized and sent to FSL Jammu for examination.

Eight persons have been arrested in connection with the killing so far.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner, Doda, Sagar Doifode said a number of non-locals were found involved in stone-pelting following the incident and three of them were arrested so far.

"All those involved in violent protests are being identified. More arrests are expected in the coming days," he said, adding that police have been directed to collect details of non-locals including students, labourers, servants and businessmen who are living as tenants to keep a watch on their activities.

Doifode said the curfew continued in the town as a precautionary measure although the situation remained by and large peaceful and there was no report of any untoward incident from anywhere.

"The situation is well under-control. We are reviewing the situation later in the day and will decide about relaxation in the curfew accordingly," he said.

The Army along with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and police are deployed in strength in the town especially in the sensitive localities to maintain law and order, officials said.

Meanwhile, shops and business establishments belonging to majority community remained closed in adjoining Kishtwar district town as a protest against killing of Shah.

The 'Imam' (the one who leads prayers) of Jamia Masjid Kishtwar has called for a 'bandh'.

Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in strength in the town as a precautionary measure, the officials said.

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The Congress leadership Saturday got its act together with Sonia Gandhi stepping in and formulating the party's strategy for government formation.

Sources said Congress leaders led by Sonia Gandhi, party chief Rahul Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, held deliberations with Ahmed Patel, A K Antony and others as they geared up for a possible hung Parliament.

The Congress is leaving nothing to chance and is sniffing at government formation, as it has stepped up activity to stake its claim for forming the next government.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has convened another meeting of senior party leaders on May 22, a day before the counting of votes, the sources said.

Top party leaders also started deliberations with other non-NDA parties in a bid to bring them all together as part of a joint alliance, in a bid to form UPA-3.

With Sonia Gandhi holding a meeting of top party leaders at her residence today, the Congress hopes to keep the BJP and Narendra Modi at bay from power in case the NDA fails to get a majority.

Rahul Gandhi has said his party will use the experience of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh to their advantage.

He had told PTI that Sonia Gandhi will play a crucial role in bringing non-NDA parties together and in the formation of the next government.

Today's meeting assumes significance as Sonia Gandhi had so far remained away from political activity due to health reasons.

The Congress is in touch with other party leaders in cobbling together an alliance that it could lead and form the next government.

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi met TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu, and other Congress leaders are also holding deliberations with leaders from other parties.

He has asked Patel, Antony and others such as Ashok Gehlot, Kamal Nath and P Chidambaram to hold talks with other parties. They have been camping in Delhi and strategizing.

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Sri Lanka, still reeling under the scars of the Easter Sunday bomb blasts, Saturday marked 10 years of the end of the nearly brutal civil war between the government and the LTTE even as it came under criticism for failing to ensure justice for the victims.

The Sri Lankan government on May 18, 2009 killed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) chief Velupillai Prabhakaran in the coastal village of in Mullaittivu, bringing to an end the bloody armed conflict fought mainly in the north and east of the island nation.

At least 100,000 people were killed in the over three-decade-long conflict. Thousands of people, including security personnel, are still reported to be missing after the war.

Hundreds of people gathered in parts of Northern Sri Lanka to remember the victims of the war, the Colombo Gazette reported.

The government will commemorate the war heroes during the Victory Day celebrations on Sunday, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

It asked the public to light a "Lamp of Peace" in the memory of those who laid down their lives for the country.

"The commemoration of the completion of a decade of peace since eradicating terrorism that plagued Sri Lanka for three long decades by the valiant War Heroes, falls on 2019.05.19," it said in the statement.

"To coincide with the "Dasavarshikabhisheka" commemoration, it is requested from the general public to light a 'Lamp of Peace' at all places of worship, state and private sector organizations, homes, police stations and tri-forces establishments island-wide on 2019.05.19 at 1900hrs," it said.

However, human rights organisations blamed the government of failing to provide justice to the victims even after a decade after the war, the Colombo Gazette reported.

The Amnesty International called on the government to end impunity and put accountability for crimes under international law and human rights violations and abuses at the heart of its transitional justice process.

It is worrying to see the recurrence of hostility and violence against ethnic and religious minorities in Sri Lanka. While the government has committed itself to a process of reconciliation, the wounds of the past will only heal if there is justice, truth and reparation, Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director at Amnesty International, said.

The Human Rights Watch said that the end of the war provided the country with an opportunity not only to rebuild shattered lives and society, but also to restore respect for rights and the rule of law.

Yet successive Sri Lankan administrations have frittered away this opportunity, failing to investigate atrocities by both sides, hold those responsible for the worst crimes accountable, or provide truth and reparations to the victims, Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said.

The government gained victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which had been fighting for a separate state for nearly three decades.

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Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday granted amnesty to 762 prisoners on the occasion of Vesak, also known as Buddha Purnima, a media report said.

The prisoners released included 736 males and 26 females from various prisons, who were in jail for minor offenses and did not include convicts jailed for rape, child abuse or heroin use and drug trafficking, the Colombo Gazette reported.

An event was held at the Colombo's Welikada prison to free the inmates which was also attended by Sirisena and other senior officials.

"The President used the powers vested in him to grant pardon to the 762 prisoners," Justice Minister Thalatha Atukorale was quoted as saying by the paper.

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Polling for the high stakes by-election to four constituencies in Tamil Nadu will get underway on Sunday.

While the by-polls to 18 seats were held along with Lok Sabha polls on April 18 in the state, four other assembly segments -- Sulur, Aravakurichi, Ottapidaram (SC) and Thiruparankundram go for polls on May 19.

The Sulur seat fell vacant in March following the death of AIADMK MLA R Kanakaraj who died following cardiac arrest.

Ottapidaram(SC) constituency is represented by disqualified AIADMK MLA Sundararaj while Thirupparankundram legislator A K Bose also belonging to AIADMK died last year.

Aravakurichi is represented by Senthil Balaji, a disqualified AIADMK legislator who has joined DMK.

According to Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo, a total of 137 candidates are in fray in the assembly constituencies wit Aravakurichi leading with 63 MLA aspirants.

A total of 15,939 police personnel have been deployed to maintain law and order.

The outcome of the by-polls to a total of 22 seats will decide the future political course in Tamil Nadu as the results would determine the continuance of the two year-old Palaniswami government.

Arch rivals AIADMK and DMK have left no stone unturned to ensure victory, with their leaders, Chief Minister K Palaniswami and DMK President M K Stalin embarking on a hectic campaign trail in order to win the race.

AIADMK rebel and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader T T V Dhinakaran, Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam, actor-director Seeman's Naam Tamizhar Katchi have fielded candidates in the four constituencies, making it a multi-cornered contest.

The campaign trail turned hot in its last leg, after Haasan stoked a major political row with his Hindu extremist remarks, labelling Mahatma Gandhi's killer Nathuram Godse as one.

He had said "free India's first extremist" was Godse and that he was a Hindu, drawing strong condemnation from BJP and the AIADMK, even as cases were filed against Haasan.

He, however, found support from the Congress' state unit and rationalist outfit Dravidar Kazhagam.

In the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly with 22 vacancies, the AIADMK has a strength of 113, excluding the Speaker.

The simple majority mark in the full House is 117.

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The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, one of the most bitterly fought in recent memory, will come to a close Sunday when polling will be held in 59 constituencies including in where Prime Minister is seeking to retain the seat.

Polling will be held in all 13 seats in Punjab and an equal number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat Chandigarh.

Over 10.01 crore voters are expected to decide the fate of 918 candidates. The Election Commission has set up more than 1.12 lakh polling stations for smooth conduct of polls.

On Sunday, a bypoll will be held in Panaji, necessitated due to the death of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar in March. Bye-elections will also be held in four assembly constituencies of Tamil Nadu -- Sulur, Aravakurichi, Ottapidaram (SC) and Thiruparankundram.

Counting of votes will be taken up on May 23.

An average of 66.88 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the last six phases. The whole elections were spread over 38 days.

In Uttar Pradesh, all eyes will be on Varanasi, where besides Modi, 25 other candidates are in fray. Modi's main challengers are Congress's Ajay Rai and SP-BSP grand alliance's nominee Shalini Yadav.

Union minister Manoj Sinha, BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey are seeking re-election from Ghazipur and Chandauli, respectively.

The BJP is contesting 11 Lok Sabha seats in this phase, while its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) is contesting Mirzapur, currently held by Union minister Anupriya Patel, and Robertsganj.

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri are among the 278 candidates including 24 women whose fate will be decided in Punjab on Sunday.

Besides Punjab, more than 6 lakh voters in the union territory of Chandigarh will choose between sitting MP and BJP candidate Kirron Kher and former railway minister and Congress candidate Pawan Kumar Bansal.

Actor turned politician Sunny Deol, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab unit chief Bhagwant Mann are among other prominent candidates in the fray.

On most of the 13 seats, the contest appears to be a direct fight between the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance.

In 2014, the AAP and the SAD had won four seats each, the Congress three and the BJP two.A conglomeration of several political outfits, the Punjab Democratic Alliance (PDA) led by AAP rebel Sukhpal Singh Khaira, is also contesting on all 13 seats while SAD (Taksali), breakaway faction of SAD, has fielded one candidate from Anandpur Sahib.

An electorate of 1,49,63,064 will decide the fate of 111 candidates in nine seats of West Bengal -- Kolkata North and Kolkata South, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, Jaynagar (SC) and Mathurapur (SC).

Eight seats, barring Jadavpur, will witness a contest among the Trinamool Congress, the BJP, the Congress and the Left Front. The Congress has given the Jadavpur seat a miss.

The nine constituencies are spread across the three districts of Kolkata, South and North 24 Parganas.

The high-voltage campaign for the final phase saw poll meetings by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress leader Sachin Pilot and West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.

Shah's roadshow in the city on Tuesday was marred by violence and destruction of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's bust in a college in north Kolkata.

In a first such action in India's electoral history, the Election Commission ordered campaigning in the nine West Bengal constituencies to end at 10 pm on Thursday, instead of 6 pm on Friday, in the wake of the violence between the BJP and the TMC during Shah's roadshow.

As many as four Union ministers -- Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ram Kripal Yadav, RK Singh and Ashwini Kumar Choubey -- are among the 157 candidates in Bihar.

Seven of these seats were won by the NDA last time, five by the BJP and two by the RLSP, which is now with the "Mahagathbandhan".

One was bagged by the JD(U) headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, which then fought separately but is now back with the NDA.

By-poll will also be held for the Dehri Assembly seat.

The most keenly-watched contest is in Patna Sahib where Prasad, one of the most prominent members of the cabinet, is seeking entry into the Lok Sabha. He is pitted against Shatrughan Sinha - the actor-turned-politician, who won it on both occasions for the BJP and is now in the fray as the Congress candidate.

The electoral fortunes of 42 candidates including that of former chief minister and Union minister Shibu Soren will be decided on Sunday in Jharkhand.

Soren, the chief of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and a eighth term sitting MP is in the fray from Dumka seat once again. He is crossing swords with BJP's Sunil Soren. The JMM leader had defeated his BJP challenger twice in 2009 and 2014.

Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa seats in Madhya Pradesh, all currently held by the BJP, will go to polls in Madhya Pradesh. Former Union ministers Kantilal Bhuria, Arun Yadav are in the fray from Ratlam and Khandwa, the latter seeing a tough fight between Yadav and ex-MP BJP chief Nandkumar Singh Chauhan.

Polling will also be held in all four Lok Sabha constituencies in Himachal Pradesh where as many as 45 candidates, including five legislators, are in the fray.
DMK chief M K Stalin Saturday expressed grief over the death of Jawaharlal Nehru University student Rishi Joshua, a resident of Vellore district in Tamil Nadu.

Joshua allegedly committed suicide Friday by hanging himself from a ceiling fan in a study room at the university, police said.

Stalin also cited deaths of two other students in the past and urged the state government to develop an institutional framework to protect its students who migrate for higher studies.

"The government has to develop institutional framework to protect students facing various issues in other states," he said in a statement.

Even in the past, Stalin said, AIIMS student Saravanan Ganesh (2016) and Delhi University college student Sharath Prabhu (2018), both residents of the state, died mysteriously.

"The centre and state government did not initiate fair probe into the deaths and try to find the reasons that is causing mental stress to the students in the national capital," he said.

The second year MA student at JNU's English centre e-mailed a purported suicide note to his English professor before hanging himself, police said.

According to police, in the six-line e-mail, Joshua wrote to his professor, "From sometime, I wanted to experience the physical state of death. By the time you read the mail, I will not be in physical state. Take care of my parents.

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Sudan's army rulers announced talks will resume with protest leaders Sunday, four days after the generals suspended negotiations on implementing civilian rule in the country.

"The Transitional Military Council announces the resumption of negotiations with the Alliance for Freedom and Change on Sunday at the presidential palace," the ruling army council said in a Saturday statement.

World powers have urged the generals to resume meetings on Sudan's future leadership, following the ouster last month of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir after mass protest.

Representatives from the United Nations, African Union and European powers "called for an immediate resumption of talks", said Tibor Nagy, the US assistant secretary of state for Africa.

They called on both sides to "reach an agreement ASAP on an interim government that is truly civilian-led and reflects the will of the Sudanese people," Nagy tweeted Friday.

The generals and protest leaders had been expected to come to an agreement on Wednesday on the thorniest issue -- the make-up of a new body to govern Sudan for three years.

But that meeting never took place and on Thursday the head of the military council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, confirmed talks were suspended for 72 hours.

Demonstrators subsequently spent hours meeting Burhan's demand to dismantle roadblocks which had paralysed parts of the capital.

The generals have allowed protesters to hold onto their sit-in outside Khartoum's army headquarters, where they remain camped out to demand a rapid transition to democracy.

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Sudanese Islamist movements said they will rally Saturday against a roadmap by protesters seeking civilian rule that makes no mention of Islamic sharia law in the country.

"The main reason for the mobilisation is that the alliance is ignoring the application of sharia in its deal" with the army rulers for installing a civilian administration, said Al-Tayieb Mustafa, who heads a coalition of about 20 Islamic groups.

"This is irresponsible and if that deal is done, it is going to open the door of hell for Sudan," Mustafa told AFP.

The army rulers and the Alliance for Freedom and Change that brought down veteran leader Omar al-Bashir are engaged in talks to set up a civilian rule in Sudan, but these negotiations have sidelined the Islamists.

The alliance, an umbrella for the protest movement, last month handed the army rulers its proposals for a civilian-led transitional government.

But the generals expressed reservations over the alliance's roadmap, singling out its silence on the constitutional position of Islamic sharia law, which was the guiding principle of all legislation under Bashir's rule.

The protest movement says the issue of sharia was "irrelevant" at this stage and can be discussed later as installing a civilian administration was their main demand.

"The military council should not consider the Alliance for Freedom and Change as representative of" the Sudanese people, said Mustafa.

He accused the alliance of having "stolen the revolution in broad daylight" and said the demonstration was aimed at denouncing "the new civilian dictatorship".

Hardline cleric Mohamed al-Jazuli said Saturday's rally would take place outside the presidential palace in downtown Khartoum after the iftar meal that breaks the dawn-to-dusk fast of Ramadan.

Meanwhile the army rulers said they will resume talks Sunday with protest leaders which they had suspended three days earlier.

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Three Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militants, including the one involved in the killing last year of Army jawan Aurangzeb, were Saturday killed in a pre-dawn operation by security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

Based on a credible input, a cordon and search operation was launched by police and security forces in the early hours in the Panzgam area of Awantipora in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, a police spokesman said.

During the search operation, the hiding militants fired on the search party, which retaliated, he said.

In the ensuing encounter, three militants were killed and the bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter, the spokesman said.

He said the slain militants have been identified as Showkat Dar of Panzgam in Awantipora, Irfan War of Wadoora Payeen in Sopore and Muzaffar Sheikh of Tahab in Pulwama.

The spokesman said that according to police records the three were affiliated to proscribed Hizbul Mujahideen and were wanted for their complicity in a series of terror crimes including attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities, he said.

As per police records, Dar was involved in planning and executing series of terror attacks in the area and many other civilian atrocities, he said.

"Dar was part of a group involved in killing of Army jawan Aurangzeb in 2018 and in the killing of a policeman Aqib Ahmad Wagay the same year. Several terror crime cases were registered against him," the police spokesperson said.

Aurangzeb was abducted and killed by militants in Pulwama in June last year while he was on his way to home in Poonch for celebrating Eid.

The spokesman said War was part of terror groups responsible for conspiring and executing attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities in the area.

"Accordingly, terror crime cases were registered against him. Similarly, Sheikh, as per police records, was also involved in several terror attacks on security establishments in the area. Several criminal cases were registered against him for terrorist activities, he said.

Incriminating materials including arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of encounter, the spokesman said, adding police have registered a case and all these materials have been taken in the case records for the purpose of investigation and to probe their complicity in other terror crimes.

He said no collateral damage took place during the exchange of fire.

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Thousands of Tamils in Northern Sri Lanka observed the 10th anniversary of the brutal civil war between the government and LTTE by lighting oil lamps and remembering those who lost their lives in the over three-decade-long conflict.

Tamils gathered at Vellamullivaikkal, the scene of the final battle on May 18, 2009 when the government forces killed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, bringing to an end the bloody armed conflict fought mainly in the north and east of the island nation.

At least 100,000 people were killed in the conflict. Thousands of people, including security personnel, are still reported to be missing after the war.

According to the Army, 27,000 soldiers were lost in the war.

The anniversary falls nearly a month after Easter Sunday bombings, the worst terror attack in the country that killed 258 people and injured over 500 others.

The event saw attendance from people of all age groups. A child who lost her mother during the war lit an oil lamp to start the programme.

We would like to declare today as the Awakening Day of Tamil Nation against genocide and we declare year 2019 is a year to heighten the international support for political justice and campaign against genocide," Mullivaikkal Remembrance Forum, an organisation voicing the concern of Tamils, said during the event.

They vowed to strengthen the call to refer Sri Lanka to the International Crimes Court for alleged war crimes committed during the war with the LTTE.

The government gained victory over the LTTE which had been fighting for a separate state for nearly three decades.

The Tamils alleged that thousands were massacred during the final battle, while the Lankan Army denies the charge, claiming it as a humanitarian operation to rid the Tamils of LTTE's control.

Students of the Jaffna University also held a commemoration ceremony at the institution's premises and stressed on the need for justice for Tamils in the country.

The government will commemorate the war heroes during the Victory Day celebrations on Sunday, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

President Maithripala Sirisena will preside over the programme.

"To coincide with the "Dasavarshikabhisheka" commemoration, it is requested from the general public to light a 'Lamp of Peace' at all places of worship, state and private sector organizations, homes, police stations and tri-forces establishments island-wide on 2019.05.19 at 1900hrs," it said.

However, human rights organisations blamed the government of failing to provide justice to the victims even after a decade after the war, the Colombo Gazette reported.

The Amnesty International called on the government to end impunity and put accountability for crimes under international law and human rights violations and abuses at the heart of its transitional justice process.

It is worrying to see the recurrence of hostility and violence against ethnic and religious minorities in Sri Lanka. While the government has committed itself to a process of reconciliation, the wounds of the past will only heal if there is justice, truth and reparation, Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director at Amnesty International, said.

The Human Rights Watch said that the end of the war provided the country with an opportunity not only to rebuild shattered lives and society, but also to restore respect for rights and the rule of law.

Yet successive Sri Lankan administrations have frittered away this opportunity, failing to investigate atrocities by both sides, hold those responsible for the worst crimes accountable, or provide truth and reparations to the victims, Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said.

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Three alleged drug peddlers were arrested in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said.

Accused Akshay Shan and Mohammad Anzer Beigh were held at Kishtwar district and 370 tablets of TRM-Spas (Tramadol) were recovered from them, they said.

The seized tablets are sedatives, which the arrested used to allegedly sell to youths, an official said.

In another incident in Samba district, one Manoj Kumar was arrested and 170 tablets of an intoxicant were recovered from him during vehicle check at Tapyal on Jammu-Pathankot Highway, officials said.

All three arrested have been booked under the NDPS Act, further investigation is underway, they said.

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Accusing President Donald Trump of being "divider-in-chief" by fomenting racism, hatred and bitterness among fellow citizens, former US Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday formally launched his 2020 bid for the White House and asserted that his campaign is all about restoring the soul of the nation, rebuilding the middle class, and unifying the country.

Giving a clarion call "Defeat Trump" amidst chanting We want Joe by several thousands of his die-hard supporters, 76-year-old Biden formally launched his 2020 presidential bid from Philadelphia, the birthplace of American democracy.

"So why do we begin this journey in this place Philadelphia? Because this was the birthplace of our democracy. It was here that two of the most important documents in the world's history were written," Biden said.

The city of Philadelphia played an instrumental role in the American Revolution. The city is where the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were signed.

Accusing Trump of stroking fear and bringing racial division among Americans, Biden said, "The threat to our democracy and our nation is real. Our today is traffics in division. And our President is the divider-in-chief."



"If the American people want a president to add to our division...they don't need me. They already have a president who does just that," Biden told a cheering estimated crowd of 6,000 supporters.

"I am running to offer our country - Democrats, Republicans and Independents - a different path," said the former US vice president, who had played an important role in strengthening the India-US relationship during his tenure in the Obama administration.

"At the core of our campaign is a simple idea: we are at our best when we're one America," Biden, who was introduced to his supporters by his spouse Jill, said.

Biden has emerged as the frontrunner among nearly 20 Democratic presidential aspirants, including Indian-American Senator Kamala Harris, first Hindu US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and Senator Bernie Sanders.

The winner of the Democratic presidential primaries, beginning early next year, would be declared as party's nominee for the November 2020 presidential elections at the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 16.

If nominated, Biden will be pitted against incumbent Trump, 72, for the November 3, 2020 presidential elections.

First elected as the US Senator from Delaware at the age of 29, Biden has nearly five decades of public service including eight years as the Vice President from 2009-2016.

Biden's campaign also attracted several Indian-Americans from various parts of the country.

"We are here to support Joe Biden. I believe it is only he who can put the US back on the path of development. The United States needs to lead the world," said Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a Democrat who flew in from California for the launch event.

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Two guards loyal to Khalifa Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army were killed in an attack Saturday claimed by the Islamic State group, an LNA source said.

Four guards were also kidnapped in the attack on a checkpoint in the central region of Zella, the same source said.

IS said in a brief statement that it had targeted "Haftar's militias".

The media arm of Haftar's LNA said in a statement a "terrorist attack" had been repelled, but did not give any details.

The raid in Zella, close to an oilfield some 800 kilometres (500 miles) southeast of the capital Tripoli, is the third IS attack targeting Haftar's forces in recent weeks.

At least nine people were killed in a May 4 attack in the southern city of Sebha, then five days later gunmen killed two civilians in Ghodwa in southern Libya.

The LNA launched an operation in January to purge southern Libya "of terrorist groups and criminals".

After securing support from local tribes, it seized several towns.

Haftar then launched an offensive on April 4 against Tripoli, the seat of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).

The LNA made initial gains but pro-GNA forces launched a counter-offensive, resulting in a stalemate on the southern outskirts of the city.

The fighting around Tripoli between Libya's two main factions has created fears that IS could re-emerge in the country.

The jihadists were pushed out of their stronghold Sirte by forces loyal to the GNA in December 2016.

But despite losing its main territory, east of Tripoli, IS has repeatedly shown itself capable of launching deadly attacks.

Libya has been mired in chaos since the NATO-backed uprising that deposed and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

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The UK government has passed an amendment by which Sikhs in the country will be allowed to carry kirpans and use it during religious and cultural functions.

'The Offensive Weapons Bill' received the royal assent this week.

The bill aims at tackling rising knife crime in the UK and it become an act of law after receiving the Royal Assent of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday.

The bill had been amended late last year to ensure that it would not impact the right of the British Sikh community to possess and supply kirpans, or religious swords.

"We have engaged closely with the Sikh community on the issue of kirpans. As a result, we have amended the Bill to ensure that the possession and supply of large kirpans for religious reasons can continue," a UK Home Office spokesperson said.

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Sikhs had led a delegation to the UK Home Office to ensure that the kirpan remains exempt when the new bill becomes law.

"I am pleased to see the government amendment...which reflects the importance of not criminalising the Sikh community for the sale or possession of large kirpans," said Labour MP Preet Kaur Gill, Chair of the APPG for British Sikhs.

The new law would therefore maintain status quo in continuing to legally safeguard the sale, possession and use of large kirpans.

Fellow Sikh MP, Tan Dhesi, had also made an intervention during the Offensive Weapons Bill debate in the Commons to seek "assurances about the kirpan, given the Sikh community's serious concerns".

Large kirpans, with blades over 50-cm, are used by the community during religious ceremonies in gurdwaras as well as for ceremonies involving the traditional Sikh Gatka martial art. They would have fallen foul of the new bill on the possession of large blades without the amendment, which has now been agreed.

The Offensive Weapons Act covers new offences around possession of certain offensive weapons in public and enforces new restrictions on the online sales of bladed articles and corrosive products in attempt to crackdown on rising knife and acid-related attacks in the country.

"These new laws will give police extra powers to seize dangerous weapons and ensure knives are less likely to make their way onto the streets in the first place. The Act will also see the introduction of Knife Crime Prevention Orders - a power the police called for," UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid said.

The act is aimed at strengthening existing legislative measures on offensive weapons, focusing on corrosive substances, knives and certain types of firearm.

It brings in new laws to ban the sale of corrosive substances to anyone under the age of 18, to target people carrying acid, to make it more difficult for anyone under the age of 18 to buy knives online and to ban certain types of firearms.

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The United States said Friday it had approved more than USD 600 million in sales of air defense missiles to South Korea and Japan as tensions return with North Korea.

The State Department said it had approved 94 SM-2 missiles used by ships against air threats, along with 12 guidance systems for a total cost of USD 313.9 million.

It separately gave the green light to sell 160 anti-air AMRAAM missiles and related guidance equipment to Japan for USD 317 million.

The sales "will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States" by assisting key allies and "will not alter the basic military balance in the region," a State Department statement said.

North Korea last week tested what the South Korean military said appeared to be two short-range missiles in its second launch in less than a week.

The tests come amid a standstill in negotiations between North Korea and the United States, where President Donald Trump had boasted of ending Pyongyang's missile tests.

A second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended in deadlock in February, with the US side refusing demands to ease sanctions until Pyongyang takes major steps to end its nuclear program.

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Commercial airliners flying over the Persian Gulf risk being targeted by "miscalculation or misidentification" from the Iranian military amid heightened tensions between the Islamic Republic and the US, American diplomats warned Saturday, even as both Washington and Tehran say they don't seek war.

The warning relayed by US diplomatic posts from the Federal Aviation Administration underscored the risks the current tensions pose to a region critical to both global air travel and trade.

Oil tankers allegedly have faced sabotage and Yemen rebel drones attacked a crucial Saudi oil pipeline over the last week.

Meanwhile on Saturday, Iraqi officials said ExxonMobil Corporation began evacuating staff from Basra, and the island nation of Bahrain ordered its citizens out of Iraq and Iran over "the recent escalations and threats".

However, US officials have yet to publicly explain the threats they perceive coming from Iran, some two weeks after the White House ordered an aircraft carrier and B-52s bombers into the region. The U.S. also has ordered nonessential staff out of its diplomatic posts in Iraq.

President Donald Trump since has sought to soften his tone on Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also stressed Saturday that Iran is "not seeking war", comments seemingly contradicted by the head of the Revolutionary Guard, who declared an ongoing "intelligence war" between the nations.

This all takes root in Trump's decision last year to withdraw the US from the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers and impose wide-reaching sanctions.

Iran just announced it would begin backing away from terms of the deal, setting a 60-day deadline for Europe to come up with new terms or it would begin enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels.

Tehran long has insisted it does not seek nuclear weapons, though the West fears its program could allow it to build atomic bombs.

The order relayed Saturday by US diplomats in Kuwait and the UAE came from an FAA Notice to Airmen published late Thursday in the US. It said that all commercial aircraft flying over the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman needed to be aware of Iran's fighter jets and weaponry.

"Although Iran likely has no intention to target civil aircraft, the presence of multiple long-range, advanced anti-aircraft-capable weapons in a tense environment poses a possible risk of miscalculation or misidentification, especially during periods of heightened political tension and rhetoric," the warning said.

It also said aircraft could experience interference with its navigation instruments and communications jamming "with little to no warning".

Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the warning. However, the warning comes 30 years after the USS Vincennes mistook an Iran Air commercial jetliner for an Iranian F-14, shooting it down and killing all 290 people onboard.

The Persian Gulf has since become a major gateway for East-West travel in the aviation industry. Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, home to Emirates, is the world's busiest for international travel, while long-haul carriers Etihad and Qatar Airways also operate in the region.

Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways all said they were aware of the notice and their operations were unaffected. Oman Air did not respond to a request for comment.

Speaking in China, where he finished a tour of Asian nations who rely on Mideast oil, Zarif told the state-run IRNA agency that war is not what Iran wants.

"No war will occur as neither are we seeking a war nor anyone else has the illusion of being able to fight with Iran in the region," Zarif said.

Meanwhile, the head of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard reportedly said the US and Iran already were in a "full-fledged intelligence war".

The semi-official Fars agency also quoted Gen. Hossein Salami using 9/11 as a metaphor for America's political system, describing it Saturday "like the World Trade Building that collapses with a sudden hit." It isn't just air traffic affected.

Lloyd's Market Association Joint War Committee added the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the United Arab Emirates on Friday to its list of areas posing higher risk to insurers. It also expanded its list to include the Saudi coast as a risk area.

In Iraq, Exxon Mobil began evacuating staff from Basra amid the tensions with Iran, two Iraqi officials told The Associated Press.

Exxon Mobil works in Basra at its West Qurna I oil field, which had been shut off for years from Western oil firms over sanctions levied on Iraq during dictator Saddam Hussein's time in power.

The US Consulate in Basra has been closed since September after American officials blamed Iran-aligned Shiite militias for a rocket attack on the post, which is inside Basra's airport compound.

Basra as a whole has been shaken by violent protests in recent months over entrenched corruption and poor public services, which earlier saw Iran's Consulate there overrun and set ablaze.

Exxon Mobil, based in Irving, Texas, said it declined to discuss "operational staffing." Iraq is OPEC's second-largest Arab producer, pumping some 4.5 million barrels of crude oil a day.

Separately, the State Department acknowledged an unidentified drone flew over the US Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday and the facility briefly went on alert, though it said the aircraft posed no threat.

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The United States and Sri Lanka resolved to work together to foster peace, security and ensure a safe maritime domain in the Indian and Pacific oceans, the two countries said in a joint statement issued Friday.

Both the countries vowed to ensure a rules-based order in the Indian Ocean.

The joint statement comes a day after US Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale and visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs Minister Tilak Marapana held third US-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue in the American capital.

"The United States and Sri Lanka resolved to work together to foster peace and security and ensure a safe maritime domain in the Indian and Pacific Oceans through a rules-based order that ensures respect for international laws and norms," the joint statement said.

In this context, the US strategy towards a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, which ensures freedom of navigation, overflight, and unimpeded commerce was acknowledged as an important initiative.

"They shared the intention to further promote cooperation and exchanges in maritime security and safety, and noted with satisfaction the Indian Ocean conference hosted by Sri Lanka in October 2018, and agreed to continue to pursue joint initiatives to enhance security, stability, transparency, and economic opportunity for mutual benefit," the statement said.

During the meeting, the United States reiterated President Donald Trump's statement that America stands with Sri Lanka against terrorism and supports Sri Lanka's counter-terrorism efforts following the horrific Easter Sunday terrorist attacks of April 21.

Sri Lanka expressed appreciation for US support, including multi-faceted assistance from the US Embassy in Colombo and investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"The two sides discussed possible areas of future assistance as well. The terrorists who struck Sri Lanka on Easter appear to have drawn inspiration from ISIS. In this context, Sri Lanka was briefed about the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. The United States offered to continue to expand counter-terrorism and maritime and border security cooperation with Sri Lanka," it said.

The two governments welcomed the ongoing bilateral security sector cooperation, including US support for demining, joint military engagements, Sri Lanka's peacekeeping operations, human rights training for Sri Lankan officers, and visits by US ships and military officials.

According to the joint statement, the United States and Sri Lanka agreed to expand military-to-military cooperation.

Welcoming the renewal of Sri Lanka's commitment to promote reconciliation, accountability, justice, and human rights in pursuit of lasting peace and prosperity, the US acknowledged progress in these areas, including on the mandate of the Office of Missing Persons, passage of legislation to establish an Office of Reparations, and the return of private land used by security forces.

The US and Sri Lanka expressed support for strong economic partnership and growing bilateral trade based on the principles of fairness and reciprocity.

The two governments welcomed the approval of a USD 480-million compact by the Millennium Challenge Corporation Board. Signature of the compact is pending Congressional approval in the United States and Cabinet approval in Sri Lanka.

A day earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in his meeting with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister condemned the attacks that Sri Lanka suffered last month, which also killed five Americans.

Marapana noted appreciation for US support in the aftermath of the bombings and conveyed Sri Lanka's interest in deepening cooperation to prevent future attacks.

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The US on Friday reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico to lift tariffs on steel and aluminum, and the corresponding retaliatory tariffs, a move likely to ease trade tensions between the three North American countries.

Elimination of these tariffs is expected to remove a significant barrier to passing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The USD 1.4 trillion in North American trade supports more than 12 million American jobs.

"I'm pleased to announce that we've just reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico and will be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs or major tariffs," Trump said in his address to the National Association of Realtors Legislative Meeting.

Trump said the agreement is going to be a "fantastic deal" for the US.

He hoped the Congress will approve the USMCA quickly.

"And then the great farmers and manufacturers and steel plants will make our economy even more successful than it already is if that's possible -- which it is possible," he said.

Earlier, Trump spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"The two leaders discussed the United States' Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum and Canada's retaliatory tariffs. The two leaders also discussed relations with China, uranium, and the new NAFTA," a Canadian press release said.

Such an agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico clears a major obstacle to the congressional approval of new North American trade deal called USMCA.

The steep US tariffs imposed last year -- 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum -- became a major stumbling block to ratifying a new North American trade pact negotiated last year by the three countries.

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Trump's strategy has worked.

By acting in the best interests of national security, the President's imposition of Section 232 tariffs has brought American steel and aluminum plants roaring back to life, providing thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars of investment across our nation, he said.

"These industries are crucial to protect our national security and critical infrastructure, and this deal is another notch in the long line of successes of President Trump," Ross said.

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said the Trump Administration's deal with Canada and Mexico to lift tariffs on steel and aluminum imports marks another major milestone that gets us one step closer to ratifying the USMCA.

"This administration continues to follow through on their commitment to looking out for the best interests of American companies and consumers," he said.

Studies are predicting passage of the USMCA would boost our already booming economy by billions of dollars and would add nearly 200,000 jobs to the US labour market, he added.

It is encouraging to see this agreement with Canada and Mexico, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"It is my hope that the Trump Administration will work with the rest of our allies to refocus on standing up to China's trade cheating instead of recklessly antagonizing our allies and inviting retaliation on American workers and goods," she said.

Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer described this as a good development.

"I have always said that we should be focusing our efforts on China, not on Mexico, Canada or Europe," he said.

"It is a good thing these tariffs will be lifted, and we should urge our allies to join us in preventing China's predatory practices. There are still many other issues that are outstanding before Democrats would support the USMCA," Schumer said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 26-year-old naxal, carrying Rs five lakh reward for her alleged involvement in various violent incidents, Saturday surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said.

The cadre, Nande Mandavi alias Lali, is a member of the Kerlapal Area Committee of Maoists, said Dantewada SP Abhishek Pallava.

Police had input that she would be visiting Dantewada district hospital for treatment and proceeded to arrest her, he said.

After police reached the hospital, Mandavi herself contacted her former colleague Sundari Stam--who had quit the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in 2017 and now inducted as a commando in the recently raised women platoon of District Reserve Guard (DRG)--expressing her willingness to join the mainstream, the SP said.

After turning herself in before police, Mandavi said she was frustrated with the "hollow" ideology of Maoists and wanted to join the woman platoon 'Danteshwari Ladake' to free her land from the menace of Maoist violence, Pallava said.

Mandavi had joined the banned outfit in 2004 as a member of the Chetna Natya Mandli (CNM), the cultural wing of Maoists, in Pamed area committee where she worked till 2011.

In 2012, Mandavi was promoted as Kerlapal area committee member in Sukma, the SP said.

She was involved in the deadly Kasalpad attack in Chintagufa area of Sukma in 2014 in which 14 CRPF troopers were killed, and in four other major Maoist incidents in south Bastar, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
World's largest food and beverage company Nestle India on Friday said that it has forayed into the organic food segment. This comes in line with the leading packaged food company's innovation strategy at bagging new consumer opportunities and to strengthen its food and nutrition portfolio.

The food and drink company will launch three products in the organic food category which comprises an organic variant of Ceregrow (Nestle's cereals brand for children).

"Overall from the FMCG industry perspective, there has been a rural slowdown, with issues due to credit flows in the market and aberrations with certain channels," said Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestle India while addressing the media at a roundtable.

"But it's too early to say that it's a systemic issue and I believe the fundamental view on strong consumption led-growth cannot be dismissed", he added.

Narayanan further said that "Nestle has come out stronger as compared to its peers, in terms of volume growth in Q1 is due to the fact that about 25 per cent of the company's sales come from rural regions, while 75 per cent sales come from urban regions. The company has consistently maintained its urban growth rates."

However, Narayanan also stated that poor monsoon (below-than-normal levels) could impact rural demand and pose challenges for the industry. "If monsoons are going to be less-than-optimal, there would be a dampening effect as far as the rural demand is concerned. In terms of agro-commodities, the trend is clearly going upwards for raw materials such as milk and wheat. This will exacerbate if the monsoons are not as good as predicted", he emphasised.

He went on to say that the foray into organic food category is in line with the Nestle's focus on strengthening its food and nutrition portfolio.

"We are working with farms with expertise in organic farming capabilities in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, to procure organic raw materials. Now that we have built expertise in terms of sourcing and procurement, we will look at expanding our organic food portfolio," said the CMD.

At a time when the FMCG industry has expressed its concerns about a slowdown in the rural demand, Nestle logged double-digit growth (in terms of domestic sales) in its sixth quarter (January-March 2019).

(Edited by: Nehal Solanki)

Also read: Noida police registers FIR against Amazon for selling products with images of Hindu Gods

Also read: Fortis Healthcare International to sell stake in MSCL
Fortis Healthcare Friday said its subsidiary Fortis Healthcare International will sell its entire stake in Medical and Surgical Centre Ltd (MSCL).

Mauritius-based Fortis Healthcare International holds 28.89 per cent stake in MSCL.

Also Read: Fortis Healthcare appoints Ashutosh Raghuvanshi as MD and CEO

"Fortis Healthcare International Ltd (FHIL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare Ltd, which is incorporated in Mauritius, has entered into a share purchase agreement with CIEL Ltd, CIEL Healthcare Ltd and MSCL, for, sale of the entire shareholding held by FHIL in MSCL, representing 28.89 per cent (164,670,801 shares) holding of the total issued and paid up equity share capital of MSCL," it said in a regulatory filing.

It added that the proposed transaction is subject to the approval of Fortis Healthcare Ltd's shareholders as well as regulatory approvals, if required.

Also Read: SEBI asks Fortis Healthcare, Fortis Hospitals to recover Rs 403 crore from Singh brothers, 7 others

"Upon consummation of the proposed transaction, the entire stake of FHIL in MSCL will be divested," it added.

Share of Fortis Healthcare closed at Rs 126.95 apiece, down 0.47 per cent Friday.
London-based AdiGro Group, the parent company of AdiGro Aviation has offered to restart the Jet Airways' operations by July 1. The company which is one of the unsolicited bidders for Jet Airways has proposed to resume its operations with eight to nine thousand employees and 70 aircraft.

Sanjay Viswanathan, Founder and Chairman of AdiGroup expressed his keenness to partner with Etihad Airways and turn around the 25 year old airline which had shut its operations on April 17.

As a part of the six-point plan of the London-based company, Balance sheet management and not operating the airline like a lifestyle company are the two main elements for reviving Jet.

Viswanathan said that the company wants its top leadership will need to take a 25% pay cut while the other employees will have to give up 10%, and in return they will be offered ESOPs.

"We have asked for a relevant and practical haircut, but more importantly, we are actually giving equity upside. Our binding bid has an equity component for the lender group, which means that not only will they recover their money, but also get a significant upside once our turnaround plan is executed," he told The Hindu Business Line.

State Bank of India (SBI), which leads a consortium of domestic lenders to Jet Airways began approaching unsolicited bidders earlier this week including UK-based entrepreneur Jason Unsworth, Mumbai-based Darwin Platform Group and AdiGro Aviation.

Viswanathan also told the news daily that AdiGro Aviation has "put in a binding bid" to revive Jet for which the company has been in constant touch with Etihad. "We need approximately ?5,000-6,000 crore (to resurrect the airline). It's [the assumption] based on our discussions with Etihad and SBICaps so far," he said.

AdiGro Group which is based out of London is a foreign company and as per the FDI rules, a foreign group cannot own more than 49% stake in an Indian company. The company has offered to pick a 24.9% stake with Etihad owning about 24.1% stake in Jet.

SBI Caps is putting together a book, which will index all the assets and liabilities of the company as well as the capital required. Viswanathan said he is positive that AdiGro will partner with Etihad and revive Jet. "We will resurrect the airline by July 1," he added.

AdiGro, however, has clearly defined its conditions that its investors want Viswanathan to be the Non-Executive Chairman of Jet. However, he said that the company will rope in operating experts from India who have sound knowledge of India's aviation market.

Also Read: Noida police registers FIR against Amazon for selling products with images of Hindu Gods

Also Read: Sebi fines 2 entities for manipulative trade in illiquid stock options segment on BSE
European Commission which is the independent executive arm of the European Union (EU) rebuked tech giants Google, Facebook and Twitter Friday for not doing enough to tackle fake news. The Commission reprimanded the behemoths in the wake of the election campaign to the European Parliament. This comes seven months after the multinational companies promised to take action against fake news.

As per reports, the tech giants took a voluntary pledge in October last year to combat the spread of fake news hoping to avoid more harsh rules. The elections to the European Parliament will be held in 28 countries which make up the European Union, on May 23-26.

Furthermore, international interference during the election campaigns and national elections in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Ukraine in the coming months have been a major concern for the Commission as well as EU governments.

"Google, Facebook and Twitter are still falling" (in making efforts to tackle the fake news), the EU executive said in its report in April.

"More needs to be done to strengthen the integrity of their services, including advertising services," the Commission's digital chief Andrus Ansip, Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova, Security Commissioner Julian King and Digital Economy Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said in a joint statement to the media.

"The data provided still lacks the level of detail necessary to allow for an independent and accurate assessment of how the platforms' policies have actually contributed to reducing the spread of disinformation in the EU," they added.

Google and Twitter were reportedly criticised for failing to develop and implement policies for identifying and disclosing issue-based advertisements before next week's polls. Such advertisements can give rise to divisive public debate during election campaigns and are prone to misinformation.

On the other hand, Facebook which took down a fake Russian network targeting Ukraine was reproached for not disclosing whether the network also affected users in the EU.

(Edited by: Nehal Solanki)

Also read: Facebook user booked for 'hate mongering' on social media

Also read: Indian YouTuber Ajey Nagar one of TIME's top 10 'Next Generation Leaders'
Lok Sabha Election 2019 Timeline: With just four days remaining to the final results of the Lok Sabha election 2019, Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa Saturday recused himself from the Election Commission (EC) meetings related to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violations. Lavasa who is one of the three members of the EC has dissented over the poll body's clean chit to PM Modi and BJP Chief Amit Shah. Lavasa reportedly has told the EC Chief Sunil Arora that 'participation in the deliberations of the Commission becomes meaningless' since his minority decisions 'go unrecorded'.

Follow the latest Lok Sabha Elections updates on BusinessToday.In LIVE blog here
The Board of Secondary Education, Manipur (BSEM) will declare Class 10th results anytime soon on its official website-bsem.nic.in. Candidates can also check their scores on manresults.nic.in. This year, as many as 40,000 students had appeared for the BSEM matric examinations. The HSLC examination includes a total of six subjects- Science, Social Science, Mathematics and three language exams including English. The BSEM Class 10th board examinations were conducted from February to March, 2019.

Last year, the BSEM had announced the results on June 3 while the exams were conducted from February 20 to March 17.

Recently, BSEM had declared the Class 12th board results and the pass percentage was recorded to be at 78.83%. In Manipur, Noney district recorded the highest pass percentage of 92.19% followed by Thoubal with 83.14%. Girls outshined boys recording a pass percentage of 77.41% against 70.14% respectively.

Here's how to check BSEM HSLC Result 2019, when it's announced:

Step-1: Visit the official website of the Manipur Board bsem.nic.in

Step-2: Click on the link which says, 'BSEM HSLC Result 2019'.

Step-3: Once the link opens, enter your details like name and roll number.

Step-4: Click on 'Submit'.

Step-5: BSEM HSLC Result 2019 will be displayed on the screen.

Step-6: Download the result and take a print out for future references.

(Edited by: Nehal Solanki)

Also read: HBSE 10th Result 2019: Haryana Board announces Class 10 result,57.39% passed; check at bseh.org.in

Also read: HBSE 12th Result 2019: Haryana Board Class 12 results to be declared today; check on bseh.org.in
Sensex and Nifty surged over 1% on Friday ahead of the exit poll results. The rise has been attributed to expectations of the Modi government winning the elections next week. Sensex and Nifty have rallied 10% from February lows till April 18 when they hit record highs of 39,487 and 11,856.

On Friday, Sensex closed 537.29 points or 1.44% higher at 37,930. Nifty too gained 150 points or 1.33% to end at 11,407. The indices logged major gains in two sessions ahead of campaigning for polls which ended Friday evening.

While Sensex gained 815 points during last two sessions, Nifty saw a rally of 250 points during the same period.

Since the beginning of the Lok Sabha elections on April 11, markets moved in a see-saw mode till April 26. Sensex which stood at 38,585 on April 10 closed at 39,067 on April 26. During the period, it hit a high of 39,275 and low of 38,564 on April 23, 2019.

However, Indian markets came under pressure for next nine sessions with Sensex losing 1,977 points or 5.06% since April 26 when it closed at 39,067 points. Investors lost Rs 8.53 lakh crore in market capitalisation during the period with the country slipping one slot on the world's most valuable markets list.

Sensex closes 537 points up, Nifty at 11,407; ZEE Entertainment, Bajaj Finance top gainers

Slowdown of the economy, trade tensions between US and China, jitters over the outcome of Lok Sabha election, decline in economic indicators such as factory output and core sector growth, weakness in high-frequency indicators such as auto sales, and credit crunch in non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) led Sensex to log its fourth nine-day losing streak ever in the history of Indian financial markets.

Markets could not maintain their losing run in the tenth session on Thursday this week. While Sensex closed 278.60 points or 0.75 per cent higher at 37,393.48, Nifty ended 100 points up at 11,257 level, with 39 components in the green.

Experts said markets overcame global jitters due to US-China trade war and brought back their focus on the Lok Sabha elections.

"With the last phase of elections scheduled for Sunday, all-round buying across the sectors reflects market's anticipation that exit polls may indicate the formation of a stable government," said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, senior VP and head of research (Wealth), Centrum Broking Limited.

Rs 11 to Rs 54,000 in 26 years! This stock made patient investors crorepati

The Sensex and Nifty closed in the red for two days and three days in the green this week with Friday being the best day for the benchmarks in three-and-a-half months. During the week, the Sensex gained 467.78 points, or 1.24 per cent, and the Nifty advanced 128.25 points, or 1.13 per cent. On Friday, the rally was supported by gains in banking, auto and FMCG stocks.

While BSE bankex gained 643 points or 2% to 32,878, BSE auto index rallied 436 points or 2.45% to 18,229. FMCG index on BSE too ended 261 points or 2.31% higher at 11,601 level.

BSE midcap and smallcap indices closed 153 and 70 points higher at 14308 and 13887 levels, respectively. IT and pharma stocks led the losses with their BSE indices 129 and 132 points, respectively.

Healthcare stocks extended their losses after Indian pharma majors Dr Reddy's, Wockhardt, Aurobindo and Glenmark were named in an anti-trust lawsuit in the US. The companies have been accused of violating antitrust laws by fixing prices and allocating customers. However, all these firms have denied the accusations and stated they would defend themselves in the matter.

Symphony stock made patient investors crorepati, turned Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.78 crore in 10 years

Market breadth was positive with 1374 stocks closing higher compared to 1141 ending in the red. 147 stocks remained unchanged.

Bajaj Finance (6.09%) , Hero MotoCorp (4.26%) and Maruti Suzuki (3.53%) were the top Sensex gainers. Bajaj Finance was the top gainer after the company reported a 50 per cent jump in net profit for the March quarter.

Bajaj Auto too ended higher following strong results. Of 30 Sensex stocks, 23 closed in the green. YES Bank (2.36%) , Vedanta (1.44%) and Infosys (1.42%) were the top Sensex losers.

Edited by Aseem Thapliyal
Pharma major Dr Reddy's Laboratories reported revenues in-line with Street expectations for the March quarter of financial year 2018-19 (FY19). However, it doesn't not seem to reflect in company's margins. The Hyderabad-headquartered firm posted a 4 per cent sequential and 14 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in revenues at Rs 4,017 crore in Q4FY19. The revenue for the full-year stood at Rs 15,385 crore, posting an 8 per cent YoY growth. The profit after tax (PAT) recorded a de-growth of 10 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) at Rs 434 crore on account of higher tax in Q4. It was up 44 per cent YoY. For the full year, the PAT at Rs 1,880 crore was up 92 per cent YoY.

Revenues from emerging markets showed a 28 per cent YoY growth and revenue from India was a high point, posting a 12 per cent YoY growth. This resulted in the company going three notches up (from 16 as of March 2018 to 13 now) in the IQVIA (erstwhile IMS Health) MAT pecking order in India.

However, on the EBITDA at 22 per cent, Saumen Chakraborty, chief financial officer of the company, said, "I believe, for our industry, if you are posting EBITDA margins at more than 25 per cent, you are best-in-class. We have done 22 per cent, so we will be looking at improving it further." However, he did not share by when the company hopes to get there.

On concerns around how the company intends to ramp up its US operations given that it has sold some part of its branded business, Chakraborty said, "This year, we did more than 20 launches as compared to 15, which we planned initially. Next year, we will do much more than that." Although he appeared confident given the progress in the pipeline of products, he did not share individual product details. Erez Israeli, chief operating officer of the company, however, chose to describe it as "a healthier mix" of products.

Apparently, they seem to see the work cut out. To what extent it will reflect in gross margins and profits that meet Street expectations (not one-off gains) is yet to be seen. For the moment, however, a note issued by the company along with the results, quotes G V Prasad, co-chairman and CEO of the company, as saying, "It has been a good year with a significant turnaround in the financial performance and steady progress on the quality front. Looking ahead, we will focus on profitable growth, continue the emphasis on operational excellence and drive innovation."

Also Read: Jet Airways Crisis: London-based AdiGro Group offers to restart airline's operations by July 1

Also Read: Nestle announces foray in organic food category

Also Read: Debit card swipes on PoS terminals rise 27% in March 2019 as per RBI data
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

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You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
Photo: Castanet webcam

The Ministry of Finance says more than 97 per cent of people in British Columbia who received speculation and vacancy tax notices have filed their declaration forms.

The ministry says about 1.6 million property owners received the tax declaration forms, and as of Friday it estimates more than 99 per cent of the owners do not have to pay the tax.

The ministry says property owners who didn't file the declaration by the March 31 deadline will receive a tax assessment notice by the end of May reminding them to complete the declaration to claim an exemption or determine eligibility for a tax credit.

Owners not exempt from the tax must pay their assessed amount by July 2.

The ministry says foreign property owners, Canadians living outside of B.C. and satellite families  those who live in B.C., but pay income taxes elsewhere  make up more than 80 per cent of people who will pay the tax.

For 2018, the tax rate is 0.5 per cent of the assessed value for all properties subject to the tax and next year it increases to two per cent for foreign owners and satellite families.

The speculation and vacancy tax is part of the government's plan to improve housing affordability and increase the availability of rental properties.
Rev. Everett Gossett, 83, of Red Bank, went to be with the Lord on May 14, 2019.

His first pastorate was with Calvary Presbyterian Church for seven years in Elberton, Ga. Rev. Gossett was then called to pastor at Red Bank Presbyterian Church in 1967 where he remained for 47 years. He was graduate of Central High School in 1954 where he met his beloved wife, the late Shirley Watts, and were married for 54 years. Rev. Gossett was a graduate of the University of Chattanooga majoring in history and Columbia Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity. He was a loving husband, father and faithful preacher of the Gospel.

He is survived by his sons, Michael Timothy and George Allen Gossett and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Visitation will be held at Lane Funeral Home on Thursday, May 16, from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.

A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 17, at Red Bank Presbyterian Church officiated by Reverend Eric Duble, Reverend J.N. Howard.

Interment will follow at Chattanooga Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Red Bank Presbyterian Church, 4320 Dayton Blvd., Red Bank, Tn. 37415.

Arrangements are entrusted to Lane Funeral Home, 601 Ashland Terrace, Chattanooga, Tn. 37415, 423 877-3524, Lanefh.com.
Raymond Bertani, 83, passed away on Tuesday, May 14, 2019, at Erlanger Hospital following a brief illness.

Born on Sept. 7, 1935, in Astoria, NY. He attended New York University, served as a sergeant, first class in the New York National Guard from 1955-1961.



In 1953 he began his career with Ciba-Geigy Corporation as a lab technician.



He married the love of his life, Rosemarie, on May 9, 1959.



In 1961, the family moved to Chattanooga, where he began work as the lab manager for the Tennessee division.



From 1973 to 1975, the family lived in Texas while Ray was the branch manager for the Dallas division of the company.



The family returned to Chattanooga in 1975 and Ray worked as branch manager for the Atlanta division.



In 1992, Ray became the executive director of the Carpet Team. In 1995, after 42 years of service, he retired from Ciba-Geigy.



From 1995 to 2000, he worked with Polychem Subsidiary of JLM Industries, Rite Industries, Global Chemical Solutions, and Manufacturers Chemical Co. in sales management and marketing.



He was a 50-year member of the AATCC (American Association of Textiles, Chemists, and Colorists).



Ray was a founding member and active parishioner of St. Stephen Catholic Church in Chattanooga, where he previously served on the parish council and as a lector, and most recently as an usher. He was very active in the Knights of Columbus, Holy Family Council #6099 and was a 4th Degree Knight.



Ray happily spent his retirement years as a volunteer at the Tennessee Aquarium and at Memorial Hospital. He enjoyed dancing with the Choo Choo Shag Club, playing bocce, attending the Chattanooga Symphony, and traveling with friends. He also loved going on beach vacations and spending time with his beloved family.



He was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Mae Bertani of Queens, NY.



He leaves behind his wife of 60 years, Rosemarie Bertani; his sons: Raymond (Michelle) and Chris (Christine) of Chattanooga, TN, David (Elizabeth) of Nashville, TN, and Mike (Susan) of Leeds, AL; seven grandchildren: Nick, Mia, Max, Joey, Will, Liza, and Benjy; brother, Richard (Sue) Bertani of Windsor, CA; nephews and niece: Jon Bertani, Todd Bertani, and Amy Snow; and many close friends.



Everyone who had the privilege of knowing Ray would tell you that he was a well-respected person of great integrity and outstanding character. He was lovingly called Papa and Papa Ray by his grandchildren who cherished and adored him.



Ray and Rosemarie recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. They have been a shining example to all of the true meaning of the sacrament of marriage.



A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 24, at St. Stephen Catholic Church with Father Manuel Perez officiating.



In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Stephens Catholic Church.



Visit www.heritagechattanooga.com to share condolences and view the memorial tribute.



The family will receive friends from 5-8 p.m. (Rosary at 7:45 p.m.) on Thursday, May 23, at Heritage Funeral Home, 7454 E. Brainerd Road.


The STEM School Chattanooga hosted the schools fifth annual Amazon STEM Jubilee event, presented by First Tennessee, at Chattanooga State Community College, May 15 and 16. This annual event introduces elementary school students to a variety of science, technology, engineering, and math-related concepts through hands-on activities with a mission to inspire STEM curiosity and interest.This year, the Amazon STEM Jubilee was attended by over 4,000 elementary students from throughout Hamilton County, making it the largest school-based STEM activity ever to be held in the state of Tennessee. Children attending this years sold-out event experienced student-created STEM-based activities, games, and challenges at over 85 booths. These classroom-tested games and activities included everything from robotics to drones.The activities were developed by STEM School Chattanooga students as a way to develop innovative, engaging, and hands-on experiences to share with schools throughout the county.At Amazon, technology, and innovation fuel our business, and we recognize that the jobs of tomorrow require a stronger aptitude for STEM skills, said Director of Operations Travis Maynard.Were proud to give innovators of tomorrow a leg-up on next-generation skills through impactful education programming at STEM School Chattanoogas Jubilee.STEM School Chattanooga is a magnet school in Hamilton County Schools educating students from each of the nine districts in the County. Founded in 2012, STEM School Chattanooga has approximately 300 students in Grades 9-12. This innovative school is located on the Chattanooga State Community College campus and focuses on science, technology, engineering, and math integration with a mission to develop and share a new paradigm for world-class education using technology as a gateway cultivate students inquisitive nature, exercise innovation, inspire them to think critically and collaborate to become leaders who are self-sufficient learners.Events like the STEM Jubilee allow us to help introduce the importance of STEM education to students, teachers, and families from around Hamilton County, said Dr. Tony Donen, the schools principal.STEM School Chattanooga is one of thirty schools worldwide recognized as a World-Leading Learner School, by America Achieves and its robotics team continues a tradition of mentoring local students and excelling at competitions. Recently, the Fab Foundation celebrated STEM School Chattanooga for prominence in digital fabrication. STEM education and the Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner lauded the school as a model for the rest of the state.The 2019 Amazon STEM Jubilee was presented by First Tennessee, with support from partnerships, including Hamilton County Schools, Chattanooga State Community College, the Creative Discovery Museum, the Girls Preparatory School, the Public Education Foundation and the Signal Mountain Middle High School.
A report on the 2018-19 Tennessees big game hunting seasons will be among the agenda items for the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission at its May 23-24 meeting. It will be held at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agencys Ray Bell Region II Building.



Thursdays committee meetings will begin at 1 p.m. The regular commission meeting starts at 9 a.m., Friday. The public is invited to attend.



A summary of the 2019-20 big game hunting seasons will be given. The turkey season concluded May 12 and harvest numbers continue to be compiled.



An overview of the states biodiversity program will be presented. The discussion will include the aquatic, avian and terrestrial wildlife that makes Tennessee the nations most diverse inland state. The states diverse ecological regions and habitats will also be described.



Revised agency recommendations for hunting regulations for CWD positive and high risk counties will be presented to the commission.



A preview to the Fish Dealer Rule which regulates fish farmers, bait dealers, and catch-out operations will be revisited. The changes would address invasive species issues and specify fish species by scientific name.



The first session of the 111th General Assembly, which concluded earlier this month, will be recapped. Information will be provided on legislative matters from the session relevant to the agency and commission.



An Outreach and Communications Division quarterly report will be given. The report outlines license sales, media coverage, emails sent on CWD, GovDelivery email system performance, email marketing, social media stats, and a summary of things accomplished this quarter. Additionally, the report includes a list of regional outreach efforts and future plans.
Before we get into this weeks Saturday Funnies, I am going to get inside your head. I just found out about a clever trick where you can do percentages without the use of a calculator and every one of you with any wits at all can impress your kids, win bar bets, and move up on the Joy of Living. Further, once you get the hang of this, your IQ will rise by four points.

There is a great instructional video on YouTube by The Math Dude but today we pay tribute to Tim Conway, the all-time king  this year after year  as the most gloriously funny man of our era.

As you know, the jokes we share each week are not written by me. These are sent to me in my email each week by dozens of people and, while some are a bit too frisky, the humor is simply delicious. Dont lose sight that Tim Conway, or his true-to-life best friend Harvey Korman, never did a skit they wouldnt want their children  or yours  to enjoy.

In The Math Dudes classroom, heres what he teaches. Lets say you are tasked with finding out what is 36 percent of 25. Few can do that in their heads  unless you are among the ones who knows that if you simply switch the x and the y, it becomes so easy. The x is 36 and the y is 25 so lets reverse them and suddenly 25 percent (one quarter) of 36 (easily divided into four quarters) is 9. There is your answer.

You simply change numbers to units. Why? 25 percent means 25 units in a total of 100. It is no more than basic math What are percentages? Perhaps the most illuminating thing to know is that the word percent is really just the phrase per cent squashed together. And since cent here means 100 (as in century), we see that the word percent just means per 100. In other words, 10% means 10 per 100, which is the same as the fraction 10/100, or even better, 1/10.

OK  what about 250% of 20? According to our rule, 250% of 20 must be the same as 20% of 250. Since 20% is just 2 x 10%, and since we know that its easy to find 10% of any number by dividing it by 10, we see that 10% of 250 is 250/10 = 25, and therefore that 20% of 250 must be equal to 2 x 25 = 50. According to the handy dandy rule weve just proven to ourselves, the fact that 20% of 250 is equal to 50 means that 250% of 20 must be equal to 50 as well.

But wait a minute. What exactly does it mean that 250% of 20 is equal to 50? And, more broadly, what do percentages greater than 100 signify in the first place? Well, just as something like 36% is equivalent to the fraction 36/100, its also true that something like 250% is equivalent to the fraction 250/100. In other words, the meaning of per-cent hasnt changed, so 250% still means 250 per 100. So, just as we found earlier, 250% of 20 is equal to 250/100 x 20 = 2.5 x 20 which is 50.

Works for me!

* * *

WHOA NELLY! THE TESTICLES FESTIVAL IS TOMORROW IN TEXAS

Fewer than 70 people live in Castell, Texas, which is in the Hill about the same 100 miles from San Antonio or Austin, depending on the easiest route, but tomorrow is the day when folks by the hundreds arrive. Theyll hold the Testicle Festival and you have to be one tough cowboy to enter, but people come from miles. Every spring men and women on horses will rope the young bulls and, with a sharp knife instantly turn a bull into a steer. (This is sometimes called into a heifer but thats wrong -- a heifer is a female cow before she has her first calf.)

Centuries ago a brave cowboy discovered that if you batter a bunch of the gathered bovine glands, or calf ball, as they are known, season each well and then deep-fry to a golden brown, it is a delicacy. They do the same thing to baby pigs, resulting in mountain oysters. The Saturday Funnies recommends you watching the whole thing in laughter, but when time comes to eat, get in the brisket line.

* * *

THE CHILDREN OF THE GREATEST GENERATION

Born in the 1930s and early 40s, the sons and daughters of what later became known as the Greatest Generation, we exist as a very special age group. We are the Silent Generation.

We were the smallest number of children born since the early 1900s. We are the "last ones."

We are the last generation, climbing out of the depression, who can remember the winds of war and the impact of a world at war which rattled the structure of our daily lives for much of our early years.

We are the last to remember ration books for everything from gas to sugar to shoes to stoves.

We saved tin foil and poured fat into tin cans. We helped tear up old sheets to serve as field bandages in the war.

We saw cars up on blocks because tires weren't available.

We can remember milk being delivered to our house early in the morning and placed in the milk box on the porch.

We are the last to see the gold stars in the front windows of our grieving neighbors whose sons died in the War.

We saw the 'boys', home from the war, build their little houses.

We are the last generation who spent childhood without television. Instead, we imagined what we heard on the radio.

As we all like to brag, with no TV, we spent our childhood "playing outside".

We did play outside, and we did play on our own.

There was no little league and not many other organized sports.

There were few city playgrounds for kids.

The lack of television in our early years meant, for most of us, that we had little real understanding of what the world was like.

On Saturday afternoons, the movies gave us newsreels of the war sandwiched in between westerns and cartoons.

Telephones were one to a house, often shared party lines and often hung on the wall.

Computers were called calculators, they only added and were hand cranked. Typewriters were driven by pounding fingers, throwing the carriage, and changing the ribbon.

The internet and GOOGLE were words that did not exist.

Newspapers and magazines were written for adults and the news was broadcast on our table radio in the evening by Gabriel Heatter.

We are the last group who had to find out for ourselves.

As we grew up, the country was exploding with growth.

The G.I. Bill gave returning veterans the means to get an education and spurred colleges to grow.

VA loans fanned a housing boom.

Pent up demand coupled with new installment payment plans put factories to work.

New highways would bring jobs and mobility.

The veterans joined civic clubs and became active in politics.

The radio network expanded from 3 stations to thousands.

Our parents were suddenly free from the confines of the depression and the war, and they threw themselves into exploring opportunities they had never imagined.

We weren't neglected, but we weren't a part of today's all-consuming family focus, where Moms and Dads plan much of their childrens lives.

They were glad we played by ourselves until the street lights came on.

They were busy discovering the post war world. We were busy discovering who we were and how much we were capable of.

We entered a world of overflowing plenty and opportunity; a world where we were welcomed.

We enjoyed a luxury; we felt secure in our future.

We are the last generation to experience an interlude when there were no threats to our homeland.

However, Depression poverty was deep rooted; Polio was still a crippler; and the Korean War was a dark presage in the early 50s.

By mid-decade school children were ducking under desks for regular Air-Raid training.

Russia built the Iron Curtain and China became Red China.

Eisenhower sent the first 'advisers' to Vietnam.

Castro set up camp in Cuba and Khrushchev came to power.

We came of age in the 40s and 50s. The war was over and the cold war, terrorism, global warming, and perpetual economic insecurity had yet to haunt life.

Only our generation can remember both a time of great war, and a time when our world was secure and full of bright promise and plenty. We lived through both.

We grew up at the best possible time, a time when the world was getting better and not worse.

We are the Silent Generation - The "Last Ones"

(More than 90% of us are either retired or deceased, and those of us left should feel privileged to have lived in the best of times"!)

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HERES A JOKE I CAN ONLY WISH WAS THE TRUTH

Senator Bernie Sanders was invited to address a gathering of the Indian First Nations chiefs in Denver, CO.

He spoke for almost an hour about his plans for increasing the standard of living for all of their citizens by totally free government grants for free college educations, free Medicare for all, etc. He mentioned how he always supported these issues that came forward to him. Although Sanders was vague about the details for the funding of his plans, he spoke eloquently about his ideas if he wins the White House in 2020.

At the conclusion of his speech, the chiefs presented him with a beautiful plaque inscribed with his new Indian name, "Walking Eagle."

The proud Sanders accepted the plaque and then returned to Washington.

A news reporter asked the chiefs how they came to select the new name they had given to Sanders.

They explained that "Walking Eagle" is the name given to a bird so full of poop it it can no longer fly.

* * *

THE VIDEO OF THE WEEK .. and, perhaps, of all time. I adored anything with Tim Conway and Harvey Korman. They were the very best of friends, taking their wives and others to dinner every Saturday night for years. Because of this, they could sense what was coming next  or so Korman thought  in the greatest run in live comedy ever. They were far and away the audience favorites on the Carol Burnett Show, which aired live from 1967 until 1978.

In 1969, Harvey Korman and Tim Conway starred in a nine-minute segment about a rookie dentist (played by Tim Conway) and his first patient (played by Harvey Korman). Although the original skit took about nine minutes, the last three minutes would have you rolling on the floor.

Because the skit was live, you couldnt stop for any Take Two but what you also must know is while they would rehearse, Conway would take off into the wild blue yonder with no script, no plan, and leave Korman gasping for breath as Harvey tried to keep the skit alive

I heard the two of them interviewed about the famous The Dentist skit and when Conway first picked up the Novocain shot, Korman had never seen it, nor what was to come  ever. The greatest compliment to Tim Conways genius was that Harvey Korman literally wets his pants!

In another interview, Conway said his most memorable thrill was watching Kormans face throughout the skit and this Wednesday, when Tim finally succumbed to dementia, both actors had admitted this was their personal finest moment. Remember, watch Harveys face. CLICK HERE.

royexum@aol.com
As the city unveils plans for a new and larger and greatly revamped Patten Parkway downtown, a look at this uniquely rectangular piece of property shows an area currently in need of a little tender loving care.

Stones and pieces of granite are missing in places surrounding or near the military memorials, bushes are overgrown, and the dogwood trees have a few dead limbs.

Despite all this, however, it still has a tranquil feel to it  even amid the circling motorists.

In contrast, a look at the sites history in the clipping files at the Chattanooga Public Library shows a place that was not always peaceful, at least in terms of discussions over its upkeep.

And unlike some of its current vegetation, several ideas for unique offerings were often trimmed and scaled back.

Dating back to the 1800s, the small strip of land had been the site of a market house featuring meats and produce as well as a City Hall until the current government building was built on 11th Street in 1908.

And that explains how the city has owned the property until the present time, even though some old newspaper articles pointed out that some people thought  apparently erroneously  that the prominent Patten family owned the land.

As the years passed, the Market House became dilapidated and an eyesore, at least in the eyes of some, so the city tore down the building in 1943 and planted grass in this area between what is now Georgia Avenue and Lindsay Street.

The cleared tract also allowed traffic to flow through the area more easily.

The Patten connection came in 1944, when longtime Mayor Ed Bass suggested that the city name the spot Patten Parkway after the late former business and civic leader Z.C.

Patten. The City Commission agreed by introducing an ordinance.

Mr. Patten, a Union Civil War veteran, had been involved in such business ventures as the Chattanooga Medicine Co. (later Chattem Inc.) and the Hotel Patten, among other endeavors. He was also the father-in-law of early Coca-Cola bottler J.T. Lupton.

That same year, architectural plans by Harrison Gill and Associates were unveiled to modernize the north side of Patten Parkway and put new storefronts east of the Hotel Ross, demolish some structures and have new stores and apartments.

That plan never really materialized, but with the end of World War II and soldiers now home from war, plans were under way by 1948 to memorialize the roughly 700 servicemen from Chattanooga and Hamilton County who died in that war.

And Patten Parkway seemed the ideal place. Summers-Whitehead American Legion Post 14 just across Lindsay Street was involved in the planning and fund raising for the project, as were some local civic leaders. The fund-raising chairman was Jim Moore Sr. of Lovemans department store.

An architectural sketch was drawn up by architect Mr. Gill for a nice stone pedestal with bronze figures on top surrounded by fountains and pools. Unfortunately, the bronze adornment was scaled back along with some of the pool plans due to fund-raising efforts, but organizers planned to put the bronze statue on top at a later date when money was available.

Unfortunately, that later date never occurred.

However, a nice crowd of about 400 braved threatening weather on Feb. 22, 1950, for the dedication of the plaque featuring the hundreds of names under the heading saying, In humility and gratitude this memorial is dedicated to the memory of each son of this city and county who gave his all and to his hope for a better world.

Unveiling the bronze plaque was Hattie Whitehead, the mother of Joseph Whitehead, the first Hamilton County soldier killed in the war.

Local bands from such schools as Red Bank and Chattanooga high schools also played, and religious leaders from the Catholic and Protestants churches and the Jewish synagogues took part.

The featured speaker was American Legion state commander Frank Clement, who would go on to serve as Tennessee governor.

At one point he said of the deceased servicemen, They died for freedom of speech, a free press, a free conscience, their right to worship God in whatever manner we choose. If we lost but one of these rights, our democracy will perish.

The general contractor for the memorial had been Mark K. Wilson.

At the time, news reports said that the memorial as it was cost $15,000, while the price was an additional $10,000 for the bronze figure group.

A low-key fund-raising effort had been made, and Paul Dubrow, the father of David Dubrow, who had been killed in the Pacific Theater, gave $2,500.

Besides the bronze tablet, the memorial also featured Tennessee quartzite and Georgia granite.

At the dedication, around 75 mothers and fathers of deceased servicemen were there, including Mrs. Ralph Bell, who had come all the way from Colorado Springs, Colo.

The names of the deceased who were going on the plaque had been run in the Chattanooga newspapers to make sure no one was inadvertently omitted. They had been obtained from War Department records.

As time went on after the dedication, Patten Parkway became kind of its own war zone, at least of the verbal and disagreeing kind.

In 1959, an anti-tank gun acquired by a subcommittee of the American Legion Post 14 from the Anniston, Al., Ordnance Depot was briefly displayed in Patten Parkway but was removed by a larger Post committee.

An eternal flame was put up in 1969 on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the American Legion, and was turned on simultaneously with others around the country. It was also to honor those who had been killed in Korea and Vietnam.

Unfortunately, the energy crisis of the early 1970s shut it off.

Longtime post commander and former city treasurer and county trustee Carl Levi said some employees of the nearby Volunteer Building gave an eagle for the top of the WWII memorial about that time, but efforts were made to steal it.

He said his father actually welded a ball onto it to make it harder to steal. Today, the eagle and ball are in city of Chattanooga recreation department storage, he said.

The old Post 14 building across Lindsay Street was heavily damaged in a fire on Thanksgiving 1977. Another Post 14 facility was built on Amnicola Highway, but the group now meets in Memorial Auditorium, Mr. Levi said.

However, he said the post still owns the lot across Lindsay Street and is looking with a developer at having a multi-story building constructed on that leased lot, with space for the post to meet.

The post had also helped put a flagpole on the east end of Patten Parkway, and they also had to figure out how to keep the flag rope from being damaged by vandals, Mr. Levi said. He said they later put some hooks to hold the rope farther up the pole, and now they use a fire truck to change the rope or lower and raise the flag.

Perhaps the most memorable confrontation of recent years to occur at Patten Parkway was in 1981, when City Commissioner Jim Eberle and his department made plans to rework the parkway some.

However, before anyone knew about it publicly, Commissioner Eberle, with input from a staff arborist, cut down a mature elm tree on the grounds. This caused outcries from some, including attorney Selma Cash Paty and her office staff/family located just across the street.

Headlines of tree murder splashed across the Chattanooga newspapers for a few days.

In Knoxville just this week, some trees were cut down near that towns popular Market Square, and similar comments have been made in the news media there.

An already developing saw-tooth oak was planted in Patten Parkway, and today it sits quite tall, with a swing hanging from it. Some dogwoods sit on the end closer to Georgia Avenue, although they likely need a little trimming and thinning due to dead branches, as is often the case with dogwoods.

The overgrown bushes down near the dogwoods are thick enough to hide a few of the town mice or maybe provide a nice privacy hedge for a barons estate.

Among the other adornments in the strip, a Marine memorial to those from Hamilton County who died also now stands just west of the World War II plaque.

Mr. Levi said Patten Parkway was also a common place to hold military-related holiday ceremonies and programs before the National Cemetery became the main site.





According to the clipping files at the library, talk of first redoing Patten Parkway in recent years had begun in 2012. That is when the non-profit downtown redevelopment group, River City Co., invited some in the local design and urban planning community to visualize a new and improved Patten Parkway.



And then this past April, Mayor Andy Berke formally announced plans to redevelop Patten Parkway into a larger and redesigned public space with less parking. As part of those plans, which are expected to begin next year, the military memorial markers would be moved to an as-yet-unannounced place.

Mr. Levi, now 88 and the longtime post commander, said he has not been involved in any discussions so far, but hopes to attend meetings in the future. And he has an idea where he would like to see the memorial markers relocated.

My opinion is that Coolidge Park would be the best place, he said of the popular North Shore park named for World War II Medal of Honor recipient Charles Coolidge. It would not take up that much room.

While Patten Parkway has not taken up a lot of room physically, either, it has apparently been large in the minds of the community, many of whom have had a vested interest in it over the years.

Its a unique spot due to its linear shape, but its history has been anything but straight and simple.

Jcshearer2@comcast.net
While its true Meghan Markle is living a fairy tale life the rest of us can only dream of, it certainly cant be easy. She lives her life in the spotlight at times, with fans and media criticizing everything.

To top it off, Meghan is estranged from her half-sister, Samantha Markle, her half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., and her father, Thomas Markle Sr. Samantha, in particular, has not kept quiet in over a year, doing things that are no doubt causing stress for Meghan. The media has stayed on top of the situation the entire time.

Luckily, Meghan has many friends in her corner, especially George Clooney, who is hopeful the media will treat Meghan better now that Baby Archie has arrived.

Meghan Markle has been routinely portrayed in a negative way

Meghan Markle | Chris Jackson/Chris Jackson/Getty Images

There have been situations in which Meghan hasnt exactly been portrayed in the best way by the media. Many of the things that they have said about her can be open to interpretation and have not been confirmed by Kensington Palace or any other reliable source.

The media reported that Meghan was difficult to deal with during preparations for the royal wedding, being a little too demanding at times, and not exactly speaking to royal staff in the friendliest tone of voice. It was also said that she caused Kate Middleton to leave a dress fitting for Princess Charlotte in tears due to Meghans behavior.

The Markle family drama

Fans are well aware of the drama that Meghans family has been causing for over a year. Samantha has gone so far as to travel all the way from Ocala, Florida, to London in order to try to see her sister, only to be turned away by palace security. Meghans father was involved in an incident in which he staged paparazzi photographs before the royal wedding, then canceled his trip to London at the last minute and was unable to walk his daughter down the aisle.

To make matters even more complicated, the family has been somewhat vocal since the birth of Archie Harrison, expressing their desire to meet their newborn family member. The lack of response from Meghan has possibly caused some people to speculate that perhaps she is going too far by not allowing them to meet the new baby.

No one knows what goes on in private

It has been reported over the past year that Meghan is somewhat hard to work for, making demands, and even sending emails to her staff before sunrise. While it may be true that she does this, it certainly does not make her a bad person by any means. Meghan is a hard worker and an early riser, making it no surprise that she expects her staff to go above and beyond to get things done in a timely manner. However, it wasnt long before Meghan was given the rude nickname Me-Gain, which couldnt have been easy for her to deal with. It is impossible to know what goes on behind closed doors, however, we do know that Meghan is a kind-hearted person who would never do anything to cause stress for anyone.

Why George Clooney hopes the media treats Meghan Markle better

George is quite an amazing friend to Meghan. He has said that now that Meghan is a new mom, its his hope that she is treated better by the media. He does not like how the media interviews her parents and calls it a really dark place when that happens. Hopefully, they will take his advice and let her enjoy this new stage of her life without any negativity.
Months after his release from federal prison, Joe Giudice is nowhere near home free. The father of fours 41-month prison sentence came with a deportation order attached, and now he is entangled in a desperate bid to stay in the United States. With one appeal shot down, the 46-year-old Real Housewives of New Jersey star is on his last leg, but it looks like he has some heavy hitters in his corner.

Andy Cohen signed a petition to keep Giudice in the United States

Andy Cohen spoke about Giudices situation at the GLAAD awards where he was being honored, according to Bravo. The powerful TV executive has known Giudice for years and says he hopes the fan favorite will be allowed to stay in the United States.

Following the denial of his last appeal, Gia Giudice, Teresa and Joes oldest daughter, created a Change.org petition. The 18-year-old spoke highly of her father and her desire to see him back home with his children. The familys youngest child, Audrina, is just ten and likely hardly remembers living in a two-parent household. Teresa and Joe Giudice were sentenced to staggered prison terms to ensure one parent was always in the home with the kids.

27 former judges are ready to come to Giudices defense

According to Radar Online, Giudice has some unlikely proponents in his fight to stay in the United States. Court documents have revealed that 27 Amici curiae are requesting permission to speak on the appellants behalf. According to Cornell, an Amici curiae is a friend of the court or an individual who has no stake in the case but wishes to speak on behalf of a party anyway.

Joe Giudice | Photo by: Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Giudices lawyers did win a stay on his deportation on April 25, but he is in no way headed home just yet. His ability to stay in the country is very much in jeopardy, and the next hearing could make or break his case. The use of the former immigration judges could have a positive effect on the outcome.

What happens if Joe gets deported?

While Giudice can only ever remember living in New Jersey, a deportation order would ensure he never steps foot on American soil again. If the process goes through and he is sent back to Italy, Giudice wouldnt be allowed to apply for citizenship for many years, if ever.

Teresa Giudice, who was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for the same crimes, has been pretty outspoken about what she plans to do if Joe ends up back in Italy. She insists that the couple will be forced to go their separate ways. Teresa insists her decision is based solely on the couples four children, but fans think her reasoning is suspect. It has been rumored that Teresa has been dating other men.

The children, three of whom are under the age of 18, will most likely stay in the care of their mother. The couples oldest child, Gia, is set to attend Rutgers University in the fall. The high school senior was also accepted to the University of Scranton, Penn State and the University of Alabama, according to Teresas Instagram story.
Although the royal family speaks English, many of its members are actually bilingual  and some are even multilingual. From French to German to Swahili and Spanish, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Prince William, and many other members of the royal family, including Kate Middleton, know at least one foreign language.



What foreign languages does Kate Middleton speak? Find out, ahead.



Kate Middleton | Chris Jackson/Getty Images

What languages does Kate Middleton speak?



For the most part, Kate Middleton speaks English  especially while visiting countries in the United Kingdom. That said, English isnt the Duchess of Cambridges only language. In addition to English, Kate Middleton can also speak a little French and Italian. However, she admits she needs some practice.



Before going to college, the Duchess of Cambridge spent a gap year in Florence, Italy where she studied art and learned Italian. That said, she doesnt remember much of the language but did manage to say ciao while greeting a fan from the country. How shall we say, ciao? She said to the woman while mingling with a crowd in Leicester in November 2018. The crowd erupted in cheers, but Kate Middleton confessed she needs a refresher. I have to practice my languages, they are so bad, she told the woman. She then noted how she hopes her children can master a foreign language better than she can. My language is so bad, I have to make sure my children are better than me.



Prince George and Princess Charlotte have already started their education foreign language education and speak Spanish with their nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo.



What languages does the royal family speak?



The royal family is chock full of impressive linquest. And while some  like Kate Middleton and Prince Harry  dont remember much of their learnings, others (Prince William) can speak up to five almost fluently. What languages does the royal family speak? Find out, below.



French



Kate Middleton can allegedly speak a little French, but others in the royal family are much more fluent. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles both speak the foreign language. And, their children, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward also speak French. In addition, Prince William and Meghan Markle can speak the foreign language. According to her biography on the royal familys website, she studied French for six years.



Spanish



Prince George and Princess Charlotte arent the only ones with a little Spanish under their belts. Their Aunt Meghan can also speak the foreign language. According to her biography, the Duchess of Sussex learned Spanish while living in Buenos Aires, Argentina for a college internship at the US Embassy.



Welsh



As the Prince of Wales (and future Prince of Wales), Prince Charles and Prince William were both required to learn Welsh. Prince Charles allegedly didnt learn the language until a little later in his life, but he encouraged his son to start learning from a young age. Their fluency is unknown, however, it is believed that they know enough to get by and hold conversations.



Gaelic



Prince William and Prince Charles can also speak a little Gaelic. That said, the type of Gaelic (Irish or Scottish) is unknown as well as their fluency.



Swahili



Africa holds a special place in the royal familys heart, particularly Prince William and Prince Harry who have spent lots of time there. Prince William took his love for the land one step further and taught himself Swahili  the continents most popular language  to better connect with the people there.



German



Prince Philip is fluent in German, as he grew up in a family that spoke the foreign language, plus French and English.



In addition to these foreign languages, some members of the royal family know words and phrases in Russian, Tagalog, and Arabic. They have also learned foreign greetings and incorporated them into speeches and welcomings while on royal tours.



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When it comes to the finances of the British royal family, things can get complicated because they keep so many details private. However, there is no doubt that the British royal family is insanely wealthy, and there is a common belief that Queen Elizabeth is the richest person in the United Kingdom. Its true that the Queen is by far the wealthiest person in her family, but shes not the richest aristocrat in the UK. In fact, shes not even close.

Queen Elizabeth II | Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage

Queen Elizabeth is number 17 on the list

When the Sunday Times of London released their annual Rich List in 2018 of the 1,000 richest people in the UK, Queen Elizabeth came in at number 17 with a net worth of $485 million. The 93-year-olds main source of income is her Crown Estate property portfolio.

The publication calculated the Queens wealth based on land, property, and other quantifiable assets. They didnt include things like bank accounts because there is no public access to that information. While $485 million is a hefty sum, her totals paled in comparison to the wealthiest man in the UK  Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster.

At 28 years old, Grosvenor is not only the richest man in the United Kingdom with a net worth of nearly $13 billion, but he is also the youngest rich person in the Commonwealth.

Where does Queen Elizabeths money come from?

The Queens wealth comes from both public and private income streams. She generates income from a diverse portfolio of assets that includes everything from property to racehorses. She also receives a sovereign grant from the UK Parliament to help with official expenditures.

The grant comes from a percentage of the profits of the Crown Estate, which is worth an estimated $16.7 billion. Recently, her percentage from the estate increased from 15 percent to 25 percent to help cover renovations at Buckingham Palace.

Queen Elizabeth also receives a salary from the Duchy of Lancaster and privately owns Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House.

The entire British royal family is worth an estimated $88 billion, says Brand Finance, a business consultancy firm. But that staggering total doesnt mean they are the wealthiest royals on Earth. That title belongs to the Saudi royal family.

The House of Saud

With more than 15,000 family members, Saudi Arabias House of Saud is worth an estimated $1.4 trillion thanks to the countrys oil reserves. While only about 2,000 members of the family hold the wealth, their net worth still beats the Mountbatten-Windsors sixteen times over.

Just like the Brits, the Saudi royal family keeps their money details private, but it is clear they live a lavish lifestyle filled with private jets, yachts, helicopters, and breathtaking properties. According to CNBC, the Saudi palace is decorated in gold furniture  it even features a gold-plated Kleenex dispenser.

Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (2nd) meets with 41st President George H.W. Bush (2nd L), 43rd U.S. President, George W. Bush and former Secretary of State James and White House Chief of Staff James A. Baker III (Photo by Bandar Algaloud / Saudi Kingdom Council / Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The House of Saud also donates millions to charity and invests heavily in the Saudi people. In 2015, Saudi Arabian monarch King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud  who is personally worth $17 billion  gifted Saudi citizens with $32 billion, and the family also gave the World Bank millions to help female entrepreneurs.

The Kings son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has recently led a war on corruption and forced some of the countrys richest citizens to turn their money over to the state  even some members of his own family.

The Crown Prince also recently enjoyed a shopping spree that included a $450 million Da Vinci painting, a $500 million yacht, and a $300 million French chateau.

King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud receives state medal from Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi | Photo by Bandar Algaloud / Saudi Kingdom Council / Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Im a rich person and not a poor person. Im not Gandhi or [Nelson] Mandela, he told CBS News. Im a member of the ruling family that existed for hundreds of years before the founding of Saudi Arabia. I spend at least 51 percent on people and 49 on myself.
Before The Beatles headed to America for their first tour of the States, Paul McCartney wanted one thing: a No. 1 hit. With a single atop the U.S. charts, Paul figured the band would have more opportunities and less chance of opening for a second-rate act.

When I Want to Hold Your Hand arrived in record stores in December 1963, the early returns looked promising. Sales were heavy right away and enthusiasm was high. With the Fab Fours appearance on Ed Sullivan only eight days away, it grabbed No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The idea of The Beatles opening for other bands basically died that day, and another 19 chart-topping hits would follow. Even though McCartneys songwriting partnership with John Lennon changed over the years, the two bandmates always had songs published with both their names on them.

In 1970, after The Beatles had broken up, fans heard the last Lennon-McCartney song that would top the U.S. charts.

The Long and Winding Road hit No. 1 on June 13, 1970.

The Beatles perform their song All You Need Is Love on June 25, 1967 in London, England. (L-R) Paul McCartney, John Lennon. | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

While it was listed as a Lennon-McCartney song, The Long and Winding Road was all Pauls. According to The Beatles Bible, he wrote the track at his farm in Scotland in 1968 and the band worked on it during the sessions that became Abbey Road and Let It Be.

Those recording dates, immortalized in the Let It Be documentary, took place in January 1969. However, the tracks used on the eponymous album (the Beatles last) were not completed by the band and George Martin. Paul was basically on his ownby then.

That meant Lennon, Ringo, and George Harrison needed a producer to finish Let It Be in early 70. Lennon got Phil Spector  he of Wall of Sound fame  on the job. Spector went big with the takes of The Long and Winding Road, adding orchestration and a choir part.

The remixing he did in the studio led to major disagreements between Paul, Spector, and Beatles manager Allen Klein, whom Paul opposed at every turn. Yet Pauls protests over Spectors changes fell on deaf ears. Klein pushed the record through, and Spector later gloated.

Meanwhile, Paul raged with anger. But that chapter of his life would end successfully  at No. 1  whether he liked it or not.

We Can Work It Out might be the last real Lennon-McCartney No. 1.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney of The Beatles arrive at London Airport, 16th May 1968. | George Stroud/Express/Getty Images

By the mid-60s, Lennon-McCartney songs had either John or Paul behind them, and it isnt terribly hard to tell them apart. Looking at the bands biggest hits, you could hear a few bars of Come Together or Hey Jude and know which songwriting titan was behind it.

Earlier in their career, it was much harder. With I Want to Hold Your Hand, the bands first No. 1, John described it as writing music nose to nose. One came up with a chord; another added a few lyrics; and so on, till the end.

Looking back, the last real Lennon-McCartney collaboration might have been We Can Work It Out. Released in late 1965, it featured a verse and chorus by Paul and the impatient middle eight by John. (Life is very short is the giveaway.)

We Can Work It Out hit No. 1 in January 66. At the time, no one could have known that an era just ended.

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Despite being one of the most popular shows on television and boasting an enormous fan base, Outlander has historically done poorly at the Emmys. We are only a few months away from this years award season, and fans are already speculating if Outlander star Sam Heughan will finally get nominated for Best Drama Actor for his portrayal of Jamie Fraser in Season 4.

Sam Heughan | Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Sam Heughan gets snubbed in past Emmys

Heughan has yet to receive an Emmy nomination in the first three seasons of Outlander. Heughans on-screen romance and fellow lead, Caitriona Balfe, has also been snubbed over the years. With the series receiving high ratings and critical praise, there has been a lot of speculation that Heughans good looks are what hinders him in the nomination process.

Fans hope that, after three years under his belt, the Emmy voters will look past Heughans dashing looks and finally give him credit for his consistent performance.

While Sam Heughan and Balfe have failed to garner an Emmy nomination, the show has been represented in a few categories. According to Gold Derby, the series usually gets at least one nomination for set work, costumes, or musical score, though it has yet to actually win. Hopefully, that will change this year as Season 4 of Outlander proved another strong outing for Heughan and company.

Heughan delivers another great performance in Season 4

Sam Heughan was introduced in the first season of Outlander as Jamie Fraser, a rough Scottish hunk who falls in love with a time-traveling nurse named Claire Randall (Balfe). The series is based on Diana Gabaldons highly acclaimed books, with executive producer Ronald D. Moore leading the adaptation.

Season 4 was based on Gabaldons Drums of Autumn, while the upcoming season, which is currently in production, comes from the fifth book in the franchise, The Fiery Cross.

Season 4 of Outlander explored Jamie and Claires journey in the New World. This included setting up a new home for themselves and reuniting with their daughter, Brianna (Sophie Skelton), who traveled back in time with her husband, Roger (Richard Rankin).

The upcoming season will continue Jamie and Claires story in North Carolina as the couple faces increasing tensions brought on by the forthcoming American Revolution. Starz has yet to announce when the new season of Outlander will premiere, though the series is expected to return later this year.

Sam Heughan is up against some stiff competition

At this point, there is no telling if Heughan will actually get a nomination this year. Unfortunately, the Outlander star is up against some tough competition and it will be difficult getting a nomination, let alone winning an award. The one positive note is that last years winner, Matthew Rhys, who starred on The Americans, is not in the running. Jeffrey Wright and Ed Harris of Westworld are also not in contention.

Milo Ventimiglia, from This is Us, and Jason Bateman, from Ozark, are both expected to receive nominations. That leaves three open slots for Best Drama Actor, giving Heughan one of his best shots yet.

Rounding out the competition are Game of Thrones Kit Harington, Ray Donovans Live Schreiber, Bodyguards Richard Madden, and Better Call Sauls Bob Odenkirk. Voting for the upcoming Emmys ends on July 16, so there is plenty of time for Heughan to make a run.

What Emmy categories could Outlander win?

Apart from Sam Heughan, Outlander has some high expectations for this years Emmys. Balfe has a really good chance to land a nomination in the category of Best Drama Actress, especially after she received one for the Golden Globes.

Outlander season 4: Sam Heughan, Caitriona Balfe, more submitting to Emmys https://t.co/NubutQedoK  #Heughligans (@Heughligans) May 14, 2019

There is also an outside chance that Skelton and Rankin receive nominations for best supporting actor and actress in a drama. The two did an amazing job in Season 4 and totally deserve a mention.

Outlander is also in the running for Best Drama Series, though it is admittedly a long shot in that category. Starz also submitted Maria Doyle Kennedy in the category of Best Drama Guest Actress for her part as Aunt Jocasta. The show did not, however, submit Tobias Menzies for Best Drama Guest Actor.
Christian coffee company to donate 100 cars to struggling single moms in need

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A Christian-owned pro-life coffee company in South Florida has launched an initiative to use profits to gift 100 cars to struggling single mothers in need and has already assisted the mother of a severely autistic teen.

Burly Man Coffee, a Stuart-based subscription coffee service launched last December, gifted in March a four-door Kia sedan to Celeste Bokstrom, the mother and full-time caretaker of her 16-year-old non-verbal autistic son, Logan.

Bokstrom and Logan live in a makeshift apartment inside a single-car garage in Lake Worth. The mother is forced to use a hotplate as a stove and hasn't owned a vehicle for the past four years.

You do what you got to do when you are a mom, Bokstrom said in a video produced by the coffee company. It is a battle. It is all about keeping him happy. If he is happy. We are all happy. Generally, he is a happy child.

Bokstrom said she once saved up $2,000 to purchase a car for her family. But when she went to register the car with the state, she was informed that it was a stolen car and she could not keep it.

Having taken her so long to save up the money, she said she was devastated to have lost it all in a moment.

But Bokstrom and her son were provided with a hand-up after Burly Man Coffee owners, Jeremy and Tiana Wiles, heard about the familys struggles.

I think that God looks down and He sees you stuck, Jeremy Wiles told Bokstrom. He doesnt want you to be stuck. We thought we would do something to keep you moving forward.

In addition to a new car, Bokstrom and her son were gifted with an iPad, a tool that will help him communicate and provide comfort when he is upset. The company also gifted other resources that will help with Logans caretaking.

The mother was also treated to a shopping spree, a surprise party with her friends and a salon makeover.

To me, this is a lot more than gifts, she said in the video. This is making my life and my sons life better in every way.

The Wiles also connected Bokstrom with Michael Cohen, the director of Center for Brain in Jupiter, Florida, an institution that has helped treat thousands of severely autistic children.

Cohen is a leading expert in the field of neurofeedback and has agreed to treat Logan for free.

Neurofeedback is a therapy that helps patients stabilize their emotions and rewire their brain. The therapy has even helped patients to speak.

I had no idea this was going to happen to me, Bokstrom said in a statement. I had faith and believed that God knew my struggles, but I never expected this. Receiving a car has changed my world. And Logan is now getting the help he deserves. Im so grateful. Burly Man Coffee has changed our lives for the better.

A news release explains that Burly Man Coffees goal is to donate 100 cars to single mothers as a way to fight the dangerous agenda to shame American men with a message on toxic masculinity.

There are single moms barely staying afloat because some men have abandoned ship. Burly Man Coffee has stepped up to fill in the gap and provide relief by meeting their most critical needs, Tiana Wiles said. This is an opportunity to demonstrate what real men do: they take care of those in need. If we can change the life of a mother and her child for the better, then we are doing something right.

Jeremy Wiles assured that not all men are barbaric, sexist, misogynistic, racist monsters.

We associated the term being Burly with being a man who is brave, kind, generous, and patriotic. Our brand represents every hard-working American whose virtues have more value than the toxic agenda being shoved in their faces, Wiles stressed.

The fast-growing number of people joining the coffee club is a clear indicator that people appreciate great coffee and want to partner with a company that uses their hard-earned dollars to represent their values.

On the companys website, Wiles wrote that Burly Man Coffee hopes to play a small part in not only strengthening the country but also restoring some of the values and principles that have been lost.

As a Christian, I think we should have products and businesses we can use that support the values we believe in, Jeremy Wiles wrote.

The company also assures that it is pro-life. While coffee giant Starbucks financially supports the nations largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, Wiles condemned companies that pour millions of dollars into movements that do not protect life, faith, and values.

Were putting our money where our mouth is, so that good folks can put their mouth where their values are, Wiles explained. We support struggling single moms and families with every purchase. Through our charitable program, we are able to help struggling mothers get back on their feet by providing food, clothing, vehicles, assistance with mounting bills, medical care, and sustainable financial planning.
Focus on what made Jesus mad to know God's heart, says pastor

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Believing Jesus would be disappointed in how the Church is handling controversial issues today  from the LGBT community to alcohol  Pastor Tim Harlow is challenging Christians to re-examine what truly made the Son of God mad.

I believe Jesus would be angry with the way the Church is responding to things today, even if theyre theologically correct, Harlow told The Christian Post. We have an image problem, and I believe Jesus would tell us we have an image problem. People on the outside are watching us debate these issues, and theyre deciding they dont want whats on the inside.

Thats not to say theology doesnt matter, but how we deal with these things does matter, he added. Jesus was angry at those whose attitudes got in the way of his purpose: To seek and to save the lost, to unite us with God's amazing love.

In his forthcoming book, What Made Jesus Mad: Rediscover the Blunt, Sarcastic, Passionate Savior of the Bible, Harlow, senior pastor of Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park, Illinois, identifies the issues that most angered Jesus and urges believers to align their hearts with His, thus getting back to actually following the Savior.

Harlow told CP that to truly know someone, its important to identify what makes them angry  not what makes them happy. Its important, then, to ask the question: What made Jesus mad? rather than the cliche What would Jesus do?

Oftentimes, we focus on the gentle, sweet image of Jesus, but in reality, He often got angry, Harlow said. Interestingly, what most often made Jesus mad were the church leaders, the Pharisees, and religious zealots; the representative authorities acting on behalf of God. If Jesus was mad at those people, what would He think today?

When Jesus got angry, He was only angry at those blocking access to God, he continued. He didnt get angry at the adulteress and the tax collector; He got angry at those in the Church who were supposed to know better.

In the Gospels, Jesus was angered by the hypocrisy, greed, judging, and lack of mercy coming from the hearts of people who supposedly followed God, Harlow contended. His anger is perhaps most evident in His response to those who were making a profit by exchanging money and selling animals at the temple (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18; John 2:13-22).

In those passages, Jesus overturns tables out of righteous anger, Harlow said. Its fascinating: I always thought His anger stemmed from the money chargers charging too much money. But actually, He was angry because they were selling their wares in the Court of the Gentiles, crowding out those who had traveled to worship.

I dont believe the cause of Jesus anger was the merchants selling too much, he continued. I believe He was angry because they were getting in the way of people trying to worship God.

Harlow came to Parkview Christian Church in Chicagos southwest suburbs in 1990, when it was a church of 150 people in a mostly unchurched area. Since then, Parkview has grown into a multisite church on a mission, reaching nearly 8,000 people every weekend.

The pastor told CP that for nearly three decades, hes worked with people who have baggage from their past church experiences. His heart, he said, is for the prodigal and sharing with them the hope that will bring them back to Christ.

Getting on our high horse and alienating people gets in the way of what God is trying to do, he emphasized. We get up and preach about issues, whether its about LGBT rights or alcohol, but we dont often look at ourselves and how were approaching things. Theologically, the Pharisees were correct that Jesus wasnt supposed to work on the Sabbath. But He held to a higher ideal than the rules.

My point, he added, is not to look at the religious leaders and Pharisees as jerks or demonize anyone or take sides on an issue, but to interpret their actions to make sure Im not doing the same thing. Today, Im an acting authority  I have a whole church trusting me as an acting authority on behalf of God. Its an introspective book thats the result of a 10-year journey.

When asked how Christians can respond like Jesus when people conspire to keep others from Gods presence, Harlow responded, It depends on whether theyre in the house or out of the house.

The pontificators on social media, the people that have an agenda, the people that want to gripe, theres not much I can do about them, the pastor said. The best thing the Church can do is love those furthest away.

The Church, Harlow said, would look vastly different if it truly paid attention to what angered Jesus and loved the least of these. Far too many churches today have older brother syndrome, he said, referencing the parable of the Prodigal Son, in which the older brother represents the rule-following Pharisees.

When people see the older brother, the prodigal doesnt get to come home, he said. I dont think there would be enough room for the people that would want to come home to the Father if we could get the older brother out of the way.

Yes, it would be messy as heck, Harlow added. Church is going to be messy, but whenever I find the Church acting like Jesus and taking seriously the way Jesus portrayed His Fathers love to the people around them, I cant find enough room to put them."

When you open the door up to the people who have been looking for the love of the father they knew was there, they just didnt think they deserved it, the Church will be unstoppable," he concluded. "That is Christianity at its best.
SBC President JD Greear talks new book, Trump-supporting evangelicals, and complementarianism

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Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear is calling on American churches to put Gospel evangelism above all other issues, including politics, social justice and worship preferences.

In the upcoming book, Above All: The Gospel is the Source of the Church's Renewal, the lead pastor of The Summit Church of Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, exhorts American churches to be more active in evangelism.

What the church needs now is what the church has always needed  a return to the Gospel. This isnt nostalgia for a bygone age. Im not, in the words of one pundit, 'sacrificing the future in search of the past,' and Im not trying to make anything great again. What I am trying to do is show us that the only way to save the future is by going back to the very beginning, wrote Greear.

This book is intended to be a wrenching look at how secondary things  quite often good things, sometimes even necessary things  have displaced the Gospel as the main focus in the life of the church.

In an interview with The Christian Post on Tuesday, Greear explained that he believed it's not that most churches in the West have made any kind of conscious decision to go away from the Gospel, but rather allowed secondary things to be elevated as the essential thing.

In First Corinthians 15, Paul says that the Gospel was of first importance to him. First importance implies that there are other important things in the church. And there certainly are. And Paul talked about a lot of things, but this one is of first importance, said Greear.

Its got to be what were characterized by; its got to be what were identified by. I believe the Gospel should both be the source of the churchs power and renewal and  the proclamation of the Gospel ought to be the focus of our mission.

Greear also said that while things like community ministry and social justice can be really good, nevertheless doing them without Gospel proclamation is only making people more comfortable as theyre headed to Hell.

Politics is another one, he added. I think politics is very important, but I know that for me to get involve in political agendas would hinder my ability to preach the Gospel to all people.

Ill always tell our church, I might be wrong about global warming, but Im not wrong about the Gospel. So I dont want to let my opinions about the former ever keep people from hearing me on the latter. So I will deliberately show some restraint in how I talk about things so that I can make sure that people have plenty of bandwidth and opportunity to hear the Gospel.

CP talked with Greear about his new book, plus other topics like how evangelical churches should respond to the 2020 election cycle and how The Summit Church seeks to follow the complementarian model of church leadership while also allowing women to serve as teachers. Here are excerpts from the interview.

CP: In the book, you talked about how in order to multiply the church, pastors need to shift their focus from "seating capacity" to "sending capacity." What advice would you give pastors who focus on seating capacity to shift to sending capacity?

Greear: Theres often a false dichotomy put forward in churches in the West, and that is some churches focus on growing wide and other churches focus on growing deep. And it almost seems as though they are mutually exclusive.

So even the church conference circuit, you got conferences that are designed to have you grow your church and youve got ones that are focused more on taking your people deep.

What I believe from studying the Bible is that depth and width are never at odds and that those who grow wide without growing deep are not really as wide as they think are, because Heaven counts disciples, not converts.

And those who grow deep without growing wide are probably not as deep as they think because depth and the Gospel always leads to an urgency in evangelism. And if were ever going deep with Jesus, and its not leading us to reach out wide in our witness and our serving and our meeting need, it means that were not really as deep in the Gospel as we probably think we are.

CP: In Chapter 5, you wrote: "evangelicals have lost a lot of moral authority in recent years because of our apparent willingness to wink at sin when it serves our interests." Would you say this has been a bigger problem in 2016 as opposed to earlier years like the 1980s or has this always been an issue with evangelicals in politics?

Greear: Well, typically what happens is these kinds of situations they dont create problems in us, they reveal them. And what weve seen, I think, is that some of us are too willing to go along with sin if we feel like it strategically works out well for us.

I am not trying to say that anybody who voted for Trump or anybody that votes for any candidate, I am not trying to say that they are hopelessly compromised. But I am saying that when we are willing to excuse and even brush away, when were willing to not preach about sin because were afraid that it will somehow put us out of favor with the powers that be, well that shows that weve got our priorities out of order, the Gospel is not above all. It shows that weve got power above all or weve got influence above all.

I certainly think that candidates in both political parties who are not Christians, I think both of them can advocate helpful and unhelpful things. And I think sometimes we have to, politically we have to choose which is going to be better for the country. Sometimes that means voting for a candidate who you dont agree with everything they say or do, but thats not the same as capitulating to those parties and failing to say, thus says the Lord.

Adrian Rogers was a great Southern Baptist leader of the past. He was invited to the White House several times during the Reagan administration. Sometimes he went, but he was always very clear that I dont come here to be a stooge on the stage for you, to be a good photo-op to make it look like hey, the church is behind you. He said, I come here as a prophet of God to say thus says the Lord. And I will speak affirmatively on the things that you are doing that are consistent with peace and biblical principles and the areas that are not, I will say thus says the Lord the other way.

I just want to make sure that we can keep our conscience and keep clarity on those things. Put the Gospel above all, not political influences.

CP: What do you believe evangelical churches should do differently in the 2020 election cycle as opposed to 2016?

Greear: We have to be clear on the things that we disagree with as much as we champion the things that we agree with in our particular candidate.

A friend of mine named George Yancey, hes an African-American sociologist, he said, I dont have a problem with a Christian who evaluates all the different things at stake in the election and believes that Trump is the better of the two options. He says, I dont have a problem with that, but if thats you, your voice ought to be the loudest one speaking out against things that Trump says or does that are damaging to other people in ways that trouble you.

He said, because if people know that you voted for them  Im not faulting you for doing that, but you need to be clear that youre not OK with these other things.

If you feel like that at the end of the day Trump is the right one or the better of the options, be clear about the dignity of the immigrant. Be clear about the need for righteousness and purity in our leaders. Be clear about how much you dislike him speaking in a way that denigrates other people and doesnt respect their dignity, whether it is political opponents or people from other nations.

On the other side, if at the end of the day you look at it and feel like whoever the Democratic candidate is, you feel like that of all the different things, this is the better of the options, well thats great. Make sure youre clear about the wickedness of abortion. Make sure youre clear about the preciousness of religious liberty and the right of conscience, and the fact that people need to have the dignity to make their own choices and to provide for themselves. Just make sure youre clear about whatever it is that is on the other side from where you voted.

CP: In Chapter 8, you covered the "worship wars" and how you believe that worship service preferences are still one of the big reasons why people "either leave our church for another or come to us from a different one." What do you believe are ways a church can curb departures based on worship preferences?

Greear: The sense in which we have a certain kind of worship that culturally resonates with how we want to express ourselves, theres nothing wrong with that. But what I think is problematic is when that particular style becomes more important than the mission of our church. I tell people that our churchs music is not necessarily my favorite. ... Because Im the one who has the most influence here, I dont just try to make my preferences what we do. Were asking the question, "what helps us best reach the people were trying to reach" and were always running it through that grid.

What helps reach this community? And if it means going more modern and contemporary, then that is what you should do. If it means adding more Gospel or more so-called ethnic flair during your music, then man thats what you should do. If it means going more traditional, that's what you should do.

CP: Moving away from the book, as I understand back in March you announced your church's intention to draft an official paper on allowing women an expanded role in teaching. What is the status of this effort and how do you respond to the claim that this goes against biblical standards for the roles of women in the church?

Greear: Functionally, there is a paper I have out right now on my blog called Can Women Teach in the Church? That is the essence of it. What were talking about is a more polished version of it. And well probably put that out in early July.

Theres not anything substantively different in it than whats in that article, Can Women Teach in the Church? or what were not already practicing. Basically, its trying to say that theres been a false dichotomy put forward in the church, we think, in the complementarian world. And that is youre either an egalitarian who believes that women and men have no distinctive roles in the church or you assume that women can only do secondary roles, that leadership gifts are not as important to them.

What we believe is that women have access to the same spiritual gifts that men do. They dont use them in the same roles that men use them in, but they have the same gifts, and we need to be as devoted to platforming and elevating their gifts as we are those of our sons. In order for the church to thrive, both our sons and daughters have to thrive.

Its meant that we have looked through all of our staff positions and asked: "can a woman do this position without having to have the authority of an elder? Can a non-elder, a non-pastor elder do this job?" If so then we would say, maybe we traditionally only consider men for this job. But we should consider people of both genders [for this other job] because it can be done without the authority of a pastor or an elder.

We dont want to have our position where she either occupies a role as a pastor-elder or even implies that she does. So we have also chosen that because the Sunday morning sermon is so closely associated with the authority of the church, we dont have a woman that delivers that sermon. We believe that that would be a violation of 1 Timothy 2.

However, weve had women whove shared during the Sunday morning service in ways that showed that they were not the ultimate teaching authority.

Women ought to be using their teaching gifts and writing, [but] in a way that respects the order of 1 Timothy 2 and 3 that doesnt either occupy pastor-elder or functionally look like they are.
Unmasking the Horrors of Rent-a-Womb Inc.: A Review of '#Big Fertility: It's All About the Money'

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If you know of any woman considering becoming a surrogate mom, I implore you, please move heaven and earth to convince her not to proceed.

Really, I mean it, pull out all the stops and tell her in no uncertain terms to steer completely clear of surrogacy, especially if she is being enticed by the sums of money offered in fertility agency ads. Might I also suggest that you send her a copy of "Big Fertility: It's All About the Money," a recently released documentary by the Center for Bioethics and Culture, which I just watched over the weekend.

Before I go any further, I must say that I am a huge fan of the work of the filmmakers, the CBC's Jennifer Lahl and Matthew Eppinette, as I have engaged them both a few times in the past couple of years while reporting on bioethics issues here at The Christian Post. I can always count on them for insightful comments on the most morally complex and sensitive of topics that far too few Christians consider. And last year I interviewed Jennifer about this very film just before she traveled to South Dakota to shoot it. (Full disclosure: I am also a contributor to this project via their Kickstarter campaign).

Regrettably, like so many other large industries, "Big Fertility" effectively explains what the fertility industry is ultimately concerned about no matter how many lives it wrecks: money.

And that wreckage is plentiful and gut-wrenching. Yet all too often, the harms inherent in this industry go unseen because commercial surrogacy is almost always portrayed in U.S. media as a sweet, wonderful thing. Key to this portrayal is the cunning way in which it is marketed, appealing to women who want to "help" someone who for whatever reason cannot have a child on her own, without disclosing any of the serious health risks.

The film recounts in riveting detail the journey of three-time surrogate Kelly Martinez and her husband Jay, a couple originally from Iowa who thought that third party reproduction could be a good option for them. They were economically disadvantaged and wanted to get ahead financially. Kelly had always had relatively easy pregnancies with her own children and because of that did not believe it would be a particularly burdensome venture. But as Lahl often points out, you'll never hear of a Hollywood celebrity offering to be a surrogate for her low-income housekeeper. It's the rich who can buy; it is poor women who are the ones selling their eggs and renting out their wombs.

Kelly would soon find out there is much more to it than what the fertility agencies say in their glossy brochures and sophisticated presentations.

In a compelling 45 minutes, Kelly bravely shares her vulnerabilities and hesitations she had as she faced hurdles she didn't see coming when she signed up to be a surrogate. From firsthand experience she authoritatively exposes the bullying and other abusive dynamics that were set in motion when artificial reproductive operators and their clients became the overseers of her life in such intimate fashion. Because of all the costs and fees associated with these arrangements as the desired baby is essentially being bought, the intended parents  the "buyers," if you will  get to stipulate their many demands and preferences in the surrogacy contracts. And often their requirements are appallingly slavish. The surrogate mothers have no choice but to obey them if they want to be compensated.

Kelly's first surrogate pregnancy was for two men  using a donor egg from an unnamed woman  from France who gave the impression they were legally married when they were not and who asked her to be deceptive in the mountains of legal paperwork in order for them to take the child back to Europe.

Although it was a difficult ordeal, Kelly opted to become a surrogate a second time, this time using the intended mother's egg and intended father's sperm. She thought it would be better than the first go round because the couple was from the same state and the paperwork and politics that come with transactions across international borders would not be an issue, and the additional money was a needed bonus. But while the second surrogate pregnancy was relatively normal, the intended mother fell gravely ill as a result of the egg extraction process and almost died, causing Kelly great psychological distress. That couple is now divorced, compounding the trauma.

But the third surrogacy was by far the most horrifying and the film spends considerable time explaining how it went in detail. A couple from Spain that liked Kelly's online profile hired her to be their surrogate and they paid the fertility agency for twins, a boy and a girl. Kelly was never informed of this and after the embryos were implanted, the female embryo split off and the male embryo divided. She was pregnant with twin boys, and although it was not Kelly's fault the Spanish couple became furious with her.

Then they put her through pure hell. I really don't want to give too much away here, but the things they said and did were staggeringly awful.

Once the babies were born the couple took them home to Spain, and Kelly almost died as a result of the medical complications that happened with this pregnancy and ended up being saddled with thousands of dollars in medical debt. Creditors began harassing her for the money because although the fertility agency said they would pay for it all, they did not, and the charges were in her name. The agency only paid the bill when the Martinezes threatened to come to Spain along with Lahl, whom I'm sure they fear and loathe.

Lahl is to be commended for her tireless work on behalf of Kelly and others.

Interspersed between Kelly and Jay's accounts of the events, she supplies expert commentary explaining how these systems often work, drawing upon her background as a pediatric critical care nurse, hospital administrator and bioethcist. The bottom line is that the fertility industry profits handsomely off the bodies of women, and there is much money to be made with every procured pregnancy. Monetizing the womb, Lahl stresses in the movie, is not an ethical nor healthy approach to real fertility medicine.

And Kelly's story is not particularly unique, she explains. Aspects of her ordeal mirrors those of many women who have been similarly exploited. These women reach out to Lahl in desperation because they have nowhere else to turn.

"Big Fertility" concludes by forcefully asserting why surrogacy is not only unwise but is an injustice, a gross human rights violation.

I concur completely.

Surrogacy is indeed a form of child trafficking that enslaves women, treating them as though they are livestock to be bred for the desires of the wealthy. No matter how cutting edge the medical technology and carefully worded the legal contracts, there is simply no ethically right or noble way to do it. Additionally, it represents the very worst of predatory capitalism, exploiting the economically disadvantaged who are often racial minorities. Human beings are not commodities to be rented, bought and sold. Every Christian should vigorously oppose it, and I must add here that it distresses me greatly to encounter so many sincere believers who have never thought through this issue and its implications.

Our society rightfully forbids a pregnant woman from selling her baby to would-be parents after the child is born, yet somehow has no objection if cash-seeking lawyers and businessmen book a woman's uterus for a baby pre-pregnancy. This is scandalous.

When testifying earlier this year in Washington state against a bill legalizing commercial surrogacy (which passed and was signed into law, unfortunately), Lahl recounted her interactions with the many women she knows who have been gravely damaged in these arrangements.

She inquired of legislators (see video below), urging them to reconsider the legislation: "How many? How many children must be harmed? How many women must be harmed?"

We should all be asking ourselves such questions.
Latter-day Saints Church drops Mormon, LDS from mobile apps, tools

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that they have dropped the names LDS and Mormon from their mobile apps and tools in keeping with a recent decision by church leadership over how the religious group should be labeled.

In an announcement released Thursday, the LDS church explained that the name changes were made to align with recent direction from church leaders regarding the naming of church products.

The terms LDS and Latter-day Saint should not be used to qualify objects, such as temples, scriptures or doctrine, that belong to the Lord or His church, stated the religious group.

Instead of Latter-day Saint temples, for example, the appropriate references would be temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or house of the Lord.

Specific changes listed by the LDS church included: LDS Tools changed to Member Tools, LDS Media Library changed to Gospel Media, Mormon Messages changed to Inspirational Messages, LDS Music changed to Sacred Music, and LDS Sing-Along changed to Sing-Along Hymns.

Various other services and mobile apps, such as LDS Seminary and Institute, will simply remove LDS from the name, added the church.

In August of last year, President Russell M. Nelson announced that they would no longer use shortened names like "Mormon" and "LDS Church" to identify themselves.

"The Lord has impressed upon my mind the importance of the name He has revealed for His church, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," stated Nelson at the time.

"We have work before us to bring ourselves in harmony with His will. In recent weeks, various church leaders and departments have initiated the necessary steps to do so."

Among the entities given a name change was the renowned musical ensemble the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which officially became The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square last October.

Ron Jarrett, president of the famed music organization, said in a statement last year that the new name for the choir "will represent a change after so many years."

"But we have always been a forward-looking people, and we are focused on what is not changing: the world-class musicianship, the inspiring arrangements and programming, and our weekly Music and the Spoken Word broadcast continuing a tradition begun 90 years ago," stated Jarrett in 2018.

"The name may change, but everything that people know and love about the choir will not only be the same but will get better and better."

In response to the news, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler said in a podcast that he believed the name change was the LDS church making "a truth claim" and reaffirming their belief that "all other Christian churches are not real churches."

"The official teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, popularly known as the Mormons, is that their church is the restoration of the true Church, which had disappeared on earth between the time of the disciples, properly the Apostles, all the way until Joseph Smith in the United States in the 19th century," said Mohler last year.

"Notice the definite article, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In that name, there is a clear claim to identity with Jesus Christ, but a clear claim of discontinuity and absolute distance from the church from the time of the Apostles until Joseph Smith."

Mohler added that "there is far more than the question of nomenclature when the president of the Mormon church says that Mormons shall no longer be known as Mormons."

"That's not just a name, it's a claim. It's a truth claim and evangelical Christians had better understand it clearly," said Mohler.
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America is waking up to the horror that is abortion  and her anger is manifested in state legislation banning abortions well beyond the precedent set in Roe v. Wade.

The pro-life generation (and more experienced generations) are attempting to bring Roe down hard. Pro-choice advocates are not happy, and theyre coming up with some extremely creative false narratives in attempts to undermine the virtue of the pro-life community.

Consider the following:

1. Were pro-life up to birth, but after that we dont care.

When I first started in professional journalism in summer 2017, the headlining story was about a baby in the U.K. who was suffering from a muscular deterioration condition that was just as aggressive as it was rare, and only experimental treatments existed outside of the U.K.

The babys name was Charlie Gard. Gards parents desperately wanted the opportunity for experimental treatment  but the U.K. high court would not allow young Charlie to be released from the hospital.

If it isnt yet obvious, baby Charlie had already been born. If the pro-life community was merely pro-birth, they wouldnt have concern for Charlie Gard. Yet leaders in the pro-life movement were fiercely advocating for Charlies release and treatment. Catherine Glenn Foster, president of Americans United for Life, was corresponding with me while she was literally in the courtroom in the U.K. as an advocate for Charlie. Foster wasnt the only advocate for Charlie. Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America, Lila Rose, president of Live Action, and Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America all advocated for Charlie and his parents.

2. Were anti-woman.

Noting the last half of the above paragraph will show you that todays pro-life leaders, who lead large and impactful anti-abortion organizations, are women. So unless we have women leading anti-women agendas, this lie is rather silly. Along this false narrative is the idea that white men are the influencers behind this pro-life agenda.

While men are certainly involved, and should be, women are still at the helm. Pro-choice advocates were quick to point out that 25 white men voted in support of the recent anti-abortion law out of Alabama, but theyre conveniently silent on the fact that the bill was sponsored by two women and signed into law by a woman.

3. We dont care about the mother.

Similar to the first lie, pro-lifers are accused of only caring about the baby and not the mother. But this too is false. Crisis pregnancy centers across the country, which far outnumber Planned Parenthood and other abortive facilities, provide medical, financial, and counseling support for women who would otherwise choose to have an abortion. Pro-life leaders and educators routinely raise awareness about the emotional and physical trauma that haunt post-abortive mothers.

We care about the mother, so much so that we take proactive measures to protect her from the horrific post-abortive nightmares that many women have shared about. We care about the mother so much that we speak the truth of empowerment to her that she can have a coexisting career and motherhood, such as the likes of Judge Amy Cony Barrett, which leads to my next point.

4. Were anti-career.

A common argument for abortion is that it provides the opportunity for women to advance in their careers, since many believe they cannot participate in motherhood while pursuing professional success. Thus, to force women to have their children is to force them out of a favorable career.

Truth is, the pro-life community supports both motherhood and professional careers for women, and both are attainable simultaneously. For example, Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

Barrett sits on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and is on President Trumps list for Supreme Court nominees. Barrett is also a mother of seven, two of whom are adopted. Barrett has mastered motherhood and the challenges of the judicial community. Barrett is also pro-life. Were not anti-career, were anti-killing your child.

5. We dont care about women who have been raped.

At this point the bottom of the barrel has been scratched clean, but Ill take the bait. This falsity comes from the fact that pro-life advocates do not see rape as an exception to abortion. As horrific as rape is, we only give evil a victory lap when we follow through with the ending of innocent life.

Crisis pregnancy centers and other pro-life organizations are quick to render care or point victims of rape in the direction of professional care. Caring for rape victims means doing whatever we can to regulate their pain, not add to it. And time and time again women have expressed the pain of following through their rape with abortion.

Rape is never the victims fault, nor is it the babys fault. Care, assistance, and love must exist for both the survivor and her child.
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Actress Alyssa Milano has been making headlines for years. In 2017, she was instrumental in the #MeToo movement. She has advocated for vegetarianism, supported political candidates, and crusaded against abortion restrictions. She even called for a sex strike to protest Georgias recently passed heartbeat bill.

Accordingly, you can imagine viewers surprise when Milano told Cuomo Prime Time that she is pro-life. She explained: I dont think theres a human on the planet that is not pro-life. Nobody wants to get an abortion. Nobody. We are all pro-life.

Then she qualified her statement: But there are circumstances that we cannot avoid. Theres the mothers health. Theres just not being ready, ya know, and what that means financially and for someones destiny. This is an economic issue.

So, Alyssa Milano is pro-life unless the life of the child conflicts with being ready, someones destiny, or an economic issue.

Tragically, she speaks for many.

Producing more light than heat

The abortion ban passed by the Alabama state Senate on Tuesday was signed into law Wednesday by the states governor. It joins fetal heartbeat laws recently passed in Ohio and Georgia. Numerous commentators are pointing to the likelihood that the Supreme Court will eventually determine the status of such legislation. The Court could even overturn Roe v. Wade.

As the abortion debate accelerates and the political season intensifies, it will be important for Christians to respond in ways that produce more light than heat.

To lay the foundation for such a strategy, lets begin with David Brooks latest New York Times column. He notes: A society is healthy when its culture counterbalances its economics. That is to say, when you have a capitalist economic system that emphasizes competition, dynamism and individual self-interest, you need a culture that celebrates cooperation, stability and committed relationships.

Lets utilize Brooks logic differently: Our capitalist economic systems emphasis on subjective self-interest needs a culture that emphasizes objective truth and communal well-being. However, we have endorsed autonomy not just in our financial system but with truth itself.

Alyssa Milano can claim to be pro-life with no reference to the way the term has historically been understood because our culture has little regard for historical truth. Our courts have granted themselves the right to discover rights to abortion and same-sex marriage nowhere stated in the Constitution. Moral standards are no longer standard. Truth is what gets someone elected.

Those of us who stand for biblical truth can simply condemn our culture and refuse to engage in its debates. But theres a biblical precedent we should heed.

My people go into exile for lack of knowledge

In Isaiah 5, the Lord likens his chosen people to a vineyard on a very fertile hill (v. 1). However, he warns them: I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down (v. 5).

Why?

God looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry! (v. 7). He added: Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field. . . . Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late in the evening as wine inflames them! They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, or see the work of his hands (vv. 8, 1112).

Bloodshed instead of justice  does this describe abortion? Those who join house to house  does this describe our materialistic society? Those who run after strong drink  does this describe the substance abuse epidemic of our day? Those who do not regard the deeds of the Lord  does this describe our irreligious culture?

Heres the result: Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with thirst (v. 13).

A reminder from my trip to Israel

Heres my point: My people go into exile included everyone. When the nation fell, every person in the nation was affected. Daniel and Ezekiel were just two of the godly faithful who suffered in exile because of the sins of their people.

Rather than simply condemning the culture and withdrawing from it, we should answer Gods call to be salt and light in every way we can.

The same is true for Christians in America. Rather than simply condemning the culture and withdrawing from it, we should answer Gods call to be salt and light in every way we can. Not just for the sake of the lost who do not understand biblical truth (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:14)but for our sake and that of our children and grandchildren as well.

Consider an analogy.

I returned yesterday from spending three weeks leading study tours in Israel. Each time I return to the Holy Land, I am impressed again by the smallness of the nation and the solidarity of her people.

Israel is roughly the size of New Jersey. Its politics are chaotic in the extreme (forty-four parties participated in last months elections, for example). But the people are passionately united in their commitment to their nation and its future.

The reason is simple: They know that what happens to some of them happens to all of them. An attack on any part of Israel is an attack on all of Israel.

If you had the cure for all cancer

Americas Christians should feel the same way about our nation.

We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20a). Our message to our people is urgent: We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (v. 20b). Our hope is transforming: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (v. 21).

If you had the cure for all cancer, would you condemn cancer patientsor would you do all you could to save them?

NOTE: Is God going to judge America? Or has he already?

If you read even just a few headlines, you may think you know the answer. But, thankfully, Gods ways are not our ways.

In my newest book, How Does God See America? I wrestle with twelve cultural issues that reveal how God might view America.

To request your copy today, click here.

Originally posted at Denison Forum.
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If you think the sixties in America was a counter-cultural decade, the first century was even more sothanks to Jesus. Most of what He did and said went against the religious and political grain of His day. One of Jesus teachingsimportant enough to be recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Lukewas no doubt indirectly aimed at the leaders of the day. These leaders ruled according to the common idea that might makes right. The Pharisees kept the Jewish masses in line with their rules and traditions, and the Roman governors employed sword and shieldand crucifixionagainst any who dared disturb the peace.

So what did Jesus say that rankled the rulers of His day about their brand of leadership? First, its important to understand that His words had authority because of how He lived. Paul tells us that when Jesus came to earth He set aside His divine prerogatives and took on the form of a bondservant (Philippians 2:7). Jesus affirmed His servant lifestyle in His words to His disciples: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

But those words didnt just come out of thin air. Jesus was responding to an argument among His disciples about who was the greatest among them. He pointed out how Gentile rulers (Roman authorities) lorded their authority over their subjects. But, He said, if you want to be great in Gods sight you must be a servant of all (Luke 22:24-27).

Its hard for us to imagine how radical a notion this was in the first-century Roman Empire. And it was one of the ideas that got Jesus killed. The power structures of His day didnt like Him undermining their status and authority.

A similar counter-cultural event happened in America in 1970the year a corporate executive named Robert Greenleaf published an essay called The Servant as Leader. His essay jumpstarted what is now called the modern servant-leadership model of corporate governance and leadership. In 1977 he consolidated his research into a large volume titled Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness. The book has become a classic as others have adopted, and expanded, his servant-leader model.

Heres what Greenleaf said should happen to people who are led by servant leaders: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?

Let me suggest a shorter version of what should happen to those who are led by Christian servant leaders: Do they become more like Jesus by our example? Are they helped and encouraged? After all, that is the goal of our Christian life, isnt itto be like Christ and help others do the same (Romans 8:29)?

When we think of service, the first thing that comes to mind is serving in our local church. And that is a good thing! But service is a lifestyle, not just a task on Sunday. Jesus lived the life of service. Everywhere He went, whomever He came in contact with, He served. He came not to be served, but to serve.

Can we say the same about our lives? We have so many opportunities to serve! In our home, in our workplace, in our church, in our neighborhood, where we shopin short, wherever we go there are opportunities to humble ourselves and to take on the form of a servant like Jesus did. We can tie a childs shoelaces; we can change a stranded persons flat tire; we can take a meal to a sick mom and tend to her young children; we can check on an elderly neighbor; we can return a shopping cart to the store for a single mom whose hands are full of kidsthe list goes on.

But do those acts of service help others become like Jesus? Yes, for a couple reasons. First, when we serve as Jesus would, we manifest Him in this world. We may be the only encounter with Jesus some people ever have. Second, if the moment is appropriate, we can share Gods love with them or even pray with them.

Ultimately, we are called to serve as Jesus served and leave the results to God. Think about how you can move from good to great by being a servant of all.
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I interviewed Dr. M Zuhdi Jasser in January 2017, July 2017, and September 2018 on a range of topics including Islamism and what he believes is its antidote, the Muslim Reform Movement. This is a follow-up interview.

You can read about the differences between Muslim Islamists and Muslim Reformers here.

Jasser is president and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD), co-founder of the Muslim Reform Movement (MRM), and author of A Battle for the Soul of Islam: An American Muslim Patriots Fight to Save His Faith. He is a practicing Muslim.

He is also an active physician and former U.S. Navy officer whose parents fled Syria in the 1960s, and host of the Blaze Radio Podcast Reform This! and founder of TakeBackIslam.com. Jasser and I discussed Islamism in the context of Reps. Omar and Tlaib, the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim Brotherhood and developments in Sri Lanka.

Domestic Developments

Postal: You recently called Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar Islamists. Can you elaborate on why you think that is the case?

Jasser: Islamism is a political movement based on a common platform of ideas and worldview. Islamists are those who view domestic and foreign policy through the lens and world view of theocratic (Islamist) precepts. Reps. Tlaibs and Omars positions on a host of issues are textbook Islamist. They are ideologues who see the worlds problems as caused by the West rather than by the tyrannies of Muslim countries and the theologies of the strains of Islam deeply needing reform and modernization.

Omar and Tlaib simply do not see Western interests as a force for good in the world. To that point, Omar and Tlaib have predictably defended Maduros Venezuela, Erdogans Turkey, and Qatar while reflexively demonizing Israel and the American military.

Postal: Rep. Ilhan Omar has recently been in the news for mocking how people refer to Al Qaeda and Hezbollah in a menacing tone, seemingly equating them with the U.S. military. She also callously referring to the perpetrators of 9-11 as some people did something at a speech to the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) where she erroneously stated that CAIR was founded after 9-11 when in fact it was founded in 1994. Additionally, she has produced many anti-Semitic comments and has called Jewish White House Advisor Stephen Miller a white nationalist. An old tweet of hers recently resurfaced where she exaggerates the number of Somalis killed in a 1993 U.S. military operation, adding the hashtag NotTodaySatan. How should the public interpret her statements?

Jasser: These statements, in addition to Omars statements of trying to decrease the sentence of an Islamic State operative, rejecting the value of the U.S. governments counterterrorism programs, denying the significance of radicalization of Somali refugees from her own district, and fundraising for leading Islamist organizations like CAIR should leave no doubt that she is in fact an Islamist. Omar is a byproduct of the Muslim Brotherhood legacy groups that coddled and developed her when she first came as a refugee from Somalia to live in Minnesota.

She, like all Islamists believes the propaganda of our enemies. In fact, she leads with it. The hashtag referring to America as Satan says it all. Having joined the USS El Paso (LKA-117) as a general medical officer during its return from Operation Restore Hope in Somalia I was particularly offended by her tweets from 2017 that grossly exaggerated the numbers of and directly blamed Americans for the deaths of innocents, referring to us Americans as Satan. I highly doubt that she has any clue about what really happened to our serviceman that simply tried to bring food to help prevent massive famine in the year after she left Somalia and became a refugee. It is just unfathomable in its hypocrisythe level of disdain she has for the country that she supposedly loves and gives her such opportunity.

Omar comments on Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and 9/11 minimize if not wholesale deny the global Islamist terror threat. Omars anti-Semitic canards, including her support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement which calls for the destruction of Israel, and her conspiracy theories about Jewish control and monies are classic Islamist supremacism.

Postal: Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes recently met with the American Muslims for Palestine, which an Illinois lawsuit alleges is a front for Hamas. Any thoughts on this?

Jasser: The Investigative Project on Terrorism and the Daily Caller have detailed the sordid connections seen with Rep. Tlaib and American Muslims for Palestine, a Hamas front group whose leaders met at her office on April 8, 2019. Joe Catron a longtime anti-Semite and extreme anti-Israel activist has openly supported terror organizations. Tlaib proudly photographed herself with Catron who has voiced love for Hezbollah on February 8, 2019 and who urged the terrorist group to launch rockets at Israel.

Tlaib gives voice to an Islamist supremacist movement that is a synergy between the Arab-Palestinian identity movement and the Hamas Islamist identity movement, both of which seek the destruction of Israel. So, it shouldnt surprise anyone that she proudly put out a social media photo of a sticky note pasted over Israel with the word Palestine written over it, and that she is a vocal supporter of the BDS movement. She also has accused Jews of having dual allegiance to Israel while stating that she considers herself more Palestinian in the halls of Congress than [she is] anywhere in the country, in the world.

Postal: CAIR was recently in the news for the recently uncovered anti-Semitic statements of its leaders including National Executive Director Nihad Awad, CAIR Minnesota's Government Affairs Coordinator Abubakar Osman, and CAIR Minnesota Board member Abdul Basit. Meanwhile, CAIR openly opposes the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act (S. 852) currently in the Senate. What are your thoughts on these developments?

Jasser: Not only is CAIR a byproduct of Hamas activists in the US from the 1990s, but it is also one of the most prominent Muslim Brotherhood legacy groups in the United States. Inherent in the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as its Palestinian branch, Hamas is a deep-seeded, toxic mixture of Jew hatred from Salafi-jihadi interpretations of scripture. Examples include the Hamas Charter that calls for Muslims to fight Jews to the death to bring about the Day of Judgement, and that Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it. Arab racial fascism dehumanizes all non-Arabs, especially Jews. Those at the AIFD and the MRM seek to provide a Western, modern reform-minded alternative to this hatred.

Postal: CAIR also refers to an Islamophobia Network on its website that includes individuals and organizations. Included on the list is you, a practicing Muslim, and your organization AIFD, as well as ex-Muslims like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Nonie Darwish. This list seems like Southern Poverty Law Centers (SPLCs) 2016 publication A Journalists Manual: Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists, which included Majid Nawaz, a practicing Muslim, and his reform-minded organization the Quilliam Foundation. The Atlantic stated that the inclusion of Nawaz and Quilliam resembled more like an attempt to police the discourse on Islam than a true inventory of anti-Muslim extremists. Majid Nawaz sued SPLC, and won a multi-million dollar settlement. Do you see any similarities here?

Jasser: Very much so. John Rossomando with the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) connected the dots. IPT notes that the SPLC report was compiled with input from ReThink Media, the Center for New Community and MediaMatters. ReThink Media employed Corey Saylor, CAIRs former national legislative affairs director and Director of their Department to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia. Saylor has literally spearheaded attempts to have me removed from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a federal commission. His Islamophobia Network could easily be considered by more radical, militant Islamists around the world to be a hit list of anti-Islam activists. Its grotesque libelous presentation is cut from the very same mold as the one his associates at ReThink Media would make for SPLC. Another common writer between SPLC and CAIR is Zainab Chaudary, a former civil rights coordinator for CAIRs New Jersey chapter who was also part of ReThink Medias Security and Rights Collaborative in 2016 when Nawaz was added to the SPLCs list according to IPT. She openly acknowledges her work with SPLC.

It is very important here to note that this past few weeks, American Islamists like CAIR along with some in the American Left have been trying to suppress free speech criticism of Omars radical Islamist positions by claiming, hysterically, that such legitimate criticism is de facto incitement. Yet, they have through both SPLC and CAIR been leading purveyors of what militants often interpret as hit lists of individuals and groups they smear with the label hate groups and bigots. A few years after CAIR listed me as one of the American Islamophobes, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) informed me that my name was listed in a detailed posting on an Syrian Arabic Jihadi Forum for Al Qaeda militants which was rife with material distributed by CAIR online. If a Muslim is found to have committed Islamophobia, this person is a munafiq (hypocrite) or murtad (apostate) committing the crime of riddah (apostasy, treason), which carries the death penalty under Sharia law as interpreted in Saudi Arabia and most Muslim majority countries.

There is no doubt the Atlantic was correct that this list by the SPLC or CAIR was an attempt to stifle criticism of Islam and control the discourse. Theres nothing more revealing than their inclusion of devout Muslims in this list. The worlds worst theocracies and Arab dictatorships will often imprison torture and kill citizens in the name of blasphemy and apostasy laws.

The SPLC deserved the settlement they had to provide Nawaz. It should be noted that their sister group in Britain, the so-called Hope not Hate had me and other Muslims also labeled in a list of anti-Muslim extremists. That list was also removed after rational activists began demanding answers.

Postal: How is the Muslim Reform Movement and its allies combatting Omar, Tlaib and CAIR on issues of anti-Semitism and Islamism more broadly?

Jasser: We at the American Islamic Forum for Democracy and our greater coalition the Muslim Reform Movement consistently educate Americans about the threat of Islamism and the anti-Semitism of Islamists. We seek to confront the Islamist establishment on every issue and every battlefront possible. The rest of America cannot effectively confront the demagogic identity politics of these Islamists without us. We love our faith and what our chosen country America stands for at home and abroad. We also believe in the legitimacy and protection of the sovereignty of the democracy that is Israel and reject anti-Semitic canards and conspiracy theories. Opposing the Islamist establishment, we are a counter movement that is pro-American, pro-liberty, pro-freedom, pro-Israel and pro-Western.

We educate Americans through media, government testimony, university engagements, social media and publications that there is real ideological diversity thriving among American Muslims. Our leaders include Asra Nomani, Raheel Raza, Soraya Deen, Courtney Lonergan, and Shireen Qudosi among many others.

We also refuse to use the term Islamophobia because it is a term created to impose an anti-blasphemy consciousness in the West. Bigotry against Muslims that exists is not Islamophobia but anti-Muslim bigotry. Islam is an idea and it has no rights. Only human beings do. The word Islamophobia is a mechanism for suppressing criticisms of Islamists and their theocracy. We ask all politicians left and right to hold Muslims accountable to the same principles that they do all citizens regarding hate speech such as anti-Semitism, rather to the lesser standard of bigotry of low expectations.

Postal: President Trump is mulling declaring the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization. What are your thoughts on this?

Jasser: We at AIFD support the designation of the Egyptian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). This is a group that has been responsible for the targeting of Christians, Jews, and dissidents, the persecution of minority Muslims, and the abuse, torture, and murder of women, gay people, and other marginalized groups. It has also made significant efforts to export its radical Islamist and Sharia supremacist ideology internationally. Its logo contains swords and the motto Be ready...The Prophet is our leader, Quran is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of God is our highest hope. Those that believe that the Muslim Brotherhood is a non-violent and moderate organization are delusional.

With the recent calls by the Trump administration for making the MB an FTO, our AIFD renewed our call to make the Egyptian MB an FTO, as well as the MB in other nations such as Syria, Yemen, and Kuwait.

However, we need to be strategic with regards to the global Ikhawni or Brotherhood movement. I would compare it in the Cold War to fighting the militant version of communism as embodied in the Soviet threat, versus other versions of communism. Odds were that there were deep links between communist parties and global Soviet sympathies. But outlawing communist parties would have made counter-ideology and monitoring far more difficult and would have raised serious concerns regarding free speech protections of our Constitution. Turkeys AKP, Tunisias Ennahda, and many other Islamist parties are part of the Ikhwani movement but are not as designatable as the branches in Egypt, Syria, Kuwait or Yemen. We will never defeat Islamism by declaring all these groups FTOs. Authoritarian regimes in the Middle East have proven that such designations often serve as arson to the Islamist fire.

People who equate my position with anti-Muslim bigotry are being dishonest. There is nothing more pro-Muslim than to begin making radical Islamist groups radioactive for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

The Global Fight Against Islamism

Postal: What lessons, if any, can Americans, Muslim Reformers and their allies learn from the attacks in Sri Lanka?

Jasser: The lessons are sadly many of the same ones AIFD has preached since our formation in 2003. All we have ever had since 9-11 is at best a robust defense against whatever radical jihadist cell, group, movement or state arises to threaten us and our allies. We need an offense addressing what AIFD calls the 3 is of Identity, Ijtihad, and Inspiration. Until we figure out a comprehensive approach against both violent and non-violent Islamism, we are doomed to defeat.

First, we need to begin fighting against the Islamist Identity and for each nations secular national identity. Jihadists get young Muslims to identify with armed jihad and theocracy early. We need to counter that with a muscular liberalism of secular nation states. Second, we need to begin empowering Muslims who are fighting against backward interpretations of Islam and for modern reform-minded ijtihad (modern critical interpretation of Islamic scripture). And last, we need to begin inspiring Muslims to be fearless dissidents for freedom, liberty, democracy and universal human rights. It is no accident that Al Qaeda has called its magazines and sermons often by the name Inspire.

The small Sri Lankan cell not only engaged the Islamic State, but got training from them. They also apparently had contact with leading clerics across the Middle East like Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi in Qatar. This should remind everyone of the direct connection between the Muslim Brotherhood and radical Islamist groups.

The Islamic State has shifted focus to outside the Levant to Saudi Arabia (recent terror attempts), Afghanistan (recent Kabul terror attack), Congo, and now Sri Lanka. The fact that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi released a video after five years of silence is another sign that he is trying to reestablish his presence, dominance, and his brand globally. The Islamic State may have been removed from Iraq and Syria, but it is still ideologically, financially, and operationally stronger than ever.

The author would like to thank Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser for participating in this interview.
Archbishop of Canterbury interviews Pope Francis for Thy Kingdom Come

Justin Welby has become the first Archbishop of Canterbury to interview a pope in a symbol of the warm relationship shared by the two Church leaders.

In a significant moment for relations between the Anglican and Catholic Church, the interview was recorded on the Archbishop's mobile phone during a recent meeting in Rome.

The recording was made for Thy Kingdom Come, a global movement of prayer between Ascension and Pentecost on June 9, and will be played at a major rally of Christians taking place in Trafalgar Square on Pentecost.

In a clip published in The Times and to Twitter, Archbishop Welby described Pope Francis as "extraordinary" and told people to listen carefully to the "utterly inspiring" message from him.

The mutual affection was apparent as the Pope in turn referred to the Archbishop as his "brother".

In the message, the Pope urged Christians of all denominations to pray for the Holy Spirit to come.

"Come Holy Spirit, this is the cry of all Christians on this day of Pentecost. Come Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father, the promise of Jesus that the Holy Spirit might enlarge and widen our hearts," the Pope said.

He continued: "We all have a problem and that is that our hearts tend to shrink, becoming smaller and closed."

He said the problem of closed-heartedness could not be solved by individuals but only by the Holy Spirit at work in them.

The second prayer was for God's kingdom to come, he said, adding that Catholics "want to tell you that we walk alongside you in this prayer, thy kingdom come."
Christians are big on relationships but weak on discipleship and evangelism, study finds

Churchgoers are keen to talk with other people about their faith but struggle to have evangelistic conversations in practice, a new study has shown.

The study by Lifeway Research found that although the intention to share Jesus with others was there, over half (55 per cent) of Protestant churchgoers in the US said they had not spoken to anyone about how to become a Christian in the last six months.

This was despite a similar number (56 per cent) saying they were praying for opportunities to tell others about Jesus at least once a week and nearly a quarter (23 per cent) saying they were praying for such moments every day, according to the 2019 Discipleship Pathway Assessment study of 2,500 Protestant Americans.

Over a quarter (27 per cent) admitted they rarely or never pray for opportunities to share their faith.

"Sharing the good news that Jesus paid for our sins through His death on the cross and rose again to bring us new life is the mission of the church, but it does not appear to be the priority of churchgoers," said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research.

Of those who had an evangelistic conversation in the past month, most had done so with one or two people (24 per cent). Only around 1 in 10 churchgoers said they had at least one evangelistic conversation each month.

When it came to ethnic groups, Hispanics (36 per cent) and African Americans (29 per cent) were the most likely to pray for evangelistic opportunities every day compared to a fifth of white Americans.

"The task of making disciples of all nations has not been fully embraced in the American churchespecially by the majority culture," said McConnell. "This is in spite of the convenience of having other ethnicities and immigrants from other countries often living in the same neighborhood."

Church attendance also made a difference, with those attending once a week (75 per cent) being more likely than less frequent churchgoers (69 per cent) to pray about evangelism at least once a month.

In terms of age, those 65 and older were the least likely to have discussed their faith others, with nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) saying they had no evangelistic conversations recently.

"Recently, there has been much discussion about young adults participating less in evangelism. That's not the case, however," said McConnell.

"In fact, young adult and middle-aged churchgoers are more likely to have shared with someone how to become a Christian in the past six months than older churchgoing adults."

Many Christians may not have had an evangelistic conversation, but the study found that over half (55 per cent) had invited a non-Christian to a church service or activity in the last half year.

The frequency with which invitations were made also changed according to church attendance, with those going to church at least four times a month (58 per cent) more likely to have invited an unchurched person to a service in the past six months than those who attended less than four times a month (47 per cent).

"Jesus never promised the Great Commission would be completed quickly, but He set the expectation that the efforts to reach all nations with His gospel should be continuous. Many in church today appear to be distracted from Jesus' final command," said McConnell.

The study also found that although Protestant Americans are good at making friends at church, the relationships appeared to be based more on mutual interests than helping each other grow spiritually.

While over three-quarters of study participants (78 per cent) said they had developed significant relationships with people at their church, less than half (48 per cent) said that they intentionally spend time with other believers to help them grow in their faith.

Young adults - those aged 18 to 34 - were the most likely to say that they were intentional about investing time in the growth of others (26 per cent) - twice the percentage of churchgoers aged 65 and olders who said the same thing.

"In an American culture in which significant relationships are hard to form, most churchgoers have had at least some success at making friends at church," said McConnell.

"But the majority aren't as confident as they could be about the significance of those relationships."

Around a third of Hispanics (32 per cent) said they were intentional about spending time with others to grow in faith, followed by black Protestants (24 per cent) and evangelicals (21 per cent), and mainline Protestants (12 per cent).

"There is a different element to relationships at church that the majority of churchgoers haven't prioritized," said McConnell.

"One of the ways a believer shows they have love for God is by investing in other believers. The relationship isn't just about mutual interests; it is about proactively being interested in the faith of others."

The study also found that only a third (35 per cent) of churchgoers were consistently nourishing their own faith by taking part in a Christian class or small group four or more times in a typical month.

Mainline Protestants (48 per cent) were more likely to never attend a small group than black Protestants (36 per cent) and evangelicals (35 per cent).

"For much of church history, small groups or classes have been one of the most effective ways churches offer for attendees to connect with others, study the Bible and serve together," said McConnell.

"This avenue of seeking God together is both relational and devotional."
New Anglican diocese created in New Zealand as wider Province moves towards same-sex blessings

An independent diocese has been created by orthodox Anglicans in New Zealand following moves within the wider Province to allow same-sex blessings.

The establishment of the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa/New Zealand follows the passing of a resolution by the Synod of the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia paving the way for churches in the province to bless same sex relationships.

'Motion 29' recommended no change to the Church's official definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman, but said that individual bishops should be able to use existing canonical provisions to hold "a non-formulary service" allowing for the blessing of same-sex relationships.

The resolution, which was passed earlier this month, also stated that the existing canon should be amended to make clear that members of the clergy will not face disciplinary action for refusing to conduct the blessings.

The Church of Confessing Anglicans has been set up by the representatives of 12 conservative Anglican churches across New Zealand.

The Rev Jay Behan, vicar of St Stephen's Anglican Church, Christchurch, has been appointed as its first bishop.

The new diocese said in a statement that it was "committed to the authority of the Bible".

"By the grace of God we are a new Anglican Diocese in these Islands, standing firmly in Anglican faith and practice, and structurally distinct from the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia," the statement reads.

"This new diocese is united in the crucified, risen, ascended and glorified Christ, committed to the authority of the Bible, and dedicated to our common mission of proclaiming to all the good news of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.

"We praise God for his guidance and grace, and the sense of unity and common purpose we shared as we met."
5 minutes with... Water Seeds by Carlos Alfonzo

The sea would become a recurrent feature in paintings by the Cuban Neo-Expressionist who was at the forefront of the Miami Generation in the 1980s. Our Head of Latin American Art takes a closer look at a work never previously seen in public

For Cuban painter Carlos Alfonzo, the sea that initially trapped him later liberated him. Born in Havana in 1951, he studied at the citys San Alejandro Academy and, before long, his work joined the collection of the prestigious National Museum of Fine Arts. Success, however, couldnt make up for what he saw as the restrictions placed on his freedom of artistic expression by Fidel Castros rule. Alfonzo was also denied the chance to travel abroad and see art outside his island, so in 1980 he decided to join the Mariel boatlift of approximately 125,000 Cubans in mass exodus to the United States. After a brief spell in an Arkansas relocation camp, the artist settled in Miami for the final decade of his life. The sea would become a recurrent feature in his paintings there, including Water Seeds (1988-89), which appears in the Latin American Art auction at Christies in New York on 22 May.

Carlos Alfonzo (1950-1991), Water Seeds, 1988-89. Oil on canvas. 56 x 80 in (143.2 x 205.4 cm) each panel. 56 x 242 in (143.2 x 616.3 cm) overall. Sold for $350,000 on 22-23 May 2019 at Christies in New York

This large triptych has only ever had one owner and has never previously been seen in public. Its a revelation, marking the painter at the height of his powers, remarks Virgilio Garza, Head of Latin American Art at Christies. Alfonzo was a trailblazer, who worked in tune with the leading Neo-Expressionist and Conceptual artists of the 1980s. He had a fondness for rapid, gestural brushwork and working in large formats. Rather than being overtly figurative, his pieces are filled instead with all manner of rich symbols related to his upbringing. These include crucifixes and chalices (from Catholicism), as well as pierced tongues and evil eyes (from the Afro-Caribbean religion known as Santeria). A pierced tongue was said to ward off any curse cast by evil eyes  and examples of both appear in Water Seeds. Elsewhere, floating cubes in the left and centre panels suggest a geometric perfection countered by an array of spiral forms, which the artist himself said represent the initial seeds of life. Thanks to the shades of blue, theres an aqueous feel to the picture. Its really a seascape, confirms Garza, with water coming and going. Its a wonderfully fluid composition, with a sense of openness and freedom throughout. Life can be seen germinating underwater  but were not meant to think of just sea creatures here. Were meant to think of the creation of all creatures, humans perhaps especially. Alfonzo was never afraid to tackle the great, universal themes of life and death.

After a gap of three to four decades, Neo-Expressionists are now being reassessed and rediscovered  Virgilio Garza

In February 1991, within just two years of completing this picture, the artist tragically died of an AIDS-related illness. He was 40 and had just been named one of Ten Artists to Watch in the 1990s by Artnews magazine. That spring, a number of his paintings would feature in the renowned Whitney Biennial of contemporary American art in New York. The Biennial of 1991 is remembered as an important one in terms of the way it broadened and redefined the idea of what American art is, says Garza. New voices were heard, multiculturalism was now being celebrated, and as a gay artist originally from Cuba, Alfonzos work was at the absolute centre of that.

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WASHINGTON - The United States agreed Friday to lift its tariffs on industrial metals from Mexico and Canada, clearing a major obstacle to congressional passage of President Donald Trump's new North American trade deal.

The bargain calls for Mexico and Canada to adopt tough new monitoring and enforcement measures to prevent subsidized Chinese steel from being shipped to the United States via their territory. In return, the United States will lift its tariffs in 48 hours.

In remarks to the National Association of Realtors, Trump said the tariffs deal should pave the way for lawmakers to ratify the new United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement. "That deal is going to be a fantastic deal for our country. Hopefully Congress will pass the USMCA quickly," he said.

Trump's announcement, which came as U.S. negotiators try to revive stalled trade talks with China, capped a blur of action showcasing his trade policy revolution.

Few weeks have shown more clearly how the president rejects the "free trade" gospel long favored by both Democrats and Republicans.

"He thinks the government needs to be much more active in making decisions about cross-border trade flows, which is a departure from his predecessors," said John Veroneau, deputy U.S. trade representative under President George W. Bush.

The businessman president, who rails against regulation and taxes, nonetheless backs the active use of government power to counter what he sees as market distortions caused by other nations' trade barriers and industrial policies.

Even as Trump ended the metals tariffs, he secured agreement from Canada and Mexico to permit their return in the event of a meaningful "surge" in shipments "beyond historic volumes."

If that occurs, Canada and Mexico have agreed to confine any retaliation to steel and aluminum, rather than the array of products from whiskey to motorboats they targeted.

Trump announced the tariffs plan only hours after directing Robert Lighthizer, his chief trade negotiator, to seek agreements with the European Union and Japan to limit their auto exports to the United States - a move toward what economists call "managed trade."

Earlier in the week, he took the first step toward imposing tariffs on all Chinese imports - which is expected to raise the price of consumer goods including computers and televisions - and he put one of China's most prominent companies on an export blacklist.

"It was a clarifying week on a number of fronts," said Veroneau, a partner at Covington & Burling.

Citing national security considerations, Trump last year imposed tariffs on steel and aluminumin response to what the United States called a flood of Chinese commodities onto global markets. The administration blamed Chinese overproduction for depressing global steel and aluminum prices, driving many U.S. mills out of business.

In talks over eliminating the tariffs, U.S. officials tried to get their North American partners to accept quotas on steel and aluminum shipments. But both Canada and Mexico, neighbors and close U.S. allies, had bristled at being labeled national security dangers and rejected that demand.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Trump Friday, their third such call in about a week. They discussed the tariff issue, as well as the USMCA agreement, according to a Canadian readout of the call.

Appearing Friday at a steel plant in Hamilton, Ontario, Trudeau called the end of the U.S. tariffs "terrific news."

Likewise, a statement from the office of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said: "Mexico has reached a highly satisfactory agreement with the United States as a result of the dedication, will and vision of both countries."

By avoiding quotas, the deal announced Friday marks a win for the two countries while also addressing Trump's worries about Chinese steel and eliminating a major stumbling block to Congress approving the replacement to the North American Free Trade Agreement, the president's signature trade deal.

Senate Republicans, including Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the powerful Finance Committee chairman, had said they would not approve the deal while the tariffs were in place.

Iowa farmers were among the casualties of Mexican retaliatory tariffs, which cut deeply into U.S. agricultural exports. The Mexican tariffs, and similar Canadian levies, also are being eliminated.

The USMCA still faces an uphill road to ratification, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., insisting the deal be reopened to add tougher enforcement provisions for its labor requirements.

Announcement of the tariffs deal came hours after the president gave the European Union and Japan six months to agree to limit their auto shipments to the United States or face the threat of U.S. tariffs.

Trump's decision followed a Commerce Department report that concluded rising imports of foreign autos and auto parts threatened U.S. automotive research and development capabilities and thus impaired national security.

"American-owned automotive R & D and manufacturing are vital to national security," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross found.

Some foreign auto companies said the president's stance overlooked their U.S. factories and research centers. Toyota Motor North America employs 475,000 Americans at three research institutes and 10 plants.

"Today's proclamation sends a message to Toyota that our investments are not welcomed, and the contributions from each of our employees across America are not valued," the company said.

The president threatened last year to hit foreign cars and parts with a 25 percent tariff but agreed to defer a decision while negotiations proceeded. Those talks have made little headway.

Friday's auto tariffs announcement sets the clock running on another key trade issue at a time when Lighthizer is engaged in trying to reset trade relations with China and secure congressional approval of the USMCA deal.

"If agreements are not reached within 180 days, the president will determine whether and what further action needs to be taken," a White House statement said.

Trump's claim that foreign autos represent a national security threat was greeted with derision by some Republicans on Capitol Hill as well as industry figures.

"Toyota Corollas and Volkswagen Beetles do not pose a national security threat," said Sen. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa.

The autos decision signals the president's support for a system of managed trade, with the federal government setting limits on the amount of foreign products that American businesses and consumers may buy rather than allowing market forces to operate unfettered.

The approach harks back to the voluntary export restraints the U.S. negotiated with Japan during an earlier period of trade tension in the 1980s.

"I don't think there is any more doubt about it, the president is far more attracted to managing imports than expanding exports," said Rufus Yerxa, president of the National Foreign Trade Council. "The entire U.S. auto and auto parts sector understands why it needs a global strategy, but the president clearly prefers 1980s style protectionism."

Unlike his confrontation with China, Trump is virtually alone in favoring tariffs on all imported cars. The Automotive Policy Council, representing the Big Three American automakers, said Friday that tariffs "would weaken global competitiveness and invite retaliation from our trading partners, which could harm jobs and investment in the U.S."

John Bozzella, president of Global Automakers, representing foreign carmakers operating in the United States, added: "No automaker or auto parts supplier asked for this 'protection.' We are headed down a dangerous and destructive course."

The industry's major union, the United Auto Workers, has supported "targeted" tariffs. But with members in Canada, the union does not back the president's global approach, which would interfere with border-crossing North American supply chains.

The United States imported passenger vehicles worth $191.7 billion last year, up 15 percent from 2014, according to the International Trade Administration.

Foreign companies supplied the U. S. with an additional $158.8 million of parts, up 9.4 percent over the same period.

The president last year rejected the EU's offer to drop its auto tariffs to zero if the United States would do likewise. The United States maintains a 2.5 percent tariff on foreign cars, lower than the EU's 10 percent levy.

But the United States imposes a 25 percent tax on imported light trucks, the most profitable market segment for American companies.

With the auto tariff decision deferred and a key USMCA obstacle defused, the president is free to concentrate on the stalled talks with China. One week after breaking down in a dispute over U.S. complaints that China had reneged on its commitments, no dates for the resumption of bargaining have been announced.

- - -

The Washington Post's Mary Beth Sheridan in Mexico City contributed to this report.
Many people think they don't know anyone who's had an abortion, actress and TV host Busy Philipps tweeted earlier this week, "but #youknowme."

So, she urged, "let's share it and start to end the shame." On her E! show "Busy Tonight," she shared her own story of her abortion when she was 15. "I'm telling you this because I'm genuinely really scared for women and girls all over the country," she said.
An 18-year-old is the second person to be charged with murder in the shooting death last November of a Lamar High School student, one of a string of crimes authorities have described as part of an ongoing gang war.

Dave'on Thomas was arrested and charged with murder Friday in state district court in connection with the Nov. 13 murder of Delindsey Mack, court records show.

Mack, who had just transferred to Lamar from Yates High School, was walking home from classes on Nov. 13 when two people jumped out of a car and shot him. One of the gunmen stood over him and continued to shoot as he lay dying on the pavement, records state.

Thomas, who police suspect was the driver in the incident, is being held in Harris County Jail on a $200,000 bond. In court documents, prosecutors described him as "an extreme threat to public safety" and said he is a suspect in two other murders and three aggravated robberies.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Family of Lamar student shot dead says he was a "big talker" but no gangster."

Kendrick Johnson, who was in custody on two unrelated aggravated robberies, was charged in March with Mack's murder and that of 24-year-old Kenneth Roberson, who was killed in southeast Houston last September.

Johnson, 19, also is accused of wounding a person in the neck on Jan. 8 in a drive-by shooting.

The Nov. 13 Lamar attack at sent the River Oaks campus into lockdown and prompted a visit from Mayor Sylvester Turner after a 17-year-old student wrote him a letter expressing concerns about the violence. The mayor then also visited Yates, the Third Ward campus from which Mack had just transferred.

Law enforcement leaders have described a number of recent murders as part of an ongoing war between members two local street gangs, 100 Percent Third Ward (103)  the group to which Thomas belongs, court documents allege -- and the Young Scott Block, or YSB, gang.

In the aftermath of the Lamar shooting, Mack's parents said they hadn't known about an online persona he'd created portraying himself as a member of the Backstreet/Freemoney gang, a group associated with YSB.

But at least twice before Mack's death  as far back as December 2016, when he was still at Yates his mother warned police he was being threatened by gang members.

About 20,000 gang members  in roughly 300 gangs  live in the greater Houston area, according to law enforcement estimates.

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A man died early Saturday after police said he ran a red light at Beechnut and Gessner.

The driver of a red pickup truck heading eastbound on Beechnut at about 1:30 a.m. struck two cars headed northbound on Gessner, causing the pickup to roll over and skid down the street. The driver died at the scene, police said.

Two of the three people in the other vehicles were taken to a hospital, and police said all are expected to recover.

While police were working the scene, a sedan ignored police warnings and tried to squeeze through the street; that driver was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.

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A man was injured in a drive-by shooting in northeast Houston Friday night.

The Houston Police Department said the man was shot in the buttocks in the 7900 block of Homestead Road. He was transported to a local hospital, and his condition is unknown.

This is a developing story. It will be updated when more information is available.

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A Woodcreek Middle student who brought a gun to school Friday is in law enforcement custody, according to a statement from Humble ISD.

Interim Principal Nachelle Scott mentioned in a letter sent to parents that the gun was found in the male students backpack.

He now faces a third-degree felony charge of Places Weapons Prohibited after the Harris County District Attorneys Office did an evidence review. The student was arrested by the Humble ISD Police Department and transferred to the Harris County law enforcement officials that manage juveniles, a district spokesperson said.

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According to the Texas Penal Code 46.03, a person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses or goes with a firearm, location-restricted knife, club, or prohibited weapon to prohibited places, among them educational institutions both public and private.

In the letter, Scott said the student was armed while on campus to protect himself because of a disagreement among friends.

Please encourage your children to tell a trusted adult if they are ever worried about a situation so that we can help them resolve their concern appropriately, Scott said.

To report a concern at a Humble ISD school, call the Humble ISD Police number at 281-641-7900 or use the Humble ISD iHELP app.

nguyen.le@chron.com
Residents eagerly awaited the arrival of over 300 veterans from across the country to the Humble Civic Center on Thursday. People from around the Lake Houston area created a heros welcome to kick off the start of Warriors Weekend.

Since 2007, Warriors Weekend has brought in veterans from across the country to Texas to honor them for all the sacrifices they have made and to give citizens an opportunity to participate in the event.

Volunteers picked up veterans from the George Bush Intercontinental Airport and the William P. Hobby Airport and brought them to the Humble Civic Center.

The 300-plus veterans filled 10 buses and were greeted by residents donning red, white and blue in addition to a big smile.

It was a first for some residents attending this patriotic event, while others have become regulars.

Several Girl Scouts from Troop 118021 were at the civic center to show their support to the veterans. This was Girl Scout Olivia Salazars second time attending the event.

We want to help support the people who have helped support our country, and we did this last year and it was a blast, Salazar said. They supported our country and they helped our country, and this is just a way to say thank you.

Several local veterans were in the crowd of supporters as well waiting to greet their fellow brothers and sisters.

One of them was VFW Post 6010 Commander Steve Benavides, a veteran of the Vietnam War who served in the Army. Benavides is also a former Houston Police Department Officer and a member of the Blue Knights International Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club-Houston Chapter.

Benavides remembers when he came back to the United States at the end of the Vietnam War and the negative greeting his fellow soldiers received with people booing and throwing things at them.

Benavides has been welcoming fellow vets for the past six years at this event.

Being a veteran, thats why Im here, to honor the veterans we have now because that means a lot to me being a Vietnam veteran, Benavides said. When we came back from Vietnam we were booed. We didnt get any welcome home.

Like many residents, it was a first time for the veterans to attend Warriors Weekend, while others have been coming back for years.

One Air Force veteran named Sarah Page from Virginia, said this is her fourth time coming to Texas to be a part of Warriors Weekend.

Page served in the Air Force from 2008-2011 as an air traffic controller.

Page said she got injured during her basic training and now suffers from nerve damage after a couple of failed surgeries.

Page said she has been attending Warriors Weekend for the past couple of years because its an amazing opportunity.

You will never see anything like this anywhere except Texas, Page said. Warriors Weekend is a group family. The staff that puts it onfrom the board members to the volunteers to the president of the companyeveryone treats you like family.

kaila.contreras@chron.com
HCA Houston Healthcare, which serves about a million patients a year, donated $3.5 million to the University of Houston College of Nursing to support programs at their soon-to-open facility in Katy and its current location in Sugar Land.

The majority of the grant  about $2 million  will go toward increasing the number of adjunct or full-time faculty members at HCA-affiliated facilities. UH officials said $1 million will fund a healthcare simulation center at the Katy campus. It will provide hands on clinical training and research using interactive modules to support the needs of nursing and healthcare professionals. The remaining funds  about $500,000, will go for a HCA Houston Healthcare endowed chair in undergraduate studies. It will fund the Bachelor of Science in Nursing director and expand instruction and research in the field.

Impacting the health and wellness of our city is a top priority, said UH President Rena Khator. This partnership will provide our future healthcare professionals the tools they need to succeed.

With almost 7,000 registered nurses employed by HCA Houston Healthcare, it is one of the largest employers in the greater Houston area. The company initiated a program to pay the tuition for its eligible nurses to pursue advanced degrees at the UH College of Nursing.

This partnership is a continuation of HCA Houston Healthcares focus on nurses and nursing excellence, which has resulted in a positive impact on clinical outcomes, patient experience, efficiency of care and nurse management, said Tony Villarreal, chief executive officer of HCA Houston Healthcare. Their company, he said, is looking toward a long-term collaboration with the University of Houston to develop qualified healthcare professionals and access to top-quality care.

HCA Houston Healthcares network includes 14 hospitals, nine freestanding emergency centers and nine outpatient surgery centers, among other medical facilities.

We are grateful for the trust and support HCA Houston Healthcare has placed in our program, said Kathryn Tart, founding dean of the UH Nursing College. It is an indication of the quality education, quality student and quality healthcare employees that emerges from our college and their partnership will future ensure the quality preparation and success of the next generation of nurses.

The UH College of Nursing in Katy will open for students in the Fall. Up to 30 students will study there at the start for the traditional BSN degree, officials said.

Our college produces highly educated professionals who educate and fearlessly advocate for patients and communities, Tart said. They will devote their careers to promoting the health and well-being of our society at home and across the globe.

Pending final accreditation, HCA Houston Healthcare has partnered with the UH College of Medicine to bring in an initial group of 103 first-year resident positions as early as 2019. The number will grow to 389 resident positions by 2025, officials said.

HCA Houston Healthcare recognizes the value of investing in the long-term success of our students and in providing quality healthcare in the Houston area, Khator said.

mike.glenn@chron.com
Although the Barbara Bush Library has reopened after Hurricane Harvey in 2017 when the library received feet of floodwater, Harris County Flood Control District is working to ensure the library will not flood again.

During the latest meeting of the Barbara Bush Library Friends, a nonprofit organization with the mission of improving and volunteering for the Barbara Bush Library, Harris County Precinct 4 representatives told the crowd about plans for floodplains and flood prevention for the library and surrounding areas.

Will Sherman, property manager for HCFCD, said HCFCD is deciding where to build detention basins to mitigate flooding. In August 2018, HCFCD received approval for a $2.5 billion bond to mitigate flooding and upgrade flood prevention methods in the greater Houston area.

Sherman said HCFCD is currently working on floodplain preservation by buying undeveloped land and buying homes from residents in floodplains if they volunteer to do sell. Sherman said there are no mandatory buyout programs in the nearby area at this moment. The area surrounding Barbara Bush Library is in both the 100-year and 500-year floodplains.

CYPRESS CREEK: Development proceeds amid resident concerns

A lot of times we get the funds from FEMA and we have certain criteria for when we can or cant purchase, he said. A lot of times if its bought with FEMA theres never going to be anything built on that property. Of course, were obtaining right of way for future detention basins.

Areas directly surrounding the Barbara Bush Library, specifically the back of the library closest to Cypress Creek and in nearby neighborhoods, tend to have ponding, Sherman said. Ponding causes streets to overflow and take longer to drain than usual, carrying floodwaters even farther toward nearby bayous.

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Sherman said the implementation of flood basins will significantly improve flood prevention in the area, and that HCFCD and HCED do not plan to build other structures on land bought. Sherman said Harris County is currently trying to buy undeveloped land in previously flooded areas.

As of today, we have more than 6,000 acres of property and 300 acres of detention basins in Cypress Creek, he said. Its kind of an older area as far as the infrastructure goes so weve had quite a few failures (during heavy rain events). Were working with the precinct to be more proactive.

RELATED: Flood mitigation projects along Cypress Creek are underway, officials say

Sherman said floodplains in the area will be updated and upgraded for flooding within the next two to three years for Little Cypress Creek and Cypress Creek watersheds. He said the process of specific projects, such as flood basin building and storm water drainage fixes, have yet to be implemented.

Some residents have expressed concern over two apartment complexes planned near Cypress Creek and Pillot Gully in The Vintage. Nearby homes, businesses and the cultural district experienced flooding during Hurricane Harvey.

I know theres some controversial projects around Vintage Park, so were definitely working in the future to try to try to get everything that we can before its developed. That way, at the very least, it can be turned into park land.
The light afternoon rain paused for a moment and the sun shone from the clouds while decorated military servicemen unveiled the bronze statues honoring two dogs for their years of service to both the military and their humans. The memorial is now a symbol for all military service dogs.

On May 18, the National Memorial Ladies, an organization supporting the military and their families, and Cy-Champ PUD held a ceremony for the unveiling of statues honoring two service dogs at Cy-Champ Park near the Fallen Soldiers Memorial.

Bretagne, a golden retriever and Cypress native, was the last living search and rescue canine during 9/11 before she died in 2016. Eli, present at the event, was a black labrador and a military working dog with his owner Pfc. Colton Rusk, who died in Afghanistan.

Ron Walkowiak, president of the Cy-Champ PUD, thanked veterans, sponsors and several public figures from the community for attending including U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw, his wife Tara Crenshaw and Sam Harless, Texas state representative for district 126. The Commemorative Air Force performed a flyover during the service.

PIZZA FOR PUPS: Astros' Justin Verlander, Papa John's team up to save future service dogs for military vets

Rusks parents attended the somber event with Eli. Bretagnes handler Denise Corliss attended with her current search canine Taser. Corliss was comforted by her husband after initially seeing the statue of Bretagne, while Eli was able to take photos with his statue.

Wolkowiak commended military and civilian service dogs for their sacrifices.

(Service dogs) obey commands that may end their life and expect nothing in return but love and care, Walkowiak said. They are sent in to find lost children as well as fugitives. ...They're ordered to find drugs, weapons and even bombs. Often, they're the first in and the last to leave.

Cathlyn Whitfield, president of NML, said the event could not have happened without the funding and aid of Cy-Champ PUD.

They provided everything (for) building it, she said. The National Memorial Ladies collected money but we couldn't collect enough. We all worked together.

Crenshaw, a former Navy Seal, thanked MWDs for keeping servicemen safe in combat and serving alongside them.

TEXAS LEGISLATURE: Adequate shelter bills that would prevent leashing dogs with chains pass Senate

When we're on deployment, we wouldn't be able to do what we do without our service dogs., he said. They go into harm's way so that we don't have to. They find IEDs like the one that hit me so that we don't have to sacrifice. We can't do anything alone in this life.

The stone wall behind the statues tell the stories of both Bretagne and Eli and pay homage to military and civilian service dogs. Bretagnes statue is decorated with beams representing debris from the 9/11 attack.

Harless said the event was overdue and needed in order to give proper respect to canines serving.

It's only fitting and proper that we recognize the lives and the efforts of the service dogs that have supported our military and first responders for so many years, Harless said. Some give their lives and service to our country and community while others die in retirement with little attention given to their service or the unique bond created between themselves and their handlers.

chevall.pryce@chron.com
A firefighter was hospitalized, and more than a dozen families were displaced after an intense fire ripped through more than 30 Galleria area apartment homes Friday afternoon.

The fire  which eventually reached four alarms  sparked around 12:30 p.m. at the Greenridge Place apartment in the 3000 of Greenridge, just north of Westheimer. Houston firefighters rolled into the complex within minutes of residents' several 911 calls and started attacking the flames, Houston Fire Department Assistant Chief Michael Mire said.

Within minutes, officials pulled a second alarm, then a third and fourth as southerly winds fueled the blaze.

"The size and layout of the building is quite a challenge," Mire told Chron.com sometime between the third and fourth alarm. "Given the other conditions the firefighters are facing, it's a matter of personnel and resources."

The fire appeared to have started inside a first-floor apartment on the north side of the building, eventually making its way through the second and third stories. Flames were shooting from the roof and spreading through the shared attic space when firefighters arrived.

While fighting the fire, at least one firefighter suffered severe heat exhaustion, and was rushed to an area hospital by ambulance. Two other firefighters and a resident of the complex were treated on scene for smoke inhalation, officials said on scene.

At least 18 apartment homes were destroyed in the blaze, HFD spokesperson Sheldra Brigham said.

"Everything, she's lost everything," Talisha Johnson said of her daughter's apartment and possessions. "Everything's gone in a matter of seconds."

She said her daughter heard a pop and then saw thick, black smoke right outside her window.

That was around the same time that Corniesha Johnson heard a commotion and saw the building was on fire.

"Someone actually screamed out 'fire' and said a mattress was on fire on the first floor," she said. "I went out and screamed out, 'fire, fire' to everyone, because people were sleeping. Even a baby. By that time, the whole apartment was actually on fire. When the firefighters got here, they were on the third floor. I yelled out and screamed out to go to the first floor."

Johnson, whose apartment was also damaged, was overcome with emotion while being interviewed by reporters and couldn't speak for much longer. Many of the residents inside the complex are unemployed, making a recovery from a fire such as this that more difficult, Johnson said.

"A lot of these people ... might need help and assistance," she said. "If you can reach out to them, please do."

Arson investigators with the Houston Fire Department are working to determine what started the blaze. The American Red Cross was called out to assist those residents who were displaced.

Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message
Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning was ordered back to jail Thursday for refusing to testify to a grand jury, even after telling a judge she'd rather "starve to death" than cooperate with prosecutors.



U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga ordered her to remain incarcerated at the Alexandria jail either until she agrees to testify or until the grand jury's term expires in 18 months. He also imposed fines that will kick in at $500 a day after 30 days and $1,000 a day after 60 days.

Manning already spent two months in jail for refusing a previous subpoena to testify to a grand jury investigating Wikileaks. She was released last week when that grand jury's term expired, but prosecutors quickly hit her with a new subpoena to testify to a new grand jury.

Manning has offered multiple reasons for refusing to testify, but fundamentally says she considers the whole grand jury process to be unacceptable.

Trenga was unimpressed with her rationale and noted that grand juries are embedded in the Constitution.

He said he hopes that while incarcerated "Ms. Manning would reflect on the principles she says she's embracing ... and whether those views are worth the price she's paying for them."

Manning's lawyers had argued that she should not be jailed because she has proven that she will refuse to testify no matter how long she's jailed. Under federal law, a recalcitrant witness can be jailed for civil contempt only if there's a reasonable possibility that the incarceration will coerce the witness into testifying. If a judge were to determine that incarcerating Manning were punitive rather than coercive, Manning would not be jailed.

"Whatever you might think of her, Chelsea Manning is a principled person," said her lawyer, Moira Meltzer-Cohen. "She's more willing to put herself at grave risk than to betray her deeply held principles."

Manning herself told the judge directly: "I would rather starve to death than change my principles in this regard."

Prosecutors, though, said that so far Manning has only faced up to two months in jail. She has not faced the reality of being incarcerated for up to 18 months.

"Simply put, Ms. Manning has not spent enough time in jail to arrive at the time" where she could argue that she can't be coerced into testifying, prosecutor Thomas Traxler said.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia G. Zachary Terwilliger said after Manning's hearing that Manning is not being asked to do any more than any other citizen who might have relevant information.

He noted that the grand jury has given her immunity for her truthful testimony and that grand juries' role in the legal system is to serve as a check on prosecutors by requiring them to present evidence to a group of ordinary citizens before obtaining an indictment.

"All we want is for her to truthfully answer any questions," he said.

Manning served seven years in a military prison for leaking a trove of documents to WikiLeaks before then-President Barack Obama commuted the remainder of her 35-year sentence.

The grand jury in Alexandria has already obtained a separate indictment of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for his role in helping disclose the documents Manning gave him.

Manning has argued that Assange's indictment is proof that her testimony is no longer needed and is merely intended to harass her.

Grand juries, though, often issue superseding indictments that can outline additional charges to those spelled out in an additional indictment. Terwilliger declined comment on why Manning's testimony is needed now.
For Woodlands resident David Olowokere, one of Nigeria's sons, having a master's degree in engineering just wasn't enough for his people back home. So he got a doctorate.

His wife, Shalewa Olowokere, a civil engineer, didn't stop at a bachelor's, either. She went for her master's.

The same obsession with education runs in the Udeh household in Sugar Land. Foluke Udeh and her husband, Nduka, both have master's degrees. Anything less, she reckons, would have amounted to failure.

"If you see an average Nigerian family, everybody has a college degree these days," said Udeh, 32, a physical therapist at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. "But a post-graduate degree, that's like pride for the family."

Nigerian immigrants have the highest levels of education in this city and the nation, surpassing whites and Asians, according to Census data bolstered by an analysis of 13 annual Houston-area surveys conducted by Rice University.

Although they make up a tiny portion of the U.S. population, a whopping 17 percent of all Nigerians in this country held master's degrees while 4 percent had a doctorate, according to the 2006 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition, 37 percent had bachelor's degrees.

In comparison

To put those numbers in perspective, 8 percent of the white population in the U.S. had master's degrees, according to the Census survey. And 1 percent held doctorates. About 19 percent of white residents had bachelor's degrees. Asians come closer to the Nigerians with 12 percent holding master's degrees and 3 percent having doctorates.

The Nigerian numbers are "strikingly high," said Roderick Harrison, demographer at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank that specializes in researching black issues. "There is no doubt that these are highly educated professionals who are probably working in the petrochemical, medical and business sectors in Houston."

Harrison analyzed the census data for the Houston Chronicle.

Stephen Klineberg, a sociologist at Rice University who conducts the annual Houston Area Survey, suspects the percentage of Nigerian immigrants with post-graduate degrees is higher than Census data shows.

Of all the Nigerian immigrants he reached in his random phone surveys 1994 through 2007  45 households total  Klineberg said 40 percent of the Nigerians said they had post-graduate degrees.

"These are higher levels of educational attainment than were found in any other ... community," Klineberg said.

There are more than 12,000 Nigerians in Houston, according to the latest Census data, a figure sociologists and Nigerian community leaders say is a gross undercount. They believe the number to be closer to 100,000.

Staying in school

The reasons Nigerians have more post-graduate degrees than any other racial or ethnic group are largely due to Nigerian society's emphasis on mandatory and free education. Once immigrating to this country, practical matters of immigration laws get in the way.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 made it easier for Africans to enter the U.S., but mostly as students or highly skilled professionals  not through family sponsorships, Klineberg said.

So many Africans pursue higher levels of education as an unintended consequence of navigating the tricky minefield of immigration, said Amadu Jacky Kaba, an associate professor at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., who has done research on African immigrants in the U.S.

"In a way, it's a Catch-22  because of immigration laws you are forced to remain in school, but then the funny thing is you end up getting your doctorate at the age of 29," Kaba said. "If you stay in school, immigration will leave you alone."

Although Kaba, who teaches Africana Studies, is not from Nigeria (he is Liberian), he said he, too, found himself pursuing a master's and then a doctorate to remain in this country legally.

But not all Africans have to go this route. Some say their motivation is driven by their desire to overcome being a double minority: black and African.

Take Oluyinka Olutoye, 41, associate professor of pediatric surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. He came to this country already as a medical doctor but decided to pursue his doctorate in anatomy to help set himself apart.

"Being black, you are already at a disadvantage," said Olutoye, whose wife, Toyin Olutoye, is an anesthesiologist at Baylor. "You really need to excel far above if you want to be considered for anything in this country."

Family expectations

All this talk of education creates high expectations for children of Nigerian immigrants. The eldest child of David Olowokere, chairman of the engineering technologies department at Texas Southern University, for example, is already working on her master's degree in public health in Atlanta; the middle child is pursuing a bachelor's in pre-medicine. His youngest, a son, attends The Woodlands High School. He already has aspirations to go into engineering, just like his parents, Olowokere beams.

"The goal is for them to do as good as us  if not better," he said.

Oluyinka Olutoye put it another way.

"The typical saying in a Nigerian household is that the best inheritance that a parent can give you is not jewelry or cash or material things, it is a good education," he said. "It is expected."

leslie.casimir@chron.com
A birthday celebration in Pennsylvania ended with a 55-year-old woman facing aggravated assault charges.

According to police, Georgia Zowacki had been drinking heavily throughout the day when she became angry that no one bought her a birthday present or a card.

David Rea, who lives with Zowacki, told WTAE that Zowacki attacked him while he was in his room with a box cutter.

"She stabs me four times. Then she went to my neck and said I'm going to kill you," Rea said.

Rea said he had just met Zowacki two months ago when she moved into another room at his home in West Newton. He said he took her to lunch for her birthday earlier in the day and she started drinking when they got home.

"It went 180 degrees," Rea said. "She got very belligerent."

Rea had some cuts on his wrist, but otherwise is OK. According to police, Zowacki also trashed his room, destroying his television. She is being held in the Westmoreland County jail after being unable to post bail.
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(Construction) - On December 3, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Construction held a conference to appraise the General Plan for Construction Project of Cao Bang Border Gate Economic Zone to 2040.

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John Barnes remembers. He remembers the things that happened: the buckshot ripping through his arm, the "waterhose" of blood.

He remembers things that didn't: pausing in the hallway, searching for a second shooter.

A year later, the scars are still healing and the former Santa Fe ISD police officer is still trying to pick up the pieces after surviving one of the worst school shootings in the nation.

Scott Kingsley/Staff photographer

Last week, he sat down with Behind the Walls host Keri Blakinger and her fellow reporter St. John Barned-Smith to talk about the sense of obligation he feels as a survivor, recount the graphic details of that day, offer his thoughts on various gun-related pieces of legislation, and talk about his plans for the road to recovery that still stretches out ahead.

Give it a listen in the player on this page, search for "Behind the Walls" on Apple Podcasts or go to your favorite podcast app and click subscribe.

Look for new episodes every few weeks and, in between, follow show host Keri Blakinger's prisons coverage in the Chronicle or on Twitter and follow cohost Lance Lowry's news through his nonprofit, the Texas Correctional Institute.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Maybe this is just the enticement your friends and family need to come visit: Destination Cleveland and Frontier Airlines are partnering to offer 20% off fares for six days in June for round-trip travel to Cleveland.

The occasion: Destination Clevelands first Visit Me in CLE event, designed to encourage locals to invite their friends and family to check out Cleveland.

The event runs June 21-23. Frontiers fare sale is good for travel June 19-24. Tickets must be purchased between May 18-22; use promo code VISITME at flyfrontier.com.

Visit Me in CLE is part of Destination Clevelands campaign to attract 20 million visitors to the region by 2020. The event ties into research that shows recommendations from residents are among the most important resources for visitors coming to Cleveland.

The weekend event will feature special activities and tours, discounts on attractions, dining, retail and more.

In March, Destination Cleveland hosted a precursor event, Be a Tourist in Your Hometown, designed to refamiliarize locals with the many attractions and activities in Greater Cleveland.

Read more: Tourist in her hometown: Destination Cleveland events encourages writer, others to explore the city

In addition to the Frontier discounts, Destination Cleveland is giving away several trips to Cleveland via an ongoing Instagram contest. Residents can enter by checking out @ThisisCLE on Instagram and following the instructions every Monday through June 10.

Prize packages include travel for two to Cleveland (airfare or gas cards), overnight accommodations, dining gift certificates and four tickets to a Visit Me event (two for the locals and two for their out-of-town guests). For information: visitmeincle.com.
MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The Friends of the Mayfield Library recently recognized one of their own: Ron Adzema, a man who helped start the local librarys regularly held book sales in 1971 -- and who operated them until last year.

At a ceremony held May 4, Adzema was given a small clock with an attached plaque in recognition of his dedication to the sales and the library. In addition to being a driving influence on the book sales, Adzema is an original Friends of the Library member, dating to its founding in 1970.

There were about 20 of us in the group, Adzema, 82, said of the founding members. That group included Adzemas late wife of 61 years, Lorry. The couple raised five children based on their love of learning and belief in the importance of the library as a tool for gaining knowledge. All five of those children went on to earn masters degrees. One of Adzemas daughters, Lisa Prister, retired last year after teaching 33 years at Gates Mills Elementary School.

Most libraries now have (a) Friends (organization), he said. But we were the very first in the region. Weve helped an awful lot of people over the years. We used to send books to libraries in Mississippi, to nursing homes in the area, to Marines in Iraq, to some schools in Cleveland Heights and University Heights, and to Presbyterian Ministries in Cleveland.

In addition, he said: Weve raised money for kids programs, for senior programs at the library, and for equipment. We recently purchased a laser printer for the library.

A retired mechanical engineer, Adzema said he took 10 years to earn his engineering degree from Cleveland State University while raising his family of two boys and three girls. Of his career, he said, I remodeled or built buildings all over the world, from Tokyo, Japan, to California.

Lorry Adzema worked for 23 years as a third-shift emergency room head nurse for the Cleveland Clinic. She died of cancer in 2003.

While Adzema said that the Friends were formed as a way to spread knowledge and the importance of books to young and old, it -- like libraries -- has evolved with the times. He is proud of how the Cuyahoga County Public Librarys Mayfield branch has changed to accommodate residents needs.

Theyre doing their best to help kids transition to technology, he said. Its not the same as it was.

When the Friends were formed, the Mayfield Library was located in the Mayland shopping center in Mayfield Heights. It moved in the mid-1970s to the grounds of Mayfield High School, then six years ago to the then-newly built building at 500 S.O.M. Center Road in Mayfield Village.

Weve had the book sales for 49 years, Adzema said. We used to hold them quarterly, then monthly for the last umpteen years. In fact, we now sell books daily at the library.

The books sold are those people have bought, read and donated, or are older books the library no longer has in circulation.

When the Friends of the Mayfield Library was formed, Adzema said, many of its founders were young parents. He was 31 at the time, and believed that participation with the library would be a good example for his children to follow.

Today, while the Friends group has grown to about 275 members, Adzema said, Most all of us are retired.

When asked why he thought parents no longer make up a large part of the membership, Adzema said: "We have a different idea today of what we want to participate in with our children. How many kids today have iPhones? The whole idea of what we do at the library is different. The internet didnt exist before, and now you can look up anything.

Things are changing. I dont think some parents want to spend as much time with their kids. (They say), heres a twenty (dollar bill).

Named Mayfield Heights Citizen of the Year in 2016 -- he has resided in the city for 53 years -- Cleveland native Adzema last ran a book sale in July of last year, his participation curtailed by recent knee operations. He looks forward to the book sale tradition continuing.

See more Sun Messenger news here.
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- At 7:20 p.m. May 10, a man went to the police station to report a road rage incident. The man reported that as he drove on Superior Road near Lee Road, he stopped his car to avoid running over a rabbit.

The driver of the car behind his, a woman, became upset. The woman got out of her car and began to scream profanities at the man. The mans young grandchildren were in the car.

The woman then threw the contents of a cup she carried, believed to be a milkshake, in the mans face before getting back in her car and driving away. The man wrote down the womans license plate number.

Police produced a picture of the woman from her drivers license, and the man and his grandchildren positively identified her. Cleveland Heights Municipal Court will mail the woman a citation for disorderly conduct.

See more Sun Press news here.
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio --

Aggravated menacing, South Taylor Road

At 11 p.m. May 9, police were called to Pizza Hut, 1903 S. Taylor Road, where an incident had taken place involving an upset customer.

Officers spoke with the Pizza Hut manager, who stated that a customer had called to complain that there was no pepperoni on his pizza, as he had ordered. The caller, 31, said he would come to the store and, five minutes later, he arrived.

The customer argued with the manager, 38, then stated that he would come around the counter and kill the manager, but he didnt want to be charged with robbery.

The customer then left the store, went to the rear of his car and appeared to take something out of the auto. Next, the customer walked to the stores doorway and stood there for about 10 seconds holding an object in his pocket that appeared to the manager to be a gun. The customer then proceeded to the parking lot, where he waved the handgun in the air before getting back in his car and driving away.

Police viewed store footage of the incident and learned the customers name and address from his online order. Officers went to the house and arrested the man on a menacing charge. The following morning, police towed the mans car to examine it for evidence.

Disorderly conduct, Superior Road

At 7:20 p.m. May 10, a man went to the police station to report a road rage incident. The man reported that as he drove on Superior Road near Lee Road, he stopped his car to avoid running over a rabbit.

The driver of the car behind his, a woman, became upset. The woman got out of her car and began to scream profanities at the man. The mans young grandchildren were in the car.

The woman then threw the contents of a cup she carried, believed to be a milkshake, in the mans face before getting back in her car and driving away. The man wrote down the womans license plate number.

Police produced a picture of the woman from her drivers license, and the man and his grandchildren positively identified her. Cleveland Heights Municipal Court will mail the woman a citation for disorderly conduct.

OVI, Euclid Heights Boulevard

At 1:10 a.m. May 10, an officer was on Euclid Heights Boulevard when he saw a car being driven from a driveway. The car did not slow down to look for possible oncoming traffic, continuing onto the road, then over a curb and onto a tree lawn while making a wide turn.

The officer followed the slow-moving car and, because several pedestrians were in the area, conducted a traffic stop. The car was found to have a flat front tire.

The driver, a man, 31, smelled of alcohol and had glassy eyes. He went on to fail field sobriety tests and was arrested for OVI.

Also in the car was a woman, 25, who was found to be wanted on a Warrensville Heights police warrant. The WHPD could not pick up the woman, so she was advised of the warrant.

Inside the car, police found a professional digital scale, and on the mans person, $754.

At the jail, during the booking process, the man became uncooperative, refusing to be photographed and to have his fingerprints taken. The man also refused to sign paperwork.

In addition to OVI, the man was charged with not wearing a seatbelt, driving upon a tree lawn and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Domestic violence, Superior Road

At 11:05 p.m. May 12, a woman, 44, reported that during an argument with her daughter, 15, the girl lunged at her and swung at her, hitting the woman in the face. The woman hit her daughter back while protecting herself, and the girl again lunged at her.

The womans son, 17, restrained the girl against a wall, but she broke free and ran from the apartment.

The woman had two small, but bloody scratches on the bridge of her nose. Police arrested the girl on a domestic violence charge and transported her to the juvenile detention center.

OVI, Forest Hills Boulevard

At 2 a.m. May 11, police were called to the scene of a two-car crash at the intersection of Forest Hills Boulevard and Lee Boulevard.

A man driving a Lyft vehicle, and with two passengers in the back seat, told police he had stopped at a stop sign and a car had hit his auto from behind. In the car that caused the crash a woman sat in the passenger seat with a bloody nose caused by the deployment of the cars airbag. Police described the woman as emotional.

The driver was no longer in the car, which sustained heavy front-end damage. The injured woman told police that the woman driving got out of the car after the crash and walked away.

The Lyft driver told police he had a gun in his car, but did not have a permit. Police took control of the loaded weapon and charged the man with improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle. In the Lyft drivers back seat was a woman and her child, 1. Neither were injured, but the woman asked for medical care because she is pregnant.

Police located the driver who had walked away from the crash. The woman swayed as she stood and didnt answer all of the officers questions. Police noted that the woman seemed more concerned with finding her cell phone in her purse. Because of the crash, police transported the woman to the hospital, where a blood draw was taken.

The woman was impaired and was charged with OVI and with causing the crash.

See more Sun Press news here.
COLUMBUS, Ohio  If national Democrats were to write off Ohio in 2020, they would do so at their own peril, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in Columbus on Friday night at an Ohio Democratic Party event.

Its a great American state. Its a state everyone wants to win. And to win, you have to fight. You have to fight to turn Ohio blue, she said.

Pelosi was the keynote speaker at the Ohio Democratic Partys Legacy Dinner, the state partys major annual fundraising event. Over 1,000 people attended, a state party official said, filling a ballroom in the Columbus convention center.

The integrity of Ohios historical swing-state status was a major topic of conversation at the event, which was in part a two-hour call to action, and in part a two-hour pep talk. Dont Stop Believing, by Journey aptly played over the loudspeakers multiple times over the course of the night.

There was some optimism from Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper and others that Ohio may get new congressional maps for 2020  giving them a better chance to compete thanks to a ruling from a federal court in Cincinnati that declared Ohios maps unconstitutionally gerrymandered. Ohios current congressional delegation is split 12-4 in favor of Republicans, even though the states popular vote tends to be closer to half and half.

A three-judge panel ordered state lawmakers to draw new maps before June 14. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking for at least a delay as the high court considered gerrymandering cases in other states.

On Friday night, Pepper and others also insisted that despite the results of the November election, in which Ohio Democrats failed to flip any congressional seats and were shut out of the state governments five executive offices, the state remains in play in future presidential elections.

In his remarks throughout the night, Pepper, who came under mostly private, intra-party criticism over the results of the November election, repeatedly referenced public deliberations by national Democrats over whether theyd be better off focusing on other states in 2020.

The 2020 election is right around the corner, and Ohio is in play, Pepper said. Every presidential candidate should be laser focused on Ohio for one reason. If Trump doesnt win here, its over. A blue Ohio means its over for a Trump presidency.

In her remarks, Pelosi praised Peppers leadership of the party, and she also praised other elected Ohio Democrats, including the late Sen. John Glenn, whose funeral she attended in 2016.

She shouted out Ohios constitutional amendment approved by voters last year that aims to make Ohios congressional districts fairer, starting in 2022. But she didnt directly reference the ACLU lawsuit.

She also didnt directly reference talk from some in her party, including Democratic presidential contenders like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who have called for impeaching President Donald Trump over his conduct during the recently completed Mueller investigation.

But about 25 minutes into her speech, Pelosi, who has resisted calls to begin impeachment proceedings, alluded to House Democrats ongoing, myriad investigations into Trump.

We will all start to make progress in the lives of the people. thats our responsibility. but we also will investigate to defend our democracy and hold this president accountable. This will be all about the presentation of the facts. We owe that to the American people.

In a statement issued before Pelosis speech, Republican National Committee spokeswoman Mandi Merritt said: From refusing to address the crisis at our Southern Border, to propping up her partys most extreme policy proposals, Nancy Pelosi is a symbol of how out-of-touch the Democratic Party really is. While Ohioans are thriving in President Trumps economy where they can count on more jobs, better wages and more money in their pockets, Pelosi and her California values are nothing but a reminder of the past.

Before the event, Sen. Sherrod Brown, another Friday night speaker, made the case that Ohio is in play, even though he said the November election wasnt a particularly good year for his fellow Buckeye State Democrats.

Brown, who was comfortably re-elected in November due in large part to a weak challenger, referenced the fact that Ohio has voted for the winner of every presidential election since 1960.

You dont write off a state thats gone with the winner every single time, he said.

Before the event, Pepper told reporters he thinks redrawn maps would result in as many as four of Ohios 16 congressional districts becoming newly competitive.

The prospect of picking up seats in Ohio would attract outside political money and energize his partys voters, he said.

I think it lifts Democratic turnout higher than it normally would be, because for the most part, people in most of these districts have honestly felt like their vote didnt matter, he said.

Pepper also unflinchingly praised Pelosi, who is polarizing among some Ohio Democrats. Youngstown-area U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, whos now running a long-shot campaign for the presidency, briefly challenged Pelosi for her congressional leadership post in 2016, arguing the California congresswoman didnt represent the interior of the country.

In an interview, Pepper called Pelosi the adult in the room in Washington, D.C., saying she has stood up to Trump and oversaw the passage of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

I think she ultimately goes down as one of the historic figures in politics in America, and so for that reason were honored to have her here, Pepper said.

Other speakers at Fridays event included U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Ohio House Democratic Leader Emilia Sykes, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Michael P. Donnelly  one of two Democrats elected to the state Supreme Court last November  and Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney.

The events penultimate speakers were Gary Hilton, a 25-year employee of the recently shuttered General Motors plant in Lordstown, and his wife, Danielle Hilton.
CNBC's Jim Cramer said Friday investors his blessings to buy shares of InterActiveCorp. The media and internet conglomerate on May 8 released its financial report for the period ending March 31, which delivered earnings per share of $1.06. The company reported 86 cents EPS in the same period the year prior. "I thought that was an amazing quarter," the "Mad Money" host said. "I think that company is so inexpensive. I frankly don't even understand it. I say it's a buy, buy, buy." The stock closed the session down 1.21%. It's up more than 28% this year and nearly 61% in the past 12 months.

Cramer's week ahead

A truck moves a shipping container at Qingdao Port on January 14, 2019 in Qingdao, Shandong Province of China. VCG | Getty Images

Cramer said he expects more of the same in the week ahead of stock trading. "Next week, once again, is all about trade and retail," he said. "This is the week when most retailers report, so we will be listening closely to what they say about the trade war." Click here to see what earnings reports he has circled on his calendar

Nvidia

Jen-Hsun Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp. Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang doesn't expect Chinese regulators to stand in the way of its nearly $7 billion takeover of Israeli chip designer Mellanox Technologies. In an interview that aired Friday, Huang told Cramer that the merger will fulfill an important function for data center security networking and storage processing. China, which is engulfed in a tense trade war with the United States, is a major semiconductor market where both companies sell a large portion of their products. Cramer said he worried that the country's regulators could vote to block the merger, as one of several international councils to evaluate global deals. "I think China is going to love it," Huang said in a sit down with Cramer. "[Mellanox is] the world's best at connecting high performance systems, and we've been working with them for a long time." Read more here

Pinterest's first public report

Ben Silbermann, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Pinterest, speaks in front of the company's logo at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), during the company's IPO on April 18, 2019 in New York City. Johannes Eisele | AFP | Getty Images

Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann told Cramer on Friday that the company's leadership will continue to be transparent and focus on the company's long-term trajectory  despite a tumble after the company's first quarterly report as a public company. Silbermann sat down with the host a day after delivering Pinterest's first quarterly results to shareholders since going public last month. The stock dropped nearly 14% during the session after the company posted a wider loss per share than Wall Street expected. "We're not trying to set expectations artificially low and go above them," he said. "We're trying to be transparent, and I think that the consistent thing you'll hear from me  is that we want to focus on the long term." Go deeper here

Proofpoint

Gary Steele, CEO of Proofpoint. Anjali Sundaram | CNBC

Proofpoint, an enterprise security company, has made moves into the cloud computing space. Microsoft's Office 365, the computer maker's line of subscription service, has been a key driver in Proofpoint's strategy, CEO Gary Steele said. "We've been benefiting as organizations reconsider their on premise strategy," he told Cramer. "They need additional security controls than what Microsoft's providing today, and we're helping those customers be successful in a Microsoft environment." The firm counts Okta and Palo Alto Networks among some of its clients. Catch the full interview here

Gauging the trade war

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the National Association of Realtors Legislative Meeting and Trade Expo in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, May 17, 2019. Olivier Douliery | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Cramer said President Donald Trump's actions show that he wouldn't mind cutting off all business ties with China if it came to it. It's not ideal for the stock market, but the host suggests investors should be ready for anything. Get his full insight here

Cramer's lightning round: Arena Pharmaceuticals, Yext, and more
Patrick Lux | Getty Images News | Getty Images

One of the most overwhelming problems in cybersecurity is a severe labor shortage. There simply aren't enough people who are qualified to do cybersecurity jobs to fill all the open roles. A start-up called Synack is helping companies get around this shortage by providing "crowdsourced" security. Its software platform provides automated ways for companies to discover security flaws, then it turns those vulnerabilities over to penetration testers, known as pen-testers  basically, hackers who use their powers for good. The company makes a point of hiring top pen-testing talent, then sees how they can use the flaws to breach the client. Synack competes with both companies that provide vulnerability monitoring with machine learning, and with bug bounty programs, which allow companies to hire hackers with hard-to-find skills en masse to test their networks. Government agencies and companies will need creative solutions like this as they face a shortfall of cybersecurity workers for available jobs, leading to 3.5 million unfilled roles by 2021, according to Cybersecurity Ventures, which monitors cyber job trends. Synack, which ranked No. 42 on the 2019 CNBC Disruptor 50 list, has 150 global customers, including 15 federal agencies in the United States.

The freelance model makes sense, as hackers with the best skills are often in high demand or too dynamic to want to stay put at a corporate job, according to Synack CEO Jay Kaplan. "The talent crisis in this industry is pretty massive, and these people don't like to be pigeonholed," Kaplan told CNBC. "So we incentivize based on their ability to find very critical, impactful vulnerabilities on our companies. I fundamentally believe that the future of this type of talent is in a freelance or gig-economy type of dynamic. These folks don't want to work full time for these companies, but they can find the most critical vulnerabilities that can impact them." For many the payoff is huge. "We just had our first hacker pass the $1 million mark [this year]," Kaplan said, meaning the freelancer had earned $1 million total in bounties from companies and agencies during his career there. According to Kaplan, these pros are racking up a lot of money since their skills are in such high demand.

Crowdsourcing security

Earlier this decade, it was hard to convince government agencies and companies to let some of the world's best hackers have a crack at their networks, Kaplan said. But that's changed as companies face a seemingly endless array of novel techniques and old problems that can be combined to cause serious breaches. "Particularly in the past couple of years, crowdsourcing and security really weren't ending up in the same sentence. It required a lot of trust to be built into the model. We're excited today that the industry has really swung in the complete opposite direction," he said. The company has stringent requirements for hackers  it only employs around 1,000 freelancers, which they vet for reliability and skills. This is one way Kaplan said the company has tried to build trust with nervous corporations. "We weed out about 90% of the folks that come into it, and we've built a whole platform to facilitate trust and control and visibility," he said.

Synack offers visualizations of a company's cybersecurity stance. Synack
US President Donald Trump (L) greets Switzerland's President Ueli Maurer before a meeting at the White House on May 16, 2019, in Washington, DC.

That leaves room for miscalculations that could keep the oil market on edge. Tehran and Washington have already misread one another's actions , leading to a dangerous series of counter measures between the adversaries, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

However, energy industry watchers and experts in the region believe the Iranian leadership in Tehran is not ready for talks. They say the Islamic Republic will first seek to strengthen its hand after the Trump administration tightened sanctions on the nation's lifeblood, oil exports, and designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist group .

President Donald Trump appears to be paving the way for negotiations with Iran as tensions in the Middle East steadily escalate and send oil prices higher this week.

If we're going to persist down the policy course we're on, which is essentially to eviscerate the Iranian economy, even if we say we want to talk, are they going to listen to us unless we sweeten the offer?

Trump on Thursday met with Swiss President Ueli Maurer, whose nation has facilitated communication between the U.S. and Iran since they broke diplomatic ties in 1979. A day earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo phoned Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman, another long-time intermediary between the U.S. and Iran.

That outreach, along with Trump's recent remarks that he wants Iran to call him, are fueling speculation that Washington is seeking a diplomatic path after a series of troubling escalations in the Middle East.

This week alone, four vessels were allegedly sabotaged in a strategic oil port off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen also claimed responsibility for drone attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, prompting retaliatory airstrikes by Saudi Arabia on Houthi positions in Yemen.

Meanwhile, Washington has expedited the deployment of warships and bombers to the Middle East and pulled diplomatic staff from Iraq in response to intelligence suggesting Iran is planning attacks on U.S. positions in the region. The posturing has raised concerns that hawks within the White House are setting the stage for military conflict.

But a day before his meeting with the Swiss president, Trump reportedly told acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan that he does not want to go to war with Iran. On Friday, Trump took to Twitter to denounce the "Fake News Media" for "fraudulent and highly inaccurate coverage of Iran."

Tweet.

"I think they're trying to walk it back a bit," said John Kilduff, founding partner at energy hedge fund Again Capital. "I don't think Trump wants a war. I think he thinks it would hurt his reelection efforts."

Oil prices have risen about 2% this week on Middle East tensions. If the rhetoric from Washington cools, oil prices could pull back at least $2 a barrel, Kilduff said.

Risk consultancy Eurasia Group believes Trump is serious when he says he wants Iran to call him to negotiate.

"Trump is supremely confident in his negotiating abilities and believes he can strike deals that no other president can. He wants to repeat with [Iranian President] Hassan Rouhani what he did with Kim Jong Un," Eurasia Group analysts Henry Rome and Jeffrey Wright said in a research note.

Rome and Wright say the Iranian foreign minister's offer last month to negotiate a prisoner swap may have opened the door for this week's meeting with the Swiss. But following increased U.S. pressure, Tehran is now likely to focus on building leverage against Washington before agreeing to talks.

That includes by continuing to scale up its nuclear program. Iran is restarting some nuclear activity it previously agreed to suspend under a 2015 accord with world powers. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal last May and restored wide-ranging economic sanctions on Iran, setting in motion a year of steadily escalating tension with the Islamic Republic.
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln shown in a photo dated January 18, 2012. U.S. Navy | Chief Mass Communication Specialist Eric S. Powell/Handout | Reuters

The Trump administration is engaged in a global juggling act involving so many strategically significant balls that it would confound the capabilities of the most skilled circus performer. President Trump's allies praise him for his willingness to take on issues long neglected by U.S. policy makers: confronting China's unfair trade practices, taking on Iran's malign regional behavior, working to replace Venezuela's dictator with democracy, and deploying carrots and sticks to denuclearize North Korea, to name just a few. Succeeding at any one of those challenges would be a major win. Score them all and President Trump's name would be written large in history books. By the same token, dropping any of those balls  and any juggler knows that likelihood grows with the volume of what must be managed  would have long-lasting consequences, for the regions involved and for U.S. credibility globally. Even so, Juggler-in-Chief Trump keeps adding complexity to this high-risk, uncertain-return show. Whether by increasing tariffs further on China and further restricting Huawei's access to U.S. markets, or by sending a carrier strike group to the Middle East, President Trump ratchets up pressures in the hope of leveraging that into success. What unifies the four issues listed above are both their significance and the fact that President Trump has personally identified them as defining issues. Yet a great many other issues complicate the picture further, ranging from escalating violence in Afghanistan alongside Taliban negotiations and managing relations with an increasingly empowered and assertive Russia. Mercifully, what the Trump administration hasn't yet suffered is the unanticipated crises or shocks of the sort faced by previous presidents  such as the 9-11 attacks for President George W. Bush or the global financial crisis for President Barack Obama. Should such a surprise occur, the already limited national security bandwidth of the administration  particularly with so many key jobs open or filled by "acting" officials  will be further strained.

China's President Xi Jinping (L) and US President Donald Trump review Chinese honour guards during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017. Fred Dufour | AFP | Getty Images

What's unsettling financial markets, allies and adversaries most is an inability to properly calculate and thus "bake in" this degree of geopolitical risk from a U.S. president who prides himself on his disruptive tactics. No one quite knows what unifying strategy binds these situations  nor what President Trump's end game might be on each. Still, there seem to be three options for how this plays out. First, Trump doesn't get what he wants on all these key issues (no deal with China; Iran remains unchanged; Maduro remains in power and North Korea keeps its nukes) and America's interests suffer across the board. Second, he moves off the maximalist positions he's taken and settles for compromise  and there are some signs of that regarding Venezuela with talks in Norway and with his recent remark that he was open to a phone call from Tehran. On trade, U.S. stock markets closed somewhat lower for the week with concerns growing about hardening U.S. and Chinese positions (see last week's column on the end of illusions regarding U.S.-China trade). At the same time, however, market concerns were softened Friday by the Trump administration's decision to delay a decision on car tariffs by six months and through President Trump's announcement that he had reached an agreement to lift steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Third, President Trump escalates even further  through an even tougher trade war with China or military action against Iran's mullahs or Venezuela's dictator. Yet that would require him to abandon his reluctance to start new wars, one of the most striking consistencies of the Trump presidency and embrace the more hawkish approach of John Bolton. That's unlikely. What doesn't seem to be guiding Trump's thinking and actions is a clearly articulated strategy of the sort that has driven previous administrations. Instead, he seems guided by "America First" instincts and hunches that put the interests of the nation-state first, to be advanced globally through the leverage of maximum demands and pressures short of military action.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro attends a rally in support of his government and to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the end of the dictatorship of Marcos Perez Jimenez next to his wife Cilia Flores in Caracas, Venezuela January 23, 2019. Miraflores Palace | Handout | Reuters
Hogs are raised on the farm of Ted Fox on July 25, 2018 near Osage, Iowa.

President Donald Trump's decision to lift steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexico and Canada is welcome news for the U.S. pork industry. It also comes at a time when American pork producers are hurting from the escalating U.S.-China trade war.

Last year, Mexico responded to U.S. tariffs on steel by slapping duties on a variety of agricultural goods including pork and cheese. Mexico is the American pork industry's largest single export market in volume and second largest in value after Japan.

On Friday, the U.S. said it reached a deal with Canada and Mexico to lift steel and aluminum tariffs, while also confirming Canada and Mexico would remove tit-for-tat tariffs they imposed on a variety of American products.

"We thank the administration for ending a trade dispute that has placed enormous financial strain on American pork producers," said David Herring, a North Carolina pork producer and president of the National Pork Producers Council.

Last summer, Mexico levied hefty tariffs up to 20% on U.S. pork in retaliation for the Trump administration's duties on Mexican steel and aluminum products. Mexico first slapped unprocessed pork with an initial 10% tariff on June 5 but then increased it to 20% on July 5.

According to Herring, Mexico's 20% retaliatory tariff on U.S. pork products have cost the industry about $1.5 billion. He estimates the tariff has cost producers about $12 per animal in losses.

"Removing the metal tariffs restores zero-tariff trade to U.S. pork's largest export market and allows NPPC to focus more resources on working toward ratification of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement," Herring said.

Canada and Mexico last year bought just over 40% of the pork that was exported from the United States.

Mexico bought more than $1.3 billion of U.S. pork and pork products last year, although due to the tariffs that was down from $1.5 billion in 2017.

Canada, meantime, purchased $765 million worth of American pork last year, down from $792 million in 2017. Pork exports to Canada peaked in 2014 when they topped $900 million.

Last year, Canada imposed tariffs on about $12.5 billion worth of U.S. products in retaliation for the U.S. imported steel duties.

Ottawa's tariffs of 10% went into effect in early July and hit a variety of U.S. staples, including chocolate, ketchup, yogurt, caffeinated roasted coffee, orange juice, maple syrup, salad dressing and soups. While Canada imposed tariffs on U.S. beef it didn't target U.S. pork last year.

"The president has treated our allies as adversaries," said Bruce Heyman, former U.S. ambassador to Canada in the Obama administration. "He now finds himself in a particularly difficult place with China and in need of maybe some friends and allies at the table."

The deal with Mexico and Canada comes on the heels of reports U.S. trade talks with China have stalled. Also, Chinese buyers recently pulled orders for 3,247 metric tons of American pork  representing the largest cancellation in more than a year, Reuters reported this week.

The Chinese are the world's largest consumers of pork products, but the U.S.-China trade war has led to Beijing slapping stiff tariffs on American pork products.

The Mexican and Chinese markets have been critical to the U.S. pork industry because they have purchased a product that Americans typically don't buy, including raw hams and what's called variety meats or organ meats.

Those products have historically been seen as adding value to the animal and helping producers in terms of profitability.

"For the U.S. pork industry, exports are critically important," said Nick Giordano, vice president of global government affairs for the NPPC.

In 2018, China/Hong Kong bought about 14% of U.S. pork exports and Japan more than 16%, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

Overall, exports account for roughly 25% of total U.S. pork production.

"On average, in the past 10 to 15 years the U.S. has been the No. 1 pork exporter in the world," said Giordano. "So it's really tough when export markets get disrupted."
Apple CEO Tim Cook challenged Gen Z to clean up the messes Baby Boomers have left behind.

"In some important ways, my generation has failed you," Cook said Saturday in his commencement speech at Tulane University in New Orleans, La., at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

"We have spent too much time debating, we have been too focused on the fight, and not focused enough on progress," Cook, 58 and a member of the Boomer generation, said. Generally, college graduates are part of Generation Z.

"You don't need to look far to find an example of that failure," Cook said, referring to New Orleans, where he was speaking, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Cook bore down hard on climate change.

"Here today, in this very place, where thousands once found desperate shelter from a hundred-year disaster  the kind that seem to be happening more and more frequently  I don't think we can talk about who we are as people and what we owe to one another without talking about climate change," Cook said.

Fixing climate change should not be a matter for political debate, Cook said.

"This problem doesn't get any easier based on whose side wins or loses an election. It's about who has won life's lottery and has the luxury of ignoring this issue and who stands to lose everything," Cook said.



"The coastal communities, including some right here in Louisiana, that are also making plans to leave behind the places they have called home for generations and head for higher ground. The fisherman who nets come up empty. The wildlife preserves with less wildlife to preserve, the marginalized, for whom a natural disaster can mean enduring poverty."

TWEET: Tim Cook quote Tulane
Conservative Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz pulled the plug Saturday on his coalition with the far-right Freedom Party, after the party's leader quit as vice chancellor over video showing him discussing state contracts in return for favors from a woman posing as a Russian oligarch's niece.

"Enough is enough," Kurz said in a statement to the media, listing several lesser scandals involving the Freedom Party that did not cause their coalition to collapse. He said he would propose to Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen that a snap election be held as soon as possible.

The Freedom Party, one of a number of anti-immigrant nationalist parties to have scored electoral success in Europe in recent years, has been the junior partner in Kurz's coalition for 18 months.

Heinz-Christian Strache said earlier Saturday he was stepping down from his posts as vice-chancellor and Freedom Party chief over the video, but he denied breaking any laws.

The video, released a week before European parliament elections in which nationalist groups allied to Strache's party are expected to perform well across the continent, showed Strache meeting the woman in 2017, shortly before the election that brought him into government.

Strache, whose party has a cooperation agreement with Russia's ruling United Russia party, described the sting as a "targeted political assassination" and said it never led to any money changing hands. He insisted the only crime that took place was illegally videotaping a private dinner party.

In the footage, he appears to offer to funnel contracts towards a company in exchange for political and financial support. He discussed rules on party financing and how to work around them, although he also insisted on having to act legally.

"It was dumb, it was irresponsible and it was a mistake," Strache told a news conference, fighting back tears as he asked his wife and others to forgive him.

"In the cold light of day, my remarks were catastrophic and exceedingly embarrassing," he said. In an at-times rambling defense of his behavior, Strache also apologized for flirting with the woman, whom he describes as attractive in the recording.

"It was typical alcohol-fueled macho behavior in which, yes, I also wanted to impress the attractive female host and I behaved like a bragging teenager," he said.
Huawei Technologies' founder and chief executive Ren Zhengfei said on Saturday the growth of the Chinese tech giant "may slow, but only slightly" due to recent U.S. restrictions.



In remarks to the Japanese press and reported by Nikkei Asian Review, Ren reiterated that the Chinese telecom equipment maker has not violated any law.

"It is expected that Huawei's growth may slow, but only slightly," Ren told Japanese media in his first official comments after the U.S. restrictions, adding that the company's annual revenue growth may undershoot 20%.

On Thursday, Washington put Huawei, one of China's biggest and most successful companies, on a trade blacklist that could make it extremely difficult for Huawei to do business with U.S. companies, a decision slammed by China, which said it will take steps to protect its companies.

The developments surrounding Huawei come at a time of trade tensions between Washington and Beijing and amid concerns from the United States that Huawei's smartphones and network equipment could be used by China to spy on Americans, allegations the company has repeatedly denied.

A similar U.S. ban on China's ZTE Corp had almost crippled business for the smaller Huawei rival early last year before the curb was lifted.



The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday it may soon scale back restrictions on Huawei.

Ren said the company was prepared for such a step and that Huawei would be "fine" even if U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm and other American suppliers would not sell chips to the company.

Huawei's chip arm HiSilicon said on Friday it has long been prepared for the scenario that it could be banned from purchasing U.S. chips and technology, and is able to ensure steady supply of most products.

The Huawei founder said that the company will not be taking instructions from the U.S. government.

"We will not change our management at the request of the U.S. or accept monitoring, as ZTE has done," he said.

In January, U.S. prosecutors unsealed an indictment accusing the Chinese company of engaging in bank fraud to obtain embargoed U.S. goods and services in Iran and to move money out of the country via the international banking system.



Ren's daughter, Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Canada in December in connection with the indictment. Meng, who was released on bail, remains in Vancouver and is fighting extradition. She has maintained her innocence.

Ren has previously said his daughter's arrest was politically motivated.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervises a "strike drill" for multiple launchers and tactical guided weapon into the East Sea on May 4, 2019

North Korea has asked United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to deal with the "illegal" seizure of one of its cargo ships by the United States, state media said on Saturday.

"This act of dispossession has clearly indicated that the United States is indeed a gangster country that does not care at all about international laws," the North Korean ambassador to the United Nations said in a letter sent to Guterres dated Friday, according to North Korea's KCNA news agency.

Pyongyang's protest to the United Nations over the seizure comes amid mounting tensions since a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, aimed at bringing about the denuclearization of the North, broke down in Hanoi in February.

The letter also called for "urgent measures" by Guterres and claimed that Washington infringed the North's sovereignty and violated U.N. charters.

With the denuclearization talks stalled, North Korea went ahead with more weapons tests this month. The tests were seen as a protest by Kim after Trump rejected his calls for sanctions relief at the Hanoi summit.

North Korea has said the ship seizure violated the spirit of the summit and demanded the return of the vessel without delay.

The U.S. Justice Department said the North Korean cargo ship, known as the "Wise Honest," was seized and impounded to American Samoa. The vessel was accused of illicit coal shipments in violation of sanctions and was first detained by Indonesia in April 2018.
Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia's energy and industry minister, arrives ahead of the 174th Organization Of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna, Austria, on Friday, June 22, 2018.

Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Saturday that OPEC will be responsive to the oil market's needs, but that he was not sure there is an oil shortage with data, particularly from the United States, still showing inventories building.

Speaking in Jeddah ahead of a ministerial panel gathering on Sunday by top OPEC and non-OPEC producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, Falih told Reuters OPEC will not decide on output until late June when the group is due to meet.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and other non-OPEC producers have agreed to reduce output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1 for six months, a deal designed to stop inventories building up and weakening prices.

"We will be flexible. We are going to do the right thing as we always do," Falih said of any decision at the meeting in June on continuing the reductions.

Falih said OPEC is guided by two main principles: "One to keep the market in its direction towards balancing and inventories back to normal level. And two to be responsive to market needs. We will strike the right balance I am sure."

OPEC's agreed share of the cuts is 800,000 bpd, but its actual reduction is far larger due to the production losses in Iran and Venezuela. Both are under U.S. sanctions and exempt from the voluntary reductions under the OPEC-led deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called on OPEC and the group's de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, and asked them to lower oil prices. Riyadh, however, is reluctant to boost supply quickly and risk a price crash.

Sunday's ministerial panel meeting, known as the JMMC, comes amid concerns of a tight market as Iran's oil exports are likely to drop further in May, and shipments from Venezuela could fall more in coming weeks due to the sanctions by Washington.

Oil contamination also forced Russia to halt flows along the Druzhba pipeline  a key conduit for crude into Eastern Europe and Germany  in April. The suspension, as yet of unclear duration, left refiners scrambling to find supplies.

"I am not sure there is a supply shortage, but we will look at the (market) analysis. We will definitely be responsive and the market will be supplied," Falih said.

"All indications are that inventories are still rising. We saw the data from the U.S. week after week, and they are massive increases, so obviously (there is) supply abundance."

U.S. crude inventories rose unexpectedly last week to their highest since September 2017, while gasoline stockpiles decreased more than forecast, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.

An OPEC and non-OPEC technical committee found that oil producers' compliance with the supply-reduction agreement reached 168% in April, three sources told Reuters on Saturday.

The committee known as the JTC met ahead of the JMMC gathering to discuss the oil markets.
The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday it may soon scale back restrictions on Huawei Technologies after this week's blacklisting would have made it nearly impossible for the Chinese company to service its existing customers. The Commerce Department, which had effectively halted Huawei's ability to buy American-made parts and components, is considering issuing a temporary general license to "prevent the interruption of existing network operations and equipment," a spokeswoman said. Potential beneficiaries of the license could, for example, include internet access and mobile phone service providers in thinly populated places such as Wyoming and eastern Oregon that purchased network equipment from Huawei in recent years. In effect, the Commerce Department would allow Huawei to purchase U.S. goods so it can help existing customers maintain the reliability of networks and equipment, but the Chinese firm still would not be allowed to buy American parts and components to manufacture new products. The potential rule roll back suggests changes to Huawei's supply chain may have immediate, far-reaching and unintended consequences.

The blacklisting, officially known as placing Huawei on the Commerce Department's entity list, was one or two efforts by the Trump administration this week allegedly made in an attempt to thwart national security risks. In an executive order, President Donald Trump also effectively barred the use of its equipment in U.S. telecom networks. The United States believes Huawei's smartphones and network equipment could be used by China to spy on Americans, allegations the company has repeatedly denied. The latest Commerce move comes as China has struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States, suggesting a resumption of talks between the world's two largest economies would be meaningless unless Washington changed course. A spokesman for Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Out of $70 billion Huawei spent for buying components in 2018, some $11 billion went to U.S. firms including Qualcomm, Intel Corp and Micron Technology.

The Huawei logo in front of the company's German headquarters in Duesseldorf, Germany Wolfgang Rattay | Reuters

If the Commerce Department issues the license, U.S. suppliers would still need separate licenses to conduct new business with Huawei, which would be extremely difficult to obtain, the spokeswoman said. The temporary general license would last for 90 days, she said, and would be posted in the Federal Register, just as the rule adding Huawei to the entity list will be published in the government publication on Tuesday. "The goal is to prevent collateral harm on non-Huawei entities that use their equipment," said Washington lawyer Kevin Wolf, a former Commerce Department official. The entity listing bans Huawei and 68 affiliates in 26 countries from buying American-made goods and technology without licenses that would likely be denied. The entities list identifies companies believed to be involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. In a final rule posted on Thursday, the government tied Huawei's entity listing to a criminal case pending against the company in Brooklyn, New York. U.S. prosecutors unsealed the indictment in January accusing the company of engaging in bank fraud to obtain embargoed U.S. goods and services in Iran and to move money out of the country via the international banking system.

Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, daughter of the company's founder, was arrested in Canada in December in connection with the indictment, a move that has led to a three-way diplomatic crisis involving the U.S., China and Canada. Meng, who was released on bail, remains in Vancouver, and is fighting extradition. She has maintained her innocence, and Huawei has entered a plea of not guilty in New York. Trump injected other considerations into the criminal case after Meng's arrest when he told Reuters he would intervene if it helped close a trade deal.

Watch: Rare look inside Chinese smartphone giant, Huawei's HQ
An official at Denver Public Works has been dismissed and another manager has resigned after the two were placed on paid administrative leave two months ago for an internal investigation.
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Pop the champagne! The 5G revolution is here!

This new generation of cellular networking technologies promises to usher in a world of better-than-gigabit downloads on mobile devices and enable next-generation autonomous vehicles, remote telemedicine and high-speed IoT devices.

The devices are here! Verizon shipped its Samsung Galaxy S10 5G smartphone this week. Huawei, LG, Xiaomi and OnePlus have announced 5G smartphone handsets, as have many smaller Chinese handset makers. Snap-on smartphone attachments and puck mobile hotspot products are also becoming available.

The networks are coming online! Internet metrics firm Ookla maintains an interactive map showing the locations of all the worlds 5G networks. New networks are reported on Ooklas Twitter feed as they go online. According to the map, there are 303 5G networks already deployed around the world. (Interestingly, Switzerland, which has a population smaller than New York Citys, has more 5G networks than the rest of the world combined.)

While the media focuses on consumer 5G, private networks are being built by enterprises that will make a huge difference in how companies operate. Enterprise adoption of 5G will be faster than consumer adoption.

Unfortunately, both enterprise and consumer adoption is at risk.

Uh, better hold off on the champagne

While it appears that 5G is here, in fact its got a long way to go before approaching the status of ubiquitous or mainstream. And powerful forces are gathering against the deployment of 5G equipment.

Heres the problem: 5G uses millimeter wave technology, which involves high-frequency radio waves. That higher frequency means more data can be transmitted faster, which is great. But it also means that the distance between the antennas and the user has to be much shorter  less than 1,000 feet. So 5G cells are much smaller, and widespread coverage needs many more base stations, much closer to where people live and work, compared with 4G networks.

There are two hot wars being waged against 5G adoption. One youve probably heard about  and the other you probably havent.

The one you probably heard about is making headlines globally. The Trump administration this week placed Chinese telecom giant Huawei on its blacklist of foreign companies banned from using American components, a move that is likely to lead to a blanket ban on Huawei sales in the U.S. Approximately one-third of Huaweis suppliers are U.S. firms, including chip giants Qualcomm and Intel. The move is expected to delay the rollout of 5G in both the U.S. and China.

The U.S. government claims that Huawei 5G equipment poses a security risk, saying (correctly) that Huawei is too close to the Chinese military, and its equipment is just a firmware update away from becoming the ultimate spy tool or cyberwarfare weapon.

Despite grabbing all the headlines, the war over Huawei isnt likely to slow global adoption of 5G by much. The real threat centers not on China, but on Russia.

Anti-5G disinformation

While the United States is using national security-driven equipment bans and international pressure on allies to slow Chinese 5G dominance, Russia is using disinformation to slow U.S. dominance.

Like most major governments, the Russian government is working hard to build 5G networks domestically as fast as it can. Russian President Vladimir Putin is a huge booster of 5G for Russia. The Russian government sees 5G as a low-cost way for the nation to compete against richer countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. (Russias economy is approximately half the size of Californias, as measured by GDP.)

But outside Russia, the Kremlin is spreading lies about 5G in order to use public pressure to slow its adoption, according to a detailed report in The New York Times published this week.

Russia Today, or RT, has been spreading doubt and false information about 5G for the English-language version of its newscasts. (RT is a Russian governmentowned news network that sprinkles official government propaganda and deliberate disinformation into its otherwise straightforward news reporting and commentary.)

RT routinely refers to 5G radio waves as radiations and the move to the new standard as the 5G apocalypse, a dangerous experiment on humanity. One RT reporter literally said that 5G might kill you.

RT has reported, without evidence, that 5G may cause learning disabilities in children, brain cancer, infertility, autism, heart tumors and Alzheimers disease.

False news about the so-called dangers of 5G is also generated or spread on conspiracy theory sites. One popular Facebook-based conspiracy theorist falsely claimed that a 5G network test killed hundreds of birds in The Hague, Netherlands, according to the fact-checking site Snopes.

A pseudoscience website published another false claim that workers who install 5G equipment must wear hazmat suits to protect themselves from radiation. (Never mind that hazmat suits dont even protect against radiation.)

Both these fake news stories were widely spread on social media and elsewhere and read by millions of people. And there are many others where those came from.

Grassroots opposition to 5G

While the propagandists waging economic warfare join forces with the online conspiracy theorists to spread fear over 5G, another war is being waged by earnest and concerned citizens worried about the health effects of 5G technology. They correctly point out that the impact of widespread 5G deployments on human biology has not been thoroughly studied. And into that knowledge vacuum the fears rush in.

The growing anti-5G protest movement is akin to the not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) activists who might also oppose chemical plants, landfill sites, power plants, power lines, quarries and nuclear waste repositories if theyre near their homes and schools, but would not be mobilized if the same dangers were located elsewhere.

Leading the charge is an organization called Americans for Responsible Technology, which advocates a minimization of wireless networking in general in favor of cable and fiber networks, based on a concern for the health effects of increasingly widespread wireless technologies  something they called massive wireless densification.

Public protests are on the rise and have been reported recently in Kauai, Hawaii; Marin County, Calif.; Albany, N.Y.; Ashland, Ore.; Charlotte, N.C.; Woodstock, N.Y.; Long Island, N.Y.; New Zealand; and even the 5G capital of the world, Switzerland.

The Silicon Valley town of Mill Valley has already banned 5G over health concerns.

The disinformation war against 5G and the NIMBY war against 5G are the same war. They complete each other. The disinformation side spreads lies in order to fuel the NIMBY crowd. The NIMBY folk indulge their confirmation bias using disinformation to mobilize for protests.

In the Kauai story I mentioned above, a protester is quoted as saying, In the Netherlands, they did this Tesla 5G and all the birds fell out of the sky, clearly referring to the false story published on Facebook by a conspiracy theorist. The reporter didnt challenge the claim, and hundreds or thousands of readers in Hawaii probably assumed it was true. Some of those readers will no doubt help man the barricades next time. Save the birds!

Hundreds or thousands of blogs and countless news reports pick up Russian disinformation and social media conspiracy theories about 5G, and some of this false information drives opposition in the U.S. and around the world.

And its this growing opposition, fueled by both deliberate lies and genuine concern, that is by far the biggest risk to the growth of next-generation cellular networks.

Its time for businesses to get involved. Companies need to advocate, fund and direct solid research on the health effects of 5G networks to counter the disinformation and conspiracy theories, and enable the public to make an informed choice about how to move forward.

Either public health or, more likely, trillions of dollars of business efficiencies and opportunities are at risk. We need facts now. Because the new world of ultra-high-speed cellular data we all think is happening already may be needlessly delayed for years by the growing war on 5G.
The Victorians: Twelve Titans Who Forged Britain by Jacob Rees-Mogg

Jacob Rees-Mogg is one of the most gifted parliamentarians of our time, and one of the most misunderstood. Many of his critics have no desire to understand him.

A few weeks ago, I was at a book launch. There on one side of the room was Rees-Mogg, accompanied by the family nanny.

On the other side of the room, I found myself talking to an eminent historian whom I had not seen for some time.

Do you see who is here? he demanded. Rees-Mogg!

Come and meet him, I said. You will find that although you disagree about Europe, he is a most enjoyable person to talk to.

No! the historian said, as if I had suggested making friends with the devil. I do not want to meet him.

A few minutes later, I found myself having a conversation along the same lines with a distinguished figure from the BBC. Once again, Rees-Moggs presence was treated as an outrage rather than an opportunity to meet.

This book will do nothing to recommend Rees-Mogg to those who have already hardened their hearts and closed their minds against him.

It is a collection of biographical essays, each 30 or 40 pages long, about 12 of the great Victorians: Sir Robert Peel, Lord Palmerston, General Sir Charles Napier (whose statue stands in Trafalgar Square), William Sleeman, Augustus Pugin, Prince Albert, Benjamin Disraeli, William Gladstone, General Gordon, Professor Dicey, W.G.Grace and Queen Victoria herself.

Each of the essays can be read with profit as an incisive and thought-provoking introduction to its subject. There is a liberation for the reader as well as the writer in not trying to cover everything in exhaustive detail, and the author has a keen eye for striking material drawn from sources no longer fashionable. It is astonishing that in the middle of such a busy political period he has found time for this work.

But the spirit in which the book is written will be found deeply offensive by most members of our modern intelligentsia. For it is cast as an attack on Lytton Stracheys Eminent Victorians, and on all who in the century since that masterpiece came out have followed him in mocking these great figures and reckoning we have nothing to learn from them.

Rees-Mogg keeps on digging up Strachey and throwing stones at him, dismissing him as mean-minded and spiteful, while at the same time admitting to having only leafed through Eminent Victorians.

Three years after that book, Strachey brought out Queen Victoria, in which he notes the irresistible potency of her personality and a peculiar sincerity:

Her truthfulness, her single-mindedness, the vividness of her emotions and her unrestrained expression of them, were the varied forms which this central characteristic assumed, It was her sincerity which gave her at once her impressiveness, her charm, and her absurdity.

This is affectionate rather than spiteful. Strachey has a keen enjoyment of absurdity, and so as it happens does Rees-Mogg. He begins his Introduction with this anecdote:

Early in 1895, Queen Victorias private secretary Sir Henry Ponsonby attended on Her Majesty for the last time. Ponsonby had served the Queen in this role since 1870 but he had suffered a stroke in the previous year. He was no longer able to fulfil his duties and now he was calling on the Queen at Osborne to say his farewells. It is recorded that he looked at Victoria and said slowly, What a funny little old woman you are. The Queens response was Sir Henry, you cannot be well and she swiftly rang the bell for him to be removed from the Royal presence.

Rees-Mogg complains that Sir Henrys comment has become something of the standard view of the entire Victorian age, and goes on:

Sadly, society these days, which has so little faith in anything, is understandably nervous of those Victorians who believed in so much, who embraced a sense of purpose and destiny so glaringly lacking both in their Hanoverian predecessors and in the beau monde of our contemporary world.

Instead of running the Victorians down in the manner of Strachey, we should learn from them:

The Victorians had confidence in their civilising effort, a belief in the goodness of their own nation and the drive necessary to finish the job. How favourably this compares with the contemporary nervousness about the country where moral relativism accepts an equivalence between good and bad and with a tangible feeling that all we can do is manage decline. This is where we today can and must learn from our ancestors.

So what we are presented with here is a series of moral lessons. In his first essay, Rees-Mogg says that Peel personified a moral tone that in itself raised the condition of Victorian Britain.

Palmerston was able to combine a sense of moral indignation, which was true and deeply felt, with a practical calculation of what might also be gained from the situation.

Rees-Mogg admires Palmerstons moral and realistic vision of the supremacy of the national interest, and his ability to maintain a high degree of popular support, which are an excellent basis for a contemporary foreign policy.

By the end of his life of Gladstone, Rees-Mogg is suggesting that a public and articulated morality is the best tool politicians can have at their disposal for their posthumous reputation.

He admires the work ethic of his Victorians and their determination to improve the condition of the people. Little attention is paid to the private frailties of his subjects.

So although we are told that Palmerston enjoyed a complicated and notorious private life, the author indicates his preference for the quiet, blameless and honourable private life of Peel.

The tendency of modern biographers to give maximum prominence to the sex lives of their subjects, and to speculate on that topic when they cannot discover any evidence, is not shared by Rees-Mogg.

In the authors Acknowledgements, we find the book was typed up from either dictation or manuscript, where the ability to decipher my scribbles was required.

Much of the book certainly reads as if it was spoken before being committed to paper, and would work best if it was still spoken, as a series of speeches, with intonation taking the place of pronunciation.

No editor has had time to correct various errors of transcription. A satirical rhyme about Benjamin Jowett, Master of Balliol, is given as if Jowett had written it himself.

Rees-Mogg makes extensive use of Philip Magnuss wonderful biography of Gladstone, which recounts how, after the death of General Gordon at Khartoum  a disaster precipitated by Gladstones culpable slowness in sending help to a subordinate who had disobeyed orders  the Music Halls reversed the initials G.O.M., standing for Grand Old Man, and instead began referring to the Prime Minister as M.O.G., Murderer Of Gordon:

The M.O.G., when his life ebbs out, Will ride in a fiery chariot, And sit in state On a red-hot plate Between Pilate and Judas Iscariot.

In Rees-Moggs rendering, Pilate unfortunately appears as Pilot.

Oddly enough, going back to Magnus helps remind one of the humiliations and impermanence with which Victorian leaders had to contend every bit as much as their successors do.

Magnus, whose book was published nine years after the end of the Second World War, remarks that Gladstone in his old age was haunted increasingly by the fear that the masses might in the end prove to be just as corrupt and irresponsible as the classes which, in his view, had succumbed long ago to the temptations of wealth and power:

Gladstone continued fearlessly, but with increasing anxiety, to address the masses as the highest court of Christian morals on earth In the bright noonday of intellectual liberalism, Gladstone had purchased the peoples love with coin of the purest gold. That coinage was debased by his competitors, and in the auction which followed the currency was recklessly inflated. In the early days of that auction, Lord Randolph Churchill learned much from the arts which Gladstone practised in Midlothian; and he made a corrupt use of what he learned. Randolph Churchill reached out a hand to Lloyd George, and Lloyd George exchanged a nod with Adolf Hitler on the trail from Midlothian to Limehouse and from Limehouse to the Nuremberg Rally.

Rees-Moggs message, which is that we should read about the great figures of the Victorian period, and emulate their virtues, is true.

But the abuse by demagogues of those virtues is a never absent danger.

In this book, Dicey is hailed for in 1892 promoting the referendum as a way to guard the rights of the nation against the usurpation of national authority by any party which happens to have a Parliamentary majority. It is, I suppose, a sign of this reviewers incorrigible wetness that I am not yet as confident as Rees-Mogg seems to be that the 2016 referendum is working out well.
Dr Rosalind Beck is a Doctor of Criminology and a Conservative Party member in South Wales.

One hears on a daily basis now how people who have voted Conservative their whole lives will never vote Conservative again. In addition, 40 per cent of Tory councillors and 60 per cent of Tory activists say they will vote for the Brexit Party. It doesnt take a great leap to imagine Conservative MPs  especially members of the ERG  being the next ones to jump ship.

In this context, Nigel Farages prediction of a realignment of British politics does not seem that far-fetched; as reported on this site, the party is estimated to have already lost seven per cent of its voters to the Brexit Party  voters which, Paul Goodman has suggested, may have been permanently lost.



In terms of analysing the causes of this haemorrhaging of support away from the Conservatives, also evinced in the local elections, it would however be a mistake to point purely to Theresa Mays handling of Brexit. There are other ways in which the Conservative Party has been seriously displeasing its support base for several years now, notably by its cavalier and even hostile attitude towards business.

The Cameron and Osborne administration was especially antipathetic towards business, and May and Hammond have, with the policy on energy caps, acted in a way more befitting a socialist state; price controls were complete anathema to the Conservatives only a couple of years ago, so why are they now acceptable?

It is, of course, the Governments specific panic over not getting younger voters onside that has led it to stray into Labour territory, where it does not belong. As Philip Booth has argued, Mays approach has been to blindly pursue votes, following Labours lurch to the left and abandoning conservative values. Jeremy Corbyn has dragged the Tories to the Left, and the just about managing are the losers

It is hardly unsurprising that many voters who describe themselves as being in business find Farages new party more appealing than the Conservative Party, especially as, despite it not yet having formulated its domestic policy, all the indications are that it will at the very least be a pro-business, pro-free market party. Many of the seven per cent or so of voters lost so far are likely to have switched allegiance because of this.

I have seen this shift in voting intentions in my own arena of the private rented sector. May has now personally announced a decision to take away landlords rights over their own private property by abolishing Section 21 notices. This effectively grants tenants indefinite tenancies; an incredible attack on private property rights, which would also make rental contracts completely one-sided, as Kristian Niemitz has rightly pointed out.

Tampering with basic principles in this way by not allowing landlords the ultimate say over their own assets and putting control in the hands of strangers (aka tenants) sets a dangerous precedent. What next will be seized from the control of its owner? Ryan Bourne has described what it means in practical terms, stating: The results of this policy are therefore obvious to anyone who understands basic economics. First, landlords will be far less likely to rent to tenants they consider high-risk. The incentive to engage in serious vetting, demanding extensive guarantees from tenants, will skyrocket.

Whats more, as the majority of landlords only own one rental property, many will decide it is just not worth the risk. This could decimate the private rented sector at a point when more rental housing is desperately needed. Former Treasury adviser, Stian Westlake, has referred to this as an example of where the paucity of Tory economic thinking leads.

I would go further and say it is not only paucity of thinking, but an ill-considered one size fits all knee-jerk response to a problem that hasnt even been evidenced. In the broader context, it also represents a reversal of the Conservative Partys traditional respect for property rights; recognised as a key foundation underpinning democracies.

As Corbyn will always go a step further, the Conservatives will gain nothing but have much to lose  notably the votes of two million landlords. The families of disenchanted breadwinners will also await instruction on whom they should vote for. Spouses, elderly parents and adult children will vote for the party which protects and doesnt undermine the main earners business and income.
Once again, our survey is in line with an opinion poll

The ConservativeHome monthly survey is not an opinion poll. Thats to say, the participants are self-selected, and the results arent weighted. However, it is not a straw poll: those who are surveyed in one month are almost entirely the same people as were surveyed the month before. Thats why we call them the panel.

The exceptions are the additions. All of these must send a copy of their Conservative Party membership card, or provide other proof of membership, before they are added.

It is possible to believe that if the sample for such a survey is large enough from a pool that is small enough, the results will be a useful guide to the views of members. Party membership is somewhere between 100,000 and 150,000. Our last survey drew about 1700 replies.

Our contention is that the survey is a reliable guide to trends, and a rough guide to opinion. How does that claim measure up against the YouGov poll in this mornings Times?

Our last monthly survey had Boris Johnson top of our Next Tory Leader question. The YouGov survey also has Johnson at top of its poll.

We produced run-offs in our last survey putting Johnson up against Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid and Dominic Raab. He beat all of them. Raab was the runner-up.

The YouGov poll puts Johnson up against all of these, plus Matt Hancock, Andrea Leadsom, Penny Mordaunt and Rory Stewart. He beats all of them. Raab is the runner-up.

Our figures include dont knows and wont votes. You Govs dont. So the percentages arent directly comparable, but those interested will study the tables. At any rate, the similarity in headline finding is clear.

Elsewhere in the tables, 79 per cent of members believe that Theresa May should step down as Conservative leader. The figure in our last monthly survey was 82 per cent.

66 per cent of members back No Deal, according to YouGov. A survey from us earlier in April found 75 per cent, though its worth noting the options put in our survey and in the YouGov poll were different. It topped both lists.

Eighty-four per cent oppose a second referendum. Our last survey question on the matter, in January, found 87 per cent opposed. All in all, we believe that this latest YouGov poll more than bears our contention out.

Its worth adding that YouGov is the only polling organisation that we know of which regularly polls party members in this way, and we regard it here as the gold standard in these matters.

YouGov also asks a mass of supplementary questions about the potential candidates competence, likeability, election-winning capacities etc, which are well worth a read. For previous articles on this site about the reliability of the survey and its comparability with YouGov, see here, here, here and here.
Say what you like about the Brexit Party but their strategy of holding rallies around the country has been hugely effective. Come and hear Nigel Farage in Wolverhampton at The Willows, Willenhall. In Brentwood at The Sugar Hut; in Huddersfield at The John Smiths Stadium; in Pontefract at the Featherstone Working Mens Club; in Durham at Rainton Meadows Arena more than one a day, for day after day. Thousands crowding in.

It takes me back to the General Election of 2017. But then it was the Labour Party defying the sneering establishment. Outside the Westminster bubble, something was happening  an estimated 10,000 people turned out to hear Jeremy Corbyn in Gateshead. Its not as if hes much of an orator. That was in solid Labour territory, but the Independent also reported:

In a leisure centre car park on the outskirts of Reading, more than a thousand people gathered in the middle of a working day, leaving behind their desk jobs and even climbing trees to catch a glimpse of Corbyn.

In Whitchurch Common in Cardiff there was similar enthusiasm from a crowd of around 700.

Red Pepper boasted that hundreds of thousands had attended somewhere or another. It added:

Yesterday hundreds of supporters, young and old, turned out at Warringtons Parr Hall, even though the Labour leader could only speak via video link. It was one of six rallies taking place across the UK that day alone, with other venues including Croydon, Glasgow and Birmingham, and there are more planned today and tomorrow.

Catching the Zeitgeist isnt necessarily easy. An election campaign helps to catch the attention of the public. Last year the Labour Party booked White Hart Lane for the Labour Live festival and it was a deathly flop.

But there is great potential for reviving large scale public meetings as part of the political process. They provide a wonderful combination of the old and new campaigning methods. Nigel Farage is a natural for vaudeville. That old fashioned, conversational, music hall style. Isnt it interesting? Have you noticed? Of course, Ann Widdecombe is also a great asset for the Brexit Party.

It would be easy to be dismissive of these as being nostalgia fests that appeal to pensioners. That would miss a number of points. First of all, there are rather a lot of pensioners in this country with rather a lot of votes. It follows that for modern, sophisticated politicians being too dismissive of them is not very smart. Secondly, the Brexit Party has gone to great efforts to be diverse in its range of candidates  and thus of speakers at these occasions. That has probably helped ensure the audience is more mixed too. Finally, there is a multiplier effect. Even if a rally doesnt interest the national media, it will be likely to catch the regional broadcasters. Then we have the tweeting, the selfies, the live video streams. Perhaps in a town of a hundred thousand voters, only a thousand will turn up  but the impact will be wider.

Beyond the mathematics comes the symbolism. The humility of politicians touring the country rather than just the Westminster TV studios. Furthermore doing so in an open way  turn up for free or click on a website to buy a ticket for a pretty nominal sum. The potemkin photo opportunities in some controlled environment have ceased to be convincing. Theresa May belated launch of the Conservative Euro Election campaign yesterday, in a small room in Bristol with three Euro candidates, was painful to behold.

The good news is that the forthcoming contest for a new Conservative leader provides an opportunity for Conservatives to connect with the public. Once the MPs have worked through the (long) list of contenders the final two go before the Party membership. In the case of Theresa Mays election in 2017 this phase scarcely got underway before Andrea Leadsom withdrew. So we have to go back to the 2005 contest between David Davis and David Cameron for a comparison. This site was in its infancy (though we already provided well informed coverage). So was YouTube. Twitter did not launch until the following year. Therefore it was natural that the hustings meetings around the country were private events for members. Cameron won by 134,446 votes to 64,398 for Davis. It is reported that the total Party membership has since fallen to 130,000.

This time round there is everything to be said for opening them up. Broadcast them all on all YouTube (or Periscope or whatever else comes to mind.) While only paid up members have votes, why not let others come along? There would be a cost of booking large venues and a risk of embarrassment if there were empty seats. But I suspect you would find considerable interest if the two rival contenders to be the next Prime Minister pitched up in your town. The Brexit Partys model of selling tickets in advance  for a modest sum (in their case 2.50 a seat) appears to have worked well in managing numbers. Even if the cost isnt entirely covered there is the potential for membership subscriptions and donations from those who came along and felt duly enthused.

This is not to see that the process should be prolonged. It is important that a new Prime Minister is chosen as soon as possible. So there is a strong case for curtailing the nine week schedule that might drift into August. But it should be intensive. An endurance test. One or two hustings a day, not just one or two a week.

Candidates seeking to be Prime Minister should consider what public acceptance they will command. An early General Election would be one option, but there is not much appetite for it. The spectacle of the new Prime Minister being chosen by Party members with the rest of the country shut out from the process is a dangerous one. Objections that the Conservative Party is arrogant and out of touch could easily be strengthened. Instead the campaign must be held in a way that confronts such assumptions. Rather than presenting itself as a beleaguered and closed sect, the Conservatives can encourage the rest of the country to take part in the deliberations. That would encourage the meetings to avoid being characterised by licking wounds and gazing at navels. Instead they could be good humoured and welcoming, with a mood of optimism and confidence to consider new ideas.

Let sunshine win the day.
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Xiamen received 324,800 cruise guests last year, making it one of the key ports in mainland China.

Five years ago, we had only one or two cruise ships visiting Xiamen every month, said Hai Lin Zhong, Deputy Director-General of the Xiamen Culture and Tourism Bureau.

Now we have at least two cruise ships visiting every week, he said.

The city doubled its cruise guest number year over year, posting 161,800 guests in 2017 and reporting over 324,000 last year.

The number of guests in 2018 is almost 5.7 times the number of passengers we had in 2014, Zhong noted.

More and more people wanted to travel and also do cruises, he continued, adding that Xiamen was a well-known vacation destination in China.

Currently most of the cruise passengers that arrive in Xiamen are Chinese, but the city plans to attract more foreigners.

The city has a convenient geographic location, in the middle of East Asia, Zhong said.

To reach that goal, Zhong highlighted the Asia Cruise Cooperations strategy in promoting Xiamen and the other destinations.

They play a very important hole in our cruise market, he added. We are also continuously enhancing the facilities and our cruise terminal.

An expansion on the citys cruise berth was opened this year and now is extended, able to receive any class of cruise ship.

Another major project is the Cruise City Seaworld, which will be an area including hotels, a shopping mall and other facilities, set to open in 2022.

For 2019, the city is expecting more than 100 cruise ship arrivals and the number of cruise passengers is going to grow again, according to Zhong.

Later this year a new cruise line is expected to operate from Xiamen, sailing regular cruises with the former Oriana, which will be renamed Piano Land.
Contributed Photo / Connecticut State Police

STRATFORD  Nearly 200 grams of cocaine were seized from a Stratford residents home during the execution of a search and seizure warrant earlier this week, according to Connecticut State Police.

Edwin Abrams, 37, of Broadbridge Avenue in Stratford, was taken into custody without incident, state police said.
Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

BRIDGEPORT  The driver of a vehicle was arrested in the city late Thursday night after opening fire into a small group of people, according to police officials.

The incident happened in the area of Taft Avenue around 11 p.m. Thursday, police spokesman Terron Jones said on Saturday.
HARTFORD  Chanting things like Save Our State and No Tolls, a crowd estimated at 2,100 showed up at the state Capitol on a sunny Saturday to protest a proposal to install tolls on four highways in Connecticut.

The rally organized by No Tolls CT got off to a late start because motor vehicle accidents on Interstates 91 and 84 prevented some lawmakers from getting there on time.

Patrick Sasser, the founder of No Tolls CT, welcomed the crowd by calling them fellow morons.

Sasser was referring to a phrase House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, used to describe the effort to get cities and towns to pass resolutions against the concept of tolls. Sasser said 18 cities and towns have passed resolutions against tolls since the beginning of the year.

This isnt something new, this isnt something that just sprung out of nowhere. The battle of tolls has been raging for quite some time and the simple reason is, they want our money, Sasser said.

He said the movement against tolls is loud and clear, however there are still some in this building who are deaf. Who dont listen to we, the people.

House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, said Republicans cannot win this fight on their own.

It is not looking good, but theres always a chance, Klarides said.

Klarides said theyve offered alternatives, but Democrats are not interested because theyre lazy and beholden to special-interest groups.

Its likely the General Assembly will debate a toll bill next week as it races toward its June 5 deadline. Many had been hoping the crowd on Saturday would give lawmakers pause.

Rep. Laura Devlin, R-Fairfield, who is the ranking Republican on the Transportation Committee, said there has yet to be legislation raised for debate in either the House or the Senate because of the vocal opposition theyve created.

Devlin said during the public hearing phase they received over 7,000 pieces of testimony which crashed the system.

There were also 650 calls made the to Transportation Committee before the vote on the bills and only eight of them were in favor of tolls, Devlin said. But I have to tell you, Im not sure theyre really hearing you yet.

The crowd broke out into a No tolls chant.

Sen. Henri Martin, R-Bristol, said the rally reminded him of 1991 when about 40,000 came to the state Capitol to protest the creation of the state income tax.

Like the income tax, tolls will have a dramatic effect on Connecticut residents for decades to come, Martin said.

Aresimowicz said in a phone interview that he appreciates people coming to the Capitol to express their opinion. However, 2,100 at a rally is not enough to get him to change his mind.

Our needs are far more pressing than folks at the rally understand, Aresimowicz said. We need to be responsible for the state.

At the same time, Aresimowicz said theyre not wrong about a few things. He said he agrees that pensions should not be paid through the Special Transportation Fund, but thats the way it has been since the fund was started in the 1980s.

Colleen Flanagan Johnson, a senior adviser to Gov. Ned Lamont, said theres no question Connecticuts transportation system is a mess.

We rank near dead last in the nation for the condition of our infrastructure. But the people who attended todays rally arent saying no to tolls, Flanagan Johnson said. Theyre saying yes to excessive borrowing on the states already maxed-out credit card. Theyre saying yes to saddling future generations in this state with debt we cant afford. And theyre saying yes to an unsustainable and reckless fiscal policy.

The Rev. Carl McCluster of Shiloh Baptist Church in Bridgeport spoke at the rally and called tolls fools gold.

He said tolls will hurt the middle class and the working class of Connecticut.

It will negatively impact the livelihood of all of our citizens in town and hurt the middle and poor residents disproportionately, McCluster said.

He said he lives in Derby and wondered aloud if anyone has ever tried to get off the highway and drive on Route 1.

He claimed Connecticut will turn into the largest parking lot in the world if tolls are enacted.
Adagom Settlement for Cameroonian refugees in Ogoja Twitter

Barrister Ayah Paul Abine, Cameroons retired Supreme Court judge and controversial political figure has announced the demise of his nephew at a refugee camp hosting Cameroonians running from the violence that has since characterised the crisis in the countrys North West and South West regions.

Etonong George Ayah is said to have died on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at the Adagom settlement, Ogoja Local Government Area, Cross River State in Nigeria leaving behind a big family to mourn him.

Ayah in a statement said: On behalf of the Ayah Family, Ayah Paul Abine announces that his nephew, Ayahs younger brothers first son, Etonong George Ayah, just died this evening, the 15th day of May, 2019, in the Ogoja Refugee camp. He has left behind a widow, several children, family relations and many friends. Merciful God!

He however did not announce the cause of the death nor the circumstances under which his nephew died.

It would be recalled that late last year, two Cameroonians died in the same camp in Ogoja. The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR announced the death of two Cameroonian refugees in Adagom settlement, Ogoja LGA, Cross River State on August 30, 2018.

According to medical sources, the refugees died of poisoning, allegedly after consumption of wild venomous mushrooms. Investigations by the authorities are ongoing. Other two refugees, all belonging to the same household, were also hospitalized. One of them has been already discharged, while the other is still in the hospital and he will be discharged soon, the UNHCR said in a statement at the time.

Anglophone Cameroonians began fleeing violence in September 2017 and sought refuge in Nigeria's Cross River, Taraba, Benue and Akwa-Ibom states. In total, 21,291 refugees have been registered in the area. Women and children account for 80% of the population, the refugee agency had said in a statement dated August 30, 2018.

More Cameroonians are arriving through Cross River, Taraba and Benue States in South-South and Middle-Belt Nigeria. Those crossing over continue to use informal entry points because official borders between Cameroon and Nigeria remain closed in the above-mentioned states.

The receiving communities largely are Amana, Akamkpa, Agbokim, Ikom/Ajasso and Boki in Cross River State and Abande and Imande Agabtse in Benue State. The asylum seekers are mainly coming from Akwaya, Otu, Eyumojock, Nsan, Dadi & Bodam in Cameroons South West Anglophone region.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, remains generally concerned that, as the crisis in Cameroon continues, and the government adopts extra security measures, more asylum seekers will arrive. UNHCR will scale up its registration activity to identify gaps in information necessary to better estimate needs and response planning for the asylum seekers.
Former polygamous leader found guilty in child-bride case

James Oler guilty of taking a 15-year-old girl across the border for a sexual purpose

The Canadian Press/May 17, 2019

A former leader of a fundamentalist Christian sect that practises polygamy in Bountiful, B.C., has been found guilty of removing an underage girl from Canada to be married in the United States.



B.C. Supreme Court Justice Martha Devlin says it's reasonable to believe that James Oler knew the 15-year-old girl would be subject to sexual activity when he arranged her marriage to an older member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.



Oler was acquitted in 2017 by a judge who was not convinced Oler did anything within Canada's borders to arrange the girl's transfer to the U.S.



But the B.C. Court of Appeal overturned the decision, saying that proof of wrongdoing in Canada was not necessary, and ordered a new trial.

Oler was self-represented and did not call any witnesses or make a case in his defence during the retrial.



Lawyer Joe Doyle, who is serving as a friend of the court to ensure a fair trial, argued that a four-day gap in the whereabouts of the 15-year-old girl is enough to dispute whether she was removed from Canada in 2004.



A special prosecutor argued Oler should have known the girl would be subject to sexual activity following her marriage based on the nature of church doctrine and the disempowered role of women in the faith.

To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
Our own Bruce Siwy and Eric Kieta talk about their true-crime cases in Return To View: The Roundtable
Elie Smith Elie Smith

The spokesperson of the Anglophone General Conference(AGC), has revealed that he was guest at a private meeting of the US Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee that met on May 17, 2019.

Discussions during the meeting, according to Elie Smith, focused on the crises in Cameroon with a special interest on the Anglophone crisis in the North West and South West regions.

In a press release done this May 18 in Douala, Smith revealed that the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, was interested in the deteriorating humanitarian situation, "the breakdown in education, businesses, human rights and general insecurity".

The Senate is said to be interested in bringing back peace in the Country, the role of civil society initiatives like Anglophone General Conference, the diaspora and civilians in the affected regions.

Elie Smith said he shared the enthusiasm for inclusive dialogue involving the concerned parties in the ongoing brouhaha, which will end the pain and sufferings of hundreds of thousands of persons. He called on all stakeholders to choose the option of peace and allow dialogue initiative to go ahead for the sake of those affected.

Last year between November and December, all attempts were done by conveners of the Anglophone General Conference to hold in Buea were futile, as all the parties involved in the crisis, were reluctant to join the peace movement. The mayor of Buea, Ekema Patrick stood against the holding of the said conference and issued threats against it. The conveners have postponed the initiative to a date still to be announced, after the Divisional Officer of Buea, failed to issue an authorisation for it to hold.

The government of Cameroon wants to be at the forefront of all peace negotiation deals. The Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute in a final message to denizens of the North West and South West regions during his just ended peace mission, said Paul Biya was ready for dialogue initiated by the government.

However the Anglophone General Conference, has been lobbying for support for the conference to hold, while talking to all parties involved, to reach a common goal for an inclusive political dialogue that will see an end to the crisis.
Barrister Mrs Helen Ebai Facebook

Barrister Mrs. Helen Ebai, a former State Magistrate, told PM Dion Ngute in Limbe that the Separatist fighters want Government to ask its soldiers to also drop their weapons, free all those arrested in the three-year old crisis as guarantees for them to come out of the bushes.

Barrister Helen Ebai thanked the Prime Minister for coming to meet the people for peace to return in the North West and South West Regions. But said one grave problem with Government officials is that they speak often to protect their jobs or positions in Government, rather than tell the Government about the reality on the ground.

My problem is some of us have been talking to the boys. But when you go to tell them that, come out from the bush and drop your guns for the sake of peace, they say one group of persons cannot put down the gun and the others are holding their own. Barrister Mrs Ebai said this is one of the problems why the call for the boys to drop their weapons was not being heeded to.

She said further, that the boys also want that all those arrested for the last three years, in relation to this crisis, should be released so as to give them confidence that Government means business.

She was one of some seven persons who made some interventions after the Prime Minister had successfully delivered his message from the Head of State to the population Wednesday, May 15, 2019.

The PM had, in his address, reiterated his message as in Bamenda and Buea, that the Head of State, Paul Biya, has promised dialogue to re- solve the ongoing crisis. He reiterated that that the issue of separation will not be on the agenda.

The boys are saying that they cannot come out because the military will kill them, she reiterated.

Chief Atem Ebako of the Talangai Village talked of the need for Government to engage the construction of the Limbe Deep Seaport as one of the ways to pacify the people of the Region. The PM, just as his Predecessor, Philemon Yang, said plans are already afoot for the construction of the Limbe Seaport. He revealed that the Chiefs in Buea had made the same request to him. Dion Ngute said all that had been said by the people will be forwarded to the Head of State for his consideration.

He expressed regret that the crisis has caused a drastic fall in school attendance to as low as 20 percent. He was, however, happy that, unlike in other parts of the Southwest, schools were going on well in Limbe.

The Gathering had other interventions from Senator Mbella Moki who urged the PM to do something to revive SWELA and thanked him for coming to see how the crisis can be resolved.
Traditional Rulers reserved a surprise for the PM Atia Azohnwi

Traditional Rulers in the South West Region have addressed two memos to President Paul Biya through the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr. Dion Ngute Joseph. Though the chiefs failed to disclose the content of the memos, it may not be unconnected to the on-going Anglophone crisis and the untold sufferings of the populace.

The chiefs were received in audience Wednesday by Prime Minister Dion Ngute during his four-day stay in Buea. The royal fathers were led to the audience by Senator Nfon Victor E. Mukete.

Chief Rev Dr. Ekoka Molindo and Chief Robinson Tanyi handed over two memos to the Head of State, President Paul Biya. The PM, after receiving the memos, told the Chiefs: I have no comment to make on these memos. I will hand them to the Head of State as I have received them. I thank you for your patience and orderly manners. All I can say is that you should tell the youth of your chiefdoms who are in the bushes to come out so that we can work together for the development of our beloved country.

Chief Molindo told the press, after the audience that they have agreed to ask the youths to come out of the bushes and be reintegrated into the society.

Asked how they were going to do it, he responded: We as Chiefs have our traditional way of doing things which are sacred. We will use those means to bring our youths out of the bushes. We are with President Biya to see that peace returns to the South West and North West Regions.

On day two of the PMs visit, Wednesday, he received in audience political parties, including the SDF, MRC and the CPDM. After the audience with the CPDM, Dr Hannah Etonde Mbua, who led part of Fako, Ndian and Kupe Muanenguba CPDM told the press: We told the PM that we stand on the policies of the CPDM party and told him that we want that peace returns to the Region. We also told him that the rights of the minority should be respected. We appealed that when it comes to recruitment in institutions like SONARA, the Police Force the Southwesterners should be considered. That women and children should not be left out at the dialogue table.
WEST CHESTER  The field of candidates is crowded on the Democratic Party ticket for the campaign to replace outgoing Chester County Sheriff Carolyn Bunny Welsh, who is retiring.

There are four candidates listed on the ballot in Tuesdays primary election  three men and a woman  none of whom have served in political office before.

The candidates are attorney Daniel Boyle, Sheriffs Deputy Sgt. Joseph Lunsford, attorney Fredda Maddox, and police officer Michael Sarro.

On the Republican side of the ballot, West Goshen resident James Fitzgerald, a retired FBI agent, is running unopposed for that partys nomination. He is a political neophyte.

Welsh decided not to seek a sixth term after a series of controversies in recent months.

The Sheriffs Office is responsible for security at the Chester County courthouse and administrative offices, as well overseeing prisoner transport between the courthouse and the county prison. It acts as the Common Pleas Courts representative in civil matters, serving summonses in civil lawsuits and overseeing mortgage foreclosures.

It also serves warrants for those who are wanted by the courts for failure to appear or probation violations, and processes applications for concealed weapons permits.

Boyle, 45, of Pennsbury, is a graduate of Penn State, and holds graduate degrees from Villanova University, the Widener School of Law and the Villanova University School of Law. This is his first run for political office.

I want to get involved with politics do do something better for the people in the community, he said in an interview. he mentioned specifically the need to create a local land bank to help secure affordable housing in the county, something that he feels he would be able to work towards with the sheriffs land foreclosure sales.

The rising number of shooting incidents in schools acoss the nation also has drawn his attention, he said. Because the Sheriffs Office handles concealed weapons permits, he sees an opportunity to make sure that guns are in the right hands.

We need to make sure we have a handle on gun control, Boyle said. I am not for dismantling the Second Amendment, but there are some people  those with mental health or anger issues, he said  who should not have them.

i am not in it for the money, Boyle said of his decision to run for the office. Its something I think I can make a huge difference in. There is a lot more the sheriff can do rather than just being a figure head.

Lunsford, 55, of East Fallowfield has worked as a deputy in the Sheriffs Office since 1990, and currently serves as the sergeant in charge of courtroom assignments, fleet operations, and supervision of security personnel. Of the candidates, he is the one with the greatest amount of professional experience in the Sheriffs Office.

I think changes need to be made to the office, common sense changes, Lunsford said. He suggested that the office needed to focus on its core responsibilities of courts first and less on outside activities that distract from those duties.

These are the tasks I think our resources should be put towards, he said. Courthouse safety if my first concern  the safety of the public, the safety of the judges, the safety of the attorneys, and the safety of those in the courtroom. My motto is that is no one gets hurt, no one escapes, no one is disruptive, we are having a good day.

Alluding indirectly to the problems facing the Sheriffs Office because of a negative audit, Lunsford said that financial responsibility would be among his highest priorities if he is elected. I like what I do, he said. I like to make big problems grow smaller and small problems go away.

Maddox, 59, of Birmingham has experience bot as a law enforcement officer  she served as a Pennsylvania State Trooper from 1982 to1989 and as an agent in the state Attorney Generals Office from 1989 to 1999  and as an attorney, working with victims of domestic abuse and as a family attorney in private practice.

She said the controversies swirling around the office needed to be addressed by the incoming sheriff. There needs to be attention on more transparency and fiscal responsibility, she sad. There needs to be reallocation of the services the office provides. And some need to go by the wayside.

Maddoxs dual perspective would assist her in overseeing the office, she said. Not only do I understand law enforcement, but I understand the law, she said. Even though it is an administrative position, I do think my background as a state trooper would be an asset. In addition, she said her regular presence in the Chester County Justice Center for the past several years gives her a familiarity with the courthouse players.

I am familiar with the court personnel, and I am familiar with the judges, Maddox said. I am a team player, and I have a reputation of being able to work across the aisle. I can be fiscally responsible, because I know how to pinch pennies.

Sarro, 39, of West Bradford, worked in the Sheriffs Office as a deputy from 2004 to 2018. He now works as a municipal police officer in Yeadon, Delaware County, and as an emergency medical technician for the Minquas Fire Company in Downingtown.

Sarro said he feels there is an opportunity for the Sheriffs Office to begin sharing its personnel and expertise with local police departments and agencies in the county. With over 70 deputies, you can make a lot of things happen.

He suggested that deputies could help with agencies such as the Chester County Drug task Force, highway crash reviews, truck inspections, and even security assessments in local schools. I think I have a unique perspective, having been a deputy sheriff and working in municipal policing.

I know that everybody can help each other out, he said. I thik we can make a true change.

Sarro also suggested that he would branch out in th general community to assist with increasing police popularity. I think the office has the ability to be much more influential in community relations throughout the county. he said. You want to try to teach students about the dangers they face growing up. This office has the perfect opportunity to make a difference in the community.

Maddox has been endorsed by the Chester County Democratic Committee.

Republican Welsh, the first and only woman to be elected sheriff in the county, announced her retirement in December at a time when the countys election demographics are changing against her and while her office is under a cloud involving the financial operations of its vaunted K-9 Unit.

In mid-2018, the county controller began looking into how money for the support of the canines in the unit  which are not included in the sheriffs county budget  were raised and spent. After failing to get sufficient cooperation with Welshs office, county Controller Margaret Reif issued a subpoena for the K-9 Units records.

Her auditors raised a number of questions in their review of the funds. Among other expenses, paid for with checks and credit cards, the Controllers Office said that it could not ascertain how certain individual payments related to the services K-9 Unit was formed to provide to law enforcement agencies and others in and out of the county.

Likewise, there has been some negative feedback to Welshs prominent role as one of President Donald Trumps earliest and most vocal supporters in the county. She championed his candidacy even before he won the Republican Partys nomination in 2016, bucking some local party leaders who denigrated him, and appearing alongside him at photo opportunities in the White House.

Trump won Pennsylvania during the presidential election in 2016, but failed to capture the county vote itself, losing to Democrat Hillary Clinton by more than 9 percentage points. Likewise, the countys Democrats have shown growing electoral strength in subsequent elections, sweeping county Row Office races in 2017 and handing eight incumbent Republican members of the countys delegation in the states General Assembly stinging defeats.

To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
Nurse Helen Kennett arrives for the London Bridge inquests at the Old Bailey. The NHS nurse stared into London Bridge terrorist's 'evil, empty' eyes and asked him 'what's wrong with you?' before he snapped back 'no, what's wrong with YOU?' - and then slashed her neck

Sometimes it is difficult to keep faith in the goodness of humanity.

Yesterday's news bulletins told us there have been 100 fatal stabbings in Britain already this year. ITV's 'bear pit' Jeremy Kyle Show has been taken off air after the suicide of one of its guests.

Our politicians  and the country  are as fractious and divided and lost as ever over Brexit.

Yet, in the midst of this unremitting misery, there is a beacon of hope. And it shines out from the very darkest of life's theatres  the carnage of the London Bridge terror attack.

Over recent days, at the inquest, we have heard blood-chilling evidence from survivors, friends and families of the victims of the horror in which three jihadists rammed into pedestrians in a van and stabbed them remorselessly, killing eight and injuring 48, many critically.

But what's also been so striking is the quiet and selfless heroism that's emerged from the inquest  which until now had lain hidden in this most public of crimes.

Off-duty nurse Helen Kennett, 37, was celebrating her birthday with her mother and sister, when she saw Alexandre Pigeard, 26, lying wounded and bleeding in the street. Her immediate reaction was to dash to him.

PC Wayne Marques suffered horrific injuries when he confronted the three London Bridge terrorists, who were wearing suicide vests, in June 2017 while armed only with a baton

'Let me help you, I'm a nurse,' she said as she cradled him. Minutes from death, he shook his head and replied: 'No, just run.'

Immediately she was confronted by one of the killers. 'What's wrong with you?' she asked him. The blood-stained fanatic replied: 'No, what's wrong with you?' before stabbing her in the neck.

Bleeding heavily, her only thought was to get back to her mum and sister. She wanted to reassure them, to die in the arms of her family. Thankfully she survived.

From unimaginable barbarism emerged almost saintly courage. As if these unknown heroes were there for a purpose  to triumph over evil.

Ignacio Echeverria, 39, a Spanish banker, tried to fight off the terrorists with his skateboard, enabling others to escape. He was posthumously awarded the George Medal for bravery. Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, 28 and on a night out, was stabbed to death after running to help the injured  she was given the Queen's Commendation for Bravery.

Off-duty PC Charlie Guenigault, a British response officer, was also awarded the George Medal after running to the aid of his fellow officers. He received serious stab injuries to his head, back and stomach, yet has been able to return to work.

Helen, Ignacio, Kirsty and Charlie  and others, too  did what we all hope we would have the courage to do when faced with such evil. The barometer of decency rose on that terrible day thanks to their actions.

In a world where we often think the worst of others, their valour and selflessness should renew our faith in humankind.

Marques was repeatedly stabbed by the 'cold and calculating' killers after coming to the aid of Marie Bondeville, her boyfriend Oliver Dowling and Richard Livett who were injured on the evening of June 3 2017. Above: Police come to the aid of one of the terror victims

The couple shared a sweet snap showing Archie's feet to mark Mother's Day in the US, Australia and other countries. Diana's favourite forget-me-nots could be seen in the background

Archie is a real secret weapon

Hurrah for Megs. She chose to celebrate Mother's Day in her native America by posting another picture of baby Archie, lovingly stroking his feet on her and Harry's Instagram account, sussexroyal.

It's not yet two months since its launch, but already the couple's account has 8 million-plus followers. Meghan must be keeping back the moment we finally get to see Archie's face as a secret weapon  to rocket-boost the Sussex figures, ensuring they overtake William and Kate, currently with 8.8 million followers on Instagram.

No man deserves this, Ulrika

What on earth possessed Ulrika Jonsson to reveal the reason her ten-year marriage to Brian Monet failed was because they had sex only once in eight years?

She says Brian knew she was telling all, that he is a wonderful stepfather to her three children and loving father to the son they have together, visiting them all daily.

For how much longer? No man wants the world to know he didn't want sex with his wife. It is emasculating and demeaning and the revelation is unworthy of Ulrika.

Honest: Ulrika Jonnson has revealed she had sex with her third husband Brian Monet just once in eight years (pictured in 2013)

After the rapturous reception at the world premiere of his warts-and-all biopic Rocketman, Elton John sobbed with his husband, David Furnish.

And well he might  at 72, Elton's still standing, looking like a true survivor and feeling like a little kid.

Last time I saw him so overwhelmed was when I was a young reporter covering his 1984 marriage in Sydney on Valentine's Day, to German sound engineer Renate Blauel.

So glad that marriage turned out better for him the second time round.

Loved-up: Keeley Hawes, 43, was a vision of beauty as she arrived with her husband Matthew Macfadyen, 44, at the Royal Festival Hall, in London for the BAFTAs TV Awards

Killing Eve killed off Keeley's Bafta hope

Killing Eve's Jodie Comer won Bafta's leading actress gong while the highly tipped Keeley Hawes missed out for Bodyguard.

Keeley's consolation prize was winning the 'must-see' moment award when, as Home Secretary, she was blown up by an assassin and we didn't know whether she had survived. In the gripping finale of Killing Eve, Comer's brilliantly played psychopathic character was stabbed  and for a moment we wondered if she'd survive.

The difference was that we were all willing her to live, while with the over-hyped Bodyguard, we had all lost the will to live.

From her 8,000-a-week German spa, Victoria Beckham posts a picture of her latest beauty miracle  a 4 bottle of 'moon water', which works wonders on your skin. The water is so named as it has been left exposed to the full moon, giving it magic powers. Now I know why my mum had such lovely skin  our uncovered, corrugated iron outside water tank was exposed to the moon all year round.

Victoria beckham posts a picture while staying at Lanserhof Tegernsee, a spa offering 'moon water' facials

BBC drama Gentleman Jack featured some sex scenes

The intimacy co-ordinator for the lesbian sex scenes in new BBC drama Gentleman Jack says her advice to its star, Suranne Jones, was: 'Give me a panting dog: 'Huh! Huh! Huh!' Next, a wild cat: 'Eeh, oowah, oow.' Then, finally, the barking wails of a seal.'

Talk about animal passion  but sadly the publicity foreplay for this drama has gone on so long, I'm exhausted already.

The Government refuses to include troops who served in The Troubles in its proposed amnesty over retrospective prosecutions  which would apply to those who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq. Yet Dr John Black, a former British soldier who served in Ulster, points out: 'A soldier killed by a bullet was as much dead on the streets of West Belfast as a dead soldier in Afghanistan.'

Theresa May vowing to fight on in a photo dated May 17 at a EU election campaign event in Bristol

Westminster Wars...

I leave the country for five days (Barcelona, lovely, thanks for asking) and return to hear Theresa May vowing to fight on until she puts her deal before Parliament for a fourth time. She's Groundhog May.

A majority of people in 11 EU nations, including Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Poland and even Romania, believe the EU could collapse in a generation. No wonder the Eurocrats have done everything to prevent us leaving  17,410,742 Brits saw the writing on the wall years ago.

IN HIS memoir For The Record, we're told David Cameron has focused on his six years as PM as a radical reformer who brought us compassionate Conservatism, gay marriage and the 14 billion overseas aid budget  while glossing over calling a referendum on the EU then hiding in his man shed while the rest of the country wrestled with the result.

Filming of the latest James Bond movie was halted after Daniel Craig fell and damaged his tendons while performing one of his daredevil stunts, er, sprinting in a tux. Perhaps they should call the movie Octo-wussy.

Jo Malone revealed that she 'smelt' out her father's affair

Fragrant Jo Malone, creator of the most divine scents on earth, says she discovered her father's affair when she smelt another woman's perfume on his clothes. What a trollop. No not Jo, but her dad's date. Any truly discreet mistress would only ever wear the cologne of her married lover's wife  to avoid any chance of detection.
Lady Amelia Windsor stood out from the crowd at the royal wedding today as she opted for a bold pink oversized polkadot dress.

Amelia, 23, was once deemed 'the most beautiful royal' by society magazine Tatler and has became known for her quirky sense of style.

She was seen in a bright pink oversized dress as she arrived at St George's Chapel for Lady Gabriella Windsor's wedding to Thomas Kingston.

The royal, who is 39th in line to the throne, donned the 890 dress by Turkish designer Gul Hurgel, along with white wedges and a cream fascinator.

Lady Amelia Windsor, who has been deemed the most beautiful royal by society magazine Tatler, wore an oversized pink dress for Lady Gabriella Windsor's wedding

The royal donned a dress with exaggerated sleeves, oversized fit and a polkadot daisy print. She finished off the outfit with a tiny white handbag and white fascinator

The blonde beauty wore an extravagant oversized pink dress by Turkish designer Gul Hurgels for a decadent look.

The pink gown is defined by a sweetheart neckline and long puffed sleeves that are finished with fluted, shirred cuffs.

The dress flares out into a long skirt complete with a button-fastening front and cotton lining.

Amelia's stunning figure was highlighted by the oversized belt and cinched in waist of the decadent gown.

Lady Amelia, who is an aspiring fashion designer, is known for mixing high end and high street looks

The royal paired the dress, which costs 890 with white wedges, and finished off the outfit with a small white handbag.

The blonde beauty kept her luscious locks styled straight and opted for minimal makeup with a light flush of on her cheeks, peachy pink lips and mascara.

Amelia paired the look with decadent jewellery, including dangling heart earrings and a necklace by Alice van Cal costing 2,580.

The royal, who also works as a model, is known for mixing mixes high end pieces with the high street looks.

She is the youngest child of George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, and Sylvana Tomaselli. Her paternal grandfather, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, is a first cousin the Queen.

Aspiring designer Lady Amelia, who was once crowned the 'most beautiful royal' by society magazine Tatler, captions the snap online: 'Seated and booted made from recycled polyamide and Lycra.'

The royal was snapped in the 890 floral print midi dress as she entered the wedding for Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston

The Queen, Prince Philip, the Duke of Sussex, Princess Anne and the Middletons were amongst the guests of royal bride Lady Gabriella Windsor and groom Thomas Kingston for their wedding today.

Prince Harry attended just 12 days after the birth of Archie, his first son with wife Meghan - and on the eve of their first wedding anniversary. He arrived with Peep Show actress Sophie Winkleman, who is married to Lady Gabriella's brother Lord Frederick.

Harry also arrived with his uncle and aunt, the Earl of Wessex and the Princess Royal, who was joined by her husband Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle for the wedding of Gabriella, the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.

Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston married in the ceremony at St George's Chapel today

Lady Amelia Windsor joined other royals, including The Queen and Prince Harry at the royal wedding

The Queen stepped out of a car with Prince Philip as the Duke of Edinburgh made a rare public appearance following his retirement in 2017. Other royals at the chapel today included Sarah, Duchess of York with her ex-husband Prince Andrew and their daughter Princess Beatrice with her boyfriend Edoardo Marpelli Mozzi.

Philip appeared in good spirits and joked with the Dean of Windsor, the Right Reverend David Conner, who was waiting to greet the monarch. The Queen wore a pink A-line coat, and a lilac and pink silk dress by Stewart Parvin, with a matching hat by Rachel Trevor-Morgan.

Pippa Middleton, a long-time friend of Mr Kingston, and husband James Matthews smiled as they approached, along with her parents Carole and Michael Middleton.

James Middleton was also there, and walked into the chapel with his French girlfriend Alizee Thevenet.
Many cancer units treating children have a brass bell attached to the wall. Ringing it signals the time when the children have finished their treatment and can finally start to get on with their lives.

These chimes mark a huge milestone for them and their families, and provide inspiration for fellow patients. When I was diagnosed with cancer, aged five, these bells of hope did not exist. Now, many years after being discharged from hospital, I know that beating this disease is not quite as simple as the ringing of a bell implies.

Because now, aged 23, I am still living with what I know will be a lifetime legacy of my cancer.

I may be clear of it for now, but I am still impacted both mentally and physically by the toll it took on my small body all those years ago.

Now, aged 23, I am still living with what I know will be a lifetime legacy of my cancer (pictured: Serena Lipscomb)

I was a happy five-year-old living at home in Hornchurch, Essex, with my mum Melanie, now 54, dad Ian, now 55, and my older brother, whos 26, when I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).

This is a type of blood cancer that causes too many underdeveloped white blood cells to be released. It affects 810 people in the UK every year. It is the most common form of cancer in children.

The memories I have of that time are sometimes fuzzy and incomplete. I dont remember being told I had cancer. I remember my parents telling me I was going to have to be in hospital frequently for the doctors to make me better. So I will never know if the long-term impact of the disease and its treatment was even explained to me.

I didnt know that bones in my legs would not develop properly because of the time I spent bedbound and the chemotherapy. Nor was I told that my battle would leave a hefty dent in my schooling. Or that my teeth would forever be sensitive and stained from strong antibiotics pumped in to me to bolster my immune system.

These are a few of the permanent stamps that cancer has left on my body. Every day, they serve as an unwelcome reminder of my childhood trauma, and that my life will always be that bit more difficult.

My parents still dont like to talk about it even now. The horror of their youngest child facing death is something they just dont want to re-live. And who can blame them?

Infections, colds and bone scans...

My body may no longer be fighting cancer, but the battles are by no means over. Because I was in hospital for months on end, bed-bound for the majority of the time, the growth of my legs was stunted.

I suffer stiff joints and aching muscles more than most people my age and I cant walk for longer than 40 minutes without my knees stiffening up. Chemotherapy also stopped the healthy cells in my bones dividing, meaning they didnt develop as quickly as they should have done. I have to live with the knowledge that, as a cancer survivor, I have a significantly increased risk of developing osteoporosis in later life. Then theres my wretched immune system; hugely compromised by the antibiotics I was given as a child to fight off potentially lethal infections. Even 20 years later, I pick up everything going. Coughs, colds, sickness bugs, you name it. Im now resistant to most common antibiotics so most of the time, theres little doctors can do.

The chemotherapy also curbed the development of my red blood cells. It slowed the release of cells into my blood stream in order to stop the cancer spreading. But the number of blood cells circulating around my body remains lower than average, putting me at risk of dangerous blood clots.

I have to endure regular leg scans to check none of my arteries are blocked. But the more I realised the impact my childhood cancer can continue to have, the more I realised I had to do what I could to look after my health. I go to the gym three times a week, I eat healthily and I dont drink much alcohol. My body needs the best chance of fighting any disease that might, one day, return.

My fear that it could come back at any time...

The mental repercussions of cancer are almost tougher than the physical. Imagine living the rest of your life with the uncertainty that it could return at any time.

Even if doctors cure someones cancer, it can still come back a number of years after treatment.

This means cancer experts are often unwilling to use the term cure or cancer-free. Instead, they say youre in remission. But remission can be partial, meaning some cancer cells remain in your body but are either too few to find, too few to cause symptoms, or are not growing. I was told I was in remission by doctors at The Queens Hospital in Romford days before my ninth birthday. But no one can say I am cured of cancer for good.

Just a few weeks ago I noticed a new lump on my gum. That flood of anxiety swept over me  the oh no, I am going to get it again?

As a child, the chemotherapy sessions sent me into panic. It strikes most when Im ill. One unusual freckle and Ill hear the dreaded voice asking: What if its back?

Pictured: Serena aged five, around the time she was diagnosed, with her mother Melanie

Childhood bullies still haunt me

Growing up with cancer, missing years of school, has made me an introverted, self-conscious adult. Losing my hair, randomly falling asleep in class and disappearing for months at a time wasnt a recipe for popularity.

In remission? Where to get support and advice It is estimated that 60 per cent of Britains 35,000 childhood cancer survivors will develop a problem related to their treatment. These can include learning problems, abnormal bone growth, heart problems, fertility issues and an increased risk of future cancers. For the first year, they are seen by their doctor every few weeks, reducing to every three months in the second year and annually after five years. But where can you go for help after the doctors begin to withdraw and you are in remission? ONLINE FORUMS: Cancer Research UK hosts an online forum called Cancer Chat where young adults affected by cancer can chat with others to share their experiences. cancerresearchuk.org. MEET-UPS: CLIC Sargent also host meet-ups every two months for 16- to 25-year-old survivors. clicsargent.org.uk FACEBOOK: Childrens cancer charity CLIC Sargent has a Facebook group, Team Young Lives, available for anyone over 16 diagnosed with cancer on or before their 25th birthday. Members can ask other patients questions and share tips on how to deal with late effects. facebook.com/groups/teamyounglives HELPLINES: Major cancer charities, including Macmillan and Teenage Cancer Trust, have round-the-clock helplines with trained specialists offering support and advice for children and families. Some even provide counselling. GUIDEBOOKS: The Childrens Cancer and Leukaemia Group has produced a booklet for survivors of childhood cancer offering advice on fertility, education, jobs, life insurance and mortgages. cclg.org.uk/aftercure WEEKEND RETREATS: The Teenage Cancer Trust runs weekend getaways for 13- to 24-year-olds whove had cancer. Over three hectic days, they can enjoy inspirational talks, workshops, therapies and social activities, and get the chance to make friends for life. teenagecancertrust.org Advertisement

Aged five, a month into chemotherapy, I lost all my hair. I remember going to the girls toilet and a classmate saying I was in the wrong one. I didnt understand  I was wearing a dress, of course I was a girl. Traumatised, I ran back into the classroom feeling like there was something wrong with me. I didnt fit in. Id return to school mid-treatment, after several months away, and everyone had their friends. There was no space left for me. Often, Id become so teary and panicked that my mum would have to pick me up halfway through the day. Id often be woozy during the day and feel an overwhelming urge to sleep.

My teachers bought me a bean bag that was kept in the corner of the classroom. It was my personal sleeping corner that no one else was allowed to touch. It still takes time for me to come out of my shell and make friends. I have to work out what Im going to say in my head before I can speak to people.

Studies show that many cancer survivors have problems with memory and learning during and after treatment. High doses of chemotherapy or radiotherapy can cause problems with memory and concentration.

The low blood count caused by chemotherapy can make even the simplest tasks, like unloading the washing, impossible. Its a phenomenon also known as chemo brain. Studies show that, especially for children aged five and younger, long-term cognitive problems often occur months or even years later. But poor memory is just the tip of the iceberg. Today, my maths ability matches that of a five-year-old.

Even though I had a tutor in hospital to bridge my gaps in education, I still struggled to catch up, especially in maths and science.

I scraped D grades in both subjects at GCSE. Even to study literature and film studies at university I needed at least a C in maths and science. My GP had to write a letter to explain that I was behind in maths because chemotherapy had affected my cognitive function.

Then, when I first left university, I applied for a graduate job in marketing that I desperately wanted.

But before the interview, I was asked to do a basic maths test. I couldnt face it and pulled out of the process without even trying.

When Im out shopping, if something is marked 30 per cent off, I stand staring at the label, clueless.

Boyfriends, babies and an uncertain future

I rarely tell anyone who enters my life about my illness. I feel it would be like I was looking for attention. But with boyfriends it is different. There comes a point when I think I should probably mention it. But for some reason, there never seems to be a right time and months, even years go by without a word said.

My current boyfriend and I started dating two years ago. He found out about my illness 18 months into our relationship by mistake  he came to my house and saw childhood pictures of me with no hair. He reacted just as I imagined he would: kind, sensitive and understanding, if a little surprised that I kept it a secret.

Luckily, as far as I know, my cancer treatment hasnt affected my fertility. But millions who have cancer as a child are not so lucky. Some studies estimate that up to a third of children with cancer will be left infertile as a result of their treatment.

I have no reason to believe Ill have problems conceiving. But I know that when the time comes, cancer will be on my mind once again. Then theres the worry that my genes are cursed; what if I give my children cancer too?

I have to remind myself of the research that shows the likelihood of childhood leukaemia being inherited is extremely rare. Cancer stole my childhood. Now, Ill do all I can to keep its hands off my future.
Sit up straight! Stop slouching! Its a familiar order barked at us since school days (stock image)

Sit up straight! Stop slouching! Its a familiar order barked at us since school days  and it remains the golden rule of how to sit.

Whether its balancing a book on your head, or imagining a piece of string pulling your shoulders towards the ceiling, weve all tried methods to practise good posture.

Health officials have long warned that slumping, whether at a computer or in front of the television, is a sure-fire route to crippling back and neck pain  or worse.

How many times have you caught yourself slouched at your desk only to pull back your shoulders and readjust to a ramrod straight posture?

Our dedication to a perfect seated position has fuelled an entire industry, geared to getting us to sit up straight. We spend billions of pounds each year on posture correcting chairs, apps and even clothing  but emerging evidence suggests that slouching may not be so evil after all.

In fact, with research indicating that slumping may help to keep our spines in shape, experts are starting to advise against sitting up straight.

SLUMP TO EASE MUSCLE PAIN AND HELP JOINTS

It has been thought that sitting slumped, with the shoulders hunched and back arched, can put excess strain on the vertebrae in the spine.

This is because as the upper body leans forward, the weight of the brain and head increases, forcing the spine to carry a heavier load.

But a slew of studies now suggests this is unlikely to cause the cascade of back troubles previously predicted.

In fact, sitting slumped can keep the spine intact and even ease joint and muscle pain.

In one 2018 paper, slump-sitting postures were seen to help to increase the amount of fluid in between spinal discs, reducing stiffness. The posture was also seen to increase spinal height over time.

Physiotherapists at the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton-on-Tees who carried out the investigation concluded that some slouching can provide a valuable alternative to upright sitting in patients with lower-back pain.

In addition, Australian studies have found that when interspersed with periods of sitting upright, slouching can relax strained muscles in the core and legs.

London-based osteopath Gavin Smith explains: Theres this cultural ideal, and even whole industries, that would argue slouching is not good for us and people now feel very guilty about sitting in certain ways.

Health officials have long warned that slumping, whether at a computer or in front of the television, is a sure-fire route to crippling back and neck pain  or worse (stock image)

But while sitting straight activates muscles in the abdomen, pelvis and back, slump-sitting relaxes them.

Because these muscles are chronically over-active in people with lower-back pain, some periodic relaxation of them is helpful.

Alternating between comfortable and relaxed upright and slumped postures is probably the best way to sit at your desk.

Trying too hard to sit as we are told to at work  feet flat on the floor, back straight and shoulders back with an S-shape curve to the spine  can backfire, causing tension in the middle back and breathing problems over time.

Jack Chew, a spokesman for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, who works in the NHS and private practice, says: Slumping is not an enemy to posture and back health, just as sitting upright and standing arent a solution to back problems.

THE SOLUTION TO BACK PAIN? HAVE A FIDGET!

According to some experts, providing you get up and walk around every now and then, slumping is harmless.

Gavin Smith explains: Sitting or standing in any position for prolonged periods is unwise. Slumping in itself is no worse for us than sitting up straight, provided we dont do it all the time.

In studies published in the journal Spine, Australian researchers found a combination of slumping and sitting upright was far superior to sitting in one position for maintaining a stable spine and strong muscles.

Another study, published in the journal Ergonomics supports the benefits of switching positions throughout the day.

The researchers found that those only using standing desks had significantly more leg and back pain. Adjustable desks that allow some sitting and some standing are better, but Smith says they are not a cure-all.

If you are relaxed at a standing desk for an hour, then that is fine, he says. But you should try not be in any one position for longer than an hour or so.

Prolonged sitting eventually causes the gluteal muscles in the buttocks to become lazy and the hamstrings in the backs of the thighs to shorten and tighten.

It increases the risk of back and shoulder pain as well as strains when you get up to move immediately after sitting.

This is why most physiotherapists now warn against long periods of continuous sitting  but not slumping.

What matters more than correct sitting posture is that you simply fidget, move around and change position regularly.

Chew says: You need to think about challenging your positional capacity as much as you can throughout the day.

Go for a walk at lunchtime, sit on different seats and on the floor at home, move around as much as you can.

Chew and other physiotherapists suggest sitting on a wooden chair or bench as it forces you to move around more than a padded, cushioned seat.
PM Dion Ngute Joseph Twitter

Students in the University of Buea, UB, have admonished PM Dion Ngute Joseph for asking them to go into bushes and call back their fellow youths to return to normal life. Some students castigated the PM saying that they will not risk their lives in such a mission of which their security is not guaranteed even on campus.

He said the soldiers are here to protect us, but am not confident. Remembering how the military was beating and harassing students on campus two years ago, I dont think his message is genuine. I dont think we are the ones to tell those in the bushes to come out. The government is the one to do so. He did not address the fact that students and lecturers have been kidnapped in the past. He did not give us the required assurances but we hope for the best, said one student.

The PM was in UB on Wednesday during the second day of his peace tour to the South West Region. At the Amphi 750, he said: The President sent me here to ensure an end to kidnaping, harassment of students, and call for return to normal life. He has put in place the dialogue through a number of agencies but many are telling him that they prefer the dialogue which will be in the form of an event where people will come and sit round the table and talk. He has accepted that demand and he is going to organise such a dialogue, he explained.

Students retorted by asking how soon the said dialogue will take place. Some students, while thanking the Head of Government for having the courage to come to the field, said his speech to students was good but directed to the wrong audience.

It was an empty speech. It was a mere waste of time that students came and stayed for four hours before he came. Coming as a father, we expected to hear something of substance but, unfortunately, it was a shadow of what his predecessor took to Bamenda and Buea the other time. He did not say anything that can really solve this problem, because he said Mr. Biya is putting in place the mechanism to call for a frank and an inclusive dialogue, while in Bamenda he said the dialogue has already begun.

The PM equally said that, as soon as the crisis is over, the military will go back to the barracks, while asking students to plead with fighters in the bushes to drop weapons.

The young people in the bushes are of your age. You have relatives, brothers, cousins and neighbours out there. Some of you talk to them. Please, engage with them to tell them it is due time. The State does not fight a war with its children. This is not a war, but a crisis which has to come to an end, Dion Ngute pleaded.

According to him, the student body and SYNES presented their respective memos to him, which he is going to address soon. The students memo called for both parties to drop their arms, but the PM said there is nothing like both parties, stating that only the State has a monopoly of power.

Hear the PM: There are no two parties here. We are talking about the state. We are talking about numerous armed groups. They are not a party like the state. When you tell me that the states and the other parties should put their weapons down, you are wrong. The state is not a party like the armed groups. The state has a monopoly of the use of force in every society. Armed groups dont have a right to the use of force. The soldiers, the army is here to protect you. The army would not be here if those boys did not pick up arms against civilians. As soon as this problem goes away, the army will go away. So, please there should be some discernment in the categorisation of issues.

PM Dion Ngute urged the Vice-Chancellor (Prof. Ngomo Horace Manga) to know who the military people in the area are in order to be able to engage them if there is any problem.

His words: So I plead with you the Vice-Chancellor. Please know who the military officers of your area are. Talk to them. If there is a problem, engage with them. These are all young men who come here, some of them just as young as you are if not younger  between 19 and 22. They leave their families. They come here to protect us. And as I often say, the military is the only profession in this country where dying is part of the job description. There is no other profession in which you voluntarily give up your life We should give them some respect.

There may be one or two who do not act in accordance with the ethical descriptions of their profession. But you should take it up. We have a branch of the military whose role is to investigate such issues. Take it up. But if you want to castigate the military and say they are bad people and that they are the cause of all of these, then it is wrong. I lost in one day over one million dollars, my property was all looted and burnt. Many people have lost the same. Many people have been kidnapped and killed. This is going on, it is not done by the military. The military is here to stop that. I thank you very much but we are going to talk further.
From a personal finance perspective, there is little to admire about Lloyds Banking Group  a bank that apart from the black horse embraces high street brands Halifax and Bank of Scotland.

Harsh words but it's true.

Most of its savings accounts are about as welcoming as the sound of a rattlesnake on a walking tour around the Grand Canyon, especially if you want easy access to your money (0.2 per cent on Easy Saver).

And if you want to pop down to your local Lloyds branch to sort out a financial problem or get out some of your own cash, there's a good chance that a) it's already been closed; or b) a sign has gone up in the front window warning customers of imminent closure.

Galloping ahead: The adverts are treacly, but Lloyds Group is a robust investment prospect

Consumer group Which? calculates that nearly 150 high street branches across the three brands have been eradicated since the start of last year  or are on the verge of extinction.

I'm not finished. No critique of the financial services group would be complete without reference to rampant mis-selling  a speciality in Lloyds' recent past (most notably, payment protection insurance)  and, of course, who can forget its role in the near sinking of the UK economy in 2007 and 2008?

A calamitous affair that saw the Government (UK taxpayers) come rushing to its rescue before extricating itself in early 2017 after the bank's finances had stabilised.

Quite naturally, I cringe whenever I see Lloyds' aesthetically appealing adverts in the cinema.

Last year's, featuring people flocking to see horses running across beautiful sands, ruined many a good film and box of salty popcorn.

It has now been replaced with the treacle-like 'epic journey'  an advert featuring a horse guiding its foal back to the herd.

The message? The bank is there, by our side, to guide us through the treacherous personal finance sands. Pull the other one.

Yet for all its customer-facing faults  or maybe because of them  Lloyds Banking Group shares currently represents an excellent opportunity for investors looking for exposure to the UK stock market with the prospect of a dollop of dividend income on top.

Of all the banks in the FTSE 100  Barclays, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered  it appears the most robust financially.

As a business, it is also pretty vanilla  a savings and loans organisation  especially when compared to Barclays where an emphasis on risky investment banking has angered some shareholders.

When viewed against challenger banks such as Metro, it represents a financial colossus.

When it comes to banks, the City will always back a hard-nosed profit-driven institution (Lloyds) over one that has taken its eye off the financial ball (Metro) while gleefully doling out free pens to anyone who cares to come into one of its pristine branches.

Lloyds' financial numbers for the first quarter of this year may have disappointed some analysts when they came out earlier this month. But they were pretty rock solid whichever way they were viewed.

Pre-tax profits were healthy at 1.603 billion (2018: 1.602 billion) despite the bank putting another 100 million aside to meet PPI misselling costs.

The banking net interest margin  the difference between what interest the bank pays its savers and charges its borrowers  remains resilient at 2.91 per cent and above that of some rivals (Royal Bank of Scotland's margin is lower at 1.89 per cent). The larger the margin, the more profit a bank makes from customers.

Lloyds also continues to drive down costs (through branch closures and digitalising anything that moves) while the quality of its loans remains, in its own words, 'strong, with no deterioration in credit risk'.

The bank's costs as a proportion of its income continue to fall  from 47.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2018 to 44.7 per cent for the quarter ending March 31, 2019.

For shareholders, annual dividend growth of 5.25 per cent is healthy with a final dividend payment for the 2018 financial year of 2.14p paid on Tuesday. The annual dividend yield is an attractive 5.2 per cent (26 times what you will get from Easy Saver).

Of course, no bank (no FTSE 100 company for that matter) is risk-free. Banks are particularly susceptible to the whims of the economy, a fact acknowledged by chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio when announcing the first quarter results. So an economic downturn could put pressure on the dividend.

And while a new financial advice venture called Schroders Personal Wealth is soon to roll out and could generate a tidy new revenue stream, there is always the worry that there may at some stage be another mis-selling scandal in the making, resulting in huge compensation payments.

And as events at the company's annual general meeting on Thursday confirmed, the bank will always attract criticism for boardroom greed (in Horta-Osorio's case, pension greed).

Yet the consensus among analysts and many UK fund managers (including Investec's Alasdair Mundy) is that Lloyds' shares are currently under-valued. Six out of nine brokers monitored by Hargreaves classify it as a 'strong buy'.

'Lloyds is a hugely profitable business,' Mundy told Wealth, 'and is underpinned by strong management.' He added: 'In many ways, it's a little dull but it's ideal for dividend hunters.'

Mundy holds Lloyds' shares in the portfolio of fund Investec Special Situations although it is not a top 10 holding.

Midas verdict: Although the memories of the awful financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 will linger long with many of us, Lloyds Banking Group of today is an altogether different financial beast from the one of 12 years ago.

As a business, it's leaner and fitter  and whatever you may think of Horta-Osorio's eyebrow-raising 6.3 million remuneration package, he's done a far better job at running the show than Craig Donaldson has at Metro (time to go me thinks).

At 60p and with the prospect of more dividend growth in the pipeline (provided the economy does not nosedive), the shares represent good value for money.

Traded on: Main market Ticker: LLOY Contact: 0371 384 2990 or lloydsbankinggroup.com
Think of Universal Basic Income like a form of pocket money paid out to individuals from the state. One proposal is for a 48 weekly allowance for all, regardless of means

How does 48 a week for everyone in the country, rich or poor, sound to you?

The idea of the state paying its citizens pocket money might sound far-fetched, but it's a possibility under a Labour Government if it wins the next election.

The scheme is known as Universal Basic Income, and is a proposal gaining increasing popularity among both those on the left and tech entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley.

The idea is that every citizen should receive a weekly allowance from the state.

Some versions of the proposal are means-tested, meaning those in work or on higher wages get less while those with the least income get the most, while others propose a flat amount paid to everyone regardless of their means.

In a report published last week commissioned by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, SOAS academic Guy Standing proposed five separate pilot programmes that would determine the idea's feasibility.

Standing is a long-time advocate of UBI, authoring a 2017 book called 'Basic income: and how we can make it happen', and also sat down with This is Money's Rachel Rickard Straus to discuss it for an episode of Big Money Questions.

If the pilots ended up being successful, he suggested starting with an unconditional allowance of 48 week that wouldn't be means tested.

The sum of 48 a week for the roughly 60million adults in this country would cost 149.76billion a year, a sizeable sum by anyone's calculation.

Pressed on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme recently about how that'd be paid for, Standing said: 'I have in front of me a spreadsheet of 1,156 tax reliefs we have in this country. Most have no economic rationale and are increasing inequality.'

He said phasing out those tax reliefs would net the Government 430billion.

Think tank the Resolution Foundation analysed HMRC 2018-19 estimates of how much tax reliefs cost the Treasury and said it cost 164billion, equivalent to almost 6,000 per household, more than the entire health budget.

This is Money has looked at the same HMRC spreadsheet and rounded up some of the top tax reliefs that might (and the emphasis is obviously on might) be vulnerable to Standing's proposals.

Personal allowance

What is it: The tax-free personal allowance means you dont pay income tax on the first 12,500 you earn, up to income of 125,000. Those who earn between 12,501 and 50,000 pay 20 per cent tax, those who earn between 50,001 and 150,000 pay a higher rate of 40 per cent and those earning above 150,000 pay an additional rate of 45 per cent.

How much did it cost HMRC in 2018-19: An estimated 107billion. The personal allowance is the UKs largest tax relief by some distance, and its been getting more expensive in recent years with the allowance getting larger. Between the 2016-17 and 2019-20 tax years, the personal allowance has been upped by 1,500.

Could it go: In order to make Standings plan, or any UBI scheme paid for by axing tax reliefs, financially feasible the personal allowance would likely have to go simply because itd be hard to find the money from elsewhere. Nonetheless, youd anticipate a hefty blowback if this was proposed.

For example, abolishing it would mean that higher-rate taxpayers would begin paying 40 per cent income tax at 37,500 rather than 50,000.

However thats not to say the personal allowance is universally accepted. According to the think tank the New Economics Foundation, in the current tax year the personal allowance is worth 6,500 to the 10 per cent of families with the highest incomes, and just 600 to the poorest 10 per cent.

It added that changes to the personal allowance since the turn of the decade have made the richest 10 per cent of households 1,470 better off, compared to just 130 for the poorest 10 per cent.

The Treasury disputes the idea the increased personal allowance has increased income inequality, but it stands to reason that someone earning 8,000 a year benefits a lot less from the personal allowance being raised from 10,500 to 12,500 than someone on 50,000.

Pension tax relief

What is it: Contributions to private pensions are treated as untaxed income. This can happen automatically in a workplace pension scheme, where your employer takes pension contributions out of your pay before they deduct your income tax, or if you pay 20 per cent tax as your pension provider will claim it for you and add the relief to your pot.

If you pay tax above the basic rate or your pension scheme is not set up to pay relief automatically, you may have to claim the relief yourself. Tax relief on pension contributions is worth up to 100 per cent of your annual earnings, but since April 2016 you will pay tax if you pay in more 40,000 a year into your pension.

How much did it cost HMRC in 2018-19: 25.6billion. According to the taxman the cost of the tax relief has increased by 7.5billion since the 2014-15 tax year. That's quite a significant jump, suggesting that auto-enrolment into workplace pension schemes has had a big impact since its introduction in 2012, as well as higher incomes and workers choosing to increase contributions.

Could it go: One of the most remarkable things about the 2017 General Election campaign was that the 'hard left' of John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn backed the pensions triple lock, while it was the Conservative Party who picked a fight with older voters over Theresa May's 'dementia tax'.

There's a possibility McDonnell might punt once again on a fight with the pensions lobby, but rumours often slosh around at Budget time about a raid on pensions tax relief  though more often floated is axing higher rate relief than pension tax relief altogether.

AJ Bell's Tom Selby told Moneywise last October that if a Chancellor wanted to slash the cost of pension tax relief 'we are more likely to see higher-rate tax relief scrapped altogether, rather than the introduction of a rate that sits somewhere in-between the current basic and higher rates.'

Critics of the relief level similar accusations to those who don't like the personal allowance  that it's unfair. For example, it costs basic rate taxpayers 80 to save 100 but higher ratepayers 60.

However if Selby describes a flat tax relief rate of 20 per cent as 'the nuclear option', then abolishing it altogether is Dr Strangelove.

Could the bitter pill be sufficiently sweetened if you argued you were giving pensioners 48 a week by the time retirement rolled around? Many Chancellors have stepped back from more cautious measures than that.

Personal savings allowance

What is it: Brought in at the start of the 2016-17 tax year, this allows savers to earn up to 1,000 of interest from savings accounts tax-free if they're a basic rate taxpayer, which falls to 500 for those that pay the higher rate.

Because savings rates are still low, certainly compared to pre-2008 ones, this means in practice most basic rate taxpayers are unlikely to have to pay tax on the interest they receive from regular savings accounts because of the sheer amount you'd have to have saved in order to be paid more than 1,000 in interest.

How much did it cost HMRC in 2018-19: 455million

Could it go: Less than half a million pounds is a drop in the ocean compared to the vast sums the personal allowance and pensions relief cost the Treasury, and even compared to the 3.1billion it costs to keep Isas tax-free.

However, because it's relatively new and not particularly well-established it could well be quite quickly and easily repealed without a huge deal of opposition. In fact, that there's already an alternative in place in the form of the Isa potentially makes it easier, and the abolition of the PSA could even reinvigorate the cash Isa market.

Although if the abolition does send more savers scurrying to the Isa, there's a possibility it could end up costing the Treasury more than it'd save, especially if savings rates begin to tick up once more.

Personal dividend allowance

What is it: A stablemate of the PSA introduced at the same time, the personal dividend allowance works like the PSA, just for dividends. Under the current limits you can earn up to 2,000 in dividends a year tax-free.

Beyond that, the tax paid on your dividends is 7.5 per cent if you pay the basic rate of tax, 32.5 per cent if you pay the higher rate, and 38.1 per cent if you're an additional rate taxpayer. Dividends are added to your income to work out which tax band you are in when you pay tax on them, and those that fall within your personal allowance don't count towards your dividend allowance.

How much did it cost HMRC in 2018-19: 695million. This is one of the few tax reliefs that cost the Treasury less in 2018-19 than it did the year before, when it cost 1.32billion. That's because the allowance was slashed from 5,000 in 2017-18 to 2,000 the following year, though the allowance has stayed the same this year.

Could it go: With the allowance being cut by more than 50 per cent, you could potentially say John McDonnell would just be following the direction of travel.

Plus, if you're one of those people who believes the Shadow Chancellor has an instinctive dislike for wealth and private enterprise, you'd likely be moving any dividend paying investments over to a stocks and shares Isa the moment election year rolls around.

There's a possibility the allowance might be slashed, but across the world there is increasing openness to the idea of taxing unearned wealth as opposed to earned income. The land value tax is the most obvious example, but this too could fit into that category.

Capital Gains Tax exemption for selling your main home

What is it: Normally if you're a higher rate taxpayer selling a house you'd pay a 28 per cent Capital Gains Tax rate on the profit you made from the sale. If you're a basic rate taxpayer and the profit from the sale isn't enough to take you into the higher tax bracket, you'll pay 18 per cent on the profits.

However if the sale is of your only or main home, you haven't been absent while owning it and no part of the home has been used purely for business purposes, then you don't have to pay CGT on profits you make from the sale.

How much did it cost HMRC in 2018-19: 27.2billion. In just five years the taxman reported that the cost of this exemption rose 6.7billion.

Could it go: Interestingly, current Chancellor Philip Hammond is in the process of tightening the loopholes around this exemption as it is. Currently homeowners are not subject to CGT if they sell within 18 months of moving out, but a proposal in the 2018 budget that could come into force in April 2020 would cut that to nine months.

What's more, you would expect a Labour Party increasingly reliant on the votes of 'Generation Rent' and those under-40 trying to get on the property ladder to be more receptive to the concerns of those trying to buy houses than those selling them.

While sellers are exempt from CGT if they're selling their main home, those buying a house worth more than 125,000 have to pay Stamp Duty, providing you aren't a first time buyer. While it's not a zero-sum situation, there's an argument to be made that those paying Stamp Duty are paying tax on the profits of those selling their homes, who are exempt from CGT.

Five tax reliefs that could add up to Guy Standing's 150bn UBI bill Tax relief Cost to HMRC in 2018-19 Personal Allowance 107billion Pension tax relief 25.6billion CGT exemption on selling your main home 27.2billion Personal Savings Allowance 455million Personal Dividend Allowance 695million

While these 2018-19 figures are estimates they suggest the five reliefs cost the Treasury about 161billion in the last tax year.

That would unlock the requisite amount Standing is looking for to pay for his 48 a week UBI experiment, and even leave another 11billion as a rebate. Bargain?
The Government's flagship business policy to put workers on company boards has been left in tatters after big firms made a mockery of the idea.

A Mail on Sunday survey of the 100 biggest listed companies found none had appointed a worker to its board of directors since the reforms came into force on January 1.

Instead, more than a third of companies have taken advantage of watered-down rules to appoint existing directors as 'representatives' of their firm's workers.

Existing board members at Royal Bank of Scotland, easyJet, WPP, Morrisons, Legal & General, Diageo and Just Eat have all accepted the newly-created roles, which in some cases come with thousands of pounds of extra pay.

Many of the directors who now supposedly represent the interests of ordinary workers are extremely wealthy  and highly-paid  business titans who hold a string of powerful roles in the City.

The list includes Javier Ferran, chairman of FTSE 100 drinks giant Diageo, former Royal Mail boss Dame Moya Greene and City financier Edward Bonham Carter, the brother of Bafta-winning actress and Harry Potter star Helena Bonham Carter.

Some 'worker representatives' will receive up to 600,000 a year while carrying out their new duties, The Mail on Sunday probe found. The revelations will be seen as an embarrassment for the Prime Minister as she fights to stay in No 10.

Theresa May's promise to put the Conservative Party 'at the service of working people' was part of her pitch to counteract the rising popularity of Jeremy Corbyn when she became Prime Minister in 2016. She pledged to put workers on boards and blasted the 'narrow social and political circles' that controlled the FTSE 100.

'We're going to have not just consumers represented on company boards, but workers as well,' she said. 'We're the Conservative Party, and yes, we're the part of enterprise  but that does not mean we should be prepared to accept that 'anything goes'.'

However, the Government's updated UK Corporate Governance code, which took effect from January 1, allowed listed companies to invent their own system for 'engaging' with employees. They can even ignore the directive entirely if they explain their decision to investors.

In The Mail on Sunday's probe, 34 companies said they had given existing non-executives responsibility for representing workers.

That made it the most favoured option among big firms. A further 35 have not declared their response to the new rules. Eleven have formed a workers' advisory panel and nine have adopted alternative arrangements. Ten declined to comment.The final company, Scottish Mortgage, is an investment trust.

Luke Hildyard, of campaign group the High Pay Centre, said: 'The failure of companies to appoint workers on boards is a major embarrassment to the Prime Minister and reflects badly on the companies themselves.'

One of the most controversial appointments is likely to be Javier Ferran at Diageo. A respected Spanish businessman, he earns 600,000 a year as chairman of the firm. His City portfolio comprises a boardroom role at Coca-Cola European Partners and he was a senior adviser at private equity firm Lion Capital.

Ferran was previously chief executive and president of drinks company Bacardi, and has served on the boards of Primark owner Associated British Foods and SAB Miller, the brewing giant behind Peroni and Grolsch.

EasyJet has appointed former Royal Mail boss Moya Greene to protect workers' rights

Moya Greene outraged workers and unions in 2017 when she sought to close Royal Mail's defined benefit pension scheme while guarding her own generous pension payout of 200,000 a year as chief executive.

But now she will collect 60,000 in fees as the non-executive director at easyJet who has been tasked with protecting workers' rights. She also sits on three board committees.

Edward Bonham Carter will be the workers' representative at media giant ITV while juggling a number of high-profile City roles, including vice-chair of Jupiter Fund Management and non-executive director of property giant Land Securities.

RBS non-executive director Lena Wilson will receive an additional 15,000 in fees to attend meetings with employees and feed back their views to top brass. The Scottish business leader received a total 148,000 in fees in 2018 for her role at RBS, which included 20,000 in benefits.

Existing board member Tony van Kralingen will be taking up the baton for workers at Morrisons. He receives 102,000  ten times the average salary of a supermarket cashier. He is also head of the Cabinet Office's procurement arm, the Crown Commercial Service.

Former HSBC banker Irene Dorner will receive an extra 15,000 in fees representing employees at Rolls-Royce, which has been slashing thousands of middle-management jobs and back office staff. As a non-executive, Dorner receives 76,000 in total for part-time work  almost twice the average full-time salary of Rolls-Royce's employees.

By contrast, some FTSE 250 firms have welcomed workers to their boards. Capita appointed Lyndsay Browne and Joseph Murphy to its board last week after a competitive process involving 400 employees. They will each earn 64,500 a year on top of their normal salary to carry out their duties.

A spokesman for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: 'The UK Corporate Governance Code now requires companies to have at least one worker on their board or, if they decide otherwise, explain what alternative arrangements are in place and why it considers that they are effective.

'Any company not complying with this must report to shareholders annually on why they have not done so.'

A spokesman for Diageo said: As Chairman, Javier Ferran, will provide effective leadership and engagement with our workforce and will not be paid extra for this work.
Matthew Kelly and Jaymie Egner were only 14 years old when the pair vanished and their bodies were mysteriously found weeks later in a bridge pylon.

Their decomposed remains were only discovered after a road inspector picked up on a foul odour emanating from the Pheasants Nest Bridge, in the NSW Southern Highlands, in January 1990.

Authorities hauled the corpses from the 33-metre deep south-eastern most pylon, and it would be some time later before the bodies were identified because of the advanced stage of decay.

A Coroner's Inquiry into their death concluded the pair died from misadventure, though the logistics and circumstances surrounding their deaths have fueled speculation it was anything but the case.

Some theories suggest the deaths were linked to a number of other accidents in the area, while others suspect nearby marijuana growers had a hand in their demise.

Matthew Kelly (pictured) and Jaymie Egner were only 14 years old when the pair vanished and their bodies were mysteriously found weeks later in a bridge pylon

Their decomposed remains were only discovered after a road inspector picked up on a foul odour emanating from the Pheasants Nest Bridge, in the NSW Southern Highlands, in January 1990 (pictured, Jaymie Egner)

Authorities hauled the corpses from the 33m deep south-eastern most pylon, and it would be some time later before the bodies were identified because of the advanced stage of decay

It was the beginning of school holidays, the middle of a blistering summer, and near the end of December 1989.

Matthew and Jaymie had told their parents they were going to cool off at the local watering hole along the nearby Nepean River.

The pair had just lunched at Jaymie's mum's house in Pheasants Nest and said they going to trek the two kilometres to the swim spot known as the 'Pothole'.

It would be the last time they were seen alive.

Their friend Phillip Hendricks said he was supposed to have joined his friends that day to go swimming, but decided to stay home.

He revealed the group had planned to walk further down the river than planned.

On the matter as to why the friends might have ended up at the nearby Pheasants Nest Bridge, Mr Hendricks said it wasn't anything out of the ordinary and that it was a well-known haunt for some of the local kids.

The bridge spans 300 metres over the Nepean River and is part of the lengthy Hume Highway, which connects Sydney to Canberra.

The boys are understood to have entered the interior of the bridge through a nearby access point, which allowed them to explore the walkway that stretches the full length of the structure.

The pair are understood to have slipped down an uncovered 33-metre hollow pylon and plunged to their deaths.

A senior homicide detective initially suggested the boys had fallen into the shaft as they tried to 'lift the square manhole cover.'

The roads inspector who discovered the bodies argued the 20cm thick steel and concrete manhole cover would have required the strength of at least four men to lift.

He pointed out nobody had been able to locate the shaft's hatch, indicating the shaft had been left uncovered to begin with.

On that note, speculation suggests there was enough lighting along the walkway for the boys to notice the gaping hole ahead of them.

Some theories suggest the deaths were linked to a number of other accidents in the area, while others suspect nearby marijuana growers had a hand in their demise (pictured, the Kelly family bid farewell to their son at his funeral on January 11, 1990)

On the matter as to why the friends might have ended up at the nearby Pheasants Nest Bridge, Mr Hendricks said it wasn't anything out of the ordinary and that it was a well known haunt for some of the local kids

The dark history of Pheasants Nest Bridge Thousands of drivers cross Pheasants Nest Bridge each day as it forms part of the Hume Highway, which connects Sydney to Canberra. Though since its construction in the 1980s, the bridge has been the scene of numerous deaths. 1988: Erin Murphy, 17, and Glenn Vantaggiato, 19, were run down on the Old Hume Highway near Tahmoor after lying down on the busy freeway. Neither of the boys were drunk, and speculation has surrounded whether or not they were in fact alive before the truck hit them. 2001: A driver fell to his death after he jumped from the bridge and dropped more than 80 metres. The man had sped past a marked police patrol car on the Hume Highway and led officers on a high-speed chase. At length he abandoned his vehicle and jumped over the rail of the bridge before plunging to his death. 2005: A driver claimed that he had hit a naked woman along the highway near Pheasants Nest. When he got out of the car to check up on the victim, he said he saw a man and a woman in drive away in a white car. Police were left baffled after an injured woman appeared at Shepparton Hospital, in northern Victoria, more than 560 kilometres away. 2009: The dismembered body of Ling Mao was found in three separate locations around the Pheasants Nest area. A local resident's dog first found the remains before taking parts of her body back to its owner, sparking a full police investigation. 2015: The body of Josip Basanovic was found near the bottom of Pheasants Nest bridge. His black Mitsubishi 380 was found sitting on the bridge and the circumstances surrounding the driver's death is still shrouded in mystery. Advertisement

Pieces of burnt paper - which are believed to have been used as torches - had been found leading to the lights master switch at the opposite end of the 300 metre walkway and the fluorescent lights turned on.

What's more, early media reports said Jaymie's shirt had been folded near the shaft, though forensic investigator Esther McKay has written extensively on the case in her book 'Crime Scene' and said the shirt lay as it fell.

Fingernail scratches were also found near the top of the opening and a piece of plastic conduit was found on the bodies of the boys.

Ms McKay noted cigarette butts were also discovered inside the pylon, though technology was not advanced enough during the time to test the DNA.

For the road inspector who discovered the bodies, he said the details were enough to raise suspicion.

'I believe that a third person may have been with them [the boys] - I just find it all a bit suspicious,' he said in the past.

A package of marijuana was discovered at the site during the investigation into the boy's deaths, as well as a nearby marijuana plantation.

Rumours swirled that Matthew and Jaymie had interrupted the growers who were drying marijuana in the bridge.

'If two men grabbed them and dropped them down the hole you would never know - there would be no evidence.' the roads inspector said.

The marijuana discovered at the site was believed to be headed interstate, though police dismissed that rumour.

Some even suggested the deaths might be linked to a fatal accident two years prior to their disappearance.

Erin Murphy, 17, and Glenn Vantaggiato, 19, were run down on the Old Hume Highway near Tahmoor after lying down on the busy freeway.

Neither of the boys were drunk, and speculation has surrounded whether or not they were in fact alive before the truck hit them.

The suspicion adds to the dark history of the bridge, which has been the scene of many other crimes.

A driver fell to his death after he jumped from the bridge and plunged more than 80 metres below in 2001.

The boys are understood to have entered the interior of the bridge through a nearby access point, which allowed them to explore the walkway that stretches the full length of the structure (pictured, an aerial view of Pheasants Nest Bridge)

Matthew and Jaymie had told their parents they were going to cool off at the local watering hole along the nearby Nepean River (pictured, the Mermaid Pools along the same Nepean River that the 'Pothole' is located)

Forensic investigator Esther McKay's conclusion on events It was my view that the boys had voluntarily climbed into the bridge. In darkness they had lit the newspaper and used it to make a paper torch as they walked through the tunnel to the master switch where they operated the internal lights. They then walked back along the tunnel, stopping at the south-eastern pylon where they sat around the open manhole and smoked cigarettes. 'The boys then pulled pieces of conduit from the nearby electrical channel and played with them, possibly using them as swords poking them at each other until one of the boys accidentally overbalanced and fell into the hole, grabbing the second boy by the waist of his shorts and causing a rip down the front. 'The second boy was pulled down by the weight of the first and tried to grab the sides of the manhole hence the five finger death grip and black scuff marks from the soles of his running shoes. I believe that both boys fell to their deaths with the pieces of conduit, one of them hitting the exposed steel rods on the way down. They were both killed on impact.' Source: 'Crime Scene' by Esther McKay Advertisement

The man had sped past a marked police patrol car on the Hume Highway and led officers on a high-speed chase.

At length he abandoned his vehicle and jumped over the rail of the bridge before jumping to his death.

Also in the Pheasants Nest area in 2009, the dismembered body of Ling Mao was found in three separate locations.

A local resident's dog first found the remains before taking parts of her body back to its owner, sparking a full police investigation.

Her husband Huan 'Peter' Sun took his own life the following year after he was found guilty of her murder.

Back in 2005, a driver claimed that he had hit a naked woman along the highway near Pheasants Nest.

When he got out of the car to check up on the victim, he said he saw a man and a woman drive away in a white car.

Police were left baffled after an injured woman appeared at Shepparton Hospital, in northern Victoria, more than 560 kilometres away.

In 2015, the body of Josip Basanovic was found near the bottom of Pheasants Nest bridge.

His black Mitsubishi 380 was found sitting on the bridge and the circumstances surrounding the driver's death is still shrouded in mystery.

A package of marijuana was discovered at the site during the investigation into their deaths, as well as a nearby marijuana plantation
A British man leapt six floors to his death at a shopping centre yesterday in the popular Thai holiday resort of Pattaya City.

Police were called around 5pm on Thursday after reports that a white man - roughly 50 years old - had plunged from the sixth floor to the ground level at Central Festival mall in the citys Bang Lamung district.

Police and rescue workers arrived a short while later to find the tourist unresponsive, surrounded by horrified shoppers.

Local news websites report that the man is British. MailOnline has contacted the Foreign Office for comment.

The man, said to be about 50 years old, died at Central Festival mall on Thursday after jumping from the sixth floor (pictured)

He had suffered catastrophic injuries including a broken neck and fractured skull, the Thai newspaper Siam Rath reported.

The as yet unnamed victim - who police say was carrying no identification - was rushed to Pattaya Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to Bangkok-based news outlet Coconuts.

The website reported that two witnesses, one of whom worked in a nearby store, told police they saw the man climbing over the five foot high metal railings.

Two witnesses, one of whom worked in a nearby store at the Central Festival mall in the citys Bang Lamung district, told police they saw the man climbing over the five foot high metal railings

The pair said that although they rushed over at once to try and talk the man down, they were too late to stop him letting go of the barrier.

Panicked screams could be heard from terrified onlookers.

Thai Police told local media that they were working to establish the identity of the man and track down his relatives.
A former Colombian rebel commander was re-arrested moments after his release from jail by a peace tribunal after outcry over leniency.

Prison authorities escorted Seuxis Hernandez in a wheelchair to the gates of La Picota jail outside Bogota.

His wrists were bandaged from what prison authorities described earlier as self-inflicted wounds that required emergency medical attention.

But as soon as he was beyond the prison gates, his hand help up in a 'V' for victory sign, a group of police took him back into state custody as riot police held back a small group of supporters who had gathered to demand his release.

Prison guards escort former rebel leader Seuxis Hernandez outside La Picota jail in Bogota, Colombia on Friday

A helicopter of the Police takes off from La Picota jail carrying former guerrilla leader known as 'Jesus Sanctrich' for his transfer to the Attorney General's Office, in Bogota on Friday

A supporter of the FARC political party, who was waiting for former rebel leader Seuxis Hernandez outside La Picota jail

Moments later he was loaded onto a helicopter and shuttled away to the chief prosecutor's headquarters.

The ruling to release the commander and prevent his extradition to the US sparked a constitutional crisis and raised questions around the terms of a 2016 peace deal with the the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

A special tribunal investigating war crimes during Colombia's decades-long civil conflict ruled on Wednesday Hernandez should not be extradited to America, where he is wanted on drug trafficking and conspiracy charges.

The decision triggered the resignation of Colombia's chief prosecutor and has renewed debate about whether the 2016 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia is too lenient with rebel leaders.

At issue is whether the alleged crimes took place before or after the signing of the December 2016 peace accord between the government and the FARC. Rebels who lay down their weapons and confess to crimes are spared jail time and extradition but aren't protected for crimes committed after the signing.

The chief prosecutor's office said in a statement that it had abided by the peace tribunal's ruling in the extradition case but had opened its own Colombian investigation based on new evidence provided in the past 48 hours from the U.S. authorities that laid bare the precise dates and circumstances of the alleged crimes.

Seuxis Hernandez raises the 'V' for victory hand signal at the end of a press conference in Bogota, Colombia on Wednesday

Seuxis Hernandez leaves La Picota jail escorted by prison guards in Bogota, Colombia on Friday

An Interpol notice for Santrich's arrest claims he met with cocaine buyers at his residence on Nov. 2, 2017. During that meeting and subsequent negotiations, he and his co-conspirators allegedly discussed plans for a 10-ton shipment to the U.S., boasting they had access to cocaine laboratories and U.S.-registered planes to move the cargo, the notice says.

Santrich has repeatedly professed his innocence, saying he was the victim of a scheme led by the U.S. and conservative opponents of the peace deal to put him behind bars.

The fight over Santrich's extradition has revived the polarizing politics over the 2016 peace deal that aimed to put behind a half century of guerrilla fighting that has left 250,000 people dead and millions displaced.

Critics of the decision, including President Ivan Duque, said the peace tribunal overstepped its authority and with the stroke of a pen is undermining decades of close anti-narcotics cooperation with the U.S. The nation's chief prosecutor, Nestor Martinez, immediately resigned in protest, calling the ruling a slap in the face for Colombia's democracy and the many victims of the armed conflict

A helicopter carrying former rebel leader Seuxis Hernandez takes off from La Picota jail in Bogota, Colombia on Friday

'I have been, am and will continue to be ready to sign the extradition for alias Jesus Santrich and any other drug trafficker,' Duque said in a late-night address Wednesday in which he announced he would appeal the ruling.

The U.S. Embassy in Bogota this week called the ruling 'regrettable,' arguing that the extradition request satisfied all Colombian requirements and firmly established that the alleged crimes took place after the signing of the peace deal.

But in explaining its decision, the peace tribunal's magistrates said that the U.S. State Department did not provide the evidence requested and that intercepted audios held up as proof did not clearly indicate Santrich was culpable. The tribunal also argued that trying Santrich in Colombia instead of the U.S. is the best way to consolidate peace.

Meanwhile, the tribunal continues to look into other alleged crimes by FARC and recently ordered the capture of former FARC leader Hernan Velasquez, better known by his alias 'El Paisa,' for failing to fulfill his commitments under the peace deal and provide testimony about kidnappings carried out by the rebels.

'This is an extremely arbitrary action,' said leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda.

Supporters of the FARC political party holding posters of former leader Seuxis Hernandez, known by his war alias Jesus Santrich, rally outside the Attorney General's office in Bogota, Colombia on Wednesday

Santrich, is a blind rebel ideologue who was one of the most-important negotiators during peace talks that stretched for years in Cuba.

The FARC long funded its operations by leveling a 'war tax' on cocaine moving through its territory. Fifty members of its leadership structure were indicted in 2006 in the U.S. on charges of running the world's largest drug cartel. But the guerrillas always denied direct involvement in the business itself.
At the height of Hitler's Holocaust, as millions were being murdered in the death camps, four daring young women risked their lives to expose the twisted experiments Nazi scientists were conducting on camp inmates.

The German SS carried out this medical torture in secret and news of them using human subjects was never supposed to leave the confines of the evil physicians' laboratories.

However, the sordid details of the experiments were broadcast to the world after the women sent coded letters to their families in which they described their horrific treatment in invisible ink concocted from their own urine.

And more than 70 years later, the story of these women has been told in a series of interviews which form part of Dr. David Gil's forthcoming book, The Art of Hiding.

Krystyna Czyz was one of the women imprisoned in Ravensbruck who filtered out details of the experiments in coded letters during the Second World War

The daring young women sent letters from the camp written in 'invisible ink' concocted from their own urine

In 1941, after torturous interrogation from Gestapo officers who suspected her family of disobedience, Krystyna was taken to the Ravensbruck (pictured)

One of these Second World War heroines was a Polish woman called Krystyna Czyz whose hometown of Lublin was invaded by German troops in September 1939 when she was just 15 years old.

In 1941, after torturous interrogation from Gestapo officers who suspected her family of disobedience, she was taken to the Ravensbruck concentration camp in northern Germany, according to Haaretz which has seen an advanced copy of the book.

The following year and under the supervision of Karl Gebhardt, the personal doctor to SS leader Heinrich Himmler, Nazi doctors began dragging inmates into their laboratories to conduct sick medical tests.

Among the 74 human subjects - dubbed as 'rabbits' - was Krystyna and three other women called Wanda Wijtasik, Janina Iwaska and her sister Krystyna Iwaska.

All four of them suffered excruciating pain at the hands of the camp's physicians who punctured their flesh with shards of unwashed broken glass to deliberately cause them infection.

Janina Iwaska (right) and her sister Krystyna (left) met Krystyna Czyz and Wanda Wijtasik at the camp and were among 74 women to be experimented on by Nazi doctors

Under the supervision of SS general Karl Gebhardt (pictured), the personal doctor to SS leader Heinrich Himmler, Nazi doctors began dragging inmates into their laboratories to conduct sick medical tests

Although their own personal trauma was unbearable, the women resolved to find a way to filter the sordid details of the camp's experiments out into the world.

Yet they were only allowed to send one letter to their families each month and the content would be heavily censored so that only messages reporting a good camp life would be permitted to pass from the compound.

But the women hatched an ingenious plan to write hidden messages into their letters which would not be spotted by the camp guards.

They realised that if they dipped their scribing stick in urine, the words would quickly vanish from the page as the liquid loses its colour.

However, when the urine is heated up it reappears and thus reveals the words on the page.

Between 1943 and 1944, the women risked their lives to send 27 of these letters in the hope of highlighting the sick abuse of camp inmates to the world.

But their plan relied on their families figuring out the dull letters contained a coded message and discovering how to decipher the true meaning.

Inmates were only allowed to send one letter to their families each month and the content would be heavily censored so that only messages reporting a good camp life would be permitted to pass from the compound (pictured: Barbara Oratowska presents one of 27 letters)

The women realised that if they dipped their scribing stick in urine, the words would quickly vanish from the page as the liquid loses its colour

In one of her letters, Krystyna name-dropped a specific book which the siblings had read as children that plots the story of a boy who sends secret messages to tip off her brother to the hidden code

Luckily, Krystyna had left a clue in one of the letters which she sent to her brother, who she believed would detect the hint.

In the note, she name-dropped a specific book which the siblings had read as children that plots the story of a boy who sends secret messages.

At first, her brother was puzzled by the peculiar mention of the book, but suddenly realised that Krystyna was telling him that she too had sent a coded message.

Now that he was alert to the letter's true purpose, he began scanning the page for clues and found an acrostic pattern of letters which formed the words 'list moczem', which translates as 'letter in ink'.

After heating up the paper, the chilling words 'we have decided to tell you the whole truth' appeared in the margins of the page followed by the details of the horrific experiments.

And in May 1943, Janina's father received a letter, which he decoded, that asked for help plotting the women's escape.

According to historians from Lund University, it said: 'Five female Polish political inmates have escaped. We are preparing a new escape.

On May 1944, an English radio bulletin said: 'In the concentration camp for women in Ravensbruck (inmates pictured after the liberation) , the announcer said the Germans are committing new crimes

Some 40,000 Polish women were imprisoned in Ravensbruck camp during the Second Wold War

An estimated 50,000 people perished in Ravensbruck while only 15,000 were rescued in the liberation in 1945

'Send in a parcel: a compass, an accurate map of Germany, two false identification documents with photographs that are not especially characteristic.

It added: 'You have to do it very skillfully, carefully and invisible ... underneath a jar of jam, a secret message tucked in a tube of toothpaste.'

On May 1944, more than a year after the first coded letter was sent, the contents of the women's messages were broadcast to the world.

An English radio bulletin said: 'In the concentration camp for women in Ravensbruck, the announcer said the Germans are committing new crimes.

'The women in this camp are being submitted to vivisection experiments and are being operated on like rabbits.'

Having exposed the gross medical tests being conducted by the Nazis, the heroic women also all survived the closing stages of the war.

Krystyna went on to become an academic, Wanda became a psychiatrist, Janina became a journalist and her younger sister Krystyna became a doctor.

Karl Gebhardt was convicted of war crimes at the Nuremberg trials and hanged in June 1948.
On the morning of the election a confident Bill Shorten has showed off a tongue-in-cheek t-shirt and said he was confident Labor would claim victory.

The Labor leader was seen on an early morning jog in Melbourne on Saturday, where wearing a shirt with 'Vote 1 for Chloe Shorten's Husband' written across the front.

The shirt was a reference to Mrs Shorten's incredible popularity that has served to boost the Labor leader's image as he campaigned throughout the country with her by his side.

Mr Shorten previously admitted during a political rally that his wife's popularity had outstripped his own.

The final Newspoll of the campaign has Labor ahead of the coalition 51.5 to 48.5 on a two-party preferred basis.

Mr Shorten appeared on breakfast television on Saturday morning, making a final pitch to viewers.

He said he had never commented on the polls during his six years as opposition leader but he now felt confident in a win.

'I have never commented on the polls. But I actually feel, I am break the habit, I feel confident Labor can form a majority,' Shorten said on Today.

Bill Shorten went for a jog early on election day with a shirt reading 'Vote 1 Chloe Shoten's Husband' in reference to his wife's popularity

He targeted action on climate change, childcare costs, pensioners and stability as key messages.

Mr Shorten added that despite these key issues he believed it had come down to two main issues.

'In the last week and a half I would say two issues are equal first in the nation. One is equal on climate change. People just want to see climate change. People want to see climate change. We have a policy. Unlike the government,' Shorten said.

'The other issue is chaos. The fear people have about voting Liberal this time is they might get Clive Palmer or Pauline Hanson, chaos again.'

Bill Shorten even admitted during a political rally that his wife had become more popular than himself and first urged people to 'Vote 1 Chloe Shorten's Husband'

The Labor leader said he was feeling both confident and nervous starting the day as favourite.

'What I know after 2000 days in the job is that I'm confident Labor can run a united government,' he told Seven's Sunrise.

On Thursday, Mr Shorten criticised Scott Morrison for raising the prospect of a minority coalition government.

'A prime minister who says vote for him and he'll give you a minority government and three more years of chaos - that's not what Australia needs at this time in our history.'

Labor is on track to record a narrow victory, making Mr Shorten the party's fourth leader to win government from opposition since World War II.

'I have never commented on the polls. But I actually feel, I am break the habit, I feel confident Labor can form a majority, Mr Shorten said

Mr Shorten spent Friday paying tribute to Labor legend Bob Hawke, who died on Thursday, aged 89.

He shared a beer with Labor's Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and one of his predecessors Steve Bracks.

The final day of campaigning was tinged with sadness, with electioneering pared back as a mark of respect for Mr Hawke.

Mr Shorten said Mr Hawke was an inspiration before he became a friend.

'It's sad to me that I can't show him that we can win and form a government because I'd feel I'd be fulfilling a contract that I mentally made with him all those years ago,' he said.

Labor is hopeful of making inroads in Melbourne after thumping the Liberals at last year's state election.

With the election on a knife's edge, the size of the swing in Victoria could be crucial in deciding who will be prime minister after Saturday.
Fears are growing for a 17-year-old girl who has not been seen for two weeks.

Chantelle Toskic was last seen on Matthew Street, Glen Waverley in Melbourne at about 3pm on May 4.

Police have released an image of Chantelle in hopes someone recognises her and can provide information about her location.

Chantelle Toskic was last seen to weeks ago and police are concerned for her welfare

Chantelle was last seen wearing grey leggings, a black top and a white hooded jacket.

She is known to frequent Melbourne's inner suburbs Richmond and Abbotsford.

Police urge anyone who may know the whereabouts of Chantelle or sees her to contact Glen Waverley Police Station on 9566 1555.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton are in danger of losing their seats as today's federal election is predicted to come down to the wire.

Out of the 151 seats in the lower house, 77 seats are needed to be won to have a majority government, with a number of powerful politicians at risk of losing their seat.

A recent Newspoll showed Labor leading the Coalition 51 to 49 per cent after preferences.

But some of Australia's best known politicians are facing the very real possibility that they will lose their seats and their jobs tonight.

Here Daily Mail Australia takes a look at the MPs fighting for their political lives.

Peter Dutton - Dickson, QLD

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is at risk of losing the Queensland seat of Dickson, which includes northern suburbs of Brisbane and rural areas surrounding.

Mr Dutton has comfortably held the seat since 2001 but is sitting in front with a slim margin of just 1.7 per cent.

If he loses to Labor, journalist and disability advocate Ali France will take the seat.

Following the leadership spill against Malcolm Turnbull, Mr Dutton's popularity has dropped, and made even worse when he accused Ms France, who lost a leg in a car accident, of 'using her disability as an excuse' for not living in the electorate.

Dickson was targeted by Labor in the 2016 election, and momentum is gathering again.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton (pictured) is at risk of losing the Queensland seat of Dickson

Former journalist and disability advocate who lost her leg in a car accident, Ali France (pictured), could take the seat over for Labor

Tony Abbott - Warringah, NSW

Voters in the wealthy beachside Sydney seat of Warringah will be on tenterhooks tonight as Tony Abbott attempts to retain the seat he has held for 25 years.

Barrister and former Olympic skier Zali Steggall has been running a tight campaign against the former prime minister.

Warringah is an electorate which is increasingly concerned with climate change and many have become disillusioned with Mr Abbott and the Liberal party.

Abbott, who suffered a nine per cent primary vote swing against him in 2016, campaigned on a host of local issues including upgrades to walking tracks and surf lifesaving toilets in an electorate he's represented for a quarter century.

Steggall is selling herself as a 'sensible centre' candidate in Warringah which has only ever been held by the Liberal party.

Voters in the wealthy beachside Sydney seat of Warringah will be on the edge of their seats to see if Tony Abbott (pictured) can retain the seat he has held for 25 years

Voters in Warringah will be on the edge of their seats to see if Tony Abbott (left) can retain the seat he has held for 25 years against a challenge from barrister and former Olympic skier Zali Steggall (right)

Kerryn Phelps - Wentworth, NSW

Independent Dr Kerryn Phelps pulled off an extraordinary win in last year's Wentworth by-election, but the Coalition is hoping to regain the seat.

Liberal candidate Dave Sharma vies to reverse the defeat he suffered in October.

The Liberals, who had never lost the seat, suffered a 19 per cent swing in the by-election when it was vacated by Malcolm Turnbull after he was deposed as prime minister.

Mr Sharma now sits 1.2 per cent behind Phelps on a two-party-preferred basis.

Independent Dr Kerryn Phelps pulled off an extraordinary win in last year's Wentworth by-election, but the Coalition is hoping to regain the seat

Liberal candidate Dave Sharma (left) vies to reverse the defeat he suffered in October's by-election against independent Dr Kerryn Phelps (middle). Labor's Tim Murray (right) is running again also

Greg Hunt - Flinders, VIC

The Health Minister will be facing a challenge for the Victorian seat of Flinders, covering the Mornington Peninsula.

Greg Hunt currently holds a 7 per cent margin but is facing a challenge from Julia Banks, a former Liberal MP turned independent candidate.

During the ousting of Malcolm Turnbull, Mr Hunt lost popularity among Liberal supporters for backing Mr Dutton.

Julia Banks had been a member of the Liberal party for Chisholm in Melbourne's east, but quit the party over how it treated women.

Ms banks has focused her campaign on climate change and is looking to be a promising candidate for the area.

Josh Sinclair, a Labor candidate, is also a contender for Flinders in what is looking to be a three-way battle.

The Victorian seat of Flinders, covering the Mornington Peninsula has only been held by Labor for three terms and is currently held by Liberal Health Minister Greg Hunt (pictured)

Julia Banks (pictured) quit the Liberal party over how it treated women and is running as an independent

Ken Wyatt - Hasluck, WA

The seat of Hasluck, in Western Australia, is currently held by Liberal Party's Ken Wyatt but he has a margin of just 2.1 per cent.

The Aged Care Minister is fighting to defend his seat, which has swung between Labor and Liberal since it was created in 2001.

He was recently hit badly by allegations of bullying in his office, with an investigation looking into the allegations.

Polls are showing Labor candidate James Martin is in with a strong chance to take over the seat.

The seat of Hasluck, in Western Australia, is currently held by Liberal Party's Ken Wyatt but he has a margin of just 2.1 per cent

Polls are showing Labor candidate James Martin (pictured) is in with a strong chance to take over the seat

Sussan Ley - Farrer, NSW

Former health minister Sussan Ley has held the regional NSW seat for almost 20 years, and enjoys a strong 20.5 per cent margin.

But the recent drought has brought popular support for an independent candidate who could take the seat.

State results indicate Ms Ley is under threat from two-term Albury mayor Kevin Mack.

In the past few weeks leading up to today's poll, Mr Mack has managed to tighten opinion polls dramatically, attracting support of voters west of Farrer who deserted the National Party at the state election.

Former health minister Sussan Ley (pictured) has held the regional NSW seat for almost 20 years, with a strong 20.5 per cent margin

State results indicate she is under threat from two-term Albury mayor Kevin Mack (pictured), who has built a strong campaign following the drought

Joshn Frydenberg - Kooyong, VIC

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has held the seat of Kooyony, in Victoria, since 2010 on what is believed to be a safe 12.8 per cent margin.

But he is being challenged by former boss of Clean Energy Finance Corporation Oliver Yates, who is running as an independent.

Targeting voters about the environment, he's been a critic to the Liberal Party's stance on climate change.

The Greens also have a strong candidate in human rights activist Julian Burnside QC who has also campaigned on environmental issues.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has held the seat of Kooyony, in Victoria, since 2010 on what is believed to be a safe 12.8 per cent margin
Manif des camerounais a Paris - 18/05/2019 Facebook

Paul Biya!! Paul Biya!! The country is going badly. The country is going badly. We need a change. This is how members and sympathisers of a movement christened Brigade Anti-Sardinards say they are setting the stage for the exit of Cameroons President Paul Biya. President Biya won last years elections by over 71% of validly cast votes, but some claim Maurice Kamto who emerged second won.

Since Cameroonians in the diaspora started protests against President Paul Biya over six months ago, the demonstrations this Saturday, May 18, 2019 in Paris had a thick participation.

Protesters came from Europe, Africa and the United States. Anti-Biya activists like Calibri Calibro, Willie de Paris, Emmanuel Kemta,General Wanto, Professor Franklin Nyamsi, Brice Nitcheu and Patrice Nganang among others could be seen in the images at the liberation march beamed live on Facebook.

Activists say 80,000 people participated, citing police sources. We can't independently verify the figures but the images speak volumes.

The protest along the streets of Paris this afternoon according to the frontline organisers is to send a message to President Biya that it is time for him to quit the stage and install true democracy in the country.

They called on French President Emmanuel Macron to stop supporting President Biya whom they claim is a dictator  President Biya and his CPDM party have officially won all elections hes stood for. Ages 86, Biya has been president since 1982.

Clad in yellow T-shirts with Maurice Kamtos photo engraved on them, and waving Cameroons national flag, sang revolutionary songs demanding the release of members of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) party. They demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Maurice Kamto, and allied leaders like Christian Penda Ekoka, Albert Dzongang and Paul Eric Kingue, Valsero and CRM top shots like Alain Fogue Tedom, Michele Ndoki, Celestin Djamen and other members of the party.

Some of them had photos of President Macron and Maurice Kamto.

Macron stop supporting dictators, one of the placards read. Other placards carried the photos of some CRM members and allies currently in detention.

Those who say we dont have papers in Paris should now see that we are legal residents. Even if we dont have papers, we will not be arrested. Let Cameroon copy the example of the French police. They are republican. See how the police are accompanying us. You arrested Kamto and others for simply protesting, they said as they protested.

Maurice Kamto was arrested on January 26, 2019 along with other members and allies of his CRM party. They have since been charged for their role in protests calling for sweeping electoral reforms and his claim that he won the last presidential elections.

Today's anti Biya protest comes exactly 48 hours to the country's National Day on May 20 and amidst soaring violence in the North West and South West regions.
The father of a 27-year-old man who was killed by Rwandan militia has been left devastated after finding out two of the alleged killers have moved to Australia as refugees.

David Roberts and his wife Laura, from Perth, learned of re-settlement after watching the news on Thursday night.

The Federal Government had failed to inform them of the controversial move.

Their son, Steven Roberts was one of eight tourists who were hacked to death by two men who were moved to Australia in November.

'We were pretty annoyed that we weren't notified. Last night was pretty upsetting,' Mr Roberts told the ABC.

The men were accused of killing the tourists with machetes and axes in a Ugandan rainforest in 1999.'

The father of a 27-year-old man, who was allegedly killed by Rwandan terrorists, has learned two of the accused have moved to Australia as refugees

David Roberts (pictured), teared up saying he was haunted by the horrific deaths and confessed he had some sleepless nights

Mr Roberts, who has been an Australian citizen for two decades, teared up saying he was haunted by the horrific deaths and confessed he had some sleepless nights.

'After 20 years you start to get over it a little bit and get on with life and this has just brought it all back unnecessarily,' he said.

'Steven was one of the unlucky ones'.

The accused terrorists were re-settled in Australia as part of a secret refugee deal struck by former PM Malcolm Turnbull and former US President Barack Obama.

The men moved to Australia in November with no public announcement.

Bimenyimana and Nyaminani were arrested under terrorism charges and faced the death penalty, US media outlet Politico reported.

However, the case was dropped in 2006 when a US judge found their confession was obtained under torture and they were held in a Virginia immigration detention facility.

David Roberts and his wife Laura, learned the alleged killers of their son Steven, were resettled as part of a secret refugee deal struck by former PM Malcolm Turnbull (left) and former US President Barack Obama (right)

The Rwandan militia were accused of killing eight tourists in the Ugandan forest in 1999

The men arrived in Australia in after being accepted as 'humanitarian' entrants, or refugees.

Mr Turnbull's successor as prime minister, Scott Morrison, has come under pressure to explain why Australia agreed to take in the alleged killers, but did not comment directly on the case.

'[I] simply assure Australians that they are the processes that we undertake and these are the same security agencies that have thwarted 15 terrorist attacks,' he said.

He was pressured by reporters on Thursday, but said he doesn't 'intend to make a commentary on allegations that have been made'.

'Simply to assure Australians that they are the processes that we undertake and these are the same security agencies that I worked with five-and-a-half years ago to put an end to the border chaos that we inherited,' Mr Morrison said.

'Matters of national security aren't things that I have ever canvassed in specifics in open forums such as this. Allegations, I know, have been made out there in the public forum.'

'But what I can assure Australians of is this - our government will always ensure that those character and national security considerations are undertaken for anyone who seeks to enter this country.'

The accused arrived in Australia in November after being accepted as 'humanitarian' entrants, or refugees

The eight vacationers were killed on a gorilla-watching tour at the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Among them were two Americans, Susan Miller and husband Rob Haubner, two New Zealanders and four British tourists.

Expecting to wake up by the sounds of the forest, the tourists woke up to gunfire and saw 100 to 150 fighters armed with AK-47s as well as self-made weapons and spears.

The fighters charged into the grounds and collected terrified vacationers and within minutes they were taken prisoner.

The rebels were members of the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda, who wanted to end their aid to Tutsi-led government in Rwanda.

Up to 17 people were taken and forced to walk through the jungle without shoes, with one American woman escaping by faking an asthma attack and others left behind because they were too slow.

At the time, New Zealand Foreign Ministry officials said Rhonda Avis, 27, and Michelle Strathern, 26, were believed to have been slain, while Ms Avid's husband survived.

Among the four Britons killed include Mark Lindgren, who was 23 and a new graduate of Nottingham University, and Steven Roberts, 27, from Edinburgh.

Joanne Cotton, 28, and Martin Friend, 24, were the other two British tourists killed.

Survivors of the brazen attack said the execution-style killings came after some of the women in the group were raped, The New York Times reported.

Two Americans, Susan Miller (left) and husband Rob Haubner (right) were killed among the eight tourists

The Australian Home Affairs Department refuses to comment on the matter, but according to Politico, the men were relocated thanks to the undisclosed deal with Australia.

The controversial 'refugee swap' deal was made in 2016, and in November the men dropped a legal challenge and promised never to re-enter the US.

The US agreed to accept up to 1250 refugees from Manus Island and Nauru who passed detailed security vetting, but weren't going to be allowed into Australia.

While the deal was accepted by Mr Turnbull and President Obama, current US President Donald Trump was angered by the deal - as he doesn't believe it's in the country's interest.

Australia also agreed to re-settle people the Obama Administration wanted to get out of the US in what Politico described as a 'secret arrangement'.

Despite taking two men, it was reported that Australia refused to take the third alleged killer, as he was involved in a fight with a US jail guard in 2015.

The report said it was unclear whether accepting the Rwandan men was a precondition of the deal with the US, but may have been a 'reciprocal gesture that could nudge the swap deal along'.

The Australian Home Affairs Department refuses to comment on the matter, but according to Politico, the men were relocated thanks to the undisclosed deal with Australia

Mr Turnbull outlined the deal to the US President, including the promise to accept people the US didn't want.

Details of the 'people swap' remain classified, but according to a transcript of the call leaked to the Washington Post, Mr Turnbull promised to take more people.

'We will take more. We will take anyone that you want us to take,' he said.
Cree speakers are getting a big laugh out of Mayochup, an unfortunately-named Heinz condiment, which was recently launched in Canada.

It turns out that Mayochup  a combination of mayonnaise and ketchup in one handy bottle  means 's**tfaced' or 's**t is on my face' when translated into certain Cree dialects, the National Post reported.

The condiment's unfortunate translation was flagged by Grand Chief Jonathan Solomon of the Mushkegowuk council in Northern Ontario, Canada, who sent CBC radio host Waubgeshig Rice a picture of a Mayochup bottle and noted, 'This new sandwich spread whatever it is. They called it Mayochup, in Cree it means S**tface, lol.'

A CBC radio host shared the surprising Cree language translation of Heinz's Mayochup with his followers, sparking a mini viral sensation

It was revealed that 'Mayochup,' translated into Cree, means 's**tface' or 's**t is on my face'

The humorous, if unintended, translation was flagged by Grand Chief Jonathan Solomon of the Mushkegowuk council in Northern Ontario, Canada

Rice dutifully tweeted out the factoid to his followers, creating a mini viral sensation which also produced some helpful translation confirmation and obligatory jokes.

'Lmfao!!!!!! Yup!!!!!!' Trevor Koostachin, aka @GLGtrevor31, replied. 'May(poop) oo(him, her, it) chup (face).'

'That would be interesting going out for a few drinks, and someone says, "Let's get Mayochuped!"' tweeted @KrimsonGray.

Solomon told the National Post in an email that 'We the Cree people are laughing about it because of what it means in our language.'

Heinz's mayonnaise and ketchup combination was introduced to Canadian consumers in May

The Mayochup tweet sparked confirmation of the Cree translation and jokes about getting 'Mayochuped' when boozing it up

'Its kinda funny when you think about it,' he added. 'If I ate it and have some on my face, than I [am] Mayuchup/Shitface.'

Cree Literacy Network director Arden Ogg told the newspaper that although there is some variation based on dialect, the word 'mayo' sounds very similar to the the word 'meyi,' which means 'excrement' in Cree.

'Certainly the first part refers to excrement or feces, all across the Cree language continuum, which is going to get uproarious laughter,' Ogg said.

The Cree are said to be one of the biggest First Nations groups in North America, with the highest number of Cree-speakers living in Canada.

The indigenous language and its regional dialects is believed to be spoken by more than 96,500 people.
As a surveillance officer for MI5, you need to be 100 per cent sure you can do the jobs your team needs you to do, whether its following a suicide-bomber from their makeshift bomb factory all the way to their intended target without being seen, or talking your way out of danger when drug-dealers want to know what youre doing on their turf.

We are not superhuman but we do have a unique set of skills that allow us to keep people safe. When our country is under attack from thousands of hostile threats, the public need people like us to stand between them and pure, unrelenting evil.

You cant politely ask our enemies to kindly not blow our children up while they are at a concert, or offer forgiveness to those who hire a van and mow people down in the street.

We hunted the most dangerous terrorists in the world, out on the streets walking among people who were potentially about to be killed by these cowards. We prevented almost all attacks, but you cant stop every single one. Its impossible [File photo]

If the intelligence officers tell us youre a threat to our country and its people, were going to track down you and every single person helping you.

Together with my team, I helped stop hundreds of attacks over the years.

Wed been to Bradford many times before, normally on the hunt for Islamic extremists, ranging from the facilitators to the men and women ready to commit mass murder at the drop of a hat.

As the team waited for our target to emerge, we maintained our cover within the local area. Passers-by would never have known we were MI5: variously, we looked like painters, builders, local chavs, business types, pregnant women, old age pensioners  we matched the whole landscape of the community.

I was starting to get the feeling, as the other members of the team would have been, that we werent going to see the target today.

Suddenly the radio fired up, ordering us to switch operations instantly to a new set of targets. All stations from Base, Congo Cat and Green Town are to the south of you in the area of Hall Lane.

The thing to remember is that our intelligence and military is the best fighting force in the world. Like any world champion, some attacks will find a way through our defences, but we can take the blows and keep fighting [File photo]

These were code-names for a husband and wife who were talking about potential attacks.

This was obviously a priority and I needed to move fast as I was some way away from the sighting.

Fortunately, code Steel Badge had been authorised, an operational command that allows us to exceed the speed limits and not stop if we clip another vehicle. If required on an operation, we will drive beyond what is probably considered safe  all without sirens or flashing lights.

Approaching a red light at a crossroads, I slid up on the outside of the waiting vehicles, floored the accelerator and went straight through a gap in the traffic. No fuss, no screeching tyres or upsetting the locals, just fast, progressive driving.

From Base, all stations be aware that Congo Cat and Green Town are likely to be armed and about to launch an attack. Weve notified Executive Action but its highly likely you are going to be the first to get hold of them.

The good thing was that the armed units of the Executive Action teams were on their way, whether that was the Police Counter Terrorism Specialist Firearms Officers or military, we didnt know yet.

But they werent here yet and if the two suspected terrorists were on their way to launch an attack, wed have to delay them somehow.

I hadnt seen these two for ages but I still remembered what they looked like  although if they were intending to attack right now it was likely Congo Cat would have shaved his enormous beard, common when an extremist is about to launch an attack.

I drove through another set of red lights, and took a short cut against the direction of the traffic through a roundabout.

We are not superhuman but we do have a unique set of skills that allow us to keep people safe. When our country is under attack from thousands of hostile threats, the public need people like us to stand between them and pure, unrelenting evil [File photo]

Emma, the teams biker, came screaming up behind me at well over 100mph and followed me through. A message from base: Executive Action is now five minutes out.

It was up to us to delay Congo Cat and Green Town long enough for the strike team to deal with them before they reached their intended target.

Emma was the first to spot them. Stand by. Congo Cat and Green Town walking south-west on Bowling Park Drive. He is in black top, black bottoms, clean shaven, carrying large holdall. She is in full black tracksuit, white trainers.

It was a bad sign that Green Town wasnt wearing a burqa. Any change in a targets normal pattern of life is a clue they are about to do something out of the ordinary.

I caught sight of our targets walking down the pavement in the distance. Executive Action four minutes out, Base informed us.

This was not looking good, especially after a call from another of our team. There is a large crowd at the top of the park. Congo Cat has just pointed towards them. About 100 metres ahead.

S***, they would probably be at the crowd before the strike team got here. From Base, that could be the start of a large anti-far-Right demonstration, due to start marching from the park.

That had to be their target. I moved behind Emmas bike.

Then things went from bad to worse. Emma was back on the radio. Congo Cat has stopped and opened the bag, showing Green Town the contents. I can see from here its definitely the butt of a weapon. Confirmed. Hes given Green Town a pistol. Where the hell is the strike team?

People were about to die.

The job is never about jumping over bonnets wearing aviator sunglasses. Its always about getting the maximum amount of intelligence without being seen, in order to keep people alive [File photo]

The rest of the team wasnt close enough yet. Emma was right to raise her voice on the net, demanding an answer.

From Base, strike team is 60 seconds out.

Thats too late, they have started running towards the crowd now. Green Cat is carrying the pistol in her right hand.

Two armed terrorists were about to start firing into a crowd of 400 people who hadnt even seen them approaching. Only Emma and I could stop them.

Emma bumped her bike up on the pavement and twisted the throttle hard, battling to keep the front wheel down as she rode as fast as she could towards the backs of both targets. She was putting her life on the line here.

The noise from the bike was deafening and the speed at which she came gave the two targets a massive shock. They spun round, eyes wide.

Speeding up behind, I dived out of the car and sprinted towards them. I saw the bag on the pavement where it had been dropped.

I grabbed it before Congo Cat had a chance to go for it, glimpsing two shotguns and a number of large hunting knives inside.

I passed it to Emma, who cradled it across her fuel tank and rode back onto the road and away.

Two more strides and Id taken the pistol from Green Town before her brain had a chance to process what was happening. I couldnt tell if she had a suicide vest on under her tracksuit and I wasnt about to stick around to check.

I ran back to my car and climbed in, just as my rear mirrors lit up with blue flashes followed by sirens, as three police vehicles from the Executive Action team came flying up the road.

Putting the pistol on the passenger seat, I covered it up with my map book and waited for a gap in the transmissions from Graeme, our team leader, who was rapidly describing what was happening with the targets.

Executive Action team have control of Congo Cat and Green Town, who are on the floor. No shots fired.

Roger that from Base, happy for you all to withdraw back to garages for debrief.

There, I gave the weapons Id seized to a Special Branch officer.

Graeme came up to us. Emma, Tom, I wanted to make sure you are both OK. Yeah, fine, we both replied. See you tomorrow, mate. And that was it. We work extremely hard on the ground so when we get a chance to go home we disappear quickly. I wanted some family time, to be with my wife and read a bedtime story to my son.

My phone had been vibrating for less than a second when I reached down the side of the bed to read the summons: Full team on air ten minutes.

Even though I was meant to be at home with my family that day, and watching my sons nursery Nativity play in the afternoon, the night before Id still laid out my operational kit and clothes. Three minutes later I was out of the door and into my car. It was 4.36am.

A message came from our team leader: Head towards Liverpool. I was dressed for work  in ripped tracksuit bottoms and grubby sweatshirt and driving a dirty, dull-blue old Ford Escort.

Why? Because in the areas we usually operate, no one looks twice at someone like me in a car like this.

The job is never about jumping over bonnets wearing aviator sunglasses. Its always about getting the maximum amount of intelligence without being seen, in order to keep people alive.

Putting the pistol on the passenger seat, I covered it up with my map book and waited for a gap in the transmissions from Graeme, our team leader, who was rapidly describing what was happening with the targets [File photo]

Good morning Green Team, Base said over the radio. Apologies for the early call-out. A brand-new target came in last night, code-name Space Junk. Intelligence is showing he intends to firebomb a local school.

Details and images have been uploaded to your mobile devices. We dont have a specific location for him yet. You need to find him. Once you do well bring in the Executive Action team thats on standby to deal with him.

From Space Junks profile, I could see he was white, 22 years old, with a large scar down the right side of his face. There were no known vehicles attached to him, but that didnt mean he wouldnt be driving or a passenger.

His last known location was the Edge Hill area of Liverpool, and thats where we were all heading. We didnt need to know the ins and outs of his ideology. The job was to hunt him down and prevent him trying to kill children.

We rolled into Liverpool on a dark and rainy December morning. Some people were up and travelling early to work. Soon the school runs would begin.

We needed to search in a way that didnt light up the area. If you start doubling back, taking corners too quickly, engine revs too high or speed too slow it all raises your profile to the locals.

The trouble was that we had few clues to go on, so all we could do for now was take up positions and wait for more information. I was tucking into sausage and egg in a workers cafe when a call came in:

Standby from Eight Six, I have control of Space Junk walking west on Falkner Square. Green jacket, black trousers, carrying a grey rucksack, which looks full. Karen had spotted him.

I left the cafe and got into my car to give her back-up.

Base, Executive Action is five minutes out. As I closed in, listening to Karens commentary, I could see others from our team on foot ready to assist with the follow. From Eight Six, Space Junk is now running to the road junction.

The official call came to stand down: Green Team, cease and withdraw. This was followed by a debrief over the radio from the operations room at MI5s Thames House headquarters [File photo]

From Base, there are several schools in this area. Executive Action is two minutes out.

Eight Six, you can let him run to the junction  Im there now. Mark was already at the junction and that prevented the need for Karen to start running after Space Junk.

Six Eight has control, Space Junk still running. Hes got one arm behind him trying to support his rucksack and stop it bouncing. It looks like its wet at the bottom.

Marks constant commentary was vital to the strike team moving in to nail the target.

Base, Space Junk hasnt seen the first strike vehicle coming at him. Hes also just run past a police undercover car parked up.

Obviously this guy was so focused on what he was about to do that hed missed the two armed police officers in black kit in an unmarked BMW, and hadnt noticed the headlights screaming towards him.

Stations, from Six Eight, Executive Action team out on foot taking control of target. Base, I will keep eyes on until hes secure.

Roger, thanks, talking to their team commander now.

Two more vehicles, now with sirens and lights, came blasting past. From Six Eight, Space Junk is being plasti-cuffed on the floor, backpack removed.

I eased into a space in a row of parked cars just in front of Karen. She got into the car and we drove away. We never stick around once the strike teams have control, just in case the locals turn investigative journalists.

The official call came to stand down: Green Team, cease and withdraw. This was followed by a debrief over the radio from the operations room at MI5s Thames House headquarters.

Space Junk is now in police custody. The backpack he was carrying was full of petrol bombs. Hes already started to talk about the intended target of non-white children and, I quote, they should burn. Ill spare you the rest.

Its not very often we get terrorists who fall into the bracket of white supremacist, but this guy wanted to kill children because they werent white and, by the sounds of it, he wanted to do so to further his own ideology. We prevented that.

Right now, these children were bouncing into school looking for their friends, wondering what their parents had put in their lunch boxes.

They were blissfully unaware that a top-secret operation which had begun while they were asleep was brought to an end just metres from the school gates.

Once the debrief had ended, I had nothing to do except drive and think. The time to think is an operators worst enemy.

As usual my mind was dwelling on all the what-ifs. What if we hadnt found Space Junk? What if hed got away from us? How much damage would he have done?

We hunted the most dangerous terrorists in the world, out on the streets walking among people who were potentially about to be killed by these cowards.

We prevented almost all attacks, but you cant stop every single one. Its impossible.

And we will get hit again. It might be next week, might be next year, but it will happen. The thing to remember is that our intelligence and military is the best fighting force in the world.

Like any world champion, some attacks will find a way through our defences, but we can take the blows and keep fighting. Our guard never drops.

I Spy: My Life in MI5 by Tom Marcus will be published by Macmillan on May 30 at 18.99.  2019 Tom Marcus.

To buy a copy for 15.19 (20% discount) go to www.mailshop.co.uk/books or call 0844 571 0640. Offer valid until May 25, p&p free on orders over 15. Spend 30 on books and get FREE premium delivery.
An ex-CIA officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday for spying for China in a case called part of an "alarming trend" in the US intelligence community.

Kevin Mallory, 62, was convicted under the Espionage Act for selling classified US "defense information" to a Chinese intelligence agent for $25,000 during trips to Shanghai in March and April 2017.

"Your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid," he told the Chinese agent in a May 5, 2017 message.

The fluent Mandarin speaker had served in the US army, then as a special agent for the security service of the State Department, before becoming a covert case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Mallory is one of several US officials with high-level security clearances arrested and charged over unsanctioned dealings with Chinese intelligence.

Kevin Mallory, 62, was convicted under the Espionage Act for selling classified US "defense information" to a Chinese intelligence agent for $25,000 during trips to Shanghai in March and April 2017.

Former Defense Intelligence Agency official Ron Hansen faces 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in March to charges of attempting to sell classified information to the Chinese.

In April, a former diplomat, Candace Marie Claiborne, pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about money she received from Chinese intelligence agents in exchange for US documents.

And in the most significant case, on May 1, former CIA officer Jerry Chun Shing Lee pleaded guilty to spying for China.

The former CIA officer is the latest in a string of US intelligence officials criminally charged for unsanctioned dealings with Chinese intelligence

Lee, 54, faces a possible life sentence. Arrested in January 2018, he was suspected of having provided Beijing the information it needed to bring down a CIA network of informants in China between 2010 and 2012.

"This case is one in an alarming trend of former US intelligence officers being targeted by China and betraying their country and colleagues," Assistant Attorney General John Demers said of the Mallory case.

"This sentence, together with the recent guilty pleas of Ron Hansen in Utah and Jerry Lee in Virginia, deliver the stern message that our former intelligence officers have no business partnering with the Chinese, or any other adversarial foreign intelligence service."
Driving along the main road through the Creggan  a grim, post-War housing estate scarring the hills overlooking Londonderry  ones eyes are drawn to two placards, fixed to lampposts draped with the Irish tricolour.

Circled in red, and written in official-looking black letters, they appear from a distance to be road warning signs. When the words come into focus, however, the chilling reality dawns.

Informers will be shot. IRA, one of them declares, its message reinforced by the macabre image of a rat caught in the telescopic sights of a rifle. RUC informers: they will forget you, WE wont, declares the other, also endorsed with the imprimatur of the supposedly dormant Irish Republic Army.

On April 18, Lyra McKee, pictured, was shot dead in the Creggan area of Derry City

These intimidating signs were mounted several days ago, just yards from the spot where a masked and hooded sniper fired the bullet that killed journalist Lyra McKee on April 18. Lyra  whose partner Sara Canning last week gave a moving TV interview, revealing that she had been beside her when she was shot  had been on the estate to report on a riot that broke out as police attempted to search the houses of suspected Republican terrorists.

It was filmed on mobile phones by dozens of bystanders; and it is surely no coincidence that the IRA warnings appeared after the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) thanked the people of Creggan for coming forward with their films and offering information about the murder.

Nor that the police had offered a 10,000 reward for evidence leading to a conviction, promising to seek maximum protection and anonymity for witnesses willing to testify against the killers.

The PSNI say more than 140 people have helped with the investigation. That is an unprecedented response from a long-time Republican stronghold where mistrust, and in many cases hatred, of the police has simmered since the Bloody Sunday march started there in 1972, and the mass funeral for its 13 victims was held at the local parish church.

She had been on the estate to report on a riot that broke out as police attempted to search the houses of suspected Republican terrorists

Encouraging as this may be, the fact remains that almost a month after Lyra was shot, no one has been charged with a murder whose brutality awoke the world to the reality that sectarian violence continues in pockets of Ulster, 20 years after Tony Blair declared that the Good Friday Agreement had brought lasting peace.

And that resurgent Republican fanatics, in their latest incarnation as the New IRA, are once again striking terror in the province.

Though the police launched a series of fresh raids in Londonderry on Thursday, the only people to have been charged in relation to events on the night Lyra was killed are two men, aged 51 and 38, accused of riot, petrol bomb offences, and hijacking vehicles.

The New IRA willingly admits that one of its henchmen fired the bullet that killed Lyra  by accident, they cynically maintain

The New IRA willingly admits that one of its henchmen fired the bullet that killed Lyra  by accident, they cynically maintain.

Her death was so senseless and so shocking that it was declared to be a watershed event that would finally shame feuding Protestant and Catholic politicians into working together.

People were united in their revulsion and disbelief that this brilliant young writer could be murdered simply for doing her job, for even during the worst days of The Troubles journalists were seldom targets for paramilitaries.

There was justifiable anger towards politicians on all sides, too. In Ulster, the spirit of accord that existed between Republican and Unionist parties when the peace treaty was signed in 1998 has evaporated amid rows over all manner of issues.

Warnings in the Creggan warn 'informers will be shot'. The sign features the image of 'rat' in the crosshairs of a rifle

The disputes became so intractable and acrimonious two years ago that the devolved Northern Ireland Assembly was suspended, providing a vacuum in which the New IRA  which never supported the peace process  has flourished.

But the Westminster government must shoulder some of the blame. For years it has ignored the resurgence of factionalism in Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, many are furious that it allows British veterans who served during The Troubles to be dragged back to Northern Ireland to face possible prosecution for murder.

The Brexit fiasco  which risks resurrecting the hard border separating North and South  is also playing perfectly into the hands of militant Nationalists. The New IRA admit using this inflammatory issue as a recruiting tool.

At Lyras moving funeral, Northern Irelands opposing political leaders stood side by side in apparent solidarity. They have pledged to end the in-fighting and begin power-sharing negotiations with the aim of reopening Stormont.

They were chastened by the excoriating speech of Father Martin McGill, who led the funeral at St Annes Cathedral, Belfast.

Why in Gods name does it take the death of a 29-year-old girl to get to this point? he demanded, his rhetoric prompting a standing ovation.

Ulster has seen too many false dawns for there to be anything other than cautious optimism; yet perhaps some good really will come from this senseless murder.

First, however, Lyras killers must surely be brought to account. The police insist the flow of information has not been slowed by the warnings posted on the Creggan, though locals suggest otherwise. And visiting the windswept estate, with its conspiratorially narrow streets, their effectiveness becomes depressingly evident.

Using propagandist street slogans and imagery to subjugate and indoctrinate people has long been a tradition in Ulster

Using propagandist street slogans and imagery to subjugate and indoctrinate people has long been a tradition in Ulster. And nowhere is the Republicans artwork more visible than in Londonderry, a city so divided that Protestants and Catholics cant even agree on its name (the latter refer to it as Derry).

This is the cradle of the civil rights movement and home to Nationalist heroes such as Martin McGuinness and Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, whose legendary defiance is captured in a huge, gable-end mural overlooking Free Derry Corner. Hunger strike martyr Bobby Sands is also immortalised on bricks and mortar.

Before Lyras murder, these melodramatic street symbols had come to be seen as sights for tourists; museum-pieces harking back to the citys unhappy past.

That threatening signs are now being painted afresh is causing alarm, even on the hard-bitten Creggan. Many of its 12,000 overwhelmingly Catholic residents are plainly terrified, which is exactly what the faceless men who erected them at dead of night intended.

Before Lyras murder, these melodramatic street symbols had come to be seen as sights for tourists; museum-pieces harking back to the citys unhappy past

In a shabby parade of shops near the lampposts, we asked a counter assistant what she thought about the threats.

Glancing nervously at the queue in the store  any member of which might have been a terrorist or sympathiser  she bit her lip and ignored the question. Only when the shop emptied did she whisper her disapproval.

Outside, in the car park, a stocky, late-middle aged man with a ruddy face explained why no one would remove the warning signs.

You wouldnt want to touch them, or youd end up behind there, he said, gesturing towards a secluded area behind the shops, where New IRA henchmen punish local miscreants with a bullet through the knee or ankle.

It might come as another shock that this barbaric practice persists, but recently reported cases prove it does. Among them are a 20-year-old, shot three times in the legs, and a teenage drug dealer whose mother was ordered to escort her son to the back of the shops for his summary knee-capping.

According to Stevie Mallett, who knows the mind-set of young people in Creggan through his position as leader of St Marys Youth Club, the signs have affected people differently.

At Lyras moving funeral, Northern Irelands opposing political leaders stood side by side in apparent solidarity. They have pledged to end the in-fighting and begin power-sharing negotiations with the aim of reopening Stormont

It stiffens the resolve of some because they wont be threatened, but yes, it has an impact, said Mr Mallett, 49, who was attacked as he tried to stop the fatal riot.

Some people are intimidated. The police are claiming theyve had a lot of information, but as far as I know no one is putting their name to it. And I would imagine that those who were emotional immediately after the murder, and put themselves forward, are now trying to extricate themselves from the process. Because its just not in our nature to inform or co-operate. Its still a them-and-us attitude.

Did he think someone might be courageous enough to stand up and name the murderer? I cant ever see that happening, he replied tersely.

In any event, he said, the young killer would undoubtedly be suffering the consequences of his actions. There will be psychological damage. The impact on him alone will be a life sentence. I know people dont want to have to consider that because its a murderbut someone has put that gun in that wee boys hand. He has perpetrated the crime, yes, and people will want to persecute and condemn him. But the youth worker in me wants to wrap my arms around him.

It is a view that wont be shared by everybody.

Giving her first interview last week, Lyras heartbroken partner Ms Canning, a 35-year-old nurse, was in no mood to empathise with the killer. By firing indiscriminately towards a police Land Rover surrounded by innocent bystanders, she said, he had shown no regard for human life.

Indicating her belief that he might be caught, were it not for the wall of silence guarding his identity, she asked: Why are we protecting that?

If its your childI would be ashamed to have a child that had done that. They took away a really amazing person.

She then turned her wrath on the terrorist leaders who radicalise these young recruits, branding them a scourge on the community, and likening them to paedophiles who groom children.

The warning signs do not scare this grieving woman, who should have been enjoying a romantic break in New York with Miss McKee this week, during which her partner had planned to propose.

Nor, indeed, do they frighten Lyras friends. Four days after the murder they descended on the Londonderry HQ of Saoradh  identified by police as the New IRAs political wing  dabbed their hands in red paint and made imprints of their palms on the green walls.

Carried out under the icy glare of the organisations chiefs, it was a courageous act symbolizing their contempt for the shadowy group, which they and others in the local community believe has Lyras blood on its hands.

Saoradh says it had nothing to do with Lyras death.

Whatever the truth, the group has now become the terrifying new face of dissident republicanism on both sides of the border in Ireland.

A chilling glimpse of this was provided when the BBC reporter Emma Vardy courageously confronted a cabal of its leading supporters outside a court in Londonderry after they had been convicted for taking part in an illegal march.

Four days after the murder Lyra's friends descended on the Londonderry HQ of Saoradh  identified by police as the New IRAs political wing  dabbed their hands in red paint and made imprints of their palms on the green walls

She was jostled and pushed, and one individual obscured her camera as the stony-faced men refused to answer her questions over whether they felt responsible for Lyras murder.

This week Saoradh, which means liberation in Irish, once again used threats in an attempt to frighten journalists. Accusing a TV crew who filmed the latest police raids in Londonderry of being complicit in invasions on Republican homes, they warned that any repeat might endanger them. Reportedly led by Thomas Ashe Mellon, a burly, bearded Republican fanatic dubbed the New Martin McGuinness, this shadowy organisation was formed in 2016 by a rag-tag band of like-minded dissidents.

Publicly, they insist that the body is a distinct entity from the New IRA terror group.

Yet the PSNI believes otherwise and has referred to the significant overlap in the leadership of the two groups.

The fringe partys membership is minuscule in comparison to mainstream republicans Sinn Fein  regarded by Saoradh hardliners as sell-outs  but its radical propaganda and rising appeal, particularly among disaffected youths, is causing alarm.

The group refers to Irish nationalism as an unfinished revolution, and vehemently opposes the Good Friday Agreement.

Indeed, in its regular online postings, Saoradh has claimed armed struggle is inevitable as long as imperialism remains the dominant power.

So why are young Northern Irish boys  many of whom werent even born when the Good Friday Agreement was signed  attracted to the New IRA, which is every bit as ruthless as the old Provisionals, having carried out a string of murders since it was formed seven years ago?

Community leaders point to unemployment rates twice the national average; a lack of aspiration and opportunity; and families in which a narrative of victimisation and romanticised nostalgia about The Struggle against Protestant and British oppressors passes down the generations.

It is a combustible mix. At a terraced house on Fanad Drive, close to which Lyra was shot, we encountered just the type of man who might fill his sons and grandsons heads with such stories.

According to one of his neighbours, he was connected to the old IRA and had served a prison sentence.

Had he helped with the murder investigation, we asked when he inched open the door. Heard nothing, saw nothing, saying nothing. Thats what I told the police when they came round here, and thats what Im telling you, he snarled. Im an Irish Republican, son.

Dont get me wrong, I have nothing but sympathy for that wee girl and her family. But shes not the first person to die here. And as long as the British are in this country there will be more like her.

He described the police as the forces of the British Crown occupying this country, and blamed them for causing the murder by sparking the riot with their heavy-handed house raids. It was textbook IRA thinking. The sort of twisted nonsense trotted out after the atrocities of bygone years.

At Free Derry Corner, a message #not in our name RIP Lyra was painted on the wall

What sort of character might be taken in by such talk? Youth club manager Mr Mallett says he met one only last week.

He is a 16-year-old who idled his time away at school and now finds himself without qualifications or prospects, raging against the system that failed him.

He is at a tipping point, like the vast majority of these young people, says Mr Mallett.

He is just the sort of person who could gravitate towards an extremist group, go out on the streets  and go bang!

This boy may not be academic but he is highly capable and intelligent, and he is a natural leader. If he does take to the streets hell take 20 more with him.

Eager to present a more positive message, though, he says the Creggan is no longer a hotbed of radicalism and violence, despite its reputation. The majority of families are decent folks, eager to help uphold the law.

Seeking to explain the antipathy that now exists towards the police, he harks back six years, to a period when they seemed eager to build bridges with the estates residents.

On one unforgettable day, they dismounted from their armoured wagons, downed their weapons, stripped off their bullet-proof vests, and walked around in shirt-sleeves for the first time in living memory. There were greeted with smiles and handshakes instead of petrol bombs and bricks.

It was a fleeting rapprochement. Soon afterwards, the forward-thinking sergeant who championed it was moved elsewhere, and some faceless high-ranking officers  the dark hand, as he describes them  ordered an end to the experiment. It set us back 20 years, he says, shaking his head.

True as this may be, however, Democratic Unionist MP for East Londonderry Gregory Campbell believes a major change of attitude is needed to end the dangerous mood of resentment permeating places such as the Creggan.

People need to see that all the disadvantages are not the fault of the British government, and that we all bear some responsibility for trying to improve those disadvantages, he told the Mail. They apply equally to the Unionist community, he said, but our community does not tolerate or vote for killers. Unfortunately, some in their community do.

This week, Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy, who is leading the investigation into Lyras murder, once again urged people to help trap her killers.

He told the Mail: I recognise people living in Creggan may feel its difficult to come forward to speak to police. I want to provide a personal reassurance that we are able to deal with these concerns sensitively.

He added: There is no evidence that the signs erected have affected information being passed to police.

Police still continue to receive information from the community about the murder of Lyra and I would like to thank anyone who has come forward.

We must hope there is no hiding place for Lyras killers, and that her futile murder really does bring Ulster to its senses, at long last  that an enduring peace becomes her legacy.

The unthinkable alternative is that the province slides back to bloodshed, hatred and misery  and those chilling warning signs spread far beyond the Creggan.
Uber's employees began drinking at office parties at the crack of dawn on the day of the company's initial public offering, with one party getting shut down for getting out of hand and an outburst at another leading to an employee's resignation, according to a new report.

When Uber debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on May 10, employees on the West Coast were invited to company parties starting at 5.30am PT, prior to the opening bell, the Washington Post reported.

Mimosas and other booze flowed freely at the satellite parties, where workers watched with glee on television as Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi presided over the opening bell.

Uber employees are seen celebrating at the company's headquarters on the day of the company's IPO. At other company offices, festivities reportedly got out of hand

Uber employees celebrate with drinks at the company's headquarters during the IPO. While most were well behaved, there were reports that some of the festivities got out of hand

Uber employees celebrate the IPO at the San Francisco headquarters. The party began at 5.30am with mimosas and booze flowed freely for much of the day

As employees, many of whom own shares in the company that they can now cash out, got wild in their celebrations, a party at one California satellite office was shut down, an Uber insider told the Post.

'We limited the amount of alcohol during internal events last Friday and informed employees around the world that we expected them to celebrate that milestone responsibly,' Uber said in a statement to the Post. 'We took action to address any who did not.'

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com on Friday.

At another office party, an executive assistant got into a verbal outburst and dispute with colleagues during the celebrations that led to her tendering her resignation, current and former employees said.

At the company's headquarters in San Francisco, the celebrations continued throughout the day, with employees drinking in the office before heading to bars, and then returning for 'happy hour' at 2pm with company-provided booze.

Employees are seen at Uber's headquarters shortly after 6am PT on May 10, eagerly awaiting the opening bell in New York City which for them came at 6.30am

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, third from left, attends the opening bell ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange, as his company makes its initial public offering on May 10

Amid champagne gyesers, some employees tapped into a secret stash of old liquor bottles left over from the tenure of ousted Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, who resigned in 2017.

The bottles of tequila and whiskey that had been stashed around the office had an old version of the Uber logo, according to the Post.

The party dragged on into the night at San Francisco bars - but as some employees watched Uber's stock plunge well below its $45 offering price, they secretly wondered if carousing in public seemed appropriate.

'What are we celebrating? The loss of billions of dollars in value?' one person told the Post anonymously.

Uber struggled with its corporate image in the run up to Kalanick's departure, with some painting a picture of a 'bro culture' inside the company.

In part, investors asked Kalanick to step down over allegations that he had overlooked instances of sexual misconduct within the company.

wall of black and white balloons is seen at Uber's San Francisco office for the IPO

Amid the controversy, former Attorney General Eric Holder was hired to investigate the company's culture and make recommendations.

In the report, Holder wrote that Uber should 'encourage responsible drinking, which can include limiting the amount of alcohol that is available in the office, de-emphasizing alcohol as a component of work events, and otherwise taking appropriate action to discipline and address inappropriate employee conduct fueled by alcohol consumption.'

'Uber should support work events in which alcohol is not a strong component to ensure that employees who do not partake in consumption of alcohol still have opportunities to engage in networking and team building activities,' the report added.

After Uber's stock price plunged 7.6 per cent on the first day of trading, wiping more than $6billion from the company's valuation, the IPO was widely viewed as disappointing.

The stock has swung in the week since, briefly rising above the offering price, but ended Friday at $41.91, or 6.9 per cent down from the offering price.

Uber's executives have said that the company is focused on the long term, and have urged employees and investors not to read to much into the first few days of trading.
Britain has been urged by the United Nations to investigate claims of murder, torture and abuse by its troops in Iraq.

The UN Committee Against Torture said an independent public inquiry should be established and the UK should refrain from bringing in laws that grant an amnesty to troops who could have been implicated in mistreatment.

The panel expressed concern that no prosecutions for war crimes or torture had resulted from probes by the discredited Iraq Historic Allegations Team.

Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt backed an effective amnesty for veterans while Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley announced plans for an investigative body to probe incidents in the Troubles

The UN committee also said it was seriously concerned that allegations of torture and killing by the Army during the Troubles in Northern Ireland have not been effectively investigated.

The Government is already facing claims that it is failing to take action to stop a witch-hunt.

Last week Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt backed an effective amnesty for veterans while Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley announced plans for an investigative body to probe incidents in the Troubles.
More than 120 schools today back a pledge to ban corrosive mobile phones.

In an open letter, dozens of headteachers say every school should implement a phone-free policy to end the disruptive influence of the devices.

The letter, organised by the think-tank Onward, has been signed by 30 school executives and heads who run some of the best-performing schools in England  including academies ranked in the countrys top ten.

A radical proposal will see school children under the age of 16 banned from using mobile phones while at school. Those who break the rules face punishment

In a challenge to other schools, the headteachers argue that phones can be corrosive to otherwise calm and structured learning environments. They say: A firm policy against their use is the best way for schools to maintain order in the face of the disruption that mobile phones can cause.

The heads propose applying it to all pupils in Year 11  those aged 15 and 16  or below.

Pupils would be permitted to bring phones into school provided they are switched off and kept away in bags or lockers.

Any pupil caught using a mobile on site should be sanctioned in line with the schools disciplinary policy.

Academic research has already linked banning phones to better GCSE results. The London School of Economics found that in 91 schools which put restrictions on mobile use, test scores improved by more than 6 per cent.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds has backed a ban but stopped short of bringing in nationwide rules, insisting that headteachers must decide their own policies.

How careers talks boost GCSE grades Learning about the world of work helps pupils to get better GCSE grades, research shows. Low-achievers were particularly likely to work harder after learning more about their future prospects, a study found. Researchers examined a group of around 650 secondary school pupils in England the year before their GCSEs. Some were given careers talks and meetings with employers. The pupils who had careers sessions were slightly more likely to exceed their predicted GCSE grades. Those expected to get the worst grades showed a 9 per cent increase in revision hours if they had the career sessions. The researchers, commissioned by the charity Education and Employers, said employers and those with first-hand experience of different industries appeared to provide more authentic influences on GCSE pupils. Dr Elnaz Kashefpakdel, the charitys head of research, told the BBC: Those who were initially more sceptical of the value of the education reported a greater increase in motivation to study harder. Education Secretary Damian Hinds said: This report underlines the value of good careers education which builds confidence, broadens horizons and fuels ambition. Advertisement

The idea also has broad public support. A poll of 10,000 people, commissioned by Onward, found two-thirds backed a school phone ban, with just one in four opposed.

The think-tanks director, former Downing Street adviser Will Tanner, said: There is now mounting evidence that bans on mobile phones in school could dramatically improve pupils concentration, behaviour and attainment  and would be supported by parents and teachers alike.

Every school should be going phone-free, just as the 120 schools signing up today have done, to support their children learn without distraction.

The bans supporters at top-rated institutions include Martyn Oliver, who runs the 30-school Outwood Grange Academies Trust; Sir Dan Moynihan, of the Harris Federation; and Sir Nick Weller, of the Dixons Academy Trust.

Mr Oliver said his schools paint a line at the school gate and beyond that point phones cannot be seen.

He added: Any phone seen by a member of staff, whether switched on or not, is immediately confiscated. It must then be collected by the parent  it is never returned directly to the pupil. Parents realise that this is a necessary part of ensuring the school is as good as possible, and pupils often end up appreciating the respite from the pressures of social media that the school provides. The heads open letter calls for Ofsted inspectors to examine controls on mobiles as part of their review process.

They also back a new kitemark, to be awarded to schools which endorse the phone ban and discipline pupils who violate the rules.

Mark Lehain, director of Parents and Teachers for Excellence  which drew up plans for the kitemark  said a firm ban on phones would also improve pupils mental health by keeping them off social media.
Dr Keith Wolverson allegedly asked a Muslim patient to remove her veil at an appointment

A GP who could face the sack for asking a Muslim patient to remove her face veil says she took it off 'willingly' before her husband launched a complaint claiming the doctor had been 'rude'.

Dr Keith Wolverson, 52, of Derby, is under investigation after a patient's husband accused him of upsetting his wife by asking her to remove her niqab so he could hear what was wrong with her child.

But the GP, who has been practising for 23 years, said the patient agreed 'willingly' and 'there was no sign from her that she was upset' as they sat in the consulting room at Royal Stoke University Hospital last June.

But, when her husband arrived half an hour later, he complained to hospital bosses, Mr Wolverson told MailOnline.

And now Dr Wolverson will be investigated by the General Medical Council for alleged discrimination.

'It's not been a great time, I wanted to get this into the public arena. It was so absurd,' he said. 'The woman had a full face veil on, which I asked her to remove for clarity of communication.

'There was no sign from her that she was upset or upset with me for asking.

'She did so willing, later on her husband attended the treatment centre and made a formal complaint.

'I'm not racist, this has nothing to do with race, religion or skin colour.'

And Dr Wolverson said previously when he had treated Muslim women wearing a niqab they removed it without his asking.

He added: 'I've treated women in the past who have worn similar veils but on those occasions I've never had to ask them to remove it they just did.

'I've seen the suggest that I could've asked a female GP to carry out the treatment for the woman's daughter but there was no female GP in the centre.'

The GP said the patient agreed without any hesitation as they sat in the consulting room at Royal Stoke University Hospital (pictured)

The doctor, who said he has never before faced sanctions, may now be struck off. 'It's not been easy, I was just trying to do my job, I've not working in medicine since,' he added.

A form was sent to the GMC outlining the complaints against Dr Wolverson. It claims the woman told him she did not want to remove the veil on religious grounds, but he would not continue the consultation if she refused.

The official complaint claims the mother was left crying and feeling 'victimised and racially discriminated' against. And it says the doctor was 'rude' and 'gave her a dirty look'.

Mohammed Shafiq, of the Ramadhan Foundation, said the doctor's behaviour was 'offensive', adding that a female member of staff could have been called to help. He said that Dr Wolverson should go on a diversity awareness course.

Joyce Robins, from Patient Concern, said it would be 'criminal' for a doctor to be struck off over this. She added: 'A doctor needs to be sensitive to a patient's religion but safety must always come first.'

According to the GMC, doctors who wear a veil must remove it if their patient sees it as an 'obstacle' to communication. But no advice is offered for GPs in the reverse situation.

The GMC has been urged by The Doctors' Association UK to offer guidelines on when doctors can reasonably ask patients to remove clothing.

A 2009 NHS guide said same-sex consultations cannot always be provided.
Malcolm Turnbull's son Alex (pictured) has told voters not to support Tony Abbott

Malcolm Turnbull's son has told voters not to support former Prime Minister Tony Abbott because he helped oust his father.

Alex Turnbull, 37, has recorded robocall messages backing Independent MPs who are battling Liberal candidates.

The former Goldman Sachs banker voiced a message for left-wing activist group GetUp! telling voters to shun Mr Abbott at the polls today.

'I'm calling to let you know that this election you have a choice,' the message begins.

'You can vote for Peter Dutton's ally Tony Abbott, who drove the coup that removed Malcolm and has been a driver of the non-stop instability of the party.

'With people like Tony in office, there is no hope of stable government under the Liberals.

'Or, you can vote for someone who has integrity and standing up for action on the climate crisis.

'A vote for Tony Abbott is a vote for more climate chaos and more chaos in Canberra.'

Alex Turnbull also recorded a similar message urging voters in Flinders, Victoria, to vote for Independent former Liberal Julia Banks instead of Liberal Greg Hunt.

On Saturday morning Mr Abbott said he's 'not too cocky' but quietly confident about being re-elected.

The former prime minister cast his vote alone at Forestville Public School in his seat of Warringah on Saturday morning, as he faces the fight of his political career.

On Saturday morning Mr Abbott (pictured voting) said he's 'not too cocky' but quietly confident about being re-elected

A campaign poster with Tony Abbott's face on was crudely defaced on Friday night

Independent Warringah candidate Zali Steggall votes at North Balgowlah Public School on May 18, 2019 in Sydney, Australia

Mr Abbott suffered a nine per cent primary vote swing against him at the 2016 election and now holds the seat with an 11 per cent margin.

But some bookies have ranked independent Zali Steggall the favourite.

Asked by a voter whether he is going to win on Saturday, Mr Abbott said he was 'not too cocky' but quietly confident.

'I've always been a nervous candidate,' he told reporters after casting his vote and buying a loaf of banana bread from the school cake stall.

'Sure, I've got a few butterflies doing loop-the-loops in my tummy today as well.

'But that's the lot of all candidates because the one thing you can never take for granted is the vote of the Australian people.'

Mr Abbott said it had been a 'very ugly' campaign, noting that a Liberal volunteer was allegedly attacked with a corkscrew while putting up posters in Balgowlah on Friday night.

The 31-year-old was stabbed in the stomach, causing only a minor injury. The alleged 62-year-old attacker then started tearing down banners before fleeing.

'Lucky he wasn't seriously hurt,' the former Liberal leader said.

'He's back at his post today.'
Photoshoot to Crown Session with BEAC, GICAM and APECCAM officials Archives

An uneasy calm now reigns between commercial banks in Cameroon and the Bank of Central African States(BEAC), with the later accused of collecting over FCFA 1Billion yearly on services rendered to local banks.

This was revealed by the President of the Cameroon Bankers Association(APECCAM), raised this concern during the ordinary session of the Cameroon's Employers Organisation(GICAM) on Thursday May 16 in Douala.

Mr. Alphonse Nafeck said due to the fact that exchange transactions take longer and complicated procedures, some banks who bought currency from else where without informing BEAC, only went back to realise the central bank has debited their accounts of huge sums of money.

He accused the central bank of working to the disadvantage of local banks, and has been implementing dispositions of the new exchange laws without consulting these companies.

The Central bank takes a decision, set a deadline without informing others, and execute all on its on, said Mr. Nafeck

GICAM's president, Celestine Tawamba was also concerned about this crisis, where he raised it in his opening address, in the presence of governments representation, the Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana.

He expressed regrets that the implementation of the new exchange regulations some months ago, and despite the assurances given by the BEAC as to the availability of foreign exchange, business persons have rather been facing a rationing of currencies.

Mr. Tawamba explained that the rationing often took 2-3 days and sometimes weeks or several months.

 In addition, there are additional costs related to transfer fee rates, currency purchase rates and various bank charges. Finally, the procedures have become longer and more complex, and companies are often required to produce voluminous documentation. This, moreover, suggests delaying tactics in order to save time with the consequent lengthening of payment terms. In the end, it is outstanding transfers from banks that accumulate, totaling even several billion CFA francs for some companies, cried GICAM's boss.

During the first week of April, GICAM and APECCAM held a working session on the new exchange rate laws, in the presence of the deputy governor of BEAC. BEACs representative while reacting to concerns raised by commercial banks said the laws implemented werent new to them and wasnt as complicated like it seemed.

We are witnessing a sort of ping-pong game in which both the commercial banks and the BEAC are blaming themselves for these malfunctions. If one can understand the motivations that justified the setting up of this new regulation - struggles against terrorism and money laundering, the obligation of repatriation of currencies by the banks -, the fact remains that its application is an obstacle to the deployment of economic activity given the adverse effects: slowdown in business activities, loss of credibility with foreign suppliers, threats to country risk, which constantly run the risk of a devaluation of FCFA, regretted Mr. Tawamba.

Stakeholders solicited the Minister of Trade, to take their concerns to the highest authority of the country, so that they can continue cordial ties with the central bank.
A cathedral-sized church gazes down on an endearingly wonky medieval streetscape devoid of satellite dishes and most of the usual retail chains.

If you want a Greggs sausage roll, its a half-hour drive to another district. The marketplace next to the handsome town hall still hosts the same twice-weekly market that has been here in Saffron Walden since 1141.

You might even find nearby resident Jamie Oliver sniffing artisan cheeses at the current holder of Britains Best Small Outdoor Market award.

Saffron Walden has had the same twice-weekly market since 1141, and is a solid bedrock of British Conservatism but has abandoned the party

This rural Essex town is a perennial entry in all those national lifestyle charts of the Best Places To Live. It exudes an unshowy sense of permanence and prosperity, as it has done ever since a booming local crocus industry  producing saffron for use in cloth-dying and medicine  gave the town its name.

Today, while many residents might commute to London or Cambridge by day, this is no dormitory town. There is a lived-in feel about the place.

This has also been a rock solid Tory seat for as long as anyone can remember. You sense that it would take a Marxist coup to shift the Conservatives here.

Or would it?

For, just a few days ago, they were not merely defeated. They were annihilated. Overnight, they lost more than 80 per cent of their seats on the local authority, Uttlesford District Council, as 24 seats shrivelled to four.

Of course, we cannot extrapolate a prediction for the next general election from this one poll of the good folk of Uttlesford. However, it is emblematic of a dramatic shift in the shires, the bedrock of British Conservatism.

People simply felt that the Tories had stopped listening to them in Westminster and that it was the same here on the ground, too, says John Lodge, the new council leader and the man in charge of the revolution here in Saffron Walden.

Except that there is nothing revolutionary about his Residents For Uttlesford party which has just overrun council HQ, taking 26 of the 39 seats.

This rural Essex town is a perennial entry in all those national lifestyle charts of the Best Places To Live. It exudes an unshowy sense of permanence and prosperity, as it has done ever since a booming local crocus industry  producing saffron for use in cloth-dying and medicine  gave the town its name

A collection of lawyers, business people, doctors and engineers, they look  on paper, at least  like typical members of a Conservative Association, except that they also include ex-Lib Dems and ex-Labour supporters, plus many people who had never been interested in politics of any sort.

Nor is this some flash-in-the-pan protest vote waving a Nimby (Not In My Back Yard) placard. The R4U are now in their fifth year of running the town council and there are similar insurgencies across the Home Counties.

This lot have multiple grievances  mainly Tory plans for various huge developments without corresponding plans for new infrastructure  and a visceral sense of disappointment.

There are very serious lessons here for the Tory party as a whole.

I have been following politics at national and local level since the days of Margaret Thatcher. I have seen Tory triumphs and collapses  from John Majors shock win in 1992 to multiple batterings at the hands of Tony Blair.

Yet what we have seen in Essex  and elsewhere  feels like a seismic shift of a different order.

Uttlesford (a twee name invented by Whitehall bureaucrats in 1974) is a large rural patch which not only covers 80,000 people and 250 square miles of true-blue Middle England, but also Stansted Airport. Never before has a major international airport fallen under the jurisdiction of a local residents association.

And similar stories are popping up across the English Tory heartlands. Such is the dire state of the national party, however, that few show any sign of having noticed.

To be honest, we expected to end up forming some sort of coalition, not actually winning, says John Lodge, a Yorkshire-born, Cambridge-educated entrepreneur (from a family of working class Tories). And we never expected this sort of margin.

On that point, he is in agreement with pretty much everyone, from the vanquished Tories to the editor of the local paper.

I think the result was a complete shock to everyone, says John Brooker, editor of the Walden Local.

Down at Westminster, all eyes are on Theresa Mays impending departure and next weeks supremely pointless  if rather gripping  European election. Inevitably, it will tell us nothing we dont already know.

The Remain vote will be fragmented. Millions of traditional Tory and Labour voters will vote for Nigel Farages Brexit Party because they want to give Westminster a sharp poke in the eye; because they havent changed their mind on Brexit; because they know this election will have no more impact on their daily lives than the battle for this years Love Island.

What should really be preoccupying Tory HQ, instead, is the slow, steady, incremental corrosion of the party base in the heartlands. Because that will have a far greater bearing on the partys fortunes at the next election.

In one Conservative stronghold after another, the party is not just having a hard time. It is imploding.

Take, for example, Surrey, also quintessential Middle England Toryland. At the start of this month, the party controlled eight of the countys 11 councils. Now, it has four  and only just.

Nowhere was the loss more pronounced than in Guildford, where Tories suffered their worst defeat since the borough was created nearly half a century ago  dropping from 35 of the 48 council seats to just nine.

Most damage was inflicted by two residents groups bitterly opposed to Tory plans to build more than 10,000 homes on green-belt land.

A few months ago, I spent a day with locals who were trying to block plans for 1,800 executive homes on ancient protected downland known as the Hogs Back while the council ignored vacant, fenced-off brownfield sites in the centre of Guildford.

Those residents have now had their revenge, albeit too late to stop the bulldozers.

Yet this was a vote which went far beyond mere Nimbyism. On one point, the winners and losers agree: Tory disarray at the national level was a central factor. Not long ago, Shire Tories used to describe Theresa May as a diligent woman doing her best in an impossible job. Poor woman. I feel sorry for her, was the familiar refrain we heard time and again. Not any more.

Day after day, the strength of feeling is there for those who choose to look.

In one local association after another, formal soundings produce calls for the Prime Ministers prompt defenestration  76 per cent of members in Chatham (Kent), 86 per cent in Gedling (Nottinghamshire) and so on.

Residents of Saffron Walden are concerned about the possibility of airport expansion

Few places, however, have been as emphatic as North Essex. I have never voted for anything other than the usual until this election and now I have voted for the Residents party, says educational publisher Paul Price-Smith, unwinding in the Kings Arms in Saffron Walden.

The Tories just thought they had got Essex tied down but they hadnt.

Helen Chessher, who has run a flower shop in the town for 16 years, has had enough of horrendous traffic and wants new infrastructure improved ahead of any new housing. She is delighted the insurgents have taken over the town and the district.

Change is good, she says. I sense that people are more disenchanted than ever, says barber David Woodhouse, at his shop, Chaps. There is a sense of the country falling apart and that starts with the roads.

Potholes are a recurring moan, even though they are not the responsibility of the district council (the county council mends roads). But the district council has no responsibility for Brexit talks either and yet the local Tories are being punished for that. The Tories have totally screwed it up, says furniture deliveryman, Mark Robarts. We voted Leave and we are all disgusted.

Understandably, the defeated Tory ex-leader of the council has blamed the partys dismal performance here on Brexit. The area was split 50/50 in the 2016 referendum, but supporters of both sides are united in their contempt for what has happened since.

Residents For Uttlesford campaigners say feelings go deeper. Brexit was just a part of it, says Dan Starr, co-founder of the R4U movement.

This is a lovely part of the world but it can take half an hour to drive through town in rush-hour. It can be very hard to get a seat on the train to London. These things matter and there was a sense the Tories could do nothing about it.

Mr Starr insists the R4U is not aligned to any political party. The fact that it did not stand against incumbent Lib Dems, however, has led to charges of an anti-Tory bias.

Thats not true. We just needed to get the Tories out, as they were the ones in charge, he says.

Naturally, many Tories feel wounded.

I have worked solidly for this area for 12 years and I feel like weve been thrown under a bus by the party at Westminster, says defeated councillor Julie Redfern. I only want the best for my neighbours, so I hope the new lot dont mess it up, but they will soon see how difficult it is.

Having run many businesses in his career, John Lodge is adamant his Residents For Uttlesford party can get a better deal for locals.

If Stansted Airport wants to expand to be the size of Gatwick, it should be paying more for new local infrastructure, he says, pointing to rail links by way of example. Gatwick has 174 trains per day, he says, compared with about 70 for Stansted.

The Tories were just letting them off the hook.

Wandering through Saffron Walden, I find the handsome office of the local Tory party. Its a forlorn sight. Called The Old Armoury, it was where Oliver Cromwell kept his weapons during a Civil War sojourn here. Yet the shop window is empty. It seems a metaphor for the party.

We had photos of all our local councillors in there but it would look a bit sad with only four. We need to think of something fresh and optimistic to put there, explains local Tory MP Kemi Badenoch.

She attributes the collapse of the local party to a perfect storm of local issues  chiefly airport expansion and a new housing plan  on top of Brexit.

I feel we are in a new age when people are demanding simplicity and we just cant give it, she says. She cites the huge change in public demands on the police, while expecting them to work to the same budget.

Having a residents party, she says, implies that the other parties are somehow non-residents. But they live here and care just as much as everyone else.

Around the corner, I have a sudden sense of deja-vu.

We are deep in what BBC TV viewers used to call Lovejoy Country, named after the long-running series about an antiques dealer filmed in these parts. Saffron Waldens Town Hall served as an onscreen auction house, while the local Barclays was Lovejoys bank and so on.

For more than a decade  during the Tory heyday of the Eighties and Nineties  millions enjoyed the escapist antics of Ian McShanes cheeky chappy as he toured this patch, buying and selling interesting out-dated items.

Could the local Conservative Party be about to become another one of them?
The former wife of the late Freddie Starr has spoken of how their marriage descended into 'hell' and left her suicidal after his arrest on suspicion of a child sex attack.

Sophie Lea said the comedian, who died on May 9 at the age of 76, became both physically and verbally abusive after his 2012 arrest on suspicion of groping a teenager as part of Operation Yewtree.

Starr would not let his wife leave the house except to do the weekly shop, and would accuse her of being unfaithful, Sophie claims.

The 38-year-old told the Mirror that his behaviour became so bad that she tried to take her own life on more than one occasion.

Freddie Starr - who died on May 9 aged 76 - with his then-wife Sophie at home in Warwickshire, in May 2014. Sophie has alleged that Starr's verbal and physical abusive drove her to self-harm and attempted suicide

'It was hellish. It's hard to describe in its entirety of how bad it was. Mentally I was in a mess. I eventually had a breakdown. I was suicidal. I was also self-harming, cutting my arms and legs.

Sophie said that when Starr found out she was self-harming he threw a pair of scissors at her before offering to 'do it properly for you.'

As a result she says she cut her wrists, but drove herself to the hospital a short while later while Starr went to bed.

And she alleges that while she was recovering in a psychiatric hospital, Starr threw her belongings in a skip and moved to Spain.

Sophie would later attempt suicide a second time by taking an overdose.

This is thought to be the last picture of Freddie Starr, who died in Spain on May 9

'He would throw every single bit of vile abuse at me. He abused me mentally, emotionally and physically until I broke,' Sophie told the Mirror.

She told of how he 'changed into a different person' after the arrest, and became so volatile that she was left in constant fear of his alarming mood swings.

The mother-of-one added: 'He told me I was worthless, that I was absolutely nothing. He was massively paranoid.

'When you are on the receiving end of that abuse constantly every single day there is nowhere to escape. I had nobody to turn to.'

Sophie said she is still having therapy to cope with flashbacks and nightmares.

She claims Operation Yewtree 'killed' her husband, leaving him 'a shadow of the man' he had been and with no appetite whatsoever for life.

'If Yewtree hadn't have happened he would probably be alive now and we would maybe still be together,' she said.

'He just went completely... He stopped existing... I think he gave up. I think he went to Spain to die.'

Sophie says she had to shower and change Starr, and even help him go to the toilet because he could not be bothered to do anything.

Freddie Starr's house in Mijas, near Fuengirola, southern Spain. The 76-year-old was discovered dead on the floor of the townhouse after having a heart attack

She said that Starr's paranoia made him that she and her son Elliott were 'sending messages via our eyes' and she would have to lower her gaze whenever he was present.

Sophie, who lives in Warwickshire, is still trying to process the news of his death.

The pair met in 2009 when Sophie worked as a back-up vocalist on Starr's UK tour and dated for four years before marrying in 2013.

The couple split in 2015 after Starr confessed to head butting then-14-year-old Elliott. Sophie said this was her 'red line' and the couple split because she felt she had to protect her son.

Right: Starr pictured at a restaurant in Marbella, Spain in 2015 where he lived for several years before his death, and left, on the Des O'Connor Tonight show in the 80s

That was the last time the pair ever spoke, as although Sophie tried to divorce Starr he did not respond to any of her legal letters.

She therefore remains his wife and is responsible for repatriating his body.

Sophie told the Mirror that she is now also organising a funeral in Liverpool for Starr  for the benefit of his children.

'I owe it to his kids to bring him home one last time so they can all pay their respects,' she said.

If given the chance to say one thing to Starr, Sophie responded: 'I'd have asked him why.'
Matilda Thompson's laughter is infectious. You can't help but join in as, giggling, she swipes through photos on her mum's iPad.

A picture of Daddy and her pretending to be lions? It was one of their favourite games, a test to see who could roar loudest.

An image of her and the kitchen covered in . . . something?

'It's smoothie!' the effervescent ten-year-old shrieks. 'I was using the blender myself and I didn't put the lid on properly. Daddy had his suit on to go to work and he was covered.'

Rachel Thompson, 44, appeared on This Morning, described Matt as an amazing photographer, adding that it was one of his passions

It's hard to keep up as she flicks her way through the memories and the milestones.

All of Matilda's early life is here. Family ski-trips; swimming on holiday in the turquoise seas off Sardinia; the first horse-riding lesson.

There are videos, too. A determined little finger jabs 'play' on one and a cardboard theatre set looms into view. The handwritten sign on it reads 'Daddy And Tilly's Theatre'.

Rachel Thompson, 44, from Chiswick, west London, shows daughter Matilda photos of her father Matt Thompson

Overall, we see a father who would do anything for his child. Sometimes, though, Matilda goes quiet. She lingers over a picture of herself snuggled up to her dad in bed.

But all these pictures have a special and heart-breaking poignancy.

The ownership of this huge swathe of family history  comprising a staggering 4,500 photos and 900 videos  formed the basis of an extraordinary legal fight which concluded last week.

Rachel Thompson fought a three-year battle with Apple to gain access to her dead husband's iPhone family photos

Sure enough, Daddy is doing the filming while Matilda bounces a ballerina across the stage. Another swipe brings up Matilda on her first bike, with stabilisers, the footage jerky as her dad runs to keep up.

Hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield sympathised with Rachel's position, admitting that they hadn't even thought about passing on their digital lives in the event of their death

Devastatingly, Dad Matt died in July 2015, aged 39. He did not leave a will, which meant that his entire estate passed on to Matilda's mum Rachel, 44.

That estate, she assumed, included the photos he had amassed over the years. But there was a problem. Like so many families, they had entrusted the safe-keeping of these photos to 'iCloud'  an online storage service controlled by Apple.

And when Rachel tried to log in to Matt's Apple account, she was denied access. To her horror, she discovered that ownership of all these treasured pictures reverted to Apple on Matt's death.

During his life, estate agent Matt took thousands of photos on his iPhone charting their relationship and Matilda's early childhood

To put it bluntly, she found that she and Matilda were completely unable to access even photos of themselves.

Apple's terms state that user accounts are non-transferable and that rights to content 'terminate' on death unless otherwise required by law. The firm must obtain a court order to transfer accounts to a user's next of kin  an expensive and lengthy process.

In this case, Apple said it would only release 4,500 photos and 900 videos under a court order as, under a UK law that clearly needs urgent updating, the loved ones of people who die have no legal right to access information in their online accounts.

Rachel's initial attempts to access her husband Matt's photos of them and daughter Matilda, after he took his own life in July 2015, were rebuffed by the American company. Pictured: One of Matt's stunning shots

Matt had not specified what access others should or should not have to his account after his death. His Apple account also contained old photos of Rachel's father, who died 18 months after her husband.

Her legal fight took almost four years, and would have cost thousands of pounds in legal fees had Rachel's legal team not agreed to work for free. That she and Matilda are now able to flick through the pictures is evidence of her eventual success.

A court order forcing the U.S.-based technology behemoth to hand over the images was acquired at the Central London County Court last week, with Judge Jan Luba calling for a simpler way to settle such cases.

Legal experts also urged that companies should owe a 'digital duty of care' to grieving families.

Rachel says: 'All I ever wanted was to be able to provide Matilda with images of her father, images that proved how much love he had for her. So many of us just don't think about the implications of having our entire lives on our phones.'

From her daughter's first birthday, the majority of photos of her were taken by Matt.

'He was Mr Gadget. He had one of the first iPods, and the first iPhone,' says Rachel.

Scrolling through the Thompsons' life in happier times is a moving experience. This was so clearly a family who seemed to have everything.

Rachel and Matt met when she was studying at St Andrews and he came to visit a friend. They married ten years later, both settling into high-flying jobs in the property industry, working for rival estates agents in London. Today, Rachel runs her own property company.

Eventually Rachel enlisted the help of solicitor Matt Himsworth, pictured right, who pointed out how 'very difficult' it is for a member of the public to pursue this order by themselves

They travelled the world and set up home together in affluent Chiswick, West London.

Baby Matilda was born in 2009, and overnight Matt turned into a devoted Dad, teaching his daughter to swim, ride a bike and plant seedlings.

They were, it seemed, a solid unit. On her first day at school, both Mummy and Daddy were there at the gates. Rachel recalls: 'Everything we did was for Matilda.'

So Rachel was devastated when the couple later separated and he moved out.

She thought it was a mid-life crisis. They had counselling, with a view, she thought, to reconciliation. 'I thought he'd come back,' she says bleakly.

In many ways, he hadn't gone. He retained his key and returned to the family home every day, to see Matilda and often put her to bed. They continued to holiday as a family.

'We wanted Matilda to see we were still a family.'

Then tragedy descended. Less than a year later, Matt tragically took his own life. One Monday morning in July 2015, Rachel answered the phone as she drove into her office parking space.

It was Matt's dad. 'I knew from his voice that something was terribly wrong. "Matt's dead," I was told. I remember walking across Knightsbridge in floods of tears, unable to breathe. I walked into my office and collapsed on the floor, completely hysterical.'

She is understandably reluctant to go into the exact circumstances of what happened in Matt's final days, for Matilda's sake, but she did not attempt to sugarcoat his death to a then six-year-old Matilda.

'I told Matilda her Daddy had chosen this. He had a blackness around him and he'd had to decide if he could live with the blackness. And he decided he couldn't.'

But Matilda's response was heartbreaking. 'She said: 'But I'm not the black. I was the light. I could have helped him'.

Apple said it would only release 4,500 photos and 900 videos under a court order as, under a UK law that clearly needs urgent updating, the loved ones of people who die have no legal right to access information in their online accounts

'I had to say 'not at that moment, Sweetpea', but maybe she was right. Maybe if he'd phoned her, heard her voice 

'But he didn't.'

Whatever drove Matt down this awful path, at the core of her legal battle was a simple wish to have evidence of his love.

'He adored her. He worshipped her. These pictures, they show that.'

Whatever hell she was in, Rachel busied herself organising her late husband's affairs, cancelling his driving licence, sorting his pension, informing all manner of authorities.

'I wrote everything down, kept copies, had numerous copies of his death certificate. There is so much paperwork.'

But when it came to securing his memories, paperwork was the least of Rachel's problems. All Matt's gadgets  laptop, iPad, phone  were now hers and she steeled herself to look at his photos.

'I'd known his password before, but it didn't work. Maybe I'd got it wrong, maybe he'd changed it.'

When she was in town, she popped into the Apple Store and asked for help. 'I had the death certificate. I really thought they'd just reset something. But they said I needed to speak to their office in Ireland.'

And so the tortuous process began. At first Rachel was told that she needed to get her solicitor to apply for probate before Apple could help. But when she did that, she was told she would actually need to apply for a court order.

She despaired to friends and even admits trying to bypass the law, asking one who works in security to try to hack into Matt's phone.

Most people would have given up by now. Why not her?

'Because it wasn't fair,' she says.

Rachel said the battle to gain access to the images and videos on her late husband's phone contrasted with the easy transfer of his other assets and 'dragged out' the grieving process

By chance a friend happened to mention Rachel's predicament to lawyer Matt Himsworth, who was intrigued by the legal implications and offered to represent her pro bono. He instructed a barrister to first argue that, as a subject of the pictures, Rachel could claim copyright. But this approach failed. Backwards and forwards the case went until a court order forced Apple to concede.

'I don't want to paint them as ogres, because they weren't. It was just there is no legal framework for all this. The law has to catch up.'

It certainly is a minefield. Even telling your loved ones your passwords isn't necessarily the solution.

'Legally, any contract with Apple is untransferable, so even if a deceased has written their password in a will, you will be in breach.'

Rachel admits she was particularly nervous about looking through the photos Matt had taken since their separation. 'I knew there was the chance of finding something . . . inappropriate, that would raise questions he wasn't there to answer. But I was so relieved when there was nothing.'

Indeed, it is the pictures taken in the weeks and days before Matt's death that are most upsetting.

For example, there is Matilda blowing giant bubbles, laughing with exultant joy. Then there are pictures of the three of them, sharing a final cuddle.

Matilda remembers the very last picture being taken by her father. It shows her in the back seat of the car, coming home from school with the class teddy bear, her charge for the weekend.

For her part, Rachel is pleased that she won the case against Apple because others hopefully will benefit.

'It's so important that we have such memories to help us grieve and not forget them,' Matilda says as Rachel tries not to cry. 'I mean, we don't forget them, but we might forget what they look like. Or forget the day something nice happened.'

Rachel gently interrupts, suggesting that maybe this is enough pictures for today. As Matilda skips off, she sets down the laptop.

'I don't know how often she will look at the photos and videos. It may be that she looks at them now, then doesn't want to again for ten years. That's fine.

'But, crucially, those memories are hers, and no one should be able to take them away from her. And they are priceless. Priceless to us, but meaningless to a technology giant such as Apple.'

For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, or see samaritans.org for details.
The dramatic moment a Land Rover driver deliberately smashed in to a police car before taking off has been captured on camera.

A coloured SUV was travelling west along Cranbourne Road in Frankston, south-east of Melbourne, at 2am on Saturday.

After checking the car's speed police officers performed a u-turn to chase down the rogue driver.

The footage showed the Land Rover stopped at a red light before reversing into the police car and driving off.

The police car sustained so much damage it was unable to purse the SUV that was travelling with the incorrect licence plates reading ABP 926.

With no licence plate to identify the Land Rover, police were unable to track the vehicle and were asking for assistance from the public to identify the driver.

If you have any information contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000
Bunnings Warehouse is selling flat pack homes with four bedrooms costing just $124,000 (AUD)

The homes are sold in a range of sizes, costing $75,000 for a two-bedroom 60sqm home to $124,124 for a four-bedroom 106sqm property.

But aspiring home owners who want to snatch up the bargain property will have to move to New Zealand as the homes are not yet available in Australia.

Bunnings Warehouse is selling flat pack homes with four bedrooms costing just $124,124

The homes are sold in a range of sizes, costing $75,000 for a two-bedroom 60sqm home to $124,124 for a four-bedroom 106sqm property

Bunnings New Zealand have sold 50 of the flat pack homes as part of their Clever Living Co range in the past year.

The homes can be designed and built off-site before being transported to the right address.

Alternatively, the components of the home can be delivered as a kit before being put together by a builder.

Buyers can choose from five templates, with 'the Angus'  a three-bedroom and two-bathroom house  as the popular pick costing about $214,000.

Bunnings claim a three-bedroom home can be completed within six to eight weeks.

Insulation, security cameras and heat pumps also come included.

Aspiring home owners who want to snatch up the bargain property will have to move to New Zealand

Insulation, security cameras and heat pumps also come included

Bunnings New Zealand general manager Toby Lawrence told Stuff that the store was quietly selling the flat packs as it wants to test the market.

Mr Lawrence said the properties were a cheaper alternative for those struggling to become home owners.

Simon Hinds, a Kapiti Coast builder in New Zealand's lower north island, has built 21 flat pack homes in the past 18 months.

Christchurch builder Richard Tent has been receiving at least two flat pack building enquiries a week.

The homes are not yet being sold in Bunnings stores in Australia and is unknown if the company will plan on selling the properties.
Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's messages to a Republican congressman who criticized special counsel Robert Mueller have been revealed.

The enthusiastic Twitter direct messages that Flynn sent to Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida in April 2018 and February of this year were obtained by CNN and published on Friday.

Although there does not appear to be anything illegal about the messages, they could cause problems for Flynn at sentencing if a judge finds they suggest he wasn't contrite after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI.

On April 3, 2018, Flynn wrote to Gaetz: 'You stay on top of what you're doing. Your leadership is so vital for our country now. Keep the pressure on.'

Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn (above) sent Twitter DMs to a GOP congressman, appearing to praise his criticism of Mueller

Rep Matt Gaetz (above) has been an outspoken critic of Robert Mueller's probe

Earlier on the same day, Gaetz had appeared on Fox Business Network to criticize Mueller's investigation.

"With no evidence of collusion, with no evidence of any crime whatsoever, they unleashed Bob Mueller to go investigate things that happened before Donald Trump was even contemplating running for president," Gaetz said in the appearance.

Mueller's report, which he submitted to the attorney general in March, did not in fact find evidence of criminal collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Flynn, however, pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI, specifically to falsely denying that he had asked the Russian ambassador in a phone call to refrain from escalating tensions in response to U.S. sanctions.

At the time of his message to Gaetz, he was cooperating with Mueller's probe.

Flynn sent a second message to Gaetz on the day that William Barr was confirmed as attorney general.

The message consisted of GIFs of an American flag and a bald eagle. There was no text in the messages.

Mueller (above) found no evidence of a Trump conspiracy to collude with Russia

Gaetz confirmed to CNN that he had received the messages, and said that he did not respond to them.

Flynn has yet to be sentenced, and a sentencing date has not yet been set in his case after he asked for a postponement while he cooperates on other federal matters.

The former top aide to President Donald Trump was back in the news this week after it emerged that he told Mueller's office that people connected to the Trump administration and Congress sought to influence his cooperation with the Russia investigation.

He also provided a voicemail recording of one such communication, prosecutors said in a court filing made public Thursday.

Prosecutors revealed details about Flynn's communications in a court filing aimed at showing the extent of his cooperation with Mueller's investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Prosecutors did not identify the people with whom Flynn was in touch nor did they describe the exact conversations.
Mr Timpson also called for an overhaul of business rates to boost the high street

Amazon's tentacles are reaching into every aspect of our lives and it could one day use its dominance to exploit the public, a leading retailer has warned.

The US internet retailer has been expanding into an ever-larger range of markets and consumers are increasingly dependent on it, Sir John Timpson said.

He fears that unless urgent action is taken, Amazon and other internet giants will eventually be so powerful they can charge unfair prices.

Speaking later to the Daily Mail, Sir John Timpson, owner of key cutting and shoe repair chain Timpson, also called for an overhaul of business rates to boost the high street. He said proposals by Tesco boss Dave Lewis for a 2 per cent online sales tax should be considered

You feel all the tentacles of Amazon moving round you, and theyre going to grab the whole of our lives, he told the BBC.

One day, once theyve got all that market share, they will be in a position to exploit it. Thats the danger.

Speaking later to the Daily Mail, Sir John, owner of key cutting and shoe repair chain Timpson, also called for an overhaul of business rates to boost the high street.

He said proposals by Tesco boss Dave Lewis for a 2 per cent online sales tax should be considered. And he threw his weight behind the Mails campaign to reform business rates to help high street shops.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is to go on trial for corruption, seven years after leaving office.

His bid to avoid court action for running an allegedly criminal election campaign was rejected by the Constitutional Council in Paris yesterday.

The 64-year-old now faces imprisonment if found guilty of offences including fraud and false accounting during his failed attempt to seek re-election in 2012.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is to go on trial for corruption, seven years after leaving office

A company working for him is said to have used a vast system of false accounting to spend at least 33million on his campaign.

The legal limit was 18.5million. Mr Sarkozy has said he is innocent and knew nothing of any corruption.

Sarkozy had appealed to the council invoking the 'double-jeopardy' principle because he had already been convicted in 2013 and ordered to pay more than 360,000 euros for breaching campaign-finance rules.

But in its decision on Friday, the council ruled that the penalty Sarkozy was ordered to pay in 2013 was for different violations and different amounts than the fraud he and 13 co-defendants are now being investigated for.

The case now hinges on the country's top appeal court, the Cour de Cassation, where Sarkozy, 64, has lodged a separate appeal.

If that too is rejected, the case will return to prosecutors who will decide whether he should be tried.

The 64-year-old, pictured with his wife Carla Bruni and fellow former president Francois Hollande, faces imprisonment if found guilty of offences including fraud and false accounting during his failed attempt to seek re-election in 2012

If he is, Sarkozy would be the first French president in the dock since Jacques Chirac, who preceded him at the helm of the country from 1995 to 2007.

Chirac was convicted of misusing public funds and given a suspended jail term in 2011.

The so-called 'Bygmalion' case against Sarkozy centres on accusations that the former president's political party, then known as the UMP, worked with a friendly public relations firm to hide the true cost of his re-election bid.

France sets strict limits on campaign spending. Prosecutors allege the PR firm, Bygmalion, invoiced UMP rather than the campaign, allowing Sarkozy to spend almost double the permitted amount.

If Mr Sarkozy is tried, he would be the first French president in the dock since Jacques Chirac, who preceded him at the helm of the country from 1995 to 2007

Even though investigating magistrates found no evidence that Sarkozy set up the fraudulent system, took part in it or was even informed about it, they considered it unlikely that he had left it solely to staff to take decisions on such matters.

Sarkozy has denied any wrongdoing.

'We can only be disappointed by this decision,' Sarkozy's lawyer Emmanuel Piwnica told LCI TV station.

After five years in power, Sarkozy was defeated by Socialist Party candidate Francois Hollande in the 2012 election.

Sarkozy has since faced a series of investigations into allegations of corruption, fraud, favouritism and campaign-funding irregularities.

He has since retired from politics, after losing in a primary election bid to become his party's candidate for the 2017 presidential election.
An independent federal election candidate has been caught on camera launching a shocking rant toward two Nigerian men.

The video shows independent candidate Teresa van Lieshout - formerly of the Palmer United Party and One Nation - shouting at two men in the street during a confrontation in Melbourne on Wednesday.

The independent candidate for Cooper in northern Melbourne can be heard yelling 'foreigners are brought here for votes so that Australian-born citizens can be murdered.'

In the video, the woman apparently claims that Liberal and Labor immigration policies are leading to Australian people being murdered

Rikefe Ohwofi decided to film after claiming that Ms van Lieshout bumped into him and his friend while they were walking to dinner.

She later denied that, saying they refused to move out of her way and swore at her, so she 'let them have it'.

'Are you a Christian? Because I'm an Australian-born teacher and I'm in the federal election,' she says on the video footage.

'You have to respect me, because I was born here and I'm a teacher.

'What country are you from? I don't go to your country and destroy your rights, what do you say about that?' Ms van Lieshout,a devout Christian, rants.

'You're here to vote for Liberal or Labor so we can be murdered. Foreigners are brought here for votes so that Australian-born citizens can be murdered.

Rikefe Ohwofi decided to film after claiming that Ms van Lieshout (pictured) bumped into him and his friend while they were walking to dinner

'I'm going to go to your country and destroy all your people's rights and make you all unemployed, and homeless and drugged. How would you like that? That's what those politicians are doing to my people.'

At that point a woman steps into defend the men, calling the woman racist.

Ms van Lieshout replies: 'We're being murdered lady. The same politicians killed the Aboriginal people, they killed the Aboriginal people. I'm in the federal election.'

When contacted by Daily Mail Australia, Ms van Lieshout claimed the men refused to get out of her way when she was walking, which they deny.

'I was walking along the side walk path, they were walking on the same path from the opposite direction straight towards me and they wouldn't move,' she said.

'I said, "please get out of my way" and they swore at me and refused to move so I let them have it.

'I would deport all such women-hating racist foreigners from Australia.'

She claimed she did not say anything racist to the men, adding: 'Australian-born citizens of Aboriginal and European descent are subjected to and suffer the most racism here.'

She added: 'For over 100 years, those politicians are killing off Australian-born citizens, bringing foreigners here to vote for them; this is treason.

'Those who support them are racist towards our own Australian born people, including you media people promoting them. So don't defame me for free speech, speaking the truth.'

The men denied doing anything wrong.

Mr Ohwofi told NITV News: 'I was looking down at my feet and she sort of barged through me. So I turned around to look at her and was like, "What are you doing, are you serious?' and she was like "Get out of my way, get out of my country".'

'She started hurling a barrage of insults at us .... and I was like "what are you talking about?" '

Ms van Lieshout is a teacher and self-published author on social, theological and political issues.

As an Independent she previously contested numerous state and federal elections in Western Australia.

She was also a One Nation candidate at the 2005 state election and was briefly a Palmer United candidate in 2013.

She also contested the Batman by-election in 2018, polling 1.5 per cent.

The prolific YouTuber made headlines in 2013 after then Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer disendorsed her as a candidate for not toeing the party line, just 12 days after she was anointed.

Mr Palmer admitted he had not met Ms van Lieshout prior to endorsing her, but had seen her many videos covering a wide range of topics such as 'Biblical Eschatology (Apocalyptic)' and 'Abolish Psychiatric Practice in WA'.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School's yearbook staff paid a touching tribute to the therapy dogs that have been comforting students at the Florida school where the deadly 2018 mass shooting occurred.

The school's 'Aerie' yearbook staff tweeted out a photo of the dogs' yearbook page, showcasing the 14 therapy dogs, each smiling in individual portraits that were professionally shot and matched those taken of the students.

Therapy dogs were first brought to the school to two weeks after the Valentine's Day shooting to help survivors cope with the massacre that left 17 students and staff dead in Parkland, Florida. At one point, there were as many as 40 of the dogs on campus.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School's yearbook staff paid a touching tribute to the 14 therapy dogs that've been on campus all year helping ease students' anxiety following the deadly 2018 mass shooting

The therapy dogs each had yearbook portrait photos taken and were included after the last page of underclassman photos (shown)

These 14 featured dogs, however, have been on the school's campus daily all year, attending classes, greeting the teens during lunch and wandering the hallways while interacting with students and helping to ease stress and trauma.

The yearbook staff decided to highlight the dogs as 'a mood lifter.'

'Including them was a really good representation of our school and what we have gone through,' yearbook staffer Caitlynn Tibbetts, 17, told BuzzFeed News. 'Seeing them is something we look forward to every day. These dogs are going to be there until the last of us are gone.'

Tibbets also noted, one year after the shooting, the yearbook staff wanted to find a way to 'give proper representation' of the school as it is now, 'without giving so much focus to what happened to us in the past.'

The yearbook staff decided to feature the dogs because they were 'a mood lifter'

The yearbook staff tweeted out behind-the-scenes photos of the therapy dogs posing for their portraits. The dogs had been on campus every day of the school year

The 14 dogs were provided to the school by multiple organizations including South Florida's Canine Assisted Therapy Inc. and the Humane Society of Broward County

Including the therapy/service dogs in the yearbook is the best decision weve made so far like this one dog had a bowtie and my heart  pic.twitter.com/ecP9X01wqD  natasha (@sighnatasha) October 4, 2018

'The therapy dogs are the one thing from last year that is permanent and positive,' Tibbetts said.

Teacher and yearbook adviser Sarah Lerner told TODAY that River, a Bernese mountain dog, was the first of the therapy dogs to get her photo taken during school picture day.

'River became a part of their family last summer, so River belongs to the school for all intents and purposes,' Lerner said.

The yearbook staff then decided to include pictures of the 13 other dogs, who were photographed during the student's retake and makeup picture day.

The dogs' pictures can be found in the layout following the last page of underclassman yearbook photos.

In addition to the Bernese mountain dog, the therapy dogs include Golden Retrievers, Labradors, Golden Doodles and a Shih Tzu-Yorkie mix, according to the Orlando Sun-Sentinel.

The dogs were brought to the school from South Florida's Canine Assisted Therapy Inc., Share-A-Pet, Therapy Dogs International and the Humane Society of Broward County.

Therapy dogs were first brought to the high school two weeks after the 2018 mass shooting

As many as 40 therapy dogs were said to have been on campus helping students cope with the tragedy during the first months students returned to the school that year
Paul Atanga Nji Archives

The Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji has revealed the government of Cameroon had already begun the process of dialogue two years ago, and will continue but would not talk of the form of state on the dialogue platform.

He was a guest of Journal D'Afrique over France 24 on Friday May 17, where he defended governments stance of a one and indivisible Cameroon, which seeks to sustain peace for the good of its citizens.

..its a dialogue that began two hears ago..we will talk of everything, but we will not talk of the form of the state, said Minister Atanga.

To the Minister, the much talk about dialogue would only happen with those who are ready to dialogue with the government, because we dont dialogue with those who have blood in their hands, he said.

Mr. Atanga regretted that those who began strikes in the North West and South West regions, had a hidden agenda and some are being tried by the courts of the land, which follow all norms. He questioned who the Anglophone leaders are, asking further who mandated them as leaders.

Defending reports of military atrocities in the Anglophone regions, the Minister rather threw the claims on armed separatists, saying schools have been shut down, civilians attacked and properties burnt all thanks to the separatists. He accused the international community of paying little attention and highlighting abuses caused by armed separatists.

He claimed only 152,000 Cameroonians are internally displaced as a result of the ongoing war, and announced government has already assisted 90,000 of these persons.

He further criticised reports from the Human Rights Watch group on the humanitarian situation in Cameroon, stating the organisation was exaggerating figures of deaths and internally displaced, in order to lobby funds for the organisation.

The approach of Human Rights Watch is a conspiracy approach, he warned.

He however stated that Cameroon remains a tolerant country, where everyone is free to express themselves.
A hardworking pig farmer has spoken of the moment he found cameras hidden in the piggery and realised he was being targeted by militant vegans.

Bradley Edgerton, 33, had started working at Blantyre Farms in Young, in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, in 2013, and quickly became the commercial farm's fix-it man.

One day he had been laying rat baits in the piggery when he spotted secret cameras that had been hidden in the farm's ceiling.

Scroll down for video

Bradley Edgerton (right), 33, feared for his future after militant vegans targeted his place of work

'Straight away I seen 'em and I thought, "No way, this can't be right. It has to be some camera set-up done by some greenies". I sh** myself. I had no idea what to think,' the farmer told The Weekend Australian.

Mr Edgerton was living on the farm with his wife and two young children in a cottage.

He was saving to buy his own house and had plans for another child.

'I was thinking, these greenies, they are trying to shut the business  I'll have no job and I'll have no home,' he said.

Mr Edgerton feared the farm, owned by Edwina and Michael Beveridge, would be closed and his family would be left without a home.

The activists' posted the footage to a website called Aussie Farms, which aims to expose the 'dark side' of the pig farming industry.

Mr Edgerton said he's furious at the misrepresentation of his workplace, claiming pigs are treated well on the farm - better than some children in third-world countries.

Mr Edgerton said he's furious at the misrepresentation of his workplace, claiming pigs are treated well on the farm - better than some children in third-world countries

Mr Edgerton and farm owners Edwina and Michael Beveridge were targeted by a radical vegan movement (pictured, Edwina Beveridge)

'They get fresh water, food on demand, airconditioning  they've even got a medical system. You can walk up to any little piglet and give 'em a scratch on the nose and next thing they're all wantin' a pat,' he said.

The farm has won awards for its environmental action - the pigs eat mostly human food that doesn't go to landfill, and pig manure is dumped in a giant covered dam where the methane is harvested.

The methane powers generators that supply the farm with electricity and composted pig manure is used as fertiliser.

The piggery's greenhouse gases have been reduced by more than 90 per cent because of these practices, and these actions have won the farm a Green Globe Award.

The footage went into animal right documentary Dominion, directed by Chris Delforce, who also runs the Aussie Farms group.

The footage went into animal right documentary Dominion, directed by Chris Delforce, who also runs the Aussie Farms group

Chris Delforce was also responsible for protests across Australia in April, saying he became an activist to make up for his 'white, male, middle-class privilege'

The militant vegan was also responsible for protests across Australia in April, saying he became an activist to make up for his 'white, male, middle-class privilege'.

Mr Delforce, a web developer, used to volunteer for poverty relief charities and travelled to Zanzibar and Indonesia to promote human rights before turning his attention to animal rights.

He is the brains behind the controversial Aussie Farms interactive map, which names and shames livestock farmers and details their addresses, photos and even business numbers.

The organisation - a registered charity - was recently branded a 'despicable attack map for activists' by Agriculture Minister David Littleproud following a spate of vigilante acts against farms.
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Bill Shorten is so confident of winning the election that he is already planning what he would do on his first day in power.

After casting his vote in Moonee Ponds, Victoria and awkwardly eating a democracy sausage, the Labor leader gave a short speech outlining his priorities for government.

Standing alongside his popular wife Chloe, he declared that his first move would be to make a law raising pay for shift-workers at nights and weekends.

After casting his vote in Moonee Ponds, Victoria and awkwardly eating a democracy sausage, the Labor leader gave a short speech outlining his priorities for government

Opposition Labor leader Bill Shorten and his wife Chloe arrive at a polling station in the Melbourne suburb of Moonee Ponds to cast their vote in

Bill Shorten kisses a voter's baby in Melbourne before hugging an elderly voter in the line to cast a ballot

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny Morrison cast their votes at Lilli Pilli Public School in Cook, Sydney

Prime Minister Scott Morrison kissed his wife Jenny after the pair cast their votes at Lilli Pilli Public School in Cook, Sydney

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and wife Jenny are seen with the Liberal candidate for Braddon, Gavin Pearce (rear second right) and a voter with a young child

The 52-year-old said: 'In the event that the people of Australia voted for action on climate change, we will be ready to hit the ground from tomorrow. We'll be ready to start straight away and we will start straight away.

'My first cabinet meeting, the first order of business, we will put a submission to the independent umpire to get the wages moving again for millions of our fellow Australians.

'My first legislation will be to reverse the cuts to penalty rates.'

Mr Shorten also explained that tackling climate change is another priority, saying: 'We will convene the parliament as soon as possible to start action on climate change.

A reporter asked Mr Shorten if he would quit politics if he lost the election.

'Let's hold the horses here,' the leader replied. 'I'm confident that Labor can win. Is Mr Morrison staying around? Have you asked him?'

Mr Morrison was campaigning in Tasmania this morning before he flew to Sydney where he cast his vote with his wife Jenny.

He spoke to media and refused to comment on whether he would continue as Liberal leader if he loses the election.

'As I have said when this question has been put to me before. This election is not about my future. It is about your future. It is about the people of Australias future,' he said.

'It is about their aspirations, their ambitions. It is not about my aspirations or Bill Shortens ambition, it is about the Australian peoples aspiration and that is what I have focused on.'

Revealing that he would be voting for himself, he joked: 'I think you can guess how I voted today because I hear the local member is pretty good.'

Mr Morrison thanked supporters and said he would not like to predict the result, adding: 'I make no assumptions about tonight.

'I respect this process. It is dear to my heart, the democracy of our country. I am making no presumptions. I dont take anyones support in this country for granted.'

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was at the Ulverstone Secondary College during Election Day in Ulverstone, Tasmania

Australian Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and his wife Chloe share a moment after casting their votes at Moonee Ponds West Primary school in Melbourne

Bill Shorten speaks to voters at a polling station after casting his vote in the Melbourne suburb of Moonee Ponds

Bill Shorten enjoys a sausage at a polling station after casting his vote in the Melbourne suburb of Moonee Ponds

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten waves goodbye after casting his vote at Moonee Ponds West Primary school

Bill Shorten drinks a coffee at Carnegie Primary School, in the seat of Higgins after arriving from Moonee Ponds

Polls suggest the opposition leader is on track to become prime minister and lead Labor to government for the first time since 2013. Pictured: People voting in the seat of Brunswick on Saturday, May 18, 2019

Mr Shorten and his wife Chloe met voters in long queues before casting their ballots on Saturday. Pictured: People voting in the seat of Brunswick

Polls suggest the opposition leader is on track to become prime minister and lead Labor to government for the first time since 2013.

Mr Shorten and his wife Chloe met voters in long queues before casting their ballots on Saturday.

He chomped a sausage sandwich afterwards, partaking in one Australia's great election day traditions.

'Tastes like a mood for change,' he said.

Mr Shorten kicked off his day in trademark fashion, with a morning run around Melbourne wearing a red t-shirt with 'Vote 1 Chloe Shorten's husband'.

He then switched outfits, donning a suit as he made a final pitch to voters on breakfast television.

The Labor leader is expected to spend the day on polling stations around the Victorian capital, considered a key battleground in the election.

People queue to cast their votes at Moonee Ponds West Primary school during Election Day in Melbourne

Opposition Labor leader Bill Shorten speaks to voters at a polling station after casting his vote in the Melbourne suburb of Moonee Ponds during Australia's general election

Voters at the Bondi Surf Life Saving Club, in the seat of Wentworth, with a tight battle between incumbent Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Coalition party and Labor Leader, Bill Shorten

People vote at Burleigh Heads RSL Hall on the Gold Coast, Queensland as the federal election enters its final day

An anti-Abbott and anti-church campaigner outside a polling booth at Queenscliff Surf Life Saving Club in the seat of Warringah

Surfers walk past political posters at a polling booth at Queenscliff in the set of Warringah on Election Day in Sydney

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is keeping the faith as he stares down a likely election defeat.

All signs suggest the coalition will be sent packing after a narrow Labor win on Saturday night.

'I think it will be a long night. I've always said this election will be close,' Mr Morrison told Sunrise on Network Seven.

'Five weeks ago people weren't saying that, but I've always known it to be the case.'

The final Newspoll of the campaign shows Labor edging ahead of the coalition by 51.5 to 48.5 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

But both sides believe battles in 20 key marginal seats across the country will decide the result.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison talks to locals at Ulverstone Secondary College, 20 km west of Devonport

Prime Minister Scott Morrison arrives at Ulverstone Secondary College, 20km west of Devonport, Tasmania on election day

A 'Kater Australia Party' volunteer is seen at the Belgian Gardens State School on May 18, 2019 in Townsville

The Greens voters are seen as Bill Shorten visits Carnegie Primary School, in the seat of Higgins, Melbourne

Australian Federal Member for Dickson Peter Dutton poses for a photo with supporters outside a voting station at Pine Rivers State High School on Election Day in Brisbane

A man walks with his surfboard outside a polling station at Freshwater Surf Lifesaving Club on May 18, 2019 in Sydney, Australia

Mr Morrison spent his election morning in Tasmania where the coalition is soaking up every vote possible to take the marginal seats of Bass and Braddon from Labor.

He will then fly to Sydney to cast his own vote in the Sutherland Shire, before campaigning with other MPs in marginal electorates across the city.

The prime minister has presented this election as a presidential-style race between himself and Mr Shorten.

Voters will now deliver their verdict on whether his frenetic five-week campaign has been enough to secure the coalition a third term in power.

Mr Morrison spent the final full day of his campaign targeting a clutch of key seats throughout Queensland and NSW.

The Liberals are expecting reasonable results in both of the states, with Victoria and Western Australia firming up as the crucial battlegrounds.



Members of the public stand in line to vote at Neutral Bay Public School on May 18, 2019 in Sydney, Australia

Scott Morrison with the Liberal candidate for Braddon, Gavin Pearce (left) at Ulverstone Secondary College
Authorities in Idaho have arrested a 53-year-old man for raping and murdering an 18-year-old girl in 1996 - a crime for which another man served 20 years in prison before he was freed.

Brian Leigh Dripps Sr. faces a charge of first-degree murder in perpetration of a rape for the killing of Angie Dodge.

Dripps, 53, was arrested and booked into Canyon County jail on Wednesday, the Idaho Statesman reported.

He was brought before a Canyon County magistrate judge on Thursday afternoon.

He was taken to Bonneville County jail and held there without bail.

Drippss lawyer asked the judge for a bond argument because his client has medical problems, but was denied.

The arrest of Dripps comes two years after Christopher Tapp, 40, was freed after spending 20 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Tapp was convicted despite the fact that there was no DNA evidence linking him to the crime.

Brian Leigh Dripps Sr faces a charge of first-degree murder in perpetration of a rape for the 1996 killing of Angie Dodge

Christopher Tapp (above) was freed from prison after he spent 20 years behind bars. He has maintained his innocence

On June 13, 1996, Dodge was raped and murdered in her own apartment.

Idaho Falls police took DNA blood samples from 20 men known to have frequented recreational boat docks on the Snake River, where teenagers would often hang out.

But none of the samples matched the semen found on Dodges body, according to the Idaho Statesman.

In 1998, Tapp was convicted after prosecutors claimed he confessed to the crime.

Tapp, however, has long claimed the confession was coerced.

In 2017, prosecutors agreed to drop his conviction for aiding and abetting rape, but his conviction for aiding and abetting murder would stay on his record.

Tapp was let out of prison. To this day, Dodges family does not believe Tapp killed Angie.

Dripps has a misdemeanor conviction for drug possession in 2002 and several driving infractions.

On June 13, 1996, Dodge was raped and murdered in her own apartment. Her family does not believe Tapp was involved

He is divorced with three children.

At the time of Dodges murder, Drippss then-wife, Nycole Sept, had filed for divorce.

The couples divorce was finalized in 1999.

Sept told the Idaho Statesman that she wasnt aware her ex-husband had been arrested.

I had two more children with him after he murdered her? Sept said.

She confirmed Dripps was living in Idaho Falls in 1996, the same year she was prengant with her first child.

Sept said she tried to leave her husband that year. She acknowledged that they had both used drugs at the time.

She also said he was violent.

I was afraid of him, especially when he was doing drugs, Sept said.
Fresh details have emerged in the case of a New York City Police Department officer who is accused of seeking a contract murder on her estranged husband.

Officer Valerie Cincinelli, 34, was arrested on Friday in an FBI sting after federal agents staged an elaborate ruse to convince her that the alleged murder-for-hire had been carried out.

The twisted saga dates back to February, when prosecutors say that mother-of-two Cincinelli approached her new boyfriend, urging him to find a hitman who could off her estranged husband, Isaiah Carvalho Jr.

But instead of going forward with the plot, the boyfriend rushed to the FBI with the information and became a secret informant, according to charging documents reported by the New York Post.

Valerie Cincinelli (pictured left in 2017 with ex-husband Isiah Carvalho and her daughter), 34, is accused of asking her current boyfriend to hire an assassin to kill her ex-husband. She received a 'Cop of the month' award in July 2017 (shown above)

Video courtesy PIX 11

On February 18, prosecutors say that Cincinelli moved forward with the plot by withdrawing $7,000 from a TD Bank branch, giving the money to the boyfriend to buy five ounces of gold coins to be used to pay the purported hitman.

Cincinelli, who has her own children with Carvalho, also wanted the supposed hitman to kill her new boyfriend's own teen daughter because she was in the way of their relationship, the court documents say.

The cop allegedly told her boyfriend tell the hitman to 'run her the f**k over' to make the girl's death appear to be a hit-and-run.

The boyfriend strung Cincinelli along as the FBI gathered information, telling her that he was in contact with a hitman and the plot was moving forward.

On Monday, the boyfriend told Cincinelli that the supposed hitman was stalking Carvalho at his workplace on Long Island, but the NYPD cop protested that the area was too upscale.

Instead, Cincinelli said he should be killed in 'the hood' or 'the ghetto' so 'it would not look suspicious,' court papers say.

Worried that two deaths close together would raise suspicion, Cincinelli advised her boyfriend 'to have the hitman kill [the teen] over the weekend and then wait a week or a month to kill' her husband, the documents said.

Ex-husband Isiah Carvalho Jr (above) posed as dead in a photo that federal agents sent to Cincinelli's boyfriend, which he used to convince her the hit had been carried out

The investigation came to a head on Friday morning, when a Suffolk County detective who was working with the feds came to Cincinelli's home and told her - falsely - that her husband had been found dead.

Cincinelli sobbed during the notification - but hidden devices recorded her response after the detective left her home.

She quickly began discussing her 'alibi' with the boyfriend, according to the court papers.

The boyfriend also showed her text messages between himself and an undercover federal agent posing as the hitman, one of which included a staged photo of Carvalho appearing dead in his car, court papers say.

Soon after, a task force of FBI agents and NYPD Internal Affairs officers swooped in and arrested Cincinelli.

Records show Carvalho filed for divorce against Cincinelli last year and a court date had been set for June.

Prosecutors did not offer a motive for Cincinelli wanted him dead.

According to the NBC4, Cincinelli joined the police department in 2007 and worked out of the Queens 106th Precinct, in Ozone Park.

However, she was stripped of her badge and gun and placed on modified assignment in 2017 following a number of domestic incidents, an official said.

Cincinelli joined the New York police department in 2007 and worked out of the Queens 106th Precinct (above) in Ozone Park

Cinicinelli's father, however, has jumped to his daughter's defense insisting the allegations against her are 'bulls***'.

'They were married, they have a kid together and then they got divorced. There is no way on the planet my daughter would have someone try to murder him. That's nonsense!' he told the Post on Friday.

He also added that his daughter had been 'going out with some wacko who made an allegation against her before that she tried to kill him.'

Refusing to identify the man, he said that he was 'sure' the unnamed partner was behind the allegation.

Meanwhile, Carvalho Jr. is said to be left 'shaken-up' by the ordeal but doing well 'with all things considered'.

The Bronx-based mechanic declined to speculate whether he believed the allegations against his ex-wife were true or not.

Before her demotion, Cincinelli had been an award-winning officer and was even crowned 'Cop of the month' by the Jamaica Rotary in June 2017.

The Oceanside, Long Island resident had recently been working at the Viper Unit, monitoring cameras in public housing prior to her arrest.

A graduate of Longwood University, Cincinelli returned to the school in 2016 to be interviewed about her work in the NYPD's domestic violence unit.

'We want kids to like us. That's the next generation; they'll be adults in 10 years. I love kids; they're my soft spot. I feel like I'm making a difference by helping children and their families,' she told the school's alumni magazine.

'Unfortunately, when I say hello to kids out walking with their parents, the parent sometimes says, 'Don't talk to them.' Some parents teach their kids to hate the police.'

Cincinelli is charged with use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

She will appear before a judge on Monday. She was immediately suspended without pay after her arrest.
Mandarin-language election signs in Melbourne, instructing Chinese voters how to vote Liberal, have been criticised as a 'massive rort' and misleading.

Luke Hilakari, the Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary, tweeted an image of the posters in the electorate of Chisholm, claiming the posters had the same font and colours as official voting information from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).

He said the posters read 'the correct way to vote is to put a number 1 next to the Liberals and number every other box', and appear to be written like an official AEC instruction to voters.

Signs in Mandarin instruct Chinese voters how to vote for The Liberal Party in the electorate of Chisholm

'This is a rort. The Libs are trying to trick Chinese voters. Morrison's Libs should never have approved these signs,' he tweeted on Saturday.

AEC spokesman Evan Ekin-Smyth said the posters did not need to be taken down as they were properly authorised and no laws had been breached.

'We don't own the colour purple, and it's not possible to do that. They just need to be appropriately authorised, which they are,' he told AAP.

'While clearly the AEC would prefer no-one uses purple and (makes posters) to look like an AEC (poster), people can make posters so long as they are authorised appropriately.

'My understanding is that it meets the requirements of the Act. No law has been breached.'

The AEC confirmed they had responded to a complaint from Labor about the signs.

Labor said the sign had breached section 329 of the Electoral Act, which states it is an offence to give out material likely to 'deceive' a person voting.

One Labor spokeswoman slammed the posters as a 'pathetic and dirty attempt to deceive voters'.

The AEC spokesman said the sign was fine as long as it wasn't within six metres of the of the entrance of the polling place.

Mr Hilakari said an officer at the Burwood East polling booth tried to take down the sign.

However, a Liberal campaigner threatened to call police to stop the posters from being removed, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The Mandarin signs have sparked outrage and has been criticised as misleading and a 'massive rort' (pictured: Liberal Candidate for Chisholm, Gladys Liu)

Bill Shorten said he had not heard about the incident, The Guardian reported.

'Always look at who benefits from the dirty tricks and that generally is the culprit, isn't it?' he said.

The electorate of Chisholm has a a large population of Chinese people.
Pepe the Frog is at the center of a lawsuit against the right-wing website Infowars

A federal judge will let a jury decide whether radio host Alex Jones' Infowars website had a legal right to sell a poster featuring the image of Pepe the Frog, a cartoon character that became controversial during the 2016 election.

U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald refused on Thursday to throw out a copyright infringement lawsuit that Pepe's creator, California-based artist Matt Furie, filed against Infowars over its poster sales.

Lawyers for Furie and Infowars both said they were pleased by the ruling, which clears a path for a jury trial to begin July 16 in Los Angeles.

Louis Tompros, one Furie's lawyers, said his client looks forward to asking jurors to hold Infowars accountable for misappropriating Pepe, the anthropomorphic frog he created in the early 2000s.

Alex Jones, the right-wing star of Infowars, blasted the lawsuit as a 'publicity stunt' and said the 'MAGA' poster is political speech protected under the First Amendement

'This is a case about making sure nobody (else) is making money off Pepe the Frog,' Tompros said Friday.

Infowars' attorney, Marc Randazza, said the decision preserves his client's key free speech defenses against Furie's claims and limits any possible award to a maximum of roughly $13,000.

'We are fighting this case because we think it's a free speech issue,' Randazza said. '(Jones) is doing it as an act in the public interest instead of his own interest.'

Jones faces other costly litigation. Relatives of children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre filed defamation suits against Jones after he questioned whether the shooting rampage was a hoax.

Jones livestreams his show on Infowars' website, but he has lost access to other platforms. Twitter and Facebook have permanently banned him.

Jones also uses his website to sell a diverse range of products.

Furie's lawsuit says he didn't authorize the site to sell a 'MAGA' poster that depicts Pepe alongside images of Jones, President Donald Trump, far-right agitator Milo Yiannopoulos and other right-wing figures.

The poster, which Infowars sold for $29.95, depicts Pepe alongside other conservative figures such as Trump, Ann Coulter, Milo Yiannopoulos, Diamond and Silk, Roger Stone and others

Infowars' lawyers argued the poster's depiction of Pepe is 'fair use.' Fitzgerald ruled the jury must decide that question.

Infowars was selling the Pepe-adorned poster for $29.95. Gross revenues from sales of the poster totaled more than $31,000, the judge's ruling says.

Infowars' attorneys claimed Furie based his character on a 'pre-existing, strikingly similar' Argentine cartoon character named 'El Sapo Pepe,' or 'Pepe the Toad.' They argued Furie could be precluded from asserting any copyright interest in his creation if Pepe the Frog is an 'unauthorized derivative work' based on Pepe the Toad.

However, Fitzgerald said Infowars didn't present any evidence to rebut Furie's testimony that he was unaware of El Sapo Pepe before he sued.

Furie's 'chill frog-dude' debuted in a 2006 comic book called 'Boy's Club' and became a popular canvas for benevolent internet memes.

But the user-generated mutations grew increasingly hateful, as online image board users tried to prevent Pepe from becoming too mainstream.

Pepe debuted in Furie's 2006 online comic 'Boys Club'. He became a widespread canvas for memes, and eventually became associated with the far-right during the meme wars

The anons increasingly depicted Pepe adorned with Nazi symbols in an attempt to kill off his appeal to 'normies', as they describe mainstream culture. But in time, the line between irony and reality blurred.

As the 2016 presidential election got underway, Pepe was drafted into the 'meme wars' in service of candidate Donald Trump's supporters.

Staging from 4chan and Reddit, Trump supporters launched Pepe-based assaults into Facebook and Twitter, attempting to sway public opinion in their candidate's favor.

Pepe achieved widest renown in September 2016, when he came under direct attack by then-candidate Hillary Clinton, whose campaign website posted an 'explainer' article describing the frog as 'a symbol associated with white supremacy'.

Furie has said he was horrified to see his creation become an online mascot for white nationalists, neo-Nazis and other right-wing extremists.

Jones said when the suit was first filed that he views the 'MAGA' poster as simply a symbol of the 2016 campaign.

'Everybody knows I'm not a white supremacist. I'm not into that crap,' Jones said. 'This is just purely harassment.'

Austin, Texas-based parent companies Infowars LLC and Free Speech Systems LLC are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
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Australians have been left outraged after heading to polling booths in the hopes of snagging a Democracy Sausage, only to be left empty handed.

The Democracy Sausage has quickly become a staple at schools and church halls around the country during elections, and today's vote was gearing up to be the biggest snag day yet.

However, with millions of voters flocking to polling booths from early on Saturday, some were left without a sausage in hand after they'd voted for their party of choice.

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The Democracy Sausage has quickly become a staple at schools and church halls around the country during elections, and today's federal election was gearing up to be the biggest snag day yet

However, with millions of voters flocking to polling booths from early on Saturday, some were left without a sausage in hand after they'd voted for their party of choice

According to the Democracy Sausage website, there were expected to be 2180 polling booths with sausage sizzles available across the country.

Hundreds of Aussies took to social media to celebrate getting their reward for placing their vote.

Some were even seen celebrating the democratic delicacy in other ways, with one woman pictured wearing a sausage costume.

However, many Australians have complained about being left without a sausage as their local booth had run out of sausages by the time they arrived.

Among those left empty handed is ex-Bachelorette Georgia Love, who posted in anger to her Instagram story after she saw her local booth was out of snags.

Boronia Park Public School in Hunters Hill, north east of the Sydney CBD, ran out of sausages before midday, according to reports on Twitter.

The National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern had sold its full stock of 700 sausages by 1pm, while Bourke Street Public School in Surry Hills was empty by 1.30pm.

One voter who went to both polling stations in hope of finding a democracy snag told Daily Mail Australia: 'This is an outrage. This is un-Australian.'

Hundreds of Aussies took to social media to celebrate getting their reward for placing their vote on Saturday

Among those left empty handed is ex-Bachelorette Georgia Love, who posted in anger to her Instagram story after she saw her local booth was out of snags

According to the Democracy Sausage website, there were expected to be 2180 polling booths with sausage sizzles available across the country

Braidwood Central School in rural New South Wales had no sausages, but still had the barbecue on, offering up bacon and egg rolls to voters.

Hillscrest Primary School in Bayswater, WA, was out of sausages by 2pm, while St Kilda Primary School in Melbourne was out by the early afternoon.

The official Democracy Sausage Twitter announced shortly before 3pm that sausage sizzles across the ACT were quickly running out of onion due to a Territory-wide shortage.

However, over 91 per cent of voters in the ACT had access to a Democracy sausage.

The ritual of the sausage sizzle has been linked with voting for many years, but the term 'Democracy Sausage' kicked off in 2013 and gave the unique Australian experience a name.

Some were even seen celebrating the democratic delicacy in other ways, with one woman pictured wearing a sausage costume.

Some lucky Australians got themselves a Democracy sausage, while others who got to polling booths too late were left empty handed

The official Democracy Sausage Twitter announced shortly before 3pm that sausage sizzles across the ACT were quickly running out of onion due to a Territory-wide shortage

However, it wasn't until the 2016 federal election that the term really took off and was even named Word of The Year.

Politicians have since taken to eating the Australian delicacy in front of cameras, often sparking debate about where the onion is placed.

Bill Shorten was seen casting his vote in Moonee Ponds, Victoria, alongside his wife Chloe, talking to voters in long queues before casting their ballot.

He chomped a sausage sandwich afterwards, partaking in one Australia's great election day traditions.

'Tastes like a mood for change,' he said.

Bill Shorten alongside his wife, Chloe, chomped a sausage sandwich afterwards, partaking in one Australia's great election day traditions

Many Australians have complained about being left without a sausage as their local booth had run out of sausages by the time they arrived
Vandals have defaced campaign posters of a Labor candidate in a key Melbourne seat by drawing a niqab over her face.

Multiple posters for Labor candidate Shireen Morris, running in Deakin, in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, were defaced with black permanent marker.

The posters had images of Ms Morris, which were vandalised to depict her wearing a niqab. She is not believed to be a Muslim.

The candidate, who is of Fijian-Indian heritage, was cleared earlier this month of having Fijian dual citizenship.

Vandals have defaced campaign posters of a Labor candidate in a key Melbourne seat and have been deemed 'disgraceful'

Multiple posters for Labor candidate Shireen Morris (pictured), running in Deakin, in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, were defaced with black permanent marker

A niqab is a garment of clothing that covers the entire face except the eyes, worn by some Muslim women as part of their religion.

The attack, spotted just days before the federal election, was posted to the Labor politician's Twitter.

'Using Islamophobia to try and secure votes  disgraceful,' Ms Morris wrote.

It's believed multiple posters scattered throughout the electorate in the city's outer eastern suburbs have been defaced.

Liberal Michael Sukkar currently holds the now-marginal seat, but Ms Morris won't be going down without a fight.

He has held the seat since 2013 and Mr Sukkar is expected to narrowly win, despite a 6.4 per cent margin.

The attack, spotted just days before the federal election, was posted to the Labor politician's Twitter

In the nearby electorate of Chisolm, signs were spotted in Mandarin instructing Chinese voters to vote Liberal and were criticised as 'misleading'.

Luke Hilakari, the Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary, tweeted an image of the posters in the electorate of Chisholm, claiming the posters had the same font and colours as official voting information from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).

He said the posters read 'the correct way to vote is to put a number 1 next to the Liberals and number every other box', and appear to be written like an official AEC instruction to voters.

'This is a rort. The Libs are trying to trick Chinese voters. Morrison's Libs should never have approved these signs,' he tweeted on Saturday.
A World War Two veteran who captained a B-17 Flying Fortress has returned to the skies in a 1929 Ford Tri-Motor, the same plane he first flew in at the age of 17.

Russel Duane Hilding, 98, was overjoyed at the chance to fly in one of the ultra-rare vintage aircraft on Thursday at Gerald R. Ford International Airport near Grand Rapids, Michigan.

'My first airplane ride was in a Ford Tri-Motor,' Hilding told WXMI-TV. 'The best part of getting old, is trying to not stay old.'

Only 11 Trimotors remain in existence, of which only eight are certified airworthy by the FAA.

Russel Duane Hilding, 98, was overjoyed at the chance to fly in a Ford Tri-Motor on Thursday

The Tri-Motor that took flight at Gerald R. Ford International Airport is one of only eight of the planes still certified as airworthy

A Ford Tri-Motor is seen in 1929 in Oklahoma on the inaugural Ohio to Oklahoma leg of the transcontinental New York-Los Angeles Air-Rail Passenger Service

On Thursday's flight, Hilding got to reminiscence about the experience that first hooked him on flying at the age of 17.

By age 19, while working at his father's company Wolverine Typewriter in Lansing, he began taking flight lessons, according to a profile by his flight club.

Hilding received his Air Force wings and commission in September 1943

In 1942, after the U.S. had entered WWII, Hilding enlisted in the Army Air Corps and received his Air Force wings and commission in September 1943.

After extensive training, Hilding was deployed to England as a captain of a B-17 in the Eighth Air Force's 447th Bomb Group, located at Rattlesden Airfield, northeast of London.

Hilding ran dozens of successful bombing raids over Germany and occupied France, until on July 13, 1944 his luck ran out during a daylight raid on Munich.

Taking heavy flack, the Flying Fortress crew lost an engine and tried to make it back to base when they were attacked by German fighters and lost two more engines.

The situation dire, Hilding gave the order to bail out over France, and parachuted to safety in a field where he was greeted by two Frenchmen who were friendly and took him to shelter in a nearby home.

Hilding ran dozens of successful bombing raids over Germany and occupied France

He was captain of a B-17 Flying Fortress like the ones seen above in 1944

Though Hilding couldn't communicate with the men, he soon realized his good fortune that they were members of the French Resistance, partisan fighters against the Nazi occupation.

Hilding, his co-pilot and bombardier moved from safehouse to safehouse, trying to make their way to the Spanish border with the aide of the resistance.

But several weeks in, they were riding in a car when the driver suddenly stopped, turned around and pulled a gun out, revealing himself as a Gestapo agent.

'Sorry boys, the war is over for you,' the Gestapo said in perfect English.

Hilding was transported to the horror concentration camp Buchenwald, where he spent two months.

Then, he and other captured Allied air crews - labeled 'Terror Fliers' by the Nazis - were transported to Stalag Luft III, the POW camp made famous in the film 'The Great Escape'.

Hilding prisoner's card testifying to his departure from Buchenwald on October 19, 1944

U.S. Third Army troops march into Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar, Germany, after its liberation on April 27, 1945

Months before Hilding arrived, the Allied prisoners had attempted the daring escape by digging three tunnels out of the camp. Two survived the escape to rejoin friendly forces, and another 50 were executed when a furious Adolph Hitler learned of the plot.

The camp was evacuated as Russian tanks approached after Christmas 1944, and the POWs were force-marched to another camp near Munich.

Hilding was finally liberated on April 29, 1945.

He finally learned that only three of his crew had been captured, with the rest joining the French Resistance or making camp in the woods until General Patton swept across France.

The transport that returned Hilding to America sailed into New York Harbor, past the Statue of Liberty, on his 23rd birthday.

Hilding took in the view from the old Tri-Motor in his flight on Thursday

Hilding went on to work for his father's office supply company in Lansing, and married Marie, a Michigan State student, whom he met on a blind date.

He continued flying with the Army National Guard, Aviation Section and as a private pilot, going on to own four planes: a J-3 Cub, an Aeronca Champ, a Cessna 140, and a Citabria 7ECA.

He continued piloting planes until quite recently.

On Thursday's excursion, he marveled at the chance to take to the air once more.

He summed up his advice the the younger generations: 'I don't know. Keeping active. Do what you like. Do it.'

Hilding said he realizes there are few left from his generation. 'Yeah, not many,' he said. 'Old time, going by.'
The captain of flight QF72, whose on flight computer malfunctioned causing the plane to lose control nearly killing everyone on-board, has revealed the chaos on board after the near-miss.

Former US Navy pilot, Kevin Sullivan, was flying from Singapore to Perth on October 7, 2008 with 303 passengers and 12 crew.

The pilots were forced to make an emergency landing at Learmonth RAAF base after control of the plane was lost due to the autopilot disconnecting while they were 37,000 feet in the air.

One crew member and 11 passengers were seriously injured while eight crew and 99 passengers suffered minor injuries.

The captain of flight QF72, Kevin Sullivan (pictured), whose on flight computer malfunctioned causing the plane to lose control nearly killing everyone on-board, has spoken publicly for the first time about the incident

The plane was flying from Singapore to Perth on October 7, 2008 with 303 passengers and 12 crew. The pilots were forced to make an emergency landing at Learmonth RAAF base after control of the plane was lost due to the autopilot disconnecting while they were 37,000 feet in the air

When the autopilot disconnected, Mr Sullivan did not know what to do as he wasn't trained for such an error.

The plane began to nosedive 150 feet towards the ground which the pilots managed to correct after taking manual control and a mayday call was issued.

'It's the worst thing that can happen when you are in an aeroplane - when you are not in control. And you have a clear choice. You can either succumb to that or you fight it. I was fighting that outcome,' Mr Sullivan said in The Sydney Morning Herald.

The plane nosedived again, this time 400 feet, and the pilots realised one of the three computers operating the autopilot was malfunctioning.

Unrestrained and restrained passengers and crew were flung around the cabin and crashed into overhead compartments while luggage was thrown around injuring others.

One crew member and 11 passengers were seriously injured while eight crew and 99 passengers suffered minor injuries

When the autopilot disconnected, Mr Sullivan did not know what to do as he wasn't trained for such an error. The plane began to nosedive 150 feet towards the ground which the pilots managed to correct after taking manual control and a mayday call was issued

Mr Sullivan and his co-pilot were able to land the plane 50 minutes later after utilising landing strategies he learned when flying fighter jets.

He was finally able to see the full extent of the damages and injuries after he successfully landed the plane.

'There's blood on the walls, and on the faces and clothes of the injured. There are hideous star-shaped holes in the ceiling that look like the Incredible Hulk punched them.

'They hold the remnants of the hair and bloodied scalps of those whose heads have punctured the aviation-grade plastic. The resulting wounds could easily have been made with a large serrated knife, raked along the victim's scalps.'

Mr Sullivan and his co-pilot were able to land the plane 50 minutes later after utilising landing strategies he learned when flying fighter jets. He was finally able to see the full extent of the damages and injuries after he successfully landed the plane

Mr Sullivan left Qantas after three decades of service and is now living in Sydney but said his near-death experience in 2008 changed his life forever and he developed post-traumatic stress disorder

Mr Sullivan left Qantas after three decades of service and is now living in Sydney but said his near-death experience in 2008 changed his life forever and he developed post-traumatic stress disorder.

He says the sight of injured children continues to haunt him today.

Though the accident was eleven years ago, Mr Sullivan and other crew members are part of an ongoing lawsuit against Airbus and Northrop Grumman.

The injured passengers have already settled their compensation claims.
Friday, May 17, 2019 at 10:01PM

After running into a bunch of display issues with the Galaxy Fold, Samsung postponed the release of its first foldable phone. A new report from Koreas Yonhap News Agency talks about how the company is fixing the issues reviewers had with their units. The phone was originally supposed to come out on April 26th, but with reviewers running into problems that caused the screen to break easily, Samsung opted to delay the launch of the phone.

One of the fixes its employing is tucking the protective film under the frame of the device so itll be harder for its user to remove. The amount of hinge that is exposed has also reportedly been minimized to prevent foreign objects from getting under the screen and destroying it. Samsung told Yonhap News Agency that its testing the redesigned model with three wireless carriers in Korea. According to CNBC, we expect a new release date announcement in the coming weeks. Samsung said itll automatically cancel the pre-orders of customers who dont confirm interest in the device if the company cant ship it by May 31st.
Tony Abbot was quizzed by schoolgirls on his climate change record as he canvassed for votes on election day.

The former prime minister spoke to pupils outside Manly Village Public School in his north Sydney electorate.

The youngsters made clear they were unhappy that Mr Abbott has backed Queensland's Adani coalmine, which will be the biggest in the world and produce more emissions than whole countries such as Chile.

One asked him: 'You say you want to do the right thing by everyone, but isn't the right thing by everyone protecting the planet?'

You said you wanted to do the right thing by everyone Tony Abbott grilled by kids outside Manly Village Public School @ManlyDaily #WarringahVotes pic.twitter.com/mroyKraAxn  Ben James (@BenJames22) May 18, 2019

On Saturday morning Mr Abbott (pictured voting) said he's 'not too cocky' but quietly confident about being re-elected

Mr Abbott replied: 'Yes, exactly. But the important thing is to do it in an intelligent way, not an unintelligent way.'

Another girl then jumped in and said: 'By polluting the world with coal?'

Mr Abbott stuttered and dodged the question by asking the girl a question of his own.

'Wind power - does the wind always blow? Solar power - does the sun always shine?'

One girl interrupted and said: 'We can save solar energy.'

'Well we can,' said Mr Abbott. 'But batteries are not very efficient and they are very expensive.'

The girl interrupted him again and said: 'But it's better than using coal to pollute everything.'

Mr Abbott tried to claim the Adani project was good because the coal will mostly be shipped to India where many people don't have power.

Former Australian Prime Minister and member for Warringah Tony Abbott casting his vote today

Tony Abbott receives his ballot papers before voting at Forestville Public School during Election Day in Sydney

He claimed it was better for the world to have the project in Australia because Australian coal is less toxic than Indian coal.

But the girls didn't buy his argument. One said: 'Isn't it better to spend money on something that is going to benefit us and isn't going to do something bad to our planet?'

Mr Abbott also defended his record on climate change, which has been repeatedly called into question.

In a speech on London in 2017, Mr Abbott said climate change was 'doing good' and that the 'so-called settled science of climate change' was 'absolute crap'.

On Saturday morning the former PM said he's 'not too cocky' but quietly confident about being re-elected.

The former prime minister cast his vote alone at Forestville Public School in his seat of Warringah as he faces the fight of his political career.

Mr Abbott suffered a nine per cent primary vote swing against him at the 2016 election and now holds the seat with an 11 per cent margin.

But some bookies have ranked independent Zali Steggall the favourite.

Independent Warringah candidate Zali Steggall votes at North Balgowlah Public School on May 18, 2019 in Sydney, Australia

Asked by a voter whether he is going to win on Saturday, Mr Abbott said he was 'not too cocky' but quietly confident.

'I've always been a nervous candidate,' he told reporters after casting his vote and buying a loaf of banana bread from the school cake stall.

'Sure, I've got a few butterflies doing loop-the-loops in my tummy today as well.

'But that's the lot of all candidates because the one thing you can never take for granted is the vote of the Australian people.'

Mr Abbott said it had been a 'very ugly' campaign, noting that a Liberal volunteer was allegedly attacked with a corkscrew while putting up posters in Balgowlah on Friday night.

The 31-year-old was stabbed in the stomach, causing only a minor injury. The alleged 62-year-old attacker then started tearing down banners before fleeing.

'Lucky he wasn't seriously hurt,' the former Liberal leader said.

'He's back at his post today.'
A campaigner for Clive Palmer's United Australia Party allegedly exposed himself at a south-west Sydney polling booth.

The 62-year-old man got into an argument with several people before allegedly committing the act at Restwell Street booth in Bankstown on Saturday.

The man, wearing a yellow hat and shirt in support of the party, allegedly dropped his pants 'in front of at least 3 women and one man', a police statement read.

Police arrived at the polling booth at Bankstown Public School at about 10 am and fined the 62-year-old, who was also ordered to leave the premises.

Labor campaigner Marian Mourad, a witness, told SBS the 'aggressive and problematic' man began 'abusing' her and calling her a 'moron'.

Ms Mourad said she saw the accused 'undo his zip' and reported the matter to police immediately.

'We're in a public place, we're in a public school, there are kids here coming to the Saturday school,' she said.

Clive Palmer's party is running candidates in 150 out of 151 lower house seats

Clive Palmer's party is running candidates in 150 out of 151 lower house seats.

Labor enjoys a lead in two-party preferred votes but the gap narrows when minor parties are brought into the equation.

Clive Palmer's United Australia Party now sits at five per cent thanks to his $60 million advertising blitz across billboards, television and the internet.

The campaigner allegedly committed the offensive act at a public school in Sydney's south-west
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Pictures of voters heading to the polls today have revealed a stark fashion contrast between Australia's two major cities: activewear versus hipsterdom.

While hipsters in Melbourne's north were seen in their funkiest outfits and clutching their warm coffees, Sydneysiders took a far more relaxed approach to the big vote.

Polling booths were flooded with people ready to make their voices heard by casting their vote for the Federal election early on Saturday.

The line to vote in Sydney's Paddington was filled with women geared up to make the most of Saturday's sunshine in activewear

This woman wore leggings with some trendy slides as she waited in line in Paddington. She brought a jersery with her due to the slight winter chill

Saturday seems to be the day for exercise in Sydney's Paddington. Multiple women were spotted geared up for a hike as they made their way to polling booths

Despite a slight winter chill, the sun was definitely out in Paddington on Saturday. Many women donned their sunglasses as they lined up to perform their civic duty

Trendy voters lined up early on Saturday in Paddington. Polls suggest the opposition leader is on track to become prime minister and lead Labor to government for the first time since 2013

This woman wore her Nike shoes with a black outfit and a white hoodie wrapped around her waist as she voted in Paddington

Residents in Paddington stuck to the casual/cool aesthetic as they stepped out to vote on Saturday

Paddington's voting stations were busy on Saturday, with many women getting in to vote early before heading off for their afternoon fitness

Lines were long in Paddington on Saturday. Millions turned out to cast their vote in this year's Federal Election

These women made sure to take with them a smoothie and a coffee as they voted in Paddington, in inner-Sydney

Residents in the affluent inner-Sydney suburb of Paddington looked as though they were set for a busy day, donning activewear as they headed out to vote.

Many women were making the most of Sydney's sunshine, stepping out in tights, sneakers and sunglasses.

Some voters were even spotted at their local polling stations with smoothies in hand as they completed their civic duty.

Bondi residents in Sydney's east opted for even less clothing. Some had come straight from the beach to cast their vote - some still had their surfboards in hand.

Bondi residents were true to form. One man showed up to vote fresh from a swim, wearing only his swimmers

Bondi residents were keen to vote but even more keen to make the most of the waves. This man ran in to cast his vote before fleeing to the sea for a surf

Warringah is the electorateto watch this election, as former prime minister Tony Abbott looks in danger of losing his seat. A woman was pictured with her board in hand on the day of voting

Warringah residents looked relaxed after voting. many people wandered to the water with boards in hands on Saturday morning

Meanwhile, residents in Australia's other major city were more conservative.

Hipsters in Brunswick, in Melbourne's north, jumped into their funkiest outfits as they made their way to local schools and churches.

They took to the polling booths with their warm coffee in hand.

Some forward thinking residents even showed up prepared with their headphones as they waited in line to cast their vote.

However, no matter the city, there was one Election Day staple that all could agree on.

The Democracy Sausage was still a favourite among all of the crowds.

Trendy residents in Melbourne's Brunswick made the most of the Democracy Sausage. This man chose to smother his snag in mustard

Mustard was a popular choice for the residents on Brunswick in Melbourne. While they might be able to agree on theor condiments, their choice of constituents might be a different story

Brunswick voters looked trendy as always, donning glasses and headphones, as they stepped out to vote on Saturday morning

It was a cooler voting day for residents in Brunswick. The ritual of the sausage sizzle was as popular as ever

Hundreds of Aussies took to social media to celebrate getting their reward for placing their vote.

Some were even seen celebrating the democratic delicacy in other ways, with one woman pictured wearing a sausage costume.

The ritual of the sausage sizzle has been linked with voting for many years, but the term 'Democracy Sausage' kicked off in 2013 and gave the unique Australian experience a name.

However, it wasn't until the 2016 federal election that the term really took off and was even named Word of The Year.

Plaid shirts and stylish sunnies were everywhere in Melbourne's Brunswickduring the big vote on Saturday

No matter the city, the Election Day staple - Democracy Sausage  was still a favourite among the crowd

Democracy Sausage has become a stable at schools and church halls around the country during elections

Politicians have since taken to eating the Australian delicacy in front of cameras, often sparking debate about where the onion is placed.

Bill Shorten was seen casting his vote in Moonee Ponds, Victoria, alongside his wife Chloe, talking to voters in long queues before casting their ballot.

He chomped a sausage sandwich afterwards, partaking in one Australia's great election day traditions.

'Tastes like a mood for change,' he said.

According to the Democracy Sausage website, there were expected to be 2180 polling booths with sausage sizzles available across the country.

This Brunswick resident was all smiles after getting her hands on the Democracy Sausage - a staple in Australia

The Democracy Sausage has become a stable at schools and church halls around the country during elections

This voter came prepared for the long lines to vote, donning headphones as they waited in Brunswick on Saturday

Millions of voters flocked to polling booths from early on Saturday, some were left without a sausage in hand after they'd voted for their party of choice

Brunswick voters enjoyed a coffee and a sausage during Saturday's big vote. Colourful residents were in high spirits ahead of the election results

It wasn't just sausages that were a crowd favourite. A coffee stand in Brunswick was incredibly popular

Even if they were too young to vote, Brunswick residents still got behind the Democracy Sausage

Brunswick residents were in high spirits as they manned the barbecue, cooking up the crowd favourite

No matter the city, no one could pass up a Democracy Sausage. The election day staple has risen in popularity, thanks in part to social media

The Democracy Sausage has quickly become a staple at schools and church halls around the country during elections, and today's federal election was gearing up to be the biggest snag day yet

With millions of voters flocking to polling booths from early on Saturday, some were left without a sausage in hand after they'd voted for their party of choice - but these voters in Brunswick had no shortage of sizzles

Polls suggest the opposition leader is on track to become prime minister and lead Labor to government for the first time since 2013. Pictured: People voting in the seat of Brunswick on Saturday, May 18, 2019

Activewear was everywhere in Paddington. Hundreds turned out to vote in the weekend staple
A convicted paedophile rapist who paid foreign mothers to send him photos of naked girls as young as 10 has been jailed for four years.

Colin Broadwith, 64, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of soliciting and possessing child exploitation material at Warwick District Court in Queensland on Friday, the Chronicle reports.

He was found with a stash of child exploitation videos and pictures when police seized his laptop, phone and USB after raiding his Applethorpe home in December 2017.

Broadwith was previously sentenced to eight years in prison with a non-parole period of six years for taking photos while abusing a nine-year-old girl in Darwin in 2006.

Colin Broadwith, 64, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of soliciting and possessing child exploitation material at Warwick District Court in Queensland on Friday (stock image)

The 64-year-old man asked for naked pictures of young girls aged between 10 and 14 to be sent to him in online chat threads with adult Asian women.

He would negotiate a price, transfer money and receive the pictures in emails.

Videos and photos of sexual acts between children and adults were found on his laptop and USB.

There was software on his phone to record and save videos he liked online.

Crown prosecutor Chontelle Farnsworth said 'crimes of this nature are not victimless crimes'.

'In his appalling criminal history... it demonstrates his blatant disregard for the law and his disregard for children,' she said.

Broadwith has a rape conviction, multiple counts of indecent treatment of children and abuse of children under 13 across Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

He was jailed for eight years in 2006 for photographing his abuse of a nine-year-old girl and forcing her to watch porn in 2003.

Crown prosecutor Chontelle Farnsworth said 'crimes of this nature are not victimless crimes' (stock image)

Defence lawyer David Jones said Broadwith saw his mother being physically abused when he was a child.

'It's the case that from a young age he witnesses things he shouldn't have,' Mr Jones told the court.

He highlighted Broadwith entered an early guilty plea and had a good work history.

Judge Nathan Jarro acknowledged Broadwith had shown co-operation with the early guilty plea but failed to comply with his restrictions as a convicted offender.

Broadwith was required to report any social media profiles he had but failed to do so.

'Your criminal history in my view is appalling,' Judge Jarro said.

Broadwith was sentenced to four years in prison with a two-year non parole period.
Bill Shorten was seen jogging through Melbourne on Saturday morning wearing a shirt that read: 'Vote 1 Chloe Shorten's husband'

Labor leader Bill Shorten's election day jogging T-shirt saying 'Vote 1 Chloe Shorten's husband' was stolen from a comedy skit that ruthlessly mocked his unpopularity.

Election favourite Mr Shorten ran through his hometown of Melbourne on Saturday before polls opened with the slogan emblazoned on his chest.

The Opposition Leader has been asked why Australians don't seem to personally like him throughout the entire 2019 federal election campaign.

In a skit, SBS's The Feed tried to help out by tasking a fake PR firm with making him 'mildly likable'.

In the clip, two female brand managers are seen trying to work out how to best promote the Opposition Leader.

After some thinking, the pair stumble across a picture of Chloe, and immediately decide they feel 'warm and safe inside her gaze'.

'She's modern chic but with a retro feel,' one branding expert said.

'Yes!' the other woman said. 'I would vote for her... next of kin.'

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The shirt is a nod to a sketch performed on SBS's skit show The Feed, where a PR firm is tasked with making the Labor Leader 'mildly likable', and find his wife is his best asset

Mr Shorten appears to have agreed with their findings, as Chloe Shorten (left) has been prominent during the Opposition Leader's campaign for the top job

Mr Shorten apparently loved what SBS's comedians came up with.

The clip was broadcast in February, with Mr Shorten showing he approved of the new slogan by retweeting it, captioning the video: 'genius!'

Mrs Shorten has been a hit with voters, and the Labor Party have been eager to promote her as a softening agent to her, at times, wooden husband.

At a campaign event in April this year, Mr Shorten was introduced as 'the leader of the Australian Labor Party - Chloe Shorten's husband!'

Mr Shorten is very aware of his wife's impact on voters.

In his first tweet after the election was called, he shared a photo of himself and Chloe, telling followers having his 'best friend at his side' was a 'campaign essential'.
A father has been killed in a late-night car chase after an SUV he was travelling in crashed into a fuel tanker while he was escaping a gunman on Saturday night.

Daniel Clulow, 27, was at a party in the Illawarra region, south of Sydney, and left with three people after his friend became involved in a confrontation with another group.

Mr Clulow, his sister and a young woman and a man then got into a Ford Territory, before another car started chasing them along the Princes Highway at Albion Park, and fired shots at the car.

Daniel Clulow, 27, was killed in the early hours of Saturday morning after the car he was in crashed into a fuel tanker following a car chase that saw bullets fired at his car

Mr Clulow was diagnosed with a serious illness several years ago, and was told by doctors he only had a couple of years left to live

'I have been told they were being chased and someone pulled guns on them. His sister sped up to get away and crashed,' close family friend Leanne Shooter told the Daily Telegraph.

She said there was allegedly two cars that were speeding down the road, and the second car was shooting at the car in front.

A nearby witness confirmed hearing gun shots right before the car crash.

The first car then crashed into a fuel tanker truck outside a service station at 2.25 am on Saturday, and became wedged under the tank.

Mr Clulow died in the horrific crash, and the passengers and driver - believed to be his sister and another relative, were rushed to hospital where they're in stable conditions.

The car crashed into a fuel tanker truck outside a service station at 2.25 am on Saturday, and became wedged under the tank - killing 27-year-old father Daniel Clulow, and leaving three people in hospital

The 25-year-old woman behind the wheel of the Ford was airlifted to St George Hospital.

Police and emergency crews closed off the road as they tried to figure out what happened, and so far no arrests have been made.

Mr Clulow was diagnosed with a serious illness several years ago, and was told by doctors he only had a couple of years left to live.
Amnesty International have filed a lawsuit in an Israeli court following the WhatsApp security breach earlier this week, accusing intelligence firm NSO Group of failing to show due diligence in the export of their spyware software

Amnesty International have filed a lawsuit in Israel which says its staff may be under surveillance since the WhatsApp hacking scandal.

Amnesty are also petitioning the Israeli government for revocation of the NSO Group's export license - the cyber intelligence firm whose software WhatsApp said was behind the breach.

Facebook-owned messenger app, WhatsApp, said on Tuesday the security breach may have targeted human rights groups and that the sophisticated spyware deployed - known as Pegasus - was developed by NSO.

Amnesty's affidavit at the Israeli court said: 'Staff of Amnesty International have an ongoing and well-founded fear they may continue to be targeted and ultimately surveilled.'

British investor and philanthropist Stephen Peel, whose company Novalpina owns a controlling stake in NSO, co-singed a letter to Amnesty on Wednesday.

NSO Group's offices in Herzliya, Israel - they are accused of allowing their spyware to fall into the wrong hands

Novalpina, in their letter said it was 'determined to do whatever is necessary to ensure that NSO technology is used for the purpose for which it is intended the prevention of harm to fundamental human rights arising from terrorism and serious crime and not abused in a manner that undermines other equally fundamental human rights'.

NSO say they only sell their technology to law enforcement and intelligence agencies pursuing legitimate targets, such as terrorists and criminals.

Amnesty said in an emailed statement this week that NSO has 'again and again demonstrated their intent to avoid responsibility for the way their software is used,' and that only government intervention would change that.

NSO has not commented on any specific attacks, but following the WhatsApp breach it said it would investigate any 'credible allegations of misuse' of its technology which 'is solely operated by intelligence and law enforcement agencies'.

Novalpina said it intends to bring NSO's governance into alignment with United Nations principles and will seek insights from Amnesty and other groups 'into how best to achieve this important goal.'

Israel's Ministry of Defence declined to comment this week on Amnesty's petition against NSO's export licence.

WhatsApp said a vulnerability in the popular communications app let mobile phones be infected with sophisticated spyware

WhatsApp, one of the world's most popular messaging tools which is used by 1.5 billion people monthly, said it had notified the U.S. Department of Justice to help with an investigation into the breach and encouraged its users to update to the latest version of the app, where the breach had been fixed.

One target of the new WhatsApp exploit was a United Kingdom-based human rights lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The lawyer is helping a Saudi dissident and several Mexican journalists mount civil cases against NSO for its alleged role in selling hacking tools to the Saudi and Mexican governments, which they allege were used to hack into their phones.
Seven police officers, from a force that previously racially drisciminated against an Asian officer, will be investigated for gross misconduct in relation to anti-terror laws potentially being used to spy on journalists and former colleagues.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct launched Operation Forbes last year partly to investigate the Cleveland Police's use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).

The RIPA concerns the use of surveillance equipment and is intended to be only be used in the interests of crime prevention and national security.

Seven officers from Cleveland Police will be investigated in relation to anti-terror laws potentially being used to spy on journalists and former colleagues.

The same Yorkshire police force was found in 2017 to have used the act unlawfully to spy on three journalists, with then-chief constable Iain Spittal forced to subsequently apologise to those affected.

On Friday, the IOPC said the new investigation into the force had reached 'a significant milestone' and that seven officers, including five that have now retired, and one member of staff were served with notices of gross misconduct.

The watchdog said Operation Forbes was 'not currently a criminal investigation' and the notices were 'not a finding of guilt but to inform an officer, or member of staff, that they are under investigation'.

Operation Forbes was launched to investigate three different strands of potential misconduct within Cleveland Police.

The second strand relates to now-retired officer Nadeem Saddique.

In 2016, Mr Saddique was awarded 457,664 in compensation from Cleveland Police after it was found he was racially discriminated because of his Asian background.

Former Cleveland Police officer Nadeem Saddique was awarded 457,664 in compensation after it was found he was racially discriminated against because of his Asian background

Mr Saddique alleged during the investigation that he was forced out of the firearms unit because of his ethnicity.

The IPOC said its enquiries into this case have concluded and that 'a final report will soon be sent to the force for their consideration'.

Operation Forbes' third strand relates to an Equality Review that was carried out by Cleveland Police in 2011.

The IOPC said that investigations are ongoing but 'we can confirm no notices have been served and this is not a criminal investigation'.

IOPC regional director Miranda Biddle said: 'This remains a complex, multi-strand, operation.

'It continues to involve a considerable amount of evidence, which is why these investigations are taking time to complete; we must be thorough in our analysis and explore every available avenue.

'With regard to the investigation relating to the use of the RIPA, the serving of the notices follows detailed conduct assessments. '

She added: 'The decision to serve notices of such severity is not taken lightly, and must meet a specific threshold.

'We have very carefully considered the evidence available to us, at this time, and made the decision to investigate the actions of the identified police officers and member of staff.'
Julie Bishop has donned a black dress for the live TV coverage of the election, but swears she's not mourning a loss.

The former Foreign Minister was welcomed to the panel of Nine New's Federal Election coverage, as polling edged towards closing on Saturday evening.

Ms Bishop, who famously wore a bedazzled blue dress for the Federal Budget, opted for a black outfit which caught the eye of the panel.

Julie Bishop has donned a black dress for the live TV coverage of the election

'You're wearing black - for a wake? Is it going to be a victory,' she was asked.

Ms Bishop said her choice in tone was not reflective of the result but rather the Liberal Party's budget.

'It means we are back in black. This is about being back in surplus,' she explained.

'I don't think we can decisively predict at this stage who will win.'

'It will either be a Coalition with a third term in government, if Labor win, it will be the only eights time since the Second World.'

Ms Bishop was also quizzed about claims the party would have a better chance of winning if she was to be the face of their campaign.

'Well, we will never know, as I'm not in this campaign,' she said.

'It means we are back in Black. This is about being back in surplus,' she explained

Ms Bishop remained faithful to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and referred to last year's leadership spill.

'I put my hand forward, but the party chose Scott Morrison,' she said.

'We cannot criticise the work Scott Morrison has won this campaign.

'He has been unrelenting and very energetic.'

Ms Bishop then relayed the saying 'que sera sera' which translates to 'whatever will be, will be'.

Nine News will use the 'Bish Boot', a graphic of Ms Bishop's iconic red heel, to 'boot' politicians out of the office when they lose their seats (pictured)

Nine News will use the 'Bish Boot', a graphic of Ms Bishop's iconic red heel, to 'boot' politicians out of the office when they lose their seats.

Ms Bishop wore the shoes - red satin with bejewelled heels - when she announced her resignation as minister last year.

She remembered them fondly, describing them as her 'functional work boot'.

The shoes, which she only wore once, were donated to the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House.
A woman was arrested after a group of vegans wearing pig masks and spraying fake blood stormed a branch of McDonald's.

The gang of more than 20 animal rights campaigners marched into a branch of the burger chain in Brighton on Friday evening spraying fake blood on the floors.

Diners looked on as they chanted and held up signs saying: 'Dairy is Scary' and 'Until Every Animal is Free' before staging a sit-in.

A female activist, who sprayed fake blood on the floor of a McDonald's in Brighton before sitting in it while wearing a pig mask, has been arrested

The group, Direction Action Everywhere (DxE) staged the protest which saw at least 20 activists wearing animal masks while holding up signs saying 'Dairy is scary' and 'I want to live'

Officers from Sussex Police arrived at the branch and arrested the masked woman before carrying her out of the restaurant

One female protester wearing a pig mask smeared fake blood across the floor before sitting in it.

Officers from Sussex Police arrived at the branch and arrested the masked woman before carrying her from the restaurant and into a waiting police van.

The incident was the latest in a wave of attacks by the same organisation, Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) who have staged protests in Waitrose, Jamie Oliver's restaurant and the Touro steakhouse.

On their Facebook page the group wrote: 'The fake blood I spilt is nothing compared to the real blood McDonald's has spilt.'

The woman appeared to resist arrest and stayed on the ground until she was lifted up by police

On their Facebook page the group wrote: 'The fake blood I spilt is nothing compared to the real blood McDonald's has spilt'

The group said: 'Direct Action Everywhere is an international animal rights network dedicated to making animal liberation happen in our lifetime by using non-violent direct action to put the issue of animal rights on the table'

They say: 'Direct Action Everywhere is an international animal rights network dedicated to making animal liberation happen in our lifetime by using non-violent direct action to put the issue of animal rights on the table.

'This is the Brighton chapter of DxE and we aim to empower activists to take strong and confident action wherever animals are being enslaved, killed or exploited, and create a world where animal liberation is a reality.'

While some social media users stand in support of the group's actions, others weren't so impressed.

One Facebook user, Ian Marshall, said: 'How heroic to frighten children.

Some social media users stood in support of the group while others blasted the activists for scaring children that could have been in the restaurant

One Facebook user, Ian Marshall, wrote: 'How heroic to frighten children'

Another user, Kai Fenn, defended the group's action by saying: 'There were literally babies murdered for those hamburgers. Are you oblivious?'

'You're all c****.'

But another user, Kai Fenn, defended the group's action by saying: 'There were literally babies murdered for those hamburgers. Are you oblivious?'

The group posted a picture of the protest on Twitter and wrote: 'We had our first arrest tonight.

'We will do what ever it takes to STOP the needless, systematic abuse of animals.'

Last month the group stormed a branch of Greggs in Brighton to protest the sale of meat despite the bakery boasting of huge sales of their vegan sausage rolls

The group have also previously stormed a Brighton steakhouse and forced diners to listen to the sounds of animals being slaughtered

A spokesman for McDonald's said: 'We are supporting the police with their ongoing investigation and apologise to any customers adversely impacted by this incident'

This sparked a reaction from one user who said: 'What did this achieve, other than wasting police resources?'

Last month the group stormed a branch of Greggs in Brighton to protest the sale of meat despite the bakery boasting of huge sales of their vegan sausage rolls.

Sales at Greggs climbed to an all time high earlier this year after the company announced the meat-free product.

A spokesman for McDonald's said: 'We can confirm an incident took place in our London Road restaurant last night.

'Due to the mess and damage caused, the restaurant was closed from 7:30pm whilst the team worked hard to return the restaurant to normal and we reopened at 5am today.

'We are supporting the police with their ongoing investigation and apologise to any customers adversely impacted by this incident.'
Lawrence of Arabia poses in local garb at Aqaba in Jordan in 1917

Lawrence of Arabia's mythical status may never have been were it not for a miraculous escape from an air disaster in 1919.

T.E Lawrence was hauled from the plane in Rome with a broken shoulder blade and two broken ribs, while the pilot and co-pilot both died.

His convalescence in a Roman hospital, during which he was visited by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, allowed him begin his autobiographical account of his wartime experiences 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom.'

He had been flying to Cairo to gather his papers from his time as a liaison officer in the Arab Revolt.

The near-fatal journey in the brand new Handley Page Type O bi-plane bomber, among 50 being tested, was recounted at a ceremony to honour the RAF pilots who died in the crash on Friday, The Times reported.

The RAF's bomber was being put through its paces for a proposed new route to India, in the first days of long-haul flying.

Lawrence was sat in the bomb bay as pilots 2nd Lieutenant Frederick Prince, 27, and 2nd Lieutenant Sidney Spratt, 19, began their descent into Centocelle air base.

The protestant cemetery in Rome where pilots 2nd Lieutenant Frederick Prince, 27, and 2nd Lieutenant Sidney Spratt, 19, are buried

Prince came in fast - unaccustomed to the Italian wind indicators - and at around 20ft from the ground his right wing smashed into tree, bringing the plane crashing to a road on the outskirts of the airbase.

The pilots died but Lawrence was pulled out by Frederick Daw, another airman on board.

Sydney Spratt, 19, was the young co-pilot killed at Centocelle

He later received a 10 note from Lawrence who wrote: 'Will you buy yourself some trifle to remind you of our rather rough landing at Rome? I was not at all comfortable hanging up in the wreck and felt very grateful to you for digging me out.'

The pilots were buried at Rome's protestant cemetery.

Prince's niece Jackie Clews, 71, attended the ceremony in Rome telling The Times: 'To have survived the First World War only to die like this was tragic.'

'These courageous pilots were testing aircraft in ways that had never been used before,' Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood said at the ceremony, The Times reported.

A week after the accident, Lawrence carried on his journey to Cairo to retrieve the notes for his book.

As his legend grew he applied to work for the RAF under a fake name. The interviewing officer put it to Lawrence that John Hume Ross was not his real name and he confessed it was not.

Aircraftsman T.E. Shaw - better known as Lawrence of Arabia while working for the RAF after the First World War

But he returned sometime later with an RAF messenger who carried a letter stating that Lawrence must be accepted.

After his identity was exposed a few years later he was forced out but later readmitted under the name T.E Shaw.

The eventual publication of 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom' in 1925 brought yet more renown and he was brought back to Britain in 1928 after working in Pakistan and India where rumours had spread he was working as a spy.

Colonel T.E Lawrence with American writer and broadcaster Lowell Thomas in Arabia during the First World War.

Lawrence of Arabia on his Brough Superior SS100 motorcycle in his RAF days - he was killed on the bike in 1925, aged just 46

Having survived the horrific air crash, Lawrence was killed while riding his motorcycle in Dorset close to his cottage in 1935.

A dip in the road had obscured his view of two lads on bicycles and as he swerved away from them he was thrown over the handlebars of his Brough Superior SS100 bike.

He died in hospital six days later. He was just 46.
Australia is among only a dozen countries that enforce compulsory voting - and the consequences of failing to cast a ballot can be more serious than people believe.

Citizens who fail to vote can be fined and those who do not pay can have their driving licences taken away or even be forced to do community service.

The fine for not voting in the federal election is $20. But it can get much worse than that.

Beachgoers from the electoral district of Coogee vote at the Bondi Beach Surf Club in Sydney in 2007

The Electorial Commission South Australia posted this image to show the penalties for not paying the fine

If a voter fails to pay the modest fine, the figure racks up in stages to a maximum of $180.

If they still fail to pay, the Australian Electoral Commission can take them to court to force them to cough up.

This happened in 2016 to Darwin pensioner Frank Bost who refused to vote on principle.

He pleaded guilty to violating section 245 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act of 1918 and was ordered to pay $308 which included the fine and the AEC's legal fees.

The Australian Electoral Commission website says: 'Anyone who chooses not to pay the court-ordered fine will be dealt with by the Court accordingly, and this may involve community service orders, seizure of goods, or other court imposed sanctions.'

It can get more even more serious than that.

When Tasmanian woman Emma Louise Pearce failed to vote at the 2016 federal election, it ended with her getting slapped with a criminal conviction.

Ms Pearce was taken to court by Commonwealth prosecutors and said she disagreed with the voting system.

The court then hit her with a $180 fine, legal costs plus the criminal sanction.

A beachgoer votes at Bondi Beach in Sydney during the federal election of 2007

Australian Opposition Leader Bill Shorten hands out election material for local Labor candidate for Reid Sam Crosby to commuters at Rhodes train station in Sydney

LOSING YOUR DRIVER'S LICENCE AND HAVING YOUR CAR SEIZED: THE CONSEQUENCES OF FAILING TO VOTE AT STATE ELECTIONS

The fine for not voting in the New South Wales state election is $55.

A voter must respond within 28 days of the issue date of the penalty notice and if they do not pay, they will be referred to Revenue NSW.

The agency can issue a penalty notice enforcement order which can lead to the cancellation or suspension of driver's licence, or the cancellation of a car registration.

In Queensland, the fine is $126.15 for not voting.

Outstanding cases are referred to the State Penalties Enforcement Registry for further action.

The body can suspend a driving licence, seize a vehicle and even take money from wages.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison poses for photographs with supporters as he visits the Golden Century Seafood Restaurant in Sydney

In Victoria the fine is $81.00, rising to $106.10 if not paid within 28 days.

If a person fails to pay then the matter is referred to Fines Victoria which has the power to wheel clamp, cancel a car registration, and seize property.

In South Australia the fine is $70, rising to $125. Penalties can include losing a driving licence, having wages taken and assets frozen.

In Western Australia the penalty for first time offenders is $20 but this increases to $50 if the person has previously paid a penalty or been convicted of this offence.

If a person fails to pay a fine, the matter is referred to the Fines Enforcement Registry which can suspend a driving licence.

In Tasmania the fine is also $20 and can be referred to the Monetary Penalties Enforcement Service which can impose community service orders.
Clive Palmer has claimed credit Scott Morrison's victory in Australia's federal election - but his party failed to win a single seat.

Mr Palmer sunk $60 million into advertising for his United Australia Party and his fluoro yellow marketing material has been inescapable in the media since the beginning of the year.

But the eccentric billionaire has only won 3.5 per cent nationally, which political experts said was a very poor return on investment.

'Clive ... got a donut, a big fat zero, and that's one of the best things to come out of this election tonight because you shouldn't be able to buy your way to power,' said Nine political editor Chris Uhlmann.

Clive Palmer's $60 million advertising splurge may have only won him three per cent of the vote - as it's revealed he hired models to pose as United Australia 'volunteers'

But despite his low numbers, Mr Palmer said Mr Morrison would not be the next PM without his party.

'It's clear Scott Morrison has been returned as Prime Minister and he's only done so because of the 3.5 per cent of the vote of the United Australia Party,' Mr Palmer said.

'I think our 'Shifty Shorten' ads across Australia have been very successful in suppressing the Labor vote.'

Top Labor figures reportedly told the ABC they 'got killed' by the billionaire's preferences in Queensland.

However, Mr Palmer's UAP looks unlikely to win a Senate seat and only won 3.3 per cent in his home state of Queensland.

The United Australia Party leader continued his spending spree on election day by allegedly hiring 30 models from Platinum Model Management to man polling booths in Cairns.

One of the 'volunteers' at Freshwater State High School was Dylan Coates (pictured), who appeared in a Facebook post by Platinum Model Management on Monday

Suspiciously attractive young people donned bright yellow United Australia Party T-shirts and handed out how-to-vote cards at school polling booths across Cairns.

One of the 'volunteers' at Freshwater State High School was Dylan Coates, who appeared in a Facebook post by Platinum Model Management on Monday.

He was not able to answer any questions about Clive Palmer's policies when asked by a journalist.

Platinum Model Management made a post on Wednesday calling for 30 promotional staff to work on Election Day in Cairns.

Mr Coates is a blonde-haired bartender who is a 194cm-tall model and 'starting out' in the industry, according to a Star Now profile.

Coates was not able to answer any questions about Clive Palmer's policies when asked by a journalist

Platinum Model Management made a post (pictured) on Wednesday calling for 30 promotional staff to work on Election Day in Cairns

The paid volunteer accusations come after Palmer reportedly spent $60 million on his election campaign.

Inescapable 'make Australia great' advertisements were plastered billboards, websites, televisions and radios across the country.
Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos told an ABC panel on Saturday night the party was 'hoping for the best but bracing for losses'.

The Sydney man, who has been in Parliament since 2011, also delivered a subtle dig at Prime Minister Scott Morrison, calmly reflecting he had 'operated more as an Oposition Leader' during the campaign.

'People are hoping for the best but bracing for potential losses because, frankly, this contest seems to be a whole series of contests across the country,' Mr Sinodinos remarked.

Early polling data suggests a swing against the Liberals, with former Prime Minister Tony Abbott - who has held his seat for 25 years - expected to lose his seat to Independent Zali Steggall.

He claimed Labor's high polling numbers over the past few weeks had changed the way each party campaigned, and appeared to criticise Liberal Leader Scott Morrison's approach.

'There are generational divides, regional divides... and Bill Shorten, in this campaign, has had a scrutiny he didnt have in 2016 when we were expected to win and win by a fair bit,' Mr Sinodinos said.

'I think has changed the dynamic of this campaign and you have had a Prime Minister who has operated more as Opposition Leader, in effect, trying to drag down the front runner.'

Mr Sinodinos has served in the Liberal Party since 2011, and was a minister in the Abbott and Turnbull Governments.

He was forced to stop working when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but returned to Parliament in February.

Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos criticised PM Scott Morrison for 'acting like an Opposition Leader' during the 2019 election campaign

Mr Sinodinos (pictured) also said the party were 'bracing for losses' after a shocking series of Newspoll losses to the Labor Party

The Coalition has lost more than 50 Newspolls in a row, with one conducted the night before the election pointing to a comfortable Labor win in the 2019 Federal Election.

Labor Senator Penny Wong agreed with Mr Sinodinos, telling the panel the campaign had been 'unusual' because of each leader's behaviour.

'Youve got a Prime Minister who is running the negative small-target scare campaign strategy and you have got the Opposition Leader, who is campaigning on policy and what a vision for the next term is,' she said.

Labor is expected to win Saturday night's election, with an exit poll from Nine News suggesting Shorten would lead his party to victory by a four-point margin, 52-48.
Jayden Ryder died aged 18 last year after her car swerved into an oncoming Audi

An 18-year-old girl driving her boyfriend home died after her Fiat 500 was steered into oncoming traffic, an inquest has concluded.

Jayden Ryder, who was in the car with her partner Ryan Wiffen, died after her vehicle crossed over the central line of the road and crashed into an oncoming Audi A3.

The head on collision took place on the B6287 between Ferryhill and Kirk Merrington in County Durham on the evening of February 2 last year.

Mr Wiffen, who has since been disqualified for dangerous driving in a separate incident, refused to give evidence on the first day of the hearing.

But after seeking legal advice, he cooperated with Assistant Coroner Oliver Longstaff on the final day of the inquest.

After hearing the 20-year-old's evidence, the coroner said that he did not find his account to be 'reliable'.

When Mr Wiffen was formally released as a witness at the inquest, a member of Ms Ryder's family lunged towards him, before being stopped by police.

Crook Coroner's Court in County Durham heard how on the evening of the incident, Mr Wiffen had been drinking alcohol at his boss's home before Ms Ryder picked him up in her car.





Mr Wiffen said in a statement to police the pair pulled over briefly and had a conversation about ordering Chinese food.

But data taken from a black box installed in Ms Ryder's car shows the Fiat pulled over for a period of 38 minutes.

The crash happened on the B6287 between Ferryhill and Kirk Merrington in County Durham in February last year

During that time, Mr Wiffen's mother told police she received a phone call from Ms Ryder, who asked her to tell him to pay back money he owed her.

Messages were also read out in court between the mother and her daughter in which she asked her to 'sort Ryan's stuff' because he was 'blagging my head'.

When asked if the couple were going to split up that evening, Mr Wiffen said no and that they were 'always winding each other up'.

He also told police that he had not done anything, deliberate or otherwise, to result in his girlfriend's death.

Mr Wiffen said: 'I have done nothing, I don't think I'm responsible for anything.'

He said he experienced a blackout and could not remember the moments leading up to the crash.

He also said he did not grab the steering wheel.

Mr Wiffen told police he was a careful driver and had never driven Ms Ryder's car.

Emotions ran high at the inquest at Crook Coroner's Court (pictured) as a relative of Ms Ryder tried to lunge at Mr Wiffen

The inquest heard how he has since lost his licence after he was convicted for dangerous driving in January of this year.

Mr Wiffen told police he had experienced two flashbacks from February 2 - the first of glass smashing, air coming into the car and seeing Ms Ryder, and the second of an oncoming car veering into the Fiat.

He told police: 'We were just going along and then they were coming into us.'

However that was ruled out when PC Robin Turner of Durham Police's Collision Investigation Unit said the incident could not have taken place anywhere other than on the opposite side of the road, and that the Fiat 500 had veered onto the wrong side of the carriageway.

He said: 'All I can say is that there's been a steered input but where it's come from I can't say.'

The driver of the oncoming Audi A3 described the Fiat as 'violently swerving' into his car.

After Mr Wiffen was released at the inquest, a member of Ms Ryder's family lunged towards him before he was stopped.

The relative later apologised to the coroner and said his emotions had got the better of him.

Mr Longstaff said all possibilities of why Jayden's car suddenly swerved remained speculative until proved otherwise and that police reports had stopped short of expressing a conclusion.

He said: 'In blunt terms, the Fiat was driven into the Audi. There were two occupants, Jayden Ryder and Ryan Wiffen.

'Mr Wiffen was an unwilling witness in an obviously hostile environment. He came to court refusing to answer any questions.

'Eventually an account was placed on the record, the transcript of three interviews given to police. That account I do not find to be reliable.

'His account is not substantiated by the data from the black box, the evidence of mobile phone records or his employer.'

He added that blackouts are not unknown but that Ryan could not have it both ways by claiming he had no memory of the event but also asserting that he did not grab the steering wheel.

Assistant coroner Mr Longstaff returned a narrative verdict, stating that Ms Ryder died after the car she was driving crossed over the central line of the road and into an oncoming Audi A3.

He thanked Durham Police for their efforts, particularly for the 'painstaking task of putting the cars back together'.

Mr Longstaff also praised the Ryder family and the passenger of the Audi, Peter French, who was seriously injured in the crash.

He added: 'He is to be praised for his courage in coming to court and for the manner in which he has expressed his concerns.'

In a statement released following Ms Ryder's death, her family said: 'It is with deepest regret that we announce the death of our beautiful daughter Jayden Ryder who was involved in a fatal road traffic collision in Ferryhill on Friday, February 2.

'Jay was a much loved daughter and granddaughter who will be sadly missed by everyone.

'There is now an empty space in our hearts. Until we see you again, Daddy's girl, who has turned into God's special angel.

'We wish to thank everyone for their support through this sad time.'
He was speaking at a ticketed event at the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh

Described Sturgeon's attempts for Scottish independence while being pro-EU as 'most dishonest political discourse I've ever seen anywhere in the world'

Nigel Farage has asked pro-independence voters to 'lend their votes' to his party

Nigel Farage has made a pitch to SNP voters in Scotland, saying Scottish independence while still in the EU is the 'most dishonest political discourse I've ever seen anywhere in the world'.

Urging pro-independence voters to 'lend your votes to the Brexit Party', Mr Farage told a passionate rally in Edinburgh that the party was set to revolutionise British politics.

He told supporters, who had paid 2.50 to attend the event in the Scottish capital: 'Our politics is full of deception because here in Scotland we have the extraordinary situation where Nicola Sturgeon talks about independence.

'She says that separating from the United Kingdom but staying part of the European Union means that Scotland will be independent.

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Nigel Farage attends a rally with the Brexit Partys European election candidates at the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh on May 17, 2019 in Edinburgh, Scotland

'It is, I think, the most dishonest political discourse I've ever seen anywhere in the world.

'You cannot be independent if you're governed from the European Court of Justice. You cannot be independent if you're in the EU's customs union and single market. You cannot be independent if you're governed by Monsieur Barnier and Mr Juncker.'

He suggested that up to 30% of SNP voters do not want to be part of the EU, and added: 'Even though I'm very unionist, I would say to those voters: unless we get Brexit, you cannot really have an intelligent debate about Scotland's future.

Farage also suggested that up to 30 per cent of SNP voters do not want to be part of the EU, adding that Scotland should leave the EU with the rest of the UK before it can have an 'intelligent' debate on Scotland's future

'Actually, what you ought to do folks, is at this election lend your votes to the Brexit Party. Let's get out of the European Union and then have an honest debate about the future of Scotland.'

Responding to comments by Scottish candidate Louis Stedman-Bryce that the party would not stand in the way of a second independence referendum, Mr Farage told reporters: 'He said he wouldn't stand in the way of it, but he also said that - given that it was said at the time that it was a once-in-a-generation vote - it shouldn't happen for a very long time.

Farage criticised Nicola Sturgeon's attempts to keep Scotland in the Eu while campaigning for Scottish independence as 'most dishonest political discourse I've ever seen anywhere in the world'. Pictured: The First Minister joins SNP candidates to launch the party's manifesto for the European election in Glasgow

Anti-racism demonstrators protest outside the corn Exchange against a rally being attended by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party

'The same thing applies to the Brexit referendum, we were told this was a once-in-a-generation decision.'

Nicola Sturgeon used the SNP's European Election to urge voters to use next weeks European elections to 'stand up for Scotlands right to be heard'.

With the majority of Scots having voted against Brexit in the 2016 referendum, the First Minister said the ballot on Thursday would allow people north of the border 'to proclaim our determination to remain a European nation'.

Launching the SNP European election manifesto in Glasgow, she stated: 'At this election we can send the powerful message that Scotland is for Europe.'

The new data, from Opinium, predicts the Brexit Party will earn more votes than the Labour Party and the Tories combined in the European elections

The same poll also found that 28% of voters would back Jeremy Corbyn's party in a General Election, ahead of Theresa May's Conservatives on 22% - with the Brexit Party in third with 21%

Farage's call to independence supporters comes as new polling suggest The Brexit Party could earn more votes than Labour and the Conservatives combined in the European Parliament elections.

In an Opinium poll published in the Observer has predicted that Nigel Farage's new party will hoover up 34 per cent of the vote.

More worryingly, a ComRes poll in the Sunday Telegraph suggested it could even beat the Tories in a General election, two extraordinary polls revealed this morning.

The polls are terrible news for Theresa May, pictured here attending church near her Maidenhead constituency this morning

The survey of voting intentions put Brexit on 21 per cent to the Conservatives' 20, which would see Farage's team win 49 seats, becoming the UK's second biggest party after Labour, with 137.

At the Edinburgh rally, Farage was also asked about receiving 450,000 of funding from Aaron Banks in the year after the 2016 referendum - a claim he earlier denied but one that Mr Banks reportedly confirmed - Mr Farage claimed that the issue was a private matter.

He said: 'Whatever happened after the referendum, I was leaving politics, it was happening mostly in America, had nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with the Brexit Party, it was purely on a personal basis.

'I was looking for a new career and a new life, it's got nothing to do with anything. It's a purely private matter.'

Pressed on whether he declared it, he said: 'Of course not, of course not. It's a purely private matter, non-political in absolutely every way.

'It was me, in America, seeking a new media career which I was looking forward to until Brexit was denied and so I'm back now in politics.'
Conservative political commentator Alan Jones has attracted attention online for wearing a garish peppermint green suit during live election TV coverage.

The radio host appeared in a live cross with Sky News and on a Channel 7 panel as the Federal Election vote counts rolled in on Saturday evening.

But voters tuning in for results were more than put-off by suit, taking to Twitter to question the bold choice.

Alan Jones has attracted attention online for wearing a peppermint green suit during live election TV coverage

Voters tuning in for results were more than put-off by suit, taking to Twitter to question the bold choice

'Goodness me Alan Jones, I didn't know they made a suit that bad it's actually hurting my eyes, can CH 7 colour adjust or something,' one person said.

'1) Why is Alan Jones on Ch7 election coverage instead of his cherished SkyNews? & 2) who on earth told him a lime green suit was a good idea?!' said another.

'Did Alan Jones look in the mirror before he walked out the door? What the hell is with that suit?' another said.

Another Twitter user said Mr Jones had dressed for a St Patrick's Day theme.

'Alan Jones has busted out the peppermint linen suit and has an opinion on why people pre-poll, and how it probably means the result will be wrong,' tweeted another.

Record numbers of Australians chose to vote ahead of Saturday, with more than 4.7 million early votes cast.

The radio host appeared in a live cross with Sky News and on a Channel 7 panel as the Federal Election vote counts rolled in on Saturday evening

'Did Alan Jones look in the mirror before he walked out the door,' one person quipped

The Australian Electoral Commission previously said the large amount of early votes could delay the counting process

The Australian Electoral Commission previously said the large amount of early votes could delay the counting process.

Not all viewers were put off by Mr Jones' suit but rather commended the fashion move.

'I see Alan Jones is this weeks guest judge on Ru Paul's Drag Race... Nice suit mate!' one person tweeted.

'Alan Jones looking ravishing in his pale green suit #Auspol #Ausvotes,' tweeted another.

Not all viewers were put off by Mr Jones' suit but rather commended the fashion move

While speaking with Sky News, Mr Jones said he was 'confused' by the election predictions.

'I find it very difficult, to know where Bill Shorten's gonna get his 76 seats from as I've gone in some depth across the country, a lot of it is hope and problematical,' he said.

'But the bookies don't lie and the bookies have Scott Morrison at almost $8 and the Labor Party at Winx odds.

'The bookies know something that I don't know.'

Mr Jones also spoke about the campaign in Warringah, a seat which was held by former Prime Minster Tony Abbott for 25 years.

'I think the campaign in this electorate has been absolutely disgraceful and some people have got a lot to answer for,' he said.

'This is a former prime minister, a decent and honourable man.'
I'm going to do something which I did 25 years ago, in a earlier speech at this club.

And that was the speech I gave at my pre-selection. I'm going to move this lectern out of the way.

Well, first, I want to say to all of you that tonight we've got good news and, yes, we've got a little bit of bad news. But the good news is much more important than the bad news.

The good news is that there is every chance that the Liberal-National Coalition has won this election!

This - this is a really extraordinary result. It is a stupendous result. It is a great result for Scott Morrison and the rest of the wider Liberal team, and Scott Morrison will now, quite rightly, enter the Liberal pantheon forever.

So... So, of course, it's disappointing for us here in Warringah, but what matters is what's best for the country. And what's best for the country is not so much who wins or loses Warringah, but who forms, or does not form, a government in Canberra.

And tonight we can be extraordinarily confident, more confident than we ever had any right to expect, that we will have continued good Liberal-National government.

Now... I have to say that once we had the result in the Wentworth by-election, uh, six months or so back, I always knew it was going to be tough here in Warringah. And I can't say that it doesn't hurt to lose. But I decided back then, in October of last year, that if I had to lose, so be it. I'd rather be a loser than a quitter.

And I do acknowledge the fierce and ultimately successful campaign that has been waged by my political opponents in this speech. I do congratulate Zali Steggall on what is a magnificent win for her.

And I hope that she will have the long and successful career as local member that the people of Warringah deserve.

But I think we can see that there is something of a realignment of politics going on right around this country. It's clear that in what might be described as 'working seats', we are doing so much better.

It's also clear that in at least some of what might be described as 'wealthy seats', we are doing it tough, and the Green left is doing better.

But the truth is that if you believe that the most important thing is to raise people up, if you believe that the most important thing is to give people a better life, the fact that so many people in seats that might be thought of as doing it tough are now looking to our party for leadership is a great tribute and a great credit.

To our party, to our Government.

Over the next few days and weeks, I suspect there will be a great deal of analysis of the part that climate change did, or did not, play in the Warringah outcome. And let me just say this, as my first word, if not necessarily my last word, on this subject.

Where climate change is a moral issue, we Liberals do it tough. But where climate change is an economic issue, as a result, tonight shows we do very, very well.

It's often said that all public lives end badly. But I'm certainly not going to let one bad day spoil 25 great years.

I'm incredibly proud of all that I've done. Obviously, there are some things that, with the wisdom of hindsight, might have been done differently and better. But I've gotta say that I can look back on the last 25 years - and I do look back on the last 25 years - with immense pride and satisfaction.

And I'm incredibly proud of the fact thatso far, I am one of just four people in history who has led our party from opposition into government in Canberra. And I hope that the Morrison Government has such a long life that it's a long time until there is a fifth.

Finally, some thankyous.

I don't believe that the Warringah campaign could have done more or done better. I think every aspect of our campaign was as good as it humanly could have been under the circumstances. I want to thank Peter O'Hanlon for his outstanding job.

I thank Michelle Moffatt for her outstanding work as the deputy. And I think Roger Corbett, a really great Australian, for coming into the team as my conference president. I thank my staff. I could not have had a better, more loyal and more professional staff, particularly Sam Jackson-Hope.

I thank my family. Margie, you have been a wonderfully supportive spouse.I thank my children, two of whom can't be here tonight, but one of whom did a wonderful job of winning votes up at Allambie Heights School.

I thank my mum. We are all what our parents made us. And I thank my sisters, all three of whom were booth captains today. For the first time ever, uh, politics has finally become a family business.

Just as I bow out of it! Finally, I do want to say a big thankyou to the people of Warringah. I could not have achieved anything in public life but for the support that the people of Warringah have given me over 25 great years. My public life will, I imagine, go on. My life as member for Warringah will not.

But Warringah is the place I live. It's the place I will continue to serve. And I look forward to many, many more years living, working and serving in the greatest part of the greatest city of the greatest country on earth.
Airlines are being warned to exercise caution when flying over the Gulf 'due to heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the region'.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued the advisory Saturday, amid rising strain between the U.S. and Iran.

The FAA claims there is an 'increasing inadvertent risk' to commercial planes as they may be 'misidentified' and shot down.

They also warned that aircraft flying in the area could encounter 'inadvertent GPS interference and communications jamming, which could occur with little to no warning'.

The Gulf 'has become a major gateway for East-West travel in the aviation industry' reports Radio Farda, with flights from East Asia, Australia and India all crossing the region.

Thousands of Americans are on board those airliners every single day.

The FAA's warning comes just two days after President Donald Trump said he 'hopes' the U.S. is not headed for a full-scale war with Iran.

However, on Friday, he took to Twitter to declare that media reports claiming he wanted to avoid a conflict were 'fake news'.

The FAA claims there is an 'increasing inadvertent risk' to commercial planes flying across the Gulf as they may be 'misidentified'

The warning comes after Trump tweeted that reports he wanted to avoid a conflict were 'fake news'

Washington has deployed an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the region, and Trump's administration has also ordered non-essential diplomatic staff out of Iraq, citing threats from Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups.

Tensions have spiraled across the Middle East this week after America identified what it called a 'credible threat' from Iran.

The 'threat' is believed to have come from overhead images of small boats in the Gulf with fully-assembled Iranian missiles on board.

U.S. officials, unfamiliar with this tactic from Iran, believed they were about to be fired on as naval targets.

Combined with bomb attacks on four oil shipping vessels and attacks on two oil pumping stations earlier in the week, it persuaded officials that an attack was imminent.

Washington has deployed an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the region against what it claims is an imminent threat from Tehran

The White House however has sent mixed signals in recent days, amid multiple media reports of infighting in Trump's cabinet over how hard to push Washington's arch foe.

According to US media reports, Trump's long-hawkish national security advisor John Bolton is pushing a hard line on Iran, but others in the administration are resisting.

The White House and Pentagon have been under pressure to demonstrate the reason for the huge buildup in forces and heightened rhetoric of the past two weeks.

US coalition partners in Iraq had suggested earlier this week that the threat level there had not risen significantly, and members of Congress demanded to see the information behind the administration's apparent preparation for possible conflict.
A whistleblower who lifted the lid on a financial scandal has told of his fear banker Alistair Wilson was murdered as a result of the controversy.

Paul Moore was sacked in 2004 after raising the alarm over a loans strategy that would finally overwhelm bank giant HBoS, leading to a 20.5billion taxpayer bailout.

Mr Wilson, 30, a Bank of Scotland business banking manager, was shot dead at his home in Nairn in November 2004, weeks after Mr Moore lost his job as HBoS head of risk management.

Alistair Wilson (left), 30, a Bank of Scotland business banking manager, was shot dead at his home in Nairn weeks after Paul Moore (right) lost his job as HBoS head of risk management

Last night, Mr Moore, 53, said he believed there had been individuals who worked for the bank who would have 'gone to the ultimate degree' to cover up the scandal.

He said he had never been questioned by police about the case  and believes he should have been.

Mr Wilson was handed a blue envelope with the name 'Paul' on it shortly before he died.

Last night, police sources said it could not be 'ruled out' that Mr Moore was the Paul in question, but refused to discuss whether or not efforts had been made to interview him.

Former detective Peter Bleksley, 59  who wrote a book on the shooting, To Catch A Killer: My Hunt for the Truth Behind the Doorstep Murder  said it was possible Mr Moore was the 'Paul' mentioned on the envelope that was handed to Mr Wilson before he was killed.

Mr Bleksley believes it is 'possible' that someone who worked at the bank knew Mr Wilson may have been about to raise the alarm about some form of financial wrongdoing, by contacting Mr Moore.

A replica of the antique gun used to kill Mr Wilson at his home in Nairn in November 2004

Mr Moore, who now runs a financial consultancy south of the Border, said he did not know if the name on the envelope given to Mr Wilson referred to him, but added it was possible.

He said: 'I didn't know Mr Wilson but at the time I was the good practice manager and if there were any concerns about the way the bank was operating, I would be the person people should come to.

'I would not be surprised if there were people at the bank at the time who would have been prepared to go to the ultimate degree in this way  not necessarily themselves, but getting someone to do it.

'I haven't been questioned by police  and you would think they'd want to speak to me, wouldn't you?'

Two reviews by detectives from now-defunct Grampian Police, focusing on evidence and information gathered by Northern Constabulary in 2005 and 2006, failed to identify leads.

HBoS (whose headquarters in Edinburgh are pictured in 2008) was acquired by Lloyds in 2009 and subsequently needed a 20.5billion taxpayer cash injection to prevent its collapse

Mr Bleksley said: 'I am convinced the reason for Alistair's murder lies within his work.'

HBoS was acquired by Lloyds in 2009 and subsequently needed a 20.5billion cash injection from British taxpayers to prevent its collapse.

Mr Moore has previously said 'sales and marketing had got out of control' at HBoS by 2004.

The Mail put the allegations from Mr Bleksley and Mr Moore to Police Scotland, which would not discuss details of the inquiry.

Detective Superintendent Graeme Mackie said: 'The investigation into the murder of Alistair Wilson is active and we continue to review several possible motives around his death and will investigate any new information we receive.

'We are committed to bringing the offender to justice.'

HBoS declined to comment.
Talks with Labour on securing a Brexit deal also fell through due to a split over support for a second referendum

Polling suggested Conservatives are on track for worst election results in history

YouGov poll says 39% of party members want Johnson to replace May as PM

Farage claimed he doesn't know where Tory leadership hopeful stands on Brexit

Nigel Farage has said he does not know where Boris Johnson stands on Brexit in response to claims he could support the Tory leadership hopeful becoming prime minister.

He laughed off the suggestion of a pact between the political heavyweights ahead of a party rally in Edinburgh and questioned whether he could trust the leadership favourite.

A YouGov poll for the Times of party members currently has Johnson at 39 per cent to be the next party leader, far ahead of nearest rival Dominic Raab (13 per cent).

Yesterday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon claimed on Friday that Mr Johnson as PM backed by Mr Farage would be a 'nightmare' for Scotland.

Latest polling for the European elections cast a gloomy picture for May's Conservatives, who are expected to have their worst results in the vote's history.

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage on an open topped bus in South Ockendon, north London while he continues his tour of Britain on the European Election campaign trail ahead of next Thursday's elections

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage laughed off the suggestion of supporting a Boris Johnson premiership, and questioned whether he could trust the leadership favourite

Farage enjoys an ice cream during a walkabout on Canvey Island as he continues his tour across Britain as the race to finish top in the European election enters its final week

Johnson announced his intention to run for the Conservative Party leadership during a keynote address at a conference in Manchester.

Mr Farage said: 'Would I trust Boris Johnson?

'Boris wrote in his column repeatedly that Mrs May's new treaty was vassalage - that we'd become a slave state - and I rather agreed with that analysis, even if his language was more colourful than perhaps what I would use.

'Then, on the third attempt, he voted for it. So I'm not quite sure where Boris stands on all of this.'

Boris Johnson announced his intention to run for leadership of the Conservative Party during his BIBA keynote on the final day of a conference in Manchester. Pictured: The leadership hopeful at Manchester Picadilly train station

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage meets local butcher Ken Christy in South Ockendon while on the European Election campaign trail

Nicola Sturgeon (pictured at the opening ceremony of the General Assembly with Lord Provost Frank Ross) claimed that Boris Johnson as PM backed by Mr Farage would be a 'nightmare' for Scotland

Mr Johnson resigned as foreign secretary last July, days after a plan for leaving the European Union was agreed by Conservative ministers.

He voted against the Prime Minister's defeated withdrawal agreement twice, before announcing he would back it at the third attempt in March, which was again rejected by MPs in the House of Commons.

The former mayor of London changed his position shortly after Mrs May said she would resign if she could get her deal through, and argued that the decision was to stop Parliament from 'stealing Brexit'.

The former foreign secretary stopped at the opening of a new playground gym at Cowley Saint Laurence primary school in Uxbridge a day after revealing he would stand for the Conservative Party when Mrs May resigns

On Thursday, Mr Johnson announced he would stand for the Tory leadership when Theresa May steps down and he is the clear favourite, according to a YouGov poll of Conservative Party members for The Times.

Speaking ahead of a Brexit Party rally in Edinburgh, Mr Farage said: 'The idea that the fortunes of the Conservative Party in England and Wales can be improved just by getting a new leader might be wide of the mark.

'The sheer level of loss of faith and trust in that party is very high and I think if ever there was a time when we were going to see some sort of realignment of politics going on in the UK, I think now is that moment.'

'The sheer level of loss of faith and trust in that party is very high and I think if ever there was a time when we were going to see some sort of realignment of politics going on in the UK, I think now is that moment,' said Farage

At the Corn Exchange rally, the former Ukip leader urged pro-independence voters to 'lend your votes to the Brexit Party', claiming that Scotland cannot be genuinely independent without leaving the EU

At the Corn Exchange rally, the former Ukip leader urged pro-independence voters to 'lend your votes to the Brexit Party', claiming that Scotland cannot be genuinely independent without leaving the EU.

He hit out at Nicola Sturgeon's SNP, saying Scottish independence while still in the EU is the 'most dishonest political discourse I've ever seen anywhere in the world'.

He told supporters, who had paid 2.50 to attend the event in the Scottish capital: 'Our politics is full of deception because here in Scotland we have the extraordinary situation where Nicola Sturgeon talks about independence.

'She says that separating from the United Kingdom but staying part of the European Union means that Scotland will be independent.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon claimed on Friday that Mr Johnson as PM backed by Mr Farage would be a 'nightmare' for Scotland during the launch of the SNP's party manifesto for the European elections

Farage's call to independence supporters comes as new polling suggest The Brexit Party could earn more votes than Labour and the Conservatives combined in the European Parliament elections.

In an Opinium poll published in the Observer has predicted that Nigel Farage's new party will hoover up 34 per cent of the vote.

More worryingly, a ComRes poll in the Sunday Telegraph suggested it could even beat the Tories in a General election, two extraordinary polls revealed this morning.

The new data, from Opinium, predicts the Brexit Party will earn more votes than the Labour Party and the Tories combined in the European elections

The same poll also found that 28% of voters would back Jeremy Corbyn's party in a General Election, ahead of Theresa May's Conservatives on 22% - with the Brexit Party in third with 21%

The survey of voting intentions put Brexit on 21 per cent to the Conservatives' 20, which would see Farage's team win 49 seats, becoming the UK's second biggest party after Labour, with 137.

A poll surge, but six in ten doubt it will last As two polls show massive surges for the Brexit Party, a third survey, by YouGOV, shows most people don't think the party will last. YouGov revealed 63% of people thought the Brexit Party would 'probably not be a force in British politics in 10 years', compared to 13% who thought it was here to stay. Similarly 56% thought Change UK would disappear over the next decade, with just one in 10 believing it will 'likely remain an important part of British politics'. Three in ten people doubted Labour or the Tories would continue to exist in 10 years. And just under half, 45%, thinking the Lib Dems were here to stay. YouGov political research manager Chris Curtis said: 'The data shows the public aren't yet convinced that these newer forces will become a permanent feature in British politics.' Advertisement

On Thursday, Tory MPs forced Mrs May to confirm she will announce her resignation with a bloodbath predicted next Thursday because of her failure to deliver Brexit.

Campaigning in Bristol yesterday, Mrs May is now weeks from exiting office with up to 20 Tory MPs vying for her job.

She said: 'The Conservative Party didn't want to be fighting these. We wanted to be out of the European Union. Indeed if Parliament had backed our Brexit deal we could already have left the EU, but we're a national party, we fight national elections.

'Nigel Farage can't deliver Brexit: every few years he pops up, he shouts from the sidelines, he doesn't work constructively in the national interest'.

A new poll of grassroots Tories has made Boris Johnson the clear front runner to succeed Mrs May.

A YouGov survey for the Times of party members - who have the final say in a party contest - put the former foreign secretary on 39 per cent, three times the 13 per cent for former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Environment Secretary Michael Gove, were both on nine per cent, with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt on 8 per cent.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock was on just one per cent.

Mr Hancock has however warned that an early poll could hand the keys to No 10 to Jeremy Corbyn and even risk 'killing Brexit altogether'.

He said it was essential the Conservatives delivered on the 2016 referendum result in the current parliament before going back to the country.

Boris Johnson has a huge lead in the race for the Tory leadership, according to a YouGov poll of party members. As a first preference he sits on 39 per cent, three times to support given to closest rival Dominic Raab

The polls are terrible news for Theresa May, pictured here attending church near her Maidenhead constituency

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the Health Secretary, a Remainer in the referendum, warned that whoever gained the Tory crown had to deliver on Brexit before considering a general election.

'I think a general election before we've delivered Brexit would be a disaster. People don't want it. I'm with Brenda from Bristol. We need to take responsibility for delivering on the referendum result,' he said.

Dominic Raab, Johnson's closest rival in the poll at 13 per cent, resigned as Brexit Secretary over Mrs May's deal

Home Secretary Sajid Javid is polling at nine per cent among party members, but is said to be weighed down by his support of Remain in the referendum

'Who knows what the outcome of a general election would be under these circumstances? A general election before that not only risks Jeremy Corbyn, but it risks killing Brexit altogether.'

A former Conservative Party Chair suggested that the next Conservative leader would not to be a Remainer given the handling of Brexit under May's government.

Speaking on Radio 5 Live, Grant Shapps picked out 'Remainers-turned-Leavers' Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid would not be picked by members.

'The country voted to Leave ... but then trusted a Remain Prime Minister, a candidate who said "I was Remain, (this is Theresa May) but I will support Leave, in fact Brexit means Brexit".

'Having seen that thats not been the case, they have not delivered, I think that the Conservative Party is unlikely to want to trust another Remain-turned-Leaver.'

'Anyone who is on that side, I guess that would be Hunt or Sajid Javid would be the obvious people.'

Mrs May is set to make one final attempt to get her Brexit deal through Parliament when she introduces the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) in the Commons in the first full week of June.

But following the final collapse of cross-party talks with Labour on Friday, few at Westminster give her much chance of success.

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Michael Gove is also on nine per cent

Whatever the result, Mrs May has agreed to meet the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady following the second reading vote to agree a timetable for the election of her successor.

Defeat, however, will almost certainly see a ratcheting up of pressure from Conservative MPs for her early swift departure from No 10.

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said Mrs May could still break the parliamentary deadlock by including a second referendum on the face of the WAB.

'Whatever happens, they have got to find a way of breaking the impasse,' he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

'What we can't do is just keep on buying another week at a time, which is what the Prime Minister has been doing for months.'

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt supported Remain in the referendum and is on eight per cent in the latest YouGov poll

Meanwhile Mr Corbyn is set to issue a rallying call to Labour supporters in the European elections, insisting only his party can halt the rise of the 'far right'.

In a speech in Merseyside, the Labour leader will say that years of neglect had 'opened the door' to the far right in communities hit by cuts.

He will argue that only a Labour Party which rejected the 'failed economic system' and was committed to tackling inequality could roll back the threat.

It follows criticism from Labour MPs that the party has been trying to face both ways on Brexit, with a confused message over the circumstances in which it would back a second referendum.

Addressing a rally in Bootle, Mr Corbyn will seek to set aside such differences with a return to more-traditional Labour ground.

'Years of neglect of our communities has opened the door to the far right. It's up to Labour to stand up to that threat,' he will say.

'Politics as usual won't defeat them. We need Labour's radical programme to transform our country and turn the tide of inequality by ending austerity and investing in our communities and people.'
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Temperatures will continue to fall across the UK today amid sunny spells, heavy showers and the threat of thunderstorms.

A mini-heat wave gripped the UK at the start of the week - causing the mercury to shoot up to as high as 75F in places.

But yesterday people were forced to put their barbecues away when they were confronted with cold temperatures and showers.

And it's much of the same today with the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland expected to be hit by heavy showers, murky clouds and temperatures as low as 50F.

What's more, thunderstorms and bracing winds are forecast for northern parts of the country and Scotland.

People in the mornings sunshine along The Pilgrims Way in Winchester, Hampshire, today

Forecasters say the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be hit by heavy showers and temperatures are thought to drop to 50F. Photographer Matt Pinner captured this beautiful sunset and thrift flowers in New Milton, Hampshire earlier this week

Scotland has basked in temperatures of as high of 77F this week, with sun seekers flocking to popular beaches like Silverknowes Beach near Edinburgh. Pictured, a family of swans and their cygnets along The Pilgrims Way in Hampshire

Temperatures will continue to fall across the UK this weekend amid sunny spells and showers. Pictured people enjoying the sunshine on Silver Sands beach as Scotland records its warmest day of the year so far, on May 15

The weather tomorrow is expected to be much of the same with more sunny spells and scattering of showers expected. Pictured an inquisitive lamb in Hampshire today

The cold snap comes after a mini-heat wave gripped the UK at the start of the week and the mercury shot up to 75F

Forecasters say the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be hit by heavy showers, murky clouds and temperatures as low as 50F today. And there will be similar weather across the UK in the next few days

Scotland has basked in temperatures of as high of 77F this week, with sun seekers flocking to popular beaches like Silverknowes Beach near Edinburgh.

But it will be a different story in Scotland today, with temperatures plummeting to 49F in places.

Temperatures are expected to peak at 69F in the south east of England, while the crowds who are in Windsor for the Royal Wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and groom Thomas Kingston will only be able to enjoy 50F temperatures.

Met Office spokesman Matthew Box told MailOnline: 'We are generally going to see a rather cloudy day across the UK.

'There will be bright and sunny spells across the southern half of England

'There will be a risk of heavy blasts of showers across the southern half of England.

'It will be a cloudy day across the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Here there will be quite a big blanket of cold and outbreaks of rain and drizzle.'

The weather tomorrow is expected to be much of the same with more sunny spells and scattering of showers expected.

The south east of England will be the hottest at 69F but will continue to be chilly across the North of the country, Scotland and Northern Ireland with temperatures sinking as low as 44F.

More low temperatures are expected across the country on Monday and there will be locally thundery afternoon showers in the west, while it will be drier in east.
A British accountant is facing a sentence of life imprisonment in the Philippines after allegedly being caught with meth in a drugs raid.

Philip Joseph, 47, was in a flat with two locals when police burst through the door in Manila on May 13 at around 5pm.

Officers said they found Joseph with a woman, Josephine Olayao, 38, and Rodolfo del Rosario, 42, a tuk tuk rider, preparing sachets of methamphetamine, or shabu, as it is known locally.

British accountant Philip Joseph has been arrested after police stormed his flat in the Philippines while he was allegedly preparing meth

Joseph could face life in prison if found guilty of dealing. He moved to the Philippines to work in the financial sector as an accountant and legal collections manager

Police said that Joseph, who owns the apartment, has been held in custody while prosecutors prepare a case against him.

He faces charges of possession and dealing, which carries a maximum punishment of a life sentence in one of the country's hellish overcrowded prisons.

A police report from the Malate district station said four pieces of heat-sealed transparent sachets containing suspected methamphetamine were seized in the raid.

It said: 'Police identified the suspects as being involved in anti-criminality operations and found four sachets of shabu.

Josephine Olayao, 38, was also arrested in the raid after police burst through the door of Joseph's flat in Manila

Rodolfo del Rosario, 42, a tuk tuk rider, was with Joseph preparing sachets of methamphetamine, or shabu, as it is known locally, police say

'The three suspected were brought to the Malate police station for proper disposition and filing of charges.

'They will be charged with the violation of Section 5 and section 11 Art. II of R.A. 9165 or the illegal Distribution and Possession of Dangerous Drugs.'

If found guilty of possession, Joseph faces a minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum life term.

Joseph had moved to the Philippines and was working in the financial sector as an accountant and legal collections manager.
Australians have mocked former Prime Minister Tony Abbott for the political gaffe he never recovered from, after he lost his seat of 25 years.

Hundreds took to Twitter to encourage others to 'put your onions out', a reminder of the moment Mr Abbott took a bite out of a raw onion as he campaigned in late 2015.

Mr Abbott was touring Woolworths supplier, Charlton Farm Produce near Devonport in Tasmania, when he took the historic bite, shocking voters nationwide.

Australians have used Tony Abbott's infamous onion bite to mock the PM after he lost his seat of 25 years to Independent Zali Steggall

One woman decided on a classier tribute, placing an onion in front of a bottle of champagne

He finally explained himself to Andrew Bolt on Sky News earlier this year, claiming he chowed down because the farmer was 'extremely proud of the produce'.

'All of us eat raw onion occasionally... salads are full of raw onion,' the former prime minister said.

He explained the onion had no outer skin and was effectively peeled when he took a bite.

'I thought the least I could do for someone who is proud of his product as this particular farmer was... was take a chomp, and it was beautiful,' Mr Abbott said.

The Liberal politician held the seat of Warringah for 25 years before he was booted out by Ms Steggall

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott lost the seat of Warringah to Independent Zali Steggall, after 25 years as the local MP

Twitter users shared photographs of onions laid out at their front doors in tribute, though none of them appeared to be too upset by the result.

Abbott was one of the first casualties of the 2019 election, losing his blue-ribbon Liberal seat to Independent Zali Steggall.

Early polling saw Ms Steggall soar ahead of her opponent, who admitted he was nervous as he cast his vote at Forestville Public School on Saturday morning.

With just 11 per cent counted, Ms Steggall had a swing of more than 45 per cent towards her.

The numbers are expected to continue flowing her way, as the majority of preferences in that seat are directed towards her.

The seat of Warringah has been held by the Liberal Party since 1951, and by Mr Abbott since 1994.

Mr Abbott suffered a nine per cent primary vote swing against him at the 2016 election and now holds the seat with an 11 per cent margin, and ABC's Annabel Crabb says Abbott's disconnect with voters was the reason behind his demise.

Ms Steggall received a huge swing towards her from the moment numbers began to trickle in, with experts suggesting the backing of non profit Get Up! had a lot to do with her success

Obviously he had an incredibly intense campaign run by a very credible Independent candidate,' she said.

'There was the assistance, or negative assistance in Mr Abbott's case, of the group GetUp, which knocked on 25,000 doors and made 150,000 phone calls.

They did some exit polling today which found that climate change was the number one issue for Warringah voters and the number one issue for lost Liberals who said they'd voted against Tony Abbott.'

When asked how he was feeling by a voter as he headed to the booth on Saturday morning, Mr Abbott said he was 'not too cocky'.

He told reporters he has always been a nervous candidate, but went on to say his churning stomach was a burden everyone standing for government faced.

'Sure, I've got a few butterflies doing loop-the-loops in my tummy today as well,' he said.

'But that's the lot of all candidates because the one thing you can never take for granted is the vote of the Australian people.'
Danny Baker has been pictured in public for the first time following his sacking from the BBC over an allegedly racist tweet.

The former BBC Radio 5 Live presenter, 61, appeared all smiles last night as he left the Hackney Empire theatre in London after performing to fans.

It was the fourth gig on his Good Time Charlie's Back tour, having also performed at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham last weekend.

He started both recent shows by addressing 'the elephant in the room', apologising for a tweet made last week that sparked widespread condemnation.

The former BBC Radio 5 Live presenter (pictured with his family), 61, appeared all smiles last night as he left the Hackney Empire theatre in London after performing to fans

In photographs taken last night, Baker can be seen laughing and joking around inside as he exits the Hackney Empire theatre. And is even seen shaking hands with a fan following the gig, which cost 22.50 to attend

Baker (pictured in London last night) has described his gigs, which are about his 40-plus years as a music journalist and DJ, as 'high kicking, fresh and eruptive'

In it, he posted a picture of a well-dressed couple and a chimp dressed in a suit with the caption: 'Royal baby leaves hospital'.

It came just hours after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed their first son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world for the first time.

In photographs taken last night, Baker can be seen laughing and joking around inside as he exits the Hackney Empire theatre.

And is even seen shaking hands with a fan following the gig, which cost 22.50 to attend. He has described his gigs, which are about his 40-plus years as a music journalist and DJ, as 'high kicking, fresh and eruptive.'

In another image he is seen laughing and joking around, as he leaves the theatre in a taxi with two female companions.

Former Radio 5 Live presenter Danny Baker, 61, sparked outrage when he posted a picture of a well-dressed couple and a chimp dressed in a suit with the caption: 'Royal baby leaves hospital'

Police have dropped an investigation into broadcaster Danny Baker, pictured last week outside his London home, over an allegedly racist tweet about the royal baby

The pictures come just days after police revealed they were to drop an investigation into broadcaster following the allegedly racist tweet.

Scotland Yard said the force had received an allegation in relation to a tweet posted on May 8 but confirmed on Wednesday it would take no further action.

Baker called the incident 'one of the worst days of my life' and admitted the tweet could be seen as racist.

But he denied knowing which royal was due to give birth and said he wouldn't have used the image if he knew it was Meghan.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is pictured with her husband Harry and their newborn son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor during a press call at St George's Hall, Windsor Castle

He said: 'Following one of the worst days of my life I just want to formally apologise for the outrage I caused and explain how I got myself into this mess.

'I chose the wrong photo for a joke. Disastrously so. I am so, so sorry.'

He presented a Saturday morning show on the network but was sacked from the job the following Thursday.

The corporation said Baker's tweet 'went against the values we as a station aim to embody'.

A spokesman added: 'Danny's a brilliant broadcaster but will no longer be presenting a weekly show with us.'

Baker deleted the post and apologised several times on Twitter and in person.

He has not tweeted since Friday but got a standing ovation when he performed his first live show since the tweet in Nottingham on Sunday.

He addressed 'the elephant in the room' at the start, describing his tweet about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's baby as 'revolting' and 'misjudged'.

But in London last night, when he addressed the issue again, he was reportedly told to 'Shaddup!' by an audience member.

That's according to The Daily Telegraph, which gave the show three stars and described it as in 'desperately in need of editing' after stretching to almost four hours.
Waleed Aly and Chris Pyne clashed over whether the Liberal Party has become 'freakishly right wing' - moments after Tony Abbott lost Warringah.

The former Liberal member for Sturt said Aly's opinion was 'complete rubbish' after the host said the LP had changed on The Project on Saturday night.

Aly claimed the Liberals have an 'ideological dilemma' and are not the same party they were during the years of the Menzies Government.

The Project panel were discussing how independents like Zali Steggall were an increasing threat to Liberal strongholds.

'There's a real question about ideologically what the Liberal Party is meant to do here - who exactly it's meant to be chasing,' Aly said.

'The traditional Liberal Party as we've known it since Menzies would no longer exist.'

Mr Pyne fired back and said 'that's just not true, that's complete rubbish'.

'The idea that somehow we are now this new right-wing party is completely freakishly wrong,' he said.

'If that were true, Peter Dutton would have been elected as the leader last year.'

Waleed Aly and Chris Pyne clashed over whether the Liberal Party has become 'freakishly right wing' - moments after Tony Abbott lost Warringah. Aly is pictured with his wife Susan Carland

Aly accused Mr Pyne of 'verballing' him and explained himself.

'I'm not saying that the party has become freakishly right wing,' he said.

'If it (the LP) is starting to loose blue-ribbon seats that have been Liberal for as long as we know, the Liberal Party is faced with a serious ideological dilemma here.'

Pyne then brought up the Labor Party losing Melbourne to The Greens.

'I think you've got a final conclusion paragraph and you're trying to make the story fit it,' he said.

The former Liberal member for Sturt said Aly's opinion was 'complete rubbish' after the host said the LP had changed on The Project on Saturday night

Mr Pyne was an expert panelist during The Project's election coverage having been the Liberal member for Sturt in Adelaide for 26 years from 1993 to April 11 this year.

The new Liberal candidate for Sturt is Mr Pyne's protege James Stevens who looks to remain secure with a margin of 5.4 per cent since the states electoral redistribution.

The Coalition is on track to win more seats than Labor and is now the clear frontrunner to retain government.

In a result which opinion polls and betting markets failed to predict, Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Liberal Party and the Nationals have recorded strong swings to them particularly in Queensland - enough to see a likely Coalition majority.

Labor is now sweating on the results in Western Australia, where polls have closed, but its hopes of forming even a minority government with the Greens are remote.
Pauline Hanson has pulled a bold move by dodging media during election day.

While other politicians made high-profile appearances at polling booths across the country on Saturday, the One Nation leader was nowhere to be seen.

The controversial Senator's surprising choice to shy away from the spotlight has voters scratching their heads.

A One nation volunteer carries a cardboard cut-out of One Nation's Pauline Hanson as she dodges the spotlight on election day

However, Hanson did take to social media to thank her volunteers and candidates ahead of the votes being counted.

'Firstly thank you to every one of our volunteers today who are helping me and my candidates across the country,' she shared on Facebook.

'Thank you to everyone who have already shown their support this election and those who plan to vote for One Nation today.

'This is no practice run. Its likely Bill Shorten will be Prime Minister after tonight.

'If you want that added insurance to ensure Labor doesnt bring in crippling laws that hurt farmers, miners, pensioners and the Australian economy, you need insurance in the Senate.

anson did take to social media to thank her volunteers and candidates ahead of the votes being counted

'You can vote for me and my team in any state of Australia.'

The choice to avoid public appearances on the day of the big vote comes as support for One Nation plunges in the polls.

The right-wing party has been embroiled in scandals this election, which saw Hanson break down in tears while being grilled on A Current Affair about her partys involvement with Americas gun lobby the NRA.

A day after the footage aired, Hanson took a few days out of the public eye due to a tick bite that left her with a swollen face.

The party's Senate candidate Steve Dickson also resigned in the lead up to the election after he was caught on camera groping strippers and making derogatory comments about women.
Peter Dutton says it's 'the sweetest victory' as he wins his seat in Brisbane's north despite a super-powered campaign against the divisive minister for toppling Malcolm Turnbull.

Mr Dutton managed to maintain his Dickson seat, despite controversially questioning the living arrangements of his Labor opponent Ali France, who lost a leg in 2011.

The Home Affairs minister currently holds a primary vote of 53 per cent and 51.7 per cent of the votes have already been counted.

Mr Dutton described his victory as 'the sweetest victory of all ' - quoting former Labor prime minister Paul Keating's winning speech in 1993.

Peter Dutton says it's 'the sweetest victory' as he wins his seat in Brisbane's north

'People are still pre-polling and people are still involved in the scrutineering process, which will go on for some time,' Mr Dutton said.

'But there is an amazing mood across Queensland and across the country in support of the Prime Minister. And I want to pay tribute to Scott Morrison tonight for his leadership.'

Mr Dutton said a lot of 'mud' was thrown at him and his supporters during the campaign.

'GetUp and the Labor Party and the Greens have had the dirtiest campaign in history,' he said.

'And tonight, the people of Dickson have rejected their negative campaigning.'

Political activist group GetUp! ran a supercharged campaign to boot Mr Dutton out of Parliament.

Mr Dutton said a lot of 'mud' was thrown at him and his supporters during the campaign

'He's a terrifying force for the extreme right of the Liberal party, the architect of the GP copayment and $57 billion in hospital cuts, and a blocker of progress on renewable energy and climate action,' GetUp! said in their campaign.

'As the election heats up, Dutton remains vulnerable in his electorate of Dickson.'

A loss for Mr Dutton in the seat of Dickson would have been a massive blow for the Liberal Party.

A former police officer, Mr Dutton has held the seat since 2001, despite a slim lead of 217 votes in 2007.

Mr Dutton currently holds a primary vote of 51.2 per cent and 44 per cent of the votes have already been counted

GetUp! also ran a campaign against former Prime Minister Tony Abbott who lost his seat of Warringah after 25 years in power.

ABC's Annabel Crabb said GetUp knocked on 25,000 doors and made 150,000 phone calls in a bid to boot Mr Abbott from his seat.

'They did some exit polling today which found that climate change was the number one issue for Warringah voters and the number one issue for lost Liberals who said they'd voted against Tony Abbott,' she said.

The GetUp! campagin against Abbott said: 'He's vulnerable in his seat of Warringah, but it will still take a massive campaign of phone calls, door-knocking, advertising and more to get it done. Think Wentworth, but much bigger'.

They also ran a television advertisement which featured a Mr Abbott look-alike refusing to save a drowning person as an analogy to his stance on climate change.

The controversial ad was pulled following backlash from lifesavers.
The government won a shock election victory on the back of Queensland voters who bucked the polls and rallied behind the Coalition.

Results have the Liberal National Party tipped to retain all its seats in the Sunshine State and gain at least two of Labor's.

A shock swing of more than four per cent to the government dashed Labor's hopes of a victory, and was a big reason fro their loss.

Scott Morrison is headed for a shock election victory as Queensland voters buck the poll and stampede to the Coalition

Bill Shorten's hopes of an emphatic victory are dashedby Queensland voters

Just hours earlier, exit polls predicted Labor would be ahead 52-48, but the expected swing has not materialised and not been reflected in marginal seats.

The LNP is predicted to gain ALP seats of Herbert and Longman and could still pick up Blair and Lilley.

Even if Labor holds the latter two seats, it would be left with just six seats in the whole state where it expected to make significant gains.

Labor shadow foreign affairs minister Penny Wong admitted the results were 'tough' for the opposition and Queensland was always difficult for them.

Senator Wong admitted the controversial Adani coal mine, which Labor opposes but the Coalition supports, may have made the difference.

Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos said: 'It became emblematic of "we want jobs" and the Bob Brown (pictured) caravan which went up there to talk about stopping Adani'

Senator Wong admitted the controversial Adani coal mine, which Labor opposes but the Coalition supports, may have made the difference

'This particular project became a symbol of pro or anti-climate. The LNP wanted to message it being pro or anti jobs,' she said on the ABC election panel.

'That's challenging as a Labor Party. As party of government, we have to manage the right policy and manage explaining that in Melbourne just as we do in Brisbane and the outer suburbs and it's a challenge for us.'

Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos said some of the result could be explained by those opposing the Adani project being seen as anti-jobs.

'Adani became about jobs. It became emblematic of "we want jobs" and the Bob Brown caravan which went up there to talk about stopping Adani, had locals thinking "hang on, you are not going to tell us how to live",' he said.

Senator Sinodinos Prime Minister Scott Morrison also had significant popularity in parts of Queensland that helped his party carry the day.

'In the outer suburbs of Brisbane, I think Scott Morrison plays quite well and in part, they've picked up on the jobs message,' he said.

Anti-Adani protesters follow Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg (centre) as he arrives to vote at a booth in Balwyn for the seat of Kooyong on Election Day in Melbourne

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and wife Jenny are seen with the Liberal candidate for Braddon, Gavin Pearce (rear second right) and a voter with a young child

'I think Morrison plays quite well in a state like Queensland. I think he is seen as a relatively straightforward, suburban sort of person. What you see is what you get.

'He speaks to them quite clearly and directly. He's a very good communicator. His message has been straightforward.

'It's been around the economy and around jobs. I think that's resonated with a lot of people.'

Labor will need to pick up many more seats in South and Western Australia than it had budgeted for, and hope early voting results will swing to them.

Veteran ABC election analyst Antony Green said a Coalition victory was now more likely, with a majority even possible.

'We can't see Labor forming government. It's very hard to see how Labor can possible reach government in the numbers we've seen,' he said.

The Opposition, so far, only appears to have gained Chisholm in Melbourne's south-east and Gilmore on the NSW South Coast.

'The government's on track to win more seats than Labor,' Mr Green said.

'Meanwhile, betting markets have turned with Sportsbet now putting the Coalition as election favourites at $1.65 to Labor's $2.20.
Members of a drug gang that were found in possession of 35million worth of heroin and cocaine that weighed nearly a tonne have been collectively jailed for more than 60 years.

Officers uncovered the drugs factory while raiding a quiet suburban home on Wakami Crescent in Derby and even found heroin stashed in the oven.

A total of 1.3million of heroin was seized along with a number of firearms including a loaded Uzi sub-machine gun, ammunition and around 500,000 in cash during the raid last May.

Officers uncovered the drugs factory while raiding a quiet suburban home on Wakami Crescent in Derby and even found heroin stashed in the oven (pictured)

A total of 1.3million of heroin was seized along with a number of firearms including a loaded Uzi sub-machine gun, ammunition and around 500,000 in cash (pictured) during the raid last May

Kingpin Ivan Graham, 35, of Rugby, Warwickshire, was jailed for 24 years in October last year after admitting seven charges including possession with intent to supply drugs

Numerous empty bags and packaging pointed to a 35 million conspiracy to flood Derbyshire with Class-A drugs over a two-year period.

Shocking pictures also show cannabis and cash crammed into drawers at the two-bedroom property.

The drugs arrived at the house in raw form and, after being cut and repackaged, were then supplied to other dealers for sale.

Kingpin Ivan Graham, 35, of Rugby, Warwickshire, was jailed for 24 years in October last year after admitting seven charges including possession with intent to supply drugs.

This week four other members of his gang were caged at Derby Crown Court for their role in the plot. All were charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine.

The loaded Uzi-submachine gun, fitted with a silencer, was one of four fearsome weapons discovered in a bedroom at the address in Chellaston, Derbyshire

This week four other members of his gang were caged at Derby Crown Court for their role in the plot. All were charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine

Alvydas Giedraitis, 42, of Enfield, London, was found guilty of the charge following a trial and jailed for 20 years.

Liuturas Streckis, 36, of Littleport, Cambs., who was also charged with possession of criminal property, was also convicted and sentenced to 19 years in prison.

Benjamin Mousley, 35, of Derby, who was also charged with being concerned in the supply of cocaine, admitted the offences and was caged for 12 years.

John Devine, 32, of Chaddeston, Derby admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and was handed a ten year jail term.

Officers said on arresting Mousley and Streckis approximately 5kg of cocaine was also recovered while 5,000 in cash was seized from Devine.

A Derbyshire Police spokesperson said after the case: 'These men intended to flood Derbyshire with cocaine, bringing untold harm to our communities.

A large amount of cannabis was also found in the house. The drugs arrived at the house in raw form and, after being cut and repackaged, were then supplied to other dealers for sale

'These lengthy jail terms have now closed the tap on their offending, indefinitely.'

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Gibson said previously: 'The level of activity in the property is, quite frankly, staggering.

'In shutting this operation down we have cut off a major supplier of drugs who has, and would have continued, to cause untold misery to thousands of families across Derbyshire and the wider region.

'On top of large quantity of drugs, a number of firearms were found at the address including an Uzi sub-machine gun.

'The people of Derby are safer now that this weapon, along with others found at the address, is off the streets.'
Prince Philip has made a rare public appearance at the wedding of royal bride Lady Gabriella Windsor and groom Thomas Kingston in Windsor today.

The Duke of Edinburgh, 97, who retired from royal duties in May, 2017, arrived alongside the Queen at St George's Chapel this morning.

Both were driven to the chapel by car, with the Queen exiting the vehicle ahead of Philip. They greeted the clergy, before entering the venue together.

Later after the wedding, the Prince could be seen beaming with joy as he shared a joke with the Duke of Sussex outside the chapel.

Prince Philip shared a joke with the Duke of Sussex at the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor today. The Duke of Edinburgh arrived alongside the Queen this morning

The Queen and Philip were driven to the chapel by car, with the Queen exiting the vehicle ahead of Philip. They greeted the clergy, before entering the venue together

The Duke of Edinburgh, 97, who retired from royal duties in May, 2017, arrived alongside the Queen (pictured left together) at St George's Chapel this morning. The Queen looked radiant in pink (right) as she smiled at fellow guests during the ceremony

The Prince, who was today seen wearing a hearing aid, was last photographed at the public reveal of Harry and Meghan's first child Archie last week.

In that, he can be seen beaming at the youngster alongside the Queen and Meghan's mother Doria Ragland. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were also pictured.

Harry himself was at the wedding today, attending just 12 days after the birth of Archie, his first son with wife Meghan - and on the eve of their first wedding anniversary.

Lady Gabriella, the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, married Thomas Kingston at noon today.

It is the third royal wedding in the 15th-century venue in less than a year following the star-studded nuptials of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex last May and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank in October.

Lady Gabriella, 38, who is known as Ella, had been dating Mr Kingston for a number of years when he proposed last summer. Her father, Prince Michael, is the Queen's cousin.

Prince Philip shares a joke with the Duke of Sussex at the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor today. He arrived alongside the Queen this morning

Prince Philip (centre) made a rare public appearance at the wedding of royal bride Lady Gabriella Windsor. He was joined by the Queen (right) dressed in pink

The Duke of York arrived by car to the wedding with his ex-wife Sarah, the Duchess of York, and their daughter Princess Beatrice and her boyfriend Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

Pippa Middleton and husband James Matthews were also among those attending and another famous face was Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.

The society event was a parade of hats, dresses and men in morning suits as everyone attended the ceremony, conducted by Dean of Windsor the Right Rev David Conner.

The bride, daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, wore a lace gown by Italian designer Luisa Beccaria as she arrived at the chapel.

The beaming bride, accompanied by her father, had her long veil arranged by the designer on the steps of the chapel.

Queen Elizabeth II (left) and Prince Philip leave the chapel after the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston

The Prince, who was today seen wearing a hearing aid (pictured), was last photographed at the public reveal of Harry and Meghan's first child Archie last week

The bridal party - of five bridesmaids and three pageboys - entered the 15th-century chapel moments before.

Lady Gabriella, who is known as Ella, studied at both Brown University in the US and the University of Oxford, with degrees in Comparative Literature and Social Anthropology.

The 38-year-old works as an arts and travel director for brand company Branding Latin America, based in Knightsbridge, London.

Not a 'working royal', she is also board director for the Playing for Change Foundation, a non-profit organisation aiming to improve education through music.
Zali Steggall has been spotted celebrating after her stunning victory over former prime minister Tony Abbott.

Mr Abbott was finally toppled after 25 years as the member for Warringah.

The contest for the blue-ribbon Liberal seat was a nail-biter throughout the election but ultimately ended with Ms Steggall taking out a staggering 45 per cent of the primary vote.

She also led 59-41 on a two-party preferred basis.

Supporters erupted in cheers and applause as Ms Steggall took to the stage to make her victory speech.

Scroll down for video

The contest for the blue-ribbon Liberal seat was a nail-biter throughout the election but ultimately ended with Steggall taking out a staggering 45 per cent of the primary vote

Mr Abbott (pictured) was finally toppled after 25 years as the member for Warringah on Sydney's northern beaches

'Tonight, Warringah has definitely voted for the future,' she told the crowd.

'You've all shown that when communities want change, they make it happen.

'This is a win for moderates with a heart.'

The Olympic champion, barrister  and now a political giant-killer - has previously signalled she would back the Coalition in a hung parliament situation, but only if they take stronger action on climate change.

Ms Steggall campaigned on the issue of climate change and promised her supporters to hold the government to account.

'We have a new beginning for our environment.

'I will be a climate leader for you. And I will keep the new government to account, and make sure we take action on climate change.

'I will push for real action, so our children and generations to come.'

Abbott was one of the first casualties of the 2019 election.

The seat of Warringah on Sydney's northern beaches has been held by the Liberal Party since 1951, and by Mr Abbott since 1994.

When asked how he was feeling by a voter as he headed to the booth on Saturday morning, Mr Abbott said he was 'not too cocky'.

He told reporters he has always been a nervous candidate, but went on to say his churning stomach was a burden everyone standing for government faced.

'Sure, I've got a few butterflies doing loop-the-loops in my tummy today as well,' he said.

'But that's the lot of all candidates because the one thing you can never take for granted is the vote of the Australian people.'

Supporters erupted in cheers and applause as Ms Steggall took to the stage to make her victory speech
Barnaby Joyce has slammed the Labor Party for leaving blue collar workers behind after he was re-elected to the seat of New England.

The former deputy prime minister told ABC on Saturday night his victory, and others in regional Australia, was 'a big lesson for the Labor Party'.

'George Christensen smashed you, Ken O'Dowd, Michelle Landry, Keith Pitt, Llew O'Brien, Matthew Canavan did a power of work up there,' he said. 'Absolutely marvellous. They've got to look at that.'

He slammed those who bankrolled the campaigns of Independent candidates like Zali Steggall and Rob Oakeshott, claiming this misuse of funds cost Labor the election.

'What I could say to the people who put all those resources into it: You went after one bloke. You went after him,' he said.

'Whilst going after him, you forgot about the other seats you might have won, you clowns. That's why you don't win elections.

'You could have been the government tonight, you fools, but you're not.'

Barnaby Joyce thanked his supporters after being elected to a third term as MP of New England

Mr Joyce said Labor's issue was its association with the Greens Party, and the widening gap between party members and blue collar workers.

'When they decide to live their lives in Woolloomoolo, Queensland will leave you alone,' he said.

Mr Joyce said in his electorate, people were worried about their power bills, and the politics seen in bigger cities did not interest them.

'There has been a swing to us,' he said of the Coalition. 'That's before we start picking up pre-polls and other second parties.

'In other areas, what that says is they couldn't see a reason to vote for the Labor Party, they couldn't see a reason to vote for the Greens, couldn't see a reason to vote for the left-leaning Independents.

'Because the Labor Party have left Barcaldine behind, left the tree of knowledge behind, wandered down, got themselves a kaftan and incense sticks... get back to your blue-collar workers.

'Stop listening to Sarah Hanson-Young. Start listening to the blue-collar workers.'

Bill Shorten is set to remain Opposition Leader after failing to secure the 'unlosable election', and Mr Joyce says it's because he turned away from the Labor Party's base of blue-collar workers

Joyce's victory comes in spite of a rocky term in government, where he was forced to step down from his role as Leader of the Nationals and as Deputy Prime Minister following revelations he had cheated on his wife with media adviser Vikki Campion and was expecting a child with her.

He thanked those who helped with his campaign, telling the panel: 'It's not me that won my seat, it's my team that won the seat and they win again.'

Linking back to his criticisms of Labor, Mr Joyce said in his next term he would continue to focus on what his electorate and regional Australia needs.

'We are going to make sure we keep serving people, looking after the people in the weatherboard and iron, making sure we respect the dignity in their lives,' he said.

'For the people handing out how-to-vote cards, for the people who worked so hard, this is a result for you.'
Fran Lebowitz has sparked outrage after saying that President Trump 'deserves to be handed over to the Saudis' to face the same treatment as the late journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was brutally killed and dismembered.

The liberal author and Vanity Fair contributing editor, 68, made the comments on Friday's edition of Real Time with Bill Maher as she discussed the Mueller Report and potential impeachment proceedings against the Commander-in-chief.

When asked whether she believes Trump should face impeachment, Lebowitz responded: 'Impeachment would be just the beginning of what he deserves, not even scratching the surface of what he deserves.

She continued: 'Whenever I think about this and what he really deserves, I think 'We should turn him over to the Saudis!' His buddies! The same Saudis who got rid of that reporter [Khashoggi]. Maybe they could do the same for him!'

Liberal author and Vanity Fair contributing editor Fran Lebowitz has apologized after making the controversial comments on Friday's edition of Real Time with Bill Maher

Her comments prompted laughter and shocked gasps from members of the studio audience, before viewers quickly reacted on social media.

In October 2018, Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident and columnist for the Washington Post, was murdered inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, allegedly at the orders of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The city's chief prosecutor said that Khashoggi had been strangled as soon as he entered the consulate building, and that his body was dismembered and disposed of.

Trump himself has been reluctant to declare that bin Salman had knowledge about Khashoggi's death, saying in November: 'It could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event  maybe he did and maybe he didn't!'

Lebowitz is a prominent liberal and has long been an outspoken critic of President Trump

Trump has previously been described by Lebowitz as 'a cheap hustler', 'stupid' and 'lazy'

Meanwhile, Lebowitz swiftly backtracked on her comments later in the program, after learning that she was receiving criticism on social media.

'I didn't realize that I had said it. I had 12 cups of coffee. I regret saying it. I did not mean that and I regret saying it. I regret that everyone misinterpreted it,' she stated in the 'Overtime' section of Real Time.

Some on social media called for the writer to face legal repercussions for her comments.

'Fran Lebowitz needs to be arrested and charged with death threats to the president,' one wrote.

Friday's appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher isn't the first time Lebowitz has spoken ill of the Commander-in-chief.

She has previously described him as 'a cheap hustler', 'stupid' and 'lazy'.
Rapper Tyler, The Creator's surprise gig in London today was shut down by police after thousands of 'rowdy fans' rushed to see the show, his first in the UK after his four-year ban was lifted by the Home Office.

But just 15 minutes after he was due to perform at the Bussey Building in Peckham, the rapper tweeted to say: 'Too rowdy, cops cancelled it, go home, I tried, the gate climbing nail in the coffin, they go nervous, too bad was a cool idea but hey, igor (his new album) out now'.

Hundreds of fans flocked to the location, only to be left stuck in a huge crowd unable to get out.

The Metropolitan Police said the event had been cancelled by the venue due to overcrowding issues, adding that there were no crimes, reported injuries or arrests.

Hundreds of fans flocked to the location, only to be left stuck in a huge crowd unable to get out when the police shut the impromptu gig down

Disappointed supporters took to Twitter to lament with one user saying: 'Wasn't even rowdy but I still love you.'

Another said: 'You better find a solution because nobody will move till seeing you'.

Other fans have tried to convince Tyler to move the location of the impromptu gig.

One said: 'Just pick a park somewhere or do it in the streets we don't mind'.

Toby Stanton, 19, travelled from Bethnal Green in east London to get to the show and said people were climbing over cars during a rush to get in the venue.

'We turned up on the overground and people were sprinting towards the venue, the cars were trapped in the crowds and people still sat in them ... people [were] climbing over the cars.'

'Every time they opened the gate a little bit to the venue people charged towards the gate and then bounced back when they closed it.

Mr Stanton added that local residents 'seemed fuming they couldn't even get home'.

Disappointed supporters took to Twitter to lament with one user saying: 'Wasn't even rowdy but I still love you.' Another said: 'You better find a solution because nobody will move till seeing you'

Tyler's latest tweet, a thinking emoji, a brain emoji and a fingers crossed emoji, has prompted speculation that the rapper is trying to find an alternative location for the surprise concert.

He later deleted the tweet where he described the crowd as being rowdy.

The co-founder of the hip hop collective Odd Future, 29, was barred from entering the UK in 2015 because his lyrics 'encourages violence and intolerance of homosexuality' according to then Home Secretary Theresa May.

But today the controversial star, real name Tyler Okonma, posted a picture outside Buckingham Palace, announcing his arrival and the end of his ban.

Tyler's latest tweet, a thinking emoji, a brain emoji and a fingers crossed emoji, has prompted speculation that the rapper is trying to find an alternative location for the surprise concert

Rapper Tyler, the Creator posted a picture outside Buckingham Palace today surprising fans who were unaware his UK ban had been lifted

The Odd Future star was banned from entering the UK in 2015 by the then Home Secretary Theresa May because of his controversial lyrics

He also revealed the surprise gig which was due to take place at 3pm in Peckham.

It is understood the ban, which was due to last for three to five years, was lifted from February 13 and he arrived at Luton Airport in the early hours of this morning.

At the time of the ban, he tweeted: 'Based on lyrics from 2009 I am not allowed in the UK for three to five years (although I was there eight weeks ago).

'That is why the shows were cancelled.'

He also believed the ban was racist, saying: 'They did not like the fact that their children were idolising a black man.'

The rapper was due to perform at the Reading and Leeds festivals that summer but he had to pull out due to the ban.

The rapper has been criticised over his use of homophobic slurs despite speculation over his own sexuality

Then Home Secretary Theresa May enforced the ban which meant Tyler, the Creator could not perform at Leeds and Reading festivals that year

Tyler, the Creator has been criticised over rape and murder fantasies in his lyrics and for using homophobic slurs.

He has previously insisted he is not homophobic, saying: 'Somebody called me a homophobe. I'm not homophobic. I just say 'f*****' and use 'gay' as an adjective to describe stupid s***.'

But a Home Office spokesman said in 2015 coming to Britain was a 'privilege' and those who did needed to 'respect our shared values'.

The spokesman said: 'The Home Secretary has the power to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good or if their exclusion is justified on public policy grounds.'

Despite the slurs, there has since been speculation over the artist's sexuality since the release of his fourth studio album Flower Boy in 2017.

In the track I Ain't Got Time, he rapped: 'Next line will have 'em like 'whoa', I've been kissing white boys since 2004.'

Jaden Smith also called Tyler, the Creator his 'boyfriend' on stage at a festival in California last year.

Okonma publicly showed his support for fellow Odd Future member Frank Ocean after he came out in 2012.

His fifth studio album, Igor was released yesterday with features from Frank Ocean, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams.
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They thought they'd be popping Champagne by now.

But supporters of Labor and Bill Shorten could do little more than cry into their beers after they unexpectedly lost the election to the Coalition.

Meanwhile Liberal voters were seen cheering and beaming with delight after the election was called for Scott Morrison.

The result was called shortly after 9.30pm AEST - just as seats began to be called in Western Australia.

Opinion polls and betting markets failed to predict the shocking result that saw the Liberal and the National parties record swings to them, especially in Queensland.

Labor struggled to pick up enough seats even in Melbourne, in its strongest state Victoria, and has lost electorates in Brisbane, north Queensland, western Sydney and Tasmania.

Labor of love: Frustrated supporters of Bill Shorten and Labor could do little more than cry into their beers after they unexpectedly lost the election to the Coalition

Meanwhile Liberal voters were seen cheering and beaming with delight after the election was called for Scott Morrison

Egg on his face: Will Connolly (pictured), who famously threw an egg at Fraser Anning, looked concerned at the Labor celebration ahead of the Australian federal election result announcement at Hyatt Place Melbourne

Extremely dejected supporters of Labor candidate Hannah Beazley were seen at the Belmont Sports and Recreation Club on Election Day in Perth.

There were similar scenes in Melbourne as supporters watched the tally count at the Federal Labor Reception.

Meanwhile there were cheers as Liberal supporters reacted during the results count at the Federal Liberal Reception at the Sofitel-Wentworth hotel in Sydney.

'Egg boy' Will Connolly, who famously threw an egg at Fraser Anning, did not look happy with the result ahead of the election results announcement at Hyatt Place Melbourne.

A David Coleman supporter beams with joy at the Federal Liberal Reception at the Sofitel-Wentworth hotel in Sydney

Labor tears as the realisation that they have lost the election sets in at the Federal Labor Reception at Hyatt Place Melbourne

Labor of love: Frustrated looked Labor party supporters look upset as they watch the tally count at the Federal Labor Reception in Melbourne

Liberal supporters raised their fists in the air when they saw the positive result for their party at the Federal Liberal Reception

Fists raised in the air, smiling faces and clinking glasses were a common sight at Liberal functions.

Supporters on both sides of politics looked on edge while the two major parties were neck and neck.

One woman wearing a blue Liberal T-shirt covered her eyes because she could not bare to watch the results come in at the Liberal Reception.

Labor supporters glared in dread as the results came in and the realisation that they lost the election set in.

It will be a long night for Labor supporters as results from across the country continue to trickle in

It was a night to forget for some Labor voters after the Coalition romped to a narrow victory over their party

A supporter of David Coleman, the Liberal candidate for Banks, could not bare to watch the results so she covered her eyes

Supporters in Bill Shorten's electorate Maribyrnong looked bewildered by the results

The Liberals did not emerge unscathed either, with former prime minister Tony Abbott losing the seat of Warringah to independent Zali Steggal after 25 years.

Steggall supporters cheered as they heard she had secured the blue-ribbon stronghold against all odds.

It was a bittersweet moment for Abbott supporters who were celebrating a national Liberal win while they bid their former representative farewell.

Steggall supporters cheered as they heard she had secured the blue-ribbon stronghold against all odds

Zali's world: Ms Steggall celebrates her victory in Warringah over former Prime Minister Tony Abbott

Tony Abbott was greeted by supporters as he entered before conceding defeat at Manly Leagues Club in Brookvale, Sydney

Red skies foreshadow Labor's impending defeat as distraught supporters look at results in defeat

ABC election analyst Antony Green said Labor had little hope of even forming a minority government, with Labor failing to pick up any marginal seats in Perth.

'At this stage, we think the Morrison Government has been re-elected. We can't see an alternative to a Morrison Government in the numbers we're seeing at the moment,' he said.

'We can't say whether the Government will be in a majority or minority, but we're certainly seeing enough numbers to say that the Coalition will end up with more seats than Labor.'

Mr Green said the result was a 'spectacular failure of opinion polls' with the upset representing the first occasion since 2004 that a federal government has enjoyed a swing towards it.

A Labor voter with a Bob Hawke sticker was shocked as he learned of Labor's imminent defeat

Supporters of opposition Labor leader Bill Shorten watch the giant screens showing the results of Australia's general election
Worried holidaymakers have flooded Thomas Cook with fears about their summer plans as the travel firm risks collapse being branded 'worthless' after a 1.5billion loss.

The UK's oldest travel operator is struggling under the weight of debt as it closes stores, axes staff and puts its airline up for sale in a bid to salvage its finances.

Holidaymakers have bombarded the official Thomas Cook page with posts and comments in a desperate hunt for answers over their travel plans.

Thomas Cook risks collapse with summer holidays in jeopardy as shares tumbled another 40 per cent yesterday after City analysts branded them 'worthless (stock image)

'I'm flying to Menorca six weeks today. I hope the financial situation will be settled soon', one holidaymaker wrote.

'Are you going into administration? because I have a holiday booked in October', a worried traveller said.

'I just booked for next May to Turkey, I really hope you're not going into liquidation', another person commented.

However Thomas Cook were quick to quash travellers concerns by reassuring them that the company's financial state would not impact on future holidays or flight only bookings due to ATOL protection.

Justin Waite, 48, from Southampton, who hosts a podcast for private investor community Vox Markets, booked a holiday to Mexico for July with Thomas Cook and is worried about the company's uncertainty.

The father-of-two told MailOnline: 'I am a private investor and so I know about balance sheets and at the moment Thomas Cook have liabilities four times the size of the entire company and they are making a loss so they can't reduce this debt.

'They lost 1.4billion in the last six months.

'Luckily we have insurance but I fear there may be some who don't. I will not book another holiday with them again as I fear they are going to go bust.

'I'm sure I'm not the only person thinking this, which will make their business suffer even more.'

It comes as analysts at investment bank Citigroup said the company is 'worthless' and should be priced at zero - and warned that customers would be put off booking package holidays which could further plunge the company into debt.

Hitting turbulence: Thomas Cook is struggling under the weight of a 1.25 billion debt pile

Warning of a bleak outlook for the business, Citi analyst James Ainley said its troubles were likely to 'unsettle consumers and drive further weakness in bookings'.

Thomas Cook, which is now valued at around 180million, has struggled to keep up with customers' changing travel habits as holidaymakers turn their backs on package deals and traditional resorts.

Is your Thomas Cook holiday safe? Holidaymakers may be out of pocket in the event of Thomas Cook going bust. The company's package holidays are protected by ATOL - a financial protection scheme that most air package holidays sold by travel businesses based in the UK. This means customers who have booked hotels and flights won't be lose their money or be stranded abroad. Advertisement

But Thomas Cook boss Peter Fankhauser blamed Brexit uncertainty for Brits being put off their travel plans.

He said: 'The prolonged heatwave last summer and high prices in the Canaries reduced customer demand for winter sun, particularly in the Nordic region, while there is now little doubt that the Brexit process has led many UK customers to delay their holiday plans for this summer'.

The company is currently taking drastic money-saving measures to ensure it stays afloat, including axing 150 head office roles, and closing 21 stores and 320 retail jobs.

The cash-strapped travel group were forced to put their airline up for sale in February in a bid to salvage its finances, with bidders thought to include Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic.

Mr Fankhauser told ITV News that selling the profitable airline was a 'good way' to reduce the company's debt.

It's a stark change from a year ago, when its shares were changing hands at close to 150p, valuing the company at more than 2.2billion.

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at trading firm CMC Markets, said: 'Thomas Cook's woes have gone from bad to worse after Citigroup downgraded the shares to sell with a 0p price target. Investors appear to be losing confidence in the ability of management to turn the ailing business around.'

Mr Fankhauser told ITV News that selling the profitable airline was a 'good way' to reduce the company's debt (stock image)

The travel firm dates back to 1841, when 32-year-old Thomas Cook sold a one-day rail excursion for one shilling per head from Leicester to Loughborough.

The first trip, inspired by Cook's belief that the working-class's lives could be improved by travel and education, carried 500 people.

The company now sells package holidays, operates airlines in several European countries, owns hotels in 47 countries and has a travel money and insurance branch.

However, while the prospect of the business failing will be a worry for many of its customers, Thomas Cook said all of its holidays are Atol protected, meaning travellers will get a refund or a replacement holiday if it collapses.
Pedestrians, stuck in their portable devices as they cross New York's busy streets, may be hit with a $250 fine thanks to a new bill introduced to the state senate.

New York Senator John Liu introduced the bill on the senate floor Tuesday after Assemblyman Felix Ortiz failed to get the committee behind the legislation last year.

The new legislation would ban the use of any 'portable electronic device' while a person was crossing a street in New York state.

A bill has been introduced at the New York Senate that would prohibit the use of 'portable electronic devices' while crossing intersections like these in new York City

New York Senator John Liu introduced the bill on the senate floor Tuesday after Assemblyman Felix Ortiz failed to get the committee behind the legislation last year

These devices include: any handheld mobile telephone, personal digital assistants, pagers, laptops, electronic games or 'any other electronic device when used to input, write, send, receive, or read text for present or future communication.'

Only in cases of contacting emergency personnel would the use of portable electronic devices be allowed, the bill states.

Marco Conner, the interim director of the Transportation Alternatives, claimed the the bill was 'terribly misguided.' 'Barely any data is being cited. Most traffic fatalities nationwide involve some kind of driver. It's victim-blaming in disguise,' he stated

Those caught using their devices will be hit with a initial fine of $25 to $50. But following the first fine, pedestrians could face $50 to $100 for their second offense and $50 to $250 for a third fine.

Police officers, peace officers, members of the fire department and emergency vehicle operators are allowed to use their devices while 'in performance of their official duties.'

'[The bill] does not say you can't talk on the phone,' Senator Liu explained to The Guardian. 'We're talking about handheld devices  you can wait the five seconds to get to the other side.'

But Marco Conner, the interim director of the Transportation Alternatives, claimed the the bill was 'terribly misguided.'

'Barely any data is being cited. Most traffic fatalities nationwide involve some kind of driver. It's victim-blaming in disguise,' he stated.

Back in 2018, Ortiz took to his Twitter to advocate for the legislation.

'I have introduced legislation that will make it a violation for pedestrians to be using their cell phones while crossing the street,' the Democrat said. 'Distracted walking is a danger for both the pedestrian and drivers.'

Back in 2018, Ortiz took to his Twitter to advocate for the legislation but critics recently took to the post to blast the bill

But a resurgence of comments have sprung condemning the bill and calling it a form of 'victim blaming.'

Will Farr, a transportation engineer, asserted: 'This absurd victim blaming legislation needs to be put to rest. Your solution to drivers killing people in the crosswalk is to create yet another mechanism for police harassment?'

The sentiment was shared by New York City resident, Alex Knight, who added: 'Aside from being absurd victim blaming, this ridiculous bill would be used by police departments to meet quotas and target low-income and POC citizens if enacted into law. How about you focus on the real problem: dangerous drivers.'

'More victim-blaming,' said Harvey Miller, Reusche Chair in Geographic Information Science at the Ohio State Univeristy. 'When pedestrians are injured or killed by a car, the vast majority of the time it's the driver's fault.'

Will Farr, a transportation engineer, asserted: 'This absurd victim blaming legislation needs to be put to rest. Your solution to drivers killing people in the crosswalk is to create yet another mechanism for police harassment?'

Liu acknowledged the possibility of discriminatory policing but claimed the bill wouldn't be the first priority of law enforcement.

'There are many statutes where there is a possibility of selective enforcement and I'll be the first to concede that this is not going to be the first priority of police, nor should it be,' he said. 'My intention is to help New Yorkers remember what they should do and what they should not do  wait the five seconds!'

Scott Hechinger, a Brooklyn-based public defender, proclaimed that the bill will more than likely create 'dangerous police escalation' because it will be 'disparately enforced.'

Scott Hechinger, a Brooklyn-based public defender, proclaimed that the bill will more than likely create 'dangerous police escalation' because it will be 'disparately enforced'

'Literally every single thing either criminalized or otherwise prohibited in NY is enforced disproportionately against people of color living only in certain neighborhoods,' he continued. 'Jaywalking. Riding a bike on a sidewalk. Broken taillight or failure to signal. Marijuana & drug possession.'

'We have no idea whether or not people will be deterred from texting while walking bc of this law (tho evidence suggests no). But we *know* for sure that Black & Latino people will by & large be the only ones stopped. Thats just how policing works in America.'

A Governors Highway Safety Association report found that there were approximately 5,984 pedestrians killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2017. Injury Facts states that roughly 7,450 pedestrians 'died in traffic or non-traffic incidents in 2017.'

New York, Florida, Texas, California and Arizona account for roughly 43% of all pedestrian deaths during the first six months of 2017. In total, these states account for roughly 30% of the country's population.
Sad and angry celebrities have shared their rage after Prime Minister Scott Morrison's shock victory.

Television personality Meshel Laurie let off a barrage of tweets, airing her disappointment over the Coalition's return to power.

'Australians are dumb, mean-spirited and greedy. Accept it,' she posted on Saturday night, as the Liberal Party clinched a surprise victory.

Shortly afterwards, the comedian followed up by saying 'the only thing left to look forward to in a AUSTRALIA is Schadenfreude,' a German word for getting pleasure from other people's misfortunes.

Television personality Meshel let out a barrage of Tweets, airing her disappointment over the Liberal Party's return to power

The Project panelist Meshel Laurie replied to a Twitter user who branded the Opposition's tax policies as 'greedy'

But she didn't stop there - a Twitter user replied to her saying 'Labor got greedy with too much tax - be honest with yourself...no one likes Shorten'

The Project panelist hit back, saying 'tax pays for everything outside your house genius. It pays for the hospital youll die in one day.'

Writer and broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied declared that 'it's going to be a long three years in Australia' if Scott Morrison is re-elected.

'Also - a warning to the progressive US counterparts, that even if things look good, ppl may surprise you (again),' Abdel-Magied Tweeted on Saturday night.

Famously left-wing writer and broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied declared that 'it's going to be a long three years in Australia' if Scott Morrison is re-elected

The outspoken engineer-turned-writer also took the opportunity to call out 'progressive US counterparts'

Just hours earlier she weighed in on Tony Abbott's loss of his seat of Waringah, which he held for 25 years.

'Even listening to this tony speech makes me shudder... at least hes not PM any more. Oh but wait, when he gets his talk show we wont be able to stop him from speaking,' she wrote.

Social commentator and Sunrise regular Jane Caro also shared her dismay at the prospect of a Coalition government.

Social commentator and Sunrise regular Jane Caro also shared her dismay at the prospect of a Coalition government, declaring 'if the LNP wins we have decided to be a backward looking country in a backwater. I wish I was a New Zealander'

'Australia. If the LNP wins we have decided to be a backward looking country in a backwater. I wish I was a New Zealander,' the novelist Tweeted in the midst of election results being counted.

Outspoken author Clementine Ford didn't hold back with her Tweets either.

'Thinking of my son and his little friends and crying over the climate destroyed, bulls**t world Australian voters are determined to leave him,' the feminist writer wrote.

Former prominent radio host Mike Carlton even declared 'we may have to declare war on Queensland,' after dramatic swings in the sunshine state all but secured the election win for the Coalition.

Former prominent radio host Mike Carlton even declared 'we may have to declare war on Queensland,' after dramatic swings in the sunshine state all but secured the election win for the Coalition

'F***. Fifty years ago, Labor lost the 1969 Dons Party election. History repeats itself: first as tragedy, then as farce.'

He then said 'WA has gone to s**t too,' after early results suggested WA was following suit with the rest of the country's votes.

Liberal voters have been celebrating after the election was called for Scott Morrison.

The result was called shortly after 9.30pm AEST - as results began to be called in Western Australia.

Labor struggled to pick up enough seats even in Melbourne, in its strongest state Victoria, and has lost electorates in Brisbane, north Queensland, western Sydney and Tasmania.

Millions of votes are still yet to be counted.
Labor has spectacularly lost an 'unloseable' election after being the overwhelming favourite for well over a year.

Poll after poll indicated Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's wide-reaching policy platform had been embraced by voters.

But they were all wrong, even the exit poll that predicted a 52-48 result for Labor, and Scott Morrison will remain prime minister.

Poll after poll indicated Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's wide-reaching policy platform had been embraced by voters - instead he lost and stepped down as leader

But they were all wrong, even the exit poll that predicted a 52-48 result for Labor, and Scott Morrison (pictured with his wife Jenny) will remain prime minister

Even senior Coalition figures were astonished by the result after bracing for losses and numerous ministers quitting rather than heading for opposition.

Mr Shorten's big target agenda has quickly come under fire as being too expansive for voters to accept, and alienating too many who they needed to win over.

'You could have been the government tonight, you fools, but you're not,' Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said after his own easy reelection.

'When they decide their voters live in Woolloomooloo, Queensland will leave you alone. In this area as well, people are talking about their power prices.

'They want to know how they can get dignity in their lives by being able to turn on their fridge, the toaster. This is the issue that resonates with them.'

Labor pitched a transformative slate of policies aimed at stamping Mr Shorten's vision on the country.

They included big-spending promises on subsidised childcare, making housing more affordable, and closing the gap between rich and poor.

'You could have been the government tonight, you fools, but you're not,' Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said after his own easy reelection

A happy Peter Dutton celebrates after winning his seat. He was expected to lose his seat but the swing went the other way

However, another big policy was its efforts to fight climate change with ambitious emissions reduction targets and promoting electric cars.

Though this pleased inner-city voters in Mr Shorten's home state of Victoria, many Australians perceived this as an attack on their way of life.

The Coalition successfully argued its plans would hurt the economy and that a focus on renewable energy would force up power prices.

The bloodbath in Queensland was in large part driven by these issues, along with Labor's opposition to the Adani coal mine.

'This particular project became a symbol of pro or anti-climate. The LNP wanted to message it being pro or anti jobs,' Labor shadow foreign affairs minister Penny Wong admitted on the ABC election panel.

'That's challenging as a Labor Party. As party of government, we have to manage the right policy and manage explaining that in Melbourne just as we do in Brisbane and the outer suburbs and it's a challenge for us.'

Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos said: 'It became emblematic of "we want jobs" and the Bob Brown (pictured) caravan which went up there to talk about stopping Adani'

Anti-Adani protesters follow Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg (centre) as he arrives to vote at a booth in Balwyn for the seat of Kooyong on Election Day in Melbourne

Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos said some of the result could be explained by those opposing the Adani project being seen as anti-jobs.

'Adani became about jobs. It became emblematic of 'we want jobs' and the Bob Brown caravan which went up there to talk about stopping Adani, had locals thinking 'hang on, you are not going to tell us how to live',' he said.

ABC election analyst Anthony Green agreed as he discussed the results of seats in central and northern Queensland.

'The voters have emphatically sent a message of some sort to Canberra [about the Adani mine],' he said.

'There will be a lot of discussion about what's caused this swing but I think I've got a rough idea what people can be pointing their finger at in terms of what was the big issue in north Queensland.'

Additionally, Labor needed a way to pay for pay for all their policies or they would be accused of being bad economic managers who can't balance the budget.

Mr Shorten also aims for half of all new cars sold in Australia to be electric by 2030

So the opposition mounted an attack on the 'top end of town' by closing a series of tax loopholes, which is now being slammed as the 'politics of envy'.

One of its signature policies was restricting negative gearing to new homes, and halve the capital gains tax discount from 50 per cent to 25 per cent, to make houses more affordable.

The existing policy gives housing investors a tax break if they make short-term losses on real estate investments.

Property analysts lined up to claim this would slash house prices by a quarter or more, and could even hurt the rest of the economy.

Investors weren't happy either and the Coalition was able to spin it as punishing people just trying to get ahead.

Another policy would end cash refunds on franking credits for self-funded retirees, which is where shareholders who receive dividends are given a tax refund.

Former Liberal prime minister John Howard slammed Labor's approach as the 'politics of envy' that divided Australia on class

Labor pitched a transformative slate of policies aimed at stamping Mr Shorten's vision on the country

This is so they aren't effectively doubled-tax, since a listed company has also already paid corporate tax under the dividend imputations system.

The Opposition estimated this will save $58.2 billion over the next decade, and sparing taxpayers $4.4 billion in 2020-21.

This policy did not win Labor any favours with retirees, and made it harder for them to win marginal seats in areas popular with older voters.

Former Liberal prime minister John Howard slammed Labor's approach as the 'politics of envy' that divided Australia on class.

'All of this talk about the big end of town, if you make a few bob and you are successful, and you want to invest, and you want to leave some of your children, it doesn't make you the big end of town,' he said.

'He has done something I don't think Bob Hawke would have ever done, and that is trying to divide the country on class lines... I think he stumbled badly.'

Other Coalition figures had similar thoughts on why Labor failed so spectacularly, sharing their thoughts with the ABC's Patricia Karvelas.

'They're saying their target was too big, too risky, they alienated voters in Queensland,' she told the ABC's election panel.

There will be more recriminations in days and weeks to come and some soul-searching by the ALP as to how it all went so horribly wrong

Mr Shorten's big target agenda has quickly come under fire as being too much for voters to accept, and alienating too many who they needed to win

Finally, Mr Shorten was personally unpopular, perceived as a factional warlord who lacked charisma - even with the help of his wife Chloe.

He was for much of his career remembered as the man who stabbed Kevin Rudd in the back for Julia Gillard, then knifed her too.

As a former Australian Workers Union secretary he was perceived as too much of a union hack in a Labor Party constantly accused of being beholden to union interests.

'There was also some commentary around Bill Shorten as an individual, saying his negative rating it was overwhelming in the campaign and they couldn't withstand it,' Karvelas said Coalition sources told her.

Finally, the opposition fell into the same trap everyone else did and believed in its own hype far too much.

With polling indicating they couldn't possibly lose they became complacent with the campaigning and took too many risks.

They also didn't effectively counter Mr Morrison's attacks on their positions and allowed him to chip away during a spirited campaign.

There will be more recriminations in days and weeks to come and some soul-searching by the ALP as to how it all went so horribly wrong.

The next chapter won't be led by Bill Shorten as he resigned as Labor leader in his concession speech.
Bill Shorten has stood down as Leader of the Opposition after losing his second election.

The Labor Leader suffered a humiliating defeat against Prime Minister Scott Morrison, despite telling reporters on Saturday he would be 'hitting the ground running' on Sunday.

Opinion polls predicted the party would enjoy a comfortable win and be able to form majority government, but what should have been a night of triumph ended in one of defeat.

In an emotional speech to supporters late on Saturday night, he said he was 'disappointed by the result' and that he wished he could have won 'for the true believers' and for the late Bob Hawke.

'Now that the contest is over, all of us have a responsibility to respect the result, respect the wishes of the Australian people and to bring our nation together,' he said.

'However that task will be one for the next leader of the Labor Party because while I intend to continue to serve as the member for Maribyrnong, I will not be a candidate in the next Labor leadership ballot.'

Bill Shorten has stood down as Labor Leader after Saturday's humiliating election loss

Mr Shorten's speech was praised by voters as 'inspiring' and 'graceful'.

As he spoke, his wife Chloe stood close by his side, gazing adoringly at her husband as he resigned from the leadership.

A Labor win was expected to be a sure thing, with a Newspoll held on the eve of the election showing Labor leading the Coalition 51.5 per cent to 48.5 per cent on a two-party-preferred vote basis.

But it was not meant to be.

As votes flooded in, there was an early swing to the Coalition and Labor never recovered.

While it will take days for the party to work out exactly what went wrong, political pundits are already speculating.

The Labor leader of six years has outlasted two Liberal Prime Ministers before calling it quits on Saturday

In an emotional speech, he told supporters he wished he could have won for the Party's true believers and Bob Hawke

ABC's Andrew Probyn said Labor sources told him they believed their chances were 'killed' by the Coalition's preference deals with Clive Palmer's United Australia Party and Pauline Hanson's One Nation.

Troy Bramston, a columnist for The Australian, said Labor sources had told him they were 'stunned and shocked, and it looks like a diabolical night for their party'.

Mr Shorten has led the Labor Party since October 2013, when he took over from former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

In 2016, Shorten led Labor to gain 14 seats in an election where Malcolm Turnbull was only able to form a Coalition government by a single seat.

He did not nominate a successor in his concession speech, but notably thanked Tanya Plibersek, Penny Wong and Chris Bowen - excluding Anthony Albanese.

Anthony Albanese will reportedly put his hand up for the the top job, having only narrowly lost the leadership ballot to Mr Shorten six years ago.

His decision to run was reported by Sky News' David Speers - while Mr Shorten was still on stage conceding the election.

Anthony Albanese, who previously put his hand up for the top job in 2013, will be a contender for future leader of the party

He comfortably won his seat in Sydney's inner-west against the Greens' Jim Casey on Saturday night, and addressed supporters with what appeared to be a bid for the leadership, noting he would work in 'whatever capacity' to return the party to power.

'The Labor Party doesn't seek to form government to change who sits in ministerial cars. We seek to form government to change the country,' he said to thunderous applause.

'Bill Shorten as the leader and our entire team have worked incredibly hard over recent times. I have been someone who has never put myself before the Labor Party as a whole.

'And as part of that team I must accept, as we must collectively, responsibility for the fact the many people who rely on us will be disappointed that the outcome tonight is uncertain.

'But what I am convinced about, and have been convinced about since I joined the Labor Party in school, is that this movement is bigger than any individual.'

He went on to slam the Coalition for running a 'campaign of fear', and said he would work in 'whatever capacity' to bring Labor to power.

'This movement, which has been in existence since 1891, standing up for the interests of working class people and standing up to change the power balance in society, whether that be economic power, political power or social power, that is our task and it is one that I will continue to pursue whether in Government or, if we aren't fortunate to be in Government, in whatever capacity over the coming days, weeks, months and years.'

Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek is another strong contender for the leadership, having taken a starring role in Mr Shorten's campaign.

Tanya Plibersek is another favourite for the leadership, with the Deputy Leader expected to put her hand up now Mr Shorten has stood down

Ms Plibersek was often seen by Mr Shorten's side, her smiling face often in stark contrast to Mr Shorten's wooden demeanor.

She became Deputy Leader of the party in 2013, when Mr Shorten became leader, and previously served as a cabinet minister in the governments of former prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.

The Member for Sydney also comfortably held on to her seat, but declined to say if Mr Shorten would be ousted or if she would contend for the leadership.

'I think we might wait for the ballot papers to be done before we do that,' she said when asked by ABC's Leigh Sales if Bill Shorten was 'done'.

'We've got about 4.7million pre-poll votes to count, postal votes... it adds up to about six million votes.

'I think we can say we didn't do as well as we had hoped, especially in Queensland, you've gotta say the strong One Nation and Palmer United Party preference flows to the LNP in Qld have certainly helped them there, so you can imagine the chaotic dent that will happen there in the future.

'There's still a lot of votes to count, and I'm very proud of the campaign we've run. Bill ran a fantastic campaign and he had a great team behind him.'

Penny Wong, who was sitting on the ABC panel, would not be drawn on her predictions, claiming the results were not fully in yet.
A Daily Mail investigation can reveal the ease with which dealers are able to obtain false documents for puppies as young as seven weeks, allowing them to sneak through UK borders. Undercover Mail reporters posing as British breeders visited a sprawling market in Slomczyn, a remote village around 23 miles from Warsaw, where puppy traders boasted of being able to fake birth certificates so underage dogs could be smuggled into the UK. Slomczyn isn't in any tourist guides for British travellers. But the market is one of the go-to destinations for international puppy smugglers. It is mostly devoted to second-hand cars and clothes, but you can also take your pick of the most sought-after dog breeds - if you know where to look. Next to the main entrance is an association of breeders selling puppies at basement prices, often to the UK. It is illegal to sell animals at markets in Poland, so the association owns the land it operates on, which is technically separate from the rest of the market. But when our undercover reporters visited on a freezing Sunday morning last month, it didn't take long to find those eager to bend the rules. Dozens of dealers were gathered in pens of corrugated iron, selling cots, cages and cardboard boxes of shivering puppies. (Pictured left, top and bottom right, underage puppies being sold in freezing cold conditions at Slomcyzn market in Poland. Inset left, the birth certificate obtained for an underage beagle puppy. Inset top, Jozef Nowak handles an eight-week-old labrador)
Far-right senator Fraser Anning has failed to win back his seat in the Senate after he was widely condemned for his remarks about the Christchurch massacre.

ABC election analyst Antony Green tonight said Anning - who blamed the massacre on Muslim immigration - would not secure a seat in Parliament.

Neither will anyone from his self-named party, although its candidates won more than 50,000 votes in House races.

'Fraser Anning, he goes back to where he came from because he won't come back to the Parliament,' Mr Green said.

But some familiar faces may be on their way back to Parliament.

Gone: Fraser Anning will not be returning to the Senate after his brief term in office

Independent senator Jacqui Lambie has claimed victory in her bid to return to Parliament.

She was booted from the Senate over section 44 constitutional issues but may well be on her way back.

'We're bloody coming again!' an emotional Ms Lambie said at a victory party, hugging her teary father.

Mr Green said Ms Lambie could indeed be returning to office, with the ABC's election calculator projecting she is likely to win the state's sixth Senate seat.

One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts was kicked out of the Senate over the same issues and is also projected to return.

The ABC's election calculator tonight said he will snag the state's fifth Senate seat.

Independent Jacqui Lambie (left) and One Nation's Malcolm Roberts (right) are likely to return to the Senate, the ABC election computer projected

Derryn Hinch is 'very unlikely to get in' from his current position, Antony Green said

But former shock jock turned Victorian senator Derryn Hinch may be on the way out.

Mr Green said he's 'very unlikely to get in' from his current vote.

The election analyst said the crossbench 'will be substantially smaller' in the new Parliament.

The vote count continues. Mr Anning will remain in his Senate seat until June 30.
In a sure sign of their closening relationship, Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew have appeared together today at the royal wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston.

The Duchess of York, 59, arrived at St George's Chapel, Windsor this morning alongside her daughter Princess Beatrice and the 30-year-old's new boyfriend Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

She was later seen standing next to her former husband Prince Andrew, as she talked to clergy before entering the chapel. It comes just months after the pair appeared 'virtually inseparable' during a family getaway to the Bahrain Grand Prix.

And comes amid reports of the Duke and Duchess's ever-growing closeness, which saw her included in her first official Royal family photo in decades when their daughter Eugenie got married late last year.

The Duchess of York, 59, was seen standing next to her former husband Prince Andrew, as she talked to clergy before entering the chapel

She arrived at the wedding alongside her daughter Princess Beatrice (centre) and the 30-year-old's new boyfriend Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (right)

The Duchess of York was seen at the wedding alongside Princess Beatrice and her new boyfriend Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Edoardo seems to have earned the approval of Fergie spending an increasing amount of time with the family

The couple 'amicably' divorced in 1996 following ten years of marriage after the duchess was photographed having her feet kissed by her financial adviser, John Bryan, in the South of France.

But the pair have remained extremely close, sharing Andrew's official residence, Royal Lodge at Windsor, and buying a luxury ski chalet in Verbier. But Fergie has denied there is anything more to their relationship than being friends.

In an interview with the Daily Mail earlier this year, Sarah said of her former husband: 'We're the happiest divorced couple in the world. We're divorced to each other, not from each other.'

The pair was seen at the wedding alongside Princess Beatrice and her new boyfriend Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Edoardo seems to have earned the approval of Fergie spending an increasing amount of time with the family.

Rumours Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi were dating first emerged late last year and they have since spent time together in New York and Kenya.

The Duke and Duchess of York, both 59, are pictured side by side in their daughter Eugenie's official wedding photo in 2018

Sarah Ferguson waving to crowds after marrying Andrew as they leave Westminster Abbey, London after their wedding ceremony

All were present alongside a number of notable characters, at the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston today.

The Queen led the royal family at the wedding and was joined by the Duke of Sussex, who left his baby son Archie at home to attend, and the Duke of Edinburgh, making a rare public appearance.

Pippa Middleton, sister of the Duchess of Cambridge and friend of the groom, was also among the guests at the ceremony. As was her brother and his girlfriend Alizee Thevenet, aged 30.

Other notable attendees included Princess Anne, the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. She arrived alongside Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

Bride Lady Gabriella Windsor made her entrance in an elegant lace wedding gown by Italian designer Luisa Beccaria as she arrived at St George's Chapel on her wedding day.

She entered the chapel at Windsor Castle to marry financier Thomas Kingston after stepping from a claret-coloured vintage car, accompanied by her father, Prince Michael of Kent.

Other notable attendees included Princess Anne, the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Princess Anne arrived at the wedding alongside Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex (pictured together). The pair strolled next to one another to the entrance of the chapel

Princess Anne talks to her mother, the Queen following the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston today

The beaming bride wore a Russian Fringe-style tiara also worn by her grandmother, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, and her mother, Princess Michael of Kent, for their wedding days.

Known as Ella, the bride had a creamy ivory Ella rose in her bouquet alongside myrtle, a tradition in many royal bridal flower arrangements. The bridesmaids and pageboys wore outfits by the same designer.

Isabella and Maud Windsor - Lady Gabriella's nieces - and the other bridesmaids wore cream dresses with blush underlays and sashes, with flower rings in their hair in a similar style to the bouquet.

Maud, the eldest daughter of Lord Frederick Windsor and Peep Show actress Sophie Winkleman, was part of the bridal party at Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's wedding in October.

Pageboys wore cream shirts and knickerbockers for the midday ceremony conducted by Dean of Windsor the Right Rev David Conner.

Mr Kingston arrived at the chapel on foot with his best man, closely followed by the mother of the bride, in a lilac gown and embroidered overcoat, who was accompanied by Lady Gabriella's brother.

It is the third royal wedding in the 15th-century venue in less than a year following the star-studded nuptials of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex last May and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank in October.
Her family may be ensnared in an onslaught of lawsuits for their alleged part in perpetuating the opioid epidemic currently plaguing much of the US, but beneficiary of the OxyContin fortune Joss Sackler insists it has nothing to do with her  and she'd rather focus on her wine society.

Forty-five states across the country have now filed lawsuits against the Sackler family business, Purdue Pharma, accusing the billionaires of fueling the nations opioid crisis with deceptive marketing techniques that claimed the drug wasnt addictive.

Former director of the company and Joss father-in-law, Richard Sackler, has also been sued personally by a number of states for attempting to conceal OxyContins strength from doctors, and then allegedly urging the company to increase sales efforts as the crisis began to mount.

But 34-year-old Joss Sackler says she remains otherwise occupied, focusing her energy towards her exclusive womens wine club-come-fashion label, LBV, which she co-founded in 2017.

I support my family 500 percent, she said. I believe they will be completely vindicated. But they have nothing to do with LBV.

As 100 Americans die daily from opioids, Joss Sackler insists she should be judged on her own merits - not by her family's legal woes and contentious business

Recently, in a response to a New York Times article titled Uptown, Sackler Protests. Downtown, a Sackler Fashion Line, Joss made her insistence to be separated from the prescription drug scandal abundantly known in an explosive Facebook post.

If a male entrepreneurs business was prospering and popular, would the New York Times dare publish an article so focused on the family business of his wife? She rhetorically asked.

I was flattered that you came to our LBV presentation she continued, but what better truth for this sad media reality than what you have done hereusing the same bait-and-click language to malign LBV, my own womens initiative unrelated to Purdue, aimed at promoting womens empowerment.

What you accomplished in your bait-and-switch text was to relegate my identity to only being someones wife, thereby erasing any signs of my successes or accomplishments as a woman.

Reaction to the outburst was varied. Some commended Joss bravery for confronting the article head-on, others insisted it shouldve been titled Meet Joss Sackler, who just unveiled her hideous own fashion line made possible by blood money.

But in a brutal interview with Town and Country this week, Joss doubled-down on her belief that she should be judged separately from her familys opioid ties  despite being a beneficiary of the $13 billion fortune the Sackler family have amassed from OxyContin.

Are you going to write about what I choose? Or describe how I look off into the distance angrily when the name Sackler comes up? Joss asked Town and Countrys Norman Vanamee.

Eight members of the Sackler family - including Joss husband David - have been accused by 45 states of downplaying the addiction dangers of OxyContin and using sales representatives to pressure doctors into prescribing more of them.

Each of the Purdue Pharma board members vehemently deny all allegations and say theyre willing to defend themselves in court.

Joss agrees with their claims of innocence and remains confident that her family will be cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.

Joss says she's focusing her energy towards her exclusive womens wine club-come-fashion label, LBV, which she co-founded in 2017

Joss launched LBV two years ago, which was initially sold as an exclusive members wine club but has since evolved into social club complete with private trips to art galleries and black-tie dinners.

Members pay anywhere from $500 to $2,500 in annual fees to be a part of the group.

Aside from OxyContin, the Sackler family have long been known for their philanthropy, regularly donating large sums of money to art museums such as the Louvre, the Met and the Smithsonian.

In 2018, artist Nan Goldin began holding demonstrations at museums and other institutions who received Sackler donation money.

Her activist group, Prescriptive Addiction Intervention Now (PAIN), gathered in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York  which has an entire wing named after the Sacklers  and launched hundreds of empty prescription bottles into the air.

She also staged a die-in at the Guggenheim, dropping leaflets from the museums iconic spiraling walkway with Sacklers Lie, People Die written across them.

And on Wednesday the Met insisted it would no longer be excepting donations from the Sackler family, in light of their legal woes.

Im not the person to speak to about the Sackler family philanthropy, Joss insisted when pressed on the issue. Why dont you do a big piece on LBV instead?

Why dont you put that in the magazine? Why dont you put that on the cover?, the mother-of-three continued to Town and Country.

Artist Nan Goldin (above) staged a protest in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York  which has an entire wing named after the Sacklers  and launched hundreds of empty prescription bottles into the air

Her activist group, Prescriptive Addiction Intervention Now (PAIN) also staged a die-in at the Guggenheim, dropping leaflets from the museums iconic spiraling walkway with Sacklers Lie, People Die written across them

Born in Canada, Joss father was a diplomat and she spent much of her childhood growing up in Bangladesh. She attended high school in Japan before returning to Canada to study political science at University.

Joss married into the Sackler family having met David on a blind date in New York City several years ago.

I was an adjunct lecturer at the time and was always running late. David is this super-punctual finance guy who is always on time, she recalled.

But for the first five years of their marriage Joss refused to change her last name to Sackler.

Former director of the company, Richard Sackler, has also been sued personally by a number of states for attempting to conceal OxyContins strength from doctors, and then allegedly urging the company to increase sales efforts as the crisis began to mount

I didnt want preferential treatment while I was doing my dissertation, she said. Davids grand-father was this highly regarded scientist and businessman. He was knighted in France and in England and had 12 authoring doctorates.

Along with his brother Mortimer, Davids grandfather Raymond Sackler founded Purdue Pharma in 1982.

He oversaw the launch of OxyContin in 1996 which went on to earn the Sackler family a net worth of $13 billion.

The pill  which is stronger than morphine  now finds itself at the center of an opioid addiction epidemic that is thought to be killing more than 100 Americans a day.

More than 47,000 people died from overdoses involving opioids in 2017 - more than AIDS killed at the peak of its own epidemic and more than auto accidents kill annually.

The death toll since 2000 is estimated to be in excess of 391,000.

In 2007, Purdue Pharma and three of its top executives pleaded guilty to criminal charges of misbranding the drug and were forced to pay a $634 million fine.

However its only now that members of the family are being targeted specifically, along with the company.

On Thursday, five more states - Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Wisconsin and West Virginia  filed lawsuits against Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family.

This filing today represents another step forward to stop the senseless deaths and bring accountability to the system, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a press conference.

Between 1999 and 2017, its thought as many as 218,000 people have died in the US from overdosing on prescription opioids

Along with his brother Mortimer, Joss' grandfather-in-law Raymond Sackler founded Purdue Pharma in 1982

In a separate move, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum filed a lawsuit against eight members of the family  who serve on Purdues board  accusing them of siphoning billions of dollars out of Purdue Pharma and transferring it to themselves.

She believes the Sackler family intentionally starved the company of cash to escape economic legal liability for unlawfully marketing OxyContin.

Over the past decade, the destruction that OxyContin has caused has skyrocketed...The time has come to hold these members of the Sackler family personally responsible, Rosenblum said.

In the wake of the ever growing list of lawsuits filed against Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, which are now thought to be in excess of 1,600, Joss social media presence has noticeably shrunk.

Her Facebook page in which she once unabashedly called out the New York Times for what she believes was sexism, now remains largely private. Her Twitter account has also been deleted.

There was somebody who was sending me super-long, very threatening messages [on Facebook], Joss revealed to Town and Country.

He found out who my climbing friends were and reached out to them with something like, If you support Joss Sackler and her blood money, Im going to call the local REI and make sure that nobody hires you as a guide.'

Im a tough cookie, okay? Im not intimidated or scared. But I realized that my friends were being hurt just by association with me.

Joss agrees with their claims of innocence and told Town and Country that her family will be cleared of any criminal wrongdoing

Claiming to usually ignore the influx of abusive messages she sometimes receives, Joss admitted to biting back on one occasion.

One day he sent this really long message, and I responded with a simple note. [Then] I get a call from [Purdue] security being like, Um, this guy called, and hes really scared for his life, and he wants to possibly go into a witness protection program because you sent him a threat.

And Im like, One second. I get, like, 50 messages a day. My friends are getting messages. And I just responded to this one guy. She then reportedly shook her head and laughed, according to Town and Country.

But Joss says she remains undeterred by the messages shes sent and the prospect of receiving more bad press - such as the New York Times article - as the OxyContin scandal continues to intensify.

Its not to say that Im shielded from negative sentiment that comes by having my last name, she told Town and Country. What Im saying is that at least now, when people use my last name, they will sure as hell use my first name as well [because of LBV]. And thats a win.

Theyre going to regret f***ing with a linguist, she said, referring to her PHD in linguistics.

I bet they already do.
Former FBI Director James Comey says Attorney General William Barr is 'sliming' on the Department of Justice after he assigned a federal prosecutor to look how the Russian investigation started.

Comey  who was fired by Donald Trump from his role in 2017  spoke out in a tweet Friday as Barr appeared on Fox News with Bill Hemmer and said 'some strange developments took place' between Election Day and Inauguration Day.

'The AG should stop sliming his own Department. If there are bad facts, show us, or search for them professionally and then tell us what you found,' Comey posted on Twitter. 'An AG must act like the leader of the Department of Justice, an organization based on truth. Donald Trump has enough spokespeople.'

Former FBI Director James Comey says Attorney General William Barr is 'sliming' on the Department of Justice. Barr has assigned a federal prosecutor to look how Russian investigation started

Comey tweeted: 'An AG must act like the leader of the Department of Justice, an organization based on truth'

Trump had earlier on Friday tweeted: 'My Campaign for President was conclusively spied on. Nothing like this has ever happened in American Politics. A really bad situation. TREASON means long jail sentences, and this was TREASON!'

Comey added: 'The president claiming the FBI's investigation was 'TREASON' reminds me that a Russian once said, "A lie told often enough becomes the truth." That shouldn't happen in America. Who will stand up?'

Barr was appointed the 85th Attorney General by Trump on February 14.

He said in April he was forming a team to look into the actions of the FBI and Justice Department before the probe on possible meddling in the 2016 election began.

Comey said Friday referring to Barr's actions that President Trump has enough spokespeople

Comey also called out Trump for repeatedly alleging that the FBI investigation was treason

Barr appointed the US Attorney for the District of Connecticut John Durham to investigate the origins of the Russia probe.

The March report found that Trump, including those within his campaign and administration, had not conspired with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election.

Even though the report found there was no collusion, it did outline 10 'episodes' where the president could have potentially attempted to obstruct justice throughout the investigation.

Barr appointed the US Attorney for the District of Connecticut John Durham to investigate the origins of the Russia probe

The AG has also accused the FBI of spying on Trump.

'I think spying did occur,' he said during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing. 'But the question is whether it was adequately predicated and I'm not suggesting it wasn't adequately predicated, but I need to explore that.'

He later clarified his statement.

'I am not saying that improper surveillance occurred. I'm saying that I am concerned about it and looking into it. That's all,' he said.

Trump has long believed that Obama-era DOJ officials plotted to prevent his victory over Hillary Clinton, citing text messages from a former FBI agent and his FBI lawyer paramour.

Barr said on Fox News Friday about the probe into collusion between the Russians and Trump's campaign: 'I think there's a misconception out there that we know a lot about what happened.

'The fact of the matter is Bob Mueller did not look at the government's activities. He was looking at whether or not the Trump campaign had conspired with the Russians.'

Barr added about obtaining permission to wire tap those suspected of spying: 'But he was not going back and looking at the counterintelligence program. And we have a number of investigations underway that touch upon it - the main one being the office of inspector general that's looking at the FISA warrants.'
Toyota Motor Corp on Friday criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to declare some auto sector imports a national security threat, saying it sends a message to the Japanese automaker that 'our investments are not welcomed.'

The automaker, which is in the middle of building a $1.6 billion joint venture assembly plant and said in March it will invest $13 billion in U.S. operations by 2021.

In an unusually strong-worded statement, Japan's largest automaker said Trump's proclamation that the U.S. needs to defend itself against foreign cars and components 'sends a message to Toyota that our investments are not welcomed.'

Toyota Motor Corp. rebuked President Donald Trump's declaration that imported cars threaten U.S. national security

'Our operations and employees contribute significantly to the American way of life, the U.S. economy and are not a national security threat,' the company said. CEO Akio Toyoda pictured

'Our operations and employees contribute significantly to the American way of life, the U.S. economy and are not a national security threat,' the company said in a statement.

Toyota said it has been 'deeply ingrained' in the U.S. for more than 60 years and has invested over $60 billion in the country, employing more than 475,000 Americans.

Toyota added that 'history has shown' that limiting imports of vehicles and parts is 'counterproductive in creating jobs, stimulating the economy and influencing consumer buying habits.'

The company has spent more than $60 billion building its operations in the country, including 10 manufacturing plants.



Toyota has spent more than $60 billion building its operations in the country, including 10 manufacturing plants such as the Toyota Camry, Avalon and Venza, in Georgetown, Kentucky

Trump agreed with the conclusions of his Commerce Department, which investigated imports of vehicles and auto parts that found they 'harm' national security.

American carmakers have held a declining share of the market since the 1980s.

The White House has now set a 180-day deadline to negotiating deals with Japan and the European Union.

Toyota, meanwhile, has said it remains hopeful that such talks can be resolved quickly according to Bloomberg.

The company has warned that curbing imports would force U.S. consumers to pay more and could be counterproductive for jobs and the economy.

After being criticized for planning to build Corolla cars in Mexico in January 2017, Toyota announced a $10 billion, five-year investment plan in an attempt to curry favor with Trump

The warning comes after Toyota had pledged to add $3 billion to an investment plan stretching over many years.

Other automakers have attempted to be more diplomatic but have nonetheless registered concern about the Trump administration's saber-rattling.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, warned Friday that higher prices from tariffs could put 700,000 American jobs at risk.

'We are deeply concerned that the administration continues to consider imposing auto tariffs,' the car lobby said in a statement. 'By boosting car prices across the board and driving up car repair and maintenance costs, tariffs are essentially a massive tax on consumers.'

The White House is threatening to impose tariffs of as much as 25% on imported vehicles and auto parts and is giving foreign companies 180 days to renegotiate their deals with the U.S.

The group represents a dozen of the largest domestic and foreign carmakers with operations in the U.S.

Toyota had spent years attempting to curry favor with Trump.

After being criticized for planning to build Corolla cars in Mexico in January 2017, Toyota announced a $10 billion, five-year investment plan.

The following August, the company announced it would team up withe Mazda to build a $1.6 billion factory in Alabama.

But all those efforts have done little to curb repeated threats by the White House to impose tariffs of as much as 25% on imported vehicles and auto parts.
Social media users were left awe-struck by the resplendent appearance of the Queen at the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor this morning.

Photos of the 93-year-old monarch were posted by the official Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts of the royal family on Saturday afternoon following the ceremony at St George's Chapel in Windsor.

Thousands from around the world flocked to praise the Queen who wore a magenta A-line coat, and a lilac and pink silk dress by Stewart Parvin, with a matching hat by Rachel Trevor-Morgan.

Linda Bradley Bannon wrote on Facebook: 'The Queen always looks fabulous. Her outfits are beautiful.'

The royal family's official Instagram and Facebook accounts lead with this picture of the Queen arriving with the Duke of Edinburgh to St George's Chapel in Windsor on Saturday for Lady Gabriella Windsor's wedding

There was praise for Lady Gabriella Windsor's stunning dress by Luisa Beccaria and the shimmering tiara which had been worn by her mother and grandmother on their wedding days

While Kabby Martone said: 'The Queen looks fabulous! Lovely to see Prince Phillip looking well! The bride is perfect! Gorgeous dress! Breathtaking tiara! Looks like she had a gorgeous day! Congratulations to the happy couple!'

And Jean Kulmala posted: 'The farther away from the Line of Succession, the more relaxed these Royal Family events can be.

'Everyone seems to be having a nice time; the bride looks lovely; and its good to see the Queen and Prince Philip looking so well and happy.'

The Queen arrived a few minutes ahead of the bride with the Duke of Edinburgh, who was making a rare public appearance.

Philip appeared in good spirits and joked with the Dean of Windsor, the Right Reverend David Conner, who was waiting to greet the monarch and her consort.

Many others were complimentary about the bride with many commenting on Lady Gabriella Windsor's stunning diamond tiara which had been worn by her grandmother and mother before her.

The Queen looks overjoyed as she beams outside St George's Chapel, carrying the order of service for the wedding. She also shares a smile with Harry as they speak after leaving the royal wedding

Queen Elizabeth II talks to the Duke of Sussex as they leave after the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor this afternoon

Queen Elizabeth II arrives with the Duke of Edinburgh for the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston today

Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston leave St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle following their wedding today

A Facebook user called Saundra Bain wrote: 'Princess Anne looks stunning ! The older she gets, the more Striking she becomes. She is lovely ! Reminds me very much of her great grandmother, Queen Mary. A beautiful wedding.....beautiful bride! CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEWLYWEDS FROM NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA.'

Lady Gabriella made her entrance in an elegant lace wedding gown by Italian designer Luisa Beccaria as she arrived at St George's Chapel.

She entered the chapel to marry financier Thomas Kingston after stepping from a claret-coloured vintage car, accompanied by her father, Prince Michael of Kent.

The Queen led the royal family at the wedding and was joined by the Duke of Sussex, who left his baby son Archie at home to attend, and the Duke of Edinburgh, making a rare public appearance.

Newlyweds Thomas Kingston and Lady Gabriella Windsor pose on the steps of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle today

Pippa Middleton, sister of the Duchess of Cambridge and friend of the groom, was among the guests at the ceremony.

The beaming bride wore a Russian Fringe-style tiara also worn by her grandmother, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, and her mother, Princess Michael of Kent, for their wedding days.

The Duke of Sussex arrives at St George's Chapel with Sophie Winkleman, who is married to Lady Gabriella Windsor's brother Lord Frederick, alongside Princess Anne

Lady Gabriella's hair was styled in elegant curls, with a long veil designed in a similar fashion to the dress.

Embroidered with flowers and embellishments, layers of blush-coloured tulle and organdie created the body of the wedding gown under the lace, fanning out for a long train.

Known as Ella, the bride had a creamy ivory Ella rose in her bouquet alongside myrtle, a tradition in many royal bridal flower arrangements.

The bridesmaids and pageboys wore outfits by the same designer.

Isabella and Maud Windsor - Lady Gabriella's nieces - and the other bridesmaids wore cream dresses with blush underlays and sashes, with flower rings in their hair in a similar style to the bouquet.

Maud, the eldest daughter of Lord Frederick Windsor and Peep Show actress Sophie Winkleman, was part of the bridal party at Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's wedding in October.

Pageboys wore cream shirts and knickerbockers for the midday ceremony conducted by Dean of Windsor the Right Rev David Conner.

Harry appears to make his grandfather Philip laugh at the occasion as the two speak after the ceremony in Windsor today

Harry spoke animatedly to his grandfather Prince Philip as they left St George's Chapel following the wedding ceremony

Mr Kingston arrived at the chapel on foot with his best man, closely followed by the mother of the bride, in a lilac gown and embroidered overcoat, who was accompanied by Lady Gabriella's brother.

It is the third royal wedding in the 15th-century venue in less than a year following the star-studded nuptials of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex last May and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank in October.
Thank you, friends! Thank you, friends!

Can I just start by saying, as you know, a little while ago, Mr Shorten contacted me and I thank him.

No. I thank him very much in the spirit in which he made that call and I thank him very much for his kind remarks to me, and to Jenny, and to our family.

And I would like to wish him and Chloe, and his family all the best, and God's blessing.

I have always believed in miracles! I'm standing with the three biggest miracles in my life here tonight! And tonight we've been delivered another one!

How good is Australia? And how good are Australians? This is - this is - the best country in the world in which to live.

And it's those Australians that we have been working for for the last five and a half years since we came to Government, under Tony Abbott's leadership back in 2013.

It has been those Australians who have worked hard every day, they have their dreams, they have their aspirations, to get a job, to get an apprenticeship, to start a business, to meet someone amazing.

To start a family, to buy a home, to work hard and provide the best you can for your kids. To save your retirement. And to ensure that when you're in your retirement, that you can enjoy it because you've worked hard for it.

These are the quiet Australians who have won a great victory tonight!

Because it's always been about them. It's always been for those of you watching this at home tonight, for me and for my Government, for all of my team, it's all about you.

Tonight is not about me or it's not about even the Liberal Party. Tonight is about every single Australian who depends on their Government to put them first!

And so, friends, that is exactly what we are going to do. Our Government will come together after this fight and we will get back to work, just as Gladys Berejiklian got back to work here in New South Wales.

Just a few months ago. And that is our task, and that my undertaking to Australians from one end of the country to the other. I said that I was going to burn for you, and I am, every, single day.

So let me talk about some of our other miracles tonight.

Melissa McIntosh out there in Lindsay! Bill Thompson up there in Townsville and Herbert! Bridget Archer down there in Bass! The Big Unit, Gav Pearce, down there in Braddon! Terry Young up there in Longman in Brisbane! Sarah Richards, we're bringing back Macquarie!

But in saying that, can I also say thank you to some great service and I hope will continue to be service, at least in a number of these cases.

Can I start off by saying thank you to Tony Abbott for your service to this country.

And to Sarah Henderson and Warren Mundine, who are still in there and we've still got votes to count, and they're not stepping back - can I thank them very much for the hard campaign that they have fought.

To all of those in the seats that we held going into this campaign, who had to work hard to ensure that, as a result of their incredible efforts, they were able to be returned tonight, can I particularly thank Jason Wood.

Michael Sukkar, David Coleman down in Banks!

Lucy Wicks up there in Robertson. Pretty much, the whole state of Queensland! How good's Queensland?

I never thought I'd hear that in this room in New South Wales, this close to Origin. Particularly to Peter Dutton, to Trev Evans, Luke Howard, good, old Ken O'Dowd, Warren Entsch there, right up the top - all of our Queensland members, I want to thank you.

We have some great new members coming in as well, Dr Fiona Martin is here with us in Reid, Professor Cecilia Hammond over there in the west coming in Curtin, and Angie Bell up there on the Gold Coast.

I want to thank all of my candidates, all of my members, all of you who have worked so hard to get them where we have been able to come to tonight on behalf of all of those Australians that we work for, and we serve, and we do it humbly, and we do it in great appreciation.

I particularly want to thank a number of people who've been instrumental in tonight's result. I want to start - I want to start by thanking Gladys Berejiklian, Steven Marshall, the Premier of South South Australia, and Will Hodgman, the Premier of Tasmania.

They have led by example in their great victories and they've shown us the way at the federal level and they have worked so hard for us all around, to Gladys, particularly here in my home state - thank you so much.

And campaigning without drawing a breath, the great John Howard and Jeanette Howard.

I of course want to thank all of my leadership team who have served so well and so loyally. To Michael McCormack and all of our team at the Nationals.

To the Big Mac as I like to call him, to Bridget McKenzie, thank you so much for all you have done, we are a tremendous Coalition and we will be after tonight.

I also want to thank Josh Frydenberg. Josh is a great mate, and he has been a great Deputy leader. Well down there in Melbourne, Josh, we've held the whole team together. And it's a pretty good Budget too - back in surplus, next year!

Of course to Mathias Cormann, who has been our Minister-in-residence up in Queensland, and to Simon Birmingham, who has been our campaign spokesperson.

But another person I particularly want to thank tonight is - is Greg Hunt. Greg Hunt is an outstanding Health Minister and he stood up there in Flinders, and it's great to have you back, mate.

There's a lot of people to thank. But Andrew Hirst, our Federal Director. And to Nick Greiner, together with Andrew Burns, our Federal Treasurer, I thank him very much, and all the state directors around the country - they have run an outstanding campaign.

They have set a new mark, a new model, a new way for us to campaign as a Liberal and National team and this has really set an entirely new benchmark, Hirsty, and

I want to thank you for your leadership at our HQ. To my own team and my own staff, can I thank the staff, my Chief of Staff, and I think my PPS, Andrew Cardwell, leading the media team, and can I also send a long thank you over the Nullarbor over to Benny Morton, who has been with me every step of the way.

And all of my colleagues. It remains only to thank those who have been so - so close to me all of my life, Mary and John Morrison are here tonight - my parents and my brother, Allan, and his wife Suzie. My mother-in-law Beth is here.

They're just over here on my left. You all got to know Gary, amazing fellow. And my brother Allan, who I mentioned - I mentioned Allan.

We shared a room together in university. You've probably heard me tell that story about 20 times.

But to the dearest of my family who are with me here tonight, to my beautiful miracle girls, Abbey and Lily, thank you.

And to the woman I fell in love with in my teens, and it's never let up, and now Australia has fallen in love with her, Jenny Morrison.

So, friends, we've got a lot of work to do. We've got a lot of work to do. And we're going to get back to work.

We're going to get back to work for the Australians that we know go to work every day, who face those struggles and trials every day.

They're looking for a fair go and they're having a go and they're going to get a go from our Government.

Every single day, they are who we'll have right in front of us as we put in place and continue the policies, which we know will keep our economy strong, to guarantee the essentials that Australians rely on.

That'll keep Australians safe and secure. And most importantly, most personally, that will keep Australians together.

We are an amazing country of amazing people. God bless Australia!
Younger members of Lady Gabriella Windsor's bridal party joked around as the newlywed couple kissed and posed for photos on the steps of St George's Chapel.

Maud Windsor - daughter of Lady Gabriella's brother Lord Frederick and his wife Sophie Winkleman - and two other bridesmaids sat at the foot of the steps as members of their immediate family smiled for photographers following the ceremony.

Seemingly unfazed, the couple's eldest daughter fiddled with her bouquet as her parents looked on and laughed.

The mischievous wedding party: Young page boys and bridesmaids had fun and let loose while pictures were taken of Lady Gabriella and her new husband, Thomas Kingston

The page boys looked less than impressed with their role in the wedding as they both rubbed their eyes and yawned during the photo call

At one point, one of the bridesmaids lay on the floor outside the 15th century chapel, with another losing her floral headband.

The page boys of the procession looked less than impressed with their role in the wedding as two of them rubbed their eyes and yawned while Lady Gabriella kissed her new husband, Thomas Kingston.

One of the mischievous boys is even caught on camera picking his nose before he dances around a bit.

After some encouragement, Maud rejoined her parents and grandparents - Prince and Princess Michael of Kent - for the remainder of the photos.

Lady Gabriella married Thomas Kingston at a noon ceremony on Saturday at the Windsor Castle chapel.

At one point, one of the bridesmaids lay on the floor outside the 15th century chapel, with another losing her floral headband

The page boys - Frederick Murray, Rafferty Murray and Karim Khawaja - were joined by bridesmaids Maud, her younger sister Isabella Windsor, Leonora Weisman, Aurelia del Drago, Eliza Goldsmith and Emily Conolly

Earlier, the group of youngsters had walked into the chapel for the ceremony hand in hand, wearing outfits created by wedding gown designer Luisa Beccaria

One of the mischievous boys is even caught on camera picking his nose before he dances around a bit

Maud, her younger sister Isabella Windsor, Leonora Weisman, Aurelia del Drago, Eliza Goldsmith and Emily Conolly were all bridesmaids, with Frederick Murray, Rafferty Murray and Karim Khawaja as pageboys.

Earlier, the group of youngsters had walked into the chapel for the ceremony hand in hand, wearing outfits created by wedding gown designer Luisa Beccaria.

No stranger to posing on the steps, Maud was also a bridesmaid for the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank.

At the October wedding, pageboy Prince George and bridesmaid Savannah Phillips got up to their playful ways, pictured giggling as they waited for Eugenie to arrive.
A chuffed Scott Morrison showed he was Number One as he headed back to work on Sunday morning.

Stepping out from Kirribilli House in Sydney, he gave the distinctive hand signal before stepping into the Prime Minister's official C1 commonwealth car - just hours after his shock election victory.

Mr Morrison, now elected in his own right, must deliver on a raft of promises - from tax cuts and fewer immigrants, to a new coal power station.

Scott Morrison shows who's Number 1 after emerging from Kirribilli House to start delivering on a slew of promises

Back to work: The Prime Minister gets into the official C1 commonwealth car after his shock election win

They were promises few thought would happen, as the Labor was considered certain to claim victory after months of government instability.

All eyes had instead been on Labor's transformative policy agenda of scrapping negative gearing, aggressively fighting climate change, and cutting tax loopholes.

But the Coalition's miracle victory - despite polling predicting Bill Shorten would be swept into The Lodge - means they are now actually set to become law.

Mr Morrison dedicated his victory to 'the quiet Australians' who didn't care for Mr Shorten's attacks on the wealthy and didn't want their bills to rise because of a focus on renewable energy.

Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny confront the media on Sunday morning after his extraordinary come-from-behind election win

His victory speech gave clues as to who he thought his supporters were and the issues his government was likely to focus on

His victory speech gave clues as to who he thought his supporters were and the issues his government was likely to focus on.

'It has been those Australians who have worked hard every day, they have their dreams, they have their aspirations, to get a job, to get an apprenticeship, to start a business, to meet someone amazing,' he said .

'To start a family, to buy a home, to work hard and provide the best you can for your kids. To save your retirement.

'And to ensure that when you're in your retirement, that you can enjoy it because you've worked hard for it.'

Immigration

Scott Morrison's government would put a 18,750 cap on the number of humanitarian visas Australia would issue in a year, with 60 per cent of them to be for females

Scott Morrison's government will put a 18,750 cap on the number of humanitarian visas Australia would issue in a year, with 60 per cent of them to be for females.

It would boost the percentage of refugees resettled in regional areas from 30 to 40 per cent to ease pressure on crowded cities.

These refugees would need to live in regional areas for at least three years to qualify for permanent residency.

Overall permanent immigration would be capped at 160,000, down from the present net level of 190,000, 110,000 of which would be skilled migrants plus 47,000 family places.

Australia's actual intake has only exceeded the Coalition's cap twice since the early 1980s, accepting 19,998 in 2012-13 and 21,968 in 2016-17.

Housing

A re-elected Coalition government would set up a $500 million First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.

Taxpayers would stump up the cost of a home loan deposit with property first-timers only needing to put in five per cent to get a mortgage instead of the usual 20 per cent.

It would be available for single people earning less than $125,000 and couples earning a combined salary of less than $200,000.

LABOR'S NEGATIVE GEARING PLAN Labor promised to restrict negative gearing to new homes and halve the capital gains tax discount from 50 per cent to 25 per cent. The existing policy gives housing investors a tax break if they make short-term losses on real estate investments. This provides an incentive for property buyers who can sustain short-term losses for long-term profits. The idea is to make housing more affordable for first-time buyers and those who can't afford to own homes after the property boom that lasted until 2017. Advertisement

The Coalition opposed any changes to negative gearing, in opposition to Labor's plan to restrict negative gearing to new homes from January 2020 and halve the capital gains tax discount from 50 per cent from 25 per cent.

The Opposition claimed the policy would save the budget $32.5 billion over the next decade and make buying a house more affordable by stopping investors from competing with first-home buyers.

Scrapping negative gearing and halving the capital gains tax discount is criticised on the grounds it will cause investors to pull out.

Some property experts argue buyers would be scared off by negative gearing changes as they wouldn't be able to write off their losses on tax.

With more than a third of houses owned by investors, this could slash the number of buyers and lead to big price falls.

As negative gearing now off the table, investors could flock to the market with renewed confidence, or there could be no effect at all.

Power prices

Mr Morrison pledged to cut power bills by 25 per cent by setting energy companies a 'price target' it claims will save families up to $185 a year.

The case for a new coal power station in Queensland will be examined and $1.38 billion will be spent building the Snowy 2.0 hydro power scheme.

Labor was more focused on renewable energy, which the Coalition argued would push up power bills.

Mr Morrison pledged to cut power bills by 25 per cent by setting energy companies a 'price target' it claims will save families up to $185 a year (stock image)

Climate change

Contrary to some climate hardliners' wishes, the government will stay in the Paris Agreement and spend $3.5 billion on a package to meet its targets.

A $2 billion Climate Solutions Fund will provide cash for environmental projects for small business, farmers, and Aboriginal communities over 15 years.

Foreign aid

Mr Morrison's budget last month slashed foreign aid by $117 million to just over $4 billion a year and focused it on the Pacific Islands with cuts to Asian countries.

Income tax

Mr Morrison would cut taxes by $158 billion over 10 years by doubling tax offsets for low and middle-income earners and tinkering with thresholds.

Every bit of income between $40,000 and $200,000 a year would be taxed at 30 per cent, scrapping all the thresholds in between. This would equal about $1,080 a year in tax relief.

Labor wanted to end cash refunds on franking credits for self-funded retirees, which is where shareholders who receive dividends are given a tax refund.

This is so they aren't effectively doubled-tax, since a listed company has also already paid corporate tax under the dividend imputations system.

The Opposition estimated this will save $58.2billion over the next decade, and sparing taxpayers $4.4billion in 2020-21.

The Coalition opposed this and the policy arguably hurt Labor in areas with large numbers of older voters.

Families

The government argued its means-tested child care subsidy made childcare more 'accessible and affordable' for nearly one million families, leaving a typical family about $1,300 a year better off since it began in July 2018

The government argued its means-tested child care subsidy had already made childcare more 'accessible and affordable' for nearly one million families, leaving a typical family about $1,300 a year better off since it began in July 2018.

The government argued its changes had reduced childcare household out-of-pocket costs by more than 10 per cent.

The Coalition also pledged $78 million for women and children escaping domestic violence.

Industrial relations

Coalition will keep with its plan to cut penalty rates but promised jail for employers that exploit workers and establish a registry for dodgy labour-hire companies.

The two parties matched each other's commitment to lift the freeze on Medicare rebates from July 1 after five years, and spend $448.5 million to improve GP care of the elderly

Health

Mr Morrison's government would spend $461 million on youth mental health and suicide prevention, and more for Aboriginal mental health.

The two parties matched each other's commitment to lift the freeze on Medicare rebates from July 1 after five years, and spend $448.5 million to improve GP care of the elderly.

Young people would get a 10 per cent discount on private health insurance, but the government has effectively cut the rebate from 30 to 25 per cent while in office.

From 2020 pensioners will only need to pay for 60 prescriptions a year before the rest are free, down from 80. This will all cost $308 million and new drugs will be subsidised.

Education

Catholic and independent schools will get $4.6 billion worth of extra funding.

About $525 million will be spent funding 80,000 new apprenticeships and improving vocational education and training.

Paedophile register

A $7.8 million nationwide child sex offender register will be rolled out by the Coalition Government.

The public register that will publish the names, aliases, dates of birth, suburb and general nature of a perpetrators' offending - as well as their photograph.

Australia's new child sex offender register that will name and picture paedophiles could have stopped Daniel Morcombe's killer from following through on his vile fantasies. Pictured is a mock-up of how it may look

The register will be online and will be established by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.

How it will work is not yet set in stone. A spokesman for Mr Dutton said a 'technical solution' for the register will be ready a year after a bill passes Parliament.

The registry will get its information from state and territory police, but only if their governments sign off on it, which they are yet to do.

Transport

The government will spend $100 billion on various transport infrastructure projects around the country. Most of this is not new money.

Labor promised a $1 billion high-speed rail line would run from Brisbane to Melbourne via Sydney and Canberra, with the Brisbane to Sydney travel time being just 2.5 hours.

This will now not happen.

The proposal was for an ultra high speed hyperloop system between Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane, reaching speeds of 1,1223 km/h

Australian Republic

Mr Shorten promised to hold a public vote in 2021-22 on whether to become a republic, costing $55 million.

It would then likely be followed by a referendum on what type of model of republic Australia would adopt.

This will not happen as the government supports the status quo constitutional monarchy with the Queen as head of state.
Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg fully supports erasing the names of Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson from titles of prestigious annual political dinners around the country, due to their slave-owning history.

The Indiana politician shared his view on The Hugh Hewitt Show Friday after the radio host asked if Jefferson-Jackson dinners be renamed everywhere because both were holders of slaves.

'Yeah, we're doing that in Indiana. I think it's the right thing to do,' Buttigieg said ahead of his June 15 appearance at the event that is now named the Blue Commonwealth Dinner in his state.

Buttigieg, 37, has spoken about going to every Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Indiana when he was running statewide.

Pete Buttigieg supports erasing names of slave-owner presidents from Jefferson-Jackson dinners across the US

He told The Hugh Hewitt Show Friday that 'Jefferson is more problematic' than Jackson (right)

In 2016 Indiana dropped the name from the Democratic dinner in reference to the two leaders regarded as founders of the party.

It followed Utah in 2007 and more in 2015. Then in 2018 Virginia followed.

Jackson is known for signing the Indian Removal Act, allowing tribes to be moved west. Thousands of Cherokees died in what became known as the Trail of Tears.

Buttigieg said the disassociation of Jefferson's name was more of a pressing matter across the United States.

'Over time, you develop and evolve on the things you choose to honor  Jefferson is more problematic,' he said about the 3rd President of the United States, American Founding Father and Author of the Declaration of Independence.

'There's a lot, of course, to admire in his thinking and his philosophy, but then again if you plunge into his writings, especially the notes on the state of Virginia, you know that he knew slavery was wrong. We are all morally conflicted human beings.'

He said scrubbing the names of the 1801-1809 President Jefferson and 1829-1837 7th President Jackson from event titles was not an attempt to erase history.

However he regards the move as a way to not only acknowledge the damage of the enslavement of people but to make it clear racism still thrives in America.

'The real reason I think there is a lot of pressure on this is the relationship between the past and present that we're finding in a million different ways that racism isn't some curiosity out of the past that we're embarrassed about but moved on from,' he said.

'It's alive. It's well. It's hurting people and it's one of the main reasons to be in politics today is to try to change or reverse the harms that went along with that.'

On Friday he also told an Iowa audience that Donald Trump's support of LGBTQ is merely 'lip service' after the President said it was 'fine' for the mayor of South Bend to appear with his husband.

'They're paying lip service to the idea of - like the president was asked about my marriage, so he could have the opportunity to say he's fine with it,' Buttigieg said.

Trump told Fox News Channel's The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton in an interview airing Sunday 'I think it's absolutely fine' that Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten, are open about their relationship on the campaign trail.
France has banned mothers from wearing Islamic headscarves when accompanying children on school trips.

The Senate ban extends the current measures against the garments, with women already prohibited from wearing them in French primary and secondary schools.

It was proposed by the centre-right Republican party and is intended to reinforce

'laicite' meaning secularism, one of the key tenets of the French Constitution.

France's Senate has voted to ban the wearing of headscarves when accompanying children on school trips (stock)

The principle forbids religious involvement in government affairs and the new law specifically bans the wearing of 'conspicuous religious symbols'.

But in practice, the law targets Muslim mothers who often wear hijabs.

Burqas and niqabs are already banned in France but the new law takes the war against Islamic headscarves to the next level.

Jacqueline Eustache-Brinio, a Republican senator, said the amendment would close the 'legal vacuum to fill concerning the application of the principle of secularism during field trips', according to The Independent.

The law had been rejected by parliament's lower house but was approved by the Senate by 186 votes to 100, with 159 abstaining.

Emmanuel Macron's government has said it hopes to overturn the new legislation in the national assembly.

Emmanuel Macron's government intends to overturn the legislation which passed by 186 votes to 100

Education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said: 'This bill is contrary to the Council of State's decision and will create many problems in the development of school trips.'

It has led to fears that some areas with a high Muslim population may struggle to take pupils on school trips.

France is not the only country legislating against headscarves as earlier this week, Austria voted to ban girls from wearing them in schools.

The ban targeted 'ideologically or religiously characterised clothing' that covers a person's hair.
This is the horrific moment that a driver is run over by his own SUV while attempting to tow his boat out of the sea - and the boat later caught fire.

The footage, which was filmed at Rocky Point dock in Port Moody, Canada, starts with the man standing on the back of his boat which is attached to his car by a trailer.

But the car starts to roll back and the man slips when he tries to jump out of the top of the boat to try stop the car and lands in the path of its wheels.

This is the horrific moment that a driver is run over by his own SUV while attempting to tow his boat out of the sea - and the boat later caught fire

He lands immediately in the path of his looming vehicle and, although he rolls mostly out the way, one of the rear wheels runs over him and the car's open door hits him.

According to CBC News Canada, the driver was taken to hospital after the accident on Wednesday.

Constable Jason Mischke from Port Moody police said: 'As it was rolling backward, the operator jumped from the boat and landed awkwardly.

'He was struck by the vehicle, causing minor injuries to his lower body.'

But the car starts to roll back and the man slips when he tries to jump out of the top of the boat to try stop the car and lands in the path of its wheels. He lands immediately in the path of his looming vehicle and, although he rolls mostly out the way, one of the rear wheels runs over him and the car's open door hits him

The car was later pictured submerged beneath the water, with the boat floating just above.

While being pulled from the water at around 6pm, the car, which was a hybrid and electric, caught fire.

The fire was finally put out around midnight.

'It's possible he just had not put it properly into park,' said Mischke. 'And unfortunately the consequences were dire for his vehicle.'
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Soldiers from the Household Cavalry marched through Windsor today as they left the town after more than 200 years.

It fell on the same day as a royal wedding in the Berkshire town, which saw the marriage of Lady Gabriella Windsor to financier Thomas Kingston.

Princess Anne, who went straight from the wedding to the march, had to make a quick costume change from a smart blue and yellow jacket with matching brooch and hat, into the dress uniform of her position as Colonel of the Blues and Royals - which makes up the Household Cavalry with the Life Guards.

As Colonel-in-Chief, or honorary head of 23 British and Commonwealth regiments and military units, she dons the attire for notable occasions such as today's.

More than 250 troops left Combermere Barracks, Windsor, for the event called the Freedom of Entry parade, ahead of their move to Bulford Camp on Salisbury Plain later this year.

Princes Anne watched the soldiers march past the Guildhall for a salute, before she addressed them and hosted a reception for their families.

The Household Cavalry is divided into a mounted division and an armoured division, with the mounted personnel's job being to protect the Queen.

The Welsh Guards will be taking over Combermere Barracks near Windsor Castle, after they move from their current garrison in London. The move is part of a major restructuring of the British Army.

The parade, which started at 2.30pm, included marching and mounted troops as well as the Band of the Household Cavalry.

Princess Anne had to quickly change from her royal wedding ensemble into the dress uniform of her position as Colonel of the Blues and Royals

The Household Cavalry march up the Long Walk to Windsor Castle today as they are set to leave the Berkshire town after more than 200 years

The Princess Royal attended the Freedom of Entry parade for the Household Cavalry in they move to Salisbury plain in Wiltshire later this year

The Freedom of Entry parade comprises of more than 200 troops either marching or mounted in the regiment's goodbye to Windsor

The Household Cavalry march down Windsor High Street in the shadow of the town's historic castle. Also today, Lady Gabriella Windsor married financier Thomas Kingston in St George's Chapel at the castle

Armed troops from the Household Cavalry look over their left shoulder up to Princess Anne as they march past her salute today in Windsor

The Princess Royal smiles today at the parade before she addressed soldiers and hosted a reception for them and their families

Princes Anne (pictured while addressing troops today) is Colonel-in-Chief, or honorary head of 23 British and Commonwealth regiments and military units, and has to wear he traditional attire for notable occasions such as today's

Spectators take photographs of soldiers from the Household Cavalry as they face Princess Anne for a speech to mark their departure from their barracks in Windsor

The Household Cavalry is divided into a mounted division (pictured) and an armoured division, with the mounted personnel's job being to protect the Queen

Today's parade, which started at 2.30pm, included marching and mounted troops as well as the Band of the Household Cavalry (pictured)

The Welsh Guards will be taking over the Household Guards at Combermere Barracks, near Windsor Castle, after they move from their current station in London

Soldiers from the Band of the Household Cavalry march through Windsor as part of the parade today, with spectators lining the streets to take pictures

A woman takes a selfie with the unaware Princess Anne as she stands by a microphone before giving a speech to the Household Cavalry

Some of the soldiers marched down the Long Walk in the grounds of Windsor Castle today, which sits less than a mile from Combermere Barracks - where they had been stationed

Councillor Andrew Johnson, the lead member for transport policy, said: 'The regiment's long association with the town of Windsor will not be forgotten'

Coun Johnson added: 'But we will give a warm welcome to the Welsh Guards, who will occupy the barracks moving forward'

Hundreds of people stand on the grass on the Long Walk as they wait for the Household Cavalry to pass today. Police cycle ahead of the soldiers to pave the way

Mounted troops sit alongside foot soldiers from the Household Cavalry. The two regiments that form the Household Cavalry are the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals

The armoured regiment has been stationed at Combermere Barracks in Windsor, but the ceremonial mounted unit, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, is garrisoned at Hyde Park Barracks in Knightsbridge, west London

A member of Princess Anne's security holds open her car door as she addresses a soldier at the parade today. Behind her, spectators gather to take pictures

Three mounted soldiers lead armoured troops down Windsor High Street during the parade today as the Union Flag hangs from a surrounding building

A member of the police stands on a rooftop with binoculars as he watches over the Household Cavalry's parade this afternoon

A bird's-eye view shows soldiers marching while carrying their rifles. Troops in the regiment can carry a variety of weapons, such as the L115A3 Long Range Rifle
A surfer was left vomiting and shaking uncontrollably after being bitten by a snake on the Welsh coast.

The woman had been walking from Llangennith beach in South Wales bare foot when she was bitten by an adder, the UK's only poisonous snake.

After inspecting the two 'pin pricks' left by the baby adder on her toe she decided she would be ok and continued walking with her friend.

But just half an hour later the woman was rushed to hospital after beginning to shake and vomit due to the venom in her system.

Llangennith beach, Gower Peninsula near Swansea, south Wales where the unnamed woman was bitten by the po

Adders are the UK's only native venomous snake. An adder 'sunbathing' on the beach (Stock)

Are there any poisonous snakes in Britain? The only venomous snake native to the UK is the adder. Adults are roughly 50-60cm long and have a black/brown zigzag pattern along their back and V or X shaped marking on the back of the head. They are most commonly found in the south and south west of England, western Wales and Scotland where their preferred habitats are sand dunes, rocky hillsides, moorland and woodland edges. Adders are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, this means its an offence to kill, harm, injure, sell or trade them. Adder bites are fairly rare. Snakes generally only bite in self-defence, so normally bites occur when a snake is stepped on or disturbed by your dog. The majority of bites in dogs seem to occur between April and July, most commonly in the afternoon when the adders are most active. Advertisement

She later collapsed after the small wounds swelled in size and quickly became infected.

The incident happened on Llangennith beach on the Gower Peninsula in South Wales, a favourite with surfers.

A coastguard spokesman said: 'One woman got bitten on the toe by a baby adder snake in Llangennith.

'It felt like pin pricks and she said she was okay, but within half an hour she was in hospital feeling really sick and passing out after suffering a massive reaction to it and was hospitalised.

'People need to be aware it's the time of season for snakes. Be aware they are in long grass.

'The best thing to do is stick to open areas and keep the children and dogs behind you rather than in front of you and to keep to public footpaths.

'People should not be scared of snakes, they are only sunbathing, they are a wild animal and not something to be frightened of, or attacked.'

The woman's husband warned others of the potency of the small snake's venom.

He said: 'It's one of those things that has happened, but people are unaware of the impact venom can have on you.

'At the moment they are everywhere, there are a lot around. It's just if you're unfortunate enough to get in the way of one.

'The main thing is, if people do get bit, they need to urgently go to hospital. We don't want to vilify the adders and for people to be scared to go there. We should be happy they are there.'
US officials warned commercial airliners in Persian Gulf risk being misidentified over non-specific Iranian 'threats'

President Trump has said that he 'does not hope' the US will have to go to war

Iran foreign minister say way won't break because no one will 'confront' the state

Commercial airliners flying over the Persian Gulf region risk of being 'misidentified' amid heightened tensions with Iran, US officials have warned.

A notice from the Federal Aviation Administration states that aircraft flying over the waters around the Arabian Peninsula should be aware of 'heightened military activities and increased political tension'.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been on the rise after Iran suspended its commitments under the international nuclear deal to resume production of enriched uranium.

The United States has also deployed a carrier group and B-52 bombers over an unspecified Iranian 'threat'.

Aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln transits the Suez Canal in Egypt after being deployed to the Persian Gulf on orders from the White House to respond to an unspecified threat from Iran

The USS Abraham Lincoln was spotted in the Suez Canal in Egypt making its way to the Strait of Hormuz, while diplomats ordered nonessential diplomatic staff out of Iraq.

Today though Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed the prospect of war with the US.

'There will be no war because neither we want a war, nor has anyone the idea or illusion that it can confront Iran in the region,' he said to Iran's official IRNA news agency.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed the prospect of war with the US, saying 'there will be no war because neither we want a war, nor has anyone the idea or illusion that it can confront Iran in the region'

Asked this week if the US was going to war with Iran, President Trump said: 'I hope not.'

The flight warning was relayed earlier today by US diplomats in Kuwait and the UAE.

The notice went on to say the tension present 'an increasing inadvertent risk to U.S. civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or misidentification,' the warning said.

It also said aircraft could experience interference with its navigation instruments and communications jamming 'with little to no warning.'

The USS Abraham Lincoln was spotted in the Suez Canal in Egypt making its way to the Strait of Hormuz, while diplomats ordered nonessential diplomatic staff out of Iraq

The Persian Gulf has become a major gateway for East-West travel in the aviation industry.

Dubai International Airport in the UAE is now the world's busiest for international travel, with long-haul carriers Etihad and Qatar Airways also operate in the region.

Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways all said they were aware of the notice but it had not affect their operations.

It came as Lloyd's of London warned of increasing risks to maritime shipping in the region.

Iran-US relations hit a new low last year when Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear agreement signed by the Obama Administration, before reimposing unilateral sanctions that had been lifted in exchange for Tehran scaling back its nuclear programme.
Operation Overlord saw some 156,000 Allied troops landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944.

It is thought as many as 4,400 were killed in an operation Winston Churchill described as 'undoubtedly the most complicated and difficult that has ever taken place'.

The assault was conducted in two phases: an airborne landing of 24,000 British, American, Canadian and Free French airborne troops shortly after midnight, and an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armoured divisions on the coast of France commencing at 6.30am.

The operation was the largest amphibious invasion in world history, with over 160,000 troops landing. Some 195,700 Allied naval and merchant navy personnel in over 5,000 ships were involved.

US Army troops in an LCVP landing craft approach Normandy's 'Omaha' Beach on D-Day in Colleville Sur-Mer, France June 6 1944. As infantry disembarked from the landing craft, they often found themselves on sandbars 50 to 100 yards away from the beach. To reach the beach they had to wade through water sometimes neck deep

US Army troops and crewmen aboard a Coast Guard manned LCVP approach a beach on D-Day. After the initial landing soldiers found the original plan was in tatters, with so many units mis-landed, disorganized and scattered. Most commanders had fallen or were absent, and there were few ways to communicate

A LCVP landing craft from the U.S. Coast Guard attack transport USS Samuel Chase approaches Omaha Beach. The objective was for the beach defences to be cleared within two hours of the initial landing. But stubborn German defence delayed efforts to take the beach and led to significant delays

An LCM landing craft manned by the U.S. Coast Guard, evacuating U.S. casualties from the invasion beaches, brings them to a transport for treatment. An accurate figure for casualties incurred by V Corps at Omaha on 6 June is not known; sources vary between 2,000 and over 5,000 killed, wounded, and missing

The operation was the largest amphibious invasion in world history, with over 160,000 troops landing. Some 195,700 Allied naval and merchant navy personnel in over 5,000 ships were involved.

The landings took place along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.

The assault was chaotic with boats arriving at the wrong point and others getting into difficulties in the water.

Destruction in the northern French town of Carentan after the invasion in June 1944

Forward 14/45 guns of the US Navy battleship USS Nevada fire on positions ashore during the D-Day landings on Utah Beach. The only artillery support for the troops making these tentative advances was from the navy. Finding targets difficult to spot, and in fear of hitting their own troops, the big guns of the battleships and cruisers concentrated fire on the flanks of the beaches

The US Navy minesweeper USS Tide sinks after striking a mine, while its crew are assisted by patrol torpedo boat PT-509 and minesweeper USS Pheasant. When another ship attempted to tow the damaged ship to the beach, the strain broke her in two and she sank only minutes after the last survivors had been taken off

A US Army medic moves along a narrow strip of Omaha Beach administering first aid to men wounded in the Normandy landing on D-Day in Collville Sur-Mer. On D-Day, dozens of medics went into battle on the beaches of Normandy, usually without a weapon. Not only did the number of wounded exceed expectations, but the means to evacuate them did not exist

Troops managed only to gain a small foothold on the beach - but they built on their initial breakthrough in the coming days and a harbor was opened at Omaha.

They met strong resistance from the German forces who were stationed at strongpoints along the coastline.

Approximately 10,000 allies were injured or killed, including 6,603 American, of which 2,499 were fatal.

Between 4,000 and 9,000 German troops were killed - and it proved the pivotal moment of the war, in the allied forces' favour.

The first wave of troops from the US Army takes cover under the fire of Nazi guns in 1944

Canadian soldiers study a German plan of the beach during D-Day landing operations in Normandy. Once the beachhead had been secured, Omaha became the location of one of the two Mulberry harbors, prefabricated artificial harbors towed in pieces across the English Channel and assembled just off shore
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Hundreds of protesters today staged a rally outside the BBC headquarters in London against the prosecution of former British soldiers who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

Similar events were held in Cardiff, Bristol, Glasgow and Northern Ireland, and are the latest in a spate of demonstrations over the last few months.

At the London rally, organised by the Justice for Northern Ireland Veterans group, protesters carried banners in support of 'Soldier F', a former British soldier who faces charges over the murders of James Wray and William McKinney.

They were shot dead at a civil rights march on Bloody Sunday in 1972.

Ex Servicemen gather for a rally in support of soldier F and British soldiers facing prosecution for Troubles-related killings at BBC Broadcasting House, London

Hundreds of veterans demonstrated outside the BBC's headquarters for a veterans march in protest against persecution of 'Soldier F'

Similar events were held in Cardiff, Bristol, Glasgow and Northern Ireland, and are the latest in a spate of demonstrations over the last few months

The Million Veterans March organisation held a 'Picket the BBC' protest against the prosecution of 'Soldier F', who faces murder charges over the Bloody Sunday shootings in 1972

Five other former soldiers who served in the country before the Good Friday agreement are currently facing charges.

One demonstrator outside the BBC Broadcasting House in Portland Place told the corporation that the soldiers were being 'persecuted' for doing their job.

Many expressed anger at what they say is a lack of mainstream media coverage over the issue.

It comes after new Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt announced stronger legal protections against prosecution for British troops and veterans earlier this week.

The new law will stop soldiers from being probed over incidents more than ten years old unless compelling new evidence comes to light.

Ex-Servicemen gather for a rally in support of soldier F and British soldiers facing prosecution for Troubles-related killings on May 18 2019 in London

One demonstrator outside the BBC's headquarters in Portland Place, London told the BBC that the soldiers were being 'persecuted' for doing their job

A protester wearing tape over his mouth holds up a sign saying 'betrayed by the government' outside the BBC's Broadcasting House in London

The London demonstration outside the BBC on May 18 2019 was organised by the pressure group Justice for Northern Ireland Veterans

However the amnesty will not immediately extend to alleged offences committed in Northern Ireland.

On Wednesday Ms Mordaunt put herself at odds with fellow ministers by saying she was determined to end the 'chilling' threat of repeated investigations into alleged historical offences by British troops in Northern Ireland.

Ms Mordaunt said she wanted to extend the new law - which covers military personnel who served on overseas operations such as Iraq and Afghanistan - to include veterans of the Troubles.

The Defence Secretary signalled she intends to create a 'statutory presumption' against prosecution of current or former personnel for alleged offences committed in the course of duty abroad more than 10 years ago.

Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute in London, Ms Mordaunt said she hoped the measures could offer a way forward for those who served during the Troubles.

Protesters carried banners in support of 'Soldier F', a former British soldier who faces charges over the murders of James Wray and William McKinney in 1972 on Bloody Sunday

Many of the protesters expressed anger at what they say is a lack of mainstream media coverage over the issue of prosecutions of former soldiers who served during the Troubles

Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt announced stronger legal protections against prosecution for British troops and veterans earlier this week - but the measure does not extend to offences allegedly committed in Northern Ireland

Hundreds of people gathered outside the BBC headquarters in Portland Place in London today waving banners and flags

'I do think it should cover Northern Ireland,' she said during a conference at the Royal United Services Institute.

'The problem is that we have failed to make progress on the whole 'lawfare' issue because we have been held up waiting for other things to happen.

'It is not going to be resolved overnight. It is a personal priority of mine that we get this resolved and we stop this chilling effect that is claiming veterans who really deserve our care and respect.'

Ms Mordaunt said she had secured agreement with Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley that the concerns of defence, including the veterans, would be formally considered in her next steps.

She said that she was determined that they should not repeat the mistakes of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (Ihat) which degenerated into the 'pursuit of profit' by 'legal firms interested in making a quick buck'.

A protester wearings a t-shirt that says 'I support soldier A-Z' at a rally in support of soldier F and British soldiers facing prosecution for Troubles-related killings at BBC Broadcasting House

'This is not about preventing someone who has committed a crime facing justice. This is about stopping an industry that surrounds these processes which is not about the pursuit of justice,' she said.

Tory MP Johnny Mercer, who is refusing to vote for Government legislation in the Commons until it ends such historical inquires, welcomed the protection for those who had served overseas, but said it needed to go further.

'Northern Ireland represents a particular challenge, the way that conflict was framed in the time, it was not classed as war even though it had many traits of wartime activity,' he told Sky News.

'We need to redouble our efforts and see what we can do to apply legislation to stop this process taking place.'

The chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, Conservative MP Julian Lewis, called for a South African-style 'truth recovery' process for Northern Ireland.

'Given that sort of immunity has already been effectively granted to so many people on the terrorist side of that bitter and awful conflict, what's good enough for Nelson Mandela should be good enough for us and we ought to draw a line in this way,' he told the Press Association.

A protester holds a sign saying 'Where is my "Letter of Comfort"?' during a rally in support of British soldiers facing prosecution for Troubles-related killings. It refers to letters of reassurance which were sent to IRA suspects after the Good Friday agreement which told them they were no longer being investigated by police

Demonstrators said they were marching on behalf of veterans who were being 'persecuted' for doing their job and were angry that what they said was a lack of media coverage

Ex Servicemen gather for a rally in support of soldier F and British soldiers facing prosecution for Troubles-related killings at BBC Broadcasting House, London

Hundreds of protesters today staged a rally outside the BBC headquarters in London against the prosecution of former British soldiers who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles

The former head of the Army, General Lord Dannatt, said peers would try to amend the legislation to extend it to Northern Ireland when it comes to the House of Lords.

'Soldiers did their duty, got up in the morning, sometimes they came under attack. They returned fire,' he said.

'They didn't set out to murder people. Terrorists set out every morning to murder people and successfully did so. There is a huge distinction to be drawn.'

Amnesty International UK's legal programme director Rachel Logan said Ms Mordaunt's proposals set a 'dangerous precedent'.

'British soldiers who break the law must face it, just like everyone else,' she said.

'Naturally, individuals should be presumed innocent and only charged with criminal offences in the exceptional circumstance that the thresholds for prosecution are met - that is already the law.

'But trying to go further and exempt a certain group of people from facing justice would be a perversion of that law.'

The Defence Secretary is also expected to reaffirm her commitment to derogating from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) before the UK embarks on significant military operations.

In 2016, Theresa May announced that the Government will adopt a presumption that it will take advantage of a right to suspend aspects of the ECHR at times of war.

Mrs May said at the time that the move should end an 'industry of vexatious claims' which has seen veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan pursued through the courts over alleged mistreatment of combatants and prisoners over a decade after the supposed events took place.
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Violent clashes broke out at a Tommy Robinson campaign as masked supporters clashed with crowds shouting 'racist scum'.

Bricks were thrown and two police cars were damaged as the rival groups gathered in in Oldham, Greater Manchester.

Footage posted on social media showed clashes between supporters of the campaigner, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, and counter-demonstrators on Saturday afternoon.

The clashes took place along the residential roads of Limeside where police officers armed with batons and shields attempted to keep the crowds separate.

Police have warned their will be arrests following the damage done to two police vehicles and that those responsible, many of who are not thought to be from the town, should expect to be dealt with 'robustly'.

A police spokesman said: 'Today during a planned event in Oldham, officers responded accordingly to a disturbance in the Limeside area.

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Objects thrown were believed to be bricks, damage has been caused to two police vehicles

'A number of objects were thrown and some damage has been caused to two police vehicles but there have not been reported injuries.'

The force said the incident had been brought to a close, and that reports circulating that someone had been stabbed had been verified as false.

A live video posted on Facebook by a group calling itself the Muslim Defence League showed a group of Asian men standing and shouting across at the other crowd across the police blockade, with some throwing objects and shouting 'racist scum'.

The video, posted on Twitter, appears to show crowds, some wearing balaclavas, throwing objects while shouting 'racist scum'

Clashes between supporters of the campaigner, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, and counter-demonstrators in Oldham, Greater Manchester took place on Saturday afternoon

A live video posted on Facebook by a group calling itself the Muslim Defence League

A separate live video shared on YouTube by Danny Tommo, an associate of Robinson, appeared to show the clashes from the other perspective. In the clip, he claims bricks are being thrown at his group.

Robinson was due to make an appearance in Limeside as he campaigns for the European elections, in which he is standing as a candidate for the North West - Voting in the election takes place on Thursday, while counting starts on Sunday May 26.

It is unclear whether he was present during the trouble.

Police push back those opposed to Yaxley-Lennon after bottles, bricks and eggs are thrown by both sides at each other and fights break out

Former EDL leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson ) continues his campaign for a seat in the European Parliament representing the North West of England , by visiting Oldham

Counter-demonstrators are surrounded by police with batons in the front garden of a property in Oldham, Greater Manchester

Former EDL leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson ) continues his campaign for a seat in the European Parliament representing the North West of England , by visiting Oldham

Reports circulating that someone had been stabbed had been verified as false

Jim McMahon, Labour MP for Oldham West and Royton, tweeted about seeing the town used for 'hate and division'.

The shadow local government minister wrote: 'It's horrible to see our town being used for hate and division when our own future is a shared one, long after the circus has left town.

'Very different from our own stall in Oldham earlier today where we celebrated our town.'

Alongside the words, he posted a video, adding: 'We don't need people, coming to our town, trying to divide us for their own political agenda.

'We need to come together and be the best Oldham we can be.'

Police can be seen forming a line between the Tommy Robinson supporters and the counter-demonstrators
The spymaster who oversaw the hunt for Islamic States most callous killers has warned that allowing two members of the evil Beatles execution gang to stand trial in the West would be a disaster of epic proportions.

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are suspected of being part of the vile IS kidnap and execution cell led by Mohammed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John, whose gruesome beheading videos appalled the world.

Emwazi was killed in a drone strike in November 2015, while Kotey, known by terrified captives as Ringo, and Elsheikh, who was nicknamed George, were captured by Kurdish forces in January 2018 and are locked up in northern Syria.

El Shafee el-Sheikh, left, and Alexanda Kotey, right, were captured by Syrian Democratic Forces. The pair were members of an ISIS cell led by Mohammed Emwazi - better known as Jihadi John. The group themselves were dubbed the ISIS Beatles

The British Government has stripped them of their citizenship and wants them extradited to America to face trial, but campaigners say they should face justice in British courts. However, in an interview with The Mail on Sunday, former CIA chief Douglas Wise warned that the pair would seek to turn the dock into a pulpit from where they could spew the murderous ideology of IS.

I think bringing them back to the United Kingdom would just be a disaster of epic proportions, if for no other reason than it would be a media spectacle, he said.

Youd have defence attorneys who would be making this a spectacle, the prosecution making it a media spectacle it would just be horribly bad for Britain and particularly for the family members of the victims. Instead, Mr Wise believes that the pair, who were both raised in Britain, should be dealt with in Syria or Iraq, where they would face death by hanging if convicted.

Kurdish justice is a great judicial system when it comes to Arab extremists, Mr Wise said. Or turn them over to the Iraqi government  theyll hang them.

The veteran spy chief, who spent 28 years with the CIA, also revealed extraordinary new details about the hunt for Emwazi.

He told how the extremist was betrayed by spies on the ground in Raqqa, ISs de-facto capital in Syria, and praised the extraordinarily courageous Syrians who were prepared to risk their lives to help Western intelligence agencies.

Mohammed Emwazi, better known as Jihadi John, was killed in a US drone strike. He and his cell are accused of abducting and beheading at least 27 western hostages

Intelligence experts confirmed the identity of Emwazi, who grew up in North London, and other key IS targets, before ordering deadly drone strikes by analysing the angle and texture of their beards, the veins on their necks and hands, the slope of their shoulders and the way they walked.

You want to make sure that you are actually going to smoke the right guy, said Mr Wise, who will appear tomorrow in The Hunt For Jihadi John, a Channel 4 and HBO documentary examining how Emwazi was hunted down and exterminated.

His views about the fate of Londoners Kotey, 35, and Elsheikh, 30, will raise new questions about what the UK should do with dozens of fighters and jihadi brides languishing in prison or camps following the fall of IS earlier this year.

The four-man Beatles cell abducted and beheaded at least 27 Western hostages, including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning.

According to the US State Department, Kotey likely engaged in the groups executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding.

Elsheikh, who came to Britain as a child refugee from Sudan, earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions and crucifixions.

The fourth member of the cell, Aine Davis, was jailed in Turkey in 2017 after being convicted of being a senior IS operative.

Debate has raged over what the fate of the others should be.

A leaked letter from Home Secretary Sajid Javid to then US Attorney General Jeff Sessions exposed fears that UK laws may be inadequate to ensure a successful prosecution. Javid said that a successful federal prosecution in the US is more likely and highlighted how America has charges for terrorism offences that are unavailable under UK law and those offences carry long sentences

Nicolas Henin, a French journalist who was one of the few captives to survive, tells the documentary that the pair should face a fair trial, adding: We should not give them any chance to portray themselves as victims.

But last year, a leaked letter from Home Secretary Sajid Javid to then US Attorney General Jeff Sessions exposed fears that UK laws may be inadequate to ensure a successful prosecution. Javid said that a successful federal prosecution in the US is more likely and highlighted how America has charges for terrorism offences that are unavailable under UK law and those offences carry long sentences.

Some lawyers and human rights campaigners have demanded that the pair face justice in the UK. Speaking at the premiere of the documentary last week, Lord Anderson of Ipswich, a former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said the men should face trial, adding: Why not in the UK?

However, Mr Wise warned that there were too many checks and balances in the UK justice system for them to get the justice they so richly deserve.

I think theres a false anticipation of satisfaction if you brought them back to the UK and subjected them to the British judicial system, he said. They need to be subject to some other process.

Nicolas Henin, a French journalist who was one of the few captives to survive, tells the documentary that the pair should face a fair trial, adding: We should not give them any chance to portray themselves as victims

With his grey hair swept back into a 12 in ponytail, the 69-year-old admits that he is no James Bond as far as looks go. My resemblance to Daniel Craig is slight, he jokes.

But Mr Wise is one of Americas most experienced intelligence officers, having been a CIA station chief four times, and he managed top-secret missions across the Middle East.

Married to a former FBI special agent, he was a member of one of the first CIA teams sent to Afghanistan after the 9/11 terror attacks on a mission to rout the Taliban and Al Qaeda. He later ran The Farm, the nickname for the CIAs spy school in Virginia where agents are trained.

In August 2014, the father-of-three had just started a new job as Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in Washington when he was briefed about a horrific video in which an IS jihadi with a British accent was shown threatening America before beheading US hostage James Foley.

The video had been secretly obtained by the DIA and Mr Wise was warned that a gleeful IS would soon broadcast it online.

My first reaction on a human level was that this was heinous barbarism used for no other purpose other than propaganda pursuits, he said.

Nothing microscopically was accomplished by the beheading and the murder of various detainees.

Despite attempts to mask his voice, Emwazi, who had been investigated by British police and security services for three years before he slipped off the radar in 2012, was identified by his London accent and the veins on his knife-wielding left hand.

Intelligence experts soon realised that the 27-year-old was not a senior member of the IS leadership. However, his acts of appalling brutality fuelled fears that his videos would become a potent recruitment tool  and propelled him up the US kill list of jihadis to be targeted by air strikes.

He was a corporal. He was just a worker, said Mr Wise. But ultimately because of his eloquence, his baritone voice, his stature, the way he handled these murders, he became larger than life and thus added increased value to IS.

Jihadi John was killed in a suspected drone strike, although his fellow Beatles survived the war

This guy was the epitome of what an IS warrior represented, a powerful recruiting tool for these guys.

Unlike senior members of Al Qaeda during the so-called war on terror, permission to kill Emwazi was not required from the US President, and the military and intelligence agencies were authorised to call in a drone strike the moment they were confident they had found their man.

He was a combatant, so therefore by definition he was subject to capital punishment in whatever way we decided to mete it out, Mr Wise said.

But the hunt was to involve more than a year of painstaking detective work.

While efforts to infiltrate IS had failed, Mr Wise said he believes that spies on the ground played a key role in removing Emwazi from the battlefield.

Even a snippet of seemingly innocuous information communicated electronically from inside Raqqa could help Western intelligence to locate him.

Mr Wise explained: You could have one guy who says, The left front tyre is bald. Even if he didnt tell you the colour or the type of vehicle, you just spend time focusing on the left front tyre.

Its just one microscopic bit of information but all of a sudden this one piece of information coalesces everything.

Ultimately, it was Emwazis determination to visit his wife and child that allowed Western intelligence to fix his location.

The Hunt for Jihadi John will be on Channel 4 tomorrow night at 9pm

But they still needed confirmation that they had the right man before pulling the trigger. Mr Wise revealed that hours were spent poring over video footage, with analysts finding clues in the infrared and ultraviolet spectrum that are not visible to the naked eye.

The minute they [IS] produce a video, you have hundreds of thousands of frames of images which you can now painstakingly go through, he said.

You use these sort of cues like the angle of his beard, the texture of his beard, the vein structure on his neck and on his hands, how he cocks his head, his gait, the pace of his speech, all of this stuff you just pore over for hours and hours so you know what his emitted profile is.

He said the team hunting Emwazi and other high-priority IS targets wasnt as big as you might believe and they were forced to juggle limited resources. It takes three drones working eight-hour shifts to follow just one jihadi for a day.

You cant do that for 22,000 IS fighters and so you reserve the application of those resources to only those people who so richly deserve to die and whose death will have a material impact on the fight. Emwazi, very naturally, rose to high priority.

On the evening of November 12, 2015, a drone followed Emwazi and other fighters as they travelled in a car towards Raqqa city centre. For 45 anxious minutes, the drone operators waited for an opportunity to strike.

In the documentary, Colonel Steve Warren, the US military spokesman in Iraq, says: Sure enough, eventually he moves his vehicle into a relatively open area that in fact IS had used previously for executions. A sort of little poetic justice, I guess.

Analysts checked the angle of Emwazis beard and the way that he walked and, satisfied that the long search was eventually over, ordered the missile strike.

Seconds later, a huge explosion confirmed the death of the executioner whose barbaric actions had transported the horrors of Iraq and Syria into living rooms in Britain.

Yet there were, said Mr Wise, no high fives or Hollywood, cork-popping moments among the spymasters who had overseen the hunt.

He was one of our own who had so dramatically and so precipitously turned his back on all of our core values, he said. I thought it was just traitorous betrayal. He reflected everything that was the opposite of our core values of collective Americans and Brits.

In the documentary, he speaks with brutal candour about how Emwazis instant obliteration contrasted with the prolonged and intense suffering of his victims. You could argue that Emwazis departure, lethally and instantaneously, was perhaps unsatisfying.

It wasnt a ten-minute execution. He didnt have to feel the cut of the steel.

Now there is another target: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the IS leader.

Mr Wise believes his successors are in a race with Russia, Iran and Syrian forces to find and kill him. We found Bin Laden, we are going to find this guy. We control more and more of the territory.

You are going to find that a number of our unnatural partners  who have no rules and theres no human rights impediments to them  are going after him. His days are numbered.
Boats carrying 20 migrants were found off the Kent coast this morning - but more than 25 migrants who attempted the crossing have already been sent back to Europe, Home Office says.

Border Force officials intercepted a boat carrying 11 men at 5.50am, before another boat was found carrying nine migrants at 7.50am.

The second boat was carrying six men, two women and a 12-year-old.

Border Force officials intercepted a boat carrying 11 men at 5.50am, before another boat was found carrying nine migrants at 7.50am (file image)

The two groups, who said they were from Iraq and Iran, were taken to Dover before being handed over to immigration officials.

But the Home Office has warned 'anyone crossing the Channel in a small boat is taking a huge risk with their life and the lives of their children'.

And more than 25 people who arrived illegally in the UK by crossing the English Channel in boats have already been sent back to Europe.

A Home Office spokesman said: 'It is an established principle that those in need of protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach, and since January more than 25 people who arrived illegally in the UK in small boats have been returned to Europe.'
A veteran and his volunteer driver narrowly avoided death when a tripod came crashing through their van's windshield in California on Thursday.

The horrifying incident occurred around 10.30am as the duo were leaving Sacramento International Airport and headed southbound Interstate 5.

'I saw a yellow something out of the corner of my eye,' volunteer Tim Page - who is also a Navy veteran - explained to KCRA.

'When it hit the windshield, then I ducked and kind of bent over, a little late of course. And when I straightened up and looked over, that's when I saw this through the windshield.'

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Two veterans nearly died when a tripod was launched into the vehicle they were driving near Sacramento on Thursday

Video courtesy KTXL

Page is a volunteer with the El Dorado Veteran Resources, part of the Military Family Support Group nonprofit.

He had been driving from the airport to the Mather Airport to pick another veteran. All three were then to head to Placerville.

'It was like a dream, for lack of a better description,' Page continued. 'It was very scary. And of course, seeing it with no blood spurting out was great, but at the same time, injuries don't always have blood.

When the tripod came crashing into the vehicle, Page said that it went right through the man's lung and through the other side. He was left with broken ribs and a partially punctured lung.

When the tripod came crashing into the vehicle, it pierced a veteran's lung and caused some of his shirt to get stuck inside

'Part of his shirt went into his lung as well, so it was a little scary later,' Page added. 'At the time, he didn't even want to call an ambulance.'

Both men were taken to the UC Davis Medical Center and are said to be in stable condition. The injured veteran has not been identified.

Authorities believe that 32-year-old Matthew Adam Thompson launched the tripod into traffic from the 2nd Street overpass. The California Highway Patrol believe Thompson stole the tripod from a Caltrans survey crew.

Authorities believe that 32-year-old Matthew Adam Thompson launched the tripod into traffic from the 2nd Street overpass. The California Highway Patrol believe Thompson stole the tripod from a Caltrans survey crew.

CHP Officer Jim Young explained that Thompson was filmed on surveillance video stealing the tripod from the business on Thursday. Officers caught up to the suspect on Front Street roughly three hours after the incident.

'Our sergeant, after a brief foot chase, along with another officer who was on scene with him, were able to actually take him into custody,' Young added.

Thompson was charged with resisting a peace officer and also had an active warrant for his arrest. He has not been charged yet for the tripod attack because attempted murder charges are being pursued.

Page is just happy he was able to evade other drivers and keep control of his vehicle.

'I could've lost control of the van. We both could've been out in traffic. I mean, there's numerous things that could have happened but didn't,' Page said. 'You know, it's -- life's a wonderful thing when you don't look at the bad part of life, you know, the miracles of life are great.'

Breaker Glass Co. Inc, a company in Placerville, fixed the glass of the veteran's vehicle for no extra cost.
Police investigating the killing of journalist Lyra McKee in Northern Ireland say this picture of a young man in 'Team9' jogging bottoms could hold the key to unmasking her murderer.

The officer leading the inquiry believes the suspect knows the gunman.

He is of 'significant interest' and among 30 individuals police want to identify.

Police investigating the killing of journalist Lyra McKee in the Creggan area of Londonderry, Northern Ireland, said this picture of a young man in 'Team9' jogging bottoms could hold the key to unmasking her murderer

Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy told The Mail on Sunday: 'He's heavily involved in the disorder that takes place before Lyra was killed.

The two are linked  the disorder provided a platform for the shooting to take place.'

However, DS Murphy's officers are confronting a 'wall of fear' that is preventing witnesses from coming forward.

The officer leading the inquiry believes the suspect knows the gunman who killed Lyra (pictured). He is of 'significant interest' and among 30 individuals police want to identify

The staunchly Republican community of the Creggan estate in Londonderry was appalled by the shooting on April 18 of the 29-year-old journalist and gay rights campaigner.

While 150 people from the area have come forward with information or mobile phone footage, DS Murphy knows he remains a long way from securing a conviction against members of a dissident Republican splinter group known as the New IRA.

On the estate, two chilling signs warning: 'Informers will be shot' and 'RUC informers: They will forget about you. We won't', have appeared since Lyra's murder.

'An extremely small minority here continues to hold the community to ransom and exert force and intimidate them,' DS Murphy said.

'It's a wall of fear that I'm trying to break down.'

Research by Bellingcat, the website which unmasked the Russian agents involved in the Salisbury nerve agent, has highlighted various distinctive items of clothing worn by suspects involved in throwing petrol bombs and firing the fatal shot on April 18.

The New IRA willingly admitted one of its henchmen fired the bullet that killed Lyra  'by accident'. Pictured: The New IRA has put up new 'roadsigns' in the Creggan and Bogside area of Londonderry, some near where Lyra was shot dead

The TEAM9 item was produced by fashion chain H&M, although staff at its store in Londonderry say it was only sold there in children's sizes.

The firm's head office said it believed the item was sold by them.

Seven arrests have been made and 12 searches carried out, but no weapon has been found and officers fear any clothing worn by the gunman and his associates has long since been destroyed.

Yesterday, thousands of people marched through Belfast in Lyra's memory as her partner Sara Canning called for same-sex marriage to be legalised in the province as it is on the mainland.

'I dreamt of marrying the woman I love and spending the rest of my life with her and doing my best to make her happy and know that she was loved,' she said.

'That dream was one I shared with Lyra, but it was snatched away too suddenly.'
A drug dealer jailed for his role in a 5.2 million international cocaine smuggling ring has been leaving his cell for weekend spa trips  despite serving barely four years of his ten-year sentence.

Instagram posts show Luke Jewitt, 33, enjoying visits to the luxury Santai Hotel in Birmingham  where spa days cost up to 140  with his mother.

In one picture, the heavily tattooed gangster grins as he relaxes in a hot-tub. In another, he stares moodily into the camera as he sits in a leather armchair.

Scroll down for video.

Instagram posts show Luke Jewitt, 33, enjoying visits to the luxury Santai Hotel in Birmingham  where spa days cost up to 140  with his mother. In one picture, the heavily tattooed gangster grins as he relaxes in a hot-tub (above)

Jewitt was found guilty of conspiracy to supply after his gangs 3.6-ton cargo of cocaine and cannabis was intercepted by police in October 2014.

Jewitt, whose brother Jamie appeared on the ITV dating show Love Island, was jailed in July 2016 for his part in what police described as a sophisticated drugs importation and distribution network.

His life of crime inspired The Corrupted, a thriller written by Nick Moorcroft, a childhood friend.

A film version was released last month starring Sam Claflin, Hugh Bonneville and Timothy Spall.

To prepare for his role, Claflin, who is best known for playing Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games series, visited Jewitt at Birmingham jail.

In a recent interview, Jewitt said some of his gangland friends had been murdered and that he knew he was being followed by undercover police.

Jewitt was found guilty of conspiracy to supply after his gangs 3.6-ton cargo of cocaine and cannabis was intercepted by police in October 2014

Jewitt, whose brother Jamie appeared on the ITV dating show Love Island, was jailed in July 2016 for his part in what police described as a sophisticated drugs importation and distribution network

I knew what was going on. I stopped what I was doing, but they were already on to the whole operation. They had what they needed, he claimed.

He added that he was now a reformed character, telling youngsters thinking of getting involved with the drugs trade to get your head down instead.

Birmingham prison was returned to Government control last August after a 15-year deal with contractor G4S was cancelled.

Jewitt's life of crime inspired The Corrupted, a thriller written by Nick Moorcroft, a childhood friend. A film version was released last month starring Sam Claflin (left), Hugh Bonneville and Timothy Spall

Peter Clarke, the chief inspector of prisons, had said the jail had fallen into a state of crisis and was the worst he had come across.

The Ministry of Justice said that since being sentenced, Jewitt had spent almost three years behind bars and he had previously spent a year in custody on remand.

The Prison Service said: Release on licence is only granted towards the end of an offenders sentence following a risk assessment.
As the latest Bond girl, she will be filming in the most exclusive and glamorous locations around the world.

But life started very differently for Ana De Armas, who grew up in a tatty breeze-block apartment building on a rubble-strewn street in Cuba.

As a teenager, Ana fled the humble flat in the distillery town of Santa Cruz del Norte  an hours drive east of the capital, Havana  to follow her seemingly impossible dream of escaping its grinding poverty through acting.

life started very differently for Ana De Armas, who grew up in a tatty breeze-block apartment building on a rubble-strewn street in Cuba

But now, at 31, all her ambitions have come to fruition after Daniel Craig personally picked her out to play his love interest Paloma in the latest, still untitled 007 blockbuster.

Her parents Ana and Ramon, who was a teacher and part-time oil-refinery worker, no longer live in the simple home, but the current occupants showed The Mail on Sunday around the small kitchen, living room and bedrooms, including Anas, which was painted pink.

In this remote town, there is no access to television, the internet or newspapers and the streets outside the apartment block are occupied by stray dogs.

Her parents Ana and Ramon, who was a teacher and part-time oil-refinery worker, no longer live in the simple home, but the current occupants showed The Mail on Sunday around the small kitchen, living room and bedrooms, including Anas, which was painted pink

Neighbours who spoke to The Mail on Sunday remember an intelligent, driven young woman. Ibrahim Rangel, 72, who worked with Ramon at the refinery, said: Ana was a very pretty girl. Very intelligent. Basically, she was a young girl in a hurry. But we never expected her to be a Hollywood actress.

Ana enrolled at the Escuela Nacional de Teatro, the national theatre school, in 2002, when she was 14. One of her classmates, Claudia Albarino, described her as likeable, popular and very kind and said she had worked hard.

But the colleges director, Professor Corina Mestre Violably, revealed that she quit before completing the course to land her first acting role in a Spanish television series, El Internado.

Ana has acknowledged that her success only came because she made the decision to leave her home country, where an estimated 11 million people  a quarter of the population  live in poverty, and where the even the maximum daily wage, set by the communist state, is just 1. By leaving Cuba, she also avoided national service, which can be military or dedicated to volunteering.

Her departure was only possible as one set of grandparents is Spanish, and in one interview, she described her potential future if she chose to stay in Cuba.

Now, at 31, all her ambitions have come to fruition after Daniel Craig personally picked her out to play his love interest Paloma in the latest, still untitled 007 blockbuster

I had there, in front of my eyes, former students of the school  graduates  who were not working or who didnt have any money because they had to perform social service, she recalled.

I would turn on the television and see nothing more than old reruns of soap operas or things produced by ICRT [the Cuban broadcaster] that were of poor-quality due to the low budgets.

I was fortunate enough to also have Spanish nationality, and with that freedom I could come to Spain. I dont know what I would have done if I hadnt had this advantage.

She has also been blessed with enviable looks. Her career to date has involved appearing naked in the Spanish language films Sex, Party And Lies and Blind Alley. In the 2015 movie Knock Knock, she tempts Keanu Reeves into a steamy threesome, and she also appears naked in 2017 film Blade Runner 2049.

Last year, she shot the crime drama Knives Out, where she met Craig, and impressed him enough to land the part in the new Bond film that has taken her so far from a past she seems keen to forget.

Indeed, one family friend, Josefa Rodriques, said that when she asked Anas mother about her daughter, she received a lawyers missive forbidding her from discussing them. I was shocked, she said. I had considered them friends.
Ashley Massaro's brain may be donated to science, a lawyer for the late WWE star revealed on Saturday.

Massaro, 39, reportedly took her own life on Thursday, eight months after the dismissal of a lawsuit in which she claimed head injuries sustained during her wrestling career had caused her to spiral into depression.

The deceased wrestler's attorney, Konstantine Kyros, told The New York Post that her brain may now be analyzed by a top doctor for signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.

While CTE can only be diagnosed after death, it is known to cause memory loss, confusion and personality changes, including depression and suicidal thoughts.

Ashley Massaro, 39, reportedly took her own life on Thursday, after complaining the head injuries sustained during her WWE career caused her to spiral into depression. She is pictured in 2007

The doctor likely to examine Massaro's brain is Bennet Omalu, a prominent professor at the University of California Davis.

Known as the 'Concussion doctor', he has previously diagnosed six former wrestlers with CTE by examining their brains following death.

Massaro joined a class action lawsuit against WWE in 2016, in which she accused the company of concealing risks of injury known to cause neurological damage.

The suit was dismissed in September 2018, but is pending appeal with a court date scheduled for next month.

The doctor likely to examine Massaro's brain is Bennet Omalu, a prominent professor at the University of California Davis (pictured)

Massaro said in her 2017 affidavit: 'Aside from my on-going physical injuries that were sustained in the ring, and my former battle with addiction, to this day I suffer from depression, for which I take medication; migraine headaches; and severe short-term memory loss.

'I attribute these issues to my work-related injuries sustained while working for the WWE, and specifically to the routine repetitive blows to the head, I received in the ring over the course of my career which were not properly diagnosed or treated.'

Massaro claimed it caused her severe and ongoing pain and suffering, emotional distress and financial hardship'.

She said the organisation 'used narcotics as a tool to allow me and other wrestlers to perform through our injuries' leading to addiction which she sought treatment through the WWE Former Talent Rehab Program in September 2010.

Massaro remained in the program for 42 days but said there was no monitoring after the program and claimed WWE ignored other aspects of the head trauma.

Massaro joined a class action lawsuit against WWE in 2016, in which she accused the company of concealing risks of injury known to cause neurological damage

Following Massaro's death on Thursday, the WWE released a statement offering their condolences to the fighter's family and friends.

'We are saddened to learn of the tragic death of former WWE Superstar Ashley Massaro,' the statement read.

The organization said Massaro 'was beloved by her fellow Superstars and fans around the world. WWE offers its condolences to Ashleys family and friends.'

The star was discovered unconscious at her home on Long Island Thursday after she failed to show at her local radio job and insider claimed.

The wrestler and model was a WWE Superstar from 2005 to 2008, and rose to even greater notoriety among a mainstream audience after appearing on the cover of Playboy.

Officials responded to her Suffolk County home following a call reporting an unconscious female and administered CPR during the ride to the hospital, according to dispatch audio obtained by The Blast, who reported her subsequent death as a suicide.

She is survived by her 18-year-old daughter, Alexa.
A cyber security expert has predicted a surge in hackers stealing peoples personal information and bank details through coffee machines and smart TVs in their homes.

Vince Steckler, chief executive of security giant Avast, also said he refused to use instant messaging service WhatsApp on his phone because he believed it would put the privacy of his friends at risk.

New smart coffee machines can be connected to the internet to allow homeowners to control them remotely using their phones. Users can even give the machines vocal commands if they are connected to virtual assistant software such as Amazons Alexa.

Smart coffee machines which can be controlled over the internet using special apps could be targeted by hackers who use the devices to steal their owner's credit card details

In 2013, hackers managed to get the credit card details of 41 million shoppers by targeting the air conditioning system of the retail giant Target

Home appliances are increasingly being connected to each other in what is known as the internet-of-things. This allows the devices to be controlled remotely and to perform services such as ordering groceries when they run low in the fridge.

But speaking to The Mail on Sunday at the VivaTech summit in Paris, Mr Steckler said the devices were not secure, meaning hackers could access them and use them to target other devices such as laptops and mobile phones and then get hold of personal data such as credit card details.

He added: Once youre inside you can get into more valuable places of the network.

Coffee machines are not designed for security. TVs are not designed for security. What they are is additional vectors to get into your network. And you cant protect them. Theres not going to be Avast [protection software] for Nespresso.

Mr Steckler, 60, said smart TVs were trivial to take over for ransom and that cameras and baby monitors connected to the internet were the most vulnerable devices.

The American compared the threat to the cyber attack on US retail giant Target in 2013, when hackers accessed the credit card details of 41 million shoppers by accessing the network through the companys air conditioning system.

Mr Steckler said: They lost millions and millions of credit card records. But they were broken into by a bad guy hacking into the air conditioning at a store. The internet-of-things in the home is the same thing.

Mr Steckler also revealed he did not use WhatsApp, the smartphone messaging app owned by Facebook, because of concerns about privacy. It follows an attack on WhatsApp which allowed hackers to take control of phones just by calling them through the app.

Mr Steckler said: How many people ask permission of family and friends before they share their details with WhatsApp? Everyone thinks privacy is really important but most peoples behaviour is not that way. You willingly share information with Facebook, you willingly let Google know everyone about you because the value that you think youre getting in exchange is worth giving up your privacy or your friends privacy.

He added: I dont think WhatsApp has any business knowing the phone numbers and names of the thousands of contacts in my phone book.
Disturbing photos show aid workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo burying four more Ebola victims as the death toll reached 1,161.

The quadruple burial took place at Kanzunza cemetary in Butembo in the North Kivu province of the country.

Butembo is the current epicenter of Congo's tenth outbreak of Ebola which Dr Jeremy Farrar, the head of the Wellcome Trust, which has been active in aid operations in the country, believes is the 'worst in history'.

Despite experts warning the outbreak is 'out of control', local community resistance to Ebola response programmes is widespread and often violent.

At the burial, furious and skeptical locals threw stones at health workers and blockaded the cemetery.

People take part in the quadruple burial of Ebola victims in Butembo, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo

A Congolese police officer reacts to disperse angry crowds who had interrupted and blockaded the quadruple burial of Ebola victims

Protesters set fires during their demonstration, forcing armed police to intervene.

Figures from the World Health Organisation show more than 1,600 people have been infected with Ebola since the latest outbreak began - resulting in over 1,000 deaths.

Last week, an expert told MailOnline the Ebola outbreak in the country could end up as disastrous as the West Africa epidemic of 2014.

Dr Osman Dar, a global health expert at Chatham House and member of the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh and Public Health England, warned the situation must change.

The photos show people burying Ebola victims and come after an international aid group said more funds were needed for safe Ebola burials

Figures from the World Health Organisation show more than 1,600 people have been infected with Ebola since the latest outbreak began - resulting in over 1,000 deaths.

The burial took place at a cemetery in Butembo, which is the current epicenter of Congo's tenth outbreak of Ebola

Ebola, a haemorrhagic fever, killed at least 11,000 across the world after it decimated West Africa and spread rapidly between 2014-2016.

The latest photos show people burying four more victims of the illness and come after an international aid group said more funds were needed for safe Ebola burials.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said that unless it gets more funding it won't be able to continue providing support to crews burying Ebola victims.

A coffin is placed on the ground during the quadruple burial of Ebola victims in Butembo

Dr Jeremy Farrar, the head of the Wellcome Trust, which has been active in aid operations in the country, believes the current Ebola outbreak is the 'worst in history'

The burial was interrupted and the health workers were stoned and blockaded in the cemetery by local persons skeptical of Ebola

A police officer watches as locals set a fire to bar exit to health workers at the quadruple burial of Ebola victims

Ebola is a highly contagious disease transmitted through human contact and funerals were a major source of virus transmission during the previous epidemic.

Each Ebola burial costs about $500 for, among other things, the protective gear for workers.

The Congo Ebola epidemic has escalated sharply over the past month. The health ministry says 20 percent of all cases since August have been reported in just the last three weeks.
Cold War documents report that Geoffrey Robinson (pictured) divulged highly sensitive information about Britain's nuclear deterrent with a spymaster from Communist Czechoslovakia

One of Jeremy Corbyn's most senior MPs was a spy who passed confidential Government documents to an enemy state, according to intelligence files unearthed by The Mail on Sunday.

The Cold War documents report that Geoffrey Robinson, a Minister under Prime Minister Tony Blair, divulged highly sensitive information about Britain's nuclear deterrent over the course of 51 meetings with a spymaster from Communist Czechoslovakia.

The files also describe alleged contact between Mr Robinson and Russian KGB agents.

Given the codename Karko by the Czechs, Mr Robinson, who was then an ambitious Labour Party apparatchik, allegedly:

Passed the Czechs 87 pieces of intelligence between 1966 and 1969, including highly sensitive details relating to Britain's Polaris missile programme and Nato briefing notes;

Accepted gifts worth more than 12,000 in today's money, including Harrods vouchers, cases of wine and a gallon of whisky;

Declared himself a 'Leninist' and was hailed as one of Czechoslovakia's 'most productive sources' in the UK.

The documents held in an official Prague archive claim that Mr Robinson acknowledged at the time that he 'was involved in espionage' and would be 'sent to prison' if caught.

Last night Mr Robinson, Labour MP for Coventry North West since 1976, strenuously denied the allegations. He issued a statement through lawyers denying any wrongdoing.

'At no time did he ever pass confidential government documents or information to any foreign agent and he did not have access to such material,' it said.

'The allegations made by the Czech authorities 50 years ago are a lie.'

One of Parliament's wealthiest MPs, Robinson was a central New Labour figure, closely allied to both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

Well connected: With Gordon Brown, the then Chancellor, and Economic Secretary Helen Liddell at 11 Downing Street on Budget Day 1998) The files also describe alleged contact between Mr Robinson and Russian KGB agents. Last night Mr Robinson strenuously denied the allegations

But he was forced to resign as Paymaster General in 1998 after it was revealed that he gave Peter Mandelson an undeclared 373,000 loan to buy a house in Notting Hill.

During a successful business career which made him millions, he became involved with a number of disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell's engineering interests. Maxwell was a Czech national who was himself accused of being a spy.

The extraordinary claims are contained in 390 pages of Cold War files archived by the current Czech government.

Complied by the StB security service, they are now administered by the country's State Security archive, which allows applicants to 'trace files on persons of interest about whom dossiers were maintained'.

The Mail on Sunday has written permission to publish extracts. They detail Mr Robinson's alleged cultivation as a source and how he was expensively wined and dined at exclusive London restaurants and clubs.

Polaris, the ballistic missiles that could wipe out Moscow by Mark Hookham Geoffrey Robinson handed over sensitive information about Britain's nuclear weapons to the Czech communist regime, the files claim. It was a critical time in the Cold War. After years of development, Polaris, the UK's first submarine-based nuclear weapons programme, was just entering service. HMS Resolution, the first of four submarines armed with nuclear missiles, was commissioned into the Royal Navy in October 1967. HMS Resolution, the first of four submarines armed with nuclear missiles, was commissioned into the Royal Navy in October 1967. Pictured is a Polaris missile breaking through water from the submarine off Cape Kennedy Each sub was designed to be able to obliterate up to ten Russian cities, including Moscow. But even as HMS Resolution completed sea trials, a debate raged about the effectiveness of Polaris. By the late 1960s, the Soviet Union and the US were drawing up plans for how to intercept incoming ballistic missiles with a 'defensive shield'. The successful introduction of such a system would mean that Polaris warheads would be unable to penetrate Soviet defences unless they were redesigned. The Czech files claim that in June 1967, Robinson told his handler that US Vice President Hubert Humphrey had tried to persuade the UK to replace Polaris with Poseidon, a costly new US missile system. The Czechs regarded this as 'interesting information' and noted that their informant had learnt it from Defence Secretary Denis Healey and an aide to France's President de Gaulle. Robinson informed the Czechs that the British had rejected the US offer both on economic and political grounds. The MoD, he reported, had drawn up an alternative plan to try to extend the working life of Polaris and enhance the warheads. Two months later, the files claim Robinson told his handler that the 'Government had decided to purchase the new nuclear warhead for the Polaris missiles from the US'. This information appears to have been wrong but it came amid uncertainty over the future of Polaris, and talks were held on whether it should be abandoned. However, Polaris was saved at a Cabinet meeting in 1968. Advertisement

Even after the Czech regime and its Soviet allies brutally suppressed the Prague Spring uprising in 1968, killing 137 civilians, the Labour official allegedly continued to collaborate with the StB.

The revelations follow a series of claims about high-profile Labour politicians' contact with hostile Cold War spies.

Former leader Michael Foot was accused of acting as an 'agent of influence' for Russia's KGB, and last year it was revealed that Mr Corbyn met a Czech spy on four occasions in the 1980s.

A highly placed senior British intelligence source was shown the Robinson file on Friday.

Stationed in the Eastern Bloc during the same period, the source initially suggested that Robinson was, perhaps, working for the British security services as a double agent.

The documents held in an official Prague archive claim that Mr Robinson (pictured) acknowledged at the time that he 'was involved in espionage' and would be 'sent to prison' if caught

But several hours later, following discussions with former colleagues, he was less certain of this, adding: 'I have spoken to people who would have known him and they have no recollection of him.'

In the files, Czech agents told of meetings in which Robinson was plied with drink and given expensive gifts.

His interest to them lay partly in the access they believed he had to Defence Secretary Denis Healey and Foreign Secretary George Brown.

Several sections of the documents give a revealing insight into the way the StB worked closely with Russia's intelligence services, describing alleged contact between Robinson and KGB agents  called 'Soviet friends' and how Robinson was said to be passing them 'classified' information.

According to the documents, the two countries apparently vied for control of the Labour official, before the Russians eventually backed down.

The files say that Mr Robinson developed a close relationship with his Czech handler Karel Pravec  codenamed Comrade Pelnar, the head of StB's bureau in the London embassy. Pravec is now 88 and living in New Jersey.

His reports from the time are included in the files. He wrote that meetings with Robinson were often oiled with copious amounts of alcohol, particularly 'large quantities' of the Labour official's favourite: whisky and ginger ale.

But the documents claim the meetings would always return to 'business', with Robinson passing information and bundles of documents  sometimes marked 'confidential'  to be copied by Pravec.

The MP was then working in the Labour Party's Transport House research department during Harold Wilson's Labour Government, before moving to the newly formed Industrial Reorganisation Corporation (IRC), Wilson's attempt to restructure British industry.

He first met Pravec at the Labour conference in October 1966 in Brighton, where he is reported to have introduced the spymaster to Healey.

He offered to meet Pravec again and then began passing a steady flow of information to his handler, which he Czech agents described as 'reliable'.

Robinson (pictured) is said to have handed over information on US-UK discussions over the replacement of Polaris

It included details on the withdrawal of British troops from West Germany and across much of the rest of the globe, 'confidential' Nato military briefing files, and details of discussions on replacing Britain's Polaris nuclear deterrent.

By December 1966, the Czechs were already in possession of a briefing note on Britain's plans to reduce its troop numbers in West Germany  six months before Healey told the Cabinet of the planned cuts.

At a meeting in June 1967, Robinson is said to have given Pravec information on US-UK discussions over the replacement of Polaris.

Robinson is said to have told how US Vice-President Hubert Humphrey was placing 'pressure on the UK to purchase the Poseidon rockets', America's upgraded nuclear missile. Apparently the information came 'straight from Healey'.

The report added: 'The Defence Ministry here has drawn up an alternative plan under which the first step will be to try to extend the working life of the existing Polaris missiles as much as possible.'

Later, in September 1967, Mr Robinson is reported to have also tipped off his handlers that the UK intended to buy its 'new nuclear warhead for Polaris from the US.'

The files state Robinson implored Pravec to 'handle this information carefully, as it could have unpleasant consequences [for him] if he were linked to the disclosure.' Ultimately the UK decided against buying new warheads from the US.

Earlier, in March of the same year, Robinson allegedly informed Pravec about planned British troop withdrawals East of the Suez Canal, including the Middle East.

The report came ten months ahead of the Government's official announcement by Wilson in January 1968. But the Czech agents were sceptical about this report and said they could not verify its accuracy.

An agent in Prague, writing in September 1967, said: 'This report is incomplete as it fails to recognise the importance of the simultaneous construction of new military bases in the area. Verification of this report by our Near East and Middle East units was negative.'

The files say that Mr Robinson (pictured with his wife Marie Elena after his 1976 election victory) developed a close relationship with his Czech handler Karel Pravec  codenamed Comrade Pelnar, the head of StB's bureau in the London embassy. Pravec is now 88 and living in New Jersey

At this time, the documents allege, Robinson was also passing information about sensitive discussions between the UK Government and foreign heads of state, including negotiations about Britain joining the European Economic Community. In June 1967, the files say Robinson reported that French President Charles de Gaulle was 'devoting exceptional attention to stopping the UK from joining the EEC'.

Pravec always opened his reports with a matter-of-fact description of his spycraft, in one case stating: 'No surveillance or other problems were detected.'

One rendezvous, in February 1968, came at a time when Robinson was moving from Transport House to the IRC, which the Czechs feared would make his asset less valuable.

But in an apparent bid to help his handlers, Robinson is reported to have handed over any material he could get his hands on before leaving his old job.

In the files, Pravec wrote that Robinson 'increased his intelligence service activities to the maximum. He handed over quite a number of reports and materials  virtually everything he could give us from the position he held.'

During one meeting, Robinson is alleged to have handed over bundles of documents to be copied by StB agents, including Foreign Office and Cabinet Office files and a proposed speech by Healey on Britain's military plans.

A 'hasty and tense' pub rendezvous later that month saw Robinson pass four bundles of 'confidential Nato materials' including some titled 'East-West relationships', 'Development outside the Nato region', 'Ideological basis of Nato' and 'Problems with Nato', said to have had Robinson's handwritten notes in the margins.

The Czechs reportedly rewarded Robinson with expensive gifts during his collaboration including 200 of Harrods vouchers  worth around 3,500 today  as a gift following his wedding to Marie Elena in 1967.

He also is said to have accepted a gallon of whisky, a briefcase and requested a case of wine worth 50 in the summer of 1969, worth 800 in today's money.

But he later reportedly turned down another 100 of Harrods vouchers, saying it should be returned as '[Czech] labourers worked really hard' for the money. He also refused explicit financial reward from the agents.

The spy agency described their satisfaction at the low cost of their operation, writing: 'Karko's intelligence results were highly profitable from the financial point of view.'

Assessing Robinson's motives, agents suggested he enjoyed to 'eat very well' with Pravec and that this is 'typically what he asks' for  while he also appeared to have a 'personal liking' for the agent.

In the files, it is reported he also described himself as a 'Leninist' to Pravec in one of their early meetings and that he was also active in the Left-wing Fabian Society.

To disguise the true nature of the meetings, the files say Robinson had told his boss he was having regular discussions with diplomats as part of his research role. But he admitted to his handler that knew Pravec was 'not a straight diplomat'.

And in another report, Robinson is said to have admitted to Pravec that the Czech 'could send him to jail immediately' by revealing his actions.

At several meetings, the Labour official is said to have displayed crippling anxiety at the thought of being discovered, particularly with a stream of Soviet spy stories in the British press.

The Czech agents stated that they 'never detected any surveillance' of their meetings, but became concerned at Robinson's few calls to the embassy, which they believe would have been noticed by MI5.

By 1969, the Czech agents were preparing to induct Robinson into full 'agent' status from his ranking as 'DS'  a confidential informant who knowingly commits espionage.

But Pravec was suddenly removed from the Czech embassy in 1969, causing a break in the relationship and 'complicating the situation'.

Prior to this episode, it had apparently been Robinson's transfer to Wilson's economic project which unsettled the relationship.

Pravec reported that the economic reports he began to hand over in his new role were not of the same use and that his 'intelligence gathering possibilities' had 'declined considerably'.

The files said the StB had offered to make up his salary had he stayed at Transport House, and Pravec is said to have told Robinson 'that the help from foreign governments to prospective politicians is common and that there are people in the British Cabinet who have moved up in their posts only thanks to the help from abroad.'

Robinson is reported to have declined the offer. It left Pravec to conclude: 'I think he was drawn by the certainty of higher income, whereas working for me only gave him the hope of a pay rise.'

The 'Leninist' accused of sharing secrets over fine wines, fillet steak - and shows at the Pussy Club

Famed for its caviar and oysters, it was the society haunt where Edward VIII wooed Mrs Simpson. But on October 21, 1966, according to intelligence files seen by The Mail on Sunday, the first act in an altogether different courtship was unfolding inside Maison Prunier in St Jamess, Central London.

That night, two men, anxious not be overheard, were in the Art Deco dining room discussing politics in muted tones over a lavish seafood meal.

One was Geoffrey Robinson, then an ambitious but unknown 28-year-old Labour Party apparatchik. The other was Czech spymaster Karel Pravec, who was eager to recruit him.

One was Geoffrey Robinson, then an ambitious but unknown 28-year-old Labour Party apparatchik

Guided to their table a few minutes earlier, they might well have passed a Cabinet Minister or two, landed aristocrats down from the shires, captains of industry, or possibly stars of stage and screen. Once a favourite of Winston Churchill, few restaurants were as celebrated as Maison Prunier.

Given the two mens political beliefs, it certainly made for an incongruous backdrop to their discussions. According to the files, both Russian-speaking Robinson and Pravec, 35, claimed to be Leninists, yet their tastes were anything but proletarian.

They became acquainted two weeks earlier at the Labour Party conference in Brighton and their dinner was the first of 51 assignations. They always ate and drank in style.

And as the cultivation of Robinson intensified, so too did the two mens friendship. Before his wedding in 1967, the files say that Robinson even suggested they go on a wild stag weekend in Paris from where he would go straight to the altar.

Mostly their playground was the Establishment heartland of St Jamess. The irony of grooming an aspiring British politician under the noses of the elite must have tickled Pravec.

For his part, Robinson  who told his handler he broke off contact with his factory-owning father partly because he didnt want to be labelled a capitalist  is portrayed in the previously secret reports as a man who relished both the high life and Pravecs largesse.

Their favoured haunts amounted to a Whos Who of late 1960s fine dining. They included Overtons  once popular with 007 author Ian Fleming, who said its pate maison was the best in town  and San Frediano in Chelsea, whose regulars included Princess Margaret.

Quaglinos in St Jamess was another favourite, as was Veeraswamy on Regent Street, the oldest Indian restaurant in the country, and the Paramount Grill, off Leicester Square, which claimed to serve the best steak in the world.

Once a favourite of Winston Churchill, few restaurants were as celebrated as Maison Prunier

This was the apogee of Swinging London: the Beatles were recording Sgt Peppers, the beau monde thronged the catwalks of Carnaby Street and the Kings Road, and, thanks to fashion designer Mary Quant, miniskirt hemlines had never been shorter.

But while neither Robinson nor Pravec could be called groovy, they were determined to have fun.

They visited nightclubs, among them The Georgian Pussy Club, staggering distance from Quaglinos  it featured gorgeous hostesses who waited on tables dressed in cat outfits comprising leotards and knee-high boots.

Another venue was the Pigalle nightclub in Piccadilly Circus, which was often frequented by the Kray twins and known for its racy cabaret shows.

And sometimes they ventured into Soho to watch the fabulous floorshow at Tolainis Latin Quarter nightclub in Wardour Street.

According to the files, Robinson handed over confidential documents on numerous occasions. Once, during a restaurant meeting, he wrote down instructions from his handler on a napkin.

Occasionally, the two men played squash at Dolphin Square, the giant ten-storey block of flats looking out over the River Thames at Pimlico, which has long been home to MPs, spies and other notables.

If they needed to request an urgent rendezvous, Robinsons handler telephoned his home using the cover of arranging a squash match.

On that first night at Prunier, though, beyond the political tenor of their conversation, what the two men discussed is not recorded in the files, only that Karko  Robinsons Czech codename  provided three items of information.

Famed for its caviar and oysters, Maison Prunier in St James's, Central London, was the society haunt where Edward VIII wooed Mrs Simpson

Their meeting began at 7pm and ended at 11.40pm.

If their rendezvous had been the following evening, October 22, Robinson might well have been markedly more nervous.

That day George Blake, the Soviet double agent, escaped over the wall of Wormwood Scrubs and fled to Moscow.

As it was, the first move in a carefully calibrated operation to try to ensnare Robinson, later a Minister under Tony Blair, was a success  at least thats how it seemed to the StB, the Czech intelligence service.

Robinson, according to the files, was impressed by his new friend  ostensibly first secretary at the Czech Embassy  and saw him as an interesting partner from his personal point of view.

At the time, Robinson worked in the international section of Labours research department, apparently affording him access to sensitive material.

A Czech interior ministry memorandum would later state that: [Robinson] regularly provides our unit with information of a political nature, as well as classified materials pertaining to his line of work.

This appeared true of another meeting three days before Christmas 1966 at the Golden Carp, an upmarket fish restaurant in Mayfair. It was here, the files say, that Robinson claimed to have access to coded communications from British missions abroad.

At first he was reluctant to reveal them, though it is later claimed that he changed his mind.

The two men also discussed the European Economic Community. Karko announced that his arguments [in favour of joining] were backed up by a speech made by George Thomson, a Minister in Prime Minister Harold Wilsons Cabinet, given to the Western European Union, an international organisation and military alliance.

The files, which use the codename Comrade Pelnar for Pravec, state: After the meeting, Comrade Pelnar reminded Karko that he had promised to show him Thomsons speech.

At first Karko hesitated, but then (after he had been given a gallon jar of whisky as a Christmas gift) he took Comrade Pelnar to his car and allowed him to read the speech marked confidential.

It was at this meeting that the Czechs first noted what they called Robinsons tendency to boast.

They visited nightclubs, among them The Georgian Pussy Club, staggering distance from Quaglinos  it featured gorgeous hostesses who waited on tables dressed in cat outfits comprising leotards and knee-high boots

Explaining why he had to cancel a rendezvous earlier that month, he said he had been delayed in Paris because the French Prime Minister, Georges Pompidou, invited him to dinner. The explanation he gave was that the French PM wanted to talk to him on an unofficial basis about various views on the British joining the EEC, said one report.

As they finished their meal, the files say that Robinson expressed concern that his handler was lavishing too much money on him.

He was delighted to hear that Comrade Pelnar had a monthly allowance and it made no difference to him whether he spent it with someone all at once or bit by bit.

At this time, newspapers were full of stories about Cold War traitors and Robinson, according to the files, was prone to jitters. In the spring of 1967, he met his handler in the Georgian nightclub but for once was unable to enjoy the entertainment. He became nervous about the presence of a man sitting at the next table. The files report that he was probably a musician since he was making notes on sheet music, but Robinson was uneasy and, believing they could be overheard, insisted on moving elsewhere.

You cant talk freely here, he is said to have told his handler.

The files claim that the two men were never followed  the Czechs always carried out counter-surveillance measures.

Yet in July that year, returning from a meeting with Robinson, Pravec was dazzled close to his front door by a spotlight fitted on to an unknown vehicle.

And once inside his London flat, where he lived alone, the spy noticed that the light was on in his bedroom, though it was off when he left for work in the morning.

There had been another unsettling episode some months earlier. Over dinner at Veeraswamy, Robinson noticed a Labour MP, whom he knew well, sitting at the next table with his lover. As he [the MP] clearly felt uncomfortable about being spotted by Karko he left... after a short while.

There was interest in Robinson from other foreign agents, among them a Russian identified in the files as Mogilevcik.

In one report, Pravec writes: When Mogilevcik finally reached Karko on the phone at work, Karko accepted his lunch invitation in order to prevent further unwelcome phone calls.

According to the files, Robinson handed over confidential documents on numerous occasions. Once, during a restaurant meeting, he wrote down instructions from his handler on a napkin

Mogilevcik asked Karko what restaurant he prefers and Karko unfortunately mentioned Paramount, a restaurant that I go to for short lunches when Karko does not have much time and has to go to eat somewhere near his office.

Karko accepted my criticism that it was not a very smart thing to do I think it would be correct to warn Soviet advisers that Karko is being recruited and that the approach of their staff is damaging [and] gravely irresponsible.

According to the files, Robinson appeared to have had serious qualms about his meetings with Pravec, initially at least.

One report from November 1967 notes that he is most likely aware that he is walking on the edge of a risky adventure that can jeopardise his future career. In order to maintain balance, he appears to have created a notional red line that he strives not to cross.

But the files suggest he later was in a more useful position to help, although he was far from being in the pay of Communist Czechoslovakia. He made it clear in several interviews that he knew he was involved in espionage and that [Pravec] might send him to prison any time. He restricted his co-operation by refusing to share information that might lead to harm to his country in the case of war.

On one occasion he met his handler at The Red Lion pub in St Jamess, tucked away in Crown Passage, a 17th Century alleyway, and perfect for secret assignations. After handing over materials, the files claim Robinson left to attend a meeting in Parliament before reconvening with Pravec an hour and a half later at a restaurant.

Another venue was the Pigalle nightclub in Piccadilly Circus, which was often frequented by the Kray twins and known for its racy cabaret shows

In early 1968, Robinson was offered an executive job with the Industrial Reorganisation Corporation, set up by Harold Wilson to shake up British industry. Pravec tried to dissuade him from taking it and offered to make up the difference in salary. Robinson declined.

A report from that month says: He [Pravec] indicated that the help from foreign states to prospective politicians is common and that there are people in the British Cabinet who have moved up in their posts only thanks to help from abroad. Karko reacted that he knew something about these cases. Robinson made clear that money is not the main thing for him and he has the bonds from his fathers company but that he doesnt use them because he wants to stay faithful to his political principles and that he wants a political career.

The report adds that Robinson believes Pravec has given him a lot by sharing his life experience.

Still, though, the contact continued. From around the same time, another report outlined Robinsons position: He doesnt get the codes on his desk as he stated before but he reads them during various contacts at FO!! [Foreign Office] Concerning a confidential material, he has the possibility to make a photocopy or to borrow the material and copy it at his workplace. But he cannot make the photocopy with the secret materials and take them out of the building.

What would have taken Robinson to the next level  full recruitment as a spy  was to have taken place during the World Ski Championships in February 1970 in Vysoke Tatry, Czechoslovakia.

He was very excited about his planned stay and was fully prepared for a further specification of his existing collaboration, claim the files. But they go on to say this never happened because the connection with Karko was lost.

Stranger than fiction life of Champagne socialist who was friends with Robert Maxwell, hosted Blair's Tuscan holidays and had a torrid affair with an Italian actress

By Glen Owen, Political Editor for the Mail On Sunday

The high life: Armed by the 30million Mr Robinson (pictured with his wife Maria Elena and their pet dalmatian outside their Surrey mansion in 1998) made from series of propitious business deals he managed to inveigle his way into the tight clique being formed by Mr Blair, Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson

Until today's dynamite claims, Geoffrey Robinson was best known as the bon vivant Labour MP whose fortune helped to oil the wheels of Tony Blair's New Labour.

Armed by the 30 million he made from series of propitious business deals  many of them cloaked in mystery and linked to the crooked Czech-born media tycoon Robert Maxwell  Robinson managed to inveigle his way into the tight clique being formed by Mr Blair, Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson.

It was his passport out of the backbench obscurity that he had endured since entering the Commons as MP for Coventry West in 1976.

His champagne lifestyle soon came to symbolise Mr Blair's break with Labour's socialist roots, with the Labour leader jetting off for free holidays at Mr Robinson's Tuscan villa, where he enjoyed its 50ft outdoor pool and landscaped gardens dotted with cypress trees and lavender bushes.

Mr Robinson also owned Orchards, a Lutyens-designed Elizabethan-style mansion set in 50 acres of Surrey countryside near Godalming  where he was once caught flouting a hosepipe ban by using water from a private borehole  along with properties in the South of France and a Park Lane penthouse.

His pivotal position in the Blairite establishment was cemented in 1996 when he bought the Left-wing New Statesman magazine, only relinquishing it 12 years later, after Mr Blair had left Downing Street.

His champagne lifestyle soon came to symbolise Mr Blair's break with Labour's socialist roots, with the Labour leader jetting off for free holidays at Mr Robinson's Tuscan villa, where he enjoyed its 50ft outdoor pool and landscaped gardens dotted with cypress trees and lavender bushes

Mr Robinson's deep pockets also, infamously, allowed him to lend 373,000 to Mr Mandelson to help him buy a townhouse in Notting Hill in 1996.

When the cosy deal was exposed, it triggered Mr Mandelson's first Cabinet resignation and forced Mr Robinson to quit his Government role as Paymaster General.

The publicity also drew attention to Mr Robinson's boulevardier lifestyle of fine wines, lavish dining  and women.

In 1998, The Mail on Sunday revealed Mr Robinson and Italian film star Annabella Incontrera had been lovers since 1973, when he was managing director of British Leyland's Italian arm, Innocenti.

'Geoffrey was a very good lover and very persistent in his proposals of marriage,' she said.

'He even introduced me to friends as 'Mrs Robinson'. He would say 'With me, Annabella, one day you will be in Downing Street.' '

Italian lover: In 1998, The Mail on Sunday revealed Mr Robinson and Italian film star Annabella Incontrera (pictured) had been lovers since 1973, when he was managing director of British Leyland's Italian arm, Innocenti

Mr Robinson's wife, Maltese opera singer and pianist Maria Elena Giorgio, was not impressed, saying: 'So many times it was supposed to have been called off and then I discovered that it's not called off at all.'

It came just months after Mr Robinson had received an inheritance of more than 12 million from his close friend, Joska Bourgeois, who at one time had been the world's 12th richest woman.

He was even said to have 'charmed' and 'beguiled' Harold Wilson's wife, Mary, after first joining the Labour Party in 1958. Mr Wilson had persuaded him to sign up after giving a lecture at Yale University, where Mr Robinson was studying after graduating from Cambridge.

He has been married to Marie Elena since 1967, but the relationship was tempestuous from the start.

Mr Robinson's biographer, Tom Bower, quotes Robinson as saying of their frequent arguments: 'We've lost three alarm clocks in three months. I just duck and run.'

The couple have two children, Alexander, 40, whom Mr Robinson accidentally shot in the foot with a shotgun in 1991, and Veronique, 48.

The Czech spy files cover the period after 1964, when he joined Labour's research department.

He had previously done National Service  today, he is the last MP to have done so  and built up a formidable grasp of languages after serving in the Army's Intelligence Corps, becoming fluent in German, French and Russian.

It led to him being assigned to the party's international section, where his opposition to the Vietnam War brought him into contact with MPs on the party's far Left, including Tony Benn.

Crook: Maxwell worked with Robinson and helped make him rich

The path to Mr Robinson's fortune started in 1973 when  to the surprise of the industry  he became chief executive of Jaguar at the age of just 34.

But the explosion in his wealth only took place after he entered the orbit of Mr Maxwell in the 1980s.

Just days before the businessman died in 1991, after falling off his yacht in unexplained circumstances, Maxwell had been accused of being an Israeli spy by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh.

The author claimed that the billionaire publisher had close links with Mossad and was involved in Israel's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.

Separate sources claimed that Maxwell had spied on the West for Eastern Bloc countries.

Maxwell faced posthumous disgrace when it emerged that he had plundered hundreds of millions of pounds from his companies' pension funds to shore up the shares of the Mirror Group to save his companies from bankruptcy.

Robinson was dogged for years by claims that he had not been transparent about his business relationship with Maxwell, which started in 1986 when he founded TransTec, a technology concern, by merging one of his companies with one of Maxwell's.

It was originally called Central & Sherwood, but changed its name in 1991.

It went on to become a 200 million international conglomerate focusing on aerospace customers.

In 1991, Mr Robinson oversaw the 2.9 million sale of two subsidiaries of Hollis Industries, a company which he once chaired, to a Maxwell business.

That same day, the companies were sold to another Maxwell business for 4 million.

Months later, Hollis collapsed owing creditors 16 million.

Questions were been asked about how Maxwell was able to make such a large profit in a single day, and exactly what Mr Robinson's involvement had been.

He faced a series of inquiries by MPs, and in 1998 he was questioned by the then Downing Street chief of staff Jonathan Powell after it emerged that he had received 150,000 as a director of Central & Sherwood  a payment which never appeared in the register of MPs' interests.

Mr Robinson insisted that he declared the payment in January 1991, but 'missed the printer's deadline' for the annual list.

He faced faced further embarrassment shortly afterwards when it was revealed that he had received a second payment of 1 million from Maxwell just months before the collapse of his business empire.

Mr Robinson has argued that these payments came at a time when the rules on disclosure of directorships and payments were more vague than they are now.

Mr Robinson, who will be 81 later this month, has also long been a director of Coventry City Football Club but he has scaled back his business commitments and his pursuit of the high life as his health has started to fail.

He suffered a stroke last December which has affected his speech, but he remains a familiar figure in the Commons, where he is now permanently accompanied by Marie Elena.

He confided to spy about his sex life

by Jake Ryan

Geoffrey Robinson's relationship with his Czech spy handler reportedly grew so close that the Labour official even asked him for advice on his sex life .

According to the files, Robinson poured his heart out to agent Karel Pravec and asked: 'How many times a week should be enough'?

Pravec, writing his report of the May 1969 meeting in the high-society restaurant San Frediano in Chelsea, explained drily that Robinson 'demonstrated how [his wife Marie Elena] is, for example asking him to 'kiss me', 'come closer', etc, and he genuinely complained about too much attention from his wife.

Intimate advice: Mr Robinson (pictured with his wife Marie Elena after his 1976 election victory) grew such a close relationship with his Czech spy handler that the Labour official even asked him for advice on his sex life

He didn't want money but took 200 Harrods vouchers The files reveal how Geoffrey Robinson explicitly refused 'financial remuneration'. But shortly before his wedding in Malta to Marie Elena Giorgio in 1967, he did accept a gift of 200 of vouchers from Harrods, the files allege  equivalent to about 3,500 in today's prices. On another occasion, Robinson refused 100 of vouchers because it was money for which Czech 'labourers worked really hard and should be returned'. The Czechs appear to have regarded Robinson as good value for money. 'Karko's intelligence results were highly profitable from the financial point of view,' the files record. Advertisement

'He then asked me for advice on how many times a week should be enough and how is my situation in this regard.'

A slightly taken-aback Pravec added: 'He then asked me when we are in Tatra mountains [a planned trip to Czechoslovakia] if my wife could talk to his wife.

'I told him that a woman has to be sometimes wise when she sees that a man is tired, etc, etc, just to give him courage.

'I think that overwork has a negative influence on [Robinson's] sexual life and it depresses him a bit.'

In the files, Pravec also carried out an assessment of Robinson's character, which included one summary falling under the category 'Relationships with women'.

The extract reports that he is 'shy', adding: 'He wants to 'mix' but only if someone else makes the necessary arrangements, of course.'

On one evening in May 1967, Robinson was invited by Pravec  who was codenamed Pelnar  to a cabaret nightspot called The Georgian Pussy Club in St James's, Central London.

But the files state he was 'very shy there and asked Comrade Pelnar to introduce him to some of the girls in the place.'

Robinson and his handler were later said to have taken another trip to a dancing club called La Dolce Nota, yet 'despite being rather drunk and jolly', the aspiring politician was again 'shy to go and dance, even though he had the opportunity and wanted to'.

'A good spy would never answer your stupid questions!': Czech agent's stunned response after the Mail on Sunday tracks him down in the US over alleged meetings with Labour grandee

Now living in a 800,000, five-bedroom home that could easily be mistaken for one of the properties featured in hit crime drama series The Sopranos, Karel Pravec appears to have put his spying days behind hi

By Jonathan Bucks for the Mail On Sunday

The Mail on Sunday tracked down Karel Pravec to a sleepy suburban street in the American state of New Jersey  a world away from Czechoslovakia of the 1960s.

Now living in a 800,000, five-bedroom home that could easily be mistaken for one of the properties featured in hit crime drama series The Sopranos, Mr Pravec appears to have put his spying days behind him.

The 88-year-old was at first stunned into silence when The Mail on Sunday confronted him with his past at his front door.

After demanding to know how this newspaper had unearthed details of his alleged secret meetings with the Labour grandee, Mr Pravec was shown a dossier of secret files that laid bare his past association.

Still on the doorstep and hunched over a Mail on Sunday laptop screen, the former spymaster bowed his head and appeared dumbfounded as he scrolled through the cache of declassified files. After pausing for a moment, Mr Pravec looked up and, in a thick, gravelly Czech accent, tinged with a slight American twang, said: Im not discussing what happened in the 1960s. This is all a very long time ago and I wont talk about any of it.

When pressed further about his past life, Mr Pravec, who has lost none of the quick-wittedness typical of a Communist agent operating in London, said solemnly: Do you think if I was a good spy I would answer any of your stupid questions?

Little is known of exactly how Mr Pravec found his way to suburban America. But it seems that as relations between East and West worsened, Mr Pravec became disaffected with the Communist regime.

According to a biography by his son Karel, an experienced Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt who fights under the moniker Silver Fox, Mr Pravec was forced to flee Czechoslovakia in 1980 after he denounced Soviet rule. Nearly 40 years later, Mr Pravec and his family appear to have blended seamlessly into American society.

Their enormous US house, about 20 miles north of New York City, is nestled in an acre of land and surrounded by forest.

With its double garage and typically American postbox at the front, no one would suspect that the occupant once compiled detailed reports for the Soviet regime. Mr Pravec seemed shocked that the MoS had managed to track him down.

Little is known of exactly how Mr Pravec found his way to suburban America. But it seems that as relations between East and West worsened, Mr Pravec became disaffected with the Communist regime

When pressed further about his past life, Mr Pravec, who has lost none of the quick-wittedness typical of a Communist agent operating in London, said solemnly: Do you think if I was a good spy I would answer any of your stupid questions?

Locals said Mr Pravec and his wife had lived in the house for years, and that he was a quiet and mild-mannered man.

It is hardly surprising that Mr Pravec chose to relocate his family here. With several schools in the area and a high street filled with diners, the town offers a slice of typical US life.

With a population just shy of 8,500, it is the perfect place to escape a past that could have been lifted straight out of a John le Carre novel.

One resident said: Theyre a friendly couple but keep themselves to themselves.

We know that they came over here from Czechoslovakia but he doesnt really talk about what went on before that.

This is a very peaceful town, another neighbour said. We are friendly but we dont pry into peoples lives. We certainly respect peoples privacy.

Penny pincher nabbed handler's strawberries - and flew in to rage at waiter's 2 cover charge

By Mark Hookham

He may have been seen as a champagne socialist during the New Labour years, but 30 years earlier Czechoslovakian spymasters painted a very different picture of Geoffrey Robinson, reporting that he appeared to be a penny-pincher.

An intelligence report reveals that at meeting in a restaurant in July 1967 between Robinson and Karel Pravec, his Czech intelligence handler, Robinson got angry that waiters had added a 2 cover charge to their bill.

He may have been seen as a champagne socialist during the New Labour years, but 30 years earlier Czechoslovakian spymasters painted a very different picture of Geoffrey Robinson, reporting that he appeared to be a penny-pincher

He insisted that they should not get a tip and picked up the ten shillings that had been left on a plate by Pravec.

Although he was holding the money in his hand up until the time they parted, he did not return it to Comrade Pelnar [Pravec], the report states.

At the next meeting, he apologised for taking the money and not returning it but did not return it even then, showing pleasure when Comrade Pelnar declined to take the money.

Nevertheless, Pravec ordered strawberries for dessert and pretended not to want them

The handler meticulously recorded noteworthy incidents involving money but a report detailing meetings in 1966 and 1967 shows that the Czech spies had not been able to confirm that their informant had an interest in material gain.

Pravec, however, appears to have engineered scenarios to test how his informant would react. During the July 1967 meeting, Robinson finished his main course and insisted he did not want any more to eat. Nevertheless, Pravec ordered strawberries for dessert and pretended not to want them. Karko [Robinson] ate not only his own portion but also Comrade Pelnars, without first asking Comrade Pelnars permission, an intelligence report notes. The Czechs assumed their informants financial situation was not too good and that it prevented him from having an active social life.

During a visit by the pair to the Pigalle club in Piccadilly, Robinson showed a lively interest in gambling but while his handler played roulette, Robinson opted to play on the gambling machines at six pence a time.

Meanwhile, the files show that Robinson told his handler that he was getting married in Malta in 1967 and was planning to stop off briefly in Italy on the way home.

He literally said that he didnt have enough money for a longer trip, a report notes.

During a night out in October 1966, Pravec discovered that he did not have enough money to pay a bill and the entrance fee of a nightclub where he wanted to take Robinson.

He borrowed 3 from his informant, which was all the money Karko had on him. At the next meeting, when Comrade Pelnar repaid him the sum, Karko pretended that he didnt want the money, but then held open his jacket pocket so that Comrade Pelnar could put the money in, a report in the files adds.

The perfect gift for a bon viveur: a gallon of whisky

Karel Pravec knew that a surefire way of gleaning information from a loose-lipped informant was with copious amounts of alcohol.

The intelligence files claim that Geoffrey Robinson grew to trust his Czech handler during boozy lunches and dinners and nights out in pubs and clubs.

A report of Pravecs early encounters with Robinson detailed the informants tendency to drink, along with his tendency to boast.

The pair first met over drinks at a pub at the 1966 Labour Party conference in Brighton, where Robinson introduced the Czechoslovakian spook to Labour MPs, including the then Defence Secretary Denis Healey. Pravec noted that Robinson drinks almost exclusively whisky with ginger beer, and in considerable quantities at that.

Pravec noted that Robinson kept himself together quite well until the last whisky when there was a sudden change and he started showing signs of mild drunkenness, closing the eyes from time to time, speaking loudly and gesturing widely (other than that, however, he restrained himself)

A few weeks later, the pair had dinner together at the Maison Prunier restaurant in London, at which Pravec told his spy bosses that Robinson got rather drunk.

He added: I had to make an effort to keep up with him to an acceptable extent. He drank several double shots of whisky with ginger beer (even after dinner instead of cognac) and, as part of dinner together with me, two bottles of wine.

Pravec noted that Robinson kept himself together quite well until the last whisky when there was a sudden change and he started showing signs of mild drunkenness, closing the eyes from time to time, speaking loudly and gesturing widely (other than that, however, he restrained himself).

At a meeting three days before Christmas in 1966, Robinson very willingly accepted a gallon of whisky as a gift from Pravec.

And at a later meeting, he asked his handler for a few bottles of whisky because he knew that Czech diplomats could buy them for a heavily discounted price.

Spy expert: 'Robinson knew he was sharing intelligence with agents...'

By Abul Taher in Bratislava

A leading Cold War expert last night said declassified files obtained by The Mail on Sunday provided evidence that Geoffrey Robinson knew he was passing information on to a Communist intelligence agent.

Cold War ghosts haunting Labour There is a long list of Labour MPs and officials caught up in alleged spy scandals. The most high-profile claims swirled around former Labour leader Michael Foot. KGB defector Oleg Gordievsky claimed Foot received payments and was an agent. Foot, who died in 2010 aged 96, denied it. Last year it was reported that Jeremy Corbyn had meetings in the 1980s with a Czech StB spy. Mr Corbyn denied the claims. MP John Stonehouse was accused in the 1960s of spying for the StB. He disappeared, presumed drowned, in November 1974, but was later found in Australia. In 2010, National Archives papers revealed that he had indeed been a paid spy. Bob Edwards, a West Midlands MP from 1955 to 1987, was identified by Britain as a KGB informant. He was later honoured by the Soviet Union. Advertisement

Dr Daniela Richterova, a lecturer in intelligence studies at Brunel University in London, said that if accurate, the documents from the archive of the StB, the Czech secret police, appear to disclose that Robinson was consciously making a decision to share sensitive information with the Czech intelligence service and the Russians.

Dr Richterova is a highly regarded expert on the StB and has pored over the secret polices archive to research other MPs who were spying for Czechoslovakia, including former Labour Government Minister John Stonehouse.

Dr Richterova last week examined the Karko file, detailing the StBs handling of Geoffrey Robinson between 1966 and 1969. A Czech-speaker, she studied both the original documents and the English translations.

She confirmed that she had previously come across Karel Pravec, Robinsons Czech handler who was codenamed Comrade Pelnar, during her own research, and that other files show that he was getting information from at least one other British informant during that time in London. She said: The documents appear to me to be genuine.

If accurate, it is clear that Robinson knew that Pelnar was not a straight-up diplomat, he knew he was an intelligence agent.

He was consciously making a decision to share intelligence with the Czech intelligence service and the Russians.

She added: Governments rightly expect their employees not to pass sensitive information to their adversaries. From what we know of Robinson, he consciously provided such information to Britains Cold War adversaries  Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union.

Dr Daniela Richterova, a lecturer in intelligence studies at Brunel University in London, said that if accurate, the documents from the archive of the StB, the Czech secret police, appear to disclose that Robinson was consciously making a decision to share sensitive information with the Czech intelligence service and the Russians

Dr Richterova said it is not clear how important the StB spymasters in Prague regarded Robinson.

His handler Pelnar thinks he is a very good asset, but officials in Prague were sometimes sceptical of Robinson, as they thought he tended to exaggerate or sometimes lied.

The academic confirmed that the StB had assigned Robinson DS status  one level down from a full agent  but with no access to equipment capable of sending coded messages.

She added it was probable that MI5 might have become aware of what Robinson was doing but she added: It also cannot be ruled out that he was put up to this by MI5.
Now living in a 800,000, five-bedroom home that could easily be mistaken for one of the properties featured in hit crime drama series The Sopranos, Karel Pravec appears to have put his spying days behind him

The Mail on Sunday tracked down Karel Pravec to a sleepy suburban street in the American state of New Jersey  a world away from Czechoslovakia of the 1960s.

Now living in a 800,000, five-bedroom home that could easily be mistaken for one of the properties featured in hit crime drama series The Sopranos, Mr Pravec appears to have put his spying days behind him.

The 88-year-old was at first stunned into silence when The Mail on Sunday confronted him with his past at his front door.

After demanding to know how this newspaper had unearthed details of his alleged secret meetings with the Labour grandee, Mr Pravec was shown a dossier of secret files that laid bare his past association.

Still on the doorstep and hunched over a Mail on Sunday laptop screen, the former spymaster bowed his head and appeared dumbfounded as he scrolled through the cache of declassified files. After pausing for a moment, Mr Pravec looked up and, in a thick, gravelly Czech accent, tinged with a slight American twang, said: Im not discussing what happened in the 1960s. This is all a very long time ago and I wont talk about any of it.

When pressed further about his past life, Mr Pravec, who has lost none of the quick-wittedness typical of a Communist agent operating in London, said solemnly: Do you think if I was a good spy I would answer any of your stupid questions?

Little is known of exactly how Mr Pravec found his way to suburban America. But it seems that as relations between East and West worsened, Mr Pravec became disaffected with the Communist regime.

According to a biography by his son Karel, an experienced Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt who fights under the moniker Silver Fox, Mr Pravec was forced to flee Czechoslovakia in 1980 after he denounced Soviet rule. Nearly 40 years later, Mr Pravec and his family appear to have blended seamlessly into American society.

Their enormous US house, about 20 miles north of New York City, is nestled in an acre of land and surrounded by forest.

With its double garage and typically American postbox at the front, no one would suspect that the occupant once compiled detailed reports for the Soviet regime. Mr Pravec seemed shocked that the MoS had managed to track him down.

Little is known of exactly how Mr Pravec found his way to suburban America. But it seems that as relations between East and West worsened, Mr Pravec became disaffected with the Communist regime

When pressed further about his past life, Mr Pravec, who has lost none of the quick-wittedness typical of a Communist agent operating in London, said solemnly: Do you think if I was a good spy I would answer any of your stupid questions?

Locals said Mr Pravec and his wife had lived in the house for years, and that he was a quiet and mild-mannered man.

It is hardly surprising that Mr Pravec chose to relocate his family here. With several schools in the area and a high street filled with diners, the town offers a slice of typical US life.

With a population just shy of 8,500, it is the perfect place to escape a past that could have been lifted straight out of a John le Carre novel.

One resident said: Theyre a friendly couple but keep themselves to themselves.

We know that they came over here from Czechoslovakia but he doesnt really talk about what went on before that.

This is a very peaceful town, another neighbour said. We are friendly but we dont pry into peoples lives. We certainly respect peoples privacy.

Penny pincher nabbed handler's strawberries - and flew in to rage at waiter's 2 cover charge

By Mark Hookham

He may have been seen as a champagne socialist during the New Labour years, but 30 years earlier Czechoslovakian spymasters painted a very different picture of Geoffrey Robinson, reporting that he appeared to be a penny-pincher.

An intelligence report reveals that at meeting in a restaurant in July 1967 between Robinson and Karel Pravec, his Czech intelligence handler, Robinson got angry that waiters had added a 2 cover charge to their bill.

He may have been seen as a champagne socialist during the New Labour years, but 30 years earlier Czechoslovakian spymasters painted a very different picture of Geoffrey Robinson, reporting that he appeared to be a penny-pincher

He insisted that they should not get a tip and picked up the ten shillings that had been left on a plate by Pravec.

Although he was holding the money in his hand up until the time they parted, he did not return it to Comrade Pelnar [Pravec], the report states.

At the next meeting, he apologised for taking the money and not returning it but did not return it even then, showing pleasure when Comrade Pelnar declined to take the money.

Nevertheless, Pravec ordered strawberries for dessert and pretended not to want them

The handler meticulously recorded noteworthy incidents involving money but a report detailing meetings in 1966 and 1967 shows that the Czech spies had not been able to confirm that their informant had an interest in material gain.

Pravec, however, appears to have engineered scenarios to test how his informant would react. During the July 1967 meeting, Robinson finished his main course and insisted he did not want any more to eat. Nevertheless, Pravec ordered strawberries for dessert and pretended not to want them. Karko [Robinson] ate not only his own portion but also Comrade Pelnars, without first asking Comrade Pelnars permission, an intelligence report notes. The Czechs assumed their informants financial situation was not too good and that it prevented him from having an active social life.

During a visit by the pair to the Pigalle club in Piccadilly, Robinson showed a lively interest in gambling but while his handler played roulette, Robinson opted to play on the gambling machines at six pence a time.

Meanwhile, the files show that Robinson told his handler that he was getting married in Malta in 1967 and was planning to stop off briefly in Italy on the way home.

He literally said that he didnt have enough money for a longer trip, a report notes.

During a night out in October 1966, Pravec discovered that he did not have enough money to pay a bill and the entrance fee of a nightclub where he wanted to take Robinson.

He borrowed 3 from his informant, which was all the money Karko had on him. At the next meeting, when Comrade Pelnar repaid him the sum, Karko pretended that he didnt want the money, but then held open his jacket pocket so that Comrade Pelnar could put the money in, a report in the files adds.

The perfect gift for a bon viveur: a gallon of whisky

Karel Pravec knew that a surefire way of gleaning information from a loose-lipped informant was with copious amounts of alcohol.

The intelligence files claim that Geoffrey Robinson grew to trust his Czech handler during boozy lunches and dinners and nights out in pubs and clubs.

A report of Pravecs early encounters with Robinson detailed the informants tendency to drink, along with his tendency to boast.

The pair first met over drinks at a pub at the 1966 Labour Party conference in Brighton, where Robinson introduced the Czechoslovakian spook to Labour MPs, including the then Defence Secretary Denis Healey. Pravec noted that Robinson drinks almost exclusively whisky with ginger beer, and in considerable quantities at that.

Pravec noted that Robinson kept himself together quite well until the last whisky when there was a sudden change and he started showing signs of mild drunkenness, closing the eyes from time to time, speaking loudly and gesturing widely (other than that, however, he restrained himself)

A few weeks later, the pair had dinner together at the Maison Prunier restaurant in London, at which Pravec told his spy bosses that Robinson got rather drunk.

He added: I had to make an effort to keep up with him to an acceptable extent. He drank several double shots of whisky with ginger beer (even after dinner instead of cognac) and, as part of dinner together with me, two bottles of wine.

Pravec noted that Robinson kept himself together quite well until the last whisky when there was a sudden change and he started showing signs of mild drunkenness, closing the eyes from time to time, speaking loudly and gesturing widely (other than that, however, he restrained himself).

At a meeting three days before Christmas in 1966, Robinson very willingly accepted a gallon of whisky as a gift from Pravec.

And at a later meeting, he asked his handler for a few bottles of whisky because he knew that Czech diplomats could buy them for a heavily discounted price.

Spy expert: 'Robinson knew he was sharing intelligence with agents...'

By Abul Taher in Bratislava

A leading Cold War expert last night said declassified files obtained by The Mail on Sunday provided evidence that Geoffrey Robinson knew he was passing information on to a Communist intelligence agent.

Cold War ghosts haunting Labour There is a long list of Labour MPs and officials caught up in alleged spy scandals. The most high-profile claims swirled around former Labour leader Michael Foot. KGB defector Oleg Gordievsky claimed Foot received payments and was an agent. Foot, who died in 2010 aged 96, denied it. Last year it was reported that Jeremy Corbyn had meetings in the 1980s with a Czech StB spy. Mr Corbyn denied the claims. MP John Stonehouse was accused in the 1960s of spying for the StB. He disappeared, presumed drowned, in November 1974, but was later found in Australia. In 2010, National Archives papers revealed that he had indeed been a paid spy. Bob Edwards, a West Midlands MP from 1955 to 1987, was identified by Britain as a KGB informant. He was later honoured by the Soviet Union. Advertisement

Dr Daniela Richterova, a lecturer in intelligence studies at Brunel University in London, said that if accurate, the documents from the archive of the StB, the Czech secret police, appear to disclose that Robinson was consciously making a decision to share sensitive information with the Czech intelligence service and the Russians.

Dr Richterova is a highly regarded expert on the StB and has pored over the secret polices archive to research other MPs who were spying for Czechoslovakia, including former Labour Government Minister John Stonehouse.

Dr Richterova last week examined the Karko file, detailing the StBs handling of Geoffrey Robinson between 1966 and 1969. A Czech-speaker, she studied both the original documents and the English translations.

She confirmed that she had previously come across Karel Pravec, Robinsons Czech handler who was codenamed Comrade Pelnar, during her own research, and that other files show that he was getting information from at least one other British informant during that time in London. She said: The documents appear to me to be genuine.

If accurate, it is clear that Robinson knew that Pelnar was not a straight-up diplomat, he knew he was an intelligence agent.

He was consciously making a decision to share intelligence with the Czech intelligence service and the Russians.

She added: Governments rightly expect their employees not to pass sensitive information to their adversaries. From what we know of Robinson, he consciously provided such information to Britains Cold War adversaries  Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union.

Dr Daniela Richterova, a lecturer in intelligence studies at Brunel University in London, said that if accurate, the documents from the archive of the StB, the Czech secret police, appear to disclose that Robinson was consciously making a decision to share sensitive information with the Czech intelligence service and the Russians

Dr Richterova said it is not clear how important the StB spymasters in Prague regarded Robinson.

His handler Pelnar thinks he is a very good asset, but officials in Prague were sometimes sceptical of Robinson, as they thought he tended to exaggerate or sometimes lied.

The academic confirmed that the StB had assigned Robinson DS status  one level down from a full agent  but with no access to equipment capable of sending coded messages.

She added it was probable that MI5 might have become aware of what Robinson was doing but she added: It also cannot be ruled out that he was put up to this by MI5.
Meghan introduced her new born son to the world in a white sleeveless tuxedo dress, a bespoke 1,650 design by a rising star of British fashion, Grace Wales Bonner

When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex introduced their newborn son to the world, it was not just baby Archie who stepped into the limelight. Also taking centre stage was Meghans white sleeveless tuxedo dress, a bespoke 1,650 design by a rising star of British fashion, Grace Wales Bonner.

It is, no doubt, every promising newcomers dream to have their brand boosted by the Meghan effect  the instant rise in sales and recognition which follows the Duchesss decision to wear a designers clothes.

But this time, her fashion choice has raised eyebrows  because, unusually for Meghan, the brand was British.

Today marks the Royal couples first wedding anniversary and a year since Meghan made the transition from Hollywood actress to a senior member of the Royal Family. In the process, she has been lauded as a global fashion icon.

Yet an in-depth analysis by The Mail on Sunday has revealed that although she may have embraced a more British way of life, her fashion choices have been considerably less than patriotic.

Pictured: Wearing a coat by Sentaler and dress by Aritzia - both Canadian designers and a bag by American Gabriella Hearst in Birkenhead in January)

Indeed, of the 74 dresses the Duchess has worn in public during the past 12 months, just 19  26 per cent  were designed by Brits.

Remarkably, almost the same proportion  23 per cent  came from French fashion houses, with a handful of frocks from German, Italian, Swedish and Australian designers.

And the rest? Her tastes, just like her upbringing, remain distinctly all-American  more than one third of her dresses (39 per cent) were either by US or Canadian brands.

Meghan, wearing a coat by Italian brand Emporio Armani and pregnancy dress by Swedish budget brand H&M

Meghan and Prince Harry exiting Westminster Abbey on Commonwealth Day in March. Meghan is wearing a matching coat and dress from Victoria Beckham

Wearing a custom cream roll-neck dress by Calvin Klein and a 895 coat by royal favourite British designer Amanda Wakeley (left) Meghan at the British Fashion Awards, wearing a black one-shoulder dress by Clare Waight Keller of Givenchy, a French fashion house (right)

While the Duchess may be known for her reluctance to adhere to Royal traditions, this choice has drawn criticism from courtiers.

During an interview on Friday, British fashion designer David Emanuel  who made Princess Dianas wedding dress  revealed he is disappointed by how few British labels Meghan has worn.

I followed the Royal tour when she was in Australia, Fiji and Tonga and I think there were only three British designers represented, he revealed.

Meghan appeared to take inspiration from the Queen as she opted for a bright yellow shift dress by American Brandon Maxwell for a Commonwealth youth reception with Prince Harry

A bottle green wool number by Canadian designer Erdem Moralioglu - the entire ensemble is estimated to have cost around 8,000 by celebrity stylist Lucas Armitage (left). Wearing American designer Brandon Maxwell mini dress and blazer (right)

Of Meghans Givenchy silk wedding dress (a French fashion house), David said: It much have cost a small fortune  French couture is not inexpensive. Please Meghan, buy British!

Meanwhile, the rest of the Royal Family make a conscious effort to support British brands and, crucially, boost the UK economy in the process. The Queen favours Angela Kelly, while the Duchess of Cambridge is known to juggle top-tier brands such as Alexander McQueen with up-and-coming British labels and High Street favourites.

Who makes the Duchess's gowns? American - 26 - 35 per cent British - 19 - 26 per cent French - 17 - 23 per cent Australian - 3 - 4 per cent Canadian - 3 - 4 per cent Swedish - 2 - 3 per cent Other - 4 - 5 per cent Advertisement

The same, however, cannot be said for the Duchess, who has been promoting already well-known designers from the other side of the Atlantic, including Carolina Herrera, Club Monaco, Oscar de la Renta and Ralph Lauren. Other US brands benefiting include Veronica Beard, Jason Wu and Hatch Collection.

In July last year, the Duchess chose a 1,300 canary yellow shift dress by Brandon Maxwell, the US designer who has worked as Lady Gagas stylist since 2012, for a reception in London. But it could also indicate that her choices are being guided by her Canadian best friend Jessica Mulroney, who is rumoured to be her unofficial stylist.

Ms Mulroney, who met Meghan while she was filming US legal drama Suits in Toronto, is married to the son of former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney.

She took a starring role in the Royal Wedding last year, when her twin sons, Brian and John, were page boys and her daughter Ivy a bridesmaid.

Meghan's silk wedding dress was designed by French fashion house Givenchy. Pictured: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and the Duchess of Sussex depart after their wedding ceremony at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle

She has always denied helping the Duchess with her style. Yet given that she is known to be a strong advocate for Canadian designers, there is reason to believe she may have at least some influence. Last July, for example, Meghan wore a 637 blush pink sleeveless trench dress by Canadian brand House of Nonie to a Nelson Mandela exhibition in London. But it was Ms Mulroney that the labels founder, Nina Kharey, thanked on Instagram after the event, writing: Thank you Jessica Mulroney #wearcanada #proud.

Despite the North American patronage, it is Meghans decision to give her custom to European fashion houses such as Givenchy, Prada and Dior which will perhaps put most Royal noses out of joint.

Givenchys creative director Clare Waight Keller, who has designed 11 of her gowns  including the Duchesss 200,000 wedding dress  may be a Brit herself, but the fashion house has its headquarters in Paris, which means there is no accompanying boost to the British economy.

Quite what the Queen makes of it all is anyones guess. Certainly it will be considered a missed opportunity, given the extent of the Duchesss fashion influence.

Duchess of Sussex joined a panel for discussion on International Women's Day at King's College London wearing a 260 Reiss dress - a British fashion brand

Vogue editor Edward Enninful has suggested the Meghan effect could eclipse even the influence of the Duchess of Cambridge, who boosts the economy to the tune of up to 1 billion a year just by wearing home-grown fashion brands.

When Meghan does single out a British designer for her attention, it has a significant effect on sales. Designers such as Stella McCartney, who created the halterneck silk gown for Meghan and Harrys wedding reception, has done well thanks to her patronage.

By choosing a Grace Wales Bonner dress to show off Archie she has given the brand a huge boost. This weekend, many of its designs had sold out on designer online boutique Net- a-Porter.

And the handbag that Meghan wore during her first Royal engagement in December 2017  by fledgling Scottish brand Strathberry  helped transform the company into a global enterprise.

Which rather begs the question: why have only a quarter of Meghans frocks been British?
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement pilot of new rapid DNA testing at the border has found that nearly a third of those tested were not biologically related to the children in their custody.

ICE conducted the pilot for a few days earlier this month in El Paso and McAllen, Texas, finding about 30 per cent of those tested were not related to the children they claimed were their own, an official told the Washington Examiner.

The official said that these were not cases of step-fathers or adoptive parents.

'Those were not the case. In these cases, they are misrepresented as family members,' the official said.

Border Patrol agents are seen processing a family unit in Texas earlier this month. A pilot program of DNA testing found that 30 per cent of those tested had lied about family ties

Central Americans who cross the border illegally with children can claim asylum and avoid any lengthy detention in most cases. Migrants are seen in March after illegally entering Texas

It is unclear whether every family unit was tested during the pilot, or only those who raised some sort of red flag. An ICE spokesman did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The official said that some migrants did refuse the test and admit that they were not related to the children they were with, when they learned their claim would be subjected to DNA proof.

ICE said the Department of Homeland Security would look at the results of the pilot to determine whether to roll out rapid DNA tests more broadly.

After President Donald Trump's administration backpedaled on 'family separation' in the face of enormous backlash last summer, the number of family units arriving at the southern border has skyrocketed.

Current U.S. law and policy means that Central Americans who cross the border illegally with children can claim asylum and avoid any lengthy detention in most cases.

Migrants are seen outside the U.S. Border Patrol McAllen Station in a makeshift encampment in McAllen, Texas earlier this month

U.S. Border Patrol McAllen Station has been inundated with migrant family units

US Border Patrol says it has apprehended 535,000 for crossing the border illegally so far this year, with 'no sign of it getting better.'

Due to massive strain on the processing system, 40,000 of those have been released into communities, the agency said.

On Saturday, the Trump administration told lawmakers that it probably will cost more to care for migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico than the $2.9 billion in emergency money requested just two weeks ago.

In a White House letter, acting budget chief Russell Vought said 'the situation has continued to deteriorate and is exceeding previous high end estimates.'

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a separate letter that needs for the unaccompanied children account 'could grow further and be closer to the worst-case scenario HHS had proposed be the basis for the supplemental request, which was $1.4 billion higher.'
Donald Trump's White House is trying to secure an invitation for Nigel Farage to attend the state banquet being hosted by the Queen when the President visits the UK next month, allies of the Brexit Party leader have claimed.

The white-tie dinner at Buckingham Palace will be the centrepiece of Trump's trip, which will also include the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

The move would cause consternation in No 10, which is reeling from Mr Farage's surge in the opinion polls in the wake of Theresa May's failure to deliver Brexit.

The banquet is already being boycotted by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Commons Speaker John Bercow, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable.

President Donald Trump (left) with Nigel Farage after they met in March. Trump is now trying to secure an invitation for Farage to join a state banquet hosted by the Queen for the President

But Mr Farage has longstanding links to Trump  he was the first British politician to visit him in Trump Tower after his shock victory in the 2016 Presidential election.

Heads of State invited to such banquets are allowed to request places for a small number of guests, with Mr Trump said to be trying to bag one for his friend.

A Farage ally said: 'Overtures have been made about Nigel going in with the US contingent. We have been told that his attendance would be a 'red line' for No 10, but it's not clear if they would be able to stop him coming.'

Last night both the White House and Buckingham Palace refused to comment.

No 10 said it had not yet received the final guest list.

Mr Farage told The Mail on Sunday that he was not going to 'get dragged into' discussing it and was focused on Thursday's EU elections.

But last week he lampooned Mrs May for being jealous of his good relations with Washington compared with her own stormy relationship with Trump.

He said: 'The last time he came to the UK, one of the Government's red lines was that he wasn't to meet me. You would have thought if the British Government was acting in the national interest, they would have tried to use me constructively.

The white-tie dinner at Buckingham Palace is already being boycotted by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Commons Speaker John Bercow, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable

'But of course Theresa May doesn't care about the national interest, she only cares about the Conservative Party's interest.'

The latest fallout comes after Washington raised concerns about the timing of Mrs May's planned Commons Brexit showdown, which is due the same week as Mr Trump's visit on June 3-5.

The Americans fear the Brexit turbulence risks overshadowing the visit, with one Whitehall source saying it was 'a sore point'.

A US government source added: 'It did strike us as odd and if you want the President to spend his whole trip talking about Brexit, then this was the way to do it.'

Meanwhile, police ordered a McDonald's near Mr Farage's Scottish campaign stop on Friday not to sell milkshakes or ice cream amid fears they would be thrown at the former Ukip leader.

With hundreds of supporters and dozens of protesters arriving at Edinburgh Corn Exchange for an EU elections rally, staff at the fast-food outlet were told not to serve certain products following a spate of food-throwing incidents.

Police Scotland refused to comment, but a member of staff, who did not want to be named, described the situation as 'ridiculous'.
Sajid Javid is seeking greater powers for police to clamp down on protesters such as those taking part in last month's climate change demonstrations.

The Home Secretary has asked aides to draw up changes to public order laws in the wake of the Extinction Rebellion protests, which paralysed parts of London.

Mr Javid has made the move as he prepares to make a major speech tomorrow  seen as the start of his bid for the party leadership.

He is expected to set out his credentials by signalling his determination to tackle extremism.

Sajid Javid is seeking greater powers for police to clamp down on protesters such as the Extinction Rebellion demonstrations

But he risks criticism by delivering the address at Scotland Yard  which his leadership rivals are likely to say amounts to the 'politicisation' of the police.

The Home Secretary's intervention follows England's most senior police officer's call for changes to 'quite ancient' public order laws.

Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick suggested a 'stronger deterrent' could be needed to deal with non-violent protests.

Existing powers under the Public Order Act were 'limited' and 'cumbersome' to deploy, she warned. Speaking at London City Hall, Ms Dick said as the vast majority of Extinction Rebellion cases last month were non-violent, they did not carry a heavy sentence.

'Therefore the deterrent is not strong.

Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick suggested a 'stronger deterrent' could be needed to deal with non-violent protests

'So that's another thing that needs to be looked at, as to whether there should be a stronger deterrent.'

But there were also concerns that the police had treated protesters with kid gloves after officers were caught on camera dancing with activists at Oxford Circus and skateboarding at a blockade on Waterloo Bridge.

Nearly 1,200 people were arrested during 11 days of protests in an operation which cost Scotland Yard 7.5 million.
Theresa May will make a 'bold offer' to Labour MPs on staying close to Brussels trade laws indefinitely in a last-gasp attempt to get her Brexit deal over the line.

Despite the collapse of cross-party talks with Jeremy Corbyn, Mrs May will attempt to split the Opposition ahead of her promised resignation this summer.

She will travel to a Leave-voting constituency ahead of Thursday's European elections to make what is likely to be her last speech about Brexit in the hope it will persuade MPs to finally enshrine her exit deal into law before she steps down.

In order to do so she will risk infuriating her own Eurosceptic MPs by offering to soften her Brexit terms with an ongoing 'customs arrangement'.

Prime Minister Theresa May, pictured today with her husband Philip as she leaves a church service in Maidenhead, will make a 'bold offer' to Labour MPs in a last-gasp attempt to get her Brexit deal over the line

Mrs May will argue that any such partnership will have a built-in exit clause as with other international treaties in a bid to allay Brexiteer concerns.

However it is unlikely to be enough to satisfy hardliners as it would not supersede the hated 'backstop' proposals in the PM's deal that keep Britain tied to Brussels indefinitely if another solution to keep the Irish border open can be found.

Last night sources within Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab's leadership campaigns both refused to be drawn on whether they would support such a measure.

Despite her deal already being rejected by MPs three times, Mrs May will attempt to legislate its implementation in the first week of June.

A Downing Street source said: 'The Government has been negotiating with Labour for an agreement to build the biggest level of support across Parliament for the Withdrawal Agreement Bill. Labour has been clear that they have not ruled out supporting it if the overall package is acceptable.'

The insider added: 'We intend to make a bold offer that will allow Parliament to back the Bill, get the deal over the line  and deliver Brexit.'

She will make the offer despite the collapse of cross-party talks with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn

No 10 hopes that even if Labour officially order their MPs to vote against the Bill, the scale of Nigel Farage's Brexit Party's surge in the EU polls will shock enough the party's members in Leave-backing constituencies into dropping their opposition.

It stresses that the only way to achieve Brexit this year is to back the deal but Mrs May risks splitting her warring Conservatives even further with her climbdown.

One Minister warned: 'If she fudges it on customs then you will see some of those who backed the deal before going back on that. It could be the biggest Tory rebellion on it yet.'
A major British charity handed huge sums in foreign aid by the Government is alleged to have overseen the hiring of prostitutes for staff, donors and guests attending official functions.

International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), the worlds biggest sexual health charity, is also accused of offering young volunteers to adults at events in Africa.

The bombshell claims were made in an internal email circulated in December and repeated in court papers filed earlier this year in Kenya by the charitys former Africa regional director.

International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), the worlds biggest sexual health charity, is alleged to have overseen the hiring of prostitutes for staff, donors and guests attending official functions. Above: Lucien Kouakou, who was ousted as the IPPF's regional director

The revelation comes as IPPF, which employs 30,000 staff and is backed by 132 million of British aid, is embroiled in a crisis threatening its future.

Top staff have quit and dozens of national associations have broken away, while governance concerns have sparked threats from an international donor to stop funding.

The furore follows a series of abuse scandals involving leading aid charities such as Oxfam, Save The Children and World Vision, which have also seen allegations of the use of prostitutes, harassment and trading of aid for sex in relief zones.

The claims against IPPF emerged after The Mail on Sunday revealed in January that the charity was struggling to oust its Africa regional director, Lucien Kouakou.

Whistleblowers raised fears over expenses fiddling, faked invoices and a 1 million land purchase in Nairobi.

There were also claims that Kouakou sent a witch porn video featuring a snake and naked woman to a senior female colleague to intimidate her.

Now Kouakou has been kicked out and, as well as seeking compensation, has made explosive claims including that the family planning charity offered sexual gifts to guests at African events for several years.

In an email sent to an official at the IPPFs London headquarters responding to the threat of dismissal, Kouakou discussed my alleged acts of sexual misconduct.

He said Alvaro Bermejo, the charitys director general, told him that under a previous regime there was promoting of prostitution within the organisation, where prostitutes would be organised for IPPF staff, donors and partners during functions.

Kouakou, who claims he was told about the sordid activities during a management meeting in London last July, added in the email that youth volunteers were given to adult volunteers in sex relations.

He repeated the charges in Kenyan court documents filed in February, which say that under a previous leadership the region solicited the services of prostitutes for guests during official functions of the organisation.

The court documents add: Young volunteers within the region were being offered to invitee guests during African gatherings and functions for sex or sexual pleasure.

Kouakou has made explosive claims that the charity offered 'sexual gifts' to guests at African events. He said Alvaro Bermejo (right, pictured with ex-DFID minister Alistair Burt), the charitys director general, told him that under a previous regime there was promoting of prostitution within the organisation, where prostitutes would be organised for IPPF staff, donors and partners during functions

Kouakou said the IPPF claimed these activities continued under his stewardship. He denies this in the documents, calling it a racially motivated attack on his integrity.

Kouakous court papers say he was accused of sexual harassment, staff bullying, discrimination against people from regions of Africa, preferential treatment for staff engaged in sexual behaviour, and breach of Kenyan labour laws.

The documents also reveal he was paid 100,000 a year, plus 940 a month for housing, 470 a month for security and private health cover  and that as regional director he was handed diplomatic status by the Kenyan government.

The saga seems to have led Alvaro Bermejo to resign after just 14 months in charge, saying his reform efforts had been frustrated.

Other top staff are understood to have quit amid fears the Kouakou case highlighted weak internal controls in a volunteer-based global charity with income of 80 million a year.

In another blow, all 45 member associations in the Western hemisphere region  including those in the US, Argentina, Brazil and Canada  opted to break away from the London-based federation.

They decided there are issues of accountability and transparency between head office and regional offices, although they did not specifically cite Africa, said one source in a breakaway association who was aware of the sex abuse allegations.

A letter signed by more than 200 administrative staff at the charity said they could not achieve their goals due to inadequate implementation of our safeguarding policies and devastating financial deficit.

IPPF is in a major crisis, claim the staff based in Bermondsey, South London, and several other regional offices. We are on the brink of losing everything we have worked for over the past 65 years.

The influential charity was founded in the 1950s to fight for womens rights. It pays lavish salaries at the top, with one official on more than 330,000 a year  a rise of 63,000 on the previous years highest salary.

Last month, the Department for International Development (DFID) chose IPPF to lead a consortium promoting sexual and reproductive rights in six countries. Ministers also gave it 132 million last year for another three-year project.

The Dutch government, another major donor, sent a letter to the charity last week demanding an independent review of governance and resource allocation systems immediately and warning it would review its contracts.

The IPPF governing council was locked in crisis talks yesterday.

Other top staff are understood to have quit amid fears the Kouakou case highlighted weak internal controls in a volunteer-based global charity with income of 80 million a year

Dfid said it was concerned by developments and was demanding assurances that the charitys leaders were making the necessary reforms as a matter of urgency.

A spokeswoman added: All recipients of UK aid must meet our high standards, including on safeguarding and financial management.

Kouakou declined to comment. A friend said he was infuriated by unacceptable allegations being made against African leaders.

The Charity Commission said IPPF had reported serious developments regarding its operations. We are looking into these urgently to determine our regulatory response, said a spokeswoman.

An IPPF spokesman said its African director had been dismissed after a disciplinary process, adding: A court application made in Kenya by Mr Kouakou was rejected by the court in its entirety.

He added that the governing council was discussing urgent concerns. There is strong agreement that reform is vital. IPPF has kept all stakeholders aware of the issues it faces and welcomes their views and their involvement.
Bachelor in Paradise star James Trethewie is purportedly be back on the dating scene just one day after wiping his Instagram clean of his ex girlfriend.

On Thursday night, a photo and 'profile' of the Sydney-based hunk appeared on dating app, Hinge.

The profile, containing a number of shirtless snaps of James, 33, listed similar interests to those of the handsome reality TV star.

Back on the market? Bachelor In Paradise's James Trethewie is reportedly 'spotted' on dating app Hinge... only a day after wiping his Instagram feed clean of images of his ex girlfriend

The profile lists James as a non-smoking Sydney resident who enjoys '90s sitcom Seinfeld, 'mother nature' and hiking.

One photo shows James shirtless, clad only in a pair of blue-and-white board shorts, taken while he was filming in Fiji.

A second picture shows the adventurous single in a pair of white shorts, a white shirt and a loose-fitting beige blazer.

The real James - or hoax? On Thursday night, a photo and 'profile' of the Sydney-based hunk appeared on dating app, Hinge. The profile, containing a number of shirtless snaps of James, 33, listed similar interests to those of the handsome reality TV star

Elsewhere, the profile lists his best travel adventure as a hiking trip though the Balkan country of Albania.

He also lists his interest in conservation: '[I care about] the earth. Mother nature doesn't have a voice of her own, so she needs up to speak up on her behalf.'

On Saturday, however, James told Daily Mail Australia that he 'had to google' what Hinge was, 'as I don't know about it, so not sure what you mean!'

Over already? Bachelor In Paradise's James (pictured) has wiped his Instagram feed clean of images of his girlfriend (pictured right)

James left Bachelor In Paradise brokenhearted over Alex Nation, 27, after learning she had kissed female co-star Brooke Blurton, 24.

He went on to date a mystery blonde, but this week mysteriously deleted all of their photos together from his social media account.

The unlucky-in-love financial adviser added fuel to the fire of a potential split by posting a series of solemn quotes.

In one particular post, a lengthy quote cryptically points to saying goodbye to a lover.

Vanished: While the quotes allude to an amicable separation, James' decision to wipe his Instagram completely clean of the brunette may suggest otherwise

While the quotes allude to an amicable separation, James' decision to wipe his Instagram completely clean of the brunette may suggest otherwise.

James debuted his relationship on Instagram in late April, just days after walking off the Channel 10 program because Alex Nation wanted to date Brooke Blurton instead.

In 2017, James also failed to find love with Sophie Monk, 39, on The Bachelorette after he was sent home in a shock double elimination.
Coronation Street's Alex Bain has reportedly split from his girlfriend less than five months after the birth of their first child.

The 17-year-old actor and Levi Selby, also 17, welcomed their daughter Lydia-Rose in December of last year.

Alex denied rumours the couple had split in July but, according to The Sun, the pair have now called it quits and Levi is seeing someone new.

'Break-up': Coronation Street's Alex Bain has reportedly split from his girlfriend less than five months after the birth of their daughter

Alex, known to audiences for playing bad boy Simon Barlow on the long-running ITV soap, was flooded with messages from well-wishes when Levi posted snaps of the tot to social media shortly after the birth.

A source told the publication: 'They were over the moon at the birth of their baby girl and were really happy together.

'But theyve been through a lot together and theyre both still so young.

'Its a shame they couldnt make the relationship work but theyve gone their separate ways.'

'Split': The 17-year-old actor and Levi Selby, also 17, welcomed their daughter Lydia-Rose in December of last year

The source added the pair were both trying to move on.

MailOnline has contacted a representative of Coronation Street for comment

News that Alex, who has played Simon Barlow for 10 years after joining Corrie in 2008, was set to become a first time dad with Levi emerged in May 2018.

Levi delightedly announced her pregnancy on social media with a picture of her ultrasound.

A source told The Sun: 'They were over the moon at the birth of their baby girl and were really happy together'

They added: 'Its a shame they couldnt make the relationship work but theyve gone their separate ways' (Alex pictured in character on Coronation Street)

The teen revealed that she was due December 8 and received dozens of congratulations comments in reply.

Alex joined the popular ITV soap in 2008 as Peter Barlow's son, Simon Barlow, as he was forced to live with his alcoholic father after his mother, Lucy Barlow, died.

The troubled character went on to be adopted by his stepmum, Leanne Battersby, but later turned abusive towards her and she was forced to report him to the police.

More recently, Simon got in with the wrong crowd and was discovered to be one of the members of the gang that mugged Audrey Roberts.

The actor's portrayal of the troubled youngster has seen him win two awards over the years - Best Young Performance at the 2011 The British Soap Awards and Best Young Performance at the 2012 Inside Soap Awards.
She's been a fixture at Sydney Fashion Week the last few days.

And on Friday, WAG Phoebe Burgess stepped out at a Swarovski party at Sydney's Carriageworks.

But according to a source, the 30-year-old former journalist 'did not look happy' and 'left shortly after arriving', after refusing to have her picture taken.

Is everything OK? Claims WAG Phoebe Burgess refused to 'pose on the media wall' at a Swarovski party and 'left shortly after arriving' (pictured, right, at the event in Sydney on Friday)

'Phoebe Burgess would not pose on media wall and seemed to leave the party shortly after arriving,' a source told Daily Mail Australia after the glamorous event.

They added: 'She did not look happy.'

At the event, Phoebe sported a fresh spray tan and wore a strapless navy jumpsuit.

Dolled up: At the event, Phoebe (middle) sported a fresh spray tan and wore a strapless navy jumpsuit

Looking chic: She pulled her short locks off her face and into a low bun and wore natural-looking makeup

She pulled her short locks off her face and into a low bun, and wore natural-looking makeup.

In images seen from Phoebe mingling in the crowd, she appeared somewhat distracted by her mobile phone.

It comes after Phoebe recently collaborated with the iconic jewellery brand.

Occupied: Phoebe appeared somewhat distracted by her mobile phone

Glamorous! She's been a fixture at Sydney Fashion Week the last few days (pictured at the Bec and Bridge show on Monday)

Taking to Instagram ahead of Mother's Day, the mother-of-two shared sweet pictures of herself wearing the jewellery as she hugged her children, whom she shares with NRL star husband, Sam Burgess, 30.

Phoebe captioned the photos: 'Swarovski's Mother's Day collection is the perfect touch of brilliance to spoil any of our hard-working, loving, self-sacrificing Mummies.'

She then revealed how she would be 'treating' herself to a night out at the Swarovski event on Friday evening.

Ambassador? It comes after Phoebe recently collaborated with the iconic jewellery brand

'I'll be treating myself to a night out at the Official MBFWE launch party, Magic Light, presented by Swarovski on 17th May,' Phoebe wrote, before sharing more details of the event.

Phoebe and Sam made headlines in September last year when the Rabbitohs star was cleared of any wrongdoing in a sexting scandal.

Two months later, in December, Phoebe reportedly 'split' with her husband of three years, just three weeks after the birth of their second child.

However, the couple later reconciled in February.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Phoebe's management for comment in relation to this story.
Byron Bay is fast becoming a celebrity hot spot, with Australian hunk Chris Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky securing two properties in the coastal town.

And on Saturday, it was revealed that Elsa's half-brother Cristian Prieto Medianu has purchased a $1.5 million home just five minutes from the Hemsworth clan.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Cristian and his new wife, nurse Silvia Serra, purchased the property in Suffolk Park, adding more star power to the town.

Hollywood by the sea! Elsa Pataky's half-brother Cristian Prieto Medianu (left) and his wife Silvia Serra (right) are moving to Byron Bay to live with the Chris Hemsworth clan after buying a house there, it was revealed on Saturday

Before making the big move, he and Silvia often stayed with Chris and Elsa in their home in Byron Bay.

In 2017, the couple liked the coastal town so much they decided to move into the Hemsworth compound to be closer to the family.

Meanwhile, the photographer, who is also film director, knows Australia well.

Hollywood by the sea: The couple purchased a $1.5 million property just five minutes from the Hemsworth clan's family compound

Cristian worked in the production crew on Chris Hemsworth's Thor: Ragnarok in 2016 in Queensland.

It's not the first time Christian has worked on set with Chris - the Madrid-born hunk also acted as a producer on The Avengers film in 2012.

He has worked in the film industry since he was young, having nabbed a gig on the film Giallo, starring his sister Elsa and Elsa's former flame Adrien Brody, at age seventeen.

Close family: Before making the big move, he and his partner Silvia often stayed with Chris and Elsa in their home in Byron Bay. Pictured: Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky

In June 2010, he completed the New York Film Academy Filmmaking course by showcasing a graduation project starring Elsa, titled Bye By Baby, which he wrote, directed and produced.

A year later, he was selected to work on the short film Prodigal, which was directed by Benjamin Grayson and starred Kenneth Branagh.

The talented creative also recently photographed an editorial for fashion brand Spell Byron Bay starring Elsa.

A-lister Matt Damon, 48, and his family are also regular visitors, as are Hunger Games actor Liam Hemsworth, 29, and his wife Miley Cyrus, 26.
She's enjoyed a whirlwind trip to Australia this week, having jetted into Sydney on Thursday for her Meccaland appearance.

And on Saturday, British supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley jetted out of the country, looking nothing short of stylish.

The 32-year-old blonde absolutely stunned on the day, looking flawless in an all-black outfit, which she teamed with a statement coat and heels.

High-flyer! Model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley stunned in a coat and heels on Saturday as she jetted out of Sydney, Australia

Walking through Sydney Airport ahead of her flight - presumably back to her US home base - Rosie looked chic in her tailored ensemble.

Her long coat featured a black, red and white design, and she carried a black leather handbag and wore gold-embellished black heels.

The blonde - who has walked for the likes of Victoria's Secret throughout her career - wore her locks out and neatly straightened over her shoulders.

Polished: Walking through Sydney Airport ahead of a flight - presumably back to her US home base - Rosie looked chic in her tailored ensemble

Flawless: The blonde - who has walked for the likes of Victoria's Secret throughout her career - wore her locks out and neatly straightened over her shoulders

She appeared to be wearing minimal makeup and accessorised her look with black sunglasses and a silver necklace.

Rosie appeared relaxed as she checked in, flanked by a man thought to have been a security guard.

On Friday in Sydney's Eveleigh, Rosie made an appearance at the Meccaland beauty event.

Star attraction! On Friday in Sydney's Eveleigh, Rosie made an appearance at the Meccaland beauty event (pictured)

While there, the Bare Minerals ambassador appeared on stage in front of thrilled crowds to present a makeup masterclass with American makeup artist Nikki DeRoest.

At the event, Rosie shared her beauty tips and tricks and said how important skincare is before applying makeup.

She revealed that she wears sunscreen every day and prefers natural products without chemicals.

The mother-of-one, who is the longtime partner of Hollywood heavyweight Jason Statham, 51, joked on stage that she might fall asleep because she was so jet-lagged from her trip.
Britney Spears held hands with her boyfriend Sam Asghari while shopping for bargains together at Camarillo Premium Outlets on Friday.

At 37, the Grammy winner is 12 years older than the 6ft2in Persian fitness model, and they've been dating for two years.

Sam showcased his bulging biceps in a grey short-sleeved Henley top as he hauled their shopping bags from Gap Factory and the Disney Store.

Still going strong: Britney Spears held hands with her boyfriend Sam Asghari while shopping for bargains together at Camarillo Premium Outlets on Friday

Supportive: At 37, the Grammy winner is 12 years older than the 6ft2in Persian fitness model, and they've been dating for two years

Britney flaunted her taut tummy in a white frilly floral crop-top, low-rise dark-rinse skinny jeans, and brown sky-high platforms.

Asghari has been especially supportive of the bi-polar pop diva since her recent 30-day stay at a mental health facility.

That same day, the divorced mother-of-two - who boasts 119.9M social media followers - shared a couple snap captioned: 'I love this man!'

It's hard to believe it took Spears five months to work up the courage to finally call the Royal Personal Training staffer.

Heavy lifting: Sam showcased his bulging biceps in a grey short-sleeved Henley top as he hauled their shopping bags from Gap Factory and the Disney Store

Bared her belly: Britney flaunted her taut tummy in a white frilly floral crop-top, low-rise dark-rinse skinny jeans, and brown sky-high platforms

PDA: Asghari has been especially supportive of the bi-polar pop diva since her recent 30-day stay at a mental health facility

'I kept his number, and it was so weird - it was like five months later, and I found his number in my bag,' the Mississippi-born blonde told CBS Radio's Nathan Fast in 2017.

'I was like, "He is really cute. This guy is really cute." So then I called him, and ever since then, he is just a really fun, funny person.'

The former Mouseketeer originally met Sam on the set of her Slumber Party music video, which was shot back in October 2016.

That same day, the divorced mother-of-two - who boasts 119.9M social media followers - shared a couple snap captioned: 'I love this man!'

'He is just a really fun, funny person': It's hard to believe it took Spears five months to work up the courage to finally call the Royal Personal Training staffer (pictured Wednesday)

On the payroll: The former Mouseketeer originally met Sam on the set of her Slumber Party music video, which was shot back in October 2016

When asked by TMZ on Friday whether she'll ever perform again, Britney replied: 'Of course.'

It's been four months since Spears canceled her second Las Vegas residency Domination to 'put my full focus and energy on my family' and father Jamie, who 'almost died' in November.

'She's not doing well at all,' a source told TMZ.

Lunch break! The couple later indulged in fast food from In-N-Out Burger, which famously features Bible passages on their packaging

Drive-thru: The beloved family-owned California restaurant chain also has franchises located in Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and Oregon

Behind the wheel: Britney was in the driver's seat when they pulled up to the window for a drink to-go

'Doctors are having trouble figuring out what meds are the best fit for her, and her parents are at odds over her treatment and conservatorship.'

The Clumsy crooner has been under court-ordered permanent conservatorship of her father Jamie and attorney Andrew Wallet since being put on 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold in 2008.

Once Upon a One More Time, a Broadway-bound musical featuring music from Britney, is still scheduled to open November 13 at the James M. Nederlander Theatre in Chicago.

When asked by TMZ on Friday whether she'll ever perform again, Britney replied: 'Of course'

'She's not doing well at all': It's been four months since Spears canceled her second Las Vegas residency Domination to 'put my full focus and energy on my family' and father Jamie, who 'almost died' in November (pictured October 18)
They're regulars on Sydney's social scene.

So it was no surprise to see Imogen Anthony and former Bachelor star Sophie Tieman at Fashion Palette's 10th anniversary event on Friday.

The starlets went for contrasting looks as they posed for photos in front of a floral backdrop at nightspot Flamingo Lounge in Sydney's Potts Point.

Contrasting looks: Imogen Anthony (left), 28, and Sophie Tieman (right), 25, pulled out all the stops as they attended Fashion Palette's 10th anniversary event in Sydney on Friday

Imogen, 28, wore a black and silver striped top and matching leggings, tucked into high-heeled snakeskin boots.

The blonde, who is the girlfriend of radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands, 47, draped a faux-fur jacket around her frame and accessorised her look with hoop earrings and narrow-frame glasses.

Imogen styled her blonde extensions into a sleek high ponytail, and accentuated her striking facial features with a false set of lashes and a glossy nude lip.

All in the detail: The girlfriend of radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands showed off her penchant for accessorising, wearing several silver earrings and blue narrow-frame glasses

Power dressing: Love Island Australia's Tayla Damir (pictured), 22, covered her slender figure in a grey speckled pantsuit, teamed with black pointy-toe heels, a white box bag and crown

Sophie, 25, revealed her trim pins in a black velvet frock with a statement arm and boosted her height with black strappy heels.

She added a chained shoulder bag and styled her blonde bob straight, framing an elegant makeup palette.

Another reality star in attendance was Love Island Australia's Tayla Damir, 22, who cut a powerful figure in a grey speckled pantsuit.

Beauty: The brunette slicked her locks into a tight chignon, and her makeup palette included bold brows, a subtle smoky eye and a glossy nude lip

Red carpet regulars: Tayla was later joined on the media wall by pal and former Bachelor star Noni Janur (right), 28

The brunette teamed the look with black pumps, a white box handbag and statement headpiece.

Her locks were slicked back into a tight chignon and her makeup palette included bold brows, a subtle smoky eye and a glossy nude lip.

Tayla was later joined on the media wall with pal and former Bachelor star Noni Janur.

Body-confident: Swimwear designer Noni showed off her abs in a satin midriff, paired with wide-leg burgundy pants and nude heels

Stunning: Fashion Palette founder and director Sonya Mefaddi (pictured) stunned in a navy frock with feather detail at the bust and bow embellished heels. Pictured on the right with Matt Mohl

Glamorous: Sonya styled her brunette locks out and wavy, and opted for a glamorous makeup palette

The 28-year-old wore a satin midriff with wide-leg burgundy pants and nude heels.

She wore her blonde locks in a high style and kept her makeup look elegant.

The event was held in honour of Fashion Palette's 10 years in the industry, and was hosted by founder and director Sonya Mefaddi.

Putting their best foot forward: MKR's Romel Kouyan (left), 42, pulled off an edgy look, while former Bachelor star Bec Chin, 31, looked chic in monochrome, as she posed with Natalie Keys (far right)

Newlyweds: Nova radio host Matt and wife Bronte Coy embraced for photos and both cut cool and casual figures

Fashion Palette connects designers with industry professionals, media and buyers, and is focused on establishing independent Australian labels into the US market.

Sonya, who also starred on last year's season of My Kitchen Rules, stunned in a navy off-the-shoulder frock with feather detail at the bust, and black and perspex heels.

She styled her brunette locks out and wavy, framing a glamorous makeup palette.
She lost her mother Belinda to pancreatic cancer in October 2016, just days after the Bachelorette finale.

And on Saturday, Georgia Love, 30, revealed how she's been dealing with her mother's death, as she prepares to complete a cancer charity walk in her honour.

The journalist and reality TV star heartbreakingly told The Daily Telegraph that sometimes she thinks she can still call or text her mother.

Heartbreak: Georgia Love (left) revealed at the weekend how she's dealing with her late mother Belinda's (right) death

'I still catch myself calling or messaging her,' Georgia told the publication.

'It's really hard to come to terms with  watching (mum) go through all of that and how quickly she went downhill,' she added.

Georgia also spoke about the weeks prior to her mother's death, saying: 'We never treated mum as if she was dying  even though she did in the end  and going through it with a smile, love and positivity really made her last few months much happier.'

A good cause: Georgia is preparing to complete a cancer charity walk in her honour for the Pancare Foundation

Georgia, who is an ambassador of the Pancare Foundation, a charity fighting pancreatic cancer, will take place in the 5km walk in Sydney on May 26.

The event is called 'Walk For Hope,' and aims to raise funds for research into the disease and treatment centres.

In October 2016, Georgia shared a moving tribute to her mother as she announced her death after a six-month battle with the disease.

Sad: In October 2016, Georgia shared a moving tribute to her mother (pictured) as she announced her death after a six-month battle with the disease

Taking to Instagram to share a collage of images of the pair together, she wrote: 'My heart is utterly broken.

'Seven weeks ago we were sipping cocktails in Italy. Seven months ago you weren't even sick. How is it possible you're no longer here?'

She went on to call her mother her 'first friend' and 'best friend', adding in part of her post: 'There is so much more I need and want to share with you. I have no idea how to even begin to say goodbye.'

'I love you, Mum, and will continue to every single day.'

She finished with a quote which read: 'If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart. I'll stay there forever.'
She's one of the world's most gorgeous actresses.

And Cameron Diaz let her natural beauty shine through on Friday, when the 46-year-old left a skin care clinic in Beverly Hills while makeup free.

The Charlie's Angels star also slipped into a gray NASA hoodie for the outing.

Off duty beauty: Cameron Diaz let her natural beauty shine through on Friday, when the 46-year-old left a skin care clinic in Beverly Hills while makeup free

The Being John Malkovich actress paired the branded top with simple black leggings that made the most of Cameron's gorgeous gams.

She carried an inflatable pillow, a water bottle, her purse and a phone.

The native Californian wore her blonde tresses pilled back in a taut pony tail for the outing.

She's a real star! The Charlie's Angels star also slipped into a gray NASA hoodie for the outing

Diaz has been living her life mostly out of the spotlight since marrying Good Charlotte rocker Benji Madden, 40.

The couple tied the knot in 2015, seven months after meeting and three months after getting engaged.

The actress hasn't starred in a film since 2014's Annie.

Diaz and Madden in 2014 met through her close friend Nicole Richie who married his twin brother Joel Madden in 2010.

Low-profile: Diaz has been living her life mostly out of the spotlight since marrying Good Charlotte rocker Benji Madden, 40. Seen here in Hollywood earlier this month with Drew Barrymore [L] and Lucy Liu [R]

'The quiet life she lives now with Benji, she wanted for a long time,' a source has previously told People.

While she hasn't completely ruled out returning to the big screen, she is enjoying a more relaxed lifestyle.

'There were times when she was so busy making movies that she barely had time to catch her breath,' an insider told People last month. 'Those days are over but she could still take some roles  just not back to back.'
Holland Roden has been granted entry into Brazil after a period of detainment.

The Teen Wolf star had been detained for almost 24 hours, before taking to Instagram on Saturday to reveal she had been permitted to entry to the country.

The 32-year-old actress broke the news via a reposted tweet from Huffington Post journalist Alex Mohajer, who wrote, '@HollandRoden has been granted entry into Brazil and will make her scheduled appearance at the @4UExpBr convention as planned.'

Ordeal over: Holland Roden has been granted entry into Brazil after a period of detainment

Lost actress Holland captioned the post, 'It was an ordeal, but I am so grateful to the MRE, US consulate, and especially Caroline and Adriana at LATAM airlines for separating from the pack and not only empathizing with our situation but actively pursuing a solution.

'This experience could have been far far worse, I consider myself invaluably lucky.'

Roden was 'aggressively' detained at Congonhas-Sao Paulo Airport in Brazil on Friday for over six hours.

Lost actress Holland, 32, captioned the post, 'This experience could have been far far worse, I consider myself invaluably lucky'

The Texan claimed the Brazilian Police treated her like a criminal - refusing her food, water, and a translator despite having a valid US passport and visa.

'Her visa is valid and has traveled to the country two times this year with the same visa,' Roden's rep told People in a statement.

'We are desperately seeking help from the US embassy and Brazilian government. We fear they will send her back without reevaluating her situation.

Developing story: The Teen Wolf star was 'aggressively' detained at Congonhas-Sao Paulo Airport in Brazil on Friday for over six hours (pictured May 4)

'Aggressive and uncalled for behavior': The 32-year-old Texan claimed the Brazilian Police treated her like a criminal - refusing her food, water, and a translator despite having a valid US passport and visa (2011 stock shot)

'The only person she knows there is her agent, Michael Brooks, and the Brazilian officials are treating them like criminals and are trying to separate them. We need the public to know about this aggressive and uncalled for behavior.'

Holland was scheduled to headline the 4U Experience fan convention on Saturday and she apologized to 'the huge, heart warming Teen Wolf family we have in Brazil' on Instagram.

Even the UCLA grad's Teen Wolf castmate Andrew Matarazzo tweeted that he tried to get in touch with his family 'that has some authority in Brazil' but everyone was 'already asleep.'

Roden's rep told People in a statement: 'She has traveled to the country two times this year with the same visa. We are desperately seeking help from the US embassy and Brazilian government' (pictured Wednesday)

Canceled? Holland was scheduled to headline the 4U Experience on Saturday and she apologized to 'the huge, heart warming Teen Wolf family we have in Brazil' on Instagram

'I wish I could do more': Even the UCLA grad's Teen Wolf castmate Andrew Matarazzo tweeted that he tried to get in touch with his family 'that has some authority in Brazil' but everyone was 'already asleep'

'We got them to give her food and water': The 4U Experience organizers have been tweeting live updates, and they even created the hashtag #FreeHollandNow to help with the debacle

The 4U Experience organizers have been desperately tweeting live updates, and they even created the hashtag #FreeHollandNow to help with the debacle.

The Channel Zero stunner famously played Lydia Martin, a genius Banshee and popular Beacon Hills High School student in The CW supernatural drama which ran for six seasons (2011-2017).

Holland's travel woes came 10 days after The CW passed on Jane the Virgin spin-off Jane the Novela, in which she was supposed to play a character called Sienna.

2011-2017: The Channel Zero stunner played Lydia Martin, a genius Banshee and popular Beacon Hills High School student in The CW supernatural drama which ran for six seasons
Organizers of Woodstock 50 scored a legal victory on Wednesday when a New York Supreme Court judge ruled previous financial backer, Dentsu Aegis, did not have the authority to cancel the three-day event.

Now, two days later, there's word Oppenheimer and Co., a New York-based investment bank and financial service company, have signed on to secure the funding for the festival.

'We will gain financing from our clients and funds in the company,' a source revealed to TMZ about where the money is coming from.

Back on! Woodstock 50 scored a new financial partner ;comedy writer Alan Zweibel, HeadCount ex. dir. Andy Bernstein; hip hop star Common; Woodstock co-founder, Michael Lang and rocker John Fogerty were all on hand to announce the lineup in NYC in March

Golden anniversary: The three-day event goes from August 16-18 in upstate New York

'We are thrilled to be onboard for this incredible weekend of music and social engagement,' John Tonelli, head of Debt Capital Markets & Syndication at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc, said in a statement as reported by Rolling Stone.

'We believe in Woodstock as an important American cultural icon and look forward to its regeneration in the green fields of Watkins Glen this August with all of the artists on the remarkable lineup.'

Detsu, a Japanese advertising and marketing company, pulled back it's $17.8 million investment offer and declared the event cancelled on April 29.

The judge's ruling on Friday allows the anniversary show to go forward but it did not force the company to return the funds.

On board: MIley Cyrus is slated play on day one of the event, right before headliners The Killers

Bringing the rock: Halsey, who has a new song Nightmare out now, was penned to play the third and final day of the festival on August 18

Organizers, which includes original 1969-co-founder Michael Lang, still have to secure a number of crucial permits in order for the festival to move forward August 16-18.

Tickets won't go on sale until those permits are finalized.

The festival headliners announced in March were The Killers, Jay-Z, and Dead & Company.

The lineup also included Miley Cyrus, Chance The Rapper, The Lumineers and Halsey, as well as legacy artists like Santana, John Fogerty and David Crosby.

The festival would mark the golden anniversary of the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair, held in Sullivan County.
DailyMail.com has obtained the mugshot which shows Jen Harley following her Thursday arrest.

Harley was hauled away by Las Vegas cops after allegedly throwing an ashtray at her ex, Jersey Shore star Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, on New Year's Eve.

The mother-of-one looked tired in the mugshot - not surprising, given she was arrested some time after 3am.

PICTURED: DailyMail.com has obtained the mugshot which shows Jen Harley following her Thursday arrest

Authorities arrested Harley Thursday at 3AM in Las Vegas on a warrant that was issued a month ago, according to TMZ.

The star was arrested after calling police early Thursday morning, claiming someone was in possession of a gun.

However, after running a background check, police ultimately arrested Harley when the warrant appeared.

Arrested: Harley was arrested after allegedly throwing an ashtray at her ex, Jersey Shore star Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, on New Year's Eve (pictured February 2018)

Jen and Ronnie reportedly got into a physical fight at the Hustler Club in Las Vegas around 2 a.m. on January 1.

Us Weekly confirmed that Ortiz-Magro filed a battery report against his ex after she allegedly threw a glass ashtray at him during their dispute.

In security footage from the venue, the reality star is seen a few minutes before midnight, wiping away blood from his nose with a tissue in the video obtained by TMZ.

Fight: Jen and Ronnie reportedly got into a physical fight at the Hustler Club in Las Vegas around 2 a.m. on January 1 (pictured December 2018)

The video doesn't show the actual attack, but sources claim his now-ex-girlfriend Jen Harley, 'allegedly nailed him with an ashtray.'

They called it quits again following the NYE outing.

'Ronnie and Jen got into a fight on New Years Eve. They broke up before New Years Eve, got back together right before then and got in a big fight on Monday night,' an insider told Us. 'Theyre currently broken up. But its the same story every time: They are together, they fight, they break up and then get back together.'

Going south: The pair have had a rocky relationship documented through social media and even Ronnie's reality show, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation

The Famously Single alum reportedly hesitated to contact the authorities because 'he did not know what would happen to his daughter Ariana, whom he shares with Harley, according to the publication.

He was concerned that involving the police would lead to officials coming after his child, according to their insider.

However, when Harley - who lives separately from Ronnie - arrived back at her home, she found it had been ransacked, and she called the police and said Ronnie was the culprit.

Among the damage was broken glass, overturned furniture, destroyed artwork, a smashed flat-screen TV, a broken vase and a hole in the all.

Filing a report: Us Weekly confirmed that Ortiz-Magro filed a battery report against his ex after she allegedly threw a glass ashtray at him during their dispute (pictured March 2018)

Ronnie is listed as a person of interested in the pending case, and while there is no physical proof yet that the Jersey Shore star ransacked the house, there is evidence of his allegedly destructive behavior.

It is just the latest chapter in the couple's turbulent relationship history.

The pair have had a rocky relationship documented through social media and even Ronnie's reality show, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.

Jen was previously arrested in 2018 for allegedly dragging Ronnie with her car, though she wasn't charged due to a lack of evidence.
She usually cut a glamorous figure on many a red carpet.

And it was business as usual for Lottie Moss as she made a chic appearance at the Bodrum EDITION opening of the 2019 season in Bodrum, Turkey on Friday.

The model, 21, showcased her endless pins in a pale blue polka dot mini dress as she joined stars including Pixie Geldof, 28, at the glam event.

Stunning: Lottie Moss as she made a chic appearance at the Bodrum EDITION opening of the 2019 season in Bodrum, Turkey on Friday

Lottie appeared in good spirits as she posed for photographers in the short dress, which she teamed with a pair of white heels.

The half-sister of supermodel Kate Moss donned minimal make-up for the outing, while her blonde locks were tied back into a low ponytail.

The starlet got stuck into the event and was later seen enjoying a refreshing cocktail. Meanwhile, Pixie turned heads in a sparkly gold mini dress.

Poser: The model, 21, showcased her endless pins in a pale blue polka dot mini dress as she joined stars including Pixie Geldof, 28, at the glam event

The star teamed her dazzling ensemble with a chic denim jacket and tan sandals.

Bob Geldof's daughter happily posed for pictures, even flashing the peace sign at one point.

Like Lottie, Pixie allowed her natural beauty to shine through with minimal make-up and scraped her blonde tresses into a ponytail.

The model also posed with her pal Nick Grimshaw, 34, with the pair looking in high spirits at the event.

Lovely: The half-sister of supermodel Kate Moss donned minimal make-up for the outing, while her blonde locks were tied back into a low ponytail

Endless pins: Lottie appeared in good spirits as she posed for photographers in the short dress, which she teamed with a pair of white heels

Glam: Like Lottie, Pixie allowed her natural beauty to shine through with minimal make-up and scraped her blonde tresses into a ponytail

Radio host Nick looked smart in a black and white striped shirt and black trousers.

Lottie recently attended the launch of her own PacSun collaboration at Selfridges earlier this month.

Lottie stated that she didn't seek the help of her older sister Kate when it came to the fashion collaboration.

Speaking to Fashionista about whether she sought advice from the fashion icon, she said: 'Not really. No, to be honest.

Famous friends: The model also posed with her pal Nick Grimshaw, 34, with the pair looking in high spirits at the event

'She's obviously done her collection for Topshop, but, I mean, we're both separate people, so I just kind of did what I wanted to do.

'Also, because she's like a lot older than me. So, yeah, I didn't really take any advice.'

Kate has worked in the modelling industry for almost four decades and has graced the cover of British Vogue over 30 times.

Fashion forward: Also attending the glam event was designer Henry Holland, who rocked a graphic print monochrome shirt and black and red striped jumper at the event

Stylish pals: The fashion star was relaxed and happy at the party as he took the time to pose for a snap alongside Nick Grimshaw and his boyfriend Meshach Henry

Lottie is following in Kate's footsteps as a model and is signed to Storm Models agency.

Also attending the glam event was designer Henry Holland, who rocked a graphic print monochrome shirt and black and red striped jumper at the event.

He teamed this with black skinny jeans, black sandals and a cross body bag.

All that glitters: Joining the guest list was event designer Fiona Leahy, who looked stunning in a floor length gold dress

Style Queen: While Darya Seddon showcased her taut midriff in a black crop top and red leopard print skirt

Strike a pose: She later posed for snaps with Sofia Edetoft (centre) and a pal as the night continued

Sophisticated: While Emilie Fouilloux looked chic in a dark grey jumper, black skinny jeans and pointed silver heels

The fashion star was relaxed and happy at the party as he took the time to pose for a snap alongside Nick Grimshaw and his boyfriend Meshach Henry.

Joining the guest list was event designer Fiona Leahy, who looked stunning in a floor length gold dress.

While Darya Seddon showcased her taut midriff in a black crop top and red leopard print skirt.

She later posed for snaps with Sofia Edetoft and a pal as the night continued.

While Emilie Fouilloux looked chic in a dark grey jumper, black skinny jeans and pointed silver heels.

Partygoers: Aimee Phillips and Ian Chaloner posed for snaps at the stylish event

All smiles: Monika Borowska (left) and Valeriia Leonova beamed to the camera as they took the weight off their feet

Trendy duo: TV personality Ece Sukan and Gallerist Arslan Sukan put on a stylish display at the glam bash in Turkey
As a Victoria's Secret Model she is used to commanding attention on the runway.

And Taylor Hill ensured all eyes were on her as she flashed her toned frame at the Too Old To Die Young premiere during the Cannes Film Festival on Friday.

The Vogue cover star, 23, slipped her supermodel frame into a floral puffball mini skirt with a dramatic train as she took to the red carpet for the TV series premiere, which she has a part in.

Leggy: Taylor Hill ensured all eyes were on her as she flashed her toned frame at the Too Old To Die Young premiere during the Cannes Film Festival on Friday

Glow: The Vogue coverstar, 23, slipped her supermodel frame into a floral puffball mini skirt with a dramatic train as she took to the red carpet for the TV series premiere, which she has a part in

The gorgeous couture gown teased the beauty's cleavage with a feather adorned white and blue patterned bralet.

Showcasing the star's honed midriff, a puffball mini skirt also drew the eye to her tanned and toned legs.

Adding a touch of A-list drama to the ensemble, a dramatic, voluminous satin train, adorned with navy floral detail flared out behind the star as she made a stunning turn down the red carpet.

The star boosted her already statuesque frame with shimmering jewel-adorned perspex heels and accessorised with a Chaumet necklace from the Soir de Fete collection.

Wow: The gorgeous couture gown teased the beauty's cleavage with a feather adorned white and blue patterned halterneck top

Leggy: Adding a touch of A-list drama to the ensemble, a dramatic, voluminous satin trainm, adorned with navy floral detail flared out behind the star as she made a stunning turn down the red carpet

Chic: The star boosted her already statuesque frame with shimmering jewel-adorned perspex heels and accessorised with a diamond choker necklace

Her brunettes tresses were pulled into a chic tousled ponytail while her pretty features were enhanced with smoky shadow, kohl liner and frosted coral lipstick.

The TV series Too Old to Die Young tells the tale of a grieving Los Angeles police officer (Miles Teller) who becomes embroiled in the underworld filled with hit men, mafia captains and gangs of teen killers.

He leads a double life as a contract killer alongside the man who shot his partner.

Too Old to Die Young follows "a grieving police officer who, along with the man who shot his partner, finds himself in an underworld filled with working-class hit men, Yakuza soldiers, cartel assassins sent from Mexico, Russian mafia captains and gangs of teen killers.

Wow: She joined Lola Winding Refn and Liv Corfixen on the red carpet

Red carpet: The stars looked incredible as they walked along at the premiere

Cute; The cast and crew looked on as creator Nicolas Winding Refn planted a kiss on his daughter

Here he is: The ladie showed off their gowns as Nicolas posed for the cameras

The 2019 Cannes Film Festival takes place at the iconic Palais des Festivals from Tuesday until May 25.

Actress Elle Fanning, French graphic novelist Enki Bilal and the Oscar-nominated director of The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos, will be among jury members during the annual event.

Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will preside over the panel that decides on prizes, including the top Palme D'Or award.

The jury for the festival's 72nd edition will also include Pawel Pawlikowski, the Polish filmmaker and screenwriter named best director at Cannes last year for the impossible love story Cold War.

Coming soon: The TV series Too Old to Die Young tells the tale of a grieving Los Angeles police officer (Miles Teller) who becomes embroiled in the underworld filled with hit men, mafia captains and gangs of teen killers

Wow: Earlier in the day Taylor wowed in a semi-sheer floral gown and white heels

Maimouna N'Diaye, who has directed documentaries and acted in films such as Otar Iosseliani's Chasing Butterflies will also sit on the panel, alongside two other female directors.

Kelly Reichardt, whose Wendy and Lucy starring Michelle Williams was a contender for Cannes' Un Certain Regard award in 2008, directed 2016's Certain Women.

Italy's Alicia Rohrwacher won best screenplay at Cannes last year for her film Happy as Lazzaro, a satirical fable about a peasant family.

French filmmaker Robin Campillo, who took Cannes by storm in 2017 with 120 BPM - Beats Per Minute, winning the Grand Prix for his movie about an AIDs activist, will complete the line-up.

Chic; Taylor showcased her enviable frame as she walked up the stairs
She has been taking the Cannes Film Festival by storm with an array of stunning outfits - wowing at the premiere of Pain and Glory on Thursday.

And Bella Hadid brought the glamour to her off-duty look as she stepped out in France on Thursday evening.

The supermodel, 22, put on a very busty display in a plunging botanical print bustier top, which featured images of flamingos and tropical scenery.

Cannes glam: Bella Hadid brought the glamour to her off-duty look as she stepped out in France on Thursday evening

With the semi-sheer top hugging her slender waist, she paired the bustier with high-waisted white flared culottes and perspex heels.

The star completed the chic look with a three quarter length white jacket and a gold satin handbag.

Sporting her elaborate curled updo from the premiere, the star accentuated her natural beauty with metallic shadow and scarlet lipstick.

Bella, who is the daughter of real estate man Mohamed Hadid and former Real Housewife Of Beverly Hills Yolanda Hadid, is on-again with The Weeknd.

Glamour: The supermodel, 22, put on a very busty display in a plunging botanical print bustier top, which featured images of flamingos and tropical scenery

During one of their off periods, The Weeknd (ne Abel Tesfaye) dated Selena Gomez, and the two women unfollowed each other on Instagram.

However, Elle noticed that Bella liked an Instagram photo of Selena at the Cannes Film Festival this week, suggesting that any animosity is now in the past.

Bella has been a regular at Cannes and attended the premiere of the Elton John biopic Rocketman starring Taron Edgerton on Thursday.

Siren; The star slipped into a Grecian-inspired scarlet gown for the Pain and Glory premiere on Thursday

During another outing in the midst of the festival, Bella sported a striking orange ensemble as she left her accommodation.

The model rocked an orange shirt with white piping, which she teamed with matching trousers.

In keeping with the casual look, Bella added a pair of black and white lace-up trainers.

Style Queen: During another outing in the midst of the festival, Bella sported a striking orange ensemble as she left her accommodation

Stepping out: The model rocked an orange shirt with white piping, which she teamed with matching trousers

Chic: She also clutched a brown designer handbag and shielded her eyes from the sun with a pair of snazzy black sunglasses

She also clutched a brown designer handbag and shielded her eyes from the sun with a pair of snazzy black sunglasses.

She tied her hair up into a chic updo and appeared to wear minimal make-up for her outing.

The 2019 Cannes Film Festival takes place at the iconic Palais des Festivals from Tuesday until May 25.

Model behaviour: She tied her hair up into a chic updo and appeared to wear minimal make-up for her outing

Star quality: Bella kept her head down as she stepped out in an orange ensemble during the Cannes film festival

Actress Elle Fanning, French graphic novelist Enki Bilal and the Oscar-nominated director of The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos, will be among jury members during the annual event.

Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will preside over the panel that decides on prizes, including the top Palme D'Or award.

The jury for the festival's 72nd edition will also include Pawel Pawlikowski, the Polish filmmaker and screenwriter named best director at Cannes last year for the impossible love story Cold War.

Maimouna N'Diaye, who has directed documentaries and acted in films such as Otar Iosseliani's Chasing Butterflies will also sit on the panel, alongside two other female directors.

Kelly Reichardt, whose Wendy and Lucy starring Michelle Williams was a contender for Cannes' Un Certain Regard award in 2008, directed 2016's Certain Women.

Italy's Alicia Rohrwacher won best screenplay at Cannes last year for her film Happy as Lazzaro, a satirical fable about a peasant family.

French filmmaker Robin Campillo, who took Cannes by storm in 2017 with 120 BPM - Beats Per Minute, winning the Grand Prix for his movie about an AIDs activist, will complete the line-up.
She was forced to go under the knife earlier this week after her body rejected her breast implants.

And Charlotte Crosby, 29, has now stepped out following the emergency procedure with her boyfriend Josh Ritchie, 24, to celebrate her 29th birthday at Tomahawk Steak house in Newcastle on Friday.

Packing on the PDA, the couple, who have been dating since December 2017, stopped for a smooch outside the upmarket eatery as she made her recovery.

First time: Charlotte Crosby has stepped out following her emergency breast implant removal with her boyfriend Josh Ritchie, 24, at Tomahawk Steak house in Newcastle on Friday

Charlotte put on a glamorous display in a cream, blue and mustard mini-dress and transparent heels. Flashing her designer taste, the MTV beauty wore a Fendi headband atop her caramel hair extensions.

Underneath the bust of the Geordie Shore star's dress, the outline of the bandages from her recent breast implant reduction could be spied.

Josh flashed his designer wares by sporting a T-shirt emblazoned with the Fendi logo as well as trainers embroidered with Gucci along the front and a cap from the same Italian luxury brand.

It was reported that Charlotte underwent surgery after returning from a trip to Brazil last week, with the whole ordeal said to be captured for her MTV reality series, The Charlotte Show.

Smooch: Packing on the PDA, the couple who have been dating since December 2017, stopped for a smooch outside the upmarket eatery

This comes after the star vehemently denied having a boob job in the past. A source revealed to The Sun: 'Charlotte has been in quite severe pain with her breasts, one in particular.

'She saw a specialist before Brazil and he diagnosed severe inflammation and capsular contracture - which is when the scar tissue around the implant inside the body gets tight and hard.

'This can cause chronic pain and hardness which was what Charlotte was experiencing. As a precaution she has also been referred for breast scans to ensure there is nothing else going on.'

Sore: Underneath the bust of Charlotte's dress the outline of the bandages from her recent breast implant reduction could be spied

The publication states that the star had her implants put in in 2017, at the same time as she had surgery to correct her symmastia aka 'uniboob' - which sees the breast merge across the breast bone.

However, the TV personality had doubts about having the boob job, with the source adding that Charlotte 'bitterly regrets' having the procedure.

The Geordie Shore beauty will now have to spend plenty of time resting at home while she recovers from her operation.

Emergency: It was reported that Charlotte underwent surgery after returning from a trip to Brazil with Joshua last week

Luckily for the star, she has the support of loyal boyfriend Josh, with the former Love Island hunk having stood by Charlotte throughout her ordeal.

MailOnline have contacted representatives for Charlotte for comment.

Charlotte has spoke candidly about her various surgeries in the past and in 2016 she unveiled her new nose after a rhinoplasty procedure.

Speaking about her decision to go under the knife, the reality star opened up to Heat magazine about why it was so important to her.

Tough time: The star vehemently denied having a boob job in the past (pictured in 2018)

Charlotte admitted scrutiny from the show's audiences drove her to have the surgery. She told the publication: 'It's not like I can hide it. If I'd not been on TV, I'd never have got it done.

'I do think [my nose] caused a lack of confidence, and you always compare yourself to other people who are on TV as well.'

She added: 'You just think, "I hate it", especially on television. I think it'll make a big difference to my life in terms of getting photographed and always being on the telly, not having to worry about where to stand or what angle to go from.'
She shocked fans earlier this month after she became the seventh star to quit Coronation Street within three months.

And amid the drama surrounding the ITV soap, Lucy Fallon jetted off for a romantic break with boyfriend Tom Leech, with the pair putting on a loved-up display on Friday.

The actress, 23, larked about in a park with her beau as they enjoyed the sights of the American city as she took some time out from her soap duties.

Getaway: Lucy Fallon jetted off for a romantic break with boyfriend Tom Leech, with the pair putting on a loved-up display on Friday

Lucy cut a chic figure in a black midi dress adorned with a colourful floral pattern.

She teamed her ensemble with a pair of box fresh whiter trainers and added a chunky brown handbag.

The star also rocked a pair of over-sized sunglasses and left her blonde tresses to flow freely in the wind.

Meanwhile, her other half Tom donned a casual ensemble consisting of a pale denim jacket, a white T-shirt and dark skinny jeans.

Larking around: The actress, 23, larked about in a park with her beau as they enjoyed the sights of the American city as she took some time out from her soap duties

Style: Lucy cut a chic figure in a black midi dress adorned with a colourful floral pattern

Chic: She teamed her ensemble with a pair of box fresh whiter trainers and added a chunky brown handbag

Tom and Lucy put on a joyous display as they frolicked in the park, with Tom giving his girlfriend a helping hand from the ground.

Lucy was also seen happily skipping along the grass as her other half concentrated on his phone.

Later, in a sweet moment, Tom planted a kiss on Lucy's head as they stood on the street's of New York.

Trendy: The star also rocked a pair of over-sized sunglasses and left her blonde tresses to flow freely in the wind

Out and about: Lucy rocked a floral black dress as she spent the day in the park with her beau

Meanwhile, her other half Tom donned a casual ensemble consisting of a pale denim jacket, a white T-shirt and dark skinny jeans

Having fun: Lucy was also seen happily skipping along the grass as her other half concentrated on his phone

The happy couple were clearly loving their trip, having spent the day taking in the sights of The Big Apple.

Their holiday included trips to the Empire State building and the famed Flatiron building, where they posed for selfies.

They also took a stroll along the 'high line' and headed to Madison Square Park where they had a VIP All Access tour of the famous music venue.

The duo also took a trip on the subway to Central Park, where they ended up on Sheep Meadow.

Lucy's New York getaway comes weeks after she shockingly announced that she had quit Coronation Street, four years after first joining the cast as teen Bethany Platt.

Fun times: Tom and Lucy put on a joyous display as they frolicked in the park, with Tom giving his girlfriend a helping hand from the ground

Taking the weight off: The pair shared a joke as they took a break during the park outing in New York

In a statement she told MailOnline: 'After the most incredible 4 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.'

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.

Kiss kiss: Later, in a sweet moment, Tom planted a kiss on Lucy's head as they stood on the street's of New York

So sweet: Tom planted a comforting kiss on Lucy as they stood in the street during their break

It was also recently claimed that recurring actor Liam Bairstow would be taking a break from the soap, as he took to social media to announce he had wrapped filming as Alex Warner.

Bosses have since clarified that Liam will be back on set later this month, and Alex is by no means leaving the show.

It has since been reported that upset has been brewing behind the scenes, as many of the soap's newer stars are unhappy with the vast differences in salary.

Getaway: The happy couple were clearly loving their trip, having spent the day taking in the sights of The Big Apple

Tourists: Their holiday included trips to the Empire State building and the famed Flatiron building, where they posed for selfies

Taking in the sights: They also took a stroll along the 'high line' and headed to Madison Square Park where they had a VIP All Access tour of the famous music venue

It's claimed that veteran cast members such as William Roache (Ken Barlow) are on a staggering 250,000 a year, while newcomers are paid just 50,000, with their fee dependant on appearances.

Simon Gregson (who plays Steve McDonald) also allegedly earns around 150,000 and Michael Le Vell (Kevin Webster) is on a reported 170,000.

A source adds that the pay gaps have been an 'open secret' among the cast, with many stars earning more money for far less screen time.

They 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.'

Romantic trip: The duo also took a trip on the subway to Central Park, where they ended up on Sheep Meadow
She has jetted to America to film a new reality TV series.

And Gemma Collins showed off her charitable side as she filmed herself donating piles of glamorous clothes and heels to the homeless of Los Angeles.

The TOWIE star, 38, posted a video to Instagram showing heaps of her trademark colourful and glitzy clothes packed into bags in her US hotel room.

The GC: Gemma Collins showed off her charitable side as she filmed herself donating piles of glamorous clothes and heels to the homeless of Los Angeles

Glamour: The TOWIE star, 38, posted a video to Instagram showing heaps of her trademark colourful and glitzy heels packed into bags in her US hotel room

As the camera panned around the room, heaps more outfits were seen stacked on chairs with bags of chic heels also in the living room.

She said: 'So while being in LA guys I have donated all these outfits, literally everything - all these shoes - to the amazing...'

So while being in LA guys I have donated all these outfits, literally everything - all these shoes - to the amazing-" she said.

Her friend added: 'LGBTQ Homeless Centre!'

Off it goes: As the camera panned around the room, heaps more outfits were seen stacked on chairs with bags of chic heels also in the living room

Gemma added: "Yes, and I hope you enjoy it all. Have fun wearing it. It's from the GC, baby!"

It is unclear what charity Gemma donated the clothes to - the organisation she tagged is not a homeless charity and LA does not have any organisation named LGBTQ Homeless Centre.

The Los Angeles LGBT Center is the biggest organisation supporting young people in the city.

MailOnline has contacted Gemma's representative for comment.

Gemma's appearance comes amid claims she has taken to hiking up Runyon Canyon to burn 400 calories at a time - a similar tactic to that used by Victoria Beckham, 45.

A source revealed Gemma is determined to keep off the weight she lost during her stint on Dancing On Ice, and she wants to shed even more.

Donated: She said: 'So while being in LA guys I have donated all these outfits, literally everything - all these shoes'

Glitz: It is unclear what charity Gemma donated the clothes to - the organisation she tagged is not a homeless charity and LA does not have any organisation named LGBTQ Homeless Centre

This comes as her boyfriend, James Argent, 31, was told he could die if he doesn't lose 10 stone.

'She is going on a Runyon Canyon hike which will burn at least 400 calories a time - like Victoria Beckham,' a source told The Sun.

'She knows she needs to work up a sweat to keep her weight down and she misses the endorphins from when she used to do three hour rehearsals on Dancing On Ice.'

The source also claimed that Gemma has fallen head over heels for the Hollywood lifestyle and doesn't plan on coming home to Essex any time soon.

A source said: 'Gemma loves the vibe in LA - she even fell in love with the airport when she landed and was waiting thee hours for her crew to arrive so she was just exploring.

'She loves the laid back lifestyle. She is on a soul searching mission and she is trying to find herself. She sees LA as her spiritual home.'

Good deed: The star donated heaps of her clothes to the good cause

Gemma visited a cosmetic surgeon in a bid to have fat removed from her face after he two and a half stone weight loss earlier this week.

Dr Simon Ourian, a favourite of the Kardashians, was recommended to Gemma by her pal Jonathan, who is best friends with Kim.

Taking to Instagram Stories on Wednesday, the former TOWIE star shared a video from her consultation with the acclaimed surgeon.

She told her fans: 'Guys, I'm with the top, top cosmetic surgeon in LA Doctor Ourian.'

Jonathan then says that Dr Ourian, who has a three month waiting list, had worked with a ton of A-listers and not just 'Instagram stars'.

Gemma said: 'They've all been here and now I'm here and I can't wait to show you the results. I need this fat sucked out of my face pronto because I've just lost 2.5 stone but the face don't get any thinner.'

The reality star will attempt to crack America with her new six-part show Diva Forever, in which she will be reunited with former Dancing With The Stars partner Matt Evers. The show is set to air later this year.
Penelope Cruz looked delighted as she stepped out for the Pain and Glory photocall at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

And the actress, 45, was in good spirits as she spent time at the event with Antonio Banderas and Pedro Almodovar who showed their affection for her by giving her a peck on the cheek.

The regular collaborators were on hand to promote their new film Spanish film Dolor y Gloria, which stars Penelop and Antonio in the leading roles.

Happy: Penelope Cruz was delighted as she was kissed by co-star Antonio Banderas and director Pedro Almodovar at the Pain and Glory photocall at Cannes Film Festival on Saturday

Penelope put on a stunning display as she stepped out in a silver sequinned gown, which had a layered texture to give her look an extra chic flair.

Boosting her height in a pair of black heels, the Volver star kept her accessories simple by wearing jewel earrings and an array of silver rings.

Her brunette locks were brushed into a side-swept style, and fell over her shoulder in a sleek, straight manner.

Glam: Penelope put on a stunning display as she stepped out in a silver sequinned gown, which had a layered texture to give her look an extra chic flair

Chic: Boosting her height in a pair of black heels, the Volver star kept her accessories simple by wearing jewel earrings and an array of silver rings

Smile and wave: The actress was in good spirits during the film's photocall

Sweet: Antonio and Pedro showed their affection for her by giving her a peck on the cheek

Gorgeous: Penelope's brunette locks were brushed into a side-swept style, and fell over her shoulder in a sleek, straight manner

Supportive: The regular collaborators were on hand to promote their new film Spanish film Dolor y Gloria, which stars Penelop and Antonio in the leading roles

Pals: Antonio wrapped his arm around Penelope's shoulders during the photocall

Antonio looked snazzy in a pair of white trousers, which he offset with a denim jacket and a striped monochrome shirt.

The Zorro star stepped out in a pair of beige suede boots, which he showed off when he jokingly jumped onto a table at the photocall.

Penelope giggled as her co-star made the dramatic gesture, as she encouraged him from the sidelines.

Meanwhile Pedro put on a very colourful display by teaming a bright pink scarf with a green jacket and a blue polka-dot shirt.

Dapper: Antonio looked snazzy in a pair of white trousers, which he offset with a denim jacket and a striped monochrome shirt

Joker: The Zorro star stepped out in a pair of beige suede boots, which he showed off when he jokingly jumped onto a table at the photocall

Going up?: Penelope watched on bemused as the actor lifted himself onto the table

Hilarious: Penelope giggled as her co-star made the dramatic gesture, as she encouraged him from the sidelines

Animated: Antonio put on a show for the photographers

Comedian: The actor posed on the table before jumping down dramatically

Running man: Antonio made a serious of hilarious poses at the photocall

Droll: The actor was enjoying himself immensely on the table

Acrobatic act: Antonio lifted his legs up high as he went to jump off the table

Pain and Glory (Dolor y Gloria, directed by Pedro Almodovar) is a Spanish film about director Salvador Mallo in his decline - played by Banderas - as he reflects and revisits big moments and decisions in his life, including his childhood in the 1960s and when he emigrated with his family.

Other encounters the film documents include Salvador's search of prosperity, the first desire, his first adult love in the 1980s, the pain of the breakup of this relationship, writing as a therapy to forget and the premature discovery of cinema.

This is is the sixth film Cruz and the director have made together with previous collaborations including Live Flesh, All About My Mother and Volver - which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress

Chatting away: While photographers swarmed around them, Penelope and Antonio enjoyed a quick chat amongst themselves

Elegant: Penelope was sure to turn heads with her dazzling ensemble

Sartorial prowess: Penelope's gorgeous gown made her stand out from the crowd

Looking good: Pedro put on a very colourful display by teaming a bright pink scarf with a green jacket and a blue polka-dot shirt

Joking around: Antonio pumped his fists as a joke after giving Penelope a kiss on the cheek

Handsome: The actor gave a sultry look to the camera as he leaned on the table

Take a bow: Antonio was sure to delight the photographers as he posed up a storm

Jump around: Antonio excitedly leapt off the table

Exhilarated: Antonio larked around on top of the table

Athletic: The actor showed off his physical strength as he lifted himself off the table

Pleased: Following the animated display, Antonio looked ecstatic

The 2019 Cannes Film Festival began at the iconic Palais des Festivals on Tuesday, and will run until May 25.

Actress Elle Fanning, French graphic novelist Enki Bilal and the Oscar-nominated director of The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos, will be among jury members during the annual event.

Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will preside over the panel that decides on prizes, including the top Palme D'Or award.

The jury for the festival's 72nd edition will also include Pawel Pawlikowski, the Polish filmmaker and screenwriter named best director at Cannes last year for the impossible love story Cold War.

Pretty: Penelope wore light touches of make-up to highlight her pretty features

Beaming: Penelope couldn't help but smile as Pedro and Antonio kissed her on the cheeks

Co-stars: Penelope, Antonio and Pedro were joined at the photocall by fellow cast members Leonardo Sbaraglia (L), Asier Etxeandia (second left), and Nora Navas (R)

Promo trail: The cast of the film posed up a storm at the event

Rainy day: Penelope arrived at the event with an umbrella in hand to avoid getting soaked

Overjoyed: The cast and director seemed pleased to be at the prestigious film festival

Cheerful: Penelope, Antonio and Pedro were in the best of moods

Star-studded: The Pain and Glory crew were hot on the promo trail for the film

Maimouna N'Diaye, who has directed documentaries and acted in films such as Otar Iosseliani's Chasing Butterflies will also sit on the panel, alongside two other female directors.

Kelly Reichardt, whose Wendy and Lucy starring Michelle Williams was a contender for Cannes' Un Certain Regard award in 2008, directed 2016's Certain Women.

Italy's Alicia Rohrwacher won best screenplay at Cannes last year for her film Happy as Lazzaro, a satirical fable about a peasant family.

French filmmaker Robin Campillo, who took Cannes by storm in 2017 with 120 BPM - Beats Per Minute, winning the Grand Prix for his movie about an AIDs activist, will complete the line-up.

Stunning: Penelope looked gorgeous at the film's press conference

Chatting away: Penelope, Antonio and Pedro talked about the film with press

Thoughtful: The actress listened attentively to the questions

Laughing out loud: Antonio seemed delighted as he spoke at the conference

Signing: The cast and crew were happy to autograph items for attendees

Dazzle: As she spoke during the press conference, Penelope flashed a diamond-encrusted ruby ring

Snap: Those attending the event were keen to take as many photos as they could of the stars

What a crowd: The cast and crew were met with an adoring crowd

Star-studded: Liev Schreiber looked casually cool as he jetted into Nice for the festival

Photocall: Director Bruno Dumont and cast member Lise Leplat posed up at the Joan of Arc photocall on Saturday

Congrats; The pair smiled as they promoted the new film
Roxy Jacenko, 39, is the country's ultimate PR queen, known for her savvy use of social media to promote brands.

But on Saturday, disaster struck for the business-minded blonde when one of her lucrative Instagram accounts was 'deactivated' without warning.

Taking to her personal Instagram account, Roxy shared an e-mail chain between her and the social media support requesting help to reinstate the account.

Has Roxy been hacked? PR queen Jacenko, 39, (pictured) has shared suspicious e-mails after one of her all-important Instagram accounts was 'deactivated' for no reason this week

Roxy earns a considerable amount from her dealings on social media, managing business profiles Pixies Bows, Sweaty Betty PR, Social.union and Ministry Of Talent, her own personal profile, and the profiles of her two children.

'This is a DISASTER,' Roxy wrote, before adding: 'Any tips on how to get the Social Union account reactivated?'

Roxy is known for her savvy business skills, having launched her own public relations firm Sweaty Betty PR at age 23 in 2004.

Help! Roxy shared her correspondence with the tech giant asking fans for help

She's also successfully built-up children's accessories brand Pixie's Bows for her daughter Pixie - with the wares worn by numerous celebrity offspring abroad.

The latest business blunder for Roxy comes after she suffered a number of setbacks last month when her Paddington offices were viciously vandalised.

The Sweaty Betty offices in Paddington were targeted, with the words 'Roxy is a c**t' spray-painted across the white building's exterior walls.

Defiant: It's another setback for the formidable blonde, who was forced to deal with slanderous vandalism last month. Here with husband Oliver Curtis (L)

Senseless: Roxy rubbished claims the attack hit a 'raw nerve', with her saying she can 'handle herself in a situation' when something bad happens

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, sources reportedly close to Roxy claimed the attacks 'hit a raw nerve' for her.

'Behind the scenes, some of her closest associates say the latest attack has hit a raw nerve,' a source told the publication.

Roxy dismissed the talk as 'rubbish' adding she knows how to 'handle herself in a situation' with speaking to Daily Mail Australia at the time.
She's usually seen strutting her stuff on the catwalk.

But Iskra Lawrence made the streets her runway as she was spotted arriving at the Martinez Hotel on Saturday during Cannes Film Festival.

The model, 28, appeared in a cheery mood as she rocked a chic khaki ensemble in the French city.

Style Queen: Iskra Lawrence made the streets her runway as she was spotted arriving at the Martinez Hotel on Saturday during Cannes Film Festival

The star flashed a hint of her stomach as she donned the cropped leather khaki shirt, which she teamed with a pair of cargo trousers in a matching hue.

Accessorising her look, Iskra added a pair of box fresh white trainers and a camouflage patterned handbag.

Highlighting her natural beauty, she donned very minimal make-up for the day, while her blonde tresses were left to flow loosely in the wind.

The catwalk star clutched her phone in her hand as beamed away while outside the hotel.

Stunning: The model, 28, appeared in a cheery mood as she rocked a chic khaki ensemble in the French city

All smiles: The star flashed a hint of her stomach as she donned the cropped leather khaki shirt, which she teamed with a pair of cargo trousers in a matching hue

Catwalk star: Accessorising her look, Iskra added a pair of box fresh white trainers and a camouflage patterned handbag

The star also smiled for photographers and stopped to chat as she prepared to attend the 72nd annual festival.

At one point, Iskra posed up a storm and flashed her shapely rear as she turned her back to the camera.

The body advocate recently confirmed her relationship with boyfriend Philip Payne and revealed her body confidence helped start the romance.

Discussing her feelings about being considered a plus-sized model, Iskra recently told HELLO magazine: 'It's merely outer packaging, we've got so much more going on.

Show girl: Highlighting her natural beauty, she donned very minimal make-up for the day, while her blonde tresses were left to flow loosely in the wind

Cheeky! At one point, Iskra posed up a storm and flashed her shapely rear as she turned her back to the camera

'People say plus-size models encourage obesity, but what about making people feel so s**t about themselves they can't do anything with their lives?

'That's worse. Empowering people with confidence enables them to try new things, to go out there, even to start a new relationship  to learn to love themselves.'

The beauty was born in Worcestershire and was accepted into the National Youth Theatre at the young age of 15, she was also a competitive swimmer on the national level at the same age.

The influential model has long been an advocate for posting photos on social media and other platforms without the use of Photoshop or other digital enhancements.

Chatty: The catwalk star clutched her phone in her hand as beamed away while outside the hotel

Star quality: The star also smiled for photographers and stopped to chat as she prepared to attend the 72nd annual festival

Stealing the show: Iskra animatedly chatted to a woman as after arriving at the venue in the French city

The 2019 Cannes Film Festival takes place at the iconic Palais des Festivals from Tuesday until May 25.

Actress Elle Fanning, French graphic novelist Enki Bilal and the Oscar-nominated director of The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos, will be among jury members during the annual event.

Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will preside over the panel that decides on prizes, including the top Palme D'Or award.

The jury for the festival's 72nd edition will also include Pawel Pawlikowski, the Polish filmmaker and screenwriter named best director at Cannes last year for the impossible love story Cold War.

Lovely: The body advocate appeared engrossed in her phone at one point

Gripped: Iskra displayed her flair for fashion in the khaki green outfit

Maimouna N'Diaye, who has directed documentaries and acted in films such as Otar Iosseliani's Chasing Butterflies will also sit on the panel, alongside two other female directors.

Kelly Reichardt, whose Wendy and Lucy starring Michelle Williams was a contender for Cannes' Un Certain Regard award in 2008, directed 2016's Certain Women.

Italy's Alicia Rohrwacher won best screenplay at Cannes last year for her film Happy as Lazzaro, a satirical fable about a peasant family.

French filmmaker Robin Campillo, who took Cannes by storm in 2017 with 120 BPM - Beats Per Minute, winning the Grand Prix for his movie about an AIDs activist, will complete the line-up.

What's the joke? The blonde beauty Discussing her feelings about being considered a plus-sized model

Spekaing out: People say plus-size models encourage obesity, but what about making people feel so s**t about themselves they can't do anything with their lives?'
Kate Langbroek relocated to Italy with her family earlier this year.

And now the radio host says that moving from Melbourne to Bologna has made her focus more on her personal style.

'I think I've lifted my wardrobe game here a bit, because Italians are very sharp,' the 53-year-old told Stellar magazine.

'You can see they know that we're not Italian!' Kate Langbroek has started dressing better after moving to Italy with her family (pictured)

'You can see they know that we're not Italian, even when we're making an effort,' she continued.

'We don't have that crisp look,' Kate added.

The brunette showcased her newfound sense of style in a glamorous cover shoot for Stellar.

'I think I've lifted my wardrobe game here a bit, because Italians are very sharp,' the 53-year-old told Stellar magazine

On the cover, the comedian stunned in a figure-hugging black mid-length dress designed by Marina Rinaldi.

To finish off her elegant look, Kate wore a pair of white retro heels and an oversized gold necklace.

Kate, Peter and their children have been living in Bologna since January.

Relocated: Kate, Peter and their children have been living in Bologna since January

Family: Kate and husband Peter are parents to Lewis, 15, Sunday, 14, Artie, 12, and Jan, nine

Just days before packing her bags and leaving Melbourne, Kate said on The Project that she had 'no idea' why she was moving to Europe.

'I can't tell you why because I've got NFI [no f**king idea],' she said nervously.

'But at the time it seemed like a good idea that we would take our four children and go to live in Italy for a year. Why? I don't know. I'm hanging by a thread.'

Kate and Peter are parents to Lewis, 15, Sunday, 14, Artie, 12, and Jan, nine.
She has been hitting up all the hottest events in stunning style.

Julianne Moore put on a dazzling display as she stepped out once more at the 72nd Annual Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

The 58-year-old looked incredible in a simple black mini dress which made the most of her endless legs while she kept the look fresh with a pair of ankle boots.

Legs eleven: Julianne Moore put on a dazzling display as she stepped out once more at the 72nd Annual Cannes Film Festival on Saturday

Julianne looked incredible as she continued her jaunt around the festival while showing off her stunning figure to perfection.

The sky-high hemline on her dress meant she gave a flash of her endless legs which were boosted with her teetering heels.

Ensuring she looked quite the superstar, Julianne wore a pair of over-sized sunglasses while also maintaining a flawless and sleek blowdry.

Flame haired: The 58-year-old looked incredible in a simple black mini dress which made the most of her endless legs while she kept the look fresh with a pair of ankle boots

She is in attendance at Cannes to debut The Staggering Girl - a 35 minute movie, which has been directed by Luca Guadagnino, who was also the brains behind the blockbuster, Call Me By Your Name and horror movie, Suspiria.

The stunning redhead has appeared with designer Pierpaolo Piccioli, creative director at Valentino, who worked on the movie with screenwriter Michael Mitnick.

The short also stars Mia Goth, KiKi Layne, Kyle MacLachlan and Marthe Keller.

Heading out: Julianne looked incredible as she continued her jaunt around the festival while showing off her stunning figure to perfection

According to All About Italy, 'the art film, is a journey into the feminine world, in which haute couture becomes part of the narrative portraying different chapters in a womans life through her relationship with her mother.

'Julianne interprets the main character Francesca, an Italian-American writer who lives in New York and who has to return to Rome to look after her elderly mother, a painter interpreted in different moments of the movie by Keller and Goth.

'When Francesca returns to the childhood home in Rome, the storyline goes in and out of various individual stories that took place during the course of their entire relationship.'
 New York Times Adopts Erroneous 'Palestine' Terminology | Main | Rashida Tlaib Says Palestinians "Provided" Jewish Haven 

April 30, 2019

Professor John Quigley Falsely Condemns Israel and U.S. Support in His Syndicated Column

John B. Quigley

John B. Quigley, an Ohio State University law professor, echoes the false war crimes charge against Israel and makes other dubious claims in the concluding section of his widely distributed April opinion piece:



Trump unfortunately has a knack for giving ISIS issues to use to incite against the United States. Last year, as Israeli snipers shot 6,000 Palestinian protesters along the Gaza border  shootings that the UN called war crimes  Trump insisted that Israel was doing nothing wrong. Last May, Trump moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a city that few in the Arab world see as belonging to Israel. More recently, Trump said that Israel owns the Golan Heights, which it seized from Syria in 1967. Actions like these are a gift to ISIS. Even though ISIS is weakened, it remains a force. We should stop helping it recruit.

The false war crimes charge against Israel is not new. But Israeli tactics and actions have not changed since General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2014, commended Israel: "I actually do think that Israel went to extraordinary lengths [in the Gaza Strip] to limit collateral damage and civilian casualties. Likewise, Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, testified on Sept. 4, 2014 about Operation Protective Edge [Gaza], and basically reiterated his testimony about a previous such operation before the U.N. Human Rights Council in October 2009: During Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli Defense Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of war.

Quigley advocates that the United States should play to the Arab world  including the Islamist terrorists  regarding actions such as those dealing with Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. What doesnt seem to matter to Quigley is that the Arab worlds dominant culture is mainly antithetical to American ideals.

This is not the first time Quigley has falsely characterized Israeli actions (more below).

Publications

The column was distributed by the Tribune Content Agency (TCA) syndication company which is owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA was previously known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate.

The Chicago Tribune, carried the column on April 18, 2019 under the title: Con: Talk of looming major attacks is overblown.

The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) carried the same column on April 18 under the title Claims of looming major attacks by Islamic State are overblown.

The Miami Herald carried the column on April 23 under the title of Despite panicked predictions, ISIS is not a threat to the West.

The column was also carried by numerous lesser known newspapers.

The U.N. is unreliable regarding Israel

Quigley relies on U.N. claims but the organization is clearly unreliable in matters pertaining to Israel due mainly to the influence and voting power of the dozens of Arab and other Islamic member states. For example, in 2018, the U.N. General Assembly passed 21 resolutions condemning Israel, and a mere 6 for the rest of the world, according to U.N. Watch, a Geneva-based NGO that monitors the international body. Israel, a democracy, was condemned seven times more than the brutal North Korean dictatorship, which still runs gulags, and was the subject of a mere 3 resolutions. Indeed, just on Nov. 15, 2018 the General Assembly adopted nine resolutions against Israelall while ignoring human rights situations in China, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Turkey and Pakistan. Quigleys war crimes characterization is in reference to a U.N. report that is consistent with the pattern of U.N. bias against Israel.

Refuting the U.N. report relied on by Quigley

Israel's acting foreign minister rejected the findings outright: "The Human Rights Council's Theatre of the Absurd has once again produced a report that is hostile, mendacious and biased against Israel," Israel Katz said. "No-one can deny Israel the right to self-defence and the obligation to protect its citizens and its borders against violent attacks."

U.N. Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer's speech at the U.N. Human Rights Council debate (March 11, 2019) included this statement:

Mr. President, let me be the first to state for the record that everything we just heard from the worlds worst dictatorships, and their apologists, is unfounded, unreal and untrue. For example, the accusation that Israeli soldiers are war criminals for defending their citizens from massive attacks on the Gaza border, organized by the Hamas terrorist group, is absurd. The claim that these are civilian protests, and peaceful in nature, is deceitful and dishonest. The truth is that 70,000 Israelis live within a few kilometers of these attacks, including three communities which reside right on the border. The truth is that these so-called protests include attempts by terrorists to infiltrate into these Israeli communities, and involve shootings, grenades, firebombs, and improvised explosive devices. The truth is that mines and booby-traps have been placed on the border, to be detonated on IDF patrols. Now, for the UN to call these peaceful protests is nothing but an insult to every genuinely peaceful human rights activist around the world. Now it was said here by the Palestinian representative that anyone who aspires to preserve this Council, should remain in the Council, and work in it; those who do not wish to respect the values, should leave. I ask: Is it his position that Council members such as Saudi Arabia, which is now torturing womens rights activists, as we just heard; and China, which is now holding a reported one million Muslims in re-education camps, are the one upholding human rights?



Unrealistic demands Quigley implicitly demands that Israeli and U.S. actions, such as those regarding Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, not be taken unless they are acceptable to the Arab world. But this would result in injustice. He ignores the unique Jewish connection to Jerusalem in his concluding section, Jerusalem, a city that few in the Arab world see as belonging to Israel. However, the reality is that Jews have continuously lived in their ancestral home in the Holy Land including Jerusalem. In 1948, the re-establishment of the Jewish nation of Israel, with the capacity of caring for Jewish refugees, was supported by the United Nations. Israel sought to accommodate the Arabs but was immediately rebuffed by Arab Armies that attempted to annihilate the Jewish state. And thereafter Arab forces attacked, or gathered to attack, Israel several times in order to destroy it. Jerusalem, Judaisms holiest city, is mentioned hundreds of times in the Hebrew Bible. It was the capital city of ancient Jewish kingdoms and home to Judaisms holiest place, the Temple. Jews from all over the ancient world would make pilgrimages to the Temple three times a year to participate in worship and festivities, as commanded in the Bible. The Jewish wedding ceremony concludes with the chanting of the biblical phrase, If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning, and the breaking of a glass by the groom to commemorate the destruction of the Temples. And Yom Kippur services and the Passover Seder conclude each year with the phrase Next Year in Jerusalem. As to the Golan Heights, Israel had seized it in the defensive Six-Day War of 1967. The Syrian military had repeatedly used it to shell the Galilee area of Israel from the Golan high point putting Israeli population centers in jeopardy. Currently, if Israel were to lose control of the Golan, the area would be undefended against the predations of Iran which is intent on destroying the Jewish nation-state. As legal scholar Alan Dershowitz observed recently, No country in history has ever given back to a sworn enemy, militarily essential territory that has been captured in a defensive war (Alan M. Dershowitz, Trump Is Right about the Golan Heights, Gatestone Institute, March 30, 2019). The U.S. recognition of Israels sovereignty over the Golan Heights caused little if any outrage in the Arab world although it riles Quigley. Even the New York Times, generally quick to criticize Israel for any perceived infraction, reported that the U.S. declaration was met across much of the Arab world with a shrug. But Quigley thinks he knows better. The Times also noted that the 22,000 Arabs inhabiting the Heights are Arabs from the Druze sect who mostly retained Syrian citizenship and avoided politics. The area has avoided the violence that has riled the Palestinian territories. Israel offered the Arab residents citizenship, but few have accepted it. Furthermore, the historical/biblical reality of the Golan is that the ancestors of todays Jewish Israelis resided in the Golan long before any Arabs arrived in the area. Evidence of this is found in the Bible; references to the Golan are contained in Deuteronomy 4:43, Joshua 20:8, Joshua 21:27 and 1 Chronicles 6:56. The region known today as the Golan Heights was a part of the area of Bashan in the territory assigned to the Israeli tribe of Manasseh thousands of years ago. And there is no reason to believe that these ancestors ever willingly relinquished their rights to the land. Previous Quigley anti-Israel propagandizing  In 2018, Quigley defamed Israel as a featured speaker at a conference run by The Middle East Monitor (MEM) which specializes in anti-Israel propaganda.  In 2014, Quigley bashed Israel as a featured speaker at the National Summit to Reassess the U.S.-Israel Special Relationship" which was run by notoriously anti-Israel groups such as Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (WRMEA).  In 1997, numerous charges by Quigley condemning Israel were refuted in a lengthy American University Law Review piece by Professor Louis Rene Beres of Purdue University.  In 1992, a Quigley report condemning Israel was refuted in a Duke University law paper by Professor Eugene V. Rostow, Dean of Yale Law School. Concluding Publications providing Quigley material that misleads readers should be mindful of journalistic ethics. For example, Quigleys anti-Israel claims generally run afoul of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Code of Ethics. Key editors for Quigley's April article include: Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) (Jill Spitz jspitz@tucson.com), Miami Herald (Rick Hirsch rhirsch@miamiherald.com), Chicago Tribune (John McCormick jmccormick@chicagotribune.com), TCA (Zach Finken zfinken@tronc.com).



Posted by MK at April 30, 2019 01:11 PM

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She has earned her wings as a Victoria Secrets lingerie model.

And Izabel Goulart showcased her style credentials once again as she was seen outside the Martinez hotel in Cannes on Saturday.

The Brazilian model, 34, who is in the French city for the 72nd iconic Cannes Film Festival, wrapped her enviable physique in an eye-catching matching fuchsia two piece ensemble.

Chic: Izabel Goulart, 34, Izabel Goulart once again showcased her style credentials as she was seen outside the Martinez hotel in Cannes on Saturday

The beautiful shirt and wide-leg trouser set was printed with a navy blue and white floral design that danced across the garment - the stunning star left the shirt unbuttoned in order to flash a white crop top.

Izabel completed her Riviera chic look with a pair of white espadrille plimsolls and carried her essentials in cream quilted handbag with VLTN scribed across the front.

The statuesque star styled her glossy mocha locks in loose waves that cascaded down her back and hid her eyes behind round lens sunglasses.

Izabel's outing comes after she wowed on Friday night in a stunning black sequined evening gown that featured a racy split that reached up to her hip at the the Chopard Love Night dinner.

Elegant: The Brazilian model wrapped her enviable physique in an eye-catching matching fuchsia two piece ensemble

The 5ft10 model touched down at Nice airport five days ago for the famous movie festival that is littered with A-listers and has made a number of glamorous appearances over the past week.

Her fiance Kevin Trapp is not accompanying the genetically blessed beauty in the South of France.

The couple's love story goes back to when they first started dating in 2016. However, the couple have kept their romance fairly low-key in the limelight.

Elegant star: The beautiful shirt and wide-leg trouser set was printed with a navy blue and white floral design that danced across the garment

The lovebirds very happily announced their engagement in July last year during their romantic break to Mykonos, Greece.

The 2019 Cannes Film Festival takes place at the iconic Palais des Festivals from Tuesday until May 25.

Actress Elle Fanning, French graphic novelist Enki Bilal and the Oscar-nominated director of The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos, will be among jury members during the annual event.

Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will preside over the panel that decides on prizes, including the top Palme D'Or award.

The jury for the festival's 72nd edition will also include Pawel Pawlikowski, the Polish filmmaker and screenwriter named best director at Cannes last year for the impossible love story Cold War.

Stunning: Izabel's outing comes after she wowed on Friday night in a stunning black sequined evening gown that featured a racy split at the the Chopard Love Night dinner

Stylish: During the festival, the model has wowed in a selection of magnificent outfits

Maimouna N'Diaye, who has directed documentaries and acted in films such as Otar Iosseliani's Chasing Butterflies will also sit on the panel, alongside two other female directors.

Kelly Reichardt, whose Wendy and Lucy starring Michelle Williams was a contender for Cannes' Un Certain Regard award in 2008, directed 2016's Certain Women.

Italy's Alicia Rohrwacher won best screenplay at Cannes last year for her film Happy as Lazzaro, a satirical fable about a peasant family.

French filmmaker Robin Campillo, who took Cannes by storm in 2017 with 120 BPM - Beats Per Minute, winning the Grand Prix for his movie about an AIDs activist, will complete the line-up.
Australian actress Maddison Brown has been making waves in her role on the hit American soap opera, Dynasty.

And the 22-year-old actress harked back to her modeling days as she posed for a shoot in this week's Stellar magazine, published Sunday.

In the photos, the beauty poses in knee-high black stockings, worn with unusual pink velvet heels.

On trend! Australian Dynasty star Maddison Brown (pictured) showed off her model looks in an edgy shoot for Stellar magazine, published Saturday

The shoes feature a red leather patent tip and green metallic straps, giving the look a high fashion feel.

Along with the footwear, the actress wears a skirt featuring a floral pattern on a yellow background.

A puffy, silken top with a matching floral motif completes the edgy ensemble, and the beauty dons a gentle, peachy makeup palette.

In another photo from the shoot, Maddison cuts a retro figure posing in a long dress between two vintage train cars

In another photo from the shoot, Maddison cuts a retro figure posing in a long dress between two vintage train cars.

She wears the same heels, along with a black and white frock with long, colourful sleeves.

Her red hair flows down around her shoulders, straight and shiny, and she wears a pop of nude lipstick.

Star: Maddison is best known for her role as Kirby Anders on hit drama Dynasty (pictured )

The model-turned-actress gushed about working with the cast of the soap during an interview with Vogue last year: 'We all get along together and there's a real sense of family there' she said

The model-turned-actress gushed about working with the cast of the soap during an interview with Vogue last year.

'We all get along together and there's a real sense of family there... so it feels nice going to work because it doesn't make it feel so much like work,' she said.

Prior to her role on Dynasty, Maddison also made appearances on The Kettering Incident as Young Anna Macy in 2016 and as Lily on Strangerland in 2015.
She's the former Made In Chelsea star with a luxury lifestyle.

And Kimberley Garner pulled out all the stops for her grand arrival in Cannes, as she was spotted landing on top of a hotel building by helicopter on Saturday.

The 29-year-old reality star gracefully hopped out of the aircraft after being sat alongside the pilot, who carefully manoeuvred the chopper onto the helipad.

Stylish: Kimberley Garner was seen making a grand entrance in Cannes, landing on top of a hotel building by helicopter

After the safe landing, the blonde beauty stepped out of the aircraft and sauntered her way across the platform as her suitcases waited to be taken to her suite.

The stunner looked glamorous in a white collared blouse with a plunging neckline that hinted at her cleavage, which she teamed with high-waisted red trousers.

She accessorised with a Gucci purse with a red, white and blue scarf, and completed the ensemble with chic white loafers.

Her luscious blonde tresses billowed in the wind as the helicopter's blades powered down giving her a dramatic windswept look.

Front seat: The 29-year-old sat alongside the pilot who carefully manoeuvred the chopper onto the helipad

Chic: After the safe landing, the blonde beauty stepped out of the aircraft and sauntered her way across the platform as her suitcases waited to be taken to her suite

Glamour: The stunner looked glamorous in a white collared blouse with a deep V neck and high waisted red trousers. She accessorised with a Gucci purse with a red, white and blue scarf

Following her dramatic helicopter entrance Kimberley was seen arriving at the luxurious Martinez hotel.

She changed into another outfit, going braless in an off-white tank top with high waisted wide leg brown trousers and a belt.

Kimberley teamed her look with sandals and accessorised with a brown crocodile skin mini handbag.

Her Cannes trip comes after her recent house-hunting trip to Miami.

Living it up: Following her dramatic helicopter entrance Kimberley was seen arriving at the luxurious Martinez hotel

Fashionista: She changed into another outfit, going braless in an off-white tank top with high waisted wide leg brown trousers and a belt

In a chat with MailOnline, the blonde admitted she flew to Florida after purchasing a dream home in the coastal city.

'I worked very hard last year and had even moved home for a few months to save money,' she explained.

'I really had my head down working to concentrate on goals, but achieved it on New Years Eve, praise God, and flew over here. Completing the sale on the plane over.'

Mogul in the making: Her Cannes trip comes after she recently purchased property in Miami. She told MailOnline: 'I worked very hard last year and had even moved home for a few months to save money'

Reflecting on her new home, the swimwear designer confessed it is a world away from her former busy life in London.

'Its right on the beach, and really is a dream come true,' she explained.

'I am over doing the interior design, going for a beachy chilled vibe for the place.

'I wont be moving here, as London is one hundred percent home, but really overjoyed and proud to have achieved it.'
Gwyneth Paltrow has been nothing but welcoming to her ex-husband Chris Martin's new girlfriend Dakota Johnson, who is 13 years his junior.

So says a People source, who insists Gwyneth 'has worked hard to integrate Dakota into family life - even suggesting that she join family vacations.'

Chris, 42, and Gwyneth, 46, have an amicable relationship when it comes to co-parenting their daughter Apple, 15, and son Moses, 13.

Making it work: Gwyneth Paltrow has been nothing but welcoming to her ex-husband Chris Martin's new girlfriend Dakota Johnson; the two women are pictured with Derek Blasberg

The insider said of Gwyneth, who married Glee co-creator Brad Falchuk last year: 'Its very important to her to be on good terms with Chriss girlfriends.'

Said the source: 'Shes not at all threatened by Dakota and loves that Chris is happy - shes very secure about sex and relationships and is not competitive in that way.'

Gwyneth, who had a high-profile romance with Brad Pitt early in her movie career, is 'very much in love with her husband and loves sharing time with everyone she considers part of her family. At this point that very much includes Dakota.'

She and Chris married in 2003 and publicly split in 2014, when Gwyneth inspired widespread mockery by referring to the breakup as a 'conscious uncoupling.'

Family matters: Chris, 42, and Gwyneth, 46, have an amicable relationship when it comes to co-parenting their daughter Apple, 15, and son Moses, 13

The Oscar-winning actress was playing a recurring role on Glee when she met Brad, who is known for his writing collaborations with Ryan Murphy.

They had an alfresco wedding last year in the Hamptons with a guest-list including Robert Downey Jr., Jerry Seinfeld and Rob Lowe, according to People.

Gwyneth's health and fitness regime has been grabbing headlines for years, amplified by her lifestyle brand Goop.

Since its launch, Goop has rapidly become known for advice ranging from the idiosyncratic to the bizarre, exhorting women to steam clean their vaginas and theorizing about a 'Link Between Underwire Bras And Breast Cancer.'

Side by side: Gwyneth is now married to Brad Falchuk, a TV writer known for his collaborations with Ryan Murphy, whose Hollywood Walk Of Fame ceremony they are pictured at last year

She dished to Harper's Bazaar in 2013 that her indulgence is 'My one light American Spirit that I smoke once a week, on Saturday night.'

Said Gwyneth: 'I would be scared to go under the knife, but you know, talk to me when I'm 50. I'll try anything. Except I won't do Botox again, because I looked crazy. I looked like Joan Rivers!'

She was named People's Most Beautiful Woman that year - and the following year, Joan joked on Watch What Happens Live that the title had been 'voted on by Helen Keller and Stevie Wonder.'
They married late last year with a host of glamorous ceremonies.

And Priyanka Chopra took inspiration from her big day as she took to the red carpet wearing a showstopping bridal-inspired gown with her husband Nick Jonas.

However, the couple aged 36 and 26, showed off their fun side just moments after attending The Best Years of A Life premiere during the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

Fun side: Priyanka Chopra took inspiration from her big day as she took to the red carpet wearing a showstopping bridal-inspired gown with her husband Nick Jonas

Priyanka and Nick quickly returned to their Hotel Martinez balcony to indulge in a tasty-looking pizza feast.

The Baywatch actress couldn't resist playfully posing up a storm as the Jonas Brothers star fed her a slice.

Showing off her fun side, Priyanka also picked up a piece of pizza as she held it in front of her face in an animated manner, before taking a bite.

Yum!: However, the couple aged 36 and 26, showed off their fun side just moments after attending The Best Years of A Life premiere during Cannes Film Festival on Saturday

Bridal: Just moments earlier, the couple had put on a glamorous display while attending The Best Years of A Life premiere during the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival on Saturday

Just moments earlier, the couple had put on a glamorous display while attending The Best Years of A Life premiere during the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

Priyanka looked breathtaking in a strapless tulle gown, which featured a corseted top half before flowing into a dramatic layered skirt and dramatic train.

The actresses added touches of glitz to her premiere look with a diamond choker necklace and a pair of matching dangling drop earrings.

Priyanka covered her stunning features in a heavy coat of make-up, including a brown smokey-eye with lashings of mascara and a plum lip.

Pizza time!: Priyanka and Nick quickly returned to their Hotel Martinez balcony to indulge in a tasty-looking pizza feast

Fun in Cannes: The Baywatch actress couldn't resist playfully posing up a storm

Pass me the pizza!: While later on, Nick went on to feed Priyanka a slice of pizza on their hotel balcony

The I Feel Pretty star swept her raven tresses off her pretty face and worked her locks up into a chic ponytail, keeping the attention on her stunning features.

Nick complemented Priyanka's look by wearing an all-white tuxedo, offering Prince Charming vibes as he escorted his wife into the venue.

The Jonas Brothers star teamed his look with a pair of black dress shoes, while sporting a smattering of subtle and a swept back hair look.

Good times: Showing off her fun side, Priyanka also picked up a piece of pizza as she held it in front of her face in an animated manner, before taking a bite

What a beauty! Priyanka looked breathtaking in a strapless tulle gown, which featured a corseted top half before flowing into a dramatic layered skirt and dramatic train

The Best Years of A Life is a sequel to Claude Lelouch's 1966 A Man And A Woman, which swept the board with awards from the Oscars, Palme dOr and Golden Globes.

The film was co-produced by Lelouch and the late Sammy Hadida along with his brother Victor before his death in November 2018, after battling a short illness.

It marks the return of characters Anne Gauthier and Jean-Louis Duroc, who fell in the love in the original film, and reunited 50 years later.

Jean is struggling with his memory and his son tracks down Anne in the hope that his father's cherished memories of their relationship will help him.

Dream team! The couple put on glamorous display while attending The Best Years of A Life premiere during the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival on Saturday

Unbelievable: Priyanka looked breathtaking in a strapless tulle gown, which featured a corseted top half before flowing into a dramatic layered skirt and dramatic train

The 2019 Cannes Film Festival takes place at the iconic Palais des Festivals from Tuesday until May 25.

Actress Elle Fanning, French graphic novelist Enki Bilal and the Oscar-nominated director of The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos, will be among jury members during the annual event.

Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will preside over the panel that decides on prizes, including the top Palme D'Or award.

The jury for the festival's 72nd edition will also include Pawel Pawlikowski, the Polish filmmaker and screenwriter named best director at Cannes last year for the impossible love story Cold War.

Glitzy: The actresses added touches of glitz to her premiere look with a diamond choker necklace and a pair of matching dangling drop earrings

Goddess: Priyanka covered her stunning features in a heavy coat of make-up, including a brown smokey-eye with lashings of mascara and a plum lip

Maimouna N'Diaye, who has directed documentaries and acted in films such as Otar Iosseliani's Chasing Butterflies will also sit on the panel, alongside two other female directors.

Kelly Reichardt, whose Wendy and Lucy starring Michelle Williams was a contender for Cannes' Un Certain Regard award in 2008, directed 2016's Certain Women.

Italy's Alicia Rohrwacher won best screenplay at Cannes last year for her film Happy as Lazzaro, a satirical fable about a peasant family.

French filmmaker Robin Campillo, who took Cannes by storm in 2017 with 120 BPM - Beats Per Minute, winning the Grand Prix for his movie about an AIDs activist, will complete the line-up.
She recently enjoyed a sun-drenched getaway in Malta with her new beau Sammy Kimmence.

But it was back to London for Dani Dyer who was spotted in the arrivals of Gatwick Airport on Saturday.

The 23-year-old cut a very casual figure in a pink and blue jumpsuit, which she teamed with an over-sized denim jacket featuring fringed detail.

Back home! Dani Dyer was spotted in the arrivals of Gatwick Airport on Saturday after enjoying a sun-drenched getaway in Malta with her new beau Sammy Kimmence

She matched her very relaxed-looking ensemble with a comfortable pair of flip-flops, a diamond necklace and black glasses.

The reality TV starlet hauled a large pink suitcase and toted a Louis Vuitton bucket bag as she walked out of the arrivals.

She also appeared to answer an important phone call, likely from her beau, as she crossed the road.

Casual: The 23-year-old cut a very casual figure in a pink and blue jumpsuit, which she teamed with an over-sized denim jacket featuring fringed detail

Details: She matched her very relaxed-looking ensemble with a comfortable pair of flip-flops, a diamond necklace and black glasses

Touch of luxe: The reality TV starlet hauled a large pink suitcase and toted a Louis Vuitton bucket bag as she walked out of the arrivals

Her return to London comes a few days after she shared a loved-up snap with her beau Sammy in Malta, proving that their romance is going from strength-to-strength.

Their relationship was revealed last month just days after her split from ex Jack Fincham after they were spotted passionately kissing in the street.

The daughter of Danny Dyer packed on the PDA with her ex-beau, who she has now rekindled her relationship with, as they posed for a photo with their arms wrapped around each other.

On a call: She also appeared to answer an important phone call, likely from her beau, as she crossed the road

Romantic: Her return to London comes a few days after she shared a loved-up snap with her beau Sammy in Malta, proving that their romance is going from strength-to-strength

Dani showcased her toned figure for the snap, opting for a beige two-piece swimsuit with a bardot top and high-waisted bottoms.

Meanwhile, Sammy looked dapper in a white shirt, blue shorts and brown sunglasses for the beach visit.

He captioned the snap with: 'Windswept thats why shes smiling...,' with Dani poking fun at her beau, responding in the comments section with: 'Only person I know to wear a shirt on the beach,' but she also added a heart emoji.
Newlyweds Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas were glimpsed Saturday enjoying a stroll in New York City with their dogs Porky and Waldo.

The Alaskan Klee Kai pooches - a breed that first came on the scene in the 1970s - faintly resembled the Direwolves on Sophie's fantasy show Game Of Thrones.

Sophie, 23, went out on her walk with her 29-year-old husband one day before the hit HBO show airs its series finale, concluding its eight-season run.

On the move: Newlyweds Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas were glimpsed Saturday enjoying a stroll in New York City with their dogs Porky and Waldo

Her TV character Sansa is a part of House Stark, a family that commands multiple direwolves and has the animal on its sigil.

These animals were named after dire wolves, a real-life prehistoric carnivore that is estimated to have gone extinct about nine millennia ago.

Joe gave Porky and Waldo to Sophie as a present late last year, and he dished about the pups on the Today show's My Pet Tale feature in December.

'We got Porky and it was kind of a mistake because the name came from her wanting a Pomsky. And I misheard what she said, so I thought she was saying that's the name of the dog she wanted,' said Joe, whose boy band the Jonas Brothers has reunited.

So sweet: The Alaskan Klee Kai pooches - a breed that first came on the scene in the 1970s - faintly resembled the Direwolves on Sophie's fantasy show Game Of Thrones

Recurring role: Her TV character Sansa is a part of House Stark, a family that commands multiple direwolves and has the animal on its sigil

Big weekend: Sophie, 23, went out on her walk with her 29-year-old husband one day before the hit HBO show airs its series finale, concluding its eight-season run; Sophie is wearing the Naked Wolfe sneakers, which retails for $249.95

Joe and Sophie had a surprise quickie wedding the night of May 1 in Las Vegas after attending the Billboard Music Awards in Sin City earlier that evening.

Their venue was A Little White Wedding Chapel, the same place Britney Spears began her 55-hour first marriage, Paul Newman got hitched to Joanne Woodward and Joan Collins tied the knot with her fourth ex-husband Peter Holm.

Sophie and Joe are planning a more lavish wedding in France but 'had to get married in the States to make it legal,' a People source claimed.

Their wedding comes months after Nick had two weddings and four receptions with Bollywood movie star Priyanka Chopra.

Loving gesture: Joe gave Porky and Waldo to Sophie as a present late last year, and he dished about the pups on the Today show's My Pet Tale feature in December

Whoops: 'We got Porky and it was kind of a mistake because the name came from her wanting a Pomsky,' said Joe, whose boy band the Jonas Brothers has reunited

The pair had both a Christian ceremony officiated by the Jonas Brothers' pastor father and two days of Hindu wedding functions

Their weddings ran through a weekend in December at Umaid Bhawan, a formerly royal palace-turned-hotel in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

In 2009, the eldest Jonas brother Kevin married former hairdresser Danielle Deleasa at Oheka Castle, a sprawling Long Island mansion that provided inspiration for the title character's home in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby.

Disgraced former congressman Anthony Wiener, erstwhile NSYNC member Joey Fatone and TV anchor Megyn Kelly all had their respective weddings at Oheka Castle, which was built in the 1910s for financier Otto Hermann Kahn.

What a month: Joe and Sophie had a surprise quickie wedding the night of May 1 in Las Vegas after attending the Billboard Music Awards in Sin City earlier that evening

Details: Sophie and Joe are planning a more lavish wedding in France but 'had to get married in the States to make it legal,' a People source claimed

Dog time: Joe and Sophie spent some time with their beloved dogs at a dog park in Manhattan

Getting close: The newly married couple were seen getting close on a park bench

Couple style: Joe was wearing a white shirt and shorts while Sophie wore a dress shirt and shorts
Khloe Kardashian treated her 93.4 million Instagram followers to some sizzling new swimsuit shots of her at the beach this Saturday.

The 34-year-old is enjoying a Turks And Caicos holiday with her one-year-old daughter True and 36-year-old family friend Malika Haqq.

True is Khloe's daughter by her hunky Cleveland Cavalier ex-boyfriend Tristan Thompson, who also has a two-year-old son called Prince by model Jordan Craig.

Kornrow Khloe: The youngest Kardashian sister treated her 93.4 million Instagram followers to some sizzling new swimsuit shots of her at the beach this Saturday

Jordan was still pregnant with Tristan's baby when he began running around with Khloe, to whom he was allegedly unfaithful.

It emerged Saturday that before she took up with Tristan, Jordan was briefly married to the rapper Tyga, who went on to date Khloe's half-sister Kylie Jenner.

Jordan and Tyga were married for only a month in 2010 before filing for divorce, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ.

A year after this marriage, Tyga began running around with former stripper Blac Chyna, with whom he welcomed his son King Cairo in 2012.

Having a ball: The 34-year-old is enjoying a Turks And Caicos holiday with her one-year-old daughter True and 36-year-old family friend Malika Haqq

Beach time: Khloe Kardashian hits the oean with family friends Khadijah Haqq McCray, Malika Haqq and daughter True

Chyna appeared on The Wendy Williams Show this week and explained that she and Tyga continued to live together after their breakup in order to co-parent their child.

Tyga then began dating Kylie, throwing her a 17th birthday party while he himself was 24, and around that time he allegedly threw Chyna out of the house.

Chyna went on to have a turbulent relationship with Khloe's beloved younger brother, the rotund Rob Kardashian, who has lately receded from the public eye.

Rob and Chyna co-starred on a self-titled E! reality show about their romance and welcomed a now two-year-old daughter called Dream.

The way they were: True is Khloe's daughter by her hunky Cleveland Cavalier ex-boyfriend Tristan Thompson, who also has a two-year-old son called Prince by model Jordan Craig

The couple had a sensational breakup in 2017 that included Rob's getting suspended from Instagram after he posted revenge porn of Chyna to the site.

She has been locked in legal battle with various Kardashians ever since, claiming among other allegations that the family leaned on E! to cancel Rob And Chyna.

Kylie and Tyga broke up in 2017, and she quickly started dating another rapper called Travis Scott, whose daughter Stormi she gave birth to last April.

Less than 48 hours before True was born last April, DailyMail.com broke the story of Tristan's alleged infidelity to Khloe with New York City strip club bartender Lani Blair.

The lady herself: Jordan (pictured) was still pregnant with Tristan's baby when he began running around with Khloe, to whom he was allegedly unfaithful

Khloe decided to continue her relationship with Tristan, which lasted until their widely publicized split in February of this year.

Tristan and Khloe broke up when news spread all over the Internet that he kissed Kylie's best friend Jordyn Woods at a party the weekend after Valentine's Day.

Khloe recently dished motherhood with celebrity divorce lawyer Laura Wasser, whose clientele has included Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.

Appearing on Laura's podcast Divorce Sucks!, Khloe shared that she has to be careful of her mother Kris Jenner's tendency to spoil baby True.

Throwback: It emerged Saturday that before she took up with Tristan, Jordan was briefly married to the rapper Tyga (right), who went on to date Khloe's half-sister Kylie Jenner (left)

'So, True's never had sugar. Like, she's had, like fruit - anything natural. I'm not giving her, like, Pixy Stix or whatever, you know,' said Khloe in a clip shared by TMZ.

Kris apparently thinks Khloe is 'torturing True by not allowing her to have, like, a Hershey bar or whatever,' the Revenge Body hostess told Laura.

Khloe suspects Kris would secretly give True candy given the opportunity, which is 'why I will not leave her alone with her.'
Amy Schumer radiated happiness as she skipped along a path while during a family outing on Saturday.

The new mom looked overjoyed on the sunny walk with husband Chris Fischer and two-week-old son Gene.

The couple also brought along pup Tati who at one point Amy held up to show to baby Gene in his pram.

Loving life! New mom Amy Schumer skipped and danced on an outing in a New York park on Saturday

Bliss: Amy looked so happy as she pushed baby Gene in a stroller she walked alongside her husband of just over a year, Chris Fischer

The 37-year-old comedian looked great in a maxi dress with white top and long flowing lilac skirt.

She wore her hair up and donned some tortoiseshell framed sunglasses.

Meanwhile, Amy kept it as candid as ever as she documented her postpartum life on Instagram on Friday night.

The comedian shared a revealing snap with pumps attached to each of her breasts as she kept a straight face, looking directly at the camera and asked: 'Guys what are we doing tonight?'.

Motherhood suits her: The 37-year-old comedian looked great in a maxi dress with white top and long flowing lilac skirt

Proud dad: Chris, 39, put his arm around his wife on the sunny stroll

Furry friend: The couple also brought along pup Tati who at one point Amy held up to show to baby Gene in his pram

Happy family: Amy and Chris married in February 2018 and welcomed Gene on May 5

Keeping active: The Trainwreck star kept it comfy in some sneakers

The 37-year-old actress welcomed her first child, son Gene Attell, two weeks ago with husband Chris Fischer.

In the image the star is makeup-free and wears a strapless pumping top with her hair up and two bottles attached to each nipple.

Naturally she added some funny hashtags including #ootd (outfit of the day) and #schumerpump - in reference to Bravo reality show Vanderpump Rules.

Amy also tagged Vanderpump star Stassi Schroeder, known for her 'outfit of the day' hashtag who responded 'An OOTD for the ages'.

'Guys what are we doing tonight?': Amy kept it candid as ever as she shared a photo of her using a breast pump on Friday night

Two weeks old: The 37-year-old actress welcomed her first child, son Gene Attell, two weeks ago with husband Chris Fischer

Meanwhile, on Mother's Day last week, Amy got laughs with another photo of her showing the real side of motherhood.

The Trainwreck star could be seen at the hospital in her gown and sitting in a medical room while hooked up to an IV drip.

'Milf alert 1 oclock,' she captioned the image.

Shortly after welcoming Gene, Amy praised doula Domino Kirke, the sister of actress Jemima Kirke and wife of actor Penn Badgley.

'Ok heres my post baby annoying post and my takeaway from pregnancy. Women are the s**t. Men are cool and whatever but women are f***ing warriors and capable of anything,' she began the lengthy post.

'Milf o'clock': Mother's Day last week, Amy got laughs with another photo of her showing the real side of postpartum

Shortly after welcoming Gene, Amy praised doula Domino Kirke, the sister of actress Jemima Kirk, for helping her through the pregnancy and birth

'I was lucky enough to get to have a doula. Her name @domino_kirke @carriagehousebirth what do doulas do? I dont totally know But what she did was make me and Chris feel totally secure and supported throughout my pregnancy and the birth process.'

'I really recommend getting one if you can. Doctor Brill and all the nurses and pediatricians at Lenox Hill and all the other hospitals i spent time in this year, thank you for everything.'
They got married in an intimate ceremony in Ballina, New South Wales back in 2013.

And since then, Australian model Erin McNaught and husband Example, born Elliot Gleave, both 36, have gone from strength to strength.

The couple shared heartwarming tributes to each other on Instagram while celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary on Saturday.

'For better or for worse': Model Erin McNaught and Example celebrated their six year wedding anniversary on Saturday. Pictured at their wedding in Ballina, New South Wales in May, 2013

'Married 6 years today. [I'm] not gonna ramble on about how much I love him and how amazing he is etc etc..,' Erin captioned a photo of the couple.

'If you know him well, you'll know. (For better or for worse!) Happy anniversary Eli. My soulmate.'

The British musician also commemorated the milestone, writing on his Instagram: 'Six years ago today I married my best mate.

'[We] celebrated (heavily) last night with a sold out gig at The Met, Brisbane - my new hometown.'

'My soulmate': Taking to Instagram on Saturday, Erin, 36, gushed: 'Married 6 years today. [I'm] not gonna ramble on about how much I love him and how amazing he is etc etc...'

'Six years ago today I married my best mate': The British musician, 36, also commemorated the milestone on his Instagram while gushing over the beauty

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph about their return to Australia in March, Erin said: 'When we first started living in London it was very much for selfish reasons.

'We didn't have children and it was about [my husband] Elliot's career but we always knew we would be moving back'.

The model says she did not want their young children, Evander, four, and Ennio, 19 months, in a 'concrete jungle'.

She also revealed she feared overcrowding and food shortages in the United Kingdom due to the massive population.

'We always knew we would be moving back': The couple recently moved from London to Brisbane with children (pictured) Evander, four, and Ennio, 19 months

Erin and Example said 'I do' back in May, 2013.

Their intimate ceremony was held at the Deux Belettes guesthouse, near Ballina, on the New South Wales north coast.

They were joined by 66 family members and close friends.
Photo: Contributed

Home sales and their prices continue to fall back to earth in B.C.

The British Columbia Real Estate Association reported an 18.9 per cent decline in sales in April when compared to the same month in 2018. It also found that the average price from sales that were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service dropped 6.2 per cent when compared to the year before.

B.C. home sales were essentially unchanged from March on a seasonally adjusted basis, BCREA chief economist Cameron Muir said in a press release.

Prospective home buyers continue to grapple with the decline in their purchasing power caused by federal government changes to mortgage policy.

As for the year-to-date numbers, B.C. residential sales dollar volume was down 29.8 per cent, the number of sales decreased 24.5 per cent and the average price dropped seven per cent when compared to the first four months of 2018.
Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina has pledged to fight corruption in the Indian Ocean island nation

Madagascar's anti-corruption agency has begun legal action against more than half of the country's parliamentary deputies who are suspected of taking bribes, just two weeks ahead of legislative elections, a source said Friday.

After a year-long enquiry, a dossier on 79 MPs was sent to the prosecutor's office this week "to begin legal action against the accused", the source told AFP.

The prosecutor is now expected to examine the dossier and announce whether some or all of the parliamentarians involved will be charged.

Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina has pledged to fight corruption in the Indian Ocean island nation, a former French colony.

Graft affects every level of society in one of the world's poorest countries which ranks 155 out of 180 on Transparency International's corruption perception index.

Critics say graft seeps into infrastructure projects, the judicial system and even the African nation's illicit rosewood trade as bureaucrats take their cut for services or from business deals.

Last year the corruption problem came to a head when parliamentary deputies supportive of then president Hery Rajaonarimampianina put forward a bill to reform electoral law, just months ahead of last year's presidential election.

The bill was criticised by Rajoelina and Marc Ravalomanana -- both former presidents who were running for the top office again -- who accused the head of state of attempting to change the rules in his own favour.

The opposition accused some deputies of accepting the equivalent of 12,500 euros ($14,000) to vote for the law changes, during a secret meeting at a luxury hotel in a suburb of the capital Antananarivo.

The anti-corruption body then opened an enquiry into the 79 deputies, out of the total of 151 in the national assembly, who voted in favour of the electoral reform.

The constitutional court eventually annuled part of the new electoral changes amid a political crisis built up by two months of opposition protests.

All those under suspicion are from Rajaonarimampianina's camp. If found guilty they face up to five years in jail for receiving unjustified remuneration in the exercise of their duties.

Only a handful of those targeted are seeking a new mandate in the parliamentary election on May 27.

Rajaonarimampianina was beaten in the first round of last year's presidential vote which Rajoelina won, beating Ravalomanana in the second-round vote.
Gay couples in Taiwan plan a mass wedding registration after politicians voted to legalise same-sex marriage.

The vote made Taiwan the first place in Asia with a comprehensive law both allowing and laying out the terms of same-sex marriage and followed two decades of campaigning.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, a supporter of the law, tweeted: On May 17th, 2019 in Taiwan, LoveWon. We took a big step toward true equality, and made Taiwan a better country.

On May 17th, 2019 in #Taiwan, #LoveWon. We took a big step towards true equality, and made Taiwan a better country.    Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) May 17, 2019

At least 20 same-sex couples are planning a mass marriage registration in Taipei on May 24, a spokesman for the advocacy group Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan said.

The newlyweds and hundreds of invitees will hold a mass party a day later on a blocked-off boulevard outside the presidential office, the event organiser said.

The law will give a boost to Jay Lin and his partner, who hope to marry and assume joint custody of their two two-year-old sons. They plan to register after May 24.

People cheer outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei (Chiang Ying-ying/AP)

A lot of gay parents are excited about that already, said Lin, a Taipei-based online streaming service founder.

I think once more people are married and more families are more comfortable being out in public, that will naturally have a beneficial impact on society and on peoples minds, Lin said.

Thousands of people, including same-sex couples, demonstrated on Friday morning in the rainy streets outside parliament before the vote.

Same-sex marriage supporters gather outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei (Chiang Ying-ying/AP)

Many carried rainbow-coloured placards reading The vote cannot fail.

About 50 opponents sat under a tent outside parliament and gave speeches favouring marriage between only men and women.

Religion, conservative values and political systems that discourage LGBT activism have slowed momentum toward same-sex marriage in many Asian countries from Japan through much of Southeast Asia, although Thailand is exploring the legalisation of same-sex civil partnerships.

This will help spark a debate in Thailand, and hopefully will help Thailand move faster on our own partnership bill, said Wattana Keiangpa of the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said Taiwans action should sound a clarion call, kicking off a larger movement across Asia to ensure equality for LGBT people and pro-active protection of their rights by governments throughout the region.

A same-sex marriage supporter kisses a flower (Chiang Ying-ying/AP)

Taiwans acceptance of gay and lesbian relationships began in the 1990s when leaders in todays ruling Democratic Progressive Party championed the cause to help Taiwan stand out in Asia as an open society.

Although claimed by China as its own territory, Taiwan is a self-governing democracy with a vibrant civil society dedicated to promoting rights for sexual and ethnic minorities, women, the handicapped and others.

Mainland China, ruled by the authoritarian Communist Party, remains much more conservative and officials have repeatedly discouraged even the discussion of legalising same-sex marriage.
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KG, BorgWarner Engineering Kibo RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Esslingen GmbH, BorgWarner Europe GmbH, BorgWarner Europe Holding S.a. r. l., BorgWarner Gateshead Limited, BorgWarner Germany Holding GmbH, BorgWarner Germany Holding Services GmbH, BorgWarner Germany REH GmbH, BorgWarner Germany REM GmbH, BorgWarner Germany Verwaltungs GmbH, BorgWarner Global Holding S.a. r. l., BorgWarner Heidelberg I RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Heidelberg II RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Heidelberg REH GmbH, BorgWarner Heidelberg REM GmbH, BorgWarner Holding Inc., BorgWarner Holdings Limited, BorgWarner Hungary Kft., BorgWarner IT Services Europe GmbH, BorgWarner India Holdings Inc., BorgWarner Investment Holding Inc., BorgWarner Ithaca LLC, BorgWarner Ketsch Plant RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Ketsch REH GmbH, BorgWarner Ketsch REM GmbH, BorgWarner Kft., BorgWarner Kibo RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Korea Holdings (PDS) B.V., BorgWarner Korea Holdings LLC, BorgWarner Korea LLC, BorgWarner Limited, BorgWarner Ludwigsburg GmbH, BorgWarner Ludwigsburg RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Markdorf Plant RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Markdorf REH GmbH, BorgWarner Markdorf REM GmbH, BorgWarner Massachusetts Inc., BorgWarner Mauritius Holdings Ltd., BorgWarner Mexico Holding BV, BorgWarner Mexico Holdings II LLC, BorgWarner Mexico Holdings LLC, BorgWarner Morse Systems India Private Limited, BorgWarner Morse Systems Italy S.r.l., BorgWarner Morse Systems Japan K.K., BorgWarner Morse Systems Mexico S.A. de C.V., BorgWarner Muggendorf RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner NW Inc., BorgWarner Netherlands Holdings (PDS) B.V., BorgWarner Oroszlany Kft., BorgWarner PDS (Anderson) L.L.C., BorgWarner PDS (Changnyeong) LLC, BorgWarner PDS (Indiana) Inc., BorgWarner PDS (Livonia) Inc., BorgWarner PDS (Ochang) LLC, BorgWarner PDS (Thailand) Limited, BorgWarner PDS (USA) Inc., BorgWarner PDS Brasil Produtos Automotivos Ltda., BorgWarner PDS Irapuato S. de R.L. de C.V., BorgWarner PDS Mexico Holdings S. de R.L. de C.V., BorgWarner PDS Technologies L.L.C., BorgWarner Poland Sp. z o.o., BorgWarner Pyongtaek LLC, BorgWarner Romeo Power LLC, BorgWarner Rzeszow Sp. z o.o., BorgWarner Shenglong (Ningbo) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner South Asia LLC, BorgWarner Southborough Inc., BorgWarner Spain Holding S.L.U, BorgWarner Sweden AB, BorgWarner Systems Lugo S.r.l., BorgWarner Thermal Systems Inc., BorgWarner Thermal Systems of Michigan Inc., BorgWarner TorqTransfer Systems Beijing Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Tralee Ltd., BorgWarner Transmission Products LLC, BorgWarner Transmission Systems Arnstadt GmbH, BorgWarner Transmission Systems GmbH, BorgWarner Transmission Systems Korea LLC, BorgWarner Transmission Systems Tulle S.A.S., BorgWarner Trustees Limited, BorgWarner Turbo & Emissions Systems France S.A.S., BorgWarner Turbo Systems Engineering GmbH, BorgWarner Turbo Systems GmbH, BorgWarner Turbo Systems LLC, BorgWarner Turbo Systems Worldwide Headquarters GmbH, BorgWarner Turbo Systems of Michigan Inc., BorgWarner Turbo and Emissions Systems de Mexico S.A. de C.V., BorgWarner UK Financing Ltd., BorgWarner UK Holding and Services Ltd., BorgWarner US Holding LLC, BorgWarner USA Industries L.L.C., BorgWarner United Transmission Systems Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Waterloo Inc., BorgWarner Wrexham Limited, Cascadia Motion LLC, Creon Insurance Agency Limited, Delphi Technologies, Dytech ENSA, Gustav Wahler GmbH u. Co. KG, Haldex, Kuhlman LLC, Kysor Europe Limited, M. & M. Knopf Auto Parts L.L.C., NSK-Warner (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., NSK-Warner K.K., NSK-Warner Mexico S.A. de C.V, NSK-Warner U.S.A. Inc., New PDS Corp., Old Remco Holdings L.L.C., Old Remco International Holdings L.L.C., Remy International, SeohanWarner Turbo Systems LLC, Sevcon, Sevcon New Energy Technology (Hubei) Company Limited, and Transmission Systems AutoForm LLC.
innogy SE operates as an energy company in Europe. The company operates in two divisions, Grid & Infrastructure and Retail. The Grid & Infrastructure division is involved in the operation of gas distribution network in Croatia, as well as electricity distribution network in Poland and Hungary; and water business. The Retail division sells electricity and gas. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial, and corporate customers, as well as distributors. innogy SE has a strategic partnership with Nordex. The company was formerly known as RWE International SE and changed its name to innogy SE in September 2016. innogy SE was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Essen, Germany. innogy SE is a subsidiary of E.ON Verwaltungs SE.

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Oasis Petroleum Inc., an independent exploration and production company, focuses on the acquisition and development of onshore unconventional oil and natural gas resources in the United States. It operates through Exploration and Production(E&P), and Midstream segments. The E&P segment engages in the acquisition and development of oil and gas properties. The Midstream segment offers midstream services, such as natural gas gathering, compression, processing and, gas lift supply; crude oil gathering, terminaling, and transportation; produced and flowback water gathering, and disposal; and water distribution. As of December 31, 2020, the company had 401,766 net leasehold acres in the Williston Basin; and 24,396 net leasehold acres in the Permian Basin, as well as approximately 152.2 million barrels of oil equivalent of estimated net proved reserves. The company sells its crude oil and natural gas to refiners, marketers, and other purchasers that have access to pipeline and rail facilities. Oasis Petroleum Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

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Members of the Penticton Fire Department met up with brand new Penticton community members at the South Okanagan Immigrant and Community Services Centre Friday morning for their first ever outreach program aimed at teaching immigrants about fire and safety services in town.

Jody Fotherby, the department's public educator, said the education session with roughly a dozen new residents from around the world was a wonderful opportunity.

"Language was a bit of a barrier, but it worked out just fine because they're learning English, and luckily we had people from the centre there who could speak to them and get their question across," Fotherby said. "For me personally it was a really great learning experience."

The goal was to make sure the newcomers to Canada saw the fire department as community helpers.

"We encouraged them to call the fire department if there's an emergency, we offered fire and life safety education such as home escape planning, some smoke alarm information, 9-1-1 emergencies," Fotherby explained.

She said the event was helpful both to the immigrants and the firefighters, who were eager to learn about the cultural differences the new arrivals were experiencing in Canada.

"One of the interesting issues was emergency 9-1-1, we had one student from China who was telling us it's 1-9-9 in China," Fotherby said with a laugh. "And it was interesting to learn that in some cultures, the fire departments are military members. Well we're not, we're municipal employees, and it was a real learning experience for us as well as the new people in our community."

Several young kids from the centre's daycare participated as well, who got a real kick out of the huge engine and fire equipment. One little boy got so attached, it was tough to say goodbye.

"He was so upset when the fire truck pulled away, he was sobbing, he just thought it was so great that he got to be near a fire truck and be in a fire truck," Fotherby said with a fond chuckle. "I just thought, 'This was supposed to be a fun experience!'"

They hope it will become a regular opportunity for the fire department and SOICS to get together with new community members.

"Just to let them know that 'Hey, we are community helpers, and we're all about community, and we're here for you." Fotherby said. "And that's kind of the message we want to get across."
The following companies are subsidiares of Bristol-Myers Squibb: 1096271 B.C. ULC, 345 Park LLC, A.G. Medical Services P.A., AHI Investment LLC, AbVitro LLC, Abraxis BioScience Australia Pty Ltd., Abraxis BioScience Inc., Abraxis BioScience International Holding Company Inc., Abraxis BioScience LLC, Abraxis BioScience Puerto Rico LLC, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Adnexus, Adnexus a Bristol-Myers Squibb R&D Company, Allard Labs Acquisition G.P., Amira Pharmaceuticals, Amira Pharmaceuticals Inc., Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Apothecon LLC, B-MS Generx Unlimited Company, BMS Benelux Holdings B.V., BMS Bermuda Nominees L.L.C., BMS Data Acquisition Company LLC, BMS Forex Company, BMS Holdings Sarl, BMS Holdings Spain S.L., BMS International Insurance Designated Activity Company, BMS Investco SAS, BMS Korea Holdings L.L.C., BMS Latin American Nominees L.L.C., BMS Luxembourg Partners L.L.C., BMS Omega Bermuda Holdings Finance Ltd., BMS Pharmaceutical Korea Limited, BMS Pharmaceuticals Germany Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals International Holdings Netherlands B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Korea Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Mexico Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Netherlands Holdings B.V., BMS Real Estate LLC, BMS Spain Investments LLC, BMS Strategic Portfolio Investments Holdings Inc., Blisa Acquisition G.P., Bristol (Iran) S.A., Bristol Iran Private Company Limited, Bristol Laboratories Inc., Bristol Laboratories International S.A., Bristol Laboratories Medical Information Systems Inc., Bristol-Myers (Andes) L.L.C., Bristol-Myers (Private) Limited, Bristol-Myers Middle East S.A.L., Bristol-Myers Overseas Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Israel) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (NZ) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Proprietary) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Singapore) Pte. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Taiwan) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (West Indies) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb A.E., Bristol-Myers Squibb Aktiebolag, Bristol-Myers Squibb Argentina S. R. L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Australia Pty. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Axia Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb B.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Belgium S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Business Services Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada International Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Delta Company Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Denmark Filial of Bristol-Myers Squibb AB, Bristol-Myers Squibb EMEA Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Egypt LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Epsilon Holdings Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Ltda., Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Portuguesa S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb GesmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb GmbH & Co. KGaA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holding Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings 2002 Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Germany Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Pharma Ltd. Liability Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Ilaclari Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb India Pvt. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Company Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Investco L.L.C., Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K., Bristol-Myers Squibb Kft., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg International S.C.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb MEA GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Manufacturing Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Marketing Services S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Middle East & Africa FZ-LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Norway Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Nutricionales de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Peru S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (HK) Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (Thailand) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Holding Company LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Ventures Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Polska Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Products SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership Puerto Rico, Bristol-Myers Squibb Romania S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.A.U., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Service Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Services Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Spol. s r.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Theta Finance Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Trustees Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Colombia S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Costa Rica Sociedad Anonima, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Guatemala S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb/Astrazeneca EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership, Bristol-Myers de Venezuela S.C.A., CHT I LLC, CHT II LLC, CHT III LLC, CHT IV LLC, CR Finance Company LLC, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celem LLC, Celem Ltd., Celgene, Celgene A.B., Celgene AS, Celgene Ab (Finland), Celgene Alpine Investment Co. II LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. III LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. LLC, Celgene ApS, Celgene B.V., Celgene BVBA, Celgene Brasil Produtos Farmaceuticos Ltda., Celgene CAR LLC, Celgene CAR Ltd., Celgene Chemicals Sarl, Celgene China Holdings LLC, Celgene Co., Celgene Corporation, Celgene Distribution B.V., Celgene EngMab GmbH, Celgene Europe B.V., Celgene Europe Limited, Celgene European Investment Company LLC, Celgene Financing Company LLC, Celgene Global Holdings Sarl, Celgene GmbH [Austria], Celgene GmbH [Germany], Celgene GmbH [Switzerland], Celgene Holdings East Corporation, Celgene Holdings II Sarl, Celgene Holdings III Sarl, Celgene Ilac Pazarlama ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Celgene Inc., Celgene International Holdings Corporation, Celgene International II Sarl, Celgene International III Sarl, Celgene International Inc., Celgene International Sarl, Celgene K.K., Celgene Kft., Celgene Limited [Hong Kong], Celgene Limited [Ireland], Celgene Limited [New Zealand], Celgene Limited [Taiwan], Celgene Limited [UK], Celgene Logistics Sarl, Celgene Ltd, Celgene Luxembourg Sarl, Celgene Management Sarl, Celgene NJ Investment Co, Celgene Netherlands B.V., Celgene Netherlands Investment B.V., Celgene Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Celgene Pte. Ltd., Celgene Pty Ltd, Celgene Puerto Rico Distribution LLC, Celgene Quanticel Research Inc, Celgene R&D Sarl, Celgene RIVOT LLC, Celgene RIVOT Ltd., Celgene RIVOT SRL, Celgene Receptos Limited, Celgene Receptos Sarl, Celgene Research Incubator At Summit West LLC, Celgene Research S.L.U., Celgene Research and Development Company LLC, Celgene Research and Development I ULC, Celgene Research and Development II LLC, Celgene Research and Investment Company II LLC, Celgene S. de R.L. de C.V., Celgene S.L.U., Celgene S.R.L., Celgene SAS, Celgene Sarl AU, Celgene Sdn Bhd, Celgene Services Sarl, Celgene Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Celgene Sp. Z.o.o., Celgene Sro [Czech Republic], Celgene Summit Investment Co, Celgene Switzerland Holding Sarl, Celgene Switzerland II LLC, Celgene Switzerland Investment Sarl, Celgene Switzerland LLC, Celgene Switzerland Sarl, Celgene Tri A Holdings Ltd., Celgene Tri Sarl, Celgene UK Distribution Limited, Celgene UK Holdings Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing II Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing III Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing Limited, Celgene d.o.o., Celgene sro [Slovakia], Celmed LLC, Celmed Ltd., ConvaTec Divestiture, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals AB, Crosp Ltd., Delinia Inc., Deuteria Pharmaceuticals Inc., DuPont Pharmaceuticals, E. R. Squibb & Sons Inter-American Corporation, E. R. Squibb & Sons L.L.C., E. R. Squibb & Sons Limited, EWI Corporation, EngMab Sarl, F-star Alpha, FermaVir Pharmaceuticals L.L.C., FermaVir Research L.L.C., Flexus Biosciences, Flexus Biosciences Inc., Forbius, Galecto Biotech, GenPharm International L.L.C., Gloucester Pharmaceuticals LLC, Grove Insurance Company Ltd., Heyden Farmaceutica Portuguesa Limitada, IFM Therapeutics, Impact Biomedicines Inc., Inhibitex, Inhibitex L.L.C., Innate Tumor Immunity Inc., JuMP Holdings LLC, Juno Therapeutics GmbH, Juno Therapeutics Inc., Kosan Biosciences, Kosan Biosciences Incorporated, Linson Investments Limited, Mead Johnson (Manufacturing) Jamaica Limited, Mead Johnson Jamaica Ltd., Medarex, Morris Avenue Investment II LLC, Morris Avenue Investment LLC, MyoKardia, O.o.o. Bristol-Myers Squibb, Oy Bristol-Myers Squibb (Finland) AB, Padlock Therapeutics, Padlock Therapeutics Inc., Pharmion LLC, Princeton Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Receptos LLC, Receptos Services LLC, RedoxTherapies Inc., Route 22 Real Estate Holding Corporation, SPV A Holdings ULC, Seamair Insurance DAC, Signal Pharmaceuticals LLC, Sino-American Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Societe Francaise de Complements Alimentaires(S.O.F.C.A.), Squibb Middle East S.A., Summit West Celgene LLC, Swords Laboratories, VentiRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Westwood-Intrafin SA, Westwood-Squibb Pharmaceuticals Inc., X-Body Inc., ZymoGenetics, ZymoGenetics Inc., ZymoGenetics LLC, ZymoGenetics Paymaster LLC, iPierian, and iPierian Inc..
The following companies are subsidiares of Abbott Laboratories: 3A Nutrition (Vietnam) Company Limited, ABON Biopharm (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AGA Medical Belgium, AGA Medical Corporation, AGA Medical Holdings Inc., ALR Holdings, AML Medical LLC, APK Advanced Medical Technologies LLC, ATS Bermuda Holdings Limited, ATS Laboratories Inc., Abbott, Abbott (Jiaxing) Nutrition Co. Ltd., Abbott (UK) Finance Limited, Abbott (UK) Holdings Limited, Abbott AG, Abbott Asia Holdings Limited, Abbott Asia Investments Limited, Abbott Australasia Holdings Limited, Abbott Australasia Pty Ltd, Abbott B.V., Abbott Bahamas Overseas Businesses Corporation, Abbott Belgian Investments, Abbott Bermuda Holding Ltd., Abbott Biologicals B.V., Abbott Biologicals LLC, Abbott Bulgaria Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Capital India Limited, Abbott Cardiovascular Inc., Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc., Abbott Delaware LLC, Abbott Diabetes Care Inc., Abbott Diabetes Care Limited, Abbott Diabetes Care Sales Corporation, Abbott Diagnostics GmbH, Abbott Diagnostics International Ltd., Abbott Diagnostics Technologies AS, Abbott Doral Investments S.L., Abbott Equity Holdings Unlimited, Abbott Equity Investments LLC, Abbott Established Products Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Finance Company SA, Abbott Financial Holdings SRL, Abbott France S.A.S., Abbott Fund Tanzania Limited, Abbott Gesellschaft m.b.H., Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, Abbott Health Products LLC, Abbott Healthcare (Puerto Rico) Ltd., Abbott Healthcare B.V., Abbott Healthcare Costa Rica S.A., Abbott Healthcare LLC, Abbott Healthcare Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Healthcare Private Limited, Abbott Healthcare Products B.V., Abbott Healthcare Products Ltd, Abbott Holding (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding GmbH, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited Luxembourg S.C.S., Abbott Holdings B.V., Abbott Holdings LLC, Abbott Holdings Limited, Abbott Holdings Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Hungary Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Iberian Investments (2) Limited, Abbott Iberian Investments Limited, Abbott India Limited, Abbott Informatics Asia Pacific Limited, Abbott Informatics Canada Inc, Abbott Informatics Corporation, Abbott Informatics Europe Limited, Abbott Informatics France, Abbott Informatics Germany GmbH, Abbott Informatics Netherlands B.V., Abbott Informatics Singapore Pte. Limited, Abbott Informatics Spain S.A., Abbott Informatics Technologies Ltd, Abbott International Corporation, Abbott International Enterprises Ltd., Abbott International Holdings Limited, Abbott International LLC, Abbott International Luxembourg S.ar.l., Abbott Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Ireland, Abbott Ireland Financing Designated Activity Company, Abbott Ireland Limited, Abbott Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Abbott Knoll Investments B.V., Abbott Korea Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Bangladesh) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco (Dos) SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Laboratories (Mozambique) Limitada, Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Philippines), Abbott Laboratories (Puerto Rico) Incorporated, Abbott Laboratories (Singapore) Private Limited, Abbott Laboratories A/S, Abbott Laboratories Argentina Sociedad Anonima, Abbott Laboratories B.V., Abbott Laboratories C.A., Abbott Laboratories Finance B.V., Abbott Laboratories GmbH, Abbott Laboratories Inc., Abbott Laboratories International LLC, Abbott Laboratories Ireland Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited - Laboratoires Abbott Limitee, Abbott Laboratories NZ Limited, Abbott Laboratories Pacific Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Laboratories Products B.V., Abbott Laboratories Residential Development Fund Inc., Abbott Laboratories S.A., Abbott Laboratories SA, Abbott Laboratories Services Corp., Abbott Laboratories Slovakia s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trustee Company Limited, Abbott Laboratories Uruguay S.A., Abbott Laboratories Vascular Enterprises, Abbott Laboratories d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories de Chile Limitada, Abbott Laboratories de Colombia S.A., Abbott Laboratories de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Abbott Laboratories druzba za farmacijo in diagnostiko d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories(Hellas) Societe Anonyme, Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios del Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Abbott Laboratuarlari Ithalat Ihracat ve Ticaret Ltd.Sti, Abbott Laboratorios Lda, Abbott Laboratorios do Brasil Ltda., Abbott Limited Egypt LLC, Abbott Logistics B.V., Abbott Management GmbH, Abbott Management LLC, Abbott Manufacturing Singapore Private Limited, Abbott Mature Products International Unlimited Company, Abbott Mature Products Management Limited, Abbott Medical (Hong Kong) Limited, Abbott Medical (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Medical (Portugal) Distribuicao de Produtos Medicos Lda, Abbott Medical (Schweiz) AG, Abbott Medical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Australia Pty. Ltd., Abbott Medical Austria Ges.m.b.H., Abbott Medical Balkan d.o.o. Beograd (Novi Beograd), Abbott Medical Belgium, Abbott Medical Canada Inc./ Medicale Abbott Canada Inc., Abbott Medical Danmark A/S, Abbott Medical Devices Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Espana S.A., Abbott Medical Estonia OU, Abbott Medical Finland Oy, Abbott Medical France SAS, Abbott Medical GmbH, Abbott Medical Hellas Limited Liability Trading Company, Abbott Medical Ireland Limited, Abbott Medical Italia S.p.A., Abbott Medical Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Korea Limited, Abbott Medical Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Medical Laboratories LTD, Abbott Medical Nederland B.V., Abbott Medical New Zealand Limited, Abbott Medical Norway AS, Abbott Medical Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Medical Sweden AB, Abbott Medical Taiwan Co., Abbott Medical U.K. Limited, Abbott Medical spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Middle East S.A.R.L., Abbott Molecular Inc., Abbott Morocco SARL, Abbott Nederland C.V., Abbott Nederland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Netherlands Investments B.V., Abbott Norge AS, Abbott Nutrition Limited, Abbott Nutrition Manufacturing Inc., Abbott Operations Singapore Pte. Ltd., Abbott Operations Uruguay S.R.L., Abbott Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Overseas Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Overseas S.A., Abbott Oy, Abbott Point of Care Canada Limited, Abbott Point of Care Inc., Abbott Poland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Procurement LLC, Abbott Products (Philippines) Inc., Abbott Products (Spain) S.L., Abbott Products Algerie EURL, Abbott Products B.V., Abbott Products Distribution SAS, Abbott Products Egypt LLC, Abbott Products Limited, Abbott Products Limited Liability Company, Abbott Products Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Products Operations AG, Abbott Products Operations LLC, Abbott Products Romania S.R.L., Abbott Products Tunisie S.A.R.L., Abbott Products Unlimited Company, Abbott Resources Inc., Abbott Resources International Inc., Abbott S.r.l., Abbott Saudi Arabia Trading Company, Abbott Scandinavia Aktiebolag, Abbott Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, Abbott South Africa Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Strategic Opportunities Limited, Abbott Trading Company Inc., Abbott Universal LLC, Abbott Vascular Devices (2) Limited, Abbott Vascular Devices Limited, Abbott Vascular Inc., Abbott Vascular Instruments Deutschland GmbH, Abbott Vascular International, Abbott Vascular Japan Co. Ltd, Abbott Vascular Limitada, Abbott Vascular Netherlands B.V., Abbott Vascular Solutions Inc., Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott West Indies Limited, Abbott drustvo sa ogranicenom odgovornoscu za trgovinu i usluge, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc., Alere, Alere (Shanghai) Diagnostics Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Healthcare Management Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Medical Sales Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd., Alere A/S, Alere AB, Alere AS, Alere AS Holdings Limited, Alere BBI Holdings Limited, Alere Bangladesh Limited, Alere China Co. Ltd., Alere Colombia S.A., Alere Connect LLC, Alere Connected Health Limited, Alere Connected Health Ltd., Alere Diagnostics GmbH, Alere DoA Holding GmbH, Alere GmbH, Alere GmbH (Austria), Alere GmbH (Germany), Alere HK Holdings Ltd., Alere Health B.V., Alere Health BVBA, Alere Health Corp., Alere Health Sdn Bhd, Alere Health Services B.V., Alere Healthcare (Pty) Limited, Alere Healthcare Connections Limited, Alere Healthcare Inc., Alere Healthcare Nigeria Limited, Alere Healthcare S.L., Alere Holdco Inc., Alere Holding GmbH, Alere Holdings Bermuda Limited, Alere Holdings Pty Limited, Alere Home Monitoring Inc., Alere Inc., Alere Informatics Inc., Alere International Holding Corp., Alere International Limited, Alere Lda, Alere Limited, Alere Limited (New Zealand), Alere Medical BVBA, Alere Medical Co. Ltd., Alere Medical Pakistan (Private) Limited, Alere Medical Private Limited, Alere North America LLC, Alere Oy Ab, Alere Philippines Inc., Alere Phoenix ACQ Inc., Alere Pte Ltd, Alere S.A., Alere S.r.l., Alere S/A, Alere SAS, Alere San Diego Inc., Alere Scarborough Inc., Alere Spain S.L., Alere Switzerland GmbH, Alere Technologies GmbH, Alere Technologies Holdings Limited, Alere Technologies Limited, Alere Toxicology AB, Alere Toxicology Inc., Alere Toxicology S.r.l., Alere Toxicology Services Inc., Alere Toxicology plc, Alere UK Holdings Limited, Alere UK Subco Limited, Alere ULC, Alere US Holdings LLC, Alere s.r.o., Alisoc Investment & Co, Amedica Biotech Inc., Ameditech Inc., American Generics S.A.S., American Medical Supplies Inc., American Pharmacist Inc., Antares S.A., Apica Cardiovascular Limited, Aquagestion Capacitacion S.A., Aquagestion S.A., Arriva Medical LLC, Arriva Medical Philippines Inc., Arvis Investments Limited, Atlas Farmaceutica S.A., Avee Laboratories Inc., Axis-Shield AD III AS, Axis-Shield AD IV AS, Axis-Shield AS, Axis-Shield Diagnostics Limited, Axis-Shield Ltd., BBI Animal Health Limited, BBI Diagnostics Group 2 Public Limited Company, Banco de Vida S.A., Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions Inc., Bioalgae S.A., Biohealth LLC, Biosite Incorporated, Bosque Bonito S.A., Branan Medical Corporation, Brandex Europe C.V., British Colloids Limited, CFR Chile S.A., CFR Interamericas EL Salvador Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, CFR Interamericas Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, CFR Interamericas Panama S.A., CFR Pharmaceuticals, California Property Holdings III LLC, CardioMEMS LLC, Caripharm Inc., Cephea Valve Technologies, Cephea Valve Technologies Inc., Colibri Medical Aktiebolag, Comercializadora y Distribuidora CFR Interamericas Honduras S.A., Concateno South Limited, Concateno UK Limited, Consorcio Tecnologico en Biomedicina Clinico-Molecular S.A., Continuum Services LLC, Cozart Limited, Dextech S.A., Diagnostik Nord GmbH, Distribuciones Uquifa S.A.S., Domesco Medical Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation, Duphar International Research B.V., Endocardial Solutions, Epocal (US) Inc, Esprit de Vie S.A., European Chemicals & Co, European Drug Testing Service EDTS AB, European Services S.A., Evalve Inc., Evalve International Inc., FARMINDUSTRIA S.A., Fada Pharma Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Fadapharma del Ecuador S.A., Farmaceutica Mont Blanc S.L., Farmacologia Em Aquicultura Veterinaria Ltda., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV Ecuador S.A., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV S.A., Fernwood Investment S.A., First Check Diagnostics LLC, Focus Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Forensics Limited, Forestcreek Overseas S.A., Fournier Pharma Corp., Fournier Pharma GmbH, Fournier Pharmaceuticals Limited, Framed B.V., Gabmed GmbH, Garden Hills LLC, Global Analytical Development LLC, Globapharm & CO LP, Glomed Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Golnorth Investments S.A., Gynocare Limited, Gynopharm Sociedad Anonima, Gynopharm de Centroamerica S.A., Gynopharm de Venezuela C.A., Hi-Tronics Designs Inc., IDEV Technologies Inc., IG Innovations Limited, IMTC Finance B.V., IMTC Holdings B.V., IMTC Technologies Inc., Ibis Biosciences LLC, Igloo Zone Chile S.A., Igloo Zone S.L., Inmobiliaria Naknek S.A.C., Innovacon Inc., Instant Tech Subsidiary Acquisition Inc., Instant Technologies Inc., Instituto de Criopreservacion de Chile S.A., Integrated Vascular Systems Inc., Inverness Canadian Acquisition Corporation, Inverness Medical (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Australia Pty Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Hong Kong Limited, Inverness Medical Innovations SK LLC, Inverness Medical Investments LLC, Inverness Medical LLC, Inverness Medical Shimla Private Limited, Inversiones K2 SpA, Inversiones Komodo S.R.L., Ionian Technologies LLC, Irvine Biomedical Inc., Kalila Medical, Kangshenyunga S.A., Knoll UK Investments Unlimited, LLC VeroInPharm, Laboratoires Fournier S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano del Ecuador S.A., Laboratorio Internacional Argentino S.A., Laboratorio Synthesis S.A.S., Laboratorios Lafi Limitada, Laboratorios Naturmedik S.A.S., Laboratorios Pauly Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Laboratorios Recalcine S.A., Laboratorios Transpharm S.A., Laboratory Specialists of America Inc., Lafrancol Dominicana S.A.S., Lafrancol Guatemala S.A. Sociedad Anonima, Lafrancol Internacional S.A.S, Lafrancol Peru S.R.L, Lake Forest Investments LLC, Lightlab Imaging Inc., Limited Liability Company Abbott Laboratories, Limited Liability Company Abbott Ukraine, Limited Liability Company VEROPHARM, Lung Fung Hong (China) Limited, Mansbridge Pharmaceuticals Limited, MediGuide LLC, MediGuide Ltd., Medscreen Holdings Limited, Metropolitana Farmaceutica S.A., Midwest Properties LLC, Murex Argentina S.A., Murex Biotech Limited, Murex Biotech South Africa, Murex Diagnostics Inc., Murex Diagnostics International Inc., Natural Supplement Association LLC, Negocios Denia Sociedad Anonima, Neosalud S.A.C., Nether Pharma N.P. C.V., NeuroTherm LLC, Normann Pharma-Handels GmbH, North Shore Properties Inc., Novamedi S.A., Novasalud.com S.A., Nutravida S.A., OJSC Voronezhkhimpharm, Omnilab Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OptiMedica, Orgenics France SAS, Orgenics International Holdings B.V., Orgenics Ltd., PBM-Selfcare LLC, PDD II LLC, PDD LLC, PT Alere Health, PT. Abbott Indonesia, PT. Abbott Products Indonesia, Pacesetter Inc., Pantech (RF) (PTY) LTD, Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., Penagos S.A., Pharma International Sociedad Anonima, Pharmaceutical Technologies (Pharmatech) S.A., Pharmatech Boliviana S.A., Polygon Labs S.A., Quality Assured Services Inc., RF Medical Holdings LLC, RTL Holdings Inc., Ramses Business Corp., Recben Xenerics Farmaceutica Limitada, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc., Rich Horizons International Limited, SC VEROPHARM, SJ Medical Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., SJM International Inc., SJM Thunder Holding Company, SPDH Inc., Saboya Enterprises Corporation, Salviac Limited, Scanax AS, Sealing Solutions Inc., Selfcare Technology Inc., Shandong Abbott Dairy Product Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Medical Devices Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Si Fa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sinensix & Co., Spinal Modulation LLC, St. Jude Medical, St. Jude Medical AB, St. Jude Medical ATG Inc., St. Jude Medical Argentina S.A., St. Jude Medical Asia Pacific Holdings GK, St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Brasil Ltda., St. Jude Medical Business Services Inc., St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Colombia Ltda., St. Jude Medical Coordination Center, St. Jude Medical Costa Rica Limitada, St. Jude Medical Europe Inc., St. Jude Medical Export Ges.m.b.H., St. Jude Medical GVA Sarl, St. Jude Medical Holdings B.V., St. Jude Medical India Private Limited, St. Jude Medical International Holding, St. Jude Medical LLC, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings II, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings NT, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings SMI S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings TC S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Mexico Business Services S. de R.L. de C.V., St. Jude Medical Middle East DMCC, St. Jude Medical Operations (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico LLC, St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., St. Jude Medical Systems AB, St. Jude Medical Turkey Medikal Urunler Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Standard Diagnostics Inc., Standing Stone LLC, Swan-Myers Incorporated, TC1 LLC, Tendyne Holdings Inc., Tendyne Medical Inc., Thoratec Delaware LLC, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec LLC, Thoratec Switzerland GmbH, Tobal Products Incorporated, Topera GmbH in Liquidation, Topera Inc., Tremora S.A., Tuenir S.A., TwistDx, UAB Abbott Laboratories, UAB Abbott Medical Lithuania, Union-Madison Realty Company Inc., Unipath Limited (dba Alere International/aka Cranfield), Unipath Management Limited, Unipath Pension Trustee Limited, Veropharm, Veropharm Limited Liability Partnership, Vida Cell Inversiones S.A., Vida Cell S.A., Vivalsol, W&R Pharma Handels GmbH, Western Pharmaceuticals S.A., X Technologies Inc., Yissum Holding Limited, ZonePerfect Nutrition Company, eScreen Canada ULC, eScreen Inc.,      ( ), and Abbott Laboratories Baltics.
There is not enough analysis data for Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin Societe en commandite par actions.

4.7 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin Societe en commandite par actions has received 75 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

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Community Sentiment Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin Societe en commandite par actions has received 70.09% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin Societe en commandite par actions and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe MGDDF will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe MGDDF will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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Our portfolio of high quality UK commercial property is focused on London Offices and Retail around the UK. We own or manage a portfolio valued at A13.7bn (British Land share: A10.3bn) as at 30 September 2020 making us one of Europe's largest listed real estate investment companies. Our strategy is to provide places which meet the needs of our customers and respond to changing lifestyles - Places People Prefer. We do this by creating great environments both inside and outside our buildings and use our scale and placemaking skills to enhance and enliven them. This expands their appeal to a broader range of occupiers, creating enduring demand and driving sustainable, long term performance. Our Offices portfolio comprises three office-led campuses in central London as well as high quality standalone buildings and accounts for 65% of our portfolio. Our Retail portfolio is focused on retail parks and shopping centres, and accounts for 31% of our portfolio. Increasingly our focus is on providing a mix of uses and this is most evident at Canada Water, our 53 acre redevelopment opportunity where we have plans to create a new neighbourhood for London. Sustainability is embedded throughout our business. Our places, which are designed to meet high sustainability standards, become part of local communities, provide opportunities for skills development and employment and promote wellbeing. In April 2016 British Land received the Queen's Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development, the UK's highest accolade for business success for economic, social and environmental achievements over a period of five years.

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The following companies are subsidiares of AMETEK: AMETEK CTS GmbH, AMETEK Germany GmbH, AMETEK Hong Kong Private Limited, AMETEK Instruments Group UK Limited, AMETEK Italia S.r.l., Amekai Singapore Private Ltd., Amekai Taiwan Co. Ltd., Haydon Linear Motors (Changzhou) Co. Ltd., SPECTRO Analytical Instruments Inc., Tubes Holdco Limited, AEM Limited, AIP/MPM Funding Inc., AIP/MPM Holdings Inc., AMESP USVI LLC, AMETEK (Barbados) SRL, AMETEK (Bermuda) Ltd., AMETEK (GB) Limited, AMETEK (Thailand) Co. Ltd., AMETEK Aegis Inc., AMETEK Aerospace & Defense Group UK Ltd, AMETEK Aerospace & Power Holdings Inc., AMETEK Aerospace LLC, AMETEK Aircraft Parts & Accessories Inc., AMETEK Airtechnology Group Limited., AMETEK Ameron LLC, AMETEK Arizona Instrument LLC, AMETEK B.V., AMETEK CTS Europe GmbH, AMETEK CTS US Inc., AMETEK Canada 2 ULC, AMETEK Canada 3 ULC., AMETEK Canada Limited Partnership, AMETEK Co. Ltd., AMETEK Commercial Enterprise Shanghai, AMETEK Costa Rica Sociedad De Responsabilidad Limitada, AMETEK Customer Service S. de R. L. de C.v., AMETEK DE LLC, AMETEK DELCO Inc., AMETEK Denmark A/S, AMETEK Do Brasil Ltda., AMETEK EMG Holdings Inc., AMETEK Elektromotory s.r.o, AMETEK Engineered Materials Sdn. Bhd., AMETEK Europe L.L.C., AMETEK European Holdings GmbH, AMETEK European Holdings Limited, AMETEK Finland Oy, AMETEK Global Tubes LLC, AMETEK Grundbesitz GmbH, AMETEK HSA Inc., AMETEK Haydon Kerk Inc., AMETEK Holdings B.V. also registered as AMETEK Holdings B.V. Delaware Inc.1, AMETEK Holdings SARL, AMETEK Holdings de Mexico S. de R.L., AMETEK Hughes-Treitler, AMETEK Industrial Technology (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., AMETEK Instrumentos S.L., AMETEK Instruments India Private Limited, AMETEK Korea Co. Ltd., AMETEK Lamb Motores de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., AMETEK Land Inc., AMETEK Latin America Holding Company S.a r.l., AMETEK MRO Florida Inc., AMETEK Material Analysis Holdings GmbH, AMETEK Mexico Holding Company LLC, AMETEK Motors Asia Pte. Ltd., AMETEK Nordic AB, AMETEK PIP Holdings Inc., AMETEK Precitech Inc., AMETEK Programmable Power Inc., AMETEK S.A.S., AMETEK S.r.l., AMETEK SCP (Barrow) Limited, AMETEK SCP Inc., AMETEK Singapore Private Ltd., AMETEK Taiwan Co. Ltd., AMETEK Technical & Industrial Products Inc., AMETEK Thermal Systems Inc., AMETEK d.o.o. Subotica., Abaco Systems, Advanced Industries, Advanced Measurement Technology Inc., Aero Components International Corp., Airtechnology Pension Trustees Limited, Akron Standard Bestry (Guangzhou) Measurement Equipment Co. Ltd., Amekai (BVI) Ltd., Amekai Meter (Xiamen) Co. Ltd., Ameron Global Inc, Ametek Advanced Industries Inc., Ametek-Reading Alloys Inc., Amptek Inc., Antavia SAS, Atlas Material Holdings Corporation, Atlas Material Testing Technology (India) Private Limited, Atlas Material Testing Technology BV, Atlas Material Testing Technology GmbH, Atlas Material Testing Technology L.L.C., Atlas Material Testing Technology LLC, Atlas Netherlands AcquisitionCo Cooperatief U.A., Avicenna Technology Inc., Avtech Avionics & Instruments LLC, B&S Aircraft, Brookfield Engineering, CAMECA Instruments Inc., CAMECA SAS, Cameca, Chandler Instruments Company L.L.C., Chandler Instruments Company LLC, Cognex - Surface Inspection Systems Division, Coining Holding Company, Coining Inc., Controls Southeast Inc., Crank, Creaform, Creaform Inc., Creaform Shanghai Ltd., Creaform Software Inc., Creaform U.S.A. Inc., Crystal Engineering Corp, Crystal Engineering Corporation, Direl GmbH, Direl Holding GmbH, Drake Air, Drake Air Inc., Drexelbrook Engineering Company, Dunkermotoren GmbH, Dunkermotoren Taicang Co. Ltd., Dunkermotoren USA Inc., EDAX Inc., EDAX LLC, EGS Automation, EMA Corp., EMA Finance 1 LLC, EMA Finance 2 LLC, EMA Holdings LLC, EMA Holdings UK Limited, EMA MX LLC, EMtest, ESP Holdco Inc., ESP/SurgeX, Electronic Systems Protection Inc., FMH Aerospace Corp., FMH Holdings Corp., FMH Intermediate LLC, Fine Tubes Limited, Forza Silicon Corporation, Frameflair Limited, GS Electric, Gatan, Gatan Inc., Gatan Service Corporation, Gatan U.K. Limited, Glasseal Products Inc., Global Tubes, Grabner Instruments Messtechnik Gesellschaft m.b.H., HCC Industries Inc., HDR Power Systems LLC, HS Foils Oy, Hamilton Precision Metals Inc., Hamilton Precision Metals of Delaware Inc., Haydon Kerk Motion, Haydon Kerk Motion Solutions Inc., Hermetic Seal Corporation, High Standard Aviation, Imago Scientific Instruments, IntelliPower Inc., Land Instruments International Ltd., Laserage Technology Corp, Luphos GmbH, MCG Acquisition Corporation, MOCON Europe A/S, MOCON Inc., Magnetrol International, Micro-Poise Industrial Equipment (Beijing) Ltd., Micro-Poise Measurement Systems LLC, Micro-Poise Measurement Systems LLC, Milmega Limited, Mocon, Motec GmbH, Motec GmbH, Motion Control Group, Muirhead Aerospace Limited, NSI-MI Technologies, Newage Testing Instruments Inc., Nu Instruments Asia Ltd., Nu Instruments Limited, Nu Instruments Ltd, O'Brien Corp, OBCORP LLC., OOO AMETEK, Pacific Design Technologies Inc., Patriot Sensors & Controls Corporation, PennEngineering Motion Technologies, Petrolab L.L.C., Powervar, Powervar Deutschland GmbH, Powervar Inc., Powervar Mexico S.A. de C.V., Precitech, Quizix Inc., RETE Holding GmbH, Rauland-Borg, Rauland-Borg Corporation, Rauland-Borg Corporation of Florida, Reichert Inc., Reichert Technologies, Responder Systems Corporation, Rotron Inc., Rotron Incorporated, SPECTRO Analytical Instruments (Pty) Ltd, SPECTRO Analytical Instruments GmbH, SSH Non-Destructive Testing Inc., Sealtron Inc., Six Brookside Drive Corporation., SkyBitz Inc., SkyBitz Petroleum Logistics LLC, SkyBitz Tank Monitoring Corporation, Solartron Group Ltd., Solartron Metrology Limited, Solidstate Controls Inc. de Argentina S.R.L., Solidstate Controls LLC, Solidstate Controls LLC, Solidstate Controls Mexico S.A. de C.V., Sound Com Corporation, Southern Aero Partners Inc., Southern Aeroparts Inc, Spectro Analytical Instruments Inc., Spectro Holdings Inc., Spectro Inc., Spectro International Holdings Inc., Spectro Scientific, Spectro Scientific (Beijing) Inc., Spectro Scientific Inc., Sterling Ultra Precision Inc., Sunpower, Sunpower Inc., Superior Tube Company Inc., TPM Russia Inc., Taylor Hobson Holdings Limited, Taylor Hobson Inc., Taylor Hobson Limited, Taylor Hobson Trustees Limited, Technical Manufacturing Corp, Technical Manufacturing Corporation, Technical Services for Electronics Inc., Telular Corporation, Telular Corporation, Teseq AG, Thelsha Technical Services, Tritex Corporation, Unispec Marketing Pvt. Ltd., Universal Analyzers Inc., VTI Instruments Corporation, VTI Instruments Private Limited, VTI Integrated Systems Private Limited, Vision Research Europe B.V., Vision Research Inc., Vision Research srl, Zemetrics Inc., Zygo Corporation, Zygo Pte Ltd., Zygo Richmond Corporation, and ZygoLamda Metrology Instrument (Shanghai) Co. Ltd..
Photo: The Canadian Press U.S. Navy, Lt. Nicholas Miller, from Spring, Texas, and Lt. Sean Ryan, from Gautier, Miss., launch an F-18 Super Hornet from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. On Saturday, May 18, 2019, U.S. diplomats warned that commercial airliners flying over the wider Persian Gulf faced a risk of being "misidentified" amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

U.S. diplomats warned Saturday that commercial airliners flying over the wider Persian Gulf faced a risk of being "misidentified" amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

The warning relayed by U.S. diplomatic posts from the Federal Aviation Administration underlined the risks the current tensions pose to a region crucial to global air travel. It came as Lloyd's of London warned of increasing risks to maritime shipping in the region.

Meanwhile, oil giant ExxonMobil began evacuating staff from Basra, Iraq, where the U.S. Consulate has been closed for months following a rocket attack America blamed on Shiite militias backed by Iran, local authorities said. The island nation of Bahrain also ordered its citizens out of Iraq and Iran over regional tensions.

Concerns about a possible conflict have flared since the White House ordered warships and bombers to the region to counter an alleged, unexplained threat from Iran that has seen America order nonessential diplomatic staff out of Iraq.

President Donald Trump since has sought to soften his tone. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also stressed Saturday that Iran is "not seeking war," comments seemingly contradicted by the head of the Revolutionary Guard, who declared an ongoing "intelligence war" between the nations.

Regional tensions remain high. Authorities allege that a sabotage operation targeted four oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, and Iran-aligned rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for a drone attack on a crucial Saudi oil pipeline.

Saudi Arabia directly blamed Iran for the drone assault, and a local newspaper linked to the Al Saud royal family called on Thursday for America to launch "surgical strikes" on Tehran.

This all takes root in Trump's decision last year to withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers and impose wide-reaching sanctions. Iran just announced it would begin backing away from terms of the deal, setting a 60-day deadline for Europe to come up with new terms or it would begin enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels. Tehran long has insisted it does not seek nuclear weapons, though the West fears its program could allow it to build atomic bombs.

The order relayed Saturday by U.S. diplomats in Kuwait and the UAE came from an FAA Notice to Airmen published late Thursday in the U.S. It said that all commercial aircraft flying over the waters of Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman needed to be aware of "heightened military activities and increased political tension."

This presents "an increasing inadvertent risk to U.S. civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or misidentification," the warning said. It also said aircraft could experience interference with its navigation instruments and communications jamming "with little to no warning."

The Persian Gulf has become a major gateway for East-West travel in the aviation industry. Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, home to Emirates, is the world's busiest for international travel, while long-haul carriers Etihad and Qatar Airways also operate in the region.

Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways all said they were aware of the notice and their operations were unaffected. Oman Air did not respond to a request for comment Saturday about the warning.
Experian plc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a technology company. The company operates through two segments, Business-to-Business and Consumer Services. It provides data services to identify and understand their customers, as well as to manage the risks related with lending. The company also offers analytical and decision tools that enhance businesses to manage their customers, minimize the risk of fraud, comply with legal requirements, and automate decisions and processes. In addition, it provides financial education, free access to Experian credit reports and scores, online educational tools, and applications to manage their financial position, access credit offers, and protect themselves from identity fraud. The company serves customers in financial service, direct-to-consumer, health, retail, automotive, software and professional services, telecommunications and utility, insurance, media and technology, government and public, and other sectors. It operates in North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Experian plc was formerly known as Experian Group Limited and changed its name to Experian plc in July 2008. Experian plc was founded in 1897 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

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Federated Investors, Inc. is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, including high net worth individuals, banking or thrift institutions, investment companies, pension and profit sharing plans, pooled investment vehicles, charitable organizations, state or municipal government entities, and registered investment advisors. Through its subsidiaries, it manages separate client-focused equity, fixed income, balanced and money market mutual funds along with separate client-focused equity, fixed income, money market, and balanced portfolios. Through its subsidiaries, the firm invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe. It invests in growth and value stocks of small-cap, mid-cap, and large-cap companies. The firm makes its fixed income investments in ultra-short, short-term, and intermediate-term mortgage-backed, U.S. Government, U.S. corporate, high yield, and municipal securities. It employs both fundamental and quantitative analysis to make its equity investments. Federated Investors, Inc. was founded in 1955 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with additional offices in New York City and London, United Kingdom.

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Ellie Mae, Inc. provides cloud-based platform for the mortgage finance industry in the United States. It provides Encompass, an enterprise solution that engages in running the business of originating mortgages, including marketing and lead management; loan origination and processing; underwriting; preparation of mortgage applications, disclosure agreements, and closing documents; loan funding and closing; compliance with regulatory and investor requirements; and enterprise management. The company's Encompass Digital Lending Platform helps lenders and investors across their workflow from the prospective customers to the point of loan delivery. In addition, the company provides education and training services; professional and technical support services; and loan product, policy, and guideline data and analytics services. Ellie Mae, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

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Toyota Motor Corp. engages in the manufacture and sale of motor vehicles and parts. It operates through the following segments: Automotive, Financial Services, and All Other. The Automotive segment designs, manufactures, assembles and sells passenger cars, minivans, trucks, and related vehicle parts and accessories. It is also involved in the development of intelligent transport systems. The Financial Services segment offers purchase or lease financing to Toyota vehicle dealers and customers. It also provides retail leasing through lease contracts purchase by dealers. The All Others segment deals with the design and manufacture and sale of housing, telecommunications and other businesses. The company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda on August 28, 1937 and is headquartered in Toyota, Japan.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Lear: AccuMED Corp., AccuMED Holdings Corp., Arada Systems, Autotech Fund II L.P.(Delaware) (5.56%, Beijing BAI Lear Automotive Systems Co. Ltd., Beijing BHAP Lear Automotive Systems Co. Ltd.(China) (50%, Beijing Lear Dymos Automotive Systems Co. Ltd., CelLink Corporation, Changchun Lear FAWSN Automotive Electrical and Electronics Co. Ltd., Changchun Lear FAWSN Automotive Seat Systems Co. Ltd., Chihuahua Electrical Wiring Systems S. de R.L. de C.V., China New Trend Group Co. Ltd, Consorcio Industrial Mexicano de Autopartes S. de R.L. de C.V., Cordelia Autoparts Sweden AB, Dunlop Cox Limited, Durango Automotive Wiring Systems S. de R.L. de C.V., EXO Technologies Ltd., Eagle Ottawa (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Eagle Ottawa China Ltd., Eagle Ottawa Fonseca S.A., Eagle Ottawa Foreign Holdings ApS, Eagle Ottawa Holdings Ltd., Eagle Ottawa Hungary Kft., Eagle Ottawa LLC, Eagle Ottawa North America LLC, Eagle Ottawa Warrington Ltd., Evolved by Nature Inc., Foshan Lear FAWSN Automotive Systems Co. Ltd., Grote & Hartmann, Guangzhou Lear Automotive Components Co. Ltd, Guilford Europe Limited, Guilford Europe Pension Trustees Limited, Guilford Mills, Guilford Mills Europe Limited, Guilford Mills Limited, HB Polymer Company LLC, Honduras Electrical Distribution Systems S. de R.L. de C.V., Hyundai Transys Lear Automotive India Private Limited, Industrias Cousin Freres S.L., Industrias Lear de Argentina SrL, Insys - Interior Systems SA, Jiangxi Jiangling Lear Interior Systems Co. Ltd., Kyungshin-Lear Sales and Engineering LLC, Lear (China) Holding Limited, Lear (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Lear (Shanghai) Auto Parts Technology Co. Ltd., Lear Automotive (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Lear Automotive (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Lear Automotive EEDS Honduras S.A., Lear Automotive Electronics and Electrical Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Lear Automotive Fabrics (RuiAn) Co. Ltd., Lear Automotive India Private Limited, Lear Automotive Interior Materials (Yangzhou) Co. Ltd., Lear Automotive Manufacturing L.L.C., Lear Automotive Metals (Wuhan) Co. Ltd., Lear Automotive Morocco SAS, Lear Automotive Operations Netherlands B.V., Lear Automotive Services (Netherlands) B.V., Lear Automotive Systems (Changshu) Co. Ltd., Lear Automotive Systems (Chongqing) Co. Ltd., Lear Automotive Systems (Shenyang) Co. Ltd., Lear Automotive Systems (Yangzhou) Co. Ltd., Lear Canada, Lear Canada Holding S.a.r.l., Lear Canada Investments ULC, Lear Changan (Chongqing) Automotive System Co. Ltd., Lear Changan (Hangzhou) Automotive Seating Co. Ltd., Lear China Engineering LLC, Lear Corporation (Mauritius) Limited, Lear Corporation (Nottingham) Limited, Lear Corporation (UK) Limited, Lear Corporation (Vietnam) Limited, Lear Corporation Ara S.L., Lear Corporation Ardasa S.L., Lear Corporation Asientos S.L., Lear Corporation Belgium CVA, Lear Corporation Beteiligungs GmbH, Lear Corporation Canada ULC, Lear Corporation Changchun Automotive Interior Systems Co. Ltd., Lear Corporation China Ltd., Lear Corporation Czech Republic s.r.o., Lear Corporation Engineering (UK) Limited, Lear Corporation Engineering Belgium B.V.B.A., Lear Corporation Engineering Czech Republic s.r.o., Lear Corporation Engineering GmbH, Lear Corporation Engineering Hungary Kft., Lear Corporation Engineering II GmbH, Lear Corporation Engineering Italy S.r.l., Lear Corporation Engineering Morocco S.a.r.l., Lear Corporation Engineering Poland Sp. z.o.o., Lear Corporation Engineering Slovakia s.r.o., Lear Corporation d.o.o. Novi Sad, and United Technologies Automotive.
The following companies are subsidiares of Mohawk Industries: A&S Energie NV, A&U Energie NV, Aladdin Manufacturing Corporation, Aladdin Manufacturing Of New York LLC, Aladdin Manufacturing of Alabama LLC, Alsace Logistique S.A., Avelgem Green Power CVBA, Avon Pacific Holdings Ltd, B&M NV, BGE Mexico S. de R. L. de C.V., Berghoef GmbH, Berghoef-Hout B.V., Bienes Raices y Materiales del Centro S. de R.L. de C.V., C.F. Marazzi S.A., Canterbury Spinners Ltd, Carpet Foundation Ltd, Cevotrans BV, Ceramus Bahia S/A  Produtos Ceramicos, DT Mex Holdings LLC, DTM/CM Holdings LLC, Dal Italia LLC, Dal-Elit LLC, Dal-Tile Chile Comercial Limitada, Dal-Tile Colombia S.A.S., Dal-Tile Distribution Inc., Dal-Tile Group Inc., Dal-Tile I LLC, Dal-Tile Industrias S. de R.L. de C.V., Dal-Tile International Inc., Dal-Tile Mexico Comercial S. de R.L. de C.V., Dal-Tile Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Dal-Tile Operaciones Mexico S. De R.L. De C.V., Dal-Tile Peru SRL, Dal-Tile Puerto Rico Inc., Dal-Tile Services Inc., Dal-Tile Shared Services Inc., Dal-Tile Tennessee LLC, Dal-Tile of Canada ULC, Daltile, Daltile, Dekaply NV, Durkan, Dynea NV, Eliane Argentina Sociedad Anonima, Eliane S/A - Revestimentos Ceramicos, Emilceramica India Pvt Ltd., Emilceramica S.r.l, Emilgermany GmbH, Emilgroup Asia Ltd, Explorer S.r.l., F.I.L.S. Investments Unlimited Company, Feltex Carpets Ltd, Feltex Carpets Pty Ltd, Feltex New Zealand Ltd, Fibremakers Australia Pty Ltd, Flooring Foundation Ltd, Flooring Industries Limited S.a r.l., Flooring XL B.V., Floorscape Limited, Godfrey Hirst & Co Pty Ltd, Godfrey Hirst (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Godfrey Hirst Australia Pty Ltd, Godfrey Hirst Group, Godfrey Hirst NZ Ltd, Hytherm (Ireland) Limited, IVC BVBA, IVC Far-East Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., IVC France S.a r.l., IVC GROUP LIMITED, IVC Green Power NV, IVC Group, IVC Group GmbH, IVC Luxembourg S.a r.l., IVC Rus OOO, IVC US Inc., International Flooring Systems S.a r.l., International Vinyl Company - Vostok OOO, KAI Group, KAI Keramica Ltd, KAI Mining EOOD, KERAMA CENTER OOO, Kerama Baltics OOO, Kerama Export OOO, Kerama Marazzi OOO, Kerampromservis (LLC), Khan Asparuh - Transport EOOD, Khan Asparuh AD, Khan Omurtag AD, Koninklijke Peitsman B.V., Kraj Kerama OOO, MG China Trading Ltd., MI Finance SRL, MUD (Holding) Brazil Ltda., Management Co EAD, Marazzi Acquisition S.r.l., Marazzi Deutschland G.m.b.H., Marazzi France Trading S.A.S., Marazzi Group, Marazzi Group F.Z.E., Marazzi Group S.r.l., Marazzi Group Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Marazzi Iberia S.L.U., Marazzi Japan Co. Ltd., Marazzi Middle East FZ LLC, Marazzi Schweiz S.A.G.L., Marazzi UK Ltd., Mohawk Assurance Services Inc., Mohawk Australia Pty Ltd, Mohawk Canada Corporation, Mohawk Capital Finance S.A., Mohawk Capital Luxembourg SA, Mohawk Carpet Distribution Inc., Mohawk Carpet Foundation Inc., Mohawk Carpet LLC, Mohawk Carpet Transportation Of Georgia LLC, Mohawk Commercial Inc., Mohawk ESV Inc., Mohawk Europe BVBA, Mohawk Factoring II Inc., Mohawk Factoring LLC, Mohawk Finance S.a r.l., Mohawk Foreign Acquisitions S.a r.l., Mohawk Foreign Funding S.a.r.l, Mohawk Foreign Holdings S.a r.l., Mohawk Foreign Investments Inc., Mohawk Global Investments S.a r.l., Mohawk Holdings International B.V., Mohawk Industries Inc., Mohawk International (Europe) S.a r.l., Mohawk International (Hong Kong) Limited, Mohawk International Capital N.V., Mohawk International Financing S.a.r.l, Mohawk International Holdings (DE) LLC, Mohawk International Holdings S.a r.l., Mohawk International Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk International Netherlands B.V., Mohawk International Services BVBA, Mohawk KAI Luxembourg Holding S.a r.l., Mohawk KAI Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Capital S.A., Mohawk Luxembourg Financing S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Investments S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Pacific S.a r.l., Mohawk Marazzi International BV, Mohawk Marazzi Russia BV, Mohawk New Zealand Limited, Mohawk Operaciones Mexicali S. de R.L. de C.V., Mohawk Operations Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk Pacific Investments S.a r.l., Mohawk Resources LLC, Mohawk Servicing LLC, Mohawk Singapore Private Limited, Mohawk Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Mohawk Unilin Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk United Finance B.V., Mohawk United International B.V., Mohawk Vinyl Financing S.a r.l., Molber Beheer B.V., Monarch Ceramic Tile Inc., P.F. Onroerend Goed B.V., PF Beheer B.V., Pergo, Pergo (Europe) AB, Pergo Holding BV, Pergo India Pvt Ltd, Polcolorit S.A., Premium Floors Australia Pty Limited, RR Apex LLC, Rata International Pty Ltd, Recubrimientos Interceramica S. de R.L. de C.V., Riverside Textiles Pty Ltd, S.C. KAI Ceramics SRL, Sibir Kerama OOO, SimpleSolutions USA LLC, Soft Step (Australia) Pty Ltd, Spano Group, Spano Invest BVBA, Spano NV, Stroyagromekhzapchast ChaO, Stroytrans OAO Orelstroy, Summit Wool Spinners Ltd, The Flooring Federation Ltd, Tiles Co OOD, Unilin (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Unilin ApS, Unilin Arauco Pisos Ltda., Unilin BVBA, Unilin Beheer BV, Unilin Distribution Ltd., Unilin Distribution Ukraine LLC, Unilin Finland OY, Unilin Flooring India Private Limited, Unilin Flooring SAS, Unilin GmbH, Unilin Holding BVBA, Unilin Insulation BV, Unilin Insulation SAS, Unilin Insulation Sury SAS, Unilin Italia S.R.L., Unilin North America LLC, Unilin Norway AS, Unilin OOO, Unilin Panels SAS, Unilin Poland Sp.Z.o.o., Unilin SAS, Unilin Spain SL, Unilin Swiss GmbH, Unilin s.r.o., World International Inc., Xtratherm, Xtratherm Limited, Xtratherm S.A., and Xtratherm UK Limited.
The following companies are subsidiares of Procter & Gamble: "Procter & Gamble Services" LLC, "Procter & Gamble" LLC, Agile Pursuits, Agile Pursuits Franchising, Arbora, Arbora & Ausonia, Arborinvest, Billie, Braun (Shanghai) Co., Braun GmbH, Braun-Gillette Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG, Celtic Insurance Company, Compania Procter & Gamble Mexico, Compania Quimica S.A., Corporativo Procter & Gamble, Cosmetic Products Pty. Ltd., Detergent Products B.V., Detergent Products SARL, Detergenti S.A., Eurocos Cosmetic GmbH, FPG Oleochemicals Sdn. Bhd., Fameccanica Data S.p.A., Fameccanica Industria e Comercio Do Brasil LTDA., Fameccanica Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Fater S.p.A., Fountain Square Music Publishing Co., Gillette (China) Ltd., Gillette (Shanghai) Ltd., Gillette Aesop Ltd., Gillette Australia Pty. Ltd., Gillette Canada Holdings, Gillette Commercial Operations North America, Gillette Diversified Operations Pvt. Ltd., Gillette Egypt S.A.E., Gillette Group UK Ltd, Gillette Gruppe Deutschland GmbH & Co. oHG, Gillette Holding Company LLC, Gillette Holding GmbH, Gillette India Limited, Gillette Industries Ltd., Gillette International B.V., Gillette Latin America Holding B.V., Gillette Management LLC, Gillette Nova Scotia Company, Gillette Pakistan Limited, Gillette Poland International Sp. z.o.o., Gillette Poland S.A., Gillette U.K. Limited, Gillette del Uruguay, Giorgio Beverly Hills Inc., Hyginett KFT, Industries Marocaines Modernes SA, LLC "Procter & Gamble Novomoskovsk", LLL "Procter & Gamble Distributorskaya Compania", Laboratorios Vicks, Liberty Street Music Publishing Company, Limited Liability Company 'Procter & Gamble Trading Ukraine', Limited Liability Company with foreign investments Procter & and Gamble Ukraine, MDVIP, MERCK KGAA NPV, Marcvenca Inversiones, Modern Industries Company - Dammam, Modern Products Company - Jeddah, New Chapter, New Chapter Canada Inc., Olay LLC, Oral-B Laboratories, P&G Distribution Morocco SAS, P&G Hair Care Holding, P&G Industrial Peru S.R.L., P&G Innovation Godo Kaisha, P&G Israel M.D.O. Ltd., P&G K.K., P&G Northeast Asia Pte. Ltd., P&G Prestige Godo Kaisha, P&G Prestige Service GmbH, P&G South African Trading (Pty.) Ltd., PGT Health Care (Zhejiang) Limited, PGT Healthcare LLP, PPI ZAO, PT Procter & Gamble Home Products Indonesia, PT Procter & Gamble Operations Indonesia, Phase II Holdings Corporation, Procter & Gamble (Chengdu) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (China) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (China) Sales Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble (East Africa) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Egypt) Manufacturing Company, Procter & Gamble (Enterprise Fund) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Consumer Products Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Enterprise Management Service Company Limited, Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Health & Beauty Care) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Jiangsu) Ltd. China, Procter & Gamble (L&CP) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Procter & Gamble (Manufacturing) Ireland Limited, Procter & Gamble (Shanghai) International Trade Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Acquisition GmbH, Procter & Gamble Administration GmbH, Procter & Gamble Algeria EURL, Procter & Gamble Amazon Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Amiens S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Argentina SRL, Procter & Gamble Asia Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Australia Proprietary Limited, Procter & Gamble Azerbaijan Services LLC, Procter & Gamble Bangladesh Private Ltd., Procter & Gamble Blois S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Brazil Holdings B.V., Procter & Gamble Bulgaria EOOD, Procter & Gamble Business Services Canada Company, Procter & Gamble Canada Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Chile , Procter & Gamble Chile Limitada, Procter & Gamble Colombia Ltda., Procter & Gamble Commercial LLC, Procter & Gamble Commercial de Cuba S.A., Procter & Gamble Czech Republic s.r.o., Procter & Gamble DS Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Danmark ApS, Procter & Gamble Detergent (Beijing) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Deuttschland GmbH, Procter & Gamble Distributing (Philippines) Inc., Procter & Gamble Distributing New Zealand Limited, Procter & Gamble Distribution Company (Europe) BVBA, Procter & Gamble Distribution S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Eastern Europe, Procter & Gamble Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Procter & Gamble Egypt, Procter & Gamble Egypt Distribution, Procter & Gamble Egypt Holding, Procter & Gamble Egypt Supplies, Procter & Gamble Energy Company LLC, Procter & Gamble Espana, Procter & Gamble Europe SA, Procter & Gamble Export Operations SARL, Procter & Gamble Exportadora e Importadora Ltda., Procter & Gamble Exports, Procter & Gamble Fabricacao e Comercio Ltda., Procter & Gamble Far East, Procter & Gamble Finance (U.K.) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Finance Holding Ltd., Procter & Gamble Finance Management S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Financial Investments LLP, Procter & Gamble Financial Services Ltd., Procter & Gamble Financial Services S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Finland OY, Procter & Gamble France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH, Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH & Co. Operations oHG, Procter & Gamble GmbH, Procter & Gamble Grundstucks-und Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG, Procter & Gamble Gulf FZE, Procter & Gamble Hair Care, Procter & Gamble Hellas Ltd., Procter & Gamble Holding (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Holding France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Holding GmbH, Procter & Gamble Holding S.r.l., Procter & Gamble Holdings (UK) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Home Products Private Limited, Procter & Gamble Hong Kong Limited, Procter & Gamble Hungary Wholesale Trading Partnership (KKT), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care Limited, Procter & Gamble Inc., Procter & Gamble India Holdings, Procter & Gamble Indochina Limited Company, Procter & Gamble Industrial - 2012 C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial Colombia Ltda., Procter & Gamble Industrial S.C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Costa Rica, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Guatemala, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Panama, Procter & Gamble International Operations Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble International Operations SA, Procter & Gamble International Operations SA-ROHQ, Procter & Gamble International S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Investment Company (UK) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Investment GmbH, Procter & Gamble Italia, Procter & Gamble Japan K.K., Procter & Gamble Kazakhstan Distribution LLP, Procter & Gamble Kazakhstan LLP, Procter & Gamble Korea, Procter & Gamble Korea S&D Co., Procter & Gamble Lanka Private Ltd. Sri Lanka, Procter & Gamble Leasing LLC, Procter & Gamble Levant S.A.L., Procter & Gamble Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Berlin GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing SA (Pty) Ltd, Procter & Gamble Marketing Romania SRL, Procter & Gamble Marketing and Services doo, Procter & Gamble Maroc SA, Procter & Gamble Mataro, Procter & Gamble Mexico Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Mexico Inc., Procter & Gamble Middle East FZE, Procter & Gamble Nederland B.V., Procter & Gamble Netherlands Investments B.V., Procter & Gamble Netherlands Services B.V., Procter & Gamble Nigeria Limited, Procter & Gamble Nordic, Procter & Gamble Norge AS, Procter & Gamble Operations Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Overseas India B.V., Procter & Gamble Overseas Ltd., Procter & Gamble Pakistan (Private) Limited, Procter & Gamble Partnership LLP, Procter & Gamble Peru S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals France SAS, Procter & Gamble Philippines, Procter & Gamble Polska Sp. z o.o, Procter & Gamble Portugal - Produtos De Consumo, Procter & Gamble Product Supply (U.K.) Limited U.K., Procter & Gamble Production GmbH, Procter & Gamble Productions, Procter & Gamble Productos de Consumo, Procter & Gamble RHD, Procter & Gamble RSC Regional Service Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Retail Services BVBA, Procter & Gamble S.r.l., Procter & Gamble SA (Pty) Ltd, Procter & Gamble Satis ve Dagitim Ltd. Sti., Procter & Gamble Seine S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Service GmbH, Procter & Gamble Services (Switzerland) SA, Procter & Gamble Services Company N.V., Procter & Gamble Services Ltd., Procter & Gamble Share Incentive Plan Trustee Ltd., Procter & Gamble South America Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Spol. s.r.o. (Ltd.), Procter & Gamble Sports and Social Club Ltd., Procter & Gamble Sverige AB, Procter & Gamble Switzerland SARL, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Limited, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Sales Company Limited, Procter & Gamble Technical Centres Limited, Procter & Gamble Technology (Beijing) Co., Procter & Gamble Trading (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Tuketim Mallari Sanayii A.S., Procter & Gamble UK, Procter & Gamble UK Group Holdings Ltd, Procter & Gamble UK Parent Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Universal Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Verwaltungs GmbH, Procter & Gamble Vietnam, Procter & Gamble d.o.o. za trgovinu, Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.C.A., Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.R.L., Procter & Gamble do Brasil S/A, Procter & Gamble do Brazil, Procter & Gamble do Nordeste S/A, Procter & Gamble-Rakona s.r.o., Progam Realty & Development Corporation, Redmond Products, Richardson-Vicks Real Estate Inc., Richardson-Vicks do Brasil Quimica e Farmaceutica Ltda, Riverfront Music Publishing Co., Rosemount LLC, SPD Development Company Limited, SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH, Scannon S.A.S., Series Acquisition B.V., Shulton, Surfac S.R.L., Sycamore Productions, TAOS - FL, TAOS Retail, Tambrands Inc., Temple Trees Impex & Investment Private Limited, The Art of Shaving - FL, The Dover Wipes Company, The Gillette Company, The Gillette Company LLC, The Gillette co., The Procter & Gamble Distributing LLC, The Procter & Gamble GBS Company, The Procter & Gamble Global Finance Company, The Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Company, The Procter & Gamble Paper Products Company, The Procter & Gamble U.S. Business Services Company, This is L., US CD LLC, Vidal Sassoon (Shanghai) Academy, Vidal Sassoon Co., WEBA Betriebsrenten-Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Walker & Company Brands, and iMFLUX Inc..
Photo: The Canadian Press In this July 18, 2017 file photo, Shiite Volunteer fighters from the Imam Ali Brigade, an armed faction with the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, train at their camp, in Najaf, 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq. When U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sat down with Iraqi officials in Baghdad earlier this month as tensions were mounting between the U.S. and Iran, he delivered a nuanced message: If you're not going to stand with us, stand aside.

When U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sat down with Iraqi officials in Baghdad last week as tensions mounted between America and Iran, he delivered a nuanced message: If you're not going to stand with us, stand aside.

The message, relayed to The Associated Press by two Iraqi government officials, underscores Iraq's delicate position: Its government is allied with both sides of an increasingly contentious confrontation.

As tensions escalate, there are concerns that Baghdad could once again get caught in the middle, just as it is on the path to recovery. The country hosts more than 5,000 U.S. troops, and is home to powerful Iranian-backed militias, some of whom want those U.S. forces to leave.

"The big question is how Iraqi leaders will deal with (their) national interests in a country where loyalty to external powers is widespread at the expense of their own nation," Iraqi political analyst Watheq al-Hashimi said. "If the state cannot put these (Iranian-backed militias) under control, Iraq will become an arena for an Iranian-American armed conflict."

Despite the escalation of rhetoric by both sides, President Donald Trump has said he doesn't want a war with Iran and has even said he is open to dialogue. But tension remains high, in part given the region's fraught history.

For Iraq to be a theatre for proxy wars is not new. The Shiite-majority country lies on the fault line between Shiite Iran and the mostly Sunni Arab world, led by powerhouse Saudi Arabia, and has long been a battlefield in which the Saudi-Iran rivalry for regional supremacy played out.

During America's eight-year military presence that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, U.S. troops and Iranian-backed militiamen fought pitched battles around the country, and scores of U.S. troops were killed or wounded by the militia forces armed with sophisticated Iranian-made weapons.

American forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011 but returned in 2014 at the invitation of Iraq to help battle the Islamic State group after it seized vast areas in the north and west of the country, including Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul. A U.S.-led coalition provided crucial air support as Iraqi forces regrouped and drove IS out in a costly three-year campaign. Iranian-backed militias fought alongside U.S.-backed Iraqi troops against IS, gaining outsized influence and power.

Now, amid an escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran, Iraq is once again vulnerable to becoming caught up in the power play. An attack targeting U.S. interests in Iraq would be detrimental to the country's recent efforts at recovering and reclaiming its status in the Arab world.

Earlier this year, Trump provoked outrage in Baghdad when he said he wanted U.S. troops to stay in Iraq so they can "watch Iran," suggesting a changing mission for American troops there.

On May 8, Pompeo made a lightning, previously unannounced trip to the Iraqi capital following the abrupt cancellation of a visit to Germany, and as the United States had been picking up intelligence that Iran is threatening American interests in the Middle East.

The two Iraqi officials said Pompeo relayed intelligence information the U.S. had received about a threat to U.S. forces in Iraq  but kept it vague. They said he did not specify the nature of the threat. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to divulge confidential information, said Pompeo told the Iraqis that America did not expect them to side with the U.S. in any confrontation with Iran, but that they should not side against America. In other words, stand aside.

A few days later, as U.S.-Iranian tensions continued to rise, the State Department ordered all non-essential, non-emergency government staff to leave the country.

U.S. officials said Pompeo told the Iraqis the U.S. had an "inherent right to self-defence" and would use it if U.S. personnel, facilities or interests are attacked by Iran or its proxies in Iraq or anywhere else.

The three officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the private meetings in Baghdad and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Pompeo was not contemplating any pre-emptive strikes on Iran or the use of Iraqi territory to stage military operations against Iran. Pompeo's message, the officials said, was that the U.S. wants to avoid conflict but would respond or defend itself if necessary.

The secretary told reporters on the flight that his meetings with Iraq's president and prime minister were intended to demonstrate U.S. support for "a sovereign, independent" Iraq, free from the influence of neighbouring Iran. Pompeo also said he wanted to underscore Iraq's need to protect Americans in their country.

A general at Iraq's Defence Ministry said Iraq was taking precautionary security measures in light of the information about threats against U.S. interests, although those measures have not reached the highest levels.

"Iraqi forces are worried that American forces could be targeted by factions loyal to Iran," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. He added that any attack on U.S. troops could come as retaliation if the United States were to carry out a military operation against Iran.

The heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. come a year after Trump pulled America out of Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers and as the White House ordered an aircraft carrier and bombers into the region over a still-unexplained threat from Iran.

On Saturday, Iraqi officials said ExxonMobil employees began evacuating an oil field in the southern Iraqi province of Basra while the island nation of Bahrain ordered all it citizens in Iraq and Iran to leave immediately.

On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates alleged that four oil tankers off its eastern coast were targeted by sabotage. On Tuesday, Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi rebels said they launched seven drones to target Saudi Arabia. The drones struck pumping stations along the kingdom's crucial East-West Pipeline, causing minor damage, Saudi officials say.
Rayonier, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in investment in timberlands. It operates through the following business segments: Southern Timber, Pacific Northwest Timber, New Zealand Timber, Real Estate, Timber Funds and Trading. The Southern Timber, Pacific Northwest Timber and New Zealand Timber segments reflect all activities related to the harvesting of timber and other value-added activities, such as recreational licenses, within each respective geography. The Real Estate segment reflects all U.S. land sales, which are reported in the following sales categories: Improved Development, Unimproved Development, Rural, Non-Strategic and Timberlands, and Large Dispositions. The Timber Funds segment represents operations of the three private equity timber funds included in the Pope Resources transaction. The Trading segment reflects the log trading activities that support New Zealand operations. The company was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Wild light, FL.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Sonoco Products: 2103393 Ontario Inc., AMGH, APEI UK Limited, APEI Unlimited IOM, Associated Packaging Technologies Inc., Beteiligungen Sonoco Deutschland Vermogensverwaltungsgesellschaft mbh, CP Acquisition LLC, Can Packaging, Can Packaging SAS, Cap Liners Limited, Capseals Limited, Capseals Liners Limited, Cascades Sonoco Inc. (fka Cascades Conversion Inc), Clear Lam Flexible Films (Nanjing) Co. Ltd., Clear Lam Packaging Inc., Clear Pack Co., Clear Pack Company, Colombiana P.M. LLC, Conitex Sonoco (BVI) Ltd., Conitex Sonoco (Mexico) S. de R.L. de C.V., Conitex Sonoco Hellas S.A., Conitex Sonoco Holding B.V., Conitex Sonoco Inc., Conitex Sonoco India Pvt. Ltd., Conitex Sonoco N.V., Conitex Sonoco Shanghai Ltd., Conitex Sonoco Suzhou Co. Ltd., Conitex Sonoco Taiwan Ltd., Conitex Sonoco USA Inc., Convex Mold Inc., Corenso Holdings America Inc., Corenso North America, Corenso Richmond LLC, Corepak Limited, CorrFlex Graphics LLC, Demolli Industria Cartaria S.p.A., Engraph Inc., Engraph Puerto Rico Inc., Fair Lawn Packaging Services LLC, Friarsgate Studio Limited, Graffo Paranaense De Embalagens S.A., Graffo Paranaense de Embalagens S/A, Grove Mill Paper Company Limited, Gunther of America Inc., Hartsville Corrugating LLC, Hayes Manufacturing Group, Heathfield Reels Limited, Highland Packaging Solutions, Highland Packaging Solutions LLC, Industrial Machine Co. Inc., Inversiones Sonoco Limitada, Italtubetti SpA, Laminar Medica, Laminar Medica (CE) s.r.o., Laminar Medica Limited, Manufacturas Sonoco S.A. de C.V., Matrix Packaging Inc., Nathaniel Lloyd & Company Limited, OOO Sonoco Alcore (fka ZAO Sonoco Alcore), PT Conitex Sonoco, PT Papcor Asia Pacific, PT Papertech Indonesia, PT Sonoco Indonesia, Packaging Holdings Inc., Papcor (Dezhou) Packaging Material Co. Ltd., Papertech Dezhou Co. 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Matthew Johnson remembers being stared down and questioned when he walked into Stone-Robinson Elementary 56 years ago to attend second grade.

Johnson was part of a group of 26 students who were the first to desegregate three county schools in 1963. Albemarle County Public Schools named and recognized these students for the first time Friday  the 65th anniversary of the Supreme Courts decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that made school segregation unconstitutional.

Historical markers bearing the names of the 26 students are now installed at Stone-Robinson, the former Greenwood School in Crozet and Albemarle High School.

What I really want for people to get out of it is for the students and administrators who are currently at the schools, when they see that plaque, when they walk in these doors every day, I want them to understand what people had to go through before them in order for them to have the experience that they have, said Lorenzo Dickerson, a local filmmaker and web specialist for the division.

Dickerson spearheaded the effort to identify and celebrate the 26 students.
Therere always these pushes for kids going to college, she said. College just isnt for everyone  Theres something to be said for these kids who can go through a trade program. They can still go to college. This doesnt limit them to just leaving us and going directly to work. This gives them another avenue to support themselves, whatever path they take.

During the ceremony, students signed a certificate along with their employer, many of whom brought gifts for their employees.

The employers praised the CATEC programs and their graduates.

Lewis Jordan, with the county school divisions transportation department, commended the work of Alonzo Gray, a Monticello High School senior who has been working in the department. He will move into a full-time job after graduation. At CATEC, hes part of the auto technology program.

Hes working on school buses that carry our children, and hes doing a fantastic job, Jordan said.

Jordan also attended CATEC, graduating in 1979.

It propelled my career, he said.
India has offered full support to Sri Lanka in dealing with the common threat of "Jihadi terrorism" following the deadly Easter Sunday suicide bombings that killed nearly 260 people, including 11 Indians.

Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Friday also discussed the prevailing security situation during his recent meeting with two top-ranking Buddhist monks at Sri Dalada Maligawa or the temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy, Indian Embassy here said in a statement.

"High Commissioner....discussed the prevailing security situation with the Most Venerable Mahanayake theros and offered India's full support to Sri Lanka in dealing with the common threat of Jihadi terrorism," the statement said.

The High Commissioner also paid respects at Sri Dalada Maligawa and received the blessings of the Most Venerable Thibbotuwawe Sri Sumangala Mahanayake Thera of the Malwatu Chapter and the Most Venerable Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Mahanayake Thera of the Asgiriya Chapter in Kandy, it said.

Both the Mahanayake Theros deeply appreciated India's unconditional and strong support for Sri Lanka, including in the security sphere, the statement said.

The Indian envoy also conveyed greetings on the auspicious occasion of Vesak to the Most Venerable Mahanayake Theros and recalled the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sri Lanka for the International Vesak Day celebration in 2017 and the exposition of the sacred Sarnath Relics in Sri Lanka in 2018.

Sri Lanka has declared two days of holidays for nation-wide celebrations of Vesak, or the commemoration of the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Gautama Buddha.

Both the Mahanayake Theras deeply appreciated India's unconditional and strong support for Sri Lanka including in the security sphere, it said. Indian authorities shared intelligence with Sri Lanka before the serial blasts rocked the neighbouring country. However, Sri Lankan authorities failed to act on the intelligence inputs.

Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels, killing 258 people and injuring over 500 others. Authorities earlier said they believed a little-known local militant Islamist group known as National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ) was behind the attack.

However, the NTJ has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, Sri Lanka's worst.

The Islamic State terror group said it had carried out the attacks, and released video of men it says were the bombers.

Furthermore, the envoy also reviewed the progress of the Kandyan Dancing School being constructed with India's assistance of some Rs150 million at the Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy (SIBA) campus in Pallekele, Kandy, according to the statement.

-PTI
Lowe, who worked with Bartnick at Flanagan Stables in Christiansburg, said Bartnick could consistently take in an abused or difficult horse and get them used to people and ready to ride.

You have to really have a love and trust and respect for the animal, Lowe said. Hanna cares deeply about the well-being of her horses.

She has compassion for animals. She loves animals more than anyone else I know.

Bartnick used that compassion to move to endurance rides, where she pushes horses to their limits. Its important to know how a horse is doing to get the best performance from it, she said.

I guess Im just an adrenaline junkie, she said.

The rides are physically taxing for both rider and horse. Shes taken long distance rides up and down the East Coast, in California, Mongolia and South Africa. The rides can be miserable, but they provide the best release when theyre over, she said.
I think one benefit of this position is that we were all selected to live on the Lawn for a reason, and I expect everyone to show their best self and expect their better selves from others, Lee said. Whatever job you get will force you to negotiate with people with different interests, but you should always assume the best intentions and believe the best of people.

UVa students have criticized the Lawn application process for not awarding rooms to a fair representation of different majors and races and ethnicities; rates have fluctuated over recent years, according to reporting by The Cavalier Daily. Students also have asked for more Lawn rooms to be renovated to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Lee acknowledged critiques but said the Lawn is becoming more diverse and less elitist. She also pointed to a change this year that provides more furniture to Lawn residents, rather than asking them to buy a dresser or bookshelf and effectively shutting out students who could not afford to do so. On Friday, the universitys Seven Society also announced a donation of $47,777.77 to help students cannot afford the Lawns housing costs but would otherwise be good candidates for Lawn rooms.
As his classmates took final exams and packed up their belongings, Josh Farris was still trying to find a way for his family to see him walk the Lawn on graduation day at the University of Virginia.

After four years of work, much of it centered on finding a way to add resources for fellow first-generation and low-income students at UVa, Farris will be the first person in his family to graduate from college. On Sunday, he will receive a degree from the Curry School of Education and Human Development, with a focus on youth and social innovation.

He wanted his whole family to be able to witness it. But, in one of the many information gaps Farris attributes to his first-generation status, he didnt realize until it was too late that local hotels book up a year in advance for graduation weekend. Remaining listed options were out of his familys price range. Driving in and out that day didnt seem to fit the occasion for them.

So Farris spent his last week of classes making calls and sending emails. Finally, one week before Final Exercises and with support from the Office of the Dean of Students, he found a subsidized way for his family, who lives in Shawsville, in Southwest Virginia, to stay on Grounds.
All of the policies that have produced strong economic results ought to be credited to President Trump, but Biden and his fellow Democrats improbably claim it was Obama's policies that have gifted America with such wonderment. If that were true why did none of it happen during that administration? They claim it was because it took so long to recover from the "Bush recession" that the results weren't clear until recently.

OK, then what about all of the other things Democrats have promised? They are always promising to improve education. Why, then, hasn't education improved during previous Democratic administrations? Taxpayers are coughing up more for education. If there is a correlation between the amount spent and student achievement, wouldn't kids be better educated and better able to compete with other countries where students excel in math and science ahead of ours?

Biden and every other Democrat running for president would likely raise taxes, re-impose regulations on businesses and Wall Street and name liberal judges to the federal benches who will interpret the Constitution according to their personal biases.

Would a majority of voters be OK with all of this, assuming Trump and other Republicans frame it this way?
The tough talk capped a week that saw Beijing unveil fresh retaliatory tariffs, US officials accuse China of backtracking on promises made during months of talks.

Washington/Beijing: China struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States on Friday, suggesting a resumption of talks between the worlds two largest economies would be meaningless unless Washington changed course.

The tough talk capped a week that saw Beijing unveil fresh retaliatory tariffs, US officials accuse China of backtracking on promises made during months of talks and the Trump administration level a potentially crippling blow against one of Chinas biggest and most successful companies.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, asked about state media reports suggesting there would be no more trade negotiations, said China always encouraged resolving disputes with the United States through dialogue and consultations.

But because of certain things the US side has done during the previous China-US trade consultations, we believe if there is meaning for these talks, there must be a show of sincerity, he told a daily news briefing.

CNBC, citing sources, said the trade talks had stalled and the next round of discussions was in flux.

The United States raised Beijings ire this week when it announced it was putting Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the worlds biggest telecoms equipment maker, on a blacklist that could make it extremely hard to do business with US companies.

The US Commerce Department may soon scale back restrictions on Huawei by issuing a temporary general license to allow time for companies and people who have Huawei equipment to maintain the reliability of their communications networks and equipment, a department spokeswoman said.

The possible general license would not apply to new transactions, the spokeswoman said and would last for 90 days.

China has yet to say whether or how it will retaliate, although its state media is sounding an increasingly strident note. The ruling Communist Partys Peoples Daily published on Friday a front-page commentary that evoked the patriotic spirit of the countrys past wars.

The trade war cant bring China down. It will only harden us to grow stronger, it said.

Global stocks, which rebounded this week on the prospect of another round of US-China talks, suffered a fresh bout of selling and Chinas yuan slid to its weakest against the US dollar in almost five months. Prices of US government debt were trading higher.

The increasingly acrimonious trade dispute has rattled investors who fear that the countries are careening dangerously down a track that will badly damage global supply lines and put the brakes on an already slowing world economy.

The South China Morning Post, citing an unidentified source, reported that a senior member of Chinas Communist Party said the trade war could reduce Chinas 2019 economic growth by 1 percentage point in the worst-case scenario.

Both sides might need some prodding, but weve had a very clear opportunity for one side or the other ... to say this isnt going to work ... and neither side did, said Derek Scissors, an expert on Sino-US economic relations at the American Enterprise Institute think tank, who put the chance of a deal this year at over 50/50.

AUTO TARIFFS

US President Donald Trump, who has embraced protectionism as part of an America First agenda aimed at rebalancing global trade, has accused China of backing out of a deal earlier this month that would have ended the 10-month dispute.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported China had backtracked on commitments to change its laws to resolve core US complaints about theft of intellectual property, forced technology transfers and other practices.

Trump punctuated two days of talks in Washington last week with a decision to raise tariffs on USD 200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 per cent from 10 per cent. The negotiations ended in a stalemate.

On Monday, Beijing said it would raise its tariffs on a revised list of USD 60 billion in US goods effective June 1. Trump, in turn, said he is considering slapping tariffs on the remaining USD 300 billion in Chinese imports to the United States.

The US president also continues to dangle the possibility of imposing tariffs of up to 25 per cent on imported cars and parts, a move that could be devastating for a number of US trading partners, including Japan and Germany.

The White House said on Friday that Trumps decision on auto tariffs would be delayed by up to six months to allow more time for trade talks with the European Union and Japan. Trump faced a Saturday deadline to make a decision.

It added, however, that the US president agreed with findings by the US Commerce Department that imported vehicles and parts can threaten US national security, a designation likely to anger some US allies.

Automakers have strongly opposed the tariffs, saying they would hike prices and threaten thousands of US jobs. There is also strong opposition in the US Congress, with many prominent members of Trumps Republican Party rejecting the idea.

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, praised the administrations decision to delay the auto tariffs.

Positive step. The pressure must be strong on China, not on our allies who we should encourage to join us in confronting China, Schumer tweeted.

The United States and Canada also announced on Friday a deal to remove tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium in exchange for new curbs to keep dumped metals from China and other nations out of the US market. The Mexican presidents office later said Mexico had reached a similar deal with the United States.

The metals tariffs were an aggravation for the Canadian and Mexican governments and had been a major hurdle to enacting the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the deal that would replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.
At an event on Friday to promote his forthcoming Eid release Bharat, Salman Khan smirked about Priyanka Chopra giving Katrina Kaif the finest role of her career. The allusion was to Priyanka walking out of Bharat at the last minute thereby creating the space needed for Salmans favourite girl Katrina to walk in.

At the event, the actor not only pulled a sarcastic one on Priyanka by thanking her on Katrinas behalf, he also predicted that Katrina is likely to get a National award for her performance in Bharat.

Priyanka has been snubbed for good. This isnt the first time she has gotten into the bad books of Salman. She has a history of mishaps on that front. But now its open war.

A friend of Salman says this time there wont be any turning point. We dont know why Priyanka Chopra backed out after requesting for the role. But Bhai is done with her. He has moved on for good. Not that it matters to either of them. But its a pity when relations between two majors stars get so ugly that the chances of them working together are nil.
The death of actor Rallapalli Venkata Narasimha Rao has come as a huge loss to Telugu film industry. The versatile actor has appeared in a variety of eccentric roles in over 850 films through his career. Born on August 15, 1945 in Rachapalli village, East Godavari district, Rallapalli moved to Hyderabad in 1958 and completed his Intermediate from the Government college in Nampally. While in college, he wrote and directed the Telugu play Marani Samsaram, for which he received an award from the then-popular actress Bhanumathi.

Starting in his childhood days, Rallapalli performed in nearly 8,000 plays before he entered the film industry with the film, Stree, in 1973. He gained widespread recognition in 1976 for his performance in B. S. Narayanas Oorammadi Bathukulu. Subsequently, he acted in Thoorpu Velle Railu and Chali Cheemalu after which his career actually took off, and there was no looking back.

Thereafter, he appeared in popular films like Chillara Devullu, Seethakoka Chiluka, Subhalekha, Khaidi, Alaya Sikharam, Mantrigari Viyyankudu, Abhilasha, Sitara, Alapana, Nyayaniki Sankellu, April 1 Vidudala, and Mani Ratnam's Bombay among many others.

Before entering the film industry, Rallapalli worked in Railways and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. He pursued his Masters degree in Philosophy (Telugu theater) at Telugu University, Hyderabad. He was a great chef and hosted a culinary television shows.

A few days ago, the 73-year-old actor was admitted to a hospital after he reported pain in his chest and difficulty in breathing. He passed away while under treatment at 6 pm on Friday.

Rallapalli is survived by his wife Swarajya Lakshmi and daughter Rashmitha. His other daughter, Vijayamadhuri, died at a young age while she was pursuing medicine. Rallapallis funeral has been scheduled to be conducted on Monday after his daughter Rashmita returns from the US, a source from the family informed.

Rallapalli and Chiranjeevi sharing a light moment during the MAA elections.

I pray that his soul rests in peace: Chiranjeevi

Chiranjeevi was good friends with Rallapally, and the two have appeared in several films together. I met him first in Vani Mahal, Madras, while he was still doing stage plays. We acted in several films together after he entered the film industry. In fact, we met quite recently at the Movie Artiste Association (MAA) election. And a few days later, I hear that he has passed away. Rallapalli was a versatile actor and a good friend. I offer my condolences to his family members and pray that his soul rests in peace, Chiranjeevi said.
We were at a swish dinner with a senior esteemed editor on the table. A modern trendy lady in hot pants answered to a query umm Im actually just a housewife half apologetically accepting the eons old traditional mindset that women are of course to be relegated to the role of homemakers. Never mind their global exposure to education, capabilities and their abilities to fit the high echelons of the corporate world as this young lady was. The senior journalist well known for his traditional attire of khadi kurta pajama, Kolhapuri chappals and bald pate, defining his seniority surprised us with his take. Well, from what I see around me in Mumbai, and what is probably the case in all the metros and modern cities in India even, is that the equation has certainly changed with dramatic implications that break the traditional glass ceiling.

Women today, especially the younger lot have flung age old traditions to the breezes. In nuclear families today, where both partners venture out to employment increasingly women have nudged the traditional mindset of men incorporating them into some feasible partnership in the home hearth and children responsibility. He has seen the picture as it is with his vast exposure, relevant to the realities around.

The corollary to this however, is that men seem to have a fixed image of the wife as the homemaker and entirely responsible for running a home and all the added responsibilities of children, washing machine, putting food on the table and keeping out the slippers by the armchair with the TV remote and a cup of tea in the evening. Never mind that she has also come back from a demanding day at her place of employment. And she is the main bread winner too in some cases, and even more accomplished perhaps.

Further research shows me that this is not only an Indian scenario. Even in the US, the citadel of modernity as we Indians see it, men seem to have imprinted in their minds as a footprint in cement that the pretty little wife is perennially in apron strings baking the apple pie and dropping the babies to school, doing the washing, with the permanent vacuum cleaner and mop -displaying proudly the shining clean toilet seat and sink of the bathroom. It does seem strange to the thinking mind that this should be so. It is astounding that even modern women are still accepting outmoded roles and women still have to fight for equal rights and shared responsibilities, for a partnership that defines a marriage.

Certainly in Mumbai I am seeing change creep in, I know a young man who creates a beautiful breakfast for a wife who sleeps in late in the mornings and then she whizzes off to her office because he is self-employed and supervises the maid and the house cleaning. He also boils the drinking water, and personally washes their school going sons white shirts to get them that perfect white. This husband is more an exception than a rule, but this is how it should be done. She comes home and takes over the dinner quotient, but at least its a fair bargain. This is a partnership. For a wife to be dumped with the entire load of the home is not really how women see marriage today.

Girls are go getters with intelligence, they are smart, intelligent, and look forward to a life of more than just home and hearth. They study hard to get somewhere and have much ambition to start with. Should it just end up in a life of housekeeping?

We are living in a transitional age, where both things coexist, change is indeed happening. But it is a fact that men are more often left far behind in the culture mindset wagon. They still have huge expectations from women in a marriage, to run a home, taking care of the children, run the laundry, run everything first before running their own dreams and desires.

My question is, should love and marriage become all about being obsessed with running a house, which can drain you from other creative pursuits that stimulate the mind and ambition? More on this next time

The writer is a columnist, designer and brand consultant. Mail her at nishajamvwal@gmail.com
These vegetables contain a molecule which inactivates a gene known as WWP1.

Hyderabad: A Hyderabad-based private biotechnology research centre (Intonation Research Labratories Pvt Lmt) has collaborated with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston to identify a natural compound in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables which serves as a potent tumour suppressor. The study was published in the journal Science.

The decreased risk of cancer has for long been associated with consumption of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, Brussels sprouts and kale, but the actual gene which works for it was not known.

The current research has found that these cruciferous vegetables contain a molecule which inactivates a gene known as WWP1.

The ingredients in broccoli which was used to test cancer prone laboratory animals found that cancer cells were suppressed.

Dr Suresh Jain, a biotech entrepreneur whose laboratories in Hyderabad are a part of the research, stated that they are a part of the team which has helped to identify the natural compound in broccoli.
22-year-old J Nandini, a student at IIT Madras and former student of Hyderabad Public School, recently bagged the prestigious Erasmus Mundus scholarship by the European Commission to study a joint masters degree in Health Economics.

About the scholarship and the selection process, Nandini said, There were three aspects that I believe helped my application stand out to the committee. First, that I had already received an international academic scholarship prior to this. I had been awarded a fully funded all expenses paid scholarship by the French government for an exchange semester at Sciences Po. Second, my longstanding commitment to development, which resulted in my being chosen as Indias youth representative at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya. Lastly, as an elected department legislator, I contributed to improving social inclusion at IIT Madras.

Since this is a joint masters degree, I will be starting in September 2019 at the University of Bologna in Italy  the oldest continuously running university in the world. From there, I intend to go to Netherlands, Austria, and Norway for the subsequent semesters, she added.

Nandini chose Health Economics after working in the rural areas of Telangana that have been facing the challenge of clean drinking water. When my brother, Arvind Jayakumar, was working towards bringing clean drinking water to 100 villages in rural Telangana, I accompanied him on one of his trips, and the experience was quite impactful. It led me to seek an internship in the field at the World Banks Chennai office and further to my thesis in health finance. Every experience thereafter added to my conviction that this is where I would like to specialise, she said.

Thats not all, though. Nandinis passion for Bharatanatyam led her to start training under Rajeshwari Sainath at the age of five. I have been brought up in a rigorous regimen in a gurukul like a system under my guru Rajeshwari Sainath as a result of which, I learnt Bharatanatyam and the other nuances of classical arts. I have delivered over 100 performances across India in the past 5 years. Bharatanatyam requires years of patience and persistence in order to be able to master the art and has helped me a great deal in coping with studies-related stress. The systematic rigour of classical arts brought balance to my life and has kept me away from the allure of bad habits, she shared.

Nandini further wants to get a Ph.D. in Health Economics and also choreograph her first thematic solo ballet. In terms of academics, I hope to become an expert in the field of public health and policy. In terms of classical arts, I hope to improve access to Bharatanatyam and become worthy of performing some day at the Royal Albert Hall in London, she concluded.
BENGALURU: In one of the biggest crackdowns on the sandalwood smugglers, the Bengaluru police busted a well-organised inter-state gang and seized 4,000 kg of sandalwood, worth Rs 3.5 crore in the international market, from them.

The gang was involved in stealing sandalwood trees for over a decade. They used to smuggle them within India and abroad.

The police arrested 13 smugglers, including the gang leader Abdul Rashid alias Puttu Bayar (48), who hails from Puttur in Dakshina Kannada. He already has several cases of sandalwood smuggling booked against him.

For Central Crime Branch it was a huge challenge to bust this International sandalwood smuggling racket. The raid was meticulously planned for two months and successfully executed on Friday and Saturday.

CCB sleuths got a tip off about the sandalwood smugglers operating from the city and having multiple godowns in Subramanyapura, Electronics City and Vinayaka Nagar. Multiple teams were formed to track the movements of smugglers and their business.

On Friday night, based on credible information, one of the CCB teams intercepted a goods vehicle near Vinayaka theater in Vinayaka Nagar and detained its driver M.S. Basha, a resident of HAL.

When they checked the vehicle, they found seven boxes with 14 sandalwood logs, totally weighing 500 kg. The cops seized the vehicle and took Basha for further questioning.

During the course of investigation, Basha revealed about the godown where his accomplices were put up and also told police about the huge stock of sandalwood.

The police on Saturday morning conducted a raid at a godown and two rooms attached to it in Doddanagamangala in Electronic City police station limits. They were shocked to see over 100 boxes meant to be smuggled to Mumbai, Chennai, Hong Kong, Malaysia, China and Vietnam. The police also picked up 12 smugglers staying in the rooms attached to the godown.

The police said that each box contained sandalwood logs weighing 35 kg and the total weight of the sandalwood seized in operation was 4,000 kg.

Apart from Rashid and Basha, the police have identified the other accused Zuber Khan (33), Saleem Khan (50) and Tahir Khan (25), all residents of HAL; Shafi (30), Mohammad Shabbir alias Munna (20), both from Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada; Naushad (27) and Abubakar Siddiq (40), both hailing from Kasargod in Kerala; Ibrahim (28), Mohammad Anwar alias Annu (23), both from Bantwal, Mubarak (26), a resident of Konanakunte Cross in Bengaluru and Ali Khan alias Mohammad Rahim Khan (40), a resident of Vijayanagar in the city.

Modus operandi

The police found that the accused would source stolen sandalwood logs from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The consignments were brought to the city and stored in the godowns in Subramanyapura, Electronics City and Vinayaka Nagar.

They would pack the sandalwood logs into boxes, in order to avoid arousing suspicion, and send it to their contacts in Chennai, Mumbai and other parts of the country via trucks, buses and trains. The accused would also smuggle sandalwood log boxes abroad via cargo flights.

Background of the accused

According to police, accused number one Abdul Rashid was earlier booked in nine cases of sandalwood smuggling, including four in Andhra Pradesh, three in Kerala, and two each in Bengaluru and Mangaluru.

Two cases of sandalwood smuggling were also booked against Zuber in Andhra Pradesh. Another accused Mubarak used to work in the cargo section of a private bus service and used to facilitate smuggling of log boxes to different cities by buses.
Rahul said, 'It is an unprecedented event. I heard some journalists have been blocked from attending PM Modi's press conference.' (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not taking any questions at his press conference since taking office in 2014.

"Congratulations Modi Ji. Excellent Press Conference! Showing up is half the battle. Next time Mr Shah may even allow you to answer a couple of questions. Well done!" Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

Congratulations Modi Ji. Excellent Press Conference! Showing up is half the battle. Next time Mr Shah may even allow you to answer a couple of questions. Well done!   Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 17, 2019

Addressing his first press conference on Friday, PM Modi left journalists disappointed as he refused to answer questions.

PM Modi made a statement at the BJP headquarters but then deflected journalists' questions to party chief Amit Shah sitting next to him.

Read: 'We will return with full majority,' says PM Modi in his first press conference

Modi said: "I am a disciplined soldier, the party president is everything for me.

"The people have decided that this government should continue. Our government introduced a new culture of governance in India," PM Modi said in his address.

Holding a press meet at the same time as PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi said, "It is an unprecedented event. I heard some journalists have been blocked from attending PM Modi's press conference."

"So I will ask him a question sitting here, why didn't you answer any of my questions on Rafale?" said Rahul.

Rahul Gandhi also repeated his challenge to the Prime Minister of facing him in a debate.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analysis et al. Happy reading.
Mumbai: Have you missed any news today? Here are the top national, international headlines of the day.

Kejriwal v/s BJP: The Delhi BJP on Saturday accused Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of playing politics over the "serious" matter of security and making false allegations against it for "cheap popularity", after he claimed that there was threat to this life from the saffron party.

Read: Kejriwal playing politics on serious matter of security, for cheap popularity: BJP

PM receives defamation notice: TMC leader and nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday sent a defamation notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the alleged derogatory remarks made against him at a public rally on May 15 in Diamond Harbour.

Read: Mamatas nephew Abhishek Banerjee sends defamation notice to PM

Chandrababu Naidus effort for federal front: TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu Saturday met leaders of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party here, continuing his efforts to put together a coalition to form the next government at the Centre. He reached the Uttar Pradesh capital in the evening after meetings in New Delhi with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, CPI leaders G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav.

Read: After Rahul, AP CM meets Akhilesh, Mayawati in coalition-building effort

CEC critices Lavasa's dissent: Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora issues statement on EC Ashok Lavasa's purported letter to him, says, 'an unsavory and avoidable controversy reported in sections of media today about internal functioning of ECI in respect of handling of Model Code of Conduct.'

Read: 'Difference in views, should be': CEC slams row over Lavasa dissent

Haasan's Hindu religion remark: Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan who drew flak from all political quarters and Hindu groups for his remarks on Nathuram Godse, on Saturday once again stoked a possible controversy by saying that the word "Hindu" is of foreign origin and not native to India.

Read: Kamal Haasan says 'Hindu' not native to India; given by Mughals, endorsed by British

Deve Gowda extends support to Congress: HD Deve Gowda, the former prime minister, and chief of Janata Dal (Secular) on Saturday reiterated his support to the Congress party in the ongoing general elections.

Read: Deve Gowda reiterates support to Cong in Ktaka, says 'We are with them'

Siddaramaiah on Sadhvi Pragya's Godse remark: Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday termed Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur a "terrorist" for calling Mahatma Gandhi's killer Nathuram Godse a "true patriot".

Read: Pragya Thakur is a terrorist: Siddaramaiah on 'Godse is Patriot' row

China-Iran holds bilateral talks: Mohammad Javad Zarif met Friday with Wang Yi, whose country has been a major customer for Iranian oil, at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse.

Read: Amid US pressure; China-Iran foreign ministers meet to discuss security

Another state in US bans abortion: Renewed efforts to roll back Roe v. Wade, the landmark US Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973, have been emboldened by two judicial appointments by President Donald Trump that have given conservatives a solid majority on the court.

Read: Missouri follows Alabama; passes law that would ban abortion after 8 weeks

Sri Lanka Easter bombing: Sri Lankan Police said Friday they have arrested a school principal and a teacher for their alleged links to the local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaath (NTJ) blamed by the government for the deadly Easter Sunday bombings which killed nearly 260 people.

Read: Sri Lanka school principal, teacher arrested for link to Easter terror attack

Sitaram Yechury on Lok Sabha election results: CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury refuted claims of helping the BJP get a foothold in Bengal and asserted that the Left will come out with "surprising results" in the Lok Sabha polls.

Read: Will perform like Messi scoring goal dribbling past his opponents: Yechury

Oppositions reaction to first-ever press conference of PM Modi: Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden press conference, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said the presser seemed "like last episode of 'Mann ki Baat' aired on TV instead of radio".

Read: Oppn on PM's presser: 'Like last episode of 'Mann ki Baat',' says SP prez
Omar Abdullah took a dig saying that 'Amit Shah doesn't forget to thank the embedded BJP workers disguised as journalists'. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden press conference, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said the presser seemed "like last episode of 'Mann ki Baat' aired on TV instead of radio".

Yadav took to Twitter, saying: "Development is asking have you seen the first press conference of Pradhan ji. Seems like the last episode of 'Mann ki Baat' has been aired on TV instead of radio. Media persons did not get to ask their questions and the disciplined soldiers remained silent."

   :        ?            TV    .



               . pic.twitter.com/cOytuPKdDL  Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) May 17, 2019

Loktantrik Janata Dal party chief Sharad Yadav termed the press conference the 'farewell press conference' of the BJP.

"It is unfortunate that even after 5 years of rule of d BJP PM could not face media. It's a question in everybody's mind. Before d last phase of election PM has given clear indication from his body language that he has accepted defeat & it was like a farewell P.C of d Party & Govt," he tweeted.

It is unfortunate that even after 5 years of rule of d BJP PM could not face media. Its a question in everybody's mind. Before d last phase of election PM has given clear indication from his body language that he has accepted defeat & it was like a farewell P.C of d Party & Govt  SHARAD YADAV (@SharadYadavMP) May 17, 2019

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah took a dig saying that "Amit Shah doesn't forget to thank the embedded BJP workers disguised as journalists".

Amit Shah doesnt forget to thank the embedded BJP workers disguised as journalists. https://t.co/MsSOpi0nDw  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 17, 2019

Referring to Modi's reluctance to address the press, Congress leader Ahmed Patel said in a tweet: "Never seen a press conference where someone else is answering questions on your behalf. There was no need to lower the dignity of the office of the Prime Minister just to prove a point."

Never seen a press conference where someone else is answering questions on your behalf



There was no need to lower the dignity of the office of the Prime Minister just to prove a point  Ahmed Patel (@ahmedpatel) May 17, 2019

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted: "Today, the whole country saw Modi ji's body language at the press conference. The world has seen that Modi ji has accepted defeat and he presented himself in the same way in front of the media. He did not answer any question. No one can ask him a question."

Earlier, soon after PM's media interaction was over, Congress president Rahul Gandhi wrote on Twitter: "Congratulations Modi Ji. Excellent Press Conference! Showing up is half the battle. Next time Mr Shah may even allow you to answer a couple of questions. Well done!"

Congratulations Modi Ji. Excellent Press Conference! Showing up is half the battle. Next time Mr Shah may even allow you to answer a couple of questions. Well done!   Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 17, 2019

Read: 'Excellent press conference! Showing up is half the battle': Rahul's dig at PM

Gandhi, who held a parallel press conference at the time Modi and Shah were meeting reporters, repeatedly urged the Prime Minister to debate him on several issues.
On June 14 last year, Aurangzeb was abducted by militants as he left his unit to celebrate Eid at his home in the frontier district of Poonch. (Photo: File)

Srinagar: In their continued tough campaign against separatist militants, the security forces on Saturday killed four more of them in two separate encounters in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama and Baramulla districts. One of the slain militants was involved in the murder of Army jawan Aurangzeb in June last year, the police said.

Rifleman Aurangzeb of the J&K Light Infantry attached with Armys counterinsurgency 44 Rashtriya Rifles was posted in south Kashmirs Shopian district. On June 14 last year, he was abducted by militants as he left his unit to celebrate Eid at his home in the frontier district of Poonch. The same evening his bullet-riddled body was found ten kilometres away from the place of kidnapping, evoking a nation-wide outrage. He has posthumously conferred the Shaurya Chakra, a gallantry award given during no war and no peace scenarios, on the Independence Day this year.

The police said that Showkat Dar, one of the three militants killed in a firefight with security forces in Panzgam village of Pulwama district on Saturday, was part of the group which abducted and subsequently killed Aurangzeb. He was part of a group involved in the killing of Army jawan Aurangzeb last year. He was also involved in the killing of a policeman Aqib Ahmed Wagay the same year besides planning and executing series of attacks on the security establishment in the area and many other civilian atrocities, a police spokesman here said.

The spokesman identified the two other slain militants as Irfan War and Muzaffar Sheikh and said that the trio was affiliated with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit.

Giving the details of the encounter, defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said that the Armys 55 Rashtriya Rifles, J&K polices counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) laid siege to Panzgam at dawn on Saturday after receiving inputs about the presence of militants in the village. While the cordon-and-search operation was underway, the terrorists hiding in the area opened fire on security forces. The fire was returned, triggering the encounter, he said.

Later during the day, fighting broke out also in Hathlangoo village outside the north-western town of Sopore when the Armys 22 Rashtriya Rifles and SOG launched a cordon-and-search operation in the area on learning about the presence of militants inside a residential house. Simultaneously, the authorities suspended the mobile Internet services in Sopore town as a precautionary measure.

The police said that one militant was killed in the Hathlangoo firefight and that the slain mans identity is being ascertained.

On Wednesday, five militants were killed by the security forces in two separate encounters in Pulwama and Shopian districts. The officials had said that one of the slain militants was top Jaish-e-Muhammad commander Khalid Bhai, a Pakistani national. Two Army jawans and two civilians were also killed during these operations.

A shutdown was observed in Kashmir Valley on Friday to mourn and protest the killing of militants and civilians. The call for the strike had been issued by Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), the alliance of key separatist leaders, saying Theres no let up in killings in Kashmir, even during the holy month of Ramzan.

A report from Anantnag said that traders brought their shutters down and public transport services were withdrawn from roads in the town and its neighbourhood on Saturday following rumours that a local Lashkar-e-Tayyaba militant Tariq Khan has been surrounded by the security forces during a search operation in Dehruna village of Kokernag area of the district. The police sources said that the operation at Dehruna was called off after the militants reportedly managed to escape from the village.

Meanwhile, curfew continued to be in force in Bhaderwah town of eastern Doda district on the third consecutive day in view of persisting tensions set off by the killing of a 50-year-old drover Nayeem Ahmed Shah. The police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the shooting incident in which two other persons were injured during the intervening night of May 15 and 16.

The incident, blamed on cow-vigilantes by the local Muslim groups had sparked off violent protests in Bhaderwah following which the communally sensitive town was brought under indefinite curfew from Thursday morning. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shabir Ahmed Malik said the situation in the area is peaceful now. He said that newly constituted SIT along with a team of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) Jammu visited the crime scene on Saturday morning to collect the evidence.

The police have seized the 12 bore gun used in the crime. Seven persons have been detained for questioning. The police have, however, expressed doubt over the charge that those involved in the killing of Shah are cow-vigilantes.

The driver and two others were attacked at 2 am on Wednesday night when they were returning to their native Mohalla Qilla of Bhaderwah along with a herd of cattle. While the local Muslim groups have alleged that they were targeted deliberately at the behest of BJP, RSS and Shiv Sena goons hell-bent to polarize the situation in Bhaderwah, the accused have claimed that they opened fire after they found the men roaming under suspicious circumstances in the dead of the night.
Kolkata: A day before seeking his re-election West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees nephew Abhishek Banerjee has sent a defamation notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly calling him Gunda and threatening to lock his office after the Lok Sabha Election results during his May 15 rally at Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas.

Asking Mr Modi to prove his claims, the young Trinamul MP also demanded the PM to tender an unconditional apology in next 36 hours.

The letter, sent by his lawyer Sanjay Basu to the PM on Saturday, states, Your speech, punctuated by false, malicious,and defamatory content, was an embodiment of political calculation and mischievous intent. Your imputations were deliberate and mala fide, perpetrated through thinly-veiled references of Bhatija (nephew) and Didi while being fully aware that Mamata Banerjee is referred to as Didi and my client himself is the only nephew of the said Banerjee who is involved in public life and is the sitting MP from Diamond Harbour.

Describing Mr Modis allegations as slanderous, malicious and false, the letter argued, In your speech, you referred to my client as a Gunda or goon. Such statements, other than being attempts to deceive the public through rhetoric, are hardly appropriate for a person holding your position. My client denies all your claims and challenges you to provide proof of such deliberate misstatements.

The letter also claimed that Mr Modi had threatened to lock Abhisheks office after the results of Lok Sabha elections are announced. In the event an unconditional apology is not issued to my client within 36 hours of receipt of this notice, my client will be constrained to initiate appropriate proceedings against you in accordance with the laws of this country without any further notice.

The aforesaid is without prejudice to my clients other rights and contentions, it added.

During the rally the PM had said, Didis nephews office will be locked after the announcement of the results. I have been told that his office was built by occupying the public road following the Trinamul tradition. Didi, your party has earned a lot by Tolabaaji (extortion). Do not occupy public road for the construction of nephews office at least.
New School

Push science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and not Myths and mythology!

STEM is an approach to learning and development that integrates the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. STEM advances excellence, innovation, and equity in science, technology, engineering, and math education for all students is the right ecosystem essential for imparting quality education.

Through STEM, students develop key skills including: Problem solving

Creativity

Critical analysis

Teamwork

Independent thinking

Initiative

Communication

Digital literacy.

The continual advances in technology are changing the way students learn, connect and interact every day. Skills developed by students through STEM provide them with the foundation to succeed at school and beyond.

The practice of mixing Science with Mythology is Pseudo science. But in the last few years this Pseudo science has gained some legitimacy it does not deserve. We must foster rational thought and scientific temper.

Artificial intelligence, Nano Medicine, Miniaturization, clean energy, Robotic surgery etc. has entered the world. Let us open our eyes to these endless possibilities. Let us not push myths and Mythology.

Effective education is a learning experience. It is inviting truth. It can be defined as the wise, hopeful and respectful cultivation of learning undertaken in the belief that all should have the chance to share in life. Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits.

Old school Traditional education, also known as back-to-basics education

Old school concept was tailored by British to produce cooks, clerks and civil servants to serve them in the colonial realm. India, with more than 1.4 million schools and more than 230 million enrolments, is home to one of the largest and complex school education systems in the world.

Our K-12 system largely still adheres to the century-old, industrial-age factory model of education. But the factory model of education is the wrong model for the 21st century. Traditional education refers to long-established customs that society traditionally used in schools. The systematic provision of learning techniques to most children, such as literacy, has been a development of the last 150 to 200 years.

When it comes to education policy, inconstancy is the only constant. Many people have a superficial concept of education; equating it with doing a particular course or obtaining a particular qualification.

Factory model a myth?

The back door of the school leads to the front door of a factory!

The "factory model of education" is invoked as shorthand for the flaws in today's schools - flaws that can be addressed by new technologies or by new policies.

Mass education was the ingenious machine constructed by industrialism to produce the kind of adults it needed. The problem was inordinately complex - a world in which time was to be regulated not by the cycle of sun and moon, but by the factory whistle and the clock.

They learn from a unified curriculum. The classes start and end with the bell. It's my view that the factory model did?and still continues to?exist. At its core, the model refers to the creation of a standardized, ubiquitous model which trains students to listen to instructions and overall, be submissive to authority.

Standardization would be infused with capitalism to create the ultimate workforce. We're cantered around control, using a traditional structure to tell children what to do, how to do it, and then expect the same uniform result.

(The writer Dr. Prabhudev is former Vice-Chancellor, Bangalore University)
Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena on Saturday said the declaration of final results of each Lok Sabha constituency will be only after 6 pm in view of the additional time required for counting of VVPAT slips.

At a press meet here, Mr Meena said on an average four hours will be required for counting EVMs. There will be 14 rounds of counting along with postal ballots. The postal ballots will be counted first in the hall where RO is present followed by counting of EVMs at 8.30 am. In rest of the halls the counting will begin at 8 am.

The VVPATs will be selected by lots. Returning officer will draw the lots randomly. The five selected VVPATS will not be counted simultaneously. A total of 35 VVPATs will be counted in each parliamentary constituency.

There is a possibility of difference in vote tally between control unit and VVPAT slip count. In such a situation, the VVPAT figure will be taken as final. However, before deciding the final figure the slips will be counted two three times.

Those who are experts in counting the currency notes in banks will be preferably requisitioned for the counting VVPAT slips.

On an average five to six hours will be needed to count VVPAT slips which will be about 60,000 to 70,000 per constituency. Hence official declaration will take place after nine to ten hours.

The last two rounds of EVM will be stopped in the main hall to complete the process of counting of postal ballot and service votes. The round wise results will be on NIC software and Suvidha.

Mr Meena said counting would take place in 29 locations comprising 140 counting centres across the state on May 23. Each hall will have 14 counting tables. If required more tables will be arranged with the permission of EC. Only official videographer will be allowed inside the counting hall.

Counting will begin at 8 am. First the postal ballots would be counted along with the scanning of service votes. All postal ballots received by 8 am on May 23 will be counted. Four counting tables will be used for postal ballots. In case if the victory margin is less than the total postal ballots received then these would be recounted and the entire process will be video graphed.

The first round of counting will be completed only after the counting of EVMS , declaration of results at the end of the round, feeding the data in Suvidah portal, signed by observer and sent to EC. The second round counting will begin only after completing the above process.

Security : Three tier security will be provided at the counting stations . Local police will be deployed within 100 meters of the building, Kerala armed police inside the campus and Central Paramilitary forces at the gate. There are 16 companies of central forces currently deployed outside strong rooms.DGP Loknath Behara said the police has made elaborate security arrangements for counting on May 23. There have been instances of violence before and after counting in the past hence all measures are being taken to prevent such incidents.
Hyderabad: The Congress is trying very hard to form a government at the centre with its UPA allies and keep the BJP out of power should the latter not get the required majority to form the government.

With four days left before the election results are announced, the Congress leadership is holding a series of meetings with the party's senior leaders.

UPA chairperson and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi has summoned all Congress Chief Ministers to Delhi. Meetings with senior Congressmen, general secretaries and those in charge of the party at state level will be held on May 22, a day before the Lok Sabha results are announced. On May 23, Ms Gandhi is holding a meeting with UPA allies and some other political parties.

In the May 22 meeting, the party will prepare a strategy to reach out to anti-BJP and neutral parties to get them into the UPA's fold. Ms Gandhi is likely to assign the party's senior leaders to do this job. The meeting will also discuss the strategy to be adopted in the May 23 meeting of the UPA and allied parties.

Former Prime Minister and JD(S) president, H D Deve Gowda, and his son, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, have said that being a coalition partner of the Congress in Karnataka and having fought the Lok Sabha elections as its ally, their party would support any decision taken by the Congress to keep the BJP-led NDA alliance out of power.

Speaking to the media in Tirupati on Saturday, they said that it is not possible for regional parties to form the government at the Centre without the support of the Congress. There are many aspirants for prime ministership and a consensus has to be reached among them.

Mr Deve Gowda said that he will communicate his opinion to Ms Gandhi at the meeting of UPA allies on May 23.

Meanwhile, AICC general secretary and Telangana state Congress affairs in-charge R.C. Khuntia, who is currently in his home state Odisha, said that he would be in Delhi on May 20. He told this newspaper that he had no information about the meeting scheduled for May 22.
The visit of Shah, the BJP candidate from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, came on the eve of the conclusion of the seven-phase elections. (Photo: ANI twitter)

Ahmedabad: BJP president Amit Shah Saturday offered prayers at famous Somnath temple in Gujarat along with his family members. Shah, who is on Gujarat visit, was accompanied by his wife, a son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

They performed rituals at the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located in Gir-Somnath district.

As part of his Gujarat visit, Shah will spend a day with his family members at their residence in Ahmedabad before returning to Delhi on Sunday, party spokesperson Prashant Vala said.

Shah is also a trustee of the Shree Somnath Trust that manages affairs of the temple.

The visit of Shah, the BJP candidate from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, came on the eve of the conclusion of the seven-phase elections. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.

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Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad claimed that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not remove Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir even if it stays in power for 100 years at the Centre. (Photo: File)

Una: Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad claimed that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not remove Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir even if it stays in power for 100 years at the Centre.

"BJP will not remove Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir even if it stays in power for 100 years at the Centre, I can assure you. It was in no mood to do that even when Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was in power," Azad told reporters addressing an election rally here on Friday.

Azad was campaigning in Haroli along with Congress' star campaigner Acharya Pramod Krishnam and party's MLA Mukesh Agnihotri.

He also said Azhar Masood's release by the BJP government was not a major point in the ongoing elections.

"Masood Azhar's release by the previous BJP government is not an important point in the ongoing elections. These are useless points being raised just to create drama, our topics for elections used to be whether poverty has been wiped out, unemployment ended," he said.

The senior Congress leader also said Rahul Gandhi's candidature for the Prime Minister's post was important but it would be achieved through consensus.

"We are aiming for 273 plus seats so that there is no confusion but even if we don't achieve that we would like to form the government with the other parties. Rahul Gandhi, being the leader of the biggest party in the country, would be an ideal candidate for the PM post," he said.

Earlier on Friday, Azad appeared to have made a u-turn saying his party must be given a chance if a stable government is needed at the Centre, in remarks that came a day after he had said that Congress was only keen on defeating NDA and the prime minister's post was not its primary concern.

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Lucknow: Disgruntled BJP ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party's chief Om Prakash Rajbhar has urged supporters to thrash ruling party workers with shoes if they spread misinformation, prompting the senior coalition partner to suggest that the EC should take note.

Last month, Rajbhar submitted his resignation from the Yogi Adityanath's BJP-led ministry, but it is yet to be accepted. He has also announced fielding Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Part candidates from several constituencies in Uttar Pradesh.

Rajbhar is heard asking his party workers to beat the BJP workers in a video of his address to an election meeting earlier in Ghosi parliamentary constituency.

The video has gone viral on social media. The video shows him asking supporters to beat up BJP workers if they suggest that a local SBSP candidate is not actually contesting.

BJP workers are telling everyone that we have an alliance, and Mahendra is not contesting, he is heard saying in the video clip.

"So, if you find a BJP leader saying such things, take out your shoe and beat him 10 times with it, he said.

Reacting to Rajbhar's statement, state BJP media coordinator Rakesh Tripathi said, "This is extremely unfortunate and objectionable. We expect the Election Commission to take cognizance of the remarks and initiate stringent actions. Tough action must be taken for making statements that can spread hatred in society, he said.

The SBSP has fielded as many as 39 candidates in the state in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

The SBSP's flags were also seen in Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi's roadshow in Mirzapur on Friday.

The SBSP is a BJP ally in UP, and had won four seats in the 2017 UP Assembly elections. Rajbhar is the UP cabinet minister for Backward class welfare and Divyangjan Empowerment.

Earlier on April 15, Rajbhar had said there was a meeting on the alliance at the chief minister's residence on April 13, in which Union minister J P Nadda was also present.

At that meeting, the BJP had proposed to field an SBSP candidate on its symbol, which was disapproved by him, Rajbhar added.

He insisted to use his party symbol even if the SBSP got just one seat to contest. The UP minister for backward class welfare and 'divyangjan' empowerment said he had sought time from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, but was yet to get an appointment.

Meanwhile, Rajbhar's son and SBSP general secretary Arun Rajbhar said, "The alliance with the BJP is for the assembly polls and not for the Lok Sabha elections."
Gowda told reporters that he has been visiting the ancient shrine for the last 35 years on his birthday on May 18. (Photo: ANI twitter)

Tirupati: Former prime minister and JD(S)leader H D Deve Gowda offered prayers at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara near here on his 86th birthday Saturday.

Gowda arrived here last evening along with his son and Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and other family members. After offering prayers this morning, Gowda told reporters that he has been visiting the ancient shrine for the last 35 years on his birthday on May 18. "As a member of Lok Sabha in the complex political situation, what I can do I don't know.. we are with the Congress," he said in response to a question.

Kumaraswamy predicted that the Congress-JD(S) alliance in Karnataka would secure 18 to 19 seats (out of 28) in the Lok Sabha elections. To a query, he said there was no change in his party's stand and it would support the Congress in the formation of a new government at the Centre.

Asked about the Cauvery water sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Naidu, Kumaraswamy avoided a direct reply and said he has come to Tirumala to pray to Lord Venkateswara for good rains this year. Later, they all left for Bengaluru.

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'The BJP is after my life, they will murder me one day,' Kejriwal told a news channel in Punjab. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: The Delhi BJP on Saturday accused Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of playing politics over the "serious" matter of security and making false allegations against it for "cheap popularity", after he claimed that there was threat to this life from the saffron party.

The party questioned why the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief did not file a police complaint if he had doubts about the integrity of his PSO and said he has insulted the police personnel.

The BJP's reaction came after Kejriwal said, "The BJP would get me murdered by my own PSO (Personal Security Officer) one day like Indira Gandhi. My own security officers report to BJP."

"The BJP is after my life, they will murder me one day," Kejriwal told a news channel in Punjab.

Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta condemned Kejriwal's remarks. "On May 4, before he was slapped, Kejriwal had told his Liasoning Officer to remove security from his vehicle. His instruction is entered in Roznamcha, which I had exposed earlier. After failing to get political advantage of this incident in the elections, Kejriwal is now saying that his PSO reports to the BJP," Gupta alleged.

The BJP leader said it is unfortunate that Kejriwal is taking such a serious matter of security lightly and playing politics by making statements to the media.

"If he has no faith in his PSO and doubts his integrity, he should have reported the matter to the police immediately and his PSO should have been removed.''

"As he has made no complaint to the police, he is only trying to get cheap popularity and distracting the attention of the people by making such statements in media," he alleged.

He said Kejriwal should report the matter to the police instead of making false allegations against the BJP, so that police can take immediate action on the complaint.

"Kejriwal has been accusing the BJP and others several times in the past and later also apologised for making those false allegations. Despite this, he continues to make such false allegations," he said.

He claimed the Aam Aadmi Party supremo moves with the "highest security cover". BJP Delhi spokesperson Harish Khurana said Kejriwal's statements depict his "cheap mentality".

"His statements not only insult Delhi Police but also the security forces that guard us. He should be ashamed of his thinking," he posted on Twitter in Hindi.

Earlier this month, the chief minister was slapped by a man during a roadshow in Delhi's Moti Nagar area on Saturday. The Delhi Police had claimed that the culprit was a disgruntled AAP worker but the party blamed the BJP for the attack.
The minister informed that the Karnataka government will release one thousand million cubics (TMC) of water to help the people deal with the crisis. (Photo: File)

Bengaluru: As Karnataka reels under drought, state Water Resource Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday alleged that Maharashtra was not releasing water to Krishna river despite an agreement reached between the two states.

"We requested Maharastra government to release water as they agreed after our continuous request, but now the government is not ready to release water to Krishna river," Shivakumar said.

The minister informed that the Karnataka government will release one thousand million cubics (TMC) of water to help the people deal with the crisis.

He said, "For the benefit of the farmers and people of Kagwad and Athani, we are releasing last one TMC live storage."

The state government has, so far, declared more than 3,000 regions to be highly affected by drinking water scarcity.

According to the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, 138 out of a total of 176 talukas in Karnataka have a low groundwater level. Bagepalli, Chikkaballapura, Sidlaghatta, Bangarpet and Kolar are among the worst affected talukas.

The state government, in December last year, declared 156 out of the 176 talukas as drought-hit due to failed Monsoon.

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Polling will be held in all 13 seats in Punjab and an equal number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat Chandigarh. (Photo: twitter/ANI)

New Delhi: The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, one of the most bitterly fought in recent memory, will come to a close on Sunday when polling will be held in 59 constituencies including in Varanasi where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to retain the seat.

Polling will be held in all 13 seats in Punjab and an equal number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat Chandigarh.

Over 10.01 crore voters are expected to decide the fate of 918 candidates. The Election Commission has set up more than 1.12 lakh polling stations for smooth conduct of polls.

On Sunday, a bypoll will be held in Panaji, necessitated due to the death of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar in March.

Bye-elections will also be held in four assembly constituencies of Tamil Nadu -- Sulur, Aravakurichi, Ottapidaram (SC) and Thiruparankundram.

Counting of votes will be taken up on May 23. An average of 66.88 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the last six phases. The whole elections were spread over 38 days.

In Uttar Pradesh, all eyes will be on Varanasi, where besides Modi, 25 other candidates are in fray. Modi's main challengers are Congress's Ajay Rai and SP-BSP grand alliance's nominee Shalini Yadav.

Union minister Manoj Sinha, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey are seeking re-election from Ghazipur and Chandauli, respectively.

The BJP is contesting 11 Lok Sabha seats in this phase, while its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) is contesting Mirzapur, currently held by Union minister Anupriya Patel, and Robertsganj.

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri are among the 278 candidates including 24 women whose fate will be decided in Punjab on Sunday.

Besides Punjab, more than 6 lakh voters in the union territory of Chandigarh will choose between sitting MP and BJP candidate Kirron Kher and former railway minister and Congress candidate Pawan Kumar Bansal.

Actor turned politician Sunny Deol, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab unit chief Bhagwant Mann are among other prominent candidates in the fray. On most of the 13 seats, the contest appears to be a direct fight between the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance.

A conglomeration of several political outfits, the Punjab Democratic Alliance (PDA) led by AAP rebel Sukhpal Singh Khaira, is also contesting on all 13 seats while SAD (Taksali), breakaway faction of SAD, has fielded one candidate from Anandpur Sahib.

In 2014, the AAP and the SAD had won four seats each, the Congress three and the BJP two. An electorate of 1,49,63,064 will decide the fate of 111 candidates in nine seats of West Bengal -- Kolkata North and Kolkata South, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, Jaynagar (SC) and Mathurapur (SC).

Eight seats, barring Jadavpur, will witness a contest among the Trinamool Congress, the BJP, the Congress and the Left Front. The Congress has given the Jadavpur seat a miss.

The nine constituencies are spread across the three districts of Kolkata, South and North 24 Parganas. The high-voltage campaign for the final phase saw poll meetings by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress leader Sachin Pilot and West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.

Shah's roadshow in the city on Tuesday was marred by violence and destruction of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's bust in a college in north Kolkata.

In a first such action in India's electoral history, the Election Commission ordered campaigning in the nine West Bengal constituencies to end at 10 pm on Thursday, instead of 6 pm on Friday, in the wake of the violence between the BJP and the TMC during Shah's roadshow.

As many as four Union ministers -- Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ram Kripal Yadav, RK Singh and Ashwini Kumar Choubey -- are among the 157 candidates in Bihar. Seven of these seats were won by the NDA last time, five by the BJP and two by the RLSP, which is now with the "Mahagathbandhan".

One was bagged by the JD(U) headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, which then fought separately but is now back with the NDA. By-poll will also be held for the Dehri Assembly seat.

The most keenly-watched contest is in Patna Sahib where Prasad, one of the most prominent members of the Narendra Modi cabinet, is seeking entry into the Lok Sabha.

He is pitted against Shatrughan Sinha - the actor-turned-politician, who won it on both occasions for the BJP and is now in the fray as the Congress candidate.

The electoral fortunes of 42 candidates including that of former chief minister and Union minister Shibu Soren will be decided on Sunday in Jharkhand. Soren, the chief of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and a eighth term sitting MP is in the fray from Dumka seat once again.

He is crossing swords with BJP's Sunil Soren. The JMM leader had defeated his BJP challenger twice in 2009 and 2014. Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa seats in Madhya Pradesh, all currently held by the BJP, will go to polls in Madhya Pradesh.

Former Union ministers Kantilal Bhuria, Arun Yadav are in the fray from Ratlam and Khandwa, the latter seeing a tough fight between Yadav and ex-MP BJP chief Nandkumar Singh Chauhan.

Polling will also be held in all four Lok Sabha constituencies in Himachal Pradesh where as many as 45 candidates, including five legislators, are in the fray.

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Hyderabad: The YSR Congress Party approached the Election Commission of India on Saturday seeking immediate intervention and necessary orders to ensure free and fair elections in Chandragiri Assembly segment of Andhra Pradesh.

The party has also urged the poll body for re-polling in two booths- Peddagorupadu and Chandragiri constituencies after conducting an inquiry based on CCTV footage.

As per YSR Congress Party, Dalits were threatened on the day of voting and were not allowed to vote in some of the villages in Chandragiri Assembly constituency.

The party also stated that DEO/RO did not take up the matter seriously and made no arrangements, either in terms of security or separate booths, to take care of the vulnerable sections that are under threat by the undemocratic forces and anti-social elements from freely exercising their vote.

"Since that didn't happen, as usual, the elections were rigged and Dalits were not allowed to vote in these booths. The DEO despite the availability of CC camera footage refused to look into the complaint and reported that nothing serious or objectionable has happened. Had he gone through CC camera footage, he could have taken a different stand without any political bias. Thereafter, we had no choice except to seek justice in the court of law. However, thankfully, Election Commission intervened after appreciating our evidence and CC footage and decided to order re-polling in 5 out of the 7 booths based on available evidence," the letter penned down by V Vijayasai Reddy, national general secretary of YSR Congress Party read.

In the letter, the political quarter has written that they have completely lost confidence in DEO and has sought strict action against him for not taking the matter seriously.

"We earlier approached the Returning Officer to verify the CC footage of two booths, Peddagorupadu, Chinnagorupadu of Pakala Mandal, Chandragiri constituency, wherein Telugu Desam party activists committed mass rigging. Despite our request, the Returning Officer did not bother to look at the CCTV footage which is more or less direct and impeachable evidence. Right from voters' enumeration till the free and fair conduct of the poll, at every stage the Returning Officer has been conducting himself in an absolutely biased manner and playing according to the dictates of the Telugu Desam Party," the letter further read.

The political party led by Y. S. Vijayamma also slammed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for opposing the re-polling in five polling stations under 166-Chandragiri and 25-Chittoor parliamentary constituencies.

In the concluding statement, the YSR Congress Party also claimed that the District Collector is also dancing to the tunes of the Chief Minister instead of discharging his responsibilities in an unbiased manner.

"He failed to provide adequate police protection despite receiving direction from Election Commission. It is high time that the Election Commission may have a look at his conduct and discharge him to avoid jeopardising the counting process.

We request a strong message from the Election Commission in this regard. We are confident that the Election Commission will immediately take action in this issue," the letter read.
VIJAYAWADA: The Chief Ministers of both Telugu states are working hard to unite opposition leaders in the event of a hung parliament. Telugu Desam national president and AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is busy in the national capital drawing up a post-election strategy to form an alliance government.

Telangana state Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has also tried to meet national leaders of various parties to put together a Federal Front but has met with comparatively less success.

With the exception of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy of the YSR Congress, none of the regional leaders, especially BSP chief Mayawati and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, has shown any enthusiasm for the Front.

Mr Naidu has had talks with Sharad Pawar, Sharad Yadav, Mayawati, Akhilesh, Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy and other national leaders.

He also met AICC president Rahul Gandhi and discussed the political scenario.

Mr Naidu elaborated on the strategies to unite opposition parties to form a government at the Centre during the meeting with Mr Gand-hi, who expressed his support for a united opposition. Sharad Paw-ar of the National Cong-ress Party also supported the proposal.

Mr Naidu then went to Lucknow and met Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and sought her support for the alliance.

He held talks with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and discussed the seats that would go to the NDA and UPA. The TD chief has held several rounds of discussion with opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Mr Naidu said that if needed he will go to West Bengal to meet Ms Banerjee about the formation of the alliance government.

Mr Naidu said he told the national leaders whom he met that the NDA will get only 200 seats of the total 543 seats and oppositional parties will get the rest. If the opposition parties come together it is possible for them to form the government.

Mr Naidu has even submitted a report to Rahul Gandhi about the TD winning in Andhra Pradesh and the formation of an alliance government at the Centre.
Hyderabad: Modi will not become PM again. There will be a hung parliament. Neither the BJP nor the Congress will get absolute majority. There will be a difference of only 20 to 30 seats between these two parties, said Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao in a recent meeting held to review the progress of the Kaleshwaram project.

According to a senior official who attended the meeting, Mr Rao was confident that the Modi government had done nothing for Telangana state in the last five years. He said that when Mr Rao was asked who would be the next PM if it was not Mr Modi, the Chief Minister laughed, but did not answer.

Mr Rao also reportedly said that the old days will come back  a hint about 2004 when the UPA formed the government in which Mr Rao was a cabinet minister. It seems that Mr Rao is more inclined towards the Congress winning than the BJP.

Mr Rao also expressed displeasure at the BJP government for not doing anything for Telangana state. This time he wants to put a charter of demands before any alliance that wants his support, which may include national status for the Prana-hitha-Chevella Irrigation project, special funds for the development of backward districts, and construction of the Bayyaram steel plant in Khammam district.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had hoped this time that West Bengal would turn out to be its Uttar Pradesh of 2014. In the 2019 edition of the polls, the party dreamt that even if its strike rate did not match the phenomenal 91 per cent in UP, at least it would go beyond being an impressive also-ran, to a party that could harness anti-incumbent sentiment and also win a significant number of seats. It hoped that the expected losses in the Hindi-speaking states would be somewhat compensated by gains in West Bengal.

Undoubtedly, ever since the Trinamul Congress stormed to power in West Bengal in 2011, Mamata Banerjee faces her sternest test. In many ways, this election will go down in history as a watershed, not just in the state but nationally too, and the stakes are unprecedentedly higher. Most people are quick to point out the violent character of elections in the state. Yet few took note that the state has a 50-year old history of the ruling party de facto seizing control of the state, especially the law-enforcement machinery. Whether one likes or not, parties need a combination of cadre network and muscle power, and the absence or weakness of either hinders victory.

This culture of competitive political violence exists from the late 1960s. The balance shifted in favour of the challenger for the first time by the Left From in 1977, when it seized political power from the incumbent Congress Party. Thereafter, the Communist parties remained entrenched till 2011 when Mamata Banerjee wrested power. It took her a decade and a half of consistent grassroots political campaigning to build an enviable party network which could challenge the Left, and once this was in place, muscle power flowed into its organisation. On both occasions, the defeat of the incumbent was possible only because of challengers organisational network.

The BJP, in contrast, has not done the hard work and failed to build a party grid of significance. It banks solely on Prime Minister Narendra Modis image, with other national leaders bringing up the chorus. Their high visibility and the lack of a charismatic local leadership resulted in the organisational structure either remaining weak in areas where it was present, or not taking ground where it did not exist prior to 2014.

The situation made the BJP increasingly desperate. Speeches by the top brass indicated a realisation that the sangathan deficit and the shakti that flows towards it after its full construction, could be countered only by staging jhamela, the word used in the self-video circulated by a low-level BJP functionary. But then, Mamata Banerjee is no genteel foe who can be bowed into submission. For every vituperative attack, she had a retort. For every snort, she had a grunt. She and Mayawati are the political subalterns challenging the leader who once moralistically claimed to be an outsider, yet became the establishment overnight.

The desecration of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagars statue by the lumpen brigade after BJP president Amit Shahs motorised cavalcade put them in the same club as adventurist Naxalites who almost half a century ago embarked on beheading statues of icons of the Bengal Renaissance and Bengali culture. The romantic rebels rebelled against the past as they considered these iconic characters, ranging from Raja Rammohun Roy, Vidyasagar, Ram Krishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore and several others, contributed to the emergence of the bhadralok, essentially the enemy of the people.

It would be easy to dismiss the vandalism at Vidyasagar College as an act of political violence where the target was any statue. However, one cannot but factor the enormous symbolism of Vidyasagar in the campaign directed against communalism, prejudice and discrimination, the three tenets which are integral to the Hindutva idea in some form or the other. Moreover, Mamata Banerjee is an eyesore for the newly-created Hanuman brigade, which the BJP has sent to bat for it on the streets of Bengal.

She, after all, stands against patriarchal stereotypes  not good looking (by market standards), single and fiercely independent, verbally offensive to the core on any given day, yet caring for her people  in many ways the real-life parallel of Ritwik Ghataks immortal protagonist in Meghe Dhaka Tara. The chief minister is, in many ways, the very girl that Vidyasagar wished every girl to become and thus the attack on his statue becomes an attack on his idea of the real-life character deified in Durga and Kali Pujas every year in Bengal.

Into this macabre Hindutva plot, where Ram Bhakti was introduced as a political tool, as distinct from the cultural form of the public religious ceremonies of Bengal, and where Hindu anxiety has been pumped for political gains in a culture which had rejected the ideas of Hindu nationalistic stalwarts like Syama Prasad Mookerjee and N.C. Chatterjee after a few years, the Election Commission stepped in and decided to play a role. That the referee has played a partisan role across India has been widely commented on, but its decision to curtail the campaign by a day was blatant one-sidedness. It is no coincidence that the commission acted in West Bengal only after Amit Shah accused it of being blind to what was unfolding.

The ECs order was based on hearsay, that Trinamul leaders warned that Central forces will leave after the elections while we will remain. It cited the same points that its critics did while criticising the ECs inaction on charges of violations of the Model Code of Conduct by Prime Miniser Narendra Modi and Mr Shah: Democracy forms the basic structure of the Constitution; and Free and fair elections are the bedrock of all democratic institutions. Was not the EC aware of these observations of the Supreme Court when it chose not to act after the Opposition complained? Furthermore, why did the commission not curtail the campaigning immediately? Was it to enable Mr Modi to address two planned rallies on Thursday? Whatever be the verdict on May 23, the shadow of this election in West Bengal will cast its shadow on the republic for long.
There are two developments that have greatly upset me this last week. First, is the incarceration of BJP worker, Priyanka Sharma, for a meme she shared on social media satirising Mamata Banerjee. The second is the statement made by Pragya Thakur Singh, the terror accused who is the BJP's candidate from Bhopal. In a statement that caused widespread outrage she said: Nathuram Godse was a deshbhakt (patriot), he is and will remain a deshbhakt. Those calling him a terrorist should instead look at themselves. They will be given a befitting reply in this election.

Why is the West Bengal government so sensitive about a meme about its chief minister, Mamata Banerjee? All that the young BJP activist, Priyanka, did was to superimpose the face of the CM on that of actress Priyanka Chopra's Met Gala photograph. For this grave offence she was arrested and sent to 14 days judicial custody on the charge of violating Sections 66A and 67A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, and for defamation under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code.

Frankly, this kind of overreaction is ridiculous. People in public life, who have opted to be in the public gaze, cannot have such a thin skin to criticism  if this is how a meme is to be viewed. Since our Independence we have had a glorious gallery of cartoonists  K. Shankar Pillai, R.K. Laxman, Abu Abraham, O.V. Vijayan, Sudhir Tailang, and even Bal Thackeray  who have not hesitated to lampoon those in power. In fact, many of those at the receiving end of their powerfully vitriolic humour, have welcomed the attacks. Pandit Nehru, who was the butt of many of Shankar's cartoons, famously told him to continue unabashed. Atal Bihari Vajpayee laughed at cartoons satirising him, and even framed the one made by young Sudhir Tailang, a cartoonist of great promise who alas left us too early.

It is good that the Supreme Court (SC) directed that Priyanka Sharma be immediately released. However, it is difficult to understand why the honourable SC qualified its order by asking Priyanka to give a written apology for putting up/sharing the pictures complained of on her Facebook account. In the worlds largest democracy does a person have to apologise for making a little fun about people on the pedestal of power? Even if we concede that the meme was in bad taste, earlier judicial pronouncements are quite clear that the right to free speech cannot be curtailed by such subjective appraisals. Citing sedition, defamation and violations of the IT Act as a means of suppressing legitimate artistic or political freedom is a subversion of the fundamentals of democratic functioning. The West Bengal government has not covered itself in glory by reacting in this childish manner.

Pragya Singh Thakurs outrageous statement valorising Godse is deeply disturbing for several reasons. This is not the first time she has shot herself in the mouth. On an earlier occasion, she said with great pride that she was among the first to bring the Babri mosque down. This public admission of taking the law into her own hands and the distorted and communal passion behind the articulation of such an admission was tantamount to criminal conduct. Her statement praising Godse only confirms one's worst suspicions about the degree to which her mind is twisted and perverted. The fact that she was made a candidate from the prestigious Bhopal seat when she was a terror accused in the eyes of the National Investigating Agency (NIA) was bad enough. That the BJP justified its choice, and defended her, was worse.

The BJP has publicly condemned her statement on Godse, and asked her to apologise, which she has done. But there is another very worrisome aspect to this sordid affair. To what extent does Pragya reflect views within the BJP, and the RSS? This question must be asked because at least three other BJP leaders, including a minister in the Union cabinet, Anant Kumar Hegde, made statements or tweeted in support of what she had said about Godse. (Hegde later hastily deleted his tweet and gave an unconvincing excuse about how his account had been hacked). Earlier, in 2015, Sakshi Maharaj had already created a furore when, within the premises of Parliament, he had said that a memorial to Godse should be built. Is Pragya alone in thinking that Godse  who cold bloodedly murdered the greatest icon of peace and non-violence, and the father of our nation  is a patriot? Or, is she merely the outspoken voice of a strong subterranean sentiment within the Sangh Parivar supportive of Godses patriotic credentials?

And, what would the BJP say if Pragya  hypothetically  was to win the election in Bhopal? She has herself said that those who think that Godse was a terrorist would be given a befitting reply in this election. Is one to understand, therefore, that a win in the election would be, from her point of view, a validation of her views that Godse was a patriot? The question also arises as to how other voices within the BJP in her support would view her electoral success were it to happen. Would they too view the outcome as an endorsement of what she said? And, would there then be many more voices glorifying Godse, and Pragya Thakur, for having the courage to say what many actually believe within the BJP?

The entire nation would like to believe that the BJPs condemnation of Thakurs statement is a reflection of its genuine sense of outrage at such a comment, and the party will act against her, and all those who support what she said. Notices have been issued to them by the party.

In the great festival of democracy, which is our elections, there are fault lines which need to be uncovered and examined, not surreptitiously glossed over. The sending of Priyanka Sharma to jail for a harmless caricature of Mamata Banerjee is one such distortion. The statement by Pragya Singh Thakur is another, much bigger, cause of worry.
Pragya Singh Thakur, the terror accused in the Malegaon case now out on bail on health grounds, that do not seem to hold up as she is campaigning hard as the BJPs Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal, is an ardent votary of Hindutva, that is not linked to the idea of being a practising Hindu. As such, her praise of Mahatma Gandhi's assassin, Nathuram Godse, as a patriot comes as no surprise. It would have been surprising if her ideological moorings didn't lead her there.

Hindutva is an ideological species. It's not a religious category. There is no common ground between a temple-going Hindu and the idea of Hindutva. One isn't an offshoot of the other. It's noteworthy that the man who propounded the idea of Hindutva, D.V. Savarkar, was a practising atheist. In the Gandhi assassination case, he escaped the noose on a technicality.

The RSS, with which not just Pragya Thakur but key BJP members are aligned, subscribes to Hindutva, whose principal precept is the establishment of a Hindu Rashtra, or Hindu nation. This is in contrast to the Indian nation, whose value system arose from India's freedom struggle and is enshrined in our Constitution.

Gandhi is the foremost torchbearer of republican India. Hindu India finds that repugnant. Unlike other Indians, those affiliated to Hindu Rashtra in any fashion dont see Gandhi as the Father of the Nation. Indeed, they do not see emancipation from colonial rule as a freedom struggle. Their freedom struggle was the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.

In the sub-culture of the Hindutva brigade, Mahatma Gandhi is a despised figure. Since the Narendra Modi government took office in 2014 with a BJP majority, many BJP MPs  and ministers  praised Godse without being ticked off. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah had come out in strong support of fielding Ms Thakur as their partys candidate to oppose the Congress Digivijay Singh since he had reportedly denounced those accused in the Malegaon blast, in which the victims were Muslims, as Hindu terrorists in the same loose way as people use the expression Islamic terrorists when they in fact mean Islamist. Especially in light of this, it's not surprising that BJP stalwarts have taken their time in censuring Ms Thakur. Perhaps they were calculating the pluses and minuses of her obnoxious remarks on the BJPs poll prospects. Contrast this with their pouncing on Sam Pitroda's comment on the anti-Sikh violence in 1984. Congress president Rahul Gandhi condemned his colleague's remark and even asked him to apologise, but BJP leaders didn't seem impressed. Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah has pithily asked: If Godse is a patriot, what does that make Gandhi if not anti-national? The BJP could try to answer that.
The Supreme Court released Priyanka Sharma on bail but didnt go far enough to free her unconditionally. Free speech is too important in a democracy, and a principle worth preserving at any cost, regardless of which state is acting against critics in this way. The BJP activists offence was to create a meme on West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee that was far from humorous, in fact distasteful. However, there is a long tradition of those in public life being lampooned by critics, cartoonists and caricaturists. Indias early Prime Ministers had borne the brunt of the crackling humour of newspaper cartoons, but did nothing to rein them in, leave alone arrest them. What has been happening of late is that those who lampoon people in power have been thrown into jail under various laws, including the Information Technology Act.

The Supreme Court has also imposed a condition that an apology be rendered. This isnt altogether a bad thing, to have to say sorry for tasteless portrayal, as in superimposing the CMs face on that of an actress who was at the New York Met Gala displaying what is called camp fashion, which is to present an aesthetic sensibility that is plain to see but hard to explain. And this isnt the only instance of such intolerance in protecting a political leaders image. West Bengal had earlier acted against a professor for simply forwarding a cartoon. The intolerance of dissent and criticism will end only when all top leaders recognise that the world has changed and that every citizen can post his/her messages on the all-pervasive social media to make a point. That is simply no reason to stifle free speech.
Indian IT professionals have been struggling for some time now to get visas to stay and work in the US because of a lottery system in which the odds of getting a visa were very low.

The people manning the wide world of Indias information technology might see a silver lining in the new Build America visa policy of the Donald Trump administration. At a time when the US President is engaged in an elaborate trade war with China and ordering sanctions on Iran and restrictions on its oil imports, there has been very little good news for India from its ally. The new policy the President spelt out in the White House will see the granting of over a million green cards per year on a merit- and skill-based system rather than just on family ties or for diversity when only a tiny proportion of it going to skilled professionals from information technology, engineering and medical fields. Indian IT professionals have been struggling for some time now to get visas to stay and work in the US because of a lottery system in which the odds of getting a visa were very low.

Trumps Mexican Wall stays as a firm proposal even as measures against immigrants from Central America are tightening. However, there is also a very humanitarian side to US immigration policies, which the world does not always give it credit for. For instance, the US is planning to release, after processing of applications, over one lakh immigrants who were held while seeking asylum in just the month of April, the highest inflow since 2007. While intending migrants have been inconvenienced in being flown from overcrowded facilities in Texas, they are likely to get a bus ticket to get to the cities of their relatives. What would suit aspiring Indian immigrants is, however, the switch to merit-based migration.
Just because you think it,

Doesnt make it true

Conviction is no test of truth

Neither for me nor you

Descartes came close when he declared

I think therefore I am!

Dont be like Dracula who dared

To mistake blood for jam.

From The Taste of Dhoka Cola by Bachchoo

Idiots blow themselves up in Sri Lankan churches killing hundreds of people at prayer. These idiots the media say have been brainwashed, believing that they will go straight to paradise and be afforded earthly luxury and 72 virgins. (Are all women suicide bombers lesbians?). I disagree  not with the notion of going to paradise and its rewards but with the statement that they have been brainwashed. One has to have a brain for someone to wash it.

These murderers must, like creatures great and small, possess some protoplasm in their skulls, but calling it a brain is an insult to every human being and even to the birds that sing. These robotic persons have put themselves beyond earthly justice through being programmed with a doctrine, which its cowardly perpetrators call Islam.

For the last three decades, perhaps from the appearance in the public eye of Al Qaeda, the vicious death-cult and several variations of it, have been labelled Islamism.

The suffix was added to distinguish the death-cult from one of the popular religions of the world. It shouldnt have been. Islam should not in any way have been associated with the death-cults and their convictions and preaching. Any perusal of Islam, by laymen, by theologians, by scholars and renowned Imams will prove that the religion does not, in any interpretation, instruct people to tie explosives to themselves and kill innocent people Neither does any interpretation of the Quran or the Hadith justify driving vans into people walking on the pavements of Westminster Bridge. These are far-fetched willful medieval interpretations unacceptable to most Muslims in the contemporary world,

Innocent Muslims are also being slaughtered, some by right-wing maniacs who target mosques in New Zealand or in Finsbury Park, London. It is likely that both these attacks were not motivated by any knowledge of the teachings of Islam. They were murderous attacks on places where Muslims would gather to pray and were racially anti-immigrant in their animus.

Its not the same in attacks on Muslims by supposed other Muslims in mosques and shrines in Pakistan. Those are, through the genocidal boasts of the perpetrators, attacks by Sunnis on Shias and Sufi worshippers  not racial in nature but motivated by historical and theological divisions attributed by the murderers to their own interpretations of Islam.

Then there are the bombs and slaughters in Palestine by Israel (not through the theology of Judaism versus Islam but by territorial ambition and imperialism); the proxy war of Wahhabi Saudi and Shia Iran in Yemen with millions of Muslims caught in the conflict; the wars for control throughout the Middle East and north Africa

And lets not neglect a mention of the anti-Muslim rhetoric and actions of Hindutva groups, politicians and murdering vigilantes in India.

In the wake of attacks on Muslims in Britain, fatal and verbal, the present government is considering a new definition of Islamophobia. The proposed definition is:

Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.

This definition has been accepted by the Labour Party, the Liberal Democratic Party and by Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London. Not, gentle reader, by me. Britain certainly needs a definition of and even a punishable law against Muslimophobia. There have been an increasing number of attacks on mosques  so far not anything like the massacres in New Zealand or Pakistan  and these, or the instigation to perpetrate such attacks, ought certainly to be defined and prohibited in law. So also, the instances of attacks on individual Muslims  and that includes hate crimes which may not be physical in nature.

The proposed definition comes close to defining Muslims as a race in the eye of the Muslimophobe. To call the acts they seek to ban Islamophobia can be interpreted as a new, restrictive, blasphemy law, which were laws Britain abolished years ago.

One can openly disagree with the Bible or the Quran without fear of criminal prosecution. When Salman Rushdie published The Satanic Verses it was perceived by Ayatollah Khomeini and by millions who hadnt or couldnt read it, as anti-Islamic. What the book wasnt, or isnt, is anti-Muslim and despite demonstrations against it the government of Margaret Thatcher, a constant target of Salman Rushdies politics, decided quite rightly, to afford him full protection.

Martin Hewitt, a senior police chief and chair of the National Police Chiefs Council, has written to the Prime Minister pointing out that this definition proposed by a committee chaired by a Tory called Baroness Warsi, may inhibit the investigation  or worse  make it illegal to investigate people and premises suspected of terrorism in the cause of Islamism.

Another objection to this definition comes from Trevor Phillips of the Policy Exchange think tank. He quotes the case of schools in Birmingham which were investigated for teaching extreme forms of Islamism as a result of having been infiltrated by Islamists who joined as senior staff or school governors. The investigation into what was labelled the Trojan Horse phenomenon would be prohibited as Islamophobic under this definition and the besieged pupil-Trojans of Birmingham would be institutionally subject to brainwashing, protected, if not by statute, by this inhibiting definition. While rejecting it as an inhibition to free speech and recognising chief Hewitts and Mr Phillips reservations about applying such a definition and enshrining it in law or in any code of practice in Britain, I wonder if it would be useful in the recent political climate in India. I think the Mahagathbandhan and even Amit Shah, who professes to love all Indians, should have a look at it, even after the election results.
It doesnt happen often that a state administration officer takes on senior IAS officers, inclu-ding the state chief secretary. But a Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) officer has lodged a complaint with the state Human Rights Commission against the Chief Secretary and nine other IAS officers, apparently the first time ever in the state.

Sources say that K. Mathai, an administrative officer in the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) has alleged continuous human rights violations against him by his superiors for exposing a land scam. Mathai, it is said, has been transferred 27 times in 10 years by the state government.

In his complaint to the commission, Mr Mathai has mentioned CS T.M. Vijaya Bhaskar and thers for their alleged role in violating his human rights. Sources say that Mr Mathai has highlighted the grievances of many KAS officers who allege harassment by their sen-iors. The proceedings in his complaint to the rights panel will, no doubt, be followed by bureaucrats in Karnataka.
Three-time former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and BJP national vice-president Shivraj Singh Chouhan is confident that the BJP would definitely form the next government at the Centre. Talking to Shashi Bhushan, Mr Chouhan said the four-month rule of the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh has worked in favour of the BJP in the parliamentary elections as the state government had failed to keep any of its poll promises. He said that the state was plagued by frequent power cuts and situation was so bad that Congress candidate Digvijay Singh had to move around with his power back up and chief minister Kamal Nath had to use the flashlight of his mobile phone to cast his vote. He also criticised the state government for its failure to waive loans to farmers.

The BJP talks about transformation taking place in the country in the last five years due to the development agenda of Narendra Modis government. Then how come it is bringing up nationalism as the core issue in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections?

Why can nationalism not be an issue? Nationalism is a poll issue and the people must know that the country is in safe hands under a strong leader. After the surgical strikes and airstrikes in Pakistan, every Indians heart filled with pride. Sabka seena 56-inch ka ho gaya (Every Indian felt his chest measured 56-inches). Only those who nurtured SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India) and speak the language of terrorists are afraid. The entire country, except the opposition parties and especially the Congress, was proud of the governments action against Pakistan. When the country was celebrating, the Congress leaders were hiding their faces. Our security forces killed every aide of Burhan Wani. Masood Azhar has been recognised as a global terrorist. The BJP government is committed to crushing all anti-national forces.

What is your assessment of 2019 Lok Sabha polls? Is BJP coming back to power at the centre?

During the ongoing campaign, I travelled 10 states and addressed over 125 public meetings. There was a huge public response in favour of BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I am confident that the BJP will form the next government at the Centre with a bigger mandate than that which the people had given to it in 2014. The Prime Minister is the only jan neta (mass leader) of recent times with a popularity that is unmatched by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or even by H.D. Deve Gowda. Whatever the Opposition claims, we are confident that the BJP will form the government after the declaration of results on May 23.

This time the BJP is contesting in Madhya Pradesh without stalwarts like Sushma Swaraj and Sumitra Mahajan. Will it affect BJPs electoral prospects?

I dont think so. The partys view (on the age factor) was communicated to all senior leaders. This will pave the way for new leadership without creating any vacuum. The decision will help the party groom new leaders to fill the shoes of their seniors who have contributed immensely to the growth of the organisation.

In December last year, the BJP had lost the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh after 15 years of rule. How the BJP is persuading the voters in the Lok Sabha elections to repeat its 2014 performance?

There are two key factors. The first is Modi vs whom and the Opposition has no answer to that. The people of India have firm faith in the able and strong leadership of Prime Minister Modi and they will once again re-elect him as the Prime Minister on May 23 and with even more support than before. Second, coming to Madhya Pradesh, the Congress government led by chief minister Kamal Nath has favoured the BJP in the state. In just four months, the people have felt the difference between the Congress and the BJP governments. Farmers of Madhya Pradesh are angry with the government for betraying them in the name of farm loan waiver. Against a total farm loan of Rs 48,000 crore, the government has only given Rs 1,300 crore to banks for loan waiver to farmers. No farmer has so far got the certificate for loan waiver. Power cuts are frequent. In a short period of four months, people have started missing the BJP government. Mama hee behtar tha (Shivraj was better), they now say. After travelling across the state, I can confidently say that the BJP will win 25 to 27 seats in Madhya Pradesh.

You are saying that the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh is a total failure. What is the basis of your allegation?

In such a short span of time of four months, Madhya Pradesh has been driven back to the age of power cuts. Former chief minister and Congress candidate from Bhopal Digvijaya Singh generator le kar chal rahe hain (Digvijaya Singh is moving around with power back-up). Chief minister Kamal Nath had to cast his vote using the flashlight of his mobile phone because there was no electricity in the polling booth. Second, all welfare schemes launched by the previous BJP government have been closed due to unavailability of funds. But instead of improving the situation, the Congress government has launched a transfer-posting industry to make money. Law and order has deteriorated; a deputy superintendent of police was shot dead at his residence in Bhopal.

Is the BJP trying to topple the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh?

The BJP has no intention of toppling the Madhya Pradesh government. If our intention was to topple the Congress government, then at the very first instance we would not have allowed the formation of this government. There are lot of differences within this government. If it falls due to this, the BJP cannot do anything.

Can we see you in a bigger role in the next government in New Delhi after May 23?

I have been a three-time chief minister. I could have contested for the Lok Sabha from any of the constituency in Madhya Pradesh and gone to Delhi but that would be unfair on the party workers and the 7.5 crore people of this state. In this time of struggle, I need to be on the streets with my people. I have requested the BJP leadership to allow me to work in the state. I will continue to work in Madhya Pradesh.
The sanctions, the threats, the arms build-up, the shrill accusations and the allegations against Iran are all from a B-movie we have seen before. They are all part of the march to war that preceded the invasion of Iraq 16 years ago. Thousands of lives and six trillion dollars later, the region and the world are in a far worse place.

But empires never learn from their mistakes. Before Iraq, there was the Vietnam quagmire that cost nearly 60,000 American and hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese lives.

In fact, in its 239 years as an independent country, the US has seen only 17 years of peace. The rest of the time has been spent fighting major and minor wars around the world. From its string of wars against a defenceless indigenous population to heroic actions like the invasion of Panama, the US has used its overwhelming military muscle to impose its will on those too weak to defend themselves. But every now and then, it has encountered foes that had the tenacity and the courage to give it a bloody nose.

Given this track record, why do people like John Bolton, the national security adviser to Trump, and Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, think theyll do better against Iran? Granted that they are ideological hawks, and are itching to attack Iran at Israels and Saudi Arabias behest, but an armed conflict will be no walk in the park.

The Iranian armed forces showed they were no pushovers when Saddam Hussein attacked their country back in 1980.

Since then, the Iranians have developed a sophisticated arms industry, and a formidable standing army. Their naval assets include hundreds of small, fast boats that carry anti-ship missiles, and can also be used in suicide attacks. They have thousands of missiles that can be launched from caves that honeycomb the coast.

So while an American first strike will do considerable damage, the Iranian response will be ferocious. And American bases in the region will be hostage to Iranian attacks.

Should Israel join the US in its attack, expect Hezbollah to launch a major offensive from its bases in Lebanon. If there is one force in the Middle East the Israelis would prefer not to fight, it is Hezbollah. Battle-hardened, well-armed, highly motivated and trained, it is capable of doing major damage to Israeli targets.

Given all these factors, why do the Americans seem hell-bent on starting a war against Iran? Obviously, Israel, with its massive clout in Trumps White House, has been urging the Ame-ricans, using the Iranian nuclear programme as a pretext. Never mind that uranium enrichment has been put on hold since the signing of the deal in 2015.

Despite their string of military setbacks in the recent past, why are so many Americans still so gung-ho about yet another war? What is in the American DNA that has put the country on such a violent path?

By arrangement with Dawn
The Justice Department said Markara Man, 33, of Norwalk, California, sent the email threats in hopes it would cause (Pai) to reverse his position on net neutrality.

A California man was sentenced to 20 months in prison on Friday after pleading guilty for threatening to kill the family of US Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai over the regulators successful effort to repeal net neutrality rules.

The Justice Department said Markara Man, 33, of Norwalk, California, sent the email threats in hopes it would cause (Pai) to reverse his position on net neutrality.

The FCC did not immediately comment after the sentencing by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Led by Pai, the FCC in December 2017 repealed landmark net neutrality protections, which required internet service providers to provide users equal access to all data, regardless of their kind, source or destination.

Net neutrality rules barred providers from blocking or slowing internet content or offering paid fast lanes.

The reversal of the rules has been a win for ISPs such as Comcast Corp, AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc, but was opposed by companies like Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Googles parent Alphabet Inc.

When Markara pleaded guilty in September 2018, Pai thanked law enforcement and the FCC for protecting him and his family, adding I am deeply grateful for all they have done to keep us safe.

In November 2018, Tyler Barriss pleaded guilty for calling in a bomb threat to the FCC during the December 2017 meeting where the vote to repeal net neutrality was held.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
The sanctions came just two days after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Putin in the Russian resort of Sochi. (Photo:AP)

Washington: The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Russians over abuses including the killing of a prominent opposition leader, days after top-level talks seemed to ease tensions between the powers.

The State Department highlighted the actions against the five people, plus one entity, as it submitted an annual report required by Congress on actions taken under a law over human rights in Russia.

The law, which blocks any US assets of blacklisted people and bars them from traveling to the United States, is named after Sergei Magnitsky, an anti-corruption accountant who died in custody in 2009.

Also Read: Vladimir Putin wants to fully mend Washington-Moscow ties

Among the five newly blacklisted figures are Ruslan Geremeyev, an interior ministry official in the restive North Caucasus region of Chechnya who is close to its leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

On his Telegram account, Kadyrov said the sanctions, were "clear proof that the United States is afraid of us." Geremeyev has faced accusations of involvement in the 2015 killing in central Moscow of Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister turned leading critic of President Vladimir Putin.

The US Treasury Department said Russian investigators twice tried but were blocked from bringing charges against Geremeyev as the possible organizer of the killing of Nemtsov -- the most high-profile death of a dissident since Putin rose to power two decades ago.

The United States also slapped sanctions on two Russian investigators, Elena Anatolievna Trikulya and Gennady Vyacheslavovich Karlov, for allegedly concealing facts over the death and detention of Magnitsky, the accountant.

"Nearly 10 years after his death, we remain concerned by the impunity for this and other violent crimes against activists, journalists, whistleblowers and political opposition," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

She also voiced concern about "the intense atmosphere of intimidation for those who work to uncover corruption or human rights violations in the Russian Federation." In response, the Russian embassy in Washington said: "These moves will be followed by reciprocal measures." "Moreover these unconstructive decisions clearly run counter to a positive outlook of the recent Russia-US talks in Sochi," it said in a statement.

The sanctions came just two days after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Putin in the Russian resort of Sochi, with both sides voicing optimism at finding areas on which to work together.

Pompeo said he still had deep disagreements with Putin but believed the two powers could cooperate on issues including finding a political settlement in war-ravaged Syria and seeking a denuclearization deal with North Korea.

Also hit with sanctions were the Terek Special Rapid Response Team in Chechnya and its commander, Abuzayed Vismuradov.

The Treasury Department said that the force had engaged in extrajudicial killings and torture, including in a crackdown on gay men that has drawn international condemnation.
Missouri: A Republican legislator from Missouri apologised on Friday for saying that some acts of sexual violence and nature are consensual rapes during a debate over new, restrictive anti-abortion bill.

I aint trying to make excuses here, said Rep Barry Hovis, who represents city of Jackson in south-eastern Missouri. Sometimes you make a mistake, and you have no option but to own up to it.

Elected in 2018, the lawmaker, made the remark while talking on the State House floor, debating that the measures eight-week window for abortions gives rape survivors considerable time for the whole procedure. Critics say a lot of women do not know they are pregnant until after eight weeks, and there are no exceptions in rape and incest.

Also Read: Witness says US sex cult leader had gatherings with 'naked' women slaves

The veteran from Cape Girardeau Police Department then touched on his experiences handling rape cases.

Lets say someone goes out and they are rapes or sexually assaulted one night after a college party because most cases in my time were not the gentleman jumping out of the bushes that nobody ever met before, Hovis said. Those were merely one or two times out of hundred. Most of them were date rapes and consensual rapes, which were all terrible.

WOW: Just after Missouri Rep @MariaChappelleN emotionally shares her #YouKnowMe story of being raped, Republican Rep @BarryHovis calls rapists "gentlemen" and there is such a thing as "consensual rape" arguing for an extreme abortion bill that forces rape victims to give birth. pic.twitter.com/UK0RsilNva  Arlen Parsa (@arlenparsa) May 17, 2019

Rep Raychel Proudie, a Democrat, quickly rebuked him.

"There is no such thing, no such thing as consensual rape at all," she said to applause from the whole chamber.

Hovis later agree and told The Washington Post that he was wrong to make such a derogatory statement and believes there is no such thing as consensual rape.

He further added in all his years as a law enforcement officer he always took rape cases seriously.

Also Read: US state Alabama bans abortion; no exception even in rape cases

When a rape is reported, you always take the word of the victim, he said.

Missouri's GOP-controlled House passed the anti-abortion bill on Friday, which comes as lawmakers in a number of states have passed restrictive abortion laws that advocates on both sides. This is aimed at getting the Supreme Court to consider overturning Roe vs Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that had legalized abortion nationwide.

Hovis's remarks look back on a controversial comment made in 2012 by Todd Akin, a former congressman, that "legitimate rape" rarely causes pregnancy. After losing a 2012 race for US Senate, Akin tried to clarify his words, saying he should have instead said "legitimate case of rape."
This makes Taiwan the first place in Asia with a comprehensive law both allowing and laying out the terms of same-sex marriage. (Photo:AP)

Taiwan: Gay couples in Taiwan plan a mass wedding registration after lawmakers voted to legalize same-sex marriage, a first in Asia and a boost for LGBT rights activists who had championed the cause for two decades.

Legislators pressured by LGBT groups as well as by church organizations opposed to the move on Friday approved most of a government-sponsored bill that recognizes same-sex marriages and gives couples many of the tax, insurance and child custody benefits available to male-female married couples.

That makes Taiwan the first place in Asia with a comprehensive law both allowing and laying out the terms of same-sex marriage.

Also Read: In a first for Asia, Taiwan parliament endorses same-sex marriage

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, a supporter of the law, tweeted: On May 17th, 2019 in Taiwan, LoveWon. We took a big step toward true equality, and made Taiwan a better country.

Its a breakthrough, I have to say so, said Shiau Hong-chi, professor of gender studies and communications management at Shih-Hsin University in Taiwan.

Thousands of people, including same-sex couples, demonstrated Friday morning in the rainy streets outside parliament before the vote. Many carried rainbow-colored placards reading The vote cannot fail. About 50 opponents sat under a tent outside parliament and gave speeches favoring marriage between only men and women.

Same-sex marriage supporters cheer outside the Legislative Yuan Friday, May 17, 2019, in Taipei, Taiwan after the legislature passed a law allowing same-sex marriage in a first for Asia. The vote Friday allows same-sex couples full legal marriage rights, including in areas such as taxes, insurance and child custody. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

Taiwans Constitutional Court in May 2017 said the constitution allows same-sex marriages and gave parliament two years to adjust laws accordingly. The court order mobilized LGBT advocacy groups pushing for fair treatment, as well as opponents among church groups and advocates of traditional Chinese family values that stress the importance of marriage and producing offspring.

Religion, conservative values and political systems that discourage LGBT activism have slowed momentum toward same-sex marriage in many Asian countries from Japan through much of Southeast Asia, although Thailand is exploring the legalization of same-sex civil partnerships.

This will help spark a debate in Thailand, and hopefully will help Thailand move faster on our own partnership bill, said Wattana Keiangpa of the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said Taiwans action should sound a clarion call, kicking off a larger movement across Asia to ensure equality for LGBT people and pro-active protection of their rights by governments throughout the region. No more excuses!

Same-sex marriage supporters cheer outside the Legislative Yuan Friday, May 17, 2019, in Taipei, Taiwan after the legislature passed a law allowing same-sex marriage in a first for Asia. The vote Friday allows same-sex couples full legal marriage rights, including in areas such as taxes, insurance and child custody. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

At least 20 same-sex couples are planning a mass marriage registration in Taipei on May 24, a spokesman for the advocacy group Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan said. The newlyweds and hundreds of invitees will hold a mass party a day later on a blocked-off boulevard outside the presidential office, the event organizer said.

The law will give a boost to Jay Lin and his partner, who hope to marry and assume joint custody of their two 2-year-old sons. They plan to register after May 24.

A lot of gay parents are excited about that already, said Lin, a Taipei-based online streaming service founder.

I think once more people are married and more families are more comfortable being out in public, that will naturally have a beneficial impact on society and on peoples minds, Lin said.

Taiwans acceptance of gay and lesbian relationships began in the 1990s when leaders in todays ruling Democratic Progressive Party championed the cause to help Taiwan stand out in Asia as an open society.

Although claimed by China as its own territory, Taiwan is a self-governing democracy with a vibrant civil society dedicated to promoting rights for sexual and ethnic minorities, women, the handicapped and others.

Mainland China, ruled by the authoritarian Communist Party, remains much more conservative and officials have repeatedly discouraged even the discussion of legalizing same-sex marriage.

Despite that, news of Taiwans new law was a major trending topic on social media in China, with more than 100 million views on the Twitter-like microblogging site Weibo.

Opponents in Taiwan raised fears of incest, insurance scams and children confused by having two mothers or two fathers. Both sides of the issue have held colorful street demonstrations and lobbied lawmakers.

Same-sex marriage supporters kiss outside the Legislative Yuan Friday, May 17, 2019, in Taipei, Taiwan after the legislature passed a law allowing same-sex marriage in a first for Asia. The vote Friday allows same-sex couples full legal marriage rights, including in areas such as taxes, insurance and child custody. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

This is going to cause a lot of morality problems, said Lin Shih-min with the Taiwan political action group Stability of Power, which opposed the law. From the point of view of the children, they have the right to grow up with both a mother and a father.

In November 2018, a majority of Taiwan voters rejected same-sex marriage in an advisory referendum. However, legislators favoring the bill, and voting separately on each item largely along party lines, said it followed the law as well as the spirit of the referendum.

We need to take responsibility for the referendum last year and we need to take responsibility for people who have suffered from incomplete laws or faced discrimination, ruling party legislator Hsiao Bi-khim said during the three-hour parliament session.
Some 740,000 Rohingya refugees fled a military crackdown in August 2017 to cross into Bangladesh where 300,000 members of the persecuted Muslim minority were already in camps. (Photo: File)

Geneva: The UN said Friday it has registered more than 250,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, providing many with their first ever identification cards and proof of their right to return to Myanmar in the future.

The UN refugee agency also said the registration could serve as a tool for law enforcement to help counter human trafficking.

"Over a quarter of a million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have now been jointly registered and provided with identity cards by Bangladesh authorities and UNHCR," spokesman Andrej Mahecic told reporters in Geneva.

Some 740,000 Rohingya refugees fled a military crackdown in August 2017 to cross into Bangladesh where 300,000 members of the persecuted Muslim minority were already in camps.

Many Rohingya refugees who fled said there had been mass rapes and slaughters in the villages, and in a report published last September, the fact-finding mission said there were reasonable grounds to believe the atrocities amounted to "genocide".

UNHCR puts the number of Rohingya refugees currently crowded into settlements in Cox's Bazar at around 900,000, although the UN often gives a lower number than Bangladesh authorities and other aid organisations.

They are stateless, despite the fact that many of their families have lived in Myanmar for generations, since members of the Muslim minority have had their citizenship eroded over decades.

"The registration exercise, which began in June 2018, is about safeguarding the right of Rohingya refugees to be able to return home voluntarily to Myanmar in future," Mahecic said.

Myanmar and Bangladesh have signed a memorandum of understanding about repatriating the Rohingya, but so far safety fears and concerns over citizenship mean the refugees have refused to return.

The new ID cards, provided to all refugees over the age of 12, lists important information, including names, family links and fingerprints and Iris scans.

Mahecic also said that the cards list Myanmar as the refugees' country of origin.

In total, 270,348 refugees, or nearly 60,000 families, have been registered, and around 4,000 people are added to the roster each day, he said.

UNHCR's goal is to complete the process of registering all the Rohingya in Cox's Bazar by November.

Mahecic pointed out that comprehensive registration is important for improving the accuracy of data on refugees in Bangladesh, and provides authorities and humanitarians with a better understanding of the population and its needs.

He also said that the registration "can also serve as a better tool vis-a-vis the authorities to prevent and combat smuggling and trafficking".

His comment came after a rise in attempted human smuggling of Rohingya in the last few months, amid growing desperation in the camps.

Earlier this week, Bangladeshi police shot dead two suspected Rohingya human traffickers, after rescuing 103 refugees in two days about to make the perilous sea voyage to Malaysia.
Kathmandu: Three journalists from Nepal's state news agency, Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS), are under probe for reporting news about Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama.

Journalists Mohani Risal, Somnath Lamichhane and Jivan Bhandari who work for the foreign desk of RSS are being investigated over news on Dalai Lama - much to China's anger.

The desk had dispatched news about the health condition of Tibetan spiritual leader - from that of his admission to his discharge from a hospital.

Also Read: Government intoduces bill in Nepal; Opposition, journalists protest

"They are under probe for dispatching such content which is very sensational for us," Hari Adhikari "Syamal", chairman of the RSS informed.

The probe was started after the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology ordered an investigation of the issue.

"They are being probed for the issue of a Dalai Lama related story following instructions by Ministry (Communications and Information Technology). The journalists have given their answer about coverage, they have mentioned that it was based on humanitarian ground and had a strong news sense and value as it was an issue of concern for all," a member from the committee formed to investigate the probe informed ANI seeking anonymity.

"This is not the first time that a journalist from RSS has been probed. Previously, the Chinese Embassy has had us pressured to censor news content as well as highlight those of their interest. Working space has been crippled due to this," a senior reporter working with the state agency of the Himalayan nation confirmed.

"We only wrote the news that we received from a subscribed foreign wire service. We transcribed the English contents mainly about the admission of Dalai Lama in hospital, improvement in health condition and his discharge. This caught the attention of the North because it bore a New Delhi dateline," one of the reporters being probed claimed, referring to China as "North".

Also Read: Everyone dreams of climbing Mount Everest once; this man has done it 23 times!

The development comes at a time when the communist government is bringing on strong legislative measures, like the "Media Council Bill", to curb the freedom of journalists.

The Government of Nepal under the Prime Ministership of KP Sharma Oli last week have had registered the particular new bill in Parliament Secretariat proposing to fine journalists, media outlets, editors, publishers if they are found to be violating media code of ethics.

"The council can also get the aggrieved persons or institutions compensated if they suffer any loss due to the publication or broadcast of the material violating the code of conduct issued by the council," the section 18 (1) of the new bill states.

The compensation amount can range in between Nepal Rupees 25,000 to one million.

The adjoining sub-section (2) of the same section also has granted authority to the council to order the erring parties to pay compensation if the content in media outlets damages the image of the affected party.

The current Media Council Act, still in practice does not have such provisions of paying compensation to the aggrieved party, rather it requires publication of the affected party's version. Along with this, it makes recommendations to the government to partially or completely stop the subsidiaries and governmental facilities for a certain period of time.

Reciprocating current practice, the bill further explains that the council should forward the case to the concerned authority for legal actions if any case concerning media ethics also constitutes an offense under any existing law.

Along with the provision in the bill states that the media, publishers, editors or journalists can challenge the decision of the media council at the high court within 35 days of a verdict.

Also, proposed media bill, if adopted, would dismiss current watchdog body, the Press Council Nepal. A new body, Media Council, will be formed which drafts and implements a media code of ethics making it mandatory for the media houses to adopt an internal code of ethics in line with the council's code.

The Freedom Forum, a civil liberty group of Nepal in its April release had reported 104 incidents of press freedom violations in Nepal in the last 12 months, double that of 2017.

"Last year (2018) was challenging and disappointing for press freedom in Nepal because of the significant rise in the number of violations against the press, formulation of laws and policies unfavourable to the free press, and increased digital surveillance of journalists," the report stated.

The International Federation of Journalists also has called for the revision over the provisions of new media bill urging all the concerned authorities to maintain press freedom in the Himalayan nation.

"The harsh provisions proposed in this bill will have wide-reaching implications for press freedom in Nepal. The media cannot operate in an environment of fear and intimidation, which would be created by many of these proposed changes. We call on the Nepali government to conduct consultations with media stakeholders and revise the provisions immediately," IFJ said in the statement.
In a major embarrassment for the BJP ahead of the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections, three of its leaders of the Baruipur area of South 24 Parganas district were arrested after police seized Rs. 24 lakh from them. According to police sources, one of the accused BJP leaders was hiding the cash inside her saree.

Four persons including BJPs Baruipur mandal general secretary Mantu Halder have been arrested in the case so far, said a district police official. A check of Rs 10 lakh has been seized from Halder as well. The incident took place late on Thursday night, added the district police official.

Following a tip off, vehicles were being searched in the Baruipur area and the related vehicle was intercepted.

"We have already informed the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer about the incident, the police official said.

While the local TMC leadership alleged that the cash was being taken from the local BJP office to use during the elections, the BJP has denied the allegation saying that Halder was carrying the money for his own business and it has nothing to do with the party.

Earlier, two BJP workers including one who claimed to be the personal assistant of BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, were arrested from Asansol railway station for illegally carrying Rs one crore.
Bengaluru: While the JD(S) celebrated its patriarch HD Deve Gowdas 86th birthday on Saturday, the regional partys senior leader Basavaraj Horatti stirred the political cauldron by calling for the dissolution of the Karnatakas assembly and face an election.

It was exactly last year the JD(S) joined hands with the Congress to form the government following a fractured mandate in the Assembly polls. The Congress extended its support to make Deve Gowdas son HD Kumaraswamy the chief minister.

On one hand, we keep hearing that the BJP is plotting to topple the government. On the other hand, you have Congress leaders saying Siddaramaiah should be the chief minister. Its better to dissolve the Assembly and go for election. To my mind, thats the only way to put an end to this confusion, Horatti told news channels, adding that this was his personal opinion.

Horatti also targeted Congress in a measured manner. Kumaraswamy has been the CM for the last one year and has done good work. At least, Kumaraswamy should be given his space to work as part of the coalition dharma, he said.

This is the latest turbulence to hit the Congress-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka ahead of the Lok Sabha election result on May 23. It is widely believed that the result could have a bearing on the longevity of the Kumaraswamy-led government.

Close of the heels of Horattis remarks, Kumaraswamy took to Twitter to dissuade leaders from courting controversy ahead of the Lok Sabha election result.

We are on the verge of formation of a new government at the Centre. At this juncture where all efforts are being made to form non-BJP government at the Centre, the contradictory statements by leaders of coalition partners Congress-JDS may mar such efforts, Kumaraswamy wrote. Hence my humble request to the leaders of both the parties to restrain from making contradictory-controversial statements in public and to support the cause.

Horatti has been vocal in the past as well. In December 2018, Horatti launched a scathing attack on the coalition saying Kumaraswamy had become the Congress rubber stamp.

Of late, the JD(S) leadership, including Kumaraswamy, was miffed with Congress leaders publicly seeking a second term for Siddaramaiah as chief minister.
CHESTER  Public and private officials joined together Friday afternoon to break ground on the Chester Community Improvement Projects Arbor Estates housing development. The four single-family homes will stand on former city-owned ground near the Robert H. Stinson Tower at West 15th Street and Arbor Drive. The project brought together CCIP with the Chester Economic Development Authority and members of Riverfront Alliance of Delaware County, among others.

Were very excited that we could collaborate on this project, CCIP Executive Director Annette Pyatt said. We look to provide affordable homes to families  looking to become first time home buyers by providing attractive homes like these.

The four semi-detached units, about 1,500 square feet in size, are open to first time home buyers at between 0 to 80 percent of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments median income level.

Arbor Estates marks the second new housing development project for CCIP, following its Central Avenue Townhomes develop in 2000. The organization has also completed 91 housing acquisition and rehab projects since its 1978 formation. Speakers for the groundbreaking included state Sen. Tom Killion, R-9 of Middletown, and state Rep. Brian Kirkland, D-159 of Chester; representatives from Delaware County government and the state Department of Community and Economic Development; and RADC Board Chairman Tom Shoemaker. The speakers were bookended by opening remarks from Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland and closing remarks from CCIP Board President Cyrise L. Dixon.

Pyatt said the CCIP holds a dual goal of both retaining city residents and attracting new ones through its housing construction and renovation projects, which the RADC also promotes through its Employer Homebuyer Assistance program. According to the RADC, the program encourages Chester-based employers to provide financial incentives for their employees to purchase homes in the city. Participating members include the Chester Housing Authority, Chester Water Authority, Crozer-Keystone Health System, Delcora, Delaware County Community College, Harrahs Chester Casino, Health Mats Company, and Widener University.

At least two of the (potential Arbor Estates home buyers) with loans already approved will go through Employer Homebuyers Assistance, said Lisa Gaffney, RADC deputy director and CEDA deputy executive director. (It gives) a choice for people to stay in Chester as opposed to moving elsewhere.

Potential buyers at Arbor Estates may also qualify for the Chester Homebuyers Assistance Program, administered by CCIP and CEDA, which provides up to $10,000 in down payment and closing assistance funds.

Pyatt anticipates construction to begin at an unspecified point in July. The project also benefited from contributions of RADC members, including donated windows and doors from Power Home Remodeling. its a substantial cost savings for us on the project, period, said Pyatt. Bret Row of Rowe Fabricators also provided free promotional signs, displayed throughout the city, for the project, according to Gaffney.

Other partner organizations in the project include the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the Chester Housing Authority, and RADC member TD Bank.
UPPER DARBY  Bullying has been an issue in schools and on the playgrounds as long as anyone can remember. However, in recent years, bullying has grown into a widespread national epidemic, many times with serious consequences. Often, parents, teachers and others in the community are unsure how to help if a child is being bullied, where to turn, or what to do to stop it.

Upper Darby Mayor Tom Micozzie wants to give parents and guardians, police officers, teachers, community leaders and others more information and resources on how to prevent and stop bullying, so that they are equipped and ready to effectively and properly handle situations as they arise.

Upper Darby Township will team up with Teach Anti Bullying, an anti-bullying and school violence prevention nonprofit organization, to host a free workshop, open to the public, 6:45 p.m., Monday, May 20 at the Tower Theater, 69th and Ludlow streets, Upper Darby. The powerful and practical program will be led by Dr. Claudio V. Cerullo, founder of Teach Anti Bullying, a national company based in Delaware County. Upper Darby Police Chief Michael Chitwood will also speak briefly at the beginning of the program.

Deciding to host this program was a no-brainer because the information presented will benefit everyone in the community, Micozzie said. Bullying has become a widespread issue, not just in Upper Darby, but across the nation. The more information that we have, the better we will be equipped to handle incidents as they come along. I see Monday nights event as a home run for everyone.

According to Micozzie, the police department has seen an increase in calls about bullying in recent years and often the situation is not a police matter, but a school matter. The program is meant to, not only create awareness of the issue, but also to educate, and let people know where they can turn for help.

Bullying has reached a new level with todays technology that it is impacting kids in ways I do not think many parents realize, said Mayor Micozzie. Twenty years ago, bullying was more limited in its scope  you typically had to be in the presence of the bully. Texting and social media have made bullying something that a victim cannot easily escape  it can be constant and pervasive. That means the harm it is doing to young people who are victims is more magnified  leading to depression, withdraw, alienation, and suicidal thoughts.

Cerullo, a national expert on bullying, will include an explanation on what exactly bullying is and is not and how to work with the police department, school, and community to put a stop to it. He will also address the many forms that bullying takes, including cyber bullying, physical bullying, relationship bullying, special needs bullying and more.

Cerullo said the mayors timing of this program presentation couldnt be better because House Bill 643 is currently on the floor in Harrisburg. The legislation, if passed, will require bullying prevention education to be taught in schools across all grade levels, and other actions state officials can take to help curb bullying.

Pennsylvania currently has no anti-bullying legislation in place, Cerullo shared. I am working closely with local legislators in Philadelphia to change that.

Parents need to understand how serious this problem is and signs to look for  both if their child is a victim or the one responsible for the bullying behavior, said Micozzie. By bringing members of the community together to learn from one of the nations leading anti-bullying advocates, Im hoping to raise awareness about the issue, how serious the problem is, and ways we can work together to stop bullying.

The event is free and open to residents of Upper Darby and all of the surrounding communities. Micozzie, who said the program is about an hour-and-a-half long, encourages parents to attend so they can learn to recognize the signs that their child is being bullied or bullying other children.

Since it was established in 2011, Teach Anti Bullying has worked with more than 100,000 children, parents, and teachers across the country to address the bullying crisis. In 2014, Teach Anti Bullying established an anti-bullying program and club for students at Monsignor Bonner-Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill, the very first anti-bullying program instituted in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

No registration is necessary to attend Mondays event and everyone is welcome. Ample parking is available. For more information on the Teach Anti Bullying program, visit www.teachantibullying.org/.

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MEDIA COURTHOUSE  A Ridley Park woman has been charged with possession of fentanyl after she reported for a weekend in custody at the county prison back in March.

Emily Dougherty, 25, of the 1000 block of Haverford Road, is facing one count possession of contraband  fentanyl, a second degree felony, as well as possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, both upgraded misdemeanor offenses.

Bringing drugs into a correctional facility is extremely dangerous and puts the safety of corrections officers, staff, inmates and community at risk, Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun Copeland said in announcing Doughertys arrest in a release Friday afternoon. Those who attempt to sneak drugs into prison will be arrested and prosecuted for this felony.

Dougherty was preliminarily arraigned on the charges on May 16. Her bail was set at 10 percent of $25,000, which she was unable to post, according to online court records.

According to information provided by the District Attorneys Office, it was back on March 5 when Dougherty arrived at the county prison to serve 48 hours of a previously imposed weekend sentence. Prison staff received information that Dougherty was in possession of illegal contraband and removed Dougherty from her cell.

A search of Dougherty by a female correctional officer revealed that Dougherty had concealed multiple glassine bags containing suspected controlled substances in her vaginal cavity. The controlled substances were submitted to county Detective Brian Alexander who, in turn, submitted them to the Pennsylvania State Police lab.

Forensic analysis revealed that the nine bags recovered from Emily Dougherty contained fentanyl and valeryl fentanyl, the release states.

Doughertys preliminary hearing is listed for May 30 before Magisterial District Judge Wendy B. Roberts.
As trade tensions between the U.S. and China continues, American consumers and farmers are beginning to feel the cost.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he's running for the Democratic presidential nominee. New Yorkers were quick to mock their mayor's decision.

As migrants continue to flee to the U.S. from failed socialist countries, they may have something to worry about here.

Attorney General Bill Barr announced that he would start digging deeper into the conduct of the government officials investigating President Trump.

Boeing is in the news due to the two crashes of their 737 Max plane and the fact that they knew of the safety issues but had not reported them to airlines and regulators until after the first crash.
SALT LAKE CITY  Memorial Day, the holiday that honors those who gave their lives in the service of our country, began as Decoration Day in the years following the Civil War, according to va.gov. When it became an official national holiday in 1971, the last Monday in May was officially established as Memorial Day.

Many cities in Utah, along with local American Legion posts, will participate in observances to honor the men and women who died in Americas wars.

Note: This list is not all-inclusive, and events and prices are subject to change. Please send information on additional events to features@deseretnews.com.

Military Appreciation Day, May 18, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Utahs Hogle Zoo, 2600 Sunnyside Ave., free admission for active and retired military personnel all day (801-584-1763 or hoglezoo.org)

5th Annual Veterans Appreciation 5K/1 Mile Walk and Roll, May 18, 9:30 a.m., Southern Utah Veterans Home, 160 B, 200 East, Ivins, Washington County, $15-$25 (search Southern Utah Veterans Home - Ivins on Facebook)

Armed Forces Day Celebration: Wings & Wheels, May 18, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., St. George Regional Airport, 4550 S. Airport Parkway, St. George, $5 for adults, free for youths ages 17 and younger and active military with ID; cash only at gate (435669-0655 or westernskywarbirds.org)

Armed Forces Day Concert with The Choral Arts Society of Utah and the Utah National Guard 23rd Army Band, May 18, 7-8:30 p.m., Gallivan Center, 239 S. Main, free (801-390-7967 or casu.org)

Operation Hero display, May 23-27, times vary, Station Park, 140 N. Union Ave., Farmington, free (801-923-9111 or shopatstationpark.com)

Bennion Veterans Home Memorial Day Program with Congressman Ben McAdams, May 24, 3-4 p.m., free (facebook.com/bennionveterans)

Voyage for Veterans motorcycle rally, May 24-25, various locations in Kanab, $25-$50 (435-644-3696 or longhornhideout.weebly.com)

Johnstons Army Encampment Reenactment, May 25 and 27, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Camp Floyd, 18035 W. 1540 North, Fairfield, $5 per person or $15 for immediate family (801-768-8932 or stateparks.utah.gov)

Hurricane Valley Choir Armed Forces Day Concert, May 25, 7 p.m., Hurricane Fine Arts Center, 93 S. 100 West, free (hurricanerecreation.com)

American Fork Memorial Day Breakfast and Program, May 27, 6-10 a.m., American Fork Fire Station, 96 N. Center, American Fork for breakfast, $6 for adults, $3 for children; 11 a.m. ceremony location to be determined (801-763-3045 or afcity.org)

Herriman Memorial Day Breakfast and Ceremony, May 27, 7-11 a.m., Main Street Park, 13000 S. 5900 West, Herriman, breakfast, $7 for adults, $5 for veterans, seniors and children; 9 a.m. cemetery ceremony at 12465 S. Pioneer St., free (herriman.org)

Hyde Park Memorial Day Breakfast, May 27, 7-10 a.m., City Office Building, 113 E. Center, Hyde Park, $6 for adults, $3 for children ages 12 and younger (hydepark.utahlinks.org)

Paradise Memorial Day Breakfast, May 27, 7-10 a.m., Town Square, 100 W. 9000 South, Paradise, $5-$8 (search Paradise Town - Utah on Facebook)

Santaquin Memorial Day Breakfast, May 27, 7-10 a.m, Public Safety Building, 275 W. Main, $5 per plate, $25 for family of six (801-754-3211 or santaquin.org)

Woods Cross Memorial Day Fun Run and Breakfast, May 27, 7 and 8 a.m., Hogan Park, 720 W. 1500 South, Woods Cross, $1 for breakfast, register for 5K at 6:30 a.m. (twitter.com/woodscrosscity)

American Fork Run of Remembrance, May 27, 8 and 9:30 a.m., Robinson Park, 100 E. Main, American Fork, free, registration required (runofremembrance.com)

Hurricane Post 100 Sunrise Service, May 27, 8 a.m., Hurricane City Cemetery, 255 W. 600 North, Hurricane, free (hurricaneutahpost100.com)

SunRiver Memorial Day Service, May 27, 8 a.m., Sunriver Veterans Honor Park, intersection of Wide River Drive and Diamond River Drive, St. George, free (sunriver.com/bucketlist-living)

UVU Memorial Day Madness Volleyball Tournament, May 27, 8 a.m., UVU Educational Building Field, 950 W. 800 South, Orem, $20-$35 (uova.org/event/memorial-day-madness)

Wasatch County Memorial Day Program, May 27, 8-10:15 a.m., Wasatch County Event Center, 415 S. Southfield Road, Heber City, free (gohebervalley.com) Hyrum Memorial Day Open House, May 27, 9 a.m.-noon, Hyrum City Museum, 50 W. Main, Hyrum, free (435-245-0208 or hyrumcity.org)

Ivins Memorial Day Observance, May 27, 9 a.m., Ivins Cemetery, 200 W. 400 North, Ivins, Washington County, free (stgeorgeutah.com)

Lehi Memorial Day Program, May 27, 9-10 a.m., Lehi City Cemetery, 1525 N. 600 East, Lehi, free (385-201-1000 or lehi-ut.gov)

Lindon Monument to Freedom, May 27, 9 a.m., Lindon City Cemetery, 550 N. 200 East, Lindon, free (801-769-8600 or lindoncity.org)

Orem Memorial Day Program, May 27, 9-10 a.m., Orem Cemetery, 1520 N. 800 East, Orem, free (orem.org)

St. George Post 90 Memorial Day Commemoration, May 27, 9-10 a.m., St. George Cemetery, 60 E. Tabernacle St., St. George, free (sgcity.org/eventcalendar/)

West Jordan Memorial Day Breakfast, May 27, 9-10 a.m., Veterans Memorial Park, large pavilion, 1985 W. 7800 South, West Jordan, free (801-569-5000 or westjordan.utah.gov)

Bluffdale Post 140 Memorial Day Program, May 27, 9:45 a.m., Bluffdale Cemetery, 14229 S. Redwood Road, Bluffdale, free (bluffdale.com)

Cedar City Memorial Day Recognition, May 27, 10 a.m., Cedar City Cemetery, 685 N. Main, Cedar City, free (stgeorgeutah.com)

Kaysville Memorial Day Program with Lt. Col. Larry Steed, May 27, 10-11 a.m., Kaysville City Cemetery, 500 Crestwood Road, Kaysville, free (kaysvillecity .com)

Parowan Memorial Day Program, May 27, 10-10:30 a.m., Parowan Cemetery, 834 Canyon Road, Parowan, free (parowan.org)

Provo Memorial Day Service, May 27, 10 a.m., Provo Cemetery, 610 S. State, Provo, free (801-852-6000 or provo.org)

Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park Memorial Day Program with Congressman Ben McAdams, May 27, 10 a.m., Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park, 3401 S. Highland Drive, free (dignitymemorial.com)

Washington City Post 912 Memorial Day Observance, May 27, 10 a.m., Veterans Park, 75 E. Telegraph St., free (stgeorgeutah.com)

West Valley City Memorial Day Program with Sen. Karen Mayne, May 27, 10 a.m., Valley View Memorial Park and Funeral Home, 4335 W. 4100 South, West Valley City, free (dignitymemorial.com)

West Jordan Memorial Day with Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox and Utah Pipe Band, May 27, noon, Memorial Redwood Mortuary and Cemetery, 6500 S. Redwood Road, West Jordan, free (facebook.com/memorialutah)
SALT LAKE CITY  Telephones have changed since Dr. John Carey co-founded the Pregnancy Risk Line  a call center that provides mothers-to-be with free, anonymous information about pregnancy and breastfeeding  in 1984.

And the Pregnancy Risk Line, now known as the MotherToBaby Utah Program, has changed with them.

The Utah Department of Health program, in partnership with the University of Utah, celebrated 35 years of existence Friday. In that time, the hotline has served nearly 300,000 parents and health care providers, and has developed into a service that can be accessed via phone call, text message, email, or online instant message.

As the internet grows, the amount of medical misinformation spread online has, too, health officials say, creating new challenges for the call center. But the evolution of technology has also created new ways to interact with patients who might be hesitant to pick up the phone.

"Its really been a double-edged sword," Carey said of the internet. "Its fueled misinformation. But its also allowed good resources to become available."

As a young doctor in the 1970s, Carey said, he was struck by the questions he heard from parents whose children were born with congenital birth defects. A common question was: Is this my fault?

"There was a sense of profoundness to these questions that moved me early on in my career," Carey, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah and current medical director of the MotherToBaby Utah program, recalled.

He went on to co-found the Pregnancy Risk Line, a telephone number parents and health care providers could call to ask medical specialists whether and how certain substances, medications or illnesses might affect pregnancy and breastfeeding. Its founding followed a surge of often-inaccurate medical reporting in the 1970s surrounding the causes of birth defects, as well as several high-profile lawsuits dealing with similar issues. The center took its first call on Mothers Day. Since then, specialists have fielded between 6,000 and 10,000 questions per year in English and, more recently, Spanish.

From the beginning, a central tenet of the hotline has been the delivery of anonymous information and advice without personal opinion or admonishment, especially important in cases where a mother has consumed alcohol or used illegal substances.

"We give mom the opportunity to ask us those very sensitive questions," said Al Romeo, an information specialist at the call center. "We give those answers without judgment."

For parents who may not feel comfortable asking those sensitive questions over the phone, the ability to send a text message, email or instant message instead offers an additional layer of anonymity.

"If something is really private, its less threatening than talking on the phone and fearing they might get some judgment," Carey said.

Parents arent the only ones who use the program. Pharmacists and other health care providers also regularly call the line for information.

Dr. Laura Shane-McWhorter, a professor emeritus at the University of Utah, said she first encountered the Pregnancy Risk Line as a doctoral student.

"At that time, I was really amazed with the level of scholarly research that was being provided by people at the Pregnancy Risk Line," Shane-McWhorter said.

Today, she continued, it remains a useful tool for parents and health care providers alike.

"There are many women concerned about whether or not they should continue taking their very important medications," Shane-McWhorter said. "I think its a very, very important resource thatwe are so fortunate to have in this day and age."
SALT LAKE CITY  Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Millcreek, disclosed she is being treated for cancer.

"I feel remarkably good and my cancer has not prevented me from fully living my life," Arent said in Facebook post Friday sharing that she has been living with multiple myeloma for the past 21 months.

Today I am sharing with my friends and colleagues the news that I have been living with multiple myeloma for the past 21... Posted by Patrice Arent on Friday, May 17, 2019

Arent said she "vigorously represented" House District 36 during the 2019 Legislature "without missing a single day," just as she has throughout a legislative career that started in 1997 and included stints in the state House and Senate.

"I will continue to work hard on behalf of my constituents and be their voice in the Legislature," Arent said in her post. "With promising medical treatments emerging all the time, I am very optimistic about the future."

Arent said her condition was detected early and that she is "truly fortunate to be in the care of an exceptional team at Huntsman Cancer Institute and to be able to consult with experts at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston."

House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, said he was saddened to hear Arent has been battling cancer.

"Without reservation, I can say that she is one of the strongest people I know and I'm grateful she has been able to mitigate the effects of the cancer by catching it so early," Wilson said on Facebook.

"Rep. Arent is a valued member of the House, to her constituents, and state as a whole. Her energy and optimism  even in the midst of this diagnosis  has set a high standard," the speaker said.

"She has my full support and the encouragement of all the members of the House of Representatives family. We all look forward to her continued service and dedication," he wrote.

Arent said in her post she is "grateful to have the support of so many wonderful people in our community. I know this support will help sustain me and my family as we navigate this unexpected development in our lives."

She said in her post she will provide updates.
SALT LAKE CITY  An educational leader with experience in higher education and technical college education was named interim Utah commissioner of higher education on Friday.

The Utah State Board of Regents, meeting at Snow College in Ephraim, appointed David Woolstenhulme as interim commissioner, effective July 1. Longtime Commissioner David Buhler in January informed the regents of his plan to retire. His last day will be June 30.

Buhler was named Utahs eighth commissioner of higher education in June 2012, after serving as an associate commissioner for 12 years.

Woolstenhulme is vice president of regional campuses at Utah State University, a position he assumed Aug. 1, 2018.

Woolstenhulme's responsibilities at USU include oversight of the nonacademic operations of regional campuses including facilities, budget, recruitment and enrollment management. He also led initiatives to promote USU's 33 regional campuses and centers.

Prior to his latest appointment at USU, Woolstenhulme was commissioner of the Utah System of Technical Colleges where he led eight regional technical colleges. The system includes Bridgerland Technical College, Davis Technical College, Dixie Technical College, Mountainland Technical College, Ogden-Weber Technical College, Tooele Technical College, Southwest Technical College and Uintah Basin Technical College.

Earlier Woolstenhulme served as USUs vice provost of regional campuses from 2012 to 2014. He was also a longtime Jon M. Huntsman School of Business faculty member at the Uintah Basin Regional Campus.

From 2012 to 2014, Woolstenhulme was president of the Uintah Basin Applied Technology College.

Woolstenhulme holds a bachelors degree and a masters degree from Utah State University and a doctorate from the University of Wyoming.

A search for the next commissioner of higher education is expected to launch in 2020.
Presidents come and go, but some powerful forces here in Washington, D.C., such as the military industrial state, go on and on. President Trump and all announced candidates for president agree on one thing  a strong military and increased defense spending. Why? Because we want our nation to be safe and we dont want another 9/11 attack. We think that by spending more money we are assuring our safety.

We should also be working to innovate within our military so we can spend less while actually improving our national security.

The military industrial state is ingrained into the fiber of our nation. Every state has some military facilities and there are thousands of employees associated with military spending. Trump has proposed spending more on the military, and both parties in Congress have concurred  primarily for building more ships and planes of WWII traditional style.

Our labor unions support increased military spending in part because almost all military weapons are built by union labor. Military construction and building ships, aircraft and other military-related items is the last stronghold of organized labor. Thus many Democrat representatives who are friends of the unions support expanding military spending. Republicans tend to support increased military spending as part of the partys platform. Every representative and senator has a significant military constituency. To be soft on defense is fatal in American politics.

So why is there no serious discussion of reducing or streamlining the military budget? Not a single current presidential candidate has put forth a plan to modernize and change our weapons systems  keeping America safe with fewer dollars. In fact there is little discussion of using more drones, robots, robotic combat vehicles, lasers, thermal imaging and computerized information-blocking weapons.

We have a serious problem  the federal deficit. It is my greatest fear that the huge federal deficit might well lead us to financial disaster and meltdown. One way to reduce that deficit might be stop building all those WWII era bombers and ships. Experts tell us that our naval carriers are sitting duck for drone-delivered bombs, yet we keep building them out of inertia. Experts say that we could build drones and robots much cheaper.

There is, of course, a moral dilemma in using drones and robots. It seems to violate our sense of fairness to have robots carrying weapons invading a lesser developed nation. As a Vietnam combat veteran, I can attest that I felt an immense moral dilemma in carrying a rifle into the Delta of Vietnam in 1967. Several of the Vietnamese military officers spoke English or French, and I was able to make some friends (with whom I am still in touch). But most American soldiers returned without a single Vietnamese acquaintance.

Today our troops go into countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan with almost no conversations with the locals. We could use robots instead.

With satellite mapping, thermal sensing and night vision, robots and drones can actually see better than human beings. And they create fewer civilian-related casualties. Pakistan, however, has accused the United States of causing several drone-related deaths on the frontier with Afghanistan where we have used some drones on a limited basis.

Some feel converting to drones would actually make our military more effective. Drones would not get PTSD. If we really decided to convert to new technology completely we could substantially reduce the size of our military, and we would not have so many veterans like myself who suffer from PTSD or other war-related maladies.

Here in Washington, the status quo in military weapons is strongly supported by the military industrial state. The construction of military weapons is supported by both political parties, the Pentagon and legions of law and lobbying firms. New ideas about streamlining weapons systems are almost non-existent.

Perhaps it will take a new political party to really shake things up in our massive military. The Libertarian Party has shown some signs of having the courage to tackle our military structure. That party opposes foreign interventions and has made mention of weapon modernization.

And of course the average citizen would have to be convinced. However, without a single mention of modernizing from the current presidential candidates, our bloated military will continue to grow.

And so will the federal deficit. I served on a commission projecting our worldwide military spending. It is just not sustainable in the long run without either a substantial tax increase or the streamlining of our weapons systems. We have some hard choices to make. I hope our political parties and our presidential candidates will start talking about real military reform.
HURRICANE, Washington County  Police in southern Utah are investigating and two high school students are being disciplined for their alleged roles in a picture showing a person in a white hood holding two others with black material on their faces.

Administrators say they are saddened and disgusted by the "repulsive" Snapchat photo with a Confederate flag backdrop and a caption with a racial slur and an apparent reference to hunting African Americans.

"No level of discipline can repair the hate, bigotry and ugliness portrayed in that one picture. The vulgar ignorance and idiocy on display are beyond repair by any small discipline we can provide," Washington County School District spokesman Steven Dunham said in a statement.

The district moved to discipline two Hurricane High School students late Thursday when it first learned of the picture, Dunham confirmed. The image was not captured on school grounds or during school time, so administrators had fewer options to sanction the students, but said that does not "minimize our abhorrence of this racist act."

Dunham declined to say how the students were punished.

Several of the school's roughly 1,000 students are black, Dunham added, but he didn't know how many. He said two others were involved in the photo, both adults who are not students are not affiliated with the school. Three people are shown in the picture. The hooded person is shown holding the other two by the backs of their collars.

Administrators told police about the picture and urged them to bring in federal investigators if warranted. "As you consider civil rights, we wanted everyone to be involved from the very beginning on this," Dunham said.

Hurricane police said the post had been circulating on various social media channels and is the subject of an investigation. The police department urged people not to share the photo, warning it would "spread this hurtful message further."

Detectives don't condone the message but recognize the right to free speech, the post said. They did not immediately respond to a message seeking more information Friday.

Dunham said the school district will continue to "teach of love, kindness and inclusion" and remind students there is no room for intolerance and hatred. "As district administrators, we are considering what education would be helpful for students to understand the significance of civil rights protections and violations, as well as appropriate use of social media," he said.
SALT LAKE CITY  Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is worried that a surge of interest in socialism among younger U.S. voters is the result of their collective lack of familiarity with the tenets and benefits of free market capitalism.

Herbert shared his thoughts on the issue during a Friday keynote address to about 1,000 attendees of the 13th annual Utah Economic Summit at the Grand America Hotel.

Herbert noted a widely circulated post-2016 presidential election season data point from Tufts Universitythat indicated "self-proclaimed socialist" Bernie Sanders garnered more primary votes from young people aged 19-29 than candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump combined. Those numbers, according to Tufts Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, showed 2 million primary votes from under-30 voters for Sanders against 1.16 million total for both Clinton and Trump.

"We need to have a better and more accurate understanding of free market capitalism, I believe, because we seem to have a growing fascination  especially among the younger generation  of a more command and control form of government, particularly socialism," Herbert said.

"Part of this fascination could be, I think, a misunderstanding of what capitalism truly is. When I think of capitalism, I think of the opportunity to dream big  then having the opportunity to go out and work and realize that dream."

Herbert went on tout the success of the free market as measured by the gains of Americans in the last century or so in metrics like health, longevity, infant mortality, earnings, homeownership and recreational time. He also noted the failed attempts at socialist experiments, highlighting food production systems as an example of why the approach doesn't work.

"A number of experiments in socialism in the mid-20th century  had the goal of prosperity for one and all," Herbert said. "Food production plummeted and tens of millions of people died from starvation in the USSR, China, North Korea and other countries where the governments took a command and control approach.

"Socialism doesnt lead to shared prosperity. History tells us that it leads to mediocrity and shared poverty."

The governor said he believes younger Americans share the goals of their parents' generation, but their lack of confidence in the free market approach is sowing the seeds of interest in other economic systems.

"They have the same goals, they just wonder if free market capitalism will give them the future they hope for for themselves and society," Herbert said. "They worry that free market capitalism is failing and that its a win-lose system  and they also believe that theres something better out there, hence the attraction to socialism."

Other featured speakers at the summit included former Hewlett-Packard CEO and one-time presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, Boeing missile expert Rich Choppa, Price Waterhouse Cooper partner Stephanie Hewlett and University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute Director Natalie Gochnour.

Fiorina, notable as the first women CEO of a Fortune 20 company, has also dabbled in politics both in her home state of California and on the national stage in the candidate-rich primary lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. Since then, she founded the One Woman initiative with former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and is on the boards of several nonprofit efforts.

On Friday, she lauded Utah leaders for continuing the work to grow and improve the economy, even amid the longest sustained growth cycle in state history.

"People here in Utah could be forgiven if they said, 'Everything's going great, let's just keep doing what were doing,'" Fiorina said. "And yet you're holding this economic summit at this unprecedented point in prosperity  because you see possibilities beyond the way things are right now."

After her presentation, Fiorina offered a weigh-in on the trade war being waged with China by her former Republican primary opponent, President Donald Trump.

"Having done business in China for a long time, theres no question that China has engaged in unfair trade practices," Fiorina said. "So we need to tackle this problem. On the other hand, we will never find a solution unless China also has a win here. We need to win some things, they need to win some things. I get very concerned as the rhetoric ratchets up and the tweets get more extreme on all sides that were not coming to a win-win, were setting up for win-lose."

Gochnour offered her annual assessment of the state's economic performance, which continues to ride a wave of success.

"Next month, June 2019, Utah's economy will celebrate 10 straight years of expansion," Gochnour said. "The longest on record."

Data released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Utah's unemployment at 2.9 percent and job growth coming in at No. 2 in the country, with the state adding some 45,000 jobs since April 2018 and trailing only Nevada in annual growth rate.

Gochnour said the state's biggest current challenge is to successfully navigate another top Utah stat  population growth.

"If you take not just the migration, but the births, we've added a population the size of Weber County in just the past five years," Gochnour said. "That is a challenge for life quality."

Gochnour also noted the explosive growth of apartment development in the state's capital city. She noted from 1910 to 2010, about 5,200 apartment units were developed in Salt Lake City. From 2010 to 2020, another 5,200 apartment units will be coming online.

The annual event also recognizes state business leaders with awards. The 2019 Utah Economic Summit awardees included Utah Businessperson of the Year, Crystal Cal Maggelet, CEO, FJ Management; Utah Business of the Year, Pluralsight; and Utah International Business of the Year, Qualtrics.
WASHINGTON  As House Democratsstood and cheered passage of the Equality Act on Friday, Rep. Ben McAdams knew the celebration could be short-lived.

"It's unlikely the Senate will give it a hearing," said the freshman Democrat, who was the only member of Utah's delegation to vote with his party for the nondiscrimination bill hailed by LGBTQ advocates as historic. Only eight Republicans voted for the measure that easily passed, 236-173.

And McAdams hopes having the bill stall in the Senate will work in his favor, both on a personal and a political level.

"I voted for it because it is a step in the right direction," McAdams said. "But there is more work to do. There is still time to have that bridge building dialogue, and I plan to be part of that dialogue."

The Equality Act, which was first introduced five years ago, is a top priority for Democrats who took control of the House in January. The bill would add sexual orientation and gender identity to groups protected under the Civil Rights Act and federal housing and employment laws. It would also limit the legal defenses available to those who, for religious reasons, contest these protections.

Despite assurances from supporters that religious protections under existing civil rights laws and the First Amendment would remain intact, expected opposition from conservative and some religious groups was swift, but ineffective. Among the religious institutions opposing the bill is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which called the measure "not balanced and does not meet the standard of fairness for all."

I pushed really hard the past six weeks to get people to talk about their difference.  Utah Rep. Ben McAdams

Representing a largely Republican district in a state where the dominant faith voiced strong opposition to the Equality Act, voting for the bill would seem like a sure plan to end his career in Congress after one term.

Indeed, shortly after his vote, the National Republican Congressional Committee pounced. Spokeswoman Torunn Sinclair emailed a statement calling McAdams a socialist Democrat minion" who "votes as ordered."

But McAdams said people knew his position and that his vote sent a signal of his support to the LGBTQ community and a message that his unsuccessful push for more dialogue showed his willingness to "build bridges" between warring factions over the bill.

"I pushed really hard the past six weeks to get people to talk about their differences," he said, noting the bill had taken up more "time, study, discussion and prayer" than any other issue he's worked in in his first months in Congress.

Read more: How this week may have earned President Donald Trump a second term

Shortly after the bill was introduced, McAdams sent sponsoring Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., a letter expressing his support for the bill and revealing the tensions in his conservative home district over balancing both LGBTQ and religious rights.

I am a person of faith who understands and appreciates your outreach to others like me, McAdams wrote.  I know that it is neither the intent of this bill nor its implication to undermine free exercise of religion, but I am sensitive to many of my constituents' concerns in this regard and support ongoing discussions and engagement.

During Friday's floor debate, Cicilline agreed to a brief question and answer discussion with McAdams on the House floor (formally called a colloquy) to clarify whether the bill would change the existing religious exemptions in the Civil Rights Act for houses of worship or clergy.

It's interesting to me that we had to have a colloquy on the floor to assuage a member that this bill would not attack a worshipper or a minister.  Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga.

Cicilline responded that existing religious exemptions would remain intact. "HR5 does not, nor could any legislation, supersede the First Amendment," he said, explaining that the bill complies with existing civil rights law.

But the somewhat stilted back and forth didn't satisfy the few Republican opponents who attended the floor debate. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, called the exchange political cover for McAdams that didn't answer the concerns about how the bill would affect religious affiliated schools and other organizations that rely on federal funding.

"It's interesting to me that we had to have a colloquy on the floor to assuage a member that this bill would not attack a worshipper or a minister," said Collins, complaining that Democrats were rushing the bill through without addressing GOP concerns to ensure "we make it right."

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., dismissed the opponents' concerns about the act's effects on religious freedom and women's rights. "If these fears had any basis in reality, the Equality Act would not have been endorsed by more than 500 civil rights, women's rights, religious, medical and other national and state organizations," he said.

Congress and the country can learn from our Utah experience and Im eager to share how that approach can result in an outcome that enjoys strong national support.  Utah Rep. Ben McAdams

McAdams shares a sense of frustration with Republican opponents.

"This process fell short because it lacked a sincere effort from either side to engage in bridge building," he said. He said he voted against a procedural move Thursday that would have brought the bill to a vote without debate and was disappointed an amendment he offered to ensure First Amendment protections for houses of worship was never considered.

In a brief speech against the bill, Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, called the process a "wasted opportunity" to find common ground between the needs of the LGBTQ community and religious objectors to same-sex marriage and gender identity. Stewart and fellow GOP House members Rob Bishop and John Curtis voted against the measure.

But McAdams hopes the bill's uncertain fate in the Senate, where Utah Republican Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romneyhave both voiced opposition to the bill, will create an opportunity to find a consensus among opposing sides. The White House earlier this week blasted the bill as an infringement on parental and conscience rights, but stopped short of a veto threat.

McAdams said his optimism comes from seeing LGBTQ advocates and religious groups come together at the local and state level in Utah to craft nondiscrimination laws that satisfied both groups.

I plan to add my perspective and experiences working to build these bridges in Utah to the national dialogue as a person of faith and as a supporter of fairness and equality for our LGBTQ neighbors, friends and families," he said in a statement issued after his vote Friday. "Congress and the country can learn from our Utah experience and Im eager to share how that approach can result in an outcome that enjoys strong national support.
BAGHDAD  When U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sat down with Iraqi officials in Baghdad last week as tensions mounted between America and Iran, he delivered a nuanced message: If you're not going to stand with us, stand aside.

The message, relayed to The Associated Press by two Iraqi government officials, underscores Iraq's delicate position: Its government is allied with both sides of an increasingly contentious confrontation.

As tensions escalate, there are concerns that Baghdad could once again get caught in the middle, just as it is on the path to recovery. The country hosts more than 5,000 U.S. troops, and is home to powerful Iranian-backed militias, some of whom want those U.S. forces to leave.

"The big question is how Iraqi leaders will deal with (their) national interests in a country where loyalty to external powers is widespread at the expense of their own nation," Iraqi political analyst Watheq al-Hashimi said. "If the state cannot put these (Iranian-backed militias) under control, Iraq will become an arena for an Iranian-American armed conflict."

Despite a series of provocative moves on both sides, President Donald Trump has said he doesn't want a war with Iran and has even said he is open to dialogue. But tension remains high, in part given the region's fraught history.

For Iraq to be a theater for proxy wars is not new. The Shiite-majority country lies on the fault line between Shiite Iran and the mostly Sunni Arab world, led by powerhouse Saudi Arabia, and has long been a battlefield in which the Saudi-Iran rivalry for regional supremacy played out.

During America's eight-year military presence that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, U.S. troops and Iranian-backed militiamen fought pitched battles around the country, and scores of U.S. troops were killed or wounded by the militia forces armed with sophisticated Iranian-made weapons.

American forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011 but returned in 2014 at the invitation of Iraq to help battle the Islamic State group after it seized vast areas in the north and west of the country, including Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul. A U.S.-led coalition provided crucial air support as Iraqi forces regrouped and drove IS out in a costly three-year campaign. Iranian-backed militias fought alongside U.S.-backed Iraqi troops against IS, gaining outsized influence and power.

Now, amid an escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran, Iraq is once again vulnerable to becoming caught up in the power play. An attack targeting U.S. interests in Iraq would be detrimental to the country's recent efforts at recovering and reclaiming its status in the Arab world.

Earlier this year, Trump provoked outrage in Baghdad when he said he wanted U.S. troops to stay in Iraq so they can "watch Iran," suggesting a changing mission for American troops there.

On May 8, Pompeo made a lightning, previously unannounced trip to the Iraqi capital following the abrupt cancellation of a visit to Germany, and as the United States had been picking up intelligence that Iran is threatening American interests in the Middle East.

The two Iraqi officials said Pompeo relayed intelligence information the U.S. had received about a threat to U.S. forces in Iraq  but kept it vague. They said he did not specify the nature of the threat. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to divulge confidential information, said Pompeo told the Iraqis that America did not expect them to side with the U.S. in any confrontation with Iran, but that they should not side against America. In other words, stand aside.

A few days later, as U.S.-Iranian tensions continued to rise, the State Department ordered all non-essential, non-emergency government staff to leave the country.

U.S. officials said Pompeo told the Iraqis the U.S. had an "inherent right to self-defense" and would use it if U.S. personnel, facilities or interests are attacked by Iran or its proxies in Iraq or anywhere else.

The three officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the private meetings in Baghdad and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Pompeo was not contemplating any pre-emptive strikes on Iran or the use of Iraqi territory to stage military operations against Iran. Pompeo's message, the officials said, was that the U.S. wants to avoid conflict but would respond or defend itself if necessary.

The secretary told reporters on the flight that his meetings with Iraq's president and prime minister were intended to demonstrate U.S. support for "a sovereign, independent" Iraq, free from the influence of neighboring Iran. Pompeo also said he wanted to underscore Iraq's need to protect Americans in their country.

A general at Iraq's Defense Ministry said Iraq was taking precautionary security measures in light of the information about threats against U.S. interests, although those measures have not reached the highest levels.

"Iraqi forces are worried that American forces could be targeted by factions loyal to Iran," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. He added that any attack on U.S. troops could come as retaliation if the United States were to carry out a military operation against Iran.

The heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. come a year after Trump pulled America out of Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers and as the White House ordered an aircraft carrier and bombers into the region over a still-unexplained threat from Iran.

On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates alleged that four oil tankers off its eastern coast were targeted by sabotage. On Tuesday, Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi rebels said they launched seven drones to target Saudi Arabia. The drones stuck pumping stations along the kingdom's crucial East-West Pipeline, causing minor damage, Saudi officials say.

On the streets of Baghdad, some shrugged off the rising tensions while others worried their country could be sucked into another war.

Aqil Rubaei said he was worried that his country, which has been at war since a year before he was born, will be the place where the U.S. and Iran will settle their accounts. The 38-year-old was born in 1981, a year after Iran and Iraq began their eight-year war and was 9 years old when Saddam Hussein's forces invaded Kuwait leading to a destructive war that forced Iraq out of Kuwait and 13 years of crippling sanctions.

In 2003, the U.S. invaded and removed Saddam, leading to the rise of extremist groups that culminated in 2014 with the Islamic State group capturing large parts of Iraq and Syria and declaring a so-called caliphate. The war that followed left entire Iraqi cities and towns destroyed until Iraq declared victory in 2017.

"Iraqi people are fed up with war," said Rubaei inside his cosmetics shop in Baghdad's Karrada neighborhood. "We don't want Iraq to become an arena for an Iranian-American war."

___

Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
ALPINE  Two people aboard a helicopter died Friday when it crashed in the mountains north of Alpine, authorities said.

A crew with the Utah Department of Public Safety determined the downed aircraft was the same one reported overdue Friday afternoon by family members of those aboard, said Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon.

He withheld the names of the deceased as police worked to notify their families. The pair had been traveling from eastern Utah to Salt Lake City Friday when the helicopter went down in the rugged terrain, Cannon said. No one else was aboard.

Shifty, rainy weather on Friday afternoon could have been a factor in the crash, Cannon said. Video footage taken Friday evening shows the torn aircraft on a steep, snowy slope surrounded by bare trees.

The Federal Aviation Administration had alerted Utah authorities around 2 p.m. Friday that a four-seat Robinson R44 helicopter flying from Vernal Regional Airport to Salt Lake's South Valley Regional Airport may be missing, an agency spokesman said.

A report to Cannon's office, however, indicated the helicopter had taken off from a private home in the small Uintah County town of Ballard, near Roosevelt.

Teams spent hours combing Alpine's Horsetail Falls area earlier in the day.
SALT LAKE CITY  A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from the family of Dillon Taylor, an unarmed 20-year-old Utah man who was shot and killed by police in 2014.

U.S. District Judge David Nuffer ruled Friday against the claim that Salt Lake police officer Bron Cruz used excessive force. The judge in a written order said the facts show Cruz acted reasonably under the circumstances, so he is protected by a Utah law granting immunity to officers in certain cases. The judge also tossed a claim of deliberate indifference on the part of Salt Lake City, Cruz's employer.

The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office determined the shooting was legally justified in 2014, but the killing sparked outrage.

In the 55-page ruling, Nuffer acknowledged Taylor's death remains deeply felt by his family and "presents important issues to the community as a whole." The judge said the law exempting governments from liability in some cases can lead to outcomes seen as harsh or unjust.

Taylor's estate had alleged in the 2015 civil suit that Cruz acted needlessly and without justification when he escalated the encounter and fired the deadly shots. They contended Salt Lake officers were trained to shoot to kill first and then avoid accountability.

On Aug. 11, 2014, Salt Lake police were called to a report of a possible man with a gun near 2100 S. State, where police received a report of three men flashing a gun.

Cruz's body camera recorded the encounter as he spotted Taylor, who kept walking while his brother Jerrail Taylor and their cousin Adam Thayne obeyed Cruz's commands to put their hands up.

"No, fool," Dillon Taylor is heard saying, moments before he lifts his shirt and takes his hands out of his waistband. Cruz fired and fatally struck Taylor twice, in the chest and stomach.

An emotional Cruz later said he was "100 percent convinced" that Taylor had a gun and thought he might be killed because he was too late to fire, court documents show.

Ahead of Friday, Nuffer dismissed other claims after attorneys on both sides asked him to do so.

In the Friday ruling, he wrote that "there is no way to reset or change the past. Yet being mindful of the past can guide future decisions and conduct to avoid similar unfortunate consequences."
MIDVALE  A man was shot early Saturday after police say he was trying to get into his ex-girlfriend's apartment.

The woman and her current boyfriend were inside the apartment at 134 W. Plum Tree Lane when her ex-boyfriend began banging on the door around 1:30 a.m., according to Unified Police Sgt. Melody Gray. She said the ex-boyfriend forced his way into the apartment and, following a fight between the two men, the ex-boyfriend was shot in the leg.

The ex-boyfriend was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Police did not release the names of the people involved.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.  A former CIA officer was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison on charges that he spied for China and allegations he sought to expose human assets who were once his responsibility.

The sentence issued by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III in federal court in Alexandria for Kevin Mallory, 62, of Leesburg, Virginia, is less than the life sentence sought by prosecutors but more than the 10-year term requested by the defense.

Mallory was a graduate of BYU. After graduating from BYU, Mallory served in the military for five years, the Deseret News reported in 2017, before working for various government agencies and defense contractors and U.S. Army on active deployments in Iraq, China, Taiwan and Washington, D.C.

A jury convicted Mallory last year under the Espionage Act for providing classified information to Chinese handlers in exchange for $25,000. Mallory's scheme began to unravel when he was selected for secondary screening at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in April 2017 on a flight back from Shanghai with his son and customs agents found $16,500 in unreported cash.

Later, in voluntary interviews with authorities, Mallory was caught off guard when a Samsung phone given to him by the Chinese displayed text conversations between Mallory and the Chinese recruiter  Mallory had expected the phone's secure messaging features would keep the conversation hidden.

In one text message, Mallory wrote "your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid."

"At its heart, this was a very basic crime," prosecutor John Gibbs said during Friday's hearing. "He was desperate for money, and the most valuable thing he had was our nation's secrets."

Gibbs said the $25,000 Mallory received was just the beginning of what would have occurred if he hadn't been caught.

Mallory's sentence was delayed multiple times as the judge sought clarity on a key point  the value of the information provided by Mallory. In particular, prosecutors and defense attorneys differed sharply on whether Mallory ever intended to put human assets at risk.

Much of the evidence in the case remains classified and even a portion of Friday's sentencing hearing was closed to the public. But at the bottom of it, prosecutors believe Mallory either sent or intended to send evidence that would have led to exposure of human assets described in court as "the Johnsons." Gibbs said Mallory was the Johnsons' handler when he worked at the CIA.

Defense lawyers say Mallory never intended to send it and pointed to computer forensic evidence supporting their claim.

Judge Ellis ultimately ruled that he couldn't determine conclusively that Mallory intended to send the information though he suspected Mallory's "long-term intentions" were sinister.

"If I had concluded that sources had been compromised ... I would impose a far more severe sentence," Ellis said.

Defense lawyers pointed to the relatively small amount of money Mallory received, and the fact that he voluntarily disclosed his contacts with the Chinese to his former employers at the CIA.

But Ellis said the amount of money was small only because Mallory was caught at an early stage in his relationship with the Chinese. He said Mallory's contacts with the CIA suggest an effort to cover his espionage with the Chinese with a veneer of legitimacy by portraying himself as some sort of double agent.

"If you choose to play footsie with another country ... you have committed a crime," Ellis said. "Don't think that you can be a double agent."

Mallory's lawyers say they plan to appeal the conviction.
Two recent high-profile U.S. Supreme Court cases have seen Muslims lose and non-Muslims win in apparently similar circumstances. A Christian baker insulted by government officials won, Muslim refugees insulted by government officials lost. A Buddhist death row inmate seeking spiritual counsel won, a Muslim inmate seeking the same rights lost. This disparity should bother us, especially someone like me who writes about emerging threats to American Muslims religious rights. But its also important to look for the underlying factors for the disparity. In the case of religious liberty cases, one of those factors is a curious form of lawyering.

Last summer, the court decided Trump v. Hawaii (the travel ban case) only three weeks after it decided Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which involved a Christian baker who refused on religious grounds to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple. In Masterpiece, the court ruled against the commission and in favor of the baker, because the commission had made hostile statements about the bakers religion. But in the travel ban case, the conservative majority of the court said President Trumps hostile statements against Muslims were not relevant. The stark contrast in the courts approach to anti-religious hostility raised the question: Does religious freedom apply equally to Muslims and Christians? But in all the panic and punditry that ensued, Americans overlooked a critical factor: The lawyers challenging the ban left out legal arguments under the Free Exercise Clause that, if not omitted, might have changed the outcome.

More to the point, Masterpiece was argued using the Free Exercise Clause and the travel ban case was not. The lawyers may have just made objectively neutral legal judgments, or maybe the use of one argument and not another ties into Americas ongoing religious culture wars.

Jeffrey Toobin has noted in the New Yorker that, in recent years, the conservative justices are essentially reading the establishment clause out of the Constitution, and turning almost every issue into a free-exercise case. According to Toobin, conservative lawyers are arguing, and the court is accepting, a vast interpretation of the Free Exercise Clause. Under this interpretation, the Free Exercise Clause requires the government to provide benefits to churches if it is also providing them to secular organizations; it also requires that religious believers be exempt from obligations binding on all citizens  like the cake baker in Masterpiece being exempt from the Colorado non-discrimination law. In other words, the conservative majority wants an expansive religious liberty jurisprudence so that it can accommodate a wide range of religious exercise, including conservative interests in the culture wars.

But its not just the conservative justices who have the culture war implications in mind. It appears that some prominent lawyers and advocacy groups on the other end of the political spectrum do, too. For example, the ACLU challenged the travel ban in the lower courts without invoking the Free Exercise Clause, a move mirrored by attorney Neal Katyal in Trump v. Hawaii. Luke Goodrich of the religious liberty law firm, Becket, thinks its because these advocates want to avoid creating precedent that might benefit conservative Christians: Unfortunately, in our polarized moment, groups like the ACLU have developed an allergic reaction to the Free Exercise Clause. They know strong free exercise protections will protect traditional Christian beliefs.  So they put all their eggs in an Establishment Clause basket  hoping that by winning under the Establishment Clause, they can prevent blatant discrimination against religious minorities without also protecting traditional Christian beliefs.

The political explanation seems more than plausible. Progressive lawyers have, after all, plainly admitted to avoiding other religious freedom laws, such as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which provides broad free exercise protections. These lawyers fear that bolstering (RFRA) runs the risk of emboldening the conservatives who use it to restrict LGBT rights. The ACLU has publicly declared that it can no longer support RFRA, and is working alongside other progressive advocacy groups to pass the Do No Harm Act, which would block the use of RFRA in culture war matters.

They dont have the same fix for the Free Exercise Clause, so the strategy appears to be to avoid it altogether. Liberal scholars and activists decry the weaponization of the First Amendment, including the Free Exercise Clause, and the best way to forestall broadening the jurisprudence is not to argue free exercise at all  even if it means perpetuating the devastating impact of the travel ban. In Trump v. Hawaii, the Court declined to assess the presidents motives because separation of powers, and the statute at issue, required deference to the executive on matters of immigration and national security. But the opposition thought the Establishment Clause was applicable  so why not the Free Exercise Clause, too? Given the current courts preference for the Free Exercise Clause, why sidestep it entirely (the justices are, after all, the people lawyers need to persuade)?

In fact, experts have argued that, to the extent the travel ban could be challenged on religious liberty bases, the Free Exercise Clause was the ideal vehicle. The core of the legal theory used to challenge the travel ban is that it singled out members of one particular religion  Muslims  'for disfavored treatment.  That claim sounds in free exercise, not establishment, both historically and today. The nation's leading authority on the law of religious liberty, Douglas Laycock, also said that the travel ban is a classic iteration of intentional discrimination, prohibited by a seminal free exercise (not establishment) case, Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. Hialeah. While Trump v. Hawaii cited Lukumi, it framed it as an establishment clause case when in fact it isnt. Rutgers law professor, Earl Maltz argued the same point: one might have expected the opponents of the travel ban to couch their First Amendment arguments in terms of the Free Exercise Clause.

When advocates argue religious liberty selectively and leave strong arguments on the table, their clients bear the burden. This fact was again made evident in the recent cases involving death row inmates who asked for their clergymen to accompany them in the execution chamber. In the February case, Dunn v. Ray, a Muslim inmate, Domineque Ray, asked for his clergyman to be by his side at the time of death. His lawyer relied on the Establishment Clause and did not invoke the Free Exercise Clause  and Ray lost his case. Then, in March, a Buddhist inmate, Patrick Murphy, made the same request, but his lawyer used the Free Exercise Clause  and Murphy won.

Becket also stepped into Murphys case and filed an amicus brief that underscored how the Free Exercise Clause is the better (and broader) avenue for understanding what was at stake. And several commentators, for example Jon Healy of the Los Angeles Times, agreed that the free exercise argument made all the difference: Specifically, Ray emphasized the part of the First Amendment that bars the government from making laws respecting an establishment of religion; Murphy stressed the next part, which bars the government from prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

There were likely other factors at play in those cases, but lawyering was a key part of the puzzle. In todays polarized climate where religious rights for minorities and Muslims in particular are at risk, we need to present the best arguments  and when lawyers fail to do so, we have to ask why.
SALT LAKE CITY  Utah still has a large portion of children without health insurance and national researchers believe that could not only be hurting them, but the future economy of the state.

New national research shows the number of uninsured children is trending upward  for the first time in nearly a decade.

Utah's rate of uninsured children increased only slightly from 2016 to 2017, though is still above the national average, with more than 67,134 children uninsured.

"It's not just minorities or children from low-income homes. This is impacting all kids," said Elizabeth Lukanen, deputy director at the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, which tracks health policy across the country.

She said that when parents get coverage, kids will too.

Fewer grownups enrolling in Medicaid, as well as in private plans, is the main reason more kids are uninsured in America, the center, with help from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, reports.

Nationally, 5 percent of children are uninsured, about 3.9 million, which is up from 3.6 million in 2016. Researchers and child advocacy groups are concerned that after years of improvement the numbers are heading in the wrong direction.

"A third of the kids in the country who are insured have Medicaid  in Utah, fewer than 17 percent have Medicaid," Lukanen told the Deseret News. Expanding Medicaid to more adults, she said, would have a profound impact, especially because parents seeking their own coverage might find out that their kids are eligible.

Regardless, all children and teens in Utah are eligible for some coverage even if their parents are not.

"Parents just don't know about it," she said, adding that parents in more conservative states more frequently elect not to participate in government-funded programs, like the state's Children's Health Insurance Program.

Current federal policies targeting immigrant communities has also caused families not to enroll in Medicaid, or to pull their kids from the program out of fear.

Utah has the highest rate of kids eligible for health insurance, but not enrolled, according to Jessie Mandle, senior health policy analyst with Voices for Utah Children, an advocate for Utah's youngest residents. She said the state also has the highest rate of uninsured Hispanic children.

The State Health Access Data Assistance Center's data shows that in 2017, 15.5 percent of Hispanic kids in Utah were not insured, compared to the national average of 7.8 percent. Also, nearly 15 percent of children in families where parents have low levels of education attainment are uninsured. Nationally, that number hovers around 8 percent.

There was a slight drop in the number of children covered on their parent's plans offered by Utah employers from 2016 to 2017, but those numbers weren't picked up in other ways, the data show.

Voices for Utah Children has launched a campaign to get 100 percent of Utah kids  30 percent of the state's overall population  insured. It is asking for Utahns to get involved and help spread the word about available coverage options, including Medicaid and CHIP. For more information, visit www.utahchildren.org.

Children who have health insurance, Lukanen said, are more likely to get preventive care, including immunizations; and are less likely to miss school, which means more educational success and better long-term economic outcomes for kids.

"It really is the safety net," she said, adding that medical emergencies can end up ravaging a family's finances, or worse. Having health insurance, even if it is limited coverage, Lukanen said, "is much better than nothing."
Its a never-ending fashion parade at Cannes and boy! we are not complaining. While Deepika, Priyanka, and Kangana have already served us drool-worthy looks, it is now Huma Qureshi who is kickstarting her Canner 2019 diaries in style.



The actress is making her presence felt at the French Riviera in association with the liquor brand Grey Goose and this is her second year attending the Cannes apart from the time she was at the festival for Gangs of Wasseypur.

For her first look from Cannes 2019, Huma wore a shimmery Balmain blazer dress with Olivier Rousteing shoes, but the look instantly reminded us of something very similar that we had seen before.





Alia Bhatt wore something for the wrap-up party of Gully Boy and the interesting thing is her dress was actually from Zara and cost only Rs.1326. In fact, Shraddha Kapoor was also spotted in the exact same dress as Alia Bhatt.





However, that is not the only time we had seen something similar. The sequined blazer dress from Balmain is quite a popular item and we had seen the exact same dress on Golden Globe winner Elizabeth Moss a few years back.





Well, although we really like Humas look, we would have loved it if she kept thing a little bit more original.
The Knock Marriage Introductions service is set to close, it has been announced.

For more than 50 years Knock Marriage Introductions, formerly Knock Marriage Bureau, has been responsible for introducing couples, many of whom went on to become husband and wife.

In that time it has been responsible for 960 marriages. The service was based at the Knock Shrine, Co Mayo, in the Archdiocese of Tuam.

"When Father Michael Keane had the vision to establish the agency back in the 1960s in Ireland, the west of Ireland in particular, was a very different place. Emigration was rife and most of the means of communication that today we take for granted were practically non-existent."

"The advent of the internet and online dating agencies, and apps have made it possible for people to meet a partner literally at the touch of a button. Many of the couples who met through Knock Marriage Introductions commented on the personal nature of the service and that they felt safe and secure being able to speak to someone in confidence at the end of a phone," a statement continued.

"In recent years there has been a noticeable decline in the demand for the service offered by Knock Marriage Introductions, to the point that is no longer viable to run the service. The annual subscriptions from clients who have used the service have had to be supplemented in recent years by donations from dioceses around Ireland."

"Obviously, this is not sustainable long term. It is for these reasons that the Board of Directors of Knock Marriage Introductions have decided at a recent meeting to wind down the agency. We do so with heavy hearts, but happy in the knowledge that at least for 960 couples, it played a part in helping them to become husband and wife."

"We wish to express our gratitude to all who worked for the agency, especially the women who answered the calls and who were responsible for making the introductions. We extend particular thanks to Father Michael Keane who was the founder and first director and to Canon Joe Cooney who took over the mantle from him and was director until his retirement two years ago."
Times Ireland is reporting that a private recovery operator has started an operation to recover up to one billion euro in gold from a ship lying in deep waters off the Donegal coast.

In 1940 a German bomber hit the 2,000 tons and 720 feet long RMS Empress of Britain, a passenger ship which was then in military service as a troop carrier. The ship was abandoned and set ablaze and now lies 500 metres deep and some 130 kilometres off the Donegal coast. The Empress of Britain was the largest passenger liner lost in World War II.

According to Times Ireland the Irish government has been informed and could be in line for a multi-million euro windfall.

The RMS Empress of Britain was an ocean liner built between 1928 and 1931 by John Brown shipyard in Scotland and owned by Canadian Pacific Steamship Company.

In an October 2014 post online headlined "The mystery of the Empress of Britain: Treasure ship, or just another casualty of war?" author and historian Sean Munger writes:

"On October 26, 1940, the Canadian ocean liner Empress of Britain, which was then in military service as a troop transport, was spotted by a German bomber off the coast of Donegal, Ireland. The plane came in for an attack, strafing the ship several times and dropping two large bombs.

"The explosions started a fire aboard the vessel which soon got out of control. Only half an hour after the plane attack, the captain, Charles Sapsworth, ordered the passengers and crew to abandon ship. Despite the raging fire, most of them were evacuated safely. Sapsworth left a skeleton crew aboard in the hopes that the fire could be controlled and the vessel salvaged.

"Although a blazing wreck, the Empress of Britain was slow to die. She had stopped sinking and indeed was still afloat, although smoking heavily and listing, 24 hours after the attack. By now a few British ships had come to the rescue and they tried towing the Empress.

"She was a valuable ship in both peace and war. At 42,000 tons and 720 feet long, she was a bit smaller than the Titanic and would have been able to carry thousands of troops each voyage to any theatre of war. Alas, she was the victim of bad luck. While the tow operation was underway a German submarine came along and fired three torpedoes into her hull. At 2:05 AM on October 28, the Empress of Britain sank beneath the waves. She was the largest passenger liner lost in World War II."

THE GOLD

Munger's article alludes to the gold on the ship: "After the war reports circulated that the Empress of Britain was carrying a huge cache of gold bullion. The voyage which ended in disaster had begun in South Africa, where gold mines were busy trying to finance the British war effort. British gold was typically sold to Americans; the US was not yet at war. South African gold usually went across the Pacific which was much saferthe British were not yet at war with Japanbut it was possible that due to delays gold was shipped directly from South Africa to England, then to be re-loaded on another ship for the perilous journey across to the New World."

Munger adds that there were reports of a 1949 attempted salvage, details of this are incomplete and a further attempt in 1995 which located the bullion room, but it was empty.
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Commission declares Malone emergency

The Jackson County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution declaring the existence of an emergency situation in Malone in a special session Friday.

In the resolution, the board is appealing to the state, through various agencies and the office of the governor, asking them to take action, such as is feasible to remedy the imminent health hazards and provide temporary housing for displaced residents.

After the resolution was passed, it was stated that a telegram would be sent to the governor from the commission informing him of the action taken and the action they are seeking from the state.

Chuck Sims, Civil Defense director, visited the area Thursday with Commissioner Thomas Tyus. Sims said the main problem at the time would be relocating 10 families.

A more dangerous problem could arise if the water level rises any more at the Florida Pond, located on the state line above Malone. There are possibilities of a land slide at the pond, depending on how saturated the land surrounding the pond is.
Commissioner Clint Pate commented on that aspect as well. A lot of them borrowed money to put seeds in the ground and now have no harvest to pay off the loan and are without enough money to do it all over again, Pate said. Were right on the deadline for getting things into the ground. If these major crops arent in the ground by June 1, youre flirting with disaster. Its crucial that this was enacted. A lot of people worked on it and a lot of different angles were taken to try and get something done. Were proud that it finally came to something meaningful for so many people who lost crops, barns, sheds, hay, and so much else.

Efforts are underway, he said, to get an idea of where the county will stand when the dust clears but he and other commissioners are bracing for a big hit. Thats one reason Pate says hes behind his panels recent decision to explore the possibility of increasing the local option gas tax from seven to 12 cents on-the-gallon for non-diesel fuel. The extra nickel per gallon, he said, could help soften the budget blow since it could generate well over a million dollars on its own. I dont know where were going to be on the budget, Pate said. I know its going to be a very big challenge for us and our community is going to be hurting. I think (property appraiser) Rebecca Morris-Haid has some extra people in here to get her work done because basically theyre having to go to every place and determine the value losses. Only about 30 percent of county residents pay property taxes. If a gas tax can help avoid adding more burden to that segment of our population, I dont see how we cannot consider a gas tax. It comes to a dollar more for 20 gallons of gas, and some of that would be coming from travelers who are just passing through. I cant see how any of us can look property owners in the face and ask them to bear more than theyve already suffered, when we have this option to at least consider.
For Freeman, the changes start with increased diversity in the police and fire departments.

The police department  just seeing them actively recruiting, being honest about it, (saying) we have to get more African Americans, she said. (Fire department officials) were telling us all the programs they have to level the playing field for anyone. Seeing people being more intentional about recruiting African Americans has been really cool.

Parrish noted the enhancements also originate from other adjustments  including the rollout of body cameras. Nearly 80 percent of the survey respondents believed DPD officers should be wearing body cameras.

Shortly after that was when we implemented body cameras, he said. Thats not only been a benefit to the public, but the police officers like them, as well. Several of the complaints we have received have been exonerated as a result of reviewing body camera footage.

The department received four biased-based complaints from the public in 2018, the first year DPD had the cameras, Parrish said. In three of those complaints, the officers were exonerated. Officials determined the other complaint to be unfounded.
Our grandson Matthew Watson, son of Lydia and Edsel Watson from Skipperville, Alabama, and a graduate of G.W. Long High School, has been on active duty for 16 years with the U.S, Navy, currently stationed in Gulfport, Mississippi. He is also a Deputy Sheriff with the Stone County Sheriff Department at night, weekends and holidays, and further volunteers as a local firefighter when possible. During the efforts by the local law enforcements, Matthew, who is an avid duck hunter, used his own duck boat to work around the clock with the Sheriff Departments rescue calls. His experience in rescue work following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana, and his Riverine training and overseas deployments, made him a great asset during this disaster in Stone County, Mississippi. He and other deputies managed to rescue 15 poor souls and families stranded in homes and on trees by high water in the area.
St.Vincents school Business and Economics students have been celebrating their recent success at the Young Economist of the Year National Awards ceremony which was held in OReilly Hall, University College Dublin.

The awards which are run by the Professional Development Service for Teachers, or PDST in association with the UCD School Of Education and School Of Economics showcase and acknowledge the work of students and their teachers in creating innovative projects across a range of Economics concepts and topics. The competition is in its sixth year and there were over 1,000 entries from 100 participating schools.

Teacher James Doyle detailed some of the projects involved and how the students progressed through the competition.

"We had eleven group projects qualify for the national final, with a wide range of topics such as Is Irelands Booming Economy Just An Illusion? to The Economics Of Fast Fashion and the very topical How Will A Hard Border Affect Business and Employment in Ireland?. Entries are submitted to the first round in a digital format, the majority use PowerPoint but submissions can be made using video and other formats."

He continued: "These entries are then judged by a panel of lecturers from UCD, NUI Maynooth, NUI Galway and St. Angelas, representatives from Central Bank and IGEES. They categorize the awards under Participation, Bronze, Silver and Gold. The students are advised of this before the final in UCD, as only Bronze, Silver and Gold are invited to the Final."

Two of the projects from St Vincents had already received gold medals during the preliminary round, including Leah O'Shaughnessy and Sadbh Boylan for their project on AI: What does it mean for the Labour Market?. This meant they had the potential of possibly placing in one of the various category of awards on the day.

There were many different categories within the Senior Category, one of which was the IGEES (Irish Government Economic & Evaluation Service) Award for projects relating Government Policy. Leah and Sadbh were thrilled when they were awarded third place in this category. The girls also took overall 3rd place in the 5th year senior category.

As a result of this, Leah and Sadbh have been invited to meet the Minister of Finance and the Secretary General of the Department of Finance to discuss their project.

Meanwhile in the Junior Category the 2nd Year entry featured a project on 'The Rise in demand for Online Shopping and the effect it is having on High Street Stores'. Ava Plunkett, Orlaith McGeough, Aoibhinn Lucid, Davina Clerkin and Aisling Lavery were thrilled to achieve First Place in the Overall Junior Category.

James added: "This was a simply stunning achievement for the girls involved as there was no higher award they were able to win at the event. We are delighted for the winners, indeed for all the teams who qualified for the National Final."

Alongside the Economics Awards Transition Year Business students were also involved in the National Student Enterprise Awards which took place in Croke Park. The TY mini-company Sister Scrunchies which is run by Piper Kelly, Kirsten Doherty and Sarah Clarke made a successful entry to the National event for their use of Social Media in their mini-company.

They made great use of the various social media platforms, using Instagram to conduct market research and to take orders, Snapchat to run competitions, give-aways and raise awareness of their business/product and Twitter to post updates about the mini-company.

They won the award for 'Most Effective Social Media Campaign'. This was an incredible accolade for the girls to achieve as there was a very high standard nationally.

The judges were very impressed with their entry commenting that the methods used by the girls were extremely innovative and creative and that many SMEs around the country could learn a huge amount from what the girls had done. As part of the award the girls received a cash prize of 250.
Around 100 policemen have been stationed on Bangalore Universitys Jnana Bharathi campus where the Buddha statue has been placed, on Wednesday (pic: newindianexpress)

After being in the eye of controversy over the past three days over the idol row, Bengaluru University administration decided to place the Buddha statue next to that of the new Saraswathi Idol which will be installed soon, at the entrance of the administrative block of the Institute on Wednesday.

The Buddha statue will be taken down from the pedestal constructed for Saraswathi idol, and both of them will be installed simultaneously once a pedestal for Buddha is created, decided the subcommittee.

With heavy police deployment and cordoning off of the area around the idol, protests by rival factions, one wanting the Buddha idol and the other Saraswathi, did not take place.

A subcommittee which was supposed to find a right place for the Buddha statue, had convened a meeting on Wednesday morning under the leadership of the vice chancellor of Bangalore University, Venugopal KR. In it, they decided to install the Buddha statue next to that of the Saraswathi Idol in a respectable manner.

The pedestal worth (Rs four lakhs) that was created for the installation of the new Saraswathi idol will be fitted with the planned idol. Parallel to that, a pedestal for the Buddha statue will be created.

A unanimous decision was made to consult experts about the impact of the building. Civil engineers took into consideration the weight of both the idols.

For the time being, the Buddha statue will be kept aside in a safe place, while the pedestal is being constructed. The administrators appealed to the students, faculty members and the non teaching staff to maintain a peaceful atmosphere and render their support as the decision reaches fruition.
Several arrested after man found injured

Several people remain in custody following an incident in Peel last night.

Armed police were sent to Castle Street at around 6:30pm following reports that a man had been injured.

Officers arrested several people at the scene and they are currently helping with the investigation.

The injured man was taken to Nobles Hospital by ambulance. His injuries were not serious and he has since been discharged.

Isle of Man Constabulary say the armed officers were deployed in the initial stages of the incident.They say there was never any danger to the public.
Music, disco and dance...all in the name of charity

Music, disco and dancing fans can boogie the night away this month thanks to the return of a leading tribute act.

The ABBA Reunion Tribute Show, hosted by South Douglas Old Friends Association, is back by popular demand and will return to the Villa Marina Royal Hall on Friday 24th May to perform more of the biggest and best disco hits of the 70s and 80s.

The performance will once again be followed by a disco for those aged 18 and over, where politician and DJ David Cretney will continue the party until midnight.

For the first time the leading tribute act will also perform a second concert at The Gaiety Theatre on Saturday 25th May; Carpenters Gold. This glittering show will include all of The Carpenters greatest hits, including Goodbye to Love, Solitaire, We've Only Just Begun and Top of the World - recreating the look and sound of their best-selling worldwide 1970 tours.

This will mark the fourth year South Douglas Old Friends Association has hosted concerts by the acclaimed tribute performers, each year attracting audiences of more than 600 and raising more than 15,000 for the charity.
Hong Kong: Edward Yau attends APEC meet

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting in Vina del Mar, Chile.

Speaking at a discussion session with the theme of Advancing APECs Regional Economic Integration Agenda, Mr Yau said Hong Kong and like-minded economies are seeking to strengthen alliances for free and open trade through free trade agreements.

Citing the signing of the Hong Kong-Australia Free Trade Agreement and Investment Agreement in March, he said the two pacts provide transparency and predictability and give a big boost of confidence to the rules-based trading system against the prevailing uncertainties in the global economy.

Mr Yau also participated in another discussion session entitled Advancing APEC's support for the World Trade Organization (WTO).

He said it is of utmost importance that the conduct of international trade abides by transparent and non-discriminatory rules and that WTO members can settle disputes under the organisations established mechanism.

It is high time for APEC to sing in chorus to affirm its pledge to strengthening and defending the multilateral trading system. Hong Kong stands ready to support an MRT statement signifying the strong and unwavering commitment of APEC to upholding the rules-based system," he said.

On the margins of the APEC MRT, Mr Yau held bilateral meetings with Canadas Federal Minister of International Trade Diversification James Carr, Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Timur Igorevich Maximov and the Assistant Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang to discuss trade and economic relations.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-18. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 18)  Three Filipino engineers have returned to the country after months of captivity by armed men in Libya.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced their release on Saturday, along with a Korean national. They were abducted from the site of the Great Man-Made River project in southern Libya in July 2018.

"The Philippines deeply appreciates the efforts of the United Arab Emirates, Libya, South Korea, and other friendly countries that led to the release of the three Filipinos and their Korean colleague," the DFA said in a statement.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Tedoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin, Jr. tweeted that "the three hostages are home," and even shared some photos.

"I told them the President would have strung me up if they did not come back safe. They said they knew he was watching over them," Locsin said.

He refused to give details on how the Filipinos were freed.

"Now that they're safe it can be told; but the how, again I won't tell because, as Jack Nicholson said, 'the public can't stand to know the truth' which will be imperiled in its hands. But to the powers that made it possible: Thank you, thank you. To meddlers: f**k you," the country's top diplomat said in another tweet.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in Libya is also appealing to all the 2,000 Filipinos in Libya to allow the government to bring them home amid the fighting that broke out in April. Only 55 of them have asked to be repatriated so far.
Pope accepts resignation of Brazilian bishop

Catholic Church leader Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Brazilian bishop Vilson Dias de Oliveira, the Vatican said Friday in a statement.

Bishop Vilson Dias de Oliveira is under investigation for alleged extortion of priests in his diocese, and the covering-up of sexual abuse cases, according to Brazilian media reports.

PAEDOPHILIA SCANDALS

The Vatican did not explain in a statement on Friday what prompted the resignation of the bishop who, according to media reports in Brazil, is under investigation for alleged extortion and cover-up of sexual abuse. In April, the bishop confessed to police he had taken $4,000 from parish funds for private exhaust, telling them he did so because of he used to be having financial difficulties, consistent with experiences.

The Catholic Church has been rocked by a world clerical paedophilia scandal, with victims coming ahead in countries starting from Australia to Chile, Germany and the US.

Pope Francis handed a landmark original measure this month to oblige those that know about sexual abuse in the Church to file it to their superiors, in a switch which may presumably well raise limitless original conditions to gentle.
Turkey calls for restraint after Saudi pipeline hit by drones

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia sent a letter to the UN Security Council blaming Iran and the Houthis for the attack, which reportedly caused significant damage.

Turkeys Foreign Ministry condemned a drone attack earlier this week that targeted two pumping stations along Saudi Arabias strategic East-West oil pipeline, calling for restraint in the region.

"WE CONDEMN THE ATTACK"

We condemn the May 14 attack on two oil installations in Saudi Arabias Yanbu port, which was apparently carried out by Houthi rebels with drones, spokesperson Hami Aksoy said Friday in a statement.

We call for avoiding any provocative steps that could harm security and stability in the region, Aksoy added.

The pipeline carries oil from Saudi Arabias Eastern Province to the port of Yanbu.
Turkey to assist Daesh children who are victims of war in Iraq

Extradition of criminals between Turkey and Iraq is possible in certain circumstances.

Turkey is willing to bring its citizens, especially children born to Daesh terrorists, in Iraq back to Turkey before Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Ankara's ambassador to Iraq said.

"WE WILL BRING CHILDREN AND FAMILIES TOGETHER"

We aim to bring a significant number of children, even if not all of them, before the Ramadan feast. We are working on that, Fatih Yldz said.

He was accompanying Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi to Ankara. We have agreed with the Iraqi side to alleviate the unjust suffering of the children," the envoy added.

Underlining that these children had family and kinship relations in Turkey, Yldz said: Our goal is to bring children and families together with the contribution of the Turkish Family, Labor and Social Services Ministry. He added that Turkish women languishing in Iraqi jails after receiving prison sentences should be extradited to Turkey.

In mid-2014, Daesh overran roughly one third of Iraq, including the northern city of Mosul.

By late 2017, the Iraqi army -- with the help of the US-led military coalition -- had recovered most if not all lost territories from the terrorist group. Although officials in Baghdad say Daeshs presence in the country has been largely eradicated, the terrorist group has continued to stage sporadic attacks in Iraq's Nineveh, Kirkuk, Diyala, Saladin and Anbar provinces.
Turkish forces respond to harassing fire in northern Syria

Its been reported that YPG/PKK terrorists open fire on Turkish soldiers from Syria's Tal Rifaat city.

The Turkish military on Saturday retaliated to harassing fire by YPG/PKK terrorists in northwestern Syria, officials said.

THE FIRE WAS RESPONDED WITH EQUAL FORCE

According to a tweet by the National Defense Ministry, the firing came from Tal Rifaat city in Syria and Turkish military in the Euphrates Shield zone responded with equal force.

Since 2016, Turkey has conducted two successful cross-border operations into Syria -- operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch -- with a view to eradicating terrorist groups operating near Turkeys borders.
US company evacuates foreign staff from Iraqi oilfield

Exxon Mobils staff were evacuated in several phases late on Friday and early on Saturday, either straight to Dubai or to the main camp housing foreign oil company employees in Basra province.

Exxon Mobil has evacuated all of its foreign staff from Iraqs West Qurna 1 oilfield and is flying them out to Dubai, a senior Iraqi official and three other sources told Reuters on Saturday.

"THE EVACUATION IS TEMPORARY"

Production at the oilfield was not affected by the evacuation and work is continuing normally, overseen by Iraqi engineers, state-owned South Oil Company chief Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said, adding that production remains at 440,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Exxon Mobils evacuation is a precautionary and temporary measure. We have no indication over any dangers, the situation is secure and very stable at the oilfield which is running at full capacity and producing 440,000 bpd, he said.

The foreign engineers will provide advice and perform their duties from the companys Dubai offices and we have no concerns at all, Jabbar said, adding that production is managed by Iraqi engineers and the foreign staff were there mainly as advisers.

The United States on Wednesday pulled non-emergency staff members from its embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad out of apparent concern about perceived threats from neighboring Iran, to which Iraqi Shiite militias are allied.
Indian foreign policy should be guided by strategic autonomy, respect to sovereignty, and international law.

The Indian position on the recent sanctions imposed by the United States (US) on Iran confirms what has been a matter of speculation so far. Given the stakes, Indias reluctance to protest these unilateral sanctions demonstrates its eagerness to play a junior partner of the US in world politics.

The official position, so far, is quite vague as there are two different versions floating around. Immediately after the US announcement of ending the exemptions from sanctions given to India and other countries, the minister of petroleum and natural gas in the Narendra Modi government responded with a tweet. In the tweet he said nothing about the decision. Instead he talked about India being fully prepared to deal with the situation arising out of it.
San Diego, CA (May 18, 2019) -- Damage to the lining of the stomach can occur quickly when children swallow button batteries; therefore, clinicians should consider prompt endoscopic removal, even when the child is symptom free and the battery has passed safely through the narrow esophagus, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2019. The recommendations represent a change from current practice of watching and waiting.

"We know there can be injury even when there are no symptoms," said Racha Khalaf, MD, lead researcher and pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition fellow at the Digestive Health Institute at Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora. "Batteries in the stomach cause damage, including perforation of the gastric wall, so physicians should consider removing the batteries as soon as possible and not let them pass through the digestive tract."

Researchers from pediatric hospitals in Colorado, Florida, Texas and Ohio collected data regarding 68 button battery ingestions from January 2014 to May 2018. Previous research has been conducted on button batteries lodged in the esophagus, but little is known about the effect in the stomach.

"We have been seeing more injuries from button batteries," Dr. Khalaf said. "The batteries come in toys, remote controls, key fobs, singing greeting cards and watches. They are everywhere."

Erosive injuries to the mucous lining of the stomach were found in 60 percent of cases reviewed, with no apparent relationship between damage and symptoms, or with the amount of time passed since ingestion. This suggests that clinicians and parents should not wait for symptoms or passage of time to act, Dr. Khalaf said, adding that removing the battery earlier avoids repeated trips to the emergency room or pediatrician's office and reduces repetitive x-rays or other imaging.

The authors' recommendations are more aggressive than those of two national organizations that have issued recommendations about button battery ingestion. The North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition recommends observation when it's been less than two hours since ingestion, the battery is 20 mm or smaller, and the child is at least 5 years old. The National Capital Poison Center, which runs the National Battery Ingestion Hotline, currently recommends observation alone for asymptomatic gastric button batteries to allow them to pass through the digestive system.

###

This work is partly supported by a Cystic Fibrosis Foundational Grant Award #Khalaf17B0 to Racha Khalaf, National Institutes of Health Training Grant 5T32-DK067009-12 to Keith Hazleton and Racha Khalaf, and National Institutes of Health Training Grant 5T32-DK7664-28 to Wenly Ruan.

DDW Presentation Details

Dr. Khalaf will present data from the study, "Gastric injury secondary to button battery ingestions in children: a retrospective multicenter review," abstract Sa2046, on Saturday, May 18, at noon PDT. For more information about featured studies, as well as a schedule of availability for featured researchers, please visit http://www.ddw.org/press.

Digestive Disease Week (DDW) is the largest international gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery. Jointly sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT), DDW takes place May 18-21, 2019, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. The meeting showcases more than 5,000 abstracts and hundreds of lectures on the latest advances in GI research, medicine and technology. More information can be found at http://www.ddw.org.
Uhhmmmm, hasn't it always been like that?



I occasionally watch the winner on YT and the best is always Graham Nortons commentary!



The contest seems to be gaining more and more popularity, mainly I suspect to the huge media hype surrounding it. Why (meaning the media coverage) I'm not exactly sure. Even so I think few people think it's a showcase for talent. I remember one OT Spanish talent show) winner in Spain being horrified that she'd won the "opportunity" to sign for Spain and tried to back out of it, but couldn't. Haven't heard of since, of course





PS Hi Meg'smum
The Docket is weekly podcast with courts and crime reporter Elizabeth Zavala as she breaks down the trials in the Bexar County courthouse. The Docket is produced by Joy-Marie Scott and Chance Dorland.

Listen and subscribe on: Apple Podcasts Google Play Stitcher TuneIn iHeart Radio All Episodes

With the historic Bexar County Courthouse behind him and the Lady Justice statute in front, District Attorney Joe Gonzales announced changes Thursday to an expanded pretrial diversion program that has more than quadrupled the number of people served, providing needed treatment that he said helps prevent repeat criminal activity.

Gonzales also gave updates at the news conference on other initiatives his administration has championed since taking office in January. Among them: cite and release, expanded attention to family violence cases and improved data sharing among law enforcement agencies, along with others.

On ExpressNews.com: Bexar DA gives status report on initiatives since taking office

Elizabeth Zavala covers county and state courts in San Antonio. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863


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During the last trimester of her pregnancy, Celma Herrera would awake to a disorienting and alarming reality.

She would find herself in a hospital bed, bewildered about how she got there. Her older sister, Celia Herrera, would explain that she had kept vigil at her bedside through a series of medical crises that included brain inflammation, internal bleeding, kidney failure and uncontrolled seizures that at times numbered in the hundreds a day.

Her condition, she would have to be told, was so severe that she had been transferred from a Laredo hospital to Methodist Hospital in San Antonio.

Herrera could not remember any of it.

The acute amnesia was part of a chain of complications, triggered by a rare type of tumor in her pelvis that set off a life-threatening autoimmune response.

On Friday, members of the 32-year-olds medical team gathered at Methodist to revisit the details of her harrowing pregnancy. The reunion, which featured tears and laughter, was organized in recognition of her recovery and the work of the hospitals neuroscience nursing unit.

I cant believe Im here, said Herrera to a room full of doctors, nurses and hospital staff. Nearby, her sister held her 7-month-old son, Servando Maldonado.

Dr. Adam Blanchette, a neurologist with Methodist who treated Herrera, said the case was notable  not only for the sheer number of things that went wrong, but also the ones that went right. Herrera or her son could have died, he said. Both are now doing well.

Her life was threatened from the beginning, he said. Every day, we were worried whether the baby would survive.

On ExpressNews.com: In rare San Antonio transplant, brother and sister each received a kidney from same donor

Herreras pregnancy started out uneventful, but it rapidly devolved into a nightmare.

On June 23, Celia Herrera received a call around 4 a.m. that her sister was at Doctors Hospital of Laredo with convulsions and a fever. It was clear she would need to be treated by a neurologist, so that day she was airlifted to Methodist in the South Texas Medical Center.

She would remain there for the next four months, until after she gave birth.

When a young, healthy person presents with severe seizures for no apparent reason, it can point to cancer or a tumor, Blanchette said.

Sure enough, in Herreras pelvis doctors found a teratoma, an embryonal tumor that can include leftover bone, hair and muscle. Perceiving the mass as foreign, her body had generated antibodies that began attacking both the tumor and her brain, a condition known as autoimmune encephalitis. The assault on her nerves led to the seizures, which in turn affected her memory.

Several weeks into her hospital stay, doctors put Herrera into an induced coma.

At one point, Herrera also developed a severe, unexplained gastrointestinal bleed. At another, her kidneys began to fail. Both could have been related to the enormous stress Herreras body was under from the illness and the medications necessary to treat it, Blanchette said.

The mass had likely been there for Herreras entire life, but Blanchette said it is possible that her immune system was spurred into action by the pregnancy. It is difficult to know for sure, he said.

The pregnancy complicated Herreras care. Every step of the way, doctors had to weigh her need for medication and other treatment against how it might impact the baby.

Herrera was put on multiple medications for the seizures, which at one point occurred as many as 320 times a day. She also received plasma exchange and intravenous immunoglobulin to suppress her immune system.

On ExpressNews.com: A college student was training for the Army when 'flesh-eating bacteria' changed his life forever.

She underwent surgery on July 6 to remove the tumor.

Even after that, Herrera continued to experience short-term memory loss and intermittent seizures. Each morning, her sister and nurses would have to explain what had happened.

What am I doing here? Im pregnant? Celia Herrera, 42, said her sister would ask. That was the dilemma of every day, telling her that she was pregnant, that she was sick and that she has been here in the hospital for so long. Every day would be the same story, telling her the same thing.

Brandi Burkholder, a charge nurse, likened her condition to the movie 50 First Dates, a comedy about a woman whose memory is wiped clean each night. Another nurse, Vicenta Gutierrez, sang that same song, Chiquitita by ABBA, to Herrera each day in an effort to help her regain her memory.

Herrera was discharged from the hospital Oct. 13, four days after giving birth to Servando via Caesarean delivery.

Since then, she has been back to the hospital for follow-up appointments. But Fridays gathering gave her the opportunity to express gratitude to everyone involved in her care.

I know you all helped me get better, but I want to thank her, Herrera said, gesturing to her sister. Because she left her family behind.

Lauren Caruba covers health care and medicine in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | lcaruba@express-news.net | Twitter: @LaurenCaruba
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS  When Sherri Pomeroy stepped into the new First Baptist Church, her eyes landed on the wheelchair ramp.

I look to the right and find where the ramp is, this stark reminder of why we have the building, why Kris is now in a wheelchair, said Pomeroy, whose husband, Frank Pomeroy, is the pastor.

Kris Workman, who was paralyzed from the waist down, was one of 20 congregants who were wounded in the Nov. 5, 2017 mass shooting at the former church. Twenty-six were killed, including 14-year-old Annabelle, the Pomeroys daughter.

On Sunday, after a year-and-a-half of worshiping in a portable structure neighboring the old church, the members of this tight-knit community will step into the new, $3 million facility, which features more than 250 seats, a large bell tower, an education center and kitchen.

Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. John Cornyn, along with leaders from the Texas religious community, will attend the dedication.

Once that building is done and were in it, I think people will move on better, Frank Pomeroy said.

Were in limbo. We even call our building a temporary building, Sherri added. I think well be more stable, feel more secure when we get over there.

The original church  a quaint, white clapboard building with a small bell tower and seating for less than 100  was converted into a memorial, painted white inside with chairs and flowers to mark the dead.

The new church, on a 2-acre lot on Highway 87 adjacent to the old one, is more than double its size. It was donated by the North American Mission Board and designed at no cost by Myrick, Gurosky & Associates. It towers above other buildings in the small town.

Its also fortified to prevent another mass shooting. There are more cameras, higher windows, with keyed access required to enter the building.

Since the shooting, the congregation has more than doubled, and Sutherland Springs, a town of 600 about 30 miles south of San Antonio, has been thrust into the public eye as one of many communities across the country affected by mass shootings.

This is just the next logical step to move forward, Sherri Pomeroy said. So we can get to normal.

There are big ways to move on, and there are smaller ways.

John Holcombe, who lost three children, his pregnant wife and parents, has begun teaching Sunday school again. Neil Johnson, who lost both parents and couldnt bring himself to attend church for months after the shooting, now sings in the choir.

And Jennifer Holcombe, who lost her husband and 1-year-old daughter, is one of two women who care for children during services. She also got a part-time job at a nonprofit for at-risk children.

But there are still grief ambushes, as Sherri Pomeroy put it.

The last Sunday service was on Mothers Day. Sherri Pomeroy cried off and on all that morning.

We need to remember the mothers that lost their children, and the children that lost their mothers, Frank Pomeroy said at the altar in the temporary building. Im going to ask us all to bow our heads, and lift them up.

John Holcombes remaining daughter, 8-year-old Evelyn, played in the seats in the back with a stuffed dinosaur  oblivious, for the moment, of the intensity of Pomeroys words.

Doo, doo, doo, she said in a soft, sing-song voice as she walked the dinosaur along the edge of the seats. Her father stood nearby, manning the video camera that records every service. Holcombe looked down at her and smiled.

For those who lost children, Frank Pomeroy asked God to speak directly to these moms and let them know you feel, you care, you know, and you love them.

May you wrap them in your arms. Hold them and love them, and speak to their hearts in the only way you can.

Silvia Foster-Frau covers immigration news in the San Antonio, Bexar County and South Texas area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | sfosterfrau@express-news.net | Twitter: @SilviaElenaFF
Theres an old maxim in presidential politics that once youve nailed down your partys nomination, you start moving to the ideological center.

San Antonio municipal elections are nonpartisan affairs, but were seeing the same principle at work in the mayoral campaign of Greg Brockhouse.

By finishing within 3 percentage points of Mayor Ron Nirenberg in the May 4 municipal election, Brockhouse asserted his dominance with conservative north-of-the-loop voters. Now that the race has come down to a June 8 runoff, Brockhouse seeks to broaden his appeal with a series of Action Plan SA proposals for his first 90 days as mayor.

These five platform planks  which Brockhouse rolled out over the course of the past week  offer broad suggestions but few substantive ideas.

For example, Brockhouses transportation plan states that he will urgently seek federal funding for new highways and current highway expansion. Im sure no one at City Hall ever thought of that before.

The transportation plan also calls for the city to identify where bus stop shelters are needed and install quality bus stop shelters across the City.

Theres nothing inherently wrong with that suggestion, but it borders on the self-evident. Its a bit like saying your plan for reducing crime is to arrest criminals.

The going is similarly thin with the rest of Brockhouses agenda.

His proposal to provide property tax relief with a $5,000 city homestead exemption and a 1-percent rate reduction would save the average local household around $40 a year. Any help with property taxes is welcome, of course, but this plans proclamations sound bigger than its deliverables.

Nonetheless, Action Plan SA fills two political needs for Brockhouse.

During the first round of the mayoral campaign  and, for that matter, for most of his first two years on City Council  Brockhouse defined himself by what he was against. He didnt like Nirenbergs approach to government transparency, he didnt like the mayors yet-to-be-defined climate plan, he didnt like the mayors willingness to tackle housing displacement, he didnt like the potential cost of the ConnectSA transportation plan.

He alternately derided Nirenberg as an indecisive ditherer who creates task forces rather than taking action and as an impulsive lone wolf who moves without giving issues proper study (Nirenbergs rejection of the 2020 Republican National Convention and his opposition to including Chick-fil-A in an airport concessions contract).

In the right council district, you can be Dr. No and get re-elected, but try winning the mayors office that way. With Action Plan SA, Brockhouse is belatedly attempting to show he has ideas and not just objections.

Theres also another objective at work here. As the candidate who has consistently called for a scaled-down city government that cuts taxes and sticks to basics such as potholes and policing, Brockhouse has cemented his appeal to conservative voters in San Antonio.

He doesnt have to worry about losing those voters to Nirenberg.

With his new set of proposals, Brockhouse is trying to persuade local Democrats on the South and West Sides who are lukewarm about Nirenberg, but nervous about Brockhouse.

On ExpressNews.com: Progressive group stays on the sidelines in mayors race

Everything about Brockhouses campaign in the past two weeks has been designed to reassure wavering voters who worry that the councilman is nothing more than a grandstanding obstructionist (or to divert attention from questions about two domestic violence incidents, in 2006 and 2009, involving Brockhouse).

You could see that in his conciliatory messaging to the Texas Organizing Project, a powerful, progressive grassroots organization that has stayed on the sidelines thus far in the mayors race.

Brockhouse told San Antonio Express-News reporter Dylan McGuinness last week that he respects the work of TOP. He noted that during a recent meeting with TOP representatives he promised them a seat at the table, full transparency. Brockhouse added, Were not as far off as we thought we are.

Rather than simply bashing Nirenbergs SA Climate Ready initiative, as Brockhouse did over the first three months of his mayoral campaign, the councilman now wants to present himself as someone sensitive to environmental concerns but determined to take a pragmatic approach that doesnt alienate the business community.

When you actually examine Brockhouses climate proposal  planting 10,000 trees and assembling a 30-day working group composed of reps from SAWS, CPS Energy, fossil-fuel companies and environmental groups  it feels inadequate, like responding to a brain hemorrhage with a Band-Aid.

But its meant to convey the idea that Brockhouse is not a conservative extremist, but a practical, coalition-building problem solver.

How well that rebranding effort flies could determine the outcome of this citys mayoral runoff.

Gilbert Garcia is a columnist covering the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470
The political strains are starting to show in the Texas Legislatures closing days.

A frustrated Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told members of the Texas Senate on Friday afternoon that the slow pace of the Texas House in debating some bills is threatening the survival of key legislation initiated by the Senate.

He pledged that he will not take up more House-generated bills in the Senate while Senate bills meet their demise in the House. Purposely stalling bills to run out the clock on them is known as chubbing in the Texas Legislature.

Patrick, a Republican, said if the House is going to chub for five or six hours and kill Senate bills, then Im going to stand us at ease. Republicans hold the majority in both chambers and control the agenda pace in both.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Moments later, Patrick clarified that he was not blaming House Speaker Dennis Bonnen for the delays and said it was up to House members to pick up the pace.

Its not the fault of the speaker, Patrick said from the Senate chamber.

Patrick and Bonnen have stressed repeatedly that they on the same page and working together  unlike in past years when the House and Senate leadership often had a more antagonistic relationship.

Patricks comments came as the House was locked in a lengthy floor debate over Senate Bill 22, which aims at barring local governments from contracting with groups like Planned Parenthood.

The legislative session ends May 27.
It is extraordinarily difficult to get mayoral hopeful Greg Brockhouse to acknowledge his 2009 police report alleging domestic violence against his wife.

He declined my multiple phone calls to talk about this report, and he has yet to respond to an email requesting an interview, although he promised at various times to send a statement.

Only late Friday, after the Express-News posted a link to the 2009 report, did his wife, Annalisa, issue a statement to the paper. In that statement, she said she had never been hurt by her husband, decried dirty politics and alluded to this as a lie. But she also never acknowledged the 2009 police report. If nothing happened, why is there a police report?

A cynic would say Brockhouse and San Antonio are a perfect match. In a city with a serious domestic violence problem, we have a potential mayor who wont speak about an allegation of domestic violence from his past and wont even acknowledge the reports existence. But the issue deserves real reflection, just as Brockhouse owes voters real insight about what happened and why this report was removed from the official record.

Thats why nearly two weeks ago, I texted Brockhouse pictures of the 2009 police report. That report alleges that on Dec. 23, 2009, Annalisa Brockhouse called police because her husband had recently lost his job and had been drinking a lot. Brockhouse then allegedly threw her to the ground and got on top of her. He was trying to hit her and she kept trying to push him off, the report says.

After I sent photos of this report to Brockhouse, he texted me back. But only to say that he would email a statement and no photos have come through yet.

He continued, But il (sic) was responding to your email literally as you text (sic).

I texted him the photos of the report again. I also emailed him photos of the report. Technology isnt always reliable, so I texted photos of the report to my editor. He received them.

Still, I never received an email from Brockhouse, who as a District 6 councilman has championed transparency.

When Express-News reporter Brian Chasnoff, who broke this story, confronted Brockhouse with the 2009 police report at a recent City Council meeting, Brockhouse refused to look at it and told Chasnoff he was the spokesperson for the (Mayor) Ron Nirenberg campaign and that Annalisa had denied it.

Lets be clear: A police report is not a crime. Brockhouse was never charged for this 2009 incident, nor a 2006 report outlining family violence allegations. But while Brockhouse has acknowledged the 2006 report, disputing how the incident went down (his ex-wife alleges he pushed her into the side of the house), he has been hazy about this other incident, first saying he did not recall it, and then that he and Annalisa have refuted the report and denied it.

Ive found this language deeply problematic. To refute something means to disprove it. But Brockhouse has never done that. Hes offered no evidence he was out of town or the allegation was false. When I asked him via text message (since he is declining my calls) if he thought the police report was doctored or fake, he never responded.

The report is real. It has an officers name and badge number. Annalisa Brockhouse filed the complaint. There is a narrative. You can read it online at ExpressNews.com/brockhousereport. The Express-News has redacted phone numbers, addresses and other sensitive information. Check it out for yourself.

At first blush, its amazing that Brockhouse has made it to a runoff for mayor of the seventh-largest city in the nation without having to account for his past to voters. But on deeper reflection, its not so amazing. He has had plenty of community help. To date, there has been no explanation as to how the 2009 police report disappeared from the public record. Journalists have refused to ask tough questions, and the issue of domestic violence has been oddly tolerated.

As San Antonio Chamber of Commerce President Richard Perez said after domestic violence once again did not come up at a chamber debate, it is not a business issue.

Perez has since apologized, but that comment will haunt him because its a business issue and also an issue of life and death. It is a business issue when domestic violence victims are coerced into debt or beaten into missing work. Its a tragedy when families are split apart by violence and victims, mostly women, are killed. And its a civic failure when the potential mayor of a city, the person who sells this community to the world, refuses to acknowledge or account for his past.

jbrodesky@express-news.net
In the recent college admissions scandals, the United States appears to be reliving the Gilded Age of the late 19th century in which the wealthy were spiritually supported by churches and pastors promoting the Gospel of Wealth.

The message is clear: To be is to have, and to have is to be.

Parents committed a horrendous crime in their willingness to pay exorbitant sums to have the most prestigious universities admit their unqualified children.

But the true crime here is that of passing their values on to their children.

The values their children likely inherited from their parents criminal actions may have instilled a belief that they did not have to work to earn entrance into a university. They learned that what was important was the universitys reputation and the chance to network with young men and women from other families of wealth.

Their parents never understood the real goal of education.

The Latin root of education is educere, to lead out of as from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge. Their children probably do not understand that education is rooted in the soul of humankind  that to be human is to be a creator as well as a creature of our community; that the conditions of our own humanity are the conditions of humanity as a whole; that we are no freer than the least free among us; and that our well-being is dependent upon the well-being of others.

For the past several years, I have served with honor on a committee at St. Marys University that selects 14 graduating seniors to receive the prestigious Presidential Award. The honor comes in reading about the 90 students whose academic, on-campus and community accomplishments demonstrate their commitment to personal achievement and a responsibility to be creators of more just and less violent community.

Those caught up in the admissions scandal could learn from the examples set by these students.

Many are the first in their families to go to college, come from families in poverty and attend St. Marys because of their parents values and sacrifice to give their children a quality education.

These students entered St. Marys University because they earned full academic scholarships. I would like to share a few of their stories:

As a first generation, low income, Chicana college student with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), I was faced with many challenges throughout my undergraduate years. I was raised by my grandmother, a woman who had to drop out of school at the age of 10 and who swam from Mexico to the United States as a teenager. I came to St. Marys afraid that I wasnt smart enough to succeed. The St. Marys community, faculty and staff made sure that I felt validated in the classroom and on campus. As a philosophy major, I was part of the McNair Scholars Program presenting my research at academic conferences. What I value from my time at St. Marys is how I was taught and shown how to care for others.

I decided to attend St. Marys University when I visited campus and heard the testimony of a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) student. I knew right then that the St. Marys community would support me. My first semester of college was tough because my mom was deported. I was sad and worried about the situation at home. As a first-generation student, I felt lost. The St. Marys community quickly supported me. The community taught me how to have faith by loving myself and others. While at St. Marys, I started a nonprofit organization to empower women to reach gender equality. I became passionate about advocacy work for immigration rights. My experience the past four years means more than just earning a degree. It has meant self-transformation.

My father grew up in a small, very poor colonia in Mexico City. He grew up selling Chiclets on the side of the road and fixing radios and televisions in a little cardboard shack. During my first year at St. Marys, I started and maintained a Get Out the Vote campaign. My strategy was formed in a Marianist way emphasizing the common engagement charism. St. Marys has shown me that I should not look out only for my own interest, but that I have a duty to the community. St. Marys gave me the chance to intern as a summer consulting analyst in business. The business offered me a full-time job. I will always be involved with the disadvantaged in my community.

I am in the Master of Jurisprudence program. I am dyslexic. I also have an incredibly supportive little boy and husband who has been fighting stage 3 mucosal melanoma since 2016. I have found the entire community at St. Marys invested in my success as a student, wife, mom and professional. I have been, when necessary, given permission to take finals at my husbands hospital bedside. St. Marys is part of my no excuses story. Its about doing hard things in hard times with the help of others, because life will be awesome again. And St. Marys is preparing me for that awesome.

These students and many more worked very hard to earn entrance to a university where they have grown to understand the importance of balancing a profession and faith.

One final experience I would like to share with the parents involved in the admission scandals is an interview I had in the summer of 1987 with human rights advocate Herbert Ernesto Anaya in San Salvador.

This was at the height of El Salvadors civil war. He was an advocate of nonviolence following the examples of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and his Christian faith. During the course of the interview, he said he had received death threats from the military and the rebels. Neither side believed in nonviolence and considered him a threat.

The United States was not accepting political asylum applications from El Salvador at this time, so I asked him if he had considered applying for asylum in Canada.

Herbert said no, that someone needed to be a voice for nonviolence and human rights in the midst of civil war.

I said, Herbert, you have a wife and two small children. What will they be left with if you are assassinated?

He looked at me as though I had asked a ridiculous question. They will be left with my values.

In October 1987, I opened a copy of the New York Times and saw a photograph and article about of his assassination. He had just dropped off his children at school. He left them with his values. What a gift they received.

How tragic when the parents involved in the admissions scandal appeared to have taught their children a very different value: to have is to be, and to be is to have.

Larry Hufford, Ph.D., is a professor of political science and international relations at St. Marys University.
The surprise about the big New York Times story on Donald Trumps tax returns is that there are no real surprises.

Trumps taxes have been an obsession of the left since he, in violation of a long-standing norm, reneged on his promise to release his returns during the 2016 campaign.

Pieces were written urging some brave whistleblower to come forward with them, and Democrats counted as one of the advantages of taking the House that they could demand Trumps returns. The dispute resulting from the administrations refusal to turn them over is now probably headed to the Supreme Court.

All the while, the expectation, or at least the suspicion, was that the returns contained some awful secret, perhaps evidence that he is a tool of the Russians.

The New York Times obtained Trumps tax information spanning a decade, from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, and the revelation is that he wasnt doing as well as he said in public and lost a boatload of money in a period that nearly destroyed him. In other words, exactly what anyone paying any attention would have expected.

Yes, the amount of the reported loss, $1.17 billion, is remarkable (although inflated for tax purposes), and some of the details memorable.

Trump doesnt like having all the particulars on the record to be discussed and mocked, but can anyone say they are surprised?

Trump himself, the Washington Examiner notes, talked about his precarious financial state in this period on the first episode of The Apprentice. In fact, he may have exaggerated, saying that he had been billions of dollars in debt.

As for Trumps use of tax loopholes, he said in a debate with Hillary Clinton that if he didnt owe any tax liability, that made him smart.

There really are no Trump mysteries. His flaws arent hidden. He often attests to them or demonstrates them publicly. For someone who cares so much about his image, and so assiduously crafts it, hes a relative open book.

No blockbuster report has more than a passing effect because each dispatch is, ultimately, another dot in a pointillist portrait of the president that was largely completed long ago.

This is also why the hope that we are one investigation, tax return or subpoena away from the revelation that will finally bring Trump down  or even make a difference  is almost certainly forlorn.

Obviously, it was news that he had paid off a porn star during the presidential campaign, and highly embarrassing. This is why Trump denied it for so long. But hed already told us about his womanizing in his own words, often on The Howard Stern Show.

Likewise, the most blameworthy conduct regarding Russias election interference in 2016 was out in the open  the Trump campaign was happy to derive any possible advantage from the WikiLeaks disclosures, and Trump tried to deny the obvious Russian involvement.

We didnt need a 400-page special counsel report to break this news.

Even some of Trumps alleged obstruction, which youd expect to involve back-channel scheming (and there was certainly that), was out in the open.

He pressured Jeff Sessions in public to un-recuse. He publicly called Michael Cohen a rat. He told Lester Holt on a TV news broadcast that he fired James Comey because of the Russia investigation (specifically that it didnt have anything to do with him). And hes made no secret that he yearns for an attorney general who will protect him.

You can add lurid details to this basic picture, and Mueller did, but its hard to find a game-changer.

None of this is to defend or excuse Trumps business practices, or his conduct in office. It is merely to say that hes an extravagantly known quantity, and will likely win or lose in 2020 based on what we already know rather than the fruits of further investigation and fact-finding.

comments.lowry@nationalreview.com
The San Antonio State Hospital campus is a pastoral oasis in the heart of the citys South Side.

Hints of healing can be found throughout this sprawling campus. It can be seen in photographs from generations ago showing patients doing arts and crafts. It can be felt in the vast, rolling green space that curves and slopes across hundreds of acres.

There was a time when patients grew their own food here and even ran a dairy farm. But that was long ago, and the pervasive feeling on the campus is a sad and forgotten stillness. People brought here for needed mental health treatment in many ways are out of sight and out of mind by those not working here, and so are the decrepit and aged buildings.

The food service building was built in 1918. The newest buildings came along in the early 1970s. Patient rooms we viewed on a recent tour were dark and barren. There is a lack of natural light. Patients share rooms  four to a room  so there is a lack of privacy. Its hard to imagine any of this benefiting healing and restoration.

All of this could change if state lawmakers approve $320 million in funding for a new hospital on this campus. One that would house patients in smaller units that include private rooms and common space. One with appropriate space for exercise and occupational therapy.

The 296-room hospital would not resolve the perpetual psychiatric bed crisis in Bexar County. There are never enough beds, so people in crisis often end up in hospitals or languishing in the Bexar County Adult Detention Centers mental health unit, an utterly depressing place where inmates live in barren cells for 23 hours as they wait for space at the San Antonio State Hospital.

A new hospital wont solve the backlog, but it would be a crucial step forward for Bexar County and greater South Texas. San Antonio State Hospital doesnt just serve Bexar County. It receives patients from 55 counties with a coverage area that stretches south to Brownsville and Corpus Christi, west to Del Rio and north of San Antonio.

These patients are either civil commitments, defendants whose competencies must be restored or people found not guilty for reasons of insanity and then ordered to an institutional setting.

One of the selling points of a new hospital is a design that reflects best-known practices for healing, which should shorten stays for some patients and thereby help address the backlog of beds, said Robert Arizpe, the hospitals superintendent.

But this isnt the only selling point. Many of the buildings on the west end of the 300-acre campus would be consolidated into the new hospital. As things stand now, the food service building, which, again, is more than 100 years old, is separate from the main hospital units. So is a building that serves adolescents.

Consolidation would make for greater efficiency, but it also would open the door for future psychiatric care on the campus. For example, Tim Bray, an associate commissioner with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, said he could envision opening the west end of campus for some type of outpatient partnership to help people with moderate mental health needs  people who arent in full-blown crises but need stabilization. Another idea is developing independent housing to serve former patients who have stabilized but may not be ready to truly be off-campus.

A new hospital would build on an $11 million renovation project at that campus that will add 40 psychiatric beds, and it falls in line with a broader plan to add hundreds of additional beds at various state hospitals over coming years.

Its impossible to overstate the importance of this project to San Antonio and South Texas. A new hospital is overdue and desperately needed.

Bexar Countys delegation needs to get this across the finish line.
We have lost Americas sweetheart  Doris Day. She shall not be placed on the shelf or forgotten, if I have anything to say about it.

If you had asked me in the mid-50s, when I was in college, the one person I would have wanted to meet, I would have answered, Doris Day. If you asked me again this year, the answer still would have been Doris Day.

The beauty, the voice, the talent and the charismatic personality all wrapped together in one adorable woman will possibly never happen again.

Godspeed, girl. Heaven will be a better place with you there.

Kerry Brian Charlton

Voters are watching

Re: Agent Orange repeat? Your Turn, May 8; and Herbicide wont work, Your Turn, Tuesday:

Please, add my name to the list of those strongly opposed to using herbicides along the Rio Grande. How can anyone, even state Sen. Donna Campbell with her SB 1734, be so ignorant?

Has the Environmental Protection Agency weighed in on this plan? Or, better yet, does the U.S. still have an EPA?

Texas cannot be involved in spraying herbicides along the river, even if it means the Border Patrol has trouble detecting those trying to cross into this country illegally because they cannot see through a heavy growth of carrizo cane.

How is this the problem only now, when we have had illegal immigration for, what, centuries?

Think again, Senate, and think very carefully. The voters are watching.

Patricia A. Ireland

Stop progressives

Chick-fil-A is not the main issue in the mayoral race. The main issue is people who believe they have the right to silence people who disagree with politicians on religious or any other grounds.

People who feel their opinions are so correct that no one elses opinions matter. People for whom the First Amendment is merely annoyance. People who believe they have the right to deny me the right to make a choice in what I eat by removing an option they disapprove of.

That is why I will not vote for progressive politicians.

If they get total control of our city, we will go the way of Dallas, Houston and Austin. Then our beautiful city will be lost for good.

Penelope Talley

A cover-up

It is amazing how the local media have ignored the fact that mayoral candidate Greg Brockhouses mother is Hispanic.

Gregs mother, Patricia Brockhouse  whose maiden name is Arocha  is a proud Hispanic and Army veteran.

Is this a veiled attempt by the media to keep down the Hispanic vote for Greg (Arocha) Brockhouse?

David Diaz

Heart and soul woes

America should not be overly concerned about the havoc in both houses of the legislative branches of the U.S. government and Democrats like Nancy Pelosi or Republicans like Donald Trump.

America should be more concerned about the heart and soul of its citizens/voters.

May God have mercy on the United States of America.

Clayton Gay
Eight students and two teachers were murdered in their classrooms after a gunman opened fire at Santa Fe High School one year ago this week. Thirteen others were wounded. It forever changed their lives, the school, and that community.

In the days that followed, I traveled to meet with students who survived the shooting and parents who had tragically lost their children. I had the opportunity to listen, to learn, and to commit to following their lead in doing everything we can to end the epidemic of gun violence.

That meeting along the water in Galveston is where I met Rhonda, whose daughter Kimberly was killed in her art class. Rhonda gave me a photo of Kimberly that I've kept in my wallet ever since  as a reminder of her family and also of the urgency necessary to ensure no parent has to worry about sending their child to school and wondering whether theyll make it back.

But in the year since the Santa Fe shooting, far too many more school shootings have occurred  most recently in Highlands Ranch, where a brave young man named Kendrick Castillo died rushing toward the gunmen, saving the lives of others in his classroom. It was not unlike the sacrifice made by Riley Howell at UNC Charlotte the week before. These tragedies followed other shootings in synagogues and churches, malls and movie theaters, nightclubs and newsrooms.

It's no wonder our students and teachers are so focused on preparing for the next shooting to occur. It's why when Henry, our eight-year old, came home from his public school and we asked him what he had done that day, he told us about his teacher herding him and his classmates into a closet and telling them to resist the temptation to open the door when someone acting like an active shooter bangs on it. It's why Milan, a 14-year-old attending Berg Middle School in Newton, Iowa, told me she was afraid that one day she'll go to school and never come out. And it's why Cathryn, a high school student in Derry, N.H., told me that she knows exactly which bookshelves and cabinets to knock over in an attempt to block the door if a shooter comes into her school.

If this is happening in our classrooms, then it can happen anywhere. It shouldnt surprise us that our country loses more than 30,000 Americans to gun violence every year. We cannot accept that this is an act of God or that Americans are fated to be inherently violent. This is a human-caused problem with a human solution.

Following the lead of those on the ground in Santa Fe, students walking out of their classrooms and marching for their lives, and all the moms demanding action, here are a few human solutions that I propose.

First, universal background checks without exceptions. Close the boyfriend loophole, the Charleston loophole, the gun show loophole, the online loophole  no more loopholes and no more excuses for refusing to close them. States that have adopted universal background checks have already seen a reduction in gun violence. We know it works. As president, I want to make sure we do the same nationally. Gun owners and non-gun owners agree, Republicans and Democrats agree. So let's transcend the National Rifle Association and the gun lobby  who have purchased complicity and silence for too long  and get this done.

Second, stop selling assault weapons that were designed, engineered, and sold to the United States military for the express purpose of killing people as effectively, as efficiently, in as great a number as possible. They should remain on the battlefield where they belong  because as long as we keep selling them in our communities, they will keep showing up in our schools.

Third, let's adopt red flag laws  not one city or one state at a time, but for this entire country. That will ensure that if someone who owns a gun is a danger to themselves or others, we can use due process to stop them from using that weapon before it's too late.

Fourth, we must treat this crisis with the urgency it deserves. We must demand bold solutions and ensure ambitious plans are on the table and part of the discussion. We will also fully invest in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and research into gun violence so we can not only continue to understand whats happening but begin to address it.

And finally, lets make sure that in addition to mass shootings at schools, places of worship, and concerts, we also acknowledge that we are losing far too many people one or two at a time in communities of color. These killings are so numbingly common that they barely make the news. So lets not just protect kids in schools, but make sure that we value every life in this country and do our best to save every single one of them. Sensible gun legislation will do just that.

A year after Santa Fe, the work to end gun violence continues. The work to keep our kids and communities safe goes on. But remembering Kimberly, Kendrick, Riley, and all those who have succumbed to our inaction, we will step up, rally our fellow Americans, and deliver on these solutions to ensure that we finally and fully address gun violence in this country.
The Slovenian Prime Minister, Marjan Sarec, who assumed office last September, has criticised Adria Airways' owners and questioned the airline's sustainability. Mr Sarec said Adria was an example of a Slovenian brand tarnished by foreign investors. Furthermore, he noted the previous government failed to sell the company to Lufthansa and turned to the turnaround fund 4K Invest instead. The German national carrier has never officially expressed any interest in the Slovenian airline and continues to cooperate with Adria through a wide-ranging codeshare partnership, as well as aircraft leasing. "Today I wonder how long our Adria will continue flying", the Prime Minister said. The Slovenian government sold its 100% stake in the carrier in 2016. It recently adopted plans to subsidise airlines for the launch of new routes or frequencies to Ljubljana Airport from select markets in an attempt to improve the country's air connectivity by 2021.





Adria Airways has not responded to the Prime Minister's criticism. Its CEO, Holger Kowarsch, previously said the airline's financial loss in 2018 would be "significant" but added that the company would be placed on "firm foundations". "Slovenia needs its airline, because it is very important for Slovenian society, tourism and economy that a national carrier operates from Ljubljana Airport", Mr Kowarsch said earlier this year. At the time, he added that the company would not file for bankruptcy, "contrary to what many wished for". According to the Slovenian national statistical office, Adria Airways handled 212.400 passengers during the first quarter, down 7% year-on-year.





In 2015, three Germen investment companies, Intro Aviation, 4K Invest and Callisto, submitted bids for Adria Airways. 4K Invest eventually acquired a 96.09% stake in Adria through its affiliate AA International Aviation Holding for 100.000 euros and an additional one million euro capital injection. It later purchased the remaining shares for just under 45.000 euros. The arrangement also involved the Slovenian government injecting an additional 3.1 million euros into the carrier. The company recently noted it is upbeat over its prospects for 2019 and expects to return to profitability by year's end. "We continue to invest all of our efforts into greater operational excellence, reliability and maintaining business stability", it said.
FAIRFIELD  A New Britain man was charged after a bank robbery and a brief pursuit with police on Friday.

Nirav Patel, 29, of New Britain, was charged with second-degree robbery, fourth-degree larceny, first-degree reckless endangerment, evading responsibility of an accident, engaging police in a pursuit, reckless driving and failure to obey a traffic signal.

Just before 3 p.m., the Fairfield Police Departments Emergency Communications Center got a call for a crash in front of the Super Stop & Shop at 1160 Kings Highway Cutoff. Shortly after, there was a report of a hold up alarm at the Peoples Bank inside the same store.

Communications personnel reached out to employees at Peoples Bank, who confirmed the bank had just been robbed by a man wearing a black jacket. During the robbery, the suspect  later identified as Patel  passed a written note to an employee, demanding cash.

Patel got an undisclosed amount of cash and took off, police said.

On scene, officers talked to witnesses, who said the robber fled in a silver sedan-type vehicle at a high rate of speed, causing the crash at the exit to Stop & Shop. From there, witnesses said, the driver headed east on Kings Highway Cutoff.

Soon after, someone reported a vehicle with heavy front end damage had just gotten on Interstate 95 south at Meadowbrook Road.

Connecticut State Police tapped into traffic cameras along the highway and spotted a vehicle on the shoulder of I-95 south near Exit 17 in Westport that matched the description given by witnesses and looked to have front end damage. The driver was seen on camera checking out the damage to his vehicle, police said.

As Fairfield officers approached the area, Patel got back into his car and engaged the officers in a short pursuit, police said. Patel got off the highway at Exit 17 and crashed nearby on Route 136 at Ferry Lane in Westport.

Patel fled from the car on foot and officers gave chase. After having crossed all lanes of travel on I-95, officers took Patel into custody near the I-95 south entrance ramp with the help of Westport police.

Patel is being held on a $100,000 bond.
Fairfield, MT (59436)

Today

Bitterly cold. Snow showers this morning. Bright sunshine later. High -1F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 30%..

Tonight

A few passing clouds. Low -6F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
SOUTHERN ARIZONA  Peppered across the vast, rugged desert along the southern border are dozens of 30-foot steel poles, each topped with a battery-powered strobe light. These are rescue beacons, the first of which were erected more than two decades ago in response to a spike in migrant deaths.

Migrants who find themselves in distress press a red button on the pole, which activates the strobe and sends a radio signal to Border Patrol agents. Sequential bursts of blue light temporarily turn the white-tipped grasses of the Sonoran Desert blue.

Border Patrol argues that these beacons, which have been used for nearly 30 years, help save lives and negate the need for humanitarian efforts by volunteer groups, such as No More Deaths.

Humanitarians, however, say the beacons arent enough, and they promise to continue to leave food, water and other aid for migrants in danger of dehydration or other exposure-related illnesses in the punishing desert.

The rescue beacons played a role in the conviction early this year of four No More Deaths volunteers who had dropped pallets of SunVista beans and plastic gallon jugs of water near Charlie Bell Pass in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, where migrants trying to elude authorities are known to cross the border.

No More Deaths has been leaving aid for border crossers for more than a decade. It focuses on Cabeza Prieta, which runs along 56 miles of the border with Mexico.

But the food the four women left that day in August 2017 was found by Michael West, an officer of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

West confiscated the supplies and ordered the women to leave. They complied but were charged with misdemeanors involving littering and entering a national wildlife refuge without a permit. The women argued that they didnt have the permit because its language was changed to prohibit supply drops on the refuge.

In federal court in Tucson last January, Natalie Hoffman, Oona Holcomb, Madeline Huse and Zaachila Orozco-McCormick were found guilty. They later were fined and given unsupervised probation.

Prosecutors had argued that the need for humanitarian aid from No More Deaths and similar groups is alleviated by the rescue beacons.

In 2018, two rescue beacons were relocated to areas of the wildlife refuge where migrant death rates are higher. One was placed near Charlie Bell Pass, where West confronted the four volunteers more than a year before.

The beacons were developed by Customs and Border Protection in the late 1990s in response to rising numbers of migrant deaths in the Tucson Sector. According to the Pima County Medical Examiners Office, the remains of 2,816 undocumented border crossers were discovered in the sector from 2000 through 2017.

There are 34 rescue beacons in Border Patrols Tucson Sector.

If an individual whos in distress would hit this button, that would signal to a radio dispatch room at any Border Patrol station that somebody is here, and they need help, Border Patrol Agent Joseph Curran said. We would send an agent out as soon as possible to get this individual to definitive medical care or to get them to a place thats not out in the middle of the desert.

Border Patrol says the strobes can be seen from as far as 10 miles, giving the Tucson Sector 340 miles of visibility at night.

The beacons include pictorial instructions, as well as the same message in English, Spanish and Tohono Oodham: If you need help push the red button. Rescue Personnel will arrive shortly to help you. Do not leave this area.

However, the recent legal cases criminalizing No More Deaths volunteers has cast a different type of light on the poles: How effective are they in preventing migrants from dying in the desert?

Federal authorities had charged four other No More Deaths volunteers  Caitlin Deighan, Zoe Anderson, Logan Hollarsmith and Rebecca Grossman-Richeimer  for leaving aid on the Cabeza Prieta refuge. Those charges were dropped in February.

A ninth volunteer, Scott Warren, is awaiting trial for both felony and misdemeanor charges of harboring and conspiracy related to humanitarian work for No More Deaths.

The slew of legal cases caused the group to create a legal campaign in support of the Cabeza 9. Batches of white signs reading Humanitarian aid is never a crime are scattered in yards, curbsides and windows across Tucson.

Warrens trial on misdemeanor charges begins in May. Warren, who has taught as a faculty associate at Arizona State University, also may see the issue of rescue beacons raised in his case.

When somebody hits this rescue beacon, agent Curran said, theres a defined system in play thats going to get that person the definitive care that they need, as opposed to water jugs and food caches that may just be prolonging a perilous journey.

Border Patrol as a humanitarian force?

To demonstrate that its addressing migrants dying in the desert, Border Patrol relies heavily on the rescue beacons.

The humanitarian aspect of what we do has been growing in our role as Border Patrol agents, Curran said. Sometimes we need to take off our Border Patrol hat and put on one that cares about whether this person lives or dies. Thats why these rescue beacons are here.

However, No More Deaths volunteers argue that Border Patrol cant be a humanitarian agency.

Theres an international standard that the enforcement agency cannot also be the humanitarian response, said Geena Jackson, a wilderness emergency medical technician who has volunteered with the group since 2012. A rescue beacon is not a humanitarian response  it is first and foremost an enforcement tool.

Border Patrol is not recognized as an effective humanitarian response by anyone except themselves.

Jackson also noted that pushing the red button ends in the migrants apprehension.

In the picture on the beacon, an unarmed character responds with a water gallon, she said. That isnt accurate. An armed agent will respond, who is an enforcement agent first and foremost.

The first thing were going to do is evaluate that person medically, ask them if theyre OK, if they need water, Curran said. Then, if that person is deemed in good health, were going to process them through the immigration system the same way we would anybody else.

Although the beacons clearly show how to activate them, it isnt clear a government agency will respond.

Jackson said she often sees rescue beacons in her work in the desert and believes they are an inadequate response to the amount of migrant deaths occurring.

The efficacy of the beacons is grossly inadequate, she said. I have many, many anecdotes of people who have pressed the button at the beacon, and are sitting at the beacon and have been there anywhere from 20 minutes to two days, and are still waiting for a response.

There are 10 active beacons in the Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge, which covers 860,000 acres. Thats about one beacon every 135 square miles.

There is no set time limit for any rescue beacon, said Border Patrol Agent Daniel Hernandez of the Tucson Sector. The set time is as quick as humanly possible, were not going to endanger agents. Some of these rescue beacons are in extremely remote areas, and we have the best equipment to get to areas that are off the beaten path.

No More Deaths says the data behind rescue beacons, and a lack of transparency regarding that data, further proves theyre ineffective.

A Department of Homeland Security report from fiscal 2015 breaks down the number of rescue-beacon activations and individuals rescued as a result by each sector of Border Patrol. In the Yuma Sector, two rescues and 1,161 activations were recorded. In fiscal 2016, the report stopped listing data related to rescue beacons.

Theres very limited data that Border Patrol has published about rescue beacons. For a thousand activations of the beacons, there were only two rescues, Jackson said. The inadequacy, the lack of information, makes it very confusing to begin with. Wed like that same data for the Tucson Sector, especially the sector that we work in. They dont record that data, or if they do, they wont publicly publish it.

Tucson Sector Border Patrol provided Cronkite News data showing the number of activations and resulting rescues from fiscal years 2015-18. In 2015, the Tucson Sector reported 146 activations that resulted in 225 rescues.

However, the DHS report for that same year says the Tucson Sector does not record the total number of rescue beacon activations, only the number of rescues that result from them.

We record it ourselves, but its tracked electronically, Hernandez said. We know how many activations, we have to have a disposition for each activation. Theres some things we track here on a local level that DHS doesnt track on a national level.

The issue behind migrant deaths

Gregory Hess, the chief medical examiner for Pima County, said migrants deaths in the desert has been a growing issue since 2000. The leading cause of death is exposure-related illness, such as hypothermia, hyperthermia, heat exhaustion and dehydration, he said.

Hess doesnt have a direct answer to stopping the large numbers of migrant bodies sent to his office.

Nobody knows the answers to these questions, he said. Certainly theres an attempt to prevent people from dying, and one way might be to provide them with necessities that they may have run out of like safe food or water. Another would be this concept of having fixed beacons where people could seek assistance if they dont have a cellphone.

Border Patrol contends that water drops may actually endanger migrants who find them.

What I hate to see is water jugs on these rescue beacons, because it defeats the purpose of the rescue beacon, Hernandez said. If someone were to come across a rescue beacon, press that button and you get out of there. If they were to come across a water jug, well, theyre going to drink that and keep walking. Whats next? Wheres the next water jug?

Curran, as a Border Patrol agent who also is an emergency medical technician, has access to such things as intravenous therapy to treat dehydration.

I have rescued people at these rescue beacons who needed definitive care quickly, he said, and if they were to be anywhere else, if they would have grabbed a jug of water and kept walking, they probably wouldve died. Thats what were trying to prevent, thats why (rescue beacons) are here.

However, No More Deaths volunteers believe they are effectively addressing the issue of exposure.

The idea that water in the desert encourages people to continue walking north takes away so much agency and does not line up with what our role is as an organization, Jackson said. It is life-saving water for people already in a severely compromised medical state. And even if theyre not effective, theyre a response to the number one cause of death in this desert.

Hess, the Pima County medical examiner, believes the deaths will decrease when the nation addresses the root issue of why migrants cross the border in the first place.

Clearly the ultimate answer is trying to address problems in regions of people are coming from so they dont feel compelled to move, he said.

As an initiative to reach potential border crossers in their countries of origin, Border Patrol circulates flyers telling of the true risk of death in the southern deserts of the U.S. The two-fold flyers also tell migrants about rescue beacons, referring to them as La luz azul de vida  The blue light of life.

Most people have no idea what the true distances are, Hernandez said. So we do that to bring awareness to the rescue beacon itself, and also to the dangers the desert poses.

In recent months, the number of migrants entering the U.S., mainly from Central American countries, has increased steadily. The influx of migrants has strained Border Patrol efforts.

The more agents on the ground I take for other efforts, like the Central American influx, it does take away from those rescue operations, Hernandez said. Our humanitarian efforts are definitely being addressed, but the size of the impact on other operations definitely is noticeable.

Although Hernandez thinks Border Patrol provides the best humanitarian response with available resources, Jackson of No More Deaths said it underscores the agencys inadequacy to aid migrants at risk of dying in the desert.

By their own admission, Border Patrol clearly states that they are inadequately equipped, they are inept at providing appropriate medical responses to vulnerable populations. Anyone whos been walking in the desert is compromised, she said.

A history of friction

The tensions between Border Patrol and No More Deaths arent limited to arguing about rescue beacons.

In January 2018, No More Deaths released a report alleging that Border Patrol agents destroyed humanitarian aid left in the desert from 2010 to 2017. The report included several videos of the reported vandalism.

One video shows green-uniformed agents kicking over water jugs aligned neatly in a row. Another shows an agent dumping water onto the ground.

Border Patrol claims these were strictly isolated incidents.

Several years ago, Hernandez said, we had some agents caught on film doing something that we wish they hadnt done, which is destroying or moving some water jugs in the desert. Agents have been instructed since that point that we are not to touch anything in the desert. If somebody sees something or an agent doing something theyre not supposed to, theyre welcome to call the United States Border Patrol and address that with us.

Given the extensiveness of the abuse documentation report No More Deaths released, the group doesnt believe these were one-time occurrences.

The idea that its a few rogue agents does not line up with the massive scale of destruction of humanitarian aid supplies, Jackson said.

Hours after the videos were released in January 2018, Border Patrol arrested Scott Warren, the No More Deaths volunteer and ASU instructor, while conducting surveillance on a building near Ajo where No More Deaths conducts humanitarian work. They also arrested two undocumented immigrants who were with Warren.

Warren is charged with felony harboring and conspiracy, as well as separate misdemeanor charges stemming from his volunteer work on Cabeza Prieta.

Jackson said Warrens attorneys have won a motion asserting that if the prosecution uses rescue beacons in their argument, they must provide the appropriate data to show the beacons are effective.

If there is data to prove then well find out. If theres not, then they cant use that as an argument because its based on nothing, she said.

No More Deaths says it wont abandon humanitarian efforts despite the charges against its volunteers.

Were not stopping our work just because the government is trying to criminalize us, Jackson said. The need for humanitarian aid along the U.S.-Mexico border is massive, we are but one of many organizations that are trying to respond to that. While many, many people have died on these land jurisdictions this winter, many more people are probably going to die this summer. So were preparing for a really hot summer in an area that we have even less access to because of these cases.

This story was posted to fairfieldsuntimes.com
NEW PRAGUE, MN  The National Mastitis Council (NMC) Scholars program annually provides four travel scholarships to full-time graduate students interested in controlling mastitis, promoting udder health and improving milk quality. Successful applicants earn an expense-paid trip to attend the NMC 59th Annual Meeting, Jan. 28-31, 2020, in Orlando, Fla.

To apply for the NMC Scholars program, applicants must complete the application form, submit an interest statement that details the applicants interest in controlling mastitis and improving milk quality, career goals and research project(s), and provide a letter of recommendation. Applicants may also share additional information, such as awards, honors and scholarships received.

At least two NMC Scholars will be graduate students at a university or college outside of the United States and Canada. Eligible candidates must be an NMC member and enrolled full time at a college or university in a dairy, animal or veterinary science, microbiology or related program at the time of application deadline, with an area of interest that includes mastitis control and quality milk production.

Deadline

The application deadline is July 31. Applicants will be notified by Aug. 30, regarding the selection committees decision. To learn more about the program and to apply, go to http://www.nmconline.org/nmc-scholars-program. Selection priority will be given to applicants who have not previously attended an NMC Annual Meeting. Previous NMC Scholars are eligible to apply, but preference will be given to those who have not been previously selected.

Funding for the NMC Scholars program comes from NMC members and supporters generous contributions. For more information, contact JoDee Sattler, NMC Scholars program coordinator, at (414) 587-5839 or jdsattler@nmconline.org.
2020 was a year marked by hardships and challenges, but the Fauquier community has proven resilient. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you for your continued support, wed like to offer all our subscribers -- new or returning --

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We understand the importance of working to keep our community strong and connected. As we move forward together into 2021, it will take commitment, communication, creativity, and a strong connection with those who are most affected by the stories we cover.

We are dedicated to providing the reliable, local journalism you have come to expect. We are committed to serving you with renewed energy and growing resources. Let the Fauquier Times be your community companion throughout 2021, and for many years to come.
Pic: INDA

INDAs 13th annual World of Wipes (WOW) International Conference will be held from June 24-27 at Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, Ga. More than 400 industry professionals from 20-plus countries are expected to attend the three-day event that brings together entire wipes supply chain. WOW 2019 will open with a welcome reception on June 24 at The Commerce Club.

The conference will also include evening receptions, tabletop presentations, daily breakfasts, and networking breaks. As the multi-billion-dollar wipes sector continues to enjoy growth, industry leaders will summit to address critical issues and new advances driven by increased demand for healthier, safer, and greener wipes, said INDA in a press release.

The dynamic line-up of more than 25 presenters will tackle such topics as sustainable and transparent formulations for home and personal care products, safety versus efficacy in preservative developments, consumer trade and trends, medical and industrial wipes, material developments, and sustainability challenges of disposing plastics.

The World of Wipes Innovation Award winner will be announced on June 27. The annual award recognises the product that most expands the use of nonwovens and demonstrates creativity, novelty, uniqueness, and technical sophistication within the entire nonwovens wipes value chain. Last years recipient was Diamond Wipes Internationals Hero Wipes, an innovative new wipe that removes toxic, cancer-causing carcinogens from firefighters skin. Finalists this year are Kelheim Fibres GmbHs Danufil QR Fibres, Bawdys Butt Sheet Masks, and Earthlys Not Yet Wet Wipes.

Lisa Morden, vice president safety and sustainability, Kimberly-Clark Corp, will speak about creating more responsible wiping products with an eye toward a sustainable future. She will discuss the emerging challenges companies face from NGOs, regulatory agencies and activist consumers and ways to reduce post-consumer waste.

INDA president Dave Rousse will talk about the current state of flushability and nonwovens next challenge of plastics in the environment. Director of Government Affairs Jessica Franken will address the trade war with China as part of her presentation on global nonwovens trade and tariffs while director of market research & statistics Brad Kalil will share findings on the future direction of the North American wipes market.

The impact of restrictions and pressure from NGOs on traditional preservative chemistries in wet wipes will be discussed by Dolores Shaw, senior microbiologist, DuPont microbial control; Doug Cole, vice president of global product development, Rockline Industries; Andress Johnson, technical manager, personal care & household, Thor Specialties, and other speakers.

Experts exploring the topics of sustainability, ingredient transparency and packaging include Nicole Acevedo, Ph.D, founder & CEO, Elavo Mundi Solutions; Jim Flannery, CEO, Summit Ventures; Jonathan Layer, business development manager  Americas, Fibertex Nonwovens; Jennifer Lewis, packaging & sustainability manager, Rockline Industries; Rebecca Mick, technical sustainability lead / research scientist, Bemis Company; and Henning Roettger, director of innovation, Glatfelter Gernsbach GmbH.

Paul Harmon, EVP commercial HH&S, Berry Global will outline key trends driving innovation in consumer services, healthcare, industrial manufacturing, and building services. He also will identify and explore innovations in chemistry, wiping fabrics, packaging/delivery, and cleaning mechanisms including robots and information technology (IT).

Learning how to successfully sell wipes in the e-commerce marketplace will be the topic of a trending talk on How to Navigate the Amazon Jungle by Richard Palmer, president and co-founder of Nehemiah Manufacturing.

Preceding the conference, Rob Johnson, PE, principal, Smith, Johnson & Associates will teach The WIPES Academy, June 24-25. The Academy is the first and only comprehensive wipes training for the entire wipes supply chain. A separate registration fee applies and pre-registration is required.

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, serves hundreds of member companies in the nonwovens/engineered fabrics industry in global commerce. (PC)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India


Shah Rukh Khan or King Khan as he is lovingly called is one of the coolest stars of all times and there is no denying that. Be it his quick wit or his effortless charm, this superstar can make millions of people weak in their knees by just flashing his dimples and opening his arms wide. He has earned this kind of stardom over the years by playing several characters that have resonated so well with the audience. The actor recently posted pictures with American television host David Letterman that created a mega stir online as the duo shot for a special show for Netflix.







However today, another picture of the King of Hearts has surfaced online. SRK is seen enjoying a water slide in the summers, splashing some water as he zooms down the slide. It is truly adorable to watch King Khan letting his hair down and indulging in some fun post work. Kudos to you, King!












Joining the list of several other celebrities is now Shahid Kapoor who unveiled his wax statue at Madame Tussauds. The actor recently flew to Singapore with his family to unveil the statue. It was just last month when filmmaker Karan Johar unveiled his wax figure at Madame Tussauds Singapore.





Interestingly, in his 15-year long career, this is Shahids first ever wax figure. The Kabir Singh actor shared the same on his social media handle and wrote, #twinning





Take a look





View this post on Instagram #twinning A post shared by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on May 15, 2019 at 9:45pm PDT

Kapoor looked dapper in his pinstriped blue suit. He paired it with a black shirt with matching pants and jacket. Present there, Kapoor was also seen fixing the hair of his wax figure and clicking selfies with it. Check it out...

Shahids next release Kabir Singh hits the screens on June 21 in which he will be seen opposite Kiara Advani. The film is a Hindi remake of the Telugu film Arjun Reddy.
Until recently, Sumalatha Ambareesh was busy with the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The past few days she's been promoting her film with Harpriya called Daughter of Parvathamma. The senior actress recently stated that she's confident about winning the Mandya elections. Amidst all this, she and son Abhishek have made Ambareesh's final wish come true. Today, Ambareesh's family moved into their new house in JP Nagar, Bangalore. Have a look at the picture below.

Apparently, Ambareesh was always attched to this property and for 29 years, dreamt of living here. However, he took his last breath just when the construction of the house was coming to an end. Today, his wife Sumalatha and son Abhishek shifted to their new residence by organising a house warming ceremony.

The rituals were simple and only consisted of close family and friends. Nobody from the industry was spotted at their new residence. Neither have Sumalatha or Abhishek spoken about their new home. They were previously residing in the same area.

Ravichandran Is Not Celebrating His B'day This Year; But Not Because Of Ambareesh's Demise

On the professional front, Abhishek Ambareesh is busy with his debut film Amar, which is all set to release soon. Meanwhile, Sumalatha is curioulsy waiting for Lok Sabha election results to be announced. She's also actively promoting her latest film Daughter of Parvathamma, which is something you need to look out for.
Hina Khan's debut film Lines poster gets released in Cannes 2019; Check out | FilmiBeat

Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2 actress Hina Khan made a stunning appearance at 72nd Cannes Film Festival. Her debut at Cannes was not only praised by fans but also the actors from television industry were proud of her. But an editor's cheap comment upset the telly actors. The actors stood united and slammed him for mocking her Cannes debut. Not just television actors, even Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut's sister Rangoli, Farah Khan and Bigg Boss host supported her. Salman gave a witty reply when asked about his reaction to the journalist's comment. He said, "This is very responsible of the editor to make a comment like that, so thoughtful. I don't understand what did he want to say? Cannes is Chandivali or Chandivali is going to Cannes."

Later, the journalist apologised to Hina Khan and said that his caption was grossly misconstrued. Well, Hina moved on and she did for what she is at Cannes - launched the poster of her debut Bollywood film Lines.



Lines is produced by Rahat Kazmi, Tariq Khan, Zeba Sajid and is co-produced by Jayant Jaiswal's Hiro Faar Better films. The poster of the film shows Hina in a different avatar. She is seen wearing traditional jewellery and there is a map at the backdrop which indicates that the film might be about cross border issue.

Hina looked gorgeous in a green dress. Sharing a picture of the poster, the actress wrote, "Emotions don't change because of the borders in between, the life and plight of #Nazia is a simple portrayal of any girl who faces the magnitude of ordinary challenges in a not so ordinary story."

"#Lines is my debut in films. I hope you all love it as much we loved it. This is the first look launched at @festivaldecannes and an official poster which depicts more than a poster can! #cannes2019."

Rocky also shared the poster and captioned, "#LINESFirst look & Official poster launch at the India Pavilion @ficci_india @festivaldecannes #Cannes2019Our first ever Co-produced feature film hits its first strike internationally. Many more to go..!Hiro's Faar Better Films #HFBF @realhinakhan.Much Appreciations and Love to my fellow colleagues the super talented @rahatkazmi #RKF, the most witty @tariq_khana #TKP, the elegant @zebasajid2 #ZSF and the skipper @husseinkhan72 #STC & of course @rishi_bhutani ."

Most Read: Journalist APOLOGISES to Hina Khan; Says His Caption Has Been Grossly MISCONSTRUED!
Karan Singh Grover Is Mr Bajaj!

It was also said that Karan Wahi has been locked for the role of Mr Bajaj. But, the makers made last minute change and roped in Karan Singh Grover for the show.

KSGs Entry Sequence To Be Shot In Switzerland!

Apparently, Karan Singh Grover's entry sequence will be shot amid the stunning Swiss Alps. Well, we are sure that just like Hina's introduction, Karan Singh Grover's entry/introduction too will be damakedar.

Prerna Might Be Shown Dead!

Apart from KSG's entry and Hina's exit, it is also being said that Erica will exit the show, which is quite shocking! As per the latest report, Prerna's character might die due to unforeseen circumstances. So, is Prerna too exiting the show?

Erica Fernandes To Get Replaced!

A source close to the development told Mumbai Mirror that the decision was taken suddenly. The source said, "The writers are currently working on how to justify her exit. At the moment they have yet to figure if Erica will be replaced."

Erica Chose Not To Comment!

When the actress was asked regarding the same, she said, "I wouldn't want to comment on this." Well, we wonder, if no Prerna, how will the show work? People are watching the show for Erica, Parth and Hina! One (Hina) has already exited the show, and now another exit is quite shocking! Well, let's wait and watch to know what the makers have in store for us!
NEW YORK and LONDON, May 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenFin, the operating system (OS) of finance, has raised $17 million in Series C funding from major banks and leading FinTech investors. The funding round was led by Wells Fargo with participation from Barclays and existing investors including Bain Capital Ventures, J.P. Morgan and Pivot Investment Partners. The Series C round brings OpenFin's total amount of venture funding to $40 million. Proceeds from the financing will be used to make OpenFin OS ubiquitous on financial desktops and to fund further product innovation. This includes OpenFin's new Cloud Services offering, which enables banks, asset managers, wealth managers and hedge funds to provide their own private app stores for employees and customers out of the box.

The global financial services industry is spending billions in addressing the digital transformation of thousands of legacy desktop applications used for client service centers, front office, operations, risk and compliance. OpenFin's widely adopted desktop operating system enables financial services firms to build new applications with modern web technology while enabling seamless and secure integration with legacy applications. This allows these firms to modernize and unify the end-user desktop experience while extracting the greatest possible value from their existing technology investments.

"Apple and Google's mobile operating systems and app stores have enabled more than a million apps that have fundamentally changed how we live," said Mazy Dar, CEO and Co-Founder of OpenFin. "OpenFin OS and our new app store services enable the next generation of desktop apps that are transforming how we work in financial services."

OpenFin OS has become a de facto market standard for deployment and interoperability of desktop apps to power digital transformation across the industry. Its customers include most major banks, leading asset management firms and many of the best known vendor platforms in the space. The operating system software runs more than 1,000 applications at more than 1,500 banks and buy-side firms across 200,000 desktops in 60+ countries.

"We have been following OpenFin's progress and are impressed by the company's success in gaining wide adoption in capital markets. OpenFin is leading a key effort in providing the financial industry with a modern and unifying foundation for development and secure distribution of financial applications," said Basil Darwish, Managing Director, Strategic Investments at Wells Fargo Securities. "We are delighted to lead OpenFin's Series C funding round and excited to support the next phase of their development."

"Agility and interoperability are core pillars of our digital strategy because time is a precious resource, especially in a banking environment. OpenFin accelerates our innovation cycle and allows us to create better workflows, enabling our colleagues and clients to make more productive use of their time," said Brett Tejpaul, Head of Digital and Client Strategy at Barclays Investment Bank. "We are pleased to support the company which is a leader in the industry with its open source model and its commitment to industry collaboration."

"OpenFin is building the roads, bridges and communications infrastructure for financial apps that will allow capital markets to innovate like Silicon Valley," said Matt Harris, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures. "We are proud to have been early backers of the company and we welcome the strategic support from Barclays, J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo."

OpenFin has significant network effects in financial services as a result of its wide adoption which, in turn, is fueling innovation and accelerating a generational shift in how applications are developed, distributed and maintained. The company also sees tremendous opportunities for their technology in adjacent industries.

About OpenFin

Move Fast. Break Nothing. OpenFin is the financial industry's operating system, enabling rapid and secure deployment, native experience and desktop interoperability. Used by the largest industry players through to the newest of FinTech innovators, OpenFin deploys more than 1,000 desktop applications to more than 1500 buy-side and sell-side firms. OpenFin investors include Bain Capital Ventures, Barclays, DRW Venture Capital, NEX Euclid Opportunities, J.P. Morgan, NYCA Partners, Pivot Investment Partners and Wells Fargo among others. The company has offices in New York and London.

https://openfin.co.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/887957/OpenFin_Logo.jpg
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 17, 2019) - Braingrid Limited (CSE: BGRD) ("Braingrid" or the "Company"), a global provider of cultivation analytics using its affordable, scalable and easy-to-deploy sensor platforms for precision agriculture, wishes to announce the completion of two transactions.

Pursuant to an Advisory Agreement with Michael Frank (the "Advisor") dated as of the 1st day of January 2019, the Company issued 100,000 common shares in payment for his services from January 1, 2019 to April 30, 2019. The Advisor provided consulting and support services including the ongoing assessment of available methods of financing operations and undertakings of the Company; the introduction of appropriate businesses to the Company for acquisition and merger; and conversations and attendances with stock brokers and other third party investors to create awareness and investment in the Company. Compensation was fixed at $5,000 per month and payable in common shares in the capital of the Company at a deemed issue price of $0.20 per share. The agreement with the Advisor also provided for the payment of certain success fees in the event of the completion of certain transactions however as no transactions were completed, no success fee was earned or paid.

A second transaction with Bankwell Realty Inc. (the "Lender") was completed by the Company today whereby the Company issued a $100,000 secured convertible debenture. The loan bears interest at a rate of 18% per annum, matures on August 16, 2019 and is secured by a general security agreement. The principal amount of the debenture, fees and interest thereon may be converted into units of the Company at a conversion price of $0.09 per unit. Each unit will be comprised of one common share and one common share purchase warrant of the Company. Each warrant will be exercisable into one common share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.09 per share at any time on or before the second anniversary of the issuance of the warrants. In connection with the completion of the financing the Company agreed to pay the Lender a commitment fee of $5,000 and issue 250,000 common share purchase warrants to the Lender, each exercisable at any time on or before May 17, 2024 into one common share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.09 per share. Braingrid may pre-pay the debenture at any time and is obligated to repay the debenture in the event that it receives long term funding.

The securities issued by the Company as set out in this press release are subject to a hold period of four months and one day.

Media Contact:

Braingrid

Doug Harris

Chief Financial Officer

416-480.2488

ir@braingrid.io

www.braingrid.io

About Braingrid:

Braingrid is a global technology company committed to the best interests of the precision agriculture industry for the long term. We provide valuable grow analytics by capturing real-time data using our technology platform to increase revenues, reduce costs, risks and improve yield - making it easier for the grower to operate efficiently and effectively. The Company is listed on the CSE under the symbol BGRD.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release includes forward-looking information and statements, which may include, but are not limited to, information and statements regarding or inferring the future business, operations, financial performance, prospects, and other plans, intentions, expectations, estimates, and beliefs of Braingrid. Information and statements which are not purely historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information and statements involve and are subject to assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual events, results, performance, or achievements of Braingrid to be materially different from future events, results, performance, and achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information and statements herein. Although Braingrid believes that any forward-looking information and statements herein are reasonable, in light of the use of assumptions and the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in such information and statements, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, and accordingly readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance upon such forward-looking information and statements. Any forward-looking information and statements herein are made as of the date hereof, and except as required by applicable laws, Braingrid assumes no obligation and disclaims any intention to update or revise any forward-looking information and statements herein or to update the reasons that actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in any forward-looking information and statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44891
- Krishna Sudheendra Named CEO of UST Global

- Sajan Pillai Announces Plan to Retire as CEO; Will Remain on Board of Directors

ALISO VIEJO, California, May 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- UST Global, a leading digital transformation solutions company, announced today that Sajan Pillai is retiring as CEO of the company. UST Global CFO and President Krishna Sudheendra has been named CEO as part of the company's succession plan. Pillai, who has been with UST Global for over 20 years, will remain on the company's Board of Directors and be actively involved for the next one year with Krishna and the leadership team in support of a successful transition.

Pillai led the creation of a robust start-up ecosystem at UST Global investing in startups with an eye on innovation and will continue to focus on this through a new venture fund while serving on the Board. The ecosystem is a significant space for bringing innovation to UST Global clients and growth for the company going forward.

"At UST, I have had a very fulfilling journey advancing the passion of cutting-edge technology and innovation by bringing together startups and customers to create an ecosystem to provide value to them. To lead the exciting world of venture-driven startups, I would like to dedicate my time now to give back and to fulfill that passion, serving business and consumers globally. This will help UST continue its innovation journey on behalf of its customers," said Pillai. "I am very proud to have Krishna succeeding me in this role as the next generation of leadership for the company. He is the right person to spearhead the organization in its next stage of evolution."

As part of the company's succession plan, Sudheendra has served as President for the past year. During his 15+ year career with UST Global, he has successfully led customer and market expansion fueling industry leading growth of the company. He was instrumental in securing private equity investment to power UST Global through its evolution. In addition to strengthening global operations, he implemented strong financial systems, governance and controls to optimize performance and productivity.

"This announcement is the successful culmination of a multiyear succession plan to select the best leader for UST Global. With a stellar track record as the company's President and CFO, we look forward to what Krishna will bring to the company as its CEO," said Paras Chandaria, Chairman of the Board of Directors, UST Global. "On behalf of the entire board, I thank Sajan for his leadership and his numerous contributions to UST Global's recent success. We appreciate his service and commitment to UST Global and will work together on future venture-driven endeavors."

"I am honored to be named the next CEO of UST Global, and want to thank both Sajan and the Board for the confidence they have placed in me to lead this strong organization and support our talented people as we continue to grow the company," added Sudheendra.

About UST Global

UST Global is a leading digital technology solutions company that provides advanced computing and digital services to large private and public enterprises around the world. Its clients include Fortune 500 companies in banking and financial services, insurance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, shipping, technology and telecom. UST Global believes in building long term, strategic business partnerships through client-centric global engagement models that combine local experts and resources with the cost, scale, and quality advantages of global operations. For more information, please visit: www.ust-global.com.

Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/540539/UST_Global_Logo.jpg
Along with Critical Partners Brunch held by Monticello Central School District

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 16, 2019 / Thompson Education Center, through its chairman Sherry Li, was present at the Annual Afternoon Gala, thrown by Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County (CCESC). Everyone celebrated more than 100 years of grassroots education for farmers, families, and youth. A farm-to-table lunch of locally-sourced cuisine, live music, and unique auction items entertained the guests. Three important past and present members of CCESC were honored with the Now & Then Awards, including Richard Schulman, Karen Mariner and Denise Frangipane. An array of live and silent auction items were on hand featuring opportunities to bid on "priceless" experiences and packages bursting with unique gifts for farmers, foodies.

Since 1914, Cornell Cooperative Extension has been a valuable resource to the farmers, families, individuals in need, and young people of Sullivan County. Support for the Afternoon Gala fundraiser ensures that it continues to provide exciting, high-quality, and innovative programs that are vital to local economic and community development.

Thompson Education Center attended the Critical Partners Brunch held by Monticello Central School District and hosted by Superintendent Mrs. Tammy Mangus. During the roundtable discussion, each group listed the key skills they feel are needed for Life Ready after high school. The seven key skills finalized at the end of the meeting were Communication, Awareness, Tenacity, Collaboration, Responsibility, Goal Getting and Integrity. Thompson Education Center is a project that plans to create a high-end education community. It is located in Sullivan County, Town of Thompson, covering 575 acres.

The initial development of the Thompson Education Center would work with accredited colleges to develop a new high-end and modern comprehensive Education community in Sullivan County. It will include a Business School, a school of Film & Arts, Nurse/Medical Training, Culinary Training, High School Equivalent Diploma, Executive and Vocational Training program as well as related ancillary facilities. After completion, the project will include classroom buildings, student dormitory apartments, student group housing units & a recreational center. In addition there will be a faculty housing, a college Inn, a college library, museums, an art center, a student conference center and an indoor/outdoor recreational facility including play grounds and a stadium.

Currently, Thompson Education Center has entered into agreements and signed letter of interests with high schools, colleges, education institutions and systems both in U.S. and China, each of them will provide a great number of students to Thompson Education Center. Also, TEC has already been working with several U.S. accredited colleges on Undergraduate Programs and ESL Programs.

TEC will bring economic growth to the local community. Numerous construction professional firms have been retained for the project such as architects, engineers, land-use lawyers, local contractors. An increasing number of jobs will be created throughout the entire project, such as real estate agents, professors, instructors, librarian, cleaning, and maintenance workers amongst many others. Thompson Education Center is proud to be a community member and willing to support and to help our community and children. Together we can build a better, stronger and healthier community.

Thompson Education Center - A High-End Education Community in Sullivan County, NY: http://thompsoneducationcenternews.com.

Thompson Education Center Participates in Notte Di Savoia 2019: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/thompson-education-center-participates-notte-185500029.html.

Thompson Education Center Goes To The Oscars Hosting Viewing Gala, Dinner and Awards: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/thompson-education-center-goes-oscars-235000211.html.

Contact Information:

ThompsonEducationCenterNews.com

http://thompsoneducationcenternews.com

contact@thompsoneducationcenternews.com

SOURCE: Thompson Education Center

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/545694/Sherry-Li--Thompson-Education-Center--Attends-Cornell-Cooperative-Extension-Sullivan-County-3rd-Denim-Diamonds-Afternoon-Gala
AMSTERDAM, May 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- WeChat Pay and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol jointly launched Europe's first flagship WeChat Pay Smart Airport. The flagship exists of three services: WeChat Official Account, WeChat Mini Program and WeChat Pay in Store. As a result Chinese passengers could enjoy a series of seamless smart lifestyle experiences similar of those in China. With this partnership, Schiphol wants to increase the travel and retail experience of the growing number of Chinese passengers at their airport.

Dave Fan, Senior Director of WeChat Pay, said: "This launch of the WeChat Pay European Flagship Smart Airport at Amsterdam Schiphol is another important milestone for WeChat Pay to establish its ecosystem in Europe. From this hub on the European continent, we will continue to deepen the application of WeChat Pay's smart solutions in all walks of life across the region. We will bring Chinese innovation to the rest of the world, allowing Chinese tourists to travel abroad and enjoy the smart lifestyle they do at home."

Tanja Dik, Director Consumers Products & Services at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol said: "Schiphol welcomes more and more Chinese passengers every year. In 2018 more than 500,000 departing Chinese passengers passed the airport. To meet the needs of our passengers, we are investing in the development and implementation of new concepts with a focus on convenience and customer experience. We are very proud of the fact that we are the first WeChat Pay Flagship Smart Airport in Europe and that we can offer our Chinese guests all the advantages of using the WeChat services at our airport. As a result of this partnership we provide Chinese passengers with seamless travel services and tailor-made shopping experiences through its Mini Program, almost as if they were in China."

The Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Mini Program not only provides practical airport access information, but also offers (online) shopping services, covering a wide range of products such as beauty, fashion, watches and jewelery, and authentic Dutch souvenirs. Customers can order and pay for their goods using WeChat Pay, and collect at the airport, saving them the time of finding goods and queuing to pay.

Besides the Mini Program, Schiphol sets WeChat Pay experience zones within the airport to provide assistance to Chinese travellers, and also has its merchants ready for WeChat Pay as one of their mobile payment methods. Chinese tourists will also receive coupons for preferred currency exchange rate and discounts, at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

This collaboration is an important step in the process of WeChat Pay's cross-border payment business entering the European market. It will serve as a showcase for WeChat Pay's future entry into other industries focusing on Chinese tourists, including restaurants, retail, and tourist attractions. Continues its ONE FOR BILLION business initiative, WeChat Pay provides merchants with not only an advanced mobile payment method, but also ONE platform which enables long-term communications and customized customer services for BILLIONS of Chinese consumers.

Almost 1.1 billion active users worldwide

According to latest data, in 2018, more than 149 million Chinese tourists travelled abroad, and Europe took up 11 percent of it. Capitalizing on the dividends of Chinese tourist traffic will be key in the future competition among European airports and other tourism related industries. WeChat has almost 1.1 billion active users worldwide, of which 800 million have banks cards linked with WeChat Pay. WeChat Pay has officially entered more than 49 overseas countries and regions, making it an excellent way for overseas institutions and merchants such as Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to reach and connect Chinese tourists.

WeChat Pay brings its smart ecosystem to Europe

Customer experience at every step of the travel and shopping journey can affect the final payment, and this wider consideration of users' consumption habits was an important factor for WeChat Pay to establish its ecosystem overseas. In China, smart lifestyle solutions with WeChat Pay at their core now cover tens of millions of stores across all areas of life to satisfy users' everyday needs. Many Chinese people are used to going out without their wallets, and WeChat Pay aims to provide the same convenient experience to them when they travel abroad. As the first stop for Chinese tourists, airports have become the obvious choice for WeChat Pay around which to build a smart lifestyle showcase which Chinese tourists can enjoy as they do at home.

As of April 2019, the number of merchants in the European region offering WeChat Pay as a payment method was 3.5 times higher than that of last year. WeChat has already connected with more than 149 international airports. It offers a wide range of services for different situations, including Code Scan Payment, Mini Program Tour Guides, Mini Program Ordering, and Travel Information and Travel Guides on Official Accounts in different airports. Flagship WeChat Pay Smart Airports have been established at the New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, Japan. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is WeChat Pay's European first Flagship Smart Airport.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/889396/WeChat_Pay_Amsterdam_Airport_Schiphol.jpg
Indianapolis ceremony welcomes attendees from 41 states, Germany, Bermuda

Purdue University Global, a public nonprofit online institution of higher education, conferred degrees for more than 600 graduates during two ceremonies on May 18 in Indianapolis, Ind., recognizing them for their academic achievements and celebrating their success.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190518005019/en/

President of Purdue University Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. speaks at the commencement for Purdue University Global on May 18 in Indianapolis. Looking on are (left) keynote speaker Dennis E. Bland, President of the Center for Leadership Development, and Purdue University Global Chancellor Dr. Betty Vandenbosch. (Photo: Business Wire)

Among those speaking at the commencements were President of Purdue University Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr., Chancellor of Purdue University Global Dr. Betty Vandenbosch and keynote speaker Dennis E. Bland, president of the Center for Leadership Development.

Based in Indianapolis, Purdue University Global was created one year ago when Purdue University acquired Kaplan University to expand its land-grant mission by providing access to higher education for millions of working adults, personalized to their needs. More than 9,000 Purdue University Global students will earn degrees this year, including those attending the Indianapolis graduation ceremonies.

During the ceremonies at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis, Dr. Vandenbosch conferred degrees to graduates who traveled from 41 states as well as Bermuda, Germany and the Virgin Islands to attend. The ceremony was broadcast on Facebook Live for graduates and family members unable to be there in person.

"Today, you're crossing one finish line and setting your sights on starting the next stage of your life's journey," she told graduates. "Each of you had a unique path that brought you here today that shaped who you were in the classroom, and who you will be in the workforce."

Dr. Vandenbosch noted that Purdue Global students are primarily adult learners and pointed to some of the ways that makes them distinctive. Nearly 30 percent of the student body is affiliated with the military, including active duty, veterans and their family members. She also said that 52 percent of Purdue Global students are the first in their family to pursue a higher education degree, and that 63 percent have a child or other dependent.

Graduate and undergraduate degrees were awarded from the schools of Business and Information Technology, Education, Health Sciences, Nursing, and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

About Purdue University Global

Purdue University Global is the extreme personalization online university, providing students the competitive edge to advance in their chosen careers. It offers a hyper-tailored path for students to earn an associate's, bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, desired pace, military service, previous college credits and other considerations no matter where they are in their life journey.

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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190518005019/en/

Contacts:

Greg Ten Eyck

O: 954.515.3026

gregory.teneyck@purdueglobal.edu
But this a bizarre and often flummoxing ballet, despite an easy to follow, digestible plot. Some of the jokes are unnecessarily crass: a shower scene with Leons three maids scrubbing his bare bottom, a feigned erection when Gala falls on his crotch, and an ongoing tiff with Tea, for example  poor Leon. The score is a mix-tape of Strauss, a vast catalog of waltzes, galops and polkas by Johann Strauss, Jr. and his brothers Josef and Eduard. The addition of Mozarts Piano Concert No. 23 for Galas ending solo is an odd one, having spent the whole of two hours with the Strauss family. Its not an unwelcome change  honestly theres a limit to how much Strauss one can hear in an evening  but a random and abrupt one that leaves the audience nonplussed as the main curtain closes. Perhaps the best strategy is the same one I brought to Alexei Ratmanskys Whipped Cream in April (coincidentally, a ballet set to music by yet another (unrelated) Strauss): Dont think too hard, try to embrace The Pygmalion Effects ostentatious kookiness, and enjoy this ballets amazing stagecraft and exceptional dancing.
By Ben Blanchard and David Shepardson WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - China struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States on Friday, suggesting a resumption of talks between the world's two largest economies would be meaningless unless Washington changed course. The tough talk capped a week that saw Beijing unveil fresh retaliatory tariffs, U.S.

By Ben Blanchard and David Shepardson

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - China struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States on Friday, suggesting a resumption of talks between the world's two largest economies would be meaningless unless Washington changed course.

The tough talk capped a week that saw Beijing unveil fresh retaliatory tariffs, U.S. officials accuse China of backtracking on promises made during months of talks and the Trump administration level a potentially crippling blow against one of China's biggest and most successful companies.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, asked about state media reports suggesting there would be no more trade negotiations, said China always encouraged resolving disputes with the United States through dialogue and consultations.

"But because of certain things the U.S. side has done during the previous China-U.S. trade consultations, we believe if there is meaning for these talks, there must be a show of sincerity," he told a daily news briefing.

The United States raised Beijing's ire this week when it announced it was putting Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the worlds biggest telecoms equipment maker, on a blacklist that could make it extremely hard to do business with U.S. companies.

China has yet to say whether or how it will retaliate, although its state media is sounding an increasingly strident note. The ruling Communist Party's People's Daily published on Friday a front-page commentary that evoked the patriotic spirit of the country's past wars.

"The trade war can't bring China down. It will only harden us to grow stronger," it said.

Global stocks, which rebounded this week on the prospect of another round of U.S.-China talks, suffered a fresh bout of selling and China's yuan slid to its weakest against the U.S. dollar in almost five months. Prices of U.S. government debt were trading higher.

"What's driving the market on a day-to-day basis is the 24-hour news cycle of headlines primarily around U.S.-China trade relations," said Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital Associates in Greenwood, South Carolina.

The increasingly acrimonious trade dispute has rattled investors who fear that the countries are careening dangerously down a track that will badly damage global supply lines and put the brakes on an already slowing world economy.

The South China Morning Post, citing an unidentified source, reported that a senior member of China's Communist Party said the trade war could reduce China's 2019 economic growth by 1 percentage point in the worst-case scenario.

AUTO TARIFFS

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has embraced protectionism as part of an "America First" agenda aimed at rebalancing global trade, has accused China of backing out of a deal earlier this month that would have ended the 10-month dispute.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported China had backtracked on commitments to change its laws to resolve core U.S. complaints about theft of intellectual property, forced technology transfers and other practices.

Trump punctuated two days of talks in Washington last week with a decision to raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 percent from 10 percent. The negotiations ended in a stalemate.

On Monday, Beijing said it would raise its tariffs on a revised list of $60 billion in U.S. goods effective June 1. Trump, in turn, said he is considering slapping tariffs on the remaining $300 billion in Chinese imports to the United States.

The U.S. president also continues to dangle the possibility of imposing tariffs of up to 25% on imported cars and parts, a move that could be devastating for a number of its trading partners, including Japan and Germany.

The White House said on Friday that Trump's decision on auto tariffs would be delayed by up to six months to allow more time for trade talks with the European Union and Japan. Trump faced a Saturday deadline to make a decision.

It added, however, that the U.S. president agreed with findings by the U.S. Commerce Department that imported vehicles and parts can threaten U.S. national security, a designation likely to anger some U.S. allies.

Automakers have strongly opposed the tariffs, saying they would hike prices and threaten thousands of U.S. jobs. There is also strong opposition in the U.S. Congress, with many prominent members of Trump's Republican Party rejecting the idea.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, praised the administration's decision to delay the auto tariffs.

"Positive step. The pressure must be strong on China, not on our allies who we should encourage to join us in confronting China," Schumer tweeted.

The United States and Canada also announced on Friday a deal to remove tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium in exchange for new curbs to keep dumped metals from China and other nations out of the U.S. market, paving the way for a similar pact with Mexico.

The metals tariffs were a major aggravation for the Canadian and Mexican governments and had been the major hurdle to enacting the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the deal that would replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Gao Liangping in Beijing and David Shepardson in Washington; Additional reporting by Steve Scherer in Ottawa, Anthony Esposito in Mexico City, Lewis Krauskopf in New York and David Lawder and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Paul Simao; Editing by Susan Thomas and James Dalgleish)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Today's top stories: Campaigns done, Narendra Modi will visit Kedarnath for special prayers today; Opposition parties have slammed the prime minister's maiden press meet; a militant has been killed in Awantipora; and more.

Campaigns done, Modi to offer prayers at Kedarnath, Badrinath

A day after appearing in a press conference to signify the end of the Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a two-day visit to Uttarakhand's pilgrimage sites of Kedarnath and Badrinath. Modi is scheduled to arrive at Joligrant airport in Dehradun on Saturday morning.

He is expected to arrive at Kedarnath and perform pujas in the afternoon. The prime minister is also expected to hold discussions with local authorities on development issues.

Modi flew 1.5 lakh kilometres and addressed 142 public rallies during the most extensive campaign for a Lok Sabha election since Independence, BJP president Amit Shah said Friday.

Militant killed at encounter in Awantipora

A militant was killed on Saturday morning in an encounter between terrorists and a joint team of security forces in Panzgam village of Awantipora in south Kashmir's Pulwama district.

The encounter broke out between terrorists and troops of 130 Battalion CRPF, 55 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and Special Operations Group (SOG) in Panzgam at around 2.10 am.

Opposition slams Modi's 'press conference'

Opposition parties lost no time in taking swipes at Narendra Modi's maiden press conference on Friday, where he did not entertain even a single impromptu question. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the presser seemed "like last episode of Mann ki Baat aired on TV instead of radio".

Loktantrik Janata Dal party chief Sharad Yadav called it the 'farewell press conference' of the BJP. "It is unfortunate that even after five years of rule of, the BJP PM could not face media," he tweeted.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said, "Amit Shah doesn't forget to thank the embedded BJP workers disguised as journalists".

Congress leaders Ahmed Patel, Ashok Gehlot and party chief Rahul Gandhi too made fun of the fact that Modi was not asked any questions in the meet. Rahul, who held a parallel press conference at the time Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah were meeting reporters, has repeatedly urged the Prime Minister to debate him on several issues.

Chandrababu Naidu to meet Rahul, Mayawati, Akhilesh today

In what is rumoured to be some heavy duty post-campaign strategising, Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu will meet Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Saturday morning. He is also scheduled to meet Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar, and Uttar Pradesh alliance partners Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday. Yesterday, Naidu had met Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi.

Mamata govt to build statue of Vidyasagar, says Bengal education minister

West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee has announced that the Mamata Banerjee government in the state will build a statue of Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar at Kolkata's Vidyasagar College, where the bust of the 19th century reformist was destroyed during BJP chief Amit Shah's roadshow on 14 May. "We will also set up a museum of Vidyasagar at the same place .The state government had devised various plans to popularise Vidyasagar before the present generation as part of his bicentenary birth celebrations. We will distribute his primer, Barna Parichay, for free among students," Chatterjee said.

At a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Mau, on 16 May, Narendra Modi had said that his government will build a "grander statue" of Vidyasagar at the same site, to which Mamata had replied at her own rally in Mathurapur by saying that Bengal did not need the BJP government's "alms."

Yes Bank to claw back Rs 1.44 cr performance bonus from ex-MD Rana Kapoor

In a rare move, Yes Bank will claw back Rs 1.44 crore bonus paid to its founder and former chief Rana Kapoor following RBI's directions.

Yes Bank, which is grappling with bad loan issues, has come under the scanner of the Reserve Bank for weak corporate governance. Kapoor is one of the founders and promoters of Yes Bank, which started operations in 2004. He still owns 4.32 percent stake in the bank (as of March 2019).

The RBI had denied extension to Kapoor in October last year following regulatory issues.

Asus Zenfone 6 launched

ASUS counter to the OnePlus 7 finally made its global debut. The phone packs in a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC and pairs it with up to 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. The cameras include a 48 MP f/1.79 wide and 13 MP ultra-wide units. Specs aside, the most interesting feature of this phone is that it has no selfie camera. Instead, the rear camera flips up and pulls double duty as a selfie cam.
Kailash Satyarthi's comments came after Malegaon blast accused and BJP's Bhopal Lok Sabha seat candidate Thakur lauded Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse as a 'patriot'

New Delhi: Stressing that Mahatma Gandhi is above power and politics, Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi Saturday said people like Pragya Singh Thakur are killing the soul of India and the BJP should expel her from the party.

His comments came after Malegaon blast accused and BJP's Bhopal Lok Sabha seat candidate Thakur lauded Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse as a "patriot" in an election rally in Madhya Pradesh. She later apologised for her statement, saying she respected Gandhi and his work for the country cannot be forgotten.

"Godse had killed Gandhi's body, but people like Pragya are killing the soul, non-violence, peace, tolerance and the soul of India. Gandhi is above all power and politics. "The BJP leadership should forego its interest of any small benefit and immediately take her out of the party in compliance with the Raj dharma," Satyarthi, a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, tweeted. Thakur on Thursday had said, "Godse was a patriot, is a patriot, and will remain a patriot. Those who call him a terrorist should look within they will get a reply in this election."

She made the remarks reacting to actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan's comments calling Godse as the first Hindu terrorist. Thakur, who is facing trial in the Malegaon blast case that killed six people, has apologised for the statement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday said he will never forgive Thakur for calling Godse a true patriot. In April, the BJP candidate had claimed that police officer Hemant Karkare had died in the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai as she "had cursed him" due to "years of mental and physical torture" he gave her.
The last phase in the seven-stage Lok Sabha elections 2019 will be held today, on 19 May, with 59 Lok Sabha constituencies across nine states set to vote.

The seventh and the last phase of Lok Sabha elections 2019 will be held on Sunday (19 May), with as many as 59 Lok Sabha constituencies across six states and a Union Territory scheduled to vote.

This Lok Sabha election, nearly 90 crore voters will cast their ballots till 19 May  the last phase  with the results on 23 May. Of the lot, nearly 1.5 crore voters are in the age group of 18 to 19, which means they will be voting for the very first time this election.

The most basic unit of the electoral process in India is the polling station, where eligible citizens go to vote for their preferred candidate. For the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission has made arrangements for over 10 lakh polling booths across the 543 parliamentary constituencies in India.

Here is a step-by-step guide to finding your polling booth ahead of the voting:

Step 1: Go to the National Voters Service Portal website.

Step 2: On the extreme right hand side of the website, under 'Citizen Information', click on 'Booth, AC, PC'.

Step 3: Users will be redirected to a page with two tabs  'Search by Details' and 'Search by EPIC Number'. Either option can be used to find the polling station.

Step 4: In the 'Search by Details' tab, users have to provide details such as their name, their father or husband's name, gender and date of birth or age before choosing their state, district and Assembly/ Lok Sabha constituency from a drop-down menu.

Step 5 (optional): Alternatively, users can also choose to locate the geographical details on a map. Once done, they can complete the process by entering the captcha text and clicking search.

Step 6: In the 'Search by EPIC Number' tab, users have to enter their EPIC (Election Photo Identity Card) number, choose the state where their Lok Sabha constituency is located from the drop-down list and then enter the mandatory captcha text.

After submitting the required information in either tab, users can get the exact address of their polling station. The information box also includes a "view details" button, that redirects users to a page with additional details, such as part name, part number and serial number. Voters can also find the name and number of the Booth Level Officer, District Election Officer and the Electoral Roll Registration Officer.
Narendra Modi's visit to the holy shrine comes a day before 59 parliamentary constituencies, including Varanasi, will go to polls in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The results of 2019 Lok Sabha polls will also be announced next week.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be offering prayers at the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand on Saturday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Kedarnath, he will offer prayers at Kedarnath temple shortly. #Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/sJJwfUoMPd  ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

Modi's visit to the holy shrine comes a day before 59 parliamentary constituencies, including Varanasi, will go to polls in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The results of 2019 Lok Sabha polls will also be announced next week.

Keeping the prime minister's arrival in mind, security has been tightened near the shrine, which is located at 11,755 feet above the sea level.

Tripti Bhatt, commandant of the State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) has directed all officials in the Kedarnath valley to maintain vigil in view of the Prime Minister's visit to the temple.

The Himalayan shrine, dedicated to Shiva, has been visited multiple times by Modi during his ongoing term in the office.

In November last year, Prime Minister Modi had visited the Kedarnath shrine during Diwali.

In 2017, he paid visits to the temple twice, once in May after its gate had opened following a six-month winter break and again in October, before the temple again closed for winters.

This year, the portals of the Kedarnath temple in the Garhwal Himalayan range of Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district were thrown open to pilgrims on 9 May after a six-month-long winter break.
Ive come back with a lot more respect for our politicians. Its been most insightful

#CampaignTrailwithFirstpost to Varanasi and Ghazipur unfolded to be a journey full of overwhelming sights, insights, contrasts and contradictions, and more question marks than full stops. We navigated the interiors of eastern Uttar Pradesh to meet the leaders of these constituencies and saw them battle the heat and dust of elections  up, close and personal. We also met the locals to understand their take on who will win the elections, and many other issues fundamental to their growth and survival. My first impression of the visit to both these constituencies was that the incumbents will return to the 17th Lok Sabha. But underpinning this impression was an old proverb and my belief that the devil is always in the detail.Seeing things, which are not apparently visible, come naturally to me.

As a Tournalist on this trail, my aspiration was primarily to understand whether what was promised in 2014 has been delivered or not. I was keen to understand the election manifestos of the contenders of these constituencies for 2019. Is Meri Kashi as Prime Minister Narendra Modi fondly calls his constituency, truly Vikas Ke Path Per? Is Ghazipur, once known as Apradh Ka Kendra, on track to becoming Pragatisheel Ghazipur? Has Jayapur the PMs adopted village missed its target of becoming a model village? I was looking forward to getting a sneak peek into the progress on infrastructure, water, sanitation, financial inclusion, public health, Ganga cleaning, and such other socio-economic issues.

I didnt get all the answers.

But here is my narrative  of what I saw, heard, observed and experienced  of the phenomena called Varanasi  the impressions and sound bytes, which will stay with me for long.

For one glorious weekend in early May, I was like a frog that had jumped out of the well to discover a brave new world outside.

My earliest memory of grassroots election campaigns is from the 1960s & 70s in Maharashtra, where I grew up. A family friend, one Mr Desai, a Congress activist, got a bunch of us kids on to a bullock cart that was part of an election procession (2 bullocks was the election symbol of the undivided Congress in those days). The other time was when I heard Sharad Pawar at an election rally in the 70s. The closest ring-side view of politics I had was in 1998, when I joined hands with my friend, Sushil Pandit, to pitch for running the BJPs election advertisement campaign. We won the bid, and operated a Task Force from the BJPs headquarters on Ashoka Road, New Delhi. I have vivid memories of meeting Venkaiah Naidu, Pramod Mahajan and LK Advani, and a brief glimpse of Narendra Modi. I can, arguably, claim some credit for the 13-month Vajpayee government!

That apart, like most Indian middle-class folks, I have largely followed politics remotely because it looked messy. Easier to watch it on noisy TV channels and keep abreast with developments via WhatsApp groups. For us frogs in the well, it was just safer to stay in our cocoon, and keep distance from politicians. After all, arent they lazy, corrupt and incompetent?

Then, Campaign Trail with Firstpost was held between May 3 and 6. I went to Varanasi and Ghazipur in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and came back with a lot of respect for our politicians.

Ghazipur is a great place for a frog to get baptism by fire. It is among the original ground zeroes of Indian history and politics. Legend has it that Maharshi Jamadagni, the father of Maharshi Parashurama, lived there. The Chinese traveller, Hsuan Tsang, described Ghazipur as Chen-Chu, i.e. lord of conflict or battle, as the translation of Garjanpati, the original name being Garzapur.

But, Ghazipur also stands for good stuff. It has the biggest legal opium factory in the world; the first Scientific Society of India was established here in 1862; it produces unique rose-scented spray, i.e. Gulab Jal. And it is the home of luminaries like Hamid Ansari (former vice-president), Vinod Rai (former CAG), and Bollywood dialogue writer Rahi Masoom Raza. Raza, who wrote the script and dialogues for the popular TV serial, Mahabharat, is a great example of the syncretic Hindu-Muslim culture that Ghazipur has stood for.

It is in this Ground Zero that many different battles are being fought in this election. IIT-educated engineer Manoj Sinha, a sitting BJP MP, versus Don Mukhtar Ansaris elder brother and a bahubali in his own right, Afzal, who is fighting on a BSP ticket. Modis BJP versus SP-BSP Mahagathbandhan. BJPs idea of India versus Razas idea. Thats what made the Ghazipur trip so fascinating for me.

Watching the netas in action  Sinha and Ansari  was a huge learning experience. They have effortlessly internalised everything that Philip Kotler teaches in marketing (consumer preferences, segmentation, USP) or Dale Carnegie writes about (how to win friends and influence people). At his rallies, Sinha started by playing on fear (only PM Modi can ensure national security), and ended with issues that matter locally  express trains to Mumbai, a modern railway station, a passport office and a medical college. Switching between Hindi and earthy Bhojpuri, he had the audience eating out of his hands.

Ansari, an equally powerful orator and an imposing personality, was less specific at his rally about achievements and promises, but focused more on tearing apart Sinhas claims.

Both netas were patient and articulate while answering questions during our interactions. Ansari was totally unfazed when asked about his reputation as a don. He responded by claiming to be an inheritor of freedom fighter and communist leader Sarjoo Pandeys legacy, and to be fighting for the marginalised and oppressed.

Respect for the netas goes up when you see them speaking at eight to 10 rallies daily in this scorching heat. It requires enormous resilience and hard work; in sharp contrast, a newbie like Gautam Gambhir recently got dehydrated and sat inside his car in East Delhi.

Many friends from across the country messaged me asking whos winning Ghazipur? Whos winning UP? This is one of the toughest questions to answer even if you are out there in the constituency (unless of course its a one-sided contest like Varanasi). When you are at Sinhas BJP rallies, you start believing that only he can win. But, when you then go to Ansaris rally, the opposite seems to be true. Thats because you meet only committed voters at these rallies. voters who follow the party or caste tune rather than their own minds. It is somewhat like that famous Utpal Dutt dialogue in Gol Maal (1979) that Ghazipurs very own Raza wrote: Tumhari shaadi usse nahin hogi jise tum prem karti ho ... tumhari shaadi usse hogi jise main prem karta hoon (You cannot marry the one you loveyou will marry the one I love).

So, the simple answer is that I dont know, wholl win. Only the uncommitted, fence-sitting voters know.

But, as a frog, Ive come back to my well wiser. With a lot more respect for our politicians. Its been one of the most insightful experiences Ive ever had. Something that will keep me thinking and awake at night, at least till May 23.

To end with Razas immortal words:

Is safar men niind aisi kho gayi; ham na soye, raat thak kar so gayi

(On this exciting journey, I lost my sleep so badly that not only did I not sleep, but the night got tired and fell asleep).

(Srikant Sastri is co-founder, Crayon Data; creator, Chalo StartUp web series; and advisor/board member at several companies)
As an institution of avowedly sedate imagination, St Stephen's College, perhaps strangely, is no stranger to controversy.

As an institution of avowedly sedate imagination, St Stephens College, perhaps strangely, is no stranger to controversy. Year after year, the college enters bylines and busy newsrooms, featuring, as if by design, two forces locked in dramatic confrontation, and as ever, the spectre of the Church.

Earlier this month, the supreme council of the college, representing the Church of North India (CNI) in a constitutionally minority institution, announced its decision to incorporate a member (of the council) into the admissions panel tasked with the critical responsibility of conducting interviews and handpicking the incoming class for the respective year. The decision was received by the faculty, some students, and certain formations in the university with evident distaste and has since been contested between the two sides of the confrontation bitterly.

Three teachers of the college were served a letter of warning for their public conversations with the media, and on 17 May, a protest against the decision was held outside the college premises. In what follows, an attempt to enliven the divided house from the inside will be made  what is it that is being contested about the decision? Does the decision have its votaries? Are there problems with the two positions, and to that end, what does this tell us?

In astute opposition to the decision, teachers of the college  particularly, Nandita Narain, Ashley NP and Abhishek Singh, also the recipients of the letter of warning from the principal  have raised two significant concerns. They have argued that the incorporation stands in violation of the college constitution which makes clear the jurisdiction of the supreme council but prohibits its interference in the administration of the college. In pointing to its clear and deliberate violation, critics of the decision have asked why the decision was not taken in consultation while foreclosing the possibility of doing so.

It is argued that the decision reflects an attempt to control and disfigure the transparency of the admissions process, which, as Ashley says, could owe much to the private financial interests of the church and the college administration seeking to make positions, as it were, buyable. For Anahita Bharpilania, a former student of the college, the decision is a culminating part of the broader intent to privatise the college and denude its character as a premier institution of a public university. Seen in this vein, she says, This had to happen, and is, thus, not a figment of surprise.

Anahitas concerns resonate in certain quarters of the student community of the college, some of whose members protested the possibility of autonomy for the college only last year. Those opposed to the decision, particularly Nandita Narain in an interview, have raised a second concern  that the decision pushes against the principle of merit that the admissions process bases itself very fundamentally on. This makes, at least for the Christian students, their identity as Christian and not their merit, the basis of their admission to the college. "You should not," she says in the interview, be judged on how good or bad a Christian you are.

Although the sentiment is well-argued, it is only scarcely known what the nature of this new members participation in the admissions panel will be and how far it will relate to theological understanding which, it is important to highlight, is compulsory for all Christian students of the college in the first year of their undergraduate education, meritorious or otherwise. As the author tried to argue in another article, the construction of St Stephens College as an otherwise secular oasis stifled by its minority character rests on considerably tremulous ground.

Similarly tenuous to some students of the college, furthermore, is the discourse of merit. Logistically, all students interviewed by the admissions panel must first make an impressively high cutoff. But there is also an issue of principle, for merit itself is tenuous, not only in terms of whether it reflects itself in making the cutoff. Some students of the college also expressed concern about the support that the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has given to the opposition to the decision. Well known for its frequent, even routine, attacks on students and teachers of progressive inclinations, it need only cursorily be emphasised that the ABVP is no friend.

In a second circuit of the otherwise well-covered confrontation, the decision has found its votaries, although some students are still waiting for the issue to unravel completely. The votaries refer to the statement from the supreme council that has assured the college community that the decision was made only to safeguard the Christian character of the institution and that it would not be deleterious for the high academic standards of the college.

In a very perceptive reading, Jonardon Andrew from the college said, When an extremist ideology is being imposed forcibly/violently (in the nation), the minorities naturally become threatened, insecure () in this case, the college is an appropriate example. But theres a lot of confusion about who really owns the college. Ownership, I feel, the UGC has. But then, who can/should run the college? The one to whom historically the structure was passed on, that is CNI, or those like the UGC (University Grants Commission) who actually fund it and give it the status of a college under a secular and constitutional country?

The controversy, as it has come to be, compels serious consideration of the essentials of much that is taken for granted  above all, what does it mean to be a secular nation, and what, then, is the place of an institution like St Stephens College in one? Given the sheer vituperation that the controversy has inspired in lieu of discourse, in St Stephens College, it has become difficult to love ones neighbour.

Some names have been altered for privacy and on request.
This dream, or nightmare, depending on which side of the fence you are on, is the Rs 600-crore Kashi Vishwanath Corridor Project, which aims to clear a 45,000-square feet pathway between the oldest and revered Kashi Vishwanath temple and the Lalita and Manikarnika ghats.

Editor's Note: A network of 60 reporters set off across India to test the idea of development as it is experienced on the ground. Their brief: Use your mobile phone to record the impact of 120 key policy decisions on everyday life; what works, what doesn't and why; what can be done better and what should be done differently. Their findings  straight and raw from the ground  will be combined in this series, Elections on the Go, over a course of 100 days.

Read more articles from the series here

***

Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a dream for his constituency Varanasi. It is, however, proving to be a nightmare, not just for the Muslims in the area but also the Hindus, to please whom he appears to be going to great lengths.

This dream, or nightmare, depending on which side of the fence you are on, is the Rs 600-crore Kashi Vishwanath Corridor Project, which aims to clear a 45,000-square feet pathway between the oldest and revered Kashi Vishwanath temple and the Lalita and Manikarnika ghats.

Work on the project has, so far, resulted in the demolition of several structures, residential as well as commercial, around the temple, leaving a flat plateau on its sides. Hundreds of families have been displaced. The Hindus are also upset about the demolition of hundreds of small temples for the project, with several Shiva Lingas lying buried under the rubble; the Muslims, on the other hand, are afraid that this is a plan to bring down another historic mosque.

Thats what makes the project even more contentious. The temple stands right next to the Gyanvapi mosque, which many expect will be in the line of fire as the project progresses. The 17th Century mosque was built by Aurangzeb on the remains of the original Kashi Vishwanath temple which had already been destroyed and rebuilt several times before that. The Vishwanath temple that stands today was constructed in 1780. The white mosque, which had originally been encased by the structures around it, now sits conspicuously and uncomfortably among the rubble. In fact, the corridor project will, in fact, ultimately encompass the mosque.

Despite attempts, the district administration remained unavailable for comment, citing VIP movement due to election duties. Varanasi will vote on 19 May, the last phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Oldest citys soul traded for development, say Hindus

Rajnath Tiwari, a veteran journalist and president of the Dharohar Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, an association of people working to preserve the heritage and culture of Kashi (Varanasi), says the locals are not against the development, but the government should make its plan public first.

The government has not made its plan public and is destroying smaller temples in the name of widening the path leading to Kashi temple. Four major temples falling in this corridor  Samukh Vinayak, Pramukh Vinayak, Dwimukh Vinayak, and Nilkantheshwar Mahadev  have also been demolished, he alleged, adding that Kashi temple holds no significance without the others.

These temples, they say, were located inside residential complexes and were brought down along with the homes. About Kashi, it was said that one doesnt know whether there are temples inside homes or homes inside temples. It was only after protests that the administration became more careful about the remaining temples.

The activist added, It is okay to beautify the area, but the government must first make its intentions clear. We dont know what it is doing and why. It claims to be a Hindu government; where then was its Hinduism when the temples were being demolished?

There is only one Nath (leader) of the Vishwa (world), and he is Vishwanath (Lord Shiva). But the prime minister considers himself bigger than Vishwanath.

Since early 2018, when reports emerged that the project got the green signal, the district administration demolished close to 269 homes, against the target of 297, displacing about 600 families from the Lahori tola area, which is called the epicentre of the project.

A local, Rajendra Kumar Sharma, who has been protesting against the demolition of temples, said, The project is causing a lot of loss to the locals, especially those who were living and earning their livelihood in this area, where the administration only talks with JCB machines. We dont know what the governments agenda is, but it seems like it is planning a repeat of Ayodhya in Kashi [Babri Masjid demolition]. Lets see what happens.

Sharma isnt alone. Several local Hindus are against the project, saying its unnecessary, even disrespectful. Amit Lohia, 40, a resident of Lalita Ghat whose home is just beside the Kashi Vishwanath temple, said Varanasi is known for its lanes and lifestyle, the very thing the government is destroying.

Before the demolitions, the lanes housed several multi-storey buildings built over the last three centuries. In these resided the real Banarasis  most of them have been living here for generations  and often ran establishments below to sell flowers and other religious offerings to pilgrims.

Foreigners come all the way to see how locals live here, in narrow bylanes with homes next to each other. All of this is what makes the city, its part of its heritage. But the government is destroying that in the name of giving easy access to pilgrims. Pilgrims have been visiting Kashi for ages, and there has never been any disturbance or complaint. This project is not just affecting locals lives but also killing the soul of the worlds oldest city, fumed Lohia.

It is, however, true that the winding lanes and stacked buildings pose challenges of space and amenities for the millions of visitors who come here every year. So much so that demolitions had to be carried out by hand in some places because the heavy machinery wouldnt fit. There are limited options for food and water, and almost no toilets and successive SP and BSP governments have tried to change that but failed, owing to the complexities involved.

But locals are dealing with other worries too, one being that of the compensation given to displaced families. As per figures acquired from the district administration, a compensation of Rs 10 lakh has been given to each family living in a rented dwelling and Rs 5 lakh to each owner of a rented shop.

Lohia said, The administration says it is giving enough compensation to displaced families, but it is actually dividing the families. Take my example; I have been offered Rs 6 crore, and my brothers and uncles all want an equal share, which is fair. But is it practically possible for a person to buy a flat or land with the compensation money divided 15 ways? The government is blindly going ahead without thinking of the consequences.

Mukesh Lal Sewak, whose rented shop was demolished by the administration, said he received Rs 5 lakh but, in exchange, lost his employment. Earlier, I used to come and clean the smaller temples and then open my shop. Lord Shiva used to take care of my livelihood; the administration has taken everything away from me.

Safety of mosque under threat, say Muslims

Just six days before the projects foundation stone was laid on 8 March, a few locals were caught red-handed in an act of subterfuge. That afternoon, they had attempted to bury a small statue of Nandi  a bull that, ancient Hindu scripture proclaims, guards the entry to Shivas abode  near the north wall of the Gyanvapi mosque. These attempts have been going on since Babris demolition (a temple administrator in the early 2000s reportedly threw a Shiva linga into the mosques compound), and so security has always been tight around the area. In fact, the security personnel deployed around the area camp at an old library slated to be brought down as part of the corridor. It has been put on hold until the end of elections so as to not disturb the security arrangements.

General secretary of Anjuman Intizamiya Masjid (AIM), a committee that oversees the Gyanvapi mosque, SM Yaseen explained how the project has deepened the fear of the areas Muslims. He said the community did not know the government had been demolishing temples and thought it was merely carrying out some beautification. This is a threat to the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb [communal harmony] of the city; the situation here is quite precarious. Wed even gone to court, but it dismissed our petition, saying it was based on perception. Also, the prime minister laid the foundation stone in the Red Zone and addressed a small gathering, which is not permissible. I suppose one can do anything when they are in power, he rued, adding that things can go wrong anytime, and a repeat of Babri could be imminent.

With the Gyanvapi mosque facing a dispute similar to the one over the Babri site, Muslims from the area filed a civil suit in Benaras (Varanasi) civil court in 1936, staking claim over the site and their right to pray in the mosque, which was upheld by the court the following year. In 1991, with the Babri Masjid building up into a focal point of communal tensions, the Congress government passed the Places of Worship (Special Provision) Act, which decreed that all religious sites would be maintained as they were on 15 August, 1947, and, barring Babri, all other judicial disputes over religious sites pending on the day of Independence were voided. Despite this, the mosque was once again allowed to be dragged into the courts, and after stagnating in the Varanasi Civil Court and Allahabad High Court for several years, the case between the AIM and Swayambhu Lord Vishwanath has been stayed by the high court.

Not long after the high court issued its stay on 25 October, 2018, a government contractor demolished the Chhattadwar Chabutra, which is adjoining the mosques boundary wall in the north. In this demolition, the wall, too, had come down. This had stoked communal tensions in the area: Muslims protested the administrations decision, stating it would endanger the mosque. Many people gathered that night. Fearing violence, community members themselves piled up bricks to create a makeshift wall, even as the administration and police just stood watching, Yaseen claimed.

A few weeks later, the AIM had approached the Supreme Court with concerns over the mosques safety, asking it to intervene in the corridors construction. The SC, however, called its fears unfounded and refused its request, saying it could approach the court later if it felt there was a threat to the mosque.

Mufti Banaras Maulana Abdul Batim says this [project] work is a violation of a high court order, which states that work in the given area can only be undertaken after unanimous approval of the district administration, temple administration, and mosque administration; however, the government did not bother to consult the latter, he alleged.

The safety of the mosque is under threat we never know what can happen and when.

Maulana Bilal Ahmad Madni of the Gyanvapi mosque said the community still remembers the slogan that was chanted in the 1990s: Ayodhya ke baad ab Kashi aur Mathura ki baari (After Ayodhya, its the turn of Kashi and Mathura). The government has not taken us in confidence, and no one knows its intentions. So its obvious that we are afraid of this being an attempt to repeat the Babri incident.

The authors are freelance writers and members of 101Reporters
Akshay Kumar Dutta (182086) was a progressive thinker from renascent Bengal whose works were not only progressive but also courageous. Though he reinterpreted the West for Bengal and contributed to the evolution of Bengali prose, today, his legacy and works seem to have been forgotten.

By Amiya P Sen, Sahapedia



Progressive thinker and writer Akshay Kumar Dutta (182086) remains an unsung hero from renascent Bengal (181757), a period that had its fair share of celebrities and heroes. Dutta possessed not only a sharp intellect, but the courage and conviction to articulate certain views or proffer arguments that proved rather objectionable and distasteful to people of his class in contemporary Calcutta (now Kolkata). For one, he was behind the reformist Brahmo Samaj, renouncing its faith in the Vedas as pramana (proof), or an authentic source for Hinduism; surely a revolutionary step for the time. Dutta found the Vedas to be internally inconsistentas any work of human authorship was apt to be  and argued instead that nature itself and not any humanly authored text would be better qualified to be called a scripture.

With his friend and contemporary Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar (182091), Dutta represents an exceptional stream of thought and consciousness. Quite extraordinarily, at a time when religion had become the preferred mode of self-expression for Western-educated Hindus, both Vidyasagar and Dutta extended their critique of contemporary Hindu faith and practice to the point of incredulous irreverence. While Vidyasagar argued that he had no need for a God who was powerless in preventing the merciless oppression of the weak and the innocent, Dutta insisted that honest human labour was likely to be as productive by itself as labour coupled with prayer. In true algebraic fashion, Dutta placed the value of faith and prayer as zero. At least in the case of Dutta, this would largely explain his gradual fading from public memory, even in his native Bengal.

Interpreting the West

In some important ways, Dutta carried forward a line of argument first advanced in colonial Bengal by Rammohun Roy (17741833), advocating the progressive replacement of archaic and outmoded forms of indigenous knowledge by that which was socially and professionally useful. Like Roy again, Dutta was an admirer of the English philosopher Francis Bacon (17431803) and his inductive line of reasoning, which supported scientific observation and experiments. And like Roy again, he was an advocate of woman-related reform. In the 1860s and 1870s, when conservatism had begun to take hold of the Hindu mind, Dutta was among the few to consistently support both widow remarriages and legal abolition of multiple marriages among upper-caste Hindu males.

Duttas lasting contribution is his creative interpretation of the moral and scientific discourse of the contemporary West for the educated, middle-class Hindus of his day. Here, one can detect three major influences on his thought  all of which originated in contemporary or near contemporary Western thinkers. First, there was the English deist, William Paley (17431805), second, the Scottish phrenologist George Combe (17881858) and third, the French social theorist, Auguste Comte (17981857). From Paley, Dutta imbibed a deistic view of the world that spoke of a distant God uninterested in the day-to-day functioning of his creation. This argument he then joined to Combes ideas (from The Constitution of Man, 1828) of a set of perfect natural laws, the observance of which assured human happiness. Such ideas Dutta formulated in his two well-known treatises  Bahya Bastur Sahit Manavprakritir Sambandha Vichar (A Treatise on the Relationship between Human Nature and the External World, 2 volumes, 1851 and 1853) and Dharmaneeti (Principles of Morality, 1856). In late life, the ideas of Comte led him to a spell of agnosticism. Here, it would be interesting to note that unlike Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay, also briefly influenced by the Positivism of Comte, Dutta did not take Comte to be an atheist (niriswara). If at all, he debated the nature of God, not his very existence.

Education, Science and Divinity

The intellectual legacy of Dutta manifested itself broadly in two ways. First, he was pre-eminently an educationist and pedagogue who successfully ran schools and experimented with the teaching and dissemination of useful and practical knowledge, suitably adapted from the West. Arguably, he was also the first in his generation to invent a scientific vocabulary in the Bengali language for the teaching of elementary science. Like Vidyasagar, he was a successful author of school textbooks, as for instance, Charupath (Elementary Lessons, 185354), Bhugol (Geography, 1851) and Padarthavidya (Physics, 1856). That apart, he also served as the editor of the well-known journal Tattwabodhini Patrika, the organ of the Tattwabodhini Sabha (founded in 1839) which, in its time, was a widely read journal in educated Bengali society. As a writer and editor, Dutta contributed substantially to the improvement of Bengali journalism and the evolution of modern Bengali prose.

Second, Duttas argument that it was no less important to understand creation than the creator himself, reinforces the foundations of empirical science.

It is somewhat ironic that perhaps Duttas best-known work is a two-volume narrative on Hindu religious communities in contemporary India (Bharatvarshiya Upasak Sampraday). In the first volume, Dutta displays great erudition and the ability to muster ideas and methodologies across disciplines like history, philology and religious studies. This work, believed to be based on the Orientalist HH Wilsons classic account of the Hindu religious sects and communities (A Sketch of the Religious Sects of the Hindus, 1828), actually goes well beyond it. Dutta carried out extensive field-work, investigating extant Hindu religious communities and a third volume might well have emerged but for the untimely death of its author.

For a good part of his life, Dutta struggled against poverty, illness and an unhappy conjugal life. Estranged from his wife and family, he spent the last years of his life virtually as a recluse in the village of Bali, a few miles off Calcutta. There, he pursued his consuming interest in science, studying and cataloguing extant fossil remains of plant and animal life. Friends visiting him at Bali were struck by the huge portraits of Rammohun Roy, scientists Thomas Henry Huxley and Isaac Newton that adorned the walls of his drawing room. In hindsight, it might be reasonable to say that the choice of these portraits also testifies to the acumen and breadth of interest in a man whose work and memory has somehow not endured among his countrymen.

This is article is part of Saha Sutra on www.sahapedia.org, an open online resource on the arts, cultures and heritage of India. The author is a historian with an interest in the intellectual and cultural history of modern India, and has written extensively on figures from colonial Bengal.
It is to Akhileshs credit that he has succeeded in assuaging Mayawatis doubts. No doubt, the compulsion of survival prompted them to sweep aside the bitterness of the past, including the murderous attack that the SP MLAs mounted on Mayawati on 2 June, 1995.

Regardless of whether the grand alliance of the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal succeeds in denying the Bharatiya Janata Party a rich harvest of seats in Uttar Pradesh, the 2019 Lok Sabha election has established Akhilesh Yadav as the leader of the future. His sagacity and realism are the principal reasons why the alliance has become the foremost impediment to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, which won 73 seats out 80 in Uttar Pradesh in 2014, from returning to power.

This isn't to say that Akhilesh is the driving force behind the BSP-SP-RLD alliance, which, in fact, has acquired momentum because of Mayawati's capacity to transfer her Dalit votes to whichever party she wants. This is precisely why every political party vies to align with her.

Mayawati, however, has been reluctant to forge alliances in Uttar Pradesh as she believes the other parties cannot or do not transfer their votes to the BSP. In her perception, social groups supporting the other parties baulk at voting for a predominantly Dalit outfit, or their leaders themselves are unwilling to accept her as their equal, let alone accept her supremacy, because of her caste identity.

It is to Akhileshs credit that he has succeeded in assuaging Mayawatis doubts. No doubt, the compulsion of survival prompted them to sweep aside the bitterness of the past, including the murderous attack that the SP MLAs mounted on Mayawati on 2 June, 1995. Both performed disastrously in 2014 and were battered, all over again, in the 2017 Assembly election. They realised that the only way they could challenge the BJP was by pooling their resources.

But their instinct for survival could not have flowered into a vibrant political relationship without Akhilesh accepting Mayawati as the senior partner in the alliance. For instance, it was Mayawati who spoke before Akhilesh when they held a press conference in January to announce the alliance between their two parties. Akhilesh could be said to have voluntarily conceded ground to Mayawati, whose party did not win a single seat in 2014, and was also three percent behind the SPs vote-share.

Yet realism persuaded Akhilesh to accept that Mayawati could transfer her votes to the SP more readily than he could to the BSP. The January press conference set the tone for the future  at every joint rally of the alliance thereafter, he has spoken after her; he has taken her lead in attacking the Congress for dividing the alliances votes, and hinted that he would support her bid to become prime minister.

Akhilesh also showed sensitivity to the quest among Dalits for equality and respect. This was most tellingly symbolised by his wife, Dimple, touching Mayawati's feet at the joint rally of the alliance at Kannauj last month. This gesture reversed the traditional Indian norm of a Dalit, whether old or young, showing deference and subservience to those ranked higher in the social hierarchy, as Akhilesh and Dimple are to Mayawati.

The feet-touching episode at Kannauj was, at the same time, the SP leaders message to his caste brethren to vote for the BSP in the 38 constituencies it is contesting. The message could be decoded thus: 'If my wife can touch a Dalit's feet, why can't you vote for the BSP?' This has a special meaning in Uttar Pradesh, where the Yadavs not only enjoy a superior status to Dalits but also employ them on their farms.

For those steeped in caste politics, Dimples gesture might seem a reflection of her husband's desperation  after giving away 38 seats to the BSP, thereby ruling his party out of contention in half of Uttar Pradesh's 80 constituencies, his very political survival depends on the alliance preventing the BJP from performing exceedingly well. Should the alliance fail in its endeavour, Akhilesh 's decision will be mocked at, not least by his estranged uncle, Shivpal Yadav, who will renew his bid to wrest the control of the SP.

Yet the election campaign over the last seven weeks bears out that the BJP could have steamrolled the Opposition in Uttar Pradesh but for the BSP-SP-RLD alliance. It testifies to Akhileshs realism that he hopes to rule over half the kingdom, so to speak, than to be completely deprived of it. Neither hubris nor vanity could prod him to punch above his weight, realising that he simply cannot take on the BJP on his own in Uttar Pradesh.

Akhilesh's realisation is an outcome of his own experiences. As Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister between 2012 and 2017, Akhilesh tried his best to redefine the image of himself as a Yadav caste leader. He adopted development as his political mantra, refrained from appealing to caste identity and belatedly sought to break away from the control of family elders. He sought to nurture a cross-caste appeal; he was hailed for his political style. Yet when it came to the 2017 Assembly election, the upper castes did not vote for him.

It embittered him and prompted him to change the tack of his politics. He articulated his angst in his speech before last years Phulpur Lok Sabha bypoll. Akhilesh did not attack the upper castes but the BJP, the principal recipient of their votes. Yet his message could not have been lost on the upper castes. For instance, he listed the development programmes his government had successfully completed  the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, 18 lakh laptops distributed to students, and a new pension scheme. Then he delivered the punch: I never thought I was a backward. But I must thank the BJP for telling me that I am a backward [caste], not forward [caste], but no matter how backward we are, our work is forward.

In the manner of the prodigal son returning home, Akhilesh sought to reforge the SPs old social base. He fielded a Kurmi from Phulpur and a Nishad from Gorakhpur last year. He made overtures to Jats in west UP. But his options, in a sense, were limited  some groups among the Other Backward Classes, like the Kurmis and Rajbhars, had floated their own parties and aligned with the BJP, which had successfully depicted the SP as the party of Yadavs. The fragmentation of the OBCs prompted the SP and the BSP to come together, as the latter too had witnessed the extremely backward castes desert it.

It is one thing for Akhilesh to share the stage with Mayawati, quite another to convince his caste members to vote for the BSP. He has sought to use the election campaign to educate the voters. For instance, he responded to Mayawatis SOS and pitched for the BSP candidate in Bhadohi, where the Congress had fielded a Yadav. He has pointed out to the Yadavs that even though their status is superior to Dalits, they have encountered discrimination under the chief ministership of Adityanath. To bolster his point, he referred to the purification ceremony undertaken at the Chief Minister's residence after he vacated it.

The political transformation of Akhilesh is because of the essence he has distilled from his own experiences  the realisation that he will be viewed through the prism of caste whether or not his actions and decisions are casteist. It imparts authenticity to his politics. Authentic politics is rarely divorced from realism, which is why he accepted Mayawatis seniority. Authentic politics also turns the acquisition of power into a larger socio-political project, which is why Akhilesh Yadavs career needs to be tracked, regardless of the magnitude of his success in 2019.
Wouk rarely granted interviews and never wrote an autobiography, nor were any substantial biographies written about him. The essentials of his life  his work, his family, his faith  were generally known, but little was ever said, for example, about the death of his firstborn son, Abraham, in 1951 at the age of 4. Time magazine said the boy drowned in a swimming pool while the family was on vacation in Mexico, apparently after having slipped out of the house one morning to sail a toy boat his father had given him. His sons death affected Wouk through his life, a loss he described as a senseless waste.
On Friday, Narendra Modi expressed confidence that his government would return to power with a full majority on 23 May.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is looking at creating history at the hustings. If the counting trends hold (the BJP is leading in 287 seats as we write this), it will be the first time in 48 years that an incumbent prime minister heading a majority government is coming back with majority.

It is Modi who first flagged this milestone at the Amit Shah's press conference at the BJP headquarters on 17 May at the end of election campaigning. While expressing confidence that his government would return to power with a full majority, Modi said it would be as big a milestone in India's electoral history as his victory in 2014. That year, when the BJP won 282 seats in the Lok Sabha, it was the first time in three decades that any party had acquired an absolute majority. "It is after a long time that a majority government, after completing its full five-year term, will again attain a victory. This will be a very significant event," Modi remarked.

Trends show the BJP is poised to better that tally, clocking 288 leads at the time of going to press.

The prime minister also added that after a long time, a government would be formed resulting from a clear choice made by the electorate, rather than some pre-poll or post-poll alliance or understanding. That prophecy also seems to be holding.

Modi is right. Our quick research based on data from the official Lok Sabha website showed that if both his predictions hold  that the BJP will be voted back and that it will be voted back with a full majority  then this victory will be a bigger milestone than 2014.

If Modi returns to power with a full majority on 23 May, it will be for the first time in 48 years that an incumbent prime minister and his party return to power with a full majority. The last time this happened was in 1971, when Indira Gandhi led the Congress (R) to victory with a full majority after having done the same in 1967 (for the united Congress).

Since Independence, we have had 16 Lok Sabha elections. The ongoing one is for electing the 17th Lok Sabha. The first election was held in 1951-52. The legacy of the freedom movement and Jawaharlal Nehrus stature helped the Congress get a clear majority for three consecutive terms (1952, 1957, 1962). Following Nehrus death, Lal Bahadur Shastri was the prime minister till his sudden demise in January 1966. Subsequently, Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi also managed to get a clear majority for two consecutive terms in 1967 and 1971, and then in 1980.

In 1984, the Congress party repeated its success of 1980, but with a different prime minister  Rajiv Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi was voted out in 1989.

There have been two more instances of a prime minister being returned to power in successive elections  Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 and Manmohan Singh in 2009. However, in both cases, the BJP and Congress had to rely on the support of allies to cross the halfway mark in the Lok Sabha.

Here is a ready reckoner of all elections held in India since 1951-52, sourced from the official Lok Sabha website.

Majority Governments: 1952- 1971 and 1984.

1st Lok Sabha Elections, 1951-52: Congress won 398 out of 543 seats under Nehru's leadership.

2nd Lok Sabha Elections: The Congress under Nehru won 395 out of 537 seats.

3rd Lok Sabha Elections, 1962: Nehru repeated the feat with 394 out of 540 seats for the Congress.

4th Lok Sabha Elections, 1967: Under Indira Gandhi's leadership, the Congress won 303 seats out of 553.

5th Lok Sabha Elections, 1971: In November 1969, the Congress was split into Congress-R (the ruling wing) and Congress-O (the organisational wing). Congress-R represented by Indira Gandhi got a clear two-thirds majority, with 372 out of 553 seats. This was the last time an outgoing government with a majority in the Lok Sabha was voted back with a majority under the same prime minister.

6th Lok Sabha Elections, 1977: The fifth Lok Sabha term ended in 1976. But elections were held in 1977 after Indira Gandhi lifted the Emergency, which she imposed in 1975. In this election, the Janata Party won 302 seats out of 557. However, the government could not last long, and had two prime ministers in two years. Fresh elections were held in 1980.

7th Lok Sabha Elections, 1980: Congress storms to power with 377 seats out of 566.

8th Lok Sabha Elections, 1984: In October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated, and riding on a sympathy wave, son Rajiv Gandhi won 426 seats out of 567 for the Congress.

Minority governments, 1989-2014

The 1984 election was the last election wherein a single party won a majority in the Lok Sabha. From 1989 to 2014, all governments were coalition regimes.

9th Lok Sabha Elections, 1989: The Congress emerged as the single largest party with 195 out of 534 seats. Rajiv Gandhi preferred not to stake claim for government formation. A minority National Front government was formed with VP Singh as prime minister. The government lasted for just one year. Two other prime ministers  Charan Singh and Chandrashekhar  followed before elections were called again.

10th Lok Sabha elections, 1991: Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in the middle of the election. The Congress won 252 seats. PV Narasimha Rao led a minority government and completed the full term, a first for a minority government.

11th Lok Sabha, 1996: The BJP, with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as its prime ministerial candidate, emerged as the single largest party with 163 seats. The Congress got 140 seats. The hung Parliament resulted in three prime ministers  Vajpayee, for 13 days, Deve Gowda and IK Gujral  in two years, forcing another mid-term election in 1998.

12th Lok Sabha Election, 1998: The BJP got 183 seats and formed a minority government with Vajpayee as prime minister. But when Jayalalithaa pulled out in 1999, it was time for elections again.

13th Lok Sabha Elections, 1999: The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 189 seats, but fell short of the majority mark. The party formed the government with its pre-poll allies. Vajpayee led the coalition government.

14th Lok Sabha elections, 2004: The Congress emerged as the largest single party with 159 seats and formed the government with Manmohan Singh as the prime minister with help of pre-poll allies.

15th Lok Sabha, 2009: The Congress projected Manmohan Singh as its prime ministerial candidate. The party improved its tally from 159 in 2004 to 211, perhaps the first instance of an incumbent prime minister leading a minority government getting a big leg-up (before him, Vajpayee could increase the BJP's seat count by only six).

16th Lok Sabha, 2014: The BJP won 282 seats with Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate. This was the first time since 1984 that a single party won a majority in the Lok Sabha on its own.

Editor's note: A version of this article was originally published on 18 May.

Follow all the latest updates from Lok Sabha counting day here
Lok Sabha Election 2019 Final Phase Voting LIVE News and Updates: After the end of polling, Rahul Gandhi said on Twitter that the Election Commission's 'capitulation before Modi and gang is obvious to all Indians'.

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Over 10.01 crore voters are expected to decide the fate of 918 candidates. The Election Commission has set up more than 1.12 lakh polling stations for smooth conduct of polls.

The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, one of the most bitterly fought in recent memory, will come to a close Sunday when polling will be held in 59 constituencies including in Varanasi where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to retain the seat. Polling will be held in all 13 seats in Punjab and an equal number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat Chandigarh.

In UttarPradesh, where 13 seats go to polls on Sunday, chief minister Yogi Adityanath has left to vote early.

More than 46 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAFP) along with 18 companies of Special Armed Forces (SAF) have already taken up their designated positions. Additional 14,000 policemen have been called in. Of 7000 polling stations in Ujjain, 20 percent have been identified as critical. Thirty one companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed in the division. Ujjain division includes Agar-Malwa, Dewas, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Ratlam, Shajapur and Ujjain districts.

Mobile squads will monitor security at booths in Indore division throughout the day. Of the total 11,082 polling booths in the division, which includes Alirajpur, Barwani, Burhanpur, Dhar, Indore, Jhabua, Khandwa and Khargone, around 1,803 have been identified as critical and 217 as vulnerable.

An EVM malfunction was reported at booth number 146 in Malwa, under Dewas Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh. The EVM could not be cleared of history after mock polling.

A teacher who was on election duty reportedly died at Maksi Nai Abadi's booth number 262 in Shajapur under Dewas Parliamentary constituency in Madhya Pradesh. A preliminary police inquiry into Anil Nema's death pegged the cause to be heart attack. He had complained about chest pain on Saturday evening after which his co-officers rushed him to the hospital where he died while undergoing treatment.

Congress leaders were booked for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct in Alirajpur under Ratlam constituency, in Madhya Pradesh. Police have booked Kantilal Bhuria, Surendra Singh Baghel and six others on charges of campaigning during the silent period.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister was one of the first to cast vote at his Gorakhpur constituency on Sunday.

Keeping the caste equation in mind, BJP and Congress have both given ticket to candidates belonging to the Kayastha community, who form a sizable population in the constituency. There is a fear of division of Kayastha votes. The number of Muslims and Yadav castes in Patna Sahib Lok Sabha is also high. The BJP has been winning the seat for a long time from Patna Sahib. In 2009 and 2014, Shatrughan Sinha was elected as MP from BJP. This time, he is contesting from Congress.

BJP has nominated Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for the first Lok Sabha election of his political career, while Shatrughan Sinha is contesting for the third term from Patna Sahib Lok Sabha.

In Ratlam as well, the number of female polling booths have gone up. The Lok Sabha constituency has 130 pink booths out of 1292. This number was at 100 in the state assembly elections four months ago. In Dhar, too, the count has increased to 12 from seven.

In Jhabua, the pink booths have increased twofold from being 55 in the state Assembly polls to 127 for Lok Sabha polls. In Ujjain, this time the total number of pink booths is 383 out of total 1814 polling booths

The number of all-women polling booths in Indore has decreased in Lok Sabha elections to 21.5 percent as compared to 23.5 percent in Assembly polls held last year. During the Assembly elections, of total 3109 polling booths, 725 were pink booths. But in general election, of the total 2,881 polling booths, 619 are pink booths.

This time JD(U) has fielded incumbent MP Kaushlendra Kumar whereas mahagathbandhan has given this seat to Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM). It is believed that caste equation is very important factor in this seat.

Nalanda which is also called Kurmistan due to its large population of Kurmis has been a stronghold of JD(U). JD(U) head and chief minister of Bihar Nitish belongs to Nalanda and is from the Kurmi community. Since the formation of JD(U), Nalanda has been easy win for the party. In 2014, JD(U) had won the seat alone. When Nitish Kumar was with Samta Party, George Fernandes had won this seat for four consecutive elections.

This time Congress has again fielded Meira Kumar. BJP has given a ticket to Chhedi Paswan. BJP has campaigned against Meira Kumar saying that she is an outsider. Congress has countered it saying she is a 'daughter of the soil'.

Congress veteran and former Union minister late Jagjivan Ram had been MP from Sasaram for a long time. His daughter and the first woman speaker of the Parliament Meira Kumari won this seat in 2004 and 2009 but lost in 2014 to senior BJP leader Chhedi Paswan.

RJD has fielded Surendra Yadav whereas JDU has given ticket to Chandreswar Prasad Chandravanshi. Jehanabad has substantial population of lower caste people, specially Musahars. Liquor ban in Bihar had impacted the Musahars badly as their livelihood was dependent on Mahua.

Known for caste violence, Jehababad Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar will see a three corner fight as rebel RLSP leader and incumbent MP Dr Arun Kumar is fighting on the ticket of his newly formed political outfit Rashtriya Samta Party (S).

Raju Yadav is familiar face in Arrah because he has been participating in the agitations of students, labourers and farmers. His candidature is supported by mahagathbandhan. CPI (ML) had been strong a few decades ago but has never won this Lok Sabha seat.

Arrah Lok Sabha constituency is witnessing direct contest between CPI(ML) candidate Raju Yadav and incumbent BJP MP RK Singh. Former bureaucrat RK Singh had started his political career in the 2014 general election on a BJP ticket and won but this time faces a tough challenge from local alleging that he has not done enough for them.

Gorakhpur is one of the VIP constituencies going to polls today and will be very keenly watched owing to the fight between BJP's Ravi Kishan Shukla, who is a famous Bhojpuri star and gathbandhan's Ram Bhuval Nishad. The BJP lost Gorakhpur, which is also known as the home turf of Yogi Adityanath in the 2018 bypolls. Gorakhpur has a long history of electing its lawmaker from the Gorakhnath Mutt. Earlier, it seemed like the gathbandhan candidate will secure an easy win but Yogi Adityanath too has camped in Gorakhpur amid his busy campaigning schedule along with party president Amit Shah to give a tough fight to the alliance.

An EVM machine was found malfunctioning at booth number 57 in Dagdibai Girls School, under Khargone Lok Sabha constituency. The machine is currently being replaced and polling has been halted.

A special air-conditioned polling station has been set up by Indore Municipal Corporation and district administration with the help of Indore Management Association. There is a kids' zone, safety locker, ambulance arrangements, RO water cooler, snacks along with cool drinks (for those on duty) to beat the heat. IMA president Santosh Muchhal said that special vehicle arrangements have been made to ferry physically disabled people.

BJP has filed a complaint against Congress leader Shobha Oza to the Election Commission for appealing to people to vote for Congress on Twitter even after the completion of allowed time frame for campaigning.

The Parliamentary constituency, currently held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is currently witnessing a steady trickle of voters but news of EVMs developing technical snags and keeping them waiting in queues has been arriving from across the constituency. The EVMs at booth number 42, 70 and 43 have developed glitches, leading to delays in polling there.

BJP Lok Sabha candidate from South Kolkata parliamentary constituency, CK Bose cast his vote at a polling booth in City College, in Kolkata. Kolkata North BJP candidate Rahul Sinha cast his vote at polling booth in Bijoygarh Shikshaniketan for Girls, in Jadavpur.

EVM glitches were reported from booth number 107 in Mahesh Yadav Nagar and booth number 206, part of Indore Lok Sabha constituency. The poll process has been halted as the machines are being replaced. Voters are waiting in a long queue.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew and the Trinamool Congress's candidate from Diamond Harbour Abhishek Banerjee cast his vote at polling booth number 208 in South Kolkata Parliamentary constituency. After casting his ballot Abhishek emerged with criticism for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and said "Watever he (the PM) said in his meeting on 15 May in Diamond Harbour, he has to substantiate those statements with ample proof and justify what he said. If he fails to do so I'll sue him in the criminal and defamation cases. I'll drag him to the court and do the needful."

The poll process was halted at Fatuha's Sitjainchak school booth number 185, under Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat, as a technical glitch was found in the EVM. The machine is being replaced.

A malfunction was reported on the EVM machine after polling staff put ink marks on 11 people at Sirpur polling booth number 257. The 11 can no longer vote now. Congress leaders Golu Agnihotri and Vivek Pawar have raised this issue with poll officers and lodged a complaint to the District Election Officer over phone, after which polling resumed.

Polling has just resumed at booth number 155 in Madhya Vidyalaya Beni Bigha, under Patliputra constituency after 40 minutes after a malfunctioning EVM was replaced. Voters allege that poll officers reached the booth 20 minutes late and found the glitch in the machine.

Voting could not be started at booth number 108 in Uttar Pradesh's Mau as EVMs there have developed some sort of snag. EC officials are replacing the machines.

At Bihar's Chandauli , voting has been halted for more than an hour at Fattepur's booth number 35 and Chakiya Development Block's booth number 274 owing to EVM glitches.

Voting has still not begun at booth number 29, under Arrah Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar, due to EVM malfunction.

EVM malfunctions were reported at booth number 64-65 under Indore Lok Sabha constituency, in Madhya Pradesh where voters are waiting in the queue as the EVM is yet to be replaced. Poll officers have replaced an EVM at booth number 295 after it was found defective during the mock polls.

EVM glitches have affected polling in Mirzapur and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh. Voting at booth number 263 and booth number 183 of Kushinagar, and booth number 322 and booth number 257 of Mirzapur could not be started owing to the EVM developing technical snags even as a large number of people have reached both the polling booths to exercise their franchise.

BJP leader and MLA Paras Jain reached the polling booth on his cycle and cast his vote in Ujjain.

Voters of Kavatiyapani, part of Dewas Lok Sabha constituency, reached the polling booth in their bullock cart as it is nearly three kilometres away from their village. They reside in Kavatiyapani but the booth is situated in Palasi village.

Husaina, a young mother in Mandsaur of Madhya Pradesh was delighted to discover that her seven-month-old had a dedicated children's play area to sit in, at booth number 40. The area comes equipped with Anganwadi workers and toys.

Meanwhile, sugarcane farmers at booth number 64 and 65 in Kushinagar district have boycotted the polls over non-payment of dues. Senior officials have reached the spot and are requesting them to vote.

Villagers of Sanegpur and Pardahapur in Mau have boycotted the elections over non development of the area.

Residents of Babrecha village, under Mandsaur Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh have boycotted the polls over demands of road construction in the area. About 1,000 angry villagers have resolved to not vote until the District Collector agrees to their demands.

Voting in seven booths under the Kannur and Kasargod constituencies in Kerala, where bogus voting in the polling on 23 April was confirmed by election commission is on with heavy security. More than 100 police officials have been posted in and around each booth to ensure free and fair voting. Voters had started queuing up before booths hours before polling to cast their votes. One of the early voters at Pilathara booth under Kasargod constituency was a woman, whose vote in the polling on 23 April was cast by a bogus voter.

Polling booths in urban areas of Ludhiana constituency witnessed low footfall in the early hours of voting. Punjab recorded one of the the lowest voter turnout figures, along with hilly Himachal Pradesh, at around 9.20 am.

Jharkhand has so far led the footfall of voters, with 11.05 percent voter turnout recorded at 9.20 am.

BJP's South Kolkata candidate Chandra Kumar Bose has said there is no distinction between Bengal's ruling TMC and a terrorist organisation. "Last night, I was getting calls from my workers from different booths who were saying that they have been threatened by TMC's 'jihadi' brigade that if you sit as booth agents for BJP, you'll be murdered," he said.

BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya cast his vote with his family at booth number 10 in Government school, Nanda Nagar lane, part of Indore Lok Sabha constituency. His son and MLA Akash Vijayvargiya was also with him.

In addition to regular officials manning the booths, reserve teams of officials have been deployed outside the booths. The issue had kicked off a controversy with the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) Kannur secretary MV Jayarajan urging the Election Commission not to allow women voters wearing face-covering veils to cast their vote unless they show their faces in polling booths. The Opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party had termed Jayarajans remark as communal.

Polling officials are allowing women voters wearing face-covering veils inside seven polling booths under Kannur and Kasargod constituencies where Election Commission has ordered re-polling following confirmation of bogus voting in the polling on 23 April. The poll panel had, however, stressed that people will be allowed to vote only after their faces are verified to prevent bogus voting.

In each polling station, around 25 voters were randomly selected depending on the terrain and voter turnouts in that particular polling station. A total of 1,21,542 voters were interviewed from 199 parliamentary constituencies. Multi-sampling process was adopted for the selection of parliamentary constituencies, Assembly constituencies and polling stations.

After the final phase is over, News18  with research partner IPSOS  will present its exit poll to its viewers. To predict the number of seats likely to be won by each party or alliance, a total of 199 parliamentary constituencies were selected out of 543. Within the Parliamentary constituencies, 796 Assembly constituencies were selected, and 4,776 individual polling station areas were selected for conducting interviews.

Even though polling began peacefully in violence-torn West Bengal, an incident of bombing was reported outside Deganga's booth number 66/67. It has been alleged that some unidentified men came riding a bike, hurled a few bombs and as soon as forces rushed in, left the bike there and fled away.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadavs photo has been replaced with someone else's on the voter identification list at the Veterinary College booth, where Rabri Devi and Misa Bharti voted and where he will vote in the Pataliputra Lok Sabha constituency. Polling officials have said that Tejashwi will not be facing problems when he comes in to vote. An investigation on the goof-up is underway.

Violations of the poll code were reported in Jehanabad Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar as voters there took photos of the EVM and VVPAT slips and posted them on social media.

Three people assaulted police officers at booth number 67 in Bhabhua of Sasaram in Bihar. One police officer was injured. Voting was halted for an hour. The Kaimur SP has confirmed arrest of criminals.

In Mandsaur of Madhya Pradesh deployed Central force personnel in polling stations were seen helping the aged voters by assisting them to the booths. At many booths, arrangement of chairs, sofas, drinking water, tents and fans have been made.

Few minutes after the incident, unidentified people pelted stones on police at booth number 49 and 50 in the same area. One constable and an assistant sub-inspector of police were injured. People had complained to authorities of bogus voting.

Supporters of RJD MLA Saroj Yadav allegedly engaged in a clash with the police at booth number 99 in Badhara, part of Arrah Lok Sabha constituency. Saroj Yadav also reached booth after being informed about the issue.

A man was listed as a woman in the voter identification list in Karakat Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar. Sarju Bhagat, a resident of Mahuaw village, can be seen displaying his voting slip. He was not allowed to vote.

Villagers in Sanegpur which comes under the Pardaha development block have boycotted the polls owing to non-development of their area. The villagers have alleged that there are no motorable roads in the village and no facility of drainage. The villager said that they have complained it to the administration but to no avail. There are 1,284 voters in the village.

Clashes were reported between Samajwadi Party and BJP supporters over voting first in Chandauli's Parahupur polling booth. Police have brought the situation under control now.

BJP MP candidate Anupam Hazra has alleged that TMC workers were covering their faces at a Jadavpur booth and giving proxy votes. Shortly after he made this allegation, Hazra said TMC goons have beaten up a BJP mandal president, a driver and attacked a car. Hazra's own car was also allegedly attacked. "We also rescued our three polling agents. TMC goons were going to carry out rigging at 52 booths. People are eager to vote for BJP but they are not allowing people to vote," he said.

Two government employees engaged in election duty died in separate incidents in Madhya Pradesh, an official said on Sunday. Garu Singh Chogad, who was deployed at the Jalwat polling booth in Dhar Lok Sabha constituency, died after suffering a heart failure on Sunday morning, state's Chief Electoral Officer VL Kantha Rao told reporters.

At Chandauli, SP and BSP workers late last night staged a sit-in at the Alinagar police station alleging that BJP workers had allegedly been inking and distributing Rs 500 each to Dalit voters in Tarajeevanpur village. Police have begun investigating the case. Meanwhile, these villagers have been scared to cast their votes fearing they will be ousted from the booths.

BJP candidate from Pataliputra parliamentary constituency, Ram Kripal Yadav has filed a complaint with Election Commission alleging booth capturing in his constituency. He says that some people are threatening voters and trying to capture the booths. He also alleged that his party workers are being beaten up and their vehicles were vandalised.

Gathbandhan candidate Shalini Yadav who is contesting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi performed pujas at her house before going to cast her vote.

Police said they used mild force to disperse the mob but denied that it was a clash among rival members parties.

Two groups, belonging to BJP and Congress parties according to eyewitnesses, attacked each other with sticks near booth number 201 in Petlawad of Umarkot, which is a part of Ratlam Lok Sabha constituency. Police reached the spot and detained members of both parties. Workers of the two parties had gathered near the booth and started arguing over political issues.

Samajwadi Party (SP) has alleged that as many as 300 Muslim voters names on the voter list at booth number 334, 335 and 336 in Chandauli have been deleted. The party has demanded action from the Election Commission.

In Ekona of Badhara in Bihar's Arrah, booth numbers 49 and 50 saw voters who had stood in line to cast their votes for a long time in the heat, pelt stones at a police officer. A police officer was injured. Senior officials reached on time to bring the situation under control.

A Congress worker was attacked with sharp edged weapons and killed as soon as he came out from the polling booth in village Sarhli of Khadoor Sahib constituency in Punjab. The deceased has been identified as Bunty. Victim's family alleged that Shiromani Akali Dal workers attacked and killed Bunty.

Tej Pratap Yadav's personal security guards in Patna allegedly beat a camera person after he allegedly broke the windscreen of Yadav's car. Tej Pratapwas leaving after casting his vote at Veterinary College in Pataliputra Lok Sabha constituency. The former RJD leader has filed an FIR in the incident. According to eyewitnesses, Tej Pratap was travelling in an e-rickshaw which ran over the feet of a media person.

Tej Pratap Yadav has alleged that his bouncers did not do anything. "I was leaving after casting my vote when a photographer hit the windscreen of my car. I have filed an FIR in the incident. A conspiracy is being hatched to kill me," he said.

Tej Pratap files FIR against journalist who 'smashed' his windshield, says his guards did nothing

Extra personnel of central security forces have been deployed in the city, the report said. The BJP blamed the TMC for the incidents of violence. Nilanjan Roy, a BJP candidate for Diamond Harbour, was also allegedly attacked by TMC in Budge Budge.

A crude bomb explosion took place in the Kolkata Uttar constituency in the Girish Park area, News18 reported. This is the first incident of a bomb blast in Kolkata. At least two incidents of crude-bombs being thrown were reported in the Barasat and Basirhat constituencies in the morning.

Farid Alam, a police officer posted at booth number 11, Government Middle School, in Maheshpur block of Pakur in Jharkhand has been removed from poll duty with immediate effect by Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer, DC Chaudhary after he was accused of pressurising voters to vote for a particular candidate in the ongoing Lok Sabha election. After a protest by voters, the complaint was escalated to DC who removed Alam from the polling booth.

On two sides of the Congress war in West Bengal, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Congress leaders Navjot Singh Sidhu and his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu all cast their votes on Sunday. While Amarinder voted at Patiala, the Sidhus voted in Amritsar.

The commission had deputed women officials in all the booths to identify such women and facilitate their votes. Most of the booths recorded 50 percent polling till 1 pm. The polling in all these booths was above 80 percent in the 23 April polling.

Women voters turned up without face-covering veils to cast their votes in seven polling booths under Kasargod and Kannur constituencies in Kerala, where bogus voting was confirmed on 23 April. The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) had urged the Election Commission not to allow women with covered faces to cast their votes.

Voting began with a sizeable delay at booth numbers 281 and 296 in Kumhrar assembly segment, under Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat. Locals alleged no officials had bothered to change the EVMs of Muslim majority booths even though the machines had not been working.

Voters have been waiting for more than half an hour at the Chakiya polling booth in Chandauli as the EVM has developed a fault and the master trainer is yet to reach the booth. Voting at Dhichorva polling booth number 294 in the same seat started with a delay of several hours.

EVM malfunctions have been reported from Pataliputra constituency's Maner in Bihar since morning. Voting was haulted at booth number 181 since noon. Officials say machines will be repaired soon. In booth numbers 179, 180 and 181, no arrangements have been made for voters to avoid heat as they stand and wait while a power cut renders the booth functional.

A major clash was reported at Dulhin Bazar village of Patna where villagers allegedly attacked the police force at booth numbers 101 and 102. Police used mild force to disperse the mob. Villages alleged police of not allowing voters to cast their votes. A police source said that cops shot blanks in the air but officials are yet to confirm it.

The District Administration has tracked down social media details of at least one person who shared a similar post. This information was then passed on to the Commissioner of Police, and the person was detained. Police are now investigating the matter.

The Chief Election Officer (CEO) of Punjab has asked the Ludhiana District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Agrawal to look into media reports on people posting photos of votes being cast on EVMs.

A delegation of the Samajwadi Party met Election commission officials and complained about the "unfair elections in the state." The delegation aprised the Commission about several incidents which they alleged were against democratic rules. Among the incidents SP mentioned were clashes between SP and BJP workers in Chandauli, the allegation that Dalit voters were paid Rs 500 by BJP workers and their fingers were inked and an alleged booth capturing attempt in Chandauli.

"Central forces are directly taking orders from the BJP candidates and party functionaries, clearly violating the orders of the Electon Commission. However, the Election Commission has not taken any action."

In a statement, the TMC said, "Today, in Bengal, central forces are brutally torturing and intimidating common citizens, especially the marginalised. Even physically handicapped persons (are) being tortured. Central forces are also threatening voters 'kamal dabao nahi toh thok dega'.

A delegation of the Samajwadi Party met Election commission officials and complained about the "unfair elections in the state." The delegation aprised the Commission about several incidents which they alleged were against democratic rules. Among the incidents SP mentioned were clashes between SP and BJP workers in Chandauli, the allegation that Dalit voters were paid Rs 500 by BJP workers and their fingers were inked and an alleged booth capturing attempt in Chandauli.

Polling officer Shashi Kumar Gauhar fainted at Indore's booth number 207 while voting was on today. Dr Meena Sisodia, who was present at the booth performed cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on her after which he gained consciousness. The officer was later sent to the district hospital for further treatment.

Former MLA Satya Narayan Patel has filed a complaint with the District Election Officer alleging that a booth-level officer had placed a flag of BJP inside the polling booth. The booth which the BLO is attached to is situated at Badi Gwaltoli ward number 48, part of Indore Lok Sabha constituency.

TMC leaders Madan Mitra was allegedly attacked in Kankinara in North 24 Parganas. CNN-News18 reported that crude bombs and bricks were hurled at Madan's car, after which BJP and TMC cadres clashed in the area.

As per the rules, one third of panchayat land had to be reserved for members of Dalit community for agricultural purposes. The land is alloted through auction for one year.

Gurpreet Singh, member of Sangrur district committee, said, "As the successive state governments have failed to provide a part of common land in all villages to the Dalit community, it was decided that the community members will press NOTA."

The Dalit community in many villages of Sangrur LS constituency claimed they pressed NOTA. Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Committee (ZPSC) led the campaign in Malwa belt of Punjab asking Dalits who have been ignored by successive governments to press NOTA.

According to ANI, the letter said: "Modi has gone to Badrinath and Kedarnath on an official visit. All the private activities done by him during his pilgrimage are being displayed and continuously telecast, which is a clear violation of the MCC."

After TMC, the TDP has approached the Election Commission, alleging poll code violation by Narendra Modi over his Kedarnath visit. CNN-News18 quoted TDP president Chandrababu Naidu as saying in his letter to the EC that Modi was "canvassing in disguise".

Six villages in Sadar block  Balua, Govindpur, Karai, Pulia, Balrampur and Koderma  under Buxar Lok Sabha constituency have boycotted elections as roads have not been constructed in the area. Zero votes were cast in booths number 157, 162, 168, 169 and 177 until 12 oclock. District Magistrate Raghvendra said that he had appealed to the residents to vote, but they were adamant.

He also said that this has been the "most disappointing overseeing of polls in independent India by the Election Commission".

Yechury alleges 'massive rigging' in Diamond Harbour, Dum Dum, North Kolkata CPM general-secretary Sitaram Yechury wrote on Twiter: "Massive rigging including in Diamond Harbour, Dum Dum, North Kolkata. There are no central forces, no efforts to stop the hijacking of democracy. The EC cannot merely watch it needs to intervene decisively. It is the people resisting this violence and wresting back their rights."

He further told that when he was returning after casting his vote another police officer came to him and said that he should not come out of his house until the end of voting process. According to poll officers, the step was taken after he was seen roaming with a huge crowd of supporters.

RJD MLA from Fatuha Ramanand Yadav confirmed the order and said, "I had gone to vote at around 9 am in the morning to Maujipir booth when SP rural told me that I should not come out of my house until vote ends."

Locals in Chiriyawan village in Jehanabad are boycotting the polls and holding a protest outside polling booth no. 236 "Road nahi to vote nahi (No road, no vote)... The MLA says our village is not on the map, so why would we vote."

At a press conference, the Election Commission said that polling has concluded in 542 parliamentary constituencies across states and Union Territories.

The torture that BJP workers and central forces have carried out today since the morning, is unprecedented. I have never seen anything like this before: @MamataOfficial after casting her vote

After casting her vote, Mamata Banerjee lashed out at the BJP and central security forces for 'torturing' West Bengal on Sunday. "I have never seen anything like this before," she said.

Kolkata: Anupam Hazra, BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Jadavpur, alleges a special mark was put on TMC's symbol in the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) to misguide illiterate & semi-literate voters and indicate them to press that button. #WestBengal #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/6cAnNZBWOY

Anupam Hazra, BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Jadavpur, alleges a special mark was put on TMC's symbol in the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) to misguide illiterate and semi-literate voters and indicate them to press that button. He said, "The presiding officer is trying to fool me saying he doesn't know anything. I spoke to a few voters who said the presiding officer was whispering to them that they need to press the button which is inked. It's clearly a pre-planned game."

BJP writes to Chief Electoral Officer West Bengal, alleging violent incidents in 9 parliamentary constituencies of the state. Letter states, "We have filed 417 complaints to ECI, out of which 227 were resolved, a whooping number of 190 complaints are unresolved"

BJP wrote to West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer, alleging that there were violent incidents in 9 parliamentary constituencies of the state.

At a press conference, the Election Commission said that polling has concluded in 542 parliamentary constituencies across states and Union Territories.

The Election Commission said that 7.27 crore people voted during the seventh phase of Lok Sabha election. The voters on Sunday included 3.47 crore women and 3,377 from the third gender.

From Electoral Bonds & EVMs to manipulating the election schedule, NaMo TV, Modis Army & now the drama in Kedarnath; the Election Commissions capitulation before Mr Modi & his gang is obvious to all Indians. The EC used to be feared & respected. Not anymore.

The overall voter turnout for the seventh phase is estimated to be 60.21 percent at 6pm. Data taken from the Election Commission's official app .

Our charge had been that the EC was sleeping on the job. Now, we can go further and say that the EC completely surrendered its independence and authority. Shame!

"Polling is over. Now we can say that the 'pilgrimage' of the PM in the last two days is an unacceptable use of religion and religious symbols to influence the voting," P Chidambaram wrote on Twitter. "Our charge had been that the EC was sleeping on the job. Now, we can go further and say that the EC completely surrendered its independence and authority. Shame!"

The following are the details of the EC seizure for the seventh phase of Lok Sabha election:

Lok Sabha Election 2019 Final Phase Voting LATEST News and Updates; (National Pollsters To Release Lok Sabha Exit Poll Results Today): After the end of polling, Rahul Gandhi said on Twitter that the Election Commission's "capitulation before Modi and gang is obvious to all Indians".

At a press conference, the Election Commission said that polling has concluded in 542 parliamentary constituencies across states and Union Territories. The exit poll results will be made available shortly.

The overall voter turnout at 5 pm is 52.62 percent. After casting her vote, Mamata Banerjee lashed out at the BJP and central security forces for 'torturing' West Bengal on Sunday. "I have never seen anything like this before," she said.

CPM general-secretary Sitaram Yechury wrote on Twiter: "Massive rigging including in Diamond Harbour, Dum Dum, North Kolkata. There are no central forces, no efforts to stop the hijacking of democracy. The EC cannot merely watch it needs to intervene decisively. It is the people resisting this violence and wresting back their rights."

After TMC, the TDP has approached the Election Commission against the alleged poll code violation by Narendra Modi with his Kedarnath visit. CNN-News18 quoted TDP president Chandrababu Naidu as saying in his letter to the EC that Modi was "canvassing in disguise". According to ANI, the letter said: "Modi has gone to Badrinath and Kedarnath on an official visit. All the private activities done by him during his pilgrimage are being displayed and continuously telecast, which is a clear violation of the MCC."

TMC workers held protests against BJP's North Kolkata candidate Rahul Sinha in Kolkata and blocked the BJP leader's convoy, according to reports.

Farid Alam, a police officer posted at booth number 11, Government Middle School, in Maheshpur block of Pakur in Jharkhand has been removed from poll duty with immediate effect by Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer, DC Chaudhary after he was accused of pressurising voters to vote for a particular candidate in the ongoing Lok Sabha election. After a protest by voters, the complaint was escalated to DC who removed Alam from the polling booth.

Women voters turned up without face-covering veils to cast their votes in seven polling booths under Kasargod and Kannur constituencies in Kerala, where bogus voting was confirmed on 23 April. The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) had urged the Election Commission not to allow women with covered faces to cast their votes.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE UPDATES ON EXIT POLL RESULTS 2019

The commission had deputed women officials in all the booths to identify such women and facilitate their votes. Most of the booths recorded 50 percent polling till 1 pm. The polling in all these booths was above 80 percent in the 23 April polling.

Tej Pratap Yadav's personal security guards in Patna allegedly beat a camera person after he allegedly broke the windscreen of Yadav's car. Tej Pratap was leaving after casting his vote at Veterinary College in Pataliputra Lok Sabha constituency. The former RJD leader has filed an FIR in the incident. According to eyewitnesses, Tej Pratap was travelling in an e-rickshaw which ran over the feet of a media person.

A Congress worker was attacked with sharp edged weapons and killed as soon as he came out from the polling booth in village Sarhli of Khadoor Sahib constituency in Punjab. The deceased has been identified as Bunty. Victim's family alleged that Shiromani Akali Dal workers attacked and killed Bunty.

BJP MP candidate Anupam Hazra has alleged that TMC workers were covering their faces at a Jadavpur booth and giving proxy votes. Shortly after he made this allegation, Hazra said TMC goons have beaten up a BJP mandal president, a driver and attacked a car. Hazra's own car was also allegedly attacked. "We also rescued our three polling agents. TMC goons were going to carry out rigging at 52 booths. People are eager to vote for BJP but they are not allowing people to vote," he said.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadavs photo has been replaced with someone else's on the voter identification list at the Veterinary College booth, where Rabri Devi and Misa Bharti voted and where he will vote, in the Pataliputra Lok Sabha constituency. Polling officials have said that Tejashwi will not be facing problems when he comes in to vote. An investigation on the goof-up is underway.

Voters are staging a sit-in protest outside polling station number 189 in Basirhat, alleging that TMC workers are not allowing them to cast their votes. BJP MP candidate from Basirhat, Sayantan Basu told ANI, "Hundred people were stopped from voting. We will take them to cast their vote."

Even though polling began peacefully in violence-torn West Bengal, an incident of bombing was reported outside Deganga's booth number 66/67 in Basirhat. It has been alleged that some unidentified men came riding a bike, hurled a few bombs and as soon as forces rushed in, left the bike there and fled away. Tollywood actress Nusrat Jahan, the Basirhat candidate, has arrived to cast her vote.

Jharkhand has so far led the footfall of voters, with 11.05 percent voter turnout recorded at 9.20 am. Polling booths in urban areas of Ludhiana constituency witnessed low footfall in the early hours of voting. Punjab recorded one of the the lowest voter turnout figures, along with hilly Himachal Pradesh, at around 9.20 am.

No phase of this election has been without EVM failures and Phase 7 was no exception. Voting has still not begun at booth number 29, under Arrah Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar, due to EVM malfunction. At Bihar's Chandauli, voting has been halted for more than an hour at Fattepur's booth number 35 and Chakiya Development Block's booth number 274 owing to EVM glitches.

Voting could not be started at booth number 108 in Uttar Pradesh's Mau as EVMs there have developed some sort of snag. EC officials are replacing the machines. Polling has just resumed at booth number 155 in Madhya Vidyalaya Beni Bigha, under Patliputra constituency after 40 minutes after a malfunctioning EVM was replaced. Voters allege that poll officers reached the booth 20 minutes late and found the glitch in the machine.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew and the Trinamool Congress's candidate from Diamond Harbour Abhishek Banerjee cast his vote at polling booth number 208 in South Kolkata Parliamentary constituency. After casting his ballot Abhishek emerged with criticism for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and said "Watever he (the PM) said in his meeting on 15 May in Diamond Harbour, he has to substantiate those statements with ample proof and justify what he said. If he fails to do so I'll sue him in the criminal and defamation cases. I'll drag him to the court and do the needful."

Two NDA chief ministers, Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath and Bihar's Nitish Kumar were one of the first to cast their votes at Gorakhpur and Patna respectively on Sunday.

The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, one of the most bitterly fought in recent memory, will come to a close Sunday when polling will be held in 59 constituencies including in Varanasi where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to retain the seat.

Polling will be held in all 13 seats in Punjab and an equal number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat Chandigarh.

Over 10.01 crore voters are expected to decide the fate of 918 candidates. The Election Commission has set up more than 1.12 lakh polling stations for smooth conduct of polls.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reportedly trekked 2 kilometres to a Kedarnath cave and on the request of mediapersons accompanying him, allowed cameras to take initial photos. His meditation, reported ANI, will begin in a few hours and will last until tomorrow morning. No media or personnel will be allowed in the vicinity of the cave at that time, the agency has reported sources as having said.

In the aftermath of comments by Janata Dal (Secular) leaders H Vishwanath and Basvaraj Horatti, signalling discord in the JD(S)-Congress alliance once again, Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, said on Saturday that it is time for leaders of his party to fall in line and stop contradicting each other. "We are on the verge of formation of a new government at the Centre. At this juncture where all efforts are being made to form non-BJP government at the Centre, the contradictory statements by leaders of coalition partners Congress-JDS may mar such efforts," he said.

The Election Commission has issued a notice to BJP candidate from Gurdaspur Sunny Deol for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct. Poll officials took serious note of a public meeting held by Deol in Pathankot on Friday night, after the silent period came in force. They also found that a loud speaker was used in the public meeting in which around 200 people were present.

Responding on media reports of Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa recusing himself from the panel's meetings to discuss poll code violations, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Saturday said the "erosion of institutional integrity" was "the hallmark" of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. In a tweet, he dubbed the poll panel the "Election Omission."

Reports have said that Election Commission member Ashok Lavasa had allegedly sent three letters and several notes over the last 10 days, asking for his dissent to be recorded. These were allegedly ignored by the Election Commission, leading to a final letter sent by him, in which he said he will skip the poll panel meetings. Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora described these reports as "unsavory" and "avoidable".

A day after making an appearance at his first-ever press conference as prime minister, and with Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha election all wrapped up, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to Uttarakhand's pilgrimage sites of Kedarnath and Badrinath. Modi arrived at the hill shrine of Kedarnath in a chopper and walked from the helipad to the Himalayan shrine, dedicated to Lord Shiva.

On the way, he also greeted people who were standing at a distance to get a glimpse of the prime minister.

In the temple, Modi sat on the floor in front of the deity and performed rituals.

He also took rounds of the sanctum-sanctorum as per Hindu practice of worship. He also stepped out of the temple premises and greeted the crowd. People gathered around the temple also greeted the Prime Minister with loud chants of "Har Har Mahadev".

This is Modi's fourth visit in three years.

Modi flew 1.5 lakh kilometres and addressed 142 public rallies during the most extensive campaign for a Lok Sabha election since Independence, BJP president Amit Shah said Friday.

In what is rumoured to be some heavy duty post-campaign strategising, Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu met Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Saturday morning. He is also scheduled to meet Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar, and Uttar Pradesh alliance partners Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday. Yesterday, Naidu had met Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi.

Opposition parties have lost no time in taking swipes at Narendra Modi's maiden press conference on Friday, where he did not entertain even a single impromptu question. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the presser seemed "like last episode of Mann ki Baat aired on TV instead of radio".

Loktantrik Janata Dal party chief Sharad Yadav, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, Congress leaders Ahmed Patel, Ashok Gehlot and party chief Rahul Gandhi too made fun of the fact that Modi was not asked any questions in the meet.
Voters who haven't received their voter slip can check their name on the electoral roll and download their photo voter slip from the portal nvsp.in.

Voting for the seven-phase Lok Sabha Election 2019 in India began on 11 April, with Phase 7 scheduled for Sunday, 19 May.

There are nearly 90 crore people registered as voters, of which 1.5 crore are between the ages of 18 and 19. But before exercising their franchise, voters must check if their names have appeared in the voters' list, and download the voter slip, which needs to be presented along with a photo identity card at your polling station to vote in the upcoming election.

If your name does not appear in the voters' list, the polling booth officials will not allow you to cast your vote.

Usually, voter slips (which serve as proof that your name exists in the electoral roll) are made available to voters' by various political parties. But what if you haven't received yours yet?

The Election Commission offers voters the facility to check their name on the electoral roll and download their photo voter slip from the portal nvsp.in. Every voter is required to carry their photo voter slip along with their voter identification card (also known as Electors Photo Identity Card or EPIC or Voter's ID) that is issued by the Election Commission of India (EC) or other approved photo identity proofs.

Here are the steps to download your voter slip:

Step 1. Visit the official website of the National Voter Services Portal's - nvsp.in

Step 2. Click on 'Search Your Name in Electoral Roll' option

Step 3. Fill in your credentials

Step 4. Press the 'search' button

Step 5. Your name will appear at the bottom of the page

Step 6. Click on view details and the page will be directed to your voter slip.

Step 7. Click on Print Voter Information' at the bottom of your voter slip and take a print out.

In case your name does not appear after the first three steps, it is likely that you are not eligible to vote in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

The ongoing election is being held for 543 seats at nearly 10 lakh polling booths across the country, while the counting of votes will take place on 23 May. Full details of timing, schedule and list of constituencies is available here.

Click here for complete coverage of Lok Sabha Election 2019

Click here for complete coverage of Assembly Elections 2019
The Election Commission has launched a Voter Helpline app, the 1950 voter helpline and nvsp.in to help voters check their polling station and contact details of booth level, electoral registration officers and district officers.

Around 90 crore people are eligible to vote in the seven-phase Lok Sabha Election 2019 that begun on 11 April, which is nearly the combined population of the whole of Europe and Brazil. About 432 million of these voters are women.

With a view to ensure a smooth Lok Sabha election and Assembly elections (Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh), the Election Commission of India strengthened its toll-free voter helpline 1950 in February 2019 making it easy for voters to get authentic information about their voter registration.

Voters enrolled in the electoral roll can check details of their personal information, polling station where they have to go to vote on polling day and contact details of booth-level officers, electoral registration officers and district election officers by using the voter helpline mobile app, or by visiting the nvsp.in portal or by calling 1950 helpline.

Electors can also call the helpline to register any election-related complaint between 8 am and 8 pm in Hindi or English on all working days. The callers identity is kept anonymous.

Services through SMS can also be availed by citizens by sending SMS without any cost to 1950. Here is the list of services that can be availed on SMS and the format to send SMS to 1950:

 To check your details in the electoral roll: Send an SMS in the format <ECI>space<EPIC number>space<0> (for reply in English) or <1> (for reply in the regional language)

 To get address of polling station where you are needed to to cast vote: SEND an SMS in the format: <ECIPS>space<EPIC number>

 To fetch the contact details of Booth Level Officers, Electoral Registration Officers and District Election Officers: Send an SMS in the format <ECICONTACT >space<EPIC number>
Nitish is Bihars tallest Kurmi leader but his voters are being swayed by the prime ministers tough-on-corruption and nationalistic image as much as him

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is gradually getting dwarfed in the rough and tumble of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. What is more, he is realistic enough to accept that his electoral fortunes are linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modis magnetic pull on voters.

This becomes all too clear as Kumar alights from his helicopter at Parwalpur village, in Nalanda district, which his party  Janata Dal (United) or JD(U)  considers as its pocket borough, to address an assembly of 1500 people in this veritable cauldron of heat and dust.

Kumar extols his governments work  the gleaming highway, the schools he built, the bicycles he gave to school students. Yet, in the same breath, he credits all these achievements to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre. It gave Rs 50,000 crore to Bihar, he says.

Bihars Mr. Development, the image Kumar has assiduously crafted for himself, then requests the gathering to pay him mehnatana and mazdoori or wages for his hard work. The wages he seeks are in the form of votes and, he said, they will contribute to making Modi the prime minister again.

After Kumar's chopper lifts off in a swirl of dust and disappears into the horizon, the people discuss the pluses and minuses of the JD(U) candidate, Kaushalendra Kumar, who is the sitting Member of Parliament representing Nalanda. This region is dominated by the Kurmi caste, to which the chief minister belongs. Kaushalendra is accessible but disinterested in development, they say. More significantly, he belongs to the JD(U), not the BJP. Therein hangs a tale.

Nitish is Bihars tallest Kurmi leader but his voters are being swayed by the prime ministers tough-on-corruption and nationalistic image as much as him. They will vote for Kaushalendra, they say, because Kumar has asked them to, but the goal is to make Modi prime minister. A decade ago, Kumar would have asked for votes in his own name, and not invoked Modi to ensure victory for his partys candidate.

Stopping at villages on the highway between Nalanda and Patna, the diminishing of Kumar becomes palpable. But there is also another yardstick to judge it. For instance, Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal  which heads the Opposition alliance comprising the Congress, the Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP), the Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP)  does not ask for votes in the name of the Congress or Rahul Gandhi. This is in sharp contrast to Kumar invoking Modi, whose nomination as the BJPs prime ministerial candidate in 2013 had prompted the JD(U) to walk out of the NDA.

It is not lost on Biharis that Kumar is caught in an unequal relationship with Modi's BJP, and that this is largely his own doing. The JD(U), the RJD and the Congress forged an alliance that swept Bihar in the 2015 state Assembly elections. For two years, Kumar was the chief minister and Tejashwi was his deputy. In July 2017, Kumar broke the alliance with the RJD and formed a new coalition government with the BJP. Kumars image of Mr. Development and Mr. Clean started losing its uniqueness, because these are precisely the credentials that are popularly assigned to Modi.

Bihar's political circles are abuzz with the astonishing fact that the JD(U) did not release a manifesto for this election. The NDA election machinery in the state was also managed almost entirely by the BJP. People are also trying to fathom the implication of some recent events, such as Kumar's conspicuous silence while the PM and other leaders chanted 'Vandey Mataram' at a recent rally. JD(U)'s sudden demand for special status for Bihar has also perplexed election-watchers, for the Center has already firmly rejected this demand.

But beyond the politics of image and coalition dynamics, Kumar faces the grim prospect of his social base fracturing. In 2014, the JDU won two seats and a 16 percent vote-share, which far exceeds the four to seven percent of Kurmis in the state population. His electoral salience is attributed to the social engineering that he undertook after he became the chief minister in November 2005, the backbone of which is backward classes, both Hindu and Muslim. These castes are colloquially called panchphoran, or spice mix, in the state. "The reason for this nomenclature is that these social groups are scattered in small pockets, and silent, but they swing electionsthey are just like spices, which are invisible but without them, food does not get its flavour," says Mohammad Sajjad, a proffessor at Aligarh Muslim University and a commentator on Bihar politics.

Kumar's vote among these groups is fracturing because RLSP of Upendra Kushwaha was with NDA but now it has moved away and is courting the six per cent-strong backward Kushwaha/Koeri caste that JD(U) had captured. The VIP has also started to challenge the Nishad (Extremely Backward Caste) base of JD(U). Then the HAM, which was also earlier allied with Kumar, has split from NDA and seized the imagination of Manjhis, a Mahadalit caste. The Manjhis have taken umbrage with JD(U) when Jitan Ram Manjhi, the HAM founder, was unceremoniously made to exit the chief ministers post, which Kumar then re-occupied.

It is Kumar who had deftly re-organised Dalit identity in Bihar by carving out a new 'Mahadalit' category, which comprised 21 out of 22 Scheduled Caste groups. He only left out the Dusadh (Paswan) caste, thereby starting a process to wean all other Dalit castes away from the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), whose leader is Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

Besides, the backward as well as Dalit castes also vote for the RJD, other than Bihars 30 percent Muslims and Yadavs. This is why, when the JD(U) and the RJD had combined in 2014, they had created an electorally unbeatable behemoth.

"Everybody knows what the BJP government is all about," says Ravidas, an elderly daily wage worker who is a chamar by caste and lives in Jamunatoli, a few kilometres from Islampur village in Nalanda, reflecting the anxiety that the Dalits feel under the current regime. "They have neglected the poor." He, and a group of young students from this makeshift habitation say they have decided to vote for the Congress party and not the JD(U).

"The Nitish era was fine after the RJD fell, but now we are reeling under official corruption and there are no jobs," says Deepak, a 22-year-old who is preparing for competitive exams in Patna. Several women in the locality say they will vote for the "telephone", the election symbol of HAM, on 19 May, which is the concluding round of the 2019 election.

"We were toddy tappers and have no source of income since the alcohol ban," says Chandravati Devi, who lives in Maurya Colony on Patnas outskirts, in one of many ramshackle huts where Dalit domestic workers and labourers live. (At the same time, many women support the Bihar government's decision to ban alcohol.) These mix of voices reflect changing electoral alignments that are also a natural consequence of this partnership between the JD(U) and the BJP.

Kumar is facing a blowback among these voters also because of the Center granting 10 percent reservations to the poor among the unreserved sections. They fear that this is the first step in diluting the reservation policy. At the same time, the Bhumihar and Brahmin voters, who are roughly 11 percent of voters in the state, feel that Kumar represents the interests, including reservations, of the backward communities. The elite-caste have an additional concern that the BJP itself is emphasising on backward voters and taking their support for granted.

"What choice do we have but JD(U)s Kaushalendra, says Satyanand Sharma, a Brahmin farmer of Sanchari village in the Hilsa block of Nalanda. "We cannot vote for the RJD and its leader Lalu Yadav or his family members, and therefore, we will accept even a lamp post as a candidate from the BJP," he says.

The elite castes do not support the RJD because its rise to power broke their hegemony. Thus, reservations have become a double-edged sword for Kumar. "The Bhumihar is not just our core voterhe convinces other communities to vote for us and stems the voters of our rivals," as a BJP leader in Patna says. "This time, all we will get is the Bhumihars own votes, not other benefits of having them on our side," he says.

Patna BJP circles jubilantly project Kumars return to the NDA fold as ghar wapsi or homecoming. "He had been with us throughout, he just made a mistake once," a BJP leader in Patna says. They also point out that the panchphoran are widely distributed and the same caste group does not vote uniformly across the state, which makes the 2019 election in their state tough to call.

For instance, Muslims, especially the Pasmanda or backward sections, had voted for JD(U) but Kumar now has to rebuild his secularist image brick by brick. I have always worked for everybody, he said at Parwalpur, mentioning minorities twice.

The refrain among Muslims in Nalanda, Patna and Pataliputra is that the JDU does not charm them as it once did. "Muslims vote for a party that screams secularism the loudest," says Maulana Anisur Rahman Qasmi, who heads the Imarat Shariah, an influential seminary in Phulwari Sharif, a suburb of Patna. "The message has gone out that Muslims must consolidate behind whichever party they support." The implicit message is that Muslims will support the Congress and RJD, which have made anti-Hindutva their clarion call.

The reason for Muslims drifting away from the JD(U) is that the BJPs hardline Hindutva stance is straining social relations in Bihar. There was no Hindu - Muslim conflict, but now we sense that the distance between us and Hindus growing. We want to vote for the RJD, which controlled such tendencies," says Naushad, who owns a shoe store in Sarai, near Danapur in Pataliputra.

BJPs votes, combined with those of LJP and JD(U), covers nearly half the population. When the very same combination had contested the 1999 elections it had won 41 out of 54 seats in Bihar, which included Jharkhand, which was carved out as a separate state subsequently. Yet, 1999, 2014 and 2019 are considerably different. Voter attrition is more a concern for Kumar, even if he scores a good number of the 17 seats he is contesting in this election, because a stellar BJP performance would intensify JDUs dependence on the national party.
Nearly one-in-five candidates running for parliament in the current election has an outstanding criminal case against them, inching up from 17 percent in the previous election and 15 percent in 2009, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a non-profit organisation that analysed candidates declarations.

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has one unwanted lead in this months general election race - according to data from an electoral watchdog it is fielding the most candidates among the major parties who are facing criminal charges. Congress is just a step behind.

Election laws allow such candidates to run so long as they have not been convicted, on grounds both of fairness and because Indias criminal justice system moves so slowly that trials can take years, or even decades, to be resolved.

Still, the number of such candidates accused of offences ranging from murder to rioting has been rising with each election.

Analysts say political parties turn to them because they often have the deepest pockets in steadily costlier elections, and that some local strongmen are seen as having the best chance of winning.

Nearly one-in-five candidates running for parliament in the current election has an outstanding criminal case against them, inching up from 17 percent in the previous election and 15 percent in 2009, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a non-profit organisation that analysed candidates declarations.

The data shows that 40 percent candidates from BJP face criminal charges, including crimes against women and murder, followed by the Congress party at 39 percent.

Among the smaller parties, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has an even higher proportion, with 58 percent of its candidates embroiled in criminal cases.

Polls have suggested that the BJP and its allies lead the race to win the mammoth, staggered election that began last month and ends on Sunday. Votes will be counted on Thursday.

Parties only think about winnability and they know that money power and muscle power of such candidates ensures that win, said Anil Verma, head of the ADR.

With 240 cases against him, K Surendran of the BJP tops the list of candidates with the most outstanding criminal complaints that include rioting, criminal trespass and attempted murder.

He said most of the cases stem from his involvement in the BJP campaign to oppose the entry of women and girls of menstruating age into the Sabarimala temple in his home state of Kerala.

I understand that an outsider might feel that I am a grave offender but, in reality, I am completely innocent of these charges, he said. It was all politically motivated.

Dean Kuriakose from the Congress party has 204 criminal cases against him, the second highest, the data showed. Most of the cases were related to a political agitation against the ruling Communist Party in Kerala, which turned violent.

He was not available for comment. But a party spokesman said Kuriakose was innocent. He was falsely charged by the police under influence from Kerala government, the spokesman said.

Political analysts say that often people vote for candidates who face criminal charges because they are seen as best placed to deliver results. In some parts of India local strongmen mediate in disputes and dispense justice.

Powerful people, even if criminals, offer a kind of parallel system of redressal, said KC Suri, a professor of political science at the University of Hyderabad.

A separate ADR survey of more than 250,000 voters last year found 98 percent felt candidates with criminal backgrounds should not be in parliament, though 35 percent said they were willing to vote for such a candidate on caste grounds or if the candidate had done good work in the past.
TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu held a flurry of meetings with Opposition leaders, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, BSP's Mayawati and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav.

New Delhi: TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu held a flurry of meetings with Opposition leaders, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, BSP's Mayawati and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, in an apparent bid to rally support for a non-BJP government at the Centre.

Naidu, who arrived in the national capital on Friday, also met Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav and leaders of the Communist Party of India.

He then flew to Lucknow and met Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party chiefs.

"It is a pleasure to welcome Hon'ble Chief Minister Shri N Chandrababu Naiduji to Lucknow," Akhilesh Yadav tweeted.

The Andhra Pradesh chief minister did not speak to the media after any of his meetings.

Sources, however, said Naidu and Gandhi discussed the possibility of forming a joint alliance of all Opposition parties.

He told Gandhi to have a strategy ready, in case the NDA falls short of a majority and still stakes claim to form the government, the sources said.

Naidu told all the leaders that "we all should come together and put our act together" to form the next government by keeping the BJP out, a source said.

Later, Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and other Congress leaders met at UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's residence to evolve their party's strategy.

"The campaigning of this Lok Sabha Election 2019 has ended and as we await the last phase of polling, Andhra Pradesh CM Shri N Chandrababu Naidu paid me a visit to discuss the ongoing and future political scenario of our country," Pawar said in a tweet after the meeting at his residence.

Naidu met CPI leader G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja over breakfast, asking them to "come together".

Reddy and Raja separately met Pawar at his residence.

The Telugu Desam Party chief has held several rounds of discussion with various opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and CPIM general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Naidu's TDP was a part of the NDA, but quit the alliance a few months ago.

On Friday, Naidu said not only the Telangana Rashtra Samithi but any outfit which is against the BJP is welcome to join a grand alliance after the election results are declared on 23 May.

As Opposition leaders scramble to form a joint anti-BJP front, hectic deliberations among them are likely to continue in the days ahead.

Meanwhile, Karnataka chief minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy urged Congress and his party members to not give controversial statements against each other.

"We are on the verge of formation of a new government at the Centre. At this juncture where all efforts are being made to form a non-BJP government at the Centre, the contradictory statements by leaders of coalition partners may mar such efforts," he tweeted.

"Hence, my humble request to the leaders of both the parties is to restrain from making contradictory- controversial statements in public and to support the cause," Kumaraswamy said.

Former prime minister and JD(S) leader HD Deve Gowda said they are all together with the Congress in forming the next government.

There has been a war of words between the Congress and its alliance partners JD(S) in Karnataka for some time now.
By referring to Mahatma Gandhis killer as a 'patriot', Thakur has exposed the fault lines within the BJP that the saffron behemoth may find difficult to tackle.

For the BJP, fielding Pragya Singh Thakur as the Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal was always going to be risky. The mercurial Thakur has quickly proved herself to be a double-edged sword. By the time she committed her third gaffe since nomination, six phases of the polls are over, including in Bhopal. It is possible that Thakurs comments glorifying Nathuram Godse may not have a big electoral impact in the remaining 59 seats that go to the polls on 19 May. And we shall soon know whether the BJPs bold gamble to field the 2008 Malegaon blast accused has paid off.

However, by referring to Mahatma Gandhis killer as a patriot, Thakur has exposed the fault lines within the BJP that the saffron behemoth may find difficult to tackle. As long as the BJP was a secondary force, these fault lines were easily subdued. As it replaces the Congress to become the fulcrum of Indian politics with a pan-national footprint, these cracks will become more apparent.

Further, the BJPs transformation from a "north Indian" party to its current form  displacing the Congress in the North East, consolidating its position in the Hindi heartland, developing as a strong challenger to incumbents in eastern states and trying to gain a foothold in the south beyond Karnataka  has also necessitated an ideological shift from the right to centre. This shift is inevitable, but more complex than is immediately apparent.

Under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who remained the prime minister from 1999 to 2004, the BJPs position was somewhat in the middle on cultural issues and right-leaning on economic policies. Modis five years have seen a rightward shift in culture and a quasi-socialistic approach on the economy. Broadly, however, the BJP has completed a centrist maneuver to fill in the vacuum left by the Congress. On core issues such as the building of a Ram Mandir on the disputed site at Ayodhya, the party has repeatedly cited judicial procedure while asking its supporters to be patient. In its 2019 manifesto, its positions on the Ayodhya dispute, Citizenship Bill, scrapping of Article 35A and the Uniform Civil Code appear firmly on right, but if the last five years are any indication, the party is likely to take a consultative approach rather than bulldozing changes even if it retains power.

And thats why the issue of Godse is symbolic of the ideological confusion that the BJP is increasingly likely to suffer from. Consider Thakurs statement on Thursday given as a reaction to Kamal Hasaans comments on Godse being Indias first Hindu terrorist. Thakur, who was arrested in connection with the Malegaon blast in 2008 and received bail nine years later, told reporters, Nathuram Godse was a patriot, is a patriot and will remain a patriot. People calling him a terrorist should instead look within. Such people will be given a fitting reply in the election.

At one level, Thakur's statement is not surprising. Her candidature from Bhopal was the BJPs attempt to showcase Congress as an anti-Hindu party that had falsely implicated Hindus by coining the term "saffron terror". Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who is credited with the coinage, had been instrumental in propagating the "Hindu terror" theory. What better than to pit him against a candidate who had been jailed for being an accused in a case that, according to the BJP, was a conspiracy to create the "Hindu terror" myth?

BJP president Amit Shah had described Pragya Thakurs candidature as a satyagraha against the myth of saffron terror. The prime minister had called it a symbolic answer to all those who falsely labelled the rich Hindu civilisation as terrorist.

While Pragya Thakurs candidature made political sense because it aims at a consolidation of the Hindu votes, the flip side of it is that ideological impulses of the extreme right may now become mainstream and debated more openly. The problem is, this is in direct conflict with BJPs stated centrist position. This poses a particularly difficult challenge for Modi, who has claimed the legacy of some Congress icons in his quest to both moor his ideas and make the BJP a party concomitant with Indias political history.

Modis effort at mass sanitisation  Swachh Bharat scheme  was launched as an imprimatur of Mahatma Gandhi. Imagine his consternation when Pragya Thakur puts all that effort to waste with one ill-judged comment. Modis reaction is not surprising. Short of expelling her, the prime minister said, the comments on Gandhi and Godse are deplorable, disgusting and are not language fit for civilised society. Those who say such things should think a hundred times. It is a different issue that they have apologised, but I will not be able to forgive them from my heart.

Expelling the Bhopal candidate is not really an option for the BJP, but it has chosen the next best option by issuing show cause notices to Thakur and two other BJP leaders who made similar controversial statements on this issue.

Pragya Thakur has swiftly apologised, BJP minister from Karnataka Anantkumar Hegde has claimed that his Twitter account was hacked, while Shah has clarified that comments made by Hegde, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and Nalin Kateel (another Karnataka leader) in the past two days are personal. The BJP has no connection with their comments These people have taken back their comments and apologised for them as well. However, the party has taken their comments seriously and decided to send them to the disciplinary committee, keeping in mind the dignity and ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Even as the BJP was engaged in a firefight over this issue, its media cell head in Madhya Pradesh, Anil Saumitra, called Mahatma Gandhi not the "Father of the Nation" but the father of Pakistan. He was quite defiant about his Facebook post and told reporters after the controversy erupted that his remark was not wrong. No scholar can prove me wrong. I will not delete my post. Saumitra has since been suspended from the partys primary membership.

The BJP may be trying to put daylight between itself and the controversies, but the way these issues have erupted in a party that is known for its discipline points to a deeper fault line. As it aggressively pursues expansion throughout the length and breadth of India, the party may need to introspect on its ideological stances. Or else, incidents such as these will become alarmingly regular.
If Rahul Gandhi has done anything successfully in this election, it is that he has spread his own confusion through the rank and file with great efficacy.

In interview after interview Congress president Rahul Gandhi has talked about spreading love to conquer hate. Coming bang in the middle of a bitter campaign, one could be excused for thinking Rahul is fighting elections on another planet  perhaps Jupiter  which means that in addition to hate, he has also conquered escape velocity.

For his minders within the party, tasked with reading profound meaning into Rahul's philosophical nothings, this might be enlightenment itself. Eager to announce the end of the Congress president's long journey from boy to boss, they are pumping up the volume of their canned applause.

Good for them. But it isn't good for Ratnakar Tripathi, 55 and thousands like him. A card-carrying campaigner of the Congress since 2002, the Varanasi worker is totally unimpressed.

"Rahulji began the Congress campaign with the "chowkidar chor hai" slogan and the promise of sending Prime Minister Narendra Modi to jail on charges of treason. Now, he is giving it all a philosophical twist with stuff like 'hate in Modis heart but love in my heart' and winning the political battle against Modi by 'spreading love'. What should I make of this? Should I start loving Modi or treat him as a bitter enemy? he asked, torn between anger and amazement.

In the 2004 parliamentary elections, the BJP, seeking a return of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, hit the campaign trail with the self-deluding India Shining and feel good slogans. The Congress, which was considered in no shape to take on the BJP, pulled the rug from under the latter's feet with a humble Congress ka haath aam admi ke saath counter. It got a great deal of traction and the outcome of that election wrote a fresh chapter in Indian political history.

Cut to 2019. If Rahul has done anything successfully in this election, it is that he has spread his own confusion through the rank and file with great efficacy. After working on the "chowkidar chor hai" slogan for more than a year, it was logical to think that corruption would be the centrepiece of the Congress campaign. But Congress' counter to Modi hai toh mumkin hai and phir ek baar Modi sarkar was not an extension of "chowdikar chor hai", but a throwback to the socialist slogan of ab hoga Nyay.

Rahul and his team congratulated themselves on this game changer of an idea. But even the best idea needs time to sink in, spread and explode. Rahul gave it all of a week. After traveling extensively in Uttar Pradesh and getting a sense of electoral churning in the heartland, one can say with a sense of certitude that NYAY has been the biggest dud of the 2019 polls. Its appeal is restricted only to party offices and campaign banners. It has had no resonance among the public. Their response is either of ignorance or ridicule.

However, that biggest dud was not the only dud.

A similar trajectory was followed in the matter of injecting Rahul's sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, into the campaign. After months of trying to project himself as the central figure of the fight against Narendra Modi  to the chagrin of many potential allies  Rahul suddenly sprung the Priyanka surprise.

Priyanka was projected as the Congress' `Brahmastra', the mythical, all-slaying weapon. Now, Modi would just wilt and wither away. She ended up undermining Rahul instead because it is a tacit admission that Rahul is not the party's 'Brahmastra' and needed desperate reinforcements.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE UPDATES ON LOK SABHA ELECTION 2019

Worse was to follow. Having drawn the 'Brahmastra', Rahul did not know how and where to deploy it. If the intention was to demonstrate that the Gandhi family would take pole position in taking on Modi, he did not go through with its full expression either. Priyanka playfully asked Congress workers in Uttar Pradesh "lad jaaun Varanasi se?" (shall I contest from Varanasi) raising hopes of setting up the mother of all battles. She then dilly-dallied, saying her brother would decide. And on the day Modi rocked Varanasi with his road show, Rahul quietly set up Ajay Rai, local expended don, for slaughter.

This kind of confusion has been the hallmark of the Congress campaign.

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar account for 102 seats of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha. Even here, as in the rest of the country, the Congress has been noticed more for its absence. Worse, Modi kept laying traps for the Congress and it kept walking into them blindfolded. A case in point is the way Modi drew the Congress out on the issue of Rajiv Gandhi's image as late as the sixth phase of the election. He forced the Congress to start defending Rajiv rather than sharpening its `chowkidar chor hai attack. Sam Pitroda then handed the issue of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots on a platter to Modi.

Around the same time, Rahul drove the last nail on the coffin of Congress' campaign by tendering an unconditional apology to the Supreme Court for attaching the 'chowkidar chor hai' slogan to it. With Rahul at the helm, the Congress has a problem on two levels. At one level, while the party expects him to be decisive and inspire confidence in the cadre, Rahul is content with playing the role of a face-reader or image consultant, talking about how he can see from Modi's body language that the latter has already lost the election. Even this Friday, at the campaign-wrapping up press conference, he spoke about having completely dismantled Modi.

At the second level, instead of bringing out all his ammunition against Modi, Rahul turned to philosophical mumbo-jumbo of love and hate. Every election has been one big disappointment for his supporters and workers who have had to perpetually sell the idea of an emerging more mature, more confident leader.

They would surely have wished to see him building rhetoric that could have given them talking points to take to the people like Modi has done throughout the campaign. Instead they got a suffocating overdose of this: The truth also is, you cant hate another person without hating yourself I dont associate myself with his anger The anger is his and is harming only him. It only does damage to me when I grab it and embrace it. I refuse to do that.

Even here there is confusion.

Rahul who was a janeudhari Hindu at the time of the Gujarat state election and ananya Shiv Bhakt by the time of the election to Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh, has now become a Vipasana-practising Buddhist philosopher.

Another issue relates to the vigour and energy invested by Rahul. That the Congress campaign got swamped by the BJP's is understandable to an extent because of the larger than life image of Modi. It was a given that Rahul would come a cropper for national media prime time in a direct face-off with Modi.

But, as late as Thursday, with just one day left for campaigning for the last phase, the Congress allowed itself to be completely knocked out of even the Opposition space by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The TMC chief  fighting hard to retain every inch of her domain  and Modi-Shah were locked in a tense last-ditch battle.

As temperatures soared on the last day of the curtailed campaign, Modi landed up in Bengal for two rallies (after doing three in Uttar Pradesh) and Mamata held two road shows after being completely on the offensive through the day.

Quite in contrast, Rahul started his day with a visit to Rajasthan where polling was completed on 6 May. He visited a Dalit rape survivor, whose husband has claimed the police delayed acting on the complaint  fearing an adverse impact on the Congress campaign  until the Lok Sabha polls in the state ended.

Rahul then had three events, one in Kushinanagr (Uttar Pradesh) and two in Patna. He had a road show in Patna Sahib and a a rally in Pataliputra. For the president of the Congress, for whom time is votes, to spend time in two neighbouring constituencies shows an insane lack of planning.

Sister Priyanka did one better. As Modi and Mamata were dominating the national news, she landed up in Varanasi for a purposeless road show. Both the Gandhis got practically zero air time at a critical point in the campaign. Tripathi told me in Varanasi that it is time for Rahul to change his campaign managers. And for those managers to tell Rahul that it is time he embraced the core philosophy of elections: Be in it to win it.
tech2 News Staff

Omar Khayyam aka Abul Fath Omar ibn Ibrahim al-Khayyam, a Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet, would have been 971 years today. And Google is celebrating this day with a doodle. Khayyam was born on 18 May 1048, in Irans Nishapur.

Khayyam left a permanent mark in three fields. In astronomy, he gave us the Jalali calendar, a solar calendar with a very precise 33-year intercalation cycle. While we don't use the Jalali calendar anymore, it became the base of several other calendars.

In the field of mathematics too, Khayyam is known for his work on the classification and solution of cubic equations. He was the first to give a general method for solving cubic equations. Besides that, Khayyam also contributed to the functions of a parallel axiom. He also wrote the Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra. He even discovered a triangular array of binomial theorem the nth root of natural numbers, but the work on this have been lost.

The world of literature also saw some great contribution from Omar Khayyam. He wrote over a thousand verses, and the famous Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is a section of his verses that were translated by Edward Fitzgerald. Unfortunately, though, Khayyam's work became popular in the West hundred of year after his death. He also wrote a book on music and algebra.

Khayyam also worked as an advisor and court astrologer to Malik Shah I in Khorasan province.
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
By Ginger Gibson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders unveiled an education policy proposal on Saturday designed to pump billions of dollars into the public schools system, in a bid to appeal to black voters who shunned the U.S. senator during his previous presidential run. The 10-point plan Sanders detailed in a speech in South Carolina aims to end racial disparities in the public education system

By Ginger Gibson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders unveiled an education policy proposal on Saturday designed to pump billions of dollars into the public schools system, in a bid to appeal to black voters who shunned the U.S. senator during his previous presidential run.

The 10-point plan Sanders detailed in a speech in South Carolina aims to end racial disparities in the public education system. America's education policy debate has long been steeped in discussions of race and racial discrimination.

Sanders struggled in the 2016 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination against Hillary Clinton to garner support among African-Americans. His chief Democratic rival in the run-up to the 2020 election, former Vice President Joe Biden, has polled well among black voters.

"Every child has a right to a quality K-12 education, regardless of your race, regardless of your income, and regardless of your zip code," Sanders said in a statement on the proposal.

The Vermont senator built his 2016 campaign on a series of liberal policy ideas that at the time made him unique among Democrats, but which now are shared by many of his rivals. More than 20 Democrats are vying to challenge President Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee.

Sanders has struggled to distinguish himself in the current field, frequently complaining that he deserves credit for pioneering many of the progressive ideas now espoused by other Democratic challengers.

Sanders titled his new education proposal the "Thurgood Marshall Plan for Education," a nod to the Supreme Court justice who before being on the bench successfully argued the 1954 landmark Brown v. Board of Education case that desegregated public schools.

On Friday, the Sanders campaign previewed the portion of the proposal that would overhaul charter schools, the publicly-funded schools that operate independently of government oversight.

The remaining portion of his proposal covers everything from teacher pay to school lunches.

Sanders said he would push for funding to better integrate some schools. He also called for a federal funding minimum and moving away from using property taxes to pay for schools. Critics argue that using property taxes results in wealthy areas having better schools than more impoverished neighborhoods.

He wants to spend an additional $5 billion a year on summer school and after-school programs across the United States and also called for an increase in federal funding for programs for students with disabilities.

Teachers' salaries should be set at a minimum of $60,000 a year, Sanders said, and tied to regional cost of living. Schools should be required to provide free meals, breakfast, lunch and snacks to all students, he said.

He added that he wants to provide another $5 billion to increase community services at schools, including health and dental care, mental health and job training.

For schools that continue to lack the infrastructure necessary to teach students, Sanders wants to provide federal funds for more school construction.

The senator also proposed making schools safer and more inclusive, including by passing gun control legislation and enacting laws to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer students.

(Reporting by Ginger Gibson; editing by Grant McCool and Tom Brown)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal said on Friday he was consulting with counsel on how best to enforce his subpoena for President Donald Trump's tax returns after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin turned down his demand.

"Given the Treasury Secretarys failure to comply today, I am consulting with counsel on how best to enforce the subpoenas moving forward, Neal said in a statement.

(Reporting by Eric Beech)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
When US secretary of state Mike Pompeo sat down with Iraq officials in Baghdad last week as tensions mounted between America and Iran, he delivered a nuanced message: If youre not going to stand with us, stand aside.

Baghdad: When US secretary of state Mike Pompeo sat down with Iraqi officials in Baghdad last week as tensions mounted between America and Iran, he delivered a nuanced message: If youre not going to stand with us, stand aside.

The message, relayed to The Associated Press by two Iraqi government officials, underscores Iraqs delicate position: Its government is allied with both sides of an increasingly contentious confrontation.

As tensions escalate, there are concerns that Baghdad could once again get caught in the middle, just as it is on the path to recovery. The country hosts more than 5,000 US troops, and is home to powerful Iranian-backed militias, some of whom want those US forces to leave.

The big question is how Iraqi leaders will deal with (their) national interests in a country where loyalty to external powers is widespread at the expense of their own nation, Iraqi political analyst Watheq al-Hashimi said. If the state cannot put these (Iranian-backed militias) under control, Iraq will become an arena for an Iranian-American armed conflict.

Despite a series of provocative moves on both sides, President Donald Trump has said he doesnt want a war with Iran and has even said he is open to dialogue. But tension remains high, in part given the regions fraught history.

For Iraq to be a theatre for proxy wars is not new. The Shiite-majority country lies on the fault line between Shiite Iran and the mostly Sunni Arab world, led by powerhouse Saudi Arabia, and has long been a battlefield in which the Saudi-Iran rivalry for regional supremacy played out.

During Americas eight-year military presence that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, US troops and Iranian-backed militiamen fought pitched battles around the country, and scores of US troops were killed or wounded by the militia forces armed with sophisticated Iranian-made weapons.

American forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011 but returned in 2014 at the invitation of Iraq to help battle the Islamic State group after it seized vast areas in the north and west of the country, including Iraqs second-largest city, Mosul. A US-led coalition provided crucial air support as Iraqi forces regrouped and drove Islamic State out in a costly three-year campaign. Iranian-backed militias fought alongside US-backed Iraqi troops against Islamic State, gaining outsized influence and power.

Now, amid an escalating conflict between the US and Iran, Iraq is once again vulnerable to becoming caught up in the power play. An attack targeting US interests in Iraq would be detrimental to the countrys recent efforts at recovering and reclaiming its status in the Arab world.

Earlier this year, Trump provoked outrage in Baghdad when he said he wanted US troops to stay in Iraq so they can watch Iran, suggesting a changing mission for American troops there.

On 8 May, Pompeo made a lightning, previously unannounced trip to the Iraqi capital following the abrupt cancellation of a visit to Germany, and as the United States had been picking up intelligence that Iran is threatening American interests in the Middle East.

The two Iraqi officials said Pompeo relayed intelligence information the US had received about a threat to US forces in Iraq  but kept it vague. They said he did not specify the nature of the threat.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to divulge confidential information, said Pompeo told the Iraqis that America did not expect them to side with the US in any confrontation with Iran, but that they should not side against America. In other words, stand aside.

A few days later, as US-Iranian tensions continued to rise, the State Department ordered all non-essential, non-emergency government staff to leave the country.

US officials said Pompeo told the Iraqis the US had an inherent right to self-defense and would use it if US personnel, facilities or interests are attacked by Iran or its proxies in Iraq or anywhere else.

The three officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the private meetings in Baghdad and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Pompeo was not contemplating any pre-emptive strikes on Iran or the use of Iraqi territory to stage military operations against Iran. Pompeos message, the officials said, was that the US wants to avoid conflict but would respond or defend itself if necessary.

The secretary told reporters on the flight that his meetings with Iraqs president and prime minister were intended to demonstrate US support for a sovereign, independent Iraq, free from the influence of neighboring Iran. Pompeo also said he wanted to underscore Iraqs need to protect Americans in their country.

A general at Iraqs Defense Ministry said Iraq was taking precautionary security measures in light of the information about threats against US interests, although those measures have not reached the highest levels.

Iraqi forces are worried that American forces could be targeted by factions loyal to Iran, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. He added that any attack on US troops could come as retaliation if the United States were to carry out a military operation against Iran.

The heightened tensions between Iran and the US come a year after Trump pulled America out of Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers and as the White House ordered an aircraft carrier and bombers into the region over a still-unexplained threat from Iran.

On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates alleged that four oil tankers off its eastern coast were targeted by sabotage. On Tuesday, Yemens Iran-allied Houthi rebels said they launched seven drones to target Saudi Arabia. The drones stuck pumping stations along the kingdoms crucial East-West Pipeline, causing minor damage, Saudi officials say.

On the streets of Baghdad, some shrugged off the rising tensions while others worried their country could be sucked into another war.

Aqil Rubaei said he was worried that his country, which has been at war since a year before he was born, will be the place where the US and Iran will settle their accounts.

The 38-year-old was born in 1981, a year after Iran and Iraq began their eight-year war and was 9 years old when Saddam Husseins forces invaded Kuwait leading to a destructive war that forced Iraq out of Kuwait and 13 years of crippling sanctions.

In 2003, the US invaded and removed Saddam, leading to the rise of extremist groups that culminated in 2014 with the Islamic State group capturing large parts of Iraq and Syria and declaring a so-called caliphate. The war that followed left entire Iraqi cities and towns destroyed until Iraq declared victory in 2017.

Iraqi people are fed up with war, said Rubaei inside his cosmetics shop in Baghdads Karrada neighborhood. We dont want Iraq to become an arena for an Iranian-American war.
By Andreas Rinke BERLIN (Reuters) - The presumptive heir to Angela Merkel denied a report on Friday that she had pressured the German chancellor to step down after an election later this month for the European Parliament in which their conservative party is set to lose ground. A spokeswoman for Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, leader of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), denied a Bloomberg report, which cited two unnamed people, that Kramp-Karrenbauer had pressured the chancellor to step down after the May 26 vote.

By Andreas Rinke

BERLIN (Reuters) - The presumptive heir to Angela Merkel denied a report on Friday that she had pressured the German chancellor to step down after an election later this month for the European Parliament in which their conservative party is set to lose ground.

A spokeswoman for Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, leader of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), denied a Bloomberg report, which cited two unnamed people, that Kramp-Karrenbauer had pressured the chancellor to step down after the May 26 vote.

"The report that the chairwoman of the CDU had pressured the chancellor to step down after the European Parliament vote lacks any basis," the spokeswoman said.

There has been speculation about whether Merkel, now almost 14 years in power, would complete her fourth and last term in office. Both Merkel and AKK, as Kramp-Karrenbauer is known in Germany, have said the chancellor would complete her term, which ends in 2021.

Merkel's conservatives and their Social Democrats (SPD) junior coalition partners are expected to bleed support in the European election next week.

That would particularly increase the pressure on the SPD to quit the coalition and reinvent itself in opposition, especially because it risks losing control of the northern German state of Bremen where it has ruled for more than seven decades in a vote also on May 26.

It is unlikely Merkel would try to form a new government with other parties if the SPD were to quit the coalition after the vote in Bremen next week. She would most likely leave the stage for Kramp-Karrenbauer, her preferred successor.

Bloomberg quoted one unidentified source as saying that Kramp-Karrenbauer had sent a message to Merkel urging her to resign and called a CDU party conference for June 2 in order to try to force her hand.

But sources in the CDU told Reuters that the two women had jointly selected the date for the CDU conference to discuss spending plans in light of weaker tax intakes as Europe's largest economy cools.

(Editing by Leslie Adler)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
(Reuters) - Missouri lawmakers passed a bill on Friday that prohibits women from seeking an abortion after the eighth week of pregnancy, days after Alabama enacted the most restrictive abortion law in the United States. The legislation allows for an abortion after the eighth week only in the case of medical emergencies

(Reuters) - Missouri lawmakers passed a bill on Friday that prohibits women from seeking an abortion after the eighth week of pregnancy, days after Alabama enacted the most restrictive abortion law in the United States.

The legislation allows for an abortion after the eighth week only in the case of medical emergencies. On Wednesday, Alabama banned abortions at any time, with the same exception.

Similar laws have been proposed in more than a dozen other states as Republican-controlled legislatures push to restrict the rights of women to terminate their pregnancies.

The state's Republican governor, Mike Parson, is expected to sign the bill into law. He has said he would make Missouri "one of the strongest pro-life states in the country."

Missouri's House of Representatives gave its final legislative approval in a 110-44 vote after protesters were removed from the public gallery. Missouri senators overwhelmingly approved the legislation on Thursday.

"Today, the Missouri House stood for the unborn," the speaker of the house, Elijah Haahr, said in a statement. "The bold legislation we sent to the Governor's desk is the strongest and most comprehensive pro-life bill in the country."

Opposing the bill, Dr. Leana Wen, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said it was a "terrifying time" for women in America.

"Planned Parenthood will not sit by and watch as politicians take our rights and freedoms to women's health care away," Wen said in a statement. "We will fight in Missouri, Georgia, Alabama, and everywhere else politicians interfere with medical care, because womens health care is health care and health care is a human right."

Renewed efforts to roll back Roe v. Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973, have been emboldened by two judicial appointments by President Donald Trump that have given conservatives a solid majority on the court.

At a time when U.S. rates of abortion have sharply declined, the appointments have put fresh energy into the political struggle between religious conservatives and others who those who believe foetuses should have comparable rights to those of babies after birth, and those who see such restrictions as an infringement on women's rights. The re-energized debate coincides with the run-up to the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Abortion-rights activists argue that rolling back 45 years of legal precedent to criminalize abortion would endanger women who seek dangerous illegal abortions.

HEALTH RISK?

U.S. abortion rights activists have vowed to go to court to block enforcement of the Alabama law, which is scheduled to take effect in six months.

The Missouri bill passed the Senate on Thursday in a party-line vote, with 24 Republicans supporting it and 10 Democrats opposed.

In common with the Alabama bill, it would outlaw abortion even in the case of rape or incest and make violations by doctors punishable by prison sentences.

The measure would not make women who seek out the procedure subject to criminal prosecution, although opponents of the statute said it was ambiguous about the criminal liability of a woman accused of inducing her own miscarriage.

The measure also would ban abortions altogether except for medical emergencies should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade.

As of May, lawmakers have introduced legislation to restrict abortions in at least 16 states this year. Governors in four have signed bills into law banning the procedure if an embryonic heartbeat can be detected, generally considered to be as early as six weeks.

Some Republicans pushing for abortion restrictions acknowledge they are deliberately doing so to instigate court challenges that will ultimately force the Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade.

The ruling held that the due process clause of the 14th Amendment provides a fundamental right to privacy that protects a woman's right to abortion.

It also allowed states to place restrictions on the procedure from the time a foetus could viably survive outside the womb. The opinion stated that viability is usually placed at about seven months, or 28 weeks, but may occur earlier.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Writing by Frank McGurty; Editing by Alistair Bell)

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By Mitra Taj PERU PRESIDENTIAL PLANE (Reuters) - Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra told Reuters on Friday that China could partner with Bolivia and Peru on a massive intercontinental railway project that Peru once dismissed as too costly when pitched by China nearly three years ago. In an interview on the presidential plane, Vizcarra said studies on the project had continued and that China might be a natural fit because it would be one of the biggest buyers of commodities the railway could deliver from Bolivia and other South American countries to a port on Peru's southern Pacific coast. 'Between the two of us (Peru and Bolivia) we need a third partner to help turn it into reality,' Vizcarra said

By Mitra Taj

PERU PRESIDENTIAL PLANE (Reuters) - Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra told Reuters on Friday that China could partner with Bolivia and Peru on a massive intercontinental railway project that Peru once dismissed as too costly when pitched by China nearly three years ago.

In an interview on the presidential plane, Vizcarra said studies on the project had continued and that China might be a natural fit because it would be one of the biggest buyers of commodities the railway could deliver from Bolivia and other South American countries to a port on Peru's southern Pacific coast.

"Between the two of us (Peru and Bolivia) we need a third partner to help turn it into reality," Vizcarra said. Asked if China might still be that partner, he said, "Yes, of course, because we need a partner that benefits from the project ... Is it the only one? No."

China previously estimated the railway project would cost some $60 billion.

Last month, Peru signed onto China's global Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, despite U.S. warnings to Latin America against tightening ties with Beijing.

China overtook the United States as Peru's largest trade partner years ago, thanks largely to its imports of copper and other minerals from the South American country.

But Peruvian copper production has been partly impacted by community resistance to large projects. Vizcarra said there was not yet enough support from surrounding communities for Southern Copper Corp's long-delayed $1.4 billion Tia Maria project to start construction.

The project, a 120,000-tonnes-per-year proposed copper mine derailed by deadly protests in 2011 and again in 2015, could face at least another year of delays if the government does not issue a construction license for it before its approval for an environmental permit expires in August.

(Reporting by Mitra Taj, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

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By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four protesters arrested on Thursday for occupying the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, D.C.

By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four protesters arrested on Thursday for occupying the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, D.C. appeared in federal court on Friday where they were charged with trespassing and interfering with the U.S. State Department's protective functions, the Justice Department said.

Kevin Bruce Zeese, 64, Margaret Ann Flowers, 57, Adrienne Pine, 49, and David Vernon Paul, 70, were all released on various conditions, and are due to appear in court again on June 12.

Their appearance in court came one day after U.S. law enforcement officers raided the Venezuelan Embassy to oust a small group protesting U.S. foreign policy toward Venezuela.

The raid helped to pave the way for the diplomatic compound to be handed to the U.S. envoy of opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Since mid-April, members of three activist groups have been occupying the embassy to oppose U.S. efforts to oust President Nicolas Maduro in favour of Guaido, the self-proclaimed interim president whom President Donald Trump also officially recognised as Venezuela's leader in January 2019.

The Justice Department said the protesters at the embassy involved three groups: an activist group called Code Pink, the Embassy Protection Collective, and a third group known as Popular Resistance.

A U.S. State Department spokeswoman said Thursday that the government of Guaido had asked for U.S. assistance in removing the protesters from the embassy.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Susan Thomas and James Dalgleish)

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The African National Congress will have to revisit its liberation ideals to regain the trust of the people of South Africa.

While elections are underway, awaiting the formation of the 17th Lok Sabha in India, the sixth elections since the end of the apartheid in South Africa were conducted on 8 May, 2019. The elections to the 400-member National Assembly and nine provincial legislatures (composed of 430 seats), saw the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC) retain its hold at the national level with a majority of 58 percent of the votes cast. The ANC also took the majority at all the provinces, except Western Cape, where the Democratic Alliance retained power. The vote gives the ANC and President Cyril Ramaphosa the much required mandate to rectify the course of the liberation party beleaguered by corruption and infighting, especially with allies of the disgraced former president, Jacob Zuma.

The results

Although the ANC secured 58 percent of the vote, the main Opposition parties, the Democratic Alliance (DA) managed to get 21 percent and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) took 11 percent of the votes cast. The balance 10 percent was divided among the 45 other parties that contested the elections. The decreasing majority for the ANC which witnessed an all-time high of 69.69 percent in the 2004 national elections has seen a downward slide since, with 66 percent in 2009 and 62 percent in 2014. The diminishing popularity of the liberation party, that dealt the final blow to apartheid in 1994, is consonant with the lost decade a scandalous period of elite political corruption and state capture during the presidency of Jacob Zuma.

The DA lost support as compared to its previous run at the hustings, due in small part to the shift of DAs conservative voters in favour of the Freedom Front Plus (FF+), a conservative Afrikaans party. This is indicative of the white anxiety over the issue of land appropriation without compensation and the shift to minority identity politics. The radical left-wing black party EFF which started as a break-away faction of the ANC Youth League in 2013 gained ground, doubling its share of the vote since the last national election in 2014. This shift in the political landscape of South Africa reflects a larger global phenomenon of the rise of populism, with the EFFs campaign promise to double social grants and a controversial call to expropriate land without compensation  a simplistic policy directive aimed at greater economic inclusion of the black African majority.

The election results, in the 25th year after the end of apartheid, suggest deepening and greater vibrancy of democracy in South Africa with the recession of the ANCs dominance. The diminishing power of the ANC reflects a pervasive despondency with the governments handling of the economy and widespread corruption within the ruling party.

Campaign issues

The moribund economy characterised by weak growth of less than 2 percent per annum over the past decade, with more than half the black-majority population of South Africa below the national poverty line, was the central issue for this years elections. The World Bank identified South Africa as one of the most unequal societies in the world with a high Gini co-efficient of .63 in 2018: the top one percent of South Africans own 70.9 percent of the nation's wealth. Unemployment rates soar at 27 percent nationally with more than 35 percent of the youth remaining without work. Despite a number of social protection programmes in terms of grants and support to the poor, the lack of progress against poverty is mired in deep-rooted corruption, patronage politics which only benefit people closely associated with the ANC, and graft and mismanagement of several state-owned enterprises.

A second major issue which was raised and hotly debated in the run-up to the 2019 elections in South Africa was land reform. Apartheid-era policies led to millions of the black majority dispossessed of their land by the white minority. The South African parliament in December 2018 had approved a report which defended a constitutional amendment that would allow expropriation of land without compensation. The main opposition DA and a few groups from civil society had denounced the move, stating that it was a direct threat to property rights and would also dissuade investors who are much needed to restart the economy. This move, however, is only one step in a long process to constitutionally carry out land reforms. The EFF are however "synonymous with land expropriation" stated the EFF leader, Julius Malema in February 2019, advocating state custodianship of all private land for redistribution among the poor black majority. The EFFs electoral gains have come in light of this ideological stance.

A third major issue raised by the political parties was in relation to crime and crime rates in the country. South Africas crime rate has risen every year since the last elections in 2014. As many as 20,300 murders were recorded in 2018 alone, 3000 more than in 2014. A large number of politically-motivated assassinations especially in the province of KwaZulu-Natal have also been reported. Further, anti-immigrant xenophobia, often fomented by the ANC and DA, has divided communities in various cities.

Disappointed electorate

In the wake of these germane issues, it is critical to note that of the 26.76 million registered voters, 10 million registered voters chose not to exercise their franchise. Another six million young South Africans born after the end of the apartheid, known as the born frees did not register to vote. In the past two decades the voter turnout has declined from 89 percent in 1999 to 73.5 percent in 2014 to the lowest of 65 percent in 2019. Contributing to the low turnout rate is a growing disenchantment among the youth with traditional politics. The 2015-16 student-led #FeesMustFall protest movement in principle disapproved of organised political parties. This disillusionment with the political system and South Africas political institutions gives much fodder for the ruling party and the Opposition parties to think about.

Post-election opportunities

President Cyril Ramaphosas efforts since he took over the party leadership in February 2018 have been largely to rebuild the ANCs tarnished image, bolster the functioning of state-owned enterprises, stabilise the economy and promote South Africa as a destination for global investment, while deprecating the position of ANC members aligned with the Zuma faction. He has appointed judicial commissions of inquiry into allegations of state capture (Zondo Commission), tax administration and governance in the South African Revenue Service (SARS Commission), governance and questionable investments by Africas largest asset management institution, Public Investment Corporation (PIC Commission) and the functioning and integrity of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA Commission). While this shows the resolve of the president to root out corruption and the "capture" of state resources in South Africa, much more needs to be done in terms of developing socio-economic policy and its implementation to advance the flagging economy and, most importantly, improve the welfare of the poorest in South Africa, especially the youth.

In continuing his programme of reforming the ANC, President Ramaphosa will have to surmount all forms of opposition from the ANC veterans who are allies of Jacob Zuma. While the onus of rebuilding institutions will lie on him and his new cabinet, their immediate responsibility will be to restore the faith of all South African citizens in a political system which is racially and economically inclusive. The 2019 mandate gives the ANC an opportunity to engage with its various shortcomings, including rooting out corruption, holding its members to account and the lack of open democracy within its own ranks. Further, it will have to revisit its liberation ideals to regain the publics trust and respond to the challenges of unemployment, inequality and poverty. Otherwise, the promise of the Rainbow Nation will remain unfulfilled.

Vivek is a PhD research scholar at the department of political science, University of Hyderabad.
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday that two of his envoys went to Norway this week to begin 'exploration' into a dialogue with the opposition to 'build a peaceful agenda.' The South American country was plunged into a deep power struggle in January when opposition leader Juan Guaido invoked the country's constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing Maduro's 2018 re-election was illegitimate. (Reporting by Deisy Buitrago and Luc Cohen; Editing by Sandra Maler)

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday that two of his envoys went to Norway this week to begin "exploration" into a dialogue with the opposition to "build a peaceful agenda."

The South American country was plunged into a deep power struggle in January when opposition leader Juan Guaido invoked the country's constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing Maduro's 2018 re-election was illegitimate.

(Reporting by Deisy Buitrago and Luc Cohen; Editing by Sandra Maler)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
worth paying multiplex prices for

worth a look, but wait for DVD, unless your favorite actor is in it

give it a miss

my reaction under consideration

my reaction under gag order for now

not yet seen by me
"The mayor talks about protecting public order, which means he thinks the presence of a Muslim woman on a beach will cause trouble," she said. "Yet again it's ordinary Muslims who pay for the actions of the terrorists even though they have nothing to do with it. It's exactly what Daesh [Islamic State] wants."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 18)  The government has sanctioned at least nine resorts and hotels in El Nido, Palawan as part of efforts to rehabilitate the tourist destination.

The regional Environment Management Bureau issued cease and desist orders against the establishments for discharging wastewater without the proper permits and below government standards. The businesses were directed to "cease and desist from undertaking any activity and/or operating its machines and equipment generating pollution," based on copies of the orders dated May 10 and released Saturday.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) added that the businesses discharged wastewater "without any consideration of its impact and effect to the receiving body of water," in violation of environmental laws.

It identified the following respondents:

El Nido Sea Shell Hotel

Doublegem Beach Resort and Hotel

Buko Beach Resort

Panorama Resort (Mangonana, Inc.)

Four Seasons Seaview Hotel

Stunning Republic Beach Resort

SAVA Beach Bar/SAVA Nest Egg, Inc.

El Nido Beach Hotel

The Nest El Nido Resort and Spa, Inc.

The government is cracking down on establishments found violating environmental and easement laws in El Nido, the next tourist spot to be rehabilitated after Boracay Island. Authorities said the cleanup does not need El Nido's closure, unlike the six-month shutdown on Boracay until October 2018.
To confirm the wreck's identity, REMUS descended to just 30 feet above the wreck where it was able to capture photos of a key distinguishing feature of the San Jose-its cannons. (REMUS photo)
Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO), an intermediate gold producer with operations spanning three continents, recently released its Q1 earnings. Contrary to analysts' expectations, Eldorado Gold reported revenue of $80 million -- well below the consensus estimate of $112.4 million. There's much more to a company's quarterly performance than one number, though, so let's grab our shovels and mine the report for some of the more interesting nuggets.

1. A tale of met and missed expectations

Consistent with management's expectations, Eldorado reported gold production of 82,977 ounces in Q1 2019. Although investors may be disheartened by the fact that this represents a 7.7% year-over-year decline from the 89,374 gold ounces the company produced during the same period last year, they may be relieved to learn that Eldorado reported 19,678 ounces of pre-commercial production at Lamaque in Q1, and achieved commercial production at the end of the quarter.

Although Eldorado's gold production in Q1 provided management with no surprises, the amount of yellow stuff sold in the quarter, 43,074 ounces, came up short of expectations. The unexpectedly low volume of gold sold last quarter -- an eye-raising 50.3% lower than Q1 2018 -- resulted from delays of concentrate shipments from Efemcukuru, one of the company's assets located in Turkey. This, in addition to an average price of gold that was 5% lower year-over-year, significantly impacted the company's top line. Eldorado reported revenue of $80 million in Q1 2019, a 39% drop from the $131.9 million the company reported in Q1 2018.

2. The heavy cost of inventory build up

Much to the chagrin of investors, Eldorado's decrease in revenue wasn't the only lackluster spot in the company's earnings report. The company reported all-in sustaining costs (AISC) per gold ounce of $1,132. Besides representing a 29% increase over the AISC per gold ounce of $878 which the company reported during the same period last year, the company's Q1 AISC exceeds management's forecasted 2019 AISC per gold ounce range of $900 to $1,000. Eldorado reported year-over-year declines in AISC at the Kisladag and Olympias mines, but AISC at Efemcukuru jumped from $728 per gold ounce in Q1 2018 to $1,394 per gold ounce in Q1 2019. The cause? You guessed it: the unexpectedly low gold sales volume.

While the consequences of the lower sales volume at Efemcukuru are unmistakable, management is confident that some of the negative effects are temporary, stating in the earnings report that "This increase in AISC during Q1 2019 is expected to be remedied over the next two quarters as the concentrate inventory build up is sold."

3. The road to greater cash flow winds through the Great White North

While bears may emphasize Eldorado's challenges at Efemcukuru last quarter, bulls will surely stress the company's success at its lone Canadian asset: Lamaque. Located in Quebec, Lamaque (along with Kisladag in Turkey) was recognized by management on the company's recent conference call as having the potential to "generate free cash flow over the next several quarters, giving us the financial flexibility to pay down debt and reinvest in our business." With 20,000 gold ounces in pre-production under its belt after the first quarter, Lamaque remains on track to achieve 2019 gold production guidance of 100,000 ounces to 110,000 ounces.

Looking to increase the value of the asset, Eldorado has several initiatives in place to develop operations at Lamaque -- initiatives that advanced nicely in the first quarter. For example, underground development proceeded as expected in Q1, while the company also made progress in preparing for the second phase of tailings construction. Moreover, Eldorado completed more than 8,000 meters of drilling focused on resource expansion in the lower Triangle Deposit during the first quarter.

The lustrous takeaway

While the first quarter of 2019 may not represent the glittering start to 2019 investors were looking for, the challenges at Efemcukuru don't seem to be insurmountable, and management seems optimistic that it will succeed in achieving both its mineral production and cost guidance. Of course, there's plenty of time remaining in 2019 for other challenges to emerge, so investors should take management's auspicious outlook with a grain of salt. Taking the good with the bad, moreover, investors shouldn't shy away from celebrating the company's successful development of Lamaque. But with commercial production under way at the mine located in Quebec, investors should look for confirmation in future earnings reports that the mine is generating the strong cash flow management believes it is capable of.
U.S. oil giant Chevron inked a deal to buy Anadarko Petroleum in April. Although market watchers liked the proposed acquisition, Occidental Petroleum stepped in to spoil the agreement, offering a better one (backed by none other than Warren Buffett). Chevron eventually gave up on the deal, but there's a takeaway that most investors probably didn't notice among all the news flow: ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) wasn't even interested in playing.

Turning things around

If you take a surface look at Exxon's business today, the fact that it isn't looking to follow Chevron down the big acquisition path might seem both surprising and obvious. Exxon's production has been falling since 2015, dropping from roughly 4.1 million barrels of oil per day that year to an average of just 3.83 million barrels per day in 2018. That's a roughly 6% drop at a time when many of the company's peers were increasing production.

So from one perspective, Exxon should be looking for ways to get more oil out of the ground -- and what better way to do that quickly than a big acquisition? From another angle, however, Exxon needs to be working internally to get things going in the right direction again.

Which one is right? The latter, because Exxon is well aware of its production issues and has been doing something about the problem. In fact, production appears to have hit an inflection point in the second half of 2018, and is starting to push higher again.

Production was strong again in the first quarter of 2019. What's exciting is that the production reversal is backed by the company's spending in the onshore U.S. market. That's just one of several growth projects that the oil giant has in the works. And, notably, it continues to have a positive outlook for this area. In fact, Exxon believes it can double its production in the Permian Basin even after it completes its current drilling program in that region.

That helps explain why Senior Vice President Jack Williams said during the company's first-quarter conference call:

I would be surprised if over time we did not pick up some more Permian acreage, but I don't know whether that's going to be small bolt-on acquisitions that we pick up over time, I don't know what the timing when it's going to happen or whether it's something more significant, but we don't need to.

A lot more work ahead

The last five words of that quote are the key ones to focus on. Exxon simply doesn't need to do a big deal or get into the middle of a takeover battle. It has plenty of drilling ahead in the onshore U.S. space with the assets it currently owns (which it bolstered in 2017 when it bought $5.6 billion worth of Permian acreage from the Bass family). But that's not the whole story, because Exxon also has a lot of other things in the pipeline too.

For example, it's working to exploit opportunities in the offshore space and in natural gas. It has notable projects in Guyana, Brazil, and Mozambique, among other regions. And things have been going very well across the board for Exxon so far. For example, between 2018 and 2019 the company increased its expected output from the Permian Basin by two thirds... and it expects to hit the updated goal in 2024, a year earlier than the old target.

In Guyana, Exxon increased its expected production by roughly 70% after strong exploration success in 2018. The increased target will still take until 2025 to reach, but it's hard to complain about the upsized expectations. In Brazil, the oil giant increased the acreage it has to work by roughly 60%, which sets it up for a very bright future. It's one of the largest players in the region, with peers like Shell and BP also looking to expand in this key offshore market.

Key Exxon Goals by 2025 with the Current Asset Portfolio Earnings grow 40% with oil at $40 per Barrel Cash flow grows 55% with oil at $40 per Barrel Return on Capital Employed doubles with oil at $60 per Barrel

Meanwhile, Exxon is also working to expand its downstream (refining and chemicals) operations too. Although these won't increase oil equivalent production, they should add to the company's top and bottom lines over time.

Exxon has plenty to do internally as it looks to improve results in the future, which is why it doesn't need to start looking at acquisitions today just because some of its energy industry peers are doing so. In fact, the oil giant believes it has the "best portfolio of opportunities" since Exxon and Mobil merged.

Don't count Exxon out

That said, Exxon might end up doing some deals. But it's important to note that Exxon doesn't need to make any deals to have a bright future. That gets to a key takeaway from the company's fourth-quarter 2018 conference call. If Exxon does do any buying and selling, it will likely be to upgrade its asset base so it can further improve the already impressive list of opportunities it has lined up.
Records from a bail hearing two hours after his arrest show Mitchell has a lifelong disability and was unable to work. Court records show he had said he suffered from bipolar disorder. He had previously faced another petty larceny charge. A magistrate ordered him held without bond at his initial appearance. Later that day, bail was set at $3,000.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), seeking to give its F-35 a leg up against a rival fighter offered by Boeing (NYSE:BA), is dramatically reducing the F-35 sticker price for the next batch of jets it will sell to the Pentagon.

The aerospace company is offering the base model of the fifth-generation F-35 for $80 million apiece in negotiations with the Pentagon, according to a report from DefenseOne. That's an 11% reduction from the $90 million price last September when the last tranche of the fighters was ordered.

The F-35 has been marred with lengthy development delays and cost overruns, but the plane is now operational and is steadily becoming a key part of the U.S. arsenal. The Pentagon is expected to finalize its next order for the fighter this summer. Analysts have been expecting each batch to come in cheaper than the last, but the amount of this latest reduction is likely to take some by surprise.

New for the price of old

Lockheed Martin has been under constant pressure to bring down the cost of the F-35, but the urgency has increased since the Pentagon reversed course and decided to buy new Boeing F-15s for the first time in two decades. The modernized F-15EX is significantly upgraded compared to the original 1960s-era plane, with a sophisticated electronics suite, but it's still last-generation technology that up until recently was of little interest to military procurement officials.

The decision to buy F-15s, according to the Pentagon's acquisition summary, "reflects the Department's strategy to layer capability to address different threat situations." The government is buying F-35s "to address advance technology aircraft being deployed by Russia and China," the report says. But to defeat lower-technology platforms, it wants to use older designs "which nominally have lower operating costs when compared to 5th generation combat jets" such as the F-35.

Cost is the key. The F-15 decision came down to the Pentagon wanting to squeeze as much military might as possible from limited funding, and at a time when the military has a long wish list for new equipment.

At $80 million per unit, the F-35 is within range of an F-15. Lockheed's sales pitch to the government is that there's no logical reason to buy last-generation technology when you can get cutting edge for about the same price.

More than just the sticker price

While Lockheed Martin has made steady progress bringing down the sticker price, other costs remain in Boeing's favor. The Pentagon is hoping to get the operating cost of an F-35 down to $25,000 per hour by fiscal 2025, down from about $44,000 per hour in fiscal 2018, but defense officials are not sure that target is obtainable.

Robert B. Daigle, director of the Pentagon's Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office, during a House Armed Services subcommittee meeting in early May said the $25,000 number is "a target and it's not our projection for where we're actually going to be."

The F-15, by comparison, is significantly more affordable to operate with an estimated cost of less than $30,000 per hour. Daigle said that the Pentagon estimates the overall cost of ownership of an F-35 over a 10-year period is $47 million more per aircraft than that of an F-15 operated a similar amount of time.

"These 4th generation fighters are the most cost-effective way to meet lower-end mission demands, which ensures our 5th generation fighters are available for high-end fights," Daigle said in his prepared testimony.

Aircraft Acquisition Cost per Aircraft 10-Year Operating Cost per Aircraft 10-Year Cost of Ownership F-35A $100 million $110 million $210 million F-15EX $90 million $73 million $163 million

Lockheed Martin for its part is considerably more optimistic that it can hit the $25,000 target, noting that the company has reduced its portion of the cost per flying hour by 15% since 2015. The hope is that as jet production ramps up, so too will production of the widgets and components that go into the jet, reducing the overall cost of spare parts. Maintenance costs should also decrease as the Pentagon gains more experience working on the F-35.

Lockheed is the long-term winner

Lockheed Martin's cost-cutting efforts are unlikely to halt the purchase of F-15s, but they are an important step in the right direction for the company regardless. Lockheed appears to be on track to hit its long-standing goal of lowering the flyaway cost on a base model F-35 to $80 million by 2020, which should help it secure a steady stream of orders in both the U.S. and from allies and keep the F-35 on target to be a trillion-dollar warplane for the company and its key suppliers.

Lockheed Martin is a best buy among defense contractors because of the diversity of its offerings, but even with that broad portfolio, the F-35 remains a critical factor in the company's long-term success. No matter what the Air Force decides to do with the F-15, it seems certain that the Pentagon is going to buy plenty of F-35s well into the foreseeable future.

No matter how this battle goes, Lockheed Martin is winning the war.
Real estate investment trust (REIT) Realty Income (NYSE:O) is one of the market's most beloved income stocks. There are good reasons for that, of course, but with a giant portfolio, the net lease REIT will increasingly find it hard to live up to the high expectations investors have set. That's likely one of the key reasons it just did something with its portfolio that it has never done before. Here's what the change is and what it means for Realty Income and the net lease industry as a whole.

A lot to like

Realty Income owns properties, but its tenants pay most of the operating expenses on the assets they occupy (like maintenance and taxes). This is what's known as a net lease property, and it's a fairly low-risk business that's more like a financing transaction than anything else. Essentially, a company looking to free up capital locked in a property sells it and then instantly rents it back under a long-term lease. It still gets to use the property and gets the cash it wants to put to use elsewhere. Realty Income and its peers make the spread between their cost of capital and the rent the property generates.

Realty Income has historically been very selective about the deals it inks. So the properties it owns tend to be very desirable, which helps explain the impressive 98.2% occupancy level it achieved in the first quarter, and why it was able to increase the rent on the properties it released in the quarter, resulting in "recapturing" 104% of the previous rents on those assets.

The REIT's strong ongoing performance, meanwhile, has led to an incredible string of 86 consecutive quarterly dividend increases. That's more than 20 years of annual hikes. And, adding to the dividend allure here, the dividend is paid monthly, so it's like getting a regular paycheck. Historically strong performance and a dividend history that few companies can match have led to investors bidding the shares up (the yield is a relatively low 3.8% or so) in anticipation of continued strong performance.

A tough act to follow

That could be a problem when you consider that Realty Income has a portfolio of more than 5,800 properties. It simply takes more to move the needle as a portfolio expands in size. And it's not like Realty Income has the market to itself -- it faces competent REIT peers and private investors that are looking to own the same net lease assets. That helps explain why Realty Income just did something it has never done before: It bought a portfolio of grocery stores located in England.

The deal isn't exactly huge, involving just 12 properties. The new assets will account for only around 2.2% of the rent roll. But the move into Europe is huge because it opens up a new continent of investment potential for Realty Income. The REIT estimates that the United Kingdom alone is a $1 billion market opportunity. Clearly, Realty Income won't get all those deals, but at least it will now have the chance to compete.

Overall, Realty Income shareholders should be pleased. But Realty Income's overseas move isn't exactly unique: Competitor W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) has been investing in Europe for years, with the region making up roughly a third of its portfolio. Adding a new, sizable competitor isn't great news for W.P. Carey, but it's not all bad, either.

For a long time, investors have viewed Carey's foreign exposure cautiously, seeing it as more of a negative than a positive. It's one of the reasons why Carey has historically traded at a discount to domestically focused peers like Realty Income despite very strong performance. To be fair, Carey is also more diversified by sector, as well. But even there Realty Income has been branching out beyond its historical focus on retail properties. Today, Realty Income generates 82% of rent from retail, 11% from industrial, 4% from office, and 2% from vineyards. It's looking more and more like W.P. Carey because the size of its portfolio increasingly means it needs to look beyond retail for investment opportunities. And now it's also looking beyond its core North American market.

The changing shape of Realty Income's portfolio is likely to increase investor acceptance of diversification in a net lease REIT. And, with Realty Income moving to Europe, expect domestic competitors to strongly consider following along. That's a good thing for W.P. Carey even if it means that it will likely face new competition in Europe. Essentially, it will allow investors to revisit their thesis about Carey's risk profile and, perhaps, narrow the valuation gap between it and industry leaders like Realty Income.

Investors looking to Realty Income for a steadily rising income stream, meanwhile, have another reason to expect that it will live up to the task. There are clearly risks involved in investing abroad, especially when a company has little experience in a region. However, the long-term potential here is well worth any short-term growing pains as Realty Income looks for new avenues of growth.

Broad implications

Realty Income's move into Europe isn't big on an absolute level. But it's a huge deal when you think about the future. It opens a new avenue for growth at Realty, it validates W.P. Carey's business model, and it could lead to more U.S.-centric net lease REITs seeking out foreign investments. In other words, investors across the REIT industry should be pleased with Realty Income's U.K. investment because it could lead to new opportunities not just for Realty Income but for other REITs as well.
"Then, I saw this shift around the country with other states. It's crept into New England and we see it legal right next door," he said. "Now it's not a matter of if, but when, for legalization in this state.  We should take the initiative to get this done right."
"Contrary to Barr's portrayal, Mueller's report reveals that President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment," the congressman tweeted. He said the report "identifies multiple examples of conduct satisfying all the elements of obstruction of justice, and undoubtedly any person who is not the president of the United States would be indicted based on such evidence."
"We hope that the new mayor makes good on her promises to transform our public schools," said Jesse Sharkey after winning re-election with 66% of the vote. "If she does, she will find us to be a steadfast ally. If she does not, she will find us to be an implacable foe."
Free

centerpiece

Santa Fe gathers to grieve on eve of shooting anniversary

kelseywalling / KELSEY WALLING/The Daily News On Friday, May 17, 2019, Chris Stone sprinkles ashes around a tree that is dedicated to his son, Chris Stone, and the other nine victims of the May 18, 2018 mass shooting at Santa Fe High School. It has been a year since ten lives were lost in the tragic shooting. kelseywalling / KELSEY WALLING/The Daily News A couple passes by a tree on Friday, May 17, 2019, that was dedicated to the victims and survivors of the May 18, 2018 mass shooting at Santa Fe High School. The district plans to add more trees, trails and sitting areas, so students can spend time around the memorial if they want. kelseywalling / KELSEY WALLING/The Daily News Santa Fe students plant a tree on Friday, May 17, 2019 during a dedication to the victims and survivors of the May 18, 2018 mass shooting at the high school. kelseywalling / KELSEY WALLING/The Daily News Santa Fe High School Principal Rachel Blundell hugs Jayviance Gillard after Gillard speaks at a tree dedication at Santa Fe High School on Friday, May 17, 2019. Gillard was a survivor from the art room, where most of the violence took place, during the May 18, 2018 mass shooting at the high school. kelseywalling / KELSEY WALLING/The Daily News Houston television stations interview Annabelle O'Day, left, and Grace Johnson after a tree dedication at Santa Fe High School on Friday, May 17, 2019. O'Day and Johnson were seniors during the May 18, 2018 mass shooting at the high school and have since started the nonprofit Hearts United for Kindness, which is dedicated to raising awareness for mental health.

SANTA FE

On the eve of a grim anniversary, hundreds of Santa Fe residents did what theyve done so many times over the past year  find solace in togetherness.

On Friday afternoon, a group of about 200 people gathered outside Santa Fe High School to commemorate a shooting that left 10 people dead and another 13 injured on May 18, 2018.

The 30-minute event focused largely on a word that has taken root in the city since the fateful day  resiliency.

A strong sense of community has always been a hallmark of Santa Fe, and is now, more than ever, said J.R. Rusty Norman, the president of the Santa Fe Independent School Board of Trustees.

Because the official anniversary of the event falls on a Saturday, the school district held its remembrance events Friday. Attending classes was optional, and students were allowed to leave early or to attend a talk by a motivational speaker.

The district also hosted community service projects and counseling sessions for students who attended school on Friday.

As part of the afternoon ceremony, the school dedicated a live oak sapling in honor of the victims of the shooting.

The school district plans to eventually plant 23 trees and install walking trails in the space on the west side of the campus, officials said.

These trees not only represent our fallen, but all of us who are here today, said Jayviance Gillard, a high school junior who was inside the art room where the shooting happened, and is now a member of the schools student council. Were like these trees, big and small. We can withstand the storm and become stronger each and every day.

During the ceremony, a dozen high school students ceremonially placed the last shovelful of dirt around the sapling. Afterward, family members took their own moments at the spot.

One man appeared to pour some ashes on the tree.

During the event, organizers acknowledged that some victims and families were seeking privacy during the remembrance events. A speaker read the name of some of the killed and injured, and of students who were in the art classroom where the shooting took place.

Some names were omitted. Some of the families, preferred to be unnamed, officials said.

Flo Rice, a substitute teacher who was shot on May 18 and survived, and Scot Rice, her husband, collected some of the yellow roses that were passed out during the ceremony, intending to deliver them to some of the victims that did not attend the ceremony.

The Rices, who have becoming prominent victim advocates in the year since the shooting, said they did not plan to attend other remembrance events in coming days.

Youd think that would be just another day, like the day before, Scot Rice said. But then, when all the attention comes in, and you start feeling the pressure, then stuff like this, the emotion starts coming back.

If You Go Resiliency Day The Santa Fe Resiliency Center will host a day of programming at the Galveston County Fairgrounds on Saturday. The programs begin at 2 p.m. in Ed Pickett Hall. Where there will be craft projects, therapy dogs and other activities dedicated to therapy or to honoring shooting victims. At 7 p.m., the resiliency center will hold a candlelight vigil. There will be counselors on hand throughout the day to provide support for attendees. The center asked that people bring a canned food item to the event in lieu of other momentos. WHERE: Galveston County Fairgrounds, 10 Jack Brooks Road, Hitchcock WHEN: 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday
Among the evidence he testified about was an October 2016 email he wrote to Lundberg laying out his worries about their crumbling relationship. At the time, Kennedy was in Greece awaiting her supposed arrival for a romantic getaway to the island of Santorini. Instead she brought her family and never even came to visit him at his hotel, he said.
Thanks to the Fire Department

Thanks to the three young fellers from the Corvallis Fire Department who helped me change my tire on March 3.

It really was thoughtful to help an old duffer. Much appreciated.

Ed Aulerich

Corvallis

Thanks for help with dodgeball event

A great big thank-you goes out to the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund and all the teams that came out in January for our dodgeball fundraising event to support our Playground for Kids project at the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis.

Our elementary members are excitedly awaiting the construction of playground equipment and outdoor seating areas later this spring.

We would also like to thank Paul Thorpe, Layli Baghdadi and Benny Beaver from Oregon State University for visiting our Club All-Stars Elementary Leadership group. Benny and his handler, Layli, came by the club for an unforgettable visit and lesson in performing as a mascot.

Layli spoke about the path to becoming a collegiate mascot and some of the rules, techniques and strategies for getting the crowd excited while Benny showed us all how to have fun and get pumped. Paul Thorpe was instrumental in making this magical day happen. Thank you, OSU, and Benny, the best mascot around!

Helen Higgins

Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis

Foundation trustees appreciate support

The Corvallis Public Schools Foundation would like to thank the individuals and businesses who helped make the recent Hands Across Corvallis benefit breakfast a great success.

This event, held Jan. 31 at Corvallis High School, garnered support for the mission of the Corvallis Public Schools Foundation to support local schools and inspire learning for a lifetime.

Many 509J students helped make the event memorable, especially Andrew McGhee and Elsa Moreno Rangel, seniors at Crescent Valley High School, who shared their enthusiasm for career and technical education classes.

Thanks also to Avery Hsieh, Alicia Cheng, Lucy Bloomer and Adrian Hsieh of Corvallis High School for their outstanding string quartet performance; to the Corvallis High School Leadership students for assisting guests; and to Linus Pauling Middle School art students and their teacher, Claudia Hall, for the creative centerpieces.

Our sponsors, without whom the event would not have been possible, included title sponsor Barker-Uerlings Insurance; grand sponsors Benton County Schools Credit Union, Corvallis Kids Pediatric Dentistry, Corvallis Radiology, Jacobs Engineering, North Point Dental, Ollerenshaw Wealth Management, Oregon State Credit Union, and Subaru of Corvallis; honor sponsors Citizens Bank, Devco Engineering, Gerding Cos., Les Schwab, Pacific Power, Samaritan Health Services, The Barbers, and Wilson Motors; and in-kind sponsors Special Occasions and Horsepower Productions.

We commend all of these businesses for their support for our schools.

To the 350 guests who helped us exceed our fundraising goals, we thank you for your generosity and enthusiasm.

Mike Sheets

Corvallis Public Schools Foundation

To send Good Words

Items for the Good Words column are published to recognize good deeds and charitable events. No promotions or advertising, please. Include the senders name, address and a daytime telephone number for verification or in case of questions.

Good Words items generally should be about 150 words long or may be edited to that length. We prefer that they be sent electronically to opinion@gtconnect.com but they also can be mailed to the Gazette-Times, Attn: GOOD WORDS, P.O. Box 368 Corvallis, OR 97339-0368.

The deadline for Good Words is Friday morning, and they are published Saturday on a space-available basis, generally in the order in which they are received.

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Communion celebrated: Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, 2650 NW Highland Drive in Corvallis, will share God's Word and Holy Communion at 9 a.m. Sunday.

During the service, Pastor Eric Bohlmann will focus on the radical welcome of God. Fellowship and refreshments will follow the service. The multigenerational Sunday school will start at 10:30, and continues a verse-by-verse study of the Gospel of Luke. Information: 541-753-2816 or www.svlc-corvallis.org.

Taoist meditation group: The group will meet at 9 a.m. Sunday at the First Alternative Natural Foods Co-op north store, 2855 NW Grant Ave. in Corvallis.

The event features Taoist Quiet Sitting meditation, also known as Preserving the Light of the One. Information: docneedlestcm@gmail.com.

Christian Science discussed: The 9:30 a.m. service on Sunday at First United Methodist Church, 1165 NW Monroe Ave. in Corvallis, will feature information on the Christian Science faith.

Roberta Sperling, who occasionally writes for the "Interfaith Voices" column in the Gazette-Times, will share the understanding of Jesus Christ in the life of a Christian Scientist. She also will take questions during the Pastor's Forum after worship.

Baha'i devotions and discussion: The Bab: The Gate" is set for 9:45 a.m. Sunday at 5006 SW Hollyhock Circle, Corvallis.

From religious history, we learn that at the beginning of each revelation of the Word of God, two figures emerge. Sometimes it is one who announces the Messenger of God, as in the case of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. Sometimes one bears witness to the Prophet, as in the case of Muhammad and Imam Ali (to the Shi'ah Muslims). In the Baha'i Faith, the forerunner is known as The Gate (The Bab). For Baha'is, the Bab is both the Bearer of Gods Word and the Forerunner of the next representative of God on earth, Baha'u'llah.

Come hear the story of the Bab and the purpose of this unprecedented figure of modern religious history.

Centering Prayer: A Christian Centering Prayer group will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Marys Catholic Church, 706 SW Ellsworth St. in Albany.

Centering Prayer is a receptive practice of silent prayer in which Gods presence can be experienced within. This nonverbal method of prayer is not meant to replace other types of prayer but rather adds depth of meaning as practitioners slowly learn to rest in God.

Those attending are asked to enter by the side door on Ninth Street. Information: livinggreen@comcast.net.

Taize: A contemplative ecumenical Taize worship service is set for 7 p.m. June 2 at the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan, 333 NW 35th St. in Corvallis.

The event features singing and prayers. Information: 541-753-7622.

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The bill comes as immigration continues to be at the center of a polarizing national debate. President Donald Trump for years has rallied for the construction of a wall along the southern border with Mexico. In recent days, Trump has taken a different approach to immigration by calling for a merit system that would give preference to people considered to be high-skilled workers.
Georgia  Homeland of Wine  The project that made the Japanese fall in love with Georgian wine and its technology - GeorgianJournal
Time to make Adjaruli khacahpuri  A delicious bread boat with egg and cheese - GeorgianJournal
The visitation for the 19-year-old woman will be held from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 23 and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. May 24 at the Mount Auburn Funeral Home at 4101 S. Oak Park Ave. in Stickney, according to the funeral home's website.
BSNL ropes in Google to strengthen Wi-Fi foothold in India News oi-Priyanka Dua BSNL said that it is also taking steps to increase the rural WiFi footprint promoting the government initiative of 'Digital India'

State-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has joined hands with internet major Google to expand its WiFi Footprint in the country.

The telco said that initiative will help the customers to use BSNL high-speed internet services on WiFi.

"We have been partnering with various technology companies upgrading our platforms and increasing our customer reach in this era of the ever increasing demand of high-speed internet," BSNL Director (CFA) BSNL Board Vivek Banzal said.

The telco said that it is also taking steps to increase the rural WiFi footprint promoting the government initiative of 'Digital India'.

Google had joined hands with Railtel to offer to high-speed Wi-Fi at train stations.

According to report by research firm Analysys Mason despite fast increases in a number of people connected (316 million at the end of 2017, compared to 200 million the previous year), mobile broadband penetration in India stood at only 31 percent at the end of 2017, still significantly behind many of India's peers.

The report found that around 100 million people would be willing to spend an additional $2 to 3 billion per year on handsets and cellular mobile broadband services, as a result of experiencing fast broadband on public Wi-Fi. In addition to driving productivity improvements from high-speed Wi-Fi for the overall economy, public Wi-Fi can also translate into tangible benefits to GDP, by around $20 billion between 2017-19 and at least $10 billion per annum thereafter.

The report further highlights that the Investment in public Wi-Fi can further unlock an opportunity for Mobile operators to offload excess data traffic from cellular networks, and deploy advanced technologies such as Hotspot 2.0 for ensuring interoperable roaming between cellular and Wi-Fi.

Highlights

State-run telecom operator BSNL has joined hands with internet major Google to expand its WiFi Footprint in the country.

The telco said that initiative will help the customers to use BSNL high-speed internet services on WiFi.

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Vivo patent shows smartphones with reverse notch design News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu If this design trend comes to reality, we can expect other smartphone manufacturers to follow the same.

These days, smartphone makers are coming up with several new solutions that do away with the bezels around the display for good. This trend has resulted in several smartphones with a high screen-to-body ratio and full-screen design wherein there will be minimal bezels and no notch or top bezel.

Vivo is known for its innovations in the smartphone arena. The company pioneered features such as in-display fingerprint sensor, pop-up selfie camera and other innovations in the affordable market segment. Now, it looks like this brand is testing new solutions, claims a leaked patent filing.

Vivo patent shows new designs

The Chinese tech giant has patented two brand new smartphone designs filed in mid-2018 at World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and this was made public a few days back. Going by the same revealed by LetsGoDigital, the patent hints that the notch trend might make a comeback but in a different form.

The images revealed by the patent listing shows the world's first smartphone designs featuring reverse notches. Well, these phones smartphones appear to have notches that do not interrupt the display but protrude out of the device's perimeter. One of it shows a sort of a half-moon protruding from the top of the device with two cameras and an earpiece between the cameras.

The second design shows two separate waterdrop-like notches with a front camera included in each one of them. But the notches protrude from the top edge of the smartphone leaving an all-screen front. The overall design in both the cases suggest these will be affordable devices in the entry-level and mid-range segments.

Apart from the reverse notches, these Vivo smartphones appear to have thicker bezels, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a single grille for a mono speaker and a cutout for single or dual cameras at the rear with LED flash.

When it comes to patent designs, we cannot be sure if all the designs will come to reality. So, we need to wait to see if the company will launch smartphones with such a design. But if it turns out to be true, we can expect other brands to also come up with similar reverse notch offerings.

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Xiaomi Mi 9 becomes even more affordable with a recent price cut News oi-Vivek Xiaomi Mi 9 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC

Do you remember the Xiaomi Mi 9, the flagship Xiaomi smartphone, that also the first smartphone from the company with a triple rear-camera setup? That same smartphone has received a price cut for the first time, and now available for as low as 2949 Yuan or Rs 30,000, which was launched for 2999 Yuan.

One of the best affordable-flagship smartphone

Without a doubt, the Xiaomi Mi 9 is still one of the most affordable smartphones in the world, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC, the latest flagship SoC from Qualcomm with Adreno 640 GPU. Unfortunately, the device is not available in India, and the company might not have a plan to launch the device India as well.

This price cut seems like an excellent strategy, as smartphone makers like OnePlus, Asus, and Lenovo have also launched flagship smartphones powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC.

Xiaomi Mi 9 specifications

The Xiaomi Mi 9 comes with a 6.39-inch OLED display with FHD+ resolution, protected by 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass. As stated before, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC powers the smartphone with at least 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage on the base variant. The smartphone has dual nano-SIM card slots with support for 4G LTE and VoLTE on both the slots.

The smartphone has a triple rear-camera setup with a 48 MP primary Sony sensor, 16 MP super wide angle lens, and a 12 MP telephoto lens, At the front, the device offers a 20 MP selfie camera with support for face unlock. The smartphone also has an in-display fingerprint sensor, which makes it the second Xiaomi smartphone to offer the same, first being the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition.

A 3300 mAh Li-ion battery powers the smartphone with fast charging support via USB type C port with support for Qualcomm's fast wireless charging, and is one of the first smartphones to do so as well.

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An asteroid just skimmed Earth hurtling at speed of 21,500mph News oi-Vishal Kawadkar The space rock came within 71,807km of our planet.

A space rock hurtling at high speed of 21,500mph just skimmed Earth at a fraction of the distance between our planet and the Moon, revealed NASA's asteroid trackers. The asteroid known as the Asteroid 2019 JH7, shot past our planet on May 16.

According to the space agency, the asteroid shot extremely close to the Earth. The flyby happened just two days after NASA observed the asteroid heading towards our planet. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, said the asteroid's trajectory falls under the "Earth Close Approach" category.

At it's closest, Asteroid JH7 approached the Earth from 0.19 times the distance to the Moon. The space rock came within 44,618 miles (71,807km) our planet's range. Asteroid JH7 in a Near-Earth-Object (NEO), which means it's orbiting the Sun from a maximum distance of 1.3 astronomical units or 120.8 million miles.

NASA said: "As they orbit the Sun, Near-Earth Objects can occasionally approach close to Earth. Note that a 'close' passage astronomically can be very far away in human terms: millions or even tens of millions of kilometers."

Besides, NASA chief administrator Jim Bridenstine has issued a warning - saying the Earth is "about to face its biggest threat from outer space."

"This is about ultimately protecting the only planet we know right now to host life, and that is the planet Earth," he added. "The Earth is going to get hit with another big asteroid. The problem is, we don't know when. It's a very low probability in anyone's lifetime, but it's a very high-consequence event. If it happens, it would be like control-alt-delete for everything."

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Dave Geswein woke up early the morning of April 18 to prepare a field for soybeans.

It was a little soon in the year for planting. Farmers in his swath of northwest Indiana, along the Illinois border near Stockland (the name of the town as published has been corrected here and in a subsequent reference in this text), typically wait for May to start readying fields for crops.

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But April had been unseasonably warm, with temperatures spiking into the 50s. Also, for the last few years Brazil had been flooding world markets with cheaper corn and soybeans, pushing Midwest farmers' prices and profits down. It had been a rough four years. This was an opportunity to get a jump on the growing season and gain an edge.

So Geswein climbed aboard his sprayer, a spiderlike tractor that spreads fertilizer across rows of dirt, and worked the earth. He had nearly finished his 80 acres of field late in the afternoon when a glint in the dirt caught his eye.

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It was, he discovered to his surprise, a human skull--a small one, like that of a child. The elements had bleached it severely.

A shaken Geswein drove back to the equipment shed to call police.

Nicolas Zavala was 7 years old when he entered the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services system in January 1998. After shuffling between four foster families over the course of four years, he was transferred to his grandmother's care in early 2002.

For the next few months, the 11-year-old would live at his grandmother's house in Oxford, Ind., before she reported him missing that August under strange circumstances. Eight more months would elapse before Geswein was to find the boy's skull in his field.

Nicolas' disappearance and death have baffled police investigators for more than a year. A posse of detectives from two states, as well as a forensic anthropologist and a forensic entomologist, have tried to figure out how he died and how his partially burned remains ended up in a soybean field on the Illinois side of a farm that straddles the Illinois-Indiana state line--20 miles from where he last lived (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text). Nicolas' remains--comprising less than half of his total skeleton--were spread across 50 yards of the field.

That the bones had no tissue left on them hampered pathologists in determining a cause of death. That they had been subjected to fire added a touch of the macabre.

Had Nicolas been the victim of a predatory sex criminal? Had he suffered lethal abuse at the hand of elders, who then tried to cover up their crime? Had he been in some kind of deadly accident that someone feared being held responsible for?

Investigators are maintaining a stony silence, declining to discuss what leads they have, if any. Last November, the Benton County state's attorney filed five counts of criminal neglect against Margaret Williams, Nicolas' grandmother, based on her alleged treatment of him before his disappearance. But as of this writing, no charges have been filed in Nicolas' death.

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Through her lawyer, Williams has denied she had anything to do with the boy's demise.

Those close to the case say that after months of forensics, a cause of death has emerged. But what it is they will not say.

Meanwhile, the case has angered family, teachers and friends who question how the pleasant preteen with the bright smile and abundance of street charm could bounce around the child-welfare system for so long before being handed to a guardian whose own credentials as a parent seem dubious, in the light of state records. It has also raised serious questions about how authorities look for children who have vanished.

DCFS would not comment in detail about Nicolas' case, citing the ongoing police investigation and its own internal review. But the agency's records, and those of a school he attended, augmented by the recollections of friends and family, paint a portrait of a smart, troubled youngster who liked listening to Ja Rule, cooking French toast and dreamed of becoming a doctor.

They describe a boy who went to church every Sunday by himself, became confused as he was transferred to four families in four years and died before he was old enough to date.

Cindy Molina was losing control of her kids.

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In 1997, she was a single mother living in Peotone trying to raise 7-year-old Nicolas and three other children--Francisco, then 11, Santiago, 9, and Nicole, 8. But Francisco and Santiago were becoming increasingly wild. They were getting into fistfights with other kids at school and staying out late.

In August of 1997, Francisco was temporarily placed in Will County Juvenile Detention Center after he chased another child with a pocketknife. Molina called DCFS to ask about placing Francisco and Santiago in a boot camp for kids. "I was desperate," Molina, 36, says. "I couldn't handle them anymore."

According to Molina, DCFS officials told her that her sons needed to be wards of the state in order to enroll in the camp. She agreed to hand Francisco and Santiago over to state custody on Jan. 21, 1998. But at a hearing two days later, a juvenile judge told her she also needed to relinquish custody of Nicole and Nicolas, records show.

Compared to his two older brothers, Nicolas was a dream, Molina says. He was thin, smallish for his age, with smiling hazel eyes and a birthmark--a tuft of hair by his right temple that had been turned permanently silver. When the older brothers would storm from the house without picking up their rooms, Nicolas would quietly straighten up behind them, Molina says. He loved playing Twister with his brothers, listened to rap music and rarely missed a day of school.

"To this day, I never understood why they took away Nicolas," she says. "He was the easy one."

Her record as a mother may have played a role. In Peotone, Molina was visited repeatedly by DCFS officials. Between July 1985 and June 1994, the agency recorded at least 11 warnings against her, ranging from "inadequate supervision" to "risk of harm," according to DCFS records. She also had spent a month in Will County Jail for driving without a license and was wrestling with a drinking problem.

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Molina herself was a former Illinois ward of the state, taken from Williams, records show, because of Williams' own parental shortcomings. Molina ran away to California at the age of 14 with her older sister, Donna Molina. While there she had the first of what would eventually be seven children by three different men.

Now living in northern Virginia, the twice-married Molina floats between jobs at gas stations and fast-food counters. Two of her children live with her oldest daughter in South Carolina. Two more are in Mexico. One lives with adoptive parents in Onarga, Ill.

One is dead.

Short and round with Nicolas' smiling eyes, Molina has seven cubic zirconia studs in her right ear and her arms are peppered with faded, homemade tattoos. She smokes Marlboro reds continually and is not ashamed to show off a gap in her front teeth when she laughs, which is often. But her face darkens when she talks about Nicolas.

"He was such a beautiful baby," she says. "He didn't have to die. They should've let me keep him."

In January 1998, Will County Juvenile Judge Vincent Cerri, citing Molina's record with DCFS, ordered all four of Molina's children into protective custody and placed into separate foster homes. While Francisco, Santiago and Nicole adjusted to their new lives, Nicolas rebelled.

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"[Nicolas] talks back to teachers and the foster parent had to go to school on several occasions," wrote officials at Nicolas' foster-care agency, Joliet-based Guardian Angel Home, in 1999. "Nicolas does not want to return to [the foster family]."

He was moved to a family in Braidwood in 1999, then shifted again to a couple in Coal City. Four days later, he ran away. He was picked up by police and placed with Annabelle and John Jones in Joliet. "Nicolas stated he did not want to be adopted, that he wanted to return home to his mother," a caseworker wrote to a juvenile judge in April 2000.

Home with his mother is probably where Nicolas should have been, says Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, a Virginia-based advocacy group. Over the last 10 years, he says, states have steadily raised their thresholds for removing children from their parents, opting to work with problem parents to better raise their children rather than split up families. Illinois also had been moving in that direction: The foster-child population in Illinois has shrunk from 51,000 in 1997 to 20,000 today.

"Removing the child should be reserved for cases where parents are brutally abusive or helplessly addictive. And that's usually a very small percentage," Wexler says. "There's nothing to indicate to me that [Molina's] children needed to be taken away."

DCFS director Bryan Samuels says the agency has been trying to do more to keep families together rather than separate them. But, he says, Nicolas' case was unusual because of the circumstances--a mother who had a bad history with DCFS and a drinking problem--and not a good example of agency trends.

"Should we do more to help families be reunified? We agree we need to do more," Samuels says. "We've made a commitment to give biological parents a shot at retaining custody. . . We can't guarantee it, but we're going to give them a shot."

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With the Joneses, Nicolas' life started to stabilize. He settled into the one-story, ranch-style home in east Joliet. The Joneses, who had already raised four kids, were raising their preteen grandson, Terrance, and took on Nicolas too.

After finishing his homework, the Joneses say, Nicolas would play with remote-control cars in the basement, bounce on the trampoline outside with Terrance or go swimming at the local YMCA. The Joneses, who are African-American, made him a connoisseur of soul food, plying him with homemade cornbread, green beans and fried chicken, and took him on trips to Disney World and Alabama to visit John Jones' family. The Joneses say they also introduced him to religion, taking him to True Tabernacle Church in Joliet every Sunday. Nicolas never complained, they say.

He called Annabelle "Granny" and John "Papa." Papa helped him with his reading homework, his thorniest subject. When Nicolas brought home a good report card in 2001, his foster parents say they bought him a new Huffy 10-speed bike. One day, Nicolas came home from school and announced he wanted to be a doctor someday.

"He was happy with us," Annabelle Jones, 46, says. "We talked about adopting him. He was fine with that. He was willing and ready for us to adopt him."

Meanwhile, Molina, now living in Stafford, Va., was trying to regain custody of her children, but her lack of steady employment and recurring drinking problem kept hurting her chances. In August 2001, she reached a compromise with the courts: Two children--Nicole and Francisco--would be returned to her. Nicolas and Santiago would remain with their foster families.

Nicolas took the news badly. He became sullen, moody and got in trouble at school. One day he returned from school and told his foster parents he no longer wanted them to adopt him. "He didn't like that at all when his sister got to go home to their mother and he couldn't," Annabelle Jones says. "That's when he started getting confused."

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That month, Molina approached her court-appointed lawyer, Denise Grabavoy, with the idea of having her mother, Margaret Williams, adopt Nicolas. The plan, which was given the blessing of all authorities concerned with the case, was for Nicolas to live in Indiana with Williams, 59, and her 19-year-old son, Miguel Campos, Cindy's half-brother. Williams would initially have legal custody of Nicolas and then be allowed to adopt him. Later, says Grabavoy, when Molina could demonstrate she was attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings regularly and getting her life in order, Williams would give Nicolas back to his mother.

In February 2002, a Will County juvenile judge allowed Nicolas to move in with his grandmother, even as the interstate compact was being finalized. The compact is a legal agreement between two states required when a foster child is transferred out of state.

Officials from the Division of Family and Children of Benton County, where Williams lived, surveyed the Williams home and initially found it acceptable. The approval was given despite a misdemeanor conviction Williams had in March 2000 in Benton County Circuit Court for giving Campos the sedative Xanax without a prescription and lying about it to authorities, court records show.

But when Williams failed to attend parental training classes--a requirement under Indiana law for anyone applying for guardianship--the Indiana Interstate Compact Office wrote a letter to its Illinois counterpart, advising it that the compact had collapsed, says Nancy Ingle, deputy compact administrator. "[Williams] was denied on that basis," Ingle says. "We considered it to be an illegal placement under the law. We notified Illinois. And we never heard back from them."

DCFS acknowledged the denial slipped through the cracks. "He was with his grandma and everything seemed to be OK there," DCFS spokeswoman Jill Manuel said after Nicolas' remains were found. "But more should have been done at the time the interstate compact was denied."

Placing children with out-of-state family members without finalizing the compact is common practice, however, say Ingle and other child welfare officials. "The interstate compact is supposed to be agreed upon before placement," Ingle says. "But you could place [a ward] across state lines without too much trouble."

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Still technically a ward of Illinois, Nicolas moved that February into his grandmother's wood-frame house in Oxford, a wooded, hilly town of 1,289 with a Pizza King, a bank, two beauty salons and five churches. He was enrolled the same month in 5th grade at Oxford Elementary.

At first jittery and withdrawn, Nicolas soon began making friends, feigning street smarts that were admired by the other students. He bragged about gang members he knew in Illinois and called girls "hot," according to Sue Dickman, his summer-school teacher. Nicolas generally liked school, though he was somewhat defiant, Dickman says, and she once had to send him to the principal's office for acting up.

"He was a handful. I wouldn't want an entire classroom like him," Dickman says. "But he was the first one in the door in the morning and the last one to leave. He liked it here. If he misbehaved, all we had to say was we weren't going to let him go back to summer school and he'd straighten up."

Nicolas also became a fixture at Oxford Church of Christ a block from his home. He attended Sunday school classes in the morning, then would sit through services. From March through July, he never missed a Sunday, friends and teachers say.

The church group took him on field trips to Indiana Beach, an amusement park/campground on Lake Shafer and Hanging Rock Christian Camp in West Lebanon, Ind. Nicolas loved it.

Every Sunday, he was back in church, sitting in the last row, without his grandmother or uncle.

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"He was always happy around church," says Steve Sturgeon, 49, a farmer who sat in Nicolas' pew and befriended him. "He never missed a day."

But life at his new home apparently wasn't as bright. Friends say that apart from school and church, they rarely saw Nicolas outside his home. If he got into trouble, both friends and police say, Williams would punish Nicolas in strange ways. Once, he was made to hold a rag to the wall using his forehead--no hands--says Katherine Goris, 19, who often visited Campos, Nicolas' uncle, at the house. If the rag dropped, he'd have to do it again. Another time, Nicolas was made to kneel on a broomstick and lift jugs of sand, she says.

The complaint filed in November against Williams in Benton County Circuit Court names three other witnesses who say they saw similar punishment administered to Nicolas by Williams.

Campos would also sell bags of marijuana to neighborhood kids from his home, Goris says. Indiana State Police detective Tom Minnicus, the lead investigator on the case, says witnesses gave investigators similar accounts about Campos, though no evidence of drug sales has been found and Campos has never been charged. Campos, now living in West Lafayette, declined comment.

"He would sell mostly to his friends," Goris says. "Sometimes we'd go to parties together, then hang out upstairs in his room. He'd smoke and drink beer with his friends. Margaret didn't like it, but let him."

As summer school drew to a close in late June--to be followed by a two-month hiatus before regular school resumed--Nicolas became withdrawn. While other students sprinted out to recess, Nicolas would stay inside with his teacher, Dickman says. He confided to her that he was a foster child, a part of his life he rarely revealed.

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"I've had foster children before and usually they'll say, 'I want to live with mom or dad,' " Dickman says. "Not Nicolas. He just kind of existed. He didn't seem to have any response."

In a fill-in-the-blank writing exercise that the students were given, titled "When I Grow Up," Nicolas scrawled in only one word. He wrote: "When I grow up, I want to be . . . nothing. I think the best thing about growing up is . . . nothing. The best thing about being young is . . . nothing."

On June 28, the last day of summer school, Nicolas appeared particularly sulky. "I don't think he was happy to go," Dickman says.

Four weeks later, Williams visited Oxford Elementary and asked school officials to fill out paperwork so she could take him to a local psychiatrist, says Gary Schneck, the school's principal. "A couple of things had happened to him," he says. "She said he had been soiling his pants and cutting his clothes with scissors. She also said he had lit a small fire in his room. She was concerned."

An appointment with a psychiatrist was scheduled for Aug. 8. Nicolas never made it. On Aug. 13, Williams reported him missing.

She told Benton County sheriff's deputies that she had dropped him off in front of the Oxford Public Library on Aug. 4 to wait for two friends known only as "Kevin" and "Heimie" to pick him up for a weeklong camping trip, according to the police report. But when she couldn't recall the last names of the friends or find their pictures in school yearbooks, her statement was cast into doubt, investigators say.

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A friend of Nicolas' interviewed by police also said he had never heard of the names given by Williams and told police Williams never allowed Nicolas to visit his home or stay overnight.

Brian Dekker, Williams' lawyer, says she gets confused and may have forgotten the friends' names but would never harm her grandson. "Margaret had a very loving, caring relationship with Nicolas," he says.

Police officials at first thought Molina had picked up the boy and had taken him to Virginia. They entered Nicolas' name into the FBI's National Crime Information Center database and the Indiana Missing Children Clearinghouse that day, and contacted DCFS officials the following day, Aug. 14, according to police records.

But Nicolas wasn't entered into the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children database--a nationwide clearinghouse that beams information across the country and alerts media--until Oct. 18, more than two months after he was reported missing, says Ben Ermini, a director at the center. The reason for the lag? He was initially classified as a runaway, and not "endangered," which triggers national alerts, Ermini says.

The lack of action by authorities to find Nicolas frustrated all who knew him. In an October letter to the Greater Lafayette (Ind.) Journal and Courier, classmates wrote: "We are 11 years old and have lived in Oxford all of our lives. Nothing threatening has ever happened in Oxford. . . . Why have so few powerful people helped us with the disappearance of our classmate, Nicolas Zavala?"

Once in the National Center database, Nicolas' information and picture were flashed on the center's Web site, which draws 3 million hits a day, and sent to media outlets. On Oct. 10, Benton County sheriff's officials called the Indiana State Police for help. Press conferences were held. Nine weeks after he had last been seen alive, the search for Nicolas was truly on.

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State police investigators interviewed family members and friends and searched the Williams home for clues. Molina traveled to Fowler, Ind., and passed a polygraph test, erasing suspicions that she had taken Nicolas. "I wanted my son," she says. "I wanted answers."

The National Center flooded Indiana businesses with faxes of Nicolas' picture. But the days ticked by without any sign of the boy. In early April, more than 100 volunteers, coordinated by a Purdue University student, scoured Benton County's ditches, woods and scrubs for two days.

"Nothing had been done for so long," says Dickman, Nicolas' teacher, who helped in the search. "We felt like if we didn't do something soon, it would be too late."

Geswein, the farmer, ended the search on April 18. DNA tests soon confirmed that the skull and skeletal remains were Nicolas'. The charred state of the bones deepened suspicions of foul play.

The day after Geswein found the skull, six members of the Iroquois County Coroner's Office fanned out across the field, seeking more bones and flagging them as they went. By 2 p.m., 30 flags were spread across a 50-yard radius, stretching out from the equipment shed.

Behind the shed, investigators found small hip bones, shreds of blue jeans and some finger and hand bones, Iroquois County Coroner Bill Cheatum says. Police determined that the body had been dumped behind the shed and dragged in pieces across the field by animals, likely wild dogs or coyotes, Cheatum says. The bones had been gnawed and picked virtually clean of tissue, which Cheatum says made it impossible to pinpoint such causes of death as strangulation, and all but ruled out toxicology tests. The skull showed no sign of trauma. "We had nothing," Cheatum says. "Just bones lying in the middle of a field."

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He turned the remains over to the Indiana State Police, who recruited the help of Dr. Neal Haskell, a forensic entomologist from Rensselaer, Ind. By examining maggot cocoons clinging to the remains, Dr. Haskell was able to determine that Nicolas had died between the first week of August and mid-September 2002.

Dr. Stephen Nawrocki, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Indianapolis, also examined the remains. The efforts have finally revealed a cause of death, but officials decline to reveal it.

Williams and Campos, meanwhile, have been uncooperative, investigators say. Since giving an initial report to police in August, Williams has refused to talk with detectives, says Minnicus.

She did pass an unofficial polygraph test given by a private expert, but police later questioned the validity of the test, he says.

A search of Williams' home found some blood on a rug, Minnicus says, and it proved to be Nicolas'--but there was not enough to indicate he met any harm there.

Minnicus says the passage of time between Nicolas' disappearance and the discovery of his body has hindered the case in other ways besides making it hard to determine cause of death. Bits of evidence that may have initially been present at the Geswein's farm--tire tracks, footprints and the like--had long since been obliterated.

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Nevertheless, Minnicus says "around 50" pieces of evidence were recovered from the crime scene, though he wouldn't say what they were or what they might show. He says they are still being analyzed, and he hopes they open up "new avenues to pursue."

The charred state of Nicolas' bones poses a particularly nagging puzzle. Someone clearly tried to destroy the evidence, Minnicus says, though no flammable materials were found near the remains.

Investigators have developed several theories on what may have happened. One theory is that Nicolas may have taken drugs and overdosed. Someone then might have tried to dispose of the body.

"That's one possibility," says a law enforcement agent close to the case. "It's going to be difficult at best to prove. Hopefully, the remaining tests that need to be done and the cooperation of everyone will help."

The only certainty: Nicolas' death involved, at worst, murder, and at the very least, a criminal coverup.

"We suspect foul play," says Shana Kennedy, a state police spokeswoman. "At this point, his running away doesn't seem likely."

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Molina says she was at home in Stafford, Va., when police called to tell her the bones had been found in the field near Stockland. Like others connected with Nicolas, she clung to the hope that they didn't belong to him. But a few days later, a relative e-mailed her a newspaper report that said the skeletal remains had been identified, and consoling e-mails began piling up in her inbox.

She got into her car and drove 11 straight hours to Illinois. She barely remembers a minute of it. "It felt like my heart just flopped out of my chest," she says.

On May 1, nearly 200 fellow students, family members, strangers and friends jammed into the Oxford Church of Christ for a memorial service. An oversize picture of Nicolas was on an easel, surrounded by flowers, ceramic angels and handwritten cards. As Molina arrived with her father, students surged forward to offer hugs and condolences. Molina stepped out of the car and fainted. She was carried into the church.

Since then, Molina says, she has called Indiana Police investigators at least once a week, pressing them for answers. Who took him? How did he die and why? She has received few replies, she says.

The questions nag at her daily and fill her sleep with nightmares, she says. Sober for months, she's started drinking again, she admits. She also takes a daily cocktail of pills: Xanax for the shakes, Ativan for stress, Ambien to sleep at night.

She says she blames her mother for Nicolas' disappearance. She no longer speaks of her by name, calling her only "that woman."

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"She's dead to me," she says.

An upcoming court date mandates that Molina stay in Virginia until this month. But directly after, she says, she plans to drive to Illinois to collect Nicolas' remains, which she will have cremated and kept in an urn on her dresser.

"At least I'll know where he's at," she says, her face resting in her palm. "I could watch him there."
Former CIA Officer Sentenced to Prison for Espionage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, May 17, 2019



Kevin Patrick Mallory, 62, of Leesburg, Virginia, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release after being convicted under the Espionage Act for conspiracy to transmit national defense information to an agent of the People's Republic of China. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger for the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI's Washington Field Office made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III.

"Former U.S. Intelligence officer Kevin Patrick Mallory will spend the next 20 years of his life in prison for conspiring to pass national defense information to a Chinese intelligence officer," said Assistant Attorney General John Demers. "This case is one in an alarming trend of former U.S. intelligence officers being targeted by China and betraying their country and colleagues. This sentence, together with the recent guilty pleas of Ron Hansen in Utah and Jerry Lee in Virginia, deliver the stern message that our former intelligence officers have no business partnering with the Chinese, or any other adversarial foreign intelligence service."

"Mallory not only put our country at great risk, but he endangered the lives of specific human assets who put their own safety at risk for our national defense," said. U.S. Attorney Terwilliger. "There are few crimes in this country more serious than espionage, and this office has a long history of holding accountable those who betray our country. As the Chinese continue to attempt to identify and recruit current and former members of the United States intelligence community, those individuals should remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the appropriate security officials. This case should send a message to anyone considering violating the public's trust and compromising our national security by disclosing classified information. We will remain steadfast and dogged in pursuit of these challenging but critical national security cases."

"U.S. Government employees are trusted to keep the nation's secrets safe," said Assistant Director in Charge McNamara, "and this case shows the violation of that trust and duty will not be accepted. The targeting of former U.S. security clearance holders by foreign intelligence services is a constant threat we face, and the FBI will continue to preserve and combat these threats head on. I would like to thank the men and women of the FBI, and our counterparts at the Department of Justice, for their years of hard work to investigate and prosecute this case."

Mallory was found guilty by a federal jury in June 2018 of conspiracy to deliver, attempted delivery, delivery of national defense information to aid a foreign government and making material false statements. The district court subsequently ordered acquittal as to the delivery and attempted delivery of national defense information counts due to lack of venue.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, in March and April 2017, Mallory, a former U.S. intelligence officer, travelled to Shanghai to meet with an individual, Michael Yang, who held himself out as a People's Republic of China think tank employee, but whom Mallory assessed to be a Chinese Intelligence Officer.

Mallory, a United States citizen who speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, consented to an FBI review of a covert communications (covcom) device he had been given by Yang to facilitate covert communications between the two. Analysis of the device, which was a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, revealed a number of communications in which Mallory and Yang talked about classified information that Mallory could sell to the PRC's intelligence service. FBI analysts were able to determine that Mallory had completed all of the steps necessary to securely transmit at least five classified U.S. government documents via the covcom device, one of which contained unique identifiers for human sources who had helped the United States government. At least two of the documents were successfully transmitted, and Mallory and Yang communicated about those two documents on the covcom device.

Evidence presented at trial included surveillance video from a FedEx store in Leesburg where Mallory could be seen scanning documents classified at the Secret and Top Secret level onto a micro SD card. Though Mallory paid to have the paper copies of the eight documents shredded, FBI agents found a carefully concealed SD card containing those documents during a search of Mallory's home, the day of his June 22, 2017 arrest. A recording was played at trial from June 24, 2017, where Mallory could be heard on a call from the jail asking his family to search for the hidden SD card.

Mallory has held numerous positions with various government agencies and several defense contractors, including working as a covert case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and an intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). As required for his various government positions, Mallory obtained a Top Secret security clearance, which was active during various assignments during his career. Mallory's security clearance was terminated in October 2012 when he left government service.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Gibbs and Colleen E. Garcia, and Trial Attorneys Jennifer Kennedy Gellie and Evan Turgeon of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.

Topic(s): Counterintelligence and Export Control

Component(s):

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

National Security Division (NSD)

USAO - Virginia, Eastern

Press Release Number: 19-544

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Prominent Kazakh Sinologist Arrested On High Treason Charges

By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service May 17, 2019

NUR-SULTAN -- Kazakhstan's authorities have arrested a leading sinologist in the country, Konstantin Syroyezhkin, on charges of high treason.

The Committee of National Security said on May 17 that the 62-year-old expert had been arrested in February.

It did not give any details on the case.

The committee's statement comes after weeks of unconfirmed media reports saying that Syroyezhkin had been arrested for alleged espionage.

Syroyezhkin, a native of the southeastern Kazakh city of Almaty, has worked as an expert and analyst at the presidential Institute for Strategic Research since 2006.

He is the author of more than 1,000 analytical and research works on China and Kazakh-Chinese relations, written in Russian, Chinese, and English.

Questions about Syroyezhkin's whereabouts started circulating in the media after he failed to show up at two conferences in Kazakhstan that he was scheduled to attend.

The head of Kazakhstan's Bureau for Human Rights, Yevgeny Zhovtis, told RFE/RL at the time that the researcher might have been arrested.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/prominent-kazakh- sinologist-arrested-on-high- treason-charges/29947052.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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'Honey-Trapped' Indian Soldier Suspected of Spying for Pakistan Arrested - Media

Sputnik News

13:40 17.05.2019(updated 13:41 17.05.2019)

Officers of the Indian armed forces are allowed to have social media accounts but are barred from posting pictures in uniform, revealing their place of posting or any official material, including information on visits or plans regarding operations.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Months of surveillance on an Indian soldier has revealed that he was actually honey-trapped by a woman allegedly from Pakistan, according to a report in the Times of India.

The soldier, posted in an infantry battalion at the Mhow cantonment in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, was arrested on Wednesday night for passing crucial information including troops' movement to a Pakistani spy on Facebook and WhatsApp, according to the report.

An initial investigation suggests that the 26-year-old may have been paid for spying on his fellow soldiers. Defence sources said he was arrested after six months of surveillance by military intelligence and the intelligence bureau.

"[A] Cellphone that was being used to chat with the woman has been seized. Cyber laboratory will now recover the deleted information," media report cited a defence source as saying.

Previously posted in the northeastern state of Assam, he was transferred to Mhow in April 2018. Claims of him receiving $1,000 through a local agent to pass information to a Pakistani spy are being investigated.

In January, a soldier who was posted in a tank regiment was arrested from Jaisalmer city in the Indian state of Rajasthan after military intelligence caught him exchanging information about the armoured unit and its movements on social media.

Earlier this year, the India's army chief cautioned his men to use social media carefully:

"We have to be careful while using social media. Even our families should also use social media cautiouslyDon't befriend women with names of film stars on social media, these could be honey traps. What makes you think they want to be friends with you? They would not want to be friends with any Tom, Dick and Harry," General Bipin Rawat said.

In 2018, Indian intelligence agencies apprehended a mole in the Indian Air Force (IAF) who had been compromising sensitive information including classified documents of the IAF headquarters in New Delhi.

 Sputnik

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May 17, 2019

News Release

Press Operations

Release No. NR-154-19

U.S.-Lebanon Joint Military Commission (JMC)

Senior delegations from the United States and Lebanon met May 16-17 in Washington, D.C. for the fourth meeting of the U.S.-Lebanon Joint Military Commission (JMC).

The JMC is the premier bilateral forum for senior U.S. and Lebanese government and military officials to discuss ongoing security assistance and military cooperation, as well as develop plans for our robust security partnership.

The delegations discussed a broad range of diplomatic and security challenges throughout the region, including the crisis in Syria and ways to continue combatting violent extremism.

"Lebanon is a critical partner for security in the Middle East," said Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Kathryn Wheelbarger. "These discussions have been productive and build on an already robust partnership."

The United States and Lebanon remain committed to a strong bilateral relationship built on common interests and mutual respect.

The U.S. delegation was led by Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Kathryn Wheelbarger. The Lebanese delegation was led by Chief of Defense General Jospeh Aoun.

https://dod.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1851737/

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Canada - MK 54 Lightweight Torpedoes

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 19-32

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2019 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Canada of MK 54 lightweight torpedoes with support for an estimated cost of $387 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on May 16, 2019.

The Government of Canada has requested to buy four hundred twenty-five (425) MK 54 lightweight torpedo conversion kits. Also included are torpedo containers, Recoverable Exercise Torpedoes (REXTORP) with containers, Fleet Exercise Section (FES) and fuel tanks, air launch accessories for fixed wing, torpedo spare parts, training, publications, support and test equipment, U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The total estimated program cost is $387 million.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the military capability of Canada, a NATO ally that is an important force for ensuring political stability and economic progress and a contributor to military, peacekeeping and humanitarian operations around the world.

Canada intends to upgrade its current inventory of MK 46 torpedoes to the MK 54 with the purchase of these kits. The MK 54 torpedo is designed to be easily upgraded from the existing MK 46 torpedo. Canada plans to utilize MK 54 Lightweight Torpedoes on its Royal Canadian Navy's Halifax class ships, the Royal Canadian Air Force's CP-140 Aurora Aircraft, and the CH-148 Maritime Helicopters. Canada will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The principal contractor for the MK 54 Torpedo is Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The Government of Canada is expected to negotiate an offset agreement with Raytheon, in accordance with Canada's Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy, before signing the Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA).

Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Canada. However, it is anticipated that engineering and technical support services provided by the U.S. Government may be required on an interim basis for training and technical assistance.

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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US approves missile sales to South Korea, Japan

Iran Press TV

Fri May 17, 2019 09:49PM

The US says it has approved the sales of air defense missiles, worth more than $600 million, to South Korea and Japan as tensions build up with North Korea.

The US will sell 94 SM-2 missiles, which are used by ships against air threats, as well as 12 guidance systems at a total cost of $313.9 million, the State Department said in a statement on Friday.

Separately, the department gave the go-ahead to sell 160 anti-air AMRAAM missiles and all the related guidance equipment to Japan totaling $317 million.

The sales "will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States" by assisting Washington's main allies and "will not alter the basic military balance in the region," the statement said.

North Korea last week tested what appeared to be two short-range missiles in its second launch less than a week after it launched a barrage of projectiles into the Sea of Japan.

South Korea's military reported that the north had fired a number of "unidentified projectiles" eastward from an area where one of its missile bases is reportedly located.

The projectiles were launched "from the Sino-ri area, in an easterly direction, around 4:30 p.m." local time last Thursday, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted the country's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) as saying in a statement.

It came in the wake of talks with the United States and South Korea stalling in February, and raised alarms in both countries, which have been seeking to entice the North into abandoning its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

US President Donald Trump, who has met with the North's leader Kim Jong-un twice, said earlier this month he was still confident he could have a deal with Kim.

Trump and Kim met at a historic summit for the first time in June last year in Singapore, where they agreed to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Subsequent diplomacy between the two sides, however, made little progress, mainly because Washington refused to lift its crippling sanctions.

The two met for a second time in February, but Trump cut short the summit in the Vietnamese capital as they failed to strike a denuclearization deal.

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Senate Bill 1287, which has passed the Senate but is stalled in the House Rules Committee and unlikely to move, would give residents in each school district the ability to pass a petition allowing for a referendum to go before voters asking if their school district should share administrative services with another school district. If voters in both school districts vote in favor, the two school districts would then share services. Currently, this option is only available by school board resolution.
US airstrike kills 8 Afghan police officers

Iran Press TV

Fri May 17, 2019 05:40PM

At least eight policemen have been killed in a US airstrike on Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand in what was seemingly an accident.

The air raid was carried out by the US forces on Thursday night, said Omar Zwak, a spokesman for Helmand's governor, adding that it also left 12 other police personnel wounded.

A spokesman for the US forces in Afghanistan, Colonel Dave Butler, said the aerial attack took place after Afghan forces requested US air support during a firefight with the Taliban militants near the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, calling the casualties a "tragic accident."

Afghanistan's Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi confirmed the death toll but said 11 people had been wounded.

Separately, the head of the Helmand provincial council Ataullah Afghan put the death toll at 18. He said 14 other policemen had been injured.

The United States has recently stepped up its air raids in Afghanistan in an attempt to exert pressure on the Taliban to accept a negotiated end to their 18-year militancy. Civilian casualties have increased amid that heightened aerial campaign.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan recorded 649 civilians casualties as a result of aerial attacks in the first nine months of last year, the highest number in any year since systematic recording began in 2009.

The Taliban's five-year rule over at least three quarters of Afghanistan came to an end in the wake of a US-led invasion in 2001, but the militant group still continues to attack government and civilian targets as well as foreign forces.

The administration of US President Donald Trump is now negotiating with the Taliban group.



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At Least Nine Afghan Policemen Killed In Air Strike

By RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan May 17, 2019

KABUL -- An air strike has mistakenly killed at least nine Afghan police officers, including a commander, during a battle with the Taliban in the southern province of Helmand, local officials say.

They said that 14 officers were also wounded in the May 16 strike in the Nahr-e Saraj district , which is located outside the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.

Helmand Governor Mohammad Yasin said that the incident was being investigated.

His spokesman, Omar Zwak, said that foreign forces in Afghanistan had carried out the air strike as part of an operation to drive out Taliban militants from the area.

A statement from the militant group claimed that U.S. forces were behind it.

There was no immediate comment from the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan or the U.S. military.

The Taliban has continued attacks against Afghan and foreign troops despite holding several rounds of peace talks with the United States in Qatar.

With reporting by AP and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/at-least-nine -afghan-policemen-killed-in-air- strike/29947030.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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Court Filing: Ex-Security Adviser Flynn Told Mueller Of Attempts To Obstruct Russia Probe

By RFE/RL May 17, 2019

Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn gave Special Counsel Robert Mueller information about several attempts by people to obstruct the Russia investigation, newly released court documents show.

According to the filings, which were unsealed at the prosecutors' request on May 16, the obstruction attempts were made by unidentified people associated with President Donald Trump's administration or with Congress.

Prosecutors said Flynn reported multiple instances in which "he or his attorneys received communications from persons connected to the administration or Congress that could have affected both his willingness to cooperate and the completeness of that cooperation."

After Flynn began cooperating with authorities, the filing said, an unidentified lawyer for Trump left a message with Flynn's attorneys telling them that the president still had warm feelings for Flynn and asked that they give a "heads-up" if Flynn knew damaging information about the president.

Mueller was tasked in 2017 with leading a probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 elections and possible interactions between Trump associates and Russian officials.

A redacted version of the report corroborated U.S. intelligence conclusions of Russian meddling and cited a lack of evidence of conspiracy by Trump or his associates with Russian interference.

On the topic of obstruction, the special counsel deferred to the view that a sitting president cannot be indicted and "did not draw ultimate conclusions about the President's conduct."

Flynn, a retired lieutenant-general and former director of the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency, was a top adviser to Trump's campaign during the 2016 presidential election, and Trump tapped him to be his first national-security adviser, a powerful White House position.

However, Flynn resigned his post in February 2017 after it was revealed he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russia's then-ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak.

In December 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to charges of lying to FBI investigators about those conversations, and he agreed to cooperate with law enforcement probing wider interactions with Russian officials. Flynn is awaiting sentencing.

Meanwhile, on May 16, the judge in the case, Emmet Sullivan, ordered that portions of Mueller's report relating to Flynn, which had previously been blacked out, be made public by the end of the month.

Sullivan also ordered that prosecutors turn over a copy of an audio recording they referenced in the court filing, and to make public a transcript of the call. The judge also directed prosecutors to make public transcripts of any calls with Russian officials, such as Kislyak.

The order could set up a conflict with Attorney General William Barr, who has so far resisted demands to turn over the full report.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/security-adviser -flynn-told-mueller-of-obstruction- of-russia-probe/29946631.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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Guaido Confirms Norway Mediation, But Says No Direct Talks With Venezuela Government

May 17, 2019

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has confirmed he sent representatives to Norway to join mediation efforts to resolve the crisis in his South American country, but he denied direct talks are taking place with President Nicolas Maduro's government.

"There are some envoys in Norway," Guaido told a rally of his supporters in Caracas on May 16.

He said that parties in Norway were attempting to mediate the crisis, but he said no agreements have been reached and no face-to-face talks with government representatives were being held.

"There is no kind of negotiation. It is an effort by Norway for a mediation, which has been going on for months. This was the second invitation to Oslo. All the rest is speculation," the Venezuelan daily El Nacional quoted Guaido as saying.

It was the first official confirmation that efforts were under way in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, to end the months-long power struggle between Maduro's socialist government and the opposition-led National Assembly.

"We can neither confirm nor deny Norway's involvement in peace processes or dialogue initiatives," Norwegian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ane Haavardsdatter Lunde told the AFP news agency.

Maduro, backed by Russia, China, and Cuba, took office in 2013 and was sworn in for a second term in January following elections in May 2018 that were marred by an opposition boycott and claims of vote-rigging.

Maduro has been criticized for alleged human rights abuses and for his handling of Venezuela's economy.

Guaido, who leads the National Assembly, declared himself interim president in January, and won support from major powers, including the United States and more than 50 other countries.

Based on reporting by AFP and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/guaido-confirms- norway-mediation-but-says-no-direct-talks-with -venezuela-government/29946728.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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Hungary Extradites Serb Suspected Of War Crimes To Kosovo

By RFE/RL's Balkan Service May 17, 2019

PRISTINA -- Kosovo's justice minister has said that a Serbian man wanted in connection with a 1999 massacre in Kosovo has been extradited from Hungary.

In a statement on May 17, Abelard Tahiri did not name the man, but said he had been extradited by Budapest after "full guarantees" were given to respect the man's "dignity and rights."

There was no immediate confirmation of the extradition by Hungary.

Kosovar media said the man reportedly participated in the massacre of 113 Albanian men in a town west of the capital, Pristina, on March 26, 1999.

The killings occurred one day after NATO started its bombing campaign against Serbian targets.

The NATO campaign lasted 78 days, and ended a Serbian crackdown against ethnic Albanians.

At the time, Kosovo was then a province of Serbia; in 2008, it declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, something Belgrade has not recognized.

More than 10,000 people died in the fighting.

With reporting by AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/hungary- extradites-serb-suspected-of-war-crimes- to-kosovo/29948446.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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Turkmen Leader Hails 'Generous' Harvests Despite Food Shortages

By RFE/RL's Turkmen Service May 17, 2019

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov says that his country has become a wheat-exporting nation, according to state media, amid reports that the local population is facing severe food shortages.

"Turkmenistan has become a country that exports wheat abroad. In the year 'Turkmenistan -- Motherland of Prosperity,' we will have a generous wheat harvest again," the Altyn Asyr website quoted Berdymukhammedov as telling a cabinet meeting on May 15.

The authoritarian Turkmen leader also said that "large-scale measures to ensure food abundance are being implemented in the country."

Berdymukhammedov didn't give any further details.

In a separate speech on May 16, the president said that "massive efforts" were under way to transform the agriculture sector to "one of the most profitable" spheres of activities.

Berdymukhammedov's comments come as tightly controlled, energy-rich Turkmenistan in recent years has been facing widespread shortages of food supplies and price hikes for food staples.

The government has resorted to rationing supplies of bread, flour, cooking oil, eggs, and other foodstuff and RFE/RL's Turkmen Service has documented frequent long queues in state-owned food stores.

Prices are regulated in state-run shops that sell flour at the relatively affordable price of about $0.3 per kilogram.

But RFE/RL has recently reported that these stores in the capital, Ashgabat, were selling only 50 kilograms of flour per family per month, which residents say is not enough to cover the needs of traditionally large Turkmen families.

Unemployment is widespread in the country of some 5.6 million, and many ordinary Turkmen can't afford foodstuffs that are sold in bazaars at much higher prices.

In the province of Mary, some state stores often run out of flour, according to the RFE/RL correspondent in the region.

"In Mary's Bairamali district, merchants are bringing flour from neighboring regions and selling a 50-kilogram sack for 200 manats [$57]. That is four times more expensive than the price in the state stores," the correspondent said.

Authorities in Turkmenistan have never publicly denied nor confirmed reports about the food shortages and rationing.

State-controlled media rarely report about any problem in the country and never criticize government policies.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmen-leader -hails-generous-harvests-despite- food-shortages/29947575.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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Saudi Arabia, UAE, Norway notify the UN Security Council of attacks against oil tankers

Saudi Press Agency

Friday 1440/9/12 - 2019/05/17

New York, May 16, 2019, SPA -- The Permanent Missions of each of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Norway accredited to the United Nations have sent a joint letter to the United Nations Security Council, drawing attention to an incident in UAE territorial waters which caused damages to four oil tankers.

This came in a joint statement issued today by the Permanent Missions of each of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Norway accredited to the United Nations regarding attacks on oil tankers. Following is the text of the statement:

"On 15 May 2019, the Permanent Missions of the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Norway sent a joint letter to the United Nations Security Council, drawing attention to an incident in UAE territorial waters on 12 May 2019 that inflicted grave damage to four oil tankers  two Saudi-flagged, one Norwegian-flagged, and one Emirati-flagged vessel.

"It is an act of sabotage that affects the safety of international navigation and the security of world oil supplies," said Abdallah Y. Al-Mouallimi, Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the UN. "Consequently, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemns in the strongest terms these terrorist attacks and calls upon the international community to take a firm stand towards those responsible for such provocative and subversive operations."

"While the attacks did not result in any casualties, or spillage of oil or harmful chemicals, they could have caused serious loss of life and an environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Oman", Al-Mouallimi added.

"We're glad the crew onboard was unharmed. However, the Norwegian vessel suffered material damages. Norwegian authorities are in the process of assessing the situation, in close cooperation with among others the Emirati authorities," says Norway's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mona Juul.

The attacks took place within UAE territorial waters, east of the port of Fujairah. Operations at the Port of Fujairah have continued as normal without any interruption. The UAE is taking all steps to protect commercial shipping and maritime traffic and has adopted enhanced maritime safety and security measures in the relevant areas.

"These attacks come at a time when responsible stakeholders across the region should work together to lower tensions", underlined H.E. Lana Nusseibeh, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN. "The UAE is cooperating closely with Saudi Arabia, Norway, France, and the United States to investigate these attacks."

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Norway also intend to formally notify the International Maritime Organization of these attacks and the threat they pose to international shipping".

--SPA

02:47 LOCAL TIME 23:47 GMT

0028

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Hungarian PM Orban Confirms Plans to Buy US Mid-Range Missiles  Reports

Sputnik News

18:09 17.05.2019

In addition to bolstering his country's defence capabilities with US weapons, Orban is understood to have asked Trump for assistance regarding the supply of an alternative to Russian gas.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has confirmed plans to purchase medium-range defence missiles from the United States, days after his meeting with US President Donald Trump, AP reports.

The PM refused to delve further into the issue but stated that the construction of the "modern Hungarian Army" is underway.

Viktor Orban on Monday became the first Hungarian prime minister to visit the White House in 14 years. Donald Trump publicly praised Orban, who has been incrementally estranged from Western Europe, as a "tough" and "respected" leader.

"Viktor Orban has done a tremendous job in so many different ways. He's highly respected, respected all over Europe. Probably like me a little bit controversial, but that's OK. That's OK. You've done a good job. And you've kept your country safe," Trump told his counterpart in front of reporters ahead of their meeting.

The US president, who is often likened to Orban due to a similar hard-line immigration stance, told him at the end of the meeting that "it's like we're twins", US Ambassador to Hungary David Cornstein said in an interview with a local media outlet.

The envoy said that the two leaders discussed matters such as trade relations, energy and arms purchase in general, without going into specifics.

According to AP, however, Orban asked Trump to prop up US-Romanian cooperation regarding the extraction of natural gas. Hungary, which relies heavily on Russian gas deliveries, wants Exxon Mobil to tap Romania's gas fields in the Black Sea.

Exxon is currently weighing whether to invest in an offshore gas project in Romania, but Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto threatened to strike a long-term gas supply deal with Russia if the US oil giant fails to take this decision by September.

Hungary's controversial prime minister, who is serving his third consecutive term and fourth overall, has been scolded in the European Parliament for the alleged erosion of democratic values under his rule and for targeting NGOs that help refugees and asylum seekers.

Orban is a vocal opponent of tough immigration policies. "There will be two civilisations in the EU," he said in January, "one mixed Muslim-Christian in the West, and one traditional European-Christian in Central Europe."

He has also openly opposed EU plans to enforce refugee redistribution quotas; Hungary, meanwhile, was one of the first countries that refused to sign the UN Migration Compact.

 Sputnik

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At Least 17 Afghan Soldiers Killed in US Air Strike in Southern Afghanistan

Sputnik News

15:47 17.05.2019

KABUL (Sputnik) - At least 17 Afghan soldiers were killed and 14 others wounded in US airstrike in Nahr-e-Saraj district of the southern Afghan province of Helmand, head of the provincial council, Ataullah Afghan, told Sputnik.

The airstrike took place while Afghan forces were engaged in fighting with Taliban militants in Nahr-e-Saraj district of the city, the official said.

"Including a commander of the highway in Nahr-e-Saraj district, 17 policemen were killed and 14 wounded in the US air strike Friday night", he stated.

The US forces have not commented on the issue so far. At the same time, Helmand's Governor Mohammad Yasin said the airstrike is being investigated.

A Taliban spokesman claims that over 35 policemen were killed in both Taliban attack and US forces airstrike.

According to the recent reports, the Aghan military had to pull back from the far-flung outposts due to the ongoing Taliban offensive in order to avoid attacks on the troops.

The NATO-led Resolute Support Mission stated that by October 2018 that only 53.8% of Afghan districts were controlled by the central government in Kabul.

However, Washington is still determined to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan within three to five years, under a new peace plan proposed during the talks between the US officials and Taliban representatives.

 Sputnik

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US Admiral Urges Australia, Indonesia to Counter Beijing in South China Sea

Sputnik News

10:58 17.05.2019

The US has repeatedly sent its warships through the South China Sea, a strategic waterway, in what Washington calls "freedom of navigation" exercises. Beijing, which claims ownership of 90 percent of the South China Sea, in turn has warned Washington against "actions that undermine China's sovereignty".

US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson has urged Southeast Asian nations to hammer out their own response to what the White House has described as Beijing's "militarisation" of the South China Sea.

"I think every nation is going to have to assess the situation and their own approach. But at some point, navies are meant to get under way and be present and provide options to their [countries'] leadership. How they choose to do that is a matter of their national, sovereign approach", he told the newspaper Sydney Morning Herald.

In this context, Richardson specifically singled out Australia and Indonesia, praising them for adhering to a rules-based international order.

Indonesia does not claim any of the disputed islands in the South China Sea, but it wants sovereignty over a section of what it calls the North Natuna Sea, part of which is also claimed by China. Australia doesn't have South China Sea-related claims either, but it has consistently called for all nations to have free access to the area.

"Where we can see opportunities to work together, exercise together, be present together, those I think are [things] that we are constantly looking for [] with both of those navies," he pointed out.

Commenting on the US's "freedom of navigation" missions in the area, Richardson claimed that they were "certainly not meant to be provocative".

"This is part of the way the US shows its strong advocacy for the rules-based order", he said.

The statement comes after China expressed its "resolute opposition" last week to the passage of two US guided-missile destroyers near the Spratly Islands, claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea.

Beijing has repeatedly accused the US of provocations in the South China Sea and warned the country against sending vessels and warplanes close to the islands and reefs claimed by Beijing.

Beijing demands that the US should "stop actions that undermine China's sovereignty and security interests", while Washington insists that it is conducting "freedom of navigation" operations in the area. US is also concerned over China's construction of industrial outposts and military facilities on artificial islands in the South China Sea, with Beijing saying that it has the sovereign right to send troops to any part of its territory.

China currently controls vast majority of islands, reefs and shoals in the area, which is also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.

 Sputnik

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(CNN)  The night before the Western Australian state election in 2013, a group of friends sat around discussing how they would vote.

Amid the deep debate on politics and policies, a more pressing question emerged. Being millennials, they immediately posted it on Twitter.

"Hey everyone, let us know where you find your sausage sizzle tomorrow #democracysausage," says Kimberley Seats, recalling the tweet which has since become part of Australian political folklore.

The group does not lay claim to coining the phrase, which formally entered the Australian lexicon in 2016, when the Australian National Dictionary Center declared "democracy sausage" the word (or phrase) of the year.

But it has staked a claim to the term on social media, with Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts, as well as a website which maps where Australians can buy a sausage -- or sweeter options -- when they fulfill their civic duty to vote.

This year, the Aussie democracy sausage obsession has gone global with sizzles at consulates  including London, New York, Tokyo, Berlin, Kuala Lumpur and Vanuatu  where expats have already cast their votes.

Twitter is even getting in on the act with a sausage emoji that's automatically added to one of six hashtags, including #ausvotes #auspol and #sausagesizzle. So far this election season, the sausage emoji has been added to more than two million tweets.

The social media site has also teamed up with Democracy Sausage to allow Australian users to find a sausage via a Twitter chatbot on the day of polling, Saturday. Google is also using the data in an interactive map.

How did it come to this?

Buying snacks at polling booths is not a new phenomenon, says political historian Judith Brett, author of "From secret ballot to democracy sausage: How Australia got compulsory voting."

"Certainly, there's a photo in the 1930s of a polling booth with a cake stall outside, so I think community organizations saw it was an opportunity to fund-raise," Brett says.

Fund-raising was an unintended consequence of compulsory voting, a policy introduced in 1924 after World War I. All Australians aged over 18 are still required to vote, and can be fined $20 Australian ($14) or taken to court if they don't comply.

The introduction of compulsory voting meant polling booths attracted enough people willing to spend their money on cake or jam, with proceeds used to help stock the school library or buy new equipment.

Sausages started appearing at community events with the advent of portable barbecues in the 1980s, Brett says.

The sausage, slapped on a piece a bread with optional onion and a squirt of ketchup, is now something of a local culinary icon.

However, Brett says it is not compulsory voting that has led to today's sausage sizzles, but a law introduced in 1911 which decrees that polling day must be a Saturday.

With children off school, voting became a family affair and something of a social function as well as a civic duty.

"The other crucial thing is that Australians are not tied to vote at a particular polling booth," Brett says, so unlike many other countries, friends can opt to vote together.

This year, a record 16,424,248 Australians have registered to vote, meaning turnout will be close to 96%, compared to 61% in the US in 2016 and almost 69% in the UK in 2017. Voting is optional in both those countries.

The Australian Electoral Commission says 1.4 million people failed to vote in the last election in 2016, but only a "relatively small number" are typically taken to court.

Brett can't see an end to compulsory voting  surveys suggest it is popular with voters  and in some respects she says it acts as a stabilizing force.

"It means that people who are slightly less agitated and aggrieved also vote. We've had people saying things like because of compulsory voting it's the sensible center that decides elections rather than the fringes," she says.

When polls opened on Saturday, the team at Democracy Sausage had plotted more than 1,800 locations where voters could expect a sausage with their voting cards.

The group has noticed a rise in vegan, vegetarian and halal options in inner-city locales, and are keen to hear about local twists.

In a nod to the final of this Sunday's Eurovision Song Contest  which, confusingly, Australia is a participant  one primary school in the state of New South Wales is offering a variety of condiments from participating countries, including tzatziki, hummus, hot English mustard and remoulade.

For the data enthusiasts at Democracy Sausage, this weekend's election will leave behind a lot more than dirty barbecues and empty sauce bottles.

"We have an interest in data so we do a bit of analytics on the information that's come through, in terms of which electorates have the highest number of booths with sausage sizzles," Seats says. "This time around, we're also looking into voter figures at those booths as well  if booths with sausage sizzles have the highest number of voter turnout."

Mostly, she says, they just do it for fun.

"I guess what we really enjoy is hearing back from the polling booths and the community groups after the elections," Seats says.

"We had a lovely lady contact us last time around and say thank you because she'd managed to raise $2,000 ($1,400) for their school library through her sausage sizzle stall  she just wanted to say thank you for putting her stall on the map."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "In Australia, sausages have become a symbol of election day. Here's why."
We need to do something to reach our young people who are drifting, who are not connected in healthy activities, and that is our responsibility as a community to make sure we bring the resources but we also touch these young people where they are and show them a different and better path, Lightfoot said.
Venezuela's Guaido Claims Rumoured SECRET Meeting With Maduro's Reps Not Talks

Sputnik News

09:13 17.05.2019(updated 09:21 17.05.2019)

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido explained that the ongoing contacts between his representatives and the Venezuelan officials in Oslo were not negotiations but an attempt to sit down at the negotiating table.

"These are not in any way the negotiations. These are Norway's efforts to act as a mediator, which have been underway for months," Guaido told reporters, as quoted by El Nacional newspaper.

The opposition leader recalled that the ongoing meeting was the second time that Norway invited the Venezuelan sides to sit at the negotiating table in Oslo.

"There is no difference between this meeting in Norway and the other [meetings]. It is the country's intention to act as a mediator in the resolution of the crisis, which is similar to the intentions of the [International] Contact Group, the Lima Group, Canada and others. It is another initiative of a county which seeks cooperation," Guaido added.

On Thursday, an informed source told Sputnik that a Venezuelan official delegation was on its visit to Norway in an attempt to find possible ways of rapprochement with the opposition. Jorge Valero, the Venezuelan ambassador to the UN Office in Geneva (UNOG), subsequently said that the talks between the government and the opposition's democratic segment were underway in Oslo.

The situation in Venezuela remains tense since January when Guaido proclaimed himself an interim president. Washington and its allies endorsed Guaido and called on Maduro to step down. Moreover, the United States seized billions of dollars' worth of Venezuelan oil assets.

Maduro, in turn, has accused the United States of trying to orchestrate a coup in order to install Guaido as its puppet and take over Venezuela's natural resources.

Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia, Turkey and a number of other countries have voiced their support for Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.

Notably, Norway was among EU countries that have not endorsed Guaido as the Venezuelan interim president.

 Sputnik

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Maduro Meets With Representatives of International Contact Group for 1st Time

Sputnik News

04:28 17.05.2019

BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik)  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro released a video of his first-ever meeting with the representatives of the International Contact Group (ICG), during which the impact of US sanctions on the South American country was discussed.

In early May, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said that the bloc-backed group, leading efforts to stabilize the crisis in Venezuela, would be considering sending a political mission to Caracas.

"The meeting with the International Contact Group to inform them about the consequences of the blockade and sanctions on the part of the US empire against Venezuela," the caption for the video, published on Maduro's Twitter late on Thursday, read.

An anchorperson said in the video, recorded by the VTV broadcaster, that the high-level meeting had been held for the first time and had included the representatives of Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands.

 Sputnik

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Deadly Yemen airstrikes that claim children's lives in capital Sana'a, strongly condemned by UN

17 May 2019 - Thursday's airstrikes on Yemen's capital Sana'a that reportedly killed five children and injured dozens more, have been strongly condemned by UN agencies, which have warned of the "brutal toll" on civilians of more than four years of conflict.

"Several people were killed and dozens were injured when airstrikes hit Sana'a city," said Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA).

Echoing a statement on the atrocity by Lise Grande, UN Resident Coordinator in Yemen, Mr Laerke noted that "preliminary reports we have last night indicate that five children had died and 16 more were wounded. Additional casualties including healthworkers have been recorded."

Details of the attacks on Sana'a remain scant, Mr. Laerke added, in an update to journalists in Geneva on Friday. "I have no indication yet of the exact locations where they hit," he said, adding that several locations suffered damage.

The OCHA Spokesperson's comments follow an appeal by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to the UN Security Council on Wednesday to save the lives of 15 million children across the war-torn country.

More than four years of fighting have left at least 7,300 children killed or seriously injured, Henrietta Fore, head of the UN Children's Fund, told the Council's 15 members, noting that as these were officially verified figures, the true numbers "are no doubt higher".

Every day, as a Yemeni Government coalition fights for control of the country against Houthi opposition forces, "another eight children will be killed, injured or recruited", she said, with a child dying from a preventable cause, every 10 minutes.

Refugees among the victims: UNHCR

Also in Geneva, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, appealed for combatants to respect the protection of civilians and respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.

"Refugees are known to be among those injured and affected", said spokesperson Andrej Mahecic. "A Somali refugee woman and her daughter are among those now receiving critical treatment in a hospital", he explained, adding that there are more than 275,000 refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in the country, and more than nine in 10 are from the Horn of Africa state.

Amid ongoing insecurity in Yemen, millions remain on the brink of starvation, as access problems hinder the work of humanitarians to deliver food, fuel and medicines.

The majority of these supplies are imported via the country's embattled Red Sea ports of Hudaydah, Saleef and Ras Issa, from where Houthi opposition militia - also referred to as Ansar Allah - redeployed earlier this week under the UN-led agreement sealed last December, UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on Wednesday.

"This progress will allow the United Nations to play the leading role given to it in supporting the Yemen Red Sea Ports Corporation in management and inspections at the ports, including enhanced monitoring by the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism," Mr. Griffiths said.

Underscoring the UN's willingness to help with the running of Hudaydah port, the Special Envoy noted that a UN Development Programme (UNDP) team was heading to the port to install lights to help ships berth safely, to repair facilities and provide support for 4,000 people in the city carrying out public works.

Key grain silo repairs near completion

Providing an update on the status of Hudaydah's damaged Red Sea Mills, where millions of tonnes of wheat have been inaccessible until recently owing to the fighting, spokesperson Herve Verhoosel from the World Food Programme (WFP) said that repairs to silos and machinery were nearing completion.

"We need more access because we need to come with additional trucks and machinery to the mills," he said. "We have taken another route this time to access the mills than the time before to avoid the frontline; that was easier to come from the other side. That is potentially what we will do for the future access also."

As long as WFP's operations are able to proceed unimpeded, "we hope in the near future we will be able to start milling the wheat and then begin transporting it to the people who need it most", Mr. Verhoosel added, in an appeal for "continued, sustained safe passage" for the UN staff.

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Blue Flag 19-1 exercises Ninth Air Force's command, control capability

By Tech. Sgt. Amanda Dick, Ninth Air Force Public Affairs / Published May 17, 2019

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. (AFNS) -- Ninth Air Force staff participated as a joint task force headquarters during Blue Flag 19-1, a joint exercise, at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida, from May 6-10.

Ninth Air Force executed its mission as the operational-level command and control node of a noncombatant evacuation operation for U.S. Southern Command as JTF-NEO (noncombatant evacuation operations) while continuing efforts toward full operational capability as an Air Force-led, JTF-capable headquarters.

"Our role in the Blue Flag exercise is to further develop our capability at Ninth Air Force as a JTF-capable headquarters," said Air Force Maj. Gen. Scott J. Zobrist, JTF-NEO commander. "In previous exercises, the subordinate forces were simulated. In this case, we have a live air component that is executing in support of our mission. That is a new addition to our training that we haven't done in the past, and it's important we demonstrate the ability to command and control forces like these."

To prepare for the exercise and its future mission, Ninth Air Force purchased a deployed headquarters package used for the command and control element.

"We are taking ownership of a full JTF headquarters' worth of capability -- everything from tents, to the generators, to the (heat, ventilation, and cooling units), and especially the communications equipment in the form of a flexible communication package," Zobrist said. "(Blue Flag) is our first opportunity to set that up at a location (other than) our home station."

Another first for Ninth Air Force included employing a joint operations center within the headquarters to fully execute the command and control of the NEO mission.

"In this case, we are command and controlling live forces in a very robust, realistic scenario" Zobrist explained. "In the past, we focused more on planning and simulated control of these forces. In this case, with the new equipmentwe are exercising our Joint Ops Center with processes we've developed over the last (few) exercises."

While Ninth Air Force Airmen provide the core of the headquarters, the JOC included liaison officers from joint and coalition partners to aid the JTF in its decision-making process during operations.

"My role in the JOC is to be the voice of the ground force commander," said Army Capt. Eric Nabinger, JTF-NEO Army LNO. "I am his first line of defense, as well as, I help facilitate anything the JTF needs from the ground forces. As a member of the Army to the JTF, I provide the situational awareness of the ground forces -- where they are, what their readiness strength is -- and I also provide a background to the operations that are being conducted on the ground."

In total, 26 organizations, including each U.S. military service and two nations, comprised the JTF headquarters. Five military members from the United Kingdom supported the exercise providing an alternate perspective for operations planning, intelligence and air and ground current operations.

"I think the U.K. participants force Ninth Air Force to think about coalition from the outset -- making sure from a communications perspective they are integrated and a classification perspective they are integrated," Royal Air Force Wing Commander Philip Holdcroft, JTF-NEO chief of future operations. "I also think the U.K. forces (the U.S. military) to have a diversity of thought -- not just way of doing business but think about how another nation might approach the problem. The U.K. benefits from this phenomenally as well. We'll go back with an understanding of how our closest partner works, and hopefully we can bring that to bear in operations and exercises back in the U.K."

Blue Flag was the Ninth Air Force's first large-scale exercise after achieving initial operating capability in December. The next significant exercise on the horizon is Northern Viking, an exercise in Iceland where the Ninth Air Force will employ its full JTF headquarters capability before declaring full operational capability as a JTF headquarters. Until then, the unit will evaluate the results from JTF-NEO and build on lessons learned in preparation for future exercises and potential real-world missions.

"One of the things we'll be doing is preparing for our role in a large exercise in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility in 2020 that will demonstrate our capability as a JTF headquarters at the full operational capability level," Zobrist explained. "We will have a live maritime and a live air component with multi-national forces operating in the European environment. So, this (Blue Flag) exercise is critical along the path to full operational capability."

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Officials: US Airstrike Kills 17 Afghan Policemen in Helmand

By Ayaz Gul May 17, 2019

A U.S. military airstrike in Afghanistan's embattled southern Helmand province has mistakenly killed at least 17 government forces and wounded 14 others.

A local security official requesting anonymity Friday confirmed to VOA the casualty toll, saying the deadly strike occurred just outside the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, where police forces were battling Taliban insurgents.

Attaullah Afghan, head of the provincial council in Helmand, told VOA a highway police battalion commander was also among those killed in the friendly fire.

Earlier, the Afghan Interior Ministry had said in a statement that the clashes killed at least eight policemen and injured 11 others, noting an investigation was underway to determine whether an airstrike or insurgents inflicted the casualties.

The ministry said the U.S.-led Resolute Support military coalition carried out the air raid at the request of Afghan partners to assist in fighting off a large-scale Taliban attack in Nahr-e-Saraj district and noted Afghan forces had also inflicted heavy casualties on the insurgents.

An American military spokesman, Col. Dave Butler, confirmed to VOA that Afghan forces requested "precision air support" during heavy fighting with the Taliban.

"They reported and confirmed the areas were clear of friendly forces. Unfortunately, they were not and a tragic accident resulted. Afghan Security Forces, as well as Taliban fighters, were killed in the strikes," Butler said.

"We're examining the miscommunication to ensure it is not repeated. We regret this tragic loss of life of our partners and are committed to improvement every day with every mission," said the U.S. military spokesman.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, in a statement claimed that shortly after its fighters assaulted the police base west of Lashkar Gha, an American airstrike struck the installation, killing 35 security forces. Ahmadi said four senior Afghan police commanders were among the dead.

The insurgent group's battlefield claims are often inflated.

The Taliban controls or influences most of the districts in the largest Afghan province where American military routinely conducts airstrikes in support of local forces battling to regain lost territory.

Stepped up insurgent attacks across the country during the past week have reportedly killed around 90 pro-government forces and dozens of Afghan civilians. The Taliban has also captured new territory, including Shamulzayi district in the troubled southern Zabul province.

The United States is holding direct negotiations with the Taliban to bring an end to the war and to try to encourage the insurgents to engage in an intra-Afghan peace dialogue. But Washington has so far not reported any significant progress toward ending years of hostilities in Afghanistan.

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Airstrike Kills, Injures Dozens of Civilians in Yemeni Capital

By Lisa Schlein May 17, 2019

U.N. agencies are expressing anger and sadness at the deaths and injuries of dozens of civilians, including children, hit by airstrikes on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, Thursday night.

This is just the latest tragedy to hit Yemen, which has been at war for more than four years.The U.N. human rights office reports nearly 7,000 civilians have been killed and 10,800 wounded as of November 2018.

Most of the deaths and injuries are due to aerial bombardments by the Saudi-led coalition, it reports. Saudi Arabia entered the civil conflict in March 2015 in support of the Yemeni government, which is locked in a fight for power with the Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran.

A spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jens Laerke, said preliminary reports indicate five children were killed and 16 wounded by the airstrike.He says a number of health workers are among dozens of other casualties.

"The injured, including the children, were rushed to hospital for medical treatments," Laerke said. "There are several hospitals functioning there. Two of them are being provided with support from humanitarian partners and they have received the wounded."

A Somali refugee woman and her daughter reportedly are among the injured receiving critical treatment. The U.N. refugee agency reports Somalis comprise more than 90% of the 275,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in Yemen.

UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic said the already precarious situation of asylum-seekers and migrants in Yemen has deteriorated significantly as a result of the conflict.

"Incidents like these obviously result in tragic loss of civilian life and injury and continue to illustrate the fact that the war in Yemen is taking a brutal toll on the civilian population," he said. "We add our voice to the calls that civilians must be protected and parties to the conflict must ensure adherence to their obligations enshrined under the international Humanitarian Law."

The United Nations calls Yemen the world's worst humanitarian crisis.It reports nearly 80% of the country's population of 24 million needs humanitarian assistance and protection.

Unfortunately, aid agencies report the security situation and lack of access are hampering their ability to reach the millions of people in desperate need of aid.Another problem is the lack of support from the international community.The U.N. reports its $4.2 billion appeal to assist more than 20 million Yemenis is only 21% funded.

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Somaliland Celebrates Independence Despite Lack of International Recognition

By Sarah Kimani May 17, 2019

The breakaway state of Somaliland is preparing to celebrate 28 years since it declared independence from Somalia. No country recognizes Somaliland as a sovereign nation, but in the capital, preparations for the celebration are under way.

Inside a boardroom in the Somaliland parliament, legislator Abdurahman Atan explained his country's struggle for international recognition.

"There's a legitimate case for Somaliland to be recognized, a legitimate case to look at what has been done, legitimate case about the yearnings of Somaliland people to be free and independent," he said. "They have a right to do so and a right to be part of the international community."

Outside, the streets of Hargeisa were receiving a face lift ahead of Saturday, when thousands of people will gather at independence square to celebrate the anniversary of the independence declaration.

Despite the lack of international recognition, Somalilanders like Hargeisa student Mohamed Abdullahi are looking forward to the day.

"According to ourselves we are independent, and that's why we are proud and very happy to see many people celebrating this historic day," Abdullahi said.

Trader Ahmed Adan felt the same, calling the independence celebration a "very great day."

Briefly independent before

Somaliland, a former British colony, briefly gained independence in 1961. Five days later, it merged with Somalia after Mogadishu gained independence from Italy.

After years of conflict and the ouster of former Somali dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, Somaliland declared independence in 1991.

Somaliland now has its own police, army and currency, and has held regular elections for parliament and a president. It enjoys relative peace and stability, unlike Somalia, where African troops are helping the government fight al-Shabab and Islamic State militants.

But without recognition, Somaliland cannot get foreign aid, and its economy is largely dependent on diaspora remittances.

Atan rejects the idea that other African countries will break apart if the world recognizes Somaliland.

"They are talking about Pandora's box," Atan said. "If, for example, they recognize Somaliland, they think other African regions will also ask for independence, but that's not true." He noted that Somaliland was an independent country before joining Somalia.

Every year, Somaliland invites representatives of foreign governments to Hargeisa to lobby its case. This year is no different, and Violet Akurut, vice chair of the Ugandan parliament's foreign relations committee, has indicated support.

"If our country, our president, recognizes Somaliland, it will be so easy for Uganda to lobby at the African Union for the recognition of Somaliland," Akurut said.

U.N., AU envision reunion

However, the United Nations and the African Union have refused to recognize Somaliland as an independent country. Their position is that once Somalia is peaceful and has a working central government, then the two can be reunited.

Hargeisa resident Mohammed Baarwani wants none of that.

"The Somaliland people decided to withdraw that unity from Somalia," Baarwani said.

He hopes that someday, the rest of the world will recognize that fact.

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EU Approves New Cyber-Sanctions Regime Ahead Of Parliament Elections

By Rikard Jozwiak May 17, 2019

BRUSSELS -- The European Union has adopted a new legal tool to slap penalties on those found responsible for cyberattacks on the bloc's member states, as well as third countries and international organizations.

EU finance ministers meeting in Brussels on May 17 approved the sanctions regime allowing the 28-nation bloc to impose asset freezes and travel bans on individuals, firms, and state bodies outside the bloc that are involved in cyberattacks attacks.

The framework "allows the EU to impose targeted restrictive measures to deter and respond to cyberattacks," a statement said, adding that sanctions will be considered if a cyberattack is determined to have had a "significant impact" on its target.

European officials are on alert to any attempts to undermine the European Parliament elections on May 23-26 via disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks.

Officials have accused Russia of conducting a hacking campaign against the West.

Russia is accused of being behind an attempt to hack into the network of the global chemical-weapons watchdog, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, in the Netherlands last year.

The agency had been investigating the nerve-agent attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain last year, as well as the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government.

Russia has denied any involvement.

With reporting by dpa and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-approves- new-cyber-sanctions-regime-ahead-of- parliament-elections/29947704.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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Cyber criminals face new EU sanctions

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt welcomes new EU cyber sanctions regime pushed for by the UK.

17 May 2019

Cyber attackers around the world could now face EU sanctions, thanks to a new regime pushed for by the UK and its partners.

The new sanctions regime, which was signed off today (17 May) in Brussels, sends a clear message to hostile actors everywhere that the UK, and the EU, will impose tough consequences for cyber-attacks.

Over the last two years, we have seen a significant increase in the scale and severity of malicious cyber activity globally. The UK has been clear that it will not tolerate malicious cyber activity of this nature.

The UK, alongside a coalition of Member States, has been at the forefront of driving the new approach forward.

The sanctions regime will involve travel bans and asset freezes against those we know have been responsible for these actions.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

"This is decisive action to deter future cyber-attacks. For too long now, hostile actors have been threatening the EU's security through disrupting critical infrastructure, attempts to undermine democracy and stealing commercial secrets and money running to billions of Euros. We must now look to impose travel bans and asset freezes against those we know have been responsible for this."

"The UK and its allies have been unafraid to call out those who have conducted cyber-attacks with the intent to damage and destroy our institutions and societies. But we have been clear that more must be done to deter future attacks by hostile state and non-state actors."

"Our message to governments, regimes and criminal gangs prepared to carry out cyber-attacks is clear: together, the international community will take all necessary steps to uphold the rule of law and the rules based international system which keeps our societies safe."

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Reeling in Syria, Iraq, Islamic State Tries to Surge Online

By Jeff Seldin May 17, 2019

While Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq have largely been forced underground, the terror group's other fighters along with its media operatives appear intent on surging, combining an increase in attacks with ramped-up output on social media.

The strategy comes as little surprise to U.S. officials who have long warned the fight against IS would not end with the collapse of its self-declared caliphate in March.

But the wave of propaganda, following the deadly Easter Sunday bombing in Sri Lanka and the release of a new video from IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, seems to be making an impact.

"ISIS media, like Nashir News, has upped its production," according to Chelsea Daymon, a terrorism and security researcher at American University, using an acronym for the terror group.

"Among supporters, there's been a lot of chatter about the [Islamic] state being back," she said. "The Sri Lanka attacks as well as the Baghdadi video have provided a lot of moral support for them."

Analysis by the SITE Intelligence Group shows that in the past several weeks IS has claimed responsibility for attacks in at least 13 countries, not including Syria and Iraq.

New provinces

Additionally, it has announced new provinces in Pakistan and India, both of which had previously been categorized under the Afghan-centered IS-Khorasan province.

Just a few weeks earlier, IS announced the creation of a Central African province, praising an attack on army barracks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing three soldiers.

Analysts say the heavy focus on areas outside the terror group's collapsed caliphate is no accident.

"It seems ISIS, via its propaganda approach, are trying to convince that they are far from physically defeated," Raphael Gluck, co-founder of Jihadoscope, a company that monitors online activity by Islamist extremists, told VOA.

Gluck said much of the terror group's online activity appears to be picking up on the themes laid out by IS leader Baghdadi in his video, released April 29, when he called on followers to exhibit "steadfastness" in what he described as a "battle of attrition."

"Editorials and articles in its weekly newspaper suggest a newer guerrilla-style approach, wearing down enemies by carrying out smaller attacks," Gluck said, adding there are also lots of suggestions that the self-declared caliphate is "gone but not forever."

"Photo essays that used to appear more frequently are appearing less often but nevertheless showing daily life  marking the end of a day of Ramadan fasting, executing enemies  perhaps the sort of propaganda that makes some wonder: Are they really all that defeated and so landless?" he said.

More execution images

IS and IS-affiliated outlets have likewise played up Baghdadi's call for vengeance.

"There's a big uptick in execution images," said American University's Daymon, talking about both official and semiofficial sources of IS propaganda.

"For a long time, there was a lack of photo reports on executions, but stuff has gotten more gruesome," she said. "Violent images send a message of power and vengeance."

IS supporters are likewise trying to project their strength on venues like Telegram.

One poster shared by the IS-linked Muharir al-Ansar showed French President Emmanuel Macron handcuffed in an orange jumpsuit as an executioner with a knife looms behind him.

Others showed Russian President Vladimir Putin dead and promised imminent attacks against the U.S. and Britain, seemingly minimizing IS's losses in Syria, Iraq and in places like Libya and Afghanistan, where its cells have been repeatedly targeted by the U.S. and coalition partners.

But even if IS followers are not capable of making good on such threats, analysts say it may not matter because the target audience is not the West but rather potential IS adherents.

All of this, said Michael S. Smith II, a terrorism analyst and teaching fellow in Johns Hopkins University's Global Security Studies program, "can have a cumulative effect of demonstrating Islamic State is a viable enterprise that remains worthy of support."

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Right now we are celebrating getting this win for the folks who were long dismissed, said Ald. John Arena, 45th, who lost his re-election bid earlier this year, in part, because he so strongly backed the controversial project. There was a lot of misinformation and negative attention surrounding this project which will be disproved.
China urges US to stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs

Global Times

Source:CGTN Published: 2019/5/17 20:34:52

China firmly opposes any attempted foreign interference in Hong Kong's affairs, Lu Kang, a spokesperson for Chinese Foreign Ministry, told reporters at a press conference Friday regarding US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's comments on the newly proposed Hong Kong extradition law.

Pompeo met with Martin Lee, a leading figure of Hong Kong's opposition camp on Thursday, expressing his concern about the Hong Kong government's proposed amendments to the extradition law, calling it a threat to Hong Kong's rule of law, the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

Lu refuted Pompeo's remarks, reiterating that Hong Kong is China's Special Administrative Region (SAR) and its affairs are entirely China's internal affairs. China urges the U.S. to respect the legislation system in Hong Kong, and stop meddling Hong Kong's affairs and threatening the rule of law in Hong Kong, said Lu.

Lu further pointed out that Martin Lee is not a pro-democracy leader as the U.S. suggested in the statement, but a person with political purposes attempting to disturb social order with the help of external interference.

The Chinese central government has been comprehensively implementing the principles of "one country, two systems," "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong" and its high degree of autonomy, since the return of Hong Kong, said Lu, adding that Hong Kong continues to enjoy prosperity and stability, and Hong Kong residents enjoy every right and freedom they are entitled to in accordance with the law.

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Retaliation on American firms suggested after Huawei ban

Global Times

By Wang Cong Source:Global Times Published: 2019/5/17 22:34:33

'All options on the table' within the law

As the trade war between China and the US continues to escalate, with the latter constantly raising the stakes and widening the battle, Chinese officials could be considering all options to strike back, including targeting big US corporations, analysts have suggested.

While there is limited room for China to continue the tit-for-tat tariff war with the US due to a massive trade surplus, there are many US companies that rely heavily on the Chinese market, giving Chinese officials an option they have so far been reluctant to take but increasingly pushed to do so, they noted.

Despite seemingly softer tones from some US officials, Washington continued to escalate the war, preparing for more tariffs on Chinese products and seeking to expand the war to more areas, as shown in its ban on Chinese tech firm Huawei.

In Beijing, officials remain defiant and resolute in beating back US pressure, vowing to implement necessary measures to protect its national interest and its companies.

Chinese officials have been tight-lipped about China's potential countermeasures. Analysts pointed out that China cannot keep up with the tariffs because of the trade surplus and might need to think of more effective tools. One option being considered is to target US corporations, sources familiar with the matter told the Global Times.

"Since the US not only waged a tariff war with China but also wants to restrict Chinese companies' growth potential and normal operations, China will take matching measures," a source said, saying that officials are considering all options.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stressed that US companies doing business within Chinese law should not worry, "but if companies violate Chinese law or engage in other activities, then we will definitely take some action."

While Chinese officials have been reluctant to take measures against US companies because it may not be in line with China's long-held reform and opening-up policy, the US has left China with no other option, particularly after it banned Huawei, citing unsubstantiated national security claims, analysts said.

"This is all on the US. [US officials] made the decision," said Mei Xinyu, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, adding that "all options are on the table."

Another source suggested that China should continue its reform and opening-up policies to offer foreign investors greater access to the Chinese market and protection. "But we can consider not letting US companies receive those benefits."

Asked whether China will target US companies, Lu Kang, a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday that foreign companies should not worry as long as they abide by the law. "But there is something I must emphasize: Trade and investment must be based on equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect."

Reliance on China

US officials have cited China's massive trade surplus with the US as their advantage in the tariff war, but Chinese analysts said that US companies' reliance on the Chinese market is also an advantage for China.

In 2018, China's trade surplus with the US reached $376 billion, but some analysts estimated that US companies made $380 billion in the Chinese market, compared with the $20 billion Chinese companies made in the US.

Many major US corporations, including carmakers such as General Motors and chipmaker Skyworks Solutions, sell more products in the Chinese market than in their home market. Skyworks, for example, sold 85 percent of its total volume in the Chinese market in 2017, CNBC reported.

Other US companies, including plane-maker Boeing and Apple, are also heavily dependent on the Chinese market. US tech giants such as Google and Amazon also have businesses in China.

"Before we considered these US companies as stabilizers in China-US relations, but that doesn't appear to be the case anymore. They made a lot of money in China, and then go back and complain to the US government about China," another source told the Global Times.

US business executives are usually well-received in China, but many analysts now say that these big corporations might have been behind the push for the US to launch the trade war. Some US executives have indicated they are willing to take the hit from the tariffs, if the war results in "structural changes" in China.

"There are some industries, such as agricultural and mechanical companies, like Boeing we can sanction to inflict pain on the US," Liang Haiming, dean of Hainan University's Belt and Road Research Institute, told the Global Times on Friday, who urged caution in taking such a broad plan.

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China slams US intervention in Hong Kong's affairs

Iran Press TV

Fri May 17, 2019 05:10PM

China has decried the United States' interference in the affairs of Hong Kong, which is self-ruled but subject to Chinese sovereignty, following remarks by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about a proposed extradition law.

"It is wrong to try and interfere in Hong Kong's affairs in any way," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular briefing in Beijing on Friday. "Trying to seize the opportunity to incite chaos in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region does not have popular support and will not be successful."

Pompeo discussed the proposed extradition law during a meeting with a delegation headed by Martin Lee, a founder of Hong Kong's opposition Democratic Party, in Washington on Thursday.

The US official "expressed concern about the Hong Kong government's proposed amendments to the Fugitive Ordinance law," which he said "threaten Hong Kong's rule of law."

Lu, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said there were certain people in Hong Kong who were "trying to use foreign forces to disturb normal social order" in the region, in an apparent reference to Lee and other opposition figures.

Hong Kong's government seeks to have a law passed that allows suspects to be sent for trial to countries not covered by the region's current extradition agreements. The plan has sparked protests on the self-ruled island, with critics saying the law could be used to send Beijing's political opponents to mainland China.

Lu, however, said the bill was needed to "to plug legal loopholes" in Hong Kong's judicial system and prevent it from becoming "a haven for criminals."

The spokesman also stressed that the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents were fully protected under the law.

Former British colony Hong Kong was returned to China after about a century in 1979. Its legislative, executive, and judicial bodies are separate from and independent of China, and Beijing only maintains authority in defense, foreign affairs, and constitutional disputes.

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Commissioner's office of China's foreign ministry in HK rejects Pompeo's remarks

Global Times

Source:Xinhua Published: 2019/5/18 0:02:09

The Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Friday rejected US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's recent remarks over Hong Kong's amendments of fugitive offenders ordinance, saying the remarks were "irresponsible," and urged the United States to stop interfering in Hong Kong's internal affairs.

"We express strong discontent and firm opposition over the US official's irresponsible remarks, and call on the United States to abide by the international law and the basic norms governing international relations, to stop disturbing the legitimate and reasonable legislative process of the SAR, and to stop interfering in Hong Kong's affairs as well as China's domestic affairs," a spokesperson of the commissioner's office said in a statement.

The statement was in response to a recent meeting between Pompeo and Hong Kong opposition activist Lee Chu-ming, who visited the United States and asked for US stress on the Hong Kong SAR government to revoke the amendments.

The Hong Kong SAR government has recently proposed to amend Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance to enable Hong Kong to conduct case-based cooperation with jurisdictions that have no effective long-term arrangement with Hong Kong on juridical assistance in criminal matters.

It has reiterated that the amendments were meant to deal with a 2018 murder case that happened in Taiwan and involved a Hong Kong suspect who has returned to Hong Kong, and to fill a loophole in the Hong Kong SAR's existing legal framework concerning mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.

The spokesperson pointed out that the Hong Kong SAR government's proposal for amendments has both legal basis and practical urgency, and helps highlight the spirit of rule of law, safeguard fairness and justice and perfect the SAR's rule of law.

The spokesperson also sternly objected certain people's act of disregarding Hong Kong and national interests and colluding with external forces to intervene in Hong Kong affairs.

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Berlin to Give Largest Boost to Defence Expenditure Since Cold War - Reports

Sputnik News

15:18 17.05.2019(updated 15:42 17.05.2019)

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Germany has informed NATO of its plans to spend 47.3 billion euros ($52.8 billion) on defence in 2019, the most significant increase to its national defence expenditure since the end of the Cold War, but will still fall short of the alliance's 2 percent of GDP guideline, n-tv broadcaster reported.

Germany's defence spending is expected to go up more than 5 billion euros this year compared to 2018, reaching 1.35 percent of the country's GDP, the n-tv broadcaster reported.

Berlin is planning to further boost defense expenses next year to 49.7 billion euros, or 1.38 percent of its GDP, the broadcaster added.

According to the latest estimates, Germany allocated a total of 1.23 percent of its GDP for defense last year.

Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to boost the country's military spending up to 1.5 per cent of its GDP by 2023.

However, the budget plan presented by German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz in mid-March stipulates that the expenditures will decrease after a rise next year.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly rebuked NATO members for freeloading off the United States and not making large enough contributions to defence spending and lashed out at Germany in April, criticizing it for spending just around 1 percent of its GDP on defense.

 Sputnik

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Germany to Resume Training Troops in North Iraq Amid US-Iran Tensions - Reports

Sputnik News

15:08 17.05.2019(updated 15:15 17.05.2019)

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Germany will resume training Iraqi and Kurdish soldiers in northern Iraq, the German Defence Ministry was reported as saying on Friday, three days after Berlin halted training missions over tensions between Iran and the United States.

The ministry informed defence policy chiefs of parliamentary factions on Thursday evening about its decision to continue training after it re-evaluated the security situation in the region, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper said.

The threat level was reduced from Level 4 to Level 3 on Wednesday, meaning the training will continue as soon as this weekend, the outlet has learned.

Germany suspended training at Camp Taji military complex north of Baghdad as tensions continued to rise between Tehran and Washington, which has sent a carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf, citing a threat from Iran. Tehran, however, slammed US allegations as "fake intelligence", accusing the White House of dragging the US into a conflict with the Islamic Republic.

German military instructors have been deployed in the north of Iraq since 2014 where they are training the members of the Kurdish Peshmerga paramilitary group who fought against the Daesh* terrorist organisation throughout Iraq between 2014 and 2016. Last year, Germany extended its training mission in Iraq until 31 October 2019. It has 160 personnel in the country.

* Daesh (ISIL/ISIS/IS/Islamic State) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia

 Sputnik

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Iran FM: World community should save JCPOA

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Beijing, May 17, IRNA -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Friday that it is the responsibility of the international community to save the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

He said the world countries should spare no efforts to take the necessary action to protect the JCPOA the way Iran does, if they assume that the deal is a significant achievement.

Speaking to IRNA, Zarif said the international community has confined iteself to issuing statements or making comments instead of taking a tangible action to protect the JCPOA.

He said it was quite evident of what nature a practical action should be, noting that what is needed is the normalization of Iran's economic relations which has been stipulated in the JCPOA.

UNSC resolution 2231, exactly refers to this point, therefore it is among the duties of the international community, other JCPOA's members and our friends at the (JCPOA) treaty such as China and Russia who mind this achievement to be protected, to take practical measures to benefit Iranian people from the JCPOA's incentive and privileges, he added.

Iran's foreign minister arrived in Beijing as part of his regional tour Friday morning and is to confer with the country's high ranking officials on issues of mutual interests along with regional and global developments.

Iranian foreign minister is to confer with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on regional and global issues this afternoon.

In the first leg of his trip, Zarif toured Japan, Turkmenistan and India and conferred with the country's top officials.

1430**1424

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US 'sitting by the phone' awaiting call from Iran: Official

Iran Press TV

Fri May 17, 2019 10:17PM

A senior Trump administration official says the US is "sitting by the phone" to hear from Iran, but it has yet to receive any message suggesting Tehran is willing to accept Donald Trump's overtures for direct talks.

The US has heard no message yet from Iran, but "we're sitting by the phone," the senior official, who declined to be identified, told a small group of reporters on Friday.

Back on May 9, Trump publicly appealed to Iran to call him amid heightened tensions.

On the same day, CNN reported that the White House has contacted Swiss authorities to share a telephone number with Iran in hopes that Tehran will contact Trump.

The call for talks came four days after John Bolton, the hawkish US national security advisor, declared the US was sending an aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East in a "clear and unmistakable" message to Iran.

The move, he said, is aimed at sending a "clear and unmistakable message" to Iran that "any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force."

Bolton said the decision was "in response to a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings."

Trump, however, later ordered his administration to avoid a military confrontation with Iran, The New York Times and Reuters reported Friday.

During a Wednesday morning meeting in the Situation Room, Trump sent a message to his hawkish aides that he does not want the US pressure campaign against Iran to explode into an open conflict.

"Trump was firm in saying he did not want a military clash with the Iranians," read the paper citing five senior officials who described the administration's internal debate over Iran.

The report cited anonymous officials informed on the matter as saying that Trump had privately expressed concern that some of his advisers, such as John Bolton, were pushing for war.

Hawks in Trump's team have reportedly gone as far as drawing up plans for a possible military strike that could involve sending 120,000 soldiers to the Middle East.

The New York Times on Monday claimed Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan had presented an updated military plan that envisioned sending as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East should Iran attack American forces or accelerate work on nuclear weapons.

'Fake news media' responsible for 'fraudulent' Iran coverage

The New York Times' claim was later on Tuesday denied by Trump, who described it as "fake news" and said, "Hopefully we're not going to have to plan for that. And if we did that, we'd send a hell of a lot more troops than that."

Later on Friday, Trump tweeted that "the Fake News Media is hurting our Country with its fraudulent and highly inaccurate coverage of Iran."

"It is scattershot, poorly sourced (made up), and DANGEROUS. At least Iran doesn't know what to think, which at this point may very well be a good thing!" he added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif immediately replied, "With the #B_Team doing one thing & @realDonaldTrump saying another thing, it is apparently the US that 'doesn't know what to think.'"

"We in Iran have actually known what to think for millenniaand about the US, since 1953. At this point, that is certainly 'a good thing!'" the top Iranian diplomat added.

Zarif's response apparently made the US president soften his tone to some extent, as he later suggested that fake news are confusing Iran too.

The Iranian foreign minister has yet to continue this Twitter war of words, but Iran's Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said that Trump's "mad advisors" are the source of fake news.

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Iran urges 'practical measures' to safeguard JCPOA

Iran Press TV

Fri May 17, 2019 10:45AM

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that safeguarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is a responsibility that demands "practical measures" by the international community.

"Saving the JCPOA is a responsibility of the international community. If the international community considers the JCPOA as an important achievement, it should undertake practical measures to conserve it, just as Iran did," said Zarif after arriving in the Chinese capital of Beijing on Friday.

The Iranian foreign minister stressed that the international community has resorted to "publishing statements and comments instead of taking practical steps" to safeguard the JCPOA.

"It is quite clear what we mean by practical steps; the normalization of Iran's economic relations. This is clearly mentioned in the JCPOA " he added.

'China resolutely opposes US sanctions on Iran'

Zarif met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss bilateral relations and recent developments regarding Iran and the Middle East region later on Friday.

The top Chinese diplomat told Zarif that China resolutely opposes the US' unilateral sanctions.

"China resolutely opposes the U.S. implementation of unilateral sanctions and so-called 'long arm jurisdiction', understands the current situation and concerns of the Iranian side, and supports the Iranian side to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests," China's Foreign Ministry quoted Wang as saying.

"The dispute surrounding the Iranian nuclear agreement is essentially a contest between multilateralism and unilateralism," he said.

Speaking earlier on Thursday, Zarif said China was one of Iran's most important economic and political partners that was also among the remaining signatories of the JCPOA, adding that Iran sought "close negotiations" with the country, especially regarding "recent developments."

"If the international community and other JCPOA member countries and our friends in the JCPOA like China and Russia want to keep this achievement, it is required that they make sure the Iranian people enjoy the benefits of the JCPOA with concrete actions," Zarif added.

China is among one of Iran's main global oil clients that was allowed to import Iranian crude oil before the US ended waivers in early May.

Zarif made the statements following visits to Turkmenistan, India and Japan in the past week.

The foreign minister has made the trips as the US has been ratcheting up a policy of "maximum pressure" against Iran under President Donald Trump.

Employing the policy, Washington left the multilateral nuclear deal, reached between Iran and the six major powers -- the US, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany -- last year.

It then reinstated the sanctions that had been lifted under the accord, and began threatening the countries not abiding by the bans with "secondary sanctions."

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.

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.

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Tehran urges US to declassify its 'intelligence' on Iran threat in Iraq

Iran Press TV

Fri May 17, 2019 10:25AM

Iran's ambassador to the UN has called on the US government to declassify its alleged intelligence on "Iranian threat" in Iraq, saying Tehran is confident the claim is "fake".

"If they have credible evidence and information, why don't they declassify them and make it known to the American people and to the people of the world?" Iranian Ambassador to the UN Majid Takht-Ravanchi said.

He made the remarks in a Thursday interview with CBS News channel in reaction to the US claim that "Iranian proxies" in the region are posing threat to US interests.

"As long as they cannot share this so-called intelligence, which we call fake intelligence, there is no utility in saying that these information are credible," he added.

The ambassador said reports that "Iranian proxies" are posing a threat to the US forces in the Middle East "are part of the same propaganda tools that Americans are employing."

"These are the same fake intelligence that is being used to provoke," he added.

The Iranian ambassador also said he believes President Trump does not want a war, "but that does not mean that people who are close to him share his opinion."

"I do not want to involve myself in the American politics, but the fact of the matter is that those hardliners in the administration have been trying to provoke, to agitate, to create the necessary grounds for a war, for a conflict with Iran," he said.

A few hours before the interview, President Trump told reporters he hoped the two countries don't go to war.

Takht-e Ravanchi said, "So as far as the president is concerned, the thing that he said today, is not something new for us, because that was our belief; as Iran is not interested in a war."

"The war is not an option for Iran. I think it will be detrimental to the security of the whole region if God forbid we will have a conflict in our neighborhood  That would be disaster," the Iranian envoy said.

The Iranian diplomat, however, warned about the use of fake intelligence, similar to those which resulted in the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, to push Washington toward a war with Tehran.

He referred to the "fake intelligence which says Iran is culprit for the problems in the region", describing it as the "root cause of all these events" which should be tackled and taken care of.

Pointing to Trump's hawkish national security advisor, John Bolton, and his role in the Iraqi invasion, Takht-e Ravanchi said, "Those who were responsible for the Iraqi invasion back in 2003 are the same people who are trying to create a conflict in our region."

"Nobody knows what's going to happen as long as there are armada in our region, there are fleets in our region, there are bombers in our region, and the question that should be asked is why these armada are in the region?"

American lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are growing more concerned about heightened tensions between Iran and the United States, raising doubts about the Trump administration's claims of increased Iranian threat in the Middle East.

US lawmakers question skewed assessments against Iran

The chairmen of three congressional committees on national security on Thursday pressed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to explain whether the Trump administration's arms control report was politicized and slanted assessments about Iran.

The chairmen of Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence committees in the US House of Representatives asked Pompeo in a letter to provide a State Department briefing and documents no later than May 23.

The letter cited a Reuters story from April 17 that reported how the administration's annual report to Congress assessing compliance with arms control agreements provoked a dispute with US intelligence agencies and some State Department officials.

The dissenting officials, sources said, were concerned that the document politicized and skewed assessments against Iran.

"Our nation knows all too well the perils of ignoring and 'cherry-picking' intelligence in foreign policy and national security decisions," the chairmen said in their letter. They referred to the selective use of intelligence "to justify the march to war" in Iraq in 2003.

Tensions mounted on the first anniversary of Washington's exit from a nuclear deal with Iran after the US sent an aircraft carrier strike group, a squadron of B-52 bombers, and a battery of patriot missiles, to the Middle East.

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As mayor, Emanuel started his administration feuding with the Chicago Teachers Union  a fight he relished, though it was politically costly. In 2012, the teachers went on a seven-day strike, the first such work stoppage in nearly 25 years, but Emanuel was able to get the school day and year extended. At the time, Chicago had one of the shortest public school days and years in the nation, and changing that had been his top reform priority.
US Democrats accuse Trump of 'bending intelligence' on Iran

Iran Press TV

Fri May 17, 2019 07:49AM

Four US senators have sent a letter to President Donald Trump to express growing concerns on Capitol Hill that his administration is "inflating threats and bending intelligence" to justify a potential armed confrontation with Iran.

The letter, from Democratic Senators Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley and Chris Van Hollen, as well as Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, and obtained by Foreign Policy magazine, accuses the Trump administration of leading the US down a "path to another war in the Middle East."

In the letter, the lawmakers warn that the Trump administration's Iran strategy is "increasingly inconsistent and counterproductive" and "fits into a larger pattern of inflating threats and bending intelligence to justify dangerous, predetermined policies."

They asked Trump to respond to their letter by June 15 with more clarification on his Iran policy.

The letter underscores the growing concern in the US Congress that the White House might stumble into an armed confrontation with Iran. It also highlights how rattled Democrats are by the administration's overall Iran strategy.

Last week, two other Democratic senators, Dick Durbin and Tom Udall, published an op-ed in the Washington Post that delivered similar warnings.

The letter comes amid reports that Trump is angry at his National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other hawks in his administration who are pushing the United States into a military confrontation with Iran.

The four senators also said the administration's threat assessment on Iran's nuclear program is "inconsistent" with the findings of America's own intelligence agencies, as well as those of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In January, the Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said in a US congressional hearing, "we do not believe Iran is currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activities we judge necessary to produce a nuclear device."

In February, the IAEA backed up Coats's assertion and once again reaffirmed Iran's compliance with its nuclear-related commitments under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

"Your administration, however, is making assertions that are at odds with these findings," the letter reads, citing Pompeo's recent accusation that Iran was engaging in "nuclear blackmail."

They also cited a new US State Department report that suggested Iran was not in compliance with obligations on nonproliferation.

"In sum, we fear that your administration is leading the United States down the path to another war in the Middle East, while spurning our allies and misleading the United States public," the senators write.

Earlier this month, Bolton said that Washington was preparing for possible attacks by Iran or its allied forces in the region.

Citing those "threats," Washington sent military reinforcements to the region, including an aircraft carrier strike group, a squadron of B-52 bombers, and a battery of patriot missiles.

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Trump orders aides to avoid open conflict with Iran: Report

Iran Press TV

Fri May 17, 2019 07:02AM

US President Donald Trump has ordered his administration to avoid a military confrontation with Iran, the New York Times and Reuters have reported.

The Times reported Friday that Trump, during a Wednesday morning meeting in the Situation Room, sent a message to his hawkish aides that he does not want the US pressure campaign against Iran to explode into an open conflict.

"Trump was firm in saying he did not want a military clash with the Iranians," read the paper citing five senior officials who described the administration's internal debate over Iran.

The account was echoed by Reuters news agency which said Trump had communicated to his national security team and other aides to avoid an armed conflict.

"He doesn't want to go to war. It's not who he is," said one official speaking on condition of anonymity.

The report cited anonymous officials informed on the matter as saying that Trump had privately expressed concern that some of his advisers, such a John Bolton, were pushing for war.

Trump's order comes a week after Bolton announced that the US was sending an aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East to counter a "threat" from Tehran.

Hawks in Trump's team have reportedly gone as far as drawing up plans for a possible military strike that could involve sending 120,000 soldiers to the Middle East.

American lawmakers from both parties have expressed frustration about the administration's increasing war rhetoric and lacking consultation with Congress.

In a move to quell lawmakers' frustration, administration officials held a briefing for the Senate and House leaders from both parties later on Thursday.

Following the session, Democrat Senator Richard Durbin said, "It's a situation where this president has surrounded himself with people, Pompeo and Bolton in particular, who believe that getting tough on a military basis with Iran is in our best interest."

Various reports in the past two weeks have said that Trump has been specifically at odds with Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over their push for military confrontation with Iran.

Earlier this week, US media reported that Trump was considering replacing Bolton.

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Iran's Zarif Calls For 'Concrete Action' To Salvage Nuclear Deal

By RFE/RL May 17, 2019

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has urged China, Russia, and other "partners" to take "concrete action" to safeguard a nuclear deal that the United States exited a year ago.

Zarif made the call on May 17 upon arriving in Beijing, where he held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

His call came amid mounting tensions in the Middle East, with the United States making increasingly threatening accusations against Tehran about its ballistic-missile programs and Tehran-backed militants in the region.

A U.S. aircraft-carrier battle group is now in the Arabian Sea, with a full air wing of fighter jets and accompanying ships carrying land-attack cruise missiles.

In May 2018, President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 landmark nuclear deal, which curtailed Iran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for relief from crippling sanctions. Since then Washington has steadily stepped up its rhetoric and imposed other financial sanctions.

Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China were all also signatories to the nuclear deal, and all continue to support the deal for the most part, despite Washington's opposition.

Tehran last week said that it is scaling down on some of its commitments under the deal to pressure the remaining parties to the pact.

"So far, the international community has mainly made statements instead of saving the deal," Zarif was quoted as saying by Iran's official news agency IRNA.

"The practical step is quite clear: Economic relations with Iran should be normalized. This is what the deal clearly addresses," the top Iranian diplomat added.

Zarif's trip to China followed quick visits to Japan and India.

Earlier this month, the U.S. administration withdrew waivers to China, Japan, India and six other nations that had allowed them to import some Iranian crude without being exposed to punitive action under the U.S. sanctions.

Iran has dismissed the allegations from Washington that there were "imminent threats" from Tehran and accused the United States of an "unacceptable" escalation of tensions.

Tensions increased further after authorities alleged that four Saudi oil tankers were sabotaged on May 12 off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Also, Iran-aligned rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for a drone attack on a Saudi oil pipeline.

Speaking later in Tokyo, Zarif said there was "no possibility" of talks with the United States to reduce escalating tensions.

But an unnamed U.S. administration official told reporters on May 17 that U.S. officials were "sitting by the phone" but have heard no message yet from Iran about the possibility of direct talks with Washington.

"We think they should de-escalate and come to negotiations," the official, who declined to be identified, was quoted as saying.

Iran denies it supports insurgent activity and has said its nuclear program is strictly for civilian energy purposes.

With reporting by IRNA, AP and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/in-beijing-iran-s-zarif -calls-for-concrete-action-to-salvage -nuclear-deal/29947216.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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White House Gives Lawmakers Classified Iran Briefing After Complaints Of Secrecy

By RFE/RL May 17, 2019

A select group congressional leaders received a classified briefing on Iran from the White House following complaints that lawmakers had not been kept informed on recent U.S. military moves in the Middle East.

The briefing was given on May 16 to the so-called Gang of Eight, a varying group of four Democratic and four Republican lawmakers who are at times given highly classified intelligence information.

Briefings are also scheduled to be given to the full Senate and House of Representatives next week, U.S. news media are reporting, citing sources.

Democratic Senator Mark Warner, the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, did not comment following the Gang of Eight briefing, but he did say the administration should keep lawmakers better informed about any threat from Iran.

"I think obviously there are certain protections that have to be maintained for the Gang of Eight, but it's very important that more members hear this story," Warner told reporters.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, also a member of the Gang of Eight, said a failure to keep Congress informed is "part of a pattern" for the current administration "that is not right" because Congress alone has the power to declare war.

"So I hope that the president's advisers recognize that they have no authorization to go forward in any way" against Tehran, she said.

Amid growing tensions between the United States and Iran, Washington announced the deployment of an aircraft carrier battle group and a bomber task force to the Persian Gulf to counter what U.S. officials called "clear indications" of threats from Tehran to U.S. interests or its allies in the region.

U.S. officials have told their European allies that the recent military buildup is a "defensive" move, which is being made in response to multiple threats coming out of Iran.

Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, told RFE/RL on May 14 that Washington was "just trying to restore deterrence."

"We're not spoiling for a fight," Hook said.

Asked at the White House on May 16 whether rising tensions with Tehran could lead to war, President Donald Trump replied: "I hope not."

Mixed with his threatening language, Trump has recently made comments urging Iranian leaders to sit down for talks, and tweeted on May 16 he was "sure that Iran will want to talk soon."

Some lawmakers accused the White House of attempting to provoke Iran into retaliating.

"The Iranians moving weapons around is not a new thing, and that they may be doing it at a more rapid pace after we have threatened them with a carrier strikes group is not surprising," said Democratic Representative Jim Himes, a senior member of the House Intelligence Committee.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio defended the White House's actions, saying there has been "a persistent and clear stream of information" about Iranian threats to U.S. troops and other assets in the Middle East.

Rubio, speaking on the Senate floor, said Iranian forces "and their proxies in the region pose a serious and potentially imminent threat to U.S. forces and U.S. civilians in Iraq and in the broader Middle East."

Trump has taken a hard line on Iran since he took office in January 2017.

In May 2018, he pulled the United States out of a 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with six world powers. The accord provided Tehran with relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

In withdrawing, Trump said the terms were not tough enough to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and did not address Iran's missile program or Tehran's alleged support for militants in the region.

Iran described the U.S. moves as "psychological warfare," and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said there is "no possibility" of talks with the United States at this time.

Zarif also said Tehran was showing "maximum restraint" despite the U.S. withdrawal from the deal and accused Washington of an "unacceptable" escalation of the crisis.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/white-house-gives- lawmakers-classified-iran-briefing-amid- complaints/29946513.html

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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US 'Sitting By the Phone' But Hasn't Heard From Iran Yet - Trump Admin. Official

Sputnik News

20:00 17.05.2019(updated 21:01 17.05.2019)

Earlier on Thursday, US President Donald Trump told reporters that he hopes the US is not going to war with Iran.

A senior official with the Trump administration told reporters that the US thinks Iran should de-escalate and come to negotiations, according to Reuters.

The US leader has posted on Twitter recently, expressing his concern over the way the mainstream media covers the situation in Iran.

Earlier this week The Washington Post reported quoting the administration's official that Trump was frustrated with the hard-line policy towards Iran pushed by John Bolton and Mike Pompeo.

The relations between Washington and Tehran have grown more tense recently after the US reinforced its military presence in the Persian Gulf with the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and a bomber task force. It also approved the additional deployment of the Patriot missile defence system and Arlington amphibious warchip to the region.

Tehran has repeatedly said it is ready to retaliate in case of a military conflict.

 Sputnik

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Iranian Military Official: Missiles Capable of Striking Warships in Gulf

By VOA News May 17, 2019

A senior member of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps said Friday Iranian short-range missiles can "easily" reach warships in the Persian Gulf, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Revolutionary Guard deputy chief Mohammad Saleh Jokar's comments came amid rising tensions with the United States.

The U.S. has increased its military presence in the region by deploying additional ships and tightened sanctions against Iran to counter alleged threats from the Islamic Republic. The gulf is one of the world's most strategic waterways, through which one-third of the world's oil supply is transported.

Jokar warned the U.S. "cannot afford the costs of a new war" and that a conflict would adversely affect global oil supplies. "If a war happens, the world will suffer," he added.

Jokar's remarks came as Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif engaged in intense diplomatic efforts to preserve Iran's nuclear deal with world powers. During a visit to China Friday, Zarif criticized world leaders, saying "supportive statements" are not enough to save the agreement.

"If the international community feels that this accord is a valuable achievement, then it should take practical steps just like Iran does," Zarif told IRNA, Iran's official news agency. "The meaning of practical steps is fully clear: Iran's economic relations should be normalized."

The U.S. pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal last year and imposed tough sanctions that have weakened Iran's economy, including a move to cut off Iranian oil exports. The five remaining signatories of the deal, the European Union, Britain, China, France and Russia, have since tried to preserve it.

Iran warned last week it would start enriching uranium at higher levels again if a new nuclear agreement has not been reached by July 7.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said publicly he wants a diplomatic solution, but Iranian officials are not convinced.

Iranian General Rasool Sanaeirad said imposing sanctions while pursuing talks is like "pointing a gun at someone demanding friendship," Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

That sentiment was echoed by Iranian ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi, who told CBS the U.S. "want(s) to have the stick in their hands, trying to intimidate Iran at the same time calling for a dialog."

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'Iraqi parl. to vote on bill banning US military presence'

Iran Press TV

Fri May 17, 2019 04:39PM

The Iraqi parliament is set to vote on a draft bill that would ban the United States-led military presence in Iraq, a report says.

The draft bill, which stipulates the expulsion of all foreign forces from Iraq but which focuses specifically on dislodging American forces, is scheduled for a vote on Saturday, Iraq's al-Ma'lomah news website reported on Thursday.

The US invaded Iraq in 2003, claiming that then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and sought to use them against the US. Combat forces pulled out of the country in 2011, nominally ending the war. However, thousands of American and other troops remain in the country to allegedly provide logistics and training to Iraqi forces.

Many politicians across Iraq's political landscape have questioned the foreign military presence in the country over the years. Calls for a withdrawal of foreign forces have grown following the defeat of the Daesh terrorist group in Iraq in 2018.

Speaking about the draft bill due for a vote, Karim Alivi, a member of the Iraqi parliament's national security and defense committee, said on Thursday that the country's two biggest parliamentary factions  the Sairoon bloc, led by Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and the Fatah alliance, headed by secretary general of the Badr Organization, Hadi al-Ameri  supported the document.

The Iraqi lawmaker predicted that the draft text would gain the required majority needed for it to become law, given the two parliamentary blocs' support.

More recently, as speculation grew about potential US military aggression against Iran, Iraqi figures, including Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, emphasized that US forces would not be allowed to use Iraqi territory to launch any attacks on Iran if a war did break out.



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Japan - AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM)

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 19-31

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2019 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Japan of AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) with support for an estimated cost of $317 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on May 16, 2019.

The Government of Japan has requested to buy one hundred sixty (160) AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), and one (1) AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM guidance section. Also included are containers, weapon support and support equipment, spare and repair parts, U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistical support services, and other related elements of logistical and program support. The total estimated program cost is $317 million.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a major ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Asia-Pacific region. It is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Japan in developing and maintaining a strong and effective self-defense capability.

The proposed sale of these missiles will provide Japan a critical air defense capability to assist in defending the Japanese homeland and U.S. personnel stationed there. Japan will have no difficulty absorbing these additional missiles into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support does not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractor Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona. There are no known offset arrangements proposed in connection with this potential sale. Any offset agreement will be defined in negotiations between the Purchaser and the prime contractor.

Implementation of this sale will not require the assignment of U.S. Government or contractor representatives in Japan.

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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Stateless Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh Receive Identity Documents for First Time

By Lisa Schlein May 17, 2019

Bangladeshi authorities and the U.N. refugee agency have registered more than a quarter million Rohingya refugees and presented them with identity documents that grant them a number of rights and safeguards.

Unlike citizens of a country, stateless people have few rights. They may be deprived of an education, a job or health care. Those who are not registered at birth have no identity. That is the situation for millions of Rohingya who were stripped of their citizenship in neighboring Myanmar in 1982. Many of them are sheltering in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, after fleeing killings and persecution in Myanmar.

Change for better

For most of the more than 900,000 Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar, things are about to change for the better. The U.N. refugee agency says the more than 270,000 Rohingya refugees who have completed the registration process have for the first time ever received an identity card.

UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic says the ID card includes a photo and key information, such as name, date of birth and place of birth. It also indicates Myanmar as the country of origin.

"The first and foremost purpose of this registration is humanitarian in order to safeguard their right to return, to regulate their stay and also to make sure that we do not know only how many people there are, that we have a detailed profile which allows us with the more accurate data to deliver far better assistance to this massive refugee population," Mahecic said.

Mahecic says the UNHCR and Bangladeshi authorities hope to complete the registration process for the entire refugee population by November. He cites a number of benefits associated with having an ID card.

Target assistance

Mahecic says the data will allow aid agencies to target assistance to people in acute need, including women and children heading families and people with disabilities. With the monsoon season approaching, he says the registration data will help reunite families who are separated during storms.

He notes the refugees are ripe for exploitation by smugglers and traffickers. Mahecic says the ID card will help authorities combat that nefarious trade.

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Korea - SM-2 Block IIIB Standard Missiles

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 19-26

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2019 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Korea of SM-2 Block IIIB Standard missiles with support for an estimated cost of $313.9 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on May 16, 2019.

The Republic of Korea (ROK) has requested to buy up to ninety-four (94) rounds of SM-2 Block IIIB Standard Missiles and twelve (12) MK 97 MOD 0 Guidance Sections for SM-2 Block IIIB. Also included is technical assistance: training and training equipment; publication and technical data; and related logistics support, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The total estimated program cost is $313.9 million.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by meeting the legitimate security and defense needs of one of the closest allies in the INDOPACOM Theater. The Republic of Korea is one of the major political and economic powers in East Asia and the Western Pacific and a key partner of the United States in ensuring peace and stability in that region.

The ROK Navy intends to use the SM-2 Block IIIB to supplement it existing inventory. The proposed sale will provide a defensive capability while enhancing interoperability with U.S. and other allied forces. The Republic of Korea will have no difficulty absorbing these additional missiles into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractor will be the Raytheon Missile Systems Company, Tucson, Arizona. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale. Any offset agreement will be defined in negotiations between the Purchaser and the prime contractor.

Implementation of the proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to the ROK. However, U.S. Government or contractor personnel in-country visits will be required on a temporary basis in conjunction with program technical oversight and support requirements.

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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Russia says will retaliate new US sanctions

Iran Press TV

Fri May 17, 2019 01:01PM

Russia says it will retaliate against the recent sanctions imposed by the United States on a Chechen law enforcement unit and Russian nationals.

The Kremlin said on Friday that reciprocal measures would be taken consistent with the national interests of Russia in response to US sanctions on the Terek Special Rapid Response Team in Russia's southern region of Chechnya and at least three Russian nationals. It did not elaborate.

The administration of US President Donald Trump imposed the sanctions over alleged human rights abuses on Thursday.

The US Treasury Department announced that the sanctions were imposed under the so-called Magnitsky Act.

In a statement on Thursday, the Russian Embassy in Washington DC had also said that Moscow would take reciprocal measures in response to the US sanctions even as it stressed that such tit-for-tat action was not its first choice.

"When we responded reciprocally [over other matters] before, we always stressed that this is not our choice. We strive for cooperation with the United States in the long term. We are ready for this and think that this is a right choice," the Russian embassy said.

The US has already introduced several rounds of sanctions against Moscow for what it calls Russia's meddling in the US democratic process and its involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. Moscow rejects both accusations.

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Council Of Europe Ministers Agree Way For Russia To Rejoin

By RFE/RL May 17, 2019

Ministers from the Council Of Europe (CoE) have adopted a joint declaration that would allow Russia to return to the continent's main human rights body, following a dispute related to Moscow's 2014 takeover of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

Foreign ministers from the council's 47 member states on May 17 voted overwhelmingly to support a compromise pushed through by France and Germany as they met in Helsinki, Finland.

"All member states should be entitled to participate on an equal basis" in the organization, the joint declaration said, adding that its members "would welcome that delegations of all member states be able to take part" in the council's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) in June.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin canceled his attendance of the Helsinki meeting at the last minute, expecting the positive vote for Russia.

Moscow welcomed the joint declaration and said it had no desire to leave the CoE.

Ending sanctions will start the process of "normalizing" everything Russia has done, Klimkin wrote in a Facebook post.

Russia's delegation to the CoE has faced sanctions over the annexation of Crimea in March 2014.

One of the measures included stripping the Russian representatives of their voting rights, which in turn prompted them to boycott CoE plenary sessions while Moscow halted its financial contributions.

Russia could be suspended from the body next month for not paying its membership fees.

In Helsinki, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the ministers' declaration "points the way toward the settlement of the current crisis."

"Now the ball is in the court of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe," he said, adding: "We are not refusing to fulfill a single obligation, including financial ones."

However, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius tweeted that Russia was continuing its "aggression" against Ukraine and that European values meant very little if they were not defended.

"It was the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014," Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini said. "And that cannot be forgotten."

The Helsinki summit marked the 70th anniversary of the CoE, which was founded in 1949 by Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden as a watchdog of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

The Strasbourg-based body includes the European Court of Human Rights, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights

With reporting by Deutsche Welle, AFP, AP, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/council-of-europe -marks-anniversary-russia-in- spotlight/29946626.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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Syria says its air defenses intercept several Israeli projectiles

Iran Press TV

Fri May 17, 2019 07:31PM

The Syrian army says its air defense units have brought down several projectiles fired from Israeli-occupied territories.

Syria's official news agency SANA, citing its correspondent, said that the Israeli aerial aggression occurred on Friday night.

Other reports, quoting some residents in the Syrian capital, said several loud explosions were heard near Damascus.

SANA, in a later update, quoted a military official as saying that the projectiles came from "the direction of" Syria's southwestern province of Quneitra near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, adding that the air defense units had "countered" them.

The Israeli regime launches airstrikes on the Syrian territory from time to time. Such aggressive moves are usually viewed as attempts to prop up terrorist groups suffering defeats at the hands of Syrian government forces.

On April 13, the Syrian army said that its air defenses intercepted some of the Israeli missiles fired at a Syrian military base near the city of Hama, while the remaining missiles hitting the target destroyed a number of buildings and wounded three Syrian troopers.

On March 27, the Israeli regime launched multiple missile attacks on Shaykh Najjar industrial city located 10 km northeast of Syria's Aleppo.

Syrian TV said the majority of those missiles had been intercepted by the Arab country's air defense, and those that hit their targets only caused material damage.

Israel used to be very careful with its operations over Syria after Russia equipped Damascus with the advanced S-300 surface-to-air missiles in October 2018.

However, US President Donald Trump's recent decision to recognize the "Israeli sovereignty" over the Syrian territories of Golan Heights has seemingly emboldened Tel Aviv to launch new aggression on the Arab country.

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Syrian Air Defenses Down Projectiles Fired From Israeli-Controlled Territory

Sputnik News

22:13 17.05.2019(updated 22:44 17.05.2019)

According to Syrian state media, Syrian air defenses have intercepted projectiles coming from Israeli-controlled territory.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported late Friday night that air defense systems had intercepted "luminous objects coming from the occupied territories, shooting down a number of them."

"Our anti-aircraft systems monitored hostile targets that came from the direction of Quneitra and intercepted them," a Syrian military official told reporters.

Video footage shot on a cell phone in Damascus showed anti-air missiles intercepting at least one target. According to the poster, multiple explosions were heard in the southwest of the city, which is closest to Israel.

One observer captured a photo of the "hostile objects."

A political analyst reported Israeli warplanes had targeted two sites belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) located south and southwest of the Syrian capital.

Last month, Syria accused Tel Aviv of carrying out an airstrike against military bases in Masayef, in northwestern Syria's Hama province. In the previous month, seven Iranian servicemembers were killed during an Israeli airstrike near Aleppo International Airport.

 Sputnik

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Risk grows of 'catastrophic humanitarian fallout' in Syria's Idlib, where 3 million are trapped: top UN officials urge unity in Security Council

17 May 2019 - The UN's Political and Humanitarian Affairs chiefs on Friday called on the Security Council to unite in support of an immediate de-escalation of fighting around Syria's Idlib province, and work towards an enduring political solution on behalf of the Syrian people.

The UN's head of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo told members that "we have been here before: in Aleppo, Eastern Ghouta and Raqqa" where civilian casualties mounted along with an all-out offensive by the Syrian Government and its allies.

"If the escalation continues, and the offensive pushes forward, we risk catastrophic humanitarian fallout and threats to international peace and security", she said, giving a cautious welcome to the announcement on Wednesday of a new Turkish-Russian working group, convened to try and salvage the military buffer-zone deal reached between the two nations last September over Idlib.

The top former United States diplomat said the UN had followed the intensifying violence which has reportedly killed more than 100 civilians, and displaced around 180,000 already displaced civilians, "with great concern".

Fighting terrorists, can't trump international legal obligations

She noted the presence of the terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which reportedly now holds sway in much of Idlib, saying that "the international community agrees" that it's presence "must be addressed. But with three million civilians in close quarters, combatting terrorism cannot be allowed to supercede obligations under international law."

Ms. DiCarlo said the UN-facilitated political track needed to be revitalized, adding that if the Council can work together in support of Russia and Turkey's ceasefire commitment "then we can work towards restoring a nationwide ceasefire and consensus" in line with previous Resolutions.

"International cooperation and support of the Geneva process is critical if Special Envoy (Geir) Pedersen is to realize his mandate" she said, adding that "the conflict is Syria is complex but there is a path forward."

"Let us unite today for the first step  to support an immediate de-escalation of the violence in greater Idlib and work towards a political solution that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people", she concluded.

'Our worst fears are now coming true'  UN relief chief Lowcock

Despite repeated warnings from the UN Secretary-General and others, the decision by the Syrian Government and allies - which include Security Council permament-member Russia - to intensify a military offensive on Idlib in recent weeks, means that "our worst fears are now coming true", said Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock.

He reminded Council members that "the innocent civilians of course hugely out-number the men with guns" across Idlib. While many of the 180,000 newly-displaced have moved to camps in the past three weeks, "more than 80,000 people have found themselves with nowhere to go, so they are simply parked in open fields or sheltering under trees."

At least three IDP camps had been attacked with resulting deaths and injuries, and 17 schools damaged and destroyed, with more than 400,000 unable to sit for important exams. The UN humanitarian response would be completely overwhelmed if a full military incursion takes place, he added.

The escalation in attacks on medical facilities inside the escalation zone, was the biggest cause for concern he said, noting the World Health Organization (WHO) had confirmed 20 attacks on 18 different facilities  or one per day, in the past three weeks.

'What is the point of the Security Council passing resolutions like that if States are not going to comply with them?'

He ended his briefing with a chilling list of factual responses to some key questions put to his office in recent weeks, by Member States, NGOs, doctors and families affected by fighting in the Idlib zone. Here is the full transcript of his closing remarks:

"Who is bombing all these hospitals?

I can't say. But at least some of these attacks are clearly organized by people with access to sophisticated weapons including a modern air force and so called smart or precision weapons.

Are hospitals being deliberately targeted?

I don't know. The people who do, are the ones dropping the bombs. What I can tell you is that there are a lot of attacks on these health facilities.

Is it true that you provide details of where hospitals are, in order to protect them?

Yes. The obligation to protect civilian objects - including hospitals - comes from international humanitarian law. We give details of some hospital locations to the parties to the conflict, so they can comply with those obligations.

Is the information being provided about the locations of hospitals in fact being used not to protect hospitals but to target them?

I don't know. Again, the people who can answer that question are the ones dropping the bombs. Many deconflicted sites which are not hospitals, have not been attacked.

Has this kind of thing happened before during the Syria conflict?

Yes. The then Special Envoy, Staffan de Mistura and I, last year raised concerns about similar attacks in eastern Ghouta with Council Members who we thought might have relevant information and who we thought could prevent a recurrence.

Did you get satisfactory answers at that time?

We have yet to receive full answers to the questions we raised last year.

If I were an NGO running a hospital, why would I want to give you give you details of my location if that information is simply being used to target the hospital?

That is a good question. We are thinking about what conclusions to draw from recent events in respect of the deconfliction system in so far as it covers health facilities.

What is your advice to parents of children who live in the de-escalation zone  should they take their children to the hospital in the case of an illness or injury?

That is a very difficult question. I am deeply concerned about the impact on the health of children, and their safety, when so many medical facilities are being attacked.

What would you do if you were the parent of a child needing hospital care in the so-called de-escalation zone in Idlib right now?

I am sorry to say that I just don't know. I feel desperately sorry for parents in that horrible position.

Hasn't the Security Council passed a resolution reinforcing that countries shouldn't bomb hospitals?

Yes. Security Council Resolution 2286, passed in 2016, specifically covered that.

Finally, I am asked: What is the point of the Security Council passing resolutions like that if States are not going to comply with them?

That, Mr President, is also a very good question. It is, of course, not really addressed to me."



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Repatriation of extremist fighters and families to Kazakhstan, welcomed by UN rights expert

17 May 2019 - Stressing the need for some Governments to reform their laws and policies on fighting terrorism and extremism, an independent UN human rights expert welcomed on Friday Kazakhstan's repatriation of 231 of its citizens from conflict sites in Syria and Iraq, earlier this month.

Remarking that the humanitarian initiative taken by Kazakhstan "safeguards the rights of vulnerable children and their mothers", Fionnuala Ni Aolain, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, called on other States in the region to follow suit.

Highlighting the pivotal role of Kazakhstan, the UN rights expert said in the statement that the country "has illustrated that it is practical and realistic to bring out women and children, and that the remaining responsibility to do so lies with multiple States".

The UN rights expert added that this step "shows much needed leadership on the critical global issue" but raised concerns regarding Kazakhstan's national law covering terrorism and extremism which often targets civil society groups, and "called on the Government to allow them to carry out activities as protected by international law".

She also underlined her deep concerns that "religious minorities were subject to persistent and harsh application of domestic terrorism law".

"The use of extremism laws against political groups and critical voices is a worrisome practice and detracts from the genuine and much-needed work globally of addressing distinct and certain terrorism challenges as defined by international law," Ms. Ni Aolain added, after concluding an eight-day visit to the country.

De-radicalisation methods in prisons and at the community-level cause for concern

Speaking on her concerns about the fairness of investigations and closed trials in cases of terrorism and extremism, Ms. Ni Aolain said that "given the wide and problematic definitions of extremism under domestic law, such programming when based on religious or political identity contradicts fundamental human rights protections and raises clear concerns about discrimination directed at vulnerable groups".

The Special Rapporteur called on all organisations working on issues of de-radicalisation in Kazakhstan, to fully implement human rights obligations in their work.

"Kazakhstan has a unique opportunity in this time of political transition to recalibrate its laws, to open up civil society space, to build on its long and deep tradition of religious pluralism and tolerance and to avoid the pitfall of using security as a means to limit the democratic and vibrant development of society as a whole," Ms. Ni Aolain concluded.

Terrorism as a global threat

In a report presented to the Security Council earlier this year, the UN Office of Counter-terrorism (UNOCT) said that ISIL terrorists remained a global threat  with the additional challenge posed by foreign terrorist fighters who either are leaving conflict zones, or those who are returning, or about to be released from prison at home.

In this context, radicalization in prison settings, is seen as a "particular challenge in Europe and Iraq" said the head of UNOCT, Vladimir Voronkov, emphasizing that the "recent ISIL losses should not lead to any complacency at any level."

Earlier this month, the UNOCT launched a new programme aimed at improving the tracking of suspected terrorists, designed to help countries to detect foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs).







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UN Decries Surge in Attacks on Hospitals in Syria's Idlib

By Margaret Besheer May 17, 2019

The United Nations condemned attacks on health facilities in Syria's northwest Idlib province Friday and warned that a military offensive there by the Bashar al-Assad regime with Russian support risked "catastrophic humanitarian fallout" if it continued.

"Since late April, this escalation in violence has reportedly killed and injured over a hundred civilians and further displaced 180,000," U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. "The aerial bombardment is alarming, including the use of barrel bombs on populated areas."

In September, a deal was struck with the assistance of Russia and Turkey to make Idlib a "de-escalation" zone. The area is now largely controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly known as Jubhat al-Nusra), a U.N.-listed terrorist group that has links to al-Qaida.

More than 3 million Syrians live in Idlib, many of them displaced from other parts of the country, and the U.N. has warned for months that a full-scale military operation there against the terrorists risked triggering a humanitarian catastrophe.

"The international community agrees that the presence of HTS in Idlib must be addressed," DiCarlo said, referring to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham by its initials. "But with 3 million civilians in close quarters, combating terrorism cannot be allowed to supersede obligations under international law."

Especially troubling is the surge in attacks on hospitals and schools in recent weeks.

The United Nations says 17 schools have been damaged or destroyed and at least 18 health facilities have been hit with aerial bombs, shelling or other fighting within the de-escalation zone.

"Some facilities have been hit twice. Other hospitals are closing for fear of being attacked," said U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock. He told the council that in all, 49 health facilities had partly or totally suspended their activities, leaving tens of thousands of people without access to health care.

Protected sites

Medical facilities have special protections under the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, and targeting them can be a war crime.

In Syria, as in other conflicts, humanitarians give the details of some hospital locations to the warring parties so they can avoid targeting them, leaving the British ambassador questioning whether such protective mechanisms are failing or whether certain parties are deliberately using the information to target sensitive civilian infrastructure.

"I'd like to know, since we know that Russia and Syria are the only countries that fly planes in the area," Ambassador Karen Pierce said. "And if the answer is the Russian and Syrian air forces, I call on both ambassadors here today to give us an assurance that the attacks will stop, and there will be no more deliberate targeting of civilians in this manner in facilities that every single member of the international community has a duty to protect."

Russian, Syrian denials

"We categorically reject accusations of violations of international humanitarian law," Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council. "Not the Syrian army, not the space and air force of Russia, are conducting hostilities against civilians or civilian infrastructure. Our goal is the terrorists."

He said Russia refused to consider terrorists "untouchable" and would continue to target them.

Syria's envoy echoed that, saying there were "no random attacks" against civilians, just military operations to root out terror groups and liberate civilians from their grasp.

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U.S. Air Force Chief Says It's Still 'Possible' Turkey May Call Off Russian Missile Purchase

By RFE/RL May 17, 2019

The chief of the U.S. Air Force says it is still "possible" that Turkey will decide against purchasing a Russian missile-defense system, a deal that has angered Washington and many NATO allies.

Asked if Ankara may ultimately change its mind about acquiring the S-400 missile system, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said on May 16 that "it's possible."

"The diplomats are continuing the work on that," she said, reiterating the viewpoint that the Russian missile system is "incompatible with having the F-35 [fighter jets]."

The United States has demanded that Ankara call off the deal to purchase the Russian missile system, and NATO allies have also expressed concerns about the potential threat to U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets.

Turkey, as a NATO member, is participating in the production of the fighter jet for use by alliance militaries and has plans itself to purchase 100 of the jets.

But U.S. officials have warned that Turkey's participation in F-35 production work and its planned purchase of the warplanes could be canceled if Ankara goes through with the Russian deal.

'Clear Message'

A bipartisan group of senior U.S. lawmakers on May 15 called on Turkey to cancel its planned purchase of the missile system.

"The message to Turkey is clear: There is broad, bipartisan consensus that if Turkey goes forward and acquires S-400s, it should not get F-35s," said Republican Kevin McCarthy, the House of Representatives minority leader.

"Cozying up to Vladimir Putin is unacceptable. The U.S. Congress will not stand idly by if [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan pursues the Russian S-400 air- and missile-defense system. This legislation sends a clear message to Erdogan -- if you continue down this path, you'll face serious consequences," said Michael McCaul, the ranking Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said Ankara is aware of U.S. concerns, but Erdogan has insisted that the missile purchase is a done deal and will not be called off. The first deliveries could come as early as June or July, officials have said.

Wilson has confirmed to reporters that shipments of F-35 support gear to Turkey had been halted.

Two of the planes were handed over to Turkey in June 2018, but they remain at a U.S. base in Arizona, and Turkish pilots are allowed access.

"We're continuing to train the Turkish pilots at Luke Air Force Base, but we don't think that we can deliver those aircraft into a country that has the S-400," Wilson said.

Wilson is scheduled to leave her post at the end of May to assume the presidency of the University of Texas at El Paso. Her deputy, Matthew Donovan, is slated to take over as acting secretary on June 1.

With reporting by AFP, The Air Force Times, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-says-still- possible-turkey-will-reject-russian-s-400- missile-system/29946511.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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Turkey to Stick to S-400 Agreement  Russian Upper House Speaker

Sputnik News

18:26 17.05.2019(updated 18:28 17.05.2019)

ISTANBUL (Sputnik) - Turkey confirmed that, despite US pressure, there will be no changes in the agreement with Russia on the supply of Russian S-400 air defence missile systems, Federation Council speaker Valentina Matvienko told reporters Friday after meeting with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan

"He said that, despite the unprecedented pressure, as president, he can say that there will be no changes here and the agreements will be carried out," Matviyenko said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier this day that Turkey was ready to receive the S-400 air defence complexes that it is buying from Russia as soon as Moscow implements the deliveries.

The Russian-Turkish cooperation on S-400 missile systems has been a matter of concern for the United States, which opposes Turkey's acquisition of the systems. Washington cited security concerns and the inability of integration between S-400 and NATO's air defence systems as a reason for its opposition to the purchase.

The US also threatened to halt the support for F-35 jets if Ankara proceeds with the purchase of S-400s. Ankara stressed on multiple occasions that S-400s do not threaten US-manufactured F-35s in any manner, underlining that the purchase of the systems was Turkey's sovereign affair unrelated to the security of the alliance.

Russia and Turkey signed a $2.5 billion loan agreement for the shipment of a total of four batteries of S-400 systems in December 2017. The first shipment of S-400 air defence systems is expected to be delivered to Ankara in July 2019.

 Sputnik

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Ankara Ready to Receive Russian-Made S-400 'Any Moment' - Foreign Minister

Sputnik News

10:47 17.05.2019

HELSINKI (Sputnik) - Turkey is ready to receive the S-400 air defence complexes that it is buying from Russia as soon as Moscow implements the deliveries, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Friday.

"We will receive [the complexes] as soon as Russia is ready to deliver them. At any moment," Cavusoglu said on the sidelines of the Council of Europe ministerial in Helsinki.

The Russian-Turkish cooperation on S-400 deliveries has been criticised by NATO and the United States, which have cited security concerns and the inability of integration between S-400 and NATO's air defence systems.

In January, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara was ready to consider the US proposal on deliveries of the Patriot air defence systems, but refused to abandon the S-400 missile systems deal with Russia.

Russia and Turkey signed a $2.5 billion loan agreement for the shipment of a total of four batteries of S-400 systems in December 2017. The first shipment of S-400 air defence systems is expected to be delivered to Ankara in July 2019.

 Sputnik

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Britain's Labor Party: No Chance of Brexit Ratification by July

By VOA News May 17, 2019

Brexit talks appear to have collapsed a day after British Prime Minister Theresa May set out a timetable for her exit from office  the latest sign of a government in tatters.

Britain's Labor party head Jeremy Corbyn has sent a letter to May saying the Brexit talks have "gone as far as they can" because of the instability of her government and its refusal to change its position.

The two major British parties have been at a stalemate for weeks over a deal outlining the conditions by which Britain will withdraw from the European Union. The deadline for withdrawal was originally set for March 29, but the revised date  to give time for more negotiation  is Oct. 31.

Corbyn said in his letter to the prime minister that the two parties "have been unable to bridge important policy gaps between us." He added, "Even more crucially, the increasing weakness and instability of (May's) government means there cannot be confidence in securing whatever might be agreed" between the Tory and Labor parties.

Corbyn also told reporters Friday there is no chance of ratifying even a partial Brexit deal by July.

May has said the process is hampered by a lack of consensus among Labor party members about whether they want to deliver Brexit or hold a new referendum in hopes of stopping it.

Parliament has rejected May's plan in three separate votes and is set to hold another vote in early June. While May has promised some tweaks to the bill before the next vote, the plan is not expected to undergo any radical changes  meaning the impasse between the lawmakers likely is to remain unchanged.

Conservative lawmaker and former London mayor Boris Johnson, who has led the Brexit movement and supports leaving the EU even without a plan in place, has announced he will stand for the prime minister's position after May vacates it.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innovative Properties Inc. d/b/a Nabis Holdings (CSE: NAB; OTC: INNPF; FRA: 71P) (Nabis or the Company), is pleased to announce that it, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, has signed a definitive agreement to purchase certain assets from PDT Technologies LLC (PDT), including extraction and production equipment and rights to lease its current production facility in Port Townsend, WA. In addition, the Company will purchase the exclusive licensing rights throughout the state of Washington to Chongs Choice brand products, one of the leading and most recognizable brands in the cannabis space.



PDT owns and operates an already-established production facility that produces high grade cannabis concentrate. The Company is planning to spend approximately USD $3 million to further expand the existing facility with new highly specialized equipment, two new extraction lines, an extraction clean room and lab facility, capable of producing up to 20,500 KG of cannabis concentrate on an annual basis. The facility will be subleased to a licensed Washington cannabis processor.

The Chongs Choice brand, as one-half of the legendary comedy duo Cheech & Chong, is a well-known brand in the cannabis space. The Company expects that the rights it will acquire to the Chongs Choice brand will provide it with new opportunities to forge licensing relationships with state-licensed Washington processors.

Our agreement with PDT stands to dramatically expand our footprint and licensing capabilities in the well-established, state of Washington, said Shay Shnet, CEO and Director of Nabis. In connection with the acquisition, our expansion of the existing facility with a new ISO designed extraction clean room and GMP lab facility falls squarely within our aggressive expansion plans. Additionally, the included licensing rights for the Chongs Choice brand represents a compelling addition to the recreational and lifestyle aspect of the Companys investment portfolio in intellectual property.

As Washington State is a relatively mature state with proven metrics, the Company will continue to evaluate opportunities within the state, along with many other limited license states in the near term as part of the Companys multi-state cannabis expansion strategy.

About Innovative Properties Inc. (dba Nabis Holdings)

Nabis Holdings is a Canadian investment issuer that invests in high quality cash flowing assets across multiple industries, including real property, securities, cryptocurrency, and all aspects of the U.S. and international cannabis sector. Led by two of the co-founders of MPX Bioceutical, one of the largest takeovers in the U.S. Cannabis space to date, the company has a proven track record in emerging markets to create significant shareholder value. The Company is focused on investing, where permitted, across the entire vertically integrated aspects of the space with a focus on revenue generation, EBITDA and growth.

For more information, please visit https://www.nabisholdings.com/ .

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The risks are without limitations: that the acquisitions will be completed by the Company or completed upon the terms disclosed; the price for cannabis and related products will remain consistent and the consumer demand remains strong; availability of financing to the Company to develop the retail locations; retention of key employees and management; changes in State and/or municipal regulations of retail operations and changes in government regulations generally. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Companys expectations are disclosed in the Companys documents filed from time to time with the Canadian Securities Exchange, the British Columbia Securities Commission, the Ontario Securities Commission and the Alberta Securities Commission.

The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For inquiries, please contact:
NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario, May 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Restaurant workers at the Rainforest Cafe are on strike. They are fighting against greed. They are fighting for their right to organize. They are fighting for fairness, for respect and for a safe workplace where sexual assault will not be tolerated.



Workers bravely came forward to share their experiences of sexual assault at work. Workers believe that recent incidents of sexual assault were grossly mishandled by their employer Canadian Niagara Hotels. The company needs to take responsibility for their mistakes and make sure there is no further sexual harassment or assaults!

Managers cannot be allowed to sweep issues like sexual violence under the rug. We are disturbed that the worker who committed these acts was only let go after the issue became public. The company has doubled-down on a damage control narrative.

Rainforest workers want a union contract so they can return to a workplace where they feel safe and have real protections.

To that end we are having a Womens March up and down Clifton Hill to let the employer and all employers know that sexual harassment and assault has no place in Niagara Falls.

Rally: Saturday, May 18 - 3:00pm, 4915 Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls



Solidarity Pickets: Every day from 12:00pm-7:00pm Email Mike Ward mward@workersunitedunion.ca to RSVP



Every day from 12:00pm-7:00pm Send a Message: Tell the owners they wont get your business until they treat their workers with respect and stop their anti-union activities www.workersunitedunion.ca/rainforest_strike

Tell the owners they wont get your business until they treat their workers with respect and stop their anti-union activities

FB: @WorkersUnitedCanada /// Twitter: @WorkersUnitedCA /// #RainforestUnion /// #HospitalityWorkersUnit
(Editors note: This is the first of two columns on cracks inside United Methodism.)

It was one of those General Conference debates in which the regional accents of the United Methodists at the microphones were part of the drama.

Times were tough, and national leaders had struggled to raise enough money to cover the Church World Services budget. Thus, a delegate from the Bible Belt requested a budget increase smaller than the one sought by agency leaders.

Then someone from the urban Northeast rose and spoke against his motion in a fervent, angry plea for more commitment and compassion for the needs of the poor and downtrodden. Her enthusiasm carried the day, noted The Seven Churches of Methodism, an influential report on regional divisions in the United Methodist Church.

Later, the delegate whose motion was defeated noted that his opponents enthusiasm for the poor would be better exerted in her own annual conference, which had paid only part of its World Service apportionment.

That was in the early 1980s, just before decades of acidic battles over the Bible, sex and marriage began making headlines.

Methodists were already struggling with this reality: Theres no painless way to cut a smaller pie. And it already mattered that conferences in the most liberal parts of the United Methodist Church were shrinking, while numbers were relatively steady or rising in more conservative regions.

The cracks detailed in that 1985 report are even more relevant today, after repeated General Conference wins by a coalition of U.S. evangelicals and growing UMC flocks in the Global South, especially Africa. The denominations top court has approved parts of a recently passed Traditional Plan that would strengthen enforcement of current church disciplines banning same-sex weddings and the ordination of self-avowed practicing LGBTQ clergy. It also approved an exit plan for congregations seeking a way out.

The Seven Churches of Methodism was written by the famous Duke University sociologist Robert L. Wilson, who died in 1991, and William Willimon, now a retired bishop. It focused on life in seven U.S. regions between 1970-82, including church-school statistics that suggested future problems with active members and the young:

 The Yankee Church in New England was already declining rapidly, including a disturbing 48.5 percent drop in church-school numbers. Feminism and social-gospel trends were gaining strength, with one ministers ordination delayed by his refusal to use gender-neutral terms for God.

 The Industrial Northeastern Church saw a rapid decline in its famous urban churches after World War II. Then church-school attendance fell 53 percent between 1970-82. This progressive region retained its clout in national boards and agencies, with some leaders claiming, We may be getting smaller, but were getting better. Wilson and Willimon noted: There is no empirical evidence of that.

 The Church South remained traditional in theology and style, to the point that many clergy still thought people need to be converted to Christianity. Some held revival meetings, as well as the Sunday night and Wednesday night services once common in Methodism. Statistics remained stable, with attendance twice that of any other region.

 The Southwest Church was the only region in which membership grew, while church-school numbers fell 20.3 percent. The contrast in expectations between some congregations in Texas and in New England are so great that it is hard to believe they are in the same denomination, wrote Wilson and Willimon.

 The Midwest Church remained Methodisms heartland. But church-school numbers fell 36 percent, especially in urban areas, while churches at the grassroots remained strong. Leaders were already projecting an image of being avant-garde.

 The Frontier Church in the Rockies became a haven for many clergy migrating away from eastern pulpits, and would soon emerge as ground zero for LGBTQ activism. Church attendance was small but steady, while church-school stats fell 42.7 percent.

 The Western Church was an enigma, with crucial statistics falling while total population on the West Coast soared. Church-school numbers dropped 50.1 percent between 1970-82, even as the regions leaders provided national leadership on the cultural and doctrinal left.

As for the Methodist future, Wilson and Willimon noted: Those who have become accustomed to making big national decisions will not relinquish this power willingly. Meanwhile, larger regions in the church  their financial clout was already growing in 1985  can be expected to want a greater say in the decisions over expenditures.

NEXT WEEK: Not all United Methodist fights are about sexuality.

Mattingly is the editor of GetReligion.org and Senior Fellow for Media and Religion at The Kings College in New York City. He lives in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Friends and family crowded the church pews and seats for the wedding of wedding Samantha Purgason and Landon Stanfield.

Clad in wide-brimmed hats and ornate dresses, suit jackets and shiny shoes, the crowd watched and applauded when the two tied the knot. But it was not an ordinary ceremony.

The two were married on the 600 block of Bridge Street on Saturday  the first marriage of its kind in Danville.

Purgason  who took the name Stanfield  said she got the idea for a wedding on the street while running by the area one day. The two betrothed were in a bind. They had planned to have their wedding where Stanfield proposed, Mexico Beach, Florida. But Hurricane Michael demolished that prospect, along with most of the beach.

Instead, Purgason was entranced by the cobblestone street in the River District. When she brought up the idea of a wedding there to Stanfield, he liked the idea too.

He thought it was a great idea, Purgason said. We did not want to pick a place just to pick a place.

But Bridge Street is more typically occupied by cars than wedding ceremonies, so the two had to get permission to close down the street. Purgason reached out to Vice Mayor Lee Vogler to explain her situation.

I messaged him to see if this could happen  to see if this was possible, she said. He got back with me within three days and he had talked with the city manager and they were totally on-board with it.

So the city drew up a contract for the two  and any others who may wish to close a city street for their nuptials. The only stipulation, Purgason said, was that they had to have their reception in the River District, which they had planned to anyway.

I just think it would be really nice when we take our kids down the street to say hey, we got married there, Purgason said with a laugh.

The two were married by the Rev. Scott Randlett of Dan River Church. He said he has married people many places before  farms, houses and the like  but never on a public street.

Its something different and unique, but that also makes it memorable, he said before the ceremony. Ill tell people I married someone on the street this is a great couple.

The street was blocked for four hours, and church pews had been hauled in from Pittsylvania County for the ceremony. The two also had to consult with Danvilles fire and police departments in addition to getting insurance for the event.

Minutes before he was married, Stanfield stood away from the throng with his groomsmen. He said he wanted the ceremony to be memorable and unique, so when his girlfriend of more than three years had the idea to host it on the street, he was on-board.

We wanted to do something unique, he said. Im ready to start a new chapter of my life with Samantha.

James Whitlow reports for the Danville Register & Bee. Contact him at jwhitlow@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7983.
CASCADE  As a team of 15 cleaned the cabin in Cascade, a group of women were on their way toward it through Tennessee. It will be their home for quite some time as they recover from addiction.

The Hope Center will open an all-female addiction treatment center in the scenic area  the 13th center the organization has opened around the world, and the fourth exclusively for women.

The cabin is found down winding back roads snaking west in Pittsylvania County, past open fields and dense deciduous woods. The crew busy lugging bedding and shelving Friday into the 4,000 square-foot cabin was from Hope Centers all-male Axton branch, the organizations district director Travis Byrd said.

Those selected to live in the house will be culled from the local community, including jails and courts, Byrd said. But not anyone can come; the center selects only those who want to help themselves.

The Hope Center is not a place for people who need recovery, he said. It is a place for people who want recovery.

That recovery comes with a strict daily schedule  planned from 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Byrd explained  and an ironclad rule: no using, or you are out.

That rule, director of admissions Gary Robertson said, is to give those who did not initially make it into the program a shot. The past is the past, Robertson said, but the center will only work for those who make it work for them. Through religion, the program works to replace substance dependency with faith.

That addiction must be replaced with something else and we believe that must be replaced with Jesus Christ, Byrd said.

The center offers eight and 12-month programs. For the first 45 days, the schedule is tight, and patients are not allowed out of the house, instead attending classes, therapy sessions and doing chores. But as trust builds, the center gives them more autonomy  allowing them to get jobs and, after months of good behavior, keep money. The center offers classes on saving and spending money and allows participants to build a nest egg for when they graduate the program and go back out into the world.

This is not just about getting recovery if we can help a woman change her life, we can change a family, Robertson said. And if we can change families, we can change communities.

Though the cabin is in Cascade, it is known as the Danville center because of where its population will likely originate. The first six residents will come from Tennessee, but the center will fill with local residents  those referred by courts or who come in voluntarily.

Hope Centers open in proximity to and partnership with a local church after soliciting community feedback and assessing the potential for a recovery center in the area. A need was identified in Danville, Robertson said, noting that few long-term addiction services exist for women in the area.

In Danville and the Henry County area, there has been a lack of services for women, he said. There really hasnt been any longer-term recovery centers in the area.

Chris Henderson was one person cleaning up the newly vacated cabin. He has been at the Axton center for 40 days. He said the center creates a positive uplifting environment for residents  one that is sure to extend to the new branch.

Most of them who come to the Hope Center will experience unconditional love, he said, taking a break from dusting a future dormitory. When they pull up to this place, any trepidation will be gone.

There is no judgment passed among residents, Henderson said. The goal  and the effect  is to uplift people seeking relief from addiction by surrounding them with supportive peers.

James Whitlow reports for the Danville Register & Bee. Contact him at jwhitlow@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7983.
Blacksburg residents listing their homes on Airbnb this Virginia Tech graduation weekend will earn a combined $320,000 after taxes and fees, the company disclosed this week.

That marks a dramatic spike over last years graduation weekend, when Blacksburg hosts earned a combined $230,000.

The town, meanwhile, will nab well over $20,000 in lodging taxes over the next few days  dollars that would have gone largely uncollected in previous years.

The towns Airbnb-style home rentals have been subject to taxes for years, but collecting what amounts to a small amount of money from hundreds of hosts  many of whom do not publicly identify themselves  has proven challenging.

So Blacksburg and Airbnb signed a tax collection agreement last year, making the town the second locality in the state to do so. Other jurisdictions have balked at the arrangement because Airbnb requires the localities it works with to forfeit many of their auditing powers.

But Blacksburg Town Attorney Lawrence Spencer said he has been satisfied with the agreement so far, noting that collections are up now that Airbnb is building the 7% tax into the bill guests pay online.

Its not perfect, but Airbnb is complying with its terms, Spencer added.

The California technology giant shared a slew of other stats with The Roanoke Times ahead of Blacksburgs busiest tourism week of the year.

Nearly 1,100 Airbnb guests were slated to arrive in the town between May 16 and 19, Airbnb spokeswoman Liz DeBold Fusco said. That compares to 850 guests between May 11 and 14 in 2018, when Virginia Tech hosted last years graduation events.

More than half of all guests report coming from somewhere else in Virginia. The second most common state is Maryland, followed by Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts.

Of the hosts renting out rooms, 68% are women and 21% are over the age of 60, according to Airbnb.

And of those booking the rooms, 60% are between the ages of 50 and 59. Fusco notes in her experience looking at Airbnb data, thats a significantly higher percentage of older guests than most college towns during graduation weekends.

I think that sort of speaks to the fact Airbnb is growing in popularity among families, she added.
GREENSBORO, N.C.  A Page High School student died Friday after spending more than an hour underwater in Buffalo Lake.

"Our hearts are heavy with grief for the family and friends of our student, and I know our entire Page High community will join us in wrapping our arms in support around the family, our students and staff," said Erik Naglee, Page High School principal.

The name of the student who drowned has not yet been released.

Greensboro Fire Assistant Chief Dwayne Church said three high school students walked over to the lake from school and began swimming in their regular school clothes.

But one of the students could not swim well, Church said.

One male student ended up under the water. A second male and a female tried to rescue him but could not.

Guilford Metro 911 dispatched the Greensboro Fire Department at 12:44 p.m. to help the students.

Twenty firefighters responded and went into the water with flotation devices trying to find the student.

The dive team arrived at 2:04 p.m. and found the student underwater within five minutes.

Paramedics began life-saving efforts that continued at Moses Cone Hospital's emergency room.

Guilford County Schools spokeswoman Nora Shoptaw confirmed shortly before 4 p.m., with the permission of the student's parents, that he had died.

His family was at the lake while rescuers tried to find the boy, Church said.

Buffalo Lake is a private lake that prohibits swimming, fishing, boating and trespassing.

Church said there are no trespassing signs all around the lake.

"I want to remind all residence of the Triad that if there is a private lake, stay away from it," Church said. "We have a lot of these emergencies because there's not supervision and no one is suppose to be at the lake."

Contact Danielle Battaglia at 336-373-4476 and follow @dbattagliaNR on Twitter.
The Trump camp is making a very big deal out of Hunter Bidens 2014 gig with a Ukrainian oligarch. This was a time when his father, Joe Biden, Barack Obamas vice president, was pressing Ukraines leaders to rein in its oligarchs. As it happened, Hunters membership on the oligarchs board in no way weakened Joe Bidens  or Americas  anti-corruption message to Ukraine.

That didnt make it OK, however. It was another lamentable example of political relatives vacuuming up fast dollars on the assumption that they might influence powerful family members (or those who work for them) on their benefactors behalf.

Now even Rudolph Giuliani sees the insanity of his planned trip to Ukraine to see whether its new leadership might help re-elect Donald Trump by dredging up of more dirt on Hunter. The Mueller report notwithstanding, suspicions that the Trump world worked with foreign adversaries to get the man elected remain very much alive. Giuliani eventually saw the wisdom of canceling the trip.

Members of big-name political families do get choice jobs at law and lobbying firms, and it would be silly to assert it never has anything to do with their relations. But the politicians really should stop obviously unqualified relatives from taking jobs blatantly created to suggest special influence with them. This ugly practice infects all parties.

George H.W. Bush was vice president when the savings and loan scandal exploded. His son Neil Bush was a board member of Silverado, a Denver S&L that went bankrupt at a cost to taxpayers of about $1 billion. Government agencies overseeing the mess concluded that Neil failed to disclose his former business ties to people who borrowed considerable sums from Silverado and paid back not a penny.

When his brother, George W., became president, Neil was hired as a consultant to a Chinese company, Grace Semiconductor. Though Neil admitted he knew nothing about semiconductors, Grace nonetheless paid him $2 million in company stock over five years and $10,000 for every board meeting he attended.

Theres no evidence that either Bush president interceded on Neils employers behalf. At the same time, seeing young political royals with a less-than-stellar business career float into plum positions demoralizes the commoners. The oft-used Hes a private citizen excuse simply does not wash.

Back on the Democratic  or rather, the democratic socialist  side, Jane OMeara Sanders, wife of Bernie Sanders, became president of Burlington College in 2004. Under her leadership, the college paid $328,000 to place students in a woodworking school run by her daughter (Bernies stepdaughter).

Heres where the ethical problems really began. In 2010, OMeara had the school borrow $10 million to buy lakefront property. To secure the loan, she listed financial commitments by sources, two of which later were said to be highly exaggerated. The college collapsed six years later under crushing debt  but after OMeara resigned with a $200,000 severance payment.

Its last president, Carol Moore, asked, What bank lends a small, private, unendowed college of that size and financial status an amount that so obviously outweighs its ability to repay?

You know the answer. Your average Vermonter undoubtedly wouldnt get such a loan. A Vermonter married to a prominent U.S. senator? Thats something else.

Joe Biden is a basically good man and the ideal Democrat to beat Trump in 2020. But I really, really dont want to have to write again about his family members cashing in on the Biden name.

Never mind that Trump has trampled these standards in his mob-influenced style of letting everyone know he can get away with it. Lets hold onto them in the event that Americans again demand rectitude in public service. It could happen.

Harrop is a syndicated columnist. Email her at fharrop@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @FromaHarrop.
(TNS)  Gov. Laura Kelly finalized the decision Thursday to terminate a pair of 10-year contracts with CGI Technologies valued at $111 million that were negotiated by now-departed officials at the Kansas Department of Revenue who engaged in a secretive bidding process.The contracts with CGI, voided for nonperformance issues, included the 2017 deal to upgrade the revenue department's tax collection, fraud analysis, auditing and deposit systems. The other contract, signed in 2018, put CGI in charge of maintaining the agency's internal IT systems."CGI was not able to adequately perform its obligations under the contracts," said Mark Burghart, revenue secretary in the Kelly administration. "After a thorough review, we determined it was necessary to end these contracts and take a different approach to obtaining enhancements to the state's tax operating systems."The state has paid $28 million to CGI under the agreements reached while Republicans Sam Brownback and Jeff Colyer were governor.Last year, the revenue secretary under Brownback and Colyer, Sam Williams, said he was sufficiently confident in the ability of CGI to deliver that he moved to privatize technology services at the agency and drop more than 50 state employees from the payroll. Williams also said he was unconcerned about criticism of his handling of the CGI deals."The decisions I make, the negotiation of whether that was a good decision or a bad decision, is going to be between me and my boss, not between me and the public. Because I wasn't elected  I was appointed. The governor was elected, OK?" Williams said.To secure the deal with CGI, Williams said, the revenue department decided not to take open bids. He said the process was appropriate if he limited negotiations with companies that had an existing relationship with state government. Once negotiations were completed with CGI, the company's competitors were given one week to object to the contracts.Kelly said the process relied upon by the Colyer and Brownback administrations to hire CGI was contrary to the guidelines for state procurement and produced agreements not in the best interests of the state."For many years, I have voiced concern about the frequent use of 'no-bid' contracts under the previous administration," Kelly said. "This practice bypasses the official state bidding process designed to ensure that contracts are transparent and in the best interests of Kansans."A formal letter was sent to CGI terminating the contacts, but the Kelly administration had been reviewing IT operations in the revenue department since taking office in January."My administration will continue to review contracts from the previous administration, limit the use of 'no-bid' contracts, and increase transparency," Kelly said.
New Orleans and the Orleans Parish Communication District have recently consolidated their 911 and 311 systems, leading to major increases in both efficiency and functionality, officials said.The government in New Orleans did this largely through the use of something called a digital low-code application development platform. This is essentially a single program that enables public servants with little software development experience to create programs to help digitize their daily tasks. Use of this platform in New Orleans is championed by Tyrell Morris, the executive director of Orleans Parish Communication District, who first used the software while working for the Parks and Recreation Department in Washington, D.C.Morris discussed the improvements, how they were made, and what comes next during a recent phone conversation with. To understand the recent changes, Morris points to when he first started working in New Orleans. At that time, local government had recently consolidated 911 services in the area.Prior to the consolidation, 911 calls went to an employee of the police department, who often had to transfer them to fire or EMT, depending on what was going on. The consolidation changed that. Then, with the use of the low-code application development platform, Morris and his team were able to build upon the improvements, doing so by digitizing more processess with the help of Quick Base Inc., which was formerly a division of Intuit.As you know with paper-based processes, things move slow, Morris said. Well, 911 and slow dont mix well.They were also able to put more information in the hands of dispatchers and enable them to instantly transfer caller information to other departments. The end result was what Morris described as a one-stop-shop to report an emergency.The project was so successful that local government leadership in the area went on to ask Morris to use the platform to also consolidate 311 and 911 processes. This move was mostly aimed at modernizing 311, which Morris said was using a server-based legacy system that did not afford public servants much flexibility to add new capabilities.By instead basing 311 off of the same low-code application development platform that had helped improve 911, Morris and the team were able to make much faster changes. They ultimately developed a complete platform that hosted the 311 process from the time a resident called right through to the city department or agency that responded to the request, adding real-time alerts whenever the status of the request changed.For example, if a citizen complained about a pothole in the past, their best way to check if it had been fixed was to drive to the pothole and see for themselves. Now, a citizen who makes that complaint can give the city an email address and get real-time status updates. Its the difference between being proactive and reactive.We are no longer an emergency gateway, Morris said. We are the gateway to the government.Jay Jamison, the chief product officer for Quick Base, said the platform is used by many in the private sector as well as some larger public health systems. With Washington, D.C., and the more recent addition of New Orleans, local government use of it is also on the rise.This type of work to modernize legacy systems is a somewhat perpetual goal of governments across the country, with cost and efficiency being principle drivers. For his part, Morris said he expects New Orleans to use this same method to improve other governmental services, and he has already gotten interest from the city council and other jurisdictions interested in similar upgrades.
Clark County, Nev., Chief Information Officer Michael Lane has stepped down from his position. His last day on the job was May 17.

Lane served as the leader of the countys information technology department since the Board of Commissioners ratified his permanent appointment in December 2016. Prior to his appointment, Lane had been deputy CIO since August 2013.Before Lane worked for the county, he was a high school math teacher, managed IT for a travel website and worked in casino and gaming tech.Erik Pappa, spokesman for the county, said there will be a nationwide search to find his replacement. Pappa said no timetable has been set to when the recruitment, interview process, background check and Board of Commissioners approval will be finished. Les Lee Shell , chief administrative officer for Clark County, has been meeting with lawmakers since the session began in February and will assume the role of CIO, in addition to her regular duties, when she returns from Carson City June 17, Pappa said.The Clark County IT team consists of around 160 people and serves about 38 government departments.
(TNS)  The FBI and Department of Homeland Security drew bipartisan criticism from members of Florida's congressional delegation on Thursday for refusing to reveal which two of Florida's 67 counties had their elections systems breached by Russian hackers before the 2016 election."The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have not been sufficiently forthcoming with the American people or members of the United States Congress," said U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, a prominent ally of President Donald Trump during a news conference in Washington after the Florida congressional delegation was briefed on the hacking."Today's classified briefing was important, but much of this information can and should be shared with Florida voters and the American people, and I asked the FBI to reconsider their decision to block the disclosure of the information," said U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who received his own briefing on the matter last week, said Tuesday that while hackers gained access to voter records in the two counties, "there was no manipulation" of data."It did not affect any voting or anything like that," DeSantis said Tuesday after revealing for the first time that two counties had been hacked.But U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Miami, sounded less confident after Thursday's congressional briefing."We couldn't get with certainty the verification that the Russians actually were not able to manipulate the data that they had access to. They found no evidence of that, but they couldn't say with certainty that they did not manipulate that data," Mucarsel-Powell said.Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, who was governor through 2018, said Thursday that the FBI had no evidence that any hacking occurred last year  when the issue arose during Scott's Senate campaign against Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.Nelson was blasted by Scott and Republicans last August when he said Russians had not only hacked Florida election systems in 2016 but were "in Florida's records" in 2018 as well.U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, emerged from Thursday's briefing saying she was "particularly alarmed" that former Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher was the only Florida elections chief in 2018 to decline a special server that detects attempts to hack into state or local government networks "I have been assured by our new supervisor that she is in the process of adopting these safeguards," Frankel said.The Department of Homeland Security offered grants of roughly $18,000 to each county last year to buy a server and pay for one year of monitoring to detect hacking attempts.DeSantis removed Bucher from office in January, accusing her of mishandling the 2018 election and three statewide recounts. Bucher's decision to "refuse and reject Department of Homeland Security-sponsored servers" was among the reasons DeSantis listed in his executive order removing Bucher and appointing Wendy Link as her replacement.Link said Thursday she has accepted the Homeland Security grant, which covers $7,079 for the server and its installation and $11,280 to cover the first year of monitoring. Bucher could not be reached on Thursday.Deputy Elections Supervisor Robin Rorapaugh, who served under Bucher, said she believed Bucher declined the server because of "timing" issues and planned to use it after the 2018 elections.DeSantis and members of Congress have given differing explanations for why federal authorities won't reveal which counties were hacked. DeSantis said he was sworn to secrecy on the two counties to "protect sources and methods."But Gaetz said federal authorities said the counties are not being revealed because the breached elections offices are considered crime victims."That rationale is ludicrous," Gaetz said at a news conference in Washington. "The victims in these cases are not government officeholders. The victims are voters. And the victim truly is the integrity that we have to have and the trust that we have to have in the American election system."
(TNS)  Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott announced Thursday that he is convening a special committee focused on cybersecurity and emergency preparedness as City Hall struggles to recover from a hack that has crippled the governments email and other computer systems.The ransomware attack last week on the citys computer network has caused widespread problems across agencies, including shutting down systems essential for completing home sales in Baltimore.This cyberattack against Baltimore city government is a crisis of the utmost urgency, Scott said.The new council president said the committee will invite testimony from experts to help review the response to the attack by Democratic Mayor Bernard C. Jack Youngs administration and examine the citys cybersecurity policies and emergency plans.Budget documents show that the citys information technology office has blamed funding cuts for limiting some of its efforts to bolster cybersecurity training.Ive been telling administrations for years that they need to spend more on cybersecurity, Scott said, referring to previous mayors strategies, not Youngs new administration.At a budget hearing last year, Scott reminded information technology officials that Baltimores 911 dispatch system had recently been hacked and shut down for a weekend. I don't think the city spends enough money to make ourselves safe from cyberattacks, he said at the time. Gayle Guilford, an information technology official, responded, saying, We have made some progress, but not enough. We continue to beg and plead. I need some help, and I need some money.The city fell victim May 7 to new hackers demanding payment to unlock encrypted files in city computers.Young has said the city will not pay a ransom to the destructive virus, called RobbinHood, which city officials have described as very aggressive.The Baltimore City Council and I stand ready to work with the administration and our federal partners, including the FBI and, if appropriate, the Department of Homeland Security, to resolve the crisis, support the criminal investigation and take active steps to prevent this from happening again, Scott said.Scott said Democratic Councilmen Eric Costello and Isaac Yitzy Schleifer will serve as co-chairmen of the committee.Scott said he is thankful that critical services such as public safety, water and public works were able to operate without interruption despite the ransomware attack.The bad news is that we dont know when this threat will end or who is perpetrating this attack on our city and the services that we provide, the Democrat said.Costello previously worked for nearly nine years as a senior information technology auditor at the U.S. Government Accountability Office.Im bringing professional expertise to this, Costello said.The councilman said the committees scope is being formulated, but he has already connected with cybersecurity experts who could participate in hearings. The committee will discuss how the current incident transpired, examine the citys response, review existing policies and explore any changes that need to happen, he added.Costello said the council has to determine how to work within the states open meetings law when discussing sensitive matters.There will be things that cant be discussed publicly, he said. When we discuss what our vulnerabilities are, thats not information we want hackers to have access to.Lester Davis, a spokesman for Young, said the committee is expected to begin its work in the fall. The timing will allow the administration to restore its computer system and install stronger mechanisms to guard against attacks.There are going to be lessons to be learned from this, Davis said.Young has instructed agencies to document those lessons while theyre working to restore the computer systems to minimize the chance of future attacks crippling City Hall computers.The disruption to the computer network has caused widespread problems. City employees do not have access to email, and several agencies are using workarounds to continue offering services that rely on computers. The hack has affected the citys ability to pay its bills and accept payments  including property taxes.Officials have stressed that emergency services, including 911 and 311, are not affected, but they acknowledged that the Baltimore Police Department email system is not working. Police spokesman Matt Jablow said the department cut off access to CitiWatch cameras in Baltimores nine police districts as a precaution because the stations plug into video feeds through the citys computer network. He said headquarters can provide information from CitiWatch to the districts.On Wednesday, the mayor said city technology employees are working with the FBI, Microsoft and other vendors to help restore computer services. But an ongoing criminal investigation has prevented city officials from disclosing much information for fear of sharing details that could reveal vulnerabilities to hackers.Officials would not disclose which companies are working with them to restore systems. And the citys information technology officer, Frank Johnson, has declined to say whether the city had an emergency plan in place for such an attack.A review of city budgets shows that certain elements of cybersecurity strategy has lagged as funding has declined.An Information Security Office was first funded in the citys fiscal 2016 budget to develop cybersecurity technology, policies and trainings and to respond to information security incidents. One of its stated goals in the spending plan was to provided 32 cybersecurity awareness trainings.The budget for that first year was $532,567 to pay for one city and two contract positions in the office.The spending plan for the following year increased to about $543,000, but the city only spent $189,027, budget record showed. And in fiscal 2018, information security spent $456,965, 33% below its nearly $685,000 budget.In addition, every subsequent budget since 2016 no longer mentions cybersecurity awareness trainings or whether the agency achieved its goal of 32 sessions.Instead, each budget from fiscal year 2017 through the current spending plan repeats the goal of working to improve the citys overall cybersecurity posture.Part of that effort has been a goal of modernizing applications on the citys computer mainframes. The target was to modernize 38 applications in fiscal year 2016. But only one was modernized  the citys water billing application, according to budget documents.No applications were modernized in fiscal 2017 due to the lapse of capital funding, budget documents state. In fiscal 2018, [the agency] does not expect mainframe modernization to occur due to lack of funding, and consequently set lower performance targets.But in fiscal year 2018, the city did recommended a capital budget of $500,000 to implement a citywide cybersecurity policy and auditing tools to protect against cyberattacks.In November 2017, Baltimores spending board approved a $500,000 transfer to the information technology agency to allow for the implementation of an added tier of cybersecurity and malware protection that would protect against zero-day exploits and advanced persistent threats and provide analysis of malware attacks.
The SMUD (Sacramento Municipal Utility District) Board of Directors formally approved its Founding Membership in the California Mobility Center, including an initial investment of $5 million to establish the Center. An additional $10 million will be made available once matching funds are committed by other partners.

The California Mobility Center is a joint initiative between SMUD and local and regional institutions, including: the Los Rios Community College District; California State University, Sacramento; University of California, Davis; Valley Vision; City of Sacramento; and, the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, to build a world-class, electric vehicle prototyping facility that will develop and promote electric and autonomous vehicle technologies in the greater Sacramento region.

The California Mobility Center is envisioned as a public-private consortium that will bring together technology companies, automakers, utilities, entrepreneurs, top researchers, and investors to provide innovative products and services in the rapidly expanding mobility market. The Sacramento region is uniquely positioned to leverage public policy, research, electric vehicle expertise and advanced manufacturing as we position Sacramento as a leader in clean transportation. The California Mobility Center will help redefine our region, spur economic development, and provide new workforce opportunities throughout our region. SMUD CEO and General Manager Arlen Orchard

This Mobility Center is intended to be a financially sustainable policy and technology focused consortium, comprising public and private entities collaborating to:

Promote the development of clean transportation and autonomous vehicle technology to cut emissions. Accelerate the commercialization of electric mobility technologies and services. Facilitate development of open-sourced standards and policies for connected and autonomous vehicles. Establish a mobility network in Sacramento that will provide an innovative environment for new and prospering companies, entrepreneurs, advanced technologies and investors. Conduct advanced research, development and demonstration projects that can be quickly commercialized for worldwide adoption of electric mobility.

The Center will tie together with the Autonomous Transportation Open Standards (ATOS) Lab, launched by the City of Sacramento in 2017 to develop regulations and standards for autonomous vehicles. PEM Motion and EnerTech Capital are key industry partners supporting the Center.

PEM Motion is a German engineering consulting group that has successfully launched a prototyping facility in Aachen Germany for the automotive mobility sector, creating a revival of manufacturing and technology jobs in that city.

PEM Motion has demonstrated that their approach can assist with commercialization of technologies twice as fast as traditional automotive practices for one tenth of the cost. Once established here, the Center will support, fund and commercialize new electric mobility technologies, including electric vehicles, autonomous transportation, battery storage, shared mobility solutions, public transit, and new business and policy models for adoption on the international stage.

The initial investment from SMUD will provide the necessary capital to recruit other Founding Members, and support third-party contracts required to establish Center operations, including planning for the construction of an advanced electric mobility technology prototyping and testing facility in Sacramento.

SMUD has already funded two feasibility studies to support the development of the California Mobility Center and has garnered international interest from potential investors.

SMUD is the US sixth-largest community-owned, not-for-profit, electric service provider. SMUDs power mix is about 50% non-carbon emitting.
A Florida man was arrested Thursday after Transportation Security Administration officers at Bradley International Airport stopped him from boarding a plane with a loaded handgun.

The man was identified as David Charles Schultz, 74, of Plant City, Fla.

It marked the fourth gun confiscated at the Windsor Locks airports checkpoint this year. TSA officers caught nine firearms at the Bradley checkpoint in 2018.

TSA officers, who spotted the gun when Schultzs fanny pack entered the X-ray machine, contacted State Police, who arrived at the checkpoint, confiscated the gun and bullets, and detained the man.

Schultz was taken for questioning before being arrested on state weapons charges. The man, who was not identified was carrying a .22 caliber handgun loaded with 10 bullets alongside a box with 50 additional rounds of ammunition.

He was also charged with tampering with airport equipment and released on a $500 bond. He will appear in Enfield Superior Court on May 30.

TSA also has the authority to assess civil penalties of up to $13,333 for weapons violations. A typical first offense for carrying a handgun into a checkpoint is $3,900.

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared. Firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked, and packed separately from ammunition. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality.

Nationwide last year, 4,239 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country, averaging about 11.6 firearms per day, approximately a 7 percent increase nationally in firearm discoveries from the total of 3,957 detected in 2017.

Eighty-six percent of firearms detected at checkpoints last year were loaded and nearly 34% had a bullet in the chamber.

TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.
On the one-year anniversary of a mass shooting at Santa Fe High School, the school district and community have planned two days of "service and healing" for students and local residents to pay tribute to the survivors and 10 victims of the tragedy.

On Friday, Santa Fe High School observed a Day of Remembrance and Resilience, with attendance optional for students. The day consisted of student-led activities and community service projects, including game sessions, yoga and culinary classes, and letter-writing to military service personnel and veterans. Counselors will also offer group sessions for students and staff.
FITCHBURG, Mass.  On Tuesday, New Haven woman Tamika Jones, 40, was found dead in a car near Drake Road in Fitchburg, Mass., according to a News 8 report and an article from News 7 of Boston.

Her death has been categorized as suspicious, the reports said.
One man, Nicholas Roberto, 28, of the first block of South Mayfield Avenue, fled and the second man and was apprehended a short time later, police said. Paul Alvarez, 49, of the 2200 block of North Kilbourn Avenue, pushed an officer and was taken into custody, with the officer suffering an injury as a result, police said. The officer was evaluated at an area hospital and released, Farrell said.




Haiti - World Bank : Donation of $162M for 3 projects





Thursday, the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved today three projects for a total amount of US$162 million in grants to improve the quality of health and education services and strengthen climate resilience in Haiti.



These three projects address key national priorities to build a better future for all Haitians, said Anabela Abreu, World Bank Haiti Country Director. Access to quality healthcare and education are crucial to break the cycle of poverty and to build a stronger human capital so that Haitian children can reach their full potential. The Bank support will also help build climate resilience in the face of the growing threat of natural hazards by strengthening early warning systems and disaster preparedness in high climate risk areas.



Globally, Haiti ranks 112th on the World Bank Human Capital Index. A child born today in Haiti will be only 45 percent as productive when she grows up as she could be if she had enjoyed full health and education. Infant mortality in Haiti remains high with 59 death per 1,000 live births and maternal mortality has increased from an estimated 523 per 100,000 live births in 2005 to 646 per 100,000 live births in 2016. Only 40 percent of children are fully vaccinated, which has contributed to outbreaks of preventable diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, and measles.



Similarly, the education outcomes are not very promising. On average Haitian children attend 11.4 years of school by age 18, which is equivalent of 6.3 years of adjusted learning and is the lowest score in the region. In terms of disaster risks, Haiti is highly exposed to hurricanes, floods and earthquakes. Between 1976 and 2012, losses associated with hydro-meteorological events alone were equivalent to almost two percent of annual GDP on average. In 2016, Hurricane Matthew affected over two million people, resulting in over 500 deaths and displaced 175,000 people.



The Strengthening Primary Health Care and Surveillance in Haiti project will significantly enhance basic healthcare services for three million people, particularly for pregnant women and children in the South, North West, North-East, Center and Nippes departments. It will strengthen nationwide surveillance capacity and immunization for infectious diseases. The project will also improve the overall coordination among government and international partners in the health sector. The US$70 million project is financed by a US$55 million grant from International Development Association (IDA) and a US$15 million grant from the Global Financing Facility.



The second approved grant for the Providing an Education of Quality in Haiti project is to increase enrollment and improve the school learning condition in public and private primary schools in the Southern departments of Haiti. The project will particularly focus on closing the gender gaps in attendance and retention rates. The support is provided as an additional financing of US$57 million, including a US$39 million grant from IDA and a US$18 million grant from the Global Affairs Canada.



The third project Strengthening Disaster Risk Management and Climate Resilience will support the design of a national early warning system and improve emergency response and evacuation capacity of targeted municipalities in high climate risk-prone areas. It will also reinforce infrastructure such as schools and community centers to serve as emergency shelters, provide technical training, and support for strengthening the building codes. The project is financed by a US$35 million grant from International Development Association (IDA).



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Haiti - CALL FOR CANDIDACIES : NATCOM offers 30 scholarships for Vietnam





The telephone company NATCOM informs that it grants 30 scholarships for Vietnam (Master and License) to young Haitians in order to equip Haiti with highly qualified executives, necessary for its development. These scholarships are part of NATCOM's commitment to respect its commitments in supporting young Haitians through its investment programs targeting the social, education and economy of Haiti.



Beneficiaries will have to return to the countries, once graduated, to put their skills at the disposal of NATCOM for a period of at least 2 years.



Applicants eligible for this program must fulfill the following conditions :



For the 2nd cycle studies (Master) :



Be under 30 years old;



Be of Haitian nationality and reside in Haiti;



Hold an undergraduate degree (License) or equivalent in the field of management, telecommunications, computer science, information technology;



Be among the first three in the program concerned;



Have a good level in English: TOEFL: 90, TOIEC: 650, IELTS: 6.5.



For undergraduate studies (License) :



Be under 25 years old;



Be of Haitian nationality and reside in Haiti;



Hold a high school diploma or undergraduate degree;



To have obtained an average of 75% in the official examinations of the end of secondary studies;



Have a good level in English: TOEFL: 90, TOIEC: 650, IELTS: 6.5.

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Required documents :



Photocopy certified according to diplomas or certificates obtained;

Transcripts of the official final exam or university years;

Letter of motivation;

Detailed curriculum vitae;

Valid criminal record;

Photocopy of the valid passport;

Letter of recommendation from a Haitian school or university.



Applications must be submitted by 14 December 2019 B> to NATCOM (Attention: Mr. Kuat Duy Son) at Martin Luther King Avenue and Fernand Bridge Morin, Port-au-Prince, Haiti or the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH) to the Attention of Jerry Jacquet), at the corner of Quai and Pavee streets, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.



HL/ HaitiLibre













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Haiti - News : Zapping...





A traffic police officers shot down

Friday afternoon, in the town of Croix-des-Bouquet, an officer of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), assigned to the traffic was shot dead in the performance of his duties for an unknown reason.



PM : Don Kato urges members to oppose

While deputies could, according to several unofficial sources, this weekend receive the Prime Minister named Jean Michel Lapin for the statement of its General policy and the ratification of his cabinet. Senator Antonio Cheramy aka "Don Kato", denounces this attempt and calls on opposition deputyies to boycott the government's vote and to make resistance...



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27747-haiti-flash-the-4-senators-of-the-opposition-pose-their-conditions.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27730-haiti-flash-violence-in-the-senate-the-opposition-wins-a-2nd-victory-the-pm-ratification-postponed.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27715-haiti-politic-the-opposition-minority-forces-the-senate-to-postpone-the-ratification-meeting-of-the-pm.html



Failure of a house transfer robbery

On the night of May 15 to 16, four unidentified individuals pointed a transfer house (Micho Cell) at Carrefour Turenne. Security guards from the transfer house intervened, injuring one of the attackers with several bullets and forcing others to flee in a car.



Alert Canada

"Demonstrations are expected across the country on May 18, 2019. Avoid demonstrations and follow the instructions of local authorities" warned the Canadian Government



Massacre Impasse Eddy, families are complaining

The families of the victims of the massacre of the impasse Eddy, Carrefour-Feuilles April 24, 2019 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27559-haiti-flash-massacre-of-carrefour-feuilles-death-toll-climbed-cspn-emergency-meeting.html have filed this week a complaint to the Procuratorate of Port-au-Prince (signed by 7 lawyers), against certain state authorities (Jean Rene Lochard, Fritz Jean Louis, Joseph Pierre Richard Duplan, Fednel Monchery, Jean Marie Renaldo Brunet and others) See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27629-haiti-politic-the-state-will-help-families-and-victims-of-the-massacre-of-impasse-eddy.html



Donation of 9 vehicles to the PoliFront

On Thursday, border police officials (PoliFront) received a set of 9 vehicles (3 cars and 6 motorcycles) as well as uniforms, donations from US and Canadian embassies for the deployment of this unit to Anse- a-Pitre. These donations are part of the project to support and strengthen the PoliFront.



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By William Schwartz | Published on 2019/05/17

Following a report by CBS No Cut News that Han Ji-sung had a blood alcohol level of .1% at the time of her death questions have been raised about the story her husband gave to explain their strange behavior in the early morning of the accident. He claims to have not known whether she was intoxicated.

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This prospect seems unlikely if her blood alcohol level was so high. But it is unclear why the husband would tell such a lie. As Han Ji-sung was already dead, she could not face possible prosecution for drunk driving. Han Ji-sung's husband, himself a lawyer, may have been concerned about being charged as an accessory if he had acknowledged her inebriated state.

Since December 18th South Korea's penalties for drunk driving have been stiffened. Persons caught driving drunk may face jail time of no more than fifteen years, up from ten years previously, and a minimum fine of ten thousand dollars compared to the previous minimum of five thousand dollars. Additionally, negligent homicide as a result of drunk driving requires mandatory prison time of between one and three years.

Even a .05% blood alcohol level is enough to get a person's license suspended for one hundred days, while a .1% blood alcohol level revokes it outright. It is unclear whether Han Ji-sung's husband could be charged under these statutes, as he claims to have not been driving the car.

Written by William Schwartz
By Vasia Orion | Published on 2019/05/17

Sneaky OCN dropped quite the pre-teaser on its social channels yesterday morning, revealing the cast to join Im Si-wan and Lee Dong-wook on the second drama for its 'Dramatic Cinema' project. "Strangers from Hell", also known as "Strangers From Hell", got more news on it dropped shortly after, and we have character descriptions.

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"Strangers from Hell", which is based on Kim Yong-ki's famous webtoon, follows a young man experiencing odd happenings after moving into a gosiwon (affordable dormitory-style housing) in Seoul. As we already know, Im Si-wan and Lee Dong-wook lead as Yoon Jong-woo, the young man moving into the gosiwon, and Seo Moon-jo, the dentist who works there and will be a friendly presence for Jong-woo.

The cast reveal teaser sets the tone for this character introduction. The narration goes:

"This place was hell.

A terrible hell created by others".

Creating this delicious hell are Lee Jung-eun, Lee Hyun-wook-I, Park Jong-hwan and Lee Joong-ok, among others. Lee Jung-eun ("Welcome to Waikiki 2", "The Light in Your Eyes", "Miss Baek") will be Eom Bok-soon, the owner of the gosiwon and someone who looks friendly and kind, but whose shifty behavior shows that she is hiding a different truth behind that benevolent face.

Lee Hyun-wook-I ("No Tomorrow", "Only Love", "The Target") is Yoo Gi-hyeok, the man everyone is afraid of and tenant of room 302. Although he approaches Jong-woo first, his strange behavior, like wearing long sleeves even during the summer, evokes fear in others.

Park Jong-hwan's ("Birthday", "Possible Faces", "Hit the Night") character is Byeon Deuk-jong, the resident of 306. His stutter and bizarre laughter make people uncomfortable, and although everything about him seems plain, he hides a cruel nature behind that lackluster facade.

Lee Joong-ok ("Extreme Job", "Drug King", "The Guest - Drama") plays Hong Nam-bok, the resident of room 314 who always wears sweatsuits. Everything from his appearance to his demeanor is unpleasant, and he instantly exhibits unnerving behavior the minute Jong-woo moves into the gosiwon.

Helming the series is PD Lee Chang-hee, who has worked on films "The Vanished" and "Haunters", while writing it is Jeong I-do-I, who created "Save Me" and "The Item". All of this is how you have my attention, Dramaland. "Strangers from Hell" will premiere in the second half of the year, and I'll be watching it like there's no tomorrow.

Written by: Orion

Source: (1)
By Vasia Orion | Published on 2019/05/17

OCN's upcoming investigative psychological thriller, "WATCHER" released script reading stills this week, and we get a nice look at the main and supporting cast who will be bringing this story to life for us later this year. "WATCHER" follows three people who join a special anti-corruption police investigation unit after their lives are shattered by dramatic events.

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The script reading was attended by PD Ahn Gil-ho ("Memories of the Alhambra", "Secret Forest"), writer Han Sang-woon ("The Good Wife", "Spy - Drama"), and the main cast of Han Suk-kyu, Seo Kang-joon and Kim Hyun-joo, but also the extended cast, including Heo Sung-tae, Park Joo-hee, Joo Jin-mo-I, Kim Soo-jin-IV, Jung Do-won, Lee Jae-yoon and more. The news attached gives a rundown of the characters, including some thoughts from our three leads.

Han Suk-kyu ("The Prison", "Dr. Romantic") is Do Chi-kwang, the leader of the internal investigative team who chose this lonely road after witnessing the corruption of his once trusted senior and losing all faith in people's emotions. Han Suk-kyu commented "I was impressed by the script, which was faithful to the genre and realistic. It's a work that focuses on a story that reflects reality, and on the people involved in the case".

Seo Kang-joon ("The Third Charm", "Are You Human Too") is Kim Yeong-geun, the mobile patrol officer running away from a traumatic past, only to have it find him through Do Chi-kwang, a man related to his tragedy. Yeong-geun joins him in order to discover the truth, and the production are really keen on teasing this connection. The actor commented "I prepared for the work by watching various materials, such as documentaries". He also expressed excitement to be working with great seniors, and anticipation to see Han Suk-kyu on the set.

Kim Hyun-joo ("Miracle That We Met", "Fantastic") is Han Tae-joo, the former elite prosecutor and now famous defense lawyer who will also have her fateful meeting with Do Chi-kwang and join his group. On the work, Kim Hyun-joo commented "It was a script that any actor would feel compelled to take. I liked that it was a drama focusing on psychology, rather than visual stimulation".

I'm ready for some high levels of angst among the three leads, and ready to welcome this solid cast in a hopefully solid story.

Written by: Orion

Source: (1)
Both sides need to hammer out a master development agreement that, among other things, will spell out the process and terms for the company to acquire the remaining village-owned land, specific uses for it and any financial incentives Structured is seeking from the village.
A GIRL raised more than 420 for a man suffering from a rare type of cancer by having 12in of her hair cut off.

Lilia Taylor, nine, decided to help after hearing about Nick Dipper, who needs to raise 140,000 to pay for pioneering treatment in Germany which is not available to him on the NHS.

Mr Dipper, 51, from Highmoor, has cancer of the pharynx, which connects the back of the nose to the back of the mouth, and his only hope is immunotherapy treatment.

Lilia lives in Western Avenue, Henley, with her parents Andy and Emma and brother Gabriel. Her mother knows Mr Dippers wife Lisa through Highmoor Pre-School, which Gabriel attended with the Dippers twins Ely and Ezra.

Mrs Taylor said: When we heard about Nicks diagnosis we wanted to do something. Id made a donation anyway and then Lilia came up with the idea of having her hair cut.

She was really up for it but I was a bit wobbly  shes been growing her hair since she was born!

Lilia had her hair cut by Fiona Weathers, who also cuts Mrs Dippers hair.

She tied the girls hair in six ponytails before cutting them off and giving her a bob.

Lilia, who goes to Stoke Row Primary School, chose to have her hair sent to the Little Princess Trust, which makes wigs for young people suffering from hair loss.

She is also running an online fund-raising page where people can donate, with the money going to the Dippers appeal. Lilia, who covered her mouth with her hands in excitement after she saw the finished look, said: I feel very different but I love it!

Mrs Taylor said: Ill get used to it. Im very proud of her and the fact that she collected more than 300, its a bit of a boost for Lisa.

Mrs Dipper said: Shes our youngest fund-raiser so far and its quite touching when a little person does something to get involved.

She might not know the whole story but I know shes aware of the situation and it was her choice to do it. I think its sweet, so well done.

Mr Dipper hopes to undergo treatment which will help his bodys immune system recognise and attack cancer cells. He has had a series of injections at the Spire Dunedin Hospital in Reading and had a second round of treatment in Germany last week.

Mrs Dipper said: We dont know anything yet because its too early but the chat with the oncologist was very promising.

He was using the word remission in conversation with Nick. That positivity is keeping us going  he keeps giving us hope.

An online appeal has so far raised more than 80,000, while readers of the Henley Standard have donated more than 2,200 in cash and cheques. Other supporters are running fund-raisers, including bake sales and charity events.

At the weekend, family friend Ricky Zamir drove a convertible Peugeot from Birmingham to Benidorm to raise funds.

Mrs Dipper said: Fund-raising is going really well. We did something as simple as a car boot sale and raised 713, which was amazing.

She said her husband had been lifted by the treatment starting.

She said: To see the difference in Nick when he goes to Germany is unbelievable. Its worth the money alone to hear the tone of his voice.

I didnt go with him as we are trying to keep costs down but I rang him one morning and asked how he was and he said, fabulous.

It has given him that spark back and you cant put a price on that.

You can donate by sending cash or a cheque to the Henley Standard offices at 1 Station Road, Henley, RG9 1AD or online as follows:

www.gofundme.com/team-dipper-

needs-you

www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding

teamdipper

paypal.me/teamdipper
The Irish Distillers Building in the Smithfield area of Dublin before the demolition, which is part of a major redevelopment plan

Remains of the building following the controversial demolition

Heritage campaigners have criticised the demolition of a 19th century distillery building.

The limestone facade of the Irish Distillers Building has been knocked down with the rest of the structure, despite its preservation being stipulated in the original planning permission.

The building located beside the Jameson Distillery is part of the Distillers Building plan, which will provide office space within the two-storey 20,000sqm development.

Structural

Linders of Smithfield were granted planning permission by Dublin City Council in 2016 but were expected to keep the limestone facade. However, the council said yesterday that a structural issue meant the facade had to be knocked too.

"Approval was given by Dublin City Council to demolish the building except for the eastern wall but when the demolition happened, the developer discovered a structural issue which meant the eastern wall would also need to be demolished," said the council.

"The council gave approval for this on health and safety grounds. However, the developer has been instructed to rebuild the eastern wall as part of the works."

Heritage group An Taisce reacted angrily yesterday to the demolition.

"A significant heritage building in the Smithfield area has been demolished in contravention to planning permission conditions," it said in a statement.

Ian Lumley, from An Taisce, told the Herald that the demolition on Bow Street was a "clear breach of planning permission which provided for maintenance of a 19th Century stone wall".

Separately, the Limerick chapter of An Taisce has launched a campaign to stop the demolition of a 200-year-old red brick Georgian building.

Curragower House is at risk of being torn down to make way for a private residence, an apartment block, and a cafe.

Limerick City Council, which approved the application by Derry Corbett to develop the land, said it could not comment on the issue as it was under an appeal.

Also in Limerick, An Post is set to alter the facade of the 20th century General Post Office on Lower Cecil Street.

Planning documents show An Post is seeking to remove part of the timber frame facade and to remove existing ceramic and mosaic tiling finishes.

An Post is also set to overhaul the interior of its St Andrew's Street post office in inner city Dublin and "upgrade" a post office in Newbridge, Co Kildare.
There were countless times when I had to pull all-nighters to finish projects and she wouldnt go to sleep until I was done, Andrade said. I would tell her to go to bed and shed say No, Im going to stay up. She would help if she could, like one time she helped me with a scrapbooking project.
A beauty salon customer who absconded without paying for a hairdo, claiming her hair had been left bright orange, has been spared jail and a criminal conviction.

College graduate Edel Vesey (31) left without paying for the treatment, maintaining her hair had been ruined by stylists.

Judge John Hughes applied the Probation Act after she paid 240 to the salon - including the original cost of the 130 treatment.

Vesey, of Clonmore Villas, Ballybough, had denied making off without paying for services, but was found guilty following a trial at Dublin District Court.

She had been warned she faced two months in jail if she did not pay the compensation.

When her case came before the court, barrister Gillian Finane said Vesey had the money in court.

Judge Hughes noted an earlier court order and applied the Probation Act.

Previously, the court heard the incident happened at Nabella Hair and Beauty, Dorset Street, on September 21, 2017.

Delighted

The owner said Vesey had come and asked for a wash, cut and highlights. She paid a 10 deposit on the 130 price, giving her phone number and the name Michelle O'Connor.

After the treatment, she was shown the back and sides and was "quite happy," and "delighted", the owner said.

When it came time to pay, Vesey said she had forgotten her wallet and that she had to get it from her car.

The owner said Vesey told her: "I'm going to get my purse. I'm not that kind of bad person, I will pay you, I'm a good girl. I am not running away."

After she left, she sent a text message saying she was not happy with her hair. The owner offered further treatment but she did not return.

Vesey claimed she told staff she was not happy with her hair because it was "bright orange and all patchy. It was ridiculous looking". She claimed the three salon workers locked the door, were "surrounding" her, and she "panicked" and said she had to leave to get her wallet.

The trial judge said an "after" picture taken by Vesey looked very different to one taken in the salon.
The search for an Irish professor who fell on Mount Everest after making a successful ascent has been called off.

Seamus Lawless (39) fulfilled a lifelong dream of reaching the summit of the world's highest mountain on Thursday.

However, hours later, he fell from an altitude of 8,300m as his group made its way down.

Yesterday, the search for him was called off because of high winds and temperatures of -27C, with a wind chill making it feel more like -43C.

Mr Lawless, from Bray, Co Wicklow, was due to celebrate his 40th birthday in July, and his wife Pam is five months pregnant with their second child.

Tragedy

The assistant professor in artificial intelligence at Trinity's School of Computer Science and Statistics was climbing in a group of eight led by Northern Irish adventurer Noel Hanna.

He reportedly fell from the mountain in an area known as the balcony.

The group suffered another tragedy yesterday morning when an Indian climber, Ravi Thakar, was found dead in his tent at Camp Four at 7,900m.

Irish climber Pat Falvey, who has scaled Everest twice, said: "Other group climbers found him dead inside his tent when he failed to appear.

"The whole climbing community is devastated with this additional news.

"Mr Lawless's wife, young daughter and other family members are distraught but the community will rally around them as best as they can.

"The search has had to be called off for safety reasons because of the high winds and frigid temperatures.

"As time passes, the more difficult it will be for everyone in the group and for rescuers to locate Mr Lawless.

"This will be devastating for the group left on the mountain. Mr Hanna, who is group lead, is such a careful, dedicated and professional climber and for this to happen will be tough on him."

Mr Lawless had done the climb to raise up to 25,000 for Barretstown, a charity dedicated to seriously ill children and their families.

He flew to Nepal in April to prepare for the climb and to allow his body to acclimatise to the thinner air, in a bid to avoid altitude sickness.

Seven Summit Treks, the guide company behind the climb, confirmed it had involved a team of Sherpas to search for Mr Lawless.

Another Irish climber, Jennifer Shirley, and Saray N'ksui Khumalo of South Africa, the first black African woman to reach the summit, are part of the group.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is liaising closely with Mr Lawless's family.
Azzams father Abderrahmane Raguragui helps to comfort someone attending the funeral yesterday. Photo: Colin Keegan

The coffin of Azzam Raguragui is carried by his friends. Photo: Colin Keegan

Hundreds of mourners joined the family of Azzam Raguragui yesterday to say a final farewell to the teenager stabbed to death in a Dublin park.

They paid their respects to the Dundrum youngster at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Clonskeagh, where Azzam's friends were urged not to be angry in the face of the tragedy.

The service was led by Imam Hussein Halawa, who urged young Muslims to work hard and lead good lives.

He urged them to "leave the matter of Azzam to Allah" and to the gardai and the courts who are dealing with the case.

The imam added that "death comes all of a sudden" and said that 18-year-old Azzam would be missed by all in the community.

Deeds

He extended his sincerest condolences to the family of the young man.

"What are you going to do to prepare for the place Azzam has gone?" the imam asked the young people of the community.

"You have to prepare yourself. Leave the matter to gardai and the courts, who are working hard. Being angry will not help.

"Do good deeds."

As Friday is a sacred day in Islam, Imam Halawa said, Azzam "travelled to his Lord on the best day".

Azzam's body was taken to Newcastle Cemetery after the service.

Transport Minister Shane Ross and Garda Superintendent Martin McGonnell were among the mourners.

Supt McGonnell said that the community was rallying round Azzam's parents.

"I think at least the community will back up the family through a very, very difficult time now and into the future," he said.

"We are following lines of inquiry and I have to pay tribute to our investigative team who are doing great work."

Mr Ross said that what had happened was a tragedy.

He had been at the centre just two weeks ago for a very different reason, delivering a talk on road safety.

"It's so sad, it's a tragedy. It's absolutely awful for everybody," he said. "I just met his mother and father and it is just awful.

"You always worry about [your children] but you never think it will happen. I am here to sympathise with the parents today."

Ahmed Hassain, the cultural centre's director of administration and finance, said that the Friday prayer had been much busier than usual with the funeral, with attendance 40pc higher than the normal.

He said of Azzam's parents Hajiba Elouaddaf and Abderrahmane Raguragui: "They're coping - but not sure in the long run.

"They're getting lots of support from everybody. But when things calm down, they will feel the loss."

The service also remembered DIT business professor Amr Arisha, who has died from cancer in his 40s.

Azzam, described as respectful and cheerful, was fatally stabbed eight days ago after a row in a Dundrum park.

Detectives ruled out a racial motive for the attack.

Gardai have spoken to a teen who is the chief suspect in the killing.
A businessman suspected of money laundering has been linked to the investigation into garda corruption

A businessman suspected of money laundering has been linked to the investigation into garda corruption. Photo: Collins Photo Agency

A businessman who is suspected of laundering money for a number of criminal gangs across the country is at the centre of a probe into alleged garda corruption.

Gardai are investigating whether he has been using a successful and seemingly legitimate business to launder cash for gangs involved in the drugs trade.

He acts as an agent by "cleaning" drug money through an import-export business that has a number of outlets in Ireland.

As part of a long-running investigation into the suspected criminal, senior gardai became concerned about the businessman's ties to officers in the south of the country.

Extortion

Intercepted mobile phone communications led senior officers to believe that the businessman may have received garda information.

An investigation was launched by the garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which is based in Dublin.

The suspected money launderer is linked to a number of criminal outfits, including a gang involved in drug trafficking and violent extortion offences in Ireland, as well as suspected international crimes.

"They are into everything that crew, from drugs to burglaries," a source said last night.

The source added that if senior gardai were found to have any involvement with the gang, it would be "simply shocking - just unbelievable" for other members of the force.

The probe into allegations of garda corruption will examine whether suspected co-operation between some officers and members of an organised crime gang prevented prosecutions.

Detectives will focus on whether the evidence indicates that there was improper interference in criminal investigations. This could have contributed to charges not being brought against suspects.

Three officers, including a superintendent and an inspector, were arrested for questioning in an unprecedented move for the force on Thursday.

After the release of the three officers, who also include a detective garda, the investigation will now enter a new phase.

Officers say the arrests have also sent a significant signal to others who may have information and have yet to come forward.

It shows the force is treating the allegations very seriously and is determined to establish the truth.

New lines of inquiry are being opened up following the arrests as the scope of the investigation is widened.

A garda superintendent, who was one of the three officers detained on Thursday, was released from custody yesterday morning.

He was suspended from duty following his release.

A file on his case will now be prepared by investigating officers for the office of the DPP, which will determine if criminal charges should be brought.

He was questioned throughout Thursday and into the early hours of yesterday about a suspected breach of the Garda Siochana Act by allegedly disclosing information, obtained during the course of his duties, to another, knowing that the disclosure was likely to have a harmful effect.

A detective garda, who was arrested for suspected conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, was also questioned into the early hours and released.

He had already been suspended from duty following his earlier arrest on a suspected separate offence.

Both men had opted to continue their questioning into yesterday morning rather than opting for a rest period of up to eight hours during the night.

A garda inspector, detained for suspected breaches of the Misuse of Drugs Act, was released without charge on Thursday night. He was also suspended with a file being prepared for the DPP.
Jones said he was shocked when authorities announced charges against Webb. That was in December 2017, nearly 18 months ago. I asked Jones how city officials should respond, now that they have had time to process the evidence and Webb has pleaded guilty and Tower Contracting and its president have been convicted.
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About half of the dogs were living in cages; others were running freely about the house. Osborn said some were living in holes in the kitchen, underneath the bed and other places throughout the home.

This is the worst case Ive seen, Osborn said. Just the way it was so polluted in feces.

Three women lived in the home, including two upstairs and one downstairs. Two of the women suffered from medical conditions, and could not breathe, Osborn said. Emergency medical personnel checked on one person while the other two women refused medical help.

No one can go on the outside or in the inside of the home, Osborn said. This is an open case. Well be doing more about it. The city will be condemning it, and we will be boarding up the residence.

The home had no electricity or running water, Osborn said.

They had no access to any [water], Osborn said. They were getting water from the creek.

Officers took the dogs to the animal shelter, where a veterinarian will be checking on them today. Slagle said all of the dogs, except three or four, seemed healthy.
Other council members said they also look forward to the May 30 discussion.

Councilman Neal Osborne, who supports building an elementary school, echoed Farnums remark that the $200,000 is a good first step but it will take a lot of work over the next six months to identify and agree on a long-term plan.

Councilman Bill Hartley said: We need to come together and find out what that looks like long-term, what the options are and what can be done. Also, its making schools safer. That makes me feel better as a parent, and Im sure it makes a lot of other parents feel better.

Vice Mayor Kevin Wingard said the schools and city have many building upkeep needs.

The meetings that took place over the last two weeks, my input was not even requested, but I would love to be part of these conversations and see if there is an avenue where we can get our schools back up where they need to be thats reasonable and responsible and achievable, Wingard said. We need to work together with the School Board, and the School Board needs to work with us. We need to realize we cant have everything we want; nobody can get their way 100% of the time.
District Superintendent Fred Heid lauded district and college officials for taking a chance on the dual-credit idea when he broached it three years ago. There was concern that 16- and 17-year-olds might not be ready for more rigorous college classes or might not be able to handle the responsibility that comes with being an independent student, he said
WASHINGTON  Growing up in the 1950s and 60s, there was no avoiding the adorable Doris Day. She was cute as a bug, wholesome, winsome and adored, at least in movies, by the swooning-est leading men in Hollywood  Rock Hudson, Cary Grant and Clark Gable, to name a few.

As a young girl, I simply loved her and, of course, wanted to marry Rock. As dreamboats went, he was without par. And Doris (we were on a first-name basis back then) was this motherless girls idea of what a woman should be  cheerfully feminine and wise to men.

Today, Days characters would be laughable to world-weary children trapped in a sexualized world. But I can testify that watching grown-ups crawl into twin beds wearing pajamas brings no harm to the underaged. Im grateful for the innocence that society then permitted its younger generation, and to actors such as Day, who declined roles, including Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate, that defied her values.

Also, Day was honest enough about herself to figure she probably wouldnt have been believable as a seductress. She was certainly glamorous, but was also perhaps cursed by a prevailing perkiness that could be neither subdued nor camouflaged. Besides, who would want to see a lascivious Doris Day? Surely, not her fans.
He says this is easily the most important that weve seen in a generation, according to the Virginia Mercury website, which provided coverage of one of his recent talks. Thats not the pithy line in question, although it is one that both Democrats and Republicans would likely agree on. Instead, his money quote is this: We are one vote, one election, and one bill away from being New York and California. If youre a Republican, thats a pretty frightening thing. If youre not, then the alarm is probably lost on your ears. Pillion warns that a Democratic General Assembly would pass bills on abortion and guns that a Republican General Assembly never would. Hes certainly right about that, and Democrats would say thats exactly the point. Those are two tried-and-true issues we hear in every election. Pillion now adds another: The so-called Green New Deal pushed at the federal level by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, who in political shorthand is now simply AOC.

Of course we have our own AOC, Pillion told a recent gathering Scott County. His name is Del. [Sam] Rasoul from Roanoke, who carried the same bill that she carried in Congress. He carried it in Virginia this past session. We are one vote from that happening in our commonwealth. Can you imagine what that would do to our Southwest Virginia economy thats just now trying to recover from the eight years that [former President Barack] Obama put us in? Can you imagine what that would do to us? To some extent, Pillion is playing to the crowd here. Yes, Obama waged what some called a war on coal. Today, though, that war on coal is being waged by the marketplace. Renewables are now usually cheaper. Coal is not coming back, not now, not ever. Legislators from coal counties would be better off trying to figure out how they can get a piece of the renewable energy industry, not badmouth it. Ironically, Republican legislators from Southwest Virginia have actually been doing so. They pushed legislation to create an energy research center that conceivably could make the coalfields a center for green energy research. Nonetheless, its still good politics there to talk up coal (and the Democrat Rasoul is probably flattered by the comparison to Ocasio-Cortez. This is a win-win for all concerned.)
But despite the statement from Illinois Department of Transportation Acting Secretary Omer Osman earlier this month saying the agency would not pursue federal dollars related to the project, representatives from IDOT and Amtrak recently said discussions will continue between all agencies involved in the expansion talks on different ideas to improve Hiawatha service.
How many new COVID-19 cases in Washington County? We don't know

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A. Probably the banjo is my most proficient instrument. The least proficient would probably be the oboe. I havent spent as much time with I yet. I learned to play one in grad school and that was about 30 years ago. I havent really touched one since, but this past years when I saw I was going to be doing this record, I bought one. I know I could play it. I just needed to spend some time with it. However, the concertina would be the most difficult to learn, due to the crazy layout of the notes on it.
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North Carolina Rep. Mitchell Setzer said Friday he believes pending legislation that could pave the way for a state park in Catawba County could soon pass the North Carolina General Assembly.

You can never promise anything  but I think it will (pass), Setzer said.

Earlier this year, two bills  Senate Bill 380 and House Bill 532  that would add new trails to the state trail system were introduced.

A provision in each of the bills would direct the Division of Parks and Recreation to study the possibility of adding Hickory into the state trail system.

Each of the bills has passed its respective house. Setzer was a sponsor of the bill in the House while N.C. Sen. Andy Wells was a sponsor of the Senate bill.

Earlier this month, Wells said the legislation is a major step in giving the parks division authority to own and manage land in Catawba County.

The House version of the bill was advanced by the Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate on Thursday.
Trooper Alaa Hamed was sitting facing southbound out of traffic and with emergency lights on the west shoulder near the intersection of Broadway and 15th Avenue in Gary at about 12:10 a.m. Saturday with Mario L. Rodriguez, 48, of Valparaiso, officials said. Hamed had detained Rodriguez on suspicion of impaired driving, ISP spokeswoman Sgt. Ann Wojas said in a release.
Both the films and the weather in Cannes are a tad unpredictable. You never know what you are in for, which is one of the many things that make this festival so much fun. Today, it was cloudy and chilly at 7.45 am when I got into Rocketman. The film is a warts and all biography of Elton John. Its gaudy, shiny and has sentiment and song  in short, its a Bollywood film on a bigger budget. The films trump card is Taron Egertons performance as the musician. Elton John is, at once, a world famous rockstar but also desperately lonely, child-like in his hunger for love and miserable as he tries to fill up the gaping hole in his life with drugs, shopping and sex. Its a wild ride but its also no spoiler to tell you that we have a happy ending  Sir Elton has been sober now for 28 years!

Television superstar Hina Khan is in Cannes. Its her first time at the festival. She walked the red carpet and launched the poster of her first feature film Lines. Hina found herself in the headlines, not just for her beautiful outfit but also because of an unsavory online comment. When I chatted with the actor, she said that she was initially upset because shes worked very hard to get to the festival. But shes decided to focus on the good things like Lines and the massive support shes got. I asked her if the television actor tag is problematic when it comes to Bollywood. She said she didnt know but no matter how far she travels, she will always acknowledge the role that television has played in her life.

Hina Khan poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film Bacurau at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 15, 2019. (AP)

Also in town for the first time is Priyanka Chopra. We met in the evening at the Martinez hotel, which was as usual, overrun by stunning women in various stages of red carpet ready  the lobby was crowded with photographers, stars and their entourages waiting for cars to take them to the Palais. In hotel corridors, make-up artists and stylists carrying dresses ran around frantically. As I waited, I chatted with someone staying at the hotel who told me that the staff is so stretched that an order of coffee takes about an hour and a half to arrive!

WATCH | Cannes 2019: Hina Khan dazzles on red carpet

Priyanka was juggling multiple things, which she says, is her preferred mode. She is supporting a documentary called 5B, which honors the unsung heroes of the AIDS crisis. The film is also supported by Bono and Julianne Moore. Priyanka is also in Cannes for Chopard. The good news is that shes read two Hindi film scripts that she likes so we will see more of her onscreen soon. She said that her and Nick are equally driven and competitive and their teams manage their crazy schedules. Her red carpet rule is to be prepared and always have fun because, you cant take being photographed too seriously!

On the star spotting front  I saw Monica Bellucci in the lobby of the Majestic, elegantly sashaying on vertiginous Christian Louboutin heels  just looking at them made me dizzy! All in all, another productive day in Cannes.

Author tweets @anupamachopra

Follow her on Instagram @anupama.chopra

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Actor Kangana Ranauts latest look from the Cannes Film Festival will take you back to her early days in Bollywood. The actors team shared a bunch of pictures from her third day at the French Riviera and her look seems to be inspired from her debut film, Gangster.

Kangana wore a pink high-low skirt and a pink off-shoulder top on Day 3. She left her curly hair loose and completed her look with pink heels and white sunglasses. Her fans also loved her simple and summery look. She is looking like her first movie gangster look, wrote a fan. Wowww love ur style maam my fab, wrote another.

Also read: Deepika wows Cannes in a lime green dress, Ranveer calls her nuts

It is not known if Kangana will walk the red carpet at any films screening on Saturday. On Friday, she wore a fairytale inspired pink and lavender hued trailed gown by Filipino fashion designer Micheal Cinco. I am wearing a Michael Cinco Couture gown, with pink and lavender hues and its jewelled. It is very structured but at the same time, it has an absolutely romantic vibe to it. It is fierce and translucent but has a romantic vibe, Kangana said.

Talking about her look, she said: The hair is very romantic and regal and the make-up is also soft and we didnt create contrast. I have never done softer looks, I have never done pink for any red carpet and its not my colour, so for me, its a definition of a risk.

Kangana was later seen at the Chopard party where she wore a white Toni Maticevski gown. With a full sleeve on one side, the white ensemble had quirky design on the other and a ruffled neckline. To break the monotony, the actor went for a pair of blue strappy heels.

Apart from Kangana, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, were some of the Bollywood stars who dazzled at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival red carpet. Television actors Hina Khan, actors Huma Qureshi and Diana Penty were also seen at the festival.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
An Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation has revealed that former ICICI Bank managing director and CEO, Chanda Kochhar, already held shares in a private company, Credit Finance Limited (CFL), along with her family members and the Videocon Group when she became the executive director of the bank in April 2001  a significant conflict of interest. It isnt clear whether this was disclosed to ICICI Bank when Kochhar was named on the board or, indeed, to the Reserve Bank of India when she became CEO.

HT has reviewed a copy of an internal ED report, which states that CFL was held jointly by Chanda Kochhar and family (60% of shares) and Videocon (24.7% shares) since 2000-01. She became executive director (of ICICI) in April 2001 and also held share of CFL along with other shareholders of the Kochhar group. Her husband Deepak Kochhar was the managing director of CFL till 2009, the report said.

It is this company  earlier named Credential Finance Limited (incorporated in 1992), which was later merged into Bloomfield Builders and Construction Ltd in 1996 and renamed as Credit Finance Limited (CFL)  which bought Flat number 45, CCI Chambers in 1996 and later mortgaged it to Videocon International Limited. The Kochhars lived in this flat since 1997. In fact, ED adds in its report that when CFL defaulted a loan from SBI Home Finance, it was repaid by Videocon.

ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) started looking into a possible quid pro quo between Chanda Kochhar and the Videocon Group based on a whistleblowers complaint that ICICI Bank loaned money to Videocon in return for Videocon Group chairman, Venugopal Dhoot, investing in Deepak Kochhars company. The bank initially cleared Chanda Kochhar of any wrongdoing based on an internal report, but as the investigation deepened, had to ask her to step down.

The ED report terms transactions related to this flat and parties involved in it as unclean and in collusion.

The transactions relating to the sale and purchase of this apartment to the individuals and CFL and subsequent settlement among the conspirators i.e. CFL and QTAPL (Quality Techno Advisors Pvt Ltd, a Videocon company which had acquired the apartment, which was 100% acquired by a trust of Chanda Kochhar) are subject matter of thorough probe because parties of both sides in holding the title of apartment are unclean and in collusion also, the ED report added.

The report further claimed that during her term as the MD-CEO of ICICI Bank from 2009 till 2018, Chanda Kochhar is alleged to have not disclosed the directorship details of her husband to ICICI Bank), as per the norms under Banking rules.

Her lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, declined to comment. ICICI Bank did not respond to an e-mail from HT.

According to Section 184 of the Companies Act, every director of a company (both private and public) should disclose their interest or concern in a third party. Kochhar not disclosing the shares held by her in CFL is also against Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, two banking experts said.

An ED officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said: Chanda Kochhar didnt inform the ICICI bank about her shareholding, her husbands business interests and their connection with Videocon while she continued to be on several sanctioning committees of the bank which approved loans for the Videocon group companies.

As first reported by HT, ED has expanded its probe against Kochhars and Videocon group in total 24 loans worth 7,862 crore.

The ED has listed 24 companies which were or are run by the Kochhar group.

Chanda and Deepak Kochhar were questioned for the fifth day on Friday.
Mike Bezos, father of the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, was just 16 when he boarded a flight in Cuba for Miami, a city in Florida, US.

He came to the US alone in 1962, knowing little English. But that could not stop him from living the American dream.

When he came here from Cuba at 16, not only was he all alone, but he only spoke Spanish. His grit, determination, and optimism are inspiring, Jeff Bezos said in a recent tweet.

The Amazon CEO also shared on Thursday a video to celebrate his fathers journey.

My dads journey to the US shows how people come together to help each other. We got a chance to celebrate him last night for the opening of the Statue of Libertys new museum. This is his story, said the tweet.

The opening of the new Statue of Liberty Museum at Ellis Island in New York City was attended by other stars including Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton, CNBC reported on Thursday.

At the Statue of Liberty, where my dads being honored with a Liberty Star as part of the new museums opening. When he came here from Cuba at 16, not only was he all alone, but he only spoke Spanish. His grit, determination, and optimism are inspiring. #StatueofLibertyMuseum pic.twitter.com/DFhR3Dbf7p  Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) May 16, 2019

Mike Bezos is not the biological father of Jeff Bezos. But he raised the future Amazon founder. Jeff Bezos was just four years old, when his mother, Jacklyn Gise, married Mike Bezos.

When he came to the US, Mike Bezos brought with him three shirts, three pants, three underwear, (and) a pair of shoes.

He came wearing a coat that his mother had hand-stitched from cleaning rags.

His mom imagined America must be super cold. So she made him something special for his journey, which we still have, Jeff Bezos, who also features in the video, said.

Also read| Amazons Jeff Bezos says hell send a robotic spaceship to the moon

He was all by himself. I have a hard time even imagining that, but his parents sent him here because under Fidel Castro, they felt like they had to, to protect him, Jeff Bezos, who was born to 17-year-old high school student Jacklyn Gise on January 12, 1964 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said.

His biological parents married, but Gise divorced Ted Jorgensen in 1965, and in 1968 married Mike Bezos, CNBC reported.

Also read| Amazons Jeff Bezos challenges retail rivals to raise minimum wages
Once again an election is going by without any discussion of one of my obsessions, the weakness of governments. All party leaders are glibly making promises, but they will lack institutions and administrative bodies robust enough to turn policy into practice effectively. They will have difficulty in fulfilling their basic duty to uphold the law.

I put much of the blame for the weakness of governments in India on the failure to reform the government structures and systems inherited from the British Raj. I was therefore fascinated to meet a distinguished retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who believes India needs to revive one quality of the Raj government. Moosa Raza served in the IAS for 35 years eventually as chief secretary to the government of Jammu and Kashmir, secretary to the government of India, and advisor to the governor of Uttar Pradesh. For 25 years thereafter he served on government committees, task forces, and similar bodies, and has more than 30 years of experience. He told me an important reason for the weakness and ineffectiveness of governments was the loss of their iqbal. By iqbal, he meant the respect governments used to command, the aura which used to surround them during the Raj and for decades afterwards.

Moosa Raza then went on to illustrate iqbal with the story of a farmers agitation in Mehsana district where he was sub divisional magistrate (SDM) in the 1960s. The collector, being of a nervous disposition, had summoned almost the entire district police force to defend his office. When the young SDM and his sub-divisional police officer found themselves faced with six or seven hundred angry farmers, many of them carrying lathis, they had just four constables to control them. The young and inexperienced Moosa Raza sensibly relied on the advice of his police officer, a very experienced man who had risen through the ranks. Relying on the governments iqbal, the police officer announced that the demonstration had been declared an unlawful assembly. To pretend this was so, he told the SDM to wave a nondescript piece of paper in the air, and the farmers dispersed . Nowadays, a similar situation would probably become a riot perhaps ending with a magistrate ordering the police to open fire.

Moosa Raza explained that iqbal was maintained by making sure the izzat, or self-respect, of all government officials was preserved. An official, no matter how senior, would always refer to a lowly thesildar as Khan Sahib if he was a Muslim and Rao Sahib if he was a Hindu. Nowadays, the boards in collectors offices listing past holders of the post show that the izzat of many of them has been undermined by premature transfers engineered by politicians. Politicians dont hesitate to rebuke officials of all ranks in public. There was the case of the foreign secretary, AP Venkatashwaran, who Rajiv Gandhi sacked during a press conference.

When he was young, Moosa Raza said, officials were told never to undermine the governments iqbal by making false promises which would not be fulfilled, or threats that could not be carried out. Nowadays, the iqbal of the government is undermined by countless regulations which are not enforceable and should have been rescinded years ago. For instance, the craze for taking photographs set off by mobile phones has made the railways look stupid by their failure to implement the obsolete ban on photography at stations. There is no respect for traffic police who, no matter how many challans they issue, are unable to instil respect for red lights in two-wheeler riders, control parking, prevent overloading, and punish those guilty of numerous other traffic offences.

Then there is the vexed subject of corruption. It would not be so prevalent if governments retained iqbal so that there was respect for the laws against giving and taking bribes, and fear of punishment.

A government which lacks iqbal is a government which invites lawlessness. If the government does not command respect, the law will not be respected either. I havent heard any discussion of the prevailing lawlessness in this election.

The views expressed are personal
When the first general elections were held, in 1951-52, Jawaharlal Nehru had been prime minister of India for five years. The government was identified with him, and so was the ruling party. He was their main vote-catcher and speech-maker, in these respects akin to the prime minister now seeking re-election. It may thus be worthwhile to recall some of the rhetoric that Nehru used while asking for votes for his party. Nehrus speeches were in Hindi; in what follows, I have quoted the English translations in his Selected Works.

Nehru began his campaign in Ludhiana, where he declared an all-out war against communalism. Warning his audience to beware of sinister communal elements who could bring ruin and death to the country, he urged them instead to keep the windows of our mind open and let in fresh breeze from all corners of the world. Then, speaking in New Delhi on October 2, Gandhis birthday, Nehru said that the moment a nation shackles its mind, whether in the name of religion or whatever it may be, narrow-mindedness grows and the nation stops growing. If any person raises his hand to strike down another on the ground of religion, he remarked, I shall fight him till the last breath of my life, both at the head of the Government and from outside.

Nehru had seen the State and people of Pakistan shackle themselves in the name of religion. He was deeply worried that, in a spirit of competitive communalism, India and Indians might do the same. And so, in his election speeches, he returned again and again to the theme of interfaith harmony. In Amritsar, he said that there has never been a question of one religion trying to suppress the others. If anyone tries to do it now, he will be very foolish and will cause great damage to the country. He believed that communal conflict acted as a brake on economic development; as he put it, India can progress in only one way and that is when all Indians, irrespective of their professions, province or religion, live in harmony with one another and march together. They may hold different views and opinions, but they must not live in compartments politically or otherwise.

In another speech, Nehru remarked that the individual who is communal-minded is a small man with a narrow mind who cannot undertake anything big, and nations based on petty principles also become small. He said the communal organizations are doing a great deal of damage by constantly spreading ill-feeling... They are causing harm not only to the national cause because the Hindus cannot hope to make progress through the Jan Sangh or the Hindu Mahasabha and want the others in India to be left behind. It is a childish thought because not only the others but the Hindus will also be left behind.

Nehru also spoke often of the importance of gender equality. He thought it very essential to uplift the women of India because both legally and traditionally their condition has been very bad in this country. I think a country can be judged by the status of its women. He added: The influence of men is still very powerful in this country. I think that the laws and traditions in this country suppress women and do not allow them to rise. This is wrong and should be removed and that can only be done by changing the laws.

The attempts by Nehrus government to reform Hindu personal laws in favour of gender equality had been met with a loud protest that Hindu religion was being destroyed. Nehru thought, however, that these reforms, instead of destroying it, will do a special service to Hindu religion, which will progress, otherwise the Hindu society will become weak.

In focusing so strongly on communal harmony and gender equality, Nehru was asking his fellow Indians to build a more just and more caring society. He was seeking to stoke what Abraham Lincoln had once called the better angels of our nature.

In one speech, Nehru remarked that I do refer to other parties but only on questions of principle. I do not look at them from the point of view of personalities. On the other hand, the Opposition leaders often attacked him personally, yet Nehru was fine with this. As he said: I do not want to shirk my responsibility. It is obvious that I do not do everything myself and there are thousands of cogs in the wheel  but the ultimate responsibility is mine. When you put me in a position of great responsibility, how can I hide behind a curtain and deny it? I am prepared to take on the responsibility for everything, good or bad, that the Government has done in India. Nehru could easily have blamed the legacies of two hundred years of colonial rule or the malign intentions of our neighbours for his governments failures; but he did not.

Notably, Nehru urged voters to listen carefully to what his opponents had to say. When he heard that the Socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan was to tour the Punjab after him, he told his audience: I advise you to go and listen to him.  I may not agree with him on certain things. But he is an excellent man. You must listen to the others and try to understand all the arguments and then decide for yourselves.

The reader may wish, if she so chooses, to compare the tone and tenor of Nehrus election speeches with the speeches made by various leaders in the election campaign that has just ended. On my part, I can only offer this prediction: 50 or 60 years hence, no historian is going to write appreciatively about what Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi (or Mamata Banerjee or Mayawati) said while campaigning for votes in the general elections of 2019.

Ramachandra Guha is the author of Gandhi: The Years That Changed The World.

The views expressed are personal

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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday alleged that the Delhi election commission had got polling diaries manipulated by presiding officers in the South Delhi parliamentary seat after the national capital voted on May 12 .

The poll commission, however, refuted the allegations and said the Delhi chief electoral officer would meet senior leaders of the AAP on Saturday to clear their doubts.

Addressing a press conference on Friday, AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said the party had received credible information about the alleged poll code violation. The same allegation was levelled by AAPs South Delhi candidate Raghav Chadha who said that presiding officers were being summoned by the EC and are being asked to re-create and re-sign EVM related documents. Both the leaders, however, did not substantiate their claims with evidence .

Polling diaries are used to note hourly activity at a booth on polling day. On Saturday, AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha will take the partys complaint to the chief election commissioner and the Delhi CEO.

A senior poll official said that the returning officers (ROs) are well within their powers to summon presiding officers in case any clarification is needed on the conduction of polls. There is no question of changing the poll diaries, as the original copy is with both the RO and the polling agents, while one copy is in the strong room with EVMs, the official said.

Every booth has a presiding officer who monitors the activities and work done by the election team there. We have credible information that on May 16, three days after Delhis polling day, about 200-250 presiding officers were called and asked to make fresh polling diaries which they signed again, said Bharadwaj.

The AAP leader alleged that in the past two days presiding officers from Ambedkar Nagar and Badarpur constituencies had been called.

Nidhi Srivastava, the returning officer of South Delhi constituency said misinformation is being spread by politicians. The polled EVMs and VVPATs are already in the strong room. A three-tier security  outer layer by the police, middle layer by armed police and inner layer from Central Armed Paramilitary Force  has been put in place to guard the strong rooms. Form 17C, which contains number of polled votes in each EVM/CU and copy of 17 C has already been given to all the polling agents who were present in that station. Hence, there is no chance for any manipulation, she said.

On counting day, the number of votes polled as recorded in the Form C from the strong room and the number of votes polled as recorded in the Form C from the counting agents will be matched before commencement of counting. If any discrepancy is found, the same will be reported to ECI for further action, she added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday said that the AAP is staring at defeat and hence were levelling baseless allegations. The BJP said that the ruling party in Delhi has a habit of blaming the election commission and the voting process, as it had done by holding the EVMs responsible for its defeat in the municipal elections in 2017.

Delhi BJP media in-charge Pratyush Kanth said, By levelling charges against the election commission, they have proved that insulting constitutional institutions is the part of their politics. The AAP is apprehensive of its defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. Some of its candidates are going to forfeit their security deposits.
Pinned down by half-a-dozen officers of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Henry Ideofor was seething with anger. It was at the call of the local shopkeeper, Gajraj Singh, that the 35-year-old Nigerian had opened the gates of his rented house in that Greater Noida neighbourhood on the morning of May 10.

We never got to know each other, but I think he saw me as a friend. He was angry that I had tricked him into opening the gate, Singh, 55, said.

Singh was among those rare local residents who Ideofor had interacted with during his four years there. They didnt know each other by name. Ideofor would refer to Singh as Baba; the shopkeeper would call him Mister. Their interactions were limited to Ideofor occasionally purchasing eggs, bread or water from Singhs shop.

Singhs guilt did not last long, even as he is yet to come to terms with how ignorant he had been.

According to NCB, the house was serving as the storehouse for pseudoephedrine  a precursor chemical used for manufacturing a range of narcotics and a laboratory for cocaine.

By the time the raid ended in the evening, NCB declared that it had recovered 1,818kg of pseudoephedrine and 1.9kg of cocaine  the total worth of the seized drug was about 26 crore in the international market. While the pseudoephedrine was being smuggled to Africa, the cocaine, NCB officials said, was for sale in the National Capital Region.

It was the biggest-ever seizure of pseudoephedrine in India outside the limits of factory premises, said NCBs north zonal director, Madho Singh.

Through all of last year, a total of 2,500kg of illegal pseudoephedrine were recovered across India.

THE PERFECT SETTING

But none of the residents of this sparsely populated neighbourhood of Greater Noidas Sector P4 had any reason to suspect that the house was serving as a drug den.

According to NCB officers, it was the perfect setting of the house and location that allowed the racket to go on undetected for so long.

Located about 4km from the Pari Chowk Metro station, just about 50 of the 224 houses in this green colony are inhabited. Most of these houses  mostly single-storey structures constructed over big plots  are owned by senior government officials who live elsewhere and have caretakers maintain their houses.

No security guard, infrequent patrolling by the local police, and poor transportation mean that residents here are hardly bothered by anyone. The house serving as the drug den was surrounded on its three sides by five plots, none of which were inhabited.

Built over a 300 square metre plot, the single-storey three-bedroom house was guarded by three CCTV cameras, including one at the rear through which there was no entry. An NCB investigator said that Ideofor used his mobile phone to monitor the footage.

The fact that the house was owned by Devendra PN Pandey, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer posted in Lucknow, helped the alleged drug dealers stay undisturbed. Pandey rented out the house in 2015 for 24,000 a month  a princely sum in a neighbourhood where entire houses were rented out for as little as one-fourth the amount.

Pandey would visit the house only a couple of times in a year.

Ideofor and a woman who he introduced as his wife (30-year-old Chimando Okora) would host me in the front room. I never checked the house as I thought it was rude to invade their privacy, said Pandey.

According to the NCB officials, Pandey never knew that the rooms in the rear of the building that served as the storehouse for drugs. The Nigerian nationals had stacked the pseudoephedrine in 52 big drums, all concealed in the large washrooms. They ensured that the rooms showed no signs of drugs, said an NCB officer involved in the raid.

Pandey also did not know what was cooking  quite literally  in the basement of the house. A large electronic apparatus used for cooking adulterated cocaine was recovered from the basement, said Madho Singh.

Ensuring secrecy

According to the NCB investigation so far, the house was occupied by Ideofor and his friend Okora since 2015. But most residents saw the house as unoccupied because of a large lock hanging from its main gate. Those who observed closely recounted the effort that went into giving that impression.

The African couple would move around only after midnight in cars bearing yellow number plates. They rarely brought the cabs to their doorstep. Instead, they would ask the cab driver to accompany them to the house, ask him to lock the main gate from the outside, and then hand over the keys to them. We wondered at this odd behaviour, but never thought about it, said Chhatarpal Bhati, the shopkeepers son.

NCB officers said the couple stored food and water that could last for months. The Nigerian couple did not drink or smoke publicly.

They never behaved in a way that would make us angry, Bhati said. Whenever Ideofor visit the local shop, he never carried more than a 100 note. We wouldnt have imagined he was dealing in drugs worth crores of rupees, said Bhatis father.

THE RACKET

According to SK Jha, the deputy director general of NCB, the two Nigerians were procuring large quantities of pseudoephedrine from contacts in India, where the drug is sold legally in a controlled manner to manufacture medicines.

Their exact source is yet to be identified, but Jha said that the destination of the pseudoephedrine has been established. They would courier the pseudoephedrine to the African countries where they would be turned into methamphetamine for sale across the world, said Jha.

Commonly known as crystal meth, or just meth, methamphetamine was central to the plot of the popular American TV series Breaking Bad.

Ideofor has allegedly told his interrogators that he was only working at the behest of another African man, Bruno Kuffor, who remains on the run. Kuffor, allegedly the kingpin of the racket, operated from his country, Sierra Leone.

THE COURIERS

NCB officials said the modus operandi was to send small quantities of pseudoephedrine to African countries by packing them in specially designed cavities of suitcases, many of which were recovered from the house.

They would pay 2 lakh and sponsor the air tickets of African people willing to visit India and take back a few kilos of the drug. These couriers would visit the Greater Noida house and take back 20kg to 30kg of the drug with them, said an investigator.

According to Madho Singh, a total of 10 Africans have been arrested at the Delhi airport for smuggling pseudoephedrine. But none of them could lead us to the source of the drug. The racketeers made efforts to ensure that the couriers dont know the exact location they picked up the drugs from, he said.

A LONG STAY

When Nomsa Lutalo, a 31-year-old woman arrived from South Africa to pick up the drugs from the Greater Noida house, her return tickets could not be immediately arranged. The woman ended up staying here for a month during which she often loiter in the neighbourhood, said Madho Singh.Lutalo was caught by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at the Delhi Airport on May 9 while she was allegedly smuggling 24.7kg of pseudoephedrine in the cavities of maths and science textbooks packed in a suitcase.

When we questioned her, she was able to provide certain details of the neighbourhood she stayed in. We worked on the inputs to zero down on the Greater Noida house, said Madho Singh.

In the Greater Noida neighbourhood, residents have been looking at anyone and anything with suspicion since the raid. Those are marijuana plants. The Africans must have been cultivating them, Mukesh Yadav, the caretaker of a bungalow, is quick to point out on spotting some small, tender plants at the rear lane of the notorious house.

He is still figuring out the difference between marijuana, pseudoephedrine, and cocaine.
Under the bill, a director and a deputy would handle election duties. The clerk would be responsible for appointing those positions, one from each party and they would have to be approved through a bipartisan vote of the election board. Anti-nepotism rules apply for both board appointments and those positions as well under the statute.
Priyanka Chopra made a spectacular red carpet debut at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday (local time). However, unlike Met Gala 2019 where she made a stunning appearance with her husband Nick Jonas, yesterday Priyanka arrived solo at the event.

Post Priyankas appearance at the red carpet, her doting husband joined her and the two took to the streets of the French Riviera dressed to the nines.

The actor also shared a picture on her Instagram story featuring herself with her beau and captioned the lovely photo, My happiness begins with u @nickjonas.

The two were spotted meeting fans and walking hand-in-hand, giving us major couple goals.

For her second day, Priyanka was seen wearing a plunging neckline ice blue gown coupled with a gorgeous corset lace belt. The actor also added a fedora hat to her complete her stunning ensemble.

She accessorised her look with a choker sleek pearl chain and strapped white pumps.

Priyanka kept her makeup fresh and dewy with plum coloured lipstick and winged eyeliner. For her hairdo, she went for straight middle-parted locks.

The diva looked happy to be joined by her beloved husband for the second day, who accompanied her in a cream tailored suit. Nick looked dapper in a blazer over pinstriped shirt and pants, paired with white sneakers and aviators.

Priyanka made her debut on the red carpet of Cannes 2019 in a white gown with a flowing cape. The Bajirao Mastani actor changed into a Roberto Cavalli shimmering black and rose-gold sequined gown with a thigh-high slit. Priyanka accessorised her outfit with silver earrings and wore her hair down.

Apart from Priyanka, Deepika Padukone, Kangana Ranaut, and Selena Gomez were some of the A-list celebrities who were seen dazzling at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival red carpet. Other B-town actors expected to make an appearance today are Diana Penty, Mallika Sherawat and Huma Qureshi.

Priyanka had announced her arrival at the film festival with an Instagram post. She had also shared a video of her fancy Chopard watch and wrote, Its time for Cannes. The star also shared pictures of Princess Diana, Grace Kelly, and Sophia Lauren ahead of her Cannes appearance.

Priyanka and Nick made a stunning appearance as a married couple at the recent Met Gala and that makes us wonder if the couple is going to walk the Cannes red carpet together.

On the work front, Priyanka recently concluded shooting for Shonali Boses The Sky is Pink, and was last seen on screen in Netflixs Isnt it Romantic.

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Families of eleven Indian nationals, who are in custody of the Nepal police for last eight days, have sought the help of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) for their safe release and return to India.

The detainees, who are from Lucknow, Varanasi, Prayagraj and Sonbhadra, are associated with a private real estate and investment firm based in Lucknow and Allahabad.

They were arrested on May 10 from a hotel in Kathmandu allegedly over a property fraud case lodged against their Nepal-based associate.

We have written a detailed e-mail to the ministry and also tweeted to union minister Sushma Swaraj today. We are seeking the ministrys intervention in getting our people back, said Devendra Singh, brother of one of the detainees Gajendra Singh.

Others who are in Nepal police custody have been identified as AK Singh, Kashif Shakeel, Mohammad Sharzil, Ramesh Ram, Sunil Upadhyay, Niraj Kumar Mishra, Ashok Kumar, Ayush Upadhyay, Girish Upadhyay and the business groups owner Rashid Nasim.

The family members will visit the external affairs ministry in New Delhi on Monday to apprise the officials about the case.

They were in Nepal to attend a three-day business workshop but were arrested by Nepal police on the basis of complaint lodged against one Nepal citizen Mahendra Singh, who was also there for the workshop, said Devendra.

Devendra claimed he had approached the local court over the alleged illegal detention of Indian citizens on the basis of complaints lodged against a Nepali national.

The local court has pulled up Nepal police after the complainants submitted affidavits that Indian citizens had nothing to do with the case and only Mahendra Singh should be held accountable, claimed Devendra.

He said the local court has given five-day time period to release Indian citizens or produce evidence of their involvement in any violation of law in Nepal.

The time period will end on Tuesday but we are still concerned about the security of our people following which we have approached the ministry of external affairs, he added.

Asif Nasim, brother of Rashid Nasim, said he had written an e-mail to the ministry to apprise them of the entire situation and sought their immediate intervention.

He along with the family members of other detainees will meet the ministry officials on Monday.

When contacted over phone, Kathmandu police chief Uttam Subedi said he was not aware of the case but the police will follow the directives of the local court.
The arrest of as many as 19 people in Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring Maharashtra this month has blown the lid off a network of poachers involved in the killing of tigers and leopards for supplying their body parts for use in occult practices.

Most of those arrested are tribals from buffer zones and corridor areas of wildlife sanctuaries, Madhya Pradeshs wildlife department officials said on Saturday.

Body parts of the big cats, like claws, teeth and whiskers, were being offered to local deities in the superstitious belief that they would help ward off the evil eye, improve health and bring prosperity, the officials said. Such practices have been blamed for the killing of at least 11 tigers and several leopards since January 2018 in Madhya Pradesh alone.

Interrogation of the suspected poachers revealed that the use of a tigers whiskers in the rituals are believed to enhance wealth and offer protection from the law, Madhya Pradeshs deputy conservator of forests, Rajneesh Singh, said. The forest department found that most of the big cats whose parts were used in the rituals were killed by laying traps rigged with electric wires or by poisoning them in the buffer zones of tiger habitats with the help of informers paid for the job.

Most often, after getting information about tiger movements, they would lay electric wire traps near water sources, he said. As soon as tigers would get electrocuted, the poachers would remove the paws, claws, whiskers, skin, and teeth and bury their bodies, he added.

Singh said once the body parts were removed, the poachers would contact locals who practised sorcery to broker deals for anything between 10,000 and 20,000 per part. All body parts would fetch a few lakh rupees, a forest department official said on condition of anonymity.

Principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) U Prakasham said the department was trying to create awareness against such practices in the wildlife areas and telling tribals about the legal consequences of killing the big cats. We are pasting posters in the villages to make them aware. But we are also ensuring strict punishment to offenders to teach others a lesson, he said.

Officials said earlier occult practices linked with paws of big cats were limited to Madhya Pradeshs Chhindwara, Seoni, Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori districts but similar cases were being reported from Betul and Raisen as well.

The National Tiger Conservation Authoritys data for tiger deaths between 2012 and 2018 released in May 2019 showed that 31.5% of the 656 tiger deaths reported in India were due to poaching and electrocution.

What we know [about the killing of tigers for the rituals] is the tip of the iceberg, said Prakasham. There is a growing trend of killing tigers for occult practices and we have seen a spurt in the number of such cases in the last two years.

The Madhya Pradesh forest department has arrested 40 people over the last two years for the killing of tigers and leopards for such rituals; 25 have been arrested in Maharashtra. There have been reports of arrests for similar reasons in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Kerala in the past one year.

Bhopal-based wildlife expert Ajay Dubey said such large-scale killings of the big cats across the state would be impossible without someone coordinating the activities of the poachers. Like other gangs, the occult gangs also involve local people as sleeper cells and these tribal are also being used in such a manner, he added. He blamed the forest department for the increasing trend of tigers and leopards being killed for such practices. The forest department is not strict with poachers and cases are not put up properly, therefore the conviction rate is very low in such cases, he said.

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A 22-year-old man was struggling for his life with 65% burns at a Lucknow hospital days after four people set him afire over a petty dispute in Uttar Pradeshs Gonda on Tuesday.

The four have been arrested while tension prevailed in Gonda as the victim and the assailants belong to different communities. A heavy police force has been deployed to avert any further trouble.

The victim, Vishnu Goswami, was initially undergoing treatment at Lucknows Shyama Prasad Mukherjee hospital. He was shifted to a private hospital in the citys Gomti Nagar after Gonda lawmaker, Prateek Bhushan Singh, and some other people donated money for his better medical care.

The victims cousin, Raj Kumar Goswami, said Vishnu Goswami was set on fire as he along with brother had gone bring home their father, Ramgeer Goswami, who was drunk and loitering around in Mughaljot Chistipur village around 8.30 pm on Tuesday.

He said the four youths got into an argument with the two brothers when they were forcibly taking back their father home.

He said the four unnecessarily confronted Vishnu Goswami and set him ablaze after pouring petrol on him when he was washing his face after the argument.

He said the four took petrol from a tanker parked outside a roadside eatery on Gonda-Faizabad road.

Raj Kumar Goswami said the victims brother, Mahesh Goswami, and two other locals Pankaj Pandey and Raj Kumar Pandey rushed to rescue him after spotting him engulfed in flames but he was severely burnt. He was rushed to a local hospital from where he was shifted to Lucknow immediately.

Inspector of Kotwali Dehat, Rajnath Singh, said the police have registered an attempt to murder case and arrested the four accused identified as Imran, Ramzan, Nizamudeen and Tufail on Tuesday night.
After keeping quiet throughout the campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls on the popular demand of the Gorkhas for a separate state of Gorkhaland, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for Darjeeling constituency, Raju Bista, said at the end of campaigning for the assembly by-poll on Friday that his party will bring Gorkhaland.

Though polling for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency ended on April 18, a by-poll for the assembly constituency (by the same name) will be held on May 19.

Addressing a public meeting at Darjeeling Chowrasta about an hour before campaigning ended at 5 pm on Friday, Lok Sabha candidate Raju Bista said, We will bring Gorkhaland and these two Gorkhas (referring to himself and Neeraj Zimba, the partys candidate for the assembly by-election) will also bring Scheduled Tribe status to 11 Gorkha communities which were left out.

The BJP did not mention Gorkhaland during its entire Lok Sabha campaign. The partys manifesto also said, We are committed to work towards finding a permanent political solution to the issue of Darjeeling Hills, Siliguri Terai and Dooars region.

Gorkhaland envisages a separate state for Gorkhas in the hills of North Bengal and some parts of the foothills as well. For the Gorkhas, it is an aspiration but the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee, as well as other parties from the plains are completely opposed to it.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has said that she will not consider any proposal for the division of Bengal under any circumstance.

Reacting to Bistas remark, N B Khawas, the TMC spokesperson for Darjeeling said, The BJP election manifesto has not mentioned Gorkhaland and Bista cannot bring in the same. When the Centre did not move to create Gorkhaland despite Narendra Modi saying the dream of Gorkhas is my dream during the 2014 election campaign, how can Bista speak of bringing about Gorkhaland?

Neeraj Zimba, the BJP candidate for the Darjeeling assembly by-polls, is a leader of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) that led the first phase of the violent struggle for a separate state between 1986 and 1988, in which about 1,200 lives were lost.

The second wave of violence took place in the second half of 2017, when a record 104-day shutdown of the hills took place between June and September. As many as 13 people, of whom 11 were believed to be Gorkhaland supporters, died during this time.

Criticising the BJP Lok Sabha candidates remark, Suraj Sharma, spokesperson of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Binay Tamang faction) said, This amounts to double standards to hoodwink the innocent people of the hills. Bista did not raise the issue of Gorkhaland during the Lok Sabha election, but raised it at the fag end of the campaign for the Darjeeling Assembly by-poll.

The BJP manifesto does not mention the demand for statehood. Nevertheless, it is categorical about supporting the demand of granting scheduled tribe status to 11 Gorkha communities. We will recognise the 11 Indian Gorkha sub-tribes which were left out, as scheduled tribes, reads the manifesto.

TMC is supporting Binay Tamang, who is contesting as an independent against Neeraj Zimba in the Darjeeling Assembly seat.

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A day before the Dum Dum Lok Sabha constituency in the northern fringes of Kolkata goes to polls, an allegation of a secret meeting between a Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate on Thursday has become the talking point.

BJP candidate Samik Bhattacharya and the partys Bengal election cell convenor Mukul Roy said they did not meet CPI(M)s Paltu Dasgupta in the Nagerbazar area, as alleged by Trinamool Congress, but went to wish a party workers wife on her birthday. However, till Saturday evening TMC leaders kept alleging that BJP has entered into an understanding with CPI (M). Interestingly, the allegation finds its root in the past.

Comprising industrial pockets and trade hubs spread across seven assembly segments in North 24 Parganas district, Dum Dum is the only seat in Bengal that stood by BJP twice when the CPI (M) regime was at its peak. BJPs Tapan Sikdar won it in 1998 and 1999. It is widely believed that it became possible because a large section of Left voters supported Sikdar.

Although CPI (M) wrested the seat in 2004, TMC veteran Saugata Roy reclaimed it in 2009 and won again in 2014. In 2009, Roy scraped through by 20,478 votes and later increased it to 1.5 lakh.

To make things difficult for Roy this year, CPI (M) has fielded Nepaldeb Bhattacharya. Expelled from the party on disciplinary ground a decade ago and later reinstated, Bhattacharya used to control the CPI (M)s fabled election machinery in parts of North 24 Parganas. Voters feel that although the CPI (M) has a dedicated vote bank even now, Bhattacharyas role will be limited to playing spoilsport for Roy in a quadrangular contest.

Considered one of the best speakers in Bengal BJP, Samik Bhattacharya had the privilege of having Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing his last rally in Dum Dum before campaign ended in Bengal on May 16. Mamata Banerjee stands exposed before the electorate who brought her to power with high expectations. TMC got so unnerved by the huge turnout at Modi Jis rally that they started this malicious campaign. People are laughing at it, Bhattacharya said.

A section of voters, however, feel that Left votes may swing towards BJP in some parts. In 2014, TMC got most of the votes that earlier went to CPI,(M). On Sunday, things may go a different way in pockets where Hindi speaking voters have sizeable presence, Tarak Dutta, a shop owner in Panihati, said.

I have absolutely no doubt about TMCs victory. I am sure the margin of victory will be comfortable in all assembly segments. BJP is not a threat, Saugata Roy, for whom chief minister Mamata Banerjee addressed three rallies, said.

The allegations are baseless. TMC is scared because it has failed to deliver on its promises. The closed factories in Dum Dum tell the real story, said Nepaldeb Bhattacharya.

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BJP president Amit Shah Saturday offered prayers at famous Somnath temple in Gujarat along with his family members.

Shah, who is on Gujarat visit, was accompanied by his wife, a son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

They performed rituals at the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located in Gir-Somnath district.

As part of his Gujarat visit, Shah will spend a day with his family members at their residence in Ahmedabad before returning to Delhi on Sunday, party spokesperson Prashant Vala said.

Shah is also a trustee of the Shree Somnath Trust that manages affairs of the temple.

The visit of Shah, the BJP candidate from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, came on the eve of the conclusion of the seven-phase elections.

Counting of votes will take place on May 23.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
An Andhra Pradesh ministers wife created a ruckus at the toll plaza in Telanganas Nalgonda district on Hyderabad-Guntur highway on Friday evening over payment of a paltry fee of 56, bringing traffic to a halt for some time.

P Venkata Kumari, wife of state civil supplies minister Prathipati Pulla Rao, who was travelling from Hyderabad to Guntur, picked up an argument with a toll plaza worker at Madgulapalli, when he stopped the vehicle and asked her to pay the toll fee of 56.

A video of the ministers wife shouting at the toll plaza staff and their strong retort to her went viral in the social media on Saturday.

Pulla Rao, who represented the Telugu Desam Party from Chilakaluripet assembly constituency in Guntur district, fought the assembly elections again on April 11. His fate, along with that of other ministers and MLAs, will be decided in another five days when the election results are declared.

The video shows an angry Kumari arguing with the toll plaza worker that she was wife of a minister and was entitled to a free passage at all toll booths. She even pointed out that there was a sticker on the vehicle stating that it belonged to the MLA and so, it cannot be stopped.

The toll plaza worker told her that the vehicle would get a free passage way only if the MLA travelled in it and not others who used the vehicle. Moreover, the validity of the MLA sticker had expired in December 2018 itself, he pointed out.

But Kumari continued to argue with him for some time, which led to traffic jam at the toll plaza. With the toll plaza telling her firmly that she had to pay the fee at any cost and refusing to open the boom barricade to clear the way, she had no option but to pay the amount.

The ministers wife told local reporters in Guntur later that it was a bad experience for her. The election results in Andhra Pradesh have yet been declared. My husband is still a minister and an MLA. How can the toll plaza staff obstruct his car? she asked.

She said she had not faced such a situation in any of the toll plazas during the travel, though she frequently travelled in the same car between Guntur and Hyderabad.

Kumari is also an active TDP worker and campaigned for her husband extensively in Chilkaluripet during the recent elections.

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Assams biggest religious organization, the 30-lakh-member strong Srimanta Sankardev Sangha (SSS) has landed in a controversy after one of its units banned a family from associating with it for starting a pig farm.

An SSS unit in the states Biswanath district on Tuesday wrote to member Balendra Nath, informing him that his family will be kept out from the unit because Naths 23-year-old son, Indrajeet, started a piggery on the outskirts of his village some months ago to earn a livelihood after failing to get a job.

The units decision has come as a shock to us, Nath said. Our family is being punished for trying to make an honest living. The move has basically made us outsiders in our own village.

Nath is worried because the ban order could possibly lead to a social boycott of his family by all other members of the local unit of the SSS.

Indrajeet had graduated in 2017 and worked as a security guard in Bengaluru for nine months, before returning to his village in Assam to start something on his own.

Rearing of pigs isnt common among non-tribal Assamese, especially the majority population to which the Nath family belongs, since pigs are considered unhygienic. But even though only some communities relished pork till some decades ago, the meat is fast gaining in popularity, especially among young people.

The North-east consumes three lakh tonnes of pork every year, of which it produces only 1.3 lakh tonnes. It imports the rest of it from other parts of the country. Of Indias annual pork production of 4.6 lakh tonnes, two-thirds is consumed in the North-east.

But for members of the majority population in Assam such as Balendra Nath and his family, starting a piggery is neither easy nor encouraged because pigs are considered unhygienic.

Indrajeet may have been inspired by the North East Progressive Pig Farmers Association (NEPPFA), a year-old platform for providing scientific training on piggeries to address unemployment and bring together pig farmers in Assam. The NEPPFA has more than 200 members in Assam, Arunachal, Meghalaya and Nagaland.

The Sangha has the right to take such a decision only if it has better ideas on how to encourage self-employment among our youth, says NEPPFA President, Manoj Kumar Bosumatary. Or else they should just shut up and let youth do whatever makes them financially secure.

Insiders claim that the SSS allows its members to eat but not rear chicken, while pork is an absolute no-no. Reportedly, members are neither allowed to rear pigs nor eat their meat, and can be expelled for violating that norm.

But SSS office-bearers staunchly deny the existence of any such rules.

Our organization doesnt have any rule against members starting pig or chicken farms. The local unit may have taken a move based on some specific issues in that village. We have sought a reply from them within a week and will take a call on the matter after that, said SSS chief secretary, Babul Bora.

Formed in 1930 with the intention of promoting the teachings and beliefs of Srimanta Sankardev, a saint-reformer-scholar who lived in Assam five centuries ago, SSS also runs a cooperative society which has provided more than Rs 5 crore to date to members for setting up small businesses, building houses, buying cars , conducting weddings and as medical assistance.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) claims it has found at least five calls between former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar and an employee of Saradha group who directly reported to the chit fund scams mastermind Sudipta Sen. A top CBI official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that the agencys investigators are inching closer to establishing that the officer was involved in tampering with evidence in the case.

The calls are from the period when Kumar was Bidhan Nagar commissioner of police and the multi-crore ponzi scam broke out in 2012-13. The CBI officer, however, did not disclose whether these calls were exchanged when he was commissioner or after he became head of the special investigation team (SIT) looking into the scam.

Also Read: Ex-Kolkata top cop reports to MHA after EC relieves him from duty

The scam and Kumars alleged involvement in it have become a hot-button political issue, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying several leaders of the Trinamool Congress were involved in it (prompting Kumars alleged interference) and the latter claiming that the BJP is using the central investigation agency to settle political scores. Mukul Roy, once TMC chief Mamata Banerjees confidant, was grilled regarding his involvement in the case, but he has since shifted loyalties and is now a member of the BJP. In recent months, CBIs efforts to question Kumar have been seen by Banerjee and the TMC as part of the BJPs grand plan for the state. The party and the CM are also not pleased by the Election Commissions decision to transfer Kumar to the Ministry of Home Affairs following violence during a rally by BJP president Amit Shah earlier this week, and claim that the poll body is doing the governments bidding.

Prompted by the Supreme Court, telcos Vodafone and Airtel recently shared with CBI detailed CDRs (call detail records) of five numbers belonging to Sudipta Sen (three) and close aide Debjani Mukherjee (two). Both the West Bengal police and the telcos were not cooperating with it, the agency said in court, and had shared only limited CDRs, prompting the courts order.

On Friday, the Supreme Court said Kumars protection from arrest would expire in seven days, that is May 24, and the agency has already started discussing when to arrest him as his custodial interrogation will open a can of worms, the top CBI officer said. He added that Kumars arrest is imminent.

His custodial interrogation is necessary to find who he was protecting and his links with the scam accused. During his SC-ordered questioning in Shillong in February, he was not cooperative, said the CBI officer.

Another CBI officer said the agencys evidence against the West Bengal officer is adequate to not just arrest him, but also to convict him.

Also Read: Supreme Court ends arrest shield for ex-Kolkata top cop, gives 7 days to seek bail

A CBI spokesperson declined comment.

The anti-corruption probe agency informed the apex court, which had ordered the probe into the Saradha scam, earlier this year that Kumar destroyed and tampered the material evidence in the form of CDRs of the prime accused and potential accused.

Apart from Kumar, the CBI officer added, six more West Bengal police officers are under the scanner. One of these officers has earlier worked in CBI and he used to guide West Bengal police on the possible next steps of the agency investigators citing his experience.

CBI began investigating the Saradha chit fund scam in 2014. At least 1.7 million depositors were duped to the extent of ~3,500 crore in the scam.

In April 2013, Saradha founder Sudipta Sen wrote an 18-page confessional letter to CBI, in which he admitted that he had paid large sums of money to several politicians, businessmen, journalists and others.

The companys modus operandi was to lure investors to deposit money in its schemes with glossy brochures and the promise of abnormally high returns.

So far, properties worth around ~1,000 crore have been attached by the Enforcement Directorate in West Bengal, Assam, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. The attached assets include flats, bungalows, bank deposits, land, resorts, a school, a dairy farm, and vehicles.
I want you to know this was not an easy decision, he said in the post. I deeply love this city and strongly believe in the values on which Elizabeth Wuerffel and I campaigned together this spring.
Google on Saturday dedicated a creative and special doodle to Persian mathematician Omar Khayyam on his 971st birthday. He was best known for his work on the classification and solution of cubic equations.

Apart from his maths skills, he was also a well-known astronomer and poet. Born in Nishapur in northeastern Iran, Khayyam spent most of his life near the court of the Karakhanid and Seljuq rulers in the period which witnessed the First Crusade.

His work on the classification and solution of cubic equations is phenomenal of those times as he had provided geometric solutions by the intersection of cones.

Khayyam was first to give a general method for solving cubic equations. Although he didnt consider negative roots, his methods were sufficient to find geometrically all real (positive or negative) roots of cubic equations.

In 2012 as well, Khayyams 964th birthday was also celebrated by the search engine with a special doodle which was very well received by users.

Apart from India, the doodle would also appear to Google users in Russia, the Middle East, North African nations, the US and Chile.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
Hours before the commencement of the last phase of the general elections in different parts of the country, the Election Commission of India on Saturday announced re-polling in two more polling stations in Chandragiri under the Chittoor Lok Sabha constituency of Andhra Pradesh.

Chittoor district collector and returning officer P S Pradyumna told reporters that re-polling would be held in two more polling stations: Kuppam Baduru and Kaluru villages of Ramachandrapuram block falling under Chandragiri assembly constituency on Sunday.

Earlier, the EC had ordered re-polling in five polling booths in Kammapalli, N R Kammapalle, Pulivarthipalli, Kothakandriga and Venkatrama Puram villages. With the inclusion of two more villages, there would be re-polling in seven polling stations in the constituency from 7 am to 6 pm on Sunday, Pradyumna said.

The decision to conduct re-polling was taken on the basis of a report submitted by the returning officer to chief electoral officer Gopala Krishna Dwivedi, following complaints from both the YSR Congress party and the Telugu Desam Party.

The Telugu Desam has strongly opposed the ECs decision to conduct re-polling in Chandragiri, 38 days after the conduct of scheduled polling on April 11. TDP president and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu wrote a letter to chief election commissioner Sunil Arora, questioning the propriety of conducting re-polling.

Naidu also rushed to New Delhi in the afternoon on Friday to personally meet the CEC and other commissioners to register his protest. He wondered how the EC could conduct re-polling in phases. The EC has already conducted re-polling in five other polling stations in three districts on May 6, based on certain complaints. If there were any issues in the polling stations in Chandragiri assembly constituency, why didnt the Commission enquire into the same and conduct the re-polling on May 6? he asked.

Andhra Pradesh went to polls for 175 assembly seats and 25 Lok Sabha seats on April 11. The results are going to be declared along with those of general elections across the country on May 23.

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A CRPF constable of 224 Battalion, posted at 10 Circular Road in Patna  the residence of Bihars former chief minister couple, Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi  shot himself fatally in the neck on Friday morning.

A native of Karnatakas Bagalkot district, Giriyappa Kirasoor, 29, who had joined the service in 2012 and was posted at the Lalu-Rabri residence recently, had used his service weapon, X-95, an Israeli bullpup assault rifle, to end his life.

Though police are tight-lipped over the incident, the victims colleagues, requesting not to be quoted, said that family issues, besides work pressure and leave problems, could be the reason. Officials said that a total of eight CRPF jawans were posted at the CMs residence in the high security squad. The government had recently enhanced the couples security to Z-plus. The CRPF jawans body was sent to his native place by air via Delhi after post-mortem, said Patna senior SP Garima Mallik. The state police and the CRPF are carrying out separate investigations.

Kirasoor had got the elite commando training and carried the Israeli weapons procured by the CRPF five years ago. Patna CRPF sector HQ did not respond to calls for a comment on his death.

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A local court in Khunti on Friday awarded life term until death to Father Alphonse Aind, a member of a missionary institution, and five others held guilty in the infamous Kochang gang rape incident occurred last year in the district.

The incident hit the national headlines on June 19, 2018, when five anti-human trafficking activists, engaged with an NGO supported by a Christian missionary, were abducted by motor-cycle borne armed men while they were performing street corner play (Nukkad-Natak) at RC Mission School in Khuntis Kochang block, about 90 kms from the state capital. They were taken to a nearby forested area where the abductors raped them, video-graphed the carnal act and forced the victims to drink urine.

The court of additional district and sessions judge Rajesh Kumar sentenced life imprisonment until death to Fr Aind and other five accused  Baji Samad alias Takla, Ajub Sandi Tirkey, Junas Mundu, John Jonas Tiru and Balram Samad  after holding them guilty under Section 376 D (gang rape) read with section 120 (B) (conspiracy) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The court also slapped 2 lakh fine on each of the convicts that would be paid to the victims. It asked the district legal services authority to take steps for payment of the compensation to the victims as the guidelines of the Supreme Court.

Delivering a 204 page judgment, the court observed that the heinous crime was perpetrated not to satiate the sexual lust. Worst that it was done under a triangular pact to take revenge from the innocent women, who dared to venture in a Pathalgadi village (a village which declared its gram sabha supreme and rejected the authorities of democratic government) to spread awareness against the evil practice of human trafficking, the court said.

Categorical evidences against each of the accused, one of them was a member of a missionary institution, three were members of rebel outfit Peoples Liberation Front of India (PLFI) and two were Pathalgadi leaders, were presented that proved the nexus between them, the court said in its judgment.

The case relates to the FIR registered with the women police station in Khunti.

According to the police, Fr Aind of the RC Mission School, from where the women were abducted, was accused of hatching conspiracy and not reporting/informing the police about girls abduction and subsequent rape. It was alleged that when the miscreants raided the school premises and were abducting the girls, Fr. Aind had intervened and got the two nuns associated with the school released and asked the victims to go with them.

The police had submitted charge sheet in September last year and trial was commenced on October 24, the same year. The court recorded testimonies of as many as 19 prosecution witnesses and three defense witnesses during the trial.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrapped up her last Lok Sabha campaign address in Diamond Harbour last Thursday by reciting select lines of the Chandi, the 700-verse Devi Mahamaya text in Sanskrit, which describes the Goddess as the supreme power and creator, along with some from the shahada, Islams most sacred declaration.

The constituency, where Banerjees nephew Abhisekh is contesting again, has both Hindu and Muslim voters in large numbers.

During her 69-day election campaign, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief outdid Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi by addressing more than 100 rallies across Bengal. But irrespective of the composition of the electorate and at every rally, Banerjee made it a point to recite a few lines from the Chandi, that are chanted during prayers to deities Durga, Jagatdhatri, Basanti and Annapurna.

Banerjee also invoked the shahada by uttering Iaa ilaahah illa allaah muhammadur rasool ullaah. (None has the right to be worshipped except Allah and Prophet Mohammed is the only messenger of Allah). And in a bid to reach out to Christians, Mamata never failed to add God is great, God is good, to her campaign speeches too.

However, politicians and observers said that blending religion with electoral politics in this manner is unprecedented in Bengal and exposes the polarisation that may have emerged as the principal influencer on voters in many districts.

Political commentator and columnist Suvashis Maitra said, Since Independence, no mainstream politician in Bengal chanted religious scripts so extensively. Banerjee did it because her opponents projected her as an appeaser of Muslims. She must have sensed that Hindu voters, who comprise the bigger chunk of the vote bank, may turn their back on her.

I dont think her counter-strategy will work. Voters made up their mind long ago. Casting votes was only a formality, Maitra said.

Defending Banerjee, senior TMC leader and minister Jyoti Priya Mallick said, By chanting from religious scriptures she has established her secular credentials. People have faith in her because of this.

Though they have suffered electorally ever since the BJP started rising in Bengal, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders allege that Banerjee is following the BJPs path. After coming to power, Banerjee introduced stipends for Imams. Later, she started inviting Hindu priests to her meetings. There was never any religious divide in our society, not even during the Bangladesh War, solely because of Bengals social reformers, poets and intellectuals from the 19th century, outgoing MP from Raigunj and CPI (M) politburo member Md Salim, said.

No matter how many times she chants from the Chandi or names Allah, nothing can help her. Banerjee has been exposed, said Rahul Sinha, BJPs national secretary who is contesting the crucial Kolkata North seat that goes to polls on Sunday.

She is Bengals biggest anti-Hindu leader. Since 2011, there have been riots, deaths and infiltration from Bangladesh. The damage she has done in seven years cannot be rectified in decades, said Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) south Bengal secretary, Jishnu Basu.

No religion divides people. By reciting the Shahada, she is talking of one God, said Pirzada Jiauddin Siddiqui of Hooghlys Furfura Sharif mazar which Muslims consider to be one of the holiest shrines in Bengal.

Banerjee may pronounce a few Sanskrit words incorrectly but even non-Brahmins are allowed to recite certain portions of the Chandi, said priest and Sanskrit scholar Amitabha Chakraborty.

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Upset with the indifferent attitude of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Naga Peoples Front (NPF) on Saturday decided to pull out of the BJP-led coalition government in Manipur after the Lok Sabha election process is over.

Senior NPF leader and former Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang disclosed on Twitter that the decision was taken after a review meeting with party office bearers and NPF MLAs from Manipur.

After an intense deliberation and review meeting with the party functionaries and the NPF MLAs of Manipur state, the NPF party has decided in principle to pull out our 4 MLAs from the BJP-led government in Manipur headed by N Biren Singh soon after the Lok Sabha election is completed, he wrote.

Withdrawal of support by the 4 NPF MLAs wont affect the BJP-led government. At present, BJP has 31 of the 60 MLAs in the state assembly and it also has the support of the 4 National Peoples Party legislators and one Lok Janshakti Party MLA.

This decision at this juncture is necessitated due to the indifferent attitude of the BJP towards us, its coalition partner in Manipur and also in the state of Nagaland. Further implementation of this decision will be finalized after the election process, Zeliang added.

Though BJP had emerged as the second largest party behind the Congress after assembly elections in Manipur in 2017, it was able to form the government with the support of NPF, NPP and others.

But relations between BJP and NPF soured in 2018, when the former decided to break its 15-year-long association with the latter in Nagaland and joined hands with the newly formed Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) to contest the Nagaland assembly polls.

NPF emerged as the single largest party in the Nagaland assembly polls last year with 26 of the total 60 seats, BJP with 12 and NDPP with 18 and formed the government with the support of the smaller parties and one Independent MLA.

In past months, NPF had been sending feelers to BJP to revive the friendship ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, but the latter ignored the feelers.

When contacted about the new political development, BJPs Manipur unit chief spokesperson S Tikendra said, It is untimely to make a comment.

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Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda alias Sunil, who allegedly masterminded the killing of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in 2008, was sentenced to life on Saturday for waging war against the state.

This is the first time the former Maoist leader has been sentenced by a court.

Panda was sentenced to life by a sessions court in Berhampur town in connection with a case in 2014 when police arrested him from the Badabazar area. The police had seized a US-made Ruger revolver, around 800 grams of gold jewellery, 10 cell phones, and scores of mobile SIM cards, 2 lakh, two external hard drives, several pen-drives and a laptop from him. Berhampur additional district judge  II, Sanjay Sahu pronounced Panda guilty under Sections 121 of the IPC for attempting to wage war against the state.

Panda, who has been behind bars since his arrest in July 2014 is accused in 135 cases. So far he has been acquitted in 52 cases.

His lawyer Dipak Patnaik said he would challenge the order of the sessions court.

Panda, who was secretary of Orissa State Organising Committee of Maoists, joined the rebels in 1991. In 2001, the erstwhile Peoples War Group formed the Andhra Orissa Border Special Zone Committee putting Panda as its head for Orissa. He earned notoriety in February 2008, when he planned and reportedly executed the attack on a police armoury in Nayagarh district which claimed 18 lives. The Nayagarh attack gave the rebels the much-needed firepower as the Maoists carted away truckloads of AK-47, SLRs, INSAS rifles and hand grenades from the police armoury.

In August 2008, he masterminded the killing of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati and 5 of his accomplices which led to a Hindu-Christian riot in Kandhamal district. More than 40 people were killed in the riot. In March 2012, he abducted two Italian tourists from the forests of Ganjam-Kandhamal districts and kept them hostage for 29 days. The hostage drama ended with the release of his wife Mili Panda, who was arrested for acting as Maoist courier.

Last month, Mili Panda contested as a Congress candidate from the Ranpur assembly constituency in Nayagarh district of Odisha.
Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi on Saturday lashed out at BJPs candidiate for the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat Pragya Singh Thakur for her comments that Mahatma Gandhis assassin Nathuram Godse, was a patriot.

The child rights activist took to Twitter to warn the country that comments by people like Pragya Thakur, an accused in the Malegaon blasts, were killing the soul of Indial.

Godse had killed Gandhis body, but people like Pragya are killing the soul, non-violence, peace, tolerance and the soul of India. Gandhi is above all power and politics. The BJP leadership must overcome the temptations for small gains and immediately remove them from the party and follow raj dharma, Satyarthi tweeted in Hindi.

Pragya Thakur s comment came as a riposte to actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan remark that Godse, the first extremist of independent India, was a Hindu.

Her comments triggered a firestorm of condemnation, forcing her to eventually apologise. On Friday, BJP president Amit Shah asked Pragya Thakur for an explanation within 10 days.

Union minister Ananth Kumar Hegde, and Nalin Kumar Kateel, a BJP MP from Karnataka have also been similar served show cause notices.

Kateel had compared Godse with former prime minister Rajiv Gandh while Hegde had tweeted seven decades later, the condemned were being heard.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand, on Saturday, days before the counting for the Lok Sabha elections on May 23.

The Prime Minister, who landed around 9.30 am, will also review the Kedarpuri reconstruction project. This is his fourth visit to Kedarnath since assuming charge as the prime minister following the BJPs massive win in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

He will also go to the Badrinath shrine on Sunday during his two-day visit of the state. In Badrinath, he is scheduled to review a beautification project for the shrine area.

Majestic mountains! Clicked these pictures while on the way to Kedarnath. pic.twitter.com/Jpcq6n52sr  Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 18, 2019

However, it will be his first visit to Badrinath since he became the prime minister five years ago, said Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) chairman Mohan Prasad Thapaliyal.

Since then two meditation caves have also come up some one-and-a-half km from the Kedarnath shrine, Thapaliyal said.

Later in the afternoon, Modi undertook a difficult trek to spend some time meditating at a cave called Dhyan Kutia. Following heavy rain and cold, arrangements for umbrellas and benches for sitting were made on the trek.

The Prime Minister will spend the night at the Dhyan Kutia in Kedarnath and will fly to Badrinath on Sunday. He would return to New Delhi later on Sunday.

Watch | PM Modi offers prayers at Kedarnath, to visit Badrinath next

During his visit stay at Kedarnath Modi would also meet with officials to review Kedarpuri reconstruction project, the foundation stone of which he laid two years ago.

A fund of 75 crore has been released for the beautification project, for which the work began only recently, Thapaliyal said adding during his visit, he would also share with officials his vision for the beautification project

Since then Modiji has been personally monitoring the Kedarpuri reconstruction project, Thapaliyal said adding during his current visit he will review all the five projects.

About 75% of the Kedarpuri reconstruction project is complete and the remaining works will be completed within the next six months, Thapaliyal said. The Astha Path (approach road) to the Kedarnath temple, the reconstruction of the shrine area and flood protection works along the Mandakini works have been completed, he said. According to Thapaliyal, flood protection works are currently being undertaken along the river Saraswati.
A 15-year-old boy suspected of raping a girl of the same age was allegedly beaten to death in Rajasthans Alwar district on Friday, a police officer said on Saturday. The two other boys allegedly involved in the gang rape have been detained.

Two separate cases of gang rape and murder have been lodged on the basis of complaints of the girl and the boys family.

Alwars police superintendent, Parish Anil Deshmukh, said the boys family said he had gone to attend a relatives wedding in Harnad Ki Dhani when he was murdered.

He added the family has filed a complaint accusing the girls family of killing him.

Deshmukh said the girls family, too, has filed a police complaint alleging that the boy and his two friends had abducted the girl and raped her near the wedding venue.

When the family went looking for the girl, they found her with the three boys. While one of the boys was caught by the family, the other two managed to flee. The boy was allegedly beaten by the family members, he said.

Deshmukh said prima facie the police have found the deceased and the girl knew each other.

The two other minors accused were detained yesterday [Friday] and were presented before a court that sent them for detention at a juvenile home, said Deshmukh.

The alleged gang rape in Alwar was one of the five sexual assaults reported in Rajasthan since Friday.

A 14-year-old relative allegedly raped a six-year-old girl in Churu district.

The girl had gone to fetch water when the 14-year old accused took her to an isolated place and committed the crime on Friday. He has been detained, station house officer Malkiyat Singh said.

In Dholpur district, an eight-year-old girl was raped in Khurd village.

The victim was staying at her maternal grandfathers home where the accused raped her. He was arrested on Saturday, station house officer Yashpal Singh said. He added they were verifying the age of the accused.

In Bharatpur, a woman on Saturday lodged a complaint against a labour contractor accusing him of raping her.

The woman and her husband work at a brick kiln as daily wagers.

On May 12, she had gone to work alone as her husband was admitted in hospital and finding her alone, the labour contractor, Vijay Singh, allegedly raped her, the police said.

A 17-year-old girl has filed a police complaint in Jaipur accusing two relatives of raping her and her sister on May 10.

In her complaint on Saturday, she said they were attending a wedding where the relatives gave them drinks laced with intoxicants and then took them to Karauli, where they raped them.

The police were yet to arrest the accused until late Saturday.

The fresh alleged rape cases come as the ruling Congress has drawn flak for a delay in filing a case in connection with the gang-rape of a woman in Alwar on April 26. The woman was raped and her sexual assault was filmed while her husband was beaten up.

(With PTI inputs)
Arion died after being struck by a stray bullet fired by one of the occupants of two vehicles involved in a chase, Gary police said. He was hit while walking about in the 1100 block of Rutledge Street. Officers found him on the ground near a vacant lot.
Security forces shot dead a militant in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama early Saturday morning, an army spokesman said.

The encounter in Panzgam in Awantipora is still on and two to three militants have been trapped.

Authorities have suspended internet services in Pulwama district.

On Thursday, three Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militants, a soldier and a civilian were killed in a gunfight in Pulwamas Dalipora.
The authorities on Saturday formed a five-member special investigation team (SIT) to probe into a 40-year-old mans murder at Bhaderwah in Jammu and Kashmirs Doda district.

Nayeem Ahmed Shah was killed and another person injured when they were fired upon near Nalthi Bridge in Bhaderwah on Thursday. The murder triggered violent protests in the area, forcing the authorities to impose a curfew in the town, which continued for the third day on Saturday.

Dodas senior police superintendent, Shabir Malik, said Bhaderwah police superintendent Raj Singh Gouria would head the five-member SIT. The SIT and a Forensic Science Laboratory team visited the murder scene at Nalthi village on Saturday and collected fresh evidence.

A 12-bore gun believed to have been used in the killing was seized and sent for forensic examination.

Malik said there was no relaxation in curfew on Saturday. The situation is under control and we will see if the curfew can be relaxed on Sunday.
Gorakhnath Mutt located on Sonauli highway virtually works as a war room these days with chief minister Yogi Adityanath busy chalking out poll strategies along with a battery of ministers, BJP leaders and party office-bearers for Gorakhpur as well as adjoining Lok Sabha seats.

Having lost his bastion in the 2018 by-polls, Yogi has pulled out all the stops to ensure the win of a political novice Ravi Kishan, who despite the glamour of a Bhojpuri star, will need his big push to upset the caste arithmetic of the alliance.

The resurgent BSP-SP alliance has fielded former minister Ram Bhuwal Nishad (Nishad is a dominant caste in Gorakhpur) while the Congresss nominee is a lawyer, Madhusudan Tripathi.

Interestingly, unlike the by-polls when the BJP candidate was not Yogis calling, Ravi Kishan is also considered to be the CMs choice and thus many are linking the poll outcome with his personal prestige.

How can someone who has been third in demand (next to PM and Amit Shah) for campaigning across the country afford to lose in his home seat, is the common refrain in the city.

And as Gorakhpur is considered the second most exalted seat after Varanasi for the party in the state, others are pitching in too. On Thursday, BJP president Amit Shah held a roadshow while on Friday, Smriti Irani took charge and held a road show on scooties.

Chotey Maharaj (popular name of Yogi Adityanath) is camping in the mutt for 10 days now, personally monitoring the election campaign, says Surya Mani Tripathi, a BJP worker. Alongside his focus is also on the entire Gorakhpur division, which has six Lok Sabha seats. The last two phases are considered crucial for the partys overall tally because of strong presence of alliance support base. Admitting Yogis stake in the region, political analyst Manoj Singh says, BJPs claim of 300 plus seat in the country and 74 plus in Uttar Pradesh is part of its strategy to win over support of indecisive voters. The alliance enjoys the crucial support of Yadavs, Muslims, Dalits and Nishads, a reason for the BJP to worry.

The BJP has been winning the Gorakhpur seat since the 1989 Lok Sabha election, with Adityanath and before him his mentor Mahanth Avaidyanath defeating the rivals convincingly. Yogi vacated the seat after becoming chief minister in 2017.

The by-poll held on the seat in March 2018 is considered to be a watershed in the state politics, as not only the BJP lost its stronghold but the result paved the way for the BSP-SP to stitch an alliance for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Considered a laboratory of the Hindutva brigade, Gorakhpur had turned into a test centre for the alliance of the regional political parties that were trounced by the saffron brigade in the 2014 general election as well as the 2017 assembly elections.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati have repeatedly said that they decided to go for an alliance in the Lok Sabha election after their joint candidate defeated the BJP in its strongest seat of Gorakhpur in the by-poll, that too when Yogi was the chief minister.

Meanwhile,Yogi has mobilised the partys resources to turn the tide against the alliance this time.

The Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV), a firebrand organization floated by none other than Yogi himself, was disbanded after he became chief minister in March 2017. It has been reactivated now. The HYV cadre are organisaing door to door contact in the villages and towns, giving minute to minute feedback of the partys and oppositions campaign to the CM. Leader of HYV PK Mall says, The organisation has a widespread network in east UP and is back in action to win the support of the voters.

Yogi has directed the party cadre to increase the polling percentage as low polling percentage in the by-poll led to the defeat of the BJP, says BJP leader Dharmendra Singh.

Also, Yogi is keeping a watch on all the issues that can impact the polling. The other day, soon after he received information that people residing in Medical College area whose houses had been demolished for the expansion of a road are angry, he called on the residents and assured them of compensation for the land acquired.

Aware that the Nishad community vote will be crucial in winning the seats, he gave a jolt to the alliance by getting the local NISHAD party into the BJP fold. Just before the Lok Sabha elections, Alliance candidate Praveen Nishad, who defeated BJP candidate Upendra Shukla in the by-poll, joined the BJP along with his father Sanjay Nishad, president of NISHAD party.

In his public meetings, Yogi is highlighting the development schemes -- the construction of highways, restarting of a closed fertilizer factory, starting of the Pipraich sugarmill, construction of AIIMS, widening of roads, measures taken to control encephalitis and the Metro project for instance.

There is intense fight between the BJP and the alliance for the Nishad community vote. No doubt Ram Bhuwal Nishad is an influential leader of our community but Sanjay Nishad, also a tall leader, is moving around seeking support for the BJP. Our vote will be decisive in deciding the fate of the candidates, says Ram Avadh Nishad of Bijara village.

Trader Umesh Kumar Gupta says, The rivalry between the Thakurs and Brahmins is continuing for decades in the region. To win the Brahmin support, Yogi roped in Ravi Kishan, who belongs to the community. Also senior Brahmin leaders Shiv Pratap Shukla and Dinesh Sharma are campaigning in Brahmin dominated villages.

Interestingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not addressed any public meeting in the constituency ever since the polls were announced. His last visit was on February 24 to launch the KiSAN income scheme.

Political observer Rajesh Singh says both the rivals are working on the caste calculus to win the election. By winning the seat, the BJP plans to send a message that along with anti-incumbency it has managed to make inroads into the opposition vote bank. The alliance is also working to retain the seat to send a message that as in the bypoll Gorakhpur belongs to it now.

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Janata Dal (Secular) president and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Saturday said that his party would support Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate of the anti-Bharatiya Janata Party front.

We are with the Congress president. There is no doubt about it. A clear picture would emerge after May 23, Gowda said, in a chat with reporters at Tirumala after paying obeisance at the temple of Lord Venkateshwara on his 87th birthday.

Gowdas son and Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy also reiterated that the Congress president would be his partys choice for the Prime Ministers post. We have already given our commitment to the Congress to this effect and there will be no change in our stand, he asserted.

Earlier this week, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M K Stalin also made it clear that his party would pitch for Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate. He even advised Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who met him in Chennai on May 13, to join the Congress-led coalition.

The Congress president, however, told reporters in New Delhi on Friday that the prime ministerial candidate of the grand alliance would be decided only after May 23.

Kumaraswamy expressed hope that the JD (S)-Congress combine would win a majority of the Lok Sabha seats in his state. We are confident of getting 18-19 seats and will play a big role in the Centre, he said.

Karnataka has 28 Lok Sabha seats.

Apart from Kumaraswamy, Deve Gowda was accompanied by his wife, another son Revanna and other family members in his visit to Tirumala. He was received with full honours by the temple officials and led for darshan.

Later, Gowda was presented teertha prasadams by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams executive officer Anil Kumar Singhal and Vedic pundits rendered ashirvachanams.

The former Prime Minister said he regularly visited the Tirumala temple on his birthday for blessings of the Lord Venkateshwara. I prayed to God for better government at the Centre that will ensure peace and prosperity to the nation. I prayed there would be no division among the people on caste and religious lines, there are no farmers suicides and no communal hatred, he said.

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The campaigning for the 2019 general elections has finally ended. The results will be out on May 23, but with details of all candidates finally available, its possible to look at them in various ways. These inform us about variations in electoral strategies and party organisations.

In this piece, we compare the career profile of the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates. We look in particular into the ratio of incumbents and first-time candidates, the number of terms served by re-running MPs, and the numbers and provenance of turncoat candidates.

First-timers and incumbents

The BJP is fielding a majority of first-time candidates in 18 states out of 29 (excluding UTs). If one excludes small states, the states where the reshuffle is the most significant are Chhattisgarh (91%), Andhra Pradesh (83%), Telangana (82%), West Bengal (79%), Punjab (67%) and Kerala (67%). These are states where the BJP does not have a strong foothold and therefore has few or no MPs. The one exception is Chhattisgarh, where the BJP announced that it would reshuffle the candidates, after the defeat suffered in the assembly elections last December. Interestingly, it has replaced incumbents with newcomers, at least in national politics. Most of them have local political experience: four of the 10 BJP candidates in Chhattisgarh are or have been MLAs, two have contested a state assembly in the past, one is a district panchayat member, and another candidate is a former mayor of Raipur. The ratio of first-timers is lowest in stronghold states such as Jharkhand (23%), Bihar (24%), Uttar Pradesh (26%) and Karnataka (37%).

Also Watch | Lok Sabha Elections | Big fights to watch out for in final phase of voting

The Congress is fielding a majority of its own first-time candidates in 18 states as well (excluding UTs). The major states concerned by this reshuffle are Andhra Pradesh (92%), Chhattisgarh (91%), West Bengal (78%), Gujarat (77%), Odisha (72%), Madhya Pradesh (69%), Assam (57%), Delhi (57%) and Rajasthan (56%). The states in which the Congress retains more candidates are Jharkhand (29%), Karnataka (38%), Uttarakhand and Haryana (40% each).

Longitudinal data suggests that the ratio of first-time candidates has been stable since the late 1990s. There used to be a large gap between the two parties, during the phase of ascension of the BJP. That gap reduced once the BJP emerged as the second major national party.

Interestingly, there is significant commonality between the two lists. So, in states such as Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, it will be first-time candidates of the BJP versus first-time candidates of the Congress, versus, in some states, candidates of a third party.

Experience distribution

How experienced are the non-first-time candidates? We measure that by looking at the average number of terms served by incumbent candidates. We find that most re-running incumbents have served between two and three terms, and that most incumbents that are not re-running tend to be first-time MPs. This indicates that experience is usually rewarded, even if there are few prominent examples of experienced leaders being ignored, such as Sumitra Mahajan and LK Advani. In other terms, first-time MPs have a greater chance of being denied tickets than more experienced one.

Turncoats

The turncoat phenomenon, or candidates switching party affiliations between elections, receives much attention, as parties are keen to advertise fence-jumpers as a signal of their desirability, but the data suggest that the phenomenon might be inflated. To identify turncoats, we rely on PIDs (personal ID), a unique identifier of candidates to state and national elections in the TCPD Candidates and Legislators Dataset. The data captures candidates who changed party affiliations between 2014 and 2019, irrespective of whether they won or lost in 2014. The data does not yet capture MLAs from a given parties contesting on a different party ticket in a Lok Sabha election.

The data reveals that the Congress is fielding 36 turncoat candidates, out of 421 (9%) against 21 for the BJP (5%). Ten Congress turncoats candidates come from the BJP (from seven different states), six from the Samajwadi Party (including four in Uttar Pradesh) and five from the Bahujan Samaj Party (all from Uttar Pradesh). The remaining 12 turncoats come from 10 different parties, including the Telugu Desam Party (3), the Shiv Sena, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Apna Dal and other small parties.

The BJP is fielding seven turncoats from the BSP, three from the BJD (including Baijayant Panda) and three from the Congress from Andhra, Karnataka and Odisha. Four of the BSP turncoats are Scheduled Caste contestants and the three others OBCs (other backward classes). Some, like Keshari Devi Patel in Phulpur, are coming back to the BJP after having left it in the past. To be sure, the trend may be underwhelming simply because, as mentioned above, the data does not capture the movement of legislators (MLAs) to a rival party.

These numbers are consistent with past trends, whereas the BJP regularly fields 4% to 6% of turncoats, against the Congress, which usually fields 8% of turncoat candidates.

The marginality of the turncoat phenomenon is usually compounded by the fact that they tend to do poorly. There seems to be evidence that voters tend not to reward those who shift party affiliations. Those candidates usually migrate alone, leaving behind them the organisational structure that brought them to power in the first place.

Implications

What are the implications of this data? As we have argued earlier in these pages, the high turnover of candidates feeds the high turnover of MPs. Lesser experienced MPs tend be chucked out by their own parties in greater numbers, while experienced MPs tend to be more protected. This contributes to the making of a small, concentrated, political class that controls party machinery. Among those members of the stable political class, one finds more dynastic candidates, individuals high up in party hierarchy, party leaders themselves, as well as strongmen who use a combination of muscle, money and providing services to retain a grasp over their seat.

This makes sense since veteran politicians have party connections to protect them from party reshuffles. They also have accumulated resources, both material and immaterial, that gives them a comparative advantage towards lesser experienced MPs. They also build over time an autonomous support base, distinct from their party, that gives them leverage with their party bosses.

This election is no different than recent ones, and one expects the new Lok Sabha to be a combination of a small number of experienced politicians and a large number of newcomers. We expect turncoats to perform worse than other candidates.

( Gilles Verniers is Assistant Professor of Political Science and Co-Director, Trivedi Centre for Political Data, Ashoka University. Mohit Kumar, Basim U Nissa and Saloni Bhogale contributed to the data. Views are personal)
Ashok Lavasa, the election commissioner who disagreed with the poll panels decisions to clear Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah of charges of violating the so-called Model Code of Conduct (MCC)  which regulates candidate, party and government behaviour during the elections  has, since May 4 recused himself from all meetings to discuss MCC issues.

He has insisted that he will do so only after dissent notes and minority decisions are included in the orders of the commission.

Also Read | 3000 crore haul by Election Commission, highest in Lok Sabha polls

According to a person familiar with the development, the commission has not held any meetings to discuss MCC violations since May 4 because of this. The poll panels decision to clear Modi and Shah in all cases of MCC violations, made in a May 3 meeting came in for significant criticism.

This was followed by news reports that Lavasa had disagreed with the decisions, although this dissent wasnt registered in the orders that were passed.

The orders themselves came ahead of a scheduled Supreme Court hearing in a case on the EC dragging its feet over complaints regarding violations of the code of conduct by Shah and Modi filed by Congress leader Sushmita Dev.

The specific complaints discussed at the EC meeting regarding Modi and Shah included the PMs speech in Nanded in Maharashtra on April 6 where he referred to the majority being a minority in Wayanad (Congress President Rahul Gandhis second constituency); and for his speech in Varanasi where he said 42 terrorists were killed to avenge the death of 40 troopers in Pulwama. Shah was let off for his remarks in an election rally in Kerala where he purportedly said that it was difficult to make out if Wayanad is in India or Pakistan.

Opinion | Election Commission should appear to be fair

The person familiar with the matter said that Lavasa has sent several reminders to the Chief Election Commissioner since May 4, to include minority decisions or dissent notes in the final orders. The Election Commission has not passed any orders on violations of the model code since, although it has asked those behind alleged violations for explanations, the official added.

The commissioner had earlier sought to know why his dissenting note was not made part of the final orders issued by the commission, said this person.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora did not respond to text messages seeking comment.

A former finance secretary, Lavasa differed with the decision of the two other members of the poll body, Arora and election commissioner Sushil Chandra, while deciding on the cases of model code of conduct violations against Prime Minister Modi and BJP President Shah. He suggested sending a notice to Modi, which wasnt accepted. There were at least six complaints in which the PM was given a clean chit, while Congress president Rahul Gandhi was let off in one case.

A bunch of complaints pertaining to the violations of the model code of conduct, including one against Prime Minister Modi, for addressing former PM Rajiv Gandhi as Bhrashtachari No 1 is now pending with the commission.

On whether the commission can go ahead with the meetings in his absence, the person cited above said the rules allow for a majority decision and therefore, a decision can be taken in his absence.

As per the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991, if the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners differ in opinion on any matter, such matters are 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.

HT reported on May 6 that the EC had justified not including the dissenting opinion on the grounds that since the decision on the violations was not a quasi-judicial decision, the dissent was not recorded. However, a former CEC said on condition of anonymity that such dissenting opinions have to be included in the final order even in cases of MCC violations.

In 2017, the then EC OP Rawat recused himself from cases related to the Aam Aadmi Party after party leader Arvind Kejriwal questioned his independence.

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Amid the BJPs high-decibel battle for the Lok Sabha elections in Bengal, the party is hopeful of increasing its tally in the assembly from three in a house of 294 seats, thanks to bypolls in eight seats.

Of the eight seats, polling has already been held in two (Uluberia East and Krishnaganj on April 29 and May 6), while the rest six (Darjeeling, Islampur, Habibpur, Bhatpara, Kandi, Nawda) would go for polls on Sunday along with the last phase of Lok Sabha elections.

We are confident of winning four of the eight seats. This will have a limited impact on the number of our legislators, but the political impact in the state would be enough to make about 60 MLAs switch over to our party, said BJP Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh.

The current strength of three MLAs in the legislature is the highest that the BJP has ever had in Bengal. Ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) won 211 of 294 seats in the 2016 Assembly polls.

Of these eight seats, TMC won four in the 2016 assembly elections, while the Congress won two, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) secured one each.

Elections in these six seats will not only be a litmus test for the turncoats but, being held immediately after the Lok Sabha elections there, will also indicate trends for the state assembly elections scheduled in 2021, said political analyst Amal Mukhopadhyay, former principal of Presidency College.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) won four of these six seats in 2016 assembly elections, while the Congress won two, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) won one and the BJPs ally Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) won one.

Nawda and Kandi will witness straight fight between the TMC and the Congress, while Bhatpara will see a bipolar contest between the TMC and BJP. Islampur is expected to see a triangular contest between the Congress, the TMC and BJP, while Habibpur is bracing for a triangular contest, said Maidul Islam, who teaches political science at Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata.

All these six seats fell vacant since the incumbents contested the Lok Sabha elections with tickets from other parties.

Habibpurs Left MLA Khagen Murmu and Bhatparas MLA Arjun Singh contested the Lok Sabha elections on BJP tickets, while Congress Kandi MLA Apurba Sarkar, Nawda MLA Abu Taher Khan and Islampur MLA Kanaialal Agarwal contested on TMC tickets. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)s Darjeeling MLA Amar Singh Rai, too, contested on a TMC ticket.

In Darjeeling, the fight is between the pro-TMC faction of the hills most powerful outfit, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and the BJP. GJMs pro-TMC factions leader Binoy Tamang is contesting as an independent. Tamang is also the caretaker head of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, the semi-autonomous body that runs the affairs in the hills.

The BJPs candidate in Darjeeling Neeraj Zimba Tamang is the spokesperson of the hill-based Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) and is supported by the pro-BJP faction of GJM that is led by fugitive leader Bimal Gurung.

The results of Darjeeling Assembly election will have a direct impact on who will have sway in the hills, the BJP or the pro-TMC faction of the GJM, Islam said.

BJP is particularly hopeful of winning Habibpur, Bhatpara and Islampur, while expecting that GJMs Bimal Gurung faction will manage to secure Darjeeling.

BJP swept the 2018 panchayat elections in Habibpur in Malda district.

We are winning all eight seats, said transport minister Suvendu Adhikari, an influential leader of ruling TMC. The next assembly elections are scheduled in 2021.

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Sitting MP of Patna Sahib and Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha said that the Congress would emerge as the single largest party after the election, as Narendra Modis lahar (wave) has turned into a Modi Kahar (devastation) in the country.

Talking to the media after winding up his campaign for Patna Sahib, where he is pitted against the BJPs Ravi Shankar Prasad, Sinha said the BJP would be washed out in Uttar Pradesh and in other Hindi heartlands due to the misery rained on the people owing to faulty implementation of the GST, demonetisation and vindictive politics resorted to by the BJP-led Central government against its political rivals.

Dismayed by the BJPs allegations that he had gone on the offensive against the BJP leadership after being denied a ministerial berth at the Centre, Sinha said the internal democracy (Lokshahi) in the BJP had turned into autocracy (Tanashahi), where only sycophants could survive and thrive. Sinha, also popularly known as Bihari Babu, quipped this was tantamount to chori oopar se seenazori (commit a wrongdoing and then brazen it out).

It has become a one-man show and two-man army, Sinha said, adding that partys stalwarts like LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Yashwant Sinha, et al, by whom the present leaderships felt threatened were forced to retire.

Former Union minister and Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay said that the BJP would suffer a major blow in Uttar Pradesh, as it would lose a majority if its seats, like in Jharkhand and Bihar. The Grand Alliance (GA) will get about 400 seats and the NDA would be restricted to barely 100 seats in the country. The Modi government has disappointed all sections of the society including farmers, students and the poor, he said. Sahay claimed that RJD chief Lalu Prasad was jailed for his tirade against the BJP and said that the social equations as well as political equations of Bihar and Jharkhand would change soon.

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As Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a break in the Uttarakhand hills after a hard-fought poll campaign, opposition leaders moved on Saturday to try and stitch up an alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, with less than a week left for the declaration of the Lok Sabha election results.

Telugu Desam Party leader and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu revived his attempt to put together an anti-BJP coalition, meeting an array of opposition leaders on a day a second regional political satrap, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, backed Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to lead such a formation. The first to do so was MK Stalin of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

In New Delhi, Naidu held talks with Gandhi at the latters residence, and also met Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Communist Party of Indias G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja, and Loktantrik Janata Dal founder Sharad Yadav.

Naidu reportedly told all the leaders that we all should come together and put our act together, a person familiar with the discussions told PTI on condition of anonymity. Naidu told Gandhi to have a strategy in place to move quickly and stake his claim for forming the next government if the NDA were to fall short of a majority in the Lok Sabha, PTI said.

After his meetings in New Delhi, Naidu flew to Lucknow where he held talks with Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, who are fighting the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh together in a bid to not split the anti-BJP vote.

After an hour-long meeting with Yadav and before meeting Mayawati, Naidu refused to share details of the talks with journalists. You will come to know at an appropriate time, he said, and evaded a question on the likelihood of the SP chief attending a May 21 opposition meeting in New Delhi that Naidu has organised.

Yadav was silent but a senior SP leader said on condition of anonymity that the Uttar Pradesh alliance partners will first have meetings between themselves after the poll results are declared on May 23 and decide on their immediate post-poll course of action. Until then, they will not engage in any formal post-poll alliance talks with any party or political leaders, this person said.

The Andhra CM, an estranged ally of the BJP who has ruled himself out of the race to lead the anti-BJP coalition, seems to have emerged as the main interlocutor among a bevy of political parties led by strong personalities, who have often been at odds with one another although united in their strident opposition to the BJP.

Naidu said on Friday that even K Chandrashekar Rao, his bitter rival and the Telangana chief minister, is welcome to join the anti-BJP formation, or Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance), he is trying to create. Naidu has already held several rounds of discussions with Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

On Friday, Gandhi voiced confidence that a secular formation will win the most seats in this Lok Sabha polls and that regional parties wouldnt back the BJP. The Congress chief , however, refused to speculate about what the election outcome would be.

I dont see Mayawati ji, (Samajwadi Party patron) Mulayam Singh Yadav ji, Mamata ji, Chandrababu Naidu ji, I dont see any of these people supporting the BJP, Narendra Modi government, Gandhi said.

Amid the opposition efforts to cobble together an alliance, Modi, who addressed 142 election rallies during the poll campaign, embarked on a spiritual break on Saturday to Kedarnath, a Himalayan pilgrimage site, meditating at the cave shrine wrapped in an orange robe. Seated on a bed and propped up by a pillow, Modi was pictured inside the cave after having walked a red carpet to the shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva.

He had to take special permission from the national poll watchdog for the trip as election rules prohibit any campaigning 48 hours before voting, Press Trust of India (PTI) said. On his trip on Saturday, Modi also reviewed reconstruction projects after floods in Uttarakhand in 2013 killed some 6,000 people.

(PTI, AFP contributed to this story)
In the home stretch of the general elections in Bengal, 14.91 million voters in nine constituencies in and around Kolkata will vote on Sunday in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha polls to choose from 111 candidates.

The nine seats - Kolkata North, Kolkata South, Dumdum, Basirhat, Barasat, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, Joynagar and Mathurapur - are in Trinamool Congress (TMC)s heartland of Kolkata and its neighbouring districts of North 24-Parganas and South 24-Parganas.

Several heavyweights, including chief minister Mamata Banerjees nephew Abhishek Banerjee, TMCs leader in the 16thLok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national secretary Rahul Sinha are in the fray, along with TMCs political greenhorns, actor-turned politicians Mimi Chakraborty and Nusrat Jahan.

Read: Full coverage of Lok Sabha elections 2019

Eight of the seats have been with the TMC since 2009. Joynagar went to a TMC-backed Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) candidate in 2009, while in 2014 TMC won it.

Though this is TMCs heartland, there is a wind of anti-incumbency and this is going to make TMCs battle a real difficult one, said political analyst Amal Mukhopadhyay, former principal of Presidency College.

To ensure peaceful and fair polling, the Election Commission has deployed 770 companies of central forces to provide security to all 17,042 polling stations.

In Diamond Harbour, from where Abhishek Banerjee is seeking his second term, BJP has fielded Nilanjan Roy, who switched from Congress to BJP last year. CPI(M)s Fuad Halim, son of former Bengal Assembly speaker Hashim Abdul Halim, has received support from a section of civil society members. Actor Naseeruddin Shah, too, released a video statement supporting Halims candidature.

The focus will also be on Kolkata North seat, where TMCs leader in the outgoing Lok Sabha and sitting MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay is seeking his third term. Bandyopadhyays main challenger is BJPs national secretary Rahul Sinha. The TMC MP spent 136 days behind bars after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested him in connection with the Rose Valley chit fund scam in January 2017.

In Dumdum, TMCs two-time MP Sougata Roy, who was one of the accused in the Narada bribery expose of March 2016, is seeking re-election. BJPs state unit spokesperson and former MLA Shamik Bhattacharya is his main opponent. The CPI(M) has fielded veteran leader Nepaldeb Bhattacharya.

In the high-profile Jadavpur constituency, the stage is set for a triangular fight. The TMC has fielded a political greenhorn, Bengali film industry star Mimi Chakraborty while the BJP has nominated Anupam Hazra (TMCs Bolpur MP who switched to BJP in March. Former Kolkata Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya is the CPI (M) candidate. The Congress is supporting Bhattacharya.

Winning Kolkata South is a matter of prestige for TMC, as Mamata Banerjee got elected from it for six times at a stretch until becoming the chief minister and since then it has been represented by her confidante Subrata Bakshi. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, when TMC was almost wiped out of Bengal, this was the only seat that the party won.

The party has this year fielded veteran Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) corporator Mala Roy, while BJP has fielded Netaji Subhas Chandra Boses grandnephew Chandra Kumar Bose, who is also a vice-president of the partys state unit.

Read: Mathurapur was once a Left bastion

The sitting MP, Subrata Bakshi, had only 24% attendance in Lok Sabha. TMC has evidently taken the voters of Kolkata South for granted. I have told the voters that I will shout in the Parliament for the voters at every opportunity, Bose said.

In Basirhat, BJPs state unit general secretary Sayantan Basu is taking on TMCs political greenhorn, Bengali film industry actor Nusrat Jahan. In this Muslim-dominated constituency along the Bangladesh border, the BJP hopes to win by polarisation of Hindu votes, whereas Muslim votes are expected to be split between the TMC, the Left and the Congress.

BJPs Barasat candidate Mrinal Kanti Debnath, a doctor and Hindu refugee rights activist, is expected to throw a tough challenge to TMCs Kakali Ghosh Dastidar.

Joynagar and Mathurapur seats that cover parts of the Sunderbans are TMCs strongholds but BJP hopes to spring surprises in both, focussing its campaign mostly on under-development of the area and problems of infiltration from Bangladesh.

Infiltration is a burning issue in Bengal and it is more so in the North and South 24-Parganas seats bordering Bangladesh, said Sayantan Basu, BJPs Basirhat candidate.

TMCs North 24-Parganas district unit president and food minister Jyotipriya Mallick, on the other hand, has claimed that the party will win Basirhat and Barasat with margins of more than one lakh votes.

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Pilot inexperience may well have played a role in the crashes after the infamous MCAS stabilization system malfunctioned. But that doesn't negate the fact that screwups by both Boeing and the FAA put the faulty aircraft in the air in the first place. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that senior FAA officials failed to review key safety assessments of the MCAS system and that Boeing failed to label the stall-prevention system as a critical component whose malfunction could be catastrophic. MCAS wasn't even originally mentioned in the plane's manual. In addition, Boeing had disabled a safety feature designed to warn pilots about malfunctioning sensors related to the system  but it allegedly didn't inform airlines. Boeing didn't inform the FAA until 13 months after it discovered it had offered the safety feature as an add-on option instead of standard.
In India, strict Election Commission laws govern the airing of exit polls and opinion polls during Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The poll bodys guidelines for media says such polls can only be telecast after the final phase of polling for the Lok Sabha election ends.

Read: Accuracy of exit polls in Lok Sabha elections

The poll bodys advisory also says that television and radio channels, cable networks, websites and social media platforms should ensure that the contents of programmes telecast during the 48-hour period before the end of polls in each phase do not contain any material, including views or appeals by participants that may be construed as promoting or prejudicing the prospect of any particular party or candidate. The advisory included these guidelines for websites and social media for the first time during this years Lok Sabha election.

The EC has said the advisory shall among other things include the display of any opinion poll and of standard debates, analysis, visuals and sound-bytes.

Also Read| AAP says poll diaries manipulated, Delhi election body denies charge

The poll watchdog has also said news broadcasters must not air any final, formal and definite results until such results are formally announced by it unless such results are carried with a clear disclaimer that they are unofficial or incomplete or partial results or projections which should not be taken as final results.

Here is what other countries across the world say about exits polls:

* There are 16 countries in the European Union which have banned the reporting of opinion polls, with timeframes ranging from a month to just 24 hours before polling day.

Read: All you need to know about exit polls

* In France, the ban is for 24 hours ahead of voting day. The seven-day ban imposed by France in 1977 was overturned by a court that said it was in violation of the freedom of expression.

* Italy, Slovakia and Luxembourg have a ban of more than seven days.

* There are no restrictions on publishing the results of opinion polls in the United Kingdom, but exit polls results cant be shared until the voting is over.

Read: What EC guidelines are on exit polls

* In the United States, the publication of opinion polls is allowed at any time. News organisations, who commission the polls, voluntarily impose upon themselves that they wont report likely outcomes from exit polls before voting is over.

* Germany has made it a criminal offence to release exit poll figures before all polling stations have closed

* In Bulgaria, the announcement of the results of exit polls is illegal on the election day.

* Singapore has a total ban on exit polls.
Schooled in Kolkata but based in Delhi for 35 years, Shoma Mukherji returned to her old city in the second week of April with the specific objective of urging people she knows to make a contribution to save Bengal from what she termed as the culture of violence perpetrated by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Mukherji, who teaches at the Delhi School of Business, held informal discussions with friends, well-wishers and acquaintances to help restore Bengals cultural and industrial heritage. She also participated in election rallies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates from Kolkata South and Dumdum constituencies during her weeklong stay at her home in south Kolkata.

As a Bengali, I feel deeply concerned about the decline of the state under the successive regimes of the Left and the TMC. In Kolkata, I told people I know that Bengal needs change, Mukherji said.

She is one of more than 100 Bengali academics and professionals residing in cities outside Bengal, who came to their native places to initiate dialogue among friends and acquaintances for a change of regime in the state. Most were small gathering -- almost like tea parties -- in individual houses, apart from telephonic discussions with old friends.

These civil society members visited Bengal as volunteers of the Save Bengal campaign. They bore their own expenses and took leaves from office to campaign for a change in Bengal, said Animesh Biswas, co-convenor of the Save Bengal campaign.

The campaign was launched in New Delhi in November 2018 in the presence of BJP Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh. Its national convener, Anirban Ganguly, is a member of the BJPs central policy research wing.

A brainchild of the partys national joint general secretary (organisation) Shiv Prakash a tri-lingual portal was also launched in November for publishing blogs and articles on issues concerning Bengal.

The campaigns logo comprises photos of Bengals iconic personalities, including intellectuals and freedom fighters such as spiritual leaders (Sri Chaitanya, Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, Swami Vivekananda), revolutionaries (Kshudiram, Subhas Bose, Jyatindranath Mukherjee), social reformers (Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar) and authors (Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhayay). Bharatiya Jana Sangha-founder Syama Prasad Mookerji is the only political personality in the logo.

The Bengalis settled outside started arriving in the state from early April, about a week before the first phase of polls on April 11.

Noida-based Padmanava Lahiri came to campaign in Jadavpur, addressed street-corner meetings and walked along BJPs Jadavpur candidate Anupam Hazra in road shows. Prithviraj Patra, a doctor at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, visited his native places in East and West Midnapore districts, met local doctors, teachers and lawyers and campaigned for BJPs Kanthi candidate Debashish Samanta, who, too, is a doctor.

Shyamal Sil, who works at the Delhi-office of a German company, visited his native place in Hooghly district in April to engage in conversations with local members of the civil society. We tried to clear misconception that BJP-ruled states faced communal tension, said Sil.

Our campaign is aimed at weaning Bengals civil society in various small and big towns through discussions about how Bengals cultural and economic heritage can be restored, said Debopriyo Chowdhury, a Delhi-based entrepreneur, who owns an advertising agency and a restaurant. He spent a month and a half in North 24 Parganas district.

We initiated dialogue in tea stalls, while travelling in public transport and paying courtesy visits to friends and relatives, said Sushanta Kar, a Delhi-based IT employee. Kar visited nearly half a dozen Lok Sabha constituencies in Bengal in April to coordinate between volunteers.

All those who came to the state told locals that BJP-ruled states have progressed a lot, thanks to appropriate policies and vision.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly said that the BJP is sending people from outside to destabilise Bengal. However, outsiders cant influence elections in Bengal, said Tapan Dasgupta, minister and the Hooghly district president of the TMC.

As a part of the Save Bengal campaign, closed-door meetings were held over the past six months in Bengali-dominated localities in New Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Roorkee and Bengaluru, among other cities, from where volunteers were selected for (Lok Sabha) poll campaign in Bengal.

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We want to ask the BJP, where is the Ram Mandir you promised? Is it in Australia or America? Tushar Singh, All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairman of the Baduria municipality under the Bashirhat Lok Sabha constituency told HT. The narrative was the same when we spoke to a young student wing worker of the TMC in the Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency. If the BJP says they are a Hindu party, why did they not lead a movement for renovation of the community temple and pond? he said, pointing to the temple behind his small mobile repair shop.

Ward No 7 in Bagbazar locality of Kolkata, which comes under the North Kolkata Lok Sabha seat, is an interesting place. Bapi Ghosh, the current TMC councillor, won the elections as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, but eventually defected to the TMC. Some people tell us that he would not have been allowed to work had he not done so.

The erstwhile secretary and president of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)s youth wing have not just parted ways with the party but also with each other. One is now a local TMC activist, while the other, who is not a Bengali, has walked over to the BJP. The former is slightly worried about the BJPs growth. It has not helped that the TMC candidate and sitting MP Sudip Bandopadhyay has not been keeping well and is out on bail after having been in a prison in Odisha for six months. The latters co-workers say they are scared of TMCs intimidation. The secretary of the CPI (M)s local committee is an octogenarian. Two women in their 60s were distributing voter slips for the CPI (M) candidate in the region  a task usually given to young workers.

Anupam Hazra, who was elected as a TMC MP from Birbhum in 2014, is the BJP candidate from the Jadavpur seat. Even BJP workers do not fancy their chances on this seat. The reason is a lunch attended by Hazra at Anubrata Mondals house in April. Mondal is a TMC strongman and, according to an NDTV report, told Hazra that he would not been able to win, and if he were to come back, Mandal would make sure Hazra at least went to Rajya Sabha. Jadavpur is one of the few seats in West Bengal where most people expect the CPI (M) to perform better than the BJP. These three anecdotal accounts from a visit to the state before the last phase of polling can help us understand the achievements and challenges of the BJP in a post-2014 West Bengal.

MINORITY MOVE

When Mamata Banerjee walked out of the Congress to form the TMC in 1998, she struck an alliance with the BJP. This ended in disaster in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, when the TMC could win nothing except Banerjees own seat. Banerjee drastically shifted gears in the post-2006 phase. The Sachar Committee report was published months after the Left Fronts overwhelming victory in the West Bengal assembly elections in 2006. The report said that the condition of Muslims was among the worst in West Bengal and they had very little representation in government jobs.

Then there was the Rizwanur Rahman suicide case in 2007. Rahman was a young Muslim man from a lower middle-class family who married the daughter of a rich Marwari businessman. The girls family separated the two and Rahman committed suicide. The police, under a communist government, was seen as having sided with the girls family. These incidents created an impression that the CPI (M) was insensitive towards Muslims. Banerjee used this to the hilt. She did not stop at condemning the CPI (M) for such things. Her state government announced government payments for Islamic clerics. Her posters during this time would often show her in a hijab. Fundamentalist elements such as the current Bashirhat MP Idris Ali, who had led the anti-Taslima Nasreen protests in Kolkata in 2007, were promoted within the party. Between 2008 and 2016, the TMC pretty much consolidated the Muslim vote in the state, especially in the southern parts.

It is this past of the TMC that is being used by the BJP to portray it as a party which practices Muslim appeasement. That the TMC is trying very hard to buttress its own Hindu credentials and discredit the BJPs commitment to the Hindu cause, shows that BJPs polarisation strategy is having an impact.

SYNDICATE MODEL

The 2019 elections in West Bengal are not just about religious polarisation though. Most people believe that the TMCs patron-client model of politics  what the Opposition likes to call Syndicate  and resorting to intimidation during elections is not very different from what the CPI (M) used to indulge in. It is the magnitude that might have changed today. The similarity in basic politics of the two parties attracted a lot of the erstwhile Left cadre to the TMCs fold. However, after having spent eight years in the state government, anti-incumbency seems to be catching up with the TMC as well. Our travel in West Bengal made it clear that the 2019 debate is more a referendum on the TMC government and its leader than the performance of the Narendra Mod government.

Why is it that the BJP has been able to do what the Left could not? A big reason is the failure of the Lefts leadership to lead the charge. This is also rooted in the fact that the Lefts current leadership is also identified with the excesses and failures of the previous Left Front governments. They cannot take high moral ground vis-a-vis the ruling partys excesses.

The BJP, on the other hand, is seen as a growing party across the country, and therefore better placed to challenge the TMC. Even BJP cadres and leaders admit in private conversations that the Hindutva rhetoric notwithstanding, a large part of traction for the BJP is coming from its being a better Opposition to the TMC than the Left, which has all but given up. The CPI (M) alliance with the Congress in 2016, which led to it becoming the number three party, was a key factor in diluting its position as the main challenger to the TMC.

By the 2018 panchayat elections, the BJP had firmly established itself as the number two political force in West Bengal. There is speculation that if the BJP gets a significant number of seats in the state, the TMC might offer an alliance to the CPI (M). Sitaram Yechury, the CPI (M) general secretary did not rule out such a possibility but made it conditional on the TMC changing its whole attitude of virtually butchering democracy in the state in an interview to Mint.

CHURNING CONTINUES

This is not to say that the Left will completely disappear, at least in terms of vote share, in the state in 2019. Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya, former mayor of Kolkata and a lawyer, is seen as the main challenger to the TMC in the Jadavpur seat even by the BJPs workers. Many BJP workers and leaders expect the Left to stay close to the 10% vote share mark, which would not shift to the BJP due to ideological reasons.

Although a pale version of what it used to be, the Lefts organisation is still bigger than that of the BJP in parts of the state. Marxism is not the only factor that has given an edge to the Left vis-a-vis the BJP here. The BJP is still trying to make a significant impact among Bengalis, as it is seen as a north Indian political force. This is why the controversy around alleged desecration of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagars statue by BJP workers has put the party on a back foot among Hindu Bengali middle class voters in Kolkata. Then there is the question of Muslims, who even if they do not vote for the TMC, are extremely unlikely to vote for the BJP.

The BJP will most likely do better in terms of seat share in West Bengal than what it achieved in 2014. However, whether or not it consolidates these gains in the future will depend on three key factors.

First is the ability or lack of it of Mamata Banerjee to reinvent her model of politics and ensure that anti-incumbency against her partys local leadership, who might often be acting on instructions or wishes of the higher leadership, does not neutralise her continuing high personal popularity among the Bengali electorate.

Second, whether or not the CPI (M) is able to articulate an alternative discourse against the TMC which challenges the BJPs strengthening right-wing politics. And last but not the least, is the BJPs own challenge of evolving a more nuanced nationalistic discourse to appeal to the Bengali electorate rather than employ the usual Hindutva rhetoric used in the Hindi belt states. BJP leaders also admit that the Modi government returning to power is extremely crucial for the partys prospects in the state. Whatever the outcome in 2019 is, the churning in West Bengal in unlikely to end with these general elections.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he was confident that the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP)-led dispensation will win over 300 seats, ending his campaign in the tribal seat of Khargone in Madhya Pradesh where he also talked about the valour of tribal leaders who fought against the British rule.

Modi, who kick-started his Lok Sabha campaign from Uttar Pradeshs Meerut on March 28, has travelled 105,000 km during 57 days of campaign and held 142 election rallies. Friday was the last day of campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections; the final phase of voting in seven states and one Union Territory will be held on May 19.

Khargone is one of the three seats reserved for candidates from the Scheduled Tribes category, and one of eight parliamentary constituencies that will poll on Sunday. Five years ago, the BJP had won 27 of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state, including all eight that will poll on May 19, though the Congress won Ratlam, in a subsequent bypoll.

From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Kutch to Kamrup, the whole nation is saying, Ab ki baar, 300 paar, phir ek baar Modi sarkar, Modi said. After decades you will elect a majority government for a second time in a row.

As a large number of tribal persons from Khargone and Dhar thronged the venue shouting Modi, Modi, the prime minister recalled his long association with the tribals when he was the chief minister of Gujarat, which has a sizable tribal population.

Modi also highlighted the link between Meerut and Khargone through their associations with the 1857 War of Independence against British rule.

My election campaign started from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. Now the last rally is happening in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh. From a historical perspective, there is a connection between Meerut and Khargone, which is often not noticed. Both the cities are associated with the 1857 War of Independence, he said.

In Meerut, Indian soldiers rebelled against the British and in Khargone, freedom fighter Bhima Nayak led a tribal agitation and attained martyrdom, he said. The election of 2019 is different from all the previous general elections. In this poll, people of India are voting for their country and not for any party. They are voting to build a New India, Modi said.

MP Congress spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi said it has been proven that PM Modi is all about jumla (rhetoric) and has failed to deliver on welfare schemes. He has done nothing for farmers and tribals...We are confident of winning all the seats going to polls in May 19, he said.

Sanjay Parashar, who runs a retail shop in Khargone, said, Modi takes credit for surgical strikes, but he should also take blame for the ill effects of demonetization and goods and services tax which is cumbersome and affected our business.

Shikhar Namdeo, a student of a Polytechnic college, said, We have come to see Modi as we see a strong leader, who can lead the country, in him. I love the aggressive way in which he speaks.
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Saturday played down differences in the poll panel saying election commissioners are not expected to be clones of each other.

The three members of EC are not expected to be template or clones of each other, there have been so many times in the past when there has been a vast diversion of views as it can, and should be, Arora said in a statement on election commissioner Ashok Lavasas purported letter to him.

It needs to be clarified categorically and unambiguously that this is purely an internal matter of ECI and as such any speculation, innuendoes and insinuations in this regard should be eschewed. It also needs to be mentioned that a meeting had already been scheduled on Tuesday, i.e., 21.5.2019 to discuss this and related matters, the statement said.

Lavasa, who has recused himself from meetings where decisions pertaining to the model code of conduct are decided, wrote at least three letters to the CEC to accept his demand for including minority decisions in the poll bodys final orders.

Lavasa, who disagreed with the poll panels decision to give clean chits to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for alleged MCC violations, recused himself from all such meetings till the commission includes minority decisions in the final orders.

The model code of conduct lays down rules for parties, candidates and governments to abide by during the election period. It starts with the announcement of the election by the poll panel and concludes with the declaration of results.

The poll panels decision to clear PM Modi and Amit Shah in all cases of poll code volations was criticised by the opposition parties.

Also read: Ashok Lavasa wrote thrice to EC to record minority view in poll code orders

A former finance secretary, Lavasa differed with the decision of the two other members of the poll body, Arora and election commissioner Sushil Chandra, while deciding on the cases of model code of conduct violations against PM Modi and Amit Shah.

Lavasa had suggested sending a notice to Modi, which wasnt accepted. There were at least six complaints in which the PM was given a clean chit, while Congress president Rahul Gandhi was let off in one case.
The last day of poll campaign for the last phase of 2019 Lok Sabha elections witnessed a remarkable moment as former chief minister and JVM (P) president Babulal Marandi sought votes for JMM patriarch and former chief minister Shibu Soren.

Soren and Marandi are the two tallest tribal leaders of the state and had been adversaries all their political life before the two parties came together to become part of the grand opposition alliance of four parties in the state, with Congress and RJD being the other two constituents.

Marandi is the only leader who defeated Shibu Soren from Dumka Lok Sabha in the past. In 1998, Marandi, then a BJP leader, emerged a giant killer by defeating Soren in the Lok Sabha election and defeated his wife Rupi Soren in 2000. In 2006, Marandi had quit BJP and formed JVM (P). In 2014, Marandi, however lost from Dumka and emerged a distant third.

Addressing a joint rally with the JMM patriarch in Nala assembly segment in Dumka Lok Sabha constituency, Marandi said times have changed and the two have joined hands to defeat the BJP.

Earlier, we used to fight against each other but now we have joined hands to unseat the BJP from power at the Centre. Last time (in 2014), you gave me 1.58 lakh votes. I appeal the voters to transfer all that vote and ensure a massive victory of Guruji, Marandi said.

On the last day of the campaign, top JMM and JVM (P) leaders held rallies and road shows in their respective constituencies. JVM (P) candidate Pardeep Yadav held a road show in Godda.

JMM working president, who addressed rallies in Dumka and Rajmahal, said, Going by the response I received during the campaign, the opposition would win all three seats in Santhal.

Campaigning in Santhal Parganas three parliamentary constituencies Dumka, Rajmahal and Godda, which will go to the polls on May 19, came to an end on Friday evening.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday cornered Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of development of eastern Uttar Pradesh and asserted that it would be more historic than a win if PM loses from Varanasi -- his parliamentary constituency.

Taking to Twitter, Mayawati attacked the Gujarat model of development and wrote, The Gujarat model of PM Modi was not at all successful in eliminating extreme poverty, unemployment and backwardness of the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh. This is blatant deceit. Instead of development, the Modi-Yogi double-engined government has only given communal tension, hatred and violence to the country.

This deception and betrayal happened with people of Purvanchal even when PM and UPs CM, both represent this region. If Yogi can be turned down by Gorakhpur, wouldnt the defeat of PM Modi from Varanasi be more historic than his win? Will Varanasi repeat what Raebareli did in 1977? she added.

Mayawati was referring to the 1977 elections in which the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was defeated from Raebareli constituency.

Campaigning in the bitterly-fought high-stakes Lok Sabha elections, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a second-term, came to an end on Friday evening with parties making claims about their victory ahead of polling in 59 constituencies spread over six states and one union territory on May 19.

The constituencies going to polls tomorrow also include Varanasi.

Modi, who is contesting from Varanasi, did not go for campaigning to his constituency where he did a massive road ahead of the filing of nominations. Congress leader Ajay Rai, who lost to Modi in the last elections, will again face the prime minister while SP has fielded Shalini Yadav from the seat.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
On the last day of the 2019 election campaign, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra spoke to Sunetra Choudhury about the big controversies of the day, her political debut, and the possibility of seeking election to the Lok Sabha. Edited excerpts:

What is your reaction to the Prime Ministers remark today that he cant forgive the remark by Pragya Thakur that Mahatma Gandhis assassin Nathuram Godse was a patriot?

Its a cop-out. You are the Prime Minister of the country, there is a question of somebody stating that the person who killed the founder of this country and created its democratic foundation, is a patriot. Its not enough to say that in your heart, you will not forgive them. You are a political leader, you have to state your political position. What is your position on the killer of Mahatma Gandhi?

Also Read | Priyanka Gandhi game for Amethi bypoll fight?

What should he have done?

He should have taken action. He should have stated very clearly what he felt about Nathuram Godse. I dont know what the Prime Minister thinks about Nathuram Godse.

Your brother Rahul Gandhi said that he has always been pushing you, but you didnt enter politics because your children were young. What did they say when you decided?

I believed very firmly that my children should have as normal and simple a childhood as possible. Bringing up children in Delhi, as it is, is full of challenges.

Rahul and I grew up under the shadow of violence and loss. I did not want my children to have to face that. Often, the burden of a political career is carried by the family, especially the children. I felt I needed to protect my children from this. As it happens, recently they became keen that I should enter politics and they were quite happy that I did.

Did they say, Mom you should fight?

Yes, my son would tease me by saying, you are wasting your political skills trying to solve problems between the cook and the electrician, put them to better use! In the last couple of years, both of them were encouraging me to enter politics.

Also Read | PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi make final pitch for Lok Sabha polls

In your first speech at the Congress Working Committee, you spoke about the current political scenario. Would it be accurate to say that this was a major motivator for your entry?

Actually, I think there were two different aspects to my deciding to be in politics. The first was that my view of myself, my life and its relationship to politics changed drastically. The second aspect was that I found myself watching silently as the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] was systematically destroying democratic institutions, enforcing a hate-filled political narrative and creating divisions among people for its own political advancement. I began to feel that remaining silent was cowardly. I didnt know how to accept that cowardice.

When Rahul Gandhi became vice-president of the party he gave the power is poison speech; what words of advice did he or your mother give you when you entered politics?

My brothers advice was very clear. He told me that my job as a politician was to go to all those who are suffering, to find them, stand side-by-side with them, fight for them, and ensure that they had political representation in the system. My mothers advice was that I talk too much and I should be more prudent about what I say.

Do you think that you talked too much at any point in this campaign?

No, I dont think so.

Do you think the Duryodhan comment against Prime Minister Narendra Modi was too much?

Absolutely not. I said very clearly that India has a history of not forgiving arrogance that dates back to the Mahabharat and in that context I quoted a famous poem about Duryodhan. Whats wrong with that?

Did it make you angry when Mr Modi attacked your father?

Not at all, I actually find the Prime Minister funny when he attacks my father because it shows that he is weak and has run out of substantial political arguments.

If we talk about your current assignment in UP, you speak about the booth-level strengthening of the party. Is it feasible so soon? Is Priyanka Gandhi planning for 2019 or 2022?

Clearly in three months, booth-level strengthening and rebuilding an entire political organisation in a state as complex as UP is not feasible. The aim in this election is to defeat the BJP. Where our organisation is weaker, we have ensured that our candidate does not damage the alliance [Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party]. However by 2022, it is completely feasible to build booth-level organisations though that is not the main focus of my assignment. My aim is to build representation in the party and to see to it that social groups, women and young people are adequately represented in our party. I think that is actually the deeper aspect of the task ahead of me. The booth level building of an organisation is only going to be a reflection of how well we manage to bring new life, new people and genuine ground level social, cultural and political leaders into our party.

Did you reach out to Mayawati or Akhilesh Yadav to try to salvage an alliance?

My mother spoke to Mayawati ji, my brother reached out to both of them, and Mr Scindia [Jyotiraditya Scindia, also a general secretary of the Congress] reached out to Mr Akhilesh Yadav Ji a number of times. We were open to discussing an alliance right from the beginning, simply because we wanted to defeat the BJP in UP. However, for their own political reasons and in their own wisdom, both of them were unresponsive. They probably felt that it was not a feasible proposition for them, and therefore we are fighting alone. I think we have made as good a fight of it as we could have.

Many refer to you as Indira 2, referring to your grandmother Indira Gandhi. You invoke her too,why? What is the one similarity you have with her and something that differentiates you?

I dont think its fair to say that I invoke her. I speak about her when I feel its relevant to speak about her. Just because she is my grandmother, I cannot pretend that she does not exist. She was a prime minister of India and she did a lot of phenomenal work for the country, and as a Congresswoman it is but obvious that I should speak about her.

I think comparisons between her and me are facile. She was a fearless leader of great stature whose political journey began with the fight for Indias independence and ended with her martyrdom. How can anyone compare me with her? I just entered politics three months ago!

Similarity and difference?

My grandmother was a revolutionary and a fighter, I am just a fighter. Maybe the similarity is that once we make up our minds to fight for something we believe in, we will fight to the end.

Now that the campaign is over, Rahul Gandhi will have to give up one of the two seats he contested,should he win both. You have gone to Wayanad and said my brother wont let you down. So will you rise to the challenge in Amethi?

Its not a challenge. The biggest challenge is for me to build the party for 2022 in Uttar Pradesh.

Will you fight in Amethi?

It will be decided when my brother decides to leave one of the seats; that discussion will happen then.
A woman passenger returning from Bangkok was held with 697 gms gold worth Rs 23.42 lakh at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport on Friday morning.

The passenger used a novel way of smuggling the yellow metal. She converted the gold into rings, got them polished with rhodium and got them fixed into her handbag and cargo pants. She was able to escape the customs checking, but we managed to scan her purse and caught her smuggling the gold into the country, said Niharika Lakha, deputy commissioner, airport.

In the last 10 months, this was the second incident where a woman was caught smuggling gold into the country, she said.

We seized around 697 gms gold worth Rs 23.42 lakh from a passenger, Raisa Begum, wife of one Mohammed Haroon of Daryaganj in Delhi. She was returning from Bangkok (flight number WE-333) on Friday morning, she added.

The customs officials were surprised at the way Raisa Begum faced the questions with confidence. During investigation, we found that she was a frequent flier and travelled to Bangkok regularly. But for the first time, she decided to enter India via Lucknow, said Lakha.

In August 2018, another woman, Mobina Sheikh, was caught with almost a kg of gold. She was also coming from Bangkok, she said.

If women are being used for gold smuggling, it is a cause of concern. From January to April, we have recovered around 12 kg gold worth nearly Rs 4 crore and arrested eight people for smuggling gold, she added.

We have noticed that smugglers target the workforce in the Gulf and Bangkok for pushing their goods into India. But with increased vigilance and technology, customs officials have been able to catch most of these smugglers along with the smuggled goods, said Lakha.

Smugglers are not only smuggling gold, but also foreign brands of cigarettes as these cost much lesser than those manufactured in India, said officials.

In the past, smugglers had zeroed in on this route for gold and cigarette smuggling. This was due to lack of use of advanced technology. But now the customs has stepped up vigil on the network of criminals and are using advanced gadgets to catch them, said Lakha.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anupam Srivastava Anupam Srivastava is a Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times, Lucknow. Has produced exclusive stories in medical, civil aviation, civic, political and other issues for over 20 years. ...view detail
On allegations of financial irregularities and corruption, the state directorate of medical education and research (DMER) not only dissolved the state nursing council body but also has taken over the same.

An enquiry against the then president of the state nursing council Ramling Mali, has been launched by DMER, who has been suspended.

Explaining the same, Dr Prakash Wakode, joint director, DMER, state said, There were many issues that were brought to our notice. Firstly, the council was conducting examinations and deciding on it which is not its job.

Secondly, the allegations also include of financial irregularities, election related issues like manipulating elections, registrations of the nursing institutes and inspections.

Looking at the allegations we chose to dissolve the current body and suspend Mali from the position of president.The elections will take place but only after a year. The council will be run by the state for a while now and we will try to regularise it.Meanwhile we will conduct a detailed investigation regarding how the board functions.

Mali said, I stepped down from the position and was not suspended. My tenure for five years came to an end and I chose to leave the chair of state president. This cannot be termed as suspension. The government blames that I manipulated the elections and ruled the council for 10 years which is absolutely wrong. I was elected by the people and hence the allegation is not right.

Talking about the irregularities when asked within the council during his tenure as alleged by the DMER he said, There has been no irregular activity within the council.

Indian Medical Association, Maharashtra president, Avinash Bhondwe, when contacted he said, This is not surprising .The government is known to interfere in the work of professional bodies. The government wants to be able to control all functioning bodies, be it the Medical Council of India or any other such association.

Such bodies cannot be ruled or looked into by the government. They are only quasi judicial body where equal representation should happen. We have observed that in such cases, often the state government or the ministers have vested interests, hence targeting such councils which is condemnable.
A quiet spot on River Clyde in the town of Port Glasgow has been designated as the first official spot in Scotland where, instead of travelling to towns along the Ganga, Hindus can scatter ashes as part of rituals after funerals.

Following talks with the Indian community, the Inverclyde Council has become the first local authority in Scotland to recognise the ritual, and has installed railings at the Newark slipway in Port Glasgow, 35 km from Glasgow.

A spokesman for the Council said: We have been dealing with the Sikh and Indian community for some time with a view to identifying a suitable location for scattering ashes on the Clyde. Clearly, this is a very sensitive issue and we have been doing our best to help.

The group has approached every local authority looking for assistance and we are hopeful the assistance we have provided will help with the solemn and dignified scattering of ashes.

The council installed railings at the site as a safety measure, but it caused some annoyance among local boat owners, including members of Newark Boat Club, who were obstructed from launching their craft.

The spokesman said: We have now fixed this. This will allow the slipway at Coronation Park to serve as a way of getting on to the water for sailing opportunities and to give members of the community a suitable and accessible location.

Port Glasgow councillor and depute provost, David Wilson, said: Its a good example of the council taking action in a humanitarian way and from a safety point of view.

In England, a leafy spot on River Soar near the National Space Centre in Leicestershire was designated for the purpose of scattering ashes in 2014, following calls for such a facility from the areas large Hindu, Jain and Sikh communities.

Leicester councillor Piara Singh Clair said at the time: Local faith group leaders have been asking us for a suitable site on the River Soar in Leicester for scattering ashes, and following work with the Environment Agency we identified this location.

It meets many of the requirements in terms of being a quiet spot suitable for such a ceremony, but is also easily accessible and safe for people to use, he added.

A spokesperson of the Environment Agency said: Ashes have little impact on water quality, but other items should not be placed in water with them. Wreaths can contain metal or plastic which can cause litter or harm wildlife.

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London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for similar preferential norms for Indian companies and students as those offered to China in order to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) from India into the British capital.

The mayor, who reiterated his London is Open message, attacked the UK governments hostile immigration policies as a barrier to increased investments and students coming from India into London.

The governments got to make it easier for businesses to come to London. Immigration policies have got to change, its got to be easier for Indian students and business people to come here, Khan said on the sidelines of the annual Asian Voice Charity Awards here on Friday evening.

The government has made some changes to make it easier for China, and I welcome that, but also India deserves the same sort of preferential treatment I worry because of this governments hostile immigration policies, we arent seeing many talented students coming to London, particularly talented Indians. I am hoping the government realises this is a huge opportunity lost, he said.

China being included on a list of countries offered easier UK student visa application norms is one of the preferential routes currently not open to India.

Khan, a former Labour Party MP who has been a vocal advocate of a second Brexit referendum, said the Theresa May government was a million miles away from what was promised during the June 2016 referendum campaign.

Parliament is in gridlock, we should give the British public a say on the deal negotiated by the government with the option of remaining in the European Union. I cant think of anything more democratic than giving the British public a final say, said Khan, who was presented with a Political and Public Life Award at the awards ceremony.

The Asian Voice Charity Awards, powered by due diligence network Charity Clarity, reward charities and individuals that try and solve the most pressing social issues in Britain and globally.

Some of the winners this year included Indian-origin entrepreneur Leah Chowdhry, who was named the Most Inspiring Young Person for becoming the first British Asian woman to swim the English Channel to raise funds to combat child trafficking in India.

The Sarvam Trust, which facilitates and supports the work of the Sri Aurobindo Society to help the under-privileged in rural areas of India, was the winner of the Audience Choice Award.

The theme of this years awards was around combatting knife crime, an issue that has dominated the London Mayors agenda.

Charities have an important role to play in filling in the gaps in the social safety net, Khan said.

CB Patel, Publisher and Editor of UK-based Asian Voice weekly newspaper which organises the awards, added: One of the ills that now plagues our community is knife crime, and this requires the collective effort of individuals, families, educational institutions and community organisations to put an end to the menace.

His Editors Choice Award for the year went to the Damilola Taylor Trust, which provides inner-city youths in Britain with opportunities to play and learn, free from fear and violence.

The Charity of the Year award went to Paul Strickland Scanner Centre, an independent medical charity working to improve the lives of people affected by cancer and other severe medical conditions, and the Social Impact Award was presented to Child Rescue Nepal, which works on the ground to free children from slavery and captivity.

The awards are absolutely unique in that each applicant goes through a rigorous Charity Clarity rating process before the very best are shortlisted for the judges consideration, Pratik Dattani, from Charity Clarity, said.
A new Offensive Weapons Bill aimed at tackling rising knife crime in the UK completed its journey through Parliament to become an act of law after receiving the Royal Assent of Queen Elizabeth II this week.

The bill had been amended late last year to ensure that it would not impact the right of the British Sikh community to possess and supply kirpans, or religious swords.

We have engaged closely with the Sikh community on the issue of kirpans. As a result, we have amended the Bill to ensure that the possession and supply of large kirpans for religious reasons can continue, a UK Home Office spokesperson said.

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Sikhs had led a delegation to the UK Home Office to ensure that the kirpan remains exempt when the new bill becomes law.

I am pleased to see the government amendment...which reflects the importance of not criminalising the Sikh community for the sale or possession of large kirpans, said Labour MP Preet Kaur Gill, Chair of the APPG for British Sikhs.

The new law would therefore maintain status quo in continuing to legally safeguard the sale, possession and use of large kirpans.

Fellow Sikh MP, Tan Dhesi, had also made an intervention during the Offensive Weapons Bill debate in the Commons to seek assurances about the kirpan, given the Sikh communitys serious concerns. Large kirpans, with blades over 50-cm, are used by the community during religious ceremonies in gurdwaras as well as for ceremonies involving the traditional Sikh Gatka martial art. They would have fallen foul of the new bill on the possession of large blades without the amendment, which has now been agreed.

The Offensive Weapons Act covers new offences around possession of certain offensive weapons in public and enforces new restrictions on the online sales of bladed articles and corrosive products in attempt to crackdown on rising knife and acid-related attacks in the country.

These new laws will give police extra powers to seize dangerous weapons and ensure knives are less likely to make their way onto the streets in the first place. The Act will also see the introduction of Knife Crime Prevention Orders  a power the police called for, said UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

The act is aimed at strengthening existing legislative measures on offensive weapons, focusing on corrosive substances, knives and certain types of firearm. It brings in new laws to ban the sale of corrosive substances to anyone under the age of 18, to target people carrying acid, to make it more difficult for anyone under the age of 18 to buy knives online and to ban certain types of firearms. PTI AK AMS AMS
Colourful Chinese kites decorated the blue skies above the Maltese capital on Friday, attracting hundreds of children and visitors to the 2nd Chinese kite festival.



The festival coincides with the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and thus it is "taking on an even deeper meaning", said Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, president emeritus of Malta and chair of the President's Foundation of the Wellbeing of Society.

"Diplomacy is not only for politicians. Cultural diplomacy is also for people to come together to connect, to be friends and develop respect and sustainable friendships," she said.

A demonstration of dragon kite flying by Guo Hongli, a master kite builder from China's prefecture-level city of Weifang in Shandong Province, was a highlight of the event.

Some 200 students from 5 Maltese schools flew 100 traditional Chinese kites.

"The kite is beautiful. I like the colour, the art, the shape," commented Maruska Pulis, a 13-year-old student from Bormla, adding that she'd be glad to attend other Chinese cultural events.

With the aim of promoting traditional Chinese kite culture, Guo Hongli and his team will visit 7 schools and also hold kite-making workshops for the Maltese public in the coming days.



As part of this year's festival, the Malta National Community Art Museum (MUZA) will showcase a selection of Chinese kites until May 31.

The festival was organised by the China Cultural Centre in Malta in collaboration with the President's Foundation of the Wellbeing of Society and MUZA.
China is set to step up anti-monopoly regulation as central and local authorities are mulling a new round of investigations over the issue, according to a report by Economic Information Daily Friday.

This year, the strengthened anti-trust efforts will mainly focus on gas, water supply, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, power and railway sectors, said the report.

China has maintained a tough anti-monopoly stance in recent years, as a total of 116 anti-trust cases were filed and investigated in 2018, among which 88 were concluded, up more than 30 percent from a year ago.

The anti-monopoly law enforcement has covered more sectors including e-commerce, tobacco and pharmaceuticals, Zhang Qinyu, an expert with the China University of Political Science and Law, was quoted as saying.

China will enhance anti-monopoly law enforcement in the pharmaceuticals sector and crack down on behavior such as monopoly prices hikes, according to the State Administration for Market Regulation.

Local anti-monopoly departments of several provinces have also been accelerating investigations in the building materials sector. Anti-monopoly efforts in the telecommunications sector were also expected to be enhanced to encourage fairer competitions.

In the future, China should improve related laws and regulations, speed up the formulation of anti-trust guidance in key areas and strengthen coordination between competition and other economic policies, said the report.
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China will offer customized data services for disaster prevention through its Fengyun meteorological satellites for more countries along the Belt and Road, said a senior official of the China Meteorological Administration's National Satellite Meteorological Center.

The services will be provided based on the results of a survey of 81 countries. By the end of April, 22 countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Libya and Sudan, had responded to the survey.

All of the respondents said they wanted to install the application software platforms of the Fengyun satellites for weather forecasting, as well as climate and environment monitoring.

They also requested a range of services, especially in monitoring rainfall, droughts, dust storms, heavy fog and lightning, in addition to training courses on Fengyun meteorological satellite data analysis, remote-sensing applications and data collection.

Many countries along the Belt and Road have high mountains, deserts, oceans and a lack of accurate meteorological information. The number of meteorological disasters in the regions is more than double the global average, the administration said.

Wei Caiying, deputy general-director of the National Satellite Meteorological Center, said that real-time disaster monitoring by meteorological satellites could provide these countries with a scientific basis for disaster prevention and reduction.

"Weather-related disasters such as typhoons pose a threat to life and property. Tracking their path could help local authorities decide how to proceed with evacuations," she said.

In addition to real-time monitoring, the China Meteorological Administration set up the Emergency Support Mechanism for international users of Fengyun satellites last April, which covers disaster prevention and mitigation.

So far, 15 countries including Iran and Mongolia have registered as users of the mechanism.

According to the administration, the mechanism can switch the on-duty satellite to a quick-scan mode focusing on areas required by users when they are hit by disasters.

"During disasters, Fengyun satellites can scan as often as every five or six minutes. The China Meteorological Administration could send users cloud images and products via satellites and public clouds," Wei said.

For example, in March, China provided a remote-sensing monitor report on flooding in Iran via Fengyun. The analysis estimated the coverage and terrain characteristics of the flooded area, which greatly assisted the country's evacuation efforts.

China has launched 17 Fengyun series meteorological satellites, of which seven are currently operational.

The World Meteorological Organization has included China's Fengyun series of meteorological satellites as a major element of its global Earth observation system.
TMZ reported on a bizarre story today involving famed movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to its reports, the actor made an appearance in South Africa for a sporting event tied to his name. The Arnold Classic Africa is an organized event which aims to host judge-affiliated sporting events for African children. While Arnold himself was one of the involved judges, he appeared in Sandton Saturday to chat it up with fans and take photos after the happening. Then, the strangest thing happened.

In the video shared, we see Arnold in a full conversation with a group of fans until suddenly, out of nowhere, appears a man. The man is seen lurching through the camera in a drop-kick motion as he strikes Schwarzenegger from behind. Immediately, the deranged individual is handled by the former Californian governor's security detail. Further reports also indicated he was later removed from the facility.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1129793463678066688



What makes matters even more interesting is Arnold Schwarzenegger's composure through it all. Now, we're not sure if it is the years of bodybuilding and playing the bad-ass character that has made the actor evidently strong, but he does not seem slightly impacted by the stan's attack. In fact, it looks like the fan hurt himself in this ordeal. Nevertheless, it is good to know Arnold Schwarzenegger was not harmed in the process. The Terminator is clearly still within.

[Via]
Earlier today, we reported on the viral news surrounding an attack within which famed actor and body-builder Arnold Schwarzenegger was drop-kicked by a fan. The ordeal occurred in South Africa, during the ex-politician's sporting event wherein a disgruntled fan drop-kicked him from the back while Schwarzenegger chatted it up with fans. The attacker was immediately apprehended following what looked like an epic fail. Precisely, the drop-kicker looked like he injured himself more than did the 71-year old Terminator actor. Moreover, since its occurrence, the video of the attack has gone viral across social media and sparked quite the conversation.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1129805366513025028



In his true diplomatic nature, which reminds us why Arnold Schwarzenegger was previously appointed as governor of California, the actor gave fans an update on his state of being. The ex-Mr. Olympia shared the following update via his Twitter account: "Thanks for your concerns, but there is nothing to worry about. I thought I was just jostled by the crowd, which happens a lot. I only realized I was kicked when I saw the video like all of you. Im just glad the idiot didnt interrupt my Snapchat."

https://twitter.com/_/status/1129768197094346753



Though the video foreshadowed the aforementioned update, it is still good to know Arnold Schwarzenegger is okay.
Longtime friends Remy Ma and Fat Joe have seen each other through thick and thin. They collaborated before Remy went to jail for six years and once she was released, they linked up once again for their chart-topping hit "All The Way Up." Now that Remy has caught a case for allegedly assaulting her Love & Hip Hop New York co-star Brittney Taylor, Joe has publicly defended his friend and her character, denying the altercation happened.

Taylor asserts that Remy punched her in the face, without provocation, at the Pretty Lou Benefit Concert at Irving Plaza earlier this year. The rapper's lawyer called the allegations untruthful, and when Baller Alert caught up with Joe at the CC Sabathia Celebrity Softball Game recently, he echoed that sentiment. When asked about the effect L&HH has on Remy's personal life, Joe said, Its been great for Remy because Remy been so positive, she aint been getting in no fights. Nothing like that. Shes a model citizen."

On Taylor's accusations, Joe stated, I dont believe the allegations for one second. Actually, I was there...It never happened, I was actually there, but when you have a reputation and a past, it follows you and America always seems to never be able to forgive and forget and give second chances. Remy, shes totally innocent.

Earlier this month, Joe shared an Instagram photo of himself, Remy, and Papoose as he visited with their daughter, "The Golden Child." He wrote in the caption, "There were maybe thirty to forty Cops at the Cancer Charity Event not one saw ANY altercation. In a world of everything is on CAMERA theres no footage of any incident hmmmmmmmmmmm PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE beware of the CLOUT CHASE my sister will be just fine THIS TOO SHALL PASS."
A central Chinese museum on Friday became the first in the country to offer full 5G coverage and multiple related services including real-time viewing of a 2,400-year-old bronze chime.

The Wuhan Provincial Museum said the entire museum is now covered by the 5G wireless network, and a package of 5G-based applications are offered to allow the public to have "unprecedented" interactions with the collections.

Among the new services is a virtual reality (VR) zone that allows visitors to strike the Zenghouyi chime bells, a treasure of the museum dating back to the Warring State Period (475-221 BC), in a virtual environment. The chime, after excavation in 1978, had only been physically struck three times.

Panoramic cameras were also installed to capture real-time videos of the chime, which are then transmitted via the 5G network to mobile applications and screens at the museum.

"With larger bandwidth and lower latency, the 5G network makes such live broadcasting of collections possible. It presents smoother videos and allows access to a greater number of viewers," said Yang Lisheng, deputy director of the museum's information center.

The museum said they have worked with China Mobile and tech giant Huawei to introduce the 5G network at the facility.

As International Museum Day falls on Saturday, more Chinese museums are expected to announce their attempts in technological innovation, which is being promoted to facilitate the protection of and public access to the country's many cultural relics.

The National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) said last week that China is working to build smart museums with new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), VR, augmented reality (AR), immersion display and smart guidance.

China owns 767,000 sites of immovable cultural relics and over 100 million pieces of movable artifacts, as well as a huge number of relics in the hands of private collectors.

The number of museums in China has increased from 349 in 1978 to currently over 5,000, according to the NCHA, and their popularity has been on the rise especially among domestic tourists.
It feels like we haven't heard from King Louie is a long time, possibly since March 2018 when he rolled out his March Madness series. We know that he was in Wyoming with Kanye West last year to work on Ye. Now, it seems like he returns with his latest track, "Tesla."

We all know that the G.O.O.D Music camp are big fans of Elon Musk and Tesla and King Louie returns with a new song paying homage to Musk's revolutionary vehicle. Produced by C-Sick, King Louie drops off a brand new banger with "Tesla," a song he's teased since February. It's unsure what took so long for the single to arrive but maybe this means we'll be hearing more new music from him in the coming months.

Quotable Lyrics

Fucked her in a Nissan, it a looked like a Lexus

I pop pills for dinner, and smoke dope for breakfast

Take shots in the daytime, send they ass a message

I never met Elon, but I drove a Tesla


It would be categorically unjust to label Lil Berete as a member of the Top 200 rappers operating under the "Lil" prefix. Rest assured, the teenage sensation packs a mightier punch than many of the top-ranking members of that list. Since making waves in 2018 with the appropriately titled Icebreaker, Lil Berete has been forced to work outside his home estate of Regent Park in Toronto, the only locale for his video output, up to this point in his career. While he isn't directly involved in the municipal scrutiny over gun violence and hip-hop (completely unsubstantiated), the "cultural ban" has made him an outlaw in his own milieu.

So, on his latest video drop for "Goat Cheese," Berete linked up with noted videographer Kirx outside the boundaries of the Regent Park housing schematics, through no coincidence at all. Think about it: "Goat Cheese's" glossier finish does in turn, illustrates many of the changing dynamics he's undergone during this one-year stretch. Berete reflected on the level of scrutiny that comes with his sudden (Toronto) fame. "Police are trying to pull me over but I know what my rights are," he outlines right from the jump in the song's opening stanza. Nevertheless, as "Goat Cheese" goes onto illustrate in a palatable color scheme, Berete's 14 million global streams are just the start to what figures to be a prosperous future of the melodious rapper. Listed below are a series of Canadian concert dates Lil Berete has booked to coincide with this song's release. Enjoy!

May 18  Metro Metro Festival  Montreal, QC

June 15  Breakout Festival  Vancouver, BC

June 23  uTopia Music Festival (Mod Club)  Toronto, ON

July 8  Calgary Stampede  Calgary, AB

Quotable Lyrics:

Catch me lickies and I got 9 been creeping on the other side

Ya, ya, I don't think you wanna really die

Couple youngins they been reckless.
Forgive him for his spelling mistakes, it's the thought that counts is it not? The Migos member isn't alone in condemning Alabama lawmakers for what is viewed by a strong majority of Americans as a terrible precedent for policy change in the Deep South: a push by Senate to jail medical practitioners caught performing abortions for women-in-need. The changes would amount to a "near-total ban" on the practice in the state, prompting Offset to approach the subject from the perspective of a woman with her back against the barracks. Furthermore, he envisioned the woman being a rape victim with little choice but to seek abortion as an end to their suffering.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1129790465795141638



https://twitter.com/_/status/1129791437300805635



Inevitably, Offset issued the statement on Twitter with the aforementioned "spelling mistakes" in plain view, making the sentiment all the most earnest to those witnessed the postings unfold in two parts. It's pretty simple, men shouldn't govern what women do what their bodies, an opinion that noted "class clown" Freddie Gibbs decided to dwell upon for a couple of well-intended Insta slides. Both men are parents to young women, thereby forcing them to empathize with those affected by the ruling. Rihanna and Jameela Jamil have also voiced their displeasure with the Alabama and Georgian senate on two separate occasions of note (here, and here).
The state House of Representatives on Friday approved a bill that would add hurdles for massive container ships entering the Houston Ship Channel, an action that analysts and logistics companies say could discourage the ships from calling on the Port of Houston, disrupt business supply chains and raise prices for consumers.

The bill, expected to get final Senate approval and head to the desk of Governor Greg Abbott, is a win for energy companies that feared congestion caused by the 1,100-foot-plus-long container ships would constrict exports of crude oil, chemicals and other petroleum products. The energy companies have tangled with shipping companies for months over access to the channel, bringing their case to the Port of Houston Authority, which adopted local rules to try to find a compromise between the competing interests.

Local ruling: In win for energy industry, port limits large container ships in channel

The Port Authority has spent hundreds of millions of dollars since the early 2000s to prepare for the huge container ships coming across the Atlantic from Europe and through the Panama Canal from Asia, installing bigger cranes, reinforcing docks and deepening and widening channels. But if shipping lines find the legislation makes it too difficult to do business in Houston, they could send their container ships elsewhere, shifting to ports in New Orleans, Savannah or California and disrupting local supply chains.

Youve added a cost to the Houston consumer, potentially, if ship traffic has to be rerouted to another port, said Kevin Sterling, managing director of the full service broker-dealer Seaport Global Securities.

The legislation stems from a months-long campaign by the Coalition for a Fair and Open Port, which represents Houston energy companies including Enterprise Products, Targa Resources Corp. and Kinder Morgan, to cap the number of 1,100-foot vessels that call on Houston. The Houston Pilots had limited the ship channels typical two-way traffic to just one-way when the container ships entered the waterway, delaying shipments of petroleum and other products.

In April, the pilots began allowing two-way traffic with the container ships, but with restrictions that could still slow commerce in and out of the port.

The proposed law, which would go into effect Sept. 1, mandates two-way traffic in the ship channel and adds new requirements for vessels over 1,100 feet to enter the waterway, only permitting them if they can be moved with efficient two-way traffic. The larger ships requests to call on Houston must go through two public hearings and gain approval of 80 percent of Houston pilots.

Logistics companies said such requirements could discourage the container ships, which move products from electronics to apparel to plastic pellets, from coming to Houston. Container shipping lines have dedicated routes traveled by multiple ships making multiple stops. So even if only one or two of their ships surpass 1,100 feet, a frustrated container line would likely relocate all ships in that service to another port, said Dave Morgan, president of Houston stevedoring company Cooper/Ports America.

It would be a huge reduction in our revenue as Cooper/Ports America, he said, and it would be a huge reduction in manhours for longshore workers.

The Houston trucking company Jetco Delivery expects to remain busy if container ships went elsewhere  that cargo must still get to Houston  but its employees would have to drive farther, to New Orleans and back, for instance. That would cause additional costs, which would be passed on to Jetco customers.

"Will we be efficient? Will we be doing things as cost effectively as possible for our customers and consumers?" Jetco CEO Brian Fielkow asked. "No. That's my concern."

More from logistics companies: Shipping companies decry proposal to limit biggest vessels

One thing is for sure. The trend of larger ships isnt going away. The West Gulf Maritime Association, a shipping industry trade group, previously noted that 1,100-foot-plus vessels make up 30 percent of most major container lines fleets. The Panama Canal was expanded to accommodate them.

The first 1,100-foot-plus container ship entered Houston in August. Since then, just 14 of these vessels have entered the port

The Coalition for a Fair and Open Port said the legislation is needed to guarantee the free-flow of shipping through the ship channel. The economic value for everybody in Houston is maintaining two-way traffic, said Vincent DiCosimo, executive director of the coalition.

Ric Campo, chairman for the Port of Houston Authority, said he believes the legislation provides enough leeway that the port can accommodate the large container vessels. He added that the requirements in the legislation arent much more stringent than current rules.

I believe we can continue to bring these ships in, he said.

If Abbott signs the bill into law, it could face legal challenges over the states authority to impose rules on a federally maintained waterway. In a letter to Abbott asking him to veto the bill, Rear Admiral Paul F. Thomas, commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District headquartered in New Orleans, said, The Coast Guard Captain of the Port has the sole authority and ability under federal law to impose operational requirements to address these concerns.

andrea.leinfelder@chron.com

Twitter.com/andrearumbaugh
Barbara Winburn had already played shy, fragile Laura in a 1970s production of The Glass Menagerie when she was cast as the shows domineering mother, Amanda, in a version of Tennessee Williams classic memory play that is onstage May 16 through June 2 at College of the Mainland Community Theatre in Texas City.

Amanda is one of the great stage roles for women, said Winburn, who lives in Santa Fe. It is a delight and a challenge to bring her to life.

Her biggest goal, said the actress, is to thwart any perception by the audience that Amanda is not a very nice person based on how sternly she treats her children.

You cant emphasize enough that Amanda loves her children immensely, said Winburn, explaining that Williams is widely considered to have based the character on his mother. Likewise, the character of Tom is a stand-in for the playwright, while Lauras limp is a symbol for the mental instability of the authors beloved sister, Rose.

Amanda is a single parent in 1937 who has had to make a go of it since her husband abandoned them 16 years ago, Winburn said. One of my favorite lines of hers is Life calls for Spartan endurance.

The Glass Menagerie When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sundays Where: College of the Mainland Community Theatre, 1200 Amburn Road, Texas City Tickets: $10-20. Details: 409-933-834; www.com.edu/theatre. See More Collapse

In contrast, Tom is a dreamer who longs for the life of a poet rather than working in a shoe warehouse to help support his mother and sister in a cramped St. Louis apartment.

When Amanda insists that Tom invite a gentleman caller home to dinner to meet Laura, Tom chooses genial Jim OConnor, a go-getter who attempts to bring Laura out of her shell.

David Wheelis of League City plays Tom, with fellow Clear Falls High School graduate Jordyn OBanion as Laura.

Gerik Lussy of Dickinson portrays Jim.

The production is helmed by guest director Brian Hamlin of League City.

Winwood was born in Hillje and graduated from Louise High School in 1972 before attending Wharton County Junior College. With no formal training as an actress, and even though she wasnt a theater major, Winburn landed the role of Laura in the colleges production of The Glass Menagerie.

The characters of Laura and Amanda are a study in contrasts, said the actress.

Amanda, by her very nature is outgoing. Laura is closed-in, said Winburn, describing how Laura likes to escape into a world of tiny figurines, including her favorite, a glass unicorn.

In 1976, Winburn received a bachelor of science degree in medical records administration at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

It wasnt until 2001 that she returned to the stage, playing wealthy socialite Margot Mary Wendice in Dial M for Murder for a theater group in La Marque and long-suffering Grace Miller in Requiem for a Heavyweight at College of the Mainland, whose theatre holds open auditions for students or non-students.

Since then, Winburn has played more than 25 roles at various Bay Area playhouses, including Clear Creek Community Theatre, Pasadena Little Theatre and Dinner Theatre at Francas.

Winburn, who has two stepsons, retired in January from the University of Texas Medical Branch.

She has been married for 19 years to Mike Winburn, who grew up in Deer Park and recently retired as the executive director of the Gulf Coast Center, the mental health authority for Galveston and Brazoria counties.

The couple has four grandchildren.

Performances of The Glass Menagerie will be at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sundays at the theater, 1200 Amburn Road.

Tickets range $10 to $20.

For further information, call 409-933-8345 or visit www.com.edu/theatre.

Don Maines is a freelance writer who can be reached at donmaines@att.net
Only hours after hundreds of people attended a public forum and call to action seminar aimed at stopping suicide and increasing mental health care throughout Montgomery County, several dozen advocates for better suicide prevention efforts lobbied The Woodlands Township board on Thursday night to approve a new position to help with the issues.

Two local activists, Kim Moayed and Jodie Janacek  who are co-chairpersons of the annual Out of Darkness suicide awareness and prevention walk and also volunteers with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Greater Houston Chapter  gave a more than 45-minute presentation on the issue of suicide, showing slides with terms, explanations and steps for prevention. The duo also shared their own experiences with suicide and mental health issues, which they said had led them into activism to help find solutions to the complex epidemic that has affected not only Montgomery County and The Woodlands, but all of the country.

Were not doing an excellent job helping, Janacek said of suicide prevention efforts. Suicide is extremely complex  it is a mesh of problems that come together.

The presentation included numerous slides that described things such as the various risk factors and events that may trigger a suicide attempt; the prevention-intervention-postvention approach to helping people struggling with mental health issues; and ways to reduce the risk of someone attempting suicide, both Janacek and Moayed said they believed The Woodlands Township could play a pivotal role in helping stop the epidemic by hiring a community outreach director for mental health awareness and suicide prevention efforts  a full-time staff member with dedicated duties related to the issue.

Moayed said the potential staff members would make mental wellness efforts a priority, allowing the township board to use their platform as community leaders to education the community and elevate discussion of the issue. She also said what she and others envision is a partnership similar to what the township does in regard to funding Safe Harbor, a program to stop child abuse and online predators.

(You) Go from talking about a problem to saying were going to solve the problem, Moayed explained. (With Safe Harbor) You saw a problem, felt a need to solve it and found a way to fund it. We feel this (idea) would mirror that.

The idea of adding a special staff member to focus solely on suicide prevention and mental health awareness was appealing to each of the seven board members in attendance, with all expressing their belief it would be beneficial to the community. However, calls by Director John McMullan to take action to approve the position on Thursday were quashed after other board members said it was better to do the process slowly rather than hastily in order to best utilize community collaborations.

Part of the reason I support this is because I dont have the skills to understand this, McMullan said of suicide prevention efforts. Were going to need the opinion of someone who is truly an expert who would help the community and elected leaders in making policy.

Township board Chairman Gordy Bunch reminded attendees and Moayed and Janacek that he had introduced a 2020 budget initiative earlier in the day at the townships budget planning session aimed at expanding existing mental health and crisis intervention training for the townships firefighters and EMTs. Bunch, along with Director Bruce Rieser, advocated waiting to decide how to move forward so the best possible outcome was achieved. However McMullan continued to push the idea of taking action immediately.

I think we should start the process of hiring an outreach person tonight, McMullan added. I think we should take that step tonight: hire someone to help this board.

After McMullans statements, Bunch told township staff to add discussions and explorations of adding a full-time suicide prevention resource officer to the townships list of budget initiative for 2020 in addition to the additional training for firefighters and EMTs.

Rieser said while he understands McMullans point on the issue, he believed that working on the issue with other entities over a period of time will result in a better program as opposed to an immediate decision after one night of discussion.

What we need to do is sit down and start partnering with groups. Im not sure hiring one person at the township is the most effective (approach), Rieser said. You are going to need a team, a pretty good-sized one, to make a difference. We would be better served to spend the money as wisely as possible to get the broadest reach (for suicide prevention) possible.

Following the debate on the issue, the board made an informal decision  which means it was not voted on as usual  to explore creating a position. The board also tabbed Director John Anthony Brown to be a liasion for the board with area groups working to stop suicides.
BALTIMORE  Heroin has ravaged this city since the early 1960s, fueling desperation and crime that remain endemic in many neighborhoods. But lately, despite heroins long, deep history here, users say it has become nearly impossible to find.

Heroins presence is fading up and down the Eastern Seaboard, from New England mill towns to rural Appalachia, and in parts of the Midwest that were overwhelmed by it a few years back. It remains prevalent in many Western states, but even New York City, the nations biggest distribution hub for the drug, has seen less of it this year.

The diminishing supply should be a victory for public health and law enforcement alike. Instead, in cities like Baltimore, longtime users who managed to survive decades injecting heroin are now at far higher risk of dying from an overdose. That is because synthetic fentanyl, a deadlier drug that is much cheaper to produce and distribute than heroin, has all but replaced it.

The dramatic rise of fentanyl, which can be 50 times stronger than heroin, has been well documented. But its effect on many older, urban users of heroin, who had been able to manage their addiction for years, has been less noticed. The shift from heroin to fentanyl in cities has contributed to surging overdose deaths among older people and African-Americans and deeply unnerved many like William Glen Miller Sr., who first tried heroin as a 13-year-old in West Baltimore.

It doesnt take a second for it to hit you, said Miller, 64, describing the unfamiliar punch of fentanyl. All I remember is pushing in the needle, and three hours later I am getting up off the ground.

MORNING REPORT | NEWSLETTER Get all the news you need to start your day in Houston delivered to your inbox. See More Collapse

He was speaking from a nursing home bed in northern Baltimore, where he spent several recent months recovering from pneumonia and contemplating addiction treatment in another state. Heroin had a lulling effect, he and others said, but fentanyl is killing many of their peers. The claim is backed by federal data showing that the rate of overdose deaths involving fentanyl increased by nearly 54% in 2017 for people 55-64  more than for any other age group.

Clients weve known for years are dying, said Derrick Hunt, director of the Baltimore City Needle Exchange Program, which has two vans that serve 17 locations around the city. Everywhere I go, this person passed, that person passed.

LEXEY SWALL/NYT

The reason fentanyl is everywhere is economic: Dealers and traffickers can make far more money from it than from heroin. Instead of waiting months for poppy fields to grow in Mexico and farmers to harvest the brownish-black gum, which then gets refined into powder and shipped north, traffickers here and in Mexico can order fentanyl from China, or precursor chemicals to make it in clandestine labs, generating far more doses with far less labor.

This is not an elegy for heroin, a dangerous drug in its own right that spread from cities into suburbs and rural areas about a decade ago, when addictive prescription painkillers became harder to get. But for longtime urban users like Miller, many of them African-American, its disappearance is taking a particular toll. From 2016 to 2017, the fatal overdose rate from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids increased by 61% among black Americans, compared with a 45% increase for whites.

The number of overdose deaths involving heroin has been dropping, even as overdose deaths overall have kept climbing because of fentanyl. In Maryland, deaths involving heroin fell by 38% from 2016 through 2018, according to preliminary data. In Massachusetts, heroin or likely heroin was present in 71% of opioid-related deaths in 2014; in the third quarter of 2018, it was present in only 34%.

And in New Hampshire, which did not have a robust heroin market until the painkiller-fueled crisis of the past decade, the drug has almost completely vanished. Only four of the 397 opioid deaths in New Hampshire in 2018 involved heroin, according to preliminary data; 363 involved fentanyl.

In this situation, heroin looks protective compared to the fentanyl, said Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, a family physician and researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who has studied both drugs.

Nationally, there were 7% fewer deaths involving heroin in the year ending in September than there were in the previous year, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The smaller overall decline may be a reflection of heroins continued strong presence in Western states like California and Arizona.

Data on drug seizures similarly suggest a diminishing of heroin. Here in Baltimore, Todd Edwards, spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administrations local district office, said law enforcement was now seizing more fentanyl than heroin. And in a Philadelphia neighborhood called Kensington, which has been hit particularly hard by opioid addiction, users report that they cant find heroin anymore, said Patrick Trainor, a spokesman for the DEA there. Its pretty much been replaced.

LEXEY SWALL/NYT

On a street corner in East Baltimore one recent morning, a van distributed clean needles to about 25 clients, most of them older black men. Some leaned on canes or walkers; all said they missed heroin and its relative predictability. On the front of the van was a sticker showing a needle aimed at an arm and the words GO SLOW, a warning to inject only a little fentanyl at a time.

Each person took a paper bag full of needles and Narcan, the overdose reversal drug. The vans now also offer test strips, which people can use to check their drugs, including cocaine, for fentanyl. But some clients dont see the point.

Most people, theyre not using no test strips, said Miller, who helped start a local group that hands out fentanyl strips and naloxone. Because fentanyl is in daggone everything now.

Fentanyl may still be mixed with heroin or other drugs, but increasingly, it arrives pure  either as powder or pressed into counterfeit pills resembling Percocet or Xanax. It can be diluted with more filler than heroin can, because it takes far less fentanyl to have a powerful effect.

At the dealer level right now, fentanyl is like a magic dust  its a moneymaker, said Jon DeLena, associate special agent in charge of the DEAs New England field division.

We were hearing people start to say, I want the old stuff again, I want the brown, meaning heroin, he continued. But traffickers just started mixing fentanyl with something that had a brown tinge to it. Theyre never, ever, ever going to go back to selling heroin around here again.

Mexican poppy cultivation reached a high in 2017, according to the DEA. But several news outlets have reported that the price of opium paste  the part of the poppy that gets turned into heroin  has dropped sharply over the past year, a sign that criminal organizations are increasingly focused on fentanyl.

LEXEY SWALL/NYT

Ray Donovan, who leads the DEAs New York office, said he believed Chinas recent decision to ban all variants of fentanyl as a class could ultimately force traffickers to refocus on heroin. But because China has not banned many of the precursor chemicals needed to make fentanyl, others believe the effect could be minimal.

Tino Fuentes, a former heroin user who teaches people how to test their drugs for fentanyl, said only half the samples he tests in New York these days are positive for heroin  much less than even a year ago.

I have people telling me all the time, If you find something thats heroin, let me know, Fuentes said.

Still, law enforcement officials are continuing to seize heroin coming across the border. From January through April, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized 1,585 pounds of heroin at official ports of entry, along with 921 pounds of fentanyl.

The notion that heroin is disappearing altogether is false, said Katherine Pfaff, a spokeswoman for the DEA, adding that the drop in heroin-related deaths could be a result of Narcan saving more heroin users. Still, she said, there is definitely more demand now for fentanyl than heroin in some regions, including New England.

That could be because most users in those regions took up heroin only after crackdowns on prescribing opioids took hold, and were just as happy with fentanyl, DeLena said.

Not so for Miller and many other longtime heroin users.

Id rather have the straight heroin from back in the day, said Duane Coleman, 67, who was among those seeking needles from the health department van. The fentanyl comes on you too strong. Thank God Im still holding on.

Even if heroin were to proliferate again, Miller said, the high it provided would not suffice for most users because the fentanyl they have gotten used to is so much more potent. Miller said he had had to use fentanyl 10 times a day to avoid withdrawal, up from two or three times a day for heroin.

At the Baltimore needle exchange, Wayne Hall, 65, accepted a handful of strips to test his drugs for fentanyl, along with his batch of clean needles. He had gone to the emergency room recently, he said, after injecting what he assumes was fentanyl. He had woken up trembling, with his heart racing.

When I was doing heroin I never shook like that, he said, leaning on a cane, his paper bag of supplies tucked under his arm. I do miss it.

LEXEY SWALL/NYT

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
You are here: China

A severe drought has affected more than 300,000 people in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

As of Thursday, 309,000 people had difficulties accessing drinking water, while 93,000 domestic animals were also facing a water shortage.

Government authorities have sent experts to help with drought-relief efforts, with staff sending water to people in dire need.

Bad meteorological conditions have brought much less precipitation in Yunnan. As of Tuesday, 273,280 hectares of crops had been affected, with 91,160 hectares suffering damage.

Drought has been reported in 110 monitored sites in Yunnan, meteorological authorities said. The northwest, middle and south of Yunnan are in severe drought.

Authorities are ready to begin artificial rain, with 3,642 staff for man-made precipitation on standby.

The drought is likely to continue, as the next few days will remain hot and dry, according to the provincial meteorological administration.
When Maduforo Eze arrived at Prairie View A&M University in 2014, there were no complaints about finding a place to live, he said. But as the university began to grow, so did students quests for on-campus housing.

Its the best (option) we have in a 10-mile radius around the campus, Eze said of living on campus.

Eze, who graduated May 11, described his experience living on-campus all five years as pretty fair, but other students the former student body president represented werent so lucky.

Housing has been an issue that has plagued the historically black university on and off for years, according to Prairie View Mayor David Allen, and increased enrollment has meant a shortage of places for students to live.

Some students have experienced short periods of homelessness, opting to couch surf with other students, while yet others have resorted to off-campus housing  some of which was unreliable or unfinished. So, when the university announced last month that it was breaking ground on its newest on-campus housing community, Eze called it a breath of fresh air.

Prairie View A&M has partnered with American Campus Communities, a student housing development and management company, to create a $37.5 million student housing complex that will have 540 student beds.

The 230,000 square-foot housing complex, slated to open in fall 2020, will feature a central community center with social lounges, a fitness center, multiple study rooms, and outdoor courtyards with seating, a movie lawn, grilling stations, a hammock cabana, and gaming stations, according to a university release.

RELATED: As enrollment grows, Prairie View A&M struggles with housing issues

Designed by STG Design, an architectural, interior design and planning firm in Houston, Austin and Nashville, Tenn., the living-learning community will be one step closer to meeting the universitys goal of having 5,000 beds on campus, according to the Texas A&M University System, which encompasses Prairie View.

Spikes in enrollment have created an increasing demand for housing.

The college reached its highest enrollment  9,516 students  in fall 2018, an increase of more than 1,200 students, or 15 percent, from fall 2015. A total of 4,366 beds, roughly 46 percent of fall enrollment, are currently available on-campus for students, university spokeswoman Candace Johnson said in an email to the Houston Chronicle.

While growth in enrollment is a good problem to have, Prairie View A&M President Ruth J. Simmons said, it comes with challenges.

Many students have an expectation of living on campus, especially since the university is located in rural Waller County about 45 miles northwest of Houston.

Concerns about student housing came to a head in February, when students and parents protested the universitys proposed changes to its housing process, with many worried that current students would be booted off-campus, with no where to go. And last semester, some students were forced to stay at hotels when off-campus student housing was unfinished.

Yolanda Bevill, assistant to the university president, noted earlier this year that plans for the 540-bed student housing community were in the works.

I know weve been hearing that its coming, Eza said, but actually seeing the groundbreaking ceremony  held in late April  and knowing of the planning that the university has put into the project has been reassuring.

They didnt just throw something up, Eze said. They wanted to be able to create more than just a living environment, with a social aspect and an academic aspect.

Though Eze offered several details that he said he learned through the university, the university did not confirm.

The housing leadership team is working through the details and look forward to the students experiencing the new community in the Fall of 2020, Johnson, the university spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement.

Mayor Allen said it was a wonderful thing that the university is building for growth and the city is preparing, too.

The city of Prairie View has plans to have more than 4,000 beds within the area in the next 18 months, the mayor said, and a bulk of it being student housing.

Allen said the city is bracing for new housing startups, one which will feature more than 75 living quarters and several retail businesses, and two properties slated for Richards Road by Highway 290.

RELATED: Former student sues Prairie View A&M for lack of response to alleged sexual assault

John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, said in a statement that investing in Prairie View A&M has been a priority for the system.

And Simmons emphasized that its essential the university ensures its growing student population has access to a safe and secure living environment while matriculating through the university.

Were excited that this new project will enable us to meet the demand for on-campus housing, Simmons said.

The project will be funded through a tax-exempt bank loan through the nonprofit Collegiate Housing Foundation, according to Jay Bates, vice president of finance and transaction at Austin-based American Campus Communities. The project-based debt will be paid back through revenue  rental rates and occupancy  over the next 30 years.

brittany.britto@chron.com

twitter.com/brittanybritto
The Baytown police officer who fatally shot a woman during a confrontation at her apartment complex has completed dozens of hours of training in crisis intervention and use of force, state records show.

Juan Delacruz, 37, shot 44-year-old Pamela Turner while attempting to arrest her on open warrants, Baytown Police Department officials said.

Delacruz had taken a 16-hour intermediate course on the use of force in 2013, as well as a 16-hour crisis intervention training course that same year. Hes taken hundreds of hours of training in other areas, including a four-hour course on Tasers, according to records obtained by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

Turner died on Monday night during a struggle with the officer at 1601 Garth. Delacruz first shocked the woman with a Taser, but she grabbed the weapon and allegedly used it against him, spokesman Lt. Steve Dorris said.

He fired five shots, all of which were heard on a bystanders video capturing the encounter. The video has since gone viral, grabbing the attention of prominent civil rights attorneys who are now representing Turners family.

The slain womans sisters and children met with District Attorney Kim Ogg on Friday morning to discuss the case, they said. Theyre pushing for a criminal indictment against Delacruz.

A preliminary autopsy report shows Turners death classified as a homicide, according to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.

Turner, who is black, had paranoid schizophrenia, according to her family. They contend that Delacruz and the Baytown Police Department were aware of her mental illness, a claim that the department said is under investigation.

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The Texas Rangers are now investigating the shooting, separate from the police departments internal affairs division. The District Attorneys Office confirmed it is also conducting a parallel investigation before bringing evidence to a grand jury.

Delacruz has been an officer with the Baytown Police Department since June 2008. Hes on paid administrative leave, Dorris said.

Prior to working in Baytown, he was a jailer at the Harris County Sheriffs Office for two years and seven months.

Public records list the officer, who is Hispanic, as living at the same apartment complex as Turner. He was on his regular patrol near the complex the night of the shooting, Dorris said.

samantha.ketterer@chron.com

Twitter.com/sam_kett
A two-week trial revisiting the anguish that flood victims experienced during Hurricane Harvey came to a close Friday in a lawsuit brought by property owners upstream of the Addicks and Barker reservoirs seeking compensation from the Army Corps of Engineers for using their land to store floodwater during the historic deluge.

The matter will be decided by a Washington, D.C.-based jurist from the specialized U.S. Court of Federal Claims who borrowed one of the stately upper-floor courtrooms used by district court judges in downtown Houston. An array of witnesses included home and real estate owners, a renter now living in a tiny trailer, an airport owner and a vast array of experts in hydrology, federal flood insurance and mapmaking. U.S. Judge Charles F. Lettow also donned Wellington boots on a soggy afternoon last week to accompany a small busload of lawyers to dams, spillways, businesses and homes  in various states of disrepair  that took on water after Harvey.

ALLEGE FAILURE TO WARN: Harvey victims tell judge no one told them they were living in a designated flood pool

The judge said he would review briefs from the lawyers and return to Houston on Sept. 13 to hear closing arguments in the case. Another large group of property owners, who were flooded downstream of the two dams, will be tried in a separate hearing later.

The consolidated upstream case in Houston involves 13 test properties inside federal reservoirs and upstream of the two World War II-era dams. These 13 locations will serve as stand-ins for more than 1,000 people who have sued the Corps under the Fifth Amendments takings clause. The residents and businesses claim that the government knowingly used their private property to detain water and that it therefore owes them just compensation for damage.

Testimony and evidence is now complete for the first phase of the trial. After hearing closings in September, the judge will determine if the Corps is liable for the flooding. If Lettow finds that it is, he will consider damages.

Multiple witnesses told the court over the trial that the dams and reservoirs were designed to prevent catastrophic flooding in Houston along Buffalo Bayou.

DAY IN COURT: Hurricane Harvey flooding victims get their day in federal court

The Barker dam detains storm water in George Bush Park, and Addicks uses Bear Creek Pioneers Park to impound accumulated rainwater. Witnesses told the court that Harveys protracted rainfall forced the flood pools to expand beyond the farthest reaches of these two parks into neighborhoods that were part of the designated flood pool.

At the time the dams were built, the vast watershed behind the parks was 98 percent undeveloped, according to a government witness, much of it prairie land and rice farms. By 2014, 59 percent of the nongovernmental land behind Addicks and 58 percent behind Barker remained undeveloped.

A team of about 10 lawyers for the plaintiffs and eight from the Justice Department called about 30 witnesses over 10 days and entered thousands of pages of documents, maps, photos and videos into evidence.

The lawyers for the Harvey victims made the case, through witness testimony, that the Corps followed its standard operating procedures during Harvey. The flooding upstream could have been averted, they contend, if the Corps had secured funding to buy all the land the Addicks and Barker reservoirs would need occupy with floodwaters behind the dams embankments.

According to court documents, in 1995 the Corps did a cost-benefit analysis and found that it was too expensive to buy the upstream land it would need to use if there was massive flooding. In 2003, witnesses said, the Corps took photographs and began collecting the names, addresses and first floor elevations of the families living behind Addicks and Barker, but it classified its findings as sensitive information.

RAINY DAY FIELD TRIP: Hurricane Harvey victims slog through mud with out-of-town judge

Property and business owners said they were not informed that they were buying land inside a reservoir.

A witness for the Corps told the judge that he had held dozens of meetings, send out postcards in multiple languages, and posted legal notices in newspapers advising people to attend informational meetings and to buy flood insurance if they lived behind the dams.

The government also called witnesses who testified about plats that explained that the land was subject to controlled flooding. That information was available for homeowners and business owners to discover, whether or not they knew it, the government said.

Its position is that the Corps exercised government power to prevent loss of life and worse damage to private property, including downstream properties in the City of Houston. The plaintiffs do not have a right to be free from flooding during a hurricane, Justice Department lawyers have said in court documents. The Harvey victims properties were naturally prone to flooding because of their proximity to the reservoirs.

In court documents, the lawyers wrote that Houston-area residents undeniably faced hardship during and after the extreme storm.

Many continue to struggle, and the United States has expended significant resources to support Houstons recovery, the lawyers wrote. It is impossible not to feel sympathy for plaintiffs losses. But the law does not support using the Fifth Amendment to recompense plaintiffs for their losses.

But the lawyers for the Harvey victims said they were optimistic that the evidence showed they had a strong case.

Armistead Easterby, one of the lead lawyers for the upstream clients, said he hoped the case would be a catalyst for long-overdue changes to the Addicks and Barker Project.

The city needs to be protected, but its wrong to put the burden resulting from intended project operations on the shoulders of the upstream families and businesses, Easterby said. Im optimistic about the outcome of this trial and believe that, under the law that applies to this case, plaintiffs have a categorical right to receive just compensation under the Fifth Amendment.

gabrielle.banks@chron.com
Seven hours after two vessels collided in the Houston Ship Channel this month, causing a massive spill of a gasoline blend with high concentrations of benzene, a state contractor detected levels of the cancer-causing chemical that exceeded the states threshold for short-term exposure.

In fact, some Seabrook residents could have been exposed to levels of benzene 14 times higher than the point at which state officials consider it a cause for worry.

Yet, no one was notified for hours.

The lapse in communication is a symptom of a system that fails to inform communities when they are potentially exposed to dangerous chemicals, critics say. Some believe the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality could be doing more.

Im questioning what, if any, measure the agency is taking to ensure that public health is being considered as they are recording these measurements, said Elena Craft, an air quality expert with the Environmental Defense Fund. I cant emphasize how extraordinarily high they are.

But state environmental officials said they followed procedure and notified a unified command that was responding to the incident. For various reasons, a social media alert did not go out until the following day.

The May 10 collision occurred when a 755-foot tanker carrying liquefied natural gas struck a tug boat pushing two barges. One barge capsized and the other was damaged, leaking more than 11,000 barrels of a gasoline blend product called reformate, a highly flammable chemical thats mixed with gasoline.

At 10:30 p.m., a contractor hired by TCEQ detected 2,400 to 2,600 parts per billion of benzene at the intersection of Todville Road and Brummer Hop in Seabrook . According to the state agency, short-term exposure  up to one hour  of benzene concentrations above 180 parts per billion can be a cause for health concern.

Less than an hour after the initial reading, at 11:20 p.m. on May 10, no benzene or other volatile organic compounds were detected, according to the state agencys online update.

TCEQ was assisting with air monitoring and, based on its protocol, provided the readings to the unified command so agencies with lead jurisdiction could make decisions about issuing advisories to the public, as warranted. said Andrew Keese, a spokesman for the state agency.

Craig Kartye, a member of the unified command and the Texas General Land Office, said they learned about the high readings two hours after they were taken. Neither the commands air-monitoring contractor nor Harris County Pollution Control, which also was testing air quality, detected benzene readings at those levels. We had so many teams in so many areas and none of the other teams were able to see that reading again, he said.

Keese said the unified command was not notified sooner because it had not yet established a communication protocol through an on-scene coordinator when the high level of benzene was detected and that as soon as the communication channel was identified, the readings were provided.

TCEQ posted an alert on social media at 1:17 p.m. May 11, nearly 15 hours after recording the elevated reading.

High levels of benzene and other volatile organic compounds were monitored in the area soon after a collision involving barges in the Houston Ship Channel on May 10, the alert stated. Monitored levels in the area since then are lower, but still elevated. While not a long-term health concern, short-term exposures to these elevated levels can cause headache, nausea, and eye irritation. People who smell the gasoline-like odors may want to avoid the area out of an abundance of caution if they experience these transient effects.

The agency also recorded elevated benzene readings of 200 parts per billion in Kemah and 400 parts per billion in Bacliff, not nearly as high as the one in Seabrook.

Gayle Cook, Seabrook city manager, said local officials were in contact with the unified command, but they werent getting real-time monitoring data and didnt receive the TCEQ readings. She declined further comment.

Benzene is made mostly from petroleum and is used to produce Styrofoam, synthetic fibers, rubbers and pesticides, among other substances. Vehicle exhaust accounts for the largest source of benzene in the general environment.

Risks of benzene exposure can vary depending on the concentration and time of exposure. While short-term health effects include dizziness and headaches, continuing exposure can affect the bone marrow and lead to a condition known as aplastic anemia.

Although it is not known how long the high reading lasted, that level of exposure for up to one hour is not acceptable, said Dr. Arch Carson, associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.

It would be considered an overt exposure and could result in health effects probably not apparent immediately, but could add significantly to things like the risk of leukemia, he said. Although the risk was very small in this case, clearly it was not zero.

In an environment where I dont know whats coming behind that reading and its a community setting, I would recommend shelter in place and suggest it be broadcast across the emergency notification network, he added. Until you know what the actual situation is, that is best practice in terms of good precaution.

Two months earlier, a shelter-in-place order was issued as a precaution during the Intercontinental Terminals Co. facility fire in Deer Park after a single benzene reading lower that what was detected in Seabrook, she said. On March 21, four days after tanks in the chemical holding plant caught fire, TCEQ posted that one-hour levels of benzene in Deer Park were measured at a maximum of 190.68 parts per billion at 4 a.m., dropping to 48.03 parts per billion at 5 a.m.

If its truly an instantaneous reading, why not take another sample five minutes later? Craft asked.

Keese wrote in an email that the elevated readings were taken in the overnight hours, and TCEQ contractors remained in the area for about 20 minutes and returned to the location within the hour to determine if the elevated readings persisted. There were no detections of monitored contaminants or odors.

The area is still recovering from the ITC fire, Craft said, which a month later still showed high levels of benzene nearby.

We are in a situation where we have repeated exceedances with contaminants that are known to have long-term health consequences, she said. Whether you are concerned for human health or the ecosystem health, we are part of one food chain.

perla.trevizo@chron.com
When Santa Fe High School students returned to class in August, three months after losing eight classmates and two teachers to a mass shooting, they walked into a building that more closely resembled a fortress than a place of learning.

Metal detectors greeted them at the schools entrance. Full-time police officers patrolled the halls. Additional fencing lined the schools perimeter. Dozens of video cameras tracked student movements.

In the year since a student opened fire at Santa Fe High School, killing 10 people and wounding 13, the school administration believes these upgrades have made the school safer than it was on May 18, 2018. But some concern lingers that the improvements could intimidate students who are still grieving.

A lot of that hardening of the school - metal detectors, door alarms, added security, and things like that - make it sometimes feel like its not a school, said principal Rachel Blundell. That became our task. Our task at our school was to meet with staff, meet with kids, and find out how we can actually make it still feel like a warm, friendly environment.

School administration and Sante Fe officials hope to continue that healing process with two days of events dedicated to service and healing tbat began Friday with a day of community service opportunities for Santa Fe High students and a tree dedication ceremony. Resiliency Day events planned for Saturday include include a candlelight vigil for the shooting victims.

The effort to regain a semblance of normalcy began immediately after the tragedy with what the administration described as a hard look in the mirror. With the absence of a formal government-driven accounting of the shooting  in contrast to the details released to the public in the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting three months earlier at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.  Santa Fe administrators were largely left to their own devices in making the school safer.

Read more: A year after the Santa Fe shooting, families grapple with trauma and grief

For Dr. Leigh Wall, the superintendent of Santa Fe Indepdendent School District, that meant taking a holistic approach to improving school safety that goes beyond simple security enhancements such as a new fire and panic alarm system and monitoring of student social media accounts.

With additional state funding, Wall hired four counselors specializing in trauma and grief. The district also added four certified campus behavior support employees, a behavior specialist, and three licensed school psychologists.

The school district also conducted formal self-evaluations. The state requires school districts to conduct safety audits every three years, but Wall said Santa Fe added internal intruder drills and facility assessments. Emergency training has also been enhanced for substitute teachers  two substitutes were killed in the shooting  although the district says substitutes were adequately trained prior to May 18.

Santa Fe ISD has partnered with the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University to conduct an external audit of all of Santa Fes security policies and facilities. The audit is complete, but Wall did not say whether it would be made public.

District administrators, however, have said little about what might have gone wrong on the day of the shooting, deferring to the ongoing state and federal investigations. They claim ignorance of any detailed accounting of what happened when 17-year old Dimitrios Pagourtzis entered the building armed with a shotgun, pistol, and explosive devices.

Wall said the FBI seized surveillance videos from the hallways near the high schools art classrooms where most of the shooting took place, as well as nearly all the physical evidence.

Walter Braun, the chief of police for Santa Fe ISD, insists his officers were well trained and prepared for what happened that day, including Officers John Barnes and Gary Forward, the first responders when the shooting began. Barnes was wounded after exchanging gunfire with the shooter.

As far as from the police response, I dont see any internal issues that would warrant changing our procedures or our policies or anything, Braun said.

COMMUNITY RESPONDS: First anniversary marked with "service and healing" events

Braun also defended the 30 minutes it took to detain Pagourtzis. Braun said his officers adhered to the best practice to isolate, distract and neutralize any potential threat, noting that neutralize does not necessarily mean kill. Pagourtzis was arrested near the art classrooms where the shooting happened and later charged with capital murder.

It could have been catastrophic had he left that room and got to other points in that building, Braun said. He was isolated, he was distracted, his intentions were focused not on the innocent victims, but now on police.

Without a formal government commission looking into theshooting, the school district has faced questions as to whether it has skirted accountability. No one from Santa Fe ISD, nor any law enforcement officers, have lost their jobs in the wake of the shooting. After the shooting in Parkland, the county sheriff was suspended, two campus monitors at Stoneman Douglas High School were fired, and four other school employees were reassigned for their lackluster response.

Blundell rejects the notion that heads needed to roll to show the public that the school district was taking the shooting seriously. Her daughter attends Santa Fe High School and was in the building when the shooting happened.

Theres no need for an accountability system; were our own accountability system because we love this community, we love the kids who go here and our children go here, Blundell said.

In the eyes of some of the family members of the shooting victims, the school district still has not done enough.

Rosie Y. Stone, whose 17-year-old son, Chris, was killed, said she is pleased the district has made an effort to make the high school safer, but she wishes it had not have taken so much prodding from families of victims.

It was fighting with the district to even acknowledge that we needed some safety features implemented, Stone said. To get the things that they have done? Its been hell.

Flo Rice, a former substitute teacher at Santa Fe High School who was shot through the legs on May 18, disputes the school districts assertion that substitute teachers were well trained in emergency procedures before the shooting. Rice said her training before that day consisted of a folder containing a map of the school and two numbers to call in the event of an emergency.

The hard feelings have carried over to the anniversary events. Rice said she would attend the tree dedication ceremony as a thank you to the students, but planned to skip the Resiliency Day. Rhonda Hart, whose daughter, Kimberly Vaughan, was killed, tweeted that she planned to leave the state before the anniversary.

Steve Perkins, whose wife, Ann, was a substitute teacher killed in the shooting, said he planned to skip the events Friday and Saturday and spend time with family.

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This is the first Ive heard from any of (the school district) wanting to do anything for us, Perkins said. Essentially theyre 11 months and about three weeks late.

Wall, the superintendent, does not appear to take the criticism personally, understanding that grief is an ongoing, sometimes lifelong, process. She says she has an open door policy with all of the family members of shooting victims and survivors.

What I will continue to say is the students are still leading the way in terms of resiliency and recovery and our focus will continue to be on continuing to improve and to do everything we can to help our students and our staff and our community heal and recover, and hopefully lead the way for others to do that, Wall said.

nick.powell@chron.com
Legislation to address some of the biggest lessons learned after Hurricane Harvey are tangled up in the Texas Legislature in the waning days of the regular session as tensions flare between House and Senate members over the slowing pace.

The fate of bills dealing with storm debris removal, reappraising damaged homes, better disclosure of homes sold in flood pools and helping local governments draw down federal disaster relief funding are all incomplete as lawmakers tick down the final nine days of the Legislature.

Its frustrating, State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said.

Creighton said a lot of the delays are because of the complexity of the process or even personalities of legislators and not necessarily because of the merits of the policy.

Still, he said hes holding out hope that the power and suffering from Harvey ultimately will get many of the key proposals to the finish line. He said this time of the session is generally like this, with lots of negotiating happening behind the scenes that people cant see. He said even something like Hurricane Harvey isnt immune to the politics in Austin in the closing weeks of the Legislature.

Were hoping for the best and I think ultimately well get there, he said.

The frustration goes well beyond just bills related to Hurricane Harvey. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Friday at one point addressed the Texas Senate by lamenting the pace of bills being debated in the Texas House. He noted that the Senate has passed more than 100 more House bills than the House has passed Senate bills and called on the House to speed things up or the Senate would slow down too. He made clear later he wasnt criticizing House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, but the bodys members.

The Texas Legislature meets once every two years. The regular session ends May 27.

Summary Of Harvey bills

Flood Pool Warnings: It was only during Hurricane Harvey that thousands of Texans learned they were living in flood pools near reservoirs. Those are areas that are at risk of inundation during storms. While home buyers have to be notified if a property is in a flood plain, there is no current law that requires homeowners must be made aware they are in a flood pool. Senate Bill 339 would require homesellers to disclose when a home is in a flood pool area. The bill cleared the Senate three weeks ago but still has not been voted on in the full House.

Disaster Reappraisals: More than 200,000 homes were damaged in Texas when Harvey blasted ashore in 2017, but even though local governments are allowed to reassess damaged homes for the damage after a storm, few did. In Harris County, which has more than 500 taxing units, just 10 agreed to do reassessments to give people with damaged property a revised tax bill that reflected the damage. Under Senate Bill 1772, after future storms, every property owner with damaged property could apply for a reappraisal and would get one without local taxing jurisdictions being able to deny it. The bill passed the Senate in mid-April. While it passed through a required House committee two weeks ago, it has yet to be put on the House floor for a vote.

Improved Government Coordination: With 61 counties hit by Harvey, local government officials were largely left on their own to coordinate everything from debris removal to their initial interactions with the federal government. Under Senate Bill 6, the state would create standard guidelines and training programs to help local governments contract for debris removal, how to improve their chances at federal disaster funding and deal with temporary housing needs. The bill passed the Senate in late March. On Wednesday, a House committee reviewed the bill and replaced portions of the legislation. It now awaits a vote of the House.

Federal Matching Fund Help: After Harvey, dozens of local governments struggled to pull down federal matching funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency because they didnt have the money to cover a local match. For instance, on debris removal, the federal government covered 90 percent of the cost but required locals to come up with 10 percent  something poorer communities did not have. Under Senate Bill 7, the state would use money from the states Economic Stabilization Fund to help local governments pay for their local matches. Locals would still be required to pay a portion, but the state in many cases would cover most of the local match requirements to assure they can pull down federal funding to help recover. The bill passed in late March in the Senate. The House passed the bill earlier this week but added amendments. Now the Senate needs to decide whether to accept the House changes or send the bill into a conference committee to negotiate on a revised bill.

Statewide Flood Plan: Lawmakers want to create a statewide program to deal with flooding instead of a piecemeal approach that happens now. A key part of Senate Bill 8 is creating a plan to repair and maintain hundreds of dams around the state. The legislation passed the Senate in late March. The House had the heavily amended bill ready to be voted on Friday but postponed the bill to a potential vote now on Monday.

Dam Releases: During Hurricane Harvey, Lake Conroe dam began releasing even more water into the West Fork of the San Jacinto River, sending water rushing downstream without any notice to communities that would be affected. Under House Bill 26, state-regulated dams would have to have an emergency release plan that includes notification to emergency operations personnel downstream so the public could be warned. The bill cleared the Texas House back in mid-April. The Texas Senate passed the bill on Friday.
Republicans in the Texas House passed a bill barring local governments from funding or partnering with abortion providers and affiliates late Friday, fending off Democrats efforts to block or temper the legislation.

Senate Bill 22, sponsored by Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, would ban governmental entities from engaging in transactions  such as a sale, purchase, lease or donation  with organizations that provide abortions, such as Planned Parenthood, or their affiliates. It also prohibits advocacy or lobbying on their behalf.

The bill passed 81-65 Friday with only State Rep. Sarah Davis, R-Houston, breaking with her party to vote in opposition. It would not apply to basic public services, such as fire and police protection, or certain health institutions, including licensed hospitals.

It will now likely go back to the Senate for a final vote before being forwarded to Gov. Greg Abbott to be signed into law.

Democrats, many of whom sported pink scarves, stalled Fridays vote for nearly eight hours with amendments and objections. They say the bill would reduce womens access to health care, such as sexually transmitted disease and cancer screenings.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

State Rep. Candy Noble, R-Allen, a co-sponsor of the bill, said she hopes to protect taxpayers from subsidizing the abortion industry.

Our limited resources should be focused on education, on transportation, on public safety and on true health care, Noble said. As a mother and grandmother of your fellow Texans, I want to invest in life, not the ending of innocent lives.

Dyana Limon-Mercado, interim executive director of Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, denounced the vote as being led by extremist members who are determined to block access to care at Planned Parenthood  all to score political points.

In the state with the highest uninsured rate in the country, where access to womens health care has already been decimated by politicians, the focus should be on making every resource available so that all Texans have access to the health care they need, Limon-Mercado said. Voters will remember these political attacks when they head to the polls in 2020.

As soon as it became clear that Democrats would continue to pile on dozens of amendments, an indignant Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick declared that the Senate would not pass any bills until the House did. The Senate recessed until Sunday afternoon a few hours later.

For subscribers: Texas passing laws, but not leading abortion fight this time

It marked a rare moment of tension during a relatively calm session, which Republican leaders declared at the outset would focus on bread-and-butter issues, in contrast to the contentious debates of 2017 over transgender bathroom access and immigration.

The bill is one of several anti-abortion measures lawmakers are poised to send to the governor this year, including one that would ban aborting a fetus with a fetal abnormality in the third trimester. Another would require physicians to care for any baby that survives an abortion, although Texas has no report of such a case since at least 2013.

At several points during Democrats breathless efforts to offer amendments to the bill, the pink-shirted supporters in the gallery clapped and cheered, until House Speaker Dennis Bonnen warned that outbursts would lead to audience members being ejected.

During a particularly emotional part of the debate Friday, Rep. Gina Calanni, D-Katy, told the chamber that she had to postpone a regular pap smear when she didnt have health insurance. By the time she received coverage and made an appointment a year later, she said she found out she had cervical cancer.

Dont you think it would be a good thing that we had more access for women to address these kinds of issues and make sure they dont die of cervical cancer? Calanni said.

For subscribers: This researcher interviewed 600 women at Texas abortion clinics. Heres what she saw.

As Davis raised an amendment, she stressed that taxpayer dollars do not directly fund abortions and said the bill would hurt access to health care for women and sex education efforts that have been shown to reduce unplanned pregnancies.

This bill is about politics. It is not about good policy, and it is not about improving public health, Davis said. If your goal is to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, this is not the solution. It is quite the opposite.

Since Republicans removed Planned Parenthood from Texas health program in 2011, state records show the number of patients receiving care in state-funded programs declined from a high of 320,000 in 2010 to 220,000 in 2017, the most recent data available. About 1.8 million low-income Texans are thought to be eligible for services.

Those numbers began to rebound in 2014 as the state rolled out new programs, but as of 2017, the most recent year of complete data, Texas still served 100,000 fewer patients than it did in 2010.

Its 2019, and were still rebuilding a program that we decimated, Austin Democrat Rep. Donna Howard said. So here we go again, cutting off another funding stream for womens health.

Staff writer Andrea Zelinski contributed to this report.
Regarding Are Texas big cities headed for a dystopian future? (Outlook, May 12) Richard Parkers key and telling statistic for business leaders of Texas was buried in the middle of his Sunday op-ed about Texas probable dystopian future. No wonder Amazon wound up in Virginia. Virginia ranks sixth in overall education, according to a study last year. Texas? 39th.

The Houston Independent School District board of trustees just voted to cancel the contract for Teach For America teachers. Texas is dead last in voter turn-out, and the Legislature, not to mention the Secretary of State, is working to frighten off new voters.

Our future is in our hands. Im thrilled Tom Luce, who oversaw much of state education reform in the 80s, is taking up the mantle of leadership for our future.

Sally Lehr, Houston

Long live the taco

Regarding Not all tacos deserve a spot at Houstons table (Opinion, Friday): Thank you for courageously and truthfully standing up for the tacos of Texas. Im a fifth-generation Texan. Only a communist from up north (i.e., New York, Boston, Dallas, etc.) would suggest broccoli as an ingredient for a taco. For Gods sake, is kale next? These are the same kind of Johnny-come-lately people who are trying to relabel BBQ, the most sacred of Texas foods, as que  as though it is appropriate to create a trendy Hollywood-style nickname to one of our most revered foods.

Keep up the good work! Long live the taco!

Kent M. Adams, Houston

SAT challenge

Regarding SAT to add adversity score that rates students hardships (Chron.com, Friday): Just do away with the test completely, and use high school grades, state test, interviews with the student and the placement test the students take once they get to the college.

Sasha Marshall, posted via Facebook

Dumbing down the test

So now we are dumbing down a test that helps students get into college? Lets just get rid of the test altogether if we are going to do this, since its no longer about academics but making people happy and helping them get test scores they didnt earn. This is a lot of whats wrong with America today.

Heather Bolton, via Facebook

Always measure aptitude

I disagree with this idea. They should stick to measuring aptitude quantitatively, rewrite or reformat the test and questions to remove the benefits and shortfalls for various groups, and leave interpreting and handling such factors to the schools based on their admission and assistance policies.

Scott Lewis, posted via Facebook
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iciHaiti - Health : Launch of the cancer screening campaign





This Thursday, May 16th, the Haitian Institute of Oncology (IHDO), the Haitian Society of Oncology (SHONC), and the Lorquet Foundation for a New Haiti (FOLONHA), will launch their annual cancer screening campaign breast and cervix.



Note that the HDO and the SHONC, organize their annual screening campaign for breast and cervical cancer from May 20 to 26.



Free consultations and medication will be provided on this occasion.



Pap tests (pap smears) and mammograms will be done at a reduced price including screening for prostate cancer.



In addition, the HDO and the SHONC, will join forces with the Lorquet Foundation, to raise awareness of the ravages caused by cancer in Haitian women and that of Prostate in men.



IH/ iciHaiti


















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The Chinese government's decision to extend the May Day holiday from three to four days earlier this year triggered a consumption spree across China. The four-day break from May 1 to 4 not only brought good fortune to the tourism industry, which includes travel agencies, airlines, and railways, but also benefitted other businesses such as retail shops, restaurants, cinema theaters, and etc. Earlier this year, the government took this decision mainly to stimulate domestic consumption and to boost tourism across the nation.



According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the revenue generated from tourism during the holiday period hit 117.67 billion yuan (US$17.48 billion), up almost 16.1% from last year's revenue. Also, during this period, a total of 195 million domestic trips were made, which was 13.7% higher than last year's figure. According to China's major online travel booking agency Ctrip, Chinese travelers booked tours to more than 90 countries. During this period, the bookings for first-class flight tickets also surged by 30% compared to the previous year's bookings during the same period. A similar upsurge was also seen in railway bookings during the holiday. A total of 60.41 million trips were made during the four days. The number of trips on the first day was 44.3% higher than the previous year's figure, according to the China Railway Corporation.

Clearly, the large consumption figure generated during the holiday season indicates the immense potential of the Chinese economy. This raises an intriguing question: What are the forces that are facilitating such a massive level of consumption? In order to understand this better let's take a closer look. In the last 40 years of reform, the nation benefited immensely from the gradual shift of its economy from a strict state-led model to the current model, which promotes private businesses and facilitates market incentives.

Currently, nearly 70% of China's GDP is from private firms. This stands in stark contrast to the situation in 1978, when private firms contributed virtually nothing to the national GDP. As a result of enhanced economic opportunities, rapid urbanization, and continued reforms, the size of the Chinese middle class has expanded substantially from just 19% in 1980 to 58% in 2017. According to current estimates, the size of China's middle class is almost 400 million and is still continuing to grow at a rapid rate. A projection by McKinsey & Company, shows that almost 76% of China's urban population will enter into the middle-income group by 2022, thereby providing further momentum to the growth of domestic consumption.

In addition, the recent Chinese government's decision to cut taxes to improve domestic demand has also started paying dividends. The market research firm, eMarketer, in its report earlier this year, highlighted that in 2019, retail spending by Chinese is projected to increase by 7.5% to cross US$5.64 trillion. In the U.S., the same figure stands at US$5.5 trillion, which will make China the largest retail market in the world.

Moreover, the gradual shift of China's economic model from an investment-led to one that is based on domestic consumption as a result of the government's push, is also playing a key role in accelerating the level of consumption. Notably, a report by the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics showed that the local consumption level in China was already the main driver of growth in the Chinese economy, contributing almost 76% to the country's economic growth in 2018, which is almost 18% higher than in 2017.



Furthermore, other factors such as the pervasiveness of smartphones, fueled by the higher internet penetration rate, is propelling the expansion of China's e-commerce industry, making it the world's biggest e-commerce market. As of December 2018, nearly 74.6% of the country's urban population had access to the internet, while the nationwide figure stood at 59.6%. According to eMarketer, e-commerce sales this year are projected to grow by 30% to reach US$1.98 trillion. The firm further projected that by the end of this year, China will have 55.8% of all online retail sales globally, and this figure is expected to exceed 63% by 2022.

Although the numbers look promising, there are still some uncertainties hanging over global growth, which could impact China in the short-term. Last month, the International Monetary Fund reduced its world's economic growth expectations from its previously estimated rate of 3.5% to 3.3%. However, in spite of the existing issues, China's contribution to global growth can't be neglected. This is highlighted in a recent Bloomberg report, which found that China's contribution to global GDP growth would increase from 27.2 % in 2018 to 28.4% by 2023. This makes China an indispensable driver of global job creation and improved living standards. Therefore, looking at the underlying factors, it looks likely that China's consumption level will continue to grow in the coming years, and it will continue to have a strong footprint on the global economy.

Rachana Gupta is an active blogger, poet and freenlance content writer.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.





If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn.
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The United States reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico to remove tariffs it imposed on steel and aluminum imports from its two neighbors, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)'s office said on Friday.

The USTR said in a statement that Canada and Mexico also agreed to remove their retaliatory tariffs levied on American products.

The move will lift the 25 percent steel and 10 percent aluminum tariffs the Trump administration placed on Canada and Mexico a year ago in the name of "national security," removing a major barrier to the three countries' new trade pact.

The United States, the USTR said, will re-impose tariffs on "specific steel and aluminum products" based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 if "surges" in those products occur.

"Any retaliation by Canada and Mexico would then be limited to steel and aluminum products," the statement added.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in his speech to the National Association of Realtors on Friday that he is "pleased" to announce the agreement, adding that while the United States has a "great relationship" with Canada, the latter has been "charging us extremely high tariffs."

The president also said he hopes that Congress will pass the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) "quickly."

Signed by the three nations on Nov. 30 to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, the USMCA still awaits approval by the trio's respective legislatures before fully taking effect.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement on Friday that the decision is terrific news for Canadian steel and aluminum workers, their families, and many communities across the country.

According to a press release by the Canadian Prime Minister's Office, Trudeau and Trump discussed the new trade deal between the United States, Mexico and Canada and other issues during their phone call on Friday.

A joint statement from the U.S. and Canadian governments said the tariffs would be lifted within two days, while Mexico has yet to publish its version of the statement.

The United States imposed additional tariffs of 25 percent for steel and 10 percent for aluminum on imports from its trading partners worldwide, citing "national security" concerns.

The Trump administration's reluctance in exempting Canada and Mexico from the metal tariffs had frustrated the two countries during the USMCA negotiation, and was believed to be a major roadblock impeding the new deal's formal ratification.
Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.

Some stories just make you stare.

The innards of your mind waft between disbelief -- and even a little anger -- and a suspicion that something about this story may not be quite right.

At least that's how I felt when I read a disturbing report from ABC Action News.

It concerned Hertz customers who suddenly found themselves being accused of having stolen cars they thought they were legitimately renting.

Suddenly, they were being detained by police and even offered a few hours in jail.

One woman, Dina Johnson of Cleveland, Ohio described her painful experience as "the seven longest hours of my life."

She was stopped by patrol agents at the Canadian/U.S. border and arrested.

What transpired is that the car Hertz had rented to her was actually the property of another car rental company.

Yet she says she'd rented it from Hertz in good faith.

Another woman, Magalie Sterlin, says that she, too, was arrested and jailed after Hertz had allegedly reported her car stolen. Even though, she claims, she had legitimately rented it.

Her lawyer insists that the cause of such problems is a computer glitch at Hertz.

You might think any business making a mistake might check thoroughly before taking drastic action that could lead to its customers' arrest.

Naturally, I asked Hertz for its view on these allegations. A spokeswoman told me:

False reports of stolen vehicles are extremely rare, and we take them very seriously. When it has occurred, it has been the result of unique and extenuating circumstances. Our process for determining when a vehicle is reported stolen has multiple steps to ensure accuracy, and in the rare instance an error within our control has occurred we take responsibility.

This sounds heartily responsible.

Yet Sterlin's lawyer claims there are up to 30 cases of Hertz allegedly not following its processes, and customers being detained.

Indeed, there are cases where a customer claims they were given a new car after the original one had a flat tire. The new car, however, simply wasn't processed. The rental car company informs the police the car is stolen. And then the customer receives a nasty surprise.

Similar incidents have been reported when a customer upgraded their car.

Hertz told me that the two cases specifically profiled by ABC were very different. The company spokeswoman said that in Sterlin's case:

Hertz files a police report as a last resort and maintains it followed its overdue rental process including extensive communication with the renter over the course of several weeks.

Ah. Oh.

What about the claim of 30 cases of customers being arrested? Hertz insisted there is no computer glitch and that the number of active lawsuits is in the single digits.

Might there be more lawsuits yet to be activated?

And if there is no computer glitch, what could be the cause of innocent customers being grabbed by the police?

Hertz suggested it's usually either human error or a failure to follow Hertz's processes.

Yet how great must a failure to follow processes be to get a customer arrested?

Car rental companies have, over recent times, not enjoyed the best of brand images.

Hertz, for example, endured a difficult lawsuit when customers accused it of charging for toll payment devices, even on days when customers didn't go through any tolls.

Hertz ended up agreeing to a $3.65 million settlement.

Many might conclude that, in the case of customers being wrongly arrested, Hertz could perhaps make its processes a little more robust.
 Close Serhat performs at Eurovision 2019

Eurovision 2020 will be hosted by The Netherlands, 44 years after they last won the song contest.

Duncan Laurence, favourite to win since the beginning of this years competition with the song Arcade, triumphed in both the jury and public vote to win first place with 492 points.

It was a fraught competition where, across the evening, it seemed as though any one of six countries could win. But ultimately Sweden failed to sway the public vote, and the soulful ballad won over John Ludviks more upbeat but still emotional number.

Madonna, who performed towards the end of the ceremony, caused one of the biggest controversies of the night with an unscheduled political statement that caused uproar in Tel Aviv.

During the second part of her performance it was revealed that her backing dancers were wearing Israeli and Palestinian flags on the backs of their outfits. Organisers quickly issued a statement saying this was not a planned part of the event.

In the live broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final, two of Madonnas dancers briefly displayed the Israeli and Palestinian flags on the back of their outfits, the statement said.

This element of the performance was not part of the rehearsals which had been cleared with the EBU and the host broadcaster, KAN. The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political event and Madonna had been made aware of this.

The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Show all 38 1 /38 The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Malta's Michela performs the song "Chameleon" during the Grand Final of the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 on 18 May in Tel Aviv. JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Jonida Maliqi defends Albania's position with the song "Ktheju tokes". JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures The Czech Republic's Lake Malawi performs the song "Friend of a Friend". JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures The duo S!sters represent Germany with the tune "Sister". JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Russia's Sergey Lazarev sings the song "Scream" during the final. JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Leonora represents Denmark with the ballad "Love is Forever". JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures San Marino's Serhat electrifies the crowd with the song "Say Na Na Na". JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Tamara Todevska represents North Macedonia with the song "Proud". JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Sweden's John Lundvik performs the song "Too Late for Love". JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Slovenia's Zala Kralj and Gasper Santl sing the tune "Sebi" together during the Grand Final. JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Cyprus' Tamta performs the song "Replay". JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Duncan Laurence, representing Netherlands , performs the song "Arcade". Michael Campanella/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Katerine Duska sings "Better Love" for Greece. Michael Campanella/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Israel's Kobi Marimi performs the song "Home" during the final. JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Norwegian supergoup KEiiNO represent their country with "Spirit in the Sky". JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Norwegian supergoup KEiiNO represent their country with "Spirit in the Sky". JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures The UK's Michael Rice delivers an acclaimed performance of "Bigger than Us". JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Iceland's Hatari perform the song "Hatrid mun sigra" during the final. JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Estonia's Victor Crone performs "Storm" during the Grand Final of the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures ZENA represents Belarus with the song "Like It". JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Azerbaijan's Chingiz performs the song "Truth". JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Bilal Hassani represents France with the pop tune "Roi" during the Grand Final. JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Mahmood sings the song "Soldi" for Italy. JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Serbia's Nevena Bozovic performs the song "Kruna". JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Luca Hanni performs the song "She Got Me" for Switzerland. JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Australia's Kate Miller-Heidke performs the song "Zero Gravity" with a spectacular stage display. JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Spain's Miki wraps up the Grand Final with the tune "La Venda". JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Hosts Assi Azar, Lucy Ayoub, Bar Refaeli and Erez Tall walk on stage for the final. Michael Campanella/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Designer Jean-Paul Gaultier and supermodel Bar Refaeli chat during the final. Guy Prives/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Serhat, representing San Marino, and Israel's TV host Assi Azar are pictured together during the evening. Guy Prives/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Demonstrators protest the Eurovision on the sidelines of the song contest in Tel Aviv. Bel Trew The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Demonstrators protest the Eurovision on the sidelines of the song contest in Tel Aviv. Bel Trew The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures A UK supporter poses in the Eurovision village in Tel Aviv. Bel Trew The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures This installation is located in the Eurovision village. Bel Trew The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Crowds gather in the Eurovision village on the sidelines of the contest. Bel Trew The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Supporters of the Netherlands pose in the Eurovision village. Bel Trew The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Duncan Laurence, representing The Netherlands, wins the Grand Final of the Eurovision. Michael Campanella/Getty Images The Eurovision final 2019  in pictures Duncan Laurence performs "Arcade" after winning the song contest. Michael Campanella/Getty Images

Upon learning their score, Iceland also unveiled a scarf bearing the Palestinian flag, which draw both cheers and boos from the live audience.

Other favourites among fans included Norways trio KEiiNO and their song Spirit in the Sky, Czech Republics catchy number Friend of a Friend, and San Marinos loveable entry Serhat with Say Na Na Na.

The UK pinned its hopes on 22-year-old Michael Rice this year. The singer performed the song Bigger Than Us but ultimately came in last place due to low votes from both the professional juries and the public.

Top 10 UK Eurovision entries Show all 10 1 /10 Top 10 UK Eurovision entries Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 10. Better the Devil You Know - Sonia (Runner-up in Millstreet, 1993) 352.9pts Sonias Eurovision journey took her to Millstreet, Ireland - and with its population of just 1,500, it holds the record for being the smallest host city. The towns equestrian arena was transformed into a TV studio for the contest, meaning that many of the video postcards between performances have a very horsey vibe. Ms Evans chit-chats to a couple of foals in hers. This year the UK won 3 points from Bosnia and Herzegovina. When that particular Balkan jury managed to phone through on a connection that sounded so fragile and fragmented, they received the biggest applause of the night, having delivered their votes in the midst of the Bosnian War. Eurovision at its most important. PA Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 9. Making Your Mind Up - Bucks Fizz (Winner in Dublin, 1981) 355.4pts This tune is so synonymous with British Eurovision glory, what could possibly explain it ranking no higher than 9th? Bucks Fizz are ingrained into the national psyche by the yearly repetition of that one skirt-whipping clip. But wed imagine that Cheryl, Jay, Mike and Bobby would be the first to say their vocals werent quite as polished as weve come to expect from the legendary band. However, that takes absolutely nothing away from this absolute classic. And if our rundown is inspiring you to do a bit of a Eurovision deep dive, then check out the poptastic Christmas With The Fizz (who cares that its May?) and Jay Astons True Love on Spotify. PA Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 8. Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit - Gina G (8th in Oslo, 1996) 360.1pts Cher has an enjoyable habit of covering Eurovision artists: ABBA (she released an entire album last year), Bucks Fizz (Heart of Stone), Johnny Logan (One by One), and Gina G, literally, with a rejected, spangly dress. That iconic outfit Gina wore in Oslo was actually custom made by Paco Rabanne for Cher, who was living in Wapping at the time. For whatever reason, the Believe hitmaker cast aside the glittering garment one afternoon at the Warner Bros offices, where Ms G later stumbled across it hanging up just days before the contest. She stuffed it into her handbag and the rest is history. PA Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 7. Puppet on a String - Sandie Shaw (Winner in Vienna, 1967) 366.5pts Our first Eurovision victory. Sandie notoriously hated this song from the very first oompah to the final bang on the big bass drum I was instinctively repelled by its sexist drivel and cuckoo-clock tune she recalls in her autobiography. As part of a promo drive to reinvigorate Sandies public profile, Puppet On A String was written for the contest and not for its performer  thankfully, because the British public still loves it over half a century later, and it might not have ever existed. Getty Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 6. Where Are You? - Imaani (Runner-up in Birmingham, 1998) 366.7pts If theres one UK entry that deserves more recognition than it gets, its this. Imaani was the UKs fifteenth and most recent runner-up. She narrowly missed out on a hometurf victory as Where Are You? failed to win any points when the final jury dished out their scores. Its both frustrating and joyful that a recurring feature of Eurovision is that sometimes an incredible performance alone is not enough to win. 1998 was an important year for trans visibility across Europe, as Israeli superstar Dana International won the competition by a margin of 6 points with her track Diva. Shell be performing at the finals this week, alongside Madonna  both dressed by Jean Paul Gaultier, who created Danas iconic feathery Birmingham victory outfit.. PA Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 5. Boom Bang-a-Bang - Lulu (Winner in Madrid, 1969) 367.4pts Lulu won the 14th contest in a four-way tie with France, Spain and the Netherlands  a situation which prompted Finland, Norway, Portugal and Sweden to withdraw from the following years contest out of protest. Such drama! Salvador Dali designed the promotional materials for the contest as well as the stage, which explains the slightly weird metal sculpture that Lulu performed in front of. PA Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 4. Love Shine a Light - Katrina and the Waves (Winner in Dublin, 1997) 381.1pts Its been 22 long years since Katrina Leskanich brought home our last Eurovision victory, and we suspect itll be at least 23 years until the next. Love Shine A Light was originally written as a track for the Samaritans organisation, but several friends and colleagues convinced Leskanich to enter it into that years Song For Europe where it romped to victory, 11,138 votes ahead of our other potential entry: Yodel In The Canyon of Love by Do-Re Me feat Kerri. PA Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 3. Storm - SuRie (24th in Lisbon, 2018) 381.4pts Eurovision performances can stand out for all sorts of reasons. SuRies time on stage is memorable not because her microphone was snatched by a stage invader, but by the way she reacted to the situation. Few other artists on this list would have handled it so deftly. As she picks the mic from off the floor, she kicks back into the bridge with the lyrics: Hold your head up, don't give up, no no - at which point you can see her adrenaline weaponising those words to deliver a defiant, triumphant and unforgettable end to the song. In 60+ years of Eurovision participation SuRies performance is unique in that it unquestionably transcends the song. An absolute ambassador for Britains participation in Eurovision, her next single Only You and I is out on 17 May. Getty Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 2. Save Your Kisses for Me - Brotherhood of Man (Winner in The Hague, 1976) 381.9pts With a last-second plot twist to rival those in Game of Thrones, Save Your Kisses For Me is the highest ranking winner on our chart. 1976 was the first time since the Sixties that our national final was open to multiple artists, rather than one act selected by the BBC presenting a number of tracks. The Brotherhood fought off stiff competition from Co-Co and Sweet Dreams (who would both go on to represent in 78 and 83 respectively), as well as turns from Hazel Dean and Tony Christie. Check out Kenickies version, commissioned in the late Nineties by Channel 4 for a special Eurotrash does Eurovision compilation. PA Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 1. Never Give Up on You - Lucie Jones (15th in Kiev, 2017) 398.4pts Uh oh. We fully realise that some fans will race to the bottom of this list, see Lucie Jones at number one, slam their Union Jack mug down, open a new tab and furiously tap out a tweet about the ludicrousness of it all. In another poll, in another format, another song might come top  but judging across composition, lyrics, vocals, presentation and charisma, Lucies performance ranked highly in all 5 categories with all 20 jury members. A strong song, expertly delivered and beautifully staged. Never Give Up On You serves as a reminder that when we try, were not a lost cause at Eurovision. One day in the not too distant future, a British artist will come along with a self-penned track, a story to tell, a vision of how to present it, and a personality thatll shine through on Europes biggest stage. If they match Lucies technical ability, thats when well win Eurovision again. AFP/Getty

The Eurovision liveblog has now closed:
Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie has called Madonna a "total prostitute" for agreeing to perform at this year's Eurovision, which takes place in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Israel won the honour of hosting Eurovision after its contestant Netta won last years contest. Multiple artists, including Roger Waters and Peter Gabriel, have signed an open letter calling for a boycott of the event, and for the BBC to cancel its coverage of the competition.

Speaking to Newsnight,, Gillespie said that the state sits on "stolen land" and claimed Madonna is performing because she is desperate for money and publicity. The frontman added that he is not anti-Semitic and that all of his heroes are Jewish.

Gillespie said: "Madonna would do anything for money, you know, she's a total prostitute. And I've got nothing against prostitutes. The whole thing is set up to normalise the state of Israel, and its disgraceful treatment of the Palestinian people.

Top 10 UK Eurovision entries Show all 10 1 /10 Top 10 UK Eurovision entries Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 10. Better the Devil You Know - Sonia (Runner-up in Millstreet, 1993) 352.9pts Sonias Eurovision journey took her to Millstreet, Ireland - and with its population of just 1,500, it holds the record for being the smallest host city. The towns equestrian arena was transformed into a TV studio for the contest, meaning that many of the video postcards between performances have a very horsey vibe. Ms Evans chit-chats to a couple of foals in hers. This year the UK won 3 points from Bosnia and Herzegovina. When that particular Balkan jury managed to phone through on a connection that sounded so fragile and fragmented, they received the biggest applause of the night, having delivered their votes in the midst of the Bosnian War. Eurovision at its most important. PA Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 9. Making Your Mind Up - Bucks Fizz (Winner in Dublin, 1981) 355.4pts This tune is so synonymous with British Eurovision glory, what could possibly explain it ranking no higher than 9th? Bucks Fizz are ingrained into the national psyche by the yearly repetition of that one skirt-whipping clip. But wed imagine that Cheryl, Jay, Mike and Bobby would be the first to say their vocals werent quite as polished as weve come to expect from the legendary band. However, that takes absolutely nothing away from this absolute classic. And if our rundown is inspiring you to do a bit of a Eurovision deep dive, then check out the poptastic Christmas With The Fizz (who cares that its May?) and Jay Astons True Love on Spotify. PA Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 8. Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit - Gina G (8th in Oslo, 1996) 360.1pts Cher has an enjoyable habit of covering Eurovision artists: ABBA (she released an entire album last year), Bucks Fizz (Heart of Stone), Johnny Logan (One by One), and Gina G, literally, with a rejected, spangly dress. That iconic outfit Gina wore in Oslo was actually custom made by Paco Rabanne for Cher, who was living in Wapping at the time. For whatever reason, the Believe hitmaker cast aside the glittering garment one afternoon at the Warner Bros offices, where Ms G later stumbled across it hanging up just days before the contest. She stuffed it into her handbag and the rest is history. PA Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 7. Puppet on a String - Sandie Shaw (Winner in Vienna, 1967) 366.5pts Our first Eurovision victory. Sandie notoriously hated this song from the very first oompah to the final bang on the big bass drum I was instinctively repelled by its sexist drivel and cuckoo-clock tune she recalls in her autobiography. As part of a promo drive to reinvigorate Sandies public profile, Puppet On A String was written for the contest and not for its performer  thankfully, because the British public still loves it over half a century later, and it might not have ever existed. Getty Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 6. Where Are You? - Imaani (Runner-up in Birmingham, 1998) 366.7pts If theres one UK entry that deserves more recognition than it gets, its this. Imaani was the UKs fifteenth and most recent runner-up. She narrowly missed out on a hometurf victory as Where Are You? failed to win any points when the final jury dished out their scores. Its both frustrating and joyful that a recurring feature of Eurovision is that sometimes an incredible performance alone is not enough to win. 1998 was an important year for trans visibility across Europe, as Israeli superstar Dana International won the competition by a margin of 6 points with her track Diva. Shell be performing at the finals this week, alongside Madonna  both dressed by Jean Paul Gaultier, who created Danas iconic feathery Birmingham victory outfit.. PA Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 5. Boom Bang-a-Bang - Lulu (Winner in Madrid, 1969) 367.4pts Lulu won the 14th contest in a four-way tie with France, Spain and the Netherlands  a situation which prompted Finland, Norway, Portugal and Sweden to withdraw from the following years contest out of protest. Such drama! Salvador Dali designed the promotional materials for the contest as well as the stage, which explains the slightly weird metal sculpture that Lulu performed in front of. PA Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 4. Love Shine a Light - Katrina and the Waves (Winner in Dublin, 1997) 381.1pts Its been 22 long years since Katrina Leskanich brought home our last Eurovision victory, and we suspect itll be at least 23 years until the next. Love Shine A Light was originally written as a track for the Samaritans organisation, but several friends and colleagues convinced Leskanich to enter it into that years Song For Europe where it romped to victory, 11,138 votes ahead of our other potential entry: Yodel In The Canyon of Love by Do-Re Me feat Kerri. PA Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 3. Storm - SuRie (24th in Lisbon, 2018) 381.4pts Eurovision performances can stand out for all sorts of reasons. SuRies time on stage is memorable not because her microphone was snatched by a stage invader, but by the way she reacted to the situation. Few other artists on this list would have handled it so deftly. As she picks the mic from off the floor, she kicks back into the bridge with the lyrics: Hold your head up, don't give up, no no - at which point you can see her adrenaline weaponising those words to deliver a defiant, triumphant and unforgettable end to the song. In 60+ years of Eurovision participation SuRies performance is unique in that it unquestionably transcends the song. An absolute ambassador for Britains participation in Eurovision, her next single Only You and I is out on 17 May. Getty Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 2. Save Your Kisses for Me - Brotherhood of Man (Winner in The Hague, 1976) 381.9pts With a last-second plot twist to rival those in Game of Thrones, Save Your Kisses For Me is the highest ranking winner on our chart. 1976 was the first time since the Sixties that our national final was open to multiple artists, rather than one act selected by the BBC presenting a number of tracks. The Brotherhood fought off stiff competition from Co-Co and Sweet Dreams (who would both go on to represent in 78 and 83 respectively), as well as turns from Hazel Dean and Tony Christie. Check out Kenickies version, commissioned in the late Nineties by Channel 4 for a special Eurotrash does Eurovision compilation. PA Top 10 UK Eurovision entries 1. Never Give Up on You - Lucie Jones (15th in Kiev, 2017) 398.4pts Uh oh. We fully realise that some fans will race to the bottom of this list, see Lucie Jones at number one, slam their Union Jack mug down, open a new tab and furiously tap out a tweet about the ludicrousness of it all. In another poll, in another format, another song might come top  but judging across composition, lyrics, vocals, presentation and charisma, Lucies performance ranked highly in all 5 categories with all 20 jury members. A strong song, expertly delivered and beautifully staged. Never Give Up On You serves as a reminder that when we try, were not a lost cause at Eurovision. One day in the not too distant future, a British artist will come along with a self-penned track, a story to tell, a vision of how to present it, and a personality thatll shine through on Europes biggest stage. If they match Lucies technical ability, thats when well win Eurovision again. AFP/Getty

"By going to perform in Israel what you do is you normalise that. Primal Scream would never perform in Israel. I think Madonna is just desperate for publicity, desperate for the money. They pay very, very well."

Recommended Madonna confirmed to perform at Eurovision final in Tel Aviv

Asked whether he understood his comments being seen as anti-Semitic, Gillespie said: "I'm not anti-Semitic at all. All my heroes are Jews. Karl Marx, Bob Dylan, The Marx Brothers."

The Eurovision final takes place tonight (18 May). Follow along with all The Independent's coverage here.

Representatives of Madonna have been contacted for comment.
This week millions of citizens across the European Union will participate in a democratic exercise Theresa May never wanted Britain to take part in  the European elections.

In the UK and the Netherlands, voters will head to the polls on Thursday, but results will not filter through until the late hours of Sunday evening or Monday morning.

This is due to the fact there a different days of voting across the member states. Latvia, Malta and Slovakia will elect their MEPs on Saturday, for example, while voters in France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Italy will head to the polling booths on Sunday.
Actor Asia Kate Dillon has opened up about being a non-binary person and struggling with existing swimwear options.

Speaking to InStyle, Dillon revealed that growing up, summer was difficult because many bathing suits cater to specific genders.

When I was younger, certainly summer was a very hard season, particularly because of bathing suits, the 34-year-old said. When I was a child, I never wore a top, just bathing suit bottoms, because I was a young person and that was seen as fine.

But, as we get older, we have these gender boxes that were supposed to fit into when it comes to swimsuits, so I was always really uncomfortable.

According to Dillon, they never wanted to dress in a bikini or one-piece, as they preferred just wearing bottoms without a top - which wasnt always acceptable in public places such as the local pool.

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However, Dillon has since found ways to make their swimwear preference work.

Growing up in Ithaca, New York, the Orange Is the New Black and John Wick 3 actor told the news outlet there were natural springs and watering holes where they were able to wear what they wanted.

And since moving to New York City, the actor has found they can wear the swimwear that makes them comfortable without running into issues on the local beaches.

During the interview, Dillon, whose personal style is about comfort, also touched on the idea of gender neutral clothing, which they explained doesnt actually exist as clothing does not have a gender.

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All clothing is gender neutral, Dillon said, before adding: Its all fabric sewn together to fit someones body.
The Home Office has come under mounting pressure to grant a visa to a seriously ill woman who was threatened with removal from the UK while she was in a coma following major surgery.

The Independent revealed last week that Bhavani Esapathi, 31, received a letter stating that her application for leave to remain had been refused and that she was liable to be forcibly removed while she was in a vegetative state last September.

Politicians and campaigners have since called for the Home Office to reverse the decision and grant the Indian national, who is still seriously ill, right to remain.

A petition under the hashtag #letbhavanilive has meanwhile garnered more than 123,000 signatures from members of the public.

On receiving the refusal notice, Ms Esapathis fiance, Martin Mangler, 33, appealed against the decision while she was still unconscious, providing medical letters from her doctors stating that her life would be at risk if she were to travel.

Recommended Home Office threatens woman in coma with forcible deportation

But the Home Office said that while the medical treatment she was receiving was unlikely to be available to the same standard in India, this did not entitle her to remain in the UK  and that she could receive palliative care in her home country if the appropriate treatment wasnt available there.

Lawyers and politicians said the case demonstrated how UK immigration rules were permitting the government to send people to their death abroad as part of the hostile environment.

Ms Esapathis local MP, Vicky Foxcroft, raised the case in the House of Commons on Thursday, saying: Bhavani has Crohns disease and needs critical care that is unavailable in India.

She has lived and worked in the UK for almost 10 years. While Bhavani was in a coma after major surgery, she received a notice from the Home Office telling her that she should leave the country.

May we have an urgent debate on the governments barbaric treatment of people?

Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom responded by telling her to raise the case directly with the Home Office, saying: The Honourable Lady raises a serious and worrying constituency case. I am sure that, were she to raise it directly with Home Office ministers, they would respond.

When contacted by The Independent on Saturday, a Home Office spokesperson said the department had been "made aware of fresh evidence" in Ms Esapathi's case in March 2019 and that it was "currently being reviewed".

Ms Esapathi, who came to the UK on a study visa in 2010 and proceeded to work in the arts industry before she fell ill with Crohns disease, said she would be risking her life if she had to leave the country.

Ms Esapathi and her fiance Mr Mangler following her major surgery in September (Bhavani Espathi)

The Indian national had to be admitted to hospital again last month due to complications with her bowel. She currently relies on a drip and has to have a bag attached to her stomach, and is waiting to undergo further surgery in the summer.

Speaking to The Independent, Ms Esapathi said: Im in a pretty vulnerable state right now with somewhat of an open stomach.

All of this is making my condition worse. Youre meant to avoid stress, but I cant help my bodys reaction to certain things. Im currently in hospital and havent been able to put on weight  stress is a big part of it.

It would be a risk to my life if I had to leave. I wont have any of the drugs that literally allow me to move. I dont think its too much to ask to not want to die.

The Home Office refusal letter to Ms Esapathis appeal, issued on 3 December, stated: Whereas it is accepted that the healthcare systems in the UK and in India are unlikely to be equivalent, this does not entitle you to remain here ... Should it be the case that your illness deteriorates or you are unable to access treatment, you have not shown a lack of palliative care or family support available in India.

It also claimed there were no insurmountable obstacles to her continuing relationship with German national Mr Mangler, who is settled in the UK, overseas, despite the couple stating in their application that his job as a volcanologist depended on him staying in the UK.

A letter from a number of surgeons at St Marks Hospital, where Ms Esapathi was operated on, states that her surgical and medical management is highly complex and that it is of vital importance that her care continued to be coordinated and performed there.

This also means that, both now and after her surgery in 2019, Bhavani will not be able to travel due to her ongoing need for specialist care in our hospital as her recovery after her next operation is likely to be protracted and complex, it adds.
A woman has been arrested after a large fire broke out on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire  in the same area as a destructive blaze four weeks ago.

Fire crews received more than 65 emergency calls as plumes of smoke rose into the sky.

Members of the public alerted police to a woman behaving suspiciously near the scene of the blaze, The Yorkshire Post reported.

A 48-year-old woman was arrested, officers said.

Bradford council will ban the lighting of fires and barbecues on local moorland sites following last months blaze, according to one report.

Fire sweeps Ilkley Moor for second time in a month: in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Fire sweeps Ilkley Moor for second time in a month: in pictures Fire sweeps Ilkley Moor for second time in a month: in pictures Smoke billows from the fire on Ilkley Moor on 18 May PA Fire sweeps Ilkley Moor for second time in a month: in pictures Fire rages on Ilkley Moor on April 21 SWNS Fire sweeps Ilkley Moor for second time in a month: in pictures Firefighters tackle the fire on Ilkley Moor on April 21 PA Fire sweeps Ilkley Moor for second time in a month: in pictures Firefighters use a helicopter to drop water on the fire on Ilkley Moor on April 21 PA Fire sweeps Ilkley Moor for second time in a month: in pictures Smoke rises from the fire on Ilkley Moor on April 21 SWNS Fire sweeps Ilkley Moor for second time in a month: in pictures Firefighters tackle the blaze on Ilkley Moor on April 21 PA Fire sweeps Ilkley Moor for second time in a month: in pictures Firefighters tackle the blaze on Ilkley Moor on April 21 SWNS Fire sweeps Ilkley Moor for second time in a month: in pictures Firefighters use a helicopter to drop water on the fire on Ilkley Moor on April 21 PA Fire sweeps Ilkley Moor for second time in a month: in pictures Fire rages on Ilkley Moor on April 21 SWNS Fire sweeps Ilkley Moor for second time in a month: in pictures Smoke rises from the fire on Ilkley Moor on April 21 SWNS

The crews sent 10 fire engines to tackle the flames.

Several local residents posted images of billowing smoke, one saying: Not again  fire on Ilkley Moor close to Hangingston Road after the cattle grid.

Recommended Wildfire spreads across Ilkley Moor after hottest day of the year

By midday, the fire was out and firefighters were damping down.

Last month flames spread over 50 acres in the area.

It was one of a string of moorland fires across the UK on the warmest Easter weekend on record. Others were at Moray, Scotland, Blaenau Ffestiniog, north Wales, Dartmoor in Devon, moors in Derbyshire and Greater Manchester and the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland.

The Ilkley Chat website said a council ban on barbecues would start in July, running for three years, subject to consultation.
A McDonalds outlet near to where Nigel Farage was speaking was stopped by police from selling milkshakes because of fears protesters would throw the dairy-based drinks over him.

Staff said officers had ordered them to take action to avoid repeats of scenes when Ukip candidate Carl Benjamin and activist Tommy Robinson both had milkshakes hurled at them this month.

Anti-far-right campaigners have quickly adopted the tactic of throwing milkshakes during the European elections in attempts to humiliate those they disagree with.

Brexit Party leader Mr Farage was talking to supporters at a campaign rally at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange on Friday.

Workers at the McDonalds less than 200 metres away put up signs in the window and on the counter saying: We will not be selling milkshakes or ice cream tonight. This is due to a police request given recent events.

Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right Show all 6 1 /6 Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right Newcastle says "no thanks Farage" Brexit Party leader Nigel farage is led away by security after being hit with a milkshake at a campaign event in Newcastle Reuters Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right Tommy Robinson covered in a milkshake... While out on the campaign trail for the European Elections in Warrington, a man threw a milkshake in Tommy Robinson's face. Frame 1: Man throws milkshake. Frame 2: Robinson and Co. beat man. Frame 3: Robinson covered in milkshake @AzTheBaz/Twitter Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right ...the day after being covered with a milkshake The day before in Bury, a suspected child threw a milkshake over Robinson before running away Paul Ryder/Youtube Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right Gerrard Batten's image Amy Thompson from Plymouth greeted the Ukip tour bus by throwing a milkshake over the image of leader Gerrard Batten McCoys Media/SWNS Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right Carl Benjamin milkshaked Ukip candidate Carl Benjamin aka Sargon of Akkad was met with a milkshake while campaigning in Totnes, Devon PA Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right Aftermath The remains of the milkshake that struck Carl Benjamin Cornwall Live/SWNS

But rival chain Burger King encouraged customers to buy milkshakes, tweeting: Dear people of Scotland. Were selling milkshakes all weekend. Have fun. Love, BK.

When one Burger King follower asked whether it was because Mr Robinson was in Scotland, the company replied: No comment.

Earlier, several people had tweeted that a McDonalds selling milkshakes was conveniently close to where Mr Farage was speaking.

One told the fast-food giant: This is the wrong approach, free milkshakes and ice creams on the day instead!

Police Scotland refused to comment on the apparent demand but a member of staff, who did not want to be identified, described the situation as ridiculous.

Mr Benjamin, who is being investigated for threatening to rape MP Jess Phillips, had three milkshakes thrown at him in as many days as he toured the southwest of England.

And Mr Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and who is standing as an independent candidate, was hit with milkshakes twice in two days in Bury and Warrington earlier this month.

Political agitators traditionally used eggs to pelt at politicians they hated, but its believed that they have now switched to milkshakes because unlike eggs, they do not raise suspicions.

Experts say the light colour and frothy nature of milkshakes also appeals to campaigners because when thrown they contrast with politicians often dark suits.

Recommended Election hustings cancelled over Carl Benjamin safety fears

Benjamin Franks, of the University of Glasgow, who specialises in direct action, said the alt-right had used milk as a symbol of white supremacy because of its whiteness, and to mock people with a genetic predisposition to lactose intolerance.

Such medical intolerances have been found to be higher among people of Asian and African origin.

The milkshake is turning that symbol against them [right-wingers], Dr Franks told The New Statesman. It is an example of political ju-jitsu. It also makes them look foolish, undermining their self-image of power and control. The bathos of the great leader brought low by a drink associated with children is highly effective.

In 2013 Mr Farage was forced to take refuge in a bar in Edinburghs Old Town after he was swarmed by angry protesters as he left a press conference.

On Friday, having returned to the Scottish capital, he vowed to cause an earthquake in politics and appealed to SNP voters who backed Brexit in 2016 to lend him their votes.
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At least 10 bodies of fishermen allegedly hacked to death by terror group Boko Haram were recovered on Friday near Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri, a local emergency management official said.

The group of fishermen was attacked on Thursday in Alou Dam, 4 km from Maiduguri, the capital of the northern state of Borno.

Bello Danbatta, head of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, said most of the fishermen were from the neighboring village of Konduga.

They were going about their daily fishing activity when the militants struck, killing them and injuring some others.

Abubakar Gamandi, chairman of the Lake Chad Basin Fishery, who also confirmed the killing to Xinhua, described the attack as "unfortunate."

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks on fishermen and farmers in the northeast region of Nigeria in recent times, accusing them of leaking information on the activities of the group to the military.

Farming and fishing activities had almost become impossible in Maiduguri and its environs for the fear of attacks by the terror group.

Boko Haram's militancy has killed about 20,000 people since 2009 and left over 2.6 million homeless.

The group, which is also active in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon, announced its allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2015.
It is time for Prime Minister Theresa May to take action and legalise same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland, the partner of murdered Northern Irish journalist Lyra McKee has said.

At a noisy and colourful rally through Belfast, attended by an estimated 8,000 people, Sara Canning called upon Ms May to ignore the objections of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which opposes same-sex marriage, and introduce legislation to allow LGBT+ couples to get married.

After a warm welcome to the stage, Ms Canning questioned why same-sex couples were treated differently in Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK, where same-sex marriage is legal.

We pay our taxes, we are governed by the same laws, we live deeply and we love dearly; why should we not be afforded the same rights in marriage? she asked.

Same-sex couples come from every single political, religious, cultural, and racial background. A vote passing on equal marriage would not be a win for any one side, it would be a win for all sides, she said.

Taiwan Same Sex Marriage Show all 10 1 /10 Taiwan Same Sex Marriage Taiwan Same Sex Marriage Same-sex marriage supporters hug outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, Taiwan AP Taiwan Same Sex Marriage Same-sex marriage supporters kiss outside the Legislative Yuan AP Taiwan Same Sex Marriage Same-sex marriage supporters celebrate after Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, Taiwan Reuters Taiwan Same Sex Marriage Same-sex marriage supporters hold umbrellas and rainbow flags as they take part in a rally during a parliament vote on three different draft bills of a same-sex marriage law, outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, Taiwan Reuters Taiwan Same Sex Marriage A couple kisses as they celebrate after Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, Taiwan Reuters Taiwan Same Sex Marriage Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate as they gather outside the parliament building as a bill for marriage equality is debated by parliamentarians in Taipei, Taiwan EPA Taiwan Same Sex Marriage Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate as they gather outside the parliament building as a bill for marriage equality is debated by parliamentarians in Taipei, Taiwan EPA Taiwan Same Sex Marriage People celebrate after Taiwan's parliament voted to legalise same-sex marriage Getty Taiwan Same Sex Marriage People celebrate after Taiwan's parliament voted to legalise same-sex marriage Getty Taiwan Same Sex Marriage People celebrate after Taiwan's parliament voted to legalise same-sex marriage on May 17, 2019 in Taipei, Taiwan Getty

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where same-sex marriage remains illegal and it is within Ms Mays power to enforce a law change; however, so far she has resisted taking action.

The DUP is firmly opposed to any redefinition of the law, insisting marriage should be between a man and a woman. Its 10 MPs have propped up Ms Mays minority Conservative government since the 2017 general election.

Ms McKee, a 29-year-old journalist and author, was killed as she reported on riots in Derry on 18 April by a New IRA gunman who opened fire on police lines. She was a prominent journalist and vocal member of the LGBT+ community in Northern Ireland.

In a letter to her 14-year-old self, which went viral in 2014, she wrote: Life is so hard right now. Every day, you wake up wondering who else will find out your secret and hate you. It wont always be like this. Its going to get better.

Lyra McKee, the 29-year-old journalist murdered in Derry (PA)

Ms McKees death has injected fresh impetus into calls for change.

The event was organised by the Love Equality campaign  an umbrella group made up of organisations such as Amnesty International and the Rainbow Project.

John ODoherty, director of the Rainbow Project, kissed his partner on stage and warned UK political leaders they will be judged by their actions.

We will not stop until we achieve a Northern Ireland that is underpinned by equality and human rights, he said, addressing Ms May and Karen Bradley, the Northern Ireland secretary, directly.

Our message is simple; human rights should not be based on postcodes. This is now happening on your watch.

Mourners outside St Annes Cathedral in Belfast on 24 April, during the Lyra McKees funeral service (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images)

On Friday, ahead of the march, Nicola Coughlan, the actor who plays Clare Devlin in the popular Channel 4 series Derry Girls, added her voice to calls for same-sex marriage to be legalised.

In Derry Girls I play the wee lesbian, she said. Since the show has come out, Ive received so many messages from people from all over the world to say how much [having an] LGBTQ character in the show has meant to them.

However, what a lot of these people dont realise is that Clare Devlin would still not be allowed to be married in her own country in 2019.

At the rally on Saturday, Ms Canning said the time has come for change. Northern Ireland deserves better, she said. We deserve better. And thats why were here today; to demand better.
An early general election risks killing Brexit, and Theresa Mays successor must avoid going to the public until the UK has left the EU, a cabinet minister has warned.

Health secretary Matt Hancock made the remarks as a survey of Conservative members put Boris Johnson as the clear favourite to succeed the prime minister, and as cross-party talks between the government and Labour collapsed without a deal.

Len McCluskey  the Unite the Union boss and close ally of Jeremy Corbyn  on Friday demanded a true peoples vote in the form of a general election, saying the UK faced the prospect of a hard Brexiteer as prime minister.

But Mr Hancock, who is expected to enter the Tory leadership contest when the prime minister formally kicks off the process, said whoever won the premiership had to deliver on Brexit before considering a general election.

I think a general election before weve delivered Brexit would be a disaster. People dont want it. Im with Brenda from Bristol. We need to take responsibility for delivering on the referendum result, Mr Hancock told The Daily Telegraph.

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

Who knows what the outcome of a general election would be under these circumstances? A general election before that not only risks Jeremy Corbyn, but it risks killing Brexit altogether. Weve got to deliver Brexit in this parliament, then we can move forward.

The health secretarys comments also came as Ms May faced growing clamour from within her own party to step down immediately in the aftermath of the collapse in talks between the government and the Labour Party.

Mr Corbyn dramatically pulled the plug on cross-party talks after more than six weeks, saying they had gone as far as they can and the parties had been unable to bridge important policy gaps.

Earlier this week Ms May bowed to pressure to agree a timetable at the start of next month for a Conservative leadership contest if she  as many in Westminster expect  loses a critical vote on her Brexit legislation.

But after the breakdown in the negotiations, the former minister David Jones said the PM should recognise that now is the time that she should stand down.

On the Conservative benches, most people now want the PM to step down as quickly as possible, he told The Independent. Prolonging this is just wasting time at a time when we dont have much time to waste.
Theresa May has said she is preparing to make MPs a new bold offer in a last-ditch attempt to get her beleaguered Brexit deal through parliament before she leaves office.

Ministers will this week discuss sweeteners which could be included in the forthcoming Withdrawal Agreement Bill aimed at securing cross-party support, she indicated.

The cabinet will then consider plans for a series of indicative votes in the House of Commons in a bid to establish which proposals could command a majority.

The move follows the collapse on Friday of cross-party talks between the Conservative and Labour leaderships, which had been aimed at finding an agreed way for the UK to leave the EU with a deal.

The new bill  which is needed to ratify the deal with Brussels  is expected to include measures on protecting worker rights, an issue where agreement with Labour was said to have been close.

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

Provisions will also be included on future customs arrangements with the European Union and on Northern Ireland, including the use of technology to avoid the need for a hard border with the Republic.

It will not, however, seek to remove the controversial Irish backstop arrangement from the bill after the EU repeatedly made clear the issue was not up for renegotiation.

Ms May said: I still believe there is a majority in parliament to be won for leaving with a deal.

When the Withdrawal Agreement Bill comes before MPs, it will represent a new, bold offer to MPs across the House of Commons, with an improved package of measures that I believe can win new support.

Writing in The Sunday Times , she added: Whatever the outcome of any votes, I will not be simply asking MPs to think again. Instead I will ask them to look at a new and improved deal with fresh pairs of eyes  and to give it their support.

Ms May has previously said she will bring the new bill for its second reading vote in the first week of June.

Regardless of how the vote goes, she will then meet the chair of the Tory backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, to agree a timetable to elect her successor as party leader and prime minister.

But after three previous attempts to get her deal through the Commons all went down to hefty defeats, many Tory MPs are sceptical her fourth will fare any better.

Another defeat would almost certainly see increased demands for her to go immediately, amid intense frustration at her failure to deliver on the 2016 referendum result.

Nigel Evans, the executive secretary of the 1922 Committee, said: You can watch the movie Titanic a hundred times, but Im afraid the ship sinks every time.

An increasing number of Conservative MPs  even those who voted for it a second or third time  are saying enough is enough.

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Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer, who led Labours negotiating team, meanwhile, was also doubtful that the fresh attempt would succeed.

With Ms May on her way out, he said a key reason for the failure of the talks was the fear her successor could simply tear up any agreement they reached.

The prime minister said before we started the talks she would be going, he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

It did mean that during the talks, almost literally as we were sitting in the room talking, cabinet members and wannabe Tory leaders were torpedoing the talks with remarks about not being willing to accept a customs union.

It put the prime minister in a position where she was too weak to deliver.
Jeremy Corbyn sounded a warning at a Labour rally in Merseyside about the rise of the far right.

The Labour leader gave a speech from a bandstand at the event in Derby Park, Bootle, on Saturday.

He described the danger of the far right and their simplistic answers which can only breed hatred and division.

Candidates for the European elections in the northwest include English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson.

Mr Corbyn compared the propaganda being put out by the far right during the European election campaign to the rise of the Nazis in Europe in the 1930s.

"Stephen Yakult Lennon" - The British public vs Tommy Robinson Show all 7 1 /7 "Stephen Yakult Lennon" - The British public vs Tommy Robinson "Stephen Yakult Lennon" - The British public vs Tommy Robinson Covered in a milkshake... While out on the campaign trail for the European Elections in Warrington, a man threw a milkshake in Tommy's face. Frame 1: Man throws milkshake. Frame 2: Robinson & Co beat man. Frame 3: Robinson covered in milkshake. @AzTheBaz/Twitter "Stephen Yakult Lennon" - The British public vs Tommy Robinson ...the day after being covered with a milkshake The day before in Bury, a suspected child threw a milkshake over Robinson before running away Paul Ryder/Youtube "Stephen Yakult Lennon" - The British public vs Tommy Robinson Confronted for his racism... Back in 2014, Robinson was not warmly received in his home town of Luton... ABC "Stephen Yakult Lennon" - The British public vs Tommy Robinson ...falls over while cowering away ...In attempting to back away from the three advancing men, he fell over a curb ABC "Stephen Yakult Lennon" - The British public vs Tommy Robinson Slapped in Luton The slap came as then-EDL leader was trying to drive away directly after making the subtitled comment Round8ere/Youtube "Stephen Yakult Lennon" - The British public vs Tommy Robinson Shouted down in Salford When trying to spread his message to the streets of Salford, this woman told him where to get off Beth Redmond/Twitter "Stephen Yakult Lennon" - The British public vs Tommy Robinson "You're not as famous as you think you are" A judge at Peterborough County Court explained this to Robinson as she dismissed his discrimination case against the police. Robinson had claimed that he was ejected from a pub on account of his beliefs, however the officer didn't recognise him and was ejecting him on account of his drunken behaviour PA

He said: I read the propaganda being put out by the far right in this European election, where theyre blaming Muslims for all the ills of our society.

Change that language to the language used in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s, where they tried to blame Jewish people for all the ills of society. You begin to see where this leads to.

We have to come together today, not just to oppose the far right but also to analyse whats happened and above all how we fix it and how we go forward.

The crowd cheered as Mr Corbyn called for them to come together, defeat the far right and elect Labour politicians.

He said: We have to stand together for the kind of world and the kind of society that we want to live in.

He told the crowd: If we dont do something about it, that danger rises again.

Mr Corbyn hit out at the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats for creating inequality in society, and he criticised the mainstream media for trying to divide us, trying to destroy us, trying to weaken us.

He said: If we are to live in a world of peace, live in a world that can survive, deal with the great challenges of the world, you only do it by coming together, you only do it by pooling our minds, our brains, our energy, our imagination and our resources.

If instead we allow the far right in Europe to mount once again the spectre, the scourge, the hatred of antisemitism in Poland, in Austria, in Germany, in Hungary, if we allow them to mount the spectre of Islamophobia in France, in the Netherlands or in this country, then we are weakening.

About 500 supporters gathered from midday for the rally, which also featured speeches from local campaigners. The crowd booed when Mr Robinsons name was mentioned and cheered when one speaker said June would be the end of May  in reference to prime minister Theresa May standing down.

Speakers urged the crowd to vote in Thursdays elections to prevent a low turnout benefiting far-right candidates.

Bootle MP Peter Dowd said: Bootle wants to send the message to these fascists and its quite simply, Get lost. Jeremy will be the next Labour prime minister and we are well on the way to that.

MPs Dan Carden and Richard Burgon were also at the event, along with Liverpool city region metro mayor Steve Rotheram.

PA
Tory grandee Michael Heseltine has said he will not be supporting the Conservatives in the European election, and will instead vote Liberal Democrat.

The former deputy prime minister and lifelong pro-European said the party has become infected by the virus of extremism and he cannot endorse its support for leaving the EU.

In an article for The Sunday Times, he said: The reason for my experiment with the Lib Dems is, of course, the governments position on Brexit.

I cannot, with a clear conscience, vote for my party when it is myopically focused on forcing through the biggest act of economic self-harm ever undertaken by a democratic government.

His call for the Tories to reclaim the political centre ground was echoed by former prime minister Sir John Major.

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

He told the paper that the need for an inclusive Tory party is greater than ever, and warned: The middle ground of politics is empty.

Lord Heseltine made clear he would resist any attempt to force him out of the party over his stance on the election on 23 May.

Recommended Heseltine backs The Independent campaign for a fresh EU referendum

I have no intention of being forced out  or resigning from  a party that has been such an important part of my life, he wrote.

I will remain a member of my local association and, unless told otherwise, will continue to take the Conservative whip in the Lords.

He suggested the only alternative to a no-deal Brexit, or a Marxist government led by Labours Jeremy Corbyn, would be for the Conservatives to put any final deal to the public in a second referendum.

He added: With the prospect of a descent deeper into this darkness for our party, it is the only way to solve the riddle, to secure a stable majority in parliament and a lasting settlement for the country.
Theresa May has been urged to include a confirmatory referendum on the face of a critical Brexit bill in an attempt to break the Commons logjam.

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer made the plea as cross-party talks between Labour and the government collapsed on Friday without an agreement, with both sides engaging in bitter recriminations about where to place blame.

The prime minister is now expected to plough ahead with a vote on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill in the first week of June, in what could be her last major move as prime minister.

But without Labours support, and a hardline faction of her own MPs opposed to her plans, many in Westminster believe the bill is heading for a crushing rejection in two weeks time.

Speaking on Saturday, the shadow Brexit secretary  a key figure in the cross-party talks with the government  also claimed the prime minister had gone sour on the prospect of indicative votes on different Brexit options.

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

They could seek to break the impasse by putting a confirmatory vote on the face of the bill, he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme. Whatever happens, they have to find a way of breaking the impasse. He continued: What we cant do is just keep on buying another week at a time, which is what the prime minister has been doing for months.

Echoing Mr Corbyns remarks on Friday, the shadow Brexit secretary claimed efforts to find a positive resolution in the cross-party talks had been scuppered by government ministers not involved in the negotiations and manoeuvring for the keys to Downing Street.

The prime minister said before we started the talks she would be going, he said. It did mean that during the talks, almost literally as we were sitting in the room talking, cabinet members and wannabe Tory leaders were torpedoing the talks with remarks about not willing to accept a customs union.

But Sir Keirs comments came as Ms May blamed Labours own divisions over whether to demand a fresh Brexit referendum for the collapse in cross-party talks, as government sources placed blame on the pro-referendum shadow Brexit secretary.

Launching the Conservatives European election campaign  days before the public heads to the polls  Ms May said: In particular, we havent been able to overcome the fact that there isnt a common position in Labour about whether they want to deliver Brexit or hold a second referendum which could reverse it.

And the Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay also pinned the blame on Labour over the partys internal fighting over a fresh public vote. But he said this week that if the Withdrawal Agreement Bill is defeated, the deal thrashed out with the EU would be dead and the UK would be left with the options of no deal or no Brexit on 31 October.

Speaking during a visit to a cement works on the border with Ireland in Derrylin, County Fermanagh, Mr Barclay acknowledged the disruption a no-deal scenario would cause but said it was better than cancelling Brexit. I think both options are undesirable but I think on no deal we would have to do all we can to mitigate the disruption  there would be disruption, and I have always been quite candid about that, which is why I think a deal is what we should be backing.

But revoking Article 50 and the biggest vote in our history would cause damage to democracy, while another referendum would mean a further year of uncertainty for business. The damage if we were to go back on our vote would be huge, he said.
The constituency office of Labour MP Chris Bryant has been spray painted with the word traitor in what appears to be an act of politically-motivated vandalism.

The Remain-supporting MP for Rhondda in south Wales posted two photos showing the insult sprayed twice in red letters across the security shutters protecting his office windows.

The Labour MP told The Independent the incident had been reported to the police and said he presumed the vandalism was related to anger over Brexit. Mr Bryant also revealed he had received several death threats in recent weeks.

Its shocking, but not surprising, I suppose, he said of the graffiti. We didnt used to be a country like this  we used to be a country that respected political differences, but somehow or other weve lost that.

Several MPs shared their support following the attack. This vile intimidation and abuse is appalling, said the Change UK spokesman Chuka Umunna, who also praised Mr Bryant for standing up to it.

It comes as police warn that threats made against MPs have reached unprecedented levels, including death threats, online abuse, vandalism and harassment in the street.

Intimidation has not been confined to politicians. Last month a series of homes displaying Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green Party posters in Sussex were vandalised in attacks linked to Brexit, with the words traitors and hypocrites spray painted on exterior walls.

Its surprising and very sad to see people expressing their political views in this thuggish and intimidating way, said Zoe Nicholson, co-chair of the Lewes District Green Party.

The vandalism is bad enough, but using highly charged language like traitors against political opponents is not acceptable.

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Show all 30 1 /30 Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Pro-Brexit leave the European Union supporters attend a rally in Parliament Square after the final leg of the "March to Leave" in London AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The protest march which started on March 16 in Sunderland, north east England, finished on what was the original date for Brexit to happen before the recent extension Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter sips a can of Stella in protests outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Dedicated anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray and likewise pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane go head to head near the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit marching band in Parliament Square Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Remain supporters wave EU flags from a bus in Parliament Square PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter shouts slogans outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter protests outside of the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside of the Houses of Parliament REUTERS Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A pro-Brexit flag is waved in Parliament Square AP Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit The March to Leave nears the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit protester holds a sign outside parliament EPA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters carry the coffin of democracy AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters march outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters take part in the March to Leave protest in London PA Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Brexit supporters protest outside parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter holds a sign outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A man holds satirical paintings of politicians Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit An pro-Brexit float on the March to Leave march in London Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit Far-right activist Tommy Robinson addresses protesters outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Tommy Robinson supporter arrives at the Houses of Parliament Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A jogger gestures rudely at a Brexit supporter outside of the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament PA

Last month Labour MP Helen Goodmans constituency office windows were smashed in what she suspects may have been an attempt at intimidation over her support for a so-called soft Brexit.

She told The Independent that in all probability the incident was motivated by anger at Britains failure to leave Europe.

Last month parliaments joint committee on human rights heard that MPs and peers were experiencing skyrocketing levels of abuse over Brexit and other issues.

Former Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston, a member of Change UK, told The Independent she is too afraid to advertise meetings in public because of death threats and intimidation.

 Anna Soubry comments on police refusing to intervene during altercation with Brexiteer men outside Parliament

Recent months have seen a number of high profile incidents of abuse aimed at MPs, including the pro-Remain MP Anna Soubry who was confronted by yellow vest protesters near the House of Commons.

MPs have also been abused by pro-Brexit supporters attending sanctioned protests in the streets outside parliament.

Last month Metropolitan Police commander Adrian Usher called on the government to change outdated protest laws, and said officers were struggling to enforce current laws regarding political demonstrations.

We need to move away from the language of peaceful protest to talk about lawful protest ... We are absolutely in the business of facilitating lawful protest [but] where protest steps over into being unlawful, whether you consider it peaceful or not is a moot point.

A spokeswoman for South Wales Police said the force was investigating a report of criminal damage to the constituency office of Rhondda MP, Chris Bryant.

She added: The office on Dunraven Street, Tonypandy, was targeted sometime between 5pm on Friday evening, 17 May, and 7.30am today, Saturday 18 May. A number of enquiries are currently underway, and anyone with any information about the incident is asked to contact 101, quoting occurrence 1900177951.
In the three years separating Nigel Farages infamous independence day declaration and his insurgent Brexit Partys likely victory in next weeks European elections, one man has increasingly come into view as a major power behind the ascent of the former Ukip leader.

That man is Arron Banks, an insurance tycoon from Basingstoke, who was stood next to Mr Farage during that victory speech at a London party the morning after the June 2016 referendum, and whose lavish bankrolling of Mr Farage now looks set to lead to an investigation by the European parliament.

Documents uncovered by Channel 4 News earlier this week purportedly revealed the multimillionaire spent around 450,000 funding Mr Farages lifestyle following the 2016 referendum. The news channel said it included rent on an exclusive 4.4m Chelsea home, as well as tens of thousands on security and a Land Rover Discovery.

Mr Banks dismissed the claims as an attempt to smear myself and Nigel  while Mr Farage said any funding after the referendum had nothing to do with politics.

Nigel Farage's most controversial moments Show all 12 1 /12 Nigel Farage's most controversial moments Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he unveiled that 'breaking point' poster during the referendum Mr Farage was accused of deploying Nazi-style propaganda when he unveiled a poster showing Syrian refugees travelling to Europe under the next Breaking point. Users on social media were quick to compare the advert to a Nazi propaganda film with similar visuals and featuring Jewish refugees. The poster was particularly controversial because it was unveiled the morning of the killing of Labour MP Jo Cox Rex Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said hed be concerned if his neighbours were Romanian In May 2014 Mr Farage was accused of a racial slur against Romanians after he suggested he would be concerned living next to a house of them. I was asked if a group of Romanian men moved in next to you, would you be concerned? And if you lived in London, I think you would be, he told LBC radio during an interview. Asked whether he would also object to living next to German children, he said: You know the difference Bongarts/Getty Images Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said the EU campaign was won 'without a bullet being fired' Nigel Farage has said the next Prime Minister has to be a Leave supporter AFP/Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he resigned as Ukip leader and came back days later After failing to win the seat of South Thanet at the general election, Nigel Farage stepped down as Ukip leader  as he had promised to do during the campaign. Days later on 11 May he un-resigned and said he would stay after being convinced by supporters within the party. Well see how long his resignation lasts this time AP/Matt Dunham Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he blamed immigrants for making him late Mr Farage turned up late to a 25-a-head meet the leader style event in Port Talbot, Wales in December 2014. Asked why he was late, he blamed immigrants. It took me six hours and 15 minutes to get here - it should have taken three-and-a-half to four, he said. That has nothing to do with professionalism, what it does have to do with is a country in which the population is going through the roof chiefly because of open-door immigration and the fact that the M4 is not as navigable as it used to be Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he wanted to ban immigrants with HIV from Britain Mr Farage has used his platform as Ukip leader call for people with HIV to be banned from coming to Britain. Asked in an interview with Newsweek Europe in October 2014 who he thought should be allowed to come to the UK, he said: People who do not have HIV, to be frank. Thats a good start. And people with a skill. He also repeated similar comments in the 2015 general election leadership debates Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he defended the use of a racial slur against Chinese people Defending one of Ukips candidates, who used the word ch**ky to describe a Chinese person, Mr Farage said: If you and your mates were going out for a Chinese, what do you say you're going for?" When he was told by the presented that he honestly would not use the slur, Mr Farage replied: A lot would Lintao Zhang/Getty Images Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said parts of Britain were like a foreign land The Ukip leader used his 2014 conference speech to declare parts of Britain as being like a foreign land. He told his audience in Torquay that parts of the country were unrecognisable because of the number of foreigners there. Mr Farage has also previously said he felt uncomfortable when people spoke other language on a train Screengrab Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said the British army should be deployed to France At the height of trouble at Britains Calais border Mr Farage proposed a novel solution. The Ukip leader called for the British army to be sent to France to put down a migrant rebellion. In all civil emergencies like this we have an army, we have a bit of a Territorial Army as well and we have a very, very overburdened police force and border agency, he said. If in a crisis to make sure weve actually got the manpower to check lorries coming in, to stop people illegally coming to Britain, if in those circumstances we can use the army or other forces then why not AFP/Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said breastfeeding women should sit in the corner Mr Farage sparked protests from mothers after he told women to sit on the corner if they wanted to breastfeed their children. I think that given that some people feel very embarrassed by it, it isnt too difficult to breastfeed a baby in a way that's not openly ostentatious, Mr Farage said. He added: "Or perhaps sit in the corner, or whatever it might be AFP/Getty Images Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said the gender pay gap exists because women are worth less At a Q&A on the European Union in January 2014 Mr Farage said there was no discrimination against women causing the gender pay gap. Instead, he said, women were paid less because they were simply worth far less than many of their male counterparts. A woman who has a client base, has a child and takes two or three years off - she is worth far less to her employer when she comes back than when she went away because that client base won't be stuck as rigidly to her portfolio, he said Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said he actually couldnt guarantee 350m to the NHS after Brexit During the EU referendum campaign the Leave side pledged to spend 350 million a week on the National Health Service  claiming that this is what the UK sends to Brussels. Nigel Farage didnt speak out against this figure and also pledged to spend EU cash on the health service and other public services himself. Then the day of the election result he suddenly changed his tone, saying he couldnt guarantee the cash for the NHS and that to pledge to do so was a mistake Getty

But the revelations are just the latest in a series of international controversies and intrigues in which the pair have been intimately entwined.

Mr Banks and Mr Farages relationship was forged in the years before the referendum, when in 2014 the former Tory donor switched allegiance to Ukip, and upped a 100,000 donation to 1m, claiming the increase was a result of former foreign secretary William Hague having called him a nobody.

When David Cameron, having led the Conservatives to victory in the following years general election, announced a referendum on whether to leave the EU, Mr Banks and Mr Farage joined forces to launch Leave.EU, an unofficial campaign group bankrolled by the former and led by the latter.

Leave.EU attracted criticism throughout the campaign, notably for its use of anti-EU posters widely perceived as racist, and became mired in further controversy following the vote when it emerged Mr Banks had handed the group more than 8m  the biggest sum by any individual donor.

 Russell Brand argues Nigel Farage is a 'pound-shop Enoch Powell' in 2014 episode of Question Time

Mr Banks insists the donations came from his US insurance businesses, but he has repeatedly failed to produce evidence and remains under investigation by the National Crime Agency after the Electoral Commission suggested he was not the true source of the money.

Mr Farage and Mr Banks soon found themselves subject to US media interest when they were photographed alongside then president-elect Donald Trump outside his apartment in Trump Tower shortly after the November elections.

That came just months after Mr Farage and Mr Banks  alongside the latters communications chief Andy Wigmore  attended a Trump rally in Mississippi, where Mr Farage would impress a raucous crowd of Trump supporters.

As US authorities became increasingly concerned about Russian interference in those elections, the Bad Boys of Brexit, as Mr Banks dubbed the trio in his 2016 memoir, reportedly emerged as figures of interest to special counsel Robert Mueller, who would for two years investigate the Trump campaigns ties to Moscow. Both Mr Farage and Mr Banks deny any role with Russia.

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

Investigators allegedly probed Mr Farages links to Julian Assange, whose WikiLeaks website published Democratic emails stolen by Russian hackers, while a parliamentary inquiry the following year would reveal that Mr Banks had handed a Trump campaign telephone number to the Russian ambassador in London.

Mr Banks and Mr Wigmore gave evidence to the MPs probe after it was revealed they met Russias ambassador three times in 2015 and 2016  rather than the single six-hour boozy lunch Mr Banks had previously acknowledged.

But with Mr Farages (manifesto-less) Brexit Party looking set to dominate both Labour and the Conservatives at the polls on Thursday, and Mr Banks role in paying for much of his friends post-referendum activities, the pair are firmly back in the spotlight.
Nigel Farage is facing an investigation by European parliament authorities over claims that he failed to declare nearly half a million pounds in gifts from an insurance tycoon under investigation by the National Crime Agency.

It was claimed this week that the Brexit Party leader has been given as much as 450,000 in kind by Arron Banks, including a chauffeur-driven car, rent and bills on a 4.4m Chelsea home, and lavish trips to the United States to meet with right-wing politicians.

But none of the gifts, detailed in invoices seen by Channel 4 News, were declared on Mr Farages register of interests with the European parliament, which is designed to prevent MEPs from keeping their conflicts of interests secret.

In a letter seen by The Independent, one of the European parliaments quaestors  MEPs responsible for the bodys financial and administrative matters  calls on the parliaments presidency to investigate these apparent contraventions as a matter of urgency.

The push for an inquiry comes days before British voters are set to go to the polls for the European parliament elections, with Mr Farages Brexit Party thought to be heading for a runaway victory with an anti-EU, anti-establishment message.

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

As you will be aware, the code of conduct for members of the European parliament with respect to financial interests and conflicts of interest, in particular Article 6(1) of the implementing measures, makes it clear that members shall disclose their attendance at events organised by third parties where the reimbursement of their travel, accommodation or subsistence expenses, or the direct payments of such expenses, is covered by a third party, Catherine Bearder, the quaestor who is also a Liberal Democrat MEP, said in the letter to Antonio Tajani, president of the European parliament.

I can see no reference to any of the reported travel or accommodation subsidies related to Mr Farages US tour on any of his declarations of financial interests on the parliaments website. She noted that Mr Banks was currently under investigation by the National Crime Agency over the source of his funding for the Brexit campaign.

Under European parliament rules, Mr Farage could be fined up to around 10,000 (8,800) through withholding of his subsistence allowance if he is found to have broken the rules. He could also be suspended from all or some of the activities of parliament for a period of between two and 30 days  though his right to vote cannot be removed.

Nigel Farage continues to dodge questions surrounding funding from Arron Banks. A well-placed European parliament official told The Independent an investigation would likely lead to Mr Farage being fined if he was found to have broken the rules. Last year, in a separate run-in with expenses rules, Mr Farage had his MEP salary docked by more than 35,000 to recoup misspent EU funds intended for the staffing of his office.

The letter from the quaestor Catherine Bearder to European Parliament president Antonio Tajani

Ms Bearder told The Independent: Nigel Farage says he is a man of the people standing up to a corrupt elite, but he has been less than transparent about his lavish lifestyle. I hope there will now be a thorough parliamentary investigation to establish why these alleged trips and subsidies were not declared in accordance with parliamentary rules.

Nick Aiossa, director of the NGO Transparency International EU, told The Independent: These revelations of Mr Farages US tour to attend the Republican convention and meeting Trump indicate he has not been adhering to the rules on declaring financial interests. The European parliament needs to immediately investigate the matter.

The Brexit Party has not responded to a request for comment on this story at the time of publication.

Mr Farage told Channel 4 News no comment on their investigation, but later told the BBC: Whatever happened after the referendum  I was leaving politics, it happened mostly in America, it had nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with the Brexit Party, it was purely on a personal basis. I was looking for a new career and a new life  its got nothing to do with anything, its a purely private matter.

However, Mr Farage remained an MEP and continued to draw his MEPs salary throughout the whole period, meaning the gifts would likely have had to have been declared under transparency rules.

Asked if he had declared the money with the European parliament authorities, he said: Of course not, its a purely private matter, non-political in absolutely every way.

Mr Banks said: Channel 4s attempts to smear myself and Nigel come at a time when the Brexit Party is riding high in the polls, so it should come as no surprise to anyone.
Nigel Farage has made a pitch for SNP voters saying Scottish independence would only be possible if the UK first leaves the European Union.

The leader of the Brexit Party said that talk of Scottish independence while still in the EU is the "most dishonest political discourse I've ever seen anywhere in the world".

Speaking at a rally in Edinburgh, the former Ukip leader said: "Our politics is full of deception because here in Scotland we have the extraordinary situation where Nicola Sturgeon talks about independence.

"She says that separating from the United Kingdom but staying part of the European Union means that Scotland will be independent.

"It is, I think, the most dishonest political discourse I've ever seen anywhere in the world.

"You cannot be independent if you're governed from the European Court of Justice. You cannot be independent if you're in the EU's customs union and single market. You cannot be independent if you're governed by Monsieur Barnier and Mr Juncker."

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

He suggested that up to 30 per cent of SNP voters do not want to be part of the EU, and added: "Even though I'm very unionist, I would say to those voters: unless we get Brexit, you cannot really have an intelligent debate about Scotland's future.

"Actually, what you ought to do, folks, is at this election lend your votes to the Brexit Party. Let's get out of the European Union and then have an honest debate about the future of Scotland."

Responding to comments by Scottish candidate Louis Stedman-Bryce that the party would not stand in the way of a second independence referendum, Mr Farage told reporters: "He said he wouldn't stand in the way of it, but he also said that  given that it was said at the time that it was a once-in-a-generation vote  it shouldn't happen for a very long time.

"The same thing applies to the Brexit referendum. We were told this was a once-in-a-generation decision."

Asked about receiving 450,000 of funding from the businessman Aaron Banks in the year after the 2016 vote  a claim he earlier denied but one that Mr Banks reportedly confirmed  Mr Farage claimed the issue was a private matter.

He said: "Whatever happened after the referendum, I was leaving politics, it was happening mostly in America, had nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with the Brexit Party, it was purely on a personal basis.

"I was looking for a new career and a new life, it's got nothing to do with anything. It's a purely private matter."

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Pressed on whether he declared it, he said: "Of course not, of course not. It's a purely private matter, non-political in absolutely every way.

"It was me, in America, seeking a new media career which I was looking forward to until Brexit was denied and so I'm back now in politics."
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The Syrian air defenses on Friday evening intercepted "luminous objects" coming from Israel, state TV reported.

The report is yet to give details on the nature of the "luminous objects."

The Syrian Army said that the air defenses were triggered by "enemy targets" coming from the direction of the southern province of Quneitra.

Meanwhile, people in the capital heard explosions reverberating across the capital in the evening.

If confirmed to be an attack, it wouldn't be the first Israeli missile attack to target Syrian sites.

Israel has repeatedly targeted Syrian sites on the pretext that it was targeting sites belonging to Iran-backed militia such as the Lebanese Hezbollah group.




Electing Boris Johnson leader on a no-deal Brexit ticket would risk a permanent split in the Conservative Party, a former minister has warned.

The former foreign secretary has established himself as firm favourite to succeed Theresa May as prime minister in a contest many in Westminster expect to be triggered within weeks.

It comes as the prime minister prepares to deliver a speech on Brexit this week, in what a government source billed as a "bold offer" to MPs in a last-ditch attempt to build support for her beleaguered Brexit bill in the Commons.

A poll conducted shortly after he confirmed he would stand on Thursday put him on 39 per cent support among party members, well ahead of his nearest rival Dominic Raab on 13 per cent.

But he must first win his way through an MPs vote onto the shortlist of two presented to the membership in the country.

Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt is currently thought to be leading in the race to sign up MP supporters, with Mr Johnson, Mr Raab and Michael Gove grouped together some way behind, and a wide range of other potential candidates yet to make real inroads.

Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Show all 9 1 /9 Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Boris Johnson Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson has long been hopeful, he previously stood in the leadership contest that followed the Brexit vote and has at many times since been thought to be maneuvering himself towards the goal. He remains a darling of the party's right wing, particularly those in the ERG, and is the most popular choice among Tory voters but his leadership bid would be fiercely opposed by many MPs PA Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Michael Gove Environment secretary Michael Gove is another member who has long wanted to be leader. He has lately been known for rousing his party in the commons, his recent speeches on the Brexit deal and Labour's no confidence motion have overshadowed the Prime Minister's. He has been loyal to the Prime Minister, partly to shed his reputation as a backstabber who abandoned Boris Johnson to stand against him in the 2016 leadership election Getty Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Dominic Raab Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab has emerged as a favourite to be the Brexiteer candidate in a contest to succeed to Ms May. He displayed a grip on detail in his role as Brexit secretary. When asked recently if he would like to become prime minister he replied "never say never" Getty Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Rory Stewart International development secretary Rory Stewart is pitching himself as the sensible candidate, promising to rule out both a second referendum and a no-deal Brexit. He was only recently promoted to the cabinet, previously serving as prisons minister, where he caught headlines with a pledge to resign if he could not reduce levels of violence within a year PA Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Esther McVey The former work and pensions secretary announced that she will be standing for the leadership when May leaves. McVey is the first to explicitly state that she intends to stand. She resigned from the cabinet in protest over May's Brexit deal AFP/Getty Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Sajid Javid Home secretary Sajid Javid is said to have a plan in place for a leadership race. He made headlines over Christmas when he declared that people smuggling over the English channel was a "major incident" and more recently when he revoked the citizenship of ISIS bride Shamima Begum. Son of a bus driver, he wants the Conservatives to be seen as the party of social mobility PA Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Jeremy Hunt Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt was recently thought to be the favourite in the event of a leadership race as he could sell himself as the man to unite the party. Critics worry that his long stint as health secretary could return to haunt him at a general election. He has reportedly been holding meetings with Tory MPs over breakfast to promote his leadership PA Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Andrea Leadsom Following the Prime Minister's second defeat over her Brexit deal, Leader of the house Andrea Leadsom hosted a dinner party at which "leadership was the only topic of conversation", The Times heard. Leadsom ran against Theresa May in the 2016 leadership election before dropping out, allowing May to become Prime Minister AFP/Getty Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Priti Patel Former international development secretary Priti Patel is thought to be positioning herself as a contender. One MP told The Independent "she knows she's from the right of the party, the part which is going to choose the next leader, so she's reminding everyone she's there." Patel left the government late in 2017 after it emerged that she had held undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials PA

But Phillip Lee, who quit Ms Mays government last year over her EU withdrawal policy, told The Independent that Mr Johnson would risk the Conservatives hold on power and the future of the party if he took it down a no-deal route.

It would be a sweet irony if the Brexit figurehead found himself forced to deliver a Final Say referendum because there was no majority in parliament for no deal, he said.

I dont think it is necessarily a personality who splits the party, I think the policy might, said Mr Lee, who now chairs the Right to Vote group of Tory advocates of a referendum. I dont think a no-deal Brexit leaves the party intact. If that becomes the policy of the winning candidate, expect interesting times to follow.

Mr Lee  who has faced threats of deselection in his Bracknell seat  said he had not personally decided whether he could remain in a party led by Mr Johnson, but he said it was an active topic of conversation among concerned MPs.

Dont think that these conversations are not taking place, he said. They have been taking place for at least a year.

Anybody who thinks that people dont feel passionately about stopping no-deal Brexit in the Conservative ranks and arent prepared to throw themselves under a bus doesnt understand the situation.

Mr Lee predicted confidently that at least 20 Tory MPs would opt for a second referendum if the only alternative was no deal; perhaps enough to secure a fresh public vote.

Phillip Lee MP predicts at least 20 Tory MPs would back a second referendum if no deal was the only alternative (Parliament Live)

When MPs voted on a referendum proposal in March it was defeated by 268 to 295. But Mr Lee said the vote was taken when Ms Mays soft Brexit alternative was still seen as a viable option.

The dramatic emergence of the Brexit Party under Nigel Farage had emboldened Tory Remainers by clarifying the options, he said. But he added: Until soft Brexit 100 per cent disappears as an option, it remains a complicating factor.

Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle said he has had similar conversations: There are many Conservatives who tell me that, when the crunch comes and if there is a more Brexity version put on the table by a new Brexity prime minister, they will come over to us on the confirmatory vote.

We only need about 45-30, maybe, Conservatives to come over to us and we can achieve a majority in parliament.

Although a no-deal Brexit is hugely popular among rank-and-file Conservatives, some of the partys MPs are wary of a policy that might win them enhanced majorities in core Leave-voting areas like Lincolnshire but cost them seats in London, the southwest and Scotland.

Despite Mr Johnsons declaration on Thursday and the collapse of cross-party Brexit talks on Friday, the race for the succession remains a phoney war.

Friends of the Uxbridge MP said he had not intended to use his appearance at a conference in Manchester as a stage to announce his intentions, but had simply decided to answer the question straightforwardly if he was asked if he would stand.

Few in Westminster will have missed the signs of rival camps being established in anticipation of a battle for the crown following Ms Mays fall. But despite the conversations in tea rooms and the beauty parade speeches by would-be contenders, the race is yet to begin in earnest.

With it being a cold war for so long, everyone is up and ready, but no one is going to precipitate anything, said one source.

Next week, Ms May will convene a meeting of the cabinet to consult on changes to be made to the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement Bill, including issues discussed with Labour in the cross-party talks which dramatically collapsed on Friday.

The prime minister will then deliver a speech setting out the details of the discussions, including a timetable for the introduction of the WAB in the House of Commons.

"The government has been negotiating with Labour for an agreement to build the biggest level of support across parliament for the Withdrawal Agreement Bill," a government source said.

"Labour have been clear that they have not ruled out supporting it if the overall package is acceptable. We intend to make a bold offer that will allow parliament to back the bill, get the deal over the line - and deliver Brexit."
The founder of an alleged New York sex cult would hold meetings where he would sit fully clothed in a chair and give lectures on philosophy, while female slaves sat naked on the floor around him, one of the women testified at his trial.

Lauren Salzman told the jury in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on Friday that she and other women in secret society DOS, run by marketing company Nxivm, would be totally nude and sit on the floor below him.

If Keith Raniere, self-help guru and alleged cult leader, was absent, they would start a meeting by taking nude group photos and sending them to him, Ms Salzman said.

The women, who had been branded with his initials, were instructed to make sure their brands were visible and that they looked happy.

Raniere has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of using his teachings to manipulate and exploit women as his sex slaves.

But on Friday, Salzman, 42, who first met Raniere through her mother when she was just 21 and began a sexual relationship with him, and who says she has been abused by Raniere for many years, shed new light on the inside world of the society, which is also known as The Vow.

A courtroom sketch of Keith Raniere at the Brooklyn federal courthouse (Reuters) (REUTERS)

The women addressed Raniere as Vanguard, she said, and any resistance to his orders was considered an ethical breach, while begging for forgiveness was seen as an opportunity for personal growth.

Jurors were shown receipts for thousands of dollars worth of sex toys that were ordered by a member of Raineres inner circle. The items included a full-size jail cell described by the seller as a true piece of dungeon furniture.

Salzmans mother Nancy served as Nxivms president and was a first-line slave, which meant she answered directly to Raniere and had slaves of her own, according to her daughter.

Actress Allison Mack leaves Brooklyn federal court after pleading guilty to racketeering charges (AP)

Raniere nicknamed Salzman Forlorn, because she was visibly unhappy. I looked up to him ... I wanted to be like him, she said.

[But] there were lots of times I wanted to leave the relationship and someone would talk me out of it.

Salzman identified Smallville actress Allison Mack as a high-ranking member of the secret subgroup. Ms Mack has pleaded guilty to accusations she collected embarrassing material, such as nude photos, from followers  called collateral  that the group threatened to make public if they ever tried to defect.

One former member of the group said the women looked to Raniere as some kind of god. He faces charges including conspiracy, forced labour, extortion, possessing child abuse images and sex trafficking  with prosecutors alleging that he exerted a huge amount of control over the members of the group. Mr Raniere has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

His attorneys have insisted his interactions with the women, however unusual, were consensual.

The trial continues on Monday.
Back in February, as the United States obsessed over whether Donald Trump would force a second government shutdown, Ohio state senator Kristina Roegner quietly introduced a bill that is now part of a flood of laws threatening the right to an abortion all across the country.

The bill, known as a heartbeat abortion bill, received little national press. But, when it was signed into law in April, it made good on a near seven-year effort to restrict abortions in the state to six weeks, before many women even know they're pregnant.

The point for me, for this heartbeat bill, and all the pro-life legislation, is to save the unborn, Ms Roegner told The Independent this week of the bill, which has been introduced in every legislative session in the state since at least 2011. Its to save innocent life.

The bill is one of eight in the US to be passed this year, following over 40 years' worth of incremental work to suppress abortions. And they have spurred a national reckoning over abortion rights, and led virtually every American who has much of an opinion on the issue to wonder: is this the end of Roe v Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that made abortion a right for women across the US?

As it turns out, it takes very little prodding for that goal to be made explicit.

The primary purpose is to save human life, Ms Roegner said. But were not going to shy away from it going to the Supreme Court with the intention of overturning Roe v Wade.

Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Show all 23 1 /23 Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists hold placards outside of the US Supreme Court ahead of an expected ruling on abortion clinic restrictions on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions An abortion rights activist holds placards outside of the US Supreme Court before the Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. The US Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Texas law placing a raft of restrictions on abortion clinics, handing a major victory to the "pro-choice" camp in the country's most important ruling on the divisive issue in a generation. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: Pro-life activists pray on the steps of the United States Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: Texas abortion provider Amy Hagstrom-Miller looks on as Nancy Northup, President of The Center for Reproductive Rights speaks to the media outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions An abortion rights activist holds placards outside of the US Supreme Court before the Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. The US Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Texas law placing a raft of restrictions on abortion clinics, handing a major victory to the "pro-choice" camp in the country's most important ruling on the divisive issue in a generation. Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Texas abortion provider Amy Hagstrom-Miller wipes a tear as she walks down the steps of the United States Supreme Court with Nancy Northup, President of The Center for Reproductive Rights on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: Abortion rights activists Morgan Hopkins of Boston, left, and Alison Turkos of New York City, celebrate on the steps of the United States Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: Abortion rights activists Morgan Hopkins of Boston, left, and Alison Turkos of New York City, celebrate on the steps of the United States Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. (Photo by Pete Marovich/Getty Images) Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activist Morgan Hopkins of Boston, celebrates on the steps of the United States Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists embrace after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists hold placards outside of the US Supreme Court ahead of a ruling on abortion clinic restrictions on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. / AFP / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. / AFP / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists embrace after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Pro-choice activist, Alissa Manzoeillo, of Washington, D.C. waits for rulings in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. A ruling is expected in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, a Texas case the places restrictions on abortion clinics, as well as rulings in the former Virginia Governor's corruption case and a gun rights case. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists hold placards outside of the US Supreme Court ahead of an expected ruling on abortion clinic restrictions on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists hold placards outside of the US Supreme Court ahead of an expected ruling on abortion clinic restrictions on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. AFP/Getty Images

For supporters of abortion bans  including the Ohio bill and one recently signed law in Alabama, which would send physicians to prison for life for terminating a pregnancy at any stage  the strategy is pretty clear, and sets these red states on a direct collision course with the Supreme Court if all things go well.

With Roe as the law of the land, the plan goes, each of these bills would run foul of the limits put in place by that ruling, which limits states from banning abortions if a foetus couldnt survive outside of the womb. At six weeks, a foetus is the size of a sweet pea and is just beginning to form paddle-like hands and feet, but is nowhere near ready for the real world.

So, far from banning abortion immediately, the laws that have been popping up across the country are intended to draw legal challenges, with the issue becoming more and more pressing for the nations higher court to make a decision as more states join the battle.

State representative Terri Collins, who sponsored the bill in Alabama that would make virtually all abortions illegal, even in cases of rape or incest, confirmed that the Supreme Court is the point.

But what Im trying to do here is get this case in front of the Supreme Court so Roe v Wade can be overturned, she told the Washington Post, echoing a similar statements she has made to other media outlets.

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Since Roe v Wade was handed down in 1973, it is estimated that more than 54 million abortions have been performed in the United States alone.

While abortion ban advocates describe that number as a mass slaughter  with the Alabama bill explicitly linking abortion to the Holocaust  many in the pro choice movement say the figure is not the point.

One in four women are expected to have an abortion by the time they turn 45, according to the Guttmacher Institute, and the protections provided by Roe mean that those women have no reason to seek out the procedure in an unsafe condition. Instead, doctors and physicians are in the room, helping perform a procedure that was much more dangerous when it was done secretly fifty years ago.

And, having the procedure in the realm of the legal means that there is no discrepancy in enforcement. While the bills banning abortion being passed across the country dont mention the race or socioeconomic status of the women who might be targeted, it has been argued that abortions would disproportionately impact poor women and women of colour. Thats at least in part because judges and prosecutors in America often have a fair amount of discretion on sentencing guidelines, and that tends to benefit rich white folks.

But, while Ms Roegner and Ms Collins may hope to force a new Supreme Court ruling  and might expect a favourable ruling, since Donald Trump has pushed the court to the right with the appointment of justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch  it is not clear that the court would actually take up the case.

Plus, a challenge to Roe v Wade could come from anywhere, according to the deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project, Brigitte Amir.

Ms Amir told Mother Jones that she doesnt think these laws getting loads of press will be the end of Roe, even if they have that potential.

Any Supreme Court case that deals with abortion could be used to dismantle Roe v Wade, she told the magazine.

Which is to say that, much like the Ohio bill passed in April, the biggest challenge may not come with a bang. It may end with a whimper.
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders released his plan for reforming public education on Saturday, including halting federal funding of new charter schools and banning those that are for-profit.

Saying charter schools are "exacerbating educational segregation", Mr Sanders proposes more transparency and accountability for them, as well as limits on the pay of their chief executives.

According to the campaign, the 10-point plan focuses on "reversing racial and economic segregation that is plaguing elementary and secondary schools".

The current education secretary, Betsy DeVos, is an advocate for charter schools, which receive public funding but operate independently.

Mr Sanders unveiled the plan ahead of a speech in South Carolina.

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

The campaign said the release of Mr Sanders' Thurgood Marshall Plan for Public Education and Educators was timed to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the Brown v Board of Education ruling that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

As the head of the NAACP Legal Defence and Educational Fund, Marshall served as chief attorney for the plaintiffs, more than a decade before becoming the first black US Supreme Court justice.

To combat disparities in education funding, the senator from Vermont is proposing "large new investments in programmes that serve high-poverty communities, support special needs students, and augment local efforts to integrate school districts".

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That also includes a minimum on per-pupil spending in all school districts across the country, as well as a universal school meal plan and a goal of closing "the gap in school infrastructure funding to renovate, modernise, and green the nation's schools".

Mr Sanders' plan also proposes investment to raise starting teacher salaries to at least $60,000 (47,000), as well as grants and tax credits to help teachers defray the cost of school supplies.

This is Mr Sanders' first major plan of this campaign for K-12 education reforms. Dating back to his 2016 run for president, Mr Sanders has repeatedly addressed reforms in higher education, including making four-year college free.

Some of the other nearly two-dozen candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination have come out with their own plans for elementary and higher education.

Earlier this year, senator Kamala Harris of California made her first campaign policy rollout a federal investment in teacher pay.

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has proposed alleviating almost all college debt for 42 million Americans, proposing an "ultra-millionaire" tax to fund the $640bn cost.

Earlier this week, Ms Warren said her secretary of education "will be a former public school teacher who is committed to public education".

Associated Press
US airlines have been warned by diplomats that their planes face a risk of being misidentified as they fly over the Gulf amid heightened tensions between America and Iran,

A notice from the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) published on 16 May underlined the risks the tensions pose to a region crucial to global air travel.

The guidance warned US pilots to be cautious in flying over the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, as there is heightened military activities and increased political tension between the two states.

Washington has dispatched naval warships and bombers to the region in an attempt to protect American interests, diplomats, and forces from what it called Iranian aggression.

The FAA warning only applies to US registered aircraft, pilots, and US carriers. The UK is understood not to have issued a similar warning.

Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Show all 10 1 /10 Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian MPs burnt a US flag in parliament after Donald Trump announced America's withdrawal from the nuclear deal. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal US President Donald Trump displays a presidential memorandum after announcing his intent to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House. Reuters Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Some Iranian MPs reacted after Trumps decision by shouting 'death to America'. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian lawmakers prepare to burn two pieces of papers representing the US flag and the nuclear deal. AP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran said it will hold talks with signatories to the nuclear deal after Trump's decision to withdraw from the accord, which it branded "psychological warfare". AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Several Iranian MPs stood chanting in the Tehran parliament. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian MPs burning a US flag AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal President Hassan Rouhani addressed the nation in a televised speech in Tehran. He said he'd send his foreign minister to negotiate with countries remaining in the nuclear deal after Trump's decision to pull America from the deal, warning he otherwise would restart enriching uranium "in the next weeks." Iranian Presidency Office via AP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran's press condemned Trump's withdrawal from a multi-party nuclear deal but was divided over whether Tehran should react with patience or withdraw itself. AFP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Trump announced the US withdrawal from what he called the "defective" multinational nuclear deal with Iran, and said Washington would reinstate sanctions against the Islamic republic. AFP/Getty

The warning stated that tensions may present an increasing inadvertent risk to US civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or misidentification".

The FAA also warned of potential GPS interference and communications jamming in the area, which they say may occur with little to no warning.

The region is home to major hub airports, including Dubai International, the busiest international airport in the world.
Former FBI director James Comey has accused Attorney General William Barr of sliming his own department by questioning the creation of the Trump-Russia investigation.

Mr Comey also suggested the head of the US justice department  who has launched a review into the origins of the 2016 election meddling probe  had been acting as a spokesperson for Donald Trump.

The AG should stop sliming his own Department, the former FBI chief tweeted. If there are bad facts, show us, or search for them professionally and then tell us what you found. An AG must act like the leader of the Department of Justice, an organization based on truth. Donald Trump has enough spokespeople.

The attorney general has asked John Durham, the US attorney in Connecticut, to examine how the probe into Russian election interference began and whether laws were broken while intelligence was collected on the Trump campaign, it was revealed earlier this week.

On Friday Mr Barr said the review would focus on the actions of the US intelligence community before the FBI opened a formal inquiry in July 2016.

Mueller investigation: The key figures Show all 12 1 /12 Mueller investigation: The key figures Mueller investigation: The key figures Robert Mueller is the special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, and potential obstruction of justice by the president. Mr Mueller has a pristine reputation in Washington, where he was previously in charge of the FBI. Throughout his investigation, he and his team have been notoriously tight lipped about what they know and where their investigation has led. REUTERS Mueller investigation: The key figures Former FBI director James Comey was the catalyst that led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. Mr Comey was fired by the president after Mr Trump reportedly asked him to drop his own Russia investigation. Mr Trump has long maintained that the investigation is a "witch hunt". AFP/Getty Images Mueller investigation: The key figures Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein had authority over the special counsel investigation for much of the two years it has been active. Mr Rosenstein found himself with that responsibility after then-attorney general Jeff Sessions recused himself from that oversight. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Attorney general Jeff Sessions's decision to recuse himself from oversight of the special counsel investigation may have cost him his job in the end. Mr Sessions resigned last year, after weathering a contentious relationship with Donald Trump who vocally criticised his attorney general for taking a step back. Mr Sessions recused himself from the oversight citing longstanding Justice Department rules to not be involved in investigations overseeing campaigns that officials were apart of. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Attorney General William Barr is currently responsible for oversight of the special counsel investigation. Mr Barr's office will be the first to receive the Mueller report when it is finished. His office will then determine what portion or version of that report should be delivered to Congress, and also made public. EPA Mueller investigation: The key figures Michal Cohn is the president's former personal lawyer, who has been helping the special counsel investigation as a part of a plea deal over financial crimes, and campaign finance crimes, he has pleaded guilty to. Among those crimes, Cohen admitted to facilitating $130,000 in hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. Cohen has said he did so at the direction of Mr Trump. Cohen has also admitted that he maintained contacts with Russian officials about a potential Trump real estate project in Moscow for months longer than Mr Trump and others admitted. The talks continued well into 2016 during the campaign, he has said. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Stormy Daniels has alleged that she had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006, soon after Melania Trump gave birth to Baron Trump. The accusation is of particular importance as a result of the $130,000 hush money payment she received to keep quiet about the affair during the 2016 campaign. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Paul Manafort was Donald Trump's former campaign chairman. Manafort was charged alongside Rick Gates for a slew of financial crimes, and was convicted on several counts in a Virginia court. He then pleaded guilty to separate charges filed in a Washington court. Manafort has been sentenced to just 7.5 years in prison for his crimes  in spite of recommendations from the special counsel's office for a much harsher sentence. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures George Papadopoulos was one of the first individuals associated with the Trump campaign to be charged by the Mueller probe. He ultimately received a 14 day prison sentence for lying to investigators about contacts he had with Russian officials. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Roger Stone is a well known political fixer and operative, who has made a name for himself for some dirty tactics. He has been charged by the Mueller probe earlier this year, and he has been said to have had prior knowledge that WikiLeaks planned on publishing stolen emails from the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016. Getty Images Mueller investigation: The key figures Rick Gates was charged alongside former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for a range of crimes. Gates, who worked alongside Manafort for a pro-Russia Ukrainian political party. The two were charged with conspiracy and financial crimes. Gates pleaded guilty. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Former national security adviser Michael Flynn was one of the first casualties of the Russia scandal, and was forced out of his position in the White House weeks after Donald Trump took office. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to "willfully" making fraudulent statements about contacts he had with Russian officials including former Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Flynn then lied to Vice President Mike Pence about that contact. REUTERS

Government power was used to spy on American citizens, the attorney general told The Wall Street Journal. I cant imagine any world where we wouldnt take a look and make sure that was done properly.

Mr Barr told a Senate subcommittee last month that he believed spying did occur. He said: The question is whether it was adequately predicated and Im not suggesting it wasnt adequately predicated, but I need to explore that.

The attorney general has provided no details about what spying may have taken place but he could be alluding to a surveillance warrant the FBI obtained on former Trump associate Carter Page and the FBIs use of an informant while investigating ex-Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos.

His suggestions that members of the Trump campaign were unfairly targeted have been welcomed by the president and his associates, who have repeatedly claimed investigations into the campaign were motivated by political bias.

The president said that he did not request Mr Barr launch the review, but that he thinks its a great thing that he did it.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress earlier in May that he has no evidence the FBI illegally monitored the Trump campaign and doesnt consider court-approved FBI surveillance to be spying.

Mr Comey has said the FBI doesnt spy, the FBI investigates. He has been a consistent critic of Mr Trump since he was fired as FBI director by the president in May 2017, calling him morally unfit to be president.
Seventeen Afghan police officers were killed by US airstrikes because of a miscommunication during clashes with Taliban forces, according to military officials.

The deadly friendly fire incident took place in Afghanistans southern Helmand province on Thursday evening.

Afghan security forces called in US air support after taking heavy fire from Taliban fighters outside the provinces capital Lashkar Gah.

The US military said they targeted the area after being told that it was clear of allied units.

Unfortunately, they were not and a tragic accident resulted, said spokesman Colonel Dave Butler. Afghan security forces as well as Taliban fighters were killed in the strikes.

Were examining the miscommunication to ensure it is not repeated. We regret this tragic loss of life of our partners and are committed to improvement every day with every mission.

Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Show all 20 1 /20 Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Nooria*, 15 in the home her family has lived in for the past two years in Mazar-i Sharif She was forced to flee her home with her family after their town was attacked by armed groups. Nooria describes a rocket hitting her neighbours home killing many inside. They fled on foot with just the clothes on their backs and she now lives in Mazari Shariff where Save the Children have enrolled her in school and provide vocational training Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Nooria* hopes for a future with no war; "When they attacked our village, the rocket hit our neighbour's house and they all died. Our house then caught fire and we ran away. My friends who I used to play with - I still don't know if they are alive or if they are dead. Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict I'm hoping for a better future, to learn, to support my family and to get them out of this difficult life. And I'm hoping for a future where there is no war. Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Naveed*, 16 at his family home in Mazar-i Sharif Naveed lost his leg when he stepped on a mine aged just 8-years-old. He was herding the family's sheep in the mountains near their home when he triggered a landmine Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict After months of medical treatment his right leg was eventually amputated. He received physiotherapy and a prosthetic leg from the International Committee for the Red Cross in Mazar Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Now enrolled in school, Naveed is being given vocational training by Save the Children. For around a year I felt and dreamt that I still had my leg. But when I woke up and saw, there was no leg. Sometimes Id feel with my hand to check and find it wasn't there. Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict If someone has loses their leg, it does not mean that they have lost their mind." Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict "With the help of our minds we can continue to study, learn, and work to make the future of our families brighter. Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Naveed and Mahboob*, 55 (Naveed's father) Several years ago Neveed's father, Mahboob, was brutally beaten with rifle butts by armed groups after, he says, he failed to provide food for them while they were stationed in the family's village. He suffered brain damage which affected the right side of his body, speech and his brain function Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Habiba*, 14, and Arezo*, 15 in a village outside Kabul Habiba and Arezo were injured with their mother three years ago in a suicide bombing in Kabul. Arezo is still traumatised from what she saw and has become completely withdrawn Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Arezo's younger sister Habiba cares for her, takes her to lessons and anywhere she wants to go. They are both in school through Save the Children's 'Steps towards Afghan girls' education success' (STAGES) programme, which helps the most marginalised girls get access to education, stay in school and learn. Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Habiba says: When I woke up and I opened my eyes I saw lots of bodies and I thought I was not alive any more. It was horrible. I'll never forget that. Whenever there is a big sound she gets scared because she was traumatised by the sound she heard during the attack. I love my sister, and I help her with her lessons, I take her anywhere." Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict "She's older than me but I feel like the older one because I support her. I hope for a better future for me and my sister. Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Khalida*, 10 in a classroom in a village outside Kabul Two years ago Khalida lost her 18-year old brother when he was killed in an explosion in Kabul. She misses him every day and says the family are still carrying the grief of his loss Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict "Two years ago, my brother was going to Kabul when an explosion happened and he lost his life. We are still carrying the grief and are crying over him. At the time we were happy, everyone was happy. Now no-one is happy in the family. When I remember him, I cry and feel so bad. I hope for peace and that war will stop, and that nobody loses their brother Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict I want to get education to become a teacher. I want to teach others who have never been to school Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Sema*,11 at her family home in Kabul Sema recalls coming home from her aunt's house and being told that her father had been killed in a suicide attack Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Sema still thinks about him every second and likes to look at his prayer beads (Tisbeh) to remember him. They hang from the curtain in the family home. She loves school and wants to become a teacher one day. Sema says she wants peace in her country to stop other children losing their fathers. We still have lots of his belongings, like his car, his clothes, his watch, his shoes. Whenever we see them we cry. He gave us all so much love every moment and he is on our minds. I want for the powerful people around the world to stop the war and bring peace, because I don't want other children to lose their fathers. Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict I want to become a teacher to serve the country and I don't want any girls to be illiterate. I want to teach all the girls, so they have access to education. *Names have been changed to protect identities Andrew Quilty/Save the Children

Another 14 Afghan police officers were injured in the strikes.

The police initially came under fire while attempting to take down a Taliban flag from a nearby water tower, according a report in the US military newspaper Stars and Stripes.

After failing to drive back the insurgents, the police called in the airstrikes.

Helmands governor, Mohammad Yasin, said Afghan authorities were investigating.

In March a similar miscommunication resulted in the death of at least five Afghan soldiers during a US airstrike in neighbouring Uruzgan province.

The number of US airstrikes has risen in the past year, mostly in response to Afghan requests for assistance but also as part of an ongoing campaign against Isis militants in eastern provinces.

Taliban fighters continue to launch daily attacks on Afghan forces despite continued attempts to negotiate a peace deal to end the 18-year-long war.

On Saturday morning two people, including a child, were killed in a bomb blast near a market in the western province of Herat.

Fourteen others, including a district administrative chief, were injured in the explosion.

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No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but Taliban insurgents regularly target Afghan officials and security forces in the area.

Last year saw the highest number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan since records began to be kept in 2009.

Additional reporting by Associated Press
Australians have voted for the country's next leader. The general election, which will determine the nation's sixth prime minister in as many years, has been closely-fought between the conservative Liberal Party, led by current Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and Labor, led by Bill Shorten.

Opinion polls have predicted a win for the opposition, which would mean Mr Morrison, who only became prime minister in August, will have had one of the shortest tenures in the role in the 118-year history of the Australian federation.

By law Australians must vote. We take a look at Australias system of mandatory voting, how and whether it works; and investigate why everyones suddenly tweeting about sausages.

What is compulsory voting?

Since 1924 Australians have been legally required to enrol to vote in national elections, following a fall in turnout at the 1922 federal election. They are fined $20 if they fail to turn up. As a result, turnout has been as high as 96 per cent in some elections and has never dropped below 91 per cent since mandatory voting was introduced, according to CNN.

Australia is one of only 19 countries out of 166 electoral democracies to make voting compulsory, and is the only English-speaking country to do so.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison criticised Israel Folau for his comments (Getty)

Is mandatory voting considered a good thing?

Some say it infringes on an individuals right to abstain from voting. However, many argue in favour of it. In 2015 former US President Barack Obama floated the idea that other countries should adopt transformative mandatory voting, too.

It would counteract money more than anything," he said. "The people who tend not to vote are young, they're lower income, they're skewed more heavily towards immigrant groups and minority groups," Mr Obama said. "There's a reason why some folks try to keep them away from the polls."

In her book, From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage, Judith Brett argues compulsory voting has shielded Australia from political polarisation like that which has arguably infected politics in the United States and the UK.

A person prepares a democracy sausage on Election Day in Melbourne, Australia, 18 May 2019. (EPA)

What have sausages got to do with it?

Australians who headed to the polls to vote on Saturday could snag themselves a literal democracy sausage to eat. Over recent years, the trend for buying food  mainly sausages  at pop-up stalls outside polling booths has taken off.

Compulsory voting means large numbers of people are guaranteed to turn up to vote, providing an ample fundraising opportunity. That, along with a law which says polling day must always fall on a Saturday, has made the democracy sausage a rite-of-passage.

This year, the democracy sausage has also gone digital, with Australians posting photos under the Twitter hashtag #DemocracySausage and maps springing up to map local sausage stalls. Plus its gone international, with sausages at polling booths as far away as New York, Berlin and Japan.

What else do you need to know about the Australian election?

Polls have now closed and the first exit polls put Labor ahead with a slim victory of 52-48 for its leader Bill Shorten. Counting has now begun and the first results are expected later today.
Nationalist and far-right parties from across Europe have staged a show of solidarity in a drive to win more seats at next weeks European parliamentary elections.

Populists from 11 European countries, including Frances Marine Le Pen and Hollands Geert Wilders, staged a joint rally in Italy, setting their sights on gaining more power.

Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, leading the event, promised the elections would help reshape the continent by boosting the far right.

Mr Salvini, leader of Italys anti-immigrant League party, is confident his newly forged alliance will win a record number of seats at the vote on Thursday to Sunday, giving it a powerful voice in how the 28-nation European Union is run.

He pledged to close Europes borders to migrants if the League wins not just the most votes of any party in Italy, but also of Europe.

Far-right Vox party celebrate gains in Spain election: in pictures Show all 9 1 /9 Far-right Vox party celebrate gains in Spain election: in pictures Far-right Vox party celebrate gains in Spain election: in pictures A supporter of Spanish far-right Vox party chants "long live Spain" in a closing event for the election campaign on April 26 AP Far-right Vox party celebrate gains in Spain election: in pictures Vox leader Santiago Abascal reacts as the election results are announced AFP/Getty Far-right Vox party celebrate gains in Spain election: in pictures Vox leader Santiago Abascal speaks at a rally on election night AFP/Getty Far-right Vox party celebrate gains in Spain election: in pictures Supporters of Vox wait for the announcement of the election results in Madrid Reuters Far-right Vox party celebrate gains in Spain election: in pictures Supporters of Vox wave flags as leader Santiago Abascal delivers a speech on election night AFP/Getty Far-right Vox party celebrate gains in Spain election: in pictures Supporters of Vox celebrate following the election results in Madrid AFP/Getty Far-right Vox party celebrate gains in Spain election: in pictures Supporters of Vox wait for the announcement of the election results in Madrid Reuters Far-right Vox party celebrate gains in Spain election: in pictures Supporters of Vox wait for the announcement of the election results in Madrid Reuters Far-right Vox party celebrate gains in Spain election: in pictures Vox leader Santiago Abascal reacts as the election results are announced Reuters

He and Ms Le Pen hope their Europe of Nations and Freedom group, currently only small in the European Parliament, to become the third-largest.

I think lots of things will change in Europe, Mr Salvini said.

However, the gathering in Milan was dampened by a scandal engulfing one of his most prominent allies, Austrias Freedom Party, whose leader quit as government vice-chancellor after he was videoed offering state contracts in exchange for political support.

The beleaguered Freedom Party had to skip the event, but Germanys Alternative for Germany (AfD) joined it.

This is a historic moment, Ms Le Pen said. Five years ago we were isolated, but today, with our allies, we will finally be in a position to change this Europe.

Recent polls suggest the alliance will come fourth, but Le Pen said other parties might still join it, including Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbans Fidesz party.

A number of top EU jobs will become vacant after the elections, including president of the European Central Bank, and Mr Salvini hopes a strong showing by nationalists will give them more leverage when the posts are filled.

The far-right Italian deputy prime minister was elected into government last summer on a wave of popular anger in Italy towards Brussels and the Italian political establishment.

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The parties in the group share the broad goals of returning power to EU member states, curbing immigration and preventing the spread of Islam in Europe.

But they often have different social and economic policies.

Agencies contributed to this report.
German lawmakers have condemned a movement that calls for a cultural boycott of Israel, saying it is anti-semitic and reminiscent of the Nazi campaign against the Jews.

In a vote on Friday, the German parliament said the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which wants to place financial pressure on Israel over its occupation of Palestinian land, uses anti-semitic tactics.

"The argumentation patterns and methods used by the BDS movement are anti-semitic," read the motion submitted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party (CDU), their Social Democrat coalition partners (SPD) as well as the Greens and Free Democrats.

The move comes after BDS, which advocates boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israeli businesses, universities and cultural institutions, called upon artists and pop groups to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

During the vote, which took place on the evening of the music shows final, German MPs likened BDS campaigns to the most terrifying phase of German history when an estimated six million Jews were murdered during the holocaust.

The German federal parliament, Bundestag, at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany. (AP)

"The 'don't buy' stickers of the BDS movement on Israeli products [could be associated] with the Nazi call 'don't buy from Jews', and other corresponding graffiti on facades and shop windows," the non-binding resolution said.

BDS have criticised the motion as anti-Palestinian and said it defies international law. "The German establishment is entrenching its complicity in Israel's crimes of military occupation, ethnic cleansing, siege and apartheid," the group said on Twitter.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the decision. "I hope that this decision will bring about concrete steps and I call upon other countries to adopt similar legislation," he said in a statement.

BDS calls for economic pressure on Israel to end the occupation of Palestinian land, grant Arab citizens equal rights and recognise the right of return to Palestinian refugees. It has called on artists, music fans and broadcasters to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest, arguing it amounts to "whitewashing" Israel's policies towards Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

A number of artists said they would boycott the show, including Wolf Alice, Roger Waters and Peter Gabriel, all of whom signed an open letter. Madonna, however, has said she will still perform.

Germanys far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has seats in the German Bundestag, submitted their own motion calling for a total ban of the BDS in Germany. That motion was defeated.
 Flash

China hopes to work with the Iranian side to eliminate complicated disturbing factors and make efforts for the full implementation of the Iran nuclear deal, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday.



Wang made the remarks when meeting with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

"China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions and the so-called 'long-arm jurisdiction' imposed by the United States on Iran," Wang said, pledging to maintain the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, and safeguard the authority of the United Nations and basic norms governing international relations.

China welcomes Iran to actively take part in the joint building of the Belt and Road and hopes to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, Wang said.

Zarif praised China for its important role in defending the Iran nuclear deal and vowed to strengthen bilateral and multilateral coordination so as to safeguard multilateralism and common interests of the two countries.
In the last few years of his life my father suffered from dementia. It was hard to talk to him about his likes and dislikes because he didnt always remember what they were. Along with his deteriorating health he gradually began to lose interest in almost everything, but his love of music persisted. He was a dedicated audiophile who spent years building a special listening room. We spent hours there listening to Bruckner, Fayruz, Bowie, Mahler, Gregorian Chants, and Madonna. Lots and lots of Madonna. First on records, then on CDs, and then on laserdiscs.

My father was almost 90 when he passed away. His life was really good and full of love  it was as fair a deal as humans get. Born in the mid 1920s in British occupied Palestine, he fought against the British Mandate in the Jewish Irgun (we still have a gun that he stole from a British soldier when he was 14), forged passports in Italy, lost an eye from a grenade blast and was still an extraordinary painter. When telling us stories about those times he always insisted that life just carried him places, that he did not choose the paths he took because there was no choice.

This was just the way things happened in this part of the world during that time, necessity sent you places and carved the way for you: his mothers cousin, a member of NILI (the Jewish espionage network that fought the Ottomans to bring the British to Palestine) was hung in Syria, and his great grandmother an orphan from Tunisia was sent to Palestine by herself on a boat in the 19th century.

Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Show all 10 1 /10 Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Fire and smoke rises from a building hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City AFP/Getty Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Smoke rises above buildings in Rafah in the Gaza Strip following Israeli airstrikes AFP/Getty Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Palestinians are reflected in a mirror as they stand by the rubble of the office of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City Reuters Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip A Palestinian stands by the rubble of the office of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City Reuters Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Palestinian boys watch as others inspect a mosque that was damaged in a nearby Israeli air strike in Gaza City Reuters Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Palestinians inspect their home after it was damaged in a nearby Israeli air strike in Gaza City Reuters Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City AP Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Palestinian men point to an insurance sign amid the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City AFP/Getty Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Gaza City in the late afternoon on March 25 shortly before Israel launched airstrikes in the city AFP/Getty Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza Strip Fire and smoke rises from a building hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City AP

The passage of time lends a great birds-eye view to the ironies of life. One generation is sent to Palestine from Tunisia, another fights the Ottomans to bring the British to the region, another fights the British to drive them away from Palestine. Since my fathers life spun many decades he had the chance to not only reflect on these ideological collisions but to also act on them and attempt to fix the political reality he helped create.

By 2014, when Madonna compassionately tweeted about the children of Gaza as they were being slaughtered by Israel, my father had already been marching with Palestinian flags in Tel-Aviv calling to end the siege on Gaza and occupation of the West Bank. An avid and active defender of human rights he understood what all justice seekers understand: that the old saying none of us are free until we are all free is a matter of life and death for the oppressed.

He understood that one can not champion workers rights without seeking justice for all workers, Palestinian workers included, and that one cannot position oneself as a promoter of womens rights without promoting the rights of all women, Palestinian women included.

Israels systematic mistreatment of Palestinian women affects them harshly in almost every sphere. When Palestinian women give birth they are regarded as a demographic threat. Palestinian women are deprived of their right to family reunification, and are constantly subjected to humiliation and harassment at military checkpoints, where some have been forced to give birth without any medical attention. The Israeli government imprisons Palestinian cultural workers, prevents Palestinian artists from travelling abroad and shuts down Palestinian theatre and literary festivals.

One cannot promote womens rights on one side of the world and at the same time ignore the plea of Palestinian women to boycott Israel until it grants them internationally-recognised civil and political rights. When Madonna performs tonight in Israel and ignores the Palestinian call for solidarity, she will be ignoring the plea of Palestinian women to stand with them, or at least not interrupt them, as they construct avenues to defend and claim their rights.

International artists wrongly believe that with the right on-stage message their performance will contribute to a regional peacemaking effort. But the problem Palestinians are facing is not that Israelis arent inspired enough  its that an Israeli regime has been systematically oppressing Palestinians for decades. What is needed is a structural change wherein Israel will abide by international law, and end its occupation and apartheid policies.

In apartheid South Africa, whites who believed apartheid was bad were not offended by the decision of artists to heed the call for boycott and not perform in Sun City. They understood that calling for boycott, divestment, and sanctions against South Africa was a peaceful strategy for forcing the hands of the government via international pressure to give up its oppressive policies.

My father also understood this. His common sense told him that since the Jewish state he fought for is de facto an apartheid state, ethical principles demand that any non-violent means must be used to end its international law violations, the siege, the occupation, the dozens of racist laws and criminal policies which deny millions of Palestinian refugees their legal and UN-stipulated right of return. And though he loved music more than almost anything, he supported Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) because he understood that music does not transcend all, that a show does not take place in a vacuum.

In Israel where decades-long military occupation and apartheid policies are the status quo, no on-stage message of dialogue or inclusivity will bring the required structural change for Palestinians and Israelis to live in equality. The ultimate goal of a grassroots movement like BDS is to create an equal world wherein its possible for music to truly bring people together. In the meantime, artists who believe that all people deserve equal rights should refrain from playing in Israel.

Music fans in the UK who want to celebrate the joys of music without crossing a picket line can tune in to broadcasts like Globalvision  an alternative Eurovision put on by Palestinian and international Eurovision fans  which offer a true celebration of cultural exchange and an uplifting vision of what solidarity through art and music looks like.

Ohal Grietzer is an Israeli composer and mixed-media performer
This was Ian Reeves idea, prompted by the Communist Party of Britain calling for a Peoples Boycott of the European elections. The CPB is the party (membership 734) that broke away from the CPGB in 1988, taking the Morning Star with it. It didnt put up candidates in 2017 and supported the Labour Party because it was led by Jeremy Corbyn. Now it says we shouldnt vote on Thursday because we should have left the EU. Here are 10 more.

1. Peoples Party. Affectionate term for the Labour Party.

2. Peoples Princess. Respectful description of Diana, Princess of Wales, crafted by Alastair Campbell; delivered by Tony Blair when she died in 1997.

3. Peoples Republic. The usual reference is to China, although there is also the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic. In the past there have been peoples republics from Albania to Ukraine (full list here). What they have or had in common is the absence of democracy.

4. Peoples Vote. Not quite as euphemistic, but still a notable propaganda term for a second referendum intended to reverse the result of the first. Now known as a confirmatory ballot, as if the idea is to confirm the terms of our departure from the EU when it is the opposite. Nominated by Jonathan Isaby. I loyally prefer The Independents Final Say referendum.

Recommended Top 10 accidental inventions

5. Peoples March for Jobs. There were two of them, in 1981 and 1983. Unsuccessful attempts to evoke the power of the Jarrow March, 1936; itself in a long tradition stretching from the Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536, to the Brexit Betrayal March of 2019. Another from Ian Reeve.

6. The Peoples Pope. The current head of the Roman Catholic church, Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio), was given the name by Time magazine when he was named Person of the Year in 2013. Nominated by Chris Barraclough.

7. The Peoples Chancellor. Title accorded to John McDonnell. Irritated Graham Kirby, especially as Labour had just lost an election  unlike many bad things, it seems to have stopped.

8. The Peoples Car. Better known as the Volkswagen, a remarkable survivor from Nazi-era Germany, thanks to Ivan Hirst, British military governor who oversaw the factory at Wolfsburg after 1945. Nominated by Paul Fishwick.

9. The Peoples Club. David Moyes described Everton FC thus, apparently. Paul Fishwick again.

10. Peoples Health Service. In 2008, when the Liberal Democrats were demanding a referendum on EU membership, Nick Clegg was also championing a Peoples Health Service. Another from Jonathan Isaby.

Honourable mentions for the Peoples Palace, originally built in east London in 1887, rebuilt in 1936 and now part of Queen Mary University of London (there are several others around the world); and for the people carrier, an outsized car  as opposed to a car that carries, erm, said Andrew Graystone.

Next week: Songs about rain by Scottish bands, such as Raintown, by Deacon Blue.

Coming soon: Political walkouts, after Tom Watsons abrupt exit from the shadow cabinet this month because it wasnt going to be shown a draft European manifesto.

Your suggestions please, and ideas for future Top 10s, to me on Twitter, or by email to top10@independent.co.uk
Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Dublin to demand action on homelessness.

With numbers of homeless people at record levels in Ireland, campaigners criticised the Governments record on the issue.

The event organised by the Raise the Roof campaign saw thousands walk through the city centre carrying placards and chanting slogans.

Activists made a series of demands, including the construction of more public housing, an end to evictions, more robust rent controls and a right to housing formally inserted into the states constitution.

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They also criticised support levels for homeless members of the Traveller community and asylum seekers living in Direct Provision centres.

There are more than 10,000 adults and children without a home and living in temporary emergency accommodation in Ireland.

The symbolic landmark was passed in February for the first time on record, heaping more pressure on the Government to act.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy have face criticism for their handling of the issue, though both insist addressing the problem is a key priority.

The Raise the Roof coalition is made up of trade unions, community groups and some political parties.

The event, which concluded with a rally outside the GPO on OConnell Street, came ahead of next weeks local and European elections in Ireland.

Among the thousands taking part in the march was high-profile homelessness campaigner and cleric Fr Peter McVerry.

Certainly there are more houses being built than before, he told RTE.

But far too few houses are being built to really make a difference.

We need to return to the 60s, 70s and 80s, where we were building seven and eight thousand council houses a year.
The so-called "Chempark", the main plant and headquarters of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer AG is pictured along western Europe's most important waterway in Leverkusen, Germany, May 14, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo

Bayer AG plans to argue that a $2 billion jury award and thousands of U.S. lawsuits claiming its glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup causes cancer should be tossed because a U.S. regulatory agency said the herbicide is not a public health risk.

Some legal experts believe Bayer will have a tough time convincing appellate courts to throw out verdicts and lawsuits on those grounds. Bayer has a better shot if a business-friendly U.S. Supreme Court takes up the case, experts said. But that could take years.

Bayer has come under intensifying pressure after a third consecutive U.S. jury on Monday found Roundup to be carcinogenic, awarding more than $2 billion to a couple who used the chemical on their property - the largest verdict in the glyphosate litigation to date.

Bayer, which inherited the Roundup litigation with its $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto last year, faces lawsuits by more than 13,400 plaintiffs nationwide, alleging the product causes cancer.

The Germany-based company's shares have been hammered since the first Roundup cancer verdict against it last August, wiping out some 40 billion euros ($44.76 billion) in market value and leaving Bayer worth less than the price it paid for Monsanto.

Bayer denies that Roundup causes cancer, saying decades of studies have shown glyphosate and the weed killer to be safe.

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On Wednesday, the company said it will argue that the lawsuits, which are brought under state law, conflict with guidance from a federal agency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

On April 30, the EPA reaffirmed prior guidance saying that glyphosate is not a carcinogen and not a risk to public health when used in accordance with its current label..

Citing the EPA decision, Bayer has repeatedly rebuked plaintiffs' calls to add a cancer warning to Roundup, saying the agency would reject that change.

Under the legal doctrine of preemption, state law claims are barred if they conflict with federal law.

"We have very strong arguments that the claims here are preempted ... and the recent EPA registration decision is an important aspect of that defense," William Hoffman, one of Bayer's lawyers, said during a call with reporters on Wednesday. Hoffman said the argument applied to all U.S. Roundup lawsuits.

Preemption is generally regarded as a "silver bullet defense" because it stops claims across the board, said Adam Zimmerman, a law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

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But Zimmerman and three other legal experts agreed that Bayer faces a big hurdle convincing appeals courts that the EPA determination on glyphosate shields it from state law claims.

They cited a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the EPA's approval of a product does not necessarily bar state law claims. The ruling, Bates v Dow Agrosciences, gives broad leeway to juries to decide if such claims should proceed, they said.

Judges in the three Roundup cases that have gone to trial against Monsanto all rejected the company's preemption argument, citing this ruling.

"In light of the Bates decision, it's going to be an uphill battle for the company to win on preemption on appeal," Zimmerman said.

Bayer also said it will argue on appeal that trial courts improperly admitted evidence that was not backed up by science. But legal experts said appellate courts generally defer to lower court evidentiary rulings.

'SORE THUMB'

Lars Noah, a law professor at the University of Florida, said Bayer's chances of success would increase significantly if the Supreme Court takes up the Roundup appeals.

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Whatsapp The European Chemicals Agency and other regulators around the globe have also found glyphosate not likely to be carcinogenic to humans. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

The high court only accepts around 70 cases each year, but a business-friendly majority on the court could be inclined to hear the dispute, said Alexandra Lahav, a law professor at the University of Connecticut.

Since 2005, the high court has decided at least three preemption cases in favor of companies, none of which involved the EPA.

The Supreme Court will soon rule in another case that rests on whether a U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval preempts tort claims.

In that case, plaintiffs sued Merck & Co over the company's alleged failure to warn of the risk of serious bone fractures associated with its osteoporosis drug Fosamax.

Merck, which denies the allegations, argued the lawsuits should be preempted because the FDA did not require an additional fracture warning in the drug's prescribing information. During a January hearing, the Justices appeared to side with the company.

Bayer in a statement on Thursday said it does not believe the 2005 Bates ruling posed a barrier for the appellate courts due to other Supreme Court rulings since then.

Noah agreed that the Court has more recently signaled its appetite to limit lawsuits that contradict opinions by experts at regulatory agencies.

"The Bates decision by now sticks out like a sore thumb," Noah said. "Bayer has more than enough ammunition in recent Supreme Court cases to show the trial court judges got it wrong."
Demand for beef is growing in Asia, but we can't expect China or any Asian country to replace the UK market, according to Mark Goodman of ABP.

Since the ABP group set up its international division in 2011, the company was the first European beef producer to agree contract arrangements with Chinese customers in February 2018.

However, Mr Goodman maintains that Irish beef exports to China are unlikely to exceed 28,000t, which is just 12pc of the 250,000t sold in Britain each year.

Ireland sent 1,400t of frozen beef to China in 2018, a figure that doesn't even put China on the list of top countries we export to, but Goodman is confident that figure can grow substantially.

"It seems small, but we're only getting going," he says.

Already this year Ireland has shipped over 2,000t of frozen beef to China, and increasing the number of Irish factories approved to export to China, Goodman says, is vital.

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"China returns a better balanced value for the carcass and will take what we perceive as lower value products," says Goodman. "Meat cuts that are 30pc fat, that European consumers don't entertain, are more attractive to the Chinese consumer than sirloin."

Approximately 80pc of the Chinese beef market is estimated to be what European's consider low-quality produce - namely thin cuts used in traditional cooking such as hotpots.

Retail options

At ground level, ABP discovered that retail was a 'no go' for the group in China, as it needs fresh meat, which meant food service and retail are where it has positioned itself.

According to Goodman, food-service is ideal for Irish frozen meat, as the Chinese market takes the middle cuts and frozen works better for stock control.

Expand Close Cross country: Mr Jan Shi, WowPrime; Brendan Gleeson, DAFM; Franck Fang, ABP; Mark Goodman, Managing Director of ABPs International Division; and Michael Creed, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine / Facebook

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Whatsapp Cross country: Mr Jan Shi, WowPrime; Brendan Gleeson, DAFM; Franck Fang, ABP; Mark Goodman, Managing Director of ABPs International Division; and Michael Creed, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The Asian market, he says, plays an important role in carcass balance, as Asian consumers don't value the cuts we eat and prefer cuts European consumers see as lesser quality, such as middle ribs and flank.

"Asia works because of what we call 'carcass balance'. This means the more expensive steak and round cuts can be marketed to the UK and Europe and the more fatty middle and flank cuts can be sold to Asia, thus returning a better balanced value on an animal," he says.

Mr Goodman predicts that Irish beef exports to China could reach 25,000t per annum, which would make China Ireland's fifth most important market, worth around 125m.

However, he warned that China, or any Asian country, won't take away Ireland's reliance on the UK. "It helps and it negates, but it's not going to fix it. We need to find a resolution to continue to supply Britain.

"China will pick up the premium cuts, but it won't be at premium prices. It will be at world beef prices, which is a different ball game."

Online market

Early last year ABP signed a three-year 50m deal to supply the Wowprime chain of restaurants in China. A further deal with Hopewise gave the Goodman group a toehold into the lucrative online market, with Hopewise acting as distributor for online sales of its beef through JD.com, a website with over 300m users.

Today, approximately 70pc of ABP's beef sales in China are through food-service, while online sales account for the rest.

According to Goodman, it's the growth in middle class numbers in China that's creating the demand. Today in China there is 12.5m households that earn more than $35,000 and by 2022 that will be 32m households, he says.

"That's the middle class who buys beef. European demand is flat so there won't be much more demand for beef in Europe. If we want to sell it there, we have to sell it cheaper."

And foreign food imports are seen in China, he says, as a safer and healthier option.

In anticipation of Ireland getting access to the Chinese market, ABP established a Chinese presence in 2011, researching food-service, manufacturing and retail to find the segment best suited to ABP's product mix.

Mark himself travelled the east coast of China, visiting the major cities to get a first-hand understanding of the market.

China does not feature in the top 12 countries that Ireland currently exports to, but according to Goodman, that situation will change.

South Korea, too, holds much promise for Irish beef exports, where 49pc of households have an income over US$35,000 and a population of 51m who consume significantly larger amounts of beef than the Chinese.

Asian opportunity

With seven beef plants approved to supply China, there is ongoing work, he says, to get that number up to 14.

"If that happens we could be looking at 25,000t of exports per annum, which makes China our fifth most important market, worth around 125m.

"If you had 22 plants, it would be volumes of around 28,000t - or 140-170m."

Read More

China by numbers

Population - 1.4bn: China has 287 times more people than Ireland and contains 20pc of the world's population

12.5m households have an average income of $35,000, with 36.5m households expected to have $35,000 income in next five years

Beef Imports - c800,000t-1mt

Key suppliers: Australia, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, New Zealand

Beef consumption: 5.8kg per capita

An increase in beef consumption per capita of 1kg is equal to 1.4m tonnes of beef

China imported 688,000t of beef in 2017 - over 100,000t more than Ireland's current production levels

Largest beef producers

1. USA 12mt

2. Brazil 9.9mt

3. EU 7.9mt

4. China 7.3mt

5. India 4.3mt

Largest Beef Exporters

1. India 1.25mt

2. Brazil 1.2mt

3. Australia 1.07mt

4. USA 1mt

5. Ireland 512,000

6. New Zealand 417,000t

7. Uruguay 311,000t

8. Argentina 266,000t
AN EXPLOSION in the number of vegetarian and so-called flexitarian consumers is forcing a rapid change in the food service industry and will soon support the emergence of a dedicated meat-free chain, according to the head of one of the country's best known vegetarian eateries.

In the UK, sandwich shop chain Pret A Manger is close to buying smaller rival Eat in order to transform its 95 outlets into a dedicated brand catering to vegetarian and vegan consumers.

"I don't know if we are there yet, but we will definitely be there soon," Dairine McCafferty, director of Cornucopia, in Dublin city centre, said.

Cornucopia's vegetarian restaurant, on Dublin's Wicklow Street, is a second generation business established in 1986.

But since 2008 it has more than doubled in size from 48 seats to 120, boosted by growing consumer demand. Vegetarianism's move to the mainstream will also bring more competition to a once niche segment, Ms McCafferty thinks.

"We are a family business, [so] from a business point of view chains aren't good for us as they have the facility to under-price you, but from an ethical side it's great," Ms McCafferty told the Irish Independent.

SuperValu has rolled out dedicated vegetarian/vegan zones across all of its stores.

On a smaller scale, The Happy Pear, set up by twins David and Stephen Flynn in 2004, is already an established consumer brand nationally, stocked in its own outlets and in supermarkets.

In the US, big money is pouring into meat substitute ventures.

Beyond Meat, which manufactures vegan beef and sausage products, this month listed on the New York Stock Exchange, backed by shareholders including former McDonald's CEO Don Thompson.

It reflects one of the biggest shifts in the food industry for decades. Many Western consumers are opting to eat less meat or give it up altogether influenced by health concerns, or environment and animal welfare issues.

Big business is responding with new products. The so-called alternative meat industry could be worth more than $34bn (30bn) by 2030, with an annual growth rate over the next decade of 40pc possible, according to fund management group TD Asset Management.

Irish agri-foods producers have already latched on. Ireland's biggest beef processor, Larry Goodman's ABP Foods, has its own meat-free range in the UK, Equals, which produces plant-based burgers and sausages.

Kerry Group last year acquiring Ojah BV, a Dutch meat substitute company.
The EU probe into insurance cartel claims could result in lower premiums for motorists, according to a legal expert.

Any adverse findings against the industry are likely to result in it being opened up to competition from foreign insurers, competition lawyer Ronan Dunne told the Irish Independent.

The assessment came as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that if a cartel was found, breaking it up would lead to premiums falling.

Insurance companies could be facing multi-million-euro fines if an EU anti-trust investigation finds competition has been impeded by restricted access to the Insurance Link database. This is a database run by industry representative body Insurance Ireland containing the claims histories of all drivers.

A Gibraltar-based firm, Zenith Insurance, pulled out of the market three years ago claiming it could not get access to industry data.

"Any adverse findings against the industry are likely to result in it being opened up to more competition," said Mr Dunne, a partner at Philip Lee Solicitors.

"This would be the real benefit as increased competition should give rise to lower premiums for Irish motorists over time."

Mr Dunne said foreign operators could move quickly to enter the Irish market once the investigation concluded.

A formal anti-trust investigation into Insurance Ireland was announced by the European Commission earlier this week. But Mr Dunne said motorists should not expect an immediate benefit as it could be well into next year before the European Commission probe was completed.

He said there may even be an initial rise in premiums should fines levied by the European Commission be passed on to premium holders before the benefits of increased competition kick in.

Speaking on the European election campaign trail in Galway, Mr Varadkar said insurance firms should not penalise their customers if they were hit with fines.

"The insurance industry is very profitable so you would expect them to pay any fine out of their profits," he said.

Mr Varadkar said he did not want to prejudice the investigation and was not suggesting any wrongdoing.

"Because it is an investigation that is under way, it's not something I should really comment on in detail," he said.

But Mr Varadkar added: "If they were to find against the insurance companies, perhaps there would be a fine.

"But more significant than the fine would be the fact that if there is any sharp practice or a cartel going on, the breaking up of that would see premiums fall, which you would anticipate would be greater than the affect of a fine having to be paid."

Stuart Gilhooly, a personal injuries solicitor and past president of the Law Society, said he was not convinced the investigation would improve matters greatly.

He said the pace at which competition probes moved "doesn't inspire confidence" and although it may eventually lead to an increase in competition, he believed any fines levied were likely to be passed on to consumers.

Mr Gilhooly called on the Government to "take on the insurers" and set rules which do not allow premium increases where no claims have been made and there has been no material change in risk. He said the Financial Services Ombudsman should also be empowered to investigate premium levels which are out of sync with the previous year.

The anti-trust investigation comes almost two years after dawn raids on Insurance Ireland and a number of brokers.

It is focused on whether companies wishing to offer services in the Irish motor insurance market have been unfairly prevented from accessing the data administered by Insurance Ireland for its member companies.

The probe is looking at the conditions imposed on companies that wish to have access to the database and whether these companies were being placed at a competitive disadvantage.

Insurance Ireland has said it is cooperating fully with the commission and is confident its practices are compliant with competition law.
Bunk beds, intense competition and special conditions set out by landlords are just some of the obstacles facing would-be tenants in Dublin.

Most people looking for accommodation in the Greater Dublin Area now have to spend weeks, if not months, researching and hoping to be selected for viewings and interviews.

This reporter spent 48 hours getting a taste of the dispiriting experience that is house-hunting in Dublin in 2019.

It began last week as more than 100 people queued up for a house viewing in Drumcondra, a suburb in the north of the city, in the hope of snagging somewhere to stay.

Daniel Flanagan (19), from Wexford, explained how "disheartening" it was to see a swarm of people outside the house he went to view.

"We waited 15-20 minutes and left because the line wasn't moving. We knew we had no chance," he said.

He said the three-bed house was on the rental market for a little over 2,000 a month.

"The price was very low, it wasn't cheap, but it was one of the cheapest on the market," he said. "The house seemed in presentable condition, it wasn't falling apart.

"Most houses which are on a budget rent are deteriorating."

Daniel explained that the majority of the viewers were students, desperate to secure their accommodation for the next academic year.

"I can't see myself living in Ireland. There's barely any jobs and there's nowhere to live," he said.

In Dublin's south city centre, we were among 15 people scheduled to view a bunk bed in a two-bedroom apartment.

Each bedroom has a set of bunk beds and a single bed.

The bunk bed is now rented by a non-national tenant who is moving out of the apartment.

She has been in the country for three months.

The person who will be selected out of those viewing the bunk bed will pay 450 a month.

If each of the three people sharing the room pay this, it is at least 1,350 a month.

The same amount of money will be made from the second bedroom - which means this two-bedroom apartment is pulling in 2,700 every month.

"There's been a lot of interest, it's Dublin," says the renter. She explains how she has viewings arranged with each hopeful over the coming days.

The apartment is newly furnished, and a Brazilian tenant explains that he has been in Ireland for a month.

A faint smell of cigarette smoke lingers.

The tenants have the use of the washing machine, but are allowed only a single load of washing each a week.

In north Dublin, some 6km from the city centre, a single room in a house share is up for grabs.

There are two double rooms, and three single rooms which mean that a total of seven people can occupy the house.

The single room comes in at just under 500 a month.

The house is in need of renovation and a deep clean, but the landlord says the current tenants will clean up before leaving.

"Irish students are the worst," he says.

Inside the front door of the house hangs a list of "special conditions".

They state tenants "are not to keep guests overnight without the landlord's permission".

They also stipulate the tenants should "draw back curtains and open windows for air before leaving in the morning".

As mostly students occupy the house, interest increases as students come and go. "I do feel sorry for them," the landlord says.

Letting agents are feeling the pressure too. A staff member in a letting agency in Dublin said that more than 50 applications are received daily.

"Fifty a day, and that's continuous. There will be 50 more tomorrow, it's extremely difficult for all."
If the divorce referendum is passed next Friday, a spike in applications is expected as the waiting period drops from four to two years.

Since divorce was legalised in 1996, the number of divorced people in that year (9,787) has grown substantially to 103,896 (2016 census), however Ireland still has the lowest rate of divorce in the EU, so the 'floodgates' certainly won't be opening.

This week I'm looking at the finances of divorce. What should you know before the process begins?

Legal costs aside (and they are considerable), a two-year limit could mean couples would no longer need a two-stage Judicial Separation and Divorce procedure, both of which can be financially crippling.

Division of assets

For most people, the family home is the single biggest asset. Whether to sell up, or one party moves out, means extra expenses for both either way. It's necessary to get the property valued (as all assets will be) before deciding how to proceed. A professional valuation will cost around 400 as valuers may be required to give evidence in court.

Pension

Many women, in particular, are so intent on securing the family home that they often overlook another key asset: their husband's pension (or vice versa). A pension pot can be substantial and securing rights to it is done via a Pension Adjustment Order.

Getting it valued requires an actuary but it's important as it helps to secure the future, after the children are grown up. This is especially so for stay-at-home wives who may not have access to a pension of their own.

Cost: around 1,000 for a formal actuarial review.

Tax credits

The first year of separation is recognised by Revenue as a transition period. Maeve Corr, head of Private Client Services at Crowe, says how you are treated for tax after separation is important.

"You can be individually or jointly assessed, depending on which is more favourable", she advises. "For a couple on similar incomes, it doesn't really matter, as they're both on the same rate, but a disparity in income levels can mean that one spouse claims the credits for the couple and when they separate this can reduce as they go from a married to a single allowance."

She adds a warning for spouses who return to work after divorce. "If you go back to work or higher earnings, maintenance payments could send you into the top tax bracket, so you need to consider that."

But she adds that "you can apply for a single parent child care credit which can effectively bring the 20pc tax band threshold from 35,300 to 39,300".

Maintenance payments

The tax position around payments from one spouse to another is complex.

When determining how much should be paid in maintenance, the last three years of expenses is examined.

"It's individual to every family and we normally recommend having a few 'goes' at it," says Corr.

"It's easy to forget things like food, holidays, uniforms and can cause cash flow issues if it's not done properly. You also have to separate out general family costs from child-specific ones, which can be tricky."

Spousal maintenance is fully tax deductible for the person making it (including PRSI and USC), while child maintenance is not.

Spousal maintenance is tax liable for the person receiving it, child maintenance is not. That means it's important to separate the order clearly so Revenue is satisfied.

Many women come a cropper with tax years later because they haven't arranged their affairs properly or don't realise that tax is due on payments. It is especially serious if they're also claiming the one-parent tax credit.
 Flash

China appreciates France's fair stance on Chinese technology enterprises' participation in 5G network building, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang said Friday.



According to media reports, French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that "launching now a technological war or a trade war vis-a-vis any other country is not appropriate," when responding to the United States' restrictions on Chinese enterprises in 5G construction.

"Our perspective is not to block Huawei or any company," Macron added, voicing support for multilateralism and cooperation.

Lu Kang told a press briefing that China and the European Union (EU) had welcomed the progress made in their 5G-related dialogue and exchanges in a joint statement issued during the 21st China-EU leaders' meeting.

Cooperation in science, technology and innovation has also been enhanced between China and the EU as they successfully held the 4th China-EU Innovation Cooperation Dialogue and confirmed their intention to renew the bilateral Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement, Lu added.

The development and utilization of 5G depend on the exchanges and cooperation among all countries. The United States' interference in the development and cooperation in 5G, particularly by misusing national safety standards to politicize the issue and to take discriminatory measures to suppress certain companies, is not only detrimental to the development of 5G, but also against the principle of fair competition or any country's interests, Lu said.

"We encourage more countries to independently make policy choices based on facts and in line with their own interests and to work together to ensure a fair, just and non-discriminatory market environment," he said.
Question: I was interested in your article on health and fitness trackers [ed's note: see 'Ask Adrian', April 27 on independent.ie]. I have been fitted with a pacemaker and wonder if a health tracker gadget would interfere with it. Breege Staunton (via email)

Answer

Most advice out there on this topic suggests that there isn't a problem using both. I've certainly never heard of an issue linking the two.

For its part, Fitbit is fairly adamant about it.

"Using a Fitbit tracker will not interfere in any way with your pacemaker," the company says. "Fitbit has tested their products and they are very safe to use." The company nonetheless recommends "to consult with your cardiologist so he or she can also advise you in this matter".

In general, most modern mobile tech devices are considered to be a low risk for interfering with a pacemaker. This includes everything from phones and tablets to Bluetooth gadgets, including smartwatches.

The American Heart Association does say that one might keep some types of headphones at least six inches away from your chest (for example, not letting them dangle down around that region of your upper body) because of a small risk that magnets in side might cause some slight interference. But again, this is a very low probability.

And the US Food and Drug Administration, which is tasked with safety certification across a whole range of things, has a section on its website discussing potential interference with pacemakers.

Once again, it generally says that the gadgets we're currently wearing are quite benign in this regard. It does accord some cautionary procedures with regard to mobile phones, though.

"Phones would not seem to pose a significant health problem for the vast majority of pacemaker wearers," it says.

"Still, people with pacemakers may want to take some simple precautions to be sure that their cell phones don't cause a problem. Hold the phone to the ear opposite the side of the body where the pacemaker is implanted to add some extra distance between the pacemaker and the phone. Avoid placing a turned-on phone next to the pacemaker implant (for example, don't carry the phone in a shirt or jacket pocket directly over the pacemaker)."

Question

I have a five-year-old laptop with Windows 7 which is said to cease after January 2020.

If this is so, my laptop will be useless, I am told. I do not use my laptop a lot and think

I might buy an iPhone or tablet instead. I would like to have your advice on this.

Evelyn Kirwan (via email)

Answer

Your laptop won't be useless, it will still work. But it will be riskier to use. What is happening after January 2020 is that Microsoft will cease giving you security updates for Windows 7. Over time, this makes your laptop more and more vulnerable to viruses and malware, especially scary things like ransomware. So in general, it's a good idea to use Windows 10, one way or another. However, it costs 145 to download (from Microsoft.ie). I would wonder whether it's worth it in the case of a five-year-old laptop.

In general, laptops have a useful life of about five to six years (at most). You may be investing in a machine that will start to exhibit other issues, such as a fading battery, end-of-life screen or slowing engine. On the other hand, if your laptop was a high-end model, it may still be perfectly capable for another two years, in which case it could be good value to pay the 145 and postpone investing in another model.

If you are considering a replacement machine, you ask about a smartphone or a tablet.

If you only use your laptop occasionally, it might be a wise choice to choose a mobile device instead. In general, these don't lose their speed and power as quickly as laptops (the average lifespan of an iPad is at least five years). They're also light and generally easier to use than laptops.

If you're thinking of one mainly for home use or the occasional trip on a train or plane, I'd go for Apple's 10.5-inch iPad Air (459). It's the newest model and a great compromise between high-end power and economy. You'll want a keyboard with that, too. Apple's Smart Keyboard (179) is a decent choice, but it's at the upper end of the price bracket. You'll get a good one from Logitech or Zagg for around 100 if you want to save a bit of money.

If this seems a little pricey, a cheaper option is Apple's basic iPad (369). It comes with less storage memory, less power and a slightly smaller screen.

However if you're not a tight budget, I don't think this entry-level machine is worth the saving of 90, especially if you're going to rely on it for the next five years.

Recommendation: Apple iPad (459 from CompuB or Harvey Norman; Apple Smart Keyboard 179 from the same outlets)

Email your questions to  caomahony@independent.ie

Tech Two

Anker Soundcore Motion +

120 from Amazon.co.uk

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With summer finally here, you may want a portable outdoor speaker. Anker's latest model, the Soundcore Motion+, has a few things to recommend it. Other than USB-C connectivity, it's waterproof. 30-watt output also means very decent audio quality at this price point.

Nextbase 522

179 from Halfords

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A dashcam can be the difference between proving someone crashed into you and you taking the blame. Nextbase's new 522 model is as close to a top-of-line model as you can get. As well as HD-plus recording and a larger sensor for night recording, the 3-inch screen gadget now lets you operate voice commands using Amazon Alexa.
THE United States must show sincerity if it is to hold meaningful trade talks, China said yesterday, after US President Donald Trump had dramatically raised the stakes with a potentially devastating blow to Chinese tech giant Huawei.

China has yet to say whether or how it will retaliate against the latest escalation in trade tension between the countries.

But state media has taken an increasingly strident tone, with the ruling Communist Party's 'People's Daily' newspaper publishing a front-page commentary that has evoked the patriotic spirit seen during past wars.

China's currency slid to its weakest in almost five months, although losses were capped after sources told Reuters that the central bank would ensure that the yuan did not weaken past the key seven-per-dollar level in the immediate term.

The world's two largest economies are locked in an increasingly acrimonious dispute that has seen them level escalating tariffs on each other's imports in the midst of negotiations, adding to fears about risks to global growth and knocking financial markets.

Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, who was asked about state media reports suggesting that there would be no more US-China trade talks, said that China always encouraged resolving disputes between the two countries with dialogue and consultations.

"But because of certain things the US side has done during the previous China-US trade consultations, we believe if there is meaning for these talks, there must be a show of sincerity," he told a daily news briefing.

The US should observe the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, he said. And it must also keep its word, Mr Lu said, without elaborating.

On Thursday, Washington put telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies, one of China's biggest and most successful companies, on a blacklist that could make it extremely difficult for the telecom giant to be able to do business with any US firms.

That followed Mr Trump's decision on May 5 to increase tariffs on $200bn (179bn) worth of Chinese imports, a major escalation after the two sides appeared to have been close to reaching a deal in negotiations to end their trade battle. China can be expected to make preparations for a longer-term trade war with the United States, said a Chinese government official who has knowledge of the situation.

"Indeed, this is an important moment, but not an existential, live-or-die moment," the official said. "In the short term, the trade situation between China and the United States will be severe, and there will be challenges.

"Neither will it be smooth in the long run. This will spur China to make adequate preparations in the long term," the official added.

The impact of trade friction on China's economy is "controllable", the state planner said yesterday, pledging to take countermeasures as needed, Meng Wei, a spokeswoman for the National Development and Reform Committee (NDRC), told a media briefing.

'The South China Morning Post', citing an unidentified source, reported that a senior member of China's Communist Party said the trade war with the United States could reduce China's 2019 growth by one percentage point in the worst-case scenario.

Wang Yang, the fourth-most senior member of the party's seven-member Standing Committee, the top decision-making body, told a delegation of Taiwan businessmen on Thursday that the trade war would have an impact. But it would not lead to any structural changes, the paper said, citing an unidentified source who was at the meeting.

One company that says it has been making preparations is Huawei's Hisilicon unit, which purchases US semiconductors for its parent.

Its president told staff in a letter yesterday that the company had been secretly developing back-up products for years in case Huawei was one day unable to obtain the advanced chips and technology it buys from the US.

"Today, the wheel of destiny has turned and we have arrived at this extreme and dark moment, as a super-nation ruthlessly disrupts the world's technology and industry system," the company president said in the letter.

The letter was widely shared on Chinese social media.

It gained some 180 million impressions in the first few hours after it had been published on the Weibo microblogging site. "Go Huawei! Our country's people will always support you," wrote one Weibo user.

Reuters
Michael Rice will fly the flag for the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest when he takes to the stage for the grand final.

The 21-year-old from Hartlepool, Co Durham, is one of 26 acts vying for the top prize during the climax of the week-long contest in Tel Aviv.

He will perform Bigger Than Us in front of a sea of waving flags and glow sticks at the Expo Tel Aviv in the north of the city.

Rice performed for the expert jury panels on Friday night during a non-televised dress rehearsal of the grand final.

The international panels cast their votes in advance of the televised grand final later on Saturday.

Their results will be revealed along with those of the public vote on the night.

Madonna will also make her Eurovision debut after days of speculation over whether she would indeed appear.

The Queen of Pop, 60, has been dogged by calls from the pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign to cancel her appearance.

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All Together Now winner Rice will face intense competition from the contests front runners, many of whom have already showcased their songs in the two live semi-finals on Tuesday and Thursday.

Swedens John Lundvik will perform, singing the gospel-tinged ballad Too Late For Love, as will Russias Sergey Lazarev, who will sing Scream.

Both are touted as favourites to win after well-received performances in the second live semi-final.

The Netherlands Duncan Laurence will also sing. He has been touted as the clear favourite to win since his self-penned song Arcade debuted online in March.

Australias Kate Miller-Heidke, Icelands Hatari and Frances Bilal Hassani are also in with a chance.

Prospects of a British victory are bleak  both Coral and Ladbrokes have given Rice a 150/1 chance of taking the title.

The UK, as one of the big five countries contributing the most money to the event, along with France, Germany, Italy and Spain, is assured a place in the grand final.

Last years winners Israel did also not have to qualify via the semi-finals.

The public vote will make up 50% of the total vote, with the other half determined by a professional jury in each participating country, who cast their votes during performances on Friday.

Residents in all participating countries can vote.

UK fans can vote over the phone, by text or via the Eurovision app, available on iOS, Android and Windows devices.

As per one of Eurovisions most famous quirks, fans can vote up to 20 times but will be unable to select their own countrys entry.

BBC Ones coverage of the Eurovision Song Contests grand final is on Saturday from 8pm and will be led by Graham Norton.
The UKs Michael Rice at the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel (Andres Putting/PA)

Michael Rice has delivered a rousing performance at Eurovision as he bids to turn around the UKs fortunes in the contest.

The Hartlepool native sang Bigger Than Us at the Expo Tel Aviv venue in Israel against a backdrop of a starry night sky and racing comets.

The 21-year-old was joined by an outfit of backing vocalists dressed in white as he broke into the songs gospel-influenced chorus.

He performed 16th, after Norway and before Iceland  whose techno-punk outfit Hatari are a favourite to win.

The UK, as one of the big five countries, along with France, Germany, Italy and Spain, was assured a place in the grand final.

Rice, who rose to fame after winning the singing show All Together Now last year, has said he hopes to improve the UKs reputation at the contest.

Vote #16!!! Every vote counts Europe & Australia DARE TO DREAM pic.twitter.com/UcGNmihMBU  Michael Rice (@MichaelRiceOff) May 18, 2019

The UK has not won Eurovision in 22 years or entered the top 10 in a decade.

Speaking before the performance, Rice told the Press Association: Im so looking forward to tonight. Im going to sing my heart out and give it my best shot.

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Each finalist is performing for the international public vote, which will make up 50% of the total vote, with the other half determined by a professional jury in each participating country. They cast their votes during performances on Friday.

Maltas Michela Pace opened the show with her song Chameleon, dancing in front of shifting graphics showing an urban landscape.

The first highlight of the night came with the arrival of Sergey Lazarev, who returned to the contest with the song Scream.

He sang Russias entry in 2016 and finished third with the song You Are The Only One.

Swedish entrant John Lundviks gospel-tinged pop song Too Late For Love secured screams from the audience.

The 36-year-old former professional sprinter is also behind Rices track Bigger Than Us.

Then came the Netherlands Duncan Laurence  the favourite to win the contest  with the piano ballad Arcade.

Laurence, 25, was named front runner shortly after releasing his anthemic song in March.

UK fans can vote over the phone, by text or via the Eurovision app, available on iOS, Android and Windows devices.

As per one of Eurovisions most famous quirks, fans can vote up to 20 times but will be unable to select their own countrys entry.
US rapper Tyler, The Creator is to perform a surprise show in London after a ban on entering the UK was lifted by the Home Office.

The Odd Future co-founder, whose new album Igor was released on Friday, posted a picture of himself outside the gates of Buckingham Palace with the words: LONDON; IGOR; 3PM; WILL UPDATE YOU LATER WITH LOCATION.

LONDON; IGOR; 3PM; WILL UPDATE YOU LATER WITH LOCATION pic.twitter.com/bscofwIxta  Tyler, The Creator (@tylerthecreator) May 18, 2019

He was barred from performing in the UK in 2015 by then home secretary Theresa May, due to lyrics the Home Office said encouraged violence and intolerance of homosexuality.

It is understood the ban was lifted from February 13 and he arrived at Luton Airport in the early hours of Saturday.

At the time of the ban, he posted on social media: BASED ON LYRICS FROM 2009 I AM NOT ALLOWED IN THE UK FOR 3-5 YEARS ( although i was there 8 weeks ago) THAT IS WHY THE SHOWS WERE CANCELLED.

BASED ON LYRICS FROM 2009 I AM NOT ALLOWED IN THE UK FOR 3-5 YEARS ( although i was there 8 weeks ago) THAT IS WHY THE SHOWS WERE CANCELLED.  Tyler, The Creator (@tylerthecreator) August 26, 2015
Ballet - a French invention that became an entertainment staple in imperial Russia - has its devotees everywhere. Our own Ballet Ireland will be touring here with the ever-popular Swan Lake through November and December.

Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Margot Fonteyn, one of the greatest ballerinas there ever was. It may surprise you that there is an Irish thread running through her story.

In fairness, Margot Fonteyn's own connections with Ireland were pretty tenuous, restricted to an Irish grandmother she never knew.

Evelyn Acheson lived in the north of England where she had a fling with a Brazilian businessman who was over buying cotton. Margot's mother, Hilda, was the result.

Hilda would marry Felix Hookham, and Margot - known as Peggy - was their second child.

Felix worked for the British-American Tobacco Company, and was transferred to China when Peggy was nine. It was in Shanghai that it first became clear she had a rare talent. Her teacher was a former Bolshoi dancer.

When the family returned to England, Peggy auditioned at Sadler's Wells in London. This is where the real Irish connection comes in.

In charge at Sadler's Wells was a steely woman from Baltinglass in Co Wicklow.

Edris Stannus was known as Ninette de Valois, a name that gave her credibility in a world dominated by Russians and the French.

Peggy Hookham would soon become Margot Fonteyn, her stage name directly derived form that of her Brazilian grandfather, Antonio Fontes.

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The ballet school run by Ninette de Valois would evolve into the Royal Ballet and Margot Fonteyn would be its greatest attraction.

She inspired the choreographer Frederick Ashton, and he made the most of her talents.

Margot made many roles her own, dancing to the music of Tchaikovsky (Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty), Stravinsky (The Firebird, Petrushka) and Prokofiev (Cinderella).

Then, just when her career should have been concluding, the arrival of Rudolf Nureyev, who'd defected from the Soviet Union, brought her a new lease of life.

She was in her early 40s and he was almost 20 years her junior, but the chemistry was undeniable.

They debuted together in 1962, in Adolphe Adam's Giselle. Swan Lake, Glazunov's Raymonda, and, inevitably, Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet would follow. Their partnership became one of the most acclaimed in the history of ballet.

Margot didn't officially retire until her 60th birthday, after a dancing career of almost unbelievable longevity. She had married Roberto Arias - the son of a former President of Panama, later that country's ambassador to Britain - in 1955.

Subsequently, back home, he was involved in an attempted coup. He fled. She was arrested.

An attempted assassination left him paralysed. Part of the reason Margot danced so long was that she needed the money to pay the medical bills.

When she finally retired, she moved to Panama, where the couple lived on a ranch outside the capital.

Margot Fonteyn died in Panama City in 1991, at the age of 71. That very day, 29 years before, she had made her debut with Nureyev in Giselle.

George Hamilton presents 'The Hamilton Scores' on RTE lyric fm from 10am each Saturday and Sunday.
COMIC Bernard OShea has insisted he isnt being sidelined by RTE as he moves away from breakfast radio  but admits it feels unusual not to be working closely with Jennifer Zamparelli.

He said his partnership with Jen on the radio show, as well as Republic Of Telly and Bridget And Eamon, had come to a natural close having run its course.

The comedian and former Breakfast Republic host told the Herald he is happy for Jen, who will begin hosting her own show next month.

He said he is hoping to focus on his TV career as he takes a step back from radio.

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Bernard (40) said he is optimistic he will again team up with Marty Morrissey, with whom he starred on Dancing With The Stars and their recent collaboration Marty And Bernards Big Adventure.

Im concentrating on telly stuff. Id be hopeful me and Marty will be doing more together and I am looking at a few other projects with Shinawil that are outside Ireland, he said.

We are trying to see what opportunities are there, especially post-Brexit.

Asked if he felt sidelined now Jen has her own show, he said: No, Im happy for her.

It is unusual for us because we own a company together, so wed meet and be talking often. She jokes, I can never get away from you.

But honestly, I am just finished with radio for a little while. I hope I get to hear her, I know she will be excellent.

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I suppose it has been nine years in a box together, on the radio, on Bridget And Eamon and Republic Of Telly  its odd because we wont be on-screen together.

But we do meet regularly. You work with people then you work with new people  theyre not dead.

It was very amicable, one of those things that has run its course.

Bernard recently welcomed his third child with wife Lorna and said that played a part in his decision to step away from 2FM.

I just have to concentrate on scripts and there was stuff I wanted to do, he said.

We had the birth of our third child and also my dad passed away, so it was the best time for me to step away.

It was all amicable  the media want a brawl to have happened, he added, laughing. Id say it like it is if it did. The guys wanted to move in different directions  but Id work with Keith [Walsh], with Jen and with Lottie [Ryan] again.

Bernard announced he was leaving the station earlier this month as 2FM bosses announced the biggest shakeup in years.

The morning slot will see Doireann Garrihy join forces with Eoghan McDermott to entertain the masses over their cereal, while Jen will branch out on her own.

She will present her own show from June 10, on air from 10am to 1pm every day.

RTE 2FM head Dan Healy said of the decision: Jen has been an integral part of the 2FM changing schedule and is now ready to spread her wings and move into her own space.

I believe Jen will appeal to young audiences, as she has that instant likeability and humour.

Meanwhile, Jenny Greene will host the stations drivetime slot, with Tracey Clifford on the lunchtime bill.
'Anne' remembers being asked if she was heading on holiday during the wait for a flight to London. "Going anywhere nice?" another passenger at Dublin Airport had cheerfully enquired. The reason for her trip defied casual explanation. "You're thinking, 'If only you knew what I'm about to go through,'" she says now.

Anne had received a severe foetal diagnosis two weeks before that day, getting the news just over four months into her pregnancy.

"It was probably the lowest point in my life," she says. "The anxiety of having to organise a termination in another country completely consumed me. It was worse than even the grief and sadness."

With abortions usually only being available up to 24 weeks in Britain, Anne had rushed to find an appointment in a BPAS clinic before booking last-minute flights and accommodation.

"I started making calls just before the Easter bank holiday weekend," she says. "Some places could only do it up to 16 weeks, and others told me they'd phone back the week after. At the time, I just thought, 'I can't cope. I can't cope with this waiting.'"

Anne's story resembles many of the personal testimonies heard ahead of last year's referendum on the Eighth Amendment. But this is a post-referendum story: Irish legislation allows abortions to be carried out after 12 weeks in cases where a baby is unlikely to survive beyond 28 days of birth, a provision not applicable to Anne's circumstances. She travelled to the UK at the end of April, spending in the region of 900 on the procedure.

The maternity hospital she attended at home provided little support following her diagnosis, Anne says, beyond offering the names of British clinics over the phone after she called up. She remembers one midwife telling her she would "regret it for the rest of [her] life" if she decided to go ahead with a termination.

Anne is one of a small number of Irish-based women to have accessed care abroad since abortion became legal here on January 1, 2019. BPAS, one of the leading abortion providers in the UK, told Review that 35 women with addresses in the Republic had terminations at its clinics in that first month, falling to 13 in February and 11 in March. Most had presented at over 12 weeks of gestation, according to a spokesperson.

Calls to the British charity Abortion Support Network (ASN) are also down: 15 to 20 people a month have contacted its helpline from the Republic so far this year, compared to an average of 52 in 2018 and 57 in 2017. Mara Clarke, founder of ASN, says the Irish-based women its volunteers now hear from are usually seeking a later procedure, facing a diagnosis of severe foetal abnormalities, or more marginalised than the charity's typical clients. As an abortion fund, ASN will continue to support those who "fall through the cracks" of legal provision, Clarke stresses.

"I didn't expect the rollout [of abortion services in Ireland] to be as fast and successful as it was," she adds, however.

"I've been surprised at how many fewer calls we're getting."

Early terminations

The consensus among general practitioners on the ground is that implementation has been going well. Despite restrictions in the legislation, Irish women are now able to access early terminations through a local GP in most parts of the country.

"It was a very complex service to set up," says Brendan O'Shea, a Kildare-based family doctor who lectures in the School of Medicine at Trinity College Dublin. "It goes against the national psyche to say something has been successful, but I think the extent to which cooperation and coordination has been established between general practices, secondary care hospitals and the HSE is remarkable."

More than 300 GPs nationwide are estimated to be providing medical abortions up to nine weeks, with over 500 GPs being trained to deliver the service. Ten maternity units and hospitals take referrals for women who are between nine to 12 weeks pregnant, and more are expected to be added to the list of providers in future. The HSE's MyOptions helpline takes about 40 to 50 calls a day, according to a spokesperson, and demand for services has remained within predicted limits. No capacity issues are said to have been raised so far.

"Paula" was one of the first women to get an abortion at a local GP in Wexford. "I was dead set on what I wanted to do," she says, explaining that she had become pregnant after a failure of contraception. "I have three kids already. My family is complete."

The MyOptions number was her first point of contact: "I felt a bit lost, not knowing where to turn," she tells Review. "The lady on the phone was really understanding and talked me through how it would work, and where I could go."

Paula booked an appointment straight away, feeling relieved that she could attend a practice not far from her home. "No, I never considered going abroad," she says. "It would be far too expensive."

It was her second termination: Women Help Women, an online provider, had provided her with abortion pills during an earlier crisis pregnancy. That first experience was "traumatic", she says, describing her concern about not having access to a doctor in the event that something went wrong.

The GP visit was "clinical" but comparatively less worrisome, Paula adds. "There weren't many questions. It was only a few weeks after legalisation, and the doctor seemed a bit awkward about it. She just gave me the advice that was written in front of her."

The vast majority of women experience no complications during or after a medical abortion, according to Tiernan Murray, a GP in Goatstown, Co Dublin, and member of Doctors for Choice. "I phone up every woman two weeks after to see how they're getting on, and there's usually no problem at all. They've had a heavier, painful period and that's it."

Urgent referrals

Referring women on to hospitals once they pass the time limit for primary care should be straightforward, according to Murray. "If I have a woman approaching 12 weeks, I can make sure she's seen immediately," he says. "I have a folder of dedicated names and numbers if I need to get an emergency hospital appointment." Other doctors in the START group of GPs providing services say the same, he tells Review. "We can immediately contact an on-duty midwife or doctor in the hospital to facilitate an urgent referral."

In his own practice, he adds, women are typically seen within 24 hours of making their first call. "Most have made up their minds before seeing us and have looked up the MyOptions website. I give them the consent form and they come back three days later."

Pro-choice activists continue to firmly oppose that wait period, arguing that it creates an unnecessary burden.

"There is no medical basis for a three-day wait," says Linda Kavanagh of the Abortion Rights Campaign. "This is purely a political thing."

Siobhan Donohue of Terminations for Medical Reasons (TFMR) stresses that women seeking an abortion do not do so lightly.

"There are people in difficult circumstances - whether they have issues with childcare or getting away from work, or are experiencing domestic violence - who will find it difficult to return to a doctor within three days. We don't need to make this any more challenging."

Murray agrees. "It is such an insult to women," he says. "There is no other part of medicine where an adult makes a decision only to be told by a doctor, 'Go away and think about it. You might change your mind.' The thinking behind it is actually highly misogynistic. It presumes women can't be trusted to make up their minds. If someone isn't certain about the decision, like anything in general practice, we can advise them to come back to us in a few days, but it's wrong to force a delay."

The wait period is a particular obstacle for women from rural areas without easy access to services. Paula Dennan from the Kerry for Choice group highlights that most women in the county seeking a hospital appointment will have to travel to University Hospital Waterford. "It's a nightmare if you don't have your own transport," she says. "Getting to Waterford involves at least two buses, and people have to make that trip twice to get the procedure."

Northern difficulties

Couples in Northern Ireland have an even more difficult time. Abortion remains illegal across the Border in cases of rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormalities. It can be carried out only if a mother's life is in danger, or there is a permanent or serious risk to her mental or physical health. Northern Ireland-based women seeking a termination outside these circumstances have to accept a fee of 450 by service providers in the South, or pay to travel to Britain.

One such woman, "Carole", had a termination in the UK after receiving a fatal foetal diagnosis in October 2018. Carole was told at a 12-week scan that her baby had anencephaly, leaving no chance of survival. She remembers the upset of having to leave her toddler at home for the first time as she and her partner set out from Belfast. The two-year-old had sobbed as she left to stay at her granny's house for the weekend.

Although women from Northern Ireland can now receive free abortions in England, Wales and Scotland, uncertainty remains as to whether their own health providers can provide guidance on accessing services. "I had to make 27 different calls to understand what kind of care we could get," says Carole. "Getting the diagnosis was horrific, and then on top of that we had to be our own advocates. We really felt cut adrift."

The couple chose to have a communal cremation following the termination, she says. "At the time that was the least worst option. It would have been a different decision had we been able to stay at home."

Exclusion zones

Along with calling for fees to be abolished for women in Northern Ireland, Irish activists have urged the government here to press forward with plans to legislate for exclusion zones at GP surgeries. Murray's practice is one of several to have been targeted by protesters in recent weeks.

"We've had protests outside for the last three Saturdays. They turn up with posters saying, 'Real doctors don't kill babies,'" he says. "I think they do it because I'm the only provider in the area. Now it doesn't bother me because I'm not open on Saturdays, but their purpose is very clear: they want to stop other GPs from providing. Other local doctors driving past here, seeing them, are going to think, 'Oh, I don't want that outside my surgery.'"

Free contraception is another priority for doctors. "A lot of the young women I see would like to have the bar out it, but simply can't afford it," Murray tells Review.

O'Shea adds that no GP would like to see the number of terminations increasing. "In the next six months, there are two objectives: we need to continue streamlining the service and begin drawing conclusions about provision, but we also need to do a lot more work around sexual reproductive health."

Along with providing advice in private consultations, GPs and practice nurses are ideally placed to work with secondary schools on encouraging more effective use of contraception and avoiding unplanned pregnancies, he says.

Abortion services have been well received across the country, then, according to doctors, but complicated cases remain. Grey areas persist for pregnant women facing a diagnosis not considered to be fatal, Donohue points out. Clarke advises couples to book an appointment in a British clinic if there is a chance they will be turned down by Irish services, leaving them with little time to arrange for a termination across the water. "We also tell callers they don't have to put themselves through that process [of receiving confirmation of a fatal diagnosis from two doctors] if they don't want to," she tells Review.

More work remains to be done, says Kavanagh. "The Repeal messages about people feeling exiled and traumatised having to go abroad are still relevant. We've always campaigned for free, safe and legal abortion. The challenge now is ensuring free, safe, legal and local services for everyone who needs them."
A view of the gorse fire in Co Donegal. Photo: Evelyn Sweeney/PA Wire

An investigation into how long it took the Air Corps to respond to a dramatic gorse fire has highlighted problems with recruiting pilots and crew.

It took nearly eight hours to scramble aerial support from Baldonnel in Dublin to the scene of the blaze in west Donegal last month.

Before being brought under control the wildfire scorched hundreds of acres of land, having begun in the village of Annagry.

However, the Irish Independent has learned that a report commissioned by Defence Minister Paul Kehoe has found there was not an undue delay in dispatching troops.

It said helicopter support "was deployed as quickly as possible". But the review highlights a "diminished" capability within the Air Corps due to a lack of experienced personnel.

A timeline of events on April 22 shows that an initial call was made to the Department of Defence requesting help from the Air Corps at 9.18am.

Twenty minutes later the Air Corps confirmed that efforts were underway to get a crew.

The Defence Forces only provide an "as available" service for such events and therefore "are not on stand-by for immediate response".

It was 12.41pm before confirmation came through that an Air Corps crew could be made available. The aircraft finally took of at 4pm and arrived in Donegal 5.05pm.

The report finds no fault in how the situation was dealt with but does point to wider issues.

It said concerted efforts are underway to address the "well-known pressures on the Air Corps".

"These efforts encompass efforts to mitigate the risk arising from the impact of the loss of institutional knowledge with the departure of senior staff from the Air Corps.

"One element of the gradual process of returning the Air Corps to its full capability is finding sufficient time to train pilots, crew and technicians to the defined standards," the report states.

Contact for comment last night, Mr Kehoe noted some of whose crew "had to travel a significant distance at short notice".

"As demonstrated by this report, the Air Corps is a back up service and it does take time to assemble crew and equipment.

"Pressures in the Air Corps are well known. That's why I asked that the particular issues in the Air Corps would be prioritised in our submission to the Public Service Pay Commission whose report is due shortly."
French prosecutors are believed to have summoned an estimated 30 Irish witnesses to a Paris court to testify against the man they accuse of murdering Sophie Toscan du Plantier.

The summonses were delivered last Friday afternoon to local people in west Cork who provided witness statements to the original investigation into the French film producer's murder.

Ms Du Plantier was beaten to death outside her holiday home in Schull in December 1996, but no one was charged with the killing. Prosecutors in France are pressing ahead on Monday next week with the long-planned trial of journalist Ian Bailey, who has repeatedly denied involvement in the crime.

The witnesses summoned include former neighbours of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in west Cork along with Mr Bailey's long-term partner, Jules Thomas, and her daughters. Witnesses are also understood to include retired gardai who investigated the murder. Witnesses cannot be compelled to attend and it is not clear how many will testify at the proceedings in Paris.

The issuing of the summonses coincides with a visit by Ms Toscan du Plantier's parents and her son to west Cork to attend a memorial mass at noon today.

The son of the murdered Frenchwoman has appealed to all witnesses to come to France to testify against Mr Bailey. Pierre-Louis Baudey-Vignaud, who travelled to west Cork with his uncle, will deliver an impassioned plea at a mass in Goleen today at noon.

"My purpose for coming is to involve the Irish people in this trial in France, and to invite all the people who live in this country to join me in fighting for the truth," he told the Sunday Independent yesterday.

Ms Du Plantier's family is expected to seek the assistance of the local community in pursuing justice for her murder. Mr Bailey's trial for the alleged murder of Ms Du Plantier opens in Paris on Monday, May 27. Two requests from the French authorities to extradite him from Ireland were rejected by the Irish courts and the trial will proceed in his absence.

His solicitor, Frank Buttimer, confirmed this weekend that Mr Bailey will not attend the "unlawful and unjust" proceedings.

Evidence will be heard in Mr Bailey's absence and his fate will be decided before three magistrates.

If he is found guilty in his absence, he will likely face another request for extradition from the French authorities.

Mr Bailey, who lives outside Schull, lost a French Supreme Court bid to stop the trial last year.

He was twice arrested by gardai for questioning about the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier at her holiday home in Toormore, but was released without charge on each occasion.

He subsequently lost several libel proceedings against a number of newspapers, and a costly High Court action against the State for his wrongful arrest.

Mr Buttimer said this weekend: "My client will not be going to France for any legal proceedings in relation to this matter.

"The procedure is un- lawful and unjust and contravenes his rights under the European Convention of Human Rights."
 Flash

Venezuela's government delegation has returned from Norway "with good news" that its talks with the opposition had a good start, President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday.

"The talks to advance agreements of peace, of amity, of harmony have got off on the right foot," Maduro said at a meeting with soldiers in the central Venezuelan state of Aragua.

The representatives of each side had held talks in Norway this week "for the initiation and exploration of conversations and dialogue with the Venezuelan opposition to build an agenda of peace for the country," according to the president.

Maduro said that he was committed to respecting the rules established in the exploratory meetings. "I believe in peace," he said. "Dialogue, yes; peace, yes; agreement, yes."

Maduro also thanked the Norwegian government for "supporting the entire peace effort" and asked the Venezuelan people to support the dialogue process.
'Danny said he had picked up the biscuits to bring back to his aunt when he noticed that an employee of the store had started to follow him and his cousins at a brisk pace' (stock photo)

Three schoolchildren who sued a major retailer for defamation of character have been awarded 14,000 in total.

The children, all cousins, had claimed in the Circuit Civil Court that they had been loudly accused by a member of staff in an Iceland store of stealing and opening a packet of biscuits.

Danny Flannagan (13) told the President of the Circuit Court, Mr Justice Raymond Groarke, that he and his two cousins, Abbey Flannagan (14) and her younger sister, Rihanna, had been shopping in the Iceland supermarket in Finglas, Dublin, with his aunt on August 23, 2017.

All three had sued Iceland through his aunt Angelina Maguire of An Riasc, Farhnam Drive, Finglas, Dublin 11, the mother of his two cousins Abbey and Rihanna.

Danny told the court his aunt Angelina had asked the three of them to go and pick something out for their school lunches.

They had found a multipack of 'Happy Hippo' biscuits with the outside packaging ripped open.

He told his barrister, Tim Sheehan, who appeared with O'Hanrahan Solicitors, that he and his cousins had thought the Happy Hippo biscuits may have been on sale for a reduced price because of the tear in the outer package.

He said the biscuits inside the pack had been individually wrapped and had not been opened.

Danny said he had picked up the biscuits to bring back to his aunt when he noticed that an employee of the store had started to follow him and his cousins at a brisk pace.

He said the man was an employee of Iceland and had begun to shout at them that they were stealing and that they could not just open the packet and eat what they wanted.

Danny said his two cousins had become very upset.

He told Mr Sheehan that he had felt very embarrassed as the man had been shouting loudly and he had been worried other shoppers in the store were going to overhear him.

Danny said he had put down the packet as he walked along and returned to where his aunt was.

He said the employee had then talked to Ms Maguire and was still raising his voice telling her the children had opened the packet even though it had not been paid for.

Abbey told the court they had only wanted to bring the packet back to her mother, Angelina Maguire, to ask if the product had been reduced in price due to the tear in the outer packet.

Judge Groarke awarded Abbey 5,000 against Iceland Ltd and 4,500 each for Danny and Rihanna together with Circuit Court costs.

Defamation claims cannot be taken in the District Court and must be heard in the Circuit Court or the High Court.
'Price (37) is expected by gardai to become an active participant and prime target in the deadly Drogheda feud.' Stock photo: PA Archive/PA Images

Gardai fear the release of a major gangland figure will spark further violence in the deadly Drogheda feud.

Cornelius Price leaves prison this weekend after being officially warned by gardai there is an active threat to his life from a number of criminal elements.

A special security plan involving prison bosses and senior gardai has been put in place ahead of his expected release this morning.

Price (37) is expected by gardai to become an active participant and prime target in the deadly Drogheda feud.

Independent.ie can reveal that at least half a dozen of his close associates have arrived back from England for his release.

Sources say Price plans to leave the country for a holiday in Italy with his wife and children in the coming days.

If this happens, it will be a short-term relief for gardai who suspect he will become a major player in the spiralling Drogheda feud.

While in jail, the criminal was involved in a number of rows and feuds which led him to be transferred to different jails and isolation units.

He was suspected of ordering dozens of attacks against his enemies and perceived rivals, including an incident where he is alleged to have forced a Brazilian inmate to stab a rival in a botched attack.

Gardai say they are "extremely concerned" ahead of Price's release.

He has completed a three-year sentence for reckless endangerment of a garda at Balbriggan garda station in 2014 following a trial at Dublin Circuit Court.

His associates are suspected of involvement in three gangland murders and while not a suspect himself for any of the three murders, Price's associates are the chief suspects for the murder of Benny Whitehouse, a 36-year-old man who was shot dead in September, 2014.

While he is not a suspect himself in any of the three killings, his associates are the chief suspects for the murder of Benny Whitehouse, a 36-yearold man who was shot dead in September 2014.

The gang suspected of killing Whitehouse are also chief suspects for the suspected murders of Tallaght man Willie Maughan (34) and his partner Anna Varslavane (21).

They were last seen near Prices house in the Gormanston area on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 14, 2015.

Independent.ie previously revealed that the gang boss taunted and laughed at gardai as they carried out searches for the missing couple in the summer of 2015.

Prices mob are also believed to have been behind a sickening incident in August 2016, when the grave of Willie Maughans brother at Bohernabreena Cemetery in Tallaght was dug up.

Price was in jail at the time.

The sinister incident occurred just a day after Michaels father Joe appealed for information to help find the remains of his son Willie.

It is believed that he and his partner were shot dead and their bodies burnt in a bonfire.

Prices compound in Gormanston has been the subject of major garda surveillance operations and has also been raided on a number of occasions.

His gang were also investigated for a pipe bomb attack at the home of Willie Maughans sister Martina in Rathfarnham in October 2015.

Price spent almost a year in custody on remand after gardai went to the High Court in January 2016 to object to him being allowed out on bail in relation to the serious charges he was facing.

In 2016, Price was cleared of charges of attacking two close associates of slain Benny Whitehouse in an incident in which a Stanley blade was used at a house in Balbriggan.

In November 2015, he was cleared of reckless endangerment charges in relation to a terrifying feud-related incident at a Balbriggan school two years earlier.

But the gangsters luck finally ran out when a jury convicted him in February 2017 of engaging in conduct that created a substantial risk of death or serious harm to Garda Gary Dillane.

The Criminal Assets Bureau has done a detailed profile on his mob and handed them a 170,000 cash bill.

Just days before CAB produced their bill, the paranoid criminal had built a 12ft wall around his home compound which is said to be now in pristine condition ready for his release this weekend.

Price, who is closely linked to gangsters in the capital as well as counties Meath and Louth, is also understood to have a relationship with a mob based in Co Sligo, which detectives have been investigating.
European Election candidate Mark Durkan has hit back at Sinn Fein's claim that Fine Gael supports militarisation of the EU saying that he never supported bombing anywhere, but that the rival party can't say the same.

Mr Durkan made the pointed reference to Sinn Fein's support for the Provisional IRA's campaign of terror as he responded to criticisms made by his Dublin opponent Lynn Boylan during the campaign.

Ms Boylan has claimed that Fine Gael can't be trusted with Irish neutrality and wants further integration and militarisation in the EU. Mr Durkan said Sinn Fein's claims come from "a playbook of innuendo against Europe".

He said he was someone who negotiated for peace in Northern Ireland and voted against military action in Syria and Libya when he was a Westminster MP.

"I'm someone that's never supported bombing. I didn't support bombing in this country, I haven't supported it in any other country. Sinn Fein cannot say that," he added.

Mr Durkan also referred to the use of clips of European Parliament speeches by Sinn Fein leader and former MEP Mary Lou McDonald by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party.

Its YouTube page features a montage including a variety of contributions made by Ms McDonald in 2008 when the Lisbon Treaty was being debated ahead of the first referendum, when it was rejected by Irish voters.

Ms McDonald said the treaty "gives powerful EU institutions a free hand to further militarise our union".

Mr Durkan claimed Sinn Fein's message provided "grist to Nigel Farage's mill".

He added: "Sinn Fein claim to have moved from being Eurosceptic to being Euro critical but it's clear that they essentially are backing vocalists for Euro disrupters."

A Sinn Fein spokesperson responded, saying: "This is a desperate attempt by Mark Durkan to make himself relevant."

The spokesperson claimed: "His ignorance to the militarisation of the EU is astonishing, especially when senior European figures have been so open about their support for the establishment of an EU army."

They added that Mr Durkan "seems to forget which party banner he is running under".

Meanwhile, a row erupted between Fine Gael and RTE after Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty claimed Mr Durkan was "excluded" from an upcoming TV debate.

Ms Doherty said her party was not allowed choose which of their Dublin candidates will appear on Monday night's 'Claire Byrne Live' debate as the criteria set out by RTE meant Mr Durkan was disqualified. She said former Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald will take part in the debate but that "RTE took that choice away from us".

RTE's managing editor of current affairs David Nally said: "RTE current affairs decides who appears on its programmes in the best interests of the viewing public and not anybody else."

He said RTE's criteria for the debates are that where a party has two candidates in the same constituency, the one that is currently elected will be invited.

He said: "Frances Fitzgerald is currently elected to the Dail and Mark Durkan is not currently elected to any body. An RTE statement said that Mr Durkan was included in the 'Week in Politics' debate earlier this month.
The heartbroken parents at the centre of a tragic abortion case were given no hope of their unborn baby's chance of survival when they received the diagnosis of a fatal foetal abnormality, it has been claimed.

The couple made the agonising decision to terminate the pregnancy in March after being told by doctors at the National Maternity Hospital that their unborn child had Edward's syndrome and would not live, their solicitor Caoimhe Haughey told Independent.ie.

But a later test result delivered the news that their baby had been healthy and clear of the abnormality.

"They are living a daily nightmare. It is soul-destroying for them and there is no return," she added.

The couple's solicitor has also written to the Attorney General on their behalf asking for an inquest for their dead baby.

An external review overseen by specialists from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the UK is to get under way to examine the circumstances of the case. Specialists who have expertise in genetic testing are expected to be drafted on to the team.

The couple, who were delighted to be having a baby, went for the private blood screening Harmony test in the private clinic near Holles Street hospital. This is a simple blood test which analyses cell-free foetal DNA circulating in the mother's blood, and can be done after 10 weeks' gestation.

When that showed a risk of fatal foetal abnormalities, they had a Chorionic villus sampling (CVS). This is a test to check if the baby has a genetic or chromosomal condition, such as Down syndrome, Edwards' syndrome or Patau's syndrome.

Two samples are sent to a UK lab for analysis and the first result was available in 48 hours, while the definitive reading takes some two weeks.

The couple were told the first test result showed the baby had trisomy 18 Edward's syndrome.

This led to the couple making the heart-rending decision to have a termination of the pregnancy. But weeks later the definitive test delivered a bombshell, showing that the baby was healthy.

It is believed that the cells in the placenta showed up positive for trisomy 18 but the foetus was clear. This is known as chromosomal mosaicism.

Doctors in Holles Street who have been carrying out these diagnostic tests for nearly 20 years believe it is the first case of its kind at the hospital.

If the first result is incorrect, it normally shows that the baby is clear of abnormalities rather than positive as in this case.

Health Minister Simon Harris said yesterday his overriding concern was for the couple involved and respecting their privacy.

"An appropriate external review is warranted into the matters that arise here and it is important to await its findings," he said.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the news was "very distressing".

He said: "My heart goes out to the couple at the centre of this, as these matters are private and personal and confidential, I don't have any access to the details.

"I think it is important that we respect the fact that these matters are private, personal and confidential, at least until a time as the couple decide otherwise."

Asked if better safeguards should be in place, he said: "I think that really is a question for the hospital and for the Master rather than me to answer, they would be the experts in the field."

The pregnancy was in its 15th week at the time of the termination.

The couple had previously had an ultrasound scan of the baby and this had shown up clear.
Cry for help: Breda Daly is 70 and has looked after her sister Mary for 30 years. Photo: Steve Humphreys

Hundreds of carers met to discuss lobbying Government to spend an extra 3.2m a year to help families with loved ones in need gain a better quality of life.

Family Carers Ireland (FCI) gathered members in Dublin to call for a Carers' Guarantee - a campaign to secure core funding support for carers.

The group said the priorities were to provide carers with emergency respite, individual support, training, networking opportunities and more information and advocacy.

Catherine Cox, from FCI, said: "The Carers' Guarantee is a major issue for us going forward to improve the lives of carers.

"There is a sense of frustration and some anger, carers certainly do feel left behind. A big issue is respite. And particularly in an emergency, when they most need it. Where you live determines what you will or won't get. That's a postcode lottery

"I would say if you're a carer you may get access to respite but maybe in other parts of the country you won't.

"And the loco parentis is a major issue too, where the carer has to stay in the house while a HSE carer visits, so that's not offering the carer respite.

"Carers are also worried about what happens in the future for those with disabilities. We need future career planning."

The group also want to see the reversal of the axing of the mobility allowance and grants imposed by Government in 2013. Up to 5,000 people who used the scheme to travel to work, retain employment and get to essential medical appointments were affected by the cuts.

Breda Daly (70), from Walkinstown, Dublin, told how she has been caring for her sister Mary (61), who has brain damage, for more than 30 years after the death of their mother, also Mary.

"Mary is in the early stages of dementia," Ms Daly said.

"I go in and she can't remember what she called me for. I'm 70 and find I'm getting very tired. The respite has been cut on me. Mary used to go in every week and now it's once a month.

"We have to fight for our rights as carers. If anything happens to me, Mary won't want to go on.

"I have to do all the washing and caring and I love my sister to bits but I have my own health issues.

"If I got a bit more respite, I think things would be a lot better."
Warning: Kerry Fonseca was told the wrong diagnosis while she was on holiday in South Africa Photo: Steve Humphreys

A pregnant mother of two has told how she received a test result indicating her unborn baby had a fatal foetal abnormality - only to discover it was the wrong diagnosis.

Kerry Fonseca, of Balgriffin, north Dublin, who is 23 weeks pregnant, said she was on holiday in her native South Africa in March when she went for a check-up and was told by a gynaecologist of his concern after looking at her scan.

She had a positive non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) in March, indicating her baby was at risk of trisomy 18, also called Edward's syndrome, a chromosomal condition recognised as a fatal foetal abnormality.

"I then had a chorionic villus sampling (CVS) diagnostic test in the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin and it too came back positive."

However, she opted to have an amniocentesis three weeks later and it came back clear.

It showed that her unborn child does not have any abnormality.

"My baby is fine with no chromosomal abnormalities and I am now 23 weeks along," said Kerry, who has two older daughters.

A CVS test involves removing and testing a small sample of cells from the placenta.

It is offered where there is a high risk a baby could have a genetic or chromosomal condition.

There can be different genetic readings between cells in the placenta and the foetus.

The other diagnostic test is amniocentesis, which is carried out on the amniotic fluid.

Ms Fonseca said she has a rare condition known as confined placental mosaicism characterised by the discrepancy between the chromosomal and genetic make-up of the unborn baby and placenta.

Both the placenta and unborn baby normally have the same make-up.

But when there is a difference, this can distort test results for fatal foetal abnormalities.

Ms Fonseca said she is very grateful for the high standard of care which she got in the Rotunda and will be giving birth to her baby there.

"It has been a rollercoaster for us," she added.

She feels that screening tests are strongly promoted and women are told they have high levels of accuracy.

These are known as non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT).

However, based on her experience, she advises women to have a thorough diagnostic assessment before making a final decision.

Doctors caution that screening tests are not perfect.

Some women will be told that they or their baby has a higher chance of having a health problem when they are clear.

Also, a few will be informed that their baby has a lower risk of having a health issue when they have a condition which is of concern.
Bunk beds, dozens of people at viewings and meeting special conditions set out by landlords are just some of the obstacles facing would-be tenants in Dublin.

Most people for accommodation in the Greater Dublin Area now have to spend weeks, if not months, researching, hoping to get selected for viewings and interviews, and hoping against hope they will find somewhere.

Last week, more than 100 people queued up for a house viewing in Drumcondra, a suburb in the north of the city, in the hope of snagging a bed.

Daniel Flanagan, a 19-year-old student from Wexford, explained how "disheartening" it was to see a swarm of people outside of the house he went to view.

We waited 15-20 minutes and left because the line wasnt moving. We knew we had no chance, he said.

Went to view a house today in Drumcondra, one of the cheapest on the market for what you're getting. There was approximately over 100 people waiting on the street to get in and view it, mostly student's. If this doesn't exemplify Ireland's housing crisis, I don't know what will. pic.twitter.com/b2zmfNG3nV  Daniel Flanagan (@danielmflanagan) May 8, 2019

In his opinion, the low price attracted dozens of people to the property. He said the three-bed house was on the rental market for a little over 2,000 a month.

The price was very low, it wasnt cheap, but it was one of the cheapest on the market, he said.

The house seemed in presentable condition, it wasnt falling apart. Most houses which are on a budget rent are deteriorating.

Daniel explained that the majority of the viewers were all students, desperate to find accommodation for the incoming academic year.

I cant see myself living in Ireland. Theres barely any jobs and theres nowhere to live, he said.

In Dublins south city centre, we were among 15 people scheduled to view a bunk bed in a two bedroom apartment. Each bedroom has a set of bunk beds and a single bed.

The bunk bed is currently being rented by a non-national tenant who is moving out of the apartment. Shes been in the country for three months. The person who will be selected out of those viewing the bunk bed will pay 450 a month. If each of the three people sharing the room this amount, it is at least 1,350 a month. The same amount of money will be made from the second bedroom - which means this two bed apartment is pulling in 2,700 every month.

Theres been a lot of interest, its Dublin, she says. She explains how she has viewings arranged with each hopeful over the coming days.

The apartment is newly furnished, and a Brazilian tenant explains that he has been in Ireland for a month. A faint smell of cigarette smoke lingers. The tenants have the use of the washing machine, but only allowed a single load of washing a week.

In north Dublin, some 6km away from the city centre, a single room in a house share is up for grabs. There are two double rooms, and three single rooms which mean that a total of seven people can occupy the house. The single room clocks in at just under 500 a month.

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The house is in need of renovation and a deep clean, but the landlord says that the current tenants will clean up before leaving.

Irish students are the worst, he says.

Inside the front door of the house hangs a list of special conditions. Some of these state that tenants are not to keep guests overnight without the landlords permission and draw back curtains and open windows for air before leaving in the morning.

There is also a laminated newspaper clipping beside said conditions, of an article detailing a female student died in a house fire two years ago. The words cause of fire, with a phone charger are underlined in red biro.

As mostly students occupy the house, interest increases each year as students come and go. I do feel sorry for them, the landlord says.

Letting agents in property management companies are feeling the pressure also. A staff member in a letting agency in Dublin, who asked his name not to be disclosed, said that over 50 applications are received daily.

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Fifty a day, and thats continuous, there will be 50 more tomorrow, its an extremely difficult role for all, he said.

What you have to do, to keep your sanity, [is] go through the emails, find the best 20 or 30, set another 10 to 15 to organise viewings, he explained.

You couldnt possibly have open viewings because you cant speak to people, theres too many.

However, as desperate tenants shell out for staggering rents, the number of available properties is steadily dropping.

Two or three years ago we would turnover 130 properties per annum, the staff worker says.

Now, we would be lucky to turn over 65 or 70.

High demand sees tenants spending months searching for somewhere to live, finally finding a place, and staying there.

Anybody who is in rental accommodation isnt leaving it as they know that anywhere else is dearer, he adds. Buying a house is a mere pipe-dream as rents cost as much - in some instances it will cost more - than mortgages, leaving less tenants with the ability to buy.

Its a crisis, he says. A faint radio noise can be heard over the telephone as he speaks.

I hear [Housing Minister] Eoghan Murphy on Pat Kenny now in the background. He goes around in circles.
Friends of murdered teenager Azzam Raguragui were urged to let justice take its course as they gathered for the teenager's funeral prayer.

The heartbroken family of the 18-year-old gathered at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Clonskeagh to say their final farewell. Mr Raguragui was stabbed to death in Finsbury Park, south Dublin, last Friday.

The service was led by Imam Hussein Halawa who urged young Muslims to "work hard and lead good lives" in the face of the recent events.

He urged them to "leave the matter of Azzam to Allah" and to the gardai and courts who are dealing with the case.

He said "death comes all of a sudden" and Mr Raguragui would be missed by all in the community. He extended his sincerest condolences to his family.

Mr Raguragui's body was taken to Newcastle Cemetery.

Transport Minister Shane Ross said: "It's absolutely awful for everybody. I just met his mother and father and it is just awful. You always worry about [your children] but you never think it will happen."
Garda checkpoint in Gormanstown, Co. Meath at entrance to compund owned by Cornelius Price, and inset- Cornelius Price.

FREED gang-boss Cornelius Price was met with the sight of armed gardai camped out in front of his fortified compound - hours after being released from Wheatfield Prison.

Price arrived home to his walled off property in Gormanstown, Meath at 2pm today, a short time before Gardai, operating under Operation Hybrid, mounted a high visibility check-point yards away.

Sources said the in-your-face operation was a warning to Price his every move will now be monitored following his release from prison.

Operation Hybrid was set up to identify the movements of key gangland figures, their cars, movements and associates across the capital and its environs.

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After the check-point was wound down, a car matching the description of the vehicle which had collected Price from prison earlier emerged and sped in the direction of Balbriggan.

It recently emerged that gardai fear Price's release from prison will spark further violence in the Drogheda feud.

While in jail, the criminal was involved in a number of rows and feuds which led him to be transferred to different jails and isolation units.

He was suspected of ordering dozens of attacks against his enemies and perceived rivals, including an incident where he is alleged to have forced a Brazilian inmate to stab a rival in a botched attack.

He has completed a three-year sentence for reckless endangerment of a garda at Balbriggan garda station in 2014 following a trial at Dublin Circuit Court.

His associates are suspected of involvement in three gangland murders and while not a suspect himself for any of the three murders, Price's associates are the chief suspects for the murder of Benny Whitehouse, a 36-year-old man who was shot dead in September, 2014.

The gang suspected of killing Whitehouse are also chief suspects for the suspected murders of Tallaght man Willie Maughan (34) and his partner Anna Varslavane (21).

They were last seen near Prices house in the Gormanston area on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 14, 2015.

Independent.ie previously revealed that the gang boss taunted and laughed at gardai as they carried out searches for the missing couple in the summer of 2015.

Prices mob are also believed to have been behind a sickening incident in August 2016, when the grave of Willie Maughans brother at Bohernabreena Cemetery in Tallaght was dug up.

Price was in jail at the time.

Price spent almost a year in custody on remand after gardai went to the High Court in January 2016 to object to him being allowed out on bail in relation to the serious charges he was facing.

In 2016, Price was cleared of charges of attacking two close associates of slain Benny Whitehouse in an incident in which a Stanley blade was used at a house in Balbriggan.

In November 2015, he was cleared of reckless endangerment charges in relation to a terrifying feud-related incident at a Balbriggan school two years earlier.

But the gangsters luck finally ran out when a jury convicted him in February 2017 of engaging in conduct that created a substantial risk of death or serious harm to Garda Gary Dillane.
18 May 2019; Raise the Roof Rally makes its way down O'Connell Street, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

18 May 2019; Susan Cummings, centre, from Ringsend, with Fianna Fail local election candidates for South East Inner city Maria Bohan, left, and Elizabeth Watson. Raise the Roof rally. Parnell Square, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

18 May 2019; Rita Fagan from the Liberties at the Raise the Roof Rally. O'Connell Street, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

18 May 2019; Rita Fagan from the Liberties at the Raise the Roof Rally. O'Connell Street, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

In Pictures: Meet the people taking to the streets to demand action on homelessness Close

Thousands of people took to the streets of Dublin this afternoon to demand action on homelessness.

With an increasing number of people becoming homeless in Ireland, campaigners at the march criticised the Governments record on the issue.

The event, organised by the Raise the Roof campaign, saw thousands walk through the city centre carrying placards and chanting slogans.

Activists made a series of demands, including the construction of more public housing, an end to evictions, more robust rent controls and a right to housing formally inserted into the states constitution.

They also criticised support levels for homeless members of the Traveller community and asylum seekers living in Direct Provision centres.

There are more than 10,000 adults and children without a home and living in temporary emergency accommodation in Ireland.

We spoke to some of the people taking to the streets of Dublin for better housing today.

Amy Smith, living in temporary accommodation in Finglas with two children: "I'm here to fight for a home"

Im here to fight for a home. Its time for me and my children to get back to stability and normal living. I was in rented accommodation and the landlord wanted more money.

"Because he wasnt allowed to do it legally he said he was moving his son in and thats how me and my two kids ended up like this. I was in a B&B and now Im in another place. Its a nightmare.

Expand Close 18 May 2019; Amy Smith, from Finglas, with daughter Ava, 8. Raise the Roof Rally. O'Connell Street, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn / Facebook

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Whatsapp 18 May 2019; Amy Smith, from Finglas, with daughter Ava, 8. Raise the Roof Rally. O'Connell Street, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

"Im fighting for everything and trying to get everything but it all seems to get thrown back in my face. I know a lot of people in the same situation. Its horrible. Its disgusting.

Rita Fagan, a community activist from the Liberties in Dublin: "We have a national crisis on housing"

Im here today because I believe what we have is a national crisis on housing. Theyre talking about bringing out broadband for all the people in the country but I dont think broadband is the top human rights issue in the country. I dont believe people shouldnt have broadband but its about the urgency of it.

Expand Close 18 May 2019; Rita Fagan from the Liberties at the Raise the Roof Rally. O'Connell Street, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn / Facebook

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Whatsapp 18 May 2019; Rita Fagan from the Liberties at the Raise the Roof Rally. O'Connell Street, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

She said she has been fighting for the regeneration of St Michaels Estate in the south inner city for 21 years and was also campaigning for residents of Emmet Manor in Inchicore where almost 30 low-income families are set to be evicted as the landlord wants to refurbish the apartments and let them out at higher prices.

In Emmet Manor there are 27 families being evicted and given termination notices. They can do so because of the legal system says they can because theyre doing it up.

These people, whether we like it or not, by September will be made homeless.

Theres something really wrong and sick. Theres something wrong with the Irish people. They say if you put a frog into hot water it will jump out but you can put one in cold water and boil it. Whats happening to the Irish people is theyre being boiled.

Brian Baitson, an ESB worker from Coolock in north Dublin: "Its a vicious circle and a dead end

Mr Baitson said he turned out to support the homeless and people looking for houses. He said a friend of his who was attending the march is renting at exorbitant prices.

He cant get a mortgage because of the salary hes on. He has to pay his rent himself because he cant get any subsidies because both himself and his wife are working. Theyre paying ridiculous money. They cant get out of it. Its a vicious circle and a dead end.

Brian said much more social housing needs to be built.

Expand Close 18 May 2019; Brian Baitson and Keith Troy. Raise the Roof Rally. O'Connell Street, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn / Facebook

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Whatsapp 18 May 2019; Brian Baitson and Keith Troy. Raise the Roof Rally. O'Connell Street, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

When my parents had young kids there was houses provided to help people get out of the tenements. Its gone full circle now. People are back in accommodation with multiple people in a room. Theyre back paying landlords money.

"Some of the landlords are in Government and theyre happy enough to stand up in the Dail and saying theyre doing this and that but theyre doing shag all in reality. Back in the 1960s some of the government had a vision of building social housing and it got people out of bad conditions.

"There were good families in social housing. Good kids grew up in social housing, got jobs and were then able to buy houses. Now were back in the vicious circle. Its all about the profit now and forget about the worker.

Mary Wall, from Ballymun in Dublin: "It's not normal, that's why we're here"

Ms Wall was part of three generations of her family who attended the march.

Its ridiculous whats going on. My daughter lives with me and thats fine because we have the room but theres a lot of her friends and other people she grew up with who are in hotels and that. Its so bad.

"I worked in childcare and I just know theres going to be lots of problems with children put in that situation. Its not normal. I cant even visualise living in a hotel room with even one child never mind two or three. Thats why were here.

Susan Cummings from Ringsend in Dublin: "You can't push people out of the city"

Ms Cummings attended with members of the Irish Glass Bottle Housing Action Group.

We have a campaign to ensure we get the 550 affordable homes promised by the government on the lands across the road from where we live in Ringsend. My brother is living with us now.

"We have three generations living in the same house. My sister was made homeless. She thankfully now has somewhere to live but its about the whole community.

Expand Close 18 May 2019; Susan Cummings, centre, from Ringsend, with Fianna Fail local election candidates for South East Inner city Maria Bohan, left, and Elizabeth Watson. Raise the Roof rally. Parnell Square, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn / Facebook

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Whatsapp 18 May 2019; Susan Cummings, centre, from Ringsend, with Fianna Fail local election candidates for South East Inner city Maria Bohan, left, and Elizabeth Watson. Raise the Roof rally. Parnell Square, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

"Were there to survive. Were looking for the survival of our community. Our area is Dublin 4 and its working class and we want to stay there. We dont want to be phased out.

"We dont want to be ethnically cleansed away. Our community has been there for centuries and we have the right to remain. Our children have to leave and are told to go somewhere else. Why do people have to go somewhere else?

Everybody has somebody homeless even if you have a brother coming home or sister coming home staying on a couch because they cant afford to go anywhere. If you go on a social list youre talking 10 or 12 years. Whats the other option, emigrate? You cant push people out of the city.

Keith Troy, a construction worker from Dublin: "It's getting worse"

Mr Troy said people working in his industry have no job security and many struggle with housing issues.

Im a construction worker and the only work I can get is through agency work which is zero hour contracts. We dont know if were going to be working from one week to the next or even one day to the next.

I was with Permanent TSB for my mortgage and theyre after selling me off to Start Mortgages and already theyre getting onto me.

There is no security there whatsoever. Even though I am working full-time Im not guaranteed full-time work in the construction industry.

I think the government should be dismantled. Fianna Fail are not going to do it. I think everybody is calling for Fianna Fail to pull the plug. Realistically the only other option is to put pressure on the independents who are propping up the Government.

There are local elections coming and people need to be asking candidates on the doorsteps what theyre going to be doing to make sure public houses and affordable houses are built. Its the only way this crisis is going to end. Its getting worse.

With additional reporting from Press Association
Fall: Trinity College professor and climber Seamus Lawless had reached the summit on Everest early yesterday morning and was starting the descent

THE family of an Irish climber who went missing on Mount Everest has said "time is of the essence" as the search for him continues.

Father-of-one Seamus Lawless (39) from Bray, Co Wicklow, fell at an altitude of 8,300 metres while descending from the worlds highest peak on Thursday.

Just hours after Mr Lawless reached the summit tragedy struck and the search has since been reclassified as a recovery mission.

His devastated family launched an online fundraiser to help cover the costs of the search efforts, which has raised more than 122,000 so far.

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"It is with an extremely heavy heart that the Lawless family have had to set up this GoFundMe page to ask for donations," a spokesperson for the family wrote on the GoFundMe website.

"Shay achieved his lifelong dream on the morning of Thursday May 15 when he reached the peak of Mount Everest. Tragically, on his descent, Shay fell and has been missing since.

"With the weekend upon us, we, the family of Shay, have been left with no other option but to ask for assistance in raising funds to gather a team of expert Sherpas to locate and bring our beloved Shay home to Ireland. Time is of the essence in the search mission and the costs of running this mission are substantial.

"At this moment in time we have little to no information about what happened on Thursday May 16, nor do we know the current location of Shay. It is our priority to locate him and bring him home and we appreciate all the support that can be offered as we face this hugely challenging situation."

Mr Lawless works as a professor in Trinity College and a vigil will be held there for him in the Long Room Hub at 8.15pm tonight.

A spokeswoman said in a statement: "At this deeply upsetting time, we are thinking of our friend and colleague, Seamus (Shay) Lawless. There will be a vigil this evening in Trinity College Dublin.

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"'One candle can light a thousand candles and still remain lit itself - together as a community who knows Shay for his spirit and kindness, his strength and his resilience, and above all for his dreams and visions, we want to light a candle together to not lose sight of the light itself and to carry our hopes and thoughts as far as only light can carry them."

He had been part of an eight-member expedition team, led by mountaineer Noel Hanna. He achieved his dream of reaching Everests summit in a bid to raise 25,000 for the Barretstown charity, which provides support for seriously ill children and their families.

It is understood Mr Lawless slipped in an area known as the Balcony, after reaching the mountain's summit on Thursday morning.

Mr Mingma Sherpa, owner of Seven Summits Treks, told RTE News that conditions descending the mountain were "very good" but that Mr Lawless appears to have had an accidental fall.

"The Sherpas were shouting for him last night but couldn't find him," he said.

Mr Mingma continued that he has spoken to Mr Lawless's wife, Pam, and that she and their daughter Emma (4) are being kept up to date with developments from the Himalayas.

"It is a very difficult situation. We are searching for a body," he said.

"She called me many times, but how do we explain the details? When the team returns, we will have more details.

"We are very sad because we have lost one of our best mountaineers. Everybody is very upset in the Himalayas."

Dee Ahearn, chief executive of Barretstown, has said that everyone at the charity is thinking of Mr Lawless's loved ones as the search continues.

"This is a dreadfully upsetting and uncertain time for Seamus and his family.

"Our thoughts, and indeed the thoughts of the entire Barretstown community, are with Seamus, his family and friends," Ms Ahearn said.

Mr Lawless said when he was a child his father gave him a National Geographic map of the climbing route up the south face of Mount Everest. The map stayed on his bedroom wall as he grew up, staying there until he left for Nepal in April.

The father of one said that he had been preparing for the challenge alongside fellow climbers from the Ireland on Everest group for four years.

"I turn 40 in July," he told the Sunday Independent in February.

"My friends are joking that climbing Everest is my mid-life crisis.

"The Sherpas were shouting for him last night but couldn't find him."
Guilty: Former garda Jimell Henry arriving at Sligo district court last year. Photo: Damien Eagers

The latest Garda corruption probe is one of a series to rock the force in recent years.

Last June, Garda Sergeant Jimell Henry was jailed for 18 months for relaying information from the Pulse system to a drugs gang in Sligo.

Judge Keenan Johnson said her behaviour was deplorable and put the lives of members of the public at risk.

In 2014 detectives in Sligo became concerned confidential information was being leaked to an organised crime group and was being used to target a rival gang.

An investigation discovered Henry was routinely accessing the Pulse system and disclosing information.

A court heard in one two-week period alone, she made 900 inquiries on Pulse.

Almost three-quarters of these related to Sligo, even though she was stationed in Dublin at the time.

She pleaded guilty to three charges of disclosing information obtained during the course of her duty, knowing that it was likely to have a harmful effect, and four counts of disclosing operational details without authority, in December 2014 and January 2015.

Meanwhile, the force has also been rocked by allegations a garda had a sexual relationship with a female drugs suspect and tipped her off about a search.

The allegations have been subject to an internal investigation and the garda at the centre of the claims was suspended.

The matter is set to feature at the Disclosures Tribunal, which is examining claims Garda Nick Keogh was harassed after blowing the whistle on his colleague's alleged behaviour.

The Dail has heard Gda Keogh has also alleged people with no previous criminal records were coerced into procuring drugs and selling them to undercover gardai to boost detection rates.

Collusion between gardai and criminals is not a new phenomenon.

In the 1990s a rogue garda was convicted for taking bribes from members of the gang who murdered journalist Veronica Guerin.

Ex-garda John O'Neill was jailed for four years in 1998 for taking bribes, including from members of John Gilligan's gang.
Former SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon has revealed that John Hume told him he didn't give "two balls of roasted snow" about his advice.

Writing in his newly published memoir, 'A Shared Home Place', Mr Mallon (82) disclosed that he and the party's leader often clashed over strategy during the Northern Ireland peace process.

He describes Mr Hume as "a remarkable genius, egocentric and very resistant to criticism", who often failed to keep colleagues informed.

"He much preferred working on his own. For such a gregarious man, John was very much a loner in his political life."

Mr Mallon had serious reservations about Mr Hume's talks with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams in the early 1990s and warned that they were "bypassing democratic procedures". He correctly predicted that bringing Sinn Fein into the political process would do the SDLP enormous damage.

"Hume thought the opposite: he emphatically believed it would benefit our party. When I expressed a contrary opinion, I recall his exact words. 'I don't give two balls of roasted snow for what you think'."

Mr Mallon served Mr Hume as deputy leader from 1979 to 2001. Mr Mallon remembers Mr Hume "caught me by the cuff" and said: "This deputy first minister thing - you're going to have to do it because the doctors have told me I shouldn't." However, Mr Mallon believes that other factors were also at play. "He was the vision man; I was the negotiator."

Mr Mallon believed that Mr Hume and others gave Sinn Fein far too much leeway over the decommissioning of IRA weapons. He includes the current Fine Gael European election candidate Mark Durkan in his criticism of the SDLP's failure to resist being marginalised by the then British prime minister Tony Blair.

Mr Mallon also recounts that during the Good Friday Agreement talks, Northern Ireland secretary Mo Mowlam felt excluded and referred to herself as "Her Majesty's tea lady".

After a deal had been reached, he recalls: "The door opened and what appeared to be a sleepwalking Mo Mowlam, shoeless as usual, came in looking like Lady Macbeth.

"She sat down beside me, put her head on my shoulder and went to sleep A few minutes later she lifted her head and in pure schoolgirl English exclaimed, 'F***ing brill, Seamus' and went back to sleep again. I think I may have been in tears at that point."

Despite his differences with Mr Hume, Mr Mallon concludes the Nobel Peace Prize winner has earned a place in history. "There is a greatness about John's political life, what he did and what he helped to change," he writes.

"I would rank him among the great leaders of Irish constitutional nationalism, men like Daniel O'Connell and Charles Stewart Parnell."

'A Shared Home Place' is co-written by Andy Pollak and published by Lilliput Press
Bag a bargain: Model Joanne Northey at Brown Thomas, for the launch of the Vestiaire Collective pop-up running until tomorrow

Circular fashion was the buzzword on Grafton Street yesterday as a new pop-up store opened, attracting fans of sustainability and vintage and consumers conscious about consumption.

In the first Irish partnership of its kind, Brown Thomas has collaborated with Vestiairecollective.com, a global marketplace for authenticated pre-owned luxury fashion.

The website, founded in Paris 10 years ago, encourages consumers to join the circular economy as a sustainable alternative to fast fashion.

The three-day in-store pop-up aims to give unwanted fashion a second life by selling it on and helping to save natural resources.

"Over 225,000 tonnes of textiles goes into landfill in Ireland every year and by buying better quality and giving it many lives, this can be reduced," said Shelly Corkery, fashion director of the Brown Thomas Group.

Vestiaire Collective's team will offer valuations and resale advice this weekend, by appointment, for Brown Thomas customers.
Yes, they seem more reasonable than they were at age three.

Yes, theyve moved on from throwing the mother of all tantrums in the toy aisle of Tescos, AND, they can still manage to tolerate being in the same room as you. Kids aged between 5 and 10 really are the best! Comparably, they are, but these years are just as important to navigate  particularly for a naturally fretful child.

Children aged between five and 10 years are considered to be in the latency period  before puberty hits and things get extra interesting  so its all too easy to emit a sigh of relief and take a well-earned breather after the whirlwind of the early years.

However, theres no time to recline on your laurels. Why? Because this is a critical time for building relationships.

Dr Colman Noctor, child and adolescent psychotherapist with St Patricks Mental Health Services, says the mindset of those aged between five and 10 years is very black and white during this phase and the world of fairness, justice, rules and clarity reign.

The whole stage is important, as it is during this phase when the social world becomes important. Children are now independently forming relationships outside their family and this is a crucial step in their social development.

BACK TO SCHOOL

In our last instalment, which focused on anxiety in infants, we looked at attachment styles, separation anxiety, and getting ready for the move to big school.

Considering the summer holidays seem utterly infinite to your average five to seven-year-old, its worth remembering that starting back as a Senior Infant can be just as tricky for additional reasons. There are, however, steps that can aid the transition.

Author, psychotherapist and parenting expert Joanna Fortune has devised a range of 15-minute games to help parents and kids bolster their bond in an increasingly hectic world. According to Fortune, play is the language of children... By rediscovering the joy of play as an adult, you can access a whole new way to understand and respond to your childs needs.

If you are an increasingly preoccupied parent, its obviously important to tap into whats going on with the children, therefore  in conjunction with playing with them after school  also ask them about their day. Not the usual barrage of questions; Fortune says focus instead on what the best bit of their day was and what bit theyd like to change.

BULLYING

Going back to school can induce pure joy in some, while instilling chills in others. If its the latter, chances are it has something to do with your kids schoolmates.

We asked Dr Noctor if there are indicators that a child is being bullied or excluded in the schoolyard, and how best to support them if this is the case...

Signs of bullying

 Children can display a reluctance to attend school; there may be repeated somatic complaints, such as a sore tummy, prior to school

 The child may be quiet in themselves and lose their interest or passion in things

 They can appear irritable, stressed, and have difficulty sleeping

 They may be observed as being overly bossy or aggressive with younger siblings. This is compensation for feeling powerless in the school environment.

Dr Noctor also adds: Remember, repeated denial that bullying is happening is not proof that it is not. Children frequently conceal bullying as they feel ashamed and worried about what reporting it will mean.

STRANGER DANGER

With recent reports of attempted child abduction occurring outside schools in the Dublin area, talking to your child about stranger danger is imperative.

But what is the healthiest way of imparting how to deal with such a situation without causing further anxiety? Positive reinforcement is the starting block.

Fortune stipulates that children respond best to positive statements and language. Telling them clearly what you expect and want them to do, rather than focusing on what not to do.

Instead, tell them specifically who will collect them (for example, have the designated person and a back-up person named in case plans change during the day) and give them a pick-up code word, so that they know you have sent the person to collect them.

Additionally, Fortune advises to highlight the helping people in their circle, so that if they ever feel unsure, they know to go to the teacher (for example) and ask them to check with mum/dad about pick up.

She adds: It is also worth explaining to children that safe grown-ups would never ask a child to help them with something. For example, a safe grown-up would never ask a child to help them find their puppy or to go see the puppy in their car. It is okay to say no to a grown-up they do not know.

RELATIONSHIP WITH TECHNOLOGY

Considering the World Health Organization recently released somewhat stringent guidelines regarding screen time for kids under five (including zero screens for those under 12 months, and no more than one hour thereafter until the infant is aged five), should kids of any age be exposed to technology?

I asked Dr Noctor whether we should be encouraging our kids to limit screen time, or simply embrace the age of technology  as its pretty unavoidable at this point. Understandably, he was at pains to convey just how complex this area is as there are multiple layers to the impact technology has on our mental lives.

When queried regarding the correlation between anxiety and screen time, Noctor added there is definitely an increase in anxiety in my experience. Never before have I seen more anxious children, and never before have I seen more anxious parents. Directly relating this to technology is not possible, but we are living in a culture and a time that is driving our expectations and not nurturing our emotional health.

This, in my view, is having an impact on our mood and anxieties, of which technology is not having an overly positive influence.

With screen time increasingly under the spotlight, is there a preferred way to help regulate it?

Its a case of quality over quantity: We should focus on developing healthy relationships with technology... We could clean up the internet entirely, yet we would still have cases of young people spending hours watching YouTube clips of cats on skateboards... My view is that we are asking children to regulate their own desire in a world that is manipulating their desire and this is both unfair and an unreasonable expectation.

I could spend an hour on YouTube learning a song on a guitar, and I could spend an hour on Instagram looking at other peoples profiles and feeling utterly miserable. Two completely different activities, which screen time would measure as the same. So lets talk less about time spent online and more about what we do online.

At this age, a formative time when it comes to children building relationships independently, its paramount to forge and maintain healthy lines of communication that will extend into puberty.

If youre concerned about the future barrage of technology your child will inevitably encounter, Cybersafeireland.org recommends discussing online activity. For example, let your child know the internet is designed to be addictive and how the online world does not define you as a person.

Above all, let them know you are always there to talk to about any concerns. Talking, in conjunction with time spent being active (preferably in nature) and good food choices, will always be the building blocks towards better mental health.

Joanna Fortune is author of 15 Minute Parenting and a weekly parenting expert on Newstalks Sean Moncrieff show; Dr Colman Noctor is author of Cop On: What It Is and Why Your Child Needs It to Thrive and Survive in Todays World
Unless you live in the area, you probably don't know that there's an urban farm right in the middle of Glasnevin. The mention of it is intriguing, the reality gorgeous. Located on the grounds of a nursing home, Elmhurst Cottage Farm is currently under the guardianship of Nadja and Rossa Cassidy, a young couple who live there with their children, Maya and Samir.

On a sunny Saturday evening, Elmhurst is enchanting... The hens potter around happily in their enclosure while Maya scours the vegetable beds for snails to feed to the Indian runner ducks as a pre-dinner snack. Polytunnels house all manner of salads, fig trees and vines, and the strawberries are starting to flower. The herb beds are in rude health, already spilling over with mint and sage. On the one-acre farm, occupying an original walled garden dating from the mid- 19th century, there is a lot going on.

That morning, Rossa and Nadja brought some of their spare produce to sell at the new market in the Fumbally Stables, and now they're collaborating with chef Matteo Griscti to provide some of the key ingredients for tonight's supper club.

Dee Kelly, Matteo's partner, is the other half of Gralinn (loosely translated, the name means 'love with us') and she's busy making negronis and bringing tonight's six guests on a tour of the farm while Matteo puts the finishing touches to our meal. The kitchen unit was formerly home to everyone's favourite bakers, Sceal, which seems like a lucky omen. (The queue for Charlotte and Shane's breads and pastries at the Fumbally Market is long, but you can also find them at the Naomh Olaf market in Sandyford on Friday mornings, where there are no queues and you can fill the boot of the car with vegetables from McNally Family Farm and all manner of other good things while you're at it.)

The supper club happens in a simple space adjacent to the kitchen, and guests sit at a communal table - the maximum number is eight. It's a six-course, no-choice tasting menu that, in the modern way, is plant-focused without being vegetarian or vegan, and changes according to whatever is available on the farm, supplemented by judicious purchases from McNally's and Niall Sabongi's Sustainable Seafood Ireland. Tonight there is no meat on the menu and we barely register its absence.

Matteo is originally from Malta, where the food culture borrows from Italy, Sicily and the UK, and there is a joyous eclecticism to his food - Dee describes it as a mish-mash - that must owe something to exposure to a wide variety of food influences.

We start with slices of rosemary-flecked focaccia accompanied by generous bowls of vibrant lou sassoun, which according to Niki Segnit's Lateral Cooking (a fascinating resource for food nerds) is a French dip - a cousin to pesto - made from pounded almonds, mint, fennel, anchovies, olive oil and lemon juice.

Next come delicate strips of marinated red gurnard with lovage oil, blood orange and fronds of fennel, and then kuku sabzi, a Persian herb omelette - so green that the egg is really there just to bind the herbs - with labneh, pickled celery and carrots. A classic plate of Macroom buffalo ricotta with roast golden beetroot, dressed with apple balsamic, is simplicity incarnate.

A dish of Connemara clams and Kelly's mussels served with a chunky ramson (wild garlic) and hazelnut pistou comes - fittingly - with Sceal sourdough. Something has gone awry with the cooking times here and, while the mussels are open, most of the clams are not. It's a pity because the flavours are good. To finish there are anise-scented, Zeppelin-shaped beignets - appropriately called zeppoli - served with a savoury sugar and orange blossom cream of absolute perfection.

Dee and Matteo will post details of future supper clubs on their Instagram account (see above). Go if you can.

The rating

8/10 food

8/10 ambience

8/10 value

24/30

ON A BUDGET

The Gralinn food truck will be appearing at festivals this summer. You'll find them at Body & Soul, Taste of Dublin and Another Love Story amongst others, and it's an opportunity to try their individual small plates.

ON A BLOW-OUT

A seat at the BYOB supper club costs 70.

THE HIGH POINT

The sublime location.

THE LOW POINT

The clams weren't cooked for long enough and many didn't open.
On January 19, 1964, Rory Allen dispatched a letter from Newtown School in Waterford to his parents, Myrtle and Ivan Allen of Ballymaloe House. "The letter simply recounts the details of the everyday," says Regina Sexton of UCC, "but with the sweet and seemingly urgent note to 'Please send on more tuck'".

The letter is just one item in a huge collection of papers that forms part of the Myrtle Allen Archive, which has been donated by the Allen family to UCC. The archive includes journals from the restaurant, daily menus, hand-written family recipe books, correspondence with producers and chefs, restaurant and hotel reviews, and scrapbooks of traditional recipes sent to Mrs Allen by readers of the Irish Farmers Journal. There are also letters of advice to fledgling chefs, drafts and proofs of her 1977 book, The Ballymaloe Cookbook.

"As we have just been bequeathed the collection, the papers are neither sorted nor catalogued and are still in a raw state," says Regina Sexton, UCC Food and Culinary Historian, who has been researching the influence of Myrtle Allen on Irish food culture since 2013. "This will take a number of years. That process will put order on a vast collection of papers, describing the content of each item and creating a referencing system to aid researchers in accessing the material."

UCC's announcement of the bequest coincided with the launch of the university's post-graduate diploma in Irish food culture. For academics at the university, including Sexton, and students enrolling in the new course, the prospect of delving deep into the Myrtle Allen archive is a tantalising one, which will inform research for many years into the future.

"Myrtle is to be the icon, the touchstone that epitomises the things that we would like the students to think about, and it will help keep her legacy alive down the line," says Regina.

It was in 1964, when Myrtle's youngest daughter, Fern, was heading off to join her siblings at Newtown, that Myrtle decided to open a restaurant in her house, primarily, she said, as a means of avoiding having to spend her time cleaning it - and of making the most of the ingredients produced on the family's farm. It all began with an advertisement in the [then] Cork Examiner inviting interested parties to 'Dine in a Country House'.

Myrtle's skills in the kitchen were largely self-taught and, famously, she only finalised the evening's menu just before the guests arrived, when she knew what fish had been landed in Ballycotton, or what foraged hedgerow or shore foods the local children would bring to sell to her at the kitchen door.

Eleven years later, in 1975, Myrtle Allen won a Michelin star - the first Irish woman to receive the accolade and still one of just two women ever to hold the award in the Republic of Ireland. Over the years, her achievements were recognised by the great and the good of the international world of gastronomy, while at home in Ireland, she is acknowledged as the most important figure in Irish food culture ever.

Mrs Allen - as everyone at Ballymaloe referred to her - died in June 2018 at the age of 94, and is recognised as having changed the course of Irish food culture through her progressive ethos and revolutionary approach to cooking and Irish produce.

Regina Sexton knew Myrtle Allen for many years, and in 2013 delivered a talk at LitFest about her writings in the Irish Farmers Journal. "Myrtle's columns were very interesting and placed her in context," she explains. "In the 1960s, her approach was wildly out of step with current trends. At that time, as Ireland was undergoing rapid social, economic and cultural change, Irish food and cooking was often eschewed and undervalued as the country deployed a modern approach to production and it took its gastronomic cues from outside trends and fashions.

"What made Myrtle different was that she wasn't swayed by outside influences but rather she aimed to validate the internal, she looked inward and strove to elevate good home-produced food to such a high status that we could be confident in believing that Irish food was some of the best the world could produce."

When Myrtle died, Regina decided to write an academic paper as a tribute to her and establish a memorial lecture, to tie in with the postgraduate course that UCC was planning to launch.

"The family mentioned that she had left papers and asked if I would like to have a look. I knew immediately that they were very significant culturally. So far we have really only skimmed the surface of the collection, but I have a feeling for the broad categories of content that are there. It's clear that Myrtle was not just involved in food activity in the kitchen - she was involved in a network of food communities and kept meticulous records. We think of the gastronomic sphere as local but she was involved at a national and international level with Slow Food, Eurotoques and La Ferme Irlandaise, her restaurant in Paris.

"She was a polymath in her activities and interests, a visionary with missionary zeal to support and protect Irish food culture. From what I've seen, her character is coming through - she had a curious mind and an innate intelligence that will be interesting to explore."

Now an experienced team associated with UCC's Boole Library will set about the task of preservation, describing and cataloguing every item in the bequest in a process that will take several years.

Among the speakers at the memorial lectures in Cork last week was Myrtle Allen's friend, Claudia Roden, the esteemed author and food writer.

"She inspired me and a whole generation," says Claudia on the phone from her home in London. "And I don't mean just in Ireland. Through her influence on Darina, who applied it in turn to the cookery school, the legacy of Myrtle is felt all over the world."

Claudia first met Myrtle nearly 40 years ago when Darina invited her to give a course at the cookery school on Middle Eastern Food, about which Claudia had just published a book.

"I stayed at Ballymaloe and thought that if I could choose one place where I would live for ever and ever it would be there. I'd lived in Egypt and France and the UK but there was something very special about Ballymaloe - it wasn't just the house, but the combination of the house and the food and the landscape and the world that Myrtle created there. I loved being around her and the Allen family. It was less about the enjoyment of good food than it was about the respect for the land, and the ingredients, and the producers, the farmers and the fishermen, and the power of food to bring people together. The hospitality at Ballymaloe is always so gracious, and people bond around food and conviviality. The last thing I'd expected at the time was to find great food in Ireland - or in the UK for that matter, it was a toss-up as to which was worse!

"At Ballymaloe the food was enthrallingly delicious - the flavour of vegetables just out of the ground, whatever wild things people brought to the kitchen door and the fish just landed in Ballycotton."

Claudia says that Myrtle Allen stood out at a time when very few women were to be found working in professional kitchens.

"I remember researching a book about food in Turkey and there were no women in professional kitchens there, except cleaning the floor.

"It was the same in most Mediterranean countries, other than Morocco, and it was hard to find real local food. Grand restaurants served French food and yet here was Myrtle, a farmer's wife, with a Michelin star! She put Ireland on the culinary map.

"When I started researching, food was a taboo subject like sex and money, not important enough to be a university subject, seen as frivolous, a topic for women's magazines.

"But now it is acknowledged to be such an important part of culture and I think that it's wonderful that the university will have the course."

Claudia says that Myrtle was the first person to realise the importance of food in Irish culture.

"She was always willing to absorb new ideas in cooking and to experiment with growing new types of vegetables. She had contacts with chefs throughout Europe and was a founder member of Eurotoques, so she was very much out there learning and networking, and at the same time passionate about preserving traditional dishes.

"It was politics through gastronomy; she was aware how fragile living heritage can easily be lost long before UNESCO identified gastronomy as intangible heritage. Now people travel to eat and incidentally see sites, whereas it used to be the other way around - food is vital to tourism and economies the world over. And when visitors come, they want to taste what Ireland means, not to eat sushi and burritos

"Before Myrtle, people were ashamed of Irish food, but she knew that recipes and dishes can reinforce national identity with pride and dignity, and remind us of a time that has vanished; sometimes that's all that remains of a way of life that has disappeared.

"She understood that we must value our own, not throw it away and not embalm it either, and that it's important to update and revitalise and this is what she did. She led the way, was properly international and a trailblazer. To me, she was a personal inspiration."
I get up onto my stool beside the Secret Woman.

- I need a pint, I tell him. - Quick. And maybe a small one as well. And a lawyer.

- What's the story?

He takes his time but he finally looks at me.

- What's wrong with you?

- I've just been attacked, I tell him. - Assaulted, I was.

He's looking for bruises or blood. He looks a bit disappointed.

- Who attacked you? he asks.

- Barry Andrews!

- Who?

- Fianna Fail's European election candidate!

- He assaulted you?

- Just outside, I said. - A minute ago. One of his posters came off a pole and his big dopey face landed right on top of my f***in' head.

- Ah, Jaysis, Charlie.

- They're heavy yokes, I assured him. - Especially when you're not expecting one to whack you. Where's my pint? I've been violated.

Actually, I like all the election posters. I heard a few weeks back on the radio that some gang in Dalkey - the Tidy Towns committee, I think it was - were objecting to the posters. Dalkey wants to ban democracy. I can hear my father's response.

- Gobs***es.

I always think of my father when I see the posters going up. He loved election time. He'd be shouting all day, at the radios in the house and in his car and later at the telly, roaring at the big black and white heads on the men who thought they should have been running the country. His father - my Granda - had been in the IRA during the War of Independence.

- Did he die for Ireland, Da?

- No, son, he didn't. But he tried his best.

He was born after Independence, my father, but the way he spoke, he made us believe that Ireland was a new country, made especially for us by our Granda.

- He made a balls of it then, said one of my big brothers, Denis, under his breath. My Da heard him but he was so shocked, he didn't react. It was the only time I ever saw my father doing absolutely nothing. For a while, we thought he might be dead. Until, after about ten minutes, he blinked.

But anyway, he loved elections. There was once, we even had a referendum to decide what type of ice-cream - vanilla or Neapolitan, or a Golly Bar - we'd have after the Sunday dinner. He built a little voting booth under the stairs and we all made the ballot papers - proportional representation and all. It was a very close contest, and Neapolitan won. But by the time the votes were counted and independently verified the shop was shut, so we got no bloody ice-cream.

We were deprived of our dessert that day but we laugh about the referendum whenever we get together, the brothers and myself. And when the election posters go up, our Whatsapp page starts hopping. Vote Golly Bar - for a better Ireland! So there you go: my Da was a democrat. He beamed when he saw the posters going up. They were the proof that Ireland was a free country.

- That's what we fought for, boys, he said. - For the right of every eejit to stick his head up on a pole.

The posters aren't made of cardboard anymore but, really, they haven't changed that much since I was a kid. There are women now, of course, and some of the men look so young, you'd wonder if their parents know what they're up to.

But I love them. Myself and the little grandson stop and assess all of them.

- Gobs***e?

- Absolutely.

- Anudder gobs***e?

- The makings of a gobs***e.

I don't remember if the candidates smiled when I was a kid, in the '60s. I've a feeling they didn't. I don't think Charlie Haughey smiled down from the poles, or Liam Cosgrave. Jack Lynch might have smiled but it would have been one of those careful 'Am I at a wedding or a funeral?' smiles. The faces looking down at me and the grandson - they're all smiling, except the Shinner who looks like he's just been caught raiding the fridge. But none of them are smiling like they really like it up there, like they really want the power. None of them are grinning: This is brilliant!

- I'm half-thinking of voting for the ones with the nicest smiles, I tell the Secret Woman.

- That makes sense, he says.

- Well, it doesn't, I tell him. - It makes no sense at all.

- That'll be the knock on your head, he says.

- You might be right, I say. - But I'm not concussed or anything.

- Just stupid.

- Soft in the head, maybe, I say. - We're supposed not to like politicians. Am I right? We're not supposed to trust them or anything.

- No.

- Well, I think they're great, I say. - Sticking their necks out like that. The way the world is going. I think they're brilliant.

- Still gobsh***s, though.

- Well, yeah.
It was said of the last Bourbon kings of France that they learnt nothing and forgot nothing. But at least they might make a few minor changes after an especially nasty rebellion or national bankruptcy. Not so the Irish public sector.

It would be almost laughable - if it were not so alarming - to see the way the same playbook is being opened and applied exactly as if nothing bad had happened in the last 20 years.

There is certainly no sense we have come through a national crisis from which many economists - including some in the minority who forecast the crash - thought we could not come through.

For this Government, and one suspects any feasible government, there is an inability to fundamentally change the attitudes and actions of the past. For the public sector trade unions, the tried and trusted methods of extracting pay and privileges which are not available to other workers remain the methods of choice.

Start with the most vital service - health - and the inevitable concessions can be followed by other important services, such as policing, ending in a weary round of relativity payments for all, with only a passing nod to justification and none at all to equity.

At present we are in the early stages of the 2016 cycle. This follows the one whose start can be dated roughly to 1998, which in turn followed the 1979 round. There is a troubling symmetry here, especially since major public finance crises occurred some 10 years after those dates. Beware the mid-2020s.

The Government says things are different now: it has learnt the lessons of the past and will make sure nothing of the kind happens again. Its actions recall another king, Britain's Charles II, who never said a foolish thing nor ever did a wise one.

The Government playbook is not quite as repetitive as that of the unions. The 1980s were characterised by excessive borrowing. The 2000s were a case of excessive private borrowing, on whose shaky foundations Mr Ahern's governments built a mighty edifice of public spending.

Now the issue is existing debt, still around one year's entire economic output. The Government is not borrowing but it is spending in line with exceptionally rapid economic growth, and the even more exceptional revenues from multinational corporation tax. The question is to what extent it too is building on shaky foundations.

Our economy is a volatile one. Even normal downturns can be extreme. When one comes while the compounded spending increases are mounting up, the revenue gap has been large enough to bankrupt an apparently solvent country in a matter of months.

The common thread is the struggle - and failure - to keep the growth in public spending in general, and pay in particular, in line with any agreed estimate of the economy's long-run potential.

That kind of agreement on the limits of reality is the sort of approach other European countries call social partnership. Irish social partnership might best be described by GK Chesterton's definition of Christianity: It has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult and not tried.

The unions are not short of sensible advice from friendly bodies such as the National Economic and Social Council and the Nevin Institute, but have found themselves unable to act upon it.

One reason is the failure of their membership, along with much of the rest of the public, to accept a great deal of the austerity they have suffered was caused by their own behaviours in the bubble. The lessons have not been learned but the pain has not been forgotten.

Faced with this, the Government response is also what it has always been; to stretch things out so the annual budgets meet their targets. A panoply of quangos to deal with specific issues and buy time has replaced social partnership.

This defer and delay strategy appears to be the reason for the threatened strikes by hospital support staff. They are tired of waiting for the rise they say was agreed in their job evaluation process.

The Government is looking to another piece of process which would postpone the inevitable payday.

There is a different relic of the bad old days in the paramedics' dispute - union recognition. These are not even amenable to pay rises, with Siptu likely to take action if the small Psychiatric Nurses Association gets the negotiating rights it currently holds. But pay rises will be part of any solution.

If 2010 did not do it, it is difficult to see how the cycle can be broken. All the signs are that any government which honestly presented the hard choices between pay, staffing, services and taxes would be hammered at the polls.

Any trade union leader who did the same would lose their job. Oddly, any campaigner for the poor, unemployed or lower income groups who complained they were being exploited by the public sector would probably suffer the same fate.

There are plenty of examples around Europe and the world of countries which have become trapped in cycles of destructive behaviour which they cannot break. One more spin on this particular roundabout and Ireland will undoubtedly have joined them.
People will march today calling for better housing, more affordable housing, more social housing, and just more housing.

Some will also demand that the right to housing be enshrined in the Constitution, and will claim this Government is ideologically opposed to public housing and dependent on market-driven solutions.

This Government is not waiting for the market to solve the problem. The market never has. This is not a government restrained by ideology.

Every lever to increase supply - from taxing vacant land so that it is put back in to use, to setting up a new state developer and spending 2.4bn of public money on social housing this year - is being pulled.

Popular movements are important. Four years ago, rent controls were almost unthinkable. Now we have them and we are extending and improving them in the rent reform Bill currently going through the Oireachtas.

The State is very deliberately inserting itself directly into the provision of housing as it rebuilds a sector destroyed in the crash - from the type of homes being built, to their location and even price.

We know that many people, young and old, are in an incredibly difficult situation. Families have been left with nowhere else to go but emergency accommodation. That is unacceptable.

Action is being taken. Look at the rent reforms we are taking through the Oireachtas. We are extending the rent caps further, outside of Dublin and Cork. We are closing down loopholes that allowed landlords to avoid these caps.

We are bringing large new landlords, including institutional investors, under rent cap reforms for the first time.

We need larger, professional landlords agreeing longer leases with their tenants. That's why, under this new legislation, these landlords with new properties will now be covered by rent caps.

We are not standing back. While this group is important in delivering new supply, it represents less than 5pc of all tenancies nationally. Still, the Department of Finance is undertaking a report on its impact to be finalised this summer.

Most landlords - 70pc - own only one property. These are people and families who have rights too when it comes to the property they bought with their hard-earned money.

We are pressing ahead with radical and far-reaching rent reforms including giving greater security in the form of more time where a tenant has to leave the home they are renting.

Still, some today will demand we make it illegal for a landlord to evict a tenant because they intend to sell their property. This is a bad idea, though from noble motivations.

In the Seanad this week, reference was made to how bedsits were banned with good intentions but how it poured more petrol on the homeless fire. Good intentions on accommodation standards led to bad consequences for adult homelessness.

If a landlord was not allowed evict a tenant because they were selling their property, it would involve the new buyer evicting the tenants and result in families evicting families. It doesn't solve the problem, it just displaces it.

If tenants believe they are being evicted on spurious grounds, or that rent caps are being breached, they can seek help from the Residential Tenancies Board which is being given increased powers and resources to police rogue landlords. The RTB can also investigate without a complaint being made.

More reforms will come. It is Government policy to introduce tenancies of indefinite duration in further legislation later this year. Currently, a landlord can evict a tenant after six years without reason. That will change.

Ultimately, new supply is key, and building is increasing at a steady and sustainable rate. Just over 18,000 homes were built last year, roughly one in four for social housing. This compares with the 4,560 delivered in 2013. Output will increase again in 2019.

People falsely claim we are opposed to social housing. We are not.

We are in the middle of a massive expansion in social housing provision with 50,000 homes being added to the stock between 2016 and 2021, delivered by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies using government funding.

This year we will also spend more than 145m helping the most vulnerable. The bulk of funding for our main homeless charities comes from the Government, precisely because we recognise the importance of providing the best possible care when people are in crisis.

Government affordability measures have also supported the buying of more than 12,000 homes since Rebuilding Ireland began. As state land is developed, at a minimum four in 10 houses built will be for social and affordable housing.

The Opposition supports these policies, at least tacitly. If they had better solutions, they could implement them without government approval, because we are in the minority. But they don't.

As people march, some will call on us to declare an emergency. It is an emergency. But declaring it one does not mean we can just suspend our laws or the Constitution.

This Government is open-minded on the proposal that a right to housing be enshrined in the Constitution. The best way to do this is to follow the same process as led to the successful Marriage Equality and Repeal referendums. The Dail has agreed to this position, and Fianna Fail chairs the Oireachtas committee responsible for taking it forward.

In the meantime, we treat our obligations around housing as seriously as if it was a Constitutional right. We continue to implement Rebuilding Ireland because it is working to provide solutions for tens of thousands of people, and we need it to provide more.

Eoghan Murphy TD is Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government
A threat based on intelligence reports; deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the Middle East with reports of ground troops to follow; a dramatic rise in diplomatic tensions and warnings of retribution from Washington.

All this as the Iran crisis escalates may well seem like a reprise of what unfolded before the disastrous last Iraq war. There is, however, one vital difference. Donald Trump, unlike George W Bush, is not seeking a war, he is not a warlike president, despite his warlike tweets.

Indeed, just as his "fire and fury" tweets on North Korea went on to two summits with Kim Jong-un, he appears to believe he can use his (self-proclaimed) dealmaking powers to get Iran to accept a deal which takes matters way beyond the agreement Tehran signed with international powers on its nuclear programme - the one Trump is trying to sabotage.

The Iranian perspective, at the moment, is that a conflict is not imminent. A few days ago, the supreme leader wanted to stress that his country did not seek a military conflict and neither, he believed, did the US. "There won't be any war. We don't seek a war, and they don't either. They know it's not in their interest to do so," said Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

There is, however, a factor present which was not there during the run-up to the Iraq war. The seeming desire of a number of regional states to see a confrontation between the US and Iran, that certainly is the other Iranian perspective.

One of the country's most senior diplomats, naming the leadership of Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as the instigators, Hamid Baeidinejad, the ambassador to London, said: "Unfortunately, there are people in the region advising Donald Trump, those our ministers call the 'B team', who have adopted a policy of confrontation and initiatives to drag the US into a confrontation with Iran ... The question is whether there are people in Washington who would be able to avoid falling into this trap."

The theme of agents provocateurs has been a recurring one in Iran. Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, the head of the country's National Security Foreign Policy Committee, stated: "Iran and the United States can manage the crisis by themselves. But there are third parties who might make the atmosphere of the region more sensitive in terms of security by making deviant moves. There are different groups whose goal is to make the region unsafe.

"Therefore, there must be red lines between Iran and the United States in the management of the events which prevents third parties from making crises."

Returning to the Iraq war, the one common factor is John Bolton, the president's latest national security adviser after one was indicted and the other resigned. Bolton, like Trump, a Vietnam draft-dodger, has always been keen on sending American troops into battle.

Bolton remains a fervent supporter of the Iraq invasion. He has been sceptical of Trump's attempted rapprochement with Kim Jong-un, but to the Iranians he is a genuine threat, having advocated bombing the country and calling for regime change.
On Friday night I headed for Byrne's Bar where a rather special 30th birthday party was being held for Shauna McAnallen from Sutton Court and there to make sure she had an excellent night was fiancee John Walker from Belfast and a huge collection of family and friends.

I wasn't too long in the door when I met up with Shauna's cousin Niall McAnallen from Rockmarshall who was there with parents Sean and Maria and sister Sinead. Niall assured me they were there to party and wanted to wish the birthday girl all the best on her big night.

I then headed for a table where I caught up with some of Shauna's mates Audrey Gartland from Beechmount Drive, Emma Agnew from Marian Park and Samantha Carville from Ballymac who told me they've known the birthday girl for years and were going to make sure she had a totally mad night.

Next, I headed over for a quick word with the woman who was described to me as "Shauna's second mum" Anne Kelly from Assumption Place who was with her son Sean who has a been a bestie of Shauna's since school days and they were delighted to be at her 30th

They were enjoying the night with a school mate from St. Vincents Carol Callan from Carrickmacross who was up for a major night of fun with 'Mr. & Mrs. Big Sexy', better known to their neighbours as Paudie and Gabrielle Finnegan from Louth Village who also have been friends with Shauna for years and certainly weren't going to miss her 30th bash.

I then headed over to a table where I had the pleasure of talking to Shauna's mates from Belfast and they were Jenna McCoy, Caoimhe Gatt and Nuala Digney who told me they were definitely there to party and certainly didn't know what a quiet celebration was!

At an adjacent table I Geraldine McCormick from Belfast, Shauna's future parents-in-law John and Lorraine Walker from Belfast who were with daughters Allison and Chloe who assured me she was Shauna's favourite sister-in-law to be. They told me they were all there to party with the best of them too.

Meanwhile up near the bar I got a quick word with her godfather Padraig Sharkey from Doylesfort Road with his wife Deirdre and they wanted to wish her all the best on her big night.

Not too far away I caught up with more of her besties from West Belfast Aisling Armstrong, Daniel Farquad, Rupert Akeenan and the man with unenviable task of being designated driver Archie Orawe and they all wanted to wish the birthday girl all the best on her big night.

After this I managed a few words with cousin Sinead McAnallen originally from Carlingford but now living it large in Dublin who was in great form and all set to party the night away with Shauna and John.

Not too far away I got a word with Kate Corrigan from Ballymascanlon and family friend Bertha McHugh from Armagh. Kate told me she was there with her daughter Saoirse Corrigan who is another of Shauna's besties and she certainly wasn't going to miss this big bash!

Making my way through the crowds I then got a word with aunt and godmother Margaret Mannion who was over from Mayo specially for the party and she was having a laugh with another relation Ann Rafferty from Meadow Grove who said they were going to have a fantastic night.

I then caught up with another school mate Aoife Short from Broughton Street who was looking very well and ready to party with Shauna and everyone else there.

Finally, before I departed, I got talking uncle Sean McAnallen from Lordship who was with his wife Marie and he was deep in conversation with cousin Donal McAnallen who was down from Tyrone with his brother Fergus and they were there to mingle and party with everyone there.
Gillian Moore Brady is presented with a bouquet of flowers by pupils from Bush PP

Gillian Moore Brady, owner and founder of Fuschia Makeup visited the TY Business and LCA5 class at Bush Post Primary School recently.

Gillian already has a close relationship with the school having recently mentored one of the TY Mini Companies 'The Sink Saver'.

With Gillian's support, the company won the prize for 'Best Commercial Potential' at the Louth Student Enterprise Awards.

Gillian spoke to the class about what inspired her to set up her own business and how she built her brand up using online marketing and 'The Face of Fuschia' competition.

Gillian also spoke about dealing with the effects of the recession on her business and how her business is run on a day to day basis.

The teachers and staff are very grateful to Gillian for taking the time to visit the school and for all the lovely samples she brought on the day.
The newly appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Armagh is set to be based in Dundalk, it emerged this week.

Bishop Michael Router has been given the Titular See of Lugmad, which is an ancient episcopal 'see'.

A native of Virginia, County Cavan, the new Auxiliary Bishop was appointed by Pope Francis last week to assist the Diocesan Bishop, Eamon Martin, Archbishop and Primate of All Ireland, in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese.

The Archdiocese of Armagh includes almost all of counties Armagh and Louth, approximately half of County Tyrone and parts of counties Derry and Meath. It consists of 61 parishes and has a Catholic population of 267,803.

Auxiliary Bishop-elect Router (54) entered the national seminary of Saint Patrick's College, Maynooth, to study for the priesthood in 1982. In Maynooth he graduated with a Bachelor in Divinity Degree and a Higher Diploma in Education. He was ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Kilmore by Bishop McKiernan in Saint Matthew's Church, Maghera, in his native parish, on 25 June 1989.

He began his ministry as a curate in the parish of Killinkere and in 1991 joined the teaching staff of Saint Patrick's College, Cavan. He was appointed Chaplain of Bailieborough Community School in 1996 and Priest in Residence in the Parish of Kilmainhamwood and Moybologue. In 2002/2003 he studied at Mater Dei Institute of Education in Dublin and assisted during that time in Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Drimnagh. He graduated with a Masters in Religion and Education in 2003. On his return to the Diocese of Kilmore he was appointed the Diocesan Director of Adult Faith Formation and Pastoral Renewal while also serving as a Priest in Residence in the parish of Castletara/Ballyhaise. His role included providing training, encouragement and support for Parish Pastoral Councils, Liturgy Groups, Eucharistic Ministers and Ministers of the Word. He also helped to provide Adult Religious Education courses in the Diocesan Pastoral Centre, and in Manorhamilton, which were accredited by the Mater Dei Institute of Education and the Maryvale Institute.

In 2010, in addition to these roles, Auxiliary Bishop-elect Router was appointed director of the Diocesan Pastoral Centre. In 2013 he was transferred as Curate to the Cathedral Parish in Cavan with responsibility for the Butlersbridge area. In 2014 he was appointed to his present position as Parish Priest of Killann Parish, which includes the towns of Bailieborough and Shercock, and as Dean of the Bailieborough Deanery. He was also a member of the College of Consultors of the Diocese of Kilmore and was chairman of the Diocesan Priests' Council since 2017.

During his time as Diocesan Director of Adult Faith Formation Auxiliary Bishop-elect Router wrote a regular column on religious matters in the Anglo-Celt and the Cavan Voice local newspapers.

Speaking as his appointment was announced, Bishop Router spoke of his shock: 'I had been happily serving as parish priest in Bailieborough and reasonably expecting, that God willing, I would be there for several more years; perhaps even until retirement. I never saw myself as someone worthy of this office and, as I stand before you today, I am very conscious of my limitations and weaknesses. I am very grateful to Pope Francis for the trust he has placed in me

'It is truly an honour for me to join the clergy and people of the Archdiocese of Armagh, founded by our patron, Saint Patrick and also to assist the Archbishop in his roles as Archbishop of Armagh and as Apostolic Administrator of Dromore Diocese. Archbishop Martin has been most welcoming and helpful to me since he heard of my impending appointment. He has certainly done everything possible to make this transition and upheaval as painless as possible for me.

He added: 'We are going through testing times today as a Church but those tribulations pale in comparison to what Saint Oliver and his contemporaries endured. I pray that I will have some of his courage and strength in my calling.'

Archbishop Martin welcomed the announcement, saying Fr Router had 'already gained considerable experience in leading pastoral development and adult faith formation' and that his arrival was welcome during 'challenging times for all of us in the Church in Ireland.' He added: 'I have no doubt that, if we are open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, there will be new life and hope in our parishes.'
Students from three Dundalk schools joined those from secondary schools across Ireland at The Foundry @ Google recently for the School Digital Champion Project Showcase, the final event in the 2018-19 edition of the government's School Digital Champion Programme.

St Mary's College, De La Salle College, and St Louis Secondary School, Dundalk, along with St Oliver's Community College of Drogheda, represented Louth.

De La Salle College submitted two projects: one team is helping local businesses in the Dundalk area by creating websites and social media accounts for them, while another presented a project called iCare which aims to utilise smart home technologies to aid elderly people living at home.

St Mary's College students displayed how they are setting up a digital announcements board for the school and providing training for teachers on how to use the system while St Louis Secondary School created a video about climate change and promoting awareness about how to change behaviour to improve our environment. St Oliver's Community College created an app for incoming first years and new teachers with all relevant school information including a map of the school and a calendar of events.

In all, 57 projects from 39 schools representing 18 counties across Ireland were displayed, focusing on how digital technology could be used to make a difference to schools, homes, local communities and businesses in the areas of waste management, climate action, energy efficiency, and digital inclusion.

Shane Nolan, Director of New Business Sales EMEA at Google, said: 'Promoting computer science and STEM subjects in schools is of huge importance to us, so we were delighted to assist in the School Digital Champions Programme by welcoming over 280 students and 40 teachers to the Google HQ.'
Tara Scully preparing to take on the Three Peaks Challenge to raise funds for SOSAD and the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust

Blackrock teacher Tara Scully is getting ready to take on the Three Peaks challenge which will see her climbing the three highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales in 24 hours for charity.

The Rockmount resident said she will be doing the Three Peaks Challenge in aid of SOSAD Dundalk and The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust.

'My plan this summer was to climb Kilimanjaro to raise money for two very worthwhile causes. Unfortunately, due to financial reasons, the Kilimanjaro climb will have to wait,' she explained 'However, my goal to raise money for SOSAD Dundalk and The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust is not something I wish to wait around and do. So I came up with a more affordable but still a demanding task for myself.'?

'This event involves climbing the three highest peaks of Scotland (Ben Nevis, 1345M), England (Scafell Pike, 978M) and Wales (Snowdon, 1085M) within 24 hours,' she explains.

Tara has funded the cost of the event including flights and accommodation herself so any money raised will be divided evenly and go straight to each charity.

'I have always been quite open with my own struggles with mental health and I truly believe SOSAD offer an invaluable service to the people of Dundalk providing free counselling services and a 24 hour helpline,' she said.

'The other cause I wish to raise money for is The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust (KBRT). While I am very fortunate to have never needed assistance from KBRT, I feel it is a crucial trust and service to Irish people if they ever have to go through the heartbreaking ordeal of losing a loved one abroad.'

The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust aims to alleviate the financial hardship of bereaved families repatriating the bodies of loved ones who have died abroad in sudden or tragic circumstances back to Ireland.

Tara has set herself a target of raising a minimum of 2,000 to be divided equally between the two charities.

She has been busy preparing for the challenge by hiking and hill waking in the Cooley mountains and working out in the gym and is planning to climb Ireland's highest mountain Carrauntoohill before embarking on the Three Peaks Challenge in June.

The Challenge involves climbing the three highest peaks of Scotland, England and Wales, within 24 hours.

The total walking distance is 23 miles and the total ascent is 3064 10,052ft.

This is not Tara's first time doing fund-raising work as she volunteered with UCD Volunteers Overseas while a student, working in Haiti and Nicaragua.

To support Tara's challenge, go to her GoFundMe page and make a donation for the two worthy charities she is supporting.
Climate Change: What Can We Do? - As most of us know by now, we are facing a climate-change crisis of unimaginable proportions if we don't dramatically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in the next 10 to 12 years.

A public meeting will take place in the Brockagh Resource Centre at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, to raise awareness of the threats posed by climate change and to discuss and consider options for reducing our impacts both as a community and at an individual level. The meeting will be participatory (a workshop) to gather our collective ideas and thoughts so that we, as a community, can start moving towards a brighter, more sustainable future.

Talk on local birds

'Dippers, Fishers and Wags birds of the Avonmore River' a talk by Oran O'Sullivan on a Heritage Plan project to survey water birds and other wildlife associated with the bridges of the Avonmore water catchment. Brockagh Resource Centre, Laragh at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 22. Admission: free, no booking needed.

Visitor Access Plans

Proposed Laragh and Glendalough Visitor Access Plans are still available to view in the lobby of the Brockagh Resource Centre. Following last Tuesdays public meeting an extension to submit any concerns from the community may now be emailed to roadtran@wicklowcoc.ie before June 15.

Older Person's AGM

Join us for the County Wicklow Older Person's Council AGM, taking place on May 31 in the Brockagh Resource Centre, Laragh. Registration followed by tea and coffee from 9.45 to 10.30 a.m. Opening from chairperson Mai Quaid with guess speakers are Minister Andrew Doyle, Patricia Rikkard-Clarke. Lunch and a raffle, continuing in the afternoon with music by Liam Garrett performing at the tea dance. No admission fee.

Angelic Workshops 2019

The last workshop for this season in the Brockagh Resource Centre, Laragh will be on May 19 (A Rainbow Day with the Angels). For information or to book a place call 087 9048146.

Free Computer Course

A free five-week digital skills computer course are run thoughout the year, two hours one day a week. Call the Brockagh Resource Centre at 0404 45600 or email laraghit@eircom.net.

Mobile Library

The mobile library visits Lynhams car park every second Thursday from 12.15 noon to 12.50 p.m. The next visits will take place on May 23, June 6 and 20.

Morning Yoga

Louise's yoga class will be held every Thursday from 10 to 11.15 a.m. To find out more, call Louise at 087 6032202 (booking is essential).

Chair Yoga

Our very popular Chair Yoga class will take place on Thursdays from 11.30 a.m. to 12.45 p.m. Call Louise at 087 6032202. (booking is essential).

Irish Dancing Classes

Irish Dancing on Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact details for enquiries are Cian Flood TCRG (086 1293807), Eimear McGrath TCRG (085 7180926), email mcgrathfloodschool@gmail.com.

AA Meetings

Closed AA Meetings are held in the Brockagh Resource Centre at 8.30 p.m. every Monday night all year round.

Badminton

Junior and seniors classes are on Monday evenings in the Brockagh Centre at 7 p.m. (junior fourth class up) with seniors from 8 p.m. and on Thursday evenings with a repeat of the same classes. Contact Finian at 086 2476822.
Detective Garda Fergus O'Brien was treated to a farewell party in the Parkview Hotel as he retires after 39 years of service.

He was accompanied by his wife Margaret and his sons Jonathan and Justin.

Also in attendance were his sister Della from Australia, his brother Jarlath from London and his other brother John, who is also a former Garda.

Fergus joined the Gardai in 1980 and was first based at Pearse Street. He also served in Terenure and at the Garda Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) Headquarters in Harcourt Square.

He came to Bray in 1990 and was promoted in 1994 and relocated to Rathdrum. He was made a Detective Sergeant in 1995.

'I enjoyed my time in Wicklow and it was an absolute honour to serve the people of Wicklow,' said Fergus.

During his time as a Detective Sergeant he was involved in some of the most high-profile murder cases to take place in the county.

Tom Nevin was killed in March of 1996 and his wife Catherine Nevin was charged with murder by Fergus in 1997 in a case which gripped all the national headlines.

'I was a young Detective Sergeant at the time so I had a lot of responsibility. There was a huge amount of spotlight on that case and it was highly stressful. Catherine Nevin was convicted in 2000 but there were a number of appeals which went on for quite some time. I was the 'keeper' of the case. Someone had to be the minder,' he said.

He also led the case against Martha Herda, who was found guilty of killing Csaba Orsos, who was a passenger in her car when she drove through crash barriers at South Quay in Arklow six years ago. During the trial, Ms Herda attempted to blacken her victim's name.

'We redeemed his good name for his family's memory and proved all the allegations she made against him were not true,' said Fergus.

He was also the leading investigator into the murder of Anne Shortall at The Murrough, Wicklow town in 2015. In 2017 Roy Webster was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of the mother-of-three.

Another distressing case Fergus was involved with was the investigation into the disappearance of Stephen O'Meara of Wicklow town who went missing in August of 2009. His body was eventually located on Christmas Eve.

'We found the body on Christmas Eve and dug it up on Christmas morning, which was very tough on his family. He had been buried alive. We successfully charged one person with his murder and another person with his unlawful killing,' recalled Fergus.

His considerable skills as a Detective Sergeant also led to the arrest and conviction of Anthony Farrell over the murder of 44-year-old John Deasy after the shopkeeper was stabbed in the chest during a robbery in November of 2009.

As for the future, Fergus first intends to take it easy and relax away for the day-to-day stress of life as a Detective.

'I just plan to unwind for the time being. It's only when you retire that you properly realise just how stressful the job can be.

'You can never switch off. You are always conscious that there is no room for error and you must have every 'i' dotted and every 't' crossed. You have to use your instincts, professionalism and skills at all times,' said the retired detective.
Sinn Fein TD John Brady has welcomed the news that the gardai are looking into allegations of planning irregularities within Wicklow County Council.

He said the gardai involvement in the issue comes in the wake of him presenting sworn affidavits on the matter to Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy.

Deputy Brady had called on the minister to immediately begin an investigation into the matter and said he had raised it with him on a number of occasions.

'I have been calling for [an investigation] for many years now,' he said.

He added that with sworn affidavits being presented to Minister Murphy action needed to be taken.

'In December last year the minister announced that the Office of the Planning Regulator (ORP) was to be established and that Mr Niall Cussens was to be appointed as an independent planning regulator,' said Deputy Brady.

'This was on foot of a recommendation of the Mahon Tribunal,' he added.

'The minister must act and immediately and ensure that these serious allegations are investigated by Office of the Planning Regulator.'

Sinn Fein councillor, Nicola Lawless, also commented on the matter and said it's important for the public to have 'total confidence in the local authority and the planning process'.

When contacted about the matter by this newspaper the gardai in Bray confirmed that documents have been received by them.

'We have received documents and they are being reviewed,' said a senior ranking member.

A spokesperson for Wicklow County Council said: 'As this matter is the subject of a garda investigation, the council will not be making any comment other than to say that the council will be co-operating fully with the garda investigation.'
Community groups with projects for their towns and villages are being invited by Wicklow County Council to apply for funding for their plans.

The Town and Village Renewal Scheme will fund projects that support the revitalisation of areas and improve the living and working environment of their communities. The scheme provides up to 80 per cent of the cost of capital projects.

The scheme is an initiative under the Action Plan for Rural Development and is part of a package of national and local support measures to rejuvenate rural towns and villages through the Government's Project Ireland 2040 Rural Regeneration Programme.

It's funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development and administered by the Local Authorities.

Proposals seeking to develop initiatives to encourage town centre living will are particularly welcome, as will projects which stimulate economic activity between a town/village and its neighbouring town lands.

The criteria for funding include projects that support entrepreneurship, such as the development of enterprise hubs, hot desk facilities, digital hubs, creative hubs and training facilities, or integrated approaches to developing individual sectors within the town and its environs like artisan food hubs or craft hub.

Also suitable are projects which demonstrate collaboration between town centre businesses and the surrounding area to produce economic benefit.

Other projects which could be deemed eligible could be tourism initiatives, the enhancement of heritage and/or other community assets, town safety and accessibility enhancements and the provision or enhancement of leisure facilities such as town parks or walking trails.

Wicklow County Council is also encouraging proposals which have clear positive impacts on a town or village in terms of place-making and town centre regeneration.

Any group working on a project, or has a plan or an idea that would come under the criteria for this funding, please send a completed Expression of Interest Form, clearly marked Town and Village Renewal Scheme, to: Office of Community and Enterprise, Wicklow County Council, Station Road, Wicklow town or Email: townandvillage@wicklowcoco.ie.

The closing date for receipt is 12 noon on May 24.
Six awards were presented to outstanding female business leaders at the Network Ireland Wicklow Branch Wicklow Businesswomen of the Year Awards in the Brooklodge Hotel.

Emerging New Business Owner of the Year went to Anna Dobson of Love Mo Chuisle/Tweed in the Valley, an Irish tweed clothing and accessory brand in Avoca.

Employee of the Year was Jean Evans of Highline Office Technology, provider of office technology for SMEs in Ireland.

The arts award went to Joanne Costello of Xmedia, a diverse collective of talent offering a full-service production agency based in Delgany.

The Best Small Business Owner Award went to Rachael Davis of Remedy Pilates and Physiotherapy in Bray, who uses her skills in physical and mindful health to help improve function, performance and wellbeing.

The Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Professional award went to Deborah Sudding of The Ultrasound Suite in Bray, Greystones and Dublin, which provides professional and affordable private ultrasound services.

The final award, Best Large SME Owner, went to Libby Murray of Elysian Brows and Beauty Group, with locations in Greystones and Dublin, which caters for every brow and beauty need.

The judges also gave a highly commended certificates to Chelsey Doonan, Head Chef at Food at Fishers Cafe; Aisling Callaghan of Wilson Security Systems; Michelle Lynch Power of The Hearing Clinic; and Claire Williams of Meadows Skincare and a special recognition award to Anne Tarpey McNally of Pretty Woman Boutique and Aoife Keogh of Aoife Rose Designs.

Network Wicklow President Nicola Donegan congratulated all the award winners and said that the awards were 'about celebrating the wealth of talent in the region and shining a light on the female role models in the business community.'

Regional branch winners will now go forward to compete at the Network Ireland National Business Awards taking place in Cork during September.
Having already played to sell-out audiences in Macroom, the latest musical by the Lee Valley Players is now set to grace the stage of Cork's most iconic theatrical venue.

Once again the company has teamed up with Hollywood star Patrick Begin for their production of 'The Blarney Stone', an enchanting marriage of real-life drama and Irish mythology, which received its world premiere last month at the Riverside Park Hotel.

The musical is now set to take to the stage of the Cork Opera House for a one-off performance at 8pm on Wednesday, May 29 - with tickets for the show expected to sell out well in advance of the night.

The play has seen Bergin, who plays the lead role of Patrick Joseph McSweeney, renew his successful relationship with the Lee Valley Players having starred in their acclaimed 2016 musical 'Murder at Shandy Hall'.

No strangers to taking on the challenge of large-scale musical productions, the Players have also produced their own versions of 'Sir Henry', 'South Pacific', 'Oklahoma', 'Oliver' and 'The Sound of Music' in recent years.

This year they chose to draw their inspiration from a work written in 1928 by John McDonagh, the brother of poet, patriot and 1916 hero Thomas McDonagh.

Aimed at the US market, plans were in place to premiere 'The Blarney Stone' on Broadway, with a musical score provided by the controversial German composer Fritz Brase, who was brought to Ireland in 1923 to take up the role of musical director with the new Irish Army's School of Music.

However, it was cancelled at short notice, with both the script and score laying undiscovered in the McDonaghs' home village of Cloughjordan for almost a century until being rediscovered by Bergin. He and musical director Ann Dunne approached Pat O'Connell of the Lee Valley Enterprise Board with a view to staging the musical and the rest, as they say, is history.

Under the direction of Pat McCabe, the revised script and score has is an ingenious melting pot of contemporary drama and Celtic mythology - with a local band of leprechauns taking centre stage as they show just who holds the upper hand in Blarney.

Aidan Vaughan of the Lee Valley Enterprise Board described it as "a gem of a musical that is suitable for all the family".

"It is full of laughter and tears, clouds and sunshine. People will also be treated to the talents of the Army Band, who will perform at the entrance to the Opera House to honour the world premiere of Fritz Brase's work," said Aidan.

"We would also like to thank everyone who has supported this production so far. Without the dedication and hard work of a huge number of people, as well as the support of all those who came to see the show in Macroom, productions such as this would not be possible," he added.

Tickets for the show are available from www.corkoperahouse.ie and are priced from 22 to 25.
A sense of summer emerged at the Millstreet Community School Transition Year Fashion Show with the scene resembling the fashion houses of Milan and New York.

With the school gymnasium transformed into a fabulous fashion arena, style buffs, young and old, turned out in huge numbers to catch a glimpse of seasonal ware for summer and into autumn.

The creme de la creme of North/Mid Cork and Kerry boutiques showcased the latest designs and there was a wide choice of colour palates to select, enthusiasts viewing the vibrant hues or the muted shades with jump suits and formal wear catching the eye.

The presentation kept the impressive attendance enthralled as models, both male and female from the School's Transition Year along with their elders, paraded with elegance and confidence.

Once again, the hosting proved an organisational triumph for the Transition Year pupils assisted by Co-ordinator Derry Morley, Fashion Show Director Liz Galwey, Principal Pol O Siodhchain in addition to staff members.

Proceeds from the staging go to Temple Street University Children's Hospital, Amber Flag Initiatives and the Millstreet Community School Development.
An initiative undertaken by a group of socially aware teenage students at a north Cork school has won them the first ever Rotary Britain and Ireland Young Citizen Peacemaker Award.

The students, who are Peace Advocates at the Colaiste Mhuire in Buttevant, scooped the prestigious award for their inspirational work in addressing and tackling the difficulties facing their peers at the school.

Under the initiative the Peace Advocacy Group invited their fellow students to participate in a comprehensive to find out what topics were of particular concern to them, in the process identifying issues where they needed advice and support.

These included: online safety, phone and gaming overuse resulting in sleep deprivation, anxiety, low self-esteem and depression.

Their next step was to raise the results of the survey with school principal Donal O'Sullivan, who in turn organised workshops with a forensic psychologist who undertook sessions with both students and parents.

The group is now training all second-year pupils and their teachers, with the aim to have all students in the school trained to be fully qualified Peace Advocates by 2020. They are also organising a 'Pride Day' at the school where pupils can celebrate their diversity and individuality.

The idea for the initiative came from a ground-breaking project launched by Mallow Rotary in late 2017 aimed at encouraging pupils from local secondary schools to take the lead in addressing the challenges of growing up in an ever evolving modern society.

The Rotary Peace Advocacy Project involved the students taking part a two-day course on Peace Advocacy at the Mallow College of Further Education, conducted by UK-based Rotarian peace officer Jean Best.

In conjunction with her husband Keith and the Bradford based Peace Centre, Ms Best developed a comprehensive set of advocacy/conflict resolution strategies aimed at second-level students.

The idea being that the newly trained young Peace Advocates would undertake their own projects, putting the skills they had learned through their participation on the course in to practise.

Impressed with work of the Buttevant pupils Mallow Rotary put the group for ward for the Young Citizen Peace Award, which reflects Rotary's focus on the area of 'Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution'.

Five of the Peace Advocates from Colaiste Mhuire, Aoibhe Jones, David Higgins, Paul O'Keeffe, Eoin O'Brien, Zoe Crowley travelled to the UK last weekend where they were presented with their winning trophy and a cheque for 500 from BBC presenter Ellis Crisell.

Aoibhe said it was an "honour" for the 157 Peace Advocates at the school to be nominated for the inaugural award.

"Our Peace Programme, founded by Jean Best, focuses on one's quality of life, in our communities, our homes, our schools and in ourselves. We use the skills of purposeful listening and collaborative conversation to recognise, enable and empower our fellow students and ourselves to believe in the expertise of the young to help each other and resolve conflict," said Aoibhe.

"We want to sincerely thank Mallow Rotary Club for introducing the Peace Programme to Ireland. We also want to thank Ms Gail Gyves, our coordinating teacher, our Principal Mr Donal O'Sullivan and our Deputy Principal Ms Carol O'Mahony who have supported and encouraged our peace advocacy endeavours from day one. Their support enables us to embed a culture of student voice and student empowerment in our school and this has ensured the Peace Programme has started to flourish."

The president of Rotary Britain and Ireland, Debbie Hodge, praised the work of the Colaiste Mhuire Peace Advocacy Group.

"They are a real inspiration to us all with the important work they are carrying out, which they have initiated themselves, to help other students at their school deal with their concerns," she said.
Cork County Council Director of Services, Economic Development, Tourism and Enterprise Sharon Corcoran; Enrika Moore and David Moore of award-winning Buttevant-based Viska Systems; and Head of Enterprise Office Cork North and West LEO Kevin Curran

A pair of Buttevant-based entrepreneurs have been recognised for their commitment and determination in growing their respective businesses at a competition aimed at unearthing Ireland's most enterprising young 'movers and shakers'.

David Moore of Viska Systems and Michael O'Flynn of Horsepay picked up awards in the Cork leg of the Ireland's Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) competition.

The campaign, hosted jointly by the three Cork Local Enterprise (LEO) offices (Cork City; South Cork; and Cork North and West), was open to individuals aged between 18 and 35 and attracted almost 200 entrants from across the county.

Last month the 45 finalists attended an intensive 'boot camp', which focussed on their businesses and preparing them to deliver their 'perfect pitch' to competition judges ahead of the awards ceremony at the Republic of Work in Cork city.

Awards were handed out across the three Cork LEOs in three separate categories: 'Best New Idea', 'Best Start Up Business' and 'Best Established Business (for businesses trading for more than 18 months).

The 'Best Established Business' award for the Cork North and West LEO went to David Moore, whose company Viska Systems are advanced automation specialists in the areas of machine vision robotics and LABview development.

"We design and build high-accuracy manufacturing and measurement automation systems for the medical device, electronics, semi-conductor, and research industries," David told The Corkman.

"Our 'secret sauce' is our specialist knowledge in designing equipment operating with accuracies to one-thousandth of a millimetre.

"We work on a partnership basis with our customers and aim to become the 'go-to' specialists for their most demanding automation requirements.

"We pride ourselves on our ability to apply our scientific-level expertise combined with our experience in the industrial field to add value to our clients' projects," he added.

In addition to picking up an investment of 15,000, he also won the Cork North and West LEO 'Best Young Entrepreneur' award and will go forward to the IBYE regional final at the Corrin Marts Complex in Fermoy next month.

Michael O'Flynn was the runner-up in the Cork North and West LEO 'Best New Idea' category and a 3,000 prize with his online trading platform for buying and selling horses.

"Our in-depth market research showed us that the majority of people who have bought equines have been misled by the seller," he said.

"HorsePay completely solves this problem by holding the buyers money in escrow until a trial period has elapsed, provided the buyer has made no complaints.

"Sellers need HorsePay to create credibility and get a higher price for their horses. Buyers need HorsePay to ensure they don't get scammed," he added.

Kevin Curran, head of enterprise with the Cork North and West LEO, said the stiff competition demonstrated that local "youth entrepreneurship was thriving".

"IBYE is about discovering local potential and nurturing that talent through financial supports, mentoring, training and networking opportunities," he added.
As well as visiting schools, creches, protection homes and the Hope hospital during their visit to Kolkata as part of the Hope Foundation project, Scoil Mhuire, Kanturk, students also got to experience Indian culture and make many new friends along the way

This year Scoil Mhuire, Kanturk, celebrates its fifth year of association with the Hope Foundation charity through its Transition Year Immersion Programme.

This is a very special programme which gives TY students the opportunity to learn about the work of Hope and become global citizens.

Having reached their fundraising target, the students recently travelled to Kolkata in India and visited some of the 60 projects set up by Hope.

This is a unique and incredibly rewarding experience for them as they get to see first hand how the money they have raised is being used.

As well as visiting the projects which include schools, creches, protection homes and the Hope hospital, the students also get to experience Indian culture and make many new friends along the way.

Jogaile Aidekeviciute is among the students from Scoil Mhuire who has only recently returned from Kolkata. She describes it as a life changing experience.

"The trip really made me think about how lucky I am and how important it is to value the simple things in life", she said.

Deirdre Leahy, another TY student says of her experience "It took us more than half a year to fundraise and over 24 hours of travelling to get there but every second of hard work was worth it. My trip to Kolkata has been the best week of my life so far" Deirdre said.

Clodagh Cronin a 5th year student agrees: "It was such an amazing week, from the children we met, to the new friends we made. They are memories I will treasure always".

As the selection process begins to select next year's Hope ambassadors, these girls offer huge inspiration for the students who will follow in their footsteps.
A huge supporter of the Mercy Hospital Foundation is Mary Buckley from Mallow.

Mary's husband John received treatment for pancreatic cancer in 2016 at the Mercy Hospital but sadly lost his life. Mary was so thankful for the support she and her family received during a very difficult time in their lives. Following the death of John, Mary decided to start fundraising for the Mercy Hospital Foundation to enable them to continue to support other patients and families like they were supported. Mary echoed the fantastic support of the Mercy which enabled her husband to return home to be with his family .

"The love and support of the Mercy meant so much to us in the darkest of days. The day we left the Mercy we thought we only had a few days left with John, but he stayed with us for another nine weeks and two days. I fully believe it was the comfort he got from knowing he was home with our family, friends and neighbours that gave us another nine weeks with him before he had to leave us and move on to his new home - as I like to call it."

People power has helped to support and fund advancements in life saving research, diagnosis and treatment at the Mercy Hospital Foundation.

Since 2018, funds of 740,000 have contributed significantly to its major developments. In 2018, one of the major developments saw the contribution of 59,000 towards a new life saving 3D Minimal Invasive Surgery (MIS), the only integrated 3D MIS system in Ireland.

The surgery is used in a number of cancers but importantly bowel cancer, of which Cork has the highest rate in the entire country.

The introduction of the 3D MIS system has resulted in a much safer surgery for patients with less pain, reduced recovery time and less time spent in hospital. For anyone waiting on test results, it can be a very worrying time, whether it's for them or a loved one. Adding long waiting times to the mix certainly adds to this worry.

At the Mercy Hospital, a new state-of-the-art Endoscopic Ultrasound system was introduced in 2018 to help speed up life-saving tests for pancreatic and gastric cancers.

A fund of 100,000 was granted by the Mercy Hospital Foundation towards the EUS machine which has enabled 24% more patients to be seen.

For the whole of 2018, there was a reduction in cancellations of 100%. The people of Cork and further afield also helped raise 82,243 for the Mercy's smallest patients in 2018 through the Mercy Hero's appeal for POONS, the Paediatric Oncology Outreach Nursing Service.

The POONS service is the only service of its kind in Ireland which allows children with cancer to receive treatment from the comfort of their own home.

Over the course of 2018, the POONS nurses travelled 36,000km around the county of Cork and made 629 house visits, making cancer treatment for sick children that little bit easier. To continue to provide the best possible treatments and advancements in technology, the Mercy Hospital relies on the people of Cork and Munster for their support.

Throughout 2019, a key focus of the Mercy Hospital Foundation will be raising funds for St Therese's Oncology Ward.

One in three people will receive a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime, and the Mercy Hospital Foundation want to do everything in their power to ensure that those who come to the Mercy Hospital for cancer treatment will receive the best possible care.

Micheal Sheridan, CEO, Mercy Hospital Foundation is hoping the people of Cork and Munster will continue to support the Mercy Hospital on their mission to provide world class treatments and support.

Micheal commented, "Unfortunately, cancer rates are on the rise but so, too, are the number of treatment options.

"Here at the Mercy Hospital, we want to continue to be at the forefront with the best possible treatments and constantly updating, but this is not possible without the fantastic support of the people of Cork and Munster.

"Every single cent that a person donates is hugely significant towards the life saving treatments and support we can provide which we value so much."
Two Polish truck drivers walked free from court this week after a jury took just over two hours to find them not guilty of the murder of a father of two who died following a row at a North Cork filling station.

Polish nationals Tomasz Wasowicz (45) and Marcin Skrzpezyk (31) had denied the murder of Hungarian, Ludowit Pasztor (40) at the Amber Filling Station at Carrignagroghera, Fermoy on February 21st, 2017.

This week at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork, a jury of eight men and four women took just two hours and 17 minutes to find both men not guilty of either the murder or the manslaughter of Mr Pasztor.

Neither man had given evidence but lawyers for them argued that their actions amounted to self defence when they got into a fight with Mr Pasztor and his Polish friend, Mariusz Osail (40) on the night in question.

Mr Pasztor and Mr Osail had got into a row with the two accused, who were driving for Macroom Haulage at the time, at the filling station and went back to Mr Osail's house where they armed themselves with two iron bars from a trampoline. They returned to the filling station where they confronted the two truck drivers but the accused managed to disarm them and struck them with the iron bars, with Mr Pasztor suffering a fatal blow.

Mr Osail told the court that he and Mr Pasztor only wanted to scare the two Polish truck drivers when they went back to confront them at the filling station. He confirmed they had an earlier confrontation with the two Polish truck drivers when they were leaving the filling station after buying cans of Carlsberg, explaining there had been "some unpleasant chat" between them.

Mr Osail said he and Mr Pasztor had been drinking earlier in the day and that when they returned to his house they had another drink when Mr Pasztor asked him for some bars and he pointed him to some trampoline poles behind a shed. "Ludo was insisting, he was saying it constantly and I said 'leave it, leave it - let's stay at home and drink more beers' - I don't know why we didn't stay at home - I don't know, I was just drunk - I am blaming myself, I live with it all the time," he told the trial.

Cross-examined by Mr Skrzpezyk's counsel, Tom Creed SC, Mr Osail rejected a suggestion that they had returned to the filling station to show the two truck drivers who were "the real Polish, who are the tough guys".

Cross examined by Mr Wasowicz's counsel, Tim O'Leary SC, Mr Osail said he didn't hit anyone with the iron bar and he didn't see Mr Pasztor hit anyone with the bar and he could not explain how Mr Wasowicz sustained a fractured wrist.

Truck driver Liam Byrnes told how he was sitting in the passenger seat of his truck cab, watching TV, when he heard some shouting and roaring near two Macroom Haulage trucks. "I just saw two men on the ground and two men standing over them with what looked like bars, hitting them," he said in evidence.

He said it was dark in the parking area at the back of the filling station and he couldn't see the faces of the two men ... and he saw them get into the two Macroom Haulage trucks.

Neither accused gave evidence but Mr Wasowicz told interviewing Gardai that on the night in question, he and Mr Skrzypezyk were talking in the cab of Skrzypezyk's truck and they each had two beers. Two men arrived outside the truck and started cursing, saying 'come on d**khead. If you are that tough, come on'. They were shouting and banging at the truck and he and his friend were afraid they would break a window of the truck.

He said they got out and they were pushing each other in the narrow area between two parked trucks and he recalled Mr Skrzypezyk shouting to him to be careful because someone had something in his hands.

"We got out of the truck and said, 'what are ye doing, ye are going to break windows' I remember (someone) shouting he had something in his hands. They basically came to beat the shit out of us," Mr Wasowicz told interviewing gardai

"They could have been stoned. They were very aggressive. Normal people don't behave like that. Someone came to beat us. We came out of truck.

"They were aggressive and banging against the truck with something. We did not expect anyone to come to beat us and kill us. We did not know what they were planning.

"They came with the intention of doing something to us. I did not come to kill anyone. I just paused to rest (at the truck stop that night).

"They were like animals  my wife said to me (afterwards), why did you get out of the truck? We did not know they had poles," said Mr Wasowicz, adding that he had a dog and would not harm an animal let along a human being.

"They came to abuse us. I did not think it would turn to such a fight. I cannot comprehend how a human being would do such a thing to another person," added Mr Wasowicz whom the court heard suffered a fracture in the row.

Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster said Mr Pasztor suffered a depressed complex fracture at the base of skull where she also found lacerations which were consistent with a single blow from an iron bar. Mr Pasztor died from brain injury due to blunt force trauma to the head.

Both accused broke down in tears in the dock when the jury returned their not guilty verdicts and Ms Justice Carmel Stewart told them that they were free to go as Mr Skrzypezyk's wife, Edyta, rushed forward to embrace him.

Down in the body of the court, Mr Pasztor's, widow, Andrea and their teenage daughter, Eva, who had been in court for all 11 days of the trial, broke into tears when they realized that the two men had been acquitted.
2019 marks an historic year for volunteering in Ireland as the Government develops the first ever national volunteering strategy.

The strategy that is currently being developed by the Department of Rural and Community Development has the potential to progress and enhance volunteering in Ireland. Locally, Louth Volunteer Centre are asking election candidates to show their support for volunteering by signing their volunteering pledge. This pledge asks local representatives to support volunteering, facilitate the implementation of the national volunteering strategy and value volunteering.

Louth Volunteer Centre are holding a number of events as part of National Volunteering Week including a Community & Volunteer Fair in Ardee Library from 10am to 12.30pm on Wednesday 15th May, Coffee & Conversations events in their Drogheda and Dundalk offices from 10am to 1pm on Thursday 16th May and a Community & Volunteer Fair in the Dolmen Centre, Omeath from 11am - 1pm on Sunday 19th May. All of these events are open for anyone to attend and refreshments will be provided.

Mother and daughter Julia Osorio and Julia Meza-Osorio have been selected as Volunteer Ambassadors in the national volunteering campaign, showcasing people's reasons for volunteering.

Originally from Mexico they have settled in Ireland and have been living in Drogheda for the last couple of years. Volunteering is a way of life for Julia senior and is something she has instilled in her daughter from an early age. Since arriving in Drogheda, Julia and Julia have both volunteered with a number of local organisations including the Irish Maritime Festival, fundraising for MS Ireland, Drogheda Homeless Aid, North East Cancer Research and Education Trust, SOSAD, Drogheda LGBTQ and helped at Drogheda Pride. They were also core members of the Fleadh Volunteer team who were so important to the success of the festival last August.

"We are a lucky family - we have work, we have our health and we are together. It's our duty to share something with the people around us. It's important for us to integrate into and participate in the community. We can all be better if we share,' Julia states. For someone that's been giving back for so long, is it ever challenging? "Well the Irish weather can be very challenging! It's not always fun if you're collecting in the freezing cold and wet. But people always smile and chat to you. You can feel very tired and cold but very happy - you feel warm on the inside after volunteering."

If you would like to find out more about the National Volunteering Strategy, Louth Volunteer Centre's pledge request or their events during National Volunteering Week contact them at info@volunteerlouth.ie, 041 9809008 (Drogheda) or 086 0431379 (Dundalk).
The head of the Garda Siochana in Louth has a clear message for drug dealers in the region - 'we are coming for your social welfare'.

In a hard hitting statement during the Mid Louth JPC meeting in the Market House in Dunleer, he spoke about the need to hit the dealers 'in the pocket'.

Chief Supt Christopher Mangan said he was 'looking at social welfare' in his fight against the criminals.

'They are not working and getting all the benefits.'

His remarks came after members of the public questioned the fact that 'known dealers' are driving around in 'big cars' with all the trappings and nothing seemed to be done about it.

'I deal with evidence and I need hard evidence. We don't operate like CSI Miami and solve cases in half an hour.

'I have no control over the budget we receive. I went over it last year and it will be over again this year.

'There was 1m in drugs seized in Ardee last year, but there is a huge market for drugs and cannabis herb is potent,' he remarked.

He said the gardai had put the squeeze on a lot of people and taken a lot of money and cars from them.

Now they were short of cash and were going after people with relatively small drug debts as a result.

'Criminals will be made pay for what they are doing to communities,' he vowed.

'We will target their assets and in one case we got 270,000.

'This won't end overnight and it will take a co-ordinated effort,' he warned.

While there were issues with people being stopped with small amounts of drugs, there were other elements that needed to be tackled too.

'Workers with income can spend 100 snorting cocaine and that's part of it too,' he warned.

He said that when people are charged with offences and get bail, then the gardai make sure they are observing those conditions.

'Tonight, gardai will call to homes before 10pm or 11pm and that happens every night.

'If there's an incident, we call to those homes immediately to make sure these people are where they are supposed to be,' the Chief Supt remarked.

A number of public representatives also spoke on the night.
Just a few short months ago, when the spiralling cost of the National Children's Hospital began to emerge, we were told that measures would be put in place to ensure such a debacle was never repeated.

In the case of the National Children's Hospital, the main problem appeared to be an almost total lack of proper oversight that, in turn, led to enormous cost overruns on the project.

Basically, a lack of awareness let the Government sleepwalk into an avoidable crisis.

In the case of the National Broadband Plan, the Government isn't so much sleepwalking into a political and financial mess as running headlong into it.

Make no mistake, like the National Children's Hospital the provision of proper broadband across the country is not only necessary, it is vital.

However, just like the Children's Hospital project, the way the Government is proposing to deliver it is bordering on the shambolic.

Last week we learned that - in the face of strident opposition from the top civil servants in the Department of Finance and Expenditure - the Government had decided to press ahead with the heavily criticised broadband plan and would spend some 3 billion on it, about 2 billion more than originally expected.

At the end of the 25 year plan the Government won't own the infrastructure which will instead by the property of Granahan McCourt, the private firm chosen to deliver the project.

Over the weekend it was reported that Granahan McCourt will be spending about 200 million on the project, compared to the Government's 3 billion.

Precisely why the cabinet opted to back this deal and the plan as a whole is unclear but they did so despite strenuous opposition from the top civil servant in the Department of Finance.

In a memo to Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, Robert Watt "strongly recommended against" the decision, pointing out that the plan before the cabinet had serious deficiencies.

Among other things Mr Watt and his civil servants were concerned about were the plan's cost and affordability; its value for money; its uncertain benefits; the "unprecedented" risk to the exchequer and the potential impact on projects included in the National Development Plan.

It is an astonishing document that lists major concerns about a project in a frank and comprehensive manner not typically associated with the Irish civil service.

It was also completely ignored.

As many others have done, Mr Watt and his staff acknowledge that rural broadband is vital and they offered up a number of cheaper alternatives, such as incentivising 5G roll-out or the development and provision of 900 free wifi hubs in rural areas.

These proposals may not be suitable but surely they deserve more than a cursory examination before the Government commits 3billion to a project it has been specifically warned about.

Rural Ireland has waited years for proper broadband. Why not wait a little longer and actually get it right?
The students in Colaiste Bride, Enniscorthy have said that politicians in Ireland need to do more about focussing attention on mental health issues.

The topic was one of many highlighted by the students as matters of concern when this newspaper visited the school to get the views of students ahead of this month's local elections.

The students who met this newspaper included: Eimear Byrne; Catherine Murphy; Ellyssa Sanagustin; Maeve Greig; Alice Medcalf; Nicole Walsh; Nayla Bolger and Aileen Quigley.

Ellyssa commented that students are not taught how to help someone if they are experiencing mental health difficulties while Catherine Murphy said pollution is another key issue that needs to be addressed. She said that within Co Wexford, Enniscorthy town does not rank favourably in terms of air pollution.

'The rubbish around the town is also dreadful,' she said, before commenting that laws in relation to such issues need to be implemented in full.

Maeve Greig highlighted dental care as an area that politicians need to improve on: 'Everyone should be entitled to reliable and cheap dental care.'

The students also said less emphasis should be placed on things like broadband while there are ongoing issues with basic necessities like water safety.

'There are a lot of homelessness issues that need to be looked at too,' said Alice Medcalf, with her sentiments echoed by Nayla Bolger.

'Well, we are young and we are aware of such problems so they [politicians] should be too,' added Eimear.

'There is a lot of homelessness in Dublin and politicians must be aware of it.'

Aileen summed up the feelings of people her age: 'I can vote but I don't have a clue what to do. How do I make the right choice if I don't know [who the candidates are].'
The students of Hedgestown NS were very busy in the weeks before and after the Easter break.

Firstly both fifth and sixth classes exhibited projects at the recent Dublin Primary Science Fair. Their projects on 'How microwaves work and their benefits to us' and 'Do senses get stronger when one is lost' were very well received by the judges who loved the interactive nature of their displays and complemented the children for all their hard work.

The children enjoyed a great day at the RDS spending time displaying and viewing all the projects as well as attending many exciting science based workshops.

The school's third and fourth classes showed great initiative in raising money for people affected by Cyclone Idai when they themselves decided to organise a bake sale which was held on the day of the Easter break.

As well as feeding all of the pupils and parents with their delicious baking, they managed to raise 260 for a worthwhile cause.

There was also great excitement as sixth class student Jamie Mulligan won the recent Sutton Park Spelling Bee Competition.

Jamie beat off competitors from over 20 schools around the county and became only the second ever person to take home the perpetual trophy. As well as this he won an iPad for himself and a 250 book token for the school.

Finally, Hedgestown's Green School Committee attended the Water Schools of the Year awards last week in Dublin's city centre.

Earlier this year they applied for their third Green Flag for the school, this time on the theme of water.

After a visit to the school from the Green Schools Assessor, the committee were notified that as well as being successful in their application, they had also been awarded Water School of the Year for the Dublin region.

At the ceremony they received a lovely trophy, a cheque for 750 and the much coveted Green Flag.

A spokesperson for the school said: 'We congratulate all the students involved for all of their hard work.

'They are now looking forward to an equally busy summer term with plenty more events already marked on the calendar.

'The school still has a small number of spaces in all classes for September so anyone who needs more information can contact the office.'

It's been a busy time for the school and as well as working hard in the classroom, the children at Hedgestown are impacting their community.
The daa says it is 'extremely concerned' at the proposal from the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) to reduce airport charges at Dublin Airport by more than 22% over the next five years.

According to a spokesperson for the daa: 'The draft pricing determination is fundamentally flawed and does not take account of the current reality at Dublin Airport.

'The reduction in airport charges being proposed by CAR is unjustified and risks creating stagnation at Dublin Airport, as it will jeopardise the investments in new facilities that are required to cope with growing demand.'

'CAR's flawed proposal is absolutely not in the best interests of passengers, airlines or the wider Irish economy,' said daa Chief Executive Dalton Philips.

'The most pressing issue at Dublin Airport isn't our charges, which are already low, it's about investing for Ireland's long-term future and CAR's proposal won't allow us to do that,' he added.

The daa will make a formal submission to CAR over the coming months to challenge what it calls 'the flaws and the incorrect assumptions within its draft determination'.

DAA says that Dublin Airport is already a 'value for money airport', with charges that are 30-40% cheaper than its European peers.

the authority says that Dublin Airport is also an' efficient airport, with operating costs per passenger that are in line with its European peers'.

CAR has proposed reducing the 9.65 price charged last year and upon which daa consulted on its capital plan and made its submission, to 7.50. The 22% decline in prices would take effect next year and will apply until 2024.

'Dublin Airport's low charges model is working and is delivering for airlines, for the travelling public and for the Irish economy,' Mr Philips said.

'The numbers don't lie: Dublin Airport welcomed a record 31.5 million passengers last year; there has never been more competition between airlines and consumers have never had so much choice,' the daa boss added.

The huge increase in passenger traffic at Dublin Airport in recent years has created the need for a major capital programme to build the infrastructure required at Ireland's main international gateway. Following extensive consultation with its airline customers, daa had planned a 1.8 billion capital programme, including a 1 billion investment in new capacity.

daa had proposed to deliver this investment programme, which is the largest in its history, by keeping charges broadly flat at about the 9.65 level - which was charged in 2018 - for the next five years and at no cost to the Irish State, as daa is not funded by the Exchequer.

'This was an entirely reasonable proposal, which is probably unprecedented in the history of economic regulation - a 1.8 billion investment programme in return for flat charges that are already 30-40% cheaper than the market,' Mr Philips said.

the airport authority says tht CAR's proposal to reduce airport charges by 22% 'puts this entire investment programme in doubt as a price of 7.50 will not enable daa to fund the required spend on new infrastructure'.

'Investment in new facilities is what our airlines want, what our passengers are demanding and what is urgently required by the Irish economy,' Mr Philips said.

'There is no point in CAR saying that it approves all of the projects in our capital investment programme, while simultaneously refusing to properly fund the investment,' he added.

'Ireland is an open economy, which depends on foreign direct investment, trade and tourism. Brexit creates unprecedented uncertainties for the Irish economy and in that context, we should be investing at Dublin Airport and improving and deepening Ireland's links with the world,' he said.

DAA is arguing that contrary to CAR's claim, there is 'no evidence whatsoever that any reduction in charges at Dublin Airport will be passed onto consumers in the form of lower airline ticket prices'. A daa spokesperson said: 'CAR's pricing proposal would therefore result in a 375 million transfer of wealth from the State, which owns daa, to international airline shareholders over the next five years.

'Any profits generated by Dublin Airport are used to fund investments in new infrastructure for the benefit of the Irish economy or to pay dividends to the State.'

According to the daa, one of CAR's suggested plans for cost reduction at Dublin Airport over the next five years is to 'replace front-line staff with more signs' 'This logic is totally flawed,' according to Mr Philips. 'Our passengers - whether they are Irish-based or visitors - want staff in place to help them rather than more signs,' he added.
Plans by property developers, Glenveagh to seek permission in Donabate to allow it to build four-storey apartment blocks have been questioned by the peninsula's community council.

Donabate Portrane Community Council said the move to increase the number of units at the Hearse Road site from 215 to 306 units represents 'excessive density'.

According to the community council, the area is already suffering from over-crowding on public transport links, with the road infrastructure set to be constrained even when the new Donabate Distributor Road is completed.

The community council said there was also a fear in the community that units in the developement would be sold to so-called 'cuckoo funds' and would 'elbow out' first-time buyers.

The application has been made under the Strategic Housing Development scheme, which means applications are directly submitted to An Bord Pleanala to speed up the development process.

Glenveagh plans five apartment blocks to the northern section of the Semple Woods site. Two of the blocks will be three storey units and the other three will be four storey.

Glenveagh has declined to state if the new apartments planned by the company are 'build-to-rent' when asked by the Irish Independent.

Donabate Portrane Community Council said it had 'grave concerns that the application represents over development on the peninsula, which is suffering from chronic infrastructural deficits'.

It said it also has major concerns about the proximity of the site to the important Special Areas of Conservation at Malahide Estuary and Broadmeadow/Swords Estuary.

A spokesperson for the community council said: 'The argument for higher densities, of up to four storeys, is that developments are close to transport links.

'But commuter trains are already overcrowded by the time they reach Donabate, with little prospect of that changing any time soon.'

Even when the new distributor road is build, the area will still suffer from inadequate road links, the spokesperson said. The planned extension of the DART to Donabate may not happen for eight years, the community council said.

'The new planning application is part of plans that will see Donabate grow to be a town the size of Athlone, with little of the supporting infrastructure enjoyed by residents of the Midlands town,' the community council spokesperson said.

The community council called upon residents of the area to make a submission on the application to An Bord Pleanala before May 29 next.
As you read this, the outgoing chief executive of Fingal County Council, Paul Reid will be sitting down to his new job as Director General of the HSE. Before he left County Hall he sat down with the Fingal Independent to reflect on his tenure at the top of local government in Fingal.

Mr Reid has had his last executive management meeting as we sat down to talk and he asked how he feels as he gets close to exiting County Hall, he said: 'Yeah, it's the last week. I had my last executive management meeting this morning. I have been very focussed on closing out on a few big issues and handing over to AnnMarie Farrelly who will be taking over from me in the interim period anyway.

'We had a good discussion about keeping the momentum and keeping the pace going on a lot of the big projects we have going. So it's all a bit strange really. You are trying to close off where you are and equally, trying to read yourself into the next role. But the immediate focus is to keep the pace and momentum going here.'

The outgoing council chief executive said: 'Obviously this challenge came along which I put myself forward for. You can never foresee these things happening but it happened. Overall I'm feeling quite satisfied about what we've achieved in this five year-plus term here in Fingal.

'Collectively, quite a lot has been achieved.'

Mr Reid said that when he took the top job in the council, he and his management team set out three major priorities for the county centred around housing, economic development and tourism and he has been making his own report card on all three.

He said: 'The first one was obviously the big issue around housing. It was a big issue in 2014 and it is still a big issue in 2019. By far and by any measure of what's been achieved, Fingal is the leader across the whole country both in terms of social housing delivery, but equally in terms of private housing delivery and all of that infrastructure that has brought with it.

'We were very clear that housing was going to be our top priority. We kept the focus on it and we got the confidence of Government and we got the investment from Government in it. That's been something we've been quite proud of. It's still a big issue and the issue of homelessness and while we've made fantastic strides of exiting people out of emergency accommodation, it is still a big issue for the county. Ultimately, I've always said that the solution to homelessness is supply and a greater supply of affordable housing and we are starting to see that coming through.'

Moving on to economic development, he said: 'This was a new role that local authorities had and only established in 2014. We put that into practice very clearly on three different levels. Firstly we have had major successes in attracting Foreign Direct Investment. That just doesn't happen naturally, it takes a lot of hard work with the IDA and Enterprise Ireland and all the other State agencies. It is also about having land serviced and having land available.'

Mr Reid added: 'From an economic development point of view, we were straight out of the traps in understanding what we could do and how we could attract more jobs here into Fingal. The second level I always talk about is the indigenous companies that exist around here in Fingal and providing supports for them. We did a lot of that in our Development Plan.

'We protected our zonings so that we could grow development parks further and gave expansion suppors to a lot of companies in the food sector around here in our Development Plan, to give them increased capacity to grow. We worked with the farming, food and horticulture sectors out here which is massive. So the likes o f Keelings have benefited from our Development Plan, Country Crest, Sam Dennigans, Keoghs Crips -- all big international brands now and they have benefitted from the work we have done.

'Thirdly, we have our Local Enterprise Office. Again, it's probably the most successful Local Enterprise Office in the country in terms of the jobs it has created and the number of businesses it has supported over the years. That's helped get young entrepreneurs with ideas onto the market and increasingly over the last three or four years, we've gone into the school with the Student Enterprise Programme and helping them to create an entrepreneurial culture in the schools.'

There has been a lot of investment in Fingal's fine heritage properties during Mr Reid's tenure in the job and that brings us to the third priority he set out, ash he explained: 'The third priority was tourism and it's something we put a lot of focus on. I think we've gained a lot of credibility with the national tourism organisations, particularly Failte Ireland who have worked really well with us and created an identity for the first time ever to make Dublin a city break to compare with all the other international cities but make it not just about visiting the city centre and Temple Bar but demonstrating how in a very short space of time you can come out and enjoy 90km of coastline, experiencing all the coastal and heritage sites Fingal has to offer.

'We really put Fingal on the map internationally and that has been done at a very local level with local community groups engaging with us on that and working on that 'Dublin is a Breath of Fresh Air' brand.'

Asked if he felt there was anything left undone as he left the job, the only frustration the outgoing chief executive expressed is that he did not see the Metro project to Swords across the line but he says he is more optimistic now than he was when he took the job that the vital transportation project now known as Metrolink will be delivered.

'I do, I really do (feel more optimistic) and I think Fingal County Council has played a big role in that. First of all our work on the Development Plan - it may seem like a small thing but it's actually a very big thing - we took a very strategic approach in the County Development Plan not to rezone pockets of land in the county but to make a very strategic approach and make most of our rezonings along the Metro Economic Corridor. That's made the business case for Metrolink much stronger.'

He added: 'I leave more confident because it's in the Capital Plan and it's in the National Planning Framework and the Minister has publicly committed to it quite a number of times now and finally, we are actually in the design phase of it now and we are actively working with the State agencies around the final design and the routes for it in the North County. I think the decision that was made by Government recently to just get on and do the northside of it is very welcome and that would have been our call to them relentlessly.'

One of the last public events that Mr Reid attended as the chief executive of Fingal County Council was the launch of the eagerly-awaited 20 million plan to transform the centre of Balbriggan. It is a project that he is proud of and he insists that in his absence, the project will be driven forward and implemented.

He said: 'That was one we took the lead on in the council executive, not from pressure from councillors, actually but we brought that to the council first of all.

'We recognised it was the youngest town in Ireland and is a hugely growing town and it does have social and economic issues and challenges around how to create employment in the area and how to reduce the numbers of people travelling out of it for work. There are issues around integration and diversity and new communities and issues around young gang culture and some crime issues out there as well and indeed some drugs issues. So there was quite a variety of issues there that had to be tackled but we knew in our heart and soul that Balbriggan is a good town with a great history and a hugely vibrant town. It's a plan we brought ourselves to the councillors and it's one that has galvanised all the stakeholders in the town. I'm particularly proud that probably the last public event I will be at will be the launch of the strategy.'

He said he will miss the people of Fingal and the relationships he forged here but said he is optimistic for the region's future. He said simply that being head of the council was the 'nicest job so far, in my career'.
A man with 73 previous convictions committed while on bail will not face any extra jail time for burglary and stealing a bicycle, despite an appeal by prosecutors.

Darragh O'Hare (27), with a last address at Hamlet Square, in Balbriggan, pleaded guilty to theft of a bicycle and burglary of a separate property the following day in Balbriggan, in May 2017.

He was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 28 months imprisonment by Judge Martin Nolan on April 22, 2018, having spent five months in custody on remand.

The Director of Public Prosecutions unsuccessfully sought a review of O'Hare's sentence on grounds that it was 'unduly lenient"' The Court of Appeal held that the sentence was "lenient" but not so far outside the norm that it required intervention.

Giving judgment, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said O'Hare stole a bicycle worth 150 from a residential property in Balbriggan on May 16, 2017, which was subsequently recovered.

The following day, O'Hare entered a house in Balbriggan where he was confronted by the occupier holding her handbag.

O'Hare told the woman that the handbag had been stolen and he was looking to return it. He asked her repeatedly if she had a husband and if there were any men in the house.

As the door was closed, he ceased trying to gain access. Some items were missing from the handbag worth 47.

O'Hare was arrested and made admission to the theft of the bicycle. He subsequently pleaded guilty to both offences on his first appearance in the Circuit Court.

Ms Justice Kennedy said O'Hare had 91 previous convictions, including four for burglaries, three for theft and one for handling stolen property. She said 73 of his previous convictions were committed while he was on bail for other offences.

He had been on bail for dangerous driving and unauthorised use of a vehicle when he stole the bicycle and entered the woman's house.

The sentencing judge said O'Hare had difficulties with drugs in the past, as well as other personal difficulties, but a letter from Fr Peter McVerry, provided to the Circuit Court, described his present status as drug free.

The Circuit Court judge fixed four years as the appropriate headline sentence and said it would have been considerably less, if O'Hare had retreated immediately upon being confronted by the woman.

Ms Justice Kennedy said burglary was serious and this offence impacted significantly on the injured party.

She said the offences were committed while on bail and the present offences were aggravated by some of O'Hare's previous convictions.

Ms Justice Kennedy, who sat with Mr Justice John Edwards and Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, said the sentence was lenient but not so lenient to justify intervention by the Court of Appeal.

She said the sentence fell within the discretionary range available to the sentencing judge, though at the very outer limits of that range. The appeal was therefore dismissed.
A man who helped transform the education sector in Fingal at a time of rapid growth in the county where the demand for school places rocketed and the need for new schools was urgent, is stepping down from Educate Together.

Paul Rowe is to step down as Chief Executive Officer of the organisation in early 2020.

Paul will continue to support the Educate Together National Office in an advisory capacity in the coming years.

Paul has been involved with the Educate Together movement for 30 years, as a parent, activist, board member and national representative.

He has been CEO for 17 years.

Paul started his work for Educate Together as a volunteer in 1988 when his eldest son started in the North Dublin National School Project NS.

He was elected Secretary of Educate Together in 1996 and became Chairperson of its first Board of Directors upon its establishment as a limited company in 1998.

Paul oversaw the establishment of the full time National Office in 2002 at which time he was appointed the organisation's first Chief Executive.

As CEO he has played a transformative role in the development of the equality-based school movement, turning Educate Together into a major and mainstream innovative presence in Irish and Fingal education.
Courtown Hotel is now being used temporarily as emergency accommodation for asylum seekers

After a number of asylum seekers arrived by bus to Courtown Hotel on Friday, having been relocated on a temporary basis from other centres, such as the Esplanade Hotel in Bray, county Wicklow, there has been a mixed response from local people.

'We have not opened a new direct provision centre, rather emergency accommodation has been sourced to deal with capacity issues that have arisen due to growing demands while we are waiting for new centres to come on stream,' the Department of Justice and Equality said in a statement to this newspaper.

'The provision of emergency accommodation will be for as short a time as possible, unfortunately it is not possible to say how long this might be,' the statement read.

Following a response from the Department to Wexford County Council, the department confirmed that about 30 persons were transferred to the hotel in Courtown last Friday, and that they are all asylum seekers, and are from a range of different nationalities.

They comprise single adults, families and a small number of children.

The Department advised that such short term temporary letting arrangements are usually for a period of up to six months and that it hoped that the coming on stream of a Direct Provision Centre this summer, will lead to the accommodation in Courtown not being required beyond that time period.

The Department is conducting an open procurement process, with the hope of more centres being able to increase capacity in the coming months.

As the Department are under a legal duty to protect the identity and privacy rights of those involved, the Department are not in a position to confirm how many asylum seekers may be moved to Courtown now or into the future.

'We're not against asylum seekers or refugees, but Courtown is a sea side resort and they'd be better suited to a big built up area like Wexford or Waterford,' said Cllr Ireton.

'Questions need to be answered, because people weren't informed in advance,' said Cllr Ireton.

Speaking to Lucky Khambule of the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) who visited Courtown on Sunday, he spoke of one couple who had not wanted to move there, but didn't have any choice.

'They had been based in Waterford and had already integrated there, they had work permits and could work part time, they didn't want to move,' said Lucky Khambule.

'It looks like nobody considered that, because the move was sudden and people are upset,' said Lucky Khambule.

Wexford County Council confirmed that it had no prior knowledge of the move, and had not been consulted on the matter.

'We had no knowledge and were uninformed about the situation,' said a representative of Wexford County Council, who later contacted the Department.

Asylum seekers were told in a letter two days before the move that they would be transported to the new emergency accommodation by bus, and to ensure that they had all belongings with them.

'My worry is that they're going to be walking the streets with nowhere to go,' said Joy Rice of Courtown Community Council.

An emergency public meeting aimed at finding a way forward on the matter was due to take place this week, but was cancelled by Courtown Community Council due to a large volume of numbers expected, outside the remit of the capacity of the Riverchapel Community Hall.

Courtown Community Council said that it was with regret that the meeting was cancelled, but it was 'due to health and safety reasons for all'.

There had been a lot of interest in the public meeting, and local political representation had been contacted and asked to attend.

Representatives of the Department of Justice and Equality were also invited to attend the meeting.

'We recognise that these asylum seekers have faced many challenges in their journey up to this point and that their future remains uncertain. The Courtown Community Council has asked that a meeting of the Courtown Local Policing Fora be held at the earliest opportunity so that all the agencies involved together with the community representatives can discuss how to work with the hotel residents so that this development is positive for everyone and shows that Courtown and Riverchapel is a safe and welcoming place for all,' Courtown Community Council said in a statement.
Writers in Gorey came together to celebrate Poetry Day Ireland by embracing the theme of 'truth or dare', and bringing poetry to life for all to enjoy on the streets of Gorey.

'We wanted to bring poetry towards people this year. As maybe they haven't engaged since school and this was an opportunity to make it fun,' said organiser Emer of Gorey Writers' Group.

Beginning at the mural at the Civic Square, with poetry recitals in both the English and Irish language, from well known poets like William Shakespeare and WB Yeats, some members even brought along their own poems to showcase on the evening.

Truth or dare cards were given out as well as copies of The Lake Isle of Innisfree by WB Yeats.

From there, the group of 20 to 30 budding poets and writers went to the town park, the heritage orchard, Gorey Little Theatre, Pettits Super Valu and finally to relax in the Loch Garman Arms.

At each stage, the group tried their hand at choral speaking and rehearsed a choral reading of the famous poem The Lake Isle of Innisfree by WB Yeats, much to the delight of the onlookers.

'We've done poetry walks together as a group before, but the group came up with the places to go this time,' said Emer.

Writers were encouraged to bring their own collections of poetry and celebrate the variety in creative writing that poets can offer.

Some even brought lanterns to create a special atmosphere for the event.
It may have been held a week later than usual, but the history behind the annual outdoor Mass in the 'City of Shrone' means it'll take a lot more than a change of date to stop the people coming.

The City of Shrone is located in Gortnagane, just south of Rathmore town and just west of the Cork border, and many of those who went to Mass in the shadow of the Paps on Sunday had walked from the Cork side of the border.

It's the oldest still-revered spiritual site in western Europe, and ceremonies there date back to pre-Christian times, Parish Priest Anthony O'Sullivan explained to The Kerryman.

The Mass usually takes place on the first Sunday in May, but due to the Rally of the Lakes going through the locality, it was moved back this year.

It was Fr O'Sullivan's first time celebrating Mass at the location, and he left very impressed at the occasion. "It was a lovely day for it," he said.

"The sun was shining, the sky was blue; it was lovely. There was a great sense of togetherness and celebration. I wouldn't know how the numbers compared to other years, but it seemed very good to me.

"It wouldn't have been fair to have it the same day as the rally, but I'd like to see us return to the traditional date in future."
It is a sight that never gets old, no matter how many years you witness it - the sight of thousands of walkers coming together in the dawn light for one common and shared goal - raising much needed funds and awareness for Pieta House - the anti-suicide and self harm charity.

It was of course, the annual Darkness Into Light fundraising walk, iterations of which took place all around the county in Tralee, Listowel, Killarney, Dingle, Kenmare, Glenbeigh, Cahersiveen and finally Caherdaniel.

There is simply not enough space here to write of all the poignant and special scenes that took place at each and every walk in the county; but know this, every community can be sure that they did themselves proud in the early hours of last Saturday morning.

Over 1,000 took part in Listowel's walk alone with organisers expressing their delight at the turn out while Killarney's event, known locally as 'Nathan's Walk' in memory of Nathan O'Carroll who passed away in 2007 was similarly a huge success with hundreds setting off from the Killarney Racecourse.

The beauty of the walks lie every year in those quiet moments, those special scenes of community togetherness as they remember loved ones lost - one such of which occurred in Caherdaniel, during what is described by organiser Ger Deasy, as one of Ireland's most beautiful walks.

"It was our best walk so far. It was an absolute success. We had over 200 people and for a very small area, that is brilliant. People travelled from Cork and other parts of the country just to walk here," said Ger speaking to The Kerryman.

"We have a lovely ceremony on the beach every year where we make a circle around the 'Hope' sign and we read the Pieta House Manifesto. It is a letter sent out by Pieta House every year. It's like a little poem really about what they're all about. It re-enforces the message of why we're out walking and it can get quite emotional and moving. It's fantastic," she continued.

Pieta House provides a free, therapeutic approach to people who are in suicidal distress and those who engage in self-harm.

Your nearest Pieta House can be found by calling 1800 247 247.
A number of former Wexford members of the Reserve Defence Force (RDF) turned out for the 90th anniversary of the organisation.

The event, which was launched by Minister Paul Kehoe at the National Museum of Ireland, heard of the huge contribution to the State made by both serving and former members of the Reserve.

Among the delegation present included past members: Michael Kinahan from Ferns, John Bennett from New Ross, Brian Kavanagh also from New Ross and Joe Kehoe from Enniscorthy.

In 1929 the 1st (City of Dublin) Volunteer Reserve Battalion began recruiting in Dublin in Cathal Brugha Barracks and Collins Barracks. Later a Volunteer Reserve Field Artillery Battery was created in Cork, while an Officer Training Corp was created in six universities.

Since then over 200,000 reservists have volunteered to serve in the Reserve Defence Forces. These reservists played an essential role in assisting the Permanent Defence Forces in defending the State during the Emergency and during the Troubles in 1969.

Minister of State Paul Kehoe said: 'Reservists provide a wealth of knowledge, experience and skills which they bring to the Defence Forces. While serving in the Reserve, they develop leadership, team-working and strategic planning skills that have transferability to their full-time employment.'

Minister Kehoe reflected on the 'long and proud history' of the Reserve Defence Force stemming back to the formation of the Volunteer Reserve in 1929.

He acknowledged the men and women who 'selflessly give their spare time in the service of the State and are an integral part of Ireland's defence capability.'

He also commented on the diverse nature of the force with members coming from all walks of life and pointed out how the force has often served as a springboard for a career in the Permanent Defence Force.

In his address, the Minister noted the many serving and former leaders who began their Defence careers in the Reserve Defence Force.

'At regular junctures, I meet people who, through a sense of real pride, share stories and memories of their time as Reservists,' Minister Kehoe said.

'Such memories are recounted fondly and it is clear that a period of service in the Reserve leaves a lasting impression on those who serve,' he added.
Next year marks the 60th anniversary of the election of John F. Kennedy as President of the United States and the Kennedy Summer School committee in New Ross is publishing a book to mark the occasion, featuring the highlights from the summer school.

The Presidential election of 1960 was a gripping contest between Richard Milhous Nixon and John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Ultimately, 43 year-old Kennedy was elected as the 35th President of America and he remains to this day the office's youngest incumbent and its only Roman Catholic.

In August 2020, to mark the 60th anniversary of JFK's election to the White House, the Kennedy Summer School will launch a book edited by Dr Brian Murphy, lecturer in History at Technological University Dublin, and Dr Donnacha O Beachain, lecturer in Politics at Dublin City University. The book will be published by the Irish Academic Press, one of the country's most prestigious publishing houses and will consist of a collection of essays drawing on some of the best papers delivered at the Kennedy Summer School since its foundation in 2012.

Dr Murphy, who served as Director of the Kennedy Summer School in 2017 and 2018 said: 'Arguably, no US President has inspired more people around the globe than JFK. Even today, for a new generation born in the decades after his death, President Kennedy's legacy has an enduring appeal.'

He said every year, in New Ross, where John F. Kennedy's great-grandfather began his emigrant's journey, the Kennedy Summer School reflects on the Kennedy family's record of public service and discusses broader themes relevant to Irish, American and global politics.

'To mark the 60th anniversary of JFK's election to the White House, this book will showcase some of the best papers delivered at the Kennedy Summer School since its foundation in 2012. Donnacha and I are delighted to work with the Irish Academic Press on this exciting project, which we hope will further enhance the reputation of the Kennedy Summer School and of New Ross. We are also very grateful to all of the very distinguished contributors to this book project,' Dr Murphy said.

Among the household-names who are contributing to this book are: Martin O'Malley, former Governor of Maryland; Tad Devine, Chief Campaign Strategist to Bernie Sanders; Cody Keenan, speechwriter to Barack Obama; Professor Mary Daly, UCD; Professor Christine Kinealy, founding director of Ireland's Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University; Professor Michael Kennedy, Royal Irish Academy; Professor Bob Schmuhl, University of Notre Dame and Professor Howard Keeley, Georgia South; Kerry Kennedy, President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation; Bob Shrum, former advisor to Ted Kennedy.
Sam Claflin as Liam McDonagh in The Corrupted

Crime and punishment trade bruising blows in director Ron Scalpello's gritty crime thriller set against the backdrop of East London's gleaming skyscrapers and dockside cranes.

Scripted by Nick Moorcroft, The Corrupted is handcuffed to a motley crew of dodgy cops, idealistic journalists and sadistic crimelords, who meet foolhardy challenges to their authority with an abattoir bolt gun to the cranium.

These are the kind of morally warped characters who toss rivals into shallow graves and foreshadow downfall with a gnarly one-liner: 'Get out now or there's only two places you're going to end up: a wooden box or a concrete one.'.

Blood pools beneath the capital's soaring skyline, which looks breath-taking through cinematographer Richard Mott's lens, contrasting the bright lights of Canary Wharf with the darkened desires of men in power.

Composer Andrew Kawczynski channels the Bourne films with his unnecessarily bombastic score and Scalpello follows suit with an impressively staged and wince-inducing fight sequence in a living room, which gleefully cranks up the machismo and brutality.

The Corrupted wears its 18 certificate for strong bloody violence as a badge of honour.

In 2002, crime syndicate boss Clifford Cullen (Timothy Spall) gets a tip off from his well-placed contact (Hugh Bonneville) that London will be confirming a bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Cullen forcibly purchases swathes of land in East London including a plot belonging to father-of-two Eamonn McDonagh (Sean Dooley).

As soon as Eamonn puts pen to paper in exchange for duffel bag of cash, his death is staged as a suicide.

Seventeen years later, Eamonn's wayward son Liam (Sam Claflin) emerges from prison after serving nine years for armed robbery.

He returns to Stratford with brother Sean (Joe Claflin), determined to rebuild bridges with old flame Grace (Naomi Ackie) and their young son Archie.

Unfortunately, Liam is drawn into the tangled web spun by Cullen, who is now CEO of a housing consortium with various high-ranking politicians and police officers on its payroll.

Liam's fate also becomes entwined with idealistic police detective Neil Beckett (Noel Clarke) and his partner Grace Connelly (Charlie Murphy), who intend to eradicate corruption from the force.

Bullets fly and knuckles shatter in the shadow of the Olympic Park.

The Corrupted is slickly engineered with familiar tropes recalling the Long Good Friday and a rich tradition of glowering gangsters and goons, not to mention the BBC series Line Of Duty.

Scalpello's film doesn't scale those dizzy heights of narrative sophistication and nail-biting tension, but Claflin is a likeable if underwritten pawn in a satisfyingly tangled conspiracy and Moorcroft's script unspools with one genuine shock.

Spall vanishes behind the snarl of his crime boss, who senses power slipping through his power-hungry fingers and warns: 'If this ship goes down, everybody goes down.'.

Disagree at your peril.
Secondary school students of Sligo will be taking over the Hawk's Well Theatre tomorrow as part of 'The Takeover'.

The Hawk's Well offered students one day at the venue to run a programme of their interest, of their choice and of their making. Presenting The Ballad of Burke and Hare, the students will welcome you to the venue, sell you your tickets, and usher you to your seats, for two performances of an original theatre show at 2pm and 8pm, produced and devised by them alone.

The Ballad of Burke and Hare, was written, rehearsed and performed in the span of a month and a half by fourteen secondary students. The play has been written and directed by Saul Harrison, Aidan Kelly, Kate Clarke and Oscar Mulligan and the cast includes transition year and fifth year students from Summerhill College, The Ursuline College and Sligo Grammar School. Saul, Aidan, Kate and Oscar are also performing in the play alongside Oisin Davey, Katelyn Rafter, Matthew Eglinton, Eoghan Donaghy, Tara Parkinson, Ben Cunningham, Leo Mullaney, Hanna Gielarowska, RubyMae Wann and Ishbel Clarence-Ray.

The play takes place in 1820s Edinburgh, where down on their luck Irish immigrants William Burke and William Hare spot a grim gap in the grave robbing market, and the second-best surgeon Doctor Knox is growing desperate for a fresh corpse. A series of unlucky coincidences leads Burke and Hare to make bodies of their own. A drop dead comedy of love, murder and betrayal, the all student cast offer a twist on this true tale!

Speaking to The Sligo Champion, Oscar Mulligan described the process: "Since they are Irish a lot of Irish people would know them. We were sitting at my house wondering what to do next because we had already written one play that was about 20 minutes long. Saul suggested Burke and Hare and we thought it would be a good idea for a play. A while later the Hawk's Well gave us the opportunity to perform it with 'The Takeover Project'.

"We had one scene written and we stopped because we thought we had all summer to write it. Then we were told that we had a month and a half to get the whole thing ready."

Kate Clarke added: "Originaly they had the idea for it as a play. We started writing it when we were walking somewhere to film a short film. I was like 'hey Saul, I really want to take part in a musical. And Saul said 'we can't do that because you have to buy the copyright.' He was like 'what we could do, is write a musical so that we wouldn't have to pay for the rights, I have a great idea'. That's how we started working on it initially."

When the group learned about the short window during which they had to write the play, they decided to scrap the idea of a musical, as Aidan Kelly explained: "Over time, when we were told about 'The Takeover' we decided that it just couldn't be a musical. We didn't have the time to write and produce the songs. I would say it's probably best though, the tone of the play changed as we were writing it."

The group are all involved in Sligo Youth Theatre and so were able to work with fellow budding actors and actresses. Although, there are a few new faces among the cast for this production.

They've had to use all the connections they have made thanks to their involvement in theatre. Something that will surely stand to them in the future.

"It's definitely been a process in which we've roped in everyone we could," said Saul Harrison.

They are using whatever contacts they have made, including Dr. Niall Rea, Lecturer in Theatre Design and Performing Arts, IT Sligo.

"We knew him because he did a workshop with us in the youth theatre. So we called him up and he got us a prop that we were looking for for weeks," said Kate.

Oscar feels that they have learned a lot from their time with Sligo Youth Theatre, and it's about more than just getting on stage.

"It's a misconception that youth theatre is about acting only. It's also really about making something, that's what's so good about it."

Oscar, Saul (both 16) and Aidan (17) are all transition year students at Summerhill College. Kate (17), though, is a fifth year student at the Ursuline College, and so has had to commit a lot of time to this project.

She said: "I'm in fifth year. But when you're doing what you love. I'm able to balance everything well. Because I love theatre so much and I love what we're doing I wouldn't give it up."

It's a first for the students, and they have learned a huge amount. Aidan says it has been 'amazing'.

"I've learned an incredible amount. Is this something I want to do ? Is this something I want to pursue? And this was the process from start to finish, no hand holding. They just told us 'this is a thing you can do, you can do it all by yourself, we're not going to guide you through it. It's been an amazing experience just being able to see the whole process."

Kate says she has learned things she never even would have considered. "We learnt things that you wouldn't learn in a book. Like working with a cast, there's 10 people that we have to direct, organise lunch for, make sure they're happy. Managing, along with the creative side, the hands on experience has been huge."

For Oscar, he has had to learn how to dictate, without being a dictator! !Trying to balance that, working with the actors, trying not to be a dictator about it. We're working with people our age, it's not as if we're above them or anything. With this whole process I've learned a huge amount. Despite everything, I would do this a thousand times over. I just love it, it's so much fun."

The writing side of it was what Saul most enjoyed, as he tries to bring this character he has written about to life. "The writing process was the most rewarding part of the whole thing, and the place where I learned the most. How to format a script so that it's easily understood, I kind of acted as the editor, working things out, separating things and then playing one of the main characters I have learned a lot. How to take this character and show it to everyone else. This man who was an existing person already, so working with the knowledge of history of what was known of him and then my own spin on it has been interesting."

The group are delighted that the Hawk's Well presented them with such an opportunity.

"We were very surprised. They came back and said that the Hawk's Well had given us this opportunity. I was so shocked that the Hawk's Well were funding this because there are so many costs that come with it, actors, technicians, stage hands, props," said Kate.

She continued: "We're treated like proper directors, not students who want to put on a show and it's nice."

The group have been delighted with the way that they have trusted with the project, and left to their own devices, although availing of advice here and there.

"The responsibility that they have given us, they've completely trusted us which is a huge honour for us. They've been helping us out in any way possible. If we need help, they will help but they want us to try and succeed through our own means," said Saul.

This is a serious project for the youngsters. They want to be taken seriously. They do not want to be patronized.

"That's the one thing I really don't want is at the end for people to walk out and be like 'that was a nice TY play, aren't they good for trying that out'. I don't want people to look at it in that way at all," said Oscar.

Tickets, priced 10/5 u18s (plus 1 booking fee) are available now from www.hawkswell.com or call 0719161518.
Sligo Traveller Support Group has clashed once more with the County Council over its handling of the Connaughton Road car park issue.

A statement from the group comes int he wake of the latest action by the council in removing scrap cars and other material from the car park which has been the home to the extended McGinley family for nearly 40 years.

Manager of the Sligo Traveller Support Group, Bernadette Maughan, claims in a statement that council staff threatened to lift caravans using cranes if residents did not move them themselves during the operation two weeks ago which was overseen by a large Garda presence.

"The actions by the Council have resulted in forcing families to move the caravans in closer proximity to one another.

"This was a direct result of the County Council installing concrete boulders and steel fencing in the centre of the site.

"The degree of fire safety has significantly deteriorated as a result.

"Regretfully, this is not the first occasion intimidation and violence has been used towards residents of Connaughton road.

"Last year, one adult and two minors from the site were hospitalised as a result of injuries sustained by personnel sent by the council.

"The workers in question were tasked with removing the decking put in place to allow a resident suffering from severe arthritis to access his caravan safely.

"In the past, the County Council made several offers of accommodation to residents.

"However, as neither the county councillors or local media were informed, these offers once accepted by the travellers were then withdrawn within 48-72 hours by the council.

"To date, all offers of accommodation accepted by residents were subsequently withdrawn by the Council.

"The fourteen adults and sixteen children residing on site feel severe and substantial negative efforts have been made by the Council to push families out of Connaughton road.

"Thus far, this pressure has caused two families to move to an alternative site on Dublin road on promise of improvements which have yet to be delivered upon.

"If the Councils desire is to resolve this issue through the provision of high standard accommodation is genuine, the residents are prepared to meet with local councillors and Council officials.

"The families in Connaughton road have been seeking a solution for the past thirty five years. An honest and just resolution must be found for these families. They deserve no less," said Ms Maughan.
A new programme to support families impacted by parental alcohol misuse is to be launched in Sligo

Speaking ahead of the launch of the M-PACT programme (Moving Parents and Children Together) the Alcohol Forum's CEO, Kieran Doherty has highlighted the growing need to address the impact that parental alcohol misuse is having on children here in Ireland. "As a country, we have had our head in the sand, perhaps it's too difficult for us to really think about the lives that children are living and the struggles that parents with addiction issues are facing."

Earlier this year the HSE and Tusla released a joint strategic statement on hidden harm and a practice guide. In that document, Moving Parents and Children Together (M-PACT) is named as one of the programmes recognised as making a real difference in the lives of families.

Teresa, one of the parents who completed M-PACT in Donegal in 2016 will be speaking at the launch and is very keen to encourage families in Sligo and Leitrim to take that first step on a journey that could transform their lives.

Reflecting on her family's experience of the programme she said: "M-PACT has given my children back their voice. It has helped my kidsand it has helped to open the communication between myself, my husband and my kids again. My family has begun to heal from the hurt and disconnection caused by my addiction."

Some of the children who completed M-PACT in Donegal have highlighted the huge difference it has made to them. One young person spoke about how the programme had made it possible for them to talk to their parent about their fears and break the silence in the family around the issue: "We talk now and it's great. I don't have to worry as much about mammy now when she is not drinking anymore".

Another described how the programme had helped to break the sense of isolation that they were feeling: "It helped being able to speak out, knowing that others knew how I felt."

M-PACT will be launched by Marian Harkin MEP in Sligo IT on May 17th.

Karen Galligan from Trinity College Dublin whose PhD focuses on Hidden Harm will be giving a talk at event.

She said: "Our recently published figures of the prevalence of the number of children possibly impacted by parental illicit substance use is 15-24% and alcohol dependency is 14-37%.

"These figures in conjunction with interviews with parents who use substances, family members of that parent, child/family and drug services and international literature all point to a need to respond in a supportive, interagency, non-stigmatizing manner to support the families to recovery. Awareness of the role of trauma, and the capacity to build on protective factors are critical."

Philip Maree, Service Lead, M-PACT Sligo - Leitrim is keen to highlight the support from Tusla for the programme; 'M-PACT has the potential to make a huge difference for families living in Counties Leitrim and Sligo, and this has been made possible through the funding and support we have received from Tusla, Sligo -Leitrim Prevention Partnership and Family Support Service.

Both Philip and Aedamar Keenan, Tusla Senior Coordinator, Prevention, Partnership and Family Support, Sligo- Leitrim, Tusla will also be speaking at the event.
An elderly priest who was killed in a hit and run in Co Roscommon on Saturday night has been named as Fr Michael Guckian, who lived with the Oblate order in Inchicore in Dublin.

Fr Guckian (81) had been visiting relatives in Roscommon when the incident occurred around 11pm last Saturday night (May 11th).

It is understood he had returned to his native Roscommon for an anniversary mass for a relative in the Drumboylan area.

Gardai at Boyle are are investigating the incident which occurred in Keadue, Co Roscommon.

Fr Guckian was walking on a country road when he was struck by a car. The driver failed to stop or remain at the scene.

A passer-by contacted the emergency services and the victim was treated at the scene but pronounced dead a short time later.

A 20-year-old man, who gardai say was the driver of the car involved, later presented himself at Carrick-On-Shannon Garda Station.

A full forensic and technical examination of the scene was carried out.

Speaking to Independent.ie, a niece of Fr Guckian's described him as "the most down to earth man ever".

"He was a walking saint. It's terrible. We are still getting the details here but we're shocked. He spent thirty years in the Philippines and was the most down to earth man you could meet," she said.

A spokesman for the Oblate order said Fr Guckian was well known and liked in the community.

"He had served in the Philippines as a mission worker for a number of years before returning to Ireland in 1999," he said.

"Fr Michael was well liked and loved, and will be missed," he added.
The Annual Feile Londubh poetry and music festival in Ashford features a programme of events containing a variety of local, national and international artists.

The three day festival, presented by Alchemy Concerts, takes place in Church of the Most Holy Rosary, Nun's Cross Church, Scoil Coroine Mhuire and Ashford Community and Heritage Centre and will feature music, literature and children's events.

To kick start this year's programme, Fiona Dowling, a French-Irish storyteller and visual artist will be hosting a storytelling event for children in association with Wicklow Mobile Library at the Ashford Heritage Centre on Friday, May 17, at 4 p.m. The event is free but booking is required.

The official festival launch takes place later that evening at 7 p.m. in Church of the Most Holy Rosary featuring Wicklow Male Voice Choir, composer Elaine Agnew, poetry by students from St Coens and music by students attending Nun's Cross NS and Scoil Coroine Mhuire NS. Tickets for this free concert are available on Eventbrite.

A lunch time concert takes place in the heritage centre on Saturday, May 18, at 2 p.m. featuring performances from emerging artists Stephen Walker and Preachan. Tickets cost 8/6.

Nuns Cross Church plays host to the festival's flagship concert 'The First 100 Years' from 8 p.m. with Jane Clarke, Sonamus, Londubh String Quintet and Deirdre Moynihan.

This very special concert will reflect on 100 years of the Irish Republic through poetry, music, and song. Tickets are 18 or 16 concession. Admission for a family of four is 30, while tickets for children under 12 cost 5.

A free children's workshop called 'Fighting Words' takes place on Sunday, May 19 at Scoil Coroine Mhuire at 10 a.m. The event is free but participants must register in advance on Eventbrite.

A baby music workshop for those aged under one takes place in the heritage centre with Anna Newell and Eamon Sweeney. Tickets cost 7.50. Each session is limited to four babies plus one guardian per baby.

A Seamus Heaney Woodland Walk led by writer David Butler and naturalist Richard Nairn will meet at the heritage centre car park at 10.30 a.m. to car pool to Devil's Glen Woods.

This workshop will focus on generating new ideas and fresh approaches to writing poetry. The session will start with a guided local walk and end with a writing workshop. Tickets are 10 or 5 with a concession.

The 2019 festival ends with a fun and engaging toddler music workshop for two to five year olds with Eamon Sweeney taking place in Scoil Coroine Mhuire NS from 12.30 p.m.

The workshop is limited to 15 children and tickets cost 5.
Over a thousand people from Wicklow town and surrounding areas took part in Darkness into Light in the early hours of Saturday morning in support of the global fight against suicide.

Up to 1,500 people gathered outside the Brass Fox at 4.15 a.m. for the start of the 5k walk.

The vision at Pieta House is to create a world where suicide, self-harm and stigma have been replaced by hope, self-care and acceptance and Darkness into Light is vital fundraising event helping to keep their doors open.

The organising committee of the Wicklow event, which includes many members of the local Lions Club, had been planning this event since January , which help from students and teachers at Colaiste Chill Mhantain.

Fitness trainer Laura Griffin provided with a warm-up before they departed.

Sean Olohan of Wicklow and District Lions Club said: 'Sincere thanks to Comhaltas Wicklow for the use of their premises and to Kevin and his staff in the Brass Fox for the very welcomed teas and coffees. Padraic Boyce provided background music and Wicklow Community Choir sang a selection of very appropriate songs for a very special occasion. Tony Lyons was compere and introduced Pat Brennan who recited a Darkness into Light poem and Geraldine Mooney who spoke on behalf of Pieta House. Thanks also to Wicklow Fire Service and the Order of Malta.'
Feile Chill Mhantain will take place over three days in different venues in Wicklow town and will celebrate the Irish language through literature, music and song and dance.

The festival is the brainchild of the Wicklow Town Team who successfully applied for funding under the Rural Development Programme (LEADER) to host the event, which also features input from Cainteoiri Chill Mhantain, Comhaltas Ceoltoiri and Wicklow County Council.

Things begin on Friday, May 17 with a workshop in Bridge Street Bookshop with a children's workshop with author Sadhbh Devlin taking place from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 4.15 p.m. to 5.15 p.m. The workshops will consist of storytelling, a movement/drama session and a drawing or craft activity.

The official festival opening takes place in the Brass Fox at 7.30 p.m. featuring traditional music with The Maguires.

Dance the night away with The Fodhla Ceili Band in St Patrick's GAA Club from 8.30 p.m. Entry is 10.

Saturday, May 18 is action-packed with different events and activities. There will be an info desk first aid station located at the Assembly Hall on Bachelors Walk from 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Registration for a children's scavenger hunt lasting from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. also takes place in the Assembly Hall.

Children's story telling yoga with Ciaran Fhearghusa takes place at the De La Salle Pastoral Centre from 10 a.m. to 10.40 a.m., 11 a.m. to 12 noon, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

You can enjoy circus skills and juggling shows with Stephen McGinley in the Assembly Hall from 10 a.m. to 10.45 a.m., 11 a.m. to 11.45 a.m., 12 noon to 12.30 p.m., 2 p.m. to 2.45 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 3.30 p.m.

A teen workshop with author Anna Heussaff has been confirmed for the De La Sale Pastoral Centre from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., while a set dancing workshop with Angela Bernard is due to take place in The Boathouse, Leitrim place from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 4.30 p.m..

Author Anna Heussaff will host a second event in the De La Sale Pastoral Centre about books to enjoy in Irish from 11 a.m. A coffee morning takes place in The Bridge Tavern from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and fake news about Irish with Colm O Broin takes place in The Boathouse from 12.45 a.m. to 1.45 p.m.

Author Aine Ui Fhoghlu hosts a children's workshop in the De La Salle Pastoral Centre from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and an adult workshop from 3.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.

A Sean-nos dancing workshop with Tommy Stenson starts in the Assembly Hall at 4 p.m., while you can also enjoy Irish dancing with The Orlagh Carty School of Dance at The Boathouse from 4.45 p.m.

The Old Forge is the venue for an open session with The Maguires and friends from 8 p.m.. A pop-up Gaeltacht will also take place in The Old Forge from 8 p.m.

A set dancing ceili costing 10 with the Brian Boru Ceili Band is due to take place in St Patrick's GAA Club at 8.30 p.m.. At the same time there will also be a Sean-nos performance from Tommy Stenson in The Old Forge.

The activities continue on Sunday, May 19 with a special mass being held in St Patrick's Church at 11.30 a.m. A Wicklow CCE music workshop takes place in St Patrick's National School from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Finally things draw to a close in Fatima Hall in the Dominican College with a celebration concert hosted by the Wicklow County Board of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann. Admission is 5 for adults and 2 for kids.
The Heritage Office of Wicklow County Council has announced a programme of free activities to provide opportunities for everyone to learn more about the county's biodiversity.

The 'Connecting People + Nature in Wicklow 2019' starts this month and continues with events taking place up until December.

Among the initiatives being spearheaded by the Council this summer in partnership with Birdwatch Ireland, is a county survey of swifts. This iconic summer visitor to our towns and villages has experienced dramatic worldwide population decline in recent years and there is a drive to establish baseline numbers for county Wicklow and to increase awareness of what we can all do to help protect this bird.

Heritage Officer Deirdre Burns explained: 'Last year we identified swift nesting sites in the towns of Wicklow, Arklow, Bray, Rathdrum, Rathnew, Greystones and Aughrim, and this year we are hoping, with the help of the public, to extend sightings to every town and village in Wicklow. Once we have population figures for Wicklow, we have a baseline for monitoring change.'

Sightings from the public can be reported by email or telephone to Ricky Whelan (Birdwatch Ireland Project Officer) at rwhelan@birdwatchireland.ie or on 085 7832545.

Also, a new publication 'Saving Swifts' is now available online, providing a wealth of information about this fascinating bird and practical advice.

Among the highlights of the upcoming programme include a talk in the Brockagh Resource Centre, Laragh, on Wednesday, May 22 at 7 p.m. titled 'Dippers, Fishers and Wags' by Oran O'Sullivan on wildlife to be found along the Avonmore River catchment. There will also be 'Forest Schools' for children at Hollywood village and in Deputy's Pass Nature Reserve for Crinniu na nOg on Saturday, June 15.

There will also be a series of monthly themed family friendly events at Birdwatch Ireland's East Coast Nature Reserve in Newcastle. Things start on June 15 with the special children's event 'Sounds, Sights and Sunprints of the Woodland', and continuing each month with different themes.
An experienced paraglider killed in a crash in the Wicklow Mountains had only become a father for the third time 12 weeks ago.

Rafal 'Ralph' Skora (41) was originally from Poland but was living in Artane, north Dublin, where he worked as a taxi driver.

On Saturday, he drove to Wicklow and took off on a paraglider from Black Hill overlooking Blessington Lakes.

He was last seen heading south over the Wicklow Mountains and Glenmalure.

His wife Dominika was the first to raise the alarm after she became concerned when her husband hadn't returned home that evening.

Gardai and Wicklow Mountain Rescue started a search together with the Irish Coast Guard Rescue team on Saturday.

A rescue helicopter sighted a canopy on the ground on Sunday morning in a field at Ballinacor Estate. Rafal's body was discovered nearby alongside some wreckage.

The body was removed for a post-mortem examination.

The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) was informed and an investigation into the accident has commenced.

Rafal and Dominika have two children together, three-year-old Benjamin and 12-week-old Julianna. He also has a 21-year-old son called Jakub living in Poland.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, his heartbroken wife said: 'He was the best husband I could pray for and amazing father. That's all what matters. I will never forget him. I'll hope to see him in my dreams.'

The Irish Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association posted a statement in their Facebook group, expressing condolences to his family and friends.

The post stated: 'It is with deep regret we wish to inform all pilots that Ralph Skora died tragically following a paragliding accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.'

On Friday, Rafal showed his considerate nature as he desperately tried to locate a man who had been traveling in his taxi and had left a gift voucher behind in the vehicle.

He used the Facebook page 'Dublin Taxi Drivers' on Friday night in an effort to trace the man who is to marry on May 24.

He posted: 'Hi guys, I found a wedding card and 500 euro BT (Brown Thomas) gift card in my taxi today (Friday 10th of May).

'Picked customer up at Merrion Row and dropped off at Spar in Monkstown. All I know is that is his (first) name and he is going to marry (first name) in two weeks time.

'I would love to get it back to him. Please share. Thanks.'

22,000 people shared the post and Rafal was able to trace the man.

The gift voucher is still in the possession of Dominika who has appealed for the engaged couple to contact her so she can return it to them.

A GoFundMe account has been set by friends of Rafal and his family to raise money towards funeral costs.
Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison with wife Jenny, children Abbey and Lily after winning the 2019 Federal Election, at the Federal Liberal Reception at the Sofitel-Wentworth hotel in Sydney, Australia, May 18, 2019. AAP Image/Dean Lewins/via REUTERS

Australia's Liberal-led conservative government was headed for a remarkable win at the national election early on Sunday after uncovering a narrow path to victory that twisted through urban fringes and rural townships.

The results upended pre-election polls which predicted a Labor victory, though it is unclear whether the Scott Morrison-led coalition can govern with an outright majority or will need to negotiate support from independents.

The final result may not be known for some time.

"I have always believed in miracles," Morrison told cheering supporters at Sydney's Wentworth Hotel, where the government holds its official election night function.

Expand Close Australia's Labor Party leader Bill Shorten on stage with wife Chloe, concedes defeat at the Federal Labor Reception at Hyatt Place Melbourne, Essendon Fields, in Melbourne, Australia, May 18, 2019. AAP Image/Lukas Coch/via REUTERS / Facebook

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Whatsapp Australia's Labor Party leader Bill Shorten on stage with wife Chloe, concedes defeat at the Federal Labor Reception at Hyatt Place Melbourne, Essendon Fields, in Melbourne, Australia, May 18, 2019. AAP Image/Lukas Coch/via REUTERS

"Tonight is not about me or it's not about even the Liberal party. Tonight is about every single Australian who depends on their government to put them first."

The conservative government has won or is leading in 72 seats in its quest for a 76-seat majority, according to the Australian Electoral Commission, with just over two-thirds of votes counted.

Several seats are still too close to call and the final result is complicated by a large number of early votes that have delayed counting.

Morrison's coalition defied expectations by holding onto a string of outer suburban seats in areas where demographics closest resemble America's Rust Belt, blocking Labor's path to victory.

This included a devastating result in the coal-rich state of Queensland, which backed the Pentecostal church-going prime minister by defying expectations and delivering several marginal seats to his government.

Voters on Saturday cast their ballots for Morrison's message of support to aspirational voters and turned their back on Labor leader Bill Shorten's reforms.

"I know that you're all hurting and I am too," Shorten told supporters at the party's Melbourne election night function.

"And without wanting to hold out any false hope, while there are still millions of votes to count and important seats yet to be finalised, it is obvious that Labor will not be able to form the next government."

Shorten said he would step down as the party's leader.

Labor, a party with deep ties to the union movement, had promised to abolish several property and share investment tax concessions primarily aimed at the wealthy.

Both major parties suffered a decline in their primary vote, according to AEC data, which was caused in part by a well-funded campaign by Clive Palmer's populist United Australia Party.

The election sparked several high-profile local battles, including attempts to remove Peter Dutton, a senior lawmaker who has championed Australia's controversial policy of detaining asylum seekers in offshore centres.

Although Dutton has retained his Queensland seat, former conservative prime minister Tony Abbott lost his Sydney beaches seat of Warringah to high-profile independent Zali Steggall.

"So, of course, it's disappointing for us here in Warringah, but what matters is what's best for the country," Abbott told supporters in a concession speech.

"And what's best for the country is not so much who wins or loses Warringah, but who forms, or does not form, a government in Canberra."

There were also 40 of 76 Senate spots contested in the election, the outcome of which will determine how difficult it will be for the next government to enact policy.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing growing clamour from within her own party to quit immediately as prime minister, after the collapse of Brexit talks with Labour sounded the death knell for her EU withdrawal plans.

With Tories trailing in fifth place on a humiliating 9pc in one poll for next week's European parliament elections, furious backbenchers predicted certain defeat when the Withdrawal Agreement Bill comes before the Commons in June.

Brexiteers said there was no prospect of Mrs May averting a "significant" rebellion by tacking towards them on totemic issues like the Irish backstop and free trade. "There's nothing she can say," said one former minister. "No one trusts her any more."

Meanwhile, Labour backers of a second referendum demanded that Jeremy Corbyn announce that all other options have now been exhausted and the party will push for a Final Say.

Mr Corbyn dramatically pulled the plug on cross-party talks after more than six weeks, saying they had "gone as far as they can".

Speaking at her first appearance on the Euro election campaign trail, in Bristol, Mrs May sought to blame Labour splits over a second referendum for the failure to reach a compromise deal.

"We have not been able to overcome the fact that there isn't a common position in Labour about whether they want to deliver Brexit or hold a second referendum," she said.

She vowed to press ahead with tabling the Brexit bill in the week of June 3.

But senior Leave-supporting backbenchers said she should scrap the legislation and hand over immediately to a new leader.

Nigel Evans urged her to announce she was not waiting three weeks to discuss the timetable for her departure, as agreed with the chair of the influential 1922 Committee Graham Brady, but would go "forthwith".

Asked if the declaration should come within days, the committee's joint secretary replied: "I would like her to do it now ... It's only right that the new leadership has the opportunity to become established and form a new cabinet prior to us going into the summer recess."

Former minister David Jones said the PM should recognise that "now is the time that she should stand down".

There were signs that Ms May could face a rebellion on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill considerably greater than the 34 Tories who helped to defeat her third meaningful vote. Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, whose announcement that he would swing behind the PM in the March 29 vote was influential in encouraging other "switchers", is understood to be mulling which way to vote.

Boris Johnson, who declared his intention to stand on Thursday, claimed pole position in the race for the succession with a survey for 'The Times' finding he is the preferred leader of 39pc of party members, against 13pc for Dominic Raab and 9pc for Michael Gove.

As cross-party talks foundered on the issue of Labour's demand for a permanent customs union, it emerged that Mrs May made a last-ditch offer of indicative votes to salvage her Brexit plans.

Under the deal - rejected by Labour - MPs would have been able to vote on ruling out a fresh referendum or a no-deal Brexit as well as setting a new withdrawal deadline of July 31 and approving a package of concessions made by the government.

Labour supporters of a people's vote called on Mr Corbyn to declare that he has reached the end of the road in pursuing the options set out in last autumn's conference motion and will throw the party's weight fully behind a Final Say referendum.

Former cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw said the move could staunch the "haemorrhage" of votes in the elections, with the most polls showing Labour dropping behind Lib Dems.
The German parliament voted yesterday to condemn as anti-Semitic a movement that calls for economic pressure on Israel to end the occupation of Palestinian land, grant Arab citizens equal rights and recognise the right of return of Palestinian refugees.

In a move welcomed by Israel, a majority of lawmakers in the Bundestag voted in favour of a motion to label the international Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement as an entity that uses anti-Semitic tactics to fulfil its political goals.

"The argumentation patterns and methods used by the BDS movement are anti-Semitic," read the motion submitted by Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, their Social Democrat coalition partners as well as the Greens and Free Democrats.

Securing Israel's survival has been a priority for Germany since the defeat of the Nazi dictatorship that committed the Holocaust, in which an estimated six million Jews were murdered.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the Bundestag decision in a statement on Twitter.

"I hope that this decision will bring about concrete steps and I call upon other countries to adopt similar legislation," he said in a statement on Twitter.

The BDS condemned the motion as anti-Palestinian.

"The German establishment is entrenching its complicity in Israel's crimes of military occupation, ethnic cleansing, siege and apartheid, while desperately trying to shield it from accountability to international law," it said on Twitter.

Lawmakers from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party abstained during the symbolic vote. They had submitted their own motion calling for a total ban of the BDS in Germany. That motion was defeated.

A majority of the far-left Die Linke party voted against the motion. The party also submitted its own proposal, which called to oppose the BDS and commit the German government to work toward a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on UN Security Council resolutions. Its motion was also defeated.

The latest battle between the BDS and the Israeli government has been over the Eurovision Song Contest final, which takes place in Tel Aviv today.

In the run-up to the event, the BDS has called on artists, music fans and broadcasters to avoid the event, arguing it amounts to "whitewashing" Israel's policies toward Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

With yesterday's Bundestag motion, Germany has effectively backed Israel's position that international boycotts are discriminatory and anti-Semitic.

The motion said a BDS campaign calling for Israeli products to be labelled with "Don't Buy" stickers was reminiscent of the Nazi-era boycott of Jewish businesses, known in German as "Judenboykott", which used slogans such as: "Don't buy from Jews."

Israel's ambassador to Germany, Jeremy Issacharoff, welcomed the Bundestag decision.

"It (the motion) has broader European significance given that BDS makes no attempt to build coexistence and peace between Israel and all of its neighbours," he wrote on Twitter.
Should a war with the United States break out Iran "will not be alone", a militant group has warned.

That message was delivered by the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah to a mass rally in Beirut in February marking the 40th anniversary of Iran's Islamic Revolution.

"If America launches war on Iran, it will not be alone in the confrontation, because the fate of our region is tied to the Islamic Republic," Hassan Nasrallah said.

Yesterday President Donald Trump said he hoped the US is not on a path to war amid fears that his two most hawkish advisers could be angling for conflict.

Asked if the United States was going to war with Iran, the president replied, "I hope not" - a day after he repeated a desire for dialogue, tweeting: "I'm sure that Iran will want to talk soon."

The tone contrasted with a series of moves by the US and Iran that have sharply escalated tensions in the Middle East in recent days. For the past year, National Security Adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have been the public face of the administration's "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran.

Expand Close Militant: Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah spoke in Beirut. Photo: AFP/Getty / Facebook

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Whatsapp Militant: Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah spoke in Beirut. Photo: AFP/Getty

An official with Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard yesterday warned Iranian missiles can "easily reach warships" in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Mohammad Saleh Jokar said Iran's missiles have a range of 2,000km and can attack any target in the region.

The escalating rhetoric has rattled members of the US Congress who are demanding more information on the White House's claims of rising Iranian aggression.

Congressional leaders received a classified briefing on Thursday, but many other politicians from both parties have criticised the White House for not keeping them informed.

From Lebanon and Syria to Iraq, Yemen and the Gaza Strip, Tehran has significantly expanded its footprint over the past decade, finding and developing powerful allies in conflict-ravaged countries across the Middle East.

Hezbollah is one of the most prominent members of the self-styled "axis of resistance", armed groups with tens of thousands of Shi'ite Muslim fighters beholden to Tehran.

Iran has used such groups in the past to strike its regional foes, and could mobilise them if the latest tensions lead to an armed conflict - dramatically expanding the battlefield.

Hezbollah, whose Arabic name translates as 'Party of God', was established by Iran's Revolutionary Guard during Lebanon's civil war in the 1980s.

Today it is among the most effective armed groups in the region, extending Iran's influence to Israel's doorstep.

Earlier this year, former US assistant secretary of state Jeffrey Feltman described the group as revolutionary Iran's "most successful export" and Tehran's "multi-purpose tool".

It was formed to combat Israel following its invasion of Lebanon in 1982. It waged an 18-year guerrilla war against Israeli forces, eventually forcing them to withdraw from Lebanon in 2000.

Six years later, it battled Israel to a bloody stalemate in a month-long war.

Today the group has an arsenal of tens of thousands of rockets and missiles that can reach deep into Israel, as well as thousands of highly disciplined and battle-hardened fighters. Hezbollah has fought alongside government forces in Syria for more than six years, gaining even more battlefield experience and expanding its reach.

At home, the group's power exceeds the Lebanese armed forces, and along with its allies has more power than ever in the parliament and government.

Despite the rhetoric, Hezbollah says it is not seeking another war with Israel, and it is unlikely to join in any regional confrontation - at least not in the early stages - unless provoked.

Hezbollah has lost hundreds of fighters in Syria, exacting a heavy toll on the Shi'ite community from which it draws most of its support.

Tensions rose dramatically on May 5, when Mr Bolton announced the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group would be rushed from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf ahead of schedule in response to "a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings", without going into details.
Chelsea Manning is being sent back to jail just seven days after her release - after being found in contempt for refusing to testify about WikiLeaks before a grand jury.

In a court proceeding in Virginia, the whistleblower was remanded by the US Marshals Service and will now return to prison.

She will also be fined $500 (447) per day after 30 days, and $1,000 (894) per day after 60 days.

Manning has already served two months at William G Truesdale Adult Detention Centre for a contempt charge regarding the same issue, but was released last Friday after the grand jury term expired.

This time she faces up to 18 months in prison, unless she agrees to cooperate sooner.

Manning has said she would rather stay in jail "forever" than testify to the grand jury, saying the subpoena was "an attempt to place me back in confinement".

The nature of the grand jury's probe remains unknown. It has, however, been convened at the same federal court where prosecutors recently filed charges against WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.

Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2013 for the unauthorised disclosure of classified materials made public by WikiLeaks in 2010. Her sentence was commuted by US president Barack Obama in 2017.

Assange was indicted in April on a computer hacking charge, and is currently in the UK where he is fighting extradition to the US to face charges.
A Texas man used a hacksaw to cut off his mother's head before fleeing and leading police on a chase into Oklahoma before they arrested him, authorities have said.

Isaac Israel Warriner, 22, is being held in a Denton County jail on charges including the abuse of a corpse.

He has not been charged with killing his mother, Sarah Warriner, 65, although authorities have not yet confirmed whether such charges could be coming.

Police in Denton, about 35 miles north west of Dallas, were called to an apartment complex on May 5 by a neighbour who said Warriner was "acting weird" and carrying around cleaning supplies, according to an affidavit.

Officers found his mother's headless body and the hacksaw inside the Warriners' unit. Her head was not found in the apartment and it is not clear whether it has been located.

Authorities believe Sarah Warriner had been dead for two days before her body was found.

Days earlier, a nurse at a Denton hospital called security when Warriner threatened to kill his mother and himself, according to the affidavit. It is not clear why he was at the hospital, but he left before police arrived.

Warriner was spotted in his mother's car on May 6 and led police on a chase up Interstate 35 into Oklahoma, where he was arrested and held before being returned to Denton.

His father Kenneth Warriner told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this month that his son suffered a mental breakdown a few months ago.

"She had allowed him to stay with her after his last rehabilitation stay," Mr Warriner said of his ex-wife. "He was prescribed psychotic drugs to try and help, but that didn't seem to work."
Supporters reach out to Matteo Salvini during the rally (Luca Bruno/AP)

Italys anti-migrant interior minister Matteo Salvini led a rally of right-wing populist leaders on Saturday seeking historic results in next weeks European Parliament elections.

Salvini, the head of Italys right-wing League party, has positioned himself at the forefront of a growing movement of nationalist leaders seeking to free the European Unions member nations from what he called Brussels illegal occupation.

He pledged to close Europes borders to migrants if the League wins not just the most votes of any party in Italy, but also of Europe.

Salvini was joined by 10 other nationalist leaders, including far-right leaders Marine Le Pen of Frances National Rally party and Joerg Meuthen of the Alternative For Germany party.

Expand Close From left, Geert Wilders, leader of Dutch Party for Freedom, Matteo Salvini, Joerg Meuthen, leader of Alternative For Germany party, Marine Le Pen, Leader of the French National Front, Vaselin Marehki leader of Bulgarian Volya party, Jaak Madison of Estonian Conservative Peoples Party, and Tomio Okamura leader of Czech far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (Luca Bruno/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp From left, Geert Wilders, leader of Dutch Party for Freedom, Matteo Salvini, Joerg Meuthen, leader of Alternative For Germany party, Marine Le Pen, Leader of the French National Front, Vaselin Marehki leader of Bulgarian Volya party, Jaak Madison of Estonian Conservative Peoples Party, and Tomio Okamura leader of Czech far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (Luca Bruno/AP)

It was a major tour de force for the expanding movement ahead of the May 23-26 vote.

Still, most of the tens of thousands of supporters that packed the square outside the central Duomo cathedral in Milan were there for Salvini.

League flags filled the square, with a smattering of national flags from other nations.

A short distance away, 2,000 protesters marched to protest against the right-wing gathering.

In front of the Duomo, Salvini railed against unchecked migration and decried Islam, saying it mistreated women.

He said Turkey would never be a part of Europe and rejected the label of extremists for the leaders with him.

In this piazza, there are no extremists. There are no racists. There are no fascists.

If anything in Italy and in Europe, the difference is between who looks ahead, between who speaks of the future  instead of making trials of the past, he said.

The far-right and populist leaders in Milan are making one of the strongest challenges to the European status quo in decades, united under an anti-migrant, anti-Islam, anti-bureaucracy banner.

It is an historic moment important enough to free the continent from the illegal occupation organised by Brussels for many years, Salvini said.

He accused European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker of betraying Europe  by constructing a Europe of finance and uncontrolled immigration.

Notably absent was the leader of Austrias anti-immigrant Freedom Party, Heinz Christian Strache.

He stayed at home to resign as vice chancellor after two German newspapers showed video of him offering government contracts to a potential Russian benefactor in return for support for his party.

Despite the political setback for a key member of the Europe of Nations and Freedom parliamentary group, Le Pen predicted the group will perform a historic feat, moving from the 8th place in Europe to third or maybe second among major political groups in the European Parliament.
Watson said she graduated with her high school equivalency degree eight years ago, and told herself she was going to graduate college one day.

Its been a long road, she said. My boyfriend washed a lot of dishes so that I could study at night. My teachers gave me a lot of encouragement and its really satisfying and emotional.

Samantha Golden, from Salisbury, wanted to show her two children  ages 13 and 7  what it was like to earn a diploma.

She said it was the support of her family that kept her going.

I want them to know that they can succeed in life, Golden said. You can be almost 30 years old, but just dont ever give up. For (my son) to see this, he didnt go to school today just to be here. I just want them to know that anything is possible. 

April Harter, from China Grove, was emotional when describing what it was like for her 9-year-old son to be in the audience when she walked across the stage.

She left high school because she got pregnant, yet returned to finish what she started.
When we say it's nice to see Bollywood finally is growing up-we don't mean in a condescending way. Instead, we mean that it's brave of filmmakers with the kind of choices they are making.

The choices are more inclusive, brave and diverse. While we have had a movie on same-sex romantic relationships this year, we have also had a film on woman warrior earning crores.

We have finally reached a point where stories are indeed the real-winners at the box-office and films don't really depend on A-listers to make money. We have picked 8 movies and shows that have raised the bar! We picked 8 stories that have been important for reasons more than one.

1. Photograph

Photograph is poetry in Motion. After giving us a gem like Lunchbox, Photograph is another gift from Ritesh Batra that is carefully wrapped in the beauty of day to day nuances and monotony. Starring Sanya Malhotra and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in lead roles, the film also belongs to Farukh Jaffer, who plays Siddiqui's Dadi in the film.

Their scenes together define perfection and there is much more than the film offers. The power of good content is outstanding and this is exactly one of the prime reasons why the film works perfectly in order to slip in and enter your heart. It's not exactly a love story but it's a story that portrays love, belongingness and togetherness like a beautiful photograph that you would like to hang in safely inside a corner of your heart. From some of the stunning shots that make Mumbai looks like a pivotal character in itself, Photograph is one of 2019's best films that deserves to be seen.

2. Made In Heaven

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Zoya Akhtar has been a blessing to 2019! Well, the filmmaker has taken a daunting task on herself-to tell real stories of people in the most compelling possible way. From treating homosexuality with the respect and sincerity it deserves and showing the ugly side of marriages, Made in Heaven is one of the most powerful shows of 2019.

Not just because it has its heart in the right place but also because it tells you everything without not saying much. Each and every character manage to show their real side by just being themselves which in itself is a rarity these days. The show is supported by a strong ensemble cast that includes Shashank Arora and Shivani Raghuvanshi and other pivotal guest appearances that includes Deepti Naval, Shweta Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Ayesha Raza, Rasika Duggal among others.

From Tara to Faiza to Aadil, even with all their flaws and imperfection, they are characters that were indeed made in heaven for Zoya's show!

3. Gully Boy

It's only fair that we hail Zoya Akhtar as the Queen of content for the first quarter of 2019. Be it Made in heaven or Gully Boy, as audience we have been on the receiving end of some amazing content.

Loosely based on the lives of underground rappers from Mumbai  Divine, and Naezy (Naved Shaikh), sketched and depicted the honest dichotomy of life, elitism and how it's only business to run behind our dreams to make it come true. Each and every character in the film was a revelation in itself and for all the reasons.

The entire soundtrack was a delightful experience for the audience. No matter if you're a Ranveer Singh or Alia Bhatt fan or not, watch this for each and every actor who has made this story come alive on the big screen.

4. Badla

As a first-time watcher of Badla, it is your duty to make sure you stay away from the spoiler and climax! Because the entire film is about the climax that will leave you shocked and amazed at the same time. Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu and Manav Kaul in pivotal roles, Badla just met all the expectations of every viewer who loves thrillers.

5. Sonchiriya

The movie was a big dud but it gives you no right to downright ignore this film directed by Abhishek Chaubey. Chaubey, who was the headliner of the Ishqiya franchise made an Indian Hindi action film with stellar cast that included actors like Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar, Manoj Bajpayee, Ranvir Shorey and Ashutosh Rana. While critics couldn't stop lauding the film for its brave attempt, audience failed to connect with the film. From Bhumi to Manoj Bajpaayee, each and every actor in the film got into the skin of their characters in the way that only they could. The story was established in the ravines of river Chambal valley and told the story of dacoits in 1975, who termed themselves Baaghis, the rebels.

6. Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota

Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota(MKDNH) is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film written and directed by Vasan Bala and produced by Ronnie Screwvala under his banner RSVP Movies. The film starred debutant Abhimanyu Dassani, Radhika Madan, Gulshan Devaiah, Mahesh Manjrekar and Jimit Trivedi in pivotal roles.

In a first, the film revolves around the story of a young man who has a rare condition called Congenital insensitivity to pain and strikes out on a quest to vanquish his foes. While critics had raving reviews on the film, again, the film turned out to be box-office dud.

7. Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga

It might not be the most perfect film of the year but we have several reasons why it's important to appreciate the efforts that went behind making this film! Directed by Shelly Chopra Dhar this for the first commercial film with A-listers that showcased the love-story of two women. Starring Sonam Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao and Juhi Chawla among others, this film deserves to be lauded just because it was made. The film revolves around the story of a girl who lives in Munger but has hidden the very fact that she is a lesbian. Then enters a story-teller who finds out his own way to tell the world that lesbian relationship deserves as much love and validation as any other couple does. The film tanked at the box-office but it was appreciated for the only reason that it bought LGBT issues in the forefront.

8. No Fathers In Kashmir

No Fathers In Kashmir is an Indian Hindi-English-Urdu-Kashmiri Language Drama film directed by Oscar Nominated Ashvin Kumar. Written by Ashvin Kumar, the movie starred Zara Webb, Ashvin Kumar, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Anshuman Jha, Natasha Mago. The story deserves to be seen because it manages to paint the most honest picture of Kashmir.

The story revolves around a teenage British Kashmiri, Noor,who retraces her roots in search of her father. She is joined by Majid, a local Kashmiri boy. But things take an ugly turn when they become involved in a 70 year old Kashmir conflict in one of the most deadliest parts of the world.

If there is one important story that you should be watching this year, it is No Fathers In Kashmir!
It has been five years since 11,000 candidates cleared the Uttar Pradesh Police recruitment exam in 2013 and they're yet to receive their appointment letters. "It has been six years but we have not been appointed yet. Even the candidates from 2018 batch have been appointed. If our demands are not heard we will commit suicide" one of the protestors said on Friday.

Another protestor told news agency ANI that they have approached Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, State Home Secretary and other concerned officials but of no avail.

Lucknow: Candidates who had cleared UP Police recruitment exam in 2013, staged protest outside DM office y'day. Say, "It has been 6 yrs but we haven't been appointed yet. Even the candidates from 2018 batch have been appointed. If our demands are not heard we will commit suicide" pic.twitter.com/Auc1Dp7Qtd  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 17, 2019

These candidates have also sought permission from President Ramnath Kovind for euthanasia after the state government failed to make them join the department despite a high court order.

twitter/ani

Narrating their ordeal, the protestors have threatened to commit suicide as no option is left with them.

"We had won the case in High Court. The court said that we are given appointment letters but it did not happen. We have met State Home Secretary, Chief Minister and DG-UP Police Recruitment and Promotion Board but to no avail. We have no other option but to commit suicide, also written to the President," a protestor said.

(With ANI Inputs)
afp/representational image

While the spacecraft to Venus will lift off with more than 20 payloads, the next decade will start with interplanetary missions  Xposat to study cosmic radiation in 2020, Aditya L1 to the Sun in 2021, Mars Orbiter Mission-2 in 2022, Lunar Polar Exploration or Chandrayaan-3 in 2024 and Exoworlds, an exploration outside the solar system in 2028. Read more

Here's more top news of the day:

1) Over 2,000 Tourists Stranded In Chilling Cold Near Manali As Massive Landslide Blocked Roads

toi

Over 2,000 tourists have been stranded in bone-chilling cold between Marhi and Chodah-Mor below Rohtang pass after a landslide blocked the highway at Chodah-Mor on Friday evening. Read more

2) NAANsense! Amritsari Chur Chur Naan And Chur Chur Naan Are The Same, Says High Court

Representational Image

A different kind of war has been going on in Delhi  the one over terms 'Chur Chur Naan' and 'Amritsari Chur Chur Naan'. The Delhi High Court said that there cannot be any monopoly over both the terms as they are completely generic. Read more

3) 20 Lakh Children Are Waiting For Schools To Reopen In Puri After Cyclone Fani Destruction

AFP

Close to two million children are staring at an uncertain future in cyclone-devastated districts of Odisha. On May 3, cyclone Fani made landfall in coastal districts of Odisha and ravaged several districts, leaving millions homeless. Read more

4) Six, Including A Priest, Sentenced To Life Imprisonment For Gang Rape Of 5 Women In Jharkhand

bccl/representational image

A Khunti court on Friday sentenced a Christian priest and five local youths to jail for the rest of their lives in the Kochang gang rape case involving five women artists of an NGO. Read more

5) 11,000 Candidates Seek Euthanasia As They're Yet To Get Appointed Despite Clearing UP Police Exams in 2013

twitter/ani

It has been five years since 11,000 candidates cleared the Uttar Pradesh Police recruitment exam in 2013 and they're yet to receive their appointment letters. "It has been six years but we have not been appointed yet. Read more
More than 190 million people in India stay hungry daily and it is definitely not by their own choice. We all are guilty of wasting food on a regular basis without an iota of thought for those who are in dire need of food. Taking note of their plight, a 'Roti Bank' is run by a charitable trust in Rajkot, Gujarat that provides food to patients in hospitals and the needy in the city.

A member of Bolbala Charitable Trust, J Upadhyaya, says his trust wants to ensure that no one sleeps on an empty stomach.

Gujarat: A 'Roti Bank' being run by a charitable trust in Rajkot provides food to patients in hospitals & the needy in the city. A member of the trust, says, "Wanted to ensure that no one sleeps on an empty stomach. Idea came after we saw videos of such banks in Bihar & Punjab." pic.twitter.com/PIR4Gh48sv  ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2019

"Wanted to ensure that no one sleeps on an empty stomach. Idea came after we saw videos of such banks in Bihar & Punjab", he was quoted to as saying by news agency ANI.

What this Trust does is that their vehicle cover areas of 50 KM daily to collect rotis from door to door. They collect over 3,000 rotis everyday.

"Our vehicle covers area of 50 km daily to collect rotis from door to door&collects over 3000 rotis every day.People who don't have food & patients in hospitals are provided by us.We provide complete meal. Want to start this in other places too", he told ANI.

J Upadhyaya, Bolbala Charitable Trust: Our vehicle covers area of 50 km daily to collect rotis from door to door&collects over 3000 rotis every day.People who don't have food&patients in hospitals are provided by us.We provide complete meal. Want to start this in other places too pic.twitter.com/y4c39eaoP6  ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2019

Not only in Gujarat, even in Kolkata, an NGO based out of the city is running a van with an automated roti-making machine, 'Apni Roti' and serving over 2,000 people every day.

"From August 2108 we started planning, and on January 1st we started the van. We wanted to serve something which would be really fresh and hygienic meal to the needy people", founder of Apni Roti, Vikas Agarwal said.
Whiskey has a variety of tastes, depending on how and what you brew it from, what you store it in, and for how long. But now, Microsoft of all things have helped produce a new brand of whiskey. They didn't even have a master distiller, so they created their own.

Microsoft recently offered the services its Azure cloud platform to Swedish distillery company Mackmyra Whisky, and technology brand Fourkind. What do those three companies have in common? Apparently a desire to create an AI that can brew the fine alcohol.

Images courtesy: Microsoft

The team used a combination of old-fashioned techniques like cask-aging, with a high-tech AI to design new flavours of whiskey. The distillery used Microsoft's Azure cloud platform to power its machine learning model. They trained it on data regarding the distillery's existing recipes, sales data, and customer preferences. The idea was to have the idea cross-reference all of these and come up with a recipe that would be a hit with consumers.

As Microsoft said in a statement, "With this dataset the AI can generate more than 70 million recipes that it predicts will be popular, and of the highest quality based on what kind of cask types there are in the warehouse."

Good whiskey normally spends a minimum of three years distilling in a cask, with a 12-year minimum for scotch. The type of wood used can change the flavour greatly, but there are plenty of other subtle details that can influence it too. That means there are potentially infinite ways to brew it.

The only way to test these out however is to make your recipe, allow it at least three years to age, and then try it out. And if the recipe is bad, you've just wasted all that time waiting to find out.

What this AI does then is reduce the risk of the waiting period. By comparing successful recipes with sales data and what customers say they like, the algorithm can come up with a new recipe that has a higher likelihood of turning out well. And since this is all technically being simulated within the AI, it's essentially hallucinating these recipes from the number chaos.

"We always strive to challenge the traditions in the very traditional whisky trade, and that's something we can really do now with the help of AI,"says Mackmyra Whisky's Master Distiller Angela D'Orazio. "For me as a Master Blender, it is a great achievement to be able to say that I'm now also a mentor for the first ever created AI whisky in the world."

It was only a matter of time before this happened after all. Give humans any technology and they're going to try and find a way to get high off it.
Despite all the medical advancements we've managed to develop, pregnancy and childbirth can still be a risk process.

So many things can go wrong with the mother or the baby. That's why some scientists are doing their best to eliminate some of those issues.

mondoart.net

Researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia are currently in talks with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They're looking for permission to begin testing artificial wombs within which they can let human embryos grow. And they want to do it in the next two years.

If they succeed, their work could revolutionise childbirth as we know it, and save thousands of children a year.

"If the [fetus] were in an artificial womb, it would become possible to access it and control the environment without restricting a woman's autonomy," University of Oslo philosopher Anna Smajdor told Metro. "So in some ways there could actually be benefits for the [fetus] itself."

Basically, a woman would be able to have a child of her own, without having to go through pregnancy or even have a surrogate. Instead of carrying a growing fetus around for nine months, it could be transferred to an artificial womb that would all the conditions of a healthy uterus for the baby.

First and foremost, this could allow for women with medical conditions to have their own children without requiring a surrogate. This goes for women with cervical issues, or a condition that makes their uterus inhospitable even if her eggs are fine.

But what most women that read this are likely to realise first is that this technology could let them retain their independence even during a pregnancy.

Think about how many women are forced out of their jobs by sexist management at their workplace, when they announce their pregnancy. How many find themselves unhireable after a months-long break during term. Even how non-working women find themselves restricted in the activities they can partake in because it's not safe, or healthy and such.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Heck, this sort of artificial womb would also probably let you enjoy a couple months more of casual drinking before you have to quit while breastfeeding. There's not yet a completely supplementary replacement for that unfortunately, but at least this is a start.

The next two years, if approved, will only see clinical trials for these artificial wombs however. If everything goes as planned, it would still take another ten or so years for these devices to be fully developed. But I guess you've got to start somewhere.
Mothers are known to walk that extra mile for their children and their positive attitude, patience and determination towards their kids is just commendable. To celebrate all these things and to give that extra attention to her, we celebrate Mothers Day every year.

This year, a Chinese boy expressed his love for his mother in the most adorable way. The nine-year-old boy, Guo Yifan, wanted to thank his mother for everything she'd done for him and decided to get a gift for his mother.

Yifan & His Mother - Pear

The little boy went to a jewellery shop in Liquan on May 12, 2019 with his two piggy banks and when Yifans mother chose the design she liked, Yifan smashed his piggy banks in the store to pay for the gifts. The child wanted to buy her a ring because he thought that she had no beautiful jewellery.

He had been saving the money for more than two years for the present. Yifan saved approximately Rs 15,270 for her.

Screen Grab - Pear

While speaking to Chinese news website Pear, Yifan said, "My mom works very hard and has no beautiful jewellery. (The idea of) buying a gift for my mother has been in my mind for a long time." He decided to buy a piece of jewellery for her on the occasion of Mother's Day to express his gratitude for her.

Yifans mother also said that she was really happy to have raised such a good son.

Screen Grab- Pear

A staff member at the store also told the website that he was surprised to see the child take out his piggy banks from his backpack to pay for the present.
To promote harmony and peace, Sikh trader Naranj Singh who is based in Pakistan is offering discounts to Muslims in Pakistan during the holy month of Ramzan.

His shop is in tehsil Jamrud of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where he sells all the necessary items at prices lower than those fixed by the governments Price Control Committee. A discount of Rs 10 to Rs 30 is offered on the original rate of edible items.

While speaking to PTI, Singh said that it is an act of charity. He also believes that his simple gesture will help promote peace among the Muslims and the minority Sikh community.

Representational Image - Rozana Spokesman

Most of the Sikhs residing in Peshawar are those whose families previously resided in different parts of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) but shifted to Peshawar and started a business, according to PTI.

Renowned Sikh activist, Charanjit Singh, was killed in his shop in Scheme Chowk area in the outskirts of the city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in May last year. Though it was not clear if it was a target killing or personal enmity.
A dog called Ping Pong who has just three working legs is being hailed as a hero in Thailand for rescuing a newborn baby that was buried alive by its teenage mother. The mother, reported to be no more than 15 years old herself, is said to have been hiding her pregnancy from her parents.

The dog was barking and scratching the ground of a field and alerted his owner, who then found an infants leg sticking up. Locals rushed the 2.3 kg baby to the hospital, where doctors cleaned the baby and he was declared healthy.

Ping Pong - Khaosod

The police reportedly said that they had arrested the mother and charged her with child abandonment and attempted murder. The parents of the teenage mother have offered to raise the baby.

Lt Col Panuwat Puttakam told the Bangkok Post that although the girl was underage, the police will charge her and she would be interrogated in the presence of child service workers.

The girl is now in the care of a psychologist and her parents because she is in great fear. She regrets what she did and said she acted on impulse without thinking it through. She feared her parents would find out she had been pregnant, the officer said.

Ping Pong & His Owner- Khaosod

Police officers are preparing to prosecute the mother but she is also a child and we must consider her mind and be professional. It is important that she is nurtured and treated fairly, said Wichian Chantharanothai, governor of Nakhon Ratchasima area.

He also informed that the baby survived because he was buried shallowly.

Ping Pong - Viral Press

Usa Nisaikha, Ping Pongs owner said that the dog lost his leg when it was hit by the car. I kept him because hes so loyal and obedient, and always helps me out when I go to the fields to tend to my cattle. Hes loved by the entire village. Its amazing, he said.

Good job, Ping Pong!
News of an elephant made headlines this year after a shocking video was shared by Moving Animals that showed underfed animals being forced to dance to rave music even play musical instruments in Phukets Zoo in Thailand. The elephant is now dead.



The charity also launched a petition to rescue the elephant and place him in a nearby animal sanctuary, the petition quickly got 200,000 signatures. The elephant was branded as the real-life Dumbo.

Moving Animals now revealed that the elephants back legs became so weak that they broke and he dies a week later.





Co founder of Moving Animals, said, "This is a tragic and horrific end to Dumbo's heartbreakingly-short life. His skeletal body clearly suggested that he was unwell and could be suffering from malnourishment and exhaustion. And yet the zoo did nothing until receiving international criticism.

Under their care, this baby elephant broke both of his back legs, and the zoo did not even realise for three days. I can't bring myself to imagine Dumbo's suffering during this time. For Dumbo to die whilst under the so-called 'care' and 'treatment' of the zoo shows just how neglected these animals are in captivity.

We hope that Dumbo is now finding the peace that he was so cruelly denied in his life, and that his tragic story will urge Thai authorities to finally put an end to these outdated animal performances."





The veterinary doctor who treated the elephant told The Phuket News, It was the worst. The doctor also said It was a horrible accident after his front legs became stuck in some mud while he was holding himself up with his back legs on dry ground.

She added, "First, he tried to lift himself out with his back right leg, but the bone was too thin and too brittle, and the stress on it caused it to break. So, he tried to push himself out of the mud with his back left leg, and that broke, too."

Moving Animals - Facebook

The zoo staff said that they managed to get him out of the mud but they didnt know that his legs were broken. He was treated by the zoos vet before being taken to the hospital. Zoo manager, Pichai, told The Phuket News that he was 'deeply saddened' by the elephant's death.

He said, "Nobody wants to lose something they love. We did the best we could do to protect him.''

Rest in peace, buddy!
A British tourist in Amsterdam was more than just elated when he found an amazing deal for an Airbnb. It cost Rs 9000 (100) for a night's stay. Ben Speller was elated to be able to get a chance to stay at the accommodation described in the Airbnb listing as a "clean room with private bathroom."

But to his horror, it was a shipping container illegally parked on the side of a road with a bed in it. The private bathroom was more a joke than a bathroom.

"We booked a hotel once we set eyes on it," Mr Speller posted on Facebook."To be fair, I got my 100 quids worth in comedy value," he added.

Speaking to the Sun Online Travel, Mr Speller said the host, Jacob, had warned him shortly before arrival that there was an issue with running water, before giving him an opportunity to cancel.

Ben said that Airbnb have since refunded him for the room and company have also paid him for stay in another hotel.

The shipping container was later towed away by the city, Dutch news website AT5 reported.

An Airbnb spokesman said: "We have removed the host and listings from our platform. Misrepresented or fraudulent listings have no place on our platform, and our team works hard to constantly strengthen our defenses and stay ahead of bad actors."
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

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Crystal azure waters, the sun-soaked island and the need to just lay back and relax  its this vibe of the Maldives that 25-year-old jewellery designer Ritika Ravi loves and takes inspiration from. The Chennai girl recently launched Ivar in Maldives, a sophisticated and elegant line after majoring in jewellery design at London College of Fashion. The designer who flies back and forth from the island, has been one-tracked about her vision  to work with handcrafted jewellery. So, as soon as she got back from London two years back, she dove straight into researching and developing the brand.

Ritika Ravi

With a flagship store at the St Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort, Ritika invested two whole years into the brand that she calls her baby, travelling and meeting different people on the way. I started designing the concept then, and also started looking for sources for the stones and manufacturers as well, says Ritika, who did her schooling at KFI in Chennai. Ivar, which is a reverse of her fathers name Ravi, has launched two collections  The 10.18 Collection and Troubadour. While the former is a stunning collection of bracelets, rings, necklaces and earrings in a combination of gems with white or rose gold, the latter is a vibrant collection that uses the best Indian enamel crafts in combination with gold. Theyre both very fluid and easy to wear, and both collections are inspired by Maldives  so while 10.18 has muted tones, Troubadour is more whimsical, and vibrant, she explains.

Pieces from the 10.18 collection

Ritika wanted to strike a balance between the contemporary world and traditional aesthetics, so she sourced gems like sapphire from Sri Lanka and polki from India, and put them together at her factory in Jaipur. I started with uncut diamonds, which is untreated and are in their purest form. No two stones are the same and theyre all made by hand, says Ritika. We also have multi-coloured sapphire, garnet and amethyst  their colours really have a summer feel going on. All of Ritikas pieces are made using traditional Indian jewellery techniques like meenakari. We also work with a lot of polki, explains Ritika. The designer is in the process of chalking out a pop-up in October in the city.

The 10.18 collection

Starts at `31,000 . Available online.
Tweeting about the incident, the 71-year-old actor wrote: Thanks for your concerns, but there is nothing to worry about.

I thought I was just jostled by the crowd, which happens a lot. I only realized I was kicked when I saw the video like all of you. Im just glad the idiot didnt interrupt my Snapchat.

The former California Governor who was hosting in Johannesburg, the annual Arnold Classic Africa, an international multi-sports festival asked organizers of the event not to press charges against the attacker who was immediately apprehended.

The attacker was also said to be known to police for similar incidents in the past.
Fani Kayode, a former minister of aviation says that the Emir Sanusi Lamido is being fought by the spirit of Gideon Akalula.

Gideon Akaluka was reportedly lynched and beheaded by a group of 1000 Muslims, who invaded the prison in Kano in 1994. Akaluka was said to have been dragged out of his, beaten mercilessly then beheaded for defiling the Koran. He was accused of blasphemy against Islam and sent to prison.

His head was said to have been paraded in the streets of Kano, while his headless body buried days after.

According to Fani-Kayode, the Emir should ask why such treatment was meted against the Christian trader.

He wrote: The spirit of Gideon Akaluka, the Christian who was dragged out of a Kano police cell in the 90s and beheaded by a crowd of savage jihadists for allegedly using a page of the Koran as toilet paper, is really fighting Emir Sanusi. Ask Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, as he then was, why?
New reports confirm the alleged attack of a Zimbabwe man by his wife for daring to interrupt her sex session with her alleged lovers. The husband allegedly caught her in bed with the men.

The man identified as Tinei Muchena was shocked when he walked into his home and caught his wife pants down with two men in their matrimonial bed.

Not bothered about what had happened, the wife still went on to stab him.

B-Metro, reports that the news surfaced after Nelia Ndlovu was hauled to court by her husband for allegedly assaulting him.

The court heard that on 29 April 2019, Muchena got home at around 8 pm and found two males seated on his bed. He went to ask what they were doing in his bedroom naked and sitting on his bed.

Ndlovu, his wife, however, got really angry with her husband for entering without knocking. A fight broke out causing Ndlovu to bring out a knife and stab Muchena on the right hand.

Ndlovu was sentenced to three months imprisonment by presiding magistrate Story Rushambwa.
Read his post below;

THE JOURNEY OF A CHAMPION (complete story)

8 months on from diagnosis, I am ready to share my story. Not for reasons other than to show the world you dont have to kill yourself when faced with challenges and how anything can be overcome if you really want to and if your mindset is a positive one. My name is Nosy Ude,and I am an ordinary guy.

On the 31st of September 2018 after having 5 surgeries and a biopsy, the pathology test done on the lymph nodes, came back positive. As one can imagine, it was a case of great shock and disbelief, for we all take for granted that this would never happen to us. Still, I had hope that it was just a benign mass and would not require aggressive treatment but I was wrong. After consulting with surgeons, Dr Uduezue (who in my opinion is one of the greatest medical professionals in existence and a true God sent individual) who referred me to the oncology department of UNTH where I met Dr Lasebikan who told me it would now require an aggressive and extensive combination of radiation and chemotherapy. My world turned up-side down, it literalilly came crashing, I couldnt believe what was happening. Having just gone through such number of surgeries, whence would I have the strength and blood to withstand such aggressive treatment?

To me, how could life be so cruel? I am just a young man in my prime with great physical shape and now this. This was truly proving to be the biggest test of my life and at first I didnt know if I would survive it or not.

Apart from the complication of a punctured lung and the infections that followed, I had other things to worry about. In November 2018 I began radiotherapy and chemotherapy, needless to say, I was terrified as my biggest fear had come true and now I had to face treatments that no one ever has anything good to say about but I kept the smile on my face so as not to cause stress to those around me who were trying to support me emotionally through this phase of my life.

Its been a battle, from then to this day, it has truly been demanding on my mind, body and my very being in every single way. It created a very big hole in my pocket, I think its one of the e most expensive treatment in the world. The first time I was told that Ill pay about 565,000 naira, I shook my head in total disbeleive. I tentatively asked how long it will last, the doctor told me that I will be coming for chemo every 3 weeks for 18 weeks. Jesus! I made a mental calculation of the sum total, where will I get that kind of money? Who makes 565k in three weeks? I am not a politician or a son of one. I dont have an uncle or aunt who is a politician, I dont even know anyone who knows a politician. Surprisingly, I was wrong. Money is actually about the least of your problems in this health situation. Chemo are not drugs, they are chemicals been pumped into your body. They knock you out for 6 days. 6 days of inactivity, 6 days of pains, 6 days of no appetite or desire to drink water. Nothing can cross your throat, you just want to lie down and be left alone. But then, you know your life depends on water especially. You need to drink water, lots of it or you end up damaging your kidney and liver. These are days of not wanting to get out of bed, not wanting to interact with anyone at all, some days not even wanting to be with yourself as strange as that may sound. The sleepless nights that run into weeks, the tears and selfloath.you will always cry even when telling your story. And you have the remaining two weeks to raise the money for the next treatment.

Losing weight, at this point, comes faster than the speed of light. Then, there is a radical change in complexion and all the hairs fall off and you look as plain and smooth as a calabash. A few weeks into chemo, you are hit by a cocktail of skin rashes called chemo rash. Now you look like a soursap, coarse outside and sour inside. You begin to have neuropathy, you cant feel any of your finger tips or toe tips but you will rather, feel a tingling sensation around them. I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the treatment is worse than the disease itself but you keep telling yourself its a small price to pay to still have your life.

I became diastemic, for several months, I couldnt look at the mirror because I was scared of the horrid image that would be staring back at me. I couldnt take selfies because I looked twice my age and I was tired of answering questions about my health. But then, why wont I look the way I look? Chemo drugs are not drugs, they are pure chemicals that, sort of, alter your DNA. I will never forget the first day I took them. I cant, and nobody can, describe the sensation. Its not pain, its something worse. As the chemicals go into your veins, its akin to hot oil flowing through all the blood vessels in your body. You feel like screaming but the sound wont come, you feel like urinating, you feel like defecating and you feel like jumping around all at once. Then you feel like scratching but you dont know where to scratch. I thought I peed on myself, I held my private part so that I wont mess the floor, but I never actually peed.

Right now, I look back and smile at what kept me going despite the quagmire I was in. An OAP here in Enugu asked me what actually orchestrated my determination to overcome this disease and what gave me the drive, the want to defeat the disease, where I could so easily have broken down and given in like so many others did. I held the studio mic a few seconds longer and told her the truth. I cant forget how hard and loud everybody in the studio laughed. She couldnt believe it. She asked me to repeat what I said and I did a tat slower. A beautiful girl I am crushing on walked up to me and said, Nosy,beat this desease and I will let you smash me all night.

As funny and stupid and unbelievable as that might sound, the thought of smashing that beauty all night long was actually one of the major reasons why I kept fighting even when my chances were slim. Some days were and still are absolutely horrid. There are days where I still break down and cry. Days and weeks when I slip into depression and then all seems lost and I question why me, why now, what did I do wrong in life? When will things go back to normal. But what is normal? Normal is accepting and learning to live with your current situation for you cannot change it, it is beyond your control and I have learned that.The important thing is to remember to allow yourself those days, for keeping those emotions inside is a stress thats far beyond manageable and thats exactly the thing thats detrimental. Then I remember the beautiful damsel that I am going to smash and I get envigorated and more determined to stay alive.

Im grateful for each day that I get to open my eyes and take another breathe, for everyday that I get to spend with the ones I care about and Ive learned that as much as its human nature to complain about little things, an experience of this sort will teach you to appreciate every little thing in life, a new perspective. Sometimes we have to learn lessons in life, nobody deserves a lesson like this, but if it comes, find the greater meaning behind it. It might occurred to you that you are special. Truth is, I can not wish the devil himself this experience.

The reason for sharing my story is not only to project my thoughts and emotions but more especially to show you, the reader, that God can make a way where it seems Im possible. Anything, whatever it may be, can be overcome so long as it is what you desire, it is what you fight for and something you never give up on life no matter how difficult it may seem. Find something that you love and hing your hope on it. Not necessarily smashing your crush, it could be the desire to tell your story to your kids or share a testimony, find something that stands for that ray at the end of the tunnel. I live with the hope and faith in the higher power that it will all end in praise. I dont have hope, I am hope, I am faith and I am a survivor.

Sometimes, which is actually most times, when I slide into depression, a portion of the Bible comes to mind. Psalms 118:18 He has punished me severely, but he has not let me die. I see no reason why He should punish me like this, so Ive made a resolution to make heaven at all cost. Not because I fancy wearing a white cloak and singing hosanna and hallelujah all through forever, but because I want to meet Him face to face and demand for an explanation and if I dont get a good reason, za a yi kachakacha a lahira.

So to those of you who are or have experienced something similar and you feel like there isnt much hope, dont give up, fight, for your light is around the corner. I know the financial implication is designed to selectively terminate the poor among us, matter of fact, once a poor person has this, he or she is on death row. Its just a matter of time. I once had N419.50 ( four hundred and nineteen naira) and a bill of almost a million naira to pay in two weeks.I looked up to the mountains from where shally help come? But just like Pac, I took it all with a smile. Positive outlook towards life and holding on to God, I guess thats the key. I know about the stigma (heartbreaking story for another day), I understand it. Someone once (maybe not intentionally) wanted to break my spirit, he asked, why would someone on chemo give thanks to God (because I quoted a part of the Bible that says give thanks in all situation). I laughed and said, I give thanks because I dont have to shave my pubic hairs and ampit again. Did I mention that I have been told that I can now shower? Yes, I mean have a bath. I havent done so for about 3 months or thereabout. I am on radiotherapy, so if water touches my radiated skin, it will turn black and pill off like a fire burn. You see, during the heat wave periods, I was actually been cooked inside. Even though I have gotten the green light, I am still scared of having a shower. But I will do that on 17th May 2019. Its a special day for me.

I cant thank everyone enough for always looking out for me, for the time and attention you gave me whenever I call to cry on your shoulder or ear. I use to think that hug was a white man thing, but that thought pattern has changed because sometimes, a hug can put me to sleep and I sometimes crave for it! I hope this makes a difference to someones day.

And about the the smashing thing, I wont answer any questions from your dirty minds. Lol.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has lauded the outgoing Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha, by describing him as an achiever who has delivered the dividends of democracy for his state in the eight years of his tenure as governor.

Osinbajo made this known while commissioning some project In Owerri earlier today.

His words:
Nnamdi Kanu Leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has said that the British will never trust the Igbos because they( Igbo) fought the British in actual war as opposed to the North controlled by the Fulanis that were subservient to the British.

The IPOB leader said this on Friday while speaking on Radio Biafra broadcast  Adding that the Biafra restoration project is insurmountable.

What he said

We must neither mutate nor mortgage our blissful future and that of the upcoming Biafran generation, no matter the attraction of temporal comfort.

We have come this far, staking our lives and all for this all-important project. The evolving developments in Nigeria are clear indications that we are close to the finishing line.

Our quest for freedom started not just in the 60s or 40s but in late 20s and before that in the first decade of the 20th century.

After Arochukwu fell to the British in 1904, seven sons from Aro left for Anioma to form the feared and much revered Ekumeku fraternity to continue a guerilla war against the British.

Come Thursday 30th May 2019, Biafrans both at home and in the diaspora will yet defy every odd to accord our heroes and heroines both living and dead, well-deserved honour and recognition for their priceless sacrifice in the Biafra restoration struggle.

This memorial will be accompanied by a total Sit-At-Home observance across Biafraland. The slain chose to fall that we may live and nothing less will suffice.

This is the reason why the British will never trust us. Compare that the British take-over of the north where they were welcomed and worshipped till date. Ironically we that fought the British in the actual war ended up as Christians whereas Fulani controlled north that was subservient to the British retained and even expanded their Islamic identity.

We are born with freedom in our DNA. We did not wake up one morning to hate Nigeria, they have always hated us. In November 1929 the British killed our mothers in Aba that dared to question their rule and punitive taxation.

This year is the 100th anniversary of their death and those that claim they are intellectuals in Igboland have all carefully forgotten because they dont want to offend their Fulani masters.

It has fallen on IPOB again to remind the world what the heroics of our mothers mean to us today. In November this year, we shall honour them.

Have we forgotten that our dear British that gave us Anglican Church shot dead 21 striking miners in Enugu on November 1949. One bystander was killed and 51 people injured. Nobody remembers them and that is why Fulani are still killing us today.

The coordinated resistance against the combined military invasion of Nigeria and her foreign mercenaries led by the British, lasted for a period of three good years (1967-1970), to the disappointment of the invaders, claiming not less than 3.5 million Biafrans including men, women, children and even the elderly. Biafran economy, properties/possessions, worth fortunes, were totally plundered by Chief Obafemi Awolowo. These are irrefutable historical facts.

Our people are steadily being marginalized, victimized, kidnapped, gruesomely murdered, pauperised and enslaved across the Nigerian contraption.

Incidents that prompted the Biafran armed resistance in defence of their people and homeland (territories) dating back between 1945 and 1970 are very much prevalent after over forty years of hypocritical unity/federalism.

Biafrans have over the years, variously sacrificed for the unfettered restoration of the sovereignty of their fatherland. I, alongside many others, within the IPOB global family have made and are yet making invaluable sacrifices despite life-threatening persecutions from the enemies.

Many of us have been extra-judicially arrested, imprisoned/detained and murdered in this struggle by the agents of the Nigerian state. Fulanis political merchants (saboteurs, traitors, and propagandists) both within and without, have persistently vilified me and the struggle in virtually all fronts, with abysmal failures hitting their every move.

All their evil strategies and enterprises will continue to suffer shame and disappointment because in the end we always win.

The much anticipated Biafra independence is quite imminent. The date and time heralding its declaration may not be known or determined but behold, it is in the horizon.

Biafra will be free and we must all get our eyes fixed on the ball for the appointed season of our glory
The solicitor representing the couple that had a pregnancy terminated at the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) after tests showed their baby had a fatal fetal abnormality said they must be at the heart of any investigation into the tragedy.

Caoimhe Haughey told RTE News yesterday that the couple was utterly, utterly mentally and physically devastated that test results which came back after the termination in March found that the baby did not have Trisomy 18, a chromosomal condition which is usually fatal.

Their loss and their grief is interminable, Ms Haughey said.

She said the couple would welcome an independent expert review of their case, with some degree of caution until they knew what the terms of reference would be and who would conduct the review.

We are adamant that a genetic expert must be on board, Ms Haughey said.

She said the couple wants answers, the truth, and transparency.

When the case came to light this week, it emerged the couple had made a complaint to the NMH in Holles St after they terminated the pregnancy at over 15 weeks on foot of a test which showed their baby had Trisomy 18.

According to reports, three tests were carried out, the third of which was sent abroad. The result of the third test came through after the couple had decided to go ahead with the termination. This higher-level test found the baby did not have Trisomy 18.

It is understood that informal discussions have taken place with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ROCG) in Britain with a view to it conducting a review.

A spokesperson for RCOG said: We can confirm the RCOG has not yet received a formal approach to undertake this review. Should an approach be forthcoming, this will be considered in the usual way.

A spokesperson for Health Minister Simon Harris said he believed an appropriate external review was warranted and it is important to await its findings.

The spokesperson said the ministers overriding concern is for the couple involved and respecting their privacy.

The NMH has said it cannot comment on individual cases.

Fergal Malone, Master of the Rotunda, told RTE radio that interpreting screening and diagnostic tests can be quite complex and he did not feel the case should undermine the publics confidence in such tests.

Prof Malone said the tests were very robust and well tested over decades.

Eilis Mulroy of the Pro Life Campaign said there had been a deep seated reluctance in Government circles to listen to the experiences of parents who had received a misdiagnosis for their unborn baby, where in many instances the baby turned out to be perfectly healthy.

The Minister for Health is duty-bound to do whatever it takes to minimise the chances of something like this ever happening again, said Ms Mulroy.

He should start by listening to the stories of parents who have no agenda other than to share their personal stories.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney said it was important that the family concerned are getting the supports that they need and that theres a full and independent investigation in terms of what happened, so that we can clearly understand what happened, and if there are policy consequences to that.

Genetic testing

CVS (chorionic villus sampling) is where cells are taken from the placenta via needle and sent to a lab for genetic testing. This is most commonly done at 10/11 weeks if there are blood test or scan abnormalities.

Results are back in 48 hours and are generally considered very accurate and frankly diagnostic, said Prof Fergal Malone, Master of the Rotunda.

Amniocentesis cant be done until 15 weeks, where cells are taken from the baby. It takes two weeks to get results and is considered 100% accurate.

The rapid test can give a false positive, as low as one in a 1,000, but still possible.
The partner of a motorcyclist whose death was caused by the dangerous driving of a van driver at a junction near Rathcormac, Co Cork, described it yesterday as a stupid waste of a young mans life.

Daniel Kelly, aged 54, of 3 Hillside, Rostellan, Midleton, Co Cork, was found guilty by a jury of dangerous driving on July 28, 2017, at Bridgelands East, Rathcormac, causing the death of Patrick OKeefe. He had already admitted the lesser charge of careless driving causing death.

He wrote a letter of apology to the family of the deceased who agreed to meet with him privately after the sentencing hearing.

Judge Sean O Donnabhain imposed a six-month suspended sentence on the defendant and disqualified him from driving for four years.

The late Mr OKeefes partner, Tina Carey, said in her victim impact statement: He has been cheated from the life he had built, the family he loved, and all because someone couldnt concentrate while behind the wheel of a vehicle.

A huge hole has been left behind for many to deal with. We are broken, devastated, and still bewildered at what has happened. Bottom line is Pa is gone, he cant come back.

Patrick was a man of 35 the day he was killed. He was my partner and we had been together for 16-and-a-half years. He was a dad, a son, a brother, and a friend to many.

Patrick was a hardworking man who loved the craic. He was always there to lend a helping hand to whoever needed it and is a big loss to his family and community where he did a lot of fund-raising for people. He loved his job as an electrician and loved a challenge and in the last few years he was the main drive behind the Hillbilly Mud Run in Mitchelstown.

Pa loved his family. He loved life and lived everyday to the full. He never stopped and he had the heartiest laugh. Sometimes I still think I can hear him laughing.

I am gone from planning our future to being a lone parent of three boys.

I know life goes on, as so many people keep telling me but it doesnt mean its easy. We have lost our future together, growing old together, doing our travelling and enjoying our kids together. We have been robbed.

Judge O Donnabhain said the defendant emerged from a byroad on to the old Dublin-Cork road at Barrys Bridge outside Rathcormac. The judge described it as a difficult junction and all the more so on this occasion as the defendant was turning right on to it.

The defendant was faced with an oncoming van turning into the byroad as he was driving on to the main road. That caused Mr Kelly to think his path of travel was free. But there was  outside the turning vehicle  a motorcycle on which the unfortunate deceased was riding. It had fatal consequences.

The act of emerging when he could not have known his way was clear was dangerous.

The judge said that while the defendant pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving, he always admitted careless driving causing death, thereby admitting his wrongdoing.

The judge added that there were absolutely no aggravating factors such as speed or alcohol.

The judge said the late Mr OKeefe did everything correctly, being on his correct side and not speeding and yet he was killed.

It is a salutary lesson to everyone who sits behind the wheel  we are all casual and neglectful in our driving on occasions, the judge said.

Seamus Roche, defending, said the accused had no previous convictions, worked hard, and was of good standing in the community.
A drug dealer who carried out his business in a rent-free apartment in Cork City showed no remorse for an attack on a student in a nightclub where he struck him with a bottle and kicked him in the head when he was on the floor.

Gabriel Olatunbosun, aged 22, whose parents came to Ireland from Nigeria when he was three years old, was jailed for four and a half years yesterday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Gardai said the young man showed no remorse to the victim of a serious assault.

Even as evidence was being given of his lack of remorse in court, the young man was smiling in the dock.

Several friends attended court for the sentencing hearing. When the accused was being taken away to commence his sentence of four and a half years, one of his friends called out to him from the public area of the court: Hey Gabs, a little holiday.

Judge Sean O Donnabhain said of the assault on November 23, 2017, at The Bowery nightclub in Cork City: It was a completely unprovoked and vicious assault.

Det Garda Brian Murphy said, He did not show any remorse whatsoever. He appears to have no regard for the consequences.

Donal OSullivan, defending, said that from speaking to the defendant, it was clear that he was remorseful.

Detective Garda Declan Keane objected to bail being granted to the accused man earlier in the week at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on drugs charges, for which he was also sentenced yesterday to the total term of five and a half years with the last year suspended.

Detective Garda Declan Keane charged Gabriel Olatunbosun with having MDMA (better known as ecstasy), cocaine and cannabis for sale or supply to others at an apartment at Dun Na Laoi on Union Quay, Cork, on October 8, 2018.

Det Garda Keane said the drugs offences dated back to October 8 and that weeks earlier he had sentencing in a case of assault causing harm adjourned from September 19.

Det Garda Keane said officers went to the apartment at Union Quay with a warrant and they found drugs with a street value of 6,000, mixing agents, tick lists, weighing scales, small bags and 3,900 in cash.

The defendant made full admissions saying he had 50 or 60 customers in Cork City and he was selling cannabis by day and cocaine and MDMA by night.

Peter OFlynn, defence counsel in the drugs case, said the defendants parents left Ireland for Canada but that he returned to Ireland as he regarded it as home.

Judge O Donnabhain said in reference to the defendants own admission that he was making 4,000 a month selling drugs in Cork, It was more than the call of Fairhill that kept him from Canada.

Det Garda Keane said the accused was making so much money drug dealing that he did not bother holding down a job he had in a call centre and did not even sign on for approximately 200 a week in social welfare, to which he would have been entitled.

The judge said the drugs find and the nature of the accoutrements found in the defendants apartment suggested he was actively and significantly involved in the provision of drugs in Cork City.
For decades, they came from the highways and byways, seeking love and companionship  many of them bachelor farmers  but Cupids arrow has struck for the last time from the shrine at Knock, Co Mayo.

Since 1968, Knock Marriage Introductions has matched almost 1,000 couples, but a combination of online dating services, along with a general decline in marriages, has forced it to close its doors.

Fr Stephen Farragher, director of the service formerly known as Knock Marriage Bureau, said there had been a noticeable decline in demand to the point that it is no longer viable to run the service.

Marking St Valentines Day this year, chief matchmaker Leona Connery said that, last year, just two people got engaged and none married, although they had around the same number of applications as the previous year  around 160.

Now marriages are down though people are in long-term relationships. They are not rushing into marriage, she told CatholicIreland.net.

The annual subscriptions from clients who have used the service have had to be supplemented in recent years by donations from dioceses around Ireland, said Fr Farragher. Obviously this is not sustainable long term. It is for these reasons that the board of directors of Knock Marriage Introductions have decided at a recent meeting to wind down the agency.

We do so with heavy hearts, but happy in the knowledge that at least for 960 couples, it played a part in helping them to become husband and wife.

Knock Marriage Introductions was established in 1968. A branch of Catholic Action, it worked on the basis that all applicants were free to marry and seeking a Catholic marriage. That always meant no divorcees or separated people.
Update 4.12pm: Agnes Smith has been found safe and well.

Update 3.04pm: Gardai said they are "very concerned" about a woman who is missing from Co Louth.

Agnes Smith, 47, is missing from Drogheda since yesterday.

She is 5'3", with brown hair, of large build with blue eyes.

When last seen Agnes was wearing a long wine coloured cardigan, black leggings, and wine coloured ankle boots.

She is believed to be carrying a black handbag with a silver circle shaped ring on the front.

Gardai have asked for anyone with information to contact gardai in Drogheda on 041 987 4216.
Update: The Housing Minister has said a change to planning guidelines on the height of buildings will help with the housing crisis.

Eoghan Murphy has acknowledged that thousands of new apartments are needed to tackle the issue.

Latest CSO figures show an increase in the number of home completions in the first quarter of the year.

The guidelines on height and density were amended last year.

Minister Eoghan Murphy says the measure is aimed to improve housing availability across the country.

He said: "While last year we changed the planning guidelines so people could build a lot higher and also increased the densities as well, not just in city centres and not just in Dublin but also around transport corridors too.

"What we are trying to do is, yes, allow for very tall buildings that can have many functions from retail to commercial to residential. But actually it's about increasing the shoulder height across the city, that's how you really achieve density."

Earlier: Co-living needs to be part of solution to solve housing crisis, says Minister

The Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy has insisted that co-living is part of the solution to addressing supply issues.

The model provides en-suite bedrooms with shared, communal living areas and is similar to student accommodation but aimed at young, working professionals.

New figures from the CSO this week show a 23% increase in home completions in the first quarter of this year.

However, opposition politicians have been highly critical of the government's policies.

Minister Murphy says we need to start building the right type of homes.

"The challenge we face at the moment, as supply is increasing, is becoming more of a question of not increasing supply, which is happening now quite dramatically, but what we're building and where," he said.

"It becomes more of a planning issue. So as we increase supply, we have to make sure we're building the right types of homes.

"That means student accommodation, it also means accommodation for the elderly. It also means places to rent.

So what we're doing with co-living is bringing around another option, another choice for people, if they choose to go for it.

"In the guidelines that we have published, it's about bringing forward apartments with some co-living space as well," he said.
I walk into The Hibernian Hotel on Main St in Mallow 15 minutes before the scheduled interview time. Its the start of summer and the place is teeming with First Holy Communion kids and their families.

I ask at the front desk if theres a quiet place to meet someone, explaining Im doing an interview. Oh are you meeting Stefanie Preissner? Shes in the bar, says the staff member, adding with pride that Stefanie is famous.

I walk in expecting to meet someone who is a bit weary given I watched her on The Late Late Show the night before and I know shes been signing books in Eason for a few hours, but instead she jumps up to greet me.

Shes absolutely buzzing from her book signing and being welcomed back to Mallow like a returning hero; people want to share in her success.

Stefanie was Munich-born but Mallow-raised, having returned to Cork with her mother aged four. She graduated from University College Cork with a BA in drama and theatre studies and Spanish.

Alongside her career as a screenwriter and playwright, she has won several awards as an actor. Shes the creator of Cant Cope, Wont Cope (if you missed it on RTE, you can watch it on Netflix), her first book Why Cant Everything Stay the Same? was an Irish bestseller. Her latest book, Can I Say No? One Womans Battle with a Small Word, is published by Hachette Ireland.

We joke about how committed she is to saying no that she told The Late Late Show audience that if they already had a stack of unread books then say no to this book, and not to feel the pressure to say yes just because they thought they should read it.

Stefanie is incredibly comfortable with who she is, she says what she thinks, not what you (or her publisher) wants to hear.

Within a few minutes, Stefanie has mentioned her mother and grandmother, two strong influences on the woman she is today. Her nana is Instagram famous among Stefanies followers, and is also her link to this part of the world  shes from Kanturk.

This community in Mallow means so much to her. She talks about the people who showed up to support her at the book signing earlier that day.

Theres a sense of community here that I definitely wont be seeing anywhere else on this book tour, she says.

Her cheerleaders turned out in force today  teachers from my old school, the cleaner from my old school, friends, parents of friends who moved away  as she signs books for sons and daughters that will be packaged up and sent to America and Australia. Stefanie smiles as she speaks about her hometown and the welcome she has received.

She still references Mallow as home even though she is creating a new one in Dublin, its the eternal conflict of growing up in a small town and moving to Dublin. Mallow is where all of my history is, all of my heritage, my friends and the people who believe in me and thats what makes a home.

Stefanies mother put down roots in Mallow when she returned from Germany, buying and running a stationary shop in the town  it was a hub of activity on a Sunday after Mass where people would come in to buy newspapers but also talk about the news. She really felt like she belonged there and was part of something bigger.

Author Stefanie Preissner meets and greets people at her book signing at Easons, Mallow, Co. Cork. Pic: Gavin Browne

She describes the day of Princess Dianas funeral when, Mam took our television out of our home and into the shop and there were all these people standing around with arms crossed. They had TVs at home but wanted the warmth and support of sharing it collectively.

And its recognising the importance of and the need for these shared experiences that drives Stefanies approach to writing.

As a screenwriter I feel an intense responsibility to pre-empt life experiences and give people options to navigate through tricky situations, she said.

It is this sense of responsibility that led Stefanie to fight with an exec on the second season of Cant Cope, Wont Cope over the fact that lead character, Danielle didnt have a love interest. That season covered a period of seven weeks and they considered it unrealistic for a woman not to have a romantic interest in the time span.

I dont want to contribute to the narrative that is based on and propagates an underlying assumption that you are not whole if youre not in a romantic relationship.

It was about friendship and that needed to be the focus.

Thinking that everyone else is having a different experience because youve seen it on screen can be quite damaging.

Theres a slow but deliberate shift in how female characters are being portrayed in books and on screen because writers like Stefanie are creating the stories they and others want to read and see.

We need more scripts that focus on female friendships. Yes, they are so important but also very tricky to navigate, there is no clear-cut way of breaking up with a friend as there is with romantic relationships.

We just dont have the templates or scripts that help us to deal with these very real situations  often when female friendships are written in scripts, they are romanticised and unrealistic.

We need realistic versions, now more than ever. We can do a lot to help young peoples coping mechanisms and mental health by giving them more examples on navigating friendship that isnt romanticised.

Stefanie has recently bought her first home in Dublin and is building a new sense of community. Its very different to her Mallow support network but it is simply adapting to a newer way of living.

Stefanie felt the pressure of doing a book tour and knew she wanted to look the part so she reached out to her community.

Up stepped Amy Huberman and Sile Seoige with advice and dresses  they actually sent her dresses. Now they are good friends. Her honesty means she doesnt find it difficult to make friends.

Im very clear about what I need.

When you dont live in a small town but need a small-town community, you can just create your own  and thats exactly what Stefanie has done.

Her books and screenwriting appeal because they have a familiarity to them, you find yourself nodding while reading or watching because she has an ability to articulate our hopes and fears in an honest and often hilarious way. In a way her writing is a sort of coming home for all of us where we feel a bit more supported, understood and free to say no... or yes.
The title is taken from Federica Garcia Lorcas poem Cancion de Jinete and the poets work permeates the novel as a motif and it is his unsolved murder which sparks off the plot of this thriller. However initially, theres a sort of fug of too many characters: nationalist, internationalist and Spanish, blocking the story from freeflow.

There are longueurs and consecutive streams of minutiae such as page-long descriptions of rolling a cigarette. And, regarding a minor character a volunteer from Catalonia Josef Aixala, do we need to know that the rows of buttons studding the breeches gave his calves the strange outline of an overgrown insect?

Such writing is over-indulgent. However, it is worth persevering to the final third of the novel when emotions and tensions are ratcheted up as two detectives on opposing sides go in pursuit of the murderer of Lorca.

It is July 1937 when Martin von Bora, a German agent and detective is assigned to the nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War. A lover of Lorcas poetry, he is shocked when he discovers the body of the poet on an Aragonese mule track with a bullet wound in the back of his neck. Mystified, he proceeds to investigate.

The more he does so the more he begins to question his nationalist colleagues and suspects they have had a hand in the poets death. They were suspicious of Lorcas possible republican sympathies, and as the poet was gay, other motives for his killing could have been attributed to homomphobia.

Parallelling this on the republican side is American volunteer and war veteran Philip Walton who had befriended Lorca when the poet visited New York in 1929. The two men were to meet the night the poet was murdered, and Walton too begins to probe for factual insights into the circumstances of the death of Lorca one should consult Ian Gibsons monumental biography of the poet.

With their common goal, the inevitable meeting of Walton and Bora takes place and, despite their opposing ideologies, a strange chemistry evolves between them. They make love to the same woman: the strange Remedios who is reputed to have prophetic powers and is referred to locally as a bruja or witch.

Also with their mutual admiration of Lorca, both men begin to question the morality of war itself.

Bora says, quoting the poet:

Little black horse/where are you taking/your dead horseman

One feels however that there is sometimes a forced gravitas imposed by the author on the novel and not entirely earned with Bora, who also quotes from philosophers such as Kant, in his existential preoccupations written in random diary entries. Ben Pastor is the pen name of Maria Verbena Volpi. She was born in Italy and lived and lectured for many years in America.

Writing in English, she is capable of some wonderful lyrical descriptions in the novel particularly of the arid Spanish landscape and shows profound knowledge of historical and military matters pertaining to the Spanish Civil War. She is also gifted in being able to perceive the world in its sensuality through male eyes.

For example, when Bora is with Remedios and, fearing he is going to die, he finds her waist, her hip, a curve like a snowdrift he could huddle against and be safe.

What is unconvincing is, after his infatuation with Remedios for whom he would scale mountains, Bora will just up at the end and return to marry his little known German girlfriend Dikta on the basis of scant communication and only one letter received from her while he was away.

www.jameslawless.net

The Horsemans Song, Ben Pastor, Bitter Lemon Press, 11
Design label Orlebar Brown accessed the official Bond archive to recreate iconic looks for a new 007-inspired line, writes Paul McLauchlan.

When it comes to James Bond, the images that spring to mind are the various actors whove assumed the role as the super spy, the many women who have been the object of his desire, the nefarious villains hes combated, but also, the scenes of Bond emerging from swimming pools and oceans in swimming costumes. Swimwear is an unlikely but integral part of the Bond universe and this summer, men have the opportunity to try their hand at a Bond moment.

Orlebar Brown has just launched a ready-to-wear capsule collection inspired by Bonds most famous outfits. From Sean Connerys blue all-in-one from Goldfinger (1974) to board shorts emblazoned with the Moonraker (1979) promotional poster, creative director Adam Brown covered all bases.

The first capsule was introduced in 2018. It used archive film poster imagery of the film series on the Bulldog style, a tailored swim short. Brown said it was, one of our fastest selling collections to date. It featured artwork from four films - Dr. No, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, and Live and Let Die.

The second capsule, released this week, is more elaborate expanding to the periphery of swimwear  light sporty jackets, shirts.

We were lucky enough to get access to the official Bond archive to recreate these iconic pieces for the present day.

The collection is replete with fabrics inspired by those that were worn in the films but ones integral to Orlebar Brown including towelling, linen, and merino.

When Brown launched the label he had already included Sean Connerys turn as Bond and the associated swimwear iconography on his first mood board. In essence, it is one of the most memorable moments in cinematic history. Hence, the partnership with EON Productions was a no-brainer. It just seems so natural and never forced, he told the Irish Examiner.

The foundations of the collaboration were laid in 2012. It started when Daniel Craig wore our shorts in Skyfall. It highlighted the real synergies between Orlebar Brown and Bond. The reaction to Daniel Craig wearing our shorts was incredible and then really it was by looking at both ours and his DNA and values.

"The fact he is intrinsically British but ultimately international, his spirit of adventure, the humour and of course the style. After the success of the film, we began talking with EON productions and are excited for it to now be available to our customers.

Orlebar Brown isnt the only brand to hew on the Bond universe. Italian intimates specialist La Perla made the tight trunks Bond, played by Daniel Craig, wore when he glides out of the clear waters in the Bahamas in Casino Royale (2006). Sunspel also worked on Casino Royale. In 2012, they partnered with Bond costume designer Lindy Hemming to produce an iteration of Sean Connerys blue trunks from Thunderball (1965) for the Designing 007  Fifty Years of Bond Style exhibition at the Barbican Centre in London.

Amongst the standout pieces in the collection are the aforementioned blue one-piece in towelling from Goldfinger which has been updated to suit a modern man  the fabric is lighter, the fit is more tailored but the novelty remains. How better to arrive at the beach this summer than in a blue one-piece? A tongue-in-cheek outfit made practical for the modern day.

Another is a towelling twist on the velour FILA jacket worn by Roger Moore in 1985s A View To a Kill, or a safari jacket twist on Moores shirt from Bonds jaunt to Thailand in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).

Brown said:

Of course, the riviera blue all-in-one from Goldfinger is getting a lot of attention, but my personal favourites are for sheer style the white linen pleated evening shirt inspired by the one worn by George Lazenby in On Her Majestys Secret Service, or the green safari jacket was worn by Roger Moore in The Man With The Golden Gun

In an interview with the Financial Times, Brown declared the younger customer is urban, earning a decent salary for the first time and going on holiday, maybe renting a villa with a group of friends.

The collection is likely to attract the nostalgia-tinged gaze of the Instagram generation. But equally, the core customer at 40 years old could be led by similar desires, reminiscing over their childhood or adolescent experience with the Bond franchise.

La Perla also entered the Bond domain designing Daniel Craigs trunks in Casino Royale

Creative director Adam Brown and his former business partner Julia Simpson-Orlebar founded Orlebar Brown in March 2007 when they noticed a gap in the swimwear market. In order to electrify the market, they needed to provide the customer with aspirational luxury, a contemporary spin on vacation dressing.

The label counts Leonardo DiCaprio, David Cameron, Jay-Z and more as celebrity fans. Twelve years later, while Orlebar Brown is prized for their clever take on swimwear, the majority of their sales come from other brand pillars  they offer a wide range of outerwear, accessories, footwear. The brand also produces kidswear. In September 2018, Chanel acquired the business for an undisclosed sum.

The French luxury house, worth upwards of 10 billion, has a history of buying luxury businesses including the high-end womens swimwear brand, Eres. Eres now sits comfortably alongside Orlebar Brown in Chanels portfolio, allowing both brands to synergise their respective bricks-and-mortar and online capabilities. At the time, Brown said of the acquisition, in Chanel, we have found the perfect home for the brand to continue to thrive and grow.

What attracts men to Orlebar Brown?

Brown states his mission is to provide men with a sense of escapism. As soon as they make the purchase, it is as if they are already jetting off to some far-flung destination.

The price point is elevated for swimwear.

The Bond collaboration starts at 145 which is considerably more than most outlets will charge for swimming trunks. But Orlebar Brown distinguishes itself by concerning itself with the same practices as a tailor. The Bulldog style, for example, is based on the traditional pattern of a mens suit trouser. With a shaped waistband, rear darts and adjustable gold side fasteners for a superior shape and fit, the shorts come with net lining for comfort and security.

Orlebar Browns collaboration marks the first time a brand has produced a full line of ready-to-wear garments inspired by the films. If anything, the collaboration offers men the opportunity to partake in something bigger than themselves, absorb the characteristics of the Bond universe, and indulge in the summer sun bedecked in outfits originally worn by the worlds most famous super spy.

Brown said: We all love his sense of adventure, the gadgets, his international lifestyle as well as the whole heritage of Bond, his sense of style, the way it has evolved over the years.

The collaboration touches upon many of the various moments in Bond history giving it a generation-less appeal.

I think probably most of us secretly have had moments when we wonder what it might like to be him  and now we can.

Orlebar Brown x EON Productions starts at 145. It is available at www.orlebarbrown.com plus selected department stores globally
I still remember the moment when I first figured out that the books I adored didnt magically appear out of thin air; there was a real-life person behind those stories.

I immediately took pen to paper to write a letter to the writers of my favourite novels and explain how much their work had meant to me. Devastating realisation #1: St Clares Boarding School didnt exist and therefore I couldnt enrol immediately. Devastating realisation #2: Some of my most beloved authors  Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, and CS Lewis  were dead and there would be no more books left to devour once I had finished their respective back catalogues.

I often wonder what the impact on me would have been if wed had such an author visit our school when I was a child. Would it have made a career as a writer seem more realistic, more accessible somehow? And would I have been brave enough to raise my hand to ask a question? (Friends of mine who write for younger children tell me of the hilarious questions they receive during school visits  Are you a millionaire? is a popular one, as is Do you know JK Rowling? and Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?)

Im thinking about this because I spoke at a school event in Cork city recently, a rarity for me these days but something I very much enjoy.

Whenever I speak to young people about my work, I try and debunk some of the mythologising that takes place around careers in the arts. Yes, its a privilege to make a living doing something I enjoy, but most artists I know are very ordinary people living ordinary lives.

I explain my background to the students, telling them of my parents butcher shop, my sisters job as a primary school teacher, my middle-class upbringing in a small town in west Cork.

I didnt know anything about publishing before I wrote my first novel, there were no writers in my family, I didnt have any contacts or inside information. The basic message is  if I can do it, then anyone can.

There is nothing special about me, nothing that is inherently different about my life than any one of the students sitting in front of me. I believe that we are all unique and that we are all worthy of love and respect, but Im beginning to think that this idea of specialness can only exist if we believe in a hierarchy, that some people are more deserving than others.

That feels exclusionary to me, particularly in something like the arts, where taste is so subjective. (Not forgetting that what has been deemed good art for years was determined as such by straight, white, male critics.)

Talent is obviously important but talent cannot be sustained without a good work ethic. Before I left my job at ELLE magazine, I asked an editor there what she thought was the reason for her success.

There were certain elements of her meteoric rise that were obvious  besides being legitimately talented at what she did and well-liked, she was a thin, white woman in a society that unfairly rewards those attributes  but she told me, all things being equal, the reason why she had advanced when some of her peers had not was simply because she never gave up.

She kept working, no matter how difficult the route forward appeared. I often joke in this column about my love for Beyonce. I find it difficult to trust people who say they dont get her. Whats not to get?

Shes the best performer alive today, her artistic vision, both musically and visually, is unparalleled, and shes a hugely important cultural touchstone for women, especially black women. But it was while watching Homecoming, her Netflix documentary about the now legendary performance she gave at the Coachella music festival in 2018, that I truly understood something about Beyonce. She isnt the GOAT [greatest of all time] because of her voice or her dancing ability or her beauty, although all those things certainly didnt hurt her career.

Beyonce is the greatest of all time because of the work. In preparation for Coachella, she was back in the studio two months after giving birth to twins (while pregnant she suffered toxaemia, high blood pressure, and preeclampsia, and had to undergo an emergency C-section) rehearsing fifteen hours a day for eight months while breast-feeding the twins. Beyonce will go down in history, not because of her god given talents, but because she works hard. That is what makes her great.

Of course, not everyone wants to be great  and thats OK. Theres a huge difference between a job (something you do to pay the bills), a career (a profession you deem important and want to progress in), and a vocation. I would advise any young person reading this today to figure out which of these three paths they want to take once they leave school, remembering that none is more valuable than the other. Choose the path which will bring you the most contentment, not that which will impress your friends and family.

However, if you want a vocation, there are sacrifices to be made. If you want to be great, get ready to work.

Louise Says

READ: Ive been making my way through the shortlist for the 2019 Womens Prize.

Ive already told you of my love for Anna Burnss Milkman, but two of my other favourites on the list are My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithewaite, a darkly funny satire, and An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. The latter, a story about a young, black couple torn apart when Roy, the husband, is wrongly convicted of a crime he didnt commit, is moving and thought-provoking.

LISTEN: Eve Clague, a young musician from West Cork, has just released her debut EP. Titled Young Naive Me, its urban folk at its finest, showcasing the Clonakilty natives gorgeous vocals.

Louise O Neill is the author of Only Ever Yours, Asking For It, Almost Love, and The Surface Breaks
The high cost of locking up low-level criminals for long periods began to bite, writes Michael Clifford.

THE Supreme Court this week dealt a blow to the politics of acting the clown.

On Wednesday, the court issued a ruling about mandatory minimum prison sentences.

The court ruled that a mandatory minimum sentence for the possession of a firearm on a second offence was unconstitutional. The challenge to the law was taken by Wayne Ellis, Landen Road, Ballyfermot, in Dublin. He had received a five-year term, the minimum that could be imposed under a 2006 law, for possession of a shotgun.

The opinion of the judges was that the law impermissibly crossed the divide of the separation of powers. In other words, the politicians had taken it upon themselves to nip over to the courts and take up the role of judges.

And why wouldnt they? The body politic foams at the prospect of imposing mandatory minimum sentences (MMS). They tie the hands of sentencing judges, obliging the imposition of a minimum prison term for specific crimes, irrespective of all circumstances.

To use the phrase de jour, mandatory sentences are the perfect instruments of virtue signalling. Uttering the phrase mandatory minimum sentences marks a politician out as somebody who is tough on crime, in solidarity with the victim, and mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.

Frequently, a TD will stand up in the Dail and declare that a particular crime can only be properly tackled with the introduction of a mandatory sentence.

To disagree with such a declaration is to risk being labelled soft on crime.

This, in turn, will lead to political opponents on the doorstep referencing the soft deputys softness.

So, its really a race to come up with the latest crime that merits an MMS and daring anybody to disagree with you. The fact that introducing such sentences will not, according to all research, make a blind bit of difference to the incidence of crime, or to those committing it, is quietly ignored.

Its all about how things look, irrespective of what damage may be done to the idea of an independent judiciary in a functioning democracy.

The appetite for MMS has spread far beyond the Oireachtas. Garda associations frequently call for one for crimes against their members. Other organisations, representing emergency workers, have done likewise.

At public meetings about rural crime, there are repeated calls for an MMS for burglars. In recent years, following a spate of attacks against elderly people, the calls have focused on an MMS for violent crime against senior citizens.

The sentiment is entirely understandable. Violent crime is a visceral business. When, for instance, a report surfaces of an elderly person in a rural area being attacked for money, initial sympathy for the victim quickly morphs into anger at the perpetrator. These emotions are common to all of us.

And in a state of helplessness over a vicious form of crime, people will reach for the most instinctive solution: Keep em locked up. Teach them a lesson that they wont be getting away with this any longer. The judges cant be trusted. Theyre not angry enough.

That was the kind of politics that introduced the MMS in the USA in the 1980s. Some bright spark decided that anger at the drugs epidemic could only be sorted through mandatory minimum sentences imposed on anybody caught in possession of illegal drugs. The policy soon spread to other kinds of crime. Politicians in all national and state forums expressed their anger at the drugs war and their satisfaction that the solution had now been found.

And nothing changed. The high cost of locking up low-level criminals for long periods began to bite. By the turn of the century, 23 states had begun reversing the sentencing policy. Others followed suit within a few years.

Those were the days when we were always a decade or two behind the Yanks.

In 1999, the government introduced mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years imprisonment for anybody caught with illegal drugs worth at least 13,000.

There was a catch. The strength of the Constitution meant there had to be a get-out clause. So the mandatory sentence couldnt really be mandatory.

Judges were allowed to depart from the minimum sentence in exceptional circumstances. The mandatory minimum sentence was, in fact, a presumptive minimum sentence, but the latter phrase was never used, because it didnt sound tough enough.

The outcome of that policy was that, for many judges, the exceptional circumstances became the norm because, presumably, in their opinion, the minimum sentence in no way reflected the circumstances of particular crimes.

None of it made any difference to the proliferation of drugs or associated crime.

Still, that was not the point. Sounding tough was what it wall all about. The media got in on the act, as well. One of the more ludicrous declarations in that respect was a headline in the Sunday Independent at the height of the Celtic Tiger.

Mandatory minimum sentences are battle cry that will win crime war it blazed. Substitute votes for crime war and perhaps there was some truth in it.

The culmination of all the fulminating was a new law, in 2006, for an MMS for possession of a firearm. This time, there would be no exceptional circumstances.

This time, there would be no more Mr Nice Guy. And so it went, and so it ended this week, when the Supreme Court found that acting the clown was all very well, as long as you didnt stray across the constitutional divide.

Despite this, there will, undoubtedly, continue to be calls for more mandatory minimum sentences, for the foreseeable future. Politics, particularly on crime, is all about perception. It doesnt matter what the reality is. The only concern for the politician is to come across in such a way that voters can listen and nod and agree.

The irony is that there is a very obvious reform in sentencing that could have a major impact on, if nothing else, confidence in the tariffs handed down by judges.

Sentencing guidelines would not tie any hands and provide for an input from both political and civil society in recommending guidelines.

Judges would be constrained from flights of fancy, but still have discretion, depending on circumstances.

But sentencing guidelines is not a term that can be spat out in anger. So there has been little push in the body politic  apart from, perhaps surprisingly, Sinn Fein  for legislation in that regard.

So it goes at the interface of crime policy and politics. If only acting the clown in this regard was a harmless business, but, unfortunately, its not.
Britains Brexit crisis moves, with each passing week, ever higher up the fiasco index. If it were not so grave for the future of one Europes major democracies  and economies  it would be comical.

This weeks chapter  the collapse of the governments six-week attempt to find a compromise with the Labour opposition  was entirely predictable.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was unprepared to let go of his demand for a post-Brexit customs union, even though that is what is offered, albeit temporarily, in the withdrawal treaty that prime minister Theresa May has negotiated with Brussels, and that, inexplicably, Labour has consistently voted down.

Every step of the way, Mr Corbyn and most of his MPs have grasped each and every opportunity to put party interest above that of the country. In doing so they have shown their contempt for the many Labour-held constituencies that voted leave in the 2016 referendum.

For her part, Ms May is right to blame the failure of the cross-party talks in part on her governments inability to see a common Labour position on the UKs exit from the EU: Does it want to deliver Brexit  the promise in its 2017 election manifesto  or hold a second referendum which could kill it?

Profound divisions in the Conservative Party also limited the governments scope for compromise on a withdrawal agreement that, in any event, cannot be amended because Brussels has refused to have a word of it changed.

It cannot, without the EUs approval, offer improved exit terms, and the partys hardline leavers would not have accepted any compromise that included a second referendum, known euphemistically as a peoples vote, as the 2016 poll was nothing of the sort.

It is difficult to underestimate the contempt in which Ms May is held not only by a sizeable chunk of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons but also by leave-voting Tory activists. They have forced the PM to give advance notice of her resignation, giving Mr Corbyn another wound at which to gnaw.

How, he asks  with tears in his eyes and hand on heart  could Labour agree a common policy with the government, only for it to be torn up by a Tory prime minister who actually understood Brexit and was capable of getting the job done? He doesnt do sincerity that well.

As many predicted, the talks were a waste of time. Britain and its neighbours are back where they were months ago. Brussels waits and watches, and Leo Varadkars Government must lift the sofa cushions to find 50m to part-fund an aid package for the Brexit-related losses being suffered by cattle farmers.

Next up is another problem for Ms May: An election in which British voters normally take scant interest but which paradoxically is now of enormous interest because, firstly, it should not be happening, and secondly it will give the country  and its four nations  the chance to return a verdict on the farce so far.

With the Conservatives and Labour having mounted campaigns that so far can be viewed only with the aid of a telescope, and the Brexit Party surging ahead in polls, its likely to be seen  certainly in England as distinct from the rest of the UK  as a second referendum.

If the pro-Brexit vote holds, the issue goes back to a House of Commons still being dominated by remain-inclined MPs and incapable of producing a majority for any way forward.

A general election, with the Conservatives under a new leader and Labour offering a clear policy, now looks inevitable sooner  much sooner  rather than later.
Ethnic Issues Army Arrests Village Administrator in Rakhine

GAD official U Thein Soe Aung's shop in Shwe Pyi village, in northern Rakhine's Kyauktaw Township. / Mg Than / Facebook

YANGONA village administrative official from northern Rakhine States Kyauktaw Township was arrested by army troops on Thursday.

U Thein Soe Aung, an official of Shwe Pyi villageabout 8 kilometers north of Kyauktaw Townshipwas accused by the Myanmar Army, or Tatmadaw, of providing rations to Arakan Army (AA) rebels.

Villagers say a military column with more than 70 soldiers under control of Regional Command No. 9 of Kyauktaw Township entered the village on Wednesday. Four township police also joined the army column and inspected the village after questioning villagers at the village monastery.

The following day, dozens of soldiers surrounded U Thein Soe Aungs home and searched the entire house but did not find any firearm or ammunition, according to villager U Maung Mae Sein, who witnessed the arrest.

U Maung Mae Sein said that U Thein Soe Aung operates a shop in front of his home as a major source of income for his family. Soldiers were suspicious of the large quantity of goods in the shop and of packages of dry rice stored on the ground of U Thein Soe Aungs home, which they had taken photographs of, he said.

When U Maung Mae Sein and some villagers asked the army column about the detention, an officer told them that U Thein Soe Aung is an important suspect and will be questioned for a while.

According to villagers, U Thein Soe Aung was brought to a navy vessel docked on a river near the ethnic Mro village of Mar Lar.

With the detainees family members concerned, U Thein Soe Aung and U Maung Hla Kyaw, a Rakhine State parliamentarian, inquired about the detention with Kyauktaw Township authorities this morning.

U Maung Hla Kyaw said an army officer confirmed the detention but did not precisely answer whether they would allow family members to see U Thein Soe Aung.

A township administrator confirmed with a military battalion commander over the phone that the arrest had taken place but, as it was carried out by another military column, that commander had no further detail as of this morning.

This afternoon, the Office of the Commander in Chiefs website released two photos and some brief information on the arrest of the Shwe Pyi village official, saying army troops and police had jointly inspected the village after being tipped off about the mingling of AA rebels and villagers.

While army troops were checking the village, U Thein Soe Aung photographed the soldiers from his home. When soldiers inspected his phone, they say, they found photos relating to AA rebels, then discovered a dry rice bag, noodles, rehydration salt packages and other commodities.

Family members told me the goods seized by the army are their normal selling commodities to neighboring villages, U Maung Kya Hla said.

The army said it will take action against U Thein Soe Aung in line with procedures for those having relations with the AA.

U Maung Mae Sein explained that his village has the largest population of five nearby villages, including Ale Kyun, Kyauk Ngu Su, Thar Si, Myauk-Taung and Mar Lar village, and as such, those villages mostly rely on the goods from U Thein Soe Aungs shop.

My village is like a center here. Locals from neighboring villages normally come to buy commodities from U Thein Soe Aungs shop, said U Maung Mae Sein.

Shwe Pyi is home to more than 600 families.

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Police Arrest Dozens on Suspicion of Ties with AA in Northern Rakhine

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Analysis A Look at Anti-Graft Bodys First-Year Performance

President U Win Myint (center) and Anti-Corruption Commission chairman U Aung Kyi (right) attend a meeting in Naypyitaw on April 11, 2018. The commission is the first governmental body to meet the president since his inauguration. / MNA

YANGONWith prosecutions against a number of powerful and influential but corrupt officials over the past year and a halfan unheard-of feat beforethe governments anti-graft body has gained high public expectations as an institution that is actually combating the countrys deep-rooted corruption.

The flood of public complaints filed to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is a testament to these expectations.

Last year, as many as 10,543 complaints were filed with the ACCfive times higher than 2017 and more than in any previous year.

However, during recent parliamentary debates over the commissions annual report for 2018, its effectiveness in handling public complaints and its investigations into misappropriations and losses of public fundsthe definition of corruption under the fourth amendment to Myanmars Anti-Corruption Lawwere questioned by lawmakers.

According to the report, the ACC has only successfully investigated and prosecuted 46 of the 10,543 complaints lodged in 2018, handing over 1,795 cases to concerned Union ministries, Union-level agencies, and regional or state governments for action in accordance with the code of conduct for civil servants.

The commission was unable to address 8,092 complaints, including those which didnt comply with the Anti-Corruption Law, those which were deemed not to include strong enough evidence to start an investigation, cases still ongoing in the courts and those with incomplete information regarding the complainant. The ACC said in the report that it replied to those complainants with explanations of why the commission was unable to proceed.

The remaining 610 complaints are still being scrutinized.

While lawmakers pointed out that the commissions rate of investigation and prosecution of corruption cases was low compared to how rampant corruption is, the more stressing issue was the level at which the commission handed over cases to other ministries or regional and state governments.

The number of the cases that the commission transferred to ministries or regional and state governments was high. Indeed, they know well how and where bribery takes place, and the corruption loopholes in their departments. If those were accountable in the first place, we wouldnt even need to form a commission, National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker U Ye Htut, from Sagaing Region, said.

While presenting the annual report at the Union Parliament on April 29, ACC Chairman U Aung Kyi said that among the 1,795 complaints they handed over to the ministries and regional and state governments in 2018, action was taken on only 536.

According to the report, the Yangon regional government had the most cases transferred to it among regional and state governments197, of which only 25 were resolved.

Among the ministries, the Ministry of Home Affairs had the most complaints transferred to it249, of which it took action on 149.

And, while more than a thousand cases were unresolved, NLD lawmaker U Myint Wai, from Rakhine State, criticized lax actions taken in many cases that were resolved, which resulted only in warnings, transfers to other departments and suspended promotions, while very few led to firings.

I doubt it is because they are trying to conceal involvement in the cases, U Myint Wai said.

The soft punishments hinder the commissions effort to tackle the countrys deep-rooted corruption, lawmakers said. They called on the commission to follow up with ministries and regional and state governments actions when cases are transferred.

In his presentation, U Aung Kyi said that, despite the commissions strenuous efforts, the overall level of corruption in the country has not improved.

To assess the level of corruption and gauge the commissions success, the ACC hired an independent, third-party group to conduct a nationwide survey. The survey, which did not include Chin State, was conducted from October through December.

According to the survey, corruption had not declined significantly by the end of 2018, and remained at the usual [level], U Aung Kyi told Parliament.

The survey respondents cited ineffective action against corruption and poor rule of law in certain places as the major factors contributing to corruption, along with other two additional factors: a pervasive, self-interested mindset and a general resistance to change.

The chairman vowed the commission will accelerate its efforts to fight corruption this year.

He said the commission is also drafting the Whistle-blower Protection Bill to encourage those who voluntarily disclose information about fraud or power abuse in government departments.

We will also carry out more investigations and prosecutions effectively, the chairman said.

NLD lawmaker Daw Mar Mar Khine, from Mon State, said while the bribery at police, court, general administration, public health, immigration, and land administration departmentsthose that must engage with the public directlyare obviously the most complained about, irregularities at departments overseeing public funds are often overlooked, seeing less complaints.

The loss of public funds because of mismanagement or breaking the existing rules and regulations are frequently discussed by the lawmakers at Parliament. There were many such cases that happened and also are still happening, she said.

According to the Anti-Corruption Law, Article 3 (a) 2, losses to public funds and state property by breaches in existing laws, rules and regulation can be prosecuted under corruption charges.

NLD lawmaker Dr. Khun Win Thaung, from Kachin State, urged the commission to find ways to closely watch over state losses from misuse and abuse of public funds, and to take action against them.

The commission needs to launch investigations itself without waiting for complaints to be filed for those cases as soon as the irregularities [are] found in audit, he said.

The fourth amendment to the Anti-Corruption Law, enacted in June 2018, gives the commission a broad mandate to investigate at its own initiative any civil servant who is seen to be unusually wealthy. Previously, it could only probe allegations of corruption in response to formal complaints filed with strong supporting evidence.

In late 2018, the commission received a request to investigate state losses of billions of kyats worth of public funds, which were revealed in the findings of the Yangon Region auditor generals report on the regional governments budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year. The complaint was filed by former Yangon regional lawmaker Daw Nyo Nyo Thinwho is also a founder of Yangon Watch, an independent governance-monitoring group.

But the ACC responded that there was no need for it to investigate the losses then because the government and auditor general were still working through procedures that must follow the release of any audit report.

As of now, there is still no official explanation of further procedures taken by the Yangon region government on the findings.

[We recognize] that the commission was able to take a number of corruption prosecutions [over the past year]. But to win public trust, it needs to take action against any corrupt activity and related cases without discrimination or bias, military appointee Lt-Col Hla Naing told the parliament.

NLD Lawmaker U Hla San said at the parliament that he has also been questioned by his constituents about the commission remaining toothless in the event of complaints filed against the military, which holds three key ministries: Home Affairs, Defense Affairs and Border Affairs, in addition to running key businesses under its own companies.

U Aung Kyi said in December of 2018 that the commission had not yet received any complaints against the military but, even if it had, such cases would be beyond its mandate.

The undemocratic, military-drafted 2008 Constitution gives the military immunity from prosecution by the commission. The Constitution grants the military the right to tackle corruption within its ranks using internal mechanisms.

No one should be above the law. Everyone should be equal under the countrys law. If not there is no equality for citizens and corruption wont be combatted successfully, NLD lawmaker U Zaw Hein, from Tanintharyi Region, said.

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Today

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. High 61F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Low 51F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.

Tomorrow

Partly cloudy skies with gusty winds. High 61F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
"He tried to kill me," the woman said. "The other day."

Rogers said that incident took place Wednesday.

Guilford Metro 911 operators had a difficult time talking with the woman as she hid from Williams.

When she first called she tried to whisper her address before hanging up.

She called back and whispered her address several times before an operator understood her.

Operators tried to figure out what was going on when the woman whispered loud enough to hear: "Tyson Williams is here."

She said Williams had a gun.

She then told the operator that deputies should look for Williams in the shed in the house's backyard.

And that's where they found him.

Rogers said deputies challenged Williams and he barricaded himself inside.

At that point, Rogers said, deputies heard a gunshot.

Police set up a perimeter around the property and deputies began negotiating with Williams.
The application process to be the next superintendent of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools has ended, with 44 people from 16 states asking to be considered.

The WS/FCS school board is looking for someone to replace Beverly Emory, who announced in February that she was leaving the district for a job with the state Department of Education after six years in the Forsyth position.

The N.C. School Boards Association will process the applications and release them to the board on or before May 24. The association, which is facilitating the search on behalf of the school board, said earlier this week that the board should aim to hire someone by July 26, allowing the new hire time to prepare for the 2019-20 school year.

Once the applications have been processed, they will be reviewed by board members, who will pick their favorite candidates, eventually winnowing the pool to three or four candidates. Interviews are expected to begin in June, according to a news release from the school system.

The board got a taste of what the community wants in its next superintendent at five forums held across the county over the past several weeks. People in the community talked about integrity, transparency and the ability to work with diverse populations.
A proposed consent decree that was agreed to by the plaintiffs and Gov. Roy Cooper and other members of the states executive branch was filed with U.S. District Court on Dec. 21, 2018. The agreement would essentially allow transgender people to use whatever public bathroom or other facilities they want that are within the control of the executive branch. Members of the executive branch also wouldnt be able to prosecute transgender people for using bathrooms that matched their gender identity, according to the proposed consent decree.

The consent decree also says members of the executive branch are prohibited from enforcing a part of House Bill 142 to keep local governments from interpreting existing ordinances as protecting against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

At a hearing Friday in a Winston-Salem federal courtroom, U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder ordered that an updated consent decree be filed by May 31. He said he urged all parties to work toward an agreement that would satisfy legislative leaders.

Schroeder also expressed concerns about federalism and some vague language in the proposed consent decree.
A Republican Missouri legislator apologized Friday for saying that some sexual assaults are "consensual rapes" during a debate over a new, restrictive antiabortion bill.

"I'm not trying to make excuses," said Rep. Barry Hovis, who represents the city of Jackson in southeastern Missouri. "Sometimes you make a mistake and you own up to it."

The lawmaker, who was elected in 2018, made the remark while speaking on the State House floor, arguing that the measure's eight-week window for abortions "gives [rape survivors] ample time" for the procedure. Critics say many women do not know they are pregnant until after eight weeks, and the bill provides no exceptions for rape or incest.

The 30-year veteran of the Cape Girardeau Police Department then touched on his experience handling rape cases.

"Let's just say someone goes out and they're raped or they're sexually assaulted one night after a college party - because most of my rapes were not the gentleman jumping out of the bushes that nobody had ever met," Hovis said. "That was one or two times out of a hundred. Most of them were date rapes or consensual rapes, which were all terrible."

Rep. Raychel Proudie, a Democrat, quickly rebuked him.
School officials discovered the knife and gave it to police. No one was injured, according to police.

The investigation is ongoing. No further information was released.

Brent Campbell, a spokesman for the school system, said he had no more information on the incident at Easton.

The Winston-Salem Police Department requests that anyone with information regarding this incident contact CrimeStoppers at 336-727-2800.

The Easton case is the latest in a stretch of incidents that have alarmed students, parents and school personnel.

Last week, police confiscated a handgun at Paisley Magnet School that they learned had also been at the school on April 22.

A teacher, Sarah Melissa Wilson, was charged with aid to a minor to possess a firearm on educational property. She was suspended from her job with pay.

Police say Wilson stored the gun for a student in her classroom and allowed the student to retrieve at the end of the school day on April 22.

On Sunday, someone made threats on social media toward Reynolds High School.

Police say they have located the source of the threats, which originated out of state, and are coordinating the investigation with the FBI and that states law enforcement officials.

lodonnell@wsjournal.com 336-727-7420 @lisaodonnellWSJ Reporter John Hinton contributed to this story.

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I am a public school teacher in Forsyth County. As a special education teacher, I work with students at the middle-school level and help them manage learning disabilities, ADHD and other factors keeping them from performing on grade level. I love my job, but would leave it in a heartbeat if given the opportunity to carry a gun in my classroom.

Friends and family members tell me this could never happen in North Carolina, but why not? The Florida legislature just voted to allow this. At least one school district in Texas has been doing it for years. And our elected officials in Raleigh have introduced a bill this session (SB 192) to allow this very thing  the badly mislabeled School Security Act of 2019.

Lets set aside the horrifying possibility of a student or intruder gaining control of my weapon. In addition, lets not consider the morass of lawsuits that are likely to crop up surrounding real, or even potential, situations a gun in the classroom would introduce. The main reason I would object to carrying a gun is the way the relationship with my students would change.
U.S. 52 bisects Winston-Salem, separating an increasingly vibrant downtown from an impoverished majority-black part of the city. Attractive sites like the gleaming Central Library, the Wake Forest Innovation Quarter and trendy breweries lie west of the highway, as does economic opportunity. As was made clear at a conference hosted by the Spatial Justice Studio at the Center for Design Innovation last month, the section of the city that lies east of U.S. 52 faces a number of challenges, including health disparities, insufficient access to grocery stores and transportation and dismal prospects for upward mobility.

How did this situation come to be? Winston-Salem has a long history of intentional residential segregation. In June 1912, Winston-Salems Board of Aldermen enacted an ordinance to prevent African Americans from owning or living on property on certain parts of East Fourth Street, and white people from living on property on sections of Third and Depot streets. The ordinance was soon amended to cover the entire city, stating that white and black people could not move into homes on blocks where the majority of occupants were of a different race. The ordinance responded to what the press described as an invasion of black folks into white neighborhoods in East Winston. Home to tobacco factories that employed black workers, Winston-Salem was already a segregated place. As a few black tobacco workers moved to middle-class white neighborhoods near the factories, residents looked to city government to protect them.
In a Feb. 11 rally, President Donald Trump himself addressed Northams comments, saying that Northam stated that he would even allow a newborn baby to come out into the world ... then talk to the mother and talk to the father and then execute the baby.

Trump says it, so Fox & Friends says it.

There are plenty of opinions on the proper course of action for Democrats. Comedian Bill Maher, for example, believes they need to head straight into the lions den and take on the network. Politico assesses that if youre afraid of Shep Smith, you probably shouldnt be president.

Fear is not the question, though. As Warren notes, the issue is aid and succor. Do Democratic candidates really want to hand Fox News a highly promotable campaign event thatll broaden its audience and nourish the lie that it treats both sides fairly? Ive done 57 media avails and 131 interviews, taking over 1,100 questions from press just since January, reads another passage in Warrens statement. Fox News is welcome to come to my events just like any other outlet. But a Fox News town hall adds money to the hate-for-profit machine. To which I say: hard pass.

Other candidates differ. Let them fight it out, because a long, national debate over the role of Fox News in contemporary America is a welcome development.

Erik Wemple is The Washington Posts media critic.
She was my mothers friend, but she became what I needed: A role model, a confidante and a grownup friend whose wise counsel I could always trust.

In the next few years, I spent as much time as I possibly could with May, sometimes overnight at her home, talking, laughing, crying, whatever, just being together. I told her everything, all the things I feared, all the things I hoped for and especially all the things I didnt know.

I watched her the way a cat watches a butterfly. How she listened and encouraged and never spoke ill of anyone, even if they had it coming. How she was always compassionate and kind, not just to me, but to everyone, even strangers.

She was a woman of faith and grace and integrity, with a quick wit and a grand sense of humor.

I wanted to be just like her.

After I left home for college, May moved away and I never heard from her again. Years later, when I tried to reconnect, I was shocked to learn that she had died. I had been so sure that she would live forever. I dont know if I told her how much she meant to me. I hope so.

How many souls do you think leave this world never knowing what they meant to someone?
Dear Amy: Two years ago, a very close friend of 20 years ghosted me. I called, texted, and emailed her and didnt get a reply. When I ran into her weeks later and asked for an explanation, she said, You have nothing to apologize for. Yet she couldnt give an explanation because it was too horrendous and hurtful.

To me her statement contradicted my not having anything to apologize for. There was no incident before the ghosting, so I truly did not know why she has behaved this way.

She concluded by saying, I think we should go our separate ways.

I stopped going to a performance series that she, a mutual friend and I attended together because its a small audience and seeing her would bring up my hurt. She continued to go, so it seemed that she felt this issue was resolved.

Ive run into her a couple of times since then. She didnt seem embarrassed. I feel terrible.

Now shes joining my church, so Ill be running into her now and then. If shed join the church she knows I attend, she apparently feels no awkwardness.

Ive thought about talking to a clergy person but expect the counsel would be to forgive.
The right thing

I would like to reply to the writer of the May 14 letter, One question, who asked those who will decide on the name of the fair, Why would you bow to the demands of a few, and ignore the wishes of many?

Maybe because doing the right thing is more important than being popular.

I wondered what the big deal was about the name Dixie until I heard the ministers talk about the harm it has caused them and other African Americans in the community. I cant understand why anyone with a conscience would be more concerned with propping up an offensive word than in making our wonderful fair appealing to everyone.

I suggest this letter writer and other vociferous defendants of Dixie spend a little time considering the other side. This community doesnt just belong to the majority  it belongs to everyone who lives here. When we can have a name that offends some or a name that makes everyone feel welcome, why not make everyone feel welcome? Who does it hurt?

Lonnie Kirkman

Winston-Salem

Offensive to some
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 17, 2019) - Pure Energy Minerals Limited (TSXV: PE) (the "Company" or "Pure Energy") announces that it has distributed to all shareholders, by mail or email, its Notice of Meeting, Information Circular and Proxy (the "AGM Package"), for an annual general and special meeting to be held on May 28, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. Pacific time, at 1040 W. Georgia St., #1500, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The Board has unanimously determined that the terms of the earn-in transaction to be voted upon by shareholders, as disclosed in a news release dated May 1, 2019, are in the best interests of the Company, are fair and reasonable to the Company, and unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favour of the resolutions contained in the AGM Package.

The AGM Package has been posted to the Company's website at http://www.pureenergyminerals.com/2019-annual-and-special-meeting/ as well as on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Shareholders are urged to download a copy of the AGM Package, if not already received by mail, and to vote in favour of the special resolution therein. The transaction will not become effective without the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by Pure Energy shareholders who vote in person or by proxy on the special resolution at the Meeting.

About Pure Energy Minerals

Pure Energy Minerals is a lithium resource developer that is driven to become a low-cost supplier for the growing lithium battery industry. Pure Energy has consolidated a pre-eminent land position at its Clayton Valley Project in the Clayton Valley of central Nevada for the exploration and development of lithium resources, comprising 948 claims over 23,360 acres (9,450 hectares), representing the largest mineral land holdings in the valley. Pure Energy's Clayton Valley Project adjoins and surrounds on three sides the Silver Peak lithium brine mine operated by Albemarle Corporation. The Company has completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for the Clayton Valley Project (news releases of June 26, 2017 and April 5, 2018).

Quality Assurance

Walter Weinig, Professional Geologist and Qualified Person as designated by the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America (MMSA registration #01529QP), is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Mr. Weinig is not independent of the Company, as he is a former officer.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD



"Mary L. Little"

Mary L. Little

Director

CONTACT:

Pure Energy Minerals Limited (www.pureenergyminerals.com)

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Telephone: 604 608 6611

Cautionary Statements and Forward-Looking Information

The information in this news release contains forward looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Often, but not always, forward looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "will", "expects", "intends" and similar expressions as they relate to the Company. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information relating to the exploration and development of the Clayton Valley Project and the proposed transactions with the Investor. Forward looking information pertaining to the Company is subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable laws.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

The securities offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined under the U.S. Securities Act) absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES.
Sri Lanka this weekend marks a decade since the end of its 37-year Tamil separatist war that claimed at least 100,000 lives.

Here are the key dates of the conflict which was also known as the Eelam War, the name of a separate state the rebels were fighting for:

 Tigers born 

February 4, 1948: Britain grants independence to Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, after 133 years. With the majority Sinhalese securing state power, minority Tamils begin to complain of discrimination. Communal tensions simmer.

1972: Tamil school dropout Velupillai Prabhakaran forms a Tamil militant group, which in 1976 changes its name to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which goes onto become a much-feared guerrilla outfit with a dedicated band of suicide bombers.

 Eelam War I 

July 23, 1983: LTTE ambushes an army patrol, killing 13 soldiers in the Jaffna peninsula in the north and sparking anti-Tamil riots elsewhere that leave about 600 people dead. The violence marks a watershed that turns a low-intensity law and order problem into a full-fledged guerrilla war.

July 8, 1985: Sri Lanka opens first direct peace talks with Tamil guerrillas. They fail.

 India enters, and leaves 

July 29, 1987: India and Sri Lanka agree on the deployment of Indian peacekeepers. A brief period of peace prevails, but the accord fails in three months. New Delhi troops end up fighting the Tiger rebels who renege on promises to lay down arms.

March 24, 1990: Indian troops withdraw, leaving the Tigers in control of large swathes of northern Sri Lanka, with 1,200 troops having been killed.

After a three-month lull after the Indian troop withdrawal, the Tigers resume their war with Sri Lankan troops.

The Tigers begin running a de-facto separate state which at its height controls one-third of the islands territory and two-thirds of its coastline.

May 21, 1991: Former Indian premier Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a female LTTE suicide bomber in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

May 1, 1993: Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa is assassinated by an LTTE suicide bomber in Colombo.

 Terrorists 

April 19, 1995: Tigers attack Sri Lankas north-eastern port of Trincomalee ending a 100-day ceasefire agreed with President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

December 2, 1995: The Sri Lankan army captures the Jaffna peninsula in one of the biggest victories for the security forces up to the time, but the rebels carry out spectacular attacks against troops for years to come.

October 8, 1997: The United States declares the LTTE a foreign terrorist organisation. Britain and others follow in 2001.

July 2001: Tigers attack international airport killing four people and destroying six parked aircraft of the national carrier Sri Lankan in the worst attack against international civil aviation until the 2001 attacks in New York.

February 23, 2002: Government and Tamil Tiger rebels sign a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire agreement, but it collapses by January 2008.

March 3, 2004: Renegade Tamil Tiger commander, V. Muralitharan, known as Karuna, leads a split from the main rebel movement and strengthens a military offensive against the Tigers.

 War crimes 

April 25, 2006: Tiger suicide bomber critically wounds army chief Sarath Fonseka leaving a temporary truce in tatters and sparks Eelam War IV. Intense battles follow.

February 22, 2009: Tamil Tiger planes conduct suicide raids against Colombo using Czech-built single-engine aircraft loaded with bombs. Fighting in the north escalates.

March 13, 2009: The UN human rights chief says both sides could be guilty of war crimes. The UN later accuses the Sri Lankan military of killing up to 40,000 Tamil civilians during the final phase of the war. Sri Lanka denies the allegation and refuses to investigate the claim.

April 14, 2009: The Tamil Tigers say they are ready to negotiate. The government refuses.

April 20, 2009: Tens of thousands of trapped civilians manage to flee from the shrinking area under rebel control.

May 18, 2009: Tamil Tiger supremo Prabhakaran is killed by government forces in a final battle in the coastal village of Mullivaikkal in Mullaittivu.

May 19, 2009: Sri Lanka declares an end to a 37-year Tamil separatist war, but faces persistent allegations of atrocities against Tamil civilians while thousands are still unaccounted for after the war. The missing include over 5,000 security personnel and police.
MEDFORD, Ore -- The Medford Police Department is investigating a crash involving OSP and a DUII driver.

Oregon State Police posted on its Facebook page saying the crash happened this morning around 2:30. Sgt. Broome was assisting a disabled motorist parked in the lane of travel on Crater Lake Avenue in Medford. When he returned to his patrol vehicle he was rear-ended by an SUV.

The SUV driver was arrested for DUII and other chargers. She was uninjured in the crash.

Sgt. Broome went to the hospital for evaluation and treatment. Medford Police and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office assisted in the crash.
YREKA, Cali. -- Pacific Power is adopting new wildfire safety plans for Oregon and California.

Newswatch12 brought you the plan for Oregon. In California, new protocol involves power supply shut downs.

This new protocol allows Pacific Power to shut down power supply to specific areas to prevent fires. Officials said shutting off power will be used as a line of last defense in the interest of public safety. Pacific Power plans to prepare the communities deemed as high risk zones for scenarios when a shutoff would be required. Community workshops, customer outreach and education on shutoffs will all be offered in high risk zones.

One business NewsWatch12 spoke with said losing power, depending on how long, could cost their business thousands.

Dori Ebejer, the owner of J&D's Family Diner in Yreka, said, "It would be devastating."

She worries what a shutdown could mean for her small business.

Ebejer said, "I understand that everybody has to be proactive, but they also have to be mindful that by doing the shutdowns it's not just like 'Oh okay, well this is going to help fire season' they have to look beyond that, they have to realize that they're affecting other people's lives."

Losing power for more than a few hours, could spoil thousands of dollars of food inside the diner.

"You're talking steaks and fish and things that won't hold," Ebejer explained.

Beyond that, she worries for her employees.

"They depend on us in order to be able to pay their bills and if we are shut down, that would make their paychecks much smaller and they depend on a certain amount every month to pay the rent and the bills."

For those who have generators, they aren't too worried about the shutdowns.

Linda Sanchez, a Mount Shasta resident, said, "Anything that can help, the power lines, cleaning up around your property - yes, that's what we have to do."

Sanchez has lived in California for 30 years and said she's willing to do whatever it takes to prevent another fire season as bad as last year.

"The lesser evil is definitely the power going out," Sanchez said.

As of now, these Public Safety Power Shut-off protocols are not in place for Oregon, but Pacific Power is adopting a new wildfire safety plan for Oregon as well. That plan includes monitoring the grid, weather conditions, equipment inspections and increased vegetation management.
JACKSONVILLE, Ore. -- The community came together at Red Lily Vineyards in Jacksonville Friday to celebrate the final project of a six month collaboration between the winery and Eagle Point High School students.

"It felt surreal almost, said label designer Sagwa Lozano. I would have never imagined I would have an opportunity like this so soon in my life."

"I got to work with some of my friends and made new friends in the process, added student Kiera DeBerry. I think it grew us all together as one."

I have no words, added label designer Jayden Pomeroy. I'm proud of myself and not only myself but my peers who have put hours and hours into this project.

Students gained real world job experience learning how to create a brand by designing a new wine label for a 2014 Tempranillo Red Lily Vineyard wine that had never previously been sold.

"They were really thoughtful about what goes into making a brand recognizable on the shelf," said Red Lily Vineyards owner and winemaker Rachael Martin.

"They've learned more through this project than at times they'll learn from sitting in the classroom, said the Eagle Point School Districts Innovation Specialist Jason Clark. They're getting that hands on experience working in the industry. And really having to put thought into what they're creating and who they are creating it for."

They also designed wooden caddies for those bottles to go in.

"I'm very happy I got to be a part of this, said Seth McCoy. Among many things, he helped design the wooden caddy. It was very stressful at times, very stressful but in the end it all turned out very well."

"It was honestly really stressful but pretty nice to know how to build them," said Jazmin Torres. She helped make those caddies.

Some even discovered what they wanted to do in the future.

"This project has really inspired me to continue my dream to be a photographer and I've actually started a tiny business that I'm trying to get off the ground," said label designer Olivia Tucker. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook with the username @rusticphotography_ot

As a thank you, the class made and gave Martin a Red Lily plaque made of wood.

There were only 20 cases made so once the bottles are gone, they are gone. Right now, there's less than a case left for each label design. Each bottle costs $20 and 50 percent of the proceeds will go to Hearts with a Mission and the Young Artists Institute.

This was the very first year EPHS and Red Lily collaborated on a project like this. The two hope to keep working together so more students can have this opportunity.
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.
Giving back

On May 9, at the clubs monthly get-acquainted coffee, five members gathered at Panera Bread and chatted with Conn, who has gone to many club events but had never attended a get-acquainted coffee.

The adventurous Conn not only followed her son to Kearney when he took a job here, but she brought her mother, who is in her 90s. Both now are settled and happy. Conn retired after 40 years at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Her last title there was a professor of research in nursing.

Conn said the club has been a good way to get to know Kearney. I like having a lot of things going on, she said.

Also at the coffee was Betty Jo Shaw, who, like many members, joined the club, dropped out and came back. Shaw first joined after moving from Elwood to Johnson Lake in 1995. She did financial work in Kearney at Paine Larsen Furniture (now Bruce Furniture) but late nights and bad weather often made getting home to Johnson Lake tricky.
UPDATE: Charges against Geoff Mazankowski were dismissed in August 2019, without prejudice, which means they could be refiled again. According to prosecutor Mike Mefferd the investigation revealed Mazankowski's case couldn't be prosecuted beyond a reasonable doubt.

Jennifer Burbach was convicted of attempted possession of methamphetamine, and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, both infractions. She was placed on two years probation.

J.C. Hunt was convicted of felony possession of meth, and was placed on two years probation.

The Buffalo County cases against Gordon Marcellus was dismissed in June 2019, and a charge of distribution of meth is pending against him in U.S. Federal District Court.

______________________________________________

KEARNEY  Search warrants that were served simultaneously at three Kearney residences this morning in the 1800 block of Avenue B resulted in four arrests, according to a Kearney Police Department press release.
KEARNEY  By day Mike Marchand is the head of technical services at Kearney Public Library.

When nights and weekends roll around he transforms into one of the Midwests premier gravel bike racers logging close to 20 competitions and 18,000 miles a year.

Gravel is a blast. It has a whole different vibe. Theres competition, but theres also a huge element of social and having a good time.

Marchand, 55, took up biking in his 30s in an effort to lose weight. Often he rode Kearneys bike trails and took his young sons on rides to Cottonmill Park on Kearneys west edge.

The hobby grew.

He joined a Kearney bike club and got involved with solo bike racing for nearly 10 years when fellow competitor Bob Cummings of Wichita, Kan., asked Marchand to join his gravel bike racing team.

Marchand joined the Panaracer/Factor team three years ago and now races 10 months out of the year.

Im on this team representing the old people, he laughed. So Im racing against people my own age, more than racing against the really fast, young guys.
KEARNEY  Anne Boatright calls sex trafficking a public health issue.

A forensic nurse working for the Nebraska Attorney Generals office, Boatright helps hospitals across the state respond to sex trafficking and violence. In the last two years, she has spoken to nearly 3,000 people.

Earlier this week, Boatright shared her expertise with 16 members of the leadership team  supervisors, managers and directors  at Kearney Regional Medical Center.

Sex trafficking is the second-fasting growing criminal industry in the U.S., she told them. It is a worldwide $150 billion industry; second only to the illegal drug trade.

This is a public health issue, she said.

She noted that victims  also called survivors or patients  often commit suicide.

Some are murdered.

Many carry untreated infections.

Victims often are beaten by traffickers in front of other victims.

One of the girls I worked with had no bruises, but she saw her pimp beating other girls, and that kept her there. She was afraid to leave, Boatright said.

The man tells her he loves her. Her coerces her by targeting a victims vulnerabilities. If shes addicted to meth, hell tell her she must make $350 or meth wont be available. He tells a woman that if she doesnt make $500, hell use her children as sex traffickers and harm them, too.

Anne Boatright There are more cows in some of these places than people, but livestock are not buying people. People are buying people. Trafficking exists there. It exists everywhere. Anne Boatright

Money keeps other victims in the system, even though the earnings go to the pimp and not to the victim. One survivor told Boatright, I love the smell of money. It makes me smile.

What to look for

Boatright was invited to speak by Bill Calhoun, KRMC chief executive officer. He knows Boatright because he serves on the 16-member Nebraska Hospital Association Council on Human Trafficking,

When I learned about the magnitude of the problem in Nebraska, it was my desire to promptly educate our KRMC leadership team, Calhoun said. This team will bring further awareness to our employees and our medical staff. We want our people to know what to look for and how to respond.

Boatright presented a sobering program.

Children become victims very young. Many are sold at the ages of 8 or 11. Think about it: nobody wakes up at age 18 and says, This is my 18th birthday. I think Im going to sell myself today. We take a stand that anyone in this practice is a victim. We want to help them, she said.

Traffickers methods

Trafficking takes many forms statewide, Boatright said. Sometimes, a pimp regularly sells one individual. Women sell their children. Individuals sell another group of individuals. Teens will sell children, too.

Sometimes kids need a place to stay, so they stay on couches and get forced into sex acts, Boatright said.

She said that out of the 25,000 missing youths nationwide currently, one is seven is probably a victim of sex trafficking.

Nebraska bill to crack down on human traffickers advances LINCOLN  Traffickers who sell women and children for sex in Nebraska could have their phone

While many sex traffickers stick close to I-80 and I-29, going in and out of cities along the interstates to sell their victims, the practice exists in rural places, too. There are more cows in some of these places than people, but livestock are not buying people. People are buying people. Trafficking exists there. It exists everywhere, she said.

Boatright showed examples of ads posted by sex traffickers. Most of the people advertised for sale were under 21. Many were immigrants, minors and LGBTQ youths.

Traffickers use technology. Traffickers do grooming online. They are child sex predators. They gain the kids trust, she said. If we see bizarre social media requests, we know whos posting them, but kids dont.

Boatright said many traffickers sidestep traditional child abductions. They know authorities will start looking for a child or teen who is abducted. Families of missing children will make posters and send out search teams with dogs. Traffickers dont have time for that, she said.

Instead, traffickers work on their victims mentally. They will isolate them from their families. They will profess love for them. They then will abuse them physically, mentally and sexually. They often will force them to use illegal substances, she said.

Telltale signs

Boatright said health care workers should be aware of the dynamic of traffickers and their young victims. Traffickers often bring the victims into medical facilities.

Anne Boatright 2 Sex trafficking is the second-fasting growing criminal industry in the U.S." Anne Boatright

Many traffickers have tattoos and carry several cellphones. They may have hotel keys, large amounts of cash and seem extraordinarily close to the child or the teen with them.

That young person may be unkempt and disoriented and have bruises or an inflicted injury, such as cigarette burns. They may have unusual tattoos.

Often, the young person keeps silent. The trafficker does all the talking.

If people dont seem to know where they are or what state they are in, take notice, she said. Many traffickers cross state lines repeatedly and their victims lose track of where they are.

Traffickers want to stay in hotels where they can come and go and wont be seen. They constantly call for room service, she said. There could be five people in one room, but just a single suitcase. Traffickers carry ledgers with lists of names and dollar amounts, she said.

Their victims may come into emergency rooms for injuries sustained by assault. They have sexually transmitted diseases. They may seek abortions or pregnancy tests. Many have mental health issues, including depression and suicidal thoughts.

Yet, many do not see themselves as victims, she said. They may be recognized as being naughty or promiscuous, but we need to recognize that they are a victim. To prove sex trafficking, we dont have to prove an age. Anyone under 18 can be a victim if there is an exchange of value such as money or food or shelter (for the sex act.)

Victims trust nurses

Boatright urged health care workers to pay attention to bruises, burns and other signs of physical abuse. One victim I saw had staples in her head, she said.

Many victims will tell nurses and other medical professionals things they will not share with a law enforcement officer.

They trust medical providers, she said. Kearney has some of the best police investigators in the state, but victims are more likely to talk to someone like me, not a cop, she said.

How to deal with sex trafficking patients Anne Boatright recommends these guidelines for medical workers who treat victims of sex trafficking: - Have a designated safe space for the exam and interview; - Have medications they may need on site; - Listen. Be respectful. Be a partner. Those who have suffered sexual trauma may not share all the details at once; - Believe what victims say; - Provide services. Encourage them to return; - Know local contacts, including The Salvation Army, which has trafficking specialists; - Plug into a community response team. Know who and what resources are available, including an advocacy network and law enforcement. Trafficking victims have been failed by the system, Boatright said. They will test the system time and time again. Encourage them to come back. Remind them that this is a safe place, and we will help you, she said.

While young women are most frequently trafficked, men  especially young men  can be marketed, too. Roughly 63 percent of solicitation takes place at hotels from economy to luxury, she said.

Pimps solicit traffic and find new victims at shopping malls and parking lots, too. Teenaged girls have been approached by pimps within minutes of their arrival at malls, she said.

Many victims have troubled backgrounds.

They have seen domestic violence. They have sampled drugs, experienced gang violence or come from broken homes.

Boatright urged health workers to ask all young patients questions about who they live with, whether they get along with their parents/guardians, whether they ran away, what school they go to and whether they use drugs.

If answers seem suspicious take notice, she said. Nurses are so important in all this, she said.

Boatright advised medical professionals to talk to suspected sex trafficking victims alone. If a kid comes in with bruises and says things that a child wouldnt usually know, and you are concerned about abuse, you need law enforcement. Its not for you to figure out. Call law enforcement, she said.

She added, If we fail to get them the resources they need, they will go right back to trafficking.

Editor's Note Nebraska Attorney General Doug Petersen has formed a statewide task to address trafficking and affiliated issues. You can read about those efforts Monday on KearneyHub.com.
WASHINGTON  Nebraskans and Iowans can anticipate selling even more beef to Japan.

That country has agreed to lift restrictions on U.S. beef exports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday.

Those restrictions go back to 2003, when Japan banned U.S. beef products after a cow in the United States tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Thats the degenerative nerve disease commonly referred to as mad cow disease.

Over the years, U.S. pressure was able to pry the doors open with Japan offering partial access for products from cattle under a certain age. Those age restrictions will now be eliminated.

Nebraska exported more than a billion dollars worth of beef and beef products in 2017, making it the top beef-exporting state for the second year in a row.

And much of that exported Nebraska beef heads for Japan.

News of the agreement Friday was welcomed by Capitol Hill lawmakers.
LINCOLN  Traffickers who sell women and children for sex in Nebraska could have their phones tapped by law enforcement and face prosecution years or even decades after their crimes under a bill advanced by lawmakers.

The bill would extend the statute of limitations for sex and labor trafficking of an adult from three to seven years. For cases involving minors, it would remove the statute of limitations. Nebraska imposes statutes of limitations for all but a handful of major crimes such as murder, arson, treason and certain forms of sexual assault.
In areas where sand deposits were less than 4-5 inches deep, some grass and forb species may be able to growth through and recover.

In other areas, sand deposits of up to 3-4 feet deep make plant growth nearly impossible. Sand removal can be expensive and not a realistic option for producers.

The best option is to plant something, cover up the sand and get pastures back into production. Options may include planting warm-season or cool-season annuals such as foxtail millet, sudangrass or sorghum-sudan hybrids in late May to August.

Oats planted in April or late summer, or grasses such as wheat or rye planted late August to September also are good options.

Perennial grasses like smooth brome or intermediate wheatgrass can grow well if they are seeded in late August and if moisture is available.

Volesky mentioned adding 5-10 pounds of oats per acre to the perennial grasses to help with plant establishment. Another option is to plant grass species adapted to sandy soils.
These ad campaigns designed to make you think favorably of a hospital are part of a larger campaign to build brand recognition much like detergent or cereal makers do. Medicine is mainly being treated like a business, Caplan explained. More and more, people are treated as customers, and doctors are treated as providers. Youd be a sap if you dont advertise. I see a lot of cut-throat competition.

Such brand recognition advertising is especially important when what Caplan calls the Mother Ship Hospital buys smaller facilities in other locations as a way to bring in more patients. When people live in communities where, say, a hospital like New Yorks Mount Sinai or the Cleveland Clinic has bought a satellite facility, theyll think favorably about someday being a patient at the local affiliate.

But are care and outcomes at the satellites the same as they are at the Mother Ship, either good or bad? Patients can never tell from the advertising. A recent study published in the JAMA Network Open found that the likelihood of surviving complex cancer surgery appears to be greater for those who had the procedure at the top-ranked hospitals than at their affiliates.
Fleet Farm has canceled plans to build a store in Kenosha.

Last year, the Appleton-based company proposed building a 185,000-square-foot store west of I-94 and south of 60th Street.

Those plans were canceled, however, when company officials decided it would be too costly to make the necessary infrastructure upgrades to meet the citys suggested requirements.

Last June, the city Plan Commission granted approved a conditional use permit for the project. However, Fleet Farm still had some conditions to meet before it could break ground on the site, 6238 122nd Ave.

Fleet Farm, formerly known as Mills Fleet Farm, was to install access lanes, curbing and other infrastructure.

Last week, city development director Brian Wilke said Fleet Farm elected not to continue with the project despite having conditional approval.

We have worked with local officials to bring a Fleet Farm to the city of Kenosha since 2016, Tom Carrico, Fleet Farms vice president of real estate and construction, said. After a number of delays, we came to the disappointing decision to forgo our efforts to build a store in Kenosha.

We still look forward to serving the Kenosha community through our online state at www.FleetFarm.com and will continue to explore opportunities to bring a store to this area.

Fleet Farm opened five new stores in 2018, including stores in Eau Claire, Oconomowoc, DeForest and Delavan.

The company said on average one Fleet Farm store creates more than 200 jobs.

We are working to bring our stores to even more towns and cities in the Midwest, Carrico said.

As of May 10, the retailer had 42 stores, 22 of which are located in Wisconsin. Officials said plans call for more new stores in the upper Midwest with the goal to double the store count by 2023.

The company, not to be confused with Blains Farm & Fleet, said, The Fleet Farm growth story continues this year with four new stores and one major store remodel. One of those stores will be opened in West Bend.

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As James Poltrock got ready to pick up his phone Friday to make a call about the accelerated pace of opioid overdoses in Kenosha, he heard an emergency call come in.

There was an unconscious woman in the parking lot of a downtown gas station.

It ended up being an another overdose call, said Poltrock, emergency services division chief at the Kenosha Fire Department.

Poltrock is a passionate advocate for programs to address the heroin epidemic that has been rolling through the nation and Kenosha County over the last five years.

This spring, he said, has been a particularly brutal one in the city.

Ive never seen it like this before, Poltrock said.

Between April 20 and May 9, a 20-day time frame, we responded to 23 opioid overdose calls, Poltrock said. Fifty-seven percent of all the opioid overdose calls we have had this year occurred in 20 days.

Parking lots and restrooms of gas stations, fast-food restaurants and shopping centers are common locations for overdoses  so common the fire department offers information packets along with free Narcan and training to business owners.

Addicts sometimes stop to use immediately after purchasing drugs, and overdose before they make it home.

Saving a life

The manager of the gas station where the woman overdosed Friday morning said she was at work when a customer came in to say someone appeared to be having a seizure in the parking lot.

Another co-worker and I ran outside because we could just see her feet hanging out of the passenger side of the vehicle, the manager said.

She said it appeared as if the woman had been about to pump gas  her car was parked in front of a pump, and the fuel tank cover on her car was open.

Maybe she was leaning in to get her money or something when she collapsed, the manager said.

As one person called 911, the manager said they pulled the woman out of the car and onto the ground and began CPR until police and firefighters arrived and took over.

The manager recognized the person, saying she stops at the station regularly. She said she is not someone she would have suspected of doing drugs.

Her color was fading fast; she had gurgly breath; her lips were blue. Her eyes were glazed over, she said, saying it was a frightening experience. I asked the cop who came if she was alive, and he said she is for now with all the Narcan they gave her.

According to a Kenosha Police report, when the first officer arrived the woman did not have a pulse.

At the hospital after she was revived, the 42-year-old woman told police she had snorted heroin off a CD case when she arrived in the parking lot after picking up the drugs.

The report stated the woman told the officer she is a recovering addict and that today was the first time she used heroin in three years.

Poltrock said he planned to stop at the station later Friday to provide information packets on recognizing and handling overdoses.

Maybe they would like an opportunity to have their staff trained on that and have some Narcan available, he said.

Tracking the data

The Kenosha Fire Department administration keeps a close eye on emergency calls, using the data to plan for and improve its responses.

For overdose calls, Poltrock keeps track of the number, the type of drug believed to be involved, and whether the first responders used Narcan to treat someone with an opioid overdose.

He also notes whether Narcan was used on the victim by someone at the scene before EMS arrived, and whether fire department personnel at the call were able to give family members a packet of information on drug addiction treatment and programs available locally.

Whether the person lived or died is also in the record.

Deaths rare

If there is good news in the spike in overdoses in the city, it is that fatalities have been rare. Poltrock said only one of the 23 overdose victims in the 20-day period this spring died.

The youngest victim was 21  we had three who were 21. The oldest was 64. The average age was 38, Poltrock said. Of the 23, 17 were male, six were female.

From Jan. 1 through May 12, Poltrock said, there were 79 overdose calls in the city, 40 of those opioid related.

In nine of those opioid cases, Narcan was administered by someone at the scene before EMS arrived. Of those nine cases, five occurred during the recent 20-day period, Poltrock said.

Kenosha County has been attacking the opioid epidemic through programs ranging from treatment courts and counseling to drug therapies like Vivitrol.

The county and the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin also offer free Narcan and training, giving people who know addicts a way to revive people who have overdosed on opioids.

Narcan a factor

Access to Narcan may be a factor in the sharp decline in overdose deaths in the county in 2018, a decline that outpaced state and national numbers.

In 2018, according to statistics from the medical examiners office, there were 46 drug overdose deaths, a 19 percent decline from the previous year.

Nationally, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control, overdose deaths fell 3.2 percent through September 2018, falling 4.6 percent during the same time period in Wisconsin.

Theres no doubt that it is saving lives, no doubt about it, Poltrock said of access to Narcan in the county.

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Cormac Vesey has been appointed as the new Executive Head Chef at Kilkenny Hibernian Hotel, the medieval citys leading boutique style hotel and home to Harpers Restaurant.

Cormac, who is a native of Dunshaughlin, County Meath, graduated from Waterford Institute of Technology with a Higher Certificate in Culinary Arts in 2010 and in the same year was awarded the coveted Student of the Year title by his department. Since then he has worked tirelessly cooking in kitchens across the globe. From New Zealand, France and England to Canada. He has also been part of the culinary team in some of Irelands most renowned restaurants including the five-star Killarney Park Hotel, Waterford Castle Hotel and the Michelin-starred Cliff House Hotel, Ardmore.

Before returning home to Ireland in late 2018, Cormac worked as a Private Chef in St Tropez cooking for an illustrious family in their coastal villa and creating menus to serve at their many high profile events. Now feeling back at home in Ireland, he is delighted to be back in the kitchen and leading his new team at the four-star Kilkenny Hibernian Hotel.

Commenting on his new role Cormac said, Ive always been a huge fan of Kilkenny as a destination and its great to now be living and working in this vibrant city. Im really looking forward to showcasing my culinary expertise, sharing influences from my time working abroad and creating an exciting new menu for Harpers Restaurant. Its a great start to 2019 for me!

Harper's restaurant, the hotels main dining room launched in 2016, offering chic and stylish interiors, with a retro feel, giving a nod to the 1950's. Centrally located only a short distance from all popular Kilkenny tourist attractions such as St. Canices Cathedral and The Smithwick's Experience, Kilkenny Hibernian is the closest hotel in the city to the iconic Kilkenny Castle.
Gardai in Kilkenny are urging the public to be cautious and not to purchase goods from persons unknown to them following a number of scams in recent days.

A woman was approached by two males last Saturday and offered an iPhone X for sale for 200. She was shown the phone, which normally retails at over 1,000. She handed over the cash and was given a package. The men left the scene and a short time later the woman discovered that she had been given a bag of sugar.

There have also been a number of online scams reported to Kilkenny gardai in recent days whereby people have transferred cash online for accommodation only to subsequently find out that the property shown was not for rent.

"We are urging the public to exercise caution and common sense and not to part with money unless they have established that what they are paying for actually exists," a garda spokesperson said.

Anyone with information can contact Kilkenny gardai on (056) 7775000.
Legislators urged to perform constitutional duties Updated: 2019-05-15 07:40 By He Shusi in Hong Kong(HK Edition)

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Tuesday called on lawmakers to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities - scrutinizing government bills, and resuming "mutual respect".

In comments before the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lam said she deeply regretted the "unprecedented" situation in the Legislative Council, where a bills committee had failed in four meetings to begin deliberations on the government-proposed extradition law amendments. Clashes between the opposition and pro-establishment camps, spurred from their dispute over the issue, turned violent over the weekend and persisted into Tuesday.

According to Article 73 of the Basic Law, the LegCo shall enact, amend or repeal laws in accordance with legal procedures.

Displaying placards urging the Legislative Council to "resume functions" and "speedily amend the extradition laws", Hong Kong residents on Tuesday voice their support for the government's extradition law amendments outside the LegCo. Roy Liu / China Daily

Lam reiterated that the SAR government will proactively listen to - and seriously consider - any constructive suggestions made in the bills committee.

The government proposed amendments on April 3 to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance. The action is aimed at plugging legal loopholes in the ordinances that came to light following a murder case in Taiwan, where a Hong Kong man accused of murdering his girlfriend fled back to the SAR.

The amendments will enable Hong Kong to surrender fugitive offenders to jurisdictions with which it doesn't have rendition arrangements, including Taiwan, Macao and the Chinese mainland.

Opposition lawmakers, however, have stalled normal deliberation procedures by preventing the bills committee from electing a chairperson.

Commenting on the situation at a separate occasion, Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung also expressed his regret and disappointment over the impasse. He called on lawmakers to start deliberations on the bill as soon as possible in a rational and peaceful manner.

Cheung stressed that the SAR government's door for discussion over the bill, either with the public or with lawmakers from various political parties, is "always open". He stressed that a bills committee will be the best platform to conduct in-depth and detailed discussions on the amendments.

The revision is a legal issue with complex factors, so that thorough discussion in a dedicated bills committee, rather than a simple talk, is the right way to advance the matter, he said.

In a bid to resolve the current deadlock, some opposition lawmakers have asked the government to hold joint talks with both political camps. But Cheung said it would be inappropriate for the SAR government, an executive body, to interfere with procedures in the legislature. The LegCo House Committee, which set up the bills committee, will decide on the following procedures.

At the same time, Cheung pledged the government will make a greater effort to explain the bill through various channels, to ease public concerns and address misunderstandings.

heshusi@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 05/15/2019 page4)
To get 6% in a world where safe investments pay 1% or less requires accepting significant risk. Although a few corporate and foreign bonds pay 6% or better, many of today's best bets for high yield trade on exchanges like stocks, putting you in the often gut-churning position of watching their share prices whip around like a roller coaster. They include master limited partnerships, mortgage-owning real estate investment trusts and business development companies (see our glossary for explanations of how they work).

Becca Followill, head of stock research at U.S. Capital Advisors, a Houston investment firm, thinks MLPs are a great idea for superior income. Her favorite is Targa Resources Partners (NGLS, $46, 6.0%), a Houston-based operation that has a finger in every aspect of the production, storage and sale of natural gas. Followill expects its distribution rate to rise by an average of 11% annually over the next several years.

Morningstars Pikelny likes four closed-end funds offered by BlackRock. All invest in junk bonds and take on a moderate amount of debt to boost their payouts. The funds have many of the same holdings and similar yields, so Pikelny considers them virtually interchangeable: BlackRock Corporate High Yield (COY, $8, 7.6%); BlackRock Corporate High Yield III (CYE, $8, 7.9%); BlackRock Corporate High Yield V (HYV, $13, 8.2%); and BlackRock Corporate High Yield VI (HYT, $13, 8.1%). All recently traded at close to net asset value. Pikelny suggests buying the one trading at the biggest discount to NAV (or at the smallest premium).
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(AMAZONIA, Mo.) Multiple agencies are searching for a person on the Missouri River near the Nodaway Island Access point near Amazonia.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a truck was discovered still running with a trailer behind it in the water at the ramp Friday morning.

Troop H has deployed their water operations team with another team on the way from Troop A to assist.

The Missouri Department of Conservation is also assisting.

As of Saturday morning, authorities have not been able to locate the missing person.

Stay with KQ2 for updates on this story.
(ST. JOSEPH, Mo) The end of the school year has been a tough year for DeKalb-Rushville students.

This years active flood season has had a big impact on the kids and families within the district.

"Were out of our house living with family," Yvonne Black, 4th Grade teacher said.

Black, whose own kids go to the school, said her family has had to make adjustments.

"I have 3 kids who dont have their own rooms anymore," Black said. "We're all living pretty close together right now."

Even for those who havent lost their homes, just accessing the school has become a challenge. The closure of Highway 59, the main route to nearby Atchison where teacher Jonathan Wildhaber lives.

"Right now, Im having to go around to go through St. Joe or Leavenworth," Wildhaber said. "Thats about a 50 minute to an hour drive."

Despite these challenges, the principal says the kids are taking it all in stride.

"Our kids are awesome. Theyve been coming to school," Jennifer Dittemore, district principal Buchanan County R-IV said. "That's I think is a sense of normal in their day."

Thanks to a school in DeSoto, Kansas, kids and families can take a break from flooding concerns. Fourth graders at Clear Creek Elementary in DeSoto raised $1,000 for the school in Rushville.

"They left it to our discretion and we decided that we want to have a little fun with these kids," Dittemore said.

They came to the Hoof and Horn on the Southside for a special lunch. The operations manager is a fellow alumni who felt humbled to be in the position to help his former school.

"If thisll take their mind off it for just a little bit thats good for them, good for us. It's the least we could do thats for sure," Bryan Berthiaume, Operations Manager at the Hoof and Horn said.

After all theyve been through, parents kids and staff say theyre left only with gratitude for the help of others.

"Theres nothing better than a community that can come together and support one another," Wildhaber said.

Money left over from the donation from Clear Creek Elementary will go to school supplies for next year.
(CNN)  Germany is set to return a 15th Century artifact it took from Namibia known as the Stone Cross.

Minister of State for Media and Culture Monica Gruetters on Friday said the gesture showed that Germany was committed to accounting for its colonial past.

"A clear signal that we are committed to reappraising the colonial past," Gruetters said at a press conference announcing the restitution in Berlin.

The 3.5-meter high navigation landmark, erected by Portuguese explorer Diogo Cao, was first placed on Namibia's coast in 1498.

It was taken to Germany in 1893 after the area became a German imperial protectorate and is on display at the German Historical Museum in Berlin.

The Stone Cross, which bears the Portuguese coat of arms, was featured on old world maps, the museum said(https://www.dhm.de/fileadmin/medien/relaunch/presse/presseinformationen/Pressemeldungen_2019/190517_PM_Rueckgabe_Die_Saeule_von_Cape_Cross_DHM.pdf).

In June 2017, the Namibian government formally requested its return.

Gruetters will travel with German Historical Museum President Raphael Gross to Namibia to hand over the monument in August, the German culture ministry said on Friday.

Gross at a symposium in 2018 said the Stone Cross could spark discussions about Germany's history of colonial rule and about restitution and the return of colonial artifacts.

Faced with mounting pressure from African governments, more European countries are working to return artifacts plundered from Africa during colonial times.

France President Emmanuel Macron last year ordered the return of 26 artworks to the Republic of Benin more than a century after they were removed from the West African nation.

The British Museum in London in 2018 also said it will return Benin bronzes looted by British soldiers to Nigeria.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Germany to return 500-year-old monument to Namibia."
Sophie Lea has told how her marriage to Freddie Starr descended from happiness into hell after his arrest on suspicion of a historical child sex attack.

The 38-year-old said the TV comic became an abusive husband who physically and mentally tortured her so badly over time it led to her self-harming and left her suicidal.

And after he cruelly told her he would do the job himself Sophie tried to kill herself in a desperate bid to escape her nightmare.

In her first interview since Starrs death aged 76 at his Costa del Sol home last week, Sophie revealed she had to drive herself to hospital with slit wrists because he went to bed.



And as she was still recovering in a psychiatric hospital from a second suicide bid, Starr dumped her belongings in a skip and fled to Spain.

Sophie also branded him a control freak who would only allow her out of the house to do the weekly shop then accused her of sleeping around.

But despite her horror marriage, she is now organising his funeral  so his children can say a final goodbye.

Starr was first arrested in 2012 by Operation Yewtree police after he was accused of groping a teenager and later held three more times.

Mum-of-one Sophie said: He changed into a different person and lost faith with everything.

He would wake up in the morning loving you to bits, go for a snooze in the afternoon and wake up hating you.

He would throw every single bit of vile abuse at me.

He abused me mentally, emotionally and physically until I broke.

I would have much rather been hit than have to deal with the constant cruel words. He told me I was worthless, that I was absolutely nothing. He was massively paranoid.

I dont remember half the things he said because it went from words to being noise. When you are on the receiving end of that abuse constantly every single day there is nowhere to escape.

I had nobody to turn to. He stopped me leaving the house. I was only allowed to go out to go to Tesco to do the food shop.

If I was a bit longer than he thought was necessary I would be getting accused of cheating, of s******g every single person. He wouldnt even let me speak to my son Elliott unless he was present.

He thought we were sending messages via our eyes. Whenever Elliott came into the room I would have to lower my gaze in case I would get accused of sending secret messages.

He would get all my clothes and sit there with a knife and rip them all up.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Sleeping Beauty Castle, the centerpiece of the Disneyland park in Anaheim, has been undergoing a makeover for the past four months, a job that blocked off the building from parkgoers.

But to avoid dashing fans expectations, painting crews enveloped the 77-foot-tall castle with a huge painting of the original structure, emblazoned on heavy fabric attached to scaffolding.

The idea was to let park visitors snap photos of a rendering of the original castle, even if they couldnt see the actual fortress during the makeover.

This weekend, most of the fabric scrim and scaffolding are coming down and the castle is expected to open to the public Friday.

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The project, which began in January, employed as many as 60 workers at a time.

Disneyland workers decorate Sleeping Beauty Castle for Christmas last November. The castles roof has been replaced and it has been repainted with extra bright colors. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The most noticeable difference in the castle is that it has been repainted with brighter and bolder colors, with a strong infusion of blues and pinks. The cedar-shake roof shingles on the 18 turrets have been replaced and decorated with gold sparkles, representing magical pixie dust.

Its as though the entire castle has been enchanted, said Kim Irvine, art director for Walt Disney Imagineering, adding that the bolder colors more closely reflect the original hues of the building when it opened in 1955.

The image on the scrim that has covered the castle during construction was originally created by Disney artist Herb Ryman, who painted the first depictions of the castle and other Disneyland buildings for Walt Disney Co. in the early 1950s.

I personally think this is the best because its the first and its Walts castle and nobody can improve on it, Irvine said, noting that other Disney parks also have castles.

The last time the castle underwent an extensive makeover was in 2005, before the 50th anniversary of the Anaheim park. The latest overhaul was timed to be completed before the May 31 opening of the parks largest and most anticipated expansion, Star Wars: Galaxys Edge.

To make the castle look bigger, Disney designers have relied on a few optical illusions.

The colors on the walls are warmer near the bottom and lighter and bluer closer to the top, an artistic technique known as atmospheric perspective. Objects that are farther away are lighter and bluer because there is more atmosphere between them and the person viewing them. Enhancing those features heightens the effect.

In the castle, the cedar-shake shingles are also bigger near the bottom and smaller toward the top. Disney workers used progressively smaller shingles because objects that are smaller appear to be even farther away, another technique called forced perspective.

In addition to the castles new paint and roof, the area around the moat is being re-landscaped with new rosemary plants and pink roses.

Disneyland devotees began posting photos on social media last week as the castle started revealing itself, with many expressing excitement about the brighter colors and the chance to revisit the stubbornly analog attraction. There were a few voices of dissent who, for instance, described the stars and sparkles as tacky and the bold color scheme as over the top  like a preschool toy.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.
Small-scale sculptures by Miho Dohi are like handmade driftwood, a kind of cultural debris that has been carefully shaped into poetic forms by unseen forces. Scrap materials get unexpected new life.

Eight table-top sculptures, two on the wall and one suspended from the ceiling are in the artists Los Angeles debut at Nonaka-Hill Gallery. Based in Kanagawa, Japan, south of Tokyo, Dohi calls her sculptures buttai  objects  a usage that locates them somewhere between the cherished and the everyday. Her materials are humble, even mundane  paper, wire mesh, cotton batting, yarn, chunks of scrap wood  but they have been assembled with self-evident precision.

Juxtapositions are certainly eccentric, as when small pieces of copper screen are trimmed in tufts of raw cotton, or a small wooden lump is crowned with a droopy paper disk. Metal strips are applied as nominal handles for things that will only be picked up in the imagination, while lengths of twisted yarn are further bound with thread.

Installation view of Miho Dohis tabletop objects. (Nonaka-Hill Gallery)

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Miho Dohi, Untitled #41, 2019, mixed media. (Nonaka-Hill Gallery)

AT KOHN GALLERY: Jarvis Boylands diva paintings strike a pose 

Move around Dohis objects, and the shapes shift  one side looking nothing like the other. Her compositions are additive  one thing attached to another and then another  but always the forms end up turning back in on themselves.

Its as if growth is something internalized rather than expansive, the capacious quality a trait of the object alone rather than something dependent on its relationship to the space around it. Classical Japanese arts of refinement are deeply embedded in the work, but any established language of circumscribed control is energetically rebuffed. Inventiveness is prized over constraint.

Like Richard Tuttles sculptures made from scraps, Dohis diminutive objects radiate an element of pathos. Yet they burst with lively eccentricity too. Resolutely abstract, her sculptures are cutting-edge spirit catchers.

Nonaka-Hill Gallery, 720 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood. Tuesdays-Saturdays, through May 25. (323) 450-9409, nonaka-hill.com
Openings

Coyote Leaves the Res: The Art of Harry Fonseca Paintings, sketches and lithographs by the late artist celebrate the wily trickster of Native American folklore. Autry Museum of the American West, Griffith Park, 4700 Western Heritage Way, L.A. Starts Sun.; ends Jan. 5. Closed Mon. $6-$14; children under 3, free. (323) 667-2000. theautry.org

The Foundation of the Museum: MOCAs Collection Exhibition revisits high points in the museums four-decade history. The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, 152 N. Central Ave., Little Tokyo, downtown L.A. Opens Sun.; ends March 25. Closed Tue. $8-$15 (includes same-day admission to MOCA; jurors and children under 12, free; Thursdays after 5 p.m., free. (213) 626-6222. moca.org

Portfolio Series: Osmeivy Ortega Multimedia works by the Cuban artist. Museum of Latin American Art, 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach. Now on view; ends June 30. Closed Mon.-Tue. $7, $10; members, children under 12, free. (562) 437-1689. molaa.org

At First Light: The Dawning of Asian Pacific America Multimedia exhibition charts the rise of racially and culturally sensitive representations of Asian Pacific Americans. Japanese American National Museum, 100 N. Central Ave., Little Tokyo, downtown L.A. Opens Sat.; ends Oct. 20. Closed Mon. $6, $12; 5 and under, free. (213) 625-0414. janm.org
A federal judge Friday slapped the Mongols motorcycle club with a sizable fine and probation as punishment in a racketeering case, but rebuffed another attempt by prosecutors to strip the notoriously violent group of trademarks it holds on its logo.

At a sentencing hearing in Santa Ana, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter fined the Mongols $500,000 and put the club on probation for five years, a spokesman for the U.S. attorneys office said. Prosecutors had asked Carter to fine the club $1 million, the maximum amount allowed under the law.

A jury in December convicted the Mongols organization of racketeering and conspiracy charges, finding that it shared responsibility for murder, attempted murder and drug crimes committed by individual members.

The government put the organization as a whole on trial in an unusual attempt to take control of trademarks the club owns that gives it legal control over its insignia  a Genghis Khan-inspired figure in sunglasses riding a motorcycle beneath the groups name. The image, which only members are permitted to display on riding jackets, is a crucial part of the groups identity and prosecutors believed losing control of it would go a long way toward dismantling the Mongols.

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The jury in the case sided with prosecutors, finding the trademarked image was tied closely enough to the racketeering conspiracy the club carried out that it should be forfeited to the government.

But Carter intervened, refusing to approve the forfeiture. In a March order, the judge said denying Mongol members the ability to display the logo would overstep the right to free expression embedded in the 1st Amendment, as well as the 8th Amendments ban on excessive penalties.

In the lead-up to Fridays sentencing hearing, prosecutors tried again, suggesting a compromise of sorts. In a written filing, they asked Carter to order the Mongols to forfeit its trademarks so it would no longer be able to prevent others from using the image. Such an order, the prosecutors argued, would not prevent Mongol members from displaying the image as well and, so, would not cross any constitutional lines.

Carter was not persuaded and denied the request.

Thom Mrozak, the spokesman for the U.S. attorneys office, declined to comment on whether the government planned to appeal.
The girls were from different worlds when they met in seventh grade, at Stauffer Middle School in Downey, but they had two things in common.

They were both immigrants, one from El Salvador and the other from Egypt, and neither of them spoke much English.

Katerin had, at 11 years old, made a terrifying trek through Guatemala and Mexico by car, bus, boat and on foot. Her feet blistered when she crossed the scorching desert, but she was determined to be reunited with her mother. Mehraeel had fled Cairo with her family at 13, racing to the airport in fear of religious persecution during a political uprising.

Before Katerin knew where Mehraeel was from, she heard her say a few words in heavily accented English and tried speaking to Mehraeel in Spanish, but she got no response.

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Then I figured out, oh, shes from Egypt, said Katerin. They dont speak Spanish over there.

By eighth grade, the girls were on their way to becoming best friends, as they cracked the mysteries of English and adapted to a new culture. They moved on to Warren High School together, took all the toughest classes and plotted to go to great colleges.

But for all their closeness, there was one thing Mehraeel didnt know about her buddy until about a year ago.

I didnt know she was undocumented.

I met both girls Wednesday at Warren High in an after-school club called IDEAS. It was started in 2012 by teacher Mercelena Vasquez-Funk and patterned after a program at UCLA. IDEAS stands for improving dreams, equality, access and success. Vasquez-Funks goal has been to help students take advantage of state law and available resources and go to college, regardless of their immigration status.

Some of the club members have temporary Dreamer protection because they were brought here by their parents as young children, some were granted asylum, some are undocumented and others were born in the U.S. but joined the club because they identify with and want to support immigrant classmates.

More than 100 IDEAS alums have gone on to University of California campuses, the New York University law school and the Cal States, among other colleges. One is a rocket scientist, another an anthropologist, and Vasquez-Funk wanted to share that information at a time when a darker narrative is spun about a national border crisis and a criminal invasion thats destroying the United States.

Mehraeel Gouda, left, looks on as her best friend, Katerin, hugs teacher Mercelena Vasquez-Funk. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

These kids are cream of the crop, said Vasquez-Funk, whose students volunteer at campus cleanups and help organize community legal fairs when theyre not studying or working.

And every one of them has a story.

Mehraeel recalled the day she and her mother and three sisters abandoned their lives in Cairo, terrified theyd be attacked because of their Coptic Orthodox Christian faith. Her father, already in the United States, had applied for religious asylum for them.

There were bombs near our house, and people came out of their homes with kitchen knives and brooms to defend themselves, she said, telling me a story that she also told in her college application essay.

They made it to the airport and arrived safely in California, where so many trails lead, and Mehraeel fully embraced her adopted home.

Coming from a country without much freedom for women, the United States was heaven for me, said Mehraeel, who took Advanced Placement U.S. history and government, studied politics, followed world events, volunteered as a poll worker in an election and interned at a law firm.

In an essay, she mentioned her involvement with IDEAS.

I joined the club to help undocumented students find their American dream just like me, she wrote.

Mehraeel, now 17, encouraged Katerin, now 18, to join the club without knowing she was undocumented. She thought shed enjoy the experience as an immigrant.

It wasnt until I started seeing the alumni come back from prestigious colleges or medical school and tell our club that they were undocumented that I felt comfortable enough to start telling my story, said Katerin.

Last summer, Katerin began to assemble her college application essay with the help of Warren High teacher David Cha.

I cant deny these kids these opportunities, said Cha, who told me he has friends with differing views on undocumented immigrants. He said he cant draw a line on whats equitable, but I know that every kid has a story and they deserve to be heard.

Katerin told me that her mother had left El Salvador when her daughter was young to find work and wire money home. So Katerin was raised by her grandparents until her mother saved enough to send for her and an older brother. On their journey north, the siblings traveled with strangers, stuffed cheek to cheek in vans. They slept on floors, craved their next meal and walked for days, weakened by thirst. After crossing the U.S. border, they crawled to avoid detection.

By this point, Katerin wrote in her college essay, my toenails were black and my heels were peeling. But I reminded myself that it was for my American dream.

Desperate and afraid, she and her brother knocked on the door of a strangers home in Texas.

A Caucasian lady opened the door with her young daughters beside her, Katerin wrote in her college essay. The lady gave us food and allowed my brother to use her phone. I, to this day, think she let us in because she saw one of her daughters in me.

In IDEAS, Katerin and Mehraeel continued to bond. There was never a day when Katerin turned to Mehraeel and said, hey, guess what, Im undocumented. But that fact was becoming more obvious in IDEAS, and when Katerin decided to run for club vice president and then president, she made campaign speeches that revealed even more of her story.

Mehraeel had never imagined, given how similar their journeys had been, that she enjoyed rights that were out of her best friends reach. She knew people whod been granted asylum and frowned on immigrants without legal status, and she certainly was glad that her own family had followed the rules. But in getting to know Katerin and other undocumented students, the lines between whats right or wrong, legal or illegal, had blurred.

Knowing her story and what she went through to get here  what both of us went through to get to this point  made me realize were not different, said Mehraeel.

For Katerin, though, theres a lingering fear that her dream could be cut short, given immigration policy uncertainty. If it is, shell have lost a great deal.

Katerin took 12 honors and AP classes at Warren, with an emphasis on biology and chemistry. She took a summer internship and learned how to draw blood and administer vaccinations and perform other medical procedures. In a few months, shell head to Scripps College on a scholarship, and she wants to be a medical doctor.

Mehraeel took plenty of AP courses, too, and became interested in politics and law. To overcome her shyness, she spoke about her IDEAS experience to students at other schools, and she found her calling last summer when she interned at a law firm. Shell soon be on a scholarship at UC Irvine, where shell major in politics, but her long-range goal is law school.

She wants to be an immigration lawyer.

Katerin applauds a fellow student giving a speech as the class prepares for college entry at the IDEAS club. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Get more of Steve Lopezs work and follow him on Twitter @LATstevelopez
A case of measles has been confirmed in Berkeley, and officials are warning that the patient may have been infectious in public more than a week ago when visiting one of the citys most popular supermarkets, Berkeley Bowl.

The supermarket at 2020 Oregon St., known for its wide selection of organic produce, is less than a mile away from the edge of the UC Berkeley campus.

Measles is one of the worlds most contagious diseases, and can infect 90% of unimmunized people who inhale the airborne virus.

Officials said anyone who went to Berkeley Bowl on May 7 between 3 and 5 p.m. should be watching for signs of measles  runny nose, red eyes, cough and fever, which are followed by a rash that appears on the face and spreads downward. Symptoms can show up seven to 21 days after exposure.

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Unvaccinated people are particularly at risk, as are those with severely weakened immune systems, such as those undergoing cancer treatments.

People who suspect that they have measles should call their doctor first. Special arrangements need to be made to see suspected measles patients to protect others from being potentially infected at a physicians office.

As of Wednesday, there have been 45 confirmed measles cases in California this year, including 30 associated with outbreaks.

(Los Angeles Times)

Q&A: Do I need a measles booster shot? How to protect yourself, and more 

Overall, California has been spared from the worst of the ongoing U.S. measles outbreak, in part because of its high vaccination rates. More than 600 people have been diagnosed with measles in New York this year amid what health officials say is the worst measles outbreak in decades in the United States.

California underwent its last large outbreak of measles four years ago, after measles spread at Disneyland. At least 131 California residents were infected between December 2014 and April 2015; the virus also was contracted by residents of six other states, Mexico and Canada.

The state Legislature is considering new legislation that would strengthen requirements to vaccinate schoolchildren.

State officials say California counties have spent more than $400,000 trying to stop measles from spreading across the state this year.

ron.lin@latimes.com

@ronlin
A San Francisco judge has ordered Californias attorney general to release police misconduct records predating Jan. 1, when new transparency legislation took effect.

San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Richard B. Ulmer Jr. on Friday also rejected arguments by Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra that his office should not have to release records of local law enforcement.

The tentative ruling was a win for the First Amendment Coalition and National Public Radio member KQED-FM, which sued Becerras office for records under the legislation.

SB1421 was designed to guarantee public access to records involving investigations into officer shootings, use-of-force incidents and incidents involving officer misconduct.

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In response, Becerras office said Friday it would release records from before 2019 but only those regarding Department of Justice officers.
The University of Southern California paid Dr. Carmen Puliafito, its former medical school dean, nearly $1 million in severance along with a bonus, according to tax filings disclosed this week.

Puliafito was the subject of a Times investigation in 2017 that revealed he used drugs and partied with young addicts while running the Keck School of Medicine.

In a settlement after USC banned him from campus, Puliafito was allowed to resign in September 2017, with the university giving him a $875,000 payout. That year, USC also paid him a $124,000 bonus.

The figures were contained in annual tax forms that the university must publicly release as a nonprofit. The payouts were in addition to Puliafitos base salary of about $620,000, for a total compensation exceeding $1.8 million, according to the tax filings.

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Puliafito declined to comment Friday evening in a phone call.

A USC spokesman noted that the universitys previous administration reached a settlement agreement with the former dean. The spokesman said in a statement that the bonus was paid in accordance with Puliafitos employment contract. The Harvard-trained ophthalmologist received the same bonus amount the previous year, according to tax filings.

The payments were first reported by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

For Puliafito, the disclosure of his compensation comes as he is waging a court battle so he can return to treating patients. A hearing is scheduled next year.

The Medical Board of California stripped him of his physicians license last summer.

Puliafito and his defense attorney said in a public hearing last year that the physician had suffered from bipolar disorder and a hypomanic state that altered his judgment, warping his understanding of how his behavior was viewed by others. His attorney said at the time that Puliafito had been in recovery about a year.

In the wake of The Times report, USC hired former U.S. Atty. Debra Wong Yang of the firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher to lead an investigation into what administrators knew about the dean.

Yangs findings remain secret nearly two years after she was tapped for the inquiry. USC has repeatedly declined to share any portion of Gibson Dunns report, and it has not said whether the report will ever become public.

Reached by phone Friday, Yang deferred to the university.

A USC spokesman said the results of the Gibson Dunn review have been presented to the board of trustees and select faculty leaders, adding that significant reforms had been implemented based on its conclusions.
The top food stories from this week at the Los Angeles Times:

Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino as they gather ingredients in the Berkeley Hills for their upcoming dinner on May 4 at Cafe Ohlone. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

OHLONE RISING

John Birdsall considers the cooking of First Californians, the Ohlone tribe of the Central Coast.

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Keanu Reeves star in Hollywood. (Nina Prommer / EPA-EFE/REX)

BATTLE OF THE REVIEW STARS

Bill Addison (pro) and Patricia Escarcega (con) go head-to-head on the subject of the restaurant star review.

Crispy octopus, clockwise from top center, avocado hummus, roasted chicken, Nashville hot shrimp and tempura-fried squash blossoms at Yours Truly in Venice. (Silvia Razgova / For The Times)

ON AVOCADO HUMMUS

Patricia sits down at Yours Truly, the newish modern California restaurant in Venice.

Inn Ann sushi chef Mori Onodera is an accomplished ceramist; his sushi is pretty accomplished too. (Oriana Koren / For The Times)

AN ODE TO OMAKASE

Bill Addison hangs out at the sushi bar at Inn Ann, the Japanese omakase restaurant hidden within the Hollywood & Highland complex.

Chicken kebab with dried lime and mint from Najmieh Batmanglijs Cooking in Iran: Regional Recipes & Kitchen Secrets. (Mage Publishers)

THE LIMEY

Amy Scattergood talks to cookbook author Najmieh Batmanglij about dried limes, a Persian kitchen staple that will transform your cooking.

Food Bowl 2019 is here. Were halfway through our annual May food festival, with a long list of events still to go: a day-long Chef Conference, with discussions about speakers, discussions and demos; Outstanding in the Field dinners; a giant pizza party and more. Go to lafoodbowl.com for a calendar, plus links for tickets. We hope youll join us for #31daysoffood.

Our 101 Restaurants We Love list for 2018 is out. The list incorporates restaurants and trucks from around Los Angeles and Orange County, in alphabetical order (no rankings this time). Plus theres a bonus list of 10 classic restaurants.

Check us out on Instagram at @latimesfood.

And dont forget the thousands of recipes in our California Cookbook recipe database.

Feedback? Wed love to hear from you. Email us at food@latimes.com.
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It is Saturday, May 18. Heres a look at the top stories of the past week:

WEEK IN REVIEW

LAX pot smuggling arrests: With arrests for weed smuggling up 166% at LAX, experts say legalization has had the unexpected effect of turning the worlds fourth-largest airport into an expanding hub in the illegal export of marijuana. (Plus, a quick primer on what the rules for bringing weed into a California airport actually are, from Tuesdays newsletter.)

San Francisco police officers conducted a search at the home of journalist Bryan Carmody. (Courtesy of Bryan Carmody)

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Police raid: When a reporter would not betray the identity of a source who gave him a confidential police report, officers came to his home with guns and a sledgehammer and handcuffed him for six hours while performing a search. Hes now fighting back in court.

Newsoms headaches: Gov. Newsom is already facing criticism for not delivering on some of his grander promises. Its bad timing as he travels the state to try and sell his unpopular plan to levy hefty fines on those who do not have medical coverage.

Vanishing restaurants: The Chinese-restaurant-dense San Gabriel Valley has seen a wave of major closures in recent months, including the shuttering of dim sum powerhouses Ocean Star and Empress Harbor Seafood Restaurant.

Death of SB50: A bill that would have boosted housing density near mass transit and in single-family-home neighborhoods was held in a Senate committee on Thursday, ending a major battle that has attracted significant attention around California. (ICYMI: L.A. Times policy reporter Liam Dillion explained the politics behind the bills sudden demise in Fridays newsletter.)

Camp fire cause: A Cal Fire probe has found that Pacific Gas & Electric power lines sparked the devastating Camp fire that destroyed nearly 14,000 homes and killed 85 people last year in whats considered to be the deadliest blaze in state history.

Racist promposal: A photo of two Palos Verdes High students holding a sign that spelled out a racist slur  within a message for a prom invitation  spread quickly on social media this week, prompting backlash from students and parents. Some have argued the situation highlights larger issues about the normalization of hate speech among youth in affluent, predominantly white communities, leading to groups of people who think bigotry is funny.

Disneyland legacy: As Disneyland readies itself for its future (the giant expansion for the Star Wars-themed Galaxys Edge), Kim Irvine, art director at Walt Disney Imagineering, stands as a connection to the parks beginnings.

Whoops, high-speed rail: The looming threats by the Trump administration against the California bullet train project became a sour reality Thursday, when federal transportation officials terminated a $929-million grant for construction in the Central Valley.

Alarming increase: San Francisco saw a 17% jump in the number of homeless residents since 2017. Thats an increase of thousands of people over the last two years, according to reports released Thursday.

Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times.

ICYMI, HERE ARE THIS WEEKS GREAT READS

The North remembers: In Northern Ireland, Game of Thrones leaves a lasting legacy for a country once synonymous with intractable sectarian violence. Los Angeles Times

La caravana mujeres: For single men in Spanish towns, the caravan of women brings hope of love. Los Angeles Times

Lonely city: In L.A., people silently imploding from loneliness live among us  but we dont talk much about it. Los Angeles Times

The Liberator: Unearthing the Black newspaper that sold the California dream to freed slaves. Columbia Journalism Review

Get the Essential California newsletter 

THIS WEEKS MOST POPULAR STORIES IN ESSENTIAL CALIFORNIA

1. Whats it like to live in Northern Californias first tiny-home community? The Bold Italic

2. Racist promposal by Palos Verdes High School students prompts outrage. Los Angeles Times

3. In-N-Out owner Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson gives Biola grads life advice (and gift cards). Whittier Daily News

4. The seven most-talked-about films at this years Cannes Film Festival. Wall Street Journal

5. When a reporter would not betray his source, police came to his home with guns and a sledgehammer. Los Angeles Times

LOOKING AHEAD

Saturday Recommendation: The chorizo at Chori-Man in San Pedro

The Chori-Man exterior (Courtesy of Mandy Barton)

Our weekly recommendation offers a succinct pitch for a single great thing around the state  be it a restaurant meal, a specialty bookstore, or the stairs to climb for the best view of an iconic vista.

Some of the best chorizo in Southern California can be found inside a red-and-white storefront about a mile north of the waterfront in San Pedro. Humberto Raygoza learned how to make the spicy sausages from his father and is considered by various media outlets to be the best chorizo maker in all of Los Angeles.

But opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant was not actually a part of Humberto Raygozas original plan. He was already providing wholesale chorizo to some of L.A.s most-praised Mexican restaurants in 2017 when he went in search of his own commercial kitchen space. (At the time, he was preparing up to 500 pounds of chorizo a week for buzzy restaurants like Salazar and Sonoratown from a shared kitchen in Playa del Rey.)

Chorizo tacos at Chori-Man in San Pedro. (Julia Wick / Los Angeles Times)

But when the fourth-generation chorizo maker and his business partner Mandy Barton happened upon the vacant kitchen and counter space that once housed Zinas Pizza in San Pedro, they made a deal with the landlord on the spot, according to San Pedro Today.

Sandwiched between a bakery and a market on the corner of a sleepy, tree-lined street in a largely residential neighborhood, the Chori-Man sells heartbreakingly good chorizo by the pound, along with a food menu that includes burritos, tacos, quesadillas and tortas.

The Chori-Man is located at 2309 S. Alma Street in San Pedro. They are open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (424) 287-2414

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints, ideas and unrelated book recommendations to Julia Wick. Follow her on Twitter @Sherlyholmes.
When advocates for legalizing marijuana in California drafted Proposition 64, they made an important concession to win the support  or at least minimize the opposition  of local government and law enforcement groups: Cities and counties, they said, would be allowed to ban marijuana-related businesses entirely if they chose to.

That guarantee of local control was a central promise of the proposition. But now, some legislators want to reverse it and force local governments to accept pot stores against their will. Its an unfair bait-and-switch tactic that should not be approved.

Under Proposition 64, which was approved less than three years ago, local governments may not prohibit adults from growing, using or transporting marijuana for personal use, but they can refuse to license cannabis companies in their jurisdiction.

And thats exactly what many have done. Roughly 75% of local governments have outlawed pot shops.

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That, however, has created a problem, in the eyes of some Proposition 64 supporters. One of the measures goals was to transform the marijuana industry from a largely uncontrolled, unchecked, underground operation into a highly regulated marketplace served by legitimate, taxpaying companies. But because of the local bans on retail pot shops, there are still many eager cannabis customers living in places where legal marijuana is not easily available  and many sellers are therefore continuing to operate illegally in the shadows.

Proposition 64 promised local control, and many of the people who voted for it may have thought that was a critical part of the proposition.

In other words, the local bans are seen by some people as encouraging black market operators who dont pay taxes or necessarily follow the new laws regulations, such as those on pesticides and packaging. The state has sent more than 3,000 cease-and-desist letters to illegal pot businesses.

To address the issue, Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) has introduced Assembly Bill 1356, which would require cities and counties where more than 50% of voters supported Proposition 64 to permit at least one marijuana retail license for every six liquor licenses issued to bars or restaurants in their jurisdiction, or one pot shop for every 15,000 residents, whichever is fewer.

A city would be allowed to ban marijuana businesses only if it puts a measure to do so on the ballot and voters pass it.

Ting and his supporters argue that AB 1356 is necessary because local elected officials are ignoring the will of the voters by not licensing more pot shops.

But they dont know that. Proposition 64 promised local control, and many of the people who voted for it may have thought that was a critical part of the proposition.

Even people who support legalizing marijuana can have legitimate qualms and hesitations about the details of permitting cannabis operations. Where are the appropriate locations for marijuana businesses? Should there be a cap on the number of pot shops allowed? Because marijuana remains illegal under federal law, cannabis businesses cant get banking services so they are all-cash enterprises, which come with crime risks and tax collection challenges.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

The concession allowing local governments to control licensing was an acknowledgement of those challenges, and an attempt to ease peoples concerns over how legalization could affect their communities. The ballot argument was perfectly clear that the measure preserves local control, and the voter information guide analysis stated that cities and counties could also completely ban marijuana-related businesses.

Those promises should not be so lightly undone so soon after Proposition 64 went into effect. If marijuana sellers are operating without licenses in areas where they are banned, then the solution is for state and local law enforcement agencies to be aggressive in shutting them down.

There is a separate fight underway over whether cities and counties can ban deliveries of legal marijuana to adult residents in their jurisdiction. The states Bureau of Cannabis Control says no, Proposition 64 doesnt let cities ban delivery services from traveling on public roads to their customers. Two dozen cities are suing the state, arguing that the right to ban marijuana businesses includes the right to ban deliveries.

They can fight that one out. But there should be no confusion on the right of cities and counties to ban pot businesses from setting up shop within their borders. Its far too soon for lawmakers to consider overturning one of the key promises of Proposition 64.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: Now that the masters in Georgia and Alabama have voted to enslave the bodies of women, how do we change their thinking? History provides an answer: Boycotts work. (Female film workers in Georgia urge Hollywood not to boycott over abortion ban, May 13)

Women, dont buy Georgia peaches, Vidalia onions or Coca-Cola products, and dont produce films in Georgia. Yes, working people will be hurt in the short run, but its better than the death of women from illegal abortions.

Women who work in the film industry in Georgia: Get out of there. Youll find better work elsewhere until the master takes his hands off our bodies.

Cheryl Younger, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Although I am in principle against abortion, I feel that Roe vs. Wade must stand.

There will always be circumstances where an abortion is the only option. I would say that any man who has daughters privately supports this decision; this is why I think Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh would side with his liberal colleagues in letting Roe vs. Wade remain law.

On the other hand, I feel that the pro-choice folks have it wrong when they say a woman has the right to choose. Since most abortion cases are not about rape, incest or danger to the mother, better choices could be made that would make a decision on abortion unnecessary.

Mark Walker, Yorba Linda

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To the editor: As a script supervisor in Los Angeles, I completely understand the distress the women film workers in Georgia are experiencing from the risk of film and television production leaving town over a boycott caused by their states new draconian and cruel anti-reproductive rights law, which makes no exceptions for the victims of rape or incest.

Its the exact same distress the women and men of Hollywood have been experiencing ever since our work began fleeing to Georgia.

Dianne Weiss, Los Angeles

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To the editor: With drumbeats for war against Iran coming from Washington, those of us who recall how we entered two fraudulently and tragically failed wars during the past 55 years cannot help being concerned by alarming echoes of past disasters.

The bogus Gulf of Tonkin attack set off a full-scale war in Vietnam in 1964, and contrived evidence of Iraqi nuclear weapons development resulted in the 2003 invasion. We must not repeat this by launching an attack on the Iranians based on suspicious claims of the danger they pose to the United States and its allies.

President Trump could well benefit by starting a conflict and diverting our attention from the investigations into his administration, the failure of his trade war with China, and the declining prospects for his reelection in 2020. He has a willing accomplice in national security advisor John Bolton, who downplays the value of diplomacy and has rarely seen an adversary he didnt want to go to war against.

For the sake of our young men and women, our nations integrity and our international credibility, we must say no to the hawks in Washington who threaten other peoples lives to achieve their own political goals.

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Bill Hessell, Culver City

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To the editor: I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran in the 1970s, earned a masters in Islamic Studies from UCLA in 1979 and have returned to Iran for visits in 1979, 2014, 2016 and 2019. My admiration for the generous people, amazing culture, ancient history, inspiring architecture and beautiful poetry of Iran runs deep.

Every week the Trump administration is taking a yet more confrontational posture that could easily lead to armed conflict with Iran. Bolton, the hawk closest to Trump, remains supportive of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Before Bolton leads the U.S. into yet another disastrous war, our lawmakers must repeal the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force and secure the passage of the Prevention of Unconstitutional War with Iran Act. The U.S. can ill afford to stumble into yet another forever war in the Mideast.

Paul Barker, Junction City, Ore.

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To the editor: As President George W. Bush sat at his desk in the Oval Office in 2003, it is was Vice President Dick Cheney who fanned the flames of war with manufactured tales of weapons of mass destruction.

John Bolton is the new Dick Cheney. He is a threat world peace and another reason to send Trump packing in 2020.

Doug Jones, Los Feliz

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To the editor: Trump excoriated Bush relentlessly for starting the Iraq War. He has said he cannot start another war, and Americans certainly dont want another war  so much so that it could decide the election.

Its obvious how Iran could take advantage of this.

Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are chomping at the bit. They want regime change. All Iran has to do is make the slightest apparent provocation.

This is a high-stakes chess game. Bolton and Pompeo are chess masters. Irans pretty good too. But it seems that only Trump does not want war, so lets hope his chess playing is better than his negotiating.

John Harduvel, Huntington Beach

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Good morning. Im Paul Thornton, and it is Saturday, May 18, 2019. I trust that all my fellow Americans of Norwegian descent had a wonderful Syttende Mai (pronounced something like SOOT-in my). Lets take a look back at the week in Opinion.

Michael Brandon Samra might have briefly hoped his life would be spared the day before Alabama executed him on Thursday. For it was then, on Wednesday, that the only official with the unilateral authority to grant the convicted murderer a reprieve declared every life  really, every life  to be a sacred gift from God.

But as we can almost always infer from the statements of anti-abortion hardliners, its really the lives of blastocysts, embryos and fetuses that are valued the most  or at least used disingenuously to pass laws meant to kick the issue of abortion up to the Supreme Court. In a piece posted after Gov. Kay Ivey signed her states flagrantly unconstitutional criminalization of nearly all abortions, editorial writer Scott Martelle called out Alabamas transparent hypocrisy on the question of protecting all life:

Apparently, Iveys not averse to returning some of Gods sacred gifts, since as governor shes overseeing the planned execution ... of Michael Brandon Samra, who was 19 years old when he took part in the quadruple murder of the family of a friend angered by the fathers refusal to let him borrow a pickup truck. The ringleader, who was 15 at the time of the crimes, is serving life in prison. In fact, since Ivey assumed office two years ago last month, Alabama has executed six other men, including convicted serial bomber Walter Moody who, at 83, became the oldest person executed in the nations history when he was strapped onto the gurney last year. Earlier this year, the state executed Domineque Ray after the Supreme Court refused to issue a stay when Iveys government denied the condemned Muslim inmate access to an imam in the death chamber, although it does provide a Christian chaplain. Although California has the nations largest death row with 735 condemned inmates, Alabama has the highest per capita rate of death sentences. And six weeks after she was sworn into office, Ivey signed into law a measure shortening the appeals process for capital offense, a move that makes it more likely the state will execute the innocent. So much for Iveys notion that the new abortion ban stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians deeply held belief that every life is precious & that every life is a sacred gift from God. Or maybe the asterisk after every didnt come through on Twitter. >> Click here to read more

Roe vs. Wade isnt the kind of precedent you overturn. Examples abound of Supreme Court decisions that deserved to be reversed because they were so egregious; not only wasnt Roe egregious, it was also correctly decided, says the L.A. Times editorial board. At this point, any effort taken to protect Roe may seem pointless, but since you can bet that Republicans arent finished yet with abortion, nows the time to get involved, says Melissa Batchelor Warnke.

Vote the men out. Editorial writer Mariel Garza says the solution to anti-abortion laws like the ones in Georgia and Alabama is for voters to stop electing men inclined to make decisions for women: Until and unless more women start running for office, and voting for female candidates when they do run, then we should not be surprised to see more of these appalling laws that treat women as less-than-equal baby vessels. L.A. Times

Sen. Kamala Harris does not like to spend political capital, so it isnt surprising to those of us who have been watching her career all these years to see her poll numbers drop in a Democratic presidential primary race dominated by the politically risky policy pronouncements. This piece shoehorns Harris biggest flaw into what the reporter views as a strength: The senators experience as a prosecutor tells her always to play the long game and not get caught up in brief news cycles that demand the quick, easy answers her Democratic opponents are all too willing to provide. I guess thats one way to make evasion look strategic. The Atlantic

Californias housing crisis can wait  thats the message sent by the Senates shelving of SB 50, the most serious attempt yet to address the shortage of homes in the state. Still, local officials upset by the bid to overturn their zoning laws and allow for denser housing along transit corridors and in single-family neighborhoods should serve as a warning to cities that fail to address this crisis, says the L.A. Times editorial board. L.A. Times
Joe Biden, holding the first large-scale rally of his 2020 presidential campaign, Saturday issued a broad call for national unity, denounced President Trump as the divider in chief and plunged into a challenging new phase of competition with his Democratic rivals.

A career politician who came to Washington in a less polarized era, Biden promised to work across the partisan aisle  defying skeptics within his own party who worry that Bidens old-school style is outdated and not confrontational enough to defeat Trump.

They say Democrats are so angry  that the angrier a candidate can be, the better chance he or she has to win the Democratic nomination, Biden told the sun-drenched crowd in Philadelphia. Well, I dont believe it. I believe Democrats want to unify this nation.

Citing his record of 36 years in the Senate and eight as Barack Obamas vice president, Biden said, Compromise is not a dirty wordLets stop fighting and start fixing.

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The rally, staged in front of the Philadelphia Art Museum with the downtown skyline as a backdrop, drew a crowd of 6,000, according to estimates by event security officials. That is the biggest audience Biden has drawn so far, but did not match the door-busting crowds that attended kick off rallies by Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Kamala Harris of California, which numbered more than 10,000.

For nearly the entirety of Bidens speech, a protester blew a whistle, but Biden brushed it off with good humor and repeated his promise to not speak ill of his Democratic rivals.

The Philadelphia rally capped a three-week introductory phase of the Biden campaign that began with an announcement video and a series of smaller events in Iowa and other early-voting states.

The roll out has surpassed the expectations of supporters and rivals alike, who were unsure how a 76-year-old white man would be received by a Democratic Party that seemed to be yearning for diversity and a fresh face.

But since his announcement, Biden has sprinted to a big lead in the polls, flexed his fundraising muscle to set a first-day record, and made his inaugural campaign visits in Iowa and other early-voting states with uncharacteristic, gaffe-free discipline. He has kept his focus on Trump, ignored the 22 other Democrats who are his primary rivals, and talked about policy mostly at a high level of generality.

The next phase will be more politically risky, as he will begin rolling out more detailed policies on subjects expected to include climate change and healthcare. And the first debates among Democratic candidates loom at the end of June. Biden will be forced to drop his above-the-fray approach to engage his rivals more directly.

His selection of Philadelphia  also the site of his campaign headquarters  signifies the importance of Pennsylvania in Bidens strategy and message to Democratic primary voters. Biden was born in Scranton to a blue-collar family and represented the neighboring state of Delaware in the U.S. Senate.

Biden argues he is the best equipped among the 23 Democratic declared candidates to beat Trump and win back the industrial states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin that Hillary Clinton lost in 2016. Trump, who is holding a rally Monday in Pennsylvania, also sees the state as pivotal to his reelection chances and views Biden as a the biggest threat among the Democratic candidates.

The rally drew both enthusiastic Biden supporters and people who were still trying to decide whom to support in 2020. Bidens challenge will be to draw in people such as Lauren Greenberg, an 18-year-old from the Philadelphia suburbs, who likes Biden for his connection with the Obama administration, but wishes a woman would be nominated and would prefer it if his policies were more progressive.

I want to see someone who represents me in office, said Greenberg. But I will support any Democrat against Trump.

As he moves into a phase of offering a more specific agenda, Biden will be walking a tightrope between offering policies that are liberal enough to satisfy the partys base without going so far that it tarnishes his brand as a center-left Democrat who can appeal to swing voters. The challenge he faces became clear recently when reports surfaced that he was preparing a middle of the road policy on climate change. He was pummeled with criticism from the left. His campaign insisted the reports were inaccurate. He plans to give a major speech on the issue before the end of May.

In his rally speech, he made clear that his pitch to Democratic primary voters would be not on specific policies but on his ability to beat Trump.

As long as Donald Trump is in the White House none of these things are going to get done, he said.

In expressing his optimism about building bridges to Republicans, Biden struck a note that has brought some criticism from progressives who believe he is too trusting of a party that labored to obstruct all the Obama administration tried to do even before Trump came on the scene.

But his message appealed to swing voters such as Mike Ehrgott, an accountant from the Philadelphia suburbs who attended the rally.

Hes not confrontational. Hes willing to work with people of all parties, said Ehrgott, a former Republican who switched parties after Trump won the GOP nomination in 2016. We cant run this country from the far right or the far left.

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Only a few months ago, Burroughs High School drama students Coen Sosa and Janina Colucci wouldnt have considered themselves serious actors.

If anything, acting was a gateway to having a good time and wasnt in eithers long-term plans.

Their thinking, and perhaps planning, may have changed as both were recognized with Jerry Herman Awards as the top actor and actress for their roles in Burroughs production of West Side Story.

In addition to the duos honors, Burroughs also won for best orchestra a second straight year, while Providence High Schools Sabrina Williams was named best supporting actress for her rendition of the song Race in the musical Newsies.

The Jerry Herman awards ceremony, honoring Los Angeles Countys top high school performing arts programs, was held at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre on May 5.

With the victory, Sosa and Colucci earned one week of master classes, beginning June 16, in New York City with still-to-be-determined Broadway professionals before performing on stage for a chance to win a National High School Music Theatre honor, also known as the Jimmy Awards.

Its surreal, said Sosa, who will be graduating Thursday. I was really nervous to approach the role because Im not, I dont really consider myself an actor, or rather, I dont consider myself a heavy, emotional actor. I didnt realize how emotional Id have to get for this role.

Sosa played Tony in West Side Story, which debuted on Broadway in 1957.

To keep it fresh for me, I would take any kind of inspiration, any thought or feeling Tony was having and I would try to, in any way I could, relate it to my own problems, just to make it feel as real as possible, Sosa said.

Sosa is planning to head to Azusa Pacific University this fall to major in commercial music, though he said hell continue to act and look for more roles.

Colucci, a junior, had the daunting task of playing Anita in the musical, a role which was portrayed on Broadway by 10-time Tony Award-nominated actress Chita Rivera and by Rita Moreno, who won an Academy Award for her portrayal.

I felt like I connected with her because I have a sassier side, but I think, too often, her character [is played] too sassy, too bold, Colucci said. I thought she was funny. I wanted to take those funny moments to give the audience a chance to laugh.

Like Sosa, Colucci had limited stage experience and was a bit timid. Now, though, the award winner said she feels emboldened.

I just never thought that Id have the opportunity to go and win, so it was a very shocking feeling, especially being 16 at the time, Colucci said.

She added, I always planned to go to college to be in a jazz program or popular music program. I didnt really see myself acting, but now Im looking more into the dramatic arts, and I feel a lot more confident.

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A Burbank man and former elementary school teacher was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday for allegedly producing pornographic images of a former student when she was 15 years old.

The 11-count indictment charged 53-year-old Sean David Sigler with obtaining custody and control of a minor with intent to produce child pornography, production of child pornography, enticement of a minor and possession of child pornography. He was previously charged with production of child pornography, according to the U.S. attorneys office.

According to a sworn statement from Sandra Cornils, a special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the now 17-year-old victim met Sigler when he was her fifth-grade teacher at Gardner Street Elementary School in Los Angeles.

When the girl moved on from elementary school, she remained in touch with the teacher, even helping out in his classroom.

He took steps to befriend her and other members of her family, Cornils said. [She] and Sigler began spending time together outside of the classroom.

The two reportedly began having sex when the girl was 15 years old. Sigler used a ride-sharing service to bring the girl to his home, allegedly gave her alcohol until she became intoxicated and then raped her, according to Cornils.

She said Sigler did this several more times over a 15-month period. He would also film and photograph the sexual encounters, she said.

Sigler was arrested by the Burbank Police Department in January after the girl came forward about the inappropriate sexual contact. Cornils said Sigler admitted to investigators to having an ongoing sexual relationship with the girl.

He also told police that he did film his encounters with the girl but had deleted the images after taking them.

However, that was not the case.

A search of Siglers electronic devices uncovered more than 350,000 images and videos, many of which included photographs of students in grade school. The devices also contained more than 6,000 images of child pornography featuring children as young as 5 years old.

Cornils said at least 600 of the recovered images and videos featured his former student. One video featured the girl appearing intoxicated and slurring her words.

Images of another girl Sigler taught at Gardner were found on his devices, some of which featured her face superimposed on pornographic images of the first victim.

Sigler worked as a teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District from March 1998 to June 2016. He then went on to teach fifth grade for the Burbank Unified School District at Bret Harte Elementary.

He was placed on leave by the district when he was first arrested but has since been let go, according to Sharon Cuseo, Burbank Unified assistant superintendent.

Sigler remains in federal custody.

andy.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @Andy_Truc
As California legislators work to find solutions for the states housing shortage, Burbank officials say some of the proposed bills could have a more negative than positive impact.

The Burbank City Council directed city staff during a meeting on Tuesday to write opposing letters to the authors of a handful of pieces of legislation in the works  Senate bills 13 and 50, as well as Assembly Bill 1763  which they say try to address the statewide housing crisis to the detriment of cities.

Arguably the legislation considered to pose the most significant threat is SB 50. The bill, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), would have required cities to allow four-plexes to be built in areas zoned for single-family homes, as well as loosened requirements for housing projects built near transit hubs.

However, the proposed legislation was shelved until 2020 on Thursday while in the Senate Appropriations Committee chaired by state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge), whose district includes Burbank, Glendale and La Canada Flintridge.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Portantino said he was against SB 50 because it would have stripped local control from cities and counties and created denser neighborhoods.

Burbank Mayor Emily Gabel-Luddy said on Friday she appreciates Portantinos efforts to put the brakes on Wieners bill but added the reprieve doesnt mean her city or others can take a deep breath and forget about the proposed measure.

We want to find solutions that work best for our community, not a one-size-fits-all solution, Gabel-Luddy said.

Another bill Burbank officials are concerned about is AB 1763 by Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco), which looks to expand the existing state density-bonus law by allowing an 80% density bonus for projects with 100% affordable housing.

Additionally, if a project has 100% affordable housing and is within half a mile of a transit hub, cities or counties would have to allow for an unlimited density bonus, a 55% increase in floor-to-area ratio and up to three additional stories above the maximum levels allowed.

Council members also oppose SB 13, a bill by Sen. Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont), which would require cities and counties to allow accessory-dwelling units that are at least 850 square feet and up to 1,000 square feet if it is a one-bedroom unit.

Burbank currently has an ordinance that allows for granny flats up to 500 square feet.

Burbank officials supported a couple bills, such as SB 5 from Sens. Jim Beall and Mike McGuire, which city officials considered to be a scaled-down version of redevelopment agency funding.

Council members also supported Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1 by Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, which would reduce the voter-approval threshold for bonds tied to infrastructure and affordable housing projects from two-thirds to 55% approval.

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The Wall, tucked into the northeast corner of the Orange Circle, was originally going to be named The Patio. And while the final product does have an ample outdoor seating area at which to enjoy beers and food, emphasizing the bar-without-a-bars true selling point makes it a restaurant well timed for this political moment.

While walls used to make me think of Pink Floyds seminal album and the subsequent performance of it at the tearing down of the one separating East and West Berlin, the word has taken on another special significance this year. After all, the building of a long one along the Mexican border became a central promise during this years divisive election rhetoric. (The suggestion to build one between California and the rest of the country also mounted soon after Nov. 8.)

But The Walls owners  Dan Martinez, Ryan Sauter and Zac Henson  werent trying to make any kind of political statement when they started building The Wall last year. And in the end, their wall, which opened to the public a few months ago, isnt one that divides. In fact, it plans to bring people together through a very democratic process.

Thats because The Walls wall is a self-serve beer station  a high-tech, first-in-O.C. lineup of 50-plus rotating craft beer taps that lets you skip the bartender and get straight to pouring yourself a cold one.

The whole restaurant runs on a proprietary computer program designed by Henson, a Chapman University alum who developed the software as a resident in the colleges Launch Labs entrepreneurship incubator program.

The Walls namesake wall has 50-plus taps of craft beer, which will soon be pour-your-own, thanks to chip-enabled bracelets that connect with tablets above each tap. (Sarah Bennett )

For now, there are still servers, who drop food and drink menus on your table and punch in your order on pocket-sized tablets. But when the whole pour-your-own system is up and running in a few weeks, youll be given a chip-implanted bracelet thats attached to your credit card, letting you walk right up to the tap you want and unlock access to pull the handle. Whether you get a taster or a full glass, youll only be charged for the number of ounces you extract.

Ive been thinking of it like a Yogurtland or Dave and Busters, except with local craft beer.

Since its soft opening in September, the tap list has remained an ever-shifting, highly selective cross-section of California beer, from Breaker Pale Ale by Huntington Beachs Beachwood and IPAs from Anaheims Unsung Brewing to sours from San Diegos Bitter Bros. and saisons by San Franciscos Almanac. Its a reflection of the local craft pedigree both in the kitchen and on the floor: Chef Dave Larsen used to run C4 Deli and was brewmaster at Haven Brewing before leaving to be a brewer at Cismontane; general manager Mike Long came from Santa Ana gastropub Chapter One.

Like the self-pour wall itself, The Walls menu creates bridges more than it divides. Larsens menu celebrates the diversity of flavors found at the Orange International Street Fair and includes imaginative updates on street foods from Latin America, Asia and beyond.

The tangy but not spicy Peruvian ceviche pairs well with a Lost Coast session IPA. (Sarah Bennett )

Chicken wings come doused in either spicy Korean gochujang or chicken tikka masala sauce, arguably two of the worlds greatest meat coatings. Using butter lettuce instead of tortillas, a pair of well-stuffed short rib tacos ooze with their sweet Coke braise. And the Frito Pie almost bleeds through its paper serving tray, the chunky chili, poached egg, house-made goo-cheese and herbaceous cilantro crema creating a casserole version of the nostalgic Texas treat.

Favorite small bites from Vietnam, Spain, Peru and Italy are also on the menu, so a full posse can easily eat their way around the world without ever leaving their seat.

When it comes to dessert, the chalkboard walls are scrawled with weekly ice cream and spicy popsicles flavors (one week: pistachio saffron and lemon ginger, respectively), but instead you should get the Wallasada, a Larsen-ified version of the hard-to-find Hawaiian-Portuguese coconut-cream-filled doughnut known as malasada.

With thoughtful food and dozens of new beers to explore, The Wall aims to be a place to sip and savor, not get hammered. To prove it, the smart devices youll soon be given also use information about your height and weight to portion the amount of beer youre able to pour per visit. After it determines a body mass index, the bracelet cuts off pouring right before you reach your legal alcohol limit, ensuring a DUI-free drive home.

The Wallasada is a take on the Hawaiian-Portuguese doughnut-like dessert, malasada. (Sarah Bennett )

It might not have been part of its original intentions, but The Wall is exactly the kind of bar-less bar that Orange County needs right now, a place where all flavors of beer and food from all countries are housed under one do-it-yourself concept.

Yet, The Wall does not take its name from a Pink Floyd album, nor is it meant to present any political opinion on walls. According to a story in the Chapman University newspaper, The Panther, the name comes from, yes, the wall of taps and TVs that is its main draw, but also a quote in the book Cassie Draws the Universe, by P.S. Baber.

There are four kinds of people in the world, Ms. Harper, it reads. Those who build walls. Those who protect walls. Those who breach walls. And those who tear down walls.

The owners of The Wall built a beer-filled one in order to tear more down.

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SARAH BENNETT is a freelance journalist covering food, drink, music, culture and more. She is the former food editor at L.A. Weekly and a founding editor of Beer Paper L.A. Follow her on Twitter @thesarahbennett.
Before Erin Gruwell could even begin sharing her life story Friday at Back Bay High School, students hugged her as they walked into the campus auditorium in Costa Mesa.

The UC Irvine alumna shared how she initially envisioned becoming a lawyer before she landed her first job as a teacher at Wilson High School in Long Beach in 1994. She later turned the experience into a book, which was adapted into the movie Freedom Writers in 2007.

She also founded the Freedom Writers Foundation in 1997 to inspire students to use writing to communicate instead of violence.

Gruwell described several Wilson High students, who were written off by the education system, and their struggles to push past feeling like they had a bulls-eye on their chest.

Gruwell said she learned how to modify curriculum to help inspire and motivate her students through pop culture, assigning journals and books that dealt with issues they could relate to.

Erin Gruwell, founder of the Freedom Writers Foundation, speaks to students and faculty at Back Bay High School in Costa Mesa on Friday. (Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer )

Eventually her students overcame their divisions, shattered their stereotypes and aspired to attend college.

Echoing a game she played with her Wilson High students, Gruwell asked the students at Back Bay, a continuation school, to stand if they or someone they knew had lived in more than five different places.

More than half the students stood.

Who knew someone who was poor?

Again, more than half stood.

She asked about homelessness, bullying and drug abuse.

It sucks to have the weight on your shoulders, but Im here to challenge you to walk away from the ledge  ask for help, Gruwell said. When things arent right, normal, then learn to ask for help. Never suffer in silence.

The Freedom Writers remain in contact to this day and lean on one another for help, she said.

Im here to celebrate and validate you, she said. Its about what you do now ... only you know what needs to be told. Everyone sees in you what I see in my kids.

Erin Gruwell, founder of the Freedom Writers Foundation, hugs Back Bay High School senior Avery Ahuatzi, 17, during Gruwells visit to the school Friday. (Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer )

A handful of students stayed behind to take pictures with Gruwell and share their stories.

Senior Alan Cervantes, 17, said it was cool to hear how Gruwell connected with her students.

Senior Avery Ahuatzi, also 17, hugged Gruwell as tears streamed down her face. Avery said she watched the movie when she was at a low point in her life and uses writing as a way to express herself.

I am really happy. I look up to her, Avery said. Her stories made me realize everyone is broken but to keep fighting and it will get better.

Priscella.Vega@latimes.com

Twitter: @vegapriscella
Muslims went to a Newport Beach synagogue Thursday night to sit shoulder to shoulder with Jews, Christians, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Bahais, Hindus, Buddhists and people who follow no particular religion at all.

Rabbis, imams and priests spoke to the gathering of about 200 people before they dug into fragrant Indian food at Temple Bat Yahm.

Jewish educator Lee Weissman, a founder of the Institute for Jewish Muslim Action, read Surah al-Fatiha  the first chapter of the Koran, the Islamic holy book  in Hebrew.

Rabbi Peter Levi, regional director of the Anti-Defamation Leagues Orange County/Long Beach office, said one Hebrew word for heaven blends fire and water.

The message, he said, is that if God can make fire and water cooperate in heaven, it should be no problem to achieve that coexistence among people on Earth.

Yet, it is a problem, he said. Were mindful of whats going on in our world right now.

He was alluding to recent mass attacks that claimed lives at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in April and the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March, along with Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka that targeted luxury hotels and Christian churches.

Thursdays feast, organized by the American Muslim & Multifaith Womens Empowerment Council of Irvine, was a dinner, known as an iftar, to end that days fasting as part of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. During that period, which this year runs through June 4, the faithful abstain from food, drink and indulgences from sunup to sundown each day. Its one of the five pillars of Islam and recognizes when the archangel Gabriel revealed the Koran to the prophet Muhammad. Observant Muslims commit to the fasts to purify and reflect.

At the Newport Beach dinner, people of different cultures found ways to connect over the food, with one woman explaining to a girl she had just met that samosas are like empanadas.

Before leading the sunset prayer, Imam Mahdi al-Qazwini of the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County gave a sermon on taqwah, or being conscious of God.

Brothers and sisters, we need consciousness more than ever, he said.

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Attorneys for Joshua Waring, son of former Real Housewives of Orange County cast member Lauri Peterson, are appealing a judges ruling against dismissing attempted-murder charges against him.

Waring, 30, has been fighting since January 2018 to have the case dismissed because of jailhouse phone calls his defense team said were improperly recorded and later shared with prosecutors.

Waring is facing three counts of attempted murder and other felony and misdemeanor charges in connection with a shooting at a former sober-living home in Costa Mesa in June 2016. He could face multiple life sentences if convicted.

On March 8, Orange County Superior Court Judge Jonathan Fish denied a motion to dismiss the criminal case on grounds of outrageous government conduct. Warings attorney Joel Garson cited recording and dissemination of Warings phone calls while he was representing himself that the defense says should not have been monitored.

After being appointed a public defender, Waring chose to represent himself in November 2016 for about two weeks, after which an alternate defender was assigned to his case.

Fish said in his ruling that it is not lost on this court that the very essence of the  defense [complaint] relates to the precious and fundamental right to have privileged conversations with ones lawyer.

However, he concluded that dismissal of criminal charges is too drastic of a remedy.

Warings appeal was filed May 8 in Californias 4th District Court of Appeal. Garson and attorney Correen Ferrentino are working together on the petition.

The petition claims that the specificity of the phone calls regarding defense strategy cannot help but cause prejudice. The prosecutor knows all avenues the defense was exploring. It can use these illegal recordings as impeachment, it can frame its case to attack the defense theories and it can anticipate issues to be presented by the defense.

The appeals court could approve or deny the petition outright, ask for a response from the Orange County district attorneys office or request a briefing and oral arguments, Garson said.

Waring is scheduled back in Superior Court in the attempted-murder case on July 22, according to court records.

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For Shake Tukhmanyan, an actress since age 17, starring in Armenia, My Love was an especially emotional experience.

The Glendale resident, who plays a grandmother in the new film about the Armenian Genocide, was traveling through the desert, filming a sequence that depicts the deadly travails many Armenians were subject to in 1915, when the Ottoman Empire began systematically killing more than 1.5 million of them in an effort to force them out of their historic homeland.

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Tukhmanyans character, Anoush, was struggling to push on with her family in what ultimately became a deadly march. Like so many others, her characters family had lost their home and an otherwise happy, peaceful existence.

We were so tired, Tukhmanyan said of shooting the desert scenes. We were without water, but it was nothing compared with my people of that time.

Tukhmanyan and her co-stars couldnt help compare their own experiences to that of the Armenian families suffering through the atrocities 101 years ago.

Diana Angelson, left, wrote, directed and stars in Armenia, My Love, a new film about the Armenian Genocide that premieres Thursday in Pasadena. (Courtesy of Lauren Lewis)

We cannot feel the same thing, but a little bit of it we felt when we were shooting, she said. You have to go deep inside and put a parallel between them and yourself.

Armenia, My Love will premiere Thursday at the Laemmle Playhouse 7 in Pasadena. It includes a question-and-answer session with the films writer and director, Diana Angelson, as well as the cast and crew.

On Friday, the theatrical release extends to the MGN Five Star Cinema in Glendale and the Laemmle NoHo 7 in North Hollywood.

Angelson, who also stars in the film as a pregnant mother, centers her script on a young boy who escapes the genocide, makes it to the United States and becomes a successful Armenian-American painter. His works depict his childhood, family and struggles back in his native country.

While Armenia, My Love does expose the harsh realities faced by the entire Armenian people who were violently ripped from their homeland, it is Armenia, My Loves strong messages of hope, love, faith, perseverance and strength that I wanted to prevail, Angelson said in a statement.

Angelson, whos Romanian American, said she felt compelled to make the film at the behest of her Armenian friends whose family histories needed to be told.

The films release coincides, nearly to the day, with the 101-year anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24.

For Tukhmanyan, born and raised in Armenia, that was significant.

Im really happy to have a part in this movie because its like a recognition of genocide for the entire world, she said. The entire world has been misled for a hundred years into thinking this genocide never happened.

--

bradley.zint@latimes.com

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Seventeen men have held the position of Glendale Unified School District superintendent, dating back to Richardson D. White in 1913.

An expected decision Tuesday may break that trend because the districts board is scheduled to vote on hiring Armenian native, Glendale resident and Los Angeles Unified School District Deputy Supt. Vivian Ekchian as the districts next superintendent during its next regular meeting.

Ekchian would fill a void vacated after the board voted, 3-2, to end the three-year tenure of Winfred B. Roberson Jr., the districts first African American superintendent, on Jan. 29.

Im very excited about the opportunity to serve the Glendale Unified School District if the board approves my contract, said Ekchian, who added she would go more into detail about her plans after Tuesday, if shes selected.

Ekchian has been years at L.A. Unified since 1985 and spent the last 12 years in a variety of roles, including human resources chief, chief labor negotiator and associate superintendent of support services.

She served as the districts interim superintendent for three months in 2018 before L.A. Unified hired former Los Angeles Times publisher Austin Beutner as superintendent in May.

Ekchian earned a bachelors degree in political science at Cal State Northridge, followed by a masters in educational administration at UCLA and an educational doctorate from USC in leadership in urban settings.

We had a strong field of highly qualified candidates, and we are confident that Dr. Ekchian is the right person to lead GUSD, school board president Jennifer Freemon, who voted to keep Roberson, said in a statement. She is a lifelong educator with extensive experience running a large, diverse district.

Burbank Unified Supt. Matt Hill, a former L.A. Unified administrator who worked with Ekchian, said Glendale Unified officials would be making a smart move.

Shes outstanding, Hill said. Vivian is a strong leader who has a heart for kids. She has amazing experience and has done almost every single role at L.A. Unified. Thats a fantastic hire for Glendale.

If Ekchian is hired, she will take over July 1, while interim Supt. Kelly King would return to her role as assistant superintendent of educational services.

A positive vote would also end a quick search process by the firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, which was contracted on Feb. 19 for $29,650 to find the districts next superintendent.

Previously, Glendale needed three interim superintendents and eight months before hiring Roberson in February 2016.

Glendale Unifieds next superintendent will inherit many challenges, including declining enrollment, a property transfer deal for the districts headquarters that appears dead, deficit spending, dwindling reserves, a territory dispute with a La Canada grassroots organization and the aftermath of a brawl at Hoover High last October.
Glendale is one step closer to its vision of installing a regional streetcar that may connect to Burbank after the Glendale City Council agreed Tuesday to award a contract to a consultant to begin a feasibility study on the project.

The city wants to study the impacts of reestablishing a streetcar route connecting the Glendale Transportation Center in the south to the Hollywood Burbank Airport with routes along Brand and Glenoaks boulevards.



For the record: A previous version of this article stated that the city may amend its contract to study the Burbank portion of the streetcar route. Only the Glendale portion will be studied.

The Glendale-Burbank Feasibility Study is now in the hands of the HNTB Corp., an engineering firm out of Kansas City that has worked on the Metro Crenshaw Light Rail and the Metro Purple Line Subway Extension in Los Angeles.

The company should also be familiar to some Glendale residents, especially those living in the Pelanconi Estates neighborhood, because HNTB has contributed planning and designs for the ongoing grade-separation project to improve safety at two troublesome railroad crossings along San Fernando Road.

According to city documents, the budget for the study is $450,000, with $250,000 coming from the Community Development Departments urban design and mobility budget.

The additional $200,000 will come from the Southern California Assn. of Governments, or SCAG, which in February awarded funds to the city of Glendale as part of $4.5 million in grants for transit and green initiatives in L.A. County.

During the council meeting, Justin Robertson, a planning associate with the city, said a transit gap exists in the region, and city officials would like to better connect major resources in the Glendale area.

[The study] will look at what it will take to get a streetcar up and running in Glendale, he said.

Analysis of potential streetcar routes as well as traffic and parking impacts is expected to take about 12 months and should begin as soon as next month. The study will also look at funding resources.

Currently, only the Glendale portion of the possible streetcar route will be studied by HNTB, according to Robertson.

Councilman Ara Najarian, who also serves as vice-chair of Metrolink, asked that the study look at running the streetcar using off-wire technology, which eliminates the need for overhead wires and expands the possibilities of where it can operate.

The estimated cost for the streetcar project is between $97 million and $243 million for about 9.5 miles, or about $10 million to $25 million per mile. The high-end estimate takes into account the possible three miles through Burbank that would lead to the Hollywood Burbank Airport.

jeff.landa@latimes.com

Twitter: @JeffLanda
La Canada teenager Srijani Bhattacharya wakes up every morning and practices her cello for about 45 minutes to an hour before heading off to middle school.

Her practice area consists of a music stand set up in the corner of a spare bedroom, where the family keeps a packed bookcase, elliptical machine and foosball table. Her instrument is a three-quarter sized cello named Alice IV, a carryover name from smaller, earlier iterations.

My teacher told me you have to name your cello, so I kept calling them Alice, the teen says with a smile full of braces.

The practice space is not much, but then with talent like Bhattacharyas, it doesnt take much.

In March, the unassuming 13-year-old learned shed won two prestigious competitions for amateur musicians. Shed secured a first-place victory in the 7 to 13 age group at the American Fine Arts Festival (AFAF) International Concerto competition and placed second in the American Protege International Concerto Competition.

Prizes included two solo performances at Carnegie Hall in New York City and a three-week tour of Russia featuring a performance with the Kostroma Symphony and a masterclass with a Maria Chaykovskaya, head of cello department in Moscow State Conservatory.

Mom Sohini Ray said she wanted her daughter to have some serious competitions under her belt in case she pursued music into and beyond high school, so she researched contests that would accept video auditions.

These competitions seemed doable to me, and the opportunities they brought seemed like theyd been good experiences, Ray recalls. I had literally seen something on Google and threw a dart in the dark  and it landed in Russia.

On a Friday in late June, Bhattacharya traveled with Ray and younger sister Sharani (with bulky Alice IV in tow) to New York City, where she played two performances in Carnegie Hall that Saturday and Sunday before flying to Moscow on the Monday following those appearances.

I still think its just plain dumb luck, the teen says of her recent victories. Im not really that competitive. And I forget things  one time I left my bow in the dressing room.

Bhattacharyas demurral shouldnt be mistaken for laxity. She got her start on a one-quarter-sized cello at the tender age of 4 and has been playing ever since. Currently enrolled in South Pasadenas Pascale Music Institute, she takes weekly lessons with instructor John Walz, a principal cellist in the Los Angeles Opera.

Walz, who helped his young protege make the audition video and prepare for her solo performances, says hes seen too many musicians forsake the art of music for the accomplishments it can bring. Bhattacharya isnt like that.

With a lot of kids its all about technique, playing real fast and showing off, he says. But with her it really is about the art form and the expression, which makes her playing really quite special.

The teacher says the La Canada teen has a lot of options for the future but definitely has the talent to pursue music if she chooses. Bhattacharya, however, seems content to continue her daily practice while seeing where her interests and studies take her.

I really have no idea what Im going to do with my life, she admits.

We have no problems if she does want to be a cellist, Ray interjects. Thats all Ill say.

sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine
Three men from the Los Angeles area were arrested in La Canada Wednesday after a Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station deputy pulled over a pickup truck with paper license plates and found the occupants in possession of burglary tools.

Rodger Burt, a detective with the local station, confirmed Thursday Det. Jaime Huerta was on a routine patrol Wednesday at around 9 p.m. when he noticed a vehicle on Forest Green Drive with dark tinted windows and no license plates.

They obviously didnt have a good reason to be there, Burt said.

Lt. Mark Slater, acting captain for the Crescenta Valley Station, filled La Canada City Council members in on the details of the May 15 arrest during a council meeting Tuesday. He said Huerta conducted a traffic stop after seeing the paper plates on the truck.

The occupants said they were in La Canada to meet a female who lived there but didnt know her address so were driving around waiting for her call.

The driver ended up having a suspended license, which allowed [Huerta] to arrest the driver and get the passengers out of the car, Slater said. They prepared to tow the car and inside the car there were numerous items that were consistent with burglars.

Masks, gloves, flashlights and a crowbar were among the items discovered inside the vehicle and taken into evidence. Slater said the three men  who have been identified as Wesley Coleman, Gerard Marshall and Antoine Davis of Los Angeles  were reputed South Central-area gang members with prior arrests.

One of the suspects had eight previous burglary arrests and had also been arrested for robbery and possession of firearms. Another had four previous firearms-related arrests on his record, in addition to an arrest for possessing tear gas and another for resisting an officer. The third had six previous robbery arrests, as well as one related to a stolen vehicle and one arrest for assault with a deadly weapon.

These guys were not looking for a young lady up here, Slater said.

The three men were arrested for reasonable cause burglary and the driver for driving on a suspended license as well.

Two of the suspects had bonded out by the following day, the detective said, while the third suspect remained in custody for a suspected parole violation. Burt said officials believed Huertas actions likely may have prevented a home break-in.

There was reason for us to believe, based on the tools and the car situation, they were there to commit a burglary, the detective said Friday.

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Hello, my name is John Cherwa and welcome back to our horse racing newsletter as Santa Anitas unprecedented run of safety comes to an end.

Everyone knew it was going to happen, it was just a matter of when. After almost 7,000 timed workouts and races, Santa Anita suffered another horse fatality on Friday when Commander Coil broke down with a shoulder injury and was euthanized during morning training.

While everyone knows the only acceptable number of fatalities is zero, it was remarkable that Santa Anita went six weeks without a death. Now, the horse population is down and the number of races has been reduced, but statistically speaking it was a run that was every bit as startling as 23 deaths between Dec. 26 and March 31.

Santa Anita, and the industry, would like to look at it as the first death in six weeks. Others will look at it as No. 24.

Now, lets take one spin around the barns as we head into the 144 th running of the Preakness Stakes. The quotes are courtesy of the Pimlico notes crew. (They get to the barns at 6 a.m. on the day before the big race, so I dont have to. So, thanks.)

-- Alwaysmining: Jockey Daniel Centeno on keeping the ride aboard the horse that has won six in a row. I've been fortunate to ride some nice horses. I won two Tampa Bay Derbys with nice horses that went to the Triple Crown races, but it's part of the business. Sometimes they want somebody with experience and I never had the experience. I'm really lucky and blessed that they let me stay on [Alwaysmining]. He's a nice, cool horse to ride. He's very professional.

-- Anotertwistafate: Trainer Blaine Wright on what to expect. Our plan is to keep his face clear and adapt to what's going on to the outside of us. I think we're in a terrific spot. We'll meet with our jock ( Jose Ortiz ) [Saturday] and get his take on things. He knows these horses probably a little bit better than we do as he's ridden against them. It will be interesting to see what he thinks.

-- Bourbon War: Trainer Mark Hennig on an equipment change. When I look back and watch some of his races, he's great at relaxing and shutting off and waiting for the jock. But the reins weren't tight for the jock, so when the jock asked him it seemed to take him three or four jumps to get into that good stride. I thought maybe with the short-cup blinkers, it would get him a little more on the bridle  not necessarily to get him closer to the pace but to get him more on the bridle.

-- Market King: Trainer Wayne Lukas borrowed Bafferts exercise rider Humberto Gomez and heres what Wayne had to say. He said he likes my horse. My horse is good, It was just a routine gallop.

-- Signalman: Trainer Kenny McPeek on the race distance. I'd like to see him run back to his 2-year-old form (5-2-2-1), but we'll just have [jockey] Brian [Hernandez, Jr.] get him out there and go from there. I do think the added distance (1 3/16 miles) works for him. He should like it.

-- Warriors Charge: Owner Marshall Gramm on supplementing his horse into this race. Once we saw Maximum Security out and saw a lot of those Derby horses fall by the wayside, we thought it's worth the gamble ($150,000) in terms of the supplement. I think we'll be up front. Hopefully, the pace won't be too fast and we'll be able to be right up among the leaders if not on the lead. And as they turn for home, hopefully we kick away and see if they can catch us. (Note: Warriors Charge is trained by Brad Cox , who also trains Owendale .)

Some of you emailed to point out that the length of Luis Saez suspension (15 days) for his ride on Maximum Security was due to previous violations. That is so true, it was his third violation for careless riding. But the point I did not make very well was that the stewards knew it would result in a 15-day suspension and gave it to him in a race in which many believe he did nothing wrong.

No stakes on Fridays Santa Anita card so we have to turn to a $67,000 allowance for 3-year-old fillies going five furlongs on the turf to find the feature race. It was won in devastating off-the-pace performance by Holly Hundy under the guidance of Kent Desormeaux . The winning margin was 2  lengths.

The best horse usually wins on grass, but not by two or three lengths, trainer Vladimir Cerin told Mike Willman of Santa Anita. Kent says she relaxes real nice, so well see how she does going two turns.

Holly Hundy paid $6.80, $4.00 and $3.60. Cavernndchipmunks finished second and Devils Dance was third. Cavernnchipmunks was ridden by Flavien Prat. If this were a normal Preakness, he would have been on his way to Baltimore to ride Couontry House in the Preakness. But, not so this year with the colt skipping the race because of sickness.

There were about four of them that were pretty aggressive, so I said, See yall later, I hope, Desormeaux said. Shell definitely go two turns. She relaxes like an all-star.

Santa Anita has a 10-race Preakness Day card starting at noon. The field sizes are pretty good, there are five turf races, one Grade 3 stakes race and three allowances. The feature is the Grade 3 $100,000 Lazaro Barrera Stakes for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs. The big question is why dont they shorten the name of the race to the Laz Barrera Stakes, since thats how he was known to, well, almost everyone?

The favorite is one of Bafferts one-time Derby trail contenders: Mucho Gusto. At 4-5 he is the favorite. Hes three-of-five lifetime and has never been off the board. He was second behind Improbable in the Los Alamitos Futurity and third in the Sunland Derby. This race obviously shortens him up. Joe Talamo is the rider.

The second favorite, at 5-2, is Sparky Ville for Jeff Bonde and Victor Espinoza , who will be his fourth jockey in his last four starts. He is three-of-nine lifetime and won the San Vicente, the big early-in-the-meet seven-furlong race. The post is around 4:30 p.m., or after the Preakness Stakes.

Left Alone travels down from Golden Gate off two straight wins since moving to the US. The horse previously raced on turf in the UK so todays surface is no problem. Had a best of the day workout before shipping down here and races protected today, both big reasons to be confident here. Trainer Manuel Badilla is 26% winner last race and the jockey Irving Orozco , who rides for the 1st time, travelled down to ride for this trainer whom he is 5 of 8 for a 63% win rate. They mean business today.

This sophomore colt looked solid when working alone from the gate with a nice 18.0 clocking April 20 while preparing for first start since November. He was quick early and displayed nice stride under hand ride while drifting inward. He ran well fresh in Oregon debut victory last year and doesnt catch the strongest field for the non-winners-of-three level. Three of his five rivals finished less than a neck apart in their last race which was captured by a 13-1 outsider.

Always looking to add more subscribers to this newsletter. Cant beat the price. If you like it, tell someone. If you dont like it, then youre probably not reading this. Either way, send to a friend and just have them click here and sign up . Remember, its free, and all we need is your email, nothing more.

Any thoughts, you can reach me at johnacherwa@gmail.com . You can also feed my ego by following me on Twitter @jcherwa

Santa Anita Charts Results for Friday, May 17. Copyright 2019 by Equibase Company. Reproduction prohibited. Santa Anita, Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, California. 16th day of a 41-day meet. Clear & Good

FIRST RACE. 1 Mile Turf. Purse: $46,000. Maiden Claiming. Fillies and Mares. 3 year olds and up. Claiming Price $75,000. Time 23.36 47.57 1:12.08 1:24.72 1:36.99

Pgm Horse Wt PP St    Str Fin Jockey $1 1 Breezy Bee 125 1 7 61 61 61 41 1 Desormeaux 5.00 3 Equal Measure 120 3 1 2hd 2hd 1hd 1 22 Roman 4.90 4 Sunriser 125 4 6 4hd 4hd 3hd 3hd 3 Franco 6.30 2 Field Bet 120 2 2 1 1hd 21 21 43 Prat 1.90 6 Calentita 120 6 8 8 8 74 62 54 Pedroza 28.20 8 Runaway Luck 120 8 3 52 51 41 52 63 Maldonado 3.80 5 Royally Bland 120 5 4 32 32 5hd 76 714 Van Dyke 7.20 7 Twinkle Dream 120 7 5 71 7 8 8 8 Blanc 74.80

1 BREEZY BEE 12.00 5.00 3.20 3 EQUAL MEASURE 5.60 3.80 4 SUNRISER 4.20

$2 ROULETTE (BLACK) $3.00 $1 EXACTA (1-3) $25.10 10-CENT SUPERFECTA (1-3-4-2) $16.76 $1 SUPER HIGH FIVE (1-3-4-2-6) $636.90 50-CENT TRIFECTA (1-3-4) $51.60

WinnerBreezy Bee B.f.4 by Street Sense out of Graser (IRE), by Motivator (GB). Bred by The Elkstone Group LLC (MD). Trainer: J. Keith Desormeaux. Owner: Don't Tell My Wife Stables and Monomoy Stables, LLC. Mutuel Pool $182,821 Roulette Pool $88 Exacta Pool $98,761 Superfecta Pool $46,585 Super High Five Pool $2,286 Trifecta Pool $67,379. Scratchednone.

BREEZY BEE saved ground chasing the pace, advanced inside into the stretch, was blocked off heels and steadied then bumped in midstretch, got out past midstretch and rallied under some urging and good handling to get up nearing the wire. EQUAL MEASURE dueled between horses then put a head in front outside a rival on the second turn, battled outside that one in midstretch, inched away nearing the sixteenth pole but could not hold off the winner. SUNRISER angled in and stalked inside, came out into the stretch, drifted in a bit to bump with the winner in midstretch and edged a rival for third. FIELD BET had good early speed and dueled inside, fought back on the second turn and in the stretch, could not match the top pair in the final sixteenth and was edged for the show. CALENTITA (IRE) a step slow to begin, tugged between horses then angled in and saved ground off the pace, came out on the second turn and three wide into the stretch and lacked the needed rally. RUNAWAY LUCK four wide early, angled in and stalked outside a rival then three deep on the second turn and into the stretch and weakened. ROYALLY BLAND prompted the pace three deep, dropped back between foes on the second turn and had little left for the drive. TWINKLE DREAM three deep early, chased outside a rival, fell back a bit off the rail on the second turn and gave way. The stewards conducted an inquiry into the stretch run before ruing SUNRISER initiated the contact with the winner.

SECOND RACE. 7 Furlongs. Purse: $43,000. Claiming. 3 year olds and up. Claiming Price $25,000. Time 22.12 44.91 1:10.14 1:24.07

Pgm Horse Wt PP St   Str Fin Jockey $1 3 Spokane Eagle 125 3 1 1 15 18 13 Delgadillo 1.90 2 Sheer Flattery 125 2 5 5 3hd 2hd 2ns Fuentes 5.30 4 Matriculate 123 4 2 42 4hd 32 37 Pereira 1.10 1 Tribal Roar 123 1 3 23 21 47 417 Maldonado 8.60 5 American Currency 125 5 4 3 5 5 5 Van Dyke 7.10

3 SPOKANE EAGLE 5.80 3.20 2.20 2 SHEER FLATTERY 4.60 2.60 4 MATRICULATE 2.10

$2 DAILY DOUBLE (1-3) $36.40 $1 EXACTA (3-2) $9.80 50-CENT TRIFECTA (3-2-4) $8.40

WinnerSpokane Eagle Dbb.g.5 by Speightstown out of American Angel, by Ghostzapper. Bred by Irving Cowan (KY). Trainer: Doug F. O'Neill. Owner: Jeff Ho. Mutuel Pool $185,461 Daily Double Pool $34,910 Exacta Pool $78,508 Trifecta Pool $55,566. ClaimedSpokane Eagle by Roper, James L. and Ilene A. Trainer: Eddie Truman. ClaimedSheer Flattery by Davis Racing LLC and Spawr, William. Trainer: William Spawr. Scratchednone.

SPOKANE EAGLE was sent along to duel outside a rival, kicked clear and angled in on the backstretch, opened up and set the pace inside, remained well clear under urging in the drive and was under a hold late. SHEER FLATTERY broke slowly, saved ground chasing the pace, advanced inside on the turn and into the stretch, continued along the rail and edged a rival for the place. MATRICULATE stalked outside a rival then three deep on the turn and into the stretch and was edged for second. TRIBAL ROAR went up inside to press the pace then came out and stalked a bit off the rail, went outside a rival on the turn and between foes leaving the turn and into the stretch and weakened. AMERICAN CURRENCY stalked off the rail then between foes into the turn, dropped back then angled in leaving the turn, gave way and was eased in the final furlong.

THIRD RACE. 4 Furlongs. Purse: $65,000. Maiden Special Weight. 2 year olds. Time 22.97 47.26 53.67

Pgm Horse Wt PP St  Str Fin Jockey $1 7 Shady Empire 122 6 1 1hd 13 12 Maldonado 3.90 1 Side Street Dave 122 1 7 5 41 24 Payeras 3.40 6 You'reright Again 122 5 5 41 55 3 Quinonez 13.10 8 Pour On the Cole 122 7 2 71 63 4nk Prat 12.40 9 El Tigre Terrible 122 8 4 22 21 53 Talamo 2.70 2 Zero Down 122 2 6 33 3hd 68 Gutierrez 2.60 4 Kenzlee's Gov 122 3 8 61 78 714 Linares 64.40 5 Hot Socks 115 4 3 8 8 8 Diaz, Jr. 19.20

7 SHADY EMPIRE 9.80 4.80 4.40 1 SIDE STREET DAVE 4.80 3.80 6 YOU'RERIGHT AGAIN 7.00

$2 ROULETTE (BLACK) $3.40 $2 DAILY DOUBLE (3-7) $31.60 $1 EXACTA (7-1) $27.10 10-CENT SUPERFECTA (7-1-6-8) $186.95 $1 SUPER HIGH FIVE (7-1-6-8-9) $2,866.90 50-CENT TRIFECTA (7-1-6) $155.45

WinnerShady Empire Dbb.c.2 by Empire Way out of River Kiss, by Awesome Gambler. Bred by Terry C. Lovingier (CA). Trainer: Jeff Bonde. Owner: Brown, Jr., Edward J., Brown, Debi and Lovingier, Terry C.. Mutuel Pool $196,300 Roulette Pool $304 Daily Double Pool $13,880 Exacta Pool $101,190 Superfecta Pool $45,337 Super High Five Pool $2,780 Trifecta Pool $68,644. ScratchedBam Bam Again, Cal's Gem, Project Leader, Wicked Blue. 50-Cent Pick Three (1-3-7) paid $53.00. Pick Three Pool $40,364.

SHADY EMPIRE sped to the early lead, angled in and dueled inside, inched away into the stretch, kicked clear and proved best under a left handed crack of the whip and good handling. SIDE STREET DAVE saved ground stalking the pace throughout and bested the rest. YOU'RERIGHT AGAIN chased between horses then off the rail on the turn and outside a rival into the stretch, angled to the inside in midstretch and picked up the show. POUR ON THE COLE four wide early, chased outside then three deep on the turn and into the stretch and was outfinished for third. EL TIGRE TERRIBLE five wide early, angled in and pressed the pace outside the winner, stalked in midstretch and weakened. ZERO DOWN stalked a bit off the rail, came out leaving the turn and three deep into the stretch and also weakened. KENZLEE'S GOV chased between horses then a bit off the rail leaving the turn and into the stretch and had little left for the drive. HOT SOCKS chased between rivals then steadied as the rein broke into the turn, went up four wide then dropped back leaving the turn and was eased in the stretch.

FOURTH RACE. 6 Furlongs. Purse: $32,000. Maiden Claiming. Fillies and Mares. 3 year olds and up. Claiming Price $25,000. Time 22.88 46.98 59.51 1:12.55

Pgm Horse Wt PP St   Str Fin Jockey $1 8 Awesome Amanda 125 8 5 41 3hd 11 13 Sanchez 5.30 6 Hansen Tale Blues 125 6 1 31 1hd 2hd 21 Roman 2.40 7 Sweetener 125 7 3 2hd 2hd 33 32 Maldonado 2.70 3 Osteria 125 3 6 5hd 5 51 44 Blanc 7.90 2 Cat's Desire 125 2 7 6hd 62 62 5hd Fuentes 10.20 1 Chasing Moments 125 1 8 74 78 75 6 Franco 3.40 5 Lady Beyonce 120 5 4 8 8 8 7 Quinonez 52.80 4 Miss Omnipotent 120 4 2 1hd 43 4 8 Gutierrez 38.80

8 AWESOME AMANDA 12.60 5.20 3.40 6 HANSEN TALE BLUES 3.60 2.80 7 SWEETENER 2.80

$2 ROULETTE (RED) $2.60 $2 DAILY DOUBLE (7-8) $92.40 $1 EXACTA (8-6) $20.40 10-CENT SUPERFECTA (8-6-7-3) $29.23 $1 SUPER HIGH FIVE (8-6-7-3-2) $985.20 50-CENT TRIFECTA (8-6-7) $29.30

WinnerAwesome Amanda Grr.f.4 by Awesome Gambler out of Active Imagination, by Cee's Tizzy. Bred by Harris Farms Inc. (CA). Trainer: Dan Blacker. Owner: Harris Farms, Inc.. Mutuel Pool $180,509 Roulette Pool $137 Daily Double Pool $18,206 Exacta Pool $96,548 Superfecta Pool $45,884 Super High Five Pool $2,248 Trifecta Pool $74,225. Scratchednone. 50-Cent Pick Three (3-7-8) paid $62.70. Pick Three Pool $14,335.

AWESOME AMANDA stalked outside, bid four wide on the turn and into the stretch, gained the advantage in upper stretch, drifted in some and won clear under urging. HANSEN TALE BLUES dueled between horses, put a head in front on the turn, fought back into the stretch, continued along the inside in the final furlong and held second. SWEETENER had good early speed and dueled three deep then between foes on the turn, continued three wide into the stretch and was outfinished for the place. OSTERIA a step slow to begin, chased inside, came out into the stretch and weakened. CAT'S DESIRE bobbled and was a bit slow into stride, chased outside a rival then three deep leaving the backstretch, continued alongside a foe on the turn and three wide into the stretch and also weakened. CHASING MOMENTS also broke a bit slowly, chased just off the rail then between foes leaving the backstretch, angled in leaving the turn and also weakened. LADY BEYONCE dropped back off the rail early, angled in some on the turn and failed to menace. MISS OMNIPOTENT had good early speed and angled in, dueled inside, fought back on the turn and weakened in thee drive.

FIFTH RACE. 5 Furlongs Turf. Purse: $67,000. Allowance Optional Claiming. 3 year olds and up. Claiming Price $20,000. Time 21.25 44.65 56.47

Pgm Horse Wt PP St 3/16 3/8 Str Fin Jockey $1 1 Morgan S. 125 1 6 11 11 11 1ns Van Dyke 8.40 8 Psycho Dar 123 7 3 3hd 31 31 2 Roman 5.30 4 Prodigal Son 120 4 2 2hd 2 2hd 32 Gutierrez 2.50 2 Joe Jackson 123 2 5 5hd 41 41 41 Pereira 9.70 6 Teacher's Treasure 120 6 1 42 51 51 5 Prat 1.60 9 Hollywood Dancer 125 8 4 6hd 6 6hd 6 Espinoza 73.60 5 Sir Eddie 125 5 8 8 8 8 71 Fuentes 8.30 3 A Salute to Lt Dan 118 3 7 76 72 7 8 Maldonado 23.70

1 MORGAN S. 18.80 8.20 5.60 8 PSYCHO DAR 5.80 4.00 4 PRODIGAL SON 3.80

$2 ROULETTE (GREEN) $50.20 $2 DAILY DOUBLE (8-1) $103.40 $1 EXACTA (1-8) $44.40 10-CENT SUPERFECTA (1-8-4-2) $107.54 50-CENT TRIFECTA (1-8-4) $121.90 $1 X-5 SUPER HIGH FIVE (1-8-4-2-6) Carryover $2,706

WinnerMorgan S. B.g.5 by Majesticperfection out of Princess Deelite, by Afternoon Deelites. Bred by H & E Ranch (CA). Trainer: Dan L. Hendricks. Owner: Super Horse, Inc.. Mutuel Pool $267,749 Roulette Pool $357 Daily Double Pool $17,942 Exacta Pool $145,290 Superfecta Pool $70,147 Trifecta Pool $102,851 X-5 Super High Five Pool $3,545. ScratchedOh Man, Terrible Ted. 50-Cent Pick Three (7-8-1) paid $351.70. Pick Three Pool $35,389. 50-Cent Pick Four (3-7-8-1) 86 tickets with 4 correct paid $757.60. Pick Four Pool $85,377. 50-Cent Pick Five (1-3-7-8-1) 88 tickets with 5 correct paid $3,457.75. Pick Five Pool $352,926.

MORGAN S. had speed inside then inched away on the backstretch, set the pace along the rail and held on gamely under urging. PSYCHO DAR four wide early, stalked three deep, continued outside on the turn and three wide into the stretch and finished willingly three deep on the line. PRODIGAL SON had speed between foes then stalked a bit off the rail, came out some in the stretch and also went on gamely between the top pair late. JOE JACKSON saved ground stalking the pace, came out for room in midstretch and lacked the needed rally. TEACHER'S TREASURE stalked between horses then a bit off the rail leaving the turn, continued off the inside into the stretch and could not offer the necessary response. HOLLYWOOD DANCER chased three deep then outside on the turn, came three wide into the stretch and could not summon the needed late kick. SIR EDDIE broke out some and slowly, angled in and saved ground off the pace, waited off heels in midstretch then went through close quarters between horses but lacked the needed rally. A SALUTE TO LT DAN chased between horses, steadied in tight off heels nearing the quarter pole, angled in entering the stretch and weakened.

SIXTH RACE. 6 Furlongs. Purse: $32,000. Claiming. 3 year olds and up. Claiming Price $16,000. Time 21.86 45.32 1:11.09 1:18.13

Pgm Horse Wt PP St   Str Fin Jockey $1 1 Fast Cotton 125 1 6 11 11 11 12 Delgadillo 2.70 8 Market Sentiment 125 6 1 2hd 22 25 22 Maldonado 2.80 7 Ayacara 125 5 4 6 6 31 35 Franco 4.50 6 Union Rebel 125 4 5 56 53 4hd 42 Gryder 3.30 5 Curly's Mark 125 3 3 4 31 52 54 Pereira 22.60 3 Honeymoonz Over 125 2 2 31 4hd 6 6 Figueroa 3.80

1 FAST COTTON 7.40 4.40 3.00 8 MARKET SENTIMENT 4.20 2.60 7 AYACARA (GB) 2.80

$2 ROULETTE (RED) $3.40 $2 DAILY DOUBLE (1-1) $56.80 $1 EXACTA (1-8) $16.50 10-CENT SUPERFECTA (1-8-7-6) $11.08 50-CENT TRIFECTA (1-8-7) $22.05

WinnerFast Cotton Dbb.g.4 by High Cotton out of Heaven's Notebook, by Notebook. Bred by Jason Lorraine (KY). Trainer: Jerry Wallace, II. Owner: Jerry Wallace II. Mutuel Pool $210,355 Roulette Pool $449 Daily Double Pool $18,727 Exacta Pool $96,093 Superfecta Pool $41,521 Trifecta Pool $64,487. ClaimedFast Cotton by Granja Mexico and Palma, Hector. Trainer: Hector Palma. ScratchedBear Chum (AUS), Downside Up. 50-Cent Pick Three (8-1-1) paid $148.30. Pick Three Pool $27,600.

FAST COTTON went up inside to gain the lead, set the pace a bit off the rail, angled in on the turn, fought off the bid of the runner-up under urging in midstretch and won clear under a long hold late. MARKET SENTIMENT stalked outside a rival then off the rail, bid outside the winner in upper stretch, could not match that one in the final furlong but was clearly second best. AYACARA (GB) allowed to settle off the rail, came four wide into the stretch and picked up the show. UNION REBEL chased outside a rival then off the rail leaving the backstretch, went three deep on the turn and into the stretch and weakened. CURLY'S MARK angled in and stalked inside, continued along the rail on the turn and in the stretch and also weakened. HONEYMOONZ OVER had speed between horses then stalked just off the rail, was between rivals again leaving the backstretch and into the turn, fell back just off the inside leaving the turn and had little left for the stretch.

SEVENTH RACE. 5 Furlongs Turf. Purse: $67,000. Allowance Optional Claiming. Fillies. 3 year olds. Claiming Price $80,000. Time 21.28 45.16 56.90

Pgm Horse Wt PP St 3/16 3/8 Str Fin Jockey $1 4 Holly Hundy 124 4 1 6 5 21 12 Desormeaux 2.40 3 Cavernndchipmunks 124 3 7 5hd 41 3hd 2 Prat 10.60 1 Devils Dance 124 1 6 3hd 3hd 41 31 Van Dyke 9.50 8 Muthhila 124 8 2 1hd 21 1 41 Quinonez 20.60 6 Shes All Woman 124 6 5 76 76 6 51 Mn Garcia 18.90 5 Velvet Queen 124 5 4 41 61 75 63 Pereira 1.40 7 Square Peggy 124 7 3 21 1hd 51 7nk Maldonado 4.90 2 Red Bunting 124 2 8 8 8 8 8 Talamo 21.70

4 HOLLY HUNDY 6.80 4.00 3.60 3 CAVERNNDCHIPMUNKS (FR) 8.80 5.20 1 DEVILS DANCE 4.80

$2 ROULETTE (BLACK) $4.00 $2 DAILY DOUBLE (1-4) $40.80 $1 EXACTA (4-3) $29.40 10-CENT SUPERFECTA (4-3-1-8) $99.20 $1 SUPER HIGH FIVE (4-3-1-8-6) $6,220.80 50-CENT TRIFECTA (4-3-1) $80.00

WinnerHolly Hundy B.f.3 by Yes It's True out of Cryptos' Best, by Cryptoclearance. Bred by Lazy Lane Farms, LLC. (VA). Trainer: Vladimir Cerin. Owner: Wilson, Holly and David. Mutuel Pool $301,559 Roulette Pool $165 Daily Double Pool $31,040 Exacta Pool $154,128 Superfecta Pool $76,307 Super High Five Pool $12,759 Trifecta Pool $108,203. Scratchednone. 50-Cent Pick Three (1-1-4) paid $104.25. Pick Three Pool $30,147.

HOLLY HUNDY chased outside a rival then between foes into and on the turn, swung three deep into the stretch, was four wide nearing midstretch, bid outside the leader under urging in midstretch, took the lead approaching the sixteenth pole and won clear. CAVERNNDCHIPMUNKS (FR) saved ground stalking the pace, came out into the stretch, was between foes through much of the final furlong and edged a rival for the place. DEVILS DANCE stalked inside then a bit off the rail, continued outside a foe leaving the turn, was between horses in midstretch and was edged for second. MUTHHILA (IRE) angled in and dueled outside a rival, led again into the stretch, inched away in upper stretch, fought back in midstretch and was outfinished late for a minor award. SHES ALL WOMAN chased off the rail then three deep into the turn, angled in leaving the turn then swung three wide into the stretch and lacked the needed rally. VELVET QUEEN stalked three deep early then outside a rival, continued three wide on the turn and into the stretch and could not offer the necessary response. SQUARE PEGGY angled in and dueled inside, put a head in front on the turn, fought back into the stretch and weakened in the final furlong. RED BUNTING (IRE) broke a bit slowly, settled off the pace inside, came out some in the stretch and did not rally.

EIGHTH RACE. 6 Furlongs. Purse: $42,000. Maiden Claiming. Fillies and Mares. 3 year olds and up. Claiming Price $50,000. Time 22.45 46.54 59.15 1:12.11

Pgm Horse Wt PP St   Str Fin Jockey $1 8 A Dime for Me 120 8 4 3hd 21 1hd 11 Pedroza 1.00 6 And Counting 125 6 1 1 1hd 24 23 Figueroa 10.70 5 Vella 120 5 3 4 62 41 31 Quinonez 16.20 4 Charlotte Louise 118 4 2 2hd 32 31 44 Diaz, Jr. 3.50 3 Daddys Real Diva 120 3 7 5hd 5hd 52 5hd Roman 3.90 9 Sure Angel 125 9 6 61 4hd 61 63 Gryder 12.30 7 Golden Necklace 120 7 5 75 74 74 78 Espinoza 40.40 1 Wilhelmina's Girl 125 1 9 9 83 810 811 Flores 30.20 2 First Street 125 2 8 82 9 9 9 Sanchez 107.50

8 A DIME FOR ME 4.00 2.80 2.40 6 AND COUNTING 6.60 4.20 5 VELLA 5.80

$2 ROULETTE (BLACK) $3.80 $2 DAILY DOUBLE (4-8) $19.80 $1 EXACTA (8-6) $13.00 10-CENT SUPERFECTA (8-6-5-4) $22.77 $1 SUPER HIGH FIVE (8-6-5-4-3) $571.70 50-CENT TRIFECTA (8-6-5) $34.30

WinnerA Dime for Me B.f.3 by Make Music for Me out of Drop a Dime, by Phone Trick. Bred by Nadine Anderson &Brazeau Thoroughbred Farms, LP (CA). Trainer: Mark Glatt. Owner: Jessica Carrasco. Mutuel Pool $304,076 Roulette Pool $209 Daily Double Pool $97,752 Exacta Pool $190,782 Superfecta Pool $119,785 Super High Five Pool $14,235 Trifecta Pool $143,600. Scratchednone. 50-Cent Pick Three (1-4-8) paid $20.65. Pick Three Pool $133,739. 50-Cent Pick Four (1-1/2/4-4-8) 1222 tickets with 4 correct paid $229.15. Pick Four Pool $367,001. 50-Cent Pick Five (8-1-1/2/4-4-8) 128 tickets with 5 correct paid $1,191.75. Pick Five Pool $199,879. 20-Cent Pick Six Jackpot (7-8-1-1/2/4-4-8) 11 tickets with 6 correct paid $5,900.60. Pick Six Jackpot Pool $121,496. Pick Six Jackpot Carryover $551,263.

A DIME FOR ME stalked four wide early then outside a rival into the turn, bid alongside the runner-up on the turn and into the stretch to gain the advantage nearing midstretch and inched away late under urging. AND COUNTING sped to the early lead and angled in, set a pressured pace a bit off the rail then between foes, inched away into the turn, fought back inside the winner on the turn and in the stretch but could not quite match that one late. VELLA stalked between horses then outside a rival, continued between foes leaving the turn and into the stretch, found the rail in the drive and bested the others. CHARLOTTE LOUISE stalked early then bid from the inside a half mile out, tracked the leaders leaving the turn, swung three deep into the stretch and weakened some in the final furlong. DADDYS REAL DIVA saved ground stalking the pace throughout and weakened in the drive. SURE ANGEL chased outside then alongside a rival on the turn, came three wide into the stretch and lacked a further response. GOLDEN NECKLACE settled off the inside chasing the pace, continued off the rail on the turn and three wide into the stretch and weakened. WILHELMINA'S GIRL broke a bit slowly, saved ground off the pace, cut the corner into the stretch and was not a threat. FIRST STREET also a bit slow to begin, settled just off the rail to the stretch and gave way.
A man I once dated in Los Angeles broke up with me in his car, then immediately asked if I wanted to get dinner across the street.

I dont think this is working, he said, his long eyelashes flickering, as he gripped the steering wheel and stared straight ahead. And then: Are you hungry? Im hungry. Do you want to get some food? As if the weight of being with me had suddenly lifted and a burrito would suffice.

No? I replied, confused, my fingers frantically reaching for the door handle.

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On the drive home in my dented Chevy Aveo, I cried hard and angrily, which is something you can do for extended periods of time in L.A. traffic. There has been plenty said about the emotional toll the 405 has on an Angeleno, but for all the road rage and automotive breakdowns, there is also this: Our cars offer us personal space that allows for grieving in transit, the trauma of heartbreak compassionately confined in a steel box.

By the time I got to my doorstep, 50 minutes and three freeways later, my tears had dried.

Cars are the enduring third wheel in an L.A. courtship, the backdrop of breakups, makeups and all the shifting status updates in between.

I once matched with a woodworker on OKCupid, and after exchanging a series of flirtatious texts we met at a dark tequila bar in Highland Park, where he showed me pictures on his phone of the beautiful shelves and bookcases he had crafted.

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Here is a man who knows how to take care of things, I thought. Since he had taken an Uber to the bar, I offered to drive him home, envisioning a lengthy makeout session in the front seat. But on the drive through a particularly congested stretch of the 110, he told me he had a tattoo on the bottom of his foot that read mediocrity so he could stomp out mediocrity every morning. He said this while changing my radio station without asking and then spitting gum out the window, and I didnt care so much about his woodworking skills anymore. This man was not going to be my copilot.

I went on a third date with a man who had inexplicably outfitted the inside of his Dodge Charger with neon blue track lights that pulsed along with the bass booming from the speakers. After going to a concert at the Troubadour where he drank too much and tried to start a fight with a stranger, I was done for the night and headed home.

On the drive through Coldwater Canyon, my phone lighted up next to me: I lost you. Whered you go? Are you trying to escape hahaha.

Yes, I was trying to escape. His car may have been a roving dance club, but mine served as an escape hatch from the men driving around Los Angeles, the ones I swiped both left and right on. In my car, I could pretend that I had confidence and power in asking for what I needed. I could practice difficult conversations aloud.

Where do you see this going? I would ask the rearview mirror on the way to a dinner date, trying it again with a different look in my eye; with a playful, noncommittal air. Listen, Id practiced, parked outside one mans Echo Park apartment. I need you to be more affectionate.

I never thought I would love driving. I grew up in loud, sprawling cities (Beijing, Taipei, Hong Kong, Budapest) where I rode buses, subway trains and tuk tuks. I bought my car after moving to L.A. to be with a man I had been dating long distance for almost four years. I was stupidly, wildly in love with him, and he said he felt the same way about me, but he also called me names and gave me the silent treatment when I looked at men in a way he didnt like. In San Francisco, where I lived during the beginning of our relationship, I didnt have a car in which I could weather his rage.

You cant be that dense, he would seethe on the phone as I rode the bus home from work  angry that I had made plans with coworkers, or gone to a movie he deemed inappropriate, or forgotten a detail to a story, which he took as a sign of deception  and I would look around at the passengers next to me, wondering if it felt like their insides were drowning too.

And still I quit my job in San Francisco and moved into his tiny studio in Burbank, spending almost all the money I had saved over the past three years on that used Aveo.

I christened my car Sherman  a dorky, nonthreatening name  and drove it to the ocean and the Getty and the Thai Town strip malls while I slowly fell in love with being behind the wheel. I cried in it when hed accuse me of lying and took it on long drives when the glaring at home proved too much. My car became the only place I could practice saying Im leaving over and over until I believed it.

One night I sat down on our living room couch and started to shake uncontrollably, the remnants of our dinner still on a nearby table. Whats wrong? he asked, though the answer to that question was never something we would agree on. That weekend, I filled my car with all of my boxes and suitcases and I drove to my uncles house on the Westside, rows of palm trees ushering me toward a fuzzy sunset. An earthquake would roll through the neighborhood later that night and set off every alarm, and I would think: swallow me, swallow me.

But first I sat in my uncles driveway with the air conditioning running and the radio playing and my heart feeling like a flooded engine trying to start.

Im OK! I said brightly, looking at my red eyes in the rear-view mirror. Im OK, Im fine. It didnt sound convincing. So I kept my seat belt on and stayed for a while, my car idling, giving me the space I needed until I was ready to begin again.

The author is a former editor for Time Out Los Angeles and is a food writer at Boston.com. She is on Twitter @erin_kuschner

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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The battle for Cubas economic future is being waged on its beaches. And at its all-inclusive resorts, dive sites and cobblestoned colonial plazas.

As most of Cubas economy stagnates or declines, the country has launched a full-scale effort to turn virtually the only bright spot  tourism  into an engine that can pull the rest of the communist island out of its worst economic crisis in two decades. In government meetings and propaganda, it has now set a goal of drawing 5 million tourists in 2019  perhaps the modern-day equivalent of its Soviet-era dependence on the annual sugar-harvest production.

In the middle of the hardening of the blockade on Cuba, the activation of Title III of Helms-Burton by the president of the United States, were assuming responsibility for injecting foreign exchange and developing the economy, said Ivis Fernandez, the top tourism official in Matanzas province, home to the beach resort town of Varadero.

Across the Florida Straits, the Trump administration is intently focused on scaling back tourism to the island as part of a campaign to smother the Cuban economy and force its government to sever ties with President Nicolas Maduros government in Venezuela.

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President Trump recently activated a section of the 1996 U.S. law known as Helms-Burton, allowing lawsuits against foreign companies doing business on properties confiscated after the islands socialist revolution. His administration has also pledged to limit the legal reasons under which Americans can visit Cuba, saying too many people are disguising illegal tourism as educational, religious or other types of travel. The U.S. has also prohibited Americans from patronizing a series of hotels and other facilities run by the military conglomerate that controls many of the most important sectors of the Cuban economy.

But despite the restrictive measures, the Cuban government is only doubling down on its bet that tourism to one of the worlds last communist nations will continue to surge.

Cuba began to open the island to tourists after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent loss of billions of dollars a year in aid. In 1996, Cuba had 30,000 state-owned hotel rooms and about a million tourists a year.

Last year it had about 70,000 rooms, with an additional 24,000 in privately owned bed-and-breakfasts.

In total, Cuba drew 4.7 million tourists in 2018, a 1.3% rise over the previous year that puts its latest goal of 5 million within reach. Visits to the island are already running 7% higher than the same period last year, when about 639,000 U.S. travelers took a trip, the highest of any nationality except Canada.

Official figures show that 257,000 Americans visited Cuba in the first four months of 2019, a 93% increase over the same period last year. Meanwhile, about 142,000 came on cruise ships, a form of travel that remains legal and is largely responsible for the rising number of American travelers to Cuba. Only 40,000 American cruise passengers visited Cuba in the first four months of 2018.

But even so, challenges loom large on an island whose most important business sectors are in varying states of shambles.

In this May 12, 2019, photo, Hotel Royalton staff entertain tourists during a beach party in Varadero, Cuba. The island nation has set a goal of drawing 5 million tourists in 2019. (Ismael Francisco / Associated Press)

Cuba is currently trying to revive businesses ranging from agriculture to textiles by turning them into part of the supply chain for the tourism business. State-run factories, warehouses and workshops are largely in disrepair after years of embargo and central planning, and many of the millions earned by hotels and tour buses must be turned around and spent on imported goods ranging from food to bedsheets.

In a country full of mango and guava trees that are laden with rich, plump fruit nearly year round, its also not unusual to see imported tropical fruits and juices at hotel breakfast buffets as Cubas decrepit agricultural sector struggles to find a way to move enough produce to satisfy visitors.

The big problem with tourism as a foreign-exchange earner is the amount of importing that it has to do, said Jose Luis Perello, an economist and expert on tourism. In order to keep developing tourism we need national industry to become more dynamic.

If the Trump administration is successful, the island might never get the chance.

Along with the collapse of the Venezuelan economy and the reduced amount of cheap oil the Maduro government sends to Cuba, increased U.S. pressure is blamed for a cash crisis that has forced the country to start rationing basic foods such as eggs and chicken and limit power consumption by state-run enterprises.

Theyre going after Cubas strengths, in this case the tourism sector, and trying to seek out its vulnerabilities, Raul Rodriguez, director of the University of Havanas Center of Hemisphere and U.S. Studies, wrote in a recent article in independent journal Temas. Boosting sanctions is an attempt to bankrupt the Cuban state.

Still, experts say that the state-run tourism sector brings in $3 billion a year and the private side brings in the same, despite being nearly one-third the size. In a country where food lines are growing, aid from Venezuela is dwindling and industries such as nickel and sugar are mostly stagnant, tourism also might be one of the only ways forward.

On the paradise-like beaches of Varadero, small crabs crawl out of sand dunes and groups of tourists seem to forget their worries as they laze in the sun.

The city has 21,200 hotel rooms and is trying to build 1,000 more a year for at least the next five years, managed in partnership with hospitality giants Melia and Barcelo of Spain and Fiesta Americana of Mexico.

Although Spanish hotel chain Iberostar could be a major potential target of lawsuits under the activation of the Helms-Burton provision, owner Miguel Fluxa did not appear worried at an international tourism fair last week.

I do not know what is going to happen with Helms-Burton, he said. The only thing that I know is that any step we have taken we have taken according to the law.
- A magistrate court has ordered the arrest of a Kannywood actress

- The court ordered the actress' immediate arrest for failing to show up to the arraignment

- It was gathered that the actress was accused of assault by Mustapha Badamasi Naburaska

A chief magistrate court has ordered the immediate arrest of Kannywood actress Hadizu Aliyu Gabon. The court sitting in Kano had granted the order to the Kano state commissioner of police.

Mohammed Wakili, the commissioner of police, was asked to effect an immediate arrest of the Hausa actress. The bench warrant for her arrest was granted over her failure to show up to her arraignment.

The actress had been invited to court over assault allegations made against her by one Mustapha Badamasi Naburaska who accused her of assault.

READ ALSO: EFCC confirms arrest of Naira Marley and Zlatan over allegations of internet fraud

Chief magistrate Muntari Dandago had ordered the arrest on Thursday, May 16. Dandago had also charged the police to investigate and determine if the allegation of assault leveled against her is true.

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Hadiza Aliyu Gabon is a Nigerian Hausa actress and filmmaker. She is regarded and considered by many as one of the most popular actresses in the Kannywood film industry. She is also seen as a good role model as she appears to be highly cultured and well dressed.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that another Nigerian celebrity had also been charged to court.

The Economic Financial Crimes and Commission had revealed that rapper, Azeez Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley, would be arraigned on 11-count charge on Monday, May 20.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better

Williams Zanu: I rejected N100k from Kokun even though he arrested me with police - on Legit TV

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- Former president Olusegun Obasanjo has accused President Buhari of failing to act quickly to stop the increased insecurity in Nigeria

- Obasanjo said the issue of Boko Haram insurgency and killer herdsmen could have been handled better to prevent the current situation

- The former military head of state says what Buhari should do now is call for international and local assistance to end the menace

President Muhammadu Buhari has again come under fire from his top critic and former Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo.

This time, Obasanjo is attacking the president over the increased insecurity across the country.

Nigerian Tribune reports that Obasanjo fired his latest shot at President Buhari while speaking at the second session of the Synod held at the Cathedral of St. Pauls Anglican Church, Oleh in Isoko South local government area of Delta state

According to the report, the former president accused Buhari of letting the insecurity issue get out of control by failing to deal decisively with Boko Haram insurgents and killer herdsmen.

READ ALSO: DSS warns coup-plotters ahead of presidential inauguration

On insecurity, the elder statesman said Every issue of insecurity must be taken seriously at all levels and be addressed at once without favouritism or cuddling.

He added: Both Boko Haram and herdsmen acts of violence were not treated as they should at the beginning.

They have both incubated and.developed beyond what Nigeria can handle alone. They are now combined and internationalized with ISIS in control.

It is no longer an issue of lack of education and lack of employment for our youths in Nigeria which it began as, it is now West African fulanization, African Islamization and global organized crimes of human trafficking, money laundering, drug trafficking, gun trafficking, illegal mining and regime change.

Yet, we could have dealt with both earlier, and nib them in the bud, but Boko Haram boys were seen as rascals not requiring serious attention in administering holistic measures of stick and carrot.

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And when we woke up to the reality, it was turned to industry for all and sundry to supply materials and equipment that were already outdated and that were not fit for active military purpose.

The former military head of state and one-time war commander during the Nigerian civil war, noted that poor motivation for soldiers is also not helping the fight against insecurity.

He said: Soldiers were poorly trained for the unusual mission, poorly equipped, poorly motivated, poorly led and made to engage in propaganda rather than achieving results.

Intelligence was poor and governments embarked on games of denials while paying ransoms which strengthened the insurgents and yet governments denied payments of ransoms.

Today, the insecurity issue has gone beyond the wit and capacity of Nigerian Government or even West African Governments.

READ ALSO: 2023 presidency: Amaechi says Igbos have nothing to bargain with

Obasanjo's words come just days after Legit.ng reported that the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu said the election of President Buhari for a second-term in office was a clear proof that no man, but God gives power.

Obasanjo, he said, has been demystified by the poll results.

Akiolu made the statement when participants of the Senior Executive Course 41 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, visited him in his palace in Lagos on Wednesday, May 15.

The visitors who were on study tour of the state were led by Nasirudeen Usman, NIPSS Acting Director of Studies.

Buhari should put an end to banditry, unrest in Zamfara - Nigerians cry - on Legit TV

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- Information minister Lai Mohammed says the federal government has strong proof that opposition politicians are trying to sabotage Buhari's government

- Mohammed says it was the strength of the evidence that FG had which made it raise the alarm

- The minister says all the security agencies are already on red alert following the evidence gathered

The federal government has said it has credible evidence to back up its recent claim that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was planning to sabotage the President Muhammadu Buharis administration, generally overheat the polity and make the country ungovernable.

News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed revealed this on Saturday, May 18 at the 2019 edition of his Annual Ramadan Lecture held at his home town Oro, Kwara state.

Mohammed said: As you are aware, a few days ago we raised the alarm that either by themselves or via their proxies, the PDP and its presidential candidate are doing everything possible to sabotage the Buhari Administration.

READ ALSO: Obasanjo knocks President Buhari over increased insecurity in Nigeria

Our interventions are based on credible evidence, and no government with the kind of evidence that we have, of plans to subvert the power of the state, attack the nations economic live wire and generally unleash mayhem on the polity, will keep quiet.

The security agencies are all alert to their responsibilities and will not sit by and allow anyone to reverse the gains of our democracy under any guise."

The minister noted that similar alarms had been raised by the police, the military and the DSS.

He said the government will neither be distracted nor dissuaded by pseudo and partisan analysts that had teamed up with the opposition to either exhibit their ignorance or to engage in red herring and name calling.

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Lai Mohammed's words came just as Legit.ng reported that few days after the Nigerian Army distanced itself from an alleged coup plotting against President Muhammadu Buhari, the Department of State Services (DSS) issued a strong warning to those it described as "coup plotters" ahead of presidential inauguration.

The DSS gave this warning in a statement on Friday, May 17, as a reaction to call for change in government championed under the banner of the Nigeria Continuity and Progress (NCP), Sahara Reporters reports.

READ ALSO: 2023 presidency: Amaechi says Igbos have nothing to bargain with

The security agency said it has gathered information that some misguided group are cahoot with some aggrieved politicians to cause violence in order to "actualize their infamous agenda of forceful change of regime.''

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Most Nigerians dream of spending their next birthday abroad - on Legit TV

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Notre Dame High School students celebrated their prom Friday night at Hotel Bethlehem in Bethlehem.

Scroll through the gallery above to see photos as the students arrived.

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If these photos have you looking for more prom, check out the photos from last year:

Dont forget to check back to lehighvalleylive.com/prom for full coverage of the celebrations across our region.

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Are you one of the people pictured at this prom? Want to buy the photo and keep it forever? Look for a link below the photo caption to order prints in a variety of sizes or products like shirts or coffee mugs.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
What do the United Arab Emirates and Wind Gap have in common?

Members of the Slate Belt Regional Police Department have helped carry a torch to opening ceremonies at Special Olympics events in each of them.

Members of the Slate Belt Regional Police Department and Northampton County Special Olympics carried a torch from Wind Gap Middle School to the opening ceremonies of the Special Olympics Family Fun Day at Wind Gap Park on Friday.

In March, Slate Belt Regional Police Chief David Mettin ran across the UAE to its capital, Abu Dhabi, for the Special Olympics World Games. Mettin was one of 100 other officers selected worldwide to run as part of the Law Enforcement Torch Run, which helps raise money and carries the Flame of Hope to Special Olympics events around the world.

Mettin became involved with the Special Olympics in 2000. He and other Slate Belt Regional police officers carried the torch into the Pennsylvania Special Olympics in Philadelphia last May.

When Mettin learned there was going to be a local Special Olympics event in Wind Gap, he offered to participate by carrying the torch and lighting a cauldron at the opening ceremonies.

We wanted to do something special for the local athletes, Mettin said.

Northampton County Special Olympics, in cooperation with the Colonial Intermediate Unit 20, have been hosting the event for 28 years for preschool level children.

"Its a way to introduce kids to the young athletes program with the Special Olympics, Northampton County Special Olympics Manager Amanda Sechrist said.

Children participated in an opening ceremony and a variety of physical, mental and art activities. This year was the first year that featured a lighting ceremony.

John Best is a freelance contributor to lehighvalleylive.com
EDITORS NOTE: Entrepreneurs everywhere are eyeing the billion-dollar legal weed industry, an economic opportunity unrivaled in modern N.J. history. NJ Cannabis Insider features exclusive and premium weekly content geared toward those interested in the marijuana industry. View a sample issue.

When state Senate President Stephen Sweeney said this week that state lawmakers would move ahead on a bill to expunge the records of people in New Jersey with cannabis offenses without legalizing recreational marijuana in the state, many people were left asking questions.

How could the state clear hundreds of thousands of weed possession convictions when the underlying charge remains a crime?

But a new plan lawmakers will consider next week that addresses expungement would also essentially decriminalize low-level possession in New Jersey  a big change from what had previously been in the expungement bills. Lawmakers will also consider a bill that would expand the states medical cannabis program.

NJ Advance Media obtained a copy of the new expungement bill and the plan would reduce penalties for possession up to two ounces, making it a civil citation instead of a criminal offense. This would mean that people caught with that amount of weed would no longer get arrested if the bill were to pass. They would instead pay a $50 fine.

The plan also reduces penalties for other weed-related crimes, though those would still be criminal charges. The bill would also implement wide-ranging changes to the states expungement system, which has struggled to offer people the justice it was designed to provide, NJ Advance Media reported earlier this year.

This is high-impact, said state Assemblyman Jamel Holley, D-Union, one of the sponsors of the Assembly bill, along with Assembly members Angela McKnight, D-Hudson, Annette Quijano, D-Union, Britnee Timberlake, D-Essex, and Benjie Wimberly, D-Passaic.

This is our way to right the wrongs of the past for individuals, Holley said. This is just the first step of many legislative bills that will impact people of color.

The state Senate version of the bill is sponsored by Sens. Sandra Cunningham, D-Hudson, and Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex. The Senate Majority Office declined comment on the expungement bill.

But the bill wouldnt just stop arrests for people with two ounces or less of pot. It also would allow people with existing convictions to wipe away those records. Heres what else the bill says:

People with existing cannabis convictions would be able to apply for an expedited expungement at any time, once the bill takes effect.

People who are arrested on cannabis charges after the bill takes effect  basically people who have more than two ounces  would be able to apply for expungements within 18 months or three years, depending on the severity of their conviction.

Those charged with possession of two ounces or less prior to the bills passage, but who have not yet been convicted, would have their cases dismissed

The state judiciary would be required to set up an electronic filing system for expungements, making the process easier for people trying to clear their records. This would help anyone seeking an expungement, not just people with convictions.

Committees in both the state Senate and Assembly will hear the expungement plan on Monday, along with a medical expansion bill. If those committees advance the bills, it would set up votes in the full Legislature.

Theres been broad support in Trenton for medical expansion and expungement, which only intensified after Sweeney, D-Gloucester, this week announced that legalization was not going to happen anytime soon, despite nearly 18 months of trying.

But Sweeney has also said multiple times that he does not support decriminalization. Its unclear if this new plan can sway him, as he did not return calls on Friday night.

Payton Guion may be reached at PGuion@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaytonGuion.

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A Portlaoise man appealing a six-month sentence for stealing over 5,000 of tools has had his case adjourned to June, on condition he engages with ongoing treatment for his addiction issues and pays compensation.

Before Portlaoise Circuit Court was Jason Brophy (23), Clonroosk View, Portlaoise, appealing a six-month sentence for theft.

State solicitor, Mr Donal Dunne gave evidence that on November 21, 2017, a van was broken into by three males and tools worth 5,370 were taken.

Most of the property was eventually recovered, but some of it was not returned.

On April 5, 2017, the accused was detected in Lyster Square, Portlaoise, in possession of a knife, for which he had no valid reason to have.

On May 16, 2017, at Clonroosk View, Portlaoise, a stolen caravan was recovered and the accused made admissions to handling this stolen property.

On June 24, 2017, at a festival in Ballyroan, the accused abused the gardai and spat at them.

And on July 24, 2018, he was found in possession of 5 of cannabis.

The accused received a six-month sentence in Portlaoise District Court for the theft of the tools, with the other offences taken into consideration.

The accused had 18 previous convictions.

During the recent appeal against this sentence, defence barrister, Ms Geraldine Fitzpatrick said the accuseds drug taking over the years was one of the causes of his criminal behaviour.

Ms Fitzpatrick said that the accused was a former boxer who had abused his body with drugs, but he had since completed residential treatment.

Judge Keenan Johnson remarked that the six months imposed in the district court was a very benign sentence.

Judge Johnson said that the accused had also been in possession of a stolen caravan, so this behaviour seemed to be a habit for him.

The judge asked what restitution could be done by the accused.

Ms Fitzpatrick said that the accused had already given 340 to his solicitor.

She said that he did not have a job, nor a clear plan to gather compensation.

She said he was a work in progress and the residential programme he had completed was a huge step for him.

Ms Fitzpatrick asked the court to allow him to engage with his next stage of treatment.

Judge Johnson said the accused had a very bad record and the six-month sentence was very fair.

It could have been much more significant, said Judge Johnson.

Adjourning the appeal to June 19 next, Judge Johnson said that the appellant had to engage with his ongoing treatment for his addiction issues.

He directed that the 340 already paid go to the injured party, with a total of 2,000 to be paid in weekly installments of 30.

Judge Johnson said that the theft of tools was way too prevalent and the offence merited a prison sentence, however he ruled that he would wait and see how the appellant progressed before finalising the matter.

He said that he might increase the original sentence, but suspend it.

The matter was adjourned to June 19, with the accused entering into a peace bond to keep the peace and remain drug free until then.

A curfew of 8am to 8pm was amended to allow the accused to attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings.
Kildare Town First Responders have installed a second public access defibrillator outside Bretts centra, Melitta road.

Thanks to the generosity of the public and John Brett of Bretts centra who organised the installation, this second public access defibrillator will be available for use by the general public 24/7, said PRO Joanna Cheese.

This life saving device is also linked to the national ambulance control centre who can direct a caller on how to retrieve and use it if needed.

With the fundraising efforts of Kildare Town Educate Together National School and a Kildare County Council grant, the group are now in a position to install a third public access defibrillator on the Curragh road near the Rowanville/Ruanbeg area in the near future.

Kildare Town Community First Responders, set up in 2017, and are part of an emergency response network linked to the national ambulance service and attend calls for cardiac arrest, chest pain, strokes and choking.

The group has 17 fully trained volunteer responders available to attend calls 24 hours a day 365 days a year, in a 5km radius of Kildare Town.

To date the group have attended 200 calls.

We are aiming to train as many individuals as we can in bystander hands only CPR. As well as teaching CPR we will also show them how to use a defibrillator. If any community groups, residents associations or groups of individuals would like to learn this life saving skill find us on facebook or email cfrkildaretown@gmail.com
Broadband is a major issue affecting every house in Leitrim according to local county councillors.



The issues with broadband is broad and wide from lack of phone signal, no 4g coverage to people being located close to the fibre cable but not allowed to connect into it.

Cllr Frank Dolan asked Leitrim County Council to write to EIR for an explanation as to why people are not being connected up for broadband even where the cable is in place.



He stated, Many households are frustrated with the fact that the cable is beside them, that they are quite willing to pay, but cannot get connected. He said this is affecting peoples livelihoods.

Cllr Dolan said broadband issues are a common theme on doorsteps, and this was agreed by most councillors.



Cllr Seadhna Logan said the massive issue with broadband was showcased by the fact the county council meeting was being held in Cloonmorris Community Centre, Bornacoola just two miles from the main Longford road and we have no broadband connectivity, no one even has 4g.



Cllr Brendan Barry said that the national broadband plan was a mess. He said he even knows people who applied for the Fibre Home package and were told by Eir that they could not conduct business on it.



Cllr Paddy ORourke said he was recently at a meeting with COMREG who are supposed to regulate the service and lack of rural broadband wasnt on their agenda.

They were talking about self-drive cars while we cant get adequate broadband in Leitrim.

He said militant action will need to be taken.



Cllr Padraig Fallon noted that there are some black-spots in Leitrim where you have no phone signal to make a phone call, let alone broadband access.

Also read: Delay in roll-out of broadband is affecting Leitrim everyday
IT was, as MC Matt OCallaghan pointed out, an evening of mixed emotions.

There was sadness, of course, and an aching regret that Mary Cregan, the young woman who had inspired one of the single-biggest fund-raising events in West Limerick, was unable to witness what her generosity of spirit and desire to give back had achieved.

But there was exultation too that so much had been achieved in Marys name and that her legacy was a phenomenal 150,000 for seven, cancer-related charities.

One of the biggest smiles tonight will be in heaven, where Mary Cregan will be looking down, very happy and very grateful that the people who helped her on her journey and in her final days are being recognised here, Mr OCallaghan said at the presentation of cheques at the Longcourt House Hotel at the weekend.

We are extremely proud of how this event has turned out. We are extremely proud as a family of what has been achieved in Marys name, Marys father, former TD and GAA County Board chairman, John Cregan said, following an evening in which seven organisations received bumper cheques.

And he thanked all those who had helped in any way to make it possible: those who sold and bought tickets; those who donated either directly or through fund-me, those who donated to the auction or sponsored raffle prizes and all those who helped on the night of March 15 when the Help Fight the Big C event took place in the Devon Inn Hotel.

Sadly, Mary did not live to see the success of the event she inspired. She drew her last breath on March 14. But to her great joy, she knew before her death that it had garnered huge support and that her initial, modest target had been outstripped by tens of thousands of euro.

But, Jim Barry, announcing the final figure on Friday night, explained that the organisation was down to Mary who was determined it would be a night for people to enjoy.

Six organisations: Brain Tumour Ireland; Bru Columbanus which provides accommodation for the families of patients at University Hospital Cork; ACT, the Aid Cancer Treatment organisation which works to improve quality of life for cancer patients; BHOC, the Bandon Hyperbaric Oxygen Centre which give patients large doses of oxygen to promote healing; the Milford Care Centre and the Irish Cancer Society all received cheques for 23,000 while the Jasmine Unit at St Itas Hospital received 12,000.

There arent enough words to express our gratitude, said Cliona Doyle, a co-founder of Brain Tumour Ireland. It is astonishing that at a time of grief and tragedy you came together, stuck together and made it happen, bringing Marys ambition to fruition. It really is some feat.

Pat McCarthy of ACT said the money would be used to refurbish the Dunmanway Suite at University Hospital Cork, which provides services to 17 cancer patients and where Mary had received treatment.

We are so humbled to be here tonight, Robert Wilmott, of BHOC said. The money would provide oxygen treatment to 80 people over the next three months he said. And he paid tribute to Mary Cregans spirit but said, above all, what would be remembered is her smile.

Eileen Mullane, a Daffodil Nurse, accepted the cheque on behalf of the Irish Cancer Society, which last year provided a night nurse service to almost 3000 families.

It was a job, she said, where the preciousness of every soul was paramount.

Caring for Marys beautiful soul brought me to a new level. I am in awe of her and the courage of people like her, she said.

Overall, the 150,000 will be used by the various charities to support cancer patients and their families, to provide services or to carry out research.
A NEW lobby group has been established to fight for improved mental health services across a range of areas in Limerick.

Stand Up For Mental Health (SUFMH), which held a day of action in Limerick city on Saturday, is calling for a mental health awareness programme to be rolled out in schools; a permanent base for suicide patrols with a 24-hour on-call crisis counsellor; and funding to alleviate waiting list times.

Lead organiser Seonaidh Ni Shiomoin said the campaign is badly needed in the city.

Limerick is a black spot for depressive illnesses, self harm and suicide. While there are many wonderful organisations trying to alleviate the crisis, we need a strong campaign group that demands practical action and solutions.

We have already succeeded in getting the council to pass a motion to seek permission from the Minister for Mental Health, Jim Daly to implement a proven mental health awareness programme into all schools in the city. We cannot let the Minister rest on his laurels with this. We will also be sending him a formal invitation to visit Limerick, so he can witness the devastation for himself, she said.

Ms Ni Shiomoin is a local election candidate in Limerick City West for the Solidarity party, which initiated this lobby group.

We need practical solutions. Our current politicians are doing nothing to help Limerick and other areas devastated by the mental health crisis, so we need to force them into action! An organised, grassroots movement is the only way to achieve this, she said in a statement this week.
THE RYAN Lukes really do have the special one.

Sliabh Felim Mourinho sold for the Irish Limousin highest price of 2019 when he went for 11,000 in Roscrea Mart on Saturday. Mourinho is an outstanding son of the highly regarded Kaprico Eravelle.

Bred in Cappamore, by Sean Ryan, Mourinho was born in August 2017 to the homebred Bavardage daughter Sliabh Felim Jenny. He was named by Seans Manchester Utd supporting son James when things were going better for the Portugese manager. The second son of Jenny to come to market - he outshone his brothers achievement of last year when Sliabh Felim Leo was tapped out as champion and sold for the Tullamore sale highest price of 5,000.

Mourinho was Larry Crillys, show judge, pick as reserve senior champion  the champion also coming from the same class. He caught the eye of several discerning bidders, with his eventual buyer being Ian Nimmo of the noted Maraiscote herd in Scotland. Mourinho, along with being very eye-catching, also boasted five star ratings in almost all traits coupled with a muscle score of 139 and a skeletal score of 118.

Sean and the Ryan family are very well known and highly regarded cattle breeders. The family run a suckler herd in Dromsally. All the family are involved in the day to day farming  Seans wife Aoife and their three children Megan, James and Grace, along with Seans parents Paddy and Peggy. Paddy is a Cappamore Show legend and all are looking forward to August 17.

On behalf of the Irish Limousin Cattle Society, Anne Curtin, PRO, congratulated the Ryan family and wished them continued success with their Sliabh Felim herd.
FURTHER large-scale closures of post-offices are absolutely inevitable unless the government delivers on its commitment of a year ago and expands the range of government services provided through the network.

The stark warning has come from Irish Post Masters (IPU) spokesperson for the South West, Marie Williams following the IPU annual conference at the weekend.

Postmasters have shown themselves to be adaptable to difficult changes and new training over the past year, working with An Post to deliver new banking and insurance services, Ms Williams said. Government must now deliver its part. 

The IPU has now called on every government department to publish a plan with details of additional services which can be provided through post offices, along with a timeline of when they will become available.

If Government does not take a serious level of initiative, and take it very soon, further large scale closures are absolutely inevitable, and for those remaining a Public Service Obligation (PSO) model will become necessary, Ms Williams warned

IPU General Secretary Ned OHara has called on the Taoiseach and each Government Minister to address the frustration at the lack of progress in delivering increased services which is shared by both Postmasters and An Post.

We often hear Government platitudes about Post Offices. However the fact is that there is no sight yet of new Government services, and this is essential to offset the ongoing decline in social welfare payments, Mr OHara said.

As online transactions increase, Post Offices must diversify their over the counter offerings. Many services have long been identified such as car tax, drivers licences, Leap cards and identity services.

The post-offices have a world-class IT system in place, Mr OHara pointed out, and could play a role in addressing the broadband gap around the country. Providing new Government services is not an optional extra:it is fundamental to the future, he said.




Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Advance Fee Fraud Section, Abuja Headquarters in collaboration with men from the Benin Zonal Office have arrested 22 suspected internet fraudsters during an early morning raid at Sapele, Delta State.

A statement from the agency says the suspects, who are between the ages of 18 to 30 years, were smoked out from their hideout in an early morning operation following a tipoff. A day earlier, the operatives from Abuja had arrested two suspected internet fraudster in Ughelli, Delta State.

Items recovered from the suspects include lap top computers, iPhones, phones, ATM cards and three exotic vehicles. The cars are Benz C350, Benz ML 350 and Chrysler 300.

The raid on the internet fraudsters is one in the series by operatives of the Commission in line with the directive of the acting Executive Chairman of the Commission, Ibrahim Magu to rid the entire country of internet fraud and cyber crime.

The suspects have made useful statements and will be charged to court as soon as investigations are completed.
This letter, penned by Alexander Hamilton to the Marquis de Lafayette in 1780, was stolen from the Massachusetts Archives more than six decades ago. The pilfered document finally resurfaced at an auction house last year, and federal prosecutors are now demanding it back.

History had its eyes on Alexander Hamilton  and now, federal agents have their eyes on one of the Founding Father's long-lost letters, penned in 1780 and stolen from the Massachusetts Archives more than six decades ago.

According to the Associated Press (AP), the letter from Hamilton to his revolutionary comrade the Marquis de Lafayette was stolen from the archives by an employee sometime between 1937 and 1945. The thief also made off with historical documents written by George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Paul Revere; by the time the employee was arrested in 1950, many of the stolen artifacts had already been sold to rare book dealers around the United States.

The Hamilton letter was never recovered. It resurfaced for the first time in November 2018, when a South Carolina family submitted the letter to an Alexandria, Virginia, auction house in hopes of selling the document. The letter was valued at $25,000, the website MassLive.com reported, before auction house researchers discovered the item's dubious provenance. The auction house promptly contacted the FBI.

On Wednesday (May 15), prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts filed a federal forfeiture complaint to get Hamilton's missive back in government hands, the AP reported.

In the newly resurfaced letter, dated July 21, 1780, Hamilton alerts his "Dear Marquis" to news of British troop movements in the midst of the American Revolutionary War. At that time, British surrender and the war's end were still several years away. Hamilton was serving as Gen. Washington's aide-de-camp (aka, his right-hand man).

You can read the full, brief text of the letter here.

Originally published on Live Science.
OAKLAND, Calif. - In the first court hearing over President Donald Trump's border wall funding plan, administration lawyers on Friday vigorously pressed their controversial argument that Congress did not in fact deny him the money when lawmakers excluded it from the appropriations bill they enacted in February.

To bar spending, Deputy Assistant Attorney General James Burnham told a federal judge here, Congress would have had to explicitly say that "no money shall be obligated" in any form to construct a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border. Having failed to do that, Burnham argued, the administration is free to tap funds never intended for border security.

"That just cannot be right," responded Douglas Letter, general counsel for the House of Representatives, which participated as amicus in the case brought by nearly two dozen states and the Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy group. They are challenging Trump's national emergency declaration to redirect taxpayer money for the wall. The House has filed a separate suit in Washington, D.C. "No money may be spent unless Congress actually appropriates it," he said.

Letter likened the situation to that of an underage teenager who requires his mother's signature to join the Army - but she wants him to go to college instead. "He says, 'Mom, you can just sign this form?' And mom walks out of the room" instead of signing it.

"Nobody can say that's not a denial," Letter said. This is exactly what Congress did when it balked at Trump's request for an extra $5 billion for the border wall beyond the $1.375 billion it did appropriate, he added.

Friday's hearing in the Northern District of California, before Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr., came on a motion by two sets of challengers - the coalition of states led by California and the Sierra Club - seeking a preliminary injunction to halt all contracts and construction while Gilliam considers the cases' merits.

The plaintiffs allege that Trump's actions violated the constitutional requirement that no money may be spent without an appropriation from Congress, and breached restrictions in the laws that the administration is attempting to use to transfer money that had been set aside mostly for military projects and programs.

The hearing was as notable for a subject that barely came up, Trump's declaration of a national emergency, as it was for the issues that occupied the lawyers over three hours.

Trump's declaration is a requirement for tapping an emergency military construction authority to obtain the wall-construction funds. But since the administration has yet do that, even though it's by far the largest potential source of money, Burnham said "nothing has happened" for the court to consider.

The lawyers challenging the government expressed concern that the administration could at any time take the military construction money for the wall and asked Gilliam to enjoin such a move in advance.

It "concerns me too," said Gilliam. "Is the government agreeing to forgo" use of that money, he asked Burnham.

Burnham responded that it was still under consideration but promised to "let the court rule" before "anything happens on the ground" involving military funds.

The hearing is the latest chapter in Trump's quest for a "big, beautiful wall" along the southern border to keep out undocumented migrants. Construction of the wall, which the president has claimed would be financed by Mexico, was a central promise of his campaign. Trump allowed the federal government to shut down for 35 days over the winter because the Democratic-controlled House refused to appropriate the sum he wanted.

Trump authorized additional funding diversions from the Defense and Treasury departments never intended for wall-building. Billions of dollars have already been transferred from each.

All of the funding sources specified by the administration permit repurposing for certain needs, such as "unforeseen" military necessities. Whether wall-building qualifies as one of those needs is the big statutory question in these cases.

Burnham said it was "unforeseen" that Congress would balk at the money Trump requested, thus satisfying the statute's definition.

The challengers argued that the law says the purpose for moving money - in this case Trump's border wall - must have been "unforeseen." It wasn't, they contend, citing Trump's constant pleading during the 2016 campaign and beyond.

Similar suits are pending in Texas, as well as D.C., where a Trump-appointee, Judge Trevor McFadden, will hear arguments next week.

Gilliam was appointed by President Barack Obama.

Most expect that the matter will make its way to the Supreme Court.
WASHINGTON - Four activists who were forcibly removed from the Venezuelan Embassy after living there for more than a month were released from jail Friday after appearing in federal court on a misdemeanor charge of interfering with State Department diplomatic protective functions.

Prosecutors filed the charge, punishable by up to a year in prison, by criminal information, a charging document used when defendants waive their right to an indictment that typically means they intend to enter a plea deal.

Margaret Flowers, 56; Adrienne Pine, 48; David Paul, 69; and Kevin Zeese, 63, were the last of about 50 left-wing demonstrators who, since April 10, had spent time living inside the troubled South American country's embassy in Washington's Georgetown neighborhood.

Federal law enforcement officers arrested the four activists Thursday morning, after prying open the embassy door at the request of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recognized by the United States and about 50 other nations as the country's interim president.

At the activists' initial court appearance, U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey of the District of Columbia released the defendants on personal recognizance, on condition they stay away from designated Venezuelan officials and representatives, 10 diplomatic properties and obtain preapproval for foreign travel.

"I don't want you to be stumbling into one of these properties," Harvey warned the defendants, still dressed in casual clothes from their arrests.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Rosborough said the government requested the defendants give up their passports. But defense attorneys for the group - which included a medical doctor, an American University anthropology professor set to travel to Iraq next month, a master's degree holder and a lawyer - successfully argued they were not flight risks.

"These are not people who are afraid of the court system. . . . I believe they want their day in court," said assistant federal defender David Bos. "I can't image they want to flee the country."

The defendants didn't enter a plea, but Harvey set a court date for June 12, which also is the deadline for them to decide whether to keep court-appointed counsel or seek other attorneys.

Code Pink, the left-wing activist group known for its theatrical and provocative protests that frequently result in arrests, had been invited to bring its members into the embassy in early April by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who tasked the group with "protecting" the building from U.S. forces or Guaido's interim government.

More than two dozen Code Pink supporters packed the courtroom Friday, wearing bubble-gum-colored T-shirts and offering a show of support for the activists, who spent Thursday night in jail.

"They're in good spirits," said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, co-founder of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, which has provided legal assistance to the activists. "They are very disappointed to see the U.S. government take these steps that they see as a destabilization effort."

The four defendants were greeted outside the courthouse by supporters chanting, "No coup! No war! No sanctions anymore!"

"We will have our day in court and we think we will be victorious," Zeese said. "That's the only night in jail they're going to get from us."

Flowers, Pine, Paul and Zeese sought to encourage the State Department to appoint a third-party nation to protect the Venezuelan Embassy while the leader of the country's government remains in dispute, Verheyden-Hilliard said.

But the United States recognizes Guaido's opposition government as that country's legitimate leader, so his handpicked ambassador took over the embassy Thursday night.

"It turns logic on its head," Verheyden-Hilliard said. "They were actually protecting and standing up for the Vienna Convention, which is exactly what the State Department is supposed to be doing. Instead, they were charged with interfering with its mission."

Carlos Ron, deputy foreign minister for the Maduro government, echoed that sentiment in a Thursday tweet, calling U.S. officials entering the building "an unlawful breach of the Vienna Convention," the international treaty that created a legal framework for diplomacy between countries.

Federal law enforcement officers entered the embassy about 9 a.m. Thursday after surrounding the building and closing off access points to the news media, protesters and passersby. The arrests were quick, organizers said, with officers entering through the back door.

Zeese opened a third-story window after officers entered and called out, "They're about to arrest us!" before he was taken into custody.

The arrests ended a weeks-long standoff between protesters on opposite sides of the South American country's political crisis who had conducted round-the-clock protests for nearly three weeks.

After learning that Code Pink and other left-wing organizations, including the Answer Coalition and Popular Resistance, had taken up residence inside the embassy, Venezuelan and Venezuelan American supporters of Guaido gathered outside to demand the demonstrators get out. None of the occupiers were Venezuelan - a fact that riled members of the Venezuelan community in Washington.

The confrontation between pro-Maduro and pro-Guaido protesters became a proxy struggle for control over the South American country's diplomatic mission. More than a dozen people, including the four removed Thursday, were arrested while protesting, according to federal officials.

Carlos Vecchio - the Guaido-appointed ambassador recognized by the United States - requested help from the State Department early in the week to clear the embassy of activists who refused to leave, even after electricity was cut and an eviction notice was placed on the door Monday.

On Thursday evening, he held a celebratory news conference on the embassy's steps, announcing plans to turn the embassy into a "center for collecting humanitarian aid" for Venezuela. As he spoke, supporters chanted "si, se pudo" - "yes, we did."

"We have recovered this building, the next building will be the Miraflores Palace, and we'll be there with all our people," Vecchio said, referring to the presidential palace in Caracas.

Code Pink members didn't plan to stay away for long. They organized a Saturday protest outside the embassy, followed by the Rev. Jesse Jackson returning Sunday with spiritual leaders to host a vigil for peace.

- - -

The Washington Post's Justin Wm. Moyer contributed to this report.
BAD AXE  Farming season for Huron County is not going well for area farmers.

Commissioner Steve Vaughn spoke at a recent Huron County Board of Commissioners meeting about how hard this years harvest has been for farmers, saying that all crops, sugar beets in particular, are a month behind.

Were in a common period right now where everyone is planting at the same time, Vaughn said, with having to go back and forth between beets and corn in their fields. Its a lot of strenuous time and effort to get those crops.

He said everyone who grows anything is hurting, from large dairy farms to those mainly working the fields.

Debbie Gentner-Bischer, of Genter-Bischer Farms in Minden City, says her farm has suffered due to a late spring, low crop commodity prices, and tariffs on steel and iron (what their farm equipment parts are made of).

We usually plant the sugarbeets in the ground in mid-April, GentnerBischer said, but its been a wet, cold spring.

Genter-Bischer Farms mainly grows sugarbeets, corn, dry beans and wheat. Their wheat currently goes for about $4 a bushel.

There are 1,153 farms in Huron County, with the average size being 430 acres, according to the USDAs 2017 summary.

The overall crop value in Michigan has been going down, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, from around $3 billion to $2.785 billion, with declines seen from 2016-17, the most recent available statistics, in corn, hay, soybeans and wheat.

There have been statewide production increases in dry beans, potatoes and oats over that time period.

Gentner-Bischer said everyone is trying to diversify, including her own farm.

About four years ago, we grew an acre of sweetcorn, called it the grandkids college fund, Gentner-Bischer said. Weve made more money off of that acre than all our other crops since.

Other farms are looking into growing hops and hemp.

Right now, Gentner-Bischer Farms is projected to be operating at a loss this year, their third year going.

When it was good, you could prepay your input costs, Genter-Bischer said. Now you have to wait for the money to come in.

Vaughn said farmers need to consider all options in order to remain viable, including planting new crops and solar farms.

One thing we have to remember is that farmers are the backbone of Huron County, Vaughn said. They are what keeps this county afloat.
PORT AUSTIN  The Huron County Community Foundation, this week, awarded $4,000 in grants from the Community Impact Fund to projects that re-imagine and re-invent public spaces through placemaking.

The projects were submitted by community members and voted on by the community, which was an important aspect according to Huron County Community Foundation (HCCF) Executive Director Mackenzie Price Sundblad.

The four winning projects will bring new ideas to life in Caseville, Port Austin, Bad Axe, and Harbor Beach.

The public was able to vote on Facebook from May 6-13, with some projects receiving over 300 votes. On Thursday, HCCF hosted its Placemaking Grant: Pitch Event at the Port Austin Gym, where representatives from each of the submitted projects had one minute to sell the audience and the panel of judges on why they deserved the $1,000 grant.

Over 80 people from communities across the county heard pitches from the following groups and voted for their favorite in each region.

Projects presented included:

 Improvements to the Pigeon Events Center grounds

 Events at Memorial City Park in Caseville

 Games for use on the Port Austin Village Green

 A Whats Happening Port Austin Sign, outlining upcoming events

 Movies at the Beach in Harbor Beach

 Addition of Cemetery Markers at Rock Falls Cemetery

 Tree Planting on the Backus Trail in Harbor Beach

 Addition of Pickleball Courts in Bad Axe

 Project Positivity in Bad Axe High School

 StoryWalk Encouraging Literacy and Movement in Bad Axe City Park

 Miracle of Life Display at the Huron Community Fair

 Walking Loops of Historic Homes and Businesses in Ubly and Bad Axe

There were four winners, one from each region, that received $1,000.

Representing the Western Region, Memorial City Park in Caseville was awarded a grant to bring music, kids events, and have people gather in downtown Caseville throughout the summer.

In the North Central region, Good Times on the Green received $1,000 to purchased outdoor games for public use at the Village Green in Port Austin.

The Eastern region, Movies at the Beach won the grant to bring an outdoor movie theater to Harbor Beach.

In the South Central Region, Bad Axe Public Schools Positive School Climate Committee was awarded $1,000 to adorn the hall of Bad Axe with Project Positivity."

We would love to see each of these projects become a reality to continue to create vibrant and dynamic communities across the Thumb," said Price Sundblad.

If you are interested in supporting any of the additional projects that did not receive an HCCF grant, call the Community Foundation at 989-269-2850.
UPPER THUMB  Signs have gone up and resolutions of support have been approved for keeping the next psychiatric hospital in Tuscola County.

But some are working to counter that.

Although several municipalities and officials support keeping the hospital local, one Tuscola County commissioners support has been lackluster  and another county is lobbying for the facility.

District 5 Commissioner Dan Grimshaw doesnt think relocating the proposed new psychiatric hospital elsewhere would have the impact that has been projected, and he noted that Genesee County has better resources to help the mentally ill.

He stated that opinion during this week's Tuscola County Board of Commissioners meeting, after Clerk Jodi Fetting was the first to talk about Genesee County wanting the new hospital.

Genesee County commissioners decided Wednesday they wanted the hospital for their county, and they passed a resolution to work toward that.

Fetting questioned if the lobbyist, Jean Doss, who the county hired to help them, had informed commissioners about the matter, and if this is a panic situation.

Panic might be too strong of a word," she clarified. "Im concerned. We need to get out in front of this."

County Controller Clayette Zechmeister said Doss had informed her of the matter shortly after Genesees decision, and Doss said she is continuing to lobby for Tuscola County.

We have strong support in Lansing for this, said District 4 Commissioner Mark Jensen.

We need to keep it that way, Fetting countered.

That discussion came before resolutions asking surrounding counties and others to support construction of the new state psychiatric hospital in Tuscola County was to be voted on by commissioners, and before deciding on hiring an additional consulting firm to help the county lobby for the state hospital.

We need them (K. C. Communication Consulting) more than ever after what is happening in Genesee, said District 3 Commissioner Kim Vaughan.

The only commissioner who voted no on both issues was Grimshaw, who represents the townships of Denmark, Juniata and Vassar, and the City of Vassar.

Grimshaw said he feels everyone is overreacting to the economic impact the loss of the Caro Center would have on the county.

According to Grimshaw, Genesees proposed site for the new hospital is about 30 miles away, and that county has better hospitals, more resources to handle mental health patients, and he stated there currently are no Tuscola County residents housed at the center.

I cant support this resolution, he stated.

Grimshaw maintained the financial impact to Tuscola would be minimal.

However, the Tuscola County Economic Development Corporation reports the Caro Center brings an estimated $54 million in revenue to the county. The center had about 349 employees last year, before the state started downsizing earlier this year, and 398 other jobs indirectly benefit from the center. Locally gathered data also showed that about one-third of the Centers employees live in the Caro area zip code.

The information gathered by the EDC notes the Caro Center has $8.9 million in direct operational expenditures, including food, drugs, fuel, utilities, contract services, supplies, and material expenses. The pay range of the professionals at the Caro Center ranges from $16 to $88 per hour. The annual payroll of the Caro Center employees is about $13 million, and about 70 percent of the centers employees live in the county.

The EDC also noted the center treats patients who, along with employees, make local purchases from various retailers. Working with a conservative average of $20 per week for patients, and employees, this provides an annual expenditure of about $519,000 per year. With the conservative assumption that patients have at least one person visiting them on a monthly basis, and those visitors are making expenditures for meals and lodging, this translates into a direct expenditure of $174,600 per year.

The Caro Center is one of five psychiatric hospitals in the state. It treats adults with serious mental illnesses, and the center houses those who are not competent to stand trial to help with their defense, and those who have been determined to be criminally insane.

The original plan lawmakers and former Gov. Rick Snyder approved and broke ground for in October was to build a 225,000 square-foot, $115 million psychiatric hospital in Caro that would have 200 beds.

The project was stopped in March by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon, who wanted to reassess the viability to build in Caro.

The city of Caro, village of Cass City, Akron Township, and several other municipalities throughout the county have approved resolutions of support or have gone on record that the state should keep its promise to build the hospital in Tuscola County.
As Iran girds for possible war with the United States, President Donald Trump may turn out to be the best friend it has.

Despite the saber-rattling of senior aides and Trump's own tweets, when push has come to shove over the past two years, the president has repeatedly backed away from the threatened use of military force.

Whether the target has been North Korea, with which warnings of "fire and fury" have become little more than an exchange of "beautiful" letters between Trump and Kim Jong Un; or Venezuela, where the threat of "all options" has failed to upset the status quo, the president has blinked. With Iran, the dispatch of a U.S. aircraft carrier and a bomber task force, as well as reported plans to deploy 120,000 troops, were quickly followed by Trump's insistence that he only wants to talk to Iranian leaders.

Trump has said there is no inconsistency in his administration's messaging but that the image of incoherence can be useful. "At least Iran doesn't know what to think, which at this point may very well be a good thing!" he tweeted Friday.

But as he moves more deeply into the second half of his term with major foreign policy issues unresolved, Trump's credibility has suffered, and his options have narrowed.

"If you make threats and then people decide you aren't going to follow through, if you're looking for the reaction and you stop getting the reaction, the options are either to make larger threats, or to stop going down that road at all," said Jon Alterman, Middle East Program director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"Credibility is a hard thing for a president to maintain," Alterman said.

Iran, which has said that it doesn't want war but is ready for it, has responded with its own taunts and bellicose rhetoric.

"With the B Team doing one thing & @realDonaldTrump saying another thing, it is apparently the U.S. that 'doesn't know what to think,' " Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted Friday in response to Trump. Zarif frequently refers to White House national security adviser John Bolton as the head of the "B team," or simply, "the Moustache."

"We in Iran have actually known what to think for millennia-and about the U.S., since 1953. At this point, that is certainly 'a good thing!' " Zarif wrote. In 1953, the CIA orchestrated the overthrow of an elected leftist government in Tehran, ushering in the monarchy that itself was ousted in 1979 by Iran's current clerical rulers.

The administration sees Iran as now in the grip of devastating sanctions, its oil income effectively cut off, and close to economic and political collapse. But Iran is bolstered by the success of its recent efforts to expand its power across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. If its own messaging is to be believed, it perceives declining American influence across the Middle East, as Trump seeks to withdraw and regional powers seek closer relations with other world powers, notably Russia and China.

"The Americans are unwilling and unable to carry out military action against us . . . and their unwillingness stems from their inability," Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan, a military aide to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said last week, according to the Iranian Fars News Agency.

Trump has clearly made good on his campaign promises to cancel international agreements, wreak havoc on what he has called "unfair" trade agreements, and repair tattered U.S. relations with Israel and Saudi Arabia. But his desire to pull back from costly wars and avoid new ones has often seemed at odds with the bombastic rhetoric that comes from him and his aides - principally Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo - and has forced both allies and adversaries to divine which of Trump's instincts will prevail.

That has been particularly problematic in the case of Iran, where the administration last week sent an aircraft carrier and bombers to the Persian Gulf in response to what it has said is intelligence indicating Iran and its proxies in the region are preparing attacks on U.S. forces and their allies.

Few in the region doubt that Iran was behind the sabotage that blew holes in the hulls of two Saudi tankers and a Norwegian ship in the Persian Gulf on Sunday. But "it was very well designed not to justify a violent reaction, said Sami Nader, director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs in Beirut. "The objective was to test American resolve to use power."

"They calculate [Trump] will not risk a protracted or full-scale war," Nader said. "We will see more incidents, and they could spin out of control."

European allies, who agree with the administration's assessment of Iran's expansionist aims but are still smarting from Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal last year, have been skeptical of the intelligence and worry about the possibility of miscalculation. "I personally believe the American president doesn't want to go to war. But that's not the problem," said a senior European diplomat whose government was briefed by Pompeo this week. "The problem is that the situation may at some point become so volatile and so unstable that it's inevitable."

Republican lawmakers have complained that the administration has not briefed them on its justification for the deployment, while Democrats have suggested the intelligence may have been exaggerated to justify an attack on Iran long advocated by Bolton.

"As we try to make sense of the raised tensions in the Persian Gulf, we should not forget that sixteen years ago, the United States went to war in Iraq on the basis of distorted and misrepresented intelligence," Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said in a statement Wednesday. "That must never be allowed to happen again."

In a briefing Thursday for a small group of journalists, senior administration officials offered a convoluted explanation, saying that their goal was not to start a war but to deter Iran from taking action in response to the intensifying pressure of U.S. sanctions.

Trump has expressed frustration with Bolton, joking to him and other aides that "we'd be in war everywhere if it was up to this guy," according to a senior administration official who has heard the comments. Trump has often told advisers that he doesn't want to send a single additional troop anywhere.

He has allowed Bolton, who issued the initial White House statement announcing warships were on their way, to take the lead in threatening Tehran. Just days later, Trump told reporters that Iran had "great potential." Like North Korea, he said, Iran's leaders should be "calling me up, sitting down," so that "we can make a deal."

Asked Thursday if the two countries were headed toward war, Trump said: "I hope not."

As concern over escalating tensions with Iran has risen this month, the president has sharply denied any daylight between him and Bolton. Media accounts of "infighting with respect to my strong policy in the Middle East" are "Fake News," he tweeted this week. "Different opinions are expressed and I make a decisive and final decision - it is a very simple process."

Privately, Trump is dismissive of turmoil in the Middle East, telling White House officials and informal advisers that nothing good comes from being involved.

As he has repeatedly described it, his goal is to have a "tough" and "strong" military that doesn't have to do anything - and to use rhetoric that scares people. In a 70-minute meeting Wednesday with surrogates who often appear on television to back him, Trump concentrated on China and immigration. He never mentioned Iran.

Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican and Trump ally, said there was a plan behind the seeming confusion. "His strategy is to shake things up with Iran and also say he doesn't want to go to war," King said. Trump, King said Friday, is "a good cop and a bad cop. We'll see if it works. I don't think we'll end up going to war."

The president, he added, "is verbally aggressive and loves sanctions . . . It could cause them to be more conciliatory. It might not work, but I think people shouldn't prejudge it. We'll see in a year."

- - -

Sly reported from Beirut.
John Davenport /San Antonio Express-News

Registration opens at 9 a.m. Saturday for free swimming lessons being offered this summer at all 24 of the city of San Antonios outdoor pools.

The program, known as Lets Swim SA, drew more than 2,000 participants last year. It is open to both children and adults.
The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks!

Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics.

The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc.

The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics.

The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates.

Access to college recruiters and advisors  its harder to line up higher education.

Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family.

Vote

View Results
PJ Walsh is one of four independent candidates among the twelve that are running in the Ballymahon Municipal District and he cites his opposition to recent local authority rent increases as the main reason why he is seeking election.

A local authority tenant, residing in Ballymahon, PJ explained,

In March 2019, Longford County Council wrote to me and informed me that my weekly rent was to be almost trebled.

I was astounded! There was no prior consultation and no warning of what was to be applied by way of rent increases.

He said he sought legal opinion on the matter and that following discussions with other local authority tenants he decided to run in the local election.

PJ vowed, If elected, I will fight this injustice from the inside, and in every court in Ireland and Europe if necessary.

Well known in Ballymahon and across south Longford, PJ highlighted that in the past, without any political platform he has taken on the system and won on issues such as closing Ballymulvey dump, saving Longford courthouse and preserving the Commons North in Lanesboro.

Safe parking is an issue in Ballymahon and if elected this is something that PJ will work hard to address.

He said, There are no safe parking areas for well over 1,000 local primary and secondary school goers.
Having topped the poll in the Granard Municipal District last time out, the Ballinalee postmaster is looking to replicate that in just over a week's time.

Community involvement is one area the father of three has a strong involvment in. As chairperson of several committees and membership of several local bodies ranging from GAA to regeneration, he has a long line of priority areas already marked in for 2019 and beyond.

They include working with community groups to maximise funding from central government, increased investment in roads, rural transport and broadband.

And that's before the likes of improving civic, recreational, leisure as well as developing community CCTV and supporting the agri-food alongside Longford's ongoing regeneration plans are even considered.

I am passionate about our community, our area and its potential, he said, as he referenced his 25 year long association in working in all aspects of community life.

I have worked alongside many communities and organisations to ensure they get the funding required to continue to have services available to both young and old including playgrounds, sporting facilities, schools, local transport links, youth groups and active retirement groups, he said.
Well known international soprano, Niamh Murray will sing with Longford County Choir in their Summer Celebration Concert when she will sing a programme with an American theme.

The concert will be held in St Mels Cathedral next Sunday, May 19 at 8pm.

Niamh is from Dublin but has strong Longford connections. Her grandfather, Sean Murray, a native of Killashee, was principal of the national school there.

She is also a grandniece of Tom Bannon, who took part in the 1916 Rising. She is connected as well to the Clarke family of Longford town.

Niamh initially studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music with Dr Veronica Dunne before winning a scholarship to study at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester.

Further international studies were facilitated by the Italian Government when Niamh had the honour of studying with Maestro Carlo Bergonzi, Siena, Italy.

She has won many awards including the Margaret Burke Sheridan and Count John McCormack gold medals.

Niamhs versatility as an artiste can be seen from her extensive repertoire including leading performances in opera, oratorio, musicals and recitals.

Niamh has chosen to base her very busy career in Ireland.

That career has taken her all over the world with singing engagements in Wales, England, France, Italy, Spain, and the United States. She has broadcast on RTE, Channel 4 and on the Australian Television Networks as well as appearing on the BBCs production of Songs of Praise when broadcast from The Vatican and from Rome.

In March 2000 and November 2004 Niamh sang to over 50,000 fans in Lansdowne Road at the Ireland v Italy and Ireland v South Africa international rugby matches..Ireland won both matches!

She will be accompanied by her brother Ronan on the piano and organ. He is also an accomplished musician. Since November 1996, he has been organist of St Josephs Church, Glasthule, Dublin.

The concert will celebrate Longfords connection with the United States. It will showcase a mix of American classics from diverse traditions, ranging from Gershwins Summertime and a selection from West Side Story and Showboat to songs by the father of American music, Stephen Foster, who write some of the most touching ballads ever written, including Beautiful Dreamer, I Dream of Jeannie and Hard Times, all of which you will hear on the night.

It was said that, if God chose to speak to man, he would employ the music of Haydn, and the first half of the concert will feature the delightful Little Organ Mass by Haydn, featuring the Choirs own Rosemary Connolly as the soprano soloist.

This was one of the late masses he wrote, where Haydn showed himself to be one of the greatest composers ever.

As usual, brilliant musical director Fintan Farrelly will oversee everything and the choir is really looking forward to a wonderful night.

Tickets cost 10 each with a family entry for 20. They will be available on the door and in Dennistons, Farrell and Coy, the Presbytery or from any choir member. The concert is also being supported by Longford County Council.
Driver Fatally Backs Over Pedestrian While Pulling Out of Driverway, NCPD Reports

Local News, Crime, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: May 18 2019

The victim suffered severe trauma injuries to the head and was pronounced at scene.

The Homicide Squad reports the details of a Fatal Auto Accident involving a Pedestrian that occurred on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 2:40 p.m. in Valley Stream.

According to detectives, a female driver, 47, while backing out of a driveway on Arkansas Drive, drove over a female victim who was walking on the sidewalk. The driver, upon realizing what had happened, immediately stopped and called police.

The victim, identified as Sarwari Tabassum, 62, of Valley Stream, suffered severe trauma injuries to the head and was pronounced at scene by Nassau County Police Paramedics.

A brake test was administered which revealed the vehicle had adequate braking ability. The investigation is ongoing.
ACR statement on CMS Medicare Advantage final rule

ATLANTA - In August 2018, the CMS announced that Medicare Advantage (MA) plans would be allowed to utilize step therapy for Part B drugs. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) expressed strong concerns about this proposal. The rheumatology community received some good news in this week's final rule from CMS, which makes changes to the original proposal and addresses several of the community's recommendations.

"We were pleased to see that CMS included the ACR's suggestion to implement a 365-day 'lookback' period for Part B therapies, to determine if the enrollee has been actively taking a Part B medication," said Angus Worthing, MD, chair of the ACR's Government Affairs Committee. "The originally proposed 108-day lookback period would have put many of our patients at risk for having to go through step therapy all over again. Extending this period to 365 days will help to protect these patients, and we appreciate CMS listening to our feedback."

In this way, patients who are stable on their current medication will be able to remain on their prescribed therapy under the final rule. The ACR is also encouraged by CMS' decision to require plans to respond to appeals within 24-72 hours.

While these are positive changes to the original proposal, additional clarity and transparency is needed to put patients in the driver's seat. The ACR asks that CMS require MA plans to make the step therapy exception process readily available and understandable on its website for providers, patients, and caregivers. The College would also appreciate more detail on how CMS will ensure MA plans follow this direction and encourages CMS to increase monitoring of MA plans' implementation of utilization management practices. Utilization review entities should provide detailed explanations for denials of requests for prior authorization or step therapy override, including whether there was any missing information which resulted in the denial.

CMS also finalized regulations related to the Part D Explanation of Benefits to require the inclusion of drug pricing information and lower-cost therapeutic alternatives in the Explanation of Benefits that Part D plans send members.

"The ACR agrees that this information is helpful and beneficiaries should have access to any possible ways to lower their out-of-pocket costs," said Worthing. "However, we would not support this information being used to force a stable patient to switch to another biologic medication for the sake of cost control. This switch would needlessly disrupt continuity of care and put patients at significant risk for loss of disease control and potentially life-threatening complications."

Ideally, the ACR hopes that CMS will monitor plans closely for non-medical switching and will require plans to ensure transparency about any utilization management requirements.

The ACR is dedicated to ensuring that rheumatology patients have access to safe, effective and affordable therapies under the Medicare Part B program and will continue to serve as a resource to the agency on this topic.

###

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) is the nation's leading advocacy organization for the rheumatology care community, representing more than 7,700 U.S. rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals who are committed to improving healthcare for Americans living with rheumatic diseases. As an ethically driven, professional membership organization committed to improving healthcare for Americans living with rheumatic diseases, the ACR advocates for high-quality, high-value policies and reforms that will ensure safe, effective, affordable and accessible rheumatology care.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-18. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Guardiola rules Manchester City out of Griezmann race Transfer Market Announced his Atletico Madrid departure

Pep Guardiola has assured Barcelona fans that Manchester City will not try to sign Antoine Griezmann this summer.

The Frenchman has been linked with a move to Barcelona after announcing that he will be leaving Atletico Madrid at the end of this season.

"All the reporters from Barcelona, don't worry," Guardiola answered when asked about Griezmann on Friday. "We can't afford him. City aren't going to buy him."

Barcelona are among several top European clubs looking to activate Griezmann's lowered 120 million euro release clause, but Paris Saint-Germain also aren't one of them.

"Griezmann can play in any team in the world, but signing him isn't a realistic responsibility for us," said PSG boss Thomas Tuchel.

"We have other priorities, we have to start by strengthening the defence."

Griezmann's agent will travel to meet Barcelona at their Ciudad Condal base in the coming days to discuss any potential move.
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BROSVILLE  Before they moved back to the Southside area from Hoboken, N.J., Ruth and Herman Maxie both worked in the furniture industry in Martinsville.

The husband and wife team  married for more than 60 years  first met at a skating rink, now the location of popular Mexican restaurant Mi Ranchito along Memorial Highway in Martinsville. Herman Maxie, a U.S. Army Korean War veteran, struck up a conversation with one of the prettiest girls at the rink, and the rest quickly became history.

Movies frequently portray the 1950s as all sock hops and drive-in movies, but the reality of the Rock and Roll age wasnt filled with as many poodle skirts and leather jackets as later generations often believe. In fact, living in Martinsville in the 50s was far from carefree for many employed individuals who worked hard for every quarter they made.

Seeking financial stability, both Herman and Ruth sought work in the area.

I was trying to get some money, Herman said. It was hard to come by back then. If I could get a 25-cent or 50-cent raise, I would move on to another factory.

Herman found employment at V.M. Draper Furniture Factory, where he worked as a supervisor.

I like to make things, so I ran the saw and cut out furniture, Herman said.

Ruths sister, Lelia Winky Lawrence, worked at W.M. Bassett Furniture Factory. When Ruth expressed interest in getting a job, Lawrence told her younger sister about open positions at the factory. Ruth applied for a job and gained employment feeding a glue spreader.

She said her favorite part of her job was the paycheck, but she also noted working with nice people.

My boss man was very good, Ruth said. I enjoyed working for him. His name was Mr. Craig.

Early into their marriage, the Maxies moved to New Jersey, where Herman worked at a shipyard. The birth of their children, Karen and Randy Maxie, prompted the couple to move back to Virginia a few years later.

When the Maxies came back to the Old Dominion State, Herman worked in Danville factories and supported the family financially, while Ruth focused on raising the children at home.

When Herman qualified for early retirement, he jumped at the opportunity. With both of their children grown and married, Herman and Ruth set off on a series of great adventures across the United States and Canada.

The couple drove to Niagara Falls, saw the Grand Canyon, strolled along the iconic Atlantic City Boardwalk and later went on annual summer trips with their grandchildren.

For Herman, retirement worked out just the way he envisioned.

I enjoy drinking my coffee and not having to rush to leave, he said.

Ruths retirement, on the other hand, didnt turn out exactly as planned.

I thought we would travel more, but it didnt work out that way, she said.

Some of Ruths favorite retirement times were spent fishing at the beach, bit she now enjoys day trips to Martinsville, Danville and Greensboro, North Carolina.

I like to go shopping and buy cute shoes, she said.

For those considering retirement, the Maxies have some words of advice.

First, be financially stable. Pay off the bills. Save for emergencies. Plan for adventures.

Its nice, if you can afford it, Herman said.

Second, follow your dreams. Seek out your passions. Enjoy your hobbies. Travel the world.

If theres things you want to do, go ahead and do them because you never know what the future holds, Ruth said.

Finally, cherish the little things. Hold loved ones close. And of course, flaunt that perfect pair of shoes and savor that fresh cup of coffee.
Henry County Sheriff Lane Perrys plan to announce that he would seek a fourth term as the sheriff of Henry County was constructed carefully, communicated purposefully and included public employees, public facilities and even law enforcement agents perhaps on the clock in surrounding jurisdictions.

Perry in early April directed his captain to stage a press conference and to keep the subject of that briefing unstated to ensure it would attract cameras, microphones and notepads. He also invited his fellow public officials to stand behind him in their uniforms in a show of solidarity.

Emails from Perrys office concerning the press conference, obtained under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act by the Martinsville Bulletin, suggest that Perry planned to use county facilities and personnel to establish his campaign announcement and to hide from area media the reason for the press conference so that it would be covered more widely.

"The media will try to start picking to find out," Perry wrote in one email to his captain. "If they know, they start weighing out which story they're working on."

Perry's actions, experts say, perhaps violated state or federal laws, including the Hatch Act, which places restrictions on election campaigns, including those at the state level.

The plan unfolds

A timeline of emails about Sheriff Lane Perry's press conference An edited transcript of the email exchanges. Spelling and grammar are preserved as written.

All of this spins from the tactics described in the emails that Perry and his staff employed leading up to April 9, when he announced not a major development in protecting the public but the recitation of his resume.

On March 26, Sheriff Perry sent an email with the subject campaign announcement to Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith, Martinsville Sheriff Steve Draper, Danville Sheriff Mike Mondul, Pittsylvania County Sheriff Mike Taylor, Martinsville Police Chief Eddie Cassady, Franklin County Sheriff Bill Overton, Patrick Henry Community College Police Chief Gary Dove and Danville Police Chief Scott C. Booth.

It said, in part: At the last Academy meeting, I said I would soon be making an announcement of running for re-election again. I am flexible on this, but was wondering about April 8th or 9th, which is a Monday and Tuesday, Maybe around 2 pm or possibly 3 pm. If needed, I can do Friday, April 5th. If anyone wishes to participate it will be greatly appreciated!! If youre unable to, I understand. Thank you!!

A series of email exchanges followed about the date and time of the event, and at 10:11 a.m. March 28, Perry sent an email saying, If I read the emails correctly, it looks like Tuesday, April 9th at 3 pm works for everyone the best. Is this good with everyone? THANK YLL VERY MUCH FOR THIS!!!

On Monday, April 8, at 10:04 p.m., Sheriff Perry sent an email to Capt. Wayne Davis, who handles public information for his office, saying: I forgot to ask you this evening if you would put out a Media release for a press conference tomorrow afternoon [April 9] at 3. Can you do that at your convenience in the morning. Thank you.

At 7:10 a.m., on April 9, Davis sent an email to Perry saying, I have a Crimestoppers meeting at 0830. Ill head straight to the office after that and get it sent. Anything in particular that you want to say in it?

At 8:44 a.m. Perry responded to Davis, saying, I cant think of anything other than just announcing we will be holding a press conference. The media will try to start picking to find out. If they know, they start weighing out which story theyre working on. Thank you.

Capt. Davis emailed an announcement at 10:33 a.m. to representatives of news media saying: Sheriff Lane Perry will be conducting a press conference today, April 9th at 3:00 p.m. This will be held at the Henry County Sheriffs Office, 3250 Kings Mountain Rd., Martinsville, VA. All media outlets are invited and encouraged to attend. We look forward to your attendance.

Questions about the topic

Immediately media outlets, expecting this might be a significant news story, started to question Davis and Perry about what the agenda might be.

At 10:34 a.m. Tosha Brown, News First at 10 producer at WFXR-WWCW in Roanoke, sent Davis an email asking, Are you able to give any insight as to what this conference is in reference to?

At 10:38 a.m. Lesa Layno, assignment editor/special projects at WGHP-Ch. 8 in High Point, N.C., wrote to ask Davis if the press conference would have anything to do with the Short Family [homicide] case?

At 10:47 a.m. a Bulletin reporter sent an email asking, Whats this about?

At 11:06 a.m., Anstaett Colter of WSLS-TV: Do you know what this afternoons news conference is going to be about? I have some stories that I will have to rearrange in order to be there, So I want to make sure this news conference is going to be worthwhile.

At 11:07 a.m., a Bulletin reporter sent an email to Perry asking, Whats this about?

At 11:07 a.m., Brian Neal, assistant news director at WXII-Ch. 12 in Winston-Salem, N.C., asked Davis, Off the record, would you be able to tell us whether this is related to the Jennifer Short case?

At 11:27 a.m., a Bulletin reporter sent an email to Henry County Commonwealths Attorney Andrew Nester asking if he knew what the purpose of the sheriffs office press conference was.

Nester responded at 11:31 a.m.: I don't. All of us attorneys are out of town.  The HCSO has not let me know anything about this press conference.

Nester sent an email to Davis one minute later saying, I already told Paul [Bulletin reporter Paul Collins] I dont know anything about this. What say You?

Davis to Nester two minutes later: Its the Sheriffs reelection announcement, we didnt tell the media what it was in relation to so just ignore Paul. If he wants to know what its about he can stop by.

Nester sent an email to Davis at 11:37 a.m. saying, 10-4. I figured it was along those lines. Paul [Collins] wont hear it from me.

About a half-dozen news media representatives went to the sheriffs office. A little after 3 p.m., Sheriff Perry stepped to a lectern erected outside the front door of the sheriffs office, against a backdrop of various flags. Draper, Mondul, Taylor, Overton and Dove stood shoulder to shoulder behind him.

Perry proceeded to announce his candidacy for re-election and gave a speech about why he is running and what his department has accomplished. The other sheriffs and police chief made remarks endorsing him.

Responding this week to a question about his approach, Perry wrote in an email that our office has always had a good working relationship with the media and have always been as accommodating to the media as possible.

Once again, as stated before, a press conference was announced and if anyone wanted to attend that was fine and if they didnt attend, we gladly provided information as requested afterward. At no time was any indication or insinuation made toward the Short case.

Is this legal, ethical?

But this isnt a question about whether Perry used his office and public employees, money and facilities to manipulate the media into covering his political announcement  a practice media treat with strict rules about fairness for all candidates  but rather whether he broke laws or rules or simply ethical boundaries in the process.

A Bulletin reporter sent an email to Nester about two hours after the sheriffs press conference asking if Nester thought there were any potential violations of campaign or election laws or regulations.

Nester responded about four hours later in an email: "I am not lawfully permitted to give 'advisory opinions' on hypotheticals or other such general inquiries into specific facts as they relate to the law and, thereby, give what is tantamount to private legal advice. . Thus, unless a formal complaint is being lodged against the sheriff, I cannot begin to research if any campaign laws have or have not been violated.

"Since the sheriff is an elected official, by law, I am not permitted to engage into any investigation of him or his activities unless the Attorney General of Virginia gives consent to move forward. This typically involves a formal complaint being made to a law enforcement agency (typically the Virginia State Police) of competent jurisdiction and then a request is sought from the Attorney General as to whether or not the case can move forward from there."

Two minutes later, at 9:30 p.m., Nester sent an email to Perry and Davis to explain his communications with the Bulletin: Below is an email I read about 8:30 this evening.  I wanted to make you aware of the email as well as my response.

All other media outlets contacted for this article declined to say for the record how they reacted to the handling of this matter.

Federal law is the issue

Questioning whether similar behavior from other sheriffs may have violated state law has not led to any clear-cut answers, said Rebecca Green, a law professor at the College of William and Mary. But the issue would make an excellent paper for a law student, she said because it is a difficult, little-explored area of the law. She gets questions about it every year.

I have not found anything that is totally conclusive, she said. Maybe it is the case where it has never risen to a high level for anyone to do anything about.

Numerous other law professors did not respond to emails, voice messages or calls requesting comment on the subject.

But federal law is another story.

The federal Hatch Act  enacted in 1939  spells out electoral rules for federal employees: pertinently, they cannot use their positions to influence an election. Some elected positions, like members of Congress, are exempt from the act, but its reach goes beyond the federal government to cover select state employees as well.

Richard Painter, former chief ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush and professor of law at the University of Minnesota, said that many sheriffs are covered by the federal act, which states, A State or local officer or employee must not  use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election or a nomination for office, according to the code.

The press conference Perry held, Painter said, goes to the Hatch Acts core function: preventing elected officials from using their office to their advantage. Using a subordinate to send out notice of the conference and the offices clout to draw reporters to the campaign announcement, he said, goes beyond what is permitted under the act.

Using the sheriffs office to throw a press conference people think it is official, he said. That is clearly the exact type of thing the Hatch Act is designed to prevent.

Briefed on the events and told of the acts local applicability, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute Norman Ornstein agreed with Painters assessment

[R]eading the text it would seem to apply, and his actions would be a clear violation, Ornstein wrote in an email.

Its an abuse of power

A man who has filed to run against Perry made it clear he thinks this was a clear abuse of power and a violation of federal law.

When asked about Sheriff Perrys press conference and the events leading up to it, John Cassell, who also is running for sheriff, said, Hes abusing his power,. This is clear evidence of that.

Its a violation of the Hatch Act, said John Cassell, a former deputy who lives in Ridgeway. Hes using his emails. Hes using trickery to hoax the media there.

He is using deception to call all the media out from their busy day for his personal benefit.

This right here is not being open with the public or with the media. It is using them for his own personal gain and benefit.

He also questioned what he called the good old boy system of including other law enforcement officials.

You look out for me this time, and I'll look out for you when you're running, Cassell said. These are all sheriffs except one police chief, and I don't even understand how that police chief, who is representing a state-funded college, can endorse an elected official. That's going to be an issue that's going to be looked into, I'm sure.

What about the use of public resources for political purposes?

All of them, I would say,  drove state vehicles, using state gas. Three o'clock in the afternoon's going to be state time, Cassell said.

Perry: This is getting twisted

Asked if he thought the press conference was deceptive or if he lured media to attend with his position, Perry said that he has always dealt respectfully with the media. Media attendance at the conference was not compelled, he said, so the choice to come was on reporters.

If we do something, if they show up, they show up; if they dont show up, they do not show up, Perry said. I cannot see where I have ever not dealt respectfully with media.

Perry said he was at a funeral for a retired officers wife that day. He said he felt the press conference was getting blown out of proportion.

Davis did not respond to questions about the press conference and email string preceding it.

I personally believe this is just something that is getting, I will almost say, twisted, Perry said. My comments on this are through.

He said he was not subject to the Hatch Act.

When it is a non-partisan race, it does not come under the Hatch Act, he said. There is nothing that has been done that is wrong.

But Painter said the type of election does not matter.

It just says an election, he said. An election is an election is an election  [the law] does not use the word partisan election [to apply in this case].

Said Cassell:  [Perry is] worried about this [election], and he's trying to reach and use every political tactic that he can. This is a clear sign of desperation to me.

A timeline of emails about Sheriff Lane Perry's press conference An edited transcript of the email exchanges. Spelling and grammar are preserved as written.

Paul Collins is a reporter for the Martinsville Bulletin and can be reached at paul.collins@martinsvillebulletin.com. James Whitlow is a reporter for the Danville Register & Bee. He can be reached at jwhitlow@registerbee.com. Both newspapers are owned by BH Media.
An edited transcript of the email exchanges. Spelling and grammar are preserved as written.

TUESDAY, MARCH 26

5:54 p.m.  Henry County Sheriff Lane Perry sends an email to Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith, Martinsville Sheriff Steve Draper, Danville Sheriff Mike Mondul, Pittsylvania County Sheriff Mike Taylor, Martinsville Police Chief Eddie Cassady, Franklin County Sheriff Bill Overton, Patrick Henry Community College Police Chief Gary Dove and Danville Police Chief Scott C. Booth. The subject listed was Campaign announcement.

Perry wrote: Hope everyone is well, At the last Academy meeting, I said I would soon be making an announcement of running for re-election again. I am flexible on this, but was wondering about April 8th or 9th, which is a Monday and Tuesday, Maybe around 2 pm or possibly 3 pm. If needed, I can do Friday, April 5th. If anyone wishes to participate it will be greatly appreciated!! If youre unable to, I understand. Thank you!!

5:59 p.m.  Dan Smith emails Perry: Let me know brother.

6:06 p.m. Taylor emails Perry, Draper, Smith, Mondul, Cassady, Overton, Dove and Booth: Tuesday the 9th is a better day and time for me. If the majority is better with Monday the 8th I can rearrange a couple of things.

7:28 p.m.  Dove emails to Perry, Draper, Smith, Mondul, Taylor, Cassady, Overton and Booth: Just let me know where.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27

9:12 a.m.  Mondul emails to Perry, Dove, Draper, Smith, Taylor, Cassady, Overton and Booth: Sheriff, I would be happy to stand with you to announce your re-election. I can do the afternoon of April 5th and 9th. I will not be able to do the 8th.

9:53 a.m.  Draper sends an email saying, It would be an honor to stand with you Sheriff. Im good All day on Monday, Tuesday it would have to be 3:00.

THURSDAY, MARCH 28

10:11 a.m.  Perry emails to Smith, Draper, Mondul, Taylor and Dove: If I read the emails correctly, it looks like Tuesday, April 9th at 3 pm works for everyone the best. Is this good with everyone? THANK YLL VERY MUCH FOR THIS!!!

FRIDAY, MARCH 29

Draper and Mondul respond that they will attend.

MONDAY, APRIL 1

Perry exchanges emails with Smith, Draper, Mondul, Taylor and Dove confirming they would attend the press conference.

MONDAY, APRIL 8

10:04 p.m.  Perry sends an email to Capt. Wayne Davis with the subject press conference. Perrys email said: I forgot to ask you this evening if you would put out a Media release for a press conference tomorrow afternoon at 3. Can you do that at your convenience in the morning. Thank you.

10:09 p.m.  Perry sends an email to Star News, BTW 21 and martinsvillemedia@gmail.com with the subject press conference. The email stated: On 4/09/2019, at 3 pm a press conference will be held at the Henry County Sheriffs Office. Thank you

10:09 p.m.  Perry also sends an email to Bill Wyatt of WHEE Radio saying: On 4/09/2019, at 3 pm a press conference will be held at the Henry County Sheriffs Office. Thank you

TUESDAY, APRIL 9

7:10 a.m.  In response to Perrys email the night before asking him to write a media release about the press conference at 3 p.m. April 9, Davis emails Perry: I have a Crimestoppers meeting at 0830. Ill head straight to the office after that and get it sent. Anything in particular that you want to say in it?

8:44 a.m.  Perry emails Davis: I cant think of anything other than just announcing we will be holding a press conference. The media will try to start picking to find out. If they know, they start weighing out which story theyre working on. Thank you.

8:52 a.m.  Perry sends an email to Henry County Administrator Tim Hall and Deputy County Administrator Dale Wagoner with the subject announcement. The email said: Just letting yall know, I will be making my announcement of candidacy today at 3 in front of the office. Youre more than welcome to come, but I understand if youre busy. Thank you.

10:33 a.m.  Davis sends an email with the subject Press Conference, Henry County Sheriffs Office to Amanda Alderman'; Jones, Tammy; 'Bill Wyatt'; Owens, Michael l.; 'BTW 21'; 'Chad Hall'; 'Channel 13'; Charles R.; Courtny Jodon; Mays, Danny L.; DANV News; 'Debbie Hall'; Yancey, Dwayne; RMV Events; 'Gracie Gunnell'; GREE News; HButterworth; I. Jones; 'Jamie Singleton'; 'Jenna Zibton'; 'Jim Kent'; 'Joe Dashiell'; 'John Carlin'; GREE Public Safety; ROA News; JWilliamson; K. Davis WDBJ7; 'Katie - WXII'; Kim Wagoner; Lucas, Rachel; Luis Romero; Mark Childry; MART Editor; MART Photo; metro@ap.org ; 'Patti Wyatt'; Collins, Paul; 'Rick Moll'; 'Rockingham Update'; 'Rodney Billings'; 'Rodney Billings'; 'Roy Sawyers'; SSmith; star news; 'Star News'; 'Star-Tribune (Chatham)'; 'Teri Orlando'; 'WDBJ 7'; 'WFMY 2'; 'WFXR/WWCW'; 'WGHP 8'; 'WGHP 8'; WGSR; 'WSET13'; WSLS 10; 'WSLS 10'; 'WTBM 1330'; 'Wyatt Television'; 'WZBB (B99.9)

Davis email to news media stated: Sheriff Lane Perry will be conducting a press conference today, April 9th at 3:00pm. This will be held at the Henry County Sheriffs Office, 3250 Kings Mountain Rd., Martinsville, VA.

All media outlets are invited and encouraged to attend. We look forward to your attendance.

10:34 a.m.  Tosha Brown, a producer at WFXR-WWCW in Roanoke, emails Davis: Good morning, Are you able to give any insight as to what this conference is in reference to? Thank you,

10:38 a.m.  Lesa Layno, assignment editor/special projects, WGHP-Ch. 8 in High Point, N.C., emails Davis: Will this press conference have anything to do with the Short Family case? Thanks,

10:47 a.m.  Bulletin reporter Paul Collins emails Davis: Thanks. Whats this about? Collins included a copy of Davis 10:33 a.m. email announcing the press conference.

11:06 a.m. Anstaett Colter of WSLS-TV emails Davis: Do you know what this afternoons news conference is going to be about? I have some stories that I will have to rearrange in order to be there, So I want to make sure this news conference is going to be worthwhile.

11:07 a.m.  Collins emails Perry: What is this about? Thanks. [Collins email included a copy of Davis email announcing the press conference.]

11:07 a.m.  Brian Neal, assistant producer at WXII-Ch. 12 in Winston-Salem, N.C., emails Davis: Off the record, would you be able to tell us whether this is related to the Jennifer Short case?

11:27 a.m.  Collins sends an email to Henry County Commonwealths Attorney Andrew Nester asking if he knew the purpose of the sheriffs office news conference: Do you know what this is about? and included Davis email at 10:33 a.m. saying there would be a press conference.

11:31 a.m.  Nester responds to Collins: No sir I don't. All of us attorneys are out of town in Norfolk at our Spring training conference. The HCSO has not let me know anything about this press conference.

11:32 a.m.  Nester emails to Davis: See below. I already told Paul [Collins] I dont know anything about this. What say You? Nesters message to Davis included Collins 11:27 a.m. message to Nester.

11:34 a.m.  Davis sends a mobile device message to Nester: Its the Sheriffs reelection announcement, we didnt tell the media what it was in relation to so just ignore Paul. If he wants to know what its about he can stop by.

11:37 a.m. Nester emails Davis: 10-4. I figured it was along those lines. Paul [Collins] wont hear it from me.

12:24 p.m.  Wyatt emails Perry: The tree guys are taking down a gigantic dead tree hanging over our house and our neighbors house. Im needing to hang around close to home this afternoon while they are working. Please send me the release and, if possible, Id like to do a phoner with you for the news at your convenience this evening. Thanks

12:25 p.m.  Wyatt emails Davis: I just sends Lane the message below [referring to the message Wyatt sends Perry at 12:24 p.m.]. If you could be sure to send me the release, Ill make sure it gets on the news this evening.

12:57 p.m.  Davis emails Wyatt: No problem, I have you in my media contacts so you will get anything I send out.

1:01 p.m.  Wyatt emails Davis: Thanks!

3 p.m.  Perry holds a press conference, where he announced his re-election campaign.

4:30 p.m.  In response to a request by Collins for Perry to provide a written copy of some statistics cited in the press conference, Perry sends an email:

Our clearance rate for reported crimes from Jan 1st, 2016  Dec 31st, 2018 is 49% The State average is 28%

In 2017-2019 there have been 34 SWAT Operations

From Jan 1st, 2006 to presends, there have been 58 homicides and we have cleared 54 of these. That is a clearance rate of 93%. The State Average is 60.8% and the National average is 62.9%

From Jan 1st, 2016 to presends, our Henry County Sheriffs Office Drug Investigation unit has arrested or indicted over 200 people on over 530 drug related charges. They also executed 17 narcotics search warrants and assisted with others. They seized over $211,000 in currency, 22 automobiles, 4 motorcycles, and 6 ATVs. In the same time frame, our Patrol unit, SROs, and others have arrested for 500 drug offenses with 349 cleared and 313 of those cleared by arrest which gives a 69.8% clearance rate.

Weve taken care of about 300 inmates and maintained the 3rd lowest operating cost in the State for the last 3 years.

Thank you! I think this covers it all.

5:39 p.m.  Collins emails Nester: I need a comment from you on this today, please. I have asked Andrea Gaines, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Elections, and she responded, Matters such as these should be directed to your local Commonwealth Attorney's Office.

Thanks,

Paul Collins

This is what I sends her:

Capt. Wayne Davis of the Henry County Sheriffs Office, who handles news media releases for the department, emailed an announcement Tuesday at 10:33 a.m. to represendsatives of news media saying: Sheriff Lane Perry will be conducting a press conference today, April 9th at 3:00pm. This will be held at the Henry County Sheriffs Office, 3250 Kings Mountain Rd., Martinsville, VA.

All media outlets are invited and encouraged to attend. We look forward to your attendance.

A short while later, I sends an email to Capt. Davis and a separate email to Sheriff Lane Perry asking what the press conference was about.

Neither responded.

Thinking important news about a criminal investigation might be announced, I drove from Martinsville to Collinsville to the sheriffs office to attend the 3 p.m. press conference.

At that press conference, Sheriff Perry announced his campaign for re-election and he gave a campaign speech, about why he was running and what his department has accomplished. Sheriffs from several other local jurisdictions were there standing beside him and made remarks endorsing him. That included the sheriffs of the city of Martinsville, Patrick County, Danville, Pittsylvania County, Franklin County, as well as the police chief of Patrick Henry Community College.

Collins asked Nester in the email: Are there any potential violations of campaign or election laws or regulations, or what are the pertinent laws?

6:20 p.m.  Perry emails his campaign statement to Wyatt: I am making my public declariation of candidacy to ask the citizens to allow me to serve as Sheriff for 4 more years. A little over 12 years ago myself and our team stepped up in the middle of some veery difficult circumstance and we have been serving you professionally since. Our service and leadership is rock solid and has never changed. As Sheriff I have committed to serve our County and citizens to the best of my ability.

We maintain a great working relationship with the media and the men and women here supporting me. Through the media we are able to quickly get information out to the citizens who are now helping us solve crime through what they see on media and through social media.

I want to thank my family and the people who have come here to support me.

In talking about good relationships and how they make all of our lives better, I can specifically thank each and every person here and especially the other agencies of how they have helped me and Henry County and how our office has helped them in return.

Just so the community is aware, I have already submitted my petitions. On Jan 2nd when registration opened, myself and a few others had several hundred signatures by lunchtime and they were turned in that day. Because some have not seen me passing my petition around, this may have caused some confusion. I have heard some rumors that I may retire. I have no intentions of retiring. I am committed to every day of the next 4 years and I may ask to serve again after this upcoming term.

In serving the communities of Henry County, I have attended over 140 community meetings since becoming Sheriff..

[The email also included the statistics Perry cited in the email he sends to Paul Collins at 4:30 p.m.]

This is basically what was stated today. I basically had notes I read from. Let me know if you have any further questions. Thank you.

I will be glad to do a phone interview if needed. Thank you.

9:28 p.m.  Nester emails Collins: Im sorry that I am just now responding as all of the attorneys in the office are out of town for training in Norfolk; we return to the office on Thursday. I also had my cell phone on vibrate when you called earlier and did not know it was ringing. I attempted to call you at the Bulletin, as well as at the two cell phone numbers I have for you, and was unable to reach you.

Considering your email below, I must make sure that I dont run afoul of any of my legal and ethical responsibilities. To this end, you need to be aware of two issues that I must consider before perusing this matter any further.

1. I am not lawfully permitted to give advisory opinions on hypotheticals or other such general inquiries into specific facts as they relate to the law and, thereby, give what is tantamount to private legal advice. Thus, unless a formal complaint is being lodged against the Sheriff, I cannot begin to research if any campaign laws have or have not been violated. With this in mind, are you/the Bulletin making this into a formal complaint to be investigated or has someone else in the community reached out to you with a complaint for the newspaper to investigate? Also, if a formal complaint is being made by you, could you please be more specific as to what you believe was improper with the referenced scenario?

2. Since the Sheriff is an elected official, by law, I am not permitted to engage into any investigation of him or his activities unless the Attorney General of Virginia gives consends to move forward. This typically involves a formal complaint being made to a law enforcement agency (typically the Virginia State Police) of competent jurisdiction and then a request is sought from the Attorney General as to whether or not the case can move forward from there.

Please let me know how you would like me to handle this matter from this point forward.

9:30 p.m.  Nester emails Perry and Davis: Below is an email I read about 8:30 this evening from Paul Collins. I wanted to make you aware of the email as well as my response. I will wait to hear from Paul. Lane, I understand you are traveling to Richmond. Travel safely and I will likely see you one day next week. [The email included the email Nester sent to Collins.]

9:42 p.m.  Davis emails Major Eric Winn of the Henry County Sheriffs Office that contained Collins email to Nester, Nesters email to Collins and Nesters email to Perry and Davis.
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WESTFIELD  Some 2,000 runners from across the country gathered at Westfield State Universitys south parking lot Saturday for the seventh annual Run Westfield, the fastest 5K race in the country.

Organizer Robin Tierney said the USA Track and Field New England sanctioned race holds the distinction of having the fastest time for a sanctioned 5K race.

The title is held by Simon Ndirangu with a time of 13:16. The fastest female time is held by Kim Smith at 14:40.

Tierney said the race is fast because the roadway is wide open and has a gentle downward slope pretty much from beginning to end.

Runners assembled in the South Parking lot at the college and started there.

The race proceeded down Western Avenue to the common in the center of the city and turned left onto Elm Street for the finish.
Boston police are asking for the publics help in locating a black sedan that may have been involved in the death of a woman in Mattapan Thursday.

Police located a dead woman near Fottler and Hiawatha Roads in Mattapan at about 3:20 p.m. Thursday. The woman has suffered severe head trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities said they are investigating the death as a case of vehicular homicide.

A black sedan with tinted windows was seen leaving the area along Hiawatha Road toward Blue Hill Avenue.

The operator was described as a heavy-set black woman with long hair, wearing black slacks and a white shirt.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Boston Homicide Unit detectives at 617-343-4470. Anonymous tips can be called into the CrimeStoppers Tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS or by texting the word TIP to CRIME (27463).
A Vermont man traveling with loaded handgun and an AR-15 rifle was arrested in Reading yesterday after allegedly brandishing a firearm at another driver.

Alan Cournoyer, 39, allegedly displayed a gun while driving his Toyota Tundra in New Hampshire on Friday, Massachusetts State Police said.

Another driver called Massachusetts State Police after Cournoyer had crossed the border into Massachusetts, saying Cournoyer was driving erratically. A State Trooper located Cournoyers pickup truck and pulled him over on I-93 in Reading.

Upon investigation, Trooper [Joaquin] Miranda located two eight-round magazines, fully-loaded with .45 caliber ammunition, an H&K USP .45 caliber hand gun with an eight-round, fully-loaded magazine in the weapon, a Lewis Machine tool AR-15, 5.56 caliber firearm, along with two empty 30 round magazines, and 314 rounds of 5.56 ammunition inside the vehicle, Massachusetts State Police said in a statement.

Cournoyer was not licensed to possess firearms in Massachusetts, state police said. Cournoyer was arrested and charged with six counts of illegal firearms and ammunition possession, including illegal possession of an assault weapon.

Charges relating to his alleged brandishing of a firearm are being considered by authorities in New Hampshire, where that incident took place.

He is scheduled for arraignment in Woburn District Court on Monday.
An ongoing drug investigation in Holyoke sent local, state and federal law enforcement to a Willow Street apartment Thursday, where they arrested one man and seized heroin, Suboxone, drug paraphernalia and more than $27,000 in cash.

Holyoke Police spokesman Lt. James Albert said 27-year-old Gilbert Camacho, Jr., of 14 Willow St., was taken into custody as city narcotics detectives, the Massachusetts State Police Special Tactical Operations team, the FBIs Western Mass. Gang Task Force and agents from the DEA, the U.S. Marshals Service, the federal ATF and members of the Hampden County Narcotics Task Force executed a search warrant on Gamachos apartment.

Albert said reports of gunfire in the Willow Street area in early May led police to investigate. Detectives recovered spent shell casings and discovered ballistic damage to property in the area, specifically at 14 Willow St.

Albert said police found 37.5 grams of heroin  enough to charge Gamacho with trafficking in heroin. Police also found five strips of Suboxone, a Class B substance, along with various pieces of drug paraphernalia, an electronic money counter and more than $27,00 in cash.

Gamacho was arraigned in Holyoke District Court Friday.
The sign for the Jewish Student Union at Brookline High School has been vandalized with a swastika.

CBS Boston reports that school officials found the swastika drawn on the sign on Friday and notified police, the Anti-Defamation League and the school community.

Head of School Anthony Meyer described the incident as Anti-Semitic vandalism," CBS Boston reported.

Brookline has long been a center of Jewish life in the Greater Boston Area. 27 percent of the regions Jewish households live in Brookline, Brighton and Newton, according to a 2015 Brandeis University study.

The vandalism comes as authorities investigate three recent suspicious fires at Jewish institutions in Arlington and Needham. A $20,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest or conviction of the arsonist.

No one was injured in any of the fires, which targeted Chabad houses -- Jewish homes that also serve as community centers for people affiliated with the Orthodox Chabad religious movement.
The Trump administration rejected a subpoena from House Democrats for the presidents tax returns, pushing the two sides closer to a day in court.

In a brief letter to House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., who issued the subpoena last week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin repeated what he told Neal in the past: He does not believe Democrats have a legitimate legislative reason for seeking Trumps tax filings.

For the same reasons, we are unable to provide the requested information in response to the committees subpoena, Mnuchin said.

But the battle over obtaining Trumps tax returns for the past six years is far from over, Neal said.

In a statement to The Republican, Neal said, Last Friday, I issued subpoenas to the Treasury Secretary and IRS Commissioner after they refused to comply with the law. Issuance of these subpoenas should not have been necessary. The law provides clear statutory authority for the Chair of the Ways and Means Committee to request and receive access to tax returns and return information. The law, by its terms, does not allow for discretion as to whether to comply with a request for tax returns and return information."

Neal added, "Given the Treasury Secretarys failure to comply today, I am consulting with counsel on how best to enforce the subpoenas moving forward.

Trump has vowed to fight all subpoenas from House Democrats.

Neal made his original request for Trumps taxes on April 3 under section 6103(f) of the IRS tax code, which states that the Treasury Secretary shall furnish tax returns requested by a chair of a congressional tax committee.

The presidents attorney, William S. Consovoy, has described Neals request as a gross abuse of power.

Trump, who came into office in January 2017 with international business holdings, did not release his returns during the 2016 election, breaking with four decades of precedent.

The New York Times recently obtained printouts of Trumps official IRS tax transcripts from 1985 to 1994, which revealed the businessman-turned-politician reported $1.17 billion in business losses during a 10-year span. He paid no federal taxes in eight of the 10 years, according to the newspaper.
WESTFIELD  Artist and retired Westfield State University professor Pat Conant said it was a daunting task shifting through hundreds of images to create a 14-foot photo mural for City Hall encapsulating the citys 350 years.

But out of all those faces, only one leaped from the frame to the eye of Sue Whalen. Her late grandmother  Katherine Price, Katherine Foster then  is shown with her graduating class from Noble Hospitals nursing school. The photo likely dates back to the 1920s, she said.

Im just so happy, Whalen, who worked as a receptionist at todays Baystate Noble for 19 years. To think shes going to be remembered here at City Hall forever. Im thrilled.

City and state officials gathered Friday afternoon to unveil Conants work and for the reading of official proclamations of Westfields 350th anniversary.

It served as the kickoff to a weekend of festivities, which will include fireworks Saturday at 9 p.m. in the field behind the Westfield Boys & Girls Club and a parade Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. down Western Avenue and Court Street.

The 350th only comes once, said Harry Rock, celebration chairman. Isnt it our responsibility to give back to our city. Isnt it our responsibility to create a city that our kids will want to return to, to live in and not feel they have to leave because its just Westfield?

State Sen. Don Humason, R-Westfield, said his goal for Saturday is to take a photo of his 7-year-old son, Quinn, in front of the giant birthday cake set up on the Park Square Green.

So I can tell him that in 50 years, when we celebrate the 400th, that hell remember having been there, Humason said.

Humason said he was a 2-year-old at the citys 300th anniversary, but he doesnt have a photo of himself at the event.

Whats great is that this celebration isnt just for people living in Westfield, Humason said. I keep hearing from so many people who used to live in Westfield who are coming back. Its a chance to have a reunion.

Rock thanked the team of 20 core board members and others who worked so hard to make 350th happen, as well as the more than 200 volunteers.

State Rep. John Velis, D-Westfield, spoke of his immigrant grandfathers, one from Greece and one from Ireland, who were welcomed in Westfield.

Im just so grateful to be here, he said.

Rock said no one can find a time capsule from the 300th anniversary celebration in 1969, although hed love to jog a memory and find one if it exists.

He showed off instead tables of mementos that will be sealed in a time capsule later this year and kept for the 400th anniversary in 2069.

The capsule will include commemorative wooden nickels  festival goes in our own time have hunted for them using GPS devices, a sport called geocaching  a bocce ball from the citys Italian -American fraternity and assorted other mementos of 2019.
BOSTON  Manager Alex Cora accepted blame for the Red Soxs 3-1 loss to the Astros on Friday. He said he should not have left in starting pitcher Rick Porcello to face slugger George Springer with no outs in the eighth inning, a runner at second base and Boston leading 1-0.

Jake Marisnick led off the inning with a double on a slider. Springer then homered on a changeup to put the Astros ahead 2-1.

Im out there. Its on me, Porcello said when told Cora took the blame. Hes got the confidence to leave me out there. Ive got to do a better job of, I guess, rewarding that confidence. Its 100 percent on me. My pitch count was intact. I was fine.

Springer entered Friday 5-for-12 with a homer and two doubles in his career against Porcello.

Its on me in the eighth inning, Porcello said. I threw the two worst pitches of the night, back-to-back hitters, back-to-back pitches. And that was the result. Ive got to do a better job. AC trusts me to go out there in the eighth inning. And Ive got to make better pitches at least. ... Those were cookies. Tough loss but lets bounce back tomorrow."

Porcello entered the eighth inning at 91 pitches.

I was rolling," he said. "I fully expected to go back out there.

Porcello allowed two runs, six hits and one walk while striking out three in his 7-plus innings.
Logan quickly became indispensable to all my lab members, because everyone learned that if you asked Logan to do something, he would not only follow through reliably but hed do it better and more completely than anyone else. He would constantly surprise us by looking for ways to improve any technique or process he undertook, said McGinty.

But McGinty knew his interests would fit better with human research, so she encouraged him to apply to MUSCs Summer Undergraduate Research Program, which he completed in 2013. A year later, he was accepted into the Ph.D. program in the College of Graduate Studies. McGinty then introduced him to mentor Colleen Hanlon, Ph.D., who conducts brain stimulation and addiction science research in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Division of Addiction Sciences Research. Hanlons team looks at the brains response to noninvasive forms of stimulation and cueinduced craving to develop new treatments.

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Whats so amazing is that we have the ability to look at the human brain in unique ways  as it thinks, views things, as it feels  and capture an aspect of that, gather data and measure the outcomes, said Dowdle.
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by Richard Whitman , Columnist, May 15, 2019

E-commerce giant Amazon is the most valuable retail brand in the world according to WPP/Kantars new BrandZ report on the top 75 most valuable global retail brands. The companys brand value, per the report: $315.5 billion.

Chinas Alibaba ($131.2 billion) took second place and fast-food giant McDonalds ($130.4 billion) was third-ranked. Rounding out the top-5 are The Home Depot ($53.5 billion) and Nike ($47.4 billion), per the report.

David Roth, CEO of The Store WPP EMEA and Asia and Chairman of BrandZ, said: We are entering the third era of digital retail as human rhythms meet algorithms enabling retailing to be much more digital but appear more human.

This years rankings, added Roth, also signal the increasing importance of Chinese retailers in online and mobile commerce indicated by Alibabas rise to the number two position. It is at the cutting edge of where ecommerce, mobile and physical retail intersect with the consumer.

The ranking combines market data from Bloomberg with extensive consumer insights from over 3.7 million consumers around the world, covering more than 166,000 different brands in over 50 markets.

The ranking covers brands that are pure retail, fast food, apparel and luxury.
by Sara Guaglione , May 17, 2019

Nylon Media has launched an edition in Spain, its ninth international edition.

This comes after Nylon redesigned its U.S. site back in February, powered by RebelMouse, the publisher's CMS platform.

After the "successful" relaunch, Nylon president Evan Luzzatto, a former Snapchat executive, told Publishers Daily: We can now leverage RebelMouses platform to share Nylon's digital content, draw market-specific insights and standardize design principles across Nylon's international partners.

It enables us to unify the brand internationally while publishing content catered to each market, he added.

In the last three years, Nylon launched market-specific versions in China and Germany. It also has partners in South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Mexico.

Nylon's partnership with RebelMouse enables the publisher to launch international markets faster, and "ensures Nylon's core identity stays intact in new markets," said Anne-Elise Duss, Nylon's director of business development.

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She believes RebelMouse has changed "how we onboard partners."

Nylon Spain was launched in partnership with Taller De Editores, S.A., publisher of Spains female lifestyle brand Mujerhoy.

Pablo Aragon Blanco, Nylon Spain's editor-in-chief, is overseeing the production of original content in Spanish for the site.

Nylon Spain produces monthly cover stories, in addition to the U.S. cover stories. Nylon Spain also syndicates some content from and Nylon U.S.
New research suggests that a combination of high heat, toxins, and infections may be responsible for the increasing prevalence of chronic kidney disease among agricultural workers. Share on Pinterest A combination of high heat and environmental toxins may lead to chronic kidney disease, new research explains. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) involves the slow loss of kidney function. Kidneys keep the body healthy by filtering dangerous fluids and waste products from the blood. When kidney function is impaired, these products build up in the body and cause disease. People with CKD may develop high blood pressure, anemia, weak bones, and nerve damage. Also, kidney failure increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. These complications may happen slowly over a long period. Causes of CKD include diabetes and high blood pressure, which are responsible for up to two-thirds of the cases. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent many complications. High blood pressure may cause CKD, which, in turn, may lead to high blood pressure. According to the National Kidney Foundation, 30 million adults in the United States live with CKD, and millions of others are at risk. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for all people with this disease.

Finding potential causes of CKD epidemic Recently, CKD has been prevalent among workers in hot climates. In the 1990s, the disease affected sugarcane workers in Central America. In 2012, 20,000 people in California, Florida, and Colorado died from the disease, but the cause remained unknown. Researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz (CU Anschutz) Medical Campus looked at all the available studies to consolidate the information and find potential gaps in research. The results of the study appear in the New England Journal of Medicine. The research team found that agricultural workers, such as those who worked with sugarcane, cotton, and corn, as well as shrimp farmers and miners, are more likely to develop the disease compared with those who work at higher altitudes. The researchers believe that high temperatures, caused by climate change, and pesticides, such as glyphosate, could play a role in this chronic disease epidemic. Sri Lankan farmers exposed to glyphosate showed a high risk for CKD. The researchers also investigated heavy metals, such as lead and cadmium, which are common culprits of kidney injury in Sri Lanka and Central America. Dr. Lee Newman, MA, who is also the director of the Center for Health, Work & Environment and a professor in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health at the Colorado School of Public Health, led the team. Some pesticides are nephrotoxic, and these could possibly contaminate the water supply. [] Indeed, there are studies showing the epidemic in Sri Lanka is greatest in areas where there are shallow wells in which toxins might become concentrated, adds Dr. Richard Johnson, from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and co-author of the study. Other possible causes, which are common among sugarcane workers, include infectious diseases that can affect the kidneys, such as the hantavirus and leptospirosis, and genetic factors. Dr. Newman added that heat exposure, heavy labor, and persistent dehydration are also culprits.
BANGALORE, India

May 18, 2019

American University

Antigua

Caribbean

the United States of America

American University

Antigua

Crown College

Crown College

Neal Simon

Crown College

Antigua and Barbuda

the United States

Canada

United Kingdom

India

Great Britain

Great Britain

Neal Simon

Somerset, England

Coventry, United Kingdom

Saturday, May 4

Sunday, May 5

India's

Neal Simon

/PRNewswire/ --Manipal'sof(AUA), College of Medicine is on their mission to execute the promise of addressing the global shortage of physicians. AUA is proclaiming their worldwide presence with each association and partnership.AUA, the top medical school in thehas been securing its highest rank among the best medical schools consistently. The medical graduates of AUA are licensed to practice in all the 50 states of. And now with agreements with various medical schools and hospitals in other countries, AUA is spreading its wings far and wide enabling the dreams of numerous students aspiring to take up the medical profession.(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/834877/MAUA_Logo.jpg )(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/889394/GAPIO_Conference.jpg )Recently, an agreement has been signed betweenofand Warwick Medical School with the purpose of enabling students of AUA's College of Medicine transfer to WMS to finish their medical degree. This partnership between both these prestigious universities aims at nurturing a diverse academic community to propagate global medical health propelled by their promise of delivering nothing but excellence.Expanding its reach, AUA has entered into a new articulation agreement with Royalof Business and Technology Inc. to increase the scope for students to fulfil their passion to become physicians. "We are pleased to partner with Royaland provide their successful students the opportunity to continue their medical education at AUA," said AUA PresidentAccording to the agreement, after the successful completion of the premedical program or prerequisite courses at Royal, qualified medical students will be eligible to complete their first two years of medical study at AUA in, and the last two years in AUA's affiliated hospitals inandThe next recent and proud partnership has been sealed between AUA and Yeovil District Hospital,. "Learning from the professors and physicians at Yeovil District Hospital and performing rotations under the talented professionals there provides our students an enhanced clinical experience, as well as the opportunity to study in" said AUA PresidentThis agreement allows qualified AUA students to complete their clinical rotations at Yeovil District Hospital, located in. Upon completion of the program, students will receive a medical degree from AUA, a Yeovil District Hospital graduate certificate program transcript and a Yeovil District Hospital certificate of completion.A similar agreement was recently signed between AUA and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. This agreement too enables qualified AUA students to complete their core and elective clinical rotations at UHCW,. Students who successfully complete their clinical rotations from UHCW, and fulfil all other requirements to graduate from AUA, will receive medical degree from AUA, UHCW graduate certificate program transcript and a UHCW certificate of completion.Further, on, and, it was a matter of pride for AUA College of Medicine to have hosted the ninth mid-year conference of the Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (GAPIO) at AUA's campus. GAPIO is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to empowering physicians of Indian origin providing affordable healthcare, contributing to local and regional community development and helping reduce health inequalities on a global level.The goal of this collaboration was to gather physicians of Indian origin to initiate connections, share ideas and learn through a singular platform. Sessions on recent developments and advancements in cardiology, the metabolic syndrome like obesity and diabetes, nephrology with a focus on transplants and neurology were an integral part of this conference. The event also included sessions on artificial intelligence in healthcare, Vedic Wisdom - leadership in medicine and reaching the unreached and global opportunities in healthcare."The conference is in celebration ofvital contributions to global healthcare - a matter AUA commemorates," said AUA President. "As a university that strives to advance the field of medicine and shape physicians who come from underrepresented minorities, we are honoured to host the event."

About American University of Antigua



American University of Antigua (AUA) College of Medicine is an innovative, fully accredited international medical school located on the island of Antigua in the Caribbean. Founded in 2004, AUA is approved by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in Federal Student Aid programs, accredited by the New York State Education Department (NYSED), licensed by Florida Department of Education (DOE), recognized by the Medical Board of California (MBC), and accredited the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP). AUA provides a learner-centric education of the highest quality and is committed to leading the next generation of physicians and healthcare professionals to respond to global healthcare needs. For more information, visit http://www.auamed.org.




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In the new work, a group of scientists from KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kenya, the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Charite University of Medicine, Berlin and Dabaso Tujengane Kenya, examined the feet of 1,829 students of all age groups from 5 schools in coastal Kenya. In one subset of participants, observations were repeated after a school holiday. Structured interviews were conducted with 707 students to get data on household infrastructure, behavior and socio-economic status.The overall prevalence of tungiasis was 48 percent, with boys between the ages of 10 and 14 years most at risk and factors related to socio-economic status positively associated with disease risk. Children returned from their school holiday with higher rates of infection. The data suggested that mild to moderate tungiasis could be reduced by a third, and severe tungiasis by more than half, if homes had sealed floors, while roughly a seventh of the cases could be prevented by sealing classroom floors and another fifth by using soap for daily feet washing."Observations from our study suggest that up to 70 percent of tungiasis cases may be prevented through simple prevention methods," Dr. Lynne Elson the lead author says, "There is a clear role for public health workers to expand the WASH policy to include washing of feet with soap in school-aged children to fight tungiasis and to raise awareness of the importance of sealed floors."Source: Eurekalert
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Markos Bolaris will travel to Ohrid on 17 May, where he will co-chair the fourth meeting of the Greek-North Macedonian Joint Interdisciplinary Committee of Experts on historical, archaeological and educational issues. The previous meeting of said Committee was held in Athens on 22 and 23 March 2019.



The Greek delegation participating in the Committee consists of the following members:



1. Spyridon Sfetas, Professor at the School of History and Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.



2. Nikolaos Zaikos, Assistant Professor at the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies, University of Macedonia.



4. Iakovos Michailidis, Associate Professor at the School of History and Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.



5. Athina Skoulariki, Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Crete.



6. Athanasios Loupas, Doctoral Candidate at the Department of History and Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.



7. Efthimios Charlaftis, First Counsellor, A3 Directorate for Southeastern Europe Countries, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its deep concern over the decision of the Albanian Central Elections Committee, which consists of representatives of the Albanian parties, to reject the candidacy of President of Omonoia, Himara, Dionysios Fredi-Beleri, for the post of Mayor in the upcoming municipal elections. According to available information, the decision has no legal grounds. We are closely monitoring developments and we stand ready to assist the representatives of the minority.
CASS CITY -- Hills & Dales General Hospital recently announced it has received MPRO's 2019 Governor's Award of Excellence for Outstanding Achievement in Effective Reporting and Measurement (Critical Access Hospital).

This year, more than 130 Michigan hospitals, physician practices, nursing homes, inpatient psychiatric facilities, ambulatory surgery centers and home health agencies were honored with the Governor's Award of Excellence. This award recognizes participants for their dedication and success in improving healthcare quality and patient safety in Michigan. To be eligible for the award, participants must have achieved, maintained and continually improved in specific and rigorous milestones related to the award they received.
HURON COUNTY -- In February, the Huron County College & Career Access Network (HC3) kicked off a competition involving all seniors from all seven Huron County School districts, with a challenge for seniors to complete their FAFSA's.

This form is used to determine financial aid awards for students going to college and fulfills a requirement for many scholarships.
PIGEON  Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port was impressive in a Greater Thumb West sweep of rival Bad Axe, Friday (10-0, 10-1).

The Lakers did most of their damage in the middle innings of Game 1, scoring seven runs in the fourth and fifth.

Kirstyn Wurst and Kaitlin Kady combined for four hits and seven RBI, and each hit a homer run, to lead EPBP.

Jaelyn Talaski contributed a pair of hits and two RBI.

Wurst struck out seven and scattered four hits, to get the victory.

For the Hatchets, Sydney Prill collected two hits.

The nightcap saw the Lakers strike again in the middle innings, scoring eight of their runs in the fourth and fifth.

Gretta Elston, Kady and Randal all drove in two runs.

Bad Axe had Lexie Booms and Kate Clancy with two hits each, while Abby Newland drove in the lone run.

Kady allowed just four hits and struck out two for the win.
No Democrat, certainly not Sen. Julie Kushner or Rep. Robyn Porter, thinks the job of making economic amends to low-wage earners is done now that Connecticut is on track to see its minimum wage rise steadily to $15 an hour in five years.

Kushner, of Danbury, and Porter, of New Haven, barely celebrated the milestone votes before turning toward their next hurdle  passing a paid family and medical leave bill.

The Senate is set to vote on the bill, with its SB 1 designation, this week. And even though paid leave held the SB 1 honor for two prior years without so much as a floor vote, this time it will happen. Expect a straight party-line vote, as with the minimum wage, and an eager signature from Gov. Ned Lamont.

Within two or three years, when the paid leave program is up and running, we will fork over 0.5 percent of our wages toward the newly established insurance fund to pay for those leaves  on earnings up to the Social Security tax threshold, which now stands at $128,400.

That means $450 a year for a typical family of four pulling in $90,000. Some can afford it easily enough, others, less so.

This is good legislation but the timing troubles me for several reasons. I suggest we pass it and Lamont signs it, with a caveat: It takes effect immediately upon passage of a state budget that contains no broad-based tax increases  not before.

Rising costs

Im not in the enough is enough camp, not exactly, anyway, because the economy isnt working for the working poor. Still, color me a nervous enough for now. Heres why:

Paid family and medical leave will mean a fee, or a levy, or a charge, or, heavens, can I call it a tax, of roughly $400 million a year. This, at a time when were already famously one of the most expensive states.

And we most likely will raise the cost of living in this great state in three other ways before the hydrangeas bloom.

The minimum wage hike, to $11 from $10.10 on Oct. 1, is a done deal, fair and right, but not without its costs. It will send Connecticut that much further ahead of the shameful national minimum of $7.25 an hour. It will lift up tens of thousands of wage-earners.

But it will also, as Republicans warned, lead to some price hikes and some lost jobs  though not as much as the GOP claims.

Highway tolls, at an annual cost of about $550 million for Connecticut residents, make sense for the simple reason that we need the money and the choice is clear: Borrow between $375 million and $800 million a year, pay hefty interest and cut spending or raise taxes to pay for it; or toll ourselves and our lovely out-of-state visitors.

Tolling will give us $800 million in our pockets for an outlay of $550 million, compared with a cost in the range of $1.2 billion to capture that same $800 million by borrowing. Not a tough call.

Speaking of cutting spending, no Republican has proposed a budget that does so, enough to avert a tax increase. That means the state budget of $21 billion for 2019-20 will need a tax increase in the range of $400 million, more or less. Dont even start with take it out of the union benefits because at best, thats a long-term play.

Conservatively, thats a tax increase (sorry about the T-word) of $1 billion a year and Im leaving out a few things such as delayed business tax cuts and rising property taxes.

Too many smart investments?

Is this the precise moment for a household charge of $300 to $600 a year, more or less, for Connecticut families? I like the idea and Connecticut should pass paid leave, but with the nations eyes on this state for its spiraling costs and stagnant job growth, Im afraid the answer is, not quite.

Lamont, Kushner, Porter and most other Democrats say Connecticut needs to offer this social insurance option to keep up with other civilized states. A few years ago it was just California, Rhode Island and New Jersey that had it. Now New York, Washington state (and D.C.) and Massachusetts are on board.

But Massachusetts, for example, is cutting or holding the line on taxes and already has tolls. Connecticut can wait just a bit longer, especially if we line up a bill on the runway.

All it would take is a year without a broad tax increase  a hike of $200 million or more in one of the major taxes such as personal income or sales or corporate earnings  and were good to go. That gives us a goal to work toward.

Tolls, the minimum wage hikes, broader taxes to pay for services and paid family leave, all represent investments in something that could pay off. Whether each is worth the cost is a valid debate, but at least they can support investments in people and infrastructure.

I asked my 23-year-old daughter, a music teacher in Boston, if paid family leave would make her more likely to move back to Connecticut. Yes it would, she said, though I know the chance remains low.

The point is, we need to turn Connecticut into a place where more young people want to live and paid leave is part of the picture. The question is exactly when. Porter argues vehemently that low-wage workers have waited long enough, and they have, shes right.

Rep. Anne Hughes, D-Easton, chair of the House Progressive Caucus, makes the point that all these investments need to work in concert for the best effect. Shes right.

The grim growth reaper

Paid leave polls well in Connecticut. A survey conducted this year for the Connecticut Campaign for Paid Family Leave showed 82 percent support even when respondents were told This plan would be funded through very small payroll deductions.

Its a human right that everyone should have access to, similar to health care, said Madeline Granato, director of the campaign and policy manager for the Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund.

I dont agree that paid time off from work is a basic right in all circumstances, and details of the bill are still being worked out. Still, Granatos comment shows the moral platform where paid leave resides.

Moral issue or not, we should stop whistling past the grim growth reaper at a time when were not performing as well as those other states.

Another reason for caution: Tolls, the minimum wage and a tax increase will probably all pass with zero Republican support. Ditto, paid family leave. Thats just not the best way to govern even if all four cost increases make sense.

Republicans are saying the 12-week paid leave plan, with weekly compensation of up to $1,000, depending on how the bill shapes up, has too many holes, too many risks of abuse.

Theyre wrong about that. Its a good program. We just arent ready to pay for it when were passing big tax increases elsewhere.

dhaar@hearstmediact.com
Isaak Olson was two months from graduating in 2014 when he disclosed that his fiancee had given birth several months earlier...
FORT IRWIN, California -- Anyone who's been here has seen it: the field of brightly painted boulders surrounding a small mountain of rocks that symbolizes unit pride at the Army's National Training Center.

For nearly four decades, combat units have painted their insignias on boulders near the road into this post. It's known as Painted Rocks.

"It's a big tradition," said NTC Command Sgt. Major Matthew Lowe. "The higher you go, the older they are. If you are out there and you look toward the top, you can see the old acorn for the 24th Infantry Division with a big three on there; that unit has probably been deactivated since 1994."

Lowe was close; the 24th was inactivated in 1996, but the unit's painting is still old.

The tradition dates back to the mid-1960s when Col. Robert Osbourne, the post commander at the time, kept a concrete burro to represent the many burros that gather in San Bernardino County, where the post is located, Lowe said.

NTC did not exist yet, but units would come here to train before going to Vietnam, he said.

The 36th Engineer Battalion was here training and decided to paint Osbourne's burro.

"Of course, Colonel Osborne saw that and was not pleased, and they repainted it. And then, every couple weeks, this kept happening, where the burro kept getting painted," Lowe said.

"One day, they went out there and burro was gone and, a couple of weeks later, Colonel Osborne got a letter from Private Burro in Vietnam, with a picture of him serving his country in Vietnam," he continued.

Osbourne realized that this tradition was going to continue, so he designated an area where units could paint their insignia, Lowe explained. "And out there, Painted Rocks was born."

That was in 1967, "but it really didn't catch on until we became the National Training Center," he said. "The idea for NTC was born in the late 1970s, and we did our first rotation in 1981."

The 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team is currently at NTC, and "there will probably be five rocks added after this rotation because battalions like to do it; separate companies like to do it," Lowe said. "The Japan Ground Self Defense Force was here in February with a company team, and they painted a rock and put it out there."

NTC officials don't know exactly how many rocks have been painted.

"Since 1981, you figure every rotation -- nine or 10 a year for the last 38 years -- units have been dropping rocks there," Lowe said. "And you don't paint over someone else's rock. That's a big no-no."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
USA: 4th Annual Award Ceremony of Sunday Islamic School of MQI Dallas, Texas

The first five verses of revelation (Surah Alaq) were revelations of knowledge in the form of five sentences, revealed to the Holy Prophet  in the darkness of ignorance. Ten messages were revealed in these five verses. The first message was about reading; the second about our Creator; then about creation, the universe, human kind, science and embryology, knowledge and education, the pen, research and exploration, and the unveiling of the secret of human life and the universe. These ten messages became the foundations of the religion of Islam. These messages became the point of commencement of the teaching of Prophet Muhammad . The goal of Minhaj-ul-Quran is to revive and recover that concept of knowledge that has been lost because of external factors. Minhaj-ul-Quran strives to re-inculcate and regenerate the above concepts of knowledge into the minds and hearts of people and particularly the young generation  the future leaders of the nation.

With the above message of Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Minhaj-ul-Quran Dallas strives to progress in the education and nurturing of the younger generation of the Dallas/Fort Worth area since 2014. Today, Minhaj-ul-Quran Dallas celebrated its 4th annual graduation and award ceremony of Sunday Islamic school with zest and zeal. The 55 Students of all five levels  from KG to Level 4  as well as parents, grandparents, and friends, all came with fervor to attend the ceremony.

The program commenced with the recitation of the Quran by Brother Abdullah from Sunday school, followed by the recitation of 99 Asma al-Husna of Almighty Allah by Sister Afaf. Brother Mushtaq Hussain, a famous naat reciter of the DFW area who is also one of the parents of a Sunday School student, recited a melodious naat. Minhaj-ul-Quran Dallas President, Dr. Mansoor Mian, greeted all the attendees and staff of Sunday School and gave a brief overview of the strivings of Minhaj-ul-Quran Intl. worldwide. Next, a video clip of Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri on the significance of knowledge (from his lecture at the occasion of the Minhaj University Graduation Ceremony) was showed to the attendees. The awards distribution was started by Sunday School Administrator, Brother Iqbal Hasan, and Minhaj-ul-Quran Dallas Women League President, Sister Riffat Qazi. The recognition of Best Teacher was awarded to Dr. Snobar Rashid; the Best Volunteer was awarded to Sister Afaf; these awards were followed by the awards for pursuit of excellence for teachers and volunteers, as well as the awards for certificates of completion, medals and trophies to students from Level KG to Level 4. All parents were invited to participate in the award distribution to students. The program concluded with greetings of Ramadan to everyone, and gifts of goody bags and sweets to all students and parents.
A Brady Bunch reunion is in the works. We caught up with Greg Brady himself, actor Barry Williams at Michigans largest pop culture event to find out more about A Very Brady Renovation. (VIDEO BELOW)

You can meet Williams at the 30th Motor City Comic Con running through Sunday at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. Williams tells us A Very Brady Renovation will begin airing this September on HGTV.

OUR FAVORITE CELEBRITY ENCOUNTERS FROM MOTOR CITY COMIC CON 2019

The show has reunited the cast of The Brady Bunch as they renovate, with the help of HGTV, the Los Angeles area home used for most of the exterior shots on the sitcom.

Its a real house. It didnt look anything like the set that we filmed on a sound stage. It didnt resemble it in size. Its a one story house."

"We thought it would be fun to recreate the house as a real home and replicate the interior exactly. Shag carpet, the horse in the living room, everything. Astro Turf in the backyard. Its been a year long project. All six of us Brady Kids have been assigned different aspects of the homes rooms.

MORE 2019 MOTOR CITY COMIC CON:

Catching up with Stanley and Kevin from The Office

Talking with Scream actress Neve Campbell

The best cosplay we saw on day No. 1

Cosplay you have to see to believe from day No. 2

What the real life Princess Jasmine thinks of Disneys upcoming Aladdin movie
Three Michigan men who spent time in prison for crimes they did not commit will be compensated under an agreement from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, her office announced Friday.

The awards totaled $2.3 million. Of that, more than $1.5 million went to Richard Phillips, who was exonerated last year after being framed for murder and serving more than 45 years in prison.

Phillips was convicted of homicide in 1972, but granted a new trial in 2017 after new testimony. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy dropped charges in 2018, saying the case was based almost entirely on false testimony from one witness, and Phillips was released.

This is great news, and was absolutely the right thing to do, Worthy said in a press release issued by Nessels office. "I remain thankful that in 2018 we were able to bring some justice to Mr. Phillips. While this compensation will not bring back the 45 years that he unjustly served in prison, it is my sincere hope that it will bring a well-deserved and fulfilling quality of life to him.

The state also agreed to compensate Neal Redick, who served more than 15 years on charges of criminal sexual assaults against a minor before the complainant recanted his claim and the charges were dropped in 2007. He will receive $780,000.

And Raymond McCann, a reserve police officer who was charged with perjury in connection with a 2007 murder case and proved innocent by new surveillance footage, was awarded $40,000.

Conceding that no system is perfect, the governments public recognition and overturning of the convictions of these men helps to foster a healing process, and assures Michiganders that the government regardless of fault  will take ownership of its errors, Nessel said in a press release.

Reentering society is profoundly difficult for wrongfully convicted individuals and we have an obligation to provide compassionate compensation to these men for the harm they suffered. Im proud our office was able to play a part in ensuring justice was served.

Michigans Wrongfully Imprisoned Compensation Act, signed in 2016, allows those wrongfully convicted of crimes to get up to $50,000 per year spent in prison.

The fund currently does not have enough money to pay the $2.5 million, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer line-item vetoed $10 million to refill it earlier this month, saying it should go through the budget process. She has promised to veto policy bills that are made referendum-proof by attaching an appropriation.

Kelly Rossmann-McKinney, a spokesperson for Nessel, said the legislature will have to appropriate but as you know, they clearly showed intent with the $10 million they designated for WICA that the Gov vetoed because it wasnt in an appropriation bill.

The funds current balance is $325,990, she said.
UPDATE: Trump blasts GOP congressman Amash for referencing impeachment

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Michigan congressman Justin Amash, a Republican from Grand Rapids, says President Donald Trump engaged in impeachable conduct.

Amash posted a series of Tweets on Saturday, May 18 to explain his opinion after reading special counsel Robert Muellers report.

Amash, often a critic of Trump, is now the only Republican House member to support impeachment proceedings.

In his Tweets, Amash wrote that he came to the following conclusions:

"1. Attorney General Barr has deliberately misrepresented Muellers report.

2. President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct.

3. Partisanship has eroded our system of checks and balances.

4. Few members of Congress have read the report."

He went on to write that he had read the full redacted report, as well as watched other testimony and statements.

Contrary to Barrs portrayal, Muellers report reveals that President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment, he wrote.

In fact, Muellers report identifies multiple examples of conduct satisfying all the elements of obstruction of justice, and undoubtedly any person who is not the president of the United States would be indicted based on such evidence, he wrote.

While impeachment should be undertaken only in extraordinary circumstances, the risk we face in an environment of extreme partisanship is not that Congress will employ it as a remedy too often but rather that Congress will employ it so rarely that it cannot deter misconduct.  Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019

Muellers investigation centered around the 2016 presidential election and whether there was Russian interference with links to the Trump administration.

Amash, who is part of the House Liberty Caucus, in February came out against Trumps emergency declaration to get funding to build a border wall.
Michigans economy is projected to experience modest economic growth over the next few years, but ongoing uncertainty on federal trade policy could significantly impact the state, fiscal experts said Friday.

Experts from the House Fiscal Agency, Senate Fiscal Agency and Michigan Department of Treasury gathered Friday to release the projections at the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference, a biannual meeting where the states economic experts hash out revenue projections. The outlook informs lawmakers and Gov. Gretchen Whitmers office as they work to finalize the states next budget.

State revenue falls into two broad categories: the general fund, which funds state agencies and other programs, and the School Aid Fund, which provides funding for school districts and some higher education.

The revenue estimates are based on the most recent economic projections and forecasting models.

General fund revenue is projected to be $10.85 billion in Fiscal Year 2019, up $151.5 million from January estimates. School Aid Fund revenue is projected at $13.48 billion, down $68.2 million from January. Combined, estimates are up about $83.3 million in Fiscal Year 2019.

In Fiscal Year 2020, which begins Oct. 1, general fund revenue is forecasted at $10.78 billion, and the School Aid Fund revenue is estimated to be $13.84 billion. Updated Fiscal Year 2021 estimates show general fund revenue is projected at $10.92 billion, and School Aid Fund revenue is projected to be $14.18 billion.

State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks said revenues are relatively flat, but noted trade and economic uncertainties could affect revenues moving forward." She said CREC experts will reconvene as necessary to react to any significant impacts.

From our perspective, were relatively stable, she said. What were going to do here is just make sure were monitoring revenues and the progress on the trade discussions very closely...the uncertainties related to trade continue to persist and have the potential to impact our economy in a meaningful manner.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Jim Stamas, R-Midland, said in a statement its good news that the economy is expected to continue improving, but said its not a winning lottery ticket for new spending.

This cautious forecast illustrates that we must continue making smart budget decisions that keep our state on solid footing, he said. As discussions move forward on additional funding for our roads, we have a responsibility to the Michigan people to enact a balanced budget on time using real revenues."

Fiscal Year 2020 budget talks are ongoing in the legislature. Gov. Gretchen Whitmers recommendation for a 45-cent gas tax hike was the linchpin of her overall budget plan for Fiscal Year 2020, which runs from Oct. 1, 2019 through Sept. 30, 2020.

So far, that concept hasnt gained traction in the legislature. A Senate plan passed this week accelerates the 2015 plan passed by the legislature to fund Michigans roads by putting an additional $132 million into local roads, but does not incorporate Whitmers suggested tax hike.

State Budget Director Chris Kolb suggested the relative stagnation of state revenue is limiting what Michigan officials can do to fix infrastructure and other major issues facing the state, adding the results of the CREC conference illustrate theres no huge pot of money in existing revenue to address those needs.

20 years ago, we had the exact same amount of money in the general fund as we have today, he said. The reason that we have these needs is that we have not provided the resources that we need to be able to fix our roads, improve our schools and protect our water.
YPSILANTI, MI  It was a full-circle moment.

Thats how chef and Ypsilanti Community Schools alum Darrell Das Smith described returning to his hometown and addressing a crowd at the second annual Grizzly Soiree on Friday, May 17 at the Riverside Arts Center in Ypsilanti.

The Ypsilanti Community Schools event is a way to say thank you to the districts community partners, said Superintendent Alena Zachery-Ross. She said having a successful alum like Smith visit, shows the impact Ypsilanti Community Schools can make.

As (Smith) returns, we know that every single day, the work that were doing is not to just give the person an education, but truly to say Heres potential for life  whatever skills you have, whatever dreams you have, were here to nurture that, develop that,' Zachery-Ross said.

Culinary students from the Regional Career Tech Center catered the event.

Smith keynoted the event, telling the story of his journey as a chef, being featured on the Food Network, cooking for former First Lady Michelle Obama and working as a personal chef for music executive Sean Diddy Combs.

Now based in Los Angeles, Smith told MLive he tries to come back to Ypsilanti at least one year to visit family.

During his speech, Smith reflected on his time at Ypsilanti schools, and said his interest in entrepreneurship has greatly impacted his career. Smith is CEO and founder of The Caring Culinary Group, which offers food services for schools, corporations and venues.

Food was the thing that brought us together as a family, Smith said. We have a big family. I have 28 first cousins. Food was always the thing that brought us together. I was always into food and people and food was always that common denominator that brought people together.

Smith said one of his favorite experiences was cooking for Michelle Obama during a campaign fundraiser.

It was 350 people at the event, and some of these people were Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson  big names. They were actually co-hosts of the event, he said. It was just cool. It was intimidating, but it was cool.

Its just been a really cool journey and its still going.

Smith said young people pursuing their dreams should do one thing in particular: Believe in themselves.

I think its important at a young age to make the right decisions, because the decisions at this point in your life will follow you forever, he said. Its important to set yourself up for success.
LANSING, MI -- A Michigan man who served 45 years in prison for a murder he did not commit has been awarded $1.5 million in state funds.

State Attorney General Dana Nessel announced three money awards Friday, May 17 for people who spent time in prison but were later exonerated.

The largest payment by far went to Richard D. Phillips, who was convicted for the 1971 murder of Gregory Harris in Wayne County. Prosecutors in recent years determined he was framed and he was released from prison in December 2017, with charges dismissed early last year.

His 1972 conviction largely was based on testimony from another man who prosecutors now think organized the killing.

The payments are being made from the states Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act.

The other awards involve a $780,000 payment to Neal Redick, who served more than 15 years in prison before Genessee County sexual assault charges were dismissed in 2007; and a $40,000 award to Raymond McCann, a reserve police officer in St. Joseph County who served time on a perjury charge that was dismissed in 2017.
GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- Completion of routine bridge inspections will require the closure of ramps at the Interstate 69/Interstate 475 interchange in Flint.

The Michigan Department of Transportation announced the closures are scheduled to take place from 6 a.m.-noon on Saturday, May 18.

Heres a look at the ramp closures:

-Eastbound I-69 to northbound I-475

-Westbound I-69 to northbound I-475

Drivers should follow the posted detour that will send them onto southbound I-475 to Atherton Road then loop back around to northbound I-475, according to MDOT.
FLINT, MI -- An early morning shooting in Flint has left one person dead in the citys second fatal shooting in as many days.

Officers with the Flint Police Department were dispatched shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday, May 18 to the 200 block of Josephine Street, between Mason Street and Martin Luther King Avenue, in reference to an alarm complaint.

A male was found dead outside of a home when police arrived at the scene. Hed suffered from a gunshot wound.

The victim has not been identified and the suspects are unknown at this time, police said.

Saturdays shooting death marks the second homicide in a roughly 24-hour period.

Police were called out at approximately 1 a.m. Friday, May 17 to the 2000 block of Burns Street, between Broadway Boulevard and Davison Road, in reference to a subject yelling about someone being dead in the area.

Officers arriving at the Burns Street scene located a male whod been shot and was dead inside of a residence in the neighborhood.

The mans name and age in Fridays shooting has also not been released by police. The scene was processed by the Michigan State Police Crime Lab out of Bridgeport.

Anyone with information on Saturdays shooting is asked to contact Detective Sgt. Ron Dixon at 810-237-6905 or Detective Tpr. Jon Miller at 810-237-6922 with information on Fridays shooting.

Those wishing to report a tip anonymously may call Crime Stoppers of Flint & Genesee County at 1-800-422-JAIL (5245), on the P3 Tips app, or online at P3Tips.com.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Over 400 students from Ann Arbors Pioneer High School celebrated their prom at Michigan Stadium, Friday night.

The theme for the annual event was happily ever after.

If youre view this post on Facebook, click this link to view the gallery.

Check out moments from Friday nights festivities in the gallery above.
ANN ARBOR, MI -- Democratic presidential hopeful Amy Klobuchar said states passing legislation to limit access to abortions are using womens reproductive rights as a political pawn.

During a visit to Ann Arbor Saturday, the Minnesota senator told MLive.com Republican-led state legislatures, including Michigans, are emboldened by the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned. Klobuchar has been outspoken on new anti-abortion legislation in Georgia, Alabama and Missouri, calling them a coordinated attack on womens health care and an attempt to turn back the clock."

Now (states) are basically trying to run the tables and literally eliminate a womens right to choose, and I think theres going to be a huge backlash if they continue, Klobuchar. They seem to be marching from one state to another trying to do this.

We are entering very dangerous territory with these attacks on reproductive rights. Republicans are setting up a fight at the Supreme Court to take away crucial access to womens health care. Weve got to keep fighting these attacks.  Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) May 17, 2019

Republicans in the Michigan House and Senate each passed their own version of legislation that would make it a felony to perform dilation and evacuation abortions this week. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer promised to veto the measure, though Right to Life of Michigan filed paperwork this week to start a statewide ballot petition drive regardless of its support from the governor.

Klobuchar said the U.S. abortion rate has been declining for decades due to government-funded contraception and family planning services.

The Trump administrations attempts to block family planning funds for Planned Parenthood and weaken birth control coverage guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act will make it more difficult for women to have children on their own terms, Klobuchar said.

Both people who are pro-life and pro-choice would like to see less abortions, Klobuchar said.

Klobuchar was in Michigan for a panel discussion with U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, about closing loopholes that allow abusers to buy and own firearms if they are not married to their victim.

The former Minnesota prosecutor pressed the need for Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which provides resources and protection for domestic violence survivors.

Dingell said she deeply respects Klobuchar, and introduced the Senator as a friend of her late husband, longtime Michigan Congressman John Dingell.

Klobuchar made her first Michigan appearance two weeks ago, speaking at a Detroit event hosted by the National Organization of Black County Officials. She headed back to Detroit Saturday to speak at a Michigan Democratic Party womens caucus lunch.

Democrats vying for their partys nomination recognize the state will play a vital role in the 2020 election. After President Donald Trump narrowly flipped Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania -- all states that voted for President Barack Obama -- in 2016, both parties see the Midwest states as key battlegrounds.

Klobuchar is the first candidate to visit Washtenaw County. Other Democratic presidential hopefuls to visit Michigan include U.S. Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.Y.; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; Kamala Harris, D-Calif. and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, former U.S. Rep. Beto ORourke, D-Texas, businessman Andrew Yang and author Marianne Williamson.

Trump and Vice President Mike Pence also visited Michigan in March and April, stressing their administrations positive impact on the state economy. Pence traveled to Michigan and Wisconsin to campaign for the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement, which would replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, if ratified by Congress.

So far, Klobuchar is staking a more moderate approach among the crowded field of Democratic opponents.

She does not favor a Medicare for All health care plan proposed by other candidates and dismissed the idea of funding free tuition for students at public colleges and universities.

Klobuchars primary platform is focused on advancements for the middle class, according to campaign staff. Klobuchar, 58, described herself as Heartland Amy" during a recent Fox News town hall in Milwaukee.

While in Michigan, Klobuchar outlined a plan to invest $1 trillion in infrastructure projects across the country. Its her top budget priority for the first year, if elected.

Klobuchar said she wasnt aware of Whitmers proposal to fund Michigans crumbling roads by hiking the state gas tax by 45 cents. However, Klobuchar said her plan would provide states with much-needed relief.

She said it would repair roads, highways and bridges, provide protection against flooding, modernize airports, expand public transit and passenger rail, rebuild public schools, connect rural homes to high speed internet, improve public utilities and invest in energy efficiency buildings.

This is a smart way to help Michigan water systems like in Flint, but also road, bridges and transit, she said.

Klobuchar also plans to establish an independent, nonpartisan infrastructure financing authority to help states better leverage private funds to build and maintain outdated infrastructure.

To pay for it, Klobuchar proposes making reforms to the corporate tax structure, including adjusting the corporate tax rate to 25% from 21%. Trumps 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cut the corporate tax rate from 35%.

Michigan county officials applauded the infrastructure plan during a May campaign stop in Detroit.

Trump met with Democratic congressional leaders in late April to discuss a separate $2 trillion infrastructure plan. The president expressed interest in raising the federal gas tax by 25 cents in 2018, but the White House hasnt released any new information on how it would fund the massive infrastructure package.

Last year, Trump sought $200 billion for infrastructure in his budget proposal.

Klobuchar said the president keeps talking a good game," but has failed to fund any meaningful investment in infrastructure.

This month, she also unveiled a $100 billion plan to reduce substance abuse and increase supports for mental health resources. Klobuchars plan includes funding for states expand recovery services and would mandate the use of prescription drug monitoring programs by doctors and pharmacists.

The plan is partially based on legislation introduced by Michigan U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, to expand funding for community behavioral health clinics.

The inevitable question for the crowded primary field is who has the best shot at defeating Trump.

A March Emerson College poll found Klobuchar among the top candidates who could take on Trump in the general election. She came out on top of a hypothetical head-to-head matchup 53% to 47%.
The development follows a scandal that involved Austrias Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, who is a member of the Freedom Party (FPO)  a junior member of Kurzs right-wing coalition. On Friday, the German newspapers Spiegel and Suddeutscher Zeitung broke a story centered around a leaked secret 2017 recording showing Strache and another high-ranking FPO member talking to a woman who was described as a niece of a Russian oligarch.

The politicians discussed the ways the woman could support their election campaign ahead of Austrias 2017 general vote in exchange for future preferences in acquiring government contracts in the field of construction. They particularly discussed the possibility of her buying a majority share in an Austrian tabloid newspaper and using it as a platform to support the FPO.

Following the reports, Strache announced his resignation both from the post of vice-chancellor and the post of the FPO leader while calling the leak political assignation.

However, he did not dispute the videos authenticity, arguing instead that it should be made public in full and adding that he maintained during that meeting at everything must be within the law.

The scandal rocked the Austrian society with thousands of people taking to the streets to demand snap elections. Some 5,000 protesters joined a spontaneous rally outside of the Chancellors Office in the Austrian capital of Vienna.

The protesters that literally flooded the area near the Chancellors Office were seen holding the placards that read: Snap election now! and Mr. Chancellor, what is wrong with you?

'As soon as possible': Austria's Kurz on snap elections following leaked video scandal

'As soon as possible': Austria's Kurz on snap elections following leaked video scandal

Source : RT - Daily news
Lasers are commonly seen as a 'weapon of the future'  and that future is already here as they are making it into the military. Laser systems have unique properties, opening new ways of waging warfare, RT's military analyst says.

Laser weaponry "will largely define" the combat potential of the Russian armed forces "throughout the whole of the 21st century," President Vladimir Putin said. The country has already adopted a combat laser system  Peresvet  and appears to be seeking other weaponry of this type.

Lasers indeed have great potential to be used in combat, especially against uncongenial targets such as swarms of tiny drones, Russian military analyst Mikhail Khodarenok believes. Apart from that, they have many advantages compared to ballistic and missile weaponry.

Also on rt.com Laser weapons to define Russias military potential in 21st century  Putin

"Laser weaponry is quite tempting due to the possibility of a surprise and almost immediate  at the speed of light  attack on an adversary, relative cheapness of a single 'shot', high precision and lack of the necessity to stockpile an arsenal of 'munitions' during peacetime," Khodarenok told RT.

Apart from dealing direct damage to an adversary's personnel and hardware, lasers can be used in a support role, facilitating usage of conventional weapon systems.



Experts particularly underline, not the ability to inflict heat damage on a target, but the potential of lasers to suppress optical and electronic means of observation  periscopes, optical rangefinders and other similar devices, fitted to modern weaponry.

The analyst added that optical devices themselves actually amplify and focus a laser beam, making it very effective even at long ranges.

At the same time, laser weaponry has a number of limitations that are still in place despite decades of experiments with such arms around the world. Above all, the main issue is the need for a powerful and reliable energy source, which makes such systems either very bulky or suitable only for naval vessels.

Also on rt.com From hypersonic glider to nuke subs: Meet Russian arms on brink of deployment (PHOTO, VIDEO)

"To make a 150kw laser 'shot'  not that powerful, actually, by modern standards  one needs energy of 450kw," Khodarenok said. "Ideally, a laser system needs a capacitor able to charge as fast as the system itself uses it. It would allow it to use lasers in combat continuously."

Laser systems are also quite sensitive to transparency of the atmosphere, as bad weather or mere smoke greatly affects their performance (at least at this stage). Laser beams  like any light  tend to dissipate with distance, and for now, "combat range might be limited to several dozen kilometers," Khodarenok added.

What exactly does Russia have in stock?

Russia adopted a new "battle laser complex," dubbed Peresvet, last year, yet little is known about what exactly the system is capable of. The complex is mounted on a wheeled vehicle, featuring a cannon-like laser emitter and a large container, presumably holding its power source.

It is not known if the device can "blind" optics or actually melt holes in something, and it's not even known what exactly  land or air units  it's supposed to target. In the Soviet era, the country fielded a handful of laser weaponry prototypes, primarily blinding devices, designed to target the enemy's optics. The last Soviet weapon of this type, the 1K17 Szhatie, was produced shortly before the collapse of the country and never entered into mass production.

What about other countries?

The US has been experimenting with lasers for decades as well, trying to fit them into various combat roles. While repeated attempts to create an aircraft-based system were not very fruitful, the US successfully fielded and tested several prototypes of ground vehicles and naval systems. One of the newest is the MEHEL laser system, mounted on a Stryker APC, which has successfully shot down a number of light drones during testing.

Another major power  China  is not sitting idle either. Beijing puts "experimental systems on ships, coastal platforms, self-propelled chassis. One of the Chinese lasers has reportedly hit an unmanned aerial vehicle some 300 meters away," Khodarenok said.

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Beijing has warned the US against taking the ongoing trade war too far, and once again criticized Washingtons unilateralist diplomacy, calling upon it to show restraint in the escalating standoff with Tehran.

The remarks have been made by the countrys top diplomat, Wang Yi, during phone talks with the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Chinas Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday. The US State Department shared little details of the conversation.

The Chinese Foreign Minister urged the US not go too far in escalating the current trade war, reiterating Beijings willingness to settle differences through negotiations. Any agreement, however, is possible only on an equal footing, Wang stressed.

Also on rt.com China will embrace world even more, Xi promises as US trade war escalates

Aside from the trade issues, the two diplomats discussed the situation in the Middle East, in particular the standoff between the US and Iran. Beijing called upon both parties to show restraint and avoid further escalation  at the same time emphasizing its firm stand against Washingtons long arm jurisdiction policies.

Tensions in the Middle East have been soaring over the past few weeks, with the US repeatedly  yet without any solid proof  accusing Iran of plotting attacks on American citizens and interests. Washington has significantly ramped up its military presence in the region, deploying strategic bombers and sending a carrier group. Tehran, on its part, maintains that it is not seeking a war with anyone, yet it has repeatedly warned that the country is capable to defend itself from any attack.

Also on rt.com Our aim is not war, Pompeo insists as US warships & bombers gather off coast of Iran

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German politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, have rushed to take advantage of the government crisis in the neighboring Austria for their own political goals, uniting in a crusade against the right-wing populists.

As Austria is reeling from a scandal involving Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, which put the Alpine nation on a brink of snap elections, in Germany, politicians and officials of almost all political backgrounds snatched at an opportunity to demonize the right-wing populists  and teach their neighbors how they should do politics.

Europe is a union of countries that have decided to cooperate on a basis of common values, Merkel told journalists in the Croatian capital of Zagreb, answering a question about the situation in Austria. We are dealing with movements, populist movements that despise those values in many aspects and seek to destroy the Europe of our values, so we have to oppose them.

A video showing Strache and his close aide discussing potentially illegal quid pro quo arrangements with an alleged Russian business woman is being presented as an ultimate proof that the right-wingers are not to be trusted, by the German mainstream political elites, who have been struggling with a surge of rightist sentiments among the German population. In the light of the forthcoming elections to the European Parliament, they apparently decided that an Austrian crisis centered around a right-wing party that made it into a ruling coalition two years earlier was a perfect reason to remind their voters  and the rest of Europe  what the true European values really are and who are their enemies.

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Germanys top diplomat  the Foreign Minister Heiko Maas  was blunt in his assessment, outright calling the right-wing enemies of freedom. His colleagues from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which suffers a historically low level of support, according to the recent polls, promptly followed along with unsolicited advice to Austrias Chancellor.

Sebastian Kurz has no other option but to put an end to this government immediately and apologize for entrusting responsibility to the splitters and provocateurs like Strache, the SPD Secretary General Lars Klingbeil wrote on Twitter. The Social Democrats deputy head, Ralf Stegner said that the scandalous video showed the stupidity and depravity of the right-wing radicals for everyone to see: corrupt, undemocratic, dangerous.

Also on rt.com Political assassination: Austrian Vice Chancellor Strache resigns after leaked video scandal

The German Green Party leader Robert Habeck said that it was time to draw a line, while his fellow party member Annalena Baerbock told Welt am Sonntag weekly that this outrageous scandal shows that right-wing populists despise our values such as press freedom  and work systematically to erode democracy.

The co-chair of the German Left, Bernd Riexinger, also took a jab at Straches Freedom Party by saying the political force that used to portray itself as the defender of ordinary people turned out to be the party of the rich, corrupt and brazen.

The only German party that did not vent its anger over the political scandal in Austria was the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD). The FPO is a close partner of ours, said the AfD co-chair Joerg, adding that he would not stab the allies in the back because of an isolated issue.

Also on rt.com As soon as possible: Austrias Kurz on snap elections following leaked video scandal

The scandal sparked by the leaked video, which was first published by two German news outlets prompted Strache to resign both from the post of Vice Chancellor and the position of the FPO head. Yet, he also called the leak a political assassination. Amid a public outcry, which saw thousands of people staging a spontaneous protest in Vienna, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced snap elections. Austrias President Alexander van der Bellen called it the only way to restore trust in public institutions.

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The head of the German domestic security agency, the BfV, has told the parliament he sees considerable risks in intelligence cooperation with neighboring Austria, according to Die Welt. And it is all about Russia again.

On the heels of a scandal involving Austrias now-former Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache and a supposed Russian oligarchs niece, the German Welt am Sonntag weekly ran another story, also digging out the bad Russia narrative.

Also on rt.com Political assassination: Austrian Vice Chancellor Strache resigns after leaked video scandal

According to the paper, the president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV)  Germanys domestic security agency  Thomas Haldenwang, told the parliaments intelligence oversight committee this week about his distrust of the Austrian security services.

Haldenwang said he sees considerable risks in cooperating with Austria in the field of security, particularly in sharing confidential data, as it might be misused or worse  end up in Russian hands. He did not elaborate on what prompted him to take that view.

The problem seems to be particularly linked to the fact that Austrias domestic security agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (BVT), is overseen by politicians from the Freedom Party (FPO), the junior partner in Chancellor Sebastian Kurzs ruling coalition.

Austrian Interior Minister Herbert Kickl, who, according to Die Welt, initiated a February 2018 police raid on the BVT offices during which secret documents shared by other European security services were seized, is a member of the FPO.

In 2016, the FPO also committed a sin by signing a friendship treaty with the ruling United Russia party. Now, Die Welt says the European security services fear their secrets could have already ended up with the Russians regardless of whether or not any proof exists.

The European intelligence agencies have been giving the Austrian security services the cold shoulder for quite some time now. This has already led to real negative consequences quite apart from the perceived Russian threat.

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The BVT withdrew from Europes informal intelligence-sharing forum, the Club de Berne, following the 2018 police raid. And the other members of the club have been withholding information from Vienna ever since, even though relations were soon formally restored.

In April, Vienna said the situation led the Austrian security services to miss a visit by New Zealand mosque attacker Brenton Tarrant in 2018. Tarrant, an Australian citizen, is charged with killing 50 people and injuring 49 in an attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in March 2019.

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The Indian Navy has successfully tested a Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) developed by the national military research agency in cooperation with Israel Aerospace Industries.

The firing was undertaken on the Western Seaboard by Indian Naval Ships Kochi and Chennai, wherein the missiles of both ships were controlled by one ship to intercept different aerial targets at extended ranges, the country's maritime force said, praising the maiden cooperative engagement between the Indian Navy, Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

The medium-range anti-air missile, co-developed with Israel, where it's known as Barak-8, was manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited, India. It is designed to tackle a wide array of airborne threats from up to 70 km away, including enemy aircraft and hostile drones as well as anti-ship and ballistic missiles.

This capability will significantly enhance the combat effectiveness of the Indian Navy, the maritime force boasted.

Indian Navy has become a part of a select group of navies that have this niche capability.

While the fleet currently has the missiles fitted on Kolkata Class Destroyers, the country plans to install the MRSAMs on all future major warships.

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Last year, Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer signed a $777 million deal with India to provide New Delhi with long-range missile defense systems. A follow-up $93 million deal, signed in January, secured the Indian Navys access to IAIs technology for medium-range missiles, including interceptors with modern radio frequency seekers and digital radar.

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French journalists are being threatened with jail time for reporting on leaked documents revealing the countrys complicity in the Saudi-led war in Yemen after they refused to answer questions from anti-terror police.

They want to make an example of us because its the first time in France that there have been leaks like this, Geoffrey Livolsi, co-founder of investigative news outlet Disclose, told the Intercept, referring to the classified Directorate of Military Intelligence briefing, meant for President Emmanuel Macrons eyes only, that revealed the government had lied to the public about how the weapons it was selling would be used.

They want to scare journalists and their sources away from revealing state secrets.

Livolsi, his Disclose co-founder Mathias Destal, and Radio France reporter Benoit Collombat could face up to five years in prison and a 75,000 fine for merely handling classified documents without authorization under a 2009 law that prohibits attacks on national defense secrets after the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI), Frances domestic intelligence service, accused them of compromising the secrecy of national defense.

Also on rt.com Macron pursuing journalists who exposed French complicity in possible Saudi war crimes in Yemen

The DGSI hauled them in for questioning this week after a story they published last month based on the leaked document showed top government officials were fully aware that military equipment they sold to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates  including laser-guided missile systems and tanks  was being used offensively in Yemen in violation of a 2014 arms treaty.

The journalists refused to answer questions about their sources and work, invoking their right to remain silent and instead proffering a statement in support of public interest journalism. While France does have a law protecting the freedom of the press, it does not apply to national defense secrets, and there are no exceptions  not even for the public interest.

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The French government appears to be out for blood, according to Disclose lawyer Virginie Marquet, who pointed to statements from Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly accusing the outlet of violating all the rules and laws of our country. And even if the government ultimately chooses not to prosecute, the damage has been done.

Theres a chilling effect, Marquet told the Intercept. Its a warning for every journalist - dont go into that kind of subject, dont investigate this information.

At least 36 French media outlets signed a statement condemning the persecution of the journalists last month. Macrons government cracked down on dissident journalism in 2018 with a law allowing the government to shut down any news agency deemed to be under foreign influence four months before an election.

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Pyongyang has urged the UN to act after North Korea's bulk carrier, the Wise Honest, was captured by US forces. It was seized a year after being detained in Indonesia.

Pyongyangs UN representative Kim Song has sent a letter on Friday to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asking for immediate action to be taken to return the ship.

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You must take urgent measures as a way of contributing to the stability of the Korean peninsula and proving the impartiality of the UN, the letter said.

North Koreas UN representative also called the USs action unlawful and outrageous, describing the US as a gangster country that does not care at all about international law, according to North Koreas state media KCNA.

The ship was seized by the US a year after it was detained in Indonesia. It was loaded with a $3 million shipment of North Korean coal, and the vessel had its AIS tracking transponder turned off when it entered Indonesian waters. Indonesian authorities arrested the captain and charged him with knowingly hoisting a false flag, UN Security Council documents show. Later, a US judge issued a warrant to seize the vessel in July 2018. Officials announced the seizure Thursday as the vessel was close to entering US territorial waters.

Also on rt.com N. Korea demands return of cargo ship seized by US

Calling on the UN, North Korea had also cited disappointment in the failed summit between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump in Singapore last year. The summit was heralded as reconciliation between the two countries, which have been in conflict for decades. But the second meeting in Vietnam this February showed both countries stand far away from any constructive deal. This has lead to a new round of confrontations.

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Its unclear whether the UN will respond to North Koreas latest demand. The UN has sanctioned the country numerous times for violating UN Security Council resolutions with its nuclear and missile programs. One of Kim Jong-uns demands at the summit with Trump in Singapore was that some of these sanctions would be lifted, but the agreement ultimately came to no avail on this issue.

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A Pepe the Frog copyright infringement claim filed against Infowars will proceed to trial, a California federal judge ruled Thursday after being unconvinced by motions argued by either side.

Matt Furie, who created the cartoon frog that became an internet meme and was co-opted by the far right, sued InfoWars for selling a poster of Pepe the Frog depicted alongside Milo Yiannopoulos, InfoWars founder Alex Jones and President Donald Trump. The posters sold for $29.95 apiece and generated gross revenues of over $31,000, the judges ruling said.

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District Judge Michael Fitzgerald ruled that InfoWars did not provide evidence to back up its argument that Furies frog was based on another amphibian from an Argentinian cartoon, El Sapo Pepe. He said Furie having access to the internet was not enough to prove he would have been aware of the Argentinian cartoon.

However, the judge said Furies comments about his ownership of the frog are disputed enough to go to trial, ruling that a jury should determine whether the frog featured in the poster was Pepe or not.

Also on rt.com Pepe the Frog classed as a hate symbol after white supremacists link (IMAGE)

He also ruled in favor of an InfoWars request that a jury should decide on Furies request for damages and legal fees.This is a case about making sure nobody is making money off Pepe the Frog, Furies lawyer Louis Tompros said Friday, while Infowars attorney Marc Randazza said they are fighting the case as a free speech issue. The trial is expected to begin on July 16 in Los Angeles.

Furie successfully got Pepe the Frog pulled from the neo-Nazi Daily Stormer website after his lawyers filed copyright act requests. He also settled a case against a woman who was using the frog to sell hate-promoting oil paintings last year, and got a seemingly Islamophobic book featuring Pepe pulled in 2017.

Also on rt.com Pepe the Frog creator forces hate-filled book from sale, demands profits go to Muslim charity

Pepe the Frog first appeared in a 2006 comic book called Boy's Club, and soon featured in a host of internet memes. By the lead-up to the 2016 election, it was used in more hateful memes and increasingly by white nationalists and the far right. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) branded Pepe as a hate symbol in September 2016.

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US politicians and lobbyists applied pressure on the Irish government before it passed a bill banning goods from illegal Israel settlements, including threatening the immigration status of Irish people in the US.

Documents obtained from a Freedom of Information Act request by the TheJournal.ie reveal lobby groups and US politicians sought to influence the Irish government to stop the passage of the Occupied Territories Bill, banning the sale of goods from illegal Israeli settlements. The bill passed in both houses of Irelands parliament in December and January.

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Republican Massachusetts Rep. Steven S. Howitt wrote to Irelands Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney and leader of the opposition Fianna Fail party Micheal Martin in January, warning that the bill threatens to jail citizens of Irish origin and sanction Irish based companies in Massachusetts who engage in commercial activity with the State of Israel.

The Irish bill makes it an offence for a person to import or sell goods or services or extract resources originating in an occupied territory. US law prevents companies from taking part in boycotts against Israel.

Howitt claimed this would force Irish citizens to make an impossible choice, whether to return to Ireland to face prosecution or stay [and] violate the terms of their immigration status in the United States.

Also on rt.com Israeli minister wants to close embassy in Ireland after vote to ban imports of settlement goods

Indiana Secretary of Commerce James A. Schellinger also wrote to Coveney and Martin explaining that while he respects the autonomy of the Irish government, Indiana has a strong relationship with the State of Israel. He said he was concerned that the bill could impact companies operating in Indiana, and affect the states economy.

Meanwhile, the Jewish Voice group wrote to Israels ambassador to Ireland in January, saying the Irish bill singles out Israel and sets a dangerous precedent which is detrimental to the relations between our countries.

The letter said that because Irish people do not understand the intricate minutiae of the territorial conflict, the legislation would mean people would conclude its open season on Israel.

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The iconic Hollywood action star and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger has confirmed that he is fine after the attack in South Africa  and actually hardly noticed it.

The incident occurred earlier on Saturday, as he appeared at the Arnold Classic Africa Festival in Sandton, Johannesburg. Schwarzenegger was attacked from behind by a man, who delivered a jumping high kick into actor's back  and was promptly apprehended by security.

Also on rt.com Arnold Schwarzenegger struck by kicking attacker in South Africa (VIDEO)

Shortly after, Schwarzenegger took to Twitter to reassure his fans that everything was fine after the vicious attack  and that he actually thought the crowd just pushed him around accidentally.

Thanks for your concerns, but there is nothing to worry about. I thought I was just jostled by the crowd, which happens a lot. I only realized I was kicked when I saw the video like all of you, he said.

The actor urged his fans to not give the attacker his minute of fame, and promote athletes participating in the festival instead  or at least share blurry videos of the incident without sound. Schwarzenegger then lived by his own advice and shared quite a juicy video of the incident, showing how the attack unfolded.

The attacker did not fare quite well against the Terminator and has apparently hurt himself more than the beloved action movie star.

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Armed conflict will not break out because nobody has any illusions about seriously going against Iran, the nations foreign minister said amid the recent escalation with Washington and its regional allies.

There will be no war because neither we want a war, nor has anyone the idea or illusion that it can confront Iran in the region, Mohammad Javad Zarif told IRNA on Saturday, during a trip to Beijing.

However, there are people in President Donald Trumps circle that look for pretexts to steer the country into a war with Iran, even if Trump personally does not want that to happen, the minister said. Zarif had earlier warned about the designs of the foreign policy hardliners from what he dubbed as B Team, which includes Trumps national security advisor, John Bolton.

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The tensions between Tehran and Washington escalated last week after reports of attacks on four ships, including two Saudi oil tankers, off the Emeriti coast, near the entrance to the Persian Gulf. No one had claimed responsibility for the alleged incident but the news added to the fear of a bigger conflict erupting.

The US deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to the Gulf and, on Wednesday, ordered a partial evacuation of its embassy and a consulate in Iraq, bordering with Iran. This coincided with the reports that the Pentagon had proposed to send up to 120,000 troops in Iraq in case Iran opens hostilities.

The relations between the US and Iran have been deteriorating since President Trump opted to abandon the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program last year, accusing the Islamic Republic of violating the agreement. He then re-imposed sanctions on Iran, targeting the nations oil trade and finances.

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Iran denied the allegations and chose to stick with the JCPOA until last week when the country partially suspended its own commitments under the deal. Iranian officials explained that they will lift some restrictions on the production of enriched uranium and heavy water at a research site in Arak.

President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran gives other JCPOA parties, including the European Union, 60 days to negotiate the reversal of these actions.

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The US and Canada have agreed to remove steel and aluminum tariffs and vowed to align against those, who sell unfairly subsidized metals at dumped prices as part of a new agreement between neighbors.

The US will lift the 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum President Donald Trump imposed against Canada back in late May 2018 while Canada will, in turn, remove all retaliatory tariffs it levied against the American goods, the statement said, adding that all the tariffs will be gone in two days.

The two nations also vowed to take measures to prevent the imports of steel and aluminum that is unfairly subsidized or sold at dumped prices as well as prevent the transshipment of steel and aluminum produced in third countries to one another. They also agreed to create a special monitoring mechanism to promptly detect import surges.

The agreement also allows each side to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent tariff on aluminum if it faces a surge in their imports, which is meaningfully beyond historic volumes. However, such a measure can be taken only after consultations with the other side. The move would also give the affected party a right to retaliate  but only in the affected sector, the document said without specifying the details.

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A similar deal was struck with Mexico, President Donald Trump said in a speech on Friday.

Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the tariffs the biggest obstacle to the ratification of the United StatesMexicoCanada Agreement (USMCA), which is expected to supersede the previous deal between the three nations known as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). USMCA was signed back in November 2018 but has not yet been ratified.

Washington slapped Canada and Mexico, as well as the European Union, with tariffs after it failed to win concessions from its allies and trading partners in May 2018. At that time, Trump said that the US had been unfairly treated in trade with its neighboring and overseas partners.

The move soured relations between the allies as Canada implemented retaliatory tariffs matching the values of the US ones dollar-for-dollar and covering almost 300 US goods, which aside from steel and aluminum included inflatable boats, yogurt, whiskies, candles, and sleeping bags.

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The EU also struck back by imposing its own tariffs against the US on American goods worth $3.13 billion, including bourbon whiskey, motorcycles and orange juice that are still in place.

Reconciliation between the US and Canada also comes amid Washingtons ongoing trade war with China. On Friday, it was reported that US trade talks with Beijing stalled once again. Earlier in May, Trump said that he would soon hike American tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

According to some reports, the agreement between Ottawa and Washington, aimed at preventing imports of steel and aluminum from third countries, is targeting China in particular by seeking to prevent the flow of cheap Chinese metals to the US.

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Restrictions on Huawei Technologies may temporarily be scaled back, the US Commerce Department noted on Friday after blacklisting the Chinese tech giant under President Donald Trumps national emergency declaration.

The department might issue a temporary general license for 90 days to give companies using Huawei's equipment enough time to maintain their communications network while switching to alternatives, Reuters reported.

The possible award of a general license however would not apply to new transactions, the Commerce Department noted.

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Washington added Huawei to its blacklist on Thursday after Trump ruled that the Chinese firm could undermine US national security or foreign policy interests, particularly in developing Americas 5G network.

Huawei slammed Washingtons decision amid accusations of spying and trade tensions with Beijing, warning that the move will leave the US behind in deploying 5G telecommunications services which in the long run will only hurt Americans.

Also on rt.com US lagging behind in 5G: Chinas Huawei says Trumps ban only hurts American consumers

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In a chilling reminder of the downing of Iran Air flight 655 by a US missile, an FAA notice said civilian aircraft flying over the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman are currently at risk of miscalculation or misidentification.

A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) published by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) late on Thursday said the risk stems from heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the area. Airliners operating in the region may also encounter inadvertent GPS interference and other communications jamming the warning said.

The tension in the proximity of Iran comes as the US deployed additional military assets in the region, including an aircraft carrier strike group and a battery of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles. Washington said it was a response to an undefined threat posed by Iranian forces. The US also withdrew non-essential personnel from diplomatic missions in Iraq. The show of force was reportedly triggered by intelligence provided by Israel.

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For some, the FAA warning may bring back the dark memory of the 1988 incident, in which an American guided missile destroyer shot down an Iranian airliner, killing 290 people on board. It happened two months after the US sunk an Iranian frigate and a gunboat in retaliation for an incident a few days earlier, in which a US warship struck an Iranian mine.

Washington said the crew of the USS Vincennes misidentified Iran Air flight 655 for a warplane trying to attack the warship and acted in self-defense. The government rejected accusations that US military service members had acted recklessly, with President George H.W. Bush infamously declaring: I will never apologize for the United States  I don't care what the facts are... I'm not an apologize-for-America kind of guy.

The US did pay compensation to the families of the victims, but never accepted legal liability or apologized to Tehran.

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Scuffles between police and protesters broke out in France's Reims as the Yellow Vest movement rallied on its 27th weekend in a row. The six-month anniversary demonstrations were peaceful in Paris and other cities.

Some 15,500 demonstrators have rallied across France, according to figures from the Interior Ministry. While the organizers claim the figure is just over 40,000 participants, it's still no match to the numbers the movement attracted when it started in November last year.

In Reims, multiple scuffles between law enforcement and demonstrators were registered. A heavy presence of the so-called 'black bloc'  far-left protesters, covering their faces and sporting similar black attires to make identification harder  might have contributed to the violence on the city's streets.

Rowdy protesters have set various objects on fire, and some also tried to erect barricades across the streets.

They also vandalized the local office for the France Bleu radio station, as well as other buildings.

Authorities say 1,600 people went out in the streets of Paris, although Occurrence, an independent research firm that has been following Yellow Vest rallies from the very beginning, put the number at 5,600. The Paris march was largely peaceful  and observed by a large police force  yet some minor scuffles were observed.

Also on rt.com Hang in there Brexiteers, the majority of Europeans expect EU to end within 20 years

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Georgetown researchers are warning Americans about a sophisticated real-time face surveillance system thats about to become an imminent reality for millions of citizens across the country.

The America Under Watch report is a warning that authorities in select US cities may soon be able to pick you out from a crowd, identify you, and trace your movements via a secret network of cameras constantly capturing images of your face.

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The report claims both Detroit and Chicago purchased software from a South Carolina company, DataWorks Plus, that gives police the ability to scan live video from cameras located at businesses, health clinics, schools, and apartment buildings. Both cities say they are not currently using the technology.

DataWorks says it provides software which provides continuous screening and monitoring of live video streams. The system is also designed to operate on not less than 100 concurrent video feeds.

According to the research teams report, live footage is captured by cameras installed around Detroit as part of Project Green Light, a public-private initiative to deter crime which launched in 2016. The expanse of the police departments facial recognition policy last summer, however, means the face recognition technology can now be connected to any live video, including security cameras, drone footage, and body-worn cams.

Illinois, meanwhile, is host to one of the most advanced biometric surveillance systems in the country, the report claims, adding that the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and the Chicago Transit Authority have had face surveillance capabilities since at least 2016.

Similar face surveillance is also apparently on the horizon for NYC, Orlando, and DC.

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The report authors, Clare Garvie and Laura M. Moy, are now calling for a complete moratorium on police use of face recognition to give communities a chance to decide whether they want to be monitored in their streets and neighborhoods.

Last week, San Francisco became the first US city to ban facial recognition software used by police and other municipal agencies.

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Naidu met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and discussed with him the possibilities of all opposition parties uniting and forging a joint opposition alliance. (Photo: PTI | File)

New Delhi: A day before the last phase of polling, leaders of opposition parties have stepped up efforts to cobble up a coalition for formation of the next government, with TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu meeting Congress and CPI leaders here.

Naidu met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and discussed with him the possibilities of all opposition parties uniting and forging a joint opposition alliance. The Andhra Pradesh chief minister also met CPI leader G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja over breakfast, asking them to "come together". Naidu also met NCP chief Sharad Pawar and LJD leader Sharad Yadav.

The TDP chief has already held several rounds of discussions with various opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Sources said he is also likely to meet BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow in the evening. "Naidu reportedly told all the leaders that we all should come together and put our act together", in forming the next government by keeping the BJP out, a source said. Sources said Naidu also told Gandhi to have a strategy ready in case the NDA falls short of the majority mark and still stakes claim to form the government. Naidu's TDP had been a part of the NDA and had quit the alliance a few months ago.

On Friday, Naidu had said that not only the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) but any outfit which is against the saffron party are welcome to join a grand alliance after the election results are declared. Opposition parties are pitching for a joint anti-BJP front to steer the next government. Hectic deliberations between various opposition leaders are likely to stepped up before the Lok Sabha results are announced on May 23.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analysis et al. Happy reading
Since December 1, authorities have found 222 burial pits and 337 sets of human remains nationwide. (Photo:AP)

Mexico City: Prosecutors say they have found 18 bags of human remains and tools used to dismember bodies at a farm in the western Mexico state of Jalisco.

State prosecutors don't have a count of the bodies. Containers found at the farm that could also hold more.

Officials said Friday they found tools, presumably saws, used to dismember bodies as well as tubs with red stains in them.

Also Read: 14 killed in private jet crashes in Mexico

Soldiers raided the farm when a man escaped and said he had been held at the farm. Two other bound captives were also found and three of their alleged captors were arrested.

Over the weekend, authorities discovered the remains of 34 people at two separate properties in Jalisco.

Since December 1, authorities have found 222 burial pits and 337 sets of human remains nationwide.
Wang told Zarif during the meeting that China hopes the Iran nuclear deal can be 'fully implemented.' (Photo:AP)

Beijing: Irans foreign minister praised his countrys relations with China during talks with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing amid heightened tensions and efforts by Tehran to keep its world markets open following the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

Mohammad Javad Zarif met Friday with Wang Yi, whose country has been a major customer for Iranian oil, at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse.

We consider (China) one of our closest partners in the world, Zarif said in opening remarks at the start of the meeting.

Also Read: Iran works to counter US sanctions; says it can hit US warships in gulf 'easily'

Iran wishes to cooperate with China bilaterally and multilaterally, in order to preserve the interests of our two peoples  for peace and security, Zarif said.

Wang told Zarif during the meeting that China hopes the Iran nuclear deal can be fully implemented.

China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions and the so-called `long-arm jurisdiction imposed by the United States on Iran, Wang said, according to Chinas Xinhua state news agency.

Also Read: China invoke past wars, patriotism as trade war with US intensifies

The Chinese foreign minister pledged to maintain the nuclear deal and work with Iran to eliminate complicated disturbing factors, Xinhua said.

Along with ratcheting-up pressure on the Islamic Republic, Washington is engaged in an increasingly bitter tariff battle with China.

Wangs comments were inaudible, but China has accused the US of raising tensions in the Middle East with its more assertive approach to Iran, as well as upsetting energy markets and the global economy.

The talks came after Saudi Arabia accused Iran of being behind a drone attack that shut down a key oil pipeline in the kingdom. A local newspaper linked to the Al Saud royal family called Thursday for America to launch surgical strikes on Tehran.

Also Read: Amid US pressure, Tehran sends Foreign Minister to India for talks

The US has also dispatched warships and bombers to the region to counter an alleged threat from Iran that has seen America order nonessential diplomatic staff out of Iraq.

President Donald Trump decided last year to withdraw the US from the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers and imposed wide-reaching sanctions that have crippled Irans economy.

Zarif arrived following a visit to Japan like China, a major importer of crude oil from the Persian Gulf as part of intense diplomatic efforts to salvage Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers at the center of a crisis unfolding between Iran and the US

Zarif was quoted by Irans official IRNA news agency as chastising the international community, saying in Beijing that it has mainly made statements, instead of saving the deal.

After Trump pulled America out of the deal, other signatories the European Union, France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany have been trying to salvage it.
China struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States on May 17, suggesting a resumption of talks between the world's two largest economies would be meaningless unless Washington changed course.

The tough talk capped a week that saw Beijing unveil fresh retaliatory tariffs, US officials accuse China of backtracking on promises made during months of talks and the Trump administration level a potentially crippling blow against one of China's biggest and most successful companies.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, asked about state media reports suggesting there would be no more trade negotiations, said China always encouraged resolving disputes with the United States through dialogue and consultations.

"But because of certain things the US side has done during the previous China-US trade consultations, we believe if there is meaning for these talks, there must be a show of sincerity," he told a daily news briefing.

CNBC, citing sources, said the trade talks had stalled and the next round of discussions was "in flux."

The United States raised Beijing's ire this week when it announced it was putting Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the worlds biggest telecoms equipment maker, on a blacklist that could make it extremely hard to do business with US companies.

The US Commerce Department may soon scale back restrictions on Huawei by issuing a temporary general license to allow time for companies and people who have Huawei equipment to maintain the reliability of their communications networks and equipment, a department spokeswoman said.

The possible general license would not apply to new transactions, the spokeswoman said, and would last for 90 days.

China has yet to say whether or how it will retaliate, although its state media is sounding an increasingly strident note. The ruling Communist Party's People's Daily published on Friday a front-page commentary that evoked the patriotic spirit of the country's past wars.

"The trade war can't bring China down. It will only harden us to grow stronger," it said.

Global stocks, which rebounded this week on the prospect of another round of US-China talks, suffered a fresh bout of selling and China's yuan slid to its weakest against the US dollar in almost five months. Prices of US government debt were trading higher.

The increasingly acrimonious trade dispute has rattled investors who fear that the countries are careening dangerously down a track that will badly damage global supply lines and put the brakes on an already slowing world economy.

The South China Morning Post, citing an unidentified source, reported that a senior member of China's Communist Party said the trade war could reduce China's 2019 economic growth by 1 percentage point in the worst-case scenario.

"Both sides might need some prodding, but we've had a very clear opportunity for one side or the other ... to say this isn't going to work ... and neither side did," said Derek Scissors, an expert on Sino-US economic relations at the American Enterprise Institute think tank, who put the chance of a deal this year at over 50/50.

AUTO TARIFFS

US President Donald Trump, who has embraced protectionism as part of an "America First" agenda aimed at rebalancing global trade, has accused China of backing out of a deal earlier this month that would have ended the 10-month dispute.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported China had backtracked on commitments to change its laws to resolve core US complaints about theft of intellectual property, forced technology transfers and other practices.

Trump punctuated two days of talks in Washington last week with a decision to raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 percent from 10 percent. The negotiations ended in a stalemate.

On Monday, Beijing said it would raise its tariffs on a revised list of $60 billion in US goods effective June 1. Trump, in turn, said he is considering slapping tariffs on the remaining $300 billion in Chinese imports to the United States.

The US president also continues to dangle the possibility of imposing tariffs of up to 25 percent on imported cars and parts, a move that could be devastating for a number of US trading partners, including Japan and Germany.

The White House said on Friday that Trump's decision on auto tariffs would be delayed by up to six months to allow more time for trade talks with the European Union and Japan. Trump faced a Saturday deadline to make a decision.

It added, however, that the US president agreed with findings by the US Commerce Department that imported vehicles and parts can threaten US national security, a designation likely to anger some US allies.

Automakers have strongly opposed the tariffs, saying they would hike prices and threaten thousands of US jobs. There is also strong opposition in the US Congress, with many prominent members of Trump's Republican Party rejecting the idea.

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, praised the administration's decision to delay the auto tariffs.

"Positive step. The pressure must be strong on China, not on our allies who we should encourage to join us in confronting China," Schumer tweeted.

The United States and Canada also announced on Friday a deal to remove tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium in exchange for new curbs to keep dumped metals from China and other nations out of the US market. The Mexican president's office later said Mexico had reached a similar deal with the United States.

The metals tariffs were an aggravation for the Canadian and Mexican governments and had been a major hurdle to enacting the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the deal that would replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.
Cash-strapped Reliance Capital on May 18 said it expects to raise Rs 10,000 crore by selling assets and cut down its debt by about 50 percent in the current fiscal.

The company has been working diligently to ensure timely debt repayments and is regular in all its debt payments, Reliance Capital said in a statement.

The company's asset monetisation plan is on track, it said, adding, it is in the process of monetising its entire 42.88 per cent stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Limited, which at current market price is valued at over Rs 5,000 crore.

It has also announced its plans to monetise 49 per cent stake in Reliance General Insurance Company and the DRHP has recently been filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

The company is at an advanced stage of monetisation of several of its non-core investments, the statement said.

"Based on the above, the company expects to realise minimum proceeds of over Rs 10,000 crore, and sharply cut its overall debt by more than 50 per cent within the current financial year," it added.

The Anil Ambani-group company also expressed disagreement with ratings agency Care, which downgraded its ratings for long-term debt programme, market linked debentures and subordinated debt.

"There has not been any adverse change in the company's operational parameters and/or any other circumstances from the time of the last rating action, just 4 weeks ago and hence latest revision is completely unjustified," it said.
Dr VK Vijayakumar

Polling for around 480 Lok Sabha seats is already over. Perhaps the question now is who will govern India in the next 5 years. The exit polls are likely to give us a probable trend.

Results of the exit polls will be published only on May 19th after the elections are over. But, it is important to note that the exit polls for all but 59 seats have been done and the results are also known, though not in the public domain.

The top people in the agencies that did the polls, the influential editors of news channels and those who commissioned the polls, know the results.

It is quite probable that even some political parties may have commissioned polls. It is quite probable that a section of the market knows and is slowly discounting this.

It is evident that the market is not fully discounting an NDA victory. Which is why we witnessed 9 consecutive days of losses in the market. It is important to note that India is underperforming in the global bull-run underway in 2019.

As on May 15, the MSCI All Country Index is up by 11.6 percent. MSCI US and MSCI EMU are up by 14 and 12.2 percent respectively.

MSCI Emerging Market Index is up by 6.1 percent, but MSCI India is almost flat with measly 0.7 percent appreciation. India is hugely underperforming.

Why? It is probable that the market is discounting some bad news.

What can be the likely bad news? At this stage, those of us without access to the exit poll results can only hazard a reasoned guess.

It is likely that the NDA may fall short of a majority and might cobble up a coalition with support from some non-NDA parties. A weak coalition, unable to push through tough reforms, may not enthuse the market.

Worse still, if the NDA fails to reach say 230 seats, it is quite possible that the Congress will support a 'Third Front' government without participating in it. This is the scenario that the market dreads, but can't be ruled out.

What should investors do?

Speculators are taking all kinds of positions and hedges in the derivatives market. That is for the sophisticated traders and speculators. Ordinary investors need not go into complex derivative plays.

Of course, investors can hedge their portfolios by buying Put options. Beyond that, they can adopt safe strategies based on exit poll results or even after the actual results.

For example, suppose the Third Front Scenario plays out: This is likely to lead to a major correction in the market. The short-term panic in the market will make stocks attractive and this would provide opportunities for investors to buy beaten-down quality stocks.

The short-term overreaction is not likely to last long. It is a known fact that politics does not matter in the long run. More importantly, corporate earnings in India will not be impacted by a change of government.

Presently 20 percent of corporate earnings come from IT, which has nothing to do with the government and 30 percent from materials like energy and metals whose prices are determined globally.

So 50 percent of corporate earnings are not impacted at all by who forms the government. Therefore, if a panic correction happens, that would be an opportunity to buy.

If the exit polls clearly indicate the return of NDA, investors may utilize the opportunity to buy before the actual election results, because the market is likely to rise sharply, more than compensating for the relative underperformance of India. In brief, there are opportunities ahead.

(The author is Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services)
Hareesh V

Heightened tensions in the Middle East are keeping oil prices firm. The US WTI crude and the Asian benchmark Brent has gained about three percent so far during this week.

The already tight market conditions were deepened on concerns over supply disruptions from the Middle East amid conflict between US, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf Arab states.

The Saudi Arabian oil tankers were attacked off the coast of UAE last weekend. The incident occurred at the world's most important oil transport waterway at Strait of Hormuz.

Almost 40 percent of the world's traded crude oil is transported through this shipping channel. Major Middle East oil exporters like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain are using this waterway for oil transportation.

Vulnerabilities in the security of the key oil shipping passage raise concerns over exports from these countries.

In addition, two Saudi oil installations were hit by armed drones and the responsibility was claimed by Yemen's Houthi Rebels.

However, after the incident, the Saudi-led coalition carried out several air strikes in Houthi-held capital Sanaa, Yemen, on May 16 pushing the world's largest oil producing region into a war-like situation.

The US is also deployed warships and bombers to the Middle East to pressure Iran which is accused to aid the Houthi Rebels. The US pulled non-emergency staff from the American embassy in Baghdad on perceived threats from Iran.

The oil market has already been tightened due to ongoing OPEC plus supply cut, production decline from Iran and Venezuela and Russian outage due to Urals contamination. The tight market sentiments deepened further due to the likelihood of Middle East supply disruptions.

The US sanctions on Iran are pressurising the global oil markets. The US had imposed sanctions on Iran last November after unilaterally pulling out of a 2015 nuclear deal, in an attempt to further reduce Iranian oil exports. The US recently slapped sanctions on oil exports from Venezuela too, one of the largest oil producers and an OPEC member.

As per OPEC's latest monthly report, the producer group's output has declined in April due to a cut in production from Saudi Arabia and supply losses from Iran and Venezuela. Meanwhile, the group expects tight market condition and increased oil demand during this year.

The OPEC and non-OPEC oil exporters like Russia have cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1 for six months.

The group will meet in June to decide whether to extend the pact. It is expected that if OPEC sticks on with its April output numbers it would lead to an oil undersupply in the world market this year.

In the meantime, the output from the other top producers outside OPEC, like the US would keep the market well supplied. As per IEA, the booming oil output from the US would offset the shortage of exports from Iran and Venezuela.

In the first half of the year, US output was halted due to reduced rig counts and maintenance in the Gulf of Mexico but the agency expects higher output this year due to the uptick in drilling activity.

Looking ahead, escalating tensions in the Middle East are likely to push global oil prices higher. Meanwhile, slowing global economic growth would be a major headwind.

Increasing trade war tensions between the US and China is a threat to global economic growth and demand for oil. And oil traders are now worried about the supply tightness than the slumping demand.

(The author is Head Commodity Research, Geojit Financial Services)
File image

Vedika Narvekar

On the completion of the rabi 2018-19 harvesting, farmers are now geared up for the new season 2019-20, hoping for the rain gods to shower them with blessings. The weather agency, Skymet, however, is pessimistic about the 2019 southwest monsoon and expects it to be weak and under the shadow of El Nino.

The present weather signals a delay in the onset and sluggish progress of the southwest monsoon. As far as the quantitative region-wise distribution of rainfall is concerned, the agency foresees below-normal rains for all the four regions, though rains in central India, the east and north-eastern states are likely to be poorer than those in the southern peninsula and north-west India.

Going by the weather agency's forecast, the late onset and slow progress of the monsoon might, to some extent, delay the sowing of Kharif crops in non-irrigated belts. However, as the monsoon picks up momentum, sowing may commence and the impact could be contained.

With 9 percent deficit over central India, particularly in MP, soybean sowing could be affected. Last year, poor distribution of rainfall resulted in crop losses for many agro commodities. However, soybean acreage, as well as production, rose substantially as the soybean-growing belts of MP received sufficient rains.

Yet, despite higher output, prices tested the 2018 peak of 3,850 as meal exports to a new destination, Iran, surged. During the first seven months of the 2018-19 (Oct-Sep) marketing year, soymeal exports rose to 16.9 lakh tonnes, from 11.8 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

However, prices didn't hold beyond the previous year's high as global soybean markets were under pressure due to ongoing trade tensions between the US and China. In fact, CBOT soybean futures hit a decade low this week on concerns demand that the largest importer, China, may be hit.

Global markets are now shifting focus from trade tensions to wet weather in the US, which is threatening spring plantings. The soybean crop was 9 percent planted, behind the five-year 29 percent average and the average 15 percent trade estimate. Soybean futures rebounded from a decade low amid slow planting progress.

With the current predictions about rainfall distribution and the monsoon's advance, soybean prices are due for yet another rally in the short term. Unfavourable planting conditions in the US would further support the rally in domestic markets.

The author is Research Analyst- Agro Commodities, Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers.
The week gone by was action packed as two business conglomerates Tata Group and Godrej Industries carried out their separate mergers and acquisitions.

On May 15, the Tata Group decided to demerge Tata Chemicals (TCL) and merge it with Tata Global Beverages (TGBL).

TGBL will be renamed as Tata Consumer Products. The consolidation of consumer products businesses will create a wider scope for businesses as TGBs portfolio extends from beverages (coffee, tea and water) to food ingredients. This will also help in de-risking its portfolio from the vagaries of the individual beverage business cycle.

On May 17, Godrej Group sold its grocery chain, Natures Basket, for Rs 300 crore to Kolkata-based Spencers Retail, which is part of the RP Sanjiv Goenka Group. The acquisition will give Spencers access to the west of India through its 36 stores in Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru.

The move comes in the wake of consolidation by other players in the FMCG industry. Last year, Future Group acquired Hypercity from Shoppers Stop. It previously acquired Bharti Retails retailing operations in 2015.

According to analysts, Godrej gets most of their revenue from real estate and manufacturing packaged consumer goods such as locks, soaps etc., and it may have decided to take a strategic call to exit the retail business as Nature's basket was incurring losses. In FY18, Godrej Nature's Basket reported a loss of 62 crore.

Operating since 2005, Nature's Basket is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Godrej Industries. The neighbourhood convenience store format grocery retailer that sells products ranging from fresh fruits and vegetables, fish and meat, and others, had a turnover of Rs 338.28 crore for FY19.

A few analysts also said that Godrej must have sold to focus on core competencies rather than burning cash in a highly competitive retail industry.
Representative image

A total of 82 candidates, including two former Union ministers, are in the fray for the last phase of Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh where voting will be held for eight seats on May 19.

All these constituencies- Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa--are currently held by the BJP.

Over 1.49 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.

Prominent candidates in the fray are former Union ministers Kantilal Bhuria and Arun Yadav of Congress, who are contesting from Ratlam and Khandwa seats, respectively.

Yadav is pitted against former Madhya Pradesh BJP president Nandkumar Singh Chauhan.

Of the total eight seats, the BJP has renominated only Chauhan and Sudhir Gupta from Khandwa and Mandsaur, respectively.

Gupta is squaring off against Meenakshi Natarajan, once a confidante of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, from Mandsaur, which had remained a nerve centre of farmers' protests.

The high-pitched campaign for the last phase resolved mainly around the loan waiver scheme of the state Congress government, which came to power in December last year.

The opposition BJP claims that the scheme remains only on paper.

During his rallies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed that Kamal Nath government was sending police personnel as well as recovery notices to farmers rather than writing off their loans.

However, Rahul Gandhi countered the PM saying that several lakh farmers got benefitted due to the scheme.

AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attracted crowds in Ujjain, Ratlam and Indore while seeking votes for her party.

Talking to reporters Saturday, state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) VL Kantha Rao said, "82 candidates are in the fray for eight seats. While six candidates are contesting from Dewas, nine are in the fray from Ujjain, 13 from Mandsaur, nine from Ratlam, seven from Dhar, 20 from Indore, seven from Khargone and 11 from Khandwa.

A total of 18,411 polling booths, including 1157 all-women centres, are set up for more than 1.49 crore voters, he said.

Among other measures, more than 56,000 security personnel, including 83 companies of Central and 49 companies of state forces, have been deployed to prevent any untoward incident.

"The borders of Madhya Pradesh with adjoining districts have been sealed, he said.

Out of the total 29 seats in MP, election in the first phase was held in six constituencies on April 29, followed by the second phase polls for seven constituencies on May 6 and eight seats in the third phase on May 23.

A voter turnout of 69.26 percent was recorded in first three phases in Madhya Pradesh, the CEO said.

Counting of votes would be taken up on May 23.
The Congress on May 18 asked the EC not to grant Prime Minister Narendra Modi permission to travel with his motorcade here on polling day as this would amount to a roadshow, a "violation" of the poll code.

In a letter to the Election Commission and the local poll authority, the party's district unit said in such a situation its own candidate would also be forced to move about in a cavalcade which could lead to "unnecessary confrontation".

Modi, who is seeking reelection from Varanasi constituency, is expected to spend at least a part of the day in Badrinath.

The Congress said it had learnt that the prime minister would stay in Varanasi on Sunday and his movement might even affect traffic, which would cause hindrance to voters trying to reach polling booths.

It said that even if his cavalcade moved without affecting or halting traffic, it would still seem like he was holding a roadshow and asked the poll body not to grant him permission for it.

Congress district unit president Prajanath Sharma said it would create a situation of an undeclared roadshow being held during the period when canvassing by candidates is restricted.

He claimed that in Maninagar, Ahmedabad, Modi he merely gone to vote, but his party had planned a roadshow with a prearranged crowd.

Sharma claimed the prime minister had also waved to crowd standing on a moving vehicle.

The party claimed that a large number of outsiders were staying in Varanasi's hotels, guesthouses and even in BJP leaders' houses despite the canvassing being over and demanded that a raid be conducted at these places to remove them from the city.
The results of the Lok Sabha election, which will decide the fate of four Union ministers and two Congress stalwarts from Maharashtra, is likely to impact the political situation in the state, which will go to polls few months later.

Prestige is at stake for the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena as well as the opposition Congress-NCP combine in Maharashtra, which sends 48 members to the Lok Sabha, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh's 80.

While the BJP contested 25 Lok Sabha seats and the Shiv Sena 23 seats in Maharashtra, the Congress and the NCP fought on 25 and 19 seats respectively, leaving two seats each for their allies.

Leaders of the Congress and the BJP admit that the party which gets more seats as compared to its ally, will have an upper hand in the seat adjustments in the Assembly polls.

Similarly, the number of votes polled in the Assembly segments will also be the decisive factor for the renomination of sitting MLAs in the state polls.

State Congress spokesperson Ratnakar Mahajan said although the political dynamics for the state and Lok Sabha elections are different, the results of the parliamentary polls do make a notional impact on the assembly politics.

"This doesn't happen always. In 1999, after the Lok Sabha results, those who formed the government at the Centre were defeated in the state assembly polls held later that year," he added.

"However, the party which gets maximum seats in the Lok Sabha will get a morale booster to face the Assembly elections later this year," he said.

Four Union ministers- Nitin Gadkari, Hansraj Ahir, Subhash Bhamre and Anant Gite- and two Congress veterans- Ashok Chavan and Sushilkumar Shinde- were among the 867 candidates who were in the fray in the state, which went to polls in four phases in April.

Gadkari is seeking re-election from Nagpur. He was pitted against Nana Patole of the Congress. In 2014, Gadkari had defeated Congress's Vilas Muttemwar by a margin of over two lakh votes.

Patole was a BJP candidate in 2014, who had defeated NCP heavyweight Praful Patel from Bhandara-Gondiya seat. However, Patole quit the BJP and also resigned from the post to get back to his parent party- Congress.

Barring a few exceptions, Nagpur has always been with the Congress despite the city being the RSS headquarters. The Nagpur seat would be the cynosure of all eyes since Gadkari is being speculated as a prospective PM probable if the BJP loses the majority, but emerge as the single largest party.

However, Gadkari has time and again made it clear that he was not in the race for the top post and Narendra Modi would continue to be at the helm.

Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir is seeking re-election for the fourth term from Chandrapur. This time, he got a stiff challenge from Shiv Sena MLA Suresh Dhanorkar, who switched over to the Congress to fight the election.

Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre contested from Dhule against Congress's Kunal Patil.

In Raigad, Minister of State for Heavy Industries Anant Gite is seeking re-election against NCP's Sunil Tatkare. Gite is the only Shiv Sena minister in the Union cabinet.

Former Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who was also the chief minister of the state, was pitted against Lingayat seer Jaisiddeshwar Swami of the BJP and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi's Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr B R Ambedkar.

Ashok Chavan was one of the only two Congress candidates, who had won the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. This time, he faced a challenge from Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Chikhlikar, who switched over to the BJP at the last minute to take on the former CM from Nanded seat.

In Baramati, the BJP left no stone unturned to wrest the seat from NCP MP Supriya Sule, who had weathered the 'Modi wave' of 2014 to retain the family pocket borough. Sule's main challenger this time was BJP candidate Kanchan Kul, wife of Rashtriya Samaj Paksh (RSP) MLA Rahul Kul.

In Maval, Parth Pawar, son of NCP leader Ajit Pawar is making his political debut. Parth was pitted against sitting Shiv Sena MP Srirang Barne.

In Shirur, noted actor Amol Kolhe, who shot into fame with his portrayals of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Sambhaji in two different television serials, was pitted against sitting Shiv Sena MP Shivaji Adhalrao Patil.

Ahmednagar is important for the BJP as well as the NCP. NCP chief Sharad Pawar had refused to part with the seat to Congress since Sujay Vikhe Patil, son of senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, wanted to contest. Sujay had joined the BJP ahead of the polls, which fielded him from the seat. Local MLA Sangram Jagtap was NCP's choice for the contest.

After the election, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil resigned from his post of the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. The Congress is expected to take action against him before the monsoon session of the state Legislature begins on June 17.

Now, it remains to be seen if the Congress, which has 42 MLAs, will retain the Leader of Opposition post or the NCP will get it when the Legislature commences.

The NCP had 41 MLAs, out of whom Hanumant Dolas, MLA from Malshiras in Solapur district passed away recently.

Even though Congress MLAs Kalidas Kolambkar, Nitesh Rane, Abdul Sattar are rebels, they are technically members of the assembly elected on Congress ticket.

Out of the six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, all eyes will be on whether Congress heavyweights Milind Deora and Priya Dutt, who could not win the 2014 polls, can reclaim their bastions of Mumbai South and Mumbai North Central parliamentary seats respectively.

Another interesting factor would be to watch the performance of actor Urmila Matondkar, who gave a good fight to BJP's Gopal Shetty in Mumbai North. Sanjay Nirupam had lost the seat in 2014 by a margin of 4.40 lakh votes.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, but the government has blamed the NTJ for the bombings. (Photo: File)

Colombo: Sri Lankan Police said Friday they have arrested a school principal and a teacher for their alleged links to the local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaath (NTJ) blamed by the government for the deadly Easter Sunday bombings which killed nearly 260 people.

The 56-year-old principal and the 47-year-old teacher at a school in Ataweerawewa were arrested from Horowpathana city on Thursday, police said.

The Special Task Force in Horowpathana made the arrests, they said.

The suspects have been identified as Noor Mohamed Addu Ul and Ajibul Jabar, residents of Kapugollewa, Horowpathana, Colombo Page reported.

The police have received information that they have had direct ties with the NTJ and the leader Mohamad Sahran Hashim, who carried out the suicide attack on Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo on April 21, it said.

The suspects will be produced before the Kebithigollewa Magistrate court Friday, it added.

Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels, killing 258 people and injuring over 500 others on the Easter Sunday.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, but the government has blamed the NTJ for the bombings.

Widespread communal riots have followed the Easter blasts in Sri Lanka. Anti-Muslim riots have killed one person and caused extensive damage to homes, businesses and mosques in Sri Lanka this week.

The Sri Lankan police have said over 70 people have been arrested for attacking the Muslims.
TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu on May 18 met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and discussed firming up an anti-BJP front to keep the saffron party out of power after poll results are declared.

Before meeting the Congress chief, Naidu, who is spearheading an effort to cobble up an anti-BJP front, met CPI leaders Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja.

He is scheduled to meet NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and LJD leader Sharad Yadav in the national capital later in the day.

The Andhra Pradesh chief minister is also scheduled to meet BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow in the evening.

In an hour-long meeting with Gandhi, sources said, Naidu discussed the impending need to bring together all parties which are against the BJP after the Lok Sabha election results are declared on May 23.

Sources said Naidu also told Gandhi to have a strategy ready in case the BJP falls short of numbers and still stakes claim to form the government.

Naidu is also in touch with Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee over the phone on this issue, the sources added.

On May 17, Naidu had said that not only the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) but any outfit which is against the saffron party are welcome to join a grand alliance after the election results are declared.

He had also met AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as well as CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury on the matter.

The seven-phase polling will end on May 19 and the counting of votes will be done on May 23.
The US-China trade war on May 18 took an ugly turn when the White House issued an order that banned use of Huawei equipment on American telecom networks.

In its order on May 17, the White House said, the ban is to "protect America from foreign adversaries who are actively and increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in information and communications technology infrastructure and services".

The ban would have a huge impact on the Chinese major as it is dependent on the US companies such as Qualcomm, Micron and Intel for its components. According to a CNBC report, out of $70 billion Huawei spent for buying components in 2018, some $11 billion went to the three US companies. Though the US has decided to scale back the trade restriction on Huawei to help its existing customers, uncertainty and fear loom.

What could this mean? Apart from the fight over tariffs for certain goods and import-export measure, the incident demonstrates how data could pay a critical factor in trade war as companies and governments increasingly use data to gain dominance.

The case in point is the US order where it had cited the vulnerabilities in information and communication technology infrastructure as a reason for blacklisting the Chinese major though the move is more likely an offshoot of trade tension between the two countries.

Vulnerability of information, as we see it, is hard to ignore. In the recent times we have seen instances where data were being compromised and used for economic and political gain. Facebook and Google have come under the scanner by competition regulators and data protection agencies for abusing their dominance.

If anything, this will not be first or the last time a country bans a particular company over the fear of data exposure. For instance, China has blocked Google and Facebook in the country in a bid to control flow of content coming in the country.

But is there more to it? Given the current context, of course. Despite what the tech companies claim, Google is not only the biggest search engine but also the largest repository of data. Banning the giant is also a means to protect itself from being vulnerable to data leaks.

There have been reports that tech majors Google, Facebook and Twitter are under Russias radar for non-compliance of storing data within the country.

This would only get worse as the technology evolves resulting in generating and assimilating more data to make a product or service is seamless for users.

In an interaction with Moneycontrol, James Lu, EMUI Product Marketing, Huawei Consumer Business Group, said that the future of smartphones is heading towards where smartphones are more intuitive and identify users intention even before they say anything. He said that the company is already doing some work on this, though they are preliminary at this stage.

This requires even more powerful AI-enabled smartphones that can predict users intention. That means more data are needed to make AI algorithms more intelligent including facial recognition and other emotional parameters.

With so much sensitive data being collected, data privacy and protection will be more important now than ever. Companies do understand that. In fact privacy is one of the key agenda for tech majors currently.

Governments understand that as well. With so much data getting generated it is hardly a wonder that governments are coming up with stringent privacy regulations.

Lu agrees that security of data is critical for the company going forward and the company is taking measures to ensure that users data is protected. He explained that users data is stored in the chipset rather than the cloud. Apart from following local privacy regulations, the company is also looking at various measures to ensure data protection and privacy.

Tech major Google has been beefing up its privacy measures in recent times. This includes introduction of privacy tools intended to give people more control over how theyre being tracked on the go or in their own home. Facebook too has promised to increase privacy measures.

But are they enough? Probably not. But at least it is a good start.

Many have agreed that the tech majors are not doing enough to guarantee privacy. However these small measures are a welcome move, even if is done out of regulatory pressure than voluntary.
Most restaurant owners approach the business with a carefully plotted five-year plan. But for Leucadia residents Jamie and Marie Brawn, the road to opening their first restaurant  Homestead in Solana Beach  took a lot of unexpected twists and turns.

Their 6-month-old restaurant, which took over the former Lockwood Table space in the Cedros Design District in November, was the long-resisted outgrowth of their Root Cellar Catering Co., which itself grew from their now-shuttered special events company.

The menu at Homestead has also been a laissez-faire creation. The Brawns sons  10-year-old Aiden and 7-year-old Brady  have food allergies, so by necessity over the past decade theyve perfected a variety of gluten-free dishes at home. One of their sons favorites, gluten-free brown butter waffles, is now Homesteads top-selling breakfast item. The lunch menu star is the gluten-free chicken pot hand-pie, which Jamie came up with on a whim one day when he had some leftover dough.

The menu has just sort of evolved, said Marie Brawn, 38. We eat out a lot and have lots of friends in the restaurant industry, so we just wanted to create the kind of place where wed want to go.

The Brawns have spent their whole careers in the hospitality industry. Jamie, now 42, worked as a bartender for Jakes Del Mar and Pacifica Del Mar. Marie started out as a hostess, and later, a bartender and events planner, at Pacifica Del Mar and Jimmy Os. They met in 2005, married and soon combined their talents in Connected San Diego, a special events venture where they coordinated local parties for out-of-town clients.

For these parties, the Brawns would book venues, plan menus, buy all the food and then hire a chef to cook everything. Then, one day in 2008 a chef canceled at the last minute and Jamie, an aspiring but not professionally trained chef, stepped in and pulled the menu off without a hitch.

He loved it and the light bulb went on in his head saying, I want to do this. That was the beginning of Root Cellar Catering, Marie said.

For a few years, the Brawns ran both their special events and catering companies until Root Cellar became so successful they decided to focus on it alone in 2012. Now based in a 3,500-square-foot commercial kitchen and storage building in Mira Mesa, Root Cellar hosts events all over Southern California. Recent bookings include the Captain Marvel movie premiere party in L.A., a Pepsi All-Star Block Party and several food design projects for Cuisinart.

Over the years, many of the Brawns catering clients encouraged them to open their own restaurant, but they resisted the temptation because with their catering business and two young boys, they didnt think they could handle the stress of running a restaurant, as well. Now they wonder why they waited so long.

Running the restaurant has been a piece of cake compared to catering, she said. All the food is onsite, theres no lugging everything to venues or open fields. We prepare food when its ordered and theres no food waste. Its been the easiest thing weve ever done together.

Homestead took over the 48-seat Lockwood Table space left vacant last June when its owner decided not to renew her lease and moved out of state. The 9-year-old cafe was known for its farm-to-table menu, lavender lattes and housemade walnut butter. In homage to Lockwood Table, the Brawns have created their own whipped walnut butter and they serve lavender syrup by request with their coffee drinks.

Homesteads menu is relatively small, highly seasonal and locally sourced. Breakfast items include avocado toast, egg dishes, breakfast burritos and bowls, smoothies, pastries and coffee drinks. The lunch menu features organic salads, sandwiches, wraps and hand pies with numerous vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Braised beef short rib, the dish Root Cellar is best known for, has been incorporated into several dishes.

Still to come is Homestead market, where customers can buy grab-and-go menu items, produce and specialty items, as well as artisan home goods and personal products made by local artisans, like the Oceanside companies Mr. Bs and Under Luna.

Marie said she and her husband are grateful for the suggestions and constructive criticism theyve received from customers as Jamie continues developing new recipes for the menu.

Weve been welcomed with open arms, she said. Theres not a lot of craft food restaurants in Solana Beach, so our customers have been really helpful in coming to us with their ideas as we work things out.

Homestead: 346 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. Hours: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. (858) 209-0149; homesteadsolanabeach.com
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Read our editorial policy to learn more about our process.
The PM appreciated the results of the working session between the agriculture ministries of Vietnam and Brazil during the ministers visit, which he said will help promote bilateral partnership in this potential field.

Acknowledging the positive developments of the comprehensive partnership between the two countries over the past 30 years, PM Phuc affirmed that Vietnam treasures the relationship with Brazil and urged bolstering cooperation in trade, investment and agriculture.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) receives Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply Terresa Cristina Correa in Hanoi on May 17th (Photo: VNA)

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc suggested that the two countries increase the exchange of delegations and promote trade and investment. He added that the two sides should early hold the third meeting of their joint committee to build specific programmes and projects for bilateral cooperation in the time ahead, while encouraging their businesses to set up partnership in fields of potential and mutual strength. He said Vietnam is willing to serve as a bridge for ASEAN and Mercosur, and proposed that the two sides work together on studying the possibility of starting negotiations on a Vietnam-Mercosur trade agreement.

The Vietnamese PM also recommended increasing cooperation in defence and education.

He took the occasion to thank Brazil for supporting Vietnams bid for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure.

The Brazilian minister said Brazil attaches importance to ties with Vietnam, and her current visit aims to promote cooperation with Vietnam, especially in agriculture, a field in which both countries have great potential for development.

Brazil wants to export to Vietnam its strong products, including farm products such as beef, she said, adding that the presence of representatives from around 20 Brazilian firms in her delegation this time demonstrates the attention that Brazilian businesses pay to Vietnam.

Brazil is Vietnams biggest Latin American trade partners and the second biggest in America, just behind the US./.
I must admit that I was utterly impressed with the taste of not only our special Farmhouse 66 Collaboration Brew this week, but more importantly the professionalism and cooperation of our five local craft brewers. Old Bakery Beer Company, Peel Brewing, Grafton Brewhaus, Recess Brewing and Old Herald Brewery & Distillery, were all happy to join forces, ideas and promotions to celebrate our region and the craft industry. Great Rivers & Routes Craft Beer Week 2019 was a success. If you missed out, some of the brewers may have left over on tap, but thats a chance. If you do find it, try it fast. If they are already out, try another seasonal brew and dream about next years collaboration!

We continue to welcome international guests to town this past week, with groups from China, UK and Germany again! We also welcomed a special presentation from our friends at the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Area and our 16th President Abraham Lincoln.
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By Town Hall, May 17, 2019





Attorney General William Barr sat down with Fox News Bill Hemmer for a brief interview in El Salvador. The attorney general is part of a packed event discussing anti-gang activities. Last night, the preview of the interview was aired, showing that Barr is going to investigate the investigators concerning the Trump-Russia collusion nonsense because we need to know that the government was doing in 2016. Barr aptly noted that if were worried about foreign influence in elections, we should be equally concerned about government officials abusing their power and possibly tipping the scales during the 2016 election. He did not say thats what happened, but he noted that he has more questions than answers after starting to review the origins of this investigation and added that the explanations hes received dont hang together.
Snow at Phillip Station View Photos

A system moving across northern California today through late Sunday will bring more mountain snow to the Sierra Nevada, resulting in travel impacts this weekend.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the Sierra Nevada above 6,000 feet, from 2 PM this afternoon through 5 AM Monday.

Periods of heavy snow is expected. There will be significant reductions in visibility at times.

Total snow accumulations above the 6,000 foot elevation will range from half-a-foot to two feet.

Weekend mountain travel will likely be hampered by travel delays, road closures and chain controls.

Hikers and campers should expect gusty winds, blowing snow and dangerous wind chill temperatures over the high Sierra tonight through Sunday.

More mountain snowfall will be possible this coming week.

A Winter Storm Warning means there will be snow covered roads and limited visibilities. Travel is not recommended while the Warning is in effect. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.




By California Globe, May 17, 2019





As several new gun control bills passed out of the California Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday, I spoke with Sam Paredes, Executive Director of Gun Owners of California. It was an ugly day, Paredes said.





However, Gun Owners of California may be looking at good news on the horizon. Since the Supreme Courts Second Amendment decisions in Heller v DC 2008 and McDonald v Chicago in 2010, questions continually arise concerning the scope of governments power to infringe and even restrict the possession and use of all firearms, through regulations that impose harsh conditions and requirements on gun owners.
Megan Thee Stallion has arrived.

In truth, the Houston rapper has been blowing up expectations and snatching wigs for awhile. But today marks the release of "Fever," her official debut album. And if all indications are correct, she's about to become a superstar.

Spotify hosted a release party Thursday night for "Fever" at Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon, transforming the club into "The Hottie Ranch." The crowd was beautiful, the temperature was rising and the drink menu included "How Down Punch," "Cognac Queen" and "Hottie Juice."

FLASHBACK: Mixtape Tour brings NKOTB, Debbie Gibson, Salt-N-Pepa to Houston

Megan Thee Stallion galloped through the parking lot after 10 p.m. riding a white horse and wearing chaps. Her fans, known as "Houston hotties," couldn't get enough.

"Fever" makes the most of Megan Thee Stallion's aggressive, explicit persona and introduces a new alter ego, Hot Girl Meg. The album is currently No. 3 on the iTunes hip-hop/rap album chart and top 10 on the all-genre chart.

And more importantly, it sounds like the birth of a hip-hop giant.

It was preceded by last year's "Tina Snow" EP and breakout single "Big Ole Freak," her first Billboard chart entry.

Megan Thee Stallion is currently a junior at Texas Southern University, where she's studying health administration and, along with ruling the rap world, hopes to opening assisted-living facilities in Houston.

Joey Guerra is the music critic for the Houston Chronicle and also covers everything from "Drag Race" to "Idol." Follow him on Twitter. Send him news tips at joey.guerra@chron.com.
It can be challenging to find a quality spot for a reasonable price when in the market for a new apartment. So what does the low-end pricing on a rental in Tobin Hill look like these daysand what might you get for the price?

According to Walk Score's assessment, the neighborhood is friendly for those on foot, is convenient for biking and offers many nearby public transportation options. It also features median rents for a one bedroom that hover around $1,100, compared to ann $875 one-bedroom median for San Antonio as a whole.
According to rental site Zumper, median rents for a one bedroom in Mahncke Park are hovering around $1,000, compared to ann $870 one-bedroom median for San Antonio as a whole.

So how does the low-end pricing on a Mahncke Park rental look these daysand what might you get for your money?

We took a look at local listings for studios and one-bedroom apartments to find out what price-conscious apartment seekers can expect to find in the neighborhood, which, according to Walk Score ratings, is moderately walkable, is bikeable and has a few nearby public transportation options.

Take a look at the cheapest listings available right now, 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.

1201 E. Mulberry Ave.

Listed at $560/month, this 572-square-foot studio , located at 1201 E. Mulberry Ave., is 34.4 percent less than the $854/month median rent for a studio in Mahncke Park.

In the unit, look for air conditioning, a balcony, a walk-in closet and a dishwasher. The building boasts on-site laundry and a swimming pool. Pet owners, inquire elsewhere: this spot doesn't allow cats or dogs. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental.

(See the complete listing here.)

355 Claremont Ave., #A

Then there's this 700-square-foot apartment with one bedroom and one bathroom at 355 Claremont Ave., #A, listed at $715/month.

In the unit, expect to find air conditioning and heating units as well as hardwood flooring. Amenities offered in the building include assigned parking and on-site laundry. Both cats and dogs are welcome.

(See the listing here.)

218 Natalen Ave.

This one-bedroom, one-bathroom , situated at 218 Natalen Ave., is listed for $800/month for its 500 square feet of space.

In the unit, look for air conditioning and an updated kitchen with granite countertops and a dishwasher. Amenities offered in the building include on-site laundry. Good news for animal lovers: both dogs and cats are welcome here. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(See the listing here.)

133 Parland Place

And here's a one-bedroom, one-bathroom at 133 Parland Place, which, with 710 square feet, is going for $995/month.

In the unit, you'll find hardwood-like flooring, stainless steel appliances and in-unit laundry. The building offers assigned parking and a swimming pool. Pet lovers are in luck: cats and dogs are welcome. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee.

(Check out the 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.
Reducing penalties for small amounts of marijuana is about being smart on crime. Its not the first step toward legalizing recreational use of pot.

That is an entirely different issue that warrants its own debate. But it is not what House Bill 63 by Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, seeks.

Here are the real issues behind Moodys bill, already given preliminary approval in the House.

Putting people who pose no threat to the community in jail for minor, nonviolent crimes prevents them from caring for their families and keeping their jobs while they await adjudication. So, families suffer.

And jailing these offenders means an uptick in recidivism, particularly for those who languished because they are unable to afford even the percentage it takes to secure bail bonds.

Time in jail  at $40 to $60 a day in Bexar County  isnt cost-effective for nonviolent offenders who pose no risk to the community. And convictions for even minor crimes can have pernicious ripple effects that damage lives far into the future.

These facts are what prompt cities and counties such as San Antonio and Bexar County to institute cite-and-release programs that keep such people out of jail.

The irony here is that the Legislature gave that discretion to local governments  and part of the reason for doing this must have been acknowledgment that possession of small amounts of pot was part of that larger problem of jailing people who pose no threat to the community.

Now, however, the Legislature, thanks to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, is performing last rites over a bill that would reduce penalties for small amounts of marijuana  possession of 1 ounce or less would be a Class C misdemeanor, essentially equivalent to a traffic ticket. But 2 ounces or less would still be a Class B misdemeanor, with a $2,000 fine, jail time or both.

Patrick recently said HB 63 is dead on arrival at the Senate. This is happening while San Antonio and Bexar County put into a place a program that would, among other minor nonviolent crimes, apply to possession of 4 ounces or less.

Got it? While the Legislature already gives local governments the discretion to allow people with 4 ounces or less to avoid jailing and trial  if they take some logical steps  it will not, on its own, lessen the penalties for marijuana possession for even lesser amounts. The Senate is reasoning that crowding jails with people who commit the minor, nonviolent crime of possessing less than 1 ounce of pot is reasonable collateral damage  in cities and counties without cite-and-release  in the name of blocking marijuana legalization.

This makes no sense.

Texas inexplicably leads the nation in marijuana-possession busts  some 63,599 in 2016, according to FBI data. Thats not broken down by the amounts of pot possessed, but the experts say a significant number are for small amounts. These are not drug kingpins. Only 1,350 people were arrested in 2016 in Texas for marijuana sales.

Patrick and others apparently view marijuana as a so-called gateway drug to harder drugs such a heroin and methamphetamines. The experts, meanwhile, say that we might as well say that alcohol and nicotine are gateway drugs. And theyre legal. Virtually any drug can constitute an on-ramp to harder drugs under this theory.

Patrick and others are essentially labeling this bill a gateway bill leading to broader legislation liberalizing marijuana use. But with or without HB 63, we suspect that debate is inevitably coming  even to Texas. In our estimation, that debate is years away, barring surprises at the polls in the near future. But, again, this bill isnt what that is about. Not even remotely.

Its about saving taxpayers the expense of jailing people for extremely minor pot possession  less than even the threshold amounts contained in cite-and-release programs.

Standing in the way of lessening pot penalties might be tough on crime  whatever that means  but it is quite the opposite of being smart.
A WOMAN from Bulawayo allegedly scolded her daughter for not taking a $1 that her uncle had promised her after raping her.

This came out when a 41-year-old man appeared in court for raping his 12-year-old niece whom he had promised to give a $1 in exchange for her silence.

The man pleaded not guilty to rape when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Ms Sibongile Msipa.

He was remanded out of custody to June 12.

The court heard that when the complainant told her mother about what had happened, she chided her and asked why she did not take the money.

Prosecuting, Ms Concilia Ncube said on an unknown date in November last year, the girl was home alone when the accused person came over and demanded to have sex with her in exchange for $1.

The complainant refused. Accused person dragged her by the hand to a toilet, locked the door and forced the minor to lie on the floor.

The accused person undressed the complainant and raped her once without protection.

After the alleged act the accused person went away stating that he had got what he wanted and never gave the complainant the $1 he had promised.

When the complainants mother arrived home from a bar at around 10PM, the complainant informed her about the ordeal but she shouted at her and demanded to know why she didnt take the money which she said they would have used to buy relish, said Ms Ncube.

She said the matter came to light when the complainant approached a female Childline worker who was at an enumeration programme with the Department of Social Welfare and told her about her ordeal.

The matter was reported and the complainant was referred to hospital for medical examination.

The report was produced in court as an exhibit.

 Chronicle

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South Africa has urged Zimbabwe to look for a mediator to facilitate meaningful dialogue between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and opposition parties as Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Nelson Chamisa on Friday snubbed a launch of the Political Actors Forum in the countrys capital, Harare.

South Africas ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mphakama Mbete, made the call when he addressed delegates attending the meeting, who included Mnangagwa, MDC-T president Thokozani Khupe and scores of other opposition party leaders and civic society representatives.

Mbete said,  For credibility the leadership of Zimbabwe wishes to consider a facilitator outside Zimbabwe. We as a region we will be ready to propose names from the African continent. At this point we would like to appeal to the political formations, to the political leaders who are not yet part of the political dialogue to join the national dialogue.

Zimbabwe is currently facing an economic crisis stemming from lack of foreign direct investment, capital constraints in reviving collapsing industries, an unpredictable financial system, high investment risk factors and other issues.

Mbetes call was embraced by the MDC led by Nelson Chamisa, who has criticized Mnangagwas political dialogue with small opposition parties, which he thinks are seeking relevance in Zimbabwe following their dismal performance in the 2018 general elections.

MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume praised Mbete, saying the Zimbabwean president should engage in direct talks with Chamisa facilitated by an eminent person from outside Zimbabwe in order to tackle the current economic crisis.

In any dialogue there are some people who are supposed to mediate. Engaging these small parties is a waste of time, it wont take us anyway as it wont resolve the current economic crisis in Zimbabwe. We are surprised that Mnangagwa wants to pursue this kind of dialogue to the extent that people will start eating baboons while wallowing in poverty.

The economic situation is bad in Zimbabwe and continues to deteriorate. Chamisa says he is prepared to engage in any meaningful dialogue mediated by a person from outside Zimbabwe so that he will talk with Mnangagwa about moving the country forward so that there are jobs and people can live a normal life.

Mnangagwa, who officially launched the Political Actors Dialogue Forum aimed at creating harmony among all stakeholders in the country, could not immediately react to Mbetes call for an external mediator.

He told people attending the meeting that unity was key in developing Zimbabwe. Let us all come to the big tent of unity  Let us all come to this tent to spread love, peace and harmony as we develop our country 

Speaking at the same meeting, Khupe urged Chamisa to embrace the Forum, saying that would help in the transformation of Zimbabwe, which is currently ranked by some international organizations as one of the poorest nations in the world.

The MDC still maintains that Chamisa beat Mnangagwa in the last presidential election though the Constitutional Court ruled that the president won the poll.

 VOA

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Buildings in Switzerland Have Cat Ladders to Help Felines Survey Their Kingdom Below My Modern Met

Air Pollution and Noncommunicable Diseases CHEST Journal. This is very nasty. The original is written in English, and well worth a read. Here is a summary in the Guardian.

Bankrupt Coal Company Funded Climate Change Denialism The Intercept

Aliso Canyon Gas Leak Caused by Microbial Corrosion, Report Finds NBC Los Angeles

Funds survey the wreckage of a debt-fuelled energy bust FT

Ask Slashdot: Are the Big Players In Tech Even Competing With Each Other? Slashdot (DK).

Google to Refund Advertisers After Suit Over Fraud Scheme WSJ. Google said it wasnt in a position to return money that had already flowed from its buying tool to third-party online ad marketplaces where publishers were selling ad space. Shorter: We dont know where your money went, so we cant return what we owe you. Oh.

Platform follies:

Google is now using https://t.co/4TleI15kqh to lobby. This is totally outrageous. pic.twitter.com/6NztDW1579  Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) May 17, 2019

Children describe technology that gives them a sense of ambiguity as creepy Science Daily. So developers of dark patterns are doing creepy things.

Boeing 737 MAX

Brexit

Ive become very isolated: the aftermath of near-doomed QF72 Sidney Morning Herald

Syraqistan

Venezuela

China?

African swine fever keeps spreading in Asia, threatening food security Science

India

Why Priority Should Be Given To Modernising Foodgrain Storage Swarajya

New Cold War

Trump Transition

2020

Why Bill Clinton Has Tony Robbins on Speed Dial Inc. and but Leaked Records Reveal Tony Robbins Berated Abuse Victims, And Former Followers Accuse Him Of Sexual Advances Buzzfeed

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

Imperial Collapse Watch

McMaster Uses Worn Vietnam Trope to Accuse Americans of Defeatism The American Conservative

Class Warfare

Why capitalists hope you have a short memory The Week

Free Expression on College Campuses (PDF) Knight Foundation. n = 4,407.

The Real Reason Fans Hate the Last Season of Game of Thrones Scientific American. Worth a read even if youre not a GoT fan.

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
By Jeff Bryant, a writing fellow and chief correspondent for Our Schools, a project of the Independent Media Institute. He is a communications consultant, freelance writer, advocacy journalist, and director of the Education Opportunity Network, a strategy and messaging center for progressive education policy. His award-winning commentary and reporting routinely appear in prominent online news outlets, and he speaks frequently at national events about public education policy. Follow him on Twitter @jeffbcdm. Produced by Our Schools, a project of the Independent Media Institute

When Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education under President Barack Obama, said Hurricane Katrina was the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans, he was no doubt referring in part to how the storm and its aftermath led to the spread of charter schools across the city.

But if he had looked more closely before making his remark (he eventually apologized for his poor word choice), he would have noticed some of the new charter schools being created in New Orleans were already failing.

The very first charter school created in the post-Katrina era to close was Free Academy, which shuttered in early 2009well before Duncan made his remarksdue to financial problems, lack of academic progress, and disputes with the schools for-profit management company.

After Free Academy closed, many of the students scrambling to find new schools likely ended up in the Crocker Arts & Technology School, another charter school, which opened in the fall in the same building. But that school proved to be a false promise too when, on a Thursday evening in early December, parents learned Crocker had to close, literally overnight, due to its unsafe building.

The century-old structure was close to collapse, a condition that existed no doubt when the school was Free Academy and when Crocker decided to occupy the building. Officials at both schools either didnt know or knew but didnt bother to warn parents their children were in an unsafe building.

Duncan should have been concerned about these failed charters not only because of the potential harm the schools posed to students but also because the federal government helped to fund the schools.

Government Funds for Failed Schools

In 2006, barely a year after Katrinas devastation, Duncans predecessor Margaret Spellings awarded $24 million to Louisiana to create charter schools, primarily in New Orleans.

The grant came from the Department of Educations Charter Schools Program (CSP), which provides grants to individual charter schools and charter school management companies, and for states to award to charter subgrantees. Louisiana used its 2006 grant to fund individual charters, mostly in New Orleans, including $283,847 awarded to Free Academy and $600,000 to Crocker.

After two more relocations, Crocker would eventually close for good in 2014.

Another reason Duncan should have been more inquisitive about how charter schools had used federal grant money in Louisiana is because his department, during the first year under his leadership, awarded the state yet another huge grantthis time totaling $25,576,222, mostly to bolster the states existing charters and start new ones in Baton Rouge.

Since Duncans tenure, the CSPs annual budget has ballooned to $440 million, in the current budget year, and the total amount spent by the program since inception exceeds $4 billion.

But like those early grants to charters in post-Katrina New Orleans, much of that money has gone to schools that eventually closedand some that never opened at all.

According to a recent report, up to $1 billion of the money given out nationwide by the CSP was wasted on charter schools that never opened, or opened and then closed because of fraud, poor performance, financial mismanagement, and other reasons. The report Asleep at the Wheel: How the Federal Charter Schools Program Recklessly Takes Taxpayers and Students for a Ride was published by the Network for Public Education and written by this author and Carol Burris, NPEs executive director.

In compiling our report, we found the grant program that provides federal dollars to state departments of education, or other approved state entities, is the largest of the CSP funding streams and presents some of the worst examples of federal tax dollars being wasted on charter schools that failed. Louisiana has one of the worst records for slipshod management of its federal grants.

In a follow-up to our report, Burris looked at the grants given to create and expand charter schools in Louisiana between 2006 and 2014. She found that of the 110 charters that received the money, at least 51 (46 percent) were closed. Some may have never opened at all, but because the Louisiana Education Department doesnt provide a list of closed schools, that figure is unknown. The total amount of money given to those closed and never-opened schools is at least $23,819,839.00.

An Illegal Experiment on Children

While the numbers alone are startling and a cause for concern, individual examples of charters in Louisiana that received CSP money and then closed throw into further doubt the prudence of using federal seed money to spread schools that open and close, repeatedly, and fund charter organizations that churn through districts and neighborhoods without any obvious regard for what parents and local officials want.

One of the examples I singled out from Burris research is Benjamin Mays Prep School in New Orleans, which received a $600,000 CSP grant. Mays Prep had long-standing academic issuesand persistent budget shortfalls. The school had to move to a different building in 2012 and then lost that location in 2014 when its charter wasnt renewed and a different charter moving into the space refused to enroll the Mays students. The school closed officially in 2014.

Another New Orleans charter, Miller McCoy, received a $600,000 CSP grant but eventually closed in 2014 after a long downward spiral, according to a local news source. The charter schools two founders left in 2012 under alleged ethics allegations, and the school had a series of unsuccessful leaders after that. An F academic rating from the state seemed to have been the final straw.

The school had promised to be equivalent to a prestigious all-male private prep school in New Orleans, only free. Its closure left the teachers and remaining students and families with a sense of loss, sadness, a grieving for what could have been, reported a different local news outlet.

Another New Orleans charter, Gentilly Terrace, received a $600,000 CSP grant. The school was operated by a charter management group, New Beginnings Schools Foundation, that was cited for being out of compliance with several federal laws, including misdirection of federal funds for Title I schoolsmoney earmarked for high-poverty students. New Beginnings also had chronic problems with employee turnover in its schools and non-transparent practice by its board of directors.

Gentilly Terrace closed in 2014 with a D rating from the states academics report card. Recently, the CEO of New Beginnings resigned amid allegations of falsifying public records and allowing one of its three remaining schools to engage in grade-fixing.

CSP grants that were awarded to schools in Baton Rouge often led to the same results.

When the Recovery School District that transformed New Orleans started taking over low-performing Baton Rouge schools in 2008, one of the first seven schools taken over and handed to charter operators was Glen Oaks Middle School. Glen Oaks received $772,750 from the CSP.

By 2013, the takeover effort was already rebooting, and Glen Oaks was closed, supposedly temporarily,for the 2014-15 school year in order to find a different charter management group. Students were told to transfer to a different school operated by a different charter but were presumably able to return to Glen Oaks the following year.

But instead of reopening as a middle school, Glen Oaks was occupied by three new charters: a kindergarten, an elementary school, and a different middle school operated by a different charter management company.

Glen Oaks closed officially in 2016, according to state reports, and by 2018, both the kindergarten and the elementary schools had moved elsewhere too.

Today, what remains inside Glen Oaks Middle School is a much smaller middle school under a different name. That school is currently rated F academically by the state, which recently recommended the school be handed over to yet another charter management group.

Some Louisiana charter school CSP grant recipients that have managed to stay open seem on less than firm ground.

Baton Rouges Tallulah Charter School, which was awarded a CSP grant of $75,000, was threatened with shutdown in 2018 for persistent low academic performance and testing errors.

What saved the school was an offer from an online learning charter school to move students to a blended curriculum that included more computer-based instruction. The online charter recently dropped its affiliation with an out-of-state for-profit company and changed its name. The school has a 54 percent graduation rate compared to the states 79 percent.

Parents in New Orleans who are sick of the instability that temporary charter schools have brought to their community are organizing to repeal the state law that legalized charters, calling the schools an illegal experiment on their children.

Widespread Violations of Federal Laws

These kinds of examples eventually drew the attention of the education departments own Office of Inspector General to examine the agencys oversight of the federal Charter Schools Program in 2016, after Duncan had resigned and John King became secretary.

The audit made recommendations for improvement on the oversight of federal grants given to charters that close, but its not at all clear how those recommendations were implemented under Kings leadership, or under Betsy DeVos, who took over as secretary in 2017.

In 2018, OIG published another examination of how states with charter schools that closed accounted for federal grant funds. This time, Louisiana was included in the audit because it was the state with the highest ratio of closed charter schools to total charter schools.

The audit found charter schools in Louisiana that received federal money and then closed likely had widespread violations of federal laws and regulations for closing out their grants, disposing of property purchased with federal funds, and ensuring student information and records had been protected and maintained.

In its comments included at the end of the report, the department did not explicitly agree or disagree with the findings but stated it did not consider charter school closures to be a risk to federal funds and that OIGs recommendations would be inconsistent with the federal role in education. The department asked instead for a single recommendation that recognizes the balance between federal and state responsibility for the oversight of charter schools.

Recently, House Democrats proposed a substantial cut to CSP grants, declaring the education department has not been a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars. House members cited, as part of their rationale for the cuts, evidence of financial waste and mismanagement like those Burris and I found. And the Democrats directed the education department implement recommendations from the 2018 OIG report.

Among those recommendations are for the department to determine which states receiving charter school grants pose the most risk to federal funds and help those states develop and implement effective charter school closure procedures. Should the House bill pass, you can be sure Louisiana will be on that list.

But the legacy of the federal governments charter school grants in Louisiana should not be understood just by the sheer waste of precious education funds, but also by the real human consequences of spreading makeshift charter programs that throw communities into confusion, distress, and a sense of betrayal. Thats probably something you wont hear Arne Duncan apologize for.

To learn more about school privatization, check out Who Controls Our Schools? The Privatization of American Public Education, a free ebook published by the Independent Media Institute.

Click here to read a selectionof Who Controls Our Schools? published on AlterNet, or here to access the complete text
(Natural News) The case of two anti-Trump leftists, one of whom is transgender, who shot up a school in Denver last week has been placed under seal by a judge, banning the public from seeing it.

(Article by Paul Joseph Watson republished from Summit.news)

Devon Erickson, 18, and Alec McKinney, 16, opened fire on two classrooms at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) charter school in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, on May 7, killing one student and injuring eight others.

16-year-old Alec McKinney identifies as male but is biologically female, having been born Maya Elizabeth McKinney.

Following the shooting, it emerged that his accomplice Erickson had posted anti-Christian and anti-Trump messages on social media while praising former President Barack Obama.

It is now being reported that details of the case will remain secret to the public after it was sealed by a judge.

Douglas County District Judge Theresa Slade has put the charges along with the entire case file under seal, banning the public from seeing it, reports Reuters.

The student who was shot dead, 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo, bravely rushed towards the two shooters in an attempt to prevent further loss of life. He was remembered as a compassionate, bright young man during a memorial service on Wednesday.

The shooting appeared to disappear from headlines quickly when it turned out that the individuals responsible were anti-Trump leftists and that one of them was transgender.

One wonders if the medias reaction would have been different if it was two Trump supporters who had shot up a school.

Others highlighted the double standard of a smirking boy being villified by the media while an actual school shooter was largely ignored.

Both of these students are minors. One smiled calmly at an Indian while his personal space was invaded. The other is a murderer. Which one was smeared by the media for an entire week, sent death threats by celebrities, and had his name released despite being underage? pic.twitter.com/yUhC3k3Ive  Aphrodite  (@venusreborn_) May 15, 2019

Read more at: Summit.news
(Natural News) A Chinese man had the habit of taking deep sniffs of his dirty socks after coming home from a long day at work. His unhygienic custom could have contributed to his recent stay in the hospital due to a fungal infection of the lungs.

First appearing on the Chinese media platform Pear Daily, the video article on the strange medical case reported that the patient went to the hospital after experiencing sharp pains in his chest. Healthcare providers diagnosed his lung infection and theorized that fungal spores present in his dirty socks could have led to his illness.

However, subsequent reports from local news sources could not provide essential details on the disease itself. For example, the reports identified the patients name as Peng, put his age at 37 years and identified him as a resident of Zhangzhou in Chinas Fujian province. But none of the news mentioned the specific type of fungus that led to his lung infection. (Related: Smelly feet? Try soaking them in an apple cider vinegar foot bath.)

Expert says it is possible to get a fungal infection from sniffing dirty socks

William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University announced that it is technically feasible to contract a fungal infection by sniffing dirty socks that might contain spores from harmful fungi. However, he also noted that the chances of such a case were highly unlikely, based on his own considerable experience as a clinician.

Schaffner specializes in the study of infectious diseases. He was not in any way connected to the ongoing treatment of Peng but commented on the matter in the position of an interested observer.

In an interview, Schaffner noted that there were many documented cases of lung infections caused by breathing in large amounts of fungal spores. He went on to provide details on a pair of fungal diseases that got contracted in much the same way.

People who venture into caves and other areas that hosted bat populations run the risk of getting infected with histoplasmosis. The pathogenic spores responsible for the disease come from fungi growing on the droppings of the animals.

There is also San Joaquin Valley fever, a fungal infection with symptoms that resemble influenza. People catch this disease after inhaling spores from the Coccidioides fungus found throughout the western and southwestern United States.

We dont live in a sterile world, were surrounded by bacteria and fungi all the time, Schaffner reminded his audience during an interview. That doesnt mean were definitely going to get sick, though.

Always wash socks to get rid of fungal spores

Regarding the curious case of contracting an infection via lungfuls of fungal spores from dirty socks, Schaffner pointed out that the patient brought the source of the fungal spores right up to his nose daily. Peng also took many deep breaths, which meant he exposed himself to substantial doses of spores. Such a habit would have made anyone much more vulnerable to contracting an illness.

Schaffner also mentioned that a compromised immune system would increase the chances of a fungal infection taking place. In line with this observation, Chinese news reports stated that Peng suffered from that exact problem.

However, the reporters attributed Pengs weakened immune system to insufficient amounts of rest. Schaffner scoffed at this explanation since a shortage of rest was not going to be enough to bring down the natural defenses of the body.

Schaffner concluded that people should always thoroughly wash used socks and laundry as a health precaution. However, he also assured his listeners that it was safe to sniff a fresh sock once or twice to check its cleanliness before putting it on.

Sources include:

LiveScience.com

ScienceAlert.com
As the gold-plated gun burst through the drivers side window of the black Ford Mustang he had just pulled over, the first thought San Jose Police Officer Mel Dunn had was, "Thats a really nice gun." It was 3:23 in the morning on March 12, 2016, and Dunn and two fellow officers had stopped the Mustang in connection to a nearby shooting. Then, rounds began flying in their direction.

"I get down and return fire, and Im thinking, 'Wow, thats a rifle and we only got handguns right now,'" Dunn recounted to NBC Bay Area.

The officers survived the incident unscathed, and the driver was arrested after being wounded in the shootout. Officers later learned the gun fired by the driver was whats commonly known as a "ghost gun," a homemade firearm without a serial number that can be assembled with parts purchased online or at a sporting goods store without subjecting the builder to a background check.

Ghost guns are becoming more common in California. Heres a behind the scenes look at firearm enthusiasts who build their own guns in their garage.

An Investigation by NBC Bay Area in partnership with NBC San Diego, NBC Los Angeles, and the non-profit journalists at The Trace found that law enforcement agencies across California are recovering record numbers of ghost guns. According to several ATF sources, 30 percent of all guns now recovered by agents in communities throughout California are homemade, un-serialized firearms, known on the street as ghost guns.

Click here to read the complete digital story from The Trace.

"This is not just something for enthusiasts. This has become something for people that are actual practitioners of violence," said Graham Barlowe, the resident agent in charge at the ATFs Sacramento field office.

Ghost guns can be assembled with parts sold by dozens of companies that create nearly completed firearms  known as 80 percent receivers. Those parts require no background check to sell and can easily be turned into a fully functioning firearm with some basic knowledge and tools.

Building homemade firearms mostly began as a hobby for enthusiasts, but ghost guns are now a popular choice for gangs and people prohibited from legally purchasing a gun, according to Barlowe. Because ghost guns are untraceable and subvert the normal background check process, they can sell for four or five times the price of a comparable serialized gun sold through a licensed dealer.

"I dont want to be an alarmist, but this industry will continue to evolve, and we will continue to see a segment of people out there that want these products who are criminals," Barlowe said.

As ghost guns proliferate across California, lawmakers and police are scrambling to understand the scale of the problem, let alone remedy it. In 2016, the state Legislature passed a law requiring residents to register homemade weapons with law enforcement. A separate requirement outlawed the possession of unregistered ghost guns.

But records obtained by The Trace and NBC indicate that the law has had little effect. Compliance with the law is low, and prosecutors have never brought charges under the new statute.

State law enforcement officials told the Trace and NBC that the law is a low priority for prosecutors and police. Assemblymember Mike Gipson, whose district includes the city of Compton and the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, two of Californias most violent areas, conceded that the law lacks teeth, adding that the current law is entirely based on an honor system.

Earlier this year, Assemblymember Gipson proposed a new bill, AB 879, which would require background checks to purchase certain gun parts, including 80 percent lower receivers. He says the paper trail will provide an investigative resource for law enforcement if a ghost gun falls into the wrong hands.

"We have to make sure that our laws are advancing as our technology advances in this country," Gipson said.

But not everyone is in favor of new regulations. Bob, a firearms enthusiast whos built his own guns for years in the Central Valley, said he understands the need for some regulation, but hopes lawmakers dont go too far. He asked NBC Bay Area not to reveal his last name.

"Some of the laws they have churned out of Sacramento are nonsensical to us within the firearm community," Bob said. As for Gipsons proposed bill: "Thats just going to create a bigger headache for us trying to follow the laws."

Bob said hes followed Californias rules requiring him to serialize his homemade firearms. But he takes issue with the term ghost gun, which he said makes the community who build their own guns sound sinister.

But there is a growing black market element. California law enforcement officers are encountering ghost guns made by criminals who build them in their basement, as well as organized groups who churn out untraceable guns by the hundreds.

"Weve seen machine shops where they are lining them up and completing them in 20-minute intervals, with three or four machines going at once," said ATFs Barlowe.

Bob said this type of behavior gives the entire community a bad name.

"That person (creating these guns illegally) is taking advantage of the freedom given to the rest of us," Bob said. "That that makes the rest of us who want to follow the law and want to do things right, that makes the rest of us look bad."

California police records show that ghost guns have been recently recovered in homicides, robberies, active shooter incidents, and domestic violence cases. In July 2014, bank robbers in Stockton took three hostages on a high-speed chase with police. The rolling gun battle ended with one hostage and two suspects killed. Police recovered a homemade AK-47 at the scene. A year later, a 21-year-old man shot and killed a 19-year-old woman before killing himself at his home in Walnut Creek. The former Stanford engineering student had assembled pieces purchased online into a working gun.

In several cases reviewed in detail by NBC and The Trace, perpetrators specifically sought out ghost guns because they knew they would fail a background check if they tried to buy a serialized gun through the legal process. In 2013, John Zawahari assembled an un-serialized AR-15 after failing a screening at a gun store. He used the weapon to kill five people on a college campus in Santa Monica. Four years later, in 2017, Kevin Neal, a 44-year-old cannabis farmer with a criminal record barring him from gun ownership, went online and purchased the parts to build an AR-15. In a 25-minute shooting spree across Tehama County, he killed five people and injured 18 more.

"We work so hard in ensuring that individuals pass background checks and are responsible gun owners," said Eddie Garcia, Chief of the San Jose Police Department. "And that really gets thrown out the door when you have individuals that can just make a homemade gun."

Despite incidents like these, theres no uniform system in place to track how many ghost guns are seized or recovered at crime scenes.

The Trace and NBC requested ghost gun seizure data from more than a dozen law enforcement agencies across California. Most departments, including Los Angeles and Chula Vista, said they do not track recoveries of unserialized weapons at all. The departments that do keep tabs on unserialized weapons reported marked increases. In Oceanside, police recovered 19 ghost guns in 2018, a 280 percent increase over the previous year.

State law enforcement sources say that because of a lack of funding and training, plus dated software, police are ill-equipped to track recovered ghost guns, and that the process is laborious and confusing.

Tracking ghost guns isnt just a problem at the local level. Congressional and ATF sources told The Trace and NBC that the bureau does not document recoveries on a national scale. Spokespeople for ATF field divisions in Los Angeles and Sacramento said that approximately 30 percent of all recoveries made by agents in many communities are un-serialized weapons. But the ATF cant provide specific data beyond that.

"Theres no way for us to track this," Barlowe said. "Law enforcement databases that are in place dont really allow for an accurate accounting of what law enforcement is brining into evidence."
California Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula was found not guilty Thursday of misdemeanor child cruelty, ending a trial that included testimony from most of his family, including the 7-year-old daughter he was accused of striking.

The verdict came after prosecutors alleged that Arambula had squeezed and struck the girl on the face while disciplining her in December and left a bruise on her temple from his wedding ring.

Arambula has said he spanked the girl but did not hit her face or know how she got the bruise.

A former emergency room doctor who represents Fresno, Arambula has been on leave from the Assembly during the case. Arambula spokeswoman Felicia Cousart Matlosz said he would return to work at the state Legislature on Monday.

"To my wife and my daughters, you know how much I love you. I want to say it publicly so that everyone can hear it," Arambula told reporters, according to a video from KMPH-TV in Fresno.

Arambula, his wife, mother and two of his three daughters testified during the case. His attorneys painted the oldest daughter as an unreliable witness who wanted attention. They argued there were several ways the girl could have been bruised, including fighting with her sister or jumping on beds before Arambula grabbed and spanked her.

"There is no evidence to suggest that Dr. Arambula intentionally struck his child in the head," attorney Michael Aed told jurors.

Prosecutor Steve Wright likened Arambula to "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," saying his public persona did not match his actions at home, where he could become angry and violent toward his three daughters.

Wright criticized the strategy of painting the girl as unreliable.

"I can't understand throwing your daughter under the bus in order to protect your own reputation," Wright said in his closing remarks.

After the verdict, Arambula asked reporters to respect his family's privacy, asking to "let today's verdict be the end of this chapter."

"It is time for me to do what I do best as a father: To sit and to play with my girls on the ground, to tuck them into bed at night, to read them a story and to let them know that their family loves them and will always love them," he said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom discussed Alabamas controversial near-total abortion ban while in San Diego Saturday on his health care tour.

Its about control. It's about patriarchy. It's about going back to a time we don't want to go back to, Newsom said.

The governor blasted legislatures around the country that have passed forms of abortion restrictions, as well as the Trump administration.

Newsom said he supports women being able to choose for themselves.

"And we will fight. We will defend women's rights. And defend our families," he said.

Alex Presha speaks with attorneys on both sides of the abortion ban to get their point of views.

Newsom was introduced by State Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez at the private event held at in Mission Valley.

The governor was met with cheers from supporters, many of who dressed in pink in support of Planned Parenthood and a womans right to choose.

On Newsom's California for All tour, the governor discussed his state budget proposal, which sets aside $100 million for reproductive health and education. This includes $10 million for abortion services. His goal is to move toward a single-payer system in California.

In the meantime, his budget is proposing subsidies to help families pay for health care coverage. This could make California the first state in the nation to give monthly discount to middle-income families buying insurance.

Newsom also wants California to become the first state in history to expand Medi-Cal coverage to all eligible undocumented immigrants ages 19 to 25.

To keep costs down, the governor wants to keep an insurance mandate in the state. So, those who live in California who dont have health care coverage would have to pay a penalty.

Newsoms stop in San Diego came just days before Alabama signed into the most stringent abortion legislation in the nation.

Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio and Georgia recently have approved bans on abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can occur in about the sixth week of pregnancy. The Alabama bill goes further by seeking to ban abortion outright.

Missouri was the latest state to pass new restrictions on abortions, which would ban abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy -- even in cases of rape or incest.

Let's just pause. If you have a 12-year-old daughter that's raped by somebody at knifepoint, that may have HIV or AIDS or Hepatitis C. You're telling that 12-year-old, your daughter, you're loved one -- theyve been raped by their uncle, and they have to bring that baby to turn? How dare they, Newsom said.

The private event was held at the United Food and Commercial Workers Union office in Mission Valley and began at 9:30 a.m.
Police were notified Thursday of a digital camera discovered in a Mill Valley Starbucks, police said Friday.

Police got word at 11:30 a.m. of the device at the Starbucks at 45 Camino Alto.

An employee found the camera concealed in an air-freshening device that was attached to a sink fixture in a bathroom.

Police said the camera is about 2 inches by 2 inches and battery-powered. Police said they don't know when the camera was placed in the bathroom or what the camera recorded, if anything.

According to police, the camera was not working when officers seized it and officers are still determining whether it has any wireless technology.

Anyone who thinks they have seen something unusual or suspicious in relation to the case can call police at (415) 389-4100 or the anonymous tip line at (415) 721-4547.
San Francisco officials Friday celebrated the renaming of one of its elementary schools after farmworker rights activist Dolores Huerta.

The former Fairmount Elementary School was renamed Dolores Huerta Elementary School in honor of Huerta, who helped organize Central California farmworkers with Cesar Chavez and led a grape strike in 1965.

Huerta "personifies the struggle, the persistence, the endurance, the commitment and the conviction of fighting for justice," school principal Luis Rodriguez said to a crowd of students, parents and teachers at the event Friday. "By adopting the name of a strong Latina leader, we want to send a message of empowerment to all our female students, and particularly our female students of color."

The school, located in San Francisco's Glen Park neighborhood, hosts around 400 students and is known for its Spanish dual immersion program. After the name change was approved by the San Francisco Board of Education in August, the school and parents raised funds to create new signs, murals, a historical plaque, and to hold the celebratory event, which included musical performances about Huerta's legacy in English and Spanish by its students.

Huerta, 89, is credited with coining the phrase, "Si, se puede," or "Yes, we can," now a call famously used by labor activists.

In a speech, Huerta thanked school leaders and the community for naming the school after her, and called for measures like universal free college and higher wages for teachers.

"I have seen that this school is about justice and about human rights for everybody," Huerta said. "We know that education is the foundation of our democracy. If we do not have an educated citizenry, the powerful and the greedy will rule our country."

San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safai, who represents the Glen Park neighborhood, said, "The name Dolores Huerta signifies a hard-working, inspirational and dedicated leader who not only helped shape this state," but this nation.

"If ever there were a time that the work that she did and the sacrifices she made were more important, that is this time, in this era, with the challenges that we are faced (with)," Safai said.
What to Know Elida Geisha 803 is the highest-scoring winner of all time in the Best of Panama coffee competition

Klatch Coffee was allotted the only 10 pounds of the coffee available in North America

Customers can enjoy a hand-brewed cup of the '803' for $75

Just when you thought coffee was becoming ridiculously expensive, someone had to go and take it to a whole new level  and of course, it's happening in San Francisco.

A corner coffee shop is selling its most exotic brew for a record-breaking $75 a cup  with the individually-sealed packets of beans proclaiming the Elida Geisha 803 to be the "Most Expensive Coffee in the World."

This isn't some new chapter in the Bay Area's notorious affordability crisis  well, not exactly. For the caffeinated connoisseurs at Klatch Coffee, it's intended to be part of a new chapter in how Americans enjoy their favorite morning drink.

Jonathan Bloom/NBC Bay Area

"Most Americans are still drinking what I call coffee-flavored milk," explained Bo Thiara, owner of the Klatch Coffee franchise in the Bay Area. "People put cream and sugar in it. And I think we're ready to experience coffee by itself."

Thiara said coffee without the accoutrements has already gained popularity in Europe and Asia. But Americans have been slower to skip the condiment bar  in part, because of the canned, pre-ground coffee many grew up with.

"It had the bitter taste, it had the over-roasted taste," he said. "You had to put cream in there to cut that."

Jonathan Bloom/NBC Bay Area

Today's coffee, he said, is far milder on the palate, in part because roasting and brewing have advanced, and in part because better beans are making their way into the United States from countries like Panama  widely regarded as the best place to grow coffee.

"The beauty of Panama is that you've got two climates that are coming together," Thiara said. "You've got a very warm Caribbean climate that collides with this cooler Pacific climate  and that may change throughout the year."

Much like wine grapes grown in Napa and Sonoma Counties, Thiara said the flavor of coffee benefits from exposure to these varied conditions. Coffee also benefits from being grown at high elevations, he said  in this case, about a mile above sea level.

Jonathan Bloom/NBC Bay Area

The "803" coffee, which won the highest score ever awarded in the Best of Panama competition (The "Oscars for coffee," Thiara says) is grown on a hillside between 1,600 and 1,800 meters in elevation  so there's not much real estate to grow on, and not much coffee to harvest. Of the 100 pounds produced, Klatch Coffee got the only 10 pounds sold in North America, for a whopping $803 per pound.

After roasting, the coffee is brewed for a precise time, at a precise temperature, and served all by itself in a ceramic mug. Customers are told to take their time enjoying it: the flavors change as the coffee cools. There will be blueberries at first, then later strawberries, and perhaps apples and walnuts, Thiara said.

Jonathan Bloom/NBC Bay Area

Much like a fine wine, tasting the "803" is an experience, Thiara said, and not something Klatch Coffee intends to sell as an every-morning type of affair. The company sells more affordable coffees, starting at $3 per cup, including less-expensive beans from Panama that can also be consumed without cream or sugar.

"Our objective is to slowly train people to drink coffee the way it should be drunk," Thiara said. "Just like this  and enjoy the layers and the texture and the depth."
Warning: Details of this story are disturbing and may be difficult to read.

The mother-daughter duo accused of murdering a pregnant Chicago teen before cutting her baby out of her stomach distracted the woman with a photo album of their late son and brother before strangling her, prosecutors said Friday.

Clarisa Figueroa, 46, and her daughter Desiree Figueroa, 24, allegedly plotted 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa's death for weeks before luring the teen to their home after meeting her through a Facebook group for mothers in need, prosecutors said.

The pair, along with Clarisa Figueroa's boyfriend, were ordered held without bond Friday as prosecutors detailed the horrifying case.

Prosecutors said it all began when Clarisa Figueroa first claimed she was pregnant in late-2018, just months after the death of her 20-year-old son. In February, she began posting in a Facebook group called "Help a Mother Out," stating she had a crib and other baby items available. She ultimately offered to give Ochoa new clothes for her baby, which was due in May.

According to officials, Ochoa first visited Figueroa's home in the 4100 block of West 77th Place on April 1. While there, Clarisa Figueroa allegedly told her daughter the pair needed to kill the teen. When Clarisa Figueroa's boyfriend threatened to call police, they let Ochoa go and told the boyfriend it was a joke, prosecutors said.

When Ochoa returned to the home weeks later to obtain baby clothing and a stroller, prosecutors allege the mother and daughter turned up music in the home and went into the kitchen where they discussed a plan to strangle the teen to death and cut the baby from her womb.

That's when prosecutors say Desiree Figueroa distracted Ochoa with a photo album of her late brother while Clarisa Figueroa wrapped a cable around the teen's neck.

At one point, Clarisa Figueroa told her daughter "you're not doing your f---ing job," prompting Desiree Figueroa to peel Ochoa's fingers from the cable, one by one, allowing it to tighten around the teen's neck, prosecutors said.

Ochoa was strangled for four to five minutes before the pair stopped, saying she "must be dead," prosecutors said, citing a confession from Desiree Figueroa. Clarisa Figueroa then allegedly told her daughter to get a blanket, a garbage bag and a butcher knife, which she used to slice Ochoa's abdomen open and remove the baby, placenta and umbilical cord, according to prosecutors.

The baby, placenta and umbilical cord were wrapped in a blanket before Ochoa's body was placed in a plastic bag and taken to a garbage can on the side of the house, prosecutors said.

That's when Clarisa Figueroa called 911 and told dispatchers she had given birth and the baby wasn't breathing, according to prosecutors. Both she and the baby were transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center for treatment, where hospital staff told authorities her body showed no signs of giving birth.

Clarisa Figueroa still had blood on her hands and face at the time, prosecutors said.

Meanwhile, Desiree Figueroa, who is four months pregnant herself, took Ochoa's phone and car to her sister's house, prosecutors said. Red light cameras captured her driving the vehicle and Ochoa's phone tracked the location before the device was thrown out, authorities said. Clarisa Figueroa's boyfriend Piotr Boback allegedly helped Desiree Figueroa clean the home of blood and other "remnants of Ochoa's body."

Clarisa Figueroa later created a GoFundMe page for the baby, saying she was the mother, prosecutors said. Her boyfriend also shared the page, they allege.

Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said detectives received a break in the missing person investigation on May 7, when they learned that Ochoa "was in communication with one of the offenders" before she disappeared.

Deputy Chief Brendan Deenihan said one of Ochoa's friends told police that Ochoa was part of a "chat site" on Facebook, and detectives went into the group to find that Ochoa had arranged to go to Clarisa Figueroa's house to pick up baby items the day she went missing.

DNA evidence determined Clarisa Figueroa was not the mother of the child and Ochoa's husband, Yovany Lopez, was the father, authorities said.

On May 14, Ochoa's body was found by police in the garbage can at the home with a cable still wrapped around her neck, prosecutors and police said.

"They find a garbage can on the premise, it's kind of in a hidden area on the premise, and unfortunately that's when they discover the remains of Marlen," Deenihan said, adding that investigators also found a device used to strangle Ochoa, as well as remnants of burnt clothes and traces of blood in several places throughout the house.

The Cook County Medical Examiners Office determined Ochoa died of ligature strangulation and ruled the death a homicide.

Deenihan said that during an interrogation earlier this week, Desiree Figueroa confessed "that she assisted her mother strangling Marlen," and she and her mother, as well as Bobak were charged later that day.

Clarisa Figueroa, 46, and Desiree Figueroa, 24, were each charged with one felony count of first-degree murder Thursday, according to police.

They were also both charged with one felony count of aggravated battery to a child under 13 resulting in a permanent disability, authorities said, in connection with the harm caused to Ochoa's baby.

Bobak was charged with concealing a homicidal death and concealing the death of a person, both felonies, police said.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson addresses the media after charges were filed against three people in connection with the murder of 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa.

"Words cannot really describe how disgusting, and thoroughly disturbing, these allegations are," Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said Thursday. I would like to offer my sincere condolences and prayers to Marlens family, who instead of celebrating the arrival of a new life into their family, are now mourning Marlens loss, while at the same time caring for a new little baby thats in grave condition.

Marlen Ochoas family is coming to grips with the murder of the 19-year-old mother, and NBC 5s Michelle Relerford has the details on the case.

"It's a blessing that we found Yadiel, the baby, that's the name of the baby that Marlen had chosen," family spokeswoman Cecilia Garcia said at a news conference Wednesday.

Ochoa's family stood by a family spokeswoman Thursday morning ahead of the suspects' bond hearing, calling the trio "monsters" and saying they were living a "nightmare."

"Today there is only one message that the family has and that is justice for Marlen," said Julie Contreras, with the League of United Latin American Citizens.
What to Know An NYPD officer was arrested after she tried to have a hitman hired to kill her ex-husband as well as a child, prosecutors say.

Valerie Cincinelli appeared in federal court Friday where she was ordered held without bail

A source familiar with the investigation tells NBC 4 New York the child was her current boyfriend's 14-year-old daughter

An NYPD officer was arrested after she tried to have a hitman hired to kill her ex-husband as well as a child, prosecutors say.

Valerie Cincinelli, 34, tried to get her current boyfriend to hire a hitman, a police official told NBC 4 New York. Cincinelli was arrested Friday by the FBI following a sting operation. NYPD Internal Affairs assisted in her arrest.

A source familiar with the investigation tells NBC 4 New York the child was her current boyfriend's 14-year-old daughter.

The officer's father spoke out late Friday night, defending his daughter saying he doesn't believe she did it.

"I haven't seen anything, and until I do I really shouldn't be saying anything," Lou Cincinelli said at his Long Island home. "But I guarentee you my daughter is innocent of this."

The officer previously worked out of the 106th Precinct in Queens, before being placed on modified duty in 2017 for an unrelated domestic incident, the police official said.

Before that though, she was an award-winning officer, including a "cop of the month" award from the Jamaica Rotary in June 2017.

Cincinelli, who joined the NYPD in 2007, was most recently in a unit known as VIPER that monitored security cameras.

Cincinelli was ordered held without bail at hearing federal court on Central Islip Friday afternoon. NBC 4 New York reached out to her lawyer who had no comment.

According to a complaint filed against Cincinelli by federal prosecutors, she made a cash withdrawal on or about Feb. 18 of $7,000 from a bank to give to a cooperating source, identified to NBC 4 New York as her current boyfriend, who would in turn give it to the hitman.

On or about May 8, the complaint says, Cincinelli told her boyfriend "to have the hitman kill Jan Doe over the weekend and then wait a week or a month to kill John Doe."

A review of the boyfriend's cell phone and text messages between the him and Cincinelli confirms that they communicated using cell phones multiple times between about February 2019 and the present in furtherance of this murder-for-hire plot, some of which calls and texts were made to or from Oceanside, New York, according to the complaint.

At about 10:10 a.m. Friday, at the direction of FBI agents, Cincinelli was notified in person by a Suffolk County Police Department detective at her home, that her estranged husband had been murdered, according to a detention memo filed by prosecutors. The boyfriend was present with Cincinelli at the time of the notification, outfitted with a recording device at the direction of law enforcement, the memo says. After the detective left the home, Cincinelli allegedly began to discuss her alibi.

Then, at approximately 10:48 a.m., an FBI agent, posing as the hitman, sent a text message to the boyfriend, which included a photograph of the alleged crime scene in which Cincinelli's estranged husband appeared dead in his car, and a demand for an additional $3,000 to kill Jane Doe, the memo said. In response, Cincinelli allegedly instructed her boyfriend to delete the text messages and photographs, citing her fear that law enforcement could subpoena the phone.
President Donald Trump clearly supports the oil and gas industry, but he made several false and misleading boasts about his impact on the energy sector.

--The president suggested that a change in federal policy was responsible for a newly operational natural gas export terminal, saying past leaders anti-American energy policies had led the company to plan an import terminal instead. In fact, the exporting project, and several others like it, were approved by the Obama administration.

No one believed Lerynne West when she said she won the multimillion-dollar Powerball jackpot until she retrieved the winning ticket from the floor of her sister's truck and claimed it.

--Trump falsely claimed that liquefied natural gas exports were heading south before he took office. They increased more than 500 percent in President Barack Obamas final year in office, as the first major exporting project began operations.

--He said U.S. energy exports brought down our trade deficit by $215 billion. Thats wrong. Energy exports have been rising, but the U.S. still imports more than it exports, and the overall trade deficit in goods and services went up by nearly 13 percent in 2018.

Trump spoke in Hackberry, Louisiana, on May 14 at the opening of Sempra Energys Cameron LNG project, a liquefied natural gas exporting facility.

LNG Project Approved by Obama Administration

Cameron LNG is the fourth liquefied natural gas exporting project in the Lower 48 states to begin operations since 2016. All were approved under the Obama administration, after the shale revolution took hold, when technologies such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling led to increased domestic production. These LNG facilities cool the natural gas into a liquid form and ship it to markets in Asia and Europe.

Sempra Energy announced its plan to create an LNG export terminal in 2012 in a partnership with Japanese companies, and as its website says: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorized the project in June 2014.

But Trump claimed a change in federal policy was the reason for Sempras facility.

--

Trump, May 14: It was not long ago that Sempra planned to build a natural gas import terminal on this very spot. That was in the past, when our leaders pursued policies that were anti-American energy and anti-American worker and anti-America wealth. It all ended. But those days are over. Now we have an America First energy policy, just like we have an America First policy.

--

We asked the White House press office what anti-American energy policies had affected Sempras plans to build exporting facilities, and we didnt get a response.

But the record shows Sempra started its shift from an import terminal, which opened in 2009, to exporting in 2012 and received the appropriate approvals under the Obama administration. Experts told us it takes anywhere from four to six years to build these facilities.

We asked Sempra about the presidents comment, and we received an email response from Kelli Mleczko, corporate communications advisor, who said: You are correct, Cameron LNG was approved in 2014.

An April 18, 2012, article in the San Diego Union-Tribune (Sempra is based in San Diego) said the company had announced development agreements with two Japanese conglomerates to help build a $6 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal at its existing import terminal in Louisiana. Sempra had formed 20-year agreements with Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co. that would grant those companies two-thirds of the export capacity.

Demand for new export infrastructure is driven by a surge in North American production made possible by new drilling techniques, the Union-Tribune reported. U.S. natural gas prices have plummeted to a 10-year low, in stark contrast to prices around the globe.

Mark Snell, president of Sempra at the time, was quoted as saying, The attractive thing to us about the structure is our partners will be putting up much of the capital. What were contributing is primarily our great location at the site of our Cameron facility and our expertise in project development, permitting and operations.

Experts told us this was part of a trend of LNG import terminals looking to move to exporting instead, because of the shale revolution.

Eric Smith, associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute, said that the shale revolution didnt take off until the import terminal was virtually complete. Cheniere Energy, a company Smith calls a trend setter, was the first LNG import terminal that immediately converted to exporting. Cheniere put in the first application to the Department of Energy in 2010 for exporting approval and quickly received it.

The companies realized with more domestic production and low U.S. natural gas prices, they didnt need the import terminals they had built, but they could use the docks and other facilities for exporting. We can write it off or we can double our bet or triple our bet, Smith said of the LNG industry thinking. Thats what people did.

Nikos Tsafos, senior fellow for the Energy & National Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told us it takes about four to five years to build one of these exporting facilities. (Smith estimated six years.) Everything coming on line now, Tsafos said, was authorized, approved and started construction during the Obama administration. You just cant build these things much faster.

Companies need essentially three approvals, Tsafos said. One from the Department of Energy to export to countries with which the U.S. has free-trade agreements, another to export to other nations, and a third on environmental and construction factors from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Sempra received the DOE approvals for its Cameron LNG project in January 2012 and September 2014, and the FERC approval in June 2014.

According to the Energy Information Administration, there are four LNG exporting projects in operation as of the first quarter of 2019, and two more are in the commissioning stage, which means they are beginning to produce LNG and get the equipment down to the proper temperatures. All of those received DOE and FERC approvals during the Obama administration.

Has the Trump administration instituted any policies that have affected LNG exporting? Tsafos said, No. He said the administration has a broad deregulation agenda, but I would be very skeptical that it has had a specific impact on LNG exporting. The Obama administration set up the approval system, and thats a system we still use.

Smith responded, yes, but in a negative sense  citing the ongoing tariff battle with China. Liquefied natural gas is a major export to China, he said, and the last time China added tariffs in response to the U.S. increasing tariffs on Chinese goods (in the summer of 2018), the number of vessels exporting LNG dropped significantly. Reuters reported, citing shipping data, that only two vessels went from the U.S. to China in the first four months of 2019, compared with 14 in the first four months of 2018.

Even the potential of China increasing tariffs again on June 1 has an impact on the financing of these LNG projects, Smith said. China said on May 13 it would raise its 10 percent tariff on U.S. LNG to 25 percent. Companies need those 20-year contracts, such as Sempras with the Japanese conglomerates, so theyre assured of a market. No bank is going to lend you money, Smith said, if theyre not confident they will be paid back.

Smith said Trump may have been trying to highlight the fact that he has encouraged shale gas production. The president, he said, has a tendency to shorten things up and make them sound more simple than they really are.

LNG Exporting Wasnt Heading South

Some LNG has been exported from Alaska for decades, but once these projects in the Lower 48 began operations, the amount of LNG exports has increased significantly. Cheniere Energy opened the first LNG exporting operation in the Lower 48 at its Sabine Pass terminal in 2016 in Louisiana. In 2017, it expanded its operations, and in early 2018, the Cove Point LNG project began operations in Maryland, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Trump falsely claims that LNG exports were heading south before he took office.

--

Trump, May 14: In the past two years, weve expanded our LNG exports to the world by nearly 500 percent. Five hundred percent. And it was heading south, folks. It was heading south, fast.

--

In fact, the large increase is due to projects approved before Trump took office, and the amount of exports increased by an even higher percentage in Obamas last year.

In 2015, before these operations came on line, the U.S. exported 28.4 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas. In 2016, due to the launch of the Sabine Pass operation, that amount increased to 186.8 billion cubic feet. Thats a whopping 558 percent increase. From 2016 to 2018, exports went up 479.7 percent. But these percentage increases are nearly meaningless when the starting points are relatively low.

The EIA expects LNG export capacity to more than double by the end of this year, due to more projects beginning operations in 2019. This would give the U.S. the third largest export capacity in the world, after Australia and Qatar.

Energy Exports and Trade Deficits

Trump also said, In 2018, American energy exports alone brought down our trade deficit by $215 billion. Thats wrong.

Trump would be correct to say that without the nearly $188 billion (not $215 billion) in energy exports last year the total U.S. trade deficit would have been that much greater. But hes wrong to say that exports brought down the overall trade deficit in goods and services, which actually went up in 2018  by nearly $70 billion, or 13 percent, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Furthermore, the U.S. still runs a net trade deficit in energy. Energy imports exceeded exports by nearly $45 billion last year, according to the EIA. The energy trade deficit last year amounted to 7 percent of the total $622 billion trade deficit (see Table 1).

The White House did not respond to our questions, so we dont know where Trump obtained his figure of $215 billion or why he said energy exports last year brought down our trade deficit.

Tsafos, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has written about Americas rising energy exports and the impact on the overall trade deficit. He referred us to the BEA for overall trade data and the EIA for energy trade figures.

In 2018, the U.S. imported $232.5 billion worth of energy and exported $187.6 billion for an energy trade deficit of $45 billion, the lowest it has been since 1985. The deficit peaked in 2008 at $415 billion, dropping by a staggering 89 percent since then, the EIA data show.

"The energy deficit used to be big  and, often, a big part of the overall trade deficit in goods  but thats less true these days because the energy deficit has shrunk considerably, though, as you point out, its still a deficit, Tsafos told us.

The rise in energy exports began in the early 2010s, driven by an increase in onshore oil and natural gas production, aided by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies, the EIA has said.

The energy trade deficit fell 85 percent under Obama, from $415.8 billion in 2008 to $61 billion in 2016, and it has declined 26 percent, so far, under Trump. (The chart below illustrates the 10-year trend.)

But, as the energy trade deficit has dwindled, the overall trade deficit in goods and services has continued to rise. Last year was the sixth straight year that the overall trade deficit in goods and services increased, rising from $552.3 billion in 2017 to $622.1 billion in 2018  a jump of nearly 13 percent.

In a column last year, Tsafos wrote, Energy has long played a major role in Americas trade deficits. Today, energy is seen differently: as a commodity to be exported, one that can help narrow trade deficits. Yet the hope that energy alone can solve this macroeconomic headache is misplaced. For one, over the last decade the non-energy trade deficit in goods has widened sharply even as the energy trade deficit has disappeared; energy can only do so much without the rest of the economy following.
A U.S. assessment determined it is "highly likely" that Iran was behind the attacks on four tankers last weekend, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the findings. The U.S. has evidence, including photos of the damage and forensics, tying Iran or its proxies to the Sunday attacks off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, one of the officials said.

The four ships  two from Saudi Arabia and one each from the UAE and Norway  were struck with what is now believed to be explosive charges, the officials said and NBC News reported.

The incident escalated tensions in the region at a time when the U.S. has ramped up its efforts to choke off Iran's oil exports. And in the days before the tanker attacks, the Trump administration announced that it was sending a carrier strike group and Air Force bombers to the Middle East.

A separate U.S. intelligence assessment on Friday found that the recent movement of more U.S. military assets into the region was having an effect on Iranian posture and behavior, according to the three U.S. officials.
Suburban Chicago teens are getting their hands on alcohol and drinking to excess more often than most of their peers across the country.

NBC 5 Investigates has learned that about 24-27% of suburban Chicago high school seniors admitted to drinking to excess once every two weeks. The information was collected via the Illinois Youth Survey. For comparison, a 2017 Centers for Disease Control study indicated 19% of all high school students binge drink.

Local police explain how parents can get involved to help reduce teen drinking.

Binge drinking is defined as 4 drinks for a woman and 5 drinks for a man in a 2-3 hour time frame.

Surveys also show teen binge drinking in some of Chicagos north suburbs far outpaces the national average.

For example, New Trier Township High School District 203 said 33% of its students answered yes to binge drinking at least once in the last 30 days in the CDCs 2018 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. School district officials announced the findings in a February report and said binge drinking is a significant health concern that may be an issue to which the community is predisposed.

Patrolman Robert Nichols explains how Portage, Indiana, has taken steps to reduce teen binge drinking rates by more than half since 2009.

We have taken significant steps to address this issue within the school and now need to shift our focus to confronting binge drinking as a community issue, wrote Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Timothy Hayes.

Still, Deputy Chief Brian OConnell of the Winnetka Police Department said there has not been an increase in teen-related alcohol arrests.

The New Trier survey results do not reflect what law enforcement is seeing, said OConnell .

NBC 5 Investigates talked to North Shore high schoolers who said todays teens face a lot of real world pressures that could lead some to drink alcohol.

Everythings just kind of out in the open now with the influence of the Internet in a way that makes like even the littler things just a lot more high stress, said one Lake Forest High School junior.

A Lake Forest High School senior said, Theres kids here that are running businesses, making films, doing these internships that are out-of-this-world and going to these, like, unbelievable colleges. So its like theyre living an adult life and so those things kind of come with being an adult.

Todd Nahigian manages the Committee Representing Our Young Adults (CROYA) after school program in Lake Forest. He said teens often model the behaviors they see from their parents.

In this area it almost seems that theres a level of acceptance, that thats the drug of choice, that thats a socially acceptable way to have a cocktail at a party or enjoy yourself at the end of a long day, Nahigian said.

According to Nahigian, parents are the one factor that will have the biggest impact on reducing teen drinking.

It doesnt mean that theyre not going to drink if their parents dont want them to, but theyre more cautious, theyre more safe, theyre more interested in making the right decision knowing that their parents will be awake when they get home, knowing that their parents will be asking where theyve been, Nahigian said.

While some parents may think its better to allow their kids and friends to drink supervised at home, social hosting, as its called, is punishable by jail time in Illinois.

NBC5 Investigates searched through state records and found that state liquor-control officers have cited more than thirteen hundred (1,349) bars, restaurants, groceries and liquor stores for selling alcohol to minors in the greater Chicagoland area -- including northwest Indiana  in the past five years.

 We found 161 places that have been cited more than once.

 Another 13 places have been cited three times.

 A liquor store in south-suburban Calumet Park has been cited four separate times.

 And we discovered a convenience store in Crown Point, Indiana that has been cited five separate times  just in the past five years.

But state liquor control officers only focus on certain towns and areas  so this does NOT include all citations and arrests made by local police.

The CDCs 500 Cities Project also surveyed adults (18 +) about binge drinking and found Arlington Heights, Schaumburg and Palatine ranked among the top ten highest binge drinking cities in the country.

Weve wiped out literally most of the prevention money in the state of Illinois. It is important to get prevention education back into schools so that people can learn about drugs and alcohol, said addiction treatment specialist Dr. Dan Lustig.

Sgt. Doug Hajek of the Arlington Heights Police Department said several northwest suburban police departments are participating in a program to keep alcohol out of the hands of those under 21 years of age, by reminding those over 21 that it is illegal to buy for those who are underage.

Teen binge drinking rates in Portage, Indiana, have been reduced by more than half in the past decade, according to the Porter County Substance Abuse Council. Law enforcement said a combination of proactive policing, students participating in school programs and local business involvement have helped reduce teen binge drinking rates, per youth surveys, from 32.1% in 2009 to 9.1% in 2018.
Dozens of graduates and faculty have protested the selection of Vice President Mike Pence as the commencement speaker at Taylor University in Indiana by walking out moments before his introduction.

The Indianapolis Star reports the protesters in caps and gowns rose and quietly walked down the aisle and out of the auditorium in the Kesler Student Activities Center at the university in Upland, Indiana.

The protest was planned and discussed prior to Saturday's ceremony. Some faculty and students at the nondenominational Christian liberal arts school debated the appropriateness of the former Indiana governor at the commencement ceremony.

[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More

Most of Taylor's graduating class did not leave. Pence received a standing ovation.

Graduate Laura Rathburn said Pence's "presence makes it difficult for everyone at Taylor to feel welcomed."
A twice-convicted murderer was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole after being convicted in the 2014 killing of an elderly man in south suburban Crete Township.

Jesus Larosa, 50, was found guilty in March of three counts of first-degree murder in the slaying of 85-year-old Alfred Hilton, according to a statement from the Will County states attorneys office. Larosa, who previously served 20 years for another murder conviction, was free on parole when he killed Hilton.

This heinous crime was committed by a ruthless killer with no regard for human life, Will County States Attorney James W. Glasgow said. It is only fitting that this depraved individual who took the life of a helpless senior citizen and another person before that should spend his remaining days staring at the barren walls of his maximum security prison cell.

On May 14, 2014, Larosa beat Hilton and strangled him with a telephone cord inside his home in the 3200 block of Bemes Road, prosecutors said. Hiltons body was found later that day after he failed to show up to a church event.

Prosecutors said the home had been ransacked and noted that two televisions and a BB gun were stolen.

In March 2016, a tip helped detectives identify Larosa as a suspect, and a warrant was issued for his arrest, prosecutors said. Larosa then fled to Alabama before being taken into custody a month later in Dallas, Texas.
What to Know An alleged serial killer accused of murdering a man not only owned up to his brutal slaying with gruesome details, he also alluded to others

When asked why he killed the man on April 30, Gibson simply said, He wanted to go"

Gibson says that he began his string of proclaimed killings when he was just 12 years old

An alleged serial killer accused of murdering a man in Florida not only owned up to his brutal slaying with gruesome details, he also alluded to other killings he may have done.

As Nicholas Gibson was being led out of a Manhattan courthouse Friday, he was asked if he indeed did kill a 77-year-old man in Miami Beach.

"Yes, with my bare hands," Gibson mouthed to the NBC New York reporter.

When asked why he killed the man on April 30, Gibson simply said, He wanted to go.

The 32-year-old was caught by NYPD officers earlier in May as he got off the L train in Manhattan. Gibson also confirmed that a sword was involved in the slaying, saying it was a big one.

Neighbors at the time told the NBC station in Miami that someone left a haunting message in blood at the scene reading Rome must fall.

Gibson played with the chain around his waist as U.S. Marshals led him away from the courthouse. Hell be extradited to Florida to face murder charges.

The convicted sex offender also nodded when asked if he has killed other people. Florida detectives say Gibson has made statements to them about his involvement in six other murders in that state, in addition to Georgia and California.

Gibson said that he began his string of proclaimed killings when he was just 12 years old, and the alleged killings officials are looking to possibly connect him to date back to 1999  when Gibson had just turned 12.

Police said they are looking into Gibsons claims about the other deaths.
Alabama's Republican governor signed the most stringent abortion legislation in the nation Wednesday, making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases.

"To the bill's many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians' deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God," Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement.

The bill's sponsors want to give conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court a chance to gut abortion rights nationwide, but Democrats and abortion rights advocates criticized the bill as a slap in the face to women voters.

"It just completely disregards women and the value of women and their voice. We have once again silenced women on a very personal issue," said Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, a Birmingham Democrat.

Coleman-Madison said she hopes the measure awakens a "sleeping giant" of women voters in the state.

But Republican pollster Chris Kratzer noted that there is no congressional district and likely no legislative district with enough swing voters to put Republicans at serious risk in the state.

"The people who are outraged about this are not the people who are electing these guys, generally speaking, especially when we're talking about the primary," he said.

Further, Kratzer argued, there aren't enough potential swing voters and disenchanted Republicans to make the issue any kind of advantage for the lone Democrat elected to statewide office, U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, who scored a surprise win in a 2017 special election.

Jones upset Republican Roy Moore in part on the strength of GOP-leaning college graduates abandoning the controversial Moore. But Kratzer said that was more about Moore's long history of flouting federal courts as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and accusations that Moore sexually harassed teens when he was in his 30s  not Moore's hardline stance on abortion.

The legislation Alabama senators passed Tuesday would make performing an abortion at any stage of pregnancy a felony punishable by 10 to 99 years or life in prison for the provider. The only exception would be when the woman's health is at serious risk. Women seeking or undergoing abortions wouldn't be punished.

Rep. Terri Collins, the bill's sponsor, said she believes the measure reflects the beliefs of the majority of the state electorate.

"I've heard from lots of women in the state who are extremely pro-life, and they're very supportive," Collins said.

Ivey acknowledged Wednesday that the measure may be unenforceable in the short term. The law is set to go into effect six months after being signed, but supporters expect it to be blocked by lower courts as they fight toward the Supreme Court.

"The sponsors of this bill believe that it is time, once again, for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit this important matter, and they believe this act may bring about the best opportunity for this to occur," Ivey said.

Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio and Georgia recently have approved bans on abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can occur in about the sixth week of pregnancy. The Alabama bill goes further by seeking to ban abortion outright.

Abortion rights advocates vowed swift legal action.

"We vowed to fight this dangerous abortion ban every step of the way and we meant what we said. We haven't lost a case in Alabama yet and we don't plan to start now. We will see Governor Ivey in court," said Staci Fox, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast.

Evangelist Pat Robertson on his television show Wednesday said the Alabama law is "extreme" and opined it may not be the best one to bring to the U.S. Supreme Court "because I think this one will lose."

"God bless them they are trying to do something but I don't think that's the case that I'd want to bring to the Supreme Court," Robertson said.

One mile from the Alabama Statehouse  down the street from the Governor's Mansion  sits Montgomery's only abortion clinic, one of three performing abortions in the state. Because of its location, the clinic sees a stream of patients from Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle because other clinics have closed.

Clinic staff on Wednesday fielded calls from patients, and potential patients, wrongly worried that abortion was now illegal in the state. They were assured abortion remained legal in the state.

"It's been a lot of fear. A lot of people who are afraid they can't get their procedure," said Kari Crowe, a clinic employee and escort.

"Abortion is OK!" read a banner paid for by abortion rights advocates that a plane carried as it circled the Alabama Capitol and Statehouse on Wednesday.

Associated Press writer Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.
.  50        -  .     "" -     .         .     ,     .       -.        7,      11  ...
Waterbury police have arrested 41 suspected drug dealers and hold arrest warrants for 11 others as part of a large-scale operation to crack down on the sale of heroin in the city.

Operation: Raw Deal targeted mid-level narcotics dealers in the city, specifically those that sell heroin, and arose in response to an increase in heroin overdoses. The suspects face charges ranging from sale of narcotics to possession in a school zone, conspiracy at sale of narcotics, and firearms violations.

Police said on Wednesday morning multiple teams executed eight search warrants across the city, arresting 41 of the suspects. Investigators seized eight ounces of raw heroin, several thousand bags of heroin packaged for sale, over $15,000 in cash, two cars, two handguns, and a rifle during the raids.

The investigation is ongoing and Waterbury police are still searching for 11 suspects. They are identified as:

Craig Troxler, 36, facing charges of sale of narcotics

Daquan Dangerfield, 24, facing charges of sale of narcotics, conspiracy at sale of narcotics

Luis Santiago, 33, facing charges of sale of narcotics

Gilbert Gray, 29, facing charges of sale of narcotics

Tyreek Anthony Middleton, 23, facing charges of sale of narcotics

Jaden Schaefer, 23, facing charges of sale of narcotics

Yusef Rawls, 25, facing charges of sale of narcotics

Jaiquan McKnight, 23 facing charges of sale of narcotics

Javier Mercado, 30, facing charges of sale of narcotics

Daevoungh Aaron Ross, 19, facing charges of sale of narcotics, conspiracy at sale of narcotics, operating a drug factory, tampering with evidence and illegal possession of high capacity magazine

Alan Richard Newell, 33, facing charges of sale of narcotics

Anyone with information on any of these suspects is asked to contact Waterbury police at 203-574-6941.
To help make sure you stay informed on the most shared and talked about stories, each Saturday and Sunday we'll revisit 5 stories from the previous week, including the most recent updates.

Parents Arrested

Milford police have arrested two parents after launching an investigation into a video posted online in which it sounded like an adult was screaming at and hitting a child, according to a news release from police. Police said they began the investigation after getting complaints about the video from several people. The children have been placed in DCF care. See more about the video and the arrests here.

Milford police have arrested two people after launching an investigation into a video posted online in which it sounded like an adult was screaming at and hitting a child, according to a news release from police.

Abortion Law

Alabama lawmakers passed the most stringent abortion legislation in the nation Tuesday, making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases. The law would make performing an abortion at any stage of pregnancy a felony punishable by 10 to 99 years or life in prison for the provider. The only exception would be when the woman's health is at serious risk. Alabama's governor signed the bill into law on Wednesday. For more on the reaction to the new law, click here.

Prison Call Costs

Connecticut is considering legislation that would make it the first state in the country to make telephone calls free for prisoners. One obstacle in Connecticut is the potential loss of the revenue generated by the calls. Currently, inmates or their families pay $4.87 for phone calls of up to 15 minutes. That's the second-highest rate in the nation. See more on the proposal here.

Tornadoes Anniversary

Wednesday marked one year since four tornadoes and a line of dangerous thunderstorms caused massive damage in towns through western and central Connecticut. The tornadoes, macrobursts and microbursts left a path of destruction from places like Winsted, Newtown, and Southbury, to Bethany, Beacon Falls and Hamden. For a comprehensive look back at the tornadoes and the damage they left behind, click here.

NBC Connecticut Chief Meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan looks back at the May 15, 2018 storms that spawned 4 tornadoes in Connecticut and cause massive damage across parts of the state.

Tribute to Teen

A 15-year-old Indiana boy who passed away after a social media challenge that went horribly wrong, was given a touching tribute by hospital staff and his family as he was escorted to surgery to donate his organs. Mason Bogard, of Evansville, was critically injured earlier this month after attempting what is known as the choking challenge, his family said. See more on the tribute here.
A bill to outlaw red light cameras in Texas passed its final hurdle Friday.

The Texas Senate approved House Bill 1631 by a vote of 23-8. It now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it into law.

The bill would prohibit cities from operating photographic traffic camera systems that catch citizens speeding or running red lights and issue them fines. A handful of Texas cities, including Arlington and Richardson, have quit using the devices, or, like DeSoto, decided against installing them.

You can read the full story from our media partners at The Dallas Morning News by clicking here.
Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald is facing allegations of acting inappropriately at a national police event in Washington, DC.

Chief Fitzgerald told NBC 5 there was no such confrontation as some people are describing, but Mayor Betsy Price is concerned about the accusations and has asked the Fort Worth City Manager's office to investigate.

The incident allegedly occurred on Sunday in Washington, DC, where Chief Fitzgerald and several officers were attending a national event in honor of two officers and the widow of fallen Officer Garrett Hull. Fitzgerald and the president of the state Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, Austin Sgt. Todd Harrison.

Witnesses said the chief confronted Sgt. Harrison for kicking him out of the association because he registered without the proper credentials.

"This was his first time to be in a room with someone who had caused him embarrassment publicly and he took the opportunity to visit with that person about that." said FW City Councilman Cary Moon, District 4.

But critics said things got heated and escalated to a point that was inappropriate and unprofessional - especially for a chief. Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price heard about the incident and launched an investigation.

"I wasn't present but I have been made aware of the situation. I have asked David Cooke and Jay Chapa to get to the bottom of this. We hold all our officers, including our Chief to a very high standard. There should be *no exceptions." Mayor Price released in a statement on Thursday night.

This isn't the first time Chief Fitzgerald has faced criticism. There were questions about his commitment to Fort Worth after learning he was the top pick to lead the Baltimore Police Department. He later took himself out of the running.

The police union has also questioned how the Chief handled disciplinary action and demotions of some officers.

As far as the recent incident in DC, most people agree it could have been handled differently...

"Looking back he could have chosen a wiser setting, i don't think there was an intent but I think he is probably looking back wishing he had chosen a different setting for that." said Moon.
Three North Texas school districts say changes to a bill in Austin are an about face on school finance reform.

Richardson ISD Superintendent Jeannie Stone said when the legislative session first began she was hopeful.

"I was for the first time in my 30 year career, optimistic," Stone said.

But now she feels like districts are being given money in one hand and having it taken out in the other.

On Friday, she joined forces with Dallas and Plano Schools to plead with lawmakers to reconsider changes to House Bill 3. A recent amendment uses current year property values, rather than prior year, to calculate school funding.

"Switching to current year values has nothing to do with reform and it doesn't mean a thing for students," Stone said.

"This proposal is nothing more than a last-minute maneuver designed to minimize the states contribution to public education," said Dan Micciche, who serves as vice president for Dallas ISD board of trustees.

The school districts said the switch means a $1.8 billion a year decrease in the state's share of public funding.

"If you take money from here and put it here, that's not transformation. That doesn't help kids, that hurts kids and I can't stand by quietly and pretend that that's okay," said Sara Bonser, Plano ISD Superintendent.

Cities with rising property values would contribute more than initially expected.

"This means that the state, not our local districts, benefit from any property growth," Bonser said.

Since current values are still being determined with protests, schools would have to make budget decisions without final numbers. They said going off prior values, which has been the standard, helps keep them accurate and accountable.

Using this year's values, Micciche said Dallas could lose $100 million. For Plano ISD, it's $35 million. All three districts said they'd be forced to make a combination of job and program cuts.

"We're just being kicked while we're down. We need these programs to help these students catch up," said Mae Reedy, a Plano mother who attended the news conference.

Reedy is a mother of two as well as an incoming PTA president.

She worries for her girls' future and for students in struggling neighborhoods, left with gaps in funding.

Reedy is also urging lawmakers to reconsider.

"They might not know the impact and they need to know and they need to do what's right for children," she said.

Of course there are some districts that would benefit from using current year property values. For example, Mesquite ISD would get more money under the proposal. Despite the potential upside for his district, the superintendent said he supports switching back to prior year values.

As for the status of HB3, it's currently in conference committee.

Lawmakers from both the House and Senate are now working out a final draft which still needs to be voted on in each chamber.
There's a hidden danger on the streets of Southern California that's skyrocketing in popularity among criminals  homemade ghost guns. They're untraceable.

They don't come with a serial number, you can build them at home and you don't need a background check to get them.

"If you can put Ikea furniture together you can make a gun at home," Carlos Canino, the special agent in charge of the Los Angeles Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives.

A hidden danger is skyrocketing in popularity among criminals. Home-made guns have been used in some high-profile crimes in Southern California. Investigative reporter Lolita Lopez reports for NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Friday, May 17, 2019.

Canino says nearly every day his agents are confiscating these homemade guns at an alarming rate.

"Thirty percent of the firearms that we're currently holding in our vaults are these unserialized homemade firearms," he said. "Before you used to see the AR-15 or .223 caliber rifle. Now, you're starting to see semi-automatic pistols."

Criminals who wouldn't otherwise be able to get a gun are flocking to them, according to Canino. A haul last year netted nearly 50 ghost guns off the streets from just one bust of a gang in Hollywood.

Investigators say they were going to be sold on the street. In 2013, police say a 23-year-old man used a ghost gun to kill two family members before going to Santa Monica college and taking the lives of three more people.

"It was barbaric the way they were killed," said Margaret Quinones-Perez, who lost her niece and her brother-in-law that day. "My loved ones died. Their blood was here on this campus. And the blood is going to be in every other parent that goes through it."

Investigators determined the killer tried to buy a gun legally, but couldn't pass a background check. So instead, he bought a kit online and assembled it himself.

"Where were the safeguards? Quinones-Perez said. "And then here I am five years later and there's no safeguards."

Experts say it's hard to police ghost guns. California law only regulates the finished product. But new legislation now requires anyone who assembles a homemade gun to register it with the California Department of Justice. Quinones-Perez will always be haunted by the violence.

"I still think about what would have been with Marci's life," Quinones-Perez said. "I think about that Carlos would have retired and he'd be with his wife. And his wife and his daughter wouldn't struggle as much as they do now."

The ATF says they have changed the way they conduct some of their investigations as ghost gun sales increase. Authorities acknowledge it is impossible to say how many are actually on the street, in the hands of people who shouldn't legally be allowed to have a gun.

The ATF says new technology, including 3D printing, is making it even easier for criminals to make these weapons.

The NBC4 I-Team worked with NBC Bay Area, NBC San Diego, and the nonprofit organization the Trace thetrace.org for this report.
Police are investigating an early morning shooting in which a 57-year-old woman from Ontario was killed and five other people were wounded outside a bar in Long Beach.

The victims were transported to a local hospital, one of the wounded victims was said to be in critical but stable condition.

The shooting occurred at 12:40 a.m. Saturday at 1616 W. Pacific Coast Highway, said Lt. Abram Yap of the Long Beach Police Department.

The location is at PCH and Canal Avenue, a few blocks west of the 710 Freeway.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, Yap said. She was a 57-year-old grandmother and mother of two from Ontario, according to multiple media reports.

The shooting reportedly occurred in a parking lot.

Police have not released any further information.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said it "appears" the federal U.S. Border Patrol agency has "backed off" from a plan to send 1,000 undocumented migrants to South Florida.

"It appears that Border Patrol has backed off its initial plans to transport 1,000 illegal immigrants to South Florida," PBSO Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said in an audio message posted on Twitter. "Because of everybody's efforts, we were able to stop what will appear to be a crisis for our community."

Bradshaw initially said he was notified of plans by U.S. Border Patrol's Miami office that it would transport 1,000 migrants each month from the El Paso, Texas, area to South Florida's counties of Broward and Palm Beach.

The migrant families would have been processed, given a notice to appear in court and released into the community, Bradshaw said.

The federal government has run out of space to process the thousands of immigrants who have been arriving at the border, forcing them to fly migrants to Border Patrol facilities in other locations that have room.

The migrants are typically processed, released and given a court date in a city where they plan to reside, often with family members. Once the immigrants are released, nonprofit organizations in other cities have been stepping in to provide meals and bus tickets to their destinations.

Bradshaw thanked elected and governmental officials for their efforts to plan for the influx that he suggested appears to have been canceled.

On Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state "cannot accommodate" the influx of immigrants.

"We cannot accommodate in Florida just dumping unlawful migrants into our state. I think it will tax our resources, the schools, the health care, law enforcement, state agencies," DeSantis said.

President Donald Trump has threatened to relocate migrants into so-called sanctuary cities  places where law enforcement does not honor federal requests to hold arrested people who are in the country illegally until they can be picked up by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
For all of President Donald Trump's talk of winning, his lawyers are using a legal argument that many scholars say is a pretty sure loser as his team tries to defy congressional attempts to investigate him. Yet they may end up delaying the investigations with their argument, and that could be a win in itself.

In courts in New York and Washington, Trump is attempting to beat back subpoenas by Congress to get financial records from accountants and banks Trump and his family do business with. His argument is that congressional Democrats are out to get him and that they have no "legitimate legislative purpose" in seeking his personal records.

Congressional investigations are legitimate only if there is legislation that might result from them, the lawsuits say in identical terms. "There is no possible legislation at the end of this tunnel," both suits claim.

So far a federal judge in Washington has seemed unimpressed with Trump's attempt to prevent Mazars USA, an accountant for the president and Trump Organization, from turning over subpoenaed records to Congress. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta held a hearing in the case Tuesday and could rule anytime on Trump's request.

Separately, a hearing is set for Wednesday in federal court in New York in a lawsuit Trump, his business and family have filed against Deutsche Bank and Capital One to prevent them from complying with subpoenas from the House Financial Services and intelligence panels for banking and financial records.

The court argument is part of a broader White House strategy to resist all congressional oversight following special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. "Congressional investigations are intended to obtain information to aid in evaluating potential legislation, not to harass political opponents," White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote in a letter to House members Wednesday .

On Friday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he won't comply with a congressional subpoena for six years of Trump's tax returns. He cited the absence of a "legitimate legislative purpose" as his reason.

The White House approach finds little support among scholars who say Congress' authority to investigate is broad and that in the past century the Supreme Court has never found a problem with a congressional investigation for lack of legislative purpose. A 2017 report from the policy research arm of Congress found that "courts today generally will presume that there is a legislative purpose for an investigation."

Charles Tiefer, who served as a lawyer for Congress for 15 years, said lawyers have given up on making the kind of argument Trump's lawyers are making. Tiefer, now a University of Baltimore School of Law professor, described the argument as "one of those medieval notions that are not taken very seriously now."

But even if judges in both cases rule against Trump, he won't go down without a fight that might take months or even years of appeals to resolve. Ohio State law professor Peter M. Shane, who studies the separation of powers, described it as Trump's lawyers "trying to run out the clock until the election."

"Why should this misleading argument be any different from any other misleading argument?" Shane said, adding: "The reason they're not making stronger arguments is because stronger arguments aren't available to them."

Other legal fights over congressional attempts to obtain unredacted copies of Mueller's report and have administration officials testify also could get hung up in the courts long enough to spill over into the next presidential administration, whether it's Trump's second term or his successor's first. Past impasses between Congress and the executive branch that led to lawsuits that lasted for years.

Trump's defenders say his legal arguments are genuine and should be taken seriously. They chastise Congress for what they see as politically motivated investigations. Hans von Spakovsky of the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank likened the actions of House Democrats to hearings held by the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s that targeted people suspected of being Communists.

He pointed out that the Supreme Court has recognized limits on Congress' investigative power. The high court held in a 1957 case that Congress "doesn't have the constitutional power to expose for the sake of exposure," von Spakovsky said. The case, Watkins v. U.S., was a criminal appeal in which the justices threw out a conviction against labor organizer John Watkins for refusing identify Communist Party members to lawmakers.

Elaine Kamarck, a scholar at the liberal Brookings Institution who worked in the Clinton White House, said the House subpoenas of Trump's banks and accountants are a world away from the McCarthy era's hunt for Communists.

Congress "is seeking information from a private party about the president of the United States and the possibility of some form of conflict of interest, to say it mildly, or corruption," Kamarck said.
What to Know Two of the tri-state areas most-wanted fugitives are women who attacked police officers, now officials are looking to bring them to justice

Donna Joan Borup allegedly threw acid into a crowd that included police during an anti-apartheid protest at JFK Airport nearly 40 years ago

Joanne Chesimard and two others shot and killed a New Jersey State Trooper "execution style"

Two of the tri-state areas most-wanted fugitives are women who attacked police officers. One is accused of helping to assassinate an officer at point blank range. The other is accused of partially blinding a cop by throwing acid in his eyes. The FBI and police are making a new push to try to catch the two.

The FBI released a new computerized image of Donna Joan Borup this week showing what she may look like now nearly 40 years after she allegedly attacked Port Authority Police Officer Evan Goodstein. Officials said Borup was part of an extremist communist group that tried to start a riot at Kennedy Airport by allegedly throwing acid into a crowd that included police during an anti-apartheid protest.

That was one of the devices that they used, said Port Authority Police Superintendent Edward Cetnar. It struck him and it caused him to go blind in one eye. Borup was one of several May 19 Communists arrested in the incident, but she later jumped bail. The FBI believes she fled from Queens to Canada back in 1981. They believe for years has been hiding in Central America.

We will not forget she is a fugitive from justice, Cetnar said as Port Authority detectives continue to work with the FBI to try to develop leads on her whereabouts. The FBI said it is announcing a $100,000 reward for information leading to Borup's capture this Police Week  a week meant to highlight the dangers and sacrifice of police officers make.

We dont forget and the question that folks ask is but this was so long ago, let bygones be bygones. Absolutely not  everyone is accountable for their actions, said FBI New York Director William Sweeney. He said Borup needs to face justice for the harm she caused. If you put yourself in the perspective of the victim, what would you expect us to do and we as a community should be doing the same for this officer.

Goodstein declined to speak for this story but is in regular contact with authorities working the case. The agents and detectives that have worked this have obviously changed but that doesnt mean the passion changes and we keep on searching.

Paul Nunziato, head of the Port Authority PBA called Borup a "domestic terrorist" who got away. The pain and suffering she caused a police officer and his family has not diminished decades later, and neither should her punishment, if found guilty.

The FBI is highlighting another woman who is on their list of most wanted terrorists. Convicted cop killer Joanne Chesimard is still believed to be hiding in Cuba  decades after she helped shoot and kill a New Jersey State Trooper on the Turnpike.

Shes a convicted killer and we would like to have her returned to the U.S. to finish the remainder of her sentence, said Colonel Patrick Callahan. Chesimard is part of a crew of Black Liberation Army members linked to numerous shootings and bank robberies. In 1973, she and two others shot and killed Trooper Werner Foerester during a traffic stop.

The group shot him at point blank range after he was wounded on the ground from the initial volley of shots. The suspects took his service revolver from his holster and shot him execution style, Callahan said.

Despite her conviction, Chesimard claims she played no role in the shooting of the officer that night. In an interview with WNBC from Cuba in 1988 I was shot with my arms in the air and then shot in the back and then left on the ground to die, she said.

Chesimard was tried and convicted but escaped in 1979 from a New Jersey prison. To date Cuban authorities have refused to turn her over to the U.S. to serve her prison sentence.

Joanne Chesimard is a designated domestic terrorist, said Greg Ehrie, head of the New Jersey FBI office. Ehrie said Chesimards ongoing attempts to politicize her story misses the point. Anyone else would have faced the same conviction and the same trial and the same outcome. Ms. Chesimard needs to understand that and she needs to answer for her crimes.

Ehrie said the State Department continues to try to press the Cuban regime to turn her over to face justice. He said the FBI continues to try to monitor her movements and hopes a $2 million dollar reward will someday lead to her capture and return to a U.S. prison.
What to Know An NY man who built a bomb in his basement and planned to blow himself up in Washington, D.C., on Election Day faces sentencing

Prosecutors are asking Paul Rosenfeld be sentenced to 24 to 30 months in prison for the plot, which was unearthed in October

Authorities searching his home found 8 pounds of black powder explosive meant to be used in a bomb that would ultimately weigh 200 pounds

The New York man who built a high-powered bomb in his basement and planned to blow himself up in Washington, D.C., on Election Day last year to protest the country's direction is expected to be sentenced Friday.



Prosecutors are pushing for 24 to 30 months in prison for Paul Rosenfeld, of the Hudson Valley. Court documents say Rosenfeld, who is in his mid 50s, wanted to draw attention to his belief in an ancient election system called "sortition," a method of choosing political officials at random.

Officials told News 4 Rosenfeld had no criminal history but had told a reporter in Pennsylvania he planned to blow himself up on the National Mall around Election Day because he was angry about where the country was headed.

FBI agents pulled over Rosenfeld while he was driving in October, and he confessed to the plot, telling them he ordered black powder online and built a bomb in his basement.

Authorities searching his home found 8 pounds of black powder explosive meant to be used in a bomb that would ultimately weigh 200 pounds.

He had no plans to hurt anyone else, officials said. He is believed to be a lone actor not affiliated with any international terror group or ideology.

Rosenfeld was charged in federal court with unlawful manufacture of a destruction device and interstate transportation and receipt of an explosive.

"Had he been successful, Rosenfelds alleged plot could have claimed the lives of innocent bystanders and caused untold destruction," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge William Sweeney.

The supervisor for the Rockland County town said in a statement at the time of his arrest that "there is no danger to the public."
What to Know A police officer tased a man after the man thrust a revolver into another officers torso during a stop, the NYPD said

Officers pulled the man over because his vehicle was wanted in connection with a report of shots fired in Washington Heights, police said

He was arrested and charged with attempted aggravated murder of a police officer, criminal possession of a weapon and resisting arrest

A police officer tased a man after the man thrust a revolver into another officers torso in a fight that took place during a traffic stop, police and law enforcement sources said.

The two officers were driving on Columbia Street, near Rivington Street, on the Lower East Side in Manhattan around 6 a.m. on Saturday when they saw a vehicle the NYPD had been searching for in connection with a report of shots fired in Washington Heights on April 28, police said.

When they stopped the vehicle, approached it and tried to talk to the driver, 28-year-old Amado Zubidi, who lives in the neighborhood, a fight ensued, police and law enforcement sources said.

Zubidi then pressed a fully-loaded .38 caliber revolver against one officer's torso, but before he could fire, the other officer tased him, according to police and the sources.

Zubidi was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition and faces charges including attempted aggravated murder of a police officer, criminal possession of a weapon and resisting arrest, the NYPD said.

One of the officers was treated for elbow pain after the incident, police said.

Law enforcement sources told News 4 Zubidi was involved in the shots fired incident in Washington Heights.

His attorney information wasnt immediately available on Saturday.
It's called DIPG, and chances are, it's one of the worst cancers you've never heard of. And it's one that hits children. That's why DIPG Awareness Day  May 17  has been created.

It's also why a Herndon family is sharing their battle against this terrible illness.

Maddie Hartman had been a normal kindergartner. She especially loved to dance. It all changed over the course of three days in January.

Her daycare called to say Maddie had fallen ill.

"When I got to daycare, I thought my daughter had a stroke," her father, Nathan Hartman, recalled. "The left side of her face was limp; her speech was slurred; her arm would not move. It was almost hanging off her body."

The diagnosis came about week later: Maddie had Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), an aggressive type of tumor that attacks the brain stem, impacting speech, vision and mobility. Maddie is just one of between 200 and 400 children who will get the diagnosis this year.

Her mom created a photo display to show the cancer's rapid progression, with steroids also taking their toll on her body.

Hartman family photos

"Nobody knows about DIPG," her father said. "I didn't know [about] DIPG until we were in the hospital in this situation, quickly googling DIPG to find out what it was. And with Maddie every step has been immediate  no symptoms to all the way in three days."

Now the Hartmans are joining an effort to put a spotlight on the disease. The first DIPG Awareness Day was designated in 2016 by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, when the family of a Bethesda boy  Michael Mosier  began the push to educate more people. The day is held May 17 to mark the date that Michael passed away.

Treatment hasn't really advanced in the 35 years since DIPG was named, a fact that frustrates both Michael's parents and Maddie's.

Their goal is to "get people talking and get funding to it to try to advance the research," Nathan Hartman said.

WRC-TV

As Maddie's dad, mom and stepdad join the effort for more funding and awareness, their biggest focus is bringing joy to Maddie's life. There was the Make-A-Wish Foundation trip to Disney, as well as a "wedding," when Maddie "married" her sweetheart from daycare. She has fun picking out her nail polish, too.

"We are blessed every day that we wake up and Maddie is still progressing and doing well, and that is our hope and our plan, is to continue make every day as imaginable and amazing as possible," Nathan Hartman said.

Later this month, on May 26, a fundraising run in honor of Maddie will be held at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, Maryland.
The United States has reached a deal to lift steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico, removing one key obstacle to passing updates to the North American Free Trade Agreement, two people familiar with the matter told CNBC.

In a joint statement Friday, the Canadian and American governments said the U.S. will scrap the metals duties within two days. Canada will remove tariffs levied on American goods in retaliation for the steel and aluminum duties. They will also:

Drop all pending litigation in the World Trade Organization related to the tariffs

Set up measures to prevent the importation of aluminum or steel that is unfairly subsidized and/or sold at dumped prices and prevent the transshipment of aluminum and steel made outside of Canada or the United States to the other country

Make an agreed-upon process for monitoring aluminum and steel trade between them

In a separate statement, the Mexican government also said it would remove retaliatory tariffs it put on the U.S. and cease pending litigation. Mexico also said it would set up measures to stop unfair trade practices in the aluminum and steel markets and to monitor trade of the metals in North America.

Trump referenced the tariff removal during remarks Friday to the National Association of Realtors, saying, Im pleased to announce weve just reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico to sell product without the imposition of major tariffs.

The Canadian and Mexican governments, along with top U.S. lawmakers, have pushed the Trump administration to remove the tariffs before the countries approve the United States Mexico Canada Agreement. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke Friday about the duties on metals and the tariffs Canada slapped on U.S. goods in retaliation, according to a spokesman for Trudeau.

Now that weve had a full lift on these tariffs we are going to work with the United States on timing for ratification of USMCA, Trudeau said after speaking with steelworkers on Friday. He said he is optimistic about moving forward with the agreement in the coming weeks.

Trump cited a national security threat when he put respective tariffs of 25 percent and 10 percent on steel and aluminum imports last year. When the White House decided not to exempt Canada and Mexico, the U.S. neighbors and some members of Congress questioned why the allies posed a threat to the U.S.

The deal could boost Trumps hopes of getting the USMCA, one of his top policy priorities, through Congress. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, among others, pushed him to remove the tariffs before lawmakers ratify the trade agreement.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle cheered the de-escalation in tensions with Canada and Mexico. Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said the biggest hurdle to ratifying USMCA has been lifted. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., called the move great for America, great for our allies and certainly great for Nebraskas agriculture industry.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said we should be focusing our effort on China, not on Mexico, Canada or Europe. But he added there are still many other issues that are outstanding before Democrats would support the USMCA.

The deal still faces its hurdles: Democrats have raised concerns about environmental and labor provisions in USMCA, as well as how it could affect drug prices in the U.S. Mexico passed a labor law last month in part to address those concerns.

On Wednesday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer met with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland. The negotiators were expected to discuss a process for removing the tariffs.

The Trump administration aims to send paperwork to Congress soon, which could set up a vote on USMCA before lawmakers leave for the entire month of August.

The White Houses recent escalation of a trade war with China rattled investors and raised concerns about damage to businesses and consumers. But developments Friday boosted markets.

Before reports of the deal to remove steel and aluminum tariffs, the Trump administration said it would delay tariffs on imports of cars and auto parts from Europe, Japan and other countries.

This story first appeared on CNBC.com. More from CNBC:
Missouri's Republican-led House on Friday passed sweeping legislation designed to survive court challenges, which would ban abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy.

If enacted, the ban would be among the most restrictive in the U.S. It includes exceptions for medical emergencies, but not for pregnancies caused by rape or incest. Doctors would face five to 15 years in prison for violating the eight-week cutoff. Women who receive abortions wouldn't be prosecuted.

Republican Gov. Mike Parson pledged to sign the bill , but it's unclear when he'll take action. When pressed on the lack of exceptions for rape or incest, he told reporters that "all life has value."

"I'm going to stand up for the people that don't have a voice," Parson said. "Everybody should have a right to life."

The Missouri legislation comes after Alabama's governor signed a bill Wednesday making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases.

Supporters say the Alabama bill is meant to conflict with the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationally in hopes of sparking a court case that might prompt the current panel of more conservative justices to revisit abortion rights.

Missouri Republicans are taking a different approach.

GOP Rep. Nick Schroer said his legislation is "made to withstand judicial challenges and not cause them."

He cited extensive "legislative findings" included in the bill about fetal development that are aimed at backing up the state's interest in limiting abortion if the measure is challenged, as well as new judges appointed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by President Donald Trump.

If courts don't allow Missouri's proposed eight-week ban to take effect, the bill includes a ladder of less-restrictive time limits that would prohibit abortions at 14, 18 or 20 weeks or pregnancy.

"While others are zeroing in on ways to overturn Roe v. Wade and navigate the courts as quickly as possible, that is not our goal," Schroer said. "However, if and when that fight comes we will be fully ready. This legislation has one goal, and that goal is to save lives."

Kentucky , Mississippi , Ohio and Georgia also have approved bans on abortion once fetal cardiac activity can be detected, which can occur in about the sixth week of pregnancy. Some of those laws already have been challenged in court , and similar restrictions in North Dakota and Iowa previously were struck down by judges.

Missouri's bill also includes an outright ban on abortions except in cases of medical emergencies. But unlike Alabama's, it would kick in only if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

If courts don't allow Missouri's proposed eight-week ban to take effect, the bill includes a ladder of less-restrictive time limits that would prohibit abortions at 14, 18 or 20 weeks or pregnancy.

"Laundry bleach, acid, bitter concoction, knitting needles, bicycle spokes, ballpoint pens, jumping from the top of the stairs or the roof," Democratic Rep. Sarah Unsicker told colleagues on the House floor. "These are ways that women around the world who don't have access to legal abortions perform their own."

Clinicians reacted with disgust to the passage of the bill.

"Ob-gyns and other women's health care providers should not be threatened with criminal penalties for delivering evidence based, necessary health care," the Missouri Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said in an emailed statement.

The bill "would force clinicians to decide between their patient's needs and facing criminal proceedings. All clinicians must be able to practice medicine that is informed by their years of medical education, training, experience, and the available evidence, freely and without threat of criminal punishment," the group said.

The Hope Clinic for Women, which performs abortions in Granite City, Illinois, just across the river from St. Louis, noted it already sees Missouri patients on a daily basis.

"Our doors remain open for any patient who needs abortion care," Executive Director Dr. Erin King said in a statement.

Abortion-rights supporters in the House chanted, "when you lie, people die" and "women's rights are human rights" during debate on the measure before being escorted from the chamber. Outside, they shouted "shame, shame, shame" after lawmakers voted 110-44 to pass it.

Several women dressed as characters from the "The Handmaid's Tale" watched silently. The Margaret Atwood book and subsequent Hulu TV series depicts a dystopian future where fertile women are forced to breed.

A handful of abortion opponents protested outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis on Friday. Among them was 21-year-old Teresa Pettis, a Catholic who is five months' pregnant with her first child.

She said she supports the bill even though it outlaws abortions for women who have been raped.

"Honestly, I don't think it's right to punish the child for something the child can't control," Pettis said. "The baby might be born in unfortunate circumstances, but it's still a human life."

Rep. Shamed Dogan was the only Republican to vote against the bill. He cited the lack of exceptions for pregnancies borne of rape and incest, and said most residents of his suburban St. Louis district "think that's going too far."

One Democrat voted in favor.

A total of 3,903 abortions occurred in Missouri in 2017, the last full year for which the state Department of Health and Senior Services has statistics online. Of those, 1,673 occurred at under nine weeks and 119 occurred at 20 weeks or later in a pregnancy.

About 2,900 abortions occurred in 2018, according to the agency.

The bill also bans abortions based solely on race, sex or a diagnosis indicating the potential for Down Syndrome.

It also requires a parent or guardian giving written consent for a minor to get an abortion to first notify the other parent, except if the other parent has been convicted of a violent or sexual crime, is subject to a protection order or is "habitually in an intoxicated or drugged condition." A change was made after hours of late-night negotiations in the state Senate to also remove the requirement when the other parent lacks legal or physical custody.

If Parson signs, most provisions of the bill would take effect Aug. 28.

Associated Press writers David A. Lieb and Jim Salter in St. Louis contributed to this report.
What to Know Sales reps for Purdue Pharma made half a million sales calls to doctors in Pennsylvania since 2007.

The company, which makes OxyContin, vehemently denies the allegations by Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

41 states and numerous cities and counties, including Philadelphia in 2018, have sued Purdue.

Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit against pharmaceutical giant Purdue Pharma, claiming the company fueled the opioid epidemic through its sales of painkiller OxyContin, the state attorney general announced Tuesday.

The civil charges follow a two-year investigation into Purdue and other pharmaceutical companies that have for years given millions of Americans access to powerful opioid-based pain killers through doctors, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said.

Shapiro laid blame for the epidemic in part on Purdue's corporate structure and business conduct. He claims Purdue salespeople made more than 500,000 sales calls to doctors in Pennsylvania since 2007, more than any other state except California.

"The conduct is absolutely outrageous and unlawful," Shapiro said of the marketing used by Purdue. He noted that OxyContin was pitched as "non-addictive, appropriate for use for chronic pain and good for 12 hours."

The company for more than a decade allegedly violated Pennsylvania's consumer protection laws, he said.

"Our goal for this lawsuit is for the court to issue an order to prevent Purdue from continuing to promote these drugs," Shapiro said.

Purdue said in a statement that it "vigorously denies the allegations filed today in Pennsylvania and will continue to defend itself against these misleading attacks."

"The complaint is part of a continuing effort to try these cases in the court of public opinion rather than the justice system," Purdue said. "Such allegations demand clear evidence linking the conduct alleged to the harm described, but we believe the state fails to show such causation and offers little evidence to support its sweeping legal claims."

Shapiro would not provide a monetary amount that Pennsylvania is seeking. However, he did say the state will seek civil penalties in the amount of all profits derived from OxyContin since 2007; the cost to the Pennsylvania healthcare system attributed to the OxyContin-fueled opioid epidemic; and up to $3,000 for each violation of the state's consumer protection laws.

The company says that the claims are part of an effort to try cases in the court of public opinion rather than the justice system.

Pennsylvania has been in a state of emergency since Jan. 10, 2018, when Gov. Tom Wolf deemed the scourge of the opioid epidemic a state health crisis.

More than 5,400 Pennsylvanians died from overdoses in 2017, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration report last year. That number constituted a 64% rise in drug deaths since 2015.

Shapiro's office two years ago joined with dozens of other states to investigate companies that make and distribute opioid painkillers. Several Pennsylvania counties have already sued drugmakers, and a federal judge in Cleveland is overseeing more than 1,500 lawsuits filed by local governments, American Indian tribes and others against the opioid industry.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says opioids, including prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and illicit drugs such as fentanyl and heroin, were involved in a record 48,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2017.
The Andy Hill Cancer Research Endowment, a public-private partnership known as the CARE Fund, this week named Dr. Lucas Sullivan of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center a CARE Fund Distinguished Researcher. The honor came with a $500,000 grant to further Sullivans research into the role of cell metabolism in cancer biology.

His research into cancer metabolomics is highly significant, innovative and timely, and likely to have broad impacts in multiple fields, including cancer biology  and therapeutic developments that target metabolism, the CARE Fund stated on its website.

Sullivan and colleagues seek to understand how metabolism supports cell function. Their major focus is to identify the metabolic pathways that are required for cancer growth and progression, with the goal of identifying new targets for cancer therapy.
Pennsylvania state Rep. Angel Cruz stirred the gun control versus gun rights pot earlier this year when he introduced a bill that would require gun owners to register their firearms every year.

They also would be required to pay a $10 registration fee annually.

His bill, according to advocates on both sides of the Second Amendment debate, has zero chance of ever escaping Harrisburg purgatory, also known as legislative committee.

Other bills, however, are winding their way through the committees of the House of Representatives and the state Senate. Here's a look at what types of gun legislation is currently being debated in the State Capitol.

PREEMPTION LAWS: Pennsylvania, with its two large cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and many small towns and boroughs in between, has been jostling with how much leeway local authorities have to enact legislation that controls firearms. Years ago, Philadelphia passed a package of laws that put strong gun control laws in place. Over the years, courts threw out most of those laws on the basis that they went against state laws. Preemption becomes an issue when the state and a local authority have laws that butt heads. Often, the state wins.

Pittsburgh has more recently, in the aftermath of the synagogue shooting in October last year, tried to enact its own local gun control. Their constitutional standing remains in question because of preemption laws in Pennsylvania.

'PUNITIVE' PREEMPTION: One of the challenges to overturning local gun control measures even in a state with preemption laws has been "standing. That's the legal term for harm that plaintiffs suing over gun control laws at the municipal or county level must prove that laws are doing against them specifically. For instance, if a person wants to sue Philadelphia over a gun control law, that person must first prove that their constitutional rights are being personally infringed upon.

New proposals currently being considered in the Statehouse would give anyone in Pennsylvania, including groups like local chapters of the National Rifle Association, the ability to sue over local gun control laws, according to Shira Goodman of CeasefirePA.

"This is a special standing," she said. "Anyone who lawfully owns a gun can sue any city."

"It's a gift to the NRA and their friends," Goodman added.

REGAINING OWNERSHIP RIGHTS: Some lawmakers are talking through proposals to allow reinstatement of gun ownership after that right was lost due to mental health evaluations.

CONCEALED CARRY: An idea unlikely to get support from law enforcement groups  a key constituency in firearms legislation  is doing away with requiring gun owners to have a concealed carry permit. Instead, gun owners could conceal a firearm on their person without a permit.

ARMING SCHOOL OFFICIALS: A policy by the Schuylkill County school board to train and arm school employees was reinstated in April, but Goodman of CeasefirePA says the debate over its legality  and safety  is far from over.

RED FLAG LAW: Pennsylvania's first new gun legislation in over a decade was approved by the state legislature in April and requires gun owners subject to a final protection from abuse order or a domestic violence conviction to turn in their firearms within 24 hours. It also bars that person's friends or family from taking possession of those firearms.
As the country deals with a surge in gun violence, theres new evidence that more criminals in San Diego are armed with homemade, untraceable firearms.

NBC 7 Investigates, in partnership with NBC Bay Area, NBC Los Angeles, and The Trace, a nonprofit organization that covers news on gun violence, found law enforcement agencies across California are recovering record numbers of unserialized guns or ghost guns used in crimes.

The San Diego Police Department is one of the few agencies in the state tracking unserialized guns used in crimes. According to data obtained by NBC 7, in 2017, San Diego Police seized five unserialized guns used in crimes. In 2018, the department collected 52 guns in the course of investigations.

In the city of Oceanside, in 2017, police seized five unserialized guns used in crimes. In 2018, records show officers seized 19 guns.

What separates the average firearm from a ghost gun is how it was manufactured and the paper trail connected to it. Ghost guns are often constructed outside a traditional supply chain, using 3-D printers or assembled with parts sold online or in stores. Those nearly completed firearms, known as 80 percent receivers, can be purchased without a background check.

It went from something I never saw to something that was very common, said San Diego Police Criminalist Toniann Rebick.

The Trace

Since 2015, the Escondido Police Department has seized 15 guns used in crimes. In La Mesa, Police have seized only one gun. All other law enforcement agencies in San Diego County told NBC 7 Investigates they do not track unserialized firearms used in crimes.

Lawmakers say tracking is important in order to know how often these kinds of self-made, unserialized guns are getting in the wrong hands.

This is one of the worst Ive ever seen

It was just after 10 p.m. on a Saturday in June of 2018 when San Diego Police Officers Shawn Boggerman, Francisco Roman and a third officer arrived at 28-year-old Joseph Darwishs College Area condo.

A neighbor had called 911 after hearing Darwish yelling and cursing at a woman, and seeing him pace back and forth in the hallway of the condominium.

A week before, officers had responded to the same location after a neighbor reported Darwish was yelling and possibly fighting with a woman inside his unit. During that call, neighbors reported they could hear the woman screaming.

On that June 2018 night, Officers Boggerman and Roman said they knocked on Darwishs door for 20 minutes but he did not answer. Eventually, the officers told dispatch they smelled smoke coming from the unit and needed help from firefighters.

Fearing a fire inside the condo, two firefighter trainees and their supervisor used a crowbar to pry open Darwishs door. The firefighters then stepped aside, so police could enter Darwishs condominium.

As one of the officers yelled, San Diego Police, Darwish open fired with an assault-style rifle. Bullets sprayed through the walls into the hallway where officers and firefighters were standing. The unnamed officer was shot in the back, landed on his stomach and crawled away from Darwishs doorway. Officers Boggerman and Roman returned fire. When Roman tried to help the wounded officer, Darwish shot Roman in the arm. As the officers crawled away from the condo, Darwish kept firing.

WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO: SDPD Body Cam Footage of Shooting on June 23, 2018 in College Area. Two officers were injured in the shootout with a suspect inside the condo complex on Rolando Court. THERE IS GRAPHIC VIDEO AND LANGUAGE IN THIS CLIP.

When Darwish stopped shooting, SWAT officers entered his condo and found him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Crime scene technicians later determined that Darwish had fired at least 33 rounds from his homemade, unserialized rifle. Police also found a pistol; homemade and unserialized.

WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO A second clip from the body cam footage showing the shooting inside a College Area complex that injured two San Diego police officers and ended with the residents death by suicide, according to the San Diego County District Attorney. THE CLIP INCLUDES GRAPHIC VIDEO AND LANGUAGE.

The details and video of the Darwish shooting were released this week by the San Diego County District Attorneys office. According to its analysis, prosecutors say the officers use of force was justified.

NBC 7 Investigates confirmed with the District Attorneys office that Darwish had a prior conviction for assault and battery, which prevented him from legally buying a firearm.

But Darwish avoided a traditional background check by obtaining an unserialized gun.

This is one of the worst Ive ever seen, said San Diego Police Criminalist Rebick, holding the weapon Darwish used. It was just mimicking a fully automatic [firearm].

The Trace

Rebick said the total number of ghost guns seized in crimes remains relatively small compared to the number of traditionally-manufactured guns that police confiscate each year. But, Rebick added that some of the ghost guns shes seen are poorly made, making them more prone to misfiring and much more dangerous than a legitimate firearm.

More teeth and more bite.

Cases like the Darwish shooting prompted Assemblyman Mike Gipson (D-Los Angeles) to try to strengthen state laws prohibiting the sale of the gun parts from which unregistered, unserialized weapons are made.

Our laws have not caught up with our technology, Gipson told NBC and The Trace.

NBC 7 Investigates first reported on ghost guns after state lawmakers passed a law that requires gun makers to register their firearms with the California Department of Justice (DOJ) by requesting a serial number.

NBC 7's Dave Summers shares an investigation into homemade and unregistered guns, and their potential danger in mass shootings.

Putting the system in place also meant anyone caught in possession of an unregistered, unserialized weapon could face criminal charges. But Gipson says the current law is entirely based on an honor system.

Lets really make it honest, Gipson said.

Gipson wants to change that. His proposed legislation, AB 879, would require background checks to purchase certain gun parts, including 80 percent lower receivers. This would establish a paper trail, providing law enforcement a clue if a ghost gun falls into the wrong hands.

I think this would give [the past law] more teeth and more bite, Gipson said. You can still have your hobby, this is for those who seek to go around that.

I can 3-D print out a gun...no gun control laws are really going stop that.

The idea that these evil ghost guns are used in murders all the time, its just false, said Dimitri Karras, an employee of Firearms Unknown in the city of Oceanside.

In the store, Karras stands in front of rows of 80 percent receivers or nearly complete guns, for all different kinds of firearms. Karras believes most of the people interested in making their own guns are hobbyists and have been doing this for years.

Its not as if weapons without serial numbers on them are some sort of a new phenomenon, Karras said. All the way up until 1968, you could buy a .22 for your kid for $20. It would show up at your house and there was no requirement for a serial number on it.

In 2010, Karras founded Ares Armor, another gun parts store that stocked 80 percent lowers and other parts for homemade guns. But four years later, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) raided Ares Armor and seized 6,000 incomplete receivers along with the stores list of customers.

Prosecutors accused Ares Armor of selling AR-15 lower receivers that the government considered firearms.

But Karras was never officially charged and after a series of court battles, the ATF returned all of the gun parts seized back to Karras.

They did absolutely nothing about it, Karras said. Because at the end of the day, they know theyre wrong.

The ATF declined to comment on the Karras case to NBC and The Trace.

Karras believes no matter what new laws are passed or systems put in place, criminals will still obtain these guns.

I can go home and I can 3D print out a gun in a matter of an hour, Karras said. No gun control laws are really going to be able to stop that.
To help make sure you stay informed on the most shared and talked about stories in San Diego County, each Saturday we'll revisit five stories from the previous week and capsulize them in this digest with the most recent updates.

1. Secret Cave Dwelling Discovered in Sunset Cliffs

This week when we checked out a tip from a local photographer, NBC 7 found a cave at the end of Osprey Street that was set up like an apartment with beds, clothing and cleaning supplies. See what it looked like in Joe Little's report.

A few people have illegally been squatting in a Sunset Cliffs Cave. NBC 7s Joe Little has more.

Then, when we learned the city was cleaning out the cave, we sent reporter Alex Presha. Here's what he reported.

After people illegally took over a Sunset Cliff cave, residents began to complain about the squatters. NBC 7s Alex Presha has more on the citys reaction.

2. Dedicated Bike Lanes Coming to 30th Street in North Park

A busy street in North Park could be getting dedicated bike lanes, which, depending on the design, could dramatically impact parking in the area. NBC 7s Artie Ojeda reported on the changes proposed to this busy neighborhood on Monday.

A busy street in North Park could be getting dedicated bike lanes, which, depending on the design, could dramatically impact parking in the area. NBC 7s Artie Ojeda has more.

3. $18K Rooftop Proposal Gifted to Guided-Missile Destroyer's Commander in Bribery Scandal, Navy Says

The former commander of USS Chafee had a decade-long relationship with the Singapore businessman who pleaded guilty to bribery charges. Because of their friendship, the senior U.S. Navy officer accepted a rooftop proposal dinner (complete with jazz musicians) from the man known as "Fat Leonard." Capt. Heedong Choi received an official letter of censure this week from the U.S. Navy Secretary. Read about this latest development in the bribery scandal here.

Scott Thornbloom/US Navy/Getty Images

4. San Diego, Other CA Diocese to Begin Compensating Church Sex Abuse Victims

The Diocese of San Diego joined five other California Catholic diocese in establishing a compensation program for any person who has been sexually abused as a minor by diocesan priests, no matter when that abuse might have occurred. Read about the program and the response from victims' rights groups here.

The Diocese of San Diego joined other California dioceses with a compensation fund program for victims abused by clergy members. NBC 7's Melissa Adan has more.

5. Inside the Port of San Diego's Proposed High-Tech Sleeping Pods Hotel

A hotel proposed near downtown San Diego would offer individual sleeping pods for as little as $35 a night. Users would share a bathroom. See images from the hotel design here.

Inside the Port's Proposed High-Tech Sleeping Pods Hotel

[NATL] 10 of the World's Quirkiest, Weirdest, Most Out-There Hotels
A small but still dangerous hash oil lab was uncovered by officials in San Diegos Point Loma neighborhood late Friday afternoon, marking the fifth such bust in the city in about two weeks.

Kameron Korte, a spokesperson with the Drug Enforcement Administration, confirmed Saturday that the agencys Narcotic Task Force had executed a state search warrant at 4311 Loma Riviera Court Friday. During the search, agents discovered a small butane hash oil extraction operation, marijuana plants, butane canisters and finished hash oil.

One man was arrested in connection with the lab.

Korte noted that while this hash oil lab was considered small by investigators, it was still a dangerous operation.

Butane hash oil extraction operations are extremely dangerous because butane is highly flammable and explosive, Korte added.

The DEA has taken down 19 hash oil labs in San Diego County thus far this year. This Point Loma lab is the fifth to be uncovered this month alone.

Yesterday, a violent fire burned through a warehouse. The cause: an illegal drug lab. With hash oil labs on the rise, fire crews are at greater risk. NBC 7's Llarisa Abreu has more.

One day prior, a fire erupted at a warehouse in El Cajon where officials later found an illegal hash oil lab. That fire caused about $100,000 worth of damage to the building and everything that was inside.

Hash Oil Lab Uncovered on Property in Warner Springs

Also on Thursday, DEA agents arrested four people in Warner Springs, on Chihuahua Valley Road, after they discovered three trailers at a property that housed a sophisticated lab.

NBC 7's Erika Cervantes reports from outside of the home where DEA agents found fentanyl and a hash oil lab.

On May 8, the NTF raided a home on 2nd Avenue in Chula Vista, where they found a butane hash oil lab and fentanyl.

Three people were hurt after a home caught fire in a hash oil explosion. NBC 7s Rory Devine is outside the now-boarded house in Mira Mesa with more.

On May 5, an explosion destroyed a home on Sunny Meadow Street in Mira Mesa, stemming from a hash oil lab that had been set up in the garage. In that case, investigators found enough lab equipment and resources to produce an estimated $72,000 worth of hash oil. Three people were hurt in the explosion.

For a timeline of hash oil labs recently uncovered in San Diego County, click here or see below.
The DEA has taken down at least 20 hash oil labs in San Diego County so far this year, including six that have made the news in May.

There were 31 found in 2018 and 27 in 2017, according to the DEA. Some were discovered during law enforcement raids, and others were found only after malfunctions caused explosions and fires that caused insurmountable damage and severely injured people nearby.

This timeline details some recent discoveries and the injuries, damage, and neighborhood fear they've caused.

NBC 7's Dave Summers shares what homeowners should look for if they suspect their neighbors could have a hash oil lab of their own.

Mira Mesa - May 5

A two-story home on Sunny Meadow Street in Mira Mesa exploded May 5, revealing a hash oil lab operation in the garage. Investigators found lab equipment inside, and nearly 100 butane cylinders outside  enough resources to produce up to four pounds of hash oil that could carry a street value of $72,000. Three people were injured, including one victim who suffered burns to 95 percent of their body. The DEA said the explosion could have been much worse.

Chula Vista - May 8

A DEA Narcotics Task Force raided a home on 2nd Avenue in Chula Vista and seized a butane hash oil lab and fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid. According to the DEA, two milligrams of fentanyl is enough to cause a lethal overdose. One person was taken into custody.

Warner Springs - May 16

DEA agents arrested four people after they searched 30570 Chihuahua Valley Road and found three trailers that housed a sophisticated lab approximately 15 times larger than the one linked to the Mira Mesa explosion.

El Cajon - May 16

Hours after the raid in Warner Springs, firefighters responded to a fire at a warehouse on El Cajon Boulevard in El Cajon and found various chemicals once they put out the blaze. A hazmat team and DEA agents were called, and they later confirmed the presence of an illegal hash oil lab. The fire caused about $100,000 worth of damage to the building and its contents.

Point Loma - May 17

A small but still dangerous hash oil lab was uncovered during a search warrant execution at 4311 Loma Riviera Court in San Diegos Point Loma neighborhood. During the search, agents discovered a small butane hash oil extraction operation, marijuana plants, butane canisters and finished hash oil. A DEA spokesperson said that while this hash oil lab was considered small by investigators, it was still a dangerous operation. One person was taken into custody.

Lemon Grove - May 24

The DEA executed a search warrant Thursday at 7648 Lemon Avenue and found finished hash oil worth more than $6.75 million, more than $2 million worth of sophisticated lab equipment, and large quantities of ethanol. There was enough ethanol in the lab to cause extensive fire damage, the DEA said. Lemon Avenue was shut down for around six hours while San Diego County Hazmat removed it.
All over the world, there are areas that San Diego has a common connection with: They are called sister cities.

San Diego signed its first Sister City Agreement in 1957 with Yokohama, Japan and now has 16 on different continents.

A sister city is a social agreement between two regions to promote culture and commerce. The newest one since 2015 is Panama City, Panama.

Located near Panama City is the famous Panama Canal, a true testament to the wonders of human engineering.

The canal was made possible by U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt in the early 1900's after he helped the country declare independence from Colombia.

"When you take a ship out of the Panama Canal through the Pacific Ocean, geographically the first port you arrive at is San Diego," said Timothy Stiven, a teacher at Canyon Crest Academy in Carmel Valley, who takes a group of students to the country every year.

The San Diego-Panama Sister City Society was created in 2015 after a two year process in coordination with the Balboa Park 100th Anniversary. That's when Panama City was added as a sister city of San Diego, with the approval of Mayor Kevin Faulconer and the Mayor of the Panama City Council.

"It was to celebrate the centennial of the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914," said Stiven.

Working with the House of Pacific Relations, a House of Panama will be built in Balboa Park. It will be added to the current 33 cottages in the park.

The first museum outside the country dedicated to Panama will inside the House of Panama. Construction starts at the beginning of June and is expected to take 18 months.

The Vice President's Office of Panama has donated $90,000 to the project. Over $450,000 will have to come from fundraising efforts to complete it.

"When you think of Balboa Park, you have to think of Panama," said Stiven. "The two are interconnected."

As a sister city, organizations in San Diego have gone down to Panama City to volunteer and help local schools there.

There are about 13,000 people from Panama currently living in San Diego County.
A Virginia businessman accused of taking thousands of dollars from customers but failing to deliver medical equipment to them is facing more charges.

A News4 consumer investigation found dozens of cases against Access Mobility owner Jim Clore filed in civil courts throughout Virginia dating to 2009.

Clore appeared in court in Spotsylvania County Wednesday for a preliminary hearing.

Its just a small business disaster, he told News4. It was never intentional. I never took anybody's money with the intent of defrauding them or anything like that.

Clore said the business is closed and he's working other jobs to earn money so he can pay his customers back.

My heart is broken, he said. I don't sleep at night. Honestly. This is a terrible, terrible situation.

Two of Clores customers, Molly Harned and Kumyon Morris, said they don't believe Clore will ever really pay them back.

Lie, lie, lie, Morris said. So much going on; so many people he cheated.

This has been going on over and over and over for years, so I don't think he's very honest about that, Harned said.

Clore waived his preliminary hearing on two felony charges, which means a grand jury will now decide whether the case moves forward.

Just moments after walking into the courthouse, Clore was handcuffed by deputies and picked up on three outstanding warrants  two out of Westmoreland County for similar charges and another out of Montgomery County, Maryland, involving a woman who says she paid Clore $3,500 for a ceiling lift he never delivered.
A shooting at an off-campus party near Ball State University in Indiana early Saturday left seven people injured, three of them critically, police said.

It's not clear how many people might have opened fire, but police said one man was in custody. One of the wounded had to be airlifted to a hospital in Indianapolis, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Muncie, Police Chief Joe Winkle told WXIN-TV.

Winkle said it appears the shooting happened after "some kind of confrontation inside the house." Some of the victims were Ball State students, he said.

"I think anytime you have a DJ and you get word out there that there's a party there, you are gonna draw a bunch of different people from all over town, so I think that's probably what's happened," Winkle said.

VaShaun Harnett, 19, of Muncie, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder, police told The (Muncie) Star Press.

Stella East, a Ball State sophomore and a Muncie native, told newspaper that she was in the home's backyard when the shooting took place. She said about 50 people were inside and 50 outside when she and a friend heard five to 10 shots from inside the house. After a brief pause, they heard about 30 more shots, moving from inside to outside.

"Everyone just ran in opposite ways when the shooting started. I just grabbed my friends and ran as far as I could. I was trying to stay calm but knew it was very serious and just had to get away," East said.

Vice President Mike Pence, who delivered the commencement address Saturday at Taylor University in nearby Upland, commented on the shooting on Twitter.

"Landed in Muncie, IN this morning and was briefed on last night's shooting," the former Indiana governor wrote. "My prayers are with the injured and their families. God bless them all."

Ball State issued a campus alert shortly after the shootings warning members of the university community to stay clear of the area.
Ticks and the diseases they carry are on the move, rapidly expanding into new territories once considered inhospitable.

While many factors are to blame, the U.S. government affirmed with "high confidence" in a report that one reason is warmer weather connected to climate change.

In the last decade, the number of cases of Lyme disease in the U.S. have tripled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The risk of this tick-borne disease was historically concentrated in the Northeast and upper Midwest, but a recent study by lab giant Quest Diagnostics found cases of Lyme have been detected in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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"Lyme disease is a bigger risk to more people in the United States than ever before," said Harvey W. Kaufman, M.D., senior medical director for Quest Diagnostics. "Our data show that positive results for Lyme are both increasing in number and occurring in geographic areas not historically associated with the disease. We hypothesize that these significant rates of increase may reinforce other research suggesting changing climate conditions that allow ticks to live longer and in more regions may factor into disease risk."

Named after the coastal Connecticut town where it was first identified in the mid 70s, Lyme disease emerged from obscurity to become the leading vector-borne disease in the U.S.

Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which typically lives in white-footed mice, chipmunks and birds  all animals that ticks feast on. The disease is transmitted to deer and humans through the bite of an infected tick.

Lyme can cause fever, skin rashes, fatigue, arthritis-like joint pain and in some cases nervous system complications and brain fog.

Lyme isnt the only disease thats spreading. The CDC said state and local health departments reported in 2017 a record number of cases of other tick-borne diseases, including anaplasmosis, spotted fever group rickettsia (Rocky Mountain spotted fever), Babesiosis and Tularemia (rabbit fever).

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File

The agency has also reported an explosion in the population and geographic range of ticks, particularly the blacklegged tick, the primary transmitter of Lyme disease in the U.S. Also known as the deer tick, these blood-sucking arachnids have extended their reach north, south and west  and with it, their illnesses.

Tick Migration and Survival

The deer tick has a two-year life span that is divided into three main developmental stages: larva, nymph and adult. These tiny arachnids require a bloodmeal in every one of these stages for their development, and each of these bloodmeals provides an opportunity for the tick to contract or spread Lyme disease.

A ticks survival is also dependent on climate.

"If they dont have a long enough season to find a host, theyll use up their reserves and drop dead, said Rick Ostfeld, an ecologist at the the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York.

Deer ticks can't reproduce or seek out a host to feast on if the temperature drops below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Warmer seasons, earlier springs and longer summers in broader parts of the country mean more ticks stay alive through the winter, remain active for longer periods of time and travel further and further north to look for their food.

Ticks' survival are so dependent on environmental factors that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses the number of cases of Lyme disease as an indicator of climate change.

Studies provide evidence that climate change has contributed to the expanded range of ticks, increasing the potential risk of Lyme disease, such as in areas of Canada where the ticks were previously unable to survive, the agency reported. The life cycle and prevalence of deer ticks are strongly influenced by temperature Thus, warming temperatures associated with climate change are projected to increase the range of suitable tick habitat and are therefore one of multiple factors driving the observed spread of Lyme disease.

Across the Northeast, where, over the last three decades, average winter temperatures have risen by almost 4 degrees Fahrenheit, according to NOAA, the cases of Lyme disease have skyrocketed. States from Pennsylvania and northward to Maine are becoming warmer and more humid, creating a favorable environment for ticks to thrive. In 2017, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire had their warmest autumn since record keeping began, the agency reported.

EVENTO DE REGRESO A CLASES EN EL METROPLEX

That same year, health officials in Connecticut also discovered that the Lone Star tick, the most common human-biting tick in the southeastern U.S. and Texas, which causes a food allergy to red meat, had reached their shores. In a 2017 press release announcing the findings, Connecticuts Agricultural Experiment Station (CAER) said their northern range may be increasing due, in part, to the milder winters the northeast has been experiencing over the past few years.

Mary Beth Pfeiffer, an investigative journalist and author of the book "Lyme: The First Epidemic of Climate Change," said climate change is abetting the spread of ticks to new frontiers, including Canada.

"They are climbing mountains. They are also climbing latitudes. They are going up the Scandinavian peninsula. They have even been found in parts of Siberia, Pfeiffer told NBC in a phone interview. "And weve had lots of big changes in the ecosystem that's causing ticks to spread."

Lyme Disease Cases Rising

One of those changes is the increase in the developmental rate of ticks due to rising temperatures  and in turn, an uptick in the number of tick-borne illnesses.

A 2015 study found that, as the climate warms, it is pushing the feeding timing of nymphs to earlier in the spring, potentially influencing transmission dynamics.

"When nymphs emerge months before larvae, they inoculate the host community with pathogens that the later-emerging larvae can then contract," said Taal Levi, a biologist at Oregon State University and lead author of the study. "The Lyme disease pathogen is long-lived  it will remain in the host. So an increasing gap between the nymphs feeding in the spring and the next cohort of larvae feeding in late summer will give the nymphs more time to infect the hosts with bacterium that can then be passed to the next generation of tick larvae."

Researchers led by Levi and Ostfeld, the New York ecologist, analyzed nearly two decades worth of data to tie changes in tick emergence directly to climatic changes.

"The climate has clearly warmed," said Ostfield. "Thats not even slightly controversial." And in this one location, at least, ticks have shifted their lifecycles accordingly.

Since 1995, the number of cases of Lyme disease through tick bites reported to the CDC has tripled from less than 10,000 a year to over 30,000 annually. The CDC estimates that the number of infections is actually closer to 300,000 due to underreporting from state health agencies and doctors.

And while the majority of cases of Lyme have historically been concentrated in a cluster of states in the Northeast, the analysis by Quest Diagnostics found that in 2016 and 2017, California and Florida saw the largest absolute increases in positive test results. The New Jersey-based lab testing company found infection in California increased 194% over 2015 levels. In Florida, it rose 77% over the same period.

In Connecticut, where a team of scientists around the state are tracking and monitoring the growing tick population, about 50% of the arachnids tested for organisms that cause human diseases have Borrelia burgdorfei, according to Theodore Andreadis, the New Haven-based director of CAER.

Andreadis said this year's tick season is expected to be bad because the winter wasn't severe enough to knock down the population.

"It's always bad here," Andreadis told NBC. "We have so much habitat in the northeast  60% of the state is forested  so it's a prime environment for ticks to thrive."

More Research Is Needed

The CDC notes that while the exact reason for the geographic spread of ticks and the diseases they carry is unclear, a number of other factors also contribute.

One key driver in the Northeast is the reforestation of land that was once used for farming. Another is the proliferation of the deer population in the Northeast, thanks to stricter hunting laws, fewer predators and the deer-friendly landscape of New England.

Human encroachment into wildlife zones is also factor. With suburbanization, more people are living near the animals that carry Lyme.

The irony is that we have set this epidemic in motion, Pfeiffer said. A warmer world is hospitable to more ticks in more places. Broken bits of forest sustain mice and deer, on which ticks feed and breed. And human development abuts landscapes devoid of predators to curb infection. Weve created the perfect storm of conditions for ticks to move around the planet.

An estimated 300,000 people in the United States are infected with Lyme disease each year. Here are some helpful tips that can help your family prevent tick bites which can reduce your risk of Lyme disease.

The CDC urges people to protect themselves from getting a tick bite by avoiding areas with high grass and leaf litter, walking in the center of trails when hiking, using EPA-registered insect repellents and by wearing long clothes. Shower as soon as possible after coming indoors to wash off and more easily find crawling ticks before they bite you. The agency said people should do full body checks using a hand-held or full-length mirror to view all parts of the body upon returning from the outdoors.

The likelihood of picking up a tick is quite high so people should be checking for ticks when they come outside from any outdoor activity, including your backyard, Andreadis said.
MemorialCare Miller Children's & Women's Hospital, in Long Beach, continued a years-long tradition this week of wrapping infants born on or right before Christmas in red stockings.
Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committees Economic Commission Nguyen Van Binh made the statement while receiving JBIC Governor Tadashi Maeda in Hanoi on May 17th.

Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committees Economic Commission Nguyen Van Binh (right) receives Governor of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation Tadashi Maeda in Hanoi on May 17th (Photo: VNA)

He spoke highly of the fruitful development of the Vietnam-Japan relationship across spheres, especially economy, trade and investment. He affirmed the Vietnamese Party and States consistent policy of regarding Japan as a leading and long-term partner.

The official lauded the JBICs role in infrastructure, energy and loan supply, helping to promote Japans investment in Vietnam.

For his part, Maeda briefed the host on his delegations working trip to Vietnam, during which they proposed new cooperation initiatives that aim to encourage energy development, particularly renewable, clean and environmentally-friendly energy.

He also talked about the banks orientations to increase its loans for Vietnam in the projects with the participation of Japanese investors and exporters.

Applauding these initiatives, Binh asked the bank to push ahead with negotiations to materialise them and consider expanding loans for Vietnamese firms or joint ventures of the two countries, especially in infrastructure and energy.

The successful implementation of these initiatives will help the Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership develop in a more comprehensive and pragmatic manner, the host added./.
Microsoft and Birmingham City University are developing new technology to help people with disabilities become more independent in the workplace.

As a grantee of Microsoft's AI for Accessibility program, Birmingham City University is developing a prototype technology system that enables people with limited mobility to control computers using voice commands and the movement of their eyes.

This technology aims to enhance an individual's productivity and efficiency in order to unlock a range of careers by removing the need for a mouse and keyboard. When complete, this solution could help pave the way for increased participation in professions like coding, web development and computer programmingwhich will also contribute to filling key nationwide skills gaps.

"People who are unable to use a mouse or keyboard can often find themselves excluded from certain technical professions, and we are exploring ways to remove some of those barriers," said Dr. Chris Creed, Senior Lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction at Birmingham City University, who will lead the research project. "This is a fantastic opportunity to make certain professions much more inclusive."

Dr. Creed and a team of researchers are currently developing the first iteration of this system. The prototype will integrate voice commands with eye tracking technologies to allow users to efficiently write, edit, and manipulate code.

In collaboration with organizations such as Beaumont College (a large special needs college based in Lancaster, UK), the researchers are committed to working directly alongside people with limited mobility to ensure their tool upholds an inclusive design from start to finish.

Fil McIntyre Lead Assistive Technologist at Beaumont College said:

This new project could make a major difference to people who may otherwise be excluded from certain occupations and opens up a range of new opportunities to them." "We are pleased that learners with complex access needs will be able to collaborate with the researchers working on the project and help make sure we work towards a product which has the capacity to genuinely change lives."

Richard Southorn, Head of Workplace Adjustment Services at Remploy which specializes in connecting people with disabilities with employment, said:

Improving access to jobs is of the utmost importance if we are to work towards a more equal society which provides opportunities for people with disabilities. It is fantastic to see two organizations collaborating on a scheme like this which can open doors to tech careers for millions of people across the globe."

AI for Accessibility is Microsoft's $25 million five-year program aimed at harnessing the power of AI to amplify human capability for the more than one billion people around the world with disabilities. It's a call to action for developers, NGO's, academics, researchers and inventors to accelerate their work for people with disabilities, focusing on three challenges: Employment, Daily Life and Communication and Connection.
The Zika virus outbreak in Latin America has affected over 60 million people up to now. The infection can have potentially fatal consequences for pregnant women and their unborn children: many children have subsequently been born with malformations of the head, or so-called microcephaly. A particularly high incidence of these Zika-associated malformations exists in northeastern Brazil. DZIF scientists from Charite  Universitatsmedizin Berlin tried to find out the reasons for this regional cluster and discovered a surprising protective factor.

"We now know for sure that Zika virus infection during pregnancy can affect the unborn fetus in such a way that the child develops microcephaly and other severe symptoms," explains Prof Felix Drexler, a virologist at the Charite who has been developing diagnostic tests for Zika and other viruses at the DZIF. Just a few years ago, pictures of affected new-borns were cause for worldwide dismay and perplexity. "However, what we did not understand then was that high incidence of microcephaly seemed to occur particularly in northeastern Brazil," says Drexler. Why are expecting mothers in these regions at a higher risk of developing a severe Zika-associated disease than in other regions? The scientists consequently began to search for cofactors that have an influence on whether a Zika infection during pregnancy will develop fatal consequences or not.

A suspected cofactor

Dengue viruses, which are widespread in Latin America and cause dengue fever, were suspected cofactors. Initially, the scientists suspected that the antibodies humans produce against the dengue virus contribute to the fetal damage caused in later Zika infection. It has been known for a long time that these antibodies can enhance subsequent dengue infections under certain conditions.

However, in the case of Zika, the opposite seems to be the case.

Surprisingly, our study has shown that a previous dengue infection can protect against Zika-associated damage." Prof Felix Drexler

The study

As a first step to investigating the interactions between dengue and Zika viruses, the genomes of all known dengue viruses in Brazil were compared to each other. This was to enable the researchers to find out whether perhaps dengue viruses in northeastern Brazil had caused different immunity compared to the immunity observed in other regions in Brazil over the last decades. In addition, the scientists conducted extensive serological tests in Salvador, Brazil: Samples from a case-control study were tested for antibodies against four different dengue serotypes. Samples from 29 mothers who had undergone Zika infection during pregnancy and gave birth to children with microcephaly were investigated. Samples from 108 mothers who also had undergone Zika infection during pregnancy but gave birth to healthy children were used as controls. In this project, scientists from the Charite - Universitatsmedizin Berlin collaborated closely with the Federal University of Bahia and the Institute of Virology of the Bonn University Medical Centre.

Cofactor becomes a protective factor

The study showed that an existing immunity against dengue virus significantly reduces the risk of Zika-associated microcephaly in newly borns. "We can now say that people who have had early infections with dengue do not need to worry much about contracting more severe forms of Zika infection due to this," summarises Drexler.

This is an important message for pregnant women.

Consequently, it could not be confirmed that the dengue virus acts as a cofactor for congenital Zika infection. The scientists are now looking for further cofactors and other possibilities of identifying the risk of microcephaly early on.

Background

Felix Drexler and his research group have already developed several novel Zika virus tests. The Zika diagnostics project in Brazil was brought underway by the DZIF in order to act against the threat of emerging infections. It is also being funded by the EU program Horizon 2020.

Zika and dengue viruses

Zika viruses are usually transmitted by mosquitoes, particularly by the Aedes species, but they can also be transmitted sexually. Symptoms of Zika include rashes, headaches, joint pain and muscle pain, conjunctivitis and sometimes fever.

However, these symptoms are considered mild compared to other tropical diseases that are transmitted by mosquitoes. During pregnancy, the virus can cause microcephaly and other malformations in the unborn child.

The dengue virus is also transmitted by mosquitoes of the Aedes species and has similar symptoms to Zika infection. Dengue usually causes high temperatures, headaches, muscle and joint pain. People usually recover within a few days, but complications may also occur. Dengue fever is one of the most common diseases transmitted by mosquitoes worldwide.

Source:

German Center for Infection Research

Journal reference:

Drexler, J.F. et al. (2019 Cross-Protection of Dengue Virus Infection against Congenital Zika Syndrome, Northeastern Brazil. Emerging Infectious Diseases. doi.org/10.3201/eid2508.190113
No fewer than 25 serving Conservative MPs, including several leadership candidates, are connected to an organization part-funded by the tobacco industry and responsible for a series of attacks on public health initiatives, reveals an investigation by The BMJ.

Politicians with links to free-market think-tank the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) include Dominic Raab, David Davis and Owen Paterson.

Between them, Neil Record, chair of the IEA's board of trustees since 2015, and fellow IEA trustee since July 2005, Sir Michael Hintze, have given a total of 166,000 in cash or hospitality to 30 MPs and 4.3 million to the Conservative party since 2002.

Between 2010 and 2017, prior to his appointment as health secretary, Matt Hancock accepted 32,000 in funding from Neil Record.

In a special report published today, investigative journalist Jonathan Gornall warns that the IEA is closer to power than it has been for decades - and may hold the key to No 10.

Public health experts say they are "deeply concerned" that policies designed to tackle childhood obesity, such as calorie labeling and advertising restrictions on unhealthy foods, could be put at risk under a new Tory leadership wedded to the IEA's free-market, anti-regulation ideology.

The IEA has a long record of dismissing public health initiatives as "nanny-state" interventions, writes Gornall. In the past year alone, it has issued statements criticizing everything from alcohol controls to sugar taxes as "pointless," "absurd" and "draconian."

The IEA keeps its funding sources private, as it is legally allowed to do, but The BMJ can reveal today that it is part-funded by British American Tobacco. In the past, it has also taken money from the gambling, alcohol, soft drinks and sugar industries.

The prospect of a free-market ideologue taking the reins of the Conservative party fills many in the public health community with dismay.

Professor Nick Sheron, head of the Population Hepatology Research Group at Southampton University, says:

The consequences of a future leader aligning against health and in favor of the tobacco, alcohol and obesity industries are deeply concerning. The cost will be premature mortality and the utter despair this causes families, higher workloads for the NHS, and reduced productivity for the economy."

Sir Ian Gilmore, director of the Liverpool Centre for Alcohol Research and chair of Alcohol Health Alliance UK, fears that "public health would be an early victim of populist free marketism and the victims would be the most vulnerable - including children."

These findings "raise important questions about the potential for bias and conflict of interest in the think tank's outputs and the government policies they might influence," writes Rebecca Coombes, Head of News and Views at The BMJ.

She believes the government should compel all think tanks to publish a list of their donors; and media organizations such as the BBC should oblige them to reveal their funding sources before they can participate in public debate - as The BMJ does.

"Without this necessary scrutiny and disclosure, the public is unable to assess the extent to which their claims of academic independence are sustainable," she concludes.

Source:

BMJ

Journal reference:

Gornall, J. (2019) Big tobacco, the new politics, and the threat to public health. The BMJ. doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l2164
APPOMATTOX  A simple silhouette, belonging to a former slave named Fannie Berry, is among the recurring motifs in The American Civil War Museum at Appomattoxs latest exhibit, Enacting Freedom: Black Virginians in the Age of Emancipation.

Each silhouette contains a quote from Berry, a former slave from Appomattox County who was interviewed in 1937 as part of the New Deals Works Progress Administration (WPA) initiative, which the exhibit reports produced more than 2,000 interviews with formerly enslaved people.

In one of the selected quotes, Berry talks about the abuses she suffered as a slave: One tried to throw me, but he couldnt. We tussled and knocked over chairs and I scratched his face all to pieces; and there was no more bothering Fannie from him.  Us colored women had to go through a plenty, I tell you.

In another, she recounts the end of the war, as Union soldiers marched into town.

A soldier came along and called to me, How far is it to the rebels? Scared to death I was. I recollect getting behind the house and pointed in the direction. You see, if the rebels knew that I told the soldier, they would have killed me.

[Her] quotes kind of guide you around the exhibit, said Paul Quigley, a professor of Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech, who led the team of students who curated the exhibit alongside museum staff.

Those [WPA] interviews are great because they tend to span the pre-Civil War, wartime and post-Civil War time, Quigley said in an April phone interview. They give you a sense of how people experienced the transition.

That transition is the main focus of the exhibit, which opened last month and remains up through next fall.

Quigley and his students spent nearly a year designing the exhibition to show how Virginia slaves experienced freedom after enslavement, as well as how those experiences connect to today.

We wanted to do something that acknowledged [that] the content we were talking about from the Civil War reconstruction didnt just stop being relevant at the end of the 19th century, but it reverberated down through the 20th century and into our own time, Quigley said. Flash forwards are one way to think about them. To school desegregation, for example.

The exhibition delves into six different themes  War & Violence, Education, Work & Labor, Family, Religion, and Civil Rights  that are illustrated by artifacts and images, panels that provide information and pose questions to visitors, and oral histories that can be watched or listened to on tablets set up in the gallery.

Some of the flash forwards mentioned by Quigley are featured in the civil rights section, which includes a timeline of quotes related to civil rights legislature and court decisions.

Gia Theocharidis, a senior at Virginia Tech, worked on the section, which deals with the African-American journey to gain rights in America from the immediate days of emancipation all the way to beyond the civil rights movement of the 1960s, she said.

To research life immediately after emancipation, Theocharidis looked at records of the Freedmens Bureau, which was established in 1865 to help the souths post-war recovery, assisting newly freed people in finding jobs, housing and medical services.

But, the exhibit notes, the bureau had its limitations and was not always effective.

I examined various declarations and orders that either stated the enforcement or restriction of rights for freed people, Theocharidis said.  It is one thing to hear about it in history class, but to handle the damning documents and actually interact with the orders that told them how to be Americans is incredibly intense. It really gives you  a better perspective on how much restriction people had on just basic living and civil rights. So many things people take for granted today were once precious concepts worth risking your life for.

Stephanie Arduini, the American Civil War Museums director of education and programs, said students highlighted stories and people from Central Virginia when they could  such as Hannah Reynolds, a slave who was the only known civilian casualty of the Battle of Appomattox Court House, and Charles Duiguid, a free black man who worked as a blacksmith in Appomattox during and after the war.

The challenge is [that] artifacts relating to African-Americans during and after the Civil War are hard to come by, Arduini said.  I think the power of what we dont know helps underscore the themes of the show.

In those instances, she said, students took objects that represented ideas and themes in the exhibit. An inkwell and pen used by the Confederate treasury is displayed in the education section, for example, to illustrate the idea of literacy, who was able to achieve it and how the power pivoted in the years after the war.

Silverware, a chipped mug and broken plate that belonged to a black family and were discovered at an archaeological site in Gloucester County are displayed in the section about families.

For a section talking about everyday life and hopes and dreams, Arduini said, that was perfect.

Other artifacts include school books from the 1860s and 1870s; a Confederate receipt issued to a slaveholder for the use of his enslaved person to work on the fortifications around Richmond; three photographs, rendered in 3-D, of the U.S. Army headquarters in City Point, Virginia, in 1864; and labor contracts between newly freed slaves and white landowners.

Finding a way to take the information gleaned from the labor contracts and other documents and present it to the public was a challenge, said Carolyn Buonforte, a sophomore at Virginia Tech who handled the exhibits section on labor.

But after a team meeting, Quigley advised them to write in a way that captures our audiences attention and maintains it for the duration, Buonforte said.  This completely changed the way I approached the project. Instead of just reporting facts, I wrote in a way that told a story.

Buonforte and Theocharidis were among a group of five undergraduate and two graduate students Quigley said did most of the heavy lifting to bring the content together, while a group of 17 additional students participated in other ways, mostly doing smaller research projects associated with classes they were taking. Another grad student came on board last spring and was tasked with developing curriculum materials for school visits.

Arduini said the students were incredibly responsive and creative. This is a lot of work to do in a semester and a half.

The exhibit marks the second time the museum has brought in a group of students for this type of collaboration.

Last year, University of Lynchburg students curated Local Stories, National Struggle: The Civil War in Appomattox and Lynchburg.

The students, they are enjoying it, and we enjoy it from our perspective, Jeniffer Maloney, the American Civil War Museums communications manager, said while the exhibition was being installed in April.  Its young ideas, a fresh perspective. Thats not something every college student gets to say: I helped curate an exhibit.

The exhibition opened in April during commemoration activities for Gen. Robert E. Lees surrender in Appomattox, and a related lecture, given by the University of Alabamas Hilary Green about African-American education after the Civil War, will be held at the museum Thursday.

This history really gets spotlighted every year, Arduini said, adding that the exhibit is a way to build upon that history of Lee surrendering to Grant.  How that translates into what came next.

Contact Casey Gillis at (434) 385-5525 or cgillis@newsadvance.com. Find her on Twitter: @tvcouchpotato.

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Lets start with a few facts about the children currently living in Alabama.

Twenty-six percent of them  more than 285,280  lived in poverty in 2018, which is the most recent year for available data. About 30 percent of Alabamas children living in poverty are younger than 5.

This data comes from Kids Count, an annual project by the Annie E. Casey Foundation that tracks childrens well-being in every state.

Poverty has its consequences, particularly for young children. Research has long shown that growing up poor harms brain development. How much?

A 2015 pediatric study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association answers that question with devastating clarity.

Poverty cripples a childs ability to learn, and not just for a little while. As Scientific American reported, the study showed that up to 20 percent of the achievement gap between high- and low-income children may be explained by differences in brain development.

How bad are those differences?

The researchers found that children who grew up in families below the federal poverty line had gray matter volumes 8 to 10 percent below normal development.

To be clear, by gray matter, they mean the brain.

So, thats one measure of how much Alabama values the life of a child.

Heres another: Alabama has the highest infant mortality rate in the country. When it comes to keeping children alive after theyre born, Alabama is rock-bottom last.

So, what is Alabama doing to help these children?

Well, we have news.

In the competition for which state is the closest replica of Margaret Atwoods dystopian Republic of Gilead, Alabama is the hands-down winner. It is now the most dangerous state in the country, and the most hostile one, for women of reproductive age.

This week, the Alabama state legislature passed the harshest anti-abortion bill in the U.S., with no exceptions for rape or incest. Say that out loud, and then try to come up with a scenario where that sounds OK.

In Alabama, we already know how that scenario plays out. A bunch of Republican legislators had the chance to imagine what it would be like to be a 14-year-old girl raped by her father and then forced to deliver a child that will remind her of that trauma every day of her life. They were just fine with that.

I am reminded, not in a good way, of the afternoon I spent sitting in an Ohio statehouse committee room a few years back. This was an earlier round of the so-called heartbeat bill, which just passed again in Ohio, and also in Georgia. A right-to-life zealot with a law degree stood before the Republican majority and argued that a pregnancy conceived during a rape is a gift from God. As he spoke, rape survivors in the audience quietly sobbed with outrage and grief.

In Alabama, Rep. Terri Collins, who sponsored the new anti-abortion bill, said that its purpose is to force the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that guarantees a womans right to an abortion.

Yet another Republican who thinks womens bodies are their playground. Im sure theyd never put it that way, because any reference to play in the context of reproductive rights would suggest that some women have sex for fun. There will be none of that in the Heart of Dixie.

As usual, there is no statutory punishment for all those men and boys inseminating women and girls who werent planning to get pregnant. The last thing Republican legislators want to do is mess up juniors life.

Alabama senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton nailed it when he said to his Republican colleagues, You just said to my daughter... You dont matter in the state of Alabama.

For many years, We Dare Defend Our Rights has been Alabamas state motto. Now that theyve made clear who does and does not have them, its time for a new motto, dont you think? Maybe Take a Whirl, Blame the Girl.

Until further notice, all you women and girls of reproductive age in Alabama can pick up their bonnets and red dresses at one of the 144 Walmart stores in Alabama, where the average hourly wage, as reported in January 2019, is $13.89.

Work 40 hours and you, too, can make just barely enough money to keep you above the poverty line for a family of four.

Who needs a growing brain?

Schultz is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and professional in residence at Kent State Universitys school of journalism. Email her at con.schultz@yahoo.com.
Walker a 'consistent conservative'

When I consider who I will vote for in the June 11 Republican primary for the 23rd House of Delegates race, I want to know that the vote is backed up by a consistent, conservative that has proven himself by his work.

That is why I will be voting for Wendell Walker, who has devoted his time and money for 30 years to support true conservatives like Del. Kathy Byron and Sen. Steve Newman. He also initiated and set up the Trump Headquarters in 2016 in Lynchburg and worked tirelessly to recruit volunteers to help elect President Trump. He has also served as chairman of the Lynchburg City Republicans and chairman of the Sixth District.

He has never wavered in his work for the pro-life cause as evidenced by his work in the first Crisis Pregnancy Center, the Godparent Home and the Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center.

He has also been a solid supporter of our Second Amendment rights and is a lifetime member of the NRA.

Our Virginia General Assembly hangs in a delicate balance with the Republicans holding a razor-thin majority. We need a strong conservative with a proven record to support legislation for less government, lower taxes, pro-life and Second Amendment rights. He also supports our public safety officers and is firmly opposed to sanctuary cities where many of our citizens have already lost their lives because of criminals that have been given safe haven there. He has been endorsed by Lynchburg Sheriff Don Sloan and Lynchburg Commonwealths Attorney Bethany Harrison.

I hope you will carefully consider the significance of your vote on June 11 and vote for Wendell Walker for delegate in the 23rd District, a proven leader of Virginians!

BETH HAMMOND

Lynchburg
(Newser)  A company has offered to rehire a New Hampshire school cafeteria worker it fired for giving a student lunch for free, but she isn't interested. Bonnie Kimball said she was terminated March 28 by Fresh Picks, a vendor that supplies food to the Mascoma Valley Regional High School in Canaan, per the AP. It came a day after she gave a student lunch, even though he couldn't pay for it. Kimball says that when the student's account showed no funds, she quietly told him, "Tell [your] mom you need money," and provided a lunch. She said a manager just asked what was on the boy's plate and walked away. The next morning the student's bill was paid. "His family is very well known in this town and I can guarantee that if I called his mother, she would have come right in and paid the bill. But I didn't want to get her out of work," Kimball says.

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The company, however, said it had offered to rehire the employee and provide her back pay and would "work with the school district to revise policies and procedures regarding transactions." Kimball said she had no intention of returning to her old job and accused the company of only offering to rehire her "so that it could keep its contract." The Mascoma Valley Regional School Board voted Tuesday to continue using the company for another year. "When I walked out of the school the day that I got fired, all that was going through my head was that I wouldn't be able to show my face again. People would think I was a thief," she said, adding the support since then "makes me feel good." The school district, in a statement, said it talked with the company about the firing of what it described as a part-time cafeteria worker and would review its food service policies to ensure conflicts between the district and its vendors don't come up in the future. (Read more New Hampshire stories.)
(Newser)  As pushback continues against strict abortion laws showing up in states around the country, including Georgia and Alabama, news out of the Show-Me State offers fresh controversy. On Friday, Missouri passed a ban against abortion at eight weeks, and during arguments on the state House floor about the measure, which doesn't allow for exceptions for rape or incest, GOP Rep. Barry Hovis said eight weeks is "ample time" for women to get an abortion before the cutoff. The former police officer also drew upon his past experience on the force for the controversial remarks he made next, per the Washington Post. "Let's just say someone goes out and ... they're raped ... one night after a college partybecause most of my rapes were not the gentleman jumping out of the bushes that nobody had ever met," Hovis noted.

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He added that that scenario took place just a handful of times out of every hundred, and that "most of them were date rapes or consensual rapes, which were all terrible." His use of the terms "gentleman" and "consensual rape" prompted swift outrage, including from Democratic Rep. Raychel Proudie, who quickly shot back at him, "There is no such thing ... as consensual rape." The AP notes abortion rights advocates also hissed at him. Hovis later told the AP he's with Proudie and doesn't believe in the concept of consensual rape, but merely misspoke: He said he meant to say "date rapes or consensual or rape," adding, "It's my apology if I didn't enunciate the word 'or.'" (Read more abortion stories.)
(Newser)  A guest on Bill Maher's HBO show this week has walked back remarks she made about President Trump that tied to a murdered journalist. Deadline and Fox News report 68-year-old author Fran Lebowitz sat on Maher's stage Friday and took part in a discussion about Trump's time in office, her "shock" at recent behavior by Attorney General Bill Barr, and the possibility of Trump's impeachmentwhich appeared to not be enough of a punishment for Lebowitz, who said that wouldn't even be "scratching the surface of what he deserves." What she mused on instead: "We should turn him over to the Saudis, you know, his buddies. The same Saudis who got rid of that reporter, you know. Maybe they can do the same for him.'" The reporter she was referring to was apparently Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist who was assassinated inside the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul.

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There was so much immediate backlash on Twitter to her comments that producers alerted Maher to it, and Lebowitz tamped it all down in the online "Overtime" segment after the show. "I didn't even realize that I said it," she noted. "I had 12 cups of coffee." Maher added that even though he also dislikes Trump, "no matter who the president is, we do not want physical harm." Lebowitz's response: "I did not mean that and I regret saying it. I regret that everyone misinterpreted it because they misinterpret everything." Trump wasn't the only presidential contender who got caught in Lebowitz's crosshairs. Per Raw Story, she also mocked 76-year-old Joe Biden and 77-year-old Bernie Sanders, insisting, "They're both way too old to be president. ... These guys are too old to drive." (Read more Fran Lebowitz stories.)
(Newser)  James Comey has been embroiled in a very public feud with ex-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Now the former FBI director is adding the current AG into the mix. Business Insider reports that Barr appeared on Fox & Friends Friday morning and repeated his assertion that there may have been "spying" on the Trump campaign, noting, "We should be worried about whether government officials abuse their power and put their thumb on the scale." He had used similar phrasing in a recent interview in the Wall Street Journal. The Hill notes that Barr also this week responded to Trump's call to "investigate the investigators" in Robert Mueller's Russia probe by hiring the top federal prosecutor in Connecticut to look into that investigation's origins.

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Comey seemingly responding to all of that Friday night on Twitter. "The AG should stop sliming his own Department," Comey tweeted. "If there are bad facts, show us, or search for them professionally and then tell us what you found. An AG must act like the leader of the Department of Justice, an organization based on truth." His final jab at Barr, who's been accused of acting more like the president's attorney than the top attorney for the people of the United States: "Donald Trump has enough spokespeople." (Read more James Comey stories.)
(Newser)  New video shows actor Arnold Schwarzenegger being assaulted during a public appearance in South Africa, the AP reports. The video posted by broadcaster eNCA shows the 71-year-old standing and filming children at a sporting event in Johannesburg when a man makes a flying kick into his back. Schwarzenegger stumbles forward. The man is quickly grabbed by security. The video shortly afterward shows Schwarzenegger smiling and shaking hands with bystanders but then walking out ringed by security.

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Schwarzenegger later posted on Twitter that "Thanks for your concerns, but there is nothing to worry about. I thought I was just jostled by the crowd, which happens a lot. I only realized I was kicked when I saw the video like all of you. I'm just glad the idiot didn't interrupt my Snapchat." Schwarzenegger was shooting cellphone video of children skipping rope at the time of the assault, the Sandton Chronicle reports.

(Read more assault stories.)
(Newser)  For more than two decades, Nancy Mace did not speak publicly about her rape. In April, when she finally broke her silence, she chose the most public of forumsbefore her colleagues in South Carolina's legislature, the AP reports. A bill was being debated that would ban all abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected; Mace, a Republican lawmaker who is against abortion in most cases, wanted to add an exception for rape and incest. When some of her colleagues in the House dismissed her amendmentsome women invent rapes to justify seeking an abortion, they claimedshe could not restrain herself. "For some of us who have been raped, it can take 25 years to get up the courage and talk about being a victim of rape," Mace said, gripping the lectern so hard she thought she might pull it up from the floor.

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As one Republican legislature after another has pressed ahead with restrictive abortion bills in recent months, they have been confronted with raw and emotional testimony about the consequences of such laws. Female lawmakers and other women have stepped forward to tell searing, personal stories. In Ohio, a fetal heartbeat bill passed even after three lawmakers spoke out on the floor about their rapesamong them State Rep. Lisa Sobecki, who argued for a rape exemption by recounting her own assault and subsequent abortion. Kelly Dittmar, an expert on women and politics, says more female lawmakers might speak out about their rapes and abortions. "For some women who have healed enough in their own personal battles with this type of abuse, they might be comfortable speaking about this publicly because they see a higher purpose for it," she said. Click for the full story.

(Read more abortion stories.)
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New Delhi:

Osamu Masuko, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, is all set to step down from his role as chief executive (CEO) on June 21. However, he will stay with the automaker as its chairman. Masuko will be replaced by Takao Kato, who is president of its operations in Indonesia.

In a statement, Mitsubishi Motors said that Masuko and Kato will hold a press conference on May 20 to discuss the changes.

Japan's sixth-largest automaker, in which Nissan Motor Co holds a controlling stake, said this month it expects profit to fall to 90.0 billion yen ($821 million) in the year to March as it navigates slowing demand for cars, global trade frictions and the need to develop new technologies.

Mitsubishi's partners Nissan and France's Renault are meanwhile grappling with the fallout from the arrest of Carlos Ghosn, the group's former chairman, who is facing charges of financial misconduct in Japan. Ghosn has denied all charges against him.

Coming back to Masuko, he has been with the Mitsubishi Motors since 1972 and was made president in 2007 before being elevated into the position of CEO in 2014. During his time as Mitsubishi's chief, Masuko has sought to refocus the company's limited development resources on crossover vehicles and emerging market vehicles.

This has meant axing the well-established Lancer line, and launching the Eclipse Cross, and the Xpander people mover. He also closed the company's only US factory in Normal, Illinois, which was eventually purcahsed by Rivian, a startup electric SUV and pickup truck maker.

On the other hand, Kato joined Mitsubishi in 1984 and has held many senior roles at the company's factory in Nagoya. He had spent four years in Russia before returning to Japan in 2014. Kato was made president of Mitsubishi Motors Indonesia in 2015.
New Delhi:

As campaigning for the last phase of the staggered Lok Sabha elections came to an end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his two-day visit to the holy shrines of Kedarnath and Badrinath in Uttarakhand on Saturday. Dressed in a traditional pahari outfit, Modi trekked around 2 kilometres to a holy cave near Kedarnath Shrine, where he was seen doing darshan and puja for about half an hour this morning. On request of media, accompanying the prime minister on his way to the cave, camerapersons were allowed to take initial pictures of him. As per the latest reports, Modi is going to sit for meditation in the next few hours and will continue it till Sunday morning. However, no media person will be allowed inside in the vicinity of the cave during the period.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi trekked 2 kms to the cave and on request of media allowed cameras to make initial visuals. PM will begin his meditation in a few hours which will last till tomorrow morning. No media or personnel will be allowed in the vicinity of the cave," the news agency ANI reported.

Sources: Prime Minister Narendra Modi trekked 2 kms to the cave and on request of media allowed cameras to make initial visuals. PM will begin his meditation in a few hours which will last till tomorrow morning. No media or personnel will be allowed in the vicinity of the cave. https://t.co/8K3ZnE29kC a ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

During his visit to Kedarnath, Modi also took stock of the re-development projects, followed by the trail of destruction in a series of cloudbursts in the temple town in 2013. This is Modi's fourth visit to the temple in the last two years.

To kick-start his two-day visit, Modi reached the Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun at around 9 am on Saturday. Stringent security arrangements were in place for the prime minister's visit, DGP (law and order) Ashok Kumar said.A

Modi is scheduled to leave for Badrinath after completion of the morning prayers at the Himalayan Shrine of Kedarnath on Sunday. Post his Badrinath visit, the prime minister will fly back to Delhi via Dehradun in late Sunday afternoon.
New Delhi:

In a sensation allegation, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that the BJP is after his life and may get him assassinated like former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi one day.

Addressing an election rally in Punjab, Kejriwal said that his Personal Security Officers (PSOs) report to the Centre and vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

BJP is after my life, they will murder me one day. I will be murdered like Indira Gandhi by my PSO one day, Kejriwal was quoted as saying.

Responding to the allegations, Delhi Police said in a statement: "Our security personnel posted in CM's security team are committed to their duties.The unit has been providing security for several high dignitaries of all political parties"

On Friday, speaking to The Indian Express, Kejriwal also said that the Muslim votes in the national capital "shifted" to the Congress at the last moment and it could hurt AAP's sentiments. Responding to this, senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit said that the votes shifted because of the Delhi CM's bad track record.

Earlier too, Kejriwal has made similar allegations against the Modi dispensation. In July 2016, the Delhi CM had posted a video message on YouTube claiming that PM Modi and party president Amit Shah could go to any extent to get him killed.

Earlier this month, Kejriwal was slapped by a man while he was holding a roadshow in Delhis Moti Nagar.

In the video of the incident that went viral on social media, a man, wearing a red T-shirt, climbed on Arvind Kejriwal's open jeep and slapped the CM. The accused later said that he was a supporter of AAP.
New Delhi:

Demanding a probe into charges made by Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, the Congress on Saturday alleged that eroding institutional integrity has been the hallmark of Modi government and asked whether the poll panel has become Election Omission and a puppet in the PM's hands.

Lavasa is learnt to have written to the Chief Election Commissioner that he will be recusing from EC meetings as his dissent was not being recorded on clearances given by the poll panel to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over alleged poll code violations.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked whether the EC will save itself more embarrassment by recording Lavasa's dissent notes, as he accused PM Modi of "muzzling" democratic institutions.

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said there must be a credible investigation into the issues raised by Lavasa, alleging that the sanctity of the electoral process and the institutional integrity of the Election Commission of India is in jeopardy.

There must be a thorough credible enquiry into the issues raised by Mr Lavasa and restoration of the Commission's independent status as the watchdog of world's largest democracy. Mr Lavasa's letter - contents of which have appeared in the media - is extremely serious.

The sanctity of the electoral process and the institutional integrity of the Election Commission of India is in jeopardy, said Ahmed Patel on Twitter.

In a statement, Surjewala said: "Election Commission has become 'Election Omission'. Shri Ashok Lavasa, one of the three members of the Central Election Commission (CEC), who dissented on multiple occasions when the Election Commission was busy giving clean chits to Modi-Shah duo opts out of EC meetings as the ECI even refused to record his dissent notes.

This is a day-light murder of Constitutional norms, set conventions and propriety. The poll panel's rules express preference for a unanimous view, but provide for a majority ruling in the absence of unanimity. Being a Constitutional body, the minority view has to be recorded, but this is being trampled to protect Modi-Shah duo."

He alleged that Lavasa's minority decisions going unrecorded "speaks volumes about the political pressure being exerted by the Modi Government on the EC".

Omitting the dissent of Election Commissioner, simply because he had asked for a notice to be issued to the PM Modi, has severely tarnished the institutional integrity of the Election Commission, he said.

Surjewala alleged that Modi has "taken upon himself the task of denigrating, damaging, decimating, dislodging and diminishing, the sanctity of every institution of India".

PM Modi demolished the integrity of India's premier investigation agency CBI in a midnight coup to save himself from any scrutiny in the Rafale Scam.

Modi Government used CVC as the 'Colossal Veil to Cover Corruption' to publish a fallacious report, based on which an incumbent CBI Director was illegally removed.

The nation has to count only 5 more days to overthrow the 5 years of Mal-Governance of Modi Government, he said.
New Delhi:

The Congress on Saturday asked the Election Commission not to grant Prime Minister Narendra Modi permission to travel with his motorcade here on polling day as this would amount to a roadshow, a "violation" of the poll code.

In a letter to the Election Commission and the local poll authority, the party's district unit said in such a situation its own candidate would also be forced to move about in a cavalcade which could lead to "unnecessary confrontation".

Modi, who is seeking re-election from Varanasi constituency, is expected to spend at least a part of the day in Badrinath.

The Congress said it had learnt that the prime minister would stay in Varanasi on Sunday and his movement might even affect traffic, which would cause hindrance to voters trying to reach polling booths.

It said that even if his cavalcade moved without affecting or halting traffic, it would still seem like he was holding a roadshow and asked the poll body not to grant him permission for it.

Congress district unit president Prajanath Sharma said it would create a situation of an undeclared roadshow being held during the period when canvassing by candidates is restricted.

He claimed that in Maninagar, Ahmedabad, Modi he merely gone to vote, but his party had planned a roadshow with a prearranged crowd.

Sharma claimed the prime minister had also waved to crowd standing on a moving vehicle.

The party claimed that a large number of outsiders were staying in Varanasi's hotels, guesthouses and even in BJP leaders' houses despite the canvassing being over and demanded that a raid be conducted at these places to remove them from the city.
New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a two-day visit to Uttarakhand beginning May 18 to pay obeisance at the Himalayan shrines of Kedarnath and Badrinath. PM Modi will visit Kedarnath on May 18 and offer prayers at Badrinath the following day, Pradesh BJP media incharge Devendra Bhasin said. Congress president Rahul Gandhi will hold a meeting with senior leaders of the party today.

18:21 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Andhra Pradesh CM and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu meets BSP Chief Mayawati in Lucknow.



Andhra Pradesh CM and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu meets BSP Chief Mayawati in Lucknow. pic.twitter.com/MQ5xlNUW4R

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 18, 2019



18:07 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Trinamool Congress leader and nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee through his lawyer sends a defamation notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for alleged derogatory remarks made against him in a public rally on 15 May, held in Diamond Harbour in West Bengal.

18:22 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Andhra Pradesh CM and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Chief N Chandrababu Naidu met Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav, in Lucknow, today.



Andhra Pradesh CM and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Chief N. Chandrababu Naidu met Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav, in Lucknow, today. pic.twitter.com/ujUgNz6Qfq

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 18, 2019



18:06 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Karnataka Water Min DK Shivakumar: Maharashtra govt had agreed to release water after our request but now they are not releasing water in Krishna river. For the benefit of farmers and people of Kagwad and Athani we're releasing last 1 TMC from our live storage from Ilakal dam.

18:06 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In TMC has written to Election Commission seeking directions to Mukul Roy, BJP to leave constituencies of West Bengal set to go on poll on 19 May.Letter states,"He's a voter of Delhi and lawfully not entitled to stay in any constituency in Bengal going to polls on commencement of 48hour restriction period".

16:17 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Prime Minister Narendra Modi trekked 2 kms to the cave and on request of media allowed cameras to make initial visuals. PM will begin his meditation in a few hours which will last till tomorrow morning. No media or personnel will be allowed in the vicinity of the cave.

16:16 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Prime Minister Narendra Modi meditates at a holy cave near Kedarnath Shrine in Uttarakhand.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi meditates at a holy cave near Kedarnath Shrine in Uttarakhand. pic.twitter.com/KbiDTqtwwE

 ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019



14:58 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Saurabh Bhardwaj, AAP on Arvind Kejriwal's reported statement 'My PSO reports to BJP Govt, my life can be ended in minutes': After becoming CM he has been attacked at least 6 times in presence of police. Even after such incidents no action was taken. We don't trust Delhi Police.

14:57 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP worker Anoop Singh Chandan has registered a complaint with the police against Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party Chief OP Rajbhar (in file pic) for allegedly abusing BJP workers at a public meeting yesterday, in Ghazipur.

14:18 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Andhra Pradesh CM and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Chief N. Chandrababu Naidu met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar in Delhi, earlier today.



14:16 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Visuals of polling parties at an EVM distribution centre in Bhatinda, Punjab. All 13 parliamentary constituencies to go to polls in the last phase of Lok Sabha Eelctions 2019 tomorrow.





14:00 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora issues statement on EC Ashok Lavasa's purported letter to him, says, 'an unsavory and avoidable controversy reported in sections of media today about internal functioning of ECI in respect of handling of Model Code of Conduct.'



13:58 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In CEC Sunil Arora: But the same largely remained within confines of ECI after demission of office unless appearing much later in a book written by the concerned ECs/CECs. I personally never shied away from a public debate whenever required but there is time for everything. (

13:58 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In CEC Sunil Arora issues statement on EC Ashok Lavasa's purported letter to him: The 3 members of EC are not expected to be template or clones of each other, there have been so many times in the past when there has been a vast diversion of views as it can, and should be.

13:58 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Randeep Surjewala on purported letter by EC Ashok Lavasa to CEC: Chunav Aayog Modi ji ka pitthu ban chuka hai, Ashok Lavasa ji ki chitthi se saaf hai CEC aur un ke sahyogi Lavasa ji ka jo bhinn opinion hai Modi ji aur Amit Shah ko lekar usko bhi record karne ko taiyar nahi hain.

13:57 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Sheila Dikshit on Delhi CM's reported remark 'Muslim votes shifted to Congress in Delhi at last moment': Don't know what is he trying to say. Everyone has a right to vote whichever party he/she wants to vote. People of Delhi did not understand nor liked his governance model.













13:55 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In JD(S) chief and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda: We are with Congress, I don't want to speak anything more. On 23rd results will come, clear picture will be known to the entire country & what further development takes place.

13:54 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Malkangiri (Odisha): Maoists blew up Panchayat Bhawan in Timurpalli.









12:21 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Going to temple is a subject of one's personal faith. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was more focused on cameras than his worship. Where ever the cameras were installed, the PM was looking at themand offering prayers: Senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari to News Nation

12:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Sheila Dikshit on Delhi CM's reported remark 'Muslim votes shifted to Congress in Delhi at last moment': Don't know what is he trying to say. Everyone has a right to vote whichever party he/she wants to vote. People of Delhi did not understand nor liked his governance model

11:12 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The Election Commission has issued a notice to BJP candidate from Gurdaspur Sunny Deol for allegedly violating of the model code of conduct. Poll officials took serious note of a public meeting held by Deol in Pathankot on Friday night, after the silent period come in force. They also found that a loud speaker was used in the public meeting in which around 200 people were present.

11:09 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Prime Minister Narendra Modi offers prayers at Kedarnath temple.



11:05 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Delhi: Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu arrives at Congress President Rahul Gandhi's residence.

07:08 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Dr V Shanmugam: If an election agent/candidate wants VVPAT slips of a booth recounted,he can submit written request before RO. RO passes a speaking order. If he allows recounting,slips from particular VVPAT will be counted before all counting agents & results shown to them.

07:08 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Uttarakhand Addl Chief Electoral Officer: After votes in EVMs have been counted, slips from 5 randomly selected VVPATs will be counted. In case there's difference b/w the 2 tallies, they'll be cross checked again&tally of VVPAT slips will be considered as the final tally.

07:07 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Acharya Pramod Krishnam, Congress candidate from Lucknow: It is the large-heartedness of Rahul Gandhi that he gave respect to Shatrughan Sinha but Shatrughan Sinha should also give respect to the party.

07:06 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Acharya Pramod Krishnam, Congress' Lucknow candidate: Rahul ji joined Shatrughan ji's roadshow as he was following 'Party dharm' but Shatrughan ji didn't follow 'Party dharm'. He's taking politics lightly. Politics is related to India's future, there should be sensibility.

07:05 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In AMMK workers arrested for assaulting election officials granted bail.

07:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Congress president Rahul Gandhi will hold a meeting with senior leaders of the party today.

07:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In PM Modi will visit Kedarnath on May 18 and offer prayers at Badrinath the following day, Pradesh BJP media incharge Devendra Bhasin said.
highlights Abhishek Banerjee sends defamation notice to PM Modi.

Banerjee accuses Modi of making derogatory remarks against him.

At Diamond Harbour rally, Modi threatened to lock Banerjee's office.

New Delhi:

Amid a bitter war-of-words between the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kolkata,A Abhishek Banerjee, the AITC leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew, on Saturday sent a defamation notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the defamation suit, Banerjee accused Modi of making derogatory remarks against him during his May 15 election rally at Diamond Harbour in West Bengal.

"Trinamool Congress leader and nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee through his lawyer sends a defamation notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for alleged derogatory remarks made against him in a public rally on 15 May, held in Diamond Harbour in West Bengal," the news agency ANI reported.

TMC leader & nephew of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee through his lawyer sends a defamation notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for alleged derogatory remarks made against him in a public rally on 15 May, held in Diamond Harbour in West Bengal. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/3kYEcyiQBu a ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

Addressing an election rally, Modi on Wednesday hit out at Mamata Banerjee for her 'anarchist behaviour' in the state and said her nephew Abhishek Banerjee's office will be locked up soon after the results of Lok Sabha polls.

"After election results, Didi's nephew's office will be locked. I was told that his office, as per Trinamool Congress tradition, was built after occupying the public roa. Didi, your party has earned a lot of tojabaji (extortion), at least do not occupy public roads for the construction of newphew's office," Modi was quoted as saying.

"The West Bengal government is a bua-bhatije ki sarkar (aunt-nephewas government) and is only interested in looting the state," he added.

From the removal of Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar to curtailing the last leg of election campaign in the state, West Bengal has become a Modi vs Mamata battle ground, days ahead of the Lok Sabha verdict on May 23. In the mean time, Banerjee's notice to the prime minister will surely give a further boost to the ongoing controversy across the political scene in West Bengal.

In a rare decision, the Election Commission of India invoked Article 324 of the constitution on Wednesday, saying that campaigning for the last phase of Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal will end on Thursday, a day earlier than the scheduled.

The poll panelA has also ordered immediate removal of two senior officials a ADG CID Rajeev Kumar, and home secretary Atri Bhattacharya, following complaint by seveal opposition parties in the poll-bound West Bengal.

The last phase of Lok Sabha elections in nine parliamentary constituencies of West Bnegal is scheduled to be held on Sunday, May 19. The seats, which are going to polls, are - Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, South and North Kolkata. The counting of votes forf the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections will be taken up on May 23.
New Delhi:

In what comes as a major setback to the BJP during the Lok Sabha polls, the Naga Peoples Front (NPF)  an ally in BJP-led government in Manipur  had decided to pull out of the government after the general elections.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Naga People's Front (NPF) spokesperson Achumbemo Kikon said: We had a long meeting at NPF central office in Kohima and decided to withdraw support in principle from the BJP-led Manipur government.

Meanwhile, former chief minister and NPF leader, TR Zeliang in a tweet stated, After an intense deliberation and review meeting with the party functionaries and the NPF MLAs of Manipur State, the NPF party has decided in principle to pull out our 4 NPF MLAs from the BJP led Govt in Manipur headed by N Biren Singh soon after the LS election is completed.

However, NPFs withdrawal of the support is unlikely to pose a threat to the stability of the government as it has only four MLAs in the 60-member Assembly against the BJP's 29.

BJP, too, claimed that there is no threat to the government in the state. Even if four MLAs leave the government we will have 36 members, a senior BJP leader was quoted by Economic Times as saying.

Eight of the 28 Congress MLAs, who had won in the 2017 elections, defected to the BJP last year taking its tally from 21 to 29. he other parties in the ruling coalition are NPP (4), LJP (1), Independent (1) and AITC (1).

NPF made the decision to pull out of the BJP-led government in the state in a meeting of its leaders convened on Saturday.

Partys state unit chief Awangbou Newmai had alleged that the BJP doesn't respect its alliance partners.

"The BJP has never respected the spirit of the alliance since the formation of government in 2017. There have been instances when their leaders have refused to consider our members as alliance partners," he was quoted as saying.
New Delhi:

With the Lok Sabha elections drawing to a close and the Opposition predicting a hung parliament this time, the leaders of non-NDA parties have stepped up their efforts to cobble up a coalition for formation of the next government, with TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu meeting Congress, CPI, NCP and other leaders.

Hours after meeting Congress president Rahul Gandhi and discussig with him the possibilities of all opposition parties uniting and forging a joint opposition alliance, Naidu met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati.

The Andhra Pradesh chief minister also met CPI leader G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja over breakfast, asking them to "come together". Naidu also met NCP chief Sharad Pawar, LJD leader Sharad Yadav.

The TDP chief has already held several rounds of discussions with various opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

"Naidu reportedly told all the leaders that we all should come together and put our act together", in forming the next government by keeping the BJP out, a source said.

Sources said Naidu also told Gandhi to have a strategy ready, in case the NDA falls short of the majority mark and still stakes claim to form the government.

Earlier, it was reported that Opposition is planning to meet the President after the elections are over, to urge him not to call the single largest party to form the government in case of hung Parliament.

On Friday, Naidu had said that not only the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) but any outfit which is against the saffron party are welcome to join a grand alliance after the election results are declared.

Opposition parties are pitching for a joint anti-BJP front to steer the next government.

Hectic deliberations between various opposition leaders are likely to stepped up before the Lok Sabha results are announced on May 23.

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has called for a meeting of leaders of non-NDA parties on May 23.

According to news agency ANI, Sonia  expecting that the BJP will fall short of majority  has invited leaders of secular parties including NCP chief Sharad Pawar, DMK president M K Stalin, RJD and Trinamool Congress for the meeting.

Reportedly, invite has also been extended to Jagan Reddy of the YSR Congress and K Chandrashekar Rao of the TRS, apart from Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.

However, the attendance of Mayawati, Akhilesh and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee is suspicious owing to the failed attempts to forge alliances in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

ANI quoted sources saying that the Congress has appointed four leaders  Ahmed Patel, P Chidambaram, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot  to working on ways to forge a post-poll coalition of like-minded parties.

Sources said that the Congress is confident that the BJP will not get majority and that it why it has speeded its attempts to form a front that can outdo the BJP in case of a hung Parliament.

Amid the efforts to bring all non-NDA parties together, Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy urged Congress and his party members not to give controversial statements against each other.

"We are on the verge of formation of a new government at the Centre. At this juncture where all efforts are being made to form a non-BJP government at the Centre, the contradictory statements by leaders of coalition partners may mar such efforts," he tweeted.

"Hence, my humble request to the leaders of both the parties is to restrain from making contradictory- controversial statements in public and to support the cause," Kumaraswamy said.

However, former prime minister and JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda said they are all together and with the Congress in forming the next government.

There has been a war of words between the Congress and its alliance partners JD(S) in Karanataka for some time now.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited Kedarnath Temple located in Uttarakhand on Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river. During his visit, the prime minister offered special prayers in the sanctum of the temple. After Kedarnath, the prime minister will also pay a visit to another Himalayan shrine of Badrinath, dedicated to Hindu god Vishnu, on Sunday.

The prime minister's temple visit comes a day after campaigning for the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections 2019 ended. DGP (law and order) Ashok Kumar said that security around the temple has been strengthened ahead of Modis visit.

The Election Commission is learnt to have given its go ahead to Prime Minister Narendra Modis proposed visit to Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines in Uttarakhand beginning Saturday while reminding the prime minister's office that the model code of conduct is still in force.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had sought the Election Commission's permission for Modi's two-day official visit to Uttarakhand.

"The visit is official so it can be undertaken. But the office of the PM has been reminded that the poll code is still in force," a source said without elaborating.

Earlier on Friday, the prime minister reached Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun on his two-day visit to the Himalayan state. The portals of the both the shrines were reopened for devotees after winter break early this month.
New Delhi:

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora on Saturday broke his silence on the row over election commissioner Ashok Lavasas dissent. Lavasa, in a letter, said that he has recused himself from the Election Commissions meetings to discuss the issues regarding the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), accusing the poll body of supressing minority decisions taken by him in several cases.

"The 3 members of EC are not expected to be template or clones of each other, there have been so many times in the past when there has been a vast diversion of views as it can and should be. But they remained the same largely remained within confines of ECI." Arora said in an official statement.

Hitting out at Lavasa without taking his name, the CEC questioned the timing of the controversy and said that eloquence of silence was difficult but far more desirable.

"eloquence of silence is always difficult but far more desirable which is far to see the election process through instead of creating ill-timed controversies," he said.

Following the report of Lavasas dissent, a political row broke out with the main Opposition Congress party slamming the Narendra Modi government for the erosion of institutional integrity of the Election Commission. The Congress termed Lavasas dissent another dark day for democracy.

The disagreement over the Election Commissions clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for their alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) broke open a rift among the election commissioners with Ashok Lavasa recusing himself from all the meetings to discuss poll code issues. Lavasa claimed that minority decisions taken by him in several cases were supressed by the commission.

"Minority decisions recorded by me in several cases continue to be suppressed in a manner contrary to well-established conventions observed by multi-member statutory bodies," Mr Lavasa wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner on May 16. "...It appears futile for me to participate in the deliberations of the commission until its lawful functioning is restored in terms of including the minority decisions recorded by me," NDTV quoted Lavasa as saying.

After Lavasas protest, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora called a meeting with him. Arora reportedly said that minority decisions can only be recorded in quasi-judicial proceedings and the decision to give clean chits in poll code violations were not quasi-judicial proceedings.
New Delhi:

HD Deve Gowda, chief of Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), on Saturday reasserted his support to Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Speaking to ANI news agency, Gowda said that his party was with the Congress even as the clear picture will emerge after results on May 23.

We are with Congress. I don't want to speak anything more. On 23rd results will come, clear picture will be known to the entire country and what further development takes place, the JD-S chief said.

The former prime ministers party is fighting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the Congress party. His son HD Kumaraswamy is the chief minister of Karnataka. He formed the government with the support of the Congress party after the BJP failed to prove majority in state.

Earlier, Deve Gowda had thrown his weight behind the Rahul Gandhi for the prime ministers post and said that he will stand by the Congress chief if he becomes the PM of the country.

While the Congress chief has found support to his claim for the top job from DMK president MK Stalin and Deve Gowda, most Opposition parties are divided on the issue of who will become the prime minister if the BJP-led NDA fails to get clear majority.

Amid the warring Opposition, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao is making efforts to build a third front sans the Congress and the BJP. He even reached out to Stalin to get his support but reportedly been denied as the DMK chief has already pledged his support to the Congress party.

Another stakeholders, who will have a say in deciding the Oppositions PM candidate, are Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati. While Mayawati batted for herself, Mamata Banerjee said that the matter will be addressed post-election results.
New Delhi:

Rohit Shetty's upcoming movie from his cop universe, Sooryavashi has already signed ina stellar star cast with Katrina Kaif and Neena Gupta and now it has been learnt that the movie will be class apart from Simmba recently said the director Rohit Shetty.



According to the director, Sooryavanshi will be set not in the mordern times but in the 1990s and the film will trace how Akshay becomes Sooryavanshi. Drawing comparision to his other cops, Rohit informed Mid-Day, Akshay's Sooryavanshi is entirely different from Singham or Simmba. He doesn't wear a uniform and is very stylised. [In sharp contrast], Simmba was a brat. Sooryavanshi's department too is showcased differently. Also, while Singham fought corruption, Sooryavanshi deals with terrorism. So, the individual traits of these characters will give us enough [to play with as a whole unit].

It was during the end of Simmba that director Rohit Shetty gave us a glimpse of Akshay Kumar as ATS Chief Veer Sooryavanshi and since then. According to reports the shooting for the film will kick-start in Mumbai and then the cast and crew of Sooryavanshi will head to Bangkok and Goa.

Nikitin Dheer has been cast as the antagonist in Rohit Shetty's cop drama Sooryavanshi, featuring Akshay Kumar in the lead. The actor, who played the infamous Thangaballi in Shetty's 2013 hit Chennai Express, will once again be seen playing the antagonist.

Taking inspiration from the spectacular sucuess achievd by Marvel Cinematic Universe from its multistarrer superhero movies like Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Rohit too wants to come up with a movie that includes all his cops all at the same frame.



Chunky Pandays daughter Ananya Panday made her Bollywood debut in Tiger Shroffs Student of the Year 2, which also starred Tara Sutaria. The film has been doing fairly well at the box-office and while it did get mixed reviews from critics and fans alike, most of the audience appreciated Ananyas performance in the film. This will surely open the gates for Ananya to shine higher, further and faster.

The actress has dazzled with hersartorial fashion choices at the promotion events of the film. Even on Koffee With Karan 6, she outshined her co-stars and made quite a few headlines after she revealed that she has a crush on Kartik Aaryan.

The actress will be next seen in Pati Patni Aur Woh with Kartik Aaryan and Bhumi Padnekar as her co-stars. The movie is a remake of the 1978 film of the same name is directed by Mudassar Aziz

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New Delhi:

A tourist from Mohali died, while his instructor sustained injuries after their paraglider crashed in Himachal Pradeshs Solang Valley near Manali on Saturday, the police said. Amandeep Singh Sovti, 24, was killed when the instructor, Ranveer Singh, lost control of the paraglider, which came crashing down. Ranveer, 32, was seriously wounded in the incident, according to The Tribune.

Sovti had visited Kullu district with a friend. Kullu Superintendent of Police Shalini Agnihotri told the newspaper that the police had registered a case, and that tourists body would be handed over to his family after postmortem.

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New Delhi:

Buddha Purnima or Buddha Dayn is also known as Vesak. This year Buddha Purnima is being observed on May 18 (Saturday). Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti marks Gautama Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death. It falls on the day of the full moon in May and it is a gazetted holiday in India. The date of Vesak changes each year as it take places at the time of the first full moon of the ancient lunar month of Vesakha or Baisakh, which usually falls in May or early June.

Gautama Buddha who was known as Siddhartha Gautama was a spiritual teacher on whose teachings, Buddhism was founded. The time of Gautama Buddhas birth and death is uncertain. However, most historians date his lifetime between 563-483 B.C. Most people consider Lumbini, Nepal as birth place of Buddha. Buddha died at the age of 80 at Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh.

It celebrates the basic beliefs of Buddhism - karunaa (kindness) and ahimsa (non-violence).

2581st Birth Anniversary of Gautama Buddha

Purnima Tithi Begins: 04:11 am on May 18

Purnima Tithi Ends: 02.41 am on May 19

History and Origin

Followers of Buddhism have been celebrating Buddhist festivals for centuries, the decision to celebrate Vesakha as Buddha's birthday was taken at the first conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists held in Sri Lanka in 1950. It took another 49 years for the United Nations to recognize the importance of Buddha Purnima. The UN announced only in the year 1999 that it would be celebrating Buddha Purnima at their offices and at their headquarters at New York City.

Dates of Observance

The reason why Buddha Purnima is also known as Vesak because it is celebrated in the "Baisakh" or the "Vaisakha" month. The festival is celebrated according to the Hindu and the Buddhist calendars in Nepal. Buddha's birth place celebrates Buddha Purnima on the day of the full moon. In countries like Indonesia, Laos and Thailand, Buddha Purnima is celebrated according to the Chinese calendar. Following the Chinese Lunar Calendar, these countries celebrate Buddha's birthday on the 14th or on the 15th day of the fourth month.

Symbols

The dharmacakra or dharma wheel is a symbol often seen during Vesak. It is a wooden wheel with eight spokes. The wheel represents Buddha's teaching on the path to enlightenment. The eight spokes symbolize the noble eightfold path of Buddhism.

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New Delhi:

Buddha Purnima, which marks the the birthday, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha, founder of Buddhism, is celebrated with great zeal and devotion across India and Eastern Asia. Buddha Purnima is also known as Buddha Jayanti or Vesak Purnima. It celebrates the basic beliefs of Buddhism - karunaa (kindness) and ahimsa (non-violence). In 2019, Buddha Purnima falls on May 18 and followers of Lord Buddha are all enthralled in the holy celebration.

We have compiled some messages and quotes that you can send to your loved ones on Buddha Purnima or Vesak Purnima today:

Rely on the teachings, not on the person

Rely on the meaning, not on the words

Rely on the real life, not on the dreams

Rely on the wisdom, not on the mind inside

Happy Buddha Jayanti!

May the full moon of Buddha Purnima steal all ills and usher in peace and awakening. Have a happy Buddha Jayanti!

On Buddha Purnima, wishing that peace and tranquility be by your sidetoday and always!

May Lord Buddha enlighten you on the path of peace, non-violence and truth. Happy Buddha Purnima!

May the full moon of Buddha Purnim

away the darkness of ignorance, bigotry and hatred

and herald an era of contentment

peace and enlightenment for the world!

Heartiest Greetings on this day

Happy Buddha Jayanti!!

On this auspicious day, let us pray for love, peace and harmony for all the entire world. Have a blessed Buddha Purnima!

We live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a reality. We are that reality. When you understand this, you see that you are nothing, and being nothing, you are everything. That is all. Happy Buddha Purnima.



Spread the message

Of universal brotherhood

And compassion

Far and wide

Wishing you peace on

Buddha Jayanti



Wishing that you find

Rays of hope

And your life is enlightened

By the divine grace

Of Lord Buddha!



May the Lord Buddha enlighten you on the path of

Truth, love and peace.

You may gather knowledge, power, prestige and money

Happy Buddha Purnima!



On lifes journeyFaith is nourishment,

Virtuous deeds are a shelter,

Wisdom is the light by day and Right mindfulness is the protection by night.







If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.

If he has conquered greed, nothing can limit his freedom.

May Lord Buddhas preachings for

right conduct,

right motive,

right speech,

right effort,

right resolve,

right livelihood,

right attention and

right meditation

help us to eradicate evil and suffering from this world.

Happy Buddha Jayanti.

Wishing you prosperity and eternal peace and happiness, today and always.

Happy Buddha Purnima!

Here are some inspirational quotes from the Buddha himself:

"He has the most who is most content with the least."

"It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell."

"Everyday is a new day! No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again."

"Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world."

"Pain is certain, suffering is optional."





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New Delhi:

At least three terrorists were killed on Saturday in an encounter that broke out between security forces and terrorists in Panzgam village of Awantipora in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama district. Troops of 130 Battalion CRPF, 55 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and Special Operations Group (SOG) had launched a joint cordon and search operation after receiving inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area.



According to reports, the firing has stopped. However, forces have tightened the cordon in the area.



On Thursday, three terrorists were killed and a soldier was injured in a gunfight between security forces and terrorists in Handew village of Shopian district. Earlier on the same day, three Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists, a civilian and a soldier were killed in an encounter in Pulwama district. "In the process, one Army Jawan Sepoy Sandeep attained martyrdom and a civilian Rayees Dar also lost his life," the spokesman said.



In the retaliatory action by security forces, three terrorists were killed in the ensuing encounter and their bodies were retrieved, he said.

"They were identified as Naseer Pandith of Kareemabad Pulwama, Umar Mir of Shopian and Khalid from Pakistan," he said.

The spokesman said according to the police records, the slain ultras were affiliated with proscribed terror outfit JeM. They were wanted by law for their complicity in a series of terror crimes including attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities, he added.

"Naseer Pandith had a long history of terror crime records before joining terrorist organisation and several terror crime cases were registered against him for planning and executing terror attacks in the area after joining proscribed terror outfit JeM," the spokesman said.

Naseer was also involved in the killing of a policeman Mohammad Yaqoob Shah of Pulwama in 2018 on the eve of Eid, he said, adding the terrorist was also involved in several weapons snatching incidents reported from the area.

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New Delhi:

Its high time social media platforms chunk some of the bizarre, creepy trends and hashtags people cook up before it appears in the view of the public eye. Just when you thought the #Kiki challenge, #Bird Box challenge or throwing cheese slices on their toddlers is preposterous enough, a new trend where you French Kiss cows alongside the hashtag #KuhKussChallenge trend evolves to beat them all.

Apparently, the people of Austria are snogging their horned, four legged creatures in this new Cow Kiss Challenge. A Swiss app called Castl launched the #KuhKussChallenge ('Cow Kiss Challenge') on Wednesday, encouraging users in Switzerland and other German-speaking countries to kiss cows - 'with or without tongues' - to raise money for charity, the Daily Mail reports.

Following the trend, people can be see performing the tongue-exchange trend with cows on YouTube. As we saw it coming from afar, the Austrian Government have been forced to issue a warning on this preposterous challenge calling it a 'dangerous nuisance' on Thursday.

Austrian Agriculture Minister Elisabeth Koestinger branded the challenge nonsensical added, 'Pastures and meadows are not petting zoos - actions like these could have serious consequences.'

'Actions like this challenge fly in the face of our efforts to promote co-existence on the pastures. I simply can't understand it,' said Koestinger.

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Tokyo:

A Japanese startup that launched a rocket into space last month plans to provide low-cost rocket services and compete with American rivals such as SpaceX, its founder said. Interstellar Technology Inc. founder Takafumi Horie said a low-cost rocket business in Japan is well-positioned to accommodate scientific and commercial needs in Asia. While Japans government-led space programs have demonstrated top-level technology, he said the country has fallen behind commercially due to high costs.

In Japan, space programs have been largely government-funded and they solely focused on developing rockets using the best and newest technologies, which means they are expensive, Horie told reporters in Tokyo.

As a private company, we can focus on the minimum level of technology needed to go to space, which is our advantage. We can transport more goods and people to space by slashing costs. Horie said his companys low-cost MOMO-3 rocket is the way to create a competitive space business in Japan.

During its May 4 flight, the unmanned MOMO-3 rocket reached 113.4 kilometers (70 miles) in altitude before falling into the Pacific Ocean. The cost to launch the MOMO-3 was about one-tenth of the launch cost of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the countrys space agency, according to Interstellar CEO Takahiro Inagawa.

Horie said his company plans to launch its first orbital rocket the ZERO within the next few years and then it would technologically be on par with competitors such as Elon Musks SpaceX, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos Blue Origin and New Zealand engineer Peter Becks Rocket Lab.

The two-stage ZERO would be twice as long and much heavier than the compact MOMO-3, which is about 10 meters (32 feet) long and 50 centimeters (1.5 feet) in diameter and weighs about 1 ton. It would be able to send satellites into orbit or carry payloads for scientific purposes.

Development of a low-cost commercial rocket is part of a growing international trend in the space business led by the U.S. and aggressively followed by China and others.

At home, Horie could face competition from space subsidiaries of major companies such as Canon and IHI, which have expertise from working with the governments space agency.

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New Delhi:

Life on Mars: The Red Planet has long been the subject of human interest. NASA is working hard now to discover whether there is life on Mars. The United States and other countries have been sending spacecraft to orbit or land there since the 1960s, and each mission teaches us more about this fascinating planet. In 1976, NASA landed robotic spacecraft named Viking 1 and Viking 2 on Mars. One of these landers worked there for nearly 4 years and the other lasted more than 6 years.



Billions of years ago there was a life on Mars. It featured rivers, lakes and even a deep ocean on its surface. Everything changed when Mars lost its global magnetic field. Charged particles streaming from the sun were then free to strip away the once-thick Martian atmosphere, and strip it they did. This process had transformed Mars into the cold, dry world we know today by about 3.7 billion years ago, observations by NASA's MAVEN orbiter suggest. (Earth still has its global magnetic field, explaining how our planet remains so liveable), according to Space.com report.



For now, there is no clear evidence for life on Mars. But recently NASA's Curiosity rover has rolled through two plumes of methane inside the 154 kilometre Gale Crater. More than 90% of Earth's atmospheric methane is produced by microbes and other organisms, so it's possible the gas is a signature of modern Martian life, report suggests.

Lets pin our hopes on NASA's 2020 Mars rover, which will hunt for more evidence of life on the Red Planet. The mission takes the next step by not only seeking signs of habitable conditions on Mars in the ancient past, but also searching for signs of past microbial life itself.



Four more missions are in line for Martian exploration and will be launched between 2020 and 2021. These include the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover by Russia and ESA, the 2020 Chinese Mars Mission, the Hope Mars Mission by the United Arab Emirates, and India's Mars Orbiter Mission 2.





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New Delhi:

At least five children were killed and 20 others injured on Saturday after an explosive device attached to a motorbike went off in a market in Afghanistan's western province.

According to provincial governor spokesman Jelani Farhad, the explosion took place in Herat province's Oba district. Farhad further said, The target of the bombing is yet to be determined, but a remotely-controlled bomb went off when the district chief's vehicle was passing by the area's main market.

In the meantime, five people including three civilians were wounded when an unknown man lobbed a hand grenade at a police checkpoint in Kama district of Nangarhar province.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The unfortunate incident comes at least a week after eight children were killed and two others sustained injuries in a roadside bomb explosion in the south-eastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan. Taliban had claimed the responsibility for the attack.

It is to be noted that Taliban Have been using IED to target security forces.

According to a quarterly report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), explosive devices killed as many as 53 civilians and injured 269 others in the first three months of this year, a 21 percent increase from the same period last year.

In a statement, UNAMA said that it is very concerned by the increase in civilian casualties from the use of non-suicide IEDs.

It is to be noted that Afghanistan is suffering from an unstable political, social and security situation due to the activity of the Taliban movement and the Islamic State terrorist group. The national security forces are involved in anti-terrorist operations across the country. Civilians have repeatedly been caught up in the clashes, with UN statistics showing more than 32,000 killed and 60,000 injured in the past 10 years.

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New Delhi:

The Pakistan Air Force is still wary of the safety of its fighter jets, including F-16 planes, even after 75 days since the Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted airstrike on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camps in Pakistan's Balakot,

According to news agency ANI, the Pakistan Air Force has taken out its F-16s from their home bases in Sargodha, Punjab, and Sindh and has deployed them at their satellite fields in a scattered manner.

These deployments could have been made to avoid any major losses in one go in case of any possible strikes from India that they may be apprehended, ANI quoted sources as saying.

Sources said the Pakistan Air Force has been at forward locations all along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) after Balakot strikes and its failure to counter India.

Earlier, it was reported that, the Pakistani military has put nearly 300 battle tanks at the strategic Shakargarh sector in Punjab Province. The Times Now report said that some elements of Pakistan Armys three brigades - 124 armoured brigade, 125 armoured brigade and 8 and 15 divisions continue to remain deployed in this area. The report added that Pakistan's 30 Corps are being supported by an independent armoured brigade. Citing government sources, the report further said that the offensive formation elements may be supported by infantry units.

Earlier in February, there were reports that the Indian Intelligence Agencies had got information about four ammunition dumps in the same Shakargarh Bulge. The construction of dumps was reportedly done in Kot, Satrah, Daska and Gujranwala areas of Shakargarh Bulge. Any development in Shakargarh Buldge is very alerting. This area is very close to Pathankot, Kathua and Indias national highway-1 connecting Kashmir to the rest of country. In case of the war these dumps can play significant role, a senior official working in defence establishment was quoted as saying by Zee.

Earlier, Francesca Marino, a foreign journalist, confirmed that up to 170 terrorists of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group were killed in the Indian Air Force air strikes on February 26. Marino earlier in an article wrote that eyewitnesses present at the site of India's February 26 bomb strikes against a JeM base saw up to 35 bodies were being transported out of the site by ambulance hours after the attack. The dead, they recounted, included 12 men who were said to have been sleeping in a single temporary shack, and several individuals who had earlier served in Pakistan's military.

Based on the different inputs that have been gathered over the last several weeks through my contact, it can now also be safely said that the impact of the strike immediately killed a large number of JeM cadres. The numbers estimated have ranged from 130-170, including those who have died during treatment. Those killed included 11 trainers, ranging from bomb makers to those imparting weapons training. Two of these trainers were from Afghanistan, Marino said in stringerasia.it

To prevent news on the fatalities leaking through statements of family members of cadres, a group of JeM members also visited the families of those killed and handed over cash compensation to them, she added.

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Washington:

President Donald Trump on Friday announced a deal to lift US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Canada and Mexico that had created friction between the neighbours and blocked a new North American free trade agreement.

"Im pleased to announce that weve just reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico and will be selling our product into those countries, without the imposition of tariffs, Trump said at an event in the US capital.

His statement came moments after Canada released the text of the agreement between Ottawa and Washington in which they agree to eliminate US tariffs on steel and aluminium, and Canadas retaliatory measures, within no more than two days.

Mexico subsequently confirmed it had reached a similar agreement with the United States.

The steep US tariffs imposed last year -- 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminiumbecame a major stumbling block to ratifying a new North American trade pact negotiated last year by the three countries.

Canada and Mexico initially were exempted from the tariffs Trump enforced using a national security argument, as part of his hardline trade tactics.

Once Americas neighbours were included, the levies drew retaliation with tariffs on a host of US products.

Even after the governments agreed to a revised free trade dealthe US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCAthe tariffs remained in place, but officials in Ottawa and Mexico City said they would not sign unless Washington removed the metals duties.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there had was a shared recognition that these tariffs were harming workers and consumers on both sides of the border and didnt make a lot of sense in the context of a new free trade deal.

Obviously these continued tariffs on steel and aluminium and our countermeasures represented significant barriers to moving forward with the new NAFTA agreement, he said, referring to the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.

Now that weve had a full lift on these tariffs we are going to work with the United States on timing for ratification but were very optimistic we are going to be able to move forward well in the coming weeks, Trudeau said.

Mexican chief trade negotiator Jesus Seade likewise tweeted that the lifting of tariffs clears the way towards ratification of USMCA. Some key members of the US Congress had said they would not agree to vote for the three-country free trade pact unless the Trumps metals tariffs ended.

Hopefully Congress will approve it quickly, said Trump.

According to the agreement with Canada, the two governments will withdraw all complaints lodged in the World Trade Organization.

The two countries also agreed to monitor imports of steel and aluminium to ensure metals that are sold at dumped pricesbelow the cost of productionare not purchased in or shipped through Canada.

In addition, they agreed to a provision to reimpose steep duties if imports of the metals surge meaningfully beyond historic volumes of trade over a period of time. US tariffs on steel and aluminium from Europe remain in place, as does the EU retaliation.

Some countries, including South Korea, accepted export quotas to avoid the tariffs.

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Washington:

A former official of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Kevin Mallory was on Friday sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for spying for China.

It is to be noted that Kevin Mallory was convicted under the Espionage Act for selling classified US "defence information" to a Chinese intelligence agent for USD 25,000.

In a statement, Assistant Attorney General John Demers said, "Former US Intelligence officer Mallory will spend the next 20 years of his life in prison for conspiring to pass national defence information to a Chinese intelligence officer."

This case is one in an alarming trend of former US intelligence officers being targeted by China and betraying their country and colleagues, he said. "This sentence, together with the recent guilty pleas of Ron Hansen in Utah and Jerry Lee in Virginia, deliver the stern message that our former intelligence officers have no business partnering with the Chinese, or any other adversarial foreign intelligence service," Demers added.

The 62-year-old was found guilty by a federal jury in June 2018 of conspiracy to deliver, attempted delivery, delivery of national defence information to aid a foreign government and making material false statements.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, in March and April 2017, Mallory travelled to Shanghai to meet with an individual, Michael Yang, who held himself out as a People's Republic of China think tank employee, but whom Mallory assessed to be a Chinese intelligence officer.

Mallory, a US citizen who speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, consented to an FBI review of a covert communications (covcom) device he had been given by Yang to facilitate covert communications between the two.

Analysis of the device revealed a number of communications in which Mallory and Michael talked about classified information that Mallory could sell to the PRC's intelligence service.

FBI analysts were able to determine that Mallory had completed all of the steps necessary to securely transmit at least five classified US government documents via the covcom device, one of which contained unique identifiers for human sources who had helped the United States government.

At least two of the documents were successfully transmitted, and Mallory and Michael communicated about those two documents on the covcom device.

Evidence presented at trial included surveillance video from a FedEx store in Leesburg where Mallory could be seen scanning documents classified at the Secret and Top Secret level onto a micro SD card.

Though Mallory paid to have the paper copies of the eight documents shredded, FBI agents found a carefully concealed SD card containing those documents during a search of Mallory's home, the day of his June 22, 2017 arrest.

A recording was played at trial from June 24, 2017, where Mallory could be heard on a call from the jail asking his family to search for the hidden SD card.

Mallory has held numerous positions with various government agencies and several defence contractors, including working as a covert case officer for the CIA and an intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

As required for his various government positions, Mallory obtained a Top Secret security clearance, which was active during various assignments during his career. Mallory's security clearance was terminated in October 2012 when he left government service.

"Mallory not only put our country at great risk, but he endangered the lives of specific human assets who put their own safety at risk for our national defence," US Attorney Zachary Terwilliger said.

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New Delhi:

Lawyers for a jailed Moroccan journalist Taoufik Bouachrine on Friday urged a UN special rapporteur to request that authorities release his phone, to retrieve an exchange of messages with murdered Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi. A Moroccan court sentenced Bouachrine to 12 years in prison in November 2018, after he was found guilty of human trafficking, abuse of power for sexual purposes, rape and attempted rape. Bouachrine has described his convictions as politically motivated. A UN Human Rights Council working group reported in January that Bouachrine was the victim of arbitrary detention and judicial harassment.

Arbitrarily detained Moroccan journalist Taoufik Bouachrines defence urges Agnes Callamard, UN Special Rapporteur to make a request to the Moroccan authorities for access to Bouachrines phone, the detained journalists lawyers said in a statement.

Khashoggia contributor to the Washington Post and a critic of the Saudi governmentwas killed and dismembered in October at the kingdoms consulate in Istanbul by a team of 15 agents sent from Riyadh. His body has not been recovered.



Bouachrine has said that his phone contains messages from Jamal Khashoggi warning him of existing threats against him, the statement added.

It cited messages exchanged between October 2017 and January 2018 as likely to be of particular relevance to the special rapporteurs investigation.

Earlier. Washington Post reported that some members of the team that brutally killed Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi received training in the United States.

After having denied the murder, Saudi Arabia said the operation was carried out by agents who were out of control. A trial of 11 suspects opened earlier this year in Saudi Arabia. But much of the case remains shrouded, beginning with the role of countrys powerful crown prince and de facto ruler Salman.

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New Delhi:

Amid mounting tensions between the US and Iran, Syria on Friday called on all parties to exercise "restraint" in the Gulf. "The Syrian government calls on all sides to exercise restraint because escalating tensions in the Gulf would not benefit countries in the region," news agency AFP quoted a foreign ministry source as saying. Washington has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf citing alleged threats from Tehran.

"Dialogue... would undoubtedly reduce tensions and would ensure stability, security and peace," the source said.

Earlier, President Donald Trump had said that he hopes the US is not on a path to war with Iran. Asked if the US was going to war with Iran, the president replied, "I hope not" a day after he repeated a desire for dialogue, tweeting, "I'm sure that Iran will want to talk soon."

The tone contrasted with a series of moves by the US and Iran that have sharply escalated tensions in the Middle East in recent days.



Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal last year and reinstated sanctions on Tehran that are crippling its economy.

Tensions rose dramatically May 5, when Bolton announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group would be rushed from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf ahead of schedule in response to "a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings," without going into details.

Since then, four oil tankers, including two belonging to Saudi Arabia, were targeted in an apparent act of sabotage off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, according to officials in the region, and a Saudi pipeline was attacked by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen.

The US also ordered non-essential staff out of Iraq and has dispatched additional military assets to the region.

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The US State Department yesterday ordered all non-emergency staff to leave its embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Arbil, as tensions mount between the United States and Iraqs neighbour Iran. Washington has ramped up pressure on Tehran in recent days, accusing Iran of planning imminent attacks in the region, and bolstering the American military presence in the Gulf.

Numerous terrorist and insurgent groups are active in Iraq and regularly attack both Iraqi security forces and civilians, a travel advisory warned. Anti-US sectarian militias may also threaten US citizens and Western companies throughout Iraq. The US last year shut its consulate in the protest-hit southern Iraqi city of Basra, blaming indirect fire by Iran-backed forces and warning its rival of retaliation for any damage.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week paid a surprise trip to Baghdad in a move to bolster ties with Iraq as it pushes ahead with its maximum pressure against Tehran -- a US arch-rival, but an ally of Iraq. He told reporters he had made the trip because Iranian forces are escalating their activity and said the threat of attacks were very specific.
Sheikh Hisham bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, Governor of the Capital Governorate, is hosting Iftar for 850 expatriates for 30 days of Ramadan at the Manama Souq. To celebrate the holy month of Ramadan and strengthen the relationship between the individuals and the Capital governorate for the 30 days of Ramadan, 850 meals will be distributed to individuals during Iftar, where fast-breaking meals will be distributed throughout the month to more than thousands of people during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Sheikh Hisham, Capital Governor told tribune, We are very proud of the initiative wherein the span of 30 days we would provide food aid to 25,500 individuals at the Manama Souq. The Bahraini community is proud of the values of kindness and solidarity stemming from the teachings of the religion and is celebrating the customs and traditions of the people of Bahrain in the holy month of Ramadan.

The daily food distribution to 850 individuals is held in the presence of Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa, Director of Social Programs and Community Affairs Department and a number of officials in the province. We believe that the Kingdom of Bahrain attributes great importance to the development of culture and human philanthropy as well as holds a priority to provide assistance to those in need, Shaikh Hisham said.

Lastly, the Capital Governorate along with the help of stakeholders will continue to provide humanitarian aid and provide all the support required for the development on the Capital and its people.
TORONTO, May 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bunker Hill Mining Corporation (the Company or Bunker) (CSE:BNKR) announces a consolidation of its issued and outstanding share capital on the basis of one (1) post- consolidation share for each ten (10) pre-consolidation common shares (the Consolidation). Any fraction of a share will be rounded up to the nearest whole number. The shares will begin trading on a consolidated basis and with a new CUSIP number on May 23, 2019.



As a result of the Consolidation, the outstanding shares of the Company will be reduced to approximately 4,151,396.

Over the past year Bunker Hill has conducted smaller financings each at low prices, effectively to maintain its existence and property holdings. At our current share price and with current market conditions we do not believe that continued financing at low share prices will allow us to achieve the objectives of our corporate strategy to develop the Bunker Hill project. We want to ensure we are in a position to raise sufficient levels of funding at reasonable dilution levels to support robust development programs where there is potential to create value within reasonable timeframes. In addition, management of the Company believes that the proposed share consolidation will position the Company to gain greater exposure to investors that are not willing to trade equity stocks below a certain threshold. Management believes the share consolidation will increase its liquidity.

The Company will not be changing its name and trading symbol in connection with the Consolidation. Trading on a Consolidated Basis: May 23, 2019

Record Date: May 24, 2019

New CUSIP: 120613 203

New ISIN: US1206132037

About Bunker Hill Mining Corp.

Bunker Hill Mining Corp. has an option to acquire 100% of the Bunker Hill Mine. Information about the Company is available on its website, www.bunkerhillmining.com, or in the SEDAR and EDGAR databases.



For additional information contact:

John Ryan, Interim Chief Executive Officer

+1.201.509.3797

Marketing and Communications

(416) 477-7777 ext. 205

Info@bunkerhillmining.com

Cautionary Statements

Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as well as within the meaning of the phrase forward-looking information in the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 51-102  Continuous Disclosure Obligations. The forward looking statements made herein are based on information currently available to the Company and the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations or assumptions with respect to, among other things, the ability of the Company to successfully complete the acquisition of the Bunker Hill Mine Complex on the terms as announced or other satisfactory terms or at all, and fund the initial payments for which the Company does not have funds at this time, the Companys present and future financial condition, the Companys ability to secure financing, and the state of financial markets. Forward -looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Companys future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward -looking statements may be identified by such terms as believes, anticipates, expects, estimates, may, could, would, will, or plan, and may include statements regarding, among other things, the terms of the Bunker Hill Mine Complex acquisition and funding of the acquisition. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results relating to, among other things, results of exploration, project development, and the Companys financial condition and prospects, could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: the inability of the Company to successfully acquire the Bunker Hill Mine Complex on the terms as announced or other satisfactory terms or at all, and fund the payments for which the Company does not have funds at this time; the inability of the Company to budget and manage its liquidity in light of the failure to obtain additional financing; the inability of the Company to develop or sustain an active public market for its securities; development of changes in general economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; changes in demand and prices for precious metals; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; operational difficulties encountered in connection with the activities of the Company; and other matters discussed in this news release. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Companys forward-looking statements. These and other factors made in public disclosures and filings by the Company should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the Companys forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward -looking statement that may be made from time to time by the Company or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Turkey has continued to strengthen its position as a popular travel destination for Bahrani travellers, it has emerged. In the first few months of this year, the country registered a big 30 per cent jump in the number of Bahraini visitors, when compared to that a year ago. According to the latest statistics released by the Turkish authorities, 20,792 people from Bahrain visited Turkey in the first two months of this year alone.

Salih Ozer, attache of Culture and Information, Turkey to the UAE, said, I am happy to see the growth trend continues this year, despite headwinds in the global economy. Turkey remains an oasis of peace and tranquillity and offers a large number of tourist attractions. It offers greater value for money when compared to other popular tourist destinations across the world. Turkey and the Gulf countries share centuries-old social, cultural and economic ties.

The repeated visits of the friendly visitors from the GCC countries help fuel the growth of our economy, he said. Meanwhile, the number of UAE nationals visiting Turkey recorded 11.28pc growth in the first two months of 2019, to 3,975, according to the latest data released by the Turkish Consulate General Cultural and Info Office in Dubai. Separately, the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority (BTEA) announced that it has succeeded in attracting more than 10,000 Russian tourists through the charter programme operated by the worlds leading travel and tourism company; Coral Travel.

This was part of the BTEAs efforts to attract tourists from new markets to the Kingdom of Bahrain. The first charter flight was launched by Coral Travel from Moscow to the Kingdom at the end of October 2018, with an average of two weekly flights. Shaikh Khaled bin Humood Al Khalifa, CEO of the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, said, Through the cooperative efforts between Coral Travel and BTEA, the total number of Russian tourists has reached to 10,075 over the past six months alone.

The tourists occupancy rate is currently at 9 nights, resulting in an increase in the hotel occupancy rate in the Kingdom; and the total number of tourist nights has reached to 34,578, with the total expenditure of tourists arriving within the programme itself amounting to BD 7,217,730.
Bahrain has affirmed its full solidarity and support to the Palestinians right to return and establish their independent and sovereign state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital. These rights, a top Bahraini official explained, are their right to self-determination, right to return and to establish their independent and sovereign state. Ambassador Waheed Mubarak Sayyar, during a solidarity meeting held at the Palestinian Embassy in Manama, said: Bahrain would remain supportive of its Palestinian brethren with all its capabilities and at various levels until the Palestinian demands are realized.

The meeting was held in commemoration of the 71st Nakba Day, an annual day of commemoration of the displacement of Palestinians. In a statement, the Undersecretary said the Kingdom recognises the struggle of the brotherly Palestinian people and their right to self-determination and return to their territories. Ambassador Sayyar described 1948 as a catastrophic year, not only for the Palestinian people but also for Arab people who have lived together in pain after the aggression of 1967.

He said: The challenges increased, and the Palestinian brothers became divided between historic Palestine and the1948 Palestine while some of them remained in the territories occupied in 1967 - the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and those who were forced to live in exile, in various parts of the world. The Palestinians, the Undersecretary of Regional & GCC Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, have suffered a lot from racism and systematic discrimination policies. The atrocities, he added, ranged from denial of their right to self-determination and equality in their homeland, which eventually made the Palestinians a minority on the land of their ancestors.

They faced repeated aggressions, the spread of settlements on their lands and properties, the theft of their sanctities, the distortion of their history and even their culture and their Palestinian cities, he told the meeting. Nakab, Ambassador Wahid Mubarak Sayyar pointed out, should remind the international community of its political, legal and humanitarian responsibilities towards this historical injustice that is still happening. Sayyar stressed that Bahrain would remain supportive of its Palestinian brethren until the Palestinian demands are realised.

Meanwhile, in another development, the Palestinian Authority called yesterday for Jerusalem to be cut from videos promoting Eurovision, accusing Israel of propaganda ahead of Tel Aviv hosting the song contest. Israels public broadcaster KAN aired a clip Friday aimed at tourists travelling to the country for Eurovision, which features a shot of east Jerusalems Al-Aqsa mosque compound. It also refers to Jerusalem as our beloved capital, despite Palestinians claiming the eastern sector as the capital of their future state.

The PAs foreign ministry said Israel was using the song competition to entrench its colonial occupation by effectively normalising the global acceptance of its unlawful conduct. The promotional material published in the context of the Eurovision contest and approved by EBU is unacceptable, the ministry said, in reference to the European Broadcasting Union. Writing on Facebook, the ministry said it had contacted the EBU about what it termed Israeli propaganda material which wipes... the State of Palestine from the map.
Syrian air defence batteries yesterday intercepted projectiles coming from Israel and downed a number of them, the official news agency SANA reported. Our air defence systems intercepted luminous objects coming from the occupied territories (Israel) and downed several of them, SANA said quoting a military source.

A later report described the projectiles as hostile targets which were fired towards the province of Quneitra near the Golan Heights, parts of which are annexed by Israel. Earlier SANA reported a loud explosion around the capital Damascus. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said three explosions shook southwest Damascus on Friday.

They were Israeli strikes that targeted the Kiswah region where weapons warehouses belonging to Iran and (its Lebanese proxy) Hezbollah are located, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria, most of them against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets.
I rans Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) are highly likely to have facilitated attacks last Sunday on four tankers including two Saudi ships off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, according to a Norwegian insurers report seen by Reuters. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Norway are investigating the attacks, which also hit a UAE and a Norwegian-flagged vessel.

A confidential assessment issued this week by the Norwegian Shipowners Mutual War Risks Insurance Association (DNK) concluded that the attack was likely to have been carried out by a surface vessel operating close by that dispatched underwater drones carrying 30-50 kg (65-110 lb) of high-grade explosives to detonate on impact.

The DNK based its assessment that the IRGC was likely to have orchestrated the attacks on a number of factors, including: - A high likelihood that the IRGC had previously supplied its allies, the Houthi militia in Yemen, with explosive-laden surface drone boats capable of homing in on GPS navigational positions for accuracy.

- The similarity of shrapnel found on the Norwegian tanker to shrapnel from drone boats used off Yemen by Houthis, even though the craft previously used by the Houthis were surface boats rather than the underwater drones likely to have been deployed in Fujairah. - The fact that Iran and particularly the IRGC had recently threatened to use military force and that, against a militarily stronger foe, they were highly likely to choose asymmetric measures with plausible deniability.

DNK noted that the Fujairah attack had caused relatively limited damage and had been carried out at a time when US Navy ships were still en route to the Gulf. The DNK report said the attacks had been carried out between six and 10 nautical miles off Fujairah, which lies close to the Strait of Hormuz.
Mixed reality data processing has moved from the realm of science fiction films like The Minority Report into real-life science labs, thanks to a recent Microsoft HoloLens app, announced by polish IT company Solution4Labs.

Solution4Labs will customize the HoloLens VR experience, using the Holo4Labs app. Abiding by principles of digital automation and mixed reality, the app interacts with the Microsoft HoloLens headset to produce a mixed reality representation of Sample Manager, a data processing information management software used by scientists on a day-to-day basis.

Digital automation means greater accuracy, better compliance, and data storage that is automatic.

Anything that reduces paperwork means better use of scientists time, fewer read/write errors and the elimination of filing errors.

The Microsoft HoloLens 2 is a mixed reality headset you can wear lets you wear your eye-glasses under it and is comfortable to wear all day long. It contains its own batteries and is totally wire-free.

The second model in the HoloLens series, features a HUD (Heads-up display) and overlays

holographic images on top of real-world lab equipment.

What is Mixed Reality?

Mixed reality uses augmented reality and virtual reality to control physical reality. Users see holograms and interface with these using hand gestures, voice commands, and eye movements to control equipment on the lab bench in front of them.

Implementing mixed reality in the lab, means that people can use the augmented reality interface of the Microsoft HoloLens headset to control what happens to their real-world samples on the bench in front of them.

Capabilities

Quality control is improved using Holo4Labs software because errors are reduced. Operators can follow a series of steps on their HUD, with the software recording every action meaning that failure to adhere to standard operating procedures (SOPs) are recorded, which allows managers to document compliance issues and initiate further training where necessary.

Other interesting implications are:

* Highly-paid scientists can do more hands-on work in a day because their clerical duties are automated

* Data is stored automatically, so misfiling, lost results and any consequent expenses are

reduced.

* Everything is recorded. Operator handling errors are eliminated and chain-of-custody

procedures are improved and more reliable.

* Users can conduct sample testing without handling samples, reducing the possibility of

errors and contamination.

* Supervisors have real-time information and dont have to wait for typed reports to be sent by busy lab staff.

Holo4Labs Integrations

Holo4Labs has been developed by Solution4Labs, from polish group TenderHut, the fastest-growing technology company in central-eastern Europe, according to FT1000 2019 rank. Holo4Labs is still under development and is being tested by Solution4Labs as a Thermo Fisher Scientific authorized distributor, to ensure it is fully compatible with their SampleManager LIMS (Lab Information Management Systems) software.

Holo4Labs is still under development and is being tested by Thermo Fisher Scientific to ensure it is fully compatible with their SampleManager LIMS (Lab Information Management Systems) software.

Overview

Mixed reality is a giant step for scientific workers in all kinds of labs, freeing them from the drudgery and mindless form-filling that takes up so much time. It reduces clerical errors, and makes it simpler for managers to trace errors that do occur.

A mixed reality interface is like giving each scientist three extra pairs of hands. Its like employing a team of octopuses in terms of productivity gains.

Although the technology is a relatively high-cost investment, it will pay for itself at the enterprise level through increased efficiency in the lab environment.
TORONTO, May 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AQY announces final retained and committed capital of approximately C$601 million / US$451 million, which is significantly greater than AQYs initial public offering and forward placement proceeds of C$515 million. It is also well in excess of the US$220 million minimum net cash requirement in the Arrangement Agreement. Alignvest therefore has funding certainty to close its Qualifying Acquisition. Approximately 97% of AQYs Class A restricted voting shareholders elected to redeem, and those redemptions were more than offset by capital commitments from AQYs previously announced additional subscriptions and forward purchase commitments.



On November 27, 2018, AQY announced that it had entered into a definitive arrangement agreement with Sagicor to effect a business combination by way of an Ontario court approved plan of arrangement and a Bermuda court approved scheme of arrangement. Sagicor is a market-leading provider of insurance products and related financial services in the Caribbean region, notably in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados, and has a growing presence as a provider of life insurance products in the United States. Sagicor has over 175 years of history in the region and is the second oldest insurer in the Americas.

About Alignvest Acquisition II Corporation

Alignvest Acquisition II Corporation is a special purpose acquisition corporation incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario for the purposes of effecting a qualifying acquisition. AQYs registered office is located at 100 King Street West, 70th Floor, Suite 7050, Toronto, Ontario M5X 1C7. For more information, visit AQY at www.alignvestacquisition.com.

About Sagicor Financial Corporation Limited

Sagicor is a leading financial services provider in the Caribbean, with over 175-years of history in the region, and has a growing presence as a provider of life insurance products in the United States. Sagicor offers a wide range of products and services, including life, health, and general insurance, banking, pensions, annuities, and real estate. Sagicors registered office is located at Clarendon House, 2 Church Street, Hamilton, HM 11, Bermuda with its principal office located at Cecil F De Caires Building, Wildey, St. Michael, Barbados. Additional information about Sagicor can be obtained by visiting www.sagicor.com.

Cautionary Statements

Certain information contained in this news release may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always identified by the use of words such as expect, anticipate, believe, foresee, could, estimate, goal, intend, plan, seek, will, may and should and similar expressions or words suggesting future outcomes. This news release includes forward-looking information and statements pertaining to, among other things, the Arrangement, the completion of the Arrangement and the transactions contemplated by the Arrangement and the additional subscriptions and forward purchase commitments.

These forward-looking statements reflect material factors and expectations and assumptions of AQY, including assumptions regarding the CAD/USD exchange rate at the time of closing of the Arrangement needed to satisfy the minimum cash condition for the transaction and the approval by AQYs shareholders of certain of the additional subscriptions. AQYs estimates, beliefs and assumptions are inherently subject to uncertainties and contingencies regarding future events and as such, are subject to change. No assurance can be given that all closing conditions to the transaction will be satisfied and that the transaction will be completed.

Risks and uncertainties not presently known to AQY or that it presently believes are not material could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed in its forward-looking statements. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect events and results are included in other documents and reports that will be filed by AQY with applicable securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com) including, without limitation, the management information circular and prospectus dated February 7, 2019 filed by AQY relating to the transaction. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect AQYs expectations only as of the date of this document. AQY disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by law.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Alignvest Acquisition II Corporation

Sanjil Shah

Chief Financial Officer, Alignvest Acquisition II Corporation

(416) 360-8248 or sshah@alignvest.com
Kendrick Castillo was just three days away from graduating high school. Summer, then the 18-year-old with an interest in robotics would go to college to study electrical engineering.

His father had talked with him about what to do if there were a school shooting. Dont try to be a hero, his dad advised.

But Kendrick followed his instinct to protect others when, during a British Literature class at his high school last week, a teenager pulled out a gun saying, Nobody move. Kendrick lunged at him, which gave other students time to run.

Most of you have not heard the name Kendrick Castillo, have you?

Thats because the shooting at STEM School Highland Ranch in Colorado May 7 killed only one student and injured only eight.

School shootings have become so common in this country that only large numbers of fatalities attract much attention beyond the affected community. I hope this makes you as angry as it does me.

What does it say about our society, about ourselves, that we are no longer shocked to the core that someone would start shooting in a school? Or a place of worship. Or a concert. Or a movie theater. Or a nightclub. Or anywhere.

Kendricks charter school with about 1,800 students is in a suburb of Denver, about seven miles from Littleton where the high school there became synonymous 20 years ago with school shootings  Columbine.

A shooting every other week

At Columbine High School, on April 20, 1999, two students shot to death 13 people and wounded 20 more. The nation was shocked.

But school shootings have become the new normal. Parents feel they must talk to their kids about how to respond  and to text them they are OK. Schools put students through active shooter drills, eerily reminiscent of the nuclear bomb drills in their grandparents day. Back in the late 50s and early 60s, kids were taught to hide under their desks if the Russians dropped bombs.

School shootings have become so common that a team of Yale University students developed an active shooter alert app to enable faculty and students to communicate immediately and to streamline response times. The app was in reaction to the Valentines Day shootings last year at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in which it took 3-and-a-half minutes to learn an active shooter was in the school. Seventeen people died.

In 2018 alone there were 24 school shootings with injuries or deaths (not including suicides)  an average of one shooting every other week  and 35 people died, 79 others were injured, according to Education Week.

Here in Connecticut, the grief and trauma over the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings on Dec. 14, 2012 that took the lives of 20 first graders and six educators remain. Immediately after the tragedy, green signs sprouted around Newtown that proclaimed We are Sandy Hook We Choose Love.

I believe that ultimately love will triumph, but love is taking too long.

Since Sandy Hook, our country has seen nearly 2,000 mass shootings (four or more people harmed, in schools and elsewhere); more than 2,200 people killed and nearly 8,200 wounded, according to Vox.

Since 2013, there has been only one full calendar week  the week of January 5, 2014  without a mass shooting, the news site reported.

Let that sink in. Mass shootings are now a way of life in America. Do not accept that; change it.

Stop the violence

There is not one all-inclusive solution.

Gun safety measures are an obvious step, but instead of finding ways to better protect society, discussion has become deeply divisive. It is wrongly framed as infringement on individual Second Amendment rights. No one has the right to own a military-style semi-automatic assault weapon, such as the one used at Sandy Hook. Connecticut has rightfully banned them. Bills that have made it through General Assembly committees this year address safe storage of firearms, which do not impair gun owners and ought to pass into law.

In response to Sandy Hook, groups such as Newtown Action Alliance have worked on the national level for sane legislation, such as universal background checks.

For our country, and children, to be safer we have to move past polarization of rights and come together for the greater good.

Mental wellness has to be part of the equation.

Grassroots groups, such as Sandy Hook Promise, are developing programs  such as Know the Signs of someone who is troubled and Start with Hello, to break through isolation  for use in schools.

The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation, a nonprofit formed by the Sandy Hook first-graders mother Scarlett Lewis, teaches social and emotional learning  responding to others with kindness, compassion and forgiveness  through the schools.

Another organization formed for a slain Sandy Hook first grader, the Avielle Foundation, aims to reduce violence by building bridges between biochemical and behavioral sciences.

All of these endeavors are absolutely worthwhile.

But the courage and determination of those parents do not let us off the hook.

As a community, and individually, we need to consider how our culture makes it acceptable to pick up a gun and kill fellow human beings. How do we turn around the culture of violence?

We have become inured to the killings and we cant let that happen.

Funny and smart

A year after Parkland, and student activists marching in the streets, school shootings are so commonplace that only one dead gets little notice.

In his British Literature class last week Kendrick Castillo should have been analyzing the humor in the movie The Princess Bride for an assignment. Instead, he and two classmates were wrestling a teenage gunman to the floor of the darkened room. A second teen with a gun in a different area of the K-12 school was subdued by an armed school security guard.

Classmates called Kendrick, a member of the schools robotics club, funny and smart.

Kendrick Castillo died a legend, said Brendan Bialy who with Joshua Jones also tackled the gunman and were injured.

After getting the gun away from the shooter, Brendan tried to get Kendrick to talk, but his friend wasnt moving. He then helped a teacher who came into the room and tried to give medical aid, according to the account by CNN.

Kendrick loved patriotism, inspired by his late grandfather who was a Marine. We are Hispanic by nature, but we love America to the core, Kendricks father said.

On Wednesday this week, Kendricks parents John and Maria Castillo went to the courthouse for a hearing of the accused shooters.

Then they went to the funeral service for their only child.

Jacqueline Smiths columns appear Fridays in Hearst Connecticut Media daily newspapers. Email her at jsmith@hearstmediact.com
OLD LYME - Twenty-seven students and their families along with faculty and friends gathered under a big white tent Friday on the campus of the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts to celebrate graduation day.

While the rain poured down outside, speakers highlighted the creativity, passion, imagination and determination needed to succeed in this world.
Notice: Not for distribution to the United States newswire services or for release, publication, distribution, or dissemination directly, or indirectly, in whole or in part, in or into the United States.



BOGOTA, Colombia, May 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medcolcanna Organics Inc. (Medcolcanna or the Company, and formerly named Integrated Energy Storage Corp. (IES)), is pleased to announce the completion of its business combination (the Transaction) with Medcolcanna (BVI), Inc. (the Private Company) pursuant to which the Company and the Private Company have completed a reverse takeover of the Company by the current shareholders of the Private Company.

Trading in the common shares of Medcolcanna (the Medcolcanna Shares) is expected to commence on the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange) at market open on Thursday, May 23, 2019 under the symbol MCCN, following the issuance by the Exchange of its final bulletin in respect of the Transaction, which is expected to be issued on Tuesday, May 21, 2019.

Medcolcannas wholly-owned subsidiary, Medcolcanna S.A.S., has established operations in Colombia as a fully-licensed, vertically-integrated producer of medical cannabis and cannabis-related products. Lead by a proven and successful management team that brings years of expertise to every facet of the value chain, Medcolcanna is combining its high standards with an unending push for innovation that will position it as a global leader in medical cannabis.

Over the last few months, the management team successfully achieved many of its key objectives. Most recently, the goal to develop the most physiologically strong seedlings was realized, thanks to the installation of a new state-of-the-art in vitro lab. In addition, a total of 37 greenhouses, covering 1.3 hectares, are now fully-operational, significantly increasing Medcolcannas production footprint. These greenhouses currently house 3,425 thriving plants, with commercial cultivation beginning in Q3 2019.

Additional significant milestones achieved include:

Medcolcanna was officially recognized and granted a license as a seed producer by the Colombian Institute of Agriculture, permitting commercial cultivation,

Permission for agronomical evaluation was granted to research varying cannabis strains with the goal of determining potential for medical development and commercial use, and

The grant of a quota for agronomic trial by the Minister of Justice.

Overview of the Transaction

Pursuant to the Transaction, all of the issued and outstanding common shares in the capital of IES (each, an IES Common Share) were consolidated, resulting in approximately 12,900,000 IES Common Shares being issued and outstanding immediately prior to the subsequent share issuances described below. As well, approximately 6,450,000 share purchase warrants (the IES Warrants) were issued to certain IES shareholders, with each IES Warrant being exercisable into one common share in the capital of Medcolcanna (each, a Medcolcanna Share) at an exercise price of C$0.40 for a period expiring May 17, 2021. Additionally, IES had outstanding 500,000 stock options exercisable at a price of C$0.25 per IES Common Share, which have been cancelled.

The Private Company had 41,762,659 common shares (the Private Company Shares) and 4,681,330 share purchase warrants (the Private Company Warrants) outstanding, of which 3,681,330 Private Company Warrants were exercisable into one Private Company Share at an exercise price of C$0.25 for a period expiring September 24, 2019, and the remaining 1,000,000 Private Company Warrants being exercisable into one Private Company Share at an exercise price of C$0.40 for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance thereof.

Subscription Receipt and Non-Brokered Financings

Prior to the closing of the Transaction, the Private Company completed a brokered private placement of 30,986,800 subscription receipts (the "Subscription Receipts") at a price of C$0.25 per Subscription Receipt for gross proceeds of C$7,746,700 (the Offering). The proceeds from the Offering, less certain expenses, were placed into escrow on completion of the Offering. In connection with the completion of the Transaction, the Subscription Receipts were converted on a one-for-one basis into units of Medcolcanna comprising a total of 30,986,800 Medcolcanna Shares and 15,493,400 common share purchase warrants exercisable for a period of two years at C$0.40 per warrant (the Medcolcanna Warrants). The escrowed proceeds from the Offering, less commissions and certain transaction fees and expenses, have been released from escrow to Medcolcanna. 2,102,028 compensation options issued to the agents in the Offering in conjunction with, and as partial compensation for, acting as agents in the Offering were also exchanged for compensation options of Medcolcanna (the Compensation Options) on a one-for-one basis.

Simultaneous with the Offering, the Private Company completed a non-brokered private placement of 400,000 Private Company Shares at a price of C$0.09 per share for gross proceeds of C$36,000 on March 15, 2019 (the Non-Brokered Private Placement).

The Company Post-Transaction

Immediately prior to the completion of the Transaction, IES changed its name to Medcolcanna Organics Inc. The Transaction was completed through a share exchange whereby each security of the Private Company was exchanged for securities of Medcolcanna (the Share Exchange) and each post-consolidation IES Share became a Medcolcanna Share. The Transaction constitutes a reverse take-over as the former shareholders of the Private Company now own (on a non-diluted basis, and including the Offering) approximately 84.9% of the issued and outstanding Medcolcanna Shares immediately following the completion of the Transaction. Upon completion of the Transaction there were 85,649,459 Medcolcanna Shares issued and outstanding, with an additional 38,342,718 Medcolcanna Shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of securities convertible into Medcolcanna Shares, as follows:

Number of

Medcolcanna

Shares Percentage of Total

Diluted Medcolcanna

Shares After Giving

Effect to the Share

Exchange Percentage of

Total Undiluted

Medcolcanna

Shares After

Giving Effect to

the Share

Exchange Medcolcanna Shares issuable to IES Shareholders in connection with the Share Exchange 12,900,000 10.4% 15.1% Medcolcanna Shares issuable to Private Company Shareholders in connection with the Share Exchange 41,762,659 33.7% 48.7% Medcolcanna Shares issuable to subscribers of the Offering 30,986,800(1) 25.0% 36.2% Total Basic Shares Outstanding 85,649,459 100% Medcolcanna Shares issuable to the holders of IES Warrants in connection with the Transaction 6,450,000 5.2% n/a Medcolcanna Shares issuable to holders of Medcolcanna Warrants as part of the Offering 15,493,400 12.5% n/a Medcolcanna Shares issuable to holders of Private Company Warrants at C$0.25 and C$0.40, as described above 4,681,330 3.77% n/a Reserved for issuance pursuant to the Medcolcanna Stock Option Plan 8,564,946 6.9% n/a Medcolcanna Shares issuable pursuant to the Compensation Options 2,102,028 1.7% n/a Medcolcanna Shares issuable pursuant to the Medcolcanna Warrants comprising the Compensation Options 1,051,014 0.8% n/a Total Options and Warrants Outstanding 38,342,718 30.9% Total Number of Fully Diluted Medcolcanna Shares 123,992,177 100%

Working Capital

Upon completion of the Share Exchange, Medcolcanna has estimated funds of approximately C$7,753,353 available. Medcolcanna expects that the principal purpose of such funds will be used to effect Medcolcannas business plan. Specifically, Medcolcanna intends to use the funds available for the following purposes (the following estimates based on a 12 month breakdown):

Anticipated Use of Funds Available Funds (all dollar amounts in C$) Approximate working capital of IES and Medcolcanna as of April 30, 2019 $705,455(1) Gross Proceeds of the Offering $7,746,700 Gross Proceeds of the Non-Brokered Private Placement $36,000 Agents Fees on Offering not previously paid (2) ($434,802 ) Costs associated with regulatory approval of reverse takeover ($300,000 ) Total Available Funds $7,753,353 Construction of facilities and greenhouses ($1,698,413 ) Commercial distribution ($2,840,404 ) Security ($123,377 ) Product lab development ($60,000 ) Research and development ($50,000 ) Salaries & wages ($994,808 ) General and Administration costs for 12 months following completion of the Share Exchange Investor relations/advisory fees $70,000 ($70,000 ) Transfer agent/filing fees $31,300 ($31,300 ) Legal/audit $117,727 ($117,727 ) Insurance $65,000 ($65,000 ) Other $341,475 ($341,475 ) $625,502 ($6,392,504 ) Less: Anticipated cash revenue receipts during last three months of year $2,083,361 Total Anticipated Use of Funds ($4,309,143 ) Total Unallocated Funds $ 3,444,210

Notes:

(1) Includes C$580,000 in cash plus other working capital of C$25,455 from IES as seen in the pro forma estimated by the Closing Date and the working capital of C$100,000 (excluding restricted cash) of Medcolcanna as at April 30, 2019.

(2) Total commissions are C$507,042. Of this amount, C$72,240 was paid by December 31, 2018.

It is currently anticipated that Medcolcannas unallocated working capital will be used for such purposes as determined by management from time to time.

Escrowed and Pooled Shares

An aggregate of 32,000,000 Medcolcanna Shares issued upon the Share Exchange are considered Value Escrow Shares in accordance with Exchange Policy 5.4 and will be subject to the release schedule applicable under a Tier 2 Value Security Escrow Agreement in accordance with the following timeline:

Tier 2 Issuer % of Medcolcanna

Shares Released from Escrow Release Date 10% Date of Final Exchange Bulletin 15% 6 months from Final Exchange Bulletin 15% 12 months from Final Exchange Bulletin 15% 18 months from Final Exchange Bulletin 15% 24 months from Final Exchange Bulletin 15% 30 months from Final Exchange Bulletin 15% 36 months from Final Exchange Bulletin

In addition, an aggregate of 1,040,128 Medcolcanna Shares issued to the founders of IES and certain shareholders on the founding by spin-out transaction of IES will likewise be considered Value Escrow Shares in accordance with Exchange Policy 5.4 and will be subject to the release schedule applicable under a Tier 2 Value Security Escrow Agreement in accordance with the foregoing timeline. A further 4,460,933 Medcolcanna Shares are subject to a four month hold pursuant to applicable securities laws, such hold period expiring on June 1, 2019. An additional 709,125 Medcolcanna Shares are subject to a four month hold pursuant to applicable securities laws, such period expiring on July 27, 2019.

A total of 7,762,659 Medcolcanna Shares will be subject to either (a) lock-up provisions restricting the resale of the Medcolcanna Shares for a period of eighteen months, as agreed to by IES and Medcolcanna with the agents as a condition of closing the Offering, or (b) the hold periods pursuant to the Seed Share Resale Matrix in accordance the policies of the Exchange (Seed Share Resale Restrictions under Exchange Policy 5.4) upon completion of the Share Exchange, which vary from three years to four months, depending on the initial price at which the IES Common Shares and Medcolcanna Shares, as the case may be, were purchased and for how long they have been held by the applicable shareholder. Lastly, a total of 6,500,000 Medcolcanna Shares and 6,450,000 Medcolcanna Warrants are subject to a three year hold period pursuant to a Tier 2 Value Security Escrow under the Seed Share Resale Matrix pursuant to certain debt settlement transactions undertaken by IES in advance of closing.

Filing Statement

In conjunction with the closing of the Transaction and the conditional approval of the listing of the Medcolcanna Shares on the Exchange, a Filing Statement describing in detail the business of Medcolcanna and the Transaction has been filed on www.sedar.com and will be available on Medcolcannas website.

New Board and Management

Upon closing of the Transaction, the board of directors and management of the Company were reconstituted as follows, in place of the previous officers and directors and officers of IES:

 Felipe De La Vega, Chief Executive Officer and a Director;

 Chris Reid, Chief Financial Officer;

 Nicolas Rodriguez, Chief Operating Officer;

 Peter Yates, Corporate Secretary;

 Robert Metcalfe, Director (Chairman);

 Thor Borresen, Director; and

 Pablo Vieira, Director.

Biographical descriptions of each director and member of the senior management team of Medcolcanna are included in the Listing Statement.





Further Information

For further information regarding the Transaction, please contact:

Felipe De La Vega

Chief Executive Officer

Medcolcanna Organics Inc.

+57 310 258 9163

fdelavega@medcolcanna.com



CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:

This news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, 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 Transaction; the terms and conditions of the Offering; receipt of all regulatory licenses required for the cultivation, production, domestic distribution and international export of cannabis and cannabis-related products; use of proceeds raised in the Offering; and the business and operations of Medcolcanna after the consummation of the Transaction. 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.

Medcolcanna assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

The securities offered in the Offering have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act) or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. 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 and neither of these entities has in any manner passed upon the merits of the Transaction or any associated transactions.
Newsfrom Japan

Tokyo, May 17 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese government panel submitted to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday a set of proposals highlighting the importance of reforming the high school general course, selected by about 70 pct of students.

The panel called for, among other things, dividing the current general course into four categories, including one with a focus on career design education.

The council asked the government to create such categories and allow each school to decide which type it will adopt.

"The government will steadily implement education reforms based on the proposals in order to make Japan a country where each person can shine with hopes for tomorrow in the country's new era, Reiwa," which started on May 1, Abe said.

The three other proposed categories call for nurturing human resources who can play leadership roles on the international arena, fostering innovators in the field of science and technology, and promoting exploratory education through resolving challenges facing regional communities.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Affordable living at the Jersey Shore just got a whole lot nicer, thanks to a $24 million rehabilitation project.

Victorian Towers, a 205-unit affordable housing development for senior citizens located near the Washington Street Mall in Cape May, recently completed a nearly year-long renovation project.

Of the 205 rooms at the housing facility, 56 units will remain affordable through a 20-year, project-based Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract, and the remaining units will remain affordable through a 20-year, Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) agreement.

The building is only a few blocks from the beach and is situated in the downtown area of the city. About 39% of Cape Mays 3,500 people are over the age of 60. Of those seniors, 5.5% are considered to be living in poverty.

The turnaround comes years after residents told a different story of Victorian Towers. In 2012, it had several vacancies, and residents complained of a number of maintenance issues, according to a report in the Cape May Herald.

Now, renovations included new flooring, new windows, and re-done hallways and community gathering area. Outside of the building, seven gas lamps were also installed to keep with the Victorian-style and historic feel of the town. MDG Design + Construction, LLC and Hudson Valley Property Group completed the project, which was funded through multiple banks, with assistance from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The building is owned and operated by the Diocesan Housing Services Corporation of the Diocese of Camden. At an opening Friday, Bishop Dennis Sullivan said more affordable housing is needed, especially with the aging population living longer.

The interior of one of the residences at Victorian Towers located in Cape May

(We) need much more than we currently have," he said. "The diocese would be glad to sponsor much more, and we are available...but we need to have cooperation, especially that of political powers like we have in the present.

Hudson Property Group co-founder Andrew Cavaluzzi said the organization first discussed the project with the Diocese in 2013 and revisited the idea two years later before coming to an agreement. Cavaluzzi said the residents questions, comments, and understanding of the process and construction helped get the project completed.

Residents and dignitaries eat in one of the renovated community gathering areas in Victorian Towers

Anytime that you have construction or renovations going on, there are a lot of nerves that come out," Cavaluzzi said.

"We went through everything, and the residents were great and were very receptive to what we had, and had some questions and comments. Because of the residents, we were able to get this done.

The DHSCs Executive Director, Jamie Reynolds, said the development had to feel like home.

We try to incorporate that spirit at each of the properties we operate," he said. "We are especially pleased with the opportunity to refresh Victorian Towers and bring some new life in one of our oldest properties, which was built in 1973.

Chris Franklin can be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cfranklinnews or on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us.nj.com/tips.

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Nancy Hulick still thinks of Gina Marie Gallo as her big sister  even though she can only imagine her as 21 years-old, the age she was when she disappeared in 1981.

Gallo was missing for nearly 17 years before a hunter found a skull in Hamilton Township in 1997, and dental X-rays proved it was her. Hulick had only given a DNA sample three years earlier  more than a decade after her sister first went missing.

There was no missing persons unit, and Hulick knew of no support groups. She didnt know anyone like her: a person who was waking up each day in hope her sister would be found, but also grieving the loss absent a body.

The feeling is so ... it takes someone whos been there to know the feeling, she said. Thats a lot of mornings to wake up and say, Will this be the day? You have grief when youre missing someone, you have the certain grief of the unknown.

So she has volunteered at the New Jersey State Polices missing persons event each year since it launched in 2017. Shes still hoping someone will come forward, that some clue will shake loose to solve her sisters death.

But she also hopes those who still know nothing in the case of their missing loved one will find answers of their own.

Greeting those arriving at the event on Rutgers Universitys Newark campus Saturday afternoon, Nancy and her husband were joined by others who have been searching for their loved ones. Some are children, missing for decades, others are brothers, sisters, mothers  all gone with barely a trace.

Some cases had evidence and an outpouring of search resources. Others have just a photo, taken long ago.

Its almost like wanting to go to a funeral," Hulick said. You dont really want to do it. I do this because, its just amazing the technology they have today.

There are around 1,000 unsolved missing persons cases in the state, some dating back to 1969. Police say there are also around 300 identified remains.

At the event, attendees had the opportunity to ask questions of law enforcement, network with other families and even provide DNA samples or report a loved one missing. The day is a reminder from police to the families who feel like their cases languish as the world moves on: We havent forgotten.

I can never understand what youre going through, Detective Sgt. Joel Trella of the State Polices missing persons unit told the crowd. This day is for you.

Local authorities, as well as the FBI, set up tables with information. There were forensic experts and a K9 bloodhound. Posters plastered with faces of the missing surrounded the crowd, and a video with their photos, some candids snapped at home, others posed portraits, played during a candlelight celebration.

Some stood to tell the stories of their losses, like Guy Madsen, whose 72-year-old mother Julia Madsen vanished in 2009 when she went for a short walk on the beach in Seaside Park. She had early-stage dementia, but could still get around on her own, he said.

Shes got no markings on the planet, Madsen said, noting that no credible clues in her disappearance have emerged over the past decade. Hes bought a cemetery plot for her next to his grandparents, and plans to have a service next month, which marks the 10th anniversary of her disappearance. Hes also offering a $75,000 reward for information regarding his mother.

We have nothing. I have a hair brush in a Ziploc bag, he said. We just want closure.

Madsen and several others in attendance praised police and the event, and the resources it brought to families.

Im committed for as long as theyll have this. Ill be here every year to celebrate my mother, Madsen said. Its the only thing I can do.

Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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This story was originally published by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization covering public education. Sign up for their newsletters here: chalkbeat.org/newsletter.

The winning candidates in Newarks recent school board race got a nearly $100,000 boost from a group backed by charter school advocates, according to new campaign filings.

The group, called Great Schools for All PAC, spent more than $97,000 supporting the team of three politician-endorsed candidates who swept last months election, the filings show. By far the biggest spender in the race, the group netted most of its money from donors based outside Newark.

Great Schools for All has extensive ties to charter school supporters. Its chairman is a former official at KIPP New Jersey, an affiliate of the national KIPP charter school network. And its donors include a group seeking to spread charter schools across the country and Doris Fisher, the Gap Inc. co-founder who is a longtime KIPP donor and board member.

As an independent expenditure group, Great Schools for All could raise and spend unlimited amounts in the election but not coordinate with its chosen candidates  Shayvonne Anderson, ADorian Murray-Thomas, and Tave Padilla.

Those candidates, whose team was called Moving Newark Schools Forward, raised their own money separately from the independent group. The team spent about $27,000 of the money it raised through its campaign committee, according to filings. The committee reported its spending Thursday night  three days after the May 6 deadline, which could subject it to a fine.

The team was backed by Mayor Ras Baraka, North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos Jr., state Sen. M. Teresa Ruiz, and charter school advocates. Each of the elected officials gave money to the team through their own campaign committees, according to the filings. Great Schools for All Inc., which has the same address as Great Schools for All PAC, gave $7,800  the teams largest donation.

The money spent to elect the winning candidates, who were sworn in to the board last month, dwarfed the amount spent by their opponents. A rival three-person team called Children Over Politics reported spending just over $9,000 during the race; the remaining five candidates did not report any spending.

This is the second year that Great Schools for All backed the politicians chosen team. Last year, the group spent $147,000 supporting the slate  helping it crush its 10 opponents in the board race, who reported no spending.

The chairman of Great Schools for All is Kyle Rosenkrans, a former fundraiser and director of strategic initiatives for KIPP New Jersey who just launched a nonprofitdedicated to bridging the divide between Newarks traditional and charter schools.

In an interview last month, Rosenkrans told Chalkbeat that he raised money for this years school board race on a volunteer basis apart from his work at the nonprofit, called the New Jersey Childrens Foundation. But his motivation for joining both causes is the same, Rosenkrans said: to promote unity among once-rival political camps and among supporters of traditional and charter schools, who have clashed bitterly in the past.

That unity, I think, creates a special moment for the city, Rosenkrans said. And thats personally inspiring to me, having seen the opposite for too long.

But critics, who say the outside money allows national funders to shape Newarks school board while drowning out the voices of independent candidates, are not persuaded. They say that charter-school boosters exacerbate divisions, rather than ease them, by funneling cash into the board election.

They can stop funding political candidates and their slate if they want to foster unity, said John Abeigon, president of the Newark Teachers Union and an outspoken charter school critic. They can stop pumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into local school board campaigns and allow it to be a true democratic election.

Moving Newark Schools Forward paid local Democratic and Republican organizations for campaign services, along with local workers, according to filings. Its largest payment was $13,000 to Bottom Up Consulting, a political strategy firm founded by Amiri Baraka Jr., the mayors brother and chief of staff.

Great Schools for All used its war chest to pay groups in California, New York, Texas, and Washington, D.C., to produce campaign ads and call and text voters, campaign filings show. It also hired Newark-based campaign workers.

Great Schools for All raised $107,600 for this years race. Its largest contribution was $60,000 from a group called Public School Allies. That group is the political arm of The City Fund, a new national organization looking to push cities to expand charter schools and give district-run schools more autonomy. The City Fund is also bankrolling Rosenkrans new nonprofit.

Better Education for New Jersey Kids Inc., an education advocacy group whose co-founder is a KIPP New Jersey board member, gave $15,000. Doris Fisher of the Gap chipped in $5,000.

The state legislature this year passed a bill that would shine a light on so-called dark money groups, nonprofits that seek to influence elections or policy but are not subject to the same financial disclosure rules as traditional political groups. Gov. Phil Murphy must still sign the bill, which would would force independent spending groups like Great Schools for All to reveal their top donors.

In its filings, Great Schools for All PAC voluntarily disclosed its donors. However, the group also reported receiving $27,500 from Great Schools for All Inc., whose funders remain a mystery.

Last year, New Jerseys Election Law Enforcement Commission found that independent spending had become the preferred weapon that special-interest groups wield to sway elections, rather than direct contributions to candidates  a trend that held in Newarks school board race this year.

Joseph Donohue, the commissions deputy director, told Chalkbeat that Newarks election is just one more example of why the state should require greater transparency from outside spending groups.

These groups can have a big impact on elections, he said. So we want to know where their moneys coming from.
A Trenton man charged in 2013 with selling a loaded rifle and a defaced handgun to a police informant the year before was convicted at trial Friday of eight crimes, the state Attorney Generals Office announced.

Barry Crudup sold a .22-caliber rifle with a scope to an informant for $400 in June of 2012, on Ward Avenue in Trenton. Three months, in the same neighborhood, he collected $750 from the informant for a .40-caliber handgun that had a defaced serial number.

The now 27-year-old Crudup was convicted by a Mercer County jury of conspiracy and seven related gun crimes. It took a while to bring him to justice, the state said, because he was a fugitive for five years after he was indicted in June of 2013.

Authorities called the New Jersey State Police-led undercover investigation, Operation Nine Lives, and arrested three other Trenton residents for gun sales: Michael Gyampo, 30, Dwayne Haines, 31, and Davon Williams, 31.

Gyampo, who was with Crudup for the rifle sale, pleaded guilty to possessing a handgun and was sentenced in 2014 to a three-year minimum term, which hes completed.

Haines, who with Gyampo sold a defaced 9-millimeter Taurus pistol to the informant for $300, also pleaded guilty to possessing a gun and drew a one-year minimum prison term in 2015. He was paroled the next year.

Williams is still in the state prison system, but living in a halfway house on his way to release, records show. He sold a rifle with a large-capacity magazine and a 20-gauge shotgun to informant for $1,000 in one transaction, and a sawed off 12-gauge shotgun for $600 in a second transaction, the state said. His guilty plea in 2015 involved separate drug charges as well.

State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and Gov. Phil Murphy have pledged to make New Jersey cities safer from gun violence, targeting several areas of the firearms world with new legislation, from ghost guns to publicly reporting where illegal guns seized in New Jersey come from.

And while the state took a victory lap for this case - "Through this type of investigation and prosecution, we are taking illegal guns off the street  along with those who traffic them  and making our communities safer, Division of Criminal Justice Director Veronica Allende said in a statement - it started under the former administration, and Trenton is vexed by nearly daily gun violence.

The city experiencing a significant low in homicides in 2019, with three (each a gun crime), but the city still averages well over 100 shootings or assaults with a gun per year, and state statics show. For the three most complete years, 2015, 2016 and 2017, the city recorded a total of 773 assaults with a gun.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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The mother of a Jersey Shore stars baby was arrested on a domestic battery charge this week, officials said.

Jen Harley, who is the mom of Ronnie Ortiz-Magros 1-year-old daughter, was arrested on May 16 according to the Asbury Park Press.

She was bailed out by the following morning, the newspaper reported.

At a New Years Eve incident, Harley allegedly threw an ashtray at Ortiz-Magro during a fight at the Hustler Club in Las Vegas. It struck him in the face, according to reports. He filed a battery report and a warrant for Harleys arrest was issued on April 17.

NJ Advance Media reached out to the Clark County Court in Nevada and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for comment but didnt immediately hear back.

Harleys hearing is scheduled for May 22.

The pair have had a tumultuous relationship in the past few years.

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro filed battery charges against his daughter's mom, Jen Harley. She was arrested on Thursday.

In a previous incident in June 2018, Ortiz-Margo was caught in a seatbelt outside of a car that Harley was driving. He was dragged and later suffered a rash and a bruised face. Their child was reportedly in the car at the time.

Harly was arrested but her case was denied due to insufficient evidence.

Months later in October, Ortiz-Margo revealed on Instagram that he had a black eye after a fight with Harley where she hit him in the head with a phone and punched him in the face.
A new playground honors a young New Jersey woman who died tragically in 2017  and her father who died over a decade before.

Caitlin Nelson, a Clark native, died at age 20 following an eating contest at her university in Connecticut. Caitlins father, Jim, was a Port Authority Police Officer and died during the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. But now, because of a new township playground at 430 Westfield Ave, their memory will live on in their hometown.

Rosanne (Caitlins mother) got a double horrible tragedy, Clark Recreation Director Ralph Bernardo said.

Customized panels on the playground feature the fathers and daughters handwriting and promote two organizations Caitlin cared about: Donate Life America and Americas Camp.

One customized panel features Catilin's handwriting.

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, a girl who received Catilins donated lungs spoke, and a plane with a message that read Have an amazing day! (love) Caitlin and Dad, flew overhead, Bernardo said.

A playground is a fitting tribute to a young woman who loved to help kids, her sister, Anne Nelson said.

She saw life as an opportunity to assist those in need, Anne said. Caitlin was a peer minister at Saint Helens Church in Westfield, a counselor for Clark Recreation Summer Camp, a counselor at Sister Pats Kids Camp for children with cancer, and she knit hats for premature babies in the hospital.

Where Angels Play  an organization formed by Bill Lavin of the Elizabeth Fire Department in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary  helped organize fundraising and build the playground. The community raised $120,000 and the township of Clark contributed $230,000 for the customized Angels playground and an additional playground, which together gave the 22-year-old park a facelift, Bernardo said.

After my mom and I cut the ribbon, kids rushed onto the playground and it was amazing to see their smiling faces as they played in a carefree manner, Anne said in an email to NJ Advance Media. Everyone came together as a community and made my family feel so much love and support.
Photo: cadn.com.vn

The cooperative contents were reached during his reception for Portell Casanova Maria de Rosario, Uruguay Ambassador to Vietnam, on May 16during her working visit to Da Nang city.

Welcoming the Uruguay ambassador to the city, Mr. Minh gave a general introduction about the citys socio-economic development achievements, as well as the investment and trade environment.

The citys authority will create favourable conditions for Uruguay businesses to promote investment in the future, he said.

Appreciating the citys development and potential investment environment, Ambassador Portell Casanova Maria de Rosario showed her hope to set up cooperation with Da Nang, and suggested the citys leaders make favourable conditions for a delegation of Uruguay businesses to visit the city in October.

Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade showed that Vietnam and Uruguay have maintained stable bilateral trade exchange over the past years, with import-export turnover of USD140 million in 2018, an increase of 19% compared to 2017./.
NEW ORLEANS, May 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until May 31, 2019 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T), if they purchased the Companys 1) securities between October 22, 2016 and October 24, 2018, inclusive (the Class Period) and/or 2) shares issued in connection with its June 2018 acquisition of Time Warner. This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.



Get Help

AT&T investors should visit us at https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-atampt-inc-securities-litigation or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options.

About the Lawsuit

AT&T and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On October 24, 2018, following AT&Ts June 2018 acquisition of Time Warner, the Company disclosed its 3Q2018 results for the first full quarter post-Acquisition that included significant decreases in traditional DirecTV and DirecTV Now subscribers, despite its prior statements touting the expected subscriber growth potential.

On this news, the price of AT&Ts shares fell nearly 12%.

The case is Gross v. AT&T Inc. et al, 19-cv-2892.

About ClaimsFiler

ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations.
By David Von Drehle

"First, do no harm" - the timeless admonition to new doctors - gets about as close to the core of conservative philosophy as four words can. A conservative measures twice before cutting, heeds the doctrine of unintended consequences and lives by the motto: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

A healthy republic needs conservatives in its political mix, and the lack of them in power today is a leading cause of America's civic anomie. Our conservative party has become a radical movement, from the White House to the statehouse.

The latest evidence is found in the radical antiabortion laws passed this month by legislatures in Georgia, Alabama and Missouri, with other states apparently close behind. These laws are intentionally provocative, reckless and, as televangelist and abortion foe Pat Robertson put it, "extreme."

Though not identical (Georgia's law will subject patients to criminal penalties, while Alabama targets only the doctors), the new laws are built from the same rigid timber. They hold that a fetus of six or eight weeks' gestation has all the rights and protections of a born child. No ifs, ands or buts. The end result is tyranny masquerading as love: Even an Alabama child in grade school raped by an abusive father must carry the resulting pregnancy to term.

The radicals behind such laws fall into two camps, neither one conservative. Some are zealots who genuinely believe in their extreme ideas. The rest are cynics who hope that the courts will strike down these laws and thereby drive the abortion wedge into the heart of the 2020 campaign. What unites them is their willingness, even eagerness, to strain the social fabric and discredit our institutions.

One sees this drive to inflame and divide in the way they talk about existing abortion laws. In his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump - solidly in the cynics' camp - spoke of babies "ripped from the mother's womb moments before birth" and killed. However, in 2007, the Supreme Court actually upheld a nationwide ban on the procedure he so morbidly referenced. Nor has there ever been an "unlimited right to abortion," as proponents of the crackdown claim. The high court's landmark 1992 abortion ruling plainly stated that women may choose an abortion before the fetus is viable outside the womb - but the state can regulate abortion after viability, as long as the regulations don't impose an "undue burden" on women.

In truth, the Supreme Court's careful, measured approach to abortion has been an example of conservatism in action. The justices have avoided sweeping, categorical rulings designed to turn the world on its head. Its opinions have upheld the institution of family by giving parents and spouses a limited role in abortion decisions and have recognized community mores by affirming that at least one procedure is beyond the pale. True, critics have wondered whether Roe v. Wade moved too quickly and too far, but clearly Roe was consistent with a general trend toward women's autonomy over childbearing.

One of the intellectual founders of conservatism, the 18th century Irish statesman Edmund Burke, watched across the English Channel as radicals dragged France toward national madness. "All the decent drapery of life is to be rudely torn off," he wrote. "Their liberty is not liberal. Their science is presumptuous ignorance. Their humanity is savage and brutal."

Burke would surely say the same of those who have hijacked his philosophy in todays America, calling themselves conservatives while rudely tearing at the drapery. True, there are radicals on the other side as well, and the argument between left and right will go on forever without resolving whose extremism came first. But that doesnt change the fact that a genuine conservative resists extremes of all kinds in favor of gradual progress in which all can share.

We now can see that the conservative hero Barry Goldwater was wrong philosophically, and not just as a matter of campaign strategy, when he declared in 1964 that "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice." With that battle cry, Goldwater breathed the germ that now puts America's conservative movement on its deathbed. Whatever its initial motivation, and regardless of what it sets out to defend, extremism winds up going too far. Extremists demand 100 percent in a world of compromises, and seek to paint the many-shaded human condition in stark black and white.

Extremism in the defense of liberty proves to be an oxymoron, for extremism comes at the expense of liberty. To achieve their goals, they must infringe on the liberty of others. Thus, a movement that began with skepticism of government power now enacts laws to direct government power toward coercing women to carry unwanted pregnancies and turning rape victims into unwilling incubators.

And a movement that once valued patriotism now sows division just to win reelection.

David Von Drehle writes a twice-weekly column for The Post. He was previously an editor-at-large for Time Magazine, and is the author of four books, including Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and Americas Most Perilous Year and Triangle: The Fire That Changed America.

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Can Americans still have a sensible and friendly political discussion across the partisan divide? The answer is yes, and we intend to prove it. Julie Roginsky, a Democrat, and Mike DuHaime, a Republican, are consultants who have worked on opposite teams for their entire careers yet have remained friends throughout. Here, they discuss the weeks events, with prompts from Tom Moran, editorial page editor of The Star-Ledger.

Q. For the first time ever, lets start with some good news: The state treasurer reports that tax revenue is booming, bringing in $705 million more than expected this year. Budget Chairman Paul Sarlo says that removes all pressure to raise the millionaires tax. Is that proposal officially dead now?

DuHaime: Yes, the millionaires tax is roadkill. The latest proposal was a populist take on communism  simply take money from one income class of people and write checks to people in another income bracket. Thats class warfare at its finest, so it is good news that its dead. It would have been just another negative factor keeping businesses away from NJ.

Roginsky: The millionaire's tax was officially dead the day legislative leaders in both houses said they opposed it, which was before last years budget deadline.

Q. Sen. Loretta Weinberg is on the warpath to get more funding to address the crisis at NJ Transit, saying Gov. Phil Murphys budget provides an increase of just 1.1 percent in the operating budget, and still raids capital funds. Why isnt Murphy doing more? Does this pose a political risk to him?

DuHaime: Its simple. Gov. Murphy isnt doing more because there isnt any more money. I have no doubt that Gov. Murphy sincerely wants to fix NJ Transit and had every intention to allocate more money as he said he would. But governing is harder than campaigning. There simply isnt enough money for every priority without structural reforms to the biggest cost drivers. The governor is not taking money away from education, health care and pensions/benefits for NJ Transit.

Roginsky: In fairness to Governor Murphy, the problems he faces at NJ Transit are virtually insurmountable. We desperately need another tunnel under the Hudson, which the Trump administration is refusing to fund. Transits budget was hollowed out by Governor Christie, leaving it depleted when this governor took office. But while this is not of Governor Murphys making, riders will expect him to fix it  and short of dedicating the entire budget to fixing it, Im not sure what he can do to meaningfully move the needle to restore our public transportation system to its former glory. (And that is before a hurricane or another catastrophic event could potentially take out the existing ancient and decrepit tunnel under the Hudson.)

DuHaime: NJTs funding was not hollowed out by Gov. Christie. The operating budget for NJT increased under Christie. At some point, Team Murphy will have to take responsibility for this supposed high priority, and stop blaming the previous administration or fellow Democrats for everything.

Gov. Gaslight refuses to address the NJ Transit funding fiasco responsibly | Editorial - https://t.co/GiEyRfLVJW https://t.co/PMWGcA1cYz  Loretta Weinberg (@SenatorLorettaW) May 12, 2019

Q. Gov. Phil Murphy conditionally vetoed a dark money bill that would have required disclosure of big donors to political groups, while a group of his senior advisors continues to raise such money itself. Is the governor damaging his credibility as a reformer? Will the Legislature override him?

DuHaime: By promising to disclose donors and then going back on its word, the pro-Murphy outside group put the governor in a very difficult spot. Now we have two warring factions each pretending they want more disclosure, when neither side really does. My guess is nothing happens.

Roginsky: I tend to think that if you say youre going to do something, you should do it. An override is under serious discussion. And to be fair, Mike, at least one side does want more disclosure. I am running a similar entity that is supportive of Speaker Coughlin's agenda. The speaker said very publicly that he expects transparency, and that is good enough for me. We are disclosing our donors by the end of the year, regardless of whether this veto is overridden.

Q. Ron Chen, the chairman of the governors task force investigating abuses in the tax incentive program, said he will no longer announce it when he makes criminal referrals to prosecutors based on evidence that emerges at the hearings at the request of law enforcement. What do you make of that?

DuHaime: Announcing the criminal referral months ago was the truest signal yet that the Civil War among the Democrats was going to be a fight to the political death. I am not sure if the Ron Chen knew what a firestorm he would create with such an allegation. On a side note, politics has changed in one very sad way since I started. We used to want to beat our political opponents at the ballot box. Now people want their political opponents in jail. It is a bad trajectory.

Q. The Trump administration sent an aircraft carrier battle group to the coast of Iran and ordered the partial evacuation of the embassy in Baghdad, claiming it had intelligence that Iran might hit U.S. targets. Our allies are skeptical, as are some in Congress. Does Trumps senior security team have the credibility to convince the world on this?

DuHaime: I will trust the president and our intelligence agencies over Iran 100 percent of the time.

Roginsky: Oh, Mike. . . .Did we learn nothing from the lead-up to the Iraq war about blind trust on matters of war and peace? When John Bolton was appointed as Trumps national security advisor, I said that it was the single most dangerous personnel decision the president made. I spent many years working alongside Bolton at Fox News and over the course of many conversations with him, I came to the conclusion that there were precious few military actions on earth that he didnt want to initiate. The similarities between the John Bolton who cheerlead the Iraq invasion and the John Bolton who is now cheerleading an Iran invasion are striking.

DuHaime: I love the revisionist history of Democrats regarding intelligence pre-Iraq War. I recall Hillary Clinton and most Democrats voting to authorize the use of force. I give our leaders the benefit of the doubt that, in life and death situations, they make the best decisions they can with the information they have at the time, which is never perfect. I recall Bill Clinton ordering the bombing of Kosovo during his impeachment hearings. I would give him benefit of the doubt that the use of force was just and not a political distraction. If I am naive, so be it.

Roginsky: There was bipartisan blame to go around in the lead-up to the Iraq war. But I am reminded of the George Santayana quote: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Q. Finally, lets gossip: Insider NJ published a photograph showing former Gov. Jon Corzine and Chris Christie having dinner in Manhattan last week, along with a silver-haired fellow who looks like George Norcross. Any clue what they were talking about? How about rank speculation?

DuHaime: I dont know what was discussed, and if I did, I wouldnt tell you anyway. But we can make up some fun ideas to start rumors if we want. Maybe they are starting a third party where they will run as a ticket. Maybe they were arm wrestling to settle some old scores. Maybe they are two of only seven people alive elected governor of NJ and thought it would be nice to have dinner. Maybe one of them will be GM of the Jets.

Roginsky: They were probably discussing how good the steak tartare is at the 21 Club.

A note to readers: DuHaime and Roginsky are both deeply engaged in politics and commercial advocacy in New Jersey, so both have connections to many players we discuss in this column. Given that, we will not normally disclose each specific connection, trusting that readers understand they are not impartial observers. DuHaime, a principal at Mercury Public Affairs, was chief political advisor to former Gov. Chris Christie, and has worked for Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and President George W. Bush. Roginsky, a principal of Optimus Communications, has served as senior advisor to campaigns of Cory Booker, Frank Lautenberg and Phil Murphy. Henceforth, we will disclose specific connections in the text only when readers might otherwise be misled, at the discretion of the editors.
Free speech just got tarred and feathered again at a town hall at Rutgers University. This time, it was by tribalists on the left. And it was just as bad as when we see it on the right, at Trump rallies.

Dont blame the college kids  these were adult public worker union members, shutting down speakers.

Senate President Steve Sweeney was trying to present his plan for pension and health benefits reform, along with distinguished wonks like Richard Keevey, a former state budget director now with the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.

The union members were there just to drown them out. They looked like a jeering section of the high school bleachers: booing, blowing ear-piercing whistles and blasting a 1980s hair-metal song from a hidden boom box.

The panelists sat staidly before the power point presentation theyd prepared; the helpless teachers. They had come to engage on the facts.

We are facing a fiscal crisis that cant be solved with tax hikes alone. New Jerseys unfunded liability for pensions and health benefits now tops $150 billion  four times the size of the state budget.

Union leaders want a hefty tax increase, beginning but not ending with millionaires. Yet any solution will also require spending cuts. Most of the money is in pension and health benefits, so the best hope is to find cuts that minimize the pain for their members.

Sweeneys been holding one town hall after another, to educate folks on this crisis. He deserves credit for convening thinkers on both sides of the aisle, with long experience in government. This is how democracy is supposed to work.

At least hes offering a plan, which no one else has, including the governor. Now Sweeney is threatening to go around Phil Murphy, if necessary, as a tool to negotiate. Let the voters decide on public worker benefits.

The union is livid. But he still has a right to propose this without being shouted down.

Millionaires tax! Millionaires tax!" the mob chanted as he took the stage. Never mind that this wont come close to solving the problem.

Keevey did his best, taking the podium to explain that Sweeneys pension plans would not affect anyone currently vested in the system. Why dont you listen? he asked the hecklers.

They shook their heads like they didnt believe him. But what do you accomplish, exactly, by shouting down the budget guy?

Hetty Rosenstein, head of the Communication Workers of America, said her people in red shirts werent the bullies. Big-armed men from a trade union supporting Sweeney were there to deliberately intimidate the public workers, she insisted.

CWA leader Seth Hahn, who was present, said the Sweeney supporters shouted at the public union members to shut up.

Perhaps this was so the panelists could finally speak. Yet rather than allow that, the jeerers thuggishly shut down Sweeney and Keeveys presentation  along with Sen. Sam Thompson and professor Marc Pfeiffer, who worked for the state for nearly three decades and is now at the Bloustein school. The real bullies wore red union shirts.

Sweeney, a former iron worker and union man himself, told us Friday, We stopped using these tactics years ago, and realized trying to have discussions and work through the problem is a hell of a lot better than just yelling at each other. Maybe someday the CWA will listen.

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WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump rejected a new request for his income tax returns on Friday, and Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. said the next step was federal court.

This is a turning point. There are no more letters to be written," said Pascrell, D-9th Dist. ""We will see them in federal court and will pursue any avenue we can to bring this lawless administration to respect our Constitution. This is now a constitutional crisis.

Pascrell, who has led the fight on Capitol Hill to obtain Trumps returns, reacted after Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin refused to release the documents after they were subpoenaed by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal. D-Mass.

Mnuchin said he would not release the returns, based on Justice Department advice, because the request lacks a legitimate legislative purpose.

Pascrell said the returns could show whether the president was financially beholden to Russia, and how he personally benefitted from the Republican tax law that disproportionately affected New Jersey and other high-tax states by capping the federal deduction for state and local taxes.

Trump and his protectors think our entire federal government exists to protect Trumps interests and that Congress is a nothing but a vestigial structure, Pascrell said. They are dead wrong on both counts.

A 1924 law enacted after the Teapot Dome scandal gives the committee chairman the right to obtain any tax returns, and Neal asked for six years of Trumps personal and business returns. Trump has refused to release his returns, breaking with more than four decades of tradition.

Neal initially requested the returns in April, saying he wanted to examine how the Internal Revenue Service ensured the president and his businesses complied with the tax laws.

He then subpoenaed the documents after Mnuchin rejected his original request.

Neal said he would discuss the next steps with committee lawyers.

The law, by its terms, does not allow for discretion as to whether to comply with a request for tax returns and return information, he said.

In a March Quinnipiac University Poll, 64 percent of U.S. voters said Trump should release his tax returns, while just 29 said he shouldnt. By 57 percent to 38 percent, they said Congress should investigate if Trump did not comply.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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You may have heard that powerful state Senate President Stephen Sweeney is pushing more than two dozen bills he says will cure New Jerseys fiscal ills and lower taxpayers bills  and that public-sector unions are not happy about it.

Thats because several of the proposals target their retirement and health care benefits to lower costs at every level of government. Other Sweeney plans would merge school districts, overhaul special education funding and look to save money on the services your local town provides.

Many of the bills are complicated. Many will be controversial.

Sweeney, D-Gloucester, already threatened to bypass progressive Gov. Phil Murphy, a fellow Democrat, and take proposals to scale back pension and health benefits to a public referendum if he cant get the changes legislatively.

Heres what we know so far about the legislation Sweeney says will fix New Jerseys fiscal crisis:

Cuts to public-worker retirement plans

This bill (S3753) would reduce retirement benefits for teachers and state and municipal employees who are members of the Public Employees Retirement System and the Teachers Pension and Annuity Fund.

New hires and employees with fewer than five years of service would shift from a pure defined-benefit plan, in which theyre guaranteed a certain level of monthly benefits during retirement, to a plan that combines features of a pension and 401k.

These workers would receive a straight pension on their first $40,000 of income, while any income in excess of $40,000 would be enrolled in a 401k-style individual cash balance account managed by the state.

Unlike a 401k, however, these public workers would be guaranteed at least a 4 percent return on their cash balance savings. If the pension system posts higher returns, employees in the 401k-style program would get 75 percent of what the pension experiences  and the state would use the other 25 percent to boost the pension system.

The state, local governments and school districts would not make contributions into the 401k-style cash balance accounts.

The Senate presidents office estimated the reforms would reduce the states pension contributions by $17.1 billion over 30 years and local governments contributions by $7.6 billion over 30 years. Sweeney has also said this type of hybrid plan serves both taxpayers and public workers better than a traditional 401k because it provides a more reliable benefit while keeping employees contributions  equal to 7.5 percent of their pay  in the pension system, where theyre badly needed.

This proposal also raises the retirement age for these workers from 65 to 67, and makes changes to the systems assumed rate of return and amortization schedule.

New Jerseys pension system is among the worst funded (61.1 percent) in the country.

The head of the state Communications Workers of America, Hetty Rosenstein, accused Sweeney of targeting the lowest-paid public workers who are more likely to be women and people of color, while sparing police, firefighter and judicial pensions.

Scaled back health care coverage for all government employees

Broadly speaking, this would make public-sector health benefits less generous.

It would ensure that the health insurance plan, including the employees deductible, can pay no more than 80 percent of coverage, and the worker can pay no less than 20 percent for things like copays and deductibles.

No doubt youve heard health care coverage talked about in terms of platinum, gold, silver and bronze. Those are Affordable Care Act designations of how generous a plan is. If a plan pays more than 90 percent, its platinum. If it pays 80 percent to 90 percent, its gold, and so on.

Sometimes New Jersey leaders will describe government health care plans as platinum-plus." What they mean is the plan pays all but a sliver of the costs, while the worker pays very little out of pocket.

Under this bill (S3754), no health care plan offered to public workers could be rated higher than gold.

That would, for example, do away with the NJ Direct 10 plan popular with teachers. More than eight of every ten people enrolled in the School Employees Health Benefits Plan choose this plan, which has $10 copays.

The cost of this plan for a family is $37,905, according to the Senate Majority Office. Ninety-seven percent of that cost is paid by the plan  that also includes the employees premium, which can be up to a third of the total plan cost  and the employee pays 3 percent out of pocket.

The proposed cap would take effect as collectively bargained contracts expire.

That health care system for school employees would be dissolved and folded into the State Health Benefits Plan.

Lawmakers heap a lot of praise on unions like the CWA in State Health Benefits Plan for pursuing many cost-cutting measures, like mandatory generic prescriptions, crackdowns on compound medications, higher copays for emergency room visits and lower reimbursements for out-of-network chiropractors.

The School Employees Health Benefits Plan has been more resistant to change.

Of the nearly 240,000 active educators in New Jersey, about 62,000 and their families are enrolled in the school employees health care system, as are more than 107,000 retirees, according to the Senate Majority Office.

Thirty percent of New Jersey school districts participate in the School Employees Health Benefits Plan. The rest contract independently for health care coverage with private providers.

Forced mergers of all non-K-12 public school districts

New Jersey has close to 600 school districts. And did you know nearly half of those are elementary and middle school districts?

A bill, S3756, would force regionalization of all of the states elementary and middle school districts into larger K-12 districts. The plan would consolidate a total of 278 school districts serving 303 municipalities.

Many critics of New Jerseys high property taxes have long called for regionalization of school districts, saying small K-6 and K-8 districts create unnecessary layers of expensive and wasteful bureaucracy.

Taking on county-wide consolidation of school districts

This proposal creates a pilot program for up to five New Jersey counties to form countywide school districts. After nine years, the state education commissioner would report back on the experiences of the pilot program.

Create a new income tax deduction

Some state lawmakers have long called for a state income tax deduction for charitable giving. It was proposed as part of the deal to raise the gas tax, but it didnt make the cut. This bill (S2179) allows for a gross income tax deduction for donations to qualified New Jersey-based charities.

The nonpartisan Office of Legislation Services estimated this could save taxpayers $215 million to $365 million a year.

Capping unused sick leave

This bill (S2578), introduced last year, restricts the cash payouts public employees can receive for their unused sick leave at retirement, known colloquially as boat checks.

Employees represented by unions who have build up $7,500 or more worth of unused sick leave can not accrue unpaid sick leave after the legislation becomes effective.

Employees who have accumulated less than $7,500 and are eligible for post-retirement health benefits will receive the payout as a credit toward their future health care contributions  not to exceed $7,500.

Employees who have accrued less than $7,500 and are not eligible for post-retirement health care will receive their money deposited in an account that can be used to pay qualified health care expenses in retirement.

Once the legislation takes effect, unused sick leave would have no monetary value.

No more procrastinating on those property tax assessments

Some New Jersey municipalities go decades without reassessing their properties, which can result in an unfair distribution of the property tax burden. This bill would automatically trigger municipal-wide reassessments if the ratio of assessed value to market value falls below 90 percent or above 110 percent.

The state began ordering revaluations a few years ago in municipalities that had not revalued in a quarter century in defiance of the state Constitutions calls for fair and uniform assessments.

The assessed value of a home is used to help determine property tax bills. But property values change over time, and when governments stall revaluations, some taxpayers wind up paying too much and others pay too little.

This same bill would offer counties the opportunity to conduct countywide revaluations.

No more double-dipping health coverage

Under S103, employees who hold more than one public-sector job can only receive coverage from one position and cannot receive a payment for waiving coverage with the second (or third, or fourth) employer.

Provisions of the bill also target spouses who are both eligible for government employer-sponsored plans. For example, if spouses are both public employees, they would be required to enroll in one family plan and pay premiums based on the higher-paid spouses salary.

County college employees on the move

This bill was actually introduced over a year ago and had already been vetoed by Murphy.

It would shift active and retired employees from New Jerseys 19 county colleges to the State Health Benefits Plan  for same reasons as the school health plan proposal. The nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services wasnt able to estimate the potential savings to those colleges, which pay health care costs for active employees, and the state, which pays costs for retirees.

In vetoing the bill (S2455), Murphy said he didnt like this end-run around collective bargaining.

Overhaul special education funding

Three bills specifically target funding and services for special education.

One (S3758) would have the state take over payments for extraordinary special education, or any amount over $55,000 spent to support a single student.

Under the current arrangement, local districts pay up to a certain amount, say $40,000, in special education costs, and if the costs go over that, state is supposed to cover most of it. However, the state doesnt always meet its reimbursement obligations and districts can be left on the hook for unpredictable costs.

A second bill (S3219) would throw out the states current census-based methodology for allocating special education funding, which assumes all districts have the same percentage of special education students. It would be replaced by a formula thats based on how many special education students there actually are.

He also wants to create a special unit within the states Office of Administrative Law made up of judges trained in special education law.

A tax workaround for small business owners

Shortly after President Donald Trump signed federal tax reforms into law in 2017, Sweeney unveiled this plan to spare pass-through businesses from the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions.

Lawmakers said 260,000 people in New Jersey report business income on their individual tax returns and are socked by the cap on write-offs.

This (S3246) allows the business entity to pay the state income taxes of its principals, as corporations dont face the same cap.

It needs approval from the state Assembly in order to land on Murphys desk.

Shared services on the on the mind

Quite a few pieces of legislation are aimed at encouraging or studying having towns share services as a way to bring down costs.

S3764 would set aside $2 million to fund a shared service coordinator in every county who would be on the lookout for places to collaborate.

S3765 would create a new office in state government to promote and facilitate the regionalization and innovative delivery of local government services.

S3766 would tap experts at Rutgers school of planning and public policy to study the best way to provide municipal courts, construction code enforcement, fire code enforcement, municipal and county health services, property tax assessments, public workers and emergency services.

S3769 would allow county police departments to provide police services for municipalities in their jurisdiction.

Mandating more scrutiny of tax abatements

When municipalities offer long-term tax abatements to developers, this bill would require both the applicant submit a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed project. The mayor would also have to analyze the financial impact on the county and school district.

And if the municipality receives an annual payment in lieu of taxes as part of the deal with the developer, it would have to give a cut of that payment to the school district and county.

Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter@samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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by Jessie Blaeser

Oftentimes, if a student cannot pay for their cafeteria meal, they are offered a cheapersometimes less desirablealternative. Some parents and critics call this practice lunch shaming, where a school cafeteria calls attention to a childs familys economic status. This camp feels full school lunches should be provided to all students, regardless of their ability to pay. Others point out that schools are still feeding children who cannot afford full meals, and critics should not be able to dictate what those meals should be. Is there such a thing as a free lunch if its going to a child in need?

According to the New York Times Christine Hauser, roughly 30 millions students receive a meal provided by the federal National School Lunch Program:

About 20 million of those meals are free; eight million are paid in full, and two million are served at a reduced price, according to government figures published by the School Nutrition Association.

When a child can't pay for their lunch, the cost of that meal does not disappear; the child goes into "lunch debt." This does not mean they are denied food, but given different food instead. One public school district in Rhode Island announced in May it would offer an alternative meal in the form of a "sun butter and jelly sandwich" (likely opting for sunflower seed butter to avoid peanut allergies).

Although alternative meals may not be what students prefer, schools must take into account how much they spend on food and how much they get back, while of course still feeding children. Some adults remember receiving a barebones meal of bread and cheese:

i was gonna say, this isnt new. when we ran out of money in middle school we got bread and cheese  Duncetin (@FPSOsh) May 8, 2019

But some parents say a cold sandwich is not acceptable. Children will still be hungry during the day with only a meager meal to sustain them, and this kind of reaction from the cafeteria draws a line between students who cannot pay and the restthe sandwich acts as a marker of shame, as Hauser puts it.

Because the school district wants to shame kids more than it wants to feed them https://t.co/6w3tTtjquT  Mikki Kendall (@Karnythia) May 9, 2019

From district officials to cafeteria workers, everyone wants school children to be full and focused during their time in school. But the economic reality means that alternative, cheaper meals must be provided to students who cannot afford a full school lunch. Patricia Montague, the CEO of the School Nutrition Association, explains that school meals are financially independent of a school districts education budget. She states:

However, federal regulations prohibit school meal programs from carrying debt from unpaid meal charges from one school year to the next. So when parents dont pay the balance, and meal programs are unable to cover the costs, school districts are forced to pick up the tab. As a result, many school meal programs have been forced to institute controversial charge policies governing whether, and what, their school cafeterias will serve to students who are unable to pay for a meal.

School districts can amount hundreds of thousands of debt from unpaid meals charges. According to Montague, the perfect solution has yet to be found, but everyone has the students best interest in mind. Eliminating the need to pay for school lunch is not a realistic solution to the problem at hand.

But for many parents, this seems like a no-brainer. All school lunches should be free. New Food Economy reports:

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), more than 30 million students participate in free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) and more than 14 million participate in free or reduced-price breakfast under the School Breakfast Program (SBP) during the school year. Thats 30 million students who rely on their schools for at least one meal a day.

With this reality in mind, its hard to argue against providing free school lunch to children who cannot afford to pay. Schools have responsibility to offer well-balanced, nutritious meals to students, and as such, schools should give every student the same quality of food and nutrition regardless of their ability to pay.

My annual reminder that all kids should get good, hot, free school lunch and it is absolutely absurd that any of them have to pay or rely on special programs to eat https://t.co/ztEooBGepv  Dad (@fivefifths) May 8, 2019

The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, wed love to hear what you have to say.
Three teen boys were shot when someone inside of a black truck opened fire near a Hollygrove intersection Friday evening (May 17), New Orleans police reported.

The trio, which included two 16-year-olds and 14-year-old, were walking in the area of Forshey and Hollygrove streets about 6 p.m. when someone in the black pick-up began shooting at them, according to a preliminary NOPD report. The 14-year-old was shot to the leg, while one of the 16-year-olds received a graze wound to the buttocks and the other was shot in the buttocks.

The three wounded boys arrived at a local hospital via private vehicle, police said.

At the scene, investigators placed about 10 evidence cones, marking shell casings, along Forshey Street across the intersection with Hollygrove Street. More evidence cones were placed on Hollygrove Street in the river-bound direction.

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.

Update: This post was updated Saturday morning (May 18) to reflect new information from NOPD that three people  all under the age of 18  were shot. The post was again updated Monday (May 20) with details on their wounds.

Laura McKnight covers crime and breaking news for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Staff Photographer Michael DeMocker contributed to this report.
Apple CEO Tim Cook urged graduates of Tulane Universitys 2019 class to tackle the hardest obstacles, to find their purpose and their greatest contribution to society.

Cook, an alumnus of Duke Universitys Fuqua School of Business, delivered Tulanes commencement speech Saturday (May 18), encouraging graduates to be motivated to build a better world. Young people have changed history time and time again, he stressed.

Make it your lifes work to remake the world because there is nothing more beautiful or worthwhile than working to leave something better for humanity, Cook told more than 3,000 students in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Cook urged students to realize everyone must work together to solve lifes problems, including the issue of climate change. He noted that the Superdome he stood in for Saturdays ceremony was also where thousands once found desperate shelter from a 100-year disaster, the kind that seems to be happening more and more frequently.

Tulane giving honorary degrees to two executives, actor, congressman

He also pointed out Tulane research has found that rising sea levels are devastating areas of southern Louisiana more dramatically than anyone expected. Some coastal communities are already making plans to leave behind the places theyve called home for generations, he said. Fishermens nets are coming up empty, the wildlife preserves have less wildlife to preserve, and the marginalized are being forced into poverty after natural disasters, he said.

Even so, the Alabama native told students they have been equipped with the tools to address these issues, thanks to their education in New Orleans. He said New Orleanians built this city using the unlikely and the impossible.

New Orleans teaches us there is nothing more beautiful or more worthwhile than trying, especially when we do it not in the service of ones self, but ones own, Cook said.

Cook advised students not to waste time working on problems that have been solved. He said that search for greater purpose brought him to Apple in the first place. Cook previously worked at the California-based Compaq company at a time when it looked like it was going to be at the top forever, but in 1998 Apple co-founder Steve Jobs convinced Cook to join Apple when it was on the verge of bankruptcy.

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Nobody at the time wanted to buy Apples computers, Cook said. However, Jobs had a vision to create tools accessible to more people, to help unleash their creativity and move humanity forward, Cook said.

Cooks speech received a standing ovation from everyone present, but he wasnt the only notable figure to receive that honor. The attendees also provided that courtesy to U.S. Rep John Lewis, D-Ga., a Civil Rights icon who was present to receive his honorary degree from Tulane. Tulane also awarded honorary degrees to New Orleans native and New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet and actress Blythe Danner, who has won Tony and Emmy awards.

Cooks speech appeared to have inspired the students, including 56-year-old Calvin Duncan. Duncan lived in New Orleans, but he never visited the Uptown university until he was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder in New Orleans in 1985.

This was a dream come true, Duncan said. I came to Tulane when I was serving a life sentence to pick up law books and it was back then that I said I wanted to go to Tulane.

Duncan said he had no hope of ever getting out of prison. The nonprofit law office Innocence Project New Orleans, however, took his case in 2003 and found evidence that he wasnt guilty of the murder. With that evidence in hand, Louisiana decided to release Duncan if he agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge.

Duncan was released from prison after more than 28 years, on Friday, Jan. 11, 2011. He returned to Tulanes campus on the Tuesday after his release. After receiving his bachelors degree in paralegal studies, Duncan said hes planning to attend law school. His preferences include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Lewis & Clark in Oregon, and Tulane.

Hurricane Katrina survivor approaches milestone in upcoming Yale graduation

Wilborn P. Nobles III is an education reporter based in New Orleans. He can be reached at wnobles@nola.com or on Twitter at @WilNobles.
From day one, Juanita B. Hebert always wanted her children and her childrens children to get the education she never got a chance to finish. As a teen in the 1920s, Hebert couldnt complete school in Leland, Mississippi. She had to pick cotton and work as a maid to support her family.

Two generations later, her familys tenacity will pay off next week, when her grandson, Markus Reneau, is set to graduate from Yale University with a bachelors degree in African American Studies.

It is a milestone for Reneaus long road since he survived Hurricane Katrina as an 8-year-old in 2005. He endured days among the crowds abandoned at New Orleans convention center immediately after the storm, later lived in Florida for a while and eventually moved from New Orleans to Connecticut for college. Through it all, Reneau credits the support from his maw maw for helping him get there. Hebert wont get to see him graduate -- she died in 2007 -- but Reneau said shell be with him from heaven, just as shes been all along.

I feel like she was always on my shoulder with me on this journey, he said.

His mother, Alma Reneau, who lives in Gretna, echoed her sons feelings.

Everything he does is to please me and to please her, Alma said of her son and Hebert.

Alma Reneau always prayed for a son. God answered her prayers, she said, with a child who has taken her to places she never imagined.

Alma, a 9th Ward native who grew up in the Desire Housing Project, retired as a U.S. Army Master Sergeant after 23 years and went on to become a U.S. Postal Service employee for 25 years. Hebert watched over Markus during Almas time as a civilian employee. After Markus started school, he talked to Hebert, his second mom, every day.

Calling Hebert the glue that kept us together, Alma said Heberts stories about her life of labor sparked a thirst for knowledge in Markus, a child deemed gifted at age three who would experience the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Markus was only a third grader at the time. He saw things he couldnt understand until he was older. The weekend before the storm, he was staying with his father, Mark Reneau, who was visiting from his native Belize, while Alma was in Baton Rouge.

It would be days after the storm before Alma could find her son, who had taken shelter with his father among the thousands who sought refuge in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. She said those days of hell made her want to leave New Orleans forever. But Markus wanted to stay and finish school in Louisiana.

I think thats one of the reasons hes fighting for change in New Orleans, Alma said. If it was me, Id have him go as far away as he could.

Markus moved to Florida at 12-years-old to live with his father and his step-family, who introduced him to the International Baccalaureate Foundation, a prestigious educational program.

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Alma said Markus only wanted to return home if he could attend a school with an IB program. The cost of private school was out of reach, but she discovered an IB program at the International High School of New Orleans. Markus returned home at 15 and thrived. He went on to study creative writing at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.

Markus taught 6th and 9th grade writing and literature to public school students as a fellow at Breakthrough New Orleans. He won a $10,000 scholarship in the National ELKS Oratorical Contest in 2015 and graduated as salutatorian that year with a 4.5 grade point average. In November 2014, Yale University granted him early acceptance and a full-ride scholarship.

When the family learned the news, Markus hugged his mom and asked what she thought maw maw would have said. Alma cried, sad about her sons imminent departure but joyous for his success.

I definitely didnt even imagine there were colleges like Yale available because I didnt think they were accessible for me, Markus said.

New Orleans student wins $10,000 scholarship in ELKS oratorical contest

He said there were challenges at Yale. He had to adjust to the bland food and to Connecticuts snowy weather. He also had to endure the micro-aggressions of a place where some people, he said, act as if he didnt belong there. Students who live on campus, for instance, scan their IDs for dorm access and sometimes hold the residence gate open for their peers. Markus said he rarely received that courtesy. White students make up 56% of Yales campus, and black students only make up 7.1%. Other minorities make up the rest of the student body.

Markus said hes learned to appreciate how people there can be passionate about anything, be it Middle Eastern politics or someone having a pink chair in their room. Hes also been exposed to people from parts of the world I didnt even know existed, including someone he met from Kurdistan.

Hes also learned about stigmas specific to New Haven, Connecticut; some locals think Yale students are snobby. Markus battles that stereotype by mentoring children in the community. When hes not mentoring, he likes to play rugby, which was an option he didnt even know about in sports.

His passion for education is evident through his future ambitions. In September he will be a teaching fellow and college counselor at the Oakham School, a boarding school in England. He plans to apply for law school once he returns to the U.S., including the possibility of coming home to Tulane University School of Law.

He wants to return to work in New Orleans, and to help create more opportunities here for young people so they dont have to move away to other cities. He remembers there being a lot of young, white Teach for America teachers during his K-12 experience, and some of them didnt even make it through the two years.

He also recalled the lack of equal opportunities across the citys charter schools. His high school, for instance, didnt have a band until recently. He wanted to play in one growing up. Perhaps most importantly, he wants to educate people about the citys public school system. In his education studies class at Yale, for instance, many scholars stated all of the citizens love the charter schools and are thankful for the charter schools in New Orleans. He often disagreed with that notion, which spurred his desire to improve the citys school system.

Im interested in the policy changes that need to happen in the city and I want to take part in that, Markus said.

Wilborn P. Nobles III is an education reporter based in New Orleans. He can be reached at wnobles@nola.com or on Twitter at @WilNobles.
Pastor, author and Send Network V.P. Dhati Lewis will release his second book this June, exhorting churches to be advocates for racial reconciliation.

Lewis' book, "Advocates: The Narrow Path to Racial Reconciliation," focuses on the book of Philemon, unpacking key timeless principles that Paul applied to being an advocate in the midst of division. Lewis frequently speaks to pastors and trains leaders on holistic restoration, racial reconciliation and disciple-making in urban contexts.

In the book, Lewis contends that though the divisions of today don't look the same as in Paul's time, the principles are timeless, as the world today needs godly advocates in every sphere of life. "Advocates" applies these principles to issues of ethnic division and asks the reader to consider questions like, "Are you willing to call any division caused by discrimination, prejudice or racism a sin?" "Do you want to grow in your ability to navigate tense and emotional conversations about ethnic divisions?" "Are you ready to become an advocate?"

"In 2 Corinthians 5, God commissioned us to be his ambassadors and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. Whether we're engaging in issues of politics, ethnicity or religious beliefs, our heart posture should be one of an advocate set on reconciliation," Lewis said. "My prayer for readers is that this book would be the next step in their journey toward living out their identity as an advocate for Christ, that they would gain more tools for how to engage racial division in healthy, biblical ways and that they would know Jesus better because of it.

Lewis is the lead pastor of Blueprint Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and the vice president of NAMB's Send Network. He is the author of both the Bible study and book "Among Wolves: Disciple-Making in the City" (March 2017, B&H Publishing).

"Advocates" is launching with a special bulk purchase offer to help churches easily utilize the message for their congregation or leadership teams. In addition, Lewis will be traveling through North America over the next year, speaking to churches, seminaries and organizations. The book has been endorsed by J.D. Greear, Kevin Ezell, Derwin Gray, Daniel Im and others.

"We are grateful to publish 'Advocates' and pray this important resource equips and encourages churches to be advocates for racial reconciliation," said Jennifer Lyell, V.P. of Book Publishing and Merchandising.

For more information, visit dhatilewis.com.

Tags : Advocates: The Narrow Path to Racial Reconciliation dhati lewis dhati lewis new book
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 
New Orleans firefighters were battling a two-alarm blaze Friday night (May 17) at the old Grand Theater in New Orleans East, according to the NOFD.

The abandoned theater, vacant since Hurricane Katrina, is located near the intersection of Read Boulevard and the Interstate 10 Service Road.

The building has since been the home of The Wall of Peace, a mural by artist Brandan B-Mike Odums, known for creating and directing collaborative graffiti-style pieces Project Be and ExhibitBe. Odums used the exterior of the old Grand Theaterthe as a canvas for the 40 by 300-ft. aerosol painting.

Brandan Odums' mural 'The Wall of Peace,' a work in progress, video

The vacant theater also played a role in the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthys post-apocalyptic drama The Road.

Laura McKnight covers crime and breaking news for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.
A beloved Macedonia restaurant has reopened under the ownership of Amy Parker and Brian Gardalen.

Since opening in February, Parker and Gardalen said their goal was to help make Macedonia  and the Back Forty  a destination place.

About 15 years ago, a group of eight locals pooled money to keep the Macedonia restaurant alive. After five or six years, that owner gave up and the restaurant foreclosed.

Macedonia was on the brink of losing its restaurant until one of the members of the group, Bryan Easton, took matters into his own hands.

Easton purchased the Back Forty and reopened it. Not because he was looking to buy a restaurant, he said. He wanted to finish what the group  now with only three living members  started in keeping the restaurant open.

With a history of multiple owners and name changes, the culmination of the restaurant has been a place for burgers and beer, people working together to keep this small town alive, Easton said.

If you take the school and the restaurant out of a small community, it dies, Easton said. Every small town should have a place you can take your family.

Easton hired manager Mike Nolan to run the Back Forty for five or six years until last June, when Easton realized he wanted to close, too. In late December, Easton sold the restaurant to Parker and Gardalen who have kept the name and are taking a hands on ownership approach.

We saw the void in the community when the Back Forty closed and we wanted to do something about it, Brian Gardalen said. The art gallery across the street said they noticed a huge decline in business when the restaurant closed and got to the point where they open by appointment only.

In making Macedonia a destination place, Gardalen said the success of the Back Forty comes from repeat customers and customers traveling from other areas, word of mouth that its open again.

We see our customers coming 40 or 50 miles to eat at our restaurant and I believe that helps other businesses in town, too. Every night we have our regulars who come in and talk. Its a meeting place for the community. An area to catch up with someone, he said.

In recent weeks, Gardalen said they have released a full-scale menu that includes 12 to 15 newer items such as burgers, hand breaded chicken and onion rings, appetizers and salads.

Weve spent a lot of time getting the menu put into place. Everything is locally sourced. From the start weve made it our goal to get away from frozen packaged foods and serve food you cant go to the store and buy. Food that your grandma used to make  you never left the table hungry, Gardalen said.

Although the owners didnt anticipate being so involved, Gardalen said they have been working longer hours than their previous positions  remodeling homes and working in various capacities of the restaurant industry.

Were not just picking up where the previous owner left off. We are making this our own, Gardalen said.

So far, the Back Forty is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. during the week for food, and until midnight for the bar. Bar time is extended Friday and Saturday nights until 2 a.m. The kitchen closes at 8 p.m. on Sundays and the bar closes at 9 p.m. on Sundays.

We didnt anticipate our customers becoming a second family so quickly, Gardalen said. When youre going on a few hours sleep and someone makes it a point to come to the door of the kitchen to praise you on the service, it makes it all worth it.

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One the biggest, best hospitals in Nebraska is currently being forced to ration medical care  isnt able to admit very sick patients it would normally admit  because its overflow rooms and even hallways are packed with patients.
The small town of Percival which had nearly dried out from historic mid-March flooding, has begun taking on water again.

And local officials say they have a clear cause: repairs by BNSF Railway to its rail bed.

After the railroad began repairing holes in the rail line that runs the length of the valley in Fremont County, water has begun backing up, covering roads, seeping into town and even closing off northbound access to Interstate 29 from Highway 2, local officials say.

Why? The rail bed is functioning as a dam, they say, preventing floodwater from draining down the valley.

Amy McBeth, spokeswoman for BNSF, said the railroad has surveyed the area and disagrees.

Based on our surveys, we believe the water surface elevation in Percival is not affected by the railroad, she said.

Instead, roadways that run across the valley and obstructions downstream are among the reasons water isnt draining away, she said.

She said BNSF has installed culverts in the rebuilt rail bed so water can drain through.

As the region recovers from flooding and we restore our railroad, we work to minimize our impact on the communities of Iowa, she said.

Mike Crecelius, emergency manager for Fremont County, and Pat Sheldon, chairman of the local levee district, both say the railroads work is to blame for the water that is filling the town.

They said they told BNSF well before the railroad started its repairs that its work would lead to flooding. After all, they said, the same thing happened with 2011s historic flooding.

In some places in Percival, water is now 2 to 3 feet deep, Crecelius said.

Some basements now are nearly full of water, he added.

Both are worried about what will happen if the rainy week ahead generates the amount of runoff thats likely.

Not only will the flooding worsen, they say, but the power of the water being redirected through town could cause more damage and wash out roads. Sheldon said he wouldnt be surprised if BNSFs rail bed sustained new damage.

Instead, the railroad needs to wait until the levee along the Missouri River is fixed and floodwater has stopped flowing into the valley.

I understand they want to get up and going, Sheldon said. But everybody else around here is in the same boat. Its not right, what theyre doing.
Gateway Church, a multicampus church with six locations across the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and one location in Jackson Hole, has now added a new campus to an underserved community - the H.H. Coffield Unit, the largest incarcerated population within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system. Located outside Tennessee Colony in Anderson County, which is 90-minutes southeast of Dallas/Fort Worth, the Coffield Unit houses more than 4,000 criminal offenders.

Committed to discipling the incarcerated and their families, Gateway Church launched the Coffield Campus in November 2018. The initiative was announced to Gateway Church members on January 27, 2019, by Robert Morris, the lead senior pastor of Gateway Church. The first service at the new campus had more than 550 inmates in attendance with weekly attendance averaging 400 people and 854 decisions for Christ since its inception.

Through the ministry, they can experience regular worship and attend Gateway classes centered on discipleship, marriage, and parenting to help prepare them for life of leadership after incarceration. Additionally, there are groups at Gateway campuses for families of the incarcerated to help them through this period, as well as prepare for life once their loved one is released from prison.

"Since we started having Gateway services at Coffield, men's lives are being changed. Men who were convicted of felonies are turning their lives around and reconnecting with their families," says Coffield chaplain Allen Barker.

The Gateway Church Coffield Campus runs like any other campus with inmates serving as greeters and ushers and operating the sound, video, and audio. Stephen Wilson, an ex-offender who went to seminary school and has been ministering in prisons for years, serves as the Gateway Coffield Campus pastor.

Not all inmates can attend service regularly. The 2,000 minimum-security offenders can attend each week. The medium-security offenders are only able to attend on special occasions such as the November launch service. Maximum-security offenders are not able to attend but receive materials from Gateway including the church magazine, devotionals, and books like the bestseller "The Blessed Life" by Pastor Robert Morris.

Gateway Church has already opened a second prison campus at Sanders Estes Unit in Venus, Texas, and plans to open more within 100 miles of existing campuses so members of the church can serve and volunteer at the Gateway prison services on a regular basis.

Gateway believes that spiritual health is key to church growth. Through the church's Gateway Network, they offer more than 1,000 resources for building a healthy church, including resources on the prison ministry. For other churches interested in learning more about starting a prison ministry, email [email protected] or visit gatewaynetwork.com.

[Image Credit: Gateway Chruch]

Tags : gateway church gateway church news H.H. Coffield Unit
Adults who are horse enthusiasts, accustomed to practicing at Lincoln County Fairgrounds for free, are now required to pay. But 4-H groups and youth under the age of 18, with adult supervision, will continue to use the facility without charge. Adults not supervising 4-Hers will now pay $10 per hour.

That does not mean 4-H activities get a free pass. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension 4-H educator Brenda Aufdenkamp said the Lincoln County 4-H council came to a working agreement with the Ag Society about four years ago. The council pays an annual fee to the Ag Society for use of fairground facilities.

The board views the 4-H and other youth activities as very valuable to the community and we would like to put as many resources toward that as we can, Ag Society President Garret Koester said.

Other groups can attend an Ag Society meeting to propose a monthly fee that they would pay to use the arena. The meetings are on the first Monday of every month, at 7 p.m. during daylight saving time and 6 p.m. the rest of the year.
When Porter County Commissioner Laura Blaney, D-South, first posted on Facebook Tuesday about a bright and beautiful bird in her backyard, she thought maybe it was someone's escaped pet.

It had a bright yellow stomach, black wings with yellow stripes and a reddish-pink head.

Blaney reached out to the Indiana Audubon Society and found out the colorful, feathered creature is a Western tanager. Western tanagers breed far up into northwestern Canada and nest in coniferous forests of the north and the high mountains, according to the National Audubon Society. The species is climate threatened, and it's rare for them to be seen this far east.

At the same time Blaney was posting her photos, the annual Indiana Dunes Birding Festival was preparing to get underway. The festival opened Thursday and runs through Monday. It's organized by the Indiana Audubon Society and includes both the Indiana Dunes National Park and Indiana Dunes State Park as site hosts. According to the Indiana Audubon Society, the Indiana Dunes has hosted more than 370 species of birds.

Blaney said word spread quickly and soon people were knocking on her door asking to see the bird and take photos. She said the photos have been amazing.
After his death, his classmates at Gary Middle School shared stories of the eighth-grader they knew as a practical joker and "all-around very, very nice young man," Morikis said.

Anonymous tip led police to car

Gary police thanked the community for providing information about the case, which helped them secure charges.

More charges were expected, Cmdr. Jack Hamady said.

"With the help of the community, the Gary Police Department and law enforcement partners were able pursue the individuals responsible for this senseless murder and justice for Arion Lilly and his family," he said.

Police Chief Richard Allen said, "We continue to work with all involved in the furtherance of this case and bring an end to the senseless violence in our community."

Two days after the homicide, Gary police released a photo of a red Chevrolet Impala with a dent in the rear bumper and asked for tips about who might have been in it. They suspected the car had been involved in a chase that led to Lilly's shooting.
VALPARAISO  Republican Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary Harper said when she last ran for her seat in 2014, the six judges in Porter County collectively had among the most seniority in the state.

That began falling apart a few years ago and, by the end of next year, will be long gone.

The county's two most senior judges  Republican Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford and Harper  will wrap up their current terms next year and both confirmed last week they will not seek re-election. They will walk away with more than 75 years of judicial experience between them.

"I really mean it this time," Bradford said, chuckling as he recalled how he announced he was done around the time of his 2008 election victory. "I just decided I wasn't ready to retire."

But as he nears 40 years on the bench in Porter County, which places him among the longest-serving judges statewide, Bradford said the time to call it quits has arrived.

"It's time," he said with mixed feelings. "I still love what I'm doing."

Having won six elections and now serving her 35th year on the bench, Harper said her decision not to seek re-election is also bittersweet.
VALPARAISO  Just more than a week after winning a Democratic nomination for one of two at-large seats on the Valparaiso City Council, candidate Heath Carter announced he is leaving the area.

Carter has accepted a new position at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey, according to the Valparaiso Democratic Committee.

Carter is moving away this summer, prior to the Nov. 5 general election.

His departure leaves local Democrats scrambling for a replacement.

"There is an established process for replacing ballot positions when they are vacated," Valparaiso Democratic Committee Chairman Drew Wenger said.

"We will work closely with the party chair in Porter County to ensure that an appropriate and timely replacement is made," said Wenger, who is a candidate for the Valparaiso council's 3rd District. "Valpo Dems are fortunate to have both a full slate of great candidates this year as well as a committed and engaged group of citizens supporting them."

Carter and fellow Democrat Elizabeth Wuerffel won their party's nomination for the at-large seats over challenger Democrat Todd Etzler.
INDIANAPOLIS  Gov. Eric Holcomb has appointed a Crown Point native to lead the state office that oversees all aspects of Indiana's finances.

Cris Johnston, who currently serves as the Republican governor's deputy chief of staff, will succeed Micah Vincent as director of the Indiana Office of Management and Budget and become the state's chief financial officer, effective June 30.

The governor's office announced Friday that Vincent, who began serving as OMB director in June 2015 under former Gov. Mike Pence, is leaving to become vice president for strategy at The Heritage Group of companies in Indianapolis.

"Micah has played key roles in some of our biggest initiatives and became a trusted adviser," Holcomb said. "I appreciate his creative ideas to solve issues and the thoughtful way he has approached maintaining the states solid fiscal footing.

"Cris is a veteran who will step seamlessly into the OMB role and assist with the financing of large infrastructure projects, such as the West Lake and South Shore rail expansions in Northwest Indiana."
Soliday insisted: "There is no attempt here to abridge the right to assemble, the right to picket or anything else."

"You never have been allowed to picket on private property," he said. "Those of us who have managed unions know, they don't get to picket on private property. They picket on public property."

The new statute specifies that lawful labor strikes and protests still are permitted adjacent to critical infrastructure facilities. Similarly, a person who is unaware they are trespassing would not be subject to prosecution.

"As with all criminal law, it has to be knowing and intentional," said state Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, the Senate sponsor. "We've done our best to narrowly tailor this law to its purpose."

At the same time, an 18-year-old who spray-paints an electrical box by the side of the road could find themselves facing up to six years in prison, as opposed to the usual vandalism charge of misdemeanor criminal mischief, because the box counts as "any other facility used to support the generation, transmission or distribution of electricity," and therefore is "critical infrastructure."
SCHERERVILLE  Schererville police took a little break from fighting the bad guys Friday morning. Instead, the cops took to the rooftop to raise money for Special Olympics athletes.

More than a dozen cops handed out doughnuts, accepted drive-thru donations and staked out waving flags on the rooftop of the local Dunkin' Donuts as part of the Schererville FOP Lodge No. 170s second annual Cop on a Rooftop charity event.

Every dollar raised goes to the Law Enforcement Torch Run, which benefits Special Olympics Indiana.

Even with chilly, gloomy weather, the event's organizer, Officer Chris Lopez, said police were getting donations handed to them left and right and drivers passing the coffee shop honked like crazy throughout the morning to show support.

The participation and donations coming in have been amazing. Last year we were able to raise a little over $2,000. I have no doubt well pass that amount this year, Lopez said, just moments before accepting a $100 check from the Schererville Central Lions Club.
Some fans were first-timers, while others had been attending for more than a decade. Aaron Pigors celebrated his birthday with his 11th year at Dark Lord Day. Every year he nets bottles of Dark Lord to savor with others.

Ticket holders were each given a tote bag packed with four bottles of Dark Lord, a Russian-style imperial stout. Many variants of Dark Lord gave a twist to the renown brew, from the addition of vanilla beans and toasted coconut to being aged in tequila barrels.

I love sharing my Dark Lord beers with family and friends on special occasions like house warmings, weddings  You name it, Pigors said. I always bring Dark Lord. People have come to expect it.

Seguin wasn't the only one dressed to the occasion. Wearing massive horns sprouting from a spiked helmet, Kevin Meyer crafted a costume to look like the imposing Dark Lord mascot. Meyer has been attending since 2009, he said.

The bigger it gets the better it gets, in my opinion, Meyer said. The bands always put on a great show.

Funari said Dark Lord Day brings legions of people together every year.
On the Ethiopian flight, the pilots struggled to turn the wheel while the plane was moving at a high speed, when there is immense pressure on the tail. The simulators did not properly match those conditions, and Boeing pilots found that the wheel was far easier to turn than it should have been.

Regulators are now trying to determine what training will be required.

When the Max was introduced, Boeing believed that pilots did not need experience on the flight simulators, and the Federal Aviation Administration agreed. Many pilots learned about the plane on iPads. And they were not informed about the anti-stall system.

The limited training was a selling point of the plane. It can cost airlines tens of millions of dollars to maintain and operate flight simulators over the life of an aircraft.

After the first crash, Boeing gave airlines and pilots a full rundown of MCAS. But the company and regulators said that additional training was not necessary. Simply knowing about the system would be sufficient.

In a tense meeting with the American Airlines pilots union after the crash, a Boeing vice president, Mike Sinnett, said he was confident that pilots were equipped to deal with problems, according to an audio recording review by The New York Times. A top Boeing test pilot, Craig Bomben, agreed, saying, I dont know that understanding the system would have changed the outcome of this.

[Before Ethiopian crash, Boeing resisted pilots calls for aggressive steps on 737 Max.]

Since the Ethiopian Airlines disaster in March, lawmakers and regulators are taking a closer look at the training procedures for the 737 Max, and whether they should be more robust. At a congressional hearing this week, the acting head of the F.A.A., Daniel Elwell, testified that MCAS should have been more adequately explained.

Boeing said on Thursday that it had completed its fix to the 737 Max. Along with changes to the anti-stall system, the fix will include additional education for pilots.
For more than 100 days in 2015 and 2016, gas leaked out of the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility near Los Angeles  the largest known leak of methane in United States history. More than 8,300 households were evacuated, and people exposed to the gas reported nosebleeds, dizziness and respiratory problems.

This week, California regulators said they now knew why the environmental catastrophe happened.

In a 258-page report, investigators said that groundwater had corroded the metal lining of a more-than-50-year-old underground well, leading to its rupture at 892 feet below ground. The report also said that SoCalGas, the company that owns and operates the natural gas well, did not meaningfully investigate or analyze more than 60 previous leaks at the complex. The company did not properly monitor its wells at the site, the report said, adding that the approach to well integrity at Aliso Canyon had been reactive rather than proactive.

In a statement on Friday, SoCalGas said the report marks an important milestone in helping the region and California move forward from the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak. The company said that it had addressed most, if not all of the causes of the leak identified in the investigation, which was conducted by a private company, Blade Energy Partners, at the request of California regulators.

In Blades opinion, there were measures, though not required by the gas storage regulations at the time, that could have been taken to aid in the early identification of corrosion and that, in their opinion, would have prevented or mitigated the leak, SoCalGas said in its statement. We look forward to reviewing the report in detail and to receiving the supplementary reports, so we can better understand the technical basis for some of Blades conclusions.
But for Floridas struggling orange and grapefruit growers, the approvals could not come soon enough. The desperation is palpable across the states sandy midsection, a flat expanse once lushly blanketed with citrus trees, most of them the juice oranges that underpin a $7.2 billion industry employing 50,000 people, about 40,000 fewer than it did two decades ago. These days, the landscape is flecked with abandoned groves and scraggly trees whose elongated yellow leaves are a telltale sign of the disease.

Mr. Petteway says the antibiotics have helped bring many of his trees back to life.

They used to have pneumonia, but now its like they have a cold, he said, tugging on the waxy, bright green leaf of a tree thick with embryonic, gumball-size fruit.

[Read our series on antimicrobial resistance: Deadly Germs, Lost Cures]

A temporary approval of the drugs was issued under President Barack Obama, but in December, under President Trump, the E.P.A. gave final approval for a much broader use of oxytetracycline. The agency has also proposed the expanded use of streptomycin under similar terms.

The decision paves the way for the largest use of medically important antibiotics in cash crops, and it runs counter to other efforts by the federal government to reduce the use of lifesaving antimicrobial drugs. Since 2017, the F.D.A. has banned the use of antibiotics to promote growth in farm animals, a shift that has led to a 33 percent drop in sales of antibiotics for livestock.

The use of antibiotics on citrus adds a wrinkle to an intensifying debate about whether the heavy use of antimicrobials in agriculture endangers human health by neutering the drugs germ-slaying abilities. Much of that debate has focused on livestock farmers, who use 80 percent of antibiotics sold in the United States.

Although the research on antibiotic use in crops is not as extensive, scientists say the same dynamic is already playing out with the fungicides that are liberally sprayed on vegetables and flowers across the world. Researchers believe the surge in a drug-resistant lung infection called aspergillosis is associated with agricultural fungicides, and many suspect the drugs are behind the rise of Candida auris, a deadly fungal infection.
Gawker spawn and HuffPo twerps: This especially means you.

It also means all those who recklessly participate in the search-and-destroy missions of the call-out culture. These are the Harvard students who demanded, and last week obtained, the dismissal of law professor Ronald Sullivan and his wife Stephanie Robinson as faculty deans at an undergrad dorm because Sullivan had the temerity to join Harvey Weinsteins defense team. They are the Middlebury students who in 2017 violently assaulted professor Allison Stanger for the crime of moderating a talk with Charles Murray. They are the Yale students who in 2015 surrounded and hounded professor Nicholas Christakis because he would not agree to their demands that he denounce his wife for believing in free speech.

The signature move in each of these instances (and there are so many more) is to allege an invisible harm in order to inflict an actual one. In place of an eye for an eye, we have professional destruction for emotional upset. Careers and reputations built over decades come to ruin, or nearly so, on account of a personal mistake or a disfavored opinion.

All of these struggle sessions play to the sound of chortling twenty-somethings, who have figured out that, in todays culture, the quickest way to acquire and exercise power is to take offense. This is easy to do, because the list of sins to which one may take offense grows with each passing year, from the culturally appropriated sombrero to the traditionally gendered pronoun.

Its also easy because the grown-ups rarely push back and, in fact, are often happy to go along. Not one of the students who joined the mob at Middlebury was expelled. And say what you will of the students who demanded the ouster of Sullivan and Robinson, they would have gotten nowhere without the weaselly connivance of Harvard Dean Rakesh Khurana, who discovered unspecified problems with the climate of the dorm in order to justify his verdict.

Which brings me back to Biden. The rap against the former veep is that hes old, frequently puts his foot in his mouth, and occasionally says nice things about Republicans. Another way of putting all that is that hes mature, unstudied, and not just another partisan hater.
As Eric Garner lay dying, he was gasping for air and bleeding in his neck and eyes. The arm of a New York City police officer was pressed hard against his throat.

When the medical examiner described Mr. Garners last minutes in the small, airless courtroom at Police Department headquarters , police officers, news reporters and family members of Mr. Garner drew sharp breaths.

Some cast their eyes to the floor.

One woman wept as the man beside her gently stroked her back.

Mr. Garners family has seen no justice in the five years since his death.

Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who put Mr. Garner in a chokehold during the fatal arrest in July 2014, never faced criminal charges after a grand jury on Staten Island, one of the most police-friendly areas of the city, declined to indict him.
LOS ANGELES  Its college graduation month, time of reunions and reflections, an ending and a commencement, and as good a moment as any to take stock. To watch a child go out into the world is to know that there is no hiding from the real measure of your life.

If, as I did, you had a daughter graduating from the University of Southern California, you had to get used to the instant response  How much did you pay to get her in?  much as anyone plying my craft these days must grow accustomed to Oh, yeah, fake news!

Yuck.

U.S.C. has, of course, been Exhibit A in the college admissions scandal, that squalid parable of a status-obsessed age. A number of very rich people saw no moral issue with paying millions of dollars to get their underperforming children through the side door into top schools. How, after all, could they attend a party without being able to let drop that Henry or Ella is now at Yale?

That would be unthinkable.

I am not going to expend any outrage on this. A lot of people are turning inward at this juncture. Theres so much noise, so much hysteria, so much hatred, so much pettiness, so much falseness, so much intolerance, so much thats stomach turning  and all of it public! The only refuge is inwardness. Nobody can rob you of that.
Yet previous attempts to impeach Johnson had gone nowhere. The first call for impeachment came early in 1867. The matter was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, which scrutinized Johnsons actions, his indiscretions, even his finances. It investigated Johnsons responsibility for the murder of loyal citizens by Confederate mobs, particularly but not exclusively in New Orleans, and wanted to know if Johnson had given preference to former Confederates when the railroads seized during the war had been sold.

The Judiciary Committee initially voted against impeachment. Later that year it changed its mind, but the vote failed in the full House. Quoting Thaddeus Stevens, Mark Twain called Congress a bunch of damned cowards.

Still, many in Congress believed Johnson ought to be held accountable somehow. That is, if Congress failed to remove the president, people like Stevens and Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts wanted future generations to know that the presidents white supremacy was not condoned, that a president was not a king and that he could neither ignore Congress nor the ideals on which the nation had been founded. This is one of the last great battles with slavery, Sumner explained. Driven from these legislative chambers, driven from the field of war, this monstrous power has found refuge in the Executive Mansion.

Ironically, Andrew Johnson temporarily resolved the question of whether impeachment should be defined narrowly, as an infraction of law, or broadly, as abuse of power, when he stepped on a statute. He violated the dubious Tenure of Office Act, passed in 1867, which stipulated that cabinet members and other officers who had been appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate could not be fired without the Senates approval. Congress had passed the act to protect the secretary of war, Edwin Stanton. Stanton was in charge of the military, and the military was protecting black men at the polls. When Johnson fired Stanton without the Senates consent, the House voted overwhelmingly, 126 to 47, to impeach the 17th president.

During that spring of 1868, the broader interpretation of impeachment  abuse of public trust  was lost in the weeds of legal bickering. And at his trial in the Senate, one vote saved Andrew Johnson. It was cast by Senator Edmund Ross, Republican of Kansas, who may have been bribed. Ross was heartily praised by John F. Kennedy in his Profiles in Courage, which promoted a longstanding view: Johnsons impeachment was the brainchild of partisan fanatics rather than thoughtful, even visionary people who, having abolished slavery, were determined to alter the direction of the country.

Yet despite their loss, those who fought courageously for Johnsons impeachment, knowing it might be an uphill battle, did get some of what they wanted: Andrew Johnson was not nominated to run for president in 1868 by either party, and the discredited supremacist is remembered, when he is remembered at all, as the first American president to be impeached and tried by the Senate.
Those assumptions about electability reflect entrenched biases more than political science, and have a dash of arrogance to boot. An electable candidate, the thinking goes, has to be authentic and broadly appealing. But authenticity itself is coded as white and male when its defined by white men.

This perpetual reading of the white working-class tea leaves (or beer hops?) only makes sense if those voters are actually more influential than all the others. In the Democratic Party, theyre not. Just under a third of white men without college degrees said they voted for a Democrat in the 2018 midterms. And Democrats dont need anywhere near a majority of these men to win. Women vote in larger numbers than men; voters with college and post-graduate degrees turn out in larger shares than those without. These high-turnout groups are the same ones that are trending Democratic. If they're motivated to turn out to vote, a Democrat will wind up in the White House.

But what about those Obama-to-Trump swing voters who will reportedly make or break this election, as they did the last one? The Democratic Party shouldnt leave anyone behind, but working-class white men are declining as a share of the Democratic base, while whites generally are declining as a share of the general population. The entire premise that white men without college degrees are the only possible swing voters is a faulty one.

Theres also little evidence that most voters pick a candidate based on policies and that a moderate candidate who wrote campaign talking points to appeal to a broad swath of voters would do significantly better than a more visionary and progressive one. Instead of trying to win back a waning electoral and demographic force, Democrats would be better served to consider what will get voters to the polls. Hillary Clintons loss can only be explained by a long list of factors, but surely one of them was apathy: The certainty that she had the election in the bag probably depressed voter turnout.

Contrast that to the 2018 midterms, which had a record-setting turnout  and a record number of women elected. Disgust with the Trump administration surely pushed voters to the polls. But so did a slew of exciting candidates who dont look like the old models of electable. They looked a lot more like the people actually electing them.

Women made record numbers of political contributions in 2018 and, at least anecdotally, dominated campaigns behind the scenes. Mr. Trumps white working-class base still voted Republican, although in lower numbers than when he triumphed. Women of color, and particularly black women, continued their trend of staunchly supporting Democrats, and turnout among racial minorities hit a high at 28 percent of voters, and 38 percent of voters under 30. A majority of white women with college degrees voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, but it was this group that gave Democratic candidates a new advantage in 2018, increasing its support for Democrats over Republicans by 13 percentage points from two years earlier.

In several key states, including Ohio and Florida, white women with college degrees flipped: A majority voted Republican in 2016 and Democratic in 2018. White men, regardless of education, did not. Its white women, not working-class white men, who are the most promising swing voters for Democrats in 2020, and who could wind up as loyal lifelong Democrats.
When Mr. Barr first used the word spying in congressional testimony last month, he later backpedaled somewhat during the hearing, saying that he just wanted to know whether surveillance done as part of the investigation had a proper basis and that he was not suggesting that rules were violated.

In the same way, after raising the possibility to Fox News in the interview that aired Friday that law enforcement and intelligence officials may have been trying to sabotage Mr. Trump for political reasons, Mr. Barr added that he was just asking questions.

If were worried about foreign influence, for the very same reason we should be worried about whether government officials abuse their power and put their thumb on the scale, he said. And so Im not saying that happened, but its something we have to look at.

His caveat did not prevent alarming headlines across the conservative news media.

Mr. Barr may not have intended to be as inflammatory as those conclusions, said James A. Baker, a former F.B.I. general counsel who helped oversee the early stages of the Russia investigation, and who previously worked for Mr. Barr at Verizon.

He is a very careful lawyer and he words things very precisely, he said. If you read those precise words, they are less alarming than people have assessed them to be. He is, however, saying things that can be easily misconstrued and apparently are being misconstrued, and any attorney general needs to be mindful of the fact that he or she need to maintain credibility with, and the trust of, all Americans.
At the time of his recruitment, prosecutors said Mr. Mallory was in debt and behind his mortgage, making him an attractive target for Chinese intelligence. In 2017, he twice traveled to China, where an intelligence operative gave him a phone so they could communicate covertly. The F.B.I. later found classified documents on the phone, including at least two that had been successfully transmitted. Prosecutors said one of the documents contained unique identifiers for human sources who had helped the United States government.

Mr. Mallorys case is among a spate of recent ones involving former American intelligence officials who had been recruited by the Chinese. In 2018, the F.B.I. arrested Jerry Chun Shing Lee, another former C.I.A. officer, who had repeated contacts with Chinese intelligence. He pleaded guilty in May to conspiring to spy for the Chinese. Mr. Lee also could face life in prison, but as part of the plea deal prosecutors will seek a sentence of 17 to 27 years.

In another case, Ron Rockwell Hansen, a former contractor for the Defense Intelligence Agency, is likely to spend 15 years in prison. He had met regularly with Chinese intelligence operatives in China, receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars. The F.B.I. began investigating his activities in 2014 and arrested him after a highly controlled operation. He pleaded guilty to attempted espionage and is scheduled to be sentenced in September.

Like Mr. Hansen, Mr. Mallory had been employed by the Defense Intelligence Agency. Defense lawyers for Mr. Mallory had tried to say the cases were similar but prosecutors disagreed.

The first, and most crucial, difference between Hansen and defendant is that Hansen accepted responsibility for his actions  and did so without delay, prosecutors said in a court filing this year. Conversely, to this day, defendant has yet to accept any responsibility whatsoever for his actions.
WASHINGTON  Hundreds of migrants are being flown from South Texas to holding cells in California by the Department of Homeland Security, in a move that officials said on Friday could be expanded by sending asylum seekers to processing centers throughout the United States, including the border with Canada.

Customs and Border Protection officials said they began flying migrant families from overcrowded facilities in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas to San Diego on Tuesday. It is expected that as many as three flights, each carrying up to 135 migrants, will be scheduled each week.

The agency also recently started flying migrants five times each week from the Rio Grande Valley to Del Rio, Tex. Nearly all of the migrants are traveling as families, including some with young children.

[Read the latest edition of Crossing the Border, a limited-run newsletter about life where the United States and Mexico meet. Sign up here to receive the next issue in your inbox.]
Harvard says it does not discriminate, and at trial the university argued that considering socioeconomic factors alone would not bring in enough minority students of the academic caliber that it wants.

A Boston federal court judge is due to decide the case this summer. But it is widely expected to go up to the Supreme Court.

The new adversity score may signal an effort by the College Board to preserve the SAT at a time when it is under attack, said Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation who consulted with the College Board on the tool. There have long been racial disparities in SAT and other standardized test scores  a factor in some colleges decisions to make the tests optional.

For the SAT to survive it needs to come up with a new way of ensuring that it can coexist with racial diversity in elite colleges, Mr. Kahlenberg said.

[Is the college cheating scandal the final straw for standardized tests?]

Eric Maloof, the vice president for enrollment at Trinity University, a liberal arts college of 2,500 students in San Antonio, said he had used the College Boards tool as part of a pilot program that began a few years ago, in part to ensure that his school maintained racial diversity as it became more selective.

It has since taken on greater significance, he said, with current court battles over affirmative action. Knowing the gravity of what could be coming down the road, its nice to know we have this in our back pocket if circumstances change, he said.

Florida State University also volunteered to participate in the pilot. John Barnhill, an enrollment management official there, said that the university had previously gleaned information about disadvantage through essays, or ferreting it out of the application.
BERLIN  The German Parliament on Friday became the first in the European Union to pass a symbolic resolution that designates the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, or B.D.S., movement against Israel as anti-Semitic.

The nonbinding vote said the campaign to boycott Israeli products, along with the movements Dont Buy stickers, recalled the most terrible chapter in German history and revived memories of the Nazi motto Dont buy from Jews.

The pattern of argument and methods of the B.D.S. movement are anti-Semitic, the resolution stated, vowing not to fund any organizations that question Israels right to exist, call for a boycott of Israel or actively support B.D.S.

B.D.S., which was inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, has had several recent successes. In 2018, nearly two dozen artists pulled out of a music festival in Israel. Most recently, the B.D.S. movement has called on artists and fans to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest because Israel is the host.
WASHINGTON  Iran has unloaded missiles from at least two small boats in its territorial waters in what two American officials said on Friday was a sign of easing tensions in the brewing confrontation between Washington and Tehran.

In recent days, American officials have described satellite photographs showing fully assembled missiles being loaded onto multiple boats in multiple Iranian ports. The pictures were cited as evidence for concern that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps was targeting United States naval ships in the Persian Gulf and nearby waters.

Additional pieces of intelligence picked up threats against commercial shipping and potential attacks by Shiite militias with Iranian ties against American troops in Iraq, officials have said.

But over the past two days, Iranian forces removed the missiles from two of the boats, according to a Defense Department official and a congressional official. The boats, called dhows, had sailed between the Iranian ports of Jask and Chabahar in the Gulf of Oman, the officials said.
Im looking forward to receiving my copy of this new trove, including a volume with Brian Marsella on piano. Mr. Zorn is wrapping up an incredibly strong decade, to my ear. But thats not the only reason to support him, or Tzadik. For decades, the label has stepped in to document or preserve the works of composers and whole schools that would otherwise be significantly less represented on record.

Curious about the music of Annie Gosfield? Youll find several discs devoted exclusively to her compositions. Wondering about the legendary private-press LPs that Wadada Leo Smith produced in the 1970s? Tzadiks got you covered with an expansive, remastered collection. The other night, I picked up a recording by one of Mr. Zorns metal-influenced outfits, as well as a set of music by the composer Alvin Singleton. An injury to this imprint is an injury to the world of creative music. SETH COLTER WALLS

Id never gone to the opera before primarily to hear the offstage musicians. But since my first visit to a bullring, Ive had a thing for the pasodoble from Manuel Penellas 1916 zarzuela El Gato Montes.
Visitors who arrived at the Whitney Museum of American Art on Friday night to view the works in this years politically tinged Biennial had to pass by a raucous demonstration that was not part of the official programming.

About 200 people squeezed into the Whitneys lobby, in the ninth of a series of weekly gatherings to protest a museum board member whose company sells tear gas that activists and the art publication Hyperallergic said had been used on migrants at the Mexican border.

It was the most recent episode in a prolonged public debate  involving letters and pronouncements by museum employees and officials, scholars, artists and art critics  over the board member, Warren B. Kanders, and his company, Safariland.

According to Hyperallergic, photos showed tear gas canisters marked with the companys name at a site where the American authorities used tear gas last fall to disperse hundreds of migrants running toward a crossing that leads from Tijuana to San Diego.
The reign of racist terror hardly troubled Johnson, for he was to his very bones a vicious racist. This is a country for white men, Johnson had been heard to say, and by God, as long as I am president it shall be a government for white men. He scoffed at the accounts of violence as Radical propaganda, the lurid fabrications of abolitionist fanatics. He hated the Freedmens Bureau and the radicals who supported it, even comparing it to slavery itself, and he loathed the idea of black suffrage. Negroes have shown less capacity for government than any other race of people, he proclaimed, and warned against efforts to Africanize the half of our country.

Image Credit...

Such views were not uncommon, of course, and in fact at the beginning of Johnsons tenure, Northern white elites, not to mention the masses, had little or no enthusiasm for actual racial equality. But as the atrocities in the South got worse and the defeated traitors appeared to be snatching an improbable victory from the ashes of defeat, Northern politicians radicalized, and increasingly saw Johnsons administration as a dangerous failure, his invective toward Congress and his constant vetoes of even modest legislation intolerable. After a supremely ill-fated midterm campaign in 1866, in which Johnson brayed before crowds like a self-pitying martyr, Republicans won landslide victories. Their overwhelming majorities empowered the so-called Radicals, men like Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Sumner and Wendell Phillips, who were not only abolitionists, but believed, in Phillipss words, in impartial justice to all races and people.

Johnson was determined to make sure that never happened, and when Congress convened in 1867, impeachment became a possible course of action. But there were several hard questions. The problems with Johnson were obvious: He was a racist demagogue unfit for the office he held. But was that an impeachable offense? Had he committed a high crime or misdemeanor? Contemporaries wrestled with the question of whether a clear-cut legal infraction was necessary, and the most aggressive members of Congress (and some of the most self-serving) started several investigations to find some kind of smoking gun. They pursued unfounded rumors that he had invited prostitutes into the White House, and was even implicated in the assassination of Lincoln. When those expeditions came to nothing, the House Judiciary Committee originally voted in 1867 against impeaching the president.

But as Johnson vetoed bill after bill designed to protect black Southerners and white loyalists and strip former Confederates of power, tensions between Congress and the president mounted. Congressional Republicans, with huge majorities borne of the fact that the Southern states had still not been readmitted, took matters into their own hands. Using their veto-proof majorities, they began to institute their own vision of Reconstruction, partnering with two heroes of the war who still held positions in the executive branch, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.

Under congressional Reconstruction, the Southern states were divided into military zones to be occupied and administered by the armed forces while they rewrote their constitutions and rebuilt new biracial governments for all their citizens. Ratification of the 14th Amendment was made a condition of their readmittance to the Union. This made for some odd bedfellows. Even though the Department of War was constitutionally under the president, it operated as a kind of quasi-independent entity to administer Reconstruction against the wishes of the commander in chief. It was Johnson who was defying the laws of Congress and, in turn, the Army was defying him, says Wineapple, the author of several books on American history and American culture. The situation was approaching mutiny on one side, one of Grants aides wrote, or else treason on the other.

In order to safeguard this arrangement against an increasingly vindictive and erratic president, Congress used its veto-override to pass the constitutionally dubious Tenure in Office Act. It required the president to get Senate approval to remove his own cabinet officials. On Feb. 21, 1868, Johnson triggered the impeachment tripwire when he defied Congress and sacked Stanton. The House promptly impeached him on 11 articles, the bulk of which dealt with Stantons removal.

Though much anticipated, the actual trial of Johnson ended up being more than a bit anticlimactic. In Wineapples telling, it quickly descended into near-constant disputes over process and authority: Who gets to rule what will and wont be admissible? What witnesses can be called? Did Johnson intend to violate the law or merely challenge its constitutionality? The question of conviction would turn largely on the presidents intent, and this proved a difficult thing to divine.
Red Birds centers on a wisecracking and callous American pilot, Major Ellie, who crashes his $65 million warplane in the desert on his 637th bombing mission. After wandering without water or food for eight days, the sand blinging around him, he is picked up by a 15-year-old Muslim boy named Momo who is chasing down his lost dog. Momo is a wily, entrepreneurial fellow always on the lookout for a business opportunity; he quickly realizes that the fallen American, who claims to be an aid worker, could be a useful asset  but not in the way youd imagine. The novel forgoes international intrigue and ISIS-style executions for a smaller, more domestic tragicomedy. Through chapters structured as connected and overlapping monologues, we are introduced to Momos family, his pet dog and an earnest and beautiful U.S.A.I.D. consultant  all of whom live in a U.S.A.I.D. refugee camp that Ellie was supposed to bomb. It turns out Momos elder brother, Ali, has recently gone missing; the hunt for Ali becomes the central engine of this book.

Image Credit...

As they zero in on Alis whereabouts, the characters speak again and again about the absurdity of a war in which carpet-bombing is followed by dry rations and craft classes for the refugees, a war that has dragged on so long that the language of PTSD and cultural sensitivity has ossified into meaninglessness. This is a novel not so much about war as about the exhaustion of thinking about war.

The trouble is that Hanif wants to have it both ways: to be an earnest elegist as well as a fiery caricaturist. Ultimately he succeeds at neither. The novels emotional world is as flat and parched as the desert in which Ellie crashes; the monologues inefficiently repeat information and action. Mostly, this is a failure of language and tone: Hanif never convincingly distinguishes his characters voices. Ellie is meant to sound like a tough guy on the run from his emotions, but comes across, fatally, as a Pakistani doing bad American he-man standup, slinging a stilted slang. Ellies American commander is even more of a caricature, a Team America-style puppet who declares that the refugee camp is a real bad place full of bad bad people. Perhaps there are Trumpian echoes here; but I was disappointed to see Hanif reaching for the easiest jokes.

The Muslim characters are equally hazy. Momo appears at first to be a regular swaggering teenager, but he quickly breaks character by deploying phrases like morass of moral corruption and potted history. Such vocabulary is not just out of keeping with his background  hes been reared on American junk culture  but his temperament: Hes a worldly entrepreneur with little time for bookish language.

The only character who stands out in this farrago is Momos dog, Mutt, granted monologues of his own. Once we suspend disbelief about a talking dog, we dont worry too much about the integrity of his voice, even if it sounds very much like Hanifs. (At one point Mutt expounds about how big rich nations get a bloody nose in far-off countries and start slashing the milk money for poor babies at home. Good Mutt!) Moreover, unlike the other characters, who have outraged and sentimental takes on the war, Mutt possesses a genuinely estranged perspective. Speaking about bombings and the search for survivors beneath the rubble whom hes tasked with sniffing out, he can be wistfully Pavlovian: One saved lives. One got a biscuit as a reward. Life was good. When others spout complex theories about why the Americans have ceased their bombing raids, he thinks: Maybe they got bored of bombing us? An incident in which Mutt gets zapped while peeing on a live electric pole is the most memorable scene in this novel  and also where it should have begun: at Page 157, dropping its excess load of exposition.
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Hello! Im filling in this week for Charlotte, whos off tallying her losses from the recent stock market dive. Heres what you need to know in business news.

MAY 12-18

Whats Up?

Now You See Me

Now you definitely dont. At least, not if youre an artificially intelligent machine in San Francisco. The citys Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to prohibit the use of facial recognition technology within city limits. Its a somewhat symbolic move: The police there dont currently use the stuff, and the places where it is in use  seaports and airports  are under federal jurisdiction and therefore unaffected by the new regulation.

Brought to You by the Letters T and V

The major television networks tried to sell their fall advertising slots in an annual pageant known as the upfronts. In a week of star-studded presentations, skits and boozy mingling, representatives of major advertisers flocked to New York to see what the networks have in store. Even though traditional TV is losing market share and relevance to newer streaming services, it remains one of the few places where advertisers can reach millions of people in real time.
Hedieh Fakhriyazdi and Michael Anthony Pasnello II were married May 17 at the Foundry, an events space in Long Island City, Queens. The Rev. Brian Van Fossen, a Roman Catholic priest, officiated. Earlier in the day, the couple took part in a Bahai Faith marriage ceremony led by Trisha Irons, a longtime friend of the brides family.

Ms. Fakhriyazdi, 33, is the associate director for global diversity and social responsibility at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, the international law firm based in Manhattan. She also manages operations for the firms charitable foundation. She graduated from the University of Virginia and received a master of public administration in nonprofit management and policy from N.Y.U., where she is an adjunct assistant professor of public service. She also serves as vice chair of the board of directors for the Epic Theater Ensemble in New York.

She is a daughter of Mehrnoush Fakhriyazdi and Farshad Fakhriyazdi of Burke, Va. The brides father is the president and chief executive of Car Web, an automobile dealership in Fredericksburg, Va. Her mother is a family nurse practitioner at Burke Allergies and Asthma.

Mr. Pasnello, who is 29 and also works in Manhattan, is an associate designer for Tailored Brands, where he specializes in designs of tailored mens garments and works closely with Joseph Abboud, the companys creative director. The groom graduated from St. Johns University in Jamaica, Queens.
This is not an elegy for heroin, a dangerous drug in its own right that spread from cities into suburbs and rural areas about a decade ago, when addictive prescription painkillers became harder to get. But for longtime urban users like Mr. Miller, many of them African-American, its disappearance is taking a particular toll. From 2016 to 2017, the fatal overdose rate from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids increased by 61 percent among black Americans, compared with a 45 percent increase for whites.

The number of overdose deaths involving heroin has been dropping, even as overdose deaths over all have kept climbing because of fentanyl. In Maryland, deaths involving heroin fell by 38 percent from 2016 through 2018, according to preliminary data. In Massachusetts, heroin or likely heroin was present in 71 percent of opioid-related deaths in 2014; in the third quarter of 2018, it was present in only 34 percent.

And in New Hampshire, which did not have a robust heroin market until the painkiller-fueled crisis of the past decade, the drug has almost completely vanished. Only four of the 397 opioid deaths in New Hampshire last year involved heroin, according to preliminary data; 363 involved fentanyl .

In this situation, heroin looks protective compared to the fentanyl, said Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, a family physician and researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who has studied both drugs.

Nationally, there were 7 percent fewer deaths involving heroin in the year ending in September 2018 than there were in the previous year, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The smaller overall decline may be a reflection of heroins continued strong presence in Western states like California and Arizona.

Data on drug seizures similarly suggest a diminishing of heroin. Here in Baltimore, Todd C. Edwards, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administrations local district office, said law enforcement was now seizing more fentanyl than heroin. And in a Philadelphia neighborhood called Kensington, which has been hit particularly hard by opioid addiction, users report that they cant find heroin anymore, said Patrick Trainor, a spokesman for the D.E.A. there. Its pretty much been replaced.
Britain was gratified by the way in which this former anti-imperial fighter transmuted into a loyal exponent of the Commonwealth and a willing supporter of the wartime government. Winston Churchill, who had been captured in South Africa while working as a journalist during the Boer War, was a lifelong admirer of Smuts, and relied heavily on his counsel during World War II. In 1917, Churchill welcomed Smuts to London in the most fulsome terms: At this moment there arrives in England from the outer marches of the Empire a new and altogether extraordinary man. But Smutss forays into international politics came at a cost. He was increasingly vilified at home by Afrikaner nationalists as the handyman of the empire  a term originally used as praise by British newspapers.

Along with his vital contribution to defining the Commonwealth, Smuts played an important part in conceiving of the League of Nations itself. Concerned about how to achieve long-term peace in Europe, and watchful about the threat of Bolshevism, he argued that the terms imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles were overly harsh: The same spirit of magnanimity  or appeasement, in Smutss words  that had achieved a workable peace between Britons and Boers ought now to be demonstrated in the case of German reparations. Smuts encouraged John Maynard Keynes to write his seminal critique of the treaty, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, and in 1918 wrote a proposal of his own: The League of Nations: A Practical Suggestion.

The ideas contained in this pamphlet envisioned the League as a means to fill the vacuum left by Europes broken empires. Smuts saw the Commonwealth as an embryo league of nations because it is based on the true principles of national freedom and political decentralization. In spare prose, Smuts topped his talents as a lawyer with a sprinkling of inspirational idealism, translating President Woodrow Wilsons aspirational Fourteen Points into a workable instrument for a peace founded in human ideals, in principles of freedom and equality, and in institutions which will for the future guarantee those principles against wanton assault.

Lloyd George commended Smutss ideas. Wilson was enthused as well: He invited Smuts to his residence at the Hotel Crillon in Paris in January 1919, and incorporated some of Smutss ideas in his own proposals for the League. Smuts and Botha were unable to persuade the Peace Conference to allow Germanys former colonies in the Pacific and Africa  which Smuts caricatured as inhabited by barbarians, who not only cannot possibly govern themselves  to pass directly to New Zealand and South Africa. Still, the Boer generals got the next best thing: Under the Leagues mandate system, in which it acted as the trustee for less civilized nations deemed not ready for independence (and which Smuts helped design), South Africa effectively took over South West Africa, governing until it finally gained its independence as Namibia in 1990.

Smutss approach to politics was shaped by, of all people, Walt Whitman. While studying for a law degree at Cambridge, he wrote a treatise, Walt Whitman: A Study in the Evolution of Personality, in which he argued that the American poet exemplified an expansive conception of freedom rooted in pantheism and human potential, rather than religiosity. Smuts went on to develop this approach as holism, which he outlined in another treatise : Evolution pushed humans and societies to join ever larger wholes, from small local units to nations and commonwealths, culminating in global forms of association like the League.

Smutss approach to politics was shaped by, of all people, Walt Whitman.
Ellen Carr

Asheville, N.C.

To the Editor:

Darcy Lockman makes valid points concerning the disparity in levels of child care between mothers and fathers. Another reason for the disparity comes from their own upbringings. Men are likely to be more involved with their children than their own fathers were, and so feel justified and satisfied with providing a less equal share of the work. Women compare themselves to their mothers, who may have assumed most of the child care without question and without the demands of a professional life.

Men feel they deserve praise rather than resentment because their own fathers did less. Women feel guilty and resentful because they are not able to give either their professions or their families their best. The transition to full and accepted equality is far from over, in spite of good intentions.

Barbara Thompson

Eugene, Ore.

To the Editor:

It s time to stop promoting the myth that fathers do very little at home. I do almost all the housework and shopping because my hours make it easier for me to do so than my wife. I also drop the kids at school and attend most of their conferences. As I am a teacher , my hours line up better for these tasks. On weekends, we split the parenting more equally because my wife has time to do so.

Good families do what is necessary for the team to function without resentment or anger. To act as if this sort of thing doesnt happen in thousands of families is disingenuous.

William McCrary

Renton, Wash.

To the Editor:

Darcy Lockman exposes, yet again, the fact that working mothers in a two-parent household take ownership of most unpaid domestic labor. But what most articles on the domestic gender imbalance ignore is the impact of male neglect on the stay-at-home mom.

You may say that she chose to give up paid work, and that while her husband is earning the money, isnt it her place to take care of everything else? But stay-at-home mothers dont necessarily want to remain in this role forever. And try breaking these gender roles in the home after five, 10 or even 15 years of the status quo. I can vouch from experience: Its impossible.

This dynamic has to change. I can only hope that my daughter, and my son, will have more equal partnerships when they are adults.
Meanwhile, New York Citys own bill to regulate the use of this technology languishes in committee .

That legislation, the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology Act, was first introduced in 2017. It was introduced again last year with the backing of 17 out of 51 council members. Unlike the ordinances in San Francisco and Oakland, the New York City bill requires only that the police disclose basic information about the technology that is being deployed. It does not condition the use of new surveillance technology on the approval of the City Council .

In 2017 Mayor Bill de Blasio criticized the disclosure requirement, saying it would provide a road map for the bad guys. But the sky has not fallen in Oakland, Berkeley or Davis. And now other cities are poised to ban facial recognition outright, while New Yorkers are not guaranteed even a measure of transparency into how they are being policed.

San Franciscos ordinance is not perfect  although it binds local government entities, it does nothing to protect people from facial recognition deployed by private entities. It wouldnt deal, for example, with cases like the landlord in New York City who wanted to install facial recognition systems in its rent-stabilized buildings. At least the police  who are charged with serving and protecting  have ostensibly legitimate reasons to use surveillance to further public safety.

Still, New York should know from its own history of using stop-and-frisk that dragnets become tools aimed at minority populations. Technology has only made the dragnet cheaper to deploy. Every new form of surveillance coming down the pipeline has the potential to become the next legal showdown. Caution and public scrutiny are merited  and all the more so in the case of facial recognition.
In 2010, a court found Father Pawel guilty of possessing child pornography. Two years later, the priest was found in a hotel room with a boy and arrested. In 2015, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for rape and child molestation. Earlier this year, the church finally expelled him from the priesthood.

The film quotes a letter from an altar boy in the Bydgoszcz parish where Father Pawel worked. The priest would take him on weekend trips, where he would rape him. He would threaten me. Dont tell anyone, or Ill tell your parents everything,  the boy writes. If you dont come with me, Ill take your brother. The author of the letter agreed to go on a trip to the Canary Islands to protect his younger brother from the pedophile priest. I defended myself, I tried to push him away, but he was stronger. He said that Father Pawel laughed at my resistance. He laughed at my helplessness.

The influence of the Catholic Church in Poland is immense  almost 40 percent of the population attends Mass weekly. And it is politically connected, particularly on the right: The church enjoys significant financial privileges from the state, while the ruling Law and Justice party benefits from the support of Catholic media outlets and church sermons. The strength of the church is the strength of Law and Justice, and a crisis in the church is a crisis for Law and Justice.

Law and Justice is also implicated in the abuse cover-ups. One of the partys best-known figures, Stanislaw Piotrowicz, made his name in 2001, when as a prosecutor in the town of Krosno he dismissed a case against a priest accused of raping six girls. Mr. Piotrowicz argued, The priest confirmed that he took children into his lap, children would run up to him during catechism, they would hug him, he, too, would hug them, caress them, he sometimes kissed them. The children were happy, they were content. There was no sexual subtext. After the case was transferred to a different jurisdiction, the priest was convicted.

Mr. Piotrowicz, meanwhile, received a medal from Archbishop Jozef Michalik, who expressed compassion for the convicted priest and accused the media of trampling the truth and displaying hostility toward the church. He encouraged the faithful to maintain their trust in the clergyman. As he said of the victims, A child clings to you, it searches and loses itself and draws the other person in.
MILAN  Italy is a political laboratory. During the Cold War, the question was whether the United States could keep the Communists from power. Then Italy produced Silvio Berlusconi and scandal-ridden showman politics long before the United States elected Donald Trump. Now, on the eve of European Parliament elections likely to result in a rightist lurch, it has an anti-immigrant, populist government whose strongman, Matteo Salvini, known to his followers as the Captain, is the Continents most seductive exponent of the new illiberalism.

Steve Bannon, Trumps former chief strategist, has been close to Salvini for a while. Thats no surprise. Bannon is the foremost theorist and propagator of the global nationalist, anti-establishment backlash. Hes Trotsky to the Populist International. He sensed the disease eating at Western democracies  a globalized elites abandonment of the working class and the hinterland  before anyone. He spurred a revolt to make the invisible citizen visible and to save Western manufacturing jobs from what he calls the Chinese totalitarian economic hegemon.

Now Bannon is crisscrossing Europe ahead of the elections, held Thursday through next Sunday. Hes in Berlin one day, Paris the next. As he explained during several recent conversations and a meeting in New York, he believes that Europe is six months to a year ahead of the United States on everything. As with Brexits foreshadowing of Trumps election, a victory for the right in Europe will energize our base for 2020. The notion of Wisconsin galvanized by Brussels may seem far-fetched, but then so did a President Trump.

Polls indicate that Salvinis League party, transformed from a northern secessionist movement into the national face of the xenophobic right, will get over 30 percent of the Italian vote, up from 6.2 percent in 2014. Anti-immigrant and Euroskeptic parties look set to make the greatest gains, taking as many as 35 percent of the seats in Parliament, which influences European Union policy for more than a half-billion people. In France, Marine Le Pens nationalists are running neck-and-neck with President Emmanuel Macrons pro-Europe party. In Britain, Nigel Farages new Brexit Party has leapt ahead of the center-right and center-left.
Today, the cost of city living in many areas is higher but the trade-offs for those who can afford it are fewer.

The result is that the idea of a city itself is changing. In some ways, living in a dense urban area has become much more pleasant for certain types of people  namely the affluent and those who prize proximity to the action above all else. You can now live within easy walking distance of your favorite restaurants, go see a play and shop at Target nearby. But what does it mean when urban living becomes a luxury good and a lifestyle brand?

In many American cities and downtown areas, new residential development is now heavily skewed toward more expensive, larger apartments and condos. Twenty years ago, just over 5 percent of new condos that sold in Manhattan had three or four bedrooms. In the first quarter of this year, nearly 19 percent of them did, according to the appraisal firm Miller Samuel. As land costs rise, developers can make more money building at the top end of the market and ignoring the middle.

At the Dahlia, a 38-unit building under construction on Manhattans Upper West Side, developers say the idea is to set up condos large enough that they could reasonably replicate the feeling of a house in suburbia. The building has no studios or one-bedrooms. The largest units, with four bedrooms, are around 2,100 square feet with prices starting just over $4 million.

One of the Dahlias biggest selling points? It has its own parking garage. You can pull in with your S.U.V., unload and take your things in a private manner, said Shlomi Reuveni, the president of the company that is handling sales for the building. Thats very appealing. And very suburban.

In some high-end buildings, architects are giving apartments the feel of single-family homes by replicating the layouts of suburban houses. At the Quay Tower, which overlooks Brooklyn Bridge Park, there are just five condos on each floor, two of which have private elevator access. Inside, the larger units have something you see a lot of on HGTV suburban house renovation shows: large mudrooms off the back door with locker-like cubbies and sturdy ceramic-tile floors.

In Seattle, theres a new luxury apartment building with a rooftop lounge with hammocks and a chicken coop you might see in a more permissive (or at least chicken-friendly) suburb. In New York, the developer Extell is wrapping up construction on the Kent, a building on the Upper East Side that has, in addition to a stroller valet and a swimming pool where kids can take lessons, an area called Camp Kent. Its a play space that looks like a woodsy country scene with a treehouse and a carpeted river leading to a private outdoor playground.
There is the same feeling of the hawks building a calculated campaign for a Middle East invasion. W.s administration had a monthslong rollout strategy. From a marketing point of view, Andrew Card, W.s chief of staff, said in the summer of 2002, you dont introduce new products in August. Have the hawks around Trump been waiting to get through two rings of fire  the Mueller threat and Benjamin Netanyahus re-election  to roll out their latest ingenious product: World War III?

In an echo of the hawks conspiring with Iraqi exiles to concoct a casus belli for Iraq, Bolton told members of an Iranian exile group in Paris in 2017 that the Trump administration should go for regime change in Tehran.

And thats why, before 2019, we here will celebrate in Tehran! Bolton cheerily told the exiles.

When Bolton was the fifth column in the Bush 2 State Department  there to lurk around and report back on flower child Colin Powell  he complained that W.s Axis of Evil (Iran, Iraq, North Korea) was too limited, adding three more of his own (Cuba, Libya, Syria). Then, last year, Bolton talked about the Troika of Tyranny (Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela). His flirtations with military intervention in Venezuela this month irritated Trump.

The 70-year-old with the Yeti mustache is an insatiable interventionist with an abiding faith in unilateralism and pre-emptive war. (The cost of our attenuated post-9/11 wars is now calculated at $5.9 trillion.)

W. and Trump are similar in some ways but also very different. As Trump biographer Michael DAntonio notes: W. was interested in clarity. Trump wants chaos. W. wanted to trust his domineering advisers. Trump is always imagining betrayal. W. wanted to be a war hero, like his dad. Trump does not want to be trapped in an interminable war that will consume his presidency.

Certainly, the biographer says, Trump enjoys playing up the scary aspects of brown people with foreign names and ominous titles, like mullah and ayatollah, to stoke his base.
But the (arguable) coherence of this approach has been breaking down as the Trump administration has moved into its maximum pressure phase of sanctions against Tehran. Because if you impose maximum pressure on a regional power you are, by definition, no longer trying to maintain a Middle Eastern status quo while pivoting to Asia. Instead, youre effectively returning to the last two administrations more dramatic Middle East ambitions: You are assuming either that some great diplomatic coup awaits (so Obama was right to seek detente, just wrong to settle) or that your pressure will lead to regime change and democratization (so Bush was right about the freedom agenda after all).

I suspect that Trump is making the first assumption, imagining all this pressure as a prelude to a dramatic deal, while John Bolton and Mike Pompeo are making the second one, imagining the Iranian regime suddenly buckling like the Soviet Union in 1991.

But whatever the core assumption, the maximalist approach inevitably increases the risk of war. If the White House is wrong about the Iranian regimes willingness to make more concessions, then theyre turning a dial that can produce only two policy responses: endurance or armed reaction. And if theyre right that regime change is a possibility, then the regime theyre trying to change will become more likely to lash out the closer it gets to its own breaking point.

Either way, there is nothing about the current situation in the Middle East, or globally, that makes the chance of war with Iran worth taking  as hawks as well as doves concede.

For instance: National Reviews David French, generally far more hawkish than I am, describes a potential conflict with Iran as possibly worse than any of our wars since 9/11, and a terrible idea absent the most serious, urgent and compelling need. David Frum, once a notable Iraq war supporter, writes that war with Iran would recapitulate our Iraq blunders on a much bigger scale, without allies, without justification, and without any plan at all for what comes next.
Congress passed a bipartisan measure to end U.S. involvement in the war, but Trump vetoed it last month. A recent U.N. study calculated that if the war ends this year, it will have claimed 233,000 lives, and that if it continues until 2022, it will claim a total of 482, 000 lives. If it lasts until 2030, the U.N. estimated, it will cause 1.8 million deaths.

Every day things get worse, Lise Grande, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, told me this month. There isnt anyone working today in Yemen who doesnt believe that the only solution to this terrible, senseless crisis is to end the conflict. We have to face the fact that if fighting drags on, Yemen will be a failed state, unstable for generations.

Nearly every family has either lost someone, is hungry, has children out of school or is battling cholera, Grande said. Its hard to understand why the lives of so many innocent people seem to mean so little.

The Mad Princes rash interference in Yemen not only backfired and helped Iran, but a CNN investigation also found that it led Saudi Arabia to give American weapons to fighters linked to Al Qaeda. The chaos led to the cholera outbreak, which worsened recently, with more than 300,000 suspected cases so far in 2019.

Iran and the Houthis have also behaved badly, but thats a poor excuse for Americans to support war crimes against Yemeni children.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are no longer enthusiastic about the Yemen war, but they dont want to leave and give Iran and the Houthis a victory. So its difficult to see how the war ends unless the U.S. forces the issue.

Trump has said that if the United States doesnt sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, then Russia or China will. But Saudi Arabia needs American spare parts, and it also buys U.S. weapons partly for the implicit security guarantee that comes with them. No other country can provide that security blanket.
A letter written by Alexander Hamilton during the Revolutionary War has resurfaced more than seven decades after the document was stolen from the Massachusetts Archives, federal authorities said.

The 1780 letter, addressed to Hamiltons good friend the Marquis de Lafayette, came to light last November when an auction house in Virginia notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation after a South Carolina family tried to consign it for auction, according to a complaint filed Wednesday in Federal District Court in Massachusetts by the United States District Attorneys Office.

An auction house researcher had discovered that the letter matched a copy of the correspondence on Founders Online, a National Archives and Records Administration website. It had been listed as missing.

Federal prosecutors are asking a federal judge to rule that the document be returned to its original owner. It is now in possession of the F.B.I. in Boston, a law enforcement official said Friday.
Senator Bernie Sanders took aim at charter schools on Saturday, calling for a moratorium on federal funding for the schools in a declaration of his education policy priorities ahead of the 2020 election.

In a 10-point plan, Mr. Sanders, one of nearly two dozen candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination, said that, if elected, he would desegregate schools in part by forbidding federal spending on new charter schools as well as by banning for-profit charter schools  which account for a small proportion of existing charters.

The proliferation of charter schools has disproportionately affected communities of color, Mr. Sanders wrote, adding, We do not need two schools systems; we need to invest in our public schools system.

Mr. Sanders of Vermont would also require that charter schools be subject to the same oversight as public schools, and that teachers and parents account for at least half the representation on all charter school boards. Additionally, his plan would demand that charter schools disclose student attrition rates, nonpublic sources of funding and financial interests.
The United States at that time  I dont know how much you know about this  was actively supporting the Contras to overthrow the government. So that theres anti-American sentiment? I remember that, I remember that event very clearly.

You do recall hearing those chants? I think the wire report has them saying, Here, there, everywhere, the Yankee will die.

They were fighting against American  Huh huh  yes, what is your point?

I wanted to 

Are you shocked to learn that there was anti-American sentiment?

My point was I wanted to know if you had heard that.

I dont remember, no. Of course there was anti-American sentiment there. This was a war being funded by the United States against the people of Nicaragua. People were being killed in that war.

Do you think if you had heard that directly, you would have stayed at the rally?

I think Sydney, with all due respect, you dont understand a word that Im saying.

Do you believe you had an accurate view of President Ortega at the time? Im wondering if youre 

This was not about Ortega. Do you understand? I dont know if you do or not. Do you know that the United States overthrew the government of Chile way back? Do you happen to know that? Do you? Im asking you a simple question.

What point do you want to make?

My point is that fascism developed in Chile as a result of that. The United States overthrew the government of Guatemala, a democratically elected government, overthrew the government of Brazil. I strongly oppose U.S. policy, which overthrows governments, especially democratically elected governments, around the world. So this issue is not so much Nicaragua or the government of Nicaragua.
In one case in Phoenix in 2017, the police used a perpetrators own cellphone to identify a suspect. Witnesses saw a knife-wielding assailant chase a man into the street and stab him several times. When the attacker fled, he left his cellphone behind; the police sent selfies from the phone to the state Department of Public Safety, whose facial recognition unit produced a potential match.

The suspect in the case, Roberto Santiago-Escobar, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault last year.

But there are no national guidelines for how facial recognition should be used. Several states, including Maryland and Indiana, allow the police to search large databases such as drivers license photos. But in Oregon, they search only against images collected in criminal proceedings, like mug shots. Private companies may offer to run images against photographs collected from more disparate sources, like social media.

With regard to drivers licenses, it is an ethical dilemma because we are searching the faces of citizens who never consented to this type of search in the first place, said Chris Adzima, senior information systems analyst at the Washington County Sheriffs Office in Oregon, which has been using facial recognition technology for about two years. When you take your photo at the D.M.V., it is not considered a public record.

He said that the sheriffs office has used it for cases ranging from murder to shoplifting and in between.

The technology has been most effective in solving property crimes, like package thefts, pulling images from video doorbells and surveillance cameras, he said.

The police have used facial recognition to identify a suspect already in custody. After the killings of five employees at a newspaper in Annapolis, Md., last June, the police apprehended a suspect at the scene who refused to identify himself. The police used a scan through the Maryland Image Repository System of mug shots and drivers licenses, which helped reveal his name, Jarrod Ramos.

We would have been much longer in identifying him and being able to push forward, Timothy Altomare, chief of the Anne Arundel County Police Department, said at the time.
From rising tensions with Iran to the still-growing Democratic presidential field, its been a busy week in American politics. Here are some of the biggest stories you might have missed (and some links if youd like to read further).

___________________

White House warnings of a threat from Iran

The State Department on Wednesday ordered nonemergency United States government employees to leave Iraq, responding to what the Trump administration said was a threat linked to Iran. To people on Baghdads streets, the warnings paralleled those heard before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The intelligence behind the Trump administrations warnings came from photographs of missiles aboard small boats in the Persian Gulf, some of which were loaded by Iranian paramilitary forces.

President Trump told the acting defense secretary, Patrick Shanahan, that he did not want war with Iran, sending his hawkish aides a message that the administrations pressure campaign must not escalate into open conflict.
There was no one cause of mass incarceration, Ms. Chettiar said. Many of these laws passed by the federal government and states were joint contributors.

Leading on climate change

What Mr. Biden Said

I said back in 1987, I said we have an existential threat.

 Hampton, N.H., in May

True.

Mr. Biden was one of the first members of Congress to introduce climate change legislation. In 1986, Mr. Biden introduced the Global Climate Protection Act, which directed the president to create a task force on developing and enforcing a strategy to combat climate change.

While there is no record of him using the exact words existential threat, Mr. Biden spoke at length on the Senate floor in January 1987 about the risk of global warming  a term, though seemingly esoteric, that could, as time passes, come to signify an environmental disaster second only to nuclear war.

Global warming, should it occur in accord with the direst predictions, would be a catastrophe of biblical proportions for the entire world, Mr. Biden said then. Even though decades away, the most serious consequences of global warming could prove unavoidable unless we act now to prevent them. Our failure to show foresight when the dangers are clearly discernible would be an unforgivable dereliction of duty to our children and all mankind not yet born.

His bill eventually made its way into foreign relations funding legislation that was signed into law in 1987.

That moderate label

What Mr. Biden Said

I have the most progressive record of anybody running for the  anybody who would run

 Delaware, in March I was always labeled one of the most liberal members of the United States Congress.

 ABC interview, in April

This is exaggerated.

The Biden campaign pointed to scoring from DW-Nominate, an ideological position tracker based on votes and maintained by the University of California at Los Angeles, that shows Mr. Biden as more liberal than 74 percent of members of Congress after being elected to the Senate in 1972.

Among members of his own party, though, Mr. Biden was consistently in the ideological center, according to DW-Nominate. In his last term in the Senate, which ended in 2008, Mr. Biden ranked to the right of fellow 2020 candidates Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and to the left of Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. (The other Democratic senators running for president did not take office until after Mr. Biden left the Senate.)
PHILADELPHIA  Joseph R. Biden Jr., sometimes known to Democrats in this city as Pennsylvanias third senator, returned to the state of his birth on Saturday to deliver a forceful call for national unity, looking past the Democratic presidential primary to directly appeal to the voters who helped power President Trumps victory in Pennsylvania and across the country in 2016.

Mr. Biden, a former vice president and former Delaware senator who is now pursuing his third bid for the presidency, trained his eye squarely on the general election. He cast the contest against Mr. Trump as one for the soul of the country, combining calls for more civility in American politics with bitter denunciations of Mr. Trump and the impact he is having on the nation.

And Mr. Biden struck a defiant tone toward those in his own party who have expressed discomfort with his emphasis on bipartisanship and his legacy of Washington deal-making. He argued that the stakes of the coming presidential election should transcend partisan passions of the moment.

[Sign up for our politics newsletter and join our conversation about the 2020 presidential race.]

They say Democrats are so angry, the angrier a candidate can be, the better chance he or she has to win the Democratic nomination, Mr. Biden said. Well, I dont believe it, I really dont.
Mr. Amashs conclusions track closely with those of many Democrats. While Speaker Nancy Pelosi has sought to block attempts to impeach Mr. Trump based on the findings of the Mueller report, she declared her openness last week to initiating an impeachment inquiry as a means of forcing administration officials to comply with the subpoenas of the six House committees investigating Mr. Trumps conduct.

Earlier on Saturday, Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, who serves on the House Judiciary Committee, said that an increasing number of his colleagues were moving toward a conclusion that some kind of impeachment proceeding was inevitable.

We have to keep this in proportion with everything else were doing, but believe me, the anger and frustration is growing, not just in the public, but within the ranks of Democrats, too, he said during an interview on MSNBC. I believe that we are headed toward an impeachment inquiry.

This is not the first time Mr. Amash, who considers himself a libertarian and strict constitutionalist, has defied the White House and bucked his partys Capitol Hill leadership. Mr. Amash was one of 14 Republicans to side with Democrats in their unsuccessful attempt to override the presidents first veto, which upheld an emergency declaration to divert funding from other federal projects to build a wall along the southwestern border.

Republican leaders in both chambers have griped privately about Mr. Trumps behavior but have publicly fallen in line behind the president. Mr. Trump has seized on Mr. Muellers finding that his campaign did not coordinate with Russia to declare that the investigation was an exoneration. (In fact, the report stopped short of clearing the president on the question of whether he illegally obstructed justice.)

On Thursday, Ms. Pelosi said she would consider impeachment only as a means of compelling Mr. Barr and Donald F. McGahn II, the former White House counsel who cooperated extensively with the special counsels inquiry, to testify  despite Mr. Trumps blanket call for current and former aides to stonewall all requests by Democrats for testimony or documents.

But first, she added, House committees must exhaust all their legal and legislative options. First we ask, then we subpoena friendly, she said. Then we subpoena otherwise, and then we see what we get. So lets not leapfrog over what we think should be the path that should be taken.
WASHINGTON  The Trump administration has warned Congress that the flow of unaccompanied migrant children at the southern border has increased even further than it anticipated just a few weeks ago and may require an additional $1.4 billion to provide housing and care.

In a letter to congressional leaders dated Friday, the administration said the extra money would be needed on top of $2.9 billion it had already requested to deal with the growing influx of migrant children. The immigration rate has already surpassed the projections used to justify that request, which was sent on May 1.

Since then, the situation has continued to deteriorate and is exceeding the previous high-end estimate, Russell T. Vought, the acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, wrote in the letter to lawmakers. The rising demands will exhaust amounts currently available to fund services that involve the safety of human life, protection of property and the immediate welfare of individuals.

The rising costs underscored that while the president in his public speeches and rallies focuses on the danger of criminals entering the country, the immediate crisis at the border is a humanitarian one  caring for the sick, housing children, holding families in temporary detention facilities and paying for extra asylum screeners.
IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE ELECTIONS intense coverage has been afforded to the issues that Finlands incoming government faces. While many publications have highlighted the falling birth rate as a major concern, this week one international outlet went as far as describing Finland as Europes Japan, stressing that decades of stagflation and decline lie ahead if current trends continue.

Meanwhile, one popular culture magazine ran a long read on how Oulus fortunes have revived in the aftermath of the Nokia collapse, with tech startups and small businesses moving in to fill the gap left behind by Finlands largest company.

In other news, a study recently revealed that Finland is Europes largest consumer of recreational drugs purchased on the dark web, slightly edging ahead of the UK, a country which has long been the overall highest consumer of illegal drugs in Europe. A major British tabloid gave their own interpretation of the findings.

Finland is becoming Europes Japan

Politico

Antti Rinne won a general election promising to fix Finland's welfare state. The big challenge now facing the prime minister-elect is how to defuse the demographic time bomb that's ticking underneath it.

Finland has one of the most comprehensive welfare states in Europe. As in Nordic neighbor Sweden, taxpayer-funded health and social care and schooling are the norm.

But its population is aging faster than most of Europe. Official projections show that Finlands falling birth rate means the proportion of citizens of working age, 15 to 64, will fall from its current 62 percent to 60 percent by 2030, and to 58 percent by 2050.

By 2050, the working-age population will have decreased by 200,000 compared with today in a country of around 5.5 million.

This will have serious repercussions for state finances, according to officials. Fewer workers will be paying in to public finances while an increasing elderly population will be taking more out.

The challenge for Finland and for Rinne, whose Social Democrats secured a narrow victory in April's election, is of broader interest because, while the country is aging faster than its neighbors, some of them arent far behind. Countries across Europe, from Germany to Italy to Portugal, are also set to see the proportion of elderly citizens in their populations rise.

Finland certainly serves as a bellwether for Europe regarding its demographics, said Bert Colijn, an economist specializing in the eurozone at the Dutch bank ING, in a recent analysis.

Official statistics show the birth rate in Finland is already falling and has done so in each of the past eight years. In the South Karelia region, in Finlands east, close to the Russian border, the fall in the birth rate was 11 percent last year.

The concern for Finland, and for the rest of Europe, is that their future will replicate the economic present of the worlds most aged society: Japan.

There, economic growth has slowed to a standstill and strenuous fiscal and monetary policy efforts by the countrys leaders have yet to reenergize the economy.

Finland is now facing problems similar to those with which Japan has already struggled for more than a decade, the Finnish central bank said in a 2016 report. The population is aging, and slow economic growth is not generating sufficient funds to cover growing public expenditure; general government debt threatens to become unsustainable.

The Finnish central bank said Japans experience shows that postponing decisions on reforming the structures of the economy too far into the future may lead to reduced growth and employment, with resulting high costs.

Original article was appeared in Politico on 13/05/19 and can be found here.

Surviving Nokia: How Oulu, Finland rebounded from the collapse of its largest employer

Venture Beat

While the collapse of Nokias once-mighty cell phone business made international headlines, perhaps no community felt the impact more than Oulu, Finland.

The city was a major stronghold of Nokias research and manufacturing. A place small enough that many people either worked for Nokia or one of its network of local suppliers, or knew someone who did. In such a place, the titanic shifts in market share or mobile technologies were not just abstract chitchat about disruption, but a potentially fatal blow to the community.

Which makes the current state of Oulu somewhat miraculous. Rather than crumbling, Oulu has staged a remarkable reinvention. More than five years after the worst of the Nokia layoffs, tech employment is higher than ever thanks in large measure to a growing number of startups that have taken root here.

That resilience was the result of an aggressive response that brought together local government officials, universities, and entrepreneurs. Its a model worth understanding for other regions that have faced, or will inevitably face, the tumult that comes when digital shifts upend legacy economic engines. In Oulu, the result of this swift action has led to a conventional wisdom that would have been unimaginable six years ago.

Without the story of Nokia and mobile phones and how it ended, we would not have this mobile industry here, said Juha Ala-Mursula, director of BusinessOulu, the citys economic development agency. Today we can say that Nokias problems were the best thing that could have happened to us.

In taking stock of its strengths, regional leaders very quickly hit on two assets.

The first was the deep bench of talent in the area of radio signal engineering, a cornerstone of mobile technologies. And the second was the large base of life sciences and health care research being conducted in the region. The pair seemed to form the ideal foundation to encourage digital health startups that would need people with medical experience as well as connectivity experts.

The city pulled in players such as Oulu University Hospital (OYS), the University of Oulu, and various local research centers and initiatives already under way. Together, they created a broad program dubbed OuluHealth.

People want to lead healthier lives, said Minna Komu, network director of OuluHealth. We have the skill set in this city to do that. So why not provide and tools and the toys they need?

Original article appeared in Venture Beat on 10/05/19 and can be found here.

England is buying more drugs on the dark web than every country except FINLAND

Daily Mail

England purchased more drugs on the dark web than any other country in the world except Finland, figures show.

More than one in four recreational drug users admitted ordering substances on the encrypted network in the last 12 months.

It marks a four per cent jump in dark web purchases compared with 2018, according to the study looking at more than 120,000 substance-users worldwide.

The most popular drugs ordered on the dark net were MDMA, LSD and cannabis, followed by amphetamines such as speed and ADHD medication Adderall.

Although less common, large increases were seen in the purchase of psychedelic drugs including DMT, ketamine and 2-CB over the last five years, the Global Drug Survey found.

England came only second to Finland, where almost half - 45.2 per cent - of the drug-using population said they'd bought illegal substances from the dark web.

Elsewhere, the number of purchases on the dark web plummeted from 18.1 per cent to 11.9 per cent in the US - following a crackdown on online drug dealers by the FBI

Purchases also fell slightly in Australia, from 17.2 per cent to 14.9 per cent, and in New Zealand where numbers dropped from 2.8 per cent to 2.4 per cent.

The same survey also found Englands MDMA users to be some of the worlds biggest dosers, taking 40 per cent more on a single day of use than the global average.

Users in England take half a gram of MDMA powder - or 1.4 pills - compared to 0.3grams and one ecstasy pill globally.

Original article appeared in Daily Mail on 16/05/19 and can be found here.

Adam Oliver Smith  HT (@HelsinkiTimes)

Image Credit: Lehtikuva
President Trump has indicated that he is considering pardons for several American military members accused or convicted of war crimes, including high-profile cases of murder, attempted murder and desecration of a corpse, according to two United States officials.

The officials said that the Trump administration had made expedited requests this week for paperwork needed to pardon the troops on or around Memorial Day.

One request is for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher of the Navy SEALs, who is scheduled to stand trial in the coming weeks on charges of shooting unarmed civilians and killing an enemy captive with a knife while deployed in Iraq.

The others are believed to include the case of a former Blackwater security contractor recently found guilty in the deadly 2007 shooting of dozens of unarmed Iraqis; the case of Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn, the Army Green Beret accused of killing an unarmed Afghan in 2010; and the case of a group of Marine Corps snipers charged with urinating on the corpses of dead Taliban fighters.
DAKAR, Senegal  A mission to rescue kidnapped tourists that went fatally awry. A church burned to the ground, the priest shot at Sunday Mass. A day later, another attack; four more Christians dead.

The fury that hit Burkina Faso this month left a dozen people dead and laid bare the yearslong unraveling of a once-stable country.

It is now racked with near-daily violence from extremists pouring over its northern border with Mali and Niger, restive farmers and herdsmen battling for land, and militias bent on vengeance for each attack.

And as violence by Al Qaeda and violent groups tied to the Islamic State has moved from Mali and Niger to Burkina Faso, fears are rising that the unrest could spread even farther south, putting the entire Gulf of Guinea at risk.
The next day, Mr. Molla returned with a gang of men and blocked the main road through the village. In front of a large crowd, Dinesh Mondal, a B.J.P. leader and former T.M.C. official who lived in the village, confronted Mr. Molla and the two men exchanged heated words, according to Ms. Mondal and other witnesses. (The two Mondals are related.)

Shortly thereafter, several shops were destroyed and attackers ransacked the homes of Hindus in the village, including Ms. Mondals.

On Monday morning, Mr. Mollas men returned and burned seven of the homes, as well as an ambulance and a car parked in front of Mr. Mondals building supplies shop, according to Ms. Mondal and two other Hindus who witnessed the attacks.

Muslim villagers were also attacked on Monday morning, according to interviews with about a dozen people in the community. Masked men, armed with swords and guns, burned six Muslim homes, said Sabur Ali Shekh, whose house was among those targeted. The men lingered in the area, shouting Jai Shri Ram and warning Muslim voters that if they did not vote for the B.J.P., they would be deported to Pakistan.

At sunset, when the Muslims were preparing their evening meal to end the days fasting for Ramadan, the men threw flaming bottles into four homes, destroying the sewing machines and supplies of the cloth makers inside. Several witnesses, including Meher Ali Shekh and his brother, both of whose homes were destroyed, said they saw Mr. Mondal watching from not far away.
SYDNEY, Australia  Scott Morrison, Australias conservative prime minister, scored a surprise victory in federal elections on Saturday, propelled by a populist wave  the quiet Australians, he termed it  resembling the force that has upended politics in the United States, Britain and beyond.

The win stunned Australian election analysts  polls had pointed to a loss for Mr. Morrisons coalition for months. But in the end, the prime minister confounded expectations suggesting that the country was ready for a change in course after six years of tumultuous leadership under the conservative political coalition.

I have always believed in miracles, Mr. Morrison said at his victory party in Sydney, adding, Tonight is about every single Australian who depends on their government to put them first. And that is exactly what we are going to do.

The election had presented Australia, a vital American ally in the Asia-Pacific, with a crucial question: Would it remain on a rightward path and stick with a political coalition that promised economic stability, jobs and cuts to immigration or choose greater action on climate change and income inequality?
It was an early and effective example of corporate espionage. Once he had opened his own factory, his approach to underselling his rivals was both simple and, by todays standards, criminal. Many of his employees were children, some paupers, hired at one-sixth the cost of men.

Within a few decades, Whittys carpets were renowned, initially for their value and later, after his competitors went out of business, for their beauty. King George III visited the factory, as did the future American president John Adams. Adamss wife, Abigail, seemed smitten by Whittys productions. The carpets are equally durable with the Turky, she wrote, but surpass them in colours and figure.

International acclaim followed. When the first United States Senate met in 1790, in Philadelphia, a specially commissioned Axminster, with the new countrys Great Seal, covered the floor.

The company went bankrupt in 1835. For a century, the brand lay dormant until a businessman, Harry Dutfield, revived it. Soon enough, Axminsters from Axminster were sold to places like the Royal Albert Hall, which commissioned 43,000 square feet of carpet for rooms, corridors and landings.

Naturally, the owners of Axminster Carpets would love for Britons to think of the monarchys imprimatur whenever they hear the companys name. A royal warrant isnt easily acquired. A company must sell products or services to the Windsors in order to qualify, but that isnt enough. A thumbs-up is needed from Queen Elizabeth; her husband, Prince Philip; or her son, Prince Charles  who are somewhat momentously dubbed the Grantors on the royal website.

The work with JD Wetherspoon began in 2008. While the contract was relatively brief, it has come with one enduring upside.

If you Google JD Wetherspoon and carpet, what immediately comes up is Axminster Carpets, said Mr. Young, the managing director. Up to 10 times a year, a fan of JD Wetherspoon carpets calls to order something similar.

We never signed an exclusive design agreement with the company, he said. So, we could make it again.
The Federal Aviation Administration has warned all American air carriers to exercise caution when flying over the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, saying that civilian aircraft are at increasing risk because of the escalating political tensions in the region.

In an advisory issued on Thursday, the agency directed commercial airliners and all operators of United States-registered aircraft to be careful when flying over the Persian Gulf because of heightened military activities and increased political tensions there.

Those frictions present an increasing inadvertent risk to U.S. civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or misidentification, it said.

On Monday, four oil tankers at the mouth of the Persian Gulf were reported attacked. Two of the tankers belong to Saudi Arabia, one belongs to a Norwegian company and the other to the United Arab Emirates.
An experiment conducted in Brazil in an area of Atlantic Rainforest suggests that intensive silviculture, including the use of herbicide and substantial amounts of fertilizer, is a more effective approach to promoting the regeneration of tropical forest and biomass gain than the traditional method based on manual weeding and less fertilizer.

The study was supported by Sao Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP. The principal investigator was Pedro Henrique Santin Brancalion, a professor of native species silviculture in the Forest Science Department of the University of Sao Paulo's Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ-USP) in Piracicaba, Sao Paulo state, Brazil.

Researchers affiliated with the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (CIRAD) also participated, as did other Brazilian scientists affiliated with Sao Paulo State University (UNESP) in Botucatu and the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). The results are published in Ecological Applications, a journal of the Ecological Society of America.

As Brancalion explained, forest restoration is considered strategic for climate change mitigation, since the vegetation sequesters carbon from the atmosphere as it grows.

"Developed countries, such as Norway, have put in place programs to help neutralize carbon gas emissions through their economic activities," he said. "Companies issue calls for reforestation proposals to offset part of the emissions from their factories, and many international nonprofits raise funds from companies interested in investing in restoration projects using native species in Brazil."

According to Brancalion, maximizing woody biomass accumulation to obtain early payments for carbon stocks is essential to the financial viability of reforestation programs for climate change mitigation.

Intensive silviculture, traditionally applied in commercial forestry using eucalyptus and pine to maximize productivity and profits, is widely advocated as a promising approach to enhance woody biomass accumulation in restoration plantations. However, Brancalion explained, critics of this approach claim that it may hamper natural forest regeneration and ecological succession owing to competition between colonizing plants and planted trees.

"In several situations, you have to plant native species. How can you ensure these areas with new native trees maximize the carbon stock? We sought answers by conducting a controlled native tree planting experiment," he said.

The experiment was conducted at ESALQ-USP's Forest Science Experiment Station near the town of Anhembi. The area was donated to the University of Sao Paulo (USP) in 1974 by CESP, then a major electric power utility, for academic and scientific purposes. Since that time, it has been used for research on the introduction, conservation and genetic improvement of exotic and native tree species, constituting an important germplasm repository for the global forestry sector.

"In this area of Atlantic Rainforest, we investigated the impacts of different silviculture approaches applied to restoration plantations in terms of both woody biomass accumulation and the spontaneous regeneration of native species," Brancalion said.

Experiments involving trees, many of which grow slowly, take a long time to come to fruition. In this case, the study began in 2004 in an area of pasture covered by the exotic signalgrass, Urochloa decumbens, which is widely used for cattle fodder in Brazil.

"We tested three main strategies," Brancalion explained. "In the first, a large proportion of the selected species were pioneer species, which are small to medium in size, hardy and fast growing, and require an abundance of sunlight.

The ideal composition we sought was one that resulted in a large carbon stock while also permitting the regeneration of species similar to those found in native forest rather than a mere stand of trees without regeneration."

Brancalion explained that pioneer species are the first to regenerate in a restored forest. They are fast-growing trees with low wood density and tend to die early, at an age of approximately ten years.

"They play an important role in recolonizing forest clearings and degraded areas, as they rapidly form a forest structure," he said. "Nonpioneer species grow more slowly and last decades or centuries."

Twenty native tree species were used in the experiment.

Ten were pioneers, including Cedrela fissilis (Argentine cedar), Pterogyne nitens (amendoim bravo), Schinus terebinthifolius (Brazilian peppertree) and Enterolobium contortisiliquum (pacara earpod). Others were slow-growing nonpioneer species, such as Cariniana estrellensis (jequitiba branco), Handroanthus impetiginosus (pink trumpet), Hymenaea courbaril (Brazilian cherry), and Jacaranda cuspidifolia. Others grow at an intermediate rate, including Copaifera langsdorffii (copaiba), Eugenia uniflora (pitanga), Genipa americana (jenipapo), Psidium guajava (guava) and Syagrus romanzoffiana (queen palm).

The test for the first strategy consisted of two levels. Level one had an equal number of pioneer and nonpioneer species. In level two, pioneer species accounted for two-thirds of the species, while nonpioneer species accounted for a third.

"The second strategy focused on tree density per hectare planted," said Brancalion. "We wanted to find out whether tree density maximized carbon stocks or whether, on the contrary, a lower density reduced competition among plants and hence enabled trees to grow more and store more carbon."

Tree rows were planted a meter apart in level one and 2 m apart in level two for densities of 3,333 and 1,666 seedlings per hectare, respectively.

The third strategy focused on weed control and fertilizer use. Level one involved manual weed control and "typical" amounts of fertilizer, while level two involved spraying with herbicide and three times the amount of fertilizer used in level one.

"We collected many measurements over a period of 12 years. The different techniques we tested resulted in very different forests in terms of carbon stocking, which ranged from 25 to 75 tons per hectare," Brancalion said.

Native forest regeneration

Tree density and the ratio of pioneer to nonpioneer species did not significantly affect the carbon stocking rates. The factors that determined optimal results in all cases were herbicide spraying and intensive fertilization.

"The total number of trees and a larger proportion of pioneer species were factors that did not significantly influence biomass accumulation," Brancalion said.

"The second question we set out to answer was whether planting seedlings would trigger a regeneration process that would produce a biodiverse native forest or merely a planted stand. We also wanted to know if bolstering carbon stocks would hamper the regeneration of native species", de said.

"The final outcome was the optimal scenario, featuring synergy between carbon stocking and native species regeneration, which was an excellent result."

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud is pursuing its international development. A few months after participating in the inauguration of the Art in Time gallery in Monaco, the Swiss Manufacture has announced its first partnership in the United States.

 Ferdinand Berthoud

For this important step, its first foothold on the American continent, Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud maintained its eminently quality-driven approach by seeking a partner well established in one of the most important Fine Watchmaking locations and also endowed with a keen knowledge of independent and creative Maisons.

These conditions naturally led to the geographical choice of New York, a city that is both an international hub and a recognised luxury platform. According to Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, President of Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud: The community of discerning watch collectors and aficionados in the US is growing. We are therefore very proud to introduce the Ferdinand Berthoud timepieces at Cellini Jewelers in New York. The Cellini showroom offers a perfect environment for an exclusive circle of independent watchmakers, which Mr. Leon Adams curates with enduring passion and expertise."

 Ferdinand Berthoud

Created more than 40 years ago (1977) and ideally located on Park Avenue, Cellini has gradually come to focus on independent Haute Horlogerie, as embodied by Ferdinand Berthoud. As Cellinis President Leon Adams explains: In terms of technological innovation, mainstream watchmaking has been relatively stagnant in recent years, which is why were focusing more on highly creative independent brands like Ferdinand Berthoud. We added the brand to our collection this year because I was quite impressed with the quality of the finishing and the extremely limited production. Its the perfect addition to our portfolio of independent high-end brands.

 Ferdinand Berthoud

Cellini Jewelers is officially the tenth retailer in the world to represent Chronometrie Ferdinand Berthoud. This partnership is active as of now. Through this choice, the Manufacture is confirming its desire to increase its visibility in a carefully reasoned and controlled manner, working with partners entirely aligned with its values of independence, creativity and artisanal exclusivity.
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"I added Connor, because it's important to remind people that even though the three girls are now cancer-free, there are still kids being diagnosed every day," said Scantling, 35.

In the aftermath of the first photo, as it was shared widely on social media, Scantling began hearing from other parents in Oklahoma whose children had also been diagnosed with cancer. She offered to photograph them as well. Since then, dozens of children with cancer have posed in her studio.

"It's important to their parents  nobody wants their child to be forgotten," she said.

She did not realize the power of such photos, in fact, until she posted the original one five years ago.

"I had no idea about the impact it would have," she said. "I still get heartwarming messages from people who come across the photo online. They tell me it's helped them or someone they know through a dark time in their lives."

Children and adults with cancer write to her to say her annual photos of the girls (and now Connor) give them hope to keep fighting, said Scantling, a professional photographer for 11 years with two daughters, both healthy.
Talk with your teen

After you've reported the post, actively support your child and discuss what they have seen. "Parents should not be afraid to ask their children if they have ever experienced those same thoughts, urges or behaviors," Hakimi Ederer says. "It's a myth that talking about suicide with your child will plant the idea or increase their risk. Talking about it will open the doors to communication about a topic that is often kept secret and gives your child permission to bring it up anytime in the future if they are struggling."

Teens also need to learn the best way to continue to help a friend, while still protecting their own mental health. It's tempting for teens to go into "therapist mode," says Hakimi Ederer, something that can cause anxiety and put pressure on a teen to "save" their friend. "Teens can have a hard time understanding that they are not responsible for another person's mental health and well-being. Parents can suggest their teen respond with 'This is serious, and I hope you are talking to an adult or therapist about this.'"

Have discussions early
Both Trail and Boswell face the death penalty if found guilty of first-degree murder.

Authorities have said they obtained surveillance video of Trail and Boswell at a Lincoln store buying equipment that could be used to dismember a body just hours before Loofes final date with Boswell.

Murray, in a motion filed Friday, said that none of the items purchased related to how Loofe died and that showing the video could confuse and mislead the jury.

Loofes remains were found about three weeks after she disappeared. They were in several plastic bags in several locations near Edgar, Nebraska, a rural area about an hours drive west of Wilber, where Trail and Boswell were living in a basement apartment.

Sometime after the pair were arrested, Trail called news reporters and said that he had suffocated Loofe to death but that it was an accident that happened during a sexual role-playing fantasy. He also said that Boswell was not present but that she helped dispose of the body later.
Lincoln police have arrested a 22-year-old man in connection with the slaying of a 47-year-old Lincoln man.

On Thursday morning, officials received several calls about a man who was on the ground and possibly injured at the southeast corner of 27th and Holdrege Streets.

Just before 9:45 a.m., Lincoln police arrived and found Desmond Fowler with a gunshot wound.

Lincoln Fire and Rescue workers came and declared Fowler dead.

Police blocked off the intersection for more than four hours while crime scene technicians scoured the area for forensic evidence and investigators conducted interviews, collected video evidence and canvassed the area for witnesses, officials said.

About 7:50 p.m., officers arrested Michael Dewey at a residence in the 2200 block of South 14th Street on suspicion of first-degree murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

The Lincoln Police Department, the Lancaster County Sheriffs Office, the Metro Fugitive Task Force and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Department worked on the case.
A crash on Interstate 80 near the Nebraska Crossing Outlets led officials to shut down westbound I-80 at Nebraska Highway 31, the Nebraska State Patrol said about 5:15 p.m. Saturday.

It reopened before 8:10 p.m., the patrol reported later.

Westbound traffic had to exit I-80 because of the personal injury crash, the patrol said. Troopers were assisting the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office at the crash scene.

About 5:30 p.m., a Sarpy County 911 dispatcher said a couple people injured in the crash already had been taken to the hospital. The crash scene was east of the Platte River.
One May 13 Pulse writer speaks of those opposed to LGBTQ behavior as lacking in Christ-like love and compassion, intolerant and even hateful. Another writer (May 14) asserts that all are Gods children no matter how they love.

What is not understood is an important distinction: that Christians are called to love their neighbor but not accept that neighbors sinful choices.

True love manifests itself when people help lift those who recognize their neediness out of their sin. Jesus did not endorse the choice of the woman caught in adultery, but rather encouraged her to go and sin no more (John 8:11). But to those religious leaders who thought they had it all figured out and were unwilling to accept His ways, Jesus said you remain in your sin (John 9:41).

Contrary to much modern preaching, Jesus does not love people just as they are, but just as they are through faith in Him. The result of true faith is always sorrow for sin and an increase in Christ-likeness.

Just as marriage has been redefined, the concept of tolerance has had a definite shift in meaning. The word tolerate used to mean allowing the free expression of beliefs with which we dont agree.
Centre, states need to think about reducing taxes on petrol, diesel: Thakur

Anurag Thakur can win only because of Congress 

India

oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi

New Delhi, May 17: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Hamirpur Lok Sabha in Himachal Pradesh can win the election only because of the Congress, claims a Shimla-based source.

Hamirpur is one the four seats of the state that will vote in the seventh and final phase on Sunday. The other seats are: Shimla, Mandi, and Kangra parliamentary constituencies. The BJP had won all the four seats in 2014.

The BJP has fielded its three-time MP Anurag Thakur from Hamirpur. He is the son of former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. According to the source, the seat has become a survival battle for the father-son duo as there has been strong anti-incumbency against the sitting MP.

"If Anurag wins the Lok Sabha election for the fourth time in a row then he will become very powerful in the state politics and could become a strong contender for the post of Chief Minister in the next Assembly elections. Therefore, it's obvious that Chief Minister Jai Ram and Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda won't put their weight behind Anurag. The amount of anti-incumbency against him is so much that even the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi can't ensure his victory. He can only win because of the factionalism in the Congress, " says the source.

Congress has pitted five-time MLA and former Minister Ram Lal Thakur against Anurag.

"Ram Lal Thakur has not got the full support from the local Congress leaders. For example, the faction led by former Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee President Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has been covertly working to defeat the Congress candidate. This infighting may become a boon for Anurag Thakur, " asserts the source.

[Water, jobs among top priorities of Himachal voters]

The BJP is fighting to retain all the seats and all the candidates have been seeking votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress on the other hand is highlighting local issues and questioning the performance of the BJP-led state government.

According to another source in Delhi, Congress is not pinning hopes on any seat except Shimla as the party is fighting the elections with the severe lack of funds.

"There was a demand of Rs. 5000 per booth from the state but Rs. 1000 per booth was provided. The frontal organisations of the Congress like Youth Congress, Mahila Congress and Seva Dal are not participating in the elections with full force due the fund shortage," says a source.

[In Himachal Pradesh, it's Sharma vs. Sharma to capture Mandi]

The Congress has fielded two-time MP Dhani Ram Shandil from Shimla. Considering the importance of the seat, the BJP replaced its two-time MP Virender Kashyap and gave the ticket to party MLA Suresh Kashyap.

Both the contenders are from the Army background and belong to Koli (SC) community.

It's notable that Rahul Gandhi addressed a rally in Solan on Friday in support of Shandil.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Saturday, May 18, 2019, 7:00 [IST]
Ashok Lavasa opts out of EC poll code meetings over dissent tiff: Reports

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 18: Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa differed with the majority view in five different complaints of violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, has recused himself from all meetings to discuss MCC issues.

It was reported then that one of the members of the three-member 'full commission' had dissented with the decision to give clean chits to Modi. The full commission comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and Election Commissioners Lavasa and Sushil Chandra.

"I am being forced to stay away from the meetings of the full commission since minority decisions are not being recorded," Lavasa wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner on May 4. "My participation in the deliberations of the Commission becomes meaningless since my minority decisions go unrecorded," NDTV cited Lavasa's letter to EC.

Diversion of views not new: CEC Arora

Miffed at 'ill-timed controversies' over the manner of functioning of Election Commission, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Saturday said the three members of the election body "are not expected to be template or clones of each other, there have been so many times in the past when there has been a vast diversion of views as it can, and should be."

"But the same largely remained within confines of ECI after demission of office unless appearing much later in a book written by the concerned ECs/CECs. I personally never shied away from a public debate whenever required but there is time for everything,"Arora said.

The Commission has so far cleared six speeches of Modi, apart from his interview to a TV news channel in Varanasi on April 26, observing that they did not violate the code and its advisories.

Lavasa opposed the all-clear to Modi for his minority-majority speeches in Wardha on April 1 and Nanded on April 6, and the clean chit to his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot airstrikes, in Latur and Chitradurga on April 9.

He also disagreed with his colleagues' view that Shah's speech in Nagpur on April 9, when he likened Wayanad, the second seat from where Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting, to Pakistan was not violative of the MCC.
Rain makes this woman dance and she has a valid reason to celebrate

What have you done to tackle drought, HC asks Maha govt

Centre issues drought advisory in 6 states as water levels in dams dip to 'critical level'

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, May 18: With water storage in dams dropping to a "critical" level, the Centre has issued a "drought advisory" to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, asking them to use water judiciously.

The advisory was issued to Tamil Nadu on Friday and similar cautionary letters were sent to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana late last week, said S K Haldar, a member of the Central Water Commission (CWC).

The drought advisory is issued to states when the water level in reservoirs is 20 per cent less than the average of live water storage figures of the past 10 years.

Water falls under the state list and the advisory recommends states to use it for drinking purpose only till the dams are replenished.

Weather forecast: Bengaluru rains to continue for the next 24 hours

The CWC monitors water storage available in 91 major reservoirs across the country.

According to the figures released on Thursday, the total water storage available was 35.99 billion cubic metres (BCM), which is 22 per cent of total storage capacity of these reservoirs. The total storage capacity of these 91 reservoirs is 161.993 BCM.

The figure was at 24 per cent for the week ending on May 9. The situation seems to be grim in western and southern parts of the country.

The western region includes Gujarat and Maharashtra. There are 27 reservoirs -- 10 in Gujarat and 17 in Maharashtra having a total live storage capacity of 31.26 BCM -- under the CWC monitoring. The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 4.10 BCM until May 16, which is 13 per cent of total live storage capacity.

The storage in 27 reservoirs of these two states during the corresponding period of last year was 18 per cent and average storage of last 10 years was 22 per cent.

The situation in Marathwada is particularly critical where the water level in 45 major dams has hit an alarmingly low level.

On Tuesday, Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency, said rainfall in Vidarbha, Marathwada, west Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat will be "poorer than normal".

The southern region includes states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

There are 31 reservoirs -- two of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana together, Andhra Pradesh (1), Telangana (2), Karnataka (14), Kerala (6) and Tamil Nadu (6) -- under CWC monitoring having total live storage capacity of 51.59 BCM.

"The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 6.86 BCM, which is 13 per cent of total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. The storage during corresponding period of last year was 13 per cent and average storage of last ten years during corresponding period was 16 per cent," the CWC said.

Situation seems to be better in the northern region which includes states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan.

There are six reservoirs under CWC monitoring having a total live storage capacity of 18.01 BCM. The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 8.54 BCM which is 47 per cent of total live storage capacity of these reservoirs.

The eastern region includes states of Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Tripura. There are 15 reservoirs under CWC monitoring having total live storage capacity of 18.83 BCM. The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 5.04 BCM which is 27 per cent of total live storage capacity of these reservoirs.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 18, 2019, 10:41 [IST]
Chandrababu Naidu trying to emerge as linchpin of anti-BJP front; What is he aiming at?

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, May 18: Andhra Pradesh Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu seems to have taken the lead to bring all the major opposition leaders onboard so that swift moves can be made in case of a hung verdict on May 23. Naidu seems to be on a mission and wants leaders to shun differences, and be together so as not to give the BJP time to garner numbers if the saffron party falls short of the magic majority number.

Naidu knows that the BJP is good at swift negotiations, what happened after Goa Assembly elections is a testimony to what Shah and company can do in a short span of time. Time indeed is of essence, and last minute talks would only delay, and allow the BJP to act if the need be.

Today, Naidu met BSP chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow, continuing his efforts to put together a coalition to form the next government at the Centre.

He reached the state capital after meetings in New Delhi with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, CPI leaders G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and LJD leader Sharad Yadav. The Telugu Desam Party chief has already held several rounds of discussions with various opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

[Post-poll alliance buzz: Chandrababu Naidu meets Rahul; discusses firming up anti-BJP front]

But, other than galavanising the opposition parties, what else is Naidu aiming. He had subtly refuted last month that he is not aiming for the PM post. One strong reason he has is his anger towards the BJP which led him to snap ties with the saffron party and quit NDA. His TDP had been a part of the NDA and had quit the alliance a few months ago. Eversince, he seems to on a mission to bring down Modi regime.

Some political experts have told OneIndia that a 'darkhorse' might emerge as the PM candidate in case of a coalition government. Is Naidu that darkhorse? Well, it will become clear in a few days. Whatever role Naidu is aiming at, what is for sure is that he wants to be seen as playing an active role in stitching a coalition front. Oher important players in this entire anti-BJP scheme of things are Mamata Banerjee and KCR. TMC recently said, as per reports, is that they may not have a problem with Rahul Gandhi as PM, but then Mamata herself is seen as aiming for the top post.

[LS polls 7th phase: What happened in these 13 seats of UP in 2014, what may happen this time]

How many will back Rahul as PM is another big mystery? At these times, no one speaks openly and just drop hints. These hints can be meant to send genuine signals but can also be used to confuse others. Let May 23 come, and we will have all the answers.
From Lahar to Kahar, Sinha explains the downfall of Modi

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 18: The Modi lahar (wave) of 2014 has degenerated into kahar (disaster) in the last five years and the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar is all set to blow away the BJP- led NDA, actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha claimed here Friday.

He said in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh too, where his wife has been fielded by the SP-BSP combine, though the Congress is contesting separately, the BJP will be similarly swept away.

Mahagathbandhan un logon ke parkhachche udaa dega (grand alliance will blow them away), Sinha, who seeks to retain his Patna Sahib seat on a Congress ticket, said at a press conference here on the final day of campaign.

He is pitted against Union minister Ravishankar Prasad in Patna Sahib seat that will see voting on May 19.

What lies ahead of Shatrughan Sinha in Patna Sahib?

Lambasting the BJP, which he quit last month ending nearly three decades of association, for claiming that Sinha had been unhappy over not getting a ministerial berth in the Narendra Modi government, the actor, who is fondly called Bihari Babu, quipped this is tantamount to chori oopar se seenazori (commit a wrongdoing and then brazen it out).

Let us, for a moment, assume that I had issues over not getting a ministerial berth. Now could the one man show and two man army (a term Sinha has been using to describe the BJP under Modi and Amit Shah) explain why it treated badly stalwarts like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, he asked.

The BJP should also explain why an intellectual giant like Arun Shourie, who was with the party, is now so bitterly opposed to it. And what led Yashwant Sinha, who was once such a powerful leader, to quit the party in disgust, Sinha, who was flanked by party colleague and former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay, his twin sons- Luv and Kush- besides other leaders of the mahagathbandhan which includes RJD, RLSP, HAM and VIP, said.

Their problem was, I was speaking the truth. I was speaking about the huge inconvenience caused to the people and harm done to the economy through demonetization. I was speaking against the shoddy implementation of the GST, which has made our traders suffer. And I was asking the government to come clean on the Rafale deal, the second-term MP from Patna Sahib said.

At yesterdays roadshow held by Rahul Gandhi, where the turnout was historic and the enthusiasm verged on hysterical, somebody teased me with the question Chhenu aaya tha (did Chhenu come). I said I was not sure but Chowkidaar chor hai certainly reverberated through the air.

Chhenu aaya tha is a popular dialogue from the old movie Mere Apne wherein Sinha had played the role of the antagonist named Chhenu a street ruffian fond of delivering pungent one-liners.

Sinha showered praise on coalition partners for making the roadshow a success and lambasted the BJP for meting out ill- treatment to jailed RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, who is serving sentences in fodder scam cases.

The slogan jail ka taala tootega, Lalu Yadav chhootega (the padlock on the jails gate will be prised open and Lalu will be set free) would soon become a reality, he hoped.

Lok Sabha 5th phase election 2019: Shatrughan Sinha's wife Poonam Sinha richest candidate

Speaking at the press conference, Sahay said the BJP once bragged it was going to get 400 plus. Now it has scaled down its bluster by 100 seats. Seriously speaking, we are confident of Congress emerging as the single largest party and we acknowledge that states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Orissa where we do not have an alliance with the dominant regional parties, will play a major contributory role in formation of the next government.

He ducked queries about the possibility of Rahul Gandhi becoming the Prime Minister saying we will discuss that at meetings of opposition parties scheduled in New Delhi on May 21 and then again after results are out on May 23.

We do not believe in the BJP style of authoritarian leadership. Sonia Gandhi had ample support for taking up the top post after the 2004 general elections, but she decided otherwise in national interest, the former Union minister remarked.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 18, 2019, 10:10 [IST]
Himachal Pradesh: Over 53 lakh voters to seal fate of 45 candidates today

India

pti-PTI

Shimla, May 18: Five MLAs, including a state minister, are among the 45 candidates trying to make it to Parliament from Himachal Pradesh where polling will be held Sunday, the last phase of voting in the 2019 elections.

Among the 45 candidates is Congress nominee from Mandi, Aashray Sharma, whose father had to sacrifice his berth in the state's BJP government. There are 53,30,154 registered voters for the four constituencies -- Shimla (SC), Mandi, Hamirpur and Kangra -- in the state.

A direct contest is expected between the Congress and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which had won all four seats in 2014. The BJP has fielded the state's Food and Civil Supplies Minister Kishan Kapoor in Kangra after dropping sitting MP Shanta Kumar. Kangra's Congress MLA Pawan Kajal is contesting against him.

In Hamirpur, three-time MP and former BCCI president Anurag Thakur is in the fray on a BJP ticket. He faces Sri Naina Devi's Congress MLA Ram Lal Thakur. BJP's Pachhad MLA Suresh Kashyap is contesting against Solan Congress MLA Dhani Ram Shandil for the Shimla (SC) parliamentary seat. Aashray Sharma, who is the grandson of former Union Telecom minister Sukh Ram, is contesting against BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma in Mandi. His father Anil Sharma had to resign from the state cabinet after he decided to contest on the Congress ticket.

['Anurag Thakur can win only because of Congress ']

Anil Sharma's resignation followed an awkward phase during which the minister refused to campaign for his own party's candidate in Mandi, insisting that he would not takes sides. The state is almost certain to see some assembly by-polls in the coming months to fill vacant seats, as both the Congress and the BJP have fielded MLAs. Although the state sends just four MPs to the Lok Sabha, political parties spared no efforts during the last days of the campaign.

Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed rallies in the state. Superintendent of Police (law and order) Khushhal Sharma said elaborate security arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of the polls in the state. Forty-seven companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been deployed along with the state police and home guard personnel to ensure free and fair elections, he told PTI on Saturday.

State's Assistant Chief Electoral Officer Harbans Lal Dhiman said 7,723 polling stations have been set up in the state and out of which 373 have been declared as critical and 939 as vulnerable. There is a considerable number of the first-time voters (1,52,390, 2.85 per cent) and service voters (68,028, 1.27 per cent of the total voters) in the state. Of the total 68,028 service voters, member of the armed forces, the highest 24,245 are in Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat, followed by 21,836 in Kangra, 13,474 in Mandi and 8,473 services voters are in Shimla Lok Sabha seat, a state electoral officer said.

Service voter can cast their vote either through postal ballot or through a proxy voter duly appointed by him. Dhiman said the ballot papers had been electronically transmitted to record offices/units of service voters on May 3 itself with envelopes to ensure their voting.

He said, "Service votes will be counted first of all at the time of start of counting at 8 am on May 23. So the service votes are required to reach the concerned Returning Officer before the start of the counting.'

Besides, special arrangements have also been made to ensure voting of the 46,000 polling staff, he added. "The polling staff including police and home guard jawans may cast their votes at any polling station if they are deployed in the Lok Sabha constituency where they are registered as voters by showing their election duty certificates (EDCs)," Dhiman said "Otherwise they may cast their votes through ballot papers," he added. Voting in the state will begin at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm.

PTI
Akhilesh stops short of saying alliance with BSP is over, confirms to go solo in by-polls

Its all but over for UP 'gathbandhan': Is it heading for a three-way split

UP by-elections: SBSP in talks with SP, BSP for alliance

Congress prime opposition to BJP in UP, will win without SP, BSP alliance: Ajay Kumar Lallu

In Eastern UP, the dilemma plaguing the Muslims

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 18: Many Muslims in eastern UP may not want to vote for the BJP but they face a dilemma over choosing between the SP-BSP alliance and the Congress.

Though some members of the community speak in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the development carried out in Gorakhpur, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's bastion, they harbour a sense of insecurity.

Mufti Mohammed Waliullah, who leads prayers at Gorakhpur's biggest mosque, said the Muslims are not "unanimous" over their choice of parties.

"Less literate Muslims will vote for the 'mahagathbandhan' (the opposition alliance) and the educated will vote as per their understanding," he said.

LS polls 7th phase: What happened in these 13 seats of UP in 2014, what may happen this time

Waliullah expressed anguish over the BJP questioning the nationalism of Muslims, reminding that the community is indigenous to India.

"Only a few Muslim clerics visited India and people who lived in the country adopted Islam. India is our country," he said.

Muslims account for about 10 per cent of population in Gorakhpur, which will go to the polls on May 19, along which other 12 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

The Gorakhnath temple headed by Adityanath is in a locality dominated by Muslims. The temple employs people from the minority community.

In 2014, the BJP had got 233 out of 330 votes polled at a booth from where from Adityanath votes.

Around half of the voters from the booth are estimated to be from the Muslim community.

Seeking to allay the fears of the community, Adityanath told PTI that not a single incident of rioting has occurred in the state since his government took over two years ago.

"Like here (Gorakhpur), Muslims feel safe in other parts of the state," he said.

The chief minister said all religious festivals in the state are celebrated in harmony.

It proves that every individual in the state want to live in peace, he added.

"All those who unnecessarily disturb law and order have realised its consequences" Adityanath said.

Besides Gorakhpur, other parliamentary constituencies going to the polls in the last phase include Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon (SC), Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Robertsganj (SC).

A total of 167 candidates are in the fray from the 13 Lok Sabha seats.

As far as the SP-BSP gathbandhan is concerned, the Samajwadi Party is contesting from eight seats, while the Bahujan Samaj Party is contesting from five seats.

The BJP is contesting on 11 seats, while its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) is in the poll fray from two seats.

Is the voter bored? Why was the turnout so low in Uttar Pradesh?

In Kushinagar, from where former Union minister R P N Singh is in the fray, insecurity is a key factor driving the decision of the community.

Ahmad Kamaal Abdur Rehman Nadvi, who runs a madarssa in Kasia tehsil, said the crimes against the community have increased. The administration is hand-in-glove with criminals, he alleged.

"People have to live to see development. We feel very insecure under this government. Crimes against minority have increased and it is not recorded by the administration. On the other hand our love for nation is challenged. Our forefathers have fought for freedom of India. Soldiers are being insulted by this government and we are being questioned," Nadvi said.

In the Maharajganj parliamentary constituency, Mohd Arshad -- who is a graduate in political science and works as a taxi driver -- said the BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be given another chance for the good work it has done.

"I have been driving since the last three-four years here and mostly ferry outstation passengers. It is easy to travel now as roads have been constructed everywhere and they are well lit. AIIMS is coming up in Gorakhpur. It will benefit everyone," he said.

Arshad said the Muslims in the area feel insecure but there have been no riots under Adityanath.

"Hindu Yuva Vahini members often created problem for the community but they have been silent after Adityanath became chief minister. We want peace, which is there," he said.

He also heaped praise on the BJP government, saying Muslims in his locality have been provided toilets, electricity connections, among other facilities.

Mohammad Bilal, a tailor and who also runs a madarssa in Siswa Bazaar town of Maharajganj, said Muslims will not vote for Modi but this is the first that there has been uninterrupted power supply during the month of Ramzan.

Muslims account for about 15 per cent of the population in the Maharajganj constituency.

"Our village has not decided on voting yet. No one from our village is in favour of Modi. There was a huge crowd when Priyanka Gandhi came here. We will discuss it (voting)," said a Muslim labourer from Thoothibari block of Maharajganj.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 18, 2019, 9:56 [IST]
Kejriwal's assassination' fear: Delhi Police says personnel committed to duties'

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, May 18: Delhi Police on Saturday responded to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's claim that he will be assassinated like former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by his personal security officer. The Delhi Police, in a statement, said that its security unit is a professional set up of well trained personnel who are thoroughly committed to their jobs.

"Our security personnel posted in Chief Minister's security team are committed to their duties. The unit has been providing security for several high dignitaries of all political parties," ANI quoted Delhi Police as saying.

The personnel responsible for security perform their duties with a high level of dedication and professionalism.

"The unit has been providing security cover commendably for several high dignitaries of all political parties. The security personnel posted in the security team of honourable CM, Delhi are equally well committed to their duties," said Anil Mittal, Additional PRO of Delhi Police, as per reports.

Alleging that the BJP was after his life, Kejriwal had claimed that he will be assassinated like Indira Gandhi.

"The BJP would get me murdered by my own PSO (Personal Security Officer) one day like Indira Gandhi. My own security officers report to BJP," Kejriwal told a news channel in Punjab. The BJP is after my life, they will murder me one day," he added.

[Post-poll alliance buzz: Chandrababu Naidu meets Rahul; discusses firming up anti-BJP front]

Kejriwal was in Punjab to campaign for his party which is contesting on all seats in the state. Earlier this month, he was slapped by a man during a roadshow in Delhi's Moti Nagar area. The Delhi Police had claimed that the culprit was a disgruntled AAP worker but the party blamed the BJP for the attack.

"I will be murdered and police would say it was a disgruntled party worker. What does it mean, if a Congress worker is angry with Captain saab (Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh) can he hit him, if a BJP worker is angry with Modi ji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi), can he hit him?" Kejriwal had asked.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 18, 2019, 18:04 [IST]
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

Last phase of LS polls: 537 candidates are in age group of 25 to 50 years

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 18: There are around 909 candidates in the fray contesting in this final phase. The average asset per candidate contesting in the Lok Sabha Phase 7 election is Rs. 4.61 crores.

Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 45 INC candidates is Rs. 17.15 crores, 43 BJP candidates is Rs 9.82 crores, 39 BSP candidates have average assets of Rs 5.24 crores, and 14 AAP candidates have average assets of Rs 5.20 crore says a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms.

There are 278(31%) candidates who have assets worth Rs. 1 crore and more. Among the major parties 40(89%) out of 45 candidates from INC, 36(84%) out of 43 candidates from BJP, 11(28%) out of 39 candidates from BSP, 9(64%) out of 14 candidates from AAP and 59(19%) out of 313 independent candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore.

Average assets of women candidates in LS polls is Rs 5.63 crore

The average asset per candidate contesting in the Lok Sabha Phase 7 election is Rs. 4.61 crores.

537(59%) candidates have declared their age to be between 25 to 50 years while 366(40%) candidates have declared their age to be between 51 to 80 years. 3 candidates have not given their age. 3 candidates have declared their age to be above 80 years. 96(11%) female candidates are contesting in the Lok Sabha Phase 7 elections.

170 have declared pending criminal cases against themselves. 127 of the 909 candidates analysed have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

5 candidates have declared convicted cases against themselves. 12 candidates have declared cases related to murder (IPC Section -302) against themselves.

34 candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder (IPC Section 307) against themselves.

Average assets of re-contesting women candidates is Rs 29.38 crore

7 candidates have declared cases related to kidnapping (IPC Section-363), Kidnapping or abducting in order to murder (IPC Section-364) and Kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person (IPC Section-365) against themselves.

20 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), Dowery death (IPC Section-304B), 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 20 candidates, 2 have declared cases related to rape (IPC Section 376) against themselves.

10 candidates have declared cases related to hate speech against themselves.

Among the major parties, 18(42%) out of 43 candidates from BJP, 14 (31%) out of 45 candidates from INC, 6(15%) out of 39 candidates from BSP, 3(21%) out of 14 candidates analysed from AAP and 29(9%) out of 313 independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Among the major parties, 15(35%) out of 43 candidates from BJP, 10 (22%) out of 45 candidates from INC, 4(10%) out of 39 candidates from BSP, 1(7%) out of 14 candidates analysed from AAP and 24(8%) out of 313 independent candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

33 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.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 18, 2019, 14:48 [IST]
Will always be with you to fight injustice: Rahul Gandhi to media

Lok Sabha Elections 2019 updates: Anti-BJP front gains momentum, Naidu meets Sonia Gandhi

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 19: Andhra Pradesh Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday met BSP chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow, continuing his efforts to put together a coalition to form the next government at the Centre. He reached Lucknow after meetings in New Delhi with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, CPI leaders G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and LJD leader Sharad Yadav. The Telugu Desam Party chief has already held several rounds of discussions with various opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his two-day visit to Uttarakhand today with a visit to Kedarnath shrine. The prime minister is also expected to offer prayers at Badrinath tomorrow before returning to Delhi in the afternoon. The prime minister's visit to the holy shrine came a day before the last phase of the marathon Lok Sabha elections.

Fifty nine parliamentary constituencies, including Varanasi, will go to polls in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections and the results will be announced four days later, on May 23.

Stay tuned for the Lok Sabha elections 2019 UPDATES:
LS polls 7th phase: What happened in these 13 seats of UP in 2014, what may happen this time

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, May 18: As the judgement day May 23 draws near, the anxiety and impatience have gripped the nation, and almost everyone is asking just one question, "Who will win the elections?". The BJP stormed to power in 2014 riding on 'Modi wave' and ended a decade long rule of the Congress-led UPA government.

What contributed most towards BJP single handedly getting a full majority was an exceedingly good performance in the Hindi-belt, especially in the Uttar Pradesh.

The voting for the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha election 2019 will be held on on May 19. A total of 59 seats spread across seven states and one Union territory will vote on Sunday. The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies had managed to win 40 seats of these 59 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

All about the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections

Of the 59 seats which are going to polls on May 19, 13 are in Uttar Pradesh, one of the most important states politically. In 2014, the BJP had won 12 of these 13 seats and its ally Apna Dal had won one seat - Mirzapur. Uttar Pradesh is seen as the most important state politically because the state sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha. Winning 71 out of the 80 seats in 2014 was one of the important factors which propelled the BJP to power in 2014.

This time, the BJP is contesting in 11 of these 13 seats and its ally Anupriya Patel-led Apna Dal is contesting two seats - Mirzapur and Robertsganj. Anupriya Patel-led Apna Dal is contesting two seats - Mirzapur and Robertsganj.

High-profile seats of Varanasi and Gorakhpur are also all set to vote in the last phase. Varanasi is the home turf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi; while Gorakhpur is the citadel of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath which was wrested away from the BJP in 2018 when Yogi vacated the seat to become CM.

In the 2014 general elections, Narendra Modi had won Varanasi by a margin of 3.7 lakh votes, polling 58 percent votes from the seat. Not only that, he had trounced 41 candidates to win from the seat, of which 40 lost their deposits. This time to take on Modi, SP-BSP-RLD 'Mahagadbandhan' has fielded Shalini Yadav, daughter-in-law of Shyamlal Yadav, who was elected MP from Varanasi in 1984. The Congress, on the other hand, has fielded Ajay Rai from Varanasi. Rai belongs to the Bhumihar community and has a considerable following among Bhumihars and Brahmins.

Another high-profile seat is Gorakhpur from where Adityanath had won the seat five times in a row between 1998 and 2014. In 214, he had polled 54.6 percent votes and won the seat with a margin of over 3 lakh votes. However, Adityanath had to vacate the seat to become chief minister, and bypolls were held in the seat in 2018. This is when the BJP lost its citadel to SP-BSP combine. This is also when SP-BSP realized the power of their combined vote share. This time around, the BJP has fielded Brahmin Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan, who according to party leaders enjoys the support of Adityanath.

Will the MBCs back the BJP again in Purvanchal?

The Nishad Party, which has emerged as a force to reckon with in recent months, enjoys the support of the Nishad community in Gorakhpur and in districts along the Ganga river.

It was Nishad Party leader Praveen Nishad who had contested on a Samajwadi ticket and won the Gorakhpur seat in a by-election last year. He has now joined the BJP. Though the Nishad Party is supporting the BJP, the Nishad community, by and large, is upset with the BJP which has not fulfilled its promise of installing a statue of Nishad Raj in Gorakhpur.

In Uttar Pradesh, Gazipur and Kushi Nagar seats may hold a surprise. Here SP-BSP alliance may add to one lowest victory margin seats under heat. Union minister Manoj Sinha is facing a challenge from SP-BSP alliance along with small margin victory in 2014. Sinha will meet his rival Afzal Ansari from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) after 15 years. A similar challenge is emerging in Kushi Nagar seat where low victory margin and alliance has pushed BJP candidate in defensive mode. In 2014, BJP's Rajesh Pandey defeated senior Congress leader RPN Singh with less than 10 per cent vote margin.

How many will BJP win in Uttar Pradesh?

The opinion polls and surveys show that the BJP may not be able to win as many seats in Uttar Pradesh as it did last time. The shortfall could be as many as 20 seats. Almost all the major surveys that came out before the MCC came into effect predicted that the BJP may win anywhere between 45-55 seats out of the 80 seats in UP. This shortfall would hurt the saffron party.

We spoke to a veteran journalist who has been following the politics of Uttar Pradesh for over two decades, and he told OneIndia that things may not turnout to be that bad for the BJP as surveys have predicted. Significant changes have taken place in the political landscape of Uttar Pradesh in the last few weeks.

An alliance, in this case SP-BSP, would work well if there is effective vote transfer. This means that on seats where one ally is contesting, the other alliance partner must convey effectively to their voters that they are in alliance and they should vote for their ally. Will this actually happen on the ground? Will the BSP voters vote for SP where Mayawati has not fielded candidates?

'Prestige' seat Gorakhpur: Major hurdles for the BJP

"The BJP may win 60 seats in Uttar Pradesh. As per my sources, Mayawati is not willing to transfer votes to SP in seats where BSP is not contesting. Mayawati wants to emerge as a kingmaker and wants to play a major role in next government formation. She wants to have more say and wants to win more seats than SP at any cost," the veteran journalist told us.

Now, if the BSP voters refrain from voting for SP in some seats, then what options do they have? It largely has to be a choice between the BJP and the Congress. In 2014, the Dalits and OBC had voted for the BJP in good numbers which was an important reason for BJP's thumping performance, and it also explains why the BSP drew a blank. The veteran journalist said that the upper caste votes, and a combination of Dalit and OBC votes is likely to propel the BJP to 60 seats mark.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 18, 2019, 7:27 [IST]
'It's ok to be mediocre': This is what Copter crash lone survivor wrote to school

Lured by explicit chat, this Army clerk shared info with ISI for Rs 15,000

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 18: An Army clerk who was arrested on charges of spying for the ISI was honey-trapped by a well trained woman.

The police in Madhya Pradesh arrested the 26 year old clerk on the charge that he was leaking vital information relating to the Indian Army to the ISI.

The accused was on the radar of the security agencies for several months months. Both the Central and Military Intelligence had kept a watch on his activities for many months.

He is believed to have been contacted by an ISI agent on Facebook. The agencies suspect that he was honey-trapped following which he is alleged to have shared the information. The investigating agencies say that the accused person hails from Bihar and was posted at the Army unit in Mhow.

Army Jawan who was honey-trapped grilled by Intelligence Bureau

Investigations show that he was lured into explicit chats by the woman working for the ISI. He was in touch with her on Facebook as well as WhatsApp. After being trapped, he was asked to shell out information regarding location and movements relating to the Indian Army.

The police say that he was first lured on Facebook and once he bit the bait, the account was deactivated following which the conversation shifted to WhatsApp. He is alleged to have been paid Rs 15,000 for every information that he shared, the police also said.

After the suspicion grew, the Intelligence Bureau and the Military Intelligence kept a tab on him for nearly six months. They watched his activities closely, before finally arresting him.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 18, 2019, 13:17 [IST]
Cannot afford to take risk: Maha govt to HC over prohibiting unvaccinated from using public transport

Maharashtra: Naxals call for bandh in Gadchiroli tomorrow

India

oi-PTI

Mumbai, May 18: Naxals have called for a 'bandh' in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra on May 19 to protest the killings of two fellow women in an encounter last month, police said.

Naxals had put up banners in some villages in Etapalli tehsil of Gadchiroli on Wednesday night, in which they gave the 'bandh' call, an official from Gadchiroli superintendent of police (SP) office said on Thursday.

In the banners, the Naxals alleged that the killings of the women cadres- Ramco alias Kamla Narote and Shilpa Durva- by the securtiy forces on April 27 was an infringement of their constitutional rights.

"The ultras said in the banners that as a mark of protest against the encounter killings, a 'bandh' would be observed in Gadchiroli on May 19," the official said.

Lack of intel led to Gadchiroli naxal attack

The two women Naxals were killed in an encounter in Gunderwahi forest in Gadchiroli when commandos of C-60 squad, police's anti-Naxal unit, were combing the area.

Ramco and Durva were carrying rewards of Rs 16 lakh and Rs 4 lakh on their heads respectively, police said.

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, May 18, 2019, 10:56 [IST]
Who was Viplav Tripathi? The Colonel died in ambush by terrorists in Manipur

Manipur: NPF to withdraw support from BJP-led coalition

India

oi-Vikas SV

Imphal, May 18: In a setback to the saffron party in the North East, the Naga People's Front (NPF) on Saturday said that it would pull out of the BJP-led coalition government in Manipur. NPF has only four MLAs in the 60-member Maniur assembly and the withdrawal of the support from the N Biren Singh-led government won't impact the coalition.

The BJP has 29 legislators in the House. It also has the support of the 4 National People's Party legislators and one Lok Janshakti Party MLA.

A meeting of senior NPF leaders was held in Kohima on Saturday evening.

"We had a long meeting at NPF central office in Kohima and decided to withdraw support in principle from the BJP led Manipur government," news agency ANI quoted Naga People's Front (NPF) spokesperson, Achumbemo Kikon, as saying.

"This decision at this juncture is necessitated due to the indifferent attitude of the BJP towards us, its coalition partner in Manipur and also in the State of Nagaland. Further implementation of this decision will be finalised after the Election process," tweeted former Manipur CM TR Zeliang.

[Citizenship bill: Manipur CM calls meeting of all political parties on Jan 29]

BJP had emerged as the second largest party behind the Congress after assembly elections in Manipur in 2017. But, the BJP was quick to stitch aliiances and was able to form the government with the support of NPF, NPP and others. Eight of the 28 Congress MLAs, who had won the 2017 polls, defected to the BJP last year, taking its tally from 21 to 29 in the Assembly.

[BJP's 1st government in Manipur: Lotus continues to bloom in Northeast India]

In the 60-member Manipur Assembly, a party or coalition needs the support of 31 MLAs to stake its claim to form the government.
The City Council will look at parking again.

Pittsfield To Re-examine Downtown Parking Meters

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  A petition against putting parking meters in the new Columbus Avenue surface lot could trigger a full re-examination of the parking program.

Berkshire Nautilus owner Jim Ramondetta has submitted a petition to the City Council with some 800 signatures of people opposing putting parking meters in the new lot. Ramondetta claims the city had not kept him informed of the move and that meters would hinder his business. He's fighting for 90-minute parking, like he has now, instead.

Council Vice President John Krol filed a petition with the council to do just that in the new lot. The current Columbus Avenue garage is torn down and construction of a new surface lot is ongoing and when it is done, the administration expects to install meters.

"Part of it is a philosophical idea of what the parking meters are supposed to do anyway," Krol said at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Krol had been one of the votes for the installation of the meters but said a conversation should be had as to whether or not the plan as it is is doing that. The benefits of the meters were that it would push employees off from taking up all of the spots on North Street, allowed closer parking for customers, and created a revenue stream to pay for parking-related expenses such as maintenance and upkeep of the municipal lots and garages.

Councilor at Large Peter White believes the meters are working. He said he is downtown almost every day and the First Street lot is filled with people paying for the meters so it isn't deterring business. He praised the benefits of somebody being able to park in the same place all day instead of having to move the vehicle every so often.

He said in Ramondetta's circumstance, there are other options. Berkshire Bank, for example, purchases passes for their employees in the McKay Street garage and has dedicated parking spaces. He suggest Berkshire Nautilus consider something similar for its customers.

White not only doesn't see a problem with the meters now, he is fearful that expanding the conversation to being about downtown parking overall will ended up bogging everything down.

He is the chairman of the Ordinance and Rules Committee that will have to handle it  a committee that is fresh off of items like trash collection and a plastic bag ban  and can see a mess coming should the council take a petition focused on one lot and expand it to an overall look.

"I don't want to create more problems by having this go forward," White said. "This petition is for one lot. It is not for citywide parking. At O&R we will focus on the one area."

Councilor at Large Earl Persip said only focusing on one lot would likely cause trouble. He doesn't want to see a decision be made to accommodate one business owner and have that open the door to others expecting the same thing.

"I feel for the business owner that doesn't want to jeopardize business. But what happens next? The next time one of the other fitness places around want free parking near their building?" Persip said, also agreeing that there are other options for the business owner to accommodate the members.

"Just doing one lot, I think we open up a can of worms we don't want to get into."

Councilor Melissa Mazzeo, who sits on O&R, doesn't want to simply look at only that garage. She wants a look at all of it.

"I just think petition has come at a good time to have a conversation. By bringing this out, you will start to hear from other businesses," Mazzeo said.

Adding to that timing is the longstanding belief that installing the parking meters would position the city to get state funds to build a new Columbus Avenue garage. Yet, even with the meters, the state still refused to fund the rebuilding of a garage and instead the city is paying for a surface lot on its own.

The state granted money to the city to rebuild the McKay Street garage and included a provision that a parking plan be created to fund upkeep of the garage. In 2013, under Mayor Daniel Bianchi, consultants crafted the parking meter plan  which the city only partially implemented.

Mayor Linda Tyer implemented the plan starting in January 2017, just about one year into her term in office and picking up where it had left off. The meters have since created a revenue source with the income from them exceeding the cost of maintenance, management, and the bond to pay for them. But, that income is far less than officials had estimated early on.

While White boasted of the First Street lot, which was redone just a few years earlier and meters installed, Councilor Kevin Morandi sees the opposite in the McKay Street surface lot. That lot used to be a mix of permit parking and three-hour parking and is now all meters. It used to be full but has been mostly empty since becoming metered.

"If this isn't worth our while, then maybe we shouldn't be in the parking meter business," Morandi said.

Before the council got too into the weeds on the conversation, Councilor Anthony Simonelli moved the question, which ended the discussion and moved it to a vote. The vote passed to send the petition on the Columbus Avenue lot to Ordinance and Rules but the feeling of many councilors is this is a start of a bigger conversation. Persip and White were joined by Helen Moon and Peter Marchetti in opposing the petition, with some arguing for a new petition to be filed to look at all and not just one lot.

The council also debated for more than an hour over temporary easements for a new bridge on New Street. The state is heading the $2.7 million to replace what is now a temporary bridge there but Blythewood Realty on Keeler Street voiced concern about safety during and after construction.

After a lengthy discussion on the project, including questioning of Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials, the council approved the easements to allow the project to go forward by a 10-1 margin.

The council also sent the latest trash ordinance to the Resource Recovery Commission  essentially re-starting what has been a three-year process . The Resource Recovery Commission had been the one to consider numerous options of how to handle trash collection and then developed and recommend a toter plan to the mayor, which the council subsequently shot down.

Now the council is looking at new trash ordinances and is asking the Resource Recovery Commission to reconvene and tackle the issue.
Now Congress changes tone, says ready to lead coalition

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, May 18: The Congress Friday said it is committed to constituting a progressive and secular government and ready to lead a coalition, a day after its senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the party is not averse to supporting a regional leader for the Prime Minister's post even if it emerges as the single largest party.

As part of its efforts to bring together opposition parties, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has asked her trusted leaders to convene a meeting soon after the Lok Sabha election results are announced on May 23, sources said.

"My party high command has already made it clear that the Congress is not averse to making a prime minister from any regional party," Azad had told reporters in Shimla on Thursday.

However, in a change of tone on Friday, he said, "It is not true that the Congress will not claim the Prime Minister's post. The Congress is the biggest and oldest party and it should be given a chance if a government has to run for five years."

Asked about Azad's comments, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "Rahul Gandhi and Congress leadership believe that we will like to take people and political parties with different shades of opinion along with us. We will, if necessary, walk the extra mile to take them with us and what I think Ghulam Nabi ji was espousing is not different," he said.

Congress could not win Ponnani Lok Sabha seat since 1951 elections

"I assure you that the Indian National Congress is committed to constitute a progressive, a liberal, a democratic and a secular government in the country," he said.

Surjewala said the Congress believes that it will emerge as the single largest party.

"Naturally, if we have the numbers and emerge as the single largest party, we must lead the next government. However, we believe, let's wait for the results to come out, the results will be surprising," he said.

He asserted that the Congress and other political parties will no longer be in the opposition and Narendra Modi will be shown the door after the Lok Sabha elections.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 18, 2019, 6:40 [IST]
PM Modi's address to nation on last Mann Ki Baat of 2021: Full text here

Muzaffarpur boiler explosion: PM Modi announces ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for kin of deceased

PM Modi meditates inside holy cave in Kedarnath as mega polls near end

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delh, May 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday offered prayers at the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand, a day after campaigning for the general election came to a close. The Himalayan shrine, dedicated to Lord Shiva, has been visited multiple times by PM Modi during his ongoing term in the office.

Dressed in a traditional pahari outfit, Modi offered prayers at the temple for around half-an-hour and undertook circumambulation of the shrine. Modi meditated at the holy shrine and according to an official he will take stock of the ongoing development works in the temple town later in the day.

On his way to Kedarnath temple, PM Modi clicked a few pictures that he shared. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi wrote, "Majestic mountains! Clicked these pictures while on the way to Kedarnath."

Majestic mountains! Clicked these pictures while on the way to Kedarnath. pic.twitter.com/Jpcq6n52sr  Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 18, 2019

This is his fourth visit to Kedarnath since assuming charge as the prime minister following the BJP's massive win in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

On his fourth visit to Kedarnath, PM Modi offers prayers at temple shrine

He will also go to the Badrinath shrine on Sunday during his two-day visit of the state. In Badrinath, he is scheduled to review a beautification project for the shrine area.

Modi flew 1.5 lakh km and addressed 142 public rallies during the most extensive campaign for a Lok Sabha election.

On 28 March 2019, the campaign started from Meerut. PM Modi addressed 142 public rallies, held four roadshows and, according to conservative estimates, he directly addressed about 1.5 crore people in these rallies. PM Modi's campaign involved air travel of around 1.5 lakh km

Modi is seeking a second term from India's 900 million voters after leading his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power in 2014, with results due on May 23.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 18, 2019, 16:05 [IST]
Post-poll alliance buzz: Chandrababu Naidu meets Rahul; discusses firming up anti-BJP front

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delh, May 18: As the Lok Sabha election reaches its last leg, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, who is spearheading an effort to cobble up an anti-BJP front, met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and discussed firming up an anti-BJP front to keep the saffron party out of power after poll results are declared.

Naidu has stepped up efforts to bring together parties which are against the BJP ahead of a possible meeting of the grand alliance after the election results are declared on May 23.

The Andhra Pradesh chief minister met CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Aam Admi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday and discussed with them about the possible tie-up in the post-election scenario.

The TDP chief had met the Election Commission earlier in the day and told reporters any outfit that is against the saffron party was welcome to join a grand alliance after the election results are declared.

Chandrababu Naidu meets Kejriwal days ahead of poll results

Accusing the Election Commission of being a "biased body" that takes "pro-government decisions," Naidu, while speaking to reporters here, had said, "It is unfortunate that we are fighting against the EC. In Andhra Pradesh, they ordered re-polling in five polling stations."

"I do not want re-polling. I want the EC to be transparent. The way the EC is working, I am questioning that as a senior politician of the country. I have never seen such an attitude of the EC in the last 25 years of my political career," he said.

Results of the general elections will be declared on May 23.
Farooq Abdullah likely to fight J&K elections together with PAGD allies to defeat communal forces

Three terrorists killed in encounter in J&K's Pulwama

India

oi-Deepika S

Srinagar, May 18: Three terrorists have been killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Saturday. The area has been cordoned off after the exchange of fire took place.

The terrorists who have been neutralised are identified as Showkat Dar, Irfan War and Muzaffar Sheikh. They were affiliated to terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen (HM). Several terror crime cases were registered against them.

Heavy exchange of firing took place. The encounter broke out between terrorists and troops of 130 Battalion CRPF, 55 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and Special Operations Group (SOG) in Panzgam village of Awantipora, Pulwama.

Meanwhile, another encounter with terrorists and security forces is underway in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag.

Six militants gunned down during encounters in Shopian, Pulwama

Earlier on May 16, a top commander of Jaish-e-Mohammad was among six terrorists killed in three encounters between security forces and militants across the Kashmir valley.

A soldier had lost his life battling terrorists, while a civilian was also killed. Four others suffered injuries in the encounter.
Varanasi enthused about casting vote, want to have a say in country's future

India

pti-PTI

Varanasi, May 18: As the country prepares for the last leg of polling, the excitement among the electorate in the temple town of Varanasi, which gave the country a prime minister last time it voted in the Lok Sabha election, is palpable, with people counting myriad reasons to go out and vote.

"Feeling of being a responsible citizen who has a say in deciding the future of the country," is the reason why Rahul, a first year student and a first-time voter, is excited about participating in the electoral process.

The Sunday voting in this high-profile constituency will be keenly watched not only in the country but also across the globe as it will decide whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns as a parliamentarian in the lower house. The young and the first-time voters are the most excited lot in the constituency, which in 2014 voted for Modi with a staggering 56.37 per cent vote share -- a 25.85 percentage point swing in favour of the BJP as compared to 2009 when the saffron party's Murali Manohar Joshi won with a vote share of 30.5 per cent.

"We all will go together to cast our votes as being a responsible citizen it is out duty," says 25-year-old Seema, sitting with her friends at the Assi ghat here.

[LS polls 7th phase: What happened in these 13 seats of UP in 2014, what may happen this time]

Seema, who is pursuing doctorate from the Banaras Hindu University, said she will cast her first vote in 2014 and has participated in all the elections since then, as has her friends sitting there. The elections were announced on March 10 and the country has voted in six phases already with social media flooded with people posting selfies flaunting their fingers with indelible ink. This has inspired a first-time voter Sourav to go out and vote.

"For more than a month or so I am watching my friends from other states post their selfies with ink on their figure. Now it is my turn, I don't want to miss this opportunity," he says. The constituency has witnessed an extravagant campaigning in the last month or so, with celebrities and high-profile leaders participating in it, which included roadshows by Modi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Besides Modi, there are 25 other candidates who are in fray, but his main challengers are Congress' Ajay Rai and SP-BSP grand alliance's nominee Shalini Yadav. There was a speculation of Priyanka Gandhi also contesting from this high-profile seat which had raised the stakes of political parties in this constituency. But the Congress again reposed faith in Rai, who lost his deposit in the 2014 general election.

[Seeking re-election in temple town, PM Modi files nomination from Varanasi]

Rai, who hails from the Bhumihar community, also has a considerable following among Brahmins. He began his political career as a member of the ABVP, the RSS' student wing, and was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly as a BJP candidate from Kolasala thrice in a row between 1996 and 2007. After being denied a Lok Sabha ticket by the BJP in 2009, he switched to the Samajwadi Party and lost election to Murali Manohar Joshi, who was a BJP nominee, by a margin of 17,000 votes.

Shalini Yadav is the daughter-in-law of Shyamlal Yadav, who was elected as an MP from Varanasi in 1984. In 2014 Lok Sabha election, Modi had defeated Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal by a margin of 3.37 lakh votes in Varanasi. Kejriwal, who had contested as AAP nominee in 2014, managed to get 2 lakh votes. Whereas, the Congress could manage only 7.3 per cent votes and the combined vote share of the SP-BSP was only 10.7 per cent in 2014.

In Varanasi, there are 18.54 lakh electorates in the constituency who will cast their votes on Sunday in 1,819 polling booths, out of which 273 are categorised as critical. Sharing the details about the polling process, local District Magistrate Surendra Singh, who is also the returning officer, said, "The administration has set up 145 model booths and one pink booth which will be operated only by women."

Singh also appealed to voters to come out in large numbers to cast vote in Varanasi, which had reported 58.35 per cent polling in 2014. There are five assembly segments in Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency -- Rohaniya, Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantonment and Sevapuri.

Last time, Modi had got 56.37 per cent votes out of the total polled and there was a swing of 25.85 votes in his favour from 2009 when Joshi had got 30.5 per cent votes for the BJP, whereas the combined vote share of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party was 46.6 per cent. In 2009, the SP and the BSP contested separately, their combined vote share was 46.6 per cent which was more that of BJP's 30.5 which had nominated Joshi as its candidate.

PTI
Hooch liquor tragedy: death toll reaches 33 in Bihar; Nitish calls for fresh campaign against liquor

At least 6 members of Sushant Singh Rajputs family killed in road accident in Bihar

Bihar panchayat election result: A man contests and wins the poll after death, result to be nullified

Tejashwi Yadav to get married, engagement in Delhi tomorrow

BJP suspends Gajendra Jha for announcing Rs 11 lakh reward for cutting off Jitan Manjhi's tongue

Muzaffarpur boiler explosion: PM Modi announces ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for kin of deceased

Will Ara repeat saffron or Red?

India

oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi

New Delhi, May 18: Ara Parliamentary constituency is one of the eight seats in Bihar that will vote in the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 19.

The other seats are: Nalanda, Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Buxar, Sasaram, Karakat, and Jehanabad.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has repeated its sitting Ara MP and Union Minister R.K. Singh and he is pitted against the Communist Party of India, Marxist-Leninist [CPI-ML] (Liberation) candidate Raju Yadav.

The politics in Ara Lok Sabha has revolved around the age-old fight between forward and backward castes.

Singh is representing forward castes and Yadav the backwards. It's notable that the BJP managed to win the Lok Sabha seat for the first time in 2014 since 1952.

Now Congress changes tone, says ready to lead coalition

To better understand the politics of Ara, one needs to open the pages of history.

The flames of Naxalism reached Ekwari village of Ara from West Bengal's Naxalbari in the early Seventies when Maoists, mostly drawn from the Dalit community, killed Bhumihar landlord Shankh Singh.

The CPI-ML (Liberation), then an underground Maoist group, waged armed struggle against landlords. The group was involved in massacres of upper caste landlords.

In reply, upper-caste Bhumihar and Rajput landlords formed a private army called Ranvir Sena in 1994 in Ara, with the aim to counter the influence of various left-wing militants, Naxalite groups and CPI-ML (Liberation).

Ranvir Sena was involved in the infamous massacres like Lakshmanpur-Bathe in Jehahanabad in which 61 Dalits were killed.

Brahmeshwar Singh 'Mukhiya', the founder chief of the Ranvir Sena, was the Supreme Commander of the oufit until he was arrested in Patna on August 29, 2002.

On 8 July 2011, Brahmeshwar Singh was released on bail after serving 9 years in jail. However, he was killed by unidentified gunmen in Ara town on June 1, 2012 when he was on a morning walk.

Before being killed, Brahmeshwar Singh floated a non-political outfit called Akhil Bharatiya Rashtravadi Kisan Sangathan on May 05, 2012.

However, the CPI-ML (Liberation) had launched its political face called Indian People's Front (IPF) way back in 1982 and won the Ara Lok Sabha seat in 1989.

Eventually, the CPI-ML itself became overground and turned into a full-fledged political party fighting Assembly and parliamentary elections.

However, the bloody violence between forwards and backwards has stopped. Now, both sections of the society express themselves through ballot instead of bullet.

The CPI-ML (Liberation) candidate Raju Yadav is backed by Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and other allies of the Grand Alliance to check the division of anti-BJP votes.

Ara is the only constituency that has been spared for the CPI-ML (Liberation) by the RJD from its quota of 20 seats in the Grand Alliance (GA) considering both the caste and class equations.

BJP candidate RK Singh is fighting the election on the face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as his clean image.

Modi ducks questions at first presser, draws flak

He has got the support of upper caste Rajputs, Bhumihars, Brahmins and other non-Dalit classes.

Indu Bhusan, the son of Ranvir Sena founder Brahmeshwar Singh, didn't contest Lok Sabha election from Ara and extended support to RK Singh. That support is still there.

The other factor that may help RK Singh is that there are fissures in the Grand Alliance over the candidature of Raju Yadav.

The Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), one of the GA members, has not liked RJD extending support to the CPI-ML (Liberation) as it has fielded a candidate against RSLP Chief Upendra Kushwaha in Karakat.

Ara Parliamentary constituency has seven Assembly segments and not a single seat is with the BJP. While the RJD has five MLAs, CPI- ML (liberation) and Janata Dal (United) have 01 MLA each.

The big question is: will Ara repeat Saffron or not.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 18, 2019, 7:12 [IST]
Community Development Director Michael Nuvallie, standing, explains why the city has embarked on cleaning up its outdated zoning ordinances. Far left, the old zoning, center new map and right the properties that are split or changed. PreviousNext

North Adams Takes Next Step in Modernizing Zoning



There was a good crowd at Wednesday hearing seeking clarification or changes to how their property was being zoned under the new designations. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  The effort to bring the city's zoning up to date has been "very slow and very tedious," beginning several years ago with cleaning up language and sections in the ordinances and moving on to the latest update of aligning zones with property boundaries.

"This is a work in progress, very slow, very methodical, very tedious," said Director of Community Development Michael Nuvallie. "We want to do it well, we want to make sure we cross all the t's and dot the i's."

More than 300 letters were sent to property owners affected by the alignment and change in zoning designations. That caused some consternation as landowners tried to figure out what the changes would mean and prompted strong attendance at Wednesday's public hearing in City Council Chambers.

A team including the Community Development and Assessor's offices, inspection services and the mayor's office and facilitated by Nathaniel Karns, the retired director of Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, who stepped in because of BRPC staffing changes, have worked on the maps streamline the city's zones and color code them. The goal is to modernize the zones and usage tables and be able to put them into a Geographic Information Systems format.

"We wanted to make sure we heard from everyone," said Mayor Thomas Bernard. "I just really appreciate everybody who's coming out to ask questions to see the work that's been done so far, to push back on it.

"This isn't the end of the process. This is kind of the middle of the middle of the beginning of the process."

Nuvallie said the work in part flows from the city's comprehensive master plan, Vision 2030, that was created through a community participation process and that has aided the city in realizing grants and funding for projects.

"But the issue was when this was adopted in May of 2014, we suddenly realized that it laid on top of old antiquated zoning," he said, holding up the thick book. "So we've got a brand-new document on one hand, and we've got  if you open up the first part of the book  zoning adopted in 1965."

Planners have had to categorize new uses that would never have come up 50 years  solar arrays and wind turbines, personal storage structures, microbreweries and marijuana production. The first pass-through reduced 16 sections to 13 and got rid of antiquated terms like sanitarium.

The city is continuing to tweak the old zoning ordinances. "That's what we're trying to do tonight, nothing more nothing less," Nuvallie said.

The major issue the working group found in going over the old zoning maps was a proliferation of zones and parcels split by zones. The current zones will be reduced to more straightforward designations with the nearly 20 zones reduced to five Residential zones ranging from R-1 (the least density) to R-5 (highest density); three business zones; and one designation each for service, industrial, airport, and urban renewal.

"So we want to create boundary lines for new zone maps that take advantage of actual boundaries, and not run a line through the middle of someone's house," Nuvallie said.

Building Inspector William Meranti said the old zoning might state that the industrial or residential zone included property 200 feet from the road  but what if the parcel was 240 feet deep? What zone was that in?

Now the zones will be surveyable because they will align with property boundaries rather than arbitrary distances.

The uses inside these zones will not be significantly altered, if at all, a concept that a few at the meeting were having trouble accepting.

"Don't get hung up on the title," Karns said. "Basically, it's a name change, that's the only thing that these changes."

Those landowners have been affected by the changes were later able to get answers on their specific properties and provide feedback on any issues; anyone not at the meeting can contact the Community Development Office with questions. The proposed changes will be reviewed again before being presented to the Planning Board and City Council for another public hearing.

The working group will also be looking at the use tables in more depth in the coming months.

Developer and artist Eric Rudd encouraged the working group to consider current and future uses that will help facilitate the city's growth, recalling his own efforts in changing minds when he developed the Beaver Mill and Eclipse Mill into work/live spaces.

At the time, he was limited to arts and creative studios but the city should be thinking of the future  or to the past, when live/work spaces were the norm in every neighborhood.

"I've always found it instructive to kind of take a macro view of things before you get so buried into all the details," Rudd said. "And the macro view is that 150 years ago, 125 years ago, people came to North Adams and built a house, built a carriage house or a barn, and they opened up a carpentry shop or a blacksmith shop, whatever they wanted to do."

Rudd says he gets calls regularly from people inquiring about live/work space and he doesn't feel the city's zoning is being responsive to those needs. A home business or art gallery probably would have the same number of deliveries as the average homeowner gets from Amazon nowadays.

"We should advertise to the world, come to North Adams to have live/work," he said. "Come to our residential areas, take these old houses and have a studio, have a little gallery, have a computer business, and work that way, because that's the way society is changing."

Karns said the uses for mills have been dramatically expanded by right or by special permit to redevelop into hotels, restaurants, microbreweries and living spaces, among other uses.

"They're not going back to the bench manufacturing and what they were built for," he said. "When we look at what the different owners are doing for the different mills ... I think we've tried to accommodate that very well."

Meranti said home businesses are also allowed by special permit to operate if they have no or minimal traffic but that a gallery  a studio with a sign and open to customers  he agreed would not be allowed under current residential zoning.

"I think that what we're doing is we're picking the low-hanging fruit at the moment," he said, like cleaning up designations, lot lines and archaic language. "We aren't making wholesale zoning changes in this round."

Rudd said he would be willing to participate in discussions on how the city could open up zoning to more creative uses.

"This should be the time we use as an opportunity to try to look into the future," he said. "Try to open up our arms wider and invite a lot more people here who will do much more interesting stuff and make North Adams much more interesting."
The Oregon Indigent Burial Fund pays for disposition those who have died indigent or unclaimed. Oregon, alone among the states, created the fund in 1993, financed by a death-certificate filing fee. Since 2000, the fund has paid for thousands of cremations of unclaimed bodies.

This searchable database, going back to January 2000, lists the names of those whose final arrangements were covered by the fund. Most of the unclaimed were cremated immediately after the required 10-day wait to look for next of kin. The database has allowed family members to find out what happened to missing relatives. The database has been updated for 2017-18 names.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive
A Beaverton man who threatened to harm Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden on a voicemail message left at a state agency in early March was sentenced Friday to two years of federal supervision after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge.

At 8:34 a.m. on March 3, James Arthur Sickler, 53, had left a two-minute message on the phone line of Oregon Health Authoritys state registrar, threatening to chop off the Democratic senators tongue, fingers and wedding ring finger, claiming Wyden was a mass murderer, according to court records.

The FBI, Oregon State Police and the U.S. Capitol Police were notified.

Investigators traced the callers voicemail to Sickler, who had a history of leaving threatening messages for Wyden and other federal officials dating back to 2004, according to a court affidavit.

In November 2018, Sickler had called the Secret Service and asked if their officers protected Wyden, saying hes a dead..., before hanging up, according to the affidavit. Its unclear why Sickler made the threats to Wyden.

Henry Stern, Wydens spokesman, said his office doesnt comment on security matters.

Beaverton police arrested Sickler on March 9 on a probation violation.

On Friday, Sickler pleaded guilty to threatening to assault Wyden, a federal official, with the intent to impede, intimidate and interfere with him in the course of his official duties.

I just want to apologize for the phone call that I made, Sickler told the court.

Sickler said he was off his medication and having an off day.

James A. Sickler was sentenced Friday to two years of federal supervision for threatening to assault Oregon Senator Ron Wyden via a voicemail message.MCSO

Through a plea agreement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Kerin and Sicklers defense lawyer Robert Hamilton jointly recommended a sentence of time served.

But U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez said that wasnt sufficient.

The judge added two years of federal post-prison supervision for Sickler.

I want you on supervision to me, so I can watch whats happening, the judge said.

Sickler was ordered to have no direct or indirect contact with any member of the Oregon congressional delegation or their staff, not possess or use any alcohol and to complete a mental health treatment program.

When youre drinking, youre a menace, Hernandez told him.

Sickler has prior convictions for attempted arson, drinking in public, disorderly conduct, possession of controlled substances, harassment, reckless driving, improper use of 911 and fourth-degree assault.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.
The generous severance deal Portland State University granted its former president could come back to bite the college.

Ben Cannon, executive director of the influential Higher Education Coordinating Commission, on Friday expressed his unhappiness with the universitys Board of Trustees for agreeing to grant Rahmat Shoureshi a golden parachute worth more than $855,000.

We are deeply troubled by the PSU Boards expensive settlement this week with its former president, Cannon said. We will be working closely with the Legislature over the next weeks to ensure students are not negatively impacted by this decision.

At virtually the same time Shoureshi got his severance deal, the board also voted to raise tuition by more than 11 percent.

PSU cant unilaterally raise tuition by that much. It needs approval from Cannons Higher Education Coordinating Commission for any tuition hike of more than 5 percent.

The settlement will weigh heavily on the (HECC) commissioners if Portland State sticks with its proposal, Cannon said, referring to the tuition increase.

Most of the Portland State trustees wanted Shoureshi gone after repeated complaints about his management practices, his treatment of employees and his waning credibility. Shoureshi agreed to resign after the board provided him with another year of his base salary, two years of health insurance and $35,000 to cover his legal fees.

The timing of the tuition increase and the lavish award to a failed executive has drawn loud criticism from students and the general public.

Portland State is not the only public college in Oregon seeking to jack up tuition by more than 5 percent. So is the University of Oregon (11 percent), Southern Oregon University (13 percent), and the Oregon Institute of Technology (9 percent). The Higher Education Coordinating Commission will consider whether to grant those increases on June 13.

Recent favorable revenue forecasts in Salem has both Portland State and HECC officials hoping that the Legislature will direct additional money to the public colleges, allowing them to back off their tuition increases.

The PSU board members made clear on Monday when they approved the proposed 11 percent increase for resident undergraduates that it will be reduced if the Legislature and the governor allocate more money for higher ed, said PSU spokesman Chris Broderick.

Cannon said its time for a reappraisal of the states higher education policies.

The HECC is calling for a broad, inclusive process in 2019-20 to consider the policies, budgets and other strategies necessary to rebuild a public agenda for postsecondary education, he said. Executive contracts should be among those considerations.
This August, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland gets its sixth artistic director in 84 years as Nataki Garrett takes over the role that Bill Rauch has had for 12 years.

Audiences wont have to wait long for a sense of Garretts style: Shes directing Christina Andersons How to Catch Creation, which opens July 23. Shell also direct next seasons world premiere of Dominique Morrisseaus Confederates, the latest installment in the festivals American Revolutions series about key shifts in U.S. history. And she helped refine the festivals 2020 season, for which planning got underway last year, according to Rauch.

For Garrett, 47, the job in Ashland represents a homecoming of sorts to the West Coast: She was born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Shes also a graduate and former associate dean of the California Institute of the Arts School of Theater.

For now, shes commuting between Ashland and Denver, where she was associate artistic director and then acting artistic director of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Theatre Company until a year ago. During a recent trip to Ashland, she sat down for an interview; here are five takeaways from the conversation.

1. Shes been around the arts her whole life.

Her mother took her to see Swan Lake when she was 4. The next day I begged to go to ballet class, Garrett said. She ended up taking dance classes until she went to college.

In high school, she accepted an invitation to join a producers club. From that point forward, I was bit by the bug. At Virginia Union University  she was Class of 1995  she joined a newly relaunched drama program and got to do every part of theater possible.

Professionally, shes directed nationally and internationally and has worked with high-profile playwrights such as Lauren Gunderson, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Lauren Yee.

2. Shes excited about a new era for U.S. theater.

Theres what theyre calling a sea change in the American theater, Garrett said, referring to a March New York Times article that featured her. A number of artistic leaders left jobs, a number of artistic directors have been placed in jobs, so theres a new group of people and that means theres going to be a new conversation about where the American theater is going.

I get to be part of that conversation at one of the flagship theaters.

3. She sees theater as about stories and empathy.

When you visit a Shakespeare theater, what you usually find is a kind of attachment to perhaps how people believe things were done  when Shakespeare was writing, Garrett said. When you visit OSF, what you know youre going to get is deeper and new and interesting and exciting and evolutionary explorations into Shakespeare, into the dramatic canon.

She said of Shakespeare, What he was very good at doing was reenergizing our connection to story and language. That same connection is at the core of all OSF productions, she said.

The function of theater is to tell stories that ignite empathy and understanding and part of my goal here is to figure out what that means, whats the next chapter of that for OSF, Garrett said.

4. She sees social justice as part of theater.

Garrett, the festivals first black director, expressed admiration for OSFs statement a few years ago that it will provide a safe and welcoming environment and will neither tolerate racism on its campus nor remain silent about racism off-campus. She said that she has friends in theater whove been targets of racist threats in Ashland and that shes had a similar experience, which she declined to disclose.

Based on my conversations with my friends, the difference between where this company was five years ago and now is completely different, she said.

Garrett said her goals as a theater maker include helping people understand why it is so important for everybody to live their most dynamic life, adding, Social justice is when I use my empathy and understanding to change the way the world works, (when) I provide justice for ways in which things have been socially unequal.

The festivals current long-range plan, which sets goals through 2025, makes inclusivity a top priority. Garrett noted that Henry Woronicz, the festivals artistic director from 1991 to 1995, was the first to program a season that didnt consist solely of works by white male playwrights. Where we are now is just an evolution of an idea that was started four artistic directors ago.

5. She wants to hear from the community.

Ive gotten a lot of emails and letters and people have been very generous with their feelings about OSF, Garrett said. But I havent heard very much about Ashland.

I would really love to hear from people about Medford and Ashland and Talent and Phoenix and Grants Pass and all of these communities in the Rogue River Valley.  I want to know from them the spirit of the place and what I have to look forward to.
Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson has taken a disapproving look at Portland before, and the Rose City was seen in a less-than-flattering light again on the Thursday edition of Tucker Carlson Tonight. As part of a series called Homeless in America, one of the shows producers traveled to cities on the West Coast, including San Francisco and Seattle to, as the shows website puts it, investigate the nations homeless crisis and the decay of American cities.

In the episode that aired Thursday, Portland and Eugene were the featured cities. Carlson introduced the segment first by saying that some homeless people in the Bay Area, in California, were living on makeshift boats. The host then turned to Oregon, with a segment that began in Portland.

The first Portland stop, as viewers heard, was intended to be breakfast at an upscale bakery near the citys fashionable Pearl District. But when the film crew arrived, they found what is said to be a homeless man rifling through a trash can, and a dirty syringe in a parking lot.

Homelessness in Portland, were told, looked a lot like what Tucker Carlson Tonight had found in other cities -- lots of tents, lots of drugs.

The citys permissive culture, its temperate climate and generous social services attract vagrants and addicts from around the country, we hear. Next is an interview with a woman who says shes from Montana, but came to the West Coast to get treatment for her leukemia, and moved to Portland after police in Washington State towed her motor home.

Images of tents, trash and encampments in Portland are shown, and were told that virtually every open space in the city seems packed with people living outside and using drugs.

The segment then travels to Eugene, a college town, with the politics to match. An effort by the St. Vincent de Paul charitable organization is highlighted as providing a simple and cheap option, with a group of tents which offer beds to homeless people. The shelter also offers addiction treatment services, according to the segment.

Like his fellow conservative commentator hosts, such as Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, Carlsons show airs in primetime on the Fox News Channel. Carlson is known to routinely criticize Democrats, along with other news outlets, notably CNN, for having a liberal bias. He has been the subject of controversy himself, as in December 2018, when Carlsons comments regarding immigrants prompted several advertisers to withdraw their commercials from his show.

The subject of homelessness on the West Coast has also been in the TV spotlight following the March airing of Seattle Is Dying, on Seattles KOMO-TV. The documentary, reported by Eric Johnson (a onetime journalist at Portlands KGW-TV), discussed the frustration felt by citizens and businesses in the city, and said that homelessness is less about a lack of affordable housing than it is about addiction and mental illness.

-- Kristi Turnquist

kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.
Oregons far-reaching carbon cap and trade bill took a significant step toward passage Friday as lawmakers moved it out of committee on a party-line, 8-to-5 vote.

Lawmakers, staffers, employees of state agencies and other organizations have spent thousands of hours over more than a decade working on various versions of the climate policy. It now looks to be on the path to a floor vote, which previous versions have fallen short of.

Legislative backers and advocates were ebullient, and said the state was on the cusp of a historic moment.

This is clearly a very special moment, a special day, Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland and co-chair of the Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction, said before the final vote. I firmly believe that this bill is ready to go, that it balances a variety of interests and is an investment in our future. Its a way of recognizing and reacting to the very, very serious challenges we face with climate change. Im filled with a combination of pride and exhaustion.

As Dembrow thanked a long list of contributors, he said he felt like he was giving a speech at the Academy Awards.

Rep. Karin Power. D- Milwaukie, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction.

His co-chair, Rep. Karin Power. D-Milwaukie, called her work on the committee the honor of my professional career.

Weve hit some bumps along the way, but I hope you feel that the level of engagement weve provided on this has been personally rewarding, as it has been for me,  she told committee members.

Republican members, meanwhile, expressed deep reservations.

Theres no dispute if this will raise the cost of living in Oregon; there is a question -- Im questioning it -- whether this is going to reduce greenhouse gases, said Rep. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles. Its my great hope Im wrong and it doesnt have a terrible impact on the economy, and that it will reduce greenhouse gases.

House Bill 2020 is a sprawling and controversial piece of legislation that has been keenly debated in the legislature and at meetings that the joint committee held around the state. If passed, Oregon would become the second state with an economy-wide emissions cap and pricing mechanism.

At the core of its myriad provisions and the sizable bureaucratic apparatus it would spawn, the policy would establish statewide limits on greenhouse gas emissions that decline over time. It would require large emitters in the industrial, utility and transportation fuels sectors to purchase emissions allowances in a state auction or on a secondary market to cover the carbon dioxide equivalents they emit. As the supply of those allowances tightens over time, they will theoretically become more expensive, incentivizing emissions reductions.

Republican legislators made a goal-line stand Friday, offering a series of final amendments to blunt the bills impact on rural communities, ease the transition to electric cars and ensure the bill didnt diminish the timber harvest off state forests.

Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario

Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, made an impassioned plea to exempt part of his district altogether from the legislation, which he maintains will have a disparate impact on low- and moderate-income rural residents by jacking up fuel prices and pushing companies to move to nearby Idaho.

To turn a blind eye to the damage this bill will do, what is that about? he asked. Why would you do that? To what end?...Theres no justification for imposing this kind of damage on 33,000 people who live seven hours from where we sit.

Democrats listened. They empathized. Then they voted down his amendments, along with several proposed by Rep. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford.

The bill will now head to the Legislatures Joint Ways and Means Committee.
After taking office in 2015, Gov. Kate Brown struggled to outline a clear vision of her priorities for the state.

That problem was apparent by the second half of 2018 when, with the race for governor heating up, voters told opinion researchers they were unsure what the governor stood for. Even with the advantage of running in a blue state, it was clear the Democratic governor would have to work hard to make her mark against her Republican opponent, then-Rep. Knute Buehler.

Publicly, the governors office said there was a bright line drawn between the work of Browns campaign, which was explicitly political and focused on her re-election, and the state-paid employees in the governors office, who are to administer state business.

But newly released records show Browns state staff in fact shifted into overdrive during that period to lay out her policy positions  and accomplishments  on education and other central campaign issues. Her most influential aides orchestrated a series of white papers and minutely planned public events designed to show her as a heavy hitter whod gotten things done and had strong policy views, according to nearly 4,000 pages of public records released to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Graduation rate disparities between student groups have narrowed, Browns staff proclaimed in the recent accomplishments section of her education policy document. While more is needed, investment in Oregons public schools increased 22 percent since the governor took office in 2015.

Since entering office in 2015, Gov. Brown has significantly accelerated state leadership in housing, her state advisers wrote in the housing policy paper. There has been a doubling of affordable homes in development since Gov. Brown has been in office.

The public records, consisting primarily of emails and attachments, cover a 10-day period in August 2018 and give an eye-opening snapshot of how the governors high-level staffers operated heading into the height of her re-election campaign.

They provide an unprecedented look behind the curtain, the likes of which has not been examined for other recent Oregon governors. As a result, its unclear whether the campaign-like actions of Browns staff, including her chief and deputy chief of staff and communications officers, were out-of-step with those of her predecessors.

Oregon law prohibits public employees from promoting the election of a candidate during work hours.

When asked this spring about the purpose of the white papers, the governor and her chief of staff Nik Blosser both pointed out they were part of an internal plan developed in March 2018 to build the governors 2019-2021 budget proposal, which would be unveiled soon after the election.

It kind of ran into this campaign timing, but that was not at all how it was initially envisioned or how it was used, Blosser said.

The budget timeline created in March 2018, however, did not call for public release of the policies, let alone the minutely planned publicity events connected to some of the white paper releases that Browns state spokespeople ultimately carried out.

Brown acknowledged the policy plans produced by her state employees were important to her re-election bid.

Its not too surprising that that information would be either useful in supporting my re-election efforts or opposing my re-election efforts, Brown said earlier this month. I thought it was really important for me to lay out a very clear vision for Oregon and my white papers did that, frankly in great detail.

Giving voters a more definitive grasp of her agenda was critical to her campaign. As Willamette Week reported, by 2018 even Democratic voters had a hard time pinning down what shed done or stood for.

"In focus groups, we ask, 'What comes to mind when you think of Kate Brown?'" pollster John Horvick of Portland firm DHM Research told the Portland newsweekly in early fall 2018. "They really struggle to come up with anything. What is the policy she's pushed through or an argument she's taken to the voters? They can't say. She's just nondescript to them."

By late August 2018, Brown and Buehlers campaigns were scheduling a series of gubernatorial debates and reporters were asking about the candidates positions on key policy issues. The Oregonian/OregonLive launched a series of weekly stories comparing the Democrat and Republicans policy positions on Aug. 20 and other news organizations published similar articles. The governors office had a longstanding Aug. 24 deadline for her top aides to finish all the white papers. The first, on education, was released Aug. 27 in conjunction with a heavily promoted visit to Portlands Madison High described by The Oregonian/OregonLive at the time as clearly a campaign appearance.

Kate Brown brought a large entourage, including spokeswoman Kate Kondayen, at left, with her for a short campaign visit to Madison High in Northeast Portland in August 2018.

Some people who read the policy papers and attended the events scheduled to promote them came away with questions about their intended use.

What does the release of this education policy agenda mean? wrote Paris Achen, a state politics reporter for the Oregon Capital Bureau, in an Aug. 27 email to spokespeople for the governors office and campaign. How will this policy agenda be used in others (sic) way? For instance, will it be included her platform for re-election?

Kate Kondayen, Browns deputy communications director, wrote back that the education policy paper would drive the governors budget proposal. She did not address whether it was part of Browns campaign platform.

Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish also wondered about the purpose of the housing policy paper on which Blosser sought input.

Big question: what is the intended use of this document? Audience? Fish wrote on Aug. 21.

Blosser replied, It will be posted on her official web site and the audience for the detailed document is stakeholders and Oregonians more broadly.

Fish wrote back with detailed suggestions more helpful to campaigning than building a budget proposal, including that the governors office should tie achievements more clearly to Brown. You say that Oregon has 7,800 new affordable homes (under development)  This should be about Kate, not the state, Fish wrote.

Portland real estate developer Robert Ball didnt have any questions about the purpose of the housing policy paper, which he reviewed at Blossers request. To Ball, it was an opportunity to better position Brown to compete with Buehler for votes.

Ball wrote more than a page of notes, urging the governor to show strong leadership, do more to address housing needs in the Portland area and support new home construction.

Lastly, I see that the Governors competition is now an environmentalist, has come out with a

solution to the housing crisis, etc  if you are to believe the ads, Ball wrote. Im concerned because my hunch is that Oregonians want strong leadership that can articulate both sides of any argument and provides balanced solutions  That is out of my pay grade and (campaign consultants Kevin Looper and Angela Martin) and the strategists hopefully know who is voting and in what blocks of demographics, but I still wanted to at least voice my sense.

Ball also offered to prep the governor for questions. Blosser forwarded Balls comments on the paper to the governor, describing them as insightful.

Earlier this month, Blosser said Ball misunderstood the purpose of the document. People cant help mixing things up  They dont understand the bright line youre trying to draw.

Kondayen wrote in an email that the inclusion of the governors accomplishments (in policy papers) was not made specifically for the benefit of the governors campaign.

The mostly heavily promoted policy paper was the one covering Browns accomplishments and vision for education. The public records reviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive show the governors state staff working feverishly to fine-tune both the white paper and the messaging around an event to release it. Oregon Department of Education officials combed graduation statistics to help choose Madison High, where rates had climbed, as the location.

With the event just days away, Blosser suggested in a late night Aug. 22 email that key staffers cancel plans to attend an annual gathering of coastal lawmakers.

Its going to take all of us working very hard tomorrow and talking with a lot of stakeholders to get this done, Blosser wrote to staffers including Deputy Chief of Staff Gina Zejdlik, Chief Education Officer Lindsey Capps, education policy adviser Pooja Bhatt and Senior Director for Budget Debbie Koreski.

Indeed, at least six top staffers in the governors office ended up working long hours through the weekend to finish the policy paper and its publicity plan.

Blosser sought input from Browns communications director, Chris Pair, regarding whether the governor should acknowledge that improving the states schools would require a significant investment from Oregonians.

That statement did not make it into the final policy paper and Brown would not say in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive three days after the Madison event how much her education policies would cost, how she would pay for them or if the state would need to raise taxes. Weeks after she won election, Brown called for at least $2 billion to help schools in her budget proposal.

As Browns staff cycled through revision after revision to the policy paper, there was almost no evidence that Brown was shaping its direction. One exception was the governors insistence that they re-insert a sentence downplaying the significance of Oregons low high school graduation rate, which her education advisers had decided to remove due to unspecified concerns.

While states have different graduation requirements and Oregon has among the most stringent, the current graduation rate still leaves too many kids behind, the line reads. (No credible study has shown that Oregons graduation requirements are notably high.)

Brown did have two telephone meetings with her spokespeople, Pair and Kondayen, during the weekend before the high school event to go over her informal speech and talking points for a press conference.

Kondayen wrote in an email that a two week snapshot of emails in the Governors Office does not capture the breadth of the governors direction and engagement on the development of the policies in the education or other papers. Plus, Kondayen said, Brown gave input on paper in written edits or verbally that was not captured in the public records released.

Kondayen worked into the night Thursday and Friday and much of Sunday to write the speech, talking points and drafts of blurbs she would post on the governors Twitter account that Monday to promote her education policies.

In anticipation that reporters might point out the governors plans would cost money and ask where will it all come from, Kondayen suggested Brown avoid a direct answer and instead refer the question to a group of lawmakers tasked with identifying ways to improve Oregon schools.

In the speech Kondayen wrote for her boss, Brown for the first time called for Oregon to extend its school year to the national standard of 180 days  a policy Buehler had already been promoting for months. If reporters were to ask about Browns change of heart, Kondayen suggested the governor answer that the state budget was in good enough shape that we can make some big changes.

Earlier this month, Blosser said his concern about keeping the governors policy and budget process on track  rather than the need for a strong re-election platform  motivated the extraordinary push for staffers to work through the weekend. By late summer, Blosser said, he had grown frustrated that Browns advisers and other staff had not yet finished the documents.

I was like, I dont care, you guys are going to work all weekend so we get one of these done, Blosser said.

Ulimately, the governors campaign proved wildly successful. Her opponent slightly exceeded her campaign finance firepower, spending nearly $19.3 million, but Brown beat him by 120,000 votes, 50 percent to 44 percent.

Browns executive assistant or body man Jack Polales was copied on many staff exchanges about her policy papers and events. At the time, Polales was working part-time for the governors office and the remainder of his time for her re-election campaign. Kondayen told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Polales was the only member of Browns staff who served simultaneous roles in both state business and the campaign.

Jack Polales, second from left, is Gov. Kate Brown's executive assistant, or "body man," and campaign finance policy analyst. In 2018, he worked part-time for the governor's office and part-time for Brown's re-election campaign. Here, Polales holds a sign at a campaign rally in Pioneer Courthouse Square last fall.

On the Sunday before the event at Madison High, Kondayen sent Polales the press conference talking points to print out and put on notecards to aid the governors delivery.

Browns state staff also helped burnish her record in other ways. Berri Leslie, a deputy chief of staff, created a document titled Saving taxpayer dollars  accomplishments. By stretching across past, present and projected future budgets and to money outside the states main general fund Leslies list provided the basis for Brown to claim, in an Aug. 20 campaign interview with a reporter for The Oregonian/OregonLive, that the state saved $500 million under her leadership.

The reporter asked for details and a Brown staffer arranged for a spokeswoman in the states budgeting agency  the Department of Administrative Services  to provide a detailed answer. That spokeswoman did not indicate the information had been copied and pasted from Leslies brag list.

Asked about the list Leslie generated which focused on her achievements rather than new ideas to save money, Kondayen wrote, This document was not crafted specifically for the benefit of the governors campaign.

 Hillary Borrud | hborrud@oregonian.com | 503-294-4034 | @hborrud

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When the weather grows cold, many retirees are known to travel down south to spend the winter, but Debra and Lyle Chip Smith, of Midland, took their travels one step further. Instead of going to just one or two southern states, they traversed across the South, Southwest and even into western Canada this past winter.

We live in a beautiful country and the only way to see it is in a car or RV. You cant see it when youre flying over it, Debra said.

Debra is a retired substitute paraprofessional with Midland Public Schools and Chip retired from Dow Corning Corp. in 2014. While the couple has owned campers in the past, Chip has always had a dream of driving an RV across the country. His father served in the U.S. Air Force and his family traveled quite a bit; this time around, he wanted to see America at his own pace with his own agenda.

When we did, you take off for one place and 48 hours later you slept in the car and you were in another place. We went through a lot of states, a lot of the country but we never saw it, Chip said.

The Smiths bought a second-hand RV in August and took a short trip to Michigans Upper Peninsula as a test run. It was quite a learning experience, and they relied on input from fellow campers about using an RV.

It came with no instructions, no paperwork, no nothing, Debra said.

Having learned the ropes, Debra and Chip decided to take a much longer trip with their RV, which they call Jenny. On Dec. 9 they and their 15-year-old Shetland sheepdog headed out of Midland, bound to see their daughter who lives in Portland, Oregon, for Christmas. Their route took them directly south through Ohio to Georgia, along the southern states and up through California.

After spending two weeks in Oregon, Debra and Chip ventured north into Washington and British Colombia, Canada before heading back down. Apart from Christmas in Oregon and a powwow in San Rafael, California, there was no timetable for the trip.

Coming back was when we could dilly dally. We saw a lot more coming back than what we did going there, Debra said.

She said that the pace and feel of the trip was so relaxed that at many points they both didnt know what state they were currently in.

Its normal enough, when youre retired you dont know what day of the week it is. Sometimes you dont know the time of day. But when you dont know what state youre in! Chip exclaimed.

To keep track of their adventures, Chip recorded where they had been on his tablet while Debra wrote brief descriptions of their daily journeys in a journal and was in charge of taking pictures.

The three-month trip had multiple highlights for the Smiths. They traveled along Californias Highway 1, stopping every couple of miles to take pictures of the ocean views. They explored the towering forests in Redwood National Park. They traveled along parts of Highway 66 and saw ghost towns. They even left Jenny at an RV park and took a two-hour train ride to the Grand Canyon.

You get off the train, walk up a set of stairs and boom! The Grand Canyon is right in front of you, Chip said.

I thought wed have to walk a ways ... Looking over that, you feel so small. Its huge, Debra said.

Nearly 2,000 miles from home, the Smiths found a little bit of Michigan in the unlikeliest of places. While they were visiting Sedona, Arizona, they noticed a sign in the window of The Sedona Fudge Co., claiming the shop used an original fudge recipe from Mackinac Island.

They had rights from Murdick Fudge, Chip said.

Debra and Chip continued east, stopping in Elvis Presleys birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi where Chip bought a guitar from the same shop where Elvis got his first guitar, visiting Debras sister in Georgia, driving through Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee, among other stops.

With a slight twist of irony, Debra and Chip even stopped in Scottsboro, Alabama and shopped at the Unclaimed Baggage Center where lost and orphaned airline luggage is sold.

Its huge, like five blocks long. It has everything you can imagine from electronics to clothes to toys, Debra said.

After driving over 9,700 miles, visiting 18 states, collecting dozens of pamphlets and capturing nearly 3,000 pictures  not to mention countless memories  the Smiths returned home March 7. The souvenirs have been packed up and pictures have been placed alongside some trinkets, but the couples wanderlust is still strong. They plan to travel with Jenny along the Northeast states in the autumn and down to Florida after Christmas.

You have to travel while you have your good health, Debra said.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - At least two people were killed at dawn on Saturday after an attack by gunmen against the security post of the Zueitina Oil Company located about 15 kilometers from Zella, in central Libya, several corroborative sources indicated
Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - Tunisia and the European Union (EU) on Friday signed a funding agreement in Brussels of 60 million euros for the economic, social and political integration of young Tunisians, a communique issued in Tunis by Tunisian Foreign Affairs ministry said
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Abuja, Nigeria (PANA)  Nigerias Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) says it will fully support Gambia in its quest to learn operations of the Treasury Single Account (TSA)
SPRINGFIELD  A bill that would ban for-profit immigrant detention centers in Illinois  like one proposed in Dwight in Livingston County  is now on its way to Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

The Illinois Senate has voted 34-14 to pass House Bill 2020. It previously passed the House on April 10 by an 85-26 vote.

The bill would prohibit the state or any local unit of government from entering into any agreement to detain people in privately owned facilities. It also prohibits them from spending any money to subsidize or defray the costs of developing or operating one.

It would take effect immediately if signed by Pritzker.

The bill was introduced in response to a proposal to build a private federal detention center in Dwight.

In March, the Village Board voted to annex and rezone an 88-acre parcel of land where Virginia-based Immigration Centers of America planned to build and operate a $20 million detention center on a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICA is one of several companies awaiting the Department of Homeland Securitys issuance of a request for proposal for the Illinois/Chicago area, the first step to building the facility, said Frank Cortina, an attorney from Morris who represented the company in the annexation discussions earlier this year.

If the detention center is built on the parcel of land, located south of state Route 17 and east of Interstate 55 just outside the Livingston County village, up to 1,200 immigrants would be housed there.

Illinois has prohibited the development of private prisons since 2012. The new legislation would expand that law to include private detention centers. However, it would not apply to state work release centers or juvenile residential facilities that provide care and treatment by nonprofit contractors.

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat, was the lead sponsor in the House. Earlier this year, she called the bill critically important to Illinois remaining welcoming to all people.

There is an effort afoot to bring a private, for-profit ICE detention center to the state of Illinois, she said March 22.  We said slow your roll. Hold up here. Thats not who we are, thats not how we operate. We dont believe in making money out of putting humans in cages, and were going to do everything we can to stop the advance of this effort.

Dwight Village President Jared Anderson could not be reached for comment Friday.

Supporters previously said the proposed $20 million project could bring as many as 400 construction jobs, and fully staffed, it would offer about 360 positions. Future construction also could benefit through the construction of a sewer line for northwestern Dwight.

Despite the annexation of property and association with ICA, there is no guarantee the center would be built in Dwight.

This is by no means a done deal for Dwight or Immigration Centers of America, said Dwight Village Administrator Kevin McNamara in March. RFPs must be issued and then (ICA) must be the successful bidder, for lack of a better term. The villages steps ... merely just guarantees that ICA has a location to submit.

Pantagraph staff contributed to this report.

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SECOR  You have probably never seen a mudpuppy, but if you did see one, with its dark brown body with black spots and flaming red gills, it would be memorable.

The species of salamander live in parts of the Mackinaw River and can be as much as a foot long.

When a fisherman catches it accidentally,  I've had people tell me they get freaked out, said Angelo Capparella, an Illinois State University wildlife biology professor who has been studying the creatures since 2011.

The ParkLands Foundation will celebrate the mysterious magnificent mudpuppy with a special event at its Letcher Basin Nature Land and Water reserve from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 9.

Parking will be available near Ridgetop Hill Prairie, 433 County Road 1975 East, Secor.

Jessica Chambers, foundation board president, said, It's all about trying to connect the river with the critters that live there.  Hopefully, by learning about the mudpuppy, people will say, 'Hey, I want to help save that mudpuppy.'

The mudpuppy is a threatened species in Illinois and its presence in the Mackinaw means the river is in pretty good shape maintaining the biodiversity it's always had, but it faces challenges from PCBs and nutrient runoff, said Capparella, a member of the ParkLands board.

A mudpuppy is a salamander, but unlike most salamanders, it keeps its gills all its life, said Capparella. Never put them on land. They'll die.

They live in deep pools along the river, under logs and such. And, despite an appearance that might cause others to get freaked out, Capparella thinks, They're pretty neat-looking animals.

The event will be open to all ages and those who attend will learn what mudpuppies eat, get a free poster, make a mudpuppy headband and hike to the Mackinaw River to learn about the habitat of the mudpuppy and other river critters.

Mudpuppies are slimy, so we're going to make some slime, too, said Chambers.

People are invited to bring lunch and picnic under the sycamore trees. Chambers suggests bringing water, sunscreen and bug spray and wearing long pants and shoes, rather than sandals. Mudpuppy T-shirts will be available for purchase.

The event is free but ParkLands would like people to RSVP at mudpuppy.eventbrite.com.

The ParkLands Foundation is a nonprofit, conservation land trust dedicated to acquiring, preserving and restoring natural areas in the Mackinaw River watershed in McLean and Woodford counties.

Capparella said, The mudpuppy is a good ambassador to remind people of the importance of preserving the watershed and not dumping things in the river.

But how did the mudpuppy get its name?

They will make kind of a squeak sound that some say sounds like a bark, which is really pushing it, said Capparella.

He has never heard a mudpuppy bark, but isn't disappointed by that. Because the sound is most likely an alarm or distress signal, their silence just means I'm treating them right, said Capparella.

Contact Lenore Sobota at (309) 820-3240. Follow her on Twitter: @Pg_Sobota

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If you want to see how times have changed this legislative session, take a quick look at Senate Bill 1591.

The Illinois and Chicagoland chambers have been pushing legislation all session to offer state incentives to data centers. A data center basically stores massive amounts of electronic information. Illinois has been a national leader for data center locations because the Chicago region is a national Internet hub, connecting the countrys east and west, and has a reliable and plentiful electricity supply. Only two states, Virginia and Texas, have more data centers.

While companies have continued building lots of data centers in and around Chicago at an aggressive pace, they started having trouble filling them last year because other states have been so aggressively recruiting the facilities. Apple, one of the richest corporations in the world, snagged a $208 million tax break to build a $1.3 billion facility in Iowa.

So, the chambers and others decided to propose incentives to protect what Illinois already has and spur some new growth. SB 1591 provides exemptions from and credits for a host of state and local sales and use taxes to lower costs for building and running large data centers (including the massive amounts of electricity they use) with at least $250 million in capital investment and 20 full-time employees.

The measure was not gaining a lot of traction and then proponents asked the construction unions to chat. The unions listened and suggested some changes to make the bill more labor friendly.

The unions recommended an amendment containing responsible bidder requirements, which assure that the contractors meet certain levels of qualifications (and that usually means unionized workers). The provision was added, as were Project Labor Agreements, which require building contractors to enter into labor agreements before commencing work. An income tax credit was also added for projects in areas hit hard by poverty and unemployment.

All of a sudden, the bill took off. Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady, who has been looking for union support ever since anti-union Gov. Bruce Rauner was defeated, even signed on as a co-sponsor. The bill sailed out of the Senate on a unanimous roll call.

This development would have been unheard-of during the past four years. Its not that Gov. Rauner was totally averse to subsidies, but he was staunchly opposed to things like responsible bidder requirements and PLAs. And Brady wouldnt have dared crossed Rauner by signing onto a bill like that because Rauner never wouldve forgotten it.

One of the best ways to get a bill rolling this year is to invite organized labor into the mix. Not only can it help pass a bill, because both Democratic legislative leaders are trying to do whatever they can for unions after four years of Rauners attempts to destroy them, the support can also help convince Gov. J.B. Pritzker to sign it into law. This data center bill is just one example of many. At last check, people pushing a bill to regulate coal ash were trying to figure a way to bring the unions in to counter the industrys pushback.

This is a big reason why securing labors endorsement of the cannabis legalization bill is deemed so crucial by some, even if some proponents were initially resistant.

If you look at the House resolution of Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, which urges the General Assembly to slow the legalization process, youll see a bunch of pro-union Democrats are co-sponsors, including Reps. Natalie Manley, Monica Bristow, Bob Rita, Katie Stuart and Fran Hurley, to name just a few. Not to mention that Moylan himself has been consistently endorsed by labor over the years.

Make this bill a union priority and you attract votes, or at least you make it more difficult for pro-union legislators to oppose it.

There is one big downside. African-American and Latinx legislators have been battling with the predominantly white trade unions for years to integrate their memberships. Theres a reason why that income tax credit for impoverished areas had to be added to the data center bill when labor signed on. And the unions entry into the cannabis legalization movement was not exactly met with joy.

However, some very wealthy companies are descending upon Illinois to get a piece of the legalization pie and a good argument can be made that this state needs to make extra sure it doesnt hand out licenses to print money to employers who pay their workers a pittance and only offer folks part-time jobs without benefits.

Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.

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Growing up in the 1950s and '60s, there was no avoiding the adorable Doris Day. She was cute as a bug, wholesome, winsome and adored, at least in movies, by the swooning-est leading men in Hollywood  Rock Hudson, Cary Grant and Clark Gable, to name a few.

As a young girl, I simply loved her and, of course, wanted to marry Rock. As dreamboats went, he was without par. And Doris (we were on a first-name basis back then) was this motherless girl's idea of what a woman should be  cheerfully feminine and wise to men.

Today, Day's characters would be laughable to world-weary children trapped in a sexualized world. But I can testify that watching grown-ups crawl into twin beds wearing pajamas brings no harm to the underaged. I'm grateful for the innocence that society then permitted its younger generation, and to actors such as Day, who declined roles, including Mrs. Robinson in "The Graduate," that defied her values.

Also, Day was honest enough about herself to figure she probably wouldn't have been believable as a seductress. She was certainly glamorous, but was also perhaps cursed by a prevailing perkiness that could be neither subdued nor camouflaged. Besides, who would want to see a lascivious Doris Day? Surely, not her fans.

Day's singing career  about which much has been written  preceded and succeeded her acting career. "Que Sera, Sera" became her theme song, and its lyrics were tantamount to an elegy for the songstress, who wanted none of that. Day, who died Monday at 97, made known that she didn't want a funeral, memorial or even a headstone.

In her later years, Day became increasingly reclusive and dedicated her talents and resources to animal rights. If long ago I admired her fictional personas, I'm grateful today for her animal activism and find myself in agreement with her reflection: "The more I study human beings, the more I love animals."

Though her work for animals is inarguably her greatest legacy, most obituaries have focused on her film and song careers. Eager to know more, I contacted Wayne Pacelle, former head of the Humane Society of the United States, who knew Day and worked with her in pursuing legislative action on behalf of animals.

"Her compassion for all animals  not just dogs, but for all animals  was central to everything she was about," he wrote in an email. "She attached her name to advocacy organizations to scale up her work for animals  a rare thing for celebrities, who would occasionally weigh in on issues, but not fully commit to engagement on these issues."

Pacelle said Day frequently called state and federal lawmakers when animal issues hung in the balance. She advocated for a 1990 ban on the trophy hunting of mountain lions in California, was strong in urging an end to cosmetic testing on animals, helped with a 2010 ballot measure in Missouri to crack down on puppy mills, and made calls and sent letters on a wide range of topics to help all animals.

"Lawmakers who were old enough to have been fans were always thrilled to hear from her," he said. "She was one of the biggest celebrity names in the 20th century, and her guileless approach on animal issues won her so many admirers and fans. She was part of the process of making animal welfare a mainstream issue. She is like Jane Goodall in being above the fray and was almost impossible for apologists of animal cruelty to attack."

Pacelle visited Day in her Carmel, California, home 14 years ago to discuss merging the Doris Day Animal League (a political advocacy group) with a planned HSUS political action committee. He remembered her home as elegant but understated and described her as "warm and gracious." A small herd of rescue dogs followed her everywhere. At first, Day was reluctant to combine forces, wishing to remain independent, but she ended the conversation with, "Let's do it." The result was a union of HSUS and DDAL and the creation of the Humane Society Legislative Fund and its PAC.

Come to think of it, maybe Day wasn't a que sera, sera sort of gal after all. She saw cruelty and used her celebrity to improve the lives of animals and, by extension, helped create a more humane world. The future may not be ours to see, but Day demonstrated that the future can be made better through activism, helped along, no doubt, by the memory of a wink, a smile and a song.

Contact Parker at kathleenparker@washpost.com.

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100 years ago

May 18, 1919: A few years ago almost no one would have thought about this: Navy engineers have calculated that the shortest flying distance to Europe is to take off in Newfoundland, then continue to Europe via the Azores Islands. It saves 700 miles off another route through Ireland.

75 years ago

May 18, 1944: Tomorrow has been labeled as Straw Hat Day in Bloomington. Its a promotion to sell mens hats, but it also unofficially signals the approach of hot weather. Livingstons, Dewenters, Kresges and Stamms all ran ads for straw hats in todays paper.

50 years ago

May 18, 1969: Deputies broke up an IWU fraternity party at Lake Bloomington, arresting 21 young people. Deputies said the students were partying at Camp Heffernan, a Boy Scout camp, and were arrested after refusing to leave. There was no damage to the camp.

25 years ago

May 18, 1994: Police have arrested Alan Beaman in connection with the murder of ISU student Jennifer Lockmiller. Beaman is an IWU student from Rockford. The two had dated but recently she was seeing someone else. (Beaman was convicted but later exonerated after a long legal fight.)

Compiled by Jack Keefe; jkeefe@coldwellhomes.com.
After the recent scandals involving Facebook, its lackluster protection of user data and the company's "too little, too late" reaction to fake news and manipulation across its platforms, calls for the social media behemoth to be regulated are getting louder. Last week, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes chimed in, calling for the company to be broken up in a New York Times opinion piece.

Hughes wrote: "I'm disappointed in myself and the early Facebook team for not thinking more about how the News Feed algorithm could change our culture, influence elections, and empower nationalist leaders."

Hughes wrote, urging the government to "break up Facebook's monopoly and regulate the company to make it more accountable to the American people". Hughes suggests that the Federal Trade Commission should undo the companys acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram, spin the latter two off into separate public companies and make Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives relinquish their interest in both.

In a recent SurveyMonkey survey of US adults conducted on behalf of Business Insider and INSIDER, 40% of respondents said they supported antitrust action against Facebook  and just 15% oppose it.

Facebook has strongly argued against antitrust action, even as early as today (see below)  but Business Insider's data indicates that large swathes of Americans already support the idea, and may bolster the arguments of left of center politicians like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, who have championed the push for anti-monopoly action against Facebook and the other tech giants. Below you'll find another great statistical chart put together by Statista.

It was certainly surprising to see that Liberals / Democrats were actually more in favor of anti-trust action against Facebook than conservatives. It would have been interesting to see a statistic specifically focused on breaking the company up but that wasn't provided for.

I don't think that most view Facebook's social side of the service being the problem but rather their news site that has too much power deciding who is allowed to have a voice on their platform. Between that and continually hearing about new data breaches has tipped the scale against them.

They've certainly lost the public's trust and Apple's CEO has played a major role in driving that doubt against social media and tech companies at every turn. Earlier this month Patently Apple posted a report on that very point titled "With Apple leading the way, Google & Microsoft attempt to redefine their Companies as True Advocates of Privacy."

Apple's CEO has walked the walk and talked the talk on this issue. The jury is still out on those who have recently seen the light.

Where do stand on anti-trust action being levied against Facebook? Please take a moment and send in your comments below.

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.
Patna: The body of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan Rajesh Kumar who, along with five others, was killed in a mine explosion in Chhattisgarh state on Sunday in the Naxal-infested district of Dantewada, arrived at the Patna Airport on Monday where he was received by armed force jawans, family members and loved ones, and government officials.

Bihar Labor Resources Minister Vijay Sinha and Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma were also present at the airport.

Kumar, along with six others, was killed when the police jeep he was sitting in hit a landmine laid by Naxal ultras in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on the Bacheli-Cholnar road on Sunday.

The police vehicle was escorting a truck carrying road construction materials when it hit the landmine, Dantewada Range DIG Ratan Lal Dangi had said.

The mortal remains of the martyr was then taken to his native place in Begusarai where he was to be cremated.

Speaking on the occasion, Sinha said that entire Bihar was saddened by the death of Kumar who he described as a martyr who gave his life for the people of India.

"We will not allow terrorists and extremists to spread their tentacles of hate in the society and will give them a befitting reply to end their reign of terror. Rajesh Kumar's life will not go to waste as we will continue to fight against such elements of the society who believe violence can solve all of their problems," the minister said.

Martyr Rajesh, the only son of his father Nawal Kishore Singh, leaves behind his wife, three young children, parent and other loved ones.
Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is on a six-week furlough from the Ranchi prison on health ground, left Patna for Mumbai on Tuesday to seek better medical attention for his deteriorating health caused by kidney, heart, and a host of other problems.

Yadav left for Mumbai on Tuesday evening with his elder son Tej Pratap Yadav and his wife Aishwarya Rai, eldest child and MP Misa Bharti, and his most-trusted assistance and party legislator Bhola Yadav.

The former Chief Minister of Bihar who was convicted in multiple criminal cases related to the fodder scam in Bihar that took place during his administration in the '90s, is expected to be admitted in the noted Asian Heart Institute, sources said.

As reported, the RJD chief spent over a month in Delhi's prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) seeking treatment for various ailments. He, however, was discharged from there after doctors deemed him fit enough to go back to the Ranchi jail.

He also managed to seek a temporary 3-day bail to attend his first son and former Bihar Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav's wedding. Once back in Ranchi after three days, Yadav's lawyers appealed for a longer bail period to seek medical assistance in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore.

The Ranchi Court then granted him a conditional six-week parole after which he was brought back to Patna on May 16. On 19th, he complained of chest pain and uneasiness that prompted his admission in the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), Patna, only to be released after a couple of hours.

"Mr. Yadav is suffering from heart and kidney conditions along with hypertension and sugar problems. He will be treated in a Mumbai hospital and if required, he will be taken to other hospitals in the country," party leaders said in Patna on Tuesday.
Patna: Buoyed by their party's unexpected windfall in the Karnataka Assembly elections that allowed them to form government in alliance with the third-place Janata Dal  S thus keeping the Amit Shah-led BJP in check, Congress leaders in Patna on Wednesday continued their celebration at Sadaqat Ashram, the party state headquarters by 'feeding' sweets to a picture of party President Rahul Gandhi.

Led by Bihar Congress President Kaukab Qadri, party leaders and workers shared sweets with each other and played with 'gulal' to celebrate the swearing-in of JD-S leader Kumaraswamy as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka and Congress G Parameshwara as his deputy.

"This was a victory of the democracy as people of Karnataka spoke loudly about the leadership of Rahul Gandhi while rejecting the divisive politics of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Now, the Congress, with the JD-S, will work hard to make Karnataka one of the best administered states in the nation," Qadri said.

Interestingly, while the BJP won 104 seats in Karnataka, a rise of 36.2% from its previous win at 64 seats, the Congress' numbers dipped significantly with its win at 78 seats, down 38% from its previous score of 122 seats.

Earlier in the day, Congress leaders burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi near Gosai Tola in protest against rising cost of fuel in the nation.

Chanting anti-Modi slogans, Qadri, along with legislator Prem Chandra Mishra, Sadanand Singh, and the members of Congresss women's cell, demanded rollback in petroleum prices and inclusion of diesel and petrol under the provisions of goods and services tax (GST).
DEAR ABBY: My husband and I live in a nice home in the desert Southwest with an in-ground pool and guesthouse. Our friends and relatives from back east have an open invitation to visit whenever they please. We enjoyed these visits until recently.

The problem is their ever-present compulsion to be connected to an electronic device. We are not yet retired, but in the past we didnt mind taking a few days off work to spend time with folks who came all the way out here to spend a few days with us. But it seems like nowadays our guests have their noses pointed at a phone or computer most of the time they are here. They have actually missed the beauty of our area, which we are missing work to show them, because they are otherwise engaged.

Is there a pleasant way to ask them to disconnect for a bit while we are enjoying their visit, or should I just get in the grumpy old lady line? I want our visitors to have a good time, but I find this behavior especially rude. -- ALMOST DONE IN THE SOUTHWEST

DEAR ALMOST DONE: Its possible that your guests dont realize how much time theyre spending on their computers and cellphones. Because you are so turned off you are considering rolling up the welcome mat, explain to your guests that you have given them an open invitation so you can enjoy each others company, and you are hurt that they spend so much time on their electronic devices. Nobody gets something for nothing, and it seems the quid has gone missing from the pro quo you have been offering.

DEAR ABBY: I am a male who was molested 30 years ago. It has troubled me into adulthood. Recently, my boss informed my crew that a convicted pedophile will be working on a trial basis on our shift. The moment he said it, it started setting off triggers in my head, and I am very angry about it.

When I told my boss about my childhood experience, he acted like he didnt want to hear it. Do I have any rights in this matter? I really cant work with a man who has hurt another child like I was. -- TROUBLED VICTIM

DEAR TROUBLED VICTIM: You absolutely do have rights. You have the right to request a different shift, if thats possible. If it isnt, you also have the right to look for another job. If thats the case, it will be interesting to know how many of the other employees will follow you out the door.

DEAR ABBY: A good friends wife is currently in hospice care and not expected to live much longer. While I was at Walmart the other day, I passed through the card department and, because I was already there, I figured I would purchase a condolence/sympathy card. When my inner circle discovered I had bought the card before she passed, they criticized me to no end. I thought it was an efficient thing to do. Im not wrong, am I? -- EFFICIENT IN THE MIDWEST

DEAR EFFICIENT: Oh, come on! There was nothing wrong with what you did. Many people buy cards of all types because they think the message is appropriate. You thought of your friend and his wife while you were in the card section, and it is the thought that counts -- not the date of purchase. If you made any mistake, it was in letting it be known that you purchased the card in advance. In a situation like this, discretion is key.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
A day before hes scheduled to make a commencement speech at Dickinson College, actor Pierce Brosnan took some to visit a Carlisle eatery on Saturday.

Grazery on West High Street posted a photo of the actors visit on Facebook on Saturday.

 Ummm just a little starstruck  Thank you @piercebrosnanofficial for coming in today! Dickinsonians will be able to... Posted by Grazery on Saturday, May 18, 2019

Brosnan, 66, will deliver Dickinson Colleges Commencement address on Sunday. He will also receive a Doctor of Environmental Advocacy honorary degree.

Among his career as an actor, one of his more notable roles includes British spy James Bond in the films GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, and Die Another Day.
Joe Biden delivered a presidential campaign speech that both called for unity and called out President Donald Trump in front of a rally of thousands in Philadelphia Saturday.

Everything that has made America, America is at risk, he warned his crowd, denouncing Trumps hard line policy at the border, friendship with Vladimir Putin and relationship with the press.

Security officials estimated that the crowd was 6,000 strong. Many enthusiastically clapped with each dig on Trump and each claim that Biden would change the atmosphere surrounding politics.

Andy Lanza, 16, cant vote yet but if he could, he said hed support Biden.

We need to be back on track and I think Joe Biden is the person for that," the Connecticut resident said.

I think how divided our country is and how in Washington theres no work getting done, he continued. I think of how divisive everything is down there and how everything is political. I think Joe Biden can reach to the Republican side and the Democratic side. He knows how to reach across the aisle.

It was a sentiment repeated by many at the rally.

I think Joe Biden has the option to really make a difference in being the deal maker, said David Silver, 58, of Cherry Hill in New Jersey.

Silver also thinks Biden is the one to bring voters from Trump to the Democratic Party, unlike those also running for the nomination.

I think Joe is the candidate that can bring those people back, because I dont think the Democratic Party is spending enough time worrying about the people on the farms or small towns, Silver said, adding that many of the other candidates seem to be more focused on voters in the big cities.

But Mary Hurdig, 77, of West Philadelphia isnt so sure.

Referring to the Pennsylvania voters in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre who supported Trump, she was skeptical that they would ever return to the Democratic fold.

I think they genuinely like Trump, she said. So the question is, who excites 50,000 new voters, young people, African Americans, Latinos -- it really comes to that.

Hurdig was at the rally to see just how successful Biden might be at broadening the Democratic base. What she noted was that the crowd was, in her opinion, small and filled with older, white people.

This doesnt generate excitement, Hurdig said.

Terrance Fulton, 21, of West Philadelphia is just the kind of voter Biden needs in Hurdigs view. But he, too, was on the fence about Biden. He came to the rally to hear Bidens platform and to see if he was just echoing former President Obamas policies or crafting some of his own.

He has the unique privilege of being someone who was a part of a presidency that we all loved and really cared about, so I want to see how he innovates on top of that excellence, Fulton said. But he also wanted to hear Bidens thoughts on the issues important to him: college education, immigration and womens rights.

However, the most important thing in a Democratic candidate, for Fulton, is whether or not they can beat Trump.

I think that Bidens the front runner and he definitely is someone who appeals to a broader range of people -- not the left of the left, but more moderates and centrists, he said. I think thats going to be very important because a lot of Republicans are not proud of their president and having someone like Biden might cause them to swing our way more.

Fulton did acknowledge Biden has a lot of work to do. Hell have an upward battle, especially amongst millennials and people of younger generations -- but I think he can pull it off.

For Carolyn Brown, all Biden needs to do is emphasize his integrity, moral character and experience.

I feel like he is qualified. He is genuine. He is honest. He is reliable and hes going to tell the truth, the 70-year-old Baltimore resident said.

Hes going to bring honesty back to the White House.

Bidens rally in Philadelphia offers one more sign of the importance of Pennsylvania in the presidential election. Earlier this week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren made her first Pennsylvania appearance in her bid for the White House, speaking at a union hall in Philadelphia and visiting Yards Brewing.

On Monday, President Donald Trump will be appearing in Lycoming County. The president will campaign for state Rep. Fred Keller, the Republican nominee for the 12th Congressional District in a special election Tuesday.

Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Val DiGiorgio issued a statement nothing to offer but failed policies from the Obama administration.

We are happy to have the debate over whether or not Americans want a return to the failed Obama-Biden years or feel that they are better off due to the economic achievements seen under President Donald Trumps leadership," he said.
PennLives Dont Miss Reads spotlights stories from the week that you should be aware of

Fatal Appalachian Trail attack resurrects memories of double murder

In 1990, Geoff Hood and Molly LaRue were killed at the Thelma Marks Shelter on the Appalachian Trail overlooking Duncannon. Like the attacks in Virginia, those deaths took place in a remote, hard-to-reach area on the trail. Those deaths also were at the hands of a lone, apparently disturbed man.

Someone is a killer out there

On Mothers Day 2018, Rachael DelTondo was standing in her mothers driveway after getting ice cream when she was gunned down. A year later, the killer in the 33-year-old teachers slaying is still at large. The investigation into DelTondos death exposed that she had an affair with an underage teenage boy, and multiple members of the police department have been suspended.

Was it a suicide or a homicide?

In 2011, Ellen Greenberg was found alone in her Philadelphia apartment, stabbed to death with a knife plunged into her chest as the final blow. Police initially ruled the stabbing a suicide, then a homicide, then one again a suicide. But her parents insist that suicide doesnt make sense. Eight years later, they are still searching for answers.

A new lead in a 3-decade search

Seventeen-year-old Tracy Kroh was last seen at the Alex Acres Trailer Park in August 1989. Her car was found a day later, but she never was. Police suspected she was abducted. This week state police searched an area in northern Dauphin County after receiving new information. Police hopes technology will finally solve the mystery of Tracys disappearance.

Officer dies decades after being shot

Robert Bo McCallister was chasing a suspected bank robber in 1981 when he was shot and seriously wounded. Now a medical examiner says the bullet fired in 1981 caused McCallisters January death. And that, Susquehanna Township police Chief Robert Martin said, means police have a new mission: Find and arrest the person who killed their former colleague.

PennLives Sean Sauro contributed to this story.
A military veteran and a community development director are battling in a race to fill a state Senate seat in central Pennsylvania.

Republican Doug Mastriano and Democrat Sarah Hammond are competing to be the next state senator in the 33rd District. The district includes Franklin and Adams counties and portions of Cumberland and York counties. Voters in that district will elect a new senator on May 21, the day of the Pennsylvania primary election.

Mastriano and Hammond are running to fill the seat vacated by state Sen. Richard Alloway, a Chambersburg Republican who resigned in February. They are aiming to fill the remainder of Alloways term, which expires in January 2021.

Mastriano, a Franklin County resident, spent 30 years in the Army before retiring as a colonel. Hammond, of York County, is the community development director of Spring Grove.

Unlike the primary contests on May 21, the special election for the state Senate seat is open to all registered voters.

Following is a snapshot of the candidates. Both candidates submitted responses to questions from PennLive.

Doug Mastriano

In a military career lasting three decades, Mastriano fought in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm and was deployed three times to Afghanistan. He taught at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle and retired from the Army in 2017. Mastriano ran for Congress last year, losing in the GOP primary to John Joyce, who went on to win the seat in the 12th Congressional District last fall.

While Mastrianos military career may be over, he said, I see that I am not done fighting.

He said he still wants to fight for Pennsylvania, now as a member of the state Senate. He describes himself as a fiscal and social conservative.

When asked for the most important issue in his district, Mastriano said, The right to life is the single most important issue that we face in our generation. I will stand and fight for the most vulnerable in our society.

Mastriano also said that he wants to trim regulations hurting business owners and farmers and vows to be a fierce defender of the rights of gun owners. He said he will work across party lines when possible but will draw a line in the sand when it comes to new taxes and regulations. And he said he would work to find ways to reduce government spending and lower taxes.

Im in this election to fight for the good people of the district, to get the government off of our backs and out of our wallets, Mastriano said.

Sarah Hammond

Hammond said she is a lifelong resident of the 33rd District and is ready to work hard to represent her neighbors. Last year, Hammond was the Democratic candidate for the 169th District in the state House; she lost to state Rep. Kate Klunk, R-York.

Criminal justice reform and the opioid epidemic are among the highest concerns I hear from our constituents, Hammond said.

Hammond said she wants to protect farmers and help deliver property tax relief aimed at low- and middle-income families. She said she wants to ensure public schools are fully funded and invest in infrastructure in central Pennsylvania. She also vowed to protect seniors and those with disabilities to make sure they have access to Medicare and Medicaid.

She said she supports the legalization of recreational marijuana. Hammond said that it makes little sense to have people burdened with a criminal record for possession of pot, making it harder for them to find jobs.

A former embroidery machine operator, Hammond said she understands the needs of skilled trade laborers. She also pledged to fight for the rights of women and minority groups.

I have been putting in the hard work and effort to be visible within our communities to meet with our residents, she said.
On May 17 the nation commemorated the 65th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that separate schools for Black and White students is inherently unequal. The landmark decision was seen as a major victory in the civil rights movement.

But sadly, Browns legacy is not fully realized today, surrounded as we are by lack of educational opportunities for black and Latino students. School integration, as a strategy to access equal educational resources, was limited in what it could achieve. Although school integration reached its peak in the 1970s, it has been in decline since then, largely due to the courts ruling in Board of Education of Oklahoma City v. Dowell (1991) which released districts from court oversight if they had achieved integration.

With districts no longer under court order to integrate, todays levels of school segregation have returned to those of the 1960s.

Yet as many activists understand, integration was never the end goal, and so advocates of racial equality in education continue to fight the good fight. Equal educational opportunity is now waged on other grounds: securing adequate and equitable school funding. POWER Interfaith, a statewide faith-based organization, is one such organization working to pressure state legislators to change unjust school funding policies.

In 2016, Pennsylvania enacted a fair funding formula that takes student need into account when considering how much districts should get. The problem is, because this only applies to new money  that is, increases to the state budget  less than 10 percent of the states basic education budget goes through the fair funding formula. That means more than 90 percent of state funding is distributed inequitably.

Funding disparities among districts are not simply economic, they discriminate based on race.

According to a POWER analysis, students in the least White Pennsylvania districts receive $2,100 less per student than the state funding formula says they should receive. In contrast, students in the whitest districts are given $2,100 more than the formula determines they should have.

A high school student in Pottstown explained the effects of inequitable funding on his future. He worried that the lack of AP course offerings at his school would put him at a disadvantage compared to other students who had the privilege of taking AP courses in their adequately funded high schools.

Cities including Pottstown, York, Lancaster, Reading, and Allentown receive between $13$110 million less than their fair share. Philadelphia is getting a whopping $344 million less than what it deserves.

Inadequate and inequitable school funding is not just a Pennsylvania problem, its a national problem. School funding lawsuits have been filed in 45 out of 50 states. While these lawsuits are important in advancing equality, theres only so much they can accomplish. Judges may not rule in favor of plaintiffs, and even if they do, it often takes years, sometimes decades, to craft and implement remedy plans.

Our childrens education cannot wait.

Thats why POWER has taken this fight to the state capitol. We are pressuring state representatives and senators in Pennsylvania to enact a law that funnels 100 percent of education money through the states fair funding formula. Currently, two bills introduced by Representative Chris Rabb and Senator Lisa Boscola  HB961 and SB362  aim to do just that. But they need the support of everyday Pennsylvanians to turn these bills into law.

We can make our voices heard.

POWER is organizing a rally in Harrisburg on June 12, 2019 to pressure state legislators. We are issuing them a mandate to change Pennsylvanias racially unjust system of school funding. We plan to have 1,000+ people standing in solidarity to end education apartheid in Pennsylvania. Will you join us? Will you contact your state legislators to tell them to support the bills?

As we commemorate Brown v. Board of Education, lets create a new legacy for our children  lets give them an inheritance of hope through equitable school funding.

Pastor Duane Coleman is president of the Interdenominational Ministers Conference of Greater Harrisburg
A May 9, 2019 Patriot-News Associated Press article relates a U.S. House of Representatives plan to charge Attorney General William Barr with contempt for not releasing the full Mueller Report. Further, the article misleadingly suggests that Barr is contemptuously withholding commonly available information from Congress. In so doing the authors fail to focus on the real situation and issue; namely: that the entire Mueller Report, with some redactions, has already been given to the public, including Congress. Additionally, a special, basically unedited copy has been provided to Congress for their individual review with the only redacted portion relating to legally protected Grand Jury material. As a consequence, the House is whacking Barr for withholding information that the law prohibits Barr from sharing.

The Associated Press piece should have highlighted the Congressional demand that Barr break the law as the focus of the conflict instead of suggesting that Barr was just being a recalcitrant meanie.

Alfred A. White, Silver Spring Township
The American Lung Association (ALA) has revived its smear campaign against the Pittsburgh regions air quality with the release of its latest hyped up State of the Air report.

Fear-mongering and disingenuous is an apropos way to characterize the ALAs annual exercise in misrepresenting and/or ignoring data to issue dire health predictions, says the president-emeritus of the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy.

The problem for the ALA is that the health experience in states with widely disparate pollution levels does not match up with its rhetoric, says Jake Haulk, also a senior advisor at the Pittsburgh think tank (in Policy Brief Vol. 19, No. 19). Nor do the health statistics and pollution levels match up in Pennsylvania.

What is in evidence is statistical malpractice, he says.

It was on April 24 that the lung association issued its 20th-annual report, offering this portentous warning:

Residents of Pittsburgh and the metro area should be aware that were breathing unhealthy air, driven by local emissions, upwind sources and extreme heat as a result of climate change, placing our health and lives at risk, said Kevin Stewart, the groups director of environmental health for advocacy and public policy.

But there are four critical lapses in the ALA pronouncements.

First, it fails to mention that readings in all but one of the regions air quality monitors measuring particulate matter (pm2.5) concentrations are below the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) maximum annual average guidelines with many well below, notes Haulk, a Ph.D. economist.

Second, (the ALA) fails to mention that the EPA limits on pm2.5 have declined massively over the years, dropping from an annual average of 60 micrograms per cubic meter (mcg/m3) of air in 1970 to 15 in 1997 to 12 in 2012, Haulk says, reminding that Pittsburghs air has seen equally large declines in pm2.5 concentrations.

Third, and most telling, the think tank scholar says, is that the American Lung Association violates EPA rules in calling the regions air some of the worst in the nation based on monitor readings near known generators of particulate matter.

Simply put, per the EPA, The EPA monitoring data represent the quality of air in the vicinity of the monitoring site and, for some pollutants, may not necessarily represent urban-wide air quality.

Yet, the American Lung Association, wielding a large, overloaded and sloppy brush, regularly violates that admonition.

In short, neighborhoods in Allegheny County and other surrounding counties are being tarred with the brush of measurements at a handful of monitors with readings above an annual average of 11 mcg/m3 and only one out of compliance (above 12) in Liberty Borough, Haulk says.

This unfair maligning of areas away from the offending monitors, by lumping them in with the areas in proximity to those monitors, is detrimental because of the taint it puts on them and almost certainly hurts their ability to recruit new businesses.

Then there are those lung association claims of potential local adverse health effects - lung cancer among them -- that simply are not supported by the data.

To wit, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) pegs the U.S. death rate from lung cancer at 41 per 100,000 people. For Pennsylvania, its 43 per 100,000. Calculated by county, age-adjusted deaths per 100,000 ranged from 32 per 100,000 in Snyder County to 59.5 in Forest County.

But none of those counties has air quality monitors, typically placed in areas with known or suspected pollution problems.

Allegheny County, with its all-monitor average of 9.1 mcg/m3, had a lung cancer death rate of 48 per 100,000, Haulk says. Across the state in Philadelphia, the eight-monitor average was 8.6 mcg/m3 and the age-adjusted lung cancer death rate was 55.7 per 100,000.

Similar and even more striking incongruities can be found in heavily polluted California, with only 30 aged-adjusted lung cancer deaths per 100,000 people.

Then theres relatively lower-polluted Maine, which has higher death rates from lung cancer (50.3 per 100,000) than Pennsylvania (43), California (30) and the nation (41).

Obviously, prevalence of lung diseases in specific geographic areas are the result of far more determinative factors than simply air quality readings at EPA monitors, Haulk says.

The extreme examples of California  with its overall worst metro area air quality yet better than national lung disease statistics  and Maines very good air quality -- but bad lung disease statistics -- suggest strongly that the ALA take a closer look at is long-running assault on Pittsburgh air and warnings about health effects, the think tank scholar says.

The failure to do more investigation into the differences in lung disease prevalence that do not track as it claims with pollution levels is unprofessional.

Colin McNickle is communications and marketing director at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).
Jennifer Philpott Wilson, a Duncannon attorney and Perry County native, has been nominated by President Donald Trump to be a federal judge in the U.S. Middle District for Pennsylvania, according to an announcement on the White Houses website.

Wilson, of Wheatfield Twp., declined to comment on her pending appointment, which requires U.S. Senate confirmation. Pennsylvanias senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey recommended Wilson for the federal bench.

Jennifer Philpott Wilson is a great choice to fill the judicial vacancy in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and I am pleased President Trump intends to nominate her, Sen. Toomey said in a statement. Ms. Philpott Wilson is an experienced litigator, and I am confident she will serve with fairness and integrity on the federal bench.

Wilson is a 1993 graduate of Susquenita High School. She earned a bachelors degree and graduated cum laude from Swarthmore College near Philadelphia. Following that, she worked as a paralegal in the Manhattan District Attorneys office and attended Brooklyn Law School in New York, graduating summa cum laude. She served on the editorial board of the schools law review and was president of its moot court.

After law school, Wilson clerked for Judge Jon P. McCalla of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee and for Judge Julio M. Fuentes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Newark, N.J.

She worked as an associate attorney in the New York law firm Chadbourne & Park, and served as a trial lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justices Tax Division for four years.

Im pleased that the White House has worked with Sen. Toomey and me to nominate Jennifer Wilson to sit on the District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Sen. Casey said in a statement. She has a wealth of trial experience that will serve her well on the federal bench.

In 2009, Wilson and her family moved home to Perry County, where she joined her father Jerry Philpott as a partner at his Duncannon law firm. She has defended clients in state and federal criminal cases for the past 10 years.

In addition, she is an adjunct professor at Penn State Universitys Dickinson School of Law, teaching students upper-level legal writing techniques. In Perry and Juniata counties, she serves as guardian ad litem for children in custody, and in Children and Youth Services matters.

She is married to David Wilson, an assistant district attorney in Dauphin County. They have three children.

Jim T. Ryan can be reached via e-mail at jtryan@perrycountytimes.com
Gaylord native believes Northern Michigan can excel in space economy

Besides Altas, Carey believes that Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula can lure more space related companies and the jobs they create.
Editors Note: The original version of this story failed to note that after its investigation, the Federal Communications Commission in 2011 ordered that the $84,500 fine would not be imposed on Progressive Business Publications. The story has been updated.

The salesman kept calling Carol Murphy at her office until, finally, she relented.

During a call in November, she agreed to receive a monthly printed newsletter about nonprofits from Progressive Business Publications, a Malvern-based publisher. She said the telemarketer told her the newsletter was free, so she accepted the offer to get the guy off the phone.

I said its free? Fine. Just send it to me, Murphy said this month. I never thought about it again.

Then the invoices arrived months later, even though the newsletters never came, said Murphy, an executive at the Ohio nonprofit Canton Symphony Orchestra. The first bill, sent in January, demanded $288 for the annual subscription. Another in April warned that unpaid bills are referred to collections.

I am now receiving threatening letters that they will report my [nonprofit] organization to collections, she wrote in an April complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission. The company is targeting nonprofit executives who love to get free information.

Progressive Business Publications ultimately canceled Murphys order without charging her after receiving a written complaint, a company spokesperson said.

But Murphys story fits a pattern found in hundreds of complaints filed by the publishers customers. In the last three years, more than 300 people have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, many claiming that the company billed them for newsletters they never ordered, or in some cases, didnt receive. In 2013, the bureaus St. Louis office warned the public about the company, saying 2,400 complaints were filed nationwide over three years.

This companys business performance record demonstrates a pattern of customer complaints alleging billing for unordered merchandise, the bureau currently says on its website. Some consumers have claimed that they canceled subscriptions but their cancellations were not honored.

In an email, a company spokesman disputed Murphys account, accused the bureau of being biased, and said the hundreds of complaints over three years make up fewer than 1 percent of the roughly 425,000 telephone orders placed. He said the companys records showed Murphy received an emailed receipt explicitly telling her she must cancel the subscription within 60 days to avoid being charged, and that she received five printed newsletters in the mail.

It is unrealistic to expect all customers to be honest and for companies to have no complaints, said Colin Drummond, a director at Progressive Business Publications. We fully accept responsibility to be honest, fair and ethical with the facts and our practices, and certainly this is the case with our engagement with Ms. Murphy. We bear no ill will toward Ms. Murphy and have no reason to believe she is motivated by malicious intent; what we do know without question is that the facts do not support her allegations.

No free subscriptions

Complaints about Progressive Business Publications have come from a variety of sources: small businesses, nonprofits, school districts, police, and fire departments. Their stories, though, are largely the same.

They report receiving a call from a telemarketer offering a free trial to a newsletter subscription. The salesperson, they say, asked them for their birth dates. Then the invoices came to their employer, charging a few hundred dollars for the newsletters, some of which werent delivered, complainants claim. Some say they received calls directly from debt collectors demanding payment. Others claim they never ordered the publications.

We have never signed up for anything from Progressive Business Publications, one complainant wrote to the local bureau in 2017. They have said [that] since they have a birth month and day that it was approved. We do not handle business using birth month and day to approve purchases through a public school entity. They leave no phone number to contact, only a demand to send payment.

In a sign that customers are often confused about being billed, the company has prominently placed links to a Received an Invoice? web page at the top and bottom of its website. The company tells customers that you may recall a recent phone call from us and agreeing to a no-risk subscription and that during the call, you provided us with your name, title, company, address, email, and birth date.

The publisher collects birth dates so it can disprove claims of unordered merchandise, according to court filings.

Murphy, the symphony executive, said a telemarketer told her the newsletters were free, but the publisher sent bills directly to her nonprofits accounts payable department. But Drummond said the scripts that telemarketers must read never tell customers that materials are free. Several other complainants, though, have told the bureau that telemarketers said the newsletters would be free.

Pennsylvanias unfair trade practices law generally prohibits deceptive conduct which creates a likelihood of confusion or of misunderstanding. But businesses that believe theyve been scammed by Progressive Business Publications cant sue the publisher under that statute, said Jeremy Spiegel, a consumer protection lawyer in Philadelphia.

The [unfair trade practices law] authorizes private enforcement only regarding purchases for personal, family or household purposes, Spiegel said. A person or company disputing a business purchase is unable to bring suit under that powerful statute, which provides for the recovery of attorney fees and treble damages.

At any rate, Progressive Business Publications said its billing complaints are hardly different from those against other publications. For example, Drummond noted that the Wall Street Journal and New York Times received 232 and 182 complaints, respectively, during the same three-year period, according to the bureau. Those major newspapers have millions of subscribers and fewer complaints than the Progressive Business Publications, which received 326 complaints and is relied on by 150,000 organizations, according to the companys website.

The Journal and Times also received grades of A-minus and A-plus, respectively, from the bureau. Progressive Business Publications, on the other hand, received a "C" and had a failing grade six years ago.

Battles with the bureau

Progressive Business Publications was founded in the late 1980s by Ed Satell, according to its website. The company currently employs 500 people in eight offices in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio.

The firm has come under federal scrutiny in recent years. In April, the Department of Labor announced that the company must pay $1.9 million after an investigation found the firm docked pay for thousands of employees for restroom breaks, trips to the water fountain, or snacks.

In 2008, the Federal Communications Commission ordered the company to pay $84,500 for sending consumers unsolicited fax messages. However, after investigation the commission in 2011 ordered that the fine would not be imposed.

The company has repeatedly battled with the Better Business Bureau, alleging that the groups reports have harmed the companys reputation and profits. In 2001, the company sued the bureau for defamation for publishing a report on the firms sales practices. After the bureau won a defense verdict at trial, Progressive Business Publications lost its appeals in Pennsylvania Superior Court and state Supreme Court.

The bureaus St. Louis office warned the public about the company in 2012 and 2013 after receiving roughly 2,400 complaints over three years, including 1,000 in one year, mostly about the companys billing and sales practices.

Drummond, the Progressive Business Publications director, claimed the bureau is biased against the company because it is not a paying member. He pointed to news reports that were critical of how the bureau grades companies, noting that it awarded top marks to businesses that were found to be scams, but were paying members.

Since we are not a BBB member and are a smaller publisher, we get a lower rating, Drummond said. This in turn fuels more, in many cases, unwarranted complaints such as Ms. Murphys."

Andrew Goode, a bureau spokesman, said all companies are measured on the same ratings scale, regardless of whether theyre accredited members. He said Progressive Business Publications is trying to shoot the messenger.

This company has at least a two-decade history of treating customers in the manner reflected in our Business Profile on it, Goode said. The company may have a bias against us, but our profile of this firm has been reviewed by a jury and numerous judges. We believe it is an accurate reflection of this businesss practices.
Large banners hang in an atrium at the headquarters of Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, N.J., Tuesday, July 30, 2013. Read more

A subsidiary of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson must pay $80 million to a suburban Philadelphia woman who was injured by vaginal mesh implant to treat pelvic organ prolapse. The verdict included $50 million in punitive damages.

Patricia Mesigian, 75, had Ethicons Prolift mesh implanted in 2008. The mesh eroded and caused her pelvic pain, infection, inflammation, and scar tissue, according to the suit. A series of follow-up surgeries failed to help. A Philadelphia jury deliberated for two days before finding the Prolift device was defective and that Johnson & Johnson failed to provide adequate warning of its risks.

In this largest transvaginal compensatory jury verdict to date, this jury resoundingly found that Johnson & Johnson terribly injured another one of thousands of women implanted with its defective transvaginal mesh device, recognizing not only the severity of the injury but the abhorrence of the conduct, Thomas R. Kline, trial attorney for Mesigian, said in an emailed statement Saturday.

The suit is the second against J&Js Ethicon in less than a month to result in a massive damage award to a mesh plaintiff. In April, a jury in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas awarded a record $120 million to an Altoona woman who had mesh implanted to treat incontinence. The company said it would appeal the verdicts.

While Ethicon empathizes with women who experience medical complications, this verdict and the damages awarded are inconsistent with the science and Ethicons actions, said the companys spokeswoman, Mindy Tinsley. The jury was not permitted to hear critical evidence related to the FDAs review and classification of these devices, which we believe significantly influenced the verdict and punitive award in this case.

Pelvic mesh has become one of the biggest mass torts in U.S. history. Medical device makers are paying nearly $8 billion to settle the claims of more than 100,000 women who suffered complications.
Connie Patrick, shown here with all the papers related to a charge of $4,650 for services she never received from Repairs R Us, a Philadelphia appliance repair company, she is standing in her home in Feasterville. JESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer Read more

Connie Patrick said she agreed to pay $250 for refrigerator drawers when she made the costly mistake of giving her credit card number to Repairs R Us, a Philadelphia-area appliance repair company.

Patrick, an 86-year-old from Feasterville, never received a receipt after the phone call. The drawers didnt come, either. All she got, weeks later, was the shock of a credit card bill showing that the company had charged her four times, totaling $4,650.

Im shaking from all of this, Patrick said last week.

Patrick and her family believe this is an obvious scam. The repair company, initially sent to Patricks home by Sears, claims Patrick agreed to pay thousands for a preventative maintenance plan. But theres nothing in writing verifying what she bought. Thats because Repairs R Us concedes it never gave Patrick a receipt or contract.

It was a verbal contract, said Tammy Martin, owner of Repairs R Us.

Legal experts said Patrick was likely entitled to a contract or receipt under Pennsylvania consumer protection laws. But nearly four months after the transaction, Patrick has been unable to get the issue resolved.

After Patrick disputed the charges to her credit card, Citibank initially determined two of the charges were valid because you acknowledge that you participated in the sale by providing the merchant with your account number, according to letters that Patrick received in December. Citi has since issued a conditional credit for the full amount to Patricks account as it investigates the issue.

I think somebody misused her credit card because its just four [charges] in a row, said Linda DiGiulio, Patricks daughter, who has been helping her mother. Im surprised the credit card company didnt get suspicious. In a three-week period of time, somebody had [billed her] $4,650. Its fishy.

Martin maintains the matter is merely a misunderstanding. In an email, she said Patrick was sold a one-year maintenance plan that covers cleanings, filters, mold build-up, and anything that is not normal wear and tear for appliances, plumbing, heating, and cooling.

The four charges between Sept. 20 and Oct. 15 -- for $650, $1,500, $1,000, and $1,500 -- were payments toward the maintenance plan and included the drawers, Martin said. She claimed she didnt fight Patricks charge dispute and was told the customer was already refunded, though Citi representatives said the investigation is still ongoing.

I feel bad about the whole thing. I dont know how to put it in words. Im not out to take advantage of anyone, she said.

The Better Business Bureau gave Repairs R Us a D-plus grade while its sister company, Always Affordable Repairs, got an F." Consumers complained on the bureaus website that they were overcharged, never received invoices, or couldnt obtain refunds. The bureau has stripped Always Affordable Repairs' accreditation because the company failed to answer a customer complaint, a bureau spokesman said.

Patricks family also grew suspicious when they saw that the repair companys email account belonged to Caine Martin, Tammys son, who was charged in July with stealing a 1999 Lincoln Town car. Tammy Martin said her son is innocent and helped out in the office, and that the pending charges have nothing to do with me and this business.

The repair company was good enough to be hired by Sears, the bankrupt retail giant. Sears sent a Repairs R Us technician to Patricks home in September to replace her refrigerators ice maker, as part of her warranty.

Patrick also wanted refrigerator drawers that werent covered under the warranty, a Sears spokesman said. Thats when the Repairs R Us technician told Patrick to call his repair company and buy the drawers, Patrick said.

In a statement, Sears and its partner Cross Country Home Services said they consistently assess the licensed and insured service providers within our network." They said that Repairs R Us is not part their service network at this time, but that this is unrelated to Patricks issue.

Martin, who said she runs the repair business by herself with some family help, said an employee later called Patrick to sell her the maintenance plan. She said her company would normally email or fax a contract, but couldnt because Patrick was not tech savvy." She acknowledged she could have mailed it, but said the plan was to have Patrick sign the contract when the drawers were installed.

Lawyers pointed to several Pennsylvania consumer protection laws that require merchants to provide consumers contracts or receipts.

Joann Needleman, a consumer finance lawyer, noted that under the Pennsylvania commercial code, sales of goods of more than $500 must be in writing.

In contract law, there is an inherent duty to act in good faith and to provide disclosure about what consumers are contracting for. It sounds like in this particular case, that didnt happen," said Needleman, of the business law firm Clark Hill, which has an office in Philadelphia.

Jeremy Spiegel, a consumer protection lawyer in Philadelphia, said one could argue the repair company violated a part of Pennsylvanias unfair trade practices law that typically deals with door-to-door sales. He said courts have construed that provision broadly and it requires companies to provide a written receipt and notice of cancellation.

The Pennsylvania consumer protection law also includes a general provision prohibiting fraudulent or deceptive conduct that creates a likelihood of confusion or misunderstanding.

If a customer contacted a company to request one service and was instead billed for a service that costs 10 times as much without written confirmation, that would raise a concern of deception, Spiegel said. "If the company obtains payment by accessing the customers credit card on file, the concern would be heightened.

Martin cast herself as a generous person who spends much of her time and money rescuing the homeless while taking care of her disabled veteran husband and three children.

Thats no excuse to defraud an elderly woman, DiGiulio, Patricks daughter said.

Were all taking care of a family," DiGiulio said. We dont scam people to make money.

Were trying to survive, too, Patrick said.
Artist Nicolas Gonzalez-Medina, who is undocumented - and unafraid - with some of his artworks. He participated in the Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement conference in the city's Fairhill section on Saturday. Read more

Artist Nicolas Gonzalez-Medina spoke out from the stage on Saturday, in front of about 200 people: Hes an undocumented immigrant, living in the United States without government permission.

And he doesnt care who knows it.

The roar of applause that greeted his proclamation couldnt drown out the danger of arrest and deportation, especially in Philadelphia, a city thats home to one of the nations most aggressive Immigration and Customs Enforcement field offices, and where undocumented migrants commonly live in the shadows.

For me its a responsibility, to share my experience, my art and my voice, and give people a little courage, Gonzalez-Medina said in an interview.

More undocumented people must step forward and speak out. Because its crucial, he said, that decisions that impact the lives of immigrants are not made solely by the older white men who dominate the federal government.

Gonzalez-Medina, 32, came to the United States from Mexico at age 6, grew up in Chicago, and now lives in Oakland, Calif.

On Saturday he joined the scores of transgender, bisexual, and gay Latinos who traveled here from across the country for the first national conference of Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement. The five-year-old, Los Angeles-based group works to highlight the struggles of transgender and queer people, to help those confined at immigrant detention centers, and to try to stop the construction of more of those facilities.

Participants from as far as Seattle and Las Vegas are here to talk, unify, and strategize, gathering at a moment when the treatment of LGBT people has become an emerging issue in the national debate over immigration.

Immigrant advocates say people with untraditional sexual and gender orientations are frequently mistreated in federal detention centers. While LGBT people made up only 0.1 percent of all those detained by ICE in 2017, they accounted for 12 percent of sexual-assault victims in those centers, according to a congressional letter to the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE says its committed to providing safe, secure, and humane treatment to everyone in its custody.

When we face the immigration system, our queerness comes with us, said Monserrat Padilla, 27, a Seattle deportation-defense coordinator for the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network. This is our opportunity to speak up.

On Saturday, people filled the halls and conference rooms of Taller Puertorriqueno in the citys Fairhill neighborhood, connecting with old friends and making new ones. The center proclaims itself El Corazon Cultural del Barrio, that is, the cultural heart of Latino Philadelphia.

Philadelphia  on Saturday dubbed the City of Brotherly Love and Queerly Affection  was a logical conference site, a place where gay rights and immigrant rights are claimed and defended. Its a sanctuary city, where officials decline to assist in federal immigration enforcement and have warred with the Trump administration on multiple fronts.

There hasnt actually been an opportunity for all these leaders, activists to come to one space and talk about the work thats happening and the work that needs to happen going forward, said Francisco Cortes, interim executive director of Galaei, the queer Latino social-justice organization in North Philadelphia. This is where we say, Keep doing the work were doing, but there has to be a national strategy, too.

The three-day conference, delivered in Spanish, English, and a touch of Spanglish, resumes Sunday at the William Way LGBT Community Center in Center City.

Speaker Seneca Joyner, 37, an anarchist from Massachusetts, said its important for people to take heart, to have confidence that change can happen. Big governments dont always win, despite their huge advantages and resources.

Look at the war in Vietnam, she said. Look at the American Revolution. The same holds true today.

Its a failure of imagination to believe that this government, or any government, is omnipotent, she said. The people are more powerful.

Outside, at the back of the center, Gonzalez-Medina and other artists were at work.

For political movements, he said, art is essential. Its a way to quickly, effectively, attractively communicate a message. Its durable and transferable.

There are people, said helper Lorena Martinez, 29, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who die trying. But the art lives on.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Friday, May 17, 2019. Read more

TEHRAN, Iran  Irans foreign minister traveled Friday to China on his Asian tour aimed at keeping world markets open to Tehran amid an intense sanctions campaign from the U.S. as tensions across the Persian Gulf remain high.

Concerns about a possible conflict have flared since the White House ordered warships and bombers to the region to counter an alleged, unexplained threat from Iran that has seen America order nonessential diplomatic staff out of Iraq.

Tensions have also ratcheted up in the region after authorities alleged that a sabotage operation targeted four oil tankers on Sunday off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, and Iran-aligned rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for a drone attack Tuesday on a crucial Saudi oil pipeline.

Saudi Arabia directly blamed Iran for the drone assault, and a local newspaper linked to the Al Saud royal family called on Thursday for America to launch "surgical strikes" on Tehran.

This all takes root in President Donald Trump's decision last year to withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers and impose wide-reaching sanctions. But Trump took a soft tone Thursday, a day after tweeting that he expected Iran to look for talks. Asked if the U.S. might be on a path to war with the Iranians, the president answered, "I hope not."

Iranian officials remain skeptical.

Imposing sanctions while seeking talks is like "pointing a gun at someone and demanding friendship," said Iranian Gen. Rasool Sanaeirad, according to the semiofficial Mehr news agency.

That comment was echoed by Majid Takht-e Ravanchi, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations.

"They want to have the stick in their hands, trying to intimidate Iran at the same time calling for a dialogue," Ravanchi told CBS. "What type of dialogue is this?"

For his part, Trump criticized the media in a tweet Friday about Iran and added: "At least Iran doesn't know what to think, which at this point may very well be a good thing!" Since the White House's decision May 5 to deploy the bombers and aircraft carrier, the U.S. government has declined repeated requests to publicly explain the new threat they perceive coming from Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif later responded to Trump on Twitter.

"We in Iran have actually known what to think for millennia_and about the U.S., since 1953," the diplomat wrote, referring to the CIA's involvement in the overthrow of Iran's prime minister at the time. "At this point, that is certainly 'a good thing!'"

Then Trump appeared to minutes later respond to Zarif's tweet.

"With all of the Fake and Made Up News out there, Iran can have no idea what is actually going on!" the U.S. president wrote.

On Friday, Zarif arrived in Beijing to speak to his Chinese counterpart. China was one of the signatories on Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which saw it limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of crushing economic sanctions.

"So far, the international community has mainly made statements instead of saving the deal," Zarif said, according to a report by the state-run IRNA news agency. "The practical step is quite clear: economic relations with Iran should be normalized. This is what the deal clearly addresses."

Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Zarif that China hopes the Iran nuclear deal can be "fully implemented."

"China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions and the so-called 'long arm' jurisdiction imposed by the United States on Iran," Wang said, according to China's Xinhua state news agency. He pledged to maintain the nuclear deal and work with Iran to eliminate "complicated disturbing factors," Xinhua said.

Zarif earlier visited Japan, a major importer of crude oil from the Persian Gulf.

Iran recently said it would resume enriching uranium at higher levels if a new nuclear deal is not reached with Europe by July 7. That would potentially bring it closer to being able to develop a nuclear weapon, something Iran insists it has never sought.

The USS Abraham Lincoln and its carrier strike group have yet to reach the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a third of all oil traded at sea passes. A Revolutionary Guard deputy warned that any armed conflict would affect the global energy market. Iran long has threatened to be able to shut off the strait.

"If a war happens, the world will suffer from problem in energy supply," Gen. Saleh Jokar said, according to a report Friday by the semiofficial Fars news agency.

He also said Irans short-range missiles can easily reach present warships in the Persian Gulf, while noting the 1,240-mile range of the Islamic Republics ballistic missiles can reach across the wider Persian Gulf.

The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which patrols the Persian Gulf from its base in Bahrain, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, the USS McFaul and the USS Gonzalez, two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, transited the strait on Thursday without incident.

Also on Friday, Britain's Foreign Office advised against all travel to Iran by British-Iranian dual nationals. The government said the upgraded travel warning is in response to Iran's "continued arbitrary detention and mistreatment" of dual nationals and of Iranian citizens working for institutions linked to Britain.

Benchmark Brent crude traded near $73 a barrel on Friday, up around half a percent.

Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell contributed to this article.
Philadelphia police officers have been enforcing bike lanes, bus stops and turning rules to improve traffic congestion. A question on the ballot in Tuesday's primary election asks whether the city should have a separate group of traffic officers to free police from the duty and focus more on the problem. Read more

Voters can decide Tuesday whether Philadelphias congestion problems warrant the creation of a new class of law officer dedicated to traffic enforcement.

The primary election will include a ballot question asking voters to amend the City Charter to create public safety officers. They would not be sworn police officers, would not be armed, and would not have arrest powers, but would assist in traffic control, including having authority to issue some citations, said City Council President Darrell L. Clarke, who has pushed the initiative.

The officers would answer to the Managing Directors Office, Clarke said, which would deploy them as needed. Center City congestion was the impetus for creating the position, but Clarke said the officers also could be called on to assist building inspectors and the Health Department.

Only registered Democrats and Republicans can participate in the party primaries for elected offices, but any registered voter can vote on ballot questions.

Other proposed measures would change the charter to: use gender-neutral language for City Council and its members; make permanent the Office of Immigrant Affairs, created by executive order in 2016; and urge the state legislature to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour or let Philadelphia set the wage within the city.

Philadelphias traffic has steadily worsened over the last decade, with a boom in e-commerce deliveries, a growing population, and ride-share vehicles.

>>READ MORE: Bike lanes, speed cameras, and traffic enforcement: Philly City Council moves ahead on safe streets issues

The congestion is more than an inconvenience. Public transportation particularly has suffered. As buses get slower  in some parts of the city a person on foot can move faster than a SEPTA bus  riders abandon transit for their own cars or ride-share vehicles, which adds to the problem. SEPTA last year reported its lowest bus ridership in more than a decade, and officials are concerned the trend will ultimately harm the systems ability to provide cheap, comprehensive travel.

What I hope is its really more for the areas experiencing a lot of chronic illegal activity, said Sarah Clark Stuart, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.

Issues such as blocking the box at intersections and illegal parking in bike lanes are among the violations the new officers might focus on.

But details remain vague, including the cost. Clarke anticipates about 100 new officers, but said that he didnt want to be specific about what enforcement powers they might have. The officers would be assigned to curtail behavior from drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians that contribute to congestion, he has said.

If the amendment is approved, the city would spend the next year working out the details. Its paramount to free sworn police from traffic enforcement, Clarke said.

The traffic has calmed in some key congested areas, but its simply as a result of the deployment of police officers, Clarke said. Police should be doing police work.

Opponents have raised questions about how the new class of officers would be paid, and whether it would be wise to put unarmed people in potentially contentious situations.

>>READ MORE: Phillys still stuck in traffic. Here are 5 fixes from around the world.

They should have the power of arrest if necessary, they should be trained in firearms, said Al Taubenberger, a City Council member who voted against putting the question on Tuesdays ballot. This is where danger occurs with police officers.

The citys police union is also opposed, saying the creation of a new class of officer would violate state law that grants traffic enforcement powers to sworn police officers. The Fraternal Order of Police said it would file a complaint with the state labor board.

Public safety officers exist in other cities, including New York, which has served as an inspiration for Philadelphias initiative, and Clarke said he is confident the officers would be legal.
Former City Controller Alan Butkovitz (left), Mayor Jim Kenney (center) and State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams (right) appear in the Democratic primary election's lone televised debate at NBC10 on Monday, May 13, 2019. Read more

For a mayor running a tactically low-key campaign for a second term, Jim Kenney spent the closing days of the primary season making official stops all over Philadelphia.

Potholes messing with your commute? Kenney kicked off paving season Wednesday in Northwest Philadelphia, a region key to his 2015 election.

Dont like the citys sweetened-beverage tax? Kenney spent Friday showing what it pays for during a Day of Play with about 1,000 pre-K students and their parents in Fairmount Park.

And on Thursday Kenney made a stop on the Rebuild program road tour, touting a $10 million grant for renovations at the Olney Recreation Center.

Kenney, who faces State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams and former City Controller Alan Butkovitz in Tuesdays Democratic primary election, is heavily favored to win.

If the mayoral contest seemed sleepy, the race for City Council at-large has plenty of drama. It drew the biggest field of hopefuls in four decades  one that is younger, more diverse, and more liberal than ever before. With two Democratic at-large members leaving, Council will change.

With time running out Saturday, mayoral and Council candidates alike fired up their door-to-door canvassers, strolled through neighborhood festivals, and courted support at ward political rallies.

Kenney has intentionally limited his interaction with his challengers. Since Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 7-1 ratio, the primary winner is virtually assured of victory in November.

The mayor is abusing the power of his incumbency to generate support for his campaign, Williams complained, speaking of the paving, Rebuild, and pre-K events.

An old cliche, Butkovitz said. "You only saw the street cleaners out the week before the election. Its caricaturing.

Said Harrison Morgan, a spokesperson for the Kenney campaign, The mayor is doing his job."

Special interests dominate mayoral campaign

Hes sleepwalking to a win, Randall Miller, a political historian at St. Josephs University, said. His basic approach is: Im the incumbent, the incumbent never loses, nobody is watching the race.

In fact, history is on Kenneys side. No incumbent mayor who has sought a second term has been denied since two terms were authorized seven decades ago.

Nearly $2 million has been spent on campaign commercials by three political action committees unaffiliated with any campaign  most of it motivated by the so-called soda tax and backing Kenney.

>>DEBATE HIGHLIGHTS: Mayor Jim Kenney spars with two Democratic challengers in primarys lone televised debate

The American Beverage Association spent $521,196 to criticize Kenney for the sweetened-beverage tax. Philly 2019, funded by local building trades unions, put up $552,601 in support of Kenney. And Forward Together Philadelphia, which received $1 million from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, spent $800,000 to push for Kenneys reelection.

Kenney has weathered criticism about the citys homicide rate, gentrification displacing longtime residents, real estate taxes, and other issues.

An Inquirer poll last month found a dichotomy: a plurality of voters approves of the job Kenney is doing as mayor while also disapproving of some individual policies.

Kenney spent Saturday on the campaign trail, making a stop at an SEIU 32BJ union rally, sporting a Dick Allen Phillies jersey and cargo shorts. He told the crowd of about 150 that unions put him in office.

Unionization has helped me become who I am, he said, promising to work if reelected to help people get out of poverty and have a dignified working condition and wage.

Williams roamed the Italian Market Festival in South Philadelphia, handing out campaign fliers and asking voters to visit his website. Angelo Colletti, manning a sidewalk grill steaming with sausage and peppers outside J&Js, called out good wishes to Williams.

The big thing is getting rid of the soda tax, Colletti said. Theyre killing us with the soda tax.

Butkovitz attended a breakfast rally in Logans 49th Ward, telling the crowd of about 50 that Kenney is taking it for granted.

Shirley Gregory, Democratic leader of the ward, welcomed Butkovitz wearing an orange shirt emblazoned with the names of Kenney and Councilwoman Cherelle Parker. Gregory later said she worried it was looking harder and harder for Kenney to win.

I believe its because the people want the mayor to be a little more forceful, she said.

Council at-large frenzy

This year, with two Democratic at-large Council members not seeking reelection, hopeful candidates came out in full force. More are running  28 Democrats and seven Republicans  than any year since 1979.

Having such a diverse and progressive crowd has made it difficult to stand out, said Mustafa Rashed, a political consultant not working for any candidates on the primary ballot this year.

"The field has shifted so far left that your ideas have to be extremely super-duper progressive to be popular," Rashed said.

>>READ MORE: From a Horn & Hardart can, democratic socialist and transgender candidate draw top Council ballot spots

And in a diverse field that includes first- and second-generation immigrants and LGBTQ candidates, its difficult to claim first status, especially when there isnt much disagreement on key issues or positions.

Ultimately, resources could be the differentiator, he said, with candidates capable of paying for television commercials standing out in the field.

Endorsements may also make a big difference, as groups and wards will circulate sample ballots on election day to try and sway voters unfamiliar with all the names on the ballot.

Whos likely to come out on top?

Despite the large number of people running, most political observers think that only about eight or nine of the 28 Democrats stand a real chance at winning.

The three incumbents, Helen Gym, Derek Green, and Allan Domb, are endorsed by the party, are on TV, and have the benefit of incumbency. Party-endorsed Isaiah Thomas, a third-time candidate; and Kathy Gilmore Richardson, a protege of retiring Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, will likely receive the backing of the powerful Northwest coalition and have racked up additional endorsements independently.

Justin DiBerardinis and Eryn Santamoor have both run robust campaigns and raised enough money to go on TV. Erika Almiron has put together an energized grassroots campaign. Ballot position could also boost a candidate like Adrian Rivera Reyes, who, though little known, has the No. 1 ballot spot and several endorsements.

>>QUIZ: Do you know whats on the 2019 Philly primary election ballot?

A lower-turnout election will likely favor the party-backed candidates, predicted Larry Ceisler, a public affairs executive. In 2017, the first election after President Donald Trump took office, young millennial voters turned out in historic numbers for the district attorney and controller races. Whether they come out again remains to be seen.

Steven Scott Bradley, chairman of the African American Chamber of Commerce, thinks voters are looking past the city primary, to next years presidential election. At an event held last week to spark interest in Council races, he predicted low turnout.

Honestly, Im discouraged," he said. It just doesnt seem to be picking up momentum.

Three districts to watch

In the 10 Council district races, only five incumbents have challengers. Of those, the three races likely to be the most competitive are in the 2nd, 3rd, and 7th Districts.

In the 2nd District, Lauren Vidas is running against two-term incumbent Councilman Johnson, who has faced several land-deal scandals in the past year. To win, Vidas will need to appeal to voters in the Southwest portions of the district, beyond her base in Graduate Hospital.

>>READ MORE: Philly voters can choose to create traffic enforcement officers in Tuesdays primary election

In the 3rd District, Jamie Gauthier is hoping to upset longtime West Philadelphia Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. Gauthier has benefited from the backing of Philly 3.0, a political action committee aligned with developers. Blackwell is not accustomed to having a credible challenger, but the partys election-day street teams will be out in full force for her.

In North Philadelphias 7th District, Maria Quinones-Sanchez is hoping to again defeat a party-backed candidate, state Rep. Angel Cruz. Their heated rivalry has been on full display. Four years ago, the 7th District contest was the closest of the district races, with Quinones-Sanchez winning by fewer than 1,000 votes of 12,000 cast.

Sheriff lays low amid controversy

If Kenney is running a low-key campaign, Sheriff Jewell Williams has made his bid for a third term practically subterranean. Williams, dogged by controversy, has ignored his three Democratic challengers, retired police officer Rochelle Bilal and former deputies Malika Rahman and Larry King.

That trio has done little to hit Williams where he is vulnerable  two sexual-harassment suits settled, a third pending  and did not raise the cash needed to effectively spread a message citywide.

>>READ MORE: Sheriff Jewell Williams faces three primary challengers amid harassment scandal
Phillies Andrew McCutchen celebrates his two run third-inning home run with teammate Cole Irvin against the Colorado Rockies on Friday, May 17, 2019 in Philadelphia. Read more

Four hours before Friday night's game was scheduled to begin, Andrew McCutchen went out to the field at Citizens Bank Park and hit curveballs off a pitching machine that was designed to throw super-slow breaking balls. The idea: Slow down a swing that had gotten out of whack over the last few weeks.

Practice, it turns out, sometimes does make you almost perfect.

McCutchen delivered a two-run home run  his first blast since April 28 to help jumpstart the Phillies offense en route to a 5-4 victory over the Rockies. McCutchen also drew two more walks and threw a runner out at the plate from left field, as the Phillies snapped a three-game losing streak.

"It's really gratifying to see a guy go out pregame, work on something specific, and immediately apply it," manager Gabe Kapler said. "Andrew McCutchen was incredibly comfortable at the plate today. Very relaxed. Very easy. In control of all of his plate appearances, including the one where he struck out. I'll let you guys complete that."

Translation: McCutchen couldn't do anything about home-plate umpire Angel Hernandez's strike zone. At last, though, in the midst of a slump that has been overshadowed by Bryce Harper's month-long funk, it was about the only thing that McCutchen couldn't control.

Harper finally got a big hit, too. Matter of fact, his two-run double after McCutchen walked and Jean Segura notched one of his three hits with two out in the fifth inning held up as the decisive blow for the Phillies, who didn't get many big hits this week in losing three games in a row to the Brewers.

And while the silver lining in the dual struggles of McCutchen and Harper is that both outfielders have still been drawing walks and reaching base at a decent clip, the biggest walk Friday night was the 10-pitch free pass worked by rookie pitcher Cole Irvin in his first big-league plate appearance. Irvin outlasted Rockies pitcher Jon Gray in the third inning, reaching base with two outs before McCutchen went deep to bring the Phillies back from a two-run deficit.

"Huge at-bat," Harper said. "He threw the ball well, of course, but really sparked us with that huge at-bat that he had."

Irvin, who committed two errors in a rough second inning that could have been far worse, fouled off three pitches in a row and four out of five before laying off a 97 mph fastball to draw the walk. McCutchen followed by getting to a full count before slugging a 97 mph heater over the left-field wall.

"I feel like I've been muscling up quite a bit to the ball as opposed to just letting the ball come to me," McCutchen said. "That's what I did. That's why I hit some real slow curveballs on the field. The only way you can hit those good is if you slow down, and that's what I did."

Irvins second big-league start was as much a curiosity as his first. Five days earlier in Kansas City, he shut down a Royals lineup that ranks as one of the worst in the American League in a ballpark that isnt conducive to offense. The Rockies  and homer-friendly Citizens Bank Park -- surely would present stiffer tests.

And Irvin did struggle at times, particularly during a second inning in which he made two throwing errors that led to a run. He benefited from McCutchen's throw in the third inning. The 79th of Irvin's 84 pitches got hit for a two-run homer by Ian Desmond, cutting back the Phillies' lead to 5-4.

But Irvin also got through six innings with a lead, which, ultimately, is what the Phillies ask of their starting pitchers.

A little disappointed in that second inning, as well as that home run  a slider I left up, Irvin said. I need to get better for the next start. That second inning is completely on me. Ill take some extra reps this week and get ready for the next start and see what happens.

Hey, it worked for McCutchen.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, arrive at "Good Morning America" in New York, Thursday, May 16, 2019. Read more

Within minutes of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio declaring his presidential bid Thursday, President Donald Trump attacked him. For once, both Trump's allies and his target were fine with it.

De Blasio, a lanky liberal who runs the city that Trump long called home, provoked two tweets from the president as well as a video shot from Air Force One  an unusual amount of attention for a 2020 entrant who hasn't dented the polls. For the mayor and his allies, it was seen as essentially an in-kind contribution from the president, giving his nascent campaign more oxygen and drawing a contrast with a president deeply unpopular among the Democratic base.

And for the president, it was the perfect opportunity to slash a mayor who is seen by the president's supporters as the epitome of a big-city liberal. Overall, it was an old-fashioned tabloid-style brawl between two longtime New Yorkers.

"It's good for both of them. It's pathetic for both of them that they have this mutually beneficial relationship, but they do," said Stu Loeser, a prominent New York consultant who was an aide to former mayor Michael Bloomberg. "No one who is thinking of supporting Trump likes Bill de Blasio, and no one who is thinking of supporting Bill de Blasio likes Trump."

Advisers say Trump does not regard de Blasio as a serious threat  seeing him as more of a useful foil  but that he still keeps up with the city, reading the New York Post in the White House residence each morning.

Trump has focused much of his attention so far on former vice president Joe Biden and on Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), who have done well in the polls. In a meeting with supporters at the White House this week, Trump asked if they saw any other Democrat beating Biden or Sanders, adding that he thought it was unlikely. His campaigns own polling shows Biden beating him at this point, advisers say.

But de Blasio quickly joined the target list. On Thursday, Trump tweeted that "if you like high taxes & crime, he's your man. NYC HATES HIM!" White House aides say Trump made the video because he was flying to New York and was bored on Air Force One.

"I just heard that the worst mayor in the history of New York City, and without question, the worst mayor in the United States, is now running for president," Trump says in the video. "It will never happen."

De Blasio advisers say that he will launch a full frontal attack on Trump, hoping to draw him into substantive fights, and that they were thrilled that he engaged. In his announcement video, de Blasio suggested it would take one tough New Yorker to battle another.

"I'm a New Yorker. I've known Trump's a bully for a long time," de Blasio said in the video. "This is not news to me or anyone else here, and I know how to take him on."

Still, de Blasio may struggle for attention in a field of 23 Democrats that includes Biden and seven sitting senators. But supporters say the field is without a successful liberal executive, and that de Blasio will challenge the president on the environment, immigration and health care while calling Trump a con man and highlighting his pockmarked history as a New York businessman.

Even before de Blasio's announcement, the spat took on the trappings of a New York City tabloid battle.

The mayor on Monday held a news conference at Trump Tower to criticize the Trump Organizations failure to cut emissions. That prompted a back-and-forth on Twitter that included Eric Trump, the presidents son, opining that our great city has gone to s under your leadership.

He wasn't the only family member to get in on the scrap. Donald Trump Jr. tweeted a video Wednesday that appeared to show trash lining a New York City street, writing that instead of running for president, de Blasio "should clean up his backyard first."

Trump and de Blasio barely know each other, associates say. They had an hour-long meeting in Trump Tower during the presidential transition, and people close to de Blasio said he was surprised that the president was complimentary. They briefly discussed immigration and policing, but the conversation was not followed by a second one.

On the night Trump won the election, de Blasio was celebrating at the Manhattan apartment of liberal donor George Soros, people familiar with the matter said.

The two men have some similarities, though both might recoil at that notion. Both love to attack the press. Both were seen as outsiders with little chance at winning their races. Both are unpopular in New York and think people outside the city will see them more favorably. Neither plunges deeply into minutiae they run, and both have supreme self-confidence, according to people close to them.

Whether de Blasio can take on Trump on remains unclear. His news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower was overshadowed by protesters and loud music blaring from the building. People close to him question whether his preferred nickname, "Don Con," will work against Trump and have warned against it. Many of those closest to de Blasio, even supporters who think he is a good mayor, decided not to engage in the race because they did not think he would win.

Trump's team wants to paint de Blasio as a mayor who made New York City worse, though the city's economy is strong and crime is low.

"I doubt anyone was sitting around saying, You know what this Democrat field needs? A little Bill de Blasio! " said Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for the Trump campaign. He adds yet another dose of socialism to the field and brings to the table a disastrous time as mayor of New York.

One thing is certain, people close to both men say: The New Yorkers are likely to keep talking about each other. As the president's motorcade rolled to the airport Friday, campaign manager Brad Parscale complained about the potholes in the city streets and blamed de Blasio.

Hes a con man, de Blasio said while campaigning in Iowa on Friday. He told working people in Iowa, in rural areas, that he was going to be on their side. And he socked them with tariffs.
In this May 13, 2019 photo, South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace discusses being sexually assaulted in Columbia, S.C. For more than two decades, Nancy Mace did not speak publicly about her rape. In April, when she finally broke her silence, she chose the most public of forums, before her colleagues in South Carolinas legislature. Read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  For more than two decades, Nancy Mace did not speak publicly about her rape. In April, when she finally broke her silence, she chose the most public of forums  before her colleagues in South Carolina's legislature.

A bill was being debated that would ban all abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected; Mace, a Republican lawmaker, wanted to add an exception fo rape and incest. When some of her colleagues in the House dismissed her amendment  some women invent rapes to justify seeking an abortion, they claimed  she could not restrain herself.

"For some of us who have been raped, it can take 25 years to get up the courage and talk about being a victim of rape," Mace said, gripping the lectern so hard she thought she might pull it up from the floor. "My mother and my best friend in high school were the only two people who knew."

As one Republican legislature after another has pressed ahead with restrictive abortion bills in recent months, they have been confronted with raw and emotional testimony about the consequences of such laws. Female lawmakers and other women have stepped forward to tell searing, personal stories  in some cases speaking about attacks for the first time to anyone but a loved one or their closest friend.

Mace is against abortion in most cases and supported the fetal heartbeat bill as long as it contained the exception for rape and incest. She said her decision to reveal an attack that has haunted her for so long was intended to help male lawmakers understand the experience of those victims.

"It doesn't matter what side of the aisle you are on, there are so many of us who share this trauma and this experience," Mace said in an interview. "Rape and incest are not partisan issues."

Personal horror stories have done little to slow passage of bills in Georgia, where a lawmaker told about having an abortion after being raped, or Alabama, where the governor this week signed a law that bans all abortions unless they are necessary to save the life of the mother.

In Ohio, a fetal heartbeat bill passed even after three lawmakers spoke out on the floor about their rapes  among them State Rep. Lisa Sobecki, who argued for a rape exemption by recounting her own assault and subsequent abortion.

It was gut-wrenching, the Navy veteran said, but her decision to speak out was validated the next day when she was approached in the grocery store by a man in his 70s, whose wife of 41 years had read of her account that morning in the local newspaper. The story prompted his wife to tell him for the first time that she also had been raped.

"It's not just our stories," Sobecki said. "It's giving voice to the voiceless, those that haven't felt for a very long time that they could tell their stories and be heard."

Four years ago, when a previous fetal heartbeat bill was being debated, state Sen. Teresa Fedor, then a state representative, surprised colleagues with her story of being raped while in the military and having an abortion. She felt compelled to share the story again this year when the issue resurfaced.

"It's not something you like to focus on," the Toledo Democrat said. "And it didn't seem to have an impact in stopping the effort, so that's the sad part."

The governor signed the bill, without exceptions for rape or incest.

Ohio state Rep. Erica Crawley, a Democrat representing Columbus, said she didn't intend to share the story of her sexual assault when floor debate on the heartbeat bill began. But she said she was motivated by a Republican colleague who alleged that witnesses at committee hearings on the bill had exaggerated or fabricated their stories.

"I wanted them to know that I'm someone you have respect for, and this has happened to me," she said.

Crawley felt she had no choice but to speak out: "Because if I stay silent, I feel like I'm complicit."

Kelly Dittmar, an expert on women and politics at Rutgers University, said she would not be surprised if even more female lawmakers begin to speak out about their rapes and abortions. More women feel empowered by the #MeToo movement, she said, and the record number of women who won seats in state legislatures last year gives them a greater voice.

"For some women who have healed enough in their own personal battles with this type of abuse, they might be comfortable speaking about this publicly because they see a higher purpose for it," she said.

One such woman is Gretchen Whitmer. In 2013, she was minority leader in the Michigan state Senate when she spoke against a Republican-backed effort to require separate health insurance to cover abortion.

Seven minutes into her floor speech, a visibly upset Whitmer put down her notes and told her colleagues that she had been raped more than 20 years earlier and that the memory of the attack continued to haunt her. She thanked God that she had not become pregnant by her attacker.

In an interview this week, the Democrat said her decision to share her story was the right one. After her testimony, her office received thousands of emails from people thanking her.

"That was the thing that bolstered me the most and convinced me that I had to continue speaking out and running for office and taking action," she said. "There are a lot of victims and survivors out there who care, who need to be heard, who need to be represented and who need the law to reflect what we want and need to see in our country."

Earlier this week, Michigan's Republican-led Legislature passed two bills to restrict abortions and sent them to the governor.

That governor is now Whitmer. She said she will veto both of them.

___

Cassidy reported from Atlanta.

___

Follow Julie Carr Smyth at http://www.twitter.com/jcarrsmyth and Christina Cassidy at http://twitter.com/AP_Christina
Workers install a gutter during construction of a home designed to withstand extreme weather in the Breezy Point neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. Read more

Breezy Point is beautiful in the summertime, a quaint Queens neighborhood sitting on a slim peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic just south of New York City.

In a storm, though, that dreamy setting can become a nightmare.

Breezy Point was devastated by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Flooding, high winds, and fires destroyed more than 300 homes, with many more left damaged and unlivable. Now, seven years later, architect Illya Azaroff has designed and built a home there he says can withstand a storm even more powerful than Sandy, "maintaining operation, even if all else fails.''

Welcome to the home of the future in a time of climate change. As weather gets wilder and less predictable, firms that design, construct, or improve housing with storm safety and resiliency in mind are increasingly in demand, said Matt Belcher, a builder in tornado-prone St. Louis. Its a powerful marketing message that cuts across the political divide, he said.

The frequency and severity of the storms are increasing, said Belcher, who builds houses designed to withstand 140-mph winds. Whether people credit it to climate change or think its cyclical, it doesnt matter if your house is destroyed. Either way, resiliency applies.

In 2008, the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, an industry research group, created a set of construction standards that generally exceed local building codes, certifying that a home is likely to survive hurricane-force winds and rain.

The needle barely moved on the number of homes meeting the designation in a handful of hurricane-prone states from 1,122 in 2008 to 1,638 in 2014. By 2018, the number jumped to 11,031 homes, and it has moved to 12,530 in the first four months of 2019.

The fortified designation is provided by trained evaluators primarily based in Texas, Florida, the Carolinas, and Alabama, though the institute is now expanding the numbers of states they serve. In some areas, the designation can help homeowners with insurance and renovation costs.

When the consumer has a different perception of the risk, it changes the demands they make on home builders, said Roy Wright, the groups leader and a former head of risk mitigation at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The home building industry will respond to the market.

The Breezy Point design by Brooklyn-based Azaroff, who also serves as the New York disaster coordinator for the American Institute of Architects, keeps Sandys devastation in mind, from the bottom up:

The house is elevated more than three feet above average flood elevation, with open concrete posts sunk deep into the ground and vents that let flowing water easily escape underneath the house.

The walls and floor are made with concrete-filled forms made from polystyrene and recycled plastic that can withstand driving rain and 300-mph winds.

It has fire-resistant fiber cement-board siding, and inflexible, interlocking polymer roof shingles locked in with screws. Safety glass in the windows can withstand a nine-pound piece of wood flying at 34 mph.

The roof is held in place with ultra-strong connectors.

Cost remains key for homeowners. The hurricane-strong house, as Azaroff has labeled it, is 7 percent to 9 percent more expensive to build. But with energy and insurance savings, the upgrades should pay for themselves in 8 to 10 years, according to Azaroff.

Rima Taher, a civil and structural engineer who teaches at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, has published the textbook Building Design for Wind Forces. The strategies behind recent improvements in housing resiliency can be attributed to improved building codes based on research in wind engineering that started back in the 1960s, she said.

We have more knowledge in this field now, and building codes and standards are stronger, Taher said.

Taher frequently gets calls for advice, she said, noting that a couple of important things to focus on are roof design and strong connections between walls, between the walls and the roof, and between the structure and its foundation. Taher advises "hurricane ties," or straps, to join the roof tightly to walls, and says roofs should be designed with multiple slopes with overhangs limited to less than 20 inches.

"The roof can be the first thing to go," she said.

But its not just new houses being worked on with extreme weather in mind. Older houses on the East Coast offer other opportunities for builders. In the Carolinas and on New Yorks Long Island, local contractors have raised hundreds of houses six to eight feet higher within the last few years, taking advantage of government programs that popped up after major hurricanes.

Mike Roms company, Long Island House Lifting, now raises 45 to 50 homes a year at a cost of $150,000 to $300,000 apiece.

Following Hurricane Sandy, he said, every other house is up in some neighborhoods. But its not just the big storms that are a problem, according to Rom. Shoreline areas that used to see street flooding at most two or three times a year now see it monthly.
Who Wants This War with Iran?

By Patrick J. Buchanan

May 17, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Speaking on state TV of the prospect of a war in the Gulf, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei seemed to dismiss the idea.

"There won't be any war. ... We don't seek a war, and (the Americans) don't either. They know it's not in their interests."

The ayatollah's analysis -- a war is in neither nation's interest -- is correct. Consider the consequences of a war with the United States for his own country.

Iran's hundreds of swift boats and handful of submarines would be sunk. Its ports would be mined or blockaded. Oil exports and oil revenue would halt. Air fields and missile bases would be bombed. The Iranian economy would crash. Iran would need years to recover.

And though Iran's nuclear sites are under constant observation and regular inspection, they would be destroyed.

Tehran knows this, which is why, despite 40 years of hostility, Iran has never sought war with the "Great Satan" and does not want this war to which we seem to be edging closer every day.

What would such a war mean for the United States?

It would not bring about "regime change" or bring down Iran's government that survived eight years of ground war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

If we wish to impose a regime more to our liking in Tehran, we will have to do it the way we did it with Germany and Japan after 1945, or with Iraq in 2003. We would have to invade and occupy Iran.

Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter

But in World War II, we had 12 million men under arms. And unlike Iraq in 2003, which is one-third the size and population of Iran, we do not have the hundreds of thousands of troops to call up and send to the Gulf.

Nor would Americans support such an invasion, as President Donald Trump knows from his 2016 campaign. Outside a few precincts, America has no enthusiasm for a new Mideast war, no stomach for any occupation of Iran.

Moreover, war with Iran would involve firefights in the Gulf that would cause at least a temporary shutdown in oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz -- and a worldwide recession.

How would that help the world? Or Trump in 2020?

How many allies would we have in such a war?

Spain has pulled its lone frigate out of John Bolton's flotilla headed for the Gulf. Britain, France and Germany are staying with the nuclear pact, continuing to trade with Iran, throwing ice water on our intelligence reports that Iran is preparing to attack us.

Turkey regards Iran as a cultural and economic partner. Russia was a de facto ally in Syria's civil war. China continues to buy Iranian oil. India just hosted Iran's foreign minister.

So, again, Cicero's question: "Cui bono?"

Who really wants this war? How did we reach this precipice?

A year ago, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a MacArthurian ultimatum, making 12 demands on the Tehran regime.

Iran must abandon all its allies in the Middle East -- Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas in Gaza -- pull all forces under Iranian command out of Syria, and then disarm all its Shiite militia in Iraq.

Iran must halt all enrichment of uranium, swear never to produce plutonium, shut down its heavy water reactor, open up its military bases to inspection to prove it never had a secret nuclear program and stop testing missiles. And unless she submits, Iran will be strangled with sanctions.

Pompeo's speech at the Heritage Foundation read like the terms of some conquering Caesar dictating to some defeated tribe in Gaul, though we had yet to fight and win the war, usually a precondition for dictating terms.

Iran's response was to disregard Pompeo's demands.

And crushing U.S. sanctions were imposed, to brutal effect.

Yet, as one looks again at the places where Pompeo ordered Iran out -- Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza, Syria, Iraq -- no vital interest of ours was imperiled by any Iranian presence.

The people who have a problem with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon are the Israelis whose occupations spawned those movements.

As for Yemen, the Houthis overthrew a Saudi puppet.

Syria's Bashar Assad never threatened us, though we armed rebels to overthrow him. In Iraq, Iranian-backed Shiite militia helped us to defend Baghdad from the southerly advance of ISIS, which had taken Mosul.

Who wants us to plunge back into the Middle East, to fight a new and wider war than the ones we fought already this century in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen?

Answer: Pompeo and Bolton, Bibi Netanyahu, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Sunni kings, princes, emirs, sultans and the other assorted Jeffersonian democrats on the south shore of the Persian Gulf.

And lest we forget, the never-Trumpers and neocons in exile nursing their bruised egos, whose idea of sweet revenge is a U.S. return to the Mideast in a war with Iran, which then brings an end to the Trump presidency.

Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of "Nixon's White House Wars: The Battles That Made and Broke a President and Divided America Forever." To find out more about Patrick Buchanan and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators website at www.creators.com.
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Former FBI Solicitor General James Baker said that the Trump campaign was never spied on or subjected to data collection techniques.

Trumps campaign was not spied on

Baker said on MSNBCs MTP Daily, I cant remember exactly what the governments confirmed about that. Just talk about surveillance for a second. If youre talking about electronic surveillance for the purpose of obtaining political intelligence, what the campaign is doing in the campaign, then to my knowledge, that never occurred, I never 

Chuck Todd asked Baker if metadata was collected on the Trump campaign. He answered, I guess that anything is possible, but to my knowledge, I dont believe that kind of activity was going on either. In order to obtain information about the political intentions, strategy of the campaign, what we were focused on all the time, what this whole thing about was Russia. What were they up to.

Video:

Trump is trying to create a counter scandal to muddy the waters

Trump is using a tactic that he deployed during the 2016 election when he was able to distract attention from his own scandals by distracting voters with bogus Clinton scandals. The only difference between 2019 and 2016 is that Trumps target has shifted from Hillary Clinton to the FBI. Trump is one trick pony. He doesnt evolve or change. He only has one strategy for each occasion.

The FBI never spied on Donald Trump. Members of the Trump campaign were caught by US intelligence because they were hanging out with Russians who were under investigation.

`Trump is going to keeping spinning his tale, and Barr will do his bidding with bogus investigations because it is their only path to maintaining power. Now that he is president, the 2020 election isnt going to be about the FBI or spying the only topic on the ballot will be the unpopular presidency of Donald Trump. False attacks on the FBI cant save the sinking Trump presidency.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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Trump is ignoring the job of being president, but he is obsessing over and personally designing his border wall.

The Washington Post reported:

At a moment when the White House is diverting billions of dollars in military funds to fast-track construction, the president is micromanaging the project down to the smallest design details. But Trumps frequently shifting instructions and suggestions have left engineers and aides confused, according to current and former administration officials.

Trump has demanded Department of Homeland Security officials come to the White House on short notice to discuss wall construction and on several occasions woke former secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to discuss the project in the early morning, officials said.

.

Trumps changing tastes are potentially driving up the price. He remains adamant that the barrier should be painted black, despite warnings that it would significantly increase construction costs and maintenance budgets.

Trump doesnt have unlimited funds to build the wall. Democrats have introduced a bill that would limit the funds that he could take from the military. Trumps micromanaging is costing the government money and driving up the cost of the wall. Trump wants a wall that is 30 feet high with spikes on top finished fast all across the Southern border, but the president keeps changing the design and details which means that he isnt getting his wall built, but is killing the project through his insistence on pretending that he is a builder.

Trump is as good of a builder as he is a businessman. No one should be surprised if Trump is voted out of office in 2020, and the wall is never built because Donald Trump is so out of it that this supposed builder cant give understandable instructions for building something as simple as a wall.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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By Renee Parsons May 17, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - There was little pretense that when former UN Ambassador John Bolton became President Trumps National Security Adviser and former Rep. Mike Pompeo moved into the Secretary of State position, that either would bring a professionally credible and respectable presence to world diplomacy or foreign affairs. It is fair to say that both have surpassed any of the bleak expectations and proven to be more extreme in their ideology, more personally amoral and malevolent than previously feared. What we are seeing now is as if all constraints have been removed with free rein to fulfill their zio-neocon agendas specifically against Venezuela and Iran. While speaking to a student audience recently at Texas A&M University, Pompeo revealed his utter contempt for a democratic government based on the rule of law when he bragged about lying, cheating and stealing as CIA Director. To an audience of undergraduates which clapped and laughed throughout, Pompeo offered Whats the cadet motto at West Point? You will not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate those who do. I was the CIA Director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. (laughing as if he had said something humorous) We had entire training courses. (Audience applause and cheers) It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment. (emphasis added) First in his class at West Point and a graduate of Harvard Law School, Pompeo prides himself on having come to an understanding of Jesus that fundamentally changed his life as a cadet and today claims to be a man of faith. It is not clear who Pompeo thinks he is kidding with the religious fervor schtick but for sure it is not any divine deity which will one day sit in Judgment on his character and integrity. The Texas A&M exchange reveals an unscrupulous bully who knows no limit to his omnipotence and a willingness to condone war crimes on behalf of the disreputable Empire he serves. Keynote speaker at AIPACs 2019 conference, Pompeo proved where his fidelity lies when he declared Let me go on record: Anti-zionism is anti-semitism which has become the new rallying cry for the poor, beleaguered state of Israel.

As the State Department is now defining the term anti Zionism, Pompeo appointed Elan Carr as Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism with the ultimate goal to intimidate and criminalize critics of Israels foreign policy objectives. Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter In describing his responsibilities, Carrs stated priorities will be to reduce the feelings of insecurity, review indoctrination of anti semitic textbooks and focus relentlessly on eradicating this false distinction between anti Zionism and anti-semitism. It takes living in a simulated reality to not grasp the distinction between criticism of Israels apartheid policy toward the Palestinians and its belligerent foreign policy in the Middle East and a genuine prejudice or discrimination based on ones religious preference or ethnic differences. At his press briefing, Carr was immediately in the weeds and lost total control of the narrative before being shut down by the State Department official spokesman. As a one dimensional thinker, Mr. Carr never described who or how anti-semitism will be identified. Will the State Department issue a weekly list of anti-Semitic offenders and what will be the penalty? Will State provide a list of forbidden anti-semitic words? How will deliberate intent be determined? If a non-jew utters words like apartheid, yenta, yarmulke or illegal settlements, will they be considered proof of anti-Semitic? Will the Nazis still be permitted to march in Skokie? Will the tech giants rewrite their algorithms to search for banned words? On April 10th, Omar Barghouti , a prominent Palestinian human rights defender and a co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement was denied entry by the US Consulate before departing Ben Gurion Airport despite having valid travel documents and having visited the US previously. Barghouti responded that Supporters of Israeli apartheid in the US are desperately trying to deny US lawmakers, media, diverse audiences at universities, a bookstore and a synagogue, their right to listen, first-hand, to a Palestinian human rights advocate calling for ending US complicity in Israels crimes against our people. In a 2016 report, the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda initiated an investigation into possible war crimes in Afghanistan involving the torture of 61 prisoners committed by the US Army and the torture and rape of 27 prisoners committed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) at CIAprison sites in Poland, Romania and Lithuania. In response to the ICC inquiry in 2018, Bolton warned We will ban its judges and prosecutors from entering the United States. We will sanction their funds in the US financial system, and we will prosecute them in the US criminal system. We will do the same for any company or state that assists an ICC investigation of Americans, In March 2019, Pompeo repeated the ICC threats with no apology in a straight forward defense of torture and war criminals. Since 1998, the US has declined to join the ICC because of its broad unaccountable prosecutorial powers and the threat it poses to American national sovereignty. We are determined to protect the American and allied military and civilian personnel from living in fear of unjust prosecution for actions taken to defend our great nation. Im announcing a policy of US visa restrictions on those individuals directly responsible for any ICC investigation of US personnel. These visa restrictions may also be used to deter ICC efforts to pursue allied personnel, including Israelis without allies consent. These visa restrictions will not be the end of our efforts.We are prepared to take additional steps, including economic sanctions, if the ICC does not change course, After the Court responded that it would continue its investigation with war crimes and crimes against humanity were, and continue to be, committed by foreign government forces in Afghanistan, Reference to allied personnel and Israeli involvement in US war crimes remains impenetrable. True to his word, in early April Pompeo revoked the visa for Bensouda . In a devastating setback for the ICC, its pre-trial chamber recently refused to approve the investigation from moving forward citing a lack of US cooperation. Certainly the Pompeo  Bolton threat to criminally prosecute and personally sanction the Courts judges or that the US would use any means necessary  had nothing to do with that decision. Bensouda says she will appeal the chambers decision. After the January meeting with North Korea ended in failure, NKs Deputy Defense Minister, who took part in the meeting, revealed that while Trump had shown a willingness to lift some sanctions based on NKs moratorium on missile tests, he was later overridden by Pompeo and Bolton who brought an atmosphere of hostility and mistrust to the table with their gangster like behavior. As the zio-neocons continue to move on Venezuela and/or Iran as uncontrollable malevolent fiends, loose cannons with no concept of international law or the need for global harmony, men of no conscience and no morality, it is only a matter of time before cosmic law balances the scale. Renee Parsons has been a member of the ACLUs Florida State Board of Directors and president of the ACLU Treasure Coast Chapter. She has been an elected public official in Colorado, an environmental lobbyist for Friends of the Earth and staff member of the US House of Representatives in Washington DC. She can be found on Twitter @reneedove31 This article was originally published by " Information Clearing House " - Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here ==See Also== 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 Pompeo Bolton Tag Team from Hell Search Information Clearing House === Click Here To Support Information Clearing House Your support has kept ICH free on the Web since 2002. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Information Clearing House has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is Information ClearingHouse endorsed or sponsored by the originator.) Privacy Statement The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
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If the energy on the ground in Philadelphia on Saturday was any indication of whats to come, Donald Trump is right to fear the candidacy of former vice president Joe Biden.

As Biden took the stage in the city of brotherly love to officially kick off his candidacy, a raucous crowd of 6,000 supporters greeted him and showed that the momentum behind his campaign is anything but sleepy.

Some images from on the ground in Philly:

Joe Biden receives a warm welcome as he takes the stage in Philadelphia for his kickoff rally. pic.twitter.com/WKdopoyqVL  PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) May 18, 2019

Biden supporters shouting, We want Joe! as they wait for the former VP to take the stage. #Philly #Biden pic.twitter.com/Mbwb0tFNXq  PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) May 18, 2019

A packed house here in Philadelphia as Bidens kickoff rally is about to get started. pic.twitter.com/5uhftc5Lel  PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) May 18, 2019

Crowd is filling in with about an hour to go before Joe Bidens kickoff rally in Philly. pic.twitter.com/gGFmWF2Kmd  PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) May 18, 2019

A lot of excitement on the ground so far in Philadelphia ahead of Joe Bidens kickoff rally, which is set to begin around 1:00 p.m. ET pic.twitter.com/h91fcwZjwv  PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) May 18, 2019

Crowd gathering in Philly for the Joe Biden kickoff rally #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/0yr9w04BIt  PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) May 18, 2019

Biden took direct aim at Trumpism

In his speech, Biden touched on the themes he has been hammering since last month when he announced his campaign  restoring Americas soul, rebuilding the middle class and repairing the divisions that Trump has intentionally deepened since taking office.

But he also offered a path forward for all Americans  one that transcends party politics and could play well to voters not only in the midwest but all across the country who are sick of how toxic the political environment has become in the Trump era.

If the American people want a president to add to our division, to lead with a clenched fist, closed hand and a hard heart, to demonize the opponents and spew hatred, they dont need me, the former vice president said, taking direct aim at Trumpism. They already have a president who does just that.

Biden added, I am running to offer our country  Democrats, Republicans and Independents  a different path.

The former VP also touted his experience actually getting things done for the country, instead of throwing temper tantrums on social media.

I know how to make government work, Biden said. Not because Ive talked or tweeted about it, but because Ive done it.

Biden destroyed Trump for taking credit for the economy

The Democratic frontrunner also went directly at Trump for taking credit for economic growth that started well before he took office  under the leadership of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Trump inherited a healthy economy from Obama, just like he inherited everything else, Biden said, likely to set off another early-morning tweet meltdown from Trump.

While the economic gains of the Obama-Biden era have continued under Trump, the presidents petty and reckless trade war with China could hurt the economy and hit consumers with higher prices.

Biden is betting on unity

While there are some liberal purists who criticize Biden for a message of bringing the country back together, instead of tapping into the anger felt by many in the party, the former VP made it clear on Saturday that he is betting on unity.

Some say Democrats dont want to hear about unity  that they are angry, and the angrier you are, the better, Biden said. Well, I dont believe it. I believe Democrats want to unify this nation. Thats what weve always been about: Unity.

Lets stop fighting and start fixing, Biden said. We can only do it together.

Its unclear how this message will ultimately play out in what will be a heated Democratic primary campaign, but it appears to be resonating at least in the early going as the former VP has become the clear frontrunner in this race.

According to the RealClearPolitics average, Biden leads his closest primary opponent by nearly 23 percentage points.

If that lead holds and Biden moves onto the general election as the Democratic nominee, the message he delivered on Saturday in Philadelphia will appeal nationally, particularly in some of the midwestern purple states he needs to defeat Trump.

The Midwest is ready to dump Trump  and Biden speaks their language

In 2016, Donald Trump managed to fool just enough voters  particularly in the Midwest  into giving him an Electoral College victory. Many of these voters knew he wasnt qualified to be president, but Trump convinced enough of them that he would shake up the system to their benefit.

The bad news for the president is that, unlike during his first campaign, he has a record now. He cant just bluster his way  with the help of the Russians  into another four years in the Oval Office. That record, of course, has been dismal for the same people he promised to fight for if elected.

Since taking office, some of Trumps key so-called accomplishments include a massive tax cut for the wealthy and a trade war that hurts middle and low-income consumers.

Contrast this record with Joe Biden, who doesnt just speak to the struggles of voters in the midwest  as he again demonstrated on Saturday in Philadelphia  but he has a record of standing alongside workers, whether its helping stop an economic collapse, saving the U.S. auto industry or passing a law  the Affordable Care Act  that gave health insurance to millions of Americans.

On Saturday, he sent the message loud and clear that he will be a president who fights for workers, not a conman who exploits minority resentment to win struggling workers in the midwest.

This message is why both nationally and statewide in Pennsylvania, Biden is leading Trump by double digits right now. His message has quickly resonated, despite the many media predictions that his candidacy would instantly flop, or the 2016 comparisons being made by progressive purists.

In front of a big crowd in Philadelphia on Saturday, Joe Biden showed not only that he is the Democratic frontrunner, but also why he may be the candidate best suited to win back the rust belt next year.

And unlike Donald Trump in 2016, Biden will win them for the right reasons.

Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Areas of patchy fog early. Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High 73F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy. Low around 60F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
NEW YORK  Hit a button, and youre "transformed" into a woman. The beard disappears. The face and jaw smooth out. The hair floats jauntily around the shoulders.

"Yo this is SPOT ON my mom." Pretty." Are you in a sorority?"

A swipe and another click. Suddenly youre a square-jawed man  heavy of brow, sporting five o clock shadow.

"I look like my brother Jay." Hahahaha Suzie Im dyingggg." My sisters were like, um... strange. Youre kinda hot haha."

The gender-bending selfies accompanied by flip or sarcastic comments are flooding social feeds since Snapchat introduced a filter this month allowing users to swap gender appearances with the tap of a finger. But for many people who have longed for a button that would change them in real life, the portrait parade isnt a game.

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"My genders not a costume," says Bailey Coffman, a 31-year-old transgender woman from New York. "This story that I feel is very real. I lost a lot to be who I am, and I fought really hard for the body that Im in.

"And when certain people post it and write about how silly it is and how goofy they look with this filter," she says, "it makes light of the transgender experience."

She and others, though, do see possibility in the pastime.

Some argue that the filter, which Snapchat calls a "lens," could be a therapeutic tool that leads to self-discovery and even helps ease the transition of people struggling with gender identity once they see who they could become.

"There are people who havent found themselves yet, and this is a great way to say This is really affirming for me and to take that next step," says Savannah Daniels, 32, a military veteran living in Baltimore. She says she realized she identified as female after watching episodes of "RuPauls Drag Race" while serving in Afghanistan as a chaplains assistant in the U.S. Navy.

Snapchat is not the first face-altering app with such a feature; FaceApp, for instance, has had one for years. But users of the Snapchat filter unveiled the second week of May have noted its high quality. And, of course, the very popularity of Snapchat amplifies the feature further.

Snapchats maker, Snap Inc., which has drawn criticism for a Bob Marley filter some likened to blackface and another that overlaid stereotypically Asian features on users photos, commented about its filter in an emailed statement.

"We understand that identity is deeply personal," the company said. "As we have and continue to explore the possibilities of this technology, our Lens design team is working ... to ensure that on the whole these Lenses are diverse and inclusive by providing a wide range of transformative effects."

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Jessie Daniels (no relation to Savannah Daniels), a City University of New York professor and an expert in digital sociology, says that for people unfamiliar with the concept of gender as fluid  not innate and not binary; that is, not strictly male or female  such filters can be both radical and transformative.

"They get a chance to play with gender in a way that many of us who are LGBTQ have played with gender our whole lifetimes and understand the social construct part of it," she says.

That could be meaningful for youths reckoning with gender identity or, she says, just for putting the notion of gender fluidity on youngsters radar. A survey last year by Common Sense Media found that 44% of teenagers use Snapchat as their primary social app.

"I do hope this does help some people better recognize their gender," says Elliott "Ellie" Wheeler, a 16-year-old sophomore at Michigans East Lansing High School who, combining the words female and butch, identifies as a "futch" lesbian.

Because most of her social media contact comes with trans people, she says, she hasnt seen much use of the Snapchat filter. But she also doesnt hold the company responsible for any controversy.

CUNYs Daniels, though, wonders whether the filter is an attempt by Snapchat, which has struggled against competition from Facebook and Instagram , to win back market share. Snap Inc. did not respond to questions.
Home Search ICH US-Israel relationship is altar of holiness, and Jerusalem embassy is shrine  US ambassador By Philip Weiss May 17, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Theres been a lot of focus on US Ambassador David Friedman saying at a ceremony in Jerusalem Tuesday that Israel is on the side of God, as the New York Times reported. The religious character of Friedmans remarks went well beyond that statement. Friedman likened the US-Israel relationship to the altar of the original Jewish temple in Jerusalem and called the embassy a shrine that people pray to and thank God for. The US and Israel need to get even closer in the coming months, Friedman said, and move toward even greater holiness. Friedman spoke at an event on May 14, marking the first anniversary of the opening of the US embassy in the city, the day in 2018 that saw the killing of more than 60 Palestinian protesters in Gaza. Here are religious excerpts of Friedmans speech. I think weve done something that has not been done in some time, we have created a new shrine in the ancient city of Jerusalem and were extremely proud of it. [Applause] What I get perhaps the greatest satisfaction from [are] the tourists who come to visit the embassy I kid you not, people got on their knees and they prayed to god that they had seen this day, that this day had arose They took pictures, there were people in tears, there were people were in deep moments of prayer. The reactions frankly were stunning and moving, and I cant get enough of that. When people say the embassy move was just symbolic, Friedman disagrees. That just cannot be further from the truth. The move of the embassy was a validation by the strongest nation in the world, not just strong militarily, strong economically, but strong morally, strong ethically, with a bedrock of Judeo-Christian values that govern every citizens attachment to this country. That country recognized the unbreakable, historical truthful connection between the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem. That is not symbolic. That is the farthest thing from symbolic. Friedman then hinted that the U.S. would go further and recognize Israeli sovereignty in portions of the West Bank. Now is that enough? Should we be resting on our laurels? I think the answer is No. With this administration of Mike Pence, and Mike Pompeo and John Bolton and Jared Kusher, Jason [Greenblatt] and me Some say our most important ally in the region, I would take out the word region. To bring new and bold ideas of cooperation to just make this relationship stronger and stronger and stronger. Here is the Godly Israel reference. Is Israel getting stronger? Look, Israel is growing stronger for two reasons. Number one, the objective metric by which Israeli measures itself, the most important one, is how strong is its relationship with the United States and on how many levels. And that keeps growing and growing and getting stronger and stronger and stronger. And the second is, Israel has one secret weapon that not a lot of countries have. Israel is on the side of God, and we dont underestimate that. On the theme of moving forward, Friedman cited the Jewish festival of Passover and the song Dayenu, meaning Enough, about all the incremental steps that God has done for the Jewish people. Friedman listed all the things that Donald Trump has done for Israel, among them recognizing the Golan as sovereign territory, tearing up the Iran deal, moving the embassy, personally praying at the Western Wall any of these steps would have been enough, he said. But: Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter I dont believe in enough. The parable I like better is the story of the temple in Jerusalem, and the altar in Jerusalem. If you look at how the temple was constructed. The altar is built on a ramp. If youre going up, and you stop, you slide back. To achieve that level of holiness that the altar calls for, you have to keep pushing forward, you have to keep moving forward and forward. And there are consequences to stopping. If you stop, youre going to slide backwards, and this is something that we dont want to do. That is I think the model that we should have. He concluded with Jewish-centric comments, and a reference to the altar of the special relationship. Were part of a 4000-year old continuum, a 4000-year-old history. Most of those 4000 years were very difficult years, very unpleasant years, for Jewish people and for non-Jewish people Israel has grown flourished bloomed in ways that no one could have expected. My grandparents, my great grandparents could not have dreamed of what we have here We need to keep moving forward, keep moving up the ramp, and I think if we keep doing that we can bring the relationship between the United States and Israel to greater and greater heights. The Jewish News Service reports that Friedman responded yesterday to controversy over his remarks by doubling down on the religion: Most of the prophecies are about the return of the nation of Israel to their land. And it is happening in our lifetime, Friedman said, adding that just being in this room is evidence that the prophecy of Ezekiel and others have come true. So where am I off in saying that God is on the side of Israel? Friedman asked. The fact that God has fulfilled his prophecies and delivered the people of Israel to their land is demonstrably true. Another part of Friedmans Tuesday speech that was an affront to Palestinians was his claim that the move of the Embassy had no real consequences. All the predictions, even some of our own predictions, about the risks, about the violence, about the gloom and doom the reality is that in the entire city of Jerusalem that day, I dont think more than 20 people got up to protest. I think more people were unhappy about the food they were eating in various restaurants than they were about the move of the embassy to Jerusalem. Of course there was violence that day in Gaza. There had been violence for a month before in Gaza. The violence in Gaza had nothing to do with the opening of the embassy, it had to do with relations between the P.A. and Hamas. This is not true. As Allison Deger reported in an interview with protest leader Ahmed abu Artema, the move of the embassy was a gamechanger for Palestinians in Gaza, and an impetus for the Great March of Return protests, in which over 250 have been killed and thousands injured. Heres video of Friedmans speech, at 1:31:00 or so. Philip Weiss is Founder and Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net. This article was originally published by "Mondoweiss" - Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here ==See Also== 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 Search Information Clearing House === Click Here To Support Information Clearing House Your support has kept ICH free on the Web since 2002. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Information Clearing House has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is Information ClearingHouse endorsed or sponsored by the originator.) 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The new owner taking over the Post Bulletin is a family with a long history in newspapers and a large footprint in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

It was announced Thursday that Forum Communications is acquiring the Post Bulletin from Illinois-based Small Newspaper Group. The deal, which does not include the Post Bulletin complex, is expected to be finalized soon. The property is listed for sale separately and has interest from prospective buyers.

The Small family also sold Rochester Magazine, the Agri News agricultural weekly newspaper and SNG Research Corp. to Forum Communications. Financial details of the deal were not released.

Forum, owned by the Marcil family, is based in Fargo, N.D., with its flagship newspaper, the Fargo Forum.

The companys origins date back to the purchase of the Fargo Forum newspaper in 1878. It has grown to include more than 30 newspapers, four TV stations and a radio stations in North Dakota and Wisconsin as well as its Associated Press-like regional new service.

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Bill Marcil Jr., representing the familys fifth generation, is president of Forum Communications. His great-great-grandfather launched the company.

Given locations of its other newspapers, including the nearby Red Wing Republican Eagle, Forum leaders said buying the Post Bulletin was "a slam dunk."

"When we saw an opportunity like this in our backyard, we snapped it up right away," said Marcil. "The paper is quality  beyond quality. I believe Rochester, as a community, will grow like crazy.  It was an easy decision."

Despite recent financial headwinds in the industry, Forum Communications remains bullish on community newspapers.

"I honestly believe the difficult times in the newspaper industry are done. Now is a time where we need to do what we are good at  deliver quality content in this social media-frenzied world," he said. "The industry in the last 10 years has laid off a lot of people and weve done our fair share. But now were in the process of rebuilding our newsrooms to better cover our communities."

Bill Marcil Sr., chairman of the privately held FCC, said that while newspapers are businesses, his family sees them as essential for a healthy community.

"Reliable information is important to the country.  We see this as a public trust," he said.

One unique aspect to the Marcils operation is the Forum News Service, which was created in 2012. Subscribing to the Associated Press news cooperative had grown more and more expensive, while the Forums team of newsgatherers spread throughout the region.

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That inspired the Marcils to try their hand at a news service that collects reports from its newspapers and broadcast stations. The service then edits and redistributes that news for sale to other regional media outlets.

For Post Bulletin readers, that means reporting from the state Legislature in St. Paul will return to the Rochester paper. The Post Bulletin, which monitors the action at the Legislature, has not had a reporter based there for two years.

The Forum News Service has reporters based in St. Paul as well as the capitols of North Dakota and Wisconsin to cover issues for all of its publications.

While the Associated Press will no longer be in the Post Bulletin, Forum Communications does use reporting from the Washington Post, the New York Times and Reuters news services.

Another change for the Post Bulletin, which readers wont see directly, is that the printing of the daily newspaper will move from Rochester to a Forum press in Red Wing. Details about that transition are still being worked out.

As news continues to evolve, Bill Marcil Jr. said the plan is to focus on publishing deeply reported articles about each community and the region with an eye toward the future. The long-term success of the business and the reputation of the company mean more than just the financial reports of the next quarter.

"Every day, I think about that next generation, the sixth generation (of the Marcil family), and what I am going to hand off to them in 16 years or so," he said.

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 1916- Glenn S. "Doc" Withers purchased the Rochester Daily Bulletin.

 1925- The Post-Bulletin was created when Withers brought the Rochester Post and Record newspaper together with the Daily Bulletin.

 1977- The Small Newspaper Group purchased the Post Bulletin.

 June 2019- The Forum Communications Corp. will purchased the Post Bulletin from the Small Newspaper Group.
LOS ANGELES  The Polestar 2, the first electric car to go straight up against Teslas Model 3, is due to go on sale in the U.S. by summer 2020. But will it?

If the trade war between China and the U.S. gets much worse, the car  which will be made at a factory in Luqiao, China  might not be sold in the U.S. at all, said Thomas Ingenlath, Polestars chief executive.

Polestar is a new electric car brand from Volvo, which in turn is owned by China automotive giant Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, known as Geely for short.

The Polestar 2 is a sporty electric sedan with 275 miles of range, priced between $45,000 and $65,000 before federal and state incentives, which can reduce that by as much as $10,000.

The company plans to build 50,000 of the cars in its first year of production. Up to about 40% will be sold in China, Ingenlath said. Norway, which offers heavy incentives for electric cars, will be its No. 2 market.

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Right now Polestar plans to sell about 30% or so of the first years run on the U.S. West Coast and Canada.

"We would embrace free trade as in the interests of the consumer," Ingenlath said. While all international companies must operate in a world where trade barriers are common, and Volvos U.S. plans have been made with existing tariffs factored in, Polestar wont export cars to countries where rising tariffs make a products price "ridiculous," he said, but will "scale up or scale down" U.S. plans depending on tariff levels. Tariffs on China-made cars sent to the U.S. are currently set at 25% by the Trump administration.

Ingenlath was in the Bay Area last week for the big Google I/O developers conference. Polestar (and Volvo) plan to use the Android Automotive Operating System as the base for their infotainment systems.

Relaxing with a cappuccino at Four Barrel Coffee in San Franciscos hip Mission District, the former Volvo head designer said that Androids open development platform, where third-party software writers that meet Polestars requirement can add applications, is one way to differentiate the Polestar 2 from the Tesla Model 3.

There are other "big differences," he said. One is the design, which he insists "pushes the borders" more than the Model 3. Customer opinions on car design are mostly subjective, and Ingenlath damned the Model 3 looks with faint praise: "The Model 3 feels very fresh. It has a prototype quality to it, its very primitive in some form."

Quality will set the Polestar apart from the Tesla, he said. Well aware that the Model 3 currently faces serious issues with misaligned body panels, infotainment screens that go black, and batteries that dont work, Ingenlath said, "Well be much more professional in doing a complete product. More professional knowledge about processes, materials, long-term quality." Tesla declined to comment.

And he insists the Polestar 2 will handle better. It wont reach the breakneck 3.2 seconds zero-to-60 time of a performance-version Model 3  Polestar will come in under 5 seconds, he said  but added: "Tesla is so focused on acceleration. Performance (for most consumers) is not about the race track. The big question is, when you approach the next corner, how will you go around it?"

Whether any of this matters, at least in the U.S., remains to be seen. Its unclear whether most Tesla buyers are fans of electric cars, or just fans of Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk. The Model 3 is outselling all other electric cars by a wide margin. But sales of all Tesla models fell 40% in the first three months of this year. If momentum fades, it could be bad news not just for Tesla but for electric cars in general, which in 2018 still represented just 2% of the U.S. auto market, though 7.8% of new cars sold in California.

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Tesla and Polestar will face an onslaught of competition over the next few years. In the luxury and near-luxury segments, Jaguar and Audi already have electric cars available. Porsche will follow later this year with its first all-electric, the Taycan. Mercedes-Benz will follow. BMW has plans to add bigger models to the subcompact i3 all-electric it has been selling for years. Volkswagen, in the wake of its diesel cheating scandal, is going all out on EVs.

Ingenlath is confident that EV sales growth is set to take off around the world, especially in places such as China and Norway, with laws and financial incentives juicing customer interest. The company will soon begin selling its Polestar 1, a limited edition and expensive ($155,000) plug-in hybrid, and plans to follow up the Polestar 2 with an SUV and other vehicles at more earthbound prices.

He credits Musk with jump-starting the electric-car phenomenon. "People five years ago were dismissive of a car that made no sound," Ingenlath said. "Thats one of the biggest contributions Tesla made to the car industry, to tear down these kind of borders."

Polestar wont be following Teslas push for full self-driving cars and robo-taxis, however. Musk recently said Teslas will be ready by the end of the year to drive themselves and announced plans to start a robo-taxi driverless ride-hailing service in 2020. Safety experts and some players in the driverless car industry said that timeline is too aggressive.

"I dont see that in the near future," Ingenlath said of fully driverless cars. "You might technically be able to do it. But to integrate it with everyday traffic in a safe way? Thats a big obstacle." Polestar cars will be equipped with the latest in driver-assistance technologies, he said.

The robo-taxi service Musk promised is "part of Teslas story," Ingenlath said. Musk "can say something like that and get away with it. I couldnt get away with claims about these kind of things."
A proposed policy change would restrict options for turning backyards into parking lots in Rochester.

The proposal, which will be the subject of a public hearing during Wednesdays Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, stems from complaints about rented parking spaces in neighborhood backyards.

"Complainants have come forward and identified at least 26 properties that are potential violations of this ordinance," states a report from the Rochester-Olmsted Planning Department staff.

In April, the Rochester City Council asked for a change to the citys land development manual to limit the number of parking spaces allowed in an alley behind a residential property.

The resulting proposal would limit the creation of new spaces to three per property and would require a 8-foot barrier from neighboring properties.

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The restrictions do not apply to existing residential alley parking.

While renting parking spaces is a violation of restrictions already in the land development manual, planning staff said enforcement of current rules would require an increased amount of staff time to monitor parking practices and identify the relationship between drivers and property owners.

Rochester Deputy Administrator Aaron Parrish noted as much in January when he discussed enforcement with the council, noting city ordinances state parking spaces on residential properties are for the exclusive use of residents and their guests.

"Our definition of guest is very broad," Parrish said.

Rather than adding enforcement to planning and zoning efforts, city administrators have discussed potential revisions to the citys housing code and rental certificate requirements as a way to mitigate issues.

In January, Council Member Michael Wojcik indicated support for such action.

"We know this is happening in a number of places, and we need to be explicit that being found in violation can lead to the revocation or refusal to issue a rental license," he said.

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Meetings during the week of May 20 include:

Rochester

 City Council committee of the whole, 3:30 p.m. Monday in the council chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 Fourth St. SE.

 City Council meeting, 7 p.m. Monday in the council chambers of the Government Center.

 Fire Civil Service Commission, 3:15 p.m. Tuesday in room 104 of City Hall., 201 Fourth St. SE.

 Public Utility Board, 4 p.m. Tuesday in the Rochester Public Utilities board room, 4000 E. River Road NE

 Citizen's Advisory on Transit, 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in room 320 of City Hall.

 Ethical Practices Board, 10 a.m. Wednesday in room 104 of City Hall.

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 Planning and Zoning Commission, 6 p.m. Wednesday in council chambers of the Government Center.

Olmsted County

 Housing, Health and Human Services Committee, 11 a.m. Tuesday in conference room 4 of the government center.

 Housing and Redevelopment Authority, noon Tuesday in conference room 1 of the government center.

 Administrative Committee, 2 p.m. Tuesday in conference room 4 of the government center.

 Physical Development Committee, 2 p.m. Tuesday in conference room 2 of the government center.

 Board of County Commissioners, 3 p.m. Tuesday in the board chambers of the government center.

 Parks Commission, 5 p.m. Tuesday in Floral Hall at 1426 Fairgrounds Ave. SE.

 Soil and Water Conservation District, 8 a.m. Thursday in conference room A of 2122 Campus Drive SE.

Rochester Public Schools

 School Board, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the board room of the Edison Building, 615 Seventh St. SW.

Destination Medical Center

 DMC Corp. Executive Committee, 9:30 a.m. Thursday in suite 101 of the Mayo Civic Center, 30 Civic Center Drive SE.
Prosecutor in police shooting to enter alcohol program

MINNEAPOLIS  The prosecutor whose office won a recent conviction in the high-profile case of a Minneapolis police officer who killed an unarmed woman says he will be entering a treatment program for alcohol issues.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman issued a statement Friday saying he was evaluated for alcohol issues and agrees he needs treatment. Hell be entering a program Monday.

Freeman announced last week that he was taking a medical leave, but didnt say why.

His Friday statement says he has also worked to stabilize his "unacceptably high blood pressure." He says hes determined to reclaim his health and hopes to be back to work in mid-June.

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Last month, a jury convicted Mohamed Noor of murder in the 2017 fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia who called 911 to report a possible crime.

Minnesota seeks to add Purdue Pharma owners to opioid suit

ST. PAUL  Minnesotas attorney general is asking a state court for permission to add the owners of drugmaker Purdue Pharma to a lawsuit that seeks to hold the company responsible for the opioid addiction crisis.

Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma makes OxyContin and has been the subject of legal action in nearly every state.

Attorney General Keith Ellison wants to add eight members of the Sackler family to Minnesotas lawsuit. He says the Sacklers, who own and operate Purdue, were involved in deceptive marketing tactics and strategies to sell more opioids, despite knowing the risks.

If a judge approves, Minnesota would become at least the 11th state to take legal action against one or more members of the Sackler family.

A family spokeswoman issued a statement denying the allegations, calling the lawsuit a misguided attempt to place blame where it doesnt belong.

Man holed up in hotel surrenders to police

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BROOKLYN PARK  Authorities say a standoff at a Brooklyn Park hotel ended after more than six hours when a man suspected of assaulting his girlfriend surrendered to police.

SWAT officers and crisis negotiators were called to the La Quinta Inn early Friday after a woman reported she was being assaulted by her boyfriend and threatened with a gun. Police say the standoff began at 3:30 a.m. and ended when the man was arrested at about 9:50 a.m.

Authorities say the woman was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Police say the 31-year-old suspect was not carry9ing a gun but it was unclear if there were any weapons in the room.

The suspect, who has not been formally charged, has previous convictions for drug possession, motor vehicle theft, aggravated robbery, making terroristic threats, drunken driving and burglary.

Jail inmate accused of running prostitution ring

MORA  An inmate at the Kanabec County Jail is charged with running a prostitution ring from his cell.

Thirty-eight-year-old Daniel Ellington is charged in Washington County District Court with two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of promotion of prostitution.

Prosecutors say Ellington communicated with a prostitute by text and "promoted and profited" from her activities in Woodbury last month.

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East Metro Sex Trafficking Task Force director Imran Ali says Ellington was 100 miles away and incarcerated, yet was promoting prostitution and profiting from it. The task force began investigating after a Woodbury detective found an online ad entitled "Blonde Bombshell."

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports Kanabec County Sheriff Brian Smith says Ellington used a jail-issued iPod to text and paid a certain price for each message.

 Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS  A Hennepin County judge on Thursday sentenced a Minneapolis man to life in prison without the possibility of parole for kidnapping a woman from an Uptown alley and raping her.

After a two-week trial and just three hours of deliberations, a jury last week convicted Deonte Darnell Lawson, 24, of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

During the hearing, a victim advocate from the Hennepin County Attorneys Office read a statement from the woman.

It read, in part, "I am smarter, braver and stronger than Mr. Lawson ever counted on. I am a survivor. And I know I am not his first victim, but I am going to make damn sure I am his last. Mr. Lawson is nothing more than a monster. I looked him in the eyes during my testimony and I saw the cold, evil, lifelessness I remember seeing in October 2017."

According to the criminal complaint, Lawson and two others abducted the victim in October 2017 as she was retrieving something from the trunk of her vehicle that was parked behind her apartment building.

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The three forced her into the back seat of her vehicle, drove to a secluded area and raped her before heading to rural Washington County.

Fearing for her life, the woman escaped barefoot after convincing her attackers to stop for fuel. She ran into a wooded area and hid behind a tree as one of the assailants looked for her.

After they drove off, the victim sought help from two people living above Big Marine Lake Wine and Spirits in Scandia, Minn. She called 911 with a borrowed phone.

The two other defendants were 16 years old at the time of the attack and were certified to stand trial as adults.

Wayne Junior Armstrong, 17, and Darius Decameron Freeman, 18, each pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for 12-year sentences.

Investigators say DNA connected to all three defendants was found on the victim.

Armstrong is scheduled to be sentenced Friday. Freemans sentencing hearing is set for May 29.
Olmsted County Public Health is currently following a concerning national trend around measles.

More than 700 cases of measles have been identified in 23 states so far this year, the most cases since the early 1990s in this country, and it is only May. Last month, two cases were diagnosed in Iowa, just a few hours drive from Rochester.

While modern air travel always means measles is just a plane ride away, the cases in Iowa bring the reality of this national outbreak closer to home.

Vaccinations are one of the great public health victories over the last century. Prior to the vaccine era, infectious diseases like diphtheria, smallpox and polio maimed and killed tens of thousands of people, mostly young children, every year in the U.S.

Take polio for example. In 1954, the year before a vaccine became available, this country reported an average of more than 16,000 people succumbing to lifelong paralysis due to poliovirus infection, with another 2,000 dead. Smallpox used to kill one-third of the people that caught it.

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Public health efforts successfully eradicated both of these diseases from the U.S. by 1980. In fact, deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases have decreased over 99 percent in the U.S. since the vaccinations became routine.

Measles is another example of a disease that vaccination has impacted. The U.S. eliminated transmission of measles in 2000, almost 20 years ago. In the 1950s, before vaccine, 3 million to 4 million Americans, mostly children, got the measles every year; about 50,000 were hospitalized, and 400 to 500 people died every year.

So why is the U.S. experiencing a measles outbreak now?

Unfortunately, a decrease in childhood vaccination across the country is the driving factor. This is based, in part, on an infamous and discredited study that suggested the MMR vaccine could lead to developmental disorders. It cannot be stated enough: This studys conclusions were wrong. In fact, after the study was proven to be fraudulent, the physician involved with it had his license revoked.

Experts have since looked multiple times and have found NO association between autism or other illnesses in children being vaccinated.

Most of the current measles cases across the country are in unvaccinated Americans, including about 100 children younger than 1 who are too young for the vaccine.

The alarming trend of reduced vaccination in children puts the unvaccinated and other high-risk individuals in significant peril. In addition to protecting your own children from the consequences of illness, vaccination programs protect all of us. When you vaccinate your family, you not only protect them, but you also shield infants who are too young, immune compromised people, and those who cant take the vaccine due to medical reasons.

Lets hypothetically say a case of measles wanders through a store here in Rochester.

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If everyone else in that store is vaccinated, the virus has nowhere to go and therefore cant spread into our community. This measles case then leaves the store without putting anyone else at risk. This idea is called "herd immunity" and it is what protects communities from outbreaks.

The key is working together to make sure our communities are well vaccinated before measles finds its way into our county. The current trend across the country is alarming, but we can reduce this threat locally. Have a discussion with your medical provider about the measles and make sure you understand your immune status.

If you are delaying vaccination, consider moving the MMR vaccine to the top of the list due to the current situation. It takes a little effort from all of us to prevent a public health emergency with the potential for severe impacts to our most vulnerable residents.

Given the choice to live in the pre- or post-vaccine era, I, for one, will take the latter.
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.
Marica L. Sessa, age 74, died on Thursday, April 25, 2019, in San Diego. Marcia grew up in Rochester, graduated from John Marshall High School, and then attended Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where she obtained her teaching degree. Upon completion of her degree, she moved to California to pursue a lifelong career in education. She primarily taught kindergarten at Ballantyne Elementary School in El Cajon. She had a passion for teaching young people and loved doing hands-on learning with her students, as well as taking them on favorite trips to the zoo and ocean.

Marcia had a passion for travel  taking her to places like Iceland, Norway, Lebanon, Mexico and the British Virgin Islands over her years. She also enjoyed visiting all of the local attractions in Southern California with her husband, including the mountains, desert and ocean. Marcia was an avid reader, a collector of shells, and a jeopardy whiz. She loved eating out, stuff animals, the color blue, country music, and all of her nieces and nephews. She indulged them with frequent packages in the mail and trips to all of the amusement parks when they came to visit.

In her final year of life, she lived at Belmont Village Sabre Springs where she enjoyed daily walks observing the resident owls, lunch with new friends, and attending church.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Helder and Lois Munson; husband, Joe Sessa; best friend, Patricia Johnson; and sister-in-law, Linda Munson.

Left to honor Marcia and remember her for her dedication to family are her sister, Margaret (Lyle) Schultz of Owatonna; her brother, Greg Munson of Rochester; brother, Curt (Judy) Munson of Okemos, Mich.; stepson, Gregg (Kristy) Sessa; granddaughters, Lainy and Ember; and many nieces and nephews, as well as great-nieces and nephews all over the United States.

Marcia will best be remembered for her dedication to teaching, her fondness of the ocean, her love of her family and enjoyment of times exploring with her husband.
Bleeding John Bolton Stumbles Into Capitol Building Claiming That Iran Shot Him

By The Onion

May 17, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - WASHINGTONBursting through the Congressional chamber doors while moaning and clutching his shoulder, John Bolton reportedly stumbled into the Capitol building Friday claiming that hed been shot by Iran. Help, help, Ive just been attacked by a large Middle Eastern country around 636,000 square miles in size, said the national security advisor, telling those assembled that hed just been minding his own business when an aggressive Islamic Republic had thrown him on the ground and shot him with a long-range missile. Right after Iran shot me, I heard the nation laugh and say Somebody stop me before I go on a homicidal rampage. It was acting crazed and irrational, and I could smell enriched uranium coming from one of its urban centers. Please, hurry, if we move quickly, we might still be able to catch it before its too late. Upon further questioning, Bolton admitted that the incident had happened so fast that it was possible hed been attacked by Venezuela or North Korea.

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This article was originally published by " The Onion

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NORRISTOWN  More than four dozen Montgomery County residents learned the hard way that a request to report for jury duty is not an invitation  it is a summons and should be taken seriously.

A total of 57 people were ordered to appear before Montgomery County Judge Garrett D. Page on a recent Friday for juror contempt hearings to explain why they ignored summonses to report for jury duty between September 2018 and April 2019.

The people that we brought in missed jury duty at least two, some maybe three or four times, and were given many chances and we received no responses. Thats how they end up on the juror contempt list, explained Marge Cesare, first deputy of the county jury board.

Thirty-two of the 57 accused juror scofflaws didnt even show up for Fridays hearings and Page issued bench warrants against them. Three others were excused from appearing for cause, including medical reasons.

Those who dont satisfy the bench warrants risk being taken into custody by sheriffs deputies to be physically brought before a judge.

Of the 22 people who did show up for their hearings, 17 admitted that they willfully disobeyed a jury summons and were fined $50. They also got a new date to report for jury duty.

Page warned the residents that if they dont show up for their new jury duty report dates the fines will range between $200 and $500.

This is important stuff. You cant disobey a court order to appear for jury duty, Page said. Not everything is a hardship. You still have to show.

Five county residents demanded full-fledged contempt hearings.

When the judge asked one Horsham woman why she ignored two jury summonses to appear she responded, My mail gets stolen all the time. I didnt get it. Judge Page said without evidence to support her claim, the presumption was that the summonses were received and he fined the woman $100.

Its unfair, the woman said as she left the courtroom, tears welling in her eyes.

Once the residents pay their fines, the contempt rulings are cleared from their records.

Four others also were found in contempt and were fined between $100 and $200.

One truck driver said he was in Boston on a delivery run but admitted he never called the jury board to explain his absence. Another man told the judge he didnt believe he spoke English well enough to be on a jury but the judge pointed out the man was clearly conversing in the courtroom on Friday.

Cesare and Liz Gerstein, a jury marshalling assistant, said officials will work with residents who have legitimate excuses as to why they cant appear. But residents need to call the jury board to address a summons and not just ignore it.

They can pick a second date. Were flexible, Gerstein said. If you have a problem when you first get the notice call us and let us know whats going on, dont just ignore it.

If they have a legitimate excuse we try to work with them. Were not out to get them, Cesare added.

The two elected jury commissioners, Merry Woods and Joanne Olszewski, also were present in court for the hearings.

Officials hope to hold contempt hearings every six months for those who ignore summonses.

Cesare said the message to county residents is clear.

This is not an invitation, it is a summons, Cesare said.
When Montgomery County voters go to the polls Tuesday, they will be in for a change of scenery.

New voting machines that use paper ballots will be at all polling stations.

In April, six demonstrations of the new machines were held around the county including in Pottstown.

The new system will replace the electronic push-button voting machines the county purchased in 1996, which were nearing the end of their useful life. The old machines also did not meet the state mandate for counties to have a voting system with a verifiable paper trail in place for the 2020 Presidential election.

With the new system, most voters will use a pen to fill out a ballot and have an opportunity to check it for accuracy before submitting it to scanner that tabulate the votes and keep the ballot in a secure container for audits or recounts.

Each polling place will also have an ADA touchscreen machine that can be used to select candidates.

The paper ballot is scanned optically and the machine takes note if there are any discrepancies, like an under vote, someone not filling in a bubble, or offering a write-in alternative.

The new machines come in the wake of fears about tampering with electronic voting machines during the 2016 elections.

But Montgomery County Commissioners Chairwoman Valerie Arkoosh said the county was already in the process of replacing its previous machines when Gov. Tom Wolf signed a law requiring Pennsylvania voting machines to keep paper records.

We had been socking money away to pay for new machines before the governor signed that bill, she said.

The Dominion Voting System cost $3.7 million, $900,000 of which was provided by federal funding, according to Dean Dortone, Montgomery Countys chief financial officer.

In years two through eight, a total of $1,146,000 will be paid for annual software maintenance costs and another $892,000 for hardware warranty costs. Those costs will be incurred over an eight-year period, Dortone wrote in an email.

Arkoosh said the system chosen was the least expensive and the one overwhelmingly preferred by the 300-or-so people who showed up last year at the Montgomery County Community Colleges main campus in Blue Bell where the 11 possible models were on display.

This is what our constituents wanted, she said.

Arkoosh said the county decided against issuing paper receipts reflecting the vote cast because it would be used for intimidation, like if a spouse demands to see how a spouse voted. Also, it could be used as proof to sell votes.

These machines will not be connected to the Internet, which was also true of the previous machines, Arkoosh said.

She said the paper records will be kept for at least two years and the county is in discussions with the Pennsylvania Department of State to look into holding random accuracy audits of machines to match them against the paper records.

Were just trying to figure out how many we need to audit to be statistically significant, Arkoosh said.

Teresa Harris, communication manager for Montgomery County, said the county has been keeping track of concerns raised by residents as the machines tour the county for similar demonstrations.

The most frequent complaint we get is people didnt know we were changing them, she said. People are also worried it will take too much time and make the lines longer.

But the fact that the machines will be used for the first time in an off-year primary election, traditionally the one with the lowest voter turn-out, may help voters ease into the new method, Harris said.
If you consume the mainstream media, you might be under the impression that President Trump is about to take the U.S. into war with Iran. Even if you only watch Fox News, you might believe that John Bolton is pushing Trump to go to war. Tucker Carlson says that Bolton wants a war with Iran.

This is fake news. Theres no evidence that Bolton desires a war with Iran and none that, even if this were what Bolton wants, Trump would be willing to start such a war.

Matthew Continetti of the Washington Free Beacon debunks the notion that Bolton is pushing Trump towards war. He observes that neither President Trump nor anyone in his administration, including John Bolton, has said a single word about a preemptive strike, much less a full-scale war, against Iran. He notes too that Trumps reluctance to intervene militarily overseas is well known.

In Continettis view, the claim that Bolton is trying to lead us to war with Iran stems from the desire of the Iranians, the liberal foreign policy establishment, and the mainstream media to salvage former president Obamas Iran nuclear deal:

The antiwar cries are not about context, and they are certainly not about deterring Iran. Their goal is saving President Obamas nuclear deal by manipulating Trump into firing Bolton and extending a lifeline to the regime.

I think thats generally right.

This is not to deny that Trumps Iran policy carries more risk of war in the short term than Obamas appeasement policy. The president wants to squeeze Iran. By doing so, he hopes either to force Iran back to the table to negotiate the termination of its nuclear program (very unlikely) or to bring about regime change (possible, but not easy). If he succeeds in doing either, the chance of the U.S. ever going to war with Iran will drop to just about zero.

However, Iran doesnt like being squeezed. Thus, it has responded by taking a more aggressive and militaristic approach to U.S. interests in the Middle East. This response, in turn, caused the U.S. to take counter-measures. The purpose is to deter Iran from the kind of overt aggression against U.S. interests that might trigger a military response by the U.S.

In all likelihood, Iran will be deterred. U.S. military strikes against it would be devastating to the regime. They would probably bring it down. There is a slight risk, though, that Iran wont be deterred and that war could ensue.

But theres always a slight risk of war when the U.S. stands against the ambitions of regimes that threaten U.S. interests and regional stability. Theres a slight risk that we could end up fighting Russia or China  a much more daunting prospect than fighting Iran.

The alternative to Trumps policy is to ease the pressure on Iran and watch as it continues its aggression in the Middle East and, eventually, obtains nuclear weapons. Our choices then will be war or Iranian domination of the Middle East to the severe detriment of American interests, economic and otherwise.

Thus, Trumps policy of simultaneously squeezing the regime and deterring it seems clearly preferable to the alternative.
Australia held a national election yesterday which all of the polls predicted for weeks would be won handily by the Labour Party. The ruling Liberal Party (which is the conservative party in Australian politics because they still understand the historic meaning of liberalism) has been in office for over a decade, and had struggled as ruling parties often do when they grow stale in office. In fact leadership fights within the Liberal Party had left it in chaos heading into the election campaign. The pollsters and the media called it an unlosable election for Labour.

But in a stunning upset, the Liberal Party has won the election. It sounds a lot like our 2016 election, no? Apparently lots of voters told the pollsters one thing, but voted differently in the voting booth. (Update: Keep in mind that Australia has mandatory votingyou get fined something like $50 if you dont cast a ballotso this upset cant be a polling error, since polling ought to be simpler in such circumstances. The upset cant be because of a sampling or weighting error as sometimes happens in our elections. It means lots of people really did lie to pollsters. Good for them.)

The most interesting angle to this upset is that the Labour Party went all-in on climate change. Heres how AFP covered it in the run-up to yesterday:

Australians flocked to the polls Saturday capping a bitterly fought election that may be the first anywhere decided by climate policy. Between 16 and 17 million people are expected to vote across the vast island-continent, with the centre-left Labor party tipped for victory after six years in opposition.

Casting his ballot in Melbourne, would-be prime minister Bill Shorten was bullish about forming a majority government after a final poll showed his lead increasing. Today is the peoples day, he said. Be it buying a democracy sausage, the kids having a bit of a sugar cake or what have you, and voting. In the event that the people of Australia voted to stop the chaos and voted for action on climate change, we will be ready to hit the ground from tomorrow. Weeks ago, Prime Minister Scott Morrisons conservative Liberals had been heading for an electoral drubbing.

Also this story from a magazine called Renew Economy:

Federal Labor leader Bill Shorten has referred to climate change as an emergency, in his final formal pitch to voters ahead of Saturdays federal election. If you vote Labor we will deliver the change that the nation deserves from day one, the Opposition Leader said in his speech at Bowman Hall in Blacktown, New South Wales, on Thursday. We will convene Parliament to prioritise real action on climate change I promise that we will send a message to the world, that when it comes to climate change Australia is back in the fight!, he said. . . As The Conversation put it at the time, the move has been likened to putting the country on a war footing, with climate and the environment at the very centre of all government policy, rather than being on the fringe of political decisions.

Already Im seeing the left blame their defeat on Rupert Murdoch. But maybe the message to the world should be that climate change is not a vote winner.

Lets see whether this augurs any change in the lefts fanaticism for the green nude eel here at home, not to mention the upcoming European parliamentary elections, and a prospective general election in Britain. The Australian result continues a clear pattern: with only a few exceptions, left-leaning parties have been in retreat just about everywhere.

More here from Henry Olsen, written several days ago: Australian Conservatives Face Their Own Trumpian Uprising.
CONFIRMED: Chemical Weapons Assessment Contradicting Official Syria Narrative Is Authentic



By Caitlin Johnstone

May 17, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has begun responding to queries by the press about a leaked document which contradicts official OPCW findings on an alleged chemical weapons attack last year in Douma, Syria. The prepared statement theyve been using in response to these queries confirms the authenticity of the document.

To recap, a few days ago the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media (WGSPM) published a document signed by a man named Ian Henderson, whose name is seen listed in expert leadership positions on OPCW documents from as far back as 1998 and as recently as 2018. Its unknown who leaked the document and what other media organizations they may have tried to send it to.

The report picks apart the extremely shaky physics and narratives of the official OPCW analysis on the gas cylinders allegedly dropped from Syrian government aircraft in the Douma attack, and concludes that The dimensions, characteristics and appearance of the cylinders, and the surrounding scene of the incidents, were inconsistent with what would have been expected in the case of either cylinder being delivered from an aircraft, saying instead that manual placement of the cylinders in the locations investigators found them in is the only plausible explanation for observations at the scene.

To be clear, this means that according to the assessment signed by an OPCW-trained expert, the cylinders alleged to have dispensed poison gas which killed dozens of people in Douma did not arrive in the locations that they were alleged to have arrived at via aircraft dropped by the Syrian government, but via manual placement by people on the ground, where photographs were then taken and circulated around the world as evidence against the Syrian government which was used to justify air strikes by the US, UK and France. There were swift military consequences meted out on what appears now to be a lie. At the time, the people on the ground were the Al Qaeda-linked Jaysh Al-Islam, who had at that point nothing to lose and everything to gain by staging a false flag attack in a last-ditch attempt to get NATO powers to function as their air force, since theyd already effectively lost the battle against the Syrian government.

Leaked Document Pokes More Holes In Establishment Syria Narrative



"If you still believe at this point that the Syrian government dropped poison gas on #Douma last year, then Ive got some Iraqi WMDs to sell you."#Syriahttps://t.co/hFIbBF0J9x  Caitlin Johnstone  (@caitoz) May 14, 2019

We now have confirmation that, for whatever the reason may be, this assessment was hidden from the public by the OPCW.

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British journalists Peter Hitchens and Brian Whitaker have both published matching statements from the OPCW on this report. Hitchens has been an outspoken critic of the establishment Syria narrative; Whittaker has been a virulent promulgator of it. The statement begins as a very mundane and obvious assertion that it takes information from numerous sources and then publishes its conclusions, but concludes with an admission that it is conducting an internal investigation about the unauthorised release of the document in question. This constitutes an admission that the document is authentic.

Here is the text of the statement in full; the portion Im drawing attention to is in the second-to-last paragraph:

The OPCW establishes facts surrounding allegations of the use of toxic chemicals for hostile purposes in the Syrian Arab Republic through the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM), which was set up in 2014.

The OPCW Technical Secretariat reaffirms that the FFM complies with established methodologies and practices to ensure the integrity of its findings. The FFM takes into account all available, relevant, and reliable information and analysis within the scope of its mandate to determine its findings.

Per standard practice, the FFM draws expertise from different divisions across the Technical Secretariat as needed. All information was taken into account, deliberated, and weighed when formulating the final report regarding the incident in Douma, Syrian Arab Republic, on 7 April 2018. On 1 March 2019, the OPCW issued its final report on this incident, signed by the Director-General.

Per OPCW rules and regulations, and in order to ensure the privacy, safety, and security of personnel, the OPCW does not provide information about individual staff members of the Technical Secretariat

Pursuant to its established policies and practices, the OPCW Technical Secretariat is conducting an internal investigation about the unauthorised release of the document in question.

At this time, there is no further public information on this matter and the OPCW is unable to accommodate requests for interviews.

This should be a major news headline all around the world, but of course it is not. As of this writing the mass media have remained deathly silent about the document despite its enormous relevance to an international headline story last year which occupied many days of air time. It not only debunks a major news story that had military consequences, it casts doubt on a most esteemed international independent investigative body and undermines the fundamental assumptions behind many years of western reporting in the area. People get lazy about letting the media tell them whats important and they assume if its not in the news, its not a big deal. This is a big deal, this is a major story and it is going unreported, which makes the medias silence a part of the story as well.

Also conspicuously absent from discussion has been the war propaganda firm Bellingcat, which is usually the first to put the most establishment-friendly spin possible on any development in this area. If Eliot Higgins cant even work out how to polish this turd, you know its a steamer.

As near as I can tell the kindest possible interpretation of these revelations is that an expert who has worked with the OPCW for decades gave an engineering assessment which directly contradicted the official findings of the OPCW on Douma, but OPCW officials didnt find his assessment convincing for whatever reason and hid every trace of it from public view. Thats the least sinister possibility: that a sharp dissent from a distinguished expert within the OPCWs own investigation was completely hidden from the public because the people calling the shots at the OPCW didnt want to confuse us with a perspective they didnt find credible. This most charitable interpretation possible is damningly unacceptable by itself, because the public should obviously be kept informed of any possible evidence which may contradict the reasons they were fed to justify an act of war by powerful governments.

And there are many far less charitable interpretations. It is not in the slightest bit unreasonable to speculate that the ostensibly independent OPCW in fact serves the interests of the US-centralized power alliance, and that it suppressed the Henderson report because it pokes holes in the narratives that are used to demonize a longtime target for imperialist regime change. That is a perfectly reasonable possibility for us to wonder about, and the onus is now on the OPCW to prove to us that it is not the case.

Either way, the fact that the OPCW kept Hendersons findings from receiving not a whisper of attention severely undermines the organizations credibility, not just with regard to Douma but with regard to everything, including the establishment Syria narrative as a whole and the Skripal case in the UK. Everything the OPCW has ever concluded about alleged chemical usage around the world is now subject to very legitimate skepticism.

The leaked OPCW engineers assessment is confirmed as genuine, which means the final report actively concealed evidence that the Douma chemical attack was staged by jihadists and the White Helmets, tweeted British journalist Jonathan Cook. The OPCWs other Syria reports must now be treated as worthless too.

In light of the new evidence from an OPCW engineers report, leaked to 'Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media, previously suppressed by the OPCW themselves, about the alleged chemical in Douma...



Full statement and video here: https://t.co/iq8CndKDTW@Freedland @guardian pic.twitter.com/2axORGBk3c  Roger Waters (@rogerwaters) May 16, 2019

When I first reported on the Henderson document the other day, I received a fair criticism from a Medium user that I was actually far too charitable in my reporting on just how thoroughly the official Douma narrative was rejected.

This article doesnt really express just how damning the report actually is, the user said. Its much more than just on balance their observations are inconsistent with the cylinders being dropped from aircraft. Just about everything about the official narrative is shown to be plain impossible, from the angles of the broken rebar in the roof, through the damage to the gas cylinders, to the pile of fins on the balcony that couldnt have been attached to the cylinder, and more. Theres simply no way they were dropped from helicopters.

I strongly encourage readers to check out the 15-page document for themselves to understand its claims and make up their own minds, and then sit a bit to really digest the possible implications. We may have just discovered a major piece of the puzzle explaining how seemingly independent international organizations help deceive us into consenting to wars and regime change interventionism around the world.

The narrative that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is a monster who gasses his own people has been used to justify western interventionism in that nation which has included arming actual terrorist groups, enabling them to leave a trail of blood and chaos across Syria, as well as an illegal occupation of Syrian land and sanctions against the Syrian economy. This narrative is being used currently to maintain support for continuing to uphold the crippling sanctions that are making life hell for the average Syrian, today. This is not in the past, this is happening now, and there is no telling when these siege efforts towards regime change will be ramped up further into more overt forms of military action. The violence, displacement and economic hardship that is being inflicted upon the Syrian people by this interventionism is causing incalculably immense suffering, and it is all made possible by false narratives sold to the public.

Remember, they wouldnt work so hard to manufacture your consent if they didnt require that consent. So dont give it to them. The first step to ending the suffering caused by western interventionism is to help free public consciousness from the incredibly complex and well-oiled propaganda machine which manufactures the consent of the governed for unconscionable acts of violence and devastation. Wake people up to whats going on so we can all cease consenting.

Caitlin's articles are entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking her on Facebook , following her antics on Twitter , checking out her podcast , throwing some money into her hat on Patreon or Paypal , or buying her book Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers

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Our occasional correspondent Dave Begley was on hand when New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio brought his newly minted presidential campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination to Iowa on Friday (photo courtesy of Dave with de Blasio and his wife). Dave is a Nebraska attorney practicing elder law and estate planning in Omaha. Dave posed a question to de Blasio from the small group gathered to hear him and escaped to file this report:

The mayor of Americas largest city made his first official campaign stop in Sioux City, Iowa, on Friday night. Sioux City is a decidedly blue-collar town and it was where I first saw candidate Donald Trump fill a high school gym nearly four years ago. In

De Blasio spoke at Rebos. If there is a hipster place in town, this is it. The crowd numbered exactly 24 as I counted them. Thats one more than the current Democrat field. This included at least three people from New York City. One of the New Yorkers complained that the city had not fixed the lock on her door.

Another odd thing is that event was in a very large room and the candidate had to compete with ten patrons ten feet from him who were eating and laughing away while completely ignoring him. Later a train rolled by and blew its whistle.

His stump speech made only two points. He is on the side of working people. In New York City he has promoted free stuff for working people  free health care, free pre-K and paid sick leave. Trump is a bully and the mayor knows how to deal with bullies. One has to take them on and confront them. He is the candidate who will aggressively take on Trump. Hes a fighter.

De Blasio claimed that the president doesnt like to be called Don. He has also nicknamed him Con Don. I wonder if President Trump will even bother to give de Blasio a nickname. The high school version of de Blasio was known as Senator Provolone. Im thinking Billy D might work.

My question was as follows:

DDB: Mr. Mayor, the cattle business is a big part of the Iowa economy. I know that you support the Green New Deal and it would really have a big impact on cattle and agriculture. Why should Iowans vote for you with that in mind?

He responded:

BD: First of all Iowans, like all Americans, have to focus on the survival of this planet. Weve got to stop global warming. Look at the horrible floods that Iowa has experienced  all the extreme weather we are seeing all over the country. This is a very dangerous situation. And if we dont reverse it, it is at our peril and certainly at the peril of our children and grandchildren. So the Green New Deal  the reason I support it  is that it is urgent and it recognizes we cannot continue business as usual. In New York City we have just put in place the most aggressive new laws on big buildings, to limit their emissions and a whole host of things. To that question of that part of the Green New Deal [on cattle], I think we are going to have more balance.  I see it as a framework for a whole series of changes.

Later he said that global warming is an existential threat and according to the UN we only have 12 years to act. And, of course, its implementation will create all sorts of jobs.

The biggest applause from the crowd came following a question about abortion. A woman asserted that the new Alabama law was a part of the male GOPs alleged war on women and would put women in jail and deprive them of their vote. The mayors reply was that the recent laws were crazy, inhumane, immoral and wrong. He thinks this is a defining issue and women wont stand for this. He will fight for a womans right to choose. According to polls, something like two-thirds of Americans or more believe in a womans right to choose.

New York City currently has 70,000 children in pre-K. He wants to take that national and lower it to age 3. Public schools will define the future of our country. Some people think that public schools  especially in the cities  are a big part of the problem.

George Kelling passed away this week. With James Q. Wilson he proposed the very successful Broken Windows method of policing. Billy D is not a fan. Under his watch the police have shifted to neighborhood policing. He bragged that New York is the safest big city in the country.

Violent crime rates have dropped in New York City since the early 1990s. The adoption of Broken Windows policing under Rudy Giuliani during his first term as mayor contributed to a historic decline. I believe that Bill Bratton continued the method during his tenure as police commissioner under de Blasio from 2014-2016 and that the department continues to use the CompStat analysis for crime prevention. Historical and current research is collected here.

China remains in the news and the tariff increases have hurt farmers, especially soybean farmers. De Blasio asserted that there was no end in sight and that the President didnt have a strategy. While one may disagree with the Presidents methods, he certainly has a strategy and there is no substitute for victory.
Lo and behold, I opened up this mornings Wall Street Journal to see a weekend interview with this weeks guest, historian Wilfred M. McClay of the University of Oklahoma, about his brand new book Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story. In the course of our conversation, we cover not only whats wrong (but also partly right) about Howard Zinn, but how Bill got the audacious idea to write such an ambitious book, why most American history textbooks are so bad, some of our favorite historians past and present, including Kenneth Lynn, Richard Hofstadter, and John Lukacs, and many others.

Toward the end, we pivot to talking about Bills experience teaching the legendary W.H. Auden Syllabus, which is the great books course Auden taught at the University of Michigan in 1941. The ambitious reading listnearly 6,000 pages in one semester!was wrapped under the course title Fate and the Individual in European Literature, and this replication of the Auden course, which can be compared with drinking from a fire hose, has been a hit with students, notwithstanding the fact that the course is advertised as the hardest course youll ever take. Proof that good students like a challenge, and respond to classic literature when taught in a serious way, as Bill explains here.

Meanwhile, everyone should rush out and buy Land of Hope, and recommend it to your local high school (and college) history teachers.

As always, listen here, or download the episode from our partners/hosts at Ricochet. And Im wondering whether, if I dont bug you here, maybe in a fit of reverse psychology more of you will leave a review over on iTunes.
I think President Trump is doing the right thing in pushing back against theft of intellectual property and other Chinese misdeeds, but there is evidence that he is paying a political price. President Trumps approval ratings normally move within a very narrow range, consistent with the electorates polarization. But he has been doing well lately, with his approval rating sometimes over 50% in the Rasmussen survey. But now he has taken a tumble, with his rating dropping to 45% approval and 53% disapproval.

I cant think of anything that would cause this dip other than publicity surrounding the trade conflict with China with attendant concerns about consumer prices and the agricultural economy, manifested visibly in a stock market pullback. Today a trade deal with Canada and Mexico was announced. Perhaps progress will be made with China as well. But the Chinese know that President Trump is ramping up for his re-election contest, and they also know that the Democrats are on their side, not Trumps.

I am inclined to hope that Trump concludes a deal with the Chinese, even if it doesnt provide much benefit. I recall a White House Correspondents Dinner in about 2003, when Ozzy Osbourne yelled out to President Bush that Bush should grow his hair long like Osbournes. To which Bush reportedly replied, Second term, Ozzy. Similarly, it may be wise for Trump to defer serious conflict with China over trade to his second term, when he will be in a better position to withstand the temporary fallout.
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GREAT FALLS, VA / ACCESSWIRE / May 17, 2019 / Hiring middle-aged immigrant employees has turned out to be a good move for Rick Rahim. Rick is the president of BusinessVentures.com Rahim owns and operates many mid-size companies mostly on the east coast of the United States. Rick founded many of the companies from scratch. Others, he bought and expanded after their acquisition.Rick Rahim's various companies generate revenue in excess of $20 million annually. According to Rahim, many of his best employees are middle-age immigrants.One of Rick's customer service and call centers in Virginia has approximately 18 employees working shifts seven days a week. This particular center is responsible for processing up to 4,000 Internet orders per day.Explains Rahim, "Once our orders come in, our staff must process the orders and ship the products to each customer." Rick says they operate shifts seven days per week so that they do not fall behind in the order processing. Rahim strives to deliver each order to every customer as quickly as possible.Rahim goes on to say that in addition to order processing, the same staff is also responsible for answering customer service emails, answering phone calls from customers, tracking shipments, and even processing return requests.Because of their sales volume, Rick says his staff must also deal with several lost or damaged packages each day from major carriers like UPS, Fedex, and the US Postal Service. Rahim's team also deals with fraud prevention to make sure fraudulent Internet orders are never shipped.Though a natural US Citizen born to American parents, Rick Rahim himself is of a mixed heritage. According to Rick, he has learned recently that older immigrant workers can be the best kind of employees in his business.Rahim says they come to work on time, are trustworthy, and don't have the usual daily drama that younger millennials often seem to bring to work with them. Rick says that during the interview process, he looks past their sometimes heavy accents and varied ethnic backgrounds to discover the human being he is interviewing.Rick has found recent success hiring many employees from countries like Nepal, India, Bangladesh, and several African countries. Rahim also favors more mature employees. "I have learned that people in their 30's - 60's are more mature, and more focused on providing a steady income for their families and building a future." According to Rahim, younger employees, while sometimes extremely talented, often don't have the dedication and work ethic to last in their job very long. "When a young person lives at home with Mom and Dad and has few bills, it's very easy for that person to quit when they are too tired or hung over to show up for work on time," says Rahim."These days, it feels like the youngest generation is sadly being raised to expect immediate success, huge salaries, and cushy work hours," says Rahim.For now, Rick Rahim is going out of his way to give extra consideration to applicants who are motivated and reliable, no matter what their background.To learn more, contact Business Ventures at 703-757-8500 or visit them at BusinessVentures.com *Rick Rahim is an accomplished helicopter pilot, who has even had viral success when he pulled his son's baby tooth out with his helicopter. In addition to be a lifelong entrepreneur, Rick is also an accomplished children's book author, having published "Way Up High In The Big Blue Sky." Rick has also dabbled in television, such as in this clip broadcasting on Fox & Friends.SOURCE: BusinessVentures.com
With the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) posting six consistent yields of profits in four of its five years of existence, the Supervising Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, said the government needs to be more aggressive in its excess crude oil revenue savings to sustain the funding of the agency.

The minister said on Thursday at the quarterly briefing of her ministry in Abuja that government was working towards an understanding with the National Economic Council (NEC) to ensure it saved on a regular and routine basis in the excess crude revenue account (ECA) for the NSIA.

The NSIA is doing a good job with the small savings available to it in the Stabilisation Account, the minister said.

But, the finance ministry is hoping to get the understanding of the NEC, chaired by the Vice President, and composed of all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory. The government wants the savings into the ECA to be more aggressive.

There is a provision in the NSIA Act that requires that savings in the ECA on a routine basis be able to fund the NSIA. Government has not been able to attain that yet.

It is not something the federal government alone can decide. The ECA belongs to the three tiers of government. Their understanding is required to start that routine savings and funding to the NSIA, she said.

IMF Indicts Nigeria over ECA

Early last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) criticised Nigeria for her poor utilisation of the Sovereign Wealth Fund.

The IMF, in its Fiscal Monitor Report, released as part of the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, ranked Nigeria second lowest among 33 countries using the sovereign wealth fund from their natural resources.

The IMF ranked Nigeria only better than Qatar. The IMFs Senior Resident Representative and Mission Chief for Nigeria, Amine Mati, said Nigerias use of the ECA savings lacked transparency, particularly on the rules governing deposits, withdrawals, and investments.

The ECA is a special account kept by the Nigerian government where revenues realised from the sale of crude oil, above set oil benchmark price in the budget, are saved.

As is the practice in most resource-rich countries with Sovereign Wealth Fund, accruals in the ECA domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are usually transferred to the agency mandated to manage such funds for the benefit of the citizenry.

Serial abuses

However, successive Nigerian governments have been accused of serially misusing huge accruals in the ECA with scant transparency and accountability.

The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) in its recent report, titled Resource Governance Index: From Legal Reform to Implementation in Sub-Saharan Africa, ranked Nigerias ECA lowest among other sovereign wealth funds covered.

The (Nigerian) government discloses almost none of the rules or practices governing deposits, withdrawals or investments of the ECA, the report stated.

Another report by the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) revealed Nigeria realised over $109.37 billion (about N15.274 trillion) as total accruals in the ECA between 2004 and 2018.

Of the amount, the report said successive Nigerian governments spent about $107.4 billion (about N15.46 trillion) without any tangible evidence of accountability to the people.

Between 2011 and 2015, the report said the country earned about $42.3 billion in the ECA. Between 2009 and 2014, about $12.95 billion was drawn from the account for fuel subsidy payments to petroleum products marketers.

Of all the withdrawals, only $1.25 billion was transferred to the Stabilisation Fund, which later became the seed funding for the current Sovereign Wealth Fund managed by the NSIA.

According to the report, the Obasanjo administration realised about $33.74 billion in the ECA between 2004 and 2006. About Out of the total accrual of $33.74 billion, his administration expended a total of $25.65 billion.

Similarly, between 2007 and 2009, the YarAdua administration received $27.36 billion and spent $28.73 billion.

Also, between 2010 and 2014, the Jonathan administration realised about $45.56 billion and spent about $50.44 billion.

The Buhari administration has so far earned $2.49 billion despite the recent low oil prices.

Out of the amount, $500 million was paid as additional capital to the Sovereign Wealth Fund and $1 billion for payment to states as part of the Paris Fund refund.

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As of May 1, the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) Secretariat reported that about $183 million was the latest balance in the ECA.

NSIAs achievements

The NSIA commenced operations in 2013 with a core seed equity investment capital of $1.5 billion in three ring-fenced funds for Stabilisation, Future Generation and Nigeria Infrastructure.

NSIA Managing Director, Uche Orji, told PREMIUM TIMES the agency had recorded six consistent yields of positive profits on all three of its signature funds in four of the five years of its existence.

Apart from the additional $500 million by the present administration, the NSIA said, in its 2018 annual financial report over $550 million was earned as value addition from investments with its funds in five years of operation.

Also, about $75 million was realised from third-party assets managed on behalf of other government agencies, like the Debt Management Office (DMO) and presidential initiatives on infrastructure development fund, bringing the total balance sheet to about $2.63 billion.

With 100 per cent funds deployed, Mr Orji said the Stabilisation Fund yielded over 7.2 per cent in profits, while about 81 per cent of the Future Generations Fund deployed fetched about 8.3 per cent profit during the year.

Similarly, he said the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund yielded over 7.7 per cent from only 17 per cent of the fund deployed.

The NSIA MD said his agency was able to record those achievements through the deployment of the funds into strategic investments in roads, healthcare, power and agricultural services impacting directly on the lives of Nigerians.

In 2016, he said the agency realised about N149.8 billion as income, apart from N130.4 billion in profit. The figures, however, dropped to N27.9 billion and N22.5 billion respectively in 2017.

In 2018, total comprehensive income, including $18.05 million as foreign exchange gains, rose to about N44.3 billion, from N27.9 billion in the previous year.

Also, total income grew by 88.5 per cent, from N30.6 billion in 2017 to N57.7 billion, while interest income of about N23.82 billion, represents a 9 per cent year-on-year, an increase from the N21.77 billion in 2017.

Besides, the total assets of the agency grew by about 16 per cent, from about N533.8 billion in 2017 to about N617.7 billion.

The officials also said the agency had achieved a lot in health, agriculture, and infrastructure development.
The Chairman of Heirs Holding and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Tony Elumelu, on Thursday enjoined leaders from across the world to train and invest in young Africans to engender economic growth.

Mr Elumelu spoke Thursday at the Tech for Good Summit 2019, which held in France.

The entrepreneur joined global leaders at the invitation of President of France, Emmanuel Macron, to discuss the use of technology and entrepreneurship in making the world a better place.

The philanthropist said leaders across the globe must not forget that Africa is just starting out and it cannot afford to lag behind.

We need the world to pay attention to Africa so that young Africans are not disenfranchised and left behind in this new technology era, he said.

We need the world to pay attention to the plight of young Africans so that issues of migration can be addressed in a more fundamental way by tackling the root cause which is a lack of economic hope. We must address these issues holistically to fight poverty which as we all know is a threat to everyone everywhere.

He explained that from efficient payment systems, to access to data that fosters connection and collaboration, technology is the new reality and it offers a world of opportunity and promise.

He said, But Africa cannot be left behind. Africa needs this type of gathering  we are a continent with over 60 per cent of its people under the age of 30  they need economic opportunities, they need hope. They need Tech for Good and just as important, Tech for All. I represented the African continent to draw attention to our young ones who seek economic hope and opportunity via technology.

Mr Elumelu reiterated to world leaders that even as they gathered in the next G7 and G20 summits, they should prioritise tech for all on the African continent.

At the Tony Elumelu Foundation we have led in committing to Tech for All, he said. Our digital hub for African entrepreneurs, TEFConnect, demonstrates the possibilities that can be unlocked on our continent when we leverage technology in business, investment, and social good. Our platform is a demonstration of what can be achieved when the digital revolution is democratised  personal empowerment, business growth, equitable bilateral relationships, and a more gender balanced and inclusive society.

The entrepreneurship advocate also said that he joined other select global leaders to co-sign a diversity pact aimed at increasing participation of women in leadership and technology by 2022.

The pact, he said, will leverage technology to bridge the gender divide in todays fast-evolving workspace, drive a more inclusive work environment and accelerate innovations that will further simplify our lives and make us more efficient.

The initiative is important because Africa needs to act. According to a report by the Africa CEO Forum, he explained, only five per cent of CEOs of major groups in Africa are women.

These numbers are staggeringly low  but we are pacemakers and role models, he said. In our group, we walk the talk  in UBA, we are currently leading in diversity across the 20 African countries we operate in, as well as in the UK, USA, and France.

31 per cent of senior/executive management positions group-wide are held by women, with nearly 30 per cent female representation on the boards within the UBA Group  we have female regional CEOs, and some critical functions are female-led  because we appoint on merit  and merit alone.

Mr Elumelu was joined at the forum by world leaders including Theresa May of United Kingdom, Justin Trudeau of Canada, Leo Varadkar of Ireland, as well as entrepreneurs and business owners like Jack Ma, John Kerry, among others.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says there was an addition of 43,807 active subscribers on the telecommunication networks in March 2019.

The telecommunications regulator disclosed this in its Monthly Subscriber/Operator Data made available on its website on Saturday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the active subscribers on the telecommunications networks increased from 173,670,035 in February to 173,713,842 in March.

According to the data, 173,432,863 of the 173,713,863 active users subscribe to the GSM network services.

The GSM operators active customers figure increased by 156,335 in March, after the 173,276,528 subscribers recorded in February 2019.

The report stated that out of the GSM operators, MTN had 65,034,615 users in March, showing a decrease of 531,283 from the 66,565,878 it recorded in February 2019.

Globacoms figure increased in March by 199,186 with 46,203,703 customers, as against 46,004,517 in February.

Airtel had 45,238,335 subscribers in the month under review, which showed an increase of 262,803 users, from the 44,975,532 recorded in February.

9mobile recorded 16,838,403 customers in March, having an increase of 107,822 subscribers, against 16,730,581 in February.

Visafone, which just migrated from the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) to the GSM network had 117,807 subscribers in the month of March.

The Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators recorded 4,460 subscribers in the month under review, indicating a decrease of 119,087 from 123,547 users in February 2019.

The only surviving CDMA operators, Multi-Links had 4,460 in the month under review, same with the record of February 2019.

The monthly subscriber/operator data showed that the Fixed Wireless network (landline) consumers remained at 26,865 in March.

One of the two landline networks, Visafone had 26,437 subscribers, while Multi-Links maintained its record of 428 customers in the month under review.

It also revealed that the Fixed Wired operators (landline) subscriber base decreased by 641; reducing to 107,154 users in March, as against 107,795 recorded in February 2019.

In the Fixed Wired arena, MTN Fixed moved from 5,459 users in February 2019 to 5,449 users in March, thereby decreasing by 10 customers.

Glo Fixed had 2,789 users in March, decreasing by 95 customers from the February record of 2,884.

IpNX network moved from 2,233 subscriber base in February 2019 to 2,221 in March, hence, its customers decreased by 12.

It said that 21st Century Network had 96,695 customers in March, recording a decrease of 524 users from its February record of 97,219 subscribers.

The report also showed that the two Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) networks had 142,500 active users in March, as their customers increased by 7,200 from their February 2019 subscriber base of 135,300.

Of the VOIP networks, Smile Communication had 137,247 customers, giving an increase of 7,779 users to its February result of 129,468.

Ntel had 5,253 consumers subscribing to its products and services in March, showing a decrease of 579 users from the February 2019 record of 5,832.

The regulatory body said that Section 89, Subsection 3(c) of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 mandated it to monitor and report the state of the telecommunications industry.

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The commission is mandated to provide statistical analyses and identify industry trends with regard to: services, tariffs, operators, technology, subscribers, issues of competition and dominance.

This is with a view to identifying areas where regulatory intervention will be needed.

The commission regularly conducts studies, surveys and produces reports on the telecommunications industry.

Therefore, telecommunications operators are obligated, under the terms of their licenses, to provide NCC with such data on a regular basis for analytical review and publishing, NCC said. (NAN)
Kannywood top actors, Ali Nuhu, Usman Uzee and Maryam Booth are now CarXie ambassadors.

The actors signed an endorsement agreement with the companys representatives in Abuja on Friday.

Like Uber and Taxify, CarXie is a Nigerian car hire service operating in many states of the country including Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Awka and Enugu.

It is a brand new innovation from DuKAN Group, the home of Nigerias technology brains. The car hire services will cover more states in Nigeria, one of the newly signed ambassadors, Uzee said.

The three celebrities are the first ambassadors signed by the company.

Actress Booth lauded the endorsement by CarXie saying it is one among many she has secure since January.

Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, Booth said I have signed two contract deals this year, one with Airtel and the second one with Ajinomoto. This is yet another one for me.

Booth also said she will be involved in video shoots for them. I also will use my social media pages and platforms to promote their products and many other things.

Meanwhile, friends and colleagues have taken to the actors Instagram pages to congratulate them.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday said he did not believe a war would break out in the region as Tehran did not want a conflict, the state news agency IRNA reported.

According to Zarif, no country had the illusion it could confront Iran.

Tensions have escalated in recent days, with growing concerns about a potential U.S.-Iran conflict.

Earlier this week the U.S. pulled some diplomatic staff from its embassy in Baghdad following weekend attacks on four oil tankers in the Gulf.

There will be no war because neither we want a war, nor has anyone the idea or illusion that it can confront Iran in the region, Zarif told IRNA before ending his visit to Beijing. (Reuters/NAN)
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Lagos have explained how they monitor the activities of government, especially its spendings on public health.

In their advocacy role in the sector, the CSOs said they do self-regulation and operate in networks to ensure transparency in their activities.

They were responding to questions from some senior National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, (NIPSS) who have been in the state since Monday to study its health sector, especially the primary health system.

The meeting between both groups was organised by the Development Research and Project Centre (DRPC) through PACFAH@Scale.

The meeting

The meeting started with the introduction of the representatives of the various CSOs present. They all explained their areas of advocacy and how they engage the government and the public to strengthen the health sector.

Nasirudeen Usman, the team leader of the NIPSS delegation, explained to the CSOs the aim of the local study tour.

Asked how they hold government accountable, Bola Nuga of the Access to Development Initiative said the CSOs draw policy briefs, especially scorecards.

We draw up health budget scorecards. We look at allocations given to health as well as the releases. We put them in a chart and we use it to engage the government.

We check if the allocations are enough for what they are targeted at and also check if the money was fully released.

We then present the scorecard to government as a document, he explained.

Mr Nuga, a reverend father, also said they use tools such as health tracker to monitor the programmes and activities of the government.

If the government is building a health centre, for instance, we use the tracker to monitor if it has been completed. We then make a compilation of our tracking.

Challenges

The clergyman said they face challenges trying to hold the government to account.

CSOs are seen as antagonists so the government shield so many things from us. The first time we demanded budget monitoring, they did not provide it.

But now, I think they are beginning to see the relevance of our work.

They (government) are beginning to open up gradually. Now, if they have some activities they will invite CSOs. In the past, it was not usually like that.

Self-regulation

They were also asked how they regulate their activities so as not to duplicate efforts, avoid wastages and ensure transparency.

Mr Nuga said CSOs build networks that oversee and check what each is doing.

Donors now prefer to fund networks because it is difficult to track the activities of individual organisations.

When you belong to a network, the leaders will oversee the activities of members. That is why we encourage NGOs to belong to networks so they do can be monitored.

This will go a long way to self-regulate us and avoid duplication of efforts. We dont have an umbrella body but we have networks such as malaria, tuberculosis HIV/AIDS networks.

Hard to Reach

Abayomi Ogundako, chairman of the Christian Health Association (CHAN), said his organisation work with the hard to reach, disadvantaged and indigent groups.

One of the factors considered as a hindrance to Universal Health Coverage is reaching some of the timid communities that are far from urbanisation.

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Challenges such as lack of access routes, power supply and poor mobile network make it difficult to deliver adequate and quality services in these areas, he said.

Mr Ogundako explained how his organisation through collaboration with churches and mosques reach such unreachable areas.

There is hardly any community you will go, no matter how timid, without seeing a church. You will have at least two or three of them.

Since all the denominations are involved, we encourage them to open a clinic in the community because the government cannot reach some of these places. But through the churches, we reach them.

What we do in Lagos is that in every religious denomination, we have representatives so that when we want to disseminate information and relief materials, it goes to the clinics in these communities directly.

The clergyman said the only challenge to their advocacy is funding.

We dont have enough funds to deliver adequate services to these areas. Funders like UKAID give us drugs and equipment, which we are using to give some free health services. The mission also does the funding.
A student of Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU), Ikot Akpaden, has been suspended indefinitely from the school for allegedly calling the university vice chancellor foolish on Facebook.

The student, Joy Nkanang, was in her second year in the department of performing arts before her suspension on May 9.

Ms Nkanang, from Akwa Ibom State, on May 5 made the following post on Facebook: AKSU what is happening? A dry cleaners shop was robbed last night along college road.

Ms Nkanangs Facebook post, PREMIUM TIMES learnt, was about the increase in cult activities and insecurity around the university campus.

The post attracted some comments, including one Facebook user calling for a protest against insecurity in the university.

No. we dont want to spoil the schools image. foolish vc, Ms Nkanang wrote on the social media site, in response to the call for protest.

The universitys attention was drawn to her foolish vc comment which the authority, in the suspension letter, described as gross misconduct and a breach of matriculation oath.

Ms Nkanang would remain suspended from studies and barred from entering the campus until the conclusion of investigation on her case, the university said.

The suspension letter, signed by the school registrar, John Udo, said Ms Nkanang admitted before a meeting with university officials that she did call the vice chancellor foolish.

But a source who witnessed the meeting proceedings said the student was not allowed to make any comment when she appeared before the officials.

They just asked her where shes from in Akwa Ibom and who her father is.

A student of Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU), Ikot Akpaden.

At the end of the meeting, they told her she is dismissed from school. She knelt down and begged, but nobody listened to her, the source said.

Ms Nkanang declined comment when PREMIUM TIMES contacted her, Friday evening.

Akaninyene Ibanga, the spokesperson of the Akwa Ibom State University, told PREMIUM TIMES, Friday evening, Ms Nkanang may be recalled or expelled from the university when the case is determined.

Mr Ibanga said the suspended student is yet to be invited to appear before a disciplinary committee of the school.

Eno Ibanga, a professor, is the vice chancellor of the university which is owned by the Akwa Ibom State Government.
Located on a large expanse of land, Rafin Giwa Model Primary School in Kwakware community, Kebbi State, is gradually becoming a prime destination for anxious parents wishing to enrol their children.

This is in light of the UNICEF and the state governments Cash Transfer Programme (CTP), which is attracting massive enrolment from families in the community. It is equally posing enormous challenges on the schools infrastructure.

Currently, due to the influx of pupils, classes are sometimes conducted under a tree, an investigation reveals.

There are about three other schools in the community, but Rafin Giwa appears to be a top choice for parents sending their wards to school. It is also where cash is disbursed to such parents by government officials.

PREMIUM TIMES recently visited the community, which is about 30 minutes drive from the state capital. It is situated in Suru LGA.

Excitement

In one of the classrooms, 12-year-old Hassana Aliyu, who is in Primary 6, expressed her delight at being in school, courtesy of the government.

She said the cash transfer programme had changed her entire life.

I left school two years ago when I was in primary four because there was no one to pay my fees. I started selling food for my mother since then, she said.

Ms Hassanah said she wants to become a medical doctor and will love to go to a higher institution.

I came back to school last year, and I joined my friends in primary six because they are all in primary four, she said.

Primary one and two people under the tree

Outside the classroom, about 200 pupils received lessons under an acacia tree in the hot afternoon.

The school, with 774 pupils was established in 1976, and is presently not able to accommodate the increasing number of fresh intakes.

Worse, the school has only six teachers. It has three blocks with six classrooms, which cannot cater for the pupils.

Most of the primary one and two pupils, who are between age seven and nine, said in the local language, Hausa, that they were happy to be in school.

We would have been hawking if we are not in school by now. We also have books, pencils, uniform, socks and sandals too, Musa Gulma, the labour maayter quoted some of the children as saying.

Mr Gulma said the only challenge of the cash programme is that it needs adequate monitoring.

Some parents still collect the money, and their wards are not in school, it is worrisome, he said.

Relief, yet pain

Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, the head teacher of Rafin Giwa school, Kabiru Shehu, said the block of classrooms for Primary one and two collapsed in 2017.

Since then we have to shuffle the pupils between a class and under the tree, he said.

According to him, we usually merge class one and two and put them in Education Child Development Centre (ECDC) during harmattan and rainy season. They only sit under the tree during the normal weather.

The only way we can separate them to learn their curriculum is using the shades. Class one alone is more than 150 pupils, he explained.

He said the school had informed the authorities since the incident happened, and they promised to construct a new block of classrooms.

We have six teachers, two are female, while the remaining four are male. Once in a while, we get volunteers to assist us, he said.

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Suru local government education Secretary, Kabiru Maikwari

Aside from serving as a place for formal education of kids in the community, the school ground is also a meeting point for parents who gather there to receive the cash transfer from UNICEF.

The communities affected are in Kirufe, Kawara and Mekwari.

Kawara

PREMIUM TIMES also visited Kawara Model Primary School, which was established in 1968.

The headmaster of the school, Labaran Falke, said he was helpless especially in the face of challenges of lack of teachers and infrastructure the school is confronted with.

We dont have enough chairs, most of the furniture we have are broken. We also need more classrooms and the fencing of the school is another problem we are facing.

Our pupils in classes five and six are all in one classroom. We divided them into three, one group learns in the class and two other groups learn under the tree, Mr Falke said.

Mr Falke expressed worry that the absence of facilities like furniture and additional classrooms may discourage pupils from been retained in school despite the government largesse.

Headteacher, Rafin Giwa model primary school, Kwakware, Kabiru Shehu

Before the CTP, our pupils were less than 300 but since the UNICEF people brought this programme, the enrolment increased to 667 pupils. We suddenly began to face the problems of space and where to put them (pupils). The teachers are only nine with one female teacher. All of these can make them (pupils) stop coming, he added.

How intervention works

The CTP, initiated by UNICEF, is part of the component of Educate A Child which is a funding window to reduce the number of out-of-school children in Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states by 2020.

The components, according to UNICEF, include the cash transfer programme in addition to other grant opportunities.

The cash transfer programme is targeting over 501,749 out-of-school children, who are not above 12-year-old, in the four Northern Nigerian states with the highest number of such children.

Cash transfer card

A survey by UNICEF and the federal government showed that the population of these children has risen from 10.5 million to 13.2 million.

Nigeria is ranked as having the highest number of out-of-school children in the world.

Beneficiaries

Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, the CTP coordinator in Kebbi State, Isah Usman, said over 31,000 pupils in the state are currently being paid N8,000 every academic term to encourage learning.

He said the money is being paid to the mothers of the pupil, who are referred to as caregivers.

The mothers are being given the money as caregivers, we know they have the attitude to turn the money into small scale business and in turn support and sustain their children in school, he said.

Thirty five-year-old Aisha Ibrahim, who was on queue in the school to receive her cash when our reporter visited, said she uses the N8000 received (per term) to sell corn meal popularly known as tuwo masara in Hausa.

This money has helped me to invest in my business, and I can cater to my children. Only one of my child is a beneficiary. So I use the money to buy uniforms, socks, and I give them food. I am very happy now, she said.

Father of five who escorted his wives to collect CTP money for five children, Ahmed Kwakware

Similarly, Hauwa Jibrin, said two of her kids are beneficiaries. She said she invests the money on livestock rearing, takes care of her children and gives some to her husband.

Ahmed Kwakware, a jewellery seller and father of five children, said all his children are beneficiaries. He said the money had created a bond between families.

As you can see me, I escorted my wives to collect the money. I have two wives, and they have been investing well with the money and my children are happy, he said.

When asked if he collects the money from his wives, Mr Kwakware said no, but they have (wives) been so supportive.

Flipside

The village head of Kwakware community popularly referred to as Hakimi Kwakware, Aliyu Maiarewa, said the grants had improved the enrolment and retention of pupils in school.

Mr Maiarewa also said the grants improved individual family lives.

Every morning, children are well dressed for school. You see them on the streets going to schools. They are happy with the money and that when they get back, their parents will have food for them. We are grateful for the help and may God bless them, he said.

He, however, appealed to the government to assist the school by building more classrooms and sending more teachers.

Labour Teacher, Musa Gulma. Rafin Giwa primary school, Kwakware, Kebbi state

According to him, the facilities have been overstretched by the increased enrolment of pupils as a result of the cash transfer programme.

We are aware of challenges

The local government education secretary of Suru LGA, Kabiru Maikwari, said the attendance in the school was not up to 40 per cent before CTP was introduced, but it has increased to 75 per cent.

The enrolment was low when the parents were the ones taking care of the children. You can see them wearing uniforms, socks, exercise books, there is an improvement. Before in a family, only one child comes to school, but now we have up to seven children from a family, he said.

He said the reason for children studying under the tree was the increased enrolment.

Now the classes are filling up, and we had to put the pupils under the shade, he said

Similarly, the commissioner of education, Kebbi State, Muhammad Aliero, said the number of out-of-school-children would reduce with the new interventions in place.

Before the cash transfer programme, only a few schools had full attendance, but now, enrolment had increased in the three local governments that enjoy the programme, he said.

Pupils in class

Currently, Kebbi State spends N280 million on feeding. We have built 40 nomadic schools. We have identified 504 Almajiri Islamic schools. We will do the necessary renovation for them, and we will make sure that we send Mathematics and English teachers to them, he said.

He said the state government was planning to introduce more interventions.
The federal government says it has credible evidence to back up its outcry that the opposition is planning to sabotage Muhammadu Buharis Administration, generally overheat the polity, and make the country ungovernable.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said this on Saturday at the 2019 edition of his Annual Ramadan Lecture held at his home town Oro, Kwara.

As you are aware, a few days ago we raised the alarm that either by themselves or via their proxies, the PDP and its presidential candidate are doing everything possible to sabotage the Buhari Administration.

Our interventions are based on credible evidence, and no government, with the kind of evidence that we have, of plans to subvert the power of the state, attack the nations economic live wire and generally unleash mayhem on the polity, will keep quiet.

The security agencies are all alert to their responsibilities and will not sit by and allow anyone to reverse the gains of our democracy under any guise, he said.

Mr Mohammeds claims came weeks after the Nigerian Army raised an alarm that unpatriotic elements are colluding with foreign collaborators to derail the swearing-in of the newly elected government on May 29.

Similar rhetorics from senior administration officials of the Buhari government about purported opposition plots to seize power with extralegal tactics could have a serious implication for the countrys already fragile stability, security experts told PREMIUM TIMES this week.

Mr Mohammed noted that similar alarms had been raised by the police, the military, and the DSS.

He said the government will neither be distracted nor dissuaded by pseudo and partisan analysts that had teamed up with the opposition to either exhibit their ignorance or to engage in red herring and name calling.

He called on Nigerians to use the occasion of the Ramadan to pray for the peace unity and stability in the country.

I make this request against the background of those who are daily plotting to exploit our national fault lines of religion and ethnicity.

Those who masquerade as democrats but cant take electoral defeat, those who will not hesitate to collude with anti-democratic forces and dead-enders to fan the embers of violence in the country.

Those who have elevated their personal ambition over and above our survival as a nation, he said.

The minister thanked all Nigerians for their support and prayers for the administration. He urged them not to relent, especially in the run-up to the May 29 inauguration of the president.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the 12th edition annual Ramadan lecture was attended by Abubakar Bagudu, governor of Kebbi, Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu, political stalwarts, traditional rulers, clergymen, Muslims, and Christians.

NAN reports that the Ramadan lecture was delivered by the Chief Imam of Olorunsogo Central Mosque, Ilorin, Soliu Orire.

There were also recitations of Qoran verses by Imams while special prayers were offered for the minister, his family, Oro town, Kwara state the nation and the leaders in general.

(NAN)
The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) says it will fully support the visiting Gambian team on its quest to learn operations of the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

A statement by Henshaw Ogubike, the Deputy Director, Press, OAGF, on Friday in Abuja, said Mohammed Usman, the acting Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), gave the assurance.

Mr Usman gave the assurance when he received the Gambian delegation who were in Nigeria to understudy the workings of the TSA.

He assured the team that the OAGF was prepared to share experience with it on TSA on its operates in Nigeria so it could replicate same in The Gambia.

He also said that Nigeria would tap from the Gambians success story on Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).

He also recollected how Gambia had hosted delegations from Nigeria to The Gambia on study tour of GIFMIS about 15 years ago.

Usman itemised the activities lined up for the team which includes, lectures by subject matter experts, interactive sessions and meeting with key stakeholders.

He added that the team would also visit Lagos where it was scheduled to meet some of Nigerias key players in the e-payments and FINTECH space whom he said were vital to an endeavor like TSA.

Sylva Okolieaboh, the Director, TSA, enjoined the visiting team to pay attention to every little item slated for discussion.

He promised to deliver on the promise of the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, to supply all their needs in terms of adequate knowledge of TSA so that the dream of a standard TSA in The Gambia could be realised.

The team had earlier paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Finance who advised that relevant states that had implemented TSA successfully in Nigeria should either be visited or invited over to Abuja to avail the Gambian team their experiences.

This, he said was to equip them properly to successfully implement it in The Gambia.

The Gambian Team was led by the Permanent Secretary, Ada Gay, and Momodou Bah, the Accountant-General, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Republic of The Gambia.

They both spoke of their expectations of learning a whole lot from Nigeria to enable them break the bottlenecks that may likely impede their progress in the delivery of TSA in The Gambia.

(NAN)
No fewer than 1,176 young men and women have been recruited by the Nigerian Navy to aid its fight against sea pirates and oil bunkers in the nations maritime domain.

Abayomi Olonisakin, Nigerias Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), disclosed this on Saturday at the formal Passing out Parade of Batch 28 recruits trained at the Nigerian Navy Basic Training School in Onne, Rivers.

He said the trainees underwent rigorous physical and mental training for seven months to prepare them for internal security operations across the country.

The trainees have been adequately groomed in basic naval seamanship subjects, including swimming and weapon handling.

Additionally, they have been imbibed with such basic skills, as self-discipline, teamwork, and overcoming of problems.

The trainees were also tutored on basic civil-military relations, inter-agency cooperation and laws of armed conflict. They have been transformed and ready for deployment.

Mr Olonisakin said the navy, under the current leadership, had provided enabling environment as well as requisite logistic requirements to enhance the standard of training.

He said the trainees are joining the navy at a time the armed forces were involved in many complex and challenging internal security operations across the country.

Presently, the armed forces are engaged in insurgency and terrorism operations in the North East and North West; oil theft, illegal bunkering, pipeline vandalism, illegal refining and armed robbery in the South-South and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

Over the past decade, the increase in the activities of non-state actors have continued to challenge the ability of our armed forces to overcome asymmetric security challenges.

This informed the holistic review of training the trainees underwent to confront the contemporary security challenges.

However, some of the trainees would be deployed in future to curb these security challenges, he said.

Mr Olonisakin said the nations economy was largely dependent on resources and trading activities on the waterways, and as such, urged the navy to open and secure the sea.

He said securing the nations economic lifeline would require superior tactics, unalloyed dedication, absolute discipline, virtuous leadership, well-maintained machinery, and constant world-class training.

The military chief called for the loyalty of trainees to President Muhammadu Buhari as well as to the armed forces.

(NAN)
Facebook has shut down the account of an Israeli consulting firm after being found to have circulated propaganda against former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar during the presidential elections.

The Associated Press reported on Friday that Archimedes was found to have initiated a high-tech propaganda that spread positive messages about President Muhammadu Buhari, while defacing Mr Abubakars campaign with misinformation.

Citing the report as first published by the Atlantic Councils Digital Forensic Research Lab, the AP reported that one of the Archimedes-linked pages that Facebook cancelled appeared filled with viral misinformation attacking Mr Abubakar.

The pages banner image showed Mr Abubakar as Darth Vader, the Star Wars villain, holding up a sign reading, Make Nigeria Worse Again.

Mr Abubakars official campaign slogan was Get Nigeria Working Again. It was launched in November, a day after presidential election campaign officially kicked off.

The AP also noted that a page with almost identical visuals, although significantly excluding the Darth Vader mask, purported to support Abubakar, with the slogan Team Atiku For President.

The report identified the page as a covert attempt to infiltrate Abubakars audience of potential voters and manipulate their views, gradually spamming them with antithetical content and diverting them to the Make Nigeria Worse page.

The report said Archimedes lionised and boosted Mr Buhari, with amateur videos eulogising the accomplishments of his presidency as though he were not locked in a tight battle for re-election.

The firm was also found to have targeted some supporters of Mr Abubakar online, infiltrating their groups and spamming them with unsolicited pro-Buhari propaganda.

It was found that, overall, the misleading accounts had reached some 2.8 million users, and Facebook estimated the pages had engaged over 5,000 followers.

The company was reported to have spent as much as $800,000 (roughly N288.4 million) on its deceptive content over years.

The 2019 general elections were marred by disinformation. Both the ruling All Progressives Congress and the main opposition PDP denied contributing to the proliferation of fake news across the country.

Although Archimedes was busted for spreading misinformation in Mr Buharis name, the AP report did not immediately find evidence of payment between the presidents campaign and the Israeli firm.

Festus Keyamo, a spokesperson for Mr Buhari campaign during the elections, said there was no payment to any firm for misinformation during election.

No one Naira was paid to any foreign firm for anything, Mr Keyamo told PREMIUM TIMES. We have nothing to hide.
The Police Command in Plateau has inaugurated Operation Puff Adder to tackle security challenges in the state, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports.

Bature Umar, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, who launched the outfit on Friday in Jos, said that it would tackle kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry, among other crimes.

He said that the manpower was drawn from the conventional police, mobile police, Counter Terrorist Unit, Special Protection Unit, Special Anti-Robbery Squad and State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department.

Mr Umar called on the public and other security agencies to support the outfit, and emphasised the need for collaboration for the success of the outfits mandate.

Plateau governor Simon Lalong, in his remarks, commended the Nigeria Police for including Plateau among states to benefit from the activities of the outfit established last month.

Mr Lalong, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Sonni Tyoden, tasked members of the outfit to tackle security challenges faced in the state and strive to win the confidence of members of the public.

The governor urged Plateau residents to support the outfit toward success, pointing out that peace and security was a responsibility of everyone.

The Commander, Operation Safe Haven, Augustine Agundu, in his remarks, regretted that some social critics and public commentators were emboldening criminals to unleash mayhem in the state.

The brigadier-general said that utterances by such critics had sown seeds of discord across ethnic groups in the state, leading to unwarranted crises.

Mr Agundu warned that his command would deal with any attempt to disrupt the peace Plateau was enjoying. He warned criminals disrupting farmers and herders activities to steer clear of Plateau. (NAN)
The Federal Capital Territory Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board has approved N1.5 million as the 2019 Hajj fares for intending pilgrims in the territory.

The Public Relations Officer of the Board, Muhammad Lawal, in a statement on Saturday said all intending pilgrims from the territory would also get a flat Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) of $800 as fixed by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria ( NAHCON).

He said the release of the hajj fare was sequel to the release of its approved hajj fare for this years pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia by NAHCON.

He explained that the increase in the fare above that of 2018 was as a result of increase of cost of services in Saudi Arabia in addition to exchange rate of naira to a dollar.

The PRO restated the determination of the board to do all within its powers to provide befitting services to those who would perform the 2019 hajj through it.

He said the staff of the board underwent thorough training to enhance their productivity in handling hajj affairs considering its importance to each and every Muslim.

The spokesperson disclosed that intending pilgrims, who have made a deposit, are to immediately balance their payment before May 31 to enable the board meet up with the deadline set by NAHCON.

Mr Lawal warned intending pilgrims who are yet to submit their completed application forms and e-passports to do so before the deadline or have themselves to blame.

He also advised residents who have the intention of performing the Hajj through the board to get registered with the officials of the board across the six area councils of the territory via a bank draft of the hajj fare package before the end of the month. (NAN)
The Niger Police Command has arrested five suspects over kidnapping, armed robbery, and motorcycle theft in different parts of the state.

The commands Public Relations Officer, Muhammadu Abubakar, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Minna.

Mr Abubakar said on May 4, acting on information from a Good Samaritan, a team of police officers from SARS intercepted a stolen vehicle on Suleja-Lambata road.

The hoodlums engaged police in a gun duel, where one of the hoodlums later identified as Samuel of Morocco road, Suleja, was shot on the leg while others fled to nearby bush with bullets wounds.

The exhibits recovered include Toyota Camry with registration No. ABC 314 KJ, ash in colour, and upon searching the vehicle a fresh human head inside a bag was recovered from the booth.

During interrogation, the suspect confessed to have murdered the victim in cold blood and dumped other parts of the body in Nasarawa State while he made away with his vehicle, he said.

Mr Abubakar said that the victim was later identified as Mohammed Saba of Tsaragi area Suleja.

Investigation revealed that the suspect was a friend to the deceased and were seen together on same date in same vehicle.

The suspect was rushed to hospital where he later died on admission, manhunt on other suspects continues, he said.

Other arrests

According to him, on May 9, a team of police officers from New-Bussa Division combed hoodlums hideout at National Park Forest New-Bussa.

During the operation, a kidnapped victim was rescued, one AK47 rifle and two magazines with 40 rounds of life ammunitions were abandoned by the bandits who took their heels, Mr Abubakar said.

The spokesman said on May 11, Aliyu Musa of Lafiyagi village, Katcha LGA, reported at Kpakungu Division that, on April 30, his proposed wife, Halima Ibrahhim of Rafin Daji village, Lapai LGA, left home to an unknown destination.

Only for anonymous caller to call him through the victims phone that she has been kidnapped and demanded N150,000 as ransom for her release of which he offered N65,000 as ransom, he said.

Mr Abubakar said a team of police officers from Kpakungu Division swung into action and arrested Mohammed Yakubu of Maraya village, Katcha LGA and the victim was rescued unhurt.

The police spokesperson said the suspect confessed to the crime and was charged to court.

Similarly, on May 6, Sarafa Jimoh of Tufa area of Gurara LGA reported at Gawu-Babangida Division that on the same date an anonymous person called and asked him to drop a sum of N300,000 or risk of being kidnapped.

He said a team of police detectives from Gawu-Babangida Division swung into action and arrested Zaharadeen Isah of Tufa area, Gurara LGA in connection with the case.

Mr Abubakar said the suspect confessed to the crime and would soon be charged to court.

The spokesperson said on April 25, police officers from Enagi Division while on patrol on Enagi-Bida road intercepted Yahaya Isah and Salihu Mohammed of Chikangi and Emidochi village, Edati LGA respectively in possession of two new Bajaj Boxer motorcycles.

During interrogation, the suspects confessed to have stolen one of the motorcycles from Lagos State while the other was snatched from Dokoza junction Bida, he said. (NAN)
While a lot of newer cars are arriving with Apple CarPlay support baked in, some older models have been left without. Even the automobiles that can technically run the software feature. Some manufacturers have gone back and upgraded older models. Some havent. Lexus appears to be on the right side of history on this one, at least for some 2018 models.

iPhone in Canada has the report to close out the week. Lexus has confirmed that it is allowing owners of certain 2018 models to upgrade their in-car system to support Apple CarPlay. As is par for the course with this sort of thing, the manufacturer suggests visiting your local dealership to get the upgrade:

Your Lexus multimedia system is now eligible for an update which includes Apple CarPlay compatibility. Please contact your preferred Dealership for more details.

So, here are the 2018 models that support the upgrade:

LC

LCh

LS

LSh

RC

RC F

NX

NXh

2019 NX, NXh and RC F (built before October 1, 2018)

However, this is not a cheap upgrade. Lexus says its happy to offer it, but youll need to fork over $199 to make it happen:

Lexus is pleased to offer the enhancement at a $199 MSRP. Please contact your preferred Lexus dealer for more information.

Back in April, we reported that Toyota was upgrading a couple of its 2018 models to support CarPlay as well. And Mazda has been offering upgrades for some 2014 and newer models since November of last year.

[via iPhone in Canada
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Soon we will no longer integrate with Facebook for story comments. The commenting option is not going away, however, readers will need to register for a FREE site account to continue sharing their thoughts and feedback on stories. If you already have an account (i.e. current subscribers, posting in obituary guestbooks, for submitting community events), you may use that login, otherwise, you will be prompted to create a new account.
To quote a line in a song by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, I feel summer creepin in ..., but unlike the rest of the verse, with the great weather we have coming up you wont get tired of this town again.

N.J.'s main weather radar is down, but eyes still on the South Jersey sky Joe Miketta, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Mount Ho

Well be greeted with plenty of sunshine Saturday morning. Temperatures start out mild, just around 60 degrees. So, as long as the pollen will not get to you, you can leave the windows opened. A cold front will be position near Virginia. Being north of it, we will be under high pressure and a northeast wind.

So that equals a sunny rest of the day and a cooler day than Friday, though that just means seasonable in the mid-70s. The shore will be in the mid-60s. Whether its going to Mayfest in Smithville or a walk on the boardwalk, it will be great.

Saturday night will be just as great, too. The evening will just need a light layer. Otherwise, well have another night of good sleeping weather.

Sunday will then see high pressure lock itself into the southeastern United States. That means a southerly wind thatll blow throughout the day.
Bankruptcy plan smarmy

I think I have this right. Frank Formica leased his bakery and then liquidated his company, with lease revenue to be distributed by bankruptcy court. Formica is no longer the owner but could be a paid management consultant. Formica Bros. Co. went bankrupt due to economic conditions and lawsuits from two injured employees (loss of fingers and limb), which he expects will be discharged in bankruptcy.

So in the end, Frank Formica loses his company and may get a consulting job, nearly all his former employees keep their jobs, and the injured workers will have to compete with debtors for a share of the leasing revenue.

Pathetic and so smarmy, even if legal.

Susan Slaughter

Somers Point

Politicians must support full progressive agenda

I am an unapologetic progressive, fighting for Medicare for all, humane immigration reform, gun violence reduction, and rapid and aggressive climate change reversal  among other things. People should fight for these things because their elected officials are not. Constituents suffer without these policies. Some die. And they refuse to fight for these things.
The days of building public housing in huge towers or villages only for the poor are over, officials say.

The Meadows housing development in Atlantic City is what public housing of the future will look like.

The Meadows 90 units are a mix of affordable tax credit units, housing choice voucher units (formerly called Section 8), and public housing built by a public-private partnership between the authority and Conifer Realty of Mount Laurel. It looks like any middle class urban community, and is less dense than most subsidized housing.

As communities grapple with how to both assist people during difficult economic times in their lives and help them work towards self-sufficiency and independence, the shape and function of public housing needs to change, advocates say.

That includes replacement housing for the historic Stanley Holmes Village if it is demolished, said Atlantic City Housing Authority Executive Director Tom Hannon.

The old style of concentrated public housing provided homes for people, but also kept them  and their children  isolated from the wider community, said HUD Region 2 Administrator Lynne Patton while touring the citys public housing last week.

Public housing began with good intentions, but ultimately what it did was silo poverty, and silo opportunities from people who truly need it, said Patton. The goal of the new Stanley Holmes will be to make sure each individual unit blends seamlessly  it all looks like market-rate housing  and you cant differentiate low-income housing. Thats the way it should be.

People need to see role models of all kinds around them, said Councilman Jesse Kurtz, who is on the board of the authority.

Kids grow up and have never encountered people going to work each day, said Kurtz of people who grow up in segregated public housing. Thats not normal.

When public housing is scattered throughout the city, kids will grow up around professionals as well as people struggling, he said.

Members of the Collins family have lived in The Meadows almost since it opened about four years ago, and they love it there. They particularly like the mix of people of all economic backgrounds, how rules are enforced and how the kids all play together on lawns and sidewalks around the houses.

Weve lived in Back Maryland, and in Carver Hall, said Cecelia Collins, who lives with her husband and children in one unit, while her adult son Daniel, 27, lives in a separate unit with his family. The Meadows is a quiet, peaceful neighborhood. We have minimum to no police action.

It was a different story at Carver Hall, an older affordable housing complex on South Carolina Avenue, Daniel Collins said.

I felt my children were unsafe there, he said of his four kids ages 3 to 9.

The citys housing authority, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has a $16 million annual budget funded by federal dollars and rent money collected, said Hannon.

It owns and operates seven housing projects as well as 165 single-family homes spread throughout the city. There are about 800 units for elderly and disabled and 800 for families, he said.

His agency alone houses 10 percent of the citys population  about 4,000 people. And there are 1,000 families on the waiting list.

The waiting list for senior housing recently opened and will stay open for new applications through the end of the month.{/span}{span class=print_trim}(tncms-asset)733bb71c-aaf9-5f59-980c-fc3e79a2d510[0](/tncms-asset)

A large percentage of Atlantic City residents qualify for housing subsidies.

Thats because the citys median family income is so low  about $26,000. And the qualification is based on the median family income of the entire county, which is $76,900.

To qualify for housing choice vouchers (formerly called Section 8 vouchers) a family must be very low income, which is defined as making 50% or less of the median family income of the area.

A family of four can make up to $38,450 and still qualify for a housing voucher, which pays the remainder of the rent after the recipient pays 30 percent of their income towards it.

To qualify for public housing in ACHA buildings, for which tenants pay 30% of income for rent (minimum of $50 a month), a family of four only needs to be low income, meaning having an income of 80% of the median.

So a family of four can make $61,500 and still qualify to live in public housing.

ACHA contributed $9 million of the total project cost of $40 million for The Meadows, using the last of its Hope 6 grant from HUD, Hannon said.

So it retains an ownership share, but Conifer manages the property, he said. Thats unusual for a property with public housing units in it, but it shows that HUD is comfortable with thinking outside the box on projects, he said.

But as beautiful as The Meadows is, some residents of the 82-year-old, 420-unit Stanley Holmes Village off Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard are hesitant to embrace the idea of replacing it with similar housing spread around the city.

The housing authority recently chose The Michaels Organization, of Camden, to be the private redeveloper partner on the project.

Michaels will now begin meeting with residents and make a plan to either renovate the 44 buildings that make up Stanley Holmes or replace it with new housing.

As Hannon showed Patton around Stanley Holmes recently, passersby gave their two cents.

Dont tear it down. People need that! Please!! hollered one driver as he passed the group of officials and media on the sidewalk near the Stanley Holmes Community Center.

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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.




Apple has had a hard time in China lately, and it doesnt seem like it is going to get any better. Due to the recent, complicated, US-China relations, Apple is facing an Apple Boycott in the region. The US trade war with China has seen many western companies lose a lot of money, but Apple seems to be specifically hit by the ruling due to its prominent presence in China.

Usually, you see Chinas government reacting to the US imposed sanctions on Chinese goods, but this time its the consumer that has power. Consumers have united in order to boycott the Californian company, and they seem to be succeeding well in the matter as the movement is slowly gaining momentum.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists Ethan Harris and Aditya Bhave have expressed their take on the matter in a recent note:

According to a survey conducted by our colleagues in equity research, consumers in China and India are showing less interest in upgrading to an iPhone and more interest in upgrading to Xiaomi and Samsung,

Loyalty is a big part of Chinese culture, making this outcome an unsurprising one, to say the least. Chinese smartphone manufacturers have taken top positions worldwide in terms of both sales and ratings, making the switch for a lot of Chinese consumers quite easy.

What are your thoughts on the matter? Are you a Chinese resident whos boycotting Apple, or maybe youre a US citizen with your own take? Let us know in the comments below.
Dave Fan, Senior Director of WeChat Pay, said: "This launch of the WeChat Pay European Flagship Smart Airport at Amsterdam Schiphol is another important milestone for WeChat Pay to establish its ecosystem in Europe. From this hub on the European continent, we will continue to deepen the application of WeChat Pay's smart solutions in all walks of life across the region. We will bring Chinese innovation to the rest of the world, allowing Chinese tourists to travel abroad and enjoy the smart lifestyle they do at home."

Tanja Dik, Director Consumers Products & Services at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol said: "Schiphol welcomes more and more Chinese passengers every year. In 2018 more than 500,000 departing Chinese passengers passed the airport. To meet the needs of our passengers, we are investing in the development and implementation of new concepts with a focus on convenience and customer experience. We are very proud of the fact that we are the first WeChat Pay Flagship Smart Airport in Europe and that we can offer our Chinese guests all the advantages of using the WeChat services at our airport. As a result of this partnership we provide Chinese passengers with seamless travel services and tailor-made shopping experiences through its Mini Program, almost as if they were in China."

The Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Mini Program not only provides practical airport access information, but also offers (online) shopping services, covering a wide range of products such as beauty, fashion, watches and jewelery, and authentic Dutch souvenirs. Customers can order and pay for their goods using WeChat Pay, and collect at the airport, saving them the time of finding goods and queuing to pay.

Besides the Mini Program, Schiphol sets WeChat Pay experience zones within the airport to provide assistance to Chinese travellers, and also has its merchants ready for WeChat Pay as one of their mobile payment methods. Chinese tourists will also receive coupons for preferred currency exchange rate and discounts, at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

This collaboration is an important step in the process of WeChat Pay's cross-border payment business entering the European market. It will serve as a showcase for WeChat Pay's future entry into other industries focusing on Chinese tourists, including restaurants, retail, and tourist attractions. Continues its ONE FOR BILLION business initiative, WeChat Pay provides merchants with not only an advanced mobile payment method, but also ONE platform which enables long-term communications and customized customer services for BILLIONS of Chinese consumers.

Almost 1.1 billion active users worldwide

According to latest data, in 2018, more than 149 million Chinese tourists travelled abroad, and Europe took up 11 percent of it. Capitalizing on the dividends of Chinese tourist traffic will be key in the future competition among European airports and other tourism related industries. WeChat has almost 1.1 billion active users worldwide, of which 800 million have banks cards linked with WeChat Pay. WeChat Pay has officially entered more than 49 overseas countries and regions, making it an excellent way for overseas institutions and merchants such as Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to reach and connect Chinese tourists.

WeChat Pay brings its smart ecosystem to Europe

Customer experience at every step of the travel and shopping journey can affect the final payment, and this wider consideration of users' consumption habits was an important factor for WeChat Pay to establish its ecosystem overseas. In China, smart lifestyle solutions with WeChat Pay at their core now cover tens of millions of stores across all areas of life to satisfy users' everyday needs. Many Chinese people are used to going out without their wallets, and WeChat Pay aims to provide the same convenient experience to them when they travel abroad. As the first stop for Chinese tourists, airports have become the obvious choice for WeChat Pay around which to build a smart lifestyle showcase which Chinese tourists can enjoy as they do at home.

As of April 2019, the number of merchants in the European region offering WeChat Pay as a payment method was 3.5 times higher than that of last year. WeChat has already connected with more than 149 international airports. It offers a wide range of services for different situations, including Code Scan Payment, Mini Program Tour Guides, Mini Program Ordering, and Travel Information and Travel Guides on Official Accounts in different airports. Flagship WeChat Pay Smart Airports have been established at the New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, Japan. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is WeChat Pay's European first Flagship Smart Airport.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/889396/WeChat_Pay_Amsterdam_Airport_Schiphol.jpg

SOURCE WeChat
DALLAS, May 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Alerian announced that the methodology guide for the Alerian Natural Gas MLP Index (ANGI) has been updated and is available at alerian.com/indices/angi-index. This update is meant to, among other things, better capture the investable universe, increase benchmarking efficiency, and minimize future index turnover. The effective date of the methodology guide update is May 17, 2019 and will be applied during the next quarterly rebalancing.

Consistent with industry practice, Alerian will continue to periodically consult with stakeholders for feedback regarding its indices. Alerian makes no guarantees nor is under any obligation to comply with any of the responses from these consultations, which may result in no changes or outcome of any kind.

About Alerian

Alerian equips investors to make informed decisions about energy infrastructure and Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs). Its benchmarks are widely used by industry executives, investment professionals, research analysts, and national media to analyze relative performance. As of March 29, 2019, over $13 billion is directly tied to the Alerian Index Series through exchange traded funds and notes, and structured products. Visit alerian.com to learn more.

About the Alerian Natural Gas MLP Index

The Alerian Natural Gas MLP Index is a composite of natural gas infrastructure Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs). The equal-weighted index, whose constituents earn the majority of their cash flow from midstream activities involving natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs), is disseminated real-time on a price-return basis (ANGI) and end-of-day on a total-return basis (ANGIX).

Contact

Alyssa Womack

972.957.7700

[email protected]

SOURCE Alerian

Related Links

http://www.alerian.com


CHICAGO, May 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Three of the most well known Chicago-born pizza families, Aurelio's Pizza, Home Run Inn Pizza, and Lou Malnati's came together to give back to the community and celebrate National Pizza Party Day on Friday, May 17.

Joe Aurelio celebrated Aurelio's Pizza's 60th anniversary on National Pizza Party Day by inviting two other Chicago native pizza restaurateurs and fellow friends in the industry. Aurelio's Pizza, Home Run Inn, and Lou Malnati's gave away 60 minutes of free pizza to guests that come out to Maggie Daley Park. Over 3,000 slices were given away to the pizza fans.

Aurelio's Pizza served their thin crust tavern cut slices, Lou Malnati's served their deep dish slices, and Home Run Inn served their thin crust slices. The pizza was free for guests, but the three Chicago pizza restaurateurs asked that guests make a donation to Advocate Children's Hospital.

"We brought together the traditionally south side Aurelio's Pizza, north side Lou Malnati's, and then Home Run Inn that started right in the middle off of 31st street. There's no bigger debate in Chicago than deep dish versus thin crust pizza, but one thing we can all agree on is that Chicago has the best pizza," said Joe Aurelio, President of Aurelio's Pizza.

About Aurelio's Pizza

Aurelio's is Chicagoland's first and the nation's fifth established pizza chain. With a history as rich and entrenched in the community as the pizza it's famous for, the original Aurelio's Pizzeria opened on Ridge Road in Homewood, IL by Joseph A. Aurelio, Jr. at the age of 26. With its legendary "old oven" dating back to 1959 in its Homewood location, Aurelio's was a pioneer in the concept of the Family Pizzeria in the United States and helped to launch pizza into the American lexicon. Since that time, Aurelio's has become one of Chicagoland's claims to fame. And, transplanted Chicagoans all over the map have helped to bring their favorite pizzeria franchise to over 40 locations across six states, growing a strong fan base for the taste of Aurelio's.

SOURCE Aurelios Pizza
WASHINGTON, May 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SEMI, the association representing the end-to-end global electronics industry supply chain, today provided the following statement from Mike Russo, VP of Global Industry Advocacy, regarding the escalation in tensions between the U.S. and China regarding trade:

"We continue to monitor what appears to be a deteriorating situation between the U.S. and China related to their ongoing trade negotiations. The escalation in tariffs as well as the recent supply chain executive order and Department of Commerce action against Huawei are cause for increasing concern as those actions disrupt the supply chain and run counter to all-important market access.

"The globally integrated, complex supply chain that underpins our industry requires the world's largest economies to lead the way by establishing rules that ensure access to markets and protect IP. Reaching an agreement that is aligned with SEMI's global trade principles would be mutually beneficial to the two nations as well as our global industry, and we are hopeful that such an agreement can still be reached."

About SEMI

SEMI connects more than 2,100 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide to advance the technology and business of electronics design and manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, devices, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. Electronic System Design Alliance (ESD Alliance), FlexTech, the Fab Owners Alliance (FOA) and the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) are SEMI Strategic Association Partners, defined communities within SEMI focused on specific technologies. Visit www.semi.org to learn more, contact one of our worldwide offices, and connect with SEMI on LinkedIn and Twitter .

SEMI Media Contact

Michael Hall

Phone: 1.408.943.7988

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE SEMI

Related Links

http://www.semi.org


NEW YORK, May 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- WeissLaw LLP is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the Board of Directors of Advanced Disposal Services Inc. ("ADSW" or the "Company") (NYSE: ADSW) in connection with the proposed acquisition of the Company by Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM). Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders of ADSW will receive $33.15 in cash for each ADSW share they own.

If you own ADSW shares and wish to discuss this investigation or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact:

Joshua Rubin, Esq.

WeissLaw LLP

1500 Broadway, 16th Floor

New York, NY 10036

(212) 682-3025

(888) 593-4771

[email protected]

Visit our website

http://www.weisslawllp.com/the-advanced-disposal-services-inc/

Or follow us on Twitter @MarketsAlert

WeissLaw is investigating whether ADSW's Board acted to maximize shareholder value prior to entering into the agreement. Notably, the Company recently announced positive financial results for the first quarter of 2019. It reported revenue of $384 million, representing an increase of 5.3% year-over-year when compared to the figures reported in the same period of the previous year.

Given these facts, WeissLaw is concentrating its investigation on whether ADSW's Board conducted a fair process in agreeing to the proposed acquisition, whether the proposed acquisition undervalues the Company, and whether all material information related to the proposed acquisition is fully and fairly disclosed.

WeissLaw LLP has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance relief in many of these cases. If you have information or would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing (including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud (including false advertising, defective products, or other deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please email us at [email protected]

SOURCE WeissLaw LLP

Related Links

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SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Diamond Growers, a nonprofit grower-owned cooperative and the world's leading processor and marketer of almonds, applauds the deal reached by the United States, Canada and Mexico to remove the Section 232 tariffs from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and urges its timely passage. The USMCA represents a renewal of the decades-long partnership between the three countries and is critical to the prosperity and economic stability of every almond grower within the country.

Mexico and Canada are key markets for the industry with exports valuing at $256 million. Blue Diamond has recently entered into a new business partnership in Mexico and continues to export heavily into Canada. With the recently projected almond crop at 2.5 billion pounds, the USMCA allows for additional opportunities of growth and expansion into these markets. However, failure to approve the agreement would have significant implications on the almond business within the region.

On behalf of our 3,000 grower-owners and as the country's largest almond exporter, Blue Diamond Growers strongly encourages Congress to support the nation's almond and agriculture industries and swiftly ratify the USMCA.

About Blue Diamond

Blue Diamond Growers is the world's leading almond marketer and processor. It led the development of California's almond industry since it was formed as a nonprofit, grower-owned cooperative over 100 years ago. Today Blue Diamond has over 3,000 growers across California. Blue Diamond markets and sells a wide range of almond-based snacks, beverages, and ingredients, including Blue Diamond Snack Almonds, Nut-Thins crackers, almond flour, and the number one almondmilk in the U.S., Almond Breeze. For more information, visit www.bluediamond.com.

SOURCE Blue Diamond Growers

Related Links

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Mr. Yao is an early investor of Bitcoin and has always believed in its innate potential. As an expert on blockchain technology and its technical infrastructure, Mr. Yao is well-versed with fintech and has had seven years of experience in the blockchain field. Mr. Yao was also one of the earliest business partners of the mining pool, antpool.com, that was reported to be the largest Bitcoin mining pool in 2018 based on its Bitcoin network hash rate.

Following the successful launch of the Avalon Mining Rig 1st Generation in 2013, Mr. Yao started his own mining farm that has since expanded quickly in both scale and capacity. With multiple branches across the region such as in Inner Mongolia and Sichuan, its unrivalled growth has broadened the scope of its services and strengthened its research and development sector. Presently, the farm claims ownership of over 20 patents with many new proprietary technology under its belt.

A common saying circulating in the crypto mining circle goes like this: "Success hinges entirely on the riding of the tide."

To those familiar with the crypto mining industry, a rise in tidal waters is a cause for celebration as it signifies a greater electricity output with lowered utility costs and wider margins of profits.

During the wet season each year, it is a race among miners to scour the land for the lowest cost of electricity to ensure a smooth sailing ride into monetary victory. As the wet season is just right around the corner, what can people expect the outlook for miners to be this year?

The theme of the upcoming salon in Chengdu -- Mining: Riding the Wave of the Market into the Future -- seeks to address the above question and will delve deeper into the infrastructure and ecosystem behind a successful mining farm. The event is set to begin on 23rd May 2019 at 1 pm and will be graced with the presence of several industry representatives from renowned blockchain corporations.

In addition to MaxiMine CTO, Mr. Yao, who will be speaking at the event, a few other illustrious names in the industry are also been added to the list of guest speakers.

Some of these speakers include BTC.com CTO, Zhuang Zhong, Blockin co-founder and Operations Executive, Zhu Fa, Antpool.com co-founder, Tian Xin, Tomorrow co-founder and Vice President, Weng Ziyao, Head of Chouge Mining, He Kan, Canaan Blockchain Business Unit general manager, Shao Jianliang and F2pool Marketing Executive, Liu Chao.

A panel discussion themed "Pushing Boundaries During the Wet Season and Seeking Where the Future Lies" will also be held, and will be helmed in with invaluable insights and contributions from the distinguished guest speakers.

With such an exciting line-up, one cannot help but stay tuned for more.

About MaxiMine

MaxiMine is a highly efficient and transparent cloud-based pool mining platform. Its headquarters is located in Singapore and has a strong international presence in the industry. Since its launch, MaxiMine has been garnering positive attention for its innovative business model and operational capabilities, paving the way for unfaltering growth ahead.

To find out more about MaxiMine, visit their socials at:

Website: https://maximine.io/

Telegram: https://t.me/maximine

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/maximine/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/maximinecoin

Medium: https://medium.com/@maximinecoin

Bitcointalk: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3247389.0

SOURCE MaxiMine

Related Links

https://maximine.io/


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., May 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 19th, Micro Kickboard is hosting the 4th annual National Scooter Day in several major cities! The maker of the best-rated, premium scooters for all ages is hosting a number of in-person events in Los Angeles, Chicago, Brooklyn, and at their new flagship store at Hudson Yards in New York City.

Whether it's a commute to work, the ride to school, or a cruise through the neighborhood, National Scooter Day invites all scooter riders to celebrate the benefits of scooting -- from getting fresh air and exercise, to reducing our carbon footprint.

Micro Kickboard

Join Micro Kickboard at Maggie Daley Skating Ribbon in Chicago for discounted scooter rentals for the family, giveaways, and accessory bundles. Bring your helmet, or purchase one on-site for a calligraphy and hand letter artist to customize.

Micro Kickboard will be present at Prospect Park's Spring Fling in Brooklyn, NY. Stop by to enter for a chance to win one of twelve scooters or three $100 gift certificates, redeemable at the Micro flagship store at Hudson Yards.

Purchase raffle tickets at Finish The Ride at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, CA for the chance to win one of 10 Sprite scooters for ages 8 to adult.

Can't make it to an in-person event? Celebrate at www.microkickboard.com where, from 3pm until Midnight EST on May 19, Micro's Flash Sale can save you up to 40% on select scooters and accessories.

Owners Geoff and Julie Hawksworth said, "We're looking forward to families all over the country taking the opportunity to get outside and scoot because it's fun, good exercise and helps create lasting memories."

Share in the celebration of National Scooter Day with people around the country, and post to social media with #NationalScooterDay!

For more information contact [email protected]

Related Images

national-scooter-day-logo.jpg

National Scooter Day Logo

SOURCE Micro Kickboard

Related Links

https://www.microkickboard.com


WASHINGTON, May 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- President Donald Trump addressed a room of nearly 2,000 Realtors at the National Association of Realtors' Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo on Friday afternoon. The President highlighted the value of Realtors in the housing industry while addressing administration priorities and deregulation efforts that could potentially benefit the real estate market.

"I'm honored to be here with the hardworking men and women who help millions of families live the American Dream  the incredible members of the National Association of Realtors," President Trump said. "Homeownership and what you do as Realtors is a part of Americana. You work hard, you love people, you love this country."

President Trump said deregulation and economic growth have helped support the industry and improved business prospects for many of those in attendance Friday. "Americans buy homes for the ones you love the most," he said. "This is a time of extraordinary opportunity for our country. There's truly never been a better time, in my opinion, to build and break ground in America."

The President touched on a host of other Realtor priorities, including association health plans, the Waters of the U.S. rule, opportunity zones and housing finance reform. He invited NAR member Bob Turner and Nevada Association of Realtors CEO Teresa McKee on stage to discuss specific policy efforts, and also highlighted Realtors' connection and contribution to the overall U.S. economy.

"I'm here today because Realtors play a special role in the economy," President Trump said. "When a young family needs room to grow; when a new job sparks a new adventure in a brand new beautiful city; when parents want to find the right neighborhood and schools for their children, Americans puts our trust in you, our great Realtors."

NAR President John Smaby opened the event, introducing America's 45th President to the crowd at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

"The National Association of Realtors thanks President Trump for his participation at our annual Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo," Smaby said. "I'm so proud of the thousands of Realtors who travelled to our nation's capital this week to share our story with legislators and policymakers about the many ways Realtors help build vibrant communities accessible to all. Our Realtor voice has been heard on Capitol Hill and today our story reaches the Oval Office. I can think of no better way to wrap up our time in Washington than by sharing the Realtor story with our nation's Chief Executive."

2019 Realtors Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo

In addition to the President's visit Friday, the 2019 Realtors Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo welcomed 9,000 Realtors to the nation's capital to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and speak with various administration officials. In total, 486 NAR Federal Policy Coordinators met with Members of Congress, including all House and Senate Leadership on both the Republican and Democratic sides.

Realtors heard from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria at NAR's Regulatory Issues Forum. The former NAR economist spoke about his vision for the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with a host of other policy issues in front of him at the FHFA. Specifically, he outlined his priorities for ensuring the GSEs can appropriately move away from conservatorship.

"I would not feel comfortable having [the GSEs] exit conservatorship until I'm comfortable knowing that we never go back to the old days, pre-crisis, and that we have a Fannie and Freddie that are responsible, good corporate citizens that don't have the arrogance we saw before the crisis," he said.

Following Calabria's remarks, Realtors spent time highlighting its housing finance reform plan, which proposes a utility model to ensure a reliable and affordable source of mortgage capital for Americans going forward.

"I commend NAR for taking on this complex issue," Bethany McLean, forum moderator, journalist and author, told the audience in regards to the Realtors' vision for housing finance reform. "[NAR's] plan is the smartest one we've heard yet."

Earlier in the conference, NAR heard from former Governors Terry McAuliffe and Haley Barbour in a discussion centered around state and local policies and their impact on regional real estate markets. The Governors focused on how the right policies can help soften affordability and inventory concerns impacting much of the nation.

Governor Barbour reiterated concerns surrounding affordable housing shortages and underscored that state and local governments must take the lead in promoting policies that create opportunities for aspiring homeowners. "The idea that the federal government's solution is going to work everywhere is a crazy idea. The answer to this is in state and local government," he said.

Governor McAuliffe was also asked how Realtors can ensure the value of real estate resonates in today's political environment. "The real estate business is so powerful in politics because it touches everybody's lives," Virginia's 72nd Governor said. "Everything we do somehow has a connection to the real estate industry."

For more information about the Realtors' 2019 Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo visit www.legislative.realtor/. Next year's conference will be held May 11-16 in D.C.'s Woodley Park neighborhood.

The National Association of Realtors is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

SOURCE National Association of Realtors

Related Links

http://www.realtor.org


ALISO VIEJO, California, May 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- UST Global, a leading digital transformation solutions company, announced today that Sajan Pillai is retiring as CEO of the company. UST Global CFO and President Krishna Sudheendra has been named CEO as part of the company's succession plan. Pillai, who has been with UST Global for over 20 years, will remain on the company's Board of Directors and be actively involved for the next one year with Krishna and the leadership team in support of a successful transition.

Pillai led the creation of a robust start-up ecosystem at UST Global investing in startups with an eye on innovation and will continue to focus on this through a new venture fund while serving on the Board. The ecosystem is a significant space for bringing innovation to UST Global clients and growth for the company going forward.

"At UST, I have had a very fulfilling journey advancing the passion of cutting-edge technology and innovation by bringing together startups and customers to create an ecosystem to provide value to them. To lead the exciting world of venture-driven startups, I would like to dedicate my time now to give back and to fulfill that passion, serving business and consumers globally. This will help UST continue its innovation journey on behalf of its customers," said Pillai. "I am very proud to have Krishna succeeding me in this role as the next generation of leadership for the company. He is the right person to spearhead the organization in its next stage of evolution."

As part of the company's succession plan, Sudheendra has served as President for the past year. During his 15+ year career with UST Global, he has successfully led customer and market expansion fueling industry leading growth of the company. He was instrumental in securing private equity investment to power UST Global through its evolution. In addition to strengthening global operations, he implemented strong financial systems, governance and controls to optimize performance and productivity.

"This announcement is the successful culmination of a multiyear succession plan to select the best leader for UST Global. With a stellar track record as the company's President and CFO, we look forward to what Krishna will bring to the company as its CEO," said Paras Chandaria, Chairman of the Board of Directors, UST Global. "On behalf of the entire board, I thank Sajan for his leadership and his numerous contributions to UST Global's recent success. We appreciate his service and commitment to UST Global and will work together on future venture-driven endeavors."

"I am honored to be named the next CEO of UST Global, and want to thank both Sajan and the Board for the confidence they have placed in me to lead this strong organization and support our talented people as we continue to grow the company," added Sudheendra.

About UST Global

UST Global is a leading digital technology solutions company that provides advanced computing and digital services to large private and public enterprises around the world. Its clients include Fortune 500 companies in banking and financial services, insurance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, shipping, technology and telecom. UST Global believes in building long term, strategic business partnerships through client-centric global engagement models that combine local experts and resources with the cost, scale, and quality advantages of global operations. For more information, please visit: www.ust-global.com.

Media Contact:

Leslie Schultz

UST Global

[email protected]

+1 949-204-4892



Suzanne Dawson

S&C Public Relations for UST Global

[email protected]

+1 646-941-9140

SOURCE UST Global

Related Links

http://www.ust-global.com


EU Comes Up With Workaround to US Sanctions

The representatives of Germany, France, and the UK have registered a company to let it trade with Iran despite the US sanctions. The company still needs to be approved by 28 EU members.

Earlier this year, the UK, France, and Germany registered a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The main goal of creating this legal entity is to back trading with Iran as workaround to the sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States. The company is named INSTEX SAS (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges). It was registered on Paris on January 30th. It's also interesting to note that the company's legal address match the one of the French Ministry of Trade and Finances.

The supervisory board of the newly-created company includes 3 diplomats from the UK, France, and Germany. So, the transactions that will be made with the help of this company are expected to let European companies continue trading with their Iranian partners desite the mentioned sanctions.

As you probably know, in 2015, the UK, France, and Germany, who represented the EU (the so-called Euro trinity), and the USA signed an agreement with Iran. This agreement capped Iran's nuclear program in exchange for canceling the Western sanctions previously imposed on it. However, in May 2018, Donald Trump decided to quit this agreement. Shortly after that, the USA re-imposed those sanctions on Iran. the EU representatives keep on participating in the agreement. The thing is that the Euro trinity, Russia and China assume that Iran hasn't violated the nuclear agreement.

After creating the mentioned SPV, the initiative is still required to be approved by all 28 EU members. For now, it's unclear when it's actually going to happen. It's reported that Spain is against launching the SPV.

The mechanism implies that Iran is required to mirror the system in the form of creating a similar company to retain the trade relations with the EU. In particular, the company is expected to create an environment for transactions in the national currency. Also, the system may be expanded to include non-EU states as well.

Project Fails To Come Up To Expectations

According to Reuters, the project named INSTEX can only start functioning within a couple of months. A lot of technical issues are yet to be discussed, agreed, and resolved. Also, the scale is not expected to be as big as expected. The project was aimed at allowing Europe to keep on buying Iranian oil. However, the real state of affairs is that Europe can actually do without Iranian oil. With tat being said, the ambitions were reduced considerably. So now it seems that the key reason for this project is to sustain the export of not sanctioned products to Iran (medicine, food,, etc.)

It seems that Europe is not willing to openly confront the USA when it comes to the anti-Iranian sanctions, especially as the U.S. Department of the State warned that those EU states willing to violate those sanctions and keep trading with Iran would risk to get serious consequences, including the loss of the access to the American financial, banking, and business systems.

The bottom line is that it's hard to say whether anyone is actually going to make use fo INTEX, especially as this project doesn't allow the EU to increase the trade turnover with Iran considerably.

You are free to discuss this article here: forum for traders and investors
Damascus, May 18 : The Syrian air defences have intercepted "luminous objects" coming from Israel, the media reported.

The report by Syria's state TV is yet to give details on the nature of the "objects", according to Xinhua news agency.

The Syrian Army said that the air defences on Friday were triggered by "enemy targets" coming from the direction of the southern province of Quneitra.

Meanwhile, people in the capital heard explosions reverberating across the capital in the evening.

If confirmed to be an attack, it would not be the first Israeli missile attack to target Syrian sites.

Israel has repeatedly targeted Syrian sites on the pretext that it was targeting sites belonging to Iran-backed militia such as the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
Washington, May 18 : The US President has postponed for six months a decision on whether to slap tariffs on imports of automobiles and auto parts from trading partners such as the European Union and Japan, the White House said in a statement.

Although Donald Trump made the widely expected choice not to impose tariffs immediately, the statement on Friday said he "took historic action" in issuing a proclamation that directs the US trade representative to negotiate agreements to address a national security threat that is causing harm to the US automobile industry.

The statement said he made his decision after extensively reviewing a report that the Commerce Department had delivered to him on February 17, reported Efe news agency.

That report concluded that imports of automobiles and certain components could impair US national security because the country's "defense and military superiority" depend on the competitiveness of the national automobile industry and the research and development it generates, the White House said.

"The negotiation process will be led by United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and, if agreements are not reached within 180 days, the President will determine whether and what further action needs to be taken," the statement read.

Trump, who faced a Saturday deadline to make a decision, has provided relief to global markets by putting it off for 180 days.

Since taking office in January 2017, Trump has defended tariffs as an effective strategy for gaining influence in trade negotiations.

But the President was warned by experts and the US auto industry that he is running the risk of provoking new global trade confrontations at a time when Washington has hit China with an increase in tariffs from 10 per cent to 25 per cent on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and Beijing has threatened to retaliate soon with tariffs on $60 billion in US imports.

The potential auto tariffs are strongly opposed by the Congress, including political allies of Trump, and have prompted the chairman of the Senate's Finance Committee, Republican Chuck Grassley, to demand that the White House provide him with the Commerce Department's report.

The Trump administration has refused the request.

On Friday, Grassley said on Twitter that the decision to postpone a decision on auto tariffs was a wise move.

Last year, Trump posed a 25 per cent tariff on imports of steel and a 10 per cent tariff on imports of aluminum from the EU, China, Canada, Mexico, Russia and other countries, making the decision after the Commerce Department found that those imports eroded the US's industrial base and posed a threat to national security.

The Auto Alliance, a Washington-based trade group comprising automobile manufacturers that operate in the US, staunchly opposes tariffs on imports of vehicles and auto parts.

"Imposing tariffs on imported vehicles and parts would be a mistake, with significant negative consequences" for the auto industry and its employees," it said in a statement this week.

The EU also says it has drawn up a list of US products that could be subject to retaliatory tariffs if the Trump administration carries out its threat.

Separately, Japan's government said on Friday it is confident the US will not put a cap on imports of Japanese automobiles amid frictions between the two countries during negotiations to finalize a bilateral trade agreement.

Among its negotiating objectives, Washington wants "fair and more equitable trade in the motor vehicle sector," including provisions designed to increase production and jobs in the US.
Forpeople who are generally known to be gentle, genteel, soft-spoken 'bhadraloks' with a liking for sweets like 'sandesh' and 'rosogolla' and Rabindrasangeet (Tagore's songs), Bengalis are also suspected of having a mutinous streak in them.

This explains why a number of "revolutionaries" - Khudiram Bose, Prafulla Chaki, Kanailal Dutta and others - emerged to fight the British, rejecting the Gandhian concept of non-violence.

It is not a coincidence that the origin of the Naxalite movement was in Naxalbari in West Bengal. Evidently, the "anarchism" of the freedom fighters flowed seamlessly into Left extremism.

Jawaharlal Nehru noticed this trait. "The Bengali terrorist mentality of extreme emotionalism", he said, "colours their so-called Communist viewpoint and makes them look sometimes quite insane. There is a violence and an intense hatred looking out of their eyes."

The "revolution" against the colonial rulers found expression even before the British left when the peasants of undivided Bengal rose against the landlords during the "tebhaga" movement, demanding a two-thirds share of the crops produced.

The rise of the Communists from the mid-1960s was marked not only by violence directed at the Congress-led government but also by clashes among the Leftists themselves once the Left Front came to power after contesting the 1967 elections in two groups opposed to one another -- the United Left Front led by the CPI-M and the Progressive United Left Front led by the CPI.

However, although the "Left" and "Right" Communists buried the hatchet after coming to power, the Naxalites emerged from the CPI-M in 1967 and formed their own party two years later. Their targets at the time were the other "revisionist" Communists.

The state, therefore, saw no respite from violence till the Congress Chief Minister, Siddhartha Shankar Ray, started his policy of "fake encounters" in 1972 (which has had other emulators) to eliminate the Naxalites.

But for the Emergency of 1975-77, the Congress would undoubtedly have continued in power because it was not only the Naxalites who were cowed down but also the other Communists.

But the "tanashahi" (dictatorship) of Indira Gandhi enabled the Communists to return to power in 1977 and hold on to it till 2011. During the three decades of their unchallenged dominance, there was no overt violence, but their cadres made it clear to dissenters that it wouldn't be beneficial for their well-being if they indulged in protests.

As the Congress and other parties meekly surrendered, Mamata Banerjee was the only one who broke away from the Congress and opposed the Left tooth and nail and was nearly killed when she was hit on the head by a CPI-M follower during a street demonstration.

It was as an indomitable "street fighter" that she did unto the Communists what they had done to others -- Communists and non-Communists alike -- overtly between 1965-66 and 1972 and covertly after 1977.

However, in the process of ousting the "enemy" by Mamata Banerjee, in which she had the covert support of the Naxalites and Leftists like those in the Socialist Unity Centre, the long-prevalent seeds of violence in the state were watered yet again.

What the country is witnessing today is the ruinous outcome of the kind of policies which both the governments and their opponents have followed in West Bengal, leading to the "flight of capital" in the late 1960s because of the militant trade union tactics of the Marxists, and the flight of the Tatas from Singur in 2008, which has spelt doom for West Bengal's industrial revival.

What is sad is that the state now seems destined to live under the shadow of the pipe gun and home-made bombs in the foreseeable future as both the incumbent and the challenger -- the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- try to browbeat the other with the only method which their predecessors had used from the time when the Congress and the Left faced each other.

The result will be that the industrial heights which West Bengal had reached before the mid-1960s when Calcutta rivalled Bombay - as the two cities were known then - as the hub of mercantile offices, a cosmopolitan ambience and a glitzy night life, will be out of its reach. One can see glimpses of this life in Satyajit Ray's "Seemabadhha".

Ironically, it was a Marxist Chief Minister, Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, who tried to rectify the follies of his comrades by calling the industrialists back to Singur and Nandigram.

But his recourse to the 1894 land acquisition law and dependence on the cadres to push through his line were grist to Mamata Banerjee's anti-CPI-M stance, for she used the grievances of the peasants over the loss of their land to build up a movement which finally led to the Left Front government's fall.

Although she has recently been trying to woo the corporates, even travelling to Mumbai, London and Singapore to do so, there has been little response for two reasons.

One is her anti-industry image and the other is her retinue of lawless cadres who went on a rampage during the earlier panchayat polls and have taken on the equally aggressive saffron groups in recent days. Bengal, therefore, can hardly expect any sizeable investment and orderly growth.

(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com)
San Francisco, May 18 : Google is quietly keeping track of every single purchase you have made in years, thanks to purchase receipts sent to your personal Gmail account.

According to a report in CNBC on Friday, the information is made available to users via a private web tool which, the company claims, keeps your data private.

Google, however, stressed it does not use the information for personalized ad tracking.

In 2017, the tech giant said it would stop using data collected from Gmail messages to personalize ads.

"To help you easily view and keep track of your purchases, bookings and subscriptions in one place, we've created a private destination that can only be seen by you," Google told The Verge in a statement.

"You can delete this information at any time. We don't use any information from your Gmail messages to serve you ads, and that includes the email receipts and confirmations shown on the Purchase page," the company added.

Google, however, did not say how long this web tool has been active.

The company on May 14 announced it will now allow ads to reflect on the homepage of its mobile app.

The ads would be displayed on the "Discover" section of the homepage in a news feed layout and would be algorithmically personalised.

The search-engine giant also plans to then place ads with up to eight pictures in its search results as part of its "Gallery ads" feature.

Ads would also appear on the homepage of Google Shopping, which users would be able to personalise and filter based on features they care about and brands they love.
New Delhi, May 18 : A day after campaigning ended for the last phase of Lok Sabha polls, Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Saturday offered prayers at the Somnath Temple in Gujarat.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at the Kedarnath shrine nestled in Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand.

Polling for the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections will take place on Sunday. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Bengaluru, May 18 : Ahead of the Lok Sabha election results on May 23, Karnataka's ruling allies Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and the Congress are locked in a war of words over the post of the chief minister.

With the continuation or survival of their year-old coalition government hinged upon the verdict of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the southern state, the opposition BJP is waiting in the wings to grab power in case the post-poll allies part ways.

"The arch rivals came together in an unholy alliance after the May 2018 Assembly polls solely to keep our party out of power. But their differences over sharing power are evident now, with their leaders sparring over who should be the next chief minister when their government's survival itself is at stake," state BJP leader G. Madhusudhan told IANS on Friday.

Though the two allies jointly fought the parliamentary elections fielding common candidates in all the 28 seats -- the Congress on 21 and the JD-S on 7 seats -- the results will determine their coalition government's fate.

For now, the war of words on the social media and during the campaign for the May 19 twin Assembly bypolls in Kundagola and Chincholi in the state's northwest and northern regions over who should be the next chief minister indicates that the days of present incumbent H.D. Kumaraswamy, of the JD-S, are numbered.

"The Kumaraswamy government's survival depends on how the Congress performs at the state and national levels in the Lok Sabha polls. In the event of the BJP winning more seats in the state than the allies together or separately, the coalition government will collapse if the dozen rebels in the Congress resign from the party or forfeit their Assembly seats," a political analyst told IANS.

In the 225-member state Assembly, including one nominated, the BJP has 104 seats, Congress 77, JD-S 37, BSP and the Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) 1 each. There is one independent and a Speaker as well as two vacant seats.

"If the Congress fails to retain the two Assembly seats in the bypoll, the coalition government's survival depends on the party reining in its rebels, as Kumaraswamy would have just one more seat (77+37=114) than the halfway mark (113) for a simple majority in the lower house," said the analyst.

There is no love lost between the two allies, especially at the cadre level, as evident from their rivalry during the campaigning. And an adverse verdict in the Lok Sabha polls will lead to a blame game and result in parting of ways if the Congress returns to power at the Centre or emerges as the single largest party.

"The controversy between the two allies over who should be the next chief minister is a deliberate attempt to divert the people's attention from the results, which according to their assessment will spell doom for the coalition government as the prospects of the Congress returning to power at the Centre are remote," claimed Madhusudhan.

With a couple of Congress ministers and a dozen party legislators claiming that their legislative party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah was their chief minister and clamouring for his return at the helm, JD-S leaders, ministers and legislators are upset with their ally.

"Our party is committed to support the JD-S and Kumaraswamy irrespective of the Lok Sabha poll results. The chief minister's post is not vacant as Kumaraswamy will be the head of the coalition government for the next four years," state Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao told IANS here.

While Siddaramaiah, who was the state's Congress Chief Minister from 2013-2018, tried to play down the clamour for his return to the top post by his loyalists, JD-S state President A.H. Vishwanath ruled out the former becoming the chief minister again as the Congress lost the May 2018 Assembly elections under his (Siddaramaiah's) leadership.

"Though we (JD-S) won only 37 seats, we agreed to form the coalition government with the Congress support under Kumaraswamy after contesting against each other in the Assembly polls ostensibly to keep the BJP out of power," Vishwanath told reporters at Mysuru last week.

When Siddaramaiah retaliated against Vishwanath, Kumaraswamy said veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge should have become the chief minister long ago, as he was the state's tallest Dalit leader and rose through the ranks.

Countering Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah tweeted that there were many capable leaders in the Congress and JD-S worthy of becoming chief minister, including Public Works Department Minister H.D. Revanna, the elder brother of Kumaraswamy.

"The alliance partners are displaying their true colours and waiting to strike against each other after the Lok Sabha results. In this game of one-upmanship, the stakes are higher for the Congress than the JD-S, which has nothing to lose with 37 seats in the Assembly," added the analyst.
New Delhi, May 18 : Vice Admiral Bimal Verma's plea against the government's decision to ignore him for the Navy chief's post despite him being the senior most officer has been turned down by the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

Verma had filed a statutory complaint to the Ministry after the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) asked him to approach the government with his grievance before taking the legal recourse.

Verma, who heads the Andaman and Nicobar tri-service command, was overlooked for the Navy chief's post as the government named Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the successor to Admiral Sunil Lanba, who will retire on May 30.

While rejecting the plea, the MOD claimed that seniority is not the only criteria for top appointments in the armed forces and deep selection has been done several times in the past.

Verma was the senior most among the Vice Admirals but the government decided to go for Karambir Singh as the next Navy chief.

Verma had filed the complaint addressed to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on April 10. He had sought the fast redressal but the MOD took more than a month to dismiss his plea.

The AFT had asked the government to take a decision by May 15. The matter will come up in the AFT on May 20.
Mumbai, May 18 : Screenplay writer Zeishan Quadri, who has penned the story of filmmaker Hansal Mehtas upcoming movie "Turram Khan", says once he submits the script to a director, he keeps himself away from the shooting because he doesn't want to interfere.

Does he prefer to give his inputs during the shooting of "Turram Khan"?

"As a writer, once I submit the script to the director, I keep myself away from the shooting because I do not want to interfere as a writer. I have worked with Anurag Kashyap, I have written the story of 'Turram Khan', which is directed by Hansal (Mehta)sir. I was not visiting the set every day," Quadri told IANS.

He added: "They are so experienced and skilled to take the story to the next level with their direction, that I know that my story is in good hands. That is the beauty of an experienced director who adds an interesting dimension to the story that I have written:.

"Turram Khan", a comedy film, features actors Rajkummar Rao and Nushrat Bharucha.

Quadri rose to fame by co-writing the popular crime genre film "Gangs of Wasseypur". He also acted in "Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2" and directed the film "Meeruthiya Gangsters".

What made him write a comedy story?

"I actually wrote that '...Wasseypur' story almost 10 years ago. Time has changed, so have I. Yes, 'Turram Khan' is a comedy story," he said, adding: "I also penned the story of the web-series 'Bhoot Purva' but the fact is, as a writer, I want to explore more than one genre.

"So, I am writing comedy, human relationship, social stories - everything."
Pulwama: A security personnel during cordon and search operation after two militants were killed in a gunfight with the security forces, at Panzgam in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, on May 18, 2019. One of the slain militants has been identifi Image Source: IANS News

Pulwama: Security forces conduct cordon and search operations after two militants were killed in a gunfight with the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, on May 18, 2019. One of the slain militants has been identified as Showkat A Image Source: IANS News

Srinagar, May 18 : Four militants, including three Hizbul men were killed on Saturday in two separate gunfights in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama and Baramulla districts.

Following an overnight gun battle between security forces and a group of hiding terrorists in Punzgam village of Pulwama, three Kashmiri men belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit were brought down early in the day, police said.

They were identified as Showkat Ahmad Dar, Irfan Ahmad and Muzaffar Ahmed. While Showkat was from the Punzgam and both he and Muzaffar belonged to Pulwama district, Irfan Ahmad belonged to Sopore area of Baramulla district.

Later a fresh gun battle was fought in Hathlangoo village of Baramulla after a hiding militant fired at a cordon and search party.

"As the cordon was tightened, there was firing from the hide out triggering the encounter. All exit points from the village were sealed and the militant was brought down," an officer said.

Bodies of all four militants have been recovered. Identity of the Sopore militant was yet to be disclosed.

Mobile Internet services in Sopore and Awantipora area was suspended. Train services between Srinagar and Bannihal town of Jammu region have also been suspended.
Faridabad: A view of dried up Badkhal Lake near Haryana's Faridabad on May 16, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Faridabad: A view of dried up Badkhal Lake near Haryana's Faridabad on May 16, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, May 18 : Badkhal lake in Faridabad, which was once a popular tourist gateway for the people of the national capital, has turned into a barren piece of land for the past 20 years thanks to illegal quarrying and mining in the area.

Now, various measures are being discussed at the government level to restore the lake, including construction of a sewage treatment plant (STP), but damaged aquifers, low groundwater level and disturbance of water catchment pathways cast aspersions.

Also, experts feel that restocking of existing forest lands that have been depleted in all these years could hold key to bringing Badkhal lake back to its old glory.

Rajendra Singh, who won the Magsaysay Award in 2001 and the Stockholm Water Prize in 2015, feels rejuvenation of the lake could be done through natural ways.

"The source of water for the lake is forests and they are in a degraded state now. So there is need to ensure greenery in the catchment area for smooth flow of water," said Singh, who is also called the Waterman of India.

Badkhal lake was built soon after the country got Independence in 1947 to facilitate water supply to the nearby farms. In 1972, the Haryana government built a resort off the lake, which was a major tourist attraction during the '70s through to the '90s.

Later, construction boom in the National Capital Region (NCR) drove quarrying and mining in the area at a large scale. As illegal mining and quarrying mushroomed, the downward water flow to the lake was not just obstructed, but aquifers were also damaged, said environment analyst Chetan Agarwal.

In addition, deforestation and rampant borewell digging in the area owing to urbanisation worsened the situation, leaving the lake high and dry.

"Mining and quarrying disturbed the aquifers in the upstream areas and created some amount of disturbance in the pathway of waterflow. So less water must be coming to the lake now. Groundwater levels too have gone down to 150-200 feet near the Badkhal lake. So water percolates in the ground very fast. Also, shrinking of forests is a major cause of concern," Agarwal said.

Damdama lake, which is about 20 km from the Badkhal lake, has also dried up for similar reasons.

The Aravali Range, which is considered to be the oldest range of fold mountains in India, has witnessed damage to the flora and fauna in this region, which is close to the Asola Wildlife Sanctuary, owing to excavation activities.

While the impact of mining activities on the big carnivore in the area -- the leopard -- has not been assessed properly yet, it has definitely taken a toll on the population of birds and various kinds of trees in the area, Agarwal said.

Ashraf Khan, a youngster who lives near the Badkhal lake, said he never saw water in it.

"My parents told me that there used to be water in the lake earlier and people used to do boating during summers. However, I have never seen the lake full of water except for few puddles during monsoon," he said.

"About two decades ago, the Badkhal lake would be filled with water even during summer months. Now, the tourists hardly go there," a Haryana government official said.

The average booking of three-four rooms daily in the 30-room resort run by the Haryana government, which would remain fully booked 20 years ago, bears testimony to it.

The Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee (IIT-R) was appointed last year to carry out geo-technical survey of the dried-up Badkhal lake under the Smart City project. It has submitted its report to the government recently.

The government is planning to build a sewage treatment plant to fill the lake. The project is in the final stage of the tendering process, sources said.

However, experts are not impressed with the plan.

Singh said the government's plan was not "revival" as claimed but "renovation".

"It is renovation as it is a new physical work. However, if you want to revive and rejuvenate the lake, you need to ensure continuous flow of water into the lake," he told IANS.

(to be continued)

(Saurabh Katkurwar can be contacted at saurabh.k@ians.in)
New Delhi, May 18 : On the banks of the Danube river stands a tall Unesco world heritage structure and the seat of Hungarian power - the Hungarian Parliament. Inaugurating an exhibition of its photographs here, the Hungarian envoy to India, Gyula Petho, called Indo-Hungary relations "strain-free", and the exhibition a step in the right direction.

"India and Hungary have great, strain-free relations and people-to-people contact. The Parliament is open to tourists and visitors, except for some places like the main chamber. It is a public monument in that regard," Petho told IANS here.

The exhibition, titled "The Hungarian National Assembly", displays photographs capturing the splendour of the heritage building.

Designed in the Gothic Revival style with a Renaissance Revival style dome, Hungary's Parliament is one of the largest in the world. Built for over 17 years starting 1885, the House had its first session in October 1902.

Its imposing edifice was built in a neo-gothic style based on the plans of architect Imre Steindl.

"The express intention was to construct the building out of Hungarian materials with the work of local craftsmen and manufacturers," the Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre said.

There are a total of 242 full-figure statues on the facades and in the interior spaces of the Parliament building. Prominent among these are the 88 glazed, coloured ceramic statues, depicting contemporary Hungarian agriculture and industry crafts, as well as modern urban professions and science.

In keeping with the lines of gothic architecture, the side walls of the Parliament building were perforated by colourful leaded glass windows, which refers to a preferred window art technique of the time.

The monumental wall and ceiling paintings depict 1,000 years of Hungarian history, as well as 20th century political changes. These pieces portray noteworthy scenes of both heroic and tragic Hungarian history, as well as allegories.

The building has seen two World Wars, a number of uprisings and revolutions, and a shifting urban landscape in the landlocked European country.

Arranged by the Museum of the Hungarian National Assembly, the exhibition will run from May 18-27 at the India International Centre (IIC) here.
New Delhi, May 18 : Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora on Saturday termed as "unsavoury and avoidable" the controversy surrounding the recording of minority decisions on the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa's letter to him in this regard.

He said an Election Commission (EC) meeting was scheduled on Tuesday to "discuss this and related matters".

In a statement issued here, Arora said: "There has been an unsavoury and avoidable controversy reported in sections of the media today about the internal functioning of Election Commission of India with respect to the handling of the Model Code of Conduct."

"This has come at a time when all the CEOs (Chief Electoral Officers) and their teams across the country are geared towards the seventh and last phase of polling tomorrow followed by the gigantic task of counting on May 23," he said.

The statement said that the last EC meeting on May 14 "unanimously decided" that some groups shall be formed to deliberate the issues, which arose in the course of the conduct of Lok Sabha Elections 2019, just as it was done after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

"The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was one of the 13 issues/areas which were identified," he added.

The CEC insisted that Lavasa's letter on the MCC was an internal matter of the poll panel. "It needs to be clarified categorically and unambiguously that this is purely an internal matter of ECI and as such any speculation, innuendos and insinuations in this regard should be eschewed," it said.

Arora said there had been differences between the Election Commission (EC) members in the past, but he believed that "eloquence of silence" was far more desirable "than creating ill-timed controversies".

"The three members of the ECI are not expected to be templates or clones of each other. There have been so many times in the past when there has been a vast diversion of views as it can and should be.

"But the same largely remained within the confines of ECI till demission of office. Unless appearing much later in a book written by the concerned ECs (Election Commissioners) or CECs," he said.

Arora said he had personally never shied away from a public debate whenever required "but there is time for everything".

"There was a reason I told a leading daily a few days back, that eloquence of silence is always difficult but far more desirable to see the election process through, instead of creating ill-timed controversies," he said.

Arora said all the Chief Electoral Officers and senior EC officials have given their utmost in the last six phases of the elections, which barring an odd incident here or there, have been largely peaceful and conducted in a fair, free and transparent manner.

In his letter to Arora, Lavasa recused himself from attending Full Commission meetings held to decide on MCC violations, after his dissent on the clean chit given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah on their respective speeches, went unrecorded.

Lavasa, in his letter, insisted that he would attend the EC meetings if his minority decisions were also included in the orders of the Commission.

The three-member "Full Commission" consists of the CEC and two Election Commissioners, Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra.
Thiruvananthapuram, May 18 : The BJP-led NDA coalition in Kerala has exuded confidence of doubling its vote share in Kerala in the 2019 lok sabha polls, the results of which will be declared on May 23.

A meeting of the alliance at Cherthala the other day concluded that the NDA will register victories in three constituencies in Kerala, namely Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, and Thrissur.

Senior leaders of the constituents in the NDA believe the BJP-led alliance will win both Thiruvananthapuram and Pathanamthitta with a respectable margin of 40,000 votes while its candidate will breast the tape in Thrissur by 30,000 votes.

Besides, the NDA expects its Kottayam candidate P C Thomas to finish a close second in the Kerala congress (M) stronghold even though Mr. Thomas and Kerala Janapaksham leader P C George are reportedly confident of wresting the seat from the KC(M) candidate. Leaders who took part in the meeting also expect BJPs fiery woman leader Sobha Surendran to finish second in Attingal constituency.

BJP is banking on the Sabarimala factor to help its candidates Kummanam Rajasekharan and K Surendran sail home in Thiruvananthapuram and Pathanamthitta respectively. The womens temple entry row is also expected to have reverberations favoring the BJP in other constituencies as well.

The BJP-led NDAs optimism ahead of declaration of results on May 23 comes even as genuine concern has crept into the congress camp.

Congress Thrissur candidate T N Prathapan had the other day expressed apprehensions over his election prospects from the constituency. At a UDF meeting recently, Prathapan had opined that actor Suresh Gopis entry as BJP candidate had changed the poll scenario in Thrissur. The congress leader worried that Mr. Gopi could woo a sizeable portion of the majority Hindu votes, thus derailing congress poll calculations.

Thiruvananthapuram unit of the congress has also expressed concerns about Shashi Tharoors prospects in Thiruvananthapuram. Local leaders in the constituency are saying in hushed tones that BJPs Kummanam Rajasekharan could corner as much as 70 per cent of the Hindu majority votes owing to the Sabarimala controversy. If the minority votes were to be split between Tharoor and the LDFs C Divakaran, it will help Rajasekharan sail home.
Lucknow/Noida, May 18 : Social activist Usha Thakur, granddaughter of the brother of legendary Hindi poet Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar', was arrested from Noida for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to extort Rs 2 crore from Union Minister Mahesh Sharma.

Thakur, in her late 60s, was arrested from her house in Sector 31 on Friday.

She is accused of extortion, forgery and criminal conspiracy linked to a pre-election 'sting operation' done by a gang helmed by a man who ran a local news channel that was shut down after demonetisation.

According to Noida's Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna, the gang was demanding Rs 2 crore from the minister after threatening to make public an "objectionable" video.

Three persons directly linked to the case have already been arrested in April.

Sector 20 SHO Rajvir Singh Chauhan said that Thakur was arrested following detailed interrogation of other accused involved in this case.

"She had facilitated the meeting between the people who conducted the so-called 'sting operation' and the Union Minister. She has been arrested based on evidence of her role in the whole conspiracy," he said.

Thakur was produced before a local court, which sent her to judicial custody.

Earlier in April, police had arrested Alok Kumar, the owner of the now defunct news channel, from Kolkata along with his aide Nisha.

Another accused, identified as Khalid, who worked in the gang and is named in the FIR, is absconding, the SHO added.

Interestingly, Ajay Sharma, the brother of the minister who had lodged the complaint in the matter, said that he had not named Usha Thakur in the complaint. Mahesh Sharma is known to have addressed her as an 'elder sister' on several occasions.
New Delhi, May 18 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said manipulation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) was possible and thus demanded that VVPAT slips be used as ballot papers for "transparency" in the electoral process.

Speaking at a seminar here, Naidu said voters should be allowed to collect VVPAT slips after voting and put it in a ballot box so it can be used to tally votes.

"Immediately, voters will put it in the ballot box. They will not take it outside," he said.

At present, voters have seven seconds to see the VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) slips and verify details after casting votes. Subsequently, it goes into the connected box.

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, whose party came to power in 2014 after bagging 117 out of 175 Assembly seats, said he had come across some people who said that election results can be swung in someone's favour by paying money.

"God knows! People are coming to us. They said if Rs 5-10 crore are given, you will be elected. I asked them what is the proof. They said do not bother about all this. It is fraudulent," Naidu said.

Former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi said the suggestion of using VVPAT slips for additional ballot paper voting may be considered.

"The EVM machine goes dead for 12 seconds after one casts his votes. So in the remaining five seconds, it can be done," he said.

Naidu said the possibility of manipulation of EVMs was the biggest challenge and hence he wanted "transparency" in the election process.

"Political parties should have confidence... That is why I am fighting for last 10 years. I will continue doing it tomorrow as well," he said.

Naidu on Friday accused the Election Commission of being "pro-government". He had said that the decisions of the commission were "very controversial", "one-sided", and "pro-establishment".
Chandigarh: Polling officials leave for their respective polling stations after collecting EVMs and other necessary inputs from the distribution center on the eve of the final phase of 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in Chandigarh on May 18, 2019. (Photo: Image Source: IANS News

Chandigarh: Polling officials leave for their respective polling stations after collecting EVMs and other necessary inputs from the distribution center on the eve of the final phase of 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in Chandigarh on May 18, 2019. (Photo: Image Source: IANS News

Chandigarh, May 18 : Each polling booth in Chandigarh, going to the polls on Sunday, will have three electronic voting machines (EVMs) to accommodate 36 Lok Sabha candidates.

Since an EVM can carry only 16 names, the Election Commission has arranged for three EVMs at each booth to accommodate all the candidates as well as the 'none of the above' (NOTA) option.

There are 597 booths at 191 polling stations in the 'City Beautiful'.

The Lok Sabha seat is witnessing a triangular contest among four-time MP and Congress candidate Pawan Kumar Bansal, 70, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sitting MP Kirron Kher, 66, and former Union minister Harmohan Dhawan, 78, of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Former Railway Minister Bansal, who lost to Kher by nearly 70,000 votes in the 2014 elections, said she had failed to develop rapport with the city residents as well as BJP workers.

While Kher is banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, Dhawan of the AAP has made "promise versus performance" his poll plank and been criticising earlier MPs of failing to bring central projects to the Union Territory.

According to Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer Mandip Singh Brar, there are 3,41,640 male and 3,04,423 female and 21 transgender voters. Of this, 17,598 voters were in the 18-19 years age group and 3,157 with disability, Brar told IANS.
Kolkata, May 18 : An uneasy calm prevails in and around Vidyasagar College, that has been at the centre of a political tornado over violence and vandalism of Bengali polymath Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar's bust during BJP President Amit Shah's high-voltage road show in the area earlier this week.

The century old institution falls under the prestigious Kolkata North parliamentary constituency, that will go to the polls along with eight other Lok Sabha seats in the state in the last phase of polling on May 19.

Days after the frenzied incident, which turned the area into a battleground, the century old institution on Bidhan Sarani bore a desolate look with both its gates locked. None of the students or college officials could be seen from outside while a significant number of police personnel were picketing opposite the college.

Several large posters and banners of protest, some of them bearing the picture of the broken bust, dotted the front gate and adjacent walls of the college. One such posters read "barnaparichay er upor Aghat er Pratibad" (protest against the attack on Barnaparichay - a book of Bengali alphabet and primary Bengali reader written by Vidyasagar).

A number of locals, young and old, said the attack on the statue of a Bengali icon like Vidyasagar may considerably impact the election result.

"No one here is discussing about it openly, but there is no doubt that it was an untoward incident and locals have not liked it. We sensed a tension since afternoon. But I haven't seen such violence in the area ever before," said M. Rahaman, who works at a Visva-Bharati publication's book shop adjacent to the college.

"Right now there is confusion regarding who vandalised the bust. But if it is proved that the BJP supporters were involved it can impact the votes to an extent," he said.

The constituency, once considered a hub of commercial activity, education and cultural activities of the city, comprises seven assembly segments -- Chowringhee, Entally, Beleghata, Jorasanko, Shyampukur, Maniktala and Kashipur Belgachhia.

It is set to witness a four-cornered battle on paper with all four mainstream parties fielding their candidates The state's ruling Trinamool Congress has fielded sitting MP and Saradha chit fund scam accused Sudip Bandyopadhyay while the BJP has nominated the party's national secretary Rahul Sinha, who contested the seat five years back too. CPI-M's Kaninika Bose Ghosh and Syed Shahid Imam of the Congress are also in the fray.

However, with many smaller parties fielding candidates, the Lok Sabha seat with the lowest number of voters in the state (14.44 lakh) has 21 candidates, which is highest among the 42 constituencies across the state.

In the last general elections, Bandyopadhyay defeated Sinha by close to one lakh votes. He got nearly 36 per cent of the votes. But BJP saw a massive 21 per cent surge in vote share compared to the 2009 elections, when the constituency was formed following delimitation.

Bandyopadhyay, a four-time MP, had won the 2009 election with a margin of 1.09 lakh votes, garnering 52.5 per cent vote share. His nearest rival, Mohammed Salim, got over 40 per cent votes while BJP Tathagata Roy got a paltry 4.22 per cent.

This time around Sinha believes that there has been a rise in the party's support base across Bengal. That, combined with a high-octane campaign and allegations of corruption against the incumbent MP will turn the tide in his favour, he says.

"It is difficult to point out what is lacking in the constituency as almost no work has been done in the last five years. The list of complaints against him (Bandyopadhyay) is very long. He could not be with the people here as he was in jail for close to two years in connection with the Saradha scam," Sinha told IANS.

"Syndicate raj and land mafia raj are going on in north Kolkata with the backing of the sitting MP. The condition of roads, sewage, and environment is terrible. The people of Kolkata are upset with Trinamool Congress. Wherever I go, I find BJP supporters. I am sure of winning," he said.

Meanwhile, Bandypadhyay seemed certain of his victory in the election.

"During my election campaign I sometimes felt like taking rest to make space for other parties. So far I did not find any other party on the streets except Trinamool Congress," Bandyopadhyay said.

"I have won in eight elections (four of them assembly polls) so far and am fighting to win for the ninth time. On the other hand the BJP candidate has not been able to win a single election. The statistics show, who is the favourite this time," he said taking a swipe at Sinha.

A group of youths, busy playing carom board outside 'Indian Boys Club' in the Girish Park area claimed people in the area will think twice before voting for BJP after the Vaidyasagar college incident. The BJP has, however, vehemently denied the allegation, and instead pointed fingers at the Trinamool Congress for hatching a conspiracy.

Near Swami Vivekananda's Ancestral House and Cultural Centre on Vivekananda Road, about a kilometer away from Vidyasagar College, marks of Shah's massive rally were still evident as large cut outs of the smiling faces of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah himself dotted both sides of the road.

Shah was supposed to garland the massive statue of Vivekananda at the end of his road show on Tuesday but had to cut short the procession due to the violence.

Asishgopal Majumdar, librarian of the 97-year-old D.M. Library opposite Vivekananda's childhood residence, said the shift in Kolkata's culture in recent years had propelled the BJP to get a toehold in the city.

"We cannot deny that there has been a shift in our culture. Bengalis are accepting the culture of the Hindi-belt more and more. It is no surprise that the BJP is getting a large support base here," Majumdar said.

"The development here has been mostly ornamental. Yes, the roads and pavements have improved. The area is well lit. Vivekananda's house has been renovated. But none of the candidates talk about education and environment. They are resorting to uncouth behaviour in the name of campaign. We need to change this," he added.

(Milinda Ghosh Roy can be contacted at milinda.r@ians.in)
Washington, May 18 : US President Donald Trump has agreed to lift tariffs on metal imports from Canada and Mexico, that in exchange agreed to stop punishing American farmers with their own taxes on pork, cheese and milk.

At the same time, he postponed a decision on Friday on whether to impose tariffs on automobiles imported from Europe, Japan and other countries for six months, setting a tight deadline for Washington to reach trade deals that have so far proved elusive, the New York Times reported.

"I'm pleased to announce we've just reached agreement with Canada and Mexico. We'll be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs," Trump said.

The US trade representative said in a statement that the metal tariffs would be removed and both Mexico and Canada "had agreed on the removal of all retaliatory tariffs imposed on American goods by those countries".

The metal tariffs are linked to a broader free trade deal, the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which was signed in 2018. It replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Trump had described the tariffs as a source of leverage in negotiating a revision to that deal, which has yet to be ratified by legislatures in all three countries.

According to the daily, Trump's decision removes the threat of an all-encompassing global trade war and allows him to focus on pushing China to agree to Washington's trade terms as well as pressuring Europe and Japan to reach a trade deal before the 2020 election.

As the White House eased tensions with Canada and Mexico, it continued to pressure allies elsewhere, including Europe and Japan. Those governments are still not exempt from the steel and aluminium tariffs and they are likely to bear the brunt of auto tariffs that could reach 25 per cent, if Trump opts to impose them.

The White House's announcement of a delay in determining whether to impose levies on foreign automobiles gave a temporary reprieve to global automakers and auto suppliers, which had been bracing for punishing tariffs on millions of cars imported into the US each year.

But it also set up a tense six-month period for the White House to reach trade deals with Japan, Europe and other nations that have already been complicated by mistrust and disagreements.

The White House said that Trump "took historic action" in issuing a proclamation that directs US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to negotiate agreements to address a national security threat that is causing harm to the American automobile industry.

In a statement, Toyota called the White House's announcement "a major setback for American consumers, workers and the auto industry," saying that it "sends a message to Toyota that our investments are not welcomed and the contributions from each of our employees across America are not valued".
Vienna, May 18 : Austria's Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache resigned on Saturday after a video appeared to show him offering government contracts to a potential Russian investor in exchange for political support.

"Today I had a meeting with the Federal Chancellor (Sebastian Kurz) and I offered him my resignation, which he accepted," Strache told a news conference in Vienna.

He said he will also stand down as leader of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), Efe news reported.

Strache admitted to having made an "error" and said that he was retiring to avoid the fall of the government formed by his coalition and the Austrian People's Party (OVP).

He said that his successor will be Norbert Hofer, current Vice President of the FPO, Minister of Infrastructure and former candidate for the presidency.

In the video recorded in July 2017 and published on Friday by the German media, Strache is seen meeting a supposed Russian tycoon in a mansion in Ibiza.

He promises public contracts and to help the woman buy the Kronenzeitung, the most influential newspaper in the country, in exchange for millions of donations for his party.

A few months later, in October of the same year, the FPO won 26 per cent of the votes in the legislative elections and in December came to power in alliance with the popular Kurz.

Strache attributed the filming and dissemination of the images to "a dirty disinformation campaign", and said he fell into a trap set by "provocative agents" when he was invited to a dinner in a villa that had previously been bugged with wiretaps and cameras.

He admitted that he had behaved "like a teenager", with a "loose tongue" caused by alcohol and had committed an "error" and "idiocy".

He added that he has done nothing illegal, that "no donations flowed" and that he will take the necessary steps to bring to justice those who recorded their private meeting.

FPO politician Johann Gudenus, who appears in the video with Strache translating from Russian, announced that he will be retiring from all political positions.
Mumbai, May 18 : Opposition parties have been apprehensive about glitches in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), but a new spectre looms large ahead of May 23 when the counting of votes begins.

With the verdict of millions of voters in the 2019 elections sealed inside EVMs, there are fresh fears of foul play and potential manipulation that could result from alleged loopholes in the counting processes of the Election Commission of India (ECI), warns an expert on election laws.

In order to avoid this, there is a clamour that the ECI must provide a printout of the votes cast in each EVM to all candidates or their counting agents, which can be later tallied with the final vote-count.

In the EVM era, for reasons best known to it, the ECI continues the old and faulty "manual recording and tabulation" of votes, where there is scope for manoeouvring, said eminent Nagpur-based lawyer Vinod Tiwari, a BJP leader.

He has raised the issue with ECI since 2009 but said the election body was "reluctant to take any steps to improve the systems, which can benefit the entire electoral process".

"The old, pre-1990, ballot-paper era style of physical counting and tabulation of votes, is still in vogue. The counting supervisors on each counting table manually record, tabulate the votes displayed on the EVMs, then put them on excel sheets with further chances of manipulations, before they are fed in computers by government officials deployed for the purpose. There is a big possibility that the final results may be at variance with the actual votes cast," Tiwari said.

Worse is the reality of ignorant counting agents, appointed by various political parties, who remain blissfully unaware of such hoodwinking going on before their eyes, Tiwari said.

In the massive counting halls hired by the EC, for safety and security reasons, a strong wire mesh is erected around all the counting tables, the counting agents are kept at least 10-15 feet away, making it impossible to view properly what exactly is recorded on the sheets by the counting supervisors.

As per usual practice, from a tiny slot in the wire-mesh, the counting supervisors generally take the signatures of a few of the counting agents on the prescribed forms on the pretext of attendance before display/counting of the votes begins.

"Here, out of, say, 10 counting agents, the signatures of a few may be taken as a formality and the Counting Agents fail to guage the significance or the gravity of their action as the signatures are obtained very casually," said Tiwari, who has pointed this serious issue to the ECI.

The Counting Supervisors have no scope for changing the total number of votes (which is the vertical total), but they can surreptitiously "add" the votes polled by independent candidates or those standing third, fourth or fifth, in multiples of 50 or 100, to a particular candidate who has to be "favoured", without affecting the vertical total.

In a particular booth, if the total number of votes polled is, say, 586, then on display of counting of votes, all 586 are shown including NOTA, and the Counting agents dutifully record the numbers against their candidates, plus maybe their immediate rivals, but not all the candidates.

"As the counting table is not visible from the 10-15 feet distance and the wire-mesh barrier, some counting supervisors can simply add up the votes hijacked from independents or other non-serious, lower-ranking candidates to their particular 'favoured' candidate," explained Tiwari.

"When the victory margins are very thin - which is expected in the 2019 parliamentary elections - these additions of 50-100 votes to the 'favoured' candidates can make or mar elections, for candidates, political parties or alliances," he pointed out.

In order to avoid and end such intrigues permanently, Samajwadi Party Maharashtra Vice-President Afzal Farooque demanded the ECI must provide a printout of the votes polled on each EVM to all candidates or counting agents, at the counting table itself, before starting the vote count.

The counting agents can later tally the printout figures with the final vote-count to ascertain whether any major errors against their candidates vis-A -vis votes cast have taken place at the counting tables.

"The wire-mesh must be discontinued forthwith. All counting agents pass through at least two security-levels, plus carry valid identity cards provided by the EC. They should be made to sit right behind the counting officials to pre-empt any fraud. We have received many complaints on this aspect in the past," Farooque told IANS.

Trade Union Joint Action Committee Convenor Vishwas Utagi terms the matter as "portending grave implications for future of Indian democracy".

"All the political parties must immediately take up the matter with the ECI and, if necessary, move the Supreme Court, as a few officials cannot be allowed to play around with democracy," Utagi told IANS.

Maharshtra Congress general secretary and spokesperson Sachin Sawant said since votes are collected electronically, even vote-count must be done using modern technology and display on the screens.

"The ECI's impartiality and transparency must be absolute, rules must be strictly adhered to in order to prevent any disputes or discrepancies during counting of votes," Sawant told IANS.

In India, the counting of votes is governed by the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, though these have been amended for the EVMs era.

On March 24, 1992, the Rules (vide Notification No. S.O.230(E)) were amended to make them in tune with EVM era, informed Tiwari, who was the Bharatiya Janata Party's National Co-Convenor and Vice-President (Legal & Legislative Cell) from 2012-2017.

"I have taken this up with the ECI repeatedly in the past ten years, but they don't act. It's a sheer mystery," said Tiwari.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at qnajmi@ians.in)
New Delhi, May 18 : A section of grounded Jet Airways' employees comprising members of airline unions have written to SBI Caps seeking asset and other financial details of the crisis-hit company for raising $700 million (Rs 4,917 crore) from a mix of domestic and foreign investors.

SBI Caps is the transaction advisor for the lenders of Jet Airways and managing the stake sale process for the debt-laden carrier. The State Bank of India (SBI) is the lead lender and currently in management control of the airline.

"We would like to assure you that our resources are at your disposal if they can be of any help. Also, as understood by us during the meeting of 2nd May, we are actively working with potential Indian and foreign investors to secure equity based funding commitment of $700 million," Capt. P.P. Singh, Senior Vice President at Jet Airways, wrote to SBI Caps.

Sensing that the options to revive the grounded airline are fast running out, a group of employees had on April 29 proposed to bid for management control of the airline. They claimed to secure a funding of Rs 3,000 crore from outside investors.

The employee group comprises members of Society for Welfare of Indian Pilots (SWIP) and Jet Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Welfare Association (JAMEWA). It is being led by Singh.

The employee-investor consortium has asked SBI Caps to provide details about the level of debt post haircut by banks and restructuring. Among key financial details, Singh has asked as to how much stake investors will get after infusing $700 million and the fund requirements for running the airline for the next 24 months.

Facing a severe liquidity crisis, Jet Airways had suspended its operations on April 17 and remains grounded. The airline lenders are trying to rope in an investor to resuscitate the airline and recover their money.

While lenders are vetting various proposals, most of the top airline executives including its CEO, CFO and the Company Secretary have resigned from their respective positions citing personal reasons. Close on the heels of resignation by airline's whole-time director Gaurang Shetty, Etihad nominee on the board Robin Kamark resigned on May 16.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, which holds 24 per cent stake in crisis-hit Jet Airways, is currently the only solicited bidder for a stake in the airline. But experts have found its bid unattractive for the lenders, given multiple riders attached to it.

Besides offering to invest just Rs 1,700 crore against the requirement of Rs 15,000 crore to revive the crisis-hit airline, Etihad, has in its proposal, put the onus of finding a majority buyer on the lenders. The Gulf carrier also wants exemption from giving an open offer in case its stake goes beyond 26 per cent.

(Nirbhay Kumar can be contacted at nirbhay.k@ians.in)
New Delhi, May 18 : The Election Commission on Saturday issued notice to Congress candidate from Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa, which goes to polls on May 19, for allegedly violating the model code of conduct by distributing and filling-up enrolment forms of the party's proposed "Nyay" scheme.

Arun Subhashchandra Yadav has been asked to furnish an explanation within 24 hours.

An EC statement said: "Prima facie, it shows that the aforesaid act (distribution and filling up of Nyay enrolment forms) has been done by or on behalf of and within knowledge of the contesting candidate of the Congress, Arun Subhashchandra Yadav, from Khandwa."

A Bhartiya Janta Party member had lodged a complaint on May 3, alleging that the Congress is illegally distributing and filling up Nyay scheme enrolment forms, bearing Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Yadav's pictures along with party's symbol, in three districts in Madhya Pradesh.

The state's Chief Electoral Officer, after investigation, concluded that a case is made out against Yadav, as his associate Sudhansingh Thakur distributed the forms in Khandwa district. An FIR was filed against Thakur on May 5.

After examining the documentary evidence against Yadav, the poll panel told him to submit an explanation in the matter within a day, "failing, which the Election Commission shall take a decision without further reference to him".

Under the Nyay scheme, the Congress has promised Rs 72,000 will deposited yearly in the accounts of poor people, if the party is voted to power.
Jaipur, May 18 : Police in Rajasthan on Saturday filed an over 400-page chargesheet in the Alwar gangrape case in a Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) court with six people named as accused.

The case will be heard on May 30, said police sources.

Several cases have been registered under different sections against the accused which include kidnapping, manhandling, undressing, gangrape, and dacoity, among others.

A case has also been registered against the accused who filmed a video of the crime which went viral online.

The statements of a total of 35 eyewitnesses have been recorded in this case and voice samples of the accused have also been collected whose Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report will be out soon.

A case has also been registered against a Youtube user who uploaded the video. A letter has also been written to Facebook and Youtube to remove the video from the websites.

Police officials confirmed that action will also be taken against those who revealed the identity of the victim.

The incident occurred on April 26 when a Dalit couple was waylaid at a deserted place by the five accused who beat up the man, raped his wife and filmed the act. They also robbed money from the victims.
Kolkata, May 18 : The Trinamool Congress is making politics a "non-serious affair", said Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, the Left Front backed CPI-M candidate from the Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal, which goes to the poll on Sunday.

Kolkata, May 18 (IANS) The Trinamool Congress is making politics a "non-serious affair", said Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, the Left Front backed CPI-M candidate from the Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal, which goes to the poll on Sunday.

Bhattacharya (68), the former Mayor of Kolkata and one of the most high-profile candidates put up by the Left, also expressed his disgust with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for addressing only "petty personal issues during their campaigns" instead of raising basic fundamental issues such as unemployment and remunerative price for farmers' produce which are integral to the commoners' daily lives.

The ace lawyer also felt that Trinamool and the BJP wanted to "keep the fight between themselves" and "make a fool of people".

In Jadavpur, Bhattacharya is pitted against Trinamool nominee and Bengali actress Mimi Chakraborty (30) and the BJP's Anupam Hazra (37).

Bhattacharya regretted that the constituency's incumbent Trinamool MP Sugata Bose, a Harvard University professor, had opted out of the fray, and held the Trinamool Congress responsible for his decision.

"Sugata Bose was a very competent man. The presence of a person of his stature makes the Parliament colourful and more credible. I believe he has opted out gracefully because he did not really subscribe to the way the Trinamool functions. With Bose calling it quits, the party's present viewpoint is to make politics a non-serious affair," Bhattacharya said, adding that the Trinamool didn't want politics "to be the field for the highly-educated, cultured and serious people who are not criminals".

"Compare the candidates of the BJP and the Trinamool and you will find that their list is dominated by criminals, corrupt and non-serious people. Both these parties want these people to get elected so that nobody can raise their voice against their leaders," the CPI-M candidate said.

Bhattacharya, who is fighting inside and outside the court against the Saradha chit fund scam and the Narada sting case, also took on Trinamool leaders for "not being willing to face investigation".

Taking a jibe at the Mamata-Modi duo, Bhattacharya, who is fighting is maiden Lok Sabha battle, said: "Neither Mamata nor Modiji has addressed the basic issues. They are only addressing petty personal issues."

He also alleged that both the BJP and the Trinamool were "born in the womb of the RSS" whose philosophy of anti-communism and religion-based politics were "seriously pursued by the Trinamool".

"The RSS described Banerjee as its Durga. This is not just casual saying. She is following the dictation of the RSS. She has introduced religion in Bengal politics for the first time, which has created a lot of space for the BJP in the state," he said.

When asked why should people vote for the Left parties, Bhattacharya said, "This is a question manufactured by the media. I would like to pose a counter question. Let people say which of the welfare benefits they have been enjoying could have been possible without the Left parties' intervention.

"Setting aside all the religious issues, the Left parties are fighting for the farmers, industrial workers, poor and under privileged people demanding minimum wages, employment and remunerative prices for the peasants. The Left is the conscience of the country and its victory will keep the conscience of the Constitution alive."

Refuting that Bengal is witnessing religious polarisation, he said: "I don't think of voters in terms of their religion. For a kisan (peasant), whether he is a Muslim or a Hindu, the problem is remunerative price. Sections of people who always want to keep others away from basic issues affecting daily lives harp on issues like religion".

Interestingly, a section of intellectuals in the state has appealed to the people to vote for Bhattacharya. "I can feel positive indication from cross sections of people. I think they should also reflect their opinions in the ballot box," Bhattacharya said.
Chandigarh, May 18 : The guilty of both the Gujarat riots in 2002 and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 should be punished, Akali Dal patron and five-time Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said on Saturday.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by touching his feet, has sought blessings not only from him but from the Punjabis and Sikhs all over the world.

In a conversation a day ahead of the polls for 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, the senior Badal, country's oldest politician -- next only to BJP veteran L.K. Advani -- told IANS it made him feel very humble when Modi touched his feet ahead of filing his nomination papers in Varanasi.

"Modi sahib took me by surprise. But as I see it he sought blessings not from me personally but from Punjabis and Sikhs all over the world."

And did he give his blessings to Modi, he replied: "Yes."

"He has my best wishes and blessings of all Punjabis for what he did for opening the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, punishment to Sajjan Kumar and other guilty of the 1984 massacre, abolishing the blacklists of Sikhs abroad and release of liberal funds in hundreds of crores for Guru Sahib's 'shatabadi' (550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev."

Badal, 91, said he wants the guilty of both the Gujarat riots and the anti-Sikh riots should be punished.

"No one has ever justified the Gujarat riots. No one said after the Gujarat riots that it was like shaking of the earth after the fall of a big tree. But from Rajiv Gandhi to Congress leaders, they have always justified the anti-Sikh riots."

When asked that for the Akali Dal, a BJP alliance partner, the sacrilege cases in Punjab are no more an issue in the state elections but Balakot air strikes are, he replied: "Sacrilege hurts every devout Sikh. But equally hurtful and sacrilegious is the Congress using money power to buy some stooges in the so-called 'Bargari morcha'. Sikhs will reject this misuse of their religion."

Two people were killed and many others injured in Behbal Kalan village on October 15, 2015, when police resorted to unprovoked firing on hundreds of people protesting the alleged desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib in Bargari village in Faridkot days ago.

The incident came a day after police used force to disperse agitators in Kotkapura village. At that time the Akali Dal-BJP combine government was in power in the state.

When asked that in October 2015, Modi had called him India's Nelson Mandela and that now he compared Modi with former US President Abraham Lincoln, he said: "Lots of people have referred to me as Nelson Mandela even before because of the years I spent in jail fighting for democracy, civil liberties and peace and reconciliation in Punjab."

"I don't believe I can be compared with a great man like Mandela. As for Modi sahib, I compared him with Abraham Lincoln and I spoke from the core of my heart. Nothing political about it."

In this electoral battleground, Badal's daughter-in-law who is also Union Minister, Harsimrat Kaur, is locked in a multi-cornered contest from the Akali Dal's pocket borough Bathinda from where she has won twice. So is his former Deputy Chief Minister son, Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is in the fray from Ferozepur.

Believing that both Sukhbir and Harsimrat will win handsomely, he said: "No doubt about that. The results will stun the Congress. It can be a sweep 13-0 for the SAD-BJP," Badal senior added.

For the rout of the Congress, he blamed the total neglect of governance, stoppage of all welfare and development initiatives by the Captain Amarinder Singh government.

The other issue is that the country needs a strong Prime Minister to ensure peace with neighbours, a confident Badal, who has never said he will not contest the next election, said.

The Congress, which was out of power in Punjab for a decade (2007-17), got 77 seats in the February 2017 Assembly elections after drubbing the Akali Dal-BJP combine.

The Congress tally increased to 78 after win in Shahkot by-election in May 2018, giving the party a two-third majority in the House.

Out of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, the Akali Dal-BJP combine currently holds five (four Akali Dal; one of BJP), while the Congress has four seats and AAP another four.

(Vishal Gulati can be reached at vishal.g@ians.in)
Agartala, May 18 : The erstwhile Left Front government's "terrible 25-year legacy" in Tripura is hindering the BJP-IPFT alliance government's attempts to push development projects and welfare schemes, according to Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma.

"The BJP-IPFT government in Tripura since assuming office 14 months ago has tried to undertake ambitious projects, welfare and development schemes, but the previous Left Front government's terrible 25-year legacy has become a major hurdle," Dev Varma told IANS in an interview.

"The Rs 12,900 crore loan burden, incomplete projects, wrong and improper decisions on several issues, including appointment of 10,323 teachers, are among the major stumbling blocks for the new government," he said.

On March 29, 2017, the Supreme Court upheld a Tripura High Court verdict to terminate services of 10,323 secondary and higher secondary school teachers on grounds of "indiscretion" in their selection process during the Left Front rule.

After the appeal of the previous Left Front government and the current BJP-IPFT government, the apex court extended their services till March 2020.

The Deputy Chief Minister said the Left had termed their rule "Swarna Jug" (golden era), but after the BJP-IPFT government took over on March 9, 2018, their bad governance between 1993 and 2018 became apparent.

Dev Varma, a scion of Tripura's erstwhile royal family, said if the Left's governance had not been this bad, the present government could have done much better for the welfare of the people of Tripura even in 14 months.

"Apart from implementing the seventh central pay commission recommendations, hiking salaries and pensions of the 214,661 government employees and pensioners, we are continuing 30 social pensions, benefiting 4,05,175 poor people, despite our financial crisis," he said.

The previous government had introduced 30 pension schemes, ranging from Rs 600 to Rs 2,500 per month, for people belonging to economically weaker sections, destitute, unmarried and unemployed women.

To end farm distress, at the state government's persuasion the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for the first time had started purchasing rice directly from cultivators in in Tripura. The FCI had procured 9,600 tonnes rice between December 2018 and March 2019 at the minimum support price and over Rs 12 crore was directly credited to the farmers' accounts, he added.

"We have introduced transparent employment policy and e-governance services in many sectors," the Deputy Chief Minister said.

The Left Front ruled the state for almost 35 years since 1978, except for a five-year (1988-1993) break when the Congress-Tripura Upajati Juba Samity coalition government was in power.

Ending the Left Front's 25-year uninterrupted rule, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the last year's Assembly elections secured 36 seats in the 60-member House, securing 43.59 per cent votes. It's junior partner IPFT (Indigenous People's Front of Tripura) bagged eight seats with 7.38 per cent vote share.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Front could win only 16 seats despite receiving 44.35 per cent votes. The Congress secured less than two per cent votes.

Accusing the earlier government for not implementing properly the central schemes, the BJP's tribal wing observer, Dev Varma, 62, said for the benefit of thousands of Tripura people, especially the economically backward, the BJP-led government had been executing the central flagship schemes and programmes.

"The CPI-M and the Congress have undertaken a slanderous campaign against the BJP-IPFT government and are creating obstacles in programmes to eliminate poverty," the Deputy Chief Minister said.
Colombo, May 18 : Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday granted amnesty to 762 prisoners to mark Buddha Purnima, also known as Vesak festival.

An event was held at the Welikada prison to free the inmates -- 736 males and 26 females -- in the presence of the President, the Justice Ministry was cited as saying by the Colombo Gazette.

All those freed were in jail for minor offences and did not include convicts jailed for rape, child abuse, heroin use and drug trafficking.

Sri Lanka has declared a two-day holiday to mark Vesak, or the commemoration of the birth, enlightenment and passing away of Gautam Buddha. The celebrations, however, have been minimized following the Easter terror attacks which killed over 250 people and injured hundreds.

In a statement, Sirisena called on all the citizens to remain united and work towards a society that is safe and secure.

He said all citizens must recollect the teachings of Lord Buddha to build a society with boundless peace by avoiding all attempts to destroy each other for the greed for power.

"For a society to blossom without fear, danger and mistrust, the Buddha has preached. Hatred will not heal hatred but kindness will heal hatred. It is time we became strong enough to truly, meaningfully and honestly relate this eternal truth," Sirisena said.

Sri Lanka has witnessed a spate of attacks on Muslim-owned homes and shops as well as mosques following the April 21 attacks by Islamist militants on three churches, three luxury hotels and two other locations. The carnage was claimed by the Islamic State terror group.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the Vesak full moon appeared in the skies as the dark clouds of terror cast a shadow over the nation.

"There is a sense of anxiety and grief throughout society. In such troubling times, the sublime teachings of the Buddha show us the way to unite spiritually and find common purpose in our humanity," he said.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said: "May all forces of darkness, ignorance, bigotry and hatred towards others be defeated in this Vesak.

"This Vesak may herald an era of contentment, peace and evocation. Not just a negative notion of peace defined by the absence of conflict. But a positive peace where we all work to promote dialogue, harmony and justice," he added.
Hoshiarpur: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Parkash Singh Badal and Punjab BJP chief Shwet Malik during a public rally ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in Punjab's Hoshiarpur on May 10, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Pathankot: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh during a roadshow ahead of the final phase of 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in Punjab's Pathankot, on May 14, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Chandigarh, May 18 : In agrarian Punjab, where Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes make 55 per cent of the population, religion and riots more than concerns of farmers and poor are likely to play a decisive role in the Lok Sabha elections going to the polls on Sunday.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday promised a memorial in the Bargari area of Faridkot for victims of the 2015 Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura firings. The announcement was aimed at raking up the incidents, following alleged desecration of holy scriptures during the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP government in 2015.

Parkash Singh Badal, 91-year-old SAD chief and former Chief Minister, tried to appease voters by asking them to "pardon family members".

His son, Sukhbir Singh Badal, in fray from Ferozepur, lost no opportunity to remind people of Congress leader Sam Pitroda's remark on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots "to let bygones be bygones" and accused the Congress of "sprinkling salt on the simmering wounds" of its victims.

Congress star campaigner and Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said the riots were a national tragedy and Pitroda's comment were shameful and unpardonable. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi also condemned the remark.

After thwarting intra-party feuding, Captain Singh is fighting to retain four of the 13 parliamentary seats in Punjab.

While the Congress is banking on having fulfilled its 2017 Assembly poll promise of making easy availability of farm loans, the SAD-BJP combine is attacking the state government for betraying farmers, who contribute over 50 per cent of grain to the national kitty from just 1.54 per cent of the country's land.

"Farmers are reeling under debts and are not getting due remuneration for crops, youth have no jobs, people lost their hard-earned money due to demonetisation, GST (goods and services tax) has forced many traders and small businesses to shut shop. These are issues that matter on the ground," Captain Singh told IANS.

The straight contest between the Congress and the Akali Dal-BJP has become three-cornered with the Punjab Democratic Alliance (PDA) fielding candidates in seven seats.

The PDA comprises Sukhpal Singh Khaira-led Punjab Ekta Party (PEP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Lok Insaaf Party (LIP), the Punjab Manch led by suspended AAP MP Dharamvira Gandhi, the CPI and the Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMPI).

However, all eye are on two seats -- Amritsar and Gurdaspur -- witnessing a clash of personalities. In Amritsar, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, 69, is making his electoral debut against sitting Congress MP Gurjit Aujla. In Gurdaspur, actor Sunny Deol, 62, is the BJP candidate against Congress state President Sunil Jakhar, who won the October 2017 by-election by 1.92 lakh votes.

But political dynasties continue to dominate the state politics. As many as four Congress and three SAD candidates belong to political families.

Parkash Singh Badal's daughter-in-law and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur is locked in a multi-cornered contest in the SAD stronghold of Bathinda. Two-term MP from the seat she is taking on PDA's Khaira, AAP's Baljinder Kaur and Congress MLA Amrinder Singh Warring.

Interestingly in 2014, Harsimrat Kaur scraped through by 19,500 votes against her estranged cousin Manpreet Badal.

In Patiala, the Congress has retained three-time MP and former Union Minister Preneet Kaur, 75, for the fifth consecutive time. Preneet Kaur, wife of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, was defeated by AAP's Dharamvira Gandhi, 69, by over 20,000 votes in 2014. This time Gandhi is in the fray as nominee of the Nawan Punjab Party, a new outfit.

In Ludhiana, Ravneet Singh Bittu, 43, grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated in 1995, is seeking re-election.

Former Union Minister Manish Tewari (Congress) is in the fray from Anandpur Sahib, one of the holiest places of the Sikhs. Tewari is pitted against sitting Akali Dal MP Prem Singh Chandumajra.

The Fatehgarh Sahib (reserved) seat is seeing a battle of former bureaucrats Amar Singh (Congress) and Darbara Singh (Akali Dal).

The shadow of terrorism also hangs over electoral battle in one constituency, Khadoor Sahib. PDA candidate Paramjit Kaur Khalra's husband, Jaswant Singh Khalra, was allegedly abducted and killed by the police for exposing fake encounters in 1995, while Congress candidate Jasbir Singh Dimpa's father, Sant Singh Lidher, was gunned down by terrorists in 1986.

They are pitted against former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief and Akali Dal candidate Bibi Jagir Kaur.

Unlike 2014, the infighting-ridden AAP is now struggling to save its sinking ship, with several leaders either having defected or facing suspension. Most Punjabi NRIs, who backed the AAP even with cash, have given it a noticeable miss this time.

Countering defection within the party, actor-comedian Bhagwant Mann, AAP's only hope to retain his Sangrur seat, accused party rebel leader Khaira of being an agent of both the Congress and the Akali Dal and for engineering defections of AAP legislators to the Congress.

The Congress, out of power in Punjab for a decade (2007-17), won 77 seats in the February 2017 Assembly elections. Its tally increased to 78 with the Shahkot poll victory in May 2018, giving the party two-third majority in the 117-member House.

The AAP finished second with 20 legislators. However, of the 20, eight have defected to opther parties.

(Vishal Gulati can be reached at vishal.g@ians.in)
Guwahati: Suspected United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULFA-I) leader Amit Ballav Goswami being taken to be produced before a Guwahati court, on May 18, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Guwahati: Suspected United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULFA-I) leader Amit Ballav Goswami being taken to be produced before a Guwahati court, on May 18, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Guwahati: Suspected United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULFA-I) linkman Chinmoy Lahkar being taken to be produced before a Guwahati court, on May 18, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Guwahati, May 18 : The Assam police have arrested five persons for their involvement in the grenade blast on Thursday that left six people injured in state capital Guwahati.

Guwahati Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar said on Saturday that while one Pranamoy Rajguru and Jahnabi Saikia were arrested on Friday, three more have arrested in the last 24 hours from different areas of the state for their involvement in the blast.

"We have arrested Amit Ballav Goswami from Golaghat, Indra Mohan Bora from Nagaon and Chinmoy Laskar from Guwahati. Goswami is a bomb expert of the outfit," said Deepak Kumar while adding that police are now on the lookout for senior Ulfa cadre Bijoy Asom, the main accused behind the incident.

The police commissioner further said that Ulfa is no longer an outfit based out of jungles. "They are trying to float an overground outfit which will carry out subversive activities while living among common people," he said.

"The organization has become weak due to lack of support and finance. So they are now using the former cadres, who had not been very active in the past, to carryout recruitment drives, spread their ideology and provide logistics support," he added.

He also hinted that some of the intellectuals of Assam were working as think tanks of the outfit.

Kumar, however, did not reveal anything about the how the arrested planned and executed the grenade blast in Guwahati on Thursday.
Canberra, May 18 : Australia's opposition Labour Party leader Bill Shorten on Saturday conceded defeat to Prime Minister Scott Morrison in country's general election.

"It is obvious that Labour will not be able to form the next government," Shorten told his party members in Melbourne.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation called 74 seats in the 151-seat lower parliamentary house as wins for Morrison's Liberal-National party coalition, with 65 seats to Labour and 12 undecided.

Seventy-six seats are needed to form a majority government.

Shorten said he called Morrison to congratulate him and announced he would not stand for re-election as Labour leader.
New Delhi, May 18 : With just one round of polling remaining, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) on Saturday expressed confidence that the regional political parties would garner a major chunk of Lok Sabha seats and would bind in the form of a 'Federal Front' for governance at the Centre.

TRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao has been making efforts for months to form a Federal Front and has personally met Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and CPI-M leader and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

He is also in touch with YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) chief Jaganmohan Reddy and leaders of some other political parties for this purpose.

Rao, who is popularly known as KCR, also met DMK chief M.K. Stalin recently besides holding talks with Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy. Significantly, both the DMK and the JD(S) are allies of the Congress, unlike the SP, TMC, BJD, CPI-M and YSRCP, which have so far displayed equidistance from both the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led coalitions.

Rao's close associate and TRS MP B. Vinod Kumar told IANS over phone that although the party chief was in touch with leaders like Naveen Patnaik, Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav, the discussions were not about who will go where.

He said KCR was in touch with the leaders of various political parties with regard to the formation of a Federal Front.

"When we met Kerala Chief Minister (Vijayan), he also agreed. KCR also spoke to the Karanataka Chief Minister," Kumar said, adding, "All of us will sit together and put forward the decisions before the new government."

However, the "political strategy" will be finalised after the election results are declared, Kumar said.

When pointed out that DMK and JD-S, whose leaders KCR had met, were already part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and whether there was any scope of them leaving the Congress-led alliance, the TRS leader reminded how the UPA was formed after the 2004 Lok Sabha elections and how the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was formed after the 1998 polls.

"KCR's concern is that whatever formulation emerges after the elections, we should put forward our issues by supporting that formulation," the TRS leader said.

Asked about a possibility of TRS, BJD and YSRCP jointly deciding on a common strategy after the elections, Kumar said, "It will depend on the outcome of the polls and whether there will be a necessity of these parties."

Accordingly, a call will also be taken as to which parties to go with, he said.

Kumar, who accompanied his party chief for the meeting with Stalin in Chennai earlier this week, said the discussions focused on how regional parties should have a say in the policy decisions of the government of India.

He said despite the country having a federal structure, the regional parties don't have a say in the governance at the Centre.

This is the idea behind the 'Federal Front', which aims to ensure that the interests of states are taken care of, he said.

"We want that regional parties should have a say in policy decisions of the government of India," the TRS leader said, adding that the main issues were devolution of funds to the states and other matters related to the Concurrent List of the Constitution.

To ensure that, regional parties have to be together and bargain, Kumar said.

"Our idea is that we want to push forward our Federal Front agenda, i.e., the states should be given more power, they should be considered while taking major decisions. We want to discuss all these points. We don't know who will agree to this or what will be the outcome. All these things will happen only after May 23," Kumar said.

"We are together (the Federal Front parties). The NDA had surfaced only after the results of 1998 elections. Likewise, the UPA only surfaced after the elections (of 2004). Some new formulation will come out after the results," the TRS leader said.

"We have issues concerning states which are ruled by the regional political parties. There are many subjects under the Concurrent List which we think should be deleted. Education, health all these issues. There are also other issues regarding devolution of funds," he said.

On the prospective outcome of the Lok Sabha polls, he said, "TRS believes that regional parties will get a major share of seats".

When asked about the contentious issue of who would be the Prime Ministerial candidate of a regional front, if it is in a position to form the government, the TRS leader merely said, "We will discuss, debate and finalise after the results are out."
Mumbai, May 18 : Actress Tara Sutaria, who has wooed the audience with her stylish and glamorous looks in her debut film "Student of the Year 2", says she loves to do makeup.

"I am completely obsessed with makeup. I love to experiment different cosmetic products. I even check social media to have a look at trending makeup and fashion styles...So that I don't miss out anything," Tara told IANS.

She has also shared her own makeup style.

"During day time, I prefer to have a natural look...So I opt for minimal makeup. At night, I like to go a little bold," added Tara, who has been appointed brand ambassador for the global brand, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, in India.

Ater putting on makeup, the 23-year-old makes sure to keep herself hydrated as much as possible.

"The most important thing to do is to keep youself hydrated. So when I apply makeup, I make sure to drink ample amount of water. And it is very much important to take off your makeup from your skin completely before heading to sleep. Cleansing, toning and moisturising is my skin care ritual."

On the work front, Tara will next be seen in "Marjaavaan".
New Delhi: DMK President M.K. Stalin along with MP Kanimozhi and other party leaders call on UPA chief Sonia Gandhi to greet her on her birthday in New Delhi on Dec 9, 2018. Also seen Congress President Rahul Gandhi. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Chennai: Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekar Rao meets DMK President M.K. Stalin at his residence in an attempt to form a non-Congress, non-BJP grouping of political parties, in Chennai on May 13, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Hyderabad, May 18 : UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is said to be in close touch with DMK leader M.K. Stalin on building the numbers for the UPA, if push comes to shove following the counting of votes on May 23.

Stalin, whose party is an ally of Congress, is reportedly working the channels to get the support of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), who are likely to be crucial for government formation in the event the Lok Sabha elections throw up a fractured verdict.

This assumes significance in the backdrop of TRS chief's May 13 meeting with Stalin in Chennai. Though KCR reportedly discussed his idea of a Federal Front and urged Stalin to support the proposed alliance of regional parties, the DMK leader requested him to back the Congress for formation of a non-BJP government.

Since Stalin has taken an initiative, the Congress leadership is believed to have felt it appropriate to entrust him with the task of holding further talks with both KCR and Jagan.

Telangana has 17 Lok Sabha seats and TRS is confident of making a clean sweep with its ally All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) expected to retain Hyderabad.

Banking on her experience of the 2004 and 2009 elections when she successfully cobbled together Congress-led alliance, Sonia Gandhi has stepped up her efforts to once again prepare the ground for the coalition.

As part of this, she has invited political heavyweights for a meeting on May 23.

Andhra Pradesh has 25 Lok Sabha seats. KCR is counting on the support of YSRCP to have joint bargaining power for the Telugu states.

Since KCR considers Telugu Desam Party (TDP) as anti-Telangana, he has thrown his weight behind YSRCP and invited it to join hte federal front.

The TDP, which pulled out of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) last year, is working for a non-BJP alliance led by the Congress.

TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu is already believed to have communicated to Congress leadership that he will have no problem to TRS being part of UPA. However, he may have reservations about Congress efforts to seek support of YSRCP.

One of the reasons cited by Naidu for his decision to pull out of NDA was BJP warming up to Jagan.

Since UPA may need the support of both, the Congress party is understood to have already initiated efforts to persuade Naidu to take a soft stand in the matter.

It is in this context that DMK leader Durai Murugan's meeting with Chandrababu Naidu in Amaravati on May 14 is seen as important.

TRS, which won five Lok Sabha seats in 2004, had joined Congress-led UPA after the polls. KCR served as minister in Manmohan Singh cabinet for couple of years before resigning over the demand for statehood to Telangana.

Though he hailed Congress for agreeing to carve out Telangana state and enjoyed good rapport with Sonia Gandhi, KCR was accused of betrayal by Congress after he refused to merge TRS with the party.

"Jagan has already made it clear that whichever party gives special category status to Andhra Pradesh will get YSRCP's support for government formation at the Centre. He has not ruled out support to Congress," a YSRCP leader, who did not want to be identified, told IANS.
New Delhi, May 18 : Even as UPA's special envoy N. Chandrababu Naidu met Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav to cement an anti-BJP front, the CBI is zeroing in on the role of top BSP politicians involved in the multi-crore sugar mill scam. Just a fortnight ago, CBI's Lucknow branch of Anti-Corruption Unit launched a probe into the controversial sale of state-owned sugar mills which were sold to private entrepreneurs for peanuts during Mayawati's tenure as UP Chief Minister.

Sources revealed to IANS that the Central investigative agency has gathered sufficient documentary evidence to question the key functionaries of the Mayawati government (2007-2012) for selling operational sugar mill plants at the cost of scrap. In its preliminary report, CBI says top officials connived with private parties in committing "cheating and forgery."

In a swift move which surprised many political pundits in Lucknow, Secretary, Uttar Pradesh government, Bhagwan Swarup wrote a letter on April 4 asking CBI to immediately take over the investigation as the state government had sanctioned clearance for a probe into the fraudulent sale of 21 state sugar mills. The CBI examined the documents on April 9 and after a quick inquiry registered a case on April 25.

In the poll season, the CBI probe now seems to be a sword hanging over the heads of several BSP leaders including party president Mayawati, who is tipped to be one of the kingmakers in case the results of the Lok Sabha elections show a fractured mandate.

Sources said the CBI investigation into the scam is divided into two parts. The first one deals with the private entrepreneurs who forged documents to purchase the sugar mills at a very low price while the second part focused on "irregularities committed with a criminal intent in the entire sale proceedings of 21 sugar mills by the UP State Sugar Corporation Ltd". The second part could be crucial for Mayawati and her close aide Satish Chandra Mishra, who was a key decision-maker in the BSP government.

However, BSP had earlier blamed its former minister, Nasimuddin Siddiqui, for taking a decision on selling sugar mills. Nasimuddin, once a very powerful functionary in the BSP regime, was sacked by Mayawati in 2017 for anti-party activities.
Melbourne, May 18 : Senior Australia batsman Shaun Marsh believes that his Test career might be over with the new crop of players cementing their places.

Marsh, 35, was axed from Australia's Test team last summer after a barren series with the bat against world No.1 side India.

He was subsequently not picked against Sri Lanka in the following series.

"It is highly unlikely now with the guys coming in and performing how they did against Sri Lanka," Marsh told The Courier Mail when asked if he feels he will play another Test.

"I had a crack at it. They gave me every opportunity to get it right over the last 12 months after the Ashes when I played really well.

"Unfortunately, it did not work out for me but the guys who came in did well and probably deserved a crack at the (2019) Ashes," he said.

Marsh has featured in just 37 Tests since 2011 due to poor form and injury.

"I just did not manage to find the consistency that good players have," said Marsh, who has scored six Test centuries and 10 ducks.

"I just did not have that throughout my career. Look, I am still really proud of what I achieved. I played Tests for my country and played in some wonderful series wins. There were some lows, but also some great highs which I will cherish forever," he added.
Hyderabad, May 18 : A three-year-old girl died and her parents were seriously injured when a Telangana legislator's car rammed their motorcycle on Saturday, police said.

The accident took place in Jeedivagu area in Mulugu district.

The car in which MLA Danasari Anasuya alias Seethakka was travelling rammed the two-wheeler coming from opposite direction.

While K. Arun was driving the bike, his wife Vijaya and daughter Sravanthi were riding pillion. Sravanthi died of head injuries while her parents were shifted to a government-run hospital at Eturanagaram.

The couple was taking the baby to drop her at anganwadi centre in a nearby village.
Kolkata : , May 18 (IANS) The talk of the town is whether the Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal -- which had earlier sent stalwarts like Somnath Chatterjee and a greenhorn Mamata Banerjee to the Lower House -- would choose a political novice and film-star as its parliamentary representative, or will go with a seasoned lawyer with years of administrative experience.

Many in the constituency were taken by surprise when Trinamool Congress supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee fielded actress Mimi Chakraborty from Jadavpur after sitting MP and Harvard University professor Sugata Bose opted out citing lack of permission from the US university where he teaches history.

Chakraborty (30) is pitted against Left Front backed CPI-M candidate and former Kolkata Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya (68) and the BJP's Anupam Hazra (37).

While only time would tell whether Banerjee's gamble will pay off, there is no doubt that she has taken a risk in the backdrop of the jitters faced by the Trinamool in some of the Assembly segments, including Bhangar, under this prestigious Lok Sabha seat.

Following the unrest over the 'forced' acquisition of 16 acres of farmland -- spread over Khamarait, Machhi Bhanga, Tona and Padmapukur villages -- by the state government for the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), questions are being raised whether the party still retain its sway over its erstwhile stronghold Bhangar amid bickering within the party between MLA Abdur Razzak Molla and local leader Arabul Islam.

The activists of 'Jami, Jibika, Paribesh O Bastutantra Raksha Committee' (a committee to protect land, livelihood, environment and ecosystem), which had spearheaded the land agitation in Bhangar, have openly extended their support to CPI-M candidate Bhattacharya.

Bhattachrya, an ace lawyer and a prominent face of the party, is known for his fight against graft cases such as the Saradha chit fund scam and the Narada sting case, in which Trinamool leaders were purportedly involved. The Marxists expect his nomination to arrest erosion of its vote bank and turn the tide in their favour in the constituency.

The Congress has not put up a candidate from Jadavpur with its state chief Somen Mitra announcing the party's support for Bhattacharya "for the benefit of the constituency and the state".

Bhattacharya, who has been campaigning extensively, taunted the Trinamool, saying that Bose withdrew as he did not "subscribe to the way the Trinamool functions or the attitude it displays".

"If the voters are allowed to exercise their franchise independently, I am confident of winning by a handsome margin. The challenge is to fight against Trinamool's threats and intimidation to the voters," he said.

Jadavpur, adjacent to the eastern metropolis, is a mix of urban, semi-urban and rural areas comprising seven Assembly segments -- Baruipur East and West, Sonarpur North and South, Bhangar, Jadavpur and Tollygunj -- and has over 18.16 lakh voters.

A look at the 2014 Lok Sabha verdict shows the keen contest the Trinamool is likely to face in retaining the seat -- if Bhangar switches allegiance -- which its outgoing MP had won by a margin of over 1.25 lakh votes, securing 46 per cent vote share.

The CPI-M gave a good fight to the Trinamool in most of the Assembly segments in 2014, except Bhangar which had given Bose a lead of over 60,000 votes. And the Left Front's votes in the Jadavpur Assembly segment had exceeded that of the Trinamool.

In 2016, Trinamool had won six Assembly seats, though the CPI-M had won the Jadavpur seat from where then state Minister Manish Gupta was humbled by Sujon Chakraborty.

According to the political analysts, Jadavpur is among the few seats where Muslim votes, consisting about 31.7 per cent of the electorate here, are not expected to be consolidated in favour of Trinamool because a substantial share of it is likely to go to Bhattacharya.

However, Trinamool is banking on its nominee Chakraborty, a popular face in the Bengali film industry.

"I gained confidence while moving around the different areas and have learnt a lot from the seniors. When no one supported me, lakhs of people saw my cinema and blessed me. I am sure that I would not be deprived of their blessings in Jadavpur," she said.

In the 2018 rural body polls, Trinamool had captured the Zilla Parishad seats (top tier of the three-rung panchayat system), although the saffron party made gains in the gram panchayats (the lowest rung) in some pockets.

Despite the rising popularity of the saffron party in the state, the BJP seems to be running much behind its two rivals.

Moreover, its candidate Anupam Hazra, who had won the Bolpur Lok Sabha seat in 2014 on a Trinamool ticket but was expelled by the party for anti-party activities, has courted controversy by meeting and taking the blessings of Trinammol strongman Anubrata Mondal in Birbhum district during campaigning.

He accused the Trinamool of hatching a conspiracy against him, but said that he was "confident of pulling off a victory".

"Trinamool fielded a celebrity candidate in Jadavpur as it is their strategy to resort to gimmick when the party is not confident of winning the seat," he said.

However, Hazra too made his campaign colourful to gain confidence of the voters.

Amid the recent controversy over the smashing of a bust of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar during BJP President Amit Shah's rally in Kolkata on Tuesday, Hazra introduced a person dressed like Vidyasagar on the final day of campaigning.

Earlier, he had roped in wrestler Dalip Singh Rana, better known by his ring name The Great Khali, in his campaign.

The nine remaining Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, including Jadavpur, will vote in the final phase of polling on Sunday.
New Delhi, May 18 : Days after reports of a rift between IndiGo promoters surfaced, the airline's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rono Dutta on Saturday termed the reports as "baseless speculations".

Recently, reports highlighted differences between IndiGo's co-founders Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal over managerial control of the firm.

On Saturday, Dutta in a statement said: "I would like to forcefully address these baseless speculation as they are not in the best interests of our shareholders, our employees and the travelling public."

Further, in the same statement Dutta said on behalf of Gangwal: "I (Gangwal) am categorically and clearly stating that there is no interest or desire whatsoever on the part of the RG Group to take control of the company.

"... I (Gangwal) am placing on record that the RG Group stands by the current SHA which, in any case, expires this October."

According to Dutta, the IGE (InterGlobe Enterprises) group is represented by the law firm of JSA and the RG Group is represented by the law firm of Khaitan & Company which have been on retainer by the founders since 2015.

"...They continue to represent the promoters on various ongoing matters as it relates to their shareholding in IndiGo. Thus, the 4-year-old ongoing retainer history of the law firms should not be presented or seen as a new revelation," he said.

Addressing the employees, Dutta said: "...Please do not believe these baseless speculation, we remain committed to our path of a rapid build-up of airline connectivity within India and to international destinations.

"Reiterating this, the full Board wants to clearly state that IndiGo's strategy in terms of growth and cost leadership remain unchanged, we remain committed to being an institution which benchmarks itself against the best-in-class organisations across the world."

However, Dutta added: "We all know, that in any strong and well-managed company there will always be differences. And, yes, there may be differences currently on certain matters but the Company has a great track record of resolving issues and coming out ahead.

"If the current differences were to not get resolved, you shall certainly hear about it; however, it serves no purpose speculating about it."
Ghaziabad, May 18 : Armed robbers looted cash and jewellery worth over Rs 16 lakh from a goldsmith in Ghaziabad on Saturday, police said.

The incident occurred on National Highway 58 near Modi Nagar under Niwari police station in Ghaziabad.

The police said Deepak Sharma, a resident of Chandra Nagar on Delhi border, manufactures gold ornaments at his residence. He used to collect orders from Noida and Meerut-based traders and used to deliver the finished goods at their showrooms.

On Saturday, Sharma had delivered his products at Noida and received payment and was proceeding to Meerut on a scooter.

As he reached near a Reliance petrol pump, four robbers on two bikes overtook his scooter and forced him to stop his vehicle.

One of the robbers put a pistol to his head while another took out cash worth Rs two lakh and gold ornaments weighing 400 grams worth Rs 14 lakh from inside the victim's shirt.

"We have found some clues from the CCTV footage. We will solve the case very soon," said K.P. Mishra, Circle Officer, Modi Nagar.
Vienna, May 19 : Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has asked for a snap election after his Vice-Chancellor, Heinz-Christian Strache, resigned over a corruption scandal.

Kurz's centre-right People's Party is in government with Strache's far-right Freedom Party. The Freedom Party leader stepped down after secret video footage emerged, the BBC reported on Saturday.

The video appears to show him discussing government contracts with an alleged Russian investor.

Strache blamed his actions on alcohol and acting like a "teenager", saying his behaviour had been "stupid" and "irresponsible", and that he was leaving to avoid further damage to the government.

"I have suggested to the president of the republic that new elections be carried out, at the earliest possible date," Kurz said.

"After yesterday's video, I must say quite honestly: Enough is enough," he said.

"The serious part of this (video) was the attitude towards abuse of power, towards dealing with taxpayers' money, towards the media in this country," Kurz said, adding that he had been personally insulted in the footage.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said a snap election was necessary after Strache stepped down.

He said he had talked about this with Kurz and that they would discuss next steps on Sunday.

A crowd of thousands with placards and banners have been rallying on the square outside Kurz's office, chanting "Snap elections now!"

Kurz has attempted to distance himself from past scandals surrounding the Freedom Party, mostly ones involving party officials and anti-Semitism or racism, but political opponents called for him to respond to the latest revelations.

"This is the tip of the iceberg," Thomas Drozda, from the opposition Social Democrats, told national broadcaster ORF.

"I expect the chancellor, who evidently has known about this video for 48 hours, and that his coalition partner is drowning in a swamp of corruption, to speak and explain his position."

Kurz said that this was not the first time he had had difficulties with the party.

"Even if I didn't express myself publicly at the time, there were many situations that I found difficult to swallow," he said.

The secretly-filmed video shows Strache and Johann Gudenus - also a Freedom Party politician - talking to a woman who claims to be a wealthy Russian citizen looking to invest in Austria.

The meeting reportedly took place at a villa on the Spanish island of Ibiza, in a private room with both politicians relaxing on sofas, smoking and drinking.

In the footage, the woman says she is the niece of a powerful Russian oligarch. She offers to buy a 50 per cent stake in Austria's Kronen-Zeitung newspaper and switch its editorial position to support the Freedom Party.

In exchange, Strache said he could award her public contracts, explaining that he wanted to "build a media landscape like (Victor) Orban", a reference to Hungary's authoritarian prime minister.

The vice-chancellor also speculates that the Russian's takeover of Kronen-Zeitung could boost support for the party to as much as 34 per cent.

"If you take over the Kronen Zeitung three weeks before the election and get us into first place, then we can talk about everything," Strache said.

As part of the deal, he suggests the Russian woman "set up a company like Strabag", the Austrian construction firm.

"All the government orders that Strabag gets now, (you) would get," he continues.

Strache also names several journalists who would have to be "pushed" from the newspaper, and five other "new people whom we will build up".
American IRA CEO, Jim Hitt Investors can use leverage to invest in real estate with a retirement account, which in turn can help them expand their portfolio of real estate in a quick amount of time

There are a number of obvious benefits to holding real estate within a Self-Directed IRA, sometimes also called a Self-Directed Real Estate IRA. But what about the little-known benefits? A recent post at American IRA highlighted some of the less-obvious benefits of holding real estate in a retirement account, which in turn highlights why an investor might choose a Self-Directed Real Estate IRA in the first place.

According to the post, one of the little-known benefits was the ability to borrow money within a Self-Directed Real Estate IRA. The protections and regulations on retirement accounts sometimes have investors worried that they cannot always use leverage within a retirement account, the post wrote. The good news, you can. That means investors can use leverage to invest in real estate with a retirement account, which in turn can help them expand their portfolio of real estate in a quick amount of time. This encourages those who do have a lot of startup money and reveals that its possible to access more funds than one initially thought.

Another benefit, according to the post, was the ability to collect rental income tax-free. The IRS does set clear boundaries between the IRA and the individual, the post notes, which means that one cannot own a piece of real estate within a Self-Directed IRA and then rent to themselves. But when treating the investment like a retirement investmentas is the intention of a Self-Directed IRAthe rental income collected on this property then grows in the account tax-free.

People realize that real estate is a good investment, but they do not often put two and two together when it comes to retirement investing, said Jim Hitt, CEO of American IRA. Our goal with this post was to demonstrate that investors can use real estate for retirement investingand not only that, they will have access to all sorts of little-known benefits they might not have considered. Owning real estate is great for ones wealth but owning real estate with tax advantages can have enormous benefits down the line.

For more information about the Self-Directed Real Estate IRA or holding real estate within a Self-Directed IRA, visit http://www.AmericanIRA.com or call 866-7500-IRA.

"About:

American IRA, LLC was established in 2004 by Jim Hitt, CEO in Asheville, NC.

The mission of American IRA is to provide the highest level of customer service in the self-directed retirement industry. Jim Hitt and his team have grown the company to over $400 million in assets under administration by educating the public that their Self-Directed IRA account can invest in a variety of assets such as real estate, private lending, limited liability companies, precious metals and much more.

As a Self-Directed IRA administrator, they are a neutral third party. They do not make any recommendations to any person or entity associated with investments of any type (including financial representatives, investment promoters or companies, or employees, agents or representatives associated with these firms). They are not responsible for and are not bound by any statements, representations, warranties or agreements made by any such person or entity and do not provide any recommendation on the quality profitability or reputability of any investment, individual or company. The term "they" refers to American IRA, located in Asheville and Charlotte, NC."
Empire Heating and Air Conditioning celebrates its 34th Anniversary Gila and I would like to take a moment and thank our customers for their continued support over the years, - Martin Hoover, Empire Heating and Air Conditioning owner

Empire Heating and Air Conditioning proudly celebrates the companys 34th Anniversary since its founding in 1985. Martin and Gila Hoover started Empire in the old Austin Carwash building in downtown Decatur moving to the current location at 783 DeKalb Industrial Boulevard in 1990.

Empire enjoyed great growth serving the In The Perimeter homes and businesses for many years primarily by recommendations to friends and family. In 2001 Empire began expanding their service territory north and east. Empire heating and air conditionings service territory now includes the majority of DeKalb, Fulton, Forsyth and Gwinnett counties.

Empire was founded on simple core principles to treat our customers as we would like to be treated, to deliver superior service by skilled tradespeople and provide fair up front simple pricing, states Gila Hoover.

Founded on honesty and character, the company still holds true to these principles.

Empire Heating and Air Conditioning is known for their fast, friendly, and professional services and works daily to do so. In trying to better meet this goal, the company has made some changes to their website featuring new images and a more user-friendly site navigation. Many services are now categorized under Air Conditioning or Heating so users can easily find the service they need.

In addition to the companys 34th Anniversary, the Empire Team is celebrating the recognition of several new awards, including the 2018 Intown Readers Choice Award and their 14th consecutive year receiving the Angies List Super Service Award.

The one thing that sets us apart is our people. We have an awesome team of technicians, installers, dispatchers, managers and associates that work hard to do what it takes to get the job done. Our senior technicians are NATE certified, and many are also NCI and DET certified to deliver the best possible service, exclaims Hoover.

Empire holds Georgia licenses for Electrical, Conditioned Air and Plumbing along with many certifications.

As a leading heating and air company in Atlanta, Empire Heating and Air Conditioning provides 15 different specialized services ranging from equipment replacement to indoor air quality testing and ductless split air conditioning and heat pumps. The company is an active member of multiple top-level associations, such as Air Conditioning Contractors of America, Conditioned Air Association of Georgia, PHCC, and more.

Gila and I would like to take a moment and thank our customers for their continued support over the years, states Martin Hoover, Empire Heating and Air Conditioning owner. Whether we worked together just once or multiple times, every customer is important to us and has helped us reach this special milestone.

We always try to make our services affordable, as we understand sometimes heating or air issues arise at the most inconvenient times, Hoover says.

On the website, viewers can find several HVAC coupons and financing options. The company is currently running specials for an $89 Air Conditioning Tune Up and well as several rebate and special financing offers for Daikin and American Standard heating and cooling products.

For more information on Empire Heating and Air Conditioning or their HVAC services, visit https://empirehvac.com/ or call 404-294-0900.
Prontopias vision for responsible travel and sustainable cities centers on a community model of people helping people. The companys innovative app provides on-demand help to travelers in walkable cities, when and where they need it. Prontopia's innovative platform offers an unprecedented opportunity to raise awareness about the local problems of overtourism and support grassroots solutions among travelers and residents.

In honor of World Oceans Day on June 8, California travel tech startup Prontopia will join forces with local non-profit organizations and other partners in hospitality to coordinate teams of volunteers to clean the Venice lagoon, the banks of the Arno in Florence, the Tiber river in Rome, and the beaches of Santa Barbara, California in a Plastic Free awareness event.

According to the Institute of Marine Science  National Council of Research, Recent studies have highlighted that there is a massive spread of trash in all world seas, especially of plastic, which is 70% of it. Generating awareness of ocean conservation in high-traffic tourist areas like Venice, Italy, is of paramount importance to implementing sustainable solutions. Prontopia is working together with the nascent organization Plastic Free Venice Lagoon as well as citizen groups and environmental organizations in each city to create an event that brings together residents, travelers, and international organizations in recognition of the need for positive action toward systemic change to combat the negative effects of overtourism and its consequences, such as pollution in waterways.

A cleaner community is a happier community and we should all take pride in the places we live. Davide Poletto, General Coordinator of the event Plastic Free Venice Lagoon, notes that the, Venice lagoon, for its conformation, nature and specially for the high impact human activities coming from massive tourism and in its continuous growth, is specifically exposed to the diffusion of plastic trash and relative micro-plastics.

The Prontopia app provides a safe and simple way for travelers to get in-person help easily with getting around the city. This model also provides the company with valuable feet-on-the-street networks for sharing information from among the locals about their viewpoints on what is needed for better quality of life in Venice, Florence, and Rome in the management of high-volume tourist traffic. The diffusion of plastic trash in these cities poses a risk to both the local environment, and the escalating global problem. The goal of the event is to show the power of unity in numbers in social action, across multiple cities at the same time.

In Prontopias California headquarter city of Santa Barbara, Prontopia and strategic partner Maps.com in consultation with clean water watchdog organization Channel Keepers (https://www.sbck.org) are mobilizing local team members to not only clean the creeks and beaches, but also to contribute to Channel Keepers research by documenting the trash that volunteers collect to help with their mission to monitor water systems and engage citizens in implementing solutions to water pollution. Channel Keepers is a member of the Waterkeeper Alliance, a coalition of 200 grassroots groups on six continents collectively patrolling and protecting over 1.5 million square miles of watersheds and defending local communities right to clean water. John Glanville, CEO of Maps.com emphasizes that, Data collection and access to maps is an essential part of protecting habitat, understanding climate change, and adapting green alternatives for your community, for your home, and while traveling the globe."

In Venice, Florence, and Rome, Prontopia engages with local organizations and businesses in proactive change efforts to ensure the city remains a living city for residents, creating measurable solutions to the problems of overtourism. We knew that by providing these local connections in the service, we would have a golden opportunity to also provide a model for corporate responsibility, said Prontopia founder and CEO, Shannon Kenny. When travelers connect to locals in a way in which they are oriented toward respect  extending a hand to say Welcome to the city, I live here,  that is the first step toward global citizenship, and caring about the place.

Kenny continues, It has been an honor as a company to collaborate with our amazing Prontopia Locals together with our local partners and even some travelers who participated in our Venice lagoon trash cleans up efforts over the past year. We have seen how these events created better awareness among travelers that we should try to leave no trace wherever we are. As we have grown to add additional cities this year, we now have an even stronger community to effect change, and to understand how we are connected. If we all travel conscientious about the local problems of pollution around the globe, we can leave each city a little better than we found it. This is our biggest hope for Prontopia.

Today in Venice, Florence, and Rome an exceptional community of Prontopia Locals enjoys helping visitors to the city with getting where they need to go. Along the way, travelers can learn special details about local life, and discover unique places to eat, shop, and learn about local culture and daily life.

In addition to practical help, the Prontopia app is a unique opportunity to get to know the city from the perspective of a local. The app serves as a citizen platform, empowering local residents to use tourism to make their city a better place to live. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, treating visitors as temporary residents helps ensure that residents, hosts, and guests all serve the common good by relating to each other respectfully. This perspective helps prevent problems of overtourism, occurring when the interests of tourism override those of the local community.

About Prontopia:

Prontopia provides an app that connects travelers with vetted on-demand locals who arrive by foot to provide expert assistance any time the need arises. The locals on the Prontopia app know the best way to get to city lodging and meeting points, or to a departure point on time when door-to-door by car is not an option. Using Prontopia takes the stress out of transitional moments in travel when a smile and knowledgeable support from a Local, as if you are met by a long lost cousin, make all the difference. Learn more at https://prontopia.com

About Maps.com

Maps.com provides geographic content and services to industries as diverse as travel, real estate, media, government, logistics and analytics, education, nonprofits, and Ecommerce. Maps.com provides solutions that change customers' perspectives on geography and the world. Learn more at https://www.maps.com.

Tags:Venice, Florence, Rome, Travel Apps, Overtourism, Responsible Travel, Prontopia, Walkable Cities, TrashTab, TrashChallenge

For further info in English, contact: Shannon Kenny, shannon(at)prontopia(dot)com +1-805-680-7913

For further info in Italian, contact: Ilaria Nardone, ilaria(at)prontopia(dot)com +39 3407888444
If there was any remaining doubt of Amazons support for its Amazon Publishing arm, that was dispelled in early May when the companys Montlake imprint signed bestselling author Sylvia Day to a seven-figure advance for Butterfly in Frost, a 203-page novella the company will publish in August. Mikyla Bruder, publisher of Amazon Publishing, said that the deal reflects her ability to spend the money on authors she believes will fit into Amazon Publishings ecosystem. I have no problem going after big authors, Bruder said, noting that late in 2018, the companys Thomas & Mercer imprint bought world English rights to two thrillers by Patricia Cornwell, beginning with Quantum, which is set to publish in October.

Another step in the evolution of Amazon Publishing, which turned 10 this year, came in February, when the publishing group, in conjunction with Amazon Studios, signed a deal with Michelle Miller for world book, audiobook and all global media rights for a series of short stories titled the Fairer Sex. The Miller signing was the first joint deal between the two Amazon divisions, and though the two dont have a formal first-look agreement, Bruder said the publishing group works closely with the studio when signing new authors. The Day, Cornwell, and Miller deals are all reflective of what Bruder said was one of the operating principles of Amazon Publishing: to work synergistically with other Amazon properties to create new and different types of opportunities for authors.

Amazon Publishing now consists of 16 imprints and has 200300 employees, Bruder said. It typically publishes about 1,000 books per year, though that number can be higher in years when the company experiments in new areas. Amazon Publishing now has a backlist of more than 10,000 titles and has largely grown organically: it has bought just three properties, the most important of which is Brilliance Publishing, which not only serves as Amazon Publishings audiobook arm but also handles physical distribution of its print books. Distribution to retail stores has always been something of a sore spot for Amazon, since many bricks-and-mortar stores wont carry Amazon titles. We are very transparent with our authors about our model, which may not be for everyone, Bruder acknowledged. We want a stable of happy authors.

Bruder believes that Amazons ability to reach millions of readers online offsets the loss of physical retail opportunities (though she pointed out that there are now 19 Amazon Books outlets). By tapping into Amazons various businesses, more than 40 authors have reached over a million readers each, a figure that includes print, audio, and digital sales as well as borrows through Kindle Unlimited.

Bruder said that another sign of Amazon Publishings success is its ability to continue to sign more authors. She noted that she believes authors appreciate what Amazon offers both domestically and overseas (of the publishers 10 offices, six are overseas). As part of the Day deal, Butterfly in Frost will be published by Amazon Publishings translation imprint, Amazon Crossing, which will release the book in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

Amazon Crossing has become one of Amazon Publishings biggest success stories and now publishes more titles in translation in the U.S. than any other publisher. The company will add to that number with the July launch of Amazon Crossing Kids, which will publish childrens picture books in translation. It is important that children are exposed to different cultural perspectives, Bruder said.

Childrens books, which are published in Amazon Publishings Skyscape and Two Lions imprints, is a relatively small part of the companys overall business. So too is adult nonfiction, which Bruder estimated represents about 10% of Amazon Publishings total output. (Were just getting started here, Bruder said.) The company has had some noteworthy nonfiction successes, however: The Tenth Island by Pulitzer Prizewinning author Diana Marcum, for instance, has reached 380,000 readers since it was released last July by Amazons literary imprint, Little A. However, adult fiction is by far the publisherss strength, and its three largest imprints are Lake Union (book club fiction), Montlake Romance, and Thomas & Mercer (mystery, thriller, and true crime).

Amazon Publishing will broaden its program next year when it releases the first titles from Topple Books, an imprint curated by Jill Soloway, creator of the Emmy-winning television series Transparent, which was produced by Amazon Studios. The imprint will focus on publishing women of color as well as gender-nonconforming, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer writers. Its first title, Raising Them by Kyl Myers, is set for release in June 2020.

Though Bruder wouldnt disclose revenue for the publisher, she said that Amazon Publishing is a strong and profitable business that continues to invest in new authors. She added that one way she defines success is growing the audience for our authors book by book.

Amazon Publishings All-Time Bestselling Books

Rank Title Author Imprint Pub. Date 1. Beneath a Scarlet Sky Mark Sullivan Lake Union May 2017 2. My Sisters Grave Robert Dugoni Thomas & Mercer Nov. 2014 3. War Brides Helen Bryan Lake Union June 2012 4. Pines Blake Crouch Thomas & Mercer Aug. 2012 5. Crazy Little Thing Tracy Brogan Montlake Romance Oct. 2012 6. Everything We Keep Kerry Lonsdale Lake Union Aug. 2016 7. Say Youre Sorry Melinda Leigh Montlake Romance May 2017 8. The Hangmans Daughter Oliver Potzsch Amazon Crossing Dec. 2010 9. Yellow Crocus Laila Ibrahim Lake Union Aug. 2014 10. Hidden Kendra Elliot Montlake Romance July 2012

Source: Amazon Publishing
Some baby boomers might secretly have believed they would be eternally young, but they are growing older after all and are now facing the physical decline and losses that come with aging. Many have or will become caregivers for parents or spouses, and there are a notable number of booksespecially from religion and spirituality publishersthat aim to guide and inspire them as they face some of lifes toughest experiences.

Of all of the ailments that can afflict older people, perhaps the most feared is Alzheimers disease. The problem looms large: according to the Alzheimers Association, approximately 5.8 million Americans are living with Alzheimers, and more than 16 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimers or other forms of dementia. As medical advances keep people alive longer, the demands on caregivers become even more complicated, and books now address the practical, emotional, and spiritual challenges they face.

Caregivers are often husbands or wives, and in The Alzheimers Spouse: Finding the Grace to Keep the Promise (Acta, out now), Mary K. Doyle writes of struggling to care for her husband, Marshall Brodien. A magician best known for his character Whizzo on The Bozo Show, Brodien first showed signs of the disease 15 years ago, and since then Doyle has wrestled with both its practical and spiritual aspects. Caring for a loved one with Alzheimers requires us to act selflessly, she writes. No matter how painful, we must put our own feelings aside.

Doyle asks and answers one of the most painful questions for her and many other caregivers: how can a wife or husband remain committed to their vows when the person they married is no longer there? Few couples reflect on the implications of promising to stick together in sickness and in health, she writes; We realized there would be unhealthy days somewhere in the future, even expected them. But we never prepared for the terrorist known as Alzheimers disease, which may even have been an uninvited guest at our wedding. It was at Marshalls and mine.

Doyle, a journalist and author, published a book in 2017 for all caregivers, Navigating Alzheimers: 12 Truths About Caring for Your Loved One (also from Acta). In The Alzheimers Spouse, she delves into issues specific to couples, including the effects of Alzheimers on sexuality, finances, and the caregivers health, as well as the guilt and loneliness that come with watching as the mind of ones beloved spouse slips away while their body lives on. Her faith supported her in caregiving, Doyle writes, quoting a prayer traditionally attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: Grant that I may not seek so much to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. Marshall Brodien died as The Alzheimers Spouse was going to press; Doyle hopes the book will comfort other caregivers who suffer the predations of the disease.

In the Lingering Light: Courage and Hope for the Alzheimers Caregiver by Cynthia Fantasia (NavPress, July) also illuminates the cruelty of the disease and the ways faith can sustain the exhausted caregiver. Addressing her late husband, who was lost to Alzheimers, she writes, Alzheimers robbed us of our future. There were no more memories to make together; however, she notes, while Alzheimers disease shortened our time to grow old together, eternity now holds a new and personal significance. Fantasiaa pastor at Grace Chapel in Lexington, Mass.includes stories of others grieving such loss and instructs readers, Dont expect to have no tears, to have a constant smile on your face, to have it all together all the time. In a time of grief, be real with yourself, be human, and be still.

Harvard psychiatry professor and medical anthropologist Arthur Kleinman began caring for his wife after she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimers disease, and in The Soul of Care: The Moral Education of a Husband and a Doctor (Viking, Sept.) he writes of discovering that caregiving transcended his medical training and presented not only practical but also moral and emotional demands and unexpected lessons. I learned from Joan: from who she was as a human being, from her care for me, from the carer she helped me to become, he writes. [Caregiving] is often something we would rather not do; at times truly unpleasant; sometimes taking more than it gives; something that can break us. It is also among the most important things we can do. It starts out about others, but in the end it is about us... [transforming] the soul of care into care of the soul.

At some point in their lives, many will need to care for aging parents. Devin Maddox, trade book publisher for B&H, says, Caring for an aging parent, and their caregivers as well, is an issue we dont discuss with one another nearly often enough. B&H hopes to contribute to the conversation with Coffee with Mom: Caring for a Parent with Dementia by Mike Glenn (June).

Glenn, senior pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tenn., writes, My mom is funny and tough. Growing up with her made me the man I am; taking care of her was the most difficult and joyful experience of my life.... She continued to fashion me into the man she wanted me to be, even when she was too sick to make sense of it all. Glenn is also the author of In Real Time and The Gospel of Yes.

Like families, congregations also will experience the impact of Alzheimers. In Ministry with the Forgotten: Dementia Through a Spiritual Lens (Abingdon, Sept.), Kenneth L. Carderprofessor emeritus at Duke Divinity schoolwrites of the scale of the threat: A typical mainline congregation with a membership of two hundred will include seventy who are sixty-five or older. Of that number, seven will have Alzheimers disease. Add the members of the family who are significantly impacted by those seven people and the effect on the congregation grows.

Drawing on his own experience as caregiver for his wife, Carder cautions churches against the tendency to reduce people with dementia to projects for ministry, rather than including them as full members of the congregation. When dementia sufferers really belong, he writes, The church is transformed, and [congregants] lives are enriched.

Jamie Tyrone learned through a genetic test that she has a 91% chance of contracting Alzheimers. A former nurse with a family history of the disease and experience as a caregiver, Tyrone knows what the future might bring. She has partnered with medical researcher Marwan Sabbagh to write Fighting for My Life: How to Thrive in the Shadow of Alzheimers (W, out now) and became an Alzheimers activist, raising awareness and funds for research.

More than fifteen million family caregivers help someone with Alzheimers disease or other dementia, Tyrone writes. Perhaps you are one tooor about to become one. She doesnt minimize the demands: Many times through this journey I have been challenged, enduring pain and anxiety that sometimes seemed unsurmountable. My faith was part of what got me through it.... That faith also helped me realize that instead of a genetic death sentence, Id actually been given a gift. Today, I wake up every morning knowing I have a purpose in life.

Sabbaghdirector of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas and author of The Alzheimers Answer and The Alzheimers Prevention Cookbookis engaged in new studies on Alzheimers and notes that through organizations such as the Alzheimers Association and advocates such as Tyrone, We are now seeing the kind of interest, support, and funding that is critical to scientific progress. Tyrone is a founding member of Maria Shrivers nonprofit Women Against Alzheimers and has a place on its Big Wall of Empowerment, which honors Alzheimers activists.

Molly Wisniewski emphasizes the importance of self-care in the midst of caring for a loved one in Caregiving Both Ways: A Guide for Balancing It All While Caring for a Loved One with Dementia (Mango, Aug.). Dealing with the often-chaotic emotions of an Alzheimers sufferer can be difficultthey might be confused and frustrated and unable to communicate. Older adults with various forms of dementia are not behaving in a certain way because of their diagnosis, but instead, they are communicating with us in a new way, Wisniewski writes. She urges caregivers to pay mindful attention and learn to speak their language.

Rowman & Littlefield has several titles coming that, while not exclusively focused on Alzheimers, deal with challenges common to all caregivers. In The Unexpected Journey of Caring: The Transformation from Loved One to Caregiver (June), Donna Thomson and Zachary White write that they hope conversations between caring families, friends and health professionals may be enriched and informed by the truths revealed in this book, which includes stories and experiences that have existed in the shadows far too long. The book, they note, explores what happens to us when we stay, when we care, when we turn towardnot awayfrom our loved ones, and how deep care for another transforms us and our relationships. PBS Newshour anchor Judy Woodruff, who has been honored for her work raising funds for research on Alzheimers disease, provided the foreword.

Thomson is a consultant and speaker on family caregiving, disability, and aging and is the author of The Four Walls of Freedom: Lessons Ive Learned from a Life of Caregiving. White is a university professor who teaches courses on topics such as caregiver communication and health and illness narratives.

Also from Rowman & Littlefield, Parenting Our Parents: Transforming the Challenge into a Journey of Love by Jane Wolf Frances (Sept.) addresses children of Alzheimers patients who suddenly find the relationship with a parent reversed. Psychotherapist Frances writes that she created Parenting Our Parents, an online community, because I wanted to support you and others like you to manifest your vision of POP love and loyalty. She notes, By being part of this new POP community, we are positively altering the face and character of our nation in how we treat our aging population. Frances adds that she hopes the book will inspire more joy in the lives of you and your loved ones and our nation.

Caregivers dwell in the tension between meeting their own needs and the needs of their loved onesa conflict explored in Working Daughter: A Guide to Caring for Your Aging Parents While Making a Living by Liz ODonnell (Rowman & Littlefield, Aug.). I attempted to balance caregiving with motherhood and career, ODonnell writes. I wrote this book in the hopes that I could turn my familys crisis into your familys road map. She also calls on business leaders and policymakers to recognize and accommodate the needs of those caring for loved ones.

Tending to a loved one who is dying is the topic of several books that illuminate both the costs and the joy that can come with accompanying someone to the end of their life. In the Mysterys Shadow: Reflections on Caring for the Elderly and Dying by Susan Swetnam (Liturgical, June) explores the spiritual and emotional gifts she gained from caring for her husband, who died young of cancer. She writes, Those who persist with faith in the vocation of caring for the elderly and the dying, who are open to learning and to inspiration, will encounter inevitably in themselves and in others the most marvelous innate human capacities... for selflessness, for tolerance and forgiveness, for courage, and for trust.

After 30 years as an English professor at Idaho State University, Swetnam began a second career as a licensed massage therapist working with hospice patients, the elderly, and the bereavedand their caregivers. She writes of how the touch of massage comforts and reassures the ill and dying: When we do not shrink from the ravages of disease, we affirm that the decline of the physical body does not diminish essential, innate human dignity, that the soul is always a glowing thing. She urges those who care for the sick and dying to see the sacred in their work. As we show those we serve by our calm presence that we do not fear death, we demonstrate our abiding hope in eternal life, our trust in what we cannot see.

For a nuts-and-bolts guide for Christians who want to make biblically based end-of-life decisions for family members, Crossway has published Between Life and Death: A Gospel-Centered Guide to End-of-Life Medical Care by Kathryn Butler (out now). Butlera trauma surgeon, lecturer at Harvard Medical School, and surgery consultant at Massachusetts General Hospitalwrites, To honor God in the bleak setting of the ICU, we must clarify the expanse between life and death that our medical advances have blurred. The shift of dying from the home to the hospital challenges us to acknowledge the capabilities and limitations of the technology upon which we lean, and to embrace it in a fashion that keeps the gospel in focus.

Balancing medical technology with the patients emotional and spiritual needs must be considered through the lens of heaven, Butler writes. We must unravel the jargon and the statistics and appraise them against the clarifying light of the Word.

Kirsten DeLeo offers guidance and inspiration from a Buddhist point of view in Present Through the End: A Caring Companions Guide for Accompanying the Dying (Shambhala, Aug.). Death touches us all, writes DeLeoa therapist, teacher, and trainer with the Spiritual Care Program, which offers education on caregiving in 11 countries. Accompanying the dying, whatever our role, challenges us to be authentically and compassionately present and, ultimately, to look into the mirror of death ourselves and face the uncomfortable truth of our own mortality. She notes that this can be a transformative experience: When we are with someone who is dying, we are challenged to be present even though we may feel powerless, to stay when we want to run, to love while loss is just around the corner, and to be fully alive to every moment as time is running out. Daring to be present might be the hardest thing we have ever done in our lives; and, we may come to discover, one of the most intimate, beautiful, and rewarding.
The International Congress of Young Booksellers (ICYB), which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, held its annual conference in Oslo, Norway, May 1516, drawing two dozen booksellers from across Europeincluding representatives from Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, and Norwayfor professional conversation and networking. This years theme was Books meet peopleKeep up reading and included lectures from Helge Rnning and Tore Slaatta, who were among several authors of The Price of Books, a study on European book policy conducted for the Norwegian Ministry of Culture.

The ICYB is a subdivision of the International Booksellers Federation, which was formed in the 1950s as a response to a UNESCO call for initiatives to encourage the free international exchange of ideas through books, according to the organizations literature.

The ICBY is now really for booksellers of any age but especially those who are young at heart, says Edgar Fortins, ICYB president and CIO of Janis Roze bookstore in Riga, Latvia. Im in my mid-40s and have been a bookseller for 19 years, but I still think I have a lot to learn. If you are not learning, you are going backward.

The group even has its own acronyms for members. Young booksellers are referred to as YoBos, and they are responsible for choosing the Booksellers International Book of the Year (BIBY) on the first day of the conference. This years winner was A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara. (The group also makes tongue-in-cheek references to OlBosold booksellers.)

The idea behind the congress is to provide booksellers with a network of peers to lean on to answer questions and develop best practicesfor example, how to compete with Amazon, fixed-pricing issues, or the impact of politics on bookselling. We are envious of events that they have in the United States, for example, says Fortins, who has been president of the ICYB since 2014. Ideally, wed like to model this conference on something like Winter Institute. He adds that hed also like to develop online resources for new booksellers.

The common problem for the book market all over the world is that booksellers are getting older and older, Fortins says. And there are not so many young booksellers. Age and finding new blood is the challenge.

For his part, Fortins sees another challenge for European booksellers as how to incorporate more nonbook items into their inventories and attract customers online. My bookstore is very oldit has been open for more than 100 yearsbut to survive we are now selling as many nonbook items as books.

Helping booksellers share information is the purpose of the ICYB conference. Twenty years ago, before Google, the conference was the only way to share information, Fortins says. Even so, today, face-to-face is the best way.

Looking Ahead to Frankfurt

The choice of Norway as this years venue for the ICYB conference coincides with Norways turn as Guest of Honor country at the Frankfurt Book Fair later this year. The small Nordic nation, which has a population of 5.2 million, has spawned several international bestselling authors in recent years, including Karin Fossum, Karl Ove Knausgard, Jo Nesb, Per Peterson, and Asne Seierstad.

Late last month, Oslo also played host to a German-Norwegian literature festival, which ran April 2628. The event featured more than 30 authors and entertainers, including notables such as Jostein Gaarder, Volker Kutscher, and Maja Lunde. It was just one of a yearlong series of events featuring literature collaborations between Norway and Germany, says Sunniva Adam, public relations officer for Norwegian Literature Abroad (NORLA). Germans are already very familiar with Norwaythey like to come here for the calm and the natureand now we hope to expose them to and help them experience the culture and the arts. More than 5,000 people attended 70 different events in all.

One of the intended outcomes for a country participating as Guest of Honor in Frankfurt is to have more of its titles translated into German, and Norway seems well positioned in that regard. In 2018, NORLA granted subsidies for the translation of 649 books into 45 different languages, Adam says. It is the highest number ever, up from 538 the year before.
Colleville-sur-Mer is a picturesque village in northern France, blessed with a lovely beach on the English Channel. Take the winding road down to the water just after sunrise on a nice summer day, and chances are good you will find riders exercising their horses along the surf. Go a few hours later, and the place will be filled with families camped out in the sun, enjoying the sand and water. Ive seen it that way myself. But for me, a far different scene is never far from my mind. In the early dawn of June 6, 1944, it was a place of death and sacrifice. For the beach below Colleville was the center of a place known to me and my companions as Omaha Beach, the bloodiest of all the beaches where the Allies landed on D-Day.

The author of these sentences is 98-year-old veteran Ray Lambert, one of the last survivors of that momentous military campaign, whose first-person account, Every Man a Hero: A Memoir of D-Day, the First Wave at Omaha Beach, and a World at War (Morrow, May), coauthored with Jim DeFelice, is among the most memorable of the many new books being published in connection with the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Lambert was just 23 years old that day and had already been awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts. He was in charge of a medical battalion that saved dozens of lives on Omaha Beach. But for years Lambert had kept his memories private, both out of a sense that he was only an ordinary man doing the job he was supposed to do, and from a feeling that hed moved on with his life after World War II. Recently, Lambert realized that as one of the last men left who was there, he had an obligation to share his story with the world.

Lamberts heartfelt memoir presents what veteran historian James Holland terms the perspective of those at the coal-face of battle in his major new history, Normandy 44: D-Day and the Battle for France (Atlantic Monthly, June). He writes that such perspectives, along with those from the highest levels of command, have contributed to a distorted picture of what occurred, noting, reasonably enough, that most troops on the ground knew very little about their enemy or what was going on around them. Holland maintains that far less has been told about the mechanics of warthe level that allows warring sides to operate and maintain their overall objectivestheir strategyand to fight at the tactical level in a way best suited to their war aims. He remedies that with a comprehensive look at less sensational or dramatic aspects, such as the economics and logistics of war.

Holland writes, Historians can argue all they like about the tactical merits or otherwise of the Allied war machine, but it is important to remember that by D-Day the Allies were fighting a totally industrialized and highly technological war so gargantuan that today it almost makes ones head hurt trying to absorbs its scale and complexity. Hollands opus received a starred review from PW, which praised the authors meticulous research and clear-eyed view of the big picture.

Over 20 years of research and interviews with D-Day survivors informs Alex Kershaws The First Wave: The D-Day Warriors Who Led the Way to Victory in World War II (Dutton Caliber, out now). PWs review described The First Wave as a fast-paced tale that successfully evokes the chaos, courage, and carnage of combat, vividly portraying the bravery of the greatest generation.  Kershaw spent the week of April 30 through May 6 providing tours on the beaches in Normandy in conjunction with the World War II Museum in Quineville, France. (For more on Kershaw, see our q&a with him.)

Nigel Hamilton concludes his three-volume biography of Franklin Roosevelt with War and Peace: FDRs Final Odyssey D-Day to Yalta, 19431945 (HMH, May), which takes readers inside the high-stakes, high-level discussions preceding the Normandy invasion. Among its highlights is Hamiltons narrative of the 1943 Tehran meetings, during which Roosevelt overcame Winston Churchills reservations about the Allied war strategy; Hamiltons revisionist account, based on previously unpublished documents and interviews, is squarely at odds with Churchills own version of events, as portrayed in his memoirs.

The Second Most Powerful Man in the World: The Life of Admiral William D. Leahy, Roosevelts Chief of Staff (Dutton, out now) by Phillips Payson OBrien, professor of strategic studies at Scotlands St. Andrews University, offers another behind-the-scenes look at the Tehran meetings and many other high-level conferences.

Readers interested in the challenges of coordinating different Allied forces, including both ground and air forces, will be intrigued by Stephen Alan Bourques Beyond the Beach: The Allied War Against France (Naval Institute, out now), which the publisher has labeled an important rethinking of the Normandy war narrative. Bourque, professor emeritus of history at the U.S. Armys General Staff College, focuses on the Allied air war against France in 1944, when General Eisenhower took control of all American, British, and Canadian air units. Instead of using them strategically to attack targets deep in Germany, Eisenhower deployed Allied bombers as long-range artillery, targeting the destruction of bridges, rail centers, ports, military installations, and even French towns with the intent of preventing German reinforcements from interfering with the D-Day landings. Bourque details the eye-opening toll of this approach, which killed more than 60,000 French civilians, a fact that he asserts must be considered in any historical account of the Normandy invasion.

In Sand and Steel: The D-Day Invasion and the Liberation of France (Oxford Univ., out now), military historian Peter Caddick-Adams, who has been giving tours of the Normandy beaches for over 20 years, complements Hollands efforts to recount the logistics of the campaign. Caddick-Adams also offers an in-depth, rigorously researched look at Field Marshal Erwin Rommels never-completed plans to make Europe impregnable to assaults such as the D-Day invasion. In addition, this lengthy study examines the role Allied intelligence played in misleading Hitler and his commanders.

Spy vs. Spy

Covert operations are at the center of Scholars of Mayhem: My Fathers Secret War in Nazi-Occupied France by Daniel C. Guiet and Timothy K. Smith (Penguin, June). Guiets father, Jean Claude Guiet, was an American agent assigned to occupied France during WWII. The senior Guiet was the only American on a British Special Operations Executive commando team that had been dropped behind enemy lines in an effort to keep Nazi tanks away from Normandy after D-Day.

More clandestine plotting is recounted in Giles Miltons Soldier, Sailor, Frogman, Spy, Airman, Gangster, Kill or Die: How the Allies Won on D-Day (Holt, out now). Milton, best known for Churchills Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, depicts the crucial day through the tales of survivors from all sides. Miltons diverse cast of characters include a teenage Allied conscript, the crack German defender, the French resistance fighter... the military architects at Supreme Headquarters, a young schoolboy in the Wehrmachts bunkers, a French butchers daughter, a Panzer Commanders wife, and the chauffeur to the General Staff. Contrary to Holland and Caddick-Adams, Milton concludes that the so-called longest day was less a masterpiece of strategic planning than a day on which thousands of scared young men found themselves staring death in the face.

In Codeword Overlord: Axis Espionage and the D-Day Landings (History Press, Sept.), Nigel West, who has spent the past 14 years at the Counterintelligence Centre in Washington, D.C., provides what his publisher terms the full, true story of Axis intelligence and how they affected the events of the D-Day landings. West believes that prior depictions of the German army as incompetent and corrupt are mistaken; drawing upon recently declassified documents, he argues that despite the failure to thwart the Normandy invasion, the Axis had a sophisticated, integrated intelligence system that was supremely conscious of the Allies counter-intelligence schemes.

Other volumes examining D-Day through a spyglass include Sarah Roses D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II (Crown, out now); Bletchley Park historian David Kenyons Bletchley Park and D-Day (Yale Univ., out now); and exRoyal Marine commando David Abrutats Vanguard: The True Stories of the Reconnaissance and Intelligence Missions Behind D-Day (Naval Institute, June).

The German View

In Countdown to D-Day: The German Perspective (Casemate, out now), Peter Margaritis recounts the German High Commands daily activities as it attempted to thwart the Normandy invasion.

William A. Barry also looks at D-Day from the German point of view in his provocative Rommel Was Right: German Panzers in Normandy and the What-Ifs of D-Day (Stackpole, July). Barry, a Vietnam veteran and a national fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford, tackles one of the most tantalizing what-ifs for military historians and armchair generalshow the Germans positioned their armored forces to meet the Allied invasion of June 6, 1944. Rommel had argued for placing the Panzers as close to the beaches as possible, but other German generals insisted that the central Panzer reserve forces be concealed near Paris. Hitler compromised, but Barry looks into what might have transpired if Rommels position had been fully implemented.

Jonathan Trigg offers a counter to Barrys speculations in D-Day Through German Eyes: How the Wehrmacht Lost France (Amberley, out now). Trigg, who makes extensive use of firsthand reports from German war veterans, believes that military historical analysis of what happened should focus on divisional and regimental commanders, the men upon whom the real business of trying to defeat the invasion fell. He also takes a contrarian position concerning the performance of the German army, which despite being outnumbered and outgunned, somehow held Normandy for ten whole weeks against the greatest seaborne invasion force ever assembled, and occasionally even came close to defeating it.

French military historian Yves Buffetaut further explores the alignment of German divisions at the time of the invasion in The Waffen-SS in Normandy. July 1944: Operations Goodwood and Cobra (Casemate, June).

Diverse Accounts

Two titles concentrate on the roles specific demographic groups played in the Allied assault. In Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Days Black Heroes (Amberley, out now in trade paper), journalist Linda Hervieux recounts the story of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, a unit of African-American soldiers assigned to man a curtain of armed balloons meant to deter enemy aircraft. Their valor was not enough to overcome endemic American racism, however. Although one member of the 320th was nominated for the Medal of Honor, he never received it, because the nations highest decoration was not given to black soldiers at the time. Hervieux conducted dozens of interviews with surviving members of the 320th and their families in researching this aspect of D-Day.

Merion Presss A Bloody Dawn: The Irish at D-Day (out now) by retired Lt. Col. Dan Harvey focuses on the thousands of Irish and members of the Irish diaspora who were among the Allied units that landed on the Normandy beaches.

Three other books present the events of June 1944 through the eyes of individuals who took very different paths to the beaches of Normandy. To War Without Arms: The D-Day Diary of an Army Chaplain (Sabrestorm, out now), edited by Simon Trew, a faculty member of the war studies department at the U.K.s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, contains the wartime journal of Rev. Alexander Reynolds. Reynolds was one of hundreds of military chaplains who went to war entirely unarmed. He helped bury around 200 British and German soldiers who died during the D-Day assault.

German Jew Werner T. Angress had a more tortuous path to that battlefield, as well as away from it. In Witness to the Storm: A Jewish Journey from Nazi Berlin to the 82nd Airborne, 19201945 (Indiana Univ., out now), Angress describes his childhood as an enthusiastically patriotic German-Jewish boy whose family eventually fled to Amsterdam to escape Nazi persecution. He ended up in the U.S. and, seven years after he left Germany, was one of the men who parachuted into German-occupied France with the 82nd Airborne Division. When he was captured behind enemy lines, Angress concealed his Jewish identity and became a prisoner of war. After he was freed by American forces, Angress served as a battlefield interrogator and participated in the liberation of a concentration camp. His heroism was honored with a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, and his postwar life, during which he taught history for over 25 years, began. Angress chose to retire to Berlin, where he taught schoolchildren what it was like to grow up Jewish under the Third Reich.

Leslie Youngs experiences are recounted in his son Nicholas Youngs Escaping with His Life: From Dunkirk to D-Day & Beyond (Pen & Sword, Sept.). Young survived the Allied retreat to and evacuation from Dunkirk, France; volunteered for a new commando unit; and was taken prisoner in Tunisia, where he escaped and spent six months on the run. When Young finally made it home to England, he immediately signed up for the invasion of Normandy, where he was wounded.

Tactics and Technology

Readers interested in the prosaic details of what was involved in preparing for and carrying out the D-Day operations will find their needs met by The D-Day Training Pocket Manual 1944 (Casemate, out now). This volume contains excerpts from Allied manuals used in the preparation for D-Day, including instructions concerning amphibious landings and managing beachheads; pathfinder, paratrooper, and glider pilot training; and infantry and armored fighting in mixed woodland and pasture terrain.

The technical aspects of the engagement are detailed in D-Day Operations Manual: Neptune, Overlord and the Battle of Normandy by Jonathan Falconer and Stuart Watson (Haynes, May). Falconer and Watson describe the ways in which technology and innovation played crucial rolesincluding gliders that could carry tanks, the temporary portable harbors known as Mulberry harbors, and radio and radar aids used to correctly direct landing seacraft and aircraftand how these devices were developed.

A New Longest Day

Cornelius Ryans classic book The Longest Day was the entry point for many interested in this chapter of the war. This month, Library of America published a deluxe reprint, coupled with Ryans A Bridge Too Far. The new edition comes complete with bonus features17 of Ryans wartime dispatches for the London Daily Telegraph, including his eyewitness account of D-Day as seen from an American bomber, and samples of the research questionnaires he sent to veterans. Ryans popular treatment, originally published in 1959, is put in perspective through an introduction by Rick Atkinson, author of the Liberation Trilogy about WWII.

Below, more on D-Day books.

A Visual Look at D-Day

Americas Finest Hour: PW Talks with Alex Kershaw
Unisus School in Summerland is launching a million-dollar scholarship program. Above, director of recruitment and advancement Blaine Melnyk and associate director of recruitment and admissions Brenda Gallagher stand at the construction site of the 100-bed dormitory that will house international and Canadian students starting in September.
Along with the dozens of books recounting D-Day in detail, there are several that seek to make this historical military engagement more accessible by focusing on visual elements of the battle.

The only known drawings from the day are presented in Drawing D-Day: An Artists Journey Through War by Ugo Giannini, with Maxine Giannini (Dover, out now). Ugo, a soldier and artist, landed on Omaha Beach with a platoon of military police assigned to accompany the U.S. Armys 29th Infantry Division. He ended up spending June 6, 1944, and part of June 7 on a bluff overlooking the shore, where he began to draw what he had witnessed. The volume includes those drawings, which depicted heavily burdened infantrymen as well as a bombed-out village and the casualties he saw among its ruins. The memories of what Ugo observed are also represented by abstract paintings he created four decades later.

The Americans on D-Day and in Normandy: Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives by Brooke S. Blades (Naval Institute, out now), part of the Images of War series, is one of several new titles that relies on photographic images to recreate that pivotal moment in history. Martin Morgans D-Day: A Photographic History of the Normandy Invasion (Crestline, out now) includes 450 dramatic photos taken on D-Day and during the following week. Theres also Nicholas A. Veronicos D-Day: The Air and Sea Invasion of Normandy in Photos (Stackpole, June), which includes the lesser-known air component of the Allied attack, considered to have been the largest single-day aerial operation ever.

Map lovers will be interested in the Smithsonian Institutions World War II Map by Map (DK, Sept.), which includes maps of the events of D-Day, as well as maps charting the progress of other milestones in the war, such as the Dunkirk evacuation, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Battle of Stalingrad.

Bauernfeind Presss 101 Objects Series turns to June 1944 with Ingo Bauernfeinds The D-Day Landings in 101 Objects (June). The intriguing volume uses 101 artifacts to familiarize readers with the Normandy invasion, including the dummy tanks used to confuse German reconnaissance planes, which helped to make the landings successful.

Drawings, photos, maps, and artifacts are not the only options for presenting D-Day visually. In September, Thames & Hudson is publishing World War II Infographics, compiled by a diverse team that includes data designer and graphic artist Nicolas Guillerat; Jonathan Fenby, former editor of the Observer and the South China Morning Post, and author of books on the conflict; Guerres & Histoire magazine managing editor Jean Lopez; and WWII authorities Nicolas Aubin and Vincent Bernard. Originally published in France in 2018, the book is already an international bestseller. The contributors employ state-of-the-art infographics to make the mass of data now available about WWII comprehensible, covering the mobilization of troops, the production of armaments, and population displacements. The wars major battles are also covered, and the volume analyzes the Normandy invasion through numbers and graphics.

Return to the main feature.
Noticias Telemundo Investiga, the investigative news unit for US Hispanic broadcaster Telemundo, is prepping Reclutado por el narco, a series of three reports based on the first testimony to the media by a hit man for the Jalisco Nueva Generacion Cartel (CJNG).





Presented by journalist Aldo Meza, the series documents the methods used by Mexicos most powerful criminal organisation to recruit, train and control its assassins.Reclutado por el narco will air in three parts, Monday through Wednesday, 20-22 May, during Noticias Telemundos primetime newscast. It will also be available online , via the Noticias Telemundo mobile app and on the propertys Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages.Noticias Telemundo Investiga has gone where no one has before: To the heart of the CJNG, the criminal organisation that took over the Sinaloa Cartel, Noticias Telemundo Investiga director, Elena Gonzales, said. This is the first time anyone has been able to give a first-hand account of the extreme methods the cartel uses in its terror schools, the camps where it trains its killers through tactics ranging from torture to ritual cannibalism.Part One of the series, Los sicarios, focusses on the recruitment of new hit men and their introduction to the world of the CJNG. Part Two, Entrenados para matar, details the techniques the cartel uses to train its assassins, while Part Three, Los desaparecidos, is dedicated to the relatives of the victims recruited by the cartel.
The Nations amphibious warfare fleet is in need of revitalization through the acquisition of new, more capable ships faster. U.S. amphibious warfare forces are this countrys first line of defense. The Navy and Marine Corps want both to increase the size of the amphibious fleet, and to introduce more capable ships. But competing Navy budget priorities raise questions about the Services ability to achieve its goals for the amphibious warfare fleet. The Navys initial Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 budget submission cut two amphibious transport docks (LPDs) 17s from the five-year shipbuilding plan. However, a smarter acquisition strategy would allow the Navy to procure advanced amphibious warfare ships in sufficient numbers faster than the current shipbuilding program.

Amphibious warfare forces will be critical to the way, not just the Navy and Marine Corps but the entire Joint Force fights future conflicts, large and small. The Navys concept of Distributed Maritime Operations and the Marine Corps Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations requires the improved logistics, command and control, and weapons capabilities provided by advanced amphibious warships. As Admiral James Kilby, the director of warfare integration, observed at a recent meeting of the Navy League, amphibious ships in conjunction with things like the Joint Strike Fighter, are really changing the way we view those assets and how they would help us in this great power competition. In addition, their ability to deliver significant numbers of Marines and large amounts of equipment and supplies ashore, without the need for port facilities, and then support deployed forces, is particularly useful in humanitarian operations and counter-terrorism missions.

The Navy/Marine Corps team needs more and better amphibious warfare ships. The Sea Services would like to increase the size of the amphibious warfare fleet from 32 to at least 38 ships. More would be even better. According to a 2018 report by the Congressional Research Service, "Navy and Marine Corps officials have testified that fully meeting U.S. regional combatant commander requests for day-to-day forward deployments of amphibious ships would require a force of 50 or more amphibious ships.

A critical Navy program intended to upgrade and expand the amphibious warfare fleet is the replacement of the aging dock landing ships (LSDs) with the larger and more capable LPD 17. The LPD 17s are designed to support the deployment of landing forces by helicopter, vertical lift aircraft, LCACs, and conventional landing craft. The LPD 17 class has advanced electronics and sensor systems, signature reduction and modern command and control capabilities. The newest version of the LPD 17, the advanced Flight II, has improved command and control capabilities as well as the additional space, weight, power, and cooling to accommodate future capabilities such as vertical launch systems, directed energy weapons, and unmanned underwater and surface vehicle capabilities.

While there is a clear need for more and better amphibious warfare ships, the Navy seems to be going in the opposite direction. The long-term plan was to acquire 13 LPD 17 Flight IIs with the first, LPD 30, procured in FY 2019 and the second, LPD 31, to be procured in FY 2020. But the release of the Navys FY 2020 budget shows that the new plan is to cut two new amphibious warships from its 2020-2024 procurement plan. The reason given was the need to shift money to higher priority procurement programs.

The current way of funding amphibious warfare ships is impeding the Navys ability to acquire the right amphibious warfare ships, both faster and in the numbers required. This is because they have been bought individually, based on full funding being provided in a given budget year.

The Navy needs a new acquisition strategy for acquiring amphibious warfare ships, particularly the LPD 17 Flight II. Specifically, the Navy should request that Congress authorize a block buy or multi-year procurement for the next three LPD 17s, one each in FY 21, 22 and 23, along with advance procurement of long-lead items for all three ships. A block buy or multi-year procurement would allow the Navy to construct multiple ships at the same time. This allows the purchase of materials in bulk and the most efficient use of shipyard facilities and workers. It also avoids gaps in production, which increase costs. A block buy or multi-year procurement would save hundreds of millions of dollars compared with procuring the three LPD 17s individually.

In addition, the Navy should seek incremental funding authority for the purchase of these three LPD 17s. Incremental funding authority would allow the Navy to begin procurement for the three LPDs based on partial funding with the rest of the money provided in future budget years. This would enable the Navy to spread available shipbuilding funds over more ships, obviating the need to cut two LPD 17s as proposed in the FY 2020 budget.

By avoiding a production gap between LPD 30 and the next three, the Navy can acquire ships significantly better than those they are replacing. In addition, acquiring ships in blocks will avoid any shortfall in amphibious capability as older amphibious ships are retired and satisfy a force requirement of 38 amphibious warships earlier than planned.

The Navy has done this with a number of other ship classes. Most recently the Navy signed a contract for a block buy of the next two Ford-class aircraft carriers. The Navy has employed block buys successfully for its Virginia-class nuclear attack submarines SSNs and its Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. In both cases, the contractors have delivered submarines and destroyers ahead of schedule and at a reduced cost.

A block buy/multi-year procurement would take advantage of some $500 million that the prime contractor, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), has invested in its Pascagoula, Mississippi shipyard. These improvements allow HII to build the LPD 17 more efficiently and at a lower cost, assuming there is funding to minimize production gaps.

Dan Goure, Ph.D., is a vice president at the public-policy research think tank Lexington Institute. Goure has a background in the public sector and U.S. federal government, most recently serving as a member of the 2001 Department of Defense Transition Team. You can follow him on Twitter at @dgoure and the Lexington Institute @LexNextDC. Read his full bio here.
The Dow turned volatile as the trade war between the US and China escalated the last two weeks, producing stock losers and winners.
President Donald Trump and his supporters often tell us that he is fundamentally a free trader. The current trade war with China, they say, is simply the small price we must pay now for a world of much freer trade...
Peoples war. Thats the Communist Partys new term for the trade disputewith the United States.

The Global Times, the partys nationalist tabloid, used that phrase on the May 13, but Chinas leaders obviously approved of the rhetorical escalation. Both Peoples Daily, the self-described mouthpiece of Chinas ruling organization, and the official Xinhua News Agency carried the piece to wider audiences.

There seems to be a mismatch in perceptions. President Donald Trump, in comments to reporters on Tuesday, characterized the trade disagreement this way: Were having a little squabble with China.

Trump was calming jittery markets. The party, on the other hand, was inflaming passions. The stoking of emotionspeoples war suggests America is an enemy of all Chinesesuggests a trade agreement between the planets two largest economies is not in the cards anytime soon.

For months, market participants outside China, buying into the persistent cheerleading of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, assumed the two giants would reach a trade pact this spring. Most observers ignored, among other things, internal Chinese factors pushing Beijing away from agreement with the United States.

Outside Chinas tight political circles, there is no consensus as to what these factors are, but there are unmistakable signs of either disunity or dysfunction, in either case something wrong at the heart of Chinas political system.

If there were nothing wrong, then China would not have at the last minute withdrawn commitments it made to lead negotiators Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

As is now known, the Chinese team on the May 3 returned to the United States the draft 150-page trade agreement without including concessions that Vice Premier Liu He, the head of the Chinese team, had previously extended.

Beijing has since denied it had retracted the commitments, but this contention does not stand up. If nothing else, then something the Chinese did obviously riled Trump, who throughout the months-long negotiations promoted the appearance of progress. After Chinas return of the draft trade deal, Trump publicly complained of Chinese attempts to renegotiate, starting with his much-discussed May 5 tweet.

Some people think Lius sudden across-the-board withdrawal of commitments is a sign of ruler Xi Jinpings basic strength. The Wall Street Journal reported that he withdrew the commitments because he thought he could press the advantage. The Chinese leader interpreted President Trumps hectoring of the Federal Reserve as an indication the U.S. economy was more fragile than he publicly claimed.

This reporting does not seem credible. For one thing, the U.S. economy looks vibrant. Moreover, this theory assumes Xi wanted a deal. Yet the Chinese leader had to know that pulling the commitment at a late moment would infuriate both Trump and Lighthizer and delegitimize the China-friendly Mnuchin, making unattainable any advantage he might hope to get with the bold maneuver.

In fact, Xis withdrawal of commitments led to Trumps public complaint of Chinese renegotiation. He also flouted a far worse deal for China in the form of the additional American tariffs Trump signaled in his May 5 tweet.

More probably, the withdrawal of the commitments shows that Xi is politically weak. According to this view, he had agreed to the commitments Liu made to the Americans and withdrew them when others objected to the deal. Xi finally realized he was not able to exert his will and force others to accept his commitments.

The Nikkei Asian Review identifies the recalcitrant elements in the Communist Party as the organizations conservative Left and the rank and filefrom the core of workers and management at state-owned companies, from industries that rely on subsidies for survival, and from the bureaucratic institutions that protect them. As the Japanese journal noted, The proposed deal threatened their interests.

Jonathan Bass, chief executive of Los Angeles-based PTM Images, tells the National Interest that there is another element opposing Xi. Bass found during a November 2018 trip to China that provincial officials did not seem to be onboard with Xi on trade issues, thereby adding another level of opposition for the countrys embattled leader.

A variation of this Xi-is-weak theme involves Chinas economy. Xi, according to this argument, has taken authority from other senior leaders to such an extent that he has also eliminated anyone to blame. Because the economy is obviously deterioratingApril results, despite massive stimulus, look weakit was his intention all along to withdraw commitments at the last moment to derail the deal that was close to signature. As Trump said before his meeting with the Hungarian prime minister on May 13, the agreement was 95 percent there.

That maneuver allows Xi to tell the Chinese people that Americansand not himare responsible for the declining economy.

Whether Xi is weak or strong, Beijings peoples war label has consequences. Perhaps Chinese officials, accustomed to pushing the United States around, thought they could indulge themselves by using harsh language with impunity. After all, Arthur Waldron, the University of Pennsylvania historian, this week said those officials have looked at America with disdain, as a nation of bunny rabbits.

Yet that country of furry creatures has now elected a president who is no longer taking Chinese insults in stride. In addition to hiking the tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports as of May 10, he will be imposing elevated tariffs on another $300 billion soon. China has retaliated with higher tariffs on $60 billion of American goods. These measures are unlikely to be the last we see.

If Xi Jinping is indeed weak, as the bulk of the evidence suggests, there is no one for Trump to negotiate with. In Beijing, at the moment, only the most nationalistic responses are politically acceptableand no one is in a position to sign on the dotted line. Perhaps that is why Chinese media at the end of last week signaled the country is not particularly interested in continuing trade talks.

China is obviously in trouble as the peoples war narrative indicates. That means the rest of us will be in trouble as well.

Reprinted with permission from The National Interest. Gordon G. Chang is the author of The Coming Collapse of China. Follow him on Twitter @GordonGChang.
Police surveillance. Mysterious, unexplained travel bans. Restrictions on free speech. Threats of arrest. These are the frightening complaints North Korean defectors shared during the recent North Korean Freedom Week in Washington, DC. But they werent recalling their past in North Korea -- they were talking about their lives in the South under President Moon Jae-in. As South Korea pursues its policy of peace and co-prosperity with its northern neighbor, defectors who wish to speak openly about the cruelty they faced in the North suddenly find themselves silenced and without official support.

Less well known than human-rights abuses elsewhere, the hell that the Kim regime has created in North Korea is nonetheless well documented. North Korea maintains a system of political prisons where inmates are subject to systematic torture, starvation, and death. While a select group of elite North Koreans live in Pyongyang, enjoying Western luxuries and access to the outside world, the caste-like songbunsystem keeps most North Koreans in the dark, figuratively and too often literally. No one, not even high-ranking officials, is exempt from the peril of a public execution . The total absence of the rule of law and of the most basic human rights make North Korea one of the worst places in the world to live.

But Moons government wants to transform that narrative as part of its ambitious effort at rapprochement with the North. The South Korean president is fixated on avoiding North Korean dictator Kim Jong Uns ire and has adjusted everything from his rhetoric to South Koreas domestic and foreign policies to fit that end. Moons government will not call North Korea its main enemy, though the two nations are still at war. Seoul has appealed to European countries to drop sanctions against North Korea, and Moon has devoted substantial effort to swaying U.S. President Donald Trump to his way of thinking. Incredibly, Moons government has also proposed changes to school textbooks to minimize North Korean military provocations and remove references to human-rights issues in the North.

Still, all of these efforts to appease one of the worlds last Stalinists pales in comparison to the treatment of North Korean defectors living in the South. Remember, these people have gone through the worst travails that humans can endure, and they are eager to stand up for the people they left behind. On numerous occasions, they have insisted, the South Korean government has requested that they stop criticizing the North. It did so during the buildup to the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. One defector who gives lectures on North Korea to military officers was instructed to not discuss the realities of life in the North. (Similarly, at these military forums, unification defense lectures became merely unification lectures.) South Koreas Ministry of Unification even banned a North Korean defector who had become a journalist at a top newspaper from reporting on the inter-Korean high-level talks in Panmunjeom last October.

Other defectors observe that they have started to feel like criminals in the South. Police intended to protect high-profile defectors from assassination are suspected of also being instruments of surveillance and control for the Seoul government. Defectors claim that as promised in the joint Panmunjom Declaration Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un signed last April, a double-edged police role has prevented defectors from participating in any activism that the North could consider a hostile act.

Hostile acts include sending balloons over the North-South border containing letters and information on life in South Korea to give North Koreans some exposure to the outside world. Many defectors credit these leaflets as the catalysts for their own defection to the South. One who spoke during Freedom Week admitted that he decided to release balloons on his own after dismissing his own protective services for the evening, and those officers who effectively allowed him to do so were later punished.

Notwithstanding the omnipresent protective services, other defectors complain that the South Korean government has failed to protect outspoken critics of the North. Last August, Thae Young-ho, the highest-ranking defector alive and a fierce critic of the Kim regime, was forced to cancel a public event after receiving threats from a progressive online student community. (The students complained that Thaes criticisms were hindering unification.)

Seoul has also applied systematic pressure on defector organizations, including withdrawing previous financial aid or denying them the opportunity to apply for state support for their human-rights campaign. Defector activists who could once rely on official government support spoke of taking on extra work to personally fund their activities.

All told, the message from the Moon government is clear: Northerners are still welcome, so long as they agree not to exercise their democratic rights to free speech. Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye once openly welcomed defectors, calling for them to come to the Republic of Koreaa land of freedomat any time. Those days are clearly over; and while Moons desire to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula is noble, prioritizing reunification over human freedom is not the answer.

Olivia Schieber is the program manager of the Foreign and Defense Policy department at the American Enterprise Institute. The views expressed are the author's own.
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star Luis Mendez has shared an update on his new marriage following his divorce from Molly Hopkins Luis remarried in September 2018 -- only eight months after Molly filed for divorce from him -- and now reportedly lives in Elizabeth, NJ and works as a mechanic.The former Season 5 star has largely avoided publicly sharing any updates on his new life -- including the identity of his new wife, a Dominican woman Molly has alleged Luis probably already knew before he came to America to marry Molly.However, the couple's new marriage is apparently still going strong, as last Saturday, Luis suddenly took to Instagram and shared a couple of Instagram Story videos that showed him and his new wife dancing seductively in what appeared to be a club, In Touch Weekly reported.Luis had confirmed his new marriage, which took place on September 19, to In Touch Weekly in October, but denied to reveal his new wife's name."I love this girl so much. She's amazing. The most amazing part was meeting her because she changed all life to happiness," he told In Touch.Luis had also insisted he'd had "no contact" with Molly ever since their divorce had been finalized on May 4."I just want to be happy," he told the magazine. "I don't want to know anything about it. But if she wants to congratulate me, it's okay."But Molly's initial reaction to Luis' new marriage wasn't very congratulatory."I totally got used. But it's all good. Luis got married to a Dominican lady in Jersey, best I can tell... He totally got married to someone who looks older than me from the Dominican," she said in an Instagram Live video."For all you people that thought I was crazy -- his situation was pretty lovely. I mean, we were together for two years, so it's all good... It doesn't hurt at all. I'm good. I'm so good."Molly then also suggested the new marriage had been Luis' "plan all along.""I feel it clearly shows he was possibly using me and my finances to get here because our divorce was final in May," Molly told Us."So he either already knew her and had a plan all along and I'm a fool, or we are both fools if she doesn't know him, because I met Jekyll in the Dominican and got Hyde here, or vice versa. Either way, may it work out because I'm glad he's gone."Luis then fired back and claimed Molly had actually used him."You know something? [Molly] only took me here to get fame for her business," he told Us Weekly. "She never wanted to give me the opportunity to get my papers. Never."Molly was a 41-year-old living in Woodstock, GA, and Luis was a 26-year-old from the Dominican Republic when he arrived in America on a K-1 visa in 2017.The couple had met when she was booked a trip to the Dominican with her girlfriends and he worked at a bar she visited.According to Molly, it was love at first sight, and Luis immediately told Molly that he was going to marry her.Luis proposed to Molly only about two months after they first met, and she accepted, certain he was the man for her.Although Molly and Luis did not have a traditional wedding, they legally wed during the 90-day visa period and tied the knot on July 20, 2017.However, Luis didn't get along great with Molly's two children and even left Molly at one point, but the couple -- who also appeared on Season 3 of : Happily Ever After? -- later briefly reconciled.However, the reconciliation didn't last long and Molly filed for divorce after only six months of marriage on January 9, 2018.
Rolls of coiled coated steel are shown at Stelco before a visit by the Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, in Hamilton on June 29, 2018. The lifting of American tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from Canada is receiving a guarded welcome. Economists say there will be only a minimal impact on the overall Canadian economy but will have a sizable impact on a few industries, such as the automotive sector. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power
Porterville, CA (93257)

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'Gods are deceitful too and villains can be upright upholders of the law.'

'Perhaps political leaders of all shades would benefit from these lessons instead of declaring themselves upholders of a dharma that means different things to different people,' points out Arundhuti Dasgupta.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Come elections and binaries flourish.

Enemy lines are sharply drawn and communities split down the middle over political allegiances.

The gods are invoked, religion unmasks its ugliest face and there is a collective baying for the enemies' blood.

Good is us and evil is the Other.

It is interesting to see how even present-day election narratives draw upon mythic themes of the ancient world.

Even as politicians promise change, they seem to be doing so with their faces turned backwards, dipping into primal belief systems that were shaped by a completely different context.

One of the over-riding themes of the political campaigning so far has been fear.

Terror lurks, the enemy is at the gates; therefore, the nation needs a strongman at the helm.

That is a story that the electorate needs to unpack, but the fear of the Other that has gripped us with manic intensity is as old as time.

More significantly, the bellicose response (labelling all dissent anti-national, heaping derision on people of other faiths and signalling militant aggression as the only way to teach the enemy a lesson) ignores the nuanced understanding of the 'Other' that the myths sought to impart.

Consider the deva-asura conflict that dates back to the Vedas.

It has been commonly interpreted as a god-vs-demon conflict, but much has been lost in this translation.

There are numerous stories about the generosity and kindness of asuras as there are about the arrogance and cruelty of the gods.

According to several texts, sur and asur are the sons of Prajapati (the universal father).

Sur are also known as devas and they inherited the power of truth from their father, while the asuras drew falsehood.

The asuras were stronger, arrogant and unable to control their desires -- for food, violence, anger and love.

The gods were more measured in their ambitions.

In a story that Narada tells the Pandavas, however, the lines are blurred.

The gods led by their king Indra went to meet Shiva, but Nandi (Shiva's bull) barred their entry.

The gods said they had come to entertain Shiva, who was known to have a weakness for the arts.

So Nandi let them in and after a while, a pleased Shiva asked Indra to ask for a boon.

To which, Indra in a somewhat defiant tone replied that he wanted to be a warrior as great as Shiva.

The boon was granted, but no sooner did they leave than Shiva expressed outrage at Indra's disrespectful tone.

His anger took the shape of a dark cloud and appeared before him, offering to do his bidding.

From Shiva's anger was born the asura Jalandhara, who true to the nature of his tribe, was a mighty warrior and wreaked havoc on the gods.

He was invincible and had a boon that none could conquer him as long as his wife Vrinda was faithful to him.

So Vishnu decided to trick Vrinda.

He took the form of her husband, seduced her, thereby weakening Jalandhara and defeating him.

One way to see it was how an asura was tricked by deceitful gods.

When Narada told the story, he was looking to reassure the Pandavas about how arrogance destroys even the most powerful beings but storytellers told both sides of the tale, not leaving out Jalandhara's might or Indra's arrogance.

Throughout the Mahabharata, arrogance as sin is a recurring theme.

It is the fatal flaw that kills Duryodhana.

It would perhaps be more apt if politicians today paid close attention to what led to Duryodhana's fall instead of using his name as a derogatory epithet.

It will be just as illuminating to see how the storytellers of the time did not shy away from glorifying all sides in a conflict.

Bhasa, a playwright who flourished around the same time that the epic was growing popular, made him the lead character.

Duryodhana was shown to question the righteous, even the god Krishna and he often came out trumps in the debate.

In one of his plays, Bhasa has Duryodhana counter Krishna's demand for the Pandavas by saying that neither is the legitimate heir to the throne.

Born from different fathers, none was a Kuru.

Right or wrong, it was for the readers and viewers to judge.

However, the playwrights were not killed for their words, nor were these views suppressed.

And that was the true intent of the mythic/epic narratives; to debate the principles that society ought to be formed on, not to dictate a moral code.

It was understood that gods are deceitful too and villains can be upright upholders of the law.

Perhaps political leaders of all shades would benefit from these lessons instead of declaring themselves upholders of a dharma that means different things to different people.
Ravi Shankar Prasad in Patna Sahib, Ram Kripal Yadav in Pataliputra, R K Singh in Arrah and Ashwani Choubey in Buxar are all having a tough time, reports M I Khan from Patna.

IMAGE: BJP candidate from Patna Sahib constituency Ravi Shankar Prasad on the campaign trail with Bihar deputy CM Sushil Modi. Photograph: Kind courtesy @rprasad/Twitter

Stakes are high for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha polls in Bihar as four Union ministers are facing a tough electoral battle. They are seeking votes in the name of Modi, and nothing else.

Four Union ministers -- Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib, Ram Kripal Yadav from Pataliputra, R K Singh from Arrah and Ashwani Choubey from Buxar -- are in the fray in the last phase of Lok Sabha elections.

All four are working overtime to ensure their victory.

In 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party had won five out of the eight seats going to polls on Sunday, including all the four from where the Union ministers are contesting.

Winning these seats is important for the BJP this time and, therefore, Modi addressed rallies in Buxar and Pataliputra, while BJP president Amit Shah addressed election meetings in all these seats.

Prasad, a Supreme Court lawyer and former party spokesperson, is contesting from the Patna Sahib constituency, considered a stronghold of the BJP for over two decades.

But Prasad, who belongs to Patna, is contesting Lok Sabha polls for the first time. Till now he has been a Rajya Sabha MP.

The BJP has fielded him after it denied ticket to the sitting party MP Shatrughan Sinha, who later joined the Congress.

Sinha is now the Congress candidate from Patna Sahib.

He is a well-known face in Bihar and used to be one of the star campaigners for the BJP till 2014.

Both Prasad and Sinha belong to the Kayasth caste, having a sizeable population in the constituency.

However, Prasad is not taking any chances and BJP leaders and workers are campaigning like never before.

Party president Shah held a roadshow in the constituency on May 11.

Sinha is also not far behind in wooing voters. The Bihari Babu, as he is popularly known, is visiting different localities and villages ignoring the heat wave. Even his wife Poonam Sinha is in Patna to campaign for him.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi too held a roadshow on May 16 for Sinha.

Ram Kripal Yadav is facing a big challenge from Pataliputra seat where jailed Rashtriya Janata Dal's chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's elder daughter Misa Bharti is contesting against him.

Bharti, a Rajya Sabha MP, in the absence of her father, is playing the emotional card to make a big dent in Ram Kripal's support base, which mostly consists of Yadavs.

Bharti had contested unsuccessfully in 2014 from the seat, when she was defeated by Ram Kripal.

Ram Kripal had quit the RJD to join the saffron fold after being denied a ticket for the Lok Sabha polls by Lalu. He revolted when Lalu decided to field his daughter Bharti from Pataliputra.

Ashwani Choubey is also facing a tough battle in Buxar which he won in the last polls. Choubey, infamous for his controversial remarks, is being challenged by RJD candidate Jagdanand Singh, a well-connected leader.

Choubey is trying hard to seek votes in the name of Modi to retain the seat, but except Brahmins, other upper castes, particularly the Rajputs, are unlikely to support him.

They are backing Singh, who is also a Rajput.

Though Buxar is a Brahmin-dominated seat, anti-incumbency against Choubey is giving sleepless nights to BJP leaders, who are banking on the support base of ally Janata Dal-United among the backward castes and Dalits to see him through.

R K Singh, former home secretary who joined the BJP in 2014, is seeking re-election from Arrah constituency. However, it is not easy for him this time, unlike 2014.

He is challenged by Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist Raju Yadav who supported by the grand alliance of Congress and RJD.

Arrah is considered a stronghold of the CPI-ML as well as of the RJD. With Raju in the fray supported by the grand alliance, Singh has taken help from some tainted and criminal-turned-politicians belonging to the powerful Bhumihar caste to woo voters.

But the prime trouble for Singh is the reluctance of JD-U leader Meena Singh to campaign for him.

Bihar's ruling JD-U's former MP, Meena Singh, also a Rajput, was keen to contest this time but the seat remained with the BJP under the seat=sharing formula of the National Democratic Alliance. Since then, she has been distancing herself from campaigning.

Another major problem that Singh is facing is the consolidation of Yadav, Muslim, Dalit, Kushwaha and Mallah voters who constitute more than 60 per cent of the constituency's population and are supporting Raju.
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The Defence Ministry has rejected Vice Admiral Bimal Verma's petition challenging the appointment of his junior, Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, as the next Navy Chief, holding that seniority is not the sole criterion for selection.

In an order, the defence ministry said Vice Admiral Verma's statutory petition dated April 10 against appointment of Vice Admiral Singh to the top post is devoid of merit and has been rejected in exercise of powers under Section 23 of the Navy Act 1957.

Vice Admiral Verma, commander-in-chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command and senior-most naval commander, had moved a military tribunal last month questioning Vice Admiral Singh's appointment as the next Navy Chief, overlooking his seniority.

Vice Admiral Singh will take over as the new Navy chief from incumbent Admiral Sunil Lanba, who is retiring on May 31.

The tribunal had on April 25 directed the defence ministry to decide Vice Admiral Verma's petition within three weeks.

"The Chief of Naval Staff is selected from amongst the senior most eligible Vice Admirals of the Indian Navy in the rank of Commander-in-Chief/VCNS (Vice Chief of Naval Staff) through a rigorous selection process, where seniority though an important consideration is not the sole criteria for selection," the defence ministry said in its order in response to Vice Admiral Verma's petition.

"Thus in the past too seniority has been dispensed with in appointment of CNS," it said.

In the order, the defence ministry also mentioned about two letters of Severe Displeasure issued to Vice Admiral Verma on October 28, 2005 and June 29, 2007, saying it would be incorrect to say that throughout his service tenure he has never been informed or communicated about any shortcomings or misdemeanors against him.

It said he was also not appointed as Commander-in-Chief of the two operational commands of the Indian Navy -- Eastern and the Western Command.

The defence ministry said a thorough selection process was conducted under which overall service profile of all the contenders for the top post was examined.

It said specific parameters for selection were applied uniformly to all the contenders and based on the assessment, it was found that Vice Admiral Verma, though being the senior most eligible officer, was found unsuitable to hold the post of the Chief of the Naval Staff.

"The central government is also satisfied that no unsubstantiated, frivolous, extraneous or irrelevant consideration has had a bearing on the said selection," the defence ministry said.

In his petition, Vice Admiral Verma had mentioned about the Navy Order (Special) 01/2012 which, he said, laid down procedure for selection of officers to ranks of Rear Admiral and Vice Admiral, adding thrust of it was a merit cum-seniority-based approach.

He said the same procedure ought to have been applied for selection of the next Chief of Naval Staff.

To this, the defence ministry said the Navy Order does not cover appointment of the Navy Chief.

The Armed Forces Tribunal in New Delhi is scheduled to hear the case on Monday.

A lawyer of Vice Admiral Verma said the vice admiral will challenge at the AFT the government's order rejecting his petition.

Vice Admiral Verma had filed a statutory complaint with the Defence Ministry on April 10, challenging appointment of Singh, and asked it to respond within 10 days.

However, as there was no response from the ministry, he approached the AFT on April 24.

In his petition, Vice Admiral Verma wondered why he was overlooked for the top post despite being the senior-most in the line of command, terming as wrongful the government's decision to appoint Singh to the post.

While appointing the Army chief in 2016, the government did not follow the long-held tradition of going by seniority. Lieutenant General Bipin Rawat was appointed Army chief superseding then Eastern Command Chief Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi and Southern Command Chief Lt Gen P M Hariz.

Besides Vice Admiral Verma, the other contenders for the Navy Chief post included Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, FOC-in-C of Western Naval Command Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar and FOC-in-C of Southern Naval Command Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla.

Vice Admiral Singh, who is at present serving as the Flag Officer Commanding in Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam, will be the first helicopter pilot to become chief of naval staff.

Vice Admiral Verma is brother of former Navy chief Nirmal Kumar Verma.
Last updated on: May 18, 2019 22:02 IST

IMAGE: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu meets NCP chief Sharad Pawar in New Delhi on Saturday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu held a flurry of meetings with opposition leaders, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Bahujan Samaj Party's Mayawati and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, in an apparent bid to rally support for a non-Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre.

Naidu, who arrived in the national capital on Friday, also met Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav and leaders of the Communist Party of India.

IMAGE: Naidu leaves after meeting Congress president Rahul Gandhi at the latter's residence in New Delhi. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

He then flew to Lucknow and met SP and BSP chiefs.

It is a pleasure to welcome Hon'ble Chief Minister Shri N Chandrababu Naidu Ji to Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav tweeted.

The Andhra Pradesh chief minister did not speak to the media after any of his meetings.

IMAGE: AP CM with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow. Photograph: Kind courtesy @yadavakhilesh/Twitter

Sources, however, said Naidu and Gandhi discussed the possibility of forming a joint alliance of all opposition parties.

He told Gandhi to have a strategy ready, in case the National Democratic Alliance falls short of a majority and still stakes claim to form the government, the sources said.

Naidu told all the leaders that we all should come together and put our act together to form the next government by keeping the BJP out, a source said.

IMAGE: After meeting Akhilesh, Naidu went to meet BSP chief Mayawati. BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra is also seen. Photograph: ANI

Later, Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and other Congress leaders met at UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's residence to evolve their party's strategy.

"The campaigning of this Lok Sabha Election 2019 has ended and as we await the last phase of polling, Andhra Pradesh CM Shri N Chandrababu Naidu paid me a visit to discuss the ongoing and future political scenario of our country," Pawar said in a tweet after the meeting at his residence.

Naidu met CPI leader G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja over breakfast, asking them to come together.

Reddy and Raja separately met Pawar at his residence.

IMAGE: Naidu meets Loktantrik Janata Dal chief Sharad Yadav. Photograph: PTI Photo

The Telugu Desam Party chief has held several rounds of discussion with various opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Naidu's TDP was a part of the NDA, but quit the alliance a few months ago.

On Friday, Naidu said not only the Telangana Rashtra Samiti but any outfit which is against the BJP is welcome to join a grand alliance after the election results are declared on May 23.

As opposition leaders scramble to form a joint anti-BJP front, hectic deliberations among them are likely to continue in the days ahead.

IMAGE: Naidu with CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury. Photograph: PTI Photo

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister and Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy urged Congress and his party members to not give controversial statements against each other.

We are on the verge of formation of a new government at the Centre. At this juncture where all efforts are being made to form a non-BJP government at the Centre, the contradictory statements by leaders of coalition partners may mar such efforts, he tweeted.

IMAGE: The TDP chief meets Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Photograph: PTI Photo

Hence, my humble request to the leaders of both the parties is to restrain from making contradictory- controversial statements in public and to support the cause, Kumaraswamy said.

Former prime minister and JD-S leader H D Deve Gowda said they are all together with the Congress in forming the next government.

There has been a war of words between the Congress and its alliance partners JD-S in Karnataka for some time now.
IMAGE: Election officials carry EVM and VVPAT machines and other equipment ahead of the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha polls, in Amritsar, on Saturday. Photograph: PTI Photo

The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, one of the most bitterly fought in recent memory, will come to a close on Sunday when polling will be held in 59 constituencies including in Varanasi where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to retain the seat.

Polling will be held in all 13 seats in Punjab and an equal number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat Chandigarh.

Over 10.01 crore voters are expected to decide the fate of 918 candidates. The Election Commission has set up more than 1.12 lakh polling stations for smooth conduct of polls.

On Sunday, a bypoll will be held in Panaji, necessitated due to the death of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar in March. Bye-elections will also be held in four assembly constituencies of Tamil Nadu -- Sulur, Aravakurichi, Ottapidaram (SC) and Thiruparankundram.

Counting of votes will be taken up on May 23.

An average of 66.88 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the last six phases. The whole elections were spread over 38 days.

In Uttar Pradesh, all eyes will be on Varanasi, where besides Modi, 25 other candidates are in fray. Modi's main challengers are Congress's Ajay Rai and SP-BSP grand alliance's nominee Shalini Yadav.

Union minister Manoj Sinha, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey are seeking re-election from Ghazipur and Chandauli, respectively.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is contesting 11 Lok Sabha seats in this phase, while its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) is contesting Mirzapur, currently held by Union minister Anupriya Patel, and Robertsganj.

Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri are among the 278 candidates including 24 women whose fate will be decided in Punjab on Sunday.

Besides Punjab, more than 6 lakh voters in the union territory of Chandigarh will choose between sitting MP and BJP candidate Kirron Kher and former railway minister and Congress candidate Pawan Kumar Bansal.

Actor turned politician Sunny Deol, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab unit chief Bhagwant Mann are among other prominent candidates in the fray.

On most of the 13 seats, the contest appears to be a direct fight between the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance.

A conglomeration of several political outfits, the Punjab Democratic Alliance led by Aam Aadmi Party rebel Sukhpal Singh Khaira, is also contesting on all 13 seats while SAD (Taksali), breakaway faction of SAD, has fielded one candidate from Anandpur Sahib.

In 2014, the AAP and the SAD had won four seats each, the Congress three and the BJP two.

An electorate of 1,49,63,064 will decide the fate of 111 candidates in nine seats of West Bengal -- Kolkata North and Kolkata South, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, Jaynagar (SC) and Mathurapur (SC).

Eight seats, barring Jadavpur, will witness a contest among the Trinamool Congress, the BJP, the Congress and the Left Front. The Congress has given the Jadavpur seat a miss.

The nine constituencies are spread across the three districts of Kolkata, South and North 24 Parganas.

The high-voltage campaign for the final phase saw poll meetings by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress leader Sachin Pilot and West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

Shah's roadshow in the city on Tuesday was marred by violence and destruction of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's bust in a college in north Kolkata.

In a first such action in India's electoral history, the Election Commission ordered campaigning in the nine West Bengal constituencies to end at 10 pm on Thursday, instead of 6 pm on Friday, in the wake of the violence between the BJP and the TMC during Shah's roadshow.

As many as four Union ministers -- Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ram Kripal Yadav, RK Singh and Ashwini Kumar Choubey -- are among the 157 candidates in Bihar.

Seven of these seats were won by the National Democratic Alliance last time, five by the BJP and two by the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, which is now with the 'Mahagathbandhan'.

One was bagged by the JD(U) headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, which then fought separately but is now back with the NDA.

By-poll will also be held for the Dehri assembly seat.

The most keenly-watched contest is in Patna Sahib where Prasad, one of the most prominent members of the Narendra Modi cabinet, is seeking entry into the Lok Sabha.

He is pitted against Shatrughan Sinha -- the actor-turned-politician, who won it on both occasions for the BJP and is now in the fray as the Congress candidate.

The electoral fortunes of 42 candidates including that of former chief minister and Union minister Shibu Soren will be decided on Sunday in Jharkhand.

Soren, the chief of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and a eighth term sitting MP is in the fray from Dumka seat once again. He is crossing swords with BJP's Sunil Soren. The JMM leader had defeated his BJP challenger twice in 2009 and 2014.

Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa seats in Madhya Pradesh, all currently held by the BJP, will go to polls in Madhya Pradesh.

Former Union ministers Kantilal Bhuria, Arun Yadav are in the fray from Ratlam and Khandwa, the latter seeing a tough fight between Yadav and ex-MP BJP chief Nandkumar Singh Chauhan.

Polling will also be held in all four Lok Sabha constituencies in Himachal Pradesh where as many as 45 candidates, including five legislators, are in the fray.
International news agencies are reporting that four people were arrested in St. Petersburg, Russia, during a protest by a small group of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activists.



An AFP reporter said on May 17 that about 10 people took part in the protest in the city center as they marked the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. Reuters also reported the arrests.



The LGBT activists were quickly surrounded by riot police.



"We want to draw attention to the problems of the LGBT community. They are clamping down on us and don't allow us to defend our rights," one of the group told AFP.



City officials in Moscow on May 15 rejected four requests for rallies in the capital on May 25-27, including a gay pride march. Nikolai Alekseyev, an LGBT community leader, said the authorities have rejected such rallies for 14 years.



Russias Interfax news agency said the requests were turned down by city officials based on a law banning gay propaganda among minors.



Alekseyev said the decision was appealed, and he expressed hopes the case will be heard before the scheduled dates for the events.



The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has rebuked Moscow for a ban on holding LGBT gatherings as a violation of human rights and freedom of assembly.



On May 16, U.S. officials imposed new financial sanctions on a law enforcement agency in Russia's Chechnya region linked to a recent gay purge that has resulted in dozens of gay and bisexual men being imprisoned, and in some cases, tortured in the North Caucasus region.



President Vladimir Putin has asserted that Russia does not discriminate against gay people, but rights activists vocally dispute that.

Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, and Interfax




YEREVAN --  court has ordered the release of former President Robert Kocharian from pretrial detention after current and former leaders of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region provided personal guarantees.



Kocharian went on trial earlier this month on charges of overthrowing the constitutional order during the final weeks of his decade-long rule that ended in April 2008.



The Yerevan court said on May 18 that the 64-year-old Kocharian, who has been in pretrial detention since his arrest in December, could be released after the Nagorno-Karabakh leaders said they would vouch for him and guaranteed that he would appear in court when the trial resumes.



Kocharian is accused of illegally ordering army soldiers to use force against opposition supporters who were protesting against alleged fraud in the February 2008 presidential election.



He has dismissed the charges against him as politically motivated.



Asked earlier in the week about the offer of guarantees from the Nagorno-Karabakh officials, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said: "from a moral standpoint I find it normal, but from a political standpoint there are some questions."



Before serving as Armenia's president from 1998 to 2008, Kocharian was the leader of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The disputed Azerbaijani region that has been under de facto Armenian control since early 1994, when a multiyear conflict ended with a cease-fire. Around 30,000 people died in the fighting, and hundreds of thousands were displaced.



During the protests that erupted on March 1, 2008, eight protesters and two police officers were killed when security forces cracked down. The order came after Kocharian declared a three-week state of emergency.
Most politicians can't be seen enough when running for office. Delyan Peevski isn't most politicians.



The Bulgarian multimillionaire hasn't made a public appearance since April 19, 2017, when he attended the first meeting of that Balkan country's current National Assembly after being elected as a lawmaker.



Now Bulgaria's purportedly "undisputed media mogul" appears headed to victory again, this time in European Parliament elections later this month despite his real-life game of "Where's Waldo?"



He is second on the list of candidates for the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) party in the May 26 balloting, meaning he will likely gain a seat in the assembly given the party's current third-place standing in opinion polls at about 10 percent.



Peevski's disappearing act in the Bulgarian parliament sparked legal action by an NGO called Boets (Fighter), which appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court after the Central Election Commission ruled the 38-year-old's residence wasn't in question despite all the questions his skulking provoked.



"The issue is of utmost public importance because it concerns the legitimacy of the upcoming European elections. We cannot have legitimate choices if we have illegal candidates," the group said in a letter to Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on May 16.

Business And Media Interests



Peevski's absence may have been less of an issue if it weren't for his business interests.



His New Bulgarian Media Group holds stakes in six newspapers that account for a combined 80 percent or so of print distribution in the country and controls many other websites and information outlets.



His wealth and status as a member of the National Assembly since 2009 have raised eyebrows in a country often chided for its close links between politicians and businessmen.



Reporters Without Borders (RSF), for example, ranks Bulgaria as the worst European Union member in terms of media freedom.



"Corruption and collusion between media, politicians and oligarchs is widespread in Bulgaria. The most notorious embodiment of this aberrant state of affairs is Delyan Peevski," the media watchdog wrote in its world media freedom index report for 2018.



Peevski was investigated in 2018 and cleared by Bulgaria's anticorruption agency, which said that audits of his business affairs dating as far back as 2003 uncovered no illegal activities.



Nonetheless, said Daniel Smilov, a professor of political science from Sofia University, appearances, both figuratively and literally, make a difference.



"When a person controls a huge media empire, which regularly destroys the public image of all its critics, after a while people start to close their eyes to legitimate criticisms against him," he told RFE/RL.



"For example, if this person does not go to parliament, he might still be viewed by the public as a politician and parliamentarian. He could even get reelected. With money and political influence, they could make the unacceptable acceptable in Bulgaria; they could turn bad fiction into reality."

All Quiet In Brussels



While EU criticism of Bulgaria's democratic credentials has kept the country outside the bloc's Schengen Area for visa-free travel since it joined in 2007, Brussels has been silent on Peevski's participation in its elections.



His Movement for Rights and Freedoms currently holds four of the 17 seats allocated to Bulgaria in the European Parliament, and the party appears headed for a similar allotment after the May vote.



The party has refused to comment on Peevski's inclusion on its election list, saying only that Bulgaria's courts have also been unmoved by questions surrounding his residency status.



"He is a Bulgarian citizen who has a registered address in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria or in another Member State of the European Union," the court wrote in upholding Peevski's candidacy.



"The complaint is unfounded," it added.



The European Parliament already has a problem with attendance, according to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who once referred to it in that context as "not serious" and "totally ridiculous."

Ireland, the United Kingdom, Italy, and France have all weathered minor scandals over their MEPs' attendance records.

And the Bulgarian contingent doesn't appear to be helping itself either.

In the European Parliament's public rankings of its members' activity, Bulgaria lags behind all but six of the 29 countries or communities by plenary attendance.

Its MEPs fare equally poorly in written questioning, too, though they are near the middle of the pack in proposing motions.

Peevski actually won a seat to the European Parliament in 2014 but didn't take up the position, saying at the time that he ran to help clear his name and restore his reputation after his appointment as Bulgaria's chief of the State Agency for National Security sparked widespread public protests.



Peevski, who has been elected to Bulgaria's parliament four times, eventually stepped away from the post but remained a lawmaker.



During the current European campaign, Peevski has been almost invisible at his party's events, save for his picture on the side of the campaign bus and on the party's Facebook page in a photo.

Boets said it believes there is enough evidence to prove Peevski resides in Dubai, where he has business interests. It also claimed there is evidence of him flying to Vienna several times.



But the courts have rejected the group's bids to examine records from border police and other state agencies to prove the allegations.



In the meantime, Peevski continues to appear on the party list, and even collect his MP's salary.



According to documents filed with parliament, Peevski collected his full 44,580-lev (roughly $26,790) salary in 2017, while the speaker of the house recently acknowledged the same applies for 2018 even though official filings have yet to be published.



Activists have complained about the declaration, since Bulgarian law states that deductions should be made to legislators' salaries when they are absent "without reason."



The speaker's office says it receives a formal letter each week from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms' chairman noting that Peevski will be absent from the legislature because he is "performing party activities."
SIMFEROPOL -- Dozens of Crimean Tatars have marked the anniversary of the Stalin-era deportations from the Black Sea peninsula, with police warning participants that the event was unauthorized but otherwise not interfering.



The May 18 event, held in the peninsula's capital city Simferopol, took place without incident or any reported detentions, even as some participants argued with law enforcement officials.



Around 100 people recited prayers at a city park where a small monument stands to the tens of thousands who died during the 1944 deportations.



Some participants dressed in traditional garb, while others carried the flag of the Crimean Tatar community. Several elderly survivors recalled their experiences from the deportations.



he Black Sea peninsula was annexed by Russia in March 2014.



The Crimean Tatar community has refused to recognize Russia's assertion of authority over the region, and many activists have been harassed or detained.

In May 1944, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ordered the community deported, accusing them of collaboration with the Nazis.

Tens of thousands died during the operation and during the first severe months in Kazakhstan and other remote parts of the Soviet Union.



They were only allowed to begin returning to Crimea in the late 1980s.
Bookmakers have made the Netherlands, Sweden, and Australia favorites going into the final of the Eurovision Song Contest, the annual pop music fest that draws tens of millions of viewers from around the globe.

This final will take place on May 18 in Israel -- the country that won last years contest. Pop legend Madonna is scheduled to give a guest performance at the event.



Although Eurovision was first held in 1956 with the aim of uniting Europe after World War II, this years event in Tel Aviv has caused consternation among supporters of Israel and backers of Palestinian causes.



Palestinians are planning an alternative event called Globalvision to take place at the same time, with parties set in the West Bank city of Ramallah, London, and Dublin.



A total of 26 acts will compete for this year's prize.



Most countries went through preliminary competition to qualify for the final, while five core European countries -- Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain -- as well as host nation Israel received automatic berths.



Viewers and professional juries in all 41 participating countries will pick the winner, with the televoting and juries each representing 50 percent of the outcome.



No country can vote for its own contestant.



The newly renamed Western Balkan nation North Macedonia qualified for the event during the semifinals, as did Russia, Belarus, Serbia, and Azerbaijan.



The Netherlands' Duncan Laurence, who will sing a ballad titled Arcade, is the pre-event favorite, according to bookmakers.



Australia, while not a European nation, is also considered a potential winner with Kate Miller-Heidke's Zero Gravity.



John Lundvik, who will perform Too Late for Love, gives powerhouse Sweden a chance to win. Sweden's ABBA is perhaps the most famous winner of the competition, taking the honors in 1974.



Israel's Netta Barzilai captured the top prize in 2018 with her song Toy in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon.

With reporting by AFP, dpa, and Eurovision.tv


A court in Iran has sentenced three writers to a total of 18 years in prison after convicting them of crimes against national security.

Reza Khandan Mahabadi, Baktash Abtin and Kayvan Bajan, were convicted of "propaganda against the state" and "acting against national security and sentenced each to six years in prison late last week, reports said.

Their trial was held in April.

The charges are often brought against intellectuals and critics of the Iranian clerical establishment.

The three are members of the Iranian Writers Association, which has come under pressure by authorities who have summoned, threatened, and jailed its members.

"This trial is not just the condemnation of three writers. This was not a trial against the Writers Association alone. Its a condemnation of all writers and others who want to enjoy the right to free expression," the group said in a May 15 statement while suggesting that authorities did not provide any solid evidence to back the charges.

'Travesty Of Justice'

The New York-based center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) condemned the "unjust and unlawful" prison sentences for Khandan Mahabadi, Abtin and Badajan as "a travesty of justice."

"Iranian authors, artists and musicians are a part of Iran's heritage. They create and expand the culture. Using kangaroo courts to put them behind bars for peacefully expressing themselves is a travesty of justice," CHRIs executive director Hadi Ghaemi said in a May 17 statement.

In a statement published earlier this month, PEN International had expressed concern about the trial of the three writers while calling on Iranian authorities to drop all the charges against them and respect their right to freedom of expression.

"PEN International is alarmed about the large number of writers and activists in Iran who have been detained or imprisoned solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression," the group said.

The writers have 20 days to appeal their verdicts.

With reporting by RFE/RLs Radio Farda and the BBC
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned U.S. commercial airliners flying over the waters of the Persian Gulf that they risk being misidentified amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

An advisory, issued by the FAA on May 16, said the warning came amid "heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the region which present an increasing inadvertent risk to U.S. civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or mis-identification".

Tensions have escalated in recent days, with concerns about a potential U.S.-Iran military conflict.

The U.S. has ordered a beefing up of U.S. military assets in the Middle East and Persian Gulf, citing possible threats from Iran, and the State Department also ordered the evacuation of all nonessential personnel from the U.S. Embassy in neighboring Iraq.

Iran has dismissed the allegations from Washington that there were "imminent threats" from Tehran and accused the United States of an "unacceptable" escalation of tensions.

Last May, U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a 2015 landmark nuclear deal which curtailed Iran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for relief from crippling sanctions.

Since then Washington has steadily stepped up its rhetoric and reimposed sanctions.

Both sides have said they do not want a war.

Trump said on May 16 that he was not inclined toward the U.S. going to war with Iran.

I hope not, Trump said at the White House when asked about the prospects of an armed conflict with Tehran.

Speaking on May 18, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he did not believe a war would break out in the region as Tehran did not want a conflict and no country had the illusion it could confront Iran."

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP and IRNA
Venezuela's embattled socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, has made his first public comments about mediation efforts taking place in Norway, saying government and the opposition representatives are seeking to "build a peaceful agenda."



The remarks came on May 17 after Norways government confirmed reports that it has had "preliminary contacts" with representatives from Maduros government and the opposition.



Norway's Foreign Ministry, which has in the past conducted similar conflict-mediation efforts, said the talks were in an "exploratory phase."



"We reiterate our willingness to continue supporting the search for a peaceful solution," the ministry said.



Opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is not in Norway, has confirmed that the Scandinavian country was conducting mediation talks, but he denied the two parties were negotiating face-to-face.



Representatives from both sides arrived in Norway over the past week, indicating a new approach to ending a months-long crisis in the South American country.



An attempt at an uprising by Guaido apparently collapsed after Venezuelas military failed to support his movement, which has brought hundreds of thousands of people on to the streets in protest against the Maduro government.



Maduro, backed by Russia, China, and Cuba, took office in 2013 and was sworn in for a second term in January following elections in May 2018 that were marred by an opposition boycott and claims of vote-rigging.



Maduro has been criticized for alleged human rights abuses and for his handling of Venezuela's economy.



Guaido, who leads the National Assembly, declared himself interim president in January and won support from major powers, including the United States and more than 50 other countries.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa
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Thats tough because that was one of the things we were trying to eliminate by integration, said Nathaniel Garland, one of the 26, in the film.

Lewis Johnson, who also attended Stone-Robinson, said in the film that the teacher asked him to help tutor other black children and that he made good grades during the school year. However, on the final report card, he was given straight Fs.

Where it came from, I dont know, he said, adding later that the experience made it more difficult to trust people.

The markers highlight the work of parents and community members, including the Rev. R.A. Johnson, to integrate the schools.

Dickerson said Johnson, pastor at Zion Hill Baptist Church in Cismont, was the leader of a coalition of parents. He would drive parents to pick up Pupil Placement Board applications and plan desegregation in meetings at the church and at their homes.

It was his brainchild and then the parents came on board, and they worked together, he said.

Matt Haas, superintendent of Albemarle County schools, said the Albemarle 26 inspire him.
The auditors office found that the 28 percent increase had been financed partly with carryover reserves that were no longer available for the current fiscal year.

Someone had to know this was not going to end well, Jones said. Its very upsetting to me.

Senate Finance Committee Co-Chairman Tommy Norment, R-James City, added, Its annoying as hell.

Mavredes said the department had reined in spending for the current fiscal year, which it expects to end on June 30 under budget. However, the audit also questioned whether the agency had properly managed federal grants, estimating $851,000 in costs that did not appear to have adequate documentation. They were moving money to where they needed it rather than truly matching up the expenses with the revenue streams, she said.

Emergency management spokesman Jeff Caldwell said the departments financial challenges arise primarily from a 30 percent decline in federal funding over the past 10 years, while state funding has been flat and the number of disasters handled by the agency has increased.
BRISTOL  In the past 45 years, about a dozen people have died at the hands of others along the Appalachian Trail.

The latest was Ronald Sanchez Jr., 43, of Oklahoma City, who was stabbed to death near the Smyth and Wythe county line on May 11 by a man wielding a machete. Federal authorities charged 30-year-old James L. Jordan of Massachusetts in the case. He is also accused of stabbing a woman who survived the attack.

Violence is extremely rare on the Appalachian Trail, which stretches about 2,190 miles from Georgia to Maine, said Brian King, a spokesman for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. About 2 million to 3 million people hike the trail each year. The chance of being murdered on the trail is about 1 in 20 million, King said.

The first known murder on the Appalachian Trail occurred in 1974, when Joel Polson from South Carolina was killed in the Chattahoochee National Forest near the Low Gap Trail Shelter. Ralph Fox, a fugitive from Michigan, was arrested in Atlanta and convicted in the case.

One year later, in 1975, Janice Balza of Wisconsin was hiking in Carter County, Tenn., when Paul Bigley of Arizona killed her.
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FAIRFAX  A Fairfax County supervisor who is running for board chair hired a lawyer to investigate suggestions that his family acquired its five-bedroom home through a quid pro quo arrangement with two local developers.

Jeff McKay last week released his lawyers report, which called the accusations part of a politically driven witch hunt meant to smear the supervisors character. The claims against McKay, contained in a memo by two lawyers who wont say who paid them to write it, have injected an unusual level of drama into the Democratic race for board chair.

McKay  the front-runner among four candidates in the June 11 Democratic primary  confirmed that a developer who is also a close friend built his familys home in the Alexandria portion of his district. But he called the memos suggestions that the price was a discount tied to his support for the 2016 rezoning of a portion of the nearby Kingstowne Towne Center borderline libelous. Sale records show McKay and his wife, Crystal, bought the home for $850,000 in 2017, slightly more than its assessed value.
Today is Armed Forces Day  a day to salute those serving in the U.S. military. They deserve it. Men and women join the military for myriad reasons  educational and training opportunities, adventure and the chance to serve ones country. At a cost to taxpayers of about $35,000 per recruit, those who volunteer go through a strenuous vetting process. Once in, most recruits will work far harder than theyve ever had to before in their young lives. They undergo some pretty intense training. Retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North once described the typical American serving in todays armed forces: Hes a high school graduate. Hes a volunteer. He is brighter, better-educated, better-trained, -led and -equipped than any soldier, sailor, airman, guardsman or Marine of any country in history. ... Hes been taught chemistry, and physics, and ballistics, avionics and electronics to operate and maintain the most sophisticated weapons and equipment ever designed by the hand and mind of man. He can use his body like a weapon, and his weapon like a part of his body. And he can take a life or save one because hes been so remarkably well-trained. Our troops are a pretty phenomenal group. They go without complaint into harms way or wherever their nation sends them, whether they agree with the decision or not. Take a moment today to say thank you to someone whos serving.
What does the ACT model look like in practice? Over the past six months, the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond has joined with the Islamic Center of Henrico, Islamic Center of Virginia, Muslim Community Center of Chesterfield, VCU Muslim Student Association, West End Islamic Center and Randolph-Macon Hillel to convene Stronger than Hate. Members of the Muslim and Jewish communities have come together to socialize, build trusting relationships and plan volunteer opportunities.

Similarly, the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities Standing Together program is a diverse, interfaith coalition that engages the greater Richmond region to stand in solidarity with targeted communities by promoting justice and advancing human dignity, inclusion and equity. This group has convened many community events to support learning, relationship building and demonstrations of solidarity.

But there is so much more to be done. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action. This moment in 2019 demands the same urgency that Dr. King spoke of in 1967. For it is going to take all of us working together to fight the rising tide of bias.
Employers Can Stop Paying Salaries Based on Former Salaries. Another step employers can take to eliminate the pay gap is to end the practice of relying on a job applicants current salary to set their new salary. Depending on an applicants current salary in setting compensation often serves to further perpetuate the wage gap. For example, a female applicants salary at a previous job might be lower than another equally qualified male candidate because of pay discrimination at the former workplace. Additionally, depending on an employees current salary can cause the gap to slowly increase overtime, creating an even large pay disparity. Several states and cities have banned employers from asking past salary history because of the research linking this practice to the pay gap.

This phenomenon was brought to life in a recent Supreme Court case Yovino v. Rizo, 139 S.Ct. 706 (Feb. 25, 2019). A female math consultant sued her employer under the EPA because she was being compensated less than her male colleagues. Her employer did not deny she was being paid less than the men in her department, but explained she was paid less because her current salary was based off her prior earnings. Before going to the Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit ruled in Yovino that prior salary could not be used to justify any differences in compensation between two employees because this practice exacerbates the gender wage gap. This was a great ruling for employees, as it clarified that using a prior salary was not allowed in determining their wages. However, the Supreme Court did not rule on the case and sent it back to the Ninth Circuit because the judge who authored the opinion passed away. The Ninth Circuit has yet to issue a new opinion.
Mahahual landowners say 200 hectares illegally occupied by squatters

Mahahual, Q.R.  Businessmen and property owners in Costa Maya say they are facing an invasion of properties by people who utter threats when owners attempt to evict them.

Owners of land in Mahahual say that there are at least five properties covering more than 200 hectares that have been invaded by squatters.

Juan Carlos Ortega Prado, one of those affected says We are very concerned about what is happening in Mahahual, which is the jewel in the crown of Othon P. Blanco and cannot be abandoned. There is concern from investors and small owners.

He explained that the invaders, taking into account their accent and physical characteristics, are arriving from Central America, most likely Honduras. He says landowners are fearful because these squatters are consistently armed with firearms and machetes to eliminate any attempt at evicting them.

Jose Alcocer, another affected landowner in Mahahual, says he fears losing his patrimony since there are no experts to deal with the issue saying There is no expert and it takes up to seven months to start a file so the cases go to the archivist, he said.

In a press conference, the land owners, grouped in a citizen council, asked for the intervention of the government to stop the security problems arising as a result of the invasions and also to avoid situations similar to what has happened in other areas like Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum.

Affected landowners Juan Ortega, Jose Alcocer and Gilberto Carrillo explained that the problem is causing the Urban Development Plan to not be respected adding that there is a risk that the invaded areas become large favelas (informal settlements) due to population saturation and lack of basic services.

The invasions affect some 15 properties among which are the so-called Sacred Heart, Belem and El Manicero, all of which have been filed with the State Attorney General.

Although two of the cases have resulted in a judicial resolution, the landowners still have not been able to evict the invaders.
Man in Playa del Carmen restaurant shooting says he also killed journalist

Playa del Carmen, Q.R.  The prosecutors office of the state says that one of those responsible for the recent shooting death of a Playa del Carmen journalist has been arrested.

In a press conference, State Attorney General Oscar Montes de Oca reported that one of the men who allegedly participated in the shooting attack on Cerveceria Chapultepec says he is also responsible for the murder of journalist Francisco Romero Diaz.

Montes de Oca said that after the recent arrest of three men found driving a vehicle matching the description of the getaway vehicle in the Cerveceria Chapultepec restaurant shooting, one of them confessed to killing the journalist.

During the press conference, the attorney general explained that the subjects claimed they only receive phone calls in which they are told who to kill, and that they do not know the ordering parties by more than just a nickname.

He said that in the homicide of the journalist, the subject confessed to having received a call telling him to go to the Gotta bar in the Forjadores neighborhood where an acquaintance handed him a firearm and a telephone, in which he was told that he should dar piso the reporter.

Alleged responsible in the Cerveceria Chapultepec restaurant shooting and for the death of journalist Francisco Romero Diaz

According to the prosecutor, these subjects are hired guns, receiving their instructions through phone calls by a nicknamed boss who tells them who to kill and then sends them their money. Although the trio claim to be from the Jalisco Nueva Generacion Cartel, they are a local group who use the name to frighten citizens.

Montes de Oca noted that the confession is not full proof and that they will work to corroborate the information and are already working with telephone companies to find the source of the calls adding that their investigation continues.
Playa del Carmen police officer arrested for homicide

Playa del Carmen, Q.R.  The State Attorney Generals Office has arrested an active Playa del Carmen police officer in the 2018 death of a young local man.

A report from the Special Prosecutors Office in Combat of Corruption says that the arrest of police officer Ruddy M.H. took place at 8:07 p.m. for the crime of homicide in the death of a man in August of last year.

The incident occurred along a road to Guadalupana when the policeman allegedly beat the victim, Gabriel B.O., dragged him with his patrol unit and then shot him in the chest. The allegations were reported by witnesses with the officer justifying his behavior saying the man resisted arrest.

However a passenger on a combi recorded the event on his phone.

Relatives of the victim filed a complaint with the Office of the Prosecutor and the Human Rights Commission, but the Directorate of Public Security, then headed by Joaquin Morales, did not remove the Playa del Carmen police agent from his position.

Officer Ruddy M.H. was taken into custody by members of the Prosecutors Office in compliance with an arrest warrant issued against him for events that occurred on August 19, 2018 near the Guadalupana neighborhood in what has been referred to as a case of abuse of power.
This occurred after media proved that Strache promised public contracts in return for campaign help from a fake Russian backer. Videos from a hidden camera were used. The video appeared to show Mr Strache discussing government contracts with an alleged Russian investor in return for campaign support. Strache insisted he was the victim of a targeted political attack which had used illegal means. In the recordings Strache and his partys group leader in parliament Johann Gudenus are seen discussing with a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch how she can invest in Austria.

Strache also appeared to hint at possible ways political donations could be made to a foundation linked to the FPOe and not to the party directly, apparently in order to escape legal scrutiny. Resigning, Mr Strache said that transport minister Norbert Hofer will replace him. He affirmed that his actions had been stupid and irresponsible and he was leaving to avoid further damage to the government. As an individual I must not be the reason for stopping that and perhaps providing a pretext to break this government, he said.
Tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds are expected. The most significant threat for tornadoes was for central Nebraska. The Northern Plains, Mid-Atlantic and Texas are also under severe storm watches. An enhanced risk for severe storms on Saturday has been extended to a larger part of the state. More than 50 million people could be affected, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. Much of the western half of the state is under an enhanced risk for these types of weather events.

Damaging winds and large hail will be the primary threats with the strongest storms, with a few tornadoes also possible, the agency said in a statement. Most of East Texas is under an Enhanced Risk for severe storms Saturday with the main threats being high straight line winds. On Sunday, the storm system is expected to continue east, targeting Midwest states such as Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. heavy rainfall will cause flooding concerns, especially near area creeks, rivers and lakes. However clearing skies are expected Sunday afternoon. Forecasters are also tracking another system that could bring more strong storms and heavy rain on Tuesday.
The expression goes a little something like this: Do a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life.

In the ideal world this is how everyone would feel. I had resigned myself to the fact that I wasnt ever going to feel this way, perpetually discontented since my first work experience trying to resolve a legal dispute over a land boundary between two farms in Northern Ireland riveting stuff as you can imagine. I told myself not to be the archetypal cliche of a millennial who gives up on everything because they arent feeling fulfilled enough. On I went, determined to work at it.

As I sat in 2012 taking the national bar exam, which I had been cramming for over several months with expensive bar-preparation classes in the evenings  the past four years leading up to this moment, in the pit of my stomach I just didnt care. I tried to ignore the inner nagging voice, but it was always there.

I felt I had invested too much at this point to give up on it entirely, I decided that maybe Northern Ireland was the problem. I enrolled for an LL.M. at Maastricht University  and found myself setting off for university again and telling myself I just hadnt found the right type of law yet.

Prestige

Luxembourg  Financiers and lawyers run this town, that cold hard argent is what brings many a suitor to the GD, and you can spot them a mile off. The legal field in particular comes with a certain level of prestige, the whole sector commands a sense of superiority and lawyers enjoy thisin fact I suspect its a contributing factor to becoming one in the first place. Friends have admitted they would find that status hard to relinquish.

Of course, many aspiring lawyers start out with dreams of making a difference, at least for me I specialised in all the more impactful human areas, but alas if you are not married to George Clooney its harder to break into the truly life-changing cases. You inevitably decide you would like to start making some money after so many years of pumping money into your education, and before you know it youve gone corporate. For the most part, theres no way back to the more philanthropic areas.

If I could rewind, I clearly knew communications and journalism was more my calling in life but alas being a lawyer seemed more professional and so I embarked on that path, 10 years after my first university class, I finally decided to abandon it altogether. Was it scary? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

Making a change

On average more than 1/3 of our life is spent at work, thats a hell of a long time to do something which doesnt spark joy as is Marie Kondos signature line, which brings me nicely to Japan where they take the importance of work to a whole new level. Karoshi can be literally translated as overwork death whereby Japanese workers die from work-induced suicide or simply drop dead at their desks. Its a growing phenomenon, specific to Japan and its work culture and one which the government is struggling to tackle, albeit an extreme example it highlights the importance of work in our daily lives. Our chosen careers are intrinsic to our lives, our happiness, general wellbeing and sense of purpose.

The obvious thing to say is that defining your career path is best done sooner rather than later. When you find yourself on the later end of the spectrum it can be more difficult to break out, but the good news is that the gig economy is going strong and that many people have a side hustle these days, whether that be an online business, a blog or a part-time hobby you somehow monetise.

The days where you must remain steadfast within the very strict perimeters of your industry are gone, which gives people more economic freedom to be flexible. Whilst my personal experience is very related to law, the more asking around I did the more I found out how it wasnt entirely uncommon for people in the legal profession to move into other sectors because the same skills were relevant  analytic, detail oriented, research driven and above all an enjoyment of reading and writing. All transferable skills, every single job has skills you can take elsewhere. My advice is to think of the big picture does the thought of your current sector in 20 years time fill you with dread?

When you instinctively know deep-down that you're doing the right thing, one that brings you purpose and contentment while hopefully adding value to the lives of others  you can't help but want to move towards it and ultimately do your best at it and in that way you cant really ever fail.

Curious to hear of anyone elses career path changes, let us know in the comments.

----

Christelle McKillen works in communications for RTL Group and in her spare time writes about expat life, like many a millennial she considers herself a budding Instagram aficionado @girlinluxembourg
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called Saturday for an early election after his vice chancellor resigned over a covertly shot video that showed him apparently promising government contracts to a prospective Russian investor.

Kurz said he would ask President Alexander Van der Bellen to set a date for a new election as soon as possible.

Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, head of the far-right, anti-immigrant Freedom Party which is in Austrias ruling coalition with Kurzs Peoples Party, had resigned earlier Saturday, a day after the video was published.

The video hit a nerve amid broader concerns about ties between Russia and right-wing populist parties critical of the European Union, the more so because the Freedom Party is part of a Western government. In 2016, Strache went to Moscow to sign a cooperation pact with the United Russia party, which is loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Straches resignation was also a black eye for the populist and nationalist forces who favor tighter European immigration policies. It came only a few days before the May 23-26 elections in 28 European Union nations to fill the 751-seat European Parliament. Nationalists and populists across Europe are competing to achieve a strong showing in that vote.

At a news conference late Saturday, Kurz said talks with other officials from the Freedom Party showed they were not willing to make the changes that Kurz felt were necessary to continue the current coalition. Kurz also said a possible coalition with the center-left Social Democrats would derail the governments program of limiting debt and taxes.

No date was immediately given for a new vote. Austrias public ORF television reported analysts saying the vote could take place in September.

Two German publications, the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and the weekly Der Spiegel, published extracts Friday of a covert video purportedly showing Strache during an alcohol-fueled evening on the Spanish resort island of Ibiza offering Austrian government contracts to a Russian woman, purportedly the niece of a Russian oligarch and interested in investing large amounts of money in Austria.

In his resignation statement Saturday, Strache apologized but said he was set up in a political assassination that illegally used surveillance equipment. He conceded his behavior in the video was stupid, irresponsible and a mistake.

The publications declined to say where they got the video. In it, Strache and party colleague Johann Gudenus are heard telling the unnamed woman she could expect lucrative construction work if she bought Austrias Kronen Zeitung newspaper and supported the Freedom Party.

The 49-year-old politician said he had been in a state of increasing alcohol intoxication and had behaved like a teenager in an attempt to impress the attractive host. He said he had had no further contact with the woman and she did not donate to his party.

Key topics in the EU elections have been debates over immigration, democracy and human rights after Europe faced an influx in 2015 of migrants and asylum-seekers from war-torn areas in the Mideast and Asia.

On one side are nationalist, anti-immigrant movements critical of the EU such as Austrias Freedom Party, the Alternative for Germany party, Frances far-right National Rally and Italys League party. They want to halt most immigration into Europe, especially from Muslim areas, and give more control back to national governments from EU headquarters in Brussels.

On the other side, pro-European movements such as continents mainstream center-right and center-left parties see the EU parliament vote as a chance to reject populism and support European cooperation and integration.

In the video, Strache also appeared to suggest ways of funneling money to his party via an unconnected foundation to circumvent Austrian rules on political donations.

A spokesman for the opposition Social Democratic Party, Hannes Jarolim, has asked prosecutors to look into the video, the APA news agency reported. Jarolim reportedly claimed the statements in the video could constitute offenses or attempted offenses such as misuse of office, bribery and money laundering.

___

McHugh reported from Frankfurt, Germany.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Nearly three decades ago, when Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards wife was 20 weeks pregnant with their first child, a doctor discovered their daughter had spina bifida and encouraged an abortion. The Edwardses refused.

Now, daughter Samantha is married and working as a school counselor, and Edwards finds himself an outlier in polarized abortion politics.

My position hasnt changed. In eight years in the Legislature, I was a pro-life legislator, he said. When he ran for governor, his view was the same. Im as consistent as I can be on that point.

Edwards, who has repeatedly bucked national party leaders on abortion rights, is about to do it again. Hes ready to sign legislation that would ban the procedure as early as six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant, when the bill reaches his desk.

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Louisianas proposal , awaiting one final vote in the state House, would prohibit abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, similar to laws passed in Kentucky, Mississippi, Georgia and Ohio that aim to challenge the U.S. Supreme Courts 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Alabama has gone even further, enacting a law that makes performing abortions a felony at any stage of pregnancy with almost no exceptions.

But the abortion bans in those other conservative states  spurred by anti-abortion activists hoping the addition of conservative judges to the Supreme Court could help overturn Roe v. Wade  were backed by Republican governors.

A rarity in his party, Edwards anti-abortion stance provokes angry outcries on social media from Democratic voters and disappointment within the partys broader ranks across the country.

When Republicans are taking away womens rights at every step, its on the Democrats to show that we are the party that will protect women. When we fail to do that, we make it absolutely hopeless for women around the country, said Rebecca Katz, a progressive Democratic consultant.

The abortion-rights debates that divide state Capitols across the nation cause few ripples in the Louisiana Legislature. It is one of the countrys most staunchly anti-abortion states, with a law on the books that immediately outlaws abortion if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned. State lawmakers annually enact new regulations seeking to curb access with bipartisan support.

This years so-called heartbeat bill, sponsored by Democratic state Sen. John Milkovich, has received little public opposition from lawmakers as it steadily advances. The ban, however, only would take effect if a federal appeals court upholds a similar law in Mississippi.

The Louisiana bill includes an exception if the pregnant womans health is in serious risk, but not for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.

It gives a very small window for a woman to be able to access abortion services, said Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights organization that researches reproductive health issues.

Edwards embrace of the anti-abortion legislation is unusual for a present-day Democratic governor, Nash said, although that was not always the case.

If you think back 20 years, abortion politics were less along party lines, she said. There were moderate Republicans who supported abortion rights because they felt there was a right to privacy and places where government should not go.

Edwards said his views are in line with the people of his conservative, religious state, who he described as overwhelmingly pro-life. And he said he extends that philosophy to his decision to expand Louisianas Medicaid program under the federal health overhaul law, a decision unpopular with Republicans, because I think that, too, is pro-life.

Thats the way I was raised. Thats what my Catholic Christian faith requires, the governor said on his monthly radio show. I know that for many in the national party, on the national scene, thats not a good fit. But I will tell you, here in Louisiana, I speak and meet with Democrats who are pro-life every single day.

When he ran for governor in 2015, Edwards made opposition to abortion a central platform of his campaign. In a TV ad, his wife, Donna, described being advised to have an abortion because of their daughters spinal birth defect. The ad showed a grown-up Samantha as Donna Edwards said, Shes living proof that John Bel Edwards lives his values every day.

Four years later, as Edwards runs for a second term, his two major Republican challengers  U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham and businessman Eddie Rispone  have tried to hammer him for abortion rights policies endorsed by his party nationally.

But that narrative is tough to make stick against a governor who repeatedly signs abortion restrictions, along with data released in March that showed the number of abortions in Louisiana declined each year of Edwards tenure.

This is not an easy issue to pigeonhole people  or especially me  on, at least, because I dont think the labels really work, Edwards said.

____

Associated Press Writer Kevin McGill contributed to this report from New Orleans.

____

Follow Melinda Deslatte on Twitter at https://twitter.com/melindadeslatte .

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
President Donald Trump won the White House pledging to wind down the nations many foreign entanglements and put America First. But as his administration in recent days has sent mixed signals on the prospects of a military conflict with Iran, Trumps campaign trail promise is being put to the test.

With the 2020 election approaching, the political pitfalls ahead for the first-term Republican president could be serious.

While Trump enjoys overwhelming support from his party, there is little appetite among his loyalists for a new military conflict in the Middle East. Many are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but a string of recent moves has sparked concerns that the administration was beating the drums toward war. Among the possible precursors to military conflict: new sanctions on Irans Revolutionary Guards, the deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier to the region and public warnings of unspecified intelligence that Iran might strike at American interests.

Asked this week if the U.S. was going to war with Iran, Trump said simply: I hope not.

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Aware of the potential backlash from within his party, the president is trying to play down the possibility of hostilities. He held the door open for negotiations over Irans nuclear program and malign activities in the region amid reports that he was pushing back against his more hawkish advisers preference for a military solution.

Prominent Trump supporters offered a pointed warning on Friday about the prospect of a new war, which they view as a direct violation of his America First pledge.

It would be a disaster for him and for the country getting into another military engagement in the Middle East, said Corey Stewart, who led Trumps 2016 campaign in Virginia. It does concern me that the president has (national security adviser John) Bolton and a lot of these neocons advising him. Thats clearly not what he ran on and what most Americans want.

Foreign policy threatens to be a significant political liability for Trump heading into his 2020 reelection campaign.

Overall, 63 percent of Americans said they disapproved of his job handling foreign policy, according to a January poll conducted by Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Like other issues, the partisan divide was overwhelming: 76 percent of Republicans approved, while just 8 percent of Democrats said the same.

Yet the Republican Party under Trumps leadership has shifted away from wanting the United States to play an aggressive role in world affairs. Foreign policy hawks in the GOP who have long embraced a muscular foreign policy have been marginalized in recent years, dismissed as globalists.

By contrast, Democrats are now far more likely than Republicans to say the U.S. should play a more active role in solving the worlds problems.

In the AP poll, 43 percent of Democrats said they thought the U.S. should be more active abroad, compared to just 13 percent of Republicans.

Trump on Friday sought to blame the media for the sense of mounting unease over Iran.

They put out so many false messages that Iran is totally confused, he told a crowd of real estate agents in Washington, complaining about media coverage of his administrations recent moves. I dont know, that might be a good thing.

People close to the president acknowledge that an armed conflict in the region is a real possibility.

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., a Trump confidant, signaled support for a military solution if needed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon  so long as the United States wouldnt take the lead role in a prospective war.

Whatever needs to be done to keep Iran from becoming a nuclear power needs to happen, Falwell said in an interview. Im not saying the United States needs to do it. Somebody is going to need to do it.

He added: The way that it balances out, it might be Saudi Arabia and Israel that go to war with Iran.

J.D. Gordon, director of national security for Trumps first campaign, described Iran as a delicate balance for the president, who is surrounded by advisers who generally agree with his worldview.

Preventing an aggressive state sponsor of terrorism from acquiring nuclear weapons through primarily economic and diplomatic pressure isnt as simple as many people would like us to believe, Gordon said.

While military conflict would likely be unpopular among Republican voters, the politics on Iran are nuanced.

For years, Republicans railed against the multination pact struck under former President Barack Obama to remove economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for the countrys pledge to abandon its nuclear program. Trump last year withdrew from the deal, thrilling Israel and anti-Obama conservatives at home while troubling European allies who insisted it was working.

Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the hawkish Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Iran takes a paramount position in Trumps worldview, with the president believing the country poses a particularly destructive threat.

I think one should never discount the political calculation, which is that he knows a significant part of his base, including tens of millions of evangelical Christians, agree with him, Dubowitz said.

The passionate opposition to the Iran deal among Trumps core supporters affords him some room to maneuver amid the military buildup, even if America First conservatives oppose an outright war.

I havent met anybody who thinks we shouldnt take an incredibly hard line against Iran, said Mark Meckler, an early leader in the tea party movement. At the same time, he said, Nobody believes theres going to be a war.

What Trump promised in regards to our foreign policy is America First, Meckler continued. Hes doing that.

___

Peoples reported from New York.

___

Follow Miller and Peoples on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller and https://twitter.com/sppeoples

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plan a door-to-door survey this weekend in northern Illinois near where an anhydrous ammonia leak sickened dozens last month.

The Lake County Health Department says CDC staff will start interviews Saturday at home within a 1-mile radius of the spill in Beach Park, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of downtown Chicago. The CDC also will interview first responders and nearly 40 people hospitalized after the April 25 leak.

Authorities have said a tractor driver was towing tanks of anhydrous ammonia from Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, to an Illinois farm when the chemical leaked, creating a toxic gas cloud. Nearby residents were ordered to stay indoors for several hours.

Lake County health officials say water samples from nearby homes showed slightly elevated ammonia levels on April 26. Those levels were normal on April 30.

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Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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To vape or not to vape?

Heres a lesson for you. One of my daughters friends, a teacher, stopped by and told me about a recent lesson she taught at one of the local middle schools. She started her lesson by saying to her thirteen year old students, Today, we are going to make milkshakes, and we are going to use some of the same ingredients that are used in making e-cigarettes. Lets start with blueberries. Flavor is important to both concoctions. Next, a little formaldehyde. Its used to manufacture the colorless, gaseous stuff that makes the smoke in e-pens. Yes, its used in fertilizers and embalming fluids, but only large amounts are harmful. Next is the e-liquid. Thats the propellant used to get the smoke into the lungs. It causes cancer in rats, heart disease in humans, but only if used to excess. How about a little arsenic? It is used in rat poison, but it keeps the ingredients in vape machines free of rodents in stores. Then, a little cyanide. Its only dangerous in large amounts, but it, too, adds flavor to the smoke inhaled. In keeping with that flavor, lets add a little yogurt. Our milkshake is complete and just as tasty as those trendy little e-pens. Now, who wants to try my milkshake? No hands went up, but a great discussion took place on whether to vape or not to vape.

Allen R. Remaley

Saratoga Springs

Saratoga Hospital expansion

Although I do not live in the area surrounding Saratoga Hospital, I have lived in Saratoga Springs and Wilton for over 30 years and my family and I have used its facilities extensively.

I am very dismayed to hear all of the negative comments from neighbors re the improvements that the hospital would like to make. My understanding is that one of the improvements would be to allow for a more comprehensive stroke center.

As I had 2 Strokes and 2 TIAs since February 1, 2019, I feel I can comment first hand on the need for these services here in Saratoga Springs. Although I started out at the hospital in all of these occurrences, I had to be sent by ambulance to Albany Med as Saratoga Hospital was unable to care for me.

I believe the folks who are speaking out against the hospitals plans are being extremely short sighted and perhaps even foolish to think they might never need the new services that will be available.

Saratoga Hospital is a great hospital . Let us not stand in the way of making it even better.

Tom Federlin

Saratoga Springs

School Board politics

Politics is apparently a dirty word. Especially when it comes to the Saratoga Springs Board of Education race, where a local group fervently claims their efforts to re-arm grounds monitors through their chosen candidates are not political. The truth is, all elections are political. Politics is an inherent part of our democratic system.

Money is what they have brought to the race. No past school board candidate in this district has ever spent more than $500, and suddenly we have 3 candidates with $33,000. Money has changed the dynamics, has shifted the question over who will win to be based on who made the most robocalls, or who put up the most signs. Its certainly not based on the issues. The Saratoga Parents for Safer Schools is the primary mouthpiece for their slate of candidates, were not hearing much from the candidates themselves about what makes for a qualified school board trustee. Were not talking about what is important to make the Saratoga School system better for all students. Were talking about the money. Were talking about the signs. Were talking about purchasing out of state political consultants.

I hope that people are seeking out information on all of the seven candidates positions  not just on the question of how to address school safety, but about how to address budget challenges, what candidates know about the ability to address class size, mental health treatments, racial disparities in school discipline, increasing services for students at all levels. A high-priced campaign to elect school board trustees cannot be our substitute for choosing the most qualified candidates. Theyve made it about the money  and its up to voters in this district to reject the money and focus on who is best to serve our school district.

Norah Brennan

Saratoga Springs

Concerns over Saratoga Springs School Board decision

I have a severe concern over the decision the Saratoga Springs School Board made in October to disarm our school resource officers.

How long should your child wait for help?

The debate about SRO & Grounds Monitors really boils down to one simple question.

How long should your child wait for help to arrive?

1 minute? 5 minutes? 10 minutes?

The Saratoga Springs Police response time to area schools is 7.7 minutes.

If you agree with me, that your child shouldnt have to wait that long for help to arrive, vote for Shaun, Dean & Ed for school board on May 21.

Lisa Adams

Mother of 2 Saratoga students

Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Finance candidate

In the April 15 edition of the Saratogian, Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Finance candidate Patty Morrison oddly promised to not pursue office on a third-party line in her quest to unseat current Commissioner of Finance Michele Madigan.

This will not be a hard campaign promise for Morrison to keep as all nominations for established third parties were completed at the beginning of April, and Ms. Morrison was not able to obtain any third partys endorsement nor was she endorsed by her own Democratic Party.

In contrast, current Commissioner of Finance Michele Madigan has received the endorsement not only of the Democratic Party but also of the Working Families Party and the Independence Party.

One hopes that in the future Ms. Morrisons promises will have more substance..

Jane WeiheIn the April 15 edition of the Saratogian, Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Finance candidate Patty Morrison oddly promised to not pursue office on a third-party line in her quest to unseat current Commissioner of Finance Michele Madigan.

This will not be a hard campaign promise for Morrison to keep as all nominations for established third parties were completed at the beginning of April, and Ms. Morrison was not able to obtain any third partys endorsement nor was she endorsed by her own Democratic Party.

In contrast, current Commissioner of Finance Michele Madigan has received the endorsement not only of the Democratic Party but also of the Working Families Party and the Independence Party.

One hopes that in the future Ms. Morrisons promises will have more substance.

Jane Weihe

Saratoga Springs

Our children deserve safety

I write to you as a passionate proponent of stricter and more responsible gun laws. I am champion Universal Background Checks and believe the red flag law is integral to the safety of many. I am in no way pro-gun.

However, I support armed security in our schools and believe the removal of our armed monitors this past October was miscarriage of best judgement. Many have now painted me as a pro gun zealot. As the daughter of a Police officer  later Corrections Officer who carried a firearm daily, I am familiar with those properly trained in the use of fire arms, and respect their training and expertise.

As a current substitute teacher, I can tell you the fear that comes with a lock down or lock out is palpable. While some have claimed that they are safe with the locked school doors and need to be identified for access, our children remain vulnerable during entry and dismissal as well as during recess or any other outdoor activities. This is particularly true in our Elementary Schools where there is no monitor much less an armed monitor.

I know firsthand the value of a trained, armed professional on campus for the safety of my students and myself. As we have seen countless times in these tragedies, minutes save lives. The presence of armed professionals is the insurance you hope you never need, but have in the event of an emergency. No one deserves insurance more than our children.

Gayle LaSalle

Saratoga Springs NY

Assembly Member Carrie Woerner continues to be a champion

Assembly Member Carrie Woerner continues to be a champion for the people of her district, including the hard-working farm families who put food on all our tables.

For starters, she fought to secure funding for agriculture in the recent New York State Budget that helps to support many important programs. This includes money for research to benefit animal care on our countys dairies and livestock farms, promote the growing craft beverage and maple syrup businesses, and to increase accessibility of New York grown products that help to grow our farms.

The New York State Budget also made a significant investment into the Environmental Protection Fund that works with farmers to become even better stewards of our natural resources, including the Integrated Pest Management Program to reduce pesticide use. EPF also encourages greater use of cover crops, no-till to improve soil health and reduce run-off, and farmland preservation, all of which can help keep agriculture in the hands of the next generation of farmers.

Saratoga County Farm Bureau appreciates Assembly Member Woerners leadership. She values the hard work of farmers and understands their contributions to our rural economy.

Jamie Pettis

Saratoga County Farm Bureau President

Saratoga Springs School Board election is upon us

The Saratoga Springs School Board election is upon us. While issues in most school board elections are a new pool or renovating a library the election for the Saratoga Springs School District this year is about the safety of our children. In question is the position taken by some current board members to change the status of school security grounds monitors from armed to unarmed. The monitors are current or former police officers  trained and experienced professionals. Their focus is school security. A School Resource Officer (SRO) as an actual police officer assigned to a school or school district, often covering several schools or even the entire school district. Their duties include presenting training and providing some positive interaction with students. The primary duty of SROs is not school security. The priority of the monitors in the Saratoga Springs District is to provide security. They have done this in a effective professional manner for years. Why then, in this era of school violence, does the Saratoga Springs Board decide to unarm what is arguably the most effective school security measure in our area? Politics. They chose to be political and ignore the facts and expert opinion.

This election is more important than any other school board election in memory. It is about the safety and the lives of our children. That anyone in a position of responsibility would vote to make our schools, indeed our children, less safe in our dangerous world is unconscionable. As a veteran of 37 years in law enforcement and as a security consultant I believe that the time has come. Dont wait until you have to ask yourself what more could have been done. Do it now. Vote for Shaun Wiggins, Ed Cubanski and Dean Kolligan for safer schools.

John Neeley

Saratoga Springs
National Armed Forces Day is not only a day to show our appreciation for our service members in the armed forces, but also take a look at what this day actually means. National Armed Forces Day also means special military discounts and deals specifically for those who serve.

What Is National Armed Forces Day?

Armed Forces Day has been a longstanding tradition in the U.S., first observed following a proclamation made by then-Defense Secretary Louis Johnson on August 31, 1949. Under the administration of President Harry Truman, the former celebration of each individual military branch on their own days was instead combined into a single day of observance.

President Truman, himself, made the case for Armed Forces Day as part of the Presidential Proclamation of February 27, 1950.

Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by Americas defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, toward the goal of readiness for any eventuality. It is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense.

When is National Armed Forces Day This Year?

You still have some time to make plans. National Armed Forces day is Saturday, May 18, 2019.

2019 Military Discounts for Veterans, Active Service Members, and Their Families

There are several discounts available to military members and their nearest and dearest during the month of May 2019.

Applebees : Spanning the entire month of May, the famous restaurant chain offers a 15% discount on all meals. Further, on Armed Forces Day, those patrons who dine-in can get a complimentary $5 discount card to redeem during a later visit. Youll need your military ID to participate in these offers.

: Spanning the entire month of May, the famous restaurant chain offers a 15% discount on all meals. Further, on Armed Forces Day, those patrons who dine-in can get a complimentary $5 discount card to redeem during a later visit. Youll need your military ID to participate in these offers. Blue Star Museums : Beginning on May 18 through September 2 more than 2,000 Blue Star museums will offer free admission to members of the nations military members.

: Beginning on May 18 through September 2 more than 2,000 Blue Star museums will offer free admission to members of the nations military members. Carowinds : Those who live in North Carolina or the area nearby may wish to take advantage of the Carowinds discount. In honor of National Military Appreciation Month, the amusement park offers free admission to active military, retired military, veterans with good discharge papers, and others. Family members of eligible individuals receive heavily discounted tickets.

: Those who live in North Carolina or the area nearby may wish to take advantage of the Carowinds discount. In honor of National Military Appreciation Month, the amusement park offers free admission to active military, retired military, veterans with good discharge papers, and others. Family members of eligible individuals receive heavily discounted tickets. Lowes: On Memorial Day, the home improvement retailer is offering a 10% discount to all veterans. Note that Lowes offers a constant 10% discount to all active duty members of the armed forces, as well as those who are retired, on VA status, and their immediate families. It is unclear whether you can combine these two discounts.

Chuck E. Cheese, El Pollo Loco, Old Country Buffet, Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas, Sams Club, Target, Under Armour, Enterprise, Greyhound, and Six Flags also extend discounts and other promotions to members of Americas armed forces,

Honoring Service Members on Armed Forces Day 2019

Besides respectfully thanking the veteran on the street or any service members you know for their service, Support Our Troops strongly recommends sending a care page.

Some of the items Support Our Troops you can send to help brighten the day of a deployed soldier include:

VISA or Mastercard gift cards, in denominations of $25 if possible to provide for maximum flexibility.

Personal grooming items, such as body wash, disposable razors, and deodorant. Other helpful items include foot powder and feminine hygiene products of all size and description.

Laundry pods packed in a rugged, resilient container so as to prevent bursting during transport.

Magazines, general interest, and hobbyist  no nudity or extreme sexual material.

AA and AAA batteries, disposable and rechargeable.

Snacks, such as corn nuts, chips, beef jerky, beef sticks, granola, and protein bars.

Playing cards.

Tobacco products, sealed and legally purchased.

Regardless of which items you choose to send, the charity requests donors to also include $20 for shipping costs. These expenses often exceed $20,000 by themselves during particularly hectic weeks.

How will you honor service members on National Armed Forces Day? Share with us in the comments below.

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Which came first, the pigs or the pioneers? In Barbados, that has been a historical mystery ever since the first English colonists arrived on the island in 1627 to encounter what they thought was a herd of wild European pigs.

A recent discovery by an SFU archaeologist is shedding new light on the matter. Christina Giovas uncovered the jaw bone of a peccary, a South American mammal that resembles a wild pig, while researching a larger project on prehistoric animal introductions in the Caribbean.

"I didn't give it much notice at the time, but simply collected it along with other bones," says Giovas, the lead author of a study just published in PLOS ONE. "It was completely unexpected and I honestly thought I must have made a mistake with the species identification."

Giovas and collaborators George Kamenov and John Krigbaum of the University of Florida radiocarbon-dated the bone and conducted strontium isotope analysis to determine the age and whether the peccary was born on Barbados or had been imported from elsewhere.

The results showed the peccary was local and dated to 1645-1670, when the English wrote their account of finding wild European pigs on the Caribbean island. The researchers were not only able to show there had been a previously undetected historic peccary introduction but that the region's earliest celebrated maps depicted peccaries that had been mistaken for pigs by the English.

Giovas says the findings upend Barbados' accepted colonial history and reflect how quickly Europeans began to alter New World environments by altering species distributions.

"Checking historical and archaeological records, we determined the most likely source of peccary introduction was from Spanish or Portuguese ships passing the island in the 16th century--and most likely left as a source of meat for future visiting sailors," she says.
The Korean man, who was abducted in Libya last July and released earlier this week, speaks to reporters at Incheon International Airport, Saturday. Yonhap



A South Korean man, who was abducted in Libya last July and released this week, expressed gratitude to the government for its rescue efforts upon his arrival home Saturday.



The 62-year-old, identified only by his surname Joo, was taken hostage, along with three Filipinos, by a group of 10 armed militants July 6 while working at a desalination plant in western Libya. He was released Thursday after 315 days in captivity.



"President (Moon Jae-in) and staff from the foreign ministry, as well as embassy staff in Abu Dhabi, took great pains to rescue me over the 315 days," Joo told a throng of reporters at Incheon International Airport.



Joo also extended his appreciation to the United Arab Emirates, which Cheong Wa Dae said played a crucial role in the process of rescuing him from the militant group.



Looking tired, he called the days of captivity "nightmare-like."



"I also thank my God very much ... who had been with me during the nightmare-like 315 days," he said. "All thanks to you, I am in good shape, though I have lost 10 kilograms."



Asked about the toughest challenge he faced during captivity, Joo said missing his family and having difficulty with the food.



He also left a message to four South Koreans who have rejected the government's call to leave Libya, citing livelihood concerns. "I think it would be better to get out," he said.



Joo is known to have worked in Libya for decades, a reason why he could not easily leave the country despite the travel restrictions that Seoul imposed in 2014.



A foreign ministry official said Joo is unlikely to face any punitive measure for having stayed in Libya despite the restrictions.



After he was held hostage last year, Seoul took stronger measures to prevent South Koreans from traveling to Libya, including revoking their passports. But applying such a measure to Joo was "inappropriate" as they were put in place after he was abducted, the official said. (Yonhap)


Farfetch's 'Store of the Future.' Courtesy of Interfashion Planning



By Victoria Kim



The world best-known department store Macy's is closing eight stores this year as part of plans that were announced in August 2016.



Two years ago, Macy's said it would close 100 stores. Officials said the aim was to concentrate on balancing the present stores with its strong digital presence. Needless to say, it is no wonder the traditional retail industry  physical stores  has been struggling recently.



Many mono brands, malls and even select apparel shops have decided to shutter some of their bricks-and-mortar stores.



The Tsutaya Bookstore in Daikanyama. Courtesy of Interfashion Planning



However, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2018, 89 percent of retail sales were through stores and 5.65 percent were from e-commerce, with 1.85 percent by mobile and the remaining belonging to the catalog/others category. This implies that even though there are new types of retail formats, such as social commerce or live-streaming media businesses, typical store-based retail is dominant.



Therefore, it is not simply a matter of competition between online and offline distribution but a story of the distinctive value of the channels. In other words, the essence of retail management is "how" the retailer presents the differentiated product-related service and price range to the end customer.



Indeed, retailers encounter diverse technologies with personalized, data-driven services and experiences across the platforms beyond the merchandise. I would like to recommend models of store spaces that will thrive in the new retail landscape.





The Tsutaya Bookstore in Ginza. Courtesy of Interfashion Planning



1. Showrooms more than a physical store



Commonly, a physical store is regarded as a stock display area, so the fixtures and store interior and exterior elements are tools of product decoration. The showroom concept is utterly different. "Our concept is not to sell books themselves, but to offer lifestyle navigation to read the books comfortably so it feels like being inside a library. After we conceived this founding concept within the store, the books sold so well," Muneaki Masuda, Tsutaya Bookstore's founder, said.



The work of Tsutaya Bookstore's employees is not limited to organizing books or helping customers find the books they looking for. They are called "concierges," based on their decades of field experience. For example, the "Travel" books category concierge has expertise based on a travel-related work career. Therefore, books displayed in the section not only include best-sellers but those that reflect the concierge's own taste and insight.



If a customer is thinking about visiting Belgium, the concierge can help with travel tips, advice on accommodation and book recommendations. This is a truly personalized evolution at the heart of the experience of authentic expertise.



"Showroom" originally defined a large space to display products for sale between the buyer and the brand agent. If we consider the store as the showroom to create intimacy and exploration for customers, it will become an entirely different business.





Farfetch's "Store of the Future." Courtesy of Interfashion Planning
By Hannah Jun





Yonhap
Developer Terry Demmon knew he would face challenges in building 163 apartments on a 5-acre parcel in the heart of San Lorenzo, an unincorporated town of sycamore trees, cul-de-sacs and midcentury ranch homes 12 miles south of downtown Oakland.

After all, for decades the town of 23,000 has been on the losing end of commercial real estate transactions. And some residents are afraid its happening again, stifling the towns growth.

The intersection where Demmon is hoping to build  5 acres of cracked asphalt and weedy lots  has been vacant since a Mervyns closed in 1995. Theres also an empty liquor store. To the west, across Hesperian Boulevard, sits San Lorenzos most noteworthy structure, a 1947 Art Deco theater that has been shuttered for 37 years.

But it hasnt been financial or business obstacles that have impeded what would be largest development in unincorporated Alameda County in more than 30 years. Its been something Demmon didnt expect: opposition from labor unions.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

The Alameda County Planning Commission approved the project in February, but it was appealed to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors by East Bay Residents for Responsible Development, a coalition of building trade groups that for years has used Californias environmental laws to fight nonunion housing projects. Member unions are the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 595, Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 104, Sprinkler Fitters Local 483 and United Association Local Union 342.

The union opposition has sparked criticism that labor is using the California Environmental Quality Act to strong-arm developers into agreeing to hire their members. In a statement, the developer called it a case study in union opposition to much-needed residential projects in California when a developer cant or wont sign a union contract.

They told us there was absolutely no compromising, that we have to use all four unions exclusively, Demmon said.

John Dalrymple, political affairs consultant for the residents group, said the projects environmental impact report is flawed. He said the EIR doesnt adequately analyze the impact of relocating a large gas line to make way for the project and that a study of how much particulate matter the development would create is faulty.

He denied that the environmental objections are a tool to force Demmon to use union labor.

If they correct the environmental deficiencies the project will move forward, whether or not they do right by the community around the workforce issues, Dalrymple said. Our appeal doesnt stop the project  it may delay it for six or eight months.

San Lorenzo, one of the first planned communities in the country, was developed in the 1940s and 1950s by the Bohannon Organization, which built more than 25,000 homes in San Mateo and Alameda counties. Bohannon still owns most of the retail property in the neighborhood, including the Mervyns site, which Demmon has agreed to purchase if the project is approved.

While the 700-seat Lorenzo Theater and Mervyns once created something of a commercial center, both have been gone for decades. Demmons project, called Village Green, is an effort to create a new focal point for the suburban community, he said. In addition to housing, it would create 12,000 square feet of retail in six spaces.

Demmon said using union labor would increase the cost of the project from $42 million to $49 million and that rents in San Lorenzo wont support the additional costs.

Construction costs are the same as downtown Oakland, but Im going to be getting rents that are 33% less than downtown Oakland, he said. That is our problem. I believe in the area long term, but its very untested. There is nothing new within miles of this.

Dalrymple scoffed at the idea that the developer cant afford to pay union wages.

They all say they cant afford it  Ive never met a developer who said, Sure, this will pencil out for me, he said. They make commitments to their investors first and to the community second. Every developer does.

The fight has put the future of San Lorenzo in limbo, said Jessica Medina, a real estate agent and lifelong San Lorenzo resident. She said shes watched past development proposals fizzle and that her hometown is being left behind.

I feel like this is our best chance  we have someone interested in creating housing, and it will be a catalyst to revitalization, she said. This developer is taking a gamble. They are the first developer to come in and say, I believe in San Lorenzo.

Medina said San Lorenzos midcentury ranch homes  relatively affordable for the Bay Area at an average of about $650,000  are attracting a new generation of buyers, as is the proximity to the Bay Fair BART Station a little more than a mile away. But the lack of shops and restaurants hurts the town.

The housing market is really hot here, she said. Its definitely a hidden gem. Millennials are buying homes, but they are looking to shop locally. They want a higher walk score, and we are unable to give them that. I really think the future of San Lorenzo is riding on this development.

The project would complement the Hesperian Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project, which started in March, said Alameda County Planning Director Albert Lopez. That project includes moving utilities underground, wider sidewalks and new bike lanes, trees and landscaping. Hesperian runs through the center of town, parallel to Interstate 880, connecting San Lorenzo to San Leandro to the north and Hayward to the south.

Its a good infill site, with bus service and not too far from BART, Lopez said of Village Green. This project could bring in other commercial uses in a market that has not seen much investment. This part of downtown is the only big opportunity site in the whole area. If we are going to see any development in San Lorenzo, its going to be on this site.

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 Board of Supervisors was scheduled to vote on the appeal this month, but Supervisor Wilma Chan delayed the vote until July to give the developer and the appellant more time to negotiate.

Attorney Rob Selna, whose firm Wendel Rosen represents Demmon, said Chan has warned the developer that the majority of the five-member Board of Supervisors would probably side with the unions. Chan denied having said that, insisting that she doesnt know how the board would vote.

Im going to keep talking to both sides, she said. Im an optimist.

Chan said she has tried to make the project more economically attractive to the developer by recommending that a county-funded commercial kitchen and culinary education center be located in one of the retail spaces, which would help generate more than $1 million in rent. In addition, she has committed to moving her office into one of Village Greens retail spaces.

Selna said that denying the project would be a violation of the California Housing Accountability Act, which limits local governments ability to reject housing.

In addition, he said Alameda County is not meeting its regional housing needs allocation, a state-mandated process to identify the number of housing units each jurisdiction must accommodate in its housing element, which is part of a countys general development plan.

The countys 2015 housing element, which identified the Mervyns parcel as a priority development site, stipulates that 1,769 housing units should be permitted before 2023. Halfway through the period, only about 400 units, or 22%, have been approved.

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen
A Jehovahs Witness whose online postings were intended to stir debate about the religions practices fears that he, or she, would be excommunicated and shunned by friends and family members if named publicly.

A federal magistrate in San Francisco has ruled that the self-identified Darkspilver can remain anonymous, except for identification to lawyers for the religions Watchtower publication, which says the posting violated its copyright.

The First Amendment protects the right to anonymous speech, U.S. Magistrate Sallie Kim said Friday. Although that right is not unlimited, she said, Darkspilver has demonstrated significant harm if his identity were revealed publicly or even if it were revealed to Jehovahs Witnesses in his congregation.

She also said the constitutional right of free speech applies even though Darkspilver does not live in the United States. The suit seeking Darkspilvers identity was filed by a U.S. company in a U.S. court, Kim said, and the First Amendment protects the audience as well as the speaker.

Although court filings do not identify Darkspilvers gender, Kim said she used the male pronoun because the posters pleadings were filed under the name of John Doe. The religious organization sued San Francisco company Reddit, the website that Darkspilver used, to obtain the posters identity. Reddit sided with Darkspilver.

This is an important victory for the rights of users everywhere to share and receive anonymous speech online, said attorney Alex Moss of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the privacy rights group that represents Darkspilver.

But she said neither her organization nor her client was happy with Kims decision to disclose Darkspilvers name to lawyers for the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, along with an order that they keep the name confidential unless the magistrate approves disclosure to anyone else.

Thats no guarantee of secrecy, Moss said, and they are considering further actions to shield the clients identity. She contended the copyright suit was merely a pretext for unmasking a critic.

Lawyers for Watch Tower, a company affiliated with Jehovahs Witnesses, could not be reached for comment.

Darkspilver, a lifelong Jehovahs Witness, has been using a Reddit forum for former members of the religion for several years to discuss religious issues freely and openly, Kim said, quoting court filings. The case arose from two recent posts that included an ad, seeking donations, and a chart, both taken from the religions official Watchtower magazine.

Darkspilver said the postings were meant to encourage discussion about the organizations tone, message, and fundraising practices. Watch Tower, which publishes the magazine, said the posts violated its copyright and sought a court order to disclose the posters name.

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.

In court papers, Darkspilver said critical voices in the faith, once identified, are often disfellowshipped, or excommunicated, an act that would damage or destroy his relationships with friends and family who remain active members, Kim said.

Although Watch Tower holds the copyright to the magazine ad, the magistrate said, it remains subject to fair use, which allows copyrighted materials to be quoted for public purposes such as criticism. Darkspilver had the noncommercial purpose of trying to provoke debate and did not diminish the publications value, she said.

On the other hand, Kim said, Watch Towers copyright case is not entirely baseless, and as it continues, any harm to Darkspilver would be alleviated if the posters identity was disclosed to the companys lawyers under an attorneys eyes only restriction.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
A Berkeley resident infected with measles visited the popular Berkeley Bowl last week and may have put people at risk of developing measles  unless visitors are vaccinated against the virus, city officials said Friday.

The Berkeley resident visited the neighborhood grocery store at 2020 Oregon Street on May 7 from about 3 to 5 p.m., putting those who are not immune at risk of catching the highly preventable contagious virus, officials said.

Merely inhaling the airborne virus can infect up to 90 percent of those who are not immune, officials said. If an infected person sneezes or coughs, the virus can linger in the air for up to an hour, officials said.

Patrons who shopped at the supermarket during that time frame should monitor for the first visible symptoms of the virus, such as a runny nose, red eyes, cough and a fever, officials said.

Those initial symptoms typically begin between 7 and 21 days after exposure. A rash typically follows as a secondary symptom, often spreading down the rest of the infected persons body.

Given how measles spreads through the air from someone unaware of infection, the need for vaccination is especially important, said Dr. Lisa Hernandez, the city of Berkeleys health officer. The vaccine is a simple and very powerful protection.

Public health officials recommend people get two doses of the MMR vaccine, which protects 97 percent of the population. A single dose of the vaccine protests 93 percent of the population, officials said.

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.

Unvaccinated children, unvaccinated adults born in 1957 or later, and people with severely weakened immune systems should monitor for any symptoms, officials said.

Officials advise anyone who develops measles symptoms to call their doctor as soon as possible.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor
Moments before he was shot and wounded by a police officer while allegedly holding a BB gun that looked like a pistol, a 25-year-old Windsor man, distraught and crying, tossed a crumpled piece of paper out of his car in a church parking lot.

Thank you for doing this favor for me because I did not have the courage to do it, the man had handwritten in Spanish, according to a translation by police. My life has no meaning on this land, this was the only way to leave this land that everything was a disaster for me. And to my family and mother, I ask forgiveness, I had to do this.

The man signed his name and thanked the officer.

Under a landmark California law, the public this year is gaining access to long-secret police records describing investigations into officers actions on the job. On Friday, a San Francisco Superior Court judge handed another victory to the laws supporters with a tentative ruling requiring state Attorney General Xavier Becerras office to turn over a vast trove of records in its possession.

While the law, Senate Bill 1421, is exposing many incidents of misconduct, the new files are also surfacing new details on the phenomenon of suicide by cop, in which despondent individuals threaten officers to provoke them to shoot.

The confrontation in Windsor on Jan. 30, 2017, outside Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, was such a case, according to an internal affairs report released this month by the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office. The deputy who shot the man in the stomach, as well as a second deputy who struck him with a hard sponge projectile, acted in perceived self-defense and abided by policy, the office concluded.

The Chronicle is not naming the man, who survived, because of the sensitive nature of the case.

Studies of suicides and attempted suicides by cop estimate they make up 10% to 36% of police shootings. Some cases feature advance planning by individuals too scared to kill themselves, while other incidents are more sudden, with suspects who face criminal consequences deciding that the only way out is to die at the hands of those coming to arrest them.

One expert found that 13% of apparent suicide-by-cop deaths included a pre-written letter absolving the officers of wrongdoing. Such was the case in the fatal 2015 San Francisco shooting of Matthew Hoffman, 32, who allegedly aimed an airsoft pistol at officers. A suicide note discovered later on his phone stated, You had no other choice.

Suicides by cop can be particularly traumatic for officers, who in the aftermath realize they werent responding to a real threat but rather a person who is basically dragging the officer into a self-execution, said Alison Berry Wilkinson, a San Rafael attorney who represents police officers around Northern California.

If you need help National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call 800-273-8255 to reach a counselor at a locally operated crisis center 24 hours a day for free. Crisis Text Line: Text "Connect" to 741741 to reach a crisis counselor any time for free. See More Collapse

An officer cant in that split second know what is going on in the head of an individual who is holding the gun and they dont have X-ray vision to know if the gun is loaded. They have to make a decision based on the actions, she said. Its not what officers want to do or what they are trained to do, and it takes a huge toll.

Also under Senate Bill 1421, Santa Rosa police recently released internal reports and body-camera video from a 2016 incident in which a despondent 15-year-old boy allegedly pointed a pellet gun at an officer, who thought the gun was real and shot the boy in the foot.

I know what youre going through! Dont do it! Santa Rosa police Officer Brian Fix can be heard screaming on his body-camera footage moments before shooting.

At the hospital, a detective spoke to the boy, who said he tried to get shot by police because he figured it would be the least painful way to die, according to the report.

(He) told me he did this because he was under a lot of stress over his grades at school, the detective wrote. He had plans to go into the military and felt that his lowering grades was going to preclude him from achieving his goals.

Officers found a suicide note, along with multiple goodbye texts to friends he had sent moments before he called police to report a man in the park with a gun. His father told police that his son had thought of pursuing a career as a peace officer.

Often, prosecutors are more lenient when they consider filing charges against people who survive suicide-by-cop scenarios and are deemed to have had no intent of hurting officers, said Sonoma County Public Defender Kathleen Pozzi.

The Windsor man shot in the stomach pleaded guilty to two counts of felony obstructing or resisting police. He served six months in jail once he was released from the hospital.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

With these suicide-by-cop cases, unfortunately it doesnt mean that what they did didnt constitute a crime, said Pozzi, whose office represented the man. She said part of the mans plea deal included mandatory mental health counseling.

According to the newly released files, the shooting unfolded about 8:30 p.m. The first officer at the scene knocked on the fogged window of the mans Nissan Maxima and found him on his cell phone, crying, with what appeared to be a black handgun on his lap, investigators said.

For a half hour, police negotiated with the man, with a Spanish-speaking officer trying to persuade him to surrender over his cars PA system. Police later interviewed the relative who was on the other end of the mans cell phone call. The relative told police the man had said he wanted to kill himself and had tried to do so in the past by swallowing pills.

(The relative) stated that (the man) was suicidal because of his homosexuality, one officer reported.

The man exited the car a couple of times before climbing back inside. After about a half hour of negotiations, he stepped out and placed his hands on top of the car as ordered, but reached back inside, multiple officers reported.

Deputy Eric Seibold fired a projectile, which caused the man to turn, officers said. Deputy Brian Parks told detectives he was 99% sure he saw the man holding a handgun at that point and fired his service weapon once, hitting the man in the stomach and dropping him to the ground.

The report indicated multiple police body cameras were activated in the incident, but no footage was released.

Three days after the shooting, Detective Joseph Horsman interviewed the man in the hospital.

He explained how the deputies did not shoot him the first time he emerged from his car, so he grabbed the air gun the second time he emerged from the car, Horsman wrote. He said he had the gun pointed downward and never actually pointed it at the deputies. He admitted wanting the deputies to shoot him though.

Matthias Gafni is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: matthias.gafni@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mgafni
The political spectrum in this country isnt so much a line from left to right, but a circle. The further left a person goes, the more in common he or she has with somebody on the far right.

Take the shocking story of the San Francisco police bringing a literal sledgehammer to a journalists door  and a metaphorical one to the freedom of the press  on the morning of May 10. The officers were brazenly and clumsily trying to find out who among their ranks leaked the police report describing the seedy details of Public Defender Jeff Adachis death to freelancer Bryan Carmody, who in turn sold it to television stations.

As if the sledgehammer wasnt enough, Carmody said the officers drew their guns and handcuffed him  for six hours. Picture that. Being handcuffed in your own home and forced to look on as police seize your laptops, phones and notebooks, the ones containing work from your 29-year career.

Is the San Francisco Police Department acting like Keystone Cops and going to ridiculous lengths to show supporters of Adachi they take seriously that one of its officers leaked the details of his death? Or did the department intend to send a very serious, very scary message to journalists?

Imagine seeing this story pop up on your phone. Must have been in some small town in the South, right? One where everybody voted for Donald Trump and believes the presidents crazy rants about fake news and journalists being the enemy of the people?

Nope, it happened right here in supposedly progressive San Francisco. You know, the cosmopolitan city where we treasure our freedoms. When it suits us anyway. And the most troubling part? The fact that so many city officials were in on it  and so few have condemned it after the fact.

Two Superior Court judges  Victor Hwang and Gail Dekreon  signed off on the warrants. (Sources say Hwang has been telling people around town theres more to the story, but nobody but Hwang seems to know what that is. A spokeswoman for the Superior Court said judges cannot comment, citing ethical rules.)

Two FBI agents were on hand during the raid, too. And Mayor London Breed, to whom Police Chief Bill Scott reports, issued a milquetoast statement that managed not to say much at all, other than that the Police Department went through the appropriate legal process to request a search warrant.

Ive covered three mayors  four if you count the brief tenure of Mark Farrell last year  and their feelings about the press seemed to range from irritation to anger, depending on the day. But the First Amendment? Youd think theyd appreciate that.

Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

Supervisor Sandra Fewer, who is married to a retired police officer, told the San Francisco Examiner that its illegal to obtain a police report unless it has been officially released. Thats false. Its perfectly legal for a journalist to receive a leaked document, and its essential to our role of serving as government watchdogs.

Fewer later clarified: The truth is, I am not a legal expert. No kidding.

Despite so much support for the Police Departments actions, I still  perhaps naively  expected some contrition from Scott when he explained the raid to the Police Commission Wednesday night. Hes a genial guy who doesnt relish the limelight or political fights, and I figured hed strike a conciliatory tone. Maybe even apologize.

Quite the contrary.

Scott doubled down on the whole sledgehammer-to-the-door operation. Even though the story had gone viral and rightly earned the scorn of First Amendment groups nationwide. Even though the raid pretty clearly violated Californias shield law, which protects journalists from having to give up their sources.

We have to do our jobs and make sure reports are not released when they are not supposed to be released, Scott said. If theres criminal activity thats proven, we want to get to the bottom of that.

And also: We are committed to maintaining the publics trust. The leak was a breach of the public trust, and I understand that and were investigating that leak fully, including allegations of misconduct, potentially by members of the San Francisco Police Department.

How does taking a sledgehammer to a journalists door maintain the publics trust? Why cant Scott use his own detectives  you know, the ones charged with solving crimes  to figure out who on his staff leaked the report?

Courtesy Bryan Carmody

Asked about the chiefs statements, David Stevenson, a spokesman for the Police Department, sent a statement tripling down on them.

The citizens and leaders of the city of San Francisco have demanded a complete and thorough investigation into this leak, and this action represents a step in the process of investigating a potential case of obstruction of justice, along with the illegal distribution of confidential police material, he emailed.

One justification for this bizarre raid seems to be that nobody liked Carmody or the kind of journalism he practiced. Ive never met him, but he seems either unknown or disliked by everybody Ive talked to in journalism circles or at City Hall.

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.

But the law protects everybody  thats the whole point of a law. It doesnt matter if youre popular or powerful. If youre a stringer who sells information to media outlets or a Pulitzer Prize winner. Attorneys say Californias shield law protects all journalists, including freelancers like Carmody.

Note that The Chronicle had the same leaked police report, though we didnt get it from Carmody and we didnt pay for it. Why didnt the Police Department raid one of our homes and handcuff us? Would the police chief, Superior Court and mayor have been OK with that?

Kudos to two supervisors who have been among the few non-journalists to publicly call out the Police Department for its terrible behavior. Supervisor Aaron Peskin released a statement Wednesday slamming both the Police Department and the judges who gave the go-ahead to the raid.

A free press is a fundamental pillar of our democracy and must be protected, Peskin said. The fact that the Superior Court nevertheless signed warrants authorizing police to conduct the raid on a journalists home and to confiscate their belongings boggles my mind.

Supervisor Hillary Ronen said San Francisco progressives relish leaks from the Trump administration, which have been the basis for so many national stories putting the president in a negative light. But she added that means supporting local journalists rights to receive leaked information, too, even if it put Adachi, beloved by the citys progressives, in a negative light.

We cannot have it both ways, Ronen said. I am shocked that the judges in this case, the police chief, the mayor, that so many levels of government arent decrying this abuse of power. ... Never in my wildest dreams did I think they would sledgehammer a journalists door and take all of his equipment. Its an abuse of power, and I dont know whats going on here.

You and me both, supervisor.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf
A streetcar passing through the West Gate, circa 1900.



By Robert Neff



The introduction of streetcars to Seoul was declared "the first step towards civilization in 'the Hermit Kingdom,'" but many within the kingdom viewed it as an affront to their beliefs and a threat to their livelihood.



The Korean Repository  a staunch supporter of the streetcars  claimed that in everyone, "from His Majesty [Emperor Gojong] down to the coolie, excitement runs high" in anticipation of the Seoul Electric Railroad Company (SERC) beginning daily operations. All members of the public, nobles, laborers, men, women and children, were allowed to ride.



Of course, there was some separation in the seating, depending on the class of ticket one could afford. The five ordinary cars  used for regular traffic - were divided into closed and open compartments. The Korean Repository explained that the closed parts were for first-class passengers, while the open parts were for second-class passengers. Each car could seat eight first-class passengers and 25 second-class passengers.



There was also a closed car that could be "reserved for special occasions and 'trolley parties'" and was comparable to first-class cars in the United States, save that it was a little narrower.





Korean linemen, circa 1899



Finally, there was one car for the exclusive use of the emperor. It was "richly upholstered, with the windows emblazoned with the Korean ensign [and] large platforms at either end furnished ample room for the accompanying guard." It is unlikely Gojong ever utilized this decadent form of transportation but it surely must have pleased him to know that he had it at his disposal.



It was also quite lucrative to work for the SERC. The handful of Korean conductors were given Western-style uniforms and paid a princely sum of $7.50 a month for relatively light work.



The streetcar fares were comparably inexpensive: between two and 15 cents  depending on the distance. As noted by a member of the SERC, this was cheaper than hiring a sedan chair to convey one across the city on the shoulders of coolies  it was also more fashionable and cosmopolitan. By the end of 1899, the company averaged 2,068 passengers daily.



But the company's success was resented by the operators of an earlier modernization introduced into Korea  the jinricksha. Their resentment was motivated by their own economic status but others resented the SERC out of spiritual belief.





The destruction of a streetcar, circa May 26, 1899.



Throughout the spring of 1899, the country suffered a severe drought. Farmers were concerned that they would lose their crops and famine would plague the peninsula. Wild rumors circulated among the frightened and superstitious population. Some claimed that "the streetcars sucked away all the clouds." One rumor claimed that the company's power plant, near the East Gate, was built on hallowed ground and that the rain would not fall until it was removed.



Another rumor claimed that the power lines interfered with the spirits that governed the rain. Perhaps this accounted for one of the early setbacks the SERC experienced  a large amount of cable was stolen by five Korean thieves. The cable was quickly recovered and the thieves were beheaded.



Perhaps the most infamous of the rumors was that of the dragon. One early visitor, Constance J. D. Coulsin, wrote:



"The people of Seoul believe that underneath the city sleeps a great dragon, its patron and guardian [ and that the Korean ] people decided among themselves that the dragon was annoyed because the tram-lines recently laid down were pressing upon his tail, and so disturbing his sleep." In anger, it deprived the peninsula of the much-needed rain.



As each day passed without rain, the tension in the city grew. All it took was one spark to set off a volatile explosion of violence and destruction. That spark was the death of a small child.





Putting a streetcar back on its tracks, circa 1899.



According to The Korean Repository, on May 26, the SERC's president, along with a few invited guests  Korean and foreign  formally opened the streetcar system with a short excursion to the end of the line.



"[The] car was running along at the usual slow rate of speed. A child, between probably eight and 10 years of age, ran across the track some distance ahead of the car. He got safely over and the car continued to move on. The father on the other side of the track called the child to come back to him. The child became frightened, ran into the car, was caught under the wheels and killed almost instantly."



The editor claimed that the SERC was not at fault. He laid the blame on the father. However, the crowd of people who witnessed the accident and viewed the mangled body of the child could restrain themselves no longer and attacked the car. The passengers and crew fled.





A streetcar with foreigners, circa 1900. Note the cowcatcher placed on the front as a safety measure.
The last few days have been a clear example of why Sen. Kamala Harris presidential campaign is wobbling.

Lets begin with the former district attorneys visit to her home ground for the 75th anniversary celebration of the Sun Reporter, the towns African American newspaper.

Harris worked the pre-party crowd with charm, sharing jokes and memories with everyone she came across.

But when she took the stage, we got a 30-minute lecture on the importance of the First Amendment. An inspiring subject, but she went on way too long and without any reference to where she was or who was in the room.

She might as well have been in New Hampshire.

Speaking of New Hampshire, on Wednesday, when asked by reporters at a town hall meeting there for her thoughts about possibly sharing the Democratic ticket with former Vice President Joe Biden, Harris joked that Biden would make a fine running mate  for a ticket that had her at the top.

As vice president, hes proven that he knows how to do the job, Harris quipped.

Great line, great delivery.

But rather than leave it at that, her campaign people fumed about the subject even coming up. Some even hinted that reporters wouldnt be asking if Harris were a white man.

Campaign spokesman Ian Sams told Politico, Shes running for president, period, and she intends to win.

Harris husband, Doug Emhoff, echo tweeted, Shes running for president. Period.

Talk about overreaction. Lets review: Biden is at 39 percent in the polls. Harris is at 7 percent. Yes, its early, but the idea of a Biden-Harris ticket  with Biden on top  is hardly off-limits.

Harris needs to get back to who she is, remember where she is, and tell the support staff to chill out.

Poetic justice: I had to chuckle at the news that President Trump pardoned a onetime Sacramento colleague of mine, former Republican Assemblyman Pat Nolan.

Nolan spent more than two years in federal prison after pleading guilty in 1994 in an FBI sting operation that was looking into corruption in the Legislature.

Nolans experiences with prosecutors and in prison changed his life, according to a statement from the White House. Upon his release, he became a tireless advocate for criminal justice reform and victims rights.

Nolan said his time in prison was a gift from God.

As it turns out. I had a hand in delivering Gods gift.

Nolan was the Assembly minority leader back when I was speaker, and he wanted my job.

He knew the FBI was interested in investigating me, and he offered to help the feds.

He volunteered to report back every week.

And he did, for about a month.

But when everything he reported turned out to be inconsistent with what FBI agents knew was going on, they started investigating him.

They set up a sting, offering money in exchange for his support of a phony bill. And he went for it.

It wasnt until years later that someone came to me with a copy of Nolans probation report, which laid out everything he had done to try to help the FBI throw me in the slammer.

Over the years, I would see Nolan occasionally. I even went to his mothers funeral. Never once did we mention it.

Hey, no hard feelings. Nolan was well-deserving of a pardon. His community work after his release is worthy of praise.

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And to be able to say that Pat Nolan told the FBI how to get Willie Brown and wound up being stung himself  well, it worked out pretty good for me as well.

Movie time: Red Joan. Judi Dench stars in a quiet, thoughtful movie that opens with an 80ish woman finding herself accused of handing over A-bomb secrets to the Russians during World War II. No violence and very little action, none of it generated by computers. Just an old-time black-and-white movie with a great collection of automobiles and wardrobes.

Windows on the World. Chronicle columnist Leah Garchik gets it right: This story about the lives affected by 9/11 should blow the hinges off the doors at festival competitions. Its co-written by our own independent filmmaker, Robert Mailer Anderson, and hurray for him.

Bakers two dozen: We now have 23 Democrats and one socialist seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. An even two dozen. The lineup is starting to look like an order at a Petaluma egg stand, or maybe a box of All Star Donuts.

The latest entry is New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who Im not sure could get re-elected to his current job.

And there may be more. I saw former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on TV the other morning, dressed in a red, white and blue power suit and sounding very much like shes about to become No. 25.

Why not?

The only candidates with clear constituencies appear to be former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg, whos a mere mayor but has a big LGBT fan base.

Everyone else could meet with their supporters in a phone booth. If there were still phone booths.

Nonetheless, many of them are coming to town for the state Democratic Party convention that starts May 31. Mayor London Breed asked me what duties might be expected of her as the ad hoc hostess.

My advice: Get out of town before the stampede hits.

Want to sound off? Email: wbrown@sfchronicle.com
The Polestar 2, the first electric car to go straight up against Teslas Model 3, is due to go on sale in the U.S. by summer 2020. But will it?

If the trade war between China and the U.S. gets much worse, the car  which will be made at a factory in Luqiao, China  might not be sold in the U.S. at all, said Thomas Ingenlath, Polestars CEO.

Polestar is a new electric car brand from Volvo, which in turn is owned by China automotive giant Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, known as Geely for short.

The Polestar 2 is a sporty electric sedan with 275 miles of range, priced between $45,000 and $65,000 before federal and state incentives, which can reduce that by as much as $10,000 for many California buyers.

The company plans to build 50,000 of the cars in its first year of production. Up to about 40% will be sold in China, Ingenlath said. Norway, which offers heavy incentives for electric cars, will be its No. 2 market.

Right now, Polestar plans to sell about 30% or so of the first years run on the West Coast of the United States and in Canada. We would embrace free trade as in the interests of the consumer, Ingenlath said. While all international companies must operate in a world where trade barriers are common, and Volvos U.S. plans have been made with existing tariffs factored in, Polestar wont export cars to countries where rising tariffs make a products price ridiculous, he said, but will scale up or scale down U.S. plans depending on tariff levels. Tariffs on China-made cars sent to the U.S. are currently set at 25% by the Trump administration.

Ingenlath was in the Bay Area for the recent Google I/O developers conference. Polestar (and Volvo) plan to use the Android Automotive Operating System as the base for their infotainment systems.

Relaxing with a cappuccino at Four Barrel Coffee in San Franciscos Mission District, the former Volvo head designer said that Androids open development platform, where third-party software writers that meet Polestars requirement can add applications, is one way to differentiate the Polestar 2 from the Tesla Model 3.

There are other big differences, he said. One is the design, which he insists pushes the borders more than the Model 3. Customer opinions on car design are mostly subjective, and Ingenlath damned the Model 3 looks with faint praise: The Model 3 feels very fresh. It has a prototype quality to it, its very primitive in some form.

Quality will set the Polestar apart from the Tesla, he said. Well aware that the Model 3 currently faces serious issues with misaligned body panels, infotainment screens that go black and batteries that dont work, Ingenlath said, Well be much more professional in doing a complete product. More professional knowledge about processes, materials, long-term quality. Tesla declined to comment.

And he insists that the Polestar 2 will handle better. It wont reach the breakneck 3.2 seconds zero-to-60 time of a performance-version Model 3  Polestar will reach that in under five seconds, he said  but added: Tesla is so focused on acceleration. Performance (for most consumers) is not about the race track. The big question is, when you approach the next corner, how will you go around it?

Whether any of this matters, at least in the United States, remains to be seen. Its unclear whether most Tesla buyers are fans of electric cars, or just fans of Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk. The Model 3 is outselling all other electric cars by a wide margin. But sales of all Tesla models fell 40% in the first three months of this year. If momentum fades, it could be bad news not just for Tesla but for electric cars in general, which in 2018 still represented just 2% of the U.S. auto market, though 7.8% of new cars sold in California.

Tesla and Polestar will face an onslaught of competition over the next few years. In the luxury and near-luxury segments, Jaguar and Audi already have electric cars available. Porsche will follow later this year with its first all-electric, the Taycan. Mercedes-Benz will follow. BMW has plans to add bigger models to the subcompact i3 all-electric it has been selling for years. Volkswagen, in the wake of its diesel cheating scandal, is going all out on electric vehicles.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Ingenlath is confident that electric vehicle sales growth is set to take off around the world, especially in places such as China and Norway, with laws and financial incentives juicing customer interest. The company will soon begin selling its Polestar 1, a limited edition and expensive ($155,000) plug-in hybrid, and plans to follow up the Polestar 2 with an SUV and other vehicles at more earthbound prices.

He credits Musk with jump-starting the electric-car phenomenon. People five years ago were dismissive of a car that made no sound, Ingenlath said. Thats one of the biggest contributions Tesla made to the car industry, to tear down these kind of borders.

Polestar wont be following Teslas push for full self-driving cars and robo-taxis, however. Musk recently said Teslas will be ready by the end of the year to drive themselves and announced plans to start a robo-taxi driverless ride-hailing service in 2020. Safety experts and some players in the driverless car industry said that timeline is too aggressive.

I dont see that in the near future, Ingenlath said of fully driverless cars. You might technically be able to do it. But to integrate it with everyday traffic in a safe way? Thats a big obstacle. Polestar cars will be equipped with the latest in driver-assistance technologies, he said.

The robo-taxi service Musk promised is part of Teslas story, Ingenlath said. Musk can say something like that and get away with it. I couldnt get away with claims about these kind of things.

Russ Mitchell is a Los Angeles Times writer.
WASHINGTON  Bogged down in a sprawling trade dispute with U.S. rival China, President Trump took steps Friday to ease tensions with Americas allies  lifting import taxes on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum and delaying auto tariffs that would have hurt Japan and Europe.

By removing the metals tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Trump cleared a key roadblock to a North American trade pact his team negotiated last year. As part of Fridays arrangement, the Canadians and Mexicans agreed to scrap retaliatory tariffs they had imposed on U.S. goods.

Im pleased to announce that weve just reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico, and well be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs, or major tariffs, Trump said in a speech to the National Association of Realtors.

In a joint statement, the U.S. and Canada said they would work to prevent cheap imports of steel and aluminum from entering North America. The provision appeared to cover China, which has long been accused of flooding world markets with subsidized metal, driving down world prices and hurting U.S. producers. The countries could also reimpose the tariffs if they face a surge in steel or aluminum imports.

In Washington, some were urging Trump to take advantage of the truce with U.S. allies to get even tougher with China.

China is our adversary, said Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. Canada and Mexico are our friends. The president is right to increase pressure on China for their espionage, their theft of intellectual property, and their hostility toward the rule of law. The president is also right to be deescalating tension with our North American allies.

Earlier Friday, the White House said Trump is delaying for six months any decision to slap tariffs on foreign cars, a move that would have hit Japan and the Europe especially hard.

Trump still is hoping to use the threat of auto tariffs to pressure Japan and the European Union into making concessions in ongoing trade talks.

If agreements are not reached within 180 days, the president will determine whether and what further action needs to be taken, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

In imposing the metals tariffs and threatening those on autos, the president was relying on a rarely used weapon in the U.S. trade war arsenal  Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962  which lets the president impose tariffs on imports if the Commerce Department deems them a threat to national security.

But the steel and aluminum tariffs were also designed to coerce Canada and Mexico into agreeing to a revision of North American free trade pact. In fact, the Canadians and Mexicans did go along last year with a revamped regional trade deal that was to Trumps liking. But the administration had refused to lift the taxes on their metals coming into the United States until Friday.

The new trade deal  the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement  needs approval from legislatures in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Several key U.S. lawmakers were threatening to reject the pact unless the tariffs were removed. And Canada had suggested it wouldnt ratify any deal with tariffs still in place.

Thomas Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the lifting of the tariffs will bring immediate relief to American farmers and manufacturers. Critically, this action delivers a welcome burst of momentum for the USMCA in Congress.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau credited his government for holding out to get the tariffs removed.

We stayed strong, he said. Thats what workers asked for. These tariffs didnt make sense around national security. They were hurting Canadian consumers, Canadian workers and American consumers and American workers.

Trump had faced a Saturday deadline to decide what to do about the auto tariffs.

Taxing auto imports would mark a major escalation in Trumps aggressive trade policies and is expected to meet resistance in Congress. Last year, the United States imported $192 billion worth of passenger vehicles and $159 billion in auto parts.

I have serious questions about the legitimacy of using national security as a basis to impose tariffs on cars and car parts, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a statement. Grassley, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, is working on legislation to scale back the presidents authority to impose national security tariffs.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

The White House said that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has determined that imported vehicles and parts are a threat to national security. Trump deferred action on tariffs for 180 days to give negotiators time to work out deals, but threatened to impose them them if talks break down.

In justifying tariffs for national security reasons, Commerce found that the U.S. industrial base depends on technology developed by American-owned auto companies to maintain U.S. military superiority. Because of rising imports of autos and parts over the past 30 years, the market share of U.S.-owned automakers has fallen. That has caused a lag in research and development spending which is weakening innovation and, accordingly, threatening to impair our national security, the statement said.

The market share of vehicles produced and sold in the U.S. by American-owned automakers, the statement said, has declined from 67% in 1985 to 22% in 2017.

But the statistics dont match market share figures from the industry. A message was left Friday seeking an explanation of how Commerce calculated the 22%.

In 2017, General Motors, Ford, Fiat Chrysler and Tesla combined had a 44.5% share of U.S. auto sales, according to Autodata Corp. Those figures include vehicles produced in other countries.

Its possible that the Commerce Department didnt include Fiat Chrysler, which is now legally headquartered in The Netherlands but has a huge research and development operation near Detroit. It had 12% of U.S. auto sales in 2017.

The Commerce figures also do not account for research by foreign automakers. Toyota, Hyundai-Kia, Subaru, Honda and others have significant research centers in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Trump is locked in a high stakes rumble with China. The U.S. accuses Beijing of stealing trade secrets and forcing American companies to hand over technology in a headlong push to challenge American technological dominance. The two countries have slapped tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each others products. Talks broke off last week.

Paul Wiseman, Tom Krisher, Kevin Freking And Rob Gillies are Associated Press writers.
A man was shot and killed early Saturday in San Franciscos Fillmore District, authorities said.

Police officers responded at 5:35 a.m. to a report of shots fired on the 800 block of Turk Street. Officers found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

No other details, including the identity of the victim or information about suspects, were immediately available.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Police Department tip line at 415-575-4444.

Ashley McBride is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ashley.mcbride@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Ashleynmcb
John Walker Lindh, the Marin County man convicted of fighting alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, will be freed from a federal prison Thursday. Officials and Lindh have not confirmed whether he will return to his family in Marin County.

Federal Bureau of Prison records show Lindh, dubbed the American Taliban, will be released Thursday from the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Institution in Indiana.
By Lim Ho-yeol





Lim Ho-yeol
A woman prays near a statue of Virgin Mary outside the cathedral of Our Lady of Kaya in the city of Kaya, Burkina Faso, May 16. Reuters



Concerned about a rise in violence against Christians in Burkina Faso, Pastor Jacques Ouedraogo changed the time of his Sunday service as a precaution. He believes this is what saved his life.



Later, his church was one of two targeted by gunmen on May 12 in the town of Dablo in a series of deadly attacks on churches and a religious procession in the last two weeks in Burkina's formerly peaceful Central North region.



"I could have been one of the martyrs who fell on Sunday," said the priest.



"We've told ourselves our turn will come. Today Christians are potential targets. We're all scared."



In the wake of Sunday's bloodshed, he and hundreds of residents fled Dablo. The town had previously served as a safe haven for some of the thousands displaced by violence in the country's northern Sahel region, which has become a stronghold for militant groups with links to the Islamic State and al Qaeda.



Around 90 kilometres south of Dablo, the city of Kaya has become a refuge for those newly displaced, including a farmer, who asked to be identified by the name Te Wende. Along with his wife, mother, grandmother and two children, he was warned by neighbors to flee.



"When the shooting started, they called us straight away and told us to run far away," he said.



"We don't know where they came from or what they really wanted," he said.



On Thursday, the United Nations warned that the Central North region had become the new epicenter for attacks.



The recent targeting of churches threatens to upend traditionally peaceful relations between the Muslim majority and Christians, who make up a quarter of Burkinabes.



"I call on Christians not to panic and not to yield to the temptation of vengeance, because that could be blind," the Bishop of Kaya, Theophile Nare, said at a meeting of bishops in the capital Friday.



The first church attack occurred in late April, when gunmen killed a Protestant pastor and five congregants. Subsequently, a Catholic priest and five parishioners were killed in the Dablo attack and a further four Catholics died in an attack Tuesday.



No one has claimed responsibility, but the Burkinabe government has blamed "terrorist groups ... attacking religion with the macabre aim of dividing us."



Violent attacks linked to the strengthening jihadist insurgency have surged this year in Burkina as well as across the broader Sahel region, an arid expanse of scrubland just south of the Sahara desert.



Militants have also worked to sow ethnic tensions between farming and herding communities in Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigerin order to boost recruitment among marginalized communities.



On Thursday, Islamic State's West African branch claimed responsibility for an ambush that killed 28 soldiers this week in Niger, in one of the deadliest attacks against the military in Niger's west in recent years. (Reuters)


To reduce what Americans willingly spend on foreign goods  money President Trump considers lost to China and other countries  his administration is forcing U.S. businesses and consumers to pay tariffs that the president mischaracterizes as a windfall. The result is open-ended trade hostilities, expanding economic harm and repeated government bailouts. In Trumps parallel macroeconomic universe, whats traded is lost, whats lost is gained, and whats gained is nothing.

This appears to be the new abnormal now that the administrations trade standoff with China, which looked to be on the brink of detente just weeks ago, has devolved into mutual recriminations and retaliatory protectionism. Having already raised tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese products from 10% to 25%, drawing additional taxes on U.S. goods from Beijing, the president moved last week to tax the remaining $340 billion in imports from China. That would ensure broader impacts on Americans and leave the administration with dwindling options for further escalation.

The stock market reacted Monday with its worst performance in months, while typically deferential Republican senators were growing restive  a fortunate development given that Trumps usual Democratic opposites share many of his bad ideas about trade.

The damage to agricultural interests that count on Chinas appetite for soybeans, pork and other products causes much of the worry among Trumps usual allies, hence his recent blandishments about Americas great, patriotic, best-in-the-world farmers. The administration has also promised $15 billion in farm bailouts on top of last years $12 billion in trade war aid. The president says this will be covered by the tariff proceeds, which amounts to an admission that U.S. businesses, consumers and taxpayers are compensating his political base for the havoc wrought by his policies.

The economic losses from Trumps trade war compound that burden. A study by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Columbia University and Princeton University found that trade warfare was costing Americans $3 billion a month in taxes and $1.4 billion in inefficiency as of the end of last year. The cost is expected to double under the 25% rate already imposed on $200 billion in imports and multiply further if its extended to other products. Contrary to Trumps theory that There is no reason for the U.S. Consumer to pay the Tariffs, the study also found that tariffs were almost completely passed through into U.S. domestic prices, so that the entire incidence of the tariffs fell on domestic consumers and importers.

The worlds second-largest economy, China was the United States top trading partner last year and Californias third-largest export market, and its not the only example of Trumps fraying of our most important economic relationships. Tariffs on metals from Canada and Mexico were in place until last week alongside threats of taxes on European and Japanese automobiles. Such hostilities against allies have weakened the U.S. case against Chinas unfair trade practices.

In a hint of much-needed humility about its capacity to wage a world trade war on multiple fronts, the administration has now lifted the steel and aluminum tariffs and delayed any attack on foreign cars. Perhaps not coincidentally, data released Wednesday showed trade tensions could be slowing both the American and Chinese economies. Given that the two comprise about a third of worldwide economic activity, the mutual hostilities also risk repercussions for the global economy and for international relations that are strengthened and stabilized by trade.

The presidents trade policy doesnt even seem to be succeeding on its own bizarre terms. The U.S. trade deficit, the object of Trumps eternal obsession despite the nearly universal advice of economists, reached a 10-year high in 2018. Tariffs did help reduce the U.S. deficit with China over the first quarter of this year, but the imbalance with Mexico hit a monthly record.

The latest breakdown in U.S.-China negotiations came as the Chinese reportedly backtracked on perceived commitments because they interpreted Trumps grousing about the Federal Reserve as evidence of economic vulnerability. The blunder revealed a strategic aimlessness that Trump underscored by suggesting the tariffs might well stay in place indefinitely. With any luck, that prediction will prove as wrong as the rest of the presidents trade policy.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
California Democrats ballyhooed resistance to the Trump administration pales next to their resistance to housing a reasonable share of the states population. This week, on the day that saw confirmation of a distressing surge in homelessness across the Bay Area and California, the Legislature abandoned its most meaningful effort to deal with the worst housing shortage in the continental United States.

State Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Anthony Portantino, a Democrat who represents a number of exclusive Los Angeles suburbs, announced Thursday that the committee would shelve SB50, state Sen. Scott Wieners bill to overrule restrictive zoning and legalize higher-density housing near transit and jobs. Hours later, officials released preliminary data showing the Bay Areas homeless population grew by thousands over the past two years: up 17% in San Francisco, 31% in Santa Clara County and 43% in Alameda County.

This is not a coincidence. California is home to an eighth of the nations population but a quarter of its homeless people, and study after study has shown a relationship between housing supply and homelessness. While some of the homeless struggle with drug addiction or mental illness, many are just poor and cant afford housing, said Wiener, D-San Francisco. Theyre forced onto the streets because of our failure to build housing.

Despite the Legislatures first  and so far last  major effort to deal with the crisis in 2017, the states housing supply grew by less than a percentage point last year, under half the needed rate. But legislative leaders, cowed by local politicians and incumbent homeowners who resist development at every turn, have repeatedly declined opportunities to respond.

That is despite broad public and political support for Wieners approach. After an earlier version of SB50 was killed in its first committee last year, extensive amendments won support from unions, environmentalists and the mayors of the Bay Areas largest cities. This year, the bill survived two committees with a major concession to smaller counties to appease Senate Government and Finance Chairman Mike McGuire, who represents notoriously anti-housing Marin County.

But Portantino halted the bills progress without so much as a vote, revealing once again that despite endless claims to the contrary, legislative leaders reservations have less to do with the details of SB50 than the substance. Perhaps they would like to do something about the legion of Californians living in cars and tents, but not if it means defying the petty prerogatives of local officials who block routine residential construction for any and no reason.

Last month, San Francisco supervisors killed an apartment building because it would cast a bit of shadow; next week, thanks to a labor dispute, Alameda County supervisors could protect a long-vacant San Lorenzo parking lot from residential construction on environmental grounds.

Rather than legislating mandates, Portantino prefers to provide incentives for local governments to permit housing. His record suggests what that might look like: He has authored bills to aid homeless college students and create a special California Housing Crisis Awareness license plate to generate revenue for affordable housing.

Whatever their good intentions, such measures aim to manage the housing and homelessness crisis rather than fix it. If Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins and Gov. Gavin Newsom allow SB50 to die, they should be welcomed to Californias most successful resistance.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
The support that certain city officials have given to the Adachi Raid (for want of a better term) only serves to highlight the base alloy of hypocrisy that permeates most levels of San Francisco government.

Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer should be deeply ashamed for their recent statements in this matter.

Dan Jacoby, Sonoma

Conflicting beliefs

To the bills many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God, Gov. Ivey Kay Ivey said in a statement after signing it into law on Wednesday. Alabama and Tennessee both executed convicted killers by lethal injection the next day.

Peggy LaCunha, Castro Valley

Convert juvenile hall

Regarding Juvenile hall step closer to closing (May 17): Given that San Franciscos homeless population is on the rise, heres a suggestion: If the citys 150-bed juvenile hall is closed, convert it to a homeless navigation center.

Better yet, turn the space into actual below-market housing for some of the thousands of people who are living on the streets or in their vehicles.

Hiram Fletcher, San Francisco

Life outside the womb

The anti-abortion supporters say they are only interested in protecting the lives of the unborn because an unborn baby is a person who deserves love and protection.

Praise Lord Jesus!  but once that baby is out of the womb, youre on your own. Wouldnt it be great if these same people applied their deeply held religious beliefs about the sin of abortion to the struggles of lives outside the womb?

We could see universal health care, better educational opportunities, affordable housing, real gun control, an end to homelessness, less food insecurity and real concern for the struggles of every human being all across the world. But then real committed concern for humans outside the womb could turn these sanctimonious, anti-abortion religious conservatives into godless liberals, progressives or socialists and that would be sinful.

Dean Houghton, Pacifica

No-fly state

Regarding Alabamas new draconian abortion law: Couldnt we Californians implement an economic boycott of the state? I for one have put them on my no-fly list.

Rick Popko, San Francisco

Just communicate

Heres a nomination for Silly Item of the Week: Quiet, please (Daily Briefing, Business, May 16) indicates that ride-hailing giant Uber is going to provide customers with setting options to chat (or not) with their driver and to choose the vehicles temperature  all for a higher price as premium services. Well, for no extra cost, Id simply tell my driver whether or not Im in the mood to talk and whether Im hot or cold. No one needs an Uber alles (meaning Uber above all else) attitude as an excuse to not communicate with another human being.

Raneesh Patel, Redwood City

Break up PG&E

Regarding No surprise  PG&Es to blame (Open Forum, May 17): Just how many chances should this poorly managed and reckless utility get to make improvements, especially since its filing for bankruptcy protection to limit its liability for causing the horrific Camp Fire? I wish that the last three words of this piece had been Break up PG&E.

Richard Fairchild, Walnut Creek

Election tampering

After reading Facebook ban (News of the Day, May 17), which describes how the social media giant decided to ban an Israeli company that ran an influence campaign aimed at disrupting elections in various countries, my question is this: Why didnt Facebook take the same action against Russia during the 2016 U.S. presidential election?

Josephine DiCostanza, Brisbane

President must take test

A suggestion has been presented by the president to demand that hopeful immigrants be required to pass a civics test in order to enter the U.S. legally. Has anyone ever suggested that the passing of that same test be given to the present president in order for him to remain at that position?

Diana DiPietro, Pleasant Hill

Share your own story

Anti-abortion extremism in this country is reaching a fever pitch. As an abortion provider, I meet women every day who need access to safe, legal abortions so that they can live the lives they want and deserve.

I am lucky to practice medicine in a state where this is still possible, but reproductive freedoms are under vicious attack as hundreds of anti-choice pieces of legislation make their way through state legislatures across the country.

We need to continue to share abortion stories  our own and those of our patients  in an effort to extend the tiniest of bridges across the great chasm that has formed between those that support womens reproductive freedoms and those that do not. TEACH, a reproductive health organization in the Bay Area, is hosting an evening of abortion storytelling on Saturday, May 18, at the Brava Theater.

Join us, or share your own story with family and friends, or donate to a favorite reproductive rights organization. Please just do something. This fight is just beginning.

Alison Block, San Francisco
COLUMBIA, S.C.  Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders wants to suspend taxpayer funding of new charter schools and ban those that are for-profit as part of his plan to overhaul public education that he released Saturday.

Saying charter schools are exacerbating educational segregation, Sanders proposes more transparency and accountability for them, as well as limits on the pay of their chief executives. According to the campaign, the 10-point plan focuses on reversing racial and economic segregation that is plaguing elementary and secondary schools.

The current education secretary, Betsy DeVos, is an advocate for charter schools, which receive public funding but operate independently.

Sanders introduced the plan ahead of a speech in South Carolina. The campaign said the release of Sanders Thurgood Marshall Plan for Public Education was timed to the 65th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling, which held racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.

As head of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Marshall served as chief attorney for the plaintiffs, more than a decade before becoming the first black U.S. Supreme Court justice.

To combat disparities in education funding, the senator from Vermont is proposing large new investments in programs that serve high-poverty communities, support special needs students, and augment local efforts to integrate school districts. That also includes a minimum amount of per-pupil spending in all school districts across the country, as well as a universal school meal plan and a goal of closing the gap in school infrastructure funding to renovate, modernize, and green the nations schools.

Sanders plan also proposes investment to raise starting teacher salaries to at least $60,000, as well as grants and tax credits to help teachers defray the cost of school supplies.

This is Sanders first major plan of this campaign for K-12 education reforms. Dating back to his 2016 run for president, Sanders has repeatedly addressed reforms in higher education, including making four-year colleges free.

Some of the other nearly two dozen candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination have come out with their own plans for elementary and higher education. Earlier this year, Sen. Kamala Harris of California made her first campaign policy rollout a federal investment in teacher pay.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has proposed eliminating almost all college debt for 42 million Americans, proposing an ultra-millionaire tax to fund the $640 billion cost.

Meg Kinnard is an Associated Press writer.
SYDNEY  Scott Morrison, Australias conservative prime minister, won a surprise victory in federal elections Saturday, propelled by a populist wave  the quiet Australians, he termed it  resembling the force that has upended politics in the United States, Britain and beyond.

The win stunned Australian election analysts  polls had pointed to a loss for Morrisons coalition for months. But in the end, the prime minister confounded expectations suggesting that the country was ready for a change in course after six years of tumultuous leadership under the conservative political coalition.

I have always believed in miracles, Morrison said at his victory party in Sydney. Tonight is about every single Australian who depends on their government to put them first. And that is exactly what we are going to do.

The election had presented Australia, a vital U.S. ally, with a crucial question: Would it remain on a rightward path and stick with a political coalition that promised economic stability, jobs and cuts to immigration, or choose greater action on climate change and income inequality?

By granting Morrison his first full term, Australians signaled their reluctance to bet on a new leader, choosing to stay the course with a hardworking rugby lover at a time when the economy has not suffered a recession in nearly 28 years.

Australians are just deeply conservative  wherever possible, we cling to the status quo, said Jill Sheppard, a lecturer in politics at the Australian National University. While we want progress on certain issues, we dont like major upheavals.

The triumph by Morrison, an evangelical Christian who has expressed admiration for President Trump, adds Australia to a growing list of countries that have shifted rightward through the politics of grievance, including Brazil, Hungary and Italy. Morrisons pitch mixed smiles and scaremongering, warning older voters and rural voters in particular that a government of the left would leave them behind and favor condescending elites.

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 candidate Morrison defeated, Bill Shorten, leader of the center-left Labor Party, offered an alternative path for Australia: a return to more government intervention on climate change and the economy, and intensified skepticism about the United States and Trump.

On Saturday night, Shorten conceded defeat and said he would no longer serve as opposition leader. I know youre all hurting, he told supporters in Melbourne. And I am, too.

Damien Cave is a New York Times writer.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise said Friday that it would buy the supercomputer pioneer Cray, a relatively tiny financial transaction that could loom large in a quickening race between the United States and China at the highest reaches of computing.

The big Silicon Valley company will pay about $1.4 billion to absorb a much smaller rival that has designed some of the most powerful systems in use and on the drawing board at national laboratories in the United States.

Supercomputers have long been a mainstay of military and intelligence agencies, used for chores ranging from cracking codes to designing nuclear weapons. They have many civilian uses as well, like predicting weather, creating new drugs and simulating the effect of crashes on auto designs.

Cray, based in Seattle, traces its lineage to a company founded in 1972 in Minnesota by computer designer Seymour Cray. That company was bought in 1996 by Silicon Graphics; it was sold in 2000 to Tera Computer, which adopted the Cray name. Cray died after a car crash in 1996, having left his original company several years earlier.

HP Enterprise, one of two companies created in the 2015 breakup of Hewlett-Packard, is a major supercomputer supplier in addition to selling general-purpose server systems. In the latest ranking of supercomputer installations, Cray was fourth with 49 systems and HP Enterprise fifth with 46.

What worries some U.S. officials is the rapid rise of suppliers based in China. One of them, Lenovo, which bought former IBM hardware operations, led the rankings with 140 supercomputers installed. Two others, Inspur and Sugon, were second with 84 and third with 54, respectively.

The United States managed to claim back bragging rights for having the worlds most powerful system last June, with an IBM machine at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee that ended a five-year reign of Chinese machines. And Cray hardware has been selected for two massive machines expected to set a new performance standard in 2021  a $500 million system at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois and a $600 million system chosen by Oak Ridge.

Cray, partly because of its focus on landing government contracts with big price tags, has tended to experience sharp swings in sales and profits. In the quarter that ended in March, for example, the company reported a net loss and a 10% revenue decline.

While these recent wins validate our belief in our next-generation products as well as the wide range of opportunities they will open for us, we continue to face the challenge of scale, Peter Ungaro, Crays CEO, said in a blog post accompanying the deal announcement.

U.S. officials have long worried about the financial stability of key technology suppliers.

That was a challenge for Cray, said Horst Simon, deputy director of research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a major user of the companys technology. Aided by HP Enterprise, Cray should be better able to compete in international markets where Chinese manufacturers have been placing many systems, he said.

Antonio Neri, HP Enterprises chief executive, said his companys sales force was five times larger than Crays. By using it to push both Crays products and HP Enterprises existing hardware, he added, the combined company should be able to reach many more customers.

Now we can bring it all together and scale it to significant levels, Neri said in an interview.

Cray has 1,300 employees and conducts most of its manufacturing in Chippewa Falls, Wis. Building sensitive hardware domestically is an important factor for federal government customers, who have expressed worries about possible security threats involving systems or components produced offshore.

That has been underscored by U.S. actions against Chinas Huawei, which sells telecommunications gear and has already been effectively blacklisted from selling in the United States. The latest Trump administration actions include prohibiting American chipmakers from selling their components to Huawei.

Don Clark is a New York Times writer.
WASHINGTON  Bogged down in a sprawling trade dispute with U.S. rival China, President Trump took steps Friday to ease tensions with Americas allies  lifting import taxes on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum and delaying auto tariffs that would have hurt Japan and Europe.

By removing the metals tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Trump cleared a key roadblock to a North American trade pact his team negotiated last year. As part of Fridays arrangement, the Canadians and Mexicans agreed to scrap retaliatory tariffs they had imposed on U.S. goods.

Im pleased to announce that weve just reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico, and well be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs, or major tariffs, Trump said in a speech to the National Association of Realtors.

In a joint statement, the U.S. and Canada said they would work to prevent cheap imports of steel and aluminum from entering North America. The provision appeared to cover China, which has long been accused of flooding world markets with subsidized metal, driving down world prices and hurting U.S. producers. The countries could also reimpose the tariffs if they face a surge in steel or aluminum imports.

In Washington, some were urging Trump to take advantage of the truce with U.S. allies to get even tougher with China.

China is our adversary, said Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. Canada and Mexico are our friends. The president is right to increase pressure on China for their espionage, their theft of intellectual property, and their hostility toward the rule of law. The president is also right to be deescalating tension with our North American allies.

Earlier Friday, the White House said Trump is delaying for six months any decision to slap tariffs on foreign cars, a move that would have hit Japan and the Europe especially hard.

Trump still is hoping to use the threat of auto tariffs to pressure Japan and the European Union into making concessions in ongoing trade talks.

If agreements are not reached within 180 days, the president will determine whether and what further action needs to be taken, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

In imposing the metals tariffs and threatening those on autos, the president was relying on a rarely used weapon in the U.S. trade war arsenal  Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962  which lets the president impose tariffs on imports if the Commerce Department deems them a threat to national security.

But the steel and aluminum tariffs were also designed to coerce Canada and Mexico into agreeing to a revision of North American free trade pact. In fact, the Canadians and Mexicans did go along last year with a revamped regional trade deal that was to Trumps liking. But the administration had refused to lift the taxes on their metals coming into the United States until Friday.

The new trade deal  the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement  needs approval from legislatures in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Several key U.S. lawmakers were threatening to reject the pact unless the tariffs were removed. And Canada had suggested it wouldnt ratify any deal with tariffs still in place.

Thomas Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the lifting of the tariffs will bring immediate relief to American farmers and manufacturers. Critically, this action delivers a welcome burst of momentum for the USMCA in Congress.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau credited his government for holding out to get the tariffs removed.

We stayed strong, he said. Thats what workers asked for. These tariffs didnt make sense around national security. They were hurting Canadian consumers, Canadian workers and American consumers and American workers.

Trump had faced a Saturday deadline to decide what to do about the auto tariffs.

Taxing auto imports would mark a major escalation in Trumps aggressive trade policies and is expected to meet resistance in Congress. Last year, the United States imported $192 billion worth of passenger vehicles and $159 billion in auto parts.

I have serious questions about the legitimacy of using national security as a basis to impose tariffs on cars and car parts, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a statement. Grassley, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, is working on legislation to scale back the presidents authority to impose national security tariffs.

The White House said that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has determined that imported vehicles and parts are a threat to national security. Trump deferred action on tariffs for 180 days to give negotiators time to work out deals, but threatened to impose them them if talks break down.

In justifying tariffs for national security reasons, Commerce found that the U.S. industrial base depends on technology developed by American-owned auto companies to maintain U.S. military superiority. Because of rising imports of autos and parts over the past 30 years, the market share of U.S.-owned automakers has fallen. That has caused a lag in research and development spending which is weakening innovation and, accordingly, threatening to impair our national security, the statement said.

The market share of vehicles produced and sold in the U.S. by American-owned automakers, the statement said, has declined from 67% in 1985 to 22% in 2017.

But the statistics dont match market share figures from the industry. A message was left Friday seeking an explanation of how Commerce calculated the 22%.

In 2017, General Motors, Ford, Fiat Chrysler and Tesla combined had a 44.5% share of U.S. auto sales, according to Autodata Corp. Those figures include vehicles produced in other countries.

Its possible that the Commerce Department didnt include Fiat Chrysler, which is now legally headquartered in The Netherlands but has a huge research and development operation near Detroit. It had 12% of U.S. auto sales in 2017.

The Commerce figures also do not account for research by foreign automakers. Toyota, Hyundai-Kia, Subaru, Honda and others have significant research centers in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Trump is locked in a high stakes rumble with China. The U.S. accuses Beijing of stealing trade secrets and forcing American companies to hand over technology in a headlong push to challenge American technological dominance. The two countries have slapped tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each others products. Talks broke off last week.

Paul Wiseman, Tom Krisher, Kevin Freking And Rob Gillies are Associated Press writers.
Spyware crafted by a sophisticated group of hackers-for-hire took advantage of a flaw in the popular WhatsApp communications program to remotely hijack dozens of phones without any user interaction.

The Financial Times recently identified the hacking group as Israels NSO Group, which has been widely condemned for selling surveillance tools to repressive governments.

WhatsApp all but confirmed the identification, describing hackers as a private company that has been known to work with governments to deliver spyware. A spokesman for the Facebook subsidiary later said: Were certainly not refuting any of the coverage youve seen.

The spyware did not directly affect the end-to-end encryption that makes WhatsApp chats and calls private. It merely used a bug in the WhatsApp software as an infection vehicle. The malware allows spies to effectively take control of a phone  remotely and surreptitiously controlling its cameras and microphones and vacuuming up personal and geolocation data. Encryption is worthless once a phones operating system has been violated.

Hackers are always looking for flaws in apps and operating systems that they can exploit to deliver spyware. State-run intelligence agencies including the U.S. National Security Agency invest tens of millions on it. Indeed, Googles ProjectZero bug-hunting team scoured WhatsApp last year looking for vulnerabilities but did not find any. Instead, it was WhatsApps security team that found the flaw.

The development comes as Facebook looks to expand its messaging services by merging WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct, and bringing WhatsApp-level encryption to the others. The attack would not affect Facebooks ability to do that.

The malware was able to penetrate phones through missed calls alone using the apps voice calling function, said the WhatsApp spokesman, who was not authorized to be quoted by name. He said an unknown number of people  an amount in the dozens at least would not be inaccurate  were infected with the malware, which the company discovered early this month, the spokesman said.

John Scott-Railton, a researcher with the internet watchdog Citizen Lab, called the hack a very scary vulnerability.

Theres nothing a user could have done here, short of not having the app, he said. The vast majority of hacks involve some sort of user interaction, such as clicking on an infected link.

The WhatsApp spokesman said its flaw was discovered while our team was putting some additional security enhancements to our voice calls. He said engineers found that people targeted for infection might get one or two calls from a number that is not familiar to them. In the process of calling, this code gets shipped.

WhatsApp, which has more than 1.5 billion users, immediately contacted Citizen Lab and human rights groups, quickly fixed the issue and pushed out a patch. He said WhatsApp also provided information to U.S. law enforcement officials to assist in their investigations.

We are deeply concerned about the abuse of such capabilities, WhatsApp said.

Although WhatsApp urged all users to update the program on their phones, it said that only a minuscule percentage run the risk of being hit by such malware.

NSO Group said that its technology is used by law enforcement and intelligence agencies to fight crime and terror.

We investigate any credible allegations of misuse and if necessary, we take action, including shutting down the system, the statement said. A spokesman for Stephen Peel, whose private equity firm Novalpina recently announced the purchase of part of NSO, did not return an email seeking comment.

The revelation adds to the questions over the reach of the Israeli companys powerful spyware.

Prior to the latest WhatsApp revelation, NSOs spyware has repeatedly been found deployed to hack journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders and dissidents. Most notably, the spyware was implicated in the gruesome killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year and whose body has never been found.

Several alleged targets of the spyware, including a close friend of Khashoggi and several Mexican civil society figures, are currently suing NSO in an Israeli court over the hacking.

Amnesty International  which said last year that one of its staffers was also targeted with the spyware  said this week that it would join in a legal bid to force Israels Ministry of Defense to suspend NSOs export license.

That makes the discovery of the vulnerability particularly disturbing because one of the targets was a British human rights lawyer, the attorney told the Associated Press.

The lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity for professional reasons, said he received several suspicious missed calls over the past few months, the most recent one on Sunday, only hours before WhatsApp issued the update to users fixing the flaw.

In its statement, NSO said it would not or could not use its own technology to target any person or organization, including this individual.

Frank Bajak And Raphael Satter are Associated Press writers.
This article was first published on NerdWallet.com.

Slack Technologies Inc., the company behind the eponymous workplace chat and collaboration platform, has filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WORK.

But unlike other recent initial public offerings such as from Lyft, Uber, Zoom and Pinterest, Slack isnt issuing new shares or using an investment bank to usher it onto the public stage. Its doing a direct market listing, also known as a direct public offering, or DPO.

That means if you buy Slack stock, youll be purchasing existing shares of Slack directly from company insiders and early investors. And good old supply and demand will determine Slacks trading price.

#dpo-help: Lets chat

Slacks DPO plans will have a familiar ring for anyone who tuned into Spotifys public stock offering last year. The Swedish music-streaming service also opted to bypass Wall Streets big banks and list its shares directly on the NYSE.

Doing a direct listing may sound like a rogue maneuver, but its completely aboveboard: All trading transactions will take place under the watchful eye of the stock exchange, and Slack is still bound by the same rules as companies that go public via the traditional IPO process. (Those rules include filing a registration statement, called a Form S-1, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which Slack filed in April.)

That said, in addition to the general caveats about investing in a newly minted public company (read an IPO public service announcement here), investors should be aware of the specific risks posed by Slacks direct listing:

1. Slacks share price wont be predictable

With a traditional IPO, investors know how many shares will be offered for sale and at roughly what price. Underwriting banks are hired to establish an initial price range for the stock, and that price range is made public before IPO day.

With a direct listing, there is no underwriting bank to set an offering price. Slacks share price will be based solely on supply and demand  how much buyers are willing to pay and how much sellers are willing to accept.

Its on the investor to determine what Slack stock is worth, but there is some precedent: In a round of funding in August 2018, Slack was valued at $7.1 billion, and during the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31, Slack shares traded for between $8.37 and $23.41 in private transactions. Yet even Slack warns against relying on these numbers, stating in the companys S-1 filing that recent private trade prices may have little or no relation to the opening or subsequent trading price of its shares.

Without outside guidance to help you evaluate a companys worth, doing your research becomes that much more important before you invest your money. (New to stock research? Learn the basics with our guide on how to research stocks.)

2. The share pickings may be slim

The aim of most companies that choose to do an IPO the traditional way is to raise money to fund operations. To that end, companies typically issue new shares for the IPO to hit a fundraising goal.

Slack is not trying to fill the company coffers through its IPO; no new shares of stock will be up for sale. Instead, its direct listing will give insiders  employees who were granted shares and private investors who backed the company in exchange for a stake in the business  a chance to fill their own.

How many stockholders will be hawking Slack shares on the NYSE on opening day? Before Slack filed an amended Form S-1 Slack on May 20, it was impossible to say. But thanks to the updated prospectus, we now know that Slack plans to register nearly 117 million shares. Another noteworthy update: Slacks proposed ticker symbol is now WORK, not SK.

If there is a chaotic scramble for Slack shares, keep your cool. One of the most common ways investors hurt their own returns is by letting their emotions drive investing decisions.

3. Not all Slack stockholders will have equal rights

Investors who own stock in public companies are entitled to a say in certain corporate transactions that require shareholder approval. Typically, one share equals one vote on matters such as electing company directors, approving mergers or selling company assets.

But Slack has other plans: The company says it will operate under a dual-class stock structure, effectively setting up a shareholder hierarchy.

In the power seat will be company directors, executive officers and their affiliates who owned their shares before the companys public listing. They will hold class B shares, which carry more voting power (10 votes per share), allowing them greater say in how the business is run. Investors purchasing stock on the NYSE will get class A shares, which allow just one vote per share.

Share class privileges dont transfer when Slack insiders sell their shares: Theyre required to convert their class B shares to class A before they sell.

Should you join #slack?

Dont let all this talk about Slacks unusual IPO plans distract you from the bottom line: deciding if Slack stock is worth adding to your portfolio.

The real work of an investor begins with researching the company and deciding if it fits into your overall investing strategy. (Dont have an investing strategy? See our guide for how to start investing.)

If you decide to partake of Slacks IPO  or buy shares at any point down the road  heres a step-by-step explainer on how to buy Slack stock.

Dayana Yochim is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: dyochim@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @DayanaYochim.

The article What You Need to Know About Slacks IPO originally appeared on NerdWallet.
Even once a suspect is found, some crimes raise more questions than can be answered. Such is the case of a teen who's alleged to have executed a heist last summer to kidnap a lemur from a California zoo only to leave it at a hotel room in Newport Beach.

Police announced Thursday that a suspect has been apprehended in the theft of Isaac the lemur, who was 32 years old (old for a lemur) at the time he was taken from the Santa Ana Zoo in Orange County last July.

ALSO: Teen lemur, known for its escape artist tendencies, gets new home in Oakland

The fence containing an enclosure of capuchin monkeys was also cut open during the break-in at the zoo. Although they got loose, the capuchins were all rounded up inside the zoo, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna told the Orange County Register at the time.

The same could not be said for Isaac the lemur, who went unaccounted for until he was found in the lobby of a Marriott in Newport Beach. Isaac was inside a crate that also contained a note explaining the lemur had come from the zoo and requesting he be taken to the police.

"Is this a prank, or somebody had a change of heart?" Bertagna told the Register after Isaac was found at the hotel lobby. "Those are things we are looking at."

The theft may be charged as a federal crime because lemurs are an endangered species, and the US Attorney's Office has reportedly been involved in the investigation.

LEMURS: For these endangered lemurs it was love at first sight

Police now believe a suspect allegedly linked to a string of residential burglaries in Newport Beach, 19-year-old Quinn Kasbar, is behind the zoo heist. He has been charged in the residential burglaries, but charges have not yet been brought in the zoo case, Bertanga told the LA Times.

Filipa Ioannou is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at filipa.ioannou@sfgate.com and follow her on Twitter

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MUNCIE, Ind.  A shooting at an off-campus party near Ball State University in Indiana early Saturday left seven people injured, three of them critically, police said.

The attack was just one of at least four separate mass shootings around the country.

In Muncie, it wasnt clear how many people might have opened fire, but police said one man was in custody. One of the wounded had to be airlifted to a hospital in Indianapolis, about 50 miles southwest of Muncie, said Police Chief Joe Winkle.

The shooting apparently happened after some kind of confrontation inside the house, Winkle said. Some of the victims were Ball State students, he said.

Police told the Muncie Star Press that VaShaun Harnett, 19, has been charged with attempted murder.

Ball State issued a campus alert shortly after the shootings warning members of the university community to stay clear of the area.

In Alabama, authorities said a high school graduation party fueled by alcohol spiraled out of control early Saturday, killing one person. Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks said eight other people were hurt in a shooting at a community center.

Witnesses said gunfire erupted after a fight between two women during a party that drew hundreds. No one has been arrested.

In South Sacramento, a woman was killed and three others, including a 4-year-old boy, were wounded by gunfire Friday night in an apartment complex.

Witnesses said they saw five men flee after the shooting. Detectives have not determined a motive for the attack.

In Southern California, a woman was killed and five others were shot and injured while they held a vigil outside a Long Beach bar for someone who recently died, police said.

Officer Alvino Herrera said first responders who went to the parking lot of the Fabulous West bar early Saturday pronounced the woman, a 57-year-old Ontario resident, dead at the scene.

Three men and two other women were also wounded in the shooting, he said. Four of them had injuries that were not life-threatening; the fifth was hospitalized in critical but stable condition.

Investigators have not determined a motive for the attack, Herrera said. No suspect information was released.
PHILADELPHIA  His party may be enraged by Donald Trumps presidency, but Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden insisted Saturday that Democrats will not defeat the Republican president if they pick an angry nominee.

Facing thousands of voters in his native Pennsylvania for the second time as a 2020 contender, the former vice president offered a call for bipartisan unity that seemed far more aimed at a general election audience than the fiery Democratics most active in the presidential primary process. He acknowledged, however, that some believe Democrats should nominate a candidate who can tap into their partys anti-Trump anger.

Thats what they are saying you have to do to win the Democratic nomination. Well, I dont believe it, Biden declared. I believe Democrats want to unify this nation. Thats what the partys always been about.

Bidens moderate message highlights his chief advantage and chief liability in the early days of the nascent presidential contest, which has so far been defined by fierce resistance to Trump on the left and equally aggressive vitriol on the right. Bidens centrist approach may help him win over independents, but it threatens to alienate liberals who favor a more aggressive approach in policy and personality to counter Trumps turbulent presidency.

I want aggressive change. Im not hearing that from him yet, said Jennifer Moyer of Blandon, Pa., who attended Bidens rally and said shes 90% sold on his candidacy. I dont want middle of the road.

The event was the culmination of a three-week campaign rollout that began and ended in Pennsylvania, home to Bidens campaign headquarters and where he was brought up. The 76-year-old native of working-class Scranton has climbed to the front of the crowded primary field, in part by ignoring his Democratic rivals and focusing on his ability to compete with Trump head-to-head next year.

Some in his partys energized left wing, watching from afar, were skeptical of Bidens strength atop the field and his message of unity.

Its hard to imagine how Joe Biden is not angry, said Adam Green, co-founder of the liberal group known as the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has long supported Elizabeth Warrens presidential ambitions.

Its completely legitimate to have righteous outrage at this horrible Trump moment in history and to want a candidate who will channel that anger toward positive change, Green said.

Steve Peoples is an Associated Press writer.
Hong Kong: CE visits Jiangmen, GZ

Chief Executive Carrie Lam continued her visit to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area cities today.

In the morning, Mrs Lam visited China International Marine Containers (Group) to learn about its subsidiary which supplies construction components for the Construction Industry Councils Modular Integrated Construction Display Centre in Kowloon Bay.

Mrs Lam then visited CRRC Guangdong Co to learn about its manufacture and maintenance of rolling stock as well as the services of related industries.

She also toured Lee Kum Kee Groups production base in Xinhui, Jiangmen, to find out more about its automated production technique and quality control measures.

In the afternoon, Mrs Lam went to Panyu, Guangzhou, where she visited a hospital founded by a Hong Kong merchant.

Launched in 2001, Clifford Hospital is Chinas first hospital accredited by Joint Commission International, providing medical services for many Hong Kong people living nearby.

In the evening, Mrs Lam attended the welcome dinner of the first bay area media summit in Guangzhou.

She will attend the summits opening ceremony tomorrow.

This story has been published on: 2019-05-18. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Sri Lankan Crisis: Return of Religious Violence

by Sudhir Hindwan

Condemnation should ring out loud and clear against the consecutive serial suicide bombings ripping apart churches and hotels, and killing more than 250 people while leaving over 500 injured on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka. There is a growing frustration among the people at large over the governments inability to control the rising tide of religious terror and violence. It has brought opposition in myriad forms, increasing pressure on the Sri Lankan Government to take stringent steps. Although the recent success in the killing of perpetrators of Easter carnage has reaffirmed the confidence of the Sri Lankan security forces, the obnoxious linkages and proximity between the Islamic State and the local terror outfit, the National Thowheeth Jamath (NTJ), has sent out dangerous signals and made the situation extremely vulnerable. The local tinge of religious fervour to the insurgency reminds of the worst years of the LTTE terror in Sri Lanka during the 1980s.

The unabated radicalisation in Islamist term is a matter of serious concern. The purpose of the attack was to gain popularity by the militants as the attacks were carried out on religious institutions and luxury hotels. Various shortcomings have been highlighted for the failure of prompt reaction to the attacks such as failure of the anticipation mechanism, lack of strong execution of response system, keeping pace with strict timings, inadequate counter-terrorism training and equipment for the local police, limitations of strategic thinking, etc.

Religious violence is on the rise. The current state of affairs does not offer any hope for relaxation in the coming days. The present crisis is the outcome of a combination of factors, deeply interwoven in the complicated saga of the conflict between the religious communities in the Sinhalese-dominated state.

Since the 15th century Sri Lanka had been under the domination of foreign rulers. It was a British colony for 150 years and achieved its independence in 1948. The majority of the Sri Lankan population are Sinhalese, constituting 16 million. They account for 73 per cent of the total population and are settled over a large part of the country except in the northern and eastern regions. They largely follow the Buddhist way of life and speak Sinhala. The Sri Lankan Tamils, who profess Hinduism, are the next largest group and constitute roughly about 12.6 per cent of the population. The other main Sri Lankan people are the Muslims who constitute 7.1 per cent of the total population and about 7.5 per cent Christians. Thus, language and religion have been the two dividing factors. The Muslims constitute roughly 10 per cent of the total Sri Lankan population.

Sri Lanka is among the third most religious countries of the world. Religious conflicts have always been a part of Sri Lankan history. The Tamil-Sinhalese conflict led to heavy loss of life in the past. The sudden rise of religious bigotry has created defining moments for President Maithripala Sirisena as it is possible to frame a strategy about terrorist attack but there is still confusion over whether such a mechanism is successful in dealing with terrorists driven by fundamentalism. Gradually, religion is becoming the main motivating force for terrorism across the globe. The series of violent activities by the religious terrorist outfits suggest that terrorism has entered a new phase and security agencies are in a state of shock. Attacks on school buses, public toilets, important government buildings, telephone exchanges, railway stations, countryside areas and police pickets have become quite common. In some areas where there was a lull for long, a recurrence of the reign of terror has disturbed the peaceful ambience. The main purpose behind these activities is to induce fear in the minds of the police and administration. The major question that arises is: how to nip in the bud these evil geniuses who are taking the entire human civilisation into the path of destruction.

The present world order is in the midst of a major transformation, largely on account of a rapidly changing value system across the globe. Transformation is a seemingly ubiquitous concept. Whilst some view it as a source of aggrandisement, others treat it as a disruptive process.

Despite years of concerted efforts to eliminate major threats, terrorism, caste violence and class violence have managed to taunt us time and again. It will certainly be naive if we blame others for the problems we face. To a great extent we are equally responsible for the mess. It is good to preserve ones identity for maintaining our diaspora. But at times such efforts of preservation of identity, whether cultural, linguistic , regional or religious, damage the deep layers of our socio-political system. This is apparent from the kind of threat we are encountering so often. The world is also gradually witnessing the over-expansion of a parochial version of faith and the desperate attempts at promoting it as the only pious one; but history bears testimony to the fact that this has happened due to hegemony of the majoritarian identities and resentment of multiculturalism particularly on account of migration, the problem of refugees and search for survival in the competitive world order.

During the mid-1990s in the nerve gas attack on a Tokyo subway, the police suspected the hand of an apocalyptic sect, Aum Shinrikyo. A few years earlier, Moscow intensified its efforts to set up a Troika alliance to drive away the spectre of Islamic militants. The problem of refugees, who have fled due to disturbances in Afghanistan, Kyrghyzstan and Uzbekistan, has added a new dimension to the existing problem. Whether terrorism is unleashed at local, regional, national or international level, it cannot survive for long without international support and collaboration. There is a growing nexus between terrorists and internationally organised crime networks. Mr Alison Jamieson, a British analyst on organised crime and political violence, commented that a distinction between terrorism and organised crime has become very blurred recently. Italian organised crime expert Professor Ernesto says: The goal is different. The terrorists goal is an ideological one, while organised crimes goal is financial, but the instrument is the same. They both need money and arms. In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers engage in drug trafficking to finance their struggle, in North-Eastern India guerrillas kidnap tea planters and hold them to ransom to help fund their fight for independence. In Chechnya, the secessionists were heavily involved in drug distribution.

Over the years a great deal of literature has appeared on terrorism and strategic planning. Many foreign scholars have also made contributions to the research on terrorism. Although these studies have been carried out from various perspectives and arent devoid of specific ideologies, including prejudices and distortions, one rarely comes across a balanced and dispassionate assessment of the issue. However, certain studies carried out by Professor Paul Wilkinson, Prof Yonah Alexander, Brian Jenkin, Walter Laquer provide in-depth analysis and systematic examination of the problem and make a sincere effort to fill the gap in the existing realms of knowledge.

Their concern over the need to change the existingand also evolve a newstrategic approach is valuable. The historical backdrop provided by their work helps in tracing the roots of the problem. Wilkinson brings to light an important fact: we need to diversify strategies to counter the challenges of terrorism. Some arguments provided by eminent experts on terrorism, such as the works of eminent authors like Seymour Maxwell, Williams Cutteridges, louis Rene Beres, R.S. Eliot, W.H. Dundas, T.A. Jackson, W.D. Hussey, John Magee, David Watt, Ronald Jacquard, are interesting. They provide a leeway to generate academic argumentation which goes beyond the dictates of powerful syndicates within the system.

However, an accurate inquiry of the existing anti-terror, combating strategies and literature available reveals certain inadequacies. Very few comprehensive and up-to-date strategies are available since the phenomenon itself is so ambiguous. Few important policies are developed by many nations on the problem of international terrorism and combating strategies in the last few years for handling local terrorism. Our strategic policies should be able to adapt to the challenging environment as well as efficiently implement various recommendations. Since today the threats are more severe and the enemies more organised than ever before, new concepts of safety and security should be followed. A modern, vigilant and assertive military, intelligence, police and paramilitary network should replace the old one. Many important suggestions and recommendations of various committees are out of tune with existing circumstances. Most of the work and strategies on terrorism hold the lack of both political foresight and deep commitment as reasons for the growth of terrorism. Most of the strategies and work on counter-terrorism developed over the years are free from blemishes. But, at times, one has to admit that while there has been a constant change in our political and administrative arenas, the old mindset and predilections of powerful syndicates within the system havent changed as desired.

In the changing security environment across the globe on account of the rise of transnational terrorism countries need to develop a new consensus in strategic planning. The weak strategic planning is basically responsible for the failure. Sri Lanka will have to work carefully to protect its national interests. We should be able to cash in on any opportunity and anti-terrorist strategy that has to be a combination of tactful strength and resilience.

Recently many new changes have taken place in the strategy of terrorism. The most notable of this is the increasing role played by the sophisticated arms and weaponry system. The emerging new challenges of modern terrorism have put a lot of pressure on the security forces. Thus, a proper understanding of the role of the police and paramilitary forces would be of immense value. Security is an ever-changing landscape. The intelligence and security apparatus need to diversify their activities to stay ahead in the race. For this, they need to bring together technical and professional expertise based on many decades of experience in maintaining internal security.

In this regard, the most crucial thing is to develop capability to anticipate the security needs. This can be done by:  Carefully examining important incidents and preparing detailed action-oriented reports on insurgency affected areas.  Building a sophisticated communication network as part of a wider modernisation drive which gives access to the latest technology.  Better management of local contacts and sources of assistance.  Developing new techniques of security and maintenance of secrecy.  Transferring talent: the need for specialists in affected areas.  Training even during the security operations with a particular emphasis on sensitising personnel to issues relating to human rights, civil liberties, prisoners rights, etc.  Improving the quality of security development programmes for police personnel.  Training police officers so that they can provide active but neutral leadership to their units.

However, all efforts will come to a naught unless prompt and effective amendments are introduced in the criminal judiciary system and there is political will to implement suggestions given by different panels on our security apparatus. It will be beneficial to remember that the law and order problem is different from the problem of terrorism. We often make the mistake of treating both as the same. In a situation where terrorist violence has become endemic, there is a dilemma of human rights violationshould anti-terrorist operations be a work of simple police and para-military network or a work of special force trained for counter-terrorist activities? The deployment of special forces in countering terrorists activities has become a reality in many countries. In this respect the experience of the Western countries could be of immense use. For example, the way the British security forces handled the Irish Republican Army, the manner in which the West German Police defeated the Red Army faction. Similarly, French Army took up some measures to improve anti-terrorist capabilities and in this way way the Italian Police had to combat large-scale terrorist violence from neo-fascist groups and the Left-wing challenges by the Red Brigades.

Experience has taught that complacency and lack of immediate reaction to terrorist threat has paralysed the security systems of the various affected countries in the face of trouble. Therefore, there is a need for a truly effective preparedness programme at the government level and tremendous international coordination. The growing web of globalisation has brought about a paradigm shift at the global level wherein there has been a struggle for locating religious identities at the national, and local parameters in modern democratic societies. Certain groups are always ready to manipulate these social fault-lines to their advantage by creating an artificial image of genuine plea.

We hope the present trends do not prove Huntingtons Clashes of Civilisation right. If at all these are any indicator, all of us would be in for highly vulnerable times. Time is of essence, and hence it is high time the nations of the world realised the need for immediate reaction and coordination at the global level to control the new tentacles of unabated transnational terrorism soaked in religious fervour.

The author is a Chandigarh-based Professor of Political Science and an expert of strategic affairs.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > A Weird Election Campaign!

by L.K. Sharma

What are the current elections about? About an endangered majority, misdeeds of the anti-nationals colluding with a minority, Pakistan being threatened with a nuclear war, a Congress Prime Minister travelling by an aircraft-carrier in 1988, and other past events!

These elections are not about Prime Minister Narendra Modis false promise of economic nirvana. These are not about the disastrous policy decisions taken by him, a record rise in unemployment and falling economic growth rate. These are not about rural distress and farmers suicides.

Language and civility are two prime victims of this vicious poll campaign. Hate speech makes a minority cower even as a vast section of the majority is made to feel insecure and besieged. Many Hindus, driven by religious fervour and nationalism, have come to support a muscular messiah who crushes their external and internal enemies! Their feeling, magnified many times by the slavish TV channels, newspapers and social media, give an aura of invincibility to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is seeking re-election after having run a presidential-style government in a parliamentary democracy.

These elections will be known for the terror-accused Sadhvi Pragya, a saffron-clad Hindu nun, fielded as a ruling party candidate. The growing criminalisation of politics has acquired a new dimension. The implications seem to be that the more deadly the crime people are associated with, higher are their chances for a career in politics; the more the business of elections relies on crime, the more is the depreciation of any meaningful claims of being a democracy..., write Christophe Jaffrelot and Malvika Maheshwari.

These elections will be known for the Prime Ministers repeated violation of the moral code of conduct that advises against seeking votes in the name of the military, religion and castes and against promoting sectarian hatred. Of course, this code does not bar the candidates from telling lies.

Never before were so many complaints lodged against a campaigning Prime Minister for the violation of the moral code of conduct. The Election Commission sat over these till the Supreme Court forced it to give its decisions. The Commission then gave clean chits to the Prime Minister, ignoring dissent by one of its members. The Prime Minister continued to make subtle references to the voters belonging to a minority and attack his political opponents for appeasing it. The impartiality of the Election Commission has been questioned not just by the Opposition parties but also by independent commentators.

There is no level field in these elections as the ruling party is spending many times more money on propaganda than all other parties combined. The dark money amounting to more than half the funds circulates freely as the donors remain anonymous.

Indias nastiest, costliest and longest poll campaign will leave behind the legacy of toxic Hindu nationalism and a broken democracy. These elections will have serious implications not just for the future of democracy but also for the idea of India and the soul of Hinduism, a faith used as fodder for the political campaign.

At another level, the disruption of social cohesion and harmony will enhance, not diminish, the threat of terrorism. The continuing political confrontation will not let the next government spur economic growth and improve the law and order situation. If Modi becomes the Prime Minister again, religious polarisation, suppression of dissent and politicisation of institutions will gather further momentum.

These elections are unlikely to hand over a decisive victory to any single party. The poll campaign is only a trailer of a political thriller that will feature horse-trading before and after the installation of the new government. A great drama of betrayal by minor players will follow. Strategists of all parties have kept ready resources for political auctions. Newly elected parliamentarians will be offered power and pelf for forming and breaking unprincipled alliances.

Strange political bed-fellows will trample upon their ideological commitments. In pursuit of power, they will forget mutual animosities. They will forgive their opponents for abusing them during the poll campaign. At times, the party winning the largest number of seats does not get to form the government as some of its legislators defect and another alliance grabs power!

This theatre of the absurd is euphemistically known as democracy. The lead actor is Naredra Modi, the Prime Minister, who went into the election campaign mode the day he assumed office five years ago after a spectacular victory of his Hindu nationalist party. The victory was attributed to him and he came to be known as the Propaganda Minister! With his personalised populist campaign peppered with alternative facts, he pushed his party on the sidelines. Every candidate fielded by his party seeks vote in Modis name. Modi set the vicious tone of the election campaign, unleashing the demons of religious nationalism, extremism, bigotry and polarisation. Every statement is designed to consolidate the Hindu votes in his favour.

In the 2014 elections, Modi had successfully sold a potent mix of Hindutva and economic development. Then his message reached beyond his core religious-Right-wing constituency, thanks to his oratorical skills. Many of those opposed to sectarianism and fake religiosity were swayed by his promise of economic nirvana.

Gradually, while Modi continued to perform brilliantly on social media, the governments record disappointed the Hindutva as well as development lobbies. The contentious Ram temple remained unbuilt on the site of the demolished Babri mosque. As to the promise of development, while a few rich people got richer, the common man saw his economic misery growing.

As the Opposition leaders began to remind the voters of Modis false promises, Modi grabbed the non-economic issues to distract the voters. His poll campaign narrative has been kept free of the real issues related to the peoples problems. Modi could not talk again of economic development in his election speeches. Hope was replaced by fear for driving voters.

Modis campaign took a weird turn. Having polarised the nation on the basis of religion, caste, region and political leaders, Modi had to devise multiple narratives to suit the audience of the day. Initially, the movement for building the controversial Ram temple was revived but it had to be switched off abruptly because of lukewarm popular response. The renewed Ram temple movement in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections could have worked against Modi. Many Hindu devotees, feeling empowered by their party in power, would have asked why the temple had not been built in five years. Better to keep it safe as a time-bomb for use against a secular government!

The Modi campaign then turned to nationalism, casting aspersions on a minority community and calling all political opponents anti-national. This began to play well. At this point of time a Kashmiri terrorist killed some para-military troops by ramming his bomb-laden car into their bus on a highway. Since Pakistan has been helping such terrorists, a cross-border surgical strike was undertaken. And that became the key element of the ruling partys poll strategy. The official intelligence failure was blacked out and the Prime Minister began to boast of the military action. In an atmosphere surcharged with patriotic fervour, issues such as the poor farmers suicides or the record rise in unemployment were lost.

The daily feedback from regions with different profiles of the voters keeps altering Modis narrative. So, when the surgical strikes against Pakistan seemed to be losing potency in the election campaign, Modi switched to the alleged misdeeds of the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, whose son Rahul Gandhi leads the main Opposition party. Five years of sustained social media campaigns have convinced sections of Indians that Nehru was a Muslim and that Indira Gandhi was married to a Muslim!

Modi had to flit from one narrative to another. In a state where the charge of appeasement of Muslims gets political mileage, hurl that against the political opponents. In a State where the people appreciate a muscular leader, project that persona. In the border State of Punjab the voters are repulsed by the sound of war drums in election meetings. So, skip the nuclear threat to Pakistan and remind the people of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 in which some Congress members had participated. If the aggressive attacks on the Opposition have gone too far, project the Prime Ministers soft image through a video of a non-political interview with a film actor. If Rahul Gandhi has to be fixed, scream that his late father was corrupt and that he once used an aircraft carrier as his personal taxi.

Some political leaders the world over have shown that lies work to their advantage even if they are caught lying. During the current election campaign, a few fact-checking organisations cannot cope with the material that comes under their scanner day and night.

The campaign for and by the terror-accused Hindu Sadhvi Pragya will be remembered for long. Sadhvi Pragyas past performance establishes her credentials as a brave Hindutva leader. She was granted bail on medical grounds but was fit enough to run a hectic election campaign. A court case can be made irrelevant if the accused wins a mandate from the court of the voters! That is what her campaigners kept saying.

The Prime Minister said in his campaign speeches that Hindus cannot be terrorists and asked the voters to punish the Opposition leaders for insulting Hinduism by linking it to terrorism.

Of course, the political reward given to a terror-accused will be noted by any Hindu wanting to be a terrorist! Could it be a plan to make certain crimes more attractive and acceptable so that some come up to fight the terrorists belonging to a different religion?

(Courtesy: Open Democracy)

The author is a senior journalist and writer who worked in India and abroad (notably Britain) in several major newspapers. Now retired, he is a freelancer.
SALINAS (BCN)



A man convicted in a 1991 first-degree murder case has been denied re-sentencing, Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni announced Thursday.



John Lewis Drayton, who was involved in a 1991 home invasion murder, initially pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder with a firearm enhancement. He was sentenced to 29 years to life in prison.



In 2018, the California Legislature passed a law changing the definition of murder that allows offenders previously convicted of murder relief if their convictions are not within the new definition of murder, according to the district attorney's office.



Under the new law, a defendant can't be convicted for felony murder unless the defendant is the actual killer or was a major participant in the underlying felony and acted with reckless indifference to human life.



In Drayton's case, he and three men entered a residence in Salinas in June of 1991 to commit a robbery that ended in the shooting death of the homeowner.



Drayton and two of the other men were armed, and during the course of the robbery, the men repeatedly threatened the homeowners and their daughter with the guns before one of the men sexually assaulted the daughter and threatened to make her parents watch as he raped her if they did not disclose the location a nonexistent safe inside the residence.



The father of the girl began to struggle with one of the men, and he was shot in the back with a shotgun.



The four men fled the home, and the father bled to death within minutes.



A judge denied Drayton's petition and ruled he was a major participant in the burglary and robbery and acted with reckless indifference to human life.



Lester Polk, whose shotgun discharged and killed the homeowner, and Patrick Richardson, who was also involved in the robbery, have also filed petitions for re-sentencing. Those petitions are pending.





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SALINAS (BCN)



An obstetrician-gynecologist at Natividad Medical Center admitted Thursday to assaulting his fiancee last month, according to the office of Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni.



Richard Heiner faces a seven-year sentence in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for domestic violence. His sentencing hearing is set to take place on July 11.



According to Pacioni's office, Heiner's fiancee answered the door with a fractured nose and blood streaming from cuts on her face when Salinas police came to check on a suspected assault victim on April 13.



The victim allegedly told police that she had drunk alcohol with Heiner then got into an argument with him and tried to leave the house.



According to prosecutors, Heiner's fiancee said he had prevented her from leaving by pinning her between the door and the doorframe and slamming the door. She said he then dragged her back into the house and punched her several times, prosecutors said.



Then, she said, she managed to run to the upstairs bedroom and locked herself inside but Heiner used a knife to unlock the door, according to prosecutors. She alleged Heiner struck her with ankle weights and choked her.





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Politicians in Santa Clara County and San Jose are pushing for a $5 million fund for sexual assault survivors amid restrictive national changes to abortion law and gender-based services.



The fund would help establish two rape crisis centers, law enforcement training on sexual assault and culturally sensitive responses to sexual harassment from public agencies. It will go before the Board of Supervisors on Monday.



Heather Rangel, a sexual assault survivor, spoke at a joint meeting to introduce the proposal on April 15. The meeting included representatives from San Jose police, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, the sheriff's and district attorney's offices.



"We are a beacon of progress and light for the nation and holding ourselves to a higher standard when it comes to treating our citizens with humanity and equality," Rangel said. "We're here to create inter-disciplinary approaches to change and we can no longer go to bed at night feeling like we've done our job when we have so many victims left in the dark to suffer right outside these doors."



On Wednesday, Alabama lawmakers approved one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country - making nearly every form of abortion illegal without exceptions for rape and incest.



Georgia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio and Utah have launched similar challenges to Roe v. Wade, which in 1973 recognized abortion as a fundamental right for people who are pregnant.



Supervisors Cindy Chavez, councilwomen Magdalena Carrasco and Sylvia Arenas will host a 10 a.m. news conference prior to the Board of Supervisors meeting at the county Civic Center at 70 West Hedding St. in San Jose.





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SANTA ROSA (BCN)



A 58-year-old prisoner convicted of sexually assaulting his three daughters in Santa Rosa was denied parole this week, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney.



Between 1996 and 1998, Carl Dick sexually assaulted his daughters, threatening them if they ever told anyone about the abuse. Despite the threats, the youngest daughter told her grandfather, who contacted law enforcement.



Dick pled guilty and was sentenced in 1999 to 15 years in prison.



"We will continue to argue that this inmate should not be released into the community as long as he continues to pose an unreasonable risk," Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch said.



The May 14 hearing at Corcoran California State Prison was Dick's third hearing for parole eligibility. He was most recently denied in 2017.



Sonoma County Deputy District Attorney Jason Riehl appeared at this week's hearing and argued that Dick should remain confined.



Dick will be eligible for parole again in three years.





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MARTINEZ (BCN)



Martinez Vice Mayor Noralea Gipner convened a forum Thursday evening at City Hall to present charitable and governmental efforts underway to address issues surrounding homelessness in Contra Costa County and answer questions from the public.



The event was well attended, with dozens of people in the audience, and presentations on a half-dozen programs working to feed, house and care for the area's unsheltered residents.



Martinez is a small town by Bay Area standards, but it's at the crossroads of the county's mental health and criminal justice systems.



When someone gets booked into the Martinez Detention Facility, or taken to one of the medical facilities serving psychiatric patients, they typically get released in downtown Martinez. Sometimes it's at odd hours, when public transit may not be available to get them home.



The population of unsheltered residents who sleep somewhere in Martinez is relatively small at 117, according to the 2018 Point in Time Count, but its impacts can appear more pronounced due to the presence of homeless or mentally ill people from all over the county.



Police Chief Manjit Sappal says his officers face pressure from the public to arrest these individuals in many cases, but Martinez can't always address these issues through the criminal justice system.



"For us it's more complicated because the jail is a couple blocks down the road," Sappal said. "They go to jail, they get released, then we deal with them over and over again."



It's not just the jail, however.



The A.F. Bray Courthouse at 1020 Ward St. brings homeless individuals involved in the criminal justice system downtown and with the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center at 2500 Alhambra Ave., people experiencing a mental health crisis frequently end up wandering the streets of Martinez when released.



That's where Community Resource Officer Rodney Brinser comes in. When someone gets stuck in Martinez after being released from jail or discharged from a psychiatric unit, he can help get them a ticket home.



"We sent someone to Hawaii," Brinser said. "Not on holiday."



Brinser acknowledged that this can be an expensive approach to addressing people's personal problems, but it's cheaper than arresting them.



"Sometimes we have to arrest or give tickets, but that's not our main goal," Brinser said.



Other times all it takes is a new pair of shoes or some luggage to help people carry their belongings to someplace else.



"I want people to look a little bit better, I want them to feel better," Brinser said. "You got one flip flop, you're missing the other flip flop, I'm gonna get you some shoes."



Part of Brinser's role is to help connect individuals with the health and housing services that are available to the homeless through the county or other agencies, and renting a hotel room is one option for keeping track of them long enough for those appointments.



There are at least two groups, including Loaves and Fishes of Contra Costa at 835 Ferry St., that offer free meals to the homeless on a regular basis. Brinser noticed that calls for service involving petty theft dropped in the surrounding area when people were getting fed.



Sometimes resources have more of an impact than citations or arrests, and they can come from a variety of organizations. The Bay Church offers free laundry service for the homeless once a month, and their volunteers hope to debut a four-stall shower trailer later this year.



Jaime Jenett, with Contra Costa Health, Housing and Homeless Services and Michael Fischer, program manager with the county's Coordinated Outreach Referral and Engagement team presented observations and data gathered through their work with the homeless community in Martinez. The C.O.R.E. team contacted more than 1,000 homeless people in Martinez between June 2018 and March of this year.



About 36 percent of them said they stayed in Martinez because of family ties or similar connections in the community. Roughly 41 percent identified as having problems with substance abuse, and 33 percent reported mental health issues.



The homeless in Martinez find the biggest barrier to housing is income. Median rent in the Bay Area is $2,300 a month, according to Jenett, but renters would need to make more than four times the minimum wage to afford that.



And the elderly, especially those living on a fixed income, are particularly vulnerable.



"If the rent goes up $200 a month, you're out of luck," Jenett said. "What that means is that a lot of folks are gonna be on the street."



There are things the public can do to help, but the primary solution to homelessness is housing.



"Is there anybody in here who's a landlord?" Jenett said, encouraging property owners to make rooms and rental units available to someone currently experiencing homelessness.



"That's something you could do that's a tangible thing," Jenett said.



The meeting concluded with a question and answer segment during which several members of the audience were critical of the city's efforts, or lack thereof, depending.



Some complained that when they've tried to help by calling the police or other agencies, the resources available to respond have often been inadequate to address the situation that prompted the call, and the authorities in the room acknowledged that the demand for these services often exceeds their availability.



There were several solutions put forward by the community, including a safe parking area where people living in vehicles could sleep at night as well as a tiny home village.



One woman who said she's currently homeless invited everyone in attendance to experience homelessness with her for the evening, though no one immediately took her up on the offer.





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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)



San Francisco officials Friday celebrated the renaming of one of its elementary schools after farmworker rights activist Dolores Huerta.



The former Fairmount Elementary School was renamed Dolores Huerta Elementary School in honor of Huerta, who helped organize Central California farmworkers with Cesar Chavez and led a grape strike in 1965.



Huerta "personifies the struggle, the persistence, the endurance, the commitment and the conviction of fighting for justice," school principal Luis Rodriguez said to a crowd of students, parents and teachers at the event Friday. "By adopting the name of a strong Latina leader, we want to send a message of empowerment to all our female students, and particularly our female students of color."



The school, located in San Francisco's Glen Park neighborhood, hosts around 400 students and is known for its Spanish dual immersion program. After the name change was approved by the San Francisco Board of Education in August, the school and parents raised funds to create new signs, murals, a historical plaque, and to hold the celebratory event, which included musical performances about Huerta's legacy in English and Spanish by its students.



Huerta, 89, is credited with coining the phrase, "Si, se puede," or "Yes, we can," now a call famously used by labor activists.



In a speech, Huerta thanked school leaders and the community for naming the school after her, and called for measures like universal free college and higher wages for teachers.



"I have seen that this school is about justice and about human rights for everybody," Huerta said. "We know that education is the foundation of our democracy. If we do not have an educated citizenry, the powerful and the greedy will rule our country."



San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safai, who represents the Glen Park neighborhood, said, "The name Dolores Huerta signifies a hard-working, inspirational and dedicated leader who not only helped shape this state," but this nation.



"If ever there were a time that the work that she did and the sacrifices she made were more important, that is this time, in this era, with the challenges that we are faced (with)," Safai said.





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U.S. Coast Guard officials will open the agency's station in Monterey to the public Saturday so residents can learn about safe boating, Coast Guard officials said Friday.



The event will begin at 10 a.m. at Coast Guard Station Monterey at 100 Cannery Row.



Coast Guard officials are hosting the open house as part of National Safe Boating Week, which starts Saturday.







San Francisco officials Friday celebrated the renaming of one of its elementary schools after farmworker rights activist Dolores Huerta.



The former Fairmount Elementary School was renamed Dolores Huerta Elementary School in honor of Huerta, who helped organize Central California farmworkers with Cesar Chavez and led a grape strike in 1965.



Huerta "personifies the struggle, the persistence, the endurance, the commitment and the conviction of fighting for justice," school principal Luis Rodriguez said to a crowd of students, parents and teachers at the event Friday. "By adopting the name of a strong Latina leader, we want to send a message of empowerment to all our female students, and particularly our female students of color."



The school, located in San Francisco's Glen Park neighborhood, hosts around 400 students and is known for its Spanish dual immersion program. After the name change was approved by the San Francisco Board of Education in August, the school and parents raised funds to create new signs, murals, a historical plaque, and to hold the celebratory event, which included musical performances about Huerta's legacy in English and Spanish by its students.



Huerta, 89, is credited with coining the phrase, "Si, se puede," or "Yes, we can," now a call famously used by labor activists.







Family and friends of a fallen bicyclist gathered at a ceremony Friday with city officials to unveil a new street sign in memory of the bicyclist.



The event took place from 4-5 p.m. at the intersection of 35th Avenue and Galindo Street.



City transportation officials said Galindo Street would be renamed Deontae Bush Way in memory of Deontae Bush, who died in July 2018 after a collision with a car.



City councilmember Noel Gallo presented a commemorative street sign to the Bush family and acknowledged the advocacy for traffic safety by Deontae's loved ones in the aftermath of his death.



Director of Transportation director Ryan Russo said, "The family is really an inspiration to us."



City staff reportedly worked with the Bush family after Deontae's passing to hold a public meeting to generate suggestions for safety improvements. The department said the idea to commemorate Deontae's life with a street sign bearing his name emerged from that meeting.







City of Napa officials tweeted that an industrial vehicle carrying hazardous material crashed and rolled over in the city Friday.



They wrote that the fire department, police, public works, and environmental health agencies were at the scene on Redwood Road near Lynn Drive as of 9:20 a.m. A hazardous materials team joined them and evaluated the crash.



House calls were reportedly made to nearby residents to alert them of the crash. Lynn Drive was evacuated and a temporary shelter-in-place order was issued for the area within 300 feet of the vehicle, city officials tweeted.



The area was reopened and the shelter-in-place order lifted around 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to the police.







Martinez Vice Mayor Noralea Gipner convened a forum Thursday evening at City Hall to present charitable and governmental efforts underway to address issues surrounding homelessness in Contra Costa County and answer questions from the public.



The event was well attended, with dozens of people in the audience, and presentations on a half-dozen programs working to feed, house and care for the area's unsheltered residents.



Martinez is a small town by Bay Area standards, but it's at the crossroads of the county's mental health and criminal justice systems.



When someone gets booked into the Martinez Detention Facility, or taken to one of the medical facilities serving psychiatric patients, they typically get released in downtown Martinez. Sometimes it's at odd hours, when public transit may not be available to get them home.



The population of unsheltered residents who sleep somewhere in Martinez is relatively small at 117, according to the 2018 Point in Time Count, but its impacts can appear more pronounced due to the presence of homeless or mentally ill people from all over the county.







An obstetrician-gynecologist at Natividad Medical Center admitted Thursday to assaulting his fiancee last month, according to the office of Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni.



Richard Heiner faces a seven-year sentence in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for domestic violence. His sentencing hearing is set to take place on July 11.



According to Pacioni's office, Heiner's fiancee answered the door with a fractured nose and blood streaming from cuts on her face when Salinas police came to check on a suspected assault victim on April 13.



The victim allegedly told police that she had drunk alcohol with Heiner then got into an argument with him and tried to leave the house.



According to prosecutors, Heiner's fiancee said he had prevented her from leaving by pinning her between the door and the doorframe and slamming the door. She said he then dragged her back into the house and punched her several times, prosecutors said.

























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Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Cameos / Marx and Marxism

From N.C.s Writings

Gurudev Rabindranath Tagores 158th birth anniversary was observed last Thursday (May 9, 2019). On this occasion we are reproducing a piece by N.C. on Tagore written 78 years ago, in 1941. It was published in The Calcutta Municipal GazetteTagore Memorial Special Supplement, September 13, 1941 (that appeared after the Poets death on August 7, 1941). This piece was carried under the pseudonym Vanguard. Though written during World War II when the global scenario was radically different from what it is today, the relevance of this piece remains undiminished.

Cameos

Vanguard

It was a wet September evening in 1936. We were driving back home after an interview with Tagore, then staying in a suburb of Calcutta. My companion was an Englishmana young professor of literature, who had just had his first glimpse of Tagore. He was impressed with the Poets personality. But he had so many things to ask about him. There was still something that he had yet to figure out about Tagore. After a pause, he asked me how the people, the common people, regarded Tagore. I replied: Well, we consider him as our national poet. But he is a votary of no narrow nationalism: he has condemned in no unmistakable terms the system that is dominating our country, but he has sought refuge in a broad humanism. Yes, but, he asked once again, would you call him a Peoples Poet, a poet who portrays the life, the struggle and the aspirations of the common manthe toiler in the field and the factory? I do not remember what answer I could mumble out then, but it was not something that fully satisfied either him or me at the time. As I returned home, the question came back over and over again: Is Tagore a Peoples Poet?

II

Two years later, the scene shifts. This time my friend is an Indian in London, who at one time was a student at Santiniketan. He has settled in England after a struggling academic career. We were discussing Andre Gide who had just come back from the Soviet Union and had started a tirade against that country. It was a shock to the progressive circles and was broadcast all over the world by the reactionary press. What a depressing feeling it was to find the great French writer in the camp of the enemies of the USSR! Little by little our discussion veered round to the favourite topics as to whether it was possible for the intellectuals to be above the battle and retreat into the Ivory Tower like the Eyeless in Gaza: while the world was being enveloped in a desperate struggle of power-politics, and culture stifled all around, nobody could remain neutral without helping the cause of reaction. Particularly was it true in a dependent country like ours, and, I asked, if our intellectuals were alive to their responsibility. Many were not, but how was Tagore? Was he socially conscious? Did he realise the issue at stake? Profit versus the Peopledoes he really know on which side he should stand? My friend kept quiet for a moment, and then, from under a huge pile of books, he drew out a dusty file of type-written pages. It was an English translation of Tagores Letters from Russia, and he told me the story behind it.

Years back when this young man was absorbed in his research, there came to him a copy of Tagores Letters from Russia. He started translating it and he did it at a time when he was nearly stranded. But he felt a sense of responsibility towards his Gurudeva and was anxious that Europe should know where Tagore stood in this crisis of progress. The impression that the West retained about Tagore with the lotus and the crescent moon was out of date. It was time that they should know him again as the realist who had reacted to the sufferings of exploited humanity. With this end in view, he translated the book, and Bertrand Russell willingly wrote a foreword to the proposed English edition. From the Poet himself came glad consent and everything was arranged but, at the eleventh hour, unexpected circumstances came in the way, and the book was never published.

As I listened to his reading of the manuscript till midnight I realised what an unbelievable loss it was that the book never saw the light of day, for it might have given Tagore a new recognition in the West, more impressive and more significant than what he had received on the publication of Gitanjali. This time he would have received more coveted laurels than the Nobel Prize, the gratitude of struggling millons from Spain to China. With what clear understanding he could delineate the ruthless working of imperialism in his own country and compare it with the tremendous material and moral progress in the Soviet Union. Here was Tagore as something more than a poet and philosopher. Though not one of them, he had felt with his own heart the misery and starvation of the common people, and he had the courage to admit the great social advance made under a system which destroys the propertied class to which he himself belongs. Here was the great humanist who would never hesitate to condemn exploitation to welcome a better order of things.

III

Summer 1939. An international students delegation was visiting a concentration camp of the Spanish refugees in the south of France. It was a small party but comprised many nationalities from the Chinese and the Indian to the Yugoslav and the American. The visit was intended to demonstrate the youths common front against Fascism and Imperialism, and for the purpose of conveying the greetings of the world students to the youth of Spain as the vanguard of the Peoples struggle against Fascism. The camp was situated right at the foot of the Pyrenees, near the frontier, and had a population of 18,000mostly from the Army of the Ebro, which included men from all walks of lifewriters, artists, doctors, workers, peasants, clerks and shopkeepersmen of the famous International Brigade who came and fought shoulder to shoulder with the Spanish people because they realised that the front of Peace, Freedom and Democracy was indivisible and could be defended against not by rival imperialisms, but by toiling millions out to build a new world.

The French commandant did not allow us to enter the camp which was under military control and was surrounded by barbed wire for miles around. He was polite but would not let us go in, lest the French Government should be exposed by the appalling treatment that had been meted out to the sons of the sister democracy of Spain. Daladier and Bonnet, the Chamberlains of France, who with their gang had abetted the Fascist attack on Spain, were now, by imprisoning these valiant fighters, acting as the goal-warders of Hitler and Mussolini. The alternative that was offered to these brave soldiers of democracy was either work in the labour-gangs in France or a passage back to Spain to face Francos firing squads.

We were allowed to interview about 20 people called out of the camp. There were Brazilians, Poles and Chinese in the International Brigade. Of the Spaniards, most of them in that particular camp were students from Colleges and Universities. One of them had been working in the University of Madrid on a thesis on literature for his doctorate, before the Fascist rising in 1936. We talked to each other in broken French, and he asked me a number of questions about India. He had heard a lot about Gandhi, Tagore and Nehru. Of these, he ruled out the first, for, as he said, Gandhi wanted to put the hands on the clock back, while we are out to create a new and better world. But Tagore and Nehru, he continued, were different though they might be under the personal spell of Gandhi. He had read the works of Tagore in French, and had listened to portions of Nehrus Autobiography read out by his comrades at the front. He wanted to know what Tagores attitude was towards Fascism. Fortunately I had then just read the Poets reply to Noguchi, and I told him about that. He was happy and remarked: He might not be coming from the ranks of the people, but he is sensitive and he is honest. He is on the side of progress and justice.

And he added after a pause: You know, Fascism can never be effectively fought by imperialist governmentsthat is why today we are in prison in the so-called democracy of France. These governments might one day stand up against Hitler and Mussolini when their own interests will be touched, but Fascism will never die so long as imperialism survives; and it is for the common people to rise and smash up the present system of exploitation. In that struggle the intellectuals will be called upon to make their choice. Many would be frightened and go over to the side of the bosses. But the better type, men like Malruax, Fox, Cornford and Lorca who fought alongwith the peasants and the workersand men like Tagore ad Rolland, Toller and Sinclair, who have sent their greetings from a distancethese will all be on our side. Many of them might not take part in the actual fighting, many might abhor the violence that will show itself in the process, but they will at least be honest when, moved by the agonies of suffering humanity today, they will welcome the birth of the new world of peace, freedom and happiness. By themselves they will not be able to build such a world, but they will welcome its construction when the toiling man will be enthroned. They are no doubt individualists and their reactions will be entirely emotional. Yet they will be our valuable allies in the struggle. Would you regard Tagore as one of them? I did not have to hesitate to give him the proud answer: Yes, we regard him soand was reminded of the foggy night in London when I had read the translation of the Letters from Russia, and of the monsoon evening in Calcutta when the Englishman had asked me, Would you call him a Peoples Poet?

IV

Things have moved since then and moved rapidly. I do not know what has happened to the young Spanish student. Perhaps he went back to the Spain that is Francos prison, or fell into the hands of the Gestapo after the betrayal of France, or if he is one of the few lucky ones, has escaped to some other part of the world, ever ready to carry on the real Peoples struggle against Fascism. But Tagore has not belied our hopes, he has reacted magnificently to the suffering of toiling humanity trying to sever the bonds that bind them. Even in this evening of his life, he has shown the alertness of youth in tearing off the mask from the face of Fascism and Imperialism alike. As I read and re-read his New Years Message, Crisis in Civilisation, there came back to my mind the face of the young comrade from Spain behind the barbed wire in the concentration camp, and I remembered the ringing words of Rolland, written on May Day 1934 on the advent of German Fascism: The decisive conflict has begun. It is no longer permissible to keep aloof..... Appeal to life against death, against that which kills, against these ravages of humanity: the forces of money, drunk with gold, the Imperialisms drunk with power, the dictatorships of the great companies, and the various forms of Fascism, drunk with blood. Working man, here are our hands. We are yours. Let us unite. Let us close up our ranks. Humanity is in danger!

(The Calcutta Municipal GazetteTagore Memorial Special Supplement, September 13, 1941)

In the light of the ongoing debate on Marx and Marxism that the bicentenary of Karl Marxs birth (May 5, 1818) has generated, we are reproducing an article by N.C. on Marx, Marxism and his personal testament in the wake of contemporary developments for the benefit of our readers.

Marx and Marxism

A Personal Testament

The centenary of Karl Marxs death on March 14 saw impressive tributes to his memory as not only the philosopher who interpreted the world but the revolutionary who sought to change it. From Parliament to the distant hamlet in this farflung country, wherever a Red Flag with hammer-and-sickle is perched on a bamboo pole, Marx was remembered. Not that anybody had seen him even in a film in this country, but they know that his credo now reigns supreme over one-third of humanity and millions in distant lands look upon his message as one of liberation for the dispossessed. His traducers and adversaries have perhaps done as much to keep his memory alive as his adherents. He would not have agreed to be called a prophet. He was the irrepressible inquirer who tried to discern the law that sets social formations into motion.

I am no learned scholar, but a sunburnt reporter. With the serried ranks of pundits from all over the worldour own quota is no less formidableevaluating his many-splendoured grandeur, it would be presumptuous on my part to write on Marx and his contribution. I can only recall the early days when I stumbled into Marxism as a student fifty years ago. While studying in Calcuttas Presidency College, I used to pass daily by a small bookshop which used to be raided by the police almost every other day. Not a political activist in those days but just a god-fearing nationalist putting on khadi kurta, I felt curious why this shop was the target of constant police attack. One day as I peeped in there, I had my first encounter with Karl Marxan illustrated history of the Russian Revolution, tucked away at the back of the shop: I was absorbed in the pictures, but the introduction mentioned about Karl Marx and Lenin and Trotsky.

In those days, Communist literature was banned in our country as also the Communist Party. But clandestine literature naturally appealed to young minds, particularly in the revolutionary ferment that was Bengal in those days. As editor of the College Magazine, I had a junior as the Secretary who seemed to have had an acquaintance with the proscribed literature: an article by him in Bengali on the ABC of Marxist economy, I found very absorbing. I published it in the College Magazine and there was a flutter. The police warned the Principal, who was a liberal and so he let the matter pass. In those days, Marx in my circle was known only second hand through Laski, Sidney Hook and later, John Strachey. The first Marxist intellectual I met was our respected teacher, Susobhan Sarkar, and the first Marxist speaker I heard was Soumyen Tagore, just released from Hitlers prison.

Once when studying at Oxford I was asked by my tutor, himself a high Tory, to write on Napoleon III; at the end of a long list of readings he said (and I remember his words even today): There is another book, rather polemical but stimulating, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte by Karl Marx. It was a bleak January afternoon when I settled down with the book and it was late at night when I put it down. This was a staggering experience. Here was a plausible, rational explanation of History, not a chronicle of kings and their battles, nor of the cause and effect: in a flash, many of the great historiansThucydides, Gibbon or Actonseemed inadequate. The words of Engels in the Preface to this book still ring in my ears: Marx discovered the great law of motion of history according to which all historical struggles, whether they proceed in the political, religious, philosophical or some other ideological domain, are in fact only the more or less clear expression of struggles of social classes, and that the existence and thereby the collisions too between these classes are in turn conditioned by the degree of development of their economic position, by the mode of their production and their exchange determined by it. The next few days, I read up two other books by Marx, The Class Struggle in France and The Civil War in France. Here was the glimpse of a man who could combine fierce partisanship with cold objectivity. A man deeply involved in action, at the same time sharpened by the faculty of taking a total view of a situation. For a young student of History, this was fascinating.

This was my initiation into Marxism. I read little of his economics but more of his historical writings. The first volume of Capital I read, but not the other two. The Communist Manifesto was inspiring, but I was struck by Marxs intellectual sharpness in his book, The Critique of Gotha Programme, which came to me towards the end of my student days. One can get a slimpse of the wide range of his interest in his Letters. In those days when Marxist literature was not as mass produced at throwaway prices as today, I think we read it with avidity and earnestness and perhaps greater seriousness than today. I need not bore the reader with personal trivia, but it is worth noting that many of us came to Marxism through sheer intellectual pursuit and the life of an activist came later.

In the late thirties and early forties, there was in our country a remarkable commingling of intellectual ferment and militant Left activity, in which the Communists were in the forefront. Not only in the political field but in different branches of cultureliterature, drama, science and humanitiesthere was an upsurge of activity quite out of proportion to the actual strength of the communist movement. Even when the Communists took a grievously wrong turn in national politics as at the time of the 1942 Quit India struggle, there was energy and buoyancy in the communist activity.

At the Marx death centenary, eminent Communist leaders have spoken and written paying fulsome homage to Marxs greatness; and that is as it should be. Their fidelity to Marxism is obviously unquestioned and it would perhaps be presumptuous on the part of a political wayfarer like me to riase a question, simple but nagging: how is it that when Marxism has become widely popular in this country and there is aversion to it in only a die-hard conservative fringe, the communist movement as such has progressively been making less and less impact on national life while its range of interest has conspicuously shrunk in recent years? Many of my generation raise this question not in anger, not in exasperation, but with pain in heart. It is not a question of sitting in judgement on any leader, though many are not of the calibre that can command national eminence: I raise my question in utter humility as I am aware of the fact that there are thousands upon thousands of dedicated workers of this great movement, seeking no publicity for themselves, serving according to their light the interests of the toiling masses in distant corners of our country.

And yet this question has to be raised particularly on the occasion when we remember Marx, for he was himself a withering critic of his own cause, never hesitating to rip open its mistakes and weaknesses, as could be seen, for instance, in his severely objective appraisal of the Paris Commune, done with clinical thoroughness, without belittling its significance.

With the limited understanding of a journalist, I feel that the time has now come when every serious Communist can no longer escape the imperative of an introspective assessment of this movement.

The basic question that comes to ones mind is: after sixty years of tireless work, why is it that the communist movement in this country has not become a national force? No doubt, they have strongholds here and there; they have regional influence as, for instance, in West Bengal or Kerala, but these do not make them a national force.

Viewed from another angle, one has to admit that at many a crucial juncture of the nations history, the Communists found themselves out of step. Born largely out of the national struggle for freedom, how was it that they got delinked from the militant patriots of 1942, who would have been its natural allies? Againand this was certainly more disastrousthe Comm-unists declared a veritable war on the national government immediately after Independence and thereby alienated themselves from the patriotic masses, and these include the workers and peasants. The Communists have always stood for planned economy, but when the concept of planning was seriously introduced in our country by far-seeing minds like Mahalanobis, it took the Communists two long years to decide whether they should support it or not. The list can be multiplied: the purpose is not to draw up a charge-sheet, but to think out why this dissonance with the national ethos.

This is essentially a question of roots. We tend to look upon this question of roots in an emotional, idealistic way. The Communist leaders will argue that they are not denationa-lised, they have links with their people, they are not alien to the customs and traditions of this country and many of them even observe social or religious rituals. But in a rational, materialist sense, the queston of roots involves a very different discipline. Marx slogged in the British Museum for twelve long years to get a grasp of the Industrial Revolution and discern the laws of class struggle. Lenin in the midst of Czarist persecution made his own study of capitalism in Russia, its impact on the peasantry. This was not a one-time exercise; repeatedly he came back to the subject. And then there is his classic work, State and Revolution, written literally in the midst of revolutionary action.

Mao made his own independent study of the agrarian situation in parts of China, thorough investigation with the discipline of a researcher but the methodology of a Marxist. Ho Chi Minh did his own study of the conditions of his people, particularly the toiling masses under colonial domination. If these leaders emerged as Titans in the esteem of their people, one cannot ignore the enormous effort put in by each of them to understand first hand the working of their societies. And this is not confined to the economic issues alone, it spread to every branch of human endeavourto culture and philosophy as well. And every one of them acquired a deep grasp of his own national heritage.

What do we see in our case? The early days of the movement saw individual efforts here and therea Bhowani Sen or a Namboodiripad or a Sundarayya attempted to understand the social forces in their respective areas. But since Independence no serious work of a primary nature has been done by any Communist leader in India. There may have been an outstanding intellect like a Kosambi or a scholar in philosophy like Debiprasad Chattopadhyay, but they came up through their own intellectual background and with little interaction with the leadership of the communist movement.

Why has this happened? This is not because the Indian Communist leaders are intellectually ill-equipped. Many of them have brilliant academic records behind them. It is risky for a lay observer like myself to venture any explanation. What strikes one is the fact that in the early days of the national movement, the young Communists found themselves pitted against outstanding leaders who themselves had taken to mass action as their political weapon in their fight against the imperial power. To assert their ideological identity the young Communists took to a sectarian posture, a common malady of any movement in its infancy. They could have got over it had they applied themselves seriously to study deeply the socio-economic structure in the country: instead, they confined their energy and activity to be a militant ginger group in the national spectrummore of a radical amendment mover than the organ of an independent line of thinking based on the assimilation of actual mass experience.

Since Independence, intellectual activity by the Communist leadership has progressively declined as could be seen by their contribution in Parliament and State Assemblies, in which the law of diminishing returns is very much in evidence. In fact, election politics has become the main preoccupation of the communist establishment.

Sea-changes have come over the rural scene. There has been no study by any Communist leader of the social impact of the Green Revolution. Abstract debate went on for decades if capitalism had really penetrated into the Indian agrarian economy. This is a country of uneven development: there is no study of substance by the Communist leadership on such problems as that of the nationalities, or tribal identity, and yet the Communists were the first to point to the nationality question in this country in the early forties. The working class in India has undergone major transfor-mation with industrial development. But the Communist leadership has given the new working class no national orientation and has confined its activity entirely to the wage question. The Communist support in the working class has not relatively gone up despite the tremendous growth of the Indian working class, both in numbers and importance.

Every political observer is today faced with the growing complexities of the Indian scenein all its dimensions, political, economic, social and cultural. It is of course easy for an Opposition leader to be a critic of the govern-ment. But the communist movement cannot relegate itself to a mere perpetual Opposition, a sort of gentlemanly Raj Narain. It has to seriously apply its mind to independently think and try out its approach, its line of action on all the issues facing this country. If Marx faced the thousand and one problems thrown up by the Industrial Revolution, how much more formidable is the task today when we are in the midst of a technological revolution!

Ours is a country of infinite problems as also of infinite promise in the world of tomorrow. If the Communists do not think hard and equip themselves, no models from outside will help. In the hundred years since Marx, the communist ideology has turned out to be the most restless ideology in history: its votaries have taken different approaches to many problems facing them, depending on their own understanding of Marxist methodology. From Peking to Rome, from Moscow to Hanoi, Marxism has manifested itself in different models. Certainly there is much to learn from rich experience in social engineering in other countries of the world, but we have to work out our own model and dare to make mistakes and learn from them. That was how Marx set out to change his worldcombination of acute intellectual perception with boundless revolutionary zeal. Both have to be acquired by the Communists if they have to learn from the teachings of the great Karl Marx. The time has come for the Communists in India to undertake what Rosa Luxemburg used to call, Renewalrenewal of their roots as also of their role as the upholder of this nations rich heritage.

(Mainstream, April 2, 1983)
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Curse! "Maine kaha tera (Mumbai ATS chief late Hemant Karkare) sarvanash (...)

In Hinduism, conscience, reason and independent thinking have no scope for development.... If Hindu Raj does become a fact, it will, no doubt be the greatest calamity for this country. No matter what the Hindus say, Hinduism is a menace to liberty, equality and fraternity. It is incompatible with democracy. Hindu Raj must be prevented at any cost. Dr B.R. Ambedkar

Pragya Singh Thakur claimed at Bhopal on April 19, 2019 that Hemant Karkare died because of my curse. In her own words, the policeman had treated her very badly while she was in custody in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. Elaborating the point, she said: Hemant Karkare falsely implicated me. He died of his karma. I told him he will be destroyed. I told him his entire dynasty will be erased. Maine kaha tera [Karkare] sarvanash hoga.1 The entire dynasty of the IPS officer came under the curse of a political fortune-seeker in the line of his duty performed with the highest standard of efficiency, probity and competence. The IPS officer was known for his impeccable integrity and indomitable courage. Hemant Karkare was cursed by an accused. This reminds me of a Bengali proverb, Death does not befall a cow or a buffalo in consequence of the curse of a vulture, does it? Almost all Indian languages, I am sure, must boast of a proverb as this or similar to it.

Hemant along with his colleagues chased the Pakistani terrorists, who, on November 26, 2011, waged a war against India and invaded Mumbai. The Mumbai Police fought valiantly and Hemant Karkare and some of his colleagues on mission finally laid down their lives. The nation is proud of the martyrs of 26/11. About eight years later, we hear that the IPS officer died of curse of a political power-seeker, contesting the 2019 elections from the Bhopal parliamentary constituency, Madhya Pradesh on the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Partys ticket. This nonsense or rubbish aimed at showing utter disrespect to the martyred police officer for his supreme sacrifice for the nation has widely been reported, commented upon and/or condemned by the Indian media, columnists, opinion-makers and people from various walks of life.

The nation posthumously conferred on the slain Hemant Karkare the Ashoka Chakra. This is Indias highest peacetime military deco-ration conferred for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is the peacetime equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for the most cons-picuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice other than in the face of the enemy.

According to a British Broadcasting Corporation bulletin, the Mumbai terror attacks of 26/11 of 2008 left 166 people dead and soured ties between India and Pakistan. During the 60-hour siege, the gunmen also ambushed a group of policemen, including three of the citys top officers travelling in a vehicle and killed six of them. The only policeman, Arun Jadhav, with grievous injuries, survived the unprovoked brutalities launched on India to tell the world the grisly story of his escape.2

Besides Hemant, Sadhvi Pragyas curse, if anyone takes her at all seriously, drew curtains on the lives of valiant Indian Army Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Mumbais Additional Police Commissioner Ashok Kamte and Senior Police Inspector Vijay Salaskar who though, in no way, were involved in the alleged torture of Pragya Thakur in investigations of Malegaon blast cases. A television channel reported that India had asked Pakistan to hand over Mumbai underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Maulana Masood Azhar for their suspected involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks.3 This is an alarming element in the story to invite our anxious attention.

Any person with an iota of intelligence would be appalled at the direct linkage the curse straightway established between the afore-mentioned merchants of death and manufacturers of terror operating from Pakistani soil on one hand and Indias Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, who enjoys the umbrella held by the Hindu nationalist ruling party over her head, on the other. She is its candidate to contest from the Bhopal parliamentary constituency for the 2019 elections. The implication of the Sadhvis claim underlines that Pakistani terror outfits patronised by Dawood Ibrahim, Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Maulana Masood Azhar took immediate and unfailing interest in translating her curse into action with bloody and devastating consequences. A deadly gang of terrorists comprising Ajmal Amir Kasab, Hafiz Arshad alias Abdul Rehman Bada, Abdul Rahman Chhota, Javed alias Abu Ali, Fahadullah alias Abu Fahad, Ismail Khan alias Abu Ismail, Babar Imran alias Abu Akasha, Nasir alias Abu Umar, Nazir alias Abu Umer and Shoaib alias Abu Soheb descended on Mumbai within theek sava mahine or 37-38 days, to achieve the objectives and purposes of Sadhvi Pragyas curse. They carried out not only Hemant Karkares sarvanash but many others too were gunned down by the terrorists. It is of immense national importance to decode the secrets along with the mystery enveloping the entire horrific episode. No Indian worth his salt would pocket an insult of this dimension for his motherland. This is a crying need to investigate the probable link between the two endsa Sadhvi of India and terror outfits in Pakistan.

Part-II

Puri Jagannath and His Temple

Surrendered to East India Company in 1803

In a 14-day campaign, the East India Company captured Orissa unopposed and brought an end to the oppressive Peshwa rule there in 1803. The Army simply marched up to Pipli within firing distance of the Puri temple town. A delegation of the temple priests and pandas welcomed the victorious Commanding Officer of the British Army in his camp. They surrendered the control, management and maintenance of Bhagwan Jagannath, and his temple in respectful obedience to an oracle.4 According to Swami Dharma Theertha (pre-ascetic Parameswara Menon, B. A., LLB), the oracle of the Puri Jagannath proclaimed that it was the desire of the deity that the temple too be controlled by the Company.5 What an enigmatic desire of the Lord of the Universe to surrender himself to an invading power! Lord Krishnas soul-stirring assurances held out in the Holy Geeta to his followers may be recalled:

Yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavati bharata

Abhythanamadharmasya tadatmanam srijamyaham

Paritranaya sadhunang vinashay cha dushkritam

Dharma sang sthapanarthay sambhabami yuge yuge6

Were these any better than the hogwash or a pre-election promises to be dishonoured and neglected in compliance when elections are over? Though Lord Krishna was fervently expected to destroy the invading British along with the temple priests and pandas whose mischief out of petty self-interests threw Him, his brother and sister under the feet of the British overlords.

From 1803 to 1841, therefore, the British Trading Company gained divine sanad or authority to control, manage and maintain the Jagannath Temple which was the home of Lord Krishna, his elder brother Balabhadra and their sister Subhadra. Regulations for tax were passed in 1806 and collection of taxesat rates varying from Rs 2 to Rs 10collected from the pilgrims in tens of thousands resorting to Puri from all over India. Classified into four classes, they paid taxes in lakhs of rupees. The Company spent, by and large, half of the annual income collected from pilgrims on the temple manage-ment, rituals, maintenance and establishment; and the balance half which was surplus, was credited to the Company Exchequer. The priests and other servants including devadasis of the Jagannath Temple did not suffer any qualms of conscience for the sorry state of affairs.

The question really to ask is: Are the slokas of the afore-quoted Bhagawad Geeta anything but works of fiction? Interestingly, the English-men, at home and abroad, condemned their own most famous Trading Company for subscribing to idolatry. No Indians ever appear to have voiced any grievance against British occupation and control of Jagannath Temple for about four decades when they minted tons of money. Incidentally, it is of interest note that the Company also taxed pilgrims at Gaya, Tirupati, Prayag, etc. with enormous benefit and no protests from the Hindus. The British shared income from taxes with priests in the respective centres to keep them in good humour!

The BJP Sankalpa Patra Lok Sabha 2019 on national security enunciated Zero tolerance approach to terrorism as follows:

Our security doctrine will be guided by our national security interest only.... We will firmly continue our policy of Zero Tolerance against terrorism and extremism and will continue our policy of giving free hand to our forces in combating terrorism. [01]

The countrymen might be enlightened, if not obliged, to know if the terrorists from Pakistan who executed Sadhvi Pragyas curse with unbelievable commitment and meticulous precision are complementary to the nationalist partys doctrine of zero tolerance approach to terrorism or otherwise. Lord of the Universe, Jagannath, as we have seen, had desired the control, management and maintenance of the foreign conquerors! With historical precedents as these on record available before us, Sadhvis party has a role to offer explanation to satisfy the genuine inquisitiveness, if any, of the countrymen.

Footnotes

1. The Hindu, April 19, 2019, Bhopal, Hemant Karkare died because of my curse.

2. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-46314555

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/After-math_of_the_2008_-Mumbai_attacks

4. Swami Dharma Theertha, Menace of Hindu Imperialism, 2nd edition, Har Bhagwan Happy Home Publication, Krishnanagar, Lahore, October 1946, p. 166.

5. Ibid.

6. Bhagavad Geeta, Chapter 4, Verse 7-8.

A retired IAS officer and former Vice-Chancellor, B.R. Ambedkar University, Muzaffarpur, Bihar, A.K. Biswas, Ph.D, is a social anthropologist and commentator.
Our Back Pages

Issue #183

Issue Date: July 2013

Editors: John Barton

Pages: 112

Number of contributors: 18

Buy Issue 183: Print Edition

The transformative power of memory and the aesthetic artifact pervades this summer issue; fronted by five found photographs depicting wild waterfront scenes in black and white, issue 183 offers readers an escape to an otherworldly past. These images, portals to the Ontario cottage country of Stephen Marches dystopic short story, How the Children Stayed Beautiful in a Time of Many Catastrophes, reflect the issues thematic insistence on striking a balance between mundane objects of perception and the near-sacred emotional significance they accrue with time. Claire Caldwells Osteogenesis and Kim Trainors Nothing is Lostjoint winners of the 2013 Long Poem Prize and the focal points of this issueexemplify this balance: Caldwells haunting poetic sequence blends striking metaphor and scientific observation into a mythopoesis of everyday life, and Trainors archaeological found poem, meticulously organized in alphabetical stanzas like a familiar childhood mnemonic device, unearths the emotional histories of the untold victims of genocide.

Expanding on this issues theme of remembrance are Maureen Hyness bittersweet recollection of her mothers temporary triumph over dementia, Further and further west, and Bruce Rices plain spoken elegy, Into the Wind, which won the Malahats P. K. Page Founders Award in 2014. Meditating on his brothers death, Rices trailing lines span the width of the two mens distance from one anotherand evoke the desolation of loss. In keeping with the numinous undercurrent of this issue, Rice refigures his apprehension of that loss as a beautiful and terrifying celestial insight: You could see everything, a pathway / of spilled starsif you looked at it right you could see / we are all upside down, ready to fall off the earth.



Notable prose in this issue includes Man Changing into Thunderbird, an excerpt from Armand Garnet Ruffos biography of the late Ojibway shaman-artist Norval Morriseau, as well as short-fiction pieces by David Margoshes andas glimpsed earlier on the coverStephen Marche. The Desert Isle or The Compunction of Narrative, Margoshess sardonic, metafictional nod to common writers woes and the anxiety of influence, drips with self-aware irony but manages, nevertheless, to affirm fictions gripping power. Comparatively bleak but equally riveting, Marches eerie narrative of two families flight to a remote island to escape a world-wide plague (under the auspices of a summer vacation) captures the creeping terror of social collapse through tense psychological realism. Marche breathes uncommon life into his characters, whose deep existential uncertainty and guilt lurks just beneath the rapturous escapism of their eternal summer.

Chris Horne
They look like they rolled straight out of a Terminator movie.

Futuristic robotic combat vehicles were on display this week at a Texas A&M campus to show off existing military technology to the Army Futures Command, an Austin-based post that develops future war fighting concepts for the U.S. Army.

It was the first such demonstration at the A&M Rellis campus, a 2,000-acre former military training base that gave the vehicle operators plenty of space to work with, university spokesman Laylan Copelin said.

"They spent all week putting [the vehicles] through their paces and evaluating the vehicles," Copelin said.

Academic researchers, military members and reporters got the chance to see the tanks and Humvees in action this week.

To participate, the vehicles had to travel off-road and on paved roads at speeds up to 75 miles per hour, carrying a payload of 1,000 pounds, the release said. The vehicle needed to be capable of operating out of the line of sight in all weather conditions. They also needed to work at a distance of 500 to 700 meters from the operator station.

Some vehicles had mounted gun turrets, but they didn't live fire during the demonstration, Copelin said. The vehicles did, however, drive through simulated urban environments to "see how [the vehicles] navigate city streets."

Col . Warren Sponsler, deputy director of the Next Generation Cross-Functional Team, said robotic combat vehicles will help reduce the risk to soldiers.

"There are a lot of dirty, dangerous things our soldiers do on the battlefield today," he said in a university news release. "Robotic combat vehicles could do those things for them."

>>> Click through the gallery to see the futuristic vehicles

Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@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.
This month, a video of Joe Biden saying he had no empathy for the younger generation that tells me how tough things are resurfaced on social media. The video was over a year old, but it elicited predictable howls from members of the dissed demographic. Nothing says perfect candidate to lead the most powerful nation in the world like I have no empathy,  wrote someone with the Twitter handle @anarchopriapism.

My own reactionary reaction was different. OK, I thought, I could definitely vote for Joe  provided he has the mettle to stand his ground.

Ive been saying for a while now that both parties could use a Sister Souljah moment, in which a candidate shows the intestinal fortitude to rebuke some obnoxious person or faction within his political base. Bill Clinton did it in 1992 after recording artist Lisa Williamson asked, If black people kill black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people? Clinton called it out as an example of reverse racism and still went on to win 83% of the African-American vote.

In this election cycle, no faction on the Democratic side more richly deserves rebuking than the one Biden singled out  which is not, of course, anywhere close to the entire millennial generation (roughly 80 million strong), or their younger siblings in Gen Z. But it is that part of these younger generations that specialize in histrionic self-pity and moral self-righteousness, usually communicated via social media with maximum snark.

Gawker spawn and HuffPo twerps: This especially means you.

It also means all those who recklessly participate in the search-and-destroy missions of the call-out culture. These are the Harvard students who demanded, and last week obtained, the dismissal of law professor Ronald Sullivan and his wife, Stephanie Robinson, as faculty deans at an undergrad dorm because Sullivan had the temerity to join Harvey Weinsteins defense team. They are the Middlebury students who in 2017 violently assaulted professor Allison Stanger for the crime of moderating a talk with Charles Murray. They are the Yale students who in 2015 surrounded and hounded professor Nicholas Christakis because he would not agree to their demands that he denounce his wife for believing in free speech.

The signature move in each of these instances (and there are so many more) is to allege an invisible harm in order to inflict an actual one. In place of an eye for an eye, we have professional destruction for emotional upset. Careers and reputations built over decades come to ruin, or nearly so, on account of a personal mistake or a disfavored opinion.

All of these struggle sessions play to the sound of chortling 20-somethings, who have figured out that, in todays culture, the quickest way to acquire and exercise power is to take offense. This is easy to do, because the list of sins to which one may take offense grows with each passing year, from the culturally appropriated sombrero to the traditionally gendered pronoun.

Its also easy because the grown-ups rarely push back and, in fact, are often happy to go along. Not one of the students who joined the mob at Middlebury was expelled. And say what you will of the students who demanded the ouster of Sullivan and Robinson, they would have gotten nowhere without the weaselly connivance of Harvard Dean Rakesh Khurana, who discovered unspecified problems with the climate of the dorm in order to justify his verdict.

Which brings me back to Biden. The rap against the former veep is that hes old, frequently puts his foot in his mouth and occasionally says nice things about Republicans. Another way of putting all that is that hes mature, unstudied and not just another partisan hater.

Also, he refused to beg forgiveness last month for being a tad too touchy-kissy. Maybe he should keep his hands in his pockets, but at least it means he isnt prepared to capitulate to the icy codes of personal decorum written by people who dont know the difference between exuberant human warmth and unwarranted sexual advances.

To which one can only say: Keep it up, Joe! Hes already leading all of his Democratic primary rivals in every demographic group save millennials (obviously), where Bernie Sanders has a narrow lead. He could make a virtue of the defect by emphasizing his distance from everything that defines the worst aspects of millennial culture  the coddled minds and censorious manner and inability to understand the way the world works. Does it ever occur to some of our more militant millennials that the pitiless standards they apply to others will someday be applied pitilessly to them?

The sensible center of America  that is, the people who choose presidents in this country  wants to see Donald Trump lose next year, but not if it means empowering the junior totalitarians of the left. Now is Bidens chance to make it clear hes just the man to fulfill that hope.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
In route news this week, The U.S. has approved new service to Japan for four U.S. carriers, opening up 12 new routes into Tokyo Haneda Airport; San Francisco International gets new flights to Canada and Hawaii; United kicks off more summer seasonal flights across the Atlantic; Alaska drops a pair of Mexico routes; Contour increases Oakland flights; Delta enters new Boston markets; Denver gets summer service to Switzerland; and China Southern will begin new JFK flights.

The opportunities for U.S. travelers to fly into Tokyo's close-in Haneda Airport instead of the more distant Narita Airport will increase dramatically this year following the Transportation Department's tentative award this week of new route authority to four U.S. airlines. The new authority will allow for up to 12 new flights a day into Haneda from a number of U.S gateways. And the new routes will use daytime arrival/departure slots at Haneda, allowing for convenient travel times. (A Delta official said that flying into Narita instead of Haneda can increase travel time to downtown Tokyo by up to two hours.)

Delta  the only one of the Big Three U.S. airlines that doesn't have a partnership with a Japanese carrier (American has Japan Airlines, United has ANA) -- was the big winner, gaining authority for new Haneda service from Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta, Portland and Honolulu. United won approval to serve Haneda from Newark, Chicago O'Hare, Washington Dulles and Los Angeles. DOT awarded American rights to Dallas/Ft. Worth-Haneda as well as a second daily Los Angeles-Haneda fight. And Hawaiian won a daytime slot from Honolulu. All the new routes are expected to begin sometime this summer.

Currently, U.S. airline service to Tokyo Haneda includes United from San Francisco, American from LAX, Delta from LAX and Minneapolis-St. Paul; and Hawaiian from Honolulu and Kona (a nighttime slot).

Delta said it will fly a new A330-900neo from Seattle, an A350 from Detroit, a 777-200ER from Atlanta, an A330-200 from Portland and a 767-300ER from Honolulu. American said it plans to use a 787-8 for its new DFW-Haneda service and a 777-200 for its second LAX-Haneda flight. United and Hawaiian had no immediate information about service plans for their new routes. Tokyo will host the Summer Olympics from July 24 through August 9, which should create a huge demand for airline seats to the city this summer.

New service out of San Francisco International started up this week to Hawaii and Canada. The new Hawaii flights are operated by Minnesota-based, ultra-low-cost carrier Sun Country Airlines, with flights four days a week (Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday). And Canada's WestJet has launched seasonal summer service from SFO to Vancouver and Calgary, with daily flights on both routes.

In Hawaii news, Southwest Airlines this week ramped up its inter-island operations in the Aloha State by beginning new service between Honolulu and Kona on the Big Island. It already offered four flights a day between Honolulu and Kahului, Maui, and now does the same between HNL and Kona, providing easy connections for travelers on Southwest's San Jose-Honolulu and Oakland-Honolulu flights. (Southwest also flies from Oakland non-stop to Kahului and will begin San Jose-Kahului service May 26.) For its inter-island flights, Southwest operates 175-passenger 737s vs. Hawaiian's 128-seat, two-class 717s  although Hawaiian has many more frequencies in the inter-island market. Southwest also said last week that it plans to add Hilo on the Big island to its Hawaii network, but it didn't say when it would start flying there.

In a few days, United will start flying a number of seasonal transatlantic routes for the summer. May 22 is the launch date for United's summer schedule from its Newark hub to Athens and Naples; and from Washington Dulles to Barcelona, Edinburgh and Tel Aviv. Also on May 22, United will deploy new Boeing 787-10s  the largest in the 787 series -- on its routes from Newark to Brussels and Dublin.

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In California route news, Alaska Airlines plans to drop a couple of Mexico routes this summer, according to Routesonline.com. The carrier's four weekly Orange County-Los Cabos flights are due to end August 5, and its three weekly roundtrips between Orange County and Puerto Vallarta will be terminated August 6. Elsewhere, Santa Barbara-based Contour Airlines this week increased service between Santa Barbara-Oakland and Santa Barbara-Las Vegas from one flight a day to two, using 30-seat ERJ-135s with 36 inches of legroom and one free checked bag per customer. And American Airlines' daily Los Angeles-Santa Rosa E175 service, previously schedule to continue through early January, will now end on November 2, according to Routesonline.com.

Delta is putting more pressure on JetBlue in Boston, where the two carriers have been battling for market dominance. Delta said that in December, it plans to begin new twice-daily flights from Boston to Miami International; to add daily flights from Boston to Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; and to increase seasonal service to New Orleans and Sarasota. The airline said that with those additions and other new service already announced, it will have increased its Boston departures by 25 percent as of next March.

On the international side, Edelweiss Air  a leisure affiliate of Lufthansa-owned Swiss International  resumes Denver-Zurich seasonal service on May 22 with an A340-300, initially offering twice-weekly departures. And China Southern Airlines plans a July 10 start for new service between New York JFK and Wuhan, China, using a 787-9 to operate three flights a week.





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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.
While UC Berkeley graduates were forced to deal with the rain during their outdoor commencement Saturday morning, Cal State East Bay officials opted to cancel their ceremony scheduled later in the day.

In a message on the school's website Saturday afternoon, the university stated that while the institution "regrets" the cancellation due to inclement weather, it did so for safety reasons.

"The university regrets this cancelation, but the weather conditions have created an unsafe environment for graduates and guests," the message said. "This ceremony will not be rescheduled."

The graduation was originally set to take place at the school's Concord campus at 6 p.m., before the school resorted to halting the proceedings.

"The commencement ceremonies are designed especially for you and your family members to join in the celebration of this momentous event in your lives. We are sure you are all very proud of your accomplishments, and we at the University are proud of you as well," the statement concluded.

Cal State East Bay has two more graduations scheduled at the Hayward campus for Sunday, for its College of Business and Economics and the College of Education and Allied Studies; those ceremonies are expected to continue, unless the inclement weather persists.

READ ALSO: May rain soaks Cal grads during outdoor commencement

The rainy weather is expected to continue through the weekend, raining on a number of other weekend events including the popular Bay to Breakers event in San Francisco this Sunday.

Graduating students from Saturday's cancelled event were invited to attend the Hayward ceremony the following day, should it go forward.

Read Dianne de Guzman's latest stories and send her news tips at dianne.deguzman@sfgate.com.

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The weather played a huge part in the University of California, Berkeley commencement Saturday, as the rain soaked students and their families, and was referenced throughout the proceedings.

The storm predicted to move through the Bay Area over the weekend began at the start of the ceremony and didn't let up, starting slowly as students made their way inside Memorial Stadium before ramping up during the speeches.

READ ALSO: Runners at Bay to Breakers won't escape the weekend rain

Commencement speakers had the best deal of everyone, luckily ensconced in a tent, as raindrops fell upon the graduating class. Students struggled to stay dry with plastic rain ponchos, but eventually the umbrellas came out  the university had fortunately relaxed its ban on umbrellas at the stadium knowing that the heavy rain was a possibility.

"I'm so sorry about the rain, but I'm so honored to celebrate this day with you," Wendy Kopp, CEO and co-founder of Teach For America, told the crowd at the beginning of her speech as the raindrops continued to fall.

The rain didn't seem to dampen the mood, however: by the time commencement concluded just before 12:30 p.m., some of the more ecstatic graduates took the time to dance around in the rain as the crowds filed out of the stadium.

"There comes a point where, once you get wet, you might as well enjoy it because you're not gonna get any dryer or warmer  you're just gonna keep getting colder and wet," said Steve Anderson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

If the graduates  and their visiting family and friends  were looking for a break in the wet weather after the ceremony, it looks like that's not likely to happen. The heaviest rain is moving through the Bay Area Saturday afternoon until about 10 p.m. with temperatures predicted to stay in the mid-50s during the day.

"Unfortunately, no breaks," said Anderson. "It's gonna be miserable and cold all day."

Read Dianne de Guzman's latest stories and send her news tips at dianne.deguzman@sfgate.com.

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MILAN  Italys anti-immigrant Interior Minister Matteo Salvini led a rally of right-wing populist leaders Saturday seeking historic results in this weeks European Parliament elections in their bid to transform European politics.

Salvini, the head of Italys right-wing League party, has positioned himself at the forefront of a growing movement of nationalist leaders seeking to free the European Unions 28 nations from what he called Brussels illegal occupation.

He pledged to close Europes borders to migrants if the League wins not just the most votes of any party in Italy, but also of Europe.

Salvini was joined by 10 other nationalist leaders, including include far-right leaders Marine Le Pen of Frances National Rally party and Joerg Meuthen of the Alternative for Germany party. It was a major tour de force for the expanding movement ahead of the May 23-26 vote that will take place in all 28 EU nations.

Still, most of the tens of thousands of supporters that packed the square outside the central Duomo cathedral in Milan were there for Salvini. League flags filled the square. A short distance away, some 2,000 protesters marched to protest the right-wing gathering.

In front of the Duomo, Salvini railed against unchecked immigration and decried Islam, saying it mistreated women. He said Turkey would never be a part of Europe and rejected the label of extremists for the leaders with him.

In this piazza, there are no extremists. There are no racists. There are no fascists. If anything in Italy and in Europe, the difference is between who looks ahead, between who speaks of the future ... instead of making trials of the past, he said.

The far-right and populist leaders in Milan are making one of the strongest challenges to the European status quo in decades, united under an anti-immigrant, anti-Islam, anti-bureaucracy banner.

It is an historic moment important enough to free the continent from the illegal occupation organized by Brussels for many years, Salvini said.

He accused European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, of betraying Europe ... by constructing a Europe of finance and uncontrolled immigration.

Le Pen said the movement was united in our conception of cooperation in Europe, our shared desire to protect our citizens, our common refusal to see our country being subjected to the submergence of migration.

Colleen Barry is an Associated Press writer.
VIENNA  Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called for an early election after his vice chancellor resigned Saturday over a covertly shot video that showed him apparently promising government contracts to a purported Russian investor.

Kurz said he would ask President Alexander Van der Bellen to set a date for a new election as soon as possible.

Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache resigned after two German publications, the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and the weekly Der Spiegel, published extracts Friday of a video purportedly showing Strache offering Austrian government contracts to a Russian woman who was allegedly interested in investing large amounts of money in Austria.

Straches far-right, anti-immigrant Freedom Party is the smaller partner in Austrias ruling government coalition with Kurzs Peoples Party. At a news conference late Saturday, Kurz said talks with remaining officials from the Freedom Party showed they were not willing to make the changes Kurz felt necessary to continue the current coalition.

Straches resignation was a black eye for the populist and nationalist forces who favor tighter European immigration policies. It came only a few days before the May 23-26 elections in 28 European Union nations to fill the European Parliament.

In his resignation statement earlier Saturday, Strache apologized but said he was set up in a political assassination. He conceded his behavior in the video was stupid, irresponsible and a mistake.

In the video, the source of which the publications declined to reveal, Strache and party colleague Johann Gudenus are heard telling the unnamed woman she could expect lucrative construction work if she bought Austrias Kronen Zeitung newspaper and supported the Freedom Party. The video spanned six hours of drink-fueled conversation in a villa on the Spanish island of Ibiza between the Austrian politicians and the woman, who claimed to be the niece of a prominent Russian businessman.

The 49-year-old politician said he had been in a state of increasing alcohol intoxication and had behaved like a teenager in an attempt to impress the attractive host. He said he had had no further contact with the woman and she did not donate to his party.

David McHugh and Kamila Jafaru are Associated Press writers.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  Commercial airlines flying over the Persian Gulf risk being targeted by miscalculation or misidentification from the Iranian military amid heightened tensions between the Islamic Republic and the U.S., American diplomats warned Saturday, even as both Washington and Tehran say they dont seek war.

The warning relayed by U.S. diplomatic posts from the Federal Aviation Administration underscored the risks the current tensions pose to a region critical to both global air travel and trade. Oil tankers allegedly have faced sabotage and Yemen rebel drones attacked a crucial Saudi oil pipeline over the last week.

Meanwhile on Saturday, Iraqi officials said ExxonMobil Corp. began evacuating staff from Basra, and the island nation of Bahrain ordered its citizens out of Iraq and Iran over the recent escalations and threats.

However, U.S. officials have yet to publicly explain the threats they perceive coming from Iran, about two weeks after the White House ordered an aircraft carrier and B-52s bombers into the region. The U.S. also has ordered nonessential staff out of its diplomatic posts in Iraq.

President Trump since has sought to soften his tone on Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also stressed Saturday that Iran is not seeking war, comments seemingly contradicted by the head of the Revolutionary Guard, who declared an ongoing intelligence war between the nations.

The developments all have root in Trumps decision last year to withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers and impose wide-reaching sanctions. Iran just announced it would begin backing away from terms of the deal, setting a 60-day deadline for Europe to come up with new terms or it would begin enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels. Tehran long has insisted it does not seek nuclear weapons, though the West fears its program could allow it to build atomic bombs.

The order relayed Saturday by U.S. diplomats in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates came from an FAA Notice to Airmen published late Thursday in the U.S. It said all commercial aircraft flying over the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman needed to be aware of Irans fighter jets and weaponry.

Although Iran likely has no intention to target civil aircraft, the presence of multiple long-range, advanced anti-aircraft-capable weapons in a tense environment poses a possible risk of miscalculation or misidentification, especially during periods of heightened political tension and rhetoric, the warning said.

It also said aircraft could experience interference with its navigation instruments and communications jamming with little to no warning.

The warning comes 30 years after the Vincennes mistook an Iran Air commercial jetliner for an Iranian F-14, shooting it down and killing all 290 people on board. That was not lost on Irans mission to the United Nations, which dismissed the warning as Americas psychological war against Iran.

Jon Gambrell is an Associated Press writer.
BAGHDAD  When U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently sat down with Iraqi officials in Baghdad as tensions mounted between America and Iran, he delivered a nuanced message: If youre not going to stand with us, stand aside.

The message, shared with the Associated Press by two Iraqi government officials, underscores Iraqs delicate position: Its government is allied with both sides of an increasingly contentious confrontation.

As tensions escalate, there are concerns that Baghdad could once again get caught in the middle, just as it is on the path to recovery. The country hosts more than 5,000 U.S. troops, and is home to powerful Iranian-backed militias, some of whom want those U.S. forces to leave.

The big question is how Iraqi leaders will deal with (their) national interests in a country where loyalty to external powers is widespread at the expense of their own nation, political analyst Watheq al-Hashimi said. If the state cannot put these (Iran-backed militias) under control, Iraq will become an arena for an Iranian-American armed conflict.

Despite the escalation of rhetoric by both sides, President Trump has said he doesnt want a war with Iran and has even said he is open to dialogue.

For Iraq to be a theater for proxy wars is not new. The Shiite-majority country lies on the fault line between Shiite Iran and the mostly Sunni Arab world, led by powerhouse Saudi Arabia, and has long been a battlefield in which the Saudi-Iran rivalry for regional supremacy played out.

During Americas eight-year military presence that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, U.S. troops and Iranian-backed militiamen fought pitched battles around the country, and scores of U.S. troops were killed or wounded by the militia forces armed with sophisticated Iranian-made weapons. American forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011 but returned in 2014 at the invitation of Iraq to help battle the Islamic State group after it seized vast areas in the north and west of the country.

Earlier this year, Trump provoked outrage in Baghdad when he said he wanted U.S. troops to stay in Iraq so they can watch Iran, suggesting a changing mission for American troops there.

The two Iraqi officials said Pompeo on May 8 relayed intelligence information the U.S. had received about a threat to U.S. forces in Iraq  but kept it vague. They said he did not specify the nature of the threat. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Pompeo told the Iraqis that America did not expect them to side with the U.S. in any confrontation with Iran, but that they should not side against America. In other words, stand aside.

Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Bassem Mroue are Associated Press writers.
BEIRUT  U.N. officials and dozens of international aid groups warned that humanitarian conditions in Syrias northwest have reached a new crisis point, as government troops push to retake the rebels last stronghold.

The recent violence has effectively shattered a cease-fire negotiated by Russia and Turkey, in place since September. Russia has firmly backed President Bashar Assads government in the eight-year civil war, while Turkey has supported rebel factions.

In their appeal, some 70 aid groups called for an immediate end to the fighting. They said the violence has displaced an estimated 180,000 people in the last two weeks alone. The rebel enclave, which stretches between northern Hama and most of Idlib provinces, is home to 3 million people.

The violence has forced at least 16 humanitarian organizations to suspend operations in the region, the groups added. The staff were displaced themselves or the facilities came under attack.

In New York, the U.N. humanitarian chief said his worst fears that a full-scale military onslaught in northwestern Syria would unleash a humanitarian nightmare unlike any we have seen in Syria are coming true.

Mark Lowcock told the Security Council that violence in the last three weeks killed up to 160 people, displaced at least 180,000 and left millions crammed into an ever smaller area. The aid groups said at least 15 health facilities were reported to have been significantly damaged or destroyed.

Sarah El Deeb is an Associated Press writer.
Chiang Ying-ying / Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan  Taiwans legislature voted Friday to legalize same-sex marriage, a first in Asia and a boost for LGBT rights activists who had championed the cause for two decades.

Lawmakers pressured by LGBT groups as well as by church organizations opposed to the move approved most of a government-sponsored bill that recognizes same-sex marriages and gives couples many of the tax, insurance and child custody benefits available to male-female married couples.
LONDON  Talks between Britains Conservative government and the opposition Labor Party seeking a compromise over Brexit broke down without agreement Friday, plunging the country back into a morass of uncertainty over its departure from the European Union.

Each side blamed the other for the collapse. Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said the talks with Prime Minister Theresa Mays government had gone as far as they can.

We have been unable to bridge important policy gaps between us, Corbyn said in a letter to May.

And with May set to announce within weeks that she plans to step down, Corbyn said divisions within the ruling Conservative Party meant its a government that is negotiating with no authority and no ability, that I can see, to actually deliver anything.

But May said divisions within the Labor Party had contributed to the breakdown.

In particular, we have not been able to overcome the fact that there isnt a common position in Labor about whether they want to deliver Brexit or hold a second referendum, which could reverse it, she said.

Mays spokesman, James Slack, confirmed the two sides had not reached complete agreement and that no further talks were planned.

The two sides have held weeks of negotiations to try to agree upon terms for Brexit that can win support in Parliament. The talks began after British lawmakers rejected Mays divorce deal with the EU three times.

But the Conservatives and the left-of-center Labor differ on how close an economic relationship to seek with the EU after Britain leaves the bloc. Labor wants to stick close to EU rules in order to guarantee seamless trade, while the government wants a looser relationship that would leave Britain freer to strike new trade deals around the world.

Britain was due to leave the EU on March 29, but amid the political impasse in the country, the EU extended the Brexit deadline until Oct. 31.

Jill Lawless is an Associated Press writer.
A visitor to a nature reserve in Florida has captured on video a three-legged alligator walking across a path.



The filmer said she was walking around Circle B Bar Reserve in Polk County when she spotted the large reptile emerging from the side of a trail.



The alligator's rear leg on the right-hand side was clearly missing and the animal was struggling to shift its considerable weight across the path.



After a few awkward steps, though, the gator made it across the path slipped effortlessly into the water on the other side.



It's unclear why the alligator was missing a leg but adult males are solitary, territorial animals which will often fight other males encroaching on their patch.
Trumps Trade War Is Good for These 3 Dividend Stocks

The US v. China trade war is heating up.



Until recently, the nations appeared to be making progress.



That was until President Trump raised tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports from 10% to 25%.



The news sent the S&P 500 down 3% in the next two trading days. But not all stocks suffered.



Thats because some stocks actually benefit from tariffs.



Ill show you why in a momentand share a few stable, dividend-paying stocks set to benefit as this all plays out.



How Tariffs Work

A tariff is a tax on imported goods. Governments use them to make foreign goods less attractive and domestic goods more competitive.



Take steel, for example.



Last year, Trump slapped a 25% tariff on Chinese steel imports. At the time, Chinese steel cost $800 per ton. US steel cost $900.



Once the tariff went into effect, it raised the overall cost of Chinese steel for US buyers to $1,000 per ton.



As youd expect, US automaker Ford Motor Company (F) buys a lot of steel. And before the tariff, it bought a lot of it from China because it was cheaper.



Now Ford buys from US companies like Nucor Corp. (NUE), the largest US steel maker.



Nucor loves the steel tariff. The companys CEO said 2018the year the tariffs went into effectwas a record year for Nucor.



Ford is less enthusiastic. The tariffs cost the car maker $750 million in 2018.



But thats how US tariffs work. They help some domestic businesses. And hurt others.



In China, however, everyone is feeling the pressure.

A One-Sided Relationship

The US and China have the worlds two largest economies. And they trade a lot $780-billion worth of goods in 2018.



Still, its a one-sided relationship. In 2018, the US bought $660-billion worth of Chinese goods. But China only bought $120-billion worth of US goods.



In other words, the US buys five times as much from China as China buys from the US. So Trumps tariffs have put a lot of heat on Chinas economy and financial markets.



The Shanghai Composite Index, a proxy for Chinese stocks fell a staggering 25.7% in 2018:







It was the worst year for Chinese stocks since the global financial crisis.



This makes sense: Modern-day America consumes more stuff than any country in history. So, US tariffs matter.



The tariffs make Chinese goods less competitive. So Chinese companies sell fewer goods to US buyers. This translates to lower overall sales, then lower earnings.



And that translates to lower stock prices for Chinese companies, as we just saw.



US stocks are not immune to trade war tensions either. However, they fell a mere 6.3% during the period that Chinese stocks dropped 25.7%.



Thats because its relatively easy for the US to find cheaper, non-Chinese replacements for tariffed goods. Its a lot harder for China to find non-US buyers.



Theres simply no replacement for the endless buying power of American consumers. And remember, some US industries even benefit from tariffs

Profiting from the Trade War

US companies that make products that compete with Chinese imports like steel, electronics, and automation equipment now have a major advantage.



The tariffs help them sell more, which means higher earnings and higher stock prices.



Im always on the lookout for safe and stable dividend-paying stocks. When I find ones set to benefit from larger economic forces like a trade war, even better.



The American steel firm Nucor (NUE), which I mentioned earlier, is one of these companies. Nucor sells most of its steel in the US. And Trumps tariffs have made its products more attractive to US buyers.



Nucor also boasts a 2.9% dividend yield on a low payout ratioone of the most important indicators for dividend stocks. In short, a low payout ratio points to a stable divided.



American electronics companies like Hubbell Inc. (HUBB) also stand to benefit from the trade war.



High tariffs on cheap Chinese electronics make Hubbells products more competitive. The company also pays a 2.7% dividend yield on a low payout ratio. This means its a safe and stable stock for income investors.



The trade war should also boost US automation companies like Rockwell Automation, Inc. (ROK).



Rockwell benefits directly from US tariffs on Chinese automation equipment. Plus, the company has raised its dividend nine years in a row (which, again, is one of the key indicators the dividend is safe). With a low payout ratio, its dividend is secure.



These companies would do well even without a trade war. Their stocks are cheap. And they have strong underlying businesses that should continue to churn out profits.



That said, this trade war isnt going away anytime soon. Last Friday, Trump followed through on his threat to raise tariffs to 25%. China is hitting back as I write



This all bodes well for these companies.

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 2019 Copyright Robert Ross. - 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.

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Summer is here. That means backyard barbecues, beach weekends, sightseeing trips and the annual reminder from management that ensembles worn for those occasions are likely not office-appropriate.

The warmer temperatures mean people wear less clothing, leading to more opportunities to run afoul of the company dress code.

The evergreen debate among corporate attire police about whether leggings are pants and if they're suitable for the workplace doesn't vanish in the summer. It's joined by myriad other questions, such as whether a skirt is too short, a dress is too sheer and leather footwear with a heel but no backstrap constitutes a flip-flop.

"Summer is a fertile time for problems," says Michael Studenka, a partner specializing in employment law at Newmeyer & Dillion's office in Newport Beach, Calif. "Clothing styles and trends show more [skin] and stick to the body more. This often causes conflict with policy."



Casual Is King

Dress codes and habits vary greatly based on industry, position within a company hierarchy and geographic region. Retail establishments usually require staff to wear uniforms, while the clothing allowed at manufacturing plants is dictated by safety standards.

The office environment is especially ripe for confusion and even conflict, given the numerous attire options and the changing work culture. Offices are becoming increasingly casual, as comfort-loving Millennials take over the workplace and the Silicon Valley ethos exemplified by Facebook founder and chairman Mark Zuckerberg's T-shirt and hoodie spreads into other business sectors. A majority56 percentof individuals prefer a relaxed dress code, according to a survey by OfficeTeam, which specializes in placing temporary office and administrative staff.

At the same time, companies are trying to foster inclusion and diversity by encouraging employees to be themselves at work instead of adhering to a perceived stereotype. Amid the tightest labor market in 50 years, firms are also reluctant to impose restrictions that could irritate employees and prospects.



Creating the Code

Many companies now advise staff to just dress "appropriately" or have rules that ban "revealing" or "distracting" garments. Those words may be in the dictionary, but, in reality, the definitions are in the eyes of the beholder. The workplace has never been more diverse, so dress codes are viewed through the lenses of people of different ages, genders, ethnicities, economic standings and beliefs. Such differences can lead to conflicting opinions.

"Everyone draws the line in a different place," says Pamela Moore, a partner in the Hartford, Conn.-based office of law firm McCarter & English. She adds that good dress codes should list definitive dont's, so there's no confusion over what's acceptable and what's not. If employers don't want an atmosphere that resembles a pool party, Moore says, executives should clearly nix shorts, flip-flops, shirts that reveal the midriff, halter tops and tank tops, for example.

Still, there's a lot of gray area in dress codes, and that's what makes the issue so complicated. Nearly half of men and one-third of women say they aren't sure what constitutes proper office attire. Eighty percent of managers said last year that an employee's dress affect his or her chance of getting a promotion, according to OfficeTeam. And while that's down from 93 percent in 2007, it's still an overwhelming majority.







Remain Objective

Michelle Crowley recently celebrated her 50th birthday and concedes that she sometimes misses the early days of her career at a law firm, where knowing what to wear was easy: Suits were a de facto uniform. Now she's the human resource director who oversees the "business casual" dress code of Ferland Corp., a Pawtucket, R.I.-based owner and manager of apartment complexes. That means men must wear a collared shirt and tailored pants or khakis. Women can wear dresses, pants or skirts. No-nos include shorts, tight pants and any "excessive" accessories, hairstyles or perfume. Jeans are reserved for Fridays.

Despite the code, Crowley says she's surprised that job applicants dress so informally. Most men don't wear ties, and often neither gender pulls together their outfit with a jacket. Their clothing doesn't conform to her idea of professional attire, though Crowley says she has learned to adjust her sartorial expectations, especially when interviewing younger candidates.

"I just look at their skills," she says. "If I waited for candidates who were more formally dressed, I would have no employees."

Crowley adds that there's a man at the company who wears a suit to work every day and that doesn't necessarily convey a positive message. "He looks 'old-school,' " she says. "Part of me thinks that's showing his age."

That's not a look that many want to project in a time when ageism is a major concern. Beyond that, there aren't many workplaces left that require such formal attire. Banks, professional service firms and the floor of the U.S. Congress are among the last holdouts.

Goldman Sachs made international headlines in March when it told employees that it was loosening its approach to office attire, moving to "a firmwide flexible dress code." Employees were told to "dress in a manner that is consistent with your clients' expectations."

Virgin Airlines also took a step toward modernity in March when it dropped its requirement that women wear makeup and began offering them the option to wear pants without them having to make a special request.



Women's Woes

Dressing for the workplace has always been more complicated for women than men. After the women's movement of the 1970s, women's demand for workplace equality manifested itself through attire that resembled their male counterparts. During the 1980s, women projected their seriousness and competency through a wardrobe of dark suits with big shoulder pads accompanied with blouses and floppy bow ties. They eventually dropped that armor and began wearing brighter colors, dresses and separates. Often, though, the softer styles were misinterpreted as too sexy or not serious enough.

Most of the problematic dress-code situations arise from women's clothing, says Susan Strauss, a workplace consultant in Burnsville, Minn. "I never hear anything about men's attire."

Last summer, a woman at Ferland wore a long but sheer skirt to work, and management though it was too revealing, despite the bike shorts underneath it.

"Others noticed it," Crowley says. "It was too sexy."

The woman's supervisor told her not to wear it again, and the employee didn't question the decision.



Women can be cautioned about their choices, however, even when they're covered up. Female employees at the Nebraska State Bank & Trust Co. can wear leggings if they're paired with a tunic that reaches mid-thigh. A problem emerged when a woman wore a printed tunic and printed leggings that didn't match along with fringed boots and dangling earrings. A customer called the bank's president to complain about the woman's outfit. Her manager is slated to speak with her about avoiding such busy apparel.

Betsy Smith, the human resources officer of the bank with 44 employees, isn't sure that any action would have been taken if the customer hadn't voiced his opinion, even though other employees had noticed her "bohemian" ensemble. The dress code vetoes "distracting' clothing, and Smith says the outfit fell into that category.

"This is a conservative place," says Smith of Broken Bow, the town in the middle of Nebraska where the bank is based. "We value our customers' opinions, so it was a big deal."

Smith and other managers say conversations about dress code violations can be difficult, and sometimes they just let issues slide if they aren't outrageous infractions. They're especially reluctant to speak to a woman wearing tight clothing, noting that she may have gained weight and might not have the money to replace the snug apparel. "You really want to be very sensitive," Smith says.

Male supervisors say they are especially hesitant to approach women about dress-code issues given the #MeToo movement. "Men don't want women to think they're checking them out," says one senior human resource executive at a large midwestern health care firm who requested anonymity because of the sensitive topic.



Consistency Is Key

Experts agree that such matters should be handled delicately and that maintaining a consistent policy is critical to avoid legal entanglements. For example, if a company doesn't allow tank tops but lets a young, thin person wear one without incident, it can find itself in legal trouble should it decide to reprimand an older, heavier individual.

"You have to be so careful," Moore says. "You can't make judgments by what looks good on certain people."

The midwestern HR executive says he was shocked when a female director complained about a male employee who wasn't wearing socks with his boat shoesa detail that was noticeable because he was wearing shorts in accordance with the company dress code. The executive told the director that women in the office don't wear socks or tights, so she couldn't object to the lack of a layer between foot and shoe on a man. The director replied that in her opinion going sockless was fine for women but not men.

The director ultimately promoted the boat shoe wearer, though she told him he must always wear socks, and he agreed. The HR executive later learned of the exchange and informed the director that what she did could be found illegal because she was setting different standards for men and women. Now he hopes the sock stipulation won't come back to haunt the company.



There are five generally agreed-upon categories of office dress, though each company customizes the standards to meet its own industry norms and personality. However, most firms prohibit flip-flops, sweat pants and sweat shirts, ripped jeans, midriffs, halter tops, tank tops, shorts, and T-shirts adorned with logos, pictures or sayings.

Dress codes typically stipulate that all clothing should be clean and free of holes. They also advise employees to practice good personal hygiene and avoid excessive perfume, cologne, aftershave and body lotion.

Business Formal Men: Suit, dress shirt, tie, dress shoes such as wingtips, belt. Women: Pants or skirt suit; tailored dress; closed-toe shoes; usually with a heel. Business Professional Men: Tailored slacks; sport jacket or blazer; button-down shirt; tie; dress shoes. Women: Skirt or tailored pants with jacket; dress; closed-toe shoes, usually with a heel. Business Casual Men: Relaxed slacks or khakis; collared shirts, including polos; sweaters; loafers; boots. Women: Pants, shirts, dresses, sweaters, flats or heels. Casual Men and women: jeans, sneakers, sandals.

"Dress for your day" or "flexible dressing" Consider the day's schedule and wear what's generally considered acceptable for the task.



Know the Law



Federal courts have upheld companies' rights to set different dress standards for men and women if the requirements don't burden one gender more than another. However, if employers are too strident, they risk violating employees' rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Acta federal statute protecting employees from discrimination, including based on the protected category of sex.

Lawyers say that companies should be especially careful when applying dress codes to transgender individuals. For example, if a company has a dress code that says females must wear skirts, forcing an individual born as a woman to adhere to the policy if the individual identifies as male could violate civil rights laws, lawyers said.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says that employers must make exceptions to dress codes if the codes interfere with an individual's religious beliefs and there's no undue hardship on the company. The same is true for individuals with disabilities.

In January, the U.S. House of Representatives overturned a 181-year-old ban on head coverings on the House floor when it passed a rule that allows individuals to wear them for religious reasons. The change accommodates Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who wears a hijab.

Dress codes can be a legal quagmire because laws differ from state to state and city to city. For example, in New York City, employers can't have different policies for different genders. New York employers may set a professional dress code, though it can't say that only men can wear pants and only women can wear skirts, according to law firm Hogan Lovells.

PwC avoids dress code hassles by barely having one. Shorts and midriff tops are not allowed. T-shirts with messaging should be avoided, while mini-skirts and spaghetti-strapped dresses are deemed inappropriate. Employees select their outfits based on what they will do that day. Jeans and leggings are fine for the PwC office and fine for the client office if that's the client's style. However, PwC employees are expected to respect and reflect their clients' sensibilities with a more traditional approach to dress.

"We trust our employees," says Anne Donovan, PwC's people experience leader.

Donovan says PwC seeks to hire the best and brightest and doesn't want a dress code to interfere with that goal.

"You want the brain," she says. "What do I care what's on the body?"

Theresa Agovino is the workplace editor for SHRM.



Explore Further



SHRM provides resources to help business leaders better understand and navigate the rules of establishing a company dress code.



Toolkit: Managing Employee Dress and Appearance

This toolkit discusses dress and appearance policies in the workplace, along with legal considerations employers face in the U.S. and issues such as safety, religious expression, gender and race as they relate to dress and appearance.

Dress Code: Business Attire Policy

A sample policy for companies where employees are expected to present themselves in a professional manner that results in a favorable impression by clients and customers.

HR Q&A: Can Employers Have Dress Code Requirements That Differ Between Genders?

There are circumstances when an employer may have dress code requirements that differ for male and female employees. Federal courts have historically allowed different dress standards at work if policies are reasonable and don't place a significantly higher burden on one gender.






There were two candidates who won their seats in Wokingham Borough Council with ease at the local elections yesterday.

Michael Firmager (Con, Sonning) got more than half of the wards votes and Stephen Conway (Lib Dem, Twyford) received more than two thirds of votes.

The Conservatives have an overall majority and have secured 31 of a possible 54 seats. The Liberal Democrats have 16, Labour have four and the independents have three.

See results for Sonning and Twyford below. Candidates in bold were elected.

Key: Con - Conservative, TBF - The Borough First, Lab - Labour, Lib Dem - Liberal Democrats, OWRA - Old Windsor Residents Association, WWRA - West Windsor Residents Association, UKIP - United Kingdom Independence Party, Ind  Independent, Green  Green Party

SONNING WARD

Michael Firmager, Con - 587

Philippa Hills, Lab - 94

Tom McCann, Lib Dem - 128

Brian OCallaghan, Green  190

TWYFORD WARD

Stephen Conway, Lib Dem  1584

John Jarvis, Con  493

Charles Wickenden, Lab - 94
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Erskineville Public School in Sydneys inner west is the latest school to try its hand at running markets, as public schools remain under pressure to raise their own funds.

Not everyone is happy about it, with some small businesses on Erskineville Road worried competition from the weekly farmers market could suck the life out of the independent shopping strip.

Kelly Thomas, the owner of the Floral Decorator in Erskineville, said the market at the local school could hurt small businesses. Credit:Kate Geraghty

One day well be gone and itll just be Woolworths and the hipster market and nothing in between, said Kelly Thomas, owner of The Floral Decorator. Small, hard-working family businesses will be a thing of the past.

"It could put us out of business," said Joseph Youssif, who runs The Fruit Village across the road from the florist.
Laura Carmichael is ripping off the corset and stepping into a comfortable pair of slacks for her next role, which will also take her half a world away from the stately manor that made her famous.

Carmichael shot to fame in 2010 as dowdy middle sister Lady Edith Crawley in the hit period drama Downton Abbey. She stayed with the show through its entire six season run and, just before Christmas, wrapped filming of the Downton Abbey movie.

When filming concluded, the show's creator Julian Fellowes advised her to stick with period dramas because she had a good following in the genre. It's advice she seems to have ignored, judging by her next project.

The 32-year-old Brit has signed on to star in 10's new screen adaptation of Michael Robotham's best-selling novel The Secrets She Keeps, which begins filming in Sydney on Monday.
Senior Labor figures have begun to blame a "scare campaign" by the Coalition, and One Nation and United Australia Party preferences for the party's shock result. Despite Mr Shorten predicting a clear Labor win on Saturday morning, his party lost a raft of its own seats, suffered swing against it in Queensland and Tasmania and failed to pick up key seats it had been seriously targeting around the country. After more than four hours of counting on Saturday, Labor had lost Lindsay in Sydney, Braddon and Bass in Tasmania and Longman and Herbert in Queensland. Gilmore on the New South Wales south coast was a rare gain. The ALP looked set to pick up Dunkley and Corangamite in Victoria, although these had been nominally Labor after a boundary redistribution. "It's not the result that we had hoped for in Queensland, obviously. And when you look seat by seat, you see One Nation and Palmer Party preferences flowing to the LNP up there. I think that that's going to take its toll," deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek said.

Labor's Senate leader Penny Wong said the government had run a "scare campaign", alluding to its attacks on Labor's franking credits policy. "There's no doubt that the scare campaign has bitten in some areas," she told ABC TV. Loading Labor insiders were almost at a loss to explain what had happened on election night. Before votes were counted, the party's initial assessment was it had run an effective campaign. It featured new, big-spending measures such as more funding for childcare, cancer patients and dental care for pensioners and drew in former Labor leaders, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd to boost its push for re-election. Labor-aligned strategist Simon Banks said there would need to be a full assessment of how polling and voter research was conducted, given it had consistently pointed to a Labor victory over the last three years. "They're missing something," the Hawker Britton managing director said.

ALP supporters, who had gathered at Melbourne's Hyatt Place hotel to celebrate what they thought would be an all but certain Labor victory, were disappointed and then shocked as the results rolled in. "It's a bit of a mess, really. We weren't expecting this," said one 19-year-old ALP member, who had been handing out how-to-votes on Saturday. Linda Green, who has been an ALP member for more than 40 years, said she was devastated by the Labor result. "I really thought, 'this is our time'. We're devastated, really." Labor supporters can't hide their disappointment as results come in on Saturday night. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The shock result is markedly different from what both polls and Labor insiders were predicting. As voting concluded in the eastern states, Labor sources said they were quietly confident of victory. Senior Labor sources had also been predicting a Labor win in the final week of the campaign. Loading Earlier on Saturday, Mr Shorten declared he was confident Labor would win and win comfortably. "I feel a strong finish from the Labor side," he told Channel Nine. The Labor leader cast his vote at Moonee Ponds West Primary in his safe Melbourne seat of Maribyrnong with his wife Chloe. He also ate a sausage sandwich, which he said tasted "like a mood for change". Before the votes were counted, Mr Shorten was asked if he would stay in politics if he lost.
The art of democratic statesmanship, said the politician, is of presenting your principles, presenting your convictions, in ways which sufficiently impress the public such that you are seen as a man or woman of principle, but which dont so worry the public that they think you would be a risk if you found yourself in a position of power.

The sentiment was pure pragmatism. The politician expressing it was Tony Abbott, talking in 2008 to a dinner for the magazine News Weekly, founded by B.A Santamaria, the staunchly Catholic, anti-Communist journalist and activist who was Abbotts first hero.

The quote expresses neatly the central purpose of an election campaign  to imprint upon voters an impression of conviction and principle, without scaring them off about any of the more radical parts of your agenda those convictions might inspire.

This election campaign saw two contrasting ways of achieving this purpose.
Mr Morrison gave particular thanks to "pretty much the whole state of Queensland", to which the raucous crowd began chanting: "Queensland! Queensland!" Loading Federal Liberal Party president Nick Greiner, who along with other senior officials designed the Coalition's campaign, said Mr Morrison's victory ranked alongside Paul Keating's 1993 win over John Hewson as an incredible achievement and upset. "It is really up there with 1993. This is certainly one for the true believers on the Liberal and National parties' side," Mr Greiner told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. He said the Coalition's electoral strategy was unashamedly focused on a simple economic message compared to Labor's far-ranging and ambitious reform agenda.

"We were unremittingly about the nature of Australia," Mr Greiner said. "Labor had a very broad vision. They sort of had 20 cents on every number. We believed that our best chance would be to say to people: you don't want more taxes and more government, you want less taxes and less government." "You can see from the nature of the result that in areas other than the inner-city ... that's pretty much what happened." Former Liberal MP Bronwyn Bishop at the Liberal Party's post election night celebration. Credit:James Brickwood Asked whether the lesson was that a small-target strategy was the best way to win a poll, Mr Greiner said: "You go to an election to win." He said it showed "Australians don't believe in a big-spending, throw-money-at-everything kind of approach". "When Labor has won, they've won with a sensible, conservative strategy. Bill Shorten was trying to do a Gough Whitlam but it's perfectly obvious Bill Shorten was never going to be either Gough or Bob Hawke," Mr Greiner said

Loading Former long-serving Liberal MP Bronwyn Bishop said Mr Morrison had scored a victory over the pundits who had written off the government and over Labor's "socialist" agenda. "Morrison in the campaign really reached out to the Australian people and they saw him in a way they hadn't known before. He won that campaign," Ms Bishop said. "It's an enormous thing for him to do - to repair the damage that was done by the previous prime minister [Malcolm Turnbull] who lost 14 seats." In the space of a couple of hours  as the extent of Labors shortfall became clear  Mr Morrison went from someone considered likely to be an interim leader and a footnote in history to a giant of Liberal folklore.

Earlier in the day he refused to discuss his plans in the event of a loss, but by 8pm it was evident he would remain Liberal leader either as prime minister or opposition leader. Loading Even early in the night when a Labor victory was expected, Mr Morrison had received cross-factional support to remain in the leadership in the event of a loss, with endorsements from leading moderates Simon Birmingham, Arthur Sinodinos and Trent Zimmerman. Nationals leader Michael McCormack also praised Mr Morrison for executing a "flawless campaign" without a mis-step. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton also singled out Mr Morrison for praise saying he had provided "amazing leadership".
Scott Morrison and the Coalition have secured strong results across a clutch of marginal seats in western Sydney, defying expectations established over three years of bad polls.

Across the state the Coalition recorded a positive two-party swing of more than 1 per cent  a stronger result than Gladys Berejiklian's state government received in its victorious election in March.

Former PM John Howard campaigned with Liberal candidate Melissa McIntosh in Lindsay. Credit:AAP

The swing is likely to have secured the Coalition at least one extra seat compared to Labor in NSW. The result continues a grim run in NSW for Labor, which remains without a leader for its state parliamentary party after a dispiriting result in the state election.
As the dust from the 2019 election begins to settle, it seems controversial Queensland senator Fraser Anning has lost his Senate seat.

Remembered widely as the victim of an egging by teenager Will Connolly, the right-wing politician has failed to secure enough votes to win himself a place in Parliament.

Fraser Anning has lost his seat in parliament in Saturday's election. Credit:AAP

ABC Election expert Antony Green made the announcement stating: "Fraser Anning goes back to where he came from ... he won't be in the Parliament".

Mr Anning's spot in the upper house has always been tentative, securing his seat last election with just 19 primary votes. He gained office only after One Nation candidate Malcolm Roberts was found to be a dual citizen and was therefore ineligible.
It was a wild night on the election couch.

Opinion polls were thrown out the window early on  by election oracle, Antony Green no less. The results didnt look anything like them.

Then there was Tony Abbott: going, going  and, eventually, gone, via a literal kick in the bum from Julie Bishop on Nine. Alan Jones, resplendent in a suit best described as a cross between off-lime and acid-trip peppermint, was ropable about Abbott and much else  but generally the results favoured his preferred team.

If you were channel surfing on Saturday night, it was hard to know where to look and sometimes to wonder whether you wanted to look at all.
The Greens will retain a strong influence in the Senate after increasing their primary vote and looking set to hold all six seats they had up for re-election.

ABC election expert Antony Green has predicted the minor party will win all six Senate seats, meaning the Greens would have nine senators, including three whose terms are ongoing.

Greens candidate for Higgins Jason Ball and Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale. Credit:James Ross

With 10 per cent of the votes tallied, the Greens looked set to collect 10.6 per cent of the primary vote, a slight increase of 0.4 per cent on the 2016 result.
Mr Morrison said the victory was not about him or the Liberal Party, but about "every single Australians who depends on their government to put them first". He said a returned Coalition government would immediately return to work. "That is my undertaking to Australia from one end of the country to another. I said I was going to burn for you and I am, every single day." Bill Shorten, on stage with wife Chloe, conceding defeat. Credit:AAP Opposition Leader Bill Shorten had earlier conceded defeat to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and says he will not contest the Labor leadership.

Speaking to supporters in Melbourne with wife Chloe by his side, Mr Shorten said he knew the Labor faithful were hurting "and I am too". "Without wanting to hold out any false hope while there are millions of votes to count and important seats being finalised, it is obvious that Labor will not be able to form the next government," he said. "So in the national interest a short while ago, I called Scott Morrison to congratulate him. "I wished [his wife] Jenny and their daughters all the very best and above all I wished Scott Morrison good courage and good fortune in the service of our great nation."

Mr Shorten said the campaign had been tough, and at times toxic, but the wishes of the Australian people should be respected. The party would continue the fight, however "that task will be for the next leader of the Labor Party". "I will not be a candidate in the next leadership ballot," he said. Mr Shorten will continue as member for his Melbourne seat of Maribyrnong. Labor supporters at the election night function for Opposition Leader Bill Shorten in Melbourne. Credit:Eddie Jim Mr Shorten said along with his family and the trade union movement, the Labor Party was "my life" and serving as its leader for more than five years was a great honour.

He said his party worked hard, advanced ideas and "were upfront and clear" about its planned reforms, including climate action. "We've said loud and clear that australia needs ... to take real action on climate change," he said. "Parts of our nation remain deeply divided. For the sake of the next generation Australia must find a way forward on climate change." He pointed to Coalition preference deals with One Nation and Clive Palmer's United Australia Party that hurt Labor in NSW and Queensland. ABC election analyst Antony Green had earlier called the election for the Coalition, saying Labor couldn't win a lower house majority on current counting.

Counting on Saturday night showed the Coalition was polling far more strongly than opinion polls suggested, on the back of a surprise swing in Queensland and a poor result for Labor in that state. Depending on results in Western Australia and pre-poll votes, it appeared the Coalition would regain office - albeit potentially in a minority government. Earlier, Labor frontbencher Penny Wong had said Western Australia may clinch the election for her party following a collapse of its vote in Queensland. Penny Wong believes Western Australia could deliver Labor a victory. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Senator Wong said Queensland had been "tough ... for a fair while" for federal Labor. But on a visit to Western Australia last week, voters expressed a wish that "'we don't want [the election result] to be over before it gets to us.' That's probably the case".

The national result so far is markedly different from that predicted by successive opinion polls, and is sure to trigger debate about whether the polls can be trusted. Loading At about 9pm, the Coalition's nationwide primary vote sat at 41.7 per cent, Labor was on 33.3 per cent and the Greens had secured 10.8 per cent. It appeared the Coalition had won 74 lower house seats, Labor was on 66 and six were set to go to the Greens and independents. Seventy-six seats are needed to win an upper house majority. If the Coalition falls short, it will be forced to negotiate a minority government with crossbench MPs - many of them staunch advocates for climate action. Earlier in the day, nationwide exit polls suggested Labor was on track for election victory, a result made more likely after Tony Abbott was ousted from the seat of Warringah, however in a surprise result for the Coalition, Peter Dutton appears set to retain the Queensland seat of Dickson.

Support for the Home Affairs Minister comes despite a vigorous campaign by grassroots group GetUp to have him ousted. At 10pm Mr Dutton led Labor candidate Ali France 53-47 on a two party-preferred basis in the north Brisbane electorate. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has polled strongly. Credit:AAP Former prime minister Tony Abbott lost his blue-ribbon Sydney seat of Warringah in a thumping defeat by independent candidate Zali Steggall. At 10pm the Australian Electoral Commission projected that Ms Steggall would win 59-41 on a two-party preferred basis. Ahead of the election, the Coalition notionally had 73 seats and Labor had 72, while independents held the other six.

Loading An Ipsos poll published on Friday suggested the Morrison government trailed the Opposition 49 to 51 per cent on a two-party basis up from 48-52 two weeks ago. The Coalition's primary vote was up three points to 39 per cent while Labor's remained stable at 33 per cent. Labor leader Bill Shorten's personal approval ratings improved over the last two weeks of the campaign, however the Ipsos poll showed he still lagged behind Prime Minister Scott Morrison as preferred leader. Betting odds tightened in the closing days of the election campaign, but bookmakers still backed a Labor win.
If the state election results were to be repeated, Labor would pick up a clutch of seats in Melbourne's east including Chisholm, La Trobe and Casey. Redistributions in Victoria have also been favourable for Labor. It has gained the new seat of Fraser and boundary changes in two marginal Liberal-held electorates  Dunkley in Melbourne's southeast and Corangamite in the Geelong hinterland  mean both are now notionally in the ALP's column. The Liberals are favoured to win back the regional electorate of Indi following the retirement of two-term independent Cathy McGowan.

But a strong showing by Labor in Victoria will make Bill Shorten hard to beat. NSW Bookmakers now believe Tony Abbott could lose Warringah to independent Zali Steggall. Credit:Jessica Hromas/Dominic Lorrimer A string of contests involving independents have grabbed the limelight in NSW, which has almost a third of the seats in Federal Parliament. In Warringah the former Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, is under siege from independent, Zali Steggall. Betting odds suggest this high-profile tussle will come down to the wire.

Independents may also prevail in the Coalition-held regional electorates of Cowper and Farrer. But there are some bright prospects for the NSW Liberals. Dave Sharma looks set to take back Sydney's eastern suburbs electorate of Wentworth from independent Kerryn Phelps, who won the seat from the Liberals in an October byelection following the retirement of Malcolm Turnbull. The Liberals also have a strong chance of snatching the marginal western Sydney electorate of Lindsay from the ALP. Labor is favoured to win Gilmore on the state's south coast and has a strong chance in the inner-western Sydney seat of Reid along with Robertson on the central coast. Although one senior NSW Labor figure said the Coalition's recent state election victory could "feed into" the federal vote and hamper the ALP's prospects.

Queensland It is hard to overstate the importance of Queensland for the Coalition. In Queensland, Peter Dutton's seat of Dickson is in play. Credit:Attila Csaszar It holds a disproportionate share of seats in that state  while 20 per cent of Australians live in Queensland it accounts for 28 per cent of the Coalition's seats in the House of Representatives. But five of those electorates are held on wafer-thin margins of 2 per cent or less. Another three Liberal National Party MPs are defending margins of less than 4 per cent.

Loading A clutch of LNP seats in Brisbane's outer suburbs are in play including Forde, Bonner, Petrie and Dickson, the electorate held by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton. The LNP-held seat of Flynn, which takes in Gladstone, is also under threat. The Coalition is hopeful of regaining the Townsville electorate of Herbert lost to Labor at the last election by just 37 votes. Another toss-up result looms in that seat. A small uniform swing to Labor in Queensland could seal victory for Bill Shorten. But the electoral politics in the state is complicated by the popularity of Clive Palmer's United Australia Party and Pauline Hanson's One Nation in some regions. If small party preferences flow strongly to the LNP in Queensland it could limit Labor gains.

Western Australia Both Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten visited Western Australia in the last week of campaigning, underscoring its importance to this election. The Liberals hold 11 of WA's 16 seats but support for the party has declined amid a prolonged downturn in the state economy. Labor won the 2017 WA state election in a landslide. William Bowe, a WA-based political analyst and editor of The Poll Bludger website, says four Liberal-held seats in suburban Perth are in play  Swan, Hasluck, Stirling and Pearce. The ultra-marginal Labor-held electorate of Cowan will also be tight.

Results in WA "loom larger" than normal in a tight federal election, says Bowe. If the political crosscurrents mean no party has carved out a decisive lead on the eastern seaboard, seats in suburban Perth could be decisive. South Australia Scott Morrison visited the Adelaide electorate of Boothby late in the campaign suggesting the Liberal member, Nicolle Flint, may be under some pressure from Labor. Even so, the likelihood of seats changing hands in South Australia is low. Tasmania

Loading Tasmania swung decisively to Labor at the last election but regular visits to the state by Scott Morrison underscores how keen the Liberals are to snatch back two of the seats it lost in 2016  Bass and Braddon. The Coalition's narrow pathway to an election success probably requires gains in Tasmania. Northern Territory and ACT In the Northern Territory, the Liberals have targeted the Darwin electorate of Solomon but it will have to overcome a solid 6.1 per cent margin in Labor's favour.
Labor looks to have picked up two seats in Victoria, with another too close to call, as the party was defeated nationally on Saturday night.

As counting continued late on Saturday night, Labor had captured the Liberal seats of Dunkley and was narrowly ahead in the coastal electorate of Corangamite on a statewide swing of more than 2 per cent to the ALP.

Bill Shorten doesn't seem to have swayed enough Victorian voters to deliver the results he needed. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

But Chisholm, on Melbourne's south-east fringe, was on a knife-edge as The Age went to print.
As recriminations fly in the wake of Labor's defeat on Saturday night, the party's people in Victoria will argue that they held their own.

Labor hardheads down here always said that two seats would be a poor return, and four an excellent one.

It looks like they'll emerge with three.

Yes, there were swings, big ones, against the government in traditional heartland seats in Melbournes east but in Kooyong, Josh Frydenberg looked safe despite taking a 10 per cent haircut on his two party-preferred margin.
Michael McCormack's Nationals are on track to retain all seats, fending off challenges from several strong regional independents whose campaigns were fuelled by a prolonged drought and anger over water management.

Rob Oakeshott failed in his bid to return to politics after being defeated by Nationals' Pat Conaghan in the northern NSW seat of Cowper with his party's small but favourable swing replicated locally.

Michael McCormack's leadership is safe following a solid performance from the Nationals. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Another high profile contest - the southern NSW seat of Farrer - saw long-time MP Sussan Ley hold onto her seat despite a 10-point swing against her.

But in the adjacent Victorian seat of Indi, a swing to the Liberals' Steve Martin was not enough for him to defeat independent Helen Haines, who will take the seat over from the previous independent, Cathy McGowan.
Loading On the back of a historic state election win, the Coalition hoped that the strength of the Liberal brand in the NSW would help save the furniture. It did more than that. In NSW, voters backed in a stable and united state government by returning Gladys Berejiklian's team to power in March. Two months later, it managed to ensure Labor's poor showing in the state election was replicated in the federal poll. The Coalition will pick up at least two seats from Labor. The only outlier is Warringah.

Barrister and former Olympian Zali Steggall has achieved the upset of the election by ending former prime minister Tony Abbott's two decades in parliament. Warringah was the most talked about seat in the campaign and early into the count it was clear that Abbott was facing a huge swing against him. The trend continued as more booths were counted. Barrister and former Olympian Zali Steggall has achieved the upset of the election by ending former prime minister Tony Abbott's two decades in parliament. Credit:Jessica Hromas Within an hour of the polls closing in the eastern states, reports were coming out of the Steggall camp that the champagne corks were already popping. Her win is momentous. Across the harbour, in the city's equally well-heeled eastern suburbs, there was another battle underway between an independent and a Liberal.

The Liberals are expected to make a comeback in Malcolm Turnbull's former seat of Wentworth, which was won by Kerryn Phelps in a byelection just seven months ago. Phelps is a high-profile doctor and campaigner on social issues, most recently in the same-sex marriage debate. Her win, just like Steggall's, was seen as momentous in October. Senior Liberals were on Saturday night maintaining it was "still too close to call" and the Phelps' camp was cautious. "It would be an amazing win," a source close to Phelps said as the vote continued. But Dave Sharma is ahead and likely to be the next member for Wentworth.

Just like Reid, Lindsay should also have been an achievable win for Labor. Instead, in western Sydney, the Liberals were on track to take Lindsay from Labor. In what was once Labor heartland, the Liberals have moved in. They did it in the state election, when the party also retained the state seat of Penrith in March. The only seat that bucked the trend for the Liberals in NSW was Gilmore, which Labor's Fiona Phillips will win. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer The only seat that bucked the trend for the Liberals in NSW was Gilmore, which Labor will win. Two of the three south coast state MPs whose seats cover the Gilmore electorate secured swings to them in the state election. But voters felt differently when it came to the federal choice.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison hand-picked Warren Mundine to run in the seat after Ann Sudmalis quit parliament citing "bullying, betrayal and backstabbing" from her colleagues as a reason. But parachuting in a candidate proved to be a wrong move, and Labor's Fiona Phillips will win the seat. While brand Liberal has clearly held up in NSW, questions will be asked about whether Labor's performance in the state election had contributed to their fortunes federally. Ironically, NSW Labor held off electing a new leader to replace Michael Daley until after the federal election to ensure they were not an unwelcome distraction to Bill Shorten.
But this week, both Liberal and Labor camps suggested the men will be returned. Mr Porter holds the outer-northern metro seat of Pearce by 3.6 per cent and has faced a well-resourced campaign from Labor's Kim Travers. But there is a significant mortgage belt across the seat and Liberal messaging on the abolition of negative gearing on investment properties has been on target. Labor is hoping a last minute campaign surge on Friday will get it across the line. In Hasluck, which the Liberals hold with a 2.1 per cent margin, Mr Wyatt should hold on thanks to his strong personal vote. Labor candidate James Martin was not the party's first choice and was slotted in last July after its first pick Lauren Palmer pulled out of the race.

2. Swan's way: Another Beazley in Canberra? When Kim Beazley retired from parliament in 2007, WA had sent a Beazley to Canberra in all but three years since the end of World War II. Kim Beazley Senior and Junior represented the seats of Fremantle, Swan and Brand. WA Governor Kim Beazley's daughter Hannah will be trying to knock off Liberal Steve Irons in the marginal seat of Swan, which the veteran MP has held since 2007. Both camps seemed confident of winning the seat this week, but Labor has been pouring in the resources. Swan was always the top of its wish list. Steve Irons' on-the-ground campaign was still confident late this week and taking nothing for granted.

Despite a high-profile name, Ms Beazley was sending out material aimed at raising her profile after pre-polling had opened, suggesting her campaign was struggling with last-minute problems. But she has been in the field for 17 months and can boast support from Labor state MPs Kate Doust and Bill Johnston, two of Labor's most formidable campaigners west of the Nullarbor. 3. Campaign surprises? Retiring Stirling MP Michael Keenan was sitting on 6.1 per cent when he pulled the pin, leaving his replacement as Liberal candidate Vince Connelly with less than three months to campaign against a Labor candidate who had been in the field since 2017.

Although Labor's Melita Markey did not start the campaign with a profile, she found herself ahead of the Liberals when Mr Keenan announced his retirement earlier this year. Labor insiders have suggested a high-profile woman might've fared better for the Liberals, and Mr Connelly has struggled to establish name recognition at the commencement of the campaign. The contest has been hard-fought, with both sides spending big. Stirling will be close and one to watch. In Cowan, Liberal Isaac Stewart is neck-and-neck with Labor's Anne Aly.

The seat has been on the Liberal wish-list, but with the tide turning against the Coalition, taking it off Labor might have proved ambitious. 4. Curtains for ambitious indy Progressive campaigns to wrest the western suburbs seat of Curtin have been mired in disaster this election. First, Labor's Melissa Parke didn't last a week after WAtoday revealed controversial comments she made about the Palestinian conflict with Israel.

Then progressive independent Louise Stewart forwarded polling which was later revealed to be fabricated to a newspaper  which published it. Although Ms Stewart said she didn't fake the polling, her campaign was mortally wounded. Amid this a dirt campaign has been run against Liberal candidate Ceilia Hammond, who is seeking to replace Julie Bishop in the seat. Both camps expect a swing against her because of the loss of Bishop's personal vote. Ms Hammond should retain the seat with a buffer from last election of 20.7 per cent. But watch out for the primary vote of Ms Stewart. 5. Hastie off the hook Labor had been making confident noises about high-profile Liberal Andrew Hastie's seat of Canning, but its federal campaign team worked out a win was off the cards when they saw him speaking in support of striking Alcoa workers.

Mr Hastie has been running strong local campaigns in the seat since he was elected in a 2015 byelection. There is some talk he could defy the trend against the Coalition and increase his margin. 6. Liberal outliers  Moore, Durack and Tangney The swing won't be so kind to three Liberal MPs in safer seats who have been keeping a somewhat lower profile this election.

There have been indications significant swings could eat into Liberal margins in Moore, Tangney and Durack. Ben Morton holds Tangney with a safe margin of 11.1 per cent, but some have speculated there could be a high independent vote in the seat. Labor strategists say the seat is a missed opportunity. Additionally, Mr Morton has spent most of the campaign travelling with the PM instead of wearing out shoe leather on the ground. Lacklustre Liberal campaigns in Moore and Durack could see MPs Ian Goodenough and Melissa Price lose ground in these safe seats. 7. The festival of the minor parties The outcome of the senate won't be decided tonight, but of the six seats up for grabs, Labor and Liberal will take two apiece, with a fight to determine the last two.
The mood at the Liberal function was jubilant, with the crowd breaking into raucous applause and cheers as Mr Hunt praised the leadership of Prime Minister Scott Morrison who has led the Coalition to a return to government, defying pollsters and punters. Julia Banks, independent candidate for Flinders, hands out how to vote cards at Osborne Primary School in Mount Martha. Credit:Joe Armao "The work of each and every one of you  and the work of Scott Morrison has made a prime difference," Mr Hunt said. Mr Hunt has held Flinders for 18 years and enjoyed a healthy margin of 7 per cent at the last election. Corangamite

Area: Along the Great Ocean Road, some southern suburbs of Geelong, and all of the Bellarine Peninsula. It includes Portarlington, Leopold, Queenscliff, Barown Heads, Torquay, Anglesea, Aireys Inlet, Lorne and Apollo Bay.

Along the Great Ocean Road, some southern suburbs of Geelong, and all of the Bellarine Peninsula. It includes Portarlington, Leopold, Queenscliff, Barown Heads, Torquay, Anglesea, Aireys Inlet, Lorne and Apollo Bay. Held by: Liberal MP Sarah Henderson

Liberal MP Sarah Henderson Margin: 0.03 per cent to Labor after redistribution

0.03 per cent to Labor after redistribution Challengers: Labor's Libby Coker, Greens' Simon Northeast, Independent Damien Cole The Liberal incumbent in Victoria's most marginal seat is trailing behind her Labor challenger behind but was refusing to concede late on Saturday night. Liberal candidate Sarah Henderson acknowledged she was behind, saying there were still 14,500 postal votes that needed to be counted. "Were obviously behind but there is a chance we could get over the line," she said at 11pm. "Im hoping that we can but even if we dont get over the line I know weve run a first-class campaign." Earlier she said it could be days before a result was declared, despite the seat being written off for her party six months ago. Ms Coker was yet to speak.

Speaking to supporters in Grovedale at 10.30pm, Ms Henderson said Prime Minister Scott Morrison had called her on Saturday night to express his pride in the campaign in Corangamite. "It may be a number of days before we know what the result is," she said. "We are holding on with our fingernails." The major party candidates launched a final urgent assault in the ultra-marginal electorate as they sought to sway the last undecided voters on Saturday. Communities in the coastal electorate in the western district of Victoria were subjected to numerous high-profile visits from party leaders and pork-barrelling throughout the campaign with both sides hell bent on winning the seat.

A boundary redistribution last year made Corangamite, which runs along the Great Ocean Road, the most marginal seat in Victoria and the second-tightest nationally, with a margin of just 0.03 per cent. Liberal MP for Corangamite Sarah Henderson campaigning at the Grovedale Community Hub to retain her seat on election day. Credit:Paul Jeffers The fight pitted Ms Henderson, who has a reputation as a hardworking local MP, against long-time Labor councillor Libby Coker who was contesting her third election in the area at state or federal level. If Ms Henderson retains the seat, the electorate's 111,000 voters will be showered with the equivalent of $26,500 each thanks to the Coalition's promises. Both candidates made final frenetic efforts as they honed in on multiple rapidly growing, urbanising sections of electorate to maximise the value from the final day's campaigning.

Loading Ms Coker said on Saturday afternoon she had felt a clear desire for a change of government in the electorate throughout her campaign. "Ive had a number of people who have said theyre traditional Liberal voters but they feel the party is no longer representing their values," she said. Deakin Area: Melbourne's outer-eastern suburbs, including Mitcham, Vermont, Vermont South, Ringwood, Heathmont, Croydon and Bayswater North.

Melbourne's outer-eastern suburbs, including Mitcham, Vermont, Vermont South, Ringwood, Heathmont, Croydon and Bayswater North. Held by: Liberal MP Michael Sukkar

Liberal MP Michael Sukkar Margin: 6.4 per cent at 2016 election

6.4 per cent at 2016 election Challengers: Labor's Shireen Morris, Greens' Sophia Sun

The Liberals' Michael Sukkar has claimed victory in Deakin, defeating Labor challenger Shireen Morris to retain his seat. Deakin has been won by the Liberal Party on all but three elections since it was created. Liberal candidate Michael Sukkar in his electorate of Deakin on Saturday. Credit:Chris Hopkins Mr Sukkar claimed victory just after 9pm at his election party in Ringwood. "We can pat ourselves on the back," Mr Sukkar said in his address to supporters after what he said was a tough campaign.

Flanked by his wife and newborn baby, he thanked his family for their support. "The criticisms and very personal smears that come out in a campaign are a bit like water off a ducks back to me," adding that it had been a stressful time for his family. Labor candidate Shireen Morris started the day with news her posters had been defaced overnight. Black spray paint had been used to depict her as wearing a burqa. Labor challenger Shireen Morris at Bayswater North Primary School, in the electorate of Deakin. Credit:Chris Hopkins "Its extremely disappointing, its pathetic, its desperate," she said. "Islamophobia of that kind should never be condoned. I think its very sad."

A first time candidate, Dr Morris fought an uphill battle, with Mr Sukkar holding the seat by a margin of 6.4 per cent.

Chisholm Area: Melbourne's eastern suburbs, including Box Hill, Blackburn, Nunawading, Burwood, Ashwood and parts of Surrey Hills, Forest Hill, Mount Waverley and Glen Waverley

Melbourne's eastern suburbs, including Box Hill, Blackburn, Nunawading, Burwood, Ashwood and parts of Surrey Hills, Forest Hill, Mount Waverley and Glen Waverley Held by: Liberal Party, vacated by now-Independent Julia Banks

Liberal Party, vacated by now-Independent Julia Banks Margin: 2.9 per cent at 2016 election

2.9 per cent at 2016 election Challengers: Liberal Party's Gladys Liu, Labor's Jennifer Yang Chisholm still hung in the balance by 11pm on Saturday, with the Labor and Liberal candidates still neck and neck.

Arriving at her party just after 9.30pm, Labor's Jennifer Yang was still unwilling to make a call on the result but said it would be a "great honour" to be the first Chinese woman elected to Australia's federal parliament. After an early lead that saw her supporters hopeful of victory, the tide turned as her initial lead of more than five per cent gradually receded throughout the night. With 68.2 per cent of the vote counted, Ms Yang was overtaken by Liberal opponent Gladys Liu, who led by less than one per cent. Ms Yang said she that although she had experienced an "unusual" campaign for the seat which had been riddled by misinformation and accusations of dodgy behaviour. "This campaign has been quite unusual, there has been lots of scare campaign fear campaign, misinformation," she said.

Loading "I havent really seen that in my previous campaign experience but Im really grateful people see though that. "Im actually very happy we can maintain our integrity and that integrity can prevail." Around 11pm, Yang's campaign manager Jett Fogarty made the last announcement for the night, telling supporters that the result would not be known for several days, with postal votes still to be counted on Sunday. Higgins

Area: Inner-eastern Melbourne suburbs, including Prahran, South Yarra, Toorak, Armadale, Malvern, Glen Iris, Ashburton, Carnegie, Ormond, Murrumbeena and Hughesdale.

Inner-eastern Melbourne suburbs, including Prahran, South Yarra, Toorak, Armadale, Malvern, Glen Iris, Ashburton, Carnegie, Ormond, Murrumbeena and Hughesdale. Held by: Retiring Liberal MP Kelly O'Dwyer

Retiring Liberal MP Kelly O'Dwyer Margin: 7.4 per cent at 2016 election

7.4 per cent at 2016 election Challengers: Liberal's Katie Allen, Labor's Fiona McLeod, Greens' Jason Ball The prized Liberal seat of Higgins was in the balance on Saturday night, with Liberal candidate Katie Allen clinging to a slender lead a third of the way through the count, as Labors vote surged. Ms Allen led by a 3.4 per cent margin around 9pm. Half an hour later she delivered a not-quite-victory speech in front of a jubilant crowd at Malvern Bowls Club. "We still have a little way to go so we cant call it yet but were in a strong position," she said.

"Weve got to wait till we get that final call but thank you for joining me here tonight and Im looking forward to a fantastic future in front of all of us because at the end of the day its about the values we believe in." Candidates for Higgins: Liberal's Katie Allen (far left), Labor's Fiona McLeod and Greens' Jason Ball at the Toorak Library on Saturday. Credit:Jason South Higgins has been safe Liberal territory since its creation in 1949 and was held with a margin of 7.4 per cent at the 2016 election. Ms Allen voted with retiring Liberal MP Kelly O'Dwyer: "I think that our darkest days were at the end of last year and I think its swung back towards us," she said. Labor, which polled less than 15 per cent of the primary vote in Higgins just three years ago, was within striking distance of a major upset as the votes were counted, as its candidate, high-profile barrister Fiona McLeod, secured a remarkable swing of 12.6 per cent.

Loading However, the Greens vote was flat, with second-time candidate Jason Balls vote down 1 per cent compared with his strong showing in 2016. Mr Ball pushed Higgins towards more marginal territory three years ago, shaving the Liberals margin in a seat held by two former prime ministers to 7.4 per cent. But he failed to make further inroads this year, in a campaign that focused heavily on the subject of climate change. Kooyong

Area: Inner-Melbourne suburbs, east of the Yarra River, including Hawthorn, Kew, Balwyn, Canterbury, Camberwell, Mont Albert and parts of Surrey Hills.

Inner-Melbourne suburbs, east of the Yarra River, including Hawthorn, Kew, Balwyn, Canterbury, Camberwell, Mont Albert and parts of Surrey Hills. Held by: Liberal MP, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg

Liberal MP, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg Margin: About 13 per cent at 2016 election

About 13 per cent at 2016 election Challengers: Greens' Julian Burnside, Labor Jana Stewart, Independent Oliver Yates Voters in Kooyong, a Liberal heartland seat in Melbournes inner-east, seemed to keep faith with the party and with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. He appears to have retained his seat despite suffering a sizeable swing. Mr Frydenberg faced a three-cornered fight to hold his seat, against the Greens' star candidate Julian Burnside, the famous human rights lawyer, and Labor's Jana Stewart. The Treasurer cast his vote at Balwyn North Primary School on Saturday morning, with wife Amie and their two children Gemma and Blake.
Instant asset write-off. As part of the 2019 budget, businesses turning up to $50 million can write-off assets against their taxable income. Previously, businesses turning over more than $10 million were excluded from the scheme. The Coalition has also increased the threshold from $20,000 to $25,000. Climate change and energy Climate Solutions Package. This is the Coalitions central emissions reduction policy and will cost $3.5 billion over 15 years. Measures include a climate solutions fund  an extension of the existing emissions reduction fund. The scheme pays farmers and others to reduce carbon dioxide emissions through activities such as improving energy efficiency or increasing native vegetation. No steam without power. Credit:Joe Armao Out of that package, $1.38 billion will go towards the expansion of the Snowy Hydro scheme, which will act as a giant battery to back up intermittent energy produced by other renewables.

Emissions target. Loading The Coalition has committed Australia to reduce its emissions by 26 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030, in line with the Paris targets. To help get there, the Coalition will use so-called carry-over carbon credits from the Kyoto protocol period, in which Australia reached and exceeded its targets. Critics say using these credits is against the spirit of the Paris agreement. National hydrogen strategy. Emissions-free hydrogen could replace energy generated by fossil fuels. Both Labor and the Coalition have plans to develop the technology and say Australia could be a global leader. Coal-fired power stations and Adani. The Coalition has backed the Adani coal mine in Queenslands Galilee Basin. It has floated the idea of using taxpayer money to upgrade a NSW coal-fired power station and pledged to fund a feasibility study into a new high-efficiency, low-emission coal plant in Queensland.

Health Medicare. The Coalition has matched Labors promise of lifting the Medicare rebate freeze. This means Medicare payments to medical practitioners will increase to reflect what they say are rising costs associated with care. Primary care. The Federal budget contained a $1 billion funding boost, including $448.5 million for GPs to better treat patients with chronic diseases, and investments in mental health. It will add 30 new Headspace centres to the network, build new residential eating disorder treatment facilities nationally and take new measures to prevent Indigenous youth suicide. Cancer patients will benefit from investments on infrastructure including a Comprehensive Children's Cancer Centre in Sydney and a centre of excellence for immunotherapy and CAR-T therapy. Education Schools. The Coalition has promised a $4.6 billion package for Catholic and Independent schools, which comes on top of $23.5 billion over 10 years for all schools as part of Gonski 2.0, signed up to by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Tertiary. The government has promised to fund up to 80,000 apprenticeships as part of a $525 million package. The budget also contained a $94 million scholarship program to get students to study in regional areas. In 2017, the Coalition introduced a two-year cap on university funding. Education policy has been key to the government's success. Credit:Michele Mossop Early childhood. The budget pledged $453 million to fund four-year-old kindergarten for another year and ensure children have access to 15 hours a week of preschool in the year before school. The Coalition has not outlined any long-term early childhood measures beyond its reforms of 2018. Infrastructure

Inland rail. The Coalition has promised $9.3 billion for a 1700 kilometre freight line from Melbourne to Brisbane, but critics worry about its impact on floodplains and the 300-odd farms it might cut through. East West Link in Victoria. Its back, even though Melburnians have already turned down the proposal twice at state elections. The Coalition has promised $4 billion of taxpayer money and to leverage another $3 billion from the private sector, effectively bypassing the Andrews government. Western Sydney. Projects totalling $7.1 billion have been promised for western Sydney, including $3.6 billion for road and transport connections to the new Badgerys Creek airport and $3.5 billion to the north-south rail link. Extra commuter parking will be created at St Marys, Kingswood, Emu Plains, Campbelltown, Panania, Revesby and Riverwood. North East Link in Victoria. $1.75 billion has been promised to connect the M80 ring road with an upgraded Eastern Freeway. Fast rail in Victoria. Could we finally see bullet trains? The Coalition has promised $2 billion for fast rail between Melbourne and Geelong, with the project supposedly beginning within two years. The catch is that the Victorian Government would need to match the funding.
It is hard to know how to describe Meccaland, a three-day convention held by Mecca Cosmetica attended by roughly 15,000 beauty obsessives in Sydney this weekend.

It could also be dubbed "Comic-Con for beauty", or perhaps what might happen if Willy Wonka had a thing for contouring and sheet masks.

Cosmetics fans flock to Meccaland, held at Australian Technology Park this weekend. Credit:James Alcock

The event, first held in Melbourne last year, is indicative of the growing beauty "fandom": people who are serious about makeup and skincare, following brands and influencers on social media.

Between the prop bubble baths and the ferris wheel, Meccaland is Instagram-catnip of the finest calibre (as of Saturday noon, nearly 8000 posts tagged #meccaland have been uploaded to the social media network).
Three years ago I was six kilometres into a run when I felt a bit faint  and then nothing. I have no memory of what happened after that for some time, she says. I still cant believe this happened to me. I didnt have any of the symptoms  no pain in the chest, I wasnt overweight or unhealthy. She wasn't left guessing for long: the 47-year-old was later told she was lucky to have been found, collapsed in the gutter, by a couple of off-duty police officers who saved her life following a massive heart attack. I still cant believe this happened to me, Ms Conlan says. I didnt have any of the symptoms  no pain in the chest, I wasnt overweight or unhealthy. Its madness, really. The perception of who has a heart attack, and what the symptoms are like is so different from what I knew, and what happened to me.

These cases share one crucial thing: womens struggle to have their health issues recognised as legitimate and how our standard understanding of pain and symptoms is overwhelmingly based on the male experience. Loading Despite the scientific progress of the last century, health experts say women continue to be discriminated against, whether consciously or unconsciously, in almost every part of the medical system, from clinical trial participation all the way to care management and pain alleviation. Women and pain There is ample evidence that shows women are less likely to have their pain treated, their symptoms taken seriously or to be given a diagnosis than men.

When women report pain, theyre far more likely to be prescribed sedatives than men, and are far less likely to receive opioid painkillers when they present in emergency departments. The same level of care for both genders is not even guaranteed after major surgery: one study found that women who received coronary bypass surgery were only half as likely to be prescribed painkillers compared to men who had undergone the same operation. Even after they are prescribed pain medication, women will wait longer to receive it. So whats going on? Why the biggest killer of Australian women is still a surprise Despite being the leading cause of death among women in Australia (more than 2500 women have already died from heart disease this year alone), most people are unaware that more than a third of women have at least three risk factors, and that nearly 100,000 Australian women aged 18 to 44 have five or more risk factors.

Generally we are taught that the classic heart attack symptoms are chest pain. For a significant number of women they are different. Most women don't understand a heart attack is more likely to cause them problems than breast cancer, says NSW Liverpool Hospitals Dr Christian Mussap, a cardiologist who has worked in the field for more than two decades. In fact, heart disease accounts for three time more deaths in women than breast cancer, he says. Generally, we are taught that classic heart attack symptoms include chest pain  the elephant on the chest  a painful left arm or pain in the jaw and neck. For a significant number of women, the symptoms are different, Dr Mussap says.

Rather than chest pain, women tend to have fatigue, shortness of breath, light-headedness, sweating and some vague chest discomfort. These are all vague symptoms that can relate to a lot of different health conditions. So why is it that we are taught to recognise heart attack symptoms which primarily present in men? It turns out that most early research into cardiovascular disease was conducted on men, with women making up only 25 per cent of participants across 31 landmark trials for congestive heart failure between 1987 and 2012. Only last year, a study using data from 41 hospitals around the country found that women who suffer a serious heart attack are half as likely to receive proper treatment in an Australian hospital than men, and are twice as likely to die six months are theyre discharged. Clinical trials: why researchers prefer men

A big problem with our medical system is that drugs for most conditions have been tested on men. Loading Whether its testing the effects of obesity on breast and uterine cancer using only male studies (as New York Citys Rockefeller University did in 1986); or testing the safety of female Viagra when taken with alcohol on 23 men and only two women, the medical industry is full of examples where drugs widely prescribed to both sexes are tested primarily on men. Considering that clinical trials are the bedrock of medical research and evidence building, this means that 50 per cent of the population is prescribed drugs that may not work  or even make things worse. It is absolutely vital that we test on both sexes, says Dr Zoe Wainer, head of public health and medical director at Bupa.

This is not just a womens health issue: its actually about both men and women. Men tend to have worse health outcomes, so it would stand to benefit men if we actually worked out how women fight conditions. Reasons cited by researchers for not including women (this also include female animals) include women's (un)availability to participate in trials; concerns about the impact on womens reproductive health; or the impact of female hormones and menstrual cycle on the trials. There also exists an incorrect assumption that we know when sex matters, so theres no point in testing on both sexes, Dr Wainer says. As a result, there just isnt targeted biological research to understand the difference between sexes in Australia. Dr Mussap agrees: Its research that underpins our understanding of how to treat these conditions, and research is based on clinical trials, he says.

Traditionally, clinical trials have recruited predominantly male patients, which means that the data that supports out treatment strategies are derived from male cohorts. Loading As for pregnant women? Their absence from clinical trials means we have no clear idea or solid data on how to treat pregnant women, despite the World Health Organisation warning that many diseases can have particularly serious consequences for pregnant women, [and] can harm the foetus. But change is afoot in trial design. Australias largest medical research grant body, the National Health and Medical Research Council, now requires researchers to achieve balance of male and female cell and animal models, including justification where it is not warranted. A matter of sex and gender

Data shows that many infectious diseases affect one sex more than the other. Sometimes its men, as in the case of dengue fever; sometimes its women, as in the cases of Ebola and E-coli; and other times, its pregnant women (as was the case in Australia with swine flu in 2014). And it doesnt end there: from sleeping pills to aspirin to anaesthesia (from which women tend to wake up faster than men, and are also more likely to to experience side effects), studies show that men and women tend to react differently to all sorts of medications. Endometriosis costs the economy $7.7bn a year, and is an extremely debilitating disease that stops many women reaching their full potential. Dr Wainer says the scientific assumption that sex only relates to reproduction is a fundamental flaw in how we understand biology. When studying the effects of drugs on men and women, researchers found many sex-based differences that alter the way women react to drugs.

For example, women metabolise drugs differently because they have a higher percentage of body fat, lower body weight and experience hormonal fluctuations and the monthly menstrual cycle. Because women also digest and break down food at a slower rate, it means that medications will more often be absorbed on an empty stomach. And because so many drugs are tested mostly or exclusively on men, scientists know little of their effects on women until they reach the market, something that Dr Wainer says is extremely expensive. So many scientists and medical experts dont test on female animals and women because of the cost. What they dont think about is the huge financial and physical cost to our healthcare system and society at not looking at sex differences, she says. In the US, a Government Accountability Office study found that eight of 10 drugs removed from the market from 1997 through to 2000 posed greater health risks to women.

Just imagine the cost of taking these drugs off the market after the millions of dollars of research behind them, Dr Wainer says. Womens sickness: are we doing enough? Gender also affects the way society priorities medical conditions. This means everything from allocating funding to find more effective treatment, to understanding the symptoms and pain associated with certain conditions. One condition that has been underfunded until now is endometriosis  a relatively common disease affecting more than 10 per cent of Australian women  in which the tissue that is similar to the lining of the womb grows outside it in other parts of the body. Despite its severity and frequency, little has been done to find adequate treatment for endometriosis, and women like Ms Myers continue to suffer years on end, seeing crucial government funding allocated to myriad other conditions.

Dr Jason Abbott, an expert in endometriosis and a professor at the University of NSW, says we know very little about the disease that affects more than 700,000 women. Endometriosis costs the Australian economy $7.7bn each year, and is an extremely debilitating disease that stops many women from reaching their full potential, he says. Despite this, funding to find fast-track diagnosis (which on average takes 7 to 10 years from the moment a woman first goes to the doctor), a cure  or even effective treatment  is woeful, with the Australian government only committing to a national action plan for endometriosis last July. It comes back to whole concept that no other body system except the female reproductive system has pain as a part of its normal day to day function, Dr Abbott says, with than 95 per cent women experiencing pain with some periods, and 50 per cent experiencing painful periods every time. And because weve normalised pain for women, we dont have any fundamental understanding of what pain is, and how much of it there should be.
Last week, the nation learned Milat had been diagnosed with terminal cancer of the oesophagus, almost 25 years into serving seven life sentences for the brutal murders of foreign and Australian backpackers between 1989 and 1993. On Tuesday, Milat was transported from his cell to Sydneys Prince of Wales Hospital, where tests confirmed malignant tumours on his throat and stomach. Family members, who still protest his innocence, say the 74-year-olds health has declined since Christmas, when he first reported difficulties swallowing and holding down food. But his deteriorating health did not stop him from putting pen to page. Two weeks ago, one of his most dedicated pen pals of the past 24 years received her latest correspondence from Milat, detailing the symptoms he was suffering and his suspicions about what the cause could be.

He said in the letter he believed he probably had cancer. He had lost a lot of weight...he pretty much knew, said the close friend, who has asked not to be named and also maintains Milat is innocent. He hasnt said how he feels yet, hes quite a religious person, a Catholic believer ... he often speaks about religion in his letters. Hes very confident of going to heaven one day.  The woman, one of the few people to have visited Milat at Goulburn, said any suggestions he was suffering dementia were absolute rubbish - hes as bright as ever. Milats nephew, Alistair Shipsey, is one of his biggest advocates, dedicating most of his life to campaigning for a retrial. He said the extended Milat family, who are due to visit him at Long Bay hospital next Tuesday, has found it difficult learning the killer may die within weeks. Were pretty upset. We all love Ivan. We know hes been framed, Mr Shipsey, who has written to Milat for 24 years, told The Sun-Herald.

Mr Shipsey claims his uncle was unfairly convicted solely on the discovery of the victims belongings being found at his house, and that there was not enough evidence to prove he had murdered anyone. Its hard, that he didnt get a chance to clear his name, [for himself] and for the family. Milats seventh call for an inquiry into his 1996 conviction was rejected in 2017. Mr Shipsey, a former sales manager and mechanic, said he believed the cancer diagnosis would have rocked his uncle psychologically. If I was in his position and I could not get a retrial, battling all that time, I think I would want to die.

Howard, the crime author, is writing a book about Milat that incorporates parts of his long, sometimes paranoid, letters. She said he most of all wanted to be left alone in jail, to write, to watch television and to read novels - mainly westerns or Samurai tales. Hes never been Im the backpacker killer. Hes always been the absolute opposite of that. Milat was sentenced to seven life sentences without parole for his crimes, all of which he committed while living in his mothers house. He picked up his young victims when they were hitchhiking south down the Hume Highway. Each was found covered in sticks and leaf litter in the state forest. One was decapitated. Several were shot in the head. When the homes of Milat and family members were searched, police found property belonging to all seven victims, including backpacks, camping gear and clothing.

At his house, they discovered firearms as well as rope and cable ties used to tie up the victims. In all cases the members of the family said Ivan gave this to us, Clive Small, the lead investigator of the backpacker murders, said. It seemed he would give it to the family and he would like seeing them use it without knowing it came from a murder victim ... it gave him satisfaction. Since his conviction on July 27, 1996, Milat has been suggested as a suspect in unsolved homicides and missing persons cases. Most notable were the murders of Leanne Goodall, Robyn Hickie and Amanda Robinson, of which Milat was once considered a prime suspect.

The three women went missing in the Newcastle area within four months of each other, between 1978 and 1979. In 2002, Milat gave evidence during a coronial inquest into their deaths. John Boersig, the instructing solicitor for the womens families at the inquest, recalled learning that Milat was a suspect. A letter from Milat to lawyer John Boersig. By that stage he had been picked up for the Belanglo murders, and to locate him in Newcastle [when the three women disappeared] was alarming, he said. Coroner John Abernethy found the women had been killed by a person, or persons, unknown.
A Panania man has been charged with murder after his wife's body was discovered in Randwick overnight.

Emergency services arrived at Barker Street near Prince of Wales Hospital about 8.45pm on Saturday after receiving a report that a woman had been injured, and found her unresponsive nearby.

Police outside Barker Street, Randwick, where a woman was found unresponsive on Saturday night. Credit:NSW Police Media

The 47-year-old woman, identified as Gihan Kerollos, died at the scene.

Police later arrested her husband Mourad Kerollos, 60, who was charged with murder. He did not apply for bail.
Old police uniforms are being transformed into clothes for kids in need by a local Cairns sewing volunteer group.

The volunteers, who call themselves the Reef Sisters, stitch donated uniforms that would otherwise be disposed of into creative outfits for children in need all over the country.

Supporting Uniforms 4 Kids with repurposed uniforms are (from left) Senior Constable Reeves from Queensland Police, Superintendent Mark Setter from the Australian Federal Police and Superintendent Mandy Sinclair from Australian Border Force. Credit:Police Media

Personnel from Queensland Police Service, Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force and other emergency services personnel and businesses, including Australia Zoo, throughout the country have contributed to the cause and donated uniforms.

The Uniforms 4 Kids program was started in 2015 by Order of Australia recipient Yvonne Pattinson, who began recycling donated police uniforms for children in remote and rural areas.
Learning Difficulties Australia member Alison Clarke, who is a speech pathologist, said Reading Recovery taught students to look at pictures and guess words. They are teaching faulty strategies, she said. It doesnt work. I see so many students and they haven't had phonics instruction. Reading Recovery gives struggling grade 1 students daily, one-on-one, 30-minute sessions with a trained teacher. Some schools also offer it to older students, such as Tait. Recently-published research from Monash University found that the program was offered in more than 50 per cent of state, Catholic and independent schools in 2014.

But critics claim that the program is flawed because it's grounded in the whole language approach to reading. This method teaches children to read via osmosis, and assumes they will learn words through context. They are calling for the program to be replaced with systematic synthetic phonics, which teaches students the 44 sounds in our speech and the letter combinations that make those sounds. This, they argue, would benefit all students, including the 10 to 16 per cent who are believed to have learning difficulties such as dyslexia. Reading Recovery has courted controversy in recent years. In 2012 the Victorian Education Department stopped funding Reading Recovery tutors, with schools having to instead absorb the cost in their literacy budgets.

And in 2015, a report by the NSW Education Department found Reading Recovery had few long-term benefits. Victorian Education Minister James Merlino said the Education Department did not promote or endorse specific programs and schools were best-placed to make these decisions. I would encourage the families and carers of children with learning difficulties such as dyslexia to speak with their schools to make sure they receive the support that best meets their childs needs, he said. Primary English Teaching Association of Australia president Robyn Cox said Reading Recovery turned lives around. The Australian Catholic University associate professor of education said the successful program was particularly beneficial for students who werent exposed to many books at home.

Reading Recovery was never meant to be a clinical program for a student with dyslexia, she said. It is meant to engage kids with literacy. She said the program taught phonics by exposing students to a sound of the day in books. If the book was about ships then the sound of the day might be sh and then you might think of shops or shirts, she explained. They would learn those words within the context of the book. Monika Sztendur, a reading intervention teacher at Wattle Park Primary School, said she used elements of Reading Recovery and phonics when teaching struggling students to read. I cater to that child's needs, she said. If they aren't decoding, then I would focus on that. But if a child is decoding and not able to make sense of a sentence then I would use Reading Recovery strategies which look at words in context.
Midland, Joondalup and Mirrabooka are among the hardest-hit policing districts when it comes to shoplifting.

Police are being kept busy with shoplifters across the state. Credit:Marina Neil

New figures tabled in parliament show 3878 people were arrested or summonsed state-wide for shoplifting last year.

The Midland policing district  which incorporates suburbs such as Ellenbrook and Forrestfield  was hit the worst, with 417 people arrested or summonsed last year.

The Joondalup district was the second highest area in WA for the offence with 394 offenders, followed by Fremantle with 347.
Support for dumped federal MP Dennis Jensen was dwindling before controversial news reports about him were published, a defamation trial has heard.

Dennis Jensen in Parliament in 2009. Credit:AAP

Dr Jensen is suing News Corp's publishing arm Nationwide News and journalist Andrew Burrell over two articles in The Australian days before the 2016 pre-selection contest, arguing they were a major reason for his 57-7 loss.

The WA Supreme Court heard no pre-selectors for the safe Liberal seat of Tangney spoke in favour of Dr Jensen before they cast their vote.

One of them, Bruce McGregor, said Dr Jensen phoned him before the meeting, asking if he was a supporter in a brief, awkward conversation that ended with: "If you don't vote for me, it means you're going to give me the sack."
Variety entertainment has changed. Instead of Bert Newton hosting a half hour of TV, its kids playing Fortnite, people artfully putting on makeup, and talented artists and animators using their skills and personality to entertain.

But making these short videos takes a lot of work. For the majority of Australias top YouTubers, its a full-time job.

For Jazza, from the channel Draw With Jazza, making it full time was the plan from the start. The iPhone had just killed Flash and, as a Flash animator, that severely reduced his job prospects. So he approached YouTube like a business, seeking sponsorship of $100 per video from someone hed worked with before.

Jazza has run 'Draw with Jazza' since 2012, and has more than four million subscribers.

This is in 2012, so the term YouTuber wasn't even really a colloquialism, he says. There wasn't the cliche of the obnoxious YouTubers throwing money around and being douchebags. It was really this niche, indie, hipster-y sort of platform.
Taipei: The rainbow flag was flying large and proud on Friday night at the bars and barbers surrounding the Red House, the trendy epicentre of Taipeis gay community.

The first country in Asia - we are very happy, said Jie Zheng, 22.

Zhang Jie, left, with friends outside Taipeis Red House after the Taiwanese Parliament voted to legalise same-sex marriage.

He had come to pose for photos with friends at the Red House, an historic theatre, holding placards that urged Parliament to be the first in Asia to legalise same sex-marriage.

Hours earlier the legislation had indeed passed, making legal marriage possible for Taiwans gay and lesbian citizens from next Friday.
Jakarta: Indonesia is deploying 32,000 security personnel in the capital Jakarta after warnings of a possible militant attack during the official announcement of presidential election results next week, police said.

National Police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal said police have apprehended more than 60 alleged terrorists since January, with 29 arrested just this month. Eight suspected were killed while resisting arrest.

Indonesian Special Detachment 88 anti-terror police unit escorts terror suspects during a press conference at in Jakarta on Friday. Credit:AP

He said the suspects planned to set off bombs during expected street protests when the official vote count is announced by May 22.

Iqbal said the 29 were affiliated with Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), a terrorist group formed by Aman Abdurrahman, an Islamic State-affiliated terrorist now in maximum security at Nusakambangan penal island. He said 18 of the group were involved in bomb making.
Iraq said on Wednesday it is extending the military crackdown in Baghdad to other flashpoint regions where insurgent and sectarian violence has killed hundreds in the past two weeks.

In the latest example of a spike in unrest away from the troop build-up in the Iraqi capital, gunmen dressed in police uniforms kidnapped 22 shepherds from the desert near the central Shiite shrine city of Karbala on Wednesday.

Iraqi and US officials announced that Operation Fardh al-Qanoon (Imposing Law) has already been underway in the restive northern city of Mosul since Tuesday and will also focus more on the outskirts of Baghdad.

"The efforts are now extending beyond Baghdad to provide peace and security to other provinces," Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told reporters.

Hundreds have died in massive bombings outside Baghdad although the capital has also continued to face its daily share of car bombings.
Washington: A former spy for the US Central Intelligence Agency has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted on charges of conspiring to transmit defence secrets to China, the US Justice Department said.

Kevin Patrick Mallory, of Leesburg, Virginia, was found guilty by a federal jury in June 2018 of several counts of conspiring to provide national defence information to aid a foreign government and making false statements.

Kevin Mallory, a former CIA officer, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

This case is one in an alarming trend of former US intelligence officers being targeted by China and betraying their country and colleagues," Assistant Attorney-General John Demers said in a statement.

The Justice Department said that Mallory, 62, held numerous sensitive jobs with government agencies and defence contractors. His career included working as a covert case officer for the CIA and as an intelligence officer for the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA). He held a top secret security clearance until he stopped working as a CIA contractor in 2012. He then launched his own consulting business.
New York: Marc Kaufman's family began selling fur garments to New Yorkers in 1870 - the same year construction began on the Brooklyn Bridge, the city's first subway line opened and African Americans won the right to vote.

Back then the fur trade was a major part of the city's economy, so important that New York put the beaver on its official seal.

The industry is far smaller today, but if you head the city's Fur District, on the west side of Manhattan, you'll still find a cluster of stores selling coats made of mink, chinchilla and lynx. Among them is Marc Kaufman's.

But the city's fur industry now faces an existential threat thanks to a New York City Council proposal to ban the sale of fur clothing.
PHILIPSBURG:--- More than 100 organizations in the Hospitality Industry has registered to attend the 17th Edition of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART) which will be held at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort, Casino and Spa next week.



Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Hon. Stuart Johnson said the interests shown in the regional tradeshow demonstrates the importance of the event to the service in the region and internationally. SMART offers a unique setting in which useful information can be had by attendees to help them profile the destination.



The organizers behind SMART are LAssociation des Hoteliers de Saint Martin, the Saint Martin Tourism Office, the Sint Maarten Tourism Bureau, and the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA). SMART will be held from May 21 to 23 at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort, Casino & Spa Convention Center. The SMART 17th Edition will host visitors from Anguilla, Antigua, the Bahamas, Belgium, Bonaire, Canada, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, France, Guadeloupe, Italy, Montserrat, the Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saba, St. Barths, St. Eustatius, St. Martin, Sint Maarten, St. Kitts, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.



Tourism and travel form the economic foundation of many of the islands in the Caribbean. We all have the interest to promote our destinations. Inter-regional travel is just as necessary as international tourism and travel.



The travel and tourism trade have changed due to technological developments where travelers can access information with their fingertips through the world-wide-web and mobile apps.



SMART will allow all those who are attending to learn from each other about travel trade trends and destination developments. It will enable businesses to create new partnerships through networking.



We on St. Maarten/Saint Martin look forward to welcoming the visitors to SMART, Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson said on Friday.



SMART is hosted annually by the tourism authorities of both sides of the island. Considered the most popular trade show in the Northeastern Caribbean, the three-day event offers attendees workshops, masterclasses, mystery dinners, pre-scheduled appointment sessions, activities and festivities.



SMART brings together wholesalers and tour operators who conduct business with suppliers of the North and Eastern Caribbean tourism industry.
PHILADELPHIA - Former vice president Joe Biden offered himself to voters as a leader uniquely positioned to unify a divided country during a rally Saturday afternoon. The event, the largest of his nascent campaign, was intended to bookend the opening phase of his White House bid.

"We're all in this together," Biden told the crowd. "We need to remember that today, I think, more than any time in my career."

He added a note of optimism: "In this great experiment of equality and opportunity and decency, we haven't lived up - but we've never given up on it."

Biden walked onstage with his signature swagger, wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses that he shed, along with a sport coat, before speaking to an audience of about 6,000, according to an estimate from a security firm hired by the campaign.

Biden took repeated and direct aim at President Donald Trump, comparing his tactics to those used by dictators. At one point, he quoted Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered during the Civil War on a Pennsylvania battlefield, to drive home the importance of uniting the country.

"Will we be the ones to let the government of, by, and for the people perish from the face of the earth?" Biden asked. "Dare we let that happen? Dare we let that happen? Absolutely not. We will not."

Biden entered the race three weeks ago with a video that spotlighted Trump's reaction to the violent 2017 "United the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white supremacists marched and clashed with protesters.

The president said at the time there were "very fine people on both sides" of the conflict, which prompted Biden to pen an opinion piece in the Atlantic titled "We Are Living Through a Battle for the Soul of This Nation." The former vice president has made restoring the nation's soul a theme of his campaign.

Biden followed that video with a rally at a Pittsburgh union hall, where he focused on another theme: Rebuilding the middle class. Saturday's event was designed to highlight the third message of his candidacy: Uniting the country.

"I know some of the really smart folks say Democrats don't want to hear about unity," Biden said. "They say Democrats are so angry that the angrier a candidate can be the better chance he or she has to win the Democratic nomination."

"That's wrong, Joe!" an audience member yelled.

"I don't believe it," Biden continued.

"If the American people want the president to add to our division, lead with a clenched fist, a closed hand, a hard heart, to demonize your opponent, to spew hatred, they don't need me," he said. "They've got President Donald Trump."

It's an idea other candidates also highlighted at their kickoff rallies.

"We must not allow those with power to weaponize hatred and bigotry to divide us," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., during her launch.

"We're going to bring our people together," Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said.

"We need to recognize that we're already on common ground," Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said.

Biden also used the 30-minute speech to address some of the criticism about his campaign message, including some who think it's naive for him to suggest that he'll work with Republicans if elected.

"I'm going to say something outrageous: I know how to make government work. Not because I've talked or tweeted about it. But because I've done it. I've worked across the aisle to reach consensus," he said.

He also previewed a policy to address climate change that his campaign will release in coming weeks, saying, "we need a clean energy revolution" and expressing a desire to "set the most aggressive goals possible."

Biden took heavy criticism from liberals after a Reuters report quoted a Biden adviser saying the vice president would try to find a "middle-ground" solution to the problem.

Since entering the campaign, Biden has visited all four of the early nominating states. During those visits, he has taken relatively few questions from voters and the news media. On Saturday, he took no questions at the public venue.

That hasn't hurt him in early polls, and it's a factor that has attracted attention from Trump.

The president has sought to define Biden by using the nickname "Sleepy Joe," tweeting the moniker about a half-dozen times since Biden entered the race.

The president has also referred to Biden on social media as "SleepyCreepy Joe," a reference to a recent focus on Biden's affectionate manner, which some women say made them uncomfortable. Biden has promised to be more mindful in the future and blames the interactions on his personal style.

In a stark reminder of how the issue could be a problem, one of those women made news Saturday shortly before Biden took the stage.

Lucy Flores, the former Nevada state assemblywoman who wrote an essay earlier this year accusing Biden of touching her without her consent, broke down in tears at a public event hundreds of miles away in Richmond, Virginia.

Flores was the keynote speaker at an organizing event sponsored by She the People, a group that aims to boost voter turnout among women of color. As she listened to the introduction, which referenced her decision to publicize her uncomfortable physical encounter with Biden, she began to cry.

Tears continued as Flores took the stage, where she spent a few seconds attempting to regain her composure, sniffling and wiping her eyes.

She made only passing remarks about Biden. "I had no idea that as many battles as I've had with the Republican Party, I would have as many if not more with my own party," she said.

Flores received a standing ovation from the crowd of about 250 mostly black and Hispanic women.

- - -

The Washington Post's Holly Bailey in Richmond contributed to this report.
Walk along any beach, pool, piazza, or strada in Italy during the warmer months, and youll realise that our brothers from the Bel Paese have a healthy love for linen shirts.

Brits, generally speaking, stick out like red thumbs; ambivalent to anything buttoned that might remind them of home or  shudder  the office. And so, men who otherwise dress dapper in the city, with wool coats at winter and neatly-tied brogues, abandon style at the airport and hit the terraces dressed like Kevin and/or Perry in Ibiza.

Thats not to say we dont like linen shirts. We just dont see them as a necessity like the Italians do (or the French), who wear them year-round as a utility piece. That is changing, however, with some excellent British brands producing high quality linen shirts for the unassuming gentleman on holiday.

Which type?

Specialists like Orlebar Brown, Dundas, Flax London, and the more affordable Uniqlo, are producing luxury linen that ought to last you a very long time.

White linen shirts, depending on your skin tone, can come across a little Rodrigo, the Casanova barman (especially when a couple of buttons are undone). If you have to pick one for your holiday, go with a navy, long-sleeve classic that can be dressed up with chinos and worn after rolling out of bed to the beach.

With more British men thinking about how to dress stylishly away from the Big Smoke, here are four reasons why you should invest in a linen shirt...

1. They Keep You Cool (Literally)

Anthony Bourdain and Yotam Ottolenghi in Jerusalem

Cotton t-shirts have nothing on the breezy, breathable linen fabric shirt, which remains elegant even when a bit oversized, hung loose, rolled up and even unbuttoned, if you so prefer. Linen is a more breathable and durable natural fibre than cotton. Your shirt may feel crisp on the first few wears, but becomes supple with time, allowing fresh air to circulate your body.

If you are going somewhere warm, this is a huge bonus - not only for poolside getaways but for long backpacking trips too  explorers and adventurers (like the late Mr. Anthony Bourdain and Bear Grylls) swear by them.

2. They Are The Perfect Smart-Casual Piece

Ryan Gosling wearing a linen shirt at LAX / SplashNews.com

What is smart-casual? Its debatable, depending on who you ask, and how they define smart and casual. Whatever the case, linen shirts are the definitive smart-casual piece because they are as appropriate for trekking the Nile, a la huge-linen-shirt-fan-and-explorer Levison Wood (who considers them an adventure essential), and while trying to channel Ryan Gosling in Nice. At home, you can pair one with slim black jeans or chinos, and white sneakers.

When it comes to patterns, the rule is: if it is close in appearance to an everyday cotton shirt, the more formally it can be used out for dinner, or at the hotel bar, for example)

Either way, linens versatility will suit whichever type of trip youve booked this year, matching with plenty of different pieces to produce a range of styles; saving precious space in the suitcase for that extra bottle of ouzo.

3. They Work All Year Round

Chris Pine is a big fan of linen shirts / FameFlynet.uk.com / SplashNews.com

Linen shirts are a workhorse. Not only can you wear them wild and loose with practically anything in the summer months, but they are great textural, layering pieces for days where you are unsure whether it will be hot or cold. In winter, they are less tight or constricting under knitwear than cotton shirts (and also act as a natural insulator), and in spring or autumn, linen looks smart beneath a blazer or denim jacket.

It wont be so easily shelved after the return flight, gradually improving with age. The more use it gets, the more personality linen develops.

Pick a style you like, and wear it throughout the year - whether on your morning commute, or out for drinks in town. If you want a risk-free staple shirt, opt for long sleeves in plain colours that will go with, well, pretty much anything.

4. They are Timeless

Jude Law in The Talented Mr Ripley in 1999 / Rex

Steve McQueen wore linen shirts on his vacation. As did Alain Delon and Sean Connery. Its a firm, personal belief that the idea of dressing nicely on holiday is underpinned by old photographs of Hollywood movie stars at Cape Cod or the Amalfi Coast.. That should be enough for you to at least pack one, considering resort style has little changed since Hollywoods Golden Age, famously revitalised by a linen-shirted Jude Law in The Talented Mr Ripley.

Tight linen shirts are not a good look, and that should be a relief. Were assuming there will be occasional gluttonous meals and lazy days on your holiday, and the preferred regular fit of a linen shirt should make it an ally when you feel a bit bloated. Take a cue from Hollywood and buy them loose (within reason)  you are on vacation after all.

A favourite linen shirt is one of the most used - and yet understated - pieces in a mans wardrobe. If its good enough for fellow Brits James Bond and Jude Law, it should be good enough for you too.

Love your Linen: our top 5 picks

1. Far Afield, Rust Linen Short Sleeve Shirt, 65 | Shop it here

2. Flax London, Eucalyptus Signature Shirt, 105 | Shop it here

3. Dundas, Camel Safari Shirt, 115 | Shop it here

4. Engineered Garments, Short Sleeved Camp Collar Shirt, 235| Shop it here
A London rapper who shines a spotlight on men's mental health in his music today tells of his personal battle with "crushing" depression.

Hyphen, an upcoming rapper living in Aldgate, told the Standard how he started to feel low when he began working in finance in his early 20s.

The 25-year-old, whose real name is Aadarsh Gautam, then began writing poetry and eventually music to express how he was feeling.

"I felt so unhappy and under so much pressure and what came of that was a lava-like explosion of expressing myself," he said.

Now he harnesses his personal experience with mental health problems to create lyrics which resonate with fans around the city.

The rapper's new single, "We're OK", released in June, will talk about men collectively fighting through depression.

Hyphen, a UCL graduate, began to write poems and lyrics during a low period when he was working in investment banking straight out of university.

He explained how he had forced himself to meet expectations and fit into a certain bracket whilst burying his feelings in an accepted corporate drinking culture.

I was suddenly sitting in the back seat of my parents' car aged 21 crying my eyes out, and I felt completely consumed by this thing, he said.

I had done a lot of what was expected, and was a caveman at expressing how I was feeling. I didnt realise how down I had become.

The rapper said he started to write one evening on the train home from work.

"I was hungover on the train home and began writing in a book that I usually used for to-do lists, he added, explaining that he had never written much.

"It was like tectonic plates with this crushing thing that I felt so unhappy and under so much pressure and what came of that was a lava-like explosion of expressing myself.

After one of his poems was published in the Financial Times he moved on to start writing music.

He has since performed at venues including Ronnie Scott's and Notting Hill Arts Club, and is now supported by BBC Music Introducing.

But the artist has faced other challenges over the years, including a struggle with his personal identity after his parents moved to the UK from Bihar in India in the 80s.

He said he has often been grouped together with other Indians in Britain whose communities are very different to his own.

Most Indians in the UK come from Punjab or Gujarat but its about a three or four hour flight from where we lived and India is very big and culturally diverse, he said.

And the artist said he has faced a lot of criticism while performing, often being told at gigs that his clothes looked ridiculous and he did not look like he should be there.

A few years ago, Link Up TV, a platform for new artists posted a clip of Hyphen rapping freestyle and it had to be taken down immediately after a flood of negative comments and trolling.

People were saying who is this, this guy looks like a refugee, Hyphen said.

The rapper has dealt with these issues through his music.

In March this year, Hyphen released the record, Middle Finger with JARJ, where he raps about the Link Up TV experience, and brought in six other artists from different backgrounds to feature on it.

We thought it sounded like something that lots of people would work well on so we got lots of people from different communities and backgrounds. We were all hitting back people who had told us many times that we could not do it.

Fans now come up to the young rapper at gigs to open up about how they are feeling, with one telling him: "I feel like you get it."

An Indian student at Warwick University has even reached out to Hyphen because he wanted to write his dissertation on his work.

Hyphen said his work is simply about expressing how he feels to make connections with people.

He said: "Im saying things that may reach people who are experiencing something similar but Im not trying to be a spokesperson or anything," he said.

"Im just trying to write, say how I feel and connect with as many people as I can."
P olice have told a McDonalds branch in Edinburgh not to sell milkshakes or ice creams over fears someone may throw the products at Nigel Farage as he delivers a speech nearby.

The fast food restaurant said it received a request from police not to sell the products while the Brexit Party leader spoke at a rally because of recent events.

Dozens of supporters have arrived at Edinburghs Corn Exchange for an EU elections rally.

Printed signs saying: "We will not be selling milkshakes or ice creams tonight. This is due to a police request given recent events" were displayed on the windows and inside the chain.

A spokesman for Police Scotland said local businesses nearby to the rally had been given appropriate guidance in case of disorder.

A member of McDonalds staff, who did not want to be named, described the situation as "ridiculous".

The signs appeared after spate of dairy-based incidents involving right-wing politicians.

Nigel Farage, Brexit Party leader / PA

Far-right figures Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, and Ukip candidate Carl Benjamin have had food and drinks thrown at them during the European election campaign.

Former English Defence League leader Mr Yaxley-Lennon was drenched by milkshakes twice in two days as he campaigned in the north-west of England.

Mr Benjamin - who is currently being investigated by police about what he said were jokey rape comments made towards MP Jess Phillips - was at a public meeting in Cornwall when a protester tried to throw a drink over him.

A spokesman for Police Scotland said: After businesses were made aware of the potential for disorder, officers liaised with local businesses and appropriate advice and guidance was given to help prevent it.
B uckingham Palace has denied reports that the Duchess of Sussex personally approved famous guests to speak about her for a new documentary.

US broadcaster CBS is due to air a programme called: Meghan And Harry, Plus One looking at the Royal couple's first year of marriage and life with baby Archie.

Anchor Gayle King, 64, interviewed some of Meghan Markle's close friends, including makeup artist Daniel Martin, for the new TV special.

It also features stars like Hollywood actress Jessica Alba, and actress and musician Janina Gavankar.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with their baby son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor / PA Wire/PA Images

In a preview clip, an emotional Mr Martin wipes away tears as he addresses newspaper reports about Meghan, saying: "I know her so well, she doesn't deserve all this negative press."

The Sun newspaper reported today that a CBS source said contributors spoke only "with the blessing of Meghan".

First glimpse of Prince Harry and Meghan's newborn son - In pictures 1 /28 First glimpse of Prince Harry and Meghan's newborn son - In pictures The Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave the world its first glimpse of the royal baby PA The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are joined by her mother, Doria Ragland, as they show their new son, born Monday and named as Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, to the Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle Chris Allerton/SussexRoyal/PA The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with their baby son, who was born last month Dominic Lipinski/PA Meghan said Harry and her son were the "best two guys in the world" Dominic Lipinski/PA Their son was born in the small hours of Monday morning PA The Queen is due to be the first royal to meet the baby PA The Duchess said the birth of the child was "magic" PA Dominic Lipinski/PA The Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed the name of their son on Wednesday as Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor PA PA Dominic Lipinski/PA Dominic Lipinski/PA Dominic Lipinski/PA Dominic Lipinski/PA Dominic Lipinski/PA Dominic Lipinski/PA Dominic Lipinski/PA Dominic Lipinski/PA Dominic Lipinski/PA Sky News Sky News

The newspaper then quoted a royal source saying the move was a breach of protocol.

But a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "The Duchess has not had any involvement in the CBS special, nor has she requested or given permission to friends to participate."

On Thursday baby Archie's birth certificate showed Meghan may have been born a commoner but is now a "Princess of the United Kingdom" as far as her occupation is concerned.
S cott Morrison will remain Australia's Prime Minister after Labor conceded defeat in the country's election.

Thanking those who backed him he said: "I have always believed in miracles.

"Tonight is not about me or it's not about even the Liberal party. Tonight is about every single Australian who depends on their government to put them first.

"I said I was going to burn for you and I am, every single day."

Getty Images

Pre-election opinion polls had suggested that the coalition would lose its bid for a third three-year term and Mr Morrison would have had one of the shortest tenures as prime minister in the 118-year history of the Australian federation.

Bill Shorten had been expected to win / AFP/Getty Images

Opposition leader Bill Shorten called Prime Minister Scott Morrison to congratulate him on the win, he announced late on Saturday night in Melbourne.

Mr Shorten said: "It is obvious that Labor will not be able to form the next government and so, in the national interest, a short while ago, I called Scott Morrison to congratulate him."

Late Saturday, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. called 74 seats in the 151-seat lower parliamentary house as wins for Mr Morrison's conservative Liberal-National party coalition.

Votes were cast across Australia / EPA

It put 65 seats to Labor and 12 as undecided.

While the Channel 9 network called 73 seats to the coalition, 61 to Labor, with 17 undecided.

A total of 76 seats are needed to form a majority government.
V otes are being counted in Australias general elections with the Labor Party opposition tipped to win based on exit and opinion polls.

The party could win as many as 82 seats in the 151-seat House of Representatives, where parties need a majority to form government, according to a Galaxy exit poll.

As results came out it emerged former Liberal PM Tony Abbott had lost his seat of Warringah which he had held for 25 years.

Commenting on the votes, Labour deputy leader Tanya Plibersek said: "I feel positive. I feel like we are ahead, but I am more cautiously optimistic than confident.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten said he was confident Labour would win.

Scott Morrison would be one of the shortest reigning Prime Ministers if he were to lose / AFP/Getty Images

Opinion polls also suggest the conservative Liberal Party-led coalition will lose its bid for a third three-year term. This would see Scott Morrison have one of the shortest tenures as prime minister in the 118-year history of the Australian federation.

Mr Morrison is the conservatives' third prime minister since they were first elected in 2013 and replaced Malcolm Turnbull in a leadership ballot of government colleagues in August.

On the day of the votes he was campaigning in the island state of Tasmania, in seats he hopes his party will win from the centre-left Labour Party.

After that he flew 560 miles home to Sydney to campaign and vote.

Bill Shorten casting his vote alongside his wife Chloe / AFP/Getty Images

He would not be drawn on a prediction and said: "Tonight the votes will be counted up and we'll see what the outcome is. I make no assumptions about tonight.

Previously Mr Morrison, a 51-year-old former tourism marketer, said he had closed Labour's lead in opinion polls during the five-week campaign and predicted a close result.

Mr Shorten contained his campaigning to polling centres in his home city of Melbourne and voted there on Saturday morning.

He said he expected Labour would start governing from Sunday and said his top priorities would be to increase wages for low-paid workers, hike pay rates for working Sundays and reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.

"The world will know that if Labour gets elected, Australia's back in the fight against climate change," he said.

Mr Shorten, a 52-year-old former union leader, has also promised a range of reforms, including the government paying all of patients' costs for cancer treatment and a reduction of tax breaks for landlords.

An opinion poll published in The Australian newspaper on Saturday put Labour ahead of the conservatives 51.5 per cent to 48.5.

The Newspoll-brand survey was based on a nationwide canvass of 3,038 voters from Monday to Friday and has a 1.8 percentage point margin of error.

Voting in Australia's eastern states, where most of the 25 million population lives, ended at 6pm, 8am GMT.
F irefighters have battled a blaze in one of New Yorks most recognisable landmarks after flames were seen billowing out of a billboard in Times Square.

Fire could be seen coming out of one of the electronic billboards just after 3pm local time, on Satuday.

The New York fire department said no injuries were reported and there was no damage to the building the sign was attached to.

Shocking video footage showed smoke and fire coming from an advertisement, as emergency services could be heard rushing to the scene.

A spokesman for the department said firefighters worked to turn the billboard's power off.
A graduating senior from Eastern View High School was among 30 Virginia students who recently received a $2,500 college scholarship from the Comcast NBC Universal Foundation.

Mikayla Jenkins was selected for the award in recognition for outstanding community service, academic performance and leadership skills, according to a news release from Comcast NBC Universal.

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Our Leaders and Achievers scholarship winners are exceptional students who are committed to excelling in their academic excellence and community service, said Mary McLaughlin, Senior Vice President of Comcasts Beltway Region, in a statement. We are honored to recognize their achievements and excited to support them as they continue their educational journeys.

The scholarships were presented May 15 at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond.

Congratulations to all of the Leaders and Achievers scholarship recipients, said Atif Qarni, Virginia Secretary of Education. I am proud of each of you and your academic accomplishments, as well as your commitment to serving your community and peers. Thank you, Comcast, for recognizing these talented students and for your commitment to helping further their education with these scholarships.

Featured last year in a Culpeper Star-Exponent Academic Spotlight, Mikayla Jenkins noted among her ambitions attending Christopher Newport University and double-majoring in biomedical sciences and Spanish. Beyond college, she planned to attend medical school. Among her listed extracurricular activities were working as a volunteer EMT with Culpeper County Rescue Squad, yearbook editor, a missions trip to Ecuador and a member of the Superintendents Advisory Group.
TORRINGTON  Eastern Wyoming College is pleased to announce that Suzey Delger, director of nursing, has been selected and honored by the Casper Star-Tribune as one of the Top 10 nurses in the State of Wyoming.

Suzey is just a little fireball. She works very hard for our nursing program and is a terrific advocate for the career of nursing, said EWC President Lesley Travers. Students and staff love her and she is very well respected around Wyoming because of her passion for nursing. She gives 100% every day she is at EWC; always willing to go the extra mile. She is a team player and I am sure that is why she has been so successful in nursing and nursing education.

Delger has worked at EWC since October of 2014. During that time she has established associate degree in nursing programs (ADN) on the Douglas and now Torrington campuses. She masterfully navigated the ACEN accreditation process which allowed the program to be nationally accredited.
Local agencies are assisting a Bridgeport family displaced after a fire earlier last week.

A woman and her three children have been staying at a Bridgeport hotel after a fire on May 8, Carissa Smith of Firefighter Ministry told the Star-Herald. Smith said that the womans rental home and the family has been displaced until repairs can be made.

Smith said that the Firefighter Ministry has provided funding for lodging.

Taco Johns in Gering has also done a fundraiser for the family and reports indicate the American Red Cross has also been contacted to provide assistance.

Monetary donations can be made to Firefighter Ministry and designated for the family or can be designated for the organizations overall effort of assisting people impacted by fires or other disasters.

To date, the Firefighter Ministry has assisted with 15 fires, three more than at the same time last year, Smith Said.

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It was easy for me because Craig did most of the planning for this event, she said. We originally planned to do the roping outside, but the weather changed that.

Schadwinkel said he hoped the day would be a life learning type experience. We hope we can get the kids to maybe continue doing some of these activities after today.

To remember the trip, students received a picture of themselves riding and an autographed picture of Gorsuch to take home as souvenirs.

The kids were really excited to come here, Schadwinkel said. We spent a few days before teaching them about the activities theyd be participating in. That way they can be fully engaged and not just listen to us talk about it.

Students taking part in the event attend schools in Torrington, Southeast and Lingle-Ft Laramie, which serves all of Goshen County.

Gatch enjoys taking the Buckboard message out into the community. She recently was asked to bring their miniature horse, Wild Willie, to Gering High School to help say goodbye and happy retirement to Principal Eldon Hubbard, a horse lover.
The agreement is also an important step in normalizing trade with Japan, as Japan further aligns its import requirements with international standards for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, who sits on the Senate Ag Committee, expressed gratitude for Perdues work and said she looks forward to expanding market access for Nebraska beef.

Nebraskans produce some of the most high-quality and delicious beef in the world, Fischer said in a statement. Its great to hear that Japan has lifted the restrictions on U.S. beef exports, increasing opportunities for our states ag producers.

Fischer had previously met with Shinzo Abe in 2016 and 2017 to discuss the conditions of the export restrictions.

Dan Halstrom, president and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), said the removal of the 30-month age limit was a major step toward putting BSE in the rear view mirror.
Reenie Berry said the money Camp Scott received would be used to help pay for campers who attend the five-week day camp of 40 special needs children ages 7 to 21.

Without Camp Scott, a lot of them would sit at home and be couch potatoes, Berry said. We appreciate this and that our community is so awesome and giving.

Monica Schambaugh said the award would be used at CAPstone to help fund counseling for non-offending caregivers.

Last year, we referred 53 adults to counseling and 23 took us up on our offer, Schambaugh said. We paid $9,901.92 in providing 19 women with counseling.

Soroptimists have been long-time supporters of the DOVES program, which assists victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. Lisa Peden said the money will be used to assist with the basic needs of clients, such as legal fees and transportation.

Oftentimes, the funding we have has certain limitations, Peden said. When we receive local funding, we can meet those other needs.
Two men were arrested in Rowan County after a suspect texted a former narcotics officer seeking an update on an apparent drug deal, authorities said.

The text sparked a joint narcotics investigation involving the Rowan County Sheriffs Office Crime Reduction Unit, RCSO Special Investigations Unit and the Salisbury Police Departments Narcotics Unit that resulted in the arrest of two men and the seizure of 4.1 grams of suspected crystal methamphetamine.

Brandon Ferguson, 28, of Salisbury, was charged with possession with intent to sell/distribute a Schedule II controlled substance, conspiracy to sell and deliver Schedule II controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is currently on probation for burglary and also has convictions for burglary, breaking and entering and robbery, a release stated.

Josiah Hurst, 27, of Salisbury was charged with conspiracy to sell and deliver a Schedule II controlled substance. Each received a $20,000 secured bond, a release stated.
It turned from day to night as graduates from Mitchell Community College were recognized during commencement Friday evening. The front of Mitchells campus, affectionately known as The Circle, was flooded with families, friends and students eager to receive that hallowed piece of paper.

As Pomp and Circumstance filled the air, students and faculty filled out in procession as guests clamored to spot their loved ones. Cheers and well wishes nearly drowned out the ceremonial music as the few hundred graduates took their seats.

See all the photos at the bottom of this article

Dr. Ralph Bentley welcomed guests and introduced the Board of Trustees followed by a performance of Closer to the Flame by the Mitchell Chorus. President of Mitchell College Dr. James Brewer began his address to graduates with some advice.

Your willingness to continue and learn will be a key to your success, he said.

Dr. Brewer also presented the Presidents Award to Jessica Scarborough. He explained the award is given to students who display exceptional commitment to their education and praised her for pursuing a fine arts degree, especially while being a busy mother.
An armed and dangerous man wanted for larceny was still on the loose in Alexander County as of 5 p.m. Friday, according to Alexander County Sheriff Chris Bowman.

Marty Teague, 40, of Taylorsville was last seen around 2:30 p.m. Friday at the end of Telephone Exchange Road, which is off N.C. 127 Highway. Bowman said police believe he has a pistol.

Teague has warrants for his arrest in connection to a probation violation and larceny. Bowman said he is suspected of stealing a car and using it to drive to a house in Alexander County to steal tools and other items.

Alexander County Schools issued the precautionary code-in at 2:55 p.m. and deputies quickly secured the campus, according to Alexander County Schools Public Affairs Director Renee Meade.

Meade said students were dismissed and buses are on their routes, but the school has afterschool programs until 6 p.m. and will remain on code-in.

According to the Alexander County Schools website, a code-in is issued when there is law enforcement activity in the area but no immediate danger to students or staff. Students are kept inside classrooms until told otherwise.

This story was updated at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 17.
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Chairman of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE, junior coalition partner) Calin Popescu Tariceanu argues that due to the lack of "control and balance" mechanisms, untrained people and with "a mentality of communist prosecutors" were placed in key positions in Justice.

"The lack of control and balance mechanisms of the democratic institutions has led to these serious slippages also due to the fact that in key positions in Justice came people who have this mentality of communist prosecutors, formed during the communist dictatorship. (...) When you have a prosecutor like Lazar [former prosecutor general, ed.n.], when you have a prosecutor like Kovesi [former chief prosecutor of the National Anti-corruption Directorate, ed.n.], who express frustration with the decisions they make to investigate some people or others, what has come up in the last week is hallucinatory. To hand over (...) to untrained people, to people with mental issues the destiny of others, look what's happening," Tariceanu told a press conference.

He emphasized that corruption must be combated, but by legal means, not by "television justice".

"Corruption must be combated, but with legal means and emphasis should be placed on the preventive component, not as was in our case, all sorts of gregarious feelings stirred up, with justice on TV, with people walking in front of televisions with shackles, and many times after that, people being accused, as it has happened to me, others arrested were found to be innocent. These slippages are not part of what we call the rule of law or a civilized country, a member state of the EU. (...) By doing justice in such a way, we look like a third world country," Tariceanu said.

AGERPRES
Chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL) Ludovic Orban said on Saturday that at the turn of the 30th anniversary since the Revolution (the Romanian Revolution of December 1989, ed.n.), the party's mission is to bring the country of free Romanians.

"This year is the thirtieth anniversary since we took out to the streets with courage facing the repression forces of the communist regime. The revolution is not over. This year, 30 years after the Revolution, we have the holy mission to complete the Revolution and bring Romania to free, honest Romanians, to the hard-working people, to the fair-minded people, to the people who love their country, who want this country to rise. I call by our side all goodwill Romanians to believe in PNL, in the chance they have to bring Romania to the forefront," said Ludovic Orban at the PNL electoral rally in Victoria Square.

The Liberal leader also urged those present to vote "yes" at the referendum for "an honest Romania".

Attending the PNL's electoral rally in Bucharest were National Liberal Party leaders, including Chairman Ludovic Orban, Secretary General Robert Sighiartau, floor leader of the Chamber of Deputies Raluca Turcan, Senators Florin Citu, Mayors Mircea Hava, Gheorghe Falca, Emil Boc. President Klaus Iohannis also gave a speech.

The participants carried the Romanian national flags and EU flags as well as the party's insignia. On the occasion of the event, PNL launched the new party anthem.

AGERPRES
Prime Minister Viorica Dancila on Saturday called for the respect of traditional values and symbols, asking for "decency in promoting messages in public space".

The prime minister emphasizes that the denigration of national symbols and their association in a defamatory manner, as well as the radicalization of the public talk, contribute to the division of society and seriously harm Romania's image.

"I have always worn and will proudly wear the national ie [Romanian traditional blouse, ed.n.], one of the most beautiful metaphors of the Romanian soul. Our ancestors have passed down the traditional costume from generation to generation, as part of the identity dowry of the Romanian people. I am profoundly grieved by the unspeakable manner in which the Romanian costume is denigrated. I urge all women to proudly wear the Romanian ie, to give a signal to those who soil Romania's image. It is our duty and our responsibility to respect the Romanian blouse and all the traditional Romanian symbols. I strongly condemn the defamation of the traditional symbols, the radicalization of the public talk and the attempt to divide the Romanian society. Irrespective of the political principles we promote, such actions must cease," the prime minister affirmed, according to a press release from the Government.

AGERPRES
Chairman of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE, junior coalition partner) Calin Popescu Tariceanu stated on Saturday in Botosani that the European Parliament "is not a gathering of nuns, but "a place where interests clash."

Tariceanu states that Romania must be placed on the same footing as other European countries, stressing that all ALDE MEPs will have the mission to promote Romania's image and defend its interests.

"Surely the European Parliament is not a gathering of nuns. It is a place where interests clash. All countries know how to promote their interests and defend them. This is what I would like my colleagues to do so that Romania is not considered as it is now, a second rank country. I want Romania to be considered on the same footing with the other European countries. We are their equals," said the ALDE leader.

He argued that there are Romanian MEPs who "denigrate" Romania's image in the European Parliament.

"In the European Parliament, the decisions that are being made have begun to target our everyday lives, but I wouldn't want us to go to the European Parliament with a bent backbone. I want us to go with our heads held high to show Europe just as Romania is, a rich country, a country with diligent people, a country that is worthy of their respect. I am very sad that some of those who represent Romania in the European Parliament today only denigrate Romania, slander the country and the people they represents there. I believe we are the only ones to pull such a number in the European Parliament. I have not seen any other MP from another European country to go there and speak ill of their own country and their own people," added the ALDE leader.

Calin Popescu Tariceanu urged the members of the party he is leading to show, through the result of the elections to the European Parliament, that ALDE is a force, so that the party has chances both in the presidential elections and in the local and parliamentary elections.

"If you want us to achieve a good result in the presidential race, if you want me to have a real chance in the presidential race and if you want next year to have as many representatives as possible in the local power structures, at the level of the County Council, president, vice president, county advisors, mayors and advisors in mayoralties, then let's show in this competition that is due in eight days that we are indeed a force," Tariceanu concluded.
BRIDGETON  A Taco Bell employee has been fired after she made Islamophobic statements to a customer whose video of her profane comments went viral on social media.

The man was ordering food from a Taco Bell at 12420 St. Charles Rock Road to eat before beginning daily fast during Ramadan, a holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal for Muslims.

The Missouri chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Taco Bell to apologize for the employee's "obscene rant."

I am utterly appalled by this ugly display of anti-Muslim bigotry and ignorance, said Faizan Syed, executive director of CAIR-Missouri. Taco Bell needs to take this incident seriously, apologize to the customer and immediately implement cultural competency training for all of their staff.

A video of the encounter the man posted to Twitter received thousands of views. He said he went to the Taco Bell after work to order food and had a long conversation with the employee, during which she insisted "ALL Muslims are terrorists." The man could not be reached Friday for comment.
He knew hed be asked to resign if the affair was discovered, the report says. He denied treating the supervisor differently because of the affair, said it did not adversely affect the office and said the complaints were likely coming from a few malcontents.

Wigginton announced his resignation in November 2015, saying he was going to join the Clayton-based firm Armstrong Teasdale.

He told investigators that he applied for retirement before becoming aware of the investigation, and said that the affair was not a misuse of government time, because the high performance records of the office speak for themselves.

The supervisor also acknowledged the affair and said it was consensual.

The report, however, says that because Wigginton supervised the woman, the power imbalance undermined the consensual nature of the relationship.

The Office of the Inspector General concluded that Wigginton engaged in ethical misconduct and violated regulations and policy against sexual harassment. Investigators found several of his claims to be deeply concerning, and said they showed a lack of full acceptance of responsibility for his misconduct.
Bridge repairs: Allows state to borrow $301 million to repair more than 200 bridges across the state. (SCR 14)

Simons Law: Restricts health care staff from executing a do not resuscitate order for children without verbal or written consent from at least one parent. (HB 138)

School start date: Bars school districts from starting classes earlier than 14 days before the first Monday of September. (HB 604)
The five-month session marked Parsons second significant challenge as governor. While he had largely succeeded in stabilizing state government after the Greitens turmoil, he hadnt yet navigated a session from the second floor.

Parson, a former member of the House and Senate, put that experience to use in his dealings with lawmakers. And, he put together a staff that also brought experience to the table.

His team, assembled on the fly after the departure of Greitens, proved deft in working the marble-lined corridors of the House and Senate.

Led by chief of staff Aaron Willard and chief legislative director Justin Alferman, the duo sent sometimes recalcitrant lawmakers a strong message: Parson was not going to budge on certain issues, so either get on board or step to the side.
MARYLAND HEIGHTS  Police here are seeking information in the death of a man who was found unconscious Wednesday at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre minutes after a Dave Matthews Band concert ended.

The man, 44, died Thursday, apparently of a head injury, Maryland Heights police said. Police are investigating the incident as a suspicious death.

Theater medical personnel were notified shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday that a man was unconscious on the concrete pathway between the lawn and house seating area, police said. He was treated at the scene and taken to a hospital, where he died.

Police did not release more details. They asked anyone with information to call Maryland Heights police at 314-298-8700.

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ST. LOUIS COUNTY  Missouri American Water officials on Sunday lifted a precautionary boil advisory that had been issued Saturday.

A failed water quality test in the Webster Groves area prompted officials on Saturday to issue the advisory for a portion of St. Louis County.

Water quality tests completed Sunday showed the water is safe, officials said.

About 59,000 customers were affected in an area that ran roughly from Glendale, Shrewsbury and Webster Groves south to the intersection of Interstate 270 and Interstate 55, east to the St. Louis city border, west to I-270 in Sunset Hills.
Future payments to the city for work in the Third Ward also will trickle in more slowly. The citys January agreement called for annual payments of $500,000, paid from the larger TIF account. Now, payments of $200,000 a year will cover much of the remaining $12 million for the Third Ward. Most of the payments will come from revenue that flows to University City via the sales tax pool. The developer would backstop those payments with up to $92,000 in TIF revenue if the amounts fall below the $200,000 threshold.

The rest will be covered by increases in taxes in the Third Ward and along Olive Boulevard. Before, most of the $15 million would have come from new revenues generated by the development rather than the nearby neighborhood.

Ultimately, it really just came down to a reduced amount on the front end, but with the expectation that the revenue will be produced over time, said Novus Development President Jonathan Browne.

City Manager Gregory Rose couldnt be reached for comment. But officials plan to hold a press conference about the new agreement at University City Hall at 9 a.m. Monday morning. The bill authorizing the new development agreement is scheduled to be introduced at the May 28 meeting of the City Council.
Milanos #SexStrike has drawn fire from feminists, because it casts female sexuality as a commodity to be bartered. It also pushes the false narrative that the abortion-rights battle lines are drawn primarily along gender lines.

To that Id add another complaint: Strategically, its incoherent.

In Lysistrata, the men being denied sex are the same men doing the fighting, which is why they can be, um, incentivized to stop.

The modern equivalent of those ancient soldiers would be anti-abortion-rights Republican legislators in places like Missouri, Georgia and Alabama. But does anyone imagine that any of these men are married to women who might join Milanos strike? If not, then all youve got is Milano and other strongly pro-choice women refusing to have sex with their own (presumably pro-choice) male partners.

It begs a too-common question with liberal movements: What the heck is the strategy here?
Trumps earlier pardons of Arpaio and DSouza were meant as a thumb in the eye to political norms and a gift to the worst elements of his base, which delighted in seeing these avowed deplorables be rewarded for their bigotry.

Trumps pardon Wednesday of Black, a close friend and slavish supporter of the president, is more personal. Blacks columns for years have lavished Trump with personal praise  the currency this president holds most dear. Blacks book, Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other, came out last year and is exactly what it sounds like.

I wont forget! Trump tweeted gratefully in 2015, in response to one of Blacks public compliments. Never mind that Black, a British citizen, was sentenced to prison in the U.S. in 2007, serving three years, then was deported, for swindling millions of dollars from investors.
Russia continues to play catchup when it comes to developing and manufacturing battlefield UAVs. Russia entered the 1990s dubious about American and Israeli enthusiasm for these new unmanned aircraft, in part because Russia did not have the tech to build comparable models. That was less the case twenty years later and recent experience in Syria has convinced Russia that it is time to close the UAV gap. The latest example of this is the Korsar UAV, which is similar to the U.S. Army RQ-7 Shadow 200, a 1980s design that has been so useful that several attempts to develop a suitable replacement have failed. The Russian equivalent will go on sale late in 2019. Korsar is a 200 kg (440 pound) propeller-driven UAV with a 6.5 meter (20 foot) wingspan and a top speed of 150 kilometers an hour. It is, in just about every respect, identical to the RQ-7. Korsar can operate up to 120 kilometers from the control station

The RQ-7B has been one of the most heavily used medium UAVs in American service. Each 200 kg RQ-7BV2 UAV costs over $2,000,000 and over 500 have been manufactured since 1990. A day camera and night vision camera is carried as well as accessories like laser designators. Able to fly as high as 4,900 meters (15,000 feet), the Shadow can go into hostile territory and stay high enough (over 3,200 meters/10,000 feet) to be safe from hostile rifle and machine-gun fire. The Shadow can carry 25.5 kg (56 pounds) of equipment, and is 3.5 meters (11 feet) long with a wingspan of 4.1 meters (12.75 feet). The Shadow ground controller has a range of about 50 kilometers. The U.S. Army has had great success with the Shadow 200, which is what caught the attention of foreign customers and led to several export sales.

In Syria Russian made UAVs have, since late 2015, flown 140,000 hours during over 23,000 sorties. Most of this was done with recent Russian UAV designs like the 16.5 kg Orlan 10, plus the 500 kg Forpost, a license-built Israeli Searcher 2. Another Russian firm introduced Orion, a Russian version of the American Predator, in 2017. This is a one ton UAV with a 200 kg payload and 24 hour endurance. In 2018 an armed version (Orion-E) was introduced. Russia also builds, under license, the S-100 helicopter UAV. Russia is replacing these license built models with local designs now that Russia has developed the engines, commo gear and sensors needed to make modern UAVs work.

Russia is also adapting its UAVs for civilian uses as well as military service. In 2018 Russia began using a new version of the Leer 3 Orlan 10 UAV mounted cell phone jammer that increases the range of the jammer from 28 kilometers to about 100 kilometers. The cell phone jammer version of Orlan 10 first appeared in 2016 as one of several EW (electronic warfare) accessories for Orlan 10. The Leer 3 accessory turned the aircraft into the equivalent of a cell phone tower, or a cell phone tower detector and jammer. Troops with the proper equipment and software can use the Orlan 10 to send and receive text, voice and images (including video). This system works with another Orlan 10 accessory; the RB-341V (Leer-3) that will precisely locate cell phone towers and can also jam those within six to 28 kilometers. Locating the towers is important because troops on the ground can then destroy or capture the equipment. Artillery or airstrikes can, with an accurate location, destroy the cell phone gear remotely. Ukrainian troops have observed two or three Orlan 10s operating together with one operating as a communications relay so that one or two others can operate farther (210 kilometers rather than the usual 120 kilometers) from the operators usually with one doing photo reconnaissance while the other carries a jammer. Ukrainian troops have come to realize when they see a pair of Oran 10s overhead, it means their cell phones are about to become unusable and after that, they will be hit with an attack they wont be able to report immediately. Ukrainian troops have found using cell phones is more effective for battlefield communications than the usual AM or FM military radios. That is only true if there are enough cell phone towers working in the area and the Russian UAVs are not nearby jamming the signals.

These EW capabilities are nothing new, American aircraft have had this stuff since the early 2000s. Its not particularly high tech but it does represent a unique aspect of modern warfare in which cell phone networks often continue to function on modern battlefields and, if the commercial networks dont, the military can employ a temporary one largely suited to their own use. Russia has, since the 1990s, made quite a lot of money exporting military-grade electronic weapons. They dont have the latest stuff but are willing to provide gear that is still restricted to military use in the West. Orlan 10, with its larger payload, can carry more of the EW accessories along with the usual cameras.

The Orlan 10 is one of two modern UAV designs Russia is known to have and used heavily in Ukraine, Syria and for border patrol in Russia. Earlier in 2018, Russia announced the availability of the Orlan-10E. This is the latest version of the Orlan 10 but available to for export. That means any evidence of classified equipment can be equipped with while in Russian service. Otherwise, Orlan 10E is identical to the latest version Russian forces use in Ukraine, Syria and elsewhere but has much better performance. Orlan 10E weighs about 15 kilograms (33 pounds) and has a maximum takeoff weight of 19 kg. Max payload is six kilograms (13 pounds) and that involves kinds of electronic or recon equipment, including infrared cameras, or an array of multiple cameras used for creating 3-dimensional maps. Its gasoline engine provides a cruise speed of 90 to 150 kilometers an hour, a service ceiling of about 5 kilometers, and a flight endurance of up to 16 hours (depending on the weight of payload). Max range from the operator is 300 kilometers.

Together with control and launch equipment, and three UAVs an Orlan-10 "system" costs about half a million dollars. The aircraft is launched via a portable, folding catapult, and lands by shutting down the engine and deploying a parachute. Orlan 10 entered service in 2012 and has been used extensively in combat zones like Ukraine and Syria. Orlan 10 has also been put to use in the Russian Far East for patrolling borders as well as coastal waters. Orlan 10 can operate in extreme cold. The Orlan 10E was used (tested) in Armenia, which has Russian peacekeeping troops known to be using the regular Orlan 10 but Armenian troops are also using it now. Orlan 10 has been seen along the Afghan border (used by Russian troops stationed in neighboring Tajikistan).

About a dozen Orlan 10s have been lost in eastern Ukraine and nearby Crimea since 2014, along with at least four of the larger Forpost UAVs. Five were shot down by Ukrainian troops while the others crashed because of equipment problems. At least as many have been lost in Syria, where a Turkish F-16 shot down one that crossed into Turkey. Various rebel factions have reported shooting them down and some have been lost to accidents. Photos of the wreckage show similar components and serial numbers that indicate that up to a thousand Orlan 10s have been built since 2012. It has been Russias most effective, reliable and affordable UAV so far.

Russia is using this combat experience to help export sales of Orlan 10 and the two new electronic warfare features as well as the new Orlan 30. The larger "30" model is based on the Orlan 10, entered service in 2017. This larger Orlan 30 is similar in shape to the existing Orlan 10 but is larger and still taking off and landing like the Orlan 10. The Orlan 30 weighs 27 kg (60 pounds) with a max payload of 7 kg (15.5 pounds). Orlan 30 has a pusher (propeller in the rear) propulsion while the Orlan 10 has the propeller up front. Orlan 30 also uses a gasoline engine that provides a top speed of 170 kilometers an hour and cruise speed of 150. Max range from a controller and video transmission is 300 kilometers but since max endurance is five hours it is possible to program a course and have video captured onboard. The shorter endurance of Orlan 30 compared to Orlan 10 has limited use of Orlan 30 and, to remedy that, the manufacturer is trying to increase endurance to at least ten hours.

One problem with the Orlans is the miniature gasoline engine it uses. Orlan 30 uses a similar gasoline engine to the German one used in Orlan 10. This use of foreign engines was discovered when Orlan 10s that crashed and were recovered by Ukrainian troops all appeared to be using a German engine sold widely for use by hobbyists. This is not unusual as manufacturers of equipment that can use COTS (commercial off the shelf) components buy from whoever can provide the right part for the right price. With the sanctions, Russia is forced to get a lot of COTS components, especially mechanical and electronic, from China. But when it comes to engines of all sizes, Germany is still the place to look first. Russia is trying to replicate that technology but so far has had little success.

The EW (electronic warfare) payloads for Orlan 10 are Russian designed and manufactured. In addition to cell phone jammers, locators and detectors the reconnaissance payloads include a gyrostabilized thermal imager and detectors for military radios as well as commercial ones (and walkies talkies). Orlan 10 has a jam resistant radio link and can be equipped with a satellite link. The navigation system also includes an INS backup and a return home option if normal communications are lost. Another new payload is one for CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) weapons detection. The Orlan 10 has to fly low (under 200 meters) to get the best results from the CBRN detector. Normal operating altitude is 1,000 meters and up to 5,000 meters or 16,000 feet.

Russia is hoping that one of the new designs, like Korsar or Orion, will prove as reliable and affordable as the Orlan but so far the Orlan is still the best they have.
An alligator blocks potential air traffic on the runway at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., May 9, 2019. The alligator was escorted off of the flight line by members of the 6th Air Mobility Wing Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) program. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kory McLellan)

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Delegation on visit to Cambodia

EPCH delegation with senior minister, Ministry of Industry & Handicrafts, Kingdom of Cambodia, Cham Prasidh, Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Shantmanu, Director, R.K. Verma and other prominent member exporters.

DIMAPUR, MAY 18 | Publish Date: 5/18/2019 12:29:43 PM IST

A high level delegation led by Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Shantmanu along with prominent exporters from Moradabad, Agra, Khurja, Delhi and North Eastern Region are on a visit to Cambodia to study the various techniques of the innovative product development, infrastructure developed for the mass production and affiliation with the different design institutions, trade bodies for enhancement of mass production in the country.

The objective of the delegation visit is to understand various techniques of product development, production infrastructure, design institutions and other institutional support available to the artisans and exporters of gifts, decorative, crafts, furniture etc. in Cambodia. The visit is also to explore the possibility of future joint ventures and synergize the strengths of each other. The delegation would be visiting the factories/units pertaining to production of ceramics, natural fibre products (Cane & Bamboo, Rattan, Grass, Palm Fibre, Water hyacinth etc.).

EPCH delegation met senior minister, Ministry of Industry & Handicrafts, Kingdom of Cambodia, Cham Prasidh along with Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Shantmanu, director, R.K. Verma and other prominent member exporters including Jesmina Zeliang, Naveed Ur Rehman, S. P. Dadoo, Subhash Chandra Verma, Bhaskar Sharma and Narendra Borah.

The delegation called upon ambassador, embassy of India in Cambodia, H.E. Manika Jain and discussed the purpose of the visit and way forward. They also visited different craft clusters to see the range of products being produced by the Cambodian manufacturers
Kia ora and welcome to Saturday!

The weather forecast is showing a fine start to the day, then cloudy periods developing in the late morning with northwest breezes. Its a two-clothing layer day with an expected high of 17 degrees, and an overnight low of 12 degrees.

On Sunday May 19 were expecting morning cloud with a chance of showers, then fine for the remainder of the day. The week ahead is generally fine with light winds.

In Te Puke today from 11am  3pm, the much-awaited Te Puke Throwdown  National Dance Battle is happening. This National Youth Week event will be held at the Jubilee Park and will showcase some of NZs best street dancers as they battle for supremacy. There will also be a car being covered in graffiti street art, dance workshops and plenty of fun and food. More here

Today you can come and get a free rat trap from Sydenham Botanic Park in Millers Rd, Brookfield between 2 and 4pm. You'll also get to meet the local Otumoetai Predator Free community leader Mark Simpson and pick his brains for trapping advice. More information here

Shakti in the Park are holding an event at Coronation Park, Mount Maunganui from 10am  2pm. Come and celebrate Taurangas growing cultural diversity. More information here

Mike Maynards exhibition Coloured Images opens today at The Incubator Creative Hub, Tauranga Historic Village starting at 11am. More here

US artist and animator Dash Shaw will be speaking at the Tauranga Art Gallery today at 10.30am. His most recent film animation, My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea, is showing as part of the Mega World exhibition; Anti-heroes. Check it out here

The Wahine Riders are embarking on a memorial ride in memory of Hiria McRae who died in a motorcycle accident. The ride will also be an opportunity to collect funds for Womens Refuge, a charity that Hiria was passionate about. Hirias Memorial Ride will go from Maketu to Rotorua. More here

The Education Expo 2019 opens today at 10am at the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre, cnr 11th Ave and Devonport Rd, and runs until 3pm. Door entry is $5 for adults and free for children. There will be food stalls, bouncy castle, entertainment and place space, as well as exhibitors, books and a childrens author. For more information click here

Bethlehem Tertiary Institute are holding their graduation today with a procession starting at 1.30pm along Devonport Rd and the ceremony at the Holy Trinity Church starting at 2pm. For more information about graduation day visit: www.bti.ac.nz/gradday.html

Western Bay of Plenty District Council are hosting a two-hour worm composting workshop from 1pm-3pm today. More details here

Tauranga Rowing Club are holding their prizegiving event today at WatersEdge Lounge at the Tauranga Rowing Club. Doors open at 3.30pm. Check out more information here

The Gym in First Ave are hosting the Women's Street Smart Self Defence Workshop today and tomorrow. The two day workshop runs from 10.30am  4.30pm both days. To find out more click here

For more of whats happening today see below:

Art On The Strand

Original art for sale. The Strand, Tauranga. Weather permitting. 9-4. Tauranga Society of Artists.

Bay Network Singles Club

Single, over 50? For weekend dinners, barbeques, outings. Ph Jonathan 572 2091, Maureen 021 112 3307

Car Boot Sale

Tauranga South Community Patrol Car Boot Sale Greerton Village School 151 Greerton Rd Setup 7am. Single site $5, Double $10. Ph Jude 281 2389 or 021 185 0586

Car Boot Sale

Fundraiser Carboot Sale - all proceeds towards building a school in Kenya. May 18th, BTI carpark. $20 entry on the day. Coffee/sausage sizzle available.

Ed Byrne Comedy Show

Irishman, Ed Byrne, is back with a brand new show Spoiler Alert. 7:30pm Baycourt. Go on, spoil yourself! Tickets & info at www.baycourt.co.nz

Exhibition - Elizabeth Haider

Many Facets. Elizabeth Haider, sculptor, print maker, painter & weaver at The Incubator Gallery. Opens at 11am. Runs until 26th May

Exhibition 'The Incredible World'

Beautiful resin art by Svetlana Kloogh. Must see! Solo Exhibition at The Art Lounge NZ Gallery, 117 Willow Street. Tue-Sat 11am-4pm

Free First Home Seminar

Free First Home buyers seminar @ the Smart Business Centre: 65 Chapel St, Tauranga. Saturday 18th May, industry specialists talking about the process to first home buying.

Galilee Mission Concert

Fund raising concert for Galilee Seamens Mission at St Andrews Church Macville Rd, Mt Maunganui, at 2pm

Greerton Hall Market

Last Saturday of the month. 8am-12pm. Stalls inside/outside. Discounts for charity groups. Refreshments available. Ph/txt for site. Tricia 543 1487 or 027 908 2952, www facebook.com/greertonhallmarket

Jam Session/Open Mic

3rd Saturday of every month at Mount RSA. All genres welcome. Backing band available. Keith Dickson 021 170 239

Jigsaw Puzzle Library

10am-12 noon. Choose from of 300 puzzles. Hire $1 per 1000+ puzzle, 50c under 1000. Cnr Highmore Tce & Brookfield Tce. Ph 576 0698

LOL Laughter Wellness

We dont laugh because were happy, were happy because we laugh! Come join us. Arataki Community Ctr, Zambuk Way, Mt Maunganui. 11-11.45am. Ph: Trish 0220366768 or Email: lollaughterwellness@gmail.com

Mike Maynard - Coloured Images

Exhibition- The Peoples Gallery -Toi ka rere. Opens 11am, runs until Sat 25th May. All proceeds to Stroke Foundation.

Petanque

1pm Tuesday & Saturday 45 Kawaka St, Club Mt Maunganui. No Equipment needed, come & try this low-impact sport. Jo Ann 578 3606

Tanya Batt Book Launch

12pm-1pm at QE Youth Centre, 11th Ave. Tanyas new book, The Time Of Your Life. Free admission.

Taoist Tai Chi

Beginners Tai Chi classes Mon-Sat, 15 Koromiko St, Tauranga. Also KatiKati, Mount, Papamoa & Te Puke. For times visit www.taoist.org or ph 578 9116

Taoist Tai Chi Tauranga

Beginners Class: 8:30-10am, at 15 Koromiko St, Judea. All welcome to join in any time. Great for stress, balance, flexibility. Friendly group. Ph 578 9116

Tauranga Synchronised Swimming Club

Have a go at synchro! Beginners train Saturday mornings at Baywave. Supportive & friendly environment. First lesson free. Ph Jo 027 543 1697, www.taurangasynchro.co.nz.

Te Puke Scottish Society

Monthly dance, War Memorial Hall, 7.30-11pm, Saturday 18th May. Air conditioned hall, great supper, meet other dancers, live band. Subs due. Ph: Valerie 573 7093

The Sociables

A group for females & males in their 30s, 40s, 50s that meet up to dine out or participate in local activities. email tamizan.nanji@gmail.com

Women's Self Defence Workshop

Two day workshop Sat & Sun 10:30-4:30 at The Gym, 107 1st Ave. 13+ years. Ph Charlie 027 368 9245 or info@selfdefencecourses.co.nz
Kiwibanks decision to go cheque-free in nine months will pose problems for many Coromandel seniors says MP for Coromandel Scott Simpson.

This decision will impact on those people who still use cheques or find them more convenient than online banking.

Kiwibank has announced it will go cheque-free from February 28 2020.

Over the nine-month transition period, the New Zealand-owned bank has committed to supporting impacted customers as they move to faster, safer, and cheaper payment options.

Its true most people dont use cheques these days but in an area like the Coromandel there are still a surprisingly large number who do, says Scott.

Im always amazed how many mostly seniors tell me they dont use computers, dont have the internet and dont use smart phones. Whats more they are usually very adamant they dont want to make change.

Kiwibank CEO Steve Jurkovich acknowledges that stopping the cheque service wasnt an easy decision to make.

However, for the past five years, the use of cheques has been steadily declining, says Steve.

With less than one percent of Kiwibank payments now made by cheque, weve come to a tipping point. Weve chosen not to invest in a shrinking service and outdated technology, instead were moving forward and equipping customers for a world that is increasingly digital.

Last month Kiwibank partnered with Digital Inclusion Alliance Aotearoa and is supporting Stepping UP, an initiative that provides free, community-based training that works to build digital skills and knowledge in communities.

Online tools can offer a more convenient and cheaper customer experience, but there can be barriers to usage. This new partnership is about making sure all Kiwis have the same opportunity to build their online skills, feel more included and gain confidence. It will also mean they have access to cheaper and faster financial products and be confident they are doing so securely, says Steve.

Scott says that at the last election, Coromandel had the largest number of plus 65 year old voters enrolled of any electorate in New Zealand.

So the impact on people here will be greater than in other parts of the country, says Scott.

I would have preferred Kiwibank just let those who wanted to keep using cheques do so even if they had to pay a higher fee.

Kiwibank has worked with Stepping UP to design and develop online banking training. The free banking workshops will be piloted in several regions before going nationwide through Stepping UPs 120 community partners. Training venues include public libraries, schools, and community centres around the country.

Not everybody has or wants access to internet banking, says Scott. In some parts of the Coromandel there is no reliable internet coverage, so its not much use Kiwibank offering training on how to do online banking if there is no online.

Customers who have used the cheque product over the past year will be receiving personal letters advising them of the change. Kiwibank will also work with business customers and large cheque issuers, including government departments, through the nine-month transition period.

How the phasing out of cheques will work:

 After 30 September 2019 Kiwibank wont issue cheque or deposit books.

 After 28 February 2020 cheque deposits will not be accepted into a Kiwibank customer account; other banks may stop accepting Kiwibank cheques.

 After 28 February 2020 Kiwibank will stop providing Bank Cheques.

For more information on the change customers can visit: https://www.kiwibank.co.nz/cheques.

I am worried that Kiwibanks decision will lead to other banks following suit, says Scott.

What it will mean for some people is that they will revert to cash and that has security and safety issues for seniors as well.
The best of NZs street dancers are battling it out for supremacy in Te Puke today.

The much-anticipated Te Puke Throwdown  National Dance Battle is happening in Te Puke all day with plenty of food, fun, dance workshops and a car being covered in graffiti street art.

The free all-ages competition is being held in conjunction with youth week 2019 which is running from May 18 to May 26. This years youth week theme is We are more than you see He wai hohonu a matou (literally, we are deep waters, thus referring to unseen depths).

Steve Fawcett from Vector Group says they are hoping to strengthen youth engagement and inclusivity and celebrate diversity. They also hope to strengthen the collaboration of the Te Puke community alongside youth service providers and to others.

The competition will see two categories, groups and singles, battle it out for cash prizes.

Entertainment includes free dance workshops with John Happyfeet Vaifale and Renee Sharp, all styles and breaking, and an open jam session.

We have some amazing talent coming so its going to be very entertaining, says Steve.

A live band will also be playing at the event, along with live DJs.

Steve says it is a celebration in dance and is multi-generational family event which is unique to Te Puke. He says they wanted to establish an event that could lead to an annual youth event held in Te Puke and could be replicated to other towns.

This National Youth Week event is being held at the Jubilee Park from 11am  3pm.
Bay of Plenty

The civil season is about to kick off here in Tauranga and we have positions for 2 class 2 truck drivers who would be interested...



View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz
Kia ora and welcome to Sunday!

The weather forecast is for morning cloud and a chance of showers, then fine for the remainder of the day, with westerlies easing in the evening. Temperatures are expected to reach a high of 19 and an overnight low of 9 degrees. On Monday night, the temperature is expected to reach a low of 7 degrees.

The weather forecast for most of the week is fine during the day with light winds and overnight temperatures between 7 and 10 degrees.

There are many activities on today, so lets go enjoy them!

Dressage Tauranga are holding an Open Arena Rally at Tauranga Racecourse from 10am  1pm. They will also have an arena set up for people to ride in. Come down for some fun and meet members. Cost to non-members is $5. Information here

Ninja Knits are hooking up at The Incubator Creative Hub from 9am  12noon. This is a fun and very social collective of mad yarn bombes, sultry stitchers, happy hookers and arty nutters who meet to inspire each other with their knitting and crochet work. Its free and anyone is welcome to come

Today from 10am  12pm, come and support leading orthopaedic research in New Zealand to help keep people moving and active by walking around the Tauranga Domain for 5km or stroll the athletic track for 1km. Enjoy a great morning with friends, and hear from the experts in orthopaedic surgery and research. There will be spot prizes, and light refreshments will be provided. Registrations start at 9am. More here

The Mount Maunganui Beach Dune Planting Day runs from 10am  12noon. Look out for the Coast Care flag, approximately 150 metres from the Omanu shops heading east.

A mountain of 2400 used plastic bottles is being created at the Omanu Surf Club beach today between 12noon and 2pm. For more information on this please click here.

Bay of Plenty Symphonia opens the 2019 season at Baycourt today with Masterworks, a concert featuring three well-known works from classical masters. Top of the bill is Rachmaninovs hugely popular 2nd Piano Concerto featuring up-and-coming local pianist, Noelle Dannenbring, playing Baycourts Steinway piano. Read more here

Mike Maynards exhibition Coloured Images is on today from 10am  1pm at The Incubator Creative Hub, Tauranga Historic Village. More here

Opening today at The Incubator Creative Hub is Many Facets - 2D and 3D works by artist Elizabeth Haider. Opening preview is at 11am. More here

The Gym in First Ave are hosting the Women's Street Smart Self Defence Workshop today and tomorrow. The two day workshop runs from 10.30am  4.30pm both days. To find out more click here

The Gate Pa Tennis Club are hosting the Sunday Sets Unisex Tennis Competition from 1pm  5pm at 1 Rimu St, Tauranga. This is a short format singles tennis tournament, with competitors battling it out over one set to six games. Find out more here

A thought for today from John A Passaro  I drop kindness pebbles in still water every day,

and I watch the effect they have on other peoples lives. My favorite kindness pebbles are compliments. Drop a compliment and watch the ripple effect that it has in your life.

For other activities on today:

Accordion-Keyboard

Old time music-makers. Welcome Bay hall 1-4pm. $3 entry & Ladies a plate please. All welcome. Ph Ces or Joy 544 3849

Bible Seminar

1:45pm Greerton Senior Citizens Hall, Maitland St, Greerton. Title: Johns Baptism - Preparing people for the Lord. Interactive, Q&A. All welcome. Vic 543 0504

Computer Club (Tga) Inc

At Art & Craft Centre, Elizabeth St West on last Sunday of month 9:30-12:30. Ph 572 1230

Croquet

Tauranga Domain, Cameron Rd, 12:45 for 1pm start, Sun, Tues, Fri. Beginners welcome. Peter 571 0633

Free First Home Seminar

Free First Home buyers seminar @ the Smart Business Centre: 65 Chapel St, Tauranga. Saturday 19th May, industry specialists talking about the process to first home buying.

Friendship Force Travel Club

Enjoy travel? Retired perhaps? For something different, be home-hosted world-wide &/or home-host international visitors throughout the year. Ph Jonathan 572 2091, Barbara 574 5711

Historic Village Market

1st & 3rd Sunday every month. 17th Ave Tauranga. 8-12 wet or fine. Crafts, plants, health, merchandise, food. A Bethlehem Lions Project.

Living Well Church

10am, Papamoa Community Centre. We are of different backgrounds & ages, joining together to celebrate the life we have in Jesus.

Maketu Market

3rd and 5th Sundays 7am-12pm, Maketu Village Green. Ph Carolyn 027 251 0388 or Pat 021 447 420

Masterworks Orchestral Concert

Bay of Plenty Symphonia with soloist Noelle Dannenbring in Rachmaninov 2nd Piano Concerto, also Brahms and Verdi. Baycourt, 3pm. Go to www.baycourt.co.nz for tickets & info

Tickets from Ticketek or Box Office, $5-$18-$20

Radio Controlled Model Yachts

Sundays & Thursdays 1:30-4, in pond behind 24 Montego Drive Papamoa, sailing Electron Yachts for fun. Adult beginners welcome. Graham 572 5419

Tauranga Writers Sunday Focus

Greerton Library 2-4pm Dick Chad, editor. Whose story is it? All welcome $10 cash, incl refreshments. taurangawritersnz@gmail.com or txt 021 864 654

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A local felon with a history of burglary and theft charges was charged with similar crimes this month following a Wytheville Police Department investigation of a Feb. 10 break-in at Jo Jos Attic.

Junmall James Boyd, 48, was arrested on May 4 and charged with felony destruction of property, breaking and entering, larceny of property with the intent to sell it, and two counts of misdemeanor destruction of property.

According to a search warrant application for Boyds residence, police identified him as a suspect shortly after the break-in at the Main Street business, but they didnt find any of the stolen property when they first searched his bedroom.

Officer D.W. Umberger wrote that he and other officers found smashed display cases inside the business on Feb. 10 when they responded to a report that the back door had been broken.

Two individuals with booths inside the store reported that numerous coins and jewelry were missing, Umberger wrote.

A store employee told police that a man had been in the store three days before the break-in and had looked at the burglarized display cases. She told officers that the man always wanted to look at the Mason rings when he visited.
DRYDEN, N.Y. -- A driver was drunk when she crashed an SUV and killed a SUNY Cortland student this week in Tompkins County, deputies said.

Glennys Alandra Cordero, 26, of the Bronx, died early Wednesday morning after the SUV she was riding in hit a tree in Dryden, said the Tompkins County Sheriffs Office. She was a SUNY Cortland student and a recent Tompkins Cortland Community College graduate.

Two days after the crash, deputies arrested Annabell Liz -- the driver -- and charged her with vehicular manslaughter and DWI.

The deadly accident happened shortly after 3:30 a.m. near TC3.

Liz, 21, of Brooklyn, was driving a Kia Soul north on Livermore Road when she drove off the east shoulder of the road and hit a tree, deputies said in a news release. Cordero was a passenger in the SUV.

Both Cordero and Liz were rushed to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. Cordero was pronounced dead at the hospital, deputies said.

Livermore Road was closed for over five hours between Bahar Drive and Livermore Crossing while deputies investigated the accident. In addition to the sheriffs office, the New York State Police, TC3 Campus Police, the Dryden Fire Department, Dryden Ambulance and Town of Dryden Highway Department responded to the crash.

On Friday, Liz was charged with:

second-degree vehicular manslaughter

driving while intoxicated

unsafely changing lanes

speeding

Liz was arraigned in Dryden Town Court and released from custody, deputies said.

Before her death, Cordero was an art and art history major enrolled in SUNY Cortlands Graphic Design and Digital Media program, officials said on the colleges website. She was active in the colleges Multicultural Life and Diversity Office, officials said, and served as the lead photographer for a recent celebration.

Cordero graduated from TC3s Graphic Design program in 2017, college officials said.

Thank you Glennys for sharing your light with us, officials with the colleges Art Department said in a Facebook post. We will be forever grateful.
A Jamesville-DeWitt Middle School student discovered a threat written in the eighth grade boys bathroom Friday that said someone would be shooting up the school next Friday, according to an email from Andy Eldridge, the schools principal.

The student who saw the writing reported it to adults. Those adults then informed law enforcement, Eldridge wrote.

The administration and the police are in the process of investigating the incident, Eldridge said.

More information will be added as it becomes available.
State

Nagaland police on high alert after plot to kill Naga politician

Vijay Farmana under Delhi police custody.

Correspondent KOHIMA, MAY 18 (NPN) | Publish Date: 5/18/2019 11:58:35 AM IST

Following the arrest of a Haryana based criminal, reportedly contracted to kill a Nagaland based politician, Nagaland police on Saturday beefed up security in Nagaland and various state guest houses across the country. Though it was not known whether the target was a sitting legislator or a political party functionary, state security forces have been put on high alert to thwart any untoward incident.

Delhi police on Friday claimed to have arrested Vijay Farmana and two of his associates from Lucknow.

Intelligence sources were of the opinion that the assassins may planed to carry out the high profile attack in Delhi, since most of the politicians from Nagaland frequent the national capital for work etc.

It may be mentioned that Farmana and his associates had taken a contract in April 2019 to kill a politician in Nagaland after the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Delhi police had said. His aides were reportedly given a sum of Rs. 80 lakh and a Ford Endeavour car for the hit job, police said. Farmana (29) was wanted in 11 cases of murder, one rape, an attempt to murder case and several cases of carjacking.

When contacted, DGP Nagaland T. J. Longkumer informed Nagaland Post that the police has taken seriousness note of this case and directed one senior IGP rank officer to rush to Delhi to be part of the joint investigation.

Longkumer has also directed deployment of adequate security in various state guest houses particularly Nagaland House, New Delhi. He has also directed the IG (Intelligence) to alert security personnel attached with all VVIPs across the state to be on high alert.

Further, DGP also directed security officials to visit the residences of VVIPS under their respective jurisdictions, to check the security apparatus and to submit a report at the earliest.

Patton, Zeliang demand probe: Condemning the plot to kill a Nagaland based politician, Nagaland deputy chief minister and minister in-charge of Home, Y. Patton appealed to the Home ministry to constitute a committee to carry out an impartial inquiry.

Patton said no Naga leader or Nagas should be threatened by any criminal syndicate in any circumstances.

In a press note issued through DY.CMO media cell, Patton said the state government has taken serious note of the case and assured to leave no stone unturned to reveal the truth.

He also warned of stringent action as per the law, if any citizen from Nagaland was found to be directly or indirectly involved with the criminal syndicate.

While expressing shock, Patton said such blood money killers and assassin were alien to Naga culture. He said Nagas are peace loving people and those who plan to carry out criminal acts against the citizens of Nagaland will not go unpunished.

Patton further lauded Delhi police for apprehending the hardcore criminal Vijay Farmana who had taken the contract to kill a Nagaland based politician along with his associates.

Meanwhile, Patton said he has directed the state police to coordinate with its counterparts in New Delhi to elicit the details in order to bring out the truth and reveal those involved in paying such a huge amount to kill a leader from Nagaland.

The state police and other law enforcing agencies have also been asked to beef up security measures in order to foil attempts by any anti-social elements that could take advantage of such reports and create chaos in the society.

TR Zeliang: Opposition leader, T.R. Zeliang expressed shock to learn about the contract to kill a Naga politician after the Lok Sabha election by Vijay Farmana and two of his associates.

Taking to twitter, Zeliang said: Investigating agencies should treat this as high profile case and find out the person/s who paid for the hit job. I would like to appeal to the GoN and the State Home department in particular to coordinate with the @DelhiPolice in unearthing the truth behind the contract. This is an unprecedented case in the annals of Nagaland State.

NDPP: Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) also expressed shock and was alarmed by the report of a contract killer paid to carry out a political execution.

If true, it is condemnable and all sections of Naga society must join hands to ensure that such evil intensions do not pollute our rich social fabric, the party stated.

While urging the law enforcing agencies to carry out a thorough probe, NDPP has also assured that the state government will take all necessary measures to ensure proper investigation of the highest level.
Students of Bishop Ludden Jr./Sr. High School attended their gala Friday evening, May 17, 2019. The event had a Once Upon A Time theme and was held at Traditions at the Links in East Syracuse.

Our gallery of photos can be found above.

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A letter written by Alexander Hamilton in 1780 and stolen from the Massachusetts Archives decades ago by a former employee has been found, according to a recent filing in federal court.

The government now wants it back.

A prosecutor for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Massachusetts filed a forfeiture complaint in federal court in Boston Wednesday asking a judge to order the letter be given back to the government.

The South Carolina family attempting to sell the letter said a dead relative was a document collector and obtained the Hamilton letter from a rare book and document dealer in Syracuse in the 1940s. The relatives collection was divided among his children when he died.

According to the complaint, Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the United States, wrote a letter dated July 21, 1780 to Marquis De Lafayette, a Frenchman who fought in the American Revolutionary War.

The letter along with several other historical documents were stolen from the Massachusetts Archives between 1937 and 1945 by a former employee, the complaint said.

The theft, which also involved original papers of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, and Benedict Arnold, among others, was not discovered for several years, prosecutor Carol Head wrote.

The Massachusetts Archives only had a Photostat of the handwritten letter after the theft.

The former employee was arrested in 1950. The employee sold the stolen documents to rare book and document dealers throughout the United States.

On Feb. 27, 1950, the then-attorney general for Massachusetts sent a letter to leading dealers in rare books and documents advising them of the theft in an effort to recover the documents and gather evidence.

Other documents stolen by the former employee were recovered. Authorities said the Hamilton letter was not removed from the frame. Other documents had identification numbers removed, the prosecutor said.

Around Nov. 15, 2018, an auction house in Alexandria, Virginia received the Hamilton letter from a South Carolina family. The family wished to sell the letter along with other documents.

The auction house valued the letter at $25,000, the federal complaint said.

A researcher at the auction house learned the letter was reported missing from the Massachusetts Archives and contacted the organization.

The auction house contacted the Archives, and the Archives confirmed that the letter had been stolen from its collection in or around the 1940s and supplied documents about the theft, the complaint said. Thereafter, the auction house contacted the FBI.
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Launched on December 3,1990. Nagaland Post is the first and highest circulated newspaper of Nagaland state. Nagaland Post is also the first newspaper in Nagaland to be published in multi-colour.
To increase safety after a nasty incident which hospitalized 24 of its warehouse workers last year, Amazon has made the decision to build an entirely new warehouse to hold the more risky products in its line-up. This includes chemicals and flammable materials, to name a couple examples.

According to Wired, the warehouse will be 500,000 square feet in size, and it will be the first fulfillment center of this nature to be built by the retail giant -- except for an 80,000 square foot "test site" which was constructed in Virginia during 2018.

As Amazon vice president of health Carletta Ooton told Wired in a statement, the facility will feature technology specifically designed to help employees "handle consumer goods that could be a health hazard."

While we don't know precisely what form that tech will take, we do know that the warehouse will also feature a "special sprinkler system," which will be triggered should a hazardous product catch fire. As another safety measure, robots won't be allowed to handle said products.

The warehouse is set to begin operation as soon as this summer. Storing certain products in a completely separate place will undoubtedly bog down shipping a bit for combined orders (some customers prefer to get an entire order in one delivery), the benefits will likely be worth it to Amazon -- at the very least, the warehouse could help them avoid any further safety-related PR disasters.
Why it matters: Liliums express goal is to create a flying transportation network, and their means of getting there is just as strange as science fiction predicted it would be. Heres the Lilium Jet: a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) five-seater craft powered by 36 electric jet engines that are just as efficient as an electric car over long distances. While it sounds (and looks) far-fetched, it completed its maiden flight a fortnight ago.

Liliums a young Munich-based startup thats funded by Twitter co-founder Ev Williams, Tencent, Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, and a couple of venture funds. They see themselves as a Tesla meets Uber meets Boeing, as the pioneers of short-range versatile aircraft. Their plan is to release a fleet of Lilium Jets as a taxi-like service in 2025 completing short flights like New York to Boston in about an hour. Allegedly, prices will even be competitive with todays travel options.

The plan requires the Lilium Jet to be maneuverable, affordable and scalable. Meeting those criteria requires a new type of aircraft that is smaller and more environmentally friendly than existing options. Unlike many other startup vehicles with outlandish designs, the Lilium Jets is rooted in logic: dual wings to provide stability during vertical flight, electric engines because they can reach max thrust in less than a second, engines on adjustable panels to smoothly transition to horizontal flight, fixed wing design for efficiency

The result of all that careful thought is a vehicle almost like a speeder from Star Wars. A quick launch and fast journey are made possible with a 300 km/h (186 mph) max speed and enough battery for an hours flight, Lilium claims. While cruising its as efficient as modern-day electric cars, using just 10% of its 2000 hp to maintain speed. The wingspan is 11 m, and it can hold four passengers and a pilot.

The maiden flight for the Lilium Jet was completed on May 4th (a nod, perhaps, to its sci-fi nature), where it, well, went up a few meters then came back down. While thats unexciting, Lilium promises that the Jet is already capable of complex flight patterns, and considering they demonstrated some cool maneuvers with a two-seater prototype two years ago, theres no doubt well see the Jet back in action soon. Hopefully, well be given some proof of Liliums astonishing claims.
Why it matters: The latest development in NASAs efforts to get humans back on the Moon in 2024 sees the lunar pioneers awarding $45.5 million to 11 companies, including SpaceX and Blue Origin, each of which will conduct research into separate aspects of the landing process.

NASA has been talking for a while now of returning humans to the Moons surface and this week they announced that Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX and eight other private companies have been awarded funding to carry out research and prototyping for the new technologies that will enable the literal moon-shot. This latest funding award totals $45.5 million, and comes not two months after NASA dished out $15 million apiece to two companies looking into 'space habitats'.

In a break with the usual way of partnering with the private sector, and in order to speed the process up, NASA are using undefinitized contract actions whereby work can begin before a full contract has been negotiated and agreed.

Director for human lunar exploration programs, Marshall Smith, said, To accelerate our return to the Moon, we are challenging our traditional ways of doing business. We will streamline everything from procurement to partnerships to hardware development and even operations.

Between them, the 11 companies chosen will study different parts of the descent, transfer and refuelling parts of getting people to the lunar surface and back. (The Transfer stage referred to here is getting from the previously announced Gateway, a space station orbiting our natural satellite, into a low-lunar orbit before the descent to the surface.)

So for example, Jeff Bezoss Blue Origin will be researching one descent element, one transfer vehicle study and one transfer vehicle prototype, while SpaceX will be focusing solely on one element of the descent. A full list of the companies and what they will be investigating for NASA is available in the press release that broke the news.

These partnerships are very open-ended as NASA is not prescribing any particular design or approach for the companies, who instead are effectively being asked, how would you solve these problems? As such it will be interesting to see any details of whats actually worked on over the next six months.
The sale of sodas in the city of Philadelphia has dropped following the implementation of a tax on sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened drinks.

In a study featured in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health discovered a decline in soda sales, which they described as "significant and substantial."

The change seemed to have come after the city government started implementing its new tax on sugary drinks.

Philadelphia's levy on such beverages was launched back in 2017. It requires a 1.5-cent tax for every ounce on sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened drinks. This means that for every 20 ounces of soda, the policy would add 30 cents to its price, and about a dollar for every 2 liters.

Philadelphia's Tax On Sugar-Sweetened Drinks

Michael LeVasseur and Christina Roberto of UPenn's Perelman School of Medicine collaborated with Hannah Lawman at Philadelphia's public health department to carry out the study.

The researchers looked at sales data from 291 different stores in the city, such as pharmacies, supermarkets, and mass merchandise stores. They then compared their findings with data from the city of Baltimore, which served as a control group to examine other factors not related to the soda tax.

Soda sales in Philadelphia dropped by as much as 51 percent since the implementation of the levy.

While the sales of sugary beverages within the city have plummeted, the researchers found that sales in nearby areas also increased by 43 percent. It is possible that customers chose to buy soda from stores outside of Philadelphia to avoid having to pay the tax.

Considering the spike in sales in neighboring areas, the study showed a 38 percent dropped in soda sales in the city overall.

The Soda Tax Debate

Supporters of the soda tax believe the move helps discourage people from consuming unhealthy amounts of sugary beverages. It also provides a potential way to combat obesity and other health conditions.

However, critics of the policy claim that it only affects lower-income people and damages businesses. The tax also allegedly infringes on consumer rights.

The results of Philadelphia's soda tax could lead policymakers to consider implementing similar initiatives in their own jurisdictions.

In 2017, shoppers in the city bought nearly 1 billion fewer ounces of sugary beverages. This is significantly lower compared to figures from 2016.

Health Risks Associated With Sugary Drink Consumption

Previous studies have explored the potential link between sugary drink consumption with various health risks. Some of these have been included in a discussion by Harvard's School of Public Health.

Overweight and Obesity: Increased consumption of soft drinks has been associated with increased energy (caloric) intake. This effect is shown to be stronger among women, based on a meta-analysis of more than 80 studies. Cutting sugary drink consumption can result in better weight control among people who are initially overweight.

Diabetes: People who regularly consume one to two cans of sugary drinks or more each day have a 26 percent greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who rarely drink such beverages. The risk is even greater in young adults and Asians.

Heart Attack: Those who drink an average of one can of sugary beverage each have a 20 percent higher chance of suffering a heart attack or dying from a heart attack compared to those who rarely consume such drinks.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Can an animal reshape a part of the colonial history of a nation? Results of a new study show a slightly different story than Barbados currently accepted colonial history.

Ligon Map Of Barbados

In Richard Ligons 17th century map of Barbados, he documented the rich biodiversity and natural history of Barbados, including the translocation of several animal species in the post-contact era. Included in his account are the pigs that were believed to have been introduced to the island by passing sailors. This was a common practice among sailors in the 16th and 17th century so as to ensure a supply of meat, and by 1625, the English people who came to the island noted the abundant amount of pigs.

This is a long-accepted historical account of the introduction of pigs into the island, but is it possible that it may actually be wrong? In a new study, researchers discovered that the pigs observed by the colonizers may not even be pigs at all.

Peccary, Not Pig

According to lead author Christina Giovas, they were initially unaware of the distinction in the beginning. They merely collected the animal bones along with the others, and even thought that they had made a mistake in species identification. However, the bones were actually of a peccary instead of a pigs.

Peccary are animals that closely resemble pigs and are actually commonly mistaken for either pigs or wild boars. Dating reveals the peccary bones to be from 1645 to 1670, which is around the time when the English documented finding European pigs on the island, suggesting that perhaps what they believed were pigs were actually peccary.

Furthermore, the results show that the peccary was born in the island, which means that there was a previous, undetected peccary introduction to the island.

Portuguese Or Spanish Introduction

According to the researchers, there are several possibilities as to how the peccary got to the island, but the most likely explanation is that they were introduced by Spanish or Portuguese sailors who released a pair of the animals, as was the practice at the time, to ensure a supply of meat in future passings.

This not only challenges the long-held belief surrounding pig introduction to the island, but also shows how rapidly the Europeans arrival altered the environment and species distribution. Today, peccary no longer exist in Barbados, suggesting that the species introduction ultimately failed.

The study is published in PLOS One.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
For nearly 100 years, the yellow desert glass in Egypt has been a mystery, but scientists now know where they came from. Which of the hypotheses about it turned out to be right?

Yellow Desert Glass In Egypt

The mysterious yellow glass of Egypt can be found for several thousands of square kilometers and has been a topic of debate for almost a century now. The canary yellow glass was famously used to create the scarab for King Tuts Pectoral and was formed 29 million years ago but until now, its origins remained unknown.

Hypotheses suggest that the yellow glass was either formed due to a meteorite impact or when a near-Earth object burst in the atmosphere and rained down deposit energy, an event called an atmospheric airburst. The latter hypothesis even gained traction after a similar 2013 event in Russia where the outburst caused serious damage to property as well as injuries to humans but did not cause surface materials to melt. Does this mean this it is the more plausible hypotheses?

Meteorite Impact, Not Atmospheric Airburst

To determine which of the hypotheses are more likely, researchers studied the small grains of mineral zircon in the yellow desert glass and found evidence of a high-pressure mineral called reidite. Incidentally, reidite only forms during a meteorite impact and can only be found in impact craters, which suggests that the hypothesis involving a meteorite impact is the more plausible one.

Both meteorite impacts and airbursts can cause melting, however, only meteorite impacts create shock waves that form high-pressure minerals, so finding evidence of former reidite confirms it was created as the result of a meteorite impact, said lead author Dr. Aaron Cavosie.

Furthermore, researchers note that to date, there are no confirmed examples of material from a class 100-Mt airburst in the geological records.

The research paper is published in the journal Geology.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Samsung's new Galaxy Fit watch isn't as sophisticated as the Galaxy Watch, but there's a good reason for this.

The new fitness-focused watch seemingly is talking on Fitbit, and to hype it up a bit, the company has shared a short video highlighting the device's key features on YouTube. There, Samsung demonstrates everything from the in-software stress management tool, breathing guides, automatic workout detection, water resistance, and more.

Samsung started shipping the lower-end Galaxy Fit e in some markets earlier this month, though it's still unclear when its higher-end sibling, called simply the Galaxy Fit, will ship. The devices were announced back in February and scheduled for release on May 31, but Samsung hasn't said anything on the matter since.

Galaxy Fit And Galaxy Fit E

The just-published video could be as strong as any confirmation that Samsung is honoring the original release date. But the more important question is what are the differences between the two? To be honest, not a whole lot. Both devices were made for tracking activities, including biking, running, and hiking. They are both water-resistant up to 5 ATM, which means they're safe to swim with, as shown in the video.

The Galaxy Fit, however, boasts a larger screen and a bigger battery. It's also got a full-color AMOLED touchscreen against the Galaxy Fit e's monochromatic display. Either device would probably do anyone looking for a Fitbit alternative good, however.

Much like Fitbit devices, both Galaxy Fit variants can automatically start tracking the wearer's activity when they walk, run, or begin a general dynamic workout. Alternatively, users can select from more than 90 different activities via the Samsung Health app. Sleep analysis and smart stress management are also included to monitor a person's mood or general well-being throughout the day.

Smart Watch-Like Features

Though they're not really smartwatches, both devices still feature smart watch-ish functions. For example, for frequent travelers, the Galaxy Fit will automatically surface a dual clock if the person lands on a place with a different time zone from where they previously were.

The fitness watches are also able to receive alerts and messages, and even offer short, tappable replies a la Google's Gmail AI-backed responses. There's also an option to check the calendar, weather, and more.

These aren't Earth-shattering devices, in short, but they might be perfect for people who don't care much for the other bells and whistles offered by conventional smartwatches and just want a trusty companion for their fitness regime. In this case, these devices are worth a look, at least. Just go to Samsung's website for more details.

Check out the video below.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
It's hard to stand out from the pack when everyone is practically doing the same thing.

This is probably why Asus decided to put something on its latest flagship not commonly found on most top-tier entries on the market right now.

The ZenFone 6 bears the usual suspects of a flagship-tier device: a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip, aa nearly bezel-less display, up to 8 GB of RAM, and up to 256 GB of onboard storage that's expandable via a microSD card.

However, it costs far less than flagships go for these days at $500 against other manufacturers' $1,000+ price points. However, the price alone isn't what makes this phone special. The camera is also a highlight here, because unlike on most phones, it rotates to the front in selfie mode, then retracts on the back when shooting normally.

ZenFone 6 Camera

This solves two problems: selfies will always look extra great because they're taken with the main camera, and, unlike the just-announced OnePlus 7 Pro, there's no need for a separate popup module for selfies apart from the main sensors  it's all integrated, appears when needed, then hides when not.

Although some might consider it a gimmicky feature, it's still something not usually found on phones of this price range. For Asus, this is a shift in strategy. Whereas the ZenFone 5, as The Verge notes, was merely a blatant copycat of the iPhone X, the ZenFone 6 shows Asus thinking outside the box this time around. It needs to. The company seems determined to snatch its own niche in the mobile market instead of following the footsteps of either Samsung or Apple, at least in terms of design.

ZenFone 6 Specs And Price

The base model features 6 Gb of RAM and 64 GB of storage for $499, severely undercutting phones in the same price range without the latest Snapdragon chip. The thing that'll separate this phone from the rest, of course, is the camera. According to The Verge, the shooting capabilities are "actually pretty good." The flip cam, specifically, feels weird only at first but then stops feeling so the more it's used.

Asus put two lenses on this phone: a 48-megapixel main camera, and a 13-megapixel one for wide-angle shots, which can be used for taking selfies with a large group thanks to the flip mechanism. Alas, this still means there are moving parts underneath the phone, which could be a cause for concern since moving parts potentially break. To combat this, Asus developed an automated system that rotates back the lens if it detects the phone is dropped.

As for the software, Asus says the ZenFone 6 runs on what it calls is an "enhanced" version of stock Android, which is no small thing for Asus considering it's been one of the worst sinners when it comes to bloatware.

Other features include a dedicated key that defaults to Google Assistant, though it can be remapped to trigger some other functions. Asus has yet to announce a release date in the United States, but it should arrive over the next few weeks.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Israel's Beresheet was supposed to be the first privately built spacecraft to land on the Moon but, on April 11, it lost contact with Earth and crashed.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, flew by 11 days later and took a look at the aftermath. After a month, the U.S. space agency finally released the image of the impact site.

Beresheet's Lunar Resting Ground

The LRO has been in orbit around the Moon for a decade now. The LRO Camera, or LROC, has three imagers: a seven-color Wide Angle Camera and two black-and-white Narrow Angle Cameras.

The image was taken using the LROC on April 22 from about 90 kilometers above the surface. A dark smudge about 10 meters wide appears in the image, indicating a roughened surface caused by the hard landing.

Scientists at NASA could not say as of yet if the impact of Beresheet created a crater. They said that the impact could be too small to show up in the photos. The spacecraft could also have created a small indent instead of a crater.

"The light halo around the smudge could have formed from gas associated with the impact or from fine soil particles blown outward during Beresheet's descent, which smoothed out the soil around the landing site, making it highly reflective," the U.S. space agency wrote in a press release. "There are many clues that we're actually looking at a man-made crater instead of a meteoroid-caused one."

The LRO might take more images of the impact site when it passes over the same area on May 19.

Beresheet Crash Lands On The Moon

Beresheet, which means "in the beginning," launched on Feb. 22 aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9. However, mission control in Israel lost communication with the spacecraft when it was about 489 feet (149 meters) above the lunar surface. By the time the team regained control of the spacecraft, it was too late to brake. Beresheet crashed on the lunar surface.

While the mission was not a success, the spacecraft, which was built by SpaceIL and the Israel Aerospace Industries slipped into the lunar orbit. Israel became the seventh nation to successfully orbit the Moon.

SpaceIL is also not giving up. The nonprofit recently announced that Beresheet's successor is now in development.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
For the past six years, Stephanie Matlock has taken the bus or had friends and family give her rides. On Friday, that changed.

Walking out to the parking lot at her daughter Taylors school, Matlock was dumbstruck as she saw her new set of wheels.

Congratulations! shouted a crowd of students and faculty from Scotlandville Pre-Engineering Magnet Academy whod gathered around the red 2011 Chevy Malibu that now belongs to Matlock.

Oh my goodness. Youve gone above and beyond! said an emotional Matlock, hugging Principal Shalika Scott.

Who knew you could get a car from a school? Matlock asked incredulously.

The middle school, which goes by the acronym SPEMA, got into the automotive business after reviewing a curriculum known as the Flying Classroom.

+7 Pilot who flew around the world urges Baton Rouge middle schoolers to aim high At the age of 23, Barrington Irving entered the record books as not only the youngest person to fly a plane around the world by himself, but t

The science-and-math program was developed by famed pilot Barrington Irving, who was the first first African-American to fly around the world, and at the time the youngest person to do so. Irving flew his plane to Baton Rouge to visit SPEMA in March 2018. One of the lessons in the Flying Classroom involves building a car, but it cost about $175,000. Principal Scott opted for different approach.

Last summer, the school persuaded Gerry Lane Chevrolet to donate one of its cars, and then selected 14 SPEMA students, all in the engineering class, to work on it.

The idea was the students would upgrade the car with modern amenities and later donate it to someone in need. Matlock, who's worked as a paraprofessional at Southdowns School for the past three years, said she had heard about the car and briefly considered trying to buy it from the school.

Income tax, different expenses kept popping up, she explained. It just didnt happen, so I really brought my mind to just ride the bus and keep going.

Then she learned in late April that the car would be hers after all.

Ms. Scott told me that the children were working on the project and they were looking for a family to give it to and they chose us, Matlock explained. I feel grateful, so grateful.

It wasnt until Friday, though, that she set eyes on the car. She beamed as she sat in the driver's seat, tuning the radio to her favorite stations.

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The cars tax, title and license were paid for by yet another donor, the Spencer family, which has a special, tragic connection with the school.

+2 BR brothers drown in Alabama after 12-year-old caught in riptide, older brother attempts rescue Two Baton Rouge brothers drowned near the Alabama and Florida border Friday night after their grandfather said the older brother tried to save

In August 2017, brothers Steward and Joshua Spencer drowned while on vacation in Alabama. Joshua, 12, was an eighth-grader at SPEMA. His family has since donated money to both SPEMA and Sharon Hills Elementary. SPEMA decided to use that money to help Matlock.

Gwen Spencer, Joshuas grandmother, added to the pot Friday, giving Matlock a $50 gas card.

Capital City Collision also helped out by donating a new windshield and two months worth of gas.

Since starting work on the car February, the students have updated it with several modern features including a Bluetooth and iPhone compatible radio, backup camera and sensors, dash camera and general hands-free capability.

If you need me to wire your car, I can, said student Jeremiah Givens.

+4 Still waiting on equipment, students, scheduling, a new career high school opens in Baton Rouge A newly constructed, $17 million career high school opened its doors last week but is still waiting on much of the equipment needed for its tr

The students took a bus twice a week to the EBR Career & Technical Education Center, or CTEC, where they worked under automotive instructor Ron Parrish.

These young kids have really been impressive, Parrish said. The kids picked up electricity very well. They can draw simple circuits; they were out there teaching each other on the board with it.

Parrish also used the car with CTEC students, all from local high schools, so they could learn about brakes and suspension.

Bria Jarrell, the engineering teacher at SPEMA, expressed pride in her students.

Theyve been phenomenal, Jarrell said. Theyve been examples of what we want our students to be.

Matlock thanked the heavens for her good fortune: I just believe its favor, the favor of God, the love of God coming out of them.
Inside the State Capitol on Wednesday, observers and participants in the legislative circus might have been wondering if anything positive was
Im proud of myself because, at first, I didnt want to do this topic, but afterward, I was happy to be put in this group. And I was happy to have had this opportunity.

Edward Pratt: Stepmoms deserve credit this Mother's Day, too As Mothers Day approaches, I believe stepmothers deserve their own, special something. I have an appreciation for you.

That was Antoinette Hodges, a student at McKinley High School, who was part of a team of four other 11th grade students that spent this past fall semester trying to set a plan in motion to build a grocery store in the Old South Baton Rouge community near the campus. The major goal was to find a way for residents to have easy access to fresh fruit and vegetables.

The students met with community leaders, government officials and went knocking on doors in the neighborhood. They discovered that the needs there are greater and more complex than ripe tomatoes. This kind of education is more than textbook theory. It's real life.

The schools "Humanities Amped" class instructors Anna West and Malcolm Reed asked if I had an idea for a project for the students. I broached the idea of bringing a grocery store to Old South Baton Rouge.

The students  Hodges, Steven Miranda, Said McLaughlin, Tyele James and Trent Roberston  came on board. They were a little hesitant at first, but slowly got in the groove. Then I took a back seat.

None of the students live or have lived in the community near the high school. Their project points to what high school students can do if they're pointed in the right direction. The class helps students use insights from the humanities, like English and social studies, to create research projects that improve the community.

It was inspiring to see young people dissecting real-life situations and challenging themselves to create solutions.

What the students did in such a short time is remarkable. Discussions with city government representatives, business people, community activists, suggested that bringing even a small grocery store to the neighborhood would be challenging, but not impossible.

+2 Edward Pratt: In a violent Baton Rouge neighborhood, no one comes out for the ice cream truck I couldnt shake the sight Tuesday night of a photo of a woman screaming in agony at the lifeless body of her 15-year-old son laying in the st

They learned from residents that they need fresh vegetables, but also a place close by where they can get prescriptions filled and find more affordable child care. They also want blighted housing removed more quickly.

There were discussions about just finding a means of getting fresh vegetables  good food  through temporary outlets that would operated much like food trucks. But the students said they wanted to see how some of the corner stores already in the neighborhood can become part of the effort.

Once a thriving area of the city, historic Old South Baton Rouge has fallen on hard times. There are a number of blighted homes and trash-loaded vacant lots. There are no major supermarkets in the area. Finding fresh vegetables and fruit means a trip elsewhere.

I didnt notice the food insecurities until this project opened my eyes, James said.

He was followed by Miranda, who said, I learned about what its like not having healthy food options. From the canvassing, I also learned about how they (the residents) want teen activities in the neighborhood.

James had an interesting take on things. I would say my feelings about the community are strong  I say that because I started to put a lot of time into trying to help the community. I just want them to at least try and help themselves.

Now the class members hope another set of students will pick up where they left off.

Another group of students can push the project to the finish line. We have given them a great foundation. Now they need to build upon it, said McLaughlin.

McLaughlins dad, Walter Geno" McLaughlin, with the East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority, was a major contributor to the project, offering valuable ideas and direction as well as connecting students with local governmental representatives and community members.

The young McLaughlin also added, I learned that the youth need to be the ones doing and participating in community work because we can give different insights to the problem.

Ive seen how we affect the community with our project, Robertson said. I feel a level of responsibility to help the community.

Hodges made me smile with this observation: I learned that people really care about their community. I also learned that young people are important and that they have a voice.

Amen and Amen.

Email Edward Pratt, a former newspaperman who writes a weekly Advocate column, at epratt1972@yahoo.com.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this column was corrected because student Trent Robertson was misidentified.
Milk made from almonds, oats, soy and other veggies wont be able call itself milk should the legislation the Louisiana Senate approved Monday
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With the June 30 end of the fiscal year, Louisiana closes the books on a much more sedate note than in the previous few years.
If Gov. John Bel Edwards, as expected, signs the 'fetal heartbeat' bill that's moved through the state legislature, it would restrict abortions in Louisiana to about the sixth week of pregnancy  before many women know they are pregnant.

Much has been written about the effect this would have on Louisiana's women, but The New York Times columnist Ginia Bellafante took a different tack, examining what it would mean for millennials moving here from Brooklyn.

Meet Bellafante's cousin "Tess," who moved here two years ago after working as "head of research and development for Christina Tosi and her baking empire, Milk Bar, the great 21st-century dessert disrupter."

"This young woman was a citizen of the New South now," Bellafante writes. "Her business, Tess Kitchen, was thriving. Her New Orleans apartment, at $1,900 a month, had three bathrooms."

But the multiplicity of toilet space in our charming faubourgs, it seems, comes with a drawback, and that's legislation like the 'fetal heartbeat' bill.

"The news was an awakening," Bellafante says.

It was?

Tess willingly gave up a life as a up-and-coming dessert disrupter to move to a state whose Democratic governor was openly and unapologetically anti-abortion, the state legislature also was filled with anti-abortion Democrats and the 'fetal heartbeat' bill was championed by a Democrat.

She chose a state that's near or at the bottom in nearly all women's healthcare outcomes, a state that amended its constitution to specifically prohibit same-sex marriage, a state that still doesn't have a minimum-wage law and prohibits its cities from establishing their own.

As Alabama outlaws almost all abortions, Louisiana's 'fetal heartbeat bill' advances quickly On the same day the Alabama legislature passed a restrictive bill that would almost entirely outlaw abortion in that state, a House committee 

None of this is a secret. But it seems to have come as a shock to Tess and Bellafante.

"Under the current conditions," Bellafante writes, "I wondered if women like Tess and her friends, many of whom moved from New York or Los Angeles, would have chosen to relocate to the Deep South. I asked some of them, and they told me that they were not sure."

Fair enough. But I'd feel better about this essay if Bellafante mentioned once, just once, the conditions under which Louisiana women live  not just the "disrupter" transplants, but those whose families have been here for generations, those who may not have the option to pack up and leave and those who don't want to.

I'm not sure they're on Tess' radar, or Bellafante's.

"In the last 15 years or so, I have made no fewer than 50 trips to Birmingham, Ala., where my husbands family lives," Bellafante writes, "each time marveling at how much more exquisitely it meets a particular set of consumerist and architectural fantasies  the book shops, the midcentury modern furniture stores, the retooled industrial spaces, the gyms that are indistinguishable from the ones in TriBeCa, the soaring leaded windows, the restaurants now nationally known and the new ones always coming up."

And that's the crux of it: the "New South" (or "new New Orleans") as a consumerist fantasy, where one can live cheaply without sacrificing swell restaurants or beautiful architecture or "gyms that are indistinguishable from the ones in TriBeCa."

But that's not the way most of us live outside a very small pocket of New Orleans.

"Living in a very liberal city in a very conservative state is a trick mirror," Bellafante writes. 'You really forget that you are in the Deep South here, [Tess] said.'"

If so, it's a willful forgetting  or a willful refusal to look at the reality of others less fortunate.

When the 'fetal heartbeat' bill becomes law, it won't affect women like Tess in the least; they'll be on the first JetBlue back to New York should they choose an abortion.

For most of the rest of the women in Louisiana, who were here long before Bywater became Williamsburg South and will be here when the Tesses of this world move on to Pittsburgh or Lafayette, it's a different story.

+4 Louisiana v. Abortion: How the state legislature is tightening the right to legal abortion Its that time of year again  when Louisiana state legislators nearly have completed their annual practice of rushing additional abortion res

Louisiana Senate overwhelmingly passes two anti-abortion measures The Louisiana Senate passed a bill 31-4 today that would let residents vote on adding language to the state constitution explicitly stating it
Cameras were flashing and cellphone videos were rolling as a few of New Orleans' newest celebrities made a pre-performance press appearance Friday morning.

The scene wasn't a theater or concert hall, however  it was the Audubon Zoo, where a new, $5 million African Savanna exhibit officially opening Saturday is putting four lions on public display at Audubon for the first time in nearly six years.

"Bringing the roar back to New Orleans is what it's all about," said Joel Hamilton, the zoo's general curator. "It's an iconic sound, and this is a great addition."

Audubon had announced weeks ago that it had acquired the lions  a 4-year-old male named Arnold and three 3-year-old sisters named Nia, Kali and Zuri.

Arnold was the first to arrive, coming in February from his birthplace, Wildlife Safari, a 600-acre drive-through animal park in Winston, Oregon. The three females followed from the Peoria Zoo in Illinois, where they were born.

The last time the zoo had a lion exhibit was in 2013, when male lion Bubba died of cancer and female Cassie retired at the age of 20 to the quiet of the Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center on the West Bank, where she still lives today.

Now, the lions have a spacious new habitat that looks like an African savanna with grasses, trees and large pieces of granite called "kopjes" that bring to mind Pride Rock from the Disney movie "The Lion King." In nature, they create shade, pools of water and vantage points to spot predators.

The exhibit, paid for by philanthropists Joy and Donald Boysie Bollinger, also features a replica of an abandoned 1920s-era train station, which Audubon officials called a tragic symbol" of the transportation system that "opened the door to habitat loss, poaching and the devastation of Africas vast natural resources."

Mock train cars have been turned into conservation and research stations that offer animal care and education demonstrations, while also featuring up-close looks at the animals.

Nearby, a Tingatinga-style mural painted by local artist Theresa Norris features a bright and colorful savanna filled with wildlife.

Officials hope the new addition, which features 12,000 square feet of roaming space as well as a 4,000-square-foot holding facility, will spur a renovation of the zoos entire African domain, which also holds animals like zebras, giraffes and rhinos.

"This is really the first, cornerstone exhibit for the rest of the African Savanna exhibit," Hamilton said. "All the space will get redeveloped around this hub."

Since the lions arrived earlier in the year, zookeepers have been working behind the scenes to help them settle in, implementing a daily routine that involves structured play, eating 5 to 12 pounds a day of protein like fish, frozen quail and rabbit, and napping for about 20 hours a day, according to Madi Marullo, one of the animal care specialists.

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The staff has learned that Arnold likes smelling elephant dung and giraffe urine during "scent enrichment" and enjoys sharpening his claws on branches. The girls enjoy playing with a jingle ball containing bells and "hunting" plastic targets that pop up again after they are knocked down, Marullo said.

But while lions are considered to be the most social of nature's big cats, heavily relying on each other to hunt and protect the pride, the zoo's male lion has mostly been kept separate from the females.

That's because it takes time and patience to make a successful pride in captivity, officials said.

By Friday, the female lions were able to wander the exhibit freely most days, but Arnold was allowed to visit with them only once a day.

It hasn't been all peachy, Marullo said, pointing to an open sore on Zuri's leg, which first happened when she and Arnold fought and was exacerbated when her sisters started licking the wound, in an apparent effort to clean it.

But Audubon is relying on the lions ultimately getting along. The zoo hasn't been shy about its main goal: breeding the lions to ultimately create a "successful and cohesive" pride of big cats.

To that end, the four lions were chosen specifically for their lineage. They all descend from a subspecies found in southern and eastern Africa, and have specific genetic and behavioral matches, zoo officials said.

The zoo's breeding program is aimed at furthering conservation efforts. Right now, the lion population in the wild is critically endangered, standing at about 20,000  down from more than 450,000 in the 1940s, according to Audubon.

In the wild, lions tend to live about 14 to 17 years, Hamilton said, but they can live much longer in captivity. Cassie is now 22.

Breeding doesn't always work out, however. In the time he lived at the Audubon Zoo, Bubba and his female partners never produced any offspring.

On Saturday, to celebrate the exhibit's opening, zoo members are invited to a "sneak preview celebration" an hour before the zoo opens and featuring a second-line to the newly constructed habitat.

Guests will also be able to participate in "Party for the Planet: Endangered Species Day," about the importance of protecting endangered species.

But on Friday, zoo attendees could already be seen peeking through openings in the lion habitat's fence, which was partially covered by signs advertising the exhibit's opening.

Among them was 66-year-old Dorsee Underwood, a clerical worker who remembered seeing the lions years ago.

"I'm glad they're back. I've been going to the zoo since I was 13, and I've watched the transformation over the years," Underwood said. "And I was just saying what a beautiful habitat this is."
Students in NSW public schools have been told they can't participate in major school events without giving permission for their name and photo to appear on social media channels.

Parents say this violates their children's privacy and puts them in danger online.

Permission forms for children to attend a number of events conducted by the NSW Department of Education now require parents to acknowledge that permission extends to "still photography, electronic media and social media, the use of the participant's name, image and voice and biographical material in connection with [the event]".

"The department is inscrutably putting photos of kids onto public social media pages and public school websites," Wollongong mother Carmel said. Credit:Wayne Taylor WMT

The forms are a departure from traditional Department of Education permission slips that included a separate option for parents to either give or withhold permission to publish their child's name, photograph, voice or video.
Labor has lodged a complaint with the Australian Electoral Commission over Liberal signage targeting Chinese voters that appears to imitate official AEC communications.

The signage appeared in the key marginal seat of Chisholm - previously held by Julia Banks - which has a high Chinese population.

Liberal Party signage outside a polling booth in the Melbourne seat of Chisholm. Credit:Luke Hilakari

The corflute uses the same purple colour scheme as official AEC banners and tells readers the "correct" way to vote is to put a "1" next to the Liberal box.

However, the Electoral Commission has dismissed concerns about the signage, saying it is allowable as long as it carries proper authorisation and is located in an appropriate spot.
Dave Sharma, the Liberal Partys candidate for Wentworth, is confident he will retake the seat for his party, which it lost in a byelection after Malcolm Turnbulls bitter resignation from Parliament.

Accompanied by his wife Rachel and three daughters, Mr Sharma told cheering supporters at about 10.30 pm that he did not expect to see a result tonight but that he was confident he could hold onto the 1 per cent lead he had held since counting began.

Liberal's Dave Sharma celebrates with guests at Easts Rugby Club in Rose Bay. Credit:Louise Kennerley

"Id love to be able to declare a result tonight but I think it is too early for that," he said after thanking his staff, volunteers, supporters and family.
Fraser Anning, who left the party and eventually formed his own Conservative National Party, was still well short of winning back his spot.

Pauline Hanson's One Nation had neared the quota for Mr Roberts' return early on Saturday night, at one point exceeding it, although its numbers in Queensland pulled back as the count progressed.

Prominent One Nation candidate Malcolm Roberts was tantalisingly close to a return to the Senate on Saturday night, while United Australia Party leader Clive Palmer's chances of making good on his high-spending campaign looked slim.

Despite his huge spending in the run-up to the election, Mr Palmer was well below where he would have wanted to be, with his hopes pinned on better results out of the regional Queensland booths than from those in Brisbane. His numbers had not improved as of 10pm Saturday night.

Ms Hanson secured a six-year term in 2016 and is not up for re-election this year. Mr Roberts won a spot at the 2016 election, but the High Court later declared him invalid because he was a citizen of the United Kingdom by descent at the time of his nomination for Parliament.

After a series of blunders and defections, One Nation was left with just two senators, Ms Hanson and West Australian Peter Georgiou, who is up for re-election.

In the lower house, One Nation had 2.9 per cent of the national vote as of 10pm, a swing in its favour of 1.5 per cent, and was at 8.5 per cent in Queensland with a swing of 3 per cent.
This will be a 2019 federal election free zone, I promise. Sunday, the morning after democracys big day, youll likely be a bit dusty whichever team you were cheering for on Saturday night. As it is an evening enshrined in Australian national mythology thanks to David Williamsons Dons Party, lets hope you partied.

Nick Tate (Don), Brionery Behets (Susan) and Allan Lander (Mal) in the 1972 NIDA production of David Williamson's Don's Party.

As I dusted off my mothers 1970s sausage roll recipe this week to make her favourite finger food for the party I went to on Saturday night, I tried to conjure the ghosts of election parties past. I realised as I looked back on my own voting history over the years it was the parties I recalled, rather than the political parties platforms.

The first election I voted in was 35 years ago, the March 1984 NSW state election. I had narrowly missed out on voting in the previous years federal election, because then PM Malcolm Fraser closed the electoral rolls early, so as to minimise the number of young voters fired up over the Franklin Dam. I remember that March 5, 1983 drovers dog election party that Bob Hawke won, because it was my first in Bathurst as a journalism student. It was such a big celebration, one of our college lecturers boasted hed conceived one of his many children the night of the Labor victory.

The next year was not only the first time I voted, but also the first I worked as a journalist on work experience at The Sydney Morning Heralds state bureau. I was sent to do the obligatory junior job, a vox pop on what people thought about making homosexuality legal. Let me just say that again, in case you missed it. Homosexuality was still a crime in NSW. That 1984 election party was nothing on the party that took place later that year when NSW Parliament voted to make homosexuality legal. The protesters on Macquarie Street, some of whom graced your television set during the latest election coverage on Saturday night, saved their celebrating for when that law finally passed.
While the council would not earn as much as it could have from the hotels lodging development applications, deputy mayor Krista Adams was quick to point out those high-end hotels might never have come to Brisbane in the first place without the reduction. She said 14 hotels took up the incentive; many are now open for business, and several are under construction. That was probably 14 hotels that may not have got out of the ground without a little bit of a push, she said. But we introduced [the reduction] for exactly that reason. We needed more four- and-five star hotels because we were losing out to conventions because we had nowhere for people to stay. Conventions [are] big business in tourism because [people] may come for a convention, but as soon as theyve seen the place for work for a couple of days, they go oh, Ill bring the family back here.

Theres a lot of future investment that comes in once we get those conventions and those types of events as well. Across the city, sleek new buildings have appeared, their offerings full of the perks of luxury - from infinity pools to rooftop bars, architecturally designed rooms and, of course, the price tag to match. The multibillion-dollar Queens Wharf development will include Brisbane's first six-star hotel. Cr Adams said Brisbane had already seen some major conventions arrive in the city, when previously they might have gone to Sydney or Melbourne. Medical conventions, a geologists convention in 2018, and other industry associations are now considering Brisbane as the place to go to for major events.

With the high-quality hotels now open for business, the focus is on pitching for and winning more of these large-scale conventions - which can have hundreds or thousands of attendees. We know that those friends and relatives are a very big part of visitation to Brisbane, Cr Adams said. Weve definitely got opportunities in the next few years in particular for the frequent visitor whos got a lot of disposable cash. Particularly from the Asian market - they love our clear, blue skies, but as soon as they see they can stay in luxury, they are willing to spend the money to do it. Many of the 4600-odd new hotel rooms are in the luxury hotels such as the W Hotel on George Street, or The Calile in Fortitude Valley, or Novotel in South Brisbane.

Queens Wharf, the major new development on the edge of the Brisbane River, will add more than 1000 new premium hotel rooms alone. The result has been a significant turn-around for Brisbanes hotel industry, benefiting not just the hotels but the wider tourism industry. A $325 million five-star international hotel is also planned for Brisbane's Mary Lane. More rooms means more occupancy, which means more people staying in the city, spending money, telling their friends to come to Brisbane. The additional 4635 rooms are equivalent to 1.7 million room nights, which is exactly the result Brisbane City Council was hoping for.

Cr Adams said attracting those high-end hotels was key to bringing in more visitors flush with cash - the people who stay at a brand, not just a hotel. Having the hotels - thats the easy part. The next step is convincing people why theyre coming here, Cr Adams said. Hotels that signed up to the infrastructure incentive Inchcolm Hotel at 73 Wickham Tce, Spring Hill The Kingsford at 510 Kingsford Smith Dr, Hamilton Glen Hotel at 24 Gaskell St, Eight Mile Plains Mosaic at 826, 844 & 852 Ann St, Fortitude Valley Hotel Grand Chancellor at 23 Leichhardt St, Spring Hill Calamvale Hotel at 678 Compton Rd, Calamvale Queens Arms Hotel at 62, 68 & 70 James Street, Fortitude Valley Gambaros at 29 & 39 Caxton St, Petrie Terrace Holiday Inn Express at 168-184 Wharf St, Spring Hill Richmont Hotel at 22 Kennigo St & 252 St Pauls Tce, Fortitude Valley The Calile at 46 James St, Fortitude Valley Swiss-Belhotel at 218 Vulture St, South Brisbane Novotel at 38 Cordelia St, South Brisbane W Hotel at 304 George St, Brisbane City. We just need to change one more bed night, one more night in Brisbane before they head to the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast. Weve got the lowest, absolute lowest rate, of overnight stays in any capital city in Australia.
Fraudsters have stolen tens of thousands of dollars from a Queensland university, prompting a warning from the state's auditor general Brendan Worrall.

The Queensland Audit Office revealed there had been an increase in external attempts to divert employee and supplier payments to illegitimate bank accounts across the sector.

Universities have been warned about increasing attempts to switch bank account details to gain access to employee and supplier payments. Credit:Reuters

In one case, Griffith University did not adhere to processes to independently verify requests to change existing supplier bank account details, resulting in a "small fraudulent payment" last year, an Audit Office report revealed.

A fraudulent request was made by an external source to change an existing supplier's bank account details and divert payments to an illegitimate bank account.
His party may be enraged by Donald Trump's presidency, but Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden insisted on Saturday that Democrats will not defeat the Republican president in 2020 if they pick an angry nominee.

Facing thousands of voters in his native Pennsylvania for the second time as a 2020 contender, the former vice president offered a call for bipartisan unity that seemed far more aimed at a general election audience than the fiery Democratic activists most active in the presidential primary process.

Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden rallies the crowd at Eakins Oval in Philadelphia. Credit:AP

Some believe that the angrier a candidate is the better chance he or she has to beat Trump, Biden told thousands of Democrats who gathered in downtown Philadelphia.

"That's what they are saying you have to do to win the Democratic nomination. Well, I don't believe it," he declared. "I believe Democrats want to unify this nation. That's what the party's always been about. That's what it's always been about. Unity."
At some point during their time in high school, most Hanover students will walk into gym class only to find out theyre not going to be running laps that daythey are getting a talk from an Addictions Foundation of Manitoba worker.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 18/5/2019 (953 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At some point during their time in high school, most Hanover students will walk into gym class only to find out theyre not going to be running laps that daythey are getting a talk from an Addictions Foundation of Manitoba worker.

Whatever they were expecting from an addictions counsellor, chances are it was not the curly-haired 37-year-old known by students as, "Dan the Drug Guy."

Yet that is exactly what they get with Daniel Dacombe.

Dacombe has spent nine years educating Hanover youth and helping high school and middle school students work through substance addictions.

But now, thanks to Hanover School Divisions recent budget cuts, the AFM worker will no longer be working for the division.

Dacombe said the AFM had forewarning the Hanover board wasnt going to renew his position.

"I mean, I dont think anyones happy when positions are cut," said Dacombe.

After nine years, Dacombe said he has a lot of success stories of students developing healthy coping skills as a result of his work.

He said a big part of his decision to work with youth was a result of career choices his family had made.

"I came from a family of people-helpers," said Dacombe. "It seemed natural to do something that was going along the same lines."

Between two nurses, a teacher and an engineer in his family, Dacombe had a lot of options. He eventually settled on counselling.

Dacombe said he was never interested in private counselling. "I didnt want someone to come and pay $120 to talk to me for an hour. I wanted to be able to help people who couldnt afford that."

When he became a rehabilitation counsellor for AFM, Dacombe cycled from school to school, meeting with individual students and giving presentations in front of classes.

Dacombe dealt mostly with high school students, working out of Steinbach, Grunthal, Niverville and Landmark.

His focus was on building relationships and keeping the conversation non-judgmental.

"I try to stay away from scare tactics," said Dacombe. "They either dont work or backfire."

Dacombes presentations included topics like brain science, biases in communication, social learning and testing online sources. He said he changes his tone depending on the presentation, but tries to incorporate humour on occasion.

"We learn better when we laugh a little," said Dacombe.

As odd as it seems, even Dacombes nickname as the "Drug Guy" has helped break the ice with the students.

"Its a nickname that kind of came up and stuck. In the earlier years I tried to downplay it, but theres no way to stop it," he said. "If its a way to reduce barriers, then thats fine by me."

Though there may be disadvantages to having teenagers walk up to you in a shopping mall calling you the drug guy.

"I guess Im fairly recognizable," joked Dacombe.

Dacombe said although its difficult to measure success working with youth, his work with AFM was very rewarding.

"It can be hard working with adolescents because you dont see the end of the story," he said.

Once the students graduate from high school, Dacombe rarely sees them again.

But occasionally hell happen to bump into students hes worked with and have the chance to see how theyre doing.

"Ive had students stop me in the grocery store and say, Hey, you really helped me when I didnt think I was worth helping," said Dacombe. "Then I have to go through the grocery line with tears in my eyes."

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Moving forward, Dacombe is now working a term position as a prevention education consultant for AFM in Winnipeg.

Hes training other professionals, like nurses and social workers, in order to extend AFMs reach beyond just school programs.

Dacombe couldnt say how Hanover was going to fill in his role, although he noted there were still addictions-based programs for youth in Steinbach.

HSD secretary treasurer Kevin Heide said when the board made its decisions on what to cut from the division, it looked at which programs were furthest from the classrooms.

"AFM, while its important, cant be funded by the division," said Heide. "Were trying to be proactive rather than reactive about our budget."

Heide said in addition to the Steinbach AFM programs, staff guidance counsellors will also be able to fill in for Dacombe.
Tommy Wallis, the former Bryan school superintendent who left the district after he was asked to resign in 2016, has now resigned from the Kirbyville school district.

According to the Beaumont Enterprise, the Kirbyville school board approved Wallis resignation Thursday night, then adjourned without providing any details about why or what terms they had agreed to. Wallis will remain employed with the district through Dec. 31, Kirbyville trustee Chad George said Friday, offering the first details on the controversial educators negotiated departure.

Nice try, no way, Wallis said when questioned by a reporter Thursday, according to the Enterprise story. Calls from the newspaper to Wallis cell phone went unanswered on Thursday and Friday.

George, the board president, described Wallis exit as a retirement that he had been mulling for a few weeks. He also said Wallis will step aside from the superintendents duties on May 31 but will continue to work through the end of the year to help his successor.
Its really important they know and celebrate all of this, she said. Im happy that ILTexas is having this event to learn about the different cultures and to really celebrate it and to really understand.

I think its really an opportunity to expose them to the global world and global space, she said, noting it gives the students an understanding that there is more beyond their city, state and country. I think its a great opportunity to learn at this young age and expose them to things that they can do in different countries and the importance of going abroad, study abroad, maybe even living abroad at some point and just to know that were all kind of connected. Thats one of the reasons I created that little activity there.  What are the similarities, what are the differences? I think well find as they go through that activity were going to see more similarities than differences.
Texas A&M University is poised to receive $71.5 million more in funding for the next two-year budget cycle compared to what it received in 2017, according to preliminary estimates of actions taken Friday by members of the Texas Legislature, who are negotiating the states budget.

According to a press release from the Texas A&M University System, Texas House and Senate conferees approved about $91.5 million in new money for Texas A&M Universitys flagship campus for the next two-year budget cycle, as compared to about $20 million in the 2017 legislative session. The conferees final report must be approved with floor votes by both chambers of the Texas Legislature before going to Gov. Greg Abbott for his consideration. The session ends May 27.

The additional money can be attributed to Texas A&Ms growth (a $24.5 million increase in the funding formula), an estimated $12 million more in a special research fund, plus $55 million to help correct an imbalance in funding between the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M, the press release states.
There is no middle ground on abortion.

The pro-life and pro-choice camps are as likely to reach compromise as "Games of Thrones'" Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister were likely to join forces in the Great War.

I have an opinion. I am pro-life. I've stood outside abortion clinics and prayed (and will again). I've attended pro-life rallies. I've been a keynote speaker in Harrisburg. I've given lectures to pro-life medical students and high school seniors. And I've been very "in your face" about my politics, more of a John Brown storming the armory at Harpers Ferry than a Martin Luther King Jr. channeling the poetry of angels on the Mall.

You can imagine, then, my relief at recent developments.

Earlier this month, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law a so-called "heartbeat" bill, banning abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy.

That's in addition to the recent news in Philadelphia when State Representative Brian Sims posted videos on social media of his aggression toward pro-life protesters _ an older white woman and three teenage girls _ at a Planned Parenthood in Center City. This triggered one of the largest local pro-life rallies in recent history.
I live in Kentucky, a state with the nations largest hepatitis A outbreak, an emerging measles outbreak and a governor who said he exposed his children to chickenpox rather than get them vaccinated. In the last year, two heads of infection control in Kentuckys Department of Health have left the position. The first one was asked to leave after he expressed the need for an urgent increase in infection control funding.

I am a firm believer that we must learn from history or be doomed to repeat it. Unfortunately, the United States and many other nations appear not to have learned this lesson with regard to public health and are heading down a dangerous path.

The recent book The Pandemic Century by Mark Honigsbaum examines a number of major disease outbreaks around the world and draws lessons about how some of them were mismanaged. But one can see disturbing parallels in the handling of todays epidemic of drug-resistant bacteria and viruses.
1 Dead, 8 Shot at Mass Shooting in a High School Graduation Party in Alabama

ATMOREAlabama authorities say a high school graduation party fueled by alcohol spiraled out of control early Saturday, May 18, leaving one person dead.

Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks tells news outlets eight other people were hurt in a shooting at the old Escambia County Middle School, which now serves as the citys community center.

Authorities received a 911 call around 2 a.m. When police arrived, they found a man who was shot to death inside the buildings cafeteria. His name has not been released.

The wounded victims have been transported to the Atmore Community Hospital for treatment, one of the injured was transferred to the Sacred Heart Hospital by a medical helicopter because of severe injuries.

KETK News posted a video on Twitter, showing police officers at the Middle School.

HORRIFYING: Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks says a high school graduation party fueled by alcohol spiraled out of control early Saturday morning.https://t.co/qj9KGkg9NV pic.twitter.com/6xm5TYVUyY  KETK NEWS (@KETK) May 18, 2019

When officers arrived it was chaos with more than 300 people running around. Brooks says it started with two women fighting, and then more people jumped in with gunshots, WOOD-TV reported.

Brooks said word spread about the party via social media. No arrests have been made at this time, but they are looking for two people.

Second Shooting at Party Today

Another shooting at an off-campus house party near Ball State University in Indiana left seven people injured, three of them critically early Saturday, police said.

Its not clear how many people might have opened fire, but police said one man was in custody. One of the wounded had to be airlifted to a hospital in Indianapolis, about 50 miles southwest of Muncie, Police Chief Joe Winkle told WXIN-TV.

VaShaun Harnett, 19, of Muncie, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder, police told The (Muncie) Star Press.

Vice President Mike Pence, who delivered the commencement address Saturday at Taylor University in nearby Upland, commented on the shooting on Twitter.

Landed in Muncie, IN this morning and was briefed on last nights shooting, the former Indiana governor wrote. My prayers are with the injured and their families. God bless them all.

Landed in Muncie, IN this morning and was briefed on last nights shooting. I commend law enforcement for their quick response. My prayers are with the injured and their families. God bless them all.  Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) May 18, 2019

NTD News staff contributed to this article.
Michael Brandon Samra is executed on May 16, 2019, night for a quadruple killing in 1997. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP)

Alabama Executes Man for 1997 Quadruple Killing

ATMORE, Ala.A man condemned for his role in a quadruple killing that followed a dispute over a pickup truck was put to death Thursday in Alabama after declining to make any last-minute appeals.

Michael Brandon Samra, 41, was pronounced dead at 7:33 p.m. following a three-drug lethal injection at Holman prison, authorities said.

Samra and a friend, Mark Duke, were convicted of capital murder in the deaths of Dukes father, the fathers girlfriend and the womans two elementary-age daughters in 1997. The two adults were shot and the children had their throats slit. Evidence showed that Duke planned the killings because he was angry his father wouldnt let him use his pickup.

Families of the victims thanked law enforcement and the community for support in a statement read by Prison Commissioner Jeff Dunn after the execution.

This has been a painful journey. Today justice was carried out, said the statement from relatives, six of whom were witnesses.

Strapped to a gurney with his arms extended, Samra made a profession of Christian faith before the drugs flowed.

I would like to thank Jesus for everything he has done for me, Samra said. He ended with the word, Amen.

As the drugs flowed, Samra went still and his chest heaved three times. He took a few deep breaths and his head moved slightly. Then an officer checked to see if he was still conscious.

A few moments later, Samras hands curled inward, his chest moved like he was breathing and his mouth fell slightly agape before he turned ashen.

The execution procedure began about an hour after the scheduled 6 p.m. start time, but Dunn said there was no particular reason for a delay.

There were no issues that I was aware of, Dunn told reporters.

None of Samras family attended, but the inmate had a final phone call with his father on Wednesday, said prison spokesman Bob Horton. The execution came hours after Samra met with six friends and a spiritual adviser, who witnessed the execution with Samras two lawyers.

Steven Sears, one of the attorneys, said the inmate received a denial of clemency from Gov. Kay Iveys office several hours earlier Thursday. Sears said he had gained hope on Wednesday when Ivey talked about the sanctity of life in signing a bill to virtually outlaw abortion in the state.

Today my hopes were dashed. I guess she didnt mean it, he said after the execution.

Though Duke and Samra were both originally convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death, Dukes sentence was overturned because he was 16 at the time, and the Supreme Court later banned executing inmates younger than 18 at the time of their crimes.

Samra was 19 at the time and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to delay his execution while the Kentucky Supreme Court considers whether anyone younger than 21 at the time of a crime should be put to death, but the justices refused .

Court documents show Duke and Samra killed the four at a home in Pelham, a Birmingham suburb, on March 23, 1997. The day before, Mark Duke and his father, Randy Duke, got into a heated argument over the mans refusal to let the son borrow his truck.

After enlisting friends to help, Mark Duke killed his father with a gunshot to the face and Samra shot the mans girlfriend, Dedra Mims Hunt, who survived and fled to another part of the house.

Mark Duke found the woman in a bathroom and shot her, court documents show. Out of bullets, he then used a knife to slit the throat of the womans 6-year-old daughter, Chelisa Hunt. Samra cut the throat of the womans 7-year-old daughter, Chelsea Hunt, as she begged for mercy while Duke held the child down.

Two other men who were teenage friends of Samra and Mark Duke at the time of the killings served prison sentences for lesser roles. David Layne Collums and Michael Lafayette Ellison, both now 39, were accused of helping plan and cover up the killings.

Alan Freedman, an attorney who formerly represented Samra for 16 years, said the inmate had accepted his fate and wasnt interested in a last-ditch court fight. Samra made no 11th-hour appeals to the courts.

My heart goes out to the victims families, said Freedman. He was remorseful, he was ready. He was ready a long time ago.

Another execution was carried out Thursday in Tennnessee , that of 68-year-old Don Johnson, who drew a death sentence for the 1984 suffocation of his wife in Memphis.

By Jay Reeves
At Least 7 People Shot at a House Party Near Ball State University in Indiana

At least seven people were shot at a house party near Ball State University early Saturday, authorities said.

The victims include at least three people who suffered life-threatening injuries, Muncie Police Chief Joe Winkle said.

Four others suffered injuries that were not life-threatening. The partygoers included students and locals, he said.

Ball State University Police said on Twitter they are investigating the shooting on 2400 block of Euclid Ave.

Information only:MPD with BSU PD assistance are currently investigating a shooting in the 2400 block of Euclid Ave. Stay clear of the area until further notice.  Ball State University Police (@BallStatePolice) May 18, 2019

Authorities say an argument broke out among the partygoers which resulted in someone pulling a gun and started shooting.

A suspect is being questioned, but has not been arrested. Investigators arent sure if the person theyre talking to was the only shooter, but Chief Winkle told WTHR, his officers arent looking for any other suspects at this point.

BREAKING OVERNIGHT: 7 hurt in shooting at house party near Ball State University. Follow @AnnaWTHR for updates. Shell also update us on @WTHRcom Sunrise starting at 8 this morning.https://t.co/evwA4kK1Ky  Alyssa Raymond (@AlyssaRaymond) May 18, 2019

The shooting was about a three-minute drive to the University. The wounded were transported to a hospital in Muncie, Indiana, Police Lt. Ryan Trissel said.

The university said there was no ongoing threat to campus.

Resume normal activities, it said on Twitter.

Ball State is advising there is no ongoing threat to campus. Resume normal activities.  Ball State University Police (@BallStatePolice) May 18, 2019

Developing storymore to come

NTD News staff contributed to this article.
Arnoldo Jimenez, pictured here in 2011, was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive list on May 8, 2019. (FBI)

Chicago Man Accused of Killing His New Bride Added to FBI Top Ten Most Wanted

A Chicago man charged with first degree murder for allegedly killing his bride less than 24 hours after marrying her in 2012 was added to the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List on May 8.

Arnoldo Jimenez, 37, is wanted by the FBI in connection with the murder of Estrella Carrera, 26, whose body was found in the bathtub of her Burbank, Illinois apartment, still in the dress she wore to her wedding reception, according to FBI News.

The FBI say their investigation revealed that on May 12, 2012, the newly wed couple got into an argument while in Jimenezs black Maserati as they were driving home from their wedding reception. Jimenez allegedly stabbed Carrera multiple times before allegedly dragging her body to her apartments bathroom.

We believe she was stabbed in the vehicle and then dragged back into the apartment and left bleeding in the bathtub, Special Agent Steve Barnard said, according to FBI News.

Carreras family asked police to do a wellness check on her after she did not arrive to pick up her two children the next day, which is when her body was discovered.

The Circuit Court of Cook County Illinois charged Jimenez with first degree murder, and a state warrant was issued on May 15, 2012. A federal arrest warrant was issued a couple days later after Jimenez was also charged with unlawful flight to avoid persecution.

Because of this horrific crime, a family has forever lose their mother, daughter, and sister, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey S. Sallet, according to an FBI press release.

Our local, state, and federal partners have worked tirelessly on this investigation, and we are now asking for the publics assistance to ensure that Jimenez is swiftly brought to justice.

The FBI says Jimenez may have fled to Durango, Mexico, specifically in the area of Santiago Papasquiaro, and he may also frequent Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. He was born in Texas and previously lived in Chicago, Illinois.

He is described as six feet tall, 200 to 225 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, and White Hispanic.

According to the press release, the FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to Jimenezs arrest. Authorities warn that he should be considered armed and dangerous. They also say that anyone with information on Jimenez should not do anything themselves, but instead should contact the nearest FBI office or local law enforcement.

I first want to express my condolences to the victims family for their tragic loss seven years ago, and thank the FBI for their assistance, commitment, and dedication in our investigation, said Richard Shore, Police Chief at the Burbank Police Department.

This collaborative partnership will continue until Arnoldo Jimenez is apprehended and brought to justice, and I ask for the publics assistance in locating Arnoldo Jimenez.

According to the FBI website, Jimenez was added to the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list because of his violent nature, his alleged involvement in his wifes killing, and his efforts to evade capture.

He is the 522nd person to be listed on the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, which, according to the press release, has existed since 1950.
Ex-CIA Officer Gets 20 Years for Spying for China

ALEXANDRIAA former CIA officer was sentenced on May 17 to 20 years in prison on charges that he spied for China and allegations that he sought to expose human assets who were once his responsibility.

The sentence issued by U.S. District Judge T. S. Ellis III in federal court in Alexandria for Kevin Mallory, 62, of Leesburg, Virginia, is less than the life sentence sought by prosecutors but more than the 10-year term requested by the defense.

A jury convicted Mallory in 2018 under the Espionage Act for providing classified information to Chinese handlers in exchange for $25,000. Mallorys scheme began to unravel when he was selected for secondary screening at Chicagos OHare International Airport in April 2017 on a flight back from Shanghai with his son and customs agents found $16,500 in unreported cash.

Former CIA officer Kevin Mallory sentenced to 20 years in prison for #espionage conspiracy. Passed classified documents to Chinese intelligence officer using covert communications device. https://t.co/ll7agplThb  U.S. Attorney EDVA (@EDVAnews) May 17, 2019

Later, during voluntary interviews with authorities, Mallory was caught off guard when a Samsung phone given to him by the Chinese displayed text conversations between Mallory and the Chinese recruiterMallory had expected the phones secure messaging features would keep the conversation hidden.

In one text message, Mallory wrote, Your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid.

At its heart, this was a very basic crime, prosecutor John Gibbs said during the May 17 hearing. He was desperate for money, and the most valuable thing he had was our nations secrets.

Gibbs said the $25,000 Mallory received was just the beginning of what would have occurred if he hadnt been caught.

Mallorys sentence was delayed multiple times as the judge sought clarity on a key pointthe value of the information provided by Mallory. In particular, prosecutors and defense attorneys differed sharply on whether Mallory ever intended to put human assets at risk.

Much of the evidence in the case remains classified and even a portion of the sentencing hearing was closed to the public. But at the bottom of it, prosecutors believe Mallory either sent or intended to send evidence that would have led to the exposure of human assets described in court as the Johnsons. Gibbs said Mallory was the Johnsons handler when he worked at the CIA.

Defense lawyers say Mallory never intended to send it and pointed to computer forensic evidence supporting their claim.

Judge Ellis ultimately ruled that he couldnt determine conclusively that Mallory intended to send the information though he suspected Mallorys long-term intentions were sinister.

If I had concluded that sources had been compromised  I would impose a far more severe sentence, Ellis said.

Defense lawyers pointed to the relatively small amount of money Mallory received, and the fact that he voluntarily disclosed his contacts with the Chinese to his former employers at the CIA.

But Ellis said the amount of money was small only because Mallory was caught at an early stage in his relationship with the Chinese. He said Mallorys contacts with the CIA suggest an effort to cover his espionage with the Chinese with a veneer of legitimacy by portraying himself as some sort of double agent.

If you choose to play footsie with another country  you have committed a crime, Ellis said. Dont think that you can be a double agent.

Mallorys lawyers say they plan to appeal the conviction.
Candace Owens, American conservative commentator and activist, speaks at the High School Leadership Summit, a Turning Point USA event, at George Washington University in Washington on July 26, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Facebook Says Suspension of Candace Owenss Account is a Mistake

Facebook has restored conservative commentator Candace Owenss account and said they made a mistake.

In a Twitter post on May 17, Owens shared a screenshot which appeared to be a Facebook notice.

It looks like we made a mistake and removed something you posted on Facebook that didnt go against our Community Standard. We want to apologize and let you know that weve restored your content and removed any blocks on your account related to this incorrect action, read the statement.

Owens didnt buy the explanation and credited the restoration of her account to her having a large enough platform to make noise and force reconsideration.

What about the millions of people who do not? What about the millions of conservatives who are forever silenced on social media? she wrote on Twitter.

WOW! Update!@facebook has restored my page! While I am grateful that I have a large enough platform to make noise and force reconsideration what about the millions of people who do not? What about the millions of conservatives who are forever silenced on social media? pic.twitter.com/Eq8psDy4bi  Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) May 17, 2019

She also argued that conservatives were censored under the labels of white supremacy.

Typically when they censor conservatives, they mask it behind white supremacy and their commitment to ending it, she told Fox News. Their expectation is that masses will believe that excuse without digging further. Censoring me paints a different story, however-as no one with a modicum of intelligence would be so quick as to accept that narrative.

The truth, which most conservatives know and many fair-minded liberals are waking up to, is that social media companies are attempting to meddle in the 2020 election by silencing and de-platforming certain individuals, she added.

Owens said on May 17 that her Facebook page has been suspended for seven days for posting that liberal supremacy is a threat to black America.

Black America must wake up to the great liberal hoax. White supremacy is not a threat. Liberal supremacy is, she stated in the then deleted post which also quoted statistics on the poverty rate among blacks.

Owens was notified later that her account was closed because the post had violated the Facebook Community Standards.

Facebook didnt elaborate on which exact rule was violated.

Wherever liberal policies reign supreme, Black America is under threat. Abortion, Illegal immigration, welfare traps which encourage father absencethese are progressive policies that lead to regressive results for my community.@facebook is fearful that black ppl r waking up. pic.twitter.com/sY4uQQlH7D  Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) May 17, 2019

Facebook reportedly has a list of hate agents that includes Owens, but its unclear whether the suspension of her account is connected to the list.

According to the Breitbart News, Facebook maintains a spreadsheet with names of prominent right-wing and alternative media figures who were banned from the platform recently. Owens is on the list in a category marked as extra credit.

Facebook confirmed the existence of the list and didnt deny that Owenss name is on the list, Breitbart News reported.

Owens recently made headlines in a tense exchange with Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) during an April 9 hearing on white nationalism and hate crimes before the House Judiciary Committee.

Lieu played a 30-second clip of Owenss comments on Adolf Hitler and labeled Owens as a legitimizer of Hitlers white nationalist ideology, according to Fox News. However, Owens said she didnt think Hitler was a nationalist because he killed his own people in the full clip, NTD News reported.

I do not believe we should be characterizing Hitler as a nationalist, Owens said. He was a homicidal, psychopathic maniac that killed his own people. A nationalist would not kill their own people.  That was unbelievably dishonest, and he did not allow me to respond to it.

Candace Owens: I think its pretty apparent that Mr. Lieu believes that black people are stupid and will not pursue the full clipThat was unbelievably dishonestIm deeply offended by the insinuation of revealing that clip without the question that was asked of me. pic.twitter.com/UioMSZK93d  CSPAN (@cspan) April 9, 2019

Following Lieus act, Owens denounced Lieus allegation vehemently: I think its pretty apparent that Mr. Lieu believes that black people are stupid and will not pursue the full clip  That was unbelievably dishonest  Im deeply offended by the insinuation of revealing that clip without the question that was asked of me.

Videos of Owenss comments garnered millions of views, including a C-Span clip that got over 4 million views in 24 hours.

Zachary Stieber from NTD.com contributed to the report.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has ceased the usual yearly term contract with sanctions-hit Iran for import of crude oil this financial year as it is bullish on replacing Iranian crude completely with other alternatives of similar quality.

We have tied up supplies from alternate sources. No single country can make up for the volumes lost. So, we are keeping our sources diverse. Also, we have robust sourcing in place to make up for all of the Iranian oil, said Sanjiv Singh, IOC chairman. In FY19, the company sourced about 9 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran.

To make up for the bulk of the volumes lost, IOC has tied up for imports from the US and additionally from Saudi Arabia.

A K Sharma, IOC Director (Finance), said the company has an annual contract to buy 5.6 MT crude oil from Saudi Arabia. We have exercised our optional volumes with Saudi Arabia and will be importing 2 MT of additional crude oil from Saudi Arabia in six months period beginning July, he said, adding the optional volumes imported from July to December total to about 1.5-1.6 MT. It has also for the first time signed term import contracts with two US suppliers  Equinor and Sonatrach, adding in all 4.6 MT of crude from the US that has been signed up for 2019.

On Friday, IOC said its fourth-quarter profit surged 16.89 per cent to `6,099 crore from `5,218 crore a year ago. Total income during the quarter under review stood at `1.45 lakh crore, growing 6.26 per cent YoY.
President Donald Trump (2nd-R) with Vice President Mike Pence (L) as former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden (R) look on Trump's inauguration ceremonies at the US Capitol in Washington, on Jan. 20, 2017. (Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images)

Government Watchdog Says Senate Should Call on Joe Bidens Son to Testify on China, Ukraine Deals

The U.S. Senate should call on Joe Bidens son, Hunter Biden, to testify and answer questions about his business dealings in China and Ukraine, a government watchdog president said.

Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute, said that the son of the Democratic presidential frontrunner should be called in to testify before a Congressional committee.

I think it is not unreasonable at all for the Senate to ask Hunter Biden to come in and testify, Schweizer said during an interview with Breitbart. Why did you get a billion-dollar-plus deal with the Chinese governmenta kind of deal that Goldman Sachs and nobody else goteven though he had no background in private equity and no background in China? These are very simple and basic questions that need to be asked.

The Chinese are not going to toss around deals that size without expecting something in return, he added. Especially if somebody thats not qualified to get that deal, and a Ukrainian oligarch is not going to spend what according to bank record was $3.1 million into this account over a 14-month period for nothing. Theyre expecting something in return, and thats what Hunter Biden needs to be asked by a Senate committee to explain.

The timing of the deals were suspicious, Schweizer noted, adding that if President Donald Trumps children did the same thing, theyd be vilified.

We need to have consistency. If it is unacceptable, as I believe it is, for the Trump family to do large foreign dealsespecially with foreign governmentswhile Donald Trump is in the White House, it is absolutely inappropriate for Hunter Biden to do the same thing, especially on top of the fact that he was never in these businesses until his father became vice president of the United States, he said.

The call for Hunter Biden to appear and answer questions from Senators came after recently released evidence suggested Joe Biden, when serving as vice president, used his influence to force the creation of an anti-corruption agency in Ukraine which later leaked information about a Trump campaign official to create the false narrative that Russia and Trump colluded to win the 2016 presidential election.

Hunter Bidens dealings with China were publicly noted on the website of his investment company, Bohai Harvest RST, before a report revealed the firm had invested in a facial recognition application that helps the communist government there track dissidents en masse.

Hunter Biden was also paid more than $3 million while serving on the board of Burisma Holdings starting in 2014, Schweizer wrote in his book Secret Empires.

Burisma was being investigated by Ukraine for allegations that its chairman improperly used his position as minister of environment to award Burisma key permits. Trumps lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, recently said he was planning to travel to Ukraine to push leaders there to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden and the origins of the probe into alleged collusion between Trumps campaign and Russia. Giuliani later canceled the trip.

Joe Biden made repeated trips to the country during the probe into his son and boasted last year that he was successful in getting Ukranian President Petro Poroshenko to fire the prosecutor in charge of the investigation.

And I went over, I guess, the 12th, 13th time to Kiev. And I was supposed to announce that there was another billion-dollar loan guarantee, Biden said in 2018. When Poroshenko refused to fire the prosecutor, Biden warned that he had been given authority by President Barack Obama to pull the loan guarantee.

I looked at them and said, Im leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, youre not getting the money.  He got fired.

The probe was revisited recently, General Prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko told The Hill. He said hed gathered evidence that members of the Burisma board obtained funds for consulting services and Joe Bidens intervention in the probe, saying that he planned to present what he found to U.S. Attorney General William Barr.

Lutsenko told Bloomberg this week that he was not investigating Hunter Biden or Burisma but confirmed that he was planning to offer details to U.S. Attorney General William Barr about Burisma board payments so American authorities could check whether Hunter Biden paid U.S. taxes on the income.

Hunter Biden did not violate any Ukrainian lawsat least as of now, we do not see any wrongdoing. A company can pay however much it wants to its board, Lutsenko said.

Biden has dismissed concerns about his sons connection to his work, telling the Associated Press: We never once discussed it when he was there.

Theres not a single bit of evidence thats been shown in any reporting thats been done that he ever talked about it with me or asked any government official for a favor, he said. I have great confidence in my son. Hes a man of great integrity.

From NTD News
Prime Minister of Australia and leader of the Liberal Party Scott Morrison, flanked by his wife Jenny Morrison and daughters Lily Morrison and Abbey Morrison, delivers his victory speech at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth in Sydney, Australia on May 18, 2019. Prime Minister Scott Morrison was re-elected today, securing another three-year team for the Liberal-National coalition following an intense five-week campaign against Bill Shorten and the Labor party. (Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images)

Heros Welcome for Morrison on Victory in Australias Federal Election

Scott Morrison was re-elected May 18 as Prime Minister of Australia, securing another three-year team for the Liberal-National coalition following an intense five-week campaign against Bill Shorten and the Labor party.

I have always believed in miracles, he told Liberal supporters with his wife and daughters by his side, after Labor leader Bill Shorten conceded defeat.

Im standing with the three biggest miracles of my life here tonight and tonight we have been delivered another one.

The hundreds of Liberal supporters gathered in the ballroom of the Sofitel Wentworth Hotel cheered wildly as Morrison entered the room.

Morrison thanked Bill Shorten for his kind words and wished him and his family well, and Gods blessings.

Morrison dedicated the victory to the people he calls the quiet Australians.

 its always been about them. Its always been for those of you watching this at home tonight, for me and for my government, for all of my team, its all about you, he said.

Morrison, who became prime minister less than nine months ago after the Liberal party rolled Malcolm Turnbull, Morrison promised to return to work straight away.

Weve got a lot of work to do. Were going to get back to work for the Australians that we know go to work every day, who face those struggles and trials every day, he said.

Theyre looking for a fair go and theyre having a go and theyre going to get a go from our government.

The coalition will be returned to government after winning at least 74 of the 76 seats needed to form a majority in parliament.

A number of seats are still in doubt, but Morrison acknowledged those candidates who won their seatsand singled out Queensland, where Labor failed to make an impact.

How goods Queensland? he said, to chants of Queensland from the crowd. I never thought Id hear that in this room in NSW this close to Origin.

He thanked his family, candidates and Liberal party administrators and the coalition partners, the Nationals, and singled out Tony Abbott who lost his seat of Warringah.

Morrison concluded his speech with God Bless Australia.

Preliminary results are below. Counting will continue on Sunday, May 19.

Winners

Scott Morrison

Zali Steggall (defeated Tony Abbott in Warringah)

Fiona Philips (Labor, Gilmore)

Phillip Thompson (LNP, Herbert)

Melissa McIntosh (Liberals, Lindsay)

Terry Young (LNP, Longman)

Sarah Richards (Liberals, Macquarie)

Bridget Archer (Liberals, Bass)

Gavin Pearce (Liberals, Braddon)

Losers

Bill Shorten

Tony Abbott (lost seat of Warringah)

Clive Palmer (didnt pick up any seats)

Ross Hart (Labor, Bass)

Justine Keay (Labor, Braddon)

Warren Mundine (Liberal, Gilmore)

Cathy OToole (Labor, Herbert)

Diane Beamer (Labor, Lindsay)

Susan Lamb (LNP, Longman)

Susan Templeman (Labor, Macquarie)

Fraser Anning

Likely State of the Parliament

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Liberal National Party 74

Labor 65

Other 6

(6 seats in doubt. Liberals ahead in 3, Labor ahead in 2, Independent ahead in 1)

SENATE

NSW

Coalition 2, likely 3

Labor 2

Greens, likely 1

VIC

Coalition 2, likely 3

Labor 2

Greens, likely 1

QLD

Coalition 2, possibly 3

Labor 1, possibly 2

Final seat between Greens and One Nation

SA

Liberals 2, likely 3

Labor 2

Greens, likely 1

TAS

Liberals 2

Labor 2

Greens, likely 1

Jacqui Lambie, possibly 1

ACT

Liberals, likely 1

Labor 1

NT

Liberals 1

Labor 1
This unidentified woman is wanted in connection with the stabbing of a Milwaukee County Transit System driver in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on May 15, 2019. (Milwaukee Police Department)

Milwaukee Police Ask for Help Identifying Woman Who Allegedly Stabbed Bus Driver

Milwaukee Police have appealed to the public for help identifying a suspect wanted in connection with the stabbing of a bus driver.

Authorities said in a statement that a woman boarded a Milwaukee County Transit System bus on May 15th at around 3:30 p.m. and refused to pay the fare.

The bus driver confronted the woman, who became verbally and physically abusive. At one point during the confrontation, police allege the woman stabbed the driver in the arm.

She then fled the scene.

The Milwaukee Police Department needs the publics assistance in identifying the suspect wanted for the aggravated assault of a Milwaukee County Transit System bus driver, that occurred on May 15th at about 3:30 p.m. in the 7600 block of W. Appleton Ave. pic.twitter.com/3RI1XSLcoj  Milwaukee Police (@MilwaukeePolice) May 17, 2019

Representatives of the Milwaukee County Transit System were cited by WISN as saying the driver sustained minor injuries.

The suspect is described as an African American female, 54-55, slim build, and in her early 30s.

She is wanted on charges of aggravated assault. Police have asked anyone with information to come forward.

Crime in the United States

Violent crime in the United States has fallen sharply over the past 25 years, according to both the FBIs Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).

The rate of violent crimes fell by 49 percent between 1993 and 2017, reported the FBIs UCR, which only reflects crimes reported to the police.

The violent crime rate dropped by 74 percent between 1993 and 2017, according to BJSs CVS, which takes into account both crimes that have been reported to the police and those that have not.

From 1993 to 2017, the rate of violent victimization declined 74 percent, from 79.8 to 20.6 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older, the U.S. Department of Justice stated (pdf).

Both studies are based on data up to and including 2017, the most recent year for which complete figures are available.

The FBI recently released preliminary data for 2018. According to the Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, from January to June 2018, violent crime rates in the United States dropped by 4.3 percent compared to the same six-month period in 2017.

While the overall rate of violent crime has seen a steady downward drop since its peak in the 1990s, there have been several upticks that bucked the trend.

Between 2014 and 2016, the murder rate increased by more than 20 percent, to 5.4 per 100,000 residents, from 4.4, according to an analysis of FBI data. The last two-year period in which the rate soared so quickly was between 1966 and 1968.

Property Crime

The property crime rate fell by 50 percent between 1993 and 2017, according to the FBI, and by 69 percent according to BJS.

According to the FBIs preliminary figures for the first half of 2018, property crime rates in the United States dropped by 7.2 percent compared to the same six-month period in 2017.

As with violent crime, the FBI survey only takes into account crime reported to the police, while the BJS figures include reported and nonreported crime.

Public Perception About Crime

Despite falling long-term trends in both violent crime and property crime, opinion surveys repeatedly show Americans believe that crime is up.

The vast majority of Gallup polls taken since 1993 show (pdf) that over 60 percent of Americans believe there is more crime in the United States on a national scale compared to the previous year.

Pew Research surveys show similar findings. A survey in late 2016 revealed that 57 percent of registered voters said crime in the nation as a whole increased since 2008, despite both FBI and BJS data showing double-digit drops in violent and property crimes.

Perceptions differed on a national versus local level.

Surveys of perceptions of crime levels on a local scale showed that fewer than 50 percent of respondents in every single Gallup survey (pdf) done since 1996 believed that crime in their area had risen compared to the previous year.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson speaks in support of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Josh Hawley during a campaign rally in St. Louis, Missouri, on Nov. 5, 2018. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Missouri House Approves Ban on Most Abortions, Bill Heads to Governor

The Missouri House of Representatives approved a bill that would ban most abortions in the state on May 17, one day after it was approved by the state Senate.

The House approved the bill, HB 126, by a vote of 110-44 after the Senate approved it by a vote of 24-10. Its also known as the Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act.

The legislation states, It is the intent of the general assembly of the state of Missouri to defend the right to life of all humans, born and unborn, and declares that Missouri  [is] a sanctuary of life that protects pregnant women and their unborn children.

If a heartbeat is detected for the unborn child, the bill would make it illegal to get an abortion unless the mothers life is in danger. If a heartbeat is not detected, abortions are legal if completed within 96 hours of the detection test.

The bill also outlined that if federal law is changed then abortion shall not be permitted in the state under any circumstances.

If a total ban is not possible, abortions shall be limited to women who are less than eight weeks gestational age, with a required fetal heartbeat or brain function test. If a court rules against the law, then it would revert to banning abortions for women after 14 weeks of gestation. If that is also challenged successfully, then the law would not permit abortions past 18 weeks gestational age.

The bill also prohibits selective abortions due to sex, race, or a diagnosis or potential diagnosis of Down Syndrome.

Physicians who fail to perform the heartbeat test prior to carrying out an abortion face having their medical license revoked or suspended and a $1,000 fine. Any physician who performs an abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected will have his or her license revoked and any future license application denied.

If a physician carries out an abortion on an unborn child at 20 weeks or later, unless the mothers life is in danger, then the doctor would be guilty of a felony and face suspension or revocation of their license.

Women who get abortions would not be charged with a crime.

Earlier this morning the Missouri Senate passed an 8-week abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest. Its now onto the House for final approval before Friday. Gov. Mike Parson is ready to sign per a press conference Wednesday.  Sandhya Raman (@SandhyaWrites) May 16, 2019

Governor Expected to Sign

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, was expected to sign the measure, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. A press conference for the governor was scheduled for May 22.

The bill passage came the same week the Alabama governor signed a bill prohibiting abortions in all cases except for medical emergency, a bill that supporters said they hoped would trigger a legal challenge to the 1973 Supreme Court ruling, Roe v. Wade.

Missouris law, in contrast, was embedded with a series of triggers that set in with each legal challenge that is ruled on, if the ruling is against the law.

State Rep. Nick Schroer, a Republican who wrote the bill, said it was made to withstand judicial challenges and not cause them.

Mo. St. Rep Nick Schroeder starts the debate on his House heartbeat bill. It will be passed and sent to the Gov later this summer Bans abortions after 8 weeks. #Heartbeatbeat #NickSchroer #Missouriabortion #KMBC pic.twitter.com/miJmdFpLy6  Micheal Mahoney (@KCMikeMahoney) May 17, 2019

While others are zeroing in on ways to overturn Roe v. Wade and navigate the courts as quickly as possible, that is not our goal, Schroer said, according to the Associated Press. However, if and when that fight comes we will be fully ready. This legislation has one goal, and that goal is to save lives.

As in other states that passed similar bills, Democrats opposed the measure.

This gives more rights to the rapists than it does the mother, said Rep. Doug Beck, a Democrat, told the Post-Dispatch. Perpetrators of incest would have more rights.

Republicans said it was a necessary law that will protect unborn children.

Every single right we have is only possible for each one of us if we have the right to life, said Republican Rep. Sara Walsh.
Nancy Pelosi Claims Democrats Have Always Acknowledged the Border Crisis

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested that Democrats have never not called the situation at the United States-Mexico border a crisis, despite them repeatedly denying there was a crisis earlier this year.

Well, let me just say this. We have not said that there was a crisisthere is a humanitarian crisis at the border, and some of it provoked by the actions taken by the administration, Pelosi, a California Democratic representative, said on May 16 during her weekly press conference.

What is happening at the border is tragic and we hope to address some of that in the disaster supplemental, Pelosi said, referring to the multibillion-dollar disaster aid bill being developed in Congress. And we understand our responsibility to secure our border.

The speakers answer came after a member of the press asked how Democrats currently view the situation at the southern border, after calling it a manufactured crisis for months.

Despite her claim to the contrary, Pelosi and numerous other Democratic leaders have gone on record in the recent past as denying there was a crisis at the United States-Mexico border.

The presidents unlawful declaration over a crisis that does not exist does great violence to our Constitution and makes America less safe, stealing from urgently needed defense funds for the security of our military and our nation, read a joint statement from Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in February, attacking President Donald Trump for declaring a national emergency at the border.

The first, most dramatic thing we found was there is no crisis at the border, House Majority leader Steny Hoyer said in February after visiting the border near El Paso, Texas.

On social media, the Democratic Party left no room for nuance regarding its opinion of the southern border.

Democratic governors across the United States also contended that there was no crisis, and their positions on the issue resulted in less manpower at the United States-Mexico border. Three Democratic governorsGavin Newsom of California, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexicopulled their states National Guard troops from the border.

There is simply not ample evidence to support the presidents contention that there exists a national security crisis at our southwestern border, Evers stated in February. Therefore, there is no justification for the ongoing presence of Wisconsin National Guard personnel at the border.

However, as thousands of illegal immigrants have continued to reach the United States border every month, pushing immigration facilities past their breaking point, Democrats have begun changing their tune. April marked the second consecutive month where encounters at the southern border topped 100,000 and Border Patrol apprehension numbers have risen every month this year.

Pelosi said during the Thursday press conference it was necessary for the GOP and Democrats to reach a consensus on immigration reform.

We have to, I believe, come to comprehensive immigration reform, she continued. We have to do it in a way that secures our borders, has a path to citizenship, respects the value of family to us.

Pelosis office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Jason Hopkins | Immigration and politics reporter
Mr. Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Dafa, addresses over 10,000 practitioners of the spiritual discipline at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City, on May 17, 2019. (Larry Dye/The Epoch Times)

Over 10,000 Attend Falun Dafa Conference to Hear Stories of Self-Improvement

Founder of spiritual discipline addresses audience

NEW YORKAs speakers stepped up to the podium and shared their journeys of self-improvement, many in the audience quietly wiped away tears.

Many felt inspired to become better versions of themselves.

Its so moving to see someone who is prepared to be so vulnerable, said Mark Hutchison, an entrepreneur from Perth, Australia.

Hutchison and more than 10,000 other practitioners of the spiritual discipline Falun Dafa convened at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on May 17 for a daylong conference.

Attendees came from all over the world, as evidenced by the variety of languages available for simultaneous translation of the speeches, including Chinese, Spanish, German, Korean, Japanese, and Italian.



Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a traditional Chinese self-improvement discipline whose practitioners live according to the moral principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. They also do five sets of meditative exercises.

In China, spiritual practices were often passed down from master to student, across the generations. Falun Dafa, an ancient practice, was introduced by Mr. Li Hongzhi to the public in May 1992 in the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun. Since then, it has spread throughout China and to more than 80 countries.

The conference was also a celebration of the 27 years since Falun Dafas introduction.

Hutchison said that after learning Falun Dafa, he became a calmer person and gained a deeper understanding of how to find ones purpose in life. We fill our lives with so much busy-ness  but why are we human? he said.

Persecution

Falun Dafa reached enormous popularity in China, with 70 million to 100 million adherents by 1999, according to Western news outlets, citing official estimates.

The then-paramount leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Jiang Zemin, feared that the practices traditional moral teachings would prove more attractive to the Chinese people than the Partys atheistic ideology.

On July 20, 1999, Jiang launched a nationwide campaign to eradicate the practice. Adherents were rounded up and thrown into prisons, labor camps, brainwashing centers, and other facilities, where they were often tortured in an effort to force them to give up their faith.

The website Minghui.org, which serves as a clearinghouse for news about the persecution, has confirmed 4,304 deaths from torture and abuse. The real number is believed to be far higher, due to the difficulty of getting information out of China.

In addition, large numbers are believed to have been murdered through the pillaging of their organs. Since The Epoch Times broke the story of forced organ harvesting in China in 2006, independent researchers and journalists have investigated and confirmed allegations that the Chinese regime is extracting organs from living prisoners of conscience, mainly Falun Dafa practitioners, for use in the countrys organ transplant system. Researchers have called this a cold genocide. As an integral part the persecution, the CCPs propaganda apparatus launched a campaign to vilify the practice and its adherents.

Many of the speakers on May 17 recounted their efforts in raising awareness about the persecution in China, and the difficulties they experienced while doing so.

One young woman currently living in Tokyo spoke about her experiences of talking to Chinese tourists about the persecution of Falun Dafa.

Many had believed the propaganda by the Chinese regime and held negative feelings toward Falun Dafa, sometimes yelling or cursing at her and other Falun Dafa volunteers who tried to speak with them.

But the young woman realized that she should be kind and patient toward them despite their hatred. After telling them about how the Chinese regime disseminated hateful propaganda about Falun Dafa, many tourists changed their attitudes.

Rob Gray from the United Kingdom talked about his efforts to appeal to government officials about the issue of forced organ harvesting from Falun Dafa practitioners in China.

Gray spoke about his efforts to raise awareness about this issue in both the UK Parliament and the European Union, and how he persevered in the difficult, tiring task of coordinating outreach efforts due to his belief that more people needed to hear about these atrocities, which are still occurring in China today.

Founder of Falun Dafa Makes Appearance

The teacher of Falun Dafa, Mr. Li, came to speak at the conference. In Chinese, Mr. Li is often referred to as shifu, a term of respect for a great teacher. Upon his appearance on stage, Mr. Li was greeted by a standing ovation.

Mr. Li spoke for about two hours, discussing challenges Falun Gong practitioners face in their efforts to raise awareness about the persecution. After his address, which was delivered without the use of notes, he answered questions from the audience.

For William Wang, 42, this was his first time attending a major Falun Dafa conference since immigrating from Beijing to the United States in 2018.

Hearing Mr. Li speak in person stirred deep feelings of gratitude and wonder in Wang. In the first 15 minutes, I didnt even realize that its real that I can listen to Shifu in person, Wang said.

Wang said he was also very excited to meet with so many Falun Dafa practitioners and listen to their speeches.

Nicole Hao contributed to this report.
Police: 1 Arrested After Shooting Wounds 7 Near Ball State University

MUNCIE, IndianaA shooting at an off-campus party near Ball State University in Indiana early Saturday left seven people injured, three of them critically, police said.

Its not clear how many people might have opened fire, but police said one man was in custody. One of the wounded had to be airlifted to a hospital in Indianapolis, about 50 miles southwest of Muncie, Police Chief Joe Winkle told WXIN-TV.

Winkle said it appears the shooting happened after some kind of confrontation inside the house. Some of the victims were Ball State students, he said.

I think anytime you have a DJ and you get word out there that theres a party there, you are gonna draw a bunch of different people from all over town, so I think thats probably whats happened, Winkle said.

VaShaun Harnett, 19, of Muncie, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder, police told The (Muncie) Star Press.

Stella East, a Ball State sophomore and a Muncie native, told the newspaper that she was in the homes backyard when the shooting took place.

BREAKING: Suspect arrested in Muncie shooting after seven wounded, including three critically: https://t.co/ifQYrrDXCy  The Star Press (@TheStarPress) May 18, 2019

She said about 50 people were inside and 50 outside when she and a friend heard five to 10 shots from inside the house. After a brief pause, they heard about 30 more shots, moving from inside to outside.

Everyone just ran in opposite ways when the shooting started. I just grabbed my friends and ran as far as I could. I was trying to stay calm but knew it was very serious and just had to get away, East said.

Vice President Mike Pence, who delivered the commencement address Saturday at Taylor University in nearby Upland, commented on the shooting on Twitter.

Landed in Muncie, IN this morning and was briefed on last nights shooting, the former Indiana governor wrote. My prayers are with the injured and their families. God bless them all.

Landed in Muncie, IN this morning and was briefed on last nights shooting. I commend law enforcement for their quick response. My prayers are with the injured and their families. God bless them all.  Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) May 18, 2019

Ball State issued a campus alert shortly after the shootings warning members of the university community to stay clear of the area.
Sharonda L. Avery, 42, of Spotsylvania, faces a number of charges in connection with allegations she ran a psychological practice unlawfully. (Stafford County Sheriff's Office)

Police Investigate Fake Psychologist Who Treated Hundreds in Virginia

A Virginia woman has been arrested after allegedly pretending to be a licensed psychologist in Stafford County and unlawfully treating hundreds of patients.

Authorities cited by CBS6 said 42-year-old Sharonda L. Avery posed as a psychologist for over five years.

A spokesperson with the Stafford County Sheriffs Office told the news outlet that authorities were alerted to Averys alleged malpractice by patients who felt they or their children had been misdiagnosed.

Avery has treated hundreds of children and adults, Amanda Vicinanzo told CBS6. She was fired from the medical practice, which is no longer in business.

According to Fredericksburg.com, some of the children Avery treated received medication based on her diagnoses.

This was my sons psychologist and counselor for years, wrote Cathy Middlekauff Volz in a post on Facebook. Im sick to my stomach. He will have to be reevaluated, rediagnosed (she dxd him) and will have to start over. She had us fooled. Dr. Johnson was the medical director and shes no better for not checking up on this fraud. There are no words for how deeply hurt my family is by this woman.

Another commenter, Bernita Brown Gilliam, wrote that the clinic where Avery worked continues to operate, saying, They say that the medical practice is no longer in business. Trust me. It is still in businessjust under another name.

Avery reportedly claimed she had two PhDs and a Masters degree, while investigators said she hadnt even graduated from college.

The fake psychologist also reportedly testified in court in a juvenile relations case under the guise of a qualified expert, resulting in a charge of perjury.

Avery also faces charges of fraud, forgery, and practicing psychology without a license.

She was charged on May 6 and remains at Rappahannock Regional Jail without bond.

According to the Fredericksburg.com, Avery faces up to 20 years in jail.

Massive Marriage Fraud Scheme

The incident recalls the case of an alleged recent fake marriage-for-immigration-status racket.

Nearly 100 people were indicted, including an attorney, for participating in a massive marriage fraud ring in Houston, Texas, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The federal agency said the grand jury returned an indictment on April 30 with 206 counts, charging 96 people. So far, 50 people are in custody, according to the agency.

According to the indictment, the scam involves creating sham marriages to help foreign people to attain immigration status and admission into the United States. The main purpose of the scam was to circumvent U.S. immigration laws.

Marriage fraud is a serious crime, said District Director Tony Bryson from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Houston.

Nearly 100 people indicted, 50 currently in custody in massive Houston-based marriage fraud conspiracy https://t.co/j5uuZwHAOB pic.twitter.com/07k5hjrDEd  ICE (@ICEgov) May 13, 2019

This indictment reveals how successful our working relationships are with our law enforcement and intelligence partners when it comes to investigating marriage fraud, Bryson added. USCIS remains steadfast in our commitment to ensuring national security, public safety and the integrity of the immigration system.

Prosecutors say the marriages were shams because the alleged couples did not live together, nor did they have any plan to do so, even though their statements and official documents indicated that they did. Moreover, in some cases, these spouses had only met briefly and usually just before obtaining their marriage license. In other cases, they never met at all.

To make a wedding appear real, the organization created fake wedding albums and photos, along with false tax, utility, and employment information so as to not raise suspicion from USCIS and ensure the immigration forms were approved, prosecutors alleged.

One of the middlemen in the scam allegedly received $50,000 to $70,000 from the beneficiary spouse for helping them to obtain a full lawful permanent resident status, according to the statement.

According to the indictment, criminal charges include 47 counts of marriage fraud, 50 counts of mail fraud; 51 counts of immigration fraud; 51 counts of false statements under oath in a matter relating to registry of aliens; and one count each of conspiracy to engage in marriage fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, conspiracy to commit immigration fraud, conspiracy to make false statements under oath in a matter relating to registry of aliens, unlawful procurement of naturalization, obstructing and impeding the due administration of justice, and tampering with a witness, victim or informant.

These arrests mark the culmination of a comprehensive yearlong multi-agency investigation into one of the largest alleged marriage fraud conspiracies ever documented in the Houston area, said Special Agent in Charge Mark Dawson, from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston.

According to the statement, marriage fraud, or conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, has a maximum sentence of five years.

Epoch Times reporter Janita Kan contributed to this report.
Attorney General nominee William Barr testifies on the first day of his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 15, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Probe Into Russia-Trump Investigation Will Figure Out if Officials Put Their Thumb on the Scale: Barr

The investigation into the origin of the Russia-Trump probe will look into whether government officials tried rigging the election against President Donald Trump, Attorney General William Barr said.

Ive been trying to get answers to the questions and Ive found that a lot of the answers have been inadequate and some of the explanations Ive gotten dont hang together, in a sense I have more questions today than when I first started, Barr told the openly conservative Fox News in an interview that was going to air on May 17.

Barr said that some of the explanations of what occurred havent added up.

People have to find out what the government was doing during that period. If were worried about foreign influence, for the very same reason we should be worried about whether government officials abuse their power and put their thumb on the scale, Barr continued. Im not saying that happened but its something we have to look at.

Barr in April told Congress that Trumps 2016 presidential campaign was spied on.

I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal, its a big deal, Barr said.

The generation I grew up in, which is the Vietnam War period, people were all concerned about spying on anti-war people and so forth by the government and there were a lot of rules put in place to make sure that theres an adequate basis before our law enforcement agencies get involved in political surveillance. Im not suggesting that those rules were violated, but I think its important to look at that. And Im not talking about the FBI necessarily, but intelligence agencies more broadly.

The question is whether it was predicated, adequately predicated, Barr added. And Im not suggesting it wasnt adequately predicated, but I need to explore that. I think its my obligation.

Trump said that he agreed with the assessment, saying a day later: Ill go a step further. In my opinion, there was illegal spying, unprecedented spying. And something that should never be allowed to happen in our country again.

On May 14 it was revealed that Barr has directed U.S. Attorney John H. Durham in Connecticut to investigate whether the spying was adequately predicated.

The Russia-Trump probe heavily relied on the infamous dossier compiled by ex-British spy Christopher Steele, who worked with political research firm Fusion GPS and was paid by the campaign of Hillary Clinton, Trumps opponent, and the Democratic National Committee.

At least two people have been outed as spies: Stefan Halper and Azra Turk. Officials have indicated in the past that there may be more.

A partial transcript of the testimony Jonathan Moffa, FBI deuty assistant director, gave in August 2018 was released by the openly conservative National Review website on May 3. Moffa said that Steele was a confidential human source (CHS), or a spy.

How many CHSs did you have working on this investigation at the time? he was asked.

After conferring with his counsel, he responded: I legitimately do not know the total number of CHSs. Thats an operational side decision, but I also dont want to imply to you that I dont  Im not aware of any CHSs, right. So thats what we were just talking about. But I legitimately cant tell you the overall number that are engaged. I just dont know it.

From NTD News
Sunitha natti By

Express News Service

Funding for startups is showing no signs of slowing down, instead even getting a dash of glamour from Bollywood stars to boot.

According to Indian Tech Startup Fundings latest report, funding in the first quarter of 2019 (January-March) saw a phenomenal 39 per cent increase at $3.42 per cent from $2.46 billion during the same period a year ago. However, sequential growth stood at a pedestrian 5 per cent. Nevertheless, its a strong indicator for the ecosystem, as total funding had been declining since Q2 2017.

2019 also saw a bevy of Bollywood stars including Deepika Padukone, Suniel Shetty, and Arjun Kapoor backing startups, while experts anticipate more actors to follow suit in the coming quarters.

As for sectors, e-commerce once again took the pole position, emerging as the highest funded sector for five consecutive years.

Among investors, Sequoia Capital stood out as the most active venture capitalist during the first quarter, having participated in 12 funding deals, followed by Blume Ventures and Matrix Partners with 8 deals each. Other players like Accel Partners India saw enthusiastic participation with 6 deals, according to Ankan Das, Head, DataLabs, Inc42.

While seed stage funding deals during the first quarter grew by 13 per cent compared to the previous quarter  a relief, since deals in this stage have fallen significantly since 2018. However, despite the rise in the number of deals, the average funding amount continued to fall for the second consecutive quarter, declining by 5 per cent in Q1 2019 compared to Q4 2018.

As for bridge funding, the first quarter of each year usually sees a higher volume of bridge funding deals compared to other quarters. This could be attributed to startups wanting to extend their runway in the last quarter of the financial year. In Q1 2019, the amount grew significantly, recording a growth of 184 per cent, according to Das.

Similarly, growth stage funding registered an increase of 69 per cent as against the previous quarter. While the amount of funding has been increasing, the number of deals in this stage has been falling since Q3 2018. In Q1 2019 too, the number of deals fell by 10 per cent compared to the previous quarter. Finally, late stage funding which has been on a decline since Q3, 2018 continued its downward trajectory with a 17 per cent dip compared to the previous quarter. However, late stage funding in Q1 has historically been low compared to rest of the year.

Meanwhile, the Centre has proposed setting up India Startup Fund with a corpus of Rs 1,000 crore to support high technology startups. It also proposed a corpus of Rs 1,000 crore as part of incentives under the vision document Startup India Vision 2024, which was prepared by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. It aims to set up 50,000 new startups and create 20 lakh direct and indirect jobs by 2024.
Dog, Maverick, is covered in kisses as people pet him while visiting a memorial setup near Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in memory of those lost during a mass shooting at the school on February 14, 2019 in Parkland, Florida. On Feb. 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School 14 students and three staff members were killed during the mass shooting. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Therapy Dogs for Parkland Shooting Survivors Honored With Own Yearbook Page

A group of therapy dogs who have been supporting students at Floridas Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following the 2018 Parkland shooting, have been honored with their very own yearbook page.

The team of 14 therapy dogs provided comfort in the immediate aftermath of the February 14, 2018 Parkland attack that claimed the lives of 17, when students returned to school just over a week later.

Due to popular demand, the dogs returned to the school again for the 2018-2019 academic year.

Weve included these cuties in the yearbook  pic.twitter.com/CZScvAhjCN  Aerie Yearbook (@AerieYearbook) May 3, 2019

On the special page for the dogs, the schools Aerie yearbook features Schooner Davis in a bow tie, Gail Policella, Sophie Levy, Annie Sultenfuss, River Haneski, Grace Goodwill, also known as therapydogprincess, and others.

The team at the high schools yearbook thought it was only fitting to give the dogs special recognition for their work in supporting the students. The group of 14 dogs take up two rows in the yearbook and are shown after the last page of the students photos.

Editor-in-chief Caitlynn Tibbetts and adviser Sarah Lerner of the Aerie Yearbook team told BuzzFeed News that they wanted the yearbook to represent the school in a positive light following the horrific massacre.

We love that Chief loves his yearbook! Make sure to find him to sign it.  pic.twitter.com/JHw0gjtptH  Aerie Yearbook (@AerieYearbook) May 14, 2019

Tibbetts, 17, said, Its a balancing act. After the shooting we wanted that yearbook to be perfect and had to cover as much as possible.

This year, we wanted to give proper representation of our school and who we are now without giving so much focus to what happened to us in the past.

The therapy dogs are the one thing from last year that is permanent and positive, she added.

Not everything is awful. Thanks @cattibbetts @mrs_lerner for sharing your experience putting together the yearbook for Marjory Stoneman Douglas and for these incredible doggo photos https://t.co/iiKkIukj5c  Brianna Sacks (@bri_sacks) May 17, 2019

Since the Valentines Day 2018 attack, the dogs have been key in supporting and consoling the students and staff, comforting them with the wag of a tail or a hallway handshake. The canine team attend classes and walk around the schools courtyard as students go to the cafeteria for lunch, BuzzFeed News reported.

Some of the dogs even turned up as a comforting friend for the teens during prom.

Theres nothing a dog cant fix, Lerner told BuzzFeed News. Ill be teaching and in comes a dog and these big 18-year-old adults all the sudden become mushy 5-year-old kids and its been such a comfort for us.

Including the therapy/service dogs in the yearbook is the best decision weve made so far like this one dog had a bowtie and my heart  pic.twitter.com/ecP9X01wqD  natasha (@sighnatasha) October 4, 2018

It was during makeup picture day last October that Lerner decided she wanted to include the canine team in the high schools yearbook.

I told one of their handlers about it, and next thing I know I had 15 dogs in the room, she recalled.

We sat them up on chairs, they were smiling for the camera. It was the greatest day of my life.

Just over a year on from the horrific massacre, the students and staff have had further challenges and tragedies to deal with, including the suicides of two Parkland shooting survivors this springSydney Aiello, 19, and teen Calvin Desir, 16.

Lerner added the yearbook serves as more of a celebration, at the request of the 35 students.

Its not just a yearbook  its a record of history.
Nariah Ivy Brown together with her mother, Aija Brown. (Photo from Nariah Troopers via GoFundMe)

Toddler Dies After Brutal Sexual Assault at a Motel in Virginia

A 17-month-old girl has died after she was brutally assaulted at a motel in Virginia, police have said.

The toddlers mother, Aija Brown, said her daughter, Nariah Ivy Brown, was sexually assaulted in Richmond on May 8 by a man she trusted and died from her injuries two days later.

Brown said she had left her daughter in the Colony House Motor Lodge motel while giving a relative a lift, with the man who she said she had known since fourth grade and who had been her boyfriend for a year.

I said, baby, I love youand Im going to let you go with him and Ill be right back, Brown said, according to NBC12.

The little girls aunt says the girls mother, Aija Brown, had left her with someone she knew and trusted in their motel room. She returned to find her baby had been horrifically assaulted. She rushed Nariah to the hospital, where she later died. https://t.co/OXlbgpq7FP  WTVG 13abc (@13abc) May 15, 2019

But when she returned to their room, she found her daughter injured.

Brown immediately rushed her daughter to a local hospital, where doctors found she had suffered multiple severe injuries, including fractured ribs and punctured lungs.

I was in panic mode, disgusted, in total shock that anything happened to her, Brown said.

I was giving my baby CPR in the back seat, Brown told WTVR. Because I thought she wasnt breathing.

Nariah was unable to recover from her injuries and passed away at the VCU Medical Center on Friday after she was hospitalized for two days.

Nariah Brown was just 17 months old. https://t.co/4eQSfFEXLo  Metro (@MetroUK) May 15, 2019

The devastated mother has since urged parents to be extremely careful in looking after their children.

I love my daughterbut I just want parents, anybodykeep your children close, she said.

I was gonna always do anything to protect her, Brown added. She was loving. She would go up to strangers, hug them, and smile.

Aija Brown pledged to her baby girl that she would never leave her side. https://t.co/MuqQBlETtU  WTVR CBS 6 Richmond (@CBS6) May 14, 2019

On May 14, a vigil was held for the toddler at Forest Hill Park, where friends and family members released balloons into the sky.

Just heartbreaking. May we all find peace in our hearts knowing she is with our King. In absolute peace and infinite glory, family members posted on social media along with footage of the vigil.

Loved Ones Hold Vigil for Virginia Toddler Who Died After Motel Sexual Assault https://t.co/aQjYWdTeOa pic.twitter.com/vHDoY9F9s6  Paris2015 (MATRICULE 2709) (@paris_2015) May 16, 2019

Her family has set up a fundraiser titled Nariah Troopers, to help pay expenses for her funeral.

Nariah was an outgoing, happy and loving baby, who life was snatched away from a mother, grandmother, grandfather, aunts, uncles and a host of family who loved her deeply, the GoFundMe page reads.

She had plenty of different loving personalities and loved to dance. She suffered tremendous amount of injuries that called her home to be with the Lord.

MCV did everything in their power to try and save her. Nariah Ivy Brown will be truly missed. Please continue to keep her family in your prayers during this incredibly tragic time.

At the time of writing, the family have raised more than $6,600 toward funeral costs.

Nariah Ivy Brown left this world much like she came into it: prematurely and fighting for her life. https://t.co/HtF9hdIb32 via @rtdnews  Alissa Smith (@byalissasmith) May 15, 2019

Messages of support for the family have flooded in from all over the world.

This story breaks my heart. Its hard to believe someone could be so heinous. My prayers are with the family and sweet Nariah, one person wrote.

Another commented, I am in tears reading about what happened to this baby. Praying for the Mother and family of this precious soul.

Richmond police confirmed they have taken a person of interest into custody, but have not yet announced charges.
Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners came together on New York City's Governors Island for the character formation event on May 18, 2019. The emblem consists of ancient symbols, the yellow srivatsa symbolizing Buddhism and the red-black and red-blue Taiji symbols representing Taoism. (NTD)

Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance Celebrated in New York City

NEW YORKIt took three days of preparation and more than 5,000 people to make it happen, but the result was a feast for the eyes: a 360-foot, colorful spiritual emblem framed by three characters, representing principles observed by millions of Falun Gong practitioners around the world.

Donning coordinated outfits, Falun Gong practitioners formed a massive version of the spiritual practices emblem, known as the falun, or law wheel. The Chinese characters for truthfulness, compassion, and tolerancethe principles of the practicewere also displayed in yellow.

The formation lit up a grassy field on an already bright spring day on Governors Island, just off of Manhattan, on May 18. The event marked the close of three days of activities celebrating World Falun Dafa Day in New York.

First introduced in China in 1992, Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice that consists of five sets of meditation exercises and a set of teachings centered on personal moral improvement.

Falun Gong, which drew tens of millions of adherents through word of mouth, had become one of the largest spiritual communities in the country by the time the Chinese communist regime deemed it a threat to its totalitarian control and banned the practice in 1999.

The nationwide persecution has led to waves of practitioners being thrown into prisons, labor camps, and brainwashing centers, where many have experienced torture and abuse, and have even died from their injuries.

Honoring a Tradition

The spectacle, known as character formation, is a decades-old tradition that started in China in the 1990s, when Falun Gong practitioners could still freely practice the exercises in public parks across the country.

Falun Gong practitioners forming the Falun emblem in Wuhan, central Hubei Province, China, in 1996. (Minghui)

Since the persecution, overseas practitioners have taken up the torch to keep the tradition alive.

Outside of China, Falun Gong is freely practiced in more than 80 countries.

The first overseas homage appeared in Taipei, Taiwan, in 2000, with giant characters for truth, compassion, tolerance and Falun Dafa arrayed in the square in front of the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

In New York City, character formation has become an annual custom since 2013, and the number of participants keeps growing every year.

Marking the 27th anniversary of the practices introduction to the public, this years character formation was the largest staged in the United States.

Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners came together on New Yorks Governors Island for the character formation event on May 18, 2019. (NTD)

The event organizers said they wanted to use this visual message to both celebrate the benefits of the practice and commemorate the ongoing persecution, with each Falun Gong practitioner involved representing one particle of a larger international community.

The falun emblem, the symbol of Falun Gong, incorporates the srivatsa symbol from Buddhism and the taiji symbol from Taoist teachings. The emblem bears the five standard colors in Chinese cultureblue, black, white, red, and yelloweach corresponding to the five elements of wood, water, metal, fire, and earth.

Whats meaningful about the character formation is that the grand setting really shows how wide Dafa has spread, and its also a chance to form a sense of community, event organizer Michael Yu told The Epoch Times.

The aerial view of the imagery can be so powerful, and it can really bring the message home.

Living With Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance

Although coming from all parts of the world and speaking different languages, practitioners participating in the event said they felt a sense of togetherness due to their shared aspiration to become better people.

Fabio Cotroneo from Rome found Falun Gong in 2012 after searching for a spiritual practice for most of his life.

When I read Zhuan Falun, I felt all the truth of the universe was inside [the book], he said.

For the first time, I felt peace in my heart.

Zhuan Falun is the main text of Falun Gong, which contains moral teachings centered around the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

Cotroneo said applying compassion in his life helped him in his role as a staff manager at a museum.

My job  is more simple now, because I dont give orders, but speak to people with heart, he said.

He said he now tries to listen and understand the people he manages, and to speak to them with kindness, even when they have made mistakes.

The people that work with me always say to me that they are serene, they are peaceful when  [they are] in [my] office, and they can speak with me, Cotroneo said.

Joseph Gigliotti, Canada, stands in preparation for the character formation event in N.Y.s Governors Island on May 18, 2019. (Eva Fu/The Epoch Times)

For Joseph Gigliotti, a chiropractor from Ontario, Canada, the practice has helped him form a deeper bond with his family by teaching him to take a step back in conflicts and stand in others shoes.

My family always has to be right, so for me, the hardest part was not fighting back, to have patience and say, Hey, maybe they are right, too, he said.

Gigliotti said he used to get upset at his older brother, who always pointed out his faults. But the word tolerance reminded him to see the situation differently.

[My brother is] doing it because he wants me to succeed, even if he didnt say it in a nice way. At the end of the day, if you can see how people care about you, thats what matters, Gigliotti said.

Myriam Orso, a public servant based in Geneva, Switzerland, started practicing Falun Gong 16 years ago. She said reading Zhuan Falun revealed to her the meaning of life.

For everything, I try to first think of these three principles before doing something, Orso said.

Orso said that these values help her to keep calm and maintain kindness even when the other party is angry or hostile, and in doing so, shes found that the other person also cools down and begins to work with her to resolve the issues.

She also recently realized that tolerance included having the power to forgive others.

[There are people] I have not forgiven  for something they did in the past, Orso said.

But applying the principles made Orso see that those things that happened to her were not all bad, and allowed her to let go of her anger toward those people.

I feel free. Very quiet and free, Orso said.

Falun Gong practitioners prepare for the character formation event on Governors Island in New York City on May 18, 2019. (NTD)

Falun Gong practitioners prepare for the character formation event on Governors Island in New York City on May 18, 2019. (NTD)

Cathy He contributed to this report.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and wife Jenny Morrison hug at Lilli Pilli Public School in Sydney, Australia, on May 18, 2019. (Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images)

Voters Defy Media Speculation of a Labor Election Win in Queensland

Australian voters in the general election appear to have defied media reports suggesting the oppositions left-leaning Labor Party would win several seats in Queensland.

The Australian Electoral Commission confirmed on May 18 at 9:45 p.m. local time the ruling Liberal National Coalition was leading the vote count with 23 coalition candidates compared to just six Labor candidates.

Local media reports had strongly suggested Labor would win marginal seats in what was dubbed the unloseable battle of Queensland. A key factor behind this predicted swing was thought to be Labors opposition to Adani Australias AUD$21 billion ($14.4 billion) Carmichael Coal Project in Central Queensland.

Labor is struggling to have an impact in the state, where a slew of marginal seats were up for grabs and was the focus of heavy campaigning by both sides, the Australian Associated Press reported. The controversial Adani coal mine projectand Labors ambivalent response to itappears to have played a part in central Queenslanders giving their vote to the Liberal National Party.

#BREAKING: Prime Minister Scott Morrison has swept to a sensational win over Bill Shorten in a shock election result that keeps the Coalition in power. https://t.co/pHdTBLj6Zd #AusVotes #Auspol  news.com.au (@newscomauHQ) May 18, 2019

As a result, incumbent Coalition Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is likely to return to his northern Brisbane seat of Dickson with 53 percent of the vote compared to Labor Candidate Ali Frances 47 percent at 10 p.m. local time.

Coalition lawmaker George Christensen, who was criticized for taking 294 days off to visit his fiancee in the Philippine capital of Manila, is expected to comfortably return to his federal seat of Dawson with 65 percent of the vote compared to Labor candidate Belinda Hassans 35 percent.

Coalition candidate Phillip Thompson appears to be winning the Townsville seat in Herbert with 57 percent of the vote compared to incumbent Labor lawmaker Cathy OTooles 43 percent.

The coalition has also retained the coastal seats of Flynn, Capricornia, and Leichhardt.

Scott Morrison within sight of a win despite Tony Abbott losing Warringah #ausvotes | @CroweDM https://t.co/0apECMVAcY  The Sydney Morning Herald (@smh) May 18, 2019

Coalition senator Arthur Sinodinos said former Greens Leader Bob Browns anti-Adani convoy, which traveled through Queensland, had upset voters whose livelihoods rely on the mining industry.

The Bob Brown caravan, which went up there to talk about stopping Adani, had locals thinking, Hang on, you are not going to tell us how to live,' he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie was not surprised to learn Christensen had safely returned to his seat.

He has been backing jobs in his electorate, and that is part of the fight, McKenzie told 9News. The fact is, this is a seat that relies on mining jobs, and George is at the front of that fight.

Senior Labor frontbencher Brendan OConnor believes voting preferences from the United Australia Party and One Nation to the coalition were a factor in these interim results.

Senior Labor senator Penny Wong admitted the election campaign had been tough.

[Clive] Palmers relentless advertising, which essentially set a pox on everybody, is much more difficult for a party like ours, Wong said.

At 11 p.m. the coalition appeared to have won 75 seats compared to Labors 67, with five seats still to be decided.

Either party will need 76 seats to form a majority to govern in the House of Representatives.

The crossbench is expected to include Independent candidates Andrew Wilkie and Zali Steggall, Katters Australian Party leader Bob Katter, Center Alliance candidate Rebekha Sharkie and the Greens candidate Adam Bandt.

Former Liberal deputy leader Julie Bishop congratulated Prime Minister Scott Morrisons presidential-style campaign.

If Scott Morrison pulls this off he will be forever immortalized in the history of the Liberal Partyhe will be confirmed enduring fame, if he is able to find that goat track back, Bishop told the Nine Network. Actually, its a single lane highway now.

Scott Morrisons presidential-style campaign led the Coalition to significant gains in Queensland and has given him a realistic chance of a shock outright victory or minority government.https://t.co/wJENv1Twa3  Brisbane Times (@brisbanetimes) May 18, 2019

Former Prime Minister John Howard believes Morrison deserves the overwhelming gratitude of the Liberals across the country.
Army veteran, author and volunteer guide at the D-Day memorial Bob VandeLinde spoke to the Smith Mountain Lake Lions Club on May 9. VandeLinde, who now lives in Moneta, joined the army as a paratrooper, serving in Korea from 1950-51. The West Virginia native was part of the 187th Airborne Combat Regimen, making two jumps behind enemy lines. He retired from Woodmen of the World Life Insurance where he worked for 38 years. He has written 7 books,the last one titled My Precious Jean Ella that was about his late wife and their lives together.
The horrors of Syria's civil war diminished somewhat in recent months after eight years of carnage and atrocities. But they could resume on a horrifying scale in the province of Idlib, which is home to some 3 million people and remains under the control of rebel groups. Late last month, a truce governing the region was ruptured when the regime of Bashar Assad launched a new offensive, in concert with Russian air power. Once again, bombs rained down on Syrian homes, hospitals and food stores; according to the United Nations, more than 150,000 people fled northward, toward Syria's border with Turkey.

The attack threatens to trigger a humanitarian catastrophe larger than any Syria has yet seen. Tens of thousands of the civilians in Idlib are refugees from other parts of the country. In many cases, they were bused there by the Assad regime under deals to obtain the surrender of other rebel towns. An attempt to retake the province by force would trigger a massive new wave of refugees that could swamp Turkey - and perhaps extend to Europe, which is still suffering the political aftershocks from the mass arrival of Syrians in 2015.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: There may be differences between IndiGo promoters Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia on certain matters but the company has a great track record of resolving such matters and coming out ahead, said airline's CEO Ronojoy Dutta on Saturday. "If the current differences were to not get resolved, you shall certainly hear about it; however, it serves no purpose speculating about it," Dutta said in a press release on Saturday evening.

This is a first statement issued by Dutta since Thursday morning when various media reports were published about differences between Bhatia and Gangwal. "We all know, that in any strong and well-managed company there will always be differences," Dutta said.

"And, yes, there may be differences currently on certain matters but the company has a great track record of resolving issues and coming out ahead," he added. Dutta said he "deeply resents and wishes" to dispel all attempts to portray "us as a fractured team at IndiGo".

The CEO said the airline remains committed to its path of a rapid build-up of airline connectivity within India and to international destinations. The airline's full Board of Directors want to clearly state that "IndiGo's strategy in terms of growth and cost leadership remain unchanged, we remain committed to being an institution which benchmarks itself against the best-in-class organizations across the world," he added.

While Gangwal owns around 37 per cent share in InterGlobe Aviation, Bhatia has around 38 per cent share in the company that is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Dutta said Gangwal has authorised him to give the following statement on his behalf: "I am categorically and clearly stating that there is no interest or desire whatsoever on the part of the RG (Rakesh Gangwal) Group to take control of the company."

According to Dutta, Gangwal said, "Also, to put to rest the messaging on the fact that the RG Group is attempting to renegotiate the Shareholders Agreement (SHA), I (Gangwal) am placing on record that the RG Group stands by the current SHA which, in any case, expires this October.

The airline's CEO said media reports on "potential disagreements" between Bhatia and Gangwal have "fuelled further speculation" as to what those areas of disagreements could be including "future direction of the company, management changes, control issues and the like". "I would like to forcefully address these baseless speculations as they are not in the best interests of our shareholders, our employees and the travelling public," the CEO said.

Talking about the management changes the airline has gone through since few years, Dutta said, "all great companies go through periods of transition as they evolve from one phase of their growth to another and a little bit of turbulence during these transition phases is neither unusual nor unwelcome."

Last year, Aditya Ghosh quit as the IndiGo CEO in April. For around nine months after him, Rahul Bhatia - one of the airline promoters - served as the interim CEO. Dutta, an aviation veteran, was appointed as the CEO of the largest Indian airline in January this year. Many expats have been appointed in senior positions of the airline in the last few years.

For example, Jason Herter joined IndiGo as Vice President, Operations Control Centre and Dispatch in October 2016 and Wolfgang Prock-Schauer joined the airline as Chief Operating Officer in January 2018. Dutta said, "The promoters and the Board have worked as a team in making these management changes. We would urge the press not to confuse every management change as a sign of dissonance at the top."

The CEO said it is true that the Bhatia's holding company InterGlobe Enterprises (IGE) is represented by the law firm of J Sagar Associates whereas RG group is represented by law firm of Khaitan and Company. "These prestigious law firms have been on retainer by the founders since at least the time of the IPO of the Company in 2015 and they continue to represent the promoters on various ongoing matters as it relates to their shareholding in IndiGo," Dutta said. "Thus, the 4-year-old ongoing retainer history of the law firms should not be presented or seen as a new revelation," he added.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $20,000 grant to Palmer Public School district to replace one of its older diesel buses.

The new buses will reduce pollutants that are linked to health problems such as asthma and lung damage.

Nationally, EPA will provide more than $9.3 million to 145 school bus fleets to replace 473 older buses in 43 states or territories, each of which will receive rebates through EPAs Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funding.

Applicants replacing buses with engine model years of 2006 and older will receive rebates between $15,000 and $20,000, depending on the size of the bus. Regional, state, or tribal agencies including school districts and municipalities, or private entities that operate school buses under contract with state, tribal or local agencies were eligible to apply.

Over the last seven years, EPA has awarded approximately $39 million in rebates to replace almost 2,000 school buses. Bus replacements funded through the rebate program reduce emissions and exposure to particulate matter and nitrogen oxides for children at schools, bus stops, and on the buses themselves.
A benefit will still run as scheduled on Sunday at Prairie Pride Brewing Co., but the money will go to a different person other than the one originally planned.

The fundraiser, which runs from noon to 10 p.m., was originally meant to raise money for Grand Island firefighter Lonnie Mitteis.

But Mitteis says he doesnt need much help right now. Were doing OK, he says.

So hes going to find another cancer patient who needs help more than he does, which I dont think is going to be a problem.

Mitteis, 58, has bladder cancer. He says hes received a lot of help from other firefighters and friends. Theres people that are so worse off than I am, he said. Hes received letters of support from firefighters all over the world, including Germany and New Zealand.

Prairie Pride Brewing Co. is at 115 E. South Front St. A $5 donation is suggested at the door.

Bratwurst and beer will be served. A total of $2 from every beer purchased and all proceeds from the brats will go toward the cancer patient.

People can also drop donations in fire boots around the brewery.
This years ceremony was held outdoors after rain forced it to move inside the last two years. A giant American flag, extended far into the air by a Fire Department ladder truck, flew over the ceremony. The event is always held during National Police Week.

Music was provided by the Omaha Police Pipes and Drums. The event was hosted by the Lancaster County Sheriffs Office. Attendees included Col. John Bolduc, head of the Nebraska State Patrol.

The two keynote speakers were Lt. Gov. Mike Foley and Nebraska Supreme Court Justice Stephanie Stacy.

Foley told the officers they make up the thin blue line that separates evil from good, and chaos from order. Officers thwart the efforts of those who want to vanquish the peace enjoyed by law-abiding Nebraskans, he said.

Illegal drug activity is changing America, Foley said. The church his family attends in Lincoln is in a peaceful part of town. But the church has spent thousands of dollars installing surveillance equipment. The governors residence in Lincoln didnt used to have a fence around it. Our world is rapidly changing, and its going to continue to do so, Foley said.
GODFREY  Lewis and Clark Community College celebrated the achievements of more than 1,000 members of the Class of 2019 during its 48th annual Commencement ceremony Wednesday in the Hatheway Cultural Centers Ann Whitney Olin Theatre.

Illinois Community College Board Executive Director Brian Durham was the keynote speaker. Durham joined the ICCB in 2001 and started out in workforce development, but has extensive experience in various areas of higher education. He has policy and management responsibilities for the third largest state system of community colleges in America, serving nearly 700,000 students in Illinois.
Simran Ahuja By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Lately, M Lokeswara Rao has been the subject of envy among his peers. The retired principal chief conservator of forests and head of forest force retired in June 2016, but he has been far from idle since then. Most people might break their heads figuring out how to spend all the new spare time on their hands but I found time to pursue my hobby  philately, says the 63-year-old.



In the three years since he started, Rao has amassed 3,000 stamps in his collection, all themed around Buddhism. While these stamps wont travel the world on envelopes, they will be transported to Australia for the Sydney Stamp and Coin Expo in June this year.

Collecting and preserving stamps, however, is a time-consuming hobby and Rao spends two to three hours per day pursuing it. You have to store the stamps carefully because they can be prone to degrading. I store them in a polythene sheet in a dry area and then preserve them in an album, explains Rao.



Picking the stamps for the exhibition was also a laborious process. Of his collection, 300 finally made the cut. The display will begin with some information on Buddhism, moving on to Buddhas birth, his 12 deeds, the religion in different parts of the world, and sacred places around the world, before concluding with Buddhism and world peace. It takes time to form a story through the stamps. I also have to collate information on the stamps, where they are from, etc, says Rao.

The stamp that gave him the most difficult time in sourcing was a 1932 Bamiyan Buddha stamp from Afghanistan, which was withdrawn by the government due to the protests that followed its issuance. After searching for two months, I found a man in the United Kingdom who was selling the stamp as part of a 10-stamp series. I had to buy all of them for $25 even though nine of them were useless to me, shares Rao.

The philatelist finds most of his stamps on eBay, and has to wait for two to three months if it has to come from an international location. While the stamps themselves may cost $25, I have to shell out an extra $15-20 for registered postage to ensure they dont get lost, says Rao. His collection also includes a Chinese stamp from 1893, the first Buddhist stamp to be issued anywhere in the world.



Nature has always been close to my heart and Buddha has been linked with nature too. His birth, him attaining enlightenment and nirvana, they have all taken place in close contact with nature, which is why I like collecting these stamps, he adds. As the director (Protect Your Species) of international organisation Earth Day Network, Rao says his hobby helps him spread awareness about the need for nature conservation. Money isnt everything. Sometimes, satisfaction and giving back to society matters more, he says.
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Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 18, 2019 09:24 954 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87388c0f5 1 Editorial ramadan-in-indonesia,ramadan,Eid-al-Fitr,Idul-Fitri,idul-fitri-exodus,traffic,Transportation,toll-road,one-way-traffic-Idul-Fitri Free

With airfares skyrocketing for the Idul Fitri exodus in the coming two weeks, traveling by car will be the choice of many homebound holiday revelers, particularly those leaving for Central and East Java. A recent survey by the Transportation Ministry found that 14.9 million people living in Greater Jakarta will celebrate the post-Ramadan festival in their hometowns, with 4.3 million of them opting to drive and 4.5 million taking the bus.

Learning from past years and in an attempt to improve services for homebound travelers, the government has decided to apply one-way traffic on the trans-Java toll road. The policy will be effective from May 30 to June 2, affecting more than 230 kilometers between Cikarang in Bekasi, West Java, and the West Brebes exit gate in Central Java. The same arrangement will be implemented for the return flow of traffic from June 8 to 10, beginning at Palimanan toll gate in Cirebon, West Java, to Cikarang.

The one-way policy was chosen over other alternatives like the odd-even license plate number policy, which is currently in place on a number of Jakarta thoroughfares during rush hours on weekdays. Land Transportation Director General Budi Setiyadi said the odd-even policy would have been difficult to enforce and would inconvenience holidaymakers who are keen on traveling in groups, even in convoys.

Budi said the one-way traffic plan would reduce congestion on the trans-Java toll road, which in 2016 contributed to the loss of a dozen lives. The travelers reportedly died of exhaustion after their vehicles were stuck in gridlock for hours ahead of the newly inaugurated East Brebes exit gate in Central Java. The horrific congestion stemmed from bottlenecking as cars exiting the toll road were met by traffic lights.

During last years Idul Fitri exodus the one-way traffic system was partially implemented only as a last resort to ease congestion on certain parts of the trans-Java. The government won plaudits for its experiment, which in general resulted in less chaotic traffic last year.

With more sections operational this year, not to mention the implementation of one-way traffic, the trans-Java toll road will be the best route for holidaymakers looking to reach their hometowns. Congestion, however, will remain inevitable if supporting facilities are not ready.

Last year, congestion occurred on the route between Cirebon and Brebes because a number of rest areas were not yet operating. Many travelers wishing to take a toilet break, relieve stiff muscles or refuel had to queue before their cars could enter the only rest areas available.

Rest areas are important facilities, especially because the 2009 Traffic Law requires drivers to take at least 30 minutes break after driving for four consecutive hours. Many seem to ignore this requirement, despite studies concluding that exhaustion is the primary cause of traffic accidents. Hopefully the new, better traffic arrangement will facilitate the journey and reduce the number of accidents. The National Police reported 389 accidents during the Idul Fitri exodus last year, down by 20 percent from 485 in 2017.
Women-focused online magazine Magdalene.co recently held a breaking-of-the-fast gathering in Jakarta.

Titled Berbagi Cerita Beragama [Sharing Stories of Religions]: An Intimate Evening of Comedy and Story Telling, the event was an open and inclusive space where stories and experiences were shared and cherished.

We picked the topic of religion not only because the event takes place during Ramadan but also because religion is one of the issues that always attract our readers and followers, said Magdalenes editor in chief Devi Asmarani in a release.

At the same time, within the topic of religiosity, there is diversity, whether through the rituals practiced or the way the teaching is interpreted.

Actress Hannah Al Rashid, also known for her feminist activism, shared how she grew up in a multicultural household in Britain. The Muslim father from Bugis and the Catholic mother from France, the early introduction to pluralism in a London elementary school, how after years of learning to recite the Quran she found out that she liked the religion (and proclaiming Mohammad is my dude!), experiencing wearing a hijab in her teenage years; all that eventually led to her coming to terms with what faith is.

Stand-up comedian Mega Syalshabillah shared a bit about her past as a tattoo artist and how she made peace with it now that shes a hijab-wearing woman with tattoos on her arm.

Read also: Magdalene editor-in-chief receives SK Trimurti Award

Financial consultant Ligwina Hananto whos ventured into stand-up comedy told lively, colorful stories of her Sundanese lineage.

As the last performer of the night, stand-up comedian Sakdiyah Maruf brought the house down with her zings and musings. Not one to shy away from laughing at herself, she also delivered straight jabs on holier-than-thou people and "activists" who hold meetings at fancy malls.

According to Devi, the performers were chosen because of their unique perspectives and their concerns on issues championed by the publication, namely women empowerment, diversity and inclusiveness.

The event is a debut of Magdalenes Mind Live Podcast Event, along with the launch of Magdalenes second book, The Feminist Minds: Two Years of Collected Essays from Magdalene.

In between the performance, the stage was open for anyone who wanted to share their own stories.
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Linkedin Olga Kharif (Bloomberg)  Sat, May 18, 2019 06:04 954 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87388894a 2 People John-McAfee,Twitter,social-media Free

John McAfee, the eccentric antivirus pioneer known for publicity stunts and brushes with the law, announced he must go dark on Twitter, where he frequently comments on cryptocurrencies and has recently said government forces are out to get him.

Developing events have made it necessary for John McAfee to go dark, someone wrote on his account Thursday. Please be advised that this account will be operated by staff until further notice. McAfee and his wife didnt immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Read also: Tips for parents to safely share photos of their children

Developing events have made it necessary for John McAfee to go dark. Please be advised that this account will be operated by staff until further notice. More details will be released in time.  John McAfee (@officialmcafee) May 16, 2019

The note set off speculation in online crypto circles, fueled by McAfees postings in past days that the Internal Revenue Service and other authorities have been harassing his former employees and business contacts. Last week, McAfee wrote, I expect the U.S. government to act soon in order to silence me. He said he had prewritten more than 2,000 short statements covering what I anticipate will happen.

In recent years, McAfee has focused on promoting various digital coins, and last month he vowed to reveal the identity of the anonymous Bitcoin creator known as Satoshi Nakamoto. He later backed out, saying lawyers warned him it could complicate his plan to fight extradition to the U.S. from the Bahamas. A Justice Department spokesman in Washington said Thursday that he had no information.
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Linkedin Sophie Laubie / Deborah Cole (Agence France-Presse) Cannes, France  Sat, May 18, 2019 14:35 954 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873896f79 2 Entertainment Mati-Diop,cannes,Cannes-Film-Festival,Cannes-Festival,palme-d-or Free

A black African woman has entered the race for Cannes's coveted Palme d'Or top prize for the first time in its 72-year history, with a moving ghost story about migrants dying at sea while trying to reach Europe.

Mati Diop, 36, grew up in France and belongs to a Senegalese artistic dynasty including her uncle, acclaimed director Djibril Diop Mambety, and her father, musician Wasis Diop.

She told AFP after the red-carpet premiere of "Atlantics" that it was while she was making a short film in Senegal a decade ago that she began to wrestle with the tragic push-and-pull factors leading Africans to flee the continent.

"I was spending time in Dakar at the time and was struck by the complex and sensitive realities of the phenomenon we called at the time 'illegal emigration'," she said.

"Once I had finished my (short) film, I felt I still had a lot of dimensions and issues to explore. I had the desire and the idea to tell the story of youth disappearing into the sea, through the perspective of a young woman."

She chose a Romeo and Juliet story of star-crossed young lovers, but with a supernatural twist.

The heroine of the film is Ada, growing up in a poor district of Dakar.

Although her parents have arranged her marriage to a wealthy young man, Ada has already fallen in love with Souleiman, a builder who's been cheated out of his salary by a corrupt developer.

He and a group of fellow workers decide their only future lies in Europe and set off in a motorised boat known as a pirogue for the Atlantic.

Read also: Cult horror director John Carpenter honored at Cannes

- 'Wait this long' -

News of the boat's sinking and the death of its passengers reaches home but Ada can't quite believe Souleiman is gone.

Suddenly her friends start seeing him everywhere around town and Ada receives mysterious text messages on her mobile, while more and more people come down with an inexplicable fever.

Their affliction, which also leads victims' irises to turn white, turns out to be a visitation of the souls of the dead, with Souleiman entering the body of a policeman.

The supernatural tale of love beyond death, which garnered strong reviews, drew comparisons to "Personal Shopper", the arthouse hit starring Kristen Stewart, and even the 1990 blockbuster "Ghost".

But the migrant crisis, in which nearly 2,300 people died trying to reach the shores of European countries last year according to the UN, adds political heft and moral urgency to the film.

Diop said that while the weight of the tragic situation was difficult to bear, she seized on the character of Ada, a young women who "wakes up to a new dimension of herself", as a ray of light.

Asked about her own role as a trailblazer at Cannes, Diop told reporters the news had "quite honestly made me sad at first because we had to wait this long."

Just four of the 21 directors vying for the Palme d'Or are women.

Read also: New Woody Allen movie to open in France in September

- 'So excited' -

She said she had had an "urgent need" to feel more represented on screen and see more people who look like her behind the camera, telling fresh stories.

"As a black woman, I really missed black figures and black characters cruelly. And that's also why I made this film: I needed to see black people on screen -- huge, everywhere," she laughed.

"It's also something new. I can't believe when I go to see a Jordan Peele movie... I can't even believe what I'm feeling," she said, referring to the Oscar-winning African-American filmmaker behind "Get Out" and "Us".

"I'm so excited, I'm looking at how many black people are in the room -- I almost count them... it's a little hysterical."

Diop said Cannes as the world's biggest film festival had the power to help transform the industry by knocking down barriers for previously excluded groups.

"Hopefully it will be more and more common that black people are in front of characters of the same color. Inshallah (God willing)," she said.
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Linkedin Charles Onians (Agence France-Presse) Vatican City  Sat, May 18, 2019 22:17 953 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87389cbeb 2 Science & Tech artifical-intelligence,robotic,Isaac-Asimov,law,robotic-law,law-for-robots Free

Decades after Isaac Asimov first wrote his laws for robots, their ever-expanding role in our lives requires a radical new set of rules, legal and AI expert Frank Pasquale warned on Thursday.

The world has changed since sci-fi author Asimov in 1942 wrote his three rules for robots, including that they should never harm humans, and today's omnipresent computers and algorithms demand up-to-date measures.

According to Pasquale, author of "The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms Behind Money and Information", four new legally-inspired rules should be applied to robots and AI in our daily lives.

"The first is that robots should complement rather than substitute for professionals" Pasquale told AFP on the sidelines of a robotics conference at the Vaticans Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

"Rather than having a robot doctor, you should hope that you have a doctor who really understands how AI works and gets really good advice from AI, but ultimately it's a doctors decision to decide what to do and what not to do."

"The second is that we need to stop robotic arms races. Theres a lot of people right now who are investing in war robots, military robots, policing robots."

- No humanoids -

Pasquale, a law lecturer at the University of Maryland, says it's important that any investment in military robotics or AI should provide some advantage that's "not going to be just immediately canceled out by your enemies."

"Its just depressing, its money down a hole, you build a robot that can tell if my robot can tell if your robot can tell if my robot is about to attack. It just never ends."

The third, and most controversial, the rule is not to make humanoid robots or AI, says Pasquale, citing the example of a Google assistant called Duplex that would call people to confirm hotel reservations without telling them they were talking to a computer.

"There was an immediate backlash to that because people thought that it was Google trying to pass its machines off as a human and I think that counterfeiting principle is the most important one, that we should not counterfeit humanity."

Robots can look humanoid "only if its totally necessary to the task," said Pasquale, such as "care robots or sex robots."

The fourth and final law is that any robot or AI should be "attributable to or owned by a person or a corporation made of persons because we know how to punish people but we dont know how to punish machines."

- Two-tier tech -

"If we have drones flying about the place that are autonomous, cars that are autonomous, bots online that are speaking on Twitter or in finance trading stocks, all of those have to be attributed to a person."

"There are companies like Facebook where they just fine the company but they never force any person to give up money or be incarcerated for doing something wrong. And thats a problem.

"Weve already got a problem with corporations and if we allow robots to be out there without being attributable to a person or corporation it just gets worse," said Pasquale, whose book "New Laws of Robotics" is due to be published by Harvard University Press.

What must be avoided at all costs is two-tier technology, such as proposed by Boeing for their 737-MAX airliners, grounded after hundreds died in two crashes blamed on a sensor failing because of a software error.

"They made a decision at a very high level that they would allow airlines to buy a second sensor but that would be an extra cost, I think it was 80,000 dollars extra per plane, and that to me foreshadows a ton of problems."

"Part of what the law has to do is step in and say certain of these bargains were not going to allow, were going to say we have a standard for flying, it's a single standard its not like oh I need to look up whether Ryanair, American Airlines or Lufthansa bought the extra sensor, because thats madness.
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Linkedin Rizki Fachriansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 18, 2019 11:36 954 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873892592 3 Entertainment John-Wick-Chapter-3,keanu-reeves,#moviereview,#movies,Yayan-Ruhian,Cecep-Arif-Rahman,action-movies,silat Free

Over the course of three films, Chad Stahelskis John Wick saga has gone from being a small-scale revenge thriller to a melodramatic soap opera built on the foundations of expanded lore, to a stripped-down narrative examining interpersonal dynamics through sheer physicality.

John Wick: Chapter 3  Parabellum is as superfluous and full of itself as the title may suggest, yet it is still a very raw affair, often choosing to drop the supposed pretense of thematic coherence carefully developed in the previous films in favor of delivering a constant deluge of genre thrills that the general audience has come to expect.



And what thrills they are.

The cinematic competence and rigor on display are staggering on multiple levels; the action sequences have evolved into looser, much more dynamic melees since the last film, frequently forcing the titular protagonist to rethink his tried-and-tested signature moves in order to successfully adapt to constantly changing landscapes.



The infectious rhythm of the famous Red Circle sequence in the original film is carried over to every single battle in Parabellum  brief moments of ironic levity, such as the one where Wick (Keanu Reeves) and a couple of opposing goons are rushing to reload their guns in the middle of a particularly intense shootout, are downright Jackie Chan-esque in that they impeccably function as punctuation marks in otherwise protracted visual sentences.



The introduction of bladed weapons makes every encounter seem both more personal and lethal than ever. Its safe to say that the filmmakers have finally perfected the tempo of the series infamous close quarters combat. I, for one, am finding it highly impressive that these films have actually invented a set of physical tics and cues that amount to its own unique visual language.



In many ways, Parabellum serves as a towering monument to the age-old action genre as the cinematic mediums ultimate raison detre. Skirmishes often unfold in a complete vacuum, jettisoning any regard of narrative or thematic import  a showcase of peak human physicality.



Only the film doesnt stop there; it pushes Wicks quest for redemption to its limits, a move that is comically literalized by having the character travel to the furthest reaches of a barren desert at one point. Wicks mythical shadow looms larger as he fights harder, making his effort to outrun his former life as the Boogeyman feel overwhelmingly Sisyphean.



The films somewhat barebones construction allows each underground clan of otherworldly contract killers to shine in its own right. Every culture is shown to have bred their own secret society of murderous artisans  mercenaries serving the global commerce of relationships.



The film posits that, in an increasingly cosmopolitan universe of black leather jackets and designer suits, the only culturally distinctive trait left is how individuals express themselves through physical conflicts.

Reeves default, uncompromising choreography registers as a cultural blank slate compared to the ethnic art of silat introduced by renowned Indonesian martial artists Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman, for instance. Of course, due to narrative contrivance, the anonymous fighting style of Reeves battered protagonist always emerges victorious regardless.



Three films in, the John Wick series persistent rejection of a definitive ending may seem indicative of Hollywoods perpetual money-making strategy. That said, one can make a case that the lack of narrative closure in any of these films makes a point about how transactional violence exists in its own endless, vicious cycle.



The only way out is in.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin A.Kurniawan Ulung (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 18 2019

An animated feature about a real-life Muslim hero tells us that anyone can be a hero regardless of religion and social background.

Bilal ibn Rabah, a native of Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), is probably less popular than the other loyal and trusted companions of the Prophet Muhammad, but Bilal: A New Breed of Hero proves that his story is not less interesting.

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Linkedin Gemma Holliani Cahya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 18, 2019 15:41 954 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873898893 1 National LGBT-in-Indonesia,Semarang-gay-police,National-Police,Amnesty-International Free

Amnesty International lambasted the National Police for its discriminative stance toward sexual minorities after a 29-year-old brigadier in Semarang, Central Java, identified only as TT, was dishonorably discharged in December because of his sexual orientation.

The Jakarta Post reported on Thursday that a gay police officer had been dismissed from the force because of his sexual orientation and was now challenging his dismissal at the Semarang State Administrative Court.

Responding to the issue, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo told the Post that he supported the Central Java Police's decision, saying that from the perspectives of religion and morality it was clear that LGBT was "taboo."

"[Homosexuality] is also not recognized by the state. So from these [facts] it is implied that members of the Indonesian National Police must not be LGBT and must not have a deviant sexual orientation," he said.

In a press release on Friday, Amnesty International Indonesia director Usman Hamid criticized Dedi's statement saying it was "wrong, misleading and discriminative".

Amnesty International said the dismissal of TT violated the human rights principles, especially on equality and non-discrimination in the armed forces.

It also violated National Police Chief Regulation No. 8/2009 on the implementation of the standards and principles of human rights on the police's duties.

Article 4 of the regulation stipulates that human rights do not distinguish race, ethnicity, ideology, culture, religion, belief, philosophy, social status, gender or sexual orientation, but prioritize a commitment to mutual respect to create a civilized world.

The group also said the dismissal violated Article 6 which stipulates that in the scope of the National Police's duties, human rights also include the special rights of minority groups.

"So the decision to discharge [TT] clearly violated their own internal regulation. On a broader scale this is a violation of human rights. Especially in the world of law enforcement agencies whose duty is to serve and protect citizens based on the principles of equality and non-discrimination, "Usman said.

Usman urged police to cancel TT's dismissal and return him to his unit in Semarang.

TT is a homosexual and had kept his sexual orientation a secret for years until he was ambushed by fellow officers while on a date with his partner on Valentines Day.

Central Java police told the Post that they learned of TT's private life through an internal investigation.
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Linkedin Sausan Atika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 18, 2019

Visiting museums in Jakarta is one of Nindya Putris favorite past-times. She said the museums offered a peek into the history of Jakarta, a city she moved to one year ago.

Hailing from Purworejo regency in Central Java, the private company employee said she was eager to explore the citys museums to get a better understanding of the citys culture and history.

If I understand the history of a city, I feel like I am more attached to that city, she told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. I believe Jakarta has many unique historical stories. Its more than a metropolitan city.

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By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A crew of 184 officers and sailors from Australian warship HMAS Toowoomba, led by Commander Mitchell Livingstone had a chance to experience the cultural diversity and hospitality of Chennai. The warship was here earlier this week to promote regional maritime security and cooperation. It was here from May 10 and left the city on May 15.

Toowoombas visit follows the success of AUSINDEX 19 which featured the largest ever Australian Defence Force Joint Task Force, comprising Navy, Army and Air Force assets.

These visits accord with the 2017 Foreign Policy White Papers placement of India at the front rank of Australias international partnerships.

This year, Toowoomba will deploy on Australias 68th rotation of maritime security operations in the Middle East as part of Operation MANITOU, a contribution of the Australian government to international efforts to promote maritime security, stability and prosperity in the Middle East. Toowoomba will take over from her sister ship HMAS Ballarat, currently deployed on rotation 67 of Operation MANITOU.



The Chennai visit provided a great opportunity to strengthen relations with our Indian Ocean neighbours soon after the success of AUSINDEX 2019 while enabling many of Toowoombas newly-joined Junior Sailors their first opportunity to experience the vibrant culture of Southern India, said Commander Mitchell Livingstone.
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Linkedin Fadli and Djemi Amnifu (The Jakarta Post) Batam and Kupang  Sat, May 18, 2019 18:23 954 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873899eec 1 National Prabowo-people-power-rally,KPU-result-announcement-2019,Jakarta-security,May-22,KPU Free

The National Police have been mobilizing additional personnel from the regions to anticipate potential violence in the capital in connection with the announcement of the general election results.

Police have also arrested several individuals suspected of plotting a terrorist attack that was to be carried out during a planned street protest at the General Elections Commission (KPU) building in Jakarta on May 22, the day when the KPU is to announce the official results of the presidential and legislative elections.

Supporters of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto said they would take to the streets if the poll body announced that the incumbent, President Joko Jokowi Widodo, had won the election.

The Prabowo camp has claimed that its own data show Prabowo to be the winner.

Riau Islands Police chief Insp. Gen. Andap Budhi Revianto dispatched 300 personnel on Friday evening to join the Jakarta Police in helping secure the capital on the announcement day.

They will be under the command of the Jakarta Police, Andap said as he saw off the officers at Hang Nadim Airport in Batam.

He said the troops would remain in the capital until Thursday.

Andap said security in the islands regency itself would not be compromised by the mobilization, because his personnel had been in contact with the groups that would potentially protest the election result.

At least 32,000 police and military personnel are set to be deployed across Jakarta to prevent any unrest, particularly terrorism, on Wednesday. The National Police have advised the public against joining the expected rally.

The United States Embassy in Jakarta issued a security alert on Friday, warning its citizens of a heightened risk of terrorism in connection with the finalization of election results.

Police from Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara sent 500 personnel to Jakarta on Friday, the second batch from the province that had already dispatched 200 personnel on Tuesday. All of the personnel were moved on commercial flights.

I order you to refrain from violence while dealing with the protesters and avoid any acts that may endanger yourself or the force, East Nusa Tenggara Police chief Insp. Gen. Raja Erizman said in his speech during Fridays ceremony to dispatch the officers.

He also told the officers to remain under the command of the Jakarta Police.
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 18, 2019

The government is anticipating potential trouble ahead of the wrap-up of the official vote tally on May 22, amid reports that supporters of losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto are planning to take to the streets to challenge the election result.

Security officials fear street protests may descend into violence after the discovery of an apparent plot by a local terrorist cell linked to the Islamic State (IS) movement to exploit the situation with an attack, even though analysts have cast doubt on such a scenario materializing.

The National Police have advised the public not to join the planned rally  set to be held at the General Elections Commission (KPU) headquarters in Jakarta  for security reasons, including the possible terrorist attack.

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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 18 2019

With the announcement of the final results of the election expected next week, young and rising politicians have called on members of society, including the countrys elites, to uphold peace and unity so as to prevent any potential postelection clashes at the grassroots level.

The move, which has been described by many as another attempt to defuse political tensions, came after presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto publicly refused to accept the General Elections Commissions (KPU) final result of the presidential election, which is expected to show that incumbent Joko Jokowi Widodo has been reelected to the presidency.

A number of relatively young regional leaders and children of two former presidents gathered at the Balai Kirti Museum, which is part of the Bogor Palace compound in West Java, on Wednesday, during which they talked about the postelection situation and expressed hope that a peaceful climate would be maintained.

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5 hours ago

3 Stocks That Are Ready to Rip in 2022

These 3 Stocks Could Outperform in 2022 With the new year right around the corner, investors might want to start thinking about the companies with the strongest prospects for 2022. Theres no better way to start off the year than by adding a few potential winners to your portfolio, but finding those types of stocks is easier said than done.

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By Express News Service

CHENNAI: For failing to replace a damaged mobile phone, a consumer forum here directed the manufacturer and the authorised service centre, to provide a brand new mobile phone and also compensation of Rs 20,000. R Paul Rafson Jani, a resident of Thoraipakkam, in his complaint said that he purchased Sony Xperia-Z mobile phone in 2013, however, in seven months, the phone began developing problems.

Jani said he purchased the phone from a Sony authorised outlet by paying Rs 35,999 and within seven months the display turned black and had heating issues.



With the authorised dealer seeking Rs 16,000 for repairing damages the phone that was still under warranty, Jani submitted a complaint with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Chennai (South), seeking a compensation of Rs 2.12 lakh.



Denying the allegations, the counsel for Sony India Private Limited produced photographs to prove the external damage of the phone. After investigation, it was also found that the phone had developed a huge crack, which was also submitted. However, the tribunal rejected the firms arguments.

No proper report on allegations: Forum

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Chennai (South), headed by S Mony, observed that there was no proper report to the allegations made by the manufacturer against the complaints raised. Subsequently, the tribunal directed the manufacturer to replace the mobile phone with a brand new one and provide a compensation of Rs 20,000
Phuket driver nabbed with 2,000 meth pills

PHUKET: A 36-year-old Thai truck driver was arrested with 2,000 methamphetamine pills (ya bah) in Rassada on Friday night (May 17).

drugscrimepolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Saturday 18 May 2019, 12:30PM

Vijit Keawudom, 36, was arrested with 2,000 ya bah pills on Friday night (May 17). Eakkapop Thongtub

At 00.40 on Friday (May 17), Chief of the Defence Division of the Phuket Provincial Office Siripong Leeprasit led city officials to arrest Vijit Keawudom, 36, a local truck driver allegedly involved in drug trade.

Mr Vijit's arrest came after Phuket provincial officials received a tip-off that the man had been selling yaba to Thai and Myanmar nationals in worker's camps on Koh Sirae. The order to apprehend the suspect came from Phuket Vice Governor Supoj Rotreuang Na Nongkhai, the current head of Phuket Provincial Narcotics Control Management Center.

The arrest was conducted at an undisclosed location in Rassada's Moo1, where Mr Vijit was picking up drugs left for him by some other person. Officials waited for the suspect to collect the drugs and straight after that showed up and confronted the man. 2,000 yaba pills and a smartphone were seized during the arrest.

Mr Vijit was taken to Phuket City Police Station to be questioned and charged accordingly.
Phuket honours Visakha Bucha Day

PHUKET: Hundreds of devotees joined the ceremonies held at Wat Wichit Sangkaram in Phuket Town early this morning (May 18) to honour the major Buddhist holy day Visakha Bucha.

culture

By Tanyaluk Sakoot

Saturday 18 May 2019, 01:47PM

Ceremonies to commemorate Visakha Bucha Day were conducted this morning at Wat Wichit Sangkaram and other Buddhist temples of Phuket. Photo: Phuket PR Department

Ceremonies to commemorate Visakha Bucha Day were conducted this morning at Wat Wichit Sangkaram and other Buddhist temples of Phuket. Photo: Phuket PR Department

Ceremonies to commemorate Visakha Bucha Day were conducted this morning at Wat Wichit Sangkaram and other Buddhist temples of Phuket. Photo: Phuket PR Department

Ceremonies to commemorate Visakha Bucha Day were conducted this morning at Wat Wichit Sangkaram and other Buddhist temples of Phuket. Photo: Phuket PR Department

Ceremonies to commemorate Visakha Bucha Day were conducted this morning at Wat Wichit Sangkaram and other Buddhist temples of Phuket. Photo: Phuket PR Department

Ceremonies to commemorate Visakha Bucha Day were conducted this morning at Wat Wichit Sangkaram and other Buddhist temples of Phuket. Photo: Phuket PR Department

Ceremonies to commemorate Visakha Bucha Day were conducted this morning at Wat Wichit Sangkaram and other Buddhist temples of Phuket. Photo: Phuket PR Department

Ceremonies to commemorate Visakha Bucha Day were conducted this morning at Wat Wichit Sangkaram and other Buddhist temples of Phuket. Photo: Phuket PR Department

Ceremonies to commemorate Visakha Bucha Day were conducted this morning at Wat Wichit Sangkaram and other Buddhist temples of Phuket. Photo: Phuket PR Department

Ceremonies to commemorate Visakha Bucha Day were conducted this morning at Wat Wichit Sangkaram and other Buddhist temples of Phuket. Photo: Phuket PR Department

Ceremonies to commemorate Visakha Bucha Day were conducted this morning at Wat Wichit Sangkaram and other Buddhist temples of Phuket. Photo: Phuket PR Department

The ceremonies began in the morning with Phuket Governor Phakkaphong Tavipatana and his wife Sitthinee Tavipatana leading provincial officials in joining the religious event.

Each year on Visakha Bucha Day, Buddhists all over the world commemorate three great events on this full moon of the sixth lunar month: The birth, enlightenment and the passing away of Gautama Buddha.

Devout Buddhists rise early to visit temples to make merit and listen to sermons on the Buddhas teachings.

After sunset, candle-lit processions will take place at major temples throughout the country, with devout Buddhists walking clockwise three times around the principal chapel while clasping three incense sticks, a lighted candle and lotus buds.

During the wiang tian candle processions, the air is filled with burning incense and smoke from the candles as the faithful complete this most sacred of Buddhist celebrations.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Friday rejected Aam Aadmi Partys allegations of polling diaries being manipulated in South Delhi constituency, stating that voting machines have been kept in strong room protected by three-tier security.

The outer layer is protected by police, middle layer by the armed police and inner layer by CAPF. The form 17C, which contains the number of votes polled in each EVM/CU and copy of 17 C has already been given to all the polling agents who were present in that polling station. Hence, there is no chance of any manipulation, EC noted.

Earlier the day, AAPs South Delhi constituency candidate Raghav Chadha tweeted that the EC has summoned presiding officers of South Delhi Parliamentary Constituencys polling stations to re-create and re-sign EVM related documents.

An AAP spokesperson, Chadha is contesting the South Delhi Lok Sabha constituency.

Have learnt through reliable sources that EC has summoned presiding officers of South Delhi Parliamentary Constituency's polling stations to re-create and re-sign EVM related documents. This is shocking. What is going on? Why are docs being recreated? Are EVMs being replaced too?  Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) May 17, 2019

However, EC denied the allegation calling it misinformation. It said no officer was called by the body.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the EC had called around 250 polling officers on Thursday and were asked to change the sensitive details in the diary, adding that all the polling officers who were on duty in Ambedkar Nagar were called to re-sign on the polling diary.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

These diaries contain sensitive information and we want to know why the Election Commission asked presiding officers to modify the information, Bhardwaj said.

However, reacting to AAPs claim, BJP said the charges against EC shows that the party has sensed defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, adding that AAP has no trust on constitutional institutions like EC.

Now there is no option for the Aam Aadmi Party but to mislead the people of Delhi. It has failed to regain public support. Even earlier, the AAP held EVMs responsible for its defeat in the elections to the municipal corporations, but none of these charges were proved, Delhi BJPs media in-charge Pratyush Kanth said.
Poll finds most Thais starving for holidays

Thai workers are the seventh most vacation-deprived globally, according to an Expedia study that examines vacation usage and trends across 19 countries and territories.

healtheconomics

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 18 May 2019, 09:15AM

Thai workers are the seventh most vacation-deprived globally, according to an Expedia study. Photo: Bangkok Post

Expedia released the results of its 18th annual Vacation Deprivation study, finding that global vacation deprivation is on the rise and that workers in Thailand took the fewest number of vacation days in the world in 2018, alongside Japan and the US.

Using data from 300 full-time working adults in Thailand, the study said 80% of Thais agree that they deserve more vacation days than they are given, ranking fourth highest in Asia after Japan (54%), Hong Kong (86%) and India (82%).

Lavinia Rajaram, head of communications at Expedia for Asia-Pacific, said more and more workers are taking short vacations, which could be due to public holidays falling on a weekend, thus encouraging long weekend holidays. Thailand is a good example of that.

"While bigger trips are great, a quick break can drastically improve quality of life," Ms Rajaram said.

According to the study, Thais unplug better while on vacation, but 74% say they would cancel a vacation due to work.

Some 24% of Thais go six months or longer without a vacation, with 42% going three to six months a year without time off. Considering that time off is so precious, one might be surprised to hear that almost a quarter (24%) of Thai workers admit to checking work email/voicemail at least once a day while on vacation.

While this behaviour has stayed mostly consistent over the past decade, younger workers are the least likely to check in frequently, at 19% for 18- to 34-year-olds, compared with 31% for 50 and up.

The pressure to be available may be self-imposed, as only a small number of respondents say their managers (17%), junior staff (10%) and clients (12%) expect them to check in daily while on vacation.

The top three reasons for Thai workers not to take a holiday are they don't know where to go (27%), they're saving up time for a long holiday (25%) and they can't get time off work (24%).

Most Asians have the hardest time leaving work behind when taking a vacation. Asian countries also have the highest incidence of cancelling or postponing vacation plans because of work. Levels of vacation deprivation vary by industry, with those in agriculture (71%), marketing and media (67%), and food and beverage (64%) being the most vacation-deprived.

In Asia, the biggest barriers to vacation are financial (54%), the desire to bank vacation days (23%) and the inability to get time off work (17%).

The study uncovered good news for those scarce on funds or time. Whether a long vacation (week or more) or a short one (2-3 days), people post-trip liked themselves more, felt more confidence in their ability to solve problems and felt more hopeful and outgoing. Longer vacations seem to yield slightly better outcomes, with each positive result seeing a roughly 10% boost compared with two- and three-day trips.

Some 42% of Thais use short trips to fight vacation deprivation in between longer getaways, while 35% say they regularly take vacations whose primary goal is "mental wellness". They overwhelmingly see vacation as a chance to "hit the reset button" on stress and anxiety.

Thai workers also report taking an average of two mental health days a year, which most feel should be considered vacation days (82%) rather than sick days (18%).

"A wellness-centric trip doesn't have to mean a spa or yoga retreat, although those are popular options among Thais," Ms Rajaram said. "For most of us, recharging simply means we need to disconnect and slow down. Whether it's a family vacation or a solo escape, set rules about how often you're allowed to check email and try not to overschedule your days."

Read original story here.
Human Service Agency provides critical services to Watertown area

The staff at Human Service Agency provides an incredible level of service considering the resource restraints that the agency operates under here in Watertown.
Canadian stocks fell, ending a three-day win streak as trade related jitters left investors to hit the sell button, globally. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.3% to 16,401.75 on Friday in Toronto.

Pot stocks were among the worst performers, while consumer staples were the best. Seven of the 11 industry groups fell, with CAE Inc. as the best performing stock after earnings beat the highest estimate.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Canada have reached a deal to lift metals tariffs, and the agreement will take effect in no later than two days, according to a joint statement. Countries have agreed to lift all tariffs the United States imposed under Section 232 on imports of steel and aluminum products from Canada and all tariffs Canada imposed in retaliation for the Section 232 action taken by the United States.

In other moves:

StocksCAE rallied 15%, BMO said that company cleared a high bar.

Alacer Gold rose about 13% in last five days.

New Gold fell 6.5% on Friday, underperforming peers.

Stelco and Russel Metals rose after U.S.-Canada deal.

Seven Generation fell 4%, along with MEG Energy, which was down 3.4%.

Ratings ITP CN: Intertape Polymer Rated New Neutral at CIBC; PT $20TRZ (Canadian) CN: Transat AT Downgraded to Hold at Desjardins; PT C$13WJA CN: WestJet Airlines Cut to Sector Perform at Scotiabank; PT $31 Commodities (Canadian).

Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $13 discount to WTI.

Gold spot prices fell 0.7% to 1,278.04 an ounce.

FX/Bonds

The Canadian dollar rose 0.03% to $1.3455 (Canadian) per U.S. dollar.

The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose to 1.688%.

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MONTREAL - Quebecs Davie shipyard is in line to receive a contract for the construction of two East Coast ferries, the federal government announced Friday.

Ottawa will issue an Advance Contract Award Notice to the Chantier Davie, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said in a statement. That type of notice is awarded to a company the government believes is the only such firm capable of performing the work.

Any other company that thinks it can meet the contract requirements has 15 days to notify the federal government. But Davie vice-president Frederick Boisvert said in an interview Friday he thinks its done deal.

Ottawas maritime strategy states that ships bought by the federal government must be built in the country. The other major shipyards in Canada  in Vancouver and Halifax  are overloaded with work, Boisvert said.

Seaspans Vancouver Shipyards and Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax received contracts under the Conservative government worth tens of billions of dollars to build military vessels while Davie was left out.

Garneaus statement said Ottawa concluded that Chantier Davie is the only known Canadian shipyard with the capacity, recent experience and capability to build these ferries in the required timeframe.

The two new ships will replace MV Madeleine, which ferries passengers between Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Que., and Souris, P.E.I., as well as MV Holiday Island, which ferries people between Wood Islands, P.E.I., and Caribou, N.S.
Call it the ultimate stretch pass: a global gambit to send the Tim Hortons brand deep into China, and, over the next five years, well beyond.

Or it could perhaps more easily be a slapshot too far, one that ultimately leaves the ubiquitous Canadian brand offside and coming home on the double-double.

Since launching its first outlet in Shanghai in late February, the coffee empire that keeps Canada and certain parts of the United States rolling has  switching metaphors  kept its strategic powder dry, saying little about the China rollout. And two months in, there now are three Tims in China  a tiny, market-testing beachhead that the chains parent company vows will grow to 1,500 over time.

On Wednesday, that parent company, Restaurant Brands International, pulled back the veil further, announcing its global goal to expand to 40,000 restaurants worldwide over the next eight to 10 years from its base of 26,000 outlets. Its three marquee brands, Tim Hortons, Burger King and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, will be the drivers, with the company projecting upwards of 5 per cent growth annually.

Retail consultants, it appears, remain in the show-me camp, mindful of all that can get lost in translation to China.

How, precisely, does a company so steeped in Canadian iconography gain traction in a country with no known affection for Canadian culture?

Unlike Tim Hortons previous, and ultimately modest, attempts to break beyond Canada, the brand now comes with the financial heft and global ambitions of RBI  and by extension, Brazils 3G Capital Inc., the private equity firm that holds majority ownership.

This isnt Tims going it alone; this is Tims with access to the deepest of pockets.

Tims with powerful partners on the ground.

I spent several years working in Shanghai helping companies gain a foothold and we always said its a marathon. You can have lofty goals, but the market really decides if you are an identifiable enough and good enough for them to embrace, said George Minakakis, a Canadian retail brand consultant.

And, so, of course, theres a long list of brands that have come and gone. Brands that had high recognition in their home country, brands that ultimately left with their tails tucked between their legs.

Coke broke through in China. So, too, did McDonalds and others. But, as Minakakis notes, these quintessentially American brands already were so well known there was pent-up demand even before they arrived.

I dont see anyone demanding Tim Hortons in China and so that means youve got to create it. Its great to have ambition. Good for them. But building demand is hard work. Youve got to somehow find a way to make it a Chinese brand and in doing so, you better take a lot of Canadian executives with you to China, because if you dont  if you just let the franchisee and/or somebody from the parent company in Brazil oversee it  youre going to fail. You have to take the heritage with you and find a way to bring that heritage to life.

But what exactly is Tims heritage nowadays? Still sporting the name of a former Toronto Maple Leaf that only the grey-haired among us remember well, the coffee empire ceased having anything to do with the Horton family decades ago and, five years ago, ceased being Canadian at all.

Although it remains, to most Canadians, quintessentially Canadian in every respect apart from its ownership, its current marketing campaign may offer a road map to how it just might pull off global domination. So says Dr. Patricia Cormack, a sociologist at St. Francis Xavier University, who has long studied the companys cultural ascent.

Look at the Tim Hortons ad called Coffee With Neighbours, where they go knocking on doors in Toronto, where 50 per cent of the people dont know who lives beside them, said Cormack.

What you see is people gathered at the fence lines, sharing a cup of coffee together, talking about why they dont know each other. What Tim Hortons is doing here is mediating community  and I think thats their whole shtick, basically.

For many years, the key to Tim Hortons branding was sticking to the idea that its plain, ordinary, straightforward, down-to-earth and honest  its mapping onto the idea of what Canadians think of themselves.

But in Coffee With Neighbours, it noses into the universal area of community, meaning and feeling. Theres no actual content here, it never mentions the coffee, itself. Its pure mediation and ritual, almost like Christian communion. So I can actually envision, with branding that good, that there might be a way for Tim Hortons to move from market to market, continually re-offering itself as a blank palette  just branding the universal experience of the human longing for community  they could actually pull this off. They, perhaps, could quite brilliantly do this.

Whatever its grand design, the company appears unready, for now at least, to detail its rollout strategy and declined to comment for this article.

Two former senior company executives also declined to comment on the Tim Hortons expansion plans, out of respect for the current management team. Said one: I remember how often we were frustrated by misinformation going public. If you arent inside, if you arent seeing everything, its just not fair to comment.

Others still cant help but remark upon the timing of the rollout, coming on the heels of a series of off-brand experiences for the Canada-based coffee chain  and, perhaps more significantly  coinciding with Canadas continuing row with China over the arrest of a senior executive of the Huawei electronics giant. A case in point: a day after the companys expansion announcement on Wednesday, China dialed up the pressure, formally arresting detained Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig on accusations of espionage.

Launching in China during a political climate where the government has actual Canadians in detention . How do you launch in that climate? It might still work. But Im always mindful that brand heritage is a fragile thing and the change of ownership at Tim Hortons has definitely had an impact on the culture, said Minakakis.

Weve seen that at Tim Hortons. The franchiser-franchisee relationship is always fraught. Its always to some degree us-versus-them. But when a new organization takes over and is very focused on managing costs  and they are  you change the culture and the thinking and whatever relationship existed in the past with the previous executive management team.

And then theres the loyalty question. Its not really a Canadian company now, even though the head office is still here, and at the end of the day Canadians know this is no longer owned by Canadians.

Does that mean none of these plans will pan out? Of course not. McDonalds figured out that you could put chicken feet in a container meant for fries and succeed in China. So with the right localization and a lot of very hard work, this can happen. How about beyond China? What about India, Australia, Europe? Are these all part of the marketplace ambitions? Is Italy going to go for Tim Hortons, when theyre all about espresso?

If youve done your homework upfront, if youre confident and its all aligned and the consumer bites and you have lineups out the door, OK then. You are resonating.

Thats the challenge.

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A deadly pig disease is helping turn the global hogs trade into a merry-go-round as Canada takes advantage of tariffs on U.S. produce to boost shipments to China, the worlds largest pork consumer.

Canadian pork exports to China soared 80 per cent in March as the spread of African swine fever forces the Asian nation to tap overseas markets, government data show. With Chinese tariffs on American pork still in place, Canada is importing more from the U.S. and shipping its own produce to China. All of that is curbing supply to Mexico.

Theres a shift in export demand for pork, Jayson Penn, chief executive officer of chicken producer Pilgrims Pride Corp., said at a BMO conference in New York this week. Instead of going to Mexico, its going more to Canada as a substitute for Canadas replacement of pork which was shipped to China.

The changes in trade flows mirror what happened in the soybean market last year, with both Argentina and Canada importing more American soy to ship their own oilseeds to China due to tit-for-tat tariffs. As the virus that kills most infected pigs within 10 days spreads at a time the trade war is dragging on, traders are having to be creative to meet demand.

Canada shipped 33,456 metric tons of pork to China in March, compared with 18,628 tons a year earlier, data from Statistics Canada show. At the same time, it increased imports from the U.S. by 41 per cent.

Read more:

Chinese export permits for two Canadian pork plants remain suspended: industry

Cattle ranchers boost exports to China ahead of pork shortage

Trudeau declares victory in deal to lift U.S. tariffs

To be sure, pork exports to China could suffer a setback after the Asian nation temporarily suspended export permits from two Canadian companies.

Pork-trade disruption is also having an impact on chicken. U.S. pork exports that were entering the Mexican market started to drop in the first quarter as shipments went to Canada. That helped alleviate pressure on Mexican chicken prices, said Penn, whose firm has a large presence in that market.

Due to the lack of pork in Mexico, we saw some of the highest increase, quickest increase in pricing that weve seen as long as weve been in Mexico, he told the BMO event. We saw great response.

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CALGARYAt Moonstone Creation in Calgary, manager and artist Amy Willier often answers questions about her Cree culture when people come to see the shops Indigenous-made art and gifts.

Sometimes, visitors come in with an immediate association between Indigenous people in Alberta and things like totem poles  Willier explains that the traditional carvings are actually part of Indigenous cultures in the Pacific Northwest.

Were all different, and we have separate languages, religions, cultural beliefs, she said. We are connected to the land in different ways.

The beadwork, art and clothing sold at Moonstone Creation are all made by Indigenous artists, the majority in Alberta, and Willier and her mother Yvonne Jobin also sell items they craft themselves in store.

Its important for anyone, whether they live in Canada or come from outside the country, to see Indigenous people and cultural practices outside a history book, Willier said.

We still exist and were thriving  were still doing cultural practices, were still eating from the land  because they only see us at powwows or the Calgary Stampede, she said. We still live and breathe.

And Willier is willing to help people who want to learn to make connections.

Read more: Made in China: Actor Eugene Brave Rock slams knock-off Indigenous art

Both my parents have always said knowledge without sharing is worthless. Thats what we live by, she said. We are here to share our culture, share our teachings  because if I dont share them, theyre not living. Theyre not surviving to the next generation, even if its someone elses children.

Indigenous stories are indelibly connected to the land and history of Treaty 6, 7 and 8 in Alberta. Telling those stories to people who visit the province is a rapidly growing part of the economy, but Indigenous Tourism Alberta executive director Tarra Wright Many Chief says Indigenous-owned and operated ventures need to lead the way.

Indigenous history has been a part of teaching people about Albertas story in the past, but Wright Many Chief said the information often hasnt taken the right sources into account.

There have been tours where theyre talking about Indigenous history but dont include Indigenous people  theyre not going into the community, she said. Theyre really using a lot of the research from the settler perspective.

Her organization helps support and promote Indigenous tourism in Alberta, specifically highlighting authentic Indigenous experiences  from stores and galleries like Moonstone Creation that sell Indigenous-made art to trail guiding and tours that detail the cultural significance of the land.

From the Indigenous side, its really knowing what is appropriate and not appropriate to share, and being able to convey that to a visitor, Wright Many Chief said.

If youre connecting with a person whos sharing a culture, I feel that youd have more respect as a visitor to understand where that fits in that persons life. But its also about knowing that some of the things are not shared, and knowing the person sharing with you is being responsible for themselves and their culture.

Indigenous Tourism Alberta was incorporated as a non-profit just last year. It exists to help grow and market Indigenous tourism businesses, defined as ventures that are at least 51 per cent owned and operated by Indigenous people, and that demonstrate a connection and responsibility to local Indigenous communities and the traditional territory where they work.

Theres huge demand to raise their profile in Alberta: Conference Board of Canada research commissioned by the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada shows that Indigenous tourism in Alberta contributed $166.2 million to the GDP in 2017  a 75 per cent jump compared to 2014. Those numbers vastly outpace the 24 per cent rise in Indigenous tourism-generated GDP in Canada overall in those three years.

Alberta sees the third-highest economic benefits from Indigenous tourism, behind Ontario  which leads the way in the country  and British Columbia.

Thats how fast its going, Wright Many Chief said. Were really in our first year of operations, but we have growth thats comparable to B.C., which has a well-developed authentic Indigenous tourism industry.

Travel Alberta says tourism has seen year-over-year gains in the province. According to Statistics Canada, nearly 35 million people took trips to Alberta in 2016, contributing $8.5 billion to the provinces economy.

Destinations like the Rockies and the Calgary Stampede are high on visitors lists, and Wright Many Chief said tourists are also often looking to learn more about local Indigenous cultures. She said its crucial to make sure that knowledge comes from Indigenous people, and in a way that benefits First Nations.

Our approach is really to create awareness. We want travellers to Alberta to really make informed decisions and know that theres a variety of different experiences, she said.

Do the extra step of looking into an experience before you go and do it. You can go to the websites of any of the authentic operators, like Blackfoot Crossing Historical Parks website talks about how its community owned.

Blackfoot Crossing in Siksika Nation is where Treaty 7 was signed in 1877, and the historical park now hosts exhibits and tours about the culture and traditions of the Siksika people.

You get the authentic history and story from our voice, said Stephen Yellow Old Woman, the historical parks general manager.

We are able to tell the true stories. I think in a lot of the textbooks and history books its a very whitewashed, noble, amicable, positive type of situations.

While they host visitors who want to learn, the historical park also provides a place for Siksika Nation to keep spiritually and historically significant items that were taken away from the community and sold overseas in the past.

Its a place to house a lot of these artifacts and giving them a lodge to return home to. For us, thats our main significance, Yellow Old Woman said.

At Indigenous Tourism Alberta, Wright Many Chief is working closely with First Nations to open up more of those opportunities. And her organization is offering tools and data to grow tourism ventures and support local entrepreneurs if and when communities are ready.

Were seeing a lot more people taking the opportunity to start a business, and it really supports the community, she said.

They are able to control what the narrative is, and what their story is. That really matters a huge amount to be able to share in a way that is respectful.

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EDMONTONA Christian group declaring war on passivity in the church is putting some on edge as it hosts a multi-day event in Edmonton.

The Revival Reformation Alliance has a 3,000-seat hall at the Edmonton Expo Centre booked for its Battle for Canada, a five-day event where speakers give sermons about family and morality, sprinkled with homophobic, transphobic and anti-abortion messaging that members of Edmontons LGBTQ community say is offensive. Theyre disappointed the event is being held in the city.

God wants to deliver his church of pornography, adultery, a lack of faith, pride, and our arrogance, our divisions, our lack of love, our bitterness, group leader Art Lucier said Thursday morning, as he told audience members to repent for their sins.

People jumped and waved their hands, and some knelt or lay face down on the ground. Many shouted and wept openly. The front of the stage was lined with tissue boxes.

Lucier and others called up people who had suffered abuse as children and had them tell their stories, as they asked God for personal healing and forgiveness for their abusers.

A band played ethereal music in the background, sometimes interjecting with singalongs.

Lucier decried divorce and the destruction of the family, and spoke at length about his anti-abortion views. He has said that those who dont speak out against abortion are cowards.

I dont want to come across condemning, but you know what? Theres no cowards allowed in heaven, so Im told. We want the kingdom, Lucier said.

Edmonton Pro-Life had a table set up at the entrance.

The group claims on its website it is on the front lines of a battle to restore Canada under the Christian God, and has a logo depicting a Canadian maple leaf with a torch. It targets First Nations, Metis and Inuit people specifically, offering them free entry to the events.

A promotional video features a man speaking over epic instrumental music declaring There is a battle for this nation, and depicting same-sex marriage, abortion and cannabis legalization in a negative light.

The site specifically decries the legalization of homosexuality and a war for our children and their identity, and states that God creates people to be strictly male or female  a view also expressed on stage Thursday.

Glynnis Lieb, executive director of the University of Albertas Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services, said shes not surprised the group has such a large following given the current political climate.

Lieb, who has a PhD in personality and social psychology, said its becoming increasingly common for right-wing groups to appeal to fears of general unrest  often stemming from financial and social insecurities  and entice people with messages about traditional religious views and returning to a safety net.

But shes worried it will unite people who are fearful of social change and looking for scapegoats.

I think that the faster change happens, the more it is uncomfortable for a subgroup of people who feel like they cant understand or predict how the world is working. Or, the things they knew and understood to be true, they feel judged on. Whatever it is, its new, its uncomfortable, its scary and its very easy to revert back to what you understand and what you grew up with, Lieb said.

Sadly, its not surprising to me at all that theyre going to get a large number of people coming out and trying to find explanation and solace and make the world seem to be predictable and make sense to them again.

The conference kicked off Wednesday evening with a screening of anti-abortion film Unplanned, which steering committee member Marc Brisebois said drew a crowd of 2,800.

Thursdays crowd was much smaller, with fewer than 1,000 in attendance.

Most were in their 50s or older, but the group also has a childrens ministry where kids are trained to memorize scripture.

Brisebois said in an interview before the event that the battle his group is fighting is spiritual and not physical.

Fundamentally, we just believe that Godlessness, in terms of a lack of knowledge in God, is a key problem in our nation, he said.

We believe that there are structures  demonic structures, spiritual structures  that theres another realm that is here right now that is not physical. And thats where the battle is.

He said events like Battle for Canada reconcile attendees with God, growing the aggregate sense of righteousness and affecting the culture and direction of the country.

On the groups homophobic and transphobic messaging, Brisebois believes the alliance is simply following the word of God.

The foundation of scripture is that if you dont know who God is, then whatever version of love you think you have is in a deficit position. Because He defines what love is.

The Revival Reformation Alliance bills itself as a coalition of ministries, ministers, intercessors and saints, with a base drawing from Protestant, Catholic, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Baptist and other Christian denominations.

A previous Battle for Canada, funded by Kelowna, British Columbia-based Harvest Ministries, took place over 10 days in North Battleford last fall to mark the 70th anniversary of a Christian revivalist movement in the small Saskatchewan city.

North Battleford lawyer Rob Feist questioned the groups use of a taxpayer-subsidized venue at the time, calling it an anti-LGBTQ+, anti-reproductive rights, pro-Trump, extremist right-wing political-church group in a lengthy blog post.

Organizers claim God directed them to host the follow-up event in Edmonton, which he said people came from across North America to attend.

Attendees were encouraged to fast for 14 days leading up to the event.

Registration cost $69, though Lucier declared Thursday afternoon he would open the rest of the conference for free to anyone who had not already registered.

Lil Finlayson, who travelled from Kelowna to volunteer, said her family comes from a background of sexual and physical abuse, and she felt a sense of healing Thursday morning as others shared their stories.

I just really felt that theres a healing that came today, for me, through all of this. And not just for me but for my children and my grandchildren, she said. There was a release, that they would know the peace and love of God.

Lieb said people are becoming more savvy about how they share information online, so it can be hard to decipher the true political agenda of groups like Battle for Canada when their public messaging is a mishmash of sometimes contradictory ideas.

She said its important to stay vigilant.

Were in this heightened state of paranoia anyway  I speak from the LGBTQ community  because everybody feels targeted and were not sure whats coming out of the election and all those things. But marginalized groups are worried in general right now in the province, Lieb said.

We have to be mindful and we cant ever assume that something is benign.

Michael Green, executive director for the LGBTQ youth-centred Altview Foundation, said in an email that its important to make space for diverse spiritual beliefs but those beliefs should be challenged when they endanger vulnerable populations.

He feels the Battle for Canada is a rallying cry for extremism and hes disappointed the event is being hosted in Edmonton.

When public rhetoric raises tensions and incites action against individuals or groups that rhetoric claims as responsible, violence becomes probable but not predictable, Green said.

Meanwhile, the targets of that rhetoric begin to fear for their safety as hate targeting them grows in frequency and intensity.

Edmonton Expo Centre general manager Arlindo Gomes sent Star Edmonton a statement saying his venue does not censor programming related to third-party events unless there is a violation of our legal system or if authorities have stated a public safety concern.

The event is scheduled to run through Sunday.

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By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Days ahead of the declaration of the Lok Sabha poll results, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu met his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal in the city on Friday, with the AAP terming it a courtesy visit.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh were also present at the meeting.

According to sources, Naidu and Kejriwal discussed the scenario after the election results are declared and what role their parties, the TDP and the AAP would play in government formation if such a situation rises.

However, the AAP maintained that Naidu paid a courtesy visit to Kejriwal.

Earlier in the day, TDP president Naidu, who has been rallying regional parties to form a non-BJP coalition, met CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury in the national capital.

Sources said that Naidu is likely to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi in the national capital and BSP chief Mayawati in Lucknow on Saturday.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

The TDP chief had met the election commission earlier in the day and told reporters that but any outfit which is against the saffron party are welcome to join a grand alliance after the election results are declared.

Results of the general elections will be declared on May 23. While the AAP and the Congress were in talks for a seat-sharing arrangement for the Lok Sabha polls, the plan didnt come to fruition as the two parties couldnt come to an agreement.

Thereafter, the two parties resorted to a blame game, with the AAP blaming the Congress for the failure of seat talks and the grand old party hitting back.

With PTI inputs
EDMONTONBill C-48 isnt dead in the water. Its just going through the legislative motions.

On Wednesday night, the Senates transportation and communications committee rejected the controversial bill, also known as the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, one of several federal government decisions on oil that has driven a wedge between Alberta and British Columbia.

Premier Jason Kenney applauded the vote, and vowed his government would call on the Senate to go one step further and recommend killing the bill altogether.

Meanwhile, environmentalists in B.C. are warning that any amount of tanker traffic on B.C.s pristine north coast could destroy the fragile ecosystem. They say they will hold Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to his election campaign promise to impose a tanker ban on that portion of B.C.s coast.

But does the bill really do what its supposed to? And what happens to it from here?

What is Bill C-48?

Throughout 2015, Trudeau campaigned on the promise of a tanker ban on B.C.s north coast, and in November 2016, he announced his government would put forward a bill that would place a moratorium on tankers.

But in that same announcement, he shelved the Northern Gateway pipeline that would have crossed northwestern B.C., and gave the go ahead to the deeply controversial Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which would nearly triple the amount of oil shipped out from Alberta, and increase tanker traffic through Vancouvers already busy port.

Introduced in 2017, Bill C-48 would ban oil tanker traffic along British Columbias north coast, from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the Alaska border. If passed, it would forbid tankers carrying more than 12,500 tonnes of oil from loading or unloading in the exclusion zone, either directly at ports or using other ships as intermediaries.

Whats happening to the bill now? And whats next?

After it passed third reading in the House of Commons earlier this month, the bill was sent to the Senate transport and communications committee, to advise the Senate about whether or not it should return C-48 to the House for a final decision.

Sen. Paula Simons, an independent Senator from Alberta who sits on the committee, joined five Conservative senators in voting against the bill Wednesday night. Her vote resulted in a 6-6 tie and, according to Senate rules, that means the committee must suggest that the Senate kill the bill.

But thats unlikely to happen, explained Lori Williams, a political science professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary.

With legislative authority resting with elected representatives in the House, she explained, the Senate, as the house of sober second thought, offers oversight on legislation, by reviewing and recommending amendments.

To reject the law in its current form would probably be seen as a huge overreach of their power, Williams added. Because none of them are elected. Theyre all appointed. The democratic legitimacy of such a rejection would be enormous.

More likely, Williams said, the Senate will suggest amendments to the bill before handing it back for a final say.

Passing the bill before the looming federal election could require an extended sitting of the House into July, she noted, and theres also a chance the House will decide to let the bill die, or postpone revisiting it until after the election.

Doesnt B.C. already have a tanker ban?

There has been an informal tanker ban on B.C.s northwest coast since the 1970s.

It was originally sparked, not out of fear of Alberta bitumen, but out of fear of Alaska crude coming out of Alaskan oilfields, said Joe Foy, co-executive director of the Wilderness Committee.

Tankers have been kept out of the area through a series of moratoriums on tanker traffic as well as oil and gas exploration. The Canadian government also established an exclusionary zone agreement with the U.S. government in 1985 that forces tankers shipping Alaskan crude to head out west and around the Queen Charlotte Islands before docking on the American west coast.

It was everything we could do in the 70s to stop tankers, Foy said. He remembers growing up on B.C.s coast, fishing and boating.

What sent a shiver up and down north coast residents and elected leaders in First Nations communities is when Enbridge proposed to put a pipeline through to the north coast, Foy said. The Conservative government of the day reminded people that the tanker ban had never been formalized in law.

Bill C-48 would formalize that ban. Foy said environmentalists in B.C. will maintain pressure on the federal government to pass bill C-48.

We need to keep our eyes on the prize, we need that ban and we need to get it in place, he said. We really shouldnt be in the business of exporting Alberta bitumen.

How would tankers affect B.C.s coast?

Misty MacDuffee, who works with Raincoast Conservation Foundation, spent more than a dozen months at sea on B.C.s northern coast, documenting how shipping oil through these waters would affect marine wildlife.

B.C.s northern shore features thousands of kilometres of coastline and is dotted with hundreds of islands and narrow inlets. That, combined with frequent wind and fog, make it difficult for ships to navigate, MacDuffee said.

To navigate crude oil tankers through that coast is madness, she said.

An oil spill in the region would destroy the habitat for hundreds of species and have worldwide ramifications. Some birds migrate to coastal B.C. from as far away as New Zealand.

Its an incredible, incredible place for just the richness of species and diversity of species. Its vulnerable and its fragile, and weve already taken whales out of this area once from whaling.

The waters off B.C.s central and northern shorelines are home to a recovering population of baleen whales that migrate up and down the continents coast. Humpback, fin and grey whales have been growing in number since people stopped hunting them in the mid 1900s.

Now we got this opportunity to let them return to their historic feeding ground, MacDuffee added. The last thing we should be doing is undermining the quality of their habitat ... and their ability to find food.

Why is Alberta against it?

With the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX) stuck in limbo after the Federal Court of Appeal rejected federal approval for the project, C-48 would add insult to injury, impeding provinces oil industry from accessing international markets.

The Liberal government ran on environmental reform, Simons explained, and the introduction of C-48 served as quid pro quo for the pipeline expansion.

If TMX isnt approved, and we impose C-48, then Alberta is hopeless, she said. Theres no chance for them to get their product to market on the Pacific.

According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, lack of market access currently costs Canadian producers between $10.8 billion and $15.6 billion annually.

On top of that, Simons noted, she sees a slew of problems and inconsistencies with the bill.

It doesnt stop cruise ships, or other vessels heavily laden with fuel from transiting through particularly sensitive sea areas, Simons said. All this bill would have done is stopped tankers from loading cargo at Canadian ports along that coast. So, it didnt offer the protection that people assumed that it did.

Moreover, notes Ian Urquhart, a political science professor at the University of Alberta, the moratorium doesnt apply to liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, and wouldnt prevent the development LNG gas pipelines to tankers for export.

But it does prohibit any future oil pipelines to the ports of Prince Rupert or Kitimat, he added, and the possibility of any future Northern Gateway pipeline.

Thought to target both Alberta and Canadas oil industry, the bill is seen as a threat to the provinces economic well-being. Kenney said it would jeopardize jobs and undermine national unity.

Alberta is particularly frustrated with the bill, Williams explained, because of a lack of consultation with the province itself.

Its this whole idea that decisions are being made in Ottawa without adequately considering Albertas interest and concerns, or considering the contribution that Alberta makes to confederation, she said. The rest of Canada is happy to take the benefits of Alberta, but theyre not willing to actually provide support for Alberta and its industry thats so important.

With files from Alex Ballingall and The Canadian Press

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CRANBROOK, B. C.Theres no room for doubt that a former leader in a religious sect that practises polygamy in Bountiful, B.C., knew that an underage girl who he removed from Canada to be married in the United States would be subject to sexual contact, a judge said Friday.

James Oler was found guilty of removing a 15-year-old girl from the community to the United States to be married to an older member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2004.

In delivering her decision, Justice Martha Devlin of the B.C. Supreme Court said Oler saw with substantial certainty that the girl would be expected to consummate the marriage immediately in order to fulfil her role in bringing forward children in line with the divine mandate.

Entering (the girl) into an ordinary marriage would leave no doubt, but as here, entering her into a plural marriage that is imperative to her salvation, leaves even less room, she said.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 15.

The ruling brings to an end a lengthy court process. Oler was acquitted in 2017 by a judge who was not convinced he did anything within Canadas borders to arrange the girls transfer. But the B.C. Court of Appeal overturned the decision, saying that proof of wrongdoing in Canada was not necessary and ordered a new trial.

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Oler was self-represented and did not call any witnesses or make a case in his defence during the retrial. He sat quietly as Devlin delivered her decision in the small courtroom in Cranbrook and declined to comment outside.

Lawyer Joe Doyle, who served as a friend of the court to ensure a fair trial, argued that a four-day gap in the girls whereabouts is enough to dispute whether she was removed from Canada in 2004.

Devlin said she had to wrestle to a conclusion whether the evidence established the girls presence in Canada during that time, and specifically on the day that Warren Jeffs, the churchs prophet and president, ordered Oler to deliver her for the marriage.

This is the linchpin of this retrial, Devlin said.

But a perfect reconstruction of the girls movement was not required of the Crown and Devlin found it would strain credulity to suggest the girl travelled to the United States ahead of a group driving from Canada, she said.

If the girl had already been in the United States, its more likely that she would have been sent directly to meet Jeffs rather than back to a site near the border where witness accounts placed her the day before her marriage.

The community also doesnt allow young women to travel without supervision, so Devlin said its very unlikely that the girl would have crossed the border on her own.

Reason, logic and human experience applied to the evidence does not convince me otherwise, Devlin said.

Special prosecutor Peter Wilson argued that Oler should have known the girl would be subject to sexual activity following her marriage based on the nature of church doctrine and the disempowered role of women in the faith.

During the trial, Devlin admitted into evidence contested records that were seized from a headquarters of the religious group.

The marriage and priesthood records kept by the church had been seized by U.S. law enforcement when a search warrant was executed at the Yearning for Zion ranch in Texas in 2008.

The court heard the priesthood records included audio dictations by Jeffs.

One priesthood record describes a phone call that Jeffs made to Oler on June 23, 2004, ordering him to bring the child to the United States to be married. The court heard the girls marriage was documented by the records kept by Jeffs.

Oler originally stood trial alongside Emily Blackmore and her husband Brandon Blackmore. Both were convicted of taking a 13-year-old girl across the border to marry a member of the same sect.

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MONTREALThe Quebec government is crediting its new gun registry law for a major spike in the number of long guns voluntarily handed over to police for destruction.

Between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019, 5,250 long-guns were voluntarily given to authorities to be destroyed, according to provincial police spokeswoman Joyce Kemp.

The previous year, 2,406 long guns  such as rifles and shotguns  were surrendered. Thats an 118 per cent increase. The government estimated in 2015 there were 1.6 million long guns in Quebec.

Canadian law classifies guns in three categories: prohibited guns, such as automatics, and restricted guns, such as handguns, must be registered with the RCMP. Long guns  rifles and shotguns that are mainly used for hunting and sport shooting  no longer need to be registered in Canada, except in Quebec.

Jean-Francois Del Torchio, a spokesman for Public Security Minister Genevieve Guilbault, said Friday the jump is likely tied to the provincial gun registry bill. The law was passed in 2016 by the previous Liberal government but went fully into effect Jan. 29, 2019, the deadline to register long guns.

Long-gun owners must register their weapons, either online or by mail. There is no charge, but those who fail to comply could face penalties up to $5,000.

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Del Torchio said people who owned rifles but stopped hunting likely handed them in instead of going through the registration process. Others, he added, may have been given a gun as a gift or through an inheritance and didnt want to have to sign them up.

People who are passionate about hunting are going to continue to hunt and keep their weapons, Del Torchio said in an interview.

Kemp said police dont record the motivations of people who hand in their guns, but she too acknowledged the influence of the long-gun registry.

We can explain the difference for 2018-19 by the law coming into effect, Kemp said in an interview.

But while more Quebecers are getting rid of their hunting weapons as compared to previous years, roughly a third of the long guns estimated to be in Quebec have been registered since the law went into effect.

Louise Quintin, spokeswoman for Quebecs Public Security Department, said in an email Friday that as of May 15, 516,270 long-guns had been registered since the law went into effect.

Gun owners have called for boycotts of the law and many rural town councils across the province have adopted resolutions denouncing the registry or calling for it to be scraped entirely.

Earlier in the week, the Quebec government tabled a bill that would remove certain obligations for gun owners required to register their weapons.

The bill says gun owners no longer have to provide their weapons registration number upon request by a peace officer or submit the barrel length when registering a weapon. They would also no longer have to notify the registry if they have their firearm away from its usual storage location.

Stephanie Vadnais, with the Quebec federation of hunters and fishermen, said her group will attend the legislative hearings into the bill to try for even more concessions.

She said in an interview Friday the gun registry law is irritating and bureaucratic  but thats not the main reason hunters and fishers are against it.

Canadas gun registry was a disaster, she said, and offered little concrete evidence it made anyone safer. The federal Liberals introduced the Canada-wide long-gun registry in 1995, saying it would cost roughly $110-million.

The figure multiplied and ended up costing taxpayers many times that before the Conservatives abolished it in 2012. Guilbault has said the cost of the Quebec registry remains as forecast  about $20 million to implement and $5 million annually to administer  but Vadnais isnt convinced.

We are selling a high-cost illusion of security, she said.

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ST. JOHNS, N.L.Newfoundland and Labradors recent election resulted in a rare minority government, partially due to wins by two Independent candidates  and both former Liberals say they wont be swayed to rejoin any political party.

Eddie Joyce and Paul Lane both crossed the floor to sit as Independents since Dwight Balls Liberal majority government took office in 2015.

On Thursday, Balls Liberals were re-elected but took a hit, holding 20 of the legislatures 40 seats while the Tories took 15, the New Democrats won three and both Lane and Joyce held onto their seats as Independents.

The two members now hold more power in a minority setup, and both say theyd rather keep it that way, remaining the nonaffiliated voices their constituents elected.

Lane, who also previously sat as a Progressive Conservative, crossed the floor in 2016 after refusing to support a controversial, high-tax budget he said was too hard on people.

Joyces unceremonious exit from the Liberal ranks came last year, when he was ejected from caucus and the Liberal cabinet following harassment and bullying allegations from other elected members.

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Lane said Friday that a more collaborative minority setup is something hes been in favour of for some time, adding he looks forward to more debate and critique on Liberal legislation in the House of Assembly.

Budget 2016 is what landed me as an Independent to begin with, he said. I see my role now as holding government to account.

Lane said he doesnt intend to be overly adversarial, but hes looking forward to a new era of the provinces politics, which has traditionally elected majority governments.

Im not going to try to stop every piece of legislation from going through the house ... but by the same token if there are things that are done that I fundamentally have problems with, if they want my support theyre going to have to work with me.

Joyce, who was first elected in 1989, won by a landslide on Thursday, and he said Friday hes also planning to remain independent.

Both men also waved away speculation that they would take the Speaker of the House position, with Lane saying it would conflict with his role of critiquing the government.

Joyce, who didnt leave the Liberal caucus on sunny terms, said hes also expecting an apology from Progressive Conservative Leader Ches Crosbie, who remarked last year that Joyce had issues and would be a poor fit for the Tories.

As of Friday, the two Independent members, NDP Leader Alison Coffin and premier Dwight Ball said theyd rather work together and avoid another election, suggesting the provinces minority government will hold for the time being.

Still to come is a recount in the riding of Labrador West, where NDP candidate Jordan Brown defeated Liberal cabinet minister Graham Letto by just five votes.
Toronto police are looking for a suspect after a woman was violently assaulted at a home in North York.

According to a Toronto police news release, police were called to a home near Keele St. and Lawrence Ave. W. at around 7:11 a.m. on Friday after a man suddenly choked and stabbed the woman with an object. Although she was able to flee the home, the woman was taken to hospital with life-altering injuries.

Police say the suspect is violent, armed and dangerous and are urging the public to not approach him if located and call 911 immediately.

27-year-old Anthony Fitzroy Johnson of Toronto is wanted for aggravated assault, forcible confinement, overcoming resistance by choking and breach of probation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
It was a warm June afternoon in 2018 when a barrage of bullets flew through a busy playground in Scarboroughs Alton Towers Circle, striking two sisters. Aged 5 and 9, the girls were rushed to hospital and survived  but are deeply impacted.

You know what she said to me that day? Stacey King, the girls mother, told the public health board in a passionate deputation last July. Her 5-year-old, shot in the abdomen, had asked: Mommy, am I going to die?

The girls have since recovered, but they still have nightmares, and theyll never forget what happened, King said this week.

The June 14 playground incident was among the first summer shootings in a public space that prompted citywide safety concerns last year. Over the Canada Day long weekend, three people were shot dead, two of the victims killed in a daylight eruption of gunfire on a busy Queen St. stretch.

Facing mounting public pressure to control the rash of gunfire, Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders and Mayor John Tory announced their gun violence strategic plan, which included $3 million to send 200 additional officers throughout the city at times when shootings are most likely to occur.

Ahead of the Victoria Day weekend, with summer fast approaching  a season when gun violence trends upwards  the Star sat down with Saunders to discuss plans to reduce gun violence across the city, and spoke with experts and advocates about whats needed for the longer term.

How violent has 2019 been so far?

As of May 13, the most recent available numbers, there have been 129 shootings in the city this year, according to publicly available Toronto police data. Thats slightly less than the year-to-date shootings in the last three years: 2018 (136), 2017 (133) and 2016 (134). But its well above 2015s year-to-date statistic, when just 88 shootings occurred in the city.

Shooting homicides are slightly up  there have been 14 gun-related deaths this year. Thats two more than this time last year, and on par with the year-to-date gun deaths in 2017.

By the end of 2018, there were 51 fatal shootings, contributing to the citys record homicide count of 96 killings. The worst year for shooting deaths in Toronto is still 2005  the so-called Year of the Gun  when 53 people were killed by gunfire.

Did 200 officers last year make a difference?

Between July 20 and Sept. 9, the equivalent of 200 Toronto police officers were deployed throughout the city between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m., when shootings are most likely to occur. At the time, Saunders stressed the initiative would be intelligence-led, meaning they would go where they were needed and not simply flood neighbourhoods.

The initiative  enabled through officer overtime, and criticized by the Toronto Police Association  did not lead to an overall reduction in the number of shootings last year. There were 428 shooting occurrences in 2018, the highest number in the five previous years.

During the period when the additional officers were deployed, the number of shootings did decrease from past years. Throughout the eight-week period there were 63 shootings  a 13 per cent reduction over the same eight-week period in 2017 (when there were 73 shootings) and a 25 per cent reduction during the same weeks in 2016 (84 shootings).

According to a Toronto police analysis of weekend shootings, the 2018 initiative reduced the number by 33 per cent over 2017 and by 37 per cent over 2016.

But there was more deadly gunfire in 2018, with 11 people fatally shot during that eight-week period, which had just begun when gunman Faisal Hussain opened fired on the Danforth, killing two people and injuring 13. During the same period in 2017, nine people were fatally shot, and three were killed over the same eight weeks in 2016.

The move to send more officers into neighbourhoods was criticized by community advocates, who worried about police targeting specific communities. In an interview with the Star this week, Louis March, founder of Torontos Zero Gun Violence Movement, said it was a good public relations gimmick that failed to produce results. The initiative only made it seem as though they were taking it seriously, March said.

Saunders said there was strong positive benefit  even if we helped one person from being shot or being murdered. Asked if police will replicate the program this summer, Saunders said he wont discuss specifics about the police playbook.

The best measure and the best approach is to stay intelligence-led, Saunders said, and leave it at that.

How are police working to decrease gun violence?

Saunders stressed that the proliferation of shootings in the city should be defined as street gang violence, not the anonymous gun violence. The vast majority of shootings are associated with the roughly 725 known gang members and affiliates in the city, he said.

Police focus has been on building relationships at a community level, through the ongoing Neighbourhood Officer Program  which sees cops assigned to certain areas to get to know its needs and residents  and each divisions front-line officers, known as the primary response unit. According to Saunders, that work is gleaning tremendous local level intelligence, which is creating fantastic assistance.

When we tap into them, were finding that people are helping, people are co-operating, Saunders said. It doesnt necessarily get us to the threshold of apprehension, but it does provide us intelligence and when you hear the same story from 18 different people it does focus us on where we put our resources, how we go about applying it.

Saunders said that helps police be preventative, by increasing officer presence, or it can aid in investigations after a shooting.

Each police division across Toronto has its own localized knowledge of whats causing gun violence  be it a dispute over territory, drug transactions, rivalries, or because someone dissed someone on YouTube, Saunders said. And then, we make our approach as an organization based on what we see and what were hearing and then we try to figure out what resources are necessary.

How does the gun buyback program fit into this?

Late last month, in response to last years surge in gun violence, Toronto police launched a three-week gun buyback program. Members of the public were invited to hand over registered or unregistered guns in their possession in exchange for $200 for a long gun or $350 for a handgun. None of the owners would face a charge for possessing or unsafely storing a firearm.

Police said Saturday, at the end of the three-week program, that they had obtained 1,900 long guns and 800 handguns, which will be destroyed.

There is limited research on the efficacy of gun buyback or amnesty programs, and critics have said these initiatives do not attract the kinds of guns used in crimes  they are more typically old, unwanted guns that law-abiding people inherited somehow.

Police say its still helpful to destroy guns that could  through a break-in, for example  get into the hands of criminals who may use the gun. Getting upwards of 2,000 guns off the street is  a good day for the city, Saunders said. The numbers speak for themselves.

But March said the city is tired of these publicity gimmicks.

The people on the street are saying, Im not turning my gun in for that. This is people finding guns in their basement and these are people who have nothing to fear, he said.

How are Toronto police spending money from the province?

Proclaiming he was from the old school  I love boots on the ground, Premier Doug Ford announced last August that he was giving Toronto police $18-million over four years to put toward combating gun violence.

Police could use the money however they saw fit, Ford said. Saunders told the Star that money has gone to the forces guns and gangs task force.

Fords government has since announced a further $16.4 million in funding over two years to fight guns and gangs, including improved training for corrections officers to gather intelligence on gangs operating in jails.

Meanwhile, critics have railed against provincial cuts to programming aimed at the root causes of crime. Last summer, King  the mother of the girls shot in the playground  pointed out the Ford governments cuts to a youth music program. This kind of after-school program keeps kids off the street and out of trouble, she said.

Experts on crime reduction stress that giving money directly to police is short-sighted, and has not been proven to increase public safety.

Most governments pay more and more for standard police, courts and corrections despite evidence that the increases to expenditures do not usually stop violence, writes Irvin Waller, a professor emeritus in criminology at the University of Ottawa, in Science and Secrets of Ending Violent Crime.

In the new book, Waller writes that costs of policing in Canada grew from $6 billion in 2000 to $14.7 billion in 2017, a rise mostly attributable to increasing salaries. Two-thirds of policing costs fall to municipalities, which in turn means cities have to cut other services aimed at prevention to cover ballooning police budgets, Waller writes.

Funding for programs addressing the roots of youth violence was at issue in the most recent Toronto budget, passed March 7. Council approved a more than $50-million anti-gun violence plan in July, which relied entirely on funding from other levels of government.

But city staff informed council earlier this year that the plan was left largely unfunded. Of $32.65 million requested by the city for community initiatives, only $6.8 million was funded by the federal government, leaving more than $26 million unfunded.

During this years budget process, council approved an additional $2.5 million to expand community programs under its youth equity strategy, which range from focusing on trauma resulting from gun violence to helping young people reintegrate into their communities after spending time in prison.

In March, Mayor John Tory said talks with the federal government about funding for anti-violence initiatives were ongoing and that they remained positive and constructive. Still, no additional funds have been forthcoming.

Waller recommends something he called tithing  putting 10 per cent of the police budget toward prevention initiatives aimed at the root causes of crime: issues including poverty, mental illness, homelessness and substance abuse. Preventative programming can be relatively inexpensive, Waller writes, and the 10 per cent could eventually provide as much as a 50 per cent reduction in crime.

What are the longer-term alternatives?

When it comes to reducing crime, police play an important role but theyre not the only player, says Felix Munger, who manages the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention, an association of cities aiming to cut crime. The concept of boots on the ground is not a recipe for long-term success, he said.

Instead, he advocates for a public health approach, which would create partnerships with social services and health practitioners, and aim to intervene before crimes take place. He points to Glasgow, Scotland, where a task force brought down the homicide rate by 50 per cent using what Waller called a combination of smart law enforcement and programs targeted to youth, family and health.

The evidence shows that that works, Munger said.

In Minneapolis, the city council declared youth violence a public health issue and developed a plan that involved mentoring at-risk youth, intervening at the first signs of risk, and working to changing the culture of violence, according to Waller. Between 2007 and 2015, the city saw a 62 per cent reduction in youth gunshot victims and a 76 per cent reduction in youth arrests with a gun, Waller wrote.

Asked in an interview what he would do to reduce gun violence in Toronto, Waller stressed the importance of a dedicated unit, reporting directly to city council, that would diagnose the reasons for gun violence, examine what services are missing, and propose what actions need to be taken. The unit would also mobilize other agencies not under the control of the city, such as school boards.

I would be setting a target of two to three years for when they start doing these things, and I would be ramping up the money for smart investments and proven solutions, he said.

In 2017, Toronto police launched their transformational task force, which aims to reduce costs and improve public trust in the service. As part of that, Toronto police acknowledged the need to partner with communities and other services to address the root causes of crime and allow for early intervention.

Asked how that process is going, Saunders said it is moving in right direction, though not at the pace that everybody would want it to be.

Saunders said what is shifting is that for the first time in a long time, there is more acknowledgement that crime-solving is about looking at root causes.

It was a conversation that was not had years ago. It was always, Theres a gun problem. Police, here  go deal with it, Saunders said. And the remedy was throwing more uniforms in neighbourhoods and turning things upside down. So the intentions were right, but the problem was, its not just a police problem.

With files from Jennifer Pagliaro

Wendy Gillis is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and policing. Reach her by email at wgillis@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @wendygillis

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KINSHASA, Congo - Congolese art collector and businessman Sindika Dokolo feared being jailed if he returned to his country as an opponent of the longtime president.

During his five years in exile, a court convicted him in absentia on charges related to a real estate dispute which he says were politically motivated.

All that changed when longtime President Joseph Kabila stepped down earlier this year after nearly two decades in office and handed over power to opposition figure Felix Tshisekedi.

Now I have the opportunity to defend myself, to clear my name and expunge this conviction, the 47-year-old Sindika told The Associated Press during a recent interview in Congos capital, Kinshasa. The judge who oversaw his case had been found not qualified and was dismissed and jailed last year.

Sindika is one of a growing number of Kabila opponents who say they now can come home after years in exile.

In the most high-profile return yet, onetime presidential hopeful and former governor Moise Katumbi is expected to come home on Monday after he was blocked from entering the country last year.

Katumbi was convicted in absentia in 2016 for real estate fraud and sentenced to 36 months in prison, a move his supporters said was aimed at derailing his presidential ambitions. He fled the country after accusing authorities of trying to poison him.

Last month, however, his conviction was overturned and he was issued a Congolese passport.

Human rights groups have welcomed the more open climate ushered in by Tshisekedi, who recently met with Sindika. The new president has released hundreds of detainees and ended a ban on public protests.

Robert Ilunga Numbi, president of a group called Friends of Nelson Mandela, applauded the conditions now allowing for prominent political exiles to return.

This is a good start for the rule of law, he said. The cases that led to the convictions of Sindika and Katumbi were brought forth by the Kabila regime to prevent them from returning to the country. Their convictions were a political decision; it was a travesty of justice.

Still, some concerns remain about Tshisekedi, whose election was not without controversy as another opposition candidate, Martin Fayulu, alleges he was the true winner. Critics have accused Tshisekedi of making a deal with Kabila to secure victory, and they fear the former president wants to continue in Congos political affairs.

Those fears were exacerbated when Kabilas party dominated legislative elections, giving it the power to choose Congos next prime minister.

Sindika, who is married to Isabel dos Santos  the daughter of the former Angolan leader and believed to be the richest woman in Africa  says he now wants to use his business skills to help promote economic development in Congo.

The economy of the vast country rich in minerals has been undermined by decades of dictatorship and allegations of plundering.

I will absolutely contribute to this effort of recovery of my country, Sindika said. Job creation is what I know how to do. It is what I learned to do.

___

Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa
MANAGUA, Nicaragua - A Nicaraguan-American dual national who died in a prison disturbance in Nicaragua served in the U.S. Navy and was a staunch opponent of the government of President Daniel Ortega, his cousin said Saturday.

Eddy Montes Praslin, 56, was shot dead Thursday at La Modelo prison outside the capital of Managua. Hundreds of Nicaraguans have been jailed over the past year after protesting against the government.

His cousin Marvin Montes told The Associated Press that Montes Praslin moved to the U.S. when he was 13 years old, went to school in California and served in the Navy.

He said Montes Praslin travelled back and forth between the two countries, establishing himself more permanently in Nicaragua since 2006. Montes Praslin at one point studied medicine, and he received a law degree from a Nicaraguan university in 2018, his cousin said.

At least 17 others who had been arrested for apparently participating in anti-government protests were wounded in the prison disturbance. The government said prisoners rushed at guards.

Marvin Montes said his cousin was jailed in October after complaining to police that pro-government activists had occupied several acres of his property in Matagalpa, a city in northern Nicaragua.

The attorney generals office accused him of terrorism, aggravated robbery, obstruction of public services and attacking the mayors office in Matagalpa.

The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights represented Montes while he was in prison.

We have an account of the persecution that he suffered over his property going back more than two years, said Vilma Nunez, president of the human rights centre.

Nunez said that in addition to the property dispute, Montes had offered to testify as a witness to a murder that he said was committed by government agents.

Eddy was there and saw everything, said cousin Montes.

Attorney Yonarqui Martinez, who represents more than 70 political prisoners, said via Twitter that there is proof that Montes Praslin was shot in the back rather than during a tussle. Its unclear whether an autopsy will be performed.

Fellow inmates looked up to Montes Praslin, calling him pastor because he led religious gatherings and even father because he was much older than the many students who are in jail.

Student-led protests against social security reforms began in April 2018 and grew in scope to demand Ortegas exit from office and early elections. The demonstrations were put down forcibly by security forces and armed, pro-government militias, with at least 325 people killed in the crackdown, more than 2,000 wounded and over 52,000 who fled the country, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Daughter Eddy Jafet Montes, who lives in California, told a Nicaraguan media outlet that she would travel to Nicaragua for the funeral, but with trepidation.

If they threw my father in jail under any excuse, I feel they could do the same to us, she said.

The funeral is expected to take place on Sunday, according to Marvin Montes.

U.S. Ambassador Kevin Sullivan expressed sadness at Montes Praslins death and said he met with family members Friday to convey the U.S. governments condolences.

They deserve a comprehensive and credible account of this unjustifiable use of lethal force against an unarmed political prisoner, Sullivan said via Twitter. A U.S. State Department official reiterated the governments call for the release of all political prisoners.
BEIJING - Irans foreign minister praised his countrys relations with China during talks with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing amid heightened tensions and efforts by Tehran to keep its world markets open following the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

Mohammad Javad Zarif met Frriday with Wang Yi, whose country has been a major customer for Iranian oil, at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse.

We consider (China) one of our closest partners in the world, Zarif said in opening remarks at the start of the meeting.

Iran wishes to co-operate with China bilaterally and multilaterally, in order to preserve the interests of our two peoples ... for peace and security, Zarif said.

Wang told Zarif during the meeting that China hopes the Iran nuclear deal can be fully implemented.

China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions and the so-called long-arm jurisdiction imposed by the United States on Iran, Wang said, according to Chinas Xinhua state news agency.

The Chinese foreign minister pledged to maintain the nuclear deal and work with Iran to eliminate complicated disturbing factors, Xinhua said.

Along with ratcheting-up pressure on the Islamic Republic, Washington is engaged in an increasingly bitter tariff battle with China.

Wangs comments were inaudible, but China has accused the U.S. of raising tensions in the Middle East with its more assertive approach to Iran, as well as upsetting energy markets and the global economy.

The talks came after Saudi Arabia accused Iran of being behind a drone attack that shut down a key oil pipeline in the kingdom. A local newspaper linked to the Al Saud royal family called Thursday for America to launch surgical strikes on Tehran.

The U.S. has also dispatched warships and bombers to the region to counter an alleged threat from Iran that has seen America order nonessential diplomatic staff out of Iraq.

President Donald Trump decided last year to withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers and imposed wide-reaching sanctions that have crippled Irans economy.

Zarif arrived following a visit to Japan  like China, a major importer of crude oil from the Persian Gulf  as part of intense diplomatic efforts to salvage Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers at the centre of a crisis unfolding between Iran and the U.S.

Zarif was quoted by Irans official IRNA news agency as chastising the international community, saying in Beijing that it has mainly made statements, instead of saving the deal.

After Trump pulled America out of the deal, other signatories  the European Union, France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany  have been trying to salvage it.

Iran recently warned it would resume enriching uranium at higher levels if a new deal isnt reached by July 7.
CANNES, France - Ahead of Saturdays premiere of an Argentine documentary on abortion, dozens of women demonstrated for abortion rights on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

Women, including the filmmakers and activists seen in the film, waved green handkerchiefs and carried a large banner while walking the Cannes carpet at the premiere of Argentine director Juan Solanas Let It Be Law. The documentary depicts Argentinas battle to legalize abortion.

Argentinas Senate last year rejected a bill to legalize abortion, prompting protests in Buenos Aires streets. Green handkerchiefs have come to be symbol of the movement. A modified version of the bill is to be presented to Congress on May 28.

The films debut comes as abortion rights are also being fiercely contested in the U.S. On Tuesday, the Alabama Senate passed a bill that would outlaw almost all abortions in the state, including those involving pregnancies from rape or incest.

Many in the movie industry in Cannes have followed the developments in the U.S. with concern.

Whats happening in Alabama is so important in the world, Eva Longoria, who produced the Netflix documentary Reversing Roe, said Friday at a Women in Motion event in Cannes. Its going to affect everybody if we dont pay attention.
MUDITA Girotra By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: A day after most Muslim families had fled west Delhis Basai Darapur village after the issuance of a diktat against the community by a Hindu fringe group, some of them returned after receiving assurance from the police but said they were still living in fear.

Irfan Salami, a Muslim property dealer, said he had never experienced this kind of animosity during his stay in the Tyagi-dominated village for last four decades.

We (Tyagis and Muslims) have never had really good relations. I left my house with my family fearing that the Mahasabha would turn violent. We have come back but are still living in a lot of fear, he told this newspaper.

Tension gripped the area after the murder of 51-year-old businessman Dhruv Tyagi.

A police officer said that the protection of the community was being taken care of, with some policemen visiting the area on Friday and giving them assurance.

Minority Commission Chairman Zafarul-Islam-Khan, however, said, that an inquiry was initiated in the matter but no protection was sought for the Muslims.

ALSO READ | Criminal has no religion', says dad of slain Delhi man who objected to lewd remarks against daughter

I am unable to understand the reality of this case. How can a man murder a stranger over such a petty issue? he said, hinting that the reports may have been manipulated.

The initial inquiry by the commission, he said, has revealed that this is not as simple as it is being reported in the media.

(For the protection of Muslims living in fear,) we will do the needful. We havent received any complaints. Once we are able to understand the whole matter, we will seek protection for these people from the police, he said.

Jama Masjid Imam Ahmad Bukhari said that he would speak with the police chief on Saturday regarding the matter. There should be attempts for conciliation between the groups. It is unnecessarily being given a communal colour. It was a Muslim, who had saved them (rushed them to the hospital), Bukhari said.

ALSO READ | Dhruv Tyagi murder: Muslims in Delhi's Moti Nagar began leaving even before diktat

The Hindu group on Thursday staged a protest demanding that a ban be imposed on the minority community staying in various villages across the national capital.

Raising slogans, the protests brought traffic to a halt on the main in the Modi Nagar area.

Hundreds of members of Akhil Bhartiya Brahmashri Mahasangh organised the protest with support from members of the Tyagi Samaj, who arrived at the national capital from various parts of northern India, including Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.
BLEIBURG, Austria - Thousands of Croatian far-right supporters gathered in a field in southern Austria on Saturday to commemorate the massacre of pro-Nazi Croats by communists at the end of World War II.

For Croatian nationalists, the controversial annual event near the village of Bleiburg symbolizes their suffering under communism in the former Yugoslavia before they fought a war for independence in the 1990s. But Bleiburgs mayor Stefan Visocnik branded the event a mask for the glorification of Nazism.

Tens of thousands of Croatians, mostly pro-fascist soldiers and their families, fled to the region in May 1945 amid a Yugoslav army offensive, only to be turned back from Austria by the British military and into the hands of anti-fascists.

Thousands of the so-called Ustashas were killed in and around Bleiburg.

Tens of thousands of Jews, Serbs, Gypsies and anti-fascist Croats perished in Ustasha-run death camps during WWII and the Bleiburg massacre was seen by historians as revenge by the victorious communist partisan fighters.

Austrias anti-fascist groups, waving the former Yugoslavias flags with the communist red star and signs Death to Fascism, held small protests during the event attended by some 10,000 Croatians.

Hundreds of Austrian police officers were deployed and police helicopters hovered above the prayer ceremony on the vast field surrounded by mountains. The rally was peaceful and no incidents were reported.

Since last year, Austrian authorities have banned the black Ustasha flags and insignia with the letter U at the gathering in Blaiburg. The local Austrian church refused to take part in the commemoration.

Ruza Tomasic, a conservative Croatian representative in the European parliament, said the commemoration has nothing to do with extremism, and that the massacre represents a great tragedy.

In 1945 when the Independent State of Croatia failed, civilians, kinds old and young men, they all started going toward Austria because they were told the English soldiers will spare them, she said. Unfortunately, when they signed the surrender they turned them to the communists and they just killed them.

When we come here to remember them in our prayers, we are not allowed. They are putting too much security here as if we came here to start the war or something, she said.

Croatia regained its independence in a war against the Serb-led Yugoslav army in the 1990s.
LONDON - Prince William has spoken candidly about the death of his mother, Princess Diana, describing his bereavement as a pain like no other pain.

Speaking in a BBC documentary on mental health, William also says that his time working as an air ambulance pilot gave him the impression that death was just around the door, and the thoughts had become a problem until he spoke with someone.

The comments were part of a discussion about personal struggles that William shared with soccer stars Peter Crouch, Thierry Henry, Danny Rose, Jermaine Jenas and Englands manager Gareth Southgate.

Prince William and his brother, Prince Harry, have championed the cause of addressing mental health issues, hoping their frank admissions on their own struggles will encourage others in need to seek help.
MILAN - The German humanitarian group Sea-Watch says its ship carrying 47 migrants has entered Italian waters despite an explicit ban by Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.

Sea-Watch said Saturday it flouted the ban for humanitarian reasons, moving toward the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.

Italy on Friday transferred some migrant families with small children from the Sea-Watch 3 to Lampedusa, but it has continued to refusing landfall to others. But Sea-Watch said the others were equally in need of relief, saying many suffered from seasickness and dehydration, as well as trauma from their time in lawless Libya and on a smugglers boat.

After this unacceptable, discriminating separation, the medical and psychological situation onboard the ship became unbearable, and the crew could no longer ensure the safety of the rescued people, Sea-Watch said.

Salvini said Saturday that children and those with ailments were permitted to enter Italy but the absolute ban remains on the Sea Watch 3 against entering our territorial waters. 

Speaking later in Milan at a rally of right-wing populist movements, Salvini declared: Never, as long as I am interior minister, will that ship enter an Italian port.

Forty-seven migrants rescued Wednesday off Libya remain on board the ship, including a pregnant woman and a man with disabilities.

Sea-Watch says the 18 migrants taken to Lampedusa on Friday were mostly families and an injured woman.
TEL AVIV, Israel - The Netherlands won the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv Saturday, with Duncan Laurences doleful piano ballad Arcade crowned champion of Europes annual music extravaganza.

The 25-year-old was tapped as an early front-runner before the Grand Final but was only ranked third after the vote of professional juries from the 41 participating countries, trailing Sweden and North Macedonia. He surged ahead thanks to the fan vote, securing The Netherlands its fifth win ever in the competition. Italy finished second, followed by Russia, Switzerland and Norway.

This is to dreaming big. This is to music first, always, Laurence said, as he was handed the trophy from last years winner, Israels Netta Barzilai.

Some 200 million people around the world were believed to have watched the annual campy contest with 26 nations battling in the Grand Final of the 64th Eurovision.

Madonna was the star attraction, performing her hit staple, Like a Prayer, marking 30 years since its release, and a new song Future from her forthcoming album Madame X. She took the stage after participants wrapped up their performances shortly after midnight when the elaborate voting process got underway across Europe.

To maximize onscreen tension, performers are ranked by a mix of fan votes and professional juries. Spectators could not vote for their own country, but like-minded nations tend to fall into blocs that back their regional favourites, with politics meshing into art.

The Eurovision debuted in the wake of World War II to heal a divided continent. Over the years, the earnest show of European unity has ballooned into an over-the-top, gay-friendly spectacle that brings together acts from across the continent, including those with little or no connection to Europe, such as Australia.

Israel earned the right to host the show after Barzilai won last years competition with her catchy pop anthem Toy.

The ostensibly non-political affair has tried to avoid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has largely succeeded, despite swirling threats of controversy. Calls for performers to boycott the show over Israeli policies toward Palestinians failed to generate much momentum.

A small protest took place outside Tel Avivs Expo Center before the show, following another one from musicians in Gaza earlier in the week. A recent round of rocket fire toward Israel from there also failed to temper excitement.

Madonna herself had faced calls from a Palestinian-led campaign to avoid performing at the event in Israel. But the Queen of Pop rejected the boycott motions, saying she will never stop playing music to suit someones political agenda. Still, two of her embracing dancers sported the flags of Israel and the Palestinians on their backs.

All eyes were on Icelands controversial steampunk band Hatari, which had drawn attention for initially saying it would be absurd to participate in Israel because of its policies toward the Palestinians. They had vowed to use the Eurovision spotlight to expose the face of the occupation, but their live performance of grinding metal rock passed without incident. Only at the end of the broadcast, when their final vote tally was announced, did they whip out a Palestinian flag, to sounds of boos from the audience.

For Israel, the mega event offered a much-anticipated opportunity to put its good face forward and project an image of normalcy to the world. Israel-themed promotional clips featuring each of the participants dancing in various scenic locations across the country streamed before each performance to a TV audience expected to be larger than that of the Super Bowl.

The event itself was being hosted by a quartet of Israeli celebrities, including top model Bar Refaeli. Israels own Wonder Woman Gal Gadot also made a cameo video appearance. The Tel Aviv hall was packed with thousands of screaming fans, while tens of thousands gathered to watch the final at the city-sponsored Eurovision village in Tel Aviv and at public screenings elsewhere.

As the reigning champion, Israel swept straight through to the finals  along with the five European countries who most heavily funded the event. The other 20 participants qualified through a pair of semifinal rounds.

Swedens soulful Too Late for Love, sung by John Lundvik, topped the professional jury vote and seemed to be on its way to carrying forward Swedens successful Eurovision track record 45 years after Swedish icons ABBA won with Waterloo.

Israel has won the Eurovision four previous times and it has provided the country with some of its cultural touchstones. Hallelujah became the countrys unofficial national song after Milk and Honey won the contest for Israel when it hosted the event in the late 1970s, and Dana International became a national hero and global transgender icon when she won with Diva in 1998. Barzilai became a role model for plus-size women after her win last year. She has been unapologetic about her weight, the loud colours she wears, and the funky chicken moves and sounds that have become her trademark.

All of Israels former winners took part in Saturdays event with Barzilai and Dana International ceremoniously getting it underway.

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Follow Heller at www.twitter.con/aronhellerap
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The Latest on developments in the Persian Gulf region and elsewhere in the Mideast amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran (all times local):

2:40 p.m.

Bahrain is ordering all of its citizens to immediately leave Iraq and Iran, amid rising tensions in the Persian Gulf.

Bahrains Foreign Ministry made the announcement via its state-run news agency Saturday afternoon.

It cited the unstable situation in the region and the grave developments and threats that threaten security and stability.

Baharin is a small, Sunni-ruled island nation off the coast of Saudi Arabia. It regularly accuses Iran of stirring dissent in its Shiite-majority population.

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2:25 p.m.

The chief of Irans Revolutionary Guard says the country is in a full-fledged intelligence war with the U.S.

The semi-official Fars news agency quoted Gen. Hossein Salami as saying that the U.S. political system had become weak, making an analogy to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

He said: The political system of the U.S. has cracked and lost its strength. The system has an apparently huge body but suffers from osteoporosis. In fact, the U.S. . is like World Trade Building that collapses with a sudden hit.

Salami recently became the head of the Revolutionary Guard, a paramilitary organization that wields tremendous influence within Iran.

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4:10 p.m.

Irans foreign minister says the Islamic Republic is not seeking war at the end of his trip to China amid tensions between Tehran and Washington.

Mohammed Javad Zarif made the comment in remarks quoted Saturday by the state-run IRNA news agency.

Zarif said: In fact, as the supreme leader said, there will be no war since we are not seeking war and nobody in the region is suffering from a hallucination to think that he is able to confront Iran.

Zarif added that though President Donald Trump has said he is not seeking war, some that have sat around him are pushing such a conflict.

The U.S. has ordered bombers and an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf over an unexplained threat they perceive from Iran, raising tensions a year after Trump pulled America out of Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers.

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2:30 p.m.

An Iraqi oil official says employees of energy giant Exxon Mobil have started evacuating an oil field in the southern province of Basra.

The evacuation comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said all those who are being evacuated are foreigners or Iraqis who hold other nationalities.

The official did not give numbers but said the first group left two days ago and another batch left early Saturday.

Exxon Mobil, headquartered in Irving, Texas, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. has already ordered all nonessential diplomatic staff out of Iraq.

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Qassem Abdul-Zahra contributed reporting from Baghdad, Iraq.

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8:25 a.m.

U.S. diplomats are warning that commercial airliners flying over the wider Persian Gulf faced a risk of being misidentified amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

The warning relayed Saturday by U.S. diplomatic posts from the Federal Aviation Administration underlined the risks the current tensions pose to a region crucial to global air travel.

It also served as a grim reminder that 30 years ago, the U.S. mistook an Iranian passenger jet for a warplane after their last naval battle with Tehran, killing all 290 people aboard.

Concerns about a possible conflict have flared since the White House ordered warships and bombers to the region to counter an alleged, unexplained threat from Iran. President Donald Trump since has sought to soften his tone.
STERLING, Ill. - A heros ceremony was afforded a soldier from Illinois who was killed during the Korean War and nearly 70-years later buried next to his twin, who was killed during the same battle.

The remains of Cpl. John G. Krebs were interred at Sterlings Calvary Cemetery, next to his brother George. The 19-year-old orphans were killed during a battle in Chochiwon, South Korea on July 11, 1950.

Reports suggest George Krebs was killed after returning to the field to find John.

John Krebs was listed as missing in action because he couldnt be accounted for after that battle. His remains were identified in December.

A motorcycle group, along with police and firefighters, led a procession from a Sterling funeral home to the cemetery, where members of the military carried the casket to graveside. John Krebs niece, DeVetta Perkins, was presented a flag at the end of the service.

The Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency reports of the 8,156 Korean War personnel missing in action, only 494 have been identified.
SANTA ANA, Calif. - A federal judge on Friday fined the Mongols motorcycle club $500,000 in a racketeering and conspiracy case but refused the latest effort in a decade-long attempt by the government to take away the clubs control over its logo  a Genghis Khan-style rider in sunglasses astride a chopper-style bike.

Prosecutors had successfully argued before a jury that the logo was core to the identity of the Los Angeles area-based gang responsible for drug dealing, beatings and murder. They argued that bikers wore the badges like armour to intimidate.

In announcing charges in 2008, prosecutors said a forfeiture order would allow any law enforcement officer to stop a gang member and literally take the jacket right off his back.

A jury that in 2018 convicted the club as a whole of racketeering and conspiracy agreed in January that the clubs trademarks should be forfeited to the government.

But in February, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter nullified that part of the verdict, saying it would violate the First Amendment rights to freedom of association and Eighth Amendment protections against excessive penalties.

On Friday, while fining the club and ordering it placed on five years of probation, Carter rejected a different request by the government. Instead of trying to strip Mongol members of their logo, it asked the judge to order the club to give up its trademarks, making it unable to prevent others from using the image, the Los Angeles Times reported.

It was unclear whether the government planned to appeal.

The Mongols was founded in a Los Angeles suburb in 1969. The group is estimated to have more than 1,000 riders in chapters worldwide.
ARLINGTON, Texas - A Texas police officer has been fired after he was charged with criminally negligent homicide in the fatal shooting of a black man during a traffic stop last year.

In a statement Friday, Arlington police announced Officer Bau Tran was fired after an internal investigation found policy violations that led to the Sept. 1 shooting of 24-year-old OShae Terry .

Tran, who may appeal his dismissal, has yet to enter a plea to the criminal charge. A message left with his attorney wasnt immediately returned.

The indictment marks a rare criminal prosecution of a police officer in the historically conservative North Texas county. It could draw greater attention to a case that was largely overshadowed by another in the same month in which a white Dallas police officer fatally shot a black man in his own apartment.

Tran shot Terry on Sept. 1 after another officer pulled the Forest Hill resident over on a registration violation. After talking for several minutes, body camera footage shows Tran grabbing the passenger-side window of the SUV Terry was driving as it begins to roll up. The officer stepped on to the vehicles running board as it started to move, pointed his gun into the SUV and fired multiple shots. Terry later died at a hospital.

Tran was placed on restricted duty following the shooting, then was put on leave when the Tarrant County grand jury returned its indictment on May 1.

Trans attorney, Randall Moore, has maintained that his clients actions were legal and taken to protect the public.
WASHINGTON - Turkeys leader spoke of co-operation with the United States during a White House visit two years ago with President Donald Trump, but by days end, the warm rhetoric had been overshadowed by a violent brawl outside the Turkish Embassy that left anti-government protesters badly beaten.

That altercation on May 16, 2017, led to criminal charges against some of President Recep Tayyip Erdogans security officers and civilian supporters. It also spurred lawsuits, now winding their way through federal court, that turn on the question of whether a foreign country can be held responsible in American courts for violence done on its behalf.

One suit goes further, saying the violence meets the legal definition of international terrorism because it was designed to coerce and intimidate a civilian population.

Nobody expects that security forces from a foreign government will come over and beat them to a pulp, and thats the part thats really crazy, Agnieszka Fryszman, a lawyer for the injured protesters, said in an interview.

The suits have diplomatic implications and raise questions about how much legal protection should be extended to the people who protect international leaders from raucous demonstrations when they travel abroad. The legal cases are unfolding as the NATO allies are at odds over a number of issues, including what role Turkey will play in northern Syria as American forces withdraw. The U.S. also has warned Turkey against proceeding with its purchase of an advanced Russian air defence system; the deal, if completed, may incur U.S. sanctions

Turkey has signalled it will argue that, as a sovereign nation, it is immune from being sued, a position that sets the stage for legal and geopolitical wrangling. The strength of Turkeys argument may depend in part on the severity of the assault and the extent of the violence, said Ingrid Wuerth, a professor of international law at Vanderbilt University.

No one would think it legally acceptable if foreign security officers fatally shot protesters, Wuerth said, but on the other hand, they probably shouldnt be liable if maybe all they did was just push someone to the curb, and in that sense, the question is, where exactly do these allegations fall?

Lawyers for Turkey say in court papers that the melee began when security officers were confronted by an encroaching group of apparent terrorist supporters and/or sympathizers who had already defied the commands of local police officers. The lawyers accuse the other side of overly broad sermonizing and say they intend to rebut what they see as unfair criticism of Turkish governance and allegations of human rights atrocities.

Even in an embassy-packed capital where protests are common, including outside the foreign residences that line Washingtons Massachusetts Avenue, the altercation stood out for vivid scenes of violence captured on camera and repeatedly broadcast on TV. Many who say they were injured are American citizens, including some who were there with their young children.

It all began as Erdogan was returning to the ambassadors residence after a White House visit, where he and Trump pledged co-operation in fighting the Islamic State group.

Security officers for Erdogan, including some armed and dressed in military-style clothing, clashed with protesters denouncing Turkeys treatment of its Kurdish minorities and its policies in Syria and Iraq. Plaintiffs in two separate suits say they were brutally punched and kicked, cursed at, and greeted with slurs and throat-slashing gestures. One woman slipped in and out of consciousness and has suffered seizures, and others reported post-traumatic stress, depression, concussions and nightmares, according to the complaints.

Erdogan remained in his car after it arrived at the ambassadors residence, and after conferring with the head of his security detail, ordered a second attack, the suits allege.

U.S. lawmakers swiftly condemned the violence, writing letters to the departments of State and Justice, and urging the Trump administration to hold the attackers legally accountable.

Prosecutors in Washington initially charged 19 people, including 15 security officers for Erdogan. Two civilians pleaded guilty, but many of the other cases have since been dismissed, with defendants leaving the U.S. after the brawl, according to court papers.

Foreign governments are generally immune from being sued in American courts, but there are multiple exceptions, including for terrorism and other actions that cause injury for which financial damages are sought.

Diplomats and other agents of foreign governments have in the past been held accountable for bad behaviour in the U.S., though some of the more memorable cases have involved nonofficial duties such as fatal drunken driving crashes. A Georgian Embassy official, for instance, was sentenced to prison in 1997 for a drunken driving crash that killed a teenage girl.

In perhaps the most recent analogous case, a judge entered a default judgment against the Congolese government after it failed to respond to a suit from a protester who said he was badly beaten in 2014 outside a Washington hotel by security officers for President Joseph Kabila. The individual security officers who were sued later sought to vacate that default judgment, and a judge dismissed claims against Kabila.

Turkey, meanwhile, has said for months through its lawyers that it intends to aggressively contest the allegations, and both lawsuits name the country as a defendant. One separately includes as defendants five U.S. and Canadian citizens accused in the attacks. A judge has permitted most of the claims against the defendants, who are not Turkish government officials, to move forward.

Lawyers for the protesters see an opportunity to hold the Turkish government accountable for the violence.

Its important to protect peoples First Amendment rights and the freedom of expression. Its important to show that the United States stands up for those rights, Fryszman said.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A lawsuit has been filed against a retired University of Alaska Anchorage anthropology professor who is banned from campus over sexual misconduct allegations by multiple women.

David Yesner is named in the federal lawsuit filed Wednesday along with The University of Alaska system and the University of Alaska Board of Regents, Anchorage television station KTVA reported .

Plaintiffs maintain Yesner was allowed to use the UAA campus as his own personal hunting ground while the university shielded its reputation instead of protecting female students. They say he preyed on women who relied on him for professional and academic success.

The lawsuit says Yesner was promoted for decades despite known instances of sexual misconduct.

What the University did do was continue to reward Yesner for his sexual harassment, sweeping the students/Plaintiffs complaints under the rug and awarding Yesner with promotion after promotion within the Anthropology department and within the graduate school in general, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit does not name the plaintiffs, who are identified as Jane Does 1 -through 20. Claims by the first five women are represented in the case.

The lawsuit follows an investigative Title IX report that found the accusations by nine women credible. One of those women, who is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said she was using a public shower when Yesner entered fully naked and accosted her during a trip to Delta Junction to get supplies.

Attempts to reach Yesner for comment were not immediately successful.

UAA spokeswoman Kirstin Olmstead declined to comment on the pending litigation. But the universitys own investigation showed Professor Yesner engaged in reprehensible behaviour, she said in a statement.

The university has taken available steps to address that conduct and offered to do what it can to make things right for affected individuals, she wrote. We remain willing to do so.

Plaintiffs allege they were subjected to years of sexual harassment, discrimination, exploitation, abuse and retaliation that hurt their emotional well-being and academic careers. They say the university failed to follow Title IX requirements following numerous complaints from the women.

Plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial and reimbursement for tuition and other expenses. The lawsuit also seeks removal of Yesners name from diplomas and other university documents.
Rehna Abdul Kareem By

Express News Service

Crystal azure waters, the sun-soaked island and the need to just lay back and relax  its this vibe of the Maldives that 25-year-old jewellery designer Ritika Ravi loves and takes inspiration from. The Chennai girl recently launched Ivar in Maldives, a sophisticated line after majoring in jewellery design at London College of Fashion.

The designer who flies back and forth from the island, has been clear about her vision  to work with handcrafted jewellery. So, as soon as she got back from London two years back, she dove straight into researching and developing the brand.

With a flagship store at the St Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort, Ritika invested two years into the brand that she calls her baby, travelling and meeting different people on the way.

Ritika Ravi

I started designing the concept then, and also started looking for sources for the stones and manufacturers as well, she says.

Ivar, which is a reverse of her fathers name Ravi, has launched two collections  The 10.18 Collection and Troubadour. While the former is a collection of bracelets, rings, necklaces and earrings in a combination of gems with white or rose gold, the latter is a vibrant collection that uses the best Indian enamel crafts in combination with gold.

Theyre both very fluid and easy to wear, and both collections are inspired by Maldives  so while 10.18 has muted tones, Troubadour is more whimsical, and vibrant, she explains.

The 10.18 collection

Ritika wanted to strike a balance between the contemporary world and traditional aesthetics, so she sourced gems like sapphire from Sri Lanka and polki from India, and put them together at her factory in Jaipur. I started with uncut diamonds, which is untreated and are in their purest form. No two stones are the same and theyre all made by hand, says Ritika.

Pieces from the 10.18 collection

We also have multi-coloured sapphire, garnet and amethyst  their colours really have a summer feel going on. All of Ritikas pieces are made using traditional Indian jewellery techniques like meenakari.

Buy them here


HOMER, Alaska - Under sunny skies and in a crisp westerly breeze, supporters of the Storyknife Writers Retreat on May 4 attended groundbreaking ceremonies for a main house and cabins that will house visiting women authors. Homer writer and Storyknife founder Dana Stabenow turned the first bit of earth at the property just north of Homer.

Stabenow, the best selling author of the Kate Shugak mystery series, spoke of being inspired to start a residency program just for women after attending the only other such facility in the United States, Hedgebrook on Whidbey Island, Washington.

It is not hyperbole to say that Hedgebrooks radical hospitality changed my life, she said. I might not have been truly a professional writer when I arrived there, but I was when I left.

Like Hedgebrook, Storyknife will give women literary artists the opportunity to concentrate on their work in a quiet, scenic natural setting. When finished, there will be six cabins and a main house, Eva, named after poet Eva Saulitis, where writers will congregate after a days work to talk writer shop, to tell publishing stories and to make friends for life, Stabenow said. Five of the cabins have been named by benefactors who donated $50,000 toward construction. Stabenow has set up a non-profit to support Storyknife, with a goal of having an endowment to fund the program.

The cabins are being built by Scott Bauers construction company. The complex is expected to be finished by next spring, when the first group of writers attend.

Hedgebrook founder Nancy Nordoff also attended and spoke at the groundbreaking.

All the things Dana said are going to happen here, she said. You can feel it.

Stabenow said women writers need a retreat of their own because theyre sadly, still underpublished, underprinted, underreviewed and undersold compared with their male contemporaries.

Your voice is the one you have to concentrate on, Nordoff added. You dont have to compete.

The first Storyknife fellow, Kim Steutermann Rogers, of Kauai, Hawaii, also spoke. She stayed in Stabenows guest cabin, Frederica, in the fall of 2016.

Storyknife gave me a place to write and write and write, she said. Storyknife also gave me confidence.

Stabenow thanked the supporters who attended the groundbreaking ceremonies.

You friends of Storyknife will provide a second space where womens voices will be nourished and validated, and where they will build a community of other writers so they dont feel quite so isolated and alone, Stabenow said. When they leave, they will carry with them identity, agency and the confidence they need to raise their voices in print and to succeed at this most improbable of professions.

For more information on Storyknife, visit www.storyknife.org.

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Information from: The Homer (Alaska) News, http://www.homernews.com
ATLANTA - Former President Jimmy Carter cancelled plans to teach Sunday school just days after undergoing surgery for a broken hip.

Though he is progressing well, he underestimated the amount of time he would need to recover from his recent hip replacement, Carter spokeswoman Deanna Congileo said in a statement Saturday evening.

Carter, 94, broke his hip Monday as he was leaving to go turkey hunting.

Congileo said Carter apologized for any inconvenience to those who travelled to hear his lesson at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia.

Congileo said Carters niece, Kim Fuller, will teach the lesson in his stead and, he says, No one will be disappointed.

A devout Christian, Carter regularly teaches Sunday school in Plains, drawing hundreds of visitors for each session. He and his wife Rosalynn pose for pictures with each attendee.

Carter became the longest-lived president in U.S. history in March when his age surpassed that of former President George H.W. Bush, who died Nov. 30 at the age of 94 years, 171 days.

Nearly four years have passed since Carter revealed he had been diagnosed with cancer. Carter said in August 2015 he had melanoma that had spread to his liver and brain. He received treatment for seven months until scans showed no sign of the disease.
LONGVIEW, Texas - Actor Matthew McConaughey has finally received his high school diploma, more than 30 years after graduating.

McConaughey was given his original diploma Friday night when he returned to his Texas alma mater to address the class of 2019.

A Longview High School spokeswoman told the Longview News-Journal that graduates normally receive diploma holders during commencement ceremonies and that the actual diplomas must be picked up later. She said McConaughey never got his.

The 49-year-old graduated from Longview in 1988. He responded to receiving his diploma with one word: proof.

McConaughey lives in Austin. He won an Oscar for his performance in Dallas Buyers Club.

He told the new graduates that hed succeeded because he followed his heart, and that they should guard and follow theirs.
BILLINGS, Mont. - A U.S. judge has sentenced a Mexican citizen to almost five years in federal prison after prosecutors say he brought 34 pounds (15.4 kilograms) of methamphetamine from Arizona to Montana.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters sentenced 35-year-old Jorge Luis Mendez-Sanchez to 57 months during a court appearance in Billings. He pleaded guilty in January to possession of meth with intent to distribute the drug.

Montana law enforcement has struggled to contain a surge in violent crime over the past several years that officials say is being driven largely by methamphetamine trafficking and abuse.

Officials said earlier this month that a year-long crackdown has managed to slow but not reverse the increase in crime.

Thirty-four pounds of the drug is equivalent to more than 123,000 individual doses with an estimated street value of $1.5 million, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Prosecutors say Mendez-Sanchez and alleged accomplice Aldo Pardini drove the drugs from Arizona to sell to a customer in Billings last July. They were arrested by authorities who had been alerted to the scheme through a confidential informant, according to court documents.

A conspiracy charge against Mendez-Sanchez was dismissed under a plea deal. Upon completion of his sentence, he will be turned over to immigration officials and is likely to be deported, according to court documents and defence attorney Lance Lundvall.

Mendez-Sanchez faced a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. He requested a lesser sentence in part because of his minimal criminal history, which consisted of a single driving intoxicated charge from more than a decade ago, according to Lundvall.

Pardini and a third defendant, Jose Jesus Islava-Lopez, are awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to related charges.
MUNCIE, Ind. - A shooting at an off-campus party near Ball State University in Indiana early Saturday left seven people injured, three of them critically, police said.

Its not clear how many people might have opened fire, but police said one man was in custody. One of the wounded had to be airlifted to a hospital in Indianapolis, about 50 miles (80 kilometres) southwest of Muncie, Police Chief Joe Winkle told WXIN-TV.

Winkle said it appears the shooting happened after some kind of confrontation inside the house. Some of the victims were Ball State students, he said.

I think anytime you have a DJ and you get word out there that theres a party there, you are gonna draw a bunch of different people from all over town, so I think thats probably whats happened, Winkle said.

VaShaun Harnett, 19, of Muncie, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder, police told The (Muncie) Star Press.

Harnett is not a Ball State student, the university said in a statement. One of the shooting victims is a student who has been treated and released from a Muncie hospital, the statement said.

Keeping all members of our campus community safe is a top priority, University President Geoffrey S. Mearns said. This is a very unfortunate event. We wish all the victims a full and prompt recovery.

Stella East, a Ball State sophomore and a Muncie native, told The Star Press that she was in the homes backyard when the shooting took place. She said about 50 people were inside and 50 outside when she and a friend heard five to 10 shots from inside the house. After a brief pause, they heard about 30 more shots, moving from inside to outside.

Everyone just ran in opposite ways when the shooting started. I just grabbed my friends and ran as far as I could. I was trying to stay calm but knew it was very serious and just had to get away, East said.

Vice-President Mike Pence, who delivered the commencement address Saturday at Taylor University in nearby Upland, commented on the shooting on Twitter.

Landed in Muncie, IN this morning and was briefed on last nights shooting, the former Indiana governor wrote. My prayers are with the injured and their families. God bless them all.

Ball State issued a campus alert shortly after the shootings warning members of the university community to stay clear of the area.

The university said it was making counsellors available to assist the campus community in dealing with the shootings.
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Latest on seven people have been shot at an off-campus party near Ball State University in Indiana (all times local):

2:30 p.m.

Ball State University says a man arrested in the shootings of seven people at an off-campus party near its Indiana campus is not enrolled as a student.

The university issued a statement Saturday that also says it has confirmed that one of its students was among the seven people shot. That student has been treated and released from a Muncie hospital. Three of the people who were shot are in critical condition.

University President Geoffrey S. Mearns says, Keeping all members of our campus community safe is a top priority. This is a very unfortunate event. We wish all the victims a full and prompt recovery.

Ball State says its making counsellors and other personnel available to assist the campus community in dealing with the shootings.

Police told The (Muncie) Star Press that 19-year-old VaShaun Harnett of Muncie has been charged with two counts of attempted murder.

___

12:30 p.m.

Police have made one arrest in the shootings of seven people at an off-campus party near Ball State University in Indiana.

Police told The (Muncie) Star Press that 19-year-old VaShaun Harnett of Muncie has been charged with two counts of attempted murder.

It wasnt immediately clear why Harnett is charged in only two of the shootings or whether they might have been more than one shooter.

Muncie Police Chief Joe Winkle tells WXIN-TV that three people are in critical condition after the shooting early Saturday. Winkle says some of the victims are Ball State students. He says one was airlifted to a hospital in Indianapolis, about 50 miles (80 kilometres) southwest of Muncie.

Winkle says it appears the shooting happened after some kind of confrontation inside the house.

___

10:25 a.m.

Police say seven people have been shot at an off-campus party near Ball State University in Indiana.

Muncie Police Chief Joe Winkle tells WXIN-TV that three people are in critical condition after the shooting early Saturday. Winkle says some of the victims are Ball State students. He says one was airlifted to a hospital in Indianapolis, about 50 miles (80 kilometres) southwest of Muncie.

Winkle says it appears the shooting happened after some kind of confrontation inside the house. He says about 50 to 75 people were in the house at the time.

There was no immediate confirmation of any arrests.

Ball State issued a campus alert shortly after the shootings warning members of the university community to stay clear of the area.
Why would a man worth $6 billion pay $79 an hour for sex with a prostitute?

Maybe Robert Kraft liked it sleazy, now and then. Even if he did arrive for rumpy-pumpy services in a chauffeur-driven limousine. One can only take the whole slumming thing so far, am I right?

Sex makes a whole lotta people a whole lotta crazy.

Investigators may have claimed  in an extremely public manner, with the police press conference streamed live back in February  that Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, twice solicited sex at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida. The 77-year-old was among hundreds of men scooped up in a sex trafficking sting that targeted massage parlours along a swath of the Sunshine State.

He was charged only with a couple of misdemeanour soliciting offences. Police announced they had video evidence of Kraft receiving an illegal sex act from Orchid masseuses.

But, hoo-boy, did cops ever fumble the ball.

A mess of a search warrant, for one thing. Which is why a Palm Beach judge this past week kicked out all of the crucial evidence, thereby delivering a fatal blow to the case against Kraft.

Judge Leonard Hansers ruling (subject to appeal) suppressed release of the secretly recorded gotcha video footage, meaning that prosecutors would be barred from showing clips to a jury.

The 10-page decision may infuriate both womens activists and the moral pitchfork brigade but Hansers smackdown should be welcomed by everybody concerned about law enforcement overreach, privacy rights, unreasonable search and seizure.

Krafts attorneys had argued during a pretrial hearing that the Florida law allows audio wiretaps to be used only for serious felonies such as murder or kidnapping. These charges were misdemeanours  lesser criminal acts under the American legal system, usually resulting in monetary fines upon conviction.

Hanser had plenty more to say about the sting operation. He was particularly displeased that detectives  and another judge who had issued the sneak n peak search warrant, allowing secret installation of surveillance cameras at the spa  had not done enough to minimize the invasion of privacy for customers who got legal massages, no sex involved. There may have been probable cause to set up those cameras. But the warrant was insufficient for the purpose, in large part because the footage, hundreds of hours of it, captured all patrons of the establishment and the women employed there.

The fact that some totally innocent women and men had their entire lawful time spent in a massage room fully recorded and viewed intermittently by a detective-monitor is unacceptable, said Hanser.

Some of those clients were female. All of the assertions of illegal activity in the search warrant suggest or describe only male genital stimulation  However, the Spa advertised services for women clients and, in fact, more than one woman had a significant portion of her Spa time viewed by a detective-monitor and the entirety of her spa time recorded and placed in Jupiter Police Department records.

Failure to consider and include instructions on minimizing the impact on women, through a highly intrusive law enforcement technique in a setting with a high legitimate expectation of privacy, is a serious flaw in the search warrant, especially considering that the search warrant did not allege women were seeking illegal contact.

Nor can prosecutors use any testimony from detectives whove viewed the tapes, based on what theyd seen. Also scuppered as an unlawful search was any evidence gleaned from a traffic stop of Kraft by cops after he left the spa following the first of his two visits.

Krafts attorneys had further argued that cops had deliberately misled the judge who issued the warrant about the nature of the investigation in order to get surveillance approved and that police knew all along that there was no evidence of sex trafficking at the Orchids of Asia.

If the district attorney had hoped to replace those silent videos with testimony from the woman who allegedly interacted with Kraft during both videos, uh-uh, not going to happen. That woman, alleged manager of the spa, has already invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in court filings. Lei Wang has pleaded not guilty to 25 charges, including maintaining a house of prostitution.

Frankly, the human trafficking allegation would have been the only justification for such an expensive operation that extended for months, encompassing multiple counties, the closure of 10 spas in an area spanning 210 kilometres, from Palm Beach to Orlando, and which resulted in the arrest of about 300 men.

Critically, prosecutors now admit they found no evidence of human trafficking at the Jupiter spa and no one has been charged with that felony anywhere else. From the beginning, those who advocate on behalf of sex trade workers were critical of the investigation, demanding more proof that the service providers were indeed coerced into prostitution against their will, exploited by pimps and madams, with some in the U.S. illegally.

Not a shred of evidence, belatedly conceded, to back up any of those allegations.

The matter was to have been back before the court on Friday for whats called a status hearing, to determine if prosecutors and defence are ready for trial. That was put over to Monday, where Krafts dream team of lawyers will ask for the case to be dismissed.

Kraft pleaded not guilty in March and asked for a jury trial. At the time, he issued an apology: I am truly sorry. I know I have hurt and disappointed my family, my close friends, my co-workers, our fans and many others who rightfully hold me to a higher standard.

The last thing I would ever want to do is disrespect another human being. I have extraordinary respect for women. My morals and my soul were shaped by the most wonderful woman, the love of my life, who I was blessed to have as my partner for 50 years.

Myra Kraft died in 2011, at the age of 68.

The case against Kraft does appear doomed. So we might never know why Kraft  a widower, with a 39-year-old girlfriend  sought out sex at a rub-a-dub parlour, as alleged. He could surely have had his choice of high-priced escorts to make house calls at his Palm Beach mansion. But, seriously, who cares if an old billionaire wants to get his rocks off at a strip mall spa? Who is he hurting if the transaction was between two willing adults?

The NFL, maybe. Because that entity is such a bastion of moral probity?

Kraft can spike his victory ball in the legal end zone but he still has to face NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has yet to offer comment or mete out any punishment. The leagues personal conduct policy  refraining from conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the NFL  applies equally to owners and players. Conviction on a criminal charge is not required for punitive action.

Will Goodell exact his pounds of flesh from one of the NFLs most high-profile owners, the Patriots reigning Super Bowl champions?

Get a grip. The NFL is incapable of embarrassment.

Certainly not over a crime of the flesh which really isnt much of a crime at all.
OTTAWACanadian workers arent feeling the benefits of the countrys supposedly strong economy, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said Thursday in a fiscal policy speech focused on pocketbook issues.

Speaking to a business crowd in Toronto, Scheer said that despite Canadas strong economic performance in recent years, people dont feel like theyre getting ahead.

The economic indicators might say one thing, but the human indicators say something entirely different, Scheer told the Economic Club of Canada.

What good is a supposedly strong economy if hard-working people arent benefiting from it?

Those economic indicators have been good for the governing Liberals, starting with record job growth in April. Employment rose that month by 106,500, according to Statistics Canada, nearly 10 times economists forecasts. The Liberals are on a PR blitz touting one million jobs added to the economy over their time in office.

The Bank of Canada projects real economic growth of 1.2 per cent in 2019, growing to 2.1 per cent in 2020 and 2.0 per cent the following year. Unemployment is expected to hover below six per cent through 2020.

While a prolonged trade war between the U.S. and China poses risks, private sector economists suggest the Canadian economy is rebounding from a soft patch in late 2018 and early 2019. Fears of a possible recession have largely subsided.

But Scheer still warned of economic storm clouds threatening the country.

Protectionism threatens free trade, our natural resources are trapped, other countries are beating us on investment, Scheer said.

The question Canadians must ask themselves is, if were heading into an economic storm, do we really want (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau to be the captain of the ship? I would argue not on your life.

Scheer took Trudeau to task for reneging on his promise of a balanced budget by 2019 after running modest deficits to stimulate the economy. Instead, Scheer said, the promised tiny and temporary deficits have become colossal and constant.

While Scheer did not set a timeline for a Conservative government to balance the books, he suggested his governing philosophy as prime minister would be that any new programs would have to be funded through savings in other areas of government.

The message to politicians and top bureaucrats will be simple. You want to spend new money, go and find it first, Scheer said.

Anticipating attacks from the Liberals that a Conservative government would slash federal programs  attacks that have already begun  Scheer said drastic spending cuts werent necessary to balance the books. A disciplined approach to spending growth, he said, coupled with a growing economy would go a long way.

In a string of pocket book-focused policies, Scheer pledged to remove the GST from home-heating bills, make parental benefits tax-free, and rework the mortgage stress test the Liberals introduced in 2018, which requires all homebuyers to prove they can make their monthly payments.

The Conservative leader also proposed a dedicated, coast-to-coast energy corridor crossing provincial borders. The swath of land would be dedicated to energy projects like pipelines and power lines, which Scheer said would go through an easier approval process under a Conservative government.

Scheer said hed also work toward making Canada energy independent by 2030.

The fact is Canada has more than enough oil  to put an end to all foreign oil imports once and for all, Scheer said.

Despite the strong emphasis on the oil and gas sector in his fiscal pitch, Scheer said his goal would still be to do Canadas part in the fight against climate change by lowering global emissions.

How a Scheer government would do that remains to be seen. The opposition leader has pledged to release his vision for the environment and climate change by the end of June.

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The House of Commons standing committee on finance got a passionate earful last week from one of Canadas most knowledgeable refugee experts, who wanted to know precisely why the Trudeau government was suddenly taking a harder line on asylum seekers at the very moment the numbers entering Canada were falling.

On paper, the anti-refugee provisions buried in the 392-page omnibus budget bill, C-97, wont impact many of the people still walking to Canada in search of asylum. Even by the governments estimates, fewer than 1,000 refugee claimants this year are likely to be diverted into a new process  a significantly less robust one, critics say  that will decide their fate without a full and formal hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB).

But the tweaks nevertheless enabled the prime minister and his cabinet to abruptly signal a very different kind of virtue  an unmistakably rightward shift on the fear-fraught question of refugees, targeting what Border Security Minister Bill Blair described as asylum-shoppers.

University of Toronto professor Audrey Macklin isnt buying it. In testimony before committee on Tuesday  and in a followup interview with the Star  she blasted the changes as nothing more than disingenuous pre-election pandering to potential Liberal voters gripped with unwarranted border worries.

The proposed tweaks to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act would, among other things, change the eligibility requirements for certain claimants who previously made a claim in another country (i.e., the U.S.), regardless of whether their case had been heard elsewhere. Such claimants would then be diverted to a new process that critics say weakens the basic rights of asylum seekers.

This is what centrist governments in Europe have tried, and its a losing game, said Macklin. When they find themselves confronted by xenophobic appeals to anger and the creation of moral panic over refugees, they have a choice. They can respond either by taking the high road  insist on evidence, use facts, show some leadership  or they can run scared, feeling they have to pander to the fear or they will lose votes.

And what weve seen in Europe, she continued, is that centrist governments have run scared. And all that happens are they get pushed further and further and its never enough. The appetite for more xenophobic, more restrictive, more punitive policies is insatiable. And it does them no good electorally. Ultimately it just degrades them.

Macklin, the director of U of Ts Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies, has spent decades researching refugee issues, including judging claims cases firsthand as an IRB adjudicator. She readily acknowledges the cross-border surge triggered a messy processing backlog. But that was 2018. One year later, the numbers now have dwindled to half what they were  the RCMP confirmed this week it apprehended 3,944 irregular migrants in the first three months of 2019, compared to more than 7,600 between January and April in 2018.

Yet paradoxically, as the numbers fall the border anxieties of everyday Canadians appear to have risen, pollsters say, setting up the refugee file as the easiest of political pinatas as the rival parties ramp into election mode.

Macklin contends that even as fear-baiting internet memes fly fast and furious, stoking Canadian emotion on the refugee file, the moment calls for serious, fact-based leadership. She notes that the IRB, after being caught flat-footed last year, now has the resources to tackle the backlog and is doing so  setting ambitious targets and actually exceeding them, even as the numbers coming to the border are dropping.

The Canadian government was unwise to allow itself to be panicked by this. They needed to say, Look folks, the numbers are dropping. There was a problem with processing and now we are meeting that challenge. Everyone calm down. Thats leadership. What isnt leadership is pretending  taking as a given  that theres some sort of out-of-control border problem and disingenuously pandering to it. The number, even at its peak, was trivial to begin with  just a tiny fraction of what other countries have dealt with. It was enough to allow people to say, Oh my God, it doubled! and portray it as a crisis. Thats when you hope people dig into the facts for themselves.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, now two deep into a series of major policy speeches, has yet to articulate any election views on the immigration file, leaving punters to ponder over older interviews, such as his encounter with Huffington Post Ottawa bureau chief Althia Raj during his race for the party leadership.

At the time, Scheer portrayed himself as a compassionate conservative  intent upon reframing the party in a far more positive light after an election loss to Trudeau that he felt turned on issues that we had around tone and perception and image.

Because the Liberals are so good at the flip side of that, right? Nobody doubts that they care  Im saying, lets flip it around, lets show Canadians what motivates us: genuine concern, real compassion, with policies that get actual results. Its the misplaced compassion we always seem to lose out on.

But as Raj pressed for specifics, Scheers messages got a bit mixed. At one point, he suggested that Syrian refugees in Canada want to go back, they want to go home. And although he slammed Justin Trudeau for a heck of a lot of new spending thats not even taking place in Canada  spending that would make for low-hanging fruit once his team is elected and launches its drive toward a balanced budget  later in the interview Scheer suggested that unlike the Liberals, he would concern himself more about refugees overseas, rather than those entering Canada.

The left is very good at showing compassion for those people whove just trudged through the snow, risking life and limb to come to Canada  but theres no compassion for the tens of thousands of people waiting in a refugee camp, playing by the rules, facing real prosecution that if they left the camp they very well might be killed. Nobodys coming in over the border because they are persecuted in North Dakota or Maine, said Scheer.

So we have to show that side of ourselves, that we have compassion when it comes to refugees but compassion for people who are actually in danger and actually need to be taken care of and are waiting their turn and doing everything properly, he said.

It remains unclear how and to what extent Scheers views have evolved. But as of this moment, as far as refugees within Syria and the camps that surround it, Canada is indeed a significant contributor, injecting $53 million into the UN World Food Program this year and last. UN officials told the Star that Canadas 2018 contributions ensured WFP was able to reach 2.9 million and 650,000 beneficiaries for general food assistance and school feeding activities, respectively. In 2019, the food aid for Syrians displaced by war is projected to expand to reach 3.5 million people.

The WFPs Marwa Awad, who is based in Damascus, said those needs are now about to increase as the fighting subsides and the UN readies for a shift out of crisis mode and into helping repatriate the displaced.

There would have been massive hunger and starvation if not for our interventions. Thats just the fact, said Awad. Even if you dont think flowery thoughts about humanitarian work, the hard logic of supporting this transition is to ensure that there is hope for all Syrians, including the 5.6 million refugees and displaced. Its not how we think about it, of course. But the logic is when there is hope here, people wont want to come to your border.

For U of Ts Macklin, the hope is that Scheer follows up with an immigration and refugee platform that lives up to the compassion he proclaimed as a candidate for party leader. But she is troubled by what she sees as a disconnect in the pitting of asylum-seekers here versus refugees there.

The idea of providing assistance to people who have not been able to leave Syria should not be in competition with admitting refugees for resettlement or recognizing them through the asylum process, said Macklin.

Its not a zero-sum game and to suggest it is, the game really is, We dont want them here so well make a show of helping them there. Couching it in the language of humanitarianism should not disguise what thats really about.

How, then, can Canadians be expected to cut through the coming onslaught of fear-based refugee messaging once all the policies pieces are on the table? Macklin has a suggestion  and it doesnt involve going out and digging up the facts by hand.

I could point everyone to the elaborate facts on educating yourself on immigration because most people just arent going to do that, she said.

Instead, what Id say is this: know that you are being told a story about newcomers, and know that this is an old story thats been going on since before Canada was a country.

There are three narratives that just keep coming up, for as long as Ive been researching immigration. They are, Immigrants are stealing our jobs; If theyre not stealing our jobs they are sucking the welfare state dry; and, if neither of these things can be proven, The newcomers are unassimilable  they will not integrate.

And so theyre a threat  maybe because they are terrorists, or they are criminals, or their culture is different, their religion is different. These stories are always there, going back 150 years, sometimes under the surface, sometimes on the surface and sometimes they are very prominent.

Theres nothing new about this, the only thing that changes is the cast. It used to be the Irish. Then it was the Italians. Then it was the east Europeans. South Asians, Chinese, Jews. And so on  and now Muslims  up to the present.

So in this election, just be aware that these stories are being recycled and manipulated and that it is no truer today than it was 150 years ago, 100 years ago and 50 years ago, when it was told about your parents.

It is the same damn story. Dont fall for it.

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At last theres a breakthrough in the costly Canada-U.S. struggle over steel, and while there are a couple of catches, it could have been a lot worse.

The agreement frees up Canadas steel and aluminum industry to export to the U.S. at will, giving security to tens of thousands of Canadian workers and tens of billions of dollars in cross-border business. It opens the door to ratification of the new free-trade agreement. It solidifies the three North American countries as allies and as a trading bloc. And it gives both U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau some much-needed good news.

But dont think for a moment that the truce means its business as usual.

Canada has had to agree to an intense monitoring regime of steel imports to assure Washington that cheap products arent leaking through from other countries (read: China). Its not at all clear whether the United States will have to undertake the same monitoring. Over the course of the tariff battle, the United States has granted China many exemptions. So Canada may still face a disadvantage.

Canada has also had to allow what Canada-U.S. trade expert Sarah Goldfeder calls a trap door. If theres a sudden surge in the cross-border sales, the importing country can challenge the spike and slap on a tariff. The other country can retaliate, albeit only within the given industry. In other words, if the United States doesnt like what it sees, the tariffs could well make a return. And we cant hit back at farmers.

But its almost a miracle that Canada didnt have to agree to a hard cap on its steel and aluminum exports. After Trump bullied South Korea and others into accepting managed trade in return for commercial peace, the world assumed that managed trade was the way forward with the U.S. president. And as the steel dispute dragged on, Canadian insiders were glum about their prospect of being able to avoid such a fate.

For months, the talk in the corridors centred around how low the ceiling would be. Within Trudeaus circle, there was considerable tension over whether Canada should just settle.

Canadian and Mexican negotiators sensed a moment of weakness in the past two weeks as the White House reeled in its massive trade war with China. Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland ramped up their talks with their counterparts.

In the end, the aluminum and steel industries, unions and business groups welcomed the deal and congratulated the government for standing tough. Cabinet ministers and the prime minister were giddy when they went to Hamilton to announce the agreement.

And both Trudeau and Trump teased the possibility that the big prize  ratification of the new NAFTA  could be in the offing now that their biggest irritant has been removed.

U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence will be in Ottawa at the end of May to make the case for quick passage, although there are only a few sitting weeks left in Parliament before summer and the election get in the way. Trudeau will have to decide whether he wants to push for quick ratification before the election  and likely well before the United States has time to handle the matter  or if he wants to risk having it handled by the next government, whoever that may be.

Regardless, the uncertainty around the new NAFTA remains for now, even if the odds are better.

For Canada, the lifting of the tariffs is a triumph of perseverance and common sense.

Canadian officials, labour and business argued long and hard that American consumers and businesses in the steel and aluminum supply chain would be hurt by tariffs, and many other sectors touched by retaliatory measures. They also fought loudly against U.S. claims that Canadas products were considered a national security risk, emphasizing the integration of military production in the two countries.

For the United States, the tariff deal is a strengthening of the North American trade bloc, giving Trump some strong allies as he takes on China.

And thats where the biggest permanent change from the tariff dispute could lie. In effect, the monitoring that Mexico and Canada are undertaking in order to keep cheap steel and aluminum out of North America creates a somewhat-closed North American market. Thats a change in mindset, not just for Trump but for the other NAFTA partners.

Trudeau went to great lengths on Friday to emphasize how the continental market would co-operate to protect jobs and industrial production, stressing the North American-ness of the lifting of tariffs.

Were very well aligned on that, he said.

It will be interesting to see how that works. Steel and aluminum capacity in the United States has expanded behind the protective tariff wall. Now that the wall with its two biggest sellers is falling, will there be a glut? And will the new-found chumminess among the three amigos be able to withstand it?

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By Express News Service

KOCHI: Jobin Manuel, 28, of Kottayam, was arrested on May 16 by Palarivattom police for impersonating a naval officer who promised jobs at the naval base. He allegedly used fake identification documents and uniform to dupe job aspirants.

According to police, Jobin used to run an agency named Cazza International at Palarivattom. Further enquiry revealed that Jobin had conned atleast 2 people of Rs 3 lakh each. An FIR has been filed under Section 465 (Punishment for forgery).
Women and women alone have the right to make decisions concerning their own bodies, Maryam Monsef, the minister for women and gender equality, says flatly in a letter to a dozen Conservative MPs who she said appeared at an anti-choice rally last week. Its a right that has been upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada for more than 30 years, she told them.

Monsef, who is young, indomitable and very much in the style of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, was firm with Harold, Ted, David, Glen, Dane, Phil, Kevin, Brad, Arnold and Dave.

These men will never be pregnant and suffer childbirth, miscarriage, fetal abnormality leading to death (or not), postpartum depression, suicidal ideation, sore nipples, poverty and exhaustion. They wont need to pump breast milk and bring it to work, find affordable daycare and a partner willing to do half the work, or endure a potentially devastating delay to a career.

Since abortion is a personal issue, I think we can talk on a first-name basis. Please, call me Heather. I exclude Conservative MP Rachel as female-on-female vengeance is a phenomenon that pops up in every industry including politics. You know, like Gov. Kay Ivey, 74, an Aunt Lydia who could have killed that scorched earth Alabama ban, but did not.

When women want abortions, they really want them. When I was a teenager, I comforted myself that, in extremis, I could get an abortion from my father, an ob-gyn who was always sensible, and generous to his daughters. Men are our allies.

Abortion rights in Canada are being eaten away at the edges  like a fish pedicure  in smaller provinces where its easy to get away with bullying women. Women with money can escape and Im happy for them.

But New Brunswick and P.E.I. wont pay for abortions in private clinics, and Saskatchewan and Manitoba are taking their time funding mifegymiso, a two-pill method for safely ending a pregnancy. Does every woman know Plan B is available on drugstore shelves everywhere except Saskatchewan (hidden behind the counter, naturally) and Quebec (prescription)?

What saves us is the Supreme Court of Canada and a Liberal government  with its many male allies  that take womens rights into account. I would stick with the Liberals and the NDP on this one.

What dreadful things are happening in Trumps DisUnited States? I concentrate on the matters of greatest cruelty: children being taken from their migrant parents and held in camps, and Alabama women being denied abortions even in pregnancies caused by rape or incest. Women and children first.

Their doctors would be imprisoned for life and the law offers ways to prosecute women as well  say, a woman without the cash to travel out of state or to buy mifegymiso or to escape a murderous husband. The law is so extreme that even anti-choice conservative males dont like it. It gives them a bad name, they say. Imagine that.

Imagine if Judge Roy Moore had impregnated one of the teen girls he targeted in shopping malls.

Missouri followed. Louisiana is next. Georgia imprisons women who self-induce abortions by, say, shooting themselves in the stomach. Texas hopes to execute them. The armpit Southern states are aiming these laws at Washington. They hope for a U.S. Supreme Court decision banning abortion, courtesy of a trio of hate males: crying Brett Kavanaugh, creepy Neil Gorsuch and madman Trump.

Remember, an anti-abortion law wont stop abortions. Women will try to perform their own, as they always have, and many will die in agony.

Every child a wanted child, said the late Dr. Henry Morgentaler, who survived the Nazis, fought for abortion rights and won freedom for Canadian women. Every unwanted child a child is the rallying cry in the U.S.

Those primitive men are dog-whistling to Canadians and there will always be a few hateful punitive men ready to hear it. Andrew Scheers Conservative Party is alleged to be reluctant to re-open the abortion matter but Scheer seems weak and biddable.

In many polls, most Americans think abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Canadians overwhelmingly support abortion rights, and many men and women  again, natural allies  agree on this. This wave of authoritarianism, led by men who were born of women they loved and who presumably loved them, is a psychological aberration. Morally, its unspeakable.

But again, these things come from the fetid American south: guns for everyone, government ownership of womens bodies, criminalizing medicine, crude and violent racism, and other horrors. I think a Liberal or Liberal minority government would forestall this.

Govern yourselves accordingly, Canada.

Correction  May 21, 2019: This column was edited from a previous version that misstated Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs surname. As well, the column mistakenly referred to Conservative MP Bev Shipley as a female.

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The Toronto District School Board has released a detailed list of hundreds of high school classes that will be cancelled this fall because of provincial funding cuts that will boost class sizes and eliminate teaching jobs.

A total of 313 classes will be cut  some of them Grade 12 credits that students may need for post-secondary studies  and 304 classes will run with many more students than usual, according to the board.

Im very, very worried, said TDSB student trustee Amin Ali, whos in Grade 12 at Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute in Scarborough.

I dont think the provincial government has thought this through at all.

The report comes as school boards across the province grapple with the impact of provincial changes in secondary class size averages over the next four years that will increase from 22 to 28 students, resulting in fewer teachers and impacting the number of courses that can be offered.

The TDSBs figures for 2019-20 are based on class averages moving from 21.7 to 23.6 students. The report includes a breakdown showing the classes that have been cancelled, will be larger, or will be combined. Fewer staff means fewer supports, including 35 fewer guidance classes and 58 fewer library classes.

Among elective courses, a total of 133 classes in Grades 9 and 10, and 414 classes in Grades 11 and 12, will be affected. Among compulsory courses, the cuts will affect some 123 classes in Grade 9 and 64 in Grade 10.

Among the credits axed at some schools are Grade 12 computer science, Grade 12 earth and space science, as well as Grade 12 writers craft  which teens may require depending on what college or university programs they want to apply to.

The board is assuring parents that high schools will offer all compulsory courses. However, when a class of a compulsory course is cancelled, all remaining sections of that course will be larger.

Ali was surprised by the figures, but absolutely gobsmacked when he realized these impacts are just in the first year of the governments reforms.

This is the result of a (1.9) increase in class size average? he said. If this is whats happening in year one, by the time we get to year four, it will have catastrophic impacts on high school course selections and student success.

See the entire list of impacted courses here View document on Scribd

And according to the president of the bargaining unit for the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation in Toronto, This is just the beginning.

The loss of these programs and courses is going to be so distressing to students and their parents, said Leslie Wolfe. This is the direct result of a government that has chosen to defund our schools by forcing boards to cut teachers.

Each year, more and more courses and programs will have to be cut to accommodate for the governments program of teacher reduction. Its simply wrong.

The move comes as the Ford government continues to accuse school boards of fear-mongering and spreading misinformation, with a letter Friday from Peel Region Tory MPPs saying the local public school board is sharing information thats premature, or simply not true.

Classes will not grow significantly, said the letter from MPPs including Prabmeet Sarkaria (Brampton South), Natalia Kusendova (Mississauga-Centre) and Rudy Cuzzetto (Mississauga-Lakeshore). They are among the PC MPPs believed to be vulnerable in their ridings, and were recently targeted by education unions in a mass mail out to all voters.

Class size organization, course offerings, and staffing decisions ... will continue to be made by our local school boards, based on enrolment and student demand, the letter says, repeating the governments pledge that no teacher will be laid off despite the loss of 3,500 positions or more province-wide as secondary classes jump to an average of 28 students.

Peel school board trustees, however, fired back with a letter of their own to the Tory MPPs, saying the suggestion that we are sharing inaccurate and premature information ... is simply untrue.

Although adding one, two or six students to a class may seem like an insignificant impact, it has already resulted in the cancellation of many courses at the secondary level. Fewer teachers means fewer options for students. There is no room for debate on this.

The neighbouring Halton board has estimated some of its classes will grow to 36 or 46 students once all of the teaching positions are phased out, as 28 is an average and larger numbers are needed to balance out smaller, more specialized classes.

Peel trustees say the Ford government changes will hurt student achievement, credit acquisition and, ultimately, the ability to graduate. And, yes, it is true that schools decide which courses to cancel, but they are doing so responsibly.

The Ontario Public School Boards Association said all boards across the province, face challenges of supporting programming for all students, ensuring safe and suitable learning environments, and honouring collective agreements, while also respecting the governments mandate to be even more efficient.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State GST Department has asked dealers under the composition scheme not to collect tax from customers. These dealers should remit the fixed percentage of their total turnover as tax to the government. But they are restricted from collecting tax from customers.

The department said in a statement that it had received complaints that some traders under the composition scheme were collecting tax from customers. They will be penalised. The GST department has called upon all such dealers to have a mandatory statement on their bill:

Composition taxable person, not eligible to collect tax on supply. The name boards and notices of the establishments should show composition taxable person.
The Jacksonville Heritage Cultural Center board has asked students in Jacksonville High Schools Advanced Placement history program what they would like to see in the Jacksonville Area Museum, which is projected to open in summer 2020.

David Blanchette, chairman of the cultural center board, which will oversee the museum, gave two tours Friday of the former post office building on East State Street, detailing plans for the museum while asking students to their share ideas on making the museum interesting for a younger audience.

We are trying to pick their brains, find things people their age would like to see, Blanchette said. With a community museum, you want to make sure you satisfy the traditional audience  those traditional history buffs  but we have to make new history buffs in the younger generations. We have to find that balance and, having the students through, they know what they want to see.

Having a younger perspective on history hopefully will attract entire families to the museum, Blanchette said.

He already has been given several ideas that he would like to try to implement, including quick-response (QR) codes that would allow a visitor to connect with a video or online resource using their phone to get more information about a display, he said.

These students can think of things that a 50-year-old wouldnt, Blanchette said. Theyve come up with some common-sense ideas that wouldnt cost much to implement.

He said the effort also could lead to more collaboration with the schools.

AP history teacher Michael Burke said he hopes his students connect more with the communitys history through seeing the museum and its development.

I hope this gives them an appreciation for what goes into the design and creation of an exhibit, Burke said. Having this museum will help give them a greater connection with the history in our area, which as a history teacher is something wed love.

Burke would like to have his students volunteer at the museum, help with displays and even create videos that could be used in the museum to talk about some of the history, he said.

Getting to see how the museum will be developed was a unique experience, JHS junior Abby Schumacher said.

I think getting input from younger people will make it more interesting for the whole family, instead of just the parents, Schumacher said. This building has a lot of history and historical architecture. I hope they incorporate those aspects into the different exhibits.

The post office building is owned by Morgan County Historical Society and will be leased to the Jacksonville Heritage Cultural Center for use as a museum.

The building is undergoing renovations, including plumbing, wiring and climate control.

The board hopes to open the front portion of the building in summer 2020 while it raises money to continue renovations to the rear portion of the building, Blanchette said. The long-term plan would be to open the entire building as a museum.

While the board continues to work on opening the museum, some displays already are being created and showcased in different buildings in the community, including Jacksonville Public Library and Jacksonville Municipal Building.

We thought if we opened up the front and showed people what it could be, whats possible, people would be willing to help us fund the rest, Blanchette said.

Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1233, or on Twitter @JCNews_samantha.
CHICAGO  A pregnant Chicago teen who was killed and whose baby was cut from her womb was strangled while being shown a photo album of the late son and brother of her attackers, a prosecutor said Friday in urging a judge to keep the defendants locked up.

Assistant States Attorney James Murphy told Cook County Judge Susana Ortiz that Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, 19, managed to get her fingers under the cord around her neck and that the woman strangling her, Clarisa Figueroa, then yelled at her daughter, Youre not doing your (expletive) job!

The daughter, Desiree Figueroa, 24, then pried Ochoa-Lopezs fingers from the cord one by one while her mother continued to strangle the teen for another five minutes, Murphy said. With Ochoa-Lopez showing no signs of life, Clarisa Figueroa, 46, cut her open with a butchers knife and removed the placenta and baby, which she put in a bucket.

The two then put the teens body in a garbage can and Clarisa Figueroa called 911, claiming that her newborn baby was not breathing, authorities said. When first responders arrived, the child was blue. They tried to resuscitate the infant and transported Clarisa Figueroa and the boy to a nearby hospital, where police said he remained in grave condition and was not expected to survive. Figueroa, meanwhile, had blood on her upper body but no physical sign that shed given birth, according to investigators.

The judge denied bond to the Figueroas, who are charged with murder, saying she felt the presumption is great that they committed a heinous and brutal murder and that they pose a real and present danger to the community. She also denied bond to Clarisa Figueroas boyfriend, Piotr Bobak, 40, who is charged with the concealment of a homicide.

The mothers lawyer asked Ortiz to place the Figueroas in protective custody for their safety, given the nature of the case. The Figueroas stood calmly during the hearing. As they left, the mother glanced back at the crowded gallery, where the victims friends and relatives packed the spectator benches.

Clarisa Figueroa apparently wanted to raise another child after her adult son died of natural causes last year, authorities said. She told her family in October that she was pregnant and later posted on Facebook ultrasound results and photos of a room decorated for a baby, prosecutors wrote in a court filing. Authorities said Desiree Figueroa was surprised because her mother had had her fallopian tubes tied to prevent pregnancy.

The arrests came three weeks after the disappearance of Ochoa-Lopez, whose decaying body was discovered this week in a garbage can in the backyard of Figueroas home on the citys Southwest Side, about 4 miles from Ochoa-Lopezs own home. The cord used to strangle her was still around her neck.

According to police, the young woman had driven from her high school to Figueroas home in response to an offer of free clothes that Figueroa had posted on Facebook.

Police did not connect Ochoa-Lopezs disappearance and the 911 call about the baby until May 7, when friends of the teen directed detectives to her social media account, which showed she had communicated with Clarisa Figueroa in a Facebook group for expectant mothers.

At the same time, Clarisa Figueroa had started a GoFundMe campaign for the funeral of what she said was her dying baby, said Sara Walker, a spokeswoman for Ochoa-Lopezs family. Police then conducted DNA tests, which showed that Ochoa-Lopez and her husband, Yiovanni Lopez, actually were his parents, Walker said.

When police arrived to question Clarisa Figueroa, her daughter told them that her mother was in the hospital with some kind of leg injury, before adding that she had just delivered a baby, Brendan Deenihan, deputy chief of detectives, said Thursday.

She told an extremely odd story, and officers kind of knew where this is headed, Deenihan said.

Police then searched the neighborhood and found Ochoa-Lopezs car a few blocks away. On Tuesday they returned with a search warrant, finding cleaning supplies and evidence of blood in the hallway and in the bathroom. They later found the body in a trash can behind the house and recovered surveillance video that showed Ochoa-Lopezs vehicle driving through the neighborhood on the day they believed she was killed, authorities said.

Ochoa-Lopezs family had been looking for her since her disappearance on April 23, organizing search parties and holding news conferences as they pushed police for updates in the investigation.

Her father, Arnulfo Ochoa, said Thursday that relatives were grateful to have found her and now want justice. The family also was bracing for the babys death, while still hoping for a miracle.

We plead to God that he gives us our child because that is a blessing that my wife left for us, Yiovanni Lopez told reporters Thursday through a Spanish interpreter outside the county morgue where his wifes body was taken.

Ochoa-Lopezs mother, Raquel Uriostegui, said her daughter was born in Mexico and came to the United States when she was 2 years old.

My daughter was a very joyful girl. She had a lot of dreams. She found humor in everything. And I know now she is at peace wherever she is. Shes not suffering anymore, Uriostegui said.

Ochoa-Lopezs husband called her such a good, happy person.

She didnt deserve it because she was a smart woman, a good student. She wanted to do great things like all of us, he said.
The ongoing, record-high influx of migrant families crossing into the United States along its southern border has strained U.S. Border Patrol resources so far beyond capacity that, for the first time, the Trump administration's border crisis is spilling out into America's interior.

A senior official at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said Friday that federal officials are in the process of identifying locations hundreds of miles from the border that have the capacity to take on some of the arriving migrants, but said no location has been finalized.

"This is an emergency," the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said during a conference call with reporters. "The entire system is overwhelmed, and we're simply trying to safely get them out of our custody as quickly as possible while maintaining border security."

CBP officials said they are looking "across the entire nation" for space to house and process migrants before releasing them to await immigration court hearings. A senior Department of Homeland Security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said numerous destinations with government facilities that have the capacity to process migrants are under consideration.

Border Patrol authorities say they have apprehended an average of 4,500 people each day along the southwest border with Mexico, 65% of whom are families and unaccompanied children. The number of people in CBP custody recently surpassed 17,500 people - nearly 30% more than the agency was detaining when Homeland Security officials declared they had reached a "breaking point" earlier this year.

The Trump administration has said one of its top priorities is to deport MS-13 gang members and other criminals from the interior of the United States, but people apprehended at the border - most of whom are not criminals - are increasingly filling up detention centers this fiscal year, federal records show.

Border crossers account for three-fourths of all migrants booked into immigration custody this fiscal year, up from 61% in fiscal 2018, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Matthew Albence testified earlier this month at a House Homeland Security budget hearing.

The Border Patrol's detention facilities along the border, largely built in the 1980s and 1990s, were constructed for short-term stays and were not designed to accommodate families.

"Our processing cannot keep up with the flow that's coming across, nor can our facilities," the CBP official said Friday.

The Border Patrol, which in recent months began busing migrants from overcrowded facilities in the Rio Grande Valley; El Paso, Texas; and Yuma, Arizona, to other areas of the border, last week took the unusual step of using government aircraft to make some of those transfers.

To make limited transfers of families from the Rio Grande Valley to Del Rio, Texas, and San Diego, California, CBP has been employing aircraft that ICE normally uses for deportations. ICE has contract use of 10 passenger jets, each with a capacity to seat 135 people.

But those locations also are filling up. So CBP has begun "contingency planning" to identify other facilities that can hold them, primarily along the coasts and the 4,000-mile continental border with Canada.

The discussion about transferring thousands of newly detained migrants to cities hundreds of miles from the Rio Grande Valley already is fueling new tensions between the federal government and some local jurisdictions that want nothing to do with the administration's border crisis.

County officials in southern Florida spoke out against the idea Thursday, warning that the transfer of a large migrant population to the region could overwhelm local resources.

Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said Friday that he had requested an emergency meeting with county officials after he and another local sheriff's department had learned that CBP was considering releasing "a potential influx of immigrants into both Palm Beach and Broward counties."

Local authorities in Broward and Palm Beach counties said CBP informed them that it was weighing plans to transfer more than 1,000 people a month from the El Paso area of Texas, 1,800 miles away.

"It's insane," Broward Mayor Mark Bogen said in an interview Thursday, noting the impending summer hurricane season and the state's overcrowded homeless shelters. "It's actually inhumane."

CBP said there is no immediate plan to transfer migrants there.

"We do not have any aircraft flying into Florida at this time," the CBP official said Friday. "But we are looking at contingency plans."

Bogen and other local officials said CBP had informed them that border authorities would release many of the migrants into their communities after they had been processed and assigned court dates, standard protocol for migrants encountered at the border.

Most of the families arriving at the southwest border originated in the impoverished and violence-ridden countries of Central America. They often emerge from government holding cells in Texas and Arizona needing food, shelter and medical services - which they often receive from charities and nonprofits that are stationed there.

In Florida, a peninsula where severe hurricanes in recent years have caused significant displacements, officials say they are not set up for a massive influx of migrants in need of housing and other assistance.

"Every day we're watching our border right out here, which is the ocean," Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference Thursday. "We spend a lot of time to make sure that people don't come into South Florida illegally."

Trump in April threatened to release migrants directly into so-called sanctuary cities, an idea that drew internal concerns from the Department of Homeland Security and immediate backlash from Democrats.

Asked whether likely transfer locations included sanctuary cities, the CBP official said: "All we are looking at right now is where we have the capacity and the bandwidth for the computer systems, and the computer systems to be able to do the processing."

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Video link: https://wapo.st/2JGypT4
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: In a surprise raid near the city railway station on Thursday night, sleuths of the Commissioners Task Force (CTF) seized Rs 1.32 crore unaccounted cash from three persons found roaming suspiciously.

After seizing the cash, the case was referred to the Income Tax department. According to CTF police, Potlabattuni Venkatesh (26), Potlabattuni Vinay Kumar and Jonnadula Ashok Kumar, who were arrested were all residents of Mangalagiri and ran a jewellery shop in the town. The owner of the shop, Venkatesh, reportedly purchased gold from traders in Chennai without bills, making the deal illegal.

The three had come to Vijayawada to purchase gold from a mediator, and were on their way to the railway station. This was when we arrested them, the officials added.
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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WASHINGTON: "The Vampire Diaries" fame star Nina Dobrev is being slammed by a slew of social media users for expressing her views against the Alabama abortion bill.

After the Alabama state Senate passed the "most restrictive abortion bill in the US" earlier this week that could punish doctors who perform abortions with life in prison, Dobrev took to social media to condemn the decision.

She posted a photograph on her Instagram, which read: "Men should not be making laws about women's body".
It looks like an unbelievable bargain you should snap up fast before another holidaymaker gets in first. Can you really book a hire car for a week in Spain in the run-up to the busy Whitsun bank holiday at a cost of just 27p?

The answer, sadly, is almost certainly no  as the final bill will invariably be many times more once a range of sneaky extra charges have been included. You will have become another victim of a worrying new trick known as 'bait rates'.

These are when rental firms battle to lure in customers with a tempting deal on price comparison websites  then find underhand ways to claw back cash once they are hooked.

Cheap and cheerful: The 27p example is from a rental company called Dickmanns via broker website Do You Spain

The 27p example is from a rental company called Dickmanns via broker website Do You Spain. But it is just one of many. Last week there were plenty of offers for this half term coming in at 5 or less for a whole week's rental.

But once you are tempted, the pressure is instantly on to make you pay more, either online, when you arrive at the rental desk  or even after you have returned the car.

Insurance to cover an excess  the amount drivers have to pay following any claim for damage  is forced on many at a cost of 17 a day or more.But you could buy excess insurance for about 4 a day from standalone insurers including Questor, icarhireinsurance or insurance4carhire.

A charge of about 15 a day can be added for drivers under 25. Dropping a car back out of normal working hours can also incur steep charges of between 20 and 65.

Analysis of the car hire market by broker Zest Car Rental, confirms that bait rates are becoming commonplace, especially in Spain, a destination favoured by millions of British holidaymakers each year.

A week's hire at Malaga airport at half term (May 25 to June 1) is advertised as low as 1.93 (1.59) with Click Rent via Do You Spain. But insurance to cover the 915 excess adds 48.65 (42.39) to the bill if you buy it straight away. Pay it on arrival at the desk and this leaps to 98 (85.34).

A customer paying 1.76 for a Citroen DS3 via Do You Spain with Delpaso will face an excess of up to 4,350 (to be taken from their payment card). This can be avoided by buying the firm's own insurance  but it will cost you at least 180. For the over 70s this cover is compulsory  so no hope of a super-cheap deal for this age group.

The Delpaso offer also has a potential mileage trap  exceed 150 kilometres a day and you will see 39p added to the bill for each extra kilometre driven.

Rory Sexton, managing director of Zest, says: 'Low headline pricing opens up room for rip-offs  everything from poor value exchange rates to expensive insurance and unfair fuel policies. Drivers just want to get in the car and get on with their holiday. As a result, they are vulnerable.'

Goldcar, a budget car hire firm owned by giant Europcar, continues to attract widespread criticism for applying spurious charges. It has come bottom of an annual survey of the industry in five of the last six years by consumer group Which?

I kicked up a fuss but Goldstar still charged me. I tried to get my bank to refund the payment but it said there was nothing it could do

Spain is not the only location to be wary about. One Mail on Sunday reader was unimpressed with her experience of Goldcar when travelling to Toulouse in the South of France last summer.

Before travelling, civil servant Fiona MacGregor, 26, purchased insurance to cover any excess if she was involved in an accident abroad.

But the sales person at Goldstar's airport desk said the policy was inadequate and charged her 125 for the company's own cover  much more than the 90 she had paid for the five day rental.

Fiona (whose name has been changed) says: 'I kicked up a fuss but Goldstar still charged me. I tried to get my bank to refund the payment when I returned home but it said there was nothing it could do. I then noticed we were charged 37 for dropping the car off an hour late  even though Goldstar said at the time we wouldn't be charged.'

Ripped off? How to complain First take your complaint to the rental firm  giving them a couple of weeks to try to put things right. Martyn James at online complaints service Resolver, says: 'Put the complaint in writing  email if you can  explaining what went wrong and what you want them to do about it.' If they do not fix the problem then try the European Car Rental Conciliation Service  for European Union companies - at ecrcs.eu. Alternatively, try the European Consumer Centres Network at ec.europa.eu. For UK car hire, go to the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association at bvrla.co.uk.

Watch out for these car hire tricks

Sneaky extras are not the only way rental firms extract cash from customers.

Here are the top car hire 'cons' and how you can avoid them.

THE DAMAGED DOOR LOCK TRICK

Zest says holidaymakers are increasingly being billed for damage to a car's door lock that they did not cause. Often the repair bill is huge.

Many drivers never use the keys in the lock during their trip, because most cars can now be unlocked using a remote control device, so they are oblivious to any pre-existing damage. Windscreen chips as well as tyre wall and wheel damage are other pitfalls to watch out for.

WHAT TO DO: Check the car thoroughly at pick up  including the lock. Take photos then and when you drop off.

BEWARE DIGITAL AGREEMENTS

Signing an agreement on a device handed over by the sales rep at the car hire kiosk will make the process faster and more efficient  but potentially leave customers vulnerable to unknowingly agreeing to extras  such as steep valeting fees and mileage charges.

WHAT TO DO: Be firm with the sales rep and ensure you are not rushed into signing anything. Always read through the agreement either on the tablet or request a printed version.

CHARGES FOR AN UNWANTED UPGRADE

Many holidaymakers end up with a more luxurious car than they booked because the cheaper model is no longer available.

While an upgrade can be welcome if there is no extra charge there is a growing trend for some less scrupulous rental firms to charge customers for the privilege.

This can happen when flights are delayed and the company gives away booked cars to other customers.

WHAT TO DO: If you know your flight is due to land late, get in touch with the hire firm to say you are on your way  and do not be pressured in to paying more for a bigger car.

THE EMPTY PETROL TANK PLOY

It used to be so easy. You picked up a hire car with a full tank and then dropped it off full  unless you forgot and then had to pay a surcharge.

But hire firms are now making it more complicated, with options such as 'fuel to empty'. This means paying for a full tank on collection and returning it empty. This often works out poor value if you only drive short distances and do not need a whole tank full of fuel.

WHAT TO DO: Always choose 'full to full'  and remember to produce a receipt from the petrol station as proof that you filled up the tank just prior to dropping back the car.
Capitalism is in trouble. Jeremy Corbyn's plans to renationalise the National Grid at less than the market value may be incoherent and punitive, but the idea that the public sector could do better than the private sector has legs.

After all, the announcement came on the same day that the Government admitted that the part-privatisation of the probation service had been a disaster, and it was taking it back into public ownership.

And not just in Britain. In the US, the new Democrat star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has joined with Presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren to call for the tech giants, including Facebook, to be broken up. In Germany, a young leader of the Social Democrats, Kevin Kuhnert, says BMW and Siemens should be 'democratically controlled'.

National disaster?: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn believes renationalisation is the way forward

The sense that our system is not delivering its benefits fairly is the driving force behind the IFS study on inequality chaired by Nobel laureate Sir Angus Deaton, launched last week. These concerns are not going to go away. They can't in a world where the average pay of a FTSE 100 chief executive is 145 times that of an average worker, when the gap 20 years ago was 'only' 47 times. If this is just performance-related pay, as many firms claim, why do bosses get huge payoffs when they are sacked? There is an inevitable sense that the system has one set of rules (and rewards) for the capitalist insiders and another for the rest.

Inevitable but not entirely fair. After all, it has been the American capitalist system that has given us Apple, Google and Facebook. We make our mobile calls on the network of Vodafone and its competitors. We benefit hugely from all this. Because online services are so cheap  or even free  they don't count much in the standard measure of living standards, GDP per head. But I certainly feel better off when Waze, my favourite traffic app, saves me from getting caught in a three-hour jam on the M6.

Let's not forget, too, that while there are serious concerns about inequality in much of the developed world, if you look globally, the past 40 years have seen inequality plunging. The gap between developed countries and the emerging ones, led by China, is its narrowest since the Industrial Revolution. According to a study last September by the Brookings Institution in Washington, half the world's population is now middle-class or richer.

But that cannot disguise real problems that still need fixing. What's to be done? Nationalisation was the 1940s solution and it didn't work. Remember how you had to wait months for a phone line? Or how rail usage plunged under British Rail and has soared since it was privatised? There are cases where state intervention is necessary, and public ownership may be part of that. The market economy needs to be regulated. We know that. But outcomes are what matters, so let's look at detailed ways to improve things.

For example, when governments outsource services they should look at quality of service, rather than going for the lowest price tender. When companies hire chief executives they should look at candidates' human qualities: decency and consistency, rather than aggression or greed. When companies falsify their earnings, or cheat in other ways, then that is when the law must step in.

But perhaps the greatest responsibility lies with the investment community. Ethical investment should not be a box-ticking exercise, it should be an active attitude. You put money into decent companies, not ones run by greedy sharks. It might save investors from some big mistakes.

......................................................................................................................................

A footnote on the present sense of unrest in the country. There is one element of society that is more harmonious than at any stage for more than a century: the labour market.

Last year saw the sixth lowest loss of working days since records began in 1891. The Office for National Statistics reported that 273,000 working days were lost, bettered only in 1997, 1999, 2005, 2012 and 2015. I find this profoundly comforting.

For anyone who remembers the awful 1970s when rubbish piled in the streets, it is a relief that on this particular measure we are getting along with each other better than ever before. Let's try and keep it so.
Thomas Cook risks collapse with summer holidays in turmoil as shares tumbled another 40 per cent yesterday after City analysts branded them 'worthless'.

The UK's oldest travel operator, which served 22million customers last year, is struggling under the weight of a 1.25billion debt pile.

Analysts at investment bank Citigroup said the company should be priced at zero -and warned that customers would be put off booking package holidays which would further plunge the company's financial woes.

Thomas Cook risks collapse with summer holidays in jeopardy as shares tumbled another 40 per cent yesterday after City analysts branded them 'worthless (stock image)

Warning of a bleak outlook for the business, Citi analyst James Ainley said its troubles were likely to 'unsettle consumers and drive further weakness in bookings'.

Holidaymakers set to travel abroad this summer with a Thomas Cook booking have raised concerns about their plans.

The official Thomas Cook Facebook page has been flooded with posts and comments from travellers desperate for answers over their holiday bookings.

'I'm flying to Menorca six weeks today. I hope the financial situation will be settled soon', one holidaymaker wrote.

Hitting turbulence: Thomas Cook is struggling under the weight of a 1.25 billion debt pile

'I just booked for next May to Turkey, I really hope you're not going into liquidation', another person commented.

'Are you going into administration? because I have a holiday booked in October', a worried traveller said.

Is your Thomas Cook holiday safe? Holidaymakers will not lose out in the event of Thomas Cook going bust. The company's package holidays are protected by ATOL - a financial protection scheme that most air package holidays sold by travel businesses based in the UK. This means customers who have booked hotels and flights won't be lose their money or be stranded abroad.

Justin Waite, 48, from Southampton, who hosts a podcast for private investor community Vox Markets, recently booked a holiday to Mexico with Thomas Cook and is worried about its uncertainty.

The father-of-two told MailOnline: 'I am a private investor and so I know about balance sheets and at the moment Thomas Cook have liabilities four times the size of the entire company and they are making a loss so they can't reduce this debt.

'They lost 1.4billion in the last six months.

'Luckily we have insurance but I fear there may be some who don't. I will not book another holiday with them again as I fear they are going to go bust.

'I'm sure I'm not the only person thinking this, which will make their business suffer even more.'

Thomas Cook, which is now valued at around 180million, has struggled to keep up with customers' changing travel habits as holidaymakers turn their backs on package deals and traditional resorts.

But Thomas Cook Boss Peter Fankhauser blamed Brexit uncertainty for Brits put off their travel plans.

He said: 'The prolonged heatwave last summer and high prices in the Canaries reduced customer demand for winter sun, particularly in the Nordic region, while there is now little doubt that the Brexit process has led many UK customers to delay their holiday plans for this summer'

The cash-strapped travel group were forced to put their airline up for sale in February in a bid to salvage its financial woes, with bidders thought to include Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic.

Mr Fankhauser told ITV News that selling the profitable airline was a 'good way' to reduce the company's debt.

The company is currently taking drastic money-saving measure to ensure it stays afloat, including axing 150 head office roles, and closing 21 stores and 320 retail jobs.

It's a stark change from a year ago, when its shares were changing hands at close to 150p, valuing the company at more than 2.2billion.

Mr Fankhauser told ITV News that selling the profitable airline was a 'good way' to reduce the company's debt (stock image)

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at trading firm CMC Markets, said: 'Thomas Cook's woes have gone from bad to worse after Citigroup downgraded the shares to sell with a 0p price target. Investors appear to be losing confidence in the ability of management to turn the ailing business around.'

The travel firm dates back to 1841, when 32-year-old Thomas Cook sold a one-day rail excursion for one shilling per head from Leicester to Loughborough.

The first trip, inspired by Cook's belief that the working-class's lives could be improved by travel and education, carried 500 people.

The company now sells package holidays, operates airlines in several European countries, owns hotels in 47 countries and has a travel money and insurance branch.

It is closing 21 of its 583 High Street branches and has put its airline up for sale to raise much-needed cash, with Virgin Airways, Germany's Lufthansa and investment firm Indigo Partners among those said to be interested.

In its half-year results this week, the company's auditors Ernst & Young said that there was 'material uncertainty' around the proposed sale of the airline division, which cast doubt over the health of the entire company.

But the auditor concluded that after considering all uncertainties, Thomas Cook should be able to keep its head above water.

However, while the prospect of the business failing will be a worry for many of its customers, Thomas Cook said all of its holidays are Atol protected, meaning travellers will get a refund or a replacement holiday if it collapses.
Hong Kongs richest family has extracted almost 1 billion in dividends from British water, energy and rail firms over the past two years, an investigation by The Mail on Sunday has found.

The family of Sir Li Ka-shing, who was knighted by the Queen in 2000, controls a string of five infrastructure firms supplying gas, electricity and water to British homes. Its trains are used by some of the country's largest rail operators.

Documents filed in Britain reveal that the dividends paid to Li Ka-shing's parent company  CK Hutchison Holdings  amount to a significant proportion of the 2.6 billion pre-tax profits made by the five firms over the same period.

Power brokers: Head of the empire Victor Li, left, with his father Li Ka-shing

In total, the five companies paid out 427 million in dividends to CK Hutchison Holdings and related companies last year and 541 million the year before. This equates to 37 per cent of the pre-tax profit overall.

Three of these companies  Wales & West Gas Networks Holdings, Northumbrian Water Group and rail leasing firm Eversholt Rail Leasing Limited  handed out dividends which exceeded the annual profits.

Other companies controlled by CK Hutchison Holdings, in which the Li family owns a 30 per cent stake, include UK Power Networks, which operates in the East of England, and Northern Gas.

Energy network companies, which look after the cables and pipes that transport gas and electricity to homes, came under intense scrutiny last week after it emerged that the Labour party is planning to renationalise them along with water firms. Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: 'Customers have been overcharged for the gas and electricity energy networks for too long. We estimate 7.5 billion since 2013. It's an unfair system that means people's bills remain unnecessarily high.'

Li Ka-shing, who was knighted for services to British industry and medical research, is one of the most influential businessmen in Asia. In the 1950s, he set up Cheung Kong Holdings which later became CK Hutchison Holdings.

The company is based in the Cayman Islands and its stock is traded on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Li Ka-shing retired from the day-to-day running of his business last year aged 89 and his son Victor Li Tzar-kuoi took over as chairman last May. Victor Li made headlines when he was kidnapped in 1996 by gangster Cheung Tze-keung, who was known as Big Spender. Li Ka-shing paid a ransom of HK$1 billion and Cheung was executed in China in 1998.

CK Hutchison Holdings has steadily acquired infrastructure businesses in the UK and also owns mobile operator Three. The huge payments to the Li family emerged after a separate probe by The Mail on Sunday earlier this month found Britain's four independently owned electricity network companies paid their foreign owners close to 2 billion from 2014 to 2018.

WATER AND ENERGY GIANTS SUFFER 2.5BN SLUMP Threats to nationalise water utilities and gas network companies have wiped more than 2.5 billion off their value over the past two weeks. Water companies Severn Trent, United Utilities and South West Water owner Pennon slid after speculation that Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party aims to seize assets. Then last week the value of National Grid and energy giant SSE was hit by the party's report Bringing Energy Home, a plan to renationalise energy networks which was launched by Shadow Business Secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey. Energy Networks Association chief executive David Smith said the plans would be 'costly to the public'.

Li Ka-shing's UK Power Networks emerged as one of the highest dividend payers, handing out 800 million over the period  all of which trace to CK Hutchison Holdings. UK Power Networks also paid 77 million a year in interest on shareholder loans.

The company said the dividend paid for the year ended March 31, 2018, of almost 200 million 'should be considered in the context of the 3.4 billion capital invested by the shareholders'. It added: 'This represents a return of 5.8 per cent.'

Northumbrian Water said it 'operates in a highly regulated environment' and 'our rate of return to our shareholders is in line with regulatory determinations and also a result of the sustained high levels of performance achieved by the company'.

It added: 'Our bills are amongst the lowest in the country and we have committed to lowering them further by circa 14 per cent from 2020.'

Northern Gas said it has invested 3.2 billion since it was acquired in 2005 and that the dividend payment was 'in line with the expectations of the regulatory framework' because in 2018 it was 3.75 per cent of the 2 billion investment.

Wales & West said its dividend was 'lower than permitted under Ofgem's regulatory framework' which allows a return on capital invested of up to 6.7 per cent for the best performers. It said the 34 million it paid in the year to 2019 was 1.3 per cent.

Eversholt Rail Leasing Limited  which leases trains to 12 operators including Govia Thameslink  declined to comment.
While many A-level students are sweating over revision and exams in the hope of good results taking them off to university in the autumn, their parents should be doing their own urgent homework  on the financial help available to fund their offspring's degrees.

For the majority of families who cannot afford to fund a course  and living costs  a May 24 deadline is looming to apply for Government-backed student loans.

There are two types to apply for soon if students want to ensure they will be paid out in time for their course starting: one to cover annual tuition fees of up to 9,250, and maintenance loans to cover the cost of day-to-day expenses.

Everyone is entitled to receive the full tuition fee loan and a certain level of maintenance loan. To apply for more than the basic maintenance loan, parents must dig out details of both their child's and their own income.

A student whose family income is 25,000, for example, can apply for a maximum maintenance loan of 11,672  if they will be living in London away from the family home. The higher the family's joint earnings, the less you can borrow. For example, the loan for a household with an income of 60,000 will be 7,103 at most and those with an income of 100,000 can only borrow 5,812. With student rent averaging 5,000 a year, many parents are likely to have to step in with extra cash.

Another source of top-ups are scholarships and bursaries. Many universities offer some kind of cash bonus for academic excellence or for those on low incomes. But there are others ranging from cash for vegetarians (from the Vegetarian Charity) to those with an aptitude for sport.

Among those currently listed on website The Scholarship Hub are bursaries of up to 3,000 offered to students planning a career in television (from the Royal Television Society); two scholarships worth 1,500 open to students from Tunbridge Wells with 'enquiring minds' (from Red Brick Research); and for environmentally conscious students cash is on offer from energy supplier GreenMatch.

Students can also enlist the help of family and friends through cashback website Funds4Uni. Those who agree to the arrangement will see a cashback (at no cost to them) go to the student each time they shop at certain retailers online. Karen Kennard, at The Scholarship Hub, says: 'It's never going to cover everything but it can provide a nice additional income to help with day- to-day living costs.'

Sarah Coles, personal finance expert at broker Hargreaves Lansdown, reminds parents that those taking out student loans could easily end up with 60,000 of debt by the time they graduate  raising the temptation for parents to pay off some or all of it on their behalf. She says: 'If they're going to end up paying off the whole debt and interest (currently charged at 6.3 per cent while they are on their course) it is worth doing it as soon as possible after graduation before interest mounts further.'

If graduates keep the debt, repayments are taken from pay at the rate of 9 per cent over the current earnings threshold of 25,725.

One of the selling points stressed by the Government is that student loans are written off after 30 years. But this disguises the huge levels of interest many graduates will fork out in the meantime  never mind the fact these rules could change. Figures show that only 17 per cent of graduates repay their loans in full.

Coles says: 'Assuming average pay rises  and no career breaks  a graduate would need a starting salary of 55,000 to pay off all their loan and interest in full. Making the same assumptions, a 29,000 starting salary would be necessary to pay any interest before it is written off.'

No one knows the level of earnings their children will reach, suggesting it may be best left to their offspring to decide a repayment strategy. Coles says: 'A good idea is to invest in a Junior Isa throughout their childhood to give them a nest egg at 18 which they can either put towards university costs or pay off loans later  or if they prefer use it to help them on the housing ladder.'

Apply for loans online at gov.uk/studentfinance (England), studentfinancewales.co.uk, saas.gov.uk (Scotland) and www.studentfinanceni.co.uk (Northern Ireland). Applications take six to eight weeks to process.
By Rania El Gamal and Vladimir Soldatkin

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, May 18 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Saturday that OPEC will be responsive to the oil market's needs, but that he was not sure there is an oil shortage with data, particularly from the United States, still showing inventories building.

Speaking in Jeddah ahead of a ministerial panel gathering on Sunday by top OPEC and non-OPEC producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, Falih told Reuters OPEC will not decide on output until late June when the group is due to meet.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and other non-OPEC producers have agreed to reduce output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1 for six months, a deal designed to stop inventories building up and weakening prices.

"We will be flexible. We are going to do the right thing as we always do," Falih said of any decision at the meeting in June on continuing the reductions.

Falih said OPEC is guided by two main principles: "One to keep the market in its direction towards balancing and inventories back to normal level. And two to be responsive to market needs. We will strike the right balance I am sure."

OPEC's agreed share of the cuts is 800,000 bpd, but its actual reduction is far larger due to the production losses in Iran and Venezuela. Both are under U.S. sanctions and exempt from the voluntary reductions under the OPEC-led deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called on OPEC and the group's de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, and asked them to lower oil prices. Riyadh, however, is reluctant to boost supply quickly and risk a price crash.

Sunday's ministerial panel meeting, known as the JMMC, comes amid concerns of a tight market as Iran's oil exports are likely to drop further in May, and shipments from Venezuela could fall more in coming weeks due to the sanctions by Washington.

Oil contamination also forced Russia to halt flows along the Druzhba pipeline - a key conduit for crude into Eastern Europe and Germany - in April. The suspension, as yet of unclear duration, left refiners scrambling to find supplies.

"I am not sure there is a supply shortage, but we will look at the (market) analysis. We will definitely be responsive and the market will be supplied," Falih said.

"All indications are that inventories are still rising. We saw the data from the U.S. week after week, and they are massive increases, so obviously (there is) supply abundance."

U.S. crude inventories rose unexpectedly last week to their highest since September 2017, while gasoline stockpiles decreased more than forecast, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.

An OPEC and non-OPEC technical committee found that oil producers' compliance with the supply-reduction agreement reached 168% in April, three sources told Reuters on Saturday.

The committee known as the JTC met ahead of the JMMC gathering to discuss the oil markets. (Reporting by Rania El Gamal and Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Tom Hogue)
By Crispian Balmer

MILAN, May 18 (Reuters) - Nationalist and far-right parties from across Europe held a rally on Saturday, led by Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, promising to reshape the continent following next week's EU parliamentary election.

Salvini, who heads Italy's League party, is confident his newly forged alliance will win a record number of seats at the May 23-26 vote, giving it a powerful voice in how the 28-nation European Union is run over the coming five years.

However, the gathering in front of Milan's gothic cathedral was overshadowed by a scandal engulfing one of Salvini's most prominent allies, Austria's Freedom Party, whose leader quit on Saturday as government vice-chancellor after he was videoed offering state contracts in exchange for political support.

While the beleaguered Freedom Party had to skip Saturday's event, parties from 11 countries did show up, including France's National Rally (RN), Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Dutch anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV).

"This is an historic moment," RN leader Marine Le Pen told reporters ahead of the rally, held on a cold, wet afternoon.

"Five years ago we were isolated, but today, with our allies, we will finally be in a position to change this Europe," she said, predicting that the new alliance would be the third biggest group in the next EU parliament, against the eighth spot that the comparable far-right group claimed last time around.

Recent polls suggest the alliance will actually come fourth, but Le Pen said a number of other parties might eventually join it, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party, which is currently anchored to Europe's mainstream right.

DIVIDED NATIONALISTS

The anti-immigrant Orban has publicly supported Salvini and promised cooperation after the vote, but he has so far refused to join any alliance with Le Pen, underscoring the divisions which have constantly plagued the nationalist camp.

The parties in the group share the broad goals of returning power to EU member states, curbing immigration and preventing the spread of Islam in Europe.

But they often have different social and economic policies, including budgetary discipline, meaning they might struggle to put forward a coherent policy agenda.

Speaking to Reuters on Friday, Salvini predicted that the forthcoming election would shake up the continent, reducing the grip on power that mainstream centre-right and centre-left parties have enjoyed in Brussels for decades.

League supporters flooded the central Milan square, which is flanked by elegant stores and bars, many of them carrying flags emblazoned with the slogan "Italy First".

"No one in Brussels has the right to tell us what we should do or say. They forced (economic) austerity on us and that can never be allowed to happen again," said Silvio Bianchini, 59, an engineer from the nearby town of Gardone Riviera.

Salvini's League is expected to emerge as Italy's largest party for the first time next week and could double its score from a 2018 national election, when it took some 17 percent.

However momentum for the party has slowed this month, with opponents accusing him of spending too much time on the campaign trail and not enough time behind his government desk.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer Editing by Peter Graff)
By PTI

CANNES: India may have no representation when it comes to films at Cannes, but Indians stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Kangana Ranaut and Deepika Padukone put their best foot forward at the red carpet on day three.

The three Indian stars, who are promoting different brands at the French Riviera, opted for sharp and powerful looks.

Priyanka, in her debut Cannes appearance, oozed glamour in a custom black-and-rose gold sequin Roberto Cavalli creation.

Priyanka. (Photo | Twitter)

The strapless shimmery outfit with thigh-high slit complemented her curves.

She completed her look with her hair side-parted in vintage waves and silver Chopard earrings and rings.

Priyanka also took to Instagram to share another look from the day.

The 'Quantico' star looked fabulous in white ensemble by Saudi designer Honayda.

Priyanka and Nick Jonas at Cannes 2019. (Photo | Twitter)

Priyanka. (Photo | Twitter)

The dress featured a pleated bottom, corset top and a pleated flowy neckpiece.

Deepika, who is representing cosmetic brand L'Oreal Paris at the movie extravaganza, is known for making safe fashion choices, stepped out of her comfort zone for her first appearance of 2019.

The Bollywood star wore an over-the-top Peter Dundas creation in off-white colour with huge bow, plunging neckline and thigh-high slit.

The actor also experimented with her make-up as she went for dramatic reverse winged eyes and a high ponytail.

She also donned four other looks for her second day at Cannes:

Look 1: Blue and White pantsuit teamed with a hint of orange. (Photo | Instagram)

Look 2: Keeping it simple, Deepika wore a black plunging neckline tulle black dress, featuring a snakeskin patterned neon-green neckline.

Look 3: Deepika rocks a white transparent bra-top with Jimmy Choo shoes.

Look 4: Deepika left her conventional dressing and took over the green gown and clubbed it with a baby pink turban. (Photo | Twitter)

Unlike her contemporaries, Kangana went the 'desi' way with her golden Kanjeevaram saree designed by Madhurya creations. The actor, teamed up her traditional attire with a shimmery corset by Falguni and Shane Peacock.

Kangana Ranaut. (Photo | Twitter)

On the second day she looked like a princess in a flowy Michael Cinco gown.

Kangana. (Photo | Twitter)

Kangana. (Photo | Twitter)

Kangana is at the festival representing Grey Goose and for the party thrown by the French vodka brand she opted for a black pantsuit paired with off-white corset.

Apart from the three Bollywood divas, popular TV actor Hina Khan also walked the red carpet in a Ziad Nakad Couture creation.

She attended the premiere of Brazilian drama film 'Bacurau'.

Cannes Film Festival runs till May 25.
3 1 of 3 Will Waldron Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Will Waldron Show More Show Less 3 of 3





SCHENECTADY  A Mexican national who formerly worked for General Electric in Schenectady has admitted to stealing trade secrets from the company.

Miguel Sernas, who was employed by GE as an engineer, pleaded guilty earlier this week in federal court to one count of conspiracy to steal trade secrets.
The ticking clock for the longest tenured reporter at "60 Minutes" is about to go silent.

CBS says Steve Kroft, 73, will retire from the news magazine at Sunday's season finale. It will cap his 30th season and Kroft will discuss his plans to step down on the air.

Kroft came to "60 Minutes" in 1989. He covered a wide range of topics, from Pakistan's instability to President Barack Obama and the 2008 recession. "60 Minutes" will celebrate his career as a journalist with a special tribute broadcast this September.

Executive producer Bill Owens credited Kroft's "sharp eye for detail, rich writing and demanding journalism" for setting the bar at "60 Minutes."

Kroft's last segment this Sunday will be an investigation into bank fraud.

 Associated Press

Baby Psalm West hits social streams

To messages of support and puzzlement, Kim Kardashian West has, seemingly, revealed her newborn's name: Psalm West.

The beauty mogul, reality star, law student and wife of Kanye West took to her social streams to share the first look at their fourth child, born May 9. A photo of the boy nestled in a crib came in the form of a text message screen grab with her husband that called it a "Beautiful Mother's Day" and said the couple are "blessed beyond measure."

The baby is their second boy and the second to be born via surrogate because of a potentially life-threatening medical condition that complicated Kardashian West's two pregnancies.

The baby joins 5-year-old sister North, 3-year-old brother Saint and 15-month-old sister Chicago.

 Associated Press

Royal Archie born at private hospital

The birth certificate for the son of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, reveals that Archie was born in a private hospital in London.

Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born at the Portland Hospital in central London on May 6. He is seventh in line for the British throne.

Harry and Meghan announced weeks before the birth that they wanted to keep many details of his birth private.

Meghan's name is listed on the birth certificate as Rachel Meghan Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.

 Associated Press

"Big Bang" cast happy with send-off

"The Big Bang Theory" cast knows series finales can't make everyone happy, but the seven principal cast members said that they're content with the heartfelt send-offs they got on Thursday.

The geeky CBS sitcom took its final bow Thursday night after 12 years and 279 episodes.

As part of the farewell, stars Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Kunal Nayyar, Simon Helberg, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch stopped by "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" for an extended group interview.

They covered topics such as first impressions of their costars, Penny's elusive last name, which cast members had sex in their dressing rooms, favorite guest stars (Judd Hirsch, Mark Hamill and Bob Newhart) and who asked them to sign their "Big Bang Theory" yearbooks.

Overall, the actors said they were pleased with their characters' goodbyes.

"I was worried one of us was going to be killed off in the finale. So, being the Indian guy, I was really happy I made it," Nayyar told Colbert.

"Or one of you would go insane and burn the entire city," Colbert quipped, referencing last weekend's penultimate episode of "Game of Thrones."

"We had a lot of anxieties about how this was going to go," Cuoco said. "Us as actors, the writers  I mean, there's a lot of pressure on how to end this. Fans wanted to know what was going to happen, so it was tough, and I think that they did it brilliantly."

 Tribune News

Domestic battery warrant issued

A lawyer says "Jersey Shore" star Ronnie Ortiz-Magro's on-again-off-again girlfriend will fight a misdemeanor domestic battery charge alleging she attacked Ortiz-Magro at a club on New Year's Eve.

Jennifer Annette Harley's attorney, Michael Cristalli, said Friday he was surprised his 32-year-old client was arrested Thursday on a warrant issued April 17, more than four months after the incident.

Harley is free from jail and due in court on Wednesday.

Cristalli denies Harley committed any crime and notes she and Ortiz-Magro have a young daughter together.

Records show misdemeanor domestic battery charges against Harley in 2016 and 2018 were dismissed.

 Associated Press
ALBANY  Raw, unalloyed emotion explodes from the 30 teens in "Hers," a student-written work being performed this weekend by the Albany High School Theater Ensemble. This is theater as teaching tool, artistic expression and catharsis, for the performers and their audience, and it is often deeply moving to experience.

That's the right word for it, experience. You don't simply watch "Hers." Crafted into a theatrical piece by director Noelle Gentile, student director Jaidyn Hires and nine editors from dozens of short monologues and scenes written over nine months during this school year, "Hers" is a counterpart of sorts to the theater ensemble's student-written production last year, "Blaq Boi," which examined stereotypes of black men.

With an emotional intelligence that is at once precocious and fearless, the students who created "Hers" wade right into the roiling waters of what it means to a young woman today, from societal expectation to sexual violence, gender norms to body issues. They also address sexuality in ways that, while frank, feel age- and venue-appropriate. Attraction, infatuation, sex and love are part of these young people's lives, and it is deeply gratifying to see a school allow them the freedom, with adult guidance, to explore and dramatize. This is not yet another high school production of "Our Town" or "Oklahoma," in other words, so leave the little siblings at home. Anybody younger than, say, 11, has no place in the audience for "Hers." But there's surely a place for an audience beyond the school community and families of the cast and creative team. It may at times be uncomfortable to hear what they have say, to be faced with dozens of teens demanding respect for their experiences and their views, to which they'd say this: Too bad. Deal with it.

The second act starts with a breakdown of the difference between how white-dominated American culture sees women overall versus its expectations of "black girls." This is the sort of astute cultural commentary that, further vitalized by a compelling performer, wins poetry slams or monologue contests or informs a trenchant comedian's act. In the most heartbreaking moment of the show, a lone teen strums a ukulele, her pretty voice carrying a simple melody while the lyrics describe a young man raping his little sister. And in a scene that shows how ill-equipped our language is to deal with complexities of gender identity and expression, two performers stand facing each other and saying, "This is what a girl looks like." But here's the thing: Traditional words and designations would say one of them looks like a girlish boy, the other like a boyish girl, and yet neither of those descriptions is anywhere near accurate enough to convey how these individuals see themselves and experience the world. Contemporary understanding and language haven't caught up yet with what we know to be the larger truths they embody.

It is a testament to the respect earned over years by the theater program at Albany High that the administration not only allows but embraces use of the dramatic arts to create nonclassroom educational opportunities like "Hers." In times past in our region, and probably even still today elsewhere, "Hers" would be denounced as shocking, or at least be tongue-cluckingly dismissed as "inappropriate." I can think of nothing more appropriate than the way "Hers" continues, as Hamlet first put it more than 400 years ago, the theater's tradition of holding a mirror up to our nature.

sbarnes@timesunion.com  518-454-5489  blog.timesunion.com/tablehopping  @Tablehopping  facebook.com/SteveBarnesFoodCritic
Two teachers with Capital Region ties took first and second place in the Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament, scoring a combined $150,000 in prize money for the two-week event that climaxed Friday.

Francois Barcomb  a physics teacher in New Paltz who grew up near Glens Falls, graduated from R.P.I and earned his Ph.D. from the University at Albany  won the $100,000 grand prize.
New York

Herman Wouk was a prize-winning, million-selling author never quite in fashion.

He was a religious Jew among secular peers, a respecter of authority in a field of rebels. After a Pulitzer early in his career for "The Caine Mutiny," he was mostly ignored by awards committees and was often excluded from anthologies of Jewish literature.

But Wouk, who died Friday 10 days shy of his 104th birthday, was a success in ways that resonated with critics and readers, and with himself. He created at least one immortal fictional character, the unstable Captain Queeg of "The Caine Mutiny." He was praised for the uncanniness of his historical detail in "The Winds of War" and other books. He was among the first modern Jewish writers who appealed to the general public and had an enviably large readership that stayed with him through several long novels.

He was working on a book until the end, literary agent Amy Rennert said.

Wouk's career included gag writing, fiction and a musical co-written with Jimmy Buffett. His two-part World War II epic, "The Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance," was adapted by Wouk himself for a 1983, Emmy Award-winning TV miniseries.

Wouk was part of a small group who openly maintained traditional beliefs. He contended that among writers, anti-conformity was a kind of conformity.

"It seems curious," he wrote in "Aurora Dawn," his first novel, "that life 'as it really is,' according to modern inspiration, contains a surprising amount of fornication, violence, vulgarity, unpleasant individuals, blasphemy, hatred, and ladies' underclothes."

"Marjorie Morningstar," published in 1955, was one of the first million-selling novels about Jewish life, and two novels, "The Hope" and "The Glory," were set in Israel. One of his most influential works was "This Is My God," a firm defense of faith that could be found in countless Jewish households. Into his 90s, he studied the Talmud daily and led a weekly Talmud class.

He gave many speeches and sermons and received several prizes, including a lifetime achievement award from the Jewish Book Council.

During the many years he lived in Washington, the Georgetown synagogue he attended was known unofficially as "Herman Wouk's synagogue."

In 1995, the Library of Congress marked his 80th birthday with a symposium on his career; historians David McCullough, Robert Caro, Daniel Boorstin and others were present. In 2008, Wouk received the first ever Library of Congress Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Writing of Fiction. In his mid-90s, he completed the comic novel "The Lawgiver," and at age 100 wrote a memoir. Wouk's longevity inspired Stephen King to title one story "Herman Wouk is Still Alive."

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Wouk, the son of Russian Jews, was born in New York in 1915. The household was religious and devoted to books. A top student in high school, Wouk majored in comparative literature and philosophy at Columbia University and edited the college's humor magazine. After graduation, he headed for California, where he worked five years on Fred Allen's radio show.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor he enlisted in the Navy and served as an officer in the Pacific. There, he wrote what became his first published novel, the radio satire "Aurora Dawn."

By the time "Aurora Dawn" came out, in 1947, Wouk was married and living in New York. His novel was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection and he would soon publish "City Boy," a coming-of-age story.

In 1951, Wouk became a major literary star with the release of "The Caine Mutiny." But his next book turned to domestic matters. Wouk spoke often of his concern about assimilation and this story told of an aspiring Jewish actress whose real name was Marjorie Morgenstern. Her stage name provided the novel's title, "Marjorie Morningstar."

But like "The Caine Mutiny," the novel sold millions and was made into a movie, starring Natalie Wood.

In 1945, Wouk married Betty Sarah Brown, who also served as his agent until her death in 2011. They had three sons Nathaniel, Joseph and Abraham.
Washington

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Friday refused to comply with a congressional subpoena to hand over President Donald Trump's tax returns, a move that is likely to be the final step before the matter heads to the courts.

For more than a month, the Treasury Department and House Democrats have exchanged letters about the request, which was initiated in April by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., House Ways and Means Committee chair.

Mnuchin said lawyers in the department concluded that the original request, made using an obscure provision of the tax code, was not legitimate. Neal changed course last week and issued a subpoena to try to gain access to six years of Trump's personal and business tax returns.

On Friday, Mnuchin wrote a one-page letter to Neal, in which he reiterated his previous position that the request lacked "legitimate legislative purpose" and said he could not comply with the subpoena.

Mnuchin was widely expected to ignore the subpoena, as Trump has vowed to fight all subpoenas from House Democrats. The Treasury secretary has warned that allowing House Democrats to retrieve the president's tax returns would open the door to lawmakers from both parties politicizing the IRS in the future.

At a Senate hearing this week, Mnuchin said that House Democrats were trying to "weaponize" the IRS. He said that he had not yet decided how he would respond to the subpoena, but that "you can guess which way we are leaning." He said the judiciary, as the third branch of government, would most likely need to settle the dispute between Congress.

House Democrats have been weighing how to respond to the Trump administration's defiance of congressional subpoenas. On Friday, Neal made clear his preference for avoiding retaliatory threats, to the disappointment of several of his more liberal colleagues.

Neal told reporters he saw little value in trying to hold Mnuchin or Charles Rettig, the IRS commissioner, in contempt of Congress. Instead, he said, he would go straight to the courts to try to enforce his subpoena, potentially as soon as next week. The case could take months or years to resolve.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

"I don't see what good it would do at this particular time," Neal told CNN, when asked about the possibility of contempt proceedings. "I think if both sides have made up their minds, better to move it over to the next branch of government, the judiciary."

That did not sit well among Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee, who have pushed a more aggressive approach toward getting Trump's returns. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J., argued Friday that the committee should still consider fines and other possible forms of punishment for defying the subpoena.

Neal issued a statement on Friday arguing that he had clear authority to issue the request, and vowing to seek other means to guarantee that the administration follows the law.
Washington

Bogged down in a sprawling trade dispute with U.S. rival China, President Donald Trump took steps Friday to ease tensions with America's allies  lifting import taxes on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum and delaying auto tariffs that would have hurt Japan and Europe.

By removing the metals tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Trump cleared a key roadblock to a North American trade pact his team negotiated last year. As part of Friday's arrangement, the Canadians and Mexicans agreed to scrap retaliatory tariffs they had imposed on U.S. goods.

"I'm pleased to announce that we've just reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico, and we'll be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs, or major tariffs," Trump said in a speech to the National Association of Realtors.

In a joint statement, the U.S. and Canada said they would work to prevent cheap imports of steel and aluminum from entering North America. The provision appeared to target China, which has long been accused of flooding world markets with subsidized metal, driving down world prices and hurting U.S. producers. The countries could also reimpose the tariffs if they faced a "surge" in steel or aluminum imports.

In Washington, some were urging Trump to take advantage of the truce with U.S. allies to get even tougher with China.

"China is our adversary," said Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. "Canada and Mexico are our friends. The president is right to increase pressure on China for their espionage, their theft of intellectual property, and their hostility toward the rule of law. The president is also right to be deescalating tension with our North American allies."

Earlier Friday, the White House said Trump is delaying for six months any decision to slap tariffs on foreign cars, a move that would have hit Japan and the Europe especially hard.

Trump still is hoping to use the threat of auto tariffs to pressure Japan and the European Union into making concessions in ongoing trade talks. "If agreements are not reached within 180 days, the president will determine whether and what further action needs to be taken," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

In imposing the metals tariffs and threatening the ones on autos, the president was relying on a rarely used weapon in the U.S. trade war arsenal  Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962  which lets the president impose tariffs on imports if the Commerce Department deems them a threat to national security.

The steel and aluminum tariffs were also designed to coerce Canada and Mexico into agreeing to a rewrite of North American free trade pact. In fact, the Canadians and Mexicans did go along last year with a revamped regional trade deal that was to Trump's liking. But the administration had refused to lift the taxes on their metals coming into the United States until Friday.

The new trade deal  the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement  needs approval from legislatures in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Several key U.S. lawmakers were threatening to reject the pact unless the tariffs were removed. And Canada had suggested it wouldn't ratify any deal with tariffs still in place.

Thomas Donohue, U.S. Chamber of Commerce president, said the lifting of the tariffs "will bring immediate relief to American farmers and manufacturers. Critically, this action delivers a welcome burst of momentum for the USMCA in Congress."

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau credited his government for holding out to get the tariffs removed.

"We stayed strong," he said. "That's what workers asked for. These tariffs didn't make sense around national security. They were hurting Canadian consumers, Canadian workers and American consumers and American workers."

Trump had faced a Saturday deadline to decide what to do about the auto tariffs.

Taxing auto tariffs would mark a major escalation in Trump's aggressive trade policies and likely would meet resistance in Congress. The United States last year imported $192 billion worth of passenger vehicles and $159 billion in auto parts.

"I have serious questions about the legitimacy of using national security as a basis to impose tariffs on cars and car parts," Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement Friday. He's working on legislation to scale back the president's authority to impose national security tariffs under Section 232.

In a statement, the White House said that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has determined that imported vehicles and parts are a threat to national security. Trump deferred action on tariffs for 180 days to give negotiators time to work out deals but threatened them if talks break down.

In justifying tariffs for national security reasons, Commerce found that the U.S. industrial base depends on technology developed by American-owned auto companies to maintain U.S. military superiority. Because of rising imports of autos and parts over the past 30 years, the market share of U.S.-owned automakers has fallen. That has caused a lag in research and development spending which is "weakening innovation and, accordingly, threatening to impair our national security," the statement said.
By PTI

LUCKNOW: Gorakhpur and Phulpur seats, which will vote in the last two phases of Lok Sabha polls, are again in the limelight as electoral battle intensifies in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP had to bite the dust in the bypolls in these constituencies last year. While, the anti-BJP alliance would like to retain its grip over both the seats, the saffron party is looking to wrest them from the opposition.

Their importance can be gauged from the fact that Gorakhpur was represented by Yogi Adityanath in Lok Sabha from 1998 to 2017, before he became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Similarly, Phulpur was won for the first time by the BJP in 2019, when Keshav Prasad Maurya emerged victorious from the seat once represented by Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister. Maurya vacated the seat after he became the deputy chief minister of the state in 2017.

ALSO READ: BSP wooing Brahmins to ruin BJP's game in Uttar Pradesh

However, this time, the giant killer in the Gorakhpur bypoll, Praveen Kumar Nishad, has switched over to the BJP, and he has been fielded from the Sant Kabir Nagar parliamentary constituency in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

There are 14 candidates in the fray in Phulpur, which has 19.75 lakh voters, and 10 candidates are contesting in Gorakhpur, which has 19.54 lakh voters.

The prominent candidates in Phulpur are Keshari Devi Patel from the BJP, Pandhari Yadav of the SP and Pankaj Patel of the Congress.

In Gorakhpur, the fight is mainly among Madhusudan Tripathi of the Congress, Ravindra Shyamnarayan Shukla alias Ravi Kishan of the BJP and Rambhual Nishad of the SP.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Exuding confidence that the SP candidate will retain the seat, party spokesperson Rajpal Kashyap said, "Bypolls in Phulpur, Gorakhpur and Kairana changed the narrative of UP politics... All these seats will definitely vote for mahagathbandhan whose aim is to herald a 'mahaparivartan' (grand change)."

Rebutting SP's claims, state BJP media coordinator Rakesh Tripathi said, "It was the low polling percentage which led to BJP's defeat in the bypolls. However, in the past one year, a large number of first-time voters have become with the party. I am confident that both the BJP candidates will emerge as victorious."

The opposition parties defeated the ruling BJP in three Lok Sabha bypolls last year in the state which sends 80 MPs to the Lower House of Parliament.

In the Kairana Lok Sabha by-elections in May, the BJP lost to the joint opposition candidate, RLD's Tabassum Hasan. The seat had fallen vacant following the death of the BJP candidate Mriganka Singh's father Hukum Singh.

ALSO READ: 'BJP plays caste card while nominating candidates in Uttar Pradesh'

Tabassum Hasan was supported by the Congress, the SP and the BSP.

In March, the BJP lost the Lok Sabha bypolls in Gorakhpur and Phulpur.

In the last parliamentary elections in 2014, the BJP had won 71 seats in the state, securing 42.63 per cent of the votes. BJP ally Apna Dal bagged two more.

Samajwadi Party won five seats with a vote share of 22.35 per cent. The BSP did not win any seat while securing 19.77 per cent votes. The Congress registered wins on two UP seats in 2014, bagging 7.53 per cent of the votes.
[May 17, 2019] INVESTOR ALERT: Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Announces the Filing of a Securities Class Action on Behalf of AAC Holdings, Inc. Investors (AAC)

Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased AAC Holdings, Inc. ("AAC Holdings" or the "Company") (NYSE: AAC) securities between March 8, 2017 and April 15, 2019, inclusive (the "Class Period"). AAC Holdings investors have until July 15, 2019 to file a lead plaintiff motion. Investors suffering losses on their AAC Holdings investments are encouraged to contact the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith to discuss their legal rights in this class action at 888-638-4847 or by email to [email protected]. On April 16, 2019, the Company announced that certain financial statements for fiscal 2017 and 2018 could no longer be relied upon. The Company disclosed that these financial statements would be restated to reflect adjustments related to estimates for accounts receivable, provision for doubtful accounts, and revenue.



On this news, shares of AAC Holdings fell $0.40 per share or over 18% to close at $1.74 per share on April 16, 2019, thereby damaging investors. The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) the Company's internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures was inadequate to accurately reflect adjustments related to estimates for accounts receivable, provision for doubtful accounts, and revenue; (2) the Company consequently misstated financial and operating results in its annual reports for fiscal years 2016 and 2017, as well as all quarterly reports throughout 2017 and 2018; (3) accordingly, those reports could not be relied upon, requiring the Company to restate the financial and operating results reflected therein; and (4) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

If you purchased shares of AAC Holdings have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190517005556/en/

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[May 17, 2019] Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP Announces Investigation on Behalf of Dynagas LNG Partners LP Investors (DLNG)

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM") announces an investigation on behalf of Dynagas LNG Partners LP ("Dynagas" or the "Company") (NYSE: DLNG) investors concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of federal securities laws. If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate. If you wish to learn more about this action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Lesley Portnoy, Esquire, at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, or by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com.



On November 15, 2018, the Company announced that two of its vessels entered extended charter contracts at lower rates compared with prior charter contracts. On this news, the Company's share price fell $1.07, more than 13%, to close at $6.69 on November 16, 2018, thereby injuring investors.

Then, on January 25, 2019, the Company announced a 75% cut to its global distribution "in order to retain more of the cash generated from the Partnership's long term contracts to maintain a steady cash balance." On this news, the Company's share price fell $1.11, more than 27%, to close at $2.91 on January 28, 2019, thereby injuring investors further. If you purchased Dynagas securities, have information, or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Lesley Portnoy, of GPM, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100, Los Angeles, CA (News - Alert) 90067 at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190517005558/en/

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[May 17, 2019] Robbins Arroyo LLP: Shareholder Class Action Against Lannett Company (LCI) Survives Motion to Dismiss

Shareholder rights law firm Robbins Arroyo LLP announces that Lannett Company (NYSE: LCI) may face damages caused by a pending securities lawsuit action lawsuit. Lannett develops, manufactures, packages, markets, and distributes generic versions of brand pharmaceutical products in the United States. View this information on the law firm's Shareholder Rights Blog:

https://www.robbinsarroyo.com/lannett-company-may-19/ Shareholder Class Action Alleging Lannett Made Materially False and Misleading Statements Survives Motion to Dismiss Investors filed a class action complaint against Lannett for alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. According to the complaint, since 2013, Lannett's business strategy has been to collusively enter into industry-wide anti-competitive agreements with other generic drug manufacturers. Extesive regulatory investigations revealed that Lannett was involved in an industry-wide conspiracy to fix prices and allocate territories for the sale of at least 18 different generic medications. Nevertheless, Lannett insiders misled investors by stating that price increases were the result of legitimate and competitive market forces contrary to their knowledge that the market was being driven by antitrust violations. The complaint further alleges that Lannett insiders misrepresented the scope of their investigations into potential antitrust violations and the likelihood that Lannett would be implicated in the broader price-fixing procecutions. Capitalizing on Lannett's artificially inflated stock prices, certain executives made nearly $10 million in insider sales. As a result of its price-fixing, Lannett is now defending itself against regulatory inquiries and investigations and private lawsuits alleging securities fraud, consumer deception, and violations of state and federal antitrust laws. On May 15, 2019, U.S. District Court Judge Wendy Beetlestone denied Lannett's motion to dismiss plaintiffs' complaint, paving the way for litigation to proceed.



Lannett Shareholders Have Legal Options Concerned shareholders who would like more information about their rights and potential remedies can contact attorney Leonid Kandinov at (800) 350-6003, [email protected], or via the shareholder information form on the firm's website.

Robbins Arroyo LLP is a nationally recognized leader in shareholder rights law. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits, and has helped its clients realize more than $1 billion of value for themselves and the companies in which they have invested. Sign up for our FREE portfolio monitoring service, Stock Watch. Attorney Advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190517005562/en/

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[May 17, 2019] INVESTOR ALERT: Kirby McInerney LLP Reminds Investors That a Class Action Lawsuit Has Been Filed Against AAC Holdings, Inc. and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm Before July 15

The law firm of Kirby McInerney LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on behalf of those who acquired AAC Holdings, Inc. ("AAC" or the "Company") (NYSE: AAC) securities during the period from March 8, 2017 through April 15, 2019 (the "Class Period"). Investors have until July 15, 2019 to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that AAC made materially false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) AAC's internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures was inadequate to accurately reflect adjustments related to estimates for accounts receivable, provision for doubtful accounts, and revenue; (ii) AAC consequently misstated financial and operating results in its annual reports for fscal years 2016 and 2017, as well as all quarterly reports throughout 2017 and 2018; and (iii) accordingly, those reports could not be relied upon, requiring AAC to restate the financial and operating results reflected therein.



On April 16, 2019, AAC announced that certain financial statements for fiscal 2017 and 2018 could no longer be relied upon. The Company disclosed that these financial statements would be restated to reflect adjustments related to estimates for accounts receivable, provision for doubtful accounts, and revenue. On this news, shares of AAC fell $0.40 per share, approximately 18.7%, to close at $1.74 on April 16, 2019. If you acquired AAC securities during the Class Period, have information, or would like to learn more about these claims, please contact Thomas W. Elrod of Kirby McInerney at 212-371-6600, by email at [email protected], or by filling out this contact form, to discuss your rights or interests with respect to these matters without any cost to you.

Kirby McInerney is a New York-based plaintiffs' law firm concentrating in securities, antitrust, and whistleblower litigation. The firm's efforts on behalf of shareholders in securities litigation have resulted in recoveries totaling billions of dollars. Additional information about the firm can be found at Kirby McInerney's website: www.kmllp.com. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190517005465/en/

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[May 17, 2019] AMNEAL INVESTIGATION INITIATED by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates the Officers and Directors of Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - AMRX

Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: AMRX). For many years, the Company, (formerly Impax Laboratories Inc.), which develops, manufactures, and markets bioequivalent, generic, pharmaceutical products, has been embroiled in investigations and litigation by state and federal authorities and relating to claims that it colluded with other competitor companies in a price-fixing scheme resulting in exponential price increases of certain products. The Company has been sued in a securities class action lawsuit for failing to disclose material information to shareholders, violating federal securities laws, which is ongoing. Recently, the Company was among those sued in a wide-ranging lawsuit brought by 44 state attorneys general alleging an illegal conspiracy to inflate prices of more than 100 generic drugs, sometimes by more than 1,000%, and stifle competition.



KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Amneal's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to Amneal's shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws. If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of Amneal shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-amrx/ to learn more.

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190517005539/en/

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[May 18, 2019] Purdue University Global Hosts Commencement for 600 Graduates

Purdue University (News - Alert) Global, a public nonprofit online institution of higher education, conferred degrees for more than 600 graduates during two ceremonies on May 18 in Indianapolis, Ind., recognizing them for their academic achievements and celebrating their success. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190518005019/en/ President of Purdue University Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. speaks at the commencement for Purdue University Global on May 18 in Indianapolis. Looking on are (left) keynote speaker Dennis E. Bland, President of the Center for Leadership Development, and Purdue University Global Chancellor Dr. Betty Vandenbosch. (Photo: Business Wire) Among those speaking at the commencements were President of Purdue University Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr., Chancellor of Purdue University Global Dr. Betty Vandenbosch and keynote speaker Dennis E. Bland, president of the Center for Leadership Development. Based in Indianapolis, Purdue University Global was created one year ago when Purdue University acquired Kaplan University to expand its land-grant mission by providing access to higher education for millions of woring adults, personalized to their needs. More than 9,000 Purdue University Global students will earn degrees this year, including those attending the Indianapolis graduation ceremonies.



During the ceremonies at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis, Dr. Vandenbosch conferred degrees to graduates who traveled from 41 states as well as Bermuda, Germany and the Virgin Islands to attend. The ceremony was broadcast on Facebook Live for graduates and family members unable to be there in person. "Today, you're crossing one finish line and setting your sights on starting the next stage of your life's journey," she told graduates. "Each of you had a unique path that brought you here today that shaped who you were in the classroom, and who you will be in the workforce."

Dr. Vandenbosch noted that Purdue Global students are primarily adult learners and pointed to some of the ways that makes them distinctive. Nearly 30 percent of the student body is affiliated with the military, including active duty, veterans and their family members. She also said that 52 percent of Purdue Global students are the first in their family to pursue a higher education degree, and that 63 percent have a child or other dependent. Graduate and undergraduate degrees were awarded from the schools of Business and Information Technology, Education, Health Sciences, Nursing, and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. About Purdue University Global Purdue University Global is the extreme personalization online university, providing students the competitive edge to advance in their chosen careers. It offers a hyper-tailored path for students to earn an associate's, bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, desired pace, military service, previous college credits and other considerations - no matter where they are in their life journey. Purdue Global serves approximately 29,000 students, most of whom earn their degree online. It also operates locations in Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Maryland, Maine, Missouri and Wisconsin. Purdue Global is a nonprofit, public university accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. It is affiliated with Purdue University's flagship institution, a highly ranked public research university located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue University also operates two regional campuses in Fort Wayne and Northwest, Indiana, as well as serving close to 6,000 science, engineering and technology students at the Indiana University-Purdue University (IUPUI) Indianapolis campus. For more information, please visit www.PurdueGlobal.edu. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190518005019/en/

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[May 18, 2019] Dr. Amanda Boag, President of Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Addresses Graduates of Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine

Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM) celebrated its 53rd commencement ceremony at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida, on May 18, 2019. RUSVM graduated more than 400 students, bringing the total number of RUSVM alumni to more than 5,000. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190518005025/en/ Keynote speaker Dr. Amanda Boag, St. Kitts and Nevis Deputy Prime Minister The Honourable Shawn Richards, graduate Elroy Williams and Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine Dean Sean Callanan pose for a photo before the 2019 Commencement Ceremony. (Photo: Business Wire) The keynote address was delivered by Amanda Boag, MA, VETMB, DipECVECC, DipACVECC, DipACVIM, FHEA, MRCVS, president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). As a female leader in an industry that is outpacing the growth of women in medical and other STEM fields, Dr. Boag shared her experience as a veterinary leader and provided advice for RUSVM graduates. According to the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), of which RUSVM is a member institution, there has been an 11.5% increase in female enrollment in veterinary colleges since 20001. "Times have definitely changed for the better but we should not assume the change is complete. Hidden barriers, some of them within women ourselves, do exist. So believe in yourselves and your value," Dr. Boag said to graduates. Dr. Boag is a Board-certified veterinarian in both Internal Medicine as well as in Emergency and Critical Care. She serves as clinical director at Vets Now in the U.K., where she is responsible for clinical and professional standards across 60 veterinary emergency clinics and three, 24-hour hospitals. She was president of the European Society of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (EVECCS) from 2011-2014, and founding president of the European College of Veterinary ECC (ECVECC) from 2014-2018. In addition to serving as president of the RCVS, Dr. Boag is also an elected council member. Sean Callanan, Ph.D., MVB, MRCVS, CertVR, DipECVP, FRCPath, dean at RUSVM, encouraged graduates to explore the many opportunities in veterinary medicine, to take advantage of RUSVM's vast alumni network and to lead the veterinary profession into the future. "As we promote and demonstrate the connection between human, animal and environmental health, also known as One Health, our graduates will be key members of a global conversation. I am proud of our students and look forward to the impact they will have in both veterinary and human medicine," Callanan said. RUSVM's graduating class includes students from 45 states in the U.S., Argentina, Australi, Canada, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.



About Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM) is an institution of Adtalem Global Education (NYSE: ATGE). Founded in 1982, RUSVM is committed to preparing students to become members and leaders of the worldwide public and professional healthcare team and to advance human, animal and ecosystem health (One Health Initiative) through research and knowledge exchange. RUSVM has focused research programs with an emphasis on emerging infectious and zoonotic diseases, conservation medicine and ecosystem health. RUSVM offers postgraduate Masters', Ph.D. and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) programs accredited by the St. Christopher & Nevis Accreditation Board. Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine confers a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree, which is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (AVMA COE), 1931 N. Meacham Road, Suite 100, Schaumburg, IL 60173, Tel: 800.248.2862. For more information please visit https://www.avma.org/ProfessionalDevelopment/Education/Accreditation/Colleges/Pages/default.aspx. Ross Veterinary Clinic is accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association. The RUSVM Counseling Center is accredited by the International Association of Counseling Services, Inc. For more information about RUSVM, visit http://veterinary.rossu.edu/ and follow RUSVM on Twitter (News - Alert) (@RossVetSchool), Instagram (@rossvetschool) and Facebook (News - Alert) (@RossVetSchool).

About Adtalem Global Education The purpose of Adtalem Global Education is to empower students to achieve their goals, find success, and make inspiring contributions to our global community. Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE: ATGE; member S&P MidCap 400 Index) is a leading global education provider and the parent organization of Adtalem Educacional do Brasil (IBMEC, Damasio and Wyden institutions), American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, Becker Professional Education, Chamberlain University, EduPristine, Ross University School of Medicine and Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. For more information, please visit adtalem.com and follow us on Twitter (@adtalemglobal) and LinkedIn. 1 https://www.aavmc.org/about-aavmc/public-data.aspx View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190518005025/en/

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For generations of school kids who rode buses to the Kansas City Museum, the most memorable part of the field trip, at least up until the early 1980s, might have been the full-sized igloo - you could climb in and out of it.
Urban Core Tagger Expedition

KC Graffiti Tour big on history, art appreciation Tour is a great way to learn more about Kansas City history and appreciate creative work from local artists.

More Local Trash Talk

Seg. 1: KCMO Trash Collection | Seg. 2: Nelson-Atkins' Walking Wall Segment 1: Kansas City council votes unanimously Segment 2, beginning at 15:35: A months-long exhibition will see the unbuilding and building of a dry-stack stone wall in its journey around the museum. to bring all trash collection in-house.

Kansas Shakeup Today

DID YOU FEEL IT? Magnitude-4.4 earthquake registers near Medford, Okla. The earthquake felt by many in south central Kansas and even some areas farther north, including Great Bend, registered as a magnitude-4.4 about 9.3 miles southeast of Medford, Okla. The earthquake registered at 3:33 p.m. Within a couple minutes of it happening, KWCH received several calls and messages from people who felt the shake.

Will They Fix Broadway Buck O'Neil Bridge??? Probably Not . . .

Missouri lawmakers OK $300M bonds for bridge repairs JEFFERSON CITY, MO (AP) -- Missouri lawmakers approved a measure Friday that could authorize $301 million in bonds to repair 215 bridges across the state, allowing Gov. Mike Parson to make good on one of his top priorities just hours before wrapping up their annual session.

Show-Me Border War Surrender???

Missouri seeks truce with Kansas in incentives battle Missouri lawmakers are renewing a truce offer with Kansas. Legislation given final approval Friday would prohibit Missouri tax incentives from being used to lure businesses from the Kansas side of Kansas City if Kansas adopts a similar policy within two years.

More Weather Deets

2 severe weather chances are headed our way FAIRWAY, KS (KCTV) -- The middle of May is offering up a bumpy ride weather-wise. We've got two potent storm systems headed our way, so we will go over the setup, the kinds of severe weather we could see and the timing of the thunderstorms. Let's start with the setup.

Scary Forecast For Now

Strong storms possible Saturday Rain and storms are likely early Saturday morning. There will be another chance for storms in the afternoon and evening. These storms could be stronger. The mai...

Friday news collection of news items worth sharing. Checkit:And this is thefor right now . . .
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: As New Delhi keeps the pressure up on Yangoon, the Myanmar army is giving sleepless nights to militant groups from North-East India operating out of the neighbouring country.



The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), Peoples Liberation Army and other militant groups are feeling the heat as the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) is conducting raids in northern provinces of the area while the Indian security forces increasing patrolling in the Indo-Mynamar border.



Ever since the operations were launched in February this year, a number of rebel camps were run over with unspecified number of rebels being killed or apprehended. In the wake of the operations, the militants are virtually getting sandwiched as evident from their surrender in Assam in recent times. The grenade blast in Guwahati on Wednesday is perceived to be a result of the frustration among the ranks of ULFAs Paresh Baruah faction. They are facing pressure on both sides. Now, they cannot just sneak out of Myanmar and stay here because the moment they will do so, they will be chased down, Assam Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia told TNIE.

He said it was due to the pressure being built up that around ten ULFA and NDFB rebels surrendered with one of them being NDFB 'foreign secretary' Essara. The three-member group that surrendered the other day was involved in the killings of Bhaskar Kalita, a police inspector and five civilians in Dhola-Sadiya. We were chasing them and as they had no place to go to, they surrendered, Saikia added.



Intelligence agencies said that India is investing heavily in Myanmar to keep the ruling establishment there in good booksr. They said that New Delhi has virtually goaded Yangoon to go after the militants of North-East.



The insurgents holed out in Myanmar operate under the banner of United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFW) where National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), made up of Indian and Myanmarese Nagas, takes decisions. Last year, the NSCN-K suffered a split from one faction, led by Khango Konyak, which joined the Naga peace process. The other faction, led by Yung Aung, who is a Naga from Myanmar, however, continues to wield the gun.



Myanmar has launched the offensive largely due to pressure from India. Also, the government in that country was not happy with NSCN-K as it was harbouring members of other rebel groups from Northeast, a Nagaland-based intelligence official said. The NSCN-K benefits hugely monetarily by giving shelter and arms training to the members of other groups. Then, there is the proliferation of Chinese weapons which are easily available in Myanmar. These groups are also involved in gunrunning and drug trade, the official said.



He also said that Indian authorities were using the military including Para Commandos, to take on rebels from NSCN-K (Yung Aung faction). "This NSCN-K faction is a thorn in Indias flesh as this is the only group left out from the Naga peace process and the Centre wants to resolve the problem by taking all groups on board," he added.



The Nagas have a sizeable population in northern Myanmar along the border with India. There were reports about heavy casualties in the latest face-off between Myanmar Army and NSCN-K which took place in Konyak Naga region of Myanmar on Thursday.
By ANI

KEDARNATH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday offered prayers at the Himalayan shrine of Kedarnath, a day after campaigning for the general election came to a close.

He reached Jollygrant airport this morning from where he directly came here, officials said.

Dressed in a traditional pahari outfit, Modi offered prayers at the temple for around half-an-hour and undertook circumambulation of the shrine.

Modi will meditate and take stock of the ongoing development works in the temple town later in the day, official said.

The town was devastated in a series of cloudbursts in 2013.

This is Modi's fourth visit to the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in the last two years.

He will offer prayers at Badrinath on Sunday.

The portals of both the shrines were reopened for devotees after the winter break early this month.

BJP Uttarakhand president Ajay Bhatt said this is "just a spiritual visit" and the people of the state are excited for it.

Stringent security arrangements have been made for the prime minister's visit, DGP (law and order) Ashok Kumar said.

The Election Commission gave its nod to the visit while "reminding" the prime minister's office that the model code of conduct is still in force.

Polling for the seventh and the last phase of the general election will be held Sunday.
editorial@tribune.com

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 17

To promote the ease of doing business and give a fillip to the Make in India programme, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has allowed private industrial units and PSUs to self-certify the quality of items being supplied by them to the armed forces.

At present, all items procured by the services are subjected to trials and evaluation by the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA), an organisation under the Department of Defence Production in the MoD.

Self-certification status would be allowed for only those industrial units who have quality systems that meet the requisite standards. It encourages them to assume direct responsibility to sustain and improve the standards of quality. In light of the government reiterating self-reliance in the manufacture of defence products, this scheme assumes greater importance, the policy issued on May 13, 2019, states.

Self-certification entails delegating the responsibility of certifying the quality of products to the manufacturer on behalf of purchaser, after ensuring the demonstration of the manufacturers capability of consistently producing defect-free products over a period of time.

This scheme is open to all defence PSUs and private vendors with state-of-the-art manufacturing infrastructure and who have demonstrated capability to consistently fulfil the stipulated requirements.

Under the policy, defence PSUs and private vendors having a consistently maintained supplier rating of above 90% and process capability index greater than 1.33, quality management system certified as per ISO 9001:2015 and test laboratories in conformity with ISO/IEC 17025 will be eligible.

The DGQA would be the authority to issue self-certification status to the suppliers on the basis of recommendations of an assessment team. A detailed assessment matrix has been formulated for the same and the status would be valid for three years at a time, though there are provisions to withdraw it earlier if the situation so warrants.

While the DGQA will not issue inspection notes for consignments supplied under self-certification status, it would be free to carry out random audit of the processes and quality system of the suppliers.
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 17

Former general secretary (organisation) of the city BJP Desraj Tandons joy knew no bounds when Prime Minister Narendra Modi recognised him at a first glance and enquired about his well-being during his visit to the city recently. These days, he boasts about his photograph with Modi.

Tandon, who went to see off Modi at the airport on the day, shares his meet with Modi experience with The Tribune. He says, Modi shook hands with me and asked how old are you now?

I have turned 85 now, sir, I answered after which he asked me whether I am still active in the party work, recalls Tandon.

The octogenarian, who was actively involved in the party activities during the early 90s, happened to meet Modi who was in-charge of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh affairs from 1992-1999 and stayed in the town.

Even as he stayed in the city, he remained updated about the state of affairs in Gujarat. He exactly knew who his aides are and who will betray him in the long run, shares Tandon.

Owing to his dressing style, Modi often draws attention of his opponents and the media. Affirming the same, Tandon adds, He has always been fond of wearing neat and clean clothes. We would always spot him well-dressed.

Once while taking a stroll outside my shop in Sector 30, he asked my son: Vijay, will you be able to take care of the business alone? We will need your fathers commitment to the party, he recalls.

Modi had stayed at a kutcha house, now the BJP office in Sector 33, and then shifted to Panchkula where he lived on rent for several years.

While in the city, he never appeared on the stage as it never excited him, Tandon recalls. The BJP old hand says, His popularity was measured when we visited his oath-taking ceremony as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. We had requested him to let us come and he made all the arrangements. There was such a craze for him that we could not reach the VIP seats reserved for us.
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

On the eve of elections to the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, The Tribune reporter Sushil Manav spoke to the top three contenders  Pawan Kumar Bansal of Congress, Kirron Kher of BJP and Harmohan Dhawan of AAP  on their prospects. Excerpts:

Will cross 2009 victory margin

The way people are vying with each other to invite me to election meetings organised by them at their places and the outpour of affection I have been witnessing these days, I am sure that I will win this election and the margin of the victory will be bigger than what it was in 2009 when I had won by over 59,000 votes. The five years of Kirron Khers tenure as MP have been disastrous for Chandigarh. She has failed to live up to the expectations of people. During her tenure, the UT slipped in Swachhata and Smart City ratings. The city did not see any new project. People are facing traffic chaos on roads. The Metro was the only way to improve the conditions, but the project initiated by the government during my regime was shelved by the BJP government during Khers tenure. During the past five years, I have always remained available to people of this constituency while Kher was seldom seen when people needed her presence. Also, city residents have come to realise that she lacks understanding of important issues and the officers are able to mould her opinion the way they desired. I would say that the past five years have been a saga of unkept promises, untrue claims and lack of understanding. People are supporting me because they know I will restore the citys lost glory.

Worked for every sector

I am confident of my victory. People of the country have decided to bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi back to power and the city will also contribute towards his victory in a big way. During my five-year term as MP, I worked for every sector, including health and education. It was due to my efforts that the upper age limit for government jobs was raised from 25 to 37 years. I ensured the city got more water from Kajauli waterworks. The MBBS seats at the GMCH were increased from 100 to 150. Pawan Kumar Bansal could not spend his share of MPLAD funds. I had to utilise his share. Today, people cutting across caste and religion lines are supporting me. I have a definite plan for Chandigarhs problems. To end the growing traffic congestion, the BJP plans to bring in rapid transit system, monorail and mini buses. Bansal has been misleading people on the issue of Metro rail by saying that the BJP shelved the project. He should tell people what was stopping him from bringing the Metro? He knew that engineers did not recommend it for a city like Chandigarh because the project, if implemented, would lead to demolition of several markets. The Congress candidate talks about restoring lost glory of Chandigarh, but when he was MP, the maximum number of slum colonies had come up in the city.

City got No big project after GMCH

P eople are fed up with both Kirron Kher and Pawan Bansal. I am going to win this election hands down. For the past three decades, the city could not get an MP who understood their aspirations and worked accordingly. Bansal made several promises, including allowing need-based changes in residential, commercial and industrial buildings, withdrawing misuse and violation notices, filling vacancies, regularisation of contractual employees and shifting of dumping ground from Dadu Majra. However, he fulfilled none of these during his tenures. Kher too made 60 promises in her election manifesto, but did not honour even one. Demands of contractual workers and outsourced employees have not been fulfilled for long. The whole country talks of strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions, but in the UT, panchayats have been merged with the MC. As far as accessibility is concerned, I have been available to the people of this city throughout the year. Neither Bansal nor Kher were available to the electorate. When I was MP and Union Minister, the then PM Chandra Shekhar had come to Chandigarh to inaugurate Government Medical College at Sector 32. The city did not get any big project since then. Chandigarh residents are supporting me because they know I am the only one who deserved their votes.
Air Marshal Anil Chopra (Retd)

Air Marshal Anil Chopra (Retd)

Military Commentator

Twenty years after the Kargil war, Pakistan continues to follow the Zulfikar Bhutto dictum of Bleed India with a thousand cuts, repeatedly striking India through its vowed proxy terror war.

In May 1999, the two newly minted nuclear neighbours went into the one-of-its-kind conventional war in Kargil, one of the highest battlegrounds of the world. A few months earlier, on February 19, 1999, PM Vajpayee had undertaken a bus journey to Lahore for a summit with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. In October 1998, Gen Pervez Musharraf, mastermind of the Kargil war, had overtaken two seniors to become Pakistans Chief of Army Staff. After every peace overture, Pakistan stung India through gruesome terror acts. Kargil was Pakistans fourth attempt to wrest a part of Kashmir from India.

Kargil and Dras are among the coldest inhabited regions of the world. It was traditional for Indian and Pakistan armies to vacate high posts in the sector in winters and reoccupy them around May. In 1999, the Pakistani army started occupying posts in February itself, and they also occupied 132 Indian posts. India realised this only when shepherds informed of some activity on the high posts.

Indias Operation Vijay, from May 3 to July 26, 1999, took 84 days to evict them. India lost 500 soldiers and Pakistan 700 by the time the war ended. The Indian Army was clearly taken by surprise. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) cleared the Indian Air Force (IAF) on May 25 to mount unrestricted attacks on the infiltrators, but with a proviso, not to cross the Line of Control (LoC). The IAF faced early losses and had to learn the hard way. It had to review its tactics and employment of air assets.

India as a nation learnt many lessons. The Kargil conflict represents a prototype of Indias most likely future wars that will have to be fought at 14,000-18,000-ft altitude.

Whether we understood and made amends remains the question. There was clearly a failure to monitor intrusion as intelligence and reconnaissance was found wanting. The infiltrators, apart from being equipped with small arms and grenade launchers, were also armed with mortars, artillery and anti-aircraft weapons. Many posts were also heavily mined. This happened undetected.

Vulnerability of NH1 at some points close to the LoC highlighted the need for alternative and wider roads. Some of these roads have come up now, including to Leh from the Rohtang pass.

Pakistan was already using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). India had to still build up a UAV force. Since most operations were at night, the high wind chill factor showed clothing was an issue. The artillery was effective, and guns like the Bofors FH-77B field Howitzer played a significant role. But further acquisitions remained mired in red tape for long.

The IAF lost three aircraft within two days to Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAM). Thereafter, it had to remove helicopters from attack role and replace the MiG-21 and MiG-27s with Mirage 2000 and resort to high-altitude bombing. Most IAF aircraft and weapons were unsuitable for high-altitude weapon delivery.

Immediately after Kargil, the significant process of converting the IAF from a sub-continental tactical force to an intercontinental strategic aerospace power with fourth-generation fighters, aerial tankers, airborne early warning and control capability, inter-theatre airlifters was started. All platforms, henceforth, including attack helicopters, had inbuilt requirement for operations above 6 km. The IAF also initiated the process to acquire 126 MMRCA-class aircraft, but unfortunately after 20 years, only 36 Rafale will start getting inducted and the IAF is at an all-time low of 30 fighter squadrons. With the current acquisition processes, the numbers may start improving only around 2025. The IAF invested in precision guided weapons. Of them, the SPICE 2000 were used in the Balakot strike. The process to convert SU-30s for precision strike has just begun. The BrahMos and Astra missile programmes are a success.

The IAF had not trained sufficiently for strike operations in the high altitudes as faced in Kargil. Even today, the IAF lacks high-altitude firing ranges. The Kargil air operations again confirmed the higher dividends that interdiction of supplies pay vis-a-vis close support to the troops at the forward edge of the battle. Electronic and infra-red counter-measures are critical to safeguarding from SAMs. Air power employment greatly reduced ground casualties and compressed victory timelines.

Inter-services jointmanship was an issue. It took days of heated discussions between the IAF and the Army to decide what role each service would play. The need for closer joint Army-IAF planning and consultations from the beginning is important. Intelligence assets of all services need to be used in coordination. This will now be possible with the formation of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA). Though the integrated defence staff (IDS) has since been created, the inter-service rivalries seem to continue to dissipate scarce energies.

The politicisation, bureaucratisation, and seniority syndrome of key appointments play a negative part in national security. More joint operational training is required. The process to create tri-service agencies, as a prelude to full-fledged commands for special forces, cyber, and space has begun.

The Kargil Review Committee chaired by strategic affairs analyst K Subrahmanyam was set up within days of the war. A GoM was set up thereafter. These reports highlighted the role of RAW, IB and the military intelligence just prior to the war, and the lack of inter-agency coordination. RAWs human intelligence was found to be weak. The report suggested possible Siachenisation of Kargil by maintaining a permanent presence at high-altitude posts, and the same has been done. A review of the entire national security system by a credible body of experts was recommended. A full time National Security Advisor (NSA) has been instituted. Improved aerial surveillance using RISAT satellites and UAVs have been put in place.

A centralised communication and electronic intelligence agency  the National Technical Research Organisation  was set up in 2004. The Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the Nuclear Command Authority, the Strategic Forces Command, the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, the Defence Technical Council, and the Defence Acquisition Council were set up.

The Naresh Chandra task force set up in 2007 had recommended a permanent Chairman of Chief of Staff Committee and integration of service HQ with MoD with cross postings.

Both these are still pending. Some recommendations are held up due to persistent differences between the three services, and the unwillingness of the political class to enact the binding legislation. The GoM had recommended the formation of the post of a Chief of Defence Staff and was accepted by the CCS, but has not yet been implemented.

This was the first and only serious clash between two nuclear powers that had a clear winner. The issue of nuclear overhang on a conventional conflict had been well settled after Kargil. India can expect and must train for future short conventional wars in the mountains with Pakistan and China. A new set of operating paradigms had to be evolved in Kargil almost overnight to cope with the situation. Lessons from this high-altitude war are being read by various militaries of the world.
Rajesh Ramachandran

Rajesh Ramachandran

The BJP embarrassed itself when it nominated terror accused Pragya Singh Thakur to contest the Bhopal seat on the lotus symbol. Now, the ruling party has embarrassed the nation by continuing with Thakurs candidature after her statement praising Godse. Gandhi gets killed every time his assassin is endorsed because he has long ceased to be an individual. Gandhi is an immortal idea. The BJPs candidate has murdered Gandhi all over again by praising the murderer. A martyr makes the murderer a part of his memory, and so is the case with the Mahatma. The only successful public act of Nathuram Godse, the failed editor of Marathi newspaper Agrani, was the murder of Gandhi. Godse is defined by just that one act. There is nothing else significant about Godse the RSS swayamsevak or the Hindu Mahasabha worker. When the BJP candidate calls Godse a patriot, she is merely talking about the three bullets that he pumped into the frail body of Gandhi and into the soul of the nation.

This statement by Thakur, since retracted and later condemned by Prime Minister Modi, has a deep ideological, psychological and social significance. At a very personal level, Thakur, a self-proclaimed nationalist, reveals her belief in Godses deed as a legitimate political tool to defeat a rival. Patriotism is the highest form of virtue for a nationalist and Thakur is putting the label of her greatest appreciation on Godse by terming the murder of an unarmed, ageing opponent, who offers no resistance, as the virtuous deed of a patriot. Unless Thakur invents a new reason, completely unconnected to Gandhis murder, her admiration for Godse reflects an attitude towards the murder of unarmed people. What school of bravery could have taught its disciples to seek virtue in killing an unarmed man? The question and its possible answers offer a glimpse into the workings of a hate-filled mind.

Interestingly, her praise of Godse, known only for his violence against an unarmed man, has only underscored the allegations of Hindutva terror made against her by the brilliant investigator Hemant Karkare. And politically, Thakurs candidature now can also be seen as the BJPs endorsement of Godse and his politics of violence. After all, Gandhis murder was not an opportunistic crime of passion. It was the result of a conspiracy to put an end to a certain kind of politics. And Godse always considered himself to be politician and not a hired assassin. Sure, the BJP is not alone in promoting people involved in politics of violence. The Marxists did it earlier in West Bengal, they still do it in Kerala and the Maoists revel in it. But they dont rule the country. Either the BJP has to admit that it has put up the wrong candidate in Bhopal or perhaps Thakur is telling the world what her leaders hide in the pauses and punctuation marks of their speeches.

Thakurs statement can also be read as the negation of history, the contemptuous irreverence towards the man who led the Indian national movement, and thereby the denigration of the memory of the martyrs of a great liberation struggle. But on that count she is not alone, people of diverse and often conflicting ideological persuasions have abused Gandhi and the best example is novelist-turned-activist Arundhati Roy. The point of convergence for Thakur and Roy is Gandhi the nation builder. Interestingly, both come from streams of thought that have sources in the British attempt to negate the idea of the inclusive Indian nation. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Dr BR Ambedkar and VD Savarkar promoted identity politics and the British policy of separate electorates which Gandhi opposed, staking his life. Savarkars Hindu Rashtra was the pitr bhumi and punya bhumi of the Hindus, excluding Muslims, an interestingly innovative expression of the colonial theory of separate electorates.

Decades later we are still battling the ghosts of history. It is a fact that the RSS and the BJP believe in Hindu Rashtra as opposed to a Gandhian Republic of diverse belief systems with equality for all and a special treatment for the weaker and meeker ones. Gandhi, the unifier, was obviously anathema to the colonial masters and their stooges. Now, 70 years later, the old colonial policy seems to be succeeding with the descendents of the apologists of the Empire defining the country's mainstream politics, sometimes its Opposition and even its radical fringes. About 15 years ago when I was researching Savarkars role in the Gandhi murder at the National Archives, what baffled me most was how clumsy the conspiracy was and how it could still get carried out. The first attempt on Gandhis life was made on January 20, 1948, by Madan Lal Pahwa, a follower of Savarkar. That attempt to explode a gun cotton slab and to throw grenades failed and still 11 days later Godse could casually walk up to Bapu and shoot him down on January 31. Godses co-conspirator Narayan Aptes purported links with the Royal Air Force still remain unproven. The recent conspiracy theory about a British plot to assassinate Gandhi and the possibility of Apte being a British agent are all tantalising elements of Indian historys greatest whodunit.

Every time Godse gets praised or Gandhi gets abused it is worthwhile to look deeply at the ideological moorings of the protagonists. There is often a logical pattern and an umbilical cord of old colonial patronage or neo-colonial investments behind those who make such outrageous statements.

Gandhis murder has always been a mystery. For the prosecutors, Savarkar was the key conspirator. But he was acquitted and the Nehru government did not appeal against his acquittal. Then in 1969, the Justice Jeevan Lal Kapur Commission report concluded: All these facts taken together were destructive of any theory other than the conspiracy to murder by Savarkar and his group. The Indira Gandhi government published the report in 1970, the same year it issued a postage stamp in Savarkars memory on May 28.
shalender@tribune.com

THE BJPs decision to field Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, from the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat was brazenly controversial. Amit Shah and other leaders had promptly given her the clean chit in the terror case without waiting for the court to do its job. But the partys unwillingness to withdraw her candidature or expel her despite her irresponsible utterances is nothing short of suicidal. The Hindutva activist, who proudly claims to have been part of the mob that demolished Babri Masjid, stirred a hornets nest by calling Mahatma Gandhis assassin Nathuram Godse a deshbhakt (patriot). Hours later, after the BJP left her to fend for herself, she apologised and retracted her statement. She even said that what Gandhiji has done for the country cannot be forgotten, but it was clearly an unconvincing attempt at damage control. She had already caused irreparable damage to the party, which merely referred her case to a disciplinary committee and sought a report in 10 days  ample time for the dust to settle.

The BJP should have taken drastic action last month itself when Pragya claimed that IPS officer Hemant Karkare had been killed during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks as she had cursed him for torturing her in custody. Amid an uproar, she said sorry and took back her outrageous comment. Subsequently, the Election Commission had barred her from campaigning for three days due to her hate speeches.

When Pragyas candidature was announced, Shah had projected her as a victim of the Hindu terror conspiracy theory and said the BJP wanted the world to know that she had been framed. Shah and Co now need to explain why they have failed to rein in the likes of Pragya and Karnataka MP Nalin Kateel, who tweeted about Godse, Ajmal Kasab and Rajiv Gandhi in the same breath. PM Narendra Modi has declared that he can never forgive Pragya. His party, too, has committed an unforgivable offence by letting loose the so-called Sadhvi and her ilk.
editorial@tribune.com

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, May 17

A total of 57.39 per cent students passed the matriculation examinations the result of which was announced by the Board of School Education Haryana (BSEH), Bhiwani, today. The results have improved by six points as the previous pass percentage was 51.15.

While 62.17 per cent of girls have cleared the examination, the pass percentage among boys is 53.43.

Jagbir Singh, chairman of the Board of School Education Haryana, said of 3,64,967 students who appeared in the examination, 2,09,445 passed.

He said four students had emerged toppers by scoring 497 marks out of 500. They are Himanshu of Newton High School, Jhajjar; Sanju of Ashadeep Adarsh High School Karhans village in Panipat; Isha Devi of Shiv Shiksha Niketan Senior Secondary School in Sanghan village of Kaithal district; and Shalini of Maharshi Dayanand Public School in Narwana town of Jind district.

The chairman said students enrolled in open learning had a better success rate with 69.80 pass percentage.

Nidhi (Hisar), Ritika (Fatehabad), Tannu (Panipat) and Divya ( Sirsa) have jointly secured the second position with 496 marks.

The third position has been shared by Ekta (Jind), Muskan (Sirsa), Sahil Bhardwaj (Panipat), Chhaya (Jind), Anshu (Jind), Pooja Devi (Hisar), Shubhanshu Kumar Ojha (Sonepat)and Nidhi (Fatehabad) with 495 marks.

FIRST FOUR 497/500 (99.4%)

Himanshu

Newton High School, Jhajjar

I used to study for nine to 10 hours daily and was hopeful of making it to the top five, but never imagined of securing first position.

He had been a topper since Class I and was confident that he would come out in flying colors this time too.  Jai Singh, father

Isha Devi

Shiv Shiksha Niketan Senior Secondary School, kaithal

I want to chart my own path though I have not studied much about political figures.I want to join politics and will like to become the Prime Minister. Rs

We were expecting that she would get good marks, but never thought she would top the exam.  Dharmendra, father

Sanju

Ashadeep Adarsh High School, panipat

I had set my goal to perform at the state level in the starting of the session and followed regular timetable to achieve it. I want to become an IAS officer and have started preparations to achieve my goal

Teachers and the school administration supported my daughter to achieve her goal.  Rampal, father
editorial@tribune.com

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 17

Indias first voter Shyam Saran Negi (103), along with 998 other centurions, will cast his vote on May 19, while 108-year-old Shari Devi will exercise her franchise at the farthest polling station in remote Shakti village of the Banjar area in Kullu district.

Negi has voted in all 16 Lok Sabha elections since 1951 and will be doing so for the 17th time at his native village Kalpa. He has also voted in 13 Assembly and two territorial council elections.

I am the first voter by accident as the first elections in the tribal area was held in 1951 ahead of the elections in other parts of the country in 1952 and being a member of the polling party, I was first to cast the vote, he said.

Negi will be escorted by an officer from his residence and received by Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Gopal Chand. He will be accorded a red carpet welcome at the Kalpa polling booth with a band and traditional folk music playing in the background. The countrys first voter will be honoured with a Himachali cap and a shawl, the Deputy Commissioner said.

The polling booth from Shari Devis house is 200 m away at Sainj in the vicinity of the Great National Himalayan Park.

Polling parties had to trek 22 km to reach the polling booth set up at Government Primary School, Shakti. A widow, Shari Devi lives with her grandchildren. I have voted numerous times, she said. As per the directions of the Election Commission, she will be carried to the polling booth in a palanquin. Women outnumber men as far as centurion voters are concerned. Out of 999 voters (above the age of 100), 622 are women and 377 men. The number of centurion voters is six in Lahaul-Spiti district and 293 in Kangra.

The Election Commission has also directed its officials to make special arrangements for the elderly and differently abled voters.
editorial@tribune.com

Our Correspondent

Una, May 17

Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad today said the BJPs claim of doing away with Article 370 after returning to power at the Centre was nothing but part of several false promises that the party had made over the last five years.

Talking to mediapersons before addressing a rally at Lalari village in the Haroli Assembly segment, the Congress leader said the BJP had been speaking about abolishing Article 370 since it came into being. He questioned what stopped the party from acting on the issue when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister for six years and why didnt they work in that direction for the last five years under PM Narendra Modi.

The BJPs days are numbered and the Congress will lead the country with its allies. There is no issue within the party over the prime ministers post. The partys first and only choice for the post is Rahul Gandhi, he said.

Azad, however, said if the Congress allies felt otherwise and suggested some other candidate, the party would not have problems with that too. He said the Congress aim was not to grab power, but to free the country from leaders with dictatorial mindset and to put back in place a democratic set-up. Acharya Pramod Krishnam, Congress candidate from Lucknow, who contested against Rajnath Singh, alleged the five years of the Modi government were nothing but a saga of blatant lies and unfulfilled promises.

He said Modi had used religious sentiments to woo the people, but failed to act on his promises.

Krishnam alleged the promises of cleaning the Ganga, building Ram Temple at Ayodhya and bringing a national legislation against cow slaughter had been pushed under the carpet.

Local MLA and state Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri slammed the Himachal government over non-performance and financial mismanagement. He alleged in a short span of time, Jai Ram Thakur had proved that he was an incompetent CM.

Dares BJP on art 370

What stopped BJP from acting on Article 370 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was PM for six years and under PM Modis five-year rule. Ghulam Nabi Azad, Cong veteran
Richa Sharma By

Express News Service

FIROZEPUR/FATEHGARH SAHIB: It is a windy evening in Tindiwala village in Firozepur area of Punjab. A group of farmers with tractors full of freshly harvested wheat sacks and other farm machinery are patiently waiting at the banks of River Sutlej for the strong wind current to calm down so that they can transport their produce to the village on the other side of the river bank, some 500 metres away.

Taking the river route by loading tractors on big wooden rafts is a compulsion for farmers in 11 villages situated just a few hundred metres from the India-Pakistan border at Hussainiwala. A road route means a 10-12 km circuit and losing extra money in transportation.

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It may not seem to be a big problem to outsiders. But if one considers this struggle of theirs that has continued for the last 40 years, which also involves losing their produce to the river when the big wooden boats turn turtle, it is indeed heartbreaking.

Farmers say election after election, politicians have come and promised a small bridge to ease their troubles. It never materialized. The boats are pulled across the river using a tight rope that is tied across the breadth of the river and anchored to wooden pillars on both sides.

We have been promised the bridge since Indira Gandhis time. Yet, in 2019, farmers have to cross the river daily to reach their farms and ship their produce. When the river swells during monsoon, all our fields go under water and we lose the entire crop, said Bhagwant Singh, a farmer, as he points towards his fields across the river, even as a group of people cross the river on boat loaded with motorcycles.

Bhagwant Singh is among dozens of farmers who have similar stories to narrate of the poor support they get from the government. Adding to their woes is the increasing farm loans, low support prices and long queues outside agricultural markets to sell their harvest to the government agencies.

I along with several others farmers have been standing outside the mandi for the last eight to ten days to sell wheat but we dont know when well get the chance. There is no system in place to collect wheat. With bad weather threatening, there are chances that our stock could get soaked and wasted. There has been no succour for the problems faced by farmers despite the fact that we feed the entire nation, said Balkar Singh, a farmer at Gobindgarh mandi.
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Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, May 17

Congress president Rahul Gandhi today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had kept his Cabinet colleagues locked at his residence during the announcement of demonetisation on November 8, 2016.

Addressing a rally at the Police Lines ground here in favour of Shimla nominee Dhani Ram Shandil, Rahul said, Modi locked his Cabinet ministers inside his 7 Race Course Road residence during the time of announcing demonetisation. This is the truth. The SPG (Special Protection Group) staff deployed in my security told me this.

Rahul said the first-term PM Modi must acknowledge blunders such as demonetiation and advised him to emulate former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who, despite heading the state for six terms, had the humility to admit that one should learn from mistakes. He said demonetisation had adversely hit traders and informal economy.

Modi has failed to acknowledge that demonetisation and faulty GST were historic blunders. Besides, he failed to fulfil promises such as two crore jobs, doubling farmers income and getting back black money, he said.

On Himachal-specific issues, Rahul said Modi had promised to raise import duty on apples to ensure better returns for the state orchardists and giving Scheduled Tribe status to Hattee community of the trans-Giri area in Sirmaur. Werent the apples produced here made in India, or were they made in China, he asked the audience, which responded with chowkidar chor hai chants.

The Congress president made mockery of the PMs purported remarks on clouds affecting the Balakot air strikes saying Modi sought to enlighten the Air Force officials with his scarce knowledge, which was laughable. He said they didnt try to make political capital from Balakot as CRPF men had been martyred. But Modi had held a press conference when Mumbai attacks took place.

Several Senior Congress leaders, including Anand Sharma, Virbahdra, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Kuldeep Rathore and Rajni Patil, were among those present.
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Majid Jahangir & Suhail A Shah

Tribune News Service

Srinagar/Anantnag, May 18

The security forces in Kashmir today killed four militants, including the main suspect in last years killing of Rifleman Aurangzeb.

In the past eight days, 12 militants have been killed in encounters across Kashmir.

On Saturday, the Valley witnessed three gunfights with four militants being killed in two of them. The first gunfight broke out at Panzgam Awantipora in Pulwama district where three local militants of Hizbul Mujahideen, who were holed up inside a house, were killed. The gunfight broke out around 2 am.

The slain militants were identified as Showkat Dar of Panzgam Awantipora, Irfan War of Wadoora Payeen Sopore and Muzaffar Sheikh of Tahab Pulwama.

As per police record, Showkat Dar was part of a group involved in the killing of Army jawan Aurangzeb in 2018. He was also involved in the killing of policeman Aqib Ahmad Wagay last year, a police spokesman said.

Rifleman Aurangzeb of 44 Rashtriya Rifles, who was off duty, was on way back home to Poonch for Eid when he was abducted by a group of militants on June 14 and later killed in Pulwama. Sources said at least three houses were partially damaged during the Panzgam gunfight. There were also reports of clashes at some places, including near the site of encounter.

As the operation was underway at Panzgam, a brief exchange of fire took place in Anantnag district. The shooting took place during a cordon and search operation at Dahrun Dooru Anantnag.

Initially, contact was established with the militants, but they managed to sneak out of the cordon, a police official from Anantnag said, adding that the operation was called off after thorough searches in the area yielded nothing.

The third gunfight broke out in north Kashmirs Sopore sub-district this afternoon in which a militant was killed.

The operation in the Hathlangoo area of Sopore was launched on a credible input about the militant presence in the area.

After the conclusion of five-phased polling on May 6, the security forces have apparently stepped up anti-militancy operations. Twelve militants, two Army men and two civilians have been killed in various gunfights in Kashmir after the polling ended.

In the entire month of April, when the five-phased elections began, 11 militants were killed.

According to official data, 85 militants and 60 security men have been killed this year.

Recent encounters
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Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 17

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday directed the police to expedite the investigation in the alleged rape case of the three-year-old girl in north Kashmir.

A division bench of the court, comprising Chief Justice Gitta Mital and Justice Tashi Rabstan, granted time till May 28 to the police to complete the probe.

Let the police do a prompt investigation and file compliance report on the next date of hearing (May 28), the division bench said.

The court also directed the State Legal Service Authority (SLAC) to take up the case of compensation for the victim.

The health and medical education department also filed its report before the court, saying it had provided proper medical treatment and counselling to the victim.

The court also directed the police to file cases against mediapersons who had violated the provisions of Section 23 of the J&K Protection of Child from Sexual Violence Ordinance, 2018.

The high court had taken suo motu cognisance of the alleged rape and asked the police to conduct an effective investigation in the case. The court, which has taken a serious note of the reports appearing in a section of the media disclosing the identity of the minor victim, directed the Inspector-General of Police, Kashmir, to provide protection to the victim and her family.

The alleged rape incident has led to widespread anger across the Valley, with north Kashmir witnessing violent protests since it surfaced on May 8. The J&K Police have already formed an SIT and arrested the accused.

The IGP Kashmir filed a status report of investigation suggesting that the age determination of the accused was also under way.

The court also directed Member Secretary, J&K State Legal Services Authority, to submit an action plan and proper guidelines to ensure linkage between the police stations and the offices of the Legal Services Authority.

The court said the Legal Services Authority shall ensure legal aid to a victim right from the beginning ie from the stage of the lodging of the complaint and the registration of the case, medical examination, recording of the statement throughout the trial till the end of the case.

The Legal Services Authority shall ensure that proper medical treatment was also administered to the victim, the court said.

The court said there should be release of compensation under the Victim of Compensation Scheme at the earliest, preferably within 24 hours of an incident of sexual violence being reported.

A proper protocol in this regard shall be placed before this court within 10 days from today, the court said.

The counsel of the SLSA filed an application, seeking the extension of time to submit the report.

Plaint filed at Sumbal police station
editorial@tribune.com

Anantnag, May 17

The family of a youth of Shopian district, who was killed during a gunfight on Thursday evening, has contested the police claims that their son was an active associate of militants.

The police on Thursday evening changed their statement from claiming to have killed three militants in the gunfight to two militants and an active associate of militants.

The gunfight took place at an orchard in the Handew area of Shopian district, wherein an Army man, two militants and Ishtiyaq Ahmad Bhat, who later turned out to be a civilian, were killed in an exchange of fire between militants and security forces.

Soon after his identity was established as a civilian, the police claimed that he was an associate of the militants and had criminal cases registered against him. His complicity in the incident is under probe, the police maintained.

Bhats family has, however, claimed that their son had nothing to do with militants. Ithas categorically refuted the police allegations of Bhats involvement in any militancy-related activities. We want to know the truth, what happened to him and how he was killed incold blood, said his family.  OC
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Rifat Mohidin

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 17

The students from Kashmir who are studying in colleges in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) are a worried lot as the authorities have said the degrees are not valid in India.

Every year, more nearly two dozen students from Kashmir seek admission to MBBS in PoK medical colleges on a special quota provided by its government. This year, however, the University Grants Commission has cautioned the students who intend to apply.

In a recent letter by the All India Council for Technical Education, it asked the Secretary, Higher Education, and the general administration department in the Valley to tell the students to refrain from enrolling in the institutions in PoK.

The issue came up after the cases of 25 students had reached the Indian High Commission in Islamabad for attestation.

The letter has said the Central government does not recognise the courses.

Therefore, the students are cautioned and advised against taking admission in any college, university or technical institution in any territory under the illegal occupation of Pakistan, including the so-called AJK and Gilgit Baltistan, which are not currently recognised in India, the advisory said.

In the Valley, students say the motivation to apply in Pakistani colleges or PoK is the six per cent scholarship provided to the students of Kashmir.

It is only to get a scholarship. Otherwise, the MBBS degree in any part of the world is costly and even in Kashmir we dont have many options. As the relations between India and Pakistan have worsened in recent years, students are slowly giving up the idea, said Sana Zehra, who had applied for admission in Pakistan last year but could not get through and is again planning to apply this year.

Many students already studying in PoK are anxious.

We do not know what to do in the middle of our degrees, said a Kashmiri student studying in PoK on the condition of anonymity.

A government official said a less number of students from the Valley go to PoK to pursue MBBS. The official said students prefer colleges in mainland Pakistan.

This will not have much impact as most of the students go to main Pakistani cities and not PoK, the official said.

Earlier, 150 students from Kashmir would go to Pakistan for studies every year, but now the numbers have gone down.

The official said most of the students go on a scholarship and have to almost pay nothing for the MBBS degree.

The students are usually recommended by separatist leaders, which eases their visa and other processes.

There are students who apply themselves and follow the procedures, the official said.

In February 2018, the National Investigation Agency had claimed that they had seized letters of recommendation from the houses of separatist leaders who had been sending letters to the Pakistan High Commission for issuance of visa to students.

Meanwhile, the Private Schools Association Kashmir has condemned the directive, saying it negates the basic principle of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

India is part of SAARC and all educational institutes in all countries should be treated on a par. One cannot pick and choose educational institutes in a particular region, said GN Var, head of the association.

Separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq called the directive unfortunate politicisation of education.

It puts the career of those studying there in jeopardy and uncertainty, he said.

UGC cautions students
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 17

The Valleys largest mosque was put on lockdown by the authorities on Friday, barring the weekly congregational prayers. At Jamia Masjid, thousands offer the Friday congregational prayers during Ramzan.

A senior official said the mosque lockdown for the prayers on the second Friday of the fasting month was a preventive measure to avoid protests as the separatists had called for a shutdown in the Valley.

Hundreds of protesters had clashed with police and paramilitary personnel outside the mosque last Friday, leading to an apprehension of a repeat demonstration.

The mosque was sealed off by the state administration on Friday, while police and paramilitary forces personnel were deployed in strength in the Nowhatta area of the old city, where Jamia Masjid is situated.

Separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is also the custodian of Jamia Masjid, condemned the mosque lockdown.

In the holy month of Ramadan also, the biggest mosque of the valley is locked down and put under siege, he wrote on Twitter. He said thousands of Muslims were denied the right to pray and also condemned the decision as reflective of the utter disdain for peoples religious rights.

The separatist leader said the mosque shutdown had hurt the sentiments of people which is very sad.

Jamia Masjid, a 14th century mosque constructed by ruler Sikandar, has been home to the anti-state politics for the last one century and has served as the headquarters of several protest movements.

Last year, the mosques management committee had deployed a force of volunteers to prevent protests near it.

Shutdown hits normal life in Valley

Srinagar: Normal life was affected across the Valley on Friday due to a shutdown called by separatists against the recent killings. Shops, business establishments and markets in Srinagar and other parts were closed, officials said. In Srinagar, the public transport was off the roads. The train service from Banihal to Baramulla also remained suspended. Schools, colleges and universities remained closed in the wake of the shutdown call. The authorities had also imposed restrictions in the old city to prevent any protests. TNS
harinder@tribunemail.com

Vibha Sharma in New Delhi

BJP president Amit Shah spoke exclusively to The Tribune on a variety of issues. Excerpts:

The campaign for the Lok Sabha elections ended today. How are you feeling at the end of this mammoth campaign that you led for the BJP?

I am feeling very relaxed. No doubt it was a tiring and long campaign. From the booth level to the national president to the Prime Minister, everyone did back-breaking work. I am sure that when the results are declared on May 23, those will be in the BJPs favour. We will form a strong NDA government with more than 300 Lok Sabha seats. I am also expecting an increase in the number of seats of the NDA allies, but the BJP is winning 300 seats independently.

You have been firm on 300 seats for the BJP from Day 1. What gives you the confidence?

The BJP fights elections on the strength of the organisation. From the booth to the national level, the way the organisation has strengthened itself is enough to win elections. But a big reason for this confidence is coming from the popularity of the Prime Minister. The work he has done for the benefit of the people in the past five years has raised his popularity to a new level. At the same time, there is also an increase in the expectations from him and people want to repeat the Modi experiment.

You are firm on 300-plus for the BJP but other parties have started holding meetings on forming the next government. Where are they getting the confidence from?

If they had the confidence, there wouldnt have been any need for such meetings. I am sitting here relaxed. I am not meeting anyone because I know my party is getting 300 seats. Those who are not confident are meeting others. Tell me, is it the time to meet voters or meet each other and talk? They have abandoned the campaign and are holding drawing room meetings. Those who are confident of winning do not need to meet others. The Prime Minister went campaigning today, but I am sitting here relaxed, doing this interview with you.

At the end of this long campaign, do you think you could have changed something, done it in a different way?

An electoral campaign cannot be decided by one party alone. It is a pratidwandhita, a spardha (competition between rival parties). You have to respond to the campaign the way your opponents respond to it. Eventually, the campaign is not in the hands of one party. Media, peoples expectations, events occurring during the campaign, statements by Opposition leaders, their attitude, the shape of their election campaign... it is on the basis of all these factors that a partys election campaign acquires different shapes. It is never that a campaign follows the same path from the beginning.

But the way it has shaped in the past few days gave a new place of importance to your biggest rival  TMC chief Mamata Banerjee. Her stature has increased by leaps and bounds and now, she is giving you a direct fight from an equal position.

Whenever there is a fight between two sides, they automatically acquire a barabari ka darja  a status of equality. Ramayan mein dekhiye to Ram ke barabar Ravan ka darja hoga (If you see in the Ramayan, Ravan has a status equal to Ram). People of Bengal know that the reason for the violence is the Trinamools greed to hold onto power. The BJP is fighting elections in the entire country. If we were the reason for the violence, there would have been violence everywhere. But Mamataji is only fighting elections in West Bengal. That means the only reason for the violence there is Mamata Banerjee and the goons of the TMC. People of West Bengal know this very well.

As these elections progressed, it also appeared as if you were hoping to make up for the expected losses in Uttar Pradesh from Bengal.

Whether or not there are losses in UP, it is our democratic right to increase the base of our party in Bengal. Why should we not do that? We are an all-India party. We also tried to expand our base in Odisha and there was no violence there. We won in the North-East, we have won many new states  Jharkhand, Manipur, Assam, Tripura  but there was no violence anywhere. Why is there violence only in Bengal where there is Mamata Banerjee?

Reports suggest that Left cadres are supporting the BJP in the violence.

It is not about the Left or the Right. All the people of Bengal came out in support of the BJP. The atmosphere there is similar to that during the Emergency. The way Mamata Banerjee has throttled democracy, I think the priority of the people there is to first restore democracy. During the panchayat elections, BJP activists were killed and we were not allowed to file nominations. She is trying to do politics on the Bengali language, foisting Urdu for appeasement of her vote bank, not giving permission for Durga pooja (it had to be taken from the High Court), attacking those doing Saraswati pooja and those who say Jai Shri Ram. Mamata didi gets down from the vehicle with a warning Bengal mein rehna hai ki nahi rehna (do you want to stay in Bengal or not). What is the meaning of all this?

But why has the slogan of Jai Shri Ram found an echo in West Bengal when it was not used by the BJP in most of the Hindi belt?

We did not carry out any such experiment. It was because of their (TMC) reaction that the issue became bigger, the way they tried to suppress the emotions of the people, with appeasement.

Do you think it was a correct decision to field Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur?

Absolutely, it was the right decision. The candidature of Sadhvi Pragya is our satyagrah against the farzi (false) case of Hindu terror. The Congress tried to make a false case of saffron terror to appease its vote bank. We said nothing till now. But when two courts have declared that the entire case is fake and also considered the conspiracy fake, do you realise the harm that they (Congress) have done to Hindu religion and culture... and the country by compromising national security? The real culprits arrested in the Samjhauta blast case were all let off. Thats how they compromised the nations security.

These elections have seen polarisation like never before. The Prime Minister himself has become a big polarising factor  either you are with him or against him. Do you not think that these elections have changed the way elections will be fought in the future?

Not at all. In these elections, the Opposition did not contest on issues like garibi hatao, corruption hatao, gandagi hatao, asuraksha hatao, they made Modi hatao their main issue. So, the elections became polarised into pro-Modi and anti-Modi camps. But it is the pro-Modi camp which is bigger.

Why did the BJP not make a big splash of demonetisation in these elections? Many other issues were highlighted but not a major decision like demonetisation, which many believe is one of the reasons for the state of the Indian economy today.

We are counting demonetisation among our achievements. It is a part of our sankalp patra, but the media did not highlight it. It (demonetisation) is in our favour. The Opposition also did not raise it because they thought they might lose if they did so.

In these elections, questions were raised on the language used by the Prime Minister. In an interview to The Tribune, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, Modiji refuses to understand the restraint, dignity the PM office enjoins.

Nowhere has the Prime Minister made use of any language that reduced the dignity of the PMs post or the office. While Manmohan Singh likh ke padne wale neta hain, Modiji is a leader known for his direct connect with the people. At times, when a leader tries to make a point, make an emotional speech, there can be some idhar udhar in the choice of words. But I have observed and followed Modijis campaign closely. He has not uttered even one word to hurt the dignity of anyone in these elections. Yes, as far as attacking the Opposition is concerned, it is our democratic right. When the PM campaigns on the behalf of his party, will he not highlight shortcomings of Opposition parties? It is his daitva (duty) to put before the people of the country the shortcomings of his opponents. There is no need for anyone to get upset over it.

There is said to be a decrease in the poll percentage in these elections. Dont you think it indicates lack of enthusiasm in the BJP cadres?

There is no decrease in poll percentage. Rather, there has been an increase by a quarter per cent in the last phase. It is all a-prachar (malafide campaign).

Prime Minister Modi recently said he has the experience of running a coalition government. Are you looking for new partners to fill the gap?

There is no question of any gap. The BJP is winning more than 300 seats on its own. But even after that, we will run a coalition government with our NDA allies. We have been running a coalition government for the past five years.

You had said in an interview that in a federal structure, there are no permanent enemies. Do you think that Mamata Banerjee can ever be your ally in the future after such a bitter campaign?

More than 80 BJP workers have been killed in Bengal in the past few months. The kind of sanskriti (culture) she has adopted, I dont think it will be possible.

Coming to Punjab and the last couple of phases, the BJP did not make national security a big issue. Was it because you felt it would not resonate as well in these parts?

We have raised the issue everywhere. In Punjab, we are fighting on three seats. But when I went there, I raised it on both occasions. Modiji also talked about it in all his speeches there. I dont know about the Akali Dal, but the BJP has raised it strongly.

You said you are contesting three seats in Punjab, plus one in Chandigarh. When will you think about going it alone there given that the state leadership has always been in favour of the BJP doing so?

There is no such plan. We have an understanding with the Akali Dal and it will continue. The Akali Dal is an old partner and there is no scope of any reconsideration on this issue.

In Punjab, the Congress appears quite confident. Would you like to say something to the people there?

Punjab is a border state sharing its borders with Pakistan. The way its leaders, especially (Navjot Singh) Sidhu, embraced the chief of the Pakistan Army, refused to refer to Pakistan as a terrorist nation, I think the Punjab Congress has gone too far in the politics of appeasement. The government run by Captain Amarinder Singh has failed to fulfil the promises made to the people. The good schemes started by the Parkash Singh Badal government have been stalled due to paucity of funds because of which the progress of the state has been stalled. I would like to appeal to the people of Punjab that it is only under the leadership of Modiji that the country will progress. So they should believe in the leadership of Narendra Modi and support Akali Dal and BJP candidates.
harinder@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 17

Officers of the Military Nursing Services (MNS) can now look forward to enjoying the status their colleagues get in the armed forces.

Even as a legal battle is currently on in the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Defence has decided to extend benefits of ex-servicemen to them post-retirement.

The MoD has okayed an in-principle approval of extending privileges to serving and retired officers of the MNS, which are available to officers from other disciplines in the armed forces.

Getting the status of ex-servicemen will allow personnel benefits like post-retirement avenues.

The Armed Forces Tribunal had earlier ordered that MNS officers should be entitled to equal benefits but the MoD appealed against the verdict and the matter is pending.

The demand for equal benefits regarding post-retirement government jobs and education benefits for children that retired officers are entitled to have also been met.

Military Nursing Services was set up as an auxiliary force in 1943 and has only women officers with permanent commission who serve as nursing staff in all three forces.
harinder@tribunemail.com

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 17

At the end of a strenuous election campaign spreading over weeks, BJP president Amit Shah today expressed confidence at his party winning more than 300 Lok Sabha seats independently.

Speaking exclusively to The Tribune, Shah said the people of India wanted to repeat the Modi experiment.

Shah said the popularity of PM Narendra Modi, along with the strength of the organisation, gave him confidence that the BJP-led NDA was forming the next government.

On the last day of a very acrimonious campaign, Shah agreed that the 2019 elections had become polarised at the centre of which was PM Modi. However, for this he held the Opposition responsible. Shah said the Opposition did not contest on issues like garibi hatao, corruption hatao, gandagi hatao, asuraksha hatao; instead, they made Modi hatao their main motive, the prime agenda.

Their common cause was Modi hatao, so naturally the poll became polarised into pro-Modi and anti-Modi camps. But its the pro-Modi camp which is bigger and winning.
By IANS

NEW DELHI: Against the backdrop of Commissioner Ashok Lavasa recusing himself from model code violation cases till his dissents are recorded on orders, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora Saturday said members of the panel are not supposed to be "clones" of each other and divergence of views was natural.

On a day Lavasa's decision to recuse from the model code of conduct complaints became public, the EC said the 'full commission' would meet on May 21 to discuss the issue of dissent and "related matters".

READ MORE | Dissent over clean chits to PM, Shah: Top EC official Ashok Lavasa opts out of poll code meetings

In an unprecedented move, Arora came out with a statement on the differences coming out in open, saying the episode was "unsavoury" and "avoidable".

When contacted, Lavasa said the issue was an "internal matter" and he would like to offer no comment.

In his statement, Arora said that in the last meeting of the Commission on May 14, it was "unanimously" decided to form groups to deliberate the issues which arose in the course of conduct of Lok Sabha elections.



"Out of the 13 issues/areas which were identified, model code of conduct is one of them," he said.

"The three members of ECI are not expected to be template or clones of each other. There have been so many times in the past when there has been a vast diversion of views as it can and should be. But the same largely remained within the confines of ECI," Arora said.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

He said the differences have come out in the past when a former commissioner or CEC has written a book mentioning details.

The law governing poll panel's functioning states that preference should be for a unanimous view, but provide for a majority ruling in the absence of unanimity.

In a strongly-worded letter to Arora on May 4, Lavasa is learnt to have said that he is being forced to stay away from the meetings of the full commission since minority decisions are not being recorded.

He is learnt to have said that his participation in the meeting is "meaningless" as his dissent remained unrecorded.

He had said that his notes on the need for transparency have not been responded to so he has decided to stay away from model code-related complaints.

He is learnt to have written to the CEC on three occasions.

The EC's legal division had opined that dissent cannot be recorded on decisions as model code violations are not part of a quasi-judicial hearing where all the three -- the CEC and two fellow commissioners sign.

The majority view is conveyed to the parties concerned.

The dissent remains recorded in the file only and not made public.

Lavasa had dissented in some of the 11 decisions EC took on complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah for alleged model code violations.

The two were given a clean chit in all the decisions.

Arora lamented that the report on Lavasa's decision not to take part in model code related issues came at a time when the poll watchdog is gearing up for the last phase of Lok Sabha polls and counting of votes.

Reacting to the development, Congress demanded a probe into charges made by Lavasa.

The party alleged that eroding institutional integrity has been the hallmark of the Modi government and asked whether the poll panel has become "Election Omission" and a "puppet" in the prime minister's hands.
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Sandeep Dikshit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 17

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met Mohammad Umar Daudzai, Chief Executive of the Afghan High Peace Council, as part of hectic parleys in world capitals to discuss and take forward the Afghan peace process.

The visit comes at a time when Kabul has complained of being kept in the dark by the US about its peace talks with the Taliban in Qatar. Daudzai briefed Swaraj and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval about the recently held grand assembly (Loya Jirga) of tribal leaders and politicians to settle the 18-year conflict in the country. India has put its weight behind the Kabul government as opposed to proposals for an interim government and this approach has been conveyed to the US and others in multiple meetings, sources said.

Daudzai was also here to hear the Indian position on the Loya Jirga that had stressed four key points for breaking the ice between the insurgents and the Kabul government  establish ceasefire, prisoner exchange, opening a Taliban office in Afghanistan and preservation of all rights of Afghans, including women rights. The Taliban has opposed two of the Jirgas main points - an immediate ceasefire and exchange of prisoners.

The Jirga was boycotted by several opposition politicians and the US appeared disinterested but made up subsequently with a visit by senior US State Department diplomat for the region Alice Wells.

Daudzais visit was preceded by a meeting in Moscow between senior MEA official Deepak Mittal and Russias Special Representative on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov. Earlier, US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad had met Russian, Chinese and Indian officials. This weeks talks between Swaraj and Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had also touched on the situation in Afghanistan.

Ahead of his India visit, High Peace Councils Director Media Sayed Ihsan Taheri said, Everyone knows that India is one of the fewer states truly supporting Afghan-led peace process.
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Mirzapur/Gorakhpur (UP), May 18

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday dubbed Narendra Modi an "actor" and said Amitabh Bachchan would have been a better choice for the prime minister's post.

In another Bollywood reference, she likened Modi to Asrani's character in Bachchan-starrer Sholay.

Prime Minister Modi is not a leader, he is an actor. It would have been better if Amitabh Bachchan was made the prime minister," she said at an election meeting at the end of her roadshow in Mirzapur.

In Gorakhpur, she asked the crowd, Have you seen the Sholay' movie and Asrani's role in it? He used to always say `angrezon ke zamane mein' (in the time of the British).

And in the same way Modi ji talks about Jawaharlal's work, Indira Gandhi's work and Rajiv Gandhi's work. Why doesn't he talk about his work in the last five years? she said.

"The aim of the BJP is to grab power. Modi has been unable to fulfil the promises made during the last General Election, she said in Mirzapur.

The Congress on the contrary does not make false promises, but works in the interests of the farmers, the poor and the youngsters," she added.

At both events, she referred to the stray cattle menace in Uttar Pradesh.

"When stray animals come and destroy your crops, do the chowkidars turn up? They do not come. They had claimed that demonetisation will bring back black money. Has black money come back? Nothing has come to the country except troubles, she said.

What kind of government is that which neither listens to the farmers, nor saves your farms from stray animals? she said.

She also claimed that there has been a loss of jobs during the Bharatiya Janata Party's term, and accused the Modi government of weakening MGNREGA, the rural employment guarantee scheme launched by the previous Congress-led government.

She halted her Mirzapur address during the 'azaan', resuming it after the call for prayers was over.

"The prime minister has been unable to present his account on development work done for the farmers, labourers and youngsters in the last five years, she said.

The Congress leader accused the Modi government of weakening democratic institutions.

The roadshow in support of the party's Mirzapur candidate Laliteshpati Tripathi started from Dankeenganj and ended at Waasliganj, covering about two kilometres.

The crowd chanted 'Priyanka didi' and showered flowers on her. The Congress leader waved back at the people. She also pulled a child on to her vehicle, and they covered some distance together.

The flags of Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, whose leader Om Prakash Rajbhar is still a minister in the BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh, were also seen at the rally.

The SBSP, which won four seats in the 2017 assembly polls, has fielded its own candidates this time.

Apna Dal (Krishna Patel faction) workers also took part in the roadshow, waving their party flags.

Addressing another meeting after a roadshow in support of Kushinagar candidate R P N Singh, Priyanka Gandhi criticised the BJP of suppressing the voice of the people.

She accused the BJP government of giving farmers money to big businessmen.

Your insurance money is going into the pockets of big industrialists and insurance companies and when Rahul ji talks about waiving farmers' loan they make fun of him, she said.

Rahul ji showed how loans are waived in three days in Congress-led states, she said. PTI
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Yash Goyal

Our Correspondent

Jaipur, May 18

Rajasthan Police on Saturday filed a chargesheet against six accused in the Alwar gang-rape case in the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC-ST) Court here.

The chargesheet was filed against the accusedIndraj Singh, Hansraj, Mahesh, Ashok and Chotya alias Chotelal (all Gurjars)under relevant sections of the IPC and the SC/ST Act and IT Act, Superintendent of Police Alwar Paris Deshmukh told The Tribune.

The sixth accused, Mukesh Gurjar, who had shot and circulated a video on social media on May 4, was charged under the IT Act, the SP said.

A team of five cops headed by Investigating Officer Jagmohan Sharma, three Inspectors and one Sub-Inspector finalised the chargesheet, the SP said.

The case is scheduled for hearing on May 21.

On April 26, the five accused had allegedly gangraped a woman in front of her husband when she was going with him on a motorcycle on the Thanagaji-Alwar road. Another accused had shot a video clip of the crime and circulated it on social media on May 4.

The FIR was lodged on May 2. The state government had also ordered a probe by the Jaipur Divisional Commissioner.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had met the rape survivor in Alwars Thanagji on May 16 and assured her of justice, while Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot assured a government job to the victim.
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

New Delhi, May 17

Congress president Rahul Gandhi today took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for never facing the press corps in his tenure and deflecting media questions even on the last day of 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign.

Congratulations Modi Ji. Excellent Press Conference! Showing up is half the battle. Next time Mr Shah may even allow you to answer a couple of questions. Well done!" Gandhi taunted the PM after a much-hyped press conference of BJP chief Amit Shah in the capital today ended with Modi sitting by the side but not taking a single question.

Rahul, in an interesting move, today held an unscheduled press conference at the Congress office. He timed it that of Shah to ensure he could put some questions to the PM.

Soon as Shah and Modi appeared at the BJP headquarters, Rahul ascended the AICC dais quitting about the Modi presser. "This is impressive, this is very goodit's unprecedented that PM should accompany Mr Shah for a press conferenceI also have a question for Mr Modi. Why did he not debate me on Rafale?," Gandhi said in initial swipes at the PM whom the Congress has been attacking for avoiding the press corps throughout his term.

Modi did not call a single scheduled press conference during his term. He also discontinued the practice of taking journalists along on the PMs plane for official foreign trips and meetings.

Gandhi during his engagement with the media complained that while sections of the press posed him harsh questions like How will you fund the Nyay scheme, they treated Modi softly only asking him how he ate his mangoes; what he wore etc. Please have some balance.  TNS

Well DOne!

Congratulations Modiji. Excellent Press Conference! Showing up is half the battle. Next time Mr Shah may even allow you to answer a couple of questions. Well done!  Rahul Gandhi, Cong president
rchopra@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, May 18

Demanding a probe into charges made by Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, the Congress on Saturday alleged that eroding institutional integrity has been the hallmark of the Modi government and asked whether the poll panel has become Election Omission and a puppet in the PMs hands.

Lavasa is learnt to have written to the Chief Election Commissioner that he will be recusing from EC meetings as his dissent was not being recorded on clearances given by the poll panel to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over alleged poll code violations.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked whether the EC will save itself more embarrassment by recording Lavasas dissent notes, as he accused PM Modi of muzzling democratic institutions.

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said there must be a credible investigation into the issues raised by Lavasa, alleging the sanctity of the electoral process and the institutional integrity of the Election Commission is in jeopardy.

There must be a thorough credible enquiry into the issues raised by Mr Lavasa and restoration of the Commissions independent status as the watchdog of worlds largest democracy. Mr Lavasas letter - contents of which have appeared in the media - is extremely serious.

The sanctity of the electoral process and the institutional integrity of the Election Commission of India is in jeopardy, said Patel on Twitter.

Another senior party leader, P Chidambaram, said the EC has been captured by the Modi government.

In a series of tweets, he said, Mr Ashok Lavasa, EC, complained that his dissent was not being recorded and hence decided to stay away from meetings of the Commission. The CEC has replied that silence is eloquent. I am still trying to find the connection between the complaint and the answer!

CEC tells the people that some matters are best kept internal. Is he saying that the peoplethe votersshould not know or be concerned about the manner in which the Commission is conducting its business?

There is no need for any more proof that another independent institution has been captured by the Modi sarkar.

In a statement, Surjewala said, Election Commission has become Election Omission. Shri Ashok Lavasa, one of the three members of the Central Election Commission (CEC), who dissented on multiple occasions when the Election Commission was busy giving clean chits to Modi-Shah duo opts out of EC meetings as the ECI even refused to record his dissent notes.

This is a daylight murder of Constitutional norms, set conventions and propriety. The poll panels rules express preference for a unanimous view, but provide for a majority ruling in the absence of unanimity. Being a Constitutional body, the minority view has to be recorded, but this is being trampled to protect the Modi-Shah duo.

He alleged that Lavasas minority decisions going unrecorded speaks volumes about the political pressure being exerted by the Modi Government on the EC.

Omitting the dissent of Election Commissioner, simply because he had asked for a notice to be issued to the PM Modi, has severely tarnished the institutional integrity of the Election Commission, he said.

Surjewala alleged that Modi has taken upon himself the task of denigrating, damaging, decimating, dislodging and diminishing, the sanctity of every institution of India.

PM Modi demolished the integrity of Indias premier investigation agency CBI in a midnight coup to save himself from any scrutiny in the Rafale scam.

The Modi Government used CVC as the Colossal Veil to Cover Corruption to publish a fallacious report, based on which an incumbent CBI Director was illegally removed.

The nation has to count only 5 more days to overthrow the 5 years of Mal-Governance of Modi Government, he said. PTI
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

Mumbai, May 18

A sessions court here Friday denied bail to television actor Karan Oberoi, arrested on charges of raping and blackmailing a woman.

Additional Sessions Judge S Baghele turned down the actor's bail plea.

Oberoi, 40, who has acted in some television serials and appeared in commercials, was arrested earlier this month after the woman, who was in a relationship with him since 2016, lodged a complaint with Oshiwara police that he allegedly raped her on the pretext of marriage.

Oberai's lawyer, Dinesh Tiwari, said the allegations levelled by the woman were "false" and that they will apply for bail in the high court.

The woman had also alleged that he shot some objectionable videos of her and demanded money from her while threatening to release the clips.  PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

United Nations, May 18

India, which is owed USD 38 million by the UN for peacekeeping operations, has voiced concern over the unjustifiable and inexplicable delays in reimbursement to countries providing peacekeeping troops and police for UN missions.

It underlined that recurrent delays in payments had turned the Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) as de facto financiers of UN peacekeeping.

Reimbursement on time for peacekeeping is a genuine expectation, First Secretary in Indias Permanent Mission to the UN Mahesh Kumar said on Thursday at a Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) session on Improving the Financial Situation of the United Nations.

Kumar noted that total arrears currently stood at a whopping USD 3.6 billion, nearly one-third of the annual assessment of the United Nations, adding that UN peacekeeping also suffered from delay in reimbursements.

He pointed out that apart from the one billion dollar worth of unsettled reimbursements to TCCs, large reimbursements related to Letters of Assist (USD 178 million) and death and disability claims (USD 8 million) were also outstanding.

These amounts do not include the long unsettled Contingent Owned Equipment (COE) reimbursements of many TCCs, including India, from the closed peacekeeping missions.

The UN owes India USD 38 million, among the highest it has to pay to any country, for peacekeeping operations as of March 2019, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had said in his report in April on improving the financial situation of the UN.

As on March 31, 2019, the total amount payable to troop- and police-contributing countries with respect to active peacekeeping missions was USD 265 million. PTI
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

New Delhi, May 18

The Ministry of Defence today rejected Vice Admiral Bimal Vermas petition challenging the appointment of Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Navy Chief, overlooking his seniority.

In its order, the defence ministry said the appointment was made considering all laid-down norms, asserting that seniority cant be the only criterion for the selection.

Verma had moved a military tribunal questioning Vice Admiral Singhs appointment and the tribunal on April 26 gave three weeks to the ministry to decide on Vermas petition.

The defence ministry said a robust selection procedure was followed for selecting the next Navy Chief and that the petitioner was found unsuitable for the top post.

Verma, the senior-most naval commander, had moved the Armed Forces Tribunal last month after the defence ministry did not respond to his statutory complaint. The AFT is scheduled to hear the case on Monday.

Verma is at present serving as Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command. In his petition, Verma wondered why he was overlooked for the top post.

The government had in March named Singh as the next Chief of Naval Staff, to succeed Admiral Sunil Lanba, who retires on May 30.

Verma is the brother of former Navy Chief Nirmal Kumar Verma.  PTI
harinder@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, May 17

In his first appearance at a press conference, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asserted that the BJP will come back to power with a full majority on its own, but refused to take questions, citing party discipline.

In a surprise move, Modi showed up on the dais for a scheduled press conference by BJP president Amit Shah, who gave a detailed report card on the performance of the NDA government as well as the partys extensive electioneering, as campaigning for the Lok Sabha poll came to an end.

On the BJPs performance, Modi said, The election has been amazing (shaandar). Elections were held in a positive spirit. A government with full majority will come back after remaining in power for five years. This is probably happening after a very long time. This is a big deal in itself.

He said there was a time when the IPL had to be shifted out of India due to poll, but under the current government, elections can be held even when the Ramzan was being observed and Easter commemorated.

The PM said during the campaigning, he told people that I have come to thank you for your blessings....The country has always been with us. So, in a way, the campaigning was a way of saying thank you to the people. Even today, I am here to thank you and thank them through you."

The PM said the journey for an honest government started on May 17, 2014, a day after LS poll results were announced. Results came on May 16 and a huge casualty took place on May 17. Today is also May 17. People in satta bazaar who bet for Congress to win faced huge losses on May 17, he added.  TNS/PTI

Will take decisions one after another

The public has decided on the next government. We have promised many things to take the country forward. As soon as possible, the new government will take charge and we will take decisions one after another.  Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

Mau (Uttar Pradesh), May 18

Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) President Om Prakash Rajbhar, a BJP ally in Uttar Pradesh till recently, has now asked his party workers to beat BJP leaders with shoes.

In a video clip of his rally here on Friday that has gone viral on the social media, Rajbhar can be heard using expletives and abuses against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.

"BJP netaon ko dus dus joote maro," he said.

Rajbhar said that BJP leaders should be ashamed for using his party's (SBSP) name in the election campaign to garner OBC votes.

"I wrote to the Election Commission to stop this misleading campaign but they did not take any action," he said.

Om Prakash Rajbhar had said that he had resigned from the Yogi Adityanath government but the same has not been accepted as yet.

Rajbhar had resigned after the BJP did not give him seats in the ongoing elections in Uttar Pradesh. The SBSP then fielded its own candidates on 36 seats.

Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said in Lucknow that if Rajbhar actually wanted to resign, he should have sent the resignation to the Governor.

Sources in the BJP, meanwhile, said that his resignation would be accepted once the election process is over.  IANS
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: As New Delhi keeps up pressure on Yangon, the Myanmar Army is giving sleepless nights to militant groups from Northeast India operating out of the neighbouring country.

The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), Peoples Liberation Army etc. are feeling the heat as the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) is conducting raids in northern provinces and the Indian security forces are firming up patrolling in border areas of the Northeast.

Ever since the operations were launched in February this year, a number of rebel camps have been run over and an unspecified number of rebels has been killed or apprehended. In the wake of the operations, the militants are virtually getting sandwiched, as evident from their surrender in Assam in recent times. The grenade blast in Guwahati on Wednesday is perceived to be a result of the frustration among the ranks of ULFAs Paresh Baruah faction.

They are facing pressure on both sides. Now, they cannot just sneak out of Myanmar and stay here, because the moment they do so, they will be chased down, Assams Director General of Police, Kuladhar Saikia, said.

He said it was due to the pressure being built up that around ten ULFA and NDFB rebels had surrendered. One of the rebels giving up arms is Essara, NDFBs foreign secretary. The three-member group that surrendered the other day was involved in the killings of (police inspector) Bhaskar Kalita and five civilians in Dhola-Sadiya. We were chasing them and they had no place to go to. So they surrendered, Saikia added.

Intelligence agencies say India is investing heavily in Myanmar to keep the ruling establishment there in good humour. They say New Delhi has virtually goaded Yangon to go after the militants from the Northeast.

The insurgents holed out in Myanmar operate under the banner of United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia, where the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang, made up of Indian and Myanmarese Nagas, calls the shots.
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 18

The Opposition today stepped up efforts to stitch an anti-BJP front, with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi holding her first key meeting with the Congress top brass to discuss the post May 23 strategy and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu engaging the wider Opposition in another move.

Preliminary discussions on potential exit poll trends and possibilities on May 23 are learnt to have been discussed at a meeting of the Congress core committee held at the residence of Sonia Gandhi.

The Congress wants to keep its strategy ready for May 23, the day Lok Sabha 2019 results will start pouring in. The Congress hope is a repeat of 2004 when the party won 145 seats on its own and managed to trump the Atal Behari Vajpayee-led BJP by forming an alliance government. Top Congress leaders are pinning hopes on the large silent undercurrent turning in their favour, in which case the Opposition could have a real chance.

At another level today, TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu stepped up engagement with the larger Opposition in bringing the anti- BJP parties on the same page should the numbers go against the ruling BJP.

Naidu met Rahul Gandhi this morning and later held parleys with NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav and CPI leaders Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja. Later, Naidu flew to Lucknow and met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP president Mayawati.

The TDP chief, who earlier met TMC president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is likely to meet her again and has said he would be happy to work with YSRCP and TRS in the South to keep the BJP at bay.

Congress sources, meanwhile, indicated they were happy to let Naidu do the coordination, which would prove handy should trends favour the larger Opposition.

With Sonia Gandhi expected to helm the anti-BJP front again, it remains to be seen how many Opposition parties the Congress can pull to its side.
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Mumbai, May 18

Key witnesses are not coming forward to record their statements before police in the sexual harassment case filed by Tanushree Dutta against veteran actor Nana Patekar and others, due to fear of the accused, her lawyer has claimed.

Dutta had filed a complaint in October last year, in which she had alleged that on the sets of "Horn Ok Pleasss" in 2008, Patekar had touched her inappropriately on the pretext of showing her dance steps, and also insisted on starring in the song sequence, which was supposed to be a solo performance.

She had also named choreographer Ganesh Acharya, producer Samee Siddhiqui and director of the film Rakesh Sarang in her complaint. Based on her complaint, police had registered a case against them.

Talking to reporters on Friday evening, Dutta's lawyer, Nitin Satpute, claimedthat although a number of witnesses have recorded their statements before the police, the key witnesses of the incident are not coming forward to so due to fear of the accused.

"Police have recorded the statements of almost 15 witnesses, but key eyewitnesses of the incident have not recorded their statements. They are not coming forward because of the fear of the accused as they are highly influential people," he said.

Satpute said one woman eyewitness is not ready to support Tanushree's version now as she was made to face legal issues 10 years back.

"If the accused are arrested, then the witnesses will feel safe and they will come forward to record their statements," he added.

He also dismissed the "rumour" that police have given a clean chit to Patekar in connection with the case, which was registered at Oshiwara police station.

"No clean chit has been given to Nana Patekar or other accused. It cannot be given orally and can be approved onlyby the concerned magistrate," Satpute said.

"These rumours are being spread as the accused have stopped getting work in the film industry," he added. PTI
editorial@tribune.com

Sanjeev Singh Bariana & Sanjiv Bakshi

Tribune Reporters

Chandigarh/Hoshiarpur, May 17

BJPs Som Parkash and Congress Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal continued to be the top contenders for the Hoshiarpur constituency.

While AAPs Dr Ravjot Singh made a strong presence felt mainly through his direct contact. He, however, is likely to find it difficult to leave a

big impact like partys 2014 candidate Yamini Gomar, who got 2.13 lakh votes.

Dr Chabbewal talked about getting industrial hub, medical college and health services, while Som Parkash underlined the works of PM Narender Modi as the reason why people should vote for him. He faced questions over the non-fulfilment of promises made by the Congress government in the state. Som Parkash, on the other hand, faced troubles because of the lack of support from a section of his party workers over the denial of ticket to Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla.

Meanwhile, PDA (BSP) candidate Khushi Ram, a former IAS, faced the uphill task of reviving the party in the area.
editorial@tribune.com

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 17

The fight for the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency, it seems, has narrowed down between traditional rivals  Congress and SAD-BJP.

Congress sitting MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla is pitted against SAD-BJP candidate and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. While AAPs Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal seems on a sticky wicket, Punjab Democratic Alliances (PDA) Daswinder Kaur is the only woman candidate of the total 30 in the fray.

Amid anti-incumbency factor against the state government, Congress Aujla looks to capitalise on being local and easily accessible. In Parliament, he had raised the issue of shifting international flights from Amritsar, Jallianwala Bagh being ignored, GST on Golden Temple and other gurdwara kitchens.

He also intends to spruce up health and education facilities and revive the Special Economic Zone package for border area allotted during the tenure of the previous UPA government.

On the other hand, diplomat-turned-politician Puri tried to connect with residents by mentioning his roots in Amritsar. Lately, he released his vision document titled as Puri for Pragati.

Having the edge due to his Delhi association, he claims to evolve a  New Amritsar, as a lighthouse in PM Modis New India by 2022, through flagship programmes, including Swachh Bharat, Housing for All, Smart City, AMRUT mission and creating investment opportunities, skill development, and avenues for the youth in the Central Armed Forces.

Yet, people believe morein delivery mechanism, which is negligible.

The rampant drug abuse prevalent in the border district or for that matter in the state has faded into insignificance during the campaign, though it was a biggest issue during the 2017 Assembly polls. Locals, however, are annoyed over the non-implementation of the Central projects such as Amritsar-Ferozepur railway line, permanent campus of IIM, Post Graduate National Institute of Horticulture Research and Education, Software Technology Park of India and others.

Unlike 2014, the current Lok Sabha polls witnessed a dim campaigning across the party line, except during the last leg.

Those in fray

Congress sitting MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla is pitted against SAD-BJP candidate and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. While AAPs Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal seems on a sticky wicket, PDAs Daswinder Kaur is the only woman nominee in fray.
editorial@tribune.com

Minna Zutshi & Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 17

Both national as well as local issues remain on the radar of the voters in the Ludhiana LS constituency. Corruption, unemployment, farmers plight and environmental degradation are major concerns of the voters.

The key local issues, according to the voters, are stinking Buddha Nullah, air and water pollution that have so far defied all remedial measures, ill-equipped government healthcare services, chaotic traffic, overflowing sewers, uncovered garbage dumps and dilapidated roads.

When I think of Ludhiana, I get images of a concrete jungle gobbling up the villages, industrial effluents polluting the groundwater and the once-pristine Buddha Dariya turning into a stinking Buddha Nullah. If the leadership shows will, these issues can be tackled effectively, says Sudarshan, a 67-year-old retired teacher.

According to Col JS Brar, Ludhiana is a hub of industries and many traders have suffered due to the imposition of the GST. Traffic congestion, highly polluted Buddha Nullah and faulty sewerage system are the main local issues here, he says. Ludhiana hopes that the elected representative will address these issues. The government health services must not only be improved but also be made affordable, he adds.

The three very basic requirements of clean air, potable water and unadulterated food are a must, says environmentalist Dr Balwinder Lakhewali.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Aman Sood & Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Samana/Patiala, May 18

Following a night-long dharna by two prominent candidates in fray from Patiala  SAD-BJPs Surjit Singh Rakhra and incumbent MP Dharamvira Gandhi  the district administration today seized huge amounts of country-made liquor from a rice sheller in Samana, allegedly owned by Congress supporters.

While an FIR has been registered, the two leaders threatened to move the High Court if the erring officials and sheller owners were not booked. The Congress denied any role in storing liquor.

According to Rakhra, he got a tip-off from his supporters that liquor trucks were being off-loaded at Mahadev Rice Mill sheller in Fatehpur village. Around 10.30 pm, I along with my supporters reached the spot and informed the Samana SDM, Naman Marken. He reached there along with the local police, but instead of conducting a raid, they indirectly started delaying the matter. Following this, our supporters raised slogans and held a dharna, said Rakhra, adding that the officials did not enter the sheller for four hours.

Later, Dr Gandhi also reached the venue and we blocked the Samana-Patran road against police inaction. However, the sheller gates were kept closed and only a few policemen and administration officials were allowed to enter. Later, we saw huge smoke inside the sheller. We were not allowed inside till 4 am, Rakhra claimed.

Dr Gandhi alleged that the electoral officers played a partisan role and instead of taking the media and us inside, they allowed drugs stored inside the sheller to be burnt.

Even liquor was allowed to be shifted from the backside as the wall was broken and bottles were scattered all around, he alleged.

Later, the police recovered a truck, a car with a sticker sporting the Congress Samana MLAs name and photo, along with banners and flags of Congress. Liquor brands of Cobra and McDowell were neatly packed in boxes and were stored in two huge halls inside the sheller.

Rakhra and Dr Gandhi alleged that it was not their duty to conduct such raids, but of the electoral officials.

Gandhi live-streamed the raid as the media was denied entry. The SDM said, Initially the media cant be allowed entry as per law. We will inform the media later.

SDM Marken said excise officials were informed and a case would be registered after investigation.

Police have registered an FIR against sheller owner Gullu Bansal under Section 61 of the Excise Act at Samana city police station. No arrest has been made in the case. As many as 229 boxes of liquor were recovered from the spot.

Later, Samana DSP Jaswant Mangat and SHO Baljit Kumar were shifted at the intervention by the Election Commission.

Meanwhile, the Congress cadre have outright rejected that the liquor was stored by them. We are already winning the seat by over one lakh votes. We demand a thorough probe into this. This is a conspiracy to malign our image ahead of the polling day, they said.

Both Rakhra and Dr Gandhi demanded deployment of Central forces for the polling process.

Both booked

Dr Dharamvira Gandhi and Surjit Singh Rakhra were booked on Saturday for obstruction of traffic and holding a night-long dharna. The EC too issued them a notice for holding a press meet in violation of model code. TNS
editorial@tribune.com

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, May 17

While the SAD, Congress and AAP in the Faridkot constituency have been attacking each other on the issues of the 1984 Delhi riots and Bargari sacrilege, the basic issues of people seem to have been lost somewhere.

The issue of potable water in the area, which is known for poor-quality groundwater and have high pollutants in the canal water due to industrial effluents flowing into it, was put to the back-burner by all political parties.

From the Faridkot (SC reserved) parliamentary constituency, Gulzar Singh Ranike of the SAD is pitted against Mohammad Sadique of the Congress and sitting MP Prof Sadhu Singh of the AAP.

Master Baldev Singh of the Punjabi Ekta Party and sitting MLA from the Jaito Assembly seat has also joined the election fray from the Faridkot seat as a rebel AAP candidate.
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

SAN FRANCISCO

Joining the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the European Union (EU), Italy's antitrust authority has become the latest international regulatory body to launch an anti-competition investigation against Google.

The probe was prompted after Italy-based energy company Enel Group complained that Google was not allowing the "Enel X Recharge" app to work with Android AutoGoogle's smart driving companion, The Verge reported on Friday.

Usually, the search engine giant allows third-party developers to develop Android Auto-compatible versions of their apps, but only if they offer media or messaging services.

Since "Enel X Recharge" is intended to help drivers find charging stations for electric cars, the app does not necessarily require a messaging feature.

"Android Auto is designed with safety in mind, to minimise distractions and to ensure apps can be used safely when driving. We are reviewing the complaint and we look forward to working with the authority to resolve their concerns," the repost quoted a Google spokesperson as saying.

In India, earlier in May, the CCI ordered a probe into Google for alleged abuse of its popular Android OS to block rivals.

The EU's antitrust regulators in March fined Google 1.49 billion euros ($1.7 billion) for abusing its dominance in the online search market by blocking rivals.  IANS
singhking99@yahoo.com

Amit Sengupta

Photographed and curated by Virendra Bangroo, a recent exhibition on the Dard Aryans of Ladakh at the India International Centre, New Delhi, is both a tribute to their rich and ancient social and cultural legacy, and a fervent appeal to preserve their unique identity, which is rapidly getting eroded due to severe isolation in the inaccessible and tough terrain of Ladakh. Add to that the onslaught of urbanisation, lack of development and religious conversation.

Indeed, often mentioned as Brokpas  possible inheritors of Alexanders army of soldiers who stayed back  the 4,000-odd Dard Aryans, in their spectacular and colourful dresses, are the last remaining members of an ancient indigenous community.

The exhibition presents a visual journey through Dha, Hanu, Garkone and Darchik in Ladakh. It also includes rock art in the region and the original imprints of human civilisation here in terms of artistic innovations, community life, faith, festivals and festivities, beliefs and practices of a community which uses the solar charter.

A 30-minute documentary film, Dard Aryans of Ladakh  Conflict between Tradition and Modernity, is part of the show. A section of the exhibition focuses on paintings made by the children of the Aryan Valley.

Surviving on meat and milk of sheep, the region is famous for its many varieties of grapes and perhaps the finest apricots in the world. The region is also called the grape wine valley  a rare reality across the Indian landscape. Dard comes from the Sanksrit word Daradas, and the tribe is known to be inheritors of the pure Aryan race.

The Dard Aryans, mostly Buddhists, have retained their ancient cultural practices and beliefs despite great difficulties in their daily life, the hard terrain, harsh weather conditions and stark isolation. They are also crucial factors in the border as alert Indian citizens, even while some parts of their habitat are restricted for the rest of the country due to security reasons. After the Kargil War, the security scenario has become much more strict in the region. Lost in their exoticity, the Dard Aryans need more schools, access to higher education and employment based on their indigenous needs and practices.

According to Bangroo and other researchers, marriage outside the community is prohibited. However, a shift is happening with migration and marriages now being allowed with outsiders as well.

Bangroo, a scholar at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) in Delhi, has travelled across the remotest, deepest and highest terrains of the Himalayas and has ceaselessly documented and worked for the preservation of its ethnic, material and aesthetic cultural inheritance. He has worked among this community for creating awareness about the rich cultural diversity of the region.

With the help of Bangroo, two community museums have come up in the Aryan Valley, which have become role models for safeguarding the archival history, cultural heritage and sustainable development in the region.

Bangroo was born in Srinagar, Kashmir. An art historian, artist, poet and a trained museologist, he has designed several museums for the Indian Army and has curated exhibitions in India and abroad, including one on Rabindranath Tagore which has travelled all over the country, and to the Asia Culture Research and Archive, Gwangju, South Korea, where it was exhibited for public viewing for five months. He has helped in setting up museums in Jammu and Himachal Pradesh also.
shalender@tribune.com

NEW DELHI, May 17 (PTI)-Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, veteran freedom figher and close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, has been selected for the 1967 Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding. The 80-year-old Pakhtoon leader, popularly known as Frontier Gandhi, who is at present in Kabul, is expected to arrive here in September to receive the award. The jury, which made the selection, said it was most appropriate that in the Gandhi Centenary Year, the award should be made to a person whose life and work truly reflected Gandhijis ideas and ideals. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan is the third distinguished person to receive the Nehru Award.
By Online Desk

On May 9, when the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) caught a 31-year-old Nigerian woman smuggling 24.7 kg of pseudoephedrine at the Delhi airport, none of them would have imagined that they would end up busting one of India's biggest drug rackets.

When the woman, identified as Nomsa Lutalo, was later interrogated by Narcotics Control Bureau officials, she revealed the shocking details of the racket running from an IPS officer's home in Greater Noida for the past four years. Henry Ideofor, also a Nigerian, and a woman he claimed was his wife were nabbed by NCB officials the very next day.

After combing the house on May 10, NCB officials recovered 1,818 kg of pseudoephedrine and 1.9 kg of cocaine worth Rs 26 crore. This was one of the largest busts outside industrial premises of the chemical used for manufacturing narcotics, said NCB officials. Ideofor had procured the drug from places where it is sold legally for medicinal purposes.

As per a Hindustan Times report, the location of the house served as the perfect disguise for the drug racket to run undetected for such a long time. IPS officer Devendra PN Pandey, the owner of the house, did not bother to verify the details as he had met the duo through a broker. He also said that their behaviour was normal when they hosted him in the front room. Pandey added that he did not venture into the rear rooms where the drugs were stored as it would be invading their privacy.

The 3000 square feet single story house is located near the Pari Chowk Metro station area where most of the houses are uninhabited. The owners stay elsewhere and have caretakers for their maintenance.

The house always had a lock hanging on its gate to misguide onlookers. The African couple moved mostly in cabs and always asked the driver to stop far away from the house. They would then tell him to accompany them on foot, lock the gate from outside and throw the key in.

Ideofor had also perfected a modus operandi to move the drugs in and out of India. He would sponsor tickets of Africans willing to visit India and stuff the drugs in cavities of specially designed suitcases which were sent back with them.
shalender@tribune.com

NEW DELHI, May 17 (PTI)Members from all sections of the Rajya Sabha today voiced concern over the death of a youth while in custody in the Lajpat Nagar police station in Delhi yesterday. They said his alleged suicide had created suspicions about the way the police handled him. Mr. Vidya Charan Shukla, Minister of State for Home Affairs, agreed with the members that the suspicion was not invalid and said the matter needed to be inquired into. He added that the demand for judicial inquiry, made by one of the members, would be duly considered. The Deputy Chairman, Mrs. Violet Alva, suggested that the Government should make a detailed investigation in view of the lurking suspicion in the minds of members. The discussion arose out of yesterdays incident in Lajpat Nagar, in which people demonstrated before a police station following the death of the youth in custody. The youth, held on a theft charge, was reported to have jumped from the second floor of the police station.
singhking99@yahoo.com

Purnima Sharma

At a recent outing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the US attended by many Hollywood and showbiz biggies, the men too were in sync with the Camp theme of the evening. And they sure seemed to be enjoying scaling unconventional heights in fashion with heels, painted nails and sheer tops.

The Indian representative at the event, Deepika Padukone (yes, Priyanka Chopra was there too), confessed that her husband with his crazy style of dressing would have been a perfect fit there. Sure enough, Ranveer Singh is one guy who, ever since he came blazing into Bollywood almost a decade ago has been pushing conventional fashion boundaries. And in response to Deepikas statement, many called him Indias King of Camp.

As fashion designer Rohit Gandhi who, with Rahul Khanna, has been designing for Ranveer for many years, says, Hes our muse. What stands out about him is the way he enjoys wearing lines that are not just stylish but also quintessentially and unapologetically quirky, flaunting them with panache and flamboyance. Hes like a baby who gets excited with anything thats different. Many of their clients, inspired by the stars style, walk in with clippings insisting theyd like outfits like Ranveers for themselves. We, of course, tone it down to suit their body type and personality but yes, the change Ranveer brought into mens fashion silhouettes is historical, asserts Gandhi.

Sure enough, from bold floral prints to suits with prints of film posters, night-gown over a funky T-shirt, and even a skirt  Ranveers rocked in them all. No wonder now, in almost any given group of young men, youre sure to catch quite a few free-spirited ones flaunting unconventional hues and styles.

They were there earlier too, but those that were bold enough to break the conventional norm would become a butt of ridicule, says Zaid Ahmed aka Adam, a businessman, who despite the sniggers he gets for his outfits, has always followed his hearts calling.

Remember Benjamin Franklins famous one-liner  Eat to please thyself, but dress to please others. However, the idea of dressing for others does not necessarily seem to be in sync with the millennial mindset.

Whats the point in always trying to fit in when you have a mind of your own? adds footwear designer Jeetinder Sandhu, who calls himself fortunate he was allowed to do his own thing from his early years. But whether or not his dressing style was considered acceptable is a point hed rather not mull over. To each his own, he shrugs nonchalantly. And like both Adam and Sandhu insist, fashion is not just for women.

The Ranveer Singh effect

Societal norms, many of those spoken to, insist is what has prevented men to enjoy the world of couture. Getting into a pair of trousers coupled with a tee or a shirt on a regular day or a formal suit on a special occasion and they were good to go. Concessions were made for sherwanis, trendy kurtas coupled with a stole  all within a certain fixed parameters.

And so it was until Ranveer Singh came along offering myriad fashion choices. The quirkier his outfit, louder was the applause. The fashion police, after the initial frowns, too quietened down. Thats because Ranveers look and panache nailed it. And his attitude paved the way for those who believe theres more to mens couture than silhouettes in blacks, greys and blues that were perceived to be the macho colours, says Pushkal Prasad, who runs a blog with a focus on mens fashion. The responses I get on it reveal that men would like to be more expressive in their fashion choices. And fortunately they are getting to do so now, with the realisation that colours like pinks, purples and yellows have nothing to do with machismo, smiles the Coimbatore-based 21-year-old.

Says Adam, For how long can you continue to wear the same old colours and styles? Although the 33-year-old confesses to being fond of blacks and blues, he also enjoys donning other colours. Be it banana yellow or carrot red, I am constantly looking forward to explore new boundaries in fashion, Adam adds and laughs recalling the time he walked into a night club wearing one of his blingiest dark glasses and a leather jacket (similar to the Shahenshah one) complete with metal embellishments.

The reactions were hilarious. Many did a double take on seeing me but soon many, especially guys, started flooding me with compliments.

Appreciation is what Sandhus selection of prints has always garnered. And it was my father who indulged this passion of mine, especially when he was based in Nigeria, a place famous for its big and bright prints. Id get reams of some of the most amazing fabrics to create silhouettes like jumpsuits for myself, he smiles.

With boundaries between fashion for men and that for women slowly getting blurred, the need to get rid of the mindset that associates colours with masculinity and femininity is being asserted. The dynamics are being defined afresh, says Simmi Waraich, Chandigarh-based psychiatrist. With the world becoming closer and people following film and rock stars almost on a minute-to-minute basis, they feel its fine to dress up the way they want to and follow trends theyre comfortable with.

The social media, according to her, has been responsible for this change. Youngsters today are seeing great changes and want to be that change. And the appreciation that comes in almost instantaneously from their followers on the social media gives them the boost that theyre on the right page. And worth emulating too.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Herat, May 18

At least four civilians were killed and 14 people, including a district chief, were wounded in a bomb attack in Afghanistans Herat province on Saturday, officials said.

The incident occurred near the Obe district administrative office after a bomb attached to a motorcycle exploded when the vehicle of the district chief was passing by the area, provincial government spokesman Jilani Farhad told Xinhua news agency.

The injured were shifted to a district hospital and several of them were in a critical condition.

No group claimed the responsibility but local officials blamed Taliban militants for the attack. IANS
harinder@tribunemail.com

London, May 17

Britains tumultuous divorce from the European Union was again in disarray on Friday after the Opposition Labour Party declared last-ditch talks dead due to Prime Minister Theresa Mays crumbling government.Boris Johnson, the face of the campaign for Britain to leave the EU, said he would be standing as a candidate to replace May as Conservative leader.

Nearly three years after the United Kingdom voted 52 per cent to 48 per cent in a referendum to leave the EU, it remains unclear how, when or even if it will leave the European club it joined in 1973. The current deadline to leave is October 31.

Brexit talks between Mays Conservative Party and Labour collapsed hours after May agreed on Thursday to set out in early June a timetable for her departure.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote to May on Friday informing her that the Brexit talks, which began on April 3, had gone as far as they can due to the instability of her government.

We have been unable to bridge important policy gaps between us, Corbyn, a socialist who voted against joining the predecessor of the EU in 1975, wrote to May.

Even more crucially, the increasing weakness and instability of your government means there cannot be confidence in securing whatever might be agreed between us, Corbyn said. He said Labour would oppose Mays deal when it returns to parliament early next month. He later told reporters there was no chance of getting even part of a Brexit deal ratified by the end of July. The divorce deal, which May agreed last year with the EU, has been rejected three times by parliament. May will put part of her deal, contained in the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, to a vote in parliament in early June.

A source in Mays office said the Bill will contain new features to reflect some lawmakers concerns. The pound sank to $1.275, its lowest level since mid-January.  Reuters

A very negative development: Irish PM

The collapse of talks between Britains two main parties aimed at finding a way to leave the European Union with the support of a majority of lawmakers is a very negative development, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Friday.

PM to set timetable to elect successor
harinder@tribunemail.com

BEIJING, May 17

China offered strong support to Iran on Friday, with its top diplomat telling Iran's foreign minister that China opposes unilateral sanctions and supports Tehran's efforts to safeguard its interests.

US-Iranian tensions have escalated in recent days, bringing increasing concerns about possible conflict.

Iran has said it is committed to its obligations under an international nuclear deal despite the US withdrawal from the agreement last year, and has called the re-imposition of US sanctions unacceptable. Meeting in Beijing, Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi told Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that given the important and rapidly-evolving situation, the two needed to strengthen communication and coordination.

"China resolutely opposes the US implementation of unilateral sanctions and so-called 'long arm jurisdiction', understands the current situation and concerns of the Iranian side, and supports the Iranian side to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests," China's Foreign Ministry paraphrased Wang as saying. Reuters
harinder@tribunemail.com

Taipei: Taiwans parliament legalised same-sex marriage on Friday in a landmark first for Asia. Lawmakers comfortably passed a Bill allowing same-sex couples to form exclusive permanent unions and another clause that would let them apply for marriage registration with government agencies. Australia and New Zealand are the only countries in the wider Asia-Pacific region to have passed gay marriage laws. AFP

Indian eatery in Australia fined $25,000 for breaches

Melbourne: A Perth-based Indian restaurant has been fined a whopping 25,000 Australian dollars for multiple food regulation breaches, according to a media report. The Curry Club Indian Restaurant on South Street and its owner Nilish Dokhe were convicted after the restaurant fell short on a number of fronts when it came to cleanliness and not providing appropriate hand-washing facilities. PTI

F-16 fighter crashes into California warehouse

Riverside (US): A pilot ejected moments before an F-16 fighter jet crashed into a warehouse just outside March Air Reserve Base in California, military officials said. The pilot was not hurt, and there were no immediate reports of injuries on the ground. The crash happened as the pilot was landing following a routine training mission. AP

Architect who designed Louvres pyramid dies

New York: M Pei, the acclaimed Chinese-American architect who designed the glass and metal pyramid at the Louvre Museum in Paris, has died at the age of 102. Revered as one of the last great modernist architects, Pei was the first foreign architect to work on the Louvre in its long history. In 1964, he designed the John F Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. IANS
harinder@tribunemail.com

Colombo, May 17

Sri Lankas minority Muslims attended Friday prayers as heavily armed troops and police guarded all mosques, including those badly vandalised in riots in the wake of the Easter terror attacks.

The police said security would remain tight over the weekend for a major Buddhist festival as well as the 10th anniversary of the ending of the countrys decades-long Tamil separatist war.

Clerics said some of the damaged mosques cleared out glass shards and other debris and conducted services with attendance at a high level.

We had about 450 to 500 people, MIM Siddeeque, the trustee of the riot-hit Kinyama mosque in the worst affected North-Western Province said over the telephone.

There were six soldiers outside the mosques and many more police at the top of the road. Siddeeque said his mosque was cleared of the debris, but windows, furniture and the public address system were yet to be replaced.

In the town of Minuwangoda, the faithful packed the first floor of the two-storey Hujjaj mosque to pray even though repairs were yet to begin. Local residents said Buddhists and Catholic priests were also present as a sign of solidarity with the Muslims community.

The police said there were no major incidents although sporadic clashes were reported from a handful of places.

The police are firmly in control and the situation is fast returning to normality, a senior police official said. A nationwide night curfew was lifted on Thursday.

The riots came three weeks after suicide bomb attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo, killing 258 persons. The April 21 attacks were blamed on a local jihadi group.  AFP
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

Washington, May 18

A former official of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was Friday sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment on charges of spying for China.

The former official, Kevin Mallory, was convicted under the Espionage Act for selling classified US "defense information" to a Chinese intelligence agent for USD 25,000.

"Former US Intelligence officer Mallory will spend the next 20 years of his life in prison for conspiring to pass national defense information to a Chinese intelligence officer," Assistant Attorney General John Demers said.

This case is one in an alarming trend of former US intelligence officers being targeted by China and betraying their country and colleagues, he said.

"This sentence, together with the recent guilty pleas of Ron Hansen in Utah and Jerry Lee in Virginia, deliver the stern message that our former intelligence officers have no business partnering with the Chinese, or any other adversarial foreign intelligence service," Demers said.

Mallory, 62, was found guilty by a federal jury in June 2018 of conspiracy to deliver, attempted delivery, delivery of national defense information to aid a foreign government and making material false statements.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, in March and April 2017, Mallory travelled to Shanghai to meet with an individual, Michael Yang, who held himself out as a People's Republic of China think tank employee, but whom Mallory assessed to be a Chinese intelligence officer.

Mallory, a US citizen who speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, consented to an FBI review of a covert communications (covcom) device he had been given by Yang to facilitate covert communications between the two.

Analysis of the device revealed a number of communications in which Mallory and Michael talked about classified information that Mallory could sell to the PRC's intelligence service.

FBI analysts were able to determine that Mallory had completed all of the steps necessary to securely transmit at least five classified US government documents via the covcom device, one of which contained unique identifiers for human sources who had helped the United States government.

At least two of the documents were successfully transmitted, and Mallory and Michael communicated about those two documents on the covcom device.

Evidence presented at trial included surveillance video from a FedEx store in Leesburg where Mallory could be seen scanning documents classified at the Secret and Top Secret level onto a micro SD card.

Though Mallory paid to have the paper copies of the eight documents shredded, FBI agents found a carefully concealed SD card containing those documents during a search of Mallory's home, the day of his June 22, 2017 arrest.

A recording was played at trial from June 24, 2017, where Mallory could be heard on a call from the jail asking his family to search for the hidden SD card.

Mallory has held numerous positions with various government agencies and several defense contractors, including working as a covert case officer for the CIA and an intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

As required for his various government positions, Mallory obtained a Top Secret security clearance, which was active during various assignments during his career.

Mallory's security clearance was terminated in October 2012 when he left government service.

"Mallory not only put our country at great risk, but he endangered the lives of specific human assets who put their own safety at risk for our national defense," US Attorney Zachary Terwilliger said.  PTI
SV KRISHNA CHAITANYA By

Express News Service

SRIHARIKOTA: Space Agency ISRO, which is gearing up for the ambitious Chandrayaan-2 this July, has loftier plans ahead. Its planning to accomplish six other mega missions over the next 10 years, apart from Chandrayaan-2. Of these, only two have been defined  XPoSat and Aditya-L1 missions.

The four other undefined missions, which are in the planning stage, are: Mangalyaan-2, Venus mission, Lunar Polar Exploration and Exoworlds. The XPoSat, or the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite, is a dedicated mission to study polarisation. It is scheduled for launch next year, ISRO chairman K Sivan told Express.

Officials told Express that the payload was developed by Raman Research Institute. The spacecraft will carry Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays (POLIX) payload which will study the degree and angle of polarisation of bright X-ray sources in the energy range 5-30 keV. The satellite has a mission life of five years.

Speaking at an event, Sivan said that ISRO had already prepared a roadmap for the next 30 years. Aditya-L1 is an important mission planned for 2021, to study the solar corona. The spacecraft will be placed in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point (L1), about 1.5 million km from the Earth, he said. This will help understand how solar flares originate.

Indias much-delayed second moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, will be flight ready by this month end. ISRO on Friday declared that the spacecraft will be launched in July.

ISRO Chairman K Sivan said: Orbiter, Rover and Lander are ready. Last phase of testing is going on. By this month end, we will be ready for launch. But, we have a window launch between July 9 and July 16, considering factors like eclipse and other aspects.

To a query, he said India is landing in South polar region on Moon, which is an unexplored place. We can expect some new things to emerge which would be useful for science research.

He did not elaborate on payload specifics, but said they were meant to analyse the composition of atmosphere, lunar sub-surface and mapping. Chandrayaan-2 will carry 13 Indian payloads and one passive experiment from NASA.

Official sources told TNIE that some of the payloads are new and improved versions of the payloads flown earlier on Chandrayaan-1 orbiter.

Some of them include Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS) from ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bengaluru and Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM) from Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, for mapping the major elements present on the lunar surface, L and S band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) from Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad for probing the first few tens of metres of the lunar surface for the presence of different constituents including water ice. SAR is expected to provide further evidence confirming the presence of water ice below the shadowed regions of the moon.

There will be Imaging IR Spectrometer for the mapping of lunar surface over a wide wavelength range for the study of minerals, water molecules and hydroxyl present.

Neutral Mass Spectrometer from Space Physics Laboratory, Thiruvananthapuram to carry out a detailed study of the lunar exosphere. SAC has also provided Terrain Mapping Camera-2 for preparing a three-dimensional map essential for studying lunar mineralogy and geology. Two payloads on rover are Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope from Laboratory for Electro Optic Systems, Bengaluru and Alpha Particle Induced X -ray Spectroscope from PRL, Ahmedabad.

Both instruments are expected to carry out elemental analysis of the lunar surface near the landing site.

IN A NUTSHELL

Chandrayaan-2 costs about `800-crore. Itd orbit around the moon and perform the objectives of remote-sensing the moon.

The payloads will collect scientific information on lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, lunar exosphere and signatures of hydroxyl and water-ice.

Timing of landing is crucial. When the Lander makes touch down on a pre-determined site on the moons surface, there should be sunlight. In a month, moon sees sunlight for 14 days only.

After that, the Lander will deploy a 6-wheel robotic Rover which will move around the site in semi-autonomous mode. The instruments on the rover will observe the lunar surface and send back data, which will be useful for analysis of the lunar soil.
THE Ministry of Health reported that 30 people succumbed to the Covid-19 virus yesterday. The latest deaths took the death toll this month to 610.

The ministry identified the deceased as seven elderly men, eight elderly women, eight middle-aged men, six middle-aged woman and one young adult woman. T&Ts overall death toll now stands at 2,768. The Ministry said 16 patients had multiple comorbidities. Nine patients had one comorbidity and five patients had no known medical conditions.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has designated January 2022 as the point in time for commencement of a policy that would insist that all Government workplaces would require vaccinated workers.

He has seen the reluctance and hesitation of many people both in public and private life who continue to refuse the jabs for several reasons, whether it be scientific or non-scientific, or for religious or personal reasons.
- FORD Kenya party was founded by Jaramogi Oginga Odinga

- Its current party leader is Moses Wetang'ula who is embroiled in gold scam

- Deputy party leader recently declared his exit from the political outfit

- Winnie Odinga has faulted the two for the party's falling apart

Raila Odinga's daughter, Winnie Odinga, has weighed in on the political storms in FORD Kenya saying the current party leaders have killed the political outfit that was founded by her grandfather, the late Jaramogi Oginga.

Winnie trolled former Kakamega senator Boni Khalwale who was also the deputy party leader over his defection to Jubilee.

READ ALSO: Billionaire says his wealth cant replace Jesus, reiterates every human is broken

Winnie Odinga says current FORD Kenya leaders are tearing apart her grandfather's party. Photo: The Standard

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Seneta Cleophas Malala amlaumu Naibu Rais William Ruto kwa masaibu yanayomkumba

In a Twitter post, she further took a dig at the party leader Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula who has been in the media headlines in the recent past days all for the wrong reasons.

"Party leader, scam daddy. Deputy Party Leader Defected. I'm afraid the lion my grandfather birthed has finally rested," she said.

The party leader is set to be questioned over his involvement in the gold scam that saw United Arab Emirates family member lose over KSh 400 million to fraudsters.

READ ALSO: Uhuru, Raila mentioned in leaked phone call in connection to KSh 400m gold scam

Khalwale's defection was much expected given he has been campaigning publicly for Deputy President William Ruto's 2022 presidential ambitions.

The Bungoma senator however, said he respected his former deputy party leader's democratic right and wished him well in the new political endeavour.

He reiterated FORD Kenya was solid despite the exit of Khalwale.

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
A Muskogee High School student won a car Friday from a local auto dealership that sought to honor a good student.

Jesus Capilla was given a 2018 Chevrolet Cruze by Corley Chevrolet Cadillac in Muskogee. Capilla won a drawing that included more than 120 students, according to a press release from the dealership.

To be eligible for the car, students were required this school year to have perfect attendance or perfect grades or be members of the community service organization The Rougher 300, according to Muskogee High School Principal Kim Fleak.

We believe that our current high school students are not only leaders today but are our leaders for the future, said Corley Chevrolet Cadillac owner Eddie Corley Jr., who presented the car to Capilla at the school. We were pleased to honor them not only for excelling academically, but for excellent school attendance and participation in community service activities.

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For most of this past decade, Oklahoma has failed to provide adequate funding to our public schools. Until things finally came to a head last year, the majority of office holders in this building blocked efforts to generate the revenues necessary to make sure our children were truly being given the educational opportunities necessary to prepare them for an increasingly global and competitive workforce.

Too many politicians turned a blind eye as schools were forced to continually increase class sizes to unmanageable levels. Too many teachers left Oklahoma for better paying jobs, forcing record emergency certifications just to get adults in the classrooms to take over for professional educators. Too many schools were forced to keep textbooks in use that were worn, torn and outdatedand in many schools there are not even enough text books for students to be able to take them home at night to study or do homework. It has impacted many schools abilities to provide technology. Its impacted their ability to hire and retain support staff.
By Express News Service

PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar addressed 171 election rallies throughout the election times in Bihar in favour of NDA candidates till May 17.

Kumar attended and addressed 22 election rallies jointly with deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi and 23 with LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Spokesperson of JD(U) Ajay Alok said that 8 election rallies were attended and addressed by CM Nitish Kumar with Prime Minister Narendra Modi across the state and neighbouring state Jharkhand.

"A total number of 171 rallies were attended and addressed by the chief minister and whenever they went for addressing and electioneering till May 17, he drew massive crowds of people", Kumar claimed.

Apart from CM Nitish Kumar, his state cabinet colleague and deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi attended a total number of 132 rallies including 43 road shows between March 31 and May 17 in Bihar also.
Earth, Wind & Fire: Grammy award-winning group Earth, Wind & Fire will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at the River Spirit Casino Resort. Described as one of the most innovative and commercially successful groups of all time, the band has released 23 albums with such hits as September, Boogie Wonderland and Shining Star. Tickets to the 21-and-older show start at $75 and are available at riverspirittulsa.com.

Tulsa International Mayfest: Tulsa International Mayfest, the annual arts festival featuring juried artists from across the country, live music, food vendors and more, returns this weekend. In its 47th year, Tulsa International Mayfest will move from the citys central business district downtown to the Tulsa Arts District. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit tulsamayfest.org.

The Hop Jam: A unique celebration of beer and music, The Hop Jam celebrates the artisanal beer movement in Oklahoma, as well as the Oklahoma music scene. It returns for the sixth year from 2-9:30 p.m. Sunday in the Tulsa Arts District. Founders and pop-rock trio Hanson will once again headline this years festival. Other performers include Phantom Planet, The Weeks, Wilderado, Joshua & The Holy Rollers, Duncan Fellows and others. The craft beer tasting runs from 3-7 p.m. and music from 3-9:30 p.m. For more, visit thehopjam.com.
The quake was the fifth, and strongest, that occurred in Oklahoma during Thursday and Friday. The four earlier earthquakes were near Cushing, and none were stronger than 3.4, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

People in the outer periphery of the Medford quake generally reported weak to moderate shaking, according to the USGS Did You Feel It? reports. Damage associated with moderate shaking is considered very light.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission directed three oil and gas wastewater disposal wells to cease operations until further notice, according to a news release from the commission.

The quake occurred within an area of interest, a 15,000-square-mile area in central and northwestern Oklahoma. The area of interest is subject to stricter disposal regulations. Disposal into that area has been drastically reduced as part of earthquake mitigation effort by the OCC, commission spokesman Matt Skinner said in the news release.

Seismicity from waste water disposal can continue for up to a decade.
Health care is one of several big policy initiatives Stitt said he wants to take up during the off season  the eight months when the Legislature is not in session.

In fact, judging from statements before and during Fridays meeting, the next Legislative session is likely to bring more change to state government than the current one.

And the current one has been pretty seismic.

Stitt has achieved or appears to be about to achieve almost all of his major legislative priorities, including greater control of agencies and their heads by the governor. But he has not settled on leaders for some of the largest agencies, including the Department of Human Services and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, which administers the states Medicaid program.

On Friday, Stitt said he has held back on some initiatives until he and his advisers have a chance to dig in to the inner workings of state government.

For now, Stitts approach to the governors job seems to agree with GOPers. Fridays attendance was said to be by far the largest in memory for the Tulsa Republican Club, and his words seemed to go over well. The applause after he spoke was louder than when he was introduced, at any rate.
A Tulsa community leadership group unveiled plans for a forthcoming project that would honor and memorialize victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre on the grounds of a historic city church.

The Tulsa Community Remembrance Coalition announced Friday that it is working with the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, for an outdoor memorial to be erected at Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church, 311 N. Greenwood Ave., to further inform the public about the events that occurred nearly a century ago.

For far too long it was kept a secret, the Rev. Robert Turner of Vernon AME Church said in reference to the massacre, which is also referred to as the Tulsa race riot. The slaughter, the looting, the murder and massacre of innocent children, women, and men has left a stain on this city.

If we truly seek to remove that stain and truly want to be one Tulsa, it is incumbent that we expose that secret.

The coalition also will lead a project to collect soil from sites that have been documented as areas where lynchings took place. That initiative, organizers said, is scheduled to take place this summer.
Attorney General Todd Hembree asked Walkingstick if hundreds of calls made on his tribal cellphone tied to campaigning were inadvertent. The candidate retorted, How do you know they are campaign calls?

An argument ensued, and Hembree then began to describe several phone numbers associated with known campaign or political officials, consultants and contractors.

The Election Commission didnt find that Walkingstick violated a provision against using a tribal phone to conduct campaign business because the prohibition mentions only landlines, not mobile phones.

Early on, a commissioner admonished Walkingstick for dropping a curse word in conveying his disgust at how he feels his mother was treated by tribal marshals. He accused the Attorney Generals Office of abusing its power when two marshals visited his mothers home to question her about a P.O. box shared by his campaign and Cherokees for Change that she rented in her sons name.

Walkingsticks attorney first attempted to prevent the Attorney Generals Office from participating in the hearing, in part because Nimmo and another member donated to the Hoskin-Warner campaign and Hembrees wife made in-kind contributions.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Into the wee hours of Friday morning, the University of Oklahoma regents discussed who would lead the university through one of its most turbulent times.

An investigation into former President David Boren, continuing efforts to restore OUs financial standing and the sudden retirement of President James L. Gallogly less than a year into his presidency created an unstable atmosphere at Oklahomas largest university.

At 2 a.m. Friday, after nearly six hours of closed-door talks, the OU regents tapped OU Law College Dean Joseph Harroz Jr. as the universitys interim president, effective immediately.
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services has been found to be providing its best overall performance to date, but national experts charting its progress warn that the situation for foster children in need of therapeutic care will continue to worsen without new efforts by the state.

Since the outset of this reform, DHS has seen a 77 percent decline in specialized foster homes for children in DHS custody who need therapeutic care, and without urgent, aggressive action, the situation will worsen, an oversight panel comprising three national experts, called co-neutrals, stated in a new report released Friday.

The experts chart the Department of Human Services progress every six months on 31 performance measures of the state child-welfare system. For the first time, DHS was found to have made good faith efforts in 29 of the 31 measures.

The assessments are part of the Pinnacle Plan, the name for the settlement agreement of a 2008 federal class-action lawsuit against the Department of Human Services that alleged abuses of state foster children.
Audit: Carsons $40K office purchases broke law

WASHINGTON  Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson violated the law when his department spent more than $40,000 to purchase a dining set and a dishwasher for his offices executive dining room, government auditors concluded.

In a report released Thursday, the Government Accountability Office said HUD failed to notify Congress before exceeding a $5,000 limit set by Congress to furnish or make improvements to the office of a presidential appointee. The dining set cost more than $31,000, and the dishwasher cost nearly $9,000.

Carson told lawmakers last year that he was unaware of the purchase and canceled it as soon as he learned about it in news reports. He also told a House Appropriations subcommittee that he left furniture purchasing decisions to his wife. But emails released by watchdog group American Oversight suggested that Carson and his wife, Candy Carson, both played a role in choosing the furniture.

The GAO said HUD did not break the law when it paid more than $4,000 for new blinds for Carsons office suite.

Internet sensation Grumpy Cat has died at age 7
By 11:30 a.m., storms developed in northeastern Oklahoma, which feared could carry with it hail, lightning, isolated damaging wind gusts and the possibility of tornadoes, the weather service said.

Thunderstorm warnings for Choctaw and Pittsburg counties remain in effect until 1 p.m. A thunderstorm warning for Muskogee County is in effect until 1:45 p.m., Cherokee County until 1:15 p.m. and Ottawa County until 1:30 p.m., the weather service said.

Mayfest officials announced Saturday morning it was delaying its opening until noon or until severe weather moved out of the area.

Although Mayfest likely will get underway without any weather-related excitement through Friday night, Saturday could prove stormy for much of Oklahoma.

Monday looms with the potential for severe weather, as well.

The National Weather Service says northeastern Oklahoma has a slight to elevated risk of severe weather Saturday, with hail and damaging winds being the primary threats. Tornadoes, though never entirely ruled out, will be more likely in southeastern Oklahoma and across portions of central Texas.
By PTI

KOLKATA: Having been consigned to the margins of society so far, sex workers in West Bengal are now expressing their displeasure with Lok Sabha candidates by pressing the NOTA button.

The workers said they had reached out to all 466 candidates in the state, urging for the inclusion of their demands in election manifestoes, otherwise they would be compelled to press the NOTA button.

"Most of us opted for NOTA in the last six phases," said Kajal Bose, a sex worker and the secretary of Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, an NGO working for the sex workers' rights in West Bengal.

Under the leadership of All India Network of Sex Workers (AINSW), small groups reached out to each candidate in the state.

"Starting from Darjeeling to the Sundarbans we went to candidates of all political parties with our demands," said Rita Roy, a sex worker and a member of one of the groups.

She said they asked candidates to include their demands in their election manifestoes, including the demand for listing sex work as a recognised occupation by the Labour Ministry Roy said some candidates met them, but others mostly said they were busy with campaigning.

"During our meetings, we told them that if we do not get assurance from you, we will have no other option but to press NOTA," she said.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Another sex worker from Kolkata, Shibani Giri, however, said that candidates only gave them a verbal assurance.

The sex workers from red-light areas such as Rabindra Sarobar, Rambagan, Sethbagan, Bowbazar, Kalighat, Chelta, Kidderpore and Tollygunge are fighting for basic demands.

They are demanding access to grant of pension at 45 years of age, repeal of clauses of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITPA), decriminalisation of sex work and recognition of a self-regulatory board, formed by the workers, to prevent human trafficking in sex work.

The sex workers said their children face discrimination while applying for admission to schools and other institutions.

They claim that the police often harass them, send them to jails or shelter homes against their will and added that sometimes the local goons also extort money from them with the tacit support of the police.

"We have been pushing for these demands since assembly elections which brought a change in the state in 2011. But till today we have not got any positive result," Durbar chief advisor S Jana said.

"There are five million sex workers who are the citizens of our country. It is important to recognise that we are heads of families and need to support our dependents. We have chosen this occupation from the limited choices (we had) but we were not forced into it," Roy said.

"Political parties should ensure that sex workers and their family members do not face any kind of discrimination in accessing public welfare services and they should set up a complaint redressal system to ensure justice for us," she said.

Asked if other workers in rest of the state had also pressed NOTA, Giri said, "We had reached a consensus on NOTA... So far we have the feedback that sex workers in the other districts have opted for it."

In Kolkata, the voter turnout from Sonagachi was 90 per cent.
But the Oklahoma Constitution provides for an orderly way of building up that budget cushion over time. Each year, the state tax commission projects revenue at the beginning of the year, and lawmakers are only allowed to spend 95% of that amount. The remaining 5% is held in cash for the next year. Any over-estimated revenue goes into the Rainy Day Fund.

The Rainy Day Fund currently has a balance of $541.6 million, and the normal course of state finance will add another $400 million to $450 million in a few months. It could even hit the Constitutional cap for the fund.

The problem with the $200 million in additional savings is that it comes out of that 95% that we werent meant to save. The money that the Founders (and the voters of Oklahoma) intended to be used for current budgetary needs is being used to augment savings that dont need augmentation.

The state budget headed toward legislative approval this week does a lot of good, but it should have done about $200 million more.

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A few years ago, backpacks of supplies were given away and free immunizations for children needing updated shots were offered at a back-to-school event at a Tulsa public park.

The feel-good fun day turned into a public relations nightmare.

The innocuous news notices were picked up by antivaccine networks that flooded social media with hateful and threatening messages.

Activists  who were not from the Tulsa area and likely never visited  wrote scathing and untruthful reviews about the park on travel and trip sites. Park officials had to deal with this antivax wrath, even though they didnt plan the event; they only provided the space for the sponsoring groups. The managers dont want to talk about the incident out of fear of reliving the ordeal, but the lessons have been shared with other PR specialists.

Antivax movements are not new. Opposition to medical prevention of deadly diseases has been around since vaccines were invented.

Today, instant communication and social media feed the flames of wrong and deceptive information. They sow the seeds of doubt and confusion, making some parents uncomfortable with vaccines.
The writer asserts that leftist Democrats (1) hate everything that America stands for and (2) are doing their best to turn America into another socialist dictatorship and thus (3) should be ashamed of themselves.

Define these leftist Democrats. Does that include anyone who thinks the wealthy should pay more taxes and that income tax schedules should be more, not less, progressive? Does it include anyone who thinks the extent of corporate welfare is outrageous?

Or does it include anyone who thinks the government shouldnt hand businesses  starting with Amazon  every tax concession it requests or demands?

Who says these Democrats hate everything America stands for? Just because people disagree with Republicans, the letter writer or Donald Trump?

Maybe these people just think America has drifted way too far to the right and think religion should be preached in churches and synagogues, not public schools.

As for Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, their political proposals may espouse socialism, but I havent heard either of them suggest that the United States should be governed by a dictator.
The man who helped to end apartheid in South Africa, and saw Trinidad and Tobago as the true rainbow nation, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is dead.

South Africa's two Nobel Peace laureates former President Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Tutu visited Trinidad in May 2004
05/18/2019

By Ed Brennen

When youre one of the fastest-growing public doctoral universities in the country with a record number of graduates, Commencement cant be confined to just one day.

For the first time in university history, UMass Lowell held three Commencement ceremonies  one on Friday morning for Ph.D. and masters students and two on Saturday for undergraduate students.

The expanded ceremonies helped accommodate UMLs largest graduating class ever  more than 4,500 students  and the thousands of guests who celebrated their achievements at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.

Presiding over all three ceremonies, Chancellor Jacquie Moloney 75, 92 noted that this was also the universitys most diverse graduating class ever, with students hailing from 43 states and 113 countries. Nearly 1,600 students graduated with honors and more than 100 earned a perfect 4.0 GPA.

You distinguished yourselves as a community, Moloney said. And in the face of divisiveness, you exemplified graciousness and respect throughout your time here. In doing so, you contributed to the magic that makes this one of the greatest communities in the world.

UMass President Marty Meehan 78 asked the Class of 2019 to be committed to lifelong learning and to remember those who helped them succeed.

You are graduating from a world-class, innovative university that has given you the education and the tools that you need to achieve whatever you set out in your life to achieve, Meehan said. As long as you work hard, theres nothing that you cant do.

The young are at the gates

Photo by Tory Wesnofske Photo by Tory Wesnofske Keynote speaker and Congressman Lori Trahan, right, with Kim Rist, Brian Rist and Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney. At Saturdays morning ceremony for undergraduates in the Francis College of Engineering, the Kennedy College of Sciences and the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences, U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan opened her Commencement address by quoting the suffragette rallying cry from a century ago: The young are at the gates.

The beauty of youth is that youre fresh  youre not wed to your ideas, youre not cynical, fatigued, indifferent or fearful, said Trahan, a first-generation college student from Lowell who was elected to represent Massachusetts Third District last November. Do not make the mistake of waiting your proverbial turn or thinking that life has some grand sequence. Your reaction, your perspective is powerful. Your calling will come. Be ready.

Student speaker Richard Macdonald, a biology major and Honors College student from Billerica, described juggling myriad responsibilities  co-op scholar, hospital volunteer, intramural volleyball captain  while pursuing medical school.

Taking on all those challenges certainly paid off because, yes, I achieved my dream and was accepted to UMass Medical School, said Macdonald, a first-generation college student. I know many of you have your own success stories. For others, I am confident that the degree you are about to receive will help you achieve your dreams very soon.

The Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to Brian Rist 77, executive chairman of Florida-based Storm Smart Industries, the largest manufacturer and installer of hurricane-protection products in the U.S. His wife, Kim Rist, was presented with the Chancellors Medal for Outstanding University Support. The Rists, who live in Fort Myers, Fla., made a $5 million commitment to the university this year, one of the largest gifts in school history.

You earned it yourself

At Saturday afternoons ceremony for undergraduates in the Manning School of Business and the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Jack Wilson, president emeritus of the UMass system, referenced the recent college admissions scandal in his Commencement address.

Photo by Tory Wesnofske Photo by Tory Wesnofske Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney, left, and Interim Provost Julie Chen present a Doctorate of Human Letters to Jack Wilson, looking on are Trustee Mary L. Burns '84 and Therese and Jack O'Connor, Chancellor's Medal for Public Service and Civic Engagement honorees. Knowing how hard you all had to work to get to where you are, I was dismayed to read about all of those wealthy celebrities who bought their way into universities that they thought probably conveyed status upon them and their children, said Wilson, founder of UMass Lowells Jack M. Wilson Center for Entrepreneurship and a distinguished professor of higher education, emerging technologies and innovation. You, on the other hand, had to work hard because you wanted to have an education. I am guessing that none of your families here had to pay anyone a bribe to get you into the university. You earned it yourself.

Wilson received an honorary doctorate of humane letters, as did Gerald Colella 78, CEO of MKS Instruments Inc., and Joyce Colella 77, a former elementary school teacher. The couple met as education students at the university and now reside in Seabrook Beach, N.H., and Naples, Fla. Oprah Winfrey, who helped raise $3 million for student scholarships during her visit to campus in November, is also an honorary degree recipient.

The Chancellors Medal for Public Service and Civic Engagement was presented to Jack OConnor, founder of OConnor School Portraits and co-founder of Commencement Photos Inc., and Therese OConnor, philanthropist, of Lowell.

Student speaker Denia Taylor of Andover, who double-majored in philosophy and political science, challenged her classmates to map their paths for personal growth.

No matter how we define ourselves right now, all of us leave UMass Lowell today with an opportunity to expand that definition, Taylor said. And thanks to our time here, we are so ready to do that.

Comfortable being uncomfortable

On Friday morning, 156 doctoral students and 1,259 masters students received their advanced degrees.

In her Commencement address, UMass Lowell Distinguished University Professor Meg Bond, director of the UMass Lowell Center for Women and Work, encouraged graduates to embrace complications, messiness and uncertainty.

Your graduate studies offered you principles, theories and frameworks to serve as scaffolding for further professional success, said Bond, professor of psychology and an internationally recognized scholar on issues of gender equality in the workplace. To add to this, I am urging you to also get more comfortable being uncomfortable. Become more confident about being uncertain. Stretch and reach.

Photo by Tory Wesnofske Photo by Tory Wesnofske Graduate Student Speaker Somto Nnyamah Student speaker Somto Nnyamah, a Double River Hawk who received a masters in business analytics after earning a bachelors in economics in 2017, described coming to Lowell from her native Nigeria in 2014.

I came here a shy, teenage international student. I was thousands of miles away from my home country and I thought I would be alone here, Nnyamah said. But my fears were quickly allayed. With help from professors, supervisors, deans and even vice chancellors who challenged me to get out of my comfort zone, I evolved into the confident woman standing before you today.

Weve passed through UMass Lowell, but now we must let UMass Lowell pass through us, Nnyamah said. Weve experienced a great sense of community and support here, so it is only fair that as we go into the world, we provide the same for others.

State Rep. Rady Mom, Lowell Mayor William Samaras, City Vice Chairman Vesna Nuon and UMass Trustee Mary Burns also participated in the Commencement exercises, which have grown in size for 12 consecutive years.

At the Commencement Eve Celebration at University Crossing on Friday night, Chancellors Medals were awarded to 30 top graduating students.

Catherine Han, Edina Hirt, Akhil Meka, Emily Bellino, Matthew Lovely and Julie Ballo received the Chancellors Medal for Community Service.

Stephanie Carnazzo, Michael Doane, Brian Madigan, Andre DeFilippo, Marina Novaes and Vilma Okey-Ewurum received the Chancellors Medal for Student Service.

Kaitlyn Bartley, Linda Riley and Jenna Kapp received the Chancellors Medal for Diversity and Inclusion.

Tyler Davis, Olivia Desrochers, Patricia Ferreira, FitzAnthony Forsyth, Nicholas Sacco, Joseph Wakim, Grant Lardieri, Richard Macdonald, Joseph Wakim, Jack Carroll, Sean Flaherty, Katherine McGourty, Chiew Fong Chew, Alyson Desmarais and Jeffrey Wheelhouse received the Chancellors Medal for Distinguished Academic Achievement.

Watch videos of the ceremony and view photo galleries on Facebook.
Outgoing President Poroshenko signs decree on 5G in Ukraine

21:53, 17.05.19 1934

The 5G standard is to be launched in 2020.
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

VARANASI: In the winding lanes and bylanes along the banks of the serene Ganga, in the welter of the mundane, the spiritual and the fun  broken by the poignant scenes of life by the eternal pyres at Manikarnika and Dashashwamedh Ghats  Kashi is ever alive. Come poll season and people of all backgrounds forget their life stations and sit around at dusk against the silhouetted banks, and on boats, animatedly debating what May 23 would entail.

The festival of democracy is all the more special here for having Indias Prime Minister as a candidate in the ring. Kashi, constituency number 77 of Uttar Pradesh, had elected Narendra Modi in 2014 and is now set for a redux in 2019.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Modi had secured 5.81 lakh votes the last time, defeating Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, by 3.7 lakh votes.

If Modis show of strength through a mega 6-km roadshow here on April 25, a day before filing his nomination, was any indication, the result seems to be a foregone conclusion. Yet, the BJP is not complacent.

Though the Opposition has been accused of giving a walkover to the PM in Varanasi, the party is leaving no stone unturned to ensure his victory with a possibly bigger margin this time. While the PM spearheaded his partys poll campaign across the country, his lieutenant and party chief Amit Shah monitored Modis campaign up to booth level.

On the contrary, the Opposition has failed to put up a respectable fight. After intense speculations over Priyanka Gandhi Vadra taking on Modi, the Congress, in an anti-climax to a potential battle of nerves, re-nominated Ajay Rai, who had lost in 2009 and 2014. The SP-BSP-RLD gathbandhans search for a candidate against Modi also ended with a greenhorn Shalini Yadav  a Congress mayoral candidate who had lost to the BJP in 2017.

The BJP is riding high not only on development plank but also nationalism, even as unemployment, demonetisation, Ganga cleaning and Varanasis development falling way below expectations are part of the counter narrative.

Modi supporters have a long list of projects worth thousands of crore of rupees which they claim has been implemented in the last five years. The young voters take pride in the way the PM has taken on Pakistan and China in war over terror. He has put the country on a pedestal at international level. Who else has done it so emphatically in the recent past? asks Shivankar, 25, who assists his father in his grocery shop.

Amid the overwhelming support, there are voices of dissent as well. Will Modi be able to do the achman (tasting) with Ganga water, which he claims is cleaner now? says Nipun, an MBA student, referring to the pollution of the river.

At Pappus Adi, a nearby tea stall that has earned legendary status, the question pops up: Whats the trend? and it triggers a flurry of arguments. But there is consensus on one point: There is no challenge to Modi, at least in Varanasi.

Last time, he was an outsider. Now, he is as much a Banarasi as any son of this soil. And dont forget the fact that the city has the privilege to elect the PM. Even as an MP, his contribution is unmatched, says Prof K K Mishra of political science department of BHU.

Prof V N Mishra of IIT-BHU, who is also the mahant of Sankat Mochan Temple Trust ,counters: Banarasis are in pain. What kind of development model is this? They want to turn it into a Gurgaon.

Plenty of other dissenting voices emanate from Madanpura area with a concentration of weavers. Be it the big power loom owners, or small weavers and handloom workers, each has a grievance. Weavers have got nothing in the past five years. There is no use of facilitation centre for us. Four or five visits to the centre for a deal virtually consume whatever margins we get. So, we are back to the services of middlemen, says Parvez. His neighbour Moin says a power subsidy scheme started for weavers during Akhilesh Yadavs regime has been withdrawn.
Since June 2017, the Russian Federation has not paid contributions to the Council of Europe.

Lithuania's Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevicius is against the "unconditional return" of Russia to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

"Addressed CoE70 [the 70th anniversary of the Council of Europe in Helsinki on May 17, 2019]: we can't afford unconditional Russia's return to PACE at the expense of CoE values and principles. Russia has not change anything neither in deeds nor even in words and continues aggression against Ukraine. Our European values mean not much if not defend," he tweeted on May 17.

Read alsoCoE foreign ministers approve move paving way to lifting Russia sanctions

"By CoE70 majority decision, to which we opposed, Russia was given yet another chance, opportunity to get back trust & confidence. Although appeasement never helped before annexation of 20% of Georgia, Crimea, aggression in Donbas we don't believe. Credibility of CoE is challenged," he added.

As UNIAN reported, at the April session in 2014, PACE deprived the Russian delegation of the right to vote and excluded its representatives from all the governing bodies of the Assembly over the annexation of Crimea.

Since June 2017, the Russian Federation has not paid contributions to the Council of Europe.

On May 17, foreign ministers of more than 30 of the 47 member countries of the Council of Europe were in favor of equal participation of all member states in the organization's statutory bodies, which could lead to lifting sanctions from the Russian Federation.

Head of the delegation of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada to PACE, MP Volodymyr Ariev said that the return of Russia to PACE was impossible without introducing changes to the Assembly's regulations.
The law on the Ukrainian language was enacted by the president on May 15, 2019.

The Russian Federation has asked the President of the UN Security Council to convene a meeting over the adoption by Ukraine's parliament of the law on the Ukrainian language.

"Another act of absurdity. It has become known today that the delegation of the Russian Federation appealed to the President of the UN Security Council with a request to convene a meeting in connection with the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the law on ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the national language. The meeting may take place on Monday [May 20]," spokesperson for the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations Oleg Nikolenko said on Facebook on May 17.

Nikolenko noted that the functioning of the Ukrainian language in Ukraine in no way threatens international peace and security.

"There is no point in commenting on this absurd request, which has surprised not only Ukraine. The functioning of the Ukrainian language in Ukraine in no way threatens international peace and security addressed by the UN Security Council," Nikolenko said.

One can see Russia's unremitting attempts to marginalize the world's key security platform, "to turn it into an evening show used to be aired on Russia's major propaganda channel," he said.

The decision on the date and time of the meeting should be approved by the president. In May, it is the head of Indonesia's delegation.

Read alsoPoroshenko enacts Ukraine's language law

As UNIAN reported earlier, outgoing President Petro Poroshenko on May 15, 2019, enacted the law on the Ukrainian language, which passed with a 278-38 majority. It requires all Ukrainian citizens to know the state language and that it be used while performing official duties. Those subject to the latter requirement will include politicians, judges, doctors, employees of the national bank and state-owned companies, officers in the military, teachers and others.

The law stipulates that the government shall organize Ukrainian language courses for adults and provide an opportunity for citizens of Ukraine to learn the national language free of charge if they had no such opportunity. According to the law, a person seeking Ukrainian citizenship is obliged to pass a Ukrainian language test. However, individuals who perform military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and are given a state award and those whose citizenship of Ukraine is of state interest for the country have the right to acquire Ukrainian citizenship without taking the language test, but remain obliged to master it within one year from the date they were granted Ukraine's citizenship.

There are exemptions for private communications and religious ceremonies.
Japan-funded projects will be implemented by four UN agencies, funds and programs.

In 2019, the Government of Japan, the Government of Ukraine and the United Nations system in Ukraine continue partnership in addressing humanitarian needs and support recovery in conflict-affected areas of eastern Ukraine. In this regard, US$2.8 million of assistance provided by the Government of Japan will be used to address humanitarian needs, support vulnerable groups of population and recovery of eastern regions in Ukraine through implementation of four projects by four UN agencies.

"I express my gratitude to the Government of Japan and the United Nations for the long-term assistance we have been enjoying over these years. Government of Japan has been providing a substantial support to Ukraine in restoration peace in Donbas region; especially assistance in sustaining integrity of Ukraine and renovation of infrastructure objects are very important for us. I would like to highlight that funds, provided to the Government of Ukraine are being directed to people, living in the East, and they are used by our international partners  United Nations agencies: UNHCR, UNDP, UNICEF. This is a strong partnership, which ultimately contributes to efficiency of the projects being implemented. The Government of Japan is not only our economic, but also a strategic partner. We highly appreciate the next portion of assistance, amounting to $2.8 mln provided by the Government of Japan, and of course, I would like to thank our international partners  UN agencies for delivering these very important projects on the East of Ukraine," said Hennadiy Zubko, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Regional Development, Building and Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine, the United Nations in Ukraine has reported.

Read alsoThree international organizations send over 140 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Donbas

"Total amount of funding provided by Japan to Ukraine since independence is $3.1 billion dollars. Since 2014, after the Revolution of Dignity, we have accelerated our assistance to Ukraine and it has amounted to in $1.87 billion in total, which is more than half of total amount of funds, provided since the independence. It includes modernization of the Bortnychi aeoration station, financial support to the Government of Ukraine, assistance in medical area. And one of the important areas of assistance we started in 2014 is for the people of Eastern Ukraine implemented in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In cooperation with the UN and other international organizations we implemented assistance with total value of $47 mln. All the assistance that is been providing to Eastern Ukraine is for improving safety, security and welfare of the local people. Projects include rehabilitation of social infrastructure, renovation of hospitals, schools, communities. This year supporting funds were allocated for the same purpose totaling $2.82 mln. Last month I visited Donetsk and Luhansk regions with a members of UN organisations for the first time to see a situation with my own eyes. I visited houses which were ruined or damaged by the shelling and which were renovated, and I was happy to see how people are living there now, in a safe conditions," said Takashi Kurai, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ukraine.

"Since 2015, with the financial support of Japan through UN-implemented programs more than 30 socio-economic infrastructure facilities were reconstructed in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, including bridges, pump stations, healthcare facilities, rehabilitation centers and schools. Financial assistance was also used for strengthening entrepreneurial capacities and start-ups of business activities, community development, building resilience in educational sector and of affected population. Financial assistance provided in 2019 will be used for occupational trainings and business skills development for IDPs and local conflict-affected population; provision of seed grants for small scale business start-up and expansion; provision of Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises with business consulting services and technical assistance; shelter repairs for IDPs along the 'contact line'; protection monitoring and provision of individual protection assistance to IDPs and other conflict-affected population; capacity building of educational professionals and procurement of medical equipment to the Ministry of Defence hospital. The UN system is looking forward to continuous fruitful cooperation with the Government of Ukraine and Japan in promoting cohesion and sustainable development, economic recovery in conflict-affected territories of Ukraine," said Osnat Lubrani, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine.

Japan-funded projects will be implemented by four UN agencies, funds and programs: UNDP (USD 0.54 million), UNHCR (USD 0,84 million), UNICEF (USD 0.38 million), UNOPS (USD 1.09 million).
Ukraine and the rest of the world are on May 18 honoring the victims of genocide against the Crimean Tatar people.

Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nation Volodymyr Yelchenko has sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres a letter with the call of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People to recognize the genocide of the Crimean Tatars.

Read also75 years since deportation: Ukraine honors victims of 1944 genocide against Crimean Tatars

"Amb. @YelchenkoUN sent to #UNSG @antonioguterres a letter with the Call of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People to the Parliaments and the Governments of the United Nations to Recognize the Genocide of the Crimean Tatar People," the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN wrote on Twitter on May 18, 2019.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine and the rest of the world are on May 18 honoring the victims of genocide against the Crimean Tatar people and are marking the Day of Struggle for the Rights of the Crimean Tatars.
Ukraine recognized the Crimean Tatar people's deportation as genocide.

Ukraine and the rest of the world are on May 18 honoring the victims of genocide against the Crimean Tatar people and are marking the Day of Struggle for the Rights of the Crimean Tatars.

The large-scale deportation of the Crimean Tatars began on this very day way back in 1944. Some 180,000 people were evicted on May 18-20 alone. In addition, 6,000 Crimean Tatar men mobilized by Soviet army enlistment offices in April-May that year were sent to form the reserves in Guryev (Atyrau) in Kazakhstan, Kuibyshev and Rybinsk in Russia. Another 5,000 Crimean Tatars were forced to work at labor camps of the Soviet Moskovugol trust.

Read alsoChubarov calls February 23 tragic day for Crimean Tatars, Chechens, Ingushes

According to the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, 191,440 people were relocated from Crimea in the first two days. Separately, 5,989 people accused of alleged cooperation with the army of Nazi Germany and other "anti-Soviet elements" were arrested during the deportation. They were sent to the Gulag [the Soviet forced-labor camps during Joseph Stalin's rule from the 1930s up until the 1950s] and were not taken into account in total reports about the exiles.

The deportation of the Crimean Tatars began at 03:00 on May 18, 1944, and ended mostly on May 20. The operation involved 32,000 NKVD [Soviet People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs] officers. The deportees were given from several minutes to half an hour to collect personal belongings, namely clothes, utensils, household equipment and food  all in all up to 500 kg per family were allowed. In fact, they were able to take only 20-30 kg on the average, and most of their property was abandoned and then seized by the state. Numerous cases of looting were reported.

Within two days, the Crimean Tatars were transported by road to the railway stations of Bakhchisaray, Dzhankoy and Simferopol, from where they were dispatched in special trains to Uzbekistan and neighboring areas in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and some regions of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

Some 46% of the Crimean Tatar population died amid the deportation, half of them were children under 18.

Ukraine recognized the Crimean Tatar people's deportation as genocide.
Outgoing Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has congratulated Ukrainians on Europe Day.

Ukrainians are celebrating Europe Day, which appeared in the country 16 years ago and is celebrated every third Saturday of May.

Read alsoPoroshenko signs law on changes to Constitution confirming Ukraine's path toward EU, NATO

"Today, there is only one way for Ukraine, and this way to Europe, away from Russia's imperial ambitions," outgoing Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko wrote on Facebook.

According to him, restoring historical justice, Ukraine is finally confidently and proudly following this path.

"After all, Europe is not a geographical characteristic, but a standard of living, respect for a person, his rights and freedoms. [EU-Ukraine] Association Agreement, [EU] visa-free travel, constitutional amendments confirming Ukraine's path toward EU, NATO  all these are important achievements of recent years, which clearly demonstrate that Ukraine's future is in the family of European nations! Happy Europe Day, Ukraine!" Poroshenko said.
The protests were announced in 40 Ukrainian cities, as well as in world ones, such as Strasbourg, London, Berlin, Prague, Brussels, Warsaw, Paris, and in several cities of Canada.

Several Ukrainian and world cities on Saturday held a protest titled "Who ordered Katia Handziuk?" with a demand to punish organizers and murderers of the activist.

In particular, Kateryna Handziuk's father and several dozen participants gathered near the Presidential Administration in Kyiv, the Ukrayinska Pravda online newspaper said.

Read alsoHandziuk murder case: Prosecutor's office sends indictment against five suspects to court

"Both then and now we are protesting to defend our dignity and the right to a safe life in our country. We demand an answer: who killed Katia, who ordered attacks on activists, who organized terror for us? We demand punishment. We remind the society and the new government that the majority of attacks on activists have not yet been disclosed, and customers are unpunished. This cannot be in Ukraine of our dreams," the protesters said.

The protests were announced in 40 Ukrainian cities, as well as in world ones, such as Strasbourg, London, Berlin, Prague, Brussels, Warsaw, Paris, and in several cities of Canada.

The protesters announced one single requirement for the new government: to stop the terror of civil society and punish those responsible.

The all-Ukrainian protest was organized by Kateryna's friends and relatives, as well as non-indifferent people.
Two occupiers were killed and another 12 were wounded on Friday, intelligence reports say.

Russia's hybrid military forces on Friday mounted seven attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as wounded in action.

Read alsoOne KIA, one WIA in Donbas amid 13 enemy attacks in past day

"One Ukrainian soldier was wounded on Friday. Each enemy provocation had an adequate response. According to intelligence reports, two occupiers were killed and another 12 were wounded," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said in an update posted on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on May 18, 2019.

Russian occupation forces opened fire from 122mm artillery systems, 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms. Under attack were Ukrainian positions near the villages of Pavlopil, Novotroyitske, Hnutove, Zolote-4, Novhorodske, and Krymske.

"From midnight on Saturday, Russia-led forces attacked Ukrainian positions three times near Krymske, using 120mm and 82mm mortars grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms. Two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded [on Saturday]," the report said.
Estu, 35, was found guilty of joining in April-May 2015 an organized criminal group established to conduct terrorist activities.

A court in the Czech Republic has handed a suspended three-year prison sentence to a soldier after finding him guilty of joining Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The court in the city of Pardubice also ruled on May 17 to demote Corporal Erik Estu to the rank of private and expel him from the Czech armed forces, RFE/RL reported.

Read alsoCzech Foreign Minister condemns Czech Communist MP's visit to Russia-occupied Donetsk

Estu, 35, was found guilty of joining in April-May 2015 an organized criminal group established to conduct terrorist activities.

The soldier was charged after he shared pictures of himself carrying firearms and wearing a uniform of the separatists in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk.

Estu pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and insisted he had traveled to Donetsk to visit relatives of his wife, a native of Ukraine.

He said he bought the uniform in a local store because he collects military items.

Fighting between Ukrainian government forces and separatists controlling parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions has killed some 13,000 people since April 2014.
The situation in the area of the Joint Forces Operation remains under control of Ukrainian troops.

Russia's hybrid military forces mounted seven attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas on May 18, with three Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action.

Read alsoOne Ukrainian soldier wounded in Donbas on Friday

"Three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded from 00:00 to 18:00 Kyiv time. Each enemy provocation had an adequate response. Information on the enemy's losses is being clarified," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said in an update on Facebook.

The enemy opened fire from 152mm and 122mm artillery systems, 120mm and 82mm mortars, weapons installed on infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms at the Ukrainian positions near the villages of Novotoshkivske, Krymske, and Pivdenne.

The situation in the area of the Joint Forces Operation remains under control of Ukrainian troops.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew 1.5 lakh km and addressed 142 public rallies during the most extensive campaign for a Lok Sabha election since Independence, BJP president Amit Shah said Friday.

Addressing a press conference here with the PM by his side, Shah praised Modi for braving scorching temperatures which went up to 46 degrees Celsius.

READ | Amit Shah rejects opposition charge of BJP lowering political discourse during campaign

"Since Independence, the most hardworking, extensive election campaign was this one and Modi's outreach was unprecedented," Shah said.

There is hardly any part of the country Modi did not visit during the election campaign between February and May, he said.

The dates for the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections were announced on March 10.

READ | Modi diverts questions to Shah in his first-ever press meet

"On 28 March 2019, the campaign started from Meerut.PM Modi addressed 142 public rallies, held four roadshows and, according to conservative estimates, he directly addressed about 1.5 crore people in these rallies.

Modi's campaign involved air travel of around 1.5 lakh km," he said.

Shah also said, that he himself visited 312 Lok Sabha constituencies and addressed 161 public rallies.

He claimed he travelled 1.58 lakh km and held 18 roadshows.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Shah said the BJP ran a very successful campaign reaching all sections of society He expressed confidence that his party will come back to power with a majority.

He said slogans like 'fir ek baar Modi sarkar' and 'main bhi chowkidar' were not given by the BJP leadership but by the "common BJP volunteers".

Modi said that this was a great election campaign.

"The BJP-led NDA is heading towards a clear majority... I have not missed or cancelled a single rally," said Modi.
Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRINAGAR: Security agencies have not halted operations against militants in Jammu and Kashmir during the Muslim holy month of Ramzan, and are conducting pre-dawn intelligence-based operations.

There has been no let up in the operations. Whenever we receive intelligence about militant presence, we launch operations instantly in the specific area, a top security official said.

The security forces, he said, were maintaining constant pressure on the militants.

Eight militants have been killed in five operations by security forces in the 11 days of Ramzan so far. A civilian and two Army men were also killed in gunfights.

A senior police official said all the five operations were intelligence-based.

The official said the intelligence apparatus of the security agencies operating in the state, especially the Valley, had been strengthened after the 2016 unrest.

Now we have assets on the ground who give us exact and accurate information about militant presence, and accordingly operations are launched in a specific area without disturbing the whole population of that area, he said.

According to the official, pre-dawn operations are carried out in the Valley to avoid clashes with locals near encounter sites.

These operations are planned and conducted swiftly. By the time people know what is happening, the encounter is over, he said, adding, We try to finish the operations before the morning.

Of the four operations in which there were militant casualties, three were pre-dawn operations.

All the operations were clean and there was no disturbance in the operations from the locals, he said.

A security official said there had been many civilian casualties in firing by security forces on protestors near encounter sites in the Valley in the past.

To avoid civilian casualties, we revised the SOPs and fine-tuned our strategies during anti-militancy operations, he said.
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

GORAKHPUR: Haati, lathi, saat sau chhiyasi (elephant, baton and 786), the slogan symbolising Dalit-Yadav-Muslim unity, is doing the rounds in Humanyunpura close to the revered Gorakhshnath Mutt which is bubbling with activity even before the crack of dawn. As one proceeds towards the Mutt from the Muslim-dominated area where the pro-gathbandhan voices are emanating from the ground, the scene suddenly takes a saffron hue.

The Mutt has been turned into the war room of UP CM Yogi Adityanath who is camping in Gorakhpur for the past 10 days, supervising BJP candidate Ravi Kishans campaign. The seat is an issue of prestige for Yogi who is leaving nothing to chance this time. The BJP's defeat in last year's bypoll is both fresh and stinging.

Therefore, he has made Gorakhpur his base since the previous phase and his Hindu Yuva Vahini has been pressed into action along with the Sangh Parivars machinery to meet the challenge posed by the caste arithmetic of the SP-BSP alliance.

Gorakhpur, along with Varanasi, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Deoria, Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Mirzapur and the reserved constituencies of Bansgaon and Robertsganj, will vote in the last leg on Sunday.

Done with the round of morning meetings with his lieutenants to plan the day, 'Maharaj ji', as Yogi Aditaynath is commonly known among his followers, leaves for a series of rallies in Bihar followed by a number of small meetings in assembly segments falling in Gorakhpur on the final day.

However, the shock of the 2018 defeat is palpable among many Gorakhpur voters who swear to make it up this time for the sake of 'Maharaj ji'. The BJP has been winning Gorakhpur since 1989. Yogi himself has represented it five times in the Lok Sabha since 1998. Before that, his mentor Avaidyanath enjoyed public support here.

On the other hand, the alliance candidate is former MLA Ram Bhuwal Nishad of the SP. In fact, the Gorakhpur bypoll was the lab for the SP-BSP gathbandhan experiment. Facing an existential crisis, the two regional satraps had decided to contest the bypoll necessitated after Yogi became the CM. They were backed by the Nishad Party which also lent its candidate, Praveen Nishad. He won the seat by a thin margin of 21,000.

This time, however, the Nishad Party has switched sides and the Gorakhpur MP is now the BJP's candidate from the neighbouring Sant Kabir Nagar. So, in Gorakhpur, it's a battle between the alliance's Nishad candidate and the BJP's Brahmin Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan Shukla supported by Nishads. The Congress is desperately trying to make the battle triangular by fielding a Brahmin, Madhusudan Tripathi. It also bolsters the party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi's claim that at many places the Congress has fielded its candidate to cut into the BJP's votes.

With the strong possibility of division in the Nishad vote bank, around 3.75 lakh in the segment, the question is whether the Nishads in Gorakhpur go by the party which claims to espouse their cause or a candidate from their community? Of course they will go by what their leader will ask them to do. The alliance candidate, with a rather tainted image, has a very limited reach among the Nishads, claims Dr Sanjay Nishad, president of the Nishad Party and father of Praveen.

On resentment among his community members over parting ways with the alliance and siding with the BJP, Sanjay Nishad claims his community had some heartburn initially but now they have realised that the decision to go with the BJP is in their favour.

We have had enough during SP and BSP regimes wherein nothing was done for our emancipation. This time we have come along with the BJP hoping that the saffron leadership will keep its promise of putting us in the scheduled caste category and imparting us the benefits of it, says Dr Sanjay Nishad, justifying his truck with BJP.

Residents in urban areas feel the bypoll loss was a personal setback for Yogi which shouldnt have happened, given the kind of development work he has brought to the east UP city. Ek baar galati ho gayee. Shahr ka voter ghar se nahi nikle yeh sonch kar ki BJP jeet jaygi. Is bar maharajji ka sar nahi jhukne denge (We committed a mistake once. City voters did not come out to vote thinking

that BJP will win the seat without much effort. We will not let Yogi Adityanath down this time), says Girish, 29, while dusting his shop of puja samagri and prasad on the temple premises.

On the candidature of Ravi Kishan, the common refrain is that when Yogi is at the helm of affairs, the candidate hardly matters. Rafi of Zahidabad locality adjacent to the Gorakhnath temple feels that his family has always been voting for 'Maharaj ji' and this time also they will back him. Temple has been with us always. Baba (Yogi Aditaynath) does everything for us. He takes care as our guardian. How can we think of voting for someone else, he asks. But Nafis of Urdu Bazar feels that though Yogi has done his bit for Gorakhpurs development, the BJP indulges in the politics of division.

However, the contest is tough and evenly poised. The pro-alliance voters are confident that the BJP will succumb to the strong caste combination backing the alliance. The Nishad community is backing Ram Bhuwal as they feel betrayed by Praveen Nishad. BJPs choice of candidate is not proper. Even the upper caste Brahmin voters are not happy with Yogi Adityanath. All these factors are working against the BJP on the ground and the party may lose the Gorakhpur seat, says Anil Srivastava, head, Firaq Academy, set up in the name of legendary poet Firaq Gorakhpuri.

However, political analyst Manoj Singh feels that though Ravi Kishan doesnt have the connect and is an imported candidate, the BJP may have an edge as the election is being fought in the name of Modi and Yogi. The caste equation  Dalit-OBC-Muslim-Nishad however, is not backing the BJP. Possible division in Nishad vote bank and Yogis personal efforts have made this fight interesting. Anyone can win here but the margin will be thin, he says.

The uncertainty over the fate of Gorakhpur is substantiated further as one reaches the market area. Why not give Rahul Gandhi a chance to lead the country as this government has pushed the country to hardships through demonetisation and GST. I think Rahul Gandhi should also be tried, says Shahzad Ansari, a tailor, who feels that business has hit a low and the Congress has promised to simplify it.

In another locality, the opinion changes. Poonam Gupta, 27, who is aspiring to become a teacher, says, Gorakhpur is witnessing unprecedented growth and development. Law and order has improved. Gorakhpur will back Yogiji again.

However, Rashid Rizvi and Manish Yadav both back Akhilesh Yadavs leadership and the work done during his regime.

Gorakhpur is a prestige issue not only for Yogi Adityanath. Much is at stake for the five party MLAs of Campierganj, Sahjanwa, Gorakhpur Urban, Pipraich and Gorakhpur Rural too. At most places, while the Modi factor becomes conspicuous on the ground, alliance supporters are also confident of repeating the 2018 bypoll result with the caste equations on their side.

While on the one hand, the BJP is flagging its development schemesrestarting of fertilizer factory, construction of highways, restarting of Pipraich sugar mill, construction of AIIMS, Metro Project, widening of roads, control of encephalitis besides highlighting central welfare schemes, benefits of free electricity, toilet, gas cylinder and pucca houses, on the other it has tried to keep Brahmins in good humour by fielding Ravi Kishan Shukla to blunt the decades-long Brahmin-Thakur rivalry.
A new study shows a drug developed in conjunction with investigators at Indiana University School of Medicine to alleviate symptoms of a rare musculoskeletal condition is significantly more effective than conventional therapies. The findings are published in Lancet.

X-linked hypophosphatemia, or XLH, is a phosphate-wasting disease that causes rickets and osteomalacia, or softening of the bones, and can cause short stature, bowed legs, dental abscesses and bone pain. This rare, genetic disease affects about 1 in every 20,000 people.

Researchers recruited 61 children between the ages of 1 and 12 at 16 centers around the world, including the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, Japan and Korea. The children were randomly assigned to either receive Burosumab, a biweekly injection that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in April 2018, or conventional therapies of taking oral phosphate and active vitamin D several times a day. The primary outcome was improvement in rickets on X-rays, as scored by radiologists that were unaware of which treatment group the participant was in.

The children were observed for 64 weeks, and by 40 weeks of treatment, researchers found 72 percent of the children who received Burosumab achieved substantial healing of rickets, while only 6 percent of those in the conventional therapy group saw substantial healing. Burosumab also led to greater improvements in leg deformities, growth, distance walked in a 6-minute test and serum phosphorus and active vitamin D levels.

"This is the first study comparing Burosumab head-to-head with conventional therapy," said lead investigator Erik Imel, MD, associate professor of medicine at IU School of Medicine. "We now know the magnitude of benefit from Burosumab over the prior approach with conventional therapy. This information is critical for doctors to make treatment decisions for patients with XLH."

Researchers plan to continue studying the long-term effects of Burosumab, including the effect treating children has on height outcomes as an adult and whether this treatment will decrease the need for surgeries to correct bowed legs.

Burosumab blocks a protein called fibroblast growth factor 23 that was originally discovered by investigators at Indiana University School of Medicine. Burosumab is marketed by Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc. in collaboration with Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. and its European subsidiary, Kyowa Kirin International PLC, under the brand name Crysvita.
(@FahadShabbir)

Uzbekistan urges the international community to join forces to stop the financing of terrorism as it remains an intricate and demanding challenge, Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov said on Friday

TASHKENT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th May, 2019) Uzbekistan urges the international community to join forces to stop the financing of terrorism as it remains an intricate and demanding challenge, Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov said on Friday.

According to the foreign ministry, earlier in the day, an Uzbek delegation, headed by Kamilov, participated in an international high-level conference on combating terrorism, organized by the Tajik government, the United Nations and the European Union.

"The issue of terrorism in general, which becomes more and more complicated, requires us, the countries of the region and international partners, to develop and implement efficient measures on the joint fight against financing and other types of support for terrorist activity," Kamilov said at the conference as quoted by the foreign ministry.

Amendments, envisaging criminal punishment from 10 to 15 years in jail for providing any type of resources for preparing and carrying out terrorist attacks, came into force in Uzbekistan in April 2016.
Pickett Named Dean of UW-Casper

Brent Pickett

A longtime University of Wyoming faculty member based in Casper has been appointed as dean of UWs branch campus in that community.

Brent Pickett takes the reins of UW-Casper from Jeff Edgens, who moves to an extended-term faculty position with UWs Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.

Pickett began his UW career in 2005 as an associate professor of political science at UW-Casper. Hes a professor in UWs School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies. He previously served as associate dean and director of UW-Casper for nine years.

Brent is a mainstay for the university overall and a tremendously positive force for UW in Casper, Provost Kate Miller says. His familiarity with that community, relationships with people at Casper College and understanding of the mission of UW-Casper give us great confidence that he will lead the development of robust programs and services to serve the people of Natrona County and beyond.

Pickett received a bachelors degree in political science from Wichita State University in 1989 and earned his masters (1991) and doctoral (1995) degrees in political science from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He has received a number of awards for his work -- most recently UWs Hollon Family Award for Teaching Excellence in Off-Campus Programs.

Ive been a longtime supporter of UW-Casper, and I understand and appreciate how important it is to the people in the heart of Wyoming. Im excited to return to a leadership role, Pickett says. I look forward to working with UWs leadership team, the faculty and staff of UW-Casper, and our partners at Casper College to advance our mission.

Based at the Casper College Student Union/University of Wyoming Building, UW-Casper offers more than 40 bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, as well as certificate and endorsement programs. Its professional development courses provide employee training credit to employees of school districts, foundations and nongovernmental agencies.
Mukesh Ranjan By

Express News Service

SAHEBGANJ: Godda, largely known for Lalmatia coal mines of Eastern Coalfields Limited, which helps run two super-thermal power stations in Bihar and Bengal, has been facing serious problem of displacement due to land acquisition.

Even as the oustees clamour for compensation, there is another unrest brewing over the Jharkhand governments approval to Adani Power Plant, intended to sell power to Bangladesh, which could add to the number of native oustees.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Sitting BJP MP Nishikant Dubey is facing the heat of such unrest this time, with his rival JVM candidate Pradeep Yadav leading the protests.

Dubey and Yadav are in direct contest, with the former banking on the development work the Centre has done. Yadav points to his failure in delivering the basics  drinking water, power cuts, lack of job opportunities due to which, people have to migrate to other cities and states, besides the issue of land acquisition, which he claims has made people outsiders in their own land.

Even though Godda has been blessed with an airport, AIIMS and a railway line is also being laid down, some of the serious problems like displacement and pollution created by coal mines largely remain unaddressed, said Birendra Mishra, a local. Most people are concerned about pollution due to mining activities, but no one is ready to take up the issue. A majority suffer from asthma and allergy, but the issue is not raised politically, said businessman Manoj Kumar.

In neighbouring Rajmahal, also a part of Santhal Parganas, infiltration by Bangaladeshis is a major issue, especially in Sahebganj. The BJP has been trying to make it an election issue, promising to send them back if it comes back to power.

The constituency has mostly seen triangular contests in the past. The Congress has won it eight times, JMM four times and BJP twice.
Bishops and participants attending the 6th Annual Inter-Diocesan Conference on Cross-Border Peace and Evangelization held at St. Teresa Pastoral Centre, Turkana, Kenya have resolved to begin a peaceful disarmament process of small arms and light weapons mostly used by pastoralists around Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and South Sudan borders.

Rose Achiego  Nairobi, Kenya

In a press statement issued to the media this week, Kenyas Bishop of Maralal Diocese, Virgilio Pante, who is also the Chairperson for the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB)-Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Seafarers announced that that the process of peaceful disarmament would soon begin. The initiative would be an effort to wean-off pastoralist communities of their small arms that have caused so much havoc and suffering in the border areas of Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

Church committed to disarmament

We will no longer remain silent. We will no longer remain indecisive, and we will no longer be fearful. We are committed to highlighting the suffering caused by small arms in the daily lives of our people, said Bishop Pante. He was flanked by the Bishop of Lodwar, Dominic Kimengich, who is the Vice Chairperson of the KCCB-Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Seafarers.

According to the Bishops, peaceful disarmament can only be done in an environment of trust, collaboration and commitment for the respect and protection of human life.

Governments need to provide alternative livelihoods

While acknowledging the efforts of the governments of Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia in their continuous peacebuilding initiatives both at the national level and across the borders, the Bishops of Maralal and Lodwar called on governments in the region to do more in sensitising pastoral communities on the need to embrace peaceful co-existence and peaceful disarmament.

The governments should ultimately provide alternative or complementary livelihoods for the citizens living in the conflict-affected areas, Bishop Pante and Kimengich said

Religious leaders and civil society should address the root causes

The Bishops further other invited religious leaders and members of Civil Society Organisations in the region to identify and address the root causes of what has been ailing communities of the border areas over the years.

They also called upon grassroots communities to collectively reject the attraction of armed violence as a solution to their problems.

We encourage you to work with all stakeholders to reaffirm the value of human life and work together to counter the pervasive culture of violence. It will be for the benefit of all of us to commit to peaceful disarmament, the prelates said.

Small arms in the hands of communities have caused destruction

As reported by Regional Centre for Small Arms (RECSA) the region hosts 8 million out of an estimated 36 million small arms and light weapons. The weapons are in the hands of civilians.

As a result of the endemic conflicts, the border regions host the highest number of refugees and displaced persons on the African continent.

The proliferation of small arms heighten insecurity

According to the statement, demand for Small Arms and Light Weapons is driven by the ineffective provision of security by governments, commercialisation and politicisation of livestock raiding, marginalisation by governments, a need for the disarmed to rearm; and, cultural practices.

The proliferation of these small arms has caused thousands of deaths and injuries, displacement and forced migration of people, hampered development, loss of hundreds of livestock among pastoralist communities, heightened insecurity, loss of productivity, reduced economic output and insurgencies.
By PTI

SRINAGAR: Three militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Saturday, the army said.

Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Panzgam area of Awantipora early Saturday morning following specific information about the presence of militants there, an army official said.

He said as the forces were conducting searches in the area in south Kashmir, the militants fired at them.

The forces retaliated and in the ensuing encounter, three militants were killed, the official said.

Their bodies have been recovered and weapons and war-like stores were seized from the site of the encounter, he said.

The identity and group affiliation of the slain militants are being ascertained, he said.

The operation is over, the official said.
Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York, on May 16 addressed a high-level meeting on combatting illicit financial flows (IFFs) and strengthening good practices and assets return.

By Robin Gomes

The Holy See is calling for stepping up the fight against illicit financial flows (IFFs) saying they are a challenge to development and are fuelled by evils such as human and organ trafficking, forced labour, sexual exploitation and illicit exploitation of natural resources.

Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York, made the point at a high-level meeting on Thursday, on combatting IFFs, strengthening good practices and recovering assets.

Chocking development, rule of law

The archbishop pointed out that IFFs are a serious challenge to development because, by diverting resources from public spending and by cutting the capital available for private investment, they deprive developing countries of the desperately needed resources to provide public services, fund poverty-reduction programs and improve infrastructure.

Illegal flows also encourage criminal activity and undermine the rule of law and political stability of a country. Their widespread prevalence indicates, in fact, the presence of transnational crime, corruption, money laundering, tax evasion, weak institutions and lack of accountability.

The Holy See diplomat expressed particular concern over IFFs link with human trafficking. Illicit proceeds from forced labour and sexual exploitation generate over $150 billion per year, and profits from illicit organ trafficking are estimated at over $1.2 billion.

Human trafficking is, in fact, one of the most significant generators of criminal proceeds in the world, Archbishop Auza said.

Unsustainable exploitation of natural resources

The Vatican official also noted that illicit proceeds are connected to the illegal and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources by extractive industries.

Corruption and weak law enforcement, he said, seriously endanger fisheries, forests, and biodiversity, and it is always the poor who are left behind to endure the most devastating consequences.

Archbishop Auza called for a strong international cooperation to combat IFFs as they frequently involve the transnational transfer of illicit profits from poor countries to wealthy economies. This, he said, is needed to step up support for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

This challenge, the archbishop said, is above all an ethical one, summoning us to find ways to enable everyone equitably to benefit from the fruits of the earth and human ingenuity.


The STRAT Hotel, Casino and SkyPod will host a weekend-long celebration with two poolside parties and the opening of 108 Drinks this Memorial Day Weekend, from Friday, May 24 through Monday, May 27 (Pictured: The Radius Rooftop Pool)

Both of The STRATs two pools, Elation Pool Cafe and Bar and the 21 and over Radius Rooftop Pool and Wet Lounge, will be open to non-hotel guests with an admission fee, with complimentary entry for hotel guests. Elation, open from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. Friday through Monday, has introduced a new menu with elevated poolside fare, including lobster taquitos, chili-lime chicken wings and a cerveza-battered fish taco trio, as well as new cocktails including the pineapple mojito, berry mule and frose.

Admission is $10 for non-hotel guests of all ages.

Located on the 24th floor of The STRAT, Radius, open from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. Friday through Monday, is a European-style pool where tops are optional. The stylish pool offers breathtaking views of the Las Vegas Strip and surrounding valley. Admission is $14 for non-hotel guests 21 years of age and older.

The Observation Deck, located on the 108th level of The STRATs SkyPod, will celebrate the opening of 108 Drinks, a full-service bar with signature selections and a spectacular view of Las Vegas, located next to the recently opened 108 Eats by James Trees. Just below, 107 SkyLoungefamous for its 360-degree panoramic view of the Las Vegas Valley, will celebrate the holiday weekend with live performances by DJ E-NOC on Friday, 24; DJ CC on Saturday, May 25 and DJ SOXXI on Sunday, May 26.

The SkyPod is also home to The STRATs world famous rides and attractions, including SkyJump, a heart-pounding, open-air leap from 829 feet above the Las Vegas Strip, the Observation Deck, Big Shot!, X-Scream and Insanity. The rides will be open from 10 a.m.  2 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m.  1 a.m. on Sunday and Monday.
Theresa May will attempt to push her Brexit deal through parliament again next month and has told her Conservative party she will step down if it fails. (Photo: AFP/Ben Stansall)

The Brexit saga also moved back into view, with the pound at three-month lows on renewed concerns Britain will leave the EU with no deal as Prime Minister Theresa May tries to push her divorce deal through again.

And oil prices sank as trade worries overshadowed tensions in the Middle East where the US and Iran are growing increasingly hostile.

New York's three main indexes rose for a third successive day on the back of better-than-expected housing construction data and a dip in US jobless claims, while solid earnings from Walmart and tech firms Cisco Systems and Nvidia reinforced optimism.

The figures boosted sentiment after almost two weeks of volatility sparked by Donald Trump's threat, and implementation, of higher tariffs on Chinese imports.

The move threw a spanner in the works for high-level China-US talks that seemed to be close to conclusion and led to a retaliation in kind from Beijing, fanning fears of a painful trade war between the economic titans.

Then on Wednesday Trump barred Chinese telecoms firms - effectively taking aim at giant Huawei - from the US market and added it to a blacklist restricting US sales to the firm.

China hit out at the move and warned against further harming trade ties.

But in light of the Wall Street rally, OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said investors seem "to have temporarily given up trying to predict the fluid situation that is US-China trade relations and concentrate on the here and now".

However, Rodrigo Catril at National Australia Bank said it was "hard to get too excited as the news flows on the trade front points to an escalation rather than an ease in tensions".

He said observers were suggesting the drive against Chinese telecoms companies "effectively means the president has taken the 'nuclear option' and it has now moved towards a 'fully fledged' tech war with China".

Hong Kong fell more than one percent and Shanghai tumbled 2.5 per cent while Seoul shed 0.6 per cent and Taipei dived 0.9 per cent with Singapore dropping 0.7 per cent.

Tokyo finished 0.9 per cent higher, Sydney rose 0.6 per cent, Manila soared more than one percent and Mumbai jumped 0.8 per cent.

In early trade London fell 0.2 per cent, Paris eased 0.3 per cent and Frankfurt was off 0.5 per cent.

MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS

Uncertainty among investors was reflected in a drop in high-yielding, riskier units, with the Chinese yuan at lows not seen since November.

The pound was also under pressure after May said she would set out her timetable for leaving office after her Brexit deal with the EU, which has already been rejected by parliament three times, goes to MPs early next month.

May has already said she will leave once Brexit is delivered but with pressure building on her some observers suggest she could step down if the vote, as expected, fails again.

Investors sold sterling on worries her likely defeat could lead to a no-deal Brexiter taking her post, which most commentators warn would hammer the economy.

In a sign of things to come, arch-Brexiter Boris Johnson has said he will run for the PM's job once it is vacated.

"The chances of a feasible Brexit solution being achieved seem to be falling by the day, much like the government's chance of re-election - any light at the end of the tunnel being a train coming the other way," said Halley.

Oil prices retreated in the afternoon as investors fret about the impact of the China-US stand-off on demand. The drop reversed an earlier rally that came as tensions mounted in the Gulf, with crude-rich Iran rejecting negotiations with Washington following the deployment of extra US forces to the region.

Fears of a conflict have surged in the past week after the US sent an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf.

There has also been a drone attack on a Saudi Arabian pumping facility in the Red Sea and sabotage attacks on four ships, including two Saudi oil tankers, in the United Arab Emirates.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called the US escalation "unacceptable" and said there was "no possibility" of negotiations.

- Key figures around 0810 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.9 per cent at 21,250.09 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 1.2 per cent at 27,946.46 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 2.5 per cent at 2,882.30 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 per cent at 7,339.42

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 109.72 from 109.85 at 2100 GMT

Pound/dollar: DOWN at US$1.2780 from US$1.2798

Euro/dollar: UP at US$1.1178 from US$1.1174

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN three cents at US$62.84 per barrel

Oil - Brent Crude: DOWN 17 cents at US$72.45 per barrel

New York - Dow: UP 0.8 per cent at 25,862.68 (close)
Nigel Farage's europhobe Brexit Party leads in polls in Britain. (Photo: AFP/Frederick Florin)

Eurosceptic forces are expected to seize ground in the European Parliament, buoyed by popular concerns about immigration, even if few parties want to quit the bloc.

Only in Britain, which voted in June 2016 to quit the union but has yet to decide how and when, are outright anti-European "leavers" expected to do well.

But once-marginal populist and nationalist parties have a new wind in their sails and could win enough seats to trouble Brussels' federalist consensus.

The main centre-right and centre-left blocs in the Strasbourg assembly may have to offer alliances or concessions to populist rivals for the first time.

Voting will begin Thursday in a Britain roiled by parliamentary fighting over how to define Brexit, and Nigel Farage's europhobe Brexit Party leads in polls.

The Netherlands votes the same day, followed by Ireland on Friday, some eastern countries on Saturday then France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the rest on Sunday.

The British result is not expected to change much in Brussels, although a strong showing by the Labour opposition may help the socialist bloc in Europe.

But EU leaders and top Brussels officials will be wary of gains by Italy's far-right League, Spain's emerging Vox and Victor Orban's ruling Hungarian party Fidesz.

In France, Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally is polling neck-and-neck with President Emmanuel Macron's centrist group, amid populist street protests.

If the vote again gives Le Pen the biggest number of French seats in Strasbourg, it will dent Macron's authority among Europeans as he pushes for closer EU integration.

The 751-member legislature will play a role in the weeks and months after the vote in assigning key leadership roles on the EU Commission and EU Council.

But the horsetrading for top jobs and the nuts and bolts of European legislation have never much excited the electorate - and turnout has been low and falling.

At the last Europe-wide election in 2014, participation fell to 42.6 per cent, down in every cycle since the first such poll in a then much smaller union in 1979.

Enthusiasm was particularly low in some of the newer, eastern members of the union, with turnout in the Czech Republic on only 18 per cent and in Slovakia on 13.

Those who will vote are, according to a YouGov poll of 8,021 people in eight major countries, particularly concerned about immigration and climate change.

REFUGEE CARAVANS

Immigration into Europe has fallen markedly from a high in the midst of the 2015 refugee crisis, but Europe has yet to agree on a reform of asylum policy.

Memories and images of thousands of mainly-Muslim refugees walking through Hungary and its neighbours are still a potent tool for populists like Orban. Far-right populists like Le Pen and Italian deputy PM Matteo Salvini hope support for their hardline stance will allow them to build a pan-European power base.

Polls suggest the far-right ENL group in Strasbourg could swell from 37 to 62 members, according to a poll of polls released by the European Parliament itself.

If the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) lose s ground or fully splits with Orban's Fidesz, the hard right could find itself in a much stronger position.

On some votes they could be joined by the anti-system Italian 5 Star movement, Farage's Brexit Party and the mainly Polish, Danish and Czech eurosceptic ECR.

"Currently, around 25 per cent of the parliament is eurosceptic and that could rise to 35," Jean-Dominique Giuliani of the Robert Schuman Foundation told AFP.

"It won't be a blocking minority, but it could have a fall-out effect, influencing the mood of other right-wing and extreme left parties," he said.

As befits nationalist groups, however, the various countries' populist parties are often starkly divided on other issues beyond immigration.

CLIMATE REBELLION

Polish and Baltic right-wingers, for example, are staunchly opposed to Vladimir Putin's Russia, whereas Moscow has friends in Hungary and Austria.

The latest polls suggest that the mainstream conservative EPP and socialist S&D, which currently form an effective majority, could lose 37 seats each.

This would oblige them to seek ties with liberals, Greens and centrists to share out Commission jobs and pass the next five-years' worth of EU legislation.

The Greens, especially in Belgium and Germany, will go to the polls motivated and buoyed by the current global wave of youth-led climate change protests.

But the arrival of Macron's new French centrist party will give the ALDE liberal grouping hope of breaking into the traditional left-right duopoly.

"There's a good chance that there will have to be at least three groups to form a working majority, a real novelty in the parliament," Giuliani said.

This game of coalitions will be important in choosing a successor to EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, and talks begin almost as soon as votes are counted.
By PTI

KOLKATA: Hours before the final phase of Lok Sabha polling, Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister wrote to the Election Commission Saturday in to ensure "peaceful and impartial" elections in the state without the interference of the BJP.

The EC should ensure that Sunday's polling is held without the "undue interference of the central government" and any "intervention by the ruling party at the Centre", Banerjee, West Bengal chief minister said in the letter written on her official letterhead.

Polling will be held in nine Lok Sabha constituencies in and around the city, including at Diamond Harbour where her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, considered to be the number two in Trinamool Congress, is seeking reelection. "In the final phase of the election tomorrow, I would request your good office to kindly ensure that election is completed peacefully, impartially and without any undue interference of the Central government and any intervention by the ruling party at the centre," Banerjee wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora.

She also requested the poll body to "protect democratic institutions and the federal structure of the country and extend due respect to the opposition parties".

ALSO READ| Sex workers in West Bengal make themselves heard with NOTA

Questioning the impartiality of the EC, Banerjee said the state has seen a number of "illegal, unconstitutional and biased decision during the election process because of the influence of the central government and the ruling party (BJP) at the centre. As a result, not only the state administration and its officers but also the common people of the state have been harassed and attacked in various manners, she wrote.

In this context, Banerjee referred to the permission granted to BJP president Amit Shah's roadshow in the city by the EC appointed police commissioner by withdrawing the prohibitory orders under Section 144 Cr PC. "The roadshow was itself a deliberate, intentional and a criminal conspiracy to vandalise the culture and heritage of Kolkata and West Bengal and also to defame the West Bengal government and its people," her letter read.

Violence had erupted on arterial Bidhan Sarani in north Kolkata during Shah's roadshow on May 14 in which a bust of the 19th social reformer, polymath and a key figure of the Bengal Renaissance was desecrated.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

BJP and TMC supporters fought pitched battles on the streets and Amit Shah escaped unhurt but was forced to cut short the roadshow and had to be escorted to safety by police.

The Trinamool Congress supremo also questioned the appointment of two retired government officers as EC special observers and not in accordance with the law. "These two special observers have shown partisan attitude and have always complied with the instructions given time and again by the central government and the ruling party at the Centre. All these issues were brought to the notice of the Election Commission of India but no justice has been done," she alleged in her letter.
"Between sad and disappointed" - Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the French Open warm-up in Rome AFP/Tiziana FABI

The eight-time champion came through 6-4, 6-0 against compatriot Fernando Verdasco to set up a rematch with Greek rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas for a place in the final.

Tsitsipas advanced after Federer - returning to clay after a two-year absence - retired with a right leg injury before their game.

"I am not 100 per cent physically and after consultation with my team, it was determined that I not play," said 37-year-old Federer.

Roger Federer was returning to clay after a two-year absence AFP/Tiziana FABI

The 32-year-old Nadal, seeded second, advanced to his fourth straight semi-final but has not managed to go further on clay this season, ahead of his bid for a 12th French Open title at Roland Garros, starting on May 26.

Tsitsipas beat Nadal in last week's Madrid Open semi-finals before falling to Novak Djokovic, but lost to the Spaniard in the Australian Open semis earlier this year.

Reigning US and Australian Open champion Osaka had earlier said she could not compete because of a problem with her hand.

"I woke up this morning and I couldn't really move my thumb," the 21-year-old told a press conference.

"I can't move my hand. I can't move my thumb and I'm not sure I can play my match.

"I tried to practice and grip my racket and I just felt this pain every time I tried to move my hand in different directions."

The Japanese star was due to meet Madrid Open champion and sixth seed Kiki Bertens.

Bertens goes through to meet either Britain's Johanna Konta or Czech Marketa Vondrousova.

"I haven't seen the doctor yet. I've seen the physio," she said.

Osaka said she could stay in Rome before going on to the French Open, but did not rule out competing in Roland Garros.

"I'm going to stay here for one more day and see how it is," she said.

"I haven't really talked to everyone so don't really know the plan is yet. I've never had this problem before, it's brand new."

"I'm going to take it like how I went to Australia," added Osaka, who also retired with a leg injury against Bertens in the WTA Finals last October before going on to win in Melbourne.

"Grand Slams to me are like a playground, I have a lot of fun there."

TOP RANKING AT ROLAND GARROS

Osaka won twice on Thursday after the previous day's play was rained off, retaining the world number one spot ahead of the French Open.

Federer was playing in the Italian capital to prepare for his return to the French Open for the first time since 2015.

"I am disappointed that I will not be able to compete today," said Federer, who also reached the quarter-finals in Madrid.

"Rome has always been one of my favourite cities to visit and I hope to be back next year."

The 20-time Grand Slam champion had been on court for nearly four hours on Thursday, saving two match points to win through in three sets against Borna Coric after earlier easing to a straight sets win over Portgual's Joao Sousa.

The former world number one had been a late addition to the Rome tournament as he sought clay-court practice ahead of his bid to add to his lone French Open title from 2009.

On court, Argentina's Diego Schwartzman dispatched Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori to reach the semi-finals.

Schwartzman, 26, won 6-4, 6-2 in 87 minutes in the quarter-final for his first win in four meetings with former US Open finalist Nishikori.

The world number 24, a French Open quarter-finalist last year, has not dropped a set so far on the red clay of the Foro Italico and next faces either the top-ranked Djokovic or compatriot Juan Martin del Potro.

"It's not the best result I wanted, but I'm getting better every tournament from Barcelona and looking forward to playing the French," said Nishikori.
EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager and German MEP Manfred Weber are vying to become the next EU Commision president. (Photo: AFP/Aris Oikonomou, INA FASSBENDER)

The apparent frontrunner to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission is German MEP Manfred Weber, the candidate of the EPP, the main centre-right bloc in the assembly.

But Weber's main sponsor, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is at odds with French President Emmanuel Macron who opposes him, and EU capitals don't want to cede the decision to parliament.

"If Germany doesn't get the Commission because of France, then France won't get it either," predicted a well-placed Brussels insider, playing down the chances of EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier getting the nod.

This could open the door for someone else, possibly the outgoing EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, the former Danish minister and breakout star of the Juncker administration.

If she does get the job she will become the first woman to hold the EU's top post.

Vestager is not a member of the European parliament, but she has been nominated by the liberal ALDE group, which is expected to swell in size and power with the arrival of members from Macron's centrist movement.

This democratic fig-leaf could be enough to quiet supporters of the so-called "spitzenkandidat" process, under which the leader of the biggest group -- probably Weber's EPP -- should get the prize.

"The chancellor would support Vestager's candidacy, because parliament will insist that the nominee come from one of the political groups," the senior political source said.

- 'The lack of understanding is total' -

Several parliamentary sources confirmed to AFP that no nominee "pulled from the hat" without having gone through the motions of the spitzenkandidat campaign would be acceptable to the European parliament members (MEPs).

But the eventual president's group would not have to have won the biggest share of seats, as long as he or - this year more likely - she has support on the all-powerful European Council of national leaders.

Until recently, it had been said in Brussels that Barnier might emerge after the elections as a compromise candidate. The respected negotiator is in Merkel's EPP and hails from Macron's France.

But last week when the EU leaders met in the Romanian mountain town of Sibiu, Merkel did not appreciate it when Macron publicly spoke against Weber and against the spitzenkandidat process itself.

"We shouldn't compromise on the least bad candidate," Macron said, in remarks seen as a swipe at both Merkel's conservative ally Weber and the current Commission chief and former EPP candidate Juncker.

Already, at the previous European summit Macron infuriated his colleagues by his opposition to extending Britain's deadline for negotiating Brexit - with Barnier his only high-profile backer.

After Sibiu, Merkel has admitted in an interview that sometimes she and Macron "wrestle" over issues, and Brussels insiders describe this as a polite euphemism for a "terrible" relationship.

"The lack of understanding is total," one said.

Among the other candidates for the top EU job are Dutchman Frans Timmermans who leads the Social Democrats' campaign. He is currently the first Vice-President of the European Commission and deputy to Juncker.

HORSE-TRADING

More than 400 million Europeans are eligible to vote in a series of parallel elections between Thursday and Sunday, after which group leaders will negotiate new voting blocks in Strasbourg.

But the national leaders will want to steal a march on parliament and impose their own choices for the top jobs - so the European Council will meet almost immediately on May 28.

There, they will launch the hunt not only for someone to replace Juncker at the Commission, but also former Polish premier Donald Tusk as chairman of the leaders' council.

Other prime jobs up for grabs will be those held by a trio of Italians: High Representative for foreign relations, Federica Mogherini, Mario Draghi at the European Central Bank and EU parliamentary speaker Antonio Tajani.

Brussels officials are keen that the senior posts be fairly spread around the continent in geographical terms, and that horsetrading between the leaders and parliament will determine their ideological bent.

But many, including Vestager herself, have insisted that this time women should be given a fair shake.

After the May 28 meeting, Tusk has set himself the task of putting together a list of nominees to be approved at the planned European Council summit on Jun 20 and 21.

"I will do my best to build more balance than today," Tusk said in Sibiu.
Nadav Eshcar, Ambassador of Israel to Vietnam, delivered a speech at the fintech seminar

The seminar was held in Hanoi by the Embassy of Israel Vietnam in co-operation with Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute and the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry.

Addressing the seminar, Nadav Eshcar, Ambassador of Israel to Vietnam said that Israels fintech is now super powerful. There are more than 500 fintech companies in Israel offering a variety of solutions which are extremely relevant to Vietnam, particularly to the financial sector. We carefully chose only six of them to invite to Vietnam this time, said the ambassador. He also hoped that the businesses from both sides will find chances for co-operation and benefit from them.

Meanwhile, sharing with VIR, Yaniv Tessel, head of the Economic & Trade Office under the Embassy of Israel in Vietnam, said that Israeli fintech companies are leading the world in artificial intelligence, automation, data security, and cyber security. These issues are very important to banks, so I believe there is a huge potential for Vietnam and Israel to co-operate in fintech, he said.

B2B meetings between Vietnamese and Israeli companies at the seminar

As one of the forerunners of second-generation identified authentication and onboarding automation, AU10TIX has supplied technologies for many major global players such as PayPal, Google, Visa, BBVA (bank in Spain), and Payoneer. Coming to Vietnam for the first time, this companys sales director Shay Cohen was deeply impressed. I find Vietnam a market with potential, with smart people who are eager to learn and adopt technologies. Vietnam is an amazing market that is moving forward, Shay told VIR.

Meanwhile, Oded mey Raz, director of Product Marketing and Sales, Kaymera, an Israeli supplier of secure communications and identity theft prevention for bank executives and private banking, said that Israel has many solutions related to innovative banking services that Vietnam needs. We will present our technology solutions which can help improve banking access in a secure manner, Oded said.

Sharing with VIR about the factors helping fintech to develop, Oded affirmed, If regulations are too tough, we cannot introduce fintech, but we also need regulations to protect us. Strong regulations that are nevertheless open for innovative technology is the thing the fintech market needs.

As one of the keynote speakers at the event, Nguyen Thanh Binh, discipline head of Finance at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, told VIR that the fintech market in Vietnam is currently at the early stage of development and will grow quickly in the coming years. The main drivers for the rapid growth are the emergence of new technologies that facilitate payment, lending or borrowing and financial planning; a young tech-affine population which embraces new technologies; the focus of banks on digital banking; and governmental efforts to increase financial inclusion as well as to move to a cashless society.

According to Solidiance, an APAC-focused consultancy firm, Vietnams fintech market was worth $4.4 billion in 2017 and is predicted to reach $7.8 billion by 2020, which equals a 77 per cent increase over three years.

Meanwhile, the strategy of developing Vietnam's banking industry to 2025 with a vision to 2030, has also named technology as the leading solution to the development of Vietnam's banking system. Vietnamese banks need to focus on developing products and services based on modern IT platforms and develop a conducive IT infrastructure, putting the emphasis on security.

They also need to encourage a healthy competitive relationship with other banks and fintech organisations. Meanwhile, the government should create an appropriate legal environment for the development of safe and efficient fintech organisations.
Bach Moc Luong Tu is among several mountains with different levels of difficulty that Lao Cai offers daring trekkers.-VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Trung

One can enjoy the best of this northern province by climbing mountains and enjoying the wondrous landscape while feeling the authenticity from the local people.

For would-be adventurers who want to gain valuable experience and mountaineering skills, Lao Than is a perfect fit.

The mountain is in the Y Ty Commune of Bat Xat District 2,800 metres above the sea level.

Starting from Hanoi, one can take the train to Lao Cai which is about 300km away. From Lao Cai City, you can rent a motorbike and drive 90km to Y Ty Commune. This route is challenging with turns and bumpy roads.

But choosing a motorbike for your trips is the best way to fully experience the beauty of the route with scenic terraced rice fields blended among the sea of clouds and mountain ranges.

Another 15km drive from Y Ty Commune you arrive at the foot of Lao Than Mountain, passing by the Trung Chai Village and vast vegetable farm in Phin Ho Village.

Lao Than, at the height of more than 2,800m above sea level, is among the most-climbed mountains in Lao Cai and an ideal introduction to the strength, energy and the endurance needed for more technical mountain climbs. - Photo nepxua.com

Lao Than is among the most-climbed mountains in Lao Cai and an ideal introduction for non-technical climbers. The hike, which is mostly on well-established trail, covers about 8km one-way. A guide can be rented to help you along the way.

It takes around six hours for mountaineers to conquer the peak. Along the trail is forest and hills. One can finish the hike within a day but to fully enjoy the experience, it is recommended that trekkers stay overnight on the mountain, watching sunset and sunrise, ideally from the summit.

For those who want a more technical climb, Bach Moc Luong Tu is the choice. This is among the five highest peaks in Vietnam. While Fansipan, the highest and maybe the most challenging, has lost some of its appeal due to the large crowds that visit, Bach Moc Luong Tu is a much more isolated choice.

Though the peak of has been successfully ascended many climbers, it is far from easy. Dealing with the rough and boggy roads is the main challenge when ascending the mountain might be exhausting for some. As the mountain is notoriously sheer, trekkers should be prepared to conquer the road and deal with vertical sections.

One can conquer the peak from two directions: from Sang Ma Sao, Bat Xat District, an easier route than the one which starts from Den Sung tribal village in Sin Sui Ho Commune in Lai Chau Province.

It takes three days and two nights to reach the summit. The one-way trail stretches more than 30km and features different landscape: bamboo forest, phong leaf forest, the ancient forest with giant old trees with layers of leaves and its large trunks covered with moss.

Lao Than trekking route

When one reaches the area near Muoi mountain, they will see a hut set up by local ethnic Mong people for trekkers. The hut is made of wood with a metal roof and can accommodate up to 60 people. This is a perfect place to rest and spend the first night.

It takes about five hours from the hut area to Bach Moc Luong Tu peak, climbing up and down three mountains, trekking among rhododendrons and bamboo forests. The hiking season is from October to March.

International trekkers need to acquire a hiking permit from the local authority as the mountain is close to the border.

Offering plenty of mountains with different levels of difficulty for trekkers, Lao Cai is truly a place to visit for those who want a simple hike up or need something more tricky.

The spectacular Hoang Lien Son mountain range alone stretches from Sa Pa to Van Ban and Yen Bai Province with various peaks like: Fansipan (at the height of 3143m and dubbed the rooftop of Indochina), Ngu Chi Son (3090m), Phu Luong (2,985m), Lung Cung (2913m), Xi Gio Pao (2,876m), Sa Phinh (2,871m) and Pu Gia Lan (1,458m).

Whether one is a novice or experienced trekker, the climb they choose can be easy or exhausting and challenging. Whichever you pick the one thing that is certain is that Lao Cai never disappoints.
The Smart Hotel Seminar focused on technology solutions for the hospitality industry

The Smart Hotel Seminar was organised at Ariyana SmartCondotel Nha Trang, touching upon a definite trend among todays service industry: continuing to evolve, incorporate, and need more technology to be successful, as technology innovations are transforming every industry and job role.

Here, experts from leading technology companies LG Electronics and HP Enterprise as well as top hotel management company PHD Hospitality shared their perspective on the impact of technology on the hospitality industry in Vietnam, especially in hotel management and data, customer experiences, as well as smart infrastructure system.

According to senior manager of LG Electronics Huyn Jun Choi, LG RMS is providing leading smart technologies such as automatic bedroom equipment control, AI voice control, and smart TVs and telephones. These are the solutions for a smart, up-to-date hotel and resort, promising to bring unique and novel experiences to tourists.

Seizing this trend, Ariyana SmartCondotel Nha Trang is the first project in Nha Trang to pioneer the smart-home technology system provided by LG Electronics, offering smart facilities and impressive experience for domestic and international guests coming to Nha Trang.

Le Van Nghia, general director of Nhat Minh Travel and the investor of Ariyana SmartCondotel Nha Trang, said that after one year of operation, applying smart technology and professional services has contributed to increasing the hotels attractiveness and posting incredible performance in its business, with more than 90 per cent of accommodations occupied.

With that success, Phu Long Real Estate has drawn up a smart-hotel development strategy not only for Ariyana SmartCondotel Nha Trang but also for other hotels and resorts such as L'Alya Ninh Van Bay Resort (phase 2), Holiday Inn Saigon Airport Hotel, and My Dinh luxury condotel complex.

During Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Beach Festival held on May 11-14, Phu Long Real Estate also introduced brand-new, unique accommodation projects that wake up the hidden beauty of Vietnams coastal pearls like Nha Trang, Cam Ranh, Danang, and Phu Quoc.
Prudential Vietnam builds new houses to bring a more secure and safer future for those affected by typhoons

Titled Safe houses for the community, the project not only contributes to disaster recovery efforts, but also helps stabilise the lives of people in the typhoon-hit areas of Vietnam and reduce disaster risks.

At the end of August 2018, the fourth storm known as Typhoon Bebinca made landfall in the northern and north-central provinces. The typhoon led to significant human and property losses with hundreds of homes damaged and thousands of cattle and poultry killed. The typhoon has severely affected the lives of people in the mountainous areas. The provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An faced the most severe consequences.

According to reports from the affected provinces, the typhoon killed 15 people, destroyed 139 houses, and damaged 7,000 other houses. Around 8,900 families had to relocate due to landslides and flooding.

Most of the affected families are poor or near-poor households so they faced tremendous obstacles in stabilising their lives after the disaster. Their livelihood has been severely affected in the aftermath of the typhoon with over 2,000 cattles and poultry killed and thounsands of hectares of crops damaged.

To help the affected community stabilise their lives, Prudential has implemented the Safe houses for the community project with three activities including building disaster-resilient houses, supporting the livelihood recovery, as well as providing training to improve knowledge and skills on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation for the local authorities and people.

The inaugration of the first five houses took place at Xop Mat village in Luong Minh commune, Tuong Duong district. The programme aims to develop 30 houses in total, with 14 houses in Nghe An and 16 houses in Thanh Hoa for the affected families.

Once completed in the next two months, the new houses will be handed over to local residents to provide them a solid and secure place to live. The houses are specifically designed to be disaster-resilient to withstand typhoons and storms, thereby helping the families to weather the brutality of natural disasters.

Previously, Prudential has supported the livelihood recovery of 44 families and organised three trainning classes on disaster-resilient houses, four advanced classes on disaster prevention and response skills for 110 staff and people. The firm also hosted regular communication sessions, reaching more than 550 people in 20 villages. Each activity within the framework of the programme helps raise knowledge on coping with natural disasters.

Understanding that natural disasters are always full of unexpected risks, during the past years, Prudential has always acted in a timely manner to support the affected community. Previously, Prudential spent VND1.5 billion to support 11 provinces in the aftermath of the floods last year to share losses with those affected. With regards to disaster risk reduction, Prudential has supported 15,000 fishermen and children in the central region with protective equipment as well as necessary skills to cope with disasters.

Automatic rain gauging stations are also installed to help local authorities forecast floods in the localities. In an effort to protect the environment, Prudential also implemented a long-term strategy on climate change adaption and environmental protection, with the first project aimed at building a community without plastic waste.

Sharing about the project, Clive Baker, general director of Prudential Vietnam said that, During the past 20 years, we have always listened, understood and acted to bring sustainable future for millions of Vietnamese people not only through effective financial solutions but also through meaningful community activities. The "Safe house for the community" project will help stabilise the lives of people suffering severe consequences of natural disasters. The project is Prudential's next significant activity on the journey to build and spread good values across the country. 
Opponents warn that "forcefully" passing a gay marriage law will intensify tensions. (AFP/Daniel Shih)

Lawmakers comfortably passed a bill, by 66 votes to 27, allowing same-sex couples to form "exclusive permanent unions" and another clause that would let them apply for a "marriage registration" with government agencies.

The vote - which took place on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia - is a major victory for the island's LGBT community and it places the island at the vanguard of Asia's burgeoning gay rights movement.

Thousands of gay rights supporters gathered outside parliament despite heavy downpours, waving rainbow flags, flashing victory signs and breaking into cheers as the news filtered out.

In recent months conservatives had mobilised to rid the law of any reference to marriage, instead putting forward rival bills that offered something closer to limited same-sex unions. But those bills struggled to receive enough votes.

The law, however, allows same-sex marriages only between Taiwanese, or with foreigners whose countries recognise same-sex marriage. It permits adoption of children biologically related to at least one of the same-sex pair.

Gay rights groups hailed the vote on Friday, saying the ability to apply for a "marriage registration" - known as Clause Four - put their community much closer to parity with heterosexual couples.

"The passage of Clause Four ensures that two persons of the same-sex can register their marriage on May 24th and ensure that Taiwan becomes the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage and to successfully open a new page in history," said the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights.

COURT ORDER

Two years ago Taiwan's top court ruled that not allowing same-sex couples to marry violates the constitution with judges giving the government until May 24, 2019 to make the changes or see marriage equality enacted automatically.

The law will not bring full equality with heterosexual couples as even the most progressive version only offers biological adoptions.

But gay rights groups have said they were willing to accept compromises, as long as the new law recognised the concept of marriage, adding they could fight legal battles over surrogacy and adoption down the line.

"In Taiwan a marriage will take effect when it's registered, so allowing marriage registration is no doubt recognising the marriage itself," Victoria Hsu, a gay rights lawyer, told AFP.

"For me the outcome today is not 100 per cent perfect, but it's still pretty good for the gay community as it provides legal definition," added Elias Tseng, a gay pastor who was among the crowds outside parliament.

FAMILIES DIVIDED

In the last decade, Taiwan has been one of the most progressive societies in Asia when it comes to gay rights, staging the continent's biggest annual gay pride parade.

But the island remains a staunchly conservative place, especially outside urban areas.

Conservative and religious groups were buoyed by a series of referendum wins in November, in which voters comprehensively rejected defining marriage as anything other than a union between a man and a woman, illustrating the limited popular support.

President Tsai Ing-wen hailed the vote as a "big step towards true equality" that "made Taiwan a better country".

Tsai had previously spoken in favour of gay marriage but was later accused of dragging her feet after the court judgement, fearful of a voter backlash.

Taiwan goes to the polls in January and the gay marriage issue could hamper Tsai's chances of re-election.

Opponents were incensed by the vote, saying the inclusion of the "marriage registration" clause ignored the 70 per cent of voters who had cast ballots in the referendum wanting to keep marriage limited to a man and a woman.

Tseng Hsien-ying, from the Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation, told local media the vote "trampled on Taiwanese people's expectations that a marriage and a family is formed by a man and a woman, a husband and a wife".

Australia and New Zealand are the only places in the wider Asia-Pacific region to have passed gay marriage laws.

Taiwan is the first place in Asia to do so.

Vietnam decriminalised gay marriage celebrations in 2015, but it stopped short of full legal recognition for same-sex unions.

"We hope this landmark vote will generate waves across Asia and offer a much-needed boost in the struggle for equality for LGBTI people in the region," Annie Huang, from Amnesty International Taiwan, said in a statement.
The USS Winston S. Churchill fires SM-2 missiles in the Atlantic Ocean in April 2018. (Photo: AFP/Jared HALLAHAN)

The State Department said it had approved 94 SM-2 missiles used by ships against air threats, along with 12 guidance systems for a total cost of US$313.9 million.

It separately gave the green light to sell 160 anti-air AMRAAM missiles and related guidance equipment to Japan for US$317 million.

The sales "will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States" by assisting key allies and "will not alter the basic military balance in the region," a State Department statement said.

North Korea last week tested what the South Korean military said appeared to be two short-range missiles in its second launch in less than a week.

The tests come amid a standstill in negotiations between North Korea and the United States, where President Donald Trump had boasted of ending Pyongyang's missile tests.

A second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended in deadlock in February, with the US side refusing demands to ease sanctions until Pyongyang takes major steps to end its nuclear program.
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (right) and Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah (Photo: VNA)

The consensus was reached by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah during their talks in Hanoi on May 16.

The two sides were resolved to work together in order to remove difficulties facing their businesses and create favourable conditions for them to cooperate, especially in such potential areas as urban development, renewable energy, electronic production, electricity, and agro-forestry-fishery.

Minh spoke highly of collaboration in national defence and security between the two countries over the years, particularly experience sharing and exchanges between army and security forces.

They concurred to push ahead with the establishment of mechanisms and the signing of new cooperation documents in national defence and security, as well as law enforcement.

The officials discussed measures to enhance partnerships in other spheres, such as education-training, employment, transport, information-communications, culture-tourism, maritime affairs, and fisheries.

Saifuddin affirmed that Malaysia attaches great importance to promoting affiliation with Vietnam across various industries, and that the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will partner with its Vietnamese counterpart to swiftly build an action programme on implementing the strategic partnership for the upcoming period; address obstacles to the bilateral cooperation; and create favourable conditions for Vietnamese citizens to live, study, and work in the country in line with law.

The officials rejoiced at the comprehensive and sustainable development of the bilateral friendship and cooperation in recent times.

They consented to increase all-level delegation exchanges via the channels of the Party, State, Government, and National Assembly, as well as people-to-people exchange.

The two sides will maintain and effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms, especially the Joint Committee on Economic, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation chaired by the two foreign ministers.

Regarding regional and international issues of shared concern, they agreed to intensify consultations and coordination in matters relating to regional security and strategy.

Vietnam and Malaysia agreed to join hands with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to strengthen the intra-bloc solidarity, successfully realise the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, and enhance the 10-member groups central role in the regional architecture.

They agreed to further their close cooperation and coordination at other multilateral forums, especially the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, and Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

At the same time, they consented to promote regional economic connectivity through agreements to which both are members, like the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

Malaysia pledged to support Vietnam in successfully assuming the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020 and the countrys bid to run for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 term.

Meanwhile, Vietnam vowed to closely coordinate with and back Malaysia in hosting the APEC Year 2020.

The officials reiterated their consistent stance on the East Sea issue and the principle of peacefully settling conflicts in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

They also stressed the need to increase trust and the significance of non-militarisation and exercise of self-restraint in activities that may complicate the situation and escalate tensions in the East Sea.

The ministers reaffirmed their support for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and will push ahead with negotiations to reach an effective and practical Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

During the talks, Minh expressed his hope that the Malaysian foreign ministers first ever visit to Vietnam will contribute significantly to consolidating and strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries.
Vietnam and international partners at Primary Healthcare Partnership Dialogue

The event, jointly held by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health (MoH), the World Economic Forum (WEF), Harvard Medical School Centre for Primary Care, and Novartis, attracted the participation of over 150 international and domestic delegates, showing how important public-private partnership (PPP) is for the healthcare sector.

The healthcare sector encourages domestic private and foreign investors to join PPP projects. At present, we are working on a circular to guide the implementation of PPP projects. The circular is expected to come out within this year, Nguyen Truong Son, Deputy Minister of Health, told VIR.

During the event, participants shared the challenges and opportunities around primary healthcare transformation and the person-journey through accessing primary healthcare, with a focus on MoH-driven initiatives, projects, and investments. It also obtained consensus from the MOH as well as development and private sector/industry partners on a shared vision for primary healthcare transformation in Vietnam, and facilitated the discussion between the government, the academia, development and private sector/industry partners on how to best contribute to and invest in the shared vision for primary healthcare transformation in Vietnam.

Committed partners reached a consensus on the creation of a major PPP initiative and the formation of the Working Group for Primary Healthcare Transformation, which would be under the existing Health Partnership Group mechanism. The working group, which consists of the Vietnamese government, WEF, Harvard Medical School, and Novartis, will develop an innovative PPP project to help Vietnam reach its universal healthcare coverage goal by 2030 by leveraging the various partners experiences, investments, and expertise to strengthen the existing pilot programmes by the MoH in creating a new comprehensive primary care model across the country.

Vietnam has been steadily developing its healthcare system. Nearly ninety per cent of the population now possess health insurance, protecting them against the kind of catastrophic health expenditure which ruins families. According to the latest Global Monitoring Report on universal healthcare coverage, published jointly by the World Health Organization and the World Bank, 97 per cent of Vietnamese children receive standard immunisations  a higher percentage than in most high-income countries.

Improving peoples health is critical to human welfare and will lead to continued social and economic development. The majority of ASEAN governments have prioritised healthcare, resulting in significant improvements in patient outcomes and population health. The Vietnamese government has met almost all Millennium Development Goals and it has made impressive strides to achieve universal healthcare coverage. Remaining challenges include further increasing coverage, strengthening primary healthcare, reducing under-the-table payments and increasing the efficiency of healthcare delivery.

If these issues are addressed, Vietnam could become an example for the wider region and the world. To rise to this challenge, Vietnam recognises the power of PPP to achieve universal healthcare coverage by 2030 through strengthening primary healthcare. This approach will ensure equitable access to high-quality services and products to the population, allowing Vietnam to sustain its strong socioeconomic growth.

The push for PPP projects in health Despite some growing interest, private investment in Vietnamese healthcare ventures remains low, with calls to supplement incentives for new projects in order to attract more ...

Partnerships can create breakthrough in health Private investors are being encouraged by upcoming policies in development of public-private partnership projects in the healthcare sector, but the country still needs to create ...
Mayank Singh By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has agreed in principle to grant the status of ex-servicemen to the women officers of the Military Nursing Service.

MoD will soon submit its in-principle approval to the Supreme Court, a source said. A case was filed in the Supreme Court by MNS personnel and its hearing was held on May 7, 2019. The Supreme Court told the Ministry of Defence to submit its reply in the next hearing in a closed envelope.

The MNS are the support women staff commissioned as officers in the medical stream of the armed forces and they come under the DG, Armed Forces Medical Services.

The MNS representatives had moved the Armed Forces Tribunal on 28 different issues. The main issue was them being granted the ex-servicemen status. The AFT had given a favourable decision to the MNS prersonnel, and it was challenged by the MoD in the Supreme Court in 2010.

The grant of ex-servicemen status to the MNS will enable the women to benefit from resettlement schemes, re-employment courses, exemptions such as from toll charges, and institutes such as the Defence Services Officers Institute. They already get the benefits of the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme and pension.

The Army has also agreed in principle to allow The officers of MNS of the rank of Brigadier and above to put their appointment stars on their vehicles. A brigadier has one star and a major general two stars on their vehicle.
The seminar on economic stability and competitiveness for enterprises

This was suggested by Ha Huy Tuan, vice chairman of the National Financial Supervisory Committee, at the recently seminar on economic stability and competition for enterprises in Hanoi.

According to Tuan, enterprises should invest in scientific research and strengthen connections and information sharing.

Particularly, in the context of increasing tensions between the US and China, with the latest move of the Peoples Bank of China depreciating the Yuan by 0.6 per cent against the USD, Tuan said that Vietnamese enterprises need to keep a close eye on the situation to evaluate exchange rate risks and build contingency plans.

It is difficult to forecast the next moves in the trade war. Vietnamese enterprises can base their evaluations on the impact forecasts of third parties, such as Japan or the EU, Tuan told VIR.

Meanwhile, evaluating the impact of the Yuan on the Vietnamese economy and enterprises, economist Can Van Luc said, This is a normal act in the context of escalating US-China trade war. However, China does not really use monetary tools to minimise the impacts of the trade war.

According to Luc, China is internationalising the Yuan and the adjustment is due to the recent hikes in the USD. Therefore, Vietnamese firms do not need to panic over the move, but need to proactively enhance competitiveness by improving corporate governance and product quality, developing their business strategy, and building their brands and a skilled workforce.

Vietnam also needs to promptly issue national strategies for Industry 4.0 and the digital economy, Luc told VIR.

According to Tran Dinh Thien, former director of the Vietnam Institute for Economics, 65 per cent of Vietnamese firms are of a micro scale and there are not many firms which can compete globally. We need to figure out the causes and then come up with solutions to boost their development. Besides, it is necessary to develop an appropriate legal framework and take risks, said Thien.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called a crisis meeting late on Friday after two German newspapers published footage purportedly showing his deputy discussing state contracts with a potential Russian backer in return for political support.

Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache was filmed talking about the contracts with someone posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch in Ibiza in July, 2017, months before parliamentary elections, Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung said.

Strache did not reply to a request for comment on the video. Reuters was not able to verify the authenticity of the footage independently, and the German newspapers did not say how they obtained it.

Kurz planned to make a statement on the case on Saturday, a government source told Reuters. The opposition called for Strache to resign.

Strache is head of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which became junior partner in a coalition with Kurz's conservatives in December 2017 after winning 26 percent of the votes in the October elections.The FPO's General Secretary, Christian Hafenecker, said the party's lawyers were evaluating the material. Neither Strache nor the Freedom Party ever received or granted any benefits from the persons concerned, Hafenecker said in a statement.

"Since the video was obviously recorded illegally, we are also preparing appropriate legal steps."

The footage, parts of which were posted by the newspapers, showed Strache and party colleague Johann Gudenus with the woman in a room in what the newspapers said was a villa in Ibiza.

The woman said she wanted to invest several hundred million euros in Austria, according to the newspapers. Strache and Gudenus discussed investment opportunities for her, including taking over a 50 percent stake in Austria's influential tabloid Kronen Zeitung and using it to support Strache and the FPO party in the election.

Gudenus was not immediately available for comment.

"If she takes over the Kronen Zeitung three weeks before the election and get us into first place, then we can talk about everything," Der Spiegel quoted Strache as saying in the video.

Strache held out the prospect of awarding her public contracts in road construction if she helped the Freedom Party succeed, according to the video.

Vienna prosecutors said they would study the reports and decide whether there was sufficient cause to open an investigation, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors said.
His party may be enraged by Donald Trumps presidency, but Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden insisted Saturday that Democrats would not defeat the Republican president in 2020 if they pick an angry nominee.

Facing thousands of voters in his native Pennsylvania for the second time as a 2020 contender, the former vice president offered a call for bipartisan unity that seemed far more aimed at a general election audience than the fiery Democratic activists most active during presidential primaries.

Some believe that the angrier a candidate is, the better chance he or she has to beat Trump, Biden told thousands of Democrats in downtown Philadelphia.

Thats what they are saying you have to do to win the Democratic nomination. Well, I dont believe it, he declared. I believe Democrats want to unify this nation. Thats what the partys always been about. Thats what its always been about. Unity.

Bidens moderate message highlights his chief advantage and chief liability in the early days of the 2020 presidential contest, which has so far been defined by fierce resistance to Trump on the left and equally aggressive vitriol on the right. Bidens centrist approach may help him win over independents, but it threatens to alienate liberals who favor a more aggressive approach in policy and personality to counter Trumps turbulent presidency.

Call for aggressiveness

I want aggressive change. Im not hearing that from him yet, said Jennifer Moyer, 45, of Blandon, Pa., who attended Bidens rally. I dont want middle of the road.

The event was the culmination of a three-week campaign rollout that began and ended in Philadelphia, which will house Bidens campaign headquarters. The 76-year-old native of working-class Scranton, Pa., has climbed to the front of the crowded primary field, in part by ignoring his Democratic rivals and focusing on his ability to compete with Trump head to head next year.

In the fight to deny Trump re-election, no states will matter more than Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, three states the Republican president carried by razor-thin margins in 2016.

Biden is betting big that voters in the Midwest and beyond will ultimately embrace his optimistic appeal.

Thats far from certain.

The Biden loyalists who waited hours under a hot son to see him Saturday cheered his message. But some in his partys energized left wing, watching from afar, were skeptical.

Its hard to imagine how Joe Biden is not angry, said Adam Green, co-founder of the liberal group known as the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has long supported Elizabeth Warrens presidential ambitions.

Has he been living in the Trump era? Kids are being torn away from their mothers arms at the border, Green continued. "Its completely legitimate to have righteous outrage at this horrible Trump moment in history, and to want a candidate who will channel that anger toward positive change.

Angry voters

It was easy to see signs of anger in recent days as Biden courted Democratic primary voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina as part of his inaugural national tour. At a house party in New Hampshire earlier in the week, Biden took a question from a woman who called Trump an illegitimate president and said he should be impeached.

Biden jokingly asked if shed be his running mate, before shifting the conversation to another topic.



A spokeswoman later said Biden does not believe Trump is an illegitimate president.

Ahead in the polls in the early days of the 2020 contest, Biden is unlikely to embrace a more aggressive approach soon.

Referencing the health care fight under former President Barack Obama, he noted Saturday that he knows how to win a bare-knuckle fight, but later added, We need to stop fighting and start fixing.

If the American people want a president to add to our division, to lead with a clenched fist, closed hand and a hard heart, to demonize the opponents and spew hatred  they dont need me. Theyve got President Donald Trump, he continued. I am running to offer our country  Democrats, Republicans and independents  a different path.

Before he took the stage, longtime admirer Bradley Skelcher, of Smyrna, Del., praised the former vice presidents optimistic message. But he described himself as damn angry about the Trump presidency.

We need calm. You dont want anybody like me running the country, Skelcher said. Somebody needs to calm us down a little.
Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday that recent U.S. words and actions had harmed the interests of China and its enterprises, and that Washington should show restraint, China's Foreign Ministry said.



Speaking to Pompeo by telephone, Wang said the United States should not go "too far" in the current trade dispute between the two sides, adding that China was still willing to resolve differences through negotiations but that the nations should be on an equal footing.



On Iran, Wang said China hoped all parties would exercise restraint and act with caution to avoid escalating tensions. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement that Pompeo spoke with Wang and discussed bilateral issues and U.S. concerns about Iran, but she gave no other details.



Tensions between Washington and Tehran have increased in recent days, raising concerns about a potential U.S.-Iran conflict. Earlier this week the United States pulled some diplomatic staff from its Baghdad embassy following attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf.

Harder line



China struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States on Friday, suggesting a resumption of talks between the world's two largest economies would be meaningless unless Washington changed course.



The tough talk capped a week that saw Beijing unveil fresh retaliatory tariffs, U.S. officials accuse China of backtracking on promises made during months of talks, and the Trump administration level a potentially crippling blow against one of China's biggest and most successful companies. The United States announced on Thursday it was putting Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., the world's largest telecom equipment maker, on a blacklist that could make it extremely hard to do business with U.S. companies.



The U.S. Commerce Department then said on Friday that it might soon scale back restrictions on Huawei. It said it was considering issuing a temporary general license to "prevent the interruption of existing network operations and equipment."



Potential beneficiaries of this license could, for example, include telecom providers in thinly populated parts of U.S. states such as Wyoming and Oregon that purchased network equipment from Huawei in recent years.



On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang, asked about state media reports suggesting there would be no more trade negotiations, said China always encouraged resolving disputes with the United States through dialogue and consultations.
Trade tensions between the United States and China are deepening. After months of talks, the two sides appear no closer to reaching a deal. VOA spoke with business owners in southern China about the toll from the prolonged standoff. VOA Mandarin Service reporter Ye Bing has more from Guangdong.
A senior United Nations official warns the alarming escalation of hostilities in northern Syrias Idlib province could spiral out of control with disastrous consequences for its three million civilian inhabitants.

The recent uptick in violence in Syrias northern Idlib province is causing alarm among U.N. and international observers. Over the past two weeks, at least 100 civilians reportedly have been killed or injured in clashes between Russian-backed Syrian forces and al-Qaida associated rebels.

Dozens of medical and health facilities, as well as schools have been hit by airstrikes and more than 180,000 people reportedly have fled their homes toward supposedly safer areas.

But, U.N. Senior Humanitarian Adviser, Najat Rochdi, notes there are no safe areas in Idlib. She says nearly three million people in the Syrian province are essentially trapped. She says there are no escape routes out of this conflict-ridden area.

The recent loss of life and suffering of civilians in Idlib is absolutely not acceptable," she said. "People fleeing because of fear and because of bombing is their cruel daily reality. But now if the bombing is continuing where do you want them to flee? They already fled there as like the last resort for them to find a safe place. Where is it that they will be able to go as of now, if this is not stopping?

Rochdi says she cannot predict whether the current upsurge of violence in Idlib will turn into a full blown or bloody war. But she says the United Nations is preparing for, what she calls, the worst-case scenario.

It will be a real disaster, and I mean a real tragedy if this is really scaling up more than it is now, not only in terms of impact on the civilians, which is already dramatic in itself, but really in terms of the whole dynamic in the sub-region, she said.

Rochdi says the Humanitarian Task Force, which is responsible for getting aid into besieged and hard-to-reach areas of Syria, is calling for an urgent de-escalation of the situation. She says the parties to the conflict must recommit fully to the cease-fire arrangement of the memorandum signed last September.

She calls upon the so-called Astana guarantors, especially Russia and Turkey, to uphold the de-escalation agreement to stop all violence and to prevent further escalation. She urges the United States to lend its weight to this process.
ExxonMobil has evacuated its foreign workers from an oil field in the southern Iraqi province of Basra amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.

A senior Iraqi official and three other sources told Reuters the employees were evacuated on Friday and early Saturday to Dubai or to a housing complex in Basra province. An Iraqi oil official also confirmed the evacuation with Associated Press.

The chief of Iraq's state-owned South Oil Company, Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, said the evacuation was "a precautionary and temporary measure" and that there was "no indication" of danger.

Heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. have fueled concerns of a potential conflict in the Mideast region.

The U.S. recently bolstered its military presence in the area and increased economic sanctions against Tehran, accusing it of threatening U.S. troops and the country's interests.

Washington withdrew non-emergency staff members from its embassy in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, apparently due to concerns over perceived threats from neighboring Iran.

There was no immediate comment from ExxonMobil, which is headquartered in the southern U.S. city of Irving, Texas.
Two guards and a soldier were killed and four other people were kidnapped early Saturday in a suspected Islamic State attack targeting Libya's Zella

oilfield, a security source said.

The death toll was confirmed by the National Oil Co. (NOC), which condemned the attack in a statement Saturday evening.

The attackers struck at an entrance gate to the field, which lies near the town of Zella about 760 km (470 miles) southwest of the capital, Tripoli, before fleeing, according to the source and local residents who asked not to be named.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its Amaq news agency later Saturday.

The Zella field belongs to Zueitina Oil Co., which pumped 19,000 barrels per day on average in the last quarter of 2018 across all its fields.

An engineer told Reuters that workers at the field were safe and facilities had not been damaged.

Libya's NOC chief said Saturday that continued instability in the country could cause it to lose 95 percent of oil production.

Speaking in Saudi Arabia ahead of a ministerial panel gathering on Sunday of top OPEC and non-OPEC producers, Mustafa Sanalla also confirmed the Zella attack.

Islamic State has been active in Libya in the turmoil since the overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The militant group took control of the coastal city of Sirte in 2015 but lost it late in 2016 to local forces backed by U.S. airstrikes.

In the last two years, the group has targeted three state institutions in Tripoli, home of the U.N.-backed government of national accord led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

Saturday's assault took place as Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army, which is allied to a rival administration in eastern Libya, mounts an offensive to control Tripoli.
Fawaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRINAGAR: Three encounters took place in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday in which four terrorists, including a Hizbul Mujahideen commander allegedly involved in the abduction and murder of Army jawan Aurangzeb last year, were killed.

The Army, CRPF and J&K police launched a joint search operation in Awantipora in South Kashmirs Pulwama district. After the terrorists fired on the forces, there was a three-hour-long encounter in which three Hizb terrorists, all locals, were killed.

Among them was Showkat Dar, a Hizb leader who planned and executed many attacks on security forces, including the killing of Aurangzeb, a police officer said.

Aurangzeb, a Rashtriya Rifles jawan who had taken part in many anti-terror operations, was abducted by terrorists from Pulwama while he was going to Poonch to spend Eid with his family in June 2018. He was posthumously conferred the Shaurya Chakra last year.

While a terrorist was killed during an encounter in north Kashmirs Baramulla district, all terrorists escaped during an anti-terror operation in south Kashmirs Anantnag district.

Forces pelted with stones

The youth of the area attempted to march towards the encounter site in Pulwama district. When intercepted, they pelted stones at the security forces.
India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has one unwanted lead in this month's general election race - according to data from an electoral watchdog it is fielding the most candidates among the major parties who are facing criminal charges. Its main rival, Congress, is just a step behind.

Election laws allow such candidates to run so long as they have not been convicted, on grounds both of fairness and because India's criminal justice system moves so slowly that trials can take years, or even decades, to be resolved.

Still, the number of such candidates accused of offenses ranging from murder to rioting has been rising with each election.

Analysts say political parties turn to them because they often have the deepest pockets in steadily costlier elections, and that some local strongmen are seen as having the best chance of winning.

Nearly one-in-five candidates running for parliament in the current election has an outstanding criminal case against them, inching up from 17% in the previous election and 15% in 2009, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a non-profit organization that analyzed candidates' declarations.

The data shows that 40% candidates from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP face criminal charges, including crimes against women and murder, followed by the Congress party at 39%.

Among the smaller parties, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has an even higher proportion, with 58 percent of its candidates embroiled in criminal cases.

Polls have suggested that the BJP and its allies lead the race to win the mammoth, staggered election that began last month and ends on Sunday. Votes will be counted on Thursday.

"Parties only think about winnability and they know that money power and muscle power of such candidates ensures that win," said Anil Verma, head of the ADR.

With 240 cases against him, K Surendran of the BJP tops the list of candidates with the most outstanding criminal complaints that include rioting, criminal trespass and attempted murder.

He said most of the cases stem from his involvement in theBJP campaign to oppose the entry of women and girls of menstruating age into the Sabarimala temple in his home state of Kerala.

"I understand that an outsider might feel that I am a grave offender but, in reality, I am completely innocent of these charges," he said. "It was all politically motivated."

Dean Kuriakose from the Congress party has 204 criminal cases against him, the second highest, the data showed. Most of the cases were related to a political agitation against the ruling Communist Party in Kerala, which turned violent.

He was not available for comment. But a party spokesman said Kuriakose was innocent. "He was falsely charged by the police under influence from Kerala government," the spokesman said.

Political analysts say that often people vote for candidates who face criminal charges because they are seen as best placed to deliver results. In some parts of India local strongmen mediate in disputes and dispense justice.

"Powerful people, even if criminals, offer a kind of parallel system of redressal," said K.C. Suri, a professor of political science at the University of Hyderabad.

A separate ADR survey of more than 250,000 voters last year found 98% felt candidates with criminal backgrounds should not be in parliament, though 35% said they were willing to vote for such a candidate on caste grounds or if the candidate had done "good work" in the past.
Iran's top diplomat on Saturday dismissed the possibility of war erupting in the region, saying Tehran did not want a conflict and that no country had the "illusion it can confront Iran," the state news agency IRNA reported.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have increased in recent days, raising concerns about a potential U.S.-Iran conflict. Earlier this week the United States pulled some diplomatic staff from its Baghdad embassy following attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf.

"There will be no war because neither do we want a war, nor has anyone the idea or illusion it can confront Iran in the region," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told IRNA before

ending a visit to Beijing.

President Donald Trump has bolstered economic sanctions and built up U.S. military presence in the region, accusing Iran of threats to U.S. troops and interests. Tehran has described those

steps as "psychological warfare" and a "political game."

"The fact is that Trump has officially said and reiterated again that he does not want a war, but people around him are pushing for war on the pretext that they want to make America

stronger against Iran," Zarif said.

He told Reuters last month that Trump could be lured into a conflict by the likes of U.S. national security adviser John Bolton, an ardent Iran hawk.

Regional tensions



In a sign of the heightened tension across the region, ExxonMobil evacuated foreign staff from an oilfield in neighboring Iraq after days of saber rattling between Washington and Tehran.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Bahrain warned its citizens against traveling to Iraq or Iran due to "unstable conditions." In Washington, officials urged U.S. commercial airliners flying over the waters of the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to exercise caution.

A Norwegian insurers' report seen by Reuters said Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards were "highly likely" to have facilitated the attacks last Sunday on four tankers including two Saudi ships off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

In Tehran, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards named a new head of the force's intelligence unit on Saturday, the Fars news agency reported.

Iranian officials have denied involvement in the tanker attacks, saying Tehran's enemies carried them out to lay the groundwork for war against Iran.

U.S. officials, however, are concerned that Tehran may have passed naval combat expertise onto proxy forces in the region. Following the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions, a senior

Iranian maritime official said Iran had adopted new tactics and new destinations in shipping its oil exports.

Iranian crude oil exports have fallen in May to 500,000 barrels per day or lower, according to tanker data and industry sources, after the United States tightened the screws on Iran's

main source of income.
Malawians go to the polls on May 21 for local, parliamentary and presidential elections. Seven candidates are running for president, but the real battle is between incumbent President Peter Mutharika, Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima and main opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera. With just a few days to go, it remains difficult to predict the winner, as Lameck Masina reports from Blantyre.
Each week for the last five or six years, a man named Alan crosses into mainland China to work on sales for a packaging factory. His job, and the location, worry him now that Hong Kong is considering a law change that would compel Hong Kong to turn over criminal suspects to mainland China.

Every single business thats working in China has broken some sort of laws. Every single one of them, said Alan. He asked that his surname be withheld out of concern for his and his familys safety. Its impossible not to break a law in China when running a business because the laws are so onerous."

I know Im not wanted, but who knows? he said. The whole thing about living in Hong Kong is, there is a certain amount of protection from China.

That protection could soon vanish.

A proposed amendment, backed by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, would free Beijing to demand that Hong Kong surrender criminal suspects to China to face trial there.

Similar concerns were shared in Washington Wednesday. Four democracy activists from Hong Kong urged Congress to pressure the Hong Kong government to shelve proposed changes to the law that would allow Beijing to demand that criminal suspects be extradited to face trial there.

In Washington, former Hong Kong lawmakers Martin Lee and Nathan Law reminded the bi-partisan panel, the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China, that Chinas opaque and political legal system operates without the transparency or standards used in the West. China could get someone on the mainland to swear an affidavit that a suspect had committed an offense and then demand that Hong Kong send the suspect to face prosecution, Lee said.

"This goes to the heart of what Hong Kong people truly fear: that those of us who dare speak out to defend human rights and democracy will risk trumped up arrest, torture and unfair trial in mainland China, Law said, a lawmaker until 2017 when he was ejected by a court using a controversial legal opinion issued by Chinas legislature.

"Our generation is especially concerned about being sent to a place that does not respect human rights," he said.

The testimony came days after Hong Kongs legislature erupted in a brawl when members of the bodys two opposing camps physically battled for control of the bill currently in a legislative committee.

The bill would allow Hong Kong to send criminal suspects to other jurisdictions where the territory does not currently have extradition pacts. That includes Taiwan and China.

Hong Kongs chief executive, Carrie Lam, says the change is needed fast, before a Hong Kong man suspected of killing his girlfriend in Taiwan last year is freed. Lawmakers and scholars proposed alternative language, including a proposal for extradition to Taiwan only. The government said Hong Kong needs a broad policy to handle fugitives or the city will become a haven for them.

The four guests in Washington made clear that the extradition bill doesnt only threaten permanent residents who are protected by a Common Law legal system in Hong Kong. Also vulnerable are foreign workers and the 85,000 Americans who live in the former British colony that was surrendered to China in 1997. The commissions witnesses said the American officials should press Hong Kongs human rights concerns as the United States continues to negotiate with China about the ongoing battle over tariffs.

Lee said if the bill is passed, Hong Kongs guaranteed rights to free speech and assembly, and a Common Law court, will be finished. Theres this under-appreciation of what happens in mainland China, Lee said. Theres no rule of law. They want to get you, they get you. Period. Your right of appeal is null.

The group made their case on Capitol Hill Wednesday as the bill continues to deeply divide Hong Kong people. Tens of thousands of residents demanded that the bill be shelved and that their chief executive resign as they marched through Hong Kong streets on April 28. It was the largest protest in the Chinese territory since tens of thousands staged a sit-in for free elections in 2014.

The committee witnesses mentioned the increasing difficulties faced by Beijing government opponents in Hong Kong. Earlier that day, six pro-democracy activists were convicted of joining an unlawful protest in Hong Kong in 2016 to oppose an imminent constitutional interpretation from Beijing.

That rare ruling was triggered by a legal challenge to the oath-taking by eight new lawmakers. Soon after, Beijing required oaths to be delivered sincerely and solemnly, as written, with no option to retake them. Hong Kong courts soon used the interpretation retroactively to bar two elected lawmakers from restating their pledges and expelled four legislators who had been sworn in.

Lee urged U.S. officials to remind corporations that their freedoms and businesses are threatened with the law. Individuals could face prosecutions and businesses would lose guarantees of a transparent legal system.

They would rather we fight the fight for them, Lee said. They don't want to stick their necks out. I reckon the business people must be persuaded to come around. So they understand that human rights are preserved for everybody.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed regional developments, including efforts to strengthen security and stability, in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the Saudi Media Ministry tweeted on Sunday.

The announcement came hours after Saudi Arabia's King Salman invited Persian Gulf and Arab leaders to convene emergency summits to discuss the implications of this week's attacks against the kingdom and neighboring United Arab Emirates, the Foreign Ministry said.

The meetings are set for May 30 in Mecca, the ministry said on Twitter.

Four commercial ships were sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on May 12, and two days later drones attacked oil installations west of the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
Still reeling from the Easter terror attacks, Sri Lanka commemorates this weekend 10 years since the end of a bloody civil war that killed at least 100,000 people, the scars of which are still not healed.

Security was tight in the north of the island, home to Sri Lankas minority Tamils, ahead of solemn ceremonies Saturday.

Sri Lankas government and top military brass were to have their own commemoration in Colombo Sunday.

On May 18, 2009, government forces brought their no-holds-barred military offensive to an end at a lagoon in the northern coastal district of Mullaittivu with the killing of Velupillai Prabhakaran, leader of the rebel Tamil Tigers.

Thousands missing

Sri Lankas then-president Mahinda Rajapakse declared an end to the 37-year separatist conflict  marked by massacres, suicide bombings and assassinations  between Tamil militants and the central government, which is dominated by the majority Sinhalese.

But for thousands of war widows and other victims on both sides, this marked the start of a new struggle: to find out the fate of their loved ones.

About 20,000 people are still missing, including 5,000 government troops.

Anandarasan Nagakanni, 61, is still searching for her son Arindavadas.

He was last seen with the Sri Lankan army, and after that we havent seen him, she told AFP at a tiny makeshift office in Mullaittivu, where a notice board was covered with dozens of photos of missing people.

Nagaraja Sureshamma, 65, who lost one son and is still looking for the other, recalled the horrors of the final months and how civilians scrambled to escape indiscriminate attacks and shelling.

We were all going together, but my son happened to go on a different route. ... Ever since, we have not been able to find him, Sureshamma said.

If they are not alive, then they need to tell us that at least, said Mariasuresh Easwari, an activist trying to help find the missing.

Did you murder them? Did you bury them? Tell us.

Grieving banned

Sri Lankan forces have been accused of killing about 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final months of the war, a charge successive governments have denied.

Several mass graves containing skeletal remains have been found in the past two decades, but only a handful of those buried have ever been formally identified.

Until recently, even remembering the war dead was considered subversive and annual memorial services by Tamils were trashed by government forces.

Government forces have set up memorials in the north for fallen security forces and bulldozed Tiger cemeteries, obliterating any sign of the rebels who at their zenith controlled a third of Sri Lanka.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a recent report that the new governments promised political reforms and accountability for wartime atrocities have failed to materialize.

For many Sri Lankans living in the bitterly contested north and east, the war has never quite ended, it said.

Islamist terror

Although the pain for many families remains, and many in the 2.5-million-strong Tamil community still feel disadvantaged, the end of the war did open a peaceful new chapter in which Sri Lankas economy and tourism boomed.

But this peace was shattered April 21 when Islamist suicide bombers targeted three churches and three luxury hotels, killing 258 people, including 45 foreigners.

The attackers were homegrown extremists  the Islamic State group also claimed credit  and riots since saw dozens of homes, businesses and mosques of Sri Lankas Muslim minority vandalized. One man was killed by a mob wielding swords.

According to the ICG, the Easter attacks compounded the general anxiety, tearing again at the social fabric, unleashing further violence and complicating the road to sustainable peace.

Evoking memories of past dark times, a state of emergency has been in place since April 21 with the return of some wartime restrictions on free movement.

Sri Lankas army chief Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake has said his troops will ensure that this years commemoration goes ahead peacefully.

As much as we mourn the soldiers who were killed in the war, (minority Tamil) civilians also have a right to commemorate their war dead, he said Thursday.
The victims of an infamous Nazi pedophile commune in Chile say the compensation of up to $11,000 Germany has agreed to pay each of them is not enough.

Germany said Friday it would pay the funds to the victims of Colonia Dignidad commune founded in 1961 by Paul Schaefer, a former Nazi soldier.

The commune was promoted as an idyllic German family village. The reality of the place, however, was something sinister.

Dozens of children were sexually abused at Colonia Dignidad by Schaefer.

Its approximately 300 German and Chilean residents were abused and drugged. They were prevented from leaving the site that was surrounded by armed guards with dogs.

Survivors say they were virtual slaves.

Horst Schaffrick told the French news agency AFP that the money is "a help, yes, but it does not solve the problem. We are a lost generation." Schaffrick, who was three when he arrived at the commune with his family, says he was sexually molested by Schaefer.

A lawyer for the survivors said, "What we would have wanted, and what we are arguing for, would be that we give settlers who are old enough to retire a decent pension, no more and no less."

A German report released Friday said, "The survivors still suffer massively from the severe psychological and physical consequences after years of harm caused by violence, abuse, exploitation and slave labor."

The report also said that compensation to the victims would be paid "exclusively out of moral responsibility and without recognition of a legal obligation."

The commune also "actively collaborated with Pinochet dictatorship henchmen on torture, murder and disappearances," according to the German report in a reference to Augusto Pinochet, Chile's dictator from 1973 - 1990, who tortured and "disappeared" his critics.

Schaefer was arrested in 2005 in Argentina. He was jailed in Chile for child sexual and other abuses.

He died in 2010 in prison at the age of 88.
The American Embassy in Jakarta has issued a security warning for Americans in Indonesia, citing concerns over the official announcement of the results of the Indonesian presidential and legislative elections on May 22 by the General Election Commission (KPU).

"Indonesian police officials have publicly cited a heightened risk of terrorism in connection with the finalization of election results, and media has reported recent arrests of Indonesians on terrorism charges," the embassy posted on its website on Friday.

Be aware of demonstrations

The American Embassy also warned of ongoing demonstrations at several offices related to the elections and around several public places in downtown Jakarta, including offices of KPU and the General Elections Supervisory Board (BAWASLU). Demonstrations are also expected in several other cities, such as Surabaya in East Java and Medan in North Sumatra.

The warning coincided with an announcement by Inspector General Mohammad Iqbal of the National Police Public Relations Division, who said at a press conference that nine people had been arrested earlier in the week in connection with a plot to bomb several unspecified locations during the current election period.

The suspects, aged between 24 and 45, are from a Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) terrorist cell in Central Java. Arrested Tuesday, six of the suspects had returned home after traveling to the Middle East to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, according to authorities quoted by the Straits Times.

68 suspects arrested since start of year

Since January, Indonesia's Anti-Terror Detachment-88 has arrested 68 terrorism suspects, including the nine taken into custody this week, Iqbal said at the press conference. Seven were shot dead and one died after blowing himself up as he was about to be arrested in Sibolga, North Sumatra, Iqbal said, adding, "This group will take advantage of the democracy momentum because for them democracy is not in line with their understanding, and for them it is a target for their actions."

On April 17, Indonesians voted in the first simultaneous elections since the country began democratic elections, with 193 million voters going to more than 810,000 polls. The first democratic presidential election took place in 2004.

The results, according to early returns, showed that incumbent President Joko Widodo defeated his opponent, Prabowo Subianto, a retired military general associated with the traditional political elite, who had vowed to challenge the official results if they confirmed that Widodo would have a second term. Widodo is the first Indonesian president from outside the Jakarta elite.
Eddy Montes, a protester shot dead in a Nicaragua prison this week, was a naturalized U.S. citizen who served in the Navy, but ultimately returned to the Central American country where he fought for a change in government, his family said.

Montes died Thursday after he and other prisoners tried to snatch a gun from a guard while the International Red Cross was visiting the prison, the Nicaraguan interior ministry said, adding that the guard acted in self-defense.

He had been jailed after protesting against Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega in October last year, during protests that have killed at least 300 people. The protests erupted over welfare benefits but spiraled into a broader movement to oust Ortega, who is serving his third term as president.

Angered by Montes death, opposition groups said Friday that they would stage new protests over the weekend.

US condemns Navy vets death

The U.S. State Department condemned his death as a killing at the hands of Nicaraguan riot police and urged the government to thoroughly investigate the incident. It also called for other political prisoners to be released.

The lack of justice for these prisoners and for the hundreds of innocent civilians killed by Ortegas security and parapolice forces shows the regimes utter disregard for human life and democratic freedoms, it said in a statement.

The Nicaraguan government prohibited the demonstrations last November and has accused the protesters of intending to cause chaos.

Montes had spent much of his childhood and young adult years in the United States, family members say, but returned to Nicaragua in the early 1980s to study medicine. Ortega and his leftist Sandinista party had came to power a year earlier.

In 1984, Montes organized a protest after the Sandinista government passed a law to introduce military service. Gloria Montenegro, his wife of 18 years, said his activism had put him on the radar of the government.

With those anti-government protests, he became a target [for the government], Montenegro said, recalling a time during the Cold War when dissidents were backed by the United States and the Nicaraguan government by the former USSR.

So we fled to Costa Rica and after that to the United States, where he decided to join the U.S. Navy. Montes was based out of San Diego. Later, he worked in real estate.

Return to Nicaragua

Montes returned to Nicaragua in 1993 and bought farmland in his native Matagalpa. It was not long until he joined anti-government protests again.

He was always seen as an opponent, said Yader Valdivia, an attorney who once worked with the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights and is now in exile in Costa Rica. When the protests began, he began to help by bringing in food, supplies and medicine to the students, Jafet Montes, his daughter, who lives in California, said.

Ortega should be held responsible, she said.

I blame the government, I blame the president, because he controls everything that happens in that country, she said.
The U.S. State Department has cleared $314 million in possible sales of air defense missiles to South Korea, the Pentagon said, as tensions re-emerge on the Korean Peninsula.



South Korea, a key Asian ally of the United States, asked to buy up to 94 SM-2 missiles used by ships against air threats, along with 12 guidance systems and technical assistance, for a total cost of $313.9 million, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said on its website. The agency, a unit of the Department of Defense, delivered certification on Thursday notifying Congress of the possible sale.



The proposed sale, announced Friday by the Pentagon, comes after North Korea recently criticized South Korea's defense purchases from the United States, including the arrival of the first F-35 stealth aircraft.



With denuclearization talks stalled after a second summit between North Korea and United States broke down in Hanoi in February, North Korea went ahead with more weapons tests this month.



The reclusive North and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, rather than a peace treaty.



South Korea already uses SM-2 missiles developed by Raytheon Co., but is building more missile defense-capable destroyers equipped with the weapon.



North Korea has boasted about its indigenous surface-to-air missiles.



Separately, Japan, another key U.S. ally in the region, was also cleared to buy $317 million worth of medium-range air-to-air missiles from Washington, the DSCA said.
Although China introduced its ambitious mega infrastructure initiative, called Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which can be termed its dream project, before the world in 2013, it seems that the same could turn out to be a nightmare for the dragon. The first conference of the BRI Forum was called in 2017. More than 100 countries participated, and it was thought that China was getting overwhelming support for the initiative from the rest of the world.

India boycotted that conference, as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) being built through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) was being projected as a part of BRI. However, when the second conference of the BRI Forum was organised in the last week of April 2019, again boycotted by India, a lot of apprehensions were expressed and questions were raised about several aspects of this project. Chinas confidence was seemingly shaken this time. Experts across the world have started raising questions about the feasibility of this project.

What is BRI?

The Belt and Road Initiative is intended to give a boost to international trade by improving connectivity between different countries through road, rail and maritime routes. The proposal is being linked to the historical Silk Road, which the Chinese claim was first developed by the Han dynasty nearly 2,000 years ago. Apart from this, BRI will pave the way for a number of corridors in the world. In this initiative, there is the Silk Road Economic Belt, which would connect China with central and south Asia, and subsequently with Europe. Along with this there will be a new maritime Silk route which would connect China with South East Asia, the Gulf countries, East Africa and Europe. Six economic corridors are being planned to connect other countries with this belt and road. How far this initiative will fructify and what shape it will take is still being talked about.

Countries which are proposed to be partners in BRI account for nearly one-third of the GDP and international trade of the world, while two-third of the worlds population lives in these countries. Up to 25 per cent of the population in many of these countries lives in poverty. In the absence of infrastructure, resources in these countries are not fully utilised, and therefore their development is impacted. It is being claimed that development of infrastructure would reduce constraints to trade, and therefore the condition of people in these countries may improve.

It is being said that the project would not only improve road, rail and maritime connectivity between different countries, but it would also make transportation of goods easier, cheaper, and faster. At present it takes nearly 30 days to take goods from China to central Europe by the sea route. This time would be reduced by half through the rail route. When it takes longer to deliver goods from the factory to the destination, obviously it poses an impediment to trade. The supporters of BRI claim that it would encourage growth in the world through trade. The success of BRI would make trade easier in different corridors of the world, they claim.

As per the proposals, nearly 70 countries, including China, are expected to participate in BRI. Since the project has not taken shape fully, it is difficult to conclusively estimate how much investment would be required for it. However, a broad estimate says that investments in BRI may total $1,000 billion to $8,000 billion. Apart from this, there will be investments from governments in different countries and also the private sector. All said and done, the total investment is expected to be so big that nobody is ready to say anything about the financial part of the project.

However, the benefits expected from BRI would not be easy to realise. Even if the transportation of goods through road, rail and maritime routes is facilitated, there is no guarantee that trade will improve automatically. Research by the World Bank shows that trade may remain inhibited due to a host of reasons. Building so much infrastructure needs several trillion dollars of investment, which China cannot make on its own. Moreover, the project looks too risky for other countries to finance it.

Most of the countries where the infrastructure is supposed to be built are so weak economically that they would be excessively dependent on other countries, including China. The proposed borrowing for the projects may increase their debt burden. The World Bank says that the debt/GDP ratio of the poorer BRI countries may impact their sovereignty. For this reason they are scared of participating in BRI.

According to the World Bank, in most of these BRI countries, legal systems are too weak to protect the rights of investors. To make this mega project take off, these countries may have to make structural changes, which will not be an easy task.

Danger of Debt Burden

Generally, sovereign nations decide to undertake infrastructure projects on their own. However, when these decisions are taken under the influence of other (powerful) countries, it may impact their sovereignty, as they might have to compromise on their national interests. One such example was seen in Sri Lanka recently. When China undertook the construction of Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, resulting in billions of dollars of debt on Colombo, the latter had to surrender its port to China on a 99-year lease.

India has boycotted BRI from the beginning, saying that it might take the debt burden of most BRI countries to unsustainable levels. However, the major cause of Indias opposition has been the CPEC being constructed by China through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). India has said, We are of the firm belief that connectivity initiatives must be based on universally recognised international norms, good governance, rule of law, openness, transparency and equality.

Connectivity initiatives must follow principles of financial responsibility to avoid projects that would create unsustainable debt burden for communities; balanced ecological and environmental protection and preservation standards; transparent assessment of project costs; and skill and technology transfer to help long-term running and maintenance of the assets created by local communities. Connectivity projects must be pursued in a manner that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity. This Belt and Road Initiative was introduced to the world with much fanfare. However, the cold response of most large and rich countries, especially those from where major investment was expected, is raising questions about the likelihood of success of this initiative.

Dr. Ashwani Mahajan

Associate Professor, PGDAV College, University of Delhi

Email: ashwanimahajan@rediffmail.com
Photo: Victor Juca

One of the pleasures of Cannes is stumbling into a film that you know absolutely nothing about and emerging with a new favorite. On Wednesday night, after a screening of Deerskin (a movie where Jean Dujardin talks to a jacket) went long, I had to hightail it across the Croisette to make it into Bacurau*, a film Id heard (1) was from Brazil, (2) was very good, and (3) not very much else about. (I was not alone in this; in the run-up to the premiere people kept calling it Baracao.) The festivals official synopsis was incredibly vague: Bacurau, a small town in the Brazilian sertao, mourns the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later, its inhabitants notice that their community has vanished from most maps. After navigating the traffic, pedestrian barriers, and impromptu photoshoots of downtown Cannes, I successfully made it into Bacurau two minutes before the lights went down, with no chance for further research. In retrospect, I wouldnt have had it any other way.

What exactly is Bacurau? Like the fable of the blind men and the elephant, the movie initially feints at a handful of genres before slowly revealing itself about an hour in. In the opening sequence, Teresa (Barbara Colen) hitches a ride back to the village to attend her grandmothers funeral and deliver much-needed medical supplies  ah yes, I thought, a film about a young professional coming to grips with her roots. Gradually we get to know the inhabitants of Bacurau in all their charming, folksy glory: a no-nonsense doctor (Sonia Braga), a hunky semi-reformed gangster, a priest who delivers sermons by megaphone, as well as a mysterious herb. Are we heading towards a gentle, humanist portrait of a town, sort of a Bill-Forsyth-goes-to-Brazil thing? At various points in the first hour, we also seem to be in a gimlet-eyed social satire, or maybe a horror film. Theres a sleazy local politician whos up to no good, broken coffins littering the highway, and horses stampeding down Main Street. Modern technology is on the fritz  the village disappears from Google, and everyones phones loses service. Two motocross bikers pull into town, and may not be what they seem. Whats going on?

To reveal exactly whats occurring would spoil much of the fun of Bacurau, but I will say this: Directors Juliano Dornelles and Kleber Mendonca Filho are clearly not fans of Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, a Trumpian figure big on torture and dictatorship, nor of Westerners who see the country as their own personal playground. Its hard to beat the trembling, surreal vibe of the first act, but the movie doesnt lose much steam once we know the surprise. (Since villainous German actor Udo Kier pops up in the opening credits, you can tell he has something to do with it.) Were treated to an extended discussion on whether Brazilians count as white, a legendary outlaw who turns out to resemble Cristiano Ronaldo, and copious nude scenes that contrast the hard, toned bodies of outsiders with the earthy flab of the villagers. As Dornelles and Filho made one audacious creative decision after another, and all the tension finally exploded in an orgy of bloodletting, the audience at my screening didnt know whether to laugh or cheer. So instead, they did both.

Now, on Thursday, word is getting out. At the American Pavilion, everyone was buzzing about that Brazilian movie. Nobody described it exactly the same way, but today, they all got the name right.

*An earlier version of this piece misspelled Bacurau. It has been fixed throughout.
By PTI

BENGALURU: Karnataka BJP has expelled its Tumkur district youth wing President from the party's primary membership for a post praising Nathuram Godse on the social media.

"For your post on social media praising Nathuram Godse, you have not only been removed from the post of Yuva Morcha district President, but also expelled from the primary membership of the party," the expulsion order signed by state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa, addressed to T H Hanumantharaju read.

READ | Like 'khaki nikkar,' Nathuram Godse an identity of RSS: Azam Khan

The social media post of Hanumantharaju shared by BJP to the media shows the picture of Godse and a vessel that supposedly contains his ashes decorated with flowers next to it.

The message with the picture calling Godse a "great patriot" says his ashes have still not been immersed in the Sindhu river.

Hanumantharaju is not the first in the saffron party to face the ire of the party leadership for praising Godse.

READ | BJP remains inspired by killers of Gandhi: Sitaram Yechury

Earlier, BJP candidate Pragya Singh Thakur too had stirred a controversy by calling Godse, the assassin of mahatma gandhi, a true patriot During a roadshow in Madhya Pradesh on May 16, Thakur had said Godse was a patriot, is a patriot, and would remain a patriot and those who call him a terrorist should look within, they will get a reply in this election.

She later apologised for her statement.

She was responding to a comment by actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan, who had said "free India's first extremist was a Hindu" remark, referring to Godse.
Besides growing crops, Birdwell serves on the Texas Grain Sorghum Producers Board, and tariffs dominated discussions during the boards meeting last month. He said he also operates a grain storage service, and sorghum is scarce.

In our area, milo (another name for sorghum) is in direct competition with corn in terms of acres planted, Birdwell said. With all the disadvantages associated with sorghum right now, including reduced markets, corn is just more lucrative for a lot of people.

Despite the crops headwinds, the share of sorghum used in food is growing, said Calvin Trostle, a professor and extension specialist in Texas A&M Universitys Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.

I recently told a Texas Farm Bureau person that tariffs have knocked $1 a bushel off sorghum prices, Trostle said. To many people sorghum is perceived as inferior, a lesser grain fed to cattle. But use in food is growing, now reaching 1 to 2 percent of yield, and there is a breakfast cereal available in some grocery stores around the state with sorghum.

McGregor-area farmer Rodney Schmalreide said the issue is frustrating.
Graduation commencements inspire us because they not only recognize significant achievement, they celebrate new beginnings, new possibilities and opportunities, or, as Helen said, the start of a new phase of life. Education offers to the young the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills that equip them for the future. For those who are older, it offers the opportunity to re-tool, to start over, to pursue new dreams.

Nothing is as important for a new start on life as a spiritual transformation that connects us with God and places in our hearts the values that make life meaningful. Proverbs says, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. (Proverbs 1:7). In Ezekiel God said, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26).

God is always about new beginnings. He offers to the young the opportunity to launch their lives on the path that leads to life and, to those who are older, the opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start over. Whether or not you hold a formal degree from an institution, whether you are 19 or 90, you can make a new start on life. Paul wrote in Corinthians, If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Bill Tinsley reflects on current events and life experience from a faith perspective. Email bill@tinsleycenter.com.
Much appreciation to Dr. Iliana Neumann and Ashley Bean Thornton for their recent Waco Tribune-Herald columns voicing support for the important health-care services provided by Planned Parenthood, especially for uninsured and low-income Texans.

Dr. Neumann is a compassionate, caring physician at Wacos Family Health Center. Ashley Bean Thornton devotes much of her time working to build a better Waco community, one thats equitable for all. Both of these highly respected, incredibly knowledgeable, fearless women are in the trenches daily and know firsthand that access to affordable, high-quality health care simply isnt available to a large percentage of women in our community. The number of women dying of breast and cervical cancer in McLennan County exceeds both state and national averages.

Eighteen percent of McLennan County residents are without health insurance, compared to the 9 percent national rate. McLennan County faces a teen birth rate nearly twice the national average. The maternal mortality rate in Texas is one of the highest in our country and much higher than many developing countries. More than half of pregnancies in Texas are unintended. This number continues to climb because Texas politicians continue to target safe, legal abortion and family planning services.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Marayamuttom police, probing the suicide of a woman and her teenage daughter, have slapped charges of domestic violence against the four relatives, who were earlier arrested for abetting suicide.

The new charge was levelled after police recovered a notebook, purportedly written by Lekha, the mother, on the harassment faced from family members, including her husband Chandran.

Lekhas suicide note revealed she and her daughter were subjected to cruel treatment by Lekhas mother-in-law Krishnamma, Krishnammas sister Shantha and her husband Kashi.

Lekhas sister Bindu also told the police that Chandran and his mother used to harass her sister demanding dowry. These statements were relied upon by the police to charge the accused, who are currently in judicial remand.

Meanwhile, local residents said when Lekha was being transported to the hospital in an ambulance, she said Chandran was responsible for her fate. The statements were recorded by the police.
This past year was not massively better than 2020, but at least it was different. A variant, so to speak. And like any year, it had both highs and lows.

No, we take that back. It was pretty much all lows.
By Express News Service

SAMBALPUR: The historical Rani Bakhri or queens palace in the city is all set to get a new lease of life as renovation work reaches its final stages.

Aiming to restore its lost glory without altering the main structure, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage has adopted traditional method for the renovation work.

Member of INTACH, Sambalpur Chapter, Deepak Panda said work on painting of motifs inside the monument and restoration of paintings is underway. The work is going on in full swing and a target has been set to complete renovation by June end, he said.

Traditional techniques are being applied in restoration of the monument and materials like lime, gum of Bael (wood apple), Ritha (wash nut) and jaggery are being used. A paste is prepared using traditional grinder locally called Ghana by mixing lime, gum of Bael, Ritha and jaggery in specified proportions and plastering was done by using the paste. The old plaster of the historical structure was removed and fresh plastering undertaken, he added. All the renovation work has been carried out without affecting the original structure.

The three-storey Rani Bakhri was built by the 5th King of Sambalpur, Baliyar Singh, in 1650. Historians say Rajasthani miniature paintings adorned the walls giving the palace a unqiue look. However, water seepage from the roof of the palace erased the paintings.

Panda said there is also a proposal to develop corridor surrounding the palace. The State Government has agreed to provide `65 lakh separately for land acquisition.

There is a proposal to develop an art and photography gallery inside Rani Bakhri. The paintings of renowned painters of the region besides photographs will be displayed at the gallery.
As we wrap up the school year, it is critical to ensure that our students are educated about and understand the hurtful impact of anti-Semitic and racist images and words, Townsend wrote. Our goal is to bring our community together, to address the issue, and not allow these hateful acts to divide us.
What they supposedly meant was that because I was young and blond and female, I could get things from men, she wrote in Buying the Night Flight. Frankly, I never understood the principle at work here. I just couldnt picture waking up at three in the morning with some stranger lying next to me and saying, Eh, Che, mi amor, tell me where your missiles are? Men apparently think this is the way its done.
An automobile was headed north on South Capitol Street at the same time, in the left lane, the police said. As both the car and the motorcycle approached Firth Sterling, the motorcycle turned left onto the eastbound lanes of Firth Sterling.
They said a car traveling north on Brandywine collided with a southbound car. Officer Ameera Abdullah, a police spokeswoman, said the man who was killed was a passenger in one of the cars.
The ongoing flow of migrant families into the United States along the countrys southern border has strained U.S. Border Patrol resources so far beyond capacity that, for the first time, the Trump administrations border crisis is spilling out into Americas interior. CBP is considering processing migrants at locations hundreds of miles from the border, an official said Friday. Record numbers of families have crossed the border in recent months, and unauthorized migration is at its highest level in more than a decade. Trump has declared a national emergency over the issue  a contentious declaration that has split opinion along party lines.
By Express News Service

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court cancelled bail granted to an accused who was charged of sexually abusing two minor girls in Thoothukudi. Justice M Dhandapani passed the order following the petition filed by the father of the victims. The judge observed that the order granting bail was passed without perusing the statements of the victims and relevant materials.



He further pointed out that the Supreme Court had also dismissed the anticipatory bail petition filed by the accused, and had directed him to surrender first, and apply for bail thereafter. The same had not been followed at the time of filing bail plea.

Considering the allegations levelled against the accused, and the fact that many photos of the victims might still be available on his mobile phone and other devices, the judge expressed that a proper investigation must be conducted by securing the accused, and, therefore, cancelled the bail granted to him.

The accused, who was the petitioners co-brother, was working as a medical representative in Chennai.



According to the petitioner, the accused sexually abused the two minor girls -- aged between 17 and 14 years -- whenever he visited the petitioners family in Thoothukudi. The accused had reportedly taken semi-nude photographs of the victims and had been constantly threatening them. Following this, the petitioner lodged a complaint against the accused under Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

However, the accused was granted bail by the Principal Sessions Judge in Thoothukudi on March 2, 2019, on grounds that there was no complaint from the side of the victims mother, and that the wife of the accused and the petitioners wife were in amicable relationship. Challenging the order, the victims father filed this petition.
There was no explosion and no serious injuries among workers at the business. Three trauma patients remained hospitalized in stable condition and 10 others, including sheriffs deputies who entered the warehouse to search for possible victims, were treated for exposure to debris and released, authorities said.
Israel says its troops didn't kill paraplegic Palestinian: The Israeli army has closed a criminal investigation into the death of a paraplegic Palestinian man shot while demonstrating along Gaza's border with Israel in 2017, saying the probe found "no evidence" that its soldiers fired the fatal round. The army said its troops fired toward "the lower parts of main instigators" in response to a "violent riot." Ibrahim Abu Thraya, 29, hailed as a symbol of heroism by Palestinians, died after a bullet struck his head, according to Palestinian medical records obtained by the Associated Press, during a protest of President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Witnesses said no gunfire came from the Palestinian side. Palestinians and human rights groups asserted that Abu Thraya was shot by an Israeli sniper.
North Korea asks U.N. chief to address ship seizure by U.S.: North Korea has asked U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres to deal with the "illegal" seizure of one of its cargo ships by the United States, state media said. "This act of dispossession has clearly indicated that the United States is indeed a gangster country that does not care at all about international laws," the North Korean ambassador to the United Nations said in a letter sent to Guterres, according to North Korea's KCNA agency.
Nevertheless, pro-life legislative efforts havent been for naught. Fence-sitters may now see more clearly on which side to plant their feet. In a 2016 Pew Research Center poll, 69 percent of Americans opposed overturning Roe v. Wade . But most people are comfortable with limitations. We can quibble over where those limits should be, but nothing will ever please everyone. Where insight fails, facts are often helpful: Biologically, life begins at conception. Full stop. A fetus is not part of a womans body except as is umbilically necessary to sustain its life. Otherwise, it is a free-floating human being with its own unique DNA. If left to develop according to natures course, the little tadpole would become a fully formed human baby and, barring unforeseen circumstances, grow up to become a regular reader of this column.
Congress still has an opportunity to act. Sen. James E. Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been working on legislation that he hopes could pass Congress and escape Mr. Trumps veto. To do so, it would omit direct sanctions on the crown prince and restrictions on U.S. arms sales. But if it conditions U.S. visas for the Saudi elite and their families on tangible reforms, including the release of political prisoners, it could prove useful. A bill in the House, sponsored by Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), would require the director of national intelligence to provide Congress with a list of individuals responsible for Khashoggis death and deny them entry into the United States unless steps on human rights are taken.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Adding more fuel to his election campaign, MNM founder Kamal Haasan on Friday questioned the practice of calling people Hindus since the name was given by foreigners like Mughals and it was better to use the term Indian than Hindus.

Neither the 12 Alwars (Vaishnavite saints) nor the 63 Nayanmars (Saivite saints) have called people Hindus. It was given by foreigners and the British rulers had seconded that name. It is highly ignorant to call ourselves Hindus or using it to denote our religion. Though the description Indian is the recent one, it will last forever. It is commercially, politically and spiritually wrong to contract our vast country within a religion, Kamal Haasan said in his tweet.

For those who could not get my point, there is a saying in Tamil - Koodi Vaazhnthal kodi nanmai (living unitedly will bear many a fruit).

Charging that the Central and State governments have barred him from holding his concluding day campaign, Hassan said, By these acts, one cannot prevent the people from implementing this decision but only can delay a bit.



Meanwhile, in another tweet, the MNM chief also released a video to conclude his campaign for the by-elections to the four Assembly constituencies.



Meanwhile, on Thursday night, Haasan said he had expressed similar views on the Godse issue 15 days ago on Marina. But then, there was no reaction to his remarks but now those who had lost hope, had been reacting to this.

Asked whether he had filed for anticipatory bail with the fear of getting arrested, the MNM founder said I am not afraid of arrest. I want to do my concluding campaign which is important. My advice is - dont arrest me because it will escalate the tension further.



On the silence being maintained by his colleagues in the cinema industry, Haasan said, Perhaps they might be having different views...it is a democratic country, you know?
The Trump International Hotel is just one business venture of many in which the president has a stake. With his company privately held and Mr. Trump refusing to release any more than what is legally required about his finances, the public can only guess at the other conflicts of interest that might affect his thinking. Mr. Trump continues to refuse to release his tax returns, as every president in recent memory has done voluntarily. As he gears up for 2020, he is arguing that his tax forms do not matter. But, as the story of the Old Post Office indicates, they do.
Climate change and overuse are still advancing. I followed Powells path because I wanted to understand how water conflicts were going to play out, and my first move was the same as his: get on the river to see whats going on. Today, Red Creek is in the tailwater of Flaming Gorge Dam, and I can see the impacts of a highly regulated waterway: the non-native trout, the unnaturally clear water, because the dam stops sediment that would normally make the current milky and thick. Weve constructed a vast network of pipes, reservoirs and dams and built up a society around that man-made river, and thats not going to change. No one wants to cut off water to Salt Lake City or to stop growing food in Yuma, Ariz.
The president said at the time there were very fine people on both sides of the conflict, which prompted Biden to pen an opinion piece in the Atlantic titled We Are Living Through a Battle for the Soul of This Nation. The former vice president has made restoring the nations soul a theme of his campaign.
One risk for Democrats is that, with so many candidates and so many voices, side debates distract from core issues and unifying messages. The debate over reparations sparks passions within the Democratic base but is not an issue high on the list of most voters who will determine who is the next president. The same is even more true of the issue of whether violent felons, terrorists or sexual predators should be allowed to vote while in prison, a topic recently injected into the Democratic conversation by Sanders.
Morrisons Liberal-National coalition was two seats short of a parliamentary majority after about 70 percent of the vote had been counted, according to election officials. But political analysts said the pattern of voting made it likely that the coalition would emerge Sunday with more than half the seats in parliament.
Now that Asia Bibi is free, I pray that God will help my husband too, said Sobia Masih, 30, the wife of Sawan Masih, a street cleaner in Lahore who was accused of insulting Islam in 2013 during a dispute. He was sentenced to death in 2014, and Sobia last saw him in prison at Christmas. This has turned our lives upside down, she said. I have to live in hiding, and my children do not tell anyone he is their father.
People in the crowd in Milan said they had barely a clue about the other politicians. They were there to see one man. The stage was decorated with a half-dozen logos of Salvini's party, the League, with no reference to other European parties or flags.
By PTI

HYDERABAD: BJP leaders in Telangana Saturday performed a 'Yagam' at Warangal seeking divine blessings for Narendra Modi to become Prime Minister again.

The Raja Syamala Maha Yagam (religious ritual) was performed at Hanmakonda in Warangal district, seeking the blessings of Goddess Bhadrakali for Modi, the BJP said in a release.

Modi's rule has been popular and pro-people, but he had to face some obstacles, it said.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Prayers have been offered to the goddess so that Modi would have her blessings in his second stint as PM and all obstacles are removed, it said.

State BJP president K Laxman attended the event as chief guest.

Prayers have also been offered, wishing that Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are freed from the rule of 'Chandras (Chief Ministers K Chandrasekhar Rao and N Chandrababu Naidu) and BJP expands, the release added.
A senior Hezbollah official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in accordance with the groups rules governing interactions with the media, acknowledged that income from Iran has fallen, obliging Hezbollah to cut its expenditures. There is no doubt these sanctions have had a negative impact, said the official. But ultimately, sanctions are a component of war, and we are going to confront them in this context.
The hearing is the latest chapter in Trumps quest for a big, beautiful wall along the southern border to keep out undocumented migrants. Construction of the wall, which the president has claimed would be financed by Mexico, was a central promise of his campaign. Trump allowed the federal government to shut down for 35 days over the winter because the Democratic-controlled House refused to appropriate the sum he wanted.
Whether the target has been North Korea, with which warnings of fire and fury have become little more than an exchange of beautiful letters between Trump and Kim Jong Un, or Venezuela, where the threat of all options has failed to upset the status quo, the president has blinked. With Iran, the dispatch of a U.S. aircraft carrier and a bomber task force, as well as reported plans to deploy 120,000 troops, were quickly followed by Trumps insistence that he only wants to talk to Iranian leaders.
By Associated Press

WASHINGTON: For all of President Donald Trump's talk of winning, his lawyers are using a legal argument that many scholars say is a pretty sure loser as his team tries to defy congressional attempts to investigate him. Yet they may end up delaying the investigations with their argument, and that could be a win in itself.

In courts in New York and Washington, Trump is attempting to beat back subpoenas by Congress to get financial records from accountants and banks Trump and his family do business with. His argument is that congressional Democrats are out to get him and that they have no "legitimate legislative purpose" in seeking his personal records.

Congressional investigations are legitimate only if there is legislation that might result from them, the lawsuits say in identical terms. "There is no possible legislation at the end of this tunnel," both suits claim.

So far a federal judge in Washington has seemed unimpressed with Trump's attempt to prevent Mazars USA, an accountant for the president and Trump Organization, from turning over subpoenaed records to Congress. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta held a hearing in the case Tuesday and could rule anytime on Trump's request.

ALSO READ: In William Barr, US President Donald Trump has found his champion and advocate

Separately, a hearing is set for Wednesday in federal court in New York in a lawsuit Trump, his business and family have filed against Deutsche Bank and Capital One to prevent them from complying with subpoenas from the House Financial Services and intelligence panels for banking and financial records.

The court argument is part of a broader White House strategy to resist all congressional oversight following special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. "Congressional investigations are intended to obtain information to aid in evaluating potential legislation, not to harass political opponents," White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote in a letter to House members Wednesday .

On Friday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he won't comply with a congressional subpoena for six years of Trump's tax returns. He cited the absence of a "legitimate legislative purpose" as his reason.

The White House approach finds little support among scholars who say Congress' authority to investigate is broad and that in the past century the Supreme Court has never found a problem with a congressional investigation for lack of legislative purpose. A 2017 report from Congress' policy research arm found that "courts today generally will presume that there is a legislative purpose for an investigation."

ALSO READ: Courts weigh President Donald Trump's plan to tap Pentagon for border wall

Charles Tiefer, who served as a lawyer for Congress for 15 years, said lawyers have given up on making the kind of argument Trump's lawyers are making. Tiefer, now a University of Baltimore School of Law professor, described the argument as "one of those medieval notions that are not taken very seriously now."

But even if judges in both cases rule against Trump, he won't go down without a fight that might take months or even years of appeals to resolve. Ohio State law professor Peter M. Shane, who studies the separation of powers, described it as Trump's lawyers "trying to run out the clock until the election."

"Why should this misleading argument be any different from any other misleading argument?" Shane said, adding: "The reason they're not making stronger arguments is because stronger arguments aren't available to them."

Other legal fights over Congress' attempts to obtain unredacted copies of Mueller's report and have administration officials testify also could get hung up in the courts long enough to spill over into the next presidential administration, whether it's Trump's second term or his successor's first. Past impasses between Congress and the executive branch that led to lawsuits that lasted for years.

ALSO READ: Weak legal case could still benefit Donald Trump in Congress clash

Trump's defenders say his legal arguments are genuine and should be taken seriously. They chastise Congress for what they see as politically motivated investigations. Hans von Spakovsky of the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank likened the actions of House Democrats to hearings held by the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s that targeted people suspected of being Communists.

He pointed out that the Supreme Court has recognized limits on Congress' investigative power. The high court held in a 1957 case that Congress "doesn't have the constitutional power to expose for the sake of exposure," von Spakovsky said. The case, Watkins v. U.S., was a criminal appeal in which the justices threw out a conviction against labor organizer John Watkins for refusing identify Communist Party members to lawmakers.

Elaine Kamarck, a scholar at the liberal Brookings Institution who worked in the Clinton White House, said the House subpoenas of Trump's banks and accountants are a world away from the McCarthy era's hunt for Communists.

Congress "is seeking information from a private party about the president of the United States and the possibility of some form of conflict of interest, to say it mildly, or corruption," Kamarck said.
When you think George Clooney, chances are the word "s---head" doesn't immediately come to mind. But that's what, and who, he plays in Catch 22 (Stan), the six-part series based on Joseph Heller's 1961 novel about the experiences of an American bombardier in World War II.

Scheisskopf  German for s---head  goes from lieutenant to general over the course of the novel, and moves from training inductees in the art of marching to commanding them on the battlefield. In the series, Clooney plays him brilliantly as the embodiment of lug-headed military stupidity. He barks orders that make no sense even to himself. He demands robot-like precision in the marching technique of his charges, wishing he could drill bolts into their legs and attach wires "with exactly three-and-a-half inches of play" so they might finally get the arm movements right. And when someone is stupid enough to provide the answer he demands to a rhetorical question, he punishes them for doing so. Oh he's a Scheisskopf all right.

Clooney is clearly one of the key attractions and selling points of the series, which was created by Australians Luke Davies (writer of Candy and Lion) and David Michod (writer-director of Animal Kingdom and War Machine). He's an executive producer and one of three directors (with Ellen Kuras and Grant Heslov) too.

But he's not really one of the main actors; he's in the first third of episode one, barking those nonsensical orders on the parade ground, but not in episode two at all  only the first two episodes have been made available for preview  though I suspect (and hope) he will reappear in later ones.
You can tell Holly Evans is a serious journalist on a left-leaning newspaper by the jumper she wears. Its a knitted red number, proving shes a no-frills kinda gal. Same goes for her colleagues on The Herald, who are all dressed in jumpers, buttoned-up shirts, and worn leather jackets. So serious! So ethical!

Across the road lies The Post, helmed by reptilian editor Duncan Allen. He wears a suit and sits in an office with a glass desk and black leather chairs. He loves to wield his influence over politicians and thinks his job is more about delivering entertainment to his readers than the facts.

Ben Chaplin plays the oily tabloid editor of The Post in Press.

And so we have the scene set for Press, an entertaining BBC drama that will either confirm all of your worst suspicions about the tabloid newspaper industry or have you fist-pumping for the poor ol quality paper thats doing the right thing but struggling with cutbacks and other financial issues. (Sound familiar? I couldn't say ...)

Basically, it's the good guys versus the bad guys, or greenie scum versus for-the-people capitalists, depending on what side of the political spectrum you sit on.
"I know that you're all hurting and I am too": Bill Shorten, with Chloe by his side, delivers his concession speech. Credit:Eddie Jim

"And without wanting to hold out any false hope, while there are still millions of votes to count and important seats yet to be finalised, it is obvious that Labor will not be able to form the next government."

"I know that you're all hurting and I am too," he said.

They were, without much doubt, close to the toughest words Bill Shorten has had to utter.

And then came, without any doubt, the toughest words of all.

"This has been a tough campaign - toxic at times," he began, preparing himself.

"But now that the contest is over, all of us have a responsibility to respect the result, respect the wishes of the Australian people and to bring our nation together.

"However, that task will be one for the next leader of the Labor Party, because while I intend to continue to serve as the member for Maribyrnong, I will not be a candidate in the next Labor leadership ballot."

And so, amid cries of "no" from the crowd of true believers who had come this night to celebrate the elevation of Bill Shorten to prime minister and who had watched, hour by hour, that hope and belief crumble, Shorten announced the end of the great ambition and purpose of his life.
Scott Morrison is giving his victory speech at the Sofitel Hotel in Sydney.

Prime Minister declares victory in the 2019 election. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

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He was mobbed on his way to the stage by Liberals still flabbergasted at his spectacular upset.

"I have always believed in miracles," he begins to rapturous applause.

There is so much movement in the room the camera is shaking.

"How good is Australia?!" he asks. "And how good are Australians?!"

"This is the best country in the world in which to live," he says to more cheers.

He looks toward his wife Jenny as he says Australia is a country where you can "meet someone amazing."

"For me and for my government, for all of my team it's all about you...tonight is about every single Australian."

"Our government will get back to work just as Gladys Berejiklian got back to work in New South Wales, just a few months ago."

He is delivering loads of herograms to MPs who won their seats against the odds and "pretty much the entire state of Queensland."

There is huge applause for Andrew Hirst, the Liberal party's federal director who has overseen his first campaign. The room is shouting "Hirsty."

And the re-elected prime minister ends in a very American fashion 'God bless Australia.'
By Associated Press

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump could only be delighted to have his attorney general in El Salvador, dealing with his biggest issue: illegal immigration. Yet Barr did even better for his boss. In interviews from the Central American country, he's been offering cryptic comments suggesting the Russia probe unfairly targeted Trump.

More and more, Barr's becoming Trump's favorite lawyer. He's not only enthusiastically embracing Trump's political agenda, he's also gone all-in by casting special counsel Robert Mueller's report as vindication for Trump and hinting that the real wrongdoing was committed by those who launched the investigation.

Serving as attorney general is traditionally a balancing act, carrying out the president's agenda as a member of the Cabinet while also trying to avoid political bias in enforcing the nation's laws. As a nominee, Barr cast himself as above the political fray. But as attorney general, he's turned out much as Democrats feared.

He's defied subpoenas from Congress and a House panel has voted to hold him in contempt. He provided the White House with the legal case for not giving lawmakers an unredacted version of Mueller's report. And this week, he baited House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, asking her during a Capitol Hill event if she brought her handcuffs to arrest him.

ALSO READ: US Attorney General William Barr launches new look at origins of Russia probe

All the while, Trump has cheered him on.

After attending a Trump law enforcement speech in the Capitol  where he encountered Pelosi  Barr flew to El Salvador for meetings on some of Trump's biggest talking points: the MS-13 street gang and illegal immigration.

Barr toured a jail outside San Salvador  as a crew from Trump's favorite television network, Fox News, followed alongside  and held a news conference to tout collaboration between U.S. and Central American officials that led to the indictments of thousands of gang members "who otherwise might have reached the U.S."

Just a month after taking office in February, Barr was defending Trump in an Oval Office ceremony, as the president issued his first veto, rejecting Congress' efforts to block an emergency declaration to fund his border wall. Barr declared that Trump's national emergency was "clearly authorized under the law."

Then he went further.

"And from the standpoint of protecting the American people, it's imperative," Barr said.

Trump handed Barr the signed veto. Afterward, he told advisers that he was impressed that Barr stepped forward to not only legally validate the wall, but support it.

That moment, according to four White House officials and Republicans close to the West Wing, began to solidify Barr's loyalty in the president's mind. Trump had spent months raging at his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, for recusing himself from the Russia probe, which ultimately led to Mueller's appointment.

After Mueller submitted his report to Barr in March, the attorney general released a four-page summary letter to Congress. Barr's letter framed the debate about the probe over the next few weeks and, White House officials believe, allowed Trump to declare victory before the release of the full report, the contents of which are far more ambiguous.

Trump also appreciated Barr's combative stance with lawmakers and reporters as he has defended the Justice Department's handling of the report, and again when he declined to appear before Congress and defied a subpoena, drawing a possible contempt charge. Trump has told close confidants that he "finally" had "my attorney general," according to two Republicans close to the White House who were not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations.

In El Salvador, Barr again talked about "spying" in the 2016 presidential race  one of Trump's favorite talking points  and noted that Mueller didn't look into the government's actions against Trump. But he neglected to mention that this wasn't Mueller's mandate, which was to investigate Russian election interference, possible coordination with the Trump campaign and any obstruction of that investigation.

Barr hinted at wrongdoing, saying that some of the explanations he's been told about the start of the investigation "don't hang together." But he didn't elaborate.

Barr has already asked John Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, to examine the origins of the Russia investigation to determine whether intelligence and surveillance methods used during the probe were lawful and appropriate. Barr is also working with CIA Director Gina Haspel, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

The inquiry is the third such review of the matter.

The Justice Department's inspector general is investigating the probe's origins and the use of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the government to conduct surveillance in some of the most sensitive investigations. Sessions had appointed another U.S. attorney, John Huber, of Utah, to review aspects of the Russia investigation, following grievances from Republican lawmakers.

Barr told Fox News that he appointed Durham because "no one has really looked across the whole waterfront."

Barr has provided no details about what "spying" may have taken place but he could be alluding to a surveillance warrant the FBI obtained on former Trump associate Carter Page and the FBI's use of an informant while investigating ex-Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos. He has said he didn't mean anything pejorative when he used the term in congressional testimony.

Democrats have accused Trump of using the spying allegations to divert attention from Mueller's findings that Russia tried to help Trump get elected and that Mueller did not exonerate Trump on the question of whether he tried to impede his investigation. Mueller didn't find a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and the Kremlin.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress this month that he has no evidence the FBI illegally monitored Trump's campaign and doesn't consider court-approved FBI surveillance to be "spying."

James Baker, who was the FBI's general counsel when the Russia probe began, defended the investigation to the Lawfare podcast last week, saying it would've been highly inappropriate for the FBI not to pursue allegations of foreign election interference.

In the Fox News interview, Barr discussed another frequent subject of Trump's tweets: a dossier cited in the application for a warrant to monitor Page under FISA. Trump has claimed incorrectly that the dossier is what started the Russia investigation.

The FBI had been interested in Page as early as 2013 and he again attracted the bureau's interest when he joined the Trump campaign as the FBI began looking at Russian interference. The FISA warrant used to investigate Page cited the dossier, a collection of memos authored by former British spy Christopher Steele that contained uncorroborated allegations of ties between Trump and his associates and Russia.

Steele's research was funded by Clinton's campaign, a fact congressional Republicans have seized on. That was disclosed in a footnote in the FISA application, which was approved by judges four times.

Barr said taking opposition research that had "a number of clear mistakes" and using it to conduct counterintelligence against an American political campaign "is a strange, would be a strange development."
Who could hold it? Ali France, the candidate for Labor, is a former journalist and disability advocate who lost her leg in a 2011 car accident. The doctor who performed the groundbreaking surgery on her leg was a refugee who came to Australia by boat - Ms France is campaigning against offshore detention. Why the swing? Conservative Mr Dutton came under fire after leading the leadership spill against Malcolm Turnbull - successfully ousting the then-prime minister, but failing to install himself as leader. Left-leaning lobby group GetUp is also spending big to unseat him.

Pay attention because ... Mr Dutton is one of a number of high-profile ministers under threat - he got off to a rocky start after accusing Ms France of "using her disability as an excuse" for not living in the electorate. Ms France lives three kilometres away and says she hasn't found a suitable house. He later apologised. 2. Warringah The Sydney seat includes the northern beaches suburbs of Manly, Mosman and Neutral Bay.

Who holds it? Loading Former prime minister Tony Abbott has been the member since 1994, and holds the seat on what should be a comfortable 11.1 per cent margin, but has faced a groundswell of climate change activism. Who could hold it? Independent candidate Zali Steggall, a barrister and former Olympic skier, has positioned herself as an economically conservative alternative to Mr Abbott, however, she is also campaigning for action on climate change, putting her in stark contrast with the former PM who axed the carbon tax while he held office in 2013.

Why the swing? Loading Ms Steggall was inspired to run for the seat by a local "Vote Tony Out" movement, and GetUp are also campaigning hard to remove Mr Abbott. A poll commissioned by GetUp in February showed Steggall leading Abbott 54 per cent to 46 per cent. Pay attention because ... Warringah is the wealthiest electorate in the country with a median weekly household income of $2,384. It has never elected a Labor candidate, meaning an independent like Ms Steggall has the best chance to oust Mr Abbott.

3. Wentworth The Sydney seat includes the eastern suburbs seats of Double Bay, Vaucluse, Bondi and Paddington. Many believe Dave Sharma can deliver Wentworth back to the Liberals after Malcolm Turnbull's ousting. Credit:Nick Moir Who holds it? Independent Kerryn Phelps won the seat last year in a byelection on a 1.2 per cent margin after Malcolm Turnbull - who held the seat since 2004 - was ousted from the prime ministership by his party and retired from Parliament. Dr Phelps is a local GP and former president of the Australian Medical Association. In her short time in office, she was instrumental in joining other crossbenchers to pass the 'medevac' bill.

Who could hold it? Loading Liberal candidate Dave Sharma, the party's replacement for Malcolm Turnbull and former ambassador to Israel. Mr Sharma had to fight for his preselection after Scott Morrison tried to install a female candidate for the byelection. He is contesting again. Why the swing? Wentworth was a safe Liberal seat until Mr Turnbull was overthrown by conservatives in the party, sparking a local revolt against the Coalition. Dr Phelps scraped in, marking the first time a non-Liberal candidate has ever won the seat.

Pay attention because ... We'll see whether Dr Phelps' election was merely a protest vote to express the electorate's unhappiness with Mr Turnbull's treatment, or if the electorate is generally unhappy with the direction of the Coalition. 4. Flinders The Victorian seat covers most of the Mornington Peninsula, including Sorrento, Rosebud, Dromana, Hastings, Somerville and Mornington. It has only been held by Labor for three terms since Federation. Liberal Greg Hunt and independent Julia Banks are going head-to-head in Flinders. Credit:Simon Schluter/Joe Armao

Who holds it? Loading Health Minister Greg Hunt holds the seat on a 7 per cent margin and has been the member since 2001, but he lost popularity among moderate Liberal supporters when he backed Peter Dutton over Malcolm Turnbull in last year's leadership spill. Who could hold it? Julia Banks was the Liberal candidate for Chisholm in Melbourne's east, but she quit the party last year over its treatment of women and sat as an independent. She is vacating the seat of Chisholm to run against Mr Hunt in Flinders, where she now lives.

Labor candidate Josh Sinclair is also a contender in what is shaping up to be a three-way tussle. GetUp is recommending voters give first preference to either him, the Greens candidate Nathan Lesslie or Ms Banks, who will direct her preferences to Labor ahead of the Liberals. Why the swing? There was a ferocious swing against the Liberals in the Victorian state election in November, which may be repeated at a federal level. Ms Banks goes to the election promising economic responsibility while being socially progressive and supporting action on climate change. Pay attention because ... The seat is a test of voters in the middle of the political spectrum, the level of Ms Banks' support will reveal how many "moderate" members of the Liberal Party are turning against it. If she wins, or comes close, the Liberals will have to rethink who their "base" is and how they keep it.

5. Kooyong The division of Kooyong is among the most affluent and highly-educated electorates in the country. It spans Melbourne's inner eastern suburbs including Camberwell, Canterbury, Hawthorn and Balwyn. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Who holds it? Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has held the seat since 2010, and has it on a seemingly-safe 12.8 per cent margin. The seat has always been held by members on the conservative side of politics. Mr Frydenberg is known as one of the hardest workers - and networkers - within the government, and a capable future leader.

Who could hold it? Oliver Yates, the former boss of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, resigned as a Liberal member and is running as an independent. He has targeted voters worried about the environment. Mr Yates has also been a sharp critic of the Liberal Party's approach to climate change. Oliver Yates (Independent) and Julian Burnside (Greens) are challenging Josh Frydenberg in Kooyong. Credit:Eddie Jim/AAP The Greens are running veteran barrister and longstanding advocate for human rights and asylum seekers Julian Burnside QC. In an electorate with a high level of concern about the environment, Mr Burnside will have an army of Greens volunteers as an advantage over Mr Yates. Why the swing?

Mr Frydenberg holds the seat on what should be an insurmountable margin of 12.8 per cent. But the Victorian election last November saw surprising swings against the Liberal Party and three of the four Victorian state seats within Kooyong are now held by Labor. Pay attention because ... The Treasurer has warned his Coalition colleagues that there are no more safe seats, and his campaign material has been the target of grubby vandalism. Billboards of the Treasurer - whose mother escaped the holocaust - were defaced to depict him as a Nazi. 6. Gilmore The seat covers an area along the NSW coast, from Kiama in the north to Nowra, Ulladulla, Batemans Bay, and Tuross Head in the south. The electorate has an average income of between $45,000 and $50,000, and the second largest community of aged pensioners.

Who holds it? Liberal MP Ann Sudmalis won the seat in 2013, but is quitting politics, blaming branch stacking and unethical behaviour by Liberal colleagues within the NSW state division. She holds the seat on a 0.7 per cent margin. Who could hold it? Four-way contest: Grant Schultz, Katrina Hodgkinson, Warren Mundine and Fiona Phillips. Credit:Louise Kennerley Prime Minister Scott Morrison installed former Labor Party president Warren Mundine as the Liberal candidate, ousting Grant Schultz who had already been preselected by local members.

Mr Schultz, the son of former state and federal Liberal MP Alby Schultz, who was ousted as the Liberal candidate before the local members' vote had been rubber-stamped, quit the party to run as an independent. Loading Nationals vice president Katrina Hodgkinson is a former NSW minister for primary industries and small business but resigned from NSW Parliament in 2017. Ms Hodgkinson received the endorsement of departing MP Ann Sudmalis. But, having been campaigning for two years prior to endorsement, it's Labor candidate Fiona Phillips who is heavily tipped to win the seat. The former TAFE teacher and business operations manager came to politics with a successful campaign to save the Nowra pool. Why the swing?

The Liberal Party has held the seat since 1996, but Ms Sudmalis saw swings of 2.7 per cent, then 3 per cent against her in the last two elections and, amid Liberal Party disunity, Labor is favoured to win. Pay attention because ... Gilmore is one of the messiest contests of the election. When we profiled the electorate, more than one local described the seat as "a shitfight". Eyes will be on how well Labor-turned-Liberal Warren Mundine fares after being parachuted in from Sydney's north shore, where he lives, although he has ancestral ties to the Shoalhaven area and family living in Gilmore. 7. Pearce The seat of Pearce covers regional areas to the north and east of Perth in Western Australia.

Who holds it? The seat was only created in 1990, and has always been represented by the Liberal Party. It was held by Judi Moylan for 20 years until her retirement in 2013, when Attorney-General Christian Porter was elected. The Liberals are pumping significant resources into Attorney-General Christian Porter's seat of Pearce. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Who could hold it? Labor candidate Kim Travers, who has been a police officer for 28 years, beat out three others for preselection in the seat which Labor believes it has a strong chance of taking.

Greens candidate Eugene Marshall will also be important for Labor's chances in a seat where the Greens received 11 per cent of the primary vote last election. Mr Mashall is a teacher, business owner and migrant - not unusual in an electorate where more than a third of residents were born overseas. Why the swing? Pearce is a reasonably marginal Liberal seat, following an 8.1 per cent swing to Labor in 2016. Pay attention because ... The Liberals are putting a lot of resources into the seat, making ten spending promises for the electorate worth more than $63 million, including a $25 million swimming pool and $350,000 for a local skate park.

Other important seats to watch Corangamite (Victoria) Liberal Sarah Henderson holds the marginal seat around Geelong by just 0.03 per cent and the Liberal Party is desperate to retain it. Voters there have been the target of perhaps the biggest pork-barrelling campaign in modern electoral history. Cowper (NSW)

Independent Rob Oakeshott, the former member for Lyne who famously supported the Gillard Labor government after the 2010 federal election, is trying to make his political comeback in a seat held by the Nationals. MP Luke Hartsuyker is retiring, leaving Patrick Conaghan to contest the seat against Oakeshott. Nationals party polling has the seat marked "line ball". Reid (NSW) Following the retirement of Liberal Craig Laundy, the Labor Party believes their candidate Sam Crosby can take the inner western Sydney seat against newcomer Fiona Martin. Lindsay (NSW) The western Sydney electorate is one of the few Labor-held seats the Coalition is considered a strong chance to reclaim. After the retirement of Emma Husar, who held it with a 1.1 per cent margin, Liberal Melissa McIntosh is up against Labor's Diane Beamer

Herbert (Queensland) The northern Queensland seat of Herbert is the most marginal seat in the country, held by Labor's Cathy O'Toole on just 0.02 per cent, but hotly contested by Phillip Thompson of the Liberal National Party. Boothby (South Australia) The Adelaide seat of Boothby is the main game for Labor in South Australia, where Liberal MP Nicolle Flint has a margin of just 2.7 per cent. She's being challenged by Labor's Nadia Clancy. Tasmania: Bass/Braddon/Lyons
WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson has accused Labor's federal election candidate in Pearce of attempting to politicise the police force through last-minute campaign posters showing her in police uniform.

The campaign material appeared in the marginal seat late on Friday, prompting complaints and accusations Labor were aware they breached public service conventions.

Labor's candidate for Pearce Kim Travers has been criticised by WA's Police Commissioner over this campaign poster.

"I received two complaints yesterday about political advertising showing Ms Kim Travers wearing a WA Police Force uniform," Commissioner Dawson said.

"I have contacted Ms Travers expressing my concern and disappointment over the political posters and have asked her to remove them from public view."
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Filipinos have always been among the world's most enthusiastic smokers. According to the World Bank, more than 40 per cent of Filipino adult men smoke. Cheap tobacco and lax regulation has made smoking a way of life, and death, with health experts estimating that about 10 Filipinos die every hour from smoking-related illnesses. Lighting up has even become part of national mythology, in the form of Kapre, a nocturnal ogre who spends most of his time sitting in the fork of a mango tree, sucking on cigars the size of a chair leg. If you find yourself lost in the forest, and suddenly smell tobacco smoke, chances are you've strayed into Kapre's crib. For the past 10 years, however, the city of Balanga, near Manila, has been trying to buck the trend, bringing in some of the most progressive anti-tobacco measures in the country. In 2010, the council passed the Comprehensive No Smoking Ordinance, banning the use, sale, distribution, advertisement and promotion of cigarettes in the commercial centre. In 2016, the ordinance was expanded to include almost the entire city. That same year, the city enacted the Tobacco-Free Generation Ordinance, which denies the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after January 1, 2000. "We are very proud," Balanga mayor Francis Garcia tells me. "We have introduced a new normal, where one doesn't normally see anyone smoking around them on a daily basis, and we have fostered a generation of young adults who have grown up in a smoke-free environment." According to Garcia, the smoking rates in Balanga have more than halved since 2010. A sleepy city of 96,000, Balanga is built around the Plaza Mayor, a paved square, lined with palm trees and framed by Spanish colonial facades and an 18th-century cathedral. Originally an agriculture and fishing town, it has in the past decade set its sights on becoming a technology and investment hub, with an emphasis on higher education. The mayor's anti-smoking measures have been part of a push to make the city more liveable, with the ultimate goal being to turn it into the Philippines' first "model university town", along the lines of Cambridge, Oxford or Harvard. But not everyone has gotten on board. In August 2017, the city was sued by the Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI), a front group for the world's biggest cigarette companies, including Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco. The PTI, which is widely regarded as the most powerful tobacco lobby in Asia, argued that the city's 2010 ordinance, and its 2016 amendment, created "unwarranted restrictions that are arbitrary and oppressive". According to the PTI's lawyers, the measures would cost Philip Morris 15,000,000 pesos (about $420,000) a month in lost sales. In July 2018, after a year in court, a regional judge found in the PTI's favour, noting that while Balanga city's anti-smoking efforts were "commendable", they were also "unconstitutional" and therefore invalid. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), a US-based anti-smoking group, criticised Philip Morris for "putting corporate profits ahead of health". Balanga's Bishop Ruperto Santos called the ruling "disgusting". The city is appealing but its resources are spread thin, in part because of another lawsuit that was launched by the PTI in May 2018, aimed at annulling the city's Tobacco-Free Generation Ordinance. Garcia is staying upbeat. "We are fighting for what is right," he says. But he is under no illusions. Since 2007, the tobacco industry has launched 12 lawsuits against proposed government oversight in the Philippines: it hasn't lost a single one. Cigarette alternatives, including heat-not-burn and vaping products, still spur nicotine addiction, according to experts. Credit:Getty Images

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Since its beginning in a tobacconist shop in London in 1847, Philip Morris has grown into the world's leading cigarette company, with a market capitalisation of $US124.3 billion ($178 billion). In 2018, the firm sold 781.7 billion cigarettes in more than 180 countries. Its brands include Virginia Slims, Chesterfield and the iconic Marlboro, the world's bestselling cigarette, which, according to Forbes, commanded 43.3 per cent of the US market in 2017, bigger than the next 10 cigarette brands combined. In late 2018, however, the company announced it had decided to stop selling cigarettes. In press releases sent around the world, it claimed it wanted to switch its customers "to smoke-free products entirely, so we can one day stop producing conventional cigarettes". Why? "Because it's the right thing to do." The announcement had a certain traffic-stopping quality, and an almost heretical tone: "Smoking kills people," it read. At once lofty and down to earth, the announcement seemed to signal an epochal shift, one driven by ethics, not money. In an open letter to the World Economic Forum, in Davos earlier this year, the company's CEO, Andre Calantzopoulos, wrote that creating a "smoke-free future" was "a transformative vision, one that will change society". But the release was, of course, a marketing exercise, in this case for the company's latest "reduced-harm" cigarette, called IQOS. IQOS is one of many next-generation products that have been developed by the major tobacco companies over the past decade. The most popular of these devices are "vape pens", which heat a nicotine fluid, or "juice", into a vapour that is then inhaled. (Selling a vape pen is legal in Australia, but selling the juice is not, meaning vapers have to source it from overseas.) IQOS, meanwhile, is what the industry terms a heat-not-burn product: it uses an electrical element, or "blade", to heat a stick of tobacco just enough to release the nicotine as an aerosol. Philip Morris claims the device cuts users' exposure to the carcinogens created when tobacco is burned, and that it could save the lives of millions of smokers. (Many experts are highly sceptical, noting, among other concerns, that IQOS hasn't been around long enough for its health impacts to be properly assessed.) What we are saying is that if for some reason you can't quit, there is a safer alternative for you. IQOS first launched in Italy and Japan, in 2014. According to the company, it is now being used by more than six million people in 45 countries; this month, it was made available for sale in the US. But it has not been approved in Australia, where authorities have taken a more cautious approach. "It's frustrating," says Tammy Chan, Philip Morris managing director for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. "Sometimes you hope that countries like Australia will be more receptive to what is happening around the world in technology, but we haven't seen that yet." Chan, who was born in Hong Kong, is in her mid-50s, with shoulder-length hair and a broad, unlined face. A non-smoker, she has been with Philip Morris for more than 20 years, and has worked for the company in Asia and Europe, including at head office in Lausanne, Switzerland. For the past year she's been based in Melbourne, where the company occupies three floors of a sleek new office block overlooking the Yarra. "IQOS is all about harm reduction," she tells me. "There are three million smokers in Australia, and they are risking their lives. At the moment, you either have to quit cigarettes or you die. There is no in-between. What we are saying is that if for some reason you can't quit, there is a safer alternative for you." According to Chan, Philip Morris has spent $US4.5 billion developing IQOS. In 2017, the company also set up the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, a research and funding organisation whose stated goal is "eliminating smoking worldwide as soon as possible". The company will fund the foundation to the tune of $US80 million annually for the next 12 years, but insists that it will be independent, saying it has "extremely rigid protections" against any involvement from Philip Morris or anyone else in the tobacco industry. (The World Health Organisation has rejected this claim, and says it will not engage with the foundation. Australian health bodies have done likewise.)

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Chan insists the company wants to be "part of the solution". There are a billion smokers worldwide, mostly in developing countries; seven million of whom die each year. "We have a lot of knowledge to contribute," she tells me. "Our intentions are good, and we are totally transparent. We know the scepticism. But we are asking people to believe that we have changed." Most health experts find this laughable. "This is the same old industry," says Mike Daube, a veteran anti-smoking campaigner and former director general of the Western Australia Health Department. "In the past decade, all the things we did  tax increases, health warnings, smoking bans  really put the industry on the back foot. But globally, these companies don't go to sleep, they strategise. "The industry is resurgent now," Daube continues. "The only difference is they are more sophisticated." Philip Morris is selling IQOS as a revolution, but there is, in fact, nothing new about it. "Reduced harm" cigarettes have been around for decades. As far back as the 1920s, Lucky Strike advertised itself as "less irritating to the throat". When scientists conclusively proved the link between smoking and lung cancer, in the early 1950s, manufacturers began introducing filter tips, which they claimed cut the amount of tar reaching the lungs. Then, in the late 1960s, the industry introduced "lights" and "milds". "All these developments were designed to keep people smoking by giving them the impression that it was safer," says Daube. As has subsequently become clear, none of these low-risk "innovations" worked, and the tobacco companies knew it. In 2006, a US Federal Court judge found that the cigarette companies had for decades falsely marketed "lights" and "milds" as less harmful than regular cigarettes, and ordered them to make corrective statements in newspapers and TV stations throughout the US. (The industry fought for 11 years to water down the wording of the statements, which finally aired in 2017, and included warnings that there is "no safe cigarette", and that "more people die every year from smoking than from murder, AIDS, suicide, drugs, car crashes, and alcohol, combined".) In Australia, the catchwords "lights" and "milds" were outlawed in 2005, after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission deemed them to be misleading and deceptive. Still, Australia never saw corrective statements like those in the US. When I ask Chan why, she tells me that "it's a very different jurisdiction here," adding: "I prefer to look forwards than look back." Like other "reduced-harm" products, IQOS promises to lure new smokers to the market. Philip Morris internal corporate affairs documents from 2014, leaked to Reuters in 2017, revealed that the company sees these new products "as a pathway for future growth" and "an opportunity to normalise [our] corporate reputation". The documents also showed that it was time for the company "to be for something", and to use emotive, more "human" language to rehabilitate its image. Reputation-laundering is a corporate staple, of course, but it's especially important to the tobacco industry, which has, since the WHO's 2005 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), been expressly shut out from engaging with governments, especially with regard to health policy. "Presenting itself as reputable is one way to get a foot in the door with officials," says Daube.

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It is also a way to get your foot in the door with big business. This year, for the first time, Philip Morris sent a team of executives to Davos, site of the World Economic Forum, where the agglomeration of private wealth and political power afforded the company the perfect opportunity, as Philip Morris chief spokesperson Marian Salzman later wrote on the company's website, to "rejoin civilised society". The business media happily obliged: The Wall Street Journal hosted an event with the company on "communications in the era of disruption"; Politico, the US political journalism website, produced its Davos Playbook, a daily newsletter that was sponsored by Philip Morris, and which featured a link to CEO Andre Calantzopoulos's "open letter". In an article in Forbes in February, Salzman compared the company's transformation to glasnost, "that period of openness and transparency, in the dying days of Communist Russia, when it slowly started coming out of its hiding place to engage with the world". It was a process, she added, for which the company deserved to be "heavily awarded". Tammy Chan, Philip Morris Australias managing director. We know the scepticism, she says, but we are asking people to believe that we have changed." Credit:Darrian Traynor In my conversation with Chan, she repeatedly urges me to look at the science on e-cigarettes, much of which is presented on Philip Morris's website. "We do a lot of the research ourselves, in our own laboratories," she says. "The research clearly shows that if you burn something, there is this smoke. But when you use an e-cigarette or one of our products, you produce an aerosol. It's made purely of water droplets." (In 2016, the US Surgeon General concluded that "e-cigarette aerosol is not harmless 'water vapour'. ") Big Tobacco has long attempted to manipulate the science around cigarettes, most notably in the 1990s, when it tried to discredit research by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) into the dangers of second-hand smoke as "junk science". More recently, the industry has been shown to sow disinformation and doubt in much the same way as the fossil-fuel lobby has fostered climate science denial. In any case, it's hard to know what to make of the science, mainly because there is so much of it. The past 15 years have seen no less than 4490 research papers published on e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn products. Some of these papers were commissioned by governments, some by independent organisations and others by the industry. Taken as a whole, they are of such hair-pulling complexity as to confound even the most diligent policy-maker, which may partly explain why some countries, like Britain, have fully legalised e-cigarettes while others, such as Brazil, have banned them outright. Still, some recent studies point to the health benefits associated with smokers switching to e-cigarettes. In 2018, Public Health England suggested that vaping posed only a small fraction of the risk associated with smoking. In January 2019, The New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a year-long, randomised trial which showed that e-cigarettes were almost twice as successful as products like patches or gum in getting smokers to quit. "Vaping is a far safer alternative to smoking, and it has the potential to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Australians who are unable or unwilling to stop smoking," says Colin Mendelsohn, from the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of NSW. "Australia is the only Western democracy to ban vaping, despite the evidence that it would be a huge benefit to public health."

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In 2017, Mendelsohn set up the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association (ATHRA), a Sydney-based charity that has spearheaded the campaign to legalise vaping and heat-not-burn products in Australia. Mendelsohn writes about e-cigarettes and gives interviews; he also travels to "harm reduction" conferences worldwide. But he has been criticised for links to the tobacco and vaping industries, and has taken some $43,000 in vaping and tobacco industry-related funding. (He says ATHRA stopped accepting vaping money in March.) Mendelsohn denies that vaping is a "gateway drug" propagated by Big Tobacco to encourage young people to use nicotine. But this is not supported by the evidence. Juul, an e-cigarette that came on to the US market in 2016, has become phenomenally popular with adolescents; according to a national study, Juul, which comes in a variety of flavours, including mango, vanilla and cucumber, helped drive up US teen vaping rates by 91 per cent between 2017 and 2018. Vaping is leading youth into  nicotine addiction, not away from it. "Vaping is leading youth into  nicotine addiction, not away from it," said University of Michigan researcher Richard Miech. In September last year, the then US Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, blamed Juul for what he called "an epidemic" of vaping among American high school students. Three months later, Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA, bought a 35 per cent stake in Juul, for $US12.8 billion. "Vaping is a weapon of mass distraction," says longtime Australian anti-tobacco activist Simon Chapman. "Big Tobacco sees vaping as a way to grow the market, but at the same time it gives them air cover to say, 'We're the good guys now,' thus helping people to forget that they are doing all they can to promote smoking by opposing effective tobacco-control policies like tax, plain packs, graphic health warnings, and smoke-free policies, particularly in poorer countries." The developing world is, indeed, the Wild West for Big Tobacco. In fast-growing markets like Asia, minimal health awareness and lax regulation allow cigarette companies to operate with near impunity. When, in 2017, the government in Sri Lanka proposed restricting the sale of cigarettes within 100 metres of schools, the Tobacco Retailers' Association met with the finance minister and had the measure scrapped. When the Indian government attempted to introduce more prominent health warnings on cigarette packets, in 2015, tobacco companies filed 27 legal challenges in various jurisdictions throughout the country, delaying implementation by three years. Internal Philip Morris documents uncovered by Reuters show how, in 2017, Philip Morris and British American Tobacco bullied Pakistan's then prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, into blocking larger health warnings on cigarette packets. Indonesia is particularly vulnerable. There, 67 per cent of adult men smoke, and children start as young as seven. It is also the only country in the world that still allows direct cigarette advertising, providing a dream canvas for Big Tobacco copywriters. "Rice has become expensive. Your business has failed. Just play," Sampoerna, Indonesia's third largest cigarette maker, told smokers. PT Djarum, meanwhile, advertised its L.A. Lights by telling customers: "DON'T QUIT!" Philip Morris entered the market when it bought Sampoerna in 2005, whereupon it launched its own, idiosyncratic marketing campaign, including a billboard with the slogan "Dying is better than leaving a friend. Sampoerna is a cool friend!"

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Doctors fear people with mental illnesses are increasingly turning to alternative treatments and medications and could be putting their health at serious risk.

In March one such therapy, kambo, made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

The giant green monkey tree frog, which produces "kambo".

Kambo, a poisonous substance secreted from the skin of an Amazonian tree frog, is applied to open burn wounds in secretive group or individual ceremonies.

Participants vomit and sweat; some empty their bowels. They are advised to bring their own buckets.
WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

London: Australian Kirsty Boden, the off-duty nurse who was ferociously stabbed while trying to help another victim of the London Bridge attacks, died in the arms of her two friends and another off-duty medical professional.

Video footage screened at an inquest in London overnight showed Ms Boden's final moments crouching over dying Frenchman Alexandre Pigeard as attacker Khuram Butt swung a knife at the defenceless 28-year-old.

Australian nurse Kirsty Boden suffered a terrible death in the London Bridge terror attack. Credit:AP

Ms Boden and Mr Piegard were among eight murdered when Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba used a van to run down dozens of people on London Bridge and stabbed dozens more with ceramic kitchen knives in the nearby Borough Market area on the night of June 3, 2017.
By PTI

COLOMBO: India has offered full support to Sri Lanka in dealing with the common threat of "Jihadi terrorism" following the deadly Easter Sunday suicide bombings that killed nearly 260 people, including 11 Indians.

Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Friday also discussed the prevailing security situation during his recent meeting with two top-ranking Buddhist monks at Sri Dalada Maligawa or the temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy, Indian Embassy here said in a statement.

"High Commissioner....discussed the prevailing security situation with the Most Venerable Mahanayake theros and offered India's full support to Sri Lanka in dealing with the common threat of Jihadi terrorism," the statement said.

The High Commissioner also paid respects at Sri Dalada Maligawa and received the blessings of the Most Venerable Thibbotuwawe Sri Sumangala Mahanayake Thera of the Malwatu Chapter and the Most Venerable Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Mahanayake Thera of the Asgiriya Chapter in Kandy, it said.

ALSO READ: Sri Lanka police arrest principal, teacher for links to extremist group blamed for Easter attack

Both the Mahanayake Theros deeply appreciated India's unconditional and strong support for Sri Lanka, including in the security sphere, the statement said.

Sandhu also conveyed greetings on the auspicious occasion of Vesak to the Most Venerable Mahanayake Theros and recalled the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sri Lanka for the International Vesak Day celebration in 2017 and the exposition of the sacred Sarnath Relics in Sri Lanka in 2018.

Sri Lanka has declared two days of holidays for nation-wide celebrations of Vesak, or the commemoration of the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Gautama Buddha.

Both the Mahanayake Theras deeply appreciated India's unconditional and strong support for Sri Lanka including in the security sphere, it said.

Indian authorities shared intelligence with Sri Lanka before the serial blasts rocked the neighbouring country.

ALSO READ: Sri Lanka President bans NTJ, two other Islamist extremist organisations

However, Sri Lankan authorities failed to act on the intelligence inputs.

Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels, killing 258 people and injuring over 500 others.

Authorities earlier said they believed a little-known local militant Islamist group known as National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ) was behind the attack.

However, the NTJ has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, Sri Lanka's worst.

The Islamic State terror group said it had carried out the attacks, and released video of men it says were the bombers.

Furthermore, the envoy also reviewed the progress of the Kandyan Dancing School being constructed with India's assistance of some Rs150 million at the Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy (SIBA) campus in Pallekele, Kandy, according to the statemnt.
By AFP

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka this weekend marks a decade since the end of its 37-year Tamil separatist war that claimed at least 100,000 lives.

Here are the key dates of the conflict which was also known as the "Eelam War", the name of a separate state the rebels were fighting for:

Tigers born

February 4, 1948: Britain grants independence to Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, after 133 years. With the majority Sinhalese securing state power, minority Tamils begin to complain of discrimination. Communal tensions simmer.

1972: Tamil school dropout Velupillai Prabhakaran forms a Tamil militant group, which in 1976 changes its name to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which goes onto become a much-feared guerrilla outfit with a dedicated band of suicide bombers.

Eelam War I

July 23, 1983: LTTE ambushes an army patrol, killing 13 soldiers in the Jaffna peninsula in the north and sparking anti-Tamil riots elsewhere that leave about 600 people dead. The violence marks a watershed that turns a low-intensity law and order problem into a full-fledged guerrilla war.

July 8, 1985: Sri Lanka opens first direct peace talks with Tamil guerrillas. They fail.

India enters, and leaves

July 29, 1987: India and Sri Lanka agree on the deployment of Indian peacekeepers. A brief period of peace prevails, but the accord fails in three months. New Delhi troops end up fighting the Tiger rebels who renege on promises to lay down arms.

March 24, 1990: Indian troops withdraw, leaving the Tigers in control of large swathes of northern Sri Lanka, with 1,200 troops having been killed.

After a three-month lull after the Indian troop withdrawal, the Tigers resume their war with Sri Lankan troops.

ALSO READ: Sri Lanka marks civil war ten-year anniversary with thousands still missing

The Tigers begin running a de-facto separate state which at its height controls one-third of the island's territory and two-thirds of its coastline.

May 21, 1991: Former Indian premier Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a female LTTE suicide bomber in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

May 1, 1993: Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa is assassinated by an LTTE suicide bomber in Colombo.

'Terrorists'

April 19, 1995: Tigers attack Sri Lanka's north-eastern port of Trincomalee ending a 100-day ceasefire agreed with President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

December 2, 1995: The Sri Lankan army captures the Jaffna peninsula in one of the biggest victories for the security forces up to the time, but the rebels carry out spectacular attacks against troops for years to come.

October 8, 1997: The United States declares the LTTE a foreign terrorist organisation. Britain and others follow in 2001.

July 2001: Tigers attack international airport killing four people and destroying six parked aircraft of the national carrier Sri Lankan in the worst attack against international civil aviation until the 2001 attacks in New York.

February 23, 2002: Government and Tamil Tiger rebels sign a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire agreement, but it collapses by January 2008.

March 3, 2004: Renegade Tamil Tiger commander, V. Muralitharan, known as Karuna, leads a split from the main rebel movement and strengthens a military offensive against the Tigers.

War crimes

April 25, 2006: Tiger suicide bomber critically wounds army chief Sarath Fonseka leaving a temporary truce in tatters and sparks Eelam War IV. Intense battles follow.

February 22, 2009: Tamil Tiger planes conduct suicide raids against Colombo using Czech-built single-engine aircraft loaded with bombs. Fighting in the north escalates.

March 13, 2009: The UN human rights chief says both sides could be guilty of war crimes. The UN later accuses the Sri Lankan military of killing up to 40,000 Tamil civilians during the final phase of the war. Sri Lanka denies the allegation and refuses to investigate the claim.

April 14, 2009: The Tamil Tigers say they are ready to negotiate. The government refuses.

April 20, 2009: Tens of thousands of trapped civilians manage to flee from the shrinking area under rebel control.

May 18, 2009: Tamil Tiger supremo Prabhakaran is killed by government forces in a final battle in the coastal village of Mullivaikkal in Mullaittivu.

May 19, 2009: Sri Lanka declares an end to a 37-year Tamil separatist war, but faces persistent allegations of atrocities against Tamil civilians while thousands are still unaccounted for after the war. The missing include over 5,000 security personnel and police.
By PTI

LONDON: London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for similar preferential norms for Indian companies and students as those offered to China in order to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) from India into the British capital.

The mayor, who reiterated his London is Open message, attacked the UK government's hostile immigration policies as a barrier to increased investments and students coming from India into London.

The government's got to make it easier for businesses to come to London. Immigration policies have got to change, its got to be easier for Indian students and business people to come here, Khan said on the sidelines of the annual Asian Voice Charity Awards here on Friday evening.

The government has made some changes to make it easier for China, and I welcome that, but also India deserves the same sort of preferential treatment I worry because of this government's hostile immigration policies, we aren't seeing many talented students coming to London, particularly talented Indians. I am hoping the government realises this is a huge opportunity lost, he said.

China being included on a list of countries offered easier UK student visa application norms is one of the preferential routes currently not open to India.

Khan, a former Labour Party MP who has been a vocal advocate of a second Brexit referendum, said the Theresa May government was a "million miles away" from what was promised during the June 2016 referendum campaign.

Parliament is in gridlock, we should give the British public a say on the deal negotiated by the government with the option of remaining in the European Union. I cant think of anything more democratic than giving the British public a final say, said Khan, who was presented with a Political and Public Life Award at the awards ceremony.

The Asian Voice Charity Awards, powered by due diligence network Charity Clarity, reward charities and individuals that try and solve the most pressing social issues in Britain and globally.

Some of the winners this year included Indian-origin entrepreneur Leah Chowdhry, who was named the Most Inspiring Young Person for becoming the first British Asian woman to swim the English Channel to raise funds to combat child trafficking in India.

The Sarvam Trust, which facilitates and supports the work of the Sri Aurobindo Society to help the under-privileged in rural areas of India, was the winner of the Audience Choice Award.

The theme of this year's awards was around combatting knife crime, an issue that has dominated the London Mayor's agenda.

Charities have an important role to play in filling in the gaps in the social safety net, Khan said.

CB Patel, Publisher and Editor of UK-based Asian Voice weekly newspaper which organises the awards, added: One of the ills that now plagues our community is knife crime, and this requires the collective effort of individuals, families, educational institutions and community organisations to put an end to the menace.

His Editor's Choice Award for the year went to the Damilola Taylor Trust, which provides inner-city youths in Britain with opportunities to play and learn, free from fear and violence.

The Charity of the Year award went to Paul Strickland Scanner Centre, an independent medical charity working to improve the lives of people affected by cancer and other severe medical conditions, and the Social Impact Award was presented to Child Rescue Nepal, which works on the ground to free children from slavery and captivity.

The awards are absolutely unique in that each applicant goes through a rigorous Charity Clarity rating process before the very best are shortlisted for the judges' consideration, Pratik Dattani, from Charity Clarity, said.
Idaho just initiated a regulatory reset, where the government eliminates all regulations and then brings back the ones it decides it wants.

by David Henderson

This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the original article.

My friend and former student Paul Gerner suggested to me a few years ago that the federal government have a regulatory reset. The idea is that the government eliminates all regulations and then brings back the ones it decides it wants. Presumably, we would end up with substantially fewer regulations.

I loved the idea but it boggled my mind. How would that work? What would happen to certain industries and lots of people who depend on some degree of certainty in making their plans? And, of course, aside from the issue of how it would work, neither Paul nor I thought the federal government would ever do it.

Expired Regulations

I still think that. But James Broughel, a senior research fellow with the Mercatus Center, points out that thats exactly what Idahos state government has just done. He writes:

Something rather remarkable just happened in Idaho. The state legislature opted toin essencerepeal the entire state regulatory code. The cause may have been dysfunction across legislative chambers, but the result is serendipitous. A new governor is presented with an unprecedented opportunity to repeal an outdated and burdensome regulatory code and replace it with a more streamlined and sensible set of rules. Other states should be paying close attention.

He continues:

Instead, the legislature wrapped up an acrimonious session in April without passing a rule-reauthorization bill. As a result, come July 1, some 8,200 pages of regulations containing 736 chapters of state rules will expire. Any rules the governor opts to keep will have to be implemented as emergency regulations, and the legislature will consider them anew when it returns next January.

Get out the popcorn. This will be interesting.

This article is republished with permission from the Library of Economics and Liberty.
STAMFORD  Family and friends of Michael McClain are expected to gather at Stamford High School on Saturday night for a vigil nearly a month after he went missing.

The group is planning to meet at 7 p.m. in the schools parking lot to share memories and pray for 29-year-old McClains safe return home. He graduated from the high school back in 2008.

We ask that you help us feed our faith in Mike returning home, a Facebook post about the vigil said.

Those gathered intend to light candles and urged anyone planning to attend to show support bring a candle with them.

McClain, born and raised in Stamford, went missing in New Hampshire on April 20. That night, McClain went out with two friends to the Tropical Lounge in Nashua, N.H.

McClain has lived in Manchester, N.H., for about seven years after going to college at Mt. Washington College  which ceased operations in 2016.

On a missing poster from McClains family, they said there was trouble in the bar before he disappeared. The poster said there was a fight at the bar  that McClain wasnt involved in  and when the crowd dispered, McClain was gone.

The poster said his friends waited for him to turn up for about 45 minutes before driving back to Manchester, N.H., without him.

McCalin graduated with a bachelors degree in criminal justice and worked for Easterseals New Hampshire, a nonprofit that provides resources for people with disabilities, veterans and seniors.

Police in Manchester, N.H., have taken the lead on the investigation into McClains disappearance.

McClain has brown eyes, but wears green contact lenses. He has braids in his hair and stands 5 feet 10 inches tall. He also has tattoos on his hands and arms.

Anyone who has any information on McClains whereabouts can contact Manchester, N.H., police at 603-668-8711.
WESTPORT  With signs that read Stop the War on Women and Keep your laws off my body, activists of all ages took to the Post Road bridge Friday afternoon to protest Alabamas passage of a controversial abortion bill.

I hope that it just wakes people up. ... That the next generation of girls are not left with the real possibility that their rights will be taken away and find themselves living in a world that looks more like the 1800s than the 2000s, political activist and Westport resident Darcy Hicks said prior to the gathering.

Organized by DefenDemocracy of CT, a political action group Hicks founded in 2016  in conjunction with the Westport Democratic Town Committee, Resisters, the Democratic Women of Westport and others  the protest brought together around 40 people to the bridge in downtown Westport.

Under Alabamas law, doctors could now face felony charges and up to 99 years in prison for performing an abortion at any stage of pregnancy, the only exception being when the mothers life is in jeopardy.

Rape and incest cases are not exempt from the bill, which was signed into law by Republican Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday.

Alabamas criminalization of abortion comes on the heels of other states efforts to challenge Roe v. Wade.

Within the past month, Republican governors Gov. Mike DeWine, of Ohio, and Gov. Brian Kemp, of Georgia, both signed so-called fetal heartbeat laws, which ban abortions after a heartbeat is detected  sometimes as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, before most women know theyre pregnant.

In contrast, Connecticut lawmakers are looking to strengthen abortion rights protections, with House members on Thursday advancing a measure that prohibits deceptive advertising practices by the so-called crisis pregnancy centers, according to a CT Mirror report. Critics say staff at the facilities sometimes pose as medical professionals to lure women and hand out misleading information about abortions.

Still, local activists say they want to make people aware of what is happening nationally, in order to protect womens rights at home.

What Connecticut can do is keep strengthening our laws, Third Selectwoman Melissa Kane said, as cars drove by honking in support.

She also encouraged Westporters to donate to organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed lawsuits against states with abortion bans.

Amy Dry, who attended the protest with her childen Tommy and Lindsay, said she wants to see her kids grow up in a world where everyone is treated equally. The teens expressed its important to speak up and fight for equality.

Several men also turned out in solidarity, including resident Mark Friedman, who viewed the protest as more than just a womens issue.

I see this as a human issue that impacts everyone, and I want to show my support for the pro-choice movement, he said.

Meanwhile, Westport DTC member Sal Liccione is hoping the protest sparks GOP lawmakers to publicly speak out against Alabama and other states with restrictive abortion laws.

I think the Alabama stuff is a real disgrace. ... Its appalling, he said. I think Republicans in Connecticut need to stand up against this.

Republican First Selectman Jim Marpe, who attended the rally along with Second Selectwoman Jen Tooker, doesnt see abortion rights as a partisan issue in Westport.

On a personal level, Ive always supported a womans right to choose, and Im appalled by the actions of the Alabama Legislature and governor and similar actions that appear to be taken in other states, he said.

I dont believe it is the role of government to get involved in a womans right to choose. Period, Tooker added.

State Sen. Will Haskell, D-Westport, took to Twitter after Alabamas Senate voted to ban nearly all abortions. This is very, very scary, he wrote. I know the arc of history is supposed to bend toward justice, but tonights vote feels like a U-turn.

At the end of the day, Hicks sees protests as an educational opportunity to teach people about what they can actually do about issues that matter to them.

Its not just a yelling spree, she said. ... Standing on the bridge is doing something, and it usually propels other actions.

lteixeira@ctpost.com
By Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY: Missouri's Republican-led House on Friday passed sweeping legislation designed to survive court challenges, which would ban abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy.

If enacted, the ban would be among the most restrictive in the U.S. It includes exceptions for medical emergencies, but not for pregnancies caused by rape or incest. Doctors would face five to 15 years in prison for violating the eight-week cutoff. Women who receive abortions wouldn't be prosecuted.

Republican Gov. Mike Parson pledged to sign the bill , but it's unclear when he'll take action. When pressed on the lack of exceptions, he told reporters that "all life has value."

The Missouri legislation comes after Alabama's governor signed a bill Wednesday making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases.

Supporters say the Alabama bill is meant to conflict with the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationally in hopes of sparking a court case that might prompt the current panel of more conservative justices to revisit abortion rights.

ALSO READ: Missouri House expected to pass abortion ban at eight weeks

Missouri Republicans are taking a different approach.

GOP Rep. Nick Schroer said his legislation is "made to withstand judicial challenges and not cause them."

He cited extensive "legislative findings" included in the bill about fetal development that are aimed at backing up the state's interest in limiting abortion if the measure is challenged, as well as new judges appointed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by President Donald Trump.

Republican House Speaker Elijah Haahr said the measure was drafted with a legal team and based on previous court rulings across the U.S.

"We spent hours upon hours researching what courts have said in their decisions and what they believe to be important," Haahr said.

If courts don't allow Missouri's proposed eight-week ban to take effect, the bill includes a ladder of less-restrictive time limits that would prohibit abortions at 14, 18 or 20 weeks or pregnancy.

ALSO READ: Alabama passes near-total abortion ban bill

"While others are zeroing in on ways to overturn Roe v. Wade and navigate the courts as quickly as possible, that is not our goal," Schroer said.

Kentucky , Mississippi , Ohio and Georgia also have approved bans on abortion once fetal cardiac activity can be detected, which can occur in about the sixth week of pregnancy. Some of those laws already have been challenged in court , and similar restrictions in North Dakota and Iowa previously were struck down by judges.

Democratic Sen. Jill Schupp said she believes the eight-week ban goes against Roe v. Wade, under which justices noted that viability typically was 24 to 28 weeks. But she said parts of the wide-ranging bill likely will survive.

"I do believe that there are probably some provisions that will pass court challenges," Schupp said.

Missouri's bill also includes an outright ban on abortions except in cases of medical emergencies. But unlike Alabama's, it would kick in only if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

ALSO READ: Hollywood's big players stay quiet on Georgia abortion law

Clinicians reacted with disgust to the passage of the bill.

"Ob-gyns and other women's health care providers should not be threatened with criminal penalties for delivering evidence based, necessary health care," the Missouri Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said in an emailed statement.

The Hope Clinic for Women, which performs abortions in Granite City, Illinois, just across the river from St. Louis, noted it already sees Missouri patients on a daily basis.

"Our doors remain open for any patient who needs abortion care," Executive Director Dr. Erin King said in a statement.

Abortion-rights supporters in the House chanted, "when you lie, people die" and "women's rights are human rights" during debate on the measure before being escorted from the chamber. Outside, they shouted "shame, shame, shame" after lawmakers voted 110-44 to pass it.

Several women dressed as characters from the "The Handmaid's Tale" watched silently. The Margaret Atwood book and subsequent Hulu TV series depicts a dystopian future where fertile women are forced to breed.

"Since you're fine with forcing children who have been raped to have their rapist's babies, I truly hope when y'all go to sleep tonight that you think about that," Democratic Minority Leader Crystal Quade told Republicans on the House floor.

A handful of abortion opponents protested outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis on Friday. Among them was 21-year-old Teresa Pettis, a Catholic who is five months' pregnant with her first child.

She said she supports the bill even though it outlaws abortions for women who have been raped.

"Honestly, I don't think it's right to punish the child for something the child can't control," Pettis said. "The baby might be born in unfortunate circumstances, but it's still a human life."

Rep. Shamed Dogan was the only Republican to vote against the bill. He cited the lack of exceptions for pregnancies borne of rape and incest, and said most residents of his suburban St. Louis district "think that's going too far."

One Democrat voted in favor.

A total of 3,903 abortions occurred in Missouri in 2017, the last full year for which the state Department of Health and Senior Services has statistics online. Of those, 1,673 occurred at under nine weeks and 119 occurred at 20 weeks or later in a pregnancy.

About 2,900 abortions occurred in 2018, according to the agency.

The bill also bans abortions based solely on race, sex or a diagnosis indicating the potential for Down Syndrome.

If Parson signs, most provisions of the bill would take effect Aug. 28.
Project Manager, Bangui, Central African Republic

Organization: UNOPS - United Nations Office for Project Services

Country: Central African Republic

City: Bangui, Central African Republic

Office: UNOPS Bangui, Central African Republic

Closing date: Saturday, 25 May 2019

The Government of Central African Republic identified the improvement of solid waste management as a priority. As such, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) appointed the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to carry out an assessment of a public city Landfill site.

As a second phase, the MINUSCA requests UNOPS support to rehabilitate and develop the site. The project consists of four (4) components:

Component 1: Detailed studies Undertake detailed studies including geotechnical and hydrological surveys as well as Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)

Component 2: Rehabilitation and development of the landfill site. Undertake the works for the rehabilitation of the landfill.

Component 3: Capacity building and procurement. Build the capacity of the landfill staff and of the Municipality of Bangui to operate the site

Component 4: Community Outreach Perform the community outreach plan resulting from the community outreach assessment in water, sanitation and hygiene WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) needs.

LUNOPS en Republique democratique du Congo (RDC) fournit des services depuis son bureau principal a Kinshasa et ses bureaux de projets a Goma, Kisangani et Lubumbashi. Lorganisation repond aux besoins du gouvernement de la RDC grace au financement de donateurs bilateraux, de lUnion europeenne, dinstitutions financieres internationales et dagences des Nations Unies. LUNOPS en RDC fournit un large eventail de services de gestion de projets et dautres services connexes, y compris en matiere dachats, de gestion de contrats, de logistique, de ressources humaines et de gestion financiere. LUNOPS aide ses partenaires a atteindre les objectifs de leurs projets, notamment dans les domaines des infrastructures physiques et sociales, des elections et de la protection de lenvironnement.

The Project Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the project(s) and provides services to the different donors, partners and beneficiaries. He/she is expected to meet and exceed the organizations performance and delivery goals.

Purpose and Scope of Assignment
Senior Executive Associate, Muscat

Organization: UNICEF - United Nations Childrens Fund

Country: Oman

City: Muscat, Oman

Office: UNICEF Muscat, Oman

Closing date: Friday, 31 May 2019

Job no: 521985

Position type: Fixed Term Appointment

Location: Oman

Division/Equivalent: Amman(MENA)

School/Unit: Oman

Department/Office: Muscat, Oman

Categories: G-6

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child. UNICEF has spent 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Defending childrens rights throughout their lives requires a global presence, aiming to produce results and understand their effects. UNICEF believes all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential - to the benefit of a better world.

For every child, hope

Organizational Context and Purpose for the job

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to childrens rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a societys most disadvantaged citizens addressing inequity not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Under the supervision of the Country office Representative, the Senior Executive Associate is accountable for procedural communications and administrative support functions to enhance the smooth running of the supervisors day-to day activities (30%) Senior Executive Associates also provides budget monitoring support and other administrative support to the programme team in Oman Country Office (70%).

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:
By PTI

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who arrived Kuwait on Saturday, will discuss bilateral relations, including visa issues, during a series of meetings with his Kuwaiti counterpart and other top leaders, Foreign office said here.

Tension between Iran and US, talks with Taliban and regional security situation will also be discussed during Qureshi's two-day visit to the oil-rich nation.

Earlier, before his departure, Qureshi told media that he was carrying a special letter of Prime Minister Imran Khan for the Emir of Kuwait.

He expressed confidence that his visit will help to further strengthen relations between the two nations.
By Associated Press

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump won the White House pledging to wind down the nation's many foreign entanglements and put "America First." But as his administration in recent days has sent mixed signals on the prospects of a military conflict with Iran, Trump's campaign trail promise is being put to the test.

With the 2020 election approaching, the political pitfalls ahead for the first-term Republican president could be serious.

While Trump enjoys overwhelming support from his party, there is little appetite among his loyalists for a new military conflict in the Middle East. Many are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but a string of recent moves has sparked concerns that the administration was beating the drums toward war. Among the possible precursors to military conflict: new sanctions on Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier to the region and public warnings of unspecified intelligence that Iran might strike at American interests.

Asked this week if the U.S. was going to war with Iran, Trump said simply: "I hope not."

Aware of the potential backlash from within his party, the president is trying to play down the possibility of hostilities. He held the door open for negotiations over Iran's nuclear program and malign activities in the region amid reports that he was pushing back against his more hawkish advisers' preference for a military solution.

ALSO READ: US warns airliners flying in Persian Gulf amid Iran tensions

Prominent Trump supporters offered a pointed warning on Friday about the prospect of a new war, which they view as a direct violation of his "America First" pledge.

"It would be a disaster for him and for the country getting into another military engagement in the Middle East," said Corey Stewart, who led Trump's 2016 campaign in Virginia. "It does concern me that the president has (national security adviser John) Bolton and a lot of these neocons advising him. That's clearly not what he ran on and what most Americans want."

Foreign policy threatens to be a significant political liability for Trump heading into his 2020 reelection campaign.

Overall, 63 percent of Americans said they disapproved of his job handling foreign policy, according to a January poll conducted by Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Like other issues, the partisan divide was overwhelming: 76 percent of Republicans approved, while just 8 percent of Democrats said the same.

Yet the Republican Party under Trump's leadership has shifted away from wanting the United States to play an aggressive role in world affairs. Foreign policy hawks in the GOP who have long embraced a muscular foreign policy have been marginalized in recent years, dismissed as "globalists."

ALSO READ: Once again, Iraq caught up in tensions between US and Iran

By contrast, Democrats are now far more likely than Republicans to say the U.S. should play a more active role in solving the world's problems.

In the AP poll, 43 percent of Democrats said they thought the U.S. should be more active abroad, compared to just 13 percent of Republicans.

Trump on Friday sought to blame the media for the sense of mounting unease over Iran.

"They put out so many false messages that Iran is totally confused," he told a crowd of real estate agents in Washington, complaining about media coverage of his administration's recent moves. "I don't know, that might be a good thing."

People close to the president acknowledge that an armed conflict in the region is a real possibility.

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., a Trump confidant, signaled support for a military solution if needed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon  so long as the United States wouldn't take the lead role in a prospective war.

"Whatever needs to be done to keep Iran from becoming a nuclear power needs to happen," Falwell said in an interview. "I'm not saying the United States needs to do it. Somebody is going to need to do it."

He added: "The way that it balances out, it might be Saudi Arabia and Israel that go to war with Iran."

J.D. Gordon, director of national security for Trump's first campaign, described Iran as "a delicate balance" for the president, who is surrounded by advisers who "generally agree with his worldview."

"Preventing an aggressive state sponsor of terrorism from acquiring nuclear weapons through primarily economic and diplomatic pressure isn't as simple as many people would like us to believe," Gordon said.

While military conflict would likely be unpopular among Republican voters, the politics on Iran are nuanced.

For years, Republicans railed against the multination pact struck under former President Barack Obama to remove economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for the country's pledge to abandon its nuclear program. Trump last year withdrew from the deal, thrilling Israel and anti-Obama conservatives at home while troubling European allies who insisted it was working.

Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the hawkish Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Iran takes a paramount position in Trump's worldview, with the president believing the country poses a particularly destructive threat.

"I think one should never discount the political calculation, which is that he knows a significant part of his base, including tens of millions of evangelical Christians, agree with him," Dubowitz said.

The passionate opposition to the Iran deal among Trump's core supporters affords him some room to maneuver amid the military buildup, even if "America First" conservatives oppose an outright war.

"I haven't met anybody who thinks we shouldn't take an incredibly hard line against Iran," said Mark Meckler, an early leader in the tea party movement. At the same time, he said, "Nobody believes there's going to be a war."

"What Trump promised in regards to our foreign policy is 'America First,'" Meckler continued. "He's doing that."
By Associated Press

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis urged foreign correspondents on Saturday to humbly use the power of the press to search for the truth and give voice to the voiceless, saying journalism is an important tool to counter the hatred, prejudice and fake news.

In an audience with the Foreign Press Association in Rome, Francis also urged journalists to not fall prey to sending click-bait headlines and half-reported stories, saying errors can not only misrepresent the truth but damage entire communities.

He lamented attacks on journalists around the globe and assured reporters that the Catholic Church at large appreciated their work "even when you touch a raw nerve, including within the ecclesial community."

While Francis meets with journalists regularly during his foreign trips, it was the first time a pope has received the Foreign Press Association, which represents journalists from more than 50 countries, since St. John Paul II in 1988. Francis kept his distance from the press in his native Argentina.

But in the past year, he and his aides have repeatedly praised the role of the media in exposing the clergy abuse scandal and for reporting about the plight of migrants, "forgotten wars" and other cases of human suffering. "We need journalists who are on the side of victims, on the side of those who are persecuted, excluded, thrown away and discriminated against," Francis told the roughly 400 journalists and their families in the frescoed Sala Clementina of the Apostolic Palace.

"We need you and your work to not forget so many situations of suffering that often are in the dark, or have light shining for a moment only to return to the darkness of indifference," he said.

The association's president, Patricia Thomas of The Associated Press, told Francis that more and more journalists are being killed, threatened and imprisoned for merely reporting the news. But she said the threats weren't merely physical. "Today in many parts of the world, journalists are being discredited daily, accused of spreading fake news that is really just news that people in power don't like," she said.

"This process of delegitimisation has had a corrosive effect, the dangers of which are obvious." Francis said a free press was indispensable to guard against authoritarianism. "Let's not forget that in dictatorships, one of the first things they do is take away the freedom of the press or 'mask' and not allow a free press," he said.

But Francis also urged humility in reporting, saying reporters who think they know everything before they start out aren't doing their job. And he warned against parroting the hatred, vitriol and prejudices in the current public discourse, urging instead calibrated language that respects the dignity of all. Thomas invited Francis to visit the association's headquarters, on the appropriately named Via del'Umilta - Humble Street - and gave him an honorary press card to get in the door.
At the age of 26, Winnipeg-born actor Reid McTavish is a little young for a comeback story.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 17/5/2019 (954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At the age of 26, Winnipeg-born actor Reid McTavish is a little young for a comeback story.

THEATRE PREVIEW Click to Expand Kiss of the Spider Woman

Dry Cold Productions

 Tom Hendry Warehouse Theatre

 May 21-25

 Tickets $34.50-$44.50 at 204-942-6537 or www.royalmtc.ca

But thats the feeling he gets as he prepares to take on the role of Molina, a gay prisoner who finds himself sharing a cell with a Marxist revolutionary in a military-controlled Argentina in Dry Cold Productions Kiss of the Spider Woman. The show is a musical adaption of a 1976 novel by Manuel Puig, which was turned into a 1986 movie by Hector Babenco. The stage musical was written by Terence McNally with music by Kander & Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago).

The role of Molina, you may recall, won actor William Hurt a best actor Oscar and also won Brent Carver a Tony for the 1993 Broadway production.

But the role was its own award for McTavish, who returned to his Winnipeg hometown after spending three years at the Stratford Festival, which is typically more of an endgame proposition for Canadian theatre actors.

"Its funny because when you get to Stratford, a lot of people think thats the be-all and end-all," McTavish says prior to a rehearsal in a hall at the Asper Centre for Theatre and Film at the University of Winnipeg. "Its Stratford!"

Reid McTavish McTavish got a different perspective of the Stratford Festival after working as a "swing" for three consecutive years.

McTavish got a different perspective after working as a "swing" for three consecutive years. A swing, he explains is "the insurance policy of a show.

"Basically if anyone gets sick or injured, I go in for them," he explains. In his first two shows at Stratford, he was the designated replacement for 11 different actors. For a production of The Music Man, he could have subbed for seven different performers. So, yes, the swing does get some opportunities to go on stage. But it can also feel like being trapped in a kind of insidious limbo.

"What nobody talks about is that its extremely isolating," McTavish says. "When youre learning the show, everyone else is on stage having fun learning the show and being creative together, while the swing is offstage, frantically writing notes.

"Then during the show, when everyones on stage having a good time and the swings are off by themselves.

"Its so isolating to do three years in a row," he says. "My breaking point was when it affected my mental health. I actually had a mental breakdown... in secret because I didnt want my reputation to be affected."

McTavish sought counselling and ultimately packed up and moved back to Winnipeg in November to avail himself of the support system of his family and friends. At that point, he says, it was touch-and-go if he would ever act again.

"Its so isolating to do three years in a row. My breaking point was when it affected my mental health," McTavish said.

"When I was at Stratford, I said: Im done in the industry! I quit! I dont want to do this anymore. I want to be an actor. I want to be a performer. I didnt want to be an ensemble all the time, which is what I was being."

But then the role of Molina appeared on his horizon and with it, the opportunity for his first lead role on the professional stage.

"This audition came up and its like... OK one more audition!" he laughs. "And if I dont get Molina, I am done in this industry.

"So then the universe was like: Youre not done.

"This is been like soul-feeding for me," he says. "Its a hard role and it takes a lot out of me, but its been so rejuvenating

"Molina is such a fantastic character especially for a gay man to be playing," he says. "Being a gay man, there are so many things I can draw on in my personal life. I understand how Molina feels in this situation and its been exciting to discover who Molina is."

McTavish relishes doing the Kander & Ebb musical.

He has kept that journey a solitary one, he adds.

"I havent watch the bootleg performances of Brent Carver or the movie or anyone elses performance because I want to focus on who is Molina is to me instead of re-creating someone elses version."

McTavish relishes doing a Kander & Ebb musical too.

"I love their shows," he says. "Theyre so good because theyre dark and they have actual depth to them.

"I kind of hit a wall in my career when I said I cant do fluffy musical theatre anymore.

"With so many theatre companies, they think we need to make money, so we get Mamma Mia, Beauty and the Beast, The Music Man... all fine shows but they have no intensity to them.

"So this show is really wonderful," McTavish says. "Because theyre not afraid to go there."

randall.king@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @FreepKing

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Asia Bibis arrival in Canada last week was good news  so many had been hoping and praying for the release of the Pakistani Christian woman who had been falsely accused of blasphemy.

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This article was published 18/5/2019 (954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Asia Bibis arrival in Canada last week was good news  so many had been hoping and praying for the release of the Pakistani Christian woman who had been falsely accused of blasphemy.

While Canadians were glad for her, it was also a reminder she is not unique. Around the world, millions of people suffer persecution because of their beliefs. Unlike Bibi, however, most of these people get little or no attention.

That changed a bit in April and May when two reports were released about worldwide religious persecution.

One report came from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which cited dozens of countries where people are persecuted and oppressed because of their faith  places like Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Of the countries on the list, China is considered to be one of the worst due to its repression of Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, Falun Gong practitioners and Uighur Muslims.

As commission member Gary Bauer put it, China is "an equal-opportunity persecutor. They go after anybody, any sect that might compete with the communist, atheistic government of China."

Ways it attacks religion include detaining between 800,000 and possibly more than two million Uighur and other Muslims, deploying a million party cadres to live with Uighur families and report on any signs of "extremist" religious behaviour, closing and destroying churches, and oppressing members of other faiths.

The report also singled out blasphemy laws in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan as being of special concern, and listed other countries where persecution is rife: Central African Republic, Nigeria, Russia, Syria, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Another report came earlier this month from British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Its special focus was persecution of Christians, with a spotlight on the Middle East, where it said the situation facing Christians is "coming close to genocide."

According to the report, millions of Christians in the region have been uprooted from their homes, and many have been killed, kidnapped, imprisoned and discriminated against.

At one time, the report says, Christians made up 20 per cent of the population in the Middle East and North Africa. Now its five per cent. Before 2003, Iraq had 1.5 million Christians; today there are fewer than 120,000.

Forms of persecution in the region range from discrimination in education, employment and social life; arrests; imprisonment; and attacks against churches and Christian communities. Social media is also being used to incite hatred against Christians.

Other areas where Christians are being persecuted, the report says, are southeast and east Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.

"Evidence shows not only the geographic spread of anti-Christian persecution, but also its increasing severity," the report said.

Hunt, an Anglican, notes that Britons are often uncomfortable talking about persecution of Christians around the world because of that countrys colonial history, and for fear of being politically incorrect.

This includes fear of offending people of other faiths in Britains multicultural society. "That has perhaps created an awkwardness in talking about this issue," Hunt said, causing "people to shy away" from this topic.

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"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," he added.

Whats true for Great Britain is true for Canada. As Canadians, we also find it hard to talk about religious persecution  some of the same fears of causing offence are at play here, too. But as Asia Bibis case showed, it cant be ignored.

Perhaps Winnipeg, home to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and to an active and engaged interfaith community, can lead the way by creating opportunities to talk honestly, openly  and occasionally, even painfully  about the persecution being done in all of our names against people of faith, and also against those who profess no beliefs at all.

At the same time, we can keep on modelling a different way for our co-religionists in other countries, as Winnipeggers from all religions support and care for each other, honour each others unique beliefs, and seek to learn from and be inspired by other traditions.

Doing those things would be a fitting way to honour Asia Bibi, and welcome her to Canada.

faith@freepress.mb.ca
A mining venture that wants to extract fracking-quality sand from eastern Manitoba has not only received environmental approval, but has agreed to help offset some public costs for highway upgrades.

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This article was published 18/5/2019 (954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A mining venture that wants to extract fracking-quality sand from eastern Manitoba has not only received environmental approval, but has agreed to help offset some public costs for highway upgrades.

Canadian Premium Sand (CPS) has been granted an environmental licence from the province subject to 96 terms and conditions. One condition is that no more than four trucks per hour can haul sand from the facility. The company plans to run a 24-hour operation.

CPS also received a conditional-use licence from the Incorporated Community of Seymourville to access land for sand extraction.

"Both of those things are pretty critical benchmarks for us to obtain," said Bronwyn Weaver, CPS communications and community liaison officer.

The next stage for the project, called the Wanipigow Sand Project, is raising funds for construction. Weaver does not anticipate that being a problem. "Were very encouraged that this will be put together fairly quickly," she said.

The company is proposing a $150-million operation to extract and process high-quality sand from near Hollow Water First Nation, about 200 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. The operation would create 100 jobs at the site and an additional 50 jobs in trucking.

The region has high-quality sand, found about 0.6 metres below the surface, that can be used in oil and gas recovery (fracking), but also in making glass, ceramics, solar panels, silica metals and water filtration systems.

Leaders in Hollow Water and Metis communities Seymourville and Manigotagan have given their approval.

Hollow Water Chief Larry Barker said in a news release that CPS began consulting with elders a year in advance of the environmental decision. The project "will create jobs and help provide a better future for our community," he said.

Eric Reder of the Wilderness Committee said the environmental approval was a foregone conclusion. The company had already begun preparing the quarry site a month ago, he said.

Reder maintained the provinces environmental licensing process, written in 1988, is antiquated. "The Manitoba Law Reform Commission said in 2015 it needs revision. Its full of holes," he said.

One of the wilderness committees concerns is the fine dust from the excavation site. The dust from the sand can cause respiratory problems. The company says it is taking steps to mitigate any health issues.

While the province granted CPS environmental approval, it wasnt pleased with the companys traffic study, which it termed "insufficient." It said CPS must do more study, "given the projected increases in truck traffic and potential impacts to the provincial highway network."

CPS plans to haul sand by truck via Highway 304 from Seymourville to Highway 59, and then to a rail terminal in Winnipeg.

Weaver said CPS is in talks with Manitoba Infrastructure about the highways. The company has informed the province its willing to ante up to assist government in road upgrades like shoulder and pavement improvement and removing potentially dangerous curves on Highway 304, she said.

Private industry funding for highways is unusual, but "it has been done in the past," she said.

"We will likely be contributing in some form or fashion," and that will be financial, Weaver said. But she said CPS is not the only industry using those highways. "We all need to be part of the solution as these roads get more traffic on them," she said.

Weaver could not provide more details. The province would only say it is in talks for "potential mitigation measures to ensure safety and offset any impacts on the provincial highway network."

Lonny Karlenzig, a Manigotagan-area man who has been leading local opposition to the project, called the environmental licensing "very disappointing."

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"The peace and quiet we once had, the boreal forest everyone was trying to protect, will be slowly destroyed," he said.

CPS would quarry five hectares per year. While one site is being quarried, the next five-hectare site will be prepared for quarrying while the previous quarried site will be restored with removed overburden and reforestation.

Cottagers have also voiced concerns about the increased traffic. However, cottages have also accounted for increased traffic, with an estimated 300 cottages built in the Hollow Water area  Blueberry Point, Driftwood Beach, Ayers Cove, and Pelican Inlet  in the past 25.

Another concern is that Highway 59 at the Highway 304 junction is two lanes for about a dozen kilometres heading south before it becomes a four-lane highway. People are concerned there will be safety issues with drivers trying to pass large sand-hauling trucks.

Weaver said Manitobas location gives it a competitive advantage with the oil and gas industry. "Most markets in Canada receive their Tier 1 silica sand from Wisconsin, so we are closer to the market," she said.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
Manitoba was well represented in the Startup Canada Awards, Prairie region, held in Edmonton this week, winning two of the 10 awards as well as honourable mention at the event.

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Manitoba was well represented in the Startup Canada Awards, Prairie region, held in Edmonton this week, winning two of the 10 awards as well as honourable mention at the event.

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Marney Stapley, vice-president of North Forge, won the entrepreneur promotion award. It is the same award that was won last year by the former CEO of North Forge, Jeff Ryzner, when the event was held in Winnipeg.

TREVOR HAGAN/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Marney Stapley of North Forge.

"At North Forge, we are all about promoting our community of entrepreneurs. It takes a community to help a startup be successful  that is a task that we take incredibly seriously," Stapley said in a prepared statement.

Stapley had been a longtime volunteer at North Forges world-class fabrication lab. She joined the staff about a year ago as the lab  one of the largest community fabrication labs in North America  became so busy that professional supervision was required.

Ukko Robotics, which makes automated chicken coops, won the innovation award.

Ukko Robotics is a technology firm based out of Winnipeg that specializes in the design and development of autonomous agricultural technology and energy-efficient farming equipment, such as its self-sustaining, self-moving, mobile-monitored chicken barns.

Funding Change, the Winnipeg online raffle app, received an honourable mention. Funding Change has developed a platform that has helped large and small community organizations raise hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Sector councils from New Media Manitoba to Food and Beverage Manitoba were getting a little antsy this year, waiting for confirmation of annual provincial funding.

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This article was published 18/5/2019 (954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sector councils from New Media Manitoba to Food and Beverage Manitoba were getting a little antsy this year, waiting for confirmation of annual provincial funding.

But for many of them, the wait was worth it.

On Friday, the province announced $24 million in funding for 10 organizations. While the actual dollar amount of the commitment has not changed much for each organization, the big news is that the money is committed over four years, an unprecedented extension.

Tracey Maconachie, president of Bioscience Association Manitoba, which relies on provincial funding for about 20 per cent of its operating costs, said, "Four years is good. Our funding went up a little, but the big difference is knowing that we wont have to go through the application process every year. From a work flow perspective, it will change the way we manage things."

The province has undertaken a number of studies on economic development and has announced its economic growth action plan, but the organizations and professionals on the front lines have been anxiously waiting to see what it will look like for them.

Education and Training Minister Kelvin Goertzen said, "I know this announcement took a while to get to this point. But since we were doing something that will last for four years, we wanted to make sure we got it right."

He said the long-term funding is an acknowledgement of the important work these organizations do, especially in identifying the particular skills needs and training required for each sector.

"This is not about government creating jobs. We create the environment for jobs to be created," Goertzen said. "Our support will allow them to co-ordinate human resource support... and help then with training."

Its not immediately clear how funding levels have changed for each organization, but, not surprisingly, New Media Manitoba, which representis an industry that experienced about 500 per cent growth from 2012 to 2017, did see an increase.

"With todays fantastic announcement, the government is ackowledging its belief in the importance of the dynamic digital media and ICT (information and communication technologies) industries and its strong contribution to Manitobas bottom line," said Louie Ghiz, executive director of New Media Manitoba.

He said it will allow his organization to better address critical human resource needs and figure out long-term strategies, including potentially attracting talent from outside the province.

Ghiz also said outreach work is already underway in northern and rural Manitoba.

Digital media curriculum is being prepared with the hopes of introducing high school courses in Flin Flon, The Pas, Cranberry Portage and Swan River.

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While all the organizations will enjoy longer-term certainty in their funding, there will also be more accountability attached to that funding than has been the case in the past.

Each organization is being asked to co-ordinate more aggressively, something many say they are happy to do.

"The province is encouraging more crossover connections. That is where our success is going to come from," Maconachie said.

"Previously, it was more like we were competitors going after the same funding."

There are some changes in the playing field. For instance, New Media Manitoba will work more closely with Information and Communication Technologies Association of Manitoba; and Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, which works with many companies that are also represented by other sector organizations, has received provincial sector council funding for the first time.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
As the posturing and tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China escalate, its becoming apparent that an all-out trade war is brewing  and food will be the weapon.

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This article was published 18/5/2019 (954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As the posturing and tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China escalate, its becoming apparent that an all-out trade war is brewing  and food will be the weapon.

A group of Canadian agricultural economists tracking the deterioration in the global trade environment is now warning in a research paper that the continued breakdown in rules-based trade could have implications for food security  even for Canada.

Most of the headlines Canadians see about trade with China these days are about that countrys decision to block our farmers canola shipments.

The likelihood that curtailed canola shipments will increase ending stocks and put a damper on prices has prompted some farmers to scale back their canola acres in favour of other commodities such as wheat, barley or oats.

Its not that the price outlooks for those crops are any better; they are a little less expensive to grow.

However, canola prices are also being driven downward by the effects on soybean prices of the U.S. trade war with China.

For longtime grain industry observers, the emerging scenario bears a grim resemblance to the mid-1980s, when the U.S. took on the European Union over agricultural subsidies.

The worlds two largest exporters, both sitting on huge stockpiles of commodities and well-endowed treasuries, battled over market share, driving global prices to punishingly low levels for smaller exporters.

This time, its the U.S. versus China. Economists Al Mussell, Douglas Hedley, Ted Bilyea, and former Canadian trade negotiator Mike Gifford say in their latest analysis that Canada, once again, will be caught in the crossfire.

"What is becoming clear is that the situation faced by Canada is like none other in recent memory, with worries of the sudden decline in the rules-based international trading system, coupled with much larger countries duelling with one another in trade wars and the menace of an historic animal disease outbreak," they write.

African swine fever is decimating the Chinese hog herd and its not yet known how far this disease could reach outside of its borders. It is surfacing in other Asian countries and has long been endemic in wild hog herds in some parts of Europe.

Canadas agri-food policy, and increasingly, its projections for economic growth, are predicated on a fair global trading environment.

But as a welterweight in a global market dominated by heavyweights, exporters like Canada need rules to govern trade and they need the various players to abide by those rules.

Anarchy would better define the current environment and Canadian exports are being slammed directly and indirectly. Whats more  there is no end in sight.

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"It is evident that the U.S. decision to deliberately create a trade crisis was taken by the current U.S. administration, but it must be recognized that the underlying U.S. concerns are long-standing and predate the Trump administration," they write. In fact, some of the frustrations with China date back to when it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, but only partly moved to a market-based economy.

Now, as a net importer of food, China is vulnerable, particularly if one of its chief sources of protein is decimated by disease. Part of its bid to achieve food self-sufficiency has included buying up agri-food production assets in other parts of the world, such as Central Asia, eastern Europe, Africa and South America.

The recent purchase of controlling interest in Manitoba pork producer and processor HyLife was by a Thai firm, with the bulk of its operations and investments in China, the paper notes.

The strategy, in essence, secures a supply chain to compensate for the fact that Chinas domestic production isnt keeping up with the demand growth. And although it seems beyond imagination, if there are supply shortages caused by weather or disease in the future, Canadians might not have first dibs.

"Under a rules-based international trade regime, domestic food security fears due to foreign ownership of Canadian agri-food assets would be exaggerated; under a power-based trading system, fears of foreign ownership impacting access to food in Canada become much more credible," the economists warn. "Planning should be undertaken to respond to the full range of possible long-term outcomes."

Laura Rance is vice-president of Content for Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at lrance@farmmedia.com
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Commercial airliners flying over the Persian Gulf risk being targeted by "miscalculation or misidentification" from the Iranian military amid heightened tensions between the Islamic Republic and the U.S., American diplomats warned Saturday, even as both Washington and Tehran say they don't seek war.

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This article was published 17/5/2019 (954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Commercial airliners flying over the Persian Gulf risk being targeted by "miscalculation or misidentification" from the Iranian military amid heightened tensions between the Islamic Republic and the U.S., American diplomats warned Saturday, even as both Washington and Tehran say they don't seek war.

The warning relayed by U.S. diplomatic posts from the Federal Aviation Administration, though dismissed by Iran, underscored the risks the current tensions pose to a region critical to both global air travel and trade. Oil tankers allegedly have faced sabotage and Yemen rebel drones attacked a crucial Saudi oil pipeline over the last week.

Graphic locates the US Navy's fleet area of operations and shows the path the US strike group moving into position in the Persian Gulf; 3c x 4 3/4 inches; 146 mm x 120 mm;

Meanwhile on Saturday, Iraqi officials said ExxonMobil Corp. began evacuating staff from Basra, and the island nation of Bahrain ordered its citizens out of Iraq and Iran over "the recent escalations and threats."

However, U.S. officials have yet to publicly explain the threats they perceive coming from Iran, some two weeks after the White House ordered an aircraft carrier and B-52s bombers into the region. The U.S. also has ordered nonessential staff out of its diplomatic posts in Iraq.

President Donald Trump since has sought to soften his tone on Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also stressed Saturday that Iran is "not seeking war," comments seemingly contradicted by the head of the Revolutionary Guard, who declared an ongoing "intelligence war" between the nations.

In this Wednesday, May 15, 2019, photo released by the U.S. Navy, Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Tyrik Williams, right, Aviation Electrician's Mate 2nd Class Nathan Hernandez, middle, and Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Kristina Thompson, left, load an AGM-114 Hellfire missile onto an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. U.S. diplomats warned Saturday, May 18, 2019, that commercial airliners flying over the wider Persian Gulf faced a risk of being "misidentified" amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Michael Singley, U.S. Navy via AP)

This all takes root in Trump's decision last year to withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers and impose wide-reaching sanctions. Iran just announced it would begin backing away from terms of the deal, setting a 60-day deadline for Europe to come up with new terms or it would begin enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels. Tehran long has insisted it does not seek nuclear weapons, though the West fears its program could allow it to build atomic bombs.

The order relayed Saturday by U.S. diplomats in Kuwait and the UAE came from an FAA Notice to Airmen published late Thursday in the U.S. It said that all commercial aircraft flying over the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman needed to be aware of Iran's fighter jets and weaponry.

"Although Iran likely has no intention to target civil aircraft, the presence of multiple long-range, advanced anti-aircraft-capable weapons in a tense environment poses a possible risk of miscalculation or misidentification, especially during periods of heightened political tension and rhetoric," the warning said.

It also said aircraft could experience interference with its navigation instruments and communications jamming "with little to no warning."

The warning comes 30 years after the USS Vincennes mistook an Iran Air commercial jetliner for an Iranian F-14, shooting it down and killing all 290 people onboard. That was not lost on Iran's mission to the United Nations, which dismissed the warning as America's "psychological war against Iran."

"There has never been a threat or risk to civilian air traffic in the Persian Gulf from Iran," mission spokesman Alireza Miryousefi told The Associated Press. "One cannot forget the fact that it was indeed a U.S. warship that wantonly targeted an Iranian civilian passenger aircraft. ... The U.S. has yet to apologize for that act of terrorism against Iranian civilians."

In this Thursday, May 16, 2019 photo released by the U.S. Navy, Lt. Nicholas Miller, from Spring, Texas, and Lt. Sean Ryan, from Gautier, Miss., launch an F-18 Super Hornet from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. On Saturday, May 18, 2019, U.S. diplomats warned that commercial airliners flying over the wider Persian Gulf faced a risk of being "misidentified" amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jeff Sherman, U.S. Navy via AP)

The Persian Gulf has since become a major gateway for East-West travel in the aviation industry. Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, home to Emirates, is the world's busiest for international travel, while long-haul carriers Etihad and Qatar Airways also operate in the region.

Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways all said they were aware of the notice and their operations were unaffected. Oman Air did not respond to a request for comment.

Speaking in China, where he finished a tour of Asian nations who rely on Mideast oil, Zarif told the state-run IRNA news agency that war is not what Iran wants.

"No war will occur as neither are we seeking a war nor anyone else has the illusion of being able to fight with Iran in the region," Zarif said.

Meanwhile, the head of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard reportedly said the U.S. and Iran already were in a "full-fledged intelligence war." The semi-official Fars news agency also quoted Gen. Hossein Salami using 9-11 as a metaphor for America's political system, describing it Saturday "like the World Trade Building that collapses with a sudden hit."

It isn't just air traffic affected. Lloyd's Market Association Joint War Committee added the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the United Arab Emirates on Friday to its list of areas posing higher risk to insurers. It also expanded its list to include the Saudi coast as a risk area.

In Iraq, ExxonMobil began evacuating staff from Basra amid the tensions with Iran, two Iraqi officials told The Associated Press. ExxonMobil works in Basra at its West Qurna I oil field, which had been shut off for years from Western oil firms over sanctions levied on Iraq during dictator Saddam Hussein's time in power.

The U.S. Consulate in Basra has been closed since September after American officials blamed Iran-aligned Shiite militias for a rocket attack on the post, which is inside Basra's airport compound. Basra as a whole has been shaken by violent protests in recent months over entrenched corruption and poor public services, which earlier saw Iran's Consulate there overrun and set ablaze.

ExxonMobil, based in Irving, Texas, said it declined to discuss "operational staffing."

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Iraq is OPEC's second-largest Arab producer, pumping some 4.5 million barrels of crude oil a day.

Separately, the State Department acknowledged an unidentified drone flew over the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday and the facility briefly went on alert, though it said the aircraft posed no threat.

___

Associated Press writers Qassem Abdul-Zahra and Bassem Mroue in Baghdad, Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellap .
By PTI

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday granted an amnesty to 762 convicts to mark Vesak, also known as 'Buddha Jayanti', being celebrated by the Buddhist majority nation amid tight security arrangements in the wake of Easter Sunday bombings.

The Sri Lankan government has restricted the five-day national Vesak festival celebrations to just two days citing the prevailing security situation in the country following the massive Easter Sunday bombings on April 21 which claimed nearly 260 lives and injured 500 others.

Vesak, the Day of the Full Moon in the month of May, is the most sacred day to millions of Buddhists around the world.

It was on the day of Vesak two and a half millennia ago when the Buddha was born, attained enlightenment and in his eightieth year passed away.

ALSO READ: India offers Sri Lanka full support to fight 'Jihadi terrorism'

President Sirisena released the 762 prisoners, including 26 women, under a Presidential pardon to mark Vesak.

The president, however, made no reference to monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara, whose release was demanded by Buddhist leaders.

Gnanasara, who is in jail for contempt of court, was in the forefront of an anti-Muslim minority campaign since 2013.

It was speculated that Sirisena may free him marking Vesak.

Those freed were those who had been convicted for minor offenses other than rape, murder and drug offenses.

Special security arrangements have been made by the security forces including the armed forces, Police and Special Task Force (STF) on Vesak Poya day on Saturday, and the next two days for the security of the devotees, the Colombo Page reported.

In addition to the security measures taken by the security forces over the past few weeks to protect the public while arresting the terrorists, a security programme has been implemented to provide security to all the temples and sacred places where devotees gather.

The Buddhist holy festival was hampered by security fears with a marked decline in the numbers of devotees attending temples.

The suicide bombings killed over 250 people and information gathered from those arrested for links with the local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ) pointed to the possibility of more crowded places being targeted.

Anuradhapura, the sacred city in north central province, the home to the revered Bo tree brought from Bodh Gaya in Bihar, saw less than 5 per cent of the devotees visiting to offer prayers.

The Vesak Day is marked with colourful decorations of flags, lanterns and buntings.

The devotees attend temples to observe meditation.

Muslims also joined majority Buddhist community in making Vesak decorations in Muslim-majority areas.

This comes just a few days after anti-Muslim rioting in several places.

Amid security fear, the free food offerings on stalls by way side have declined.

Upul Rohana, the public health inspectors' spokesman, said there were only 92 approves free food stalls this year, a drop from usual number of around 6,000 around the country.
OTTAWA  The federal Liberals may beef up the National Energy Boards final conditions on Manitoba Hydros proposed line to Minnesota.

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OTTAWA  The federal Liberals may beef up the National Energy Boards final conditions on Manitoba Hydros proposed line to Minnesota.

While Metis leaders have raised concerns about the provinces handling of the project, Ottawa is also worried about claims from First Nations the province didnt adequately consult them, an idea Premier Brian Pallister rejects.

"We're using a gold standard on our consultations," the premier told reporters Friday. "Ottawa uses an old standard."

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Terry Nelson, former chief of the Roseau River First Nation, said Ottawa and Manitoba run the risk of 'destroying this international contract.'

Federal changes to the NEB conditions could further delay the projects approval beyond the June 14 extension which the federal cabinet recently issued. Pallister fears the project could be put on hold though this falls election cycle.

"We're in the red zone," he said.

On Thursday, the Free Press revealed that the Liberals sought another month to decide whether to green-light the $453-million transmission line, hoping the province would rectify its spat with the Manitoba Metis Federation.

Last year, the Pallister government reneged on a tentative deal Manitoba Hydro negotiated that would have given the federation $67.5-million in exchange for not contesting the project during its assessment process.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Premier Brian Pallister said Manitoba has used 'the gold standard' for consultations with First Nations. First Nations, however, disagree.

The NEB approved the project last November, but had used the testimony the federation delivered before Pallister refused to approve the $67.5-million deal last March.

Now, First Nations are going public with complaints about how both Manitoba and Ottawa have consulted them throughout the process, largely hinging on longstanding treaty grievances.

"We'll probably just end up destroying this international contract, and the Liberals will be seen as not able to deal with First Nations people," said Terry Nelson, a councillor and former chief of Roseau River First Nation.

Consulted communities The provincial government says bureaucrats have consulted with 21 different Indigenous communities, including some in Ontario, regarding the Manitoba-Minnesota Transmission Project. click to read more The province spent roughly a million dollars to consult with these communities: Animakee Wa Zhing #37 Anishnaabeg of Naongashiing Birdtail Sioux First Nation Black River First Nation Brokenhead Ojibway Nation Buffalo Point First Nation Canupawakpa Dakota First Nation Dakota Plains Wahpeton First Nation Dakota Tipi First Nation Iskatewizaagegan 39 First Nation Long Plain First Nation The Manitoba Metis Community (including the Manitoba Metis Federation) Northwest Angle No. 33 Peguis First Nation Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation Sagkeeng First Nation Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation Shoal Lake 40 First Nation Sioux Valley Dakota First Nation Swan Lake First Nation Waywayseecappo First Nation Close

The proposed line largely sits within Roseau Rivers traditional territory, where the band has been trying since 1996 to convert parcels of land into reserves for economic development.

Nelson said Manitoba has been "very negligent" in addressing the issue, which he said is key to getting buy-in for the project.

"All we said was 'let's negotiate something' and the province never came to the table," he claimed.

'It gets to the point where it's the equivalent of a veto. Nobody should have veto power; we're all Manitobans'  Premier Brian Pallister, on Ottawa revisiting old arguments

It seems Ottawa is taking those concerns to heart.

In a Thursday letter, the federal government told Roseau River First Nation it was "prepared to propose amendments to several of the NEB conditions" which will be drafted "shortly."

Natural Resources Canada is also establishing a working group to help assess the projects impact on harvesting plants and animals, "and cultural impacts of changing the landscape and resources" in southern Manitoba.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Long Plain First Nation Chief Dennis Meeches said claims either level of government meaningfully consulted with First Nations are false.

The premier said he supports Indigenous communities being compensated for adverse impacts caused by the project, saying its akin to a farmer or homeowner getting a fair deal. But he questioned the need for Ottawa to revisit arguments that would have come up in the "tremendously extensive" consultation process.

"It gets to the point where it's the equivalent of a veto. Nobody should have veto power; we're all Manitobans," the premier said. He said Friday he has expressed his concerns in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Chiefs in northwestern Ontario said they've also encountered issues with Manitoba, and would specify those in interviews next week.

In Manitoba, Long Plain First Nation Chief Dennis Meeches wrote that many of the seven Treaty One nations have concerns with a "complete lack of meaningful provincial consultation" while recent talks with Ottawa "have been rushed and superficial."

'We do not see any legal way for the project to proceed'  Long Plain First Nations Chief Dennis Meeches, on the future of the deal without consultations

In a statement, Meeches wrote that Long Plain had selected portions of land for its treaty allocation upon which the transmission line would sit.

"Our concerns have fallen on deaf ears. To date, we have not been properly consulted by any level of government," Meeches wrote.

He added that the reserves years of litigation over Ottawas handling of Kapyong Barracks appears to have not changed how the federal government handles land issues.

Without the issue rectified, "we do not see any legal way for the project to proceed," Meeches wrote.

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Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi was not available for an interview Friday afternoon.

The preferred final route for the Manitoba-Minnesota transmission line.

Winnipeg MP Dan Vandal defended his governments cautionary approach to consultation.

"If we make the right decisions earlier on we're going to prevent court challenges, which could really, really threaten the timelines of this project," said Vandal, who is Metis.

"We have to take the duty to consult very seriously, and if we dont, its going to blow up in all of our faces."

 With files from Jessica Botelho-Urbanski

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
On May 14, the Alabama senate voted in favour of a near-total ban on abortion and to charge doctors with a crime should they perform the procedure.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 18/5/2019 (954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

On May 14, the Alabama senate voted in favour of a near-total ban on abortion and to charge doctors with a crime should they perform the procedure.

The law makes abortion illegal from the moment of conception and is only allowable when a mothers health is at risk or there is a lethal fetal anomaly. It provides no exception for rape or incest. In other words, women have no choice.

The law was voted in by 25 of 31 senators, all Republican and all men. It passed earlier in the month in the state house of representatives by a 74-3 margin (all Republican and mostly men) and was sponsored by Terri Collins, a female Republican.

Virtually all who voted for the bill were self-proclaimed Christians.

The next morning, the bill was signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey, who said: "This legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God."

Alabama isnt the only Republican-controlled U.S. state to ban abortion; it joins Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio, and Georgia. Other states such as Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas have instituted barriers for women who seek the procedure.

The ultimate goal of Republicans is to challenge the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which legally protects a pregnant womans ability to choose whether or not to have an abortion.

Challenges to these state laws will result in a trip to the Supreme Court, where U.S. President Donald Trump has recently installed two conservative, pro-life justices (Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch). Republicans now have a 5-4 majority and the stage is set for a massive change in a womans ability to choose, if not the banning of abortion altogether.

Moves by men to manipulate, control, and exploit womens bodies have a long history.

Ask any woman. Listen to their stories. Believe them. From clothing to employment to magazine covers to the right to say no, womens bodies are constantly being objectified, assaulted and abused. Women are attacked when they stand up for themselves.

The problem is that banning abortion is like banning sex; laws dont stop it whatsoever. Banning abortion just ensures abortions become unsafe.

It is most often a choice when supporting a child is difficult or life circumstances threaten a childs well-being. Its also done for 100 other understandable reasons. Abortion is not birth control, and virtually anyone who has experienced this difficult decision knows this.

Women who are marginalized, poor, and experience violence in society are most affected as their ability to control what happens to their bodies is removed. As a result, they accept being controlled or face life-threatening decisions.

Women should make decisions about their own lives.

I know the debates about abortion. I have heard the questions about when life starts, and what rights that life has.

Without women, however, there would be no life at all. If women say they wish to make the most important decisions on what happens to their bodies, men should listen, step aside, and stand beside them.

This is especially true with Indigenous women. For more than a century, Indigenous women have had decisions made for them. For instance, First Nations women cant give birth at home without permission of chiefs and councils and hospitals and doctors. Northern women have to be flown to far away Winnipeg  often alone  for routine procedures.

In Indigenous cultures, a womans control over her body is paramount. This is why women protect and perform the water ceremony about their bodies and how it relates to birth. This is also why a young woman, upon her first menstruation ("moon time"), performs a year-long ceremony with aunties, sisters and female cousins, learning about herself, her choices and her body.

Abortion among Indigenous peoples is complex. Some elders decry the procedure, but admit that medicine to end a pregnancy traditionally existed. These were most often used when a childs entry to this world was compromised. In such cases, medicine was prescribed by a knowledge keeper (usually a grandmother) and the woman was nursed by her sisters until she was well.

Women were at the centre of this decision-making process, and today continue to be.

However, over the years, this has been undermined. Today, few communities pick their own medicine and access to medical procedures is limited.

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If northern Indigenous women want a safe abortion, they have to travel far distances, which can be costly and emotionally difficult. There is the option of the drug regime Mifegymiso, but if women dont travel to one of the three medical units in Winnipeg and Brandon, they have to pay hundreds of dollars for it.

This simply isnt an option for someone who is poor and marginalized, but its a choice that could change their life.

Across North America, women are being told  mostly by privileged, white men and women  what to do with their bodies, where to go, and what rules they must follow.

All women must control their own lives.

That shouldnt be a choice made by anyone else.

niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca
In the back rooms of the Winnipeg branch of property-restoration company WINMAR, co-owner and manager Scott Rose runs through a verbal catalogue of all the equipment he and his team use to clean.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 17/5/2019 (954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the back rooms of the Winnipeg branch of property-restoration company WINMAR, co-owner and manager Scott Rose runs through a verbal catalogue of all the equipment he and his team use to clean.

As he walks from room to room, the 40-year-old with an affable disposition points out the body suits and respirator masks hanging on the walls, and then makes his way over to some large trunks full of supplies his technicians take to each location.

Scott Rose, co-owner and manager of WINMAR property restoration, admits trauma-scene cleanup is not for the faint of heart.

He squats down and opens a case, showing a few more items, such as gloves and various cleaning implements before pulling out a large bag packed with plain old cotton swabs.

Rose pauses for a moment and then casually says, "These are actually important... you know, for the blood and fluids in small spaces."

Right.

In addition to the host of traditional industrial and residential cleanups  mould, sewage, fire and smoke damage  Rose and his team are also hired to clean up trauma scenes.

Classifying a scene as a trauma can mean a lot of different things; it could mean a homicide or some other violent crime took place, it could mean a death by suicide or an attempted suicide happened or it could mean someone died in their home by way of an accident or natural causes and wasnt discovered for a while.

Regardless of the circumstance, when a trauma has happened in a home or business, someone has to clean up the aftermath.

Its a profession many people dont even realize exists; until, that is, they are in need of it.

Many assume police are, in some way, responsible for cleanup if the space is also a crime scene. Thats not the case.

Cleaning supplies at WinMar property restoration in Winnipeg.

"The majority of that falls to the next of kin, who we obviously give advice to, as to the best way of cleaning something up, or recommendations... but in the grand scheme of things, a lot of the cleanup is either done by professional companies that exist out there right now.

"Beyond that, what we clean up is the mess that we make, but essentially we dont have large involvement in cleaning up of scenes," says Sgt. Brian Neumann, who has been part of the forensic investigation team at the Winnipeg Police Service for 11 years.

"A 10 per cent bleach solution will clean up a lot of that. Excessive material, you may have to remediate the surface, replace the carpet and wood. Theres a reason why we say things smell like death.

"Thats a smell that doesnt go away."

Cleaning supply notes.

So what do you do if someone has died in your home and you are in need of remediation services? The first step is to call your insurance broker.

Some home insurance policies cover part of the cost of remediation, which can vary widely, from something in the neighbourhood of $600 up to $15,000 for more severe cases.

CSI: Winnipeg Sgt. Brian Neumann has been with the Winnipeg Police Service 17 years, and has spent the last 11 of those years as a forensic investigator.



To put it bluntly, hes seen stuff. click to read more Sgt. Brian Neumann has been with the Winnipeg Police Service 17 years, and has spent the last 11 of those years as a forensic investigator. To put it bluntly, hes seen stuff. I think everybody secretly wants to be a CSI person, so given an opportunity to actually do it just really gave me that ability to have a workplace where any day, anything can happen, he says. Ive been involved in a lot of different types of investigations, from the most mundane and simple, to some very complex and interesting national and international significant investigations. When the WPS is called to a crime scene, investigators can spend anywhere from minutes, to hours, to days, to even months on site, depending on the type of the scene and whether its related to other scenes they are investigating. As the case unfolds, a botched cleanup job from a suspect often helps point police in the right direction, Neumann says. Our goal, essentially, when we attend scenes is to collect everything; a full and thorough investigation will involve that. We do pull up floorboards, drywall, we pull up carpet, disassemble furniture. Sometimes what makes my job interesting is that we are usually following an attempted cleanup and people arent generally that good at cleaning up, he says. As a general rule, people are not as clean as they once were. The white-glove treatment is not necessarily the litmus test that most people use nowadays, but that is something, when were going in and looking, peoples poor attempts at cleanup are a good indicators there might be more for us to look for.... "Its a win-win when people try to clean sometimes because bodily fluids have a way of getting places that are hard to clean. Neumann also notes the the types of crimes people commit likely hasnt changed very much since the start of humanity. I cant tell you if anybody ever went through the caves at one point in time and tried to clean up the messes, but realistically speaking, the human mind still works very much the same way; do something bad, youre best bet of not (getting) discovered is to try and clean it up. Some are good, some are not so good. Thats what keeps me employed.  Erin Lebar Close

The Free Press reached out to a handful of local home insurance companies, and each one had a different answer ranging from no coverage to partial coverage to coverage dependant on the cause of death. Regardless, youll want to know where you stand before any cleanup commences.

The next thing to be aware of is the possibility of being displaced for a few days. Again, depending on the condition of the scene, trauma cleanup can be a lengthy and incredibly detailed job in order to get a home or business to "be back in service," and completely rid of any dangers, including a form of bacteria known as mycobacteria, which carries pathogens that are known to cause serious diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis and leprosy, among others.

"Normally an elderly person will pass away and no one will find them, unfortunately, for a long time and then the process with that is pretty involved, because you essentially have to wipe down the whole house. You have to cut out the floor where they were because the body fluids will sink and seep underneath them, because gravity pulls everything down and through, theres a very distinctive odour," says Rose.

Cleaning supplies at WinMar property restoration.

To do this, trauma scene remediation technicians have an arsenal of tools and protective gear. They wear full-body suits and respirators to protect against various types of blood- and air-borne pathogens, booties to cover their steel-toed shoes and multiple sets of gloves, as sometimes more than one layer is needed.

They use construction tools to tear out walls, rip up carpet and floorboards and dismantle furniture when contaminants have seeped in; they use complex cleaners that help break down enzymes and disinfect surfaces; they use high-powered filters to eliminate (as much as possible) the extremely unpleasant odours in the air; and, when there are porous materials that just cant be cleaned deep enough to save, they dispose of them following the regulations dictated by the province.

Cleaning supplies at WinMar property restoration in Winnipeg.

"Its a very detailed, conscientious cleaning effort," says Carey Vermeulen, an Ontario-based instructor with the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification, a non-profit organization that works to establish global standards for all branches of the cleaning industry. The organization offers a series of certification courses on various cleaning topics, including trauma-scene remediation.

To receive certification in trauma scene remediation, a technician must complete a course, such as one offered by the IICRC, that involves both written and hands-on training. Vermeulen, who has been in the cleaning industry since 1980, says the IICRC trauma remediation course is quite new and much of the two-day intensive curriculum revolves around safety concerns for the technician on site.

"The technicians that go in to do the work, their personal safety is the main issue; the body suits, gloves, eye protection, respiratory protection (is) the same as you would (wear) for mould," Vermeulen explains.

"Its not like were dealing with bodies, thats taken care of by the coroner, were dealing with the aftermath of somebody who has bled badly, bled out sometimes, or people who arent found for a week or two weeks, and now the decomposition of the body is 100 times worse. And the respiratory protection, you know, respirators that cover your whole face have specific cartridges that block out that smell."

Its not like were dealing with bodies, thats taken care of by the coroner, were dealing with the aftermath of somebody who has bled badly, bled out sometimes, or people who arent found for a week or two weeks, and now the decomposition of the body is 100 times worse."

Other topics include the microbiology of human fluids, which biocides and antimicrobial chemicals to use, how to control "that smell," how to dispose of materials properly and how to manage a trauma scene after significant time has passed when putrefaction has started to take place.

And then theres the hands-on training.

Bradley Pearase rolls up floor runners after a job.

Vermeulen says instructors often spatter artificial blood, hogs blood or cattle blood on a surface, allow it to dry, and then guide trainees through proper cleanup techniques.

During his training, Rose also had to learn the proper way to clean up brain tissue that has had time to dry on a wall or other surface.

"And weve done that (in the field). You have to scrape it into a pan and throw it into a special bag for proper disposal," he says.

***

So, how and why does someone end up in the trauma cleanup biz? For a lot of technicians, Rose included, it starts with work in the other branches of cleaning, such as mould or fire restoration, before making a transition to trauma.

Sydney Daniel rolls up floor runners after a job.

He started his career in remediation when he was offered a position managing a mould restoration company where he met his current business partner, Brian Dudek.

Mould cleanups evolved into sewage cleanups, and then the pair was approached by WINMAR, a national restoration company, to buy the franchise in Manitoba, so they did, opening locations in both Winnipeg and Brandon.

One of the services WINMAR offers is trauma-site remediation, so Rose did the necessary training and added it to their list.

"It just came with the territory, I dont mind doing it. Theres something satisfying about cleaning very messy things. I dont know what it is," he says with a laugh, before describing a few of the worst scenes he has attended in his career. (The grisly details wont be included here... youre welcome.)

"Theres something satisfying about cleaning very messy things."

Rose seems relatively unaffected by the occasional  but intense  gore he encounters. However, a part of the IICRCs training course focuses on psychological issues as they relate to both the worker and the surviving family or occupants of the residence. Rose encourages his staff of about 40 people to talk to each other if a job has hit them particularly hard.

"We dont want to divulge information externally, but we do encourage our staff to talk amongst each other, because it is traumatic. All of them have a health spending account they can access. Ive never seen anybody adversely affected yet, and if I did, I would do what I could to help them," says Rose.

"The main thing they talk about (during training) is talking about the jobs, because the post-traumatic stress is the most dangerous aspect of trauma cleaning."

Vermeulen adds: "They are forewarned of that emotional effect and you should try to separate your feelings about it from the work itself and focus more on personal safety and getting the work done."

Scott Rose: I dont mind doing it. There is something satisfying cleaning very messy things

WPSs Neumann, too, understands the personal difficulties that can come along with a job that involves attending trauma scenes as often as he and the cleanup teams do, but such as with any occupation where one is exposed to trauma more frequently than the average person, it becomes necessary to figure out a way to separate work life and home life.

"With the expansion into research about (post-traumatic stress disorder) and that aspect, I dont think anybody can completely disconnect themselves from what you see and what you do, but I think I probably equate it more to being an ER doctor. If you know what your job is and you know what you could or may be exposed to, then you can compartmentalize that in a certain way. Mainly because its a job function, its something thats occurred and you have a goal, your end goal is to do X, Y or Z," says Neumann.

"As opposed to John Q. Public walking down the street and granny is walking across the crosswalk and gets hit by a car. The exposure to that, though in the grand scheme of things Ive maybe seen in my career may not be all that extravagant, but to that person, thats the worst thing that will ever happen to them in their life. So I think what a lot of is just quite truly, for me personally, that is my work, that is my job, that is what I do for a period of time and Im hoping to come out the back end of it still well adjusted and normal and able to interact with people in the public."

Its not cracked up for everybody. If you have the stomach for it, it has a lot to do with that. "

But this kind of work certainly isnt for everyone, and Vermeulen advises anyone considering a career in trauma-scene remediation to really think carefully about the dangers, the difficulties (and, apparently, the alarming cocktail of odours) and to proceed with caution.

"Its not cracked up for everybody. If you have the stomach for it, it has a lot to do with that. Some people just gag and cant do it. I relate it... the easiest way for the average person to understand it (is) if you can imagine a house has a sewer backup, so now theres sewage, potentially raw sewage, visible raw sewage; not everybody can clean that up, either, so it takes a certain person, a certain personality," he says.

"Theres probably a majority of workers in the field who prefer not to do it. Most of these people come from cleaning water damage, mould cleanup, fire and smoke damage, thats their background, so part of that training, the initial question is, Do you want to do this? Do you want to try this? Because not everybody can."

erin.lebar@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @NireRabel

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Mikaela MacKenzie

Photojournalist Mikaela MacKenzie loves meeting people, experiencing new things, and learning something every day. That's what drove her to pursue a career as a visual journalist  photographers get a hands-on, boots-on-the-ground look at the world. Read full biography
A Red River College instructor has been charged with distributing pornographic images of children.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 18/5/2019 (954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Red River College instructor has been charged with distributing pornographic images of children.

Winnipeg police said Douglas Alex Kuluk, 52, of Winnipeg, has been charged with possessing child pornography and distributing, selling or possessing child pornography.

He was detained in custody.

Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Rob Carver said officers began investigating in April after receiving a tip.

"Somebody became aware of the images and contacted us," Carver said Friday.

Carver said investigators are looking into whether any of the images were of local children.

"We just know they are images," he said.

Police said a search warrant was executed at a home in the Leila North neighbourhood on May 15, and a suspect was arrested.

Kuluk, a business administration instructor, was placed on leave Friday when the college was informed about the allegations, a spokesman said.

"We take this very seriously and will provide whatever is required to assist the Winnipeg Police Service with their investigation," Conor Lloyd said.

A former student of Kuluks said he taught economics and communications at the college campus in the Exchange, but he was transferred to the main campus on Notre Dame Avenue last August. No explanation for the transfer was provided, the former student said.

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Kuluks LinkedIn profile shows he has been an instructor at the college since April 2010. Before that, he was a self-employed certified management accountant from 1996 to 1999.

On the Rate my Professor website, Kuluk received a score of 3.8 out of five.

Most students said they were happy to have taken Kuluks courses, with one saying "he genuinely cares for his students, and will do everything he can for any of them."

One former student referred to remarks Kuluk made in the classroom.

"Inappropriate comments and stories were shared in class that made some students feel very uncomfortable," the former student said.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Recently, the Ontario government proposed educational reforms that collectively amount to savings of almost $1 billion, according to an analysis by the charity People for Education.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 18/5/2019 (954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Recently, the Ontario government proposed educational reforms that collectively amount to savings of almost $1 billion, according to an analysis by the charity People for Education.

As a result of reforms, students will receive less attention in bigger classes in Grades 4 to 12 and have fewer targeted resources available to them due to a reduction of education grants. At the secondary level, students will find fewer course options or fewer class sections due to teacher loss while being required to complete a minimum of four mandatory e-learning courses.

The potential consequences of mandatory e-learning for students who already struggle in ordinary face-to-face classroom situations are particularly troubling. Longitudinal research suggests the level of individual support students receive from their teachers in high school is important to staying in school. Are the most vulnerable students being put at increased risk for dropping out?

School failure has profound economic consequences for individuals and society. While the purpose of education should never be reduced to promoting economic growth, every child out of school represents lost personal and social opportunities  and staggering economic costs  for countries.

Canada behind industrialized nations

High school completion rates have been steadily increasing in Canadaand around the world for decades. Recent statistics indicate the "on-time" high school graduation rate across Canada is 79 per cent while the "extended-time" rate  students who needed up to an additional two years  is 88 per cent.

Yet particularly when we look at Canada in comparison to other industrialized nations, its clear Canada could improve. Japan and Finland boast a graduation rate of 97 per cent. Canada is currently fourth in the world at taking advantage of human capital but possesses relative areas of weakness in secondary education attainment rates for 15- to 24-year-olds when ranked internationally.

Differences in high school completion rates exist across Canadas provincial and territorial education systems. For example, Alberta and Quebec both have extended-time graduation rates of 83 per cent while Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Ontario boast rates of 94 per cent, 93 per cent and 92 per cent, respectively. These graduation rates should serve as important benchmarks to help monitor and evaluate educational reforms and hold provincial governments accountable for policy choices.

Estimating the costs

Economic and public policy estimates of the total cost of dropouts vary depending on the range of sectors examined and the methodologies used.

A comprehensive 2008 study of the cost of dropouts in Canadaestimated impacts on labour, employment, health, social assistance and criminal justice systems to find if Canada increased its high school graduation rate by one per cent, the estimated savings would be over $7.7 billion annually. This study considered the estimated loss of private earnings, public tax revenues, employment revenue premiums and the cost of employment insurance. It also examined what are called "intangible costs"  the non-market effects of less schooling associated with reduced quality of life.

For Ontario, which possesses more than 40 per cent of the countrys student population, this $7.7-billion annual savings would amount to a relative share of more than $3 billion. Its worth noting this conservative estimate was based on dollar amounts more than 10 years ago and the projection applies to only a one per cent increase in high school graduates.

U.S. research has indicated that in practical terms, $1 spent on education provides a lifetime benefit to society of $2. Each new graduate in the U.S. provides a net benefit to taxpayers of approximately US$127,000 over the graduates lifetime.

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Collectively, this research suggests that the difference in high school completion rates between Canada and top industrialized countries such as Japan or Finland carry staggering economic costs.

Improving high-school completion

We cant do justice to the wide range of factors that influence high school completion rates in this short review, but we offer some key education system features that are within policymakers control.

To reduce school failure, governments would be wise to invest in quality early-years education that demonstrably reduces the need for later special education; provide additional support and funding aimed at bringing students into a successful school career when students are identified as being vulnerable or at risk; support curriculum and professional development to bolster culturally responsive teaching; avoid early tracking of students into different ability groups; ensure students are equitably directed to school choices; provide funding according to student needs, particularly for disadvantaged students and schools; in tandem with equitable and targeted support for all students academic achievement, including ensuring equal access to academic-track coursework, improve the quality of secondary vocational or apprenticeship courses.

It is important to remember that expenditures that lead to a one per cent increase in graduation rates may represent good value for money based on benefit-to-cost ratio calculations. On the other hand, policies that cut expenditures under the mantra of "doing more with less" can also contribute to a decrease in high school graduation rates that could easily cancel out those savings.

Louis Volante is a professor at Brock University; John Jerrim is a lecturer in economics and social statistics at University College London; and Jo Ritzen is a professor of international economics of education, science and technology at Maastricht University.

This article was first published at The Conversation Canada: theconversation.com/ca.
Premier Brian Pallister claims to be committed to a better system of permitting for land use and development because, as he said recently, its important to ensure the people who want to invest in Manitoba and create opportunities for jobs here have a chance to do it.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 17/5/2019 (954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Brian Pallister claims to be committed to a better system of permitting for land use and development because, as he said recently, its important to ensure "the people who want to invest in Manitoba and create opportunities for jobs here have a chance to do it."

And then, to make sure no one misunderstood how serious he is, Mr. Pallister added: "Thats a big deal and we want to make sure we get it right."

The first part of the premiers statement is both timely and just. A smaller province such as Manitoba cannot frustrate investors with an unnecessarily time-consuming and burdensome process of obtaining permits to build things. As demonstrated in recent Free Press stories examining alleged workplace misconduct at the City of Winnipegs planning, property and development department, there are real concerns that we are, in fact, doing a rather good job frustrating people who build things.

Premier Brian Pallister told reporters he wanted the review of Winnipegs land use and development system to be independent, but it is not. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press)

But the second part of his statement reveals another, potentially more problematic, issue. If Mr. Pallister really wants to get this important issue right, tasking his own Treasury Board secretariat to conduct a review of Winnipegs land use and development regime is not the preferred way of going about it.

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When he first suggested a review, Mr. Pallister told reporters he wanted it to be "independent." When his plan was revealed a few days later  without any consultation with stakeholders or advance warning  we learned the review would be conducted by senior bureaucrats who are overseen by Finance Minister Scott Fielding and who serve fully at the pleasure of the premier. That is the very antithesis of independent.

Mayor Brian Bowman immediately labelled this a "political review." What "political" means in this context is that this review has the appearance of having more to do with punishing or embarrassing the mayor, with whom Mr. Pallister has disagreed frequently and robustly, than it is about streamlining the permit process. And although the mayor is sometimes inclined to exaggerate, particularly when it comes to his tortured relationship with his namesake in the senior level of government, in this instance its very likely he is not wrong.

Mr. Pallisters idea (a broad review of land use and development processes) is sound, but his execution is lacking. It seems to be a hastily conceived idea, perhaps contaminated with a healthy dose of political malice.

Mayor Brian Bowman labelled the provincial involvement a political review. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files)

There are very strong signals that, following the outcome of the Treasury Board review, Mr. Pallister will forcefully impose a new series of protocols on Winnipeg and possibly other municipalities, again without any advance consultation. The premier should at some point recognize that, bad processes or not, local governments are the experts in these matters. They need to be full partners in this review in order for it to accomplish its stated goal.

If Mr. Pallister cannot spare a moment to worry about the stress this is causing at city hall, he should think about people who build things. If this province needs a more modern, more functional system to obtain permits, variances and other approvals required to put a shovel in the ground, this is not the way to get it done.

The premier needs to go back to the drawing table, put aside his animus for the mayor, and give the people of Winnipeg and Manitoba a better, fairer and more consultative process to fix this problem. The avenue Mr. Pallister is taking now eliminates any real chance he will be able to "get it right."
The Minnesota Marine Art Museum, 800 Riverview Dr., will be hosting three unique events in the coming weeks, offering visitors a variety of ways to engage at the museum.

On Thursday, May 23, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., the popular Night Out at MMAM returns. This event is purely social; it is an opportunity for a date night, a night out with friends, or to meet new people while enjoying the museum over cocktails and snacks. Night Out at MMAM offers museum goers a relaxed social environment to experience the museums amazing collections and exhibitions. Admission is $11 and includes your first drink. No RSVPs are required. Looking for childcare while enjoying Night Out at MMAM?

Drop your kids off in the Oberton Education Room at MMAM, to eat pizza, play and create from 5:30 to 7 p.m. RSVP is required for childcare and is $5 per child. Register for childcare by calling 507-474-6626 by May 19, or email jheukeshoven@mmam.org.

Join Preston Cook for a book signing of the new title, American Eagle: A Visual History of Our National Emblem, from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 25. In 2018, MMAM hosted an exhibition featuring eagles in American culture from the collection of Preston Cook and the National Eagle Center. Cook has recently published an extensive book featuring some of the over 25,000 items in his collection. No admission required for this event, and the book will be available for purchase in the MMAM Store.

Minnesota artist Alec Soth is one of the most celebrated, awarded and acclaimed photographers working today. His award-winning book and exhibition, Sleeping by the Mississippi, on display now at MMAM, explores the landscape of the Mississippi River and people living along its banks. Soth will lead a talk on Thursday, May 30, from 6 to 7 p.m., titled From Here to There, where he will discuss his work and his evolution as an artist. There will be a book signing to follow.

The event is free thanks to the generous support of Ernest and Sally Micek in memory of W.B. Bill Gautch. Space is limited, registration is required by calling 507-474-6626 or emailing dcasey@mmam.org.

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As is frequently the case, civil rights icon John Lewis had it right.

Testifying during John Roberts 2005 confirmation hearings, he called the nominee for Chief Justice hostile towards civil rights, affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act, warning against approving someone whose record demonstrates a strong desire to reverse the hard-won civil rights gains that so many sacrificed so much to achieve.

At the time, Roberts likened judges to impartial umpires calling balls and strikes and insisted, somewhat disingenuously, he was only carrying out the views of superiors in seeking to weaken the Voting Rights Act while a young Reagan administration staffer in the early 1980s. Without access to the ballot box, he said, people are not in the position to protect any other rights that are important to them.

In the 14 years since then, the smart, polished jurist who presides over the high court has become the leading edge of the Republican effort to undercut the expansion in minority voting and political power that stemmed from that landmark 1965 law.

In 2013, he wrote the majority opinion in a 5-4 Supreme Court decision that weakened the Voting Rights Acts key enforcement mechanism. Last year, his court ratified GOP state efforts to purge voting rolls.

And a recent court hearing indicated that, in a different case, he seems likely to lead a majority in upholding the administrations decision to include a citizenship question in the 2020 census. That would override the opinions of three federal judges and the census bureaus own experts that asking about citizenship would limit Hispanic responses to the census, resulting in their reduced representation when new congressional and legislative districts are drawn.

If anyone doubts the political underpinning of all of these matters, consider the following:

Republican governors and legislatures have been responsible for virtually all of the enhanced voter identification laws and limits on measures encouraging voter participation like early voting. Even the conservative Republican judge who initially san

ctioned the ID procedure has since conceded it discourages voting by minorities.

Republican secretaries of state in contested states like Ohio and Georgia instituted registration roll purges that independent analyses said fell most heavily on areas with substantial minority populations.

The acting Republican secretary of state in Texas sought to remove nearly 100,000 voters from the rolls on grounds they might be illegal immigrants, but did so in such an inept and inaccurate way the entire effort collapsed.

Florida Republicans passed legislation aimed at limiting the action of voters in returning the franchise to more than 1 million formerly imprisoned felons by requiring them to pay all pending financial penalties first.

A Republican administration wants to include for the first time in decades a census question asking respondents their citizenship, claiming the Justice Department sought it to help carry out the Voting Rights Act. That contention is widely disbelieved, given this administrations hostility to the law that opened the way to expanded minority voting in many areas.

These efforts represent a 180-degree reversal of the support Republicans gave the Voting Rights Act when it was enacted in 1965 and for four subsequent decades. Their restrictive efforts have vastly expanded in the decade since a record outpouring of minority voters helped elect the nations first African-American president, Barack Obama.

John Roberts is, in a sense, the perfect face for such an effort. A brilliant law student and prominent appellate lawyer before his elevation to the U.S. Appeals Court in 2003, he is widely regarded as a serious jurist. He sought to convey an image of moderation at his confirmation hearings and has occasionally angered conservatives, notably in writing the 2012 ruling that upheld the Obama Affordable Care Act.

But on racial issues, Roberts has brought to the court the views he first expressed while working in the Justice Department in the early 1980s. As veteran court watcher Joan Biskupic points out in The Chief, her new biography of Roberts, he has never varied from his views at the time that the Voting Rights Act, as written, excessively interfered with activities that the states should be able to regulate and that it should be narrowly interpreted to focus on protecting individuals rather than groups.

He echoed those views in the majority opinion in the 2013 case ruling unconstitutional the landmark laws provision requiring pre-clearance of voting law changes in states with a history of restrictive measures like Texas on grounds that the conditions that prompted it had been largely alleviated. But as soon as the decision was handed down, Texas officials reinstated the nations most restrictive voter identification requirements  previously blocked by Obamas Justice Department  though later court rulings modified them somewhat.

That pattern is likely to persist, now that fellow conservatives Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh have joined Roberts on the court.

A half century ago, a Republican chief justice, Earl Warren, presided over high court decisions that expanded minority voting rights. Now, as John Lewis presciently predicted, another GOP nominee, John Roberts, is taking it in the opposite direction.

Carl P. Leubsdorf is the former Washington bureau chief of the Dallas Morning News. Readers may write to him via email at: carl.p.leubsdorf@gmail.com.

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Americas conservative and liberal governances are presciently described by an 18th century Massachusetts lawyer/politician.

Ames thought American governance should be like a well-steered merchantman (ship) that sometimes strikes a rock and sinks.

He viewed the fledgling American republic as an unsinkable raft. Those aboard would endure wet feet hardship.

Fisher Ames was a Tory-like patrician, preferring chancy governance to the messier, but safer, raft republic. (He later became a U.S. congressperson.)

Recently, one media outlet reported the POTUS, Trump, declared Himself to be our most favorite president ever. Wolf-baying. Mom pegged m: People who toot own horn play in one man bands. No one listens.

Other media reports stated Americas economy is robust, with unemployment rates at their lowest in 40 years. That right? Not fake?

Our carefree gig economy is okay?

Gig congers-up memories of political bullroar service economy and Laffler-curve ridiculousness.

No recent corporate closings and (automaker) layoffs? Ask Minnesotas Mr. Pillow about tariffs.

Still, at risk of being compared to Trumps hyperbole, especially by narrow-minded illiterates who staked-me-out as liberal, consider: Colin Powell and Don McGahn (current Trump minion) command greater respect than any candidate-Democrats, including toothy backroom Biden.

Youser. Republicans touted by that liberal, what gives?

Honorable and expected personal integrity, thats what.

Historic heroes: Nixons Attorney General Elliot Richardson refused POTUS order to fire the Watergate special prosecutor, Archibald Cox. (Saturday Night Massacre. Truth trumped lies that suborn more lies.) Richardson and Cox resigned on-the-spot. Lackey Robert Bork later did Nixons bidding.

How can scurrilous, sycophant Trump-like grifters persist? Does title and position expunge crooks, because grifter POTUS wiggles down his very own petard?

America began independence circa 1765. A decade-plus later, 1788, a destitute America decided to find a way to raise funds. They needed a federal authority (government), as opposed to impotent Articles of Confederation. The American republic was constituted.

Since then, millions have protected this United States republic. Our self-made Constitution or Law, that sets us apart, was created by slavish, selfish politicians who were constrained by need, to maintain public equanimity  to raise funds, for liberty.

An Americans choice is simple: Abide by the law we constituted (by and for us), or dont.

Elected representatives and some appointed bureaucrats swear to uphold, protect and defend our Constitution. No exceptions. This Constitution is refuge and protector, else America is nothing.

Abide and protect the Law (Constitution) or dont. Thats it.

How many elected politicians act as if their sworn public oaths are perfunctory? Too many? Why solemnly swear, when one thinks oath or oath-taking means nothing? Politicians (should) know what makes this republic the democratic pinnacle.

America is the law these politicians ignore. No alternatives, alt-righter. The Founders constituted this republic, for and by free people/citizens; the ideals these two non-elected republicans (Powell and McGahn) upheld.

These four persons stood/stand for truth. Marvel Heroes who crush bullroar and mob rationalizations and slavishness for fear or funds, kowtowing only to truth, unlike far weaker, selfish extremist sycophants.

Sure, Powell and McGahn coalesced, but integrity quickly surfaced to gird them with their American integrity and reject 30-pieces of tarnished, tactical, political silver. Again, they showed the stuff of heroes.

Solemn oaths are the point of this self-constituted nation. Honoring others  as others  is difficult. It demands something the Tory and alt-right (extremists) either reject or are incapable of grasping!

Reject selfish tyrannies  the me-first takers such as Trump, Jong Un, creepy Putin, murderous Saudis and all hypocrites  religious or political!

Strategic (long-term) truth trumps tactical (temporary) loyalties.

No free lunch. How this republic-raft endures.

Keep the American raft safe. Get wet feet.

Robert Hively-Johnson is a 1965 graduate of St. Marys College and has been a community columnist for the Winona Daily News since 1998.

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By AFP

WARSAW: European Council chief Donald Tusk on Saturday joined thousands at a pro-Europe opposition rally in Warsaw, calling on his fellow Poles to vote against the eurosceptic governing conservatives in this month's EU elections. "You have no choice. You can't leave the future of our children and grandchildren in their hands," Tusk said, referring to the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party.

"Our children and grandchildren would never forgive us. Go forth towards victory," he added to cheers and applause at the rally organised by the opposition European Coalition.

A former Polish premier, Tusk is widely believed to be eyeing a political comeback at home once his EU term ends in November. Without referring to him by name, Tusk compared his arch-rival and PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski to an ayatollah during the rally attended by Poles from across the country.

Kaczynski for his part used an election campaign event in the southern city of Krakow on Saturday to claim Tusk's political party lacked credibility. He said the liberal Civic Platform (PO) - the leader of the opposition parties comprising the European Coalition - had reneged on a promise made before joining the EU to always defend Polish interests.

Kaczynski cited examples relating to the economy, traditional values and Polish-US relations to prove his point. "We know that the Civic Platform very quickly veered to the left in its activity. The party began to pursue a policy whose goal was the implementation in Poland of everything that makes up the powerful anti-Christian trend of Western Europe," Kaczynski said.

Between 7,000 and 45,000 people marched through downtown Warsaw with Polish and EU flags according to respective estimates from the police and city hall. Participants chanted "We will win" and "Freedom, equality, democracy" while holding up signs with slogans like "We want Europe".

One poster read "Duck off" in an allusion to Kaczynski, whose last name is similar to the Polish word for duck. "Those currently in power are against values that I hold dear," said student Aleksander Jaszczynski. We want Poland's voice to be modern, European, tolerant and open-minded," he told AFP.

Computer scientist Miroslaw Janusz said he attended the rally to back a Poland that plays a positive role in the EU instead of "turning its back on the bloc, like the current government."

The PiS, which has frequently sparred with Brussels since coming to power in 2015, has toned down its Euroscepticism ahead of the May 26 EU ballot and the Polish general election later this year. The party also recently announced plans to raise prison terms for paedophilia after a documentary on child sex abuse by Polish clergy sent shock waves through the devout country of 38 million people.

Observers say the film could deal a blow to the chances of the ruling conservatives in the election, given their close ties to the Catholic Church. The PiS and the European Coalition are currently polling neck and neck, with the new progressive Spring party in third place.
Jorgenson said it makes him feel better to know state legislators are listening to firefighters and police officers concerns.

Mike Bourdeau said he tells his firefighters they should think defensively while responding to highway calls and assume cars are trying to hit them.

He added that fire departments more often respond to highway calls than structure fires.

Marquette County Sheriff Joe Konrath said he believes tougher laws on distracted driving and injuring emergency workers could help save lives.

Konrath recalled an incident roughly six years ago when a Blystones Towing employee was struck by a car on a highway and suffered injuries that affected him for the remainder of his life.

Creating incentives

Shankland said perhaps another method to reducing distracted driving deaths could be to create incentives for people to follow the laws and to make them aware of what those laws are.

If drivers see a sign warning to slow down or face heavy fines or jail time if they injure someone, they will be more likely to think twice, she said.
Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, engages in the clinical development of drug therapies based on natural immune system enhancing technologies for the treatment of viral and immune based chronic disorders in the United States. The company's products include Alferon N Injection, an injectable formulation of natural alpha interferon to treat a category of genital warts, a sexually transmitted disease; and Ampligen for the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). It is also developing Ampligen for the treatment of CFS, Hepatitis B, HIV, and cancer patients with renal cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

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FedEx Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of a portfolio of transportation, e-commerce, and business services. It operates through the following segments: FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Services, and Corporate, Other & Eliminations. The FedEx Express segment consists of domestic and international shipping services for delivery of packages and freight. The FedEx Ground segment focuses on small-package ground delivery services. The FedEx Freight segment offers less-than-truckload freight services across all lengths of haul. The FedEx Services segment provides sales, marketing, information technology, communications, customer service, technical support, billing and collection services, and certain back-office functions. The Corporate, Other & Eliminations segment includes corporate headquarters costs for executive officers and certain legal and finance functions, as well as certain other costs and credits not attributed to the firm's core business. The company was founded by Frederick Wallace Smith on June 18, 1971 and is headquartered in Memphis, TN.

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By AFP

WASHINGTON: American evangelicals have high hopes that the US Supreme Court, with its newfound conservative majority, will be tempted to chip away at its historic decision to legalize abortion.

Forty-six years after its landmark Roe v Wade decision, the high court is at the heart of a heated offensive led by states with conservative majorities who oppose the voluntary termination of pregnancy.

This week alone, Alabama passed a law banning women from having an abortion even in cases of incest or rape and the Missouri legislature made illegal abortions from eight weeks of pregnancy. Both states have vowed to prosecute doctors who perform the procedure.

Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky, Iowa and North Dakota have enacted laws banning abortion from the moment a fetal heartbeat is detected, around six weeks of gestation, before most women know they are pregnant.

All of these laws flagrantly go against Roe v Wade, which guarantees women's rights to abortion as long as the fetus is not viable -- around 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The new pieces of legislation are therefore widely expected to soon be blocked in court. But their backers seek to go beyond that step, planning to appeal such decisions until they reach the Supreme Court in hopes this will lead to the long-sought conservative goal of overturning the abortion ruling.

"All the conservative states across the US are testing the limits, they see it's a sympathetic court to the conservatives," Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown Law told AFP.

ALSO READ | Hollywood's big players stay quiet on Georgia abortion law

"(President Donald) Trump has changed the balance of the Supreme Court, so that he now has a Supreme Court that is decisively conservative and unfriendly to women's reproductive rights, that's unquestionably true."

During the 2016 campaign, Trump secured the evangelical vote that had been initially hesitant to cast ballots for the bombastic, twice-divorced billionaire by promising to appoint anti-abortion justices at the highest court in the land.

- Pivot -

Since his election, the president has brought two appointees to the high court -- Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh -- and the progressives are now a minority of four on the nine-person bench.

"We know who put them in the court and why, we know that Trump and (president George W.) Bush are expecting them to vote to overturn Roe. But in the past, presidents have been wrong in their selection," said Mary Ziegler, a law professor at Florida State University.

"There are a lot of uncertainties, so we don't know where the conservative justices stand exactly."

She noted that during his confirmation hearings, Brett Kavanaugh insisted he supported upholding past rulings.

"Chief Justice John Roberts is very aware of how the public perceives the Supreme Court. He likes the idea that people have respect for the court," said Sherry Colb of Cornell Law School.

In February, Roberts joined liberal justices in freezing the Louisiana law that critics say imposed such drastic conditions on doctors who perform abortion procedures that only one of them was left able to provide the service in the entire state.

Two years earlier, however, Roberts had backed a similar law in Texas.

Observers say the shift shows the chief justice places more emphasis on his central role on the bench over his own personal convictions.

ALSO READ | Alabama passes near-total abortion ban bill

- 'Patchwork' -

In another sign of a tempered stance from the court, it has yet to decide whether to take up an appeal from Indiana seeking to uphold a law that treats a fetus as an individual.

Since December, the justices have put the case on their agenda a dozen times without making a decision either way -- a highly unusual process, Ziegler noted.

"They are continuing to kick the can down the road. I don't know what the point of waiting is, sooner or later, if they do want to take it, it starts to push it to 2020," when the next US presidential vote will take place, Ziegler added.

"If the idea is not to have a lot of controversy, stalling a decision to an election year is not a smart move."

A.E. Dick Howard of the University of Virginia School of Law said such moves make it seem "unlikely" that the court will overturn its 1973 decision.

"But it is ready to chip away at it," he added.

"You will see a (conservative) majority that will increasingly relax the limits they place on the states."

READ HERE | Missouri House expected to pass abortion ban at eight weeks

Abortion rules vary greatly from state to state, in what Howard describes as a "patchwork" of legislation.

Some states discourage women from seeking the procedure by requiring two separate medical opinions and parental authorization for minors.

Others impose such strict conditions on clinics that most have closed.

Gostin pointed to the problem of unequal access for women in different states.

"A woman of means will always be able to get an abortion in the United States, she will be able to travel to California, New York, (Washington) DC," he said.

"The poor women in rural areas... they are the ones that are going to suffer."
Ashanti Gold Corp. engages in the exploration and development of gold and other mineral properties in Western Africa. Its flagship project is the Kossanto East project covering an area of 66.41 km2 in western Mali. The company was formerly known as Gulf Shores Resources Ltd. and changed its name to Ashanti Gold Corp. in August 2016. Ashanti Gold Corp. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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Banco Santander, S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides various retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large companies worldwide. It offers demand and time deposits, and current and savings accounts; mortgages, consumer finance, syndicated corporate loans, structured financing, cash management, export and agency finance, trade and working capital solutions, and corporate finance; and insurance products. The company also provides cash, asset, and wealth management; and private banking services. In addition, it is involved in the corporate banking; treasury, risk hedging, foreign trade, confirming, custody, and investment banking activities. The company operates through a network of 11,236 branches. The company was formerly known as Banco Santander Central Hispano S.A. and changed its name to Banco Santander, S.A. in June 2007. Banco Santander, S.A. was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.

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The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Banking and Markets, and Global Wealth Management segments. The company offers financial advice and solutions, and day-to-day banking products, including debit and credit cards, chequing and saving accounts, investments, mortgages, loans, and insurance to individuals; and business banking solutions comprising lending, deposit, cash management, and trade finance solutions to small businesses and commercial customers, including automotive financing solutions to dealers and their customers. It also provides wealth management advice and solutions, including online brokerage, mobile investment, full-service brokerage, trust, private banking, and private investment counsel services; and retail mutual funds, exchange traded funds, liquid alternative funds, and institutional funds. In addition, the company offers international banking services for retail, corporate, and commercial customers; and lending and transaction, investment banking advisory, and capital markets access services to corporate customers. Further, it provides Internet, mobile, and telephone banking services. The company operates a network of 952 branches and approximately 3,540 automated banking machines in Canada; and approximately 1,400 branches, 5,200 ATMs, and 22 contact centers internationally. The Bank of Nova Scotia was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Halifax, Canada.

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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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iShares Micro-Cap ETF's stock was trading at $74.73 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, IWC shares have increased by 88.1% and is now trading at $140.53.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
The Hershey Co. engages in the manufacture and market of chocolate and sugar confectionery products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: North America; and International and Other. The North America segment is responsible for the traditional chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery market position of the company, as well as its grocery and snacks market positions, in the United States and Canada. The International and Other segment is the combination of all other operating segments which are not individually material, including those geographic regions where the company operates outside of North America. Its brands include Hershey's, Reese's, and Kisses. The company was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 and is headquartered in Hershey, PA.

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Allergan plc, a pharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes branded pharmaceutical, device, biologic, surgical, and regenerative medicine products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: US Specialized Therapeutics, US General Medicine, and International. It offers a portfolio of products in various therapeutic areas, including medical aesthetics and dermatology, eye care, neuroscience, urology, gastrointestinal, women's health, and anti-infective therapeutic products. The company also offers breast implants and tissue expanders; and RM-131 (relamorelin), a peptide ghrelin agonist for the treatment of diabetic gastroparesis. In addition, it develops medical and cosmetic treatments; therapies for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and other liver diseases; inhibitor for the treatment of psoriasis and other autoimmune disorders; atopic dermatitis drug candidate; peri-ocular rings for extended drug delivery and reducing elevated intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients; and treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. Further, the company develops RST-001, a novel gene therapy for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa; small molecule therapeutics for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases; topical medicines for fat reduction; and delivery system and botulinum toxin-based prescription products. It has collaboration, option, and license agreement with Lyndra, Inc.; and strategic alliance and option agreement with Editas Medicine, Inc. Allergan plc also has licensing agreements with Assembly Biosciences, Inc.; MedImmune; and Heptares Therapeutics, Ltd. The company was formerly known as Actavis plc and changed its name to Allergan plc in June 2015. Allergan plc was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

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Novan, Inc., a clinical development-stage biotechnology company, provides nitric oxide-based therapies to treat dermatological and oncovirus-mediated diseases. Its clinical stage dermatology drug candidates include SB204, a topical monotherapy for the treatment of acne vulgaris; SB206, a topical anti-viral gel for the treatment of viral skin infections; SB208, a topical broad-spectrum anti-fungal gel for the treatment of fungal infections of the skin and nails, including athlete's foot and fungal nail infections; and SB414, a topical cream-based gel product candidate for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. The company also develops SB207, an anti-viral product candidate for the treatment of external genital warts; WH602, a nitric oxide-containing intravaginal gel to treat high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV); WH504, a non-gel formulation product candidate to treat high-risk HPV; and SB019 for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. Novan, Inc. has a license agreement with Sato Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; and a strategic alliance with Orion Corporation. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Morrisville, North Carolina.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen Coding GmbH, Allen France SAS, Alpine Automation Limited, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Holdings Inc., Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Arylux Hungary Elektromechanikus Alkatreszgyarto Kft, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix (Suzhou) Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Holdings Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel (Ireland) Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Buell Industries Inc., CAPMAX Logistica S.A. de C.V., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS (Australia) Pty Limited, CS (Finance) Europe S.a.r.l., CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, CSMTS LLC, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures (Australasia) S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur (Shanghai) Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Dorbyl U.K. (Holdings) Limited, Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO (Holding) AG, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elga Skandinavian AS, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, FEG Investments L.L.C., Fasver, Filtertek, Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech (Taicang) Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart (Japan) K.K., Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart Foster Belgium, Hobart International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW (China) Investment Company Limited, ITW (Deutschland) GmbH, ITW (EU) Holdings Ltd., ITW (European) Finance Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW (Ningbo) Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Alpha Sarl, ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components (Chongqing) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components (Langfang) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium, ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS (UK) Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Contamination Control (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Delta Sarl, ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EAE B.V., ITW EAE Mexico S de RL de CV, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.A., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Finance Designated Activity Company, ITW Finance Europe S.A., ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW France Finance Alpha S.A.S., ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments II Inc., ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics (Thailand) Ltd., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Italy S.R.L. in liquidazione, ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France (Luxembourg) S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings UK, ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW Hungary Finance Beta Kft, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Finance Srl, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lombard Holdings Inc., ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW M FILMS II LLC, ITW MH LLC, ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology (China) Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Plastic (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Philippines Holdings LLC, ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Spraytec, ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Ideal Molding Technologies LLC, Illinois Tool Works (Chile) Limitada, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Norway AS, Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron (Shanghai) Ltd., Instron (Thailand) Limited, Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Holdings Limited, Instron International Limited, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, International Leasing Company LLC, International Truss Systems Proprietary Limited, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kester Components (M) Sdn. Bhd., Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems (Canada) Inc., Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MOA Enterprises Inc, Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, Norden Olje AB, North Star Imaging Europe, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited (Enping), Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Penta Dnepr LLC, Penta Sever OOO, Penta Volga OOO, Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., Ramset Fasteners (Hong Kong) Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco (Nederland) B.V., Simco Japan Inc., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques  SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Taiwan) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes BVBA, Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek (China) Limited, Teknek (Japan) Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V.B.A., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta (Guangzhou) Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Vesta Global Limited, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, ZF TRW (Engineered Fasteners and Components), and Zip-Pak International B.V..
Salt Lake Potash Limited engages in the exploration and development of resource projects in Australia. The company explores for sulphate of potash deposits. It primarily owns 11 salt lakes covering an area of approximately 5,000 square kilometers in the Northern Goldfields region of Western Australia. The company was formerly known as Wildhorse Energy Limited and changed its name to Salt Lake Potash Limited in November 2015. Salt Lake Potash Limited was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Perth, Australia.

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Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun in the morning followed by cloudy skies during the afternoon. Morning high of 58F with temps falling to near 45. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 36F. N winds shifting to E at 10 to 15 mph.
Premium Brands Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes food products primarily in Canada and the United States. It operates in two segments, Specialty Foods and Premium Food Distribution. The company provides meat products and snacks, deli products, beef jerky and halal, sandwiches, pastries, specialty and gourmet products, salads and kettle products, entrees, panini, wraps, subs, hamburgers, burgers, muffins, breads, pastas, and baking and sushi products, as well as processed meat products. It is also involved in the distribution of food products, including meat, seafood, and halal food products, as well as operation of retail/convenience store and concessionary, and provision of food and seafood processing services. The company operates under the brand names of Harvest Meats, Hempler's, Grimm's Fine Foods, Piller's, Freybe, Isernio's, Expresco, SJ Fine Foods, McSweeney's, Made Rite, Fletcher's, Deli Chef, Belmont Meats, Conte Foods, SK Food Group, Oven Pride, Hygaard, Quality Fast Foods, HQ Fine Foods, Creekside Custom Foods, Stuyver's Bread, Bread Garden Express, Audrey's Patisserie, Duso's, Gourmet Chef, Island City Baking, Skilcor, Leadbetter's, Mclean Meats, Buddy's Kitchen, Raybern's, Partner's Crackers, Shaw Bakers, Oberto, Concord Meats, Country Prime Meats, The Meat Factory, and Golden Valley Farms. It serves chains and large format retailers, independent and specialty retailers, foodservice operators, foodservice distributors, and other food manufacturers and food brokers. The company was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Richmond, Canada.

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Xcel Energy, Inc. operates as a holding company, which engages in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity. It operates through the following three segments: Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility and All Others. The Regulated Electric Utility segment generates, transmits and distributes electricity primarily in portions of generates, transmits and distributes electricity in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Texas and New Mexico. In addition, this segment includes sales for resale and provides wholesale transmission service to various entities in the United States. It also includes commodity trading operations. The Regulated Natural Gas Utility segment transports, stores, and distributes natural gas primarily in portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Michigan and Colorado. The All Others segment engages in steam, appliance repair services, nonutility real estate activities, processing solid waste into refuse-derived fuel and investments in rental housing projects that qualify for low-income housing tax credits. The company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.

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New York Mills, N.Y. - A New York Mills man is facing some serious charges after authorities say he sent an email and a fax to the Oneida County Office building, and then also sent an envelope there as well.

Oneida County Sheriff's officials say 57-year-old Scott Phillips sent an email on March 17th to several employees at the Oneida County Office Building pretending to be another county employee stating that that employee was resigning.

Sheriff's officials say Phillips then sent a fax to the Oneida County Office Building on April 26th contained harassing and slanderous comments made about a county employee.

Phillips also is accused of sending an envelope to the Oneida County Office Building that was delivered on May 10th containing a harassing/slanderous note for a county employee.

The name of the county employee involved in all three cases is not being released at this time.

Oneida County Sheriff's Officials say Phillips was located at a residence in the Village of New York Mills, he was interviewed at the residence and a search warrant was executed.

Phillips was arraigned late Friday afternoon in Utica City Court. He is charged with stalking, forgery and criminal impersonation.

Phillips was released and is due back in court on June 11th.

The Oneida County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Unit was assisted by the Oneida County Sheriff's Office Forensic Identification Unit and the New York State Police Computer Crimes Unit out of Oneida, NY.
BALDWINSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) - New York officials say a new array of more than 8,000 solar panels will provide Anheuser-Busch with enough electricity to brew 3 million cases of beverages annually.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority provided more than $1 million for a 2.76 megawatt solar array six miles from the company's Baldwinsville brewery. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the investment supports his Green New Deal, which calls for 70 percent of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030.

The solar array is owned and operated by AES Distributed Energy. It was developed to support Anheuser-Busch's goal of purchasing 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025.

The company already gets 50 percent of its electricity from wind power.

(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Ground was broken on Victory Highway Friday morning, as officials marked the beginning of work on the Burrillville water system project. From left: Environmental Protection Agency acting deputy director of the water division Jane Downing; District 23 State Sen. Jessica de la Cruz; Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank executive director and CEO Jeffrey Diehl; Oakland Association secretary, treasurer, and operator Richard Nolan; and District 47 State Rep. David Place.
With the pilot project of a Bavarian state regiment, the German federal government is secretly and unconstitutionally creating an armed homeland security force. This links up with the tradition of volunteer military organizations that terrorized the working class during the Weimar Republic in the 1920s and 1930s.

The Bavarian State Regiment is a joint project of the Federal Ministry of Defence, the Bundeswehr (armed forces), the Reservists Association and the Bavarian state government. The project officially began on April 1 and will be extended to the whole of Germany after a trial period until the end of 2021. The first state regiment will enter service on May 18 in Roth near Nuremberg. It includes 500 reservists, as well as five active Bundeswehr soldiers. Fifty other active Bundeswehr soldiers will take part in exercises and join up in case of emergency.

The proposal to build state regiments comes from Oswin Veith, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) member of parliament. Veith is president of the Reservists Association, funded by the Defence Ministry, and in addition to enjoying the free provision of offices, exercise areas and materials, is funded with around 14 million annually.

At the annual meeting of the Bundeswehr reserve in autumn 2016, Veith announced: I dream that in 2026 there will be a provincial regiment in each state with a charismatic commander, a troop flag and an organization of between 800 and 2,000 reservists to support the police and the Bundeswehr in emergency situations.

In draft guidelines, which he sent internally to association leaders the following year, Veith called for universal compulsory service, obliging all 16- to 35-year-old men and women to undertake social duties. Those who decided to serve in the Bundeswehr should be able to serve in one of 16 state regiments near their home town.

According to Veith, the state regiments would form a national reserve with around 30,000 posts and have a clear ideological orientation. The reservist, who has not yet committed or wanted to get involved should be addressed and motivated with the positive term national.

An internal analysis of the Bundeswehr at that time rejected this proposal on the grounds that the guidelines of the Reservists Association were incompatible with the German constitution. The structures of the state regiments contradict the states monopoly of force and some of the chosen formulations placed the principles of our liberal and democratic constitution on its head, said the Bundeswehr. But less than two years later, Veiths proposal is being put into action, at least in part.

The Bavarian State Regiment relies on three existing reserve units: the Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia companies of the so-called Regional Security and Support Services (RSU). There are 27 such companies nationwide. Reservists include former soldiers who have retired from active duty but remain at the disposal of the Bundeswehr and, recently, specially recruited men and women between the ages of 25 and 55, who are being trained in a crash course as soldiers lite.

The RSU units are trained for domestic tasks that are forbidden for the Bundeswehr according to the constitution. These include monitoring and ensuring the safety of the German air and sea areas, securing domestic military installations, as well as deployment in a domestic emergency. In addition to natural disasters and particularly serious incidents, these emergencies include uprisings, strikes and protests that endanger the state order.

The reserve units are therefore also intended to be used as a kind of National Guard for counterinsurgency purposes. In forming the state regiments, they will receive a stronger, centralized command structure and be linked more closely with the Bundeswehr.

Colonel Stefan Helmut Berger, the first commander of the state regiment, was extremely happy to take on a new mission for the homeland and welcomed this further opportunity for a serious reserve force. For example, the reservists have done very good preparatory work in the past 10 years in establishing the KVKs and BVKs.

The abbreviations KVK and BVK refer to District and Regional Commands, which already exist in all federal states, and are deployed in disasters or major incidents. They would form a link between civil protection and the Bundeswehr.

The head of the Bavarian State Chancellery, Florian Herrmann, bragged about the special role of Bavaria in the pilot project, For Bavaria, as the top reservist state, one thing is clear: we want to make better use of the reserves potential.

The Bavarian state government has been campaigning for domestic Bundeswehr operations for years. It has been involved in several civil war exercises in recent years, such as: GETEX (Joint Counter Terrorism Exercise), BAYTEX and the 2017 nationwide anti-terror exercise, in which heavily armed soldiers trained to collaborate with the police in the inner cities.

The construction of a Homeland Security force is not limited to Germany. Similar developments already exist in France, Poland, Sweden, Denmark and the Baltic states. All these countries are building up national reservist troops for domestic deployment to prepare for future uprisings.

Since the 2015 terrorist attacks in France, an 85,000-strong National Guard has been created to take over the armys domestic operations. Since the end of March, President Emmanuel Macron has been using soldiers against the yellow vests who take to the streets against social inequality and the president of the rich. The Paris military governor, General Bruno Leray, threatened that his soldiers would also use live ammunition if necessary.

In Germany, the Bavarian State Regiment pilot project is part of a comprehensive upgrade of all state organsthe military, the police and the secret servicesand the deliberate strengthening of extreme right-wing forces. These include the new police laws in the individual federal states, the financial, personnel and material upgrades of the police and intelligence services and the construction of camps and detention centres for refugees.

The use of the Bundeswehr and the reservist associations domestically violates the constitution. The German constitution expressly excludes domestic army operations, with the exception of natural disasters or particularly serious incidents, such as the devastating 2013 Elbe flood. However, they have been practised for years and are constantly being expanded.

For example, the new Bundeswehr Concept, which the grand coalition presented last summer, states: With regard to the threats in the global commons, as well as hybrid threats in cyberspace, national and spatial boundaries, the strict separation of internal and external security is losing its significance.

The paper, which advocates the permanent deployment of the Bundeswehr domestically and the collaboration of the military and the police, is also supported by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens. The first joint exercises by the Bundeswehr and police in Germany not only had the backing of Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU), but also the then North Rhine-Westphalia state Interior Minister Ralf Jager (SPD) and Baden-Wurttemberg state premier Winfried Kretschmann (Greens).

The ban on Bundeswehr domestic missions was one of the lessons drawn from the Weimar Republic and the Nazi regime. The Reichswehr (Imperial Army) together with paramilitary combat units, the secret service and police had formed a state-within-the-state. Among other things, the assassination of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht and the bloody suppression of the Munich Soviet Republic took place exactly 100 years ago as a result of this deep state.

Between April to May 1919 in Munich, the Freikorps (Free Corps) brutally rampaged and murdered thousands of revolutionaries and also ordinary workers. Bavaria became an El Dorado for all types of Freikorps and military associations. They operated under the protection of the reactionary Bavarian state premier Gustav Ritter von Kahr, and the Social Democratic federal government of Ebert/Scheidemann in Berlin with their Wehrbeauftragte (Parliamentary Armed Forces Commissioner) Gustav Noske (SPD). This paved the way for other far-right formations, such as the Stahlhelm (Steel Helmets) and Nazi Sturmabteilung (SA), and finally Hitlers seizure of power.

With the establishment of the state regiment in Bavaria, the federal grand coalition government of the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats is completely abandoning these lessons. In the death agony of capitalism, it is increasingly resorting to authoritarian methods to arm itself against the resistance of working people.
On Wednesday, mounting social anger over the austerity measures of the fascistic government of President Jair Bolsonaro exploded in Brazils streets with more than one million students and teachers walking out of classes and attending demonstrations initially called by teachers unions to let off steam over the reactionary pensions reform being proposed by the government.

In both of Brazils two largest cities, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, more than a hundred thousand demonstrators flocked to rallies, while tens of thousands attended demonstrations in other large state capitals such as Recife and Salvador, in the northeast, Belo Horizonte in the southeast and Porto Alegre in the far south, as well as in the capital, Brasilia. Overall, every state capital and more than 170 regional centers and smaller cities saw demonstrations, even in the countryside of the most remote regions of the scantily populated west and the Amazon.

While the Workers Party (PT) and the unions have so far attempted to strangle mounting workers struggles, most notably shutting down in mid-March a 33-day strike by Sao Paulo public workers against the will of the rank-and-file, workers and youth found in Wednesdays demonstrations an outlet to express widespread opposition not only to Bolsonaro, but to the whole political establishment, with demonstrators comparing PT state governors to the fascistic president and his allies for themselves implementing brutal austerity measures and aping his apologies for the murderous military police forces.

The demonstration had been called on April 5 by the PT-controlled National Education Workers Confederation (CNTE) if the pensions reform cleared the House Constitutional Panel, in the words of its president, Heleno Araujo Filho, which happened in late April.

The almost one-and-a-half month truce was designed to allow time for Congressional horse trading and for the mobilization to be sabotaged, as the same unions had done with a national day of struggle on April 24. However, the announcement of a 30 percent budget cut for all federal teaching institutionsfrom high schools to faculties and universitieson April 30 generated a growing wave of spontaneous protests, forcing both the CNTE and the National Students Union (UNE) to call the walkouts and demonstrations.

The immediate trigger for the demonstrations was the announcement by the Education Minister, the far-right economics professor Abraham Weintraub, that his ministry would cut the budget of universities that permitted mayhem on the campuses, later telling O Estado de S. Paulo that by mayhem he meant political events, citing as an example allowing landless workers on campus. Weintraub said among the first to have its budget cut would be the Fluminense Federal University, located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, which had been forced during the elections, under threat of criminal proceedings against its dean, to remove an anti-fascist banner put up by students. The electoral court ruled that it constituted electoral propaganda against Bolsonaro.

The announcement was immediately perceived as an attempt to impose political censorship, by the fascistic education minister, who is famous for paraphrasing the Nazis by saying that communists are the top of the country, the top of financial institutions, the owners of the papers, the big companies and the monopolies. The funding cuts came on top of the announcement days earlier that the government would defund sociology and philosophy departments across the country, with the government affirming that it was not interested in allowing children of farmers to come back home with anthropology degrees.

In the face of widespread revulsion over the cuts, the government doubled down on the announcement declaring that the 30 percent cuts would hit all federal institutions60 universities attended by 1.2 million students and 40 secondary technical schools, the so called Federal Institutes, IFs, while insisting that the motivation for the cuts were economic reasons and not political. Soon, thousands of parents began demonstrating with their children in front of the IFs, waiting for Bolsonaro at places he was scheduled to visit, such as the celebration of the 130th anniversary of Rios Military High School.

In every one of these demonstration and later in the mass nationwide protests on Wednesday, there was a large range of issues raised by demonstrators carrying banners opposing Bolsonaros campaigns for the militarization of schools, his war on climate science and his cutting in half the countrys science budget, the striking down of environmental and workplace regulations, and the continued Brazilian economic slumpwith the central bank estimating a possible return to recession after a 0.1 percent GDP contraction for the first quarter.

Most significantly, while the unions, the PT and the pseudo-left organizations attended demonstrations with Free Lula bannerspromoting the lie that former president PT President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva imprisoned for corruption, would somehow oppose austeritydemonstrators in PT-ruled states targeted the state governors as well, with demonstrators in Salvador, Brazils first capital and today the capital of the state of Bahia, calling Rui Costa, the PT governor the PTs Bolsonaro. Bahias PT-run state government has closed schools with hundreds of students and cut 28 percent of the state universities 2018 budget. Protesters also remembered that Costa, hailed in Lulas interviews from prison as an important leader on the left, regularly whitewashes police murders, famously claiming that police officers are like strikers in front of the goal, hailed if they strike and decried when they miss.

For his part, Bolsonaro reacted with unrestrained hostility and aggression to the demonstrations. Speaking from Dallas, Texas, where he travelled to receive the corporate Person of the Year originally meant to be delivered at New Yorks American Museum of Natural History before protests forced the event to be moved, he called the demonstrators useful idiots being manipulated by the PT.

Significantly, he tweeted a 2010 video from Lula using the same words as Weintraub to justify budget cuts by his PT government, saying they were necessary because tax collections were less than predicted by the budget. Bolsonaro wrote below the video Lula clarifies for the left how is it when we have to withhold funds (which every government does). Thank you for explaining!

Bolsonaro is rapidly being engulfed in the same crisis hitting every section of Brazilian political establishment, of which his election was a distorted expression.

In their immense size and nationwide scope, the Wednesday demonstrations show, like the demonstrations developing in Northern Africa, the Yellow Vest protests in France, teachers strikes in the US and the youth demonstrations against capitalist inaction over global warming, that the worlds masses are moving sharply to the left. Millions are coming into struggle against a bankrupt capitalist system which lets Notre Dame and the Brazilian National Museum burn down, is incompatible with the most basic rights of workers, to education and decent living standards, and threatens the very life of the planet.
The so-called Christchurch Call summit in Paris on Wednesday, led by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron, marked a significant escalation of the drive by governments throughout the world to censor the Internet.

Ardern and her Labour Party-led government, along with the Australian and French governments, are taking a leading role in exploiting the March 15 Christchurch terrorist attacks by Australian fascist Brenton Tarrant to justify sweeping attacks on freedom of expression. Tarrant live-streamed a video of the shootings, which killed 51 people, on Facebook.

The summit issued a statement signed by 17 governments, including the UK, France, Australia, India, Indonesia, Canada and Germany, along with Facebook, Twitter, Google and other tech giants. The statement agreed to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content on social media platforms and other websites, and to steer people toward officially-sanctioned positive alternatives or counter-narratives. The US government did not sign, but a White House statement expressed agreement with the statements overarching message.

No one should be fooled by worthless assurances that these governments and corporate giants will protect freedom of expression. What constitutes terrorist or extremist material will be decided by the state agencies.

For the past two years, corporations such as Google and Facebook have collaborated with the US and other governments to severely restrict access to left-wing, socialist and anti-war websites, particularly the WSWS. Their algorithms have been modified to reduce traffic to these sites, while promoting supposedly authoritative websites, i.e., the corporate media, in search results and news feeds. These measures, justified with lies about combating fake news and Russian and Chinese interference, are now being escalated under the guise of fighting extremism.

The New Zealand prime minister, having been glorified in the media internationally for showing kindness and compassion following the Christchurch shootings, has become one of the chief propagandists for censorship internationally.

An op-ed column by Ardern in the May 11 New York Times, with the misleading headline How to Stop the Next Christchurch Massacre, blamed the attack on social media and lax gun controls, while covering up its political roots. She made no mention of the fascist, anti-immigrant and white supremacist ideology that motivated the gunman, apart from a hypocritical sentence about the need to tackle racism and discrimination.

Far from opposing racism, Arderns Labour Party-led coalition government includes the racist and xenophobic New Zealand First Party, whose leader Winston Peters has made numerous anti-Muslim statements. Labour and Ardern herself have vowed to cut immigration. They have echoed NZ Firsts nationalist demagogy and adopted many of its anti-immigrant policies. After the 2017 election, Ardern made Peters foreign minister and deputy prime minister, giving his right-wing nationalist party significant power in the government, despite the fact that it received just over 7 percent of the votes.

Ardern wrote that the Paris agreement is not about undermining or limiting freedom of speech. In her Christchurch Call speech, she again rejected concerns that this action plan we are endorsing today is about curbing freedom of expression.

Such assurances are belied by the actions of the Labour government since the Christchurch attacks. It has worked with the corporate media to suppress public discussion about the causes of the atrocity. Tarrants manifesto, which reveals the similarity of his anti-immigrant, nationalist views to those of NZ First, US President Donald Trump and other political parties in Australia and across Europe, has been banned. Anyone caught with the document could face a lengthy prison sentence.

Likewise, media organisations have agreed to self-censor their coverage of Tarrants upcoming trial, so as not to report on his fascistic statements, precisely in order to obscure the connection to the foul right-wing politics of all the establishment parties.

This unprecedented censorship is also aimed at preventing discussion about Tarrants sympathy for the military and police, and why the intelligence agencies and police failed to prevent the Christchurch attack, despite repeated warnings. A royal commission of inquiry, which began this week ostensibly to look into these questions, is so far being held in secret.

More sweeping and permanent censorship mechanisms are being planned. A foundation established by former Labour Prime Minister Helen Clark has recommended a new regulatory body specifically to police social media. It would have the power to take websites like Facebook completely offline, as happened in Sri Lanka following the terrorist attacks in April. The Helen Clark Foundations report, Anti-Social Media: Reducing the spread of harmful content on social networks, also calls for restrictions on the ability to live-stream videos.

Already, the Australian government has seized on the Christchurch attacks to rush legislation through parliament that will impose severe fines and prison sentences on social media executives who fail to remove material that the government deems abhorrent and violent. This could include videos, photos and articles that expose police brutality, war crimes and fascistic assaults on immigrants.

Such laws have nothing to do with fighting racism, terrorism or fake news. They will be used against the working class and its ability to organise against war and social inequality. It is no accident that the Christchurch Call was hosted by Macron. His right-wing government and the French media have slandered the anti-austerity yellow vest protests, involving hundreds of thousands of workers, as violent and anti-Semitic, in order to justify brutal police crackdowns and the arrest of protesters.

New Zealands ruling class has also been shaken by protests and strikes over the past year, including by teachers and healthcare workers. The corporatist trade union bureaucracy has expressed hostility and nervousness over workers organising independently and sharing information on social media.

The contempt for freedom of speech shared by all the governments that signed the Christchurch Call is most starkly revealed in their support for the persecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and whistleblower Chelsea Manning. They face lengthy imprisonment or even the death penalty for exposing US-led war crimes and other government-corporate abuses. The New Zealand parliament last year refused to even discuss a petition presented by Assanges supporters calling for Ardern to offer him asylum.

As the crisis of capitalism deepens, with escalating social inequality, trade war and US threats of war against Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, China and Russia, the ruling elites are returning to the methods of the 1930s and 1940s. Governments are whipping up racism and xenophobia to divide workers, while desperately seeking to censor information, in order to prevent the emergence of a mass anti-war and anti-capitalist movement.

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Earlier this month, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) eliminated a shift at its Belvidere, Illinois, assembly plant, laying off roughly 1,400 workers. Workers are worried that Chrysler will eliminate another shift later this year, with hundreds or thousands more jobs cut. As the company consolidates production in Detroitalso eliminating a shift at its Windsor, Ontario, plantthe danger exists that it could shut down the Belvidere factory.

Video: Belvidere layoffs

The cuts are part of the ongoing global jobs massacre by Fiat Chrysler and the other auto giants, carried out with the collaboration of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union in the United States, Unifor in Canada, and their counterparts elsewhere.

Reporters for the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter recently spoke to workers and residents in Belvidere about what the layoffs will mean for the region, and what it will take to fight back against them.
The New Orleans Sewage and Water Board (SWB) announced this week that following several hours of heavy rain on May 12 five major city water pumps went offline. During the ensuing flash flooding the pumps, located in the City Park and Gentilly areas, shut down, resulting in massive street flooding in several neighborhoods in the Mid City and French Quarter areas.

According to a tweet sent out by the SWB, 115 out of the 120 drainage pumps were operational during the rains. Some three to five inches of rain fell between 11 p.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. Sunday, overwhelming the pumps drainage capacity. Images of flooded neighborhoods and streets appeared all over social media as residents complained of flooded sidewalks.

The breakdown of the pumping system, almost 14 years after the failure of levees during Hurricane Katrina resulted in the devastation of wide areas of the city, is a further demonstration of the criminal neglect of infrastructure by city, state and federal officials in a city particularly vulnerable to flooding.

According to the initial report ,only one pump lost power during the rains, but another report released on Tuesday stated that four more pumps were also offline due to a tripped power breaker.

This comes less than two weeks after a 114-year-old water pipe burst, flooding the Freret neighborhood on May 2. The burst pipe, which was installed in 1905, created dangerous water shortages to nearby hospitals, placing wide swaths of the Uptown New Orleans neighborhood under a boil water advisory, a public health crisis wherein residents are urged to boil potentially contaminated water.

Over the last six years New Orleans has seen 17 such advisories, usually the result of a loss in water pressure caused by either broken pipes or power failures. City Councilman Joseph Giarusso told residents, Youve also got to remember some of the infrastructure at the water plant dates back to World War I, too. Its the pipes, the pumps that are nearly that old in many of the cases. Were just working with an infrastructure thats going to be obsolete in fairly short order.

On Tuesday the SWB released an interactive map indicating that as many as half of the citys 1,500 miles of drainage pipes are at least 80 years old and 34 percent are 100 years old or older.

Only 21 pipes have been replaced since 2000. In a press conference a year ago, after another afternoon of heavy rains in May 2018 caused massive flooding, newly inaugurated Democratic Mayor LaToya Cantrell made the comment, We are a city that floods. She added, When we take on too much water at any given time, we will have street flooding.

The SWB, despite millions in funding from FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and various loans and bonds, is frequently strapped for the cash needed for crucial upgrades. Late last year the board was able to find nearly $50 million in unused FEMA grants and newly freed up restricted accounts. Despite this, rate hikes and water shutoffs have plagued local residents for the last few years as board directors frequently claim there is not enough money for the necessary repairs and upgrades. In a recent corruption scandal it was found that the SWB had several unauthorized positions, i.e., fake jobs given to upper level employees.

According to a recent article in Scientific American, the Army Corps of Engineers, which oversaw a $14 billion upgrade to the citys floodwalls and levee systems, now says that the flood barriers will be inadequate in about four years time. The upgrade, which began after the devastating flooding following the breakdown of the levees after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, took over 10 years to complete and less than a year after completion is now facing scrutiny from experts for its inadequacy to handle rising sea levels and more frequent hundred year floods. The levees and concrete floodwalls which make up the backbone of the citys flood protection system are sinking at a faster rate than expected back in 2007 due to soft soils and increased water levels.

Emily Vuxton, policy director for a local environmental group said of the Army Corps findings, warned, These systems that maybe were protecting us before are no longer going to be able to protect us without adjustments, adding that said adjustments will require hundreds of millions of dollars. According to a 2016 report from the National Academy of Sciences, New Orleans, along with Jakarta, Indonesia; Manila, Philippines; and Bangkok, will be among the hardest-hit cities in the world if sea levels rise due to global warming, according to current projections. A report released by NASA that same year found that New Orleans was sinking at a rate of about 2 inches per year. According to the report, this combined with current trends in sea level rise has the city underwater by 2100.

Last week saw the Army Corps opening up a historic flood control structure for the second time in one year, an extraordinary event that has not occurred at that frequency since the spillway was constructed in the 1930s. David Ramirez, the chief of water management, told reporters, Its an unprecedented amount of water thats coming down. Indeed, so-called 100-year floods are occurring with increased frequency, with some experts saying there is now about a 4 percent chance each year of them occurring.
The last leg in Indias multi-phase election to decide the composition of the Lok Sabha, the lower and more important house of Indias bicameral parliament, will be held Sunday, with voters going to the polls in 59 of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies.

The votes from this and the elections six previous regional phases will be tabulated only on Thursday, May 23. Nonetheless, the end of balloting Sunday will trigger intense backroom political jockeying, as Indian big business two national partiesthe ruling Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congressvie to rally support from a host of smaller, regional chauvinist and caste-ist parties so as to best position themselves to stake their claim to government once the votes are counted.

Fueling the political horse-trading will be the release of exit polls, whose publication was banned, along with the release of new opinion poll data, during the April 9 to May 19 voting period.

Indias capitalist elite propelled Narendra Modi and his BJP to power in 2014 to accelerate the implementation of privatization, deregulation and other pro-investor reforms, and to more aggressively pursue its predatory great power ambitions on the world stage. Five years on, as attested by the medias laudatory coverage and the BJPs massive lead in corporate donations, most of big business continues to view the BJP as the best bet to provide the strong government needed to force through its reactionary agenda in the face of mounting popular opposition.

Earlier this year, polls indicated that Modi and the BJP were well positioned to retain power, albeit with significantly fewer seats, rendering them dependent on their National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners for a parliamentary majority. However, as the election concludes, there is much to suggest the ground has shifted.

Indias economy continues to slow markedly. Feeble export growth is a factor. But the principal cause is weak consumer demand, attributable to years of government austerity, a longstanding agrarian crisis, surging unemployment, and a credit squeeze rooted in the massive corporate debts that are weighing down the countrys banks.

The BJP placed phony promises of jobs and development at the center of its 2014 election campaign, successfully exploiting mass anger over jobless capitalist expansion and dilapidated and non-existent social infrastructure. For years it crowed relentlessly about Indias world-beating growth, even as the official unemployment rate rose to a 45-year highwith 18.7 percent of men 15 to 29 and 27.2 percent of young women jobless.

However, such fraudulent promises and claims all but disappeared from the BJPs 2019 election campaign. Instead, Modi and the BJP doubled down on vile Hindu communalist appeals and bellicose threats against Indias arch-rival Pakistan. Their transparent aim has been to divert mounting social frustration and anger into the most reactionary channels and mobilize their Hindu supremacist activist base.

In February, just before the election campaigns official launch, Modi seized on a terrorist attack in disputed Kashmir to foment a war crisis with Pakistan that brought South Asias rival nuclear-armed states closer to all-out war than at any time since 1971. The BJP has repeatedly invoked Indias first air raid on Pakistan in almost half a century to project Modi as a fearless strongman, while accusing the Congress of appeasing Pakistan and undermining the armed forces.

Tirades against Indias Muslim minority and declamations of Hindu superiority have, if anything, been an even more prevalent feature of the BJP campaign. In a provocation that reveals both its desperation to polarize the electorate on communal lines and its sense of impunity, given the support it enjoys within the state and the complicity and cowardice of the bourgeois opposition, the BJP named as one of its star candidates Pragya Singh Thakura self-declared Hindu priestess under criminal indictment for her role in terrorist bombings targeting Muslims.

Underscoring the toxic, violent and combustible character of the party openly embraced by wide sections of the Indian bourgeoisie, Thakur this week praised the Hindu supremacist who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi in January 1948 as a patriot.

Congress blazed the right-wing path for Modi

The Congress, til recently the bourgeoisies preferred party of government, has competed with the BJP in proclaiming its support for Februarys reckless and illegal attack on Pakistan and dubbing Indias military heroes. It has also sought to counter the BJPs charge of Muslim appeasement by embracing various Hindu communalist and fundamentalist causes in what even the corporate media has termed a Hindutva (Hindu supremacism) lite campaign.

While attacking the BJP for not meeting it deficit reduction targets, i.e., not imposing sufficiently harsh austerity, the Congress has made a calibrated appeal to social discontent with promises of increased spending on education and health care and the gradual introduction of a guaranteed annual income that would provide 72,000 rupees (about US $1,025) to the poorest 20 percent of households.

These promises appear to have gained little popular traction, and with good reason. The big business Congress has done most of the heavy lifting in implementing the bourgeoisies post-1991 drive to transform India into a cheap-labour hub for global capital.

The 1991-96 Narasimha Rao-led Congress government initiated big bang pro-market reform, and the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government (2004-14) pressed forward with privatization, deregulation and corporate tax-cutting, while forging an Indo-US global strategic partnership.

On Thursday, a senior Congress leader announced that the party will not insist on Rahul Gandhi, the latest member of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty to head the party, or another Congress veteran serving as prime minister in Indias next government. My party high command has already made it clear that the Congress is not averse to making a leader from any regional party the prime minister, said Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Congress leader in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indias parliament.

This unprecedented pre-vote count overture suggests that the Congress calculates it still has a long way to go in its rebuild after suffering far and away its greatest ever electoral defeat in 2014, but that the parliamentary arithmetic may make it possible to wrest power from the BJP and form an alternate right-wing government.

Both the BJP and Congress head alliances of 20 parties or more, respectively, the NDA and the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). But there are also a sizeable number of regional partiesincluding the West Bengal-based TMC, the BSP and Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, the BJD in Odisha and the TDP in Andhra Pradeshthat chose to stay clear of the national party-led alliances in the hopes of increasing their post-election leverage.

All of these parties have previously joined forces with the BJP, and most with the Congress as well. Their opposition to the BJP, in so far as it is not a mere pose, has absolutely nothing to do with defending the interests of Indias workers and toilers. Rather it is rooted in their concern that the BJP, in its drive to consolidate power, including by placing its Hindu communalist supporters in leading positions in the state apparatus and in universities and other cultural institutions, is running roughshod over the interests of the regional- and caste-based bourgeois factions they represent; and, even more importantly, that the BJPs unrelenting drive to impose the diktats of the most powerful sections of big business and foment communal reaction is reaping a whirlwind of social opposition that could imperil capitalist rule.

A social powder keg

India is a social powder keg, whose fuse is already alight. As around the world, the working class is mobilizing to assert its class interests. Tens of millions of workers participated in a two-day general strike last January in protest against the BJPs big business economic policies, including its promotion of contract labour. But the growing wave of strikes and farmer protests is animated by opposition not just to the Modi government, but to the ruinous outcome of three decades of the Indian bourgeoisies economic reform policies.

India is one of the most unequal countries in the world. While Indias 120 billionairesup from just 2 in the mid-1990sand the rest of Indias top 1 percent gorge on 51.5 percent of the countrys wealth, the bottom 60 percent owns just 4.7 percent.

If the opposition of the working class finds no positive expression in the Indian elections, it is because of the criminal role of the Stalinist partiesthe Communist Party of India (Marxist) and its older, smaller ally, the Communist Party of Indiatheir Left Front and their affiliated trade unions. For decades, they have systematically suppressed the class struggle while providing parliamentary support to right-wing governments, most of them Congress-led, which have implemented neo-liberal policies and pursued closer ties with Washington.

As a result of their betrayals, including the imposition of what they themselves dub pro-investor policies in the states where they have formed the government, the Stalinists have suffered a hemorrhaging of support and will likely win no more than a handful of seats.

Their response to the intensification of the class struggleto Modis rise to power and the growth of worker resistancehas been to redouble their efforts to harness the working class to the parties of the bourgeoisie and to its state. They have mounted an Anybody but BJP campaign, urging support for whatever party or alliance in a given state has the best chance of defeating the candidates of the BJP/NDA, and have proclaimed in advance their support for any non-BJP government the Congress and the right-wing regional parties might manage to stitch together.

The working class will come into headlong conflict with Indias next government. Whatever its precise composition, it will be tasked by the ruling elite with making the working class and toilers bear the burden of the global capitalist crisis and the increasingly frenzied struggle among the imperialist powers, great powers and aspiring great powers like India for access to resources and strategic advantage.

In the pages of Indias major English-language dailies, the bourgeoisie is already demanding that the next government intensify the exploitation of the working class through accelerated reform and integrate India even more completely into the US war drive against China by joining a full-on US-led military alliance with Japan and Australia.

Significantly, while there is handwringing among some sections of Indian and foreign capital over Modis communal excesses, much of the criticism of him emanating from ruling circles is that his government has not been sufficiently ruthless in imposing big business agenda. A Financial Times editorial, for example, dismissed Modi as more a tinkerer than a Reagan- or Thatcher-style revolutionary.
West Bengal: Howrah council workers demand wages

More than 700 Howrah Municipal Corporation contract workers protested on May 13 to demand outstanding pay and entitlements. Over 410 workers have not been paid for the last six months. Other workers wage payments have been cut after the previous 30-day work scheme was reduced to just 10 days.

The workers demonstrated for about two hours outside the council chambers and also blocked a major road for half an hour.

India: Municipal workers in Telangana demand outstanding wages

Karimnagar Municipal Corporation workers in the southern Indian state of Telangana protested outside the corporations office on May 13 to demand payment of outstanding wages. The workers denounced corporation authorities because salaries had not been paid for at least two months and in some areas for five months. The demonstration was organised by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions.

Power workers in Indias Punjab state rally over several demands

Hundreds of Punjab State Power Corporation workers protested outside the chief engineers office in Bathinda on May 10. The Technical Services Union members later marched through the city denouncing the state government over their long-pending demands.

The power workers want reinstatement of dismissed employees, withdrawal of moves to curtail pensions, job permanency for contract and temporary employees and other major demands.

Pune education workers demand wages

Seven workers from the Sinhgad Technical Education Society (STES) in Pune, in the Indian state of Maharashtra have been holding regular Saturday protests over unpaid wages. The latest demonstration was on May 11. The workers have not been paid for 16 months.

Engineering lecturer Sachin Shinde, who organised the demonstration, told the media that at least 6,000 staff members have not been paid. Indian academic and technical staff unions have not organised any industrial action over the issue.

Bharat Heavy Electrical contract workers protest for wage rise

Bharat Heavy Electrical contract workers held a short protest on May 10 to demand higher pay. The harmless protest, which was organised by the Labour Contract Society, was held near the companys Thuvakudi factory and involved workers holding begging bowls. Most of the contract workers were recruited to helper, store-keeper and supervisor positions more than four decades ago.

India: Punjab Agricultural University employees rally for better conditions

Punjab Agricultural University non-teaching employees demonstrated on May 9. They were demanding improved promotion procedures and more jobs, in particular for car/jeep driver supervisors, permanent jobs for contract workers, payment of wages, the removal of teachers from non-teaching positions, payment of outstanding wages and other claims.

Bangladesh jute mill workers maintain protests

Thousands of private jute mill workers and employees from the state-run Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) continued demonstrations to demand their unpaid wages and other entitlements. The strikes have been maintained over the past week.

Some 4,000 workers from Amin Jute Mill, who have not been paid for the last 12 weeks, blocked a train running between Chittagong and Nazirhat and along the Muradpur-Hathazari Road. BJMC workers have also blocked roads and railways.

Unemployed medical workers demonstrate in Bangladesh

Unemployed medical technologists demonstrated on Saturday outside the National Press Club in Dhaka over several demands.

The workers were members of the Unemployed and Private Services Medical Technologists Association. They want government health services jobs, higher wages, the implementation of a Supreme Court order for medical technology courses to be run by the health ministry and an amendment to the Health Services Non-Medical Employee Recruitment Rules.

Pakistan: Unions call off Punjab doctors and health workers strike

The Grand Health Alliance of doctors, nurses and paramedical staff unions in Punjab government hospitals called off a planned 10 day-strike against the Medical Teaching Institutes Reforms Act on May 13.

The cash strapped Pakistani government is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund to present and carry out a drastic reforms plan that enforces the strictest budgetary constraints as well as privatisation.

The unions claim the government had agreed to its demands and would establish a negotiating committee. Under the planned reform act hospitals and other state-backed health facilities will have to fund the teaching institutions. Government health workers have opposed similar legislation in Pakistans Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

According to the health unions, the government has pledged not to table the act in the provincial assembly until the negotiations are over. Previous claims by the unions and government assurances have been proven worthless.

Australia and New Zealand

Uber food delivery workers protest in Sydney

Uber Eats food delivery riders and drivers protested at the companys Australian headquarters in Sydney on Tuesday to demand better working conditions. The workers are mainly employed as individual contractors in order to deny them a guaranteed wage, sick leave, annual leave, superannuation and other basic entitlements.

A worker from another delivery company who supported the protest told the media, Every year they decrease the price of each delivery. One year ago it was $14, after it was $10 per delivery, now it's $8 per delivery. If this continues the same way maybe next year it's going to be $6 each delivery."

The average pay of rideshare drivers in Australia is just $16 per hour before fuel, well below the legally required national minimum wage of $18.93 per hour.

The protest was part of worldwide industrial action by thousands of Uber and Lyft rideshare drivers on May 8 to protest poverty wages. Rideshare drivers participated in the US, Great Britain, France, Nigeria, Kenya, Chile, Brazil, Panama, Costa Rica and Uruguay. Last year Uber in the US cut drivers payments by 25 percent with the company now taking an average 33 percent in commission for each ride.

New Zealand primary and secondary teachers to strike

Some 50,000 teachers are scheduled to hold a one-day nationwide strike on May 29. The decision was announced on Monday following voting by members of the Post-Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI). It will be the first time that primary and secondary teachers have taken united strike action.

NZEI members held two one-day strikes last year after teachers rejected offers from the Labour Party-led government of a pay increase amounting to just 3 percent per year. Teachers voted for an increase of 15 or 16 percent and significant improvements in working conditions and staffing levels. The government has failed to address the crisis in schools, including oversized classes and a lack of basic resources or support for children with learning difficultiesconditions produced by more than a decade of austerity measures.

Teachers were scheduled to strike early in April but the walkout was cancelled by the unions, using the March 15 Christchurch massacre as a pretext. Union officials have repeatedly said they do not want to strike and are in continual negotiations with the Ministry of Education in an attempt to reach a deal.

New Zealand: Auckland rail workers locked out

On May 13, Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF), a Spanish-owned company which services trains in Aucklands commuter rail network, suspended 26 of its 29 maintenance workers. The workers have been locked out for 30 days after they announced their intention to strike over low wages.

The Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) says CAF pays the workers between $NZ27 and $30 an hour, which is 13 percent less than workers at the state-owned company KiwiRail. The union says the suspension means train services will be cancelled, as they cannot be maintained properly.

An RMTU spokesperson told the media the lockout was a declaration of war. However, the union has not sought to mobilise other rail workers in Auckland and other cities in support of the locked-out members.

New Zealand health workers suspended after industrial action

Dozens of call centre staff employed by Access Community Health have been suspended following industrial action this week. About 120 workers at sites across the country are involved in the dispute. The Public Service Association claims more than 40 were suspended early this week.

The workers earn close to the minimum wage. According to the company, the current pay claim would amount to a 25 percent increase. Workers have taken low-level industrial action including refusing to reply to texts and emails during specific times, and held pickets. A full day strike was held on Friday.

The union is in negotiations with the company, which provides care for people in their homes. It is owned by Green Cross Health, a major health sector business that also owns pharmacy chains.
As of Thursday, 40,000 workers in New York Citys public transit system, the largest in the country, are working without a new contract. In a perfunctory statement after a meeting with management on Wednesday, Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 President Tony Utano acknowledged, We did not reach an agreement on a new contract, and quite frankly we are not close to a negotiated settlement.

TWU officials, nevertheless, ordered subway and bus workers to remain on the job under the terms of the old agreement, claiming that management could not change the contract due to New York State law.

The state-controlled Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has taken full advantage of the unions action by going on the offensive to make workers pay for the crisis in public transit. Leading up to the contract expiration, the MTA and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo launched a vicious smear campaign to brand transit workers forced to work overtime as criminals. The MTA convened an emergency meeting last week to stoke up hysteria, citing a 15 percent increase in overtime spending last year.

MTA Chairman Patrick Foye called for an independent investigation to find out how widespread the [overtime] fraud, or possible fraud is. His demand was backed by Cuomo during a news conference last Sunday. This is about people saying they worked and charged the taxpayers, when they didnt work. Its stealing. Its criminal, Cuomo stated. This investigation is in addition to those announced by the MTA Inspector General and the Queens District Attorneys office.

The transit agency even sent armed police to monitor Long Island Railroad (LIRR) workers clocking in and out. Following an uproar by workers, the MTA announced last Thursday it was backing down and discontinuing the procedure.

In response to these ongoing attacks, some MTA workers, including at LIRR, have begun refusing to work overtime shifts. Trying to get ahead of the opposition, TWU International President John Samuelsen issued a hollow threat that a strike is not a far-fetched notion anymore.

The TWU bureaucrats, however, are determined to suppress any action, even with an expired contract, and negotiations going nowhere. After a long silence on negotiations, Local 100 President Utano acknowledged that the parties were not close to an agreement and that MTA Chair Pat Foye has refused to even participate in the talks. Fearing the anger of rank-and-file workers, however, the TWU has not even called a rally, which traditionally has accompanied every contract negotiation.

Over the past few years, New York Citys transit system has been mired in an acute crisis. In 2017, deteriorating service and failing infrastructure led Governor Cuomo to declare a state of emergency. The action plans that emerged consisted largely of stopgap measures. Ridership has dropped steadily since 2015, even as population and tourism have continued to increase. What moderate service improvements and infrastructure fixes have occurred since then have largely been achieved by relying on increased exploitation of the workforce, including the expansion of overtime.

In fact, the heavy reliance on overtime prompted New York City Transit Authoritys acting president Phillip Eng to sign an internal memo lifting its overtime cap, which was put into place so that workers wouldnt be worked to death, in the words of a TWU official. Nonetheless the union agreed to the removal of the cap.

The phony uproar regarding overtime payments draws on a report issued by the Empire Center for Public Policy, which scoured publicly released payroll records to identify a handful of the most extreme examples of overtime compensation. LIRR chief measurement officer Thomas Caputo, who made $344,147 in overtime on top of his base salary of $117,499 in 2018, topped the list. Caputo and the others highlighted in the report are all supervisors, not the average workers who operate and maintain the bus and rail systems.

While crying about overtime fraud, the MTA admitted they have put pressure on workers to continue working past their regularly scheduled hours. As a result of this, the National Transportation Safety Board has been investigating whether the death of LIRR maintenance foreman Michael Ollek, who was struck by a train while on the tracks in June 2017, was due to his working excessive overtime just before the accident.

Union officials recently attempted to save face with a show of opposition to Cuomos attacks. However, under TWU International President Samuelsen, the former head of Local 100, the unions subordination to the Cuomo administration has been unrestrained.

Samuelsen was spotted this past March at an exclusive and secretive fundraising dinner for Cuomo, where wealthy attendees paid $5,000, $15,000, $25,000, or more to purchase political influence with the governor. His cover blown, Samuelsen justified his attendance by telling the New York Times, the governor has been the best governor for the trade union movement ever. In all, the TWU has donated more than $275,000 to Cuomos political campaigns.

The union also endorsed congestion pricing pushed by Cuomo and passed by the state legislature. The new policy, which is a regressive tax of between $12 and $14 each day on drivers in cars and about $25 for those with trucks who drive in Manhattans core, was justified in order to raise money for a financially crisis-bound transit system.

In the last contract, the union settled for a pitiful 2.14 percent a year wage hike for workers who live in one of the most expensive cities on the planet. Previous concessions such as higher out-of-pocket health care expenses that reduce workers wages and an increase in the number of years from three to five that new employees must work to reach top pay remained in place. Nothing was done to Fix Tier 6, a TWU slogan referring to the substandard pension plan passed by the state legislature and signed by Cuomo.

A similar round of concessions is presently being prepared behind the backs of workers. The MTAs campaign against supposed overtime abuse is aimed at putting the blame for the systems financial crisis on workers and extracting more concessions in pay and benefits.

The TWU, for its part, is doing everything in its power to assist the MTA while suppressing the resistance of workers. The struggle for adequate pay, good benefits and safe working conditions can only advance to the extent that transit workers break free of the confines of the union and develop independent rank-and-file committees to link up their fight with transit riders and workers throughout the city and beyond.

Such a struggle will immediately raise the need for a political counter-offensive by the working class against Mayor Bill de Blasio, Governor Cuomo and the rest of the Democratic Party, and a fight against capitalism and the grotesque levels of social inequality in New York City, the home of the largest number of billionaires in the world.
Events that transpired Thursday at the Venezuelan embassy in the upscale Washington neighborhood of Georgetown expressed in microcosm the criminality and contempt for international law that characterize US imperialist operations the world over.

US Secret Service agents, Washingtons Metropolitan Police and agents of the State Departments Diplomatic Security Service, hundreds of armed men, stormed the building to evict four peaceful antiwar activists, part of a larger contingent that had been staying in the embassy for the last month at the invitation of the Venezuelan government.

The units deployed included agents wearing battle fatigues and helmets and carrying battering rams to force their way into the embassy. Many of those sent to break into the building wore flak jackets.

This deployment of overwhelming militarized force was hardly necessary given the small number of activists in the building and their prior assurances to US authorities that they would not resist what they regarded as an unlawful arrest. It was staged as a demonstration of the power of the US state, an act of intimidation against anyone opposing its machinations, both domestic and international, and a graphic statement that might makes right, the law be damned.

The Venezuelan government has denounced the invasion of its embassy as a gross violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations signed by the United States in 1963 and observed by virtually every country in the world. It affirms that embassies and other diplomatic facilities are inviolable and cannot be entered by agents of the host government without the express permission of the head of the diplomatic mission. It likewise requires that the host government protect diplomatic premises against any intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of the mission or impairment of its dignity.

Washington has ridden roughshod over these provisions in relation to the Venezuelan embassy on every score. Before forcing its way into the building, it had allowed a mob of fascistic and right-wing thugs to mobilize outside the embassy, erecting tents on its grounds and physically assaulting those supporting the activists inside or attempting to bring them food. These elements repeatedly attempted to break into the embassy, damaging its facilities, and threatened those inside with murder and rape. When police intervened to halt the most egregious of these illegal acts, they immediately released the perpetrators, facilitating and inflaming the lynch mob atmosphere.

For decades Washington has treated Iranwhich it now threatens with waras a so-called rogue state for the events of November 1979. In the throes of a revolution, militant students stormed the US embassy in Tehran, taking US personnel hostage. Washington went to the UN and the International Court of Justice, charging the Iranian government with violating the Vienna Convention for failing to halt the attack.

The Iranian government did not participate in these proceedings. Instead, it insisted that the action had to be treated in the context of the previous quarter-century of US imperialist crimes in Iran, from the 1953 CIA-orchestrated coup that overthrew the nationalist government of Mohammad Mossadeq, through to Washingtons support of the Shahs dictatorship and the murders and torture carried out by its hated Savak secret police. The Iranian government insisted that the embassy issue could be resolved only through the US extradition of the Shah back to Iran and the return of the vast amounts of wealth he had taken with him.

Six years after going to the court in The Hague over the US embassy in Iran, Washington renounced the courts jurisdiction in order to avoid prosecution for its terrorist contra war against Nicaragua.

When it comes to rogue states there does not exist a government on the planet that can rival that of the United States of America.

In storming the Venezuelan embassy, it claims to be acting on behalf of the government of Juan Guaido, the far-right, CIA-backed political operative who proclaimed himself the interim president of Venezuela last January, with the backing of Washington. Nearly four months later, this regime change operation launched with Guaidos self-swearing-in has waned. An attempt on April 30 to consummate the coup with an appeal for an outright military overthrow of the Maduro government failed miserably, eliciting neither a military revolt nor any significant support from the population.

The seizure of the embassy is part of an increasingly open appeal for direct US military intervention to bring about the desired regime change.

The embassy is now to be occupied by Carlos Vecchio, a fellow member of Guaidos far-right, US-funded Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) party. Vecchio went into exile after being charged with fomenting violence in Venezuela. While proclaimed by Guaido as Venezuelas ambassador, he, like the interim president himself, represents neither the Venezuelan people nor any real government. His embassy cannot issue passports or visas or conduct any other business common to diplomatic missions.

Rather, both he and Guaido are paid agents of Washington. They are pawns in the US drive to establish unfettered control by the US energy conglomerates over Venezuelas oil reserves, the largest on the planet, and to roll back the growing influence of both China and Russia in Venezuela and Latin America more broadly, which US imperialism has long regarded as its own backyard.

One of Vecchios first actions as ambassador, newly installed by the US Secret Service, will be to meet on Monday with the chiefs of the Pentagons Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which oversees all US military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. In a letter to SOUTHCOM, the Guaido camp said its aim was to conduct strategic and operational planning so that we may restore our democracy.

This democracy is to be provided a war for regime change by the US military to install the most right-wing representatives of Venezuelas ruling oligarchy, committed to turning over the countrys oil wealth to Exxon Mobil, Chevron and the rest of Big Oil. Such a regime can be imposed only by means of a bloody war and the most ruthless repression of the Venezuelan working class.

With its invasion of the Venezuelan embassy, Washington is cementing a precedent. It claims the right to overthrow any government in the world, select its own puppet to head the replacement, and install its representative in the countrys embassy in Washington to assist in coordinating and legitimizing US military intervention.

This criminal action has been largely passed over in silence by the US corporate media, and justified in the few reports that have appeared. Noteworthy was the coverage of the New York Times, which claimed that The dissonance of a Venezuelan diplomatic compound being occupied by a group of predominantly white, American, anti-interventionist activists had been a source of resentment among the predominantly Venezuelan protesters who had surrounded the embassy.

What filthy nonsense! The resentment among the fascist thugs who besieged the embassy was not over the racial or national identity of those opposing the US regime change operation, but rather their standing in the way of the exiled right-wingers and oligarchs returning to power on the backs of the US military. As is its wont, the Times uses right-wing identity politics to justify imperialist criminality.

Nor has there been a hint of opposition from the Trump administrations ostensible political opponents in the Democratic Party, all of whom, from Biden to Sanders, have lined up behind the regime change operation in Venezuela.

The Venezuelan embassy siege, with its mobilization of massive police power alongside right-wing gangs to accomplish illegal aims that further the interests of the US ruling elite, constitutes a warning to the working class in the United States and all over the world.

In the face of a resurgent class struggle and the insoluble contradictions of the global capitalist system, the capitalist ruling elites in the US and every country are shedding even the pretense of democratic principles and processes and turning ever more openly toward authoritarian rule and the promotion of fascistic and right-wing forces.

The storming of the Venezuelan embassy in Washington follows the throwing open of the doors of the Ecuadorian embassy in London to a British police snatch squad acting on behalf of US prosecutors seeking to punish WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for exposing US war crimes, laying charges against him that could result in his execution.

The defense of democratic rights, together with the struggle against the threat of war in Venezuela, lies with the international working class, whose interests are diametrically opposed to those of the warmongers in the US ruling class and their lackeys in the Democratic Party and the media.
The 2019 federal election has again seen Liberal-National, Labor, and the Greens prominently promising multi-billion dollar investments in Australias school system. Teachers, parents and other education workers should treat this hollow posturing with contempt.

Even if the headline spending figures were to be deliveredwhich they will notthe enormous crisis wracking the public education system would not be resolved. Australias school system is among the most socially polarised in the world, as well as among the most substantially privatised. Some 40 percent of secondary school students now attend private schools, which are heavily subsidised with public funding, including the most expensive and elite. For the sons and daughters of the wealthy and well-off, no extravagance is spared for their education.

What is the reality, on the other hand, for students and staff in public schools across Australia? Successive Labor and Coalition governments at the federal and state level have engineered a social disaster. Countless public schools are grossly overcrowded, with inadequate physical infrastructure and short staffing of critical education support workers, psychologists, and disability support staff.

Underpaid and often casually employed teachers are expected to manage without support the increasing number of students with unfunded disabilities, trauma, and social and learning problems. Crushing workloads accompany expectations of ever greater success with raising student achievement, as measured by standardised tests. The toxic environment in many schools sees 50 percent of new university teacher graduates quit the profession within the first five years, while those who remain are vulnerable to mental and physical health problems.

For public school students, their opportunities are curtailed by the lack of resourcing, compounded by the narrowing of the curriculum that has accompanied the rigid NAPLAN national literacy and numeracy testing that was introduced under the previous Labor government. The deliberate pitting of schools against one another has seen the rise of direct instruction and other regressive teaching methods aimed at delivering a quick boost in test scores, at the expense of authentic learning, creative activities, and play.

In the face of these realities, the claims by the Labor Party and Greens that there is a gulf separating their and the governments school funding policies are a sham, aimed at hoodwinking teachers, parents and education workers.

The Labor Partys document Fair Funding for Australian Schools endorses the governments Gonski 2.0 framework. The original Gonski report was commissioned by the former Greens-backed Labor government of Julia Gillard, and drafted by David Gonski, prominent corporate chief and former chairman of the Australian Stock exchange.

Gonski devised a set of formulas, grounded in NAPLAN test results, that calculated how much public funding per student should be allocated to both public and private schools. The Gonski report, in other words, entrenched and extended the enormous flow of public money into the private education system.

A recent report issued by the Grattan Institute found that between 2007 and 2017, combined federal-state annual school funding increased by just $155 per public school student, compared to an extraordinary $1,429 increase per private school student.

Gillards vaunted spending promises amounted to so much hot air. In 2013 she pledged additional funding of $14.5 billion, but this was over six years, spanning at least two federal elections, with the vast majority allocated for the end of this period.

Current Labor leader Bill Shorten has emulated this tactic of pledging spending measures that will supposedly be delivered in the distant future. His headline $14 billion promise conceals the fine print that less than a quarter of this, $3.3 billion, is earmarked for Labors first term in office if it wins todays election.

Whether a single additional cent is allocated to the Australian school system remains to be seen, regardless of which party forms government after May 18. Both Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Shorten have made promises behind closed doors to the credit rating agencies and corporate executives. In the increasingly likely event of a sharp economic downturn, they will implement austerity measures targeting the working class as demanded.

The teacher unions, the Australian Education Union and New South Wales Teachers Federation, have done everything possible to bolster the Labor Party and Greens campaigns. Their material sent to teacher members and public school staffrooms has reiterated as good coin these parties promises on education, including school funding. Union bureaucrats have worked with Labor and the Greens at pre-poll voting centres, distributing how to vote cards that urge teachers and those concerned with education to vote for these parties.

This again demonstrates that the teacher unions do not represent the interests of teachers and education staff. The unions bear significant responsibility for the disastrous state of the public education system, not least for their 2010 betrayal of a planned teacher boycott of NAPLAN testing. In the event that a Labor government is formed after May 18, it will work closely with the teacher union bureaucracy to try to suppress opposition and resistance among teachers.

Around the world, public school teachers have been at the forefront of the re-emergence of the working class onto the political stage. Last month, 300,000 Polish teachers conducted a 17-day national strike. Over the last year and a half, educators launched strikes in Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Mexico, Argentina, France, the Netherlands and many other countries. In the US, teachers across multiple states have waged determined industrial and political campaigns to demand decent wages and working conditions, and better resources for their students.

Similar struggles will inevitably emerge in Australia, and sooner rather than later. The critical issue confronting teachers is: What political perspective should guide the fight for public education? The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) is campaigning in the federal election campaign to take forward a united struggle of the working class in defence of its interests, in opposition to all those parties and organisations that defend the capitalist system, including the Labor Party and the Greens.

The SEP insists that universal access to a fully funded, high quality educationfrom kindergarten up to universitymust be recognised as a social right for all, not a privilege for the wealthy minority. But, like all the social rights of the working class, such as to a job, a liveable income and access to free health care, the right to education immediately conflicts with the agenda of finance capital and the ultra-wealthy oligarchy that exercises a dictatorship over economic and political life.

Securing universal access to first-class education, from kindergarten to university, requires the development of an independent political movement of the working class based on socialist and internationalist principles to abolish the capitalist system.

The Committee for Public Education established by the SEP calls on teachers and parents to show their support for a socialist alternative by voting for the Socialist Equality Party in todays federal election. Above all, however, we urge those who support our perspective and want to fight for it to join the CFPE and to apply to become members of the SEP.
The Socialist Equality Party meeting held in London, May 12, in defence of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning was livestreamed to public meetings in Glasgow and Inverness. A number of those attending shared their thoughts on the jailing of Assange and Manning and on the need for a powerful, international campaign to win their freedom.

Joe, a musician, said, The main thing that drew my attention to the awful conditions Assange was being held under was the coverage by the World Socialist Web Site. This underlined the severe lack of any response with credibility from almost every other news source.

I feel that there has been a lack of response from most parties. Most of the main political figures I have seen talking about it only seem to mention the trumped-up sexual assault charges, failing to acknowledge that he is being charged with computer hacking and that a US extradition could lead to him being killed on espionage charges. Their attitude towards him can be summed up by the video in Parliament of when his arrest was first mentioned. It was met with cries of support and clapping.

He said, It really has set the bar for the future, if anyone steps out of line on what they are reporting, their lives and livelihoods could also be in danger. This is shown by the lack of any proper response from the major newspapers and websites. Years ago, they published the documents from WikiLeaks as a huge scandal, and now cannot come to the defence of Assange, who is most definitely in danger.

I think we need to continue raising awareness about the unlawful arrest of Assange, the documents he leaked, and the people that want him silenced.

In order to try and gain his freedom, I do not know what other actions to take, but more people need to know of the abhorrent conditions he was kept in and the illegality of his arrest. My only other comment is that I find it refreshing and inspiring the work the SEP has done in response to this issue and hope that we can pull together to secure the freedoms of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning.

Daniel (left) Joe (second right) Calum (right) with other participants at the streaming in Inverness

Calum, an archaeology student from Inverness, said, There should be aggressive action now on behalf of the working class, or this thing will be acceptable, commonplace. Its almost a test of authoritarian power. Something has to be done now, or else this is the future we can look forward to. We have to fight it right now.

I think the response of the main parties has been pathetic. It has definitely shown where their true loyalties lie. Workers have to make their voices heard against this or it is going to continue. Its a trend of internet censorship, censorship in all forms. Its all part of a climate of authoritarianism. It shows how beholden the UK, Europe, Australia, Sweden are to American imperialism, and blows up the notion that these countries in Europe are somehow standing up to America.

Daniel is a Deliveroo worker. He said, Democracy is nothing if it is built on lies. When you have someone whose only goal is to tell the truth being directly persecuted and facing a possible death threat for telling the truth, you have a democracy that is broken and a system that needs fixed.

He added, I think its shameful that there has not been any response from any party but the SEP. Kudos to the SEP.
You're talking about mass murder.

I know well get our hair mussed. But no more than 10-20 million dead. Tops! Depending on the breaks 

 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

**

In a May 15 New York Times opinion piece, The Nuclear Weapons Sisterhood, editorial board member Carol Giacomo complained that women were particularly underrepresented in senior positions dealing with nuclear issues.

Giacomo further lamented that government policies involving the building, deployment, targeting and use of nuclear weapons have long been the province of an insular, innovation-averse group of men.

The column asserted that for women, people of color and transgender people, sexism, discrimination and harassment are often barriers to being hired, promoted or taken seriously in the national security bureaucracyoverseas and at home.

Giacomo, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a longtime media figure on the intelligence-diplomatic beat, noted that women hold only 20 percent of senior civilian jobs at the Pentagon and are particularly underrepresented in senior positions dealing with nuclear issues.

The Times journalist took pains to disabuse any readers under the impression that she was advocating a stronger female presence because of old-fashioned views of women as more pacific creatures. Giacomo observed that there is little evidence women are inherently more peaceful than men, and pointed to a forthcoming paper that goes so far as to argue that, in certain parliamentary democracies, women leaders, feeling a need to prove their strength, may be more likely to initiate conflict than their male peers.

Does the author of the paper have Hillary Clinton in mind?

Lest the reader think the column was written tongue in cheek, as a parody of feminism, the reader should think again. Giacomoand the Times are deadly serious.

Her argument represents the ultimate logic of feminism, which accepts the capitalist order and the exploitation of the working class, merely insisting that bourgeois women have an equal share in operating and benefiting from the profit system. Concretely, the demand for more women with the ability to drop nuclear bombs occurs within the context of the #MeToo sexual witch hunt, ferociously backed by the Times, and the general drive for more women in positions of corporate and political authority.

Giacomo was apparently inspired to write her piece by a study conducted by New America, a Washington-based liberal think tank, entitled The Consensual Straitjacket: Four Decades of Women in Nuclear Security, based on interviews with 23 women who held top government positions.

That study too pointed out that many of the interviewees were quick to push back on the essentialist notion that women are inherently more peaceful and therefore likely to tip the scale to disarmament or softer outcomes. As one respondent bluntly put it, we dont soften policy by adding estrogen.

Another interviewee explained, I do not think women are more peaceful. And it irritates me to no end, that kind of line of thinking. In part because just in a very practical way, I think it undercuts us being taken seriously by the hard security side of the house, which has mainly been lived in by men.

The Times columnist and the New America authors promote a particularly foul brand of womens rights imperialism, mixing feminist phraseology and criticisms with a full acceptance of the overall role of the Pentagon and CIA as defenders of American capitalisms national interests.

The Consensual Straitjacket, for example, reported that the nuclear fields jargon is infamous for being not only dense but sexualized. It continued: The feminist scholar Carol Cohn recalls thinking that the classic missile envy posited by feminist theorists and disarmament advocates was uncomfortably reductionist. One summer in the field convinced her otherwise: Lectures were filled with discussion of vertical erector launchers, thrust-to-weight ratios, soft lay downs, deep penetration, and the comparative advantages of protracted versus spasm attackswhat one military adviser to the National Security Council has called releasing 70 to 80 percent of our megatonnage in one orgasmic whump.

That the US military is full to the brim of male officials comfortably in the tradition of Dr. Strangelove s psychotic Gen. Jack D. Ripper (Women... women sense my power, and they seek the life essence. I do not avoid women but I do deny them my essence) will not come as a surprise to anyone with eyes in his or her head. However, replacing these maniacs with females will not lessen the danger that the American armed forces represent to the worlds population by one iota.

Along the same lines as Giacomos column, Julianne Smith, former deputy national security adviser to Vice President Joseph Biden and the director of the Trans-Atlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, published an opinion piece in the Times in August 2017, Send the Breast Pump With the Defense Attache.

Smith, sadly, took note of the fact that only 20 percent of senior Pentagon staff positions and 30 percent of senior State Department positions are held by women. She elaborated: Within the intelligence community, women account for about 38 percent of the total work force, but hold only 28 percent of senior positions and make up 18 percent of people hired at senior pay levels. At the FBI, women hold just 12 percent of the bureaus 220 senior agent positions.

On the positive side, Smith wrote, almost 100 years since the first woman entered the [US State Departments] Foreign Service, women now hold 54 of 169 currently occupied chief of mission positions. At the CIA, the percentage of women has grown to 46 percent in 2012, the most recent data available.

No doubt a section of liberal and left feminists will defend greater female representation among military and intelligence decision-makers as a step forward. After all, retired CIA operations officer Karen deLacy was not alone, at the time of torturer Gina Haspels nomination to head the CIA, in arguing in the Washington Post that much like #MeToo and #TimesUp, Haspels nomination provides an opportunity to get gender equality right in the field of espionage. DeLacy reported that an inclusion crisis exists in the clandestine cadre of the CIA: fewer women applying to be operations officers, few women in important leadership positions, and continuing harassment of and discrimination against women.

Nor should we omit in this regard the November 28, 2017 #Metoonatsec [i.e., #MeToo National Security] Open Letter on Sexual Harassment in National Security, signed by 223 women in the US military-intelligence apparatus. The signatories complained that they too were survivors of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse or know others who are.

A sampling of those on the list includes Wendy R. Anderson, deputy chief of staff, secretary of defense; Alexandra Kahan, National Security Council and US Department of State; Courtney La Bau, senior advisor, Department of Homeland Security; Liliana Ayalde, former ambassador to Brazil and currently the civilian deputy to the commander and foreign policy advisor for the United States Southern Command; Kelly Magsamen, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense; and Laura Holgate, special assistant to the president for WMD-terrorism & threat reduction.

How many monstrous crimes and conspiracies have this sordid collection of former ambassadors, military officers, CIA agents, State Department officials and academics proposed, planned or overseen in their careers?

Last year, the Times protested the relative dearth of female billionaires and promoted women who aggressively seek money and power. Now, the newspaper, in the form of Giacomos column, urges that women be more fully represented among those with the power to unleash mass annihilation and the destruction of life on the planet.

No doubt, concrete social interests and aspirations find expression in the deeply reactionary effort exemplified by Giacomos article. The women in the national security apparatus are pressing for bigger incomes and more privileges, if necessary at the expense of their male colleagues, just as their counterparts in Hollywood, on college campuses and in the media are doing.

Beyond that, however, the New York Times, as always, is pursuing a definite ideological and political agenda in this bloodcurdling campaign. The newspapers editors know full well that to remain in power in the next period, the American ruling elite will need to carry out the most horrific crimes, at home and abroadcrimes for which there is no precedent in US history, violent as it is.

Since the 9/11 events and the subsequent measures and actions taken, using the terrorist attacks as an opportunityincluding military invasions, the practice of torture, the legitimization of universal spying on the population, drone assassinations, etc.layers of the middle class have been encouraged to accept the most barbaric policies in the name of homeland security and to view them as the new normal.

The Times, in columns such as Giacomos, is attempting to inure these layers to mass violence and overcome inevitable squeamishness (among women in this instance) about the horrors of wide scale human destruction, up to and including the consequences of nuclear war.

This is a sinister business.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May is set to stand down as Tory party leader and prime minister after her European Union Withdrawal Agreement Bill goes before Parliament in the first week of June. Since May reached a deal with the EU in November, she has been unable to secure agreement from a deeply divided parliament.

After weeks of speculation about Mays final departure date, on Thursday she agreed a timetable after pressure from her partys main backbench 1922 Committee. Her announcement followed six weeks of Brexit negotiations with Labour that have failed to reach an agreement. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn entered the Brexit talks offered by May at the start of April, accepting her calls for national unity in an effort to agree on a modified version of her deal.

May standing down will trigger a Tory leadership contest to be held over the summer, with the victor replacing her as prime minister. A field of up to 20 Tory MPs is expected to stand, a stark expression of the fracturing of the oldest political party of the British ruling elite.

Among the first to declare was former foreign secretary and hard Brexiteer Boris Johnson. He is favourite to win and would command support among many Eurosceptic Tory MPs and the partys wider membership. Tory rules stipulate several rounds of voting held over several weeks with candidates whittled down to the final two, and a party membership vote to select the new leader.

Other Tories who have declared they will stand include Esther McVey and International Development Secretary Rory Stewart, with other Cabinet ministers Jeremy Hunt, Amber Rudd, Andrea Leadsom, Michael Gove, Sajid Javid, and arch-Thatcherites Dominic Raab and Liz Truss expected to stand.

May has been a lame duck for months. Last December, she survived a vote of no confidence from Tory MPs, but had to agree to stand down before the next general election in 2022. After failing to pass her EU deal in Parliament on three occasions, May pledged she would step down after her deal finally passed.

This only fuelled moves against her by the partys hard-Brexit wing, with local Tory associations agreeing to hold a non-binding vote of confidence in her leadership on June 15.

On Thursday evening, with Tory MPs baying for her blood, 1922 chairman Sir Graham Brady threatened May in a 90-minute discussion that unless she firmed up her departure plans, another vote of confidence would be permitted by his Committee. After meeting May, Brady told reporters, We have agreed to meet to decide the timetable for the election of a new leader of the Conservative Party as soon the second reading has occurred and that will take place regardless of what the vote is on the second reading, whether it passes or whether it fails to pass.

With some speculation that May could attempt to stay on, the Tory rule book could even be altered to prevent it. The Guardian reported a 1922 committee member warning, If she cannot get the withdrawal bill through  supposing she still doesnt resign then, that is the point there is likely to be a rule change or even the rules set aside. It would be unsustainable. And she understands that.

The moves by the Conservative Party to replace May prompted a letter from Corbyn to May on Friday morning. Corbyn wrote, I believe the talks between us about finding a compromise agreement on leaving the European Union have now gone as far as they can  The increasing weakness and instability of your government means there cannot be confidence in securing whatever might be agreed between us.

Corbyn assumed his now familiar mantle of an elder statesman preserving parliamentary stability and order: As you have been setting out your decision to stand down and cabinet ministers are competing to succeed you, the position of the government has become ever more unstable and its authority eroded. Not infrequently, proposals by your negotiating team have been publicly contradicted by statements from other members of the cabinet.

Corbyn personally met May for talks on Tuesday evening, with his letter reiterating Labours growing concern in both the shadow cabinet and parliamentary Labour Party about the governments ability to deliver on any compromise agreement. The intransigence of the Tories hard-Brexit wing has effectively torpedoed the central demand of dominant sections of big business: that a Customs Union with the EU be part of any final Withdrawal Deal. Corbyn complained, In recent days we have heard senior cabinet ministers reject any form of customs union, regardless of proposals made by government negotiators.

Corbyn accepted Mays move to put her deal before Parliament again, and while saying Labour would continue to vote against it, we will carefully consider any proposals the government wishes to bring forward to break the Brexit deadlock.

While the imminent collapse of Mays government forced the end of talks, a leaked memo shown to Londons Evening Standard reveals that Corbyn did everything possible to push a version of Mays deal through and keep her in office.

The Standard reported that the memosumming up where agreement existed between the government and Labour over Mays Brexit dealwas sent from Whitehall to Labour negotiators following Corbyns talks with May. The newspaper noted that a Whitehall source said that the document appeared to show areas where the two sides had reached agreement in the talks including agreement to leave with a deal rather than on no-deal terms; to leave on July 31; to have as close as possible, frictionless trade; to end free movement; to seek the fullest participation in EU agencies covering medicines and other critical areas.

According to the document, May could hold a series of free indicative votes in Parliament as early as next week, where MPs would rank in order of preference five different forms of customs arrangements with the EU, ranging from a full permanent trade pact to a looser or temporary arrangement. The aim is to force the Commons, which has rejected every option shown so far, to a decision.

There could also be a free vote on making any deal subject to a second referendum, which appears designed to block the campaign backed by 150 Labour MPs for a confirmatory ballot attached to any deal.

The Tories new leader is scheduled to be in place by the partys annual conference at the end of September. By that time, Corbyn will have served four years as Labour leader. That May, who has staggered from one crisis to the next after losing her majority in the 2017 general election, was able to remain in office is entirely down to Corbyn. Despite taking the Labour leadership with the backing of hundreds of thousands of party members and supporters, on a mandate to oppose austerity, militarism and war, Corbyn has capitulated to his defeated Blairite opponents again and again.

With Labour ahead of the Conservatives in the polls, the Blairites insisted that Corbyn accept Mays invitation to Brexit talks and ditch any moves to force a general election to bring down a widely despised government; instructions he carried out to the letter.

The crisis of rule in Britain and the meltdown of the Tories will be exacerbated by the expected victory of the newly formed Brexit Party in next weeks European elections. A victory for the Brexit Party, set up by former UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, will further polarise divisions within the main parties. The vast majority of Farages support comes from disillusioned Tory voters and is particularly strong among older generations.

According to opinion polls, the Brexit Party is set to win by taking anything up to 34 percent of the vote and could possibly score higher than both the Tories and Labour combined. There are even estimates that the Tories may only poll in single figures and finish sixth overallwhich would be the worst national election result in their history.
The trade war measures against China announced by President Donald Trump over the past two weeks have been more widely supported by congressional Democrats than by their Republican counterparts. Many of the Republicans come from rural states and districts hardest hit by tariffs on US agricultural exports imposed by China in retaliation for the much more sweeping tariffs ordered by Trump.

There has been considerable criticism of Trumps trade war measures by the Democrats, but it has been within a framework of endorsing the campaign against China, demonizing China as the main US rival, and calling on Trump to stop provoking trade conflicts with the European Union (EU), Canada and Mexico in order to recruit them as allies in the anti-China campaign.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was the most explicit. We should not be having a multifront war on tariffs, he said May 14. I would focus everything on China. And get the Europeans, Canadians and Mexicans to be on our side and focus on China. Because they are the great danger. Schumer has repeatedly urged Trump to stay tough on China.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters May 13 that Trumps imposition of tariffs on China was in recognition that something needed to be done. Referring to the ongoing trade talks with Beijing, she said, I wish him success in the negotiation. But as I say, we have to use our leverage without antagonizing those who are on our side on this. That was a reference particularly to the EU.

Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, also a Democrat, told The Hill that Trump was not going into this fight with allies. It isnt targeted. Its just kind of across-the-board tariffs. The former Merrill Lynch assistant vice president and Paine Webber vice president added, I think the way he has done it has not been thoughtful at all.

Senator Doug Jones of Alabama echoed Schumer. What I've got a concern about is going it alone, he said. At the same time we started this with China, we were also kicking our European allies in the shins and we were kicking Canada in their shins and we were kicking Mexico.

Virtually all the commentary by Democratic presidential candidates has been along similar lines. They support trade war with China, and only object to Americas taking on the entire world as ill-thought-out and potentially damaging economically. According to one study, however, the China tariffs imposed by Trump will cost the typical US family of four nearly $2,400 annually in higher prices on imported goods, and wipe out 2.2 million jobs.

Former Vice President Joe Biden made an initially critical response to Trumps imposition of tariffs, suggesting that the Chinese economy was not really a serious threat to US global domination. He was swiftly attacked both by Trump and by nearly all his opponents for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Campaigning in New Hampshire, Biden reiterated his concerns about the impact of the tariffs. The American worker is getting killed by this, he said Monday on WMUR. The American farmers are getting killed. But in a concession to the prevailing anti-Chinese campaign, he declared, If they want to trade here, theyre going to be under the same rules.

Former Texas Representative Beto ORourke issued a statement warning that any trade deal between Trump and China should be carefully scrutinized. Holding China accountable should not come at the expense of American workers, he said. That is why we must not settle for any deal that does not respect intellectual property, level the playing field in the Chinese market, nor end unfair trade practices. In effect, that means no deal that does not force a complete restructuring of the Chinese economy, as the most extreme trade hawks in the Trump administration are demanding.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, like Schumer, called for mobilizing US allies against China, rather than alienating with further tariffs. It is in the interests of the United States to work to strengthen institutions like the WTO [World Trade Organization] and the UN rather than trying to go it alone, his statement reads. American concerns about Chinas technology practices are shared in Europe and across the Asia-Pacific. We can place far more pressure on China to change its policies if we work together with the broader international community and the other developed economies.

Sanders added a note of rabid anti-communism, declaring, The Trump administration has also done nothing to pressure China over its abhorrent treatment of the Uighur and Tibetan peoples. Future trade negotiations should, for example, target American corporations that contribute surveillance technologies that enable Chinas authoritarian practices. The plight of the Uighur and Tibetan minorities has been used for decades as a pressure point by the CIA to threaten China with possible secession and disintegration.

Sanders concluded with a salute to Trump: The Trump administration is correct to put pressure on China to reform its practices, and I hope that some good comes from current trade negotiations.

Less prominent Democratic presidential candidates have added their own notes of anti-Chinese and anti-communist hysteria.

Representative Eric Swalwell of California cited his role as a member of the House Intelligence Committee: Ive seen first-hand the economic espionage that China commits and the adverse impact it has on American businesses. China has not been forthright in even admitting that intellectual property theft and technology transfer occurs. Nor is China transparent on its industrial subsidies. Curbing Chinas dishonest practices must be part of any negotiations; as president, I would hold China accountable.

Swalwell called for Justice Department criminal prosecution of Chinese companies, such as the current effort to extradite a top official of the Huawei electronics giant, detained in Vancouver by the Canadian government at the request of the Trump administration.

Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio, whose district includes the devastated steel city of Youngstown, Ohio, chimed in, For too long China has succeeded in hurting Americas manufacturing industry by engaging in illegal steel and aluminum dumping. That is why I support targeted tariffs against Chinas steel and aluminum I have long been a supporter of taking action against currency manipulation, and leading legislation that would impose countervailing duties to offset the impact of manipulation.

Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, one of the Democratic candidates with the closest ties to Wall Street and global finance capital, denounced China in stridently anti-communist terms during a New Hampshire campaign swing. He called China a totalitarian regime that had to be confronted.

The Chinese have been taking advantage of this country and other nations on Planet Earth, he told an audience in Berlin, New Hampshire. They do not fight fair. They steal our intellectual property. They force the transfer of technology . . . We need to take them on. We need to fight them.

Former Democratic Representative John Delaney went even further, denouncing the Chinese as pirates and criticizing Trump for not recruiting more allies against Beijing. They steal intellectual property, they created illegal islands, they engage in disinformation campaigns, he said. I dont want to go to war with China, but we have to realize what were dealing with.

Delaneys comments are revealing. A war between the United States and China, the worlds two largest military powers, each nuclear-armed, would threaten the existence of humanity, and even all life on the planet.

Formulations like I dont want to go to war with China, but  only underscore the deadly logic of the conflicts between the major powers, propelled by the crisis of global capitalism, and the necessity for the working class to provide an alternative to the capitalist drift towards world war.
Since May 13, when protests began against the construction of an Orthodox church on a city square in Yekaterinburg in the Urals in Russia, 98 people have been arrested by Russian riot police.

Reflecting the incestuous relationship between the oligarchy, the state and the Orthodox Church that has emerged with the restoration of capitalism in Russia, the construction of the church is supported by the local authorities and funded in large measure by the two oligarchs Igor Altushkin (net worth $3.8 billion) and Andrei Kozitsyn (net worth $1.2 billion). Both of them made their fortunes in the Ural mining industry and maintain close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The protests began on Monday, drawing a crowd up of up to 2,000 people who occupied the park where the church is set to be built. The protests escalated into a violent clash overnight between demonstrators and the Russian riot police OMON, which is subordinated to the interior ministry. The OMON launched a brutal crackdown, arresting dozens that night. Several protesters were injured, including a 17-year-old boy. Since the protests began, 98 people have been arrested, among them several figures from the staff of the right-wing opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

On Thursday, President Putin intervened, calling for a city referendum on the construction of the church. The referendum is scheduled to be held on Saturday, May 18. Online polls have showed a majority of the city population opposing the construction of the church.

Since the beginning of the protests in Yekaterinburg, similar, smaller protests against the construction of buildings in parks and squares have been held throughout the country. Leaders of the protests in Yekaterinburg are now in the process of negotiating for a compromise with the local authorities.

The protests were immediately endorsed by the Western bourgeois media, which were quick to hypocritically denounce the violent police crackdown.

However, as reactionary as the planned construction of the church by the oligarchs and the state is, workers must be warned about the political forces that are leading the protests. They are closely aligned with the right-wing, imperialist-backed opposition of Alexei Navalny, whose local campaign staff were involved in organizing the protests.

One of the main figures behind the protests, Fedor Krasheninnikov, has a long record of right-wing political alliances in the region and is a member of the US-supported liberal opposition.

While still a student in 19941998, he was a member of the far-right nationalist Liberal National Democratic Party (LDPR) in Yekaterinburg, and the party's local city representative. The head of the LDPR, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, is notorious for his violent outbursts denouncing Jews, Sinti and Roma and immigrants in fascistic language and has, for the past two decades, functioned as a loyal opposition to Putin.

In the 2000s, Krasheninnikov founded a business consulting agency in Yekaterinburg and was part of various nationalist outfits, including the Party for the Resurrection of Russia (Partiia Vozrozhdeniia Rossii) which had close ties to the Stalinist and far-right nationalist Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF). He participated, in various capacities, in several gubernatorial and city duma elections.

In 2011, he co-founded the Peoples Freedom Party (Partiia Narodnoi Svobody), or PARNAS. The party was led by Boris Nemtsov until his murder under dubious circumstances in 2015. Nemtsov, as well as PARNAS as a whole, have long-held and well-known ties to the US State Department and the CIA. Also in 2011, Krasheninnikov co-wrote a book on transparent democracy with Leonid Volkov, one of Alexei Navalnys closest advisers. Krasheninnikov became a leading figure in the 20112012 anti-Putin protest movement by layers of the upper-middle class and has publicly attacked Putins foreign policy in Ukraine since 2014, denouncing the annexation of Crimea and the Russian invasion in the east of the country.

Krasheninnikov is one of the most influential political figures in the Urals, arguing for greater independence from Moscow, through a decentralization of the entire Russian Federation and regional autonomy for the Urals. At the protests this week, slogans like The Urals are ours, associated with this perspective, were reportedly shouted as well.

The business daily Kommersant in 2012 noted that Krasheninnikov was among the local businessmen who feel squeezed by Moscow [businessmen], fueling local separatist tendencies in the elites. In 2003, Krasheninnikov was on the campaign staff of Anton Bakov, the leader of the Monarchist Party of Russia, and considered the grey cardinal of the separatist tendency fighting for a Ural Republic. In 1993, a Ural Republic was very briefly proclaimed in parts of the Sverdlovsk region, of which Yekaterinburg forms part, but lacking any major base of support it was quickly disbanded by then-president Boris Yeltsin.

Under Putin, in particular, the Kremlin has pushed for strong centralized control by Moscow over the regions, following numerous major conflicts with regional elites in the 1990s. However, recent years have seen growing tensions between the oligarchs in Moscow and regional businessmen.

The protests in Yekaterinburg are part of the overall strategy of the imperialist-backed liberal opposition in Russia, which has a history of fomenting and supporting protests supposedly aimed at protecting the environment or green spaces, as well as secessionist and regionalist movements.

Historically, protests to defend parks, squares and environmental sites have formed the basis for alliances of the liberal opposition and the pseudo-left with extreme nationalist and monarchist forces. Such protests have also been supported by US imperialism. Among the most recent example were the protests over the Khimki forest near Moscow, which started in 2010. The leader of these protests, Yevgeniya Chirikova, a local businesswoman, was awarded a Women of Courage award by US Vice President Joe Biden in 2012.

The support of regionalist and separatist tendencies within sections of the local bourgeoisie in regions like the Urals, which is rich in energy resources and has a strong industrial base, has also been a major focus of the program of the liberal opposition, especially under Navalny. In his election programs and other statements, Navalny has repeatedly emphasized the need for greater regional autonomy, i.e., greater power for regional elites. Navalny also participated in several of the fascist Russian marches, where he shouted slogans like Stop feeding the Caucasus, a slogan that is not only racist, but also a code word for various separatist tendencies advocating the break-up of the Russian Federation in its current form.

US imperialism grants support to such forces and programs as part of its efforts to prepare regime change in Moscow and carve up the Russian Federation, to bring the resources of the former Soviet Union under its direct control.

Under conditions of a massive economic and social crisis, the promotion of these types of right-wing middle-class protests is also aimed at diverting attention from the major issues confronting the working class, above all the danger of a US-led war against Russia and the devastating social crisis. Russia has been hit extremely hard by the economic sanctions by the US and European Union following the beginning of the Ukraine crisis in 2014. Due to the Russian economys high dependence on oil prices, Russia is also set to suffer significant economic setbacks from the escalating US-China trade war.

In the Russian auto industry, hundreds of thousands of jobs are threatened, with the American company Ford laying off thousands of workers this summer. In the first quarter of this year, real wages, which have been declining for years, fell by another 2.9 percent, and consumer confidence measures fell to a historic low. In a poll, 79 percent said that they considered Russia to already be in a recession. Another poll earlier this year indicated that 80 percent of Russian households are struggling to buy even basic necessities.

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[9 January 2018]
The Legislative Council passed the Appropriation Bill 2019 today, and the Government will implement initiatives in the Budget as soon as possible, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said.

Speaking to the media after the bills passage, Mr Chan thanked legislators for their opinions during the vetting process.

He also thanked government officials and the LegCo Secretariat for their assistance.

Mr Chan noted the Budget was prepared against the backdrop of profound changes in the global political and economic landscape and a complex and volatile external environment.

External factors such as the Sino-US trade dispute have put downward pressure on Hong Kongs economy, he said.

Mr Chan added the Budget was prepared along the direction of supporting enterprises, safeguarding jobs, stabilising the economy and strengthening livelihoods.
By Sarah White

CANNES, France (Reuters) - Pedro Almodovar is used to a good reception from what he called "faithful" audiences in France - so much so, the director joked on Saturday that he was "Franco-Spanish".

His latest movie, a loosely autobiographical portrait of a tormented filmmaker, could up the ante for the Oscar winner after an enthusiastic response from critics at the Cannes Film Festival, where it is a contender for the top Palme D'Or award.

"Pain and Glory" reunites Almodovar long-time collaborators Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz in a wistful dive into the world of cinema and the highs and lows of creativity.

As ageing director Salvador, played by Banderas, looks back on his life, other themes dear to Almodovar take hold too, including the character's relationship with his mother and his explorations of desire and love.

"I project myself in this film, but it's not to be taken literally," Almodovar, wearing dark glasses, told a news conference following the movie's Cannes premiere the night before, where it received a standing ovation.

From a scene about Salvador's sexual awakening to a tense discussion with his mother, many episodes were invented, he said, adding though his experiences had informed the fiction.

"I did live through a love that was broken off at a moment when the flame was very much still alive, because of a set of circumstances," Almodovar said.

"That's a very painful thing. It's not natural to have to end it...it's like cutting off your own arm."

"DON'T ASK"

Delving into Almodovar's life was also a challenge for a cast deeply connected to the director - starring in his early movies propelled both Banderas and Cruz into international stardom.

Cruz, who featured in "All About My Mother" and "Volver" among other Almodovar classics, said she had felt unusually shy about grilling the filmmaker in preparation for "Pain And Glory", where she plays the protagonist's mother.

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"It was curious," Cruz said. "I think there was a form of respect towards someone who is laying themselves bare...There was something inside me that made me think 'don't ask'".

Banderas said he had tried to wipe the slate clean in his eighth collaboration with Almodovar.

"To create this character I had to kill Antonio Banderas," he said.

Almodovar, 69, headed the jury at Cannes in 2017, but has never won the Palme D'Or.

"Pain And Glory", which already premiered in Spain, was one of the filmmaker's "best and most personal movie in years", IndieWire critic Eric Kohn wrote after its Cannes screening.

"Driven by Banderas' lovely, nuanced turn and the slow-burn exposition, it's impossible not to feel the emotional turmoil on both sides of the camera," Kohn said.

Almodovar's "All About My Mother" won the best foreign language film Oscar in 2000 while his drama "Talk To Her" clinched the best original screenplay Academy Award in 2003.

(Reporting by Sarah White; Editing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian)
In a dingy clinic, a newborn child is whisked away from her exhausted mother, supposedly for routine health checks, and is never returned; in short order, the clinic vanishes into thin air too, leaving the stolen babys bewildered, impoverished parents with no recourse. The premise of Song Without a Name is at once fact-based and the stuff of shadowed, surreal nightmares, and Peruvian writer-director Melina Leons artfully affecting debut feature splits the difference: Earthy with social detail from a despairing period of Perus recent history, its also shot, scored and styled like the most beautiful of bad dreams.

The films wistful, elegiac tone, immaculate monochrome cinematography and compassionate focus on disenfranchised indigenous women will inevitably prompt surface-level comparisons to Alfonso Cuarons Roma  which can hardly hurt Song Without a Names distribution prospects as it embarks upon what will likely be a gilded festival run, beginning with a prime spot in Cannes Directors Fortnight. But Leons far more modestly scaled Latin American period piece is entirely its own film, meshing verite-style technique with passages of dark, folkloric reverie, as its characters investigation of a single kidnapping spirals into a heady vortex of institutional corruption. From a narrative point of view, this Song misses a couple of notes, with a few too many strands left, well, stranded in melancholy limbo. Atmospherically, however, its lilting and full.

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While the film is set in 1988, midway through the first of controversial populist Alan Garcias two non-consecutive terms as Perus president, the events it fictionalizes date from earlier in the decade: Leons lean screenplay, co-written with Michael J. White, draws particular inspiration from a child trafficking case uncovered by her journalist father Ismael, to whom the film is dedicated. (It also evokes similar, more widely publicized stolen-children crises from Franco-era Spain and Pinochet-era Chile, recently addressed in the documentary The Silence of Others.) An opening montage gathers scratchy archive footage from demonstrations by the communist terrorist group Shining Path, which held the country in a state of panic through much of the 1980s, though the film subsequently wears its political allusions more obliquely.

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In one sense, the films precise period context is almost moot, given how effectively d.p. Inti Briones and production designer Gisella Ramirez create a rural Peru of sparse, misted statelessness  in tight, secretive Academy ratio, to boot. Our protagonist Georgina (Pamela Mendoza) can scarcely be said to live differently in 1988 than she would have done several decades before: A destitute Quecha villager from the outer limits of Lima, she scrapes together a living selling potatoes at the local market and shares a skeletal wooden hut with her likewise worked-to-the-bone husband Leo (Lucio Rojas). Heavily pregnant with their first child, shes drawn by a radio ad to a private clinic offering free natal care to expecting mothers. As Georgina delivers the child, the camera remains closely fixed on her pained face: Neither we nor she ever see the baby girl that is taken out of her, and by the time shes brusquely told to vacate her bed for the next patient, its almost as if she never gave birth at all.

Sent home over her protests, shes told to collect her baby the next day, only for the clinic to vacate the premises overnight. Officials are indifferent to Georgina and Leos tale of woe, sending them instead on a fruitless trail of departments and paperwork; in desperation, Georgina turns up at the office of the national newspaper, finally finding a sympathizer in shy young journalist Pedro (Tommy Parraga), whos promptly set on the case.

Just as Song Without a Name seems headed into urgent procedural territory, however, its narrative splinters to disorienting effect. As Georginas angst simmers in the background, Pedros investigation takes its own eerie, circuitous shaggy-dog course, while we also follow the closeted, unreadable journos burgeoning romance with sexy traveling thesp Isa (Maykol Hernandez)  the least developed and integrated of the films subplots, this nonetheless establishes the otherwise dissimilar Pedro and Georgina as kindred spirits of sorts in a country politically hostile to minorities.

Even when her storytelling turns opaque, Leons world-building remains mesmerizing, steeped as it is in local lore, rituals and haunting traditional music. Strains of Andean charango meld with the more contemporary ambient textures of Pauchi Sasakis score, while Briones imagery is a constant marvel, whether finding the poetry in hailstones bouncing off asphalt or silhouetting Georginas daily, mountainous commute in long shot, like storm-blown frames of shadow theater. Yet her struggles are never daintily aestheticized; short but stately, Song Without a Name dreams and dramatizes historical tragedy with a suitable sense of sorrow.

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In an equitable world, Levan Gelbakhiani, the lead actor in the Tbilisi-set And Then We Danced, would be thrust to stardom for his extraordinary performance as a dancer who finally acts on his gay desires. But this is far from an equitable world, and though the uneven film is likely to get significant attention on the arthouse scene, it will require several visionaries to realize the international potential of a young Georgian actor-dancer with a gift for captivating the screen.

Following its launch in Directors Fortnight at Cannes, writer-director Levan Akins third feature should easily leap beyond the LGBT ghetto and find love among multiple demographics. But as in Akins first film, Certain People, the script here too often slips into cliche, yet the filmmaking skills are frequently exceptional and Gelbakhiani is riveting. Akin goes to great lengths to ensure that audiences unfamiliar with Georgian customs appreciate just how formalized and conservative traditional Georgian dance can be in a country not exactly known for socially liberal leanings.

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When first seen in the studio, Merab (Gelbakhiani) is berated by instructor Aliko (Gogidze) for not being formulaic enough: His eyes are too playful, his posture too soft. There is no sex in Georgian dance! thunders the brooding ballet master, but just at that moment in walks Irakli (Bachi Valishvili), a new student who immediately captures Merabs eye.

Dance is in Merabs DNA: His separated parents Teona (Tamar Bukhnikashvili) and Ioseb (Aleko Begalishvili) and grandmother (Marika Gogichaishvili) were all professionals, though their moments in the sun were brief, and his troublemaking brother David (Giorgi Tsereteli) is also at the school, despite lacking the same sense of vocation. Hard-working Merab is drawn to impish Irakli, a rule-breaker who easily raises Alikos hackles, and the two are occasionally paired in male duets whose macho nature is subverted by Merabs feelings of attraction.

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Upcoming national auditions increase tension, so a break for the troupe at the countryside house of Merabs dance partner Mary (Ana Javakishvili) is a welcome chance for everyone to let off steam, with the help of alcohol. Late at night, Merab and Irakli find themselves alone, and a shirtless Merab tosses on a woolly white papakha hat as he dances to Robyns Honey, with its deliciously provocative line, Come get your honey. Its an outstanding scene, showcasing Gelbakhianis bewitching screen presence and joy-giving dance moves, yet just at the moment when the viewer is eager to let the scene play out to the end of the song, Akin inexplicably cuts away, undermining the build-up.

Later, when the two young men finally make love, the act opens up a floodgate of emotions for Merab, who cant think of anyone else but Irakli. Hovering over his passion is the cautionary story of a former dance school pupil, now an object of ridicule, whose coming out was the start of a fast decline leading to a life of hustling on the streets. Thats what Mary is terrified will happen to Merab as she watches her friend, once a potential boyfriend, open himself up to desires that pit him headlong against the countrys very conservative traditions.

Mary (sympathetically played by Javakishvili) is but one of several underwritten characters whose stereotyped function  in her case, as the hesitant but ultimately supportive female friend  cries out for at least a bit more development to avoid the sense that weve seen this figure far too many times. David too is a cliche throughout most of the film, his gift for screwing up rather loosely drawn, but then almost at the end, Akin includes a scene between the two brothers of rare emotional depth that highlights even further the dissonance between the expertly conceived moments and their weaker counterparts. The director, born in Sweden to Georgian parents, has stated that he developed his story following numerous interviews with gay Georgians, and while theres no arguing the truth of the situations, the script needs sharper writing to translate commonalities into a fresher, more trenchant storyline.

That said, its important to add that for audiences less familiar with the robust back catalog of coming-out stories, And Then We Danced is certain to touch many receptive chords. This goes beyond the basic truths of the narrative, with its predictable trajectory, and can firmly be ascribed to the films exceptional technique and exciting lead actor. Gifted as both a thrilling dancer and a nuanced actor, Gelbakhianis magnetic presence goes a long way toward papering over some of the more timeworn plot elements (an injured foot subplot, for example, is especially unnecessary), and the film should make audiences clamor for more vehicles that feature his seemingly effortless ability to radiate joy.

Also deserving significant praise is the visual language Akin crafts through his collaboration with cinematographer Lisabi Fridell (Something Must Break), whose marvelously fluid camerawork elides with the emotional states of protagonists and audience. For example, during a scene at a party toward the end, the camera glides through the rooms, fixed on Merab in a moment of crisis, and then loses him only to seamlessly find him through a window, one floor below on the street. Its a masterful shot, quietly bravura without calling attention to itself. Editing is also a strong suit, apart from that frustrating cut during the Robyn song.

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Dozens of Graduates and Faculty Walk Out in Protest Before Mike Pence's Commencement Address Students and Faculty Walk Out of Mike Pence's Commencement Address

Dozens of Taylor University faculty members and graduating students walked out of Mike Pences commencement speech on Saturday morning.

The group quietly exited the auditorium in protest of the appropriateness of Pences presence at the graduation ceremony in Upland, Indiana. Shortly before the vice president delivered the nondenominational Christian liberal arts schools commencement speech, many were seen leaving their seats.

The protest had been planned beforehand, as controversy surrounded his invitation to speak at the commencement ceremony when it was announced earlier this month, according to the Indianapolis Star.

RELATED: Openly Gay Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg Challenges Mike Pences Anti-LGBTQ History  and Pences Team Responds

Pence, 59, has remained a controversial figure in an already controversial Trump administration, with the former Indiana governor having a history of anti-LGBTQ political positions.

During his commencement address, he took the opportunity to express his religious beliefs in front of the 494 graduates

Throughout most of our American history its been pretty easy to call yourself a Christian, but things are different now, Pence said during his speech, according to the Star. Lately, its become acceptable, even fashionable, to malign traditional Christian beliefs.

Not everyone shared the protestors opinion of the Vice President, as Pence received a standing ovation after the walkout.

But for the dozens of graduates and faculty members who left in protest of Pences speech, the walkout made the statement that his presence was not entirely welcomed by the Taylor University student body.

I thought it was a really inappropriate decision, graduate Laura Rathburn, who joined protestors in walking out on Pences commencement address, told the Star. I think his presence makes it difficult for everyone at Taylor to feel welcomed.

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Stickers created by the schools social work department and distributed to the protestors read, We are Taylor too, in protest of the Vice Presidents speech.

Evan Vucci/AP/REX/Shutterstock

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Pence is the first official from the U.S. executive branch to speak at the Christian university of about 2,500 students.

Protesters cited the lack of input from students and faculty regarding the choice of Pence for the ceremonys commencement speech.

Pence spoke last Saturday at Liberty Universitys commencement ceremony in Lynchburg, Virginia, and is scheduled to speak to U.S. Army cadet graduates at West Point next Saturday.
After being detained for nearly 24 hours at Brazils Sao PauloCongonhas Airport, Holland Roden, known for her performance of Lydia Martin in the MTV series Teen Wolf, was allowed into the country.

On Saturday, Roden, 32, shared that her ordeal was finally over.

Sharing a screengrab of one of political writer Alex Mohajers tweets in which he wrote that the Teen Wolf actress had been granted entry into Brazil, Roden wrote in the caption: It was an ordeal, but I am so grateful to the MRE, US consulate, and especially Caroline and Adriana at LATAM airlines for separating from the pack and not only empathizing with our situation but actively pursuing a solution. This experience could have been far far worse, I consider myself invaluably lucky.

On Friday, Roden, 32, arrived in Brazil to attend the 4U Experience fan event taking place on Saturday when she was stopped by officials who claimed that her visa was invalid.

The star claimed she had been treated like a criminal and denied water and food by authorities.

In a statement previously shared with PEOPLE, a representative for Roden confirmed that the actress was detained.

Her visa is valid and has traveled to the country two times this year with the same visa, the statement read.

We are desperately seeking help from the U.S. embassy and Brazilian government, the statement continues. We fear they will send her back without reevaluating her situation. The only person she knows there is her agent, Michael Brooks, and the Brazilian officials are treating them like criminals and are trying to separate them. We need the public to know about this aggressive and uncalled for behavior.

Holland Roden | Sara Jaye Weiss

RELATED: Mom Detained in Dubai After Drinking Free Glass of Wine on Her Flight Reunites with Family

We are aware of reports of the detention of a U.S. citizen in Brazil. The Department of State takes its obligation to assist U.S. citizens abroad seriously. We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular services in cases where U.S. citizens are detained/arrested abroad, a State Department spokesperson told PEOPLE

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Roden thanked her fans in Brazil in a lengthy Instagram post that detailed her confusion over officials claims that she had an invalid visa.

Sharing a screengrab of political writer Alex Mohajers tweets in which he wrote that the Teen Wolf actress was being treated aggressively, Roden wrote in the caption, After two years of traveling to Brazil with this passport and this visa with no problems, to meet fans and make friends, I am taken aback by the accusations and the treatment that faced me from the Brazilian Police today. I am shocked that this is the same Brazil I know and love. I hope I get to see all of you tomorrow.

RELATED: Teen Wolf Star Holland Roden Shares Her Top Five Summer Makeup Secrets

And in addition to addressing those concerned for her, Roden made a plea for any help or assistance.

We are doing everything we can, she continued. We know how many cars, buses, and planes yall took to come see usand dont want to let you down. Please urge your country to have reasonable treatment to people entering the country with valid identification. If you know ANYONE please help us out  This time is no different than any other time I have come here: twice in the last two years.  to the Brazilian fans.

RELATED: Tyler Posey Reveals If Hed Be Up For a Teen Wolf Reunion

And while she thanked a LATAM Airlines employee, and fans who may have recognized her and spread the word of her detainment, she mentioned that her situation was dire.

Some fans recognized us in the airport, she added. I can only assume they spread the word when they saw me getting detained..not be given answers.. be dismissed..be screamed at..be refused a translator..food..and water for four hours. And thank you to the one lone LATAM employee doing her job- the last three have been an easy ride still being detained -bc of her Thank u . And for that I say thank you to those sweet girls and @alexmohajer.
In the opening scene of Werner Herzogs new feature Family Romance, LLC, a well-dressed, slightly nervous-looking man stops a 12-year old girl in Tokyo and explains that hes her father, who left the family when she was only 16 months old and would now like the rekindle the relationship. The man, Yuichi, and the girl, Mahiro, then have a lovely interlude looking at the cherry blossoms in Yoyogi Park.Its all very bucolic until the next scene, which reveals that hes actually been hired by Mahiros mother to impersonate her real father, who is deceased.And Family Romance, LLC just gets odder from there  especially if you realize that the guy playing the dad, Yuichi Ishii, actually runs a real Japanese company called Family Romance, and hes playing himself doing what he actually does for a living. A curious little meditation on the extent to which humans will go to make connections, and on the commodification of everything up to and including love, it is a fascinating film that will never be confused with one of Herzogs major works. But it nonetheless has moments of subtle and quintessentially Herzogian rhapsody.Also Read: 'Liberte' Film Review: An Exploration of Dangerous Sex in Revolutionary France (NSFW)The film was shot quickly and inexpensively; sometimes it has a haphazard, made-for-video look to it. But other times Herzog acheives moments of real elegance and beauty as he tells this thoroughly weird and occasionally true story (Herzog is credited with the screenplay) of a company that will satisfy your soul for a price.Family Romance, headed by Yuichi Ishii, does it all. Is your husband an alcoholic who cant be trusted to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding? Hire a new one. (Im so glad we rented a father, says the blushing bride as she adjusts her veil.) Are you afraid of the dressing-down youre going to get from your boss for making a mistake at work? Hire Ishii to take the blame for you. Has your life seemed humdrum ever since you won the lottery, and you cant replicate that feeling no matter how many tickets you buy? Talk to Yuichi, and hell make sure youre surprised by a check-toting sweepstakes team.The film never really gets judgmental about this kind of creepy commerce  Herzog just shows us one vignette after another, creating a gentle, pastoral tour through an unsettling new marketplace for emotion.Also Read: 'Little Joe' Film Review: Cannes Gets a Horticultural Horror FlickIn a way, its another side of the story told in Jessica Hausners Little Joe, which premiered in Cannes on Friday. But Hausner created an over-amped horror film with the story of a flower genetically modified to emit a scent that makes humans happy; Herzog doesnt over-amp anything, letting us find the disquieting aspects for ourselves.Family Romance, LLC skips lightly between stories, but Yuichi and Mahiro provide the throughline. And while the film doesnt really have anywhere to go after the first half hour or so, the complications that one would expect do arise eventually. This is going too far, isnt it? muses Yuichi to Mahiros mom, when he learns how attached the girl has become to him.Well, yeah  but you could pretty much argue that hiring a guy to pretend to be a preteen girls dead father was going too far in the first place. And while it happens quietly, you could say that what happens from there suggests that Yuichi is conning himself, too.Whos prepared to pay the price/For a trip to paradise, Cole Porter wrote about 90 years ago in Love for Sale, his ballad about a different kind of emotional and physical transaction. Family Romance, LLC, a quirky little film that is Werner Herzogs most satisfying non-documentary feature in a decade, suggests that lots of people are prepared to pay that price, but that what they get in the bargain may fall a bit short of paradise.Read original story Family Romance, LLC Film Review: Loves for Sale in Werner Herzogs Odd New Film At TheWrap

In the opening scene of Werner Herzogs new feature Family Romance, LLC, a well-dressed, slightly nervous-looking man stops a 12-year old girl in Tokyo and explains that hes her father, who left the family when she was only 16 months old and would now like the rekindle the relationship. The man, Yuichi, and the girl, Mahiro, then have a lovely interlude looking at the cherry blossoms in Yoyogi Park.

Its all very bucolic until the next scene, which reveals that hes actually been hired by Mahiros mother to impersonate her real father, who is deceased.

And Family Romance, LLC just gets odder from there  especially if you realize that the guy playing the dad, Yuichi Ishii, actually runs a real Japanese company called Family Romance, and hes playing himself doing what he actually does for a living. A curious little meditation on the extent to which humans will go to make connections, and on the commodification of everything up to and including love, it is a fascinating film that will never be confused with one of Herzogs major works. But it nonetheless has moments of subtle and quintessentially Herzogian rhapsody.

Also Read: 'Liberte' Film Review: An Exploration of Dangerous Sex in Revolutionary France (NSFW)

The film was shot quickly and inexpensively; sometimes it has a haphazard, made-for-video look to it. But other times Herzog acheives moments of real elegance and beauty as he tells this thoroughly weird and occasionally true story (Herzog is credited with the screenplay) of a company that will satisfy your soul for a price.

Family Romance, headed by Yuichi Ishii, does it all. Is your husband an alcoholic who cant be trusted to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding? Hire a new one. (Im so glad we rented a father, says the blushing bride as she adjusts her veil.) Are you afraid of the dressing-down youre going to get from your boss for making a mistake at work? Hire Ishii to take the blame for you. Has your life seemed humdrum ever since you won the lottery, and you cant replicate that feeling no matter how many tickets you buy? Talk to Yuichi, and hell make sure youre surprised by a check-toting sweepstakes team.

Story continues

The film never really gets judgmental about this kind of creepy commerce  Herzog just shows us one vignette after another, creating a gentle, pastoral tour through an unsettling new marketplace for emotion.

Also Read: 'Little Joe' Film Review: Cannes Gets a Horticultural Horror Flick

In a way, its another side of the story told in Jessica Hausners Little Joe, which premiered in Cannes on Friday. But Hausner created an over-amped horror film with the story of a flower genetically modified to emit a scent that makes humans happy; Herzog doesnt over-amp anything, letting us find the disquieting aspects for ourselves.

Family Romance, LLC skips lightly between stories, but Yuichi and Mahiro provide the throughline. And while the film doesnt really have anywhere to go after the first half hour or so, the complications that one would expect do arise eventually. This is going too far, isnt it? muses Yuichi to Mahiros mom, when he learns how attached the girl has become to him.

Well, yeah  but you could pretty much argue that hiring a guy to pretend to be a preteen girls dead father was going too far in the first place. And while it happens quietly, you could say that what happens from there suggests that Yuichi is conning himself, too.

Whos prepared to pay the price/For a trip to paradise, Cole Porter wrote about 90 years ago in Love for Sale, his ballad about a different kind of emotional and physical transaction. Family Romance, LLC, a quirky little film that is Werner Herzogs most satisfying non-documentary feature in a decade, suggests that lots of people are prepared to pay that price, but that what they get in the bargain may fall a bit short of paradise.

Read original story Family Romance, LLC Film Review: Loves for Sale in Werner Herzogs Odd New Film At TheWrap
EXCLUSIVE: Heres a first international trailer for A-list festival regular Karim Ainouzs Cannes Un Certain Regard drama The Invisible Life Of Euridice Gusmao, which is being sold on the Croisette by The Match Factory.

RT Features, Pola Pandora, Sony Pictures, Canal Brasil and The Match Factory are behind the Portuguese-language tropical melodrama about two sisters struggling to define themselves in the machista culture of midcentury Brazil. Sony plans to release the film wide in Brazil in November 2019, followed by the rest of Latin America.

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The story begins in Rio de Janeiro in 1950. Euridice, 18, and Guida, 20, are two inseparable sisters living at home with their conservative parents. Although immersed in a traditional life, each one nourishes a dream: Euridice of becoming a renowned pianist, Guida of finding true love. In a dramatic turn, they are separated by their father and forced to live apart. The sisters take control of their separate destinies, while never giving up hope of finding each other.

Pic stars Carol Duarte, Julia Stockler, Barbara Santos and Gregorio Duvivier, with a special appearance by Fernanda Montenegro (Central Station). Inspired by the novel of the same name by Martha Batalha, the screenplay was written by Murilo Hauser and co-written by Ines Bortagaray and Ainouz.

The film was shot by Helene Louvart (Happy as Lazzaro), edited by Heike Parplies (Toni Erdmann), and produced by Rodrigo Teixeira (RT Features), Michael Weber and Viola Fugen (both Pola Pandora).

Ainouzs first six films have played at Berlin, Cannes or Venice. This is his seventh film. His previous feature was documentary Central Airport THF which premiered at the 2018 Berlinale (Panorama).

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Screenwriter Diablo Cody says her Oscar-winning script for Juno probably would not have been written in todays political climate.

Speaking on the Crooked Media Keep It! podcast, Cody said the pro-life legislation in Alabama and Georgia would have influenced her writing choices. Juno came out in 2007 and tells about a pregnant teenager who gives up her baby for adoption rather than choosing abortion. The film was a smash that went on to gross more than $143 million at the box offie.

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I dont even know if I would have written a movie like Juno if I had known that the world was going to spiral into this hellish alternate reality that we now seem to be stuck in, Cody said.

Podcast host Kara Brown asked Cody if the films teenager, played by Ellen Page, would have chosen a different path if the story were written today.

I think I probably would have just told a different story in general, Cody said. I wasnt thinking as an activist; I wasnt thinking politically at all.

Cody feels that the 2007 films message is being distorted to suit certain agendas, and said she is as pro-choice as a person could possibly be.

Jason Reitman, the films director, also has complained that the film is being embraced by the pro-life movement.

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Netherlands won the 64th Eurovision Song Contest in Israel on Sunday in a songfest that passed off without serious incident, despite calls by pro-Palestinian groups to boycott the event.

Duncan Laurence singing 'Arcade' beat off 25 other contestants in the grand final in Tel Aviv to win the glass microphone trophy.

The 41-country singing competition featured a guest appearance by Madonna, who caused some controversy when two backing dancers briefly appeared on stage wearing costumes emblazoned with the Israeli and Palestinians flags. Iceland's contestants also displayed small Palestinian banners during the voting.

With its victory, the Netherlands wins the right to host next year's competition.

(Reporting by Stephen Farrell)
Filmmakers often head to television in search of a broader canvas to tell their stories. Its usually less attractive to those who relish texture over plot, as well as cinematic experimentation. In recent years, Nicolas Winding Refn has veered closer to that category, constructing a moody body of work around expressionistic showdowns that build to bloodiness with grim finality. But as television continues to provide more room for innovation, Refns 10-part hitman saga Too Old to Die Young, a 13-hour Amazon mini-series premiering on Amazon this summer, arrives right on schedule.

As if to assure fans he hasnt abandoned his filmmaking bonafides, Refn premiered two episodes of the show at the Cannes Film Festival, where he first solidified his grimy auteur status with Drive. Since the festival only screened episodes 4 and 5 from the show, its hard to assess the full picture of this sprawling effort, since each installment runs feature length. Still, the 138 minutes that Refn presented on the grand screen of the Lumiere Theater offered a substantial look at at the maniacal project, which is doused in the directors standard blend of deliberate pacing, shadowy characters, and bursts of ultra-violence.

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While Too Old to Die Young has been conceived as a single story, episodes 3 and 4 (North of Hollywood, West of Hell) seem to have been selected because they offered just enough detail to work on their own. Refn snipped the credits in between the episodes to allow the pair to work as a single feature, though they have a complimentary feel, with one character-based episode setting up a lengthy, suspenseful confrontation in the next one.

Viewed as a single unit, the episodes were a mixed bag of self-serious storytelling and pulpy action, with whispery exchanges that drag on for minutes at a time, set against Refns standard subterranean vision of an ominous modern-day Los Angeles. It also displayed Refns standard penchant for vulgar showmanship, with a narrative steeped in sword-wielding Yakuza and evil pornographers, against the backdrop of a killer coming to terms with his craft. The centerpiece of the show is a detective named Martin (Miles Teller), who moonlights as a hitman under the guidance of veteran killer Viggo (John Hawkes). Early on, after Martin kills his latest mark, the pair visit a PTSD therapy session as if to expunge the stress of the job; instead, theyre simply tracking another mark.

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As the episode begins, the somber, soft-spoken Martin already seems to have grown frustrated with his murderous routine, and comparisons to HBOs own conflicted hitman with Barry will be inevitable. But whereas Barry revolves around the moral conflicts of one man, Refn aims for a grander thematic scope.

Its a big swing from a filmmaker who typically favors excess over nuance, and he wastes no time blasting out his themes: As the two men look out at the L.A. landscape from high above, a stone-faced Hawkes delivers a rambling apocalyptic monologue about the savage nature of human beings, cites Copernicus, and makes the case for the impending collapse of civilization. We became slaves in the system we built, he says, as the scene drags on. Refn has always been an unhurried filmmaker, and constructs visually compelling worlds that often shimmer with mysterious intent, but scenes like this display some of his most obnoxious tendencies toward pointless overstatement.

Fortunately, things pick up from there, once Martin faces a crisis of confidence over his murderous routine after hes tasked with killing a man over a pithy $8,000 debt. His surprisingly sympathetic boss (Babs Olusanmokun) sends him on a more defensible mission to take down a pair of brothers filming rape porn. Refn relishes the creative challenge of crafting seedy villains beyond redemption, and while the ones he offers here have virtually no depth, they give Martin with just the motivation he needs to jump back into action.

The second episode begins with one of those brothers, played with disturbing relish by James Urbaniak, interviewing a terrified young man on camera before forcing him to take a date-rape pill and forcing several men on him. That harrowing sequence is matched later in the episode by one in which another man douses a woman in water before slicing off her underwear. Refn seems to relish the discomfort as a means of building toward comeuppance later in the episode, though it doesnt quite justify his slo-mo directon, which often feels invasive and fetishistic rather than simply emanating dread.

Regardless, once episode five gets past its sophomoric set-up (and Urbaniaks rather contemptible gay caricature), it finally sees Refn unleashing some genuine thrills. The episode culminates with an all-night car chase, with Teller pursued by gun-toting rapists, set to Barry Manilows Mandy that marks some of his best filmmaking since Drive, and maybe ever, and it also gives Teller  who glares and spits his way through the series, but never raises his voice  enough badass material to deepen his range as a hardened action star.

So theres certainly some potential in Too Old to Die Young, at least for audiences who can appreciate aspects of Refns dark style and punkish sensibility. The episodes offer a lot of eccentric tangents that may come to fruition in future episodes, including some murky details about Martins teen girlfriend (Nell Tiger Free) and her wealthy father (Billy Baldwin), as well as Martins Brazil-like office, where the chief detective leads a morning chant of Fascism before playing the ukulele.

Refn may be firing on all cylinders, but its unclear whether he has found a way to harmonize them. Thirteen hours is a lot of story for any director to juggle (Refns own trilogy of Pusher films came in at just over five hours, and was made over the course of a decade). The issue is that even if hes found a new media willing to house his more ambitious story, Too Old to Die Young will need many more gripping installments to make the approach click. The directors tendency to stage dialogue with longpausesanddeepstares expands many scenes to unnecessary lengths. At its best, the device means that deep-seated dread can accumulate over the course of an enigmatic interaction, but it can just as often slam the breaks for no good reason.

It remains to be seen if the show can make its many variables gel, but theres an inherent intrigue to watching the story in medias res and still find that it offers some measure of closure in its final moments. Perhaps the show will offer more enticing opportunities for its wayward hitman to mature, and showcase a side of Refns storytelling capabilities that extends beyond his earlier achievements. But when Too Old to Die Young reveals its full arc, it will have to deliver a whole lot of payoff to make each pregnant pause worthwhile.

Fortunate arrives at a payoff. Intrigue of watching story in medias res and still gaining a sense of closure. But when Too Old to Die Young reveals its full arc, will have to do that many times over to make each pregnant pause worthwhile.

Launch Gallery: 2019 Cannes Film Festival Red Carpet: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, and More (Photos)

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With a new Shaft movie on the way pairing three generations of bad mother-shut-your-mouths, Craft Recordings is celebrating the 1971 original with a new reissue of the soundtrack. Due out June 14th, the deluxe version features rare music from the film in addition to Isaac Hayes beloved, Grammy-winning Shaft album.

Many arent aware that Hayes Shaft OST and the music he wrote for the film dont actually match up. The Soul Man penned a number of moody instrumentals, such as the classic Theme from Shaft and Do Your Thing, which he recorded at MGM Studios in Culver City, California between tour dates. Two months later, after wrapping his tour, he hit the iconic Stax studios to re-record many of the songs. Its those recordings that became the landmark Shaft album most fans know and love.

It wasnt until a 2008 box set that the music present in the film itself was actually released. Now, some 48 years after the original film release, both collections of music will be available in one place.

(Read: The 100 Greatest Movie Soundtracks of All Time)

The 37-track, remastered deluxe edition will be presented as two CDs and limited to just 5,000 copies worldwide. A single-disc version featuring only Hayes well-known soundtrack will also be available.

The Roots Questlove penned the liner notes for the deluxe version. In his in-depth dissertation on Hayes music, he wrote,

Hayes was a specialist at mood music, in the sense that he knew how to employ orchestration and tempo to elicit emotions from his listening audience. Bumpys Lament is sad and contemplative, a perfect match for Gunns gangster, worried about the fate of his daughter. Walk to Regios approximates downtown energy with a pulsing bass and a chirping guitar that opens up into a fully orchestrated section. Do Your Thing is another straightforward song, brassy and sultry.

Pre-order the album via the Stax website. Find the artwork and full tracklist below.

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Shaft  Music from the Soundtrack

Deluxe Reissue Artwork:

Shaft deluxe edition soundtrack reissue

Shaft  Music from the Soundtrack Deluxe Reissue Artwork:

Disc 1  Original Soundtrack

01. Theme From Shaft

02. Bumpys Lament

03. Walk From Regios

04. Ellies Love Theme

05. Shafts Cab Ride

06. Cafe Regios

07. Early Sunday Morning

08. Be Yourself

09. A Friends Place

10. Soulsville

11. No Name Bar

12. Bumpys Blues

13. Shaft Strikes Again

14. Do Your Thing

15. The End Theme

Disc 2  Film Score

01. Theme From Shaft [Film Version]

02. Shafts First Fight

03. Reel 2 Part 2 / Cat Oughta Be Here

04. Bumpys Lament [Film Version]

05. Soulsville [Film Version]

06. Ellies Love Theme [Film Version]

07. Shafts Cab Ride [Film Version] / Shaft Enters Building

08. I Cant Get Over Losin You

09. Reel 4 Part 6

10. Reel 5 Part 1

11. A Friends Place [Film Version]

12. Bumpys Blues [Film Version]

13. Bumpys Lament (Reprise) [Film Version]

14. Early Sunday Morning [Film Version]

15. Do Your Thing [Film Version]

16. Be Yourself [Film Version]

17. No Name Bar [Film Version]

18. Shaft Strikes Again [Film Version] / Return Of Shaft

19. Cafe Regios [Film Version]

20. Walk From Regios [Film Version]

21. Shafts Pain

22. Rescue / The End Theme [Film Version]
The genre of violence for its own sake has been deeply explored in American cinema over the past 50 years, and adopted for better or worse by the most stylish of filmmakers who have followed in the footsteps of Martin Scorsese, David Lynch and Quentin Tarantino.But at this stage, its fair to ask what is the point when a talented filmmaker like Nicolas Winding Refn delivers an indulgent dive into nihilistic violence in Too Old to Die Young, an Amazon 10-part TV series whose first two episodes screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival this weekend?What are we discovering here? Miles Teller plays Martin, a cop turned contract killer with a suitably chiseled profile but no discernible motivation for blithely shooting random people from the criminal underworld for pay (or, on those occasions when hes really into the gig, for no pay).Also Read: Miles Teller Plays a Cop Turned Bad in 'Too Old to Die Young' Trailer (Video)Teller has almost no dialogue and in scene after scene stares into the middle distance with emotionless anomie, reacting neither to extreme violence nor to disturbing moments of sadism.An early scene of a group therapy session for individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder defines the excruciatingly slow pace that persists throughout the two installments shown in Cannes. The camera moves oh-so-deliberately around the circle of participants in the discussion group (bathed in eye-hollowing shadow like many scenes in the series) with the session followed by a jolt of parking lot bloodshed.The stultingly slow pace gives you plenty of time to wonder about the world that Winding Refn imagines, including the pastiche of apocalyptic right-wing radio, the Fascism! cheer at the Friday detective meet-up and a descent into rape-porn in Albequerque.Its a place where the sun rarely shines, where assassination targets routinely find themselves all alone in abandoned garages or dimly lit warehouses, conveniently available to be murdered. Even characters in the midst of conversation rarely look at one another.Also Read: Chris Hemsworth and Tiffany Haddish $50 Million Comedy 'Down Under Cover' Picked Up by ParamountThe stylized use of shadow, the ominous sound effects and flickering neon recall Winding Refns earlier works, which have occasionally sparked controversy but have seldom matched the thrilling filmmaking of Drive in 2009.We evolved through brutality, a radio host intones in the background of one scene, a hint to what Winding Refn may be aiming at. And John Hawkes as a mentor-killer accompanying Tellers Martin offers this gem: As the world fractures, someone has to be there to be protect innocence.In this world, women (of course) have the most marginalized roles imaginable. The series opens with a teenager preening on her bed for Teller, but we never find out why in these episodes. Jena Malone has a brief, non-sexual role as a champion for the cause of subversion.Winding Refn flirts dangerously with ideas of violence and amorality until they seem to become their own cinematic ends. And take this for what you will, by the time the piece rolled around to the murder-porn plotline and a nameless girl buried alive in the New Mexico sands by two pornographer brothers, I was one of five women (all film professionals!) standing in the back of the theater, ready to bolt.Read original story Too Old to Die Young Review: Miles Teller Embraces Slow Nihilism in Nicolas Winding Refn Series At TheWrap

The genre of violence for its own sake has been deeply explored in American cinema over the past 50 years, and adopted for better or worse by the most stylish of filmmakers who have followed in the footsteps of Martin Scorsese, David Lynch and Quentin Tarantino.

But at this stage, its fair to ask what is the point when a talented filmmaker like Nicolas Winding Refn delivers an indulgent dive into nihilistic violence in Too Old to Die Young, an Amazon 10-part TV series whose first two episodes screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival this weekend?

What are we discovering here? Miles Teller plays Martin, a cop turned contract killer with a suitably chiseled profile but no discernible motivation for blithely shooting random people from the criminal underworld for pay (or, on those occasions when hes really into the gig, for no pay).

Also Read: Miles Teller Plays a Cop Turned Bad in 'Too Old to Die Young' Trailer (Video)

Teller has almost no dialogue and in scene after scene stares into the middle distance with emotionless anomie, reacting neither to extreme violence nor to disturbing moments of sadism.

An early scene of a group therapy session for individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder defines the excruciatingly slow pace that persists throughout the two installments shown in Cannes. The camera moves oh-so-deliberately around the circle of participants in the discussion group (bathed in eye-hollowing shadow like many scenes in the series) with the session followed by a jolt of parking lot bloodshed.

The stultingly slow pace gives you plenty of time to wonder about the world that Winding Refn imagines, including the pastiche of apocalyptic right-wing radio, the Fascism! cheer at the Friday detective meet-up and a descent into rape-porn in Albequerque.

Its a place where the sun rarely shines, where assassination targets routinely find themselves all alone in abandoned garages or dimly lit warehouses, conveniently available to be murdered. Even characters in the midst of conversation rarely look at one another.

Story continues

Also Read: Chris Hemsworth and Tiffany Haddish $50 Million Comedy 'Down Under Cover' Picked Up by Paramount

The stylized use of shadow, the ominous sound effects and flickering neon recall Winding Refns earlier works, which have occasionally sparked controversy but have seldom matched the thrilling filmmaking of Drive in 2009.

We evolved through brutality, a radio host intones in the background of one scene, a hint to what Winding Refn may be aiming at. And John Hawkes as a mentor-killer accompanying Tellers Martin offers this gem: As the world fractures, someone has to be there to be protect innocence.

In this world, women (of course) have the most marginalized roles imaginable. The series opens with a teenager preening on her bed for Teller, but we never find out why in these episodes. Jena Malone has a brief, non-sexual role as a champion for the cause of subversion.

Winding Refn flirts dangerously with ideas of violence and amorality until they seem to become their own cinematic ends. And take this for what you will, by the time the piece rolled around to the murder-porn plotline and a nameless girl buried alive in the New Mexico sands by two pornographer brothers, I was one of five women (all film professionals!) standing in the back of the theater, ready to bolt.

Read original story Too Old to Die Young Review: Miles Teller Embraces Slow Nihilism in Nicolas Winding Refn Series At TheWrap
Heung Yuen Wai Highway, which connects Fanling Highway with the under-construction Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point, will open to the public at 8am on May 26.

The dual two-lane highway is about 11km long, including two road tunnels and viaducts. One of the tunnels - the 4.8km Lung Shan Tunnel - is the longest road tunnel in Hong Kong.

Vehicles from southbound and northbound of Fanling Highway can access Heung Yuen Wai Highway at the Fanling Highway Interchange.

The Transport Department noted the new highway will ease traffic congestion in the area. The journey time from Sha Tau Kok and Ta Kwu Ling to Sheung Shui, Tai Po and Kowloon will also be shortened.

The department's Assistant Commissioner Stella Lee said motorists can take the new highway to travel to Sha Tau Kok, Ping Yeung and Ta Kwu Ling.

They can make use of the new highway to directly connect to Fanling Highway without having to go by Fanling city centre, hence relieving the traffic there, she added.

To tie in with the highways opening, green minibus route 55K will operate short-working services during the weekday morning peak hours.

The route will provide a service from its terminus at Sha Tau Kok to Sheung Shui via Lung Shan Tunnel and Fanling Highway, which means travellers to Sheung Shui will see their journey time reduced by 10 minutes.

Police Superintendent Albert Tsang reminded motorists the highways speed limit is 80km per hour, adding that speed enforcement cameras are installed along the highway and in the two tunnels.

During the first week of the highways opening, traffic police will work with the Transport Department to monitor traffic conditions around the clock and deploy manpower to direct traffic when necessary.
An invigorating, poetic, and discretely brilliant Chinese noir that adds up to less than the sum of its parts, Diao Yinans The Wild Goose Lake cant help but feel like a mild comedown from the directors Berlinale-winning 2014, Black Coal, Thin Ice. To some degree, that disappointment may have been inevitable, as Yinans five-year-old masterpiece tapped into the kind of dark magic thats difficult to conjure twice. Alas, it doesnt necessarily help that Diaos first feature in five years treads similar territory as his previous work, as he once again steers his bleak genius towards the bitter indignities of Chinas second-tier cities, weaving a sibylline crime story of life and death through a world thats moving too fast to keep tabs on such things.

Both The Wild Goose Lake and Black Coal, Thin Ice are splattered with utterly indelible moments of violence and thwarted grace, but where the latter film was enigmatic and haunting, this one travels a more convoluted and frustrating road towards its eventual moment of transcendence. Its a minor work that nevertheless manages to certify the arrival of a major filmmaker.

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A native of Xian province who went on to become a student at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, Diao has canvassed much of his enormous home country over the last 48 years, and all of his films are rooted in a vivid  and often unforgiving  sense of place. The new one is no exception, as its locations drive the story from the opening scene. A cheeky translation of a Chinese title that literally means A Rendezvous at a Station in the South, The Wild Goose Lake begins on a wet night outside a dilapidated train station on the outskirts of Wuhan, where the rain pelts down hard enough to feel like an homage to Tsai Ming-liang.

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The story will eventually grow too complicated for its own good, but for now it couldnt be simpler: A handsome man with a bloody cut on his face is staring out into the darkness; a beautiful woman with a pixie haircut and a withholding smile offers him a light. He is Zhou Zenong (television star Hu Ge), a stoic mob boss whos on the run from the cops and the Jiang Hu alike. She is Liu Aiai (Gwei Lun-mei, the mousily dangerous femme fatale from Black Coal, Thin Ice), and her situation is a bit harder to explain. Lets just say that shes taking a quick break from her work as a bathing beauty (a sex worker who swims with her clients and conducts her business with them in the water), and has been hired to bring Zhou where he needs to go. Should I trust you?, he asks his mysterious new friend? Its a question that hovers over the rest of the film like a shadow, blanketing even the handful of daytime scenes in an ominous pall.

Jumping two days back in time, the first of several long flashbacks lays out how these two people came to find each other in front of a bright neon sign in the middle of nowhere. The long and short of it is that Zhou is caught up in a little tiff with his fellow gang members  an amusing presentation on how to steal a motorbike devolves into the kind of chaotic brawl thats fast becoming one of Diaos many signatures  and is then forced to compete with another crime family in the Olympic Games of thievery in order to settle the score. The torrent of grand theft auto that follows is rich enough to sustain an entire movie of its own; flecked by staccato moments of red lights carving through a starless night, and eventually punctuated by a sudden decapitation, this sequence is enough to make it clear that Diao could out-Refn the Neon Demon himself any day of the week.

But The Wild Goose Lake has bigger fish to fry, as Zhou accidentally kills a policeman, and escapes into an uncharted corner of the map with a 300,000 (~$40,000) bounty on his head. Liu is dispatched by her pimp to collect Zhous long-estranged wife and use her as bait, but the fugitive hopes to orchestrate things so that his partner collects the reward money in order to care for herself and their young son. It goes without saying that nothing happens according to plan, especially not once police Captain Liu (Black Coal, Thin Ice star Liao Fan) and his delinquent officers get involved in the case.

The cops never manage to pull their narrative weight, even though Diao has some fun rhyming the shared behavior between the police and their prey. Liao is a gifted actor, but his character is hardly afforded 10 lines of dialogue, and the movie around him is too plot-heavy to express Captain Lius full poetic value. Thats true of the entire supporting cast, as everyone aside from the two leads is reduced to a glorified prop  an empty vessel desperately trying to poke some holes into the vast purgatory around them.

For the most part, thats all Diao needs them to be, as the director is able to say more with bodies in motion than most filmmakers are with pages full of dialogue. Look no further than the hypnotic setpiece in which a public nighttime dance  in which everyone wears light-up shoes, and moves to all the same steps  dissolves into a frantic shootout. Or the hyper-elliptical chase that cuts between a single wide shot and a series of extreme close-ups of animal eyes and iron bars to suggest a police sting at a zoo. The climactic firefight, which kicks off with the years most inspired movie kill, finds the characters racing around the inside of an open-plan apartment complex, running in circles (or squares) after each other as the rest of the world shrugs the whole thing off.

A master of cinematic suggestion and a painter of unscreen space, Diao sometimes only needs one perfect shot to express how Zhou and Liu have become detached from the dignity theyre each hoping to reclaim. The primary conflict in The Wild Goose Lake is that between people and their own silhouettes. Liu is first seen through an umbrella that separates her from her shadow, as if shes been peeled away from her true self, and that motif recurs every time she has a chance of getting away with the money. Her not-quite-romance with Zhou roots its power in their mutual lack of betrayal  the bond is tellingly, if not erotically galvanized on a dingy as it drifts alone on the water  but the character is best defined by a stunning image of Gwei strolling along the beach with her work outfit on (a sunhat that provides several different kinds of shade), and walking by a mural that depicts a future development that taunts her like a fantasy.

Its never made clear why The Wild Goose Lake is set in 2012, but maybe Diao is just buying himself a few years; in a country thats constantly shedding its skin, even the most current movies can feel like period pieces by the time they hit screens. Liu is a product of that mutability, and perhaps able to use it for her own benefit. As usual in Diaos films, the women are endowed with a secret (and often dangerous) power, and the men are blindsided by their inability to see that.

Here, however, these ideas fray apart whenever the film tugs at them. The musicality of Diaos cinema has never been more symphonic, but it comes at the expense of his ability to properly conduct this script. The Wild Goose Lake broadens out every time you want it to contract and refocus, and by the time its heroes redouble their efforts to buy their way free of their bitter fortunes, weve lost track of the price they have to pay for it. Whatever the cost, Diaos latest film doesnt quite reward the investment required to see it through. Money is everything in a country thats never had more of it, but trust is still the most valuable commodity. Im alone, Liu tells Zhou when they first meet. I was waiting for you. Maybe its just a line, but The Wild Goose Lake would have been richer  or at least more romantic  if it had taken her at her word.

Grade: B-

The Wild Goose Lake premiered in Competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.

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After 22 years of homegrown success, the brand is ready to take the rest of the world on vacation.

Photo: Courtesy of Farm Rio

Summer dressing, when done right, should embody the carefree, toes-in-the-sand spirit of a sunny Saturday  think liberating silhouettes and vibrant colors and prints that match your mood after finishing a second glass of rose. Frocks have to facilitate dancing and sleeves, if present, must be bold. Farm Rio, a Brazilian-based brand, knows how to do just that.

Launched in 1997 by Katia Barros, an accountant with no formal design training, Farm Rio excels in creating playfully-patterned warm-weather wares that are primed for vacation. This is perhaps why when I asked Barros over the phone about the challenges she faced when starting a fashion label from scratch, she didn't seem to have many. "It was a success from day one," she says of her very first collection of colorful garments, which was sold at a small booth at a marketplace in Rio de Janeiro. "I felt like they wanted something that they didn't know they wanted because we didn't have it."

Despite working retail in college, Barros was so far removed from the world of fashion as an auditor; but maybe it was her outsider status that allowed her to see what the apparel market was lacking.

"I noticed that the fashion that we used to have here wasn't representing what Rio de Janeiro really is," Barros explains. So she, along with her friend Marcello Bastos, set out to start a label that would reflect the creative spirit of her hometown. Barros also enlisted the help of a few acquaintances who worked in the industry, but admits she was clueless about making the initial pieces. Shortly after, she went to back to school to study fashion design and has served as the company's creative director ever since.

Photo: Courtesy of Farm Rio

Each collection, which is packed with more than 400 prints, gives a joyful nod to the eclectic culture, vivid colors and striking nature found in Brazil. With everything from banana to punchy polka dot prints, the brand has a special design team that strategically pairs each garment with the perfect pattern  apparently an Amazon rainforest-inspired palm print works better with a long sleeve wrap dress than on a jumpsuit with cut-outs.

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The label is also heavy on traditional feminine details, like puff sleeves, lace trims and ruffles, as well as rainbow-hued crochet and samba-friendly silhouettes. In other words, it's aesthetic appears perfect for someone who has no bad days, like... ever. And it's this very happy aesthetic that made Farm Rio an immediate hit.

Once Farm Rio established a solid following among Ipanema beach-goers, it expanded to more Brazilian cities, like Sao Paulo. "Now we have 72 of our own shops and more than 1,000 sales points in Brazil," Barros notes, before adding that the goal is to become a global brand with stores all over the world.

Barros is confident in her ability to do so, granted the tiny two-man show that once consisted of her selling cheery skirts at a market has turned into a giant operation with a staff of 2,000 people, 80% of whom are women.

Photo: Courtesy of Farm Rio

Farm Rio has been quietly expanding into North America for a few years now, but it made a big splash this spring with the launch of its U.S. e-commerce site in March and the opening of a brick-and-mortar store in New York this April. The decision to move stateside came from the success of the brand's ongoing partnership with Adidas and the enthusiastic feedback it received from its past two years in Anthropologie and its new wholesale partner Shopbop.

"Adidas was kind of a crazy idea that I had," says Barros, who approached the sportswear giant around six years ago about a collaboration. She was initially rejected until she took matters into her own hands. "We got some products from their collection, and we made them colorful and very vibrant like ours for a campaign in Rio. We also made printed surfboards, skateboards, bikes and roller skates to give it that Rio-like style, and we sent it to them. They fell in love."

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The two companies have been working together ever since. "The sales are very good," Barrios says. "It's very different, but people love it."

Similarly, she says sales are already off to a good start since landing in the U.S. and on Shopbop. The few-weeks-old store in New York, notes Barros, is also doing well so far. The shop's interior, designed in partnership with Brazilian designer Marcelo Rosenbaum, features a sand-lined wooden deck, a functioning in-store flower and plant shop and large fitting room pods decorated with colorful cotton crochet, stones and crystals.

In addition to selling the label's signature collections, the retail post offers a curated selection of jewelry, home accessories and skin-care products created by various Brazilian vendors to give American customers a real taste of Copacabana.

The Farm Rio store in SoHo. Photo: Courtesy of Farm Rio

"When you have the experience, you understand the brand a lot better," Barros says of conceptualizing the store design and product assortment. "We love nature, we love colors, we love beaches, and we love our culture. We want people to understand the brand and understand why we do what we do."

Over the past 22 years, Farm Rio has earned the reputation as Brazil's most beloved lifestyle brand, and now it's ready to take the rest of the world on vacation.

"People from Brazil are so happy, and we have this amazing culture," Barros says. "I would love to show the world our culture through this brand. Maybe in five years we can have stores all over the world. That would be amazing. But we have to make it in the U.S. first."

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US President Donald Trump said he has to "temper" his National Security Advisor John Bolton, who is pushing a hard line on Iran (AFP Photo/MANDEL NGAN)

Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump on Friday said it is a "good thing" if Iran is confused by US policy.

In a tweet, Trump lambasted the media for what he said was its "fraudulent and highly inaccurate coverage of Iran."

But in his view, the coverage had one positive effect.

"At least Iran doesn't know what to think, which at this point may very well be a good thing!" he tweeted.

The White House has sent mixed signals in recent days, amid multiple US media reports of infighting in Trump's cabinet over how hard to push Washington's arch foe Iran.

The Trump administration has ordered non-essential diplomatic staff out of Iraq, citing threats from Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups, and sent an aircraft carrier and heavy B-52 bombers to the region.

According to US media reports, Trump's long-hawkish national security advisor John Bolton is pushing a hard line on Iran, but others in the administration are resisting.

Trump himself said recently that he has to "temper" Bolton.

On Thursday, when asked if there would be a war with Iran, Trump told CNN: "I hope not."

US coalition partners in Iraq had suggested earlier this week that the threat level there had not risen significantly, and members of Congress demanded to see the information behind the administration's apparent preparation for possible conflict.
(Recasts, adds quotes, details)

BEIJING, May 17 (Reuters) - China offered strong support to Iran on Friday, with its top diplomat telling Iran's foreign minister that China opposes unilateral sanctions and supports Tehran's efforts to safeguard its interests.

U.S.-Iranian tensions have escalated in recent days, bringing increasing concerns about possible conflict.

Iran has said it is committed to its obligations under an international nuclear deal despite the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement last year, and has called the re-imposition of U.S sanctions unacceptable.

Meeting in Beijing, Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi told Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that given the important and rapidly-evolving situation, the two needed to strengthen communication and coordination.

"China resolutely opposes the U.S. implementation of unilateral sanctions and so-called 'long arm jurisdiction', understands the current situation and concerns of the Iranian side, and supports the Iranian side to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests," China's Foreign Ministry paraphrased Wang as saying.

China appreciates Iran's full implementation of the nuclear deal and intention to stick to it, Wang added.

"The dispute surrounding the Iranian nuclear agreement is essentially a contest between multilateralism and unilateralism," he said.

China's Foreign Ministry cited Zarif as saying that Iran has no intention to withdraw from the nuclear agreement and opposes war. "The Strait of Hormuz maintains its status as an international transportation channel," the statement cited Zarif as saying.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have threatened to close the strategic waterway, through which a significant part of the world's oil supply flows.

China has close energy and business ties with Iran, but has to tread carefully as it has also cultivated good relations with Iran's regional rival, Saudi Arabia. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Catherine Evans and Andrew Cawthorne)
Reuters

Chinese citizens lashed out online against billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk's space ambitions on Monday after China complained that its space station was forced to take evasive action to avoid collision with satellites launched by Musk's Starlink programme. The satellites from Starlink Internet Services, a division of Musk's SpaceX aerospace company, had two "close encounters" with the Chinese space station on July 1 and Oct. 21, according to a document submitted by China earlier this month to the U.N.'s space agency.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren says its time to fight back against restrictive abortion laws recently passed in several states around the country  and has presented her plan for how to do it.

On Wednesday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill that essentially outlaws all abortions, including in cases of rape and incest. On Thursday, Missouris state Senate passed a bill that would ban abortions at eight weeks gestation. Earlier this year, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio and Mississippi passed heartbeat bills that effectively prohibit abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which is when doctors can normally begin to detect a fetal heartbeat. Additionally, Arkansas and Utah voted to limit abortions to the middle of the second trimester.

In a post published on Medium Friday morning, Warren argues that access to quality reproductive health services, including safe and legal abortion, is essential to a womans health and economic security, but systemic barriers have made it especially difficult for low-income women and women of color to get the access to reproductive care they need.

Part of her strategy to fix that, she explains, is for Congress to pass new laws to make it harder for states to pass stricter legislation.

Congress should pass new federal laws that protect access to reproductive care from right-wing ideologues in the states. Federal laws that ensure real access to birth control and abortion care for all women. Federal laws that will stand no matter what the Supreme Court does, the Massachusetts Democrat and 2020 candidate wrote.

She advocates for new federal laws that would prohibit states from interfering in the ability of a health care provider to perform abortion services, and ones that bar states from interfering in individuals abilities to access abortion services. Further, she calls on Congress to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which blocks women from using federally funded healthcare programs, like Medicaid, to access abortions.

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The blog post also advocates for revoking a controversial Trump administration rule, which a judge has temporarily blocked, that would bar healthcare facilities that provide abortion referrals from receiving federal funds for family planning.

This is just the latest of several recent Warren proposals. Since she announced she was running for president in February, shes put out a slew of policy plans, including granting extremely low-income families free childcare, erasing student loan debt impacting millions of Americans, rewarding hospitals that would make childbirth safer for African-American women, and addressing the opioid crisis in America. Earlier this week, she also released a proposal that seeks to limit the influence of lobbyists on the Department of Defense.

Regarding abortion rights, she cites widespread public support of the protections Roe v. Wade secured  noting that 71% of American voters believe it should not be overturned, according to a 2018 survey by NBC and the Wall Street Journal.

This is a dark moment. People are scared and angry. And they are right to be, Warren wrote. But this isnt a moment to back down  its time to fight back.
Vienna (AFP) - Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz dramatically pulled the plug on his coalition government and announced fresh elections Saturday after an explosive camera sting claimed the scalp of his far-right deputy.

Media reports on Friday alleged Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache promised public contracts in return for campaign help from a fake Russian backer he met on the island of Ibiza a few months before 2017's parliamentary elections in Austria.

"I have suggested to the president of the republic that new elections be carried out, at the earliest possible date," Kurz said in a televised statement.

On Friday Germany's Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung published hidden-camera recordings of the sophisticated sting operation at a luxury villa.

"After yesterday's video, I must say quite honestly: Enough is enough," said Kurz, adding that he had been personally insulted in the footage.

"The serious part of this (video) was the attitude towards abuse of power, towards dealing with taxpayers' money, towards the media in this country," he said.

Strache, 49, announced his resignation earlier on Saturday, saying he was the "victim of a targeted political attack" which had used illegal means to entrap him.

Loud cheers erupted at Kurz's announcement among the thousands of demonstrators who had gathered outside the chancellery building in central Vienna over the course of the day to demand the government's resignation.

The "Ibiza affair" scandal appears to have been the last straw for Kurz after a string of controversies over extremist sympathies among officials from Strache's Freedom Party (FPOe).

"Even if I didn't express myself publicly at the time, there were many situations that I found difficult to swallow," Kurz said of his time in government with the FPOe since December 2017.

He said that in meetings on Saturday, FPOe leaders hadn't shown the willingness to make the changes necessary to stay in government.

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- 'Stupid, irresponsible' -

President Alexander Van der Bellen said the videos showed a "disturbing moral image which does a disservice to our country and its people", and "a brazen lack of respect for our citizens".

"They are shameful images, and no-one should have to be ashamed of Austria," he said.

He said he would be meeting Kurz on Sunday to discuss the next steps in arranging elections.

In the recordings Strache and his party's group leader in parliament, Johann Gudenus, are seen discussing with a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch about how she can invest in Austria.

"Yes, it was stupid. Yes, it was irresponsible. Yes, it was a mistake," he said, describing what he did as "alcohol-influenced macho behaviour".

He appeared close to tears as he apologised to his family, friends and supporters, in particular his wife for trying to impress his "attractive host".

Strache said he was also resigning as FPOe leader, with Transport Minister Norbert Hofer taking over.

In the recordings, the woman says she specifically wants to gain control of the country's largest-circulation tabloid, the Kronen Zeitung.

Strache is seen suggesting that new owners could make staff changes and use the paper to help his party in its election campaign.

He goes on to say the woman would then be able to gain access to public contracts.

According to the newspapers, Strache says that there would be no resistance among the Krone's editorial staff as "journalists are the biggest whores on the planet".

Both the newspapers that published the footage say they don't have any firm information over who set up the elaborate sting.

- Politicians 'for sale' -

Strache in the footage evoked the possibility of privatising part of Austria's public broadcaster ORF and said he would like Austria's media landscape to resemble that of neighbouring Hungary.

Hungary's right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has overhauled the country's public media into a government propaganda organ while allies have steadily bought up swathes of the private media sector.

The FPOe has mounted repeated attacks on the ORF's coverage, accusing it of being biased against the party.

Strache also appeared to hint at possible ways political donations could be made to a foundation linked to the FPOe and not to the party directly, apparently in order to escape legal scrutiny.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacted to the scandal by warning of the dangers of far-right politicians "for sale".

"We are confronted with currents... who want to destroy the Europe of our values, and we must stand up to that decisively," Merkel said.

Austria's government had already been under pressure due to a stream of scandals linked to the FPOe. In April an FPOe vice-mayor had to resign after writing a poem comparing migrants to rats.

The putative link to Russia in the latest scandal is particularly embarrassing as the FPOe has a cooperation agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.

The perception of closeness to Russia wasn't helped by Putin attending the wedding of Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl -- nominated by the FPOe -- last summer.
Nearly three decades after the Supreme Court declared it had settled the national abortion debate with its Casey decree upholding Roe v. Wade, tens of millions of Americans stubbornly continue to believe that each human being is endowed with the unalienable right to life at her creation, not her birth.

This month, elected representatives in several states have acted upon this foundational belief: The Michigan senate passed a bill to protect unborn children from second-trimester dismemberment abortions; Georgia outlawed abortion once a babys heartbeat is detected (about four weeks after conception); and Alabama enacted a law to protect the lives of almost all unborn children once pregnancy is detected (about two weeks after conception).

Federal courts, following existing Supreme Court precedent, will certainly strike down the laws in Georgia and Alabama. But the Supreme Court should not continue to hold that state laws regulating abortion are unconstitutional, for the two simple reasons identified by Justice Scalia in his Casey dissent: (1) the Constitution says nothing about protecting a right to abortion and (2) American society had long permitted states to ban or otherwise regulate it.

Todays Supreme Court should acknowledge that it failed to settle the national debate on abortion. It should restore the right of the American people to enact laws protecting the lives of human beings who havent been born. It should finally act on the conclusion of Justice Scalias Casey dissent: We should get out of this area, where we have no right to be, and where we do neither ourselves nor the country any good by remaining.

All Americans who support the Constitution and the rule of law should favor dismantling an unjust and unconstitutional legal regime that imposes a policy of abortion-on-demand in all 50 states. The ultimate goal of all pro-life Americans goes beyond overturning Roe and Casey and merely returning the question to the states, of course: We work toward a society in which every child is protected by law and welcomed in life.

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Lawmakers in both Georgia and Alabama were acting upon this sound principle, but because lives are at stake, sound principles and pure motives arent all that matter. Pro-life Americans should think long and hard about whether their righteous impatience is leading them to make imprudent mistakes that will ultimately set back the cause of protecting life.

The abolitionist zeal on display in Alabama in particular runs the risk of making the ultimate extinction of abortion less likely. No, contrary to some false reporting in the media, neither Alabamas nor Georgias law would punish women who obtain abortions. (And Alabamas law permits abortion in three circumstances: When a mothers physical health is endangered; when an unborn child suffers from an anomaly that would cause its death shortly after birth; and when a psychiatrist certifies that the mother would likely commit suicide or kill her child without an abortion.) But unlike Georgias law, Alabama excluded a rape exception.

We have a good sense of what happens when the national debate focuses on banning abortion in this rare circumstance that accounts for less than 1 percent of abortions. In 2011 voters in Mississippi defeated an abortion ban that lacked this exception by 16 percentage points. In Alabama, laws cant be repealed via a voter-driven referendum, but pro-life lawmakers should care about how their actions affect the cause of protecting life throughout the country. Nationwide, more than 75 percent of Americans think abortion should be legal early in pregnancy when the pregnancy was the result of rape. Public opinion cannot be ignored in a democratic republic, and it would be a grave error to insist that no lives should be saved until all lives can be saved.

This is an important question of tactics. It should not obscure the Supreme Courts duty here, which is to allow states to practice democracy.

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N'Djamena (AFP) - Boko Haram jihadists have killed 13 villagers in eastern Chad, where they have become increasingly active, local authorities told AFP Friday.

Armed militants targeted the village of Ceilia early Thursday morning, killing the local chief and his family and setting fire to homes before killing another nine people on their way out, said Dimouya Soiapebe, a Lake Chad province official.

Soldiers did not arrive in time to stop the killings.

The attackers "came very early in the morning to surprise the villagers in their sleep", during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan," said Soiapebe.

Soldiers are sweeping the area, and the security presence in the area will be reinforced, a high official said.

Boko Haram's decade-long uprising to establish a hardline Islamic state in Nigeria's northeast has spilled into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

A regional military coalition is battling the radical Islamist group, but at least 27,000 people have been in killed in Nigeria alone, and some two million forced from their homes.
Senator Doug Jones (D., Ala.) tweeted in response to anti-abortion legislation passed by the Alabama legislature: I refuse to believe that these Republican men represent the views of most Alabamians. Their action is both unconstitutional and shameful. The people of Alabama deserve to be on the #rightsideofhistory  not the side of extremists. Women deserve better.

It seems much more likely that Senator Jones is the one who is out of step. A 2014 Pew poll found that Alabama is among the most pro-life states in the country, with 58 percent saying the procedure should be illegal in all or most cases. Its possible that among the 58 percent who oppose abortion in Alabama, some will find the legislation passed this week to be too extreme, but dont count on it. Just last year, voters approved a state constitutional amendment declaring that it is the public policy of this state to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children. Fifty-nine percent of voters voted in favor.

Since the vote making abortion illegal in Alabama, Republican members of the Alabama senate have been targets of accusations  mostly that they are male and white. A number of outlets pointed to the fact that all 25 votes in favor of legislation were white, male Republicans. Okay. But the Alabama house has lots of Republican women. The bills sponsor in the lower chamber was a woman, as was the governor who signed the bill.

Those who fixate on the problem of whiteness may think this is some sort of knock-out blow, but the truth is that these senators are accurately representing the views of their constituents, including women. A 2018 PRRI survey found that 60 percent of Republican women agreed with the statement Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and should be overturned. This compared with only 47 percent of Republican men. Democratic pollster Celinda Lake notes that women tend to be more religious than men, and this aligns with more conservative views on abortion.

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Still, partisan lines remain blurry on abortion. More than a third of Republicans favor keeping abortion legal. Until Brett Kavanaughs ascension to the Supreme Court, the issue may not have ranked very high for them. They could vote for Republicans  with whom they agree on other issues  safe in the knowledge that nothing would threaten the regime of legal abortion throughout the nation. Now that the Court has a possible majority for overturning Roe, the calculations of moderate Republicans may change.

Moderate Democrats may be out in the cold too. In the aftermath of the 2018 election, Democrats burst from the gate with legislation that expanded abortion even beyond Roes contours. New York passed the Reproductive Health Act that permits even late-term abortions in the absence of fetal viability, or [when] the abortion is necessary to protect the patients life or health. When health is interpreted to mean mental health, it opens a gaping loophole. Sometimes late-term pregnancies must be terminated to save the mothers physical health  but that doesnt mean an abortion is required. Even very premature infants commonly survive these days.

Democrats also painted themselves as abortion extremists by opposing the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, insisting  falsely  that late-term abortions are only performed when there are severe fetal abnormalities or when the mothers life is at risk.

But now Republicans risk being viewed as extremists. With seven states having passed abortion laws that may transgress the boundaries established by Roe, the question now is whether the pro-life cause is best served by this frontal-assault strategy. The Alabama law makes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. And while its true that the child bears no guilt for the way he or she was conceived, it may not be prudent to refuse to concede that ground. A 2018 Gallup poll found that 77 percent of respondents want abortion to be legal in cases of rape and incest. The exception has long been included in other pro-life legislation, such as the Hyde Amendment.

Whatever happens, these stirrings at the state level may provoke an overdue reckoning about the truth of abortion. It isnt rare. It is usually performed on perfectly healthy mothers and babies. And it isnt the only alternative for women unable to raise a child. There are 36 couples waiting for an adoptive child for every one placed. Why is that humane solution so commonly overlooked?

 2019 creators.com

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The measles outbreak at Hong Kong International Airport has concluded, the Centre for Health Protection announced today.

A total of 73 measles cases were recorded so far this year, with 29 associated with the outbreak among airport workers.

The incubation period of measles can last up to 21 days. The centre said among the airport-associated cases, the date the patients last visited the airport during the communicable period was April 5.

No new associated cases have been recorded in two incubation periods which ended today. The centre considered that the measles outbreak at the airport has ended.

The airport vaccination station will cease operation from tomorrow. Over 8,500 people had received measles vaccination at the airport since March 22.

The Department of Health earlier provided the measles serology test service to airport staff, with 777 blood samples collected.

For the pilot service to offer measles serology testing for Filipino foreign domestic helpers working in Hong Kong, 146 blood samples have been collected.

Participants have been notified of the serology results.
Vienna (AFP) - After hours of chanting and whistling, thousands of demonstrators on Saturday cheered the collapse of Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's government over a corruption scandal -- and the prospect of fresh elections.

"Kurz must go" cried the crowd that had built up in Vienna's historic first district from late morning.

As the news of fresh elections came through on demonstrators' smartphones later, loud cheers erupted.

Expressing a widespread view that Kurz had too often excused the scandals of his coalition partner, the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) led by Heinz-Christian Strache, social education worker Andreas Hallas said the vote was "an absolute necessity".

"Anything else would have been an absolute catastrophe, politically," said Hallas, adding he hoped for a new government without the FPOe and Kurz's centre-right People's Party (OeVP).

Hallas is among those who has been turning up for anti-govermnent demonstrations held -- come rain or shine -- every Thursday for more than six months.

But as 61-year-old Elvira Raffinger pointed out, "Today is a spontaneous gathering and that's rare for Austria", a country where street politics is not the norm.

In hidden-camera recordings published by German media Friday, Strache was seen promising public contracts in return for campaign help to a fake Russian backer over a boozy dinner in a villa on the resort island of Ibiza.

Isaac Heimbach, a 24-year-old biology student, said he thought the video was "just the tip of the iceberg, just a look behind the curtain" of the far-right leadership.

"I hope that this will open the eyes of Austrians who voted for the right," he said as protesters around him waved banners that read "Now it's over Mr Kurz", "You all shame this country", as well as "No place for the corrupt and power-hungry in Austria. All resign".

Isabella Sedlak who works in Berlin said she had come to the chancellery to take part in "this exceptional moment".

"We need fresh elections. We can't just go back to the daily routine as if nothing happened because this is about the whole party structure, not a particular man," she said.

The OeVP will however start the upcoming election campaign in a strong position, with opinion polls before the scandal showing Kurz's popularity on the rise.
Tiznit (Morocco) (AFP) - "We refuse to be confined to a cage," declares nomadic herder Mouloud, asserting the rights and customs of his kin as they graze livestock in Morocco's southern expanses.

But the herders' determination to roam freely has brought them into dispute with crop farmers in the region of Souss.

In the village of Arbaa Sahel, arable farmer Hmad and many of his peers are enraged by herds stomping through wheat and corn fields.

Drought has turned parts of these plateaus arid, and when water becomes scarce, tensions rise -- several clashes have been reported by local media in recent months, as the herders seek pasture.

The battle is also playing out on social networks.

Videos show hooded men presented as nomadic herders, equipped with sticks and swords, attacking villagers.

Some villagers have even uploaded images of what are purported to be camel-mounted attacks on their almond groves.

A few residents have fought back by poisoning water supplies and pastures used by nomads, according to testimony on the ground.

"All these lands that belong to locals, (to) fathers and sons -- they're not grazing areas," said 35-year-old Hmad, clad in leather jacket and trainers.

Exasperated, he points to wheat fields "trampled by sheep" around Arbaa Sahel, near the city of Tiznit.

The region has drawn in nomadic herders for decades -- the verdant landscape a major attraction, compared to arid lands to the east.

- 'Identity' -

There has been a "significant rise in the arrival of flocks, due to drought" over the last couple of years, said nomad Mouloud, sporting sunglasses and a blue turban.

This has stoked tensions.

A local land organisation has recorded 18 cases of aggression by nomadic herders against farmers in Arbaa Sahel alone since December, according to Hassan, who sits on this committee.

But Moroccan authorities say only 15 cases have been recorded in the entire Souss region.

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The tensions are not limited to farmland -- there has been a spike in incidents in the region's forests, which cover 1.2 million hectares.

Villagers consider these forests to be their property, in line with ancestral customs.

But the nomadic culture, and the right to roam freely, form "part of the Moroccan identity", contends Mouloud.

Clutching his smart phone, he drinks tea and discusses the recent tensions with his nomadic friends, who erect large tents when they set up camp during their search for pasture.

In one such tent, women prepare food for the group -- a metal tray full of grilled livers and other meat.

Abu Bakr, crouching next to Mouloud and sipping a glass of goat's milk, has dropped his studies in favour of the nomadic lifestyle.

His parents come from a desert zone around 200 kilometres (120 miles) away.

Some herders have this year covered distances of almost 1,000 kilometres, traversing immense swathes of desert, Abu Bakr said.

They move in all-terrain cars to escape the drought -- their tents and herds packed into lorries.

When rains are rare, the nomads are constantly on the move, but their movement is more limited when rain is abundant.

"Schooling of children has pushed nomads to opt for stability," said Abu Bakr.

- 'Freedom to roam' -

For Mustapha Naimi, professor of Sahara studies at the University of Mohamed V in Rabat, "nomadism is very old in Morocco, but it has been reduced in recent decades by urbanisation".

Nomadic roaming by entire families has gradually given way to smaller scale pastoralism by shepherds, Naimi explained.

There are currently some 40,000 nomadic shepherds in the country, according to official statistics.

At the same time, "an increase in the number of herds, with 3.15 million heads of livestock... has contributed to conflict", according to the agriculture ministry.

Land committee member Hassan recalls when shepherds would request "permission from residents" ahead of arriving with flocks.

A law has been adopted by the central government that seeks to regulate nomadic herding and allow "a rational exploitation of vegetation".

The legislation only allows grazing of flocks in certain zones and along pre-defined routes. And nomads have to obtain a permit, or face penalties.

But this law has been rejected by both camps.

"We hold to our freedom to roam," said herder Mouloud.

On the other side of the fence, the farmers' land committee firmly opposes government-designated grazing on land that belongs to local residents.
Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said Friday a breakup of big US technology would not address "underlying issues" facing the sector and suggested that such a move could help rivals in China.

Sandberg, interviewed on CNBC television, was asked about the latest calls to break up Facebook and other major Silicon Valley firms which dominate key sectors.

"You could break us up, you could break other tech companies up, but you actually don't address the underlying issues people are concerned about, Sandberg said in the interview.

Sandberg said the social network used by more than two billion people was working to address concerns about election security, online violence promotion and data protection, but that a breakup might only serve to help competitors from China.

"While people are concerned with the size and power of tech companies, there's also a concern in the United States with the size and power of Chinese companies, and the realization that those companies are not going to be broken up," she said.

The comments come a week after one of Facebook's co-founders, Chris Hughes, said in an essay "it's time to break up Facebook," warning that it has gained too much power over what people see online.

Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has also called for a breakup that could require Facebook to spin off its Instagram and WhatsApp units.

Sandberg maintained that Facebook's teams are working hard on safety and security issues, echoing comments since the company came under fire over a series of missteps including leaking of data in 2016 to a consultancy working for Donald Trump.

"We know at Facebook we have a real possibility to do better and earn back peoples trust," she said.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said this week he was optimistic about progress toward a new regulatory framework that would apply to internet platforms.

"Overall I think in order for people to trust the internet... there needs to be the right regulation put in place," Zuckerberg said after meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss a report called "Creating a French Response to Make Social Media Responsible."
In a few days, Ill reach full term with the baby Im carrying. It is a girl and she is my fourth child. I didnt sleep last night. Not because of the endless heartburn brought on by almost any food or the fact that I have to go to the bathroom every hour, though those are certainly markers of the final weeks of pregnancy.

I didnt sleep last night because of what happened this week in Alabama, when 25 white men in the state senate passed the most restrictive abortion bill in the country  a near-total ban on all abortions sponsored and signed by two women: Alabama state Rep. Terri Collins and Gov. Kay Ivey, respectively.

I didnt sleep because this made Alabama one of seven states to recently pass a ban on abortions in the sixth week of pregnancy, a time when very few women even know that they are pregnant. (For reference, as well need it, the tally also includes Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri, and is growing). But mostly I didnt sleep last night because I know this legislation is not about abortion; it is about control of my life, of my daughters lives, and of the lives of all American women*. It is about human rights. And if we dont halt and reverse the creeping criminalization of a womans self-determination now, we may never have the chance again.

Im not going to tell you stories today articulating all the very real reasons people might choose to terminate a pregnancy. Those stories matter, but the reality is, this is not about abortion. This is about some men maintaining control over all women.

In 1972, the Supreme Court (in Baird v. Eisenstadt) for the first time legalized birth control for all American citizens, regardless of marital status. One year later, the Court affirmed the legality of a womans right to have an abortion under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution in the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling.

And now for some relevant statistics. One-third of womens wage gains since the 1960s are a result of access to oral contraceptives. And while we still have a gender wage gap in the workforce in which, for example, Latinx women earn 53 cents for every dollar a white man makes for the same work, reproductive freedom is responsible for the progress weve made in closing the chasm: without access to widespread and legal contraception, the narrowing of the gender pay gap would have been 10 percent smaller in the 1980s and 30 percent smaller in the 1990s .

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I am the beneficiary of living in a country that afforded me reproductive rights. My mother and father planned for our family, which includes me and my older sister. My mother welcomed us into the world after she worked night-shifts to pay for her college tuition, after she became a first generation college graduate, and after she married my father. Before I started college, my doctor wrote me a prescription for birth control, and I remained on the pill until I was 33 and decided to start a family with my husband. In the intervening 15 years, I attended college and law school, worked on Wall Street, earned six figure salaries, and served in various capacities for former and aspiring U.S. presidents. Would it have been possible to do all these things with a baby (or babies) at a young age? I can't say for sure. But the reality is, I had the right to make my own decisions about my body.

I have continued to grow into my career in the years since becoming a mother  a privilege I have because my husband and I can afford the astronomical costs of childcare in America  and am now the founder and CEO of a rapidly growing start-up, The Riveter. We have over 50 employees, dozens of investors, and thousands of members. The company is dedicated to equity in the workplace. It is our mission, and we are built around this principle. And yet this week I still paused and asked myself a critical question: can I speak up about abortion and reproductive rights as a corporate leader? Isnt it remarkable that in the face of my experience and passion, it was still hard to pen this piece, because we live in a day when supporting equity of opportunity for women is a political risk. Can I risk my business  and the payroll my team depends on, the resources my members use  to say anything at all? But here I am. Here we are. Standing up for women. Because which risk is greater : losing possible business with those who believe a woman should not choose her own basic destiny, or not speaking out against legislation that would criminalize women who terminate their pregnancies?

And theres more to this idea of destiny and control, which further requires that those of us with privilege not only use our voices; it requires that we shout and turn our resources to support the fight for basic freedoms. These anti-abortion laws are not just about controlling women; they are specifically about the control of poor women, women of color and others we continue to push to the margins. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, "[u]intended pregnancy rates are highest among those least able to afford contraception and have increased substantially over the past decade. The unintended pregnancy rate for poor women is more than five times the rate for women in the highest income bracket."

So Ill use whatever voice and platform I have as a leader in the corporate ecosystem to demand that the world listen  and speak up, and act. Ive read missives from CEOs around the country about the need to address climate change (with some leaders even going so far as to refuse to expense employee meals that include meat), family separations at the border, and voting rights  each critically important, of course. But Ive never read one about abortion. This remains the third rail of American politics, and one corporate America refuses to address. Is it because there are so few women CEOs at the helm of major corporations? And if thats the case, why cant men speak up, too? Why arent the most powerful men in America  with their great privilege  crying out against these attacks on the rights of their wives, their sisters, and their daughters  their fellow humans? This is a human rights issue, after all, and these are attacks that will have dire consequences for generations to come. It is worth the risk to speak out against injustice. And so I ask of my fellow CEOs, and the many men who believe deeply in justice and rights and self-determination: Get louder. We cant hear you. We need you. Now.

*Though the word "women" is used throughout this piece, we acknowledge that these challenges also affect trans and gender nonconforming people who do not identify as women.

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Since he joined the crowded field of Democratic presidential contenders, former Vice President Joe Biden has worn the mantle of frontrunner comfortably.

Polls show him ahead by double digits, nationally and in early nominating states. His campaign is stacked with pros. Hes raking in cash like an incumbent  $6.3 million in the first 24 hours  and spending a bunch of it. He even has an SUV rumbling, evoking his nine years with a Secret Service detail.

On Saturday, hell face his next test, as he officially kicks off his campaign in Philadelphia, where it will be based. Biden wants to make a splash, reserving the stretch of lawn between the art museum and city hall for a massive rally, one he hopes will be reminiscent of Barack Obamas audiences.

To date, Bidens campaign stops have been smaller in scale, typical of the retail politicking at this stage in the campaign cycle.

He made his candidacy official on April 25 with an online video and high-dollar fundraiser, then waited four days to make his first campaign stop, at a union hall in Pittsburgh. Since then hes opted for backyards in Nashua, N.H., and coffee shops up the road in Concord.

Still, hes drawing larger crowds at these events: almost 400 people in Hampton, N.H., and more than 500 in Manchester, N.H., earlier this week.

Some Biden advisers had wanted him to make the earlier announcement in Philadelphia, while others were aware of the risks involved if he failed to meet expectations. Still wary of failing to make a splash, aides refused to say how many have RSVPed for Saturdays kickoff, pointing instead to watch parties taking place in homes and coffee shops for supporters farther afield.

In this, his third run for the Democratic presidential nomination, Biden is playing his cards carefully. Hes had a few missteps, such as referring to the British prime minister as Margaret Thatcher when he meant Theresa May. Hes faced difficult questions about how he behaves publicly around women and his treatment of Anita Hill during her testimony on Capital Hill in 1991.

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But hes also carefully responded to criticism from freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez about his middle-of-the-road environmental agenda, avoiding a confrontation with a darling of the millennial left.

Biden knows the risks. He watched in horror in 2008 as Hillary Clinton supporters vowed to never support Barack Obama for president after a bruising nomination fight. And he saw the same dynamic again in 2016, when some Bernie Sanders supporters either stayed on the sidelines in the general election or opted for a third-party candidate, costing her crucial votes in states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

He hopes to avoid a similar split among Democrats in 2020, vowing not to attack fellow Democrats or speak ill of them. Part of the reason, advisers say, is that Biden desperately wants to face and defeat Trump next year. Biden is a competitive guy, advisers say, and is itching to tussle with Trump, whom he considers a bully and blowhard.

This is Bidens last shot at a job he has wanted since he was first elected to the Senate in 1972, and hes listening to his team about how best to get there. For instance, during the week that ended May 11, Bidens team spent almost $240,000 on Facebook ads alone to try to build a political machine in short order. (Elizabeth Warren was the closest competitor, at more than $88,000 in Facebook ads. One pro-Trump super PAC, by comparison, spent about $64,000.)

Still, Bidens position at the top of the pyramid also makes him a target. Other early frontrunners like Rudy Giuliani or Jeb Bush have weathered months of attacks that ultimately doomed their campaigns, and his rivals have already showed how sharp their jabs can be. Amid Democratic chatter that she would make a good running mate for Biden, California Sen. Kamala Harris flipped the script, telling reporters that he would make a great running mate for her, since he already knew how to be vice president.

Biden can expect similar treatment at the upcoming Democratic debates, where those farther back in the pack will need to differentiate themselves with carefully aimed shots.

Bidens plan, after the Saturday spectacle, will be to give a number of policy-centered speeches about specific challenges facing the United States. He made his online announcement about the heart, arguing Americas core character was under assault by the incumbent President and suggesting the country needed to return to a time of more normal politics. Going forward, hes looking voters heads with a policy platform that will borrow from the Obama era and layer on more progressive ideas on the environment and health care.

Biden advisers say hell never compete directly with the likes of candidates farther to the left like Sanders, who has proposed a government-run health insurance program with a price tag in the trillions. But he can tangle with the likes of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whom he personally likes, in a contest of ideas.

And through it all, hell be subtly making the case that he is best prepared to appeal to the white, working-class voters who swung the Midwest to Trump in 2016.

Many of Bidens advisers, however, say they have studied Clintons campaign, which had hundreds of policy ideas that landed with a dud compared to the circus Trump created. They say they understand the challenges Trump brings to the race but also cannot ignore what should be the reason to run, which is to govern a country at the end of the campaign.

First, though, you have to capture voters imaginations, which is why Biden is set to blare some Bruce Springsteen on Saturday as he launches his campaign not far from the art museum steps made famous in the first Rocky movie.
The sharp lines and geometric, light-filled forms of Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei's designs have created some of the landmarks of the world.

Here is a selection of five.

- US: National Gallery of Art (1978) -

A "study in triangles" is how Architecture Week magazine describes Pei's East Building addition to the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

The concrete and glass structure features huge mirrored pyramids and a 15-metre (50-foot) waterfall.

The Washington Post wrote at its opening in 1978 that it was "an architectonic symphony of light and marble, color and glass, painting and sculpture."

"This building helped to shape attitudes to museum building throughout the United States in the 1970s and later," architect Dennis Sharp wrote in "Twentieth Century Architecture: a Visual History" (2006).

- France: Louvre pyramid (1989) -

Pei's addition of a giant glass pyramid to the courtyard of the historic Louvre palace, today the world's most visited museum, was highly controversial and hotly rejected by many in France.

It has since become celebrated as "a symbol of the modernity of the museum and an emblem of Paris across the world," Louvre president Jean-Luc Martinez said in 2017.

Opened to the public in 1989, the giant structure essentially provided a new entrance for the growing number of visitors.

Pei's masterstroke was to link the three wings of the museum with vast underground galleries bathed in light streaming in through the glass and steel pyramid.

"Pei had imagined the hall under the pyramid as a space between the city and the collections, an interface between the outside and the works," Martinez said.

- China: Bank of China Tower (1989) -

This 367.4-metre skyscraper, which appears to be made up of triangles, is one of the tallest office buildings in Hong Kong and arguably one of the most striking on the skyline.

Its four shafts, clad in glass and aluminium, form a prism that reflects the sun and the movement of the sky.

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"The diagonal cuts that generate the prism create a sequence of atrium spaces that flood the tower with natural light," says the website of Pei Cobb Freed and Partners, the firm from which Pei retired in 1990.

The 72-storey building was met with some controversy after claims that its sharp, triangular design exerts bad feng shui on surrounding structures.

- Japan: Miho Museum (1997) -

Located on a mountainside in a nature preserve near the Japanese town of Shigaraki, near Kyoto, around 80 percent of the Miho art museum is underground to preserve its scenic setting.

Visitors are led down a walkway enveloped by cherry trees and pass through an arching tunnel and over a suspension bridge before arriving at the collection of Asian and Western antiques.

Opened in 1997, the museum's glass roof is made up of geometric combinations of triangles.

"I think you can see a very conscious attempt on my part to make the silhouette of the building comfortable in the natural landscape," Pei is quoted as saying on the museum's website.

- Qatar: Museum of Islamic Art (2008) -

"Traditional Islamic architecture meets the 21st century," is the museum's description of the building which incorporates geometric patterns and is lit by reflected light entering from above.

Pei told The New York Times in 2008 that he wanted the museum to embody the "essence of Islamic architecture" and spent months travelling the region for inspiration.

"Islam was one religion I did not know," he said. "So I studied the life of Muhammad. I went to Egypt and Tunisia."

"The museum is an object," he said. "It should be treated as a piece of sculpture."
Meghan Markle has the occupation "Princess" on the royal baby birth certificate. [Photo: Getty]

The Duchess of Sussex gave birth to her first child, a son named Archie, earlier this month.

The infants birth certificate was released this afternoon, revealing he was born at Portland Hospital in Westminster.

Aside from this revelation, most of the information contained in the certificate is already public knowledge  including the full names of Archie Harrison Mountbatten and his parents, Rachel Meghan Markle and His Royal Highness Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex.

READ MORE: Meghan Markle shares new photo of baby Archie

However, there is one crucial detail that has people scratching their heads: Meghan Markles occupation is listed as Princess of the United Kingdom.

The birth certificate of Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex pic.twitter.com/9kvv7teEiB  Press Association (@PA) May 17, 2019

We all know that Prince Harry is a Prince. He has officially held the title, Prince Henry of Wales, since his birth, although he has gone by Duke of Sussex since his wedding.

Meghan has been called Meghan, Duchess of Sussex since her marriage on 19 May last year, but has never been officially referred to as Princess Meghan.

READ MORE: Does Archie look more like Harry or Meghan?

However, as the wife of Prince Harry, Meghan is entitled to use the female equivalent to his title  therefore she can go by Her Royal Highness Princess Henry of Wales.

However, much like her sister-in-law the Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan Markle goes by her duchess title.

Although it has never been commented on by the royal family, it is believed the Princess of Wales titles are not used because of their links to Diana, Princess of Wales, who died tragically in a car crash in 1997.

It is likely this is why Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, the second wife of Prince Charles, does not use the princess title either.

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READ MORE: Body language expert compares Kate and Meghans first mum moments

Neither the Duchess of Cambridge or the Duchess of Sussex will be able to go by the title Princess Catherine or Princess Meghan in their own right.

This is a privilege reserved by those of royal birth, such as Prince Harrys cousins, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice.
By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower on Friday due to demand fears amid a standoff in Sino-U.S. trade talks, but both benchmarks ended the week higher on rising concerns over supply disruptions in Middle East shipments due to U.S.-Iran political tensions. Iran said on Friday it could "easily" hit U.S. warships in the Gulf, the latest in days of sabre-rattling between Washington and Tehran, while its top diplomat worked to counter U.S. sanctions and salvage a nuclear deal denounced by President Donald Trump. U.S. sanctions on Iran have already cut the OPEC member's crude exports further in May, adding to supply curbs implemented through an OPEC-led pact for the first six months of the year. Brent crude fell 41 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $72.21 a barrel. The global benchmark notched a weekly gain of about 2%, having ended last week largely steady and fallen the week before. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 11 cents to end the session at $62.76, and gained about 1.7% on the week. Oil prices came under pressure on Friday from seesawing U.S. equity markets due to fears over global economic growth amid the escalation of a trade war between the world's top economies. [.N] Chinese media took a hardline approach to the tariff dispute between the Washington and Beijing, saying the trade war will only make China stronger and will never bring the country to its knees. "Despite what we view as a balanced oil market both domestically and globally, oil pricing is apparently still sensitive to evolving developments in the Persian Gulf where occasional minor military events are slowly cranking up geopolitical risk premium," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates. Iran's foreign ministry on Friday rejected accusations by Saudi Arabia that Tehran had ordered an attack on Saudi oil installations claimed by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia. Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) are "highly likely" to have facilitated attacks last Sunday on four tankers including two Saudi ships off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, according to a Norwegian insurers' report seen by Reuters. A Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen carried out several air strikes on the Houthi-held capital Sanaa on Thursday. "When tensions are this high, with the U.S. deploying a sizeable military force, even a mistake or a tactical error by Iran could ignite the Middle East powder keg," Stephen Innes, head of trading and market strategy at SPI Asset Management, told Reuters by email. "There are lots of supply risks with tensions this high." Besides the drop in Iranian exports, Russian shipments have been disrupted and the North Sea - home to the crude underpinning Brent futures - is also in tighter supply owing to oilfield maintenance and outages. The market is also awaiting a decision from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers over whether to continue with supply cuts that have boosted prices more than 30% so far this year. A meeting of an OPEC-led ministerial committee in Saudi Arabia this weekend will assess member states' commitment to their deal to reduce oil production and could make a recommendation on whether to extend or adjust the pact. (Graphic: OPEC Oil Production Capacity - https://tmsnrt.rs/2WJleV2) The mounting Middle East tensions overshadowed bearish developments for oil prices this week, such as an unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories and consistently record-high production levels. However, U.S. energy firms this week reduced the number of oil rigs operating for the second week in a row, with the rig count at its lowest since March 2018, as some drillers follow through on plans to cut spending. (Additional reporting by Alex Lawler, Aaron Sheldrick and Colin Packham; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Goodman)
Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan visits Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands to learn more about the countrys latest developments in primary healthcare services.

Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan visited a university medical centre and a healthcare organisation in the Netherlands to learn more about the countrys latest developments in primary healthcare services.

Prof Chan introduced details of Hong Kongs primary healthcare development during her visit to Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC).

The Government is committed to enhancing district-based primary healthcare services with an emphasis on medical-social collaboration and public-private partnership to change the current focus of Hong Kongs healthcare services on treatment and to alleviate the pressure on public hospitals, Prof Chan said.

She added the Government will set up District Health Centres (DHC) in all districts in Hong Kong. The services offered will focus on primary, secondary and tertiary prevention.

Prof Chan said: With scientific research playing a vital role in public health and primary care, I believe that the visit to LUMC will enlighten us on how DHCs can make use of scientific evidence in enhancing population health.

She also visited Buurtzorg Nederland, a healthcare organisation with a nurse-led model to provide community care in the Netherlands.

At a meeting with Buurtzorg Nederland Chief Executive Officer Josephus Bernardus Imelda de Blok, Prof Chan said the visit to the organisation will be of great reference value to the operation model of DHCs and the primary healthcare development in Hong Kong.
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

We are on cusp of full-scale confrontation with enemy: Iranian Guards commander

The commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday: "We are on the cusp of a full-scale confrontation with the enemy," the Fars news agency reported. Major General Hossein Salami, named head of the force last month, added: "This moment in history, because the enemy has stepped into the field of confrontation with us with all the possible capacity, is the most decisive moment of the Islamic revolution."

Migrants sleep on ground, rig awnings at Texas Border Patrol station

Reuters photos taken on Wednesday show adults and children outside the U.S. Border Patrol station for migrants in McAllen, Texas, sleeping on the ground and rigging up makeshift awnings with reflective blankets to shelter from the sun. The photos, taken from a helicopter, also show people sleeping in a shaded area of a parking lot and crowded around a military tent.

UAE says it will show restraint after tanker attacks, Iran's behavior a concern

The United Arab Emirates will show restraint after attacks on oil tankers off its coast and is committed to de-escalation during a "difficult situation" caused by Iranian behavior in the region, a senior official said on Wednesday. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said he would not speculate about who was behind Sunday's sabotage acts on four vessels, including two Saudi tankers, near Fujairah emirate while an investigation was under way and due to be completed within days.

Iran halts some commitments under nuclear deal

Iran has officially stopped some commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers following an order from its national security council, an informed official in the country's atomic energy body told the ISNA news agency on Wednesday. Last week, Iran notified China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom of its decision to halt some commitments under the nuclear deal, a year after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord and re-imposed sanctions.

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U.S. House members criticize Turkey over Russia ties

Senior Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives called on Turkey on Wednesday to cancel its planned acquisition of a Russian S-400 missile defense system, the latest effort by U.S. lawmakers to discourage Ankara from pursuing the deal. They introduced a resolution urging Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to avoid a military relationship with Russia that could jeopardize the U.S.-Turkey partnership and Turkey's role in NATO.

Venezuela opposition, government leaders travel to Norway for possible talks

Representatives of Venezuela's government and the opposition have traveled to Norway to discuss potential options following a failed uprising against President Nicolas Maduro, according to four opposition sources familiar with the situation. The trips suggests the two sides may be seeking a fresh approach after the repeated failure of dialog between the opposition and the ruling Socialist Party amid a steadily escalating political crisis.

Iran exercising 'maximum restraint' despite U.S. withdrawal from nuclear deal: Zarif

Iran remains committed to its obligations under a multilateral nuclear deal despite the United States' withdrawal from the landmark agreement last year, its foreign minister said on Thursday, calling the U.S. escalation of sanctions "unacceptable." "We exercise maximum restraint in spite of the fact the United States withdrew from JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) last May," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told his Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, at the start of their meeting in Tokyo. JCPOA is commonly referred to as the Iran nuclear deal.

Rebels hope to kill off May's Brexit deal in 'last-chance' vote

Brexit-supporting rebels in British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party said on Wednesday they would vote down her European Union divorce deal when she brings it back to parliament next month. Britain had been due to leave the EU on March 29 but parliament has three times rejected the withdrawal agreement May struck with Brussels. The United Kingdom is now scheduled to leave, with or without a deal to smooth the exit, by Oct. 31.

U.S.-backed forces crack down on Islamic State fighters in Syria's Deir al Zor

U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces said on Wednesday they had begun a campaign against "terrorists" linked to Islamic State in a strategic town in the oil rich eastern province of Deir al Zor that residents and witnesses say has been at the center of protests opposing the rule of U.S.-supported militia. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spearheaded by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said it had so far arrested 20 militants and confiscated weapons in the security sweep in the vicinity of the town of Shuhail on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River and its outlying desert region.

Fighting grips Yemen's Hodeidah port, complicating peace moves

Houthi fighters and Saudi-backed pro-government forces battled in Yemen's port city of Hodeidah on Wednesday, breaching a ceasefire and potentially complicating a troop withdrawal agreement intended to pave the way for wider peace talks. The Houthis began withdrawing from three ports on Saturday, including Hodeidah port - a lifeline for millions of Yemenis threatened by starvation because of the four-year war, as it is the main entry point for food imports and humanitarian aid.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) will call for a ban on for-profit charter schools and a temporary moratorium on funding for public-charter-school expansion in a campaign speech to be delivered Saturday, CNN first reported.

In his Saturday speech in South Carolina, Sanders plans to endorse the NAACPs claim that charter-school expansion has had an adverse effect on African Americans who suffer from the resulting lack of funding for public schools. In order to combat this alleged harm, Sanders will call on the government to cut off public funding for all charter schools until an extensive audit has been conducted.

While other 2020 Democratic contenders have expressed skepticism about the role of charter schools in improving Americas educational standing, Sanders is the first aspirant to explicitly call on Washington to cut off their funding.

Sanderss plan would also limit charter schools ability to develop innovative curricula by mandating that they comply with many of the same oversight measures applied to traditional public schools.

Opponents of the plan argue that it would harm the very people it intends to help, namely low-income African Americans and other minorities who continue to struggle with high attrition rates and disproportionately low standardized-test scores.

Amy Wilkins, senior vice president of advocacy at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, emphasized the pro-charter school stance adopted by three NAACP chapters in California that oppose the national organizations position.

Sanderss call is out of touch  as usual  with what African Americans want, Wilkins said in a statement to CNN. More disturbing, the senator  for personal political gain  would literally lock African-American students into schools that have failed them for generations.

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has prioritized school-choice advocacy during her tenure, proposing, among other things, a $5 billion federal tax credit that would fund scholarships and education programs for private schools.

More from National Review
Tens of thousands of people celebrated in the rain outside the legislature building in Taipei on May 17 as Taiwan became the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage.

This video shows crowds waiting outside the legislature building in Taipei as the bill to legalize same-sex marriage was being debated inside on May 17. Credit: Glenn Lio via Storyful
Toyota Motor(7203.T-JP) said President Donald Trump's latest move in the administration's international trade war was a "major setback" for American consumers, shows the company's investments in the U.S. are "not welcomed" and that contributions from its American employees are "not valued."

Trump issued a new directive Friday giving Japan and the European Union six months to renegotiate their trade deals with the U.S. so that the "American automobile industry, its workforce, and American innovation" are protected.

The Japan automaker's comments Friday come after the White House said U.S.Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will "address the threatened impairment" of national security from auto imports.

"Our operations and employees contribute significantly to the American way of life, the U.S. economy and are not a national security threat," Toyota said in a statement.

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom also denounced Trump's comments, saying "we completely reject the notion" that Europe's car exports are a national security threat.

Toyota said it has been "deeply engrained" in the U.S. for more than 60 years and has invested over $60 billion in the country, employing more than 475,000 Americans.

Toyota added that "history has shown" that limiting imports of vehicles and parts is "counterproductive in creating jobs, stimulating the economy and influencing consumer buying habits." The automaker said auto tariffs would reduce consumer choice and even impact American automakers because vehicle parts used for manufacturing in the U.S. come from various countries.

"If import quotas are imposed, the biggest losers will be consumers who will pay more and have fewer vehicle choices," Toyota said.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

Read Toyota's full statement:

Today's Executive Proclamation is a major set-back for American consumers, workers and the auto industry.



Toyota has been deeply engrained in the U.S. for over 60 years. Between our R&D centers, 10 manufacturing plants, 1,500-strong dealer network, extensive supply chain and other operations, we directly and indirectly employ over 475,000 in the U.S., and have invested over $60 billion in this country, including over $1 billion in philanthropic and community-outreach efforts.



Today's proclamation sends a message to Toyota that our investments are not welcomed, and the contributions from each of our employees across America are not valued.



We have been a leader in R&D through open-sourcing of patents in critical technologies such as fuel cells, hybrid electrification and continue to be transparent and collaborative with our innovations. Our goal is to develop technologies that help society and contribute to sustaining the economy and jobs in the U.S. We continue to innovate in areas of AI, autonomous and robotics technologies that will further contribute and improve our American society.



Most every American has a Toyota story and we are very proud of the fact that over 36 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles are still on U.S. roads today. Our operations and employees contribute significantly to the American way of life, the U.S. economy and are not a national security threat.



History has shown that limiting import vehicles and parts is counterproductive in creating jobs, stimulating the economy and influencing consumer buying habits. These artificial limitations would reduce consumer choice and impact all automakers since vehicle parts used in U.S. manufacturing are sourced from around the globe. If import quotas are imposed, the biggest losers will be consumers who will pay more and have fewer vehicle choices.



We remain hopeful that the upcoming negotiations on trade can be resolved quickly and yield what is best for the American consumer, workers and the auto industry.
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke on Friday with U.S. President Donald Trump about tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and about the trade agreement signed last year between the two countries and Mexico.

The two leaders spoke "about Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, and Canada's retaliatory tariffs," Cameron Ahmad, Trudeau's communications director, said on Twitter. "They also discussed China, uranium, and the new NAFTA."

It is the third time Trudeau and Trump have spoken in nine days, and the latest conversation comes amid media reports saying the United States is close to a deal to remove tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer)
By Christoph Steitz, Tom Kackenhoff, Edward Taylor and Arno Schuetze

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - When Thyssenkrupp CEO Guido Kerkhoff announced plans to list its prized elevators unit last week, he set off a battle for the conglomerate's future that could test Germany's brand of "social market" capitalism.

Kerkhoff had little choice but to think the unthinkable when the company's share price sank to a 15-year low on May 8. The plan to take elevators public not only broke with long tradition but marked the abandonment of a turnaround plan he himself had unveiled less than eight months before.

Now Thyssenkrupp's future is in play, with activist investors on the one side baying for a restructuring of the group to drive up value, and its top shareholder - the charitable Krupp foundation - and workers on the other side with a mandate to protect the unity of the company and jobs.

It's also a clash of cultures and of differing visions of capitalism: Anglo-Saxon profit maximization pitted against Germany's long-term focused social market economy model.

Kerkhoff's strategy will not only decide the fate of his career, but also the shape of Thyssenkrupp - a poster child of Germany's so-called Rhineland capitalism, which buttressed the country's economic success by emphasizing social policies to protect workers rights as much as the rules of free enterprise.

Thyssenkrupp's conglomerate structure has fallen out of favor in the market, reflected in the deterioration of its share price. Many investors say Kerkhoff and the non-profit foundation must move to reshape the group's portfolio, including through spin-offs and divestments.

Ingo Speich, head of sustainability and corporate governance at top-20 shareholder Deka Investment, said this kind of active portfolio management was the likeliest and best solution for the group.

"Parts will be separated out and the resulting proceeds used to make acquisitions."

Bankers and investors are now eyeing the prospect of finding new owners for the group's sprawling businesses, ranging from steel and elevators to car parts and submarines.

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Components Technology, which makes automotive parts, and Industrial Solutions, which makes chemical and cement plants, may be merged with sector peers in the medium to long-term, according to three financial sources familiar with the matter.

Elevators may end up in the hands of Kone or Schindler, should they intercept Thyssenkrupp's IPO plans, while plant engineering could be combined with Linde's engineering unit, one of the sources said.

Other investment bank pitches to potential buyers will focus on finding a partner for some of Thyssenkrupp's automotive businesses, where Bosch, ZF Friedrichshafen, Nexteer or Mando are seen as potential players, according to the sources.

The company's Rothe Erde machine parts unit may attract interest from Sweden's SKF, Schaeffler and Japan's NSK, they said.

"This is the breakup of Thyssenkrupp," said a senior banker who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

All the companies either declined to comment on potential deals or were not immediately available to comment.

Kerkhoff has acknowledged that new ownership structures for its businesses is needed to turn the company around. But Thyssenkrupp declined to comment on any future asset sales.

'NO QUICK, EASY WINS'

Such a process will however be lengthy and difficult, according to three separate financial and labor sources, for two reasons: apart from elevators, all other units of Thyssenkrupp are less profitable than their peer average, are going through a restructuring or are in need of one.

This is reducing their value and makes it less probable that an M&A frenzy will ensue.

"I don't see quick, easy wins unless assets are sold under value," said another senior banker. "A fire sale is not the way forward."

Secondly, powerful labor representatives at Thyssenkrupp, who control half of the seats on group's 20-member supervisory board, are willing to oppose M&A that will result in further job cuts among its 161,000-strong workforce.

The 10 workers' representatives can team up with the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach Foundation, which holds a 21 percent stake, to veto major changes.

The foundation's mandate is to preserve the unity of the company while at the same time relying on healthy dividends to fund its non-profit activities for promoting the "common good".

It therefore needs to tread carefully, preserving the company's future without obstructing needed reforms.

The elevator IPO, part of a plan that also includes 6,000 job reductions, has found support because it brings in cash that is badly needed to fix Thyssenkrupp's balance sheet and strengthen the businesses as a whole.

"It will be a difficult path for the company and its employees. But we won't abandon workers," said Markus Grolms, vice chairman of Thyssenkrupp's supervisory board and secretary at IG Metall, Germany's biggest labor union.

POWER OF ACTIVIST INVESTORS

The conflict at Thyssenkrupp also illustrates the growing influence of activist shareholders on European household names, with demands to tackle underperformance and simplify structures.

Swedish investor Cevian, a shareholder since 2013 that has long pressed for change, holds an 18 percent stake, while more recent investor Elliott holds under 3 percent. Both have criticized Thyssenkrupp's underperformance.

Activists argue specialized businesses are often more highly valued than conglomerates because in times of growth, high-potential assets do not have to share the balance sheet with cash-consuming, lower-return businesses.

Conglomerates tend to be valued at a trading multiple of some of their lowest performing business resulting in the so-called conglomerate discount and higher refinancing costs.

In recent years, groups that have reshaped their portfolios through spin-offs and sales have outperformed peers in terms of share price development, Goldman Sachs said in a study last year, a trend which helped asset disposals in Europe reach their highest level since 2007.

"It's not necessarily that boards and companies were doing things wrong before," said Rich Thomas, managing director and head of European shareholder advisory at investment bank Lazard.

"But things are different now and now boards and companies need to do things differently because the world has moved a bit underneath them," he added, referring to the rise of investor activism. "And now, I think, in many ways European and German boards are playing a little bit of catch-up."

German labor leaders and credit agencies, for their part, argue a diversified model with exposure to several businesses with different growth, margin and cash flow generation rates is an advantage when one sector enters a downturn.

POST-WAR REFORMS

Germany has been slow to embrace portfolio management because of reforms introduced after World War II to safeguard worker rights.

In 1947, the United States forced the breakup of German industrial monopolies so that they could not be used as instruments of power by political forces, as had happened with the steel industry under the Nazis.

Krupp, which later merged with Thyssen in 1999, was among the first companies to be dismantled. Among others, IG Farben was split into businesses including BASF, Hoechst and Bayer.

At the time, price controls were also lifted, sparking concerns among German workers about their welfare so Germany's leaders allowed industry associations including the German Trade Union Confederation and Federation of German Industries to help formulate new labor laws and working conditions.

In 1949, collective wage-bargaining negotiations set a minimum wage for entire sectors to ensure competition would not mean a race to the bottom for wages. The law is still in place.

Three years later, trade unions were also given the right to appoint a third of company directors so they could have a say in determining the conditions of hiring and laying off workers when restructuring was needed.

It is this law which has given Thyssenkrupp's workers a near veto power to stop radical job cuts and even to block the appointment of shareholder-friendly candidates to the board.

Decisions at Thyssenkrupp have rarely, if ever, been taken without the consent of workers.

For CEO Kerkhoff, a deal for the elevator unit may mark one of the last chances to raise cash to pay for necessary reforms following three profit warnings, a botched plan to spin off its capital goods business and the collapse of a steel joint venture with Tata Steel.

But analysts at Jefferies are still skeptical about management's ability to get the listing off the ground.

"The timeline and execution of such a deal remain concerns of investors," they said, adding management must come up with a credible restructuring plan that is supported by unions and convince markets the IPO will repair the group's balance sheet.

(Writing by Christoph Steitz and Edward Taylor; Editing by Pravin Char)
By Tom Hals (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives took its battle over the Trump administration's border wall to federal court on Friday, urging a judge to stop billions of dollars from being transferred toward construction of the barrier without approval by Congress. "As everyone knows the executive branch cannot build this wall without Congress," Douglas Letter, representing the House, told the U.S. District Court Judge Haywood Gilliam in Oakland, California. "The president asked for $8.1 billion to build the wall and Congress said no to that. This money was clearly denied by Congress under immense pressure." The House, 20 states and two advocacy groups asked Gilliam to block the transfer of funds to prevent the wall construction. In February, after a protracted political battle and a government shutdown, Congress approved $1.37 billion for construction of "primary pedestrian fencing" along the border in southeast Texas, well short of President Donald Trump's demands. To obtain the additional money, Trump declared a national emergency and diverted $601 million from a Treasury Department forfeiture fund, $3.6 billion from military construction and $2.5 billion earmarked for Department of Defense counternarcotics programs. Trump has said the wall is needed to address a crisis of drugs and crime flowing across the border. Gilliam questioned both sides about the ability to challenge the transfers and the parameters Congress placed on military funds that were being redirected. The judge also pressed a government lawyer about the administration's claim the wall qualified as an "unforeseen military requirement" which allowed the money to be used. "Isn't every request unforeseen?" he asked. The lawyer said the plaintiffs could not show they would suffer irreparable harm, a condition for blocking the funding, through the mere transfer of the money. He also attacked claims the wall would harm the Mexican wolf migration and said only two wolves were known to have crossed the border in 2017. Gilliam did not say at the end of the nearly three-hour hearing when he would rule. He asked for added submissions regarding recently announced plans for border construction. Although it is not a plaintiff, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives argued in support of the plaintiffs at the hearing. Trump made the border wall a centerpiece of his 2016 election campaign, when he said Mexico would pay for its construction. That pledge went nowhere, and Trump also hit resistance in Congress even as apprehensions of migrants by border agents hit a decade high as of April. The hearing comes as the Trump administration has outlined proposals to beef up security along the southwest border and shift immigration policy to favor well-educated English speakers over a system that emphasizes uniting families. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Tom Brown)
By Ginger Gibson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren on Friday called for overhauling federal law to ensure that women continue to have access to abortion amid efforts in states like Alabama and Ohio to enact bans on the procedure. The issue of abortion has been thrust into the national dialogue in recent weeks after a series of states controlled by Republicans began passing legislation to enact hard line bans. Alabama signed into law on Wednesday the most drastic rollback yet. "This is a dark moment," Warren, who is running for president, wrote in a post on Medium on Friday morning outline her new proposal. "People are scared and angry. And they are right to be. But this isnt a moment to back down  its time to fight back." Warren is one of more than 20 Democrats vying for her party's nomination to challenge Republican President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election. Warren has distinguished herself in the field as the candidate with the most prolific series of policy proposals on a myriad of topics. Warren said Congress should enact laws that reinforce the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. A new law should go farther to prohibit states from "interfering in the ability of a patient to access medical care, including abortion services, from a provider that offers them." Warren also wants Congress to enact laws that invalidate state rules that have placed near-impossible regulations on abortion clinics. Several states have enacted regulations that have effectively put all clinics out of business. She would also prohibit states from limiting access to the medications that are used to perform abortions. Next, Warren said Congress should require that all health care insurance cover abortions. Republicans have pushed for the opposite, imposing rules that prohibited government-backed insurance from covering abortion services and trying to limit the ability of private insurers to do so. Warren added that Congress should go beyond abortion and also ensure access to birth control, comprehensive sex education and care for pregnant women. "We must build a future that protects the right of all women to have children, the right of all women to not have children, and the right to bring children up in a safe and healthy environment," Warren said. (Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau meets Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Timur Igorevich Maximov on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting in Vina del Mar, Chile.

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting in Vina del Mar, Chile.

Speaking at a discussion session with the theme of Advancing APECs Regional Economic Integration Agenda, Mr Yau said Hong Kong and like-minded economies are seeking to strengthen alliances for free and open trade through free trade agreements.

Citing the signing of the Hong Kong-Australia Free Trade Agreement and Investment Agreement in March, he said the two pacts provide transparency and predictability and give a big boost of confidence to the rules-based trading system against the prevailing uncertainties in the global economy.

Mr Yau also participated in another discussion session entitled Advancing APEC's support for the World Trade Organization (WTO).

He said it is of utmost importance that the conduct of international trade abides by transparent and non-discriminatory rules and that WTO members can settle disputes under the organisations established mechanism.

It is high time for APEC to sing in chorus to affirm its pledge to strengthening and defending the multilateral trading system. Hong Kong stands ready to support an MRT statement signifying the strong and unwavering commitment of APEC to upholding the rules-based system," he said.

On the margins of the APEC MRT, Mr Yau held bilateral meetings with Canadas Federal Minister of International Trade Diversification James Carr, Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Timur Igorevich Maximov and the Assistant Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang to discuss trade and economic relations.
By Ben Blanchard and Liangping Gao BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States must show sincerity if it is to hold meaningful trade talks, China said on Friday, after U.S. President Donald Trump dramatically raised the stakes with a potentially devastating blow to Chinese tech giant Huawei. China has yet to say whether or how it will retaliate against the latest escalation in trade tension, although state media has taken an increasingly strident tone, with the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily publishing a front-page commentary that evoked the patriotic spirit of past wars. China's currency slid to its weakest in almost five months, although losses were capped after sources told Reuters that the central bank would ensure the yuan did not weaken past the key 7-per-dollar level in the immediate term. The world's two largest economies are locked in an increasingly acrimonious trade dispute that has seen them level escalating tariffs on each other's imports in the midst of negotiations, adding to fears about risks to global growth and knocking financial markets. Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, asked about state media reports suggesting there would be no more U.S.-China trade talks, said China always encouraged resolving disputes between the two countries with dialogue and consultations. "But because of certain things the U.S. side has done during the previous China-U.S. trade consultations, we believe if there is meaning for these talks, there must be a show of sincerity," he told a daily news briefing. The United States should observe the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, and they must also keep their word, Lu said, without elaborating. On Thursday, Washington put telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, one of China's biggest and most successful companies, on a blacklist that could make it extremely difficult for the telecom giant to do business with U.S. companies. That followed Trump's decision on May 5 to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, a major escalation after the two sides appeared to have been close to reaching a deal in negotiations to end their trade battle. 'WHEEL OF DESTINY' China can be expected to make preparations for a longer-term trade war with the United States, said a Chinese government official with knowledge of the situation. "Indeed, this is an important moment, but not an existential, live-or-die moment," the official said. "In the short term, the trade situation between China and the United States will be severe, and there will be challenges. Neither will it be smooth in the long run. This will spur China to make adequate preparations in the long term." The impact of trade friction on China's economy is "controllable", the state planner said on Friday, pledging to take countermeasures as needed, Meng Wei, a spokeswoman for the National Development and Reform Committee (NDRC), told a media briefing. The South China Morning Post, citing an unidentified source, reported that a senior member of China's ruling Communist Party said the trade war with the United States could reduce China's 2019 growth by 1 percentage point in the worst-case scenario. Wang Yang, the fourth-most senior member of the Communist Party's seven-member Standing Committee, the top decision-making body, told a delegation of Taiwan businessmen on Thursday that the trade war would have an impact but would not lead to any structural changes, the paper said, citing an unidentified source who was at the meeting. One company that says it has been making preparations is Huawei's Hisilicon unit, which purchases U.S. semiconductors for its parent. Its president told staff in a letter on Friday that the company had been secretly developing back-up products for years in case Huawei was one day unable to obtain the advanced chips and technology it buys from the United States. "Today, the wheel of destiny has turned and we have arrived at this extreme and dark moment, as a super-nation ruthlessly disrupts the world's technology and industry system," the company president said in the letter. The letter was widely shared on Chinese social media, gaining 180 million impressions in the few hours after it was published on the Weibo microblogging site. "Go Huawei! Our country's people will always support you," wrote one Weibo user after reading the letter. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Gao Liangping; Additional reporting by Jing Xu, Lusha Zhang, Yawen Chen, Huizhong Wu and Ryan Woo; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Kim Coghill, Robert Birsel)
European finance ministers have expressed their relief at a likely delay to car tariffs by the President Donald Trump administration, and warn that any new levies would weigh on global growth.

The White House has until midnight Friday (Washington time) to decide whether to impose tariffs on European cars and car parts. However, four sources told CNBC earlier this week that the U.S. administration will delay the decision by six months.

"That's a wise decision," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told CNBC Thursday in Brussels. "I think we should avoid any kind of sanctions, tariffs and trade war because, you know, the deep conviction of the French government is entering any kind of trade war will have a very negative effect on global growth, growth for the U.S., growth for China, and of course for all European countries," he added.

Imposing duties on European car imports would likely hurt Germany the most, given that it is one of the largest direct car exporters to the U.S.

This economic threat is an acute concern for European leaders at a time when the euro zone is already showing signs of weakness. Recent manufacturing and growth data have led the European Central Bank (ECB) to cut its growth projections for the year. Growth in the region  and especially Germany  is sensitive to external shocks due to its export-driven economy.

For a strong world economy it's important that "we increase trade and not increase new barriers," Olaf Scholz, the German finance minister told CNBC Thursday.

"It is a very good message," he added, regarding the reports of the postponement.

Trump threatened to impose 20% tariffs on European cars back in 2018, arguing there's a trade imbalance threatening the U.S.'s national security. Since then, the EU has made every effort to ensure the tariffs are avoided. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker traveled to the U.S. last year and agreed with Trump to work together to bring existing tariffs toward zero on non-auto industrial goods; to buy more liquefied natural gas from the U.S. and to find ways to bring their standards closer together.

However, both sides have not yet started discussing a trade deal. "Each day when we don't have a trade war between Europe and the United States is a good day," Kristian Jensen, the Danish finance minister, told CNBC in Brussels. "And the longer the postponement, the more we can work to get (the trade war) off the table," he added.
By Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New corporate headquarters are springing up across the United States.

Walmart Inc, the world's largest retailer and the country's biggest private sector employer, on Friday revealed plans for a new corporate campus, joining rivals Amazon.com Inc and Apple in expanding their corporate campuses as President Donald Trump pressures U.S. companies to make larger investments at home.

The Bentonville, Ark. based-company is building a new headquarters in its hometown - a project it announced in September 2017 - that will spread over 300 acres and house its nearly 17,000 employees with room to accommodate more as it creates new jobs.

Bike trails that run through the heart of the campus, a massive park, fitness centers, food trucks and child care centers will be some of the amenities that will fuse with a modern aesthetic design, said Dan Bartlett, executive vice-president of corporate affairs, who is overseeing the project.

There will also be the more basic elements that go into designing a modern workplace, such as flexible open floor plans that boost collaboration and offer privacy, tall ceilings, lots of windows and light and ample parking space, he said.

"We are striving to attract and retain the best talent in order to win the future of retail and the key component of that is the work environment that we are creating," Bartlett said.

Walmart has kept its plans for a new headquarters relatively low key, unlike some of its rivals.

For example, Amazon.com captivated elected officials across North America in September 2017 when it announced it would create more than 50,000 jobs in a second headquarters dubbed HQ2. Cities and states vied desperately for the economic stimulus, with some states offering billions in potential tax credits.

After an aggressive hunt, Amazon announced two winners: Long Island City in New York and Arlington, Virginia. But it had to reverse its plans abruptly in the Big Apple after a backlash over various issues, including tax breaks.

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iPhone maker Apple Inc also announced it is spending $1 billion to build a second campus in Austin, Texas, that will house up to 15,000 workers.

Corporate America has been under political pressure to ramp up investments at home as part of Trump's "America First" policies, which have led to a bitter trade war with China.

It is also increasingly in the interest of U.S. companies to tout investments and job creation, especially because those that have moved jobs overseas or shuttered factories have drawn sharp rebukes from Trump, who has championed job creation.

Walmart's Bartlett did not give details on the amount it is investing in the project, nor the number of new jobs it will create at its new campus. He said the project and the capital investment will be phased over multiple years and will not hurt its financials in any single quarter or year.

Walmart also did not receive any "special packages or tax breaks that were out of the ordinary" for its project, he said. It received a state investment credit that any company in Arkansas can apply for and receive, Bartlett added.

"Our goal was not to extract things from the community," he said.

Bartlett said Walmart embarked on this project because the company's current headquarters are at full capacity and its home office workforce is stretched over 20 buildings across Bentonville and Rogers, Arkansas.

The new buildings will have solar panels atop parking decks, energy-efficient lighting, regionally sourced building materials, including mass timber construction - in addition to a connected campus design.

The retailer took design inspiration from the headquarters of companies like McDonald's Corp, Deloitte, large consumer product makers and others on the West Coast. Officials also visited college campuses such as Stanford, the University of Texas and the University of Arkansas.

Demolition will begin this summer and the new campus will be constructed through 2024.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington)
Baghdad (AFP) - Iraqis have endured successive wars but spiralling tensions between Washington and Tehran have many convinced that new conflict looms between their key allies and that they will pay the price.

In Washington, some commentators shrug off the bellicose talk towards Tehran saying it will abate when President Donald Trump reins in his hawkish national security adviser John Bolton to avoid a new -- and potentially far larger -- foreign military commitment.

But in Baghdad, the Pentagon's deployment to the Gulf of a carrier group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln accompanied by B-52 bombers has many people persuaded the US threats are very real.

In March 2003, warplanes from the Lincoln flew sortie after sortie over Iraq in the "shock and awe" bombing blitz that signalled the start of the US-led invasion.

The carrier had first deployed to the region in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War which ousted Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait.

In May 2003, it was from the Lincoln's flight deck that president George W. Bush announced the "end of major combat operations" in Iraq in front of a large banner proclaiming: "Mission Accomplished".

The victory declaration was to prove horribly premature, but to Iraqis the nuclear-powered carrier remains a potent symbol of Washington's readiness to use its formidable military might.

The Lincoln "does not move just for the sake of exerting psychological pressure", said civil rights activist Aysar Jarjafji.

"It is deployed for a reason and returns home only when it has accomplished its mission," she said.

- Iraq 'first loser' -

Columnist Hussein Rashid agreed. "There is no question about it, there will be war," he said.

"And Iraq will be the first loser.

"The Abraham Lincoln bombed Iraq. We have a bad memory of that."

Taxi driver Abu Hammudi too believes war is coming.

It is Ramadan and the streets of Baghdad are largely deserted during the day as Muslims await the iftar meal that marks the end of their dawn-to-dusk fast.

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"The city is empty, it's like wartime," he said.

"I remember perfectly well how Baghdad was bombed in 1991. It was a horrific night. No one had expected it to happen but it did."

Like many taxi drivers in Baghdad, Hammudi drives an Iranian-manufactured yellow Saipa.

The neighbouring countries, which have centuries-old religious and cultural ties, have massively expanded cross-border trade since the US-led overthrow of Saddam's regime, which fought a devastating 1980-88 war against Iran.

Trump strongly disapproves and has piled huge pressure on Iraq to reduce its economic dependence on it neighbour since he abandoned his predecessor Barack Obama's 2015 nuclear deal with Iran last year.

- 'Interests at stake' -

But in Iraq, the Trump administration faces the hard reality that US military trainers and contractors work in the same ministries and businesses as those of Iran.

"American interests are present in Iraq and militias linked to Iran are also present here," said Jarjafji, sipping an after-iftar drink at a Baghdad cafe.

She was referring to Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force, which is dominated by Iranian-trained Shiite militias.

Those Iranian military trainers, like their US counterparts working with the regular army, played a major role in helping Baghdad defeat the Islamic State group fighters who overran much of the north and west of Iraq in 2014.

But it those same Iranian-trained militias which Washington said on Thursday pose the "imminent" threat to US personnel in Iraq that prompted the latest military deployments.

Washington has blacklisted Iran's Revolutionary Guards -- the parallel army which provides the training -- as a "terrorist" organisation.

Iraqi militia commanders on Thursday dismissed the US allegation as a "provocation" and "psychological warfare".

And Washington's assessment of the immediacy of the threat is not shared by all of its allies in the coalition it forged to fight IS.

"There has been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria," British coalition spokesman Major General Chris Ghika said on Tuesday.

Iraqi university professor Issa al-Abbadi said he was still hopeful that the realities on the ground would lead moderate voices to prevail.

"There could be a deal. Interests are at stake," he said of the uneasy coexistence between Washington and Tehran in Iraq.

"Victory in war is in avoiding it."
Efrat Nofech Keneri is a dog trainer who has harnessed the therapeutic nature of dogs to help autistic children and blind people.

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But in the past year, Nofech Keneri has joined a unique program she never expected to come her way: working with inmates a short while before they were set to be released back into society, and matching them up with abandoned dogs who are looking for new homes.

Efrat Nofech Keneri with Hermon graduate pups Eve and Eshkol

The dogs and their new trainers spend four months together. The prisoners learn about the canine companion's likes and dislikes and take care of their needs.

Then, the dogs find their "forever home", after they have been trained. The full record of the training is handed over to the adoptive families by the prisoners who know their new pets better than anyone else.

The project is funded by a philanthropic orgainzation that wishes to remain anonymous, and by the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Israel (SPCA).

The concept is American, but has been extremely successful in Israel, and a first group of five dogs and 10 people have recently graduated from the program in Hermon Prison. In June, eight more dogs will graduate from the program and are already on the market for a new home.

"Both the inmates and the dogs go through a process," says Nofech -Keneri. "Prisoners learn to notice someone else, to feed a dog, to take it for walks. These are dogs who have been abandoned, so some of them have trust issues, and that's often mutual."

An inmate walks a dog in the Hermon Prison (Photo: SPCA)

"The match making between a dog and a prisoner isn't up to the prisoners," says Nofech -Keneri. "Sometimes we'll give a strong tough guy with lots of tattoos a small dog," she laughs.

"Sometimes they'll say, 'what's this rabbit that you've given me?' but soon after they learn that the dog has feelings and can be taught things. Even if they have a fantasy about a big tough dog, when they end up getting a small cute one, that everyone in the prison approach and pet, they melt."

"We even have a dog with three legs," says Nofech Keneri. In the beginning, it stood out. Now, no one notices anymore.

Prisoners wrote about the experiences they had with their companions with kind, touching words.

"You were the child I never had," wrote one prisoner to Tobi, a mixed breed dog who arrived in the prison with his mother Sesame and seven other pups, all rescued from the streets of the city of Tira.

Tobi found a home after he graduated from the program. "He made me feel human," wrote his caretaker to the family who adopted his companion. "The dog didn't judge me. He was a clean slate."







An inmate and his dog at Hermon Prison

Nofech Keneri is delighted with the difference the program has made.

"Hermon is rehabilitative prison. People come here right before they get released, and they use to the program as an opportunity to work on themselves" she says.

The dogs benefit greatly from the program, says the trainer.

"It's a breakthrough in the world of caring for abandoned canines. Families get a trained dog, that knows how to communicate with people, and that makes the adoption more likely to succeed and the dog less likely to be abandoned again."

An inmate and his dog at Hermon Prison

Having dogs in prison has benefits for everyone, even the prison guards, says Nofech, and adds that prisoners who aren't a part of the program also have a lot to gain from the canine presence.

"When there's a dog in the prison, the guards and prisoners have a more mellow interaction," Nofech Keneri says, concluding a successful first term of the therapeutic program.
An Iranian appeals court earlier this week sustained a lower courts decision to imprison activist Hengameh Shahidi for seven-and-a-half years after she publicly criticized former chief justice Sadegh Larijani.

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Tara Sepehri Far, a researcher with the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said that Iranian authorities are holding at least 12 women activists, including Nasrin Sotoudeh, a distinguished human rights lawyer, and Narges Mohammadi, a civil liberties campaigner.

Iranian Women (Photo: AFP)

Omid Memarian, deputy director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran, said that the Iranian judiciary has been politicized for a long time. It doesnt tolerate dissent. People face grave consequences for such acts, which shows the lack of freedom of expression in Iran.

The judiciary intelligence apparatus has blocked peaceful ways to bring about change he continued, and this has created a suffocating environment for activists in the nation. Thats why you see so many of them behind bars.

Soraya Fallah of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the US National Committee for United Nations Women (UN WOMEN USNC LA) was previously imprisoned by the Iranian regime, and argues that females in the country face more challenges than their male counterparts.

Fighting for human rights by a woman is very different than for a male colleague due to gender-specific challenges that women face, she said. There are also many human rights issues(that) must be addressed not from a gender-neutral perspective but from a gender-sensitive and awareness point of view.

One such issue is the compulsory hijab law, which the current regime implemented soon after coming to power.

There has been consistent pushback by everyday Iranians over being told what to wear, Fallah said. Our right to choose an outfit and decide on our public appearance has been denied since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

Iranian women protests against Trump's withdraw from the nuclear deal (Photo: AP)

HRWs Far contends that nation-wide protests last year changed the nature of the debate in the country.

In fact, the Iranian government recently released two studies indicating that public support for prosecuting violators of the hijab law has declined. The Iranian parliaments research center study showed that 70 percent of women do not even adhere to the regimes strict religious interpretation of the law.

I think the Hijab law will change because you cant force people to observe what they dont believe, Fallah affirmed. Iranian society has evolved a lot in terms of social issues, and it is inevitable that it will continue to do so. The government should realize that the compulsory hijab policy failed a long time ago.

According to Fallah, women contend with many other inequities such as being discriminated against in all arenas(including) gender-specific education and segregation.

HRWs Far likewise stresses that Iranian women are treated unfairly when it comes to marriage, divorce and many other legal issues. A womans testimony is worth half that of a mans so if you need two witnesses in a trial, you would have to bring in four women, she noted.

For his part, Memarian from the Center for Human Rights in Iran suggests that the work of Iranian female activists has been hindered by the governments crackdown on public demonstrations.

Iranian Women (Photo: AFP)

The (regime) has raised enormously the cost of peaceful activism, which poses a major challenge for agents of change in the country, he said.

Despite this, Memarian has a positive view about the future.

Regardless of the situation, women continue to ask for change and push boundaries because of the very determined generation now in Iran that dares to challenge the state. The enthusiasm and the will of the women activists make many people hopeful, he said.

Memarian points to recent successes such as the draft nationality law, approved earlier this week by the lower house of parliament, that if green-lighted by the upper house would enable mothers (like fathers now) to pass on their nationality to their children.

Overall, Memarian emphasized that one of the top issues for Iranian female activists is the promotion of draft legislation to address violence against women. While the bill has not been passed, women continue to apply pressure on the government to approve the motion.

It shows how civil society in the country and beyond can lead to grand change, he said. (The proposed legislation) does not go far enough, but it is keeping women activists (confident) that by insisting on their rightful demands they can have a (positive impact).

By contrast, Fallah from the UN WOMEN USNC LA insists that it is unlikely big changes are on the way in Iran. Sharia (Islamic) law is far more powerful than allowing women to gain more rights, she concluded.

Article written by Tara Kavaler
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday denied friction with his hawkish foreign policy advisers on Iran, specifically giving statements of support to White House national security adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Trump called "bullshit" a variety of news reports that he had chafed at his advisers and privately expressed concerns that they were trying to steer him into a war with Iran.

U.S. officials said on Thursday that Trump had told his advisers, including acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, that he did not want to get into a war with Iran.

"They (the news media) put out messages that I'm angry with my people. I'm not angry with my people. I make my own decisions," Trump said at a realtor's convention in Washington. "Mike Pompeo is doing a great job. Bolton is doing a great job."

Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign promised to stay out of conflicts abroad after what he viewed as costly wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But he also has said he will do what it takes to protect U.S. interests abroad. The recent deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier group has raised tensions in the Gulf region and fanned fears of armed conflict.
U.S.-allied Bahrain warned its citizens on Saturday against travel to Iraq and Iran and asked those already there to return "immediately" for their safety, state news agency BNA said.

The Bahrain foreign ministry cited, "unstable regional circumstances, dangerous developments and potential threats," according to BNA.

The warning comes amid simmering tensions between the United States and Iran.

Washington on Wednesday pulled non-emergency staff members from its embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad out of apparent concern about perceived threats from neighbouring Iran, to which Iraqi Shi'ite militias are allied. Earlier on Saturday Exxon evacuated its foreign staff from an Iraqi oilfield.
Thousands of ultra-Orthodox men demonstrated Saturday in central Jerusalem against the desecration of Shabbat, the Jewish weekly rest day, as Tel Aviv readies for the Eurovision finals this evening.

Protesters said the rally is against "the horrible desecration of Shabbat in the holy land, and against the abomination show going on in Tel Aviv."

One protester was arrested for assaulting a police officer.
FAIRMONTFairview Manors activities room was decked out in red, white and blue as part of the nursing homes celebration of National Skilled Nursing Care Week (NSNCW).

The days USO theme was one of several themed events that have happened through the week.

Monday residents celebrated the Roaring 20s  complete with a flapper reenactor who came from Kansas City.

Tuesdays USO Military Party featured patriotic music and stories from the past by local historian Mike Holmberg. The party turned into a sing-along, as residents enjoyed the music.

Wednesday was Nifty 50s which was kicked off by a morning classic car show, which had a dozen classic vehicles on display. Later in the day residents were treated to a makeshift malt shop.

The decades theme continued Thursday with The Groovy 60s and 70s. The nursing home hired an Elvis impersonator, and set up a fondue bar.

Friday was a duel-themed day: Totally 80s/Carnival. Residents and visitors could have their faces painted, and Fairview organized a petting zoo.
RTHK: Australia's Prime Minister savours 'miracle' win

Australia's ruling conservative coalition has defied expectations to win general election, prompting Prime Minister Scott Morrison to declare: "I have always believed in miracles!"

"How good is Australia!", shouted a jubilant Morrison, who came to office just nine months ago in a party coup against his moderate predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull.

While it remained unclear if Morrison's Liberal party and their rural-based National party partners would win enough seats to form a majority government, the leader of the main opposition Labor party conceded defeat shortly before midnight.

"It is obvious that Labor will not be able to form the next government", Bill Shorten told stunned supporters in Melbourne.

"In the national interest, a short while ago I called Scott Morrison to congratulate him," Shorten said, adding that he would also stand down as leader of his party in the wake of its shock defeat.

The result was a monumental upset and a failure by pollsters, who had for months predicted a comfortable victory for Labor after six years in opposition.

Some bookies had paid out early expecting a coalition defeat and all but the most ardent partisans had thrown in the towel.

The results appeared to show a fractured electorate with minor populist and right-wing parties playing an outsized role in tipping the balance in favour of the conservatives in key districts in the northeast of the country.

They include Pauline Hanson, whose party shrugged off revelations her party solicited money from the US gun lobby and Clive Palmer - dubbed Australia's Donald Trump - who splashed tens of millions on a populist campaign.

Australia has compulsory voting and a complex system of ballots ranked by voter preference, with big political, economic and cultural differences from state to state on the vast island-continent.

Many of the laurels for victory will go to Morrison, who just weeks ago looked set for an electoral drubbing, fated to enter the history books as one of the most short-lived prime ministers in Australian history.

But he closed the gap with a negative campaign and backing from the country's biggest media organisation - owned by Rupert Murdoch - mainly targeting older, wealthier voters concerned over Labor plans to cut various tax loopholes in order to fund spending on education, healthcare and climate initiatives. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-18. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
New Delhi: Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the nation's biggest oil firm, has tied up imports from the US and taken additional volumes from Saudi Arabia to make up for the bulk of the volumes lost because of sanctions prohibiting buying oil from Iran, top officials said Friday.

Iran supplied more than a tenth of India's oil needs before the reimposition of US sanctions against the Persian Gulf nation stopped supplies this month.

"We have tied up supplies from alternate sources. No single country can make up for the volumes lost, that's why we are keeping our sourcing diversified. We are fairly diversified in our sourcing and we have robust sourcing in place to make up for all of the Iranian oil," IOC Chairman Sanjiv Singh told reporters here.

India bought close to 24 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran in the fiscal ended March 31 (2018-19). Of this, IOC sourced about 9 million tonnes from Iran.

IOC and other Indian refiners stopped importing crude oil from Iran this month following the US' move to end sanction waivers.

To make up for the shortfall, IOC has used optional volumes available from suppliers such as Saudi Arabia. Also, it has for the first time signed term import contracts with two US suppliers, he said, adding in all 4.6 million tonnes of crude oil from the US has been signed up for 2019.

IOC Director (Finance) A K Sharma said the company has an annual contract to buy 5.6 million tonnes of crude oil from Saudi Arabia. On top of this, it has the option to import an additional 2 million tonnes.

"We have exercised our optional volumes with Saudi Arabia and will be importing 2 million barrels of additional crude oil from Saudi Arabia in six months period beginning July," he said, adding the optional volumes imported from July to December total to about 1.5-1.6 million tonnes.

From the US, IOC has signed a deal with Norwegian oil company Equinor for buying 3 million tonnes of crude during the year and an additional 1.6 million tonnes from Algerian national oil company Sonatrach.

Equinor and Sonatrach produce crude oil in the US.

Singh said refiners import crude oil from a wide range of sources and have been lining up alternate supplies for the past months.

"The US was to take a decision on waiver extension in April and Indian refineries had prepared plans for all eventualities. We have alternate sources lined up to make up for any shortfall," he said.

US President Donald Trump last year withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and revived a range of sanctions against the Persian Gulf nation. It, however, granted a six-month waiver from sanctions to eight countries -- China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy, and Greece -- but with a condition that they would reduce their purchases of Iranian oil.

The waiver began in November 2018 and expired on May 2.

India had agreed to restrict its monthly purchase to 1.25 million tonnes to get the waiver. But since it had made robust purchases in the period prior to November 2018, India's overall crude oil imports from Iran totalled nearly 24 million tonnes in 2018-19 as compared to 22.6 million tonnes bought in the 2017-18.

"We have optional volumes (over and above the term contracts) from a number of suppliers which we can exercise to make up for any shortfall from Iran," Singh said. "We can also go to the spot (or current) market to source crude."

IOC has the option to take 0.7 million tonnes of crude oil from Mexico on top of its committed purchase of 0.7 million tonnes during the year. Similarly, it has optional volumes of 1.5 million tonnes from Kuwait and another 1 million tonnes from the UAE, Sharma said.

"We have all the supplies tied up and I think globally crude will be readily available but it is difficult to say what the impact will be on price," Singh added.

India, the world's third-biggest oil consumer, meets more than 80 percent of its oil needs through imports. Iran was its third-largest supplier after Iraq and Saudi Arabia and was meeting more than 10 percent of its total needs.

Iranian oil is a lucrative buy for refiners as the Persian Gulf nation provides 60 days of credit for purchases, terms not available from suppliers of substitute crudes -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Nigeria, and the US.
Buddha Purnima is celebrated across the globe to mark the birth of prince Siddhartha Gautama, later the Gautama Buddhafounder of Buddhism.

Buddha Purnima is also known as Vaisakha or Vesakha and celebrations of Lord Buddha's birth are observed on this highly auspicious day.



Lord Buddha's teachings can be seen as a gateway which helps in making a mere mortal seek enlightenment.

Buddhists across the globe celebrate this day by following some rituals and prayer to the lord. We all are aware that Prince Siddhartha Gautam transformed into 'Gautam Buddha' by denouncing the worldly pleasures and embracing spirituality, seeking real enlightenment of the soul.

Buddha Purnima is usually the most important festival of the year for Buddhism followers. It falls on May 18 this year.

Today, on this very special day, let's take a look at how we can worship the Lord, whose teachings have been guiding mankind for betterment and peace.

Firstly, it is celebrated in many Asian and foreign lands too, such as Cambodia, Japan, China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines and Australia, Canada, USA to name a few, however in different ways may be.

What we can do:

In India, on this day Buddhists start their celebration by paying a visit to common Viharas, where they observe a longer-than-usual, full-length Buddhist sutra, similar to a service.

Dressed usually in white attire, on this day non-vegetarian food is not consumed.

Instead, people make Kheer and distribute it as legend has that a woman named Sujata had offered Gautama Buddha a bowl of milk porridge.

So, pray to the lord with purest of feelings in your heartas there's nothing else which will connect you with Buddha eternally!
Mumbai: A Reserve Bank-appointed committee headed by Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani submitted its suggestions on promoting digital payments to Governor Shaktikanta Das Friday, the central bank said.

In January, the Reserve Bank of India had set up the five-member panel on deepening digital payments with a view to encouraging digitisation of payments and enhance financial inclusion through digitisation.

In a statement, the Reserve Bank said the committee held its deliberations including consultations with various stakeholders and submitted its report Friday to Governor Das.

"The Reserve Bank of India will examine the recommendations of the committee and will dovetail the action points, wherever necessary, in its Payment Systems Vision 2021 for implementation," it said.

The panel was tasked with reviewing the existing status of digitisation of payments in the country, identifying the current gaps in the ecosystem and suggesting ways to bridge them and assessing the current levels of digital payments in financial inclusion.

It was also asked to undertake cross country analyses with a view to identify best practices that can be adopted in our country to accelerate digitisation of the economy and financial inclusion through greater use of digital payments.

Besides Infosys co-founder Nilekani, former RBI deputy governor H R Khan, former MD and CEO of Vijaya Bank Kishore Sansi and former secretary in ministries of IT and steel Aruna Sharma were also member of the panel.

The fifth member is Sanjay Jain, chief innovation officer, Centre for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship (CIIE), IIM Ahmedabad.

Earlier this week, the RBI released a vision document for ensuring a safe, secure, convenient, quick and affordable e-payment system with an aim making India a 'cash-lite' society.

The 'Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision 2019 - 2021', with its core theme of 'Empowering Exceptional (E)payment Experience', envisages to achieve "a highly digital and cash-lite society" through the goal posts of competition, cost effectiveness, convenience and confidence (4Cs).
Unnao: Five people lost their lives and more than 30 were injured in a bus accident on the Lucknow-Agra expressway on Saturday.

Unnao: 5 dead, more than 30 injured after a bus rammed into a tractor trolley on Lucknow-Agra expressway pic.twitter.com/hVznRr2XlM  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 18, 2019

The accident happened near Devkhari village which comes under the Bangarmau police station.

The incident happened when a bus carrying passengers from Delhi to Bihar overturned after ramming into a tractor trolley.

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More than a dozen injured people have been referred to the Lucknow Trauma centre for further treatment. Further details in this regard are awaited.
Army man Naik Narayan Singh, part of the 18-member Indian Army Mountaineering Expedition that spotted mysterious footprints of mythical creature 'Yeti', died while descending from the Mount Makalu summit point. The team had successfully climbed Mt Makalu (8,485 metres) on Thursday.

It is informed that the 18 member Indian Army Mountaineering Expedition team to Mt Makalu (8485m) had successfully scaled the peak on 16 May 2019. While descending from the summit point to Camp IV (first camp during the descent), one of the team member Naik Narayan Singh died, said the Indian Army in a release.

Singh had joined the Army in 2002 and hailed from Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand. A keen mountaineer, he was a part of several other mountaineering expeditions, said the Army. Last year, he successfully summited Mount Kamet. He is survived by his wife and three young children. A sincere and brave soldier he will be missed by all, said the Army.

Mount Makalu is considered amongst the most dangerous and challenging peaks to summit. It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas, some 19 kilometres southeast of Mount Everest, on the border between Nepal and Tibet, China. Indian Army had undertaken this mountaineering expedition in furtherance of the objective of summiting challenging peaks above 8000 metres.

In a tweet on April 29, the Indian Army had informed that a Mountaineering Expedition team had spotted the giant footprint - measuring 35X15 inches - in the snow. The tweet was accompanied by several photos showing the massive footprint.

For the first time, an #IndianArmy Moutaineering Expedition Team has sited Mysterious Footprints of mythical beast 'Yeti' measuring 32x15 inches close to Makalu Base Camp on 09 April 2019. This elusive snowman has only been sighted at Makalu-Barun National Park in the past. pic.twitter.com/AMD4MYIgV7  ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) April 29, 2019

Stories of the Yeti first emerged as a facet of Western popular culture in the 19th century. Given the lack of evidence of its existence, the scientific community has generally regarded the Yeti as a legend.
United Nations: India, which is owed USD 38 million by the UN for peacekeeping operations, has voiced concern over the "unjustifiable and inexplicable" delays in reimbursement to countries providing peacekeeping troops and police for UN missions.

It underlined that recurrent delays in payments have turned the Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) as "de facto financers" of UN peacekeeping. "Reimbursement on time for peacekeeping is a genuine expectation," First Secretary in India's Permanent Mission to the UN Mahesh Kumar said Thursday at a Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) session on 'Improving the Financial Situation of the United Nations.' Kumar noted that total arrears currently stand at a whopping USD 3.6 billion, nearly one-third of the annual assessment of the United Nations, adding that UN peacekeeping also suffers from delay in reimbursements.

He pointed out that apart from the one billion dollar worth of unsettled reimbursements to TCCs, large reimbursements related to Letters of Assist (USD 178 million) and death and disability claims (USD 8 million) were also outstanding. These amounts do not include the long unsettled Contingent Owned Equipment (COE) reimbursements of many TCCs, including India, from the closed peacekeeping missions.

The UN owes India USD 38 million, among the highest it has to pay to any country, for peacekeeping operations as of March 2019, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had said in his report in April on improving the financial situation of the UN. As of March 31, 2019, the total amount payable to troop- and police-contributing countries with respect to active peacekeeping missions was USD 265 million.

Kumar emphasised that India is among those member states who continue to be owed significant sums towards troop and COE reimbursements from the active peacekeeping missions but the country still continues to support UN peacekeeping, and is cumulatively the largest troop contributor. He voiced concern over the "unjustifiable and inexplicable? delays in reimbursement, saying it negatively impacts on UN's ability to maintain honest agreements with TCCs on other aspects of peacekeeping. "This situation calls for a serious introspection," he said.

Emphasising that arrears put those member states that would have benefitted from the efficient implementation of mandates to a serious disadvantage, Kumar noted that while there has not been any real growth in the reimbursement rates, the TCCs have been asked to bring in more capacities and more equipment to achieve ambitious mandates. "These arrears and recurrent delay in reimbursement have turned the TCCs as de facto financers of UN peacekeeping. This is involuntary and beyond many TCCs' capacity to pay; in fact it eats up their already limited capacity to contribute," he said.

Kumar added that the current reimbursement framework and related practices of the UN Secretariat also compound the problem, noting that the practice of delaying payments to TCCs, even as similar contractual obligations to others are met, cannot continue "unaddressed." India's share of the UN's budget has been increasing in recent years, including a 13 per cent increase from this year and the country has been paying its share on time. The UN Secretary-General has put forth several proposals to improve the financial situation of the UN and some of the proposals supposedly aim to improve UN's reimbursement relationship with the TCCs. Kumar said India will study these proposals carefully.

Guterres had said in his report that the arrears to troop- and police-contributing countries could increase to $588 million by June 2019 "in the worst-case scenario.? The UN chief had expressed his concern about the deteriorating financial health of the Organisation, saying the United Nations is facing deepening liquidity problems in its regular budget, a trend that must be urgently halted and reversed.

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"Peacekeeping operations also face frequent cash constraints that force the Organisation to postpone the settlement of its obligations to troop- and police-contributing countries,? he said.

Guterres has requested the General Assembly to increase the Working Capital Fund to USD 350 million effective July 1, 2019 and to create a Peacekeeping Working Capital Fund of USD 250 million and authorise its use to address the liquidity challenges of active peacekeeping operations among ways to help improve the financial situation of the world body and deal with timely payment of dues to troop and police contributing countries.

Earlier this year, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin had said that the financial situation of the United Nations peacekeeping , particularly the non-payment/delayed payment of arrears to the troop/police contributing countries, is a "cause for concern".

He had said that the practice of delaying payments to TCCs/PCCs, even as contractual obligations to others are met, cannot continue unaddressed. ?It results in TCCs/PCCs bearing unsustainable burdens. In some cases, TCCs and PCCs are owed 100 to 200 times their cumulative annual financial contributions to the UN,? he had said.
JAMMU: The security forces on Saturday killed four Pakistan-backed terrorists in separate encounters in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama and Baramulla districts.

Among the four terrorists killed in today's encounters, three of them belonged to terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.

The overnight gunbattle began after a group of terrorists hiding in Punzgam village of Pulwama, opened fire on the security forces. They were finally killed in a joint operation by CRPF, 55 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and Special Operations Group (SOG) in Panzgam village of Awantipora, Pulwama.

All three slain terrorists were Kashmiri residents and belonged to the terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.

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They were identified as Showkat Ahmad Dar, Irfan Ahmad and Muzaffar Ahmed. While Showkat was from the Punzgam, Muzaffar belonged to Pulwama district and Irfan Ahmad hailed from Sopore area of Baramulla district.

Dar was also reportedly involved in the killing of an Army jawan Aurangzeb last year.

Aurangzeb, a rifleman with 44 Rashtriya Rifles, was kidnapped by a group of terrorists while he was on his way back home in a bus on June 14, 2018. His bullet-ridden body was later found in South Kashmir's Pulwama district.

A fresh gunbattle broke out in Hathlangoo village of Baramulla after a lone terrorist hiding in the area opened fire at an Army Cordon and Search party.

"As the cordon was tightened, there was firing from the hideout triggering the encounter. All exit points from the village were sealed and the terrorist was neutralised down," an officer said.

Bodies of all four terrorists have been recovered. The identity of the terrorist killed in Sopore is yet to be disclosed.

A large cache of arms and ammunition have been recovered from the site of encounter. A massive search is currently underway to nab more terrorists hiding in the area.

Meanwhile, the mobile and internet services in Sopore and Awantipora area were suspended. Train services between Srinagar and Bannihal town of Jammu region have also been suspended.
Kolkata: Nine Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal will vote in the last phase of election on May 19, Sunday. An electorate of 1,49,63,064 will decide the fate of 111 candidates in these nine seats - Kolkata North and Kolkata South, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, Jaynagar (SC) and Mathurapur (SC).

Out of the 1,49,63,064 voters, 7698023 are males voters, 7264664 female voters and 377 are third gender voters.

A total of 17,042 polling booths have been set up to ensure free and fair voting as violence marred the previous phases of the election across the state. 710 companies of central forces are being deployed by the Election Commission (EC) to oversee the polling. The poll body has for the first time deployed a special police observer and a special observer.

Campaigning in West Bengal also ended end at 10 pm on Thursday, instead of 6 pm on Friday on EC's order following violence in Kolkata.

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Sitting MP Abhishek Banerjee, who is Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee nephew, is seeking re-election from the Diamond Harbour seat, from where Nilanjan Roy is fighting on BJP ticket.

In the Jadavpur seat, actress-turned-politician Mimi Chakraborty from the TMC is having a face-off with Anupam Hazra of the BJP. The Congress, however, has given the Jadavpur seat a miss.

Some CPI(M) candidates in the fray are Fuad Halim, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, Nepaldeb Bhattacharya.

The nine constituencies are spread across the three districts of Kolkata, South and North 24 Parganas.
NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, who on Saturday met Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a bid to cobble up an anti-BJP front in the post-poll scenario, met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow.

Andhra Pradesh CM and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Chief N. Chandrababu Naidu met Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav, in Lucknow, today. pic.twitter.com/ujUgNz6Qfq  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 18, 2019

Welcoming the TDP chief in Lucknow, Akhilesh tweeted, ''It is a pleasure to welcome honble Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in Lucknow.'' He also shared pictures of his meeting with the Andhra CM.

It is a pleasure to welcome Honble Chief Minister Shri N Chandrababu Naidu Ji to Lucknow pic.twitter.com/B2SKJlG5PK  Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) May 18, 2019

The TDP chief will also meet BSP supremo Mayawati this evening.

According to reports, the three leaders will meet at Mayawati's residence in Lucknow where they will explore the possibility of forming an anti-BJP front after the announcement of the 2019 Lok Sabha election results.

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Earlier this morning, Naidu met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and discussed with him the possibilities of all opposition parties uniting and forging a joint opposition alliance in the event of BJP-led NDA falling short of the required numbers.

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister also met CPI leader G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja over breakfast, asking them to "come together".

Naidu also met NCP chief Sharad Pawar and LJD leader Sharad Yadav.

Andhra Pradesh CM and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Chief N. Chandrababu Naidu met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar in Delhi, earlier today. pic.twitter.com/vGBXbInO9P  ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

The TDP chief has already held several rounds of discussions with various opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

During the meeting, Naidu reportedly told all the leaders that ''we all should come together and put our act together" in forming the next government by keeping the BJP out.

The sources said Naidu also told Rahul Gandhi to have a strategy ready, in case the NDA falls short of the majority mark and still stakes claim to form the government.

Naidu's TDP had been a part of the NDA but quit the alliance a few months ago.

On Friday, Naidu had said that not only the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) but any outfit which is against the saffron party are welcome to join a grand alliance after the election results are declared.

Opposition parties are pitching for a joint anti-BJP front to steer the next government.

Hectic deliberations between various opposition leaders have begun before the announcement of Lok Sabha election results on May 23.

Amid the efforts to bring all non-NDA parties together, Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy urged Congress and his party members not to give controversial statements against each other.

(With Agency inputs)




THE Government through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe will tomorrow release US$500 million to supply the interbank foreign currency market, a move which will culminate in the reduction of basic commodities prices and dampen activities on the parallel exchange rate.





In a tweet on its official Tweeter account yesterday, RBZ said it would release US$500 million on Monday to supply the interbank forex market.





Government through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is drawing down US$500 million on Monday, 20 May 2019, to supply the interbank forex market to meet the forex payment requirements of business and individuals, read the tweet.





Responding to the tweet by the central bank, Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said: The US$500 million new facility raised from international banks will increase the supply of foreign currency for imports, for industry and other sectors.





Contacted for comment RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya said the facility would breathe life into the interbank foreign currency market.





The interbank market rate has crept up from its starting level of 2,5 to the green-back to around 3,3 remaining significantly lower than the illegal market rates.





The facility will ensure that the interbank market is alive and kicking so that we meet the requirements of companies, producers and individuals that need to make foreign payment. What this means to me and you is that the foreign currency market will be stabilised . . . , said Dr Mangudya.





He said the stabilisation of the inter market rate would result in improved production by industries, by so doing stabilising the prices of basic commodities.





The initiative is likely to be complemented by industry, which has since resolved to work closely with Government and labour in urgently developing an action plan that is expected to stabilise prices of basic commodities and determine fair remuneration for workers in order to arrest current distortions that are causing consumer discomfort.





Business believes that the basic economic fundamentals are positive and the economy is currently generating (foreign) currency that should be enough for the economy.





Business membership organisations (BMOs), who included representatives of industry, agriculture, mining, banking and the retail sector, agreed at a high-level meeting held in the capital on Friday that the challenges that are being experienced in the economy can be directly linked to foreign currency availability and pricing distortions.





Government has also launched an investigation into anti-trust behaviour and price rigging on mounting speculation that some companies could have abused the RBZs foreign currency facility.





Head of the Special Anti-Corruption Unit in the Office of the President and Cabinet Mr Tabani Mpofu said there were serious concerns over the sudden jump of basic commodities such as life-saving drugs in pharmacies and food stuffs.





There are allegations of cartels which are stifling competition. There is suspicion that in most of these commodities, there is corruption.




Ferozepur: Retaining the Ferozepur Lok Sabha seat has turned into a prestige battle for the SAD, which has fielded its president Sukhbir Singh Badal to wrest it from his former colleague and sitting MP Sher Singh Ghubaya, who recently switched over to the Congress.

Caste factor has always played a key role in this constituency, which shares an over 200-km-long international border with Pakistan. The Rai Sikhs are the predominant community here, followed by the Hindus, Kumhars, Jatt Sikhs and the Kamboj.

It has mostly been either Jatt Sikh or Rai Sikh candidates, barring the exception of late Balram Jakhar of the Congress (in 1980).

The seat came to seen as a SAD bastion as the party won five consecutive terms starting 1998. Party stalwart and old horse Zora Singh Mann, a "Jatt Sikh", was elected from the seat three times in a row in 1998, 1999 and 2004.

In 2009, the SAD played the caste card and fielded Ghubaya, a Rai Sikh. He emerged victorious, defeating firebrand Congress leader Jagmeet Singh Brar.

Ghubaya again tasted success in 2014 when he defeated another Congress stalwart, Sunil Jakhar, by 31,420 votes.

Last month, however, Ghubaya joined the Congress and was subsequently given a ticket, a move that left many Congressmen fuming.

Many Congress leaders have denied extending their support, and Ghubaya is banking on his community, which has a sizable chunk of the votes in this segment.

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Following the sitting MP's exit from the party, the SAD fielded its top-gun Badal from the seat. Badal is a sitting MLA from Jalalabad.

Calling the Congress candidate a "gaddar" (traitor), the SAD chief said, "Ghubaya has not only betrayed me, but also his mother party which made him MLA and then two-time MP. He has also betrayed the people from his own community."

"Ghubaya pursued his own vested interests and acquired illegitimate money," he added while terming himself as a "Sidha Sadha Desi Banda (straight forward local honest person)".

Promising to usher in a new era of development in the area, Badal says, "I don't like stunts but like to focus only on delivering what I promise and I love the challenge of promising big and delivering it to the people."

In his response, Ghubaya terms his battle with Sukhbir as one between the "Sarmaidar (affluent)" and the "Garib (poor)".

Claiming that he will cause the biggest upset in the state by defeating Badal, Ghubaya said not only was the Rai Sikh "biradari" (community) standing behind him like a rock, people from all other communities were also supporting him.

The Ferozepur parliamentary constituency, which goes to polls on May 19, has nine assembly segments. Six of these are represented by Congress MLAs, two by SAD legislators and one by the BJP.

The Congress had last won the constituency in 1985, when Gurdial Singh Dhillon defeated Inderjit Singh of the SAD. Since then, Congress has lost the seat for eight straight terms.

The populace here, especially those belonging to the villages situated along the Sutlej, which zig-zags the Indo-Pakistan border in this area, are sore over the "false promises" made to them every polls.

Those who have borne the brunt of the two Indo-Pakistan wars and the incursion of the furious Sutlej several times in the past, say nothing has changed on the ground.

Harbhajan Lal, a small businessman belonging to village Vasal Mohan in Guruharsahai, though praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his schemes like the 'Jan Dhan Yogna' and others, rued,

"Whenever we go to banks to apply loan, it is denied due to poor market value of our land in border areas."
Voting for all four Lok Sabha constituencies in Himachal Pradesh is scheduled to take place in the last and seventh phase on Sunday. A total of 45 candidates are in fray from these four Lok Sabha seats and their fate will be decided by over 53 lakh registered electors in the state. The Election Commission of India has set up 7723 polling station across the state for smooth conduct of polls.

Polling will be held in all four Parliamentary Constituencies (PC) of Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur, and Shimla. As per the data available, there are 5,330,154 voters, out of which 2,724,111 are males, 2,605,996 females and 47 third gender voters.

Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur parliamentary constituencies are General Seats whereas Shimla PC is reserved for SC. As per Form 7A available on EC website, 11 candidates are contesting from Kangra, 17 from Mandi, 11 from Hamirpur and 6 from Shimla.

All eyes will be on Mandi from where former Union Minister Sukh Ram's grandson Aashray Sharma is contesting on a Congress ticket. Aashray is pitted against BJP's Ram Swaroop Sharma who is seen by many as a close confidante of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.

Voting will take place on 59 Lok Sabha seats spread across seven states and one Union Territory in the seventh phase on Sunday. A total of 918 candidates are in the fray and their political fate will be decided by over 10.01 lakh voters. The maximum number of seats going to poll in the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha election 2019 are in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab with 13 seats each. West Bengal (9 seats), Madhya Pradesh (8), Bihar (8), Himachal Pradesh (4) and Jharkhand (3) are the other states along with the Union Territory of Chandigarh (1) which will vote in the final phase.
A day after election campaign ended, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday begin his two-day visit to Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines in Uttarakhand. While PM Modi will be in Kedarnath on Saturday, he will visit Badrinath on Sunday before returning to Delhi in the afternoon.

This will be PM Modi's fourth visit to Kedarnath during his tenure. He first visited the shrine as a prime minister in May 2017 during the opening ceremony and went there for the second time in October 2017 during the closing ceremony. In November 2018, PM Modi visited Kedarnath for the third time, just before the closing ceremony of the temple.

Uttarakhand: #Visuals from #Kedarnath. PM Narendra Modi to offer prayers at Kedarnath Temple later today pic.twitter.com/UT5S6fabZk  ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

PM Modi is expected to land in Kedarnath at around 9 am and by 10 am, he will do the darshan and Puja. Later, he will go for inspection and hold a discussion with officials over construction works. Arrangements have been made in the Dhyan Gufa (meditation cave) for his night stay.

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On Sunday, he will take part in the morning puja at Kedarnath Temple and will then visit Badrinath for darshan. He will fly back to Delhi via Dehradun.

The Election Commission has given its nod to PM's visit to Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines. His office has sought the views of the EC on the two-day official visit to Uttarakhand.

"The visit is official so it can be undertaken. But the office of the PM has been reminded that the poll code is still in force," news agency PTI quoted a source as saying.

The last and seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls is on May 19.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah will go to Somnath on Saturday morning. He will offer prayers at Somnath temple with his family members.
NEW DELHI: As the Lok Sabha election reaches its last leg, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is slated to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday in New Delhi, and will fly to Lucknow later in the day to meet Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief is also likely to meet NCP leader Sharad Pawar, CPI secretary general Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, and Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) leader Sharad Yadav. On Friday, Naidu met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora regarding re-elections at five polling stations that fall under Chittoor parliamentary constituency in Andhra Pradesh on May 19.

Accusing the Election Commission of being a "biased body" that takes "pro-government decisions," Naidu, while speaking to reporters, had said, "It is unfortunate that we are fighting against the EC. In Andhra Pradesh, they ordered re-polling in five polling stations. I do not want re-polling. I want the EC to be transparent. The way the EC is working, I am questioning that as a senior politician of the country. I have never seen such an attitude of the EC in the last 25 years of my political career," he said.

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Naidu had also written a letter to the poll body, saying, "The EC has already conducted re-polling in five other polling stations in three districts of Andhra Pradesh on May 6, based on certain complaints. If there were any issues in the polling stations in Chandragiri assembly constituency, why didn`t the Commission enquire into the same and conduct the re-polling on May 6?"

He even criticised the EC for taking cognisance of the complaints filed by the YSRCP and ordering re-polling. "We have seen polling being conducted in different phases, but have never come across re-polling also being held in phases," he said. Hours after his meeting with Arora, Naidu visited Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the latter`s residence. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was also present in the meeting.

The TDP chief also met CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury. The seven-phased Lok Sabha elections, which began on April 11, will conclude on May 19. The 25 Lok Sabha and 175 assembly seats at stake in Andhra Pradesh went for polls simultaneously on April 11. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
The Election Commission of India served a notice to Sunny Deol, Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate from Gurdaspur, seeking response for violating the model code of conduct. The actor-turned-politician had continued to campaign on Friday night, addressing a public meeting, hours after the deadline for electioneering was over. Deol has been asked to respond to it by 9 am on Saturday.

The EC notice, titled Blatant violation of the model code of conduct and Standard Operation Procedure (last 48 hours), has handed over by Sub-Divisional Magistrate to Deol on late Friday night.





Bollywood's action hero Sunny Deol, whose real name is Ajay Singh Deol, joined the BJP on April 23. He has been pitted against sitting MP and Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar, Aam Aadmi Party's Peter Masih and Punjab Democratic Alliance's (PDA) Lal Chand in the electoral fight from Gurdaspur seat.

Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency was earlier represented by actor Vinod Khanna who won from the seat in 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2014 on a BJP ticket.
NEW DELHI: The seven-phased 2019 Lok Sabha election, one of the most bitterly fought in the recent memory, will come to a close on Sunday, May 19 when polling will be held in 59 constituencies across seven states and one Union Territory, which will decide the fate of political big-wigs including Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is seeking a re-election from Varanasi.

Polling will be held in all 13 seats in Punjab and an equal number of seats in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat in Chandigarh (UT).

Over 10.01 crore voters are expected to decide the fate of 918 candidates. The Election Commission has set up more than 1.12 lakh polling stations for smooth conduct of polls.

Full list of 59 constituencies going to vote in seventh phase of Lok Sabha election 2019 on May 19

On Sunday, a bypoll will be held in Panaji, necessitated due to the death of former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar in March. Bye-elections will also be held in four assembly constituencies of Tamil Nadu - Sulur, Aravakurichi, Ottapidaram (SC) and Thiruparankundram.

59 constituencies vote in phase 7 of Lok Sabha election: Know the parties which currently hold the seats

Counting of votes will be taken up on May 23. An average of 66.88 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the last six phases.

Uttar Pradesh

Voting for the remaining 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh will take place on Sunday, May 17. The last and final phase of the election will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking re-election from Varanasi. The 13 seats going to poll on Sunday are Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Bansgaon (SC), Ghosi, Salempur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Robertsganj (SC).

In all, there are 167 candidates in the fray for 13 Lok Sabha seats, which will go to polls on May 19. The highest number of 26 candidates in the fray are from Varanasi - the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Modi. The least number of four candidates are fighting the polls from Bansgaon (SC) Lok Sabha seat. Over 2.32 crore voters are expected to exercise their franchise in last phase of this election in Uttar Pradesh. As many as 25,874 polling booths have been set up in 13,979 polling centres in the final phase.

There are a total of 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state out of which the BJP had won 71 seats and its ally Apana dal (Sonelal) two seats in the 2014 polls, leaving two for the Congress and five for the Samajwadi Party. The BSP had won no seat in the last general elections.

Punjab

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Union Ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri are among the 278 candidates including 24 women whose fate will be decided in Punjab on Sunday.

Actor turned politician Sunny Deol, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab unit chief Bhagwant Mann are among other prominent candidates in the fray here. On most of the 13 seats, the contest appears to be a direct fight between the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance.

A conglomeration of several political outfits, the Punjab Democratic Alliance (PDA) led by AAP rebel Sukhpal Singh Khaira, is also contesting on all 13 seats while SAD (Taksali), a breakaway faction of SAD, has fielded one candidate from Anandpur Sahib.

In 2014, the AAP and the SAD had won four seats each, the Congress three and the BJP two.

West Bengal

An electorate of 1,49,63,064 will decide the fate of 111 candidates in nine seats of West Bengal - Kolkata North and Kolkata South, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, Jayanagar (SC) and Mathurapur (SC).

Eight seats, barring Jadavpur, will witness a contest between the Trinamool Congress, the BJP, the Congress and the Left Front. The Congress has given the Jadavpur seat a miss.

The nine constituencies are spread across the three districts of Kolkata, South and North 24 Parganas. The high-voltage campaign for the final phase saw poll meetings by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress leader Sachin Pilot and West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.

Shah's roadshow in the city on Tuesday was marred by violence and destruction of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's bust in a college in north Kolkata. In a first such action in India's electoral history, the Election Commission ordered campaigning in the nine West Bengal constituencies to end at 10 PM on Thursday, instead of 6 PM on Friday, in the wake of the violence between the BJP and the TMC during Shah's roadshow.

Bihar

As many as four Union Ministers - Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ram Kripal Yadav, RK Singh and Ashwini Kumar Choubey - are among the 157 candidates in Bihar.

Seven of these seats were won by the NDA last time, five by the BJP and two by the RLSP, which is now with the "Mahagathbandhan". One was bagged by the JD(U) headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, which then fought separately but is now back with the NDA.

By-poll will also be held for the Dehri Assembly seat. The most keenly-watched contest is in Patna Sahib where Prasad, one of the most prominent members of the Narendra Modi cabinet, is seeking entry into the Lok Sabha. He is pitted against Shatrughan Sinha - the actor-turned-politician, who won it on both occasions for the BJP and is now in the fray as the Congress candidate.

Jharkhand

Rajmahal, Dumka and Godda Lok Sabha constituencies in Jharkhand will go to polls in seventh and last phase of national election 2019 on May 19. Rajmahal and Dumka are Scheduled Tribe (ST) seats, whereas Godda is a General seat.

A total of 4,315 polling booths have been set up to for the election.

The electoral fortunes of as many as 42 candidates including that of the former chief minister and Union minister Shibu Soren will be decided on Sunday here.

Soren, the chief of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and an eighth term sitting MP, is in the fray from Dumka seat once again. He is crossing swords with BJP's Sunil Soren. The JMM leader had defeated his BJP challenger twice in 2009 and 2014.

Madhya Pradesh

Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa seats in Madhya Pradesh, all currently held by the BJP, will go to polls in Madhya Pradesh.

Former Union ministers Kantilal Bhuria, Arun Yadav are in the fray from Ratlam and Khandwa. In Khandwa, voters are likely to see a tough fight between Yadav and ex-MP BJP chief Nandkumar Singh Chauhan.

Meenakshi Natarajan, a close aide of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, is trying her luck again from Mandsaur, after being defeated in 2014.

Eighty-two candidates are in the fray in the eight seats, comprising six in Dewas, nine in Ujjain, 13 in Mandsaur, nine in Ratlam, seven in Dhar, 20 in Indore, seven in Khargone and 11 in Khandwa.

Out of the total 29 seats in MP, the election in the first phase was held in six constituencies on April 29, followed by the second phase polls for seven constituencies on May 6 and eight seats in the third phase on May 23.



Himachal Pradesh

Voting for all four Lok Sabha constituencies in Himachal Pradesh is scheduled to take place in the last and seventh phase on Sunday. A total of 45 candidates are in fray from these four Lok Sabha seats and their fate will be decided by over 53 lakh registered electors in the state. The Election Commission of India has set up 7723 polling station across the state for smooth conduct of polls.

Polling will be held in all four Parliamentary Constituencies (PC) of Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur, and Shimla. As per the data available, there are 5,330,154 voters, out of which 2,724,111 are males, 2,605,996 females and 47 third gender voters.

Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur parliamentary constituencies are General Seats whereas Shimla PC is reserved for SC. As per Form 7A available on EC website, 11 candidates are contesting from Kangra, 17 from Mandi, 11 from Hamirpur and 6 from Shimla.

All eyes will be on Mandi from where former Union Minister Sukh Ram's grandson Aashray Sharma is contesting on a Congress ticket. Aashray is pitted against BJP's Ram Swaroop Sharma who is seen by many as a close confidante of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.

Chandigarh

The Union Territory of Chandigarh has only one Lok Sabha constituency, Chandigarh, which will go to poll in the seventh phase of Lok Sabha election 2019 on Sunday, May 19. The polling will take place from 7 AM till 6 PM. Chandigarh parliamentary constituency is a general category constituency. A total of 36 candidates are contesting from the seat, out of which nine are women. A total of 597 polling stations have been set up in the Union Territory.

More than 6 lakh voters in the Union Territory of Chandigarh will choose between sitting MP and BJP candidate Kirron Kher and former railway minister and Congress candidate Pawan Kumar Bansal. Kher was elected as the Member of Parliament from this constituency in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. She bagged 191362 votes and defeated Bansal who got 121720 votes in the 2014 polls. Aam Aadmi Partys (AAP) Gul Kirat Panag, who got 108,679 votes, came third.
In the five years since National Democratic Alliances win in 1999, a millennium had changed and India had kept pace with the changing dynamics of a new world order. The country, under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had seen economic progress and social security. But more importantly, India had finally witnessed political stability after three elections in as many years that had threatened to cause voter fatigue and plunge the country into a political kaleidoscope of regional tugs and shoves. Much of NDAs success in the years between 1999 and 2004 can be attributed to the faith and admiration people in the country had in Vajpayee as a leader while also opting to give the BJP-led alliance a chance to carry India forward in the aftermath of strong international statements courtesy the Pokhran II nuclear test and the triumph in the Kargil War against Pakistan in early 1998 and early 1999, respectively. These two factors had played a significant role in bringing NDA to power in Lok Sabha election 1999 but another crucial part was played by BJPs emphasis to stitch together a formidable and cohesive alliance with regional/smaller parties under the NDA banner. Many in the country began looking beyond BJPs Hindutva credentials and saw the party as a leader of change and of development for the whole.

At around the same time, Congress appeared a party fatigued, rather rickety and marred by internal strife as well as unsteady leadership. Sonia Gandhi had stamped her dominance within the party but it not so much in the minds and hearts of the Indian voters. Its past was in the past and the future appeared clouded in doubt, at least on its own. Little wonder then that the need for coming up with a viable alternative to the NDA was not going to be answered by this party on its own merit, strength or credential. Thus was born the United Progressive Alliance, shortly after the 2004 Lok Sabha election.

Before the election though, there was no real third front on the Indian political horizon that could have really posed a threat to the BJP, Congress and their respective alliances. Regional players were dominant in their own respective regions but those among them who had not sided with one of the two national political forces were rather insignificant in having a more national say.

Years between 1999 and 2004

As mentioned previously, the five years between the 13th and the 14th Lok Sabha election were a period of political stability and of economic progress. Vajpayee, after finally having cemented his place in the PMs office, was able to give an affirmative direction to the countrys domestic policies and international posturing.

Some of the significant domestic measures in the country in those years included disinvestment of a number of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), the passing of Fiscal Responsibility Act, starting of an ambitious highway project  Golden Quadrilateral  to connect major cities of the country, opening of the telecom sector, impetus to the education sector and a general push for economic development. That all of these happened even the face of challenges galore  there were two cyclones, an oil crisis and a drought  made the statement of intent even bolder.

These five years were also a precarious time in the international community. India-Pakistan relations were nervy in the aftermath of Kargil conflict but Vajpayee prioritised peace above all else. While national security remained paramount, India acted in a responsible manner despite threats from terrorism. The 9/11 attacks in New York in 2001 was a turning point for countries around the world and the US came out in a more aggressive manner against Al Qaeda that would have deep effects on  among others  global trade and economy. India condemned the attack in unequivocal terms and recognised that it too remains vigilant in dealing with the menace of terror.

Not all may have been hunky dory as NDA assumed when they came up with the India Shining slogan for their campaign in Lok Sabha election 2004. In hindsight, analysts pointed out several factors that may have been overlooked and/or underestimated by the ruling class. The would be elaborated upon below.

Election 2004  Status of States:

The Lok Sabha election 2004 was conducted across 35 states and union territories in India. Three more states  Jharkhand from Bihar, Uttaranchal (now called Uttarakhand) from Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh from Madhya Pradesh  had been formed as separate states in 2000.

The state and union territories which saw voting in 2004 Lok Sabha election were:

Andhra Pradesh

Assam

Arunachal Pradesh

Bihar

Goa

Gujarat

Haryana

Himachal Pradesh

Jammu and Kashmir

Karnataka

Kerala

Madhya Pradesh

Maharashtra

Manipur

Meghalaya

Mizoram

Nagaland

Orissa

Punjab

Rajasthan

Sikkim

Tamil Nadu

Tripura

Uttar Pradesh

West Bengal

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Chandigarh

Chhattisgarh

Jharkhand

Uttaranchal

Dadra and Nagar Haveli

Daman and Diu

National Capital Territory of Delhi

Lakshadweep

Pondicherry

Political parties in the fray:

There were seven national parties and another 35 state parties which contested the Lok Sabha 2004 election, apart from many other registered (unrecognised) parties. These were:

National Parties:

Bharatiya Janata Party

Bahujan Samaj Party

Communist Party of India

Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Indian National Congress

State Parties:

Arunachal Congress

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Asom Gana Parishad

All India Forward Bloc

All India Trinamool Congress

Biju Janata Dal

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation)

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Federal Party of Manipur

Indian National Lok Dal

Janata Dal (Secular)

Janata Dal (United)

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference

Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party

Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha

Kerala Congress

Kerala Congress (M)

Maharashtrawadi Gomantak

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Mizo National Front

Manipur Peoples Party

Muslim League Kerala State Committee

Nagaland Peoples Front

Pattali Makkal Katchi

Rashtriya Janata Dal

Rashtriya Lok Dal

Revolutionary Socialist Party

Shiromani Akali Dal

Shiromani Akali Dal (Simranjit Singh Mann)

Sikkim Democratic Front

Shivsena

Samajwadi Party

Telugu Desam

United Goans Democratic Party

Uttarakhand Kranti Dal

Indian National Lok Dal

Election 2004

Lok Sabha election 2004 was held in four phases between April 20 and May 10. The election was called after PM Vajpayee recommended an early dissolution of the 13th Lok Sabha. This would turn out to be a catastrophic miscalculation by the BJP and Vajpayee although at the time, it was regarded by them as a power move bolstered by the confidence brought in by triumphs in three recent state assembly elections  Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh. The results to these state elections were seen within BJP as peoples stamp of approval for the BJP. The economy had been growing, the governance was stable and it was largely felt that India was shining.

India Shining, therefore, became the slogan and the battle cry for the BJP going into Lok Sabha election 2004. While NDA put Vajpayee at the centre of its campaigning, LK Advani too began his Bharat Uday Yatra which would cover 8,500 kilometres in 33 days.

In its manifesto, NDA spared no effort to highlight the work done by the Vajpayee government in a bid to strengthen its bond with its assured voter base and reach out to others. Vajpayee too was projected as a leader pivotal for Indias future.

The NDA had promised to end political instability created by the Congress partys dangerous destabilizing tactics. We have done so by giving India a stable and purposive government under an able leader. Adhering to the canons of Coalition Dharma mutual trust, regular consultation, consensus building, and acceptance of a common approach, the NDA has shown how a coalition can work unitedly to fulfil the peoples aspirations.

The manifesto also touched upon peace on the border with Pakistan, a GDP growth rate of 8 per cent, forex reserves in excess of $110 billion, housing boom and rural development as some of its achievements in the past five years.

It then outlined its seven-pronged strategy to carry India forward in the next five years:

1. India as the food factory of the world

2. India as the global manufacturing hub

3. India as the service provider to the world

4. India as the centre of the knowledge economy

5. India as the global tourism destination

6. India as the global healthcare destination.

7. India as the global higher education destination

The matter of Ayodhya temple also made a comeback.

The NDA believes that an early and amicable resolution of the Ayodhya issue will strengthen national integration. We continue to hold that the judiciarys verdict in this matter should be accepted by all. At the same time, efforts should be intensified for dialogue and a negotiated settlement in an atmosphere of mutual trust and goodwill.

The odds appeared stacked against Congress. The party had had to face defeats in key states in the heartlands of India and where it was still in power, it was predicted that an anti-incumbency wave would act against it. It was also regarded that Congress was finding it extremely difficult to remain in touch with its voter base among the youth and those in rural parts of the country. Its strength in the north-eastern parts of the country too appeared to be wobbly. And against Vajpayee, Sonia hardly looked as a credible and able challenger. The Congress manifesto, nonetheless, made bold claims while also targeting NDA over unemployment and social inequality. The party assured an inclusive growth, a transparent government, re-checking certain governmental decisions taken in the last five years  disinvestment taking a prime spot in this. To possibly counter the charge of Sonias foreign origins  also mentioned indirectly in the BJP manifesto, Congress brought in Rahul Gandhi who would make a successful electoral debut.

Other parties, those not under the NDA umbrella and not aligned with Congress either, also tried to reach out to voters with visions and promises galore.

The campaign for the election was long drawn and one which saw leaders criss-cross the length and breadth of the country. Vajpayee and Sonia led the rallies on behalf of their respective parties and attempted to reach out to as many voters in as many regions as possible.

The Election Commission of India too got busy once again with the arduous task of conducting election in the 543 parliamentary constituencies. This was to be the first all-electronic election in the country.

The election was eventually held across 6,87,402 polling stations in the country with 5,435 candidates testing their political fortunes. Over 67 million people were eligible to cast their vote and the eventual poll percentage figure was 58.07%.

The outcome of the election was quite the shocker for the BJP. The party, despite being confident of an easy triumph came out a cropper by winning just 138 seats on its own merit. This was a decline of 44 seats. NDA had fallen short of the majority mark by quite a distance, scraping wins in just 181 seats, a decline of 89. Even some of its key allies failed to impress.

Congress, on the other hand, had managed to win 145 seats, up by 31 seats from five years ago. It was by no means a show of outstanding electoral performance  especially not when compared to performances under Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. But what Congress did right was to join hands with other political parties and establish the United Progressive Alliance soon after the election. The UPA had a combined tally of 218 seats which may have been more than the NDA tally but still short of the majority mark.

Here, it is important to note that both Congress and the BJP had received almost as many votes as the parties had received in the 1999 election. Translating votes to seats, however, another ball game which benefited Congress rather than BJP in 2004. Around 10.3 crore voters for Congress had won the party 114 seats in 1999 but around 10.3 voters again in 2004 won it 145 seats. In contrast, 8.6 crore voters had won BJP 182 seats in 1999 but around the same number could only get it 138 seats in 2004.

HOW BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY FARED HOW CONGRESS FARED ANDHRA PRADESH 7 ANDHRA PRADESH 5 ASSAM 2 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 2 BIHAR 23 ASSAM 10 GOA 2 BIHAR 4 GUJARAT 20 GUJARAT 6 HARYANA 5 KARNATAKA 18 HIMACHAL PRADESH 3 KERALA 8 JAMMU & KASHMIR 2 MADHYA PRADESH 11 KARNATAKA 7 MAHARASHTRA 10 MADHYA PRADESH 29 MEGHALAYA 1 MAHARASHTRA 13 NAGALAND 1 ORISSA 9 ORISSA 2 PUNJAB 1 PUNJAB 8 RAJASTHAN 16 RAJASTHAN 9 TAMIL NADU 4 TAMIL NADU 2 UTTAR PRADESH 29 UTTAR PRADESH 10 WEST BENGAL 2 WEST BENGAL 3 ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS 1 CHANDIGARH 1 NATIONAL CAPITAL TERRITORYOF DELHI 7 DAMAN & DIU 1 LAKSHADWEEP 1 PONDICHERRY 1 TOTAL 182 114

What eventually tipped the scales in the favour of UPA was the outside support of the Left Front consisting of Communist Party of India, the CPI-Marxist, the Revolutionary Socialist Party, and the All-India Forward Bloc which together had 59 seats to offer. With the help of Independents and the outside support of Bahujan Samaj Party (19 seats), Samajwadi Party (36 seats) and Kerala Congress (1 seat), UPA hit the magic mark of 335 to stake claim to form the government.

Jubilant with the result and the post-result political reaching, Congress and the entire country was set to welcome Sonia Gandhi as the new PM. But in a surprise move, she declined the post on May 18. "The post of prime minister has not been my aim. I was always certain that, if ever I found myself in the position I am in today, I would follow my inner voice. I humbly decline the post, she told her party.

Critics of the Congress party continue to maintain till date that this was a strategic move on Sonias part to keep the PMs chair warm for Rahul once he had acquired enough political experience and acumen. The eventual choice for the post in Manmohan Singh was also a masterstroke because, it is alleged, Sonia would be able to call the shots from behind the scene while having a non-controversial figure as the face of the government.

BJP, nonetheless, was left licking its wounds.

The partys loss has been extensively analysed in the years after 14th Lok Sabha election. It is believed that the party had paid the price for being overconfident, of having benefited the middle-class through its economic policies rather than the urban and rural poor who vote in bulk, was punished for over-emphasising on India Shining and for an over-extended campaign period it just could not sustain in terms of momentum.

New York Times had this to say in a report published on May 13 of 2004:

The B.J.P. had constructed an American-style presidential campaign around Mr. Vajpayee's perceived popularity, but it ran aground on the realities of the Indian parliamentary system, in which voters turned on incumbent legislators who they felt had delivered little. Voters - particularly, but not exclusively, in rural areas - rebelled against the idea of "India Shining" that had been peddled by the incumbent government in a glossy, costly public relations campaign.

The writing was on the wall, whatever be the reason for the win and defeat. Congress had returned to power after a gap of more than a decade and India looked set for five years under a PM who had played a key role in the economic restructuring of the country in the early 90s.
Lok Sabha election in 2009 was conducted after five years of the Manmohan Singh-led government of United Progressive Alliance. Congress had beaten all odds  and predictions  to lead the government after the 2004 election and in the five years since, had managed to keep its alliance partners tightly stitched to provide a stable government.

Manmohan Singh was the unlikely candidate as PM but his elevation had been decided upon by the Congress high-command after Sonia Gandhi had declined to take up the post. It is reported, however, that Sonia had quite the unanimous say in picking Manmohan Singh as the PM. Seen and regarded widely as a non-controversial figure, the economist-turned-politician led a steady ship although it is alleged that he was only a de facto PM. His first cabinet had ministers from five different parties  apart from Congress, and had the outside support of the Left Front, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party.

Gone were the years of political bickering between alliance partners with the National Democratic Alliance under Atal Bihari Vajpayee giving a good example of a solid leadership between 1999 and 2004. The period saw India gaining in strength economically and Manmohan Singh would take over from where Vajpayee left.

The first five years of the UPA government  unlike the next five years  saw India largely faring well in all sectors  social, economic and political. Indias GDP growth rate had already touched eight per cent under Vajpayee but it leapfrogged into nine per cent under Manmohan. Supporters of Congress till date point to the global economic crisis of 2008 when India somehow managed to absorb the impact better than most other countries in the world. In 2008, Indias GDP growth rate was 6.7 per cent.

India also managed to increase its share of exports under the Manmohan government, education was expanded, employment schemes like NREGA were brought in and the Right to Information Act was passed. These may not have been the outstanding achievements but in the tumultuous five years  especially from 2008, the UPA fared reasonably well.

There were, however, challenges too and the biggest test of the government at the time came from within its own. The Indo-US nuclear deal became a major friction point between UPA and opposition parties as well as within the UPA itself. The Left Front was staunchly opposed to the deal which, to summarise an extremely complex matter, sought to grant an exemption to India from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). It was touted as a way in which India could procure materials required for civilian nuclear purposes. The opposition to it was essentially because the Left Front  providing crucial outside support to the government  had allegedly not been consulted before the deal was signed by Manmohan and US President George W Bush. The opposition was also because there was a suspicion that Indias nuclear installations would be opened up for international scrutiny. Apart from the Left Front  which eventually withdrew support to the UPA, the Bharatiya Janata Party was also responsible for leading the attack on the government at the time.

The Manmohan Singh government, however, survived and managed to complete full five years in office before the fresh election was called.

Election 2009  Status of States:

The Lok Sabha election 2004 was conducted across 35 states and union territories in India. Three more states  Jharkhand from Bihar, Uttaranchal (now called Uttarakhand) from Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh from Madhya Pradesh  had been formed as separate states in 2000.

The state and union territories which saw voting in 2004 Lok Sabha election were:

Andhra Pradesh

Assam

Arunachal Pradesh

Bihar

Goa

Gujarat

Haryana

Himachal Pradesh

Jammu and Kashmir

Karnataka

Kerala

Madhya Pradesh

Maharashtra

Manipur

Meghalaya

Mizoram

Nagaland

Orissa

Punjab

Rajasthan

Sikkim

Tamil Nadu

Tripura

Uttar Pradesh

West Bengal

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Chandigarh

Chhattisgarh

Jharkhand

Uttarakhand

Dadra and Nagar Haveli

Daman and Diu

National Capital Territory of Delhi

Lakshadweep

Pondicherry

Political parties in the fray:

There were seven national parties and another 34 state parties which contested the Lok Sabha 2009 election, apart from many other registered (unrecognised) parties. These were:

National Parties:

Bharatiya Janata Party

Bahujan Samaj Party

Communist Party of India

Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Indian National Congress

Nationalist Congress Party

Rashtriya Janata Dal

State Parties:

Arunachal Congress

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Asom Gana Parishad

All India Forward Bloc

All India Trinamool Congress

Assam United Democratic Front

Biju Janata Dal

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Indian National Lok Dal

Janata Dal (Secular)

Janata Dal (United)

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference

Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party

Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha

Kerala Congress

Kerala Congress (M)

Lok Jan Shakti Party

Maharashtrawadi Gomantak

Marmalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Manipur Peoples Party

Muslim League Kerala State Committee

Nagaland Peoples Front

Pattali Makkal Katchi

Revolutionary Socialist Party

Shiromani Akali Dal

Sikkim Democratic Front

Save Goa Front

Shivsena

Samajwadi Party

Telugu Desam

Telangana Rashtriya Samiti

United Democratic Party

Uttarakhand Kranti Dal

Election 2009:

Lok Sabha election 2009 was held between April 16 and May 13 in five phases and across 543 constituencies. The election also witnessed re-drawn parliamentary constituencies following the recommendations of the 2002 Delimitation Commission of India.

There were 8,070 candidates in this election  the highest since the record 13,952 candidates in the 1996 edition of Lok Sabha election. Deciding their fate were over 71 million eligible voters across 8,30,866 polling stations in the country.

The Congress went into top gear with its campaign pitch in a bid to return to power. While there was some speculation that Rahul Gandhi may be propped as the PM candidate, it was later announced by Sonia that Manmohan Singh would continue if UPA returned to power.

And returning to power was the No. 1 objective.

Congress 20-page manifesto spoke as much of the achievements in the past five years as it did about the plans and vision for the next five.

It is only the Indian National Congress that is anchored in the larger vision of India as a nation, while at the same time being sensitive to regional and local sentiments. It is only the Indian National Congress that has demonstrated its commitment to a strong Centre, to strong States, and to strong panchayats and nagarpalikas. Indias political system must have space for institutions at each of these three levels. Each has a vital and specific role to play.

The manifesto also took aim at the BJP, calling it a party of narrow communalism. It also termed the possibility of a Third Front as a recipe for chaos.

Amongst its promises were security, police reforms, health security for all, implementation of nation-wide skill-development program, farmer welfare, affordable education, empowerment of weaker sections in the society and participative governance.

The BJP manifesto, on the other hand, also spoke of nation-building while attacking the UPA government.

Lakhs of people in the unorganised sector have lost their jobs over the past year. Skilled workers are losing their jobs in the organised sector. This is far worse than unemployment because it impoverishes families dependent on assured income and dampens the national spirit. The worst hit are Indias youth, especially those who are looking forward to enter the job market. The Congress-led UPA Government has gifted them with a bleak future. As for the poor, they feel abandoned by the Congress-led regime.

The party also promised, among others, generating jobs, National Identity Cards for all, hastening defence purchases, food security, energy security, boost to infrastructure and a strong and cooperative foreign policy.

The assurances and promises of the BJP failed to find a connect with the voters as Congress managed to exceed expectations by winning 206 seats on its own merit. Its performance in Andhra Pradesh (33), Uttar Pradesh (21), Rajasthan (20), Maharashtra (17), Kerala (13), Madhya Pradesh (12) and Gujarat (12) crafted a solid performance. Cushioned by a total number of 261 seats under the UPA umbrella, Manmohan roared back to power for another term.

The BJP, in contrast, collapsed from winning 138 seats in 2004 to 116 seats under LK Advanis leadership.

The Third Front fared reasonably well with the likes of Bahujan Samaj Party (21) and AIADMK (9) shining through.

The process of reaching out and shaking hands was never going to be much trouble for Congress from here on. What would cause trouble and eventually spell doom for the party was the brazenness of corruption that would follow in the coming five years which became a key factor in how Lok Sabha election 2014 played out five years later.
The campaigning for the seventh and final phase for the 2019 Lok Sabha election polls ended on Friday and the voters will now decide the fate of 918 candidates contesting from 59 seats spread across seven states and one union territory when the polling will take place on May 19.

Voting will be held in 13 Lok Sabha constituencies each in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, nine seats in West Bengal, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat in Chandigarh (Union Territory).

Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kedarnath temple while Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah went to Somnath Temple in Gujarat.

It is to be noted that the Election Commission has set up more than 1.12 lakh polling stations for smooth conduction of polls.

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Thank you for joining us. Do come back again on Sunday (May 19) for live updates of Lok Sabha election 2019.

Here are the latest updates on Lok Sabha election on May 18 (Saturday):

* On the eve of bypoll elections in Bhatpara in Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency, two cars were burnt down and crude bombs were thrown. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) are blaming each other for the incident. The Rapid Action Force and West Bengal police are currently present in the area.

* CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury has alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) with the footage of his Kedarnath activities over the TV news channels.

Religion is a matter of personal faith and EC has reiterated that it cannot be used for garnering votes. But Modi violates the MCC brazenly with footage of his Kedarnath religious activity over TV channels during silent period before polling. And EC continues to sleep on the job https://t.co/032k5aYsgF  Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) May 18, 2019

* Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena has said that the results of the Lok Sabha polls in the state would be announced later than usual on May 23 due to the counting of slips from five EVM's with Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail system, reports PTI.

* Special arrangements like a creche, breastfeeding room and first aid facilities have been set up at polling booth no 37, 38 and 40 in Patna for the seventh and final phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections on Sunday, reports ANI.

* BJP has written to Lucknow's Chief Electoral Officer, stating that BSP chief Mayawati allegedly posted tweets to influence voters after campaigning hours ended for the 7th phase of Lok Sabha polls.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) writes to CEO Lucknow against BSP chief Mayawati for allegedly violating Model Code of Conduct. The BJP alleges that Mayawati posted tweets to influence voters after campaigning hours ended for the 7th phase of #LokSabhaEelctions2019. (File pic) pic.twitter.com/uzuTAkXudf  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 18, 2019

* Mamata Banerjee indirectly slams Kolkata Police commissioner Dr. Rajesh Kumar for allowing BJP President Amit Shah to hold the roadshow in the area that falls under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

* Mamata Banerjee's nephew and Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee has sent a notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly making defamatory statements and insinuations against him during a rally at Diamond Harbour in West Bengal.

* West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to the Election Commission of India, seeking the completion of Lok Sabha polls peacefully, impartially and without any undue interference of the central government.

West Bengal CM, Mamata Banerjee writes to CEC Sunil Arora, states, "ensure that Lok Sabha election in the state is completed peacefully, impartially &without any undue interference of the central govt and without any intervention by the ruling party at the centre."(file pic) pic.twitter.com/6Bwi4iBE5S  ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

* MLA and Leader of Opposition Nagaland TR Zeliang has confirmed that the Naga Peoples Front (NPF) will withdraw their four MLAs from the BJP-led government in Manipur headed by N Biren Singh soon after the completion of Lok Sabha polls.

After an intense deliberation and review meeting with the party functionaries and the NPF MLAs of Manipur State, the NPF party has decided in principle to pull out our 4 NPF MLAs from the BJP led Govt. in Manipur headed by N Biren Singh soon after the LS election is completed.  TR Zeliang (@TRZeliang) May 18, 2019

* Polling parties have left for their respective polling stations after collecting EVMs & VVPATs in Dumka. Three parliamentary constituencies will go for polls in Jharkhand on Sunday, reports ANI.

Jharkhand: Polling parties leave for their respective polling stations after collecting EVMs & VVPATs in Dumka. Polls will be held for 3 parliamentary constituencies in the state tomorrow. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/UyYXgdvRks  ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

* Madhupur MLA Raj Paliwar will cast his vote in Deoghar, Jharkhand on Sunday.

* All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) has written to the Election Commission seeking directions to BJP leader Mukul Roy to leave constituencies of West Bengal which are set to go on the poll on May 19, reports ANI.

TMC has written to EC seeking directions to Mukul Roy, BJP to leave constituencies of W Bengal set to go on poll on 19 May.Letter states,"He's a voter of Delhi&lawfully not entitled to stay in any constituency in Bengal going to polls on commencement of 48hour restriction period"  ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

* Andhra Pradesh CM and TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu will meet Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati in Lucknow at 5 pm on Saturday at Mayawati's residence to discuss the post-poll scenarios.

* 102-year-old Shyam Saran Negi from Kalpa, who cast the first vote during General Election in 1951, is all set to vote in the final phase of 2019 Lok Sabha Elections in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday, reports ANI.

Himachal Pradesh: 102-yr old Shyam Saran Negi from Kalpa, who cast the first vote in the 1951 general elections, is all set to vote again in #LokSabhaElections2019 tomorrow. DC Kinnaur says,"We will bring him to the polling booth with full respect&help him exercise his franchise" pic.twitter.com/VSd7qTKM0A  ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

* Visuals from EVM and VVPAT distribution centre in Kolkata. Nine parliamentary constituencies of the state will go to polls in the 7th & last phase of #LokSabhaElections2019 tomorrow.

West Bengal: Visuals from EVM and VVPAT distribution centre in Kolkata. Nine parliamentary constituencies of the state will go to polls in the 7th & last phase of #LokSabhaElections2019 tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/FPWfO3F1FB  ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

* YSR Congress has written to the Election Commission of India to deploy additional central forces on May 23 in Andhra Pradesh during the counting of votes and action against Chittoor district Collector and Rapthadu Returning Officer for allegedly supporting TDP during the poll process.

* Deploy additional forces in Andhra on May 23, YSRCP urges EC

* BJP worker Anoop Singh Chandan has registered a complaint with the police against Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party Chief OP Rajbhar (in file pic) for allegedly abusing BJP workers at a public meeting yesterday, in Ghazipur.

* Congress leader Sheila Dikshit reacts to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's comment alleging 'Muslim votes shifted to Congress in Delhi at last moment'. "Don't know what is he trying to say. Everyone has a right to vote whichever party he/she wants to vote. People of Delhi did not understand nor liked his governance model."

* Andhra Pradesh CM and TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu meets NCP chief Sharad Pawar in New Delhi to discuss post-poll scenarios.

* Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora issues statement on EC Ashok Lavasa's purported letter to him, says, 'an unsavory and avoidable controversy reported in sections of media today about internal functioning of ECI in respect of handling of Model Code of Conduct.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora issues statement on EC Ashok Lavasa's purported letter to him, says, 'an unsavory and avoidable controversy reported in sections of media today about internal functioning of ECI in respect of handling of Model Code of Conduct.' (3/3) pic.twitter.com/yuRxOHMaGL  ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

* CEC Sunil Arora: But the same largely remained within confines of ECI after demission of office unless appearing much later in a book written by the concerned ECs/CECs. I personally never shied away from a public debate whenever required but there is time for everything.

* CEC Sunil Arora issues statement on EC Ashok Lavasa's purported letter to him: The 3 members of EC are not expected to be template or clones of each other, there have been so many times in the past when there has been a vast diversion of views as it can, and should be.

* In a series of tweets, Mayawati further says, "This breach of promise and betrayal with Purvanchal has happened when PM and UP's CM represent this region. Yogi has been rejected by Gorakhpur, so in this situation, won't PM Modi's loss in Varanasi be more historic than his victory? Will Varanasi repeat 1977's Rae Bareli?"

                                               ?   1977   ?  Mayawati (@Mayawati) May 18, 2019

* Mayawati targets PM Modi and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, says they are responsible for spreading hatred in the country.

           -,             ,     -              ,        ,  -  Mayawati (@Mayawati) May 18, 2019

* Sheila Dikshit on Delhi CM's reported remark 'Muslim votes shifted to Congress in Delhi at last moment': Don't know what is he trying to say. Everyone has a right to vote whichever party he/she wants to vote. People of Delhi did not understand nor liked his governance model.

Sheila Dikshit on Delhi CM's reported remark 'Muslim votes shifted to Congress in Delhi at last moment': Don't know what is he trying to say. Everyone has a right to vote whichever party he/she wants to vote. People of Delhi did not understand nor liked his governance model pic.twitter.com/SNDuOpr2s0  ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

* Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu meets Congress president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi

* BJP president Amit Shah offers prayers at Somnath Temple.

Gujarat: BJP President Amit Shah offers prayers at Somnath Temple. pic.twitter.com/vXr5XSAsZN  ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

* Four injured in clashes between TMC-BJP workers in West Bengal.

* No policemen were present in Computer Baba's roadshow. EC closes the file of BJP's complaint.

* PM Modi offers prayers at Kedarnath Temple.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offers prayers at Kedarnath temple. #Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/uIm1TGLMEK  ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

* Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda along with his family members, including Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy took darshan of Lord Venkateshwara on the occasion birthday of HD Deve Gowda. Speaking after the darshan, Kumaraswamy said Congress and JD(S) combine would get 18-19 Lok Sabha seats from Karnataka.

* Prime Minister Narendra Modi lands in Kedarnath, he will offer prayers at Kedarnath temple shortly.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lands in Kedarnath, he will offer prayers at Kedarnath temple shortly. #Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/JDNRzXYslx  ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

* EC notice to BJP candidate Sunny Deol for violating poll code.

* BJP president Amit Shah will visit Somanth Temple today with his family members.

*Acharya Pramod Krishnam, Congress' Lucknow candidate: Rahul ji joined Shatrughan ji's roadshow as he was following 'Party dharm' but Shatrughan ji didn't follow 'Party dharm'. He's taking politics lightly. Politics is related to India's future, there should be sensibility.

Acharya Pramod Krishnam, Congress' Lucknow candidate: Rahul ji joined Shatrughan ji's roadshow as he was following 'Party dharm' but Shatrughan ji didn't follow 'Party dharm'. He's taking politics lightly. Politics is related to India's future, there should be sensibility. (17.5) pic.twitter.com/ajn5MKwOL4  ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

*Uttarakhand Addl Chief Electoral Officer: After votes in EVMs have been counted, slips from 5 randomly selected VVPATs will be counted. In case there's difference b/w the 2 tallies, they'll be cross checked again&tally of VVPAT slips will be considered as the final tally.

Uttarakhand Addl Chief Electoral Officer: After votes in EVMs have been counted, slips from 5 randomly selected VVPATs will be counted. In case there's difference b/w the 2 tallies, they'll be cross checked again&tally of VVPAT slips will be considered as the final tally.(17.05) pic.twitter.com/RkcDP9kXoU  ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2019

* Dr V Shanmugam: If an election agent/candidate wants VVPAT slips of a booth recounted,he can submit written request before RO. RO passes a speaking order. If he allows recounting,slips from particular VVPAT will be counted before all counting agents & results shown to them
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to the Election Commission on Saturday and urged it to ensure "peaceful and impartial" elections in the state without the interference of the central government.

The EC should ensure that Sunday's polling is held without the "undue interference of the central government" and any "intervention by the ruling party at the Centre", Banerjee, West Bengal chief minister said in the letter written on her official letterhead.

West Bengal CM, Mamata Banerjee writes to CEC Sunil Arora, states, "ensure that Lok Sabha election in the state is completed peacefully, impartially &without any undue interference of the central govt and without any intervention by the ruling party at the centre."(file pic) pic.twitter.com/6Bwi4iBE5S  ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2019

Polling will be held in nine Lok Sabha constituencies in and around the city, including at Diamond Harbour where her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, considered to be the number two in Trinamool Congress, is seeking reelection.

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"In the final phase of the election tomorrow, I would request your good office to kindly ensure that election is completed peacefully, impartially and without any undue interference of the Central government and any intervention by the ruling party at the centre," Banerjee wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora.

She also requested the poll body to "protect democratic institutions and the federal structure of the country and extend due respect to the opposition parties".

Questioning the impartiality of the EC, Banerjee said the state has seen a number of "illegal, unconstitutional and biased decision during the election process because of the influence of the central government and the ruling party (BJP) at the centre.

As a result, not only the state administration and its officers but also the common people of the state have been harassed and attacked in various manners, she wrote.

In this context, Banerjee referred to the permission granted to BJP president Amit Shah's roadshow in the city by the EC appointed police commissioner by withdrawing the prohibitory orders under Section 144 Cr PC.

"The roadshow was itself a deliberate, intentional and a criminal conspiracy to vandalise the culture and heritage of Kolkata and West Bengal and also to defame the West Bengal government and its people," her letter read.

Violence had erupted on arterial Bidhan Sarani in north Kolkata during Shah's roadshow on May 14 in which a bust of the 19th social reformer, polymath and a key figure of the Bengal Renaissance was desecrated.

BJP and TMC supporters fought pitched battles on the streets and Amit Shah escaped unhurt but was forced to cut short the roadshow and had to be escorted to safety by police.

The Trinamool Congress supremo also questioned the appointment of two retired government officers as EC special observers and not in accordance with the law.

"These two special observers have shown partisan attitude and have always complied with the instructions given time and again by the central government and the ruling party at the Centre. All these issues were brought to the notice of the Election Commission of India but no justice has been done," she alleged in her letter.




FORMER commercial farmers have praised President Mnangagwa and his Government for taking the initiative to compensate their members who lost land and property during the countrys land reform programme.





The initiative, added the farmers, will bring closure to issues around the land reform programme, which had become one of the contentious issues that resulted in some Western countries imposing sanctions on the country. Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) president Mr Ben Gilpin told Sunday News in an interview that the farmers and the Government had entered into a dialogue with the affected parties, which they were comfortable with.





The CFU is involved in the identification and registration of former farm owners to participate in the interim advance payments scheme together with the Compensation Steering Committee representing former farm owners. As stated in the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP), the Government under the new dispensation, is committed to finalise compensation to all former farm owners who were affected by the land reform programme. The former commercial farmers are being compensated for the improvements they made on the farms.





The current initiative is a very positive step and we as CFU are working closely with Government to try and see how we can go forward to a final settlement of the whole compensation issue in a way that is acceptable to all parties. So this interim relief payment that they are paying is aimed at alleviating the distress that many of our older members are in because of the loss of value of their money, said Mr Gilpin.





The Government set aside $53 million in the 2019 National Budget for interim advance payments to the former farm owners.





It has been 18 years down the road and they still havent received compensation, so we are very happy about it and we are working with the Government to try and see how the outstanding issues can be resolved and how we can make sure we come to an acceptable solution as parties involved, said Mr Gilpin.





Last week, Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said the Government has to date paid US$64,4 million to 93 former white commercial farmers for the improvements they made on reallocated farms.





As outlined in the Transitional Stabilisation Programme. Government is committed to finalising compensation for all former farmers affected by the land reform programme. Government is also engaging development partners and other bilateral countries with the view to mobilising the requisite resources. Since 2009 to date, US$64,4 million was paid to 93 former commercial farmers as compensation for immovable improvements. In 2018 alone, US$12 million was paid to 29 farmers. In the 2019 National Budget we set aside US$53 million for the same purpose, he said.




Bhopal: The Election Commission on Saturday closed a case filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against Computer Baba that police personnel in civil uniform and wearing saffron scarves were spotted at his and Congress candidate Digvijaya Singh's roadshow in Bhopal.

In its report, EC said that police personnel were not involved in the roadshow. After BJP's complaint, Bhopal collector had submitted a report with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), which stated that the allegations levelled were false.

Earlier in May, news agency ANI has reported that police personnel in civil uniform were present at the roadshow. The tweet posted by ANI had also quoted a policewoman as saying, "We've been made to wear this."

Bhopal: Police personnel in civil uniform seen wearing saffron scarves at the roadshow of Computer Baba and Digvijay Singh (Congress candidate from the Lok Sabha seat); a policewoman says "we've been made to wear this". #MadhyaPradesh pic.twitter.com/RN8UUN2oMC  ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2019

Meanwhile, a case of violating Model Code of Conduct was recently filed against Computer Baba alias Namdeo Das Tyagi for organising a three-day camp in Bhopal, where he performed 'Hatyog' for Digvijaya for his victory in the Lok Sabha election.

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Computer Baba is a former BJP member. He had rebelled against the party after being denied a ticket to contest election held in Madhya Pradesh.
NEW DELHI: Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) with footage of his Kedarnath religious activity circulating over TV channels ahead of the seventh and final phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Taking to his official handle, Yechury further slammed the Election Commission of India (ECI) for continuing to sleep on the job despite reiterating several times that religion cannot be used for garnering votes.

"Religion is a matter of personal faith and EC has reiterated that it cannot be used for garnering votes. But Modi violates the MCC brazenly with footage of his Kedarnath religious activity over TV channels during the silent period before polling. And EC continues to sleep on the job," he tweeted.

Religion is a matter of personal faith and EC has reiterated that it cannot be used for garnering votes. But Modi violates the MCC brazenly with footage of his Kedarnath religious activity over TV channels during silent period before polling. And EC continues to sleep on the job https://t.co/032k5aYsgF  Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) May 18, 2019

A day after the election campaign ended, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kedarnath in Uttarakhand on Saturday. He will visit Badrinath on Sunday before returning to Delhi in the afternoon.

The seventh and the final phase of 2019 Lok Sabha elections will take place on May 19, when the voters will decide the political fate of 918 candidates contesting from 59 Lok Sabha constituencies spread across seven states and one Union Territory.

Voting will be held in 13 Lok Sabha constituencies each in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, eight seats each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, nine seats in West Bengal, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat in Chandigarh (Union Territory).
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday warned the leaders of the JD(S)-Congress coalition not to make contradictory statements which will hamper efforts to form a non-BJP government at the Centre.

The Karnataka Chief Minister also expressed confidence that a non-BJP government will be formed at the Centre at the conclusion of the 2019 polls.

Kumaraswamy to took to Twitter to warn the JD-S- Congress leaders from making contradictory statements.

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"We are on the verge of forming a new government at the Centre. At this juncture, where all efforts are being made to form a non-BJP government at the Centre, the contradictory statements by leaders of coalition partners Congress-JDS may mar such efforts," a tweet by Kumaraswamy read.

We are on the verge of formation of a new Government at the centre. At this juncture where all efforts are being made to form non-BJP government at the centre, the contradictory statements by leaders of coalition partners #Congress-#JDS may mar such efforts.  H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) May 18, 2019

"Hence my humble request to the leaders of both the parties to restrain from making contradictory- controversial statements in public and to support the cause," he said in his second tweet.

Hence my humble request to the leaders of both the parties to restrain from making contradictory- controversial statements in public and to support the cause.  H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) May 18, 2019

Earlier today, former prime minister and JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda said that his party is standing firmly with Congress and he will not like to speak more this matter.

Gowda said that the results of the Lok Sabha poll will be declared on May 23 and a clear picture will emerge before the entire country on that day.

"We are with Congress, I don't want to speak anything more. On 23rd results will come, a clear picture will be known to the entire country & what further development takes place," the JD(S) chief was quoted as saying by ANI.

The former prime minister made the remarks after offering prayers at Lord Venkateshwara temple on the occasion of his birthday.

Gowda was accompanied by his family members, including Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.

The JD(S) supremo stressed that since his party is the coalition partner of the Congress in Karnataka and they have contested the Lok Sabha poll in the alliance, his party would support the Congress in order to keep BJP away from power.

On the news that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had called a meeting of non-NDA party leaders on May 23, Gowda remarked that he has not received any invite from Sonia Gandhi yet but he would be happy to attend the meeting. He added that by calling the meeting, Sonia Gandhi is showing her political maturity.

It may be recalled that the Congress and JDS are in an uneasy coalition with differences between the two coalition partners coming out in open often.

Most recently, in a veiled jibe at his predecessor Siddaramaiah of the Congress, Kumaraswamy said on Tuesday, "Mallikarjun Kharge should have become the Chief Minister long ago. I feel that injustice has happened to him. I would like to clearly state that, even I feel that, Kharge has not been given recognition for all the work he has done."

Siddaramaiah hit back saying even HD Revanna, brother of Kumaraswamy, is a chief minister material.
In a controversial statement, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) leader Om Prakash Rajbhar on Friday asked his supporters to abuse BJP leaders and hit them ten times with shoes. Rajbhar made the call while addressing a public rally at Ratanpur Bazar in Uttar Pradesh's Mau.

It is interesting to note that Rajbhar's party is an ally of BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh but the SBSP leader is known for blowing hot and cold against the saffron party. Earlier this month. Rajbhar had announced that he had resigned from the Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh and the BJP should now take a decision on this matter.

"I tendered resignation as minister on April 13. It is up to the BJP to decide whether to accept or reject it," Rajbhar, a cabinet minister in the UP government, had said, adding, "I have nothing to do with the government now."

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The SBSP chief had also accused the BJP of misusing his the name and flag of his party in the ongoing Lok Sabha poll. Rajbhar added that his party's flags were also used during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow in Varanasi.

Rajbhar made his intentions to break away from the BJP clear in April when he announced that SBSP will contest the Lok Sabha election alone and will field its own candidates on 39 out of 80 seats in the state. The SBSP chief has repeatedly accused the BJP of trying to weaken his party. Rajbhar had recently said that the SP-BSP-RLD alliance will perform much better than the BJP in Lok Sabha election and the alliance will win more seats than the saffron party. He had also praised Congress president Rahul Gandhi saying the continuous attacks launched by the Congress president on BJP had left the party nervous.

The Rajbhars constitute around 20% of the population in Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh and are seen as the second-most politically dominant community in eastern Uttar Pradesh. It may be recalled that the SBSP had contested 2017 Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh as an ally of BJP and had won four seats.
IMPHAL: In a big setback to the BJP, its ally Naga People's Front (NPF) on Saturday decided to pull out of the coalition government in Manipur. The decision in this regard was taken following intense deliberation and review meeting with the party functionaries and the NPF MLAs in the state capital.

During the meeting, it was decided that NPF will pull out its four MLAs from the BJP-led government in Manipur headed by N Biren Singh soon after the Lok Sabha election is completed.

NPF leader TR Zeliang took to Twitter to inform about the party's decision.

After an intense deliberation and review meeting with the party functionaries and the NPF MLAs of Manipur State, the NPF party has decided in principle to pull out our 4 NPF MLAs from the BJP led Govt. in Manipur headed by N Biren Singh soon after the LS election is completed.  TR Zeliang (@TRZeliang) May 18, 2019

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The NPF leaders are reportedly unhappy with the ruling BJP, which, they allege, is not paying heed to its ideas and suggestions.

The NPF had this morning convened a meeting of its leaders to decide if it would continue to stay in the coalition or withdraw support.

The BJP has, however, rejected the allegation. The saffron party said that it has extended all possible cooperation to its partners to ensure smooth functioning of the government.

The NPF has four MLAs in the 60-member Assembly.

Even if the NPF pulls out, it wouldn't impact the BJP-led coalition, which currently has 29 legislators in the House.

Eight of the 28 Congress MLAs, who had won the 2017 polls, defected to the BJP last year, taking its tally from 21 to 29 in the Assembly.

The other parties in the ruling coalition are NPP (4), LJP (1), Independent (1) and AITC (1).

Awangbou Newmai, the state unit chief of the Naga People's Front (NPF), claimed that the BJP "looks down" on its alliance partners, according to PTI.

"The BJP has never respected the spirit of alliance since the formation of government in 2017. There have been instances when their leaders have refused to consider our members as alliance partners," he said, without elaborating.

Newmai also alleged that the BJP did not live up to the promises it made to its coalition partners.

"The NPF has always considered the BJP as its big brother, but that did not stop the saffron party from bluffing to us. We haven't got our due respect," he claimed.

Rebutting Newmai's assertions, Ch Bijoy, the spokesperson of the BJP, said the NPF had maintained that it did not want any ministerial berth while joining the alliance, but now, it seems, the party has several demands.

Of the four NPF MLAs in the Assembly, Loshii Dikho, who won from the Mao Assembly seat, is a cabinet minister.
Lucknow: A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar on Saturday for allegedly abusing and threatening BJP workers at a public meeting on Friday in Ghazipur. The complaint was filed by BJP worker Anoop Singh Chandan earlier today at Hasratganj Kotawali Police Station.

"An FIR has been registered against OP Rajbhar for mistreating and abusing BJP workers at a public meeting in Ghazipur. He has even asked his supporters and party cadres to thrash BJP workers if they attempt to spread any misinformation ahead of the last phase of the polling," Anoop Singh Chandan told ANI.

He further claimed that Rabhar, who attended his party`s candidate Arvind`s rally, asked his supporters to hit BJP leaders with "boots at least 10 times" if they are found spreading any rumours about SBSP. Chandan said if police administration will not take any action against the SBSP chief then he will lock Rajbhar`s Lucknow residence on 26 May.

"Rajbhar is a person who could not win Gram Panchayat elections on his own. Despite that BJP gave him a place in the party and made him Cabinet Minister. But now he is humiliating BJP workers," Chandan said. SBSP is an ally of the BJP since 2017 and Rajbhar is a Minister of Backward Welfare in the government led by Yogi Adityanath.

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Earlier on May 6, Rajbhar said he had resigned as a cabinet minister from Uttar Pradesh government over the seat-sharing agreement with the BJP. "I had resigned on the night of April 13 from the post of state minister when they (BJP) said that you have to contest on our symbol. I told them I will contest from only one seat but from my own party. However, they did not agree to that either. Following which, I immediately resigned but they did not accept my resignation," he had said.

He had also alleged that the BJP wanted to "eliminate" the SBSP as it did not give them a single ticket to contest in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh are being held from April 11 and will go on till May 19 in all seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Washington: The US space agency NASA has selected 11 companies including Jeff Bezos` Blue Origin, Elon Musk`s SpaceX to develop prototypes of human landers for its Artemis lunar exploration programme.

NASA aims to put the first woman on the Moon`s south pole by 2024 and establish sustainable missions by 2028.

"To accelerate our return to the Moon, we are challenging our traditional ways of doing business. We will streamline everything from procurement to partnerships to hardware development and even operations," said Marshall Smith, director for human lunar exploration programs at NASA Headquarters.

Apart from Blue Origin and SpaceX, others selected companies are Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Sierra Nevada Corporation among others.

The total award amount for all companies is $45.5 million.

"Our team is excited to get back to the Moon quickly as possible, and our public/private partnerships to study human landing systems are an important step in that process," Smith said in a statement late Thursday.

The selected companies will study and develop prototypes during the next six months that reduce schedule risk for the descent, transfer and refueling elements of a potential human landing system.

NASA`s proposed plan is to transport astronauts in a human landing system that includes a transfer element for the journey from the lunar Gateway to low-lunar orbit, a descent element to carry them to the surface, and an ascent element to return to them to the Gateway.

NASA is sending astronauts to the Moon and then on to Mars, in a measured and sustainable way.

Trump has announced that he was adding $1.6 billion to NASA`s budget "so that we can return to Space in a BIG WAY!" NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said on May 13.

"Under my Administration, we are restoring @NASA to greatness and we are going back to the Moon, then Mars," he tweeted.

The budget increase is on top of the initial $21 billion budget request from NASA to accelerate the return to the lunar surface.
LUCKNOW: A minor was allegedly abducted, gang-raped and murdered in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj. The victim's family has claimed that the body has been dumped in Yamuna River.

The incident took place in Yamunapar area which falls under Dasharathpur police station.

The family, in it's complaint to the police, claimed that the victim had gone to pluck vegetables from the farm on May 10. She was then abducted by three youth, who took turns to rape her. They later murdered the minor and dumped her body in Yamuna River, adds the written complaint.

Meanwhile, a purported video showing the minor victim fighting with four youth has gone viral. The footage reportedly shows the girl being beaten up with lathis and thick wooden poles by the youth.

The police has launched an investigation into the matter and sent divers to locate the victim's body in the river. A case has also been registered.

"Police has registered a case, but the entire case looks suspicious," Atul Sharma, Prayagraj SSP told Zee News.
Colombo:Sri Lanka, still reeling under the scars of the Easter Sunday bomb blasts, Saturday marked 10 years of the end of the nearly brutal civil war between the government and the LTTE even as it came under criticism for failing to ensure justice for the victims.

The Sri Lankan government on May 18, 2009 killed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) chief Velupillai Prabhakaran in the coastal village of in Mullaittivu, bringing to an end the bloody armed conflict fought mainly in the north and east of the island nation.

At least 100,000 people were killed in the over three-decade-long conflict. Thousands of people, including security personnel, are still reported to be missing after the war.

Hundreds of people gathered in parts of Northern Sri Lanka to remember the victims of the war, the Colombo Gazette reported.

The anniversary falls nearly a month after Easter Sunday bombings, the worst terror attack in the country that killed 258 people and injured over 500 others.

The government will commemorate the war heroes during the Victory Day celebrations on Sunday, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

It asked the public to light a "Lamp of Peace" in the memory of those who laid down their lives for the country.

"The commemoration of the completion of a decade of peace since eradicating terrorism that plagued Sri Lanka for three long decades by the valiant War Heroes, falls on 2019.05.19," it said in the statement.

"To coincide with the "Dasavarshikabhisheka" commemoration, it is requested from the general public to light a 'Lamp of Peace' at all places of worship, state and private sector organizations, homes, police stations and tri-forces establishments island-wide on 2019.05.19 at 1900hrs," it said.

However, human rights organizations blamed the government of failing to provide justice to the victims even after a decade after the war, the Colombo Gazette reported.

The Amnesty International called on the government to end impunity and put accountability for crimes under international law and human rights violations and abuses at the heart of its transitional justice process.

It is worrying to see the recurrence of hostility and violence against ethnic and religious minorities in Sri Lanka. While the government has committed itself to a process of reconciliation, the wounds of the past will only heal if there is justice, truth and reparation,? Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director at Amnesty International, said.

The Human Rights Watch said that the end of the war provided the country with an opportunity not only to rebuild shattered lives and society but also to restore respect for rights and the rule of law.

Yet successive Sri Lankan administrations have frittered away this opportunity, failing to investigate atrocities by both sides, hold those responsible for the worst crimes accountable, or provide truth and reparations to the victims,? Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said.

The government gained victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which had been fighting for a separate state for nearly three decades.
We had a high voter turnout and the voting went on smoothly. There were no incidents of violence or any arguments whatsoever. What made a delay in the process was a meeting we held before the voting began where we explained how the procedure would be done. What we really want to emphasise is the peaceful manner in which these elections were carried out. It is a sign of political harmony and maturity within the party and we hope to see this throughout the country, said Rtd Col Nare.
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Rain and snow this evening turning to all snow overnight. Low 27F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precip 100%. Snow accumulations less than one inch..

Tonight

Rain and snow this evening turning to all snow overnight. Low 27F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precip 100%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
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The Japanese school year starts in April, and one high school in Tochigi Prefecture wasted no time in scheduling a two-night class trip for its new crop of first-year students.

Their destination: the city of Nikko, nestled in the beautiful mountains and one of the top sightseeing destinations not just in Tochigi, but all of Japan.

Nikko boasts numerous attractions of natural beauty and cultural significance, including Tosho-gu Shrine, dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the shogun who founded the three-century Tokugawa dynasty, and the picturesque Lake Chuzenji and Kegon no Taki waterfalls.

However, for a large number of male students on the trip, the body of water they really wanted to see was the women's outdoor hot spring bath at their hotel.

With hot spring voyeurism being one of the most common stock scenarios for risque fantasies in Japan, the teachers warned the students against peeping at the start of the trip, which began on April 24. School staff was even posted outside the entrance to the women's changing space, to keep any of the boys from trying to infiltrate the area.

However, over a dozen boys (who, as first-year high school students, were 15 or 16 years old) figured out another strategy. Both the men's and women's bathing areas at the hotel have outdoor baths, with a wall separating them and providing privacy. So on the second night of their stay, 13 boys who'd entered the outdoor men's bath climbed up high enough on the wall to look over at a number of their naked classmates.

The female students spotted their peeping classmates and informed their teachers, who also implicated more than 15 other boys as "jeering" bystanders who did nothing to discourage the peepers, even if they didn't look over the wall themselves. That 30-something contingent is a pretty significant portion of the group, which consisted of a total of roughly 250 students and teachers.

The principal of the school, the name of which has not been released, has offered an apology, saying "We have no excuse to offer our female students who were the victims of this incident. We will be taking measures to ensure this sort of thing never happens again." Though the school says the boys will undergo sensitivity lessons, no criminal charges have been filed, but considering the scandal, as well as the fact that not just students, but other female guests of the hotel were in the bath when the boys peeped over the wall, odds are the school won't be welcome back at the hotel the next time it wants to organize a trip to Nikko. - soranews24.com
Mipig Cafe, in Tokyo's trendy central Meguro neighbourhood, is the newest addition to Japan's ever-growing list of animal-themed cafes that includes cats, owls and hedgehogs.

Opened in March this year, the cafe lets visitors spend 30 minutes getting acquainted with its oinking occupants for about $8, plus the cost of a drink.

Visitors can pet and play with the tiny trotters on three different floors, while sipping a tea or coffee. The cafe is a new expansion for Mipig, whose main business lies in Japan's Yamanashi prefecture, where they run a micro pig farm.

The ting piglets are imported from the United Kingdom and bred as pets for Japanese families.

While a trip to the cafe might be in your budget, micro pigs themselves can cost around $3,000. Shiho Kitagawa from Mipig says demand for micro pigs is increasing, their waiting list has over 100 names. - euronews.com
The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, has declared that anyone who refuses to sit at home on May 30 deserv...





The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, has declared that anyone who refuses to sit at home on May 30 deserves to be stoned to death.





Nnamdi Kanu expressed anger that the Nigerian Government passed a bill recognizing June 12 as Democracy Day in honour of MKO Abiola but turned against the remembrance of millions of Igbo killed during the war.





According to him, Biafrans are going to sit at home on 30th May to remember and honour over 3.5m Biafrans killed by Britain through Nigeria.





Kanu said this in a live broadcast from London, UK on Thursday, adding, They passed a bill today to recognise and honour June 12 because of one man, then turn against IPOB for honouring 6 million victims of genocide and those that fought to save those of us who are alive today.

They must be mad and insane. Anybody who fails to sit at home on May 30th deserves to be stoned to death.





Now the same band of God forsaken Fulani slaves in our midst is telling us not to honour over 3.5 million victims of genocide and the brave men that fought to keep us alive.





What a bunch of soulless evil men? They are telling us not to honour our own people because an Igbo man or any Biafra for that matter is not worthy to be honoured in Nigeria.





These are the same people whose politics of acquisance and compromise put us in the mess IPOB is trying to fix today. We must send a clear, unambiguous message to these Fulani slaves in our land that we must honour our brave fathers and mothers that fought for us.




Nnamdi Kanu, a leading agitator for a Sovereign State of Biafra and the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has attacked ...





Nnamdi Kanu, a leading agitator for a Sovereign State of Biafra and the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has attacked the Government of Nigeria for failing to recognize and honour former Head of State, late Gen. Aguyi Ironsi.





General Aguiyi Ironsi, former Nigerian Head of State, was killed during the coup detat prior to the 1966 civil war between Nigeria and old Eastern Region.





Nnamdi Kanu wondered why MKO Abiola, a Yoruba man, who, according to him, was never President or ascended the seat of power would be honoured on June 12 by the President Muhammadu Buhari government while Ironsi who ruled as a military head of state was not remembered either by his people, the Igbo, or the Nigerian Government.





Kanu, in a live broadcast from London, United Kingdom on Thursday, said, I start this evening by asking each and every one of us to remember the price the class of 67-70 paid for us to be alive today.





We must remind ourselves about how we got to where we are today. Allow me to introduce a perspective to guide our thoughts this evening.





Let us consider this: The late Aguiyi Ironsi from Ibeku as myself, was a former head of state in Nigeria, a Biafran and an Igbo man. The first battle tested military general not the generalship of the likes of Buratai earned purely as a result of Fulani quota system and killing unarmed civilian protesters.





Ironsi was killed by the same Fulani people whilst sitting as a head of state and nobody remembers him today. He was killed alongside a Yoruba man called Fajuyi who it may surprise you to know is still honoured by Yoruba people annually. Another Yoruba man, MKO Abiola was not even a president of Nigeria. He was not sworn in as a president, he never took over power. He was killed by the same killers of Ironsi the Fulani caliphate.





Yoruba political class with their media hegemony and the ever treacherous Igbo Efulefus pushed and pushed until the FG of Nigeria declared June 12 a remembrance day to honour MKO Abiola while nobody remembers Aguiyi Ironsi a former Head of state because hes a Biafran of Igbo extraction.





They passed a bill today to recognise and honour June 12 because of one man, then turn against IPOB for honouring 6 million victims of genocide and those that fought to save those of us who are alive today. They must be mad and insane. Anybody who fails to sit at home on May 30th deserves to be stoned to death.





Now the same band of God forsaken Fulani slaves in our midst is telling us not to honour over 3.5 million victims of genocide and the brave men that fought to keep us alive. What a bunch of soulless evil men. They are telling us not to honour our own people because an Igbo man or any Biafra for that matter is not worthy to be honoured in Nigeria.





These are the same people whose politics of acquisance and compromise put us in the mess IPOB is trying to fix today. We must send a clear, unambiguous message to these Fulani slaves in our land that we must honour our brave fathers and mothers that fought for us.





We are going to sit @ home on 30th may to remember and honour over 3.5m Biafrans killed by Britain through Nigeria.





Some establishment media houses in Nigeria have so messed up our brains that if not for the timely intervention of Radio Biafra/IPOB our race would have ceased to exist by now. Praise be to Chukwu Okike Abiama Almighty God for his mercies. We must honour them by sitting at home on 30 May 2019.





Abiola, a Yoruba man that Hausa Fulani killed will be honoured on June 12 but they are telling us not to honour over 3.5m innocent men, women and children killed. We Biafrans are wiser now. Let us honour our own heroes and heroines. Sit-at-home on 30th May let us show them love and remember their sacrifice.





This same mindset led us to forget the heroic exploits of our mothers in 1929 of which this year is the 100th anniversary. The manipulative Nigerian media and some Efulefus born beside a refuse pile in Lagos made you to also forget the bravery of our mothers and fathers at the coal mines in Enugu. This was the first resistance against colonialism in Nigeria.




The Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Friday, told the Presidential Election Petition...

The Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Friday, told the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja that Aliyu Haidar Abubakar, son of the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, campaigned for President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of the February 23 presidential poll.









the All Progressives Congress, but also contested the partys governorship the primary election in Gombe State. They alleged that Abubakar was not only a card-carrying member ofthe All Progressives Congress, butpartys governorship the primary election inGombe State.









informed the tribunal that they had attached the Facebook printout of the wall of the said the biological son of Bulkachuwa showing his campaign posts, photographs and posters canvassing votes for himself as a governorship aspirant and Buharis re-election bid to their motion as an exhibit. Theyinformed the tribunal that they had attached the Facebook printout of the wall of the said the biological son of Bulkachuwa showing his campaign posts, photographs and posters canvassing votes for himself as a governorship aspirant and Buharis re-election bid to their motion as an exhibit.









The petitioners alleged, as previously stated in the letter which the PDP on May 9 sent to the judges office, that her husband, Adamu Bulkachuwa, won a senatorial seat in the National Assembly poll, held alongside the February 23 election, on the platform of the APC.









stated in a motion filed before the five-man tribunal that Justice Bulkachuwas close family ties to top APC members would hinder her from handling the proceedings of the tribunal without bias. They thereforestated in a motion filed before the five-man tribunalthat JusticeBulkachuwasclose family ties to topAPC members would hinder her from handling the proceedings of the tribunal without bias.









insisted on Justice Bulkachuwa disqualifying herself as a member and head of the tribunal. The petitionersinsisted onJustice Bulkachuwa disqualifying herself as a member and head of the tribunal.









her replacement on the panel, they urged her to recuse herself from further participation in the proceedings of the tribunal. Demandingherreplacementon the panel, they urged her to recuse herself from further participation in the proceedings of the tribunal.









filed in support of the motion read in part, I know that as a spouse of Adamu Bulkachuwa, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa is so closely related to Adamu Bulkachuwa that she cannot fairly hear and determine the instant petition without eliciting the suspicion and anxiety of all right-thinking persons, including myself. The affidavit deposed to by the Deputy National Secretary of the PDP, Emmanuel Agbo,filed in support of the motion read in part, I know that as a spouse ofAdamu Bulkachuwa,Justice ZainabBulkachuwa is so closely related to Adamu Bulkachuwa that she cannot fairly hear and determine the instant petition without eliciting the suspicion and anxiety of all right-thinking persons, including myself.









Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa. The Court of Appeal has more than 80 justices who are able and competent to participate in the hearing and determination of the extant petition in the absence ofJustice Zainab Bulkachuwa.









I also know that her biological son, Aliyu Haidar Abubakar is a card-carrying member of the 3rd respondent (APC) and he contested the governorship primary election of the 3rd respondent in Gombe State.









Attached hereto and marked Exhibit 2 is a printout made today from the Facebook page named Aliyu Haidar Abubakar Volunteer Group containing his campaign posters, photographs and various posts showing his campaign messages for himself and the 2nd respondent, both of whom contested on the platform of the 3rd respondent.









Abubakar was prominently featured as the son of Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa and who contested the governorship primary of Gombe State on the platform of the 3rd respondent. I also attach hereto and marked Exhibit 3 a printout of a Daily Post online news publication in which AliyuAbubakar was prominently featured as the son ofJustice Zainab Bulkachuwa and who contested the governorship primaryof Gombe State on the platform of the 3rd respondent.









They added that Bauchi State, which was one of the three senatorial districts Bulkachuwas husband would be representing at the Senate when sworn in, is one of the focal states in which the petitioners/applicants have all alleged that electoral infractions occurred.









Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, President of the Court of Appeal, and the presiding justice of the panel hearing petition numbered CA/PEPC/2019 be recused from further sitting or participating in the proceedings in this petition and be replaced by another justice of this honourable court to sit in her place to hear and determine the petition. They, therefore, sought an order thatJustice Zainab Bulkachuwa, President of the Court of Appeal, and the presiding justice of the panel hearing petition numbered CA/PEPC/2019 be recused from further sitting or participating in the proceedings in this petition and be replaced by another justice of this honourable court to sit in herplace to hear and determine the petition.









during Wednesdays proceedings had directed the petitioners to file a formal application that would be heard and ruled upon in the open court. Bulkachuwa, who led a five-man panel of the tribunalduringWednesdays proceedings had directed the petitioners to file a formal application that would be heard and ruled upon in the open court.









letter signed by its National Chairman, Uche Secondus, and its National Secretary, Umaru Tsauri, the PDP complained that Bulkachuwa could have by a comment she made during the inaugural sitting of the tribunal on May 8 prejudged its petition challenging the outcome of the presidential election. In aletter signed by its National Chairman, Uche Secondus, and its National Secretary, Umaru Tsauri, the PDPcomplained that Bulkachuwa could have by a comment she made during the inaugural sitting of the tribunal on May 8 prejudged its petition challenging the outcome of the presidential election.









It stated that Bulkachuwas claim in her speech to the effect that there would always be complaints no matter how an election was well-conducted had rocked its confidence in the panel led by her.









Secondus and the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, attended Wednesdays proceedings.









Bulkachuwa appeared to have initially overlooked the earlier letter sent by the PDP asking her to withdraw from the panel until the petitioners lead councel, Dr Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), requested a meeting between the panel members and the representatives of the legal teams of the parties to the case on Wednesday.









Wednesdays proceedings. Uzoukwu made the request for the meeting shortly after lawyers announced their appearances at the beginning ofWednesdays proceedings.









Independent National Electoral Commission, President Muhammadu Buhari and APC  did not oppose the request for the meeting. The lawyers representing the respondents Independent National Electoral Commission, President Muhammadu Buhari and APC  did not oppose the request for the meeting.









Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) APCs team. Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) led Buharis legal team, while Mr Yunus Usman (SAN) led the INECs team, andLateef Fagbemi (SAN)APCs team.









two representing each of the PDP, Atiku, INEC, Buhari and the APC met with the panel members in chambers. Ten lawyers, withtwo representing each of the PDP, Atiku, INEC, Buhari and the APC met with the panel members in chambers.









At the end of the meeting, Bulkachuwa while announcing the decision of the panel following the meeting with the lawyers, said Uzoukwu requested that she should recuse herself from the panel at the meeting.









She said the request by Uzoukwu was based on the reasons cited by the PDP in its letter earlier sent to her on May 9.









She said since the matter was already in the public domain, the panel had decided to have the issue treated openly.









on Wednesday his team would file a formal application to that effect on Thursday. Uzoukwu saidon Wednesday his team would file a formal application to that effect on Thursday.









The respondents lawyers said they would need time to respond to the application.









The tribunal then directed the petitioners to file their application and adjourned till May 22 for its hearing.









In compliance with the directive, the motion signed by a member of the petitioners legal team, Prof Maxwell Gidado (SAN), was filed on Thursday.









The motion was served on the three respondents on Friday, another member of the petitioners legal team, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), confirmed to one of our correspondents on Friday.









The respondents are expected to file their replies to the motion on Monday.









The petition jointly filed by Atiku and the PDP is one of the four filed before the tribunal to challenge Buharis victory at the poll.
Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, yesterday hinted that the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) would be brought ...

Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, yesterday hinted that the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) would be brought down to construct another one.









Sirika, who said the project would be handled by construction giant, Julius Berger at the cost of N14 billion, stated that the terminal in use which was built in 1979 has outlived its usefulness.









The terminal was built to handle 300,000 at inception but the passengers it handles have grown to 8 million in the past three years. The minister added:









We have concluded on plans to relocate airlines from their original place to the new terminal we are building. We are going to rebuild the MMIA terminal and the contract will be awarded to Julius Berger at roughly N14 billion. The Managing Director of FAAN just told us that the new terminal under construction will be completed before the end of this year. Airlines will move to the new one while we begin the reconstruction of the old MMIA.









In the same vein, the Federal Government has concluded plans to shut Enugu International Airport for total repairs of the runways, which is caving in.









Also, Ethiopian Airlines which operates into the airport would be stopped because of the danger the airport pose to flight operations. Sirika, who spoke at a stakeholders forum in Lagos, said he had discussed with the Enugu State governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, of the need to relocate the market located very close to the airport and the free trade zone to make for expansion of the runway and other facilities to international standard. Meanwhile, the Federal Government yesterday said it was committed to the provision of adequate infrastructural development in the country before the expiration of the present administration.









The Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, stated this while inspecting the ongoing construction of federal projects in Anambra State. Addressing journalists at Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area of the state shortly after the inspection, the Minister, who was represented on the occasion by Mr Yemi Ogutoynmie, said that so far he was satisfied with the quality and progress of the ongoing construction of the Enugu- Onitsha expressway. He said the Federal Government attached importance to the road, describing it as one of the major roads in the South-East. According to him, the construction would continue even with the rain until the 18kilometers were completed. Inspecting the federal secretariat in Awka, the minister commended the contractor for the quality of work done and encouraged the contractor to keep up the good work.









While conducting the minister around, Chief Cosmos Oguguo Agagbo, said the secretariat awarded seven years ago, has 402 offices, one conference hall, committee room and 312 conveniences. He, however, noted that they did not envisage that the topography of the project concept would change as work progressed.
Kashim Shettima, governor of Borno state, has denied speaking in support of the creation of additional emirates in Kano state. Spe...





Kashim Shettima, governor of Borno state, has denied speaking in support of the creation of additional emirates in Kano state.





in Kaduna, Shettima said he has a special relationship with Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of the state, and Muhammadu Sanusi, emir of Kano, and cannot take sides in the controversy. Speaking with reporters at the end of a meeting of the Northern Governors Forumin Kaduna, Shettima said he has a special relationship with Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of the state, and Muhammadu Sanusi, emir of Kano, and cannot take sides in the controversy.





Ganduje had appointed four new emirs in the state, an action believed to be as a result of getting back at Sanusi who reportedly worked against the governors reelection.





Shettima, however, said he is indebted to the governor and the monarch, saying while Ganduje adopted 200 Borno orphans, Sanusi brought Aliko Dangote, Africas richest man, to his state for humanitarian assistance.





He said he could not speak ill of them.





Fact is that I could never have supported the development in Kano emirate or spoken against the governor. Governor Ganduje and his highness, the emir of Kano have done some things that are eternally dear to the people of Borno, to me in particular, he said.





Governor Ganduje has adopted and granted lifetime scholarship from primary to university levels to 200 orphans from Borno state whose parents were killed by Boko Haram. These children are provided with accommodation, feeding and being given very good education in Kano state under a special welfare programme that the governor approved. 





On the other hand, the emir of Kano was our main link to Alhaji Aliko Dangote. In 2016, the emir was in Borno and on seeing the humanitarian situation, he spoke to Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Dangote has been to Borno state more than three times. He has given the highest individual and private sector support to our humanitarian course and I will never forget that the emir of Kano was the link.





As CBN governor, the emir brought the CBN entrepreneurship development center to Borno state back in 2013 or so. He helped in raising global local and global awareness to our situation in Borno. I will never forget the empathy shown to us by the Emir of Kano as well as Governor Ganduje and this is why I play the role of a bridge builder.





Shettima said northern governors are making background moves to ensure that the rift between the governor and monarch is settled.





And then, we governors have one unwritten policy. We dont openly interfere with the issues of one another. We only play background roles to lobby and appeal, he said.





The northern governors did play a role sometime back over the same Kano emirate and we are still working underground because I cannot dictate to Ganduje how he should run Kano but we can work underground as bridge builders.





God willing the governor and the emir will come back together as one.




Zainab Aliyu, a Nigerian who was detained in Saudi Arabia for alleged drug trafficking, says she learnt pure Arabic and memorised ha...





Zainab Aliyu, a Nigerian who was detained in Saudi Arabia for alleged drug trafficking, says she learnt pure Arabic and memorised half of the Quran during her 124-day stay in prison.





Aliyu was arrested on December 26 after tramadol, a drug prohibited in Saudi Arabia was found in her bag.





The 22-year-old student of the Maitama Sule University, Kano, had travelled to Saudi Arabia for lesser hajj alongside her mother and sister.





She, was, however, arrested by Saudi authorities over allegations that the bag bearing her name tag contained tramadol.





In an interview with Daily Trust, she narrated her experience in detention, how she found it hard to trust people and eventually got close to an Ethiopian lady simply identified as Rehisty.





She explained that she suffered communication gap with Rehisty whom she said understands little English while she (Aliyu), knew just a bit of Arabic.





I met several people. But I can assure you, it took me some days before I could trust some of the inmates. Thats because after realizing that I was actually framed, I couldnt bring myself to trust anyone. I did not trust anybody there, even among my roommates. The only person that I can say I trusted, is one Ethiopian lady with whom I was brought in, Aliyu said.





Yes, but only the Ethiopian lady I mentioned earlier, called Rehisty. When we were brought there, together, we found it difficult to communicate, because she could only understand a little English, and I understand only a little Arabic. So, it took us some time before we started communicating, in Arabic, which I picked up while in detention.





I learnt pure Arabic. I also joined Tahfiuz school, and Alhamdulillah, I was able to memorize half of the Holy Quran during my stay in the prison. I also learnt how to live with people from different backgrounds.





Narrating her ordeal from when she was picked up in her hotel room till when she was released, Aliyu said it took about a week for her to come to terms that she was in prison.





She, however, said she and the other inmates were well taken care of, adding that she experienced no form of harassment or intimidation.





I spent almost one week without knowing that I was in a prison, because I did not commit any offence, she said.





They treated us like human beings. Nobody humiliated or harassed anyone in there. And I spent 124 days there.





Aliyu thanked the federal government and everyone who worked towards securing her release.





She cautioned that she is not on social media, raising the alarm that some people have opened social media accounts in her name.





I thank President Muhammadu Buhari, Madam Abike Dabiri, and the Minister of Justice, Justice Malami, and all others who in one way or the other contributed to my release, she said.





I am also calling on some people who have created Instagram and Twitter handles, and even a Facebook account in my name, to please stop, because it is not good to deceive people. Honestly, I am not on social media, so the general public should take note.





Aliyu was released from prison in April and returned to Nigeria on May 13.




The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday disclosed that its investigating the Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okor...





The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday disclosed that its investigating the Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha.





EFCC disclosed that its investigating Okorocha and the state government for a case of money laundering.





The Commissions zonal head for South East, Usman Imam during a briefing yesterday said the state government used funds meant for workers during the just concluded elections.





Usman stated that the Commissions operatives blocked accounts belonging to the state government in the build-up to the election, following a tip-off.

According to Usman, EFCCs timely intervention saved the state over N5bn that would have been deployed for vote buying by the Okorochas administration.





He said: About N7.9bn is what had been blocked, although with pressure, subsequently, about N2.5bn was released for salaries. On the whole, we have over N5bn of those funds blocked; we are following up to see what actually happened.





Honestly, what we discovered was that within two days, N700m was withdrawn in cash; N200m on the first day and N500m on the second day and all these monies were disbursed in a manner that was honestly unpalatable.





Distribution to school teachers; I dont know, schools that you were not funding and you wake up on the eve of the election and withdrew N500m cash and start distributing N1000 each or so to teachers. Whatever that means, I dont know.





When we came in, we were able to save about seventy something millions of the funds that we discovered were not disbursed, we also blocked it. People are still answering questions as to who asked them to move those monies, monies that were blocked at the banks.





The sad story about this was that these monies were the intervention funds; the bailout funds that the Federal Government released to states to pay salaries when they were having problems paying salaries.




The Apex Igbo socio-political organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo on Saturday lambasted the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi for s...





The Apex Igbo socio-political organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo on Saturday lambasted the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi for saying the South East cant produce President Muhammadu Buharis successor in 2023.





Deputy National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Chuks Ibegbu in an interview with Dailypost said Amaechi is not God as such cant decide the political future of the region.





Amaechi had asserted that the South East cant demand for the presidency in 2023 because the region failed to vote for Buhari in the just concluded presidential election.





However, Ibegbu described the Ministers remark as disgraceful and an affront on the people of the South East.

Stressing that Igbo elites are found of talking down the region, Ibegbu cautioned those affected to desist from such act.





According to Ibegbu: Its very unfortunate that an Igbo man of that calibre could make such a statement in public, its very bad.





There is no Yoruba or Hausa man that would say his people would not produce president for one reason or the other. Whether we voted for Buhari or not its not for Amaechi to make such statement.





Its a very big affront on the political dignity of the Igbo people. Let me tell you its not for Amaechi to tell Igbos where to learn politically.





He can advise bit its a tragedy for him to go to the public to make such a statement. If he is not happy with the way Igbos voted he should have kept it to himself or advised them quietly, Im disappointed by that statement.





Besides, Rotimi Amaechi is not God to decide the political future of anybody including the Igbos, its a very disgraceful , unexpected of him and besides some Igbos voted for Buhari just like some Hausas and Yorubas did so there is no essential tribalising the political scenario. Its not a tribal thing Atiku won in Oyo and Ondo States and almost won Lagos State so is it not Yorubas that voted for Atiku. In the North Atiku made a very strong presence so what will Amaechi say about the Yoruba and Hausas that voted for Atiku .




Bishop Tudor Bismark is an apostolic voice to the nations.

From the age of 17 when he began travelling to outskirt villages in the Bulawayo region in Zimbabwe, to the present where he is requested at some of the largest gatherings of Christians around the world, Bishop Bismark has been known for speaking the gospel.





Since 1989, he has been serving as an Apostolic Father and mentors to ministries all over the world.



He and his wife, Pastor Chichi Bismark, serve as the senior pastors of New Life Covenant Church in Harare, Zimbabwe, the headquarters church for Jabula New Life Ministries International.

Bishop Tudor Bismark is an apostolic voice to the nations.





An accomplished author, Bishop Bismark has penned more than 20 books and teaching manuals including the bestselling The Anointing of 1000 Times More. He is a well sought after speaker and leadership expert, addressing the Heads of State at the Annual African Union breakfast and speaking at Pastors & Leaders Conferences in the USA, The Redeemed Church of Nigerias camp meetings (a gathering of more than one million Christians), The Experience in Lagos, Nigeria, and other significant events.



He has a passion to see people empowered and awakened to their God-ordained destiny and has purposed to help facilitate networks of Kingdom-minded believers raised in his lifetime. A man of immense humility, Bishop Bismarks message is simply I love my God, I love my family, I love my church and I love my nation.



About Pastor Chichi:

Pastor ChiChi is the wife of Bishop Tudor Bismark. She is the co-founder of Jabula New Life Ministries & pastor of New Life Covenant Church in Harare, Zimbabwe. Her sincere heart for people and her desire for the manifestation of the power of the Word of God in the earth has positioned her as a credible minister in her own right.

Pastor ChiChi is an intercessor, a prophet, a teacher and an encourager to the body of Christ globally. Anointed in the areas of sound biblical teaching, healing and kingdom finance, she along with Bishop Bismark have grown their assembly in Harare into a force of faith and power for the Kingdom of God.

Pastor ChiChi is the wife of Bishop Tudor Bismark. Pastor ChiChi and Bishop Tudor have been married for over twenty-five years and have been blessed with four sons. As an avid reader, information seeker and a possessor of revelation knowledge, Pastor ChiChi will minister to your present need, challenge your boundaries and encourage your faith.



About Jabula New Life Ministries

Jabula  New Life Ministries is an international movement which was founded in 1989 by Bishop Bismark, along with his wife Pastor ChiChi. Originally, Jabula began as an extension of the local church in Harare but quickly grew through church planting and international expansion. Bishop Bismark also serves as the Chairman of the Council of African Apostles, a wholly African initiative to bring the key apostolic voices of the African church to bear on uniquely African issues.An accomplished author, Bishop Bismark has penned more than 20 books and teaching manuals including the bestselling The Anointing of 1000 Times More. He is a well sought after speaker and leadership expert, addressing the Heads of State at the Annual African Union breakfast and speaking at Pastors & Leaders Conferences in the USA, The Redeemed Church of Nigerias camp meetings (a gathering of more than one million Christians), The Experience in Lagos, Nigeria, and other significant events.He has a passion to see people empowered and awakened to their God-ordained destiny and has purposed to help facilitate networks of Kingdom-minded believers raised in his lifetime. A man of immense humility, Bishop Bismarks message is simply I love my God, I love my family, I love my church and I love my nation.Pastor ChiChi is the wife of Bishop Tudor Bismark. She is the co-founder of Jabula New Life Ministries & pastor of New Life Covenant Church in Harare, Zimbabwe. Her sincere heart for people and her desire for the manifestation of the power of the Word of God in the earth has positioned her as a credible minister in her own right.Pastor ChiChi is an intercessor, a prophet, a teacher and an encourager to the body of Christ globally. Anointed in the areas of sound biblical teaching, healing and kingdom finance, she along with Bishop Bismark have grown their assembly in Harare into a force of faith and power for the Kingdom of God.Pastor ChiChi and Bishop Tudor have been married for over twenty-five years and have been blessed with four sons. As an avid reader, information seeker and a possessor of revelation knowledge, Pastor ChiChi will minister to your present need, challenge your boundaries and encourage your faith.Jabula  New Life Ministries is an international movement which was founded in 1989 by Bishop Bismark, along with his wife Pastor ChiChi. Originally, Jabula began as an extension of the local church in Harare but quickly grew through church planting and international expansion.





As God began to elevate Bishop Bismark, it became evident that the organization (Jabula  New Life Ministries) was becoming an apostolic movement that would bring life, transformation, order and leadership to churches, pastors, cities, para-church ministries, and nations all over the world. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Bishop Bismark was increasingly called upon to travel, bringing a fresh and clear voice to the Body of Christ concerning the Kingdom, and a new way forward. Today, Jabula  New Life Ministries is in 27 nations around the world and continues to extend its reach through church planting, empowerment programs, and advanced leadership training provided by Bishop Tudor and Pastor ChiChi Bismark.



Contact Us:



North America Office

Jabula  New Life Ministries/TBM

445 East FM 1382, Suite 3-371

Cedar Hill, Texas 75104 USA

(469) 272-7337 Office

info@tudorbismark.org



Africa Office:

Jabula  New Life Ministries/TBM

147 Robert Mugabe Road

Harare, Zimbabwe

+ 263 4 700 020 /1/2 Office

+ 263 4 706 118 Fax

info@jabulanlm.co.zw
His life is a study of providence and destiny but it is also an application of persistence and the will to overcome all odds both physical and spiritual.





If you doubted how a gate man called Mordecai became the second in command in Susa, now present-day Iran or how Joseph transitioned from a prisoner to prime minister role in Egypt in just one day, then look no further because the story of Duncan Williams in Ghana provides a perfect scene of God's providence to the see-before-we -believe Christians of today.



Many are the stories told of the sudden rise from rags to riches but only a few of those stories have the protagonists battling life and death each passing day; battling spirits and voices of evil. His story, which he shared with Joy FM's Super Morning Show host Kojo Yankson, is one of pain and struggle; one of adversity and betrayal, a story of attacks, disappointments and failures but it is also a story of the singleness of purpose, a steely determination and a buoyant desire to rise from the armpits of society to the echelons of power.



He was born into a broken home, to a single mother. He won his first battle at birth and it was over death. His twin brother failed to make it but that was only the beginning. He lacked many things at birth including the love and protection of a father. Food to eat was a struggle. Education was a luxury. He had little or none for all that. He pushed trucks, sold chewing gums on the streets to put food on the table.



A father's love and protection at birth are as important to a child as the affection and tender care of the mother.

Betrayal Before Greatness - The Story Of Archbishop Duncan Williams Duncan Williams had to settle for one- a mother's love. He lived for 14 years before seeing his dad. His mind had been poisoned against his dad with bitterness seething through his heart.



He met him for the first time, not at home, church or a comfortable environment a son would love to meet his dad for the first time. He met him at the Borstal Institute where his mum had loaned him. She got tired of taking care of a tactless youth, an adventurous boy who had destiny on his side. She wanted help but not from her husband. The Borstal Institute was her choice but that choice connected Duncan Williams Jnr to his father.



The Judge at the Institute did not understand why a politician of no mean repute at the time would have his son languishing at the Borstal Institute. He connected them and with another struggle, this time between mother and father, Jnr Duncan made a decision to stay with his father. That was the beginning of another battle. His dad had little confidence in him. To him, he was just a statistic in as many children numbering 37. Duncan Williams had a point to prove, a battle to win and a father to convince. The dream at the time for every youth was a journey to America but how do you go there when what to eat in Ghana was even a problem? He is 60 years today when he was destined to die at birth; he is richer today when poverty was his great pal; a preacher man today when he paid visits to shrines and encountered spirits in the past. He is everything contrary to what life offered. He is Archbishop Duncan Williams, a powerful man of God with a voice of authority over men and spirits.If you doubted how a gate man called Mordecai became the second in command in Susa, now present-day Iran or how Joseph transitioned from a prisoner to prime minister role in Egypt in just one day, then look no further because the story of Duncan Williams in Ghana provides a perfect scene of God's providence to the see-before-we -believe Christians of today.Many are the stories told of the sudden rise from rags to riches but only a few of those stories have the protagonists battling life and death each passing day; battling spirits and voices of evil. His story, which he shared with Joy FM's Super Morning Show host Kojo Yankson, is one of pain and struggle; one of adversity and betrayal, a story of attacks, disappointments and failures but it is also a story of the singleness of purpose, a steely determination and a buoyant desire to rise from the armpits of society to the echelons of power.He was born into a broken home, to a single mother. He won his first battle at birth and it was over death. His twin brother failed to make it but that was only the beginning. He lacked many things at birth including the love and protection of a father. Food to eat was a struggle. Education was a luxury. He had little or none for all that. He pushed trucks, sold chewing gums on the streets to put food on the table.A father's love and protection at birth are as important to a child as the affection and tender care of the mother.Duncan Williams had to settle for one- a mother's love. He lived for 14 years before seeing his dad. His mind had been poisoned against his dad with bitterness seething through his heart.He met him for the first time, not at home, church or a comfortable environment a son would love to meet his dad for the first time. He met him at the Borstal Institute where his mum had loaned him. She got tired of taking care of a tactless youth, an adventurous boy who had destiny on his side. She wanted help but not from her husband. The Borstal Institute was her choice but that choice connected Duncan Williams Jnr to his father.The Judge at the Institute did not understand why a politician of no mean repute at the time would have his son languishing at the Borstal Institute. He connected them and with another struggle, this time between mother and father, Jnr Duncan made a decision to stay with his father. That was the beginning of another battle. His dad had little confidence in him. To him, he was just a statistic in as many children numbering 37. Duncan Williams had a point to prove, a battle to win and a father to convince. The dream at the time for every youth was a journey to America but how do you go there when what to eat in Ghana was even a problem?





He was neither qualified for a visa nor the money to apply for one. But Duncan Williams did not see problems. He saw possibilities. Stowaway was possible and he did. He went to Abidjan jumped onto a ship headed for Marseille, France. He was caught and was to be fed to the sharks in the seas of Morocco but grace found him. A man on board had a son called Nicholas and pleaded for him.





They hid him in the dungeons of the ship until they got to Marseille. He disembarked safely worked at the port for a while but got caught and repatriated to Ghana because he had no papers.



That was painful enough to break the resolve of many men but Nicholas was a man of sterner stuff. Not easily broken by temporary failures life had to offer. Failures were pills of encouragement, sunlight to a dark path of pain. His sight was set on a bigger reward.



Few weeks in Ghana, Nicholas run out of money and had to do another stowaway, this time to Israel, the land of promise. He went to Abidjan went on his knees with a fervent prayer to God asking God for a way in Israel. That, too, failed and he was repatriated again. Failure now appeared to him like a flag which he waved around.



His dream and path for success were to make it in Europe but God had other plans for him. His ways are not the ways of men. Whilst Duncan thought his breakthrough was in Europe, God had Ghana in mind for him. This was his place of destiny.



Battle with Spirits, Shrines



Of all the battles in life, the spiritual battle is easily the most significant. It is always said that before anything of worth happens in the physical, it must be settled in the spiritual. Duncan Williams settled it in the spiritual realm but sacrificed his fingers for it.



He was thirsty for success and visited a shrine for it. He was turned away. The shrine man saw a bigger spirit living in the young body. He could not help. Duncan Williams was oblivious of the power he possessed and wandered in life at the time.



At 20 something significant happened. Duncan Williams had nightmares, hallucination and heard voices at home; spiritual voices contending with the voice of truth, grace. He was captured by the spirit, instructed by it to light a candle and dip his hands into the burning flame. He obeyed without question but with pain. His lips at a point were sealed until the pain had become unbearable. His fingers darkened in the flames until they turned into ashes. His shouts attracted siblings who came and rushed him to Korle Bu Hospital where he was admitted for months. That was his break. He had a spiritual encounter with God on his bed at the Korle Bu teaching hospital and everything changed. When grace finds you, it doesn't matter who or where you are.

With no education, but 'pidgin English' to advertise, the young dreamer had a charismatic dream. Orthodox churches at the time were predominant. They were conventional and methodical but Duncan Williams introduced a new Church, Action Chapel International, which the youth identified with and which has become a cathedral of hope, a place of survival, a sanctuary to mend broken hearts and spirits.



In all, he was broken and betrayed many times but those were his path for success. The path to greatness is through betrayal, Archbishop Duncan Williams said. Through betrayal he has a voice; a voice of authority; his power of prayer moves mountains and holds with him unmatched favour from God.



Today he has churches littered across the world, with membership running into several thousand; he has a Dominion university training young pastors and giving education which he barely had; he is a father to many, something he struggled to have.



As he launches his book, "Providence and destiny; the Nicholas Duncan Williams story" and celebrate 60 years of birth and 40 years of championing Charismatic mission, Myjoyonline.com wishes him a Happy Birthday.
1. God is demanding a dynamic shift from us out of our comfort zone in order for the wealth of the wicked to be transferred into our hands. Pastor ChiChi Bismark

2. Salvation is the blood of Jesus. If you want to pull your family out of death of sin, you apply the blood. Pastor ChiChi Bismark

3. You can't build a tower by yourself, you have to bring resources and forces together. Pastor ChiChi Bismark

4. Being a Christian is a call to a powerful life. Too often, as believers, we live as slaves simply because we do not know what weapons are available to us. Pastor ChiChi Bismark

More About Pastor Chichi Bismark:




Shawn Mendes may seem like he has it all put together on the surface, but the pop star's just opened up to fans about his mental health struggles.

While speaking to People, Mendes said that he's still learning to cope with his anxiety  a formerly "secret" struggle that he initially revealed was the inspiration behind his single, "In My Blood," last March.

"Talking about the problem, putting it out there, was one of the scariest but most important things I've ever done," Mendes told the publication. "Just doing that helped me the most."

However, he also mentioned that it's been an ongoing battle, but he tries to remember that "everyone deals with some level of anxiety or pressure. We're all in it together."

Mendes then went on to talk about how his loved ones keep him grounded in the midst of it all, saying, "I still go back to Toronto and hang with my friends from growing up, and my family has also been so supportive"  which, honestly, is a smart thing to do when you're struggling or feeling overwhelmed. Read what else Mendes has to say, here.

Photo via Getty
Second Women's Charity Group Member Who Assisted Iran's Flood Victims Is Arrested

05/18/19

Source: Center for Human Rights in Iran

Both Women Being Held for Unknown Reasons at Evin Prison



Nahid Shaghaghi

A second senior member of the charity group Voice of Iranian Women (VIW), which has been involved in aid and rescue operations during the recent devastating floods in southwestern Iran, has been arrested for unknown reasons. Nahid Shaghaghi, who has also worked to combat violence against women, was taken away by security agents on May 15, 2018.

"Nahid called us this morning [May 15, 2019] and said there are security agents at her front door," Shaghaghi's brother, Kaveh Shaghaghy (who spells his last name differently), wrote on his Instagram page.

"When I got to her house I saw the door had been broken and no one was home. We don't know where she is or even who arrested her. We went to Evin Prison and her local police station to ask what had happened to her but we didn't get any information. We are worried," Kaveh added.

On May 16, VIW's channel on the Telegram messaging app reported that Shaghaghi was being interrogated in Evin Prison's Ward 209, which is under the control of Iran's Intelligence Ministry.

Shaghaghi has given presentations on the subject of violence against women at VIW seminars in recent years, most recently on March 8, 2019, marking International Women's Day.

Her arrest comes nearly three weeks after another senior VIW member, Akram Nasirian, was taken into custody by unidentified security agents in Tehran on April 29.

Nasirian had also worked as a volunteer in flood-impacted areas of the country and had volunteered as a literacy instructor with VIW, which focuses on educating women, child laborers and the children of Afghan refugees in Iran.

She, too, is being held in Evin Prison's Ward 209, reportedly accused of "promoting non-observance of the hijab" and "disturbing public opinion," with no access to legal counsel.

VIW describes its mission as working to "reflect the struggles, defeats and achievements of women in Iranian society and strives to empower women in their quest for a better life in spite of hardships and discrimination."

The organization has helped Afghan refugees obtain state identification documents and has issued statements on social issues, including acid attacks on women accused of wearing "improper" hijab.
Concerned about a rise in violence against Christians in Burkina Faso, Pastor Jacques Ouedraogo changed the time of his Sunday service as a precaution. He believes this is what saved his life.



Later, his church was one of two targeted by gunmen on May 12 in the town of Dablo in a series of deadly attacks on churches and a religious procession in the last two weeks in Burkinas formerly peaceful Central North region.



I could have been one of the martyrs who fell on Sunday, said the priest.



Weve told ourselves our turn will come. Today Christians are potential targets. Were all scared.



In the wake of Sundays bloodshed, he and hundreds of residents fled Dablo. The town had previously served as a safe haven for some of the thousands displaced by violence in the countrys northern Sahel region, which has become a stronghold for militant groups with links to Islamic State and al Qaeda.



Around 90 kilometres south of Dablo, the city of Kaya has become a refuge for those newly displaced, including a farmer, who asked to be identified by the name Te Wende. Along with his his wife, mother, grandmother and two children, he was warned by neighbours to flee.



When the shooting started, they called us straight away and told us to run far away, he said.



We dont know where they came from or what they really wanted, he said.



On Thursday, the United Nations warned that the Central North region had become the new epicentre for attacks.



The recent targeting of churches threatens to upend traditionally peaceful relations between the Muslim majority and Christians, who make up a quarter of Burkinabes.



I call on Christians not to panic and not to yield to the temptation of vengeance, because that could be blind, the Bishop of Kaya, Theophile Nare, said at a meeting of bishops in the capital on Friday.



The first church attack occurred in late April, when gunmen killed a Protestant pastor and five congregants. Subsequently, a Catholic priest and five parishioners were killed in the Dablo attack and a further four Catholics died in an attack on Tuesday.



No one has claimed responsibility, but the Burkinabe government has blamed terrorist groups  attacking religion with the macabre aim of dividing us.



Violent attacks linked to the strengthening jihadist insurgency have surged this year in Burkina as well as across the broader Sahel region, an arid expanse of scrubland just south of the Sahara desert.



Militants have also worked to sow ethnic tensions between farming and herding communities in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in order to boost recruitment among marginalised communities.



On Thursday, Islamic States West African branch claimed responsibility for an ambush that killed 28 soldiers this week in Niger, one of the deadliest attacks against the military in Nigers west in recent years.

Source: Africanews.com









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A four-member delegation from the Board of Nursing and Midwifery in Liberia has paid a working visit to the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana (N&MC) to understudy its operations.



The aim of the delegation, led by Humphrey Gibbs Loweal, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Liberia, was to have firsthand knowledge about the regulatory activities of the Council in relation to nursing and midwifery.



The week-long visit would also afford them the opportunity to understudy the operations of the Council in respect of the conduct of online licensing examination, registration and how to deal with complaints and enquiries, among others.



In a presentation, Mr. Loweal explained that Liberia has had plans to improve and strengthen its existing nursing and midwifery regulation, which was enacted in 1948.



When we did some research, it was found that Ghana has one of the good regulations on nursing and midwifery training, education and practice. So that was why we constituted a team to come and get the experience of Ghana, Mr. Loweal added.



He said the team would also learn from Ghanas mistakes with the hope of not repeating them in their quest to achieve a near perfect nursing and midwifery training, education and practice for Liberia.



Mr. Loweal also disclosed that the visit has accorded them the opportunity to engage and sensitize stakeholders, especially the media.



The Chairperson of the 14th Governing Board of the Council, Rev. Veronica Mina Darko, lauded the visit by the Liberian delegation.



We should all be proud of ourselves to learn that an international regulatory authority has chosen to come to Ghana to understudy Nursing and Midwifery Council, and this is the second time this year that they are coming, she said excitedly.



Felix Nyante, Registrar of the Council, said previous collaborations by the Council and other countries and agencies across the globe, coupled with stringent regulation among other innovative services, have made the Council gained tremendous recognition.



The Registrar disclosed that the Council is in the process of ensuring that about 90% of its services, including registration, renewal of license, continuous professional development, among others, are digitized by the end of this year.



He revealed that the Council would continue to provide professional support to countries, who would want to strengthen regulation related to nursing and midwifery.



Other members of the delegation including Registrar of the Board, Cecelia Chuchu Kpangbala-Flomo, Dedeh Helen Flomo Jones, Chairman of Item Construction and Darboi Garmi Korkoyah, Monitoring and Evaluation Director, also paid a courtesy call on the Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana.



They congratulated the envoy Ron Strikker and his government for supporting the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana to improve online licensing examination for nurses and midwives.



They also discussed plans of the Embassy to support them.







Source: Daily Guide









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An Accra Circuit Court has remanded interdicted soldier, a policeman and a civilian for allegedly embarking on a robbery spree.



Bernard Tsagli, interdicted military man and Corporal Samuel Asamoah, interdicted policeman, both 40 years as well as Crosby Ofori, 41, dismissed civilian employee had denied conspiring to rob Mr Abubakar and Baba Amori.

They are expected to make their next appearance on May 29.



Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Emmanuel Haligah told the Court presided over by Mrs. Jane Harriet Akweley Quaye that the complainant is a driver living at Mallam, a suburb of Accra.



Tsagli is a soldier at the 37 Military Hospital Medical Stores who is on interdiction; Corporal Asamoah was also stationed at Kasoa also on interdiction whilst Ofori is a dismissed civilian employee at the 37 Military Hospital.



He said on April 27, this year, the complainant, who was in charge of a taxi cab with the trading number GW 7265 was on his usual rounds soliciting for passengers when he was intercepted by some Accra Metropolitan Assemblys guards at the Ghana-Nigeria Lorry Station at Asylum Down in Accra.



Chief Inspector Haligah said the three chanced on the scene and pleaded with the guards to release the car so that they hired it to effect an arrest.



Prosecution said they boarded and directed the driver, Mr Abubakar, to drive to Nima, also in Accra, thus, he obliged and drove to the Nima Market, where they saw Baba Amori, one of their victims when they instructed the driver to stop.



He said when the driver stopped; they got down, arrested Amori, handcuffed him and put him in the same taxi and asked the taxi driver to drive them to Burma Camp.



The Prosecution continued that from Burma Camp, they also went to Cantonments, where they collected GH2,500.00 from Baba Amori, abandoned him and sped-off to the Independence Square to share the booty.



For fear that the complainant would give them up, they sent him to the back seat and one took over the driving whilst the other pointed a gun at him.



When they got to Gbawe Top located in Accra, they took Mr Abubakars Samsung cellular phone valued GH1,000.00 and abandoned him and the car.



The taxi driver made a formal complaint to the Gbawe Police and on May 4, the two called him in an attempt to offer him money and also to be using his car for their expeditions, the Prosecution noted.



Chief Inspector Haligah said Mr. Abubakar informed the police and he feigned interest. They met him and police arrested them.



After investigations, they were charged and put before the Court.

Source: GNA









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The National Organiser of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammy Awuku has condemned the politicization of certain issues, especially those bordering on national security in the country.



Some critics of the ruling administration are wondering why there are still security threats and kidnappings ongoing in the country when they (the NPP, then in opposition) promised to keep Ghanaians safe when given the mandate to rule.



However, Sammy Awuku said instead of making such comments the opposition should find ways of helping the security agencies fish out the bad nuts in our society and that will help keep Ghanaians safe.



Speaking on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', Sammy Awuku said "I find it strange that the NDC is trying to push everything on the NPP . . . there should be no politicization in our security; we should all be vigilant and report anything strange."



"The NPP government in terms of security; we have retooled them; its about time we also get results from the investments we have done in our security agencies. Nobody should paint the picture that this is the first time things like this; abduction and so on is happening," he added.



Watch his submission below







Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/Peacefmonline.com









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A former Deputy Information Minister, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has taken Ex-President Jerry John Rawlings, founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to the cleaners for accusing him [Felix] of purchasing two mansions at a staggering $3 million-dollars.



Mr Kwakye Ofosu believed the former President should have exhibited some form of civility by calling him over the matter for his (Felix's) confirmation or denial when he (Rawlings) stumbled upon the information than to draw his own conclusion and pass judgement.



...You cannot say you are an elderly person and yet when you are informed that someone has done something wrong, you wont even investigate the matter thoroughly before commenting openly, accusing the person wrongly just like that....



Because he is an elderly person whose words are taken as the gospel truth, that is the reason why he should have been mindful of his utterances in order not to malign someone on the basis of allegation without proof and that is why Ghanaians ought to be disappointed, he stated.



'Small Little Character'



Nearly a year ago, the NDC founder jabbed a member of his own party for buying two mansions worth 3 million US Dollars, when delivering his key address at the 2018 June 4th celebration which took place at the Madina Social Welfare Centre in Accra.



According to Mr Rawlings, a deputy minister who served in the erstwhile Mahama-led NDC administration, bought two mansions worth $3 million; each building cost $1.5 million from the property owner in Accra after the NDC lost the 2016 general election.



The former president referred to the minister in question as a small little character'. He went on to explain that when the minister paid for the house in cash, the seller was shocked to the core.



Hard Cash



What did this small little character do? After we lost the 2016, I said he went and paid cash for two mansions, Rawlings fired at the 39th Anniversary of the June 4 Uprising.



He said one for himself and one for his wife and of course, the man who was selling the properties that he has built for sale should have been happy; isnt it, because he was making profit.



Sad Situation



However, Mr. Rawlings, who failed to disclose the identity of the said deputy minister, said that he (property owner) was very sad and he was very angry. Why do you think he was angry? Because he has sweated to build these houses to sell for profit and instead of the money to come into his account or being given a cheque, he was being given physical cash!



What that meant was that he had to spend the whole night counting the $1.5 million each times two, the $3 million. Do you get me? he rhetorically asked.



Watch a playback of that speech below:







But speaking in an interview with Kwame Nkrumah Tikesie ons "Ade Akye Abia" morning show, the former government appointee who stridently denied the accusation, was of the view that Rawlings narrative of the $3 million-dollar mansion was in bad taste and should have rather emanated from a small fry."What he did (the allegations Rawlings put out) should have rather come from a young man so that he (Rawlings) can chastise and correct that person for drawing hasty conclusion based on an allegation and not the other way around...We must take note that we are doing politics and so we must be mindful of what we say; it does not mean that due to politics, we must fabricate stories against others because you are an elderly person, he jabbed.To him, as a former head of state who has served the country at the highest office for 19 years, Mr Rawlings should know how important investigations are to certain issues, especially bordering on the integrity of others.

After all, as a former President who has served this country for 19 years and even before the 19 years, he had attempted two coup d'etats, and so for such a person, he should know the significance of investigating matters before action is taken because someones life is on the line...



....Therefore, should someone even snitch on somebody, you have to investigate the matter before you comment on it. Like i earlier indicated, the allegation has no basis; it is not true, he added.



'Even If'... I Haven't Committed A Crime



Kwakye Ofosu, who appeared at a loss why his name is captured in the investigative books of the Office of the Special Prosecutor, pointed out that supposing without admitting he even bought those two mansions, it would not amount to the perpetration of a crime since no law in the country forbids people from owning mansions.



First of all, they have alleged that I have bought a mansion; even if i have bought a mansion, I have flouted no law because there is no law that stops anybody from buying a mansion but as I have said, I have not bought any mansion but they have my name penned down as having bought a mansion....



I am asking that didnt Martin Amidu and his team know the person who bought that mansion before they put my name down? If they dont have a confirmation from the person who made the allegation, why have they added my name to the list? So clearly, this is a huge joke which must be thrown out because it does not make sense; it is baseless and pure lies," he argued.

Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]









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The National Organizer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammy Awuku has cautioned the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to desist from politicizing the issues of security in this country.



Speaking on Peace FMs Krokokoo Morning Show, he stated that it is wrong to play politics with the recent incidents of criminal activity. According to him it is not right to create a certain impression that the security situation in this country has deteriorated such as never been seen beforeit is absolutely not true, he said.



He recounted series of insecurity issues that happened in the previous administration saying; On General news of December 6th Ecobank Abrepo branch Manager gun down, joyonline news 25th of July 2015 Ecobank Labone branch manager shot dead, 16th October 2016 joynews: Kumasi in shock over death of poplar journalist, Ghanaweb 31st December 2014: Abduction cases on the rise in Ghana, 3rd November 2014 Nkwanta North DCE murdered in cold bloodthese are but a few I can mention so NDC should not create the impression that the current security situation in the country has never happened before.



According to him NPP has done better in terms of security and said it is about time the country get results from the security agencies.



Instead of us to apportion blame we must all be vigilant to report any crime issue to the nearest police station because we are our own security, he stressed.



He therefore encouraged the security agencies to step up and do more to protect the ordinary Ghanaian and also charged them to work together closely with their partners within to combat crime.



Watch full interview below;



Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/Peacefmonline/[email protected]









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Major Retired Osahene Boakye Gyan, one of the brains behind the June 4 uprising, has described former President Jerry John Rawlings as a walking illegality, who must be arrested and hanged for his role in the overthrow of the legally constituted Hilla Limann government in 1981.



He said per the dictates of the 1992 Constitution, Mr. Rawlings must not be walking a free man because treason is punishable by death.



He has hanged himself; Im not the one saying it. Because the current constitution says if you overthrow a constitutionally elected government, you have committed high treason punishable by public execution; it doesnt matter how long it takes because crime has no time limit, Osahene Boakye Gyan said in an interview with Okay FM.



Indemnified by whom; I didnt indemnify him and are you saying Im not a Ghanaian; and there are a lot of us who never indemnified him from that nonsense, especially when you and I have used the same principle to hold other people to account, how do you indemnify yourself from that, he quizzed when his attention was drawn to the fact the 1992 Constitution gives indemnity to the former president.



Major Boakye Gyan also described the 1992 Constitution as Mr Rawlings own death warrant because Article 1 section 3 to 10 is clear on it. I wasnt part of those who wrote the constitution; he himself signed it, so he signed his death warrant, thats why I say hes a walking illegality.



Get the constitution and lets read it through and Ghanaians would understand what Im trying to talk about; if you are a Head of State and you sign that constitution into law, you cannot criminalize something in the future and decriminalize it in the past; its not possible, the law is the law, he asserted.



Im not the one saying it; he has signed the constitution to hang his own self but if for some reasons it cant be enforced, thats not my problem; its a problem for all Ghanaians; thats why Im saying the 1992 Constitution needs to overhauled because it is an emergency constitution.



Major retired Boakye Gyan has been an avid critic of his former friend following the 1981 coup detat that ousted the Hilla Limann government, though he was the main architect of a similar action in 1979 that cleaned a lot of state officials and private businessmen in Ghana at the time.

Source: ghanaweb.com









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Vice President, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia has said government is on course and will address the unemployment situation in the country.



More than 350,000 workers including 54,000 health workers, 45,000 teachers and 100,000 Nation Builders Corp (NABCO) personnel have been recruited into the public sector in the two years of the Akufo Addo led National Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.



The Vice President said this when he joined Muslims during separate Friday prayers at Bawjiase, Agona Nyakrom and Gomoa Mangoase central Mosques, all in the Central Region, to offer prayers for peace and divine wisdom for the President and his team in their quest to develop the country.



His visit he explained was motivated by the fact that God quickly answered the prayer request of believers especially during the period of Ramadan.



Dr Bawumia assured them that the Government had engaged the services of 3,000 Arabic teachers while clearance was being sought for more to be employed to enhance teaching and learning of Muslim students.



According to the Vice President, the establishment of the Zongo Development Fund (ZIDF) was one of the numerous social intervention instituted by the Government to bring about inclusive transformation in the country.



Also, lepers were to be included in the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme under the inclusive policy, Dr Bawumia indicated and encouraged all Muslims to take advantage of the Governments free Senior High School (SHS) programme to educate their children.



Electricity is being subsidised by 17.5 per cent for domestic users and 30 percent for commercial users by the Government, which had also reduced the import tax by 50 percent.



The Vice President called on Muslims to continue to pray fervently for the leadership of the country and live in peace and harmony with one another.



Dr Mustapha Abdul Hamid, Minister for ZICD said the Ministry had secured commencement warrant to start development projects in Zongo communities across the country.



Mr Abass Wilson, the General Secretary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Ghana, on behalf of the Muslims at Gomoa Mangoase thanked the Vice President for the gesture and assured him of their support and prayers.

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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A senior Journalist and immediate past Communication Director of the Ghana Gas Company Limited, Alfred Ogbamey has expressed interest to join scores of professionals who have sacrificed their professional fields for politics.



Available information suggested that, the former Managing Editor of the defunct Gye-Nyame-Concord tabloid intends to race for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries to represent his constituents in Parliament.



Should nomination open for the NDC parliamentary primaries, Mr Ogbamey would pick forms for the Ngleshi/Amanfrom /Bortianor constituency to snatch the parliamentary seat from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2020 polls.



When Modernghana contacted the Senior Journalist via Telephone, he confirmed that he is lacing his boots in readiness to contest the upcoming parliamentary primary of the NDC in the Ngleshi/Amanfrom/Bortianor Constituency in the Greater Accra Region.



Without explaining further Mr Ogbamey said, his move was in response to calls by constituents and party elders within and without the Constituency to represent the people on the ticket of NDC in Parliament.



It gathered that the former Ghana Gas Communication Director decision to join the race to contest the seat had already sent waves of shuddering down the spines of others who would be contenders due to his huge influence in the constituency.



That notwithstanding, he is likely to face stiff competition from about four other contenders who have similar desires though, his fever is gathering momentum and spreading fast to every branch in the constituency.



Mr Ogbamey hails from Bortianor community under the Ga South Municipality and a proud native of the Ga Mashie traditional area of the Greater Accra Region.



He is a trained Journalists and has worked with Kofi Koomson of the Chronicle Newspaper before establishing his own newspaper, the Gye-Nyame Concord.



Mr Ogbame, was a member of the Labone-based defunct coffee shop mafia spearheaded by Kwaku Baako, Kwame Sefa Kayi, Randy Abbey and Egbert Fabile Jr, which was purposefully set up in opposition to the NDC.



He has practiced Journalism until he was appointed to Ghana Gas and has proven to be one of the finest investigative journalist the country has ever produced.

Source: modernghana.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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Former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan has denied allegations of withdrawing Billions of Naira from the Nations treasury while he was in office.



The former president who spoke at a meeting organised by the Anglican Community in Abuja on Friday described the allegation as false and misleading. He expressed sadness at what he described as low, people who tell lies against others.



I remember a particular incidence where somebody was talking about billions that were removed from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and I asked them, how many trucks were used to carry all these billions?



In Nigeria, we get carried away by figures and its sad that we go too low to tell lies against people.

Jonathan urged for more prayers over the spate of insecurity in the country and asked that more should be done to nip the crisis in the bud.



As a nation, we have been passing through a lot of challenges; the issues of kidnapping, armed robbery, and even to travel to very near cities like Kaduna is becoming a nightmare to Nigerians. But I believe with your constant prayers, asking God to take the lead, the country will get through all its challenges.

Source: LIB









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 President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in recent tweet has congratulated all VGMA 2019 nominees, whiles also pledging his support for the development of creative arts in the country.



The first gentleman noted that, the excitement generated by this years event shows how much talent Ghana has and it really speak volumes about our musical prowess.



The excitement generated by this years #VGMA20 is testimony to the amazing talent that we have in the creative arts industry. As I have said before, my government will continue to support the development of the creative arts industry. #MoNeYo to all the nominees., he wrote.

Post below-









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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Unisus School in Summerland is launching a Million Dollar Scholarship Program. Director of recruitment and advancement Blaine Melnyk and associate director of recruitment and admissions Brenda Gallagher are shown at the construction site of the 100-bed dormitory which will house international and Canadian students including scholarship recipients starting in September. Unisuss goal is to educate students with local and global perspectives.
Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla and the CBSO Reviewed by Robert Hugill on 17 May 2019 Star rating: 4.0 ()

The Birmingham orchestra on terrific form under its music director on this visit to Dresden



It is some years since I heard the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) and I had not heard it under its new music director Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla , and so the opportunity to do so at the Dresden Music Festival was most welcome, though the irony of travelling from London to Dresden to hear an orchestra from Birmingham was not lost on me.



Concert Romanesc, Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 5 with Yuja Wang, and Brahms' Symphony No. 2. But changes in personnel led to changes in repertoire, and instead of Prokofiev we heard Schumann's Piano Concerto with The planned programme for the CBSO and Mirga Grazinyte-Tyle at the Dresden Music Festival at the Kulturpalast on Friday 17 May 2019 had been Ligeti's, Prokofiev'swith Yuja Wang, and Brahms'. But changes in personnel led to changes in repertoire, and instead of Prokofiev we heard Schumann'swith Kit Armstrong as soloist. A safe if unimaginative choice of work.

Elsewhere on this blog

Dresden Music Festival 2019

Three continents, three composers, one concerto - festival debuts its 2019 commission (  ) - concert review

- festival debuts its 2019 commission - concert review

Visitors in fine form : the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla (  ) - concert review

: the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla - concert review

Visions of the original sound : colour, texture & timbre to the fore in the opening concert of the 2019 Dresden Music Festival (  ) - concert review

: colour, texture & timbre to the fore in the opening concert of the 2019 Dresden Music Festival - concert review Incredibly informative & inspiring : Charlotte Bray discusses her mentor Oliver Knussen in advance of her piece in his memory at the Aldeburgh Festival - interview

: Charlotte Bray discusses her mentor Oliver Knussen in advance of her piece in his memory at the Aldeburgh Festival - interview An English Vespers : Rachmaninov from the Tallis Scholars (  ) - concert review

: Rachmaninov from the Tallis Scholars - concert review Rough for Opera - Speak Red, A Father is Looking for his Daughter, Dreaming Clouds - opera review

- Speak Red, A Father is Looking for his Daughter, Dreaming Clouds - opera review A young man's passion: Julian Pregardien & Erik Le Sage in Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe (  ) - CD review



Julian Pregardien & Erik Le Sage in Robert Schumann's - CD review Far more than choral virtuosity: Handel's Israel in Egypt from the BBC Singers & Academy of Ancient Music () - Concert review

Handel's from the BBC Singers & Academy of Ancient Music () - Concert review French inspiration, spectacular scenery & classical music: I chat to festival director Christoph Muller about this year's Gstaad Menuhin Festival - interview



I chat to festival director Christoph Muller about this year's Gstaad Menuhin Festival - interview Brainwaves and modernism: the Ligeti Quartet explores consciousness at Kings Place (  ) - concert review



the Ligeti Quartet explores consciousness at Kings Place - concert review Telemann from Toulouse: music for strings in stylish modern instrument performances (  ) - CD review



music for strings in stylish modern instrument performances - CD review A huge undertaking: Busoni's Piano Concerto recorded live in Boston - Kirill Gerstein, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo - CD review

Busoni's recorded live in Boston - Kirill Gerstein, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo - CD review Palpable enthusiasm & engagement: An English Coronation from Paul McCreesh, Gabrieli & Gabrieli Roar (  ) - CD review



An English Coronation from Paul McCreesh, Gabrieli & Gabrieli Roar - CD review The old ethos and a new professionalism: celebrating Garsington Opera at 30 - interview



celebrating Garsington Opera at 30 - interview Youthful Verdi revealed: a lithe and impulsive I Lombardi from Heidenheim (  ) - CD review



a lithe and impulsive from Heidenheim CD review Home

Ligeti'sdates from the 1950s when he was still living in Hungary, and whilst it pushes few boundaries it remained unperformed until 1971. It is very much a rhapsodic work based around Romanian folk-songs. In four movements, slow, fast, slow, fast, at first Ligeti presented the folk melodies with little modification, unisons and counter-melodies were a big feature, but gradually the imagination took off and the folk-fiddling of the finale brought things to a close with vivid excitement. Grazinyte-Tyla and the orchestra really made this work a showpiece, from the superbly phrased unison at the opening to the dazzling finale.Though each section of the strings lost a desk of players for the Schumann concerto, the orchestra was still a little too large to be ideal in this work. Kit Armstrong took a very interventionist view of the piece, making many of the piano statements in the opening movement too artfully poetic for my taste, rather holding up the flow of the argument and giving the feeling that he was overly milking the music in a way that Clara Schumann (who premiered and championed the concerto) would surely have disapproved. [The recording of the concerto by her pupil Fanny Davies, the closes we can come to Clara herself performing it, should be essential listening for every young pianist - see on YouTube ].Kit Armstrong brought quite a light touch to the second movement, creating some nice dialogue with the orchestra. But even here his playing felt too artful, too interventionist and did not flow. The finale was suitably joyous despite quite a steady tempo, but Armstrong's approach seemed to miss something too, perhaps his approach to the articulation of the music. The orchestra did a fine job of making the large band into a responsive instrument, and the orchestral tuttis were engaging in a way that the solo wasn't always.It was illuminating hearing Schumann and Brahms on a modern band having heard Schumann'splayed by the Dresden Festival Orchestra the previous night [see my review ]. For Brahms'the full 56 strong string section returned. There is no doubt that the orchestra played brilliantly for Grazinyte-Tyla and is a superb instrument. The beautiful unanimity of phrasing of the strings (particularly the cello section in the glorious passages in the Brahms), and the sense of vital engagement from the whole orchestra was superb.But do you actually want Brahms to sound like this? In the orchestral tuttis the sound was all strings and more, with the wind very much to the rear. Only when the strings quietened down did the wind emerge. Frankly, I prefer the approach of Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra with a smaller, lither string section [available from Amazon ].Grazinyte-Tyla took quite an interventionist approach to the music. Individual passages were shaped and crafted, creating a striking series of moments rather than an overarching architectonic feel. The opening movement moved from delicacy to passion and drama. As I have said, one of the highlights was the phrasing from the cello section in their big tune. In the second movement we again appreciated the cello section, this movement built slowly, delicate at first before we reached the real drama. The wind section brought great charm to the opening of the third movement, quite gentle and not fast, whilst the answering passage on the strings brimmed with energy. The finale opened light and transparent, then we were off full of robust vigour. A couple of moments even sound alarmingly like Mahler (the symphony premiered when the younger composer was 17). It finished with gripping, blazing excitement!
Ma Zhaoxu (C, front), China's permanent representative to the United Nations, briefs the Security Council on the situation in Syria, at the UN headquarters in New York, May 17, 2019. Ma Zhaoxu on Friday asked the international community to fight terrorism and push forward the political process in Syria. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, May 17 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday asked the international community to fight terrorism and push forward the political process in Syria.

"It is imperative to fight terrorism resolutely and safeguard the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Syria in order to restore security and stability across the country as soon as possible," Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, told a Security Council meeting on Syria.

Counterterrorism is a major part of the solution to the Syrian problem. Without eradicating terrorism, there will be no peace for the Syrian people and no security for countries in the region, said Ma.

The international community should harmonize standards, crack down resolutely on all terrorist groups listed by the Security Council, and constantly consolidate the counterterrorism achievements, he said.

China is watching closely the situation in northwest Syria, said Ma.

He noted that Russia and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2018, reiterating their determination to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations with a view to maintaining stability in northwest Syria.

In the past few months, he said, terrorist groups have strengthened control in Idlib and put civilians in harm's way in areas under their control. And they have launched frequent attacks on the Russian military base and in the areas under the control of the Syrian government, which have led to civilian casualties and undermined regional security in a serious manner.

The international community will not allow these reckless actions of the terrorist forces. China supports counter-attacks on the heinous acts of the terrorist groups, said the Chinese ambassador.

He called for efforts to help carry forward the political process in Syria with the United Nations as the main channel of mediation.

"We should continue to promote the Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2254. The United Nations should continue to play its role as the main channel of mediation and address in a balanced way the legitimate concerns of all parties, including those of the Syrian government."

China supports the joint efforts to promote the establishment of a constitutional committee in Syria, and supports the continued important role of the Astana process, which is in parallel with the UN-led Geneva process. Russia, Turkey and Iran serve as the guarantors for Astana talks.

With regard to the issue of the constitutional committee, China supports the work of the UN secretary-general's special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, to consult with relevant parties of the international community, and looks forward to further progress in the relevant consultations, said Ma.

China is ready to work with rest of the Security Council to promote a political solution to the Syrian problem and jointly address counterterrorism and humanitarian challenges, he said.

The Chinese ambassador asked the international community to take into account the full picture of the humanitarian issue in Syria.

"We commend the United Nations and the relevant parties for their humanitarian operations in Syria. Humanitarian assistance should be provided to all regions and all people in need. We also support targeted humanitarian assistance measures in northwest Syria."

In the long run, he said, the international community should help Syria restore its economic and social order and support the participation of its people in the development and building of their nation.

Ever since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, China has provided food, medical services, office supplies, public transportation, personnel training, and other kinds of humanitarian assistance to the country. In the future, China will continue, to the best of its capacity, to provide assistance and support to Syria, said Ma.
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





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Button batteries can rapidly damage stomach lining before symptoms appear

San Diego, CA (May 18, 2019) -- Damage to the lining of the stomach can occur quickly when children swallow button batteries; therefore, clinicians should consider prompt endoscopic removal, even when the child is symptom free and the battery has passed safely through the narrow esophagus, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2019. The recommendations represent a change from current practice of watching and waiting.

"We know there can be injury even when there are no symptoms," said Racha Khalaf, MD, lead researcher and pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition fellow at the Digestive Health Institute at Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora. "Batteries in the stomach cause damage, including perforation of the gastric wall, so physicians should consider removing the batteries as soon as possible and not let them pass through the digestive tract."

Researchers from pediatric hospitals in Colorado, Florida, Texas and Ohio collected data regarding 68 button battery ingestions from January 2014 to May 2018. Previous research has been conducted on button batteries lodged in the esophagus, but little is known about the effect in the stomach.

"We have been seeing more injuries from button batteries," Dr. Khalaf said. "The batteries come in toys, remote controls, key fobs, singing greeting cards and watches. They are everywhere."

Erosive injuries to the mucous lining of the stomach were found in 60 percent of cases reviewed, with no apparent relationship between damage and symptoms, or with the amount of time passed since ingestion. This suggests that clinicians and parents should not wait for symptoms or passage of time to act, Dr. Khalaf said, adding that removing the battery earlier avoids repeated trips to the emergency room or pediatrician's office and reduces repetitive x-rays or other imaging.

The authors' recommendations are more aggressive than those of two national organizations that have issued recommendations about button battery ingestion. The North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition recommends observation when it's been less than two hours since ingestion, the battery is 20 mm or smaller, and the child is at least 5 years old. The National Capital Poison Center, which runs the National Battery Ingestion Hotline, currently recommends observation alone for asymptomatic gastric button batteries to allow them to pass through the digestive system.

###

This work is partly supported by a Cystic Fibrosis Foundational Grant Award #Khalaf17B0 to Racha Khalaf, National Institutes of Health Training Grant 5T32-DK067009-12 to Keith Hazleton and Racha Khalaf, and National Institutes of Health Training Grant 5T32-DK7664-28 to Wenly Ruan.

DDW Presentation Details

Dr. Khalaf will present data from the study, "Gastric injury secondary to button battery ingestions in children: a retrospective multicenter review," abstract Sa2046, on Saturday, May 18, at noon PDT. For more information about featured studies, as well as a schedule of availability for featured researchers, please visit http://www. ddw. org/ press .

Digestive Disease Week (DDW) is the largest international gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery. Jointly sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT), DDW takes place May 18-21, 2019, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. The meeting showcases more than 5,000 abstracts and hundreds of lectures on the latest advances in GI research, medicine and technology. More information can be found at http://www. ddw. org .

This story has been published on: 2019-05-18. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
A Korean and three Filipinos have been freed following months of captivity in Libya, Seoul and Abu Dhabi said Friday. The release of the hostages was mediated by the United Arab Emirates, which worked with the self-styled Libyan National Army led by commander Khalifa Hifter.

Since last month, Hifter's forces have been battling in western Libya, trying to take the capital of Tripoli and have been locked in heavy fighting in and around the city with militias loosely allied with a UN-supported government. Several Arab countries, including the UAE and Egypt are backing Hifter.

The UAE's foreign ministry said the four hostages, who were held captive by unnamed armed groups in Libya, have been released thanks to "intensive efforts" made by the UAE in coordination with Hifter's forces.
Bogged down in a sprawling trade dispute with U.S. rival China, President Donald Trump took steps Friday to ease tensions with America's allies: lifting import taxes on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum and delaying auto tariffs that would have hurt Japan and Europe.

By removing the metals tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Trump cleared a key roadblock to a North American trade pact his team negotiated last year. As part of Friday's arrangement, the Canadians and Mexicans agreed to scrap retaliatory tariffs they had imposed on U.S. goods, according to four sources in the U.S. and Canada who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of an announcement.

In a joint statement, the U.S. and Canada said they would work to prevent cheap imports of steel and aluminum from entering North America. China has long been accused of flooding world markets with subsidized metal, driving down world prices and hurting U.S. producers.

Earlier Friday, the White House said Trump was delaying for six months any decision to slap tariffs on foreign cars, a move that would have hit Japan and Europe especially hard.

Trump still is hoping to use the threat of auto tariffs to pressure Japan and the European Union into making concessions in trade talks. "If agreements are not reached within 180 days, the president will determine whether and what further action needs to be taken," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
House of Representatives strongly condemns crimes of US-saudi coalition against civilians in capital [18/May/2019] div style="text-align: left;">SANAA, May 18 (Saba) - The House of Representatives Saturday strongly condemned the continuation of the US-saudi aggression coalition in committing the terrible crimes against the people of Yemen for the fifth consecutive year, the latest of which was the crime of targeting a residential neighborhood at the intersection of Rabat and Ragas streets in the capital Sanaa.



In a statement issued by the House, it condemned the targeting by the Saudi-led coalition to the Ministry of Information building and the damage it caused to it, as well as to the home of the president of the Yemeni Media Union and to a number of civilians in Sanaa.





The House blamed the international community, represented by the United Nations, the Security Council and the Human Rights Council for the crimes as a result of the silence applied to the daily war crimes committed by the Saudi-led aggression coalition.



The House of Representatives affirmed that the continued bombing by the aggression countries of the roads, bridges, markets, houses of citizens and the infrastructure of Yemen reflects the continued arrogance and blindness of the Saudi aggression .





AA

Saba
Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/17/2019 -- Digital signage plays a crucial role in the in the field of information and advertising network. The growth of the market is propelled by the increasing demand for digital signage in public and commercial sectors, along with its high cost efficiency and assured return on investment. The growth of the market is propelled by the increasing demand for digital signage in public and commercial sectors, along with its high cost efficiency and assured return on investment. The market is further driven by factors such as increasing focus on energy consumption, the rising demand of OLED-based displays, and improvements in technology offerings & infrastructure expansions. However, the lack of standardization and the lack of awareness about digital signage are inhibiting the growth of the digital signage market globally.



Moreover, the protection of digital signage from power issues and the development of equipment suitable for all weather conditions are the key challenges for the players in this industry. Technological innovations such as touch screen technology, near-field communication technologies, and so on have created opportunities for this market. The market is wholly and solely depended on the end-results when it is viewed by individuals at different places and locations. Its visibility and user-friendly features easily attract people, as compared to the printed media formats, which require high investments and more time. Digital signage is a more effective source as the information can be changed instantly without any investment over the content creation.



The global Digital Signage Software market is valued at xx million US$ in 2018 is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of 10.5% during 2019-2025.



Access PDF Version of this Report at: https://www.qyresearch.com/sample-form/form/983482/global-digital-signage-software-competition-analysis-report



Major Key Manufacturers of Digital Signage Software Market are:



Scala Inc. , Signagelive , Broadsign International LLC , Omnivex Corporation , Navori , Planar Systems Inc. , Intuilab Sa , Mvix, Inc. , Novisign Digital Signage Inc. , Four Winds Interactive (Fwi) , Rise Vision , Panasonic Corporation , NEC Display Solutions Ltd. , Adflow Networks , Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.,



Segmentation by Product-



Edge Server Software, Content Management System, Others,



Segmentation by Application-



Commercial, Infrastructural, Infrastructural, Industrial, Others,



Browse Details of this Report at: https://www.qyresearch.com/index/detail/983482/global-digital-signage-software-competition-analysis-report



Regions Covered in the Global Digital Signage Software Market:-



The Middle East and Africa (GCC Countries and Egypt)

North America (the United States, Mexico, and Canada)

South America (Brazil etc.)

Europe (Turkey, Germany, Russia UK, Italy, France, etc.)

Asia-Pacific (Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Australia)



Strategic Points Covered in TOC:



Chapter 1: Introduction, market driving force product scope, market risk, market overview, and market opportunities of the global Digital Signage Software market



Chapter 2: Evaluating the leading manufacturers of the global Digital Signage Software market which consists of its revenue, sales, and price of the products



Chapter 3: Displaying the competitive nature among key manufacturers, with market share, revenue, and sales



Chapter 4: Presenting global Digital Signage Software market by regions, market share and with revenue and sales for the projected period



Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by manufacturers with revenue share and sales by key countries in these various regions



Get Full Report Now at USD 2,900 @ https://www.qyresearch.com/settlement/pre/18ed72b8bc362ebd6d677401aa175895,0,1,Global%20Digital%20Signage%20Software%20Competition%20Analysis%20Report%202019



Finally, the global Digital Signage Software Market is a valuable source of guidance for individuals and companies. One of the major reasons behind providing market attractiveness index is to help the target audience and clients to identify the several market opportunities in the global Digital Signage Software market. Moreover, for the better understanding of the market, QY Research has also presented a key to get information about various segments of the global Digital Signage Software market.



About QYResearch

QYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, data base and seminar services. The company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc.), expert's resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc.
With this, the curtains will fall on the mammoth seven-phase democratic exercise to elect 543 members of the lower house of Parliament, the results for which will be declared on May 23.

New Delhi : The last and the final phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections will take place on Sunday, May 19.

A total of 59 seats spread across 7 states and one Union territory will be going to polls in the last phase.

According to data collected and analysed by the Association for Democratic Reforms of 909 candidates on the basis of their self-sworn affidavits filed with the Election Commission, 170 candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves, with 127 candidates declaring serious criminal cases.

The BJP has fielded 43 candidates in the seventh phase out of which 18 have criminal cases registered against them.

14 of the 45 candidates from Congress have criminal cases registered against themselves.

6 out of 39 Bahujan Samaj Party candidates, 3 out of 14 Aam Aadmi Party candidates and 29 out of 313 independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

The BJP has fielded 15 candidates who have serious criminal cases registered against them.

10 from Congress, 4 from BSP, 1 from AAP and 24 Independent candidates have declared serious criminal cases against them.

When it comes to riches, a total of 278 candidates have assets worth Rs 1 crore and more.

The Congress has fielded 40 whereas the BJP has fielded 36 crorepati candidates in the seventh phase.

11 from BSP, 9 from AAP and 59 independent candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore.

The richest candidate in the fray for the seventh phase, is an Independent, Ramesh Kumar Sharma contesting from Pataliputra constituency in Bihar, who has self declared assets worth Rs 1107 crore/Rs 110.7 billion.

Ramesh Kumar Sharma is also the richest candidate fighting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Sukhbir Singh Badal, president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, contesting from Firozpur in Punjab, has self declared assets of Rs 217 crore/Rs 2.17 billion.

His wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who is contesting from Bathinda in Punjab, has self declared assets worth Rs 217 crore/Rs 2.17 billion.

There are 3 candidates in the seventh phase who have declared 0 assets.

Urmila, a candidate fighting on the Ambedkar National Congress ticket from Jalandhar in Punjab, has declared assets of Rs 295.

401 candidates have declared their educational qualification to be between Class 5 and Class 12.

437 candidates have declared having an educational qualification of graduate or above.

29 candidates have declared to be just literate, and 24 candidates are illiterate.

537 candidates have declared their age to be between 25 and 50 years while 366 candidates have declared their age to be between 51 and 80 years.

3 candidates have not given their age.

3 candidates have declared their age to be above 80 years.

When it comes to gender, 96 female candidates are contesting the seventh phase.
BSEM had conducted the class 10 board examinations from 17 March to 4 April, 2019. As per sources, it is estimated that atleast 35 thousand candidates had appeared for the exams this year.

The Board of Secondary Education Manipur (BSEM) has declared the results of High School Leaving Certificate or class 10 Examination 2019.Students who had applied for the same may check at the official website, manresults.nic.in

74.69 per cent students had cleared the manipur Board matric exam, which was attended by over 37,000 students from all over the state.

Bhumika Shamurailatpam from Imphal with 570 marks out of 600 or 95 per cent marks emerged as the topper of the examinations.

How to check Manipur BSEM HSLC 10th results 2019:

1) Visit the official website of the board, bsem.nic.in

2) Click on the link High School Leaving Certificate Examination 2019 or click here for direct link

3) Enter the required details in the spaces provided

Once the results are displayed on screen, make sure to take a print of the same for future reference.
: Taiwan's parliament has become the first in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage following a vote on Friday.

In 2017, the island's constitutional court ruled that same-sex couples had the right to legally marry.

Parliament was given a two-year deadline and was required to pass the changes by May 24.
Since Sri Lanka gained independence from British Empire in 1948, Sri Lankan political leaders have been playing politics with communalism.





by Sri Lankan in London

Views expressed in this article are the author's own





What do we mean by the identity politics in Sri Lanka? It means each political party and each politician see politics through the eyes o their community. Each politician works to protect the interest of their community. Politicians both in government and opposition always think about the benefit and welfare of their community alone.





As result this narrow-minded politics, the national identity and national interest of Sri Lanka are forgotten and ignored. That is exactly what happened in Sri Lanka since we got freedom and independence. We are playing with communal politics. Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslim politicians have been focusing on how to protect the interest of their community at the expensive of the national interest. Suppose Singapore has taken such an approach in politics. Chinese Singaporeans, Malay Singaporeans, Indian Singaporean and other ethnic groups have put their community interest over national interest of Singapore, what would have been Singapore today?









It would have been like Sri Lanka today. In Sri Lanka, politics has been identified with communal interest not with national interest. Until we change this, there is no hope for Sri Lanka. We should put nation above our community. This applies to all communities in Sri Lanka.





Since Sri Lanka gained independence from British Empire in 1948, Sri Lankan political leaders have been playing politics with communalism. Shrewd political leaders used language, ethnicity, regionalism and religion to play politics. In 1950s some political leaders played politics with language. Until now, Tamil language has been degraded as a second language in Sri Lanka. Ironically even in predominantly Tamil areas, Tamil language has not been officially used as an official language. This discrimination in language has marginalised Tamil community in Sri Lanka for more than 7 decades now. Even Today, Sinhalese political leaders are playing politics with Tamil language. They are not happy to offer any official status for Tamil language.





Why is it? A simple answer for this question is some Sinhalese political leaders are trapped in superiority complex. They are proud and arrogant in their political behaviour. They think that Sinhalese are the majority in Sri Lanka. So, they could play politics with any issue. They do not like to meet aspiration and wishes of minority communities. All these Sri Lankan political leaders have been pleasing regional and international political leaders to play politics with any issues in Sri Lanka. Sinhalese leaders have been getting away with all these issues for the last 7 decades. How is it possible?





It is possible because Sri Lanka is situated in a strategically important location in Asia. Sri Lanka is a small Island and yet, geopolitical powers need Sri Lanka to protect their geopolitical interest. That is why Sri Lankan political leaders have managed to play politics with Tamil issue. They are shrewd politicians in that they managed to please Chinese and Indian governments without antagonising anyone. At the same time, Sinhalese political leaders managed to please their western masters as and when they needed do so. So far, Sri Lanka has not earned the anger of any regional or international political powers. Thats why Sri Lankan political leaders managed to play politics with Tamil issue. Now Tamils are exhausted after almost 30 years of war. Sri Lankan war with Tamils ended in 2009 and yet, Tamil community did not get any reconciliation package. I do not think they will get anything from these Sinhalese politicians who have been playing politics with Tamil issues for more than 7 decades. Sinhalese political leaders have successfully been playing politics with many minority community issues in Sri Lanka. Good luck for them and how long they could fool the international community.





Sri Lankan political elites know well how to play politics with the national issues. Today, most Sinhalese people too suffer at the of capitalistic Sinhalese politicians. The working-class people from farmers to tea plantation workers, from fishmen to street vendors, from clerks to schoolteachers, from three-wheel drivers to bus drivers, from civil servants to military professionals all must work hard to make a living in Sri Lanka. We send more than 3 million Sri Lankans abroad to work in some terrible conditions. Some housewives leave their children in Sri Lanka to work as house maids in Middle East. Some Sri Lankans do some odd jobs in Middle Eastern counties to support their families. Sri Lanka today experiences some severe economic, political and social predicaments and yet, some political elites in Sri Lanka play politics with all these issues. Some political elites do all political tricks to win votes and to secure their seats of power. At the end of the day, it is all Sri Lankan communities or Sri Lankan public must pay the price for these political blunders. How long and how many years, Sri Lankan public could be conned and fooled by these crafty politicians. It is time all Sri Lankans to wake up against this abuse of political power. Sri Lanka is a rich country with its rich human and national resources. It is bad politics that has ruined the county. It is not merely minority communities suffer at the hands of these political crooks but the majority of Sinhalese too suffer due to incorrectness of politics in Sri Lanka.





Now it appears that some racist Sinhalese politicians are playing politics with Muslim community. (Not all Sinhalese politicians are racists. 90% of Sinhalese public are good people without any racial motives). Since 2011, anti-Muslim sentiment increased in Sri Lanka, Some Sri Lankan politicians are playing politics with Muslim community today. There is no doubt about it. As they marginalised Tamil community, they want to marginalise Sri Lankan Muslim community today. Since, 2011, it is reported that hundreds of racial attacks on Muslim community took place in Sri Lanka. Muslim shops were burned down, mosques were set on fire, copies the holy Quran were burned down, even some Buddhist extremists used some rude and ugliest words to insult Almighty Allah with some verbal abuses. Many Muslims were killed, many Muslims were injured, many Muslim villages were attacked in recently time. These violent and barbaric attacks on Sri-Lankan Muslim community are going on in Sri Lanka with the approval of some racist Sinhalese politicians.





This is timely projected attack on innocent Sri Lankan Muslim community. These shrewd Sinhalese politicians know well how to play politics with Muslim community. They know well the strength and weakness of the Muslim community. They know well international political environment is not in favour of Muslim community in the world today. Since Donald Trump waged war on Muslim community, some racist political leaders in the third world unleashed racial attacks on innocent Muslim community. Using this international political climate against Islam and Muslims many politicians attacked Muslim minority communities in many countries. Some radical Muslim youths have indeed, contributed to this political climate.





Some Sinhalese politicians know well that Arab political leaders are inept today. They know well Arab leaders do not have any political influence in the politics. They know well that today Muslim political leaders do not care about what happened in Sri Lanka. They know how to milk Arab countries in loans and aids, but they do not bother to uproot Muslim community in Sri Lanka. Sinhalese politicians know well how to fool Muslim and Arab diplomatic communities in Colombo. These racist Sinhalese politicians know well how to approach and please them. That is why Im telling that Sinhalese politicians have mastered the arts of politics to play with it in any local and international issue.





With all this in mind, I feel that the future for Tamil and Muslim communities in Sri Lanka is bleak. Unless some regional and International politicians make some political correctness in Sri Lankan politics. Unless, Sri Lankan Sinhalese politicians change their mind in politics. I do not think that this will happen soon as it stands today. Racial politics at its peak in Sri Lanka today. Many Tamils and Muslim MPs have been bought and sold in Sri Lankan politics. Tamil and Muslim politicians do not have any influence in this political system in Sri Lanka today. They have been conned and fooled many times by racist Sinhalese politicians in Sri Lanka. In fact, Tamil and Muslim politicians could do little in Sri Lankan politics. Sinhalese do whatever they could do to protect communal interest of Sinhalese community. How do they do it? what extent they have done it? how do they marginalise and discriminate against minority communities? What is the evidence for such claims? We will try answer to some of these questions next time.




Massive protest held yesterday in Puttalama against the ISIS, terror outfit took responsibility for Easter Sunday Bombings in SriLanka. The protest was organised by the Muslim community in the area.








Image: Innovative Solutions & Support

AVwebs weekly news roundup found reports on an STC for a King Air autothrottle, FAA-PMA approval for Nicrocraft Cirrus SR22 heat exchanger and muffler, discounts for certain FlightSimExpo attendees and a simulator sponsorship for US Aviation Academy. It also uncovered announcements of a new owner for Ft. Langley Air, a sales director appointment at DAES, a partnership to build sustainable landing spots and new flight playback software at Ryanair.

Innovative Solutions & Support Inc. has received an FAA Supplemental Type Certification (STC) to retrofit its patented ThrustSense Autothrottle in King Air models. According to the company, ThrustSense computes thrust, holds selected speed/torque and implements appropriate limit protection. Wall Colmonoy Aerobraze Oklahoma City has announced FAA-PMA approval for its Nicrocraft Cirrus SR22 heat exchanger and muffler. Both are constructed of heat resistant 321 stainless steel with Inconel alloy baffles.

FlightSimExpo and Gelim Aviation have teamed up to offer discounts of up to 75% for students at local Orlando flight schools and Central Florida high schools interested in attending FlightSimExpo 2019. The event will take place at Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, on June 7-9. US Aviation Academy has announced that is has been awarded FAA Level C certification and sponsorship for its King Air C-90 full motion, full flight simulator. The Texas-based academy has been operating the simulator under FAA sponsorship by the manufacturer.

British Columbia-based Ft. Langley Air has announced that it is now owned by Scott McIntosh. The company, which offers floatplane instruction and custom charter services, has also added two Cessna 180 float planes and two DHC-2 Beavers to its fleet. Marc Medeiros has joined DAES Group as their new Sales Director Aviation Equipment Americas. Medeiros has worked in senior business development and sales roles at companies including Rockwell Collins, Mid-Continent Avionics, and Zodiac Services.

Transcend Air Corporation and Lily Helipads have formed a partnership to build sustainable, zero-emission, barge-based landing spots for aircraft such as Transcends Vy 400 VTOL concept. The companies intend to locate the solar-powered vertipads on the water adjacent to city centers. Ryanair has signed a six-year agreement with France-based software company CEFA Aviation to implement CEFAs Aviation Mobile Services (AMS). The cloud-based CEFA AMS will allow Ryanair pilots view real-world flight recorder data-based re-creations of their flights.
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US approves missile sales to S.Korea, Japan



Washington, May 17 (AFP) May 17, 2019



The United States said Friday it had approved more than $600 million in sales of air defense missiles to South Korea and Japan as tensions return with North Korea.

The State Department said it had approved 94 SM-2 missiles used by ships against air threats, along with 12 guidance systems for a total cost of $313.9 million.

It separately gave the green light to sell 160 anti-air AMRAAM missiles and related guidance equipment to Japan for $317 million.

The sales "will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States" by assisting key allies and "will not alter the basic military balance in the region," a State Department statement said.

North Korea last week tested what the South Korean military said appeared to be two short-range missiles in its second launch in less than a week.

The tests come amid a standstill in negotiations between North Korea and the United States, where President Donald Trump had boasted of ending Pyongyang's missile tests.

A second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended in deadlock in February, with the US side refusing demands to ease sanctions until Pyongyang takes major steps to end its nuclear program.
Return of Iraq-Syria flights postponed: Damascus



Damascus, May 18 (AFP) May 18, 2019



Damascus said it had been informed Iraqi flights to Syria would not resume as planned Saturday after more than seven years, over what it said were "administrative" reasons.

Iraq's national carrier, Iraqi Airways, said Thursday it would resume flights to Damascus for the first time since the Syrian civil war started in 2011.

But the Syrian transport ministry on Saturday said it had been informed of the "decision to postpone the trip of two Iraqi Airways planes today... until further notice."

The flights were postponed to allow for "the completion of some administrative and organisational steps between the company and the Syrian civil aviation" authority, it said in a statement on Facebook.

It posted a photo of an urgent letter sent from the Iraqi embassy in Damascus the same day, informing the foreign ministry both flights had been deferred.

The news comes as Iraq faces rising tensions between the United States and its neighbour Iran, and after the Pentagon deployed a carrier group accompanied by B-52 bombers to the Gulf.

The last flight from Baghdad to Damascus took place in December 2011, according to Iraqi Airways spokesman Layth al-Rubaie.

Most airlines stopped flying to and over Syria after the conflict broke out, with many taking longer routes to circumvent the war zone.

But the conflict has wound down in recent years, after major regime advances against rebels and jihadists with Russian military backing since 2015.

Last month, the Syrian government said it had agreed to allow regional aviation giant Qatar Airways to resume flights over the country.

Syria's war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions inside Syria and abroad since starting in March 2011 with a crackdown on anti-government demonstrations.

bur/lar-ah/hc
Iran FM discounts prospect of war with US



Tehran, May 18 (AFP) May 18, 2019



Iran's foreign minister Saturday discounted the prospect of a new war in the region because Tehran opposed it and no party was under the "illusion" the Islamic republic could be confronted.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been on the rise as the United States has deployed a carrier group and B-52 bombers over what it termed Iranian "threats".

"We are certain... there will not be a war since neither we want a war nor does anyone have the illusion they can confront Iran in the region," Mohammad Javad Zarif told state-run news agency IRNA at the end of a visit to China.

US President Donald "Trump does not want war but the people around him are pushing him towards war under the pretext of making America stronger against Iran," Zarif added.

Iran-US relations hit a new low last year as US Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed unilateral sanctions that had been lifted in exchange for Tehran scaling back its nuclear programme.

The head of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards said Saturday that the country is currently locked in a "full-scale war of intelligence" with the US.

"This is a combination of psychological warfare, cyber operations, military mobility, public diplomacy and instilling fear," semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Hossein Salami as saying.

"America's majesty is on decline and it is about to reach its end, and at the same time, we must watch out for probable dangers in such circumstances," he said.
Malta troops arrested for 'cold-blooded' migrant murder



Valletta, May 18 (AFP) May 18, 2019



Maltese police have arrested two soldiers for the "cold-blooded" murder of an Ivorian migrant, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Saturday.

Muscat tweeted his thanks to police for "solving this important case of the cold-blooded murder of an Ivorian immigrant".

He said there was an ongoing investigation into "whether these are isolated, rogue individuals, or part of something wider".

"Words of hatred and division have no place in our society. It is a strong signal to all those who spread hate speech."

One of the arrested suspects admitted to targeting migrants "because they're black", The Times of Malta quoted a source close the investigation as saying.

Ivorian factory worker Lassana Cisse was killed in a drive-by shooting on April 6 that also wounded a Guinean and a Gambian, the paper said.

The arrested soldiers are suspects in another attack in which a teenager was wounded, the paper said.
Colombian ex-guerrilla leader arrested, hospitalized upon prison release



Bogota, May 18 (AFP) May 18, 2019



A former left-wing guerrilla leader wanted by the United States for drug trafficking was hospitalized in police custody Saturday with what authorities said were self-inflicted arm wounds.

Officials at the Bogota hospital where Jesus Santrich was taken said the 52-year-old blind former leader of the FARC rebels, was in stable condition. In addition to the wounds to his arms, it said he had an "altered state of consciousness."

Santrich had been freed earlier in the day from prison following an order by the special court tasked with judging crimes committed during Colombia's half century of armed conflict -- but he was then immediately re-arrested in connection with the drug trafficking investigation that has the US seeking his extradition.

Washington, through its Bogota embassy, had strongly opposed Santrich's release and demanded that the ruling that set him free be "urgently" reviewed.

The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) had ordered the release to comply with the "non-extradition guarantee" that formed part of the 2016 peace accord that ended the FARC insurrection, converting the former rebels into a political party.

"Santrich has just been recaptured at the door" of the prison, the FARC political party said on Twitter.

Upon leaving La Picota prison in a wheelchair, he was immediately detained by public prosecutors before being taken away in a police helicopter.

In a statement, the public prosecutor's office said it "acted on" an arrest warrant related to the drug-trafficking investigation.

Santrich, whose real name is Seuxis Paucias Hernandez, is suspected of participating in the trafficking of 10 tons of cocaine to the United States in 2017 and 2018, crucially after the peace accord was signed in December 2016.

The agreement stipulated that former guerrillas who commit crimes after the pact's signing would be tried in a normal court, losing the benefits afforded by the accord -- such as a ban on extradition.

President Ivan Duque said he was "outraged" by the peace tribunal's decision, warning that the case was not "closed" and that he was willing to authorize Santrich's extradition.

The FARC, the Spanish acronym for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, has denounced the accusations against Santrich as a "setup." He has always proclaimed his innocence.
This Account has been suspended.








The following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and Sri Lanka on the occasion of the third U.S.-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue held on May 16, 2019 in Washington, DC.





Begin Text:





Sharing a commitment to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, the United States and Sri Lanka convened the third U.S.-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue on May 16, 2019, in Washington, DC. The meeting was co-chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka Tilak Marapana and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale.





Both governments reaffirmed the importance of the bilateral relationship, firmly rooted in shared values as fellow democracies and committed to working together to further strengthen the partnership.





The United States reiterated President Trumps statement that America stands with Sri Lanka against terrorism and supports Sri Lankas counter-terrorism efforts following the horrific Easter Sunday terrorist attacks of April 21. Sri Lanka expressed appreciation for U.S. support, including multi-faceted assistance from the U.S. Embassy in Colombo and investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The two sides discussed possible areas of future assistance as well. The terrorists who struck Sri Lanka on Easter appear to have drawn inspiration from ISIS. In this context, Sri Lanka was briefed about the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. The United States offered to continue to expand counter-terrorism and maritime and border security cooperation with Sri Lanka.





The United States and Sri Lanka resolved to work together to foster peace and security and ensure a safe maritime domain in the Indian and Pacific Oceans through a rules-based order that ensures respect for international laws and norms. In this context, the U.S. strategy towards a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, which ensures freedom of navigation, overflight, and unimpeded commerce was acknowledged as an important initiative. They shared the intention to further promote cooperation and exchanges in maritime security and safety, and noted with satisfaction the Indian Ocean conference hosted by Sri Lanka in October 2018, and agreed to continue to pursue joint initiatives to enhance security, stability, transparency, and economic opportunity for mutual benefit.





Sri Lanka welcomed the arrival of the Secretary Class High Endurance Cutter transferred through the U.S. Excess Defense Articles program to advance mutual interests in building Sri Lankan capacity to monitor its territorial waters, counter smuggling and other illegal activity, and enhance its humanitarian assistance and disaster response capability in the Indian Ocean. Both governments welcomed ongoing bilateral security sector cooperation, including U.S. support for demining, joint military engagements, Sri Lankas peacekeeping operations, human rights training for Sri Lankan officers, and visits by U.S. ships and military officials. The United States and Sri Lanka agreed to expand military-to-military cooperation.





The United States government welcomed the renewal of Sri Lankas commitment to promote reconciliation, accountability, justice, and human rights in pursuit of lasting peace and prosperity. The United States acknowledged progress in these areas, including on the mandate of the Office of Missing Persons, passage of legislation to establish an Office of Reparations, and the return of private land used by security forces.





The government of Sri Lanka emphasized its commitment to strengthening democracy, democratic institutions and practices, good governance, the rule of law, justice and parliamentary procedures. The United States encouraged Sri Lanka to sustain momentum in the implementation of these commitments.





The United States and Sri Lanka expressed support for strong economic partnership and growing bilateral trade based on the principles of fairness and reciprocity. The two governments welcomed the approval of a $480-million compact by the Millennium Challenge Corporation Board. Signature of the compact is pending Congressional approval in the United States and Cabinet approval in Sri Lanka.





Together, the United States and Sri Lanka emphasized the importance of their bilateral relationship and expressed commitment to further strengthen the U.S.-Sri Lanka partnership for mutual benefit.





End text.
A Hanger By Any Other Name

Paul has encapsulated the private aviation hangar, found almost anywhere in the world, perfectly. Indeed, his descriptions surpass that which pictures could provide. It took me back, from the elderly cylinders to cans of paint and solvents, long-forgotten magnetos, maybe a bent prop in a corner, a box of rusty spark plugs, and the ubiquitous radios long since replaced by modern equipment.

Many thanks indeed.

Roger Lishman

Great hangar story by Paul Berge. Very enjoyable and anybody who has had a hangar for a long time can relate to this. Thank you.

RC

Electric Aircraft

I saw a recent video of your coverage of a beautiful electric powered aircraft at a German aircraft convention. While most of us appreciate new technology that makes sense and makes improvements to flight, the electric power topic is somewhat baffling. I have some questions/comments, and maybe these things can be addressed for future discussions.

1. In flight aircraft fires are one of the most deadly potential scenarios a pilot has to deal with.

2. Tesla has been having problems with vehicles on the GROUND experiencing fires. How can we have confidence in electric powered aircraft, knowing these realities will create a catastrophic situation should a fire happen during flight?

3. The standard, horizontally opposed piston or Radial aircraft engine is tested, refined, efficient and reliable? Why would the industry move away from that?

Thanks.

Jeff Leverence

John Wayne Airport to Get Improved GA Facilities

Please note that every one of the proposals the County is considering for the Improved GA Facilities at KSNA involves fewer parking spaces, hangars, covered tie-downs, and open tie-downs for local GA airplanes. The Improved GA Facilities theyre talking about are improved for the FBOs and charter operators both locally-based and itinerant, and are a bad deal for local pilots of small airplanes currently parked at the airport.

At one time, there were over a dozen airports in Orange County, but over the years, we have been whittled down to now only two: SNA and Fullerton (KFUL). For pilots who live in the southern part of the county especially, the drive to Fullerton or other area airports is a really long way to go in our famously lousy traffic on the freeways, and SNA is the most convenient place. The wait list for a hangar at SNA is now measured in decades, and you pretty much have to wait for somebody to die to get one. At Fullerton, the hangars are now full, and there is no room to put more in, so the wait list there is about to start growing.

It seems over the years that the little guy has been systematically chased out of the airport, and this program is no exception.

Michael Jesch

Boeing 737 MAX

Are you kidding me! The roller coaster technique to save a plane load of passengers from death in a modern-day airliner all because of Boeing and the FAAs failures. Give me a break. How about the protest techniquewhere passengers refuse to fly on Boeings 737 Max aircraft.

Jerry Harrington

At the start of my pilot education in 1971 our Beagle Pup had a simple spring-loaded stall-warning flap on the front edge of both ails alerting the pilot to take immediate action to prevent stall.

Boeings fatal decision seems to be seen to the tendency towards autonomous flying planes, like todays cars like Tesla and others. Unless MCAS is safely safe and fails are to be excluded and the sensors be controlled at any speed and time, any plane builder should stop installing it.

The other point is how Boeing was handling the disaster in responsible manner is so catastrophic that I have lost any confidence in that company forever. Boeings attitude is the MAIN PROBLEM.

Peter W. Rohr

Lots of news is going around about the MAX 737 these days. Does anyone expect its problems reach the history of accidents of the airbus A 320? No, I for one hate to see anyone hurt or to be in an aviation accident, and yes Boeing has a lot of splaining to do. I hope this happens soon. BTW, I had 2 flights on a SouthWest 737 MAX A/C. Absolutely loved it. Right after that, had two flights on a A320never again.

Martin Winger

Retiring Honeywells Convair 580

While flying for United Airlines as a Convair 340 registered N73102, the airplane made a forced landing near my home in Saugus, California December 30, 1964 with both engines stopping due to fuel exhaustion. See https://www.westin553.net/ac14.htm#n73102 for the story and some photos of the forced landing. After the excellent dead stick landing by Captain William Wade, United Airlines mechanics repaired the airplane and flew it out of the field for full repairs.

If anyone has an image of the takeoff from the field, Id very much like to add it to my homepage.

Larry Westin
Memories galore will be on offer on 8th and 9th June.

TWO will become one as the Classic and Vintage Commercial Show and the Classic Van and Pick Up Show are brought together as one event at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon.

Both will now take place on Saturday and Sunday, 8th and 9th June, thanks to additional display capacity at the museum.

Visitors will be able to reminisce about days gone by and relive the vintage era with more than 500 classic and vintage lorries, trucks, buses and vans to inspire.

In its 12th year, the Classic and Vintage Commercial Show is one of the largest shows of its kind in Europe and features a range of pre-1999 commercial vehicles. T

he former Classic Van and Pick Up Show will celebrate its sixth year as part of the new incorporated show, and will feature an impressive range of light commercial vehicles.

On the Saturday the show organisers will be running a couple of fun Lorry Driver of the Year style driving challenges.

These are open to all drivers from light vans and pick-ups through to large tractor units and multiwheel rigids.

Judges will be scoring the vehicles as they manoeuvre around vintage oil cans and markers.

There are no prizes but the winner and runner-up will get to display in their cabs for the weekend, two of the genuine LDOY trophies from the 1960s and 70s.

Those interested in entering the competition should contact Tom Caren, show manager at the British Motor Museum, on 01926 643358 or email Tom.Caren@british motormuseum.co.uk.

On the Sunday there will be displays of light commercial vehicles from the Morris Minor and J Type and Ford Transit Van to the lightweight Austin, Bedford and Morris Lorries up to the heavy AEC, ERF, Foden and Leyland models.

In addition, there will be a selection of classic Volvo, DAF and Scania vehicles on display.

Across the weekend there will also be a commercial vehicle-related autojumble, selling vehicle spares, photos, brochures, models and other items associated with historic commercial vehicles.

Inside the museum there will be an Indoor Model Show featuring more than 160 tables of kit and scratch-built models of commercial vehicles and landscapes on display.

Mr Caren said: By combining these two great popular shows, visitors and enthusiasts can see an even greater range of classic commercial vehicles on display.

We are expecting well over 500 vehicles from familiar marques to rare finds to take part in the two day show and take everyone on a fascinating nostalgia trip.

Along with admiring many different types of commercial vehicles, there will also be some great bargains at the trade stands.

Kelsey Media will be supporting the show and selling several of their publications including Classic & Vintage Commercials, Classic Van and Pick Up and Vintage Roadscene.

For those wanting to take part in the show, you can enter your truck for free, which includes entry for the driver and one passenger.

Camping is also available for those that want to make a weekend of it.

Day and weekend tickets are available online starting from 11.50 for adults in advance.

For more information about the Classic and Vintage Commercial Show and the museum, visit the website www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk or call 01926 641188.
RTHK: Corruption scandal forces snap Austrian election

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has called an early election, after his far-right deputy Heinz-Christian Strache stepped down amid a corruption scandal.

On Friday Germany's Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung published hidden-camera recordings taken a few months before 2017's parliamentary elections, in which Freedom Party leader Strache promised public contracts in return for campaign help from a fake Russian backer he met on the island of Ibiza.

In a televised statement, Chancellor Kurz said: "I have suggested to the president of the republic that new elections be carried out, at the earliest possible date."

"After yesterday's video, I must say quite honestly: Enough is enough," he said, adding that he had been personally insulted in the footage. "The serious part of this [video] was the attitude towards abuse of power, towards dealing with taxpayers' money, towards the media in this country."

Strache, 49, announced his resignation earlier on Saturday, saying he was the "victim of a targeted political attack" which had used illegal means to entrap him.

"Yes, it was stupid. Yes, it was irresponsible. Yes, it was a mistake," he said, describing what he did as "alcohol-influenced macho behaviour". He appeared close to tears as he apologised to his family, friends and supporters, in particular his wife for trying to impress his "attractive host".

Strache said he was also resigning as Freedom Party leader, with Transport Minister Norbert Hofer taking over. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-05-18. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Chinese workers recalled after attacks By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera View(s): View(s):

As a crippling effect of the recent bombings and racial attacks, Chinese companies involved in as much as 40 per cent of construction in the country, have recalled some of their key staff while most other blue collar workers dont turn up for work, industry officials say.

Supervisors and top management including engineers, etc were immediately recalled by the main Chinese companies after the bomb attacks last month, an industry official told the Business Times. Another official noted that most construction sites operated by Chinese firms are not running smoothly at present.

This is mainly because the companies were perturbed by the bomb attacks. Also blue collar workers were scared to come to the sites during the aftermath of the Easter bombings, the first official noted. He said the work that was started after April also waned due to the recent racist attacks. Officials added these stoppages will impact on a macro level in the coming months. The impact wont be great as the companies will find a way to resume their operations but what happened is not a good signal at all, the second official added.

Last year, more than 12,000 Chinese were employed, as per the Immigration and Emigration Control Department. It issued 6,229 resident visas to Chinese workers, 1,012 visas for Chinese working in BOI projects, 2,031 work visas for Chinese working on private sector projects and 3,068 work visas for Chinese in state sector projects last year. Some 2,000 Chinese alone work at a construction site opposite Galle Face Green.

Chinese-funded investment and infrastructure have been pouring into Sri Lanka in the past decade when mega project business was dished out to four Chinese companies and seven Indian companies, with over 30,000 semi-skilled and unskilled Chinese workers in the country at the time.
Dark side of the global economy View(s):

Students, learning economics know that the value of illicit liquor made by someone does not enter into the gross domestic product (GDP) of that country. In many countries like Sri Lanka, no one is permitted by the law to brew liquor without an expensive licence.

Sometime ago in fact it was a government business so that the law didnt permit anyone else to make liquor. If anyone did, apparently it was illegal.

Clean activities

The point I want to get across is that GDP of any country technically represents the output value of all clean economic activities. There can be underground or illegal or non-licensed economic activities such as the production of swords, guns and drugs, which produce an output value. But the output value of these economic activities is not counted into GDP.

This is, however, a tricky point. Any economic activity that is considered to be unclean, as mentioned above, can be made clean by legalising them by the law or license. The government can issue a licence to somebody to produce commodities like swords, guns, drugs and liquor. Or the government can accept some of these activities under different circumstances. In such cases, the same output value that was illegitimate earlier is now become legitimate so that it can be part of GDP.

What a contrast: The measure of GDP which was penalised by a piece of law in one country can actually become inflated in another country under different circumstances.

Laundering the value

There is another issue. Assume that someone who is distilling and selling illicit liquor spends its illegitimate income meeting his expenses. He spends it for his familys food and drinks, clothing, housing, utilities, transport and vacations as well as for his savings and investment.

These expenses would generate more output in all these activities through multiplier effects. The farmers, the manufacturers and, suppliers of the goods and services demanded by him will have to produce more of them, which increase the output value.

As far as spending is concerned, money does not make a difference to its source; whether money is earned from clean economic activities or otherwise it is the same money, which doesnt have a label. This means that even if it is an underground or illegal economic activity, its output value can still infiltrate into GDP through expenditure side. Finally, the money is washed and cleaned so that it can show off the economic status and progress.

Arms production

Many countries spend resources to produce arms as part of their economic activities through which they create output value; but is it a good or bad economic activity? There is no simple answer to this question. Arms are, anyway, for destruction, but it can also be for protection from destruction. Therefore, arms production in the world continues to expand as a result of an action-reaction process.

The world had enough experience to justify greater focus on arms production: There were three world wars, while one of them was cold and the other two hot! Then, there has been increasing terrorism threats and civil wars. All these wars and threats create demand for arms, and more and more arms.

There is no question about the complexity of the question whether arms production is good or bad, because it all depends on the intention.

Creating demand

Increased magnitude and intensity of violence and wars in the world, however, demands an increase in arms production as well as for its increased technological sophistication. For the same reason, there is a possibility of creating demand for arms production and its expansion to keep the economy going.

Consider two conflicting parties engaged in a war. An arms producer can supply arms to one party, and equip the other party to face them. The more they fight, the greater will be the demand for arms; the arms producer can keep up the arms production and meet the demand.

Wealth from arms

Whichever the complexities associated with the worlds arms production, legally or otherwise and, by legitimate governments and companies or illegitimate entities, it all adds up to their wealth creation, directly or indirectly.

Economics is all about wealth creation  getting more from less. The wealth created by any economic activity is added to the countrys total wealth, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP).

The worlds top-100 arms producing companies, excluding those of China, have supplied more than US$ 400 billion worth arms in 2017, as reported by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). While the US, Russia and the UK own 66 (two-third) of these top-10 companies, the US alone owns 47 companies.

About half of the total sales by the top-100 companies are supplied by 10 companies. Five of them are from the US, namely Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics. Other five are from five different countries as BAE from the UK, Airbus from the EU, Thales from France, Leonardo from Italy, and Almaz-Antey from Russia.

For the two commercial aircraft manufacturers in the world  Boeing and Airbus -, arms sales is not the main business; but still these two are among the worlds top-10 arms producers too. The largest arms producer in the world  Lockheed Martin  has also been a commercial aircraft manufacturer at one time; the value of its arms sales is more than half of the total GDP of Sri Lanka.

Buyers and sellers of arms

In 2018, total exports of arms  weapons and ammunitions, excluding vehicles, ships and aircrafts  amounted to $15 billion, according to International Trade Statistics Map. About 38 per cent of that has been supplied by the US. The other large arms exporting countries are Italy, Bulgaria, Israel, South Korea, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria and Brazil.

The rich OECD countries in the world buy about half of arms exports, while the rest of the countries which are the developing countries buy the other half.

Developing countries do not have the resources and technology to enter into sophisticated arms production, which would have forced them to buy from abroad. Nevertheless, large developing countries such as Brazil, China, and India already occupy high positions among arms-producing countries.

Military expenditure

The governments military expenditure is much broader than arms production, because it includes the use of tax money by the governments to spend on military-related activities: Its capital expenditure includes government spending on arms production and imports; its current expenditure includes wage bills of the forces, transport expenses, and the maintenance costs of military structures.

The world as a whole has spent $1.8 trillion as governments military expenditure in 2018. According to SIPRI database, the five biggest spenders were the US, China, Saudi Arabia, India and France which together accounted for 60 per cent of global military spending. Being the largest military spender, the US alone has spent $650 billion in 2018.

Growth and employment

The building of military capabilities as well as the wars and security threats accelerate the military spending by the governments in many different countries. They create demand for arms production and sales. And arms production and sales contribute directly to GDP of the respective countries. In addition, military spending also creates aggregate demand sustaining incomes and jobs in the world.

If the world achieves peace and trust among people and nations, some countries will have to face its adverse effects through slower growth and higher unemployment. Its an incentive to sustain conflicts and mistrust: What a world of economics! (The writer is a Professor of Economics at the University of Colombo and can be reached at sirimal@econ.cmb.ac.lk).
Dousing the flames of fake news on local firms By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

Fake news connected to business activities that hit headlines in social media at a time of extremist terror can damage the image and impair a companys bottom line, several heads of leading firms said.

Now, many companies are planning to sign up with third-party firms with IT expert monitors and the latest artificial intelligence to tackle social media in search of viral posts that could harm their image and reputation in the local and international market.

Sri Lanka is now saddled with the gigantic task of restraining the spread of disinformation via Internet especially of a product brand or a company under the present circumstance of ethnic divide, a business intelligence technology expert said.

Necessary damage control action should be taken before fake news via social media ignites into wildfire causing irreversible harm, he added.

Once fake news has been published online, content spreads across platforms rapidly, and by the time it is eventually removed, the damage may have already been done, he said.

Facebook management has taken several measures including making it easier for users to report stories as fake, attaching warning labels to stories flagged as fake, using third-party fact-checking services to verify the legitimacy of content, and improving automated systems that detect disinformation before it is flagged by users.

He revealed that automated content removal is the only feasible precautionary action social media companies could take to ensure that disinformation does not appear on their platforms in the first instance.

A recent victim of fake news in the aftermath of Easter terror via social media Lanka Spice (Pvt) Ltd, owners of the leading Sri Lankan Mc Currie brand of spice products. It had to take immediate remedial action to repair the damage caused to the image of the company, Mikhail Pathikirikorale, director of the company said.

A malicious item of fake news had been circulating recently on Facebook and Whatsapp about Mc Currie being involved in the alleged associates of Easter Sunday attacks, he disclosed.

He added that the fake news creators have in fact used two different brands, the unrelated international brand Mc Cormick, as well as Mc Currie.

Mr. Pathikirikorale is an IT expert who had his secondary education at Eton College, UK and entered Edinburgh University, Scotland and graduated with an Upper Second Degree in Computer Science. After living and working in China for 10 years, Mr. Pathikirikorale returned to Sri Lanka last year to help run Lanka Spice, the family business.

In Shanghai, he worked at Wiredcraft as a Programme Manager, managing large accounts and teams to successfully deliver software projects at scale for Starbucks China, the World Bank, Hilton, Sams Club, Walmart and many other large multinationals.

As an individual, its important to ascertain the veracity of a news source and to look closely at the post before sharing it. With Whatsapp its very hard to combat fake news as messages are sent directly or in groups, and as such they are not public or easily reportable, he pointed out.

With Facebook, you can report public messages and reach out to anyone who has shared that message. Asking your Facebook followers to also report the post seems to reduce the time before Facebook deletes it, he emphasised.

Weve had to use additional resources into answering the large number of questions we were receiving by call, email or Facebook, he said adding that to streamline the process they had prepared a short script that their social media team can use to reply quickly and clearly to questions regarding the fake news post.
Raising hopes View(s):

Bleary-eyed, I was woken up by the shrill rings of the landline. As I picked it up, I was distracted by the barking of the neighbourhood dogs.

Looking out of the window, I could see they were disturbed by the presence of Kussi Amma Sera, Serapina and Mabel Rasthiyadu engaged in a conversation at the gate  this time not as usual under the Margosa tree.

Pity, because the Margosa tree conversations gave a lot of food for thought and ideas for the column. Anyway after the minor distraction, it was Koththamalli Fernando, the Kokatath Thailaya (oil for many ailments) expert who has a remedy for any issue, who was calling. Most probably he had a remedy for the countrys festering crisis. Anyway!

I say....hotels are offering some fabulous discounts, he said.

Well they need to keep their rooms and staff occupied after taking a severe hit, I replied.

I wonder how they would survive this crisis. On the other hand, the tourism industry has had its ups and downs over the past three to four decades and somehow survived against all odds, he said, reflecting on the past.

Absolutely! In a separate article today in this section, Business Times takes a look at the crises faced by the industry since the mid-1970s when tourism was just starting to grow. Those were the days when the UK was the countrys topmost source of tourists unlike today where India and China are our main sources.

As we speak, I could hear snatches of the gate-conversation, with the trio appearing to be discussing the April 21 attacks and the recent mob violence in the North Western (Wayamba) Province. Aei apey minissu saththu-wagey hasirenne (Why are our people behaving like animals)? Kussi Amma Sera could be heard saying.

Ehe-mei, ehe-mei (Yes, yes), nodded Serapina.

Getting back to the chat with Koththamalli, we discuss a range of issues on the tourism sector and their impact from the recent disturbances and then wind up the conversation promising to meet next week.

I could hear the gate-conversation in full swing but at that moment there was a call on my mobile phone. It was Mr. X, a long-time friend in the hotel industry who is a very rational industry leader.

Getting to the point, he asked: I say.why are we taking the tourism sector in isolation when every sector is affected? We need to discuss what we can do as Sri Lankans to turn this country around, he said.

The tourism industry has gone through these phases.we will survive but we need to examine the situation in a larger context of national reconciliation and suffering, he continued.

I do agree...but where do we start? I asked. We need strong leadership, we need a short-term, mid-term and long-term plan to tackle these issues. Furthermore, the tourism industry had a good run for a near 10 years after the war ended. So we need to plough some of those returns back into the sector to keep it afloat for the next few months until tourism recovers, he said, adding: In the meantime, Sri Lanka needs to be looking at answers to the crises at hand.

We then had an extended conversation on the national crisis and the impact on the economy. It is not only tourism that has suffered but the entire economy. We need to get back to normal life and I think the security forces are doing well in helping the police to restore normalcy, he said.

Indeed the entire economy has taken a hit. Furthermore, this was on top of subdued consumer sentiment. In fact, all the banks are reflecting moderate returns in their first quarter results.

Highly volatile economic and political conditions prevailing in the country affected many key economic sectors since 2018. This trend continued in 2019 as well, undermining the financial performance of many businesses, said one bank in reporting its first quarter 2019 performance. Sri Lankas economy has been affected by slow growth in 2018, exacerbated by the political crisis in November/December 2018.

In terms of tourism, arrivals fell in April by 7.5 per cent to 166,975, with the UK  for the first time in several years  ousting India as the largest source market. India, Sri Lankas biggest tourism source, recorded a 21.5 per cent drop in arrivals. The drop was largely due to a proliferation of travel warnings by countries to avoid Sri Lanka after the April 21 Easter Sunday attacks, an issue that Sri Lankan authorities are desperately trying to rectify.

As Mr. X argues, however, the answer lies in how Sri Lanka will tackle these issues taking an overall view instead of being tourism-specific since it is only if peace is restored and Sri Lankans can heave a sigh of relief, that normalcy can return to all economic sectors. People need to return to the streets, children should be able to go to school without their parents worrying about their safety, businesses belonging to all communities need to get back to a secure environment, people need to return to the parks, go to restaurants and patronise hotels. That is what most law-abiding citizens are hoping our leaders will be able to deliver in a sensible way.

Communal disturbances now happening more frequently (last year near Kandy; this year in the North Western Province) are not good for business and many chambers have expressed concern not only in the context of the impact on business activity and sentiment but also on the nation as a whole. The silver lining is that Sri Lanka has shown to be resilient and recovery can be swift as proved in the past, particularly during the 30-year conflict.

One of the negatives, however, is that Sri Lankas political leaders are more interested in their own well-being and often dont rise as statesmen to deal with a country when it is on fire.

What this country needs is a kind-of council of elders  made up of those from civil society, religious groups and respected professionals  as an advisory body to any government, to douse the flames of hatred, bitterness and discrimination. Business, it must be remembered, can only thrive in an environment of peace and dignity to all citizens. Jobs and more jobs can be created only if there is dignity and wealth creation particularly for the middle class can happen only if there is peace and stability.

As I press the button on the computer to send off the latest column to the Business Times, Kussi Amma Sera walks in with my long-delayed morning brew  a cup of tea. Karadara wedi, neda Mahattaya karadara wedi neda (Too many problems, Sir), she says, shaking her head in disgust. Ehe-mei..ehe-mei (Yes, yes), I say in agreement.
Strengthening financial stability after Easter attacks By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

Sri Lanka will be taking austerity measures to strengthen financial sector stability in the wake of economic instability inflicted in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terror, official sources said.

The Treasury has already tightened fiscal policy controlling government expenditure while diverting the cash flow towards meeting out defence expenses.

A sum of around Rs.4.12 billion has been set apart for current defence spending in addition to Rs.393 billion allocated from the 2019 budget, a senior Finance Ministry official said.

Meanwhile the Central Bank (CB) will continue to pursue a prudent monetary policy while concentrating on building foreign reserves with exchange rate flexibility to protect the economy against shocks.

It will also strengthen supervision of financial institutions and crisis-preparedness machinery to maintain financial sector stability, it said in a statement.

A decline in the manufacturing sector is mainly driven by the significant drop in new orders and production especially in the manufacture of food, beverages and tobacco and manufacturing of textiles, apparels, leather and related products, the CB said.

Most industries especially in textile and apparel sector highlighted that they had to restrict working hours in factories due to security concerns and were unable to achieve the desired production levels, CB said.

Services sector also deteriorated in April compared to March, underpinned by a decline in all five sub-indices, namely  new businesses, business activity, employment, backlog of work and expectations for activity.

This was the first time that services recorded a setback, since May 2015, a senior CB official said.

The Sri Lankan economic growth will be affected by the terror attacks as investor confidence took a beating while the Sri Lankan rupee would depreciate further due to outflow of foreign funds.

The countrys economic growth rate will have to be downgraded from 3.6 per cent if the current situation continues further, he warned.

An outflow of portfolio investment amounting to Rs. 3.3 billion was recorded after the Easter terror attack, he revealed.

While the tourism sector will be the most affected, its spillover impact will be felt in the food and beverage sector as well as manufacturing and service sectors too, he added.

Credit to public corporations recorded a decrease of Rs. 12.2 billion while private sector credit increased by Rs. 23.1 billion, CB data showed.

Total outstanding market liquidity was a surplus of Rs. 61.537 billion by the end of last week, compared to a surplus of Rs. 44.61 billion earlier, the CB revealed.
Terror strikes killjoy in Pettahs retail trade View(s):

Colombos retailers, already suffering in a downbeat market, have experienced a sharp drop in sales in the wake of the April terror attacks, but what happened earlier last week has crippled them even further, adding weight to calls for support for the small businesses and retail shops.

The police arrested some people recently after racist mobs attacked Muslim-owned shops in one of the towns where Catholic churches were targeted in multiple suicide bombings in April 21 that killed more than 250.

Proprietors say that terror strikes played spoilsport for their retail, with consumers not wanting to spend as they fear for their jobs. Retail sales have never been before so low, shop owners in Pettah say. Earlier we used to do Rs. 40,000 in sales. Now it has come down to Rs. 10,000, S. Balakumara, shopkeeper at Laksiri Trade Centre which sells luggage items and bags in Malwatte Road told the Business Times on Tuesday.

Another shop owner who didnt want her name mentioned said shes wondering how to repay her loans. We are struggling to pay these loans back. I am planning to visit my bank in a few days to explain my plight, she said. As sales slip and costs mount, several retailers said that they will eventually be engaged in a tug of war with suppliers. Major suppliers will gradually refuse to supply goods to many retailers when they fail to pay or delayed payments, they added.

The main reason for this is the waning footfall in Pettah and related areas, many proprietors said. They noted that the broad plummet in retail sales at the end of the April holiday shopping season was expected, but the Easter Sunday bombings saw a mix of crosscurrents in shopper behaviour. The recent mob violence in the North Western province did nothing to boost discretionary spending amid the government shutdown, the shop owners and proprietors said.

Laxman Mendis, Proprietor, Prince Trade Centre noted on Tuesday that sales are down since April 25 and during the past two days it was down to as much as 90 per cent.

The paint sellers in byroads near Malwatte Road lamented that its a case of survival now. We know the government is doing its part to keep us safe, but how are we keeping our businesses safe and running? M. Munir, a paint distributor and seller asked.

The outlook in otherwise busy Pettah streets was bleak. Those streets steaming with shoppers and bargain hunters in any given day of the week were not as full of activity.

Fruit and vegetable vendors at the Manning Market were disappointed that they may not be able to make ends meet. I believe everybody in the industry is hoping for the authorities to be more effective in guaranteeing security in the country. So far, the trend is not promising, L. Jayawathi, a vegetable vendor said, adding that she wasnt able to sell potatoes for four days. Her friend Wilfred selling fruits at the adjoining place noted that many are still apprehensive about coming towards the Pettah area.

Most retailers are already in cost-cutting mode and some are even looking at exiting the business  lock, stock and barrel. (DEC)
As evil returns to Sri Lankas streets, who is responsible? View(s):

There is much good sense in the assertion by Sri Lankas Catholic Church this Friday that despicable communal violence by organised mobs against Muslims in the North Western Province and Minuwangoda a few days earlier was not only politically instigated but also a deliberate attempt to turn public focus away from the shock and horror of the Easter Sunday butchery of worshippers and tourists.

Hard questions asked from police and army

And the serious question asked by the Church is repeated by countless Sri Lankans, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Muslim. Were the police and security forces inactive when hordes of scrawny Sinhalese men shouting unspeakable filth went on the rampage for two days, attacking mosques and Muslim shops, despite curfew being imposed? If so, why was this the case? No fog of uncertainty must obscure that core question. Sri Lankas Army Commander replied that the forces were thin on the ground in the areas which unexpectedly erupted and that it took time to deploy additional troops to contain the violence. But this explanation is only partly satisfying.

Certainly the Army Commander must be applauded for his urbanely measured responses and refusal to be drawn out on provocatively abrasive questioning with racist undertones by mainstream television anchors, if these grinning poseurs can be glorified as such. Nonetheless, hard questions must be asked and indeed, with far more emphasis from the police where the command structure remains in confusion with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on compulsory leave. Transferring one or two officers as punishment will not do. Policemen who stood idle as violence was unleashed, clearly indentifiable in videos taken at the scene, must be questioned in disciplinary proceedings and severely dealt with.

The fact that a political hand (deshapalanaya hasthaya) was behind the violence is undeniable. Spontaneous reprisal attacks against Muslims by Catholics who were the main victims of the Easter Sunday attacks did not happen except for a few flareups in Negombo, the epicentre of the slaughter by jihadists. Later, there was a fracas in Chilaw apparently stemming from a ridiculous outburst on Facebook. Both these incidents were speedily brought under control by the police. Hate speech proliferated on social media but did not translate to major rioting until Kuliyapitiya, Hettipola and Minuwangoda erupted in prolonged violence.

Agent provocateurs and communal passions

So why did communal violence take place three weeks after the Easter Sunday bombings and why in areas where the population is not predominantly Catholic or Christian? The presence of notorious agent provocateurs masquerading as protectors of Sinhala Buddhism during the rioting provides the answer to that question. It is also no secret that the rioters were backed by powerful political forces, some sinisterly lurking in the shadows. In other words, these ruffians were getting their ragged sarongs in a twist because they were consciencelessly ordered by their handlers with no thought to lives and communities destroyed thereby. These were the same instigators of attacks on Muslims in Digana last year, led by local level Pohottuwa (the Rajapaksa-led Sri Lanka Podujana Party) politicians but with tentacles reaching into other political parties as well.

The modus operandi was beautifully simple. Inflame communal passions, drive the country back into fear and create a fertile breeding ground of political instability, enabling power to be opportunistically grabbed or retained as the case may be. That creeping fear has already been created. This week, the blood of Sri Lankans ran cold as the dark underbelly of politically organised communal violence was exposed with people on edge, expecting attacks in other cities, including Colombo. That dread was epitomised in revolting images of a bloodied man in the midst of chanting ruffians who were exhorting people in vehicles passing bye not to take the victim to hospital but to drag him through the streets like a dog. It was almost as if time had been suspended at the point of July 1983 atrocities against Sri Lankas Tamils.

As Muslims were targeted, the demolishing of wayside fruit stalls and the overturning of small petti kades also underscored an ugly paradox. The victims were the poor, barely managing to eke out a living while rich and politically powerful Muslim instigators of islamist fundamentalism went untouched by the law. It was a cycle of impunity in its most vicious manifestation. Outside charred shops in the heart of Minuwangoda town belonging to both Sinhalese and Muslims, the affected standing next to each other cried alike with tears streaming down their faces, blaming attackers who had suddenly swooped down on the town in motorcycle gangs. Then there were those who noticed familar faces in the rioters burning shops and houses. Hitherto close-knit communities of Muslims and Sinhalese self-destructed as evidenced in the harrowing stories of helpless victims.

Being apologists for the violence that we deplore

Meanwhile, President Maithripala Sirisena took wing overseas, farcically enough, to attend a dialogue on Asian civilisations even as his people were behaving like barbarians while the Prime Minister and his Ministers competed with the Rajapaksa-led opposition in making political capital from the crisis. And while we are on the subject, the Minister of Finance may be well advised to guard an unruly tongue. His exposition on Sri Lanka not being a Sinhala Buddhist country but a nation where Sinhala Buddhists are in the majority is an admirable sentiment. But need this have been emphasised right now when the country is in an uproar and tempers are at a raw if not unstable edge?

To be clear, the priority is not political grandstanding but addressing the publics boiling anger at yahapalanaya failures in preventing the Easter attacks despite warnings and thereafter not moving against Ministers and Governors implicated in the rise of islamist radicalism notwithstanding stout denials. True, jihadist violence and violence of Sinhala Buddhist extremists are sides of the same repulsive coin. That said, those who insist that Sri Lankas Easter Sunday attacks emanated from the oppression of the (Sinhala) majority against the (Tamil/Muslim) minority, bypassing the growth of Wahabi-inspired radicalism which has a far more complex origin, must be rebutted with force. Reportedly but unsurprisingly, these include politicians who, on their own part, stayed silent when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) became persecutors rather than liberators of their own people.

This mischievously caliberated propaganda may be reinforced within the comforting echo chambers of social media but that is not a critical mass of public opinion. Indeed this is why islamist jihadism grew so potently under cover of darkness and why various Governments were so spectacularly inept in halting that spread. Denial of that reality makes us apologists for the same violence that we (tokenly?) deplore. Encouragingly, a few Muslim leaders took the lead this week to acknowledge that Muslims must self-critique as to why and how Wahabism infiltrated their communities, even in small numbers. However, introspection is not one-sided. It is not enough that the prelates of the Buddhist chapters issue statements urging restraint. More must be evidenced.

All must introspect, not one community alone

For each of these loathsome animals in human skin who ran beserk, there are decent Sinhalese Buddhists who abhor such doings. But that protest must have force so that these animals together with their opportunistic political backers will crawl back to the dark hiding places of stench and filth which they inhabit. Equally, evangelical proselytising using money as a lure and subverting Jesus Christs powerful injunction to gather spiritual riches not wordly wealth, must be condemned.

Without that self-correction, as individuals, as communities and as a nation, only the terrors of the past await Sri Lanka in the future.
Bureaucratic bungling creates problems for foreign journalists View(s):

Before he opted for a career in diplomacy, Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha was a media man. So, he knew that like promoting foreign policy objectives of his country, projecting the real image in a crisis situation is as important.

This is why, after the April 21 Easter Sunday carnage, he urged Customs Director General P.S.M. Charles to allow camera crews from reputed international television channels into Sri Lanka together with their equipment. This is without a Carney or a Bank guarantee required by Customs to ensure the equipment is not sold locally, though it had not happened so far.

As Foreign Secretary Aryasinha envisaged, the presence of the television teams helped the world to see the barbarous IS carnage and how badly little Sri Lankas economy was hit by its dastardly acts. This, in no small measure, helped people outside and even locals understand the evils of IS terrorism by extremist Muslim groups.

Now it was time for those television teams to leave. A leading agencys top engineer, who helped link live satellite coverage, packed his tools and equipment in nearly ten packages. Many hours ahead of his departure, he drove to the airport. Outside the building, every single item in his packages was checked, an inevitable and important requirement these days. When it was over, the flight he was to board had taken off.

The man returned to the hotel where he stayed. Since he had to travel to another trouble spot and not knowing local procedures, he urged a leading company to send his tools and equipment as air cargo. Alas, a Sri Lankan Customs bureaucrat, in the absence of Ms Charles, placed his own conditions. One was a licence from the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) and the other was payment of a hefty Customs duty.

Presidential Secretary Udaya Seneviratne and Treasury Secretary R.S. Samaratunga intervened. Both wrote separately to the Customs boss directing that the items be allowed for air freight. Whats more  Secretary Seneviratne spoke to Ms Charles on the telephone since she was in India. She, in turn, it is learnt, had given instructions to allow the items, senior Customs sources said.

It is not the Presidential Secretariat that decides on such matters. It is we. We will decide. They cannot tell us what to do, thundered the bureaucrat, to whom the letters went. We dont have to act on those letters, he exclaimed. He relented only after a Finance Ministry official intervened. That took five long days and many persuasive telephone calls.

On what basis did the official decide on imposing a Customs duty, which did not exist? Now, the Finance Ministrys Fiscal Policy Division has sought his explanation on why he insisted on a tax. He is learnt to have blamed it on the private company.

Little wonder, some bureaucrats do sometimes work against the countrys own interests. The good side, however, is that Ms Charles, the Director General apologised for what has happened.

TNA MP at Mulliwaikkal event; house raided by Army

Wanni district TNA Parliamentarian Sivagnanam Shridharan was yesterday taking part in the events organised to commemorate those killed in the Eelam war conflict. The event took place at Mulliwaikkal in Mullaitivu, the location where the LTTE was defeated 10 years ago.

While he was attending the commemoration event, he was informed that his house in Jaffna was being searched by the Army.

The MP rushed back and was told that the search was carried out following a tip-off that LTTE propaganda material and documents were in his house. But nothing suspicious was found.

The MP has now complained to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya about the matter.

By Gad, John. Protocol, what!

Tourism and Christian Affairs Minister John Amaratungas visit to the British High Commission this week has been seen by some retired Foreign Service diplomats as a flagrant breach of protocol.

The Minister met High Commissioner James Dauris to discuss improvements in the security situation after the April 21, Easter Sunday terror attacks and the steps being taken by the government in this regard. This comes in the wake of the UK travel warning on British citizens visiting Sri Lanka.

One retired diplomat said the diplomatic norm was the envoy being invited to the ministry for a discussion and not the other way around. Another asked if the minister was also going to the Chinese, German and other missions.

Accompanying the minister at the discussion were Sri Lanka Tourism Chairman Kishu Gomes and the ministers son-in-law Dinesh Weerakkody.

Perhaps, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Is it president-like, asks Dinesh

It was Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) leader Dinesh Gunawardena, who raised issue, waving a photograph of President Maithripala Sirisena.

The photograph had gone viral on social media and a copy was in Mr Gunawardenas mobile phone.

Is this the way a countrys President behaves when he is abroad, he asked at a meeting of party leaders of the Joint Opposition. Sirisenas right hand was on Minister Daya Gamages shoulder and the left one on State Minister Ashoka Abeysinghe, both from the UNP, as Justice Minister Thalatha Athukorala looks on somewhat quizzically.

Army Chief slams officers who overplay detections

The Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake explained this week to the media how certain officers in uniform were overplaying the detections they made during the recent operations.

He said he made an appeal to stop this dramatisation when giving information about weapons detected.

I am saddened to hear that Sri Lankas people who after 30 years of war, with a history of repelling foreign invasions and practising angampora (local martial arts) panic when they see some pictures of an air-rifle, .12 bore shot gun or a .16 bore shot gun.

A uniformed officer in having found a .12 Bore shotgun shell made it sound like he had found 10 Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs)

Fifteen men in Uniform standing in front of a table with two shotguns and an air rifle as if they were extraordinary items, yet those were common weapons found in that area.

If they found some explosives and swords in a room they show them as if they had found an ammunition dump.

The correct term that they should use is a box of swords and some bullets and guns.

Basil clarifies position on no-faith motion

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramunas (SLPP) chief architect Basil Rajapaksa denied reports that he had objected to the Oppositions vote of no-confidence against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen.

He told a meeting of Joint Opposition party leaders that he had only urged that a decision on the motion should be taken both at their meeting and the parliamentary group.

The motion has now been submitted to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya.

Meditating on the bomb attacks

In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday massacre, which has increased the load of the Police Department, at least one gazetted officer chose to induce some humour.

He referred to the bomb attacks that had taken place on April 21 and noted they were all between 8.30 a.m. and 9 a.m.

That was the time allocated by former Police Chief Pujith Jayasundera for police personnel countrywide to engage in religious observances.
China worried about growing US influence, Sirisena persuaded by President Xi to come there for talks

ACSA with US renewed, but Cabinet only glossed over the 80-page document

India also expresses grave concern on why its intelligence warnings were not acted upon and whether South India will also become an IS terror target

President and PM at cross purposes on foreign policy, defence and security

When elephants fight, an African proverb says, it is the ants that get crushed. In essence that encapsulates how the small and weak become dangerously vulnerable when big powers fight for dominance and even hegemony. That is Sri Lanka now.

President Maithripala Sirisena returned from China on Thursday after adding another explosive chapter to this big nation power play. His Media Office head-lined a statement saying, three significant agreements with China on national security and development were signed. However, there was no mention of what these agreements were or the different titles.

The events leading to the China visit were indeed interesting. In February this year, President Sirisena had been invited for the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilisations (CDAC). Though he accepted the invitation, no confirmation was sent. The Easter Sunday massacre saw the Chinese Ambassador in Sri Lanka Cheng Xueyuan seeking an urgent appointment. It was promptly given. Cheng raised concerns over the presence in Sri Lanka of security and intelligence personnel from different countries including the United States of America and Britain. China was very worried about the security of its own investments in Sri Lanka, he explained. Just two days after this meeting, Ambassador Cheng sought another hurried meeting with President Sirisena.

This time there was a message for President Sirisena from Chinese President Xi Jinping. He has said that President Sirisena should come to Beijing. Sirisena confirmed he would. In what was a very significant development, when he arrived in Beijing, President Xi chaired a joint Sri Lanka-China bilateral meeting on security co-operation with Colombo. One of the key decisions was on strengthening co-operation in the defence sector and sharing intelligence between Sri Lanka and China  an aspect that has been incorporated into the new defence agreement. President Sirisena briefed the meeting on the Easter Sunday massacres carried out by pro-IS Muslim extremist groups.

Before he left Colombo, President Sirisena had hoped to ask for fifty more Jeeps for the Police, in addition to the ten handed over in Colombo days earlier. He explained that Sri Lanka did not have the technological expertise and equipment to trace persons who were promoting terrorism and spreading false information. President Xi agreed to provide both expertise and equipment. He will also send a technical team to Sri Lanka to train personnel. President Sirisena also agreed to a government-to-government deal for hi-tech surveillance of Colombo City on the lines of smart cities. This will also cover the Hambantota Port and the Colombo Port City, both constructed with heavy Chinese funding.

China concerned over US presence

In Beijing, Sirisena changed his mind. Instead of asking for 50, he asked for 100 more Jeeps. President Xi said yes, and added China would provide a grant of Rs 2,600 million for the Sri Lankan Security Forces. In addition, he said, China would hand over different types of equipment worth Rs 1,500 million to Sri Lanka Police. President Sirisena also had a meeting with Chinese Premier Le Keqiang. A surprise visitor for Sirisena was Wang Yang, Chairman of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference National Committee. He asked the President why the Easter Sunday attacks were carried out and he replied, It is to destroy Sri Lanka.

It is a matter of time before details of President Sirisenas latest agreements will enter the public domain. One of the agreements, the Sunday Times has learnt, deals entirely with defence and security related matters. It is thus clear what prompted President Xi to urge Sirisena to visit China was the increasing military role of western military powers, particularly the United States. Added to it was the visit of intelligence and security personnel after the Easter Sunday massacre.

It is also noteworthy that President Xi met only President Sirisena, the sole Executive President to attend the conference on Asian civilisation, a Presidential source said. The other leading dignitaries, the source said, were met only by Chinese Premier Le Keqiang. They were Cambodias King Norodom Sihamoni, Greeces President Prokopis Paulopoulos, Indias President Ram Nath Kovind and Singapores President Halimah Yacub. There were 2,000 other participants.

President Sirisena hurried to China to work out security deals that became a serious cause for concern for Beijing. In fact, his absence from Sri Lanka saw attacks on Muslims, mosques and their businesses. In one ghastly episode that was videoed, three-wheeler scooter drivers refused to transport a bleeding Muslim carpenter slashed by a sword forcing two police officers to lift him by the legs and shoulder and trudge to a hospital. He died. To their credit, both the Security Forces and the Police came down hard on the pro-IS Muslim extremists, who at one time preached hatred against other faiths, They were arrested and interrogated. That helped Security Forces to crack the network further. A near normalcy is still limping back.

Just hours before his departure last Monday morning, Sirisena chaired a special cabinet meeting. There, State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director Nilantha Jayawardena briefed ministers on the security situation. He gave good news  that the main cell of the IS-backed local Muslim extremist group had been broken. He forecast that there would soon be a return to normalcy. The briefing, interesting enough, has not been left in the hands of the Chief of National Intelligence (CNI), retired crime investigator, DIG Sisira Mendis. He sits at the apex of the countrys intelligence mechanisms as the top most official. Ministers also briefly talked about new laws to ensure national unity and curb hate speech. President Sirisena, however, neither referred to his China visit nor what he would do there. He kept it to himself.

Why did it become necessary for President Sirisena to fly in a hurry and sign a defence related deal with China? It was clearly the result of a cat-and-mouse game initiated under his very own tutelage. His second Defence Secretary (Engineer Karunasena Hettiaratchchi, now Sri Lanka Ambassador to Germany), renewed the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) with the United States. Serving now as Defence Secretary is General Shantha Kottegoda. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa directed him to relinquish office in 2005 to give way to the then Major General, Sarath Fonseka, who was promoted Lieutenant General and appointed Army Commander. He later led troops to victory against Tiger guerrillas. Kottegoda was named by Rajapaksa as Sri Lankas Ambassador to Thailand.

80-Page document

Important enough, it was President Sirisena, as Minister of Defence,who placed before the Cabinet of Ministers a voluminous memorandum dated June 30, 2017 to obtain approval for the ACSA. It was signed the in August 2017. The ACSA is renewed every ten years. On March 5, 2007, the then Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, signed the ACSA with the then US Ambassador, Robert O Blake Jr. With the cover it ran into ONLY eight pages. The one recommended by President Sirisena and approved by the Cabinet, however, ran into more than 80 pages and lists all the US defence and security mechanisms that could be allowed into Sri Lanka. See list in box story. It is not unusual for ministers not to study cabinet memoranda. Thus, there are occasions when the implications of what they approve do not register in them. Some do not even know such approval has been given. The agreement and the resultant developments cause concern for China now. And President Sirisena rushes to Beijing to counterbalance it. His statecraft raises more questions than it answers and places Sri Lanka in an extremely dangerous position.

Signing the ACSA on behalf of the US Defence Department was then Ambassador Atul Keshap, easily one of Americas most consummate diplomats to serve in Sri Lanka. That gave access to all US military entities to help Sri Lanka (or in the reverse Sri Lanka to help US) in unforeseen circumstances or exigencies when one of them may need Logistic Support, Supplies and Services. There was an arrangement for each other to pay for costs involved. Yet, it would be a joke to say the US would need any military support, supplies or services from Sri Lanka except Sri Lankas land, water and the strategic location. In how many other countries has the US caused instability through its military involvement? Over a period of time, the use of ports, airports and the countrys air space by US military vessels and aircraft grew manifold. This increasing trend, strongly backed by some leading government politicians and detested by others, did cause concern in many circles here abroad. All this was going on without the glare of publicity.

Those in the US and government officials here claimed that ACSA was an arrangement which the US has with more than 85 countries and had no serious security connotations. Why then was such a harmless document not presented in Parliament? There are political leaders who say ad nauseum that all matters should be presented to Parliament so the Sri Lankan public would know. Even the aftermath of the Easter Sunday massacre is to be probed by a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) though there are sceptics who are worried it will not help. One of them cited the PSC on the Central Bank bomb racket where the report was studded with footnotes from government members who disliked the findings.

None other than ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi figured in a video, for a second time ever, as reported previously. There he admitted the Easter Sunday attack was a revenge for vengeance for the fall of their last redoubt Baghouz. This attack was carried out by US backed Syrian forces. So, the IS hit-back in Sri Lanka was to avenge the US-backed killing. It was a public secret that non-aligned Sri Lanka was now a US ally. Another deal with the US was being strongly canvassed behind the scenes. That is the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), a move which has led to apprehensions at the highest levels of the military establishment.

Just recently, the SOFA came into focus after a US serviceman carried out attacks on Afghan civilians. Since there was a SOFA between the US and Afghanistan, the question arose on whether the Afghan law would apply on the serviceman or the US law. It is well known that there is no formal template for a SOFA and (like the ACSA), they are written on the basis of the dialogue US engages in. It is in both the Sri Lanka governments and its peoples interest to make a public declaration that it would not go ahead with SOFA and make Sri Lanka a bigger battleground of the big powers. However, that is unlikely. When one side of the government is against it, another side manipulates events in favour. That has become a pernicious vicious cycle.

On February 12, this year, as reported last week, the Commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Phil Davidson, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the US and Sri Lanka should co-operate militarily to thwart Chinese influence in the region. He noted: .. Beijings actions in this regard have potential military ramifications as well. Beijing touts its need to safeguard citizens abroad and defend its expanding global interests in order to justify increased permanent PLA overseas basing and presence. Beijing is also exploiting growing debt burdens to access strategic infrastructure in the region. In December 2017, Sri Lanka handed over control of the newly-built Hambantota seaport to Beijing with a 99-year lease because Sri Lanka could no longer afford its debt payments to China. Over the last year, we have seen that countries across the region are becoming more aware of the threat Beijings economic policies pose..

To start with, President Sirisenas second Defence Secretary helps the United States gain a strong military footprint in Sri Lanka. Parliament is kept in the dark. President Sirisena gets it approved by his Cabinet of Ministers without a study. Standing on that, the US is coaxing Sri Lanka into a SOFA and wants to checkmate China. On the other hand, China is now worried. In the aftermath of the presence of US intelligence and security personnel after the Easter Sunday massacre, China invites Sirisena to at least partly undo what he has already done.

It is in this paradoxical situation that President Sirisena rushed to China for a defence deal with Beijing which entertains apprehensions over increasing US military role in Sri Lanka. There has been no study of how such matters affect the countrys interests or the long-term implications. It is nothing more than naivete and gross ignorance of foreign policy, defence and security issues. The fact that such actions affect future generations is lost on those concerned.

Does UNF endorse China moves?

This brings us to the question of the United National Party (UNP)-led United National Front (UNF) which is in governance. Two of its Law and Order Ministers  Sagala Ratnayake and Ranjith Madduma Bandara  held office successively till October last year. They were responsible for the Police. They were privy to intelligence warnings of a build-up of IS-backed Muslim extremists. Little or nothing was done. This saw politicians use influence to have suspects released from Police Stations on the grounds that they were their voters at an election. Together with their leader, Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, they are now blaming President Sirisena for the Easter Sunday carnage. They are also demanding that the Police be placed under the UNFs charge. This brings to the fore a string of questions.

There were three UNF members in President Sirisenas entourage. They were Primary Industries and Social Empowerment Minister Daya Gamage, Justice Minister Talatha Athukorale and Transport and Aviation State Minister Ashoka Abeysinghe. The inclusion of the trio must have been with the endorsement and blessings of the UNP leadership. Was it done to demonstrate that they, too, were on board over President Sirisenas actions? That way, do they endorse on behalf of the UNF the measures taken in China by President Sirisena? If not, did they undertake the trip only because it was a free junket supporting Sirisena only during the journey and stay? There were two others too in the delegation  Northern Province Governor Suren Raghavan and Southern Province Governor Keerthi Tennekoon.

Immediately after his return to Colombo, President Sirisena had plans to travel to Canada. He wanted to take part in the Global Summit of the US-backed Open Government partnership in Ottawa from May 29 to 31. Before leaving for Beijing, he had directed his officials to make arrangements. However, they were unable to get a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It is not clear whether this was a diplomatic snub or not. It is known that some western nations have been displeased with President Sirisena since the constitutional crisis last October on the grounds that he violated the Constitution. According to diplomatic sources, this was the reason why most western leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, British Prime Minister Theresa May among others telephoned Prime Minister Wickremesinghe after the Easter Sunday massacre.

Indias concerns

A more distressing development in this regard are concerns at the highest levels of the Indian government in New Delhi. The repercussions on Sri Lanka  the Presidents side as well as the UNF  could turn out to be disastrous. This is when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, billed to return to power, is re-elected. Firstly, it was India that conveyed intelligence warnings of the impending IS-backed attacks in Sri Lanka. That included one which was on April 21, the very day. Secondly, soon after the Easter Sunday massacre, Premier Modi, who was on the election trail, telephoned President Sirisena who was in Singapore. It was only thereafter that he telephoned Premier Wickremesinghe. The message he gave both was that India would provide any help Sri Lanka needed to restore normalcy.

It has come to light that as far back as late last year, India provided intelligence to Sri Lanka that Zahran Hashim was the leader of the IS-backed Muslim extremist group in Sri Lanka. In April, Indias warnings were two channelled  one to the security forces about the impending attacks and another to those at the highest levels of the intelligence community. There are concerns in New Delhi after its National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested on April 29 Riyaz Abubucker alias Abu Dujana, a native of Kerala. He has confessed that he had followed videos and speeches made by Zahran and had been posting them on the internet for more than a year. Indias fear is whether IS-backed terrorism would invade South India and pose a serious national security threat.

At Indias External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi, a high-ranking source strongly lamented that rather than thanking us for the timely information we gave, we are being treated very unfairly. Some vested interests, the source charged, were doing things to suit their own narrative. The source warned that there was a

remote possibility that no action was taken on their intelligence warnings because there is a bigger worry this can happen again.

The source was alluding to politicians and military officials whose public remarks in Sri Lanka have irritated the Indian government in no small measure. We cannot comment on such issues, an Indian High Commission spokesman in Colombo said. There were claims made that Zahran Hashim travelled to India. There was no official record to show his presence, the source insisted. India, the Sunday Times learnt, formally asked Sri Lanka to provide any information on this matter so we may investigate it. However, we are disappointed the details have not been forthcoming. Instead of saying things publicly, they must tell us. The reason, the source explained, is because of Indian concerns that Sri Lanka should not become a launch pad or regional base to execute terrorist attacks on India. Asked why India was being dragged into the issue, the source replied maybe to deflect the narrative of failure of the security apparatus to act on intelligence we gave.

That the Indian governments reactions, particularly after it gave a string of intelligence warnings, are a glaring example of how President Sirisena as well as Premier Wickremesinghes foreign policy and related security initiatives have clashed head on. Added to that is Presidents Sirisenas appointment of ill qualified officials, one after another, as Defence Secretaries. Both, the President and the Prime Minister are moving in different directions. The result is a free for all.

Hours after his arrival in Colombo, President Sirisena chaired a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) on Thursday morning. Alas, he has set an unhealthy precedent by inviting those who are not members to this key body, a move which has never been done before. This week the Presidential Secretariat even invited two former SLFP Ministers  Susil Premjayantha and Anura Priyadarshana Yapa. Both declined invitations saying they were signing as witness at two different weddings. They seem to have got their priorities right! The former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was very strict at NSC meetings and debarred participants from even making notes. The only exception was when he gave detailed instructions to armed forces commanders.

That the foreign policy perspectives as well as those related to defence and security differ when it comes to President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was a known phenomenon. However, their different approaches during the time of a serious national security crisis do not augur well for the country. It is not only the big powers that want to make Sri Lanka their battleground. Sad enough, it is President Sirisena and the officials he named to high bureaucratic positions who have become principal shareholders of grave lapses.

The in-fighting between the President and the Premier has also become a factor. So, Sri Lankans are being crushed like ants by foreign power struggles in their own soil as well as the domestic battle of the two elephants. In all this, one thing comes out very clear. Sri Lanka will never be what it was before April 21, 2019. The so called Yahapalanaya or good governance has got embroiled in corruption, cronyism, and now, neglect and inaction.

US bases covered by ACSA An Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) between the United States and Sri Lanka provides for reciprocal logistic support primarily during combined exercises, training, deployments, port calls, operations or other co-operative efforts or for unseen circumstances or exigencies. It was signed in Colombo in August 2017 by the then US Ambassador Atul Keshap (on behalf of the US Defence Department) with Sri Lankas then Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiaratchchi. It has not been tabled in Parliament for almost three years though officials in Colombo and Washington DC claimed it was a routine affair. Orders for which payments are to be made, may be placed by each country at the Points of Contact or designees listed in the annexes to the ACSA. Here is a list of US military establishments that are covered: Headquarters, US Central Command (USCENTCOM), McDill Air Force Base, Florida. The Third US Army/US Army Forces Central Command (USARCENT), Shaw Air Force Base, Sumter, South Carolina. US Naval Forces Central Command (USNAVCENT)  No address given US Air Forcs Cetral Command (USAFCENT) Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. US Marine Forces Central Command (USMARCENT) Tampa, Florida. Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT)  McDill Air Force Base, Florida. US Pacific Command (Now re-named Indo Pacific Command), H.M. Camp Smith, Honolulu, Hawaii. Commander, US Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT) Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. US Army Pacific (USARPAC), Pearl Harbour, Hawaii Marine Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC), Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii Pacific Air Forces (PACAF)  Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii Special Operations Command (SOCPAC) Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii Headquarters, US Forces Japan (HQ USF J) Yukota Air Base, Tokyo US Army Japan (USARJ)  Camp Zama, Kanagawa Ken Marine Forces Japan (MARFORJ) Okinawa, Japan US Air Forces Japan (USAFJ) US Forces Korea (HQ USFK) US Air Forces Korea (HQ HQ USAFK) US Air Forces Europe (USAFE) AFRICOM (AFAF), Ramstein Germany US Army Europe (USAREUR) Weisbaden, Germany US Navy Europe (USNAVEUR) Napoli, Italy US Marine Corps Forces Europe & Africa (MARFOREUR/AF) Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) US Army Corps of Engineers Joint Staff J4, Joint and Coalition War Fighting (JCW) HQ US Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) Doral, Florida Air Forces Southern (AFSOUTH) Arizona US Army South (USARSOUTH) Houston, Texas US Naval Forces South (USNAVSOUTH), Mayport, Florida US Marine Forces South (USMARFORSOUTH) Doral, Florida Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH) Homestead, Florida US Northern Command (US Northcom), Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado US Army North (US ARNORTH) Houston, Texas US Fleet Forces/US Navy North (USF/NAVNORTH) Norfolk, Virginia 1st Air Forces/ (1st AF/AF NORTH), Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida Alaska Command (ALCOM) US Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Air Mobility Command (AMC) Scott Air Force Base, Illinois Headquarters US Africa Command (USAFRICOM) US Air Forces Africa (AF AF) Ramestein, Germany US Army Africa (USARAF) Vicenza, Italy US Naval Forces Africa (USNAVAF) Napoli, Italy Marine Forces Africa (USMARFORAF) Combined Joint Task Force  Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) Special Operations Command Africa (USSOC  AF) Defence Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, Virginia United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), McDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida.
When will they ever learn? View(s):

There was a time when those untutored in technological advances were told that it takes just 60 seconds to send a message round the world. Today it must be even quicker, perhaps a few nano seconds or whatever they are called.

The irony is this. While communication becomes increasingly speedier it takes so much longer to penetrate half an inch of human skull. Not that one wants to chip away with hammer and chisel at thick heads. But it sure takes a long time for some people to absorb ideas and advice or they are too stubborn to listen to wiser counsel.

So, there, surely, were many who breathed a sigh of relief when President Sirisena appointed an acting Defence Minister before he took off to China even before the dust had settled on the multiple suicide bombings that killed so many of our own citizens and those of other countries on Easter Sunday.

Many a time the citizenry has wondered why the President, who constitutionally assumes the portfolio of Defence Minister on being sworn-in, fights shy of passing on the baton whenever he travels abroad.

One can understand if President Sirisena hops across to foreign climes for a breath of fresh air or whatever those nations to the west, east or north of us have to offer. But his travel abroad is more than a mere now and then.

Mr Sirisena said the other day that he was the countrys sixth president and all his predecessors had bombs going off during their time. If he was intending to convey the thought that the experiences of Easter Sunday were nothing new then he seems to have got things all mixed up and missed the significance of the attack by Muslim extremists.

But never mind that. The problem is that his travels abroad are not now and then. Since our current President is intent on reminding the people of the experiences of his predecessors, maybe he should be reminded that no other president travelled abroad as often as he has done and continues to do, never mind even if men from Mars dropped in on Sri Lanka for a good look at this land like no other.

There was a joke doing the rounds during the time of President J.R. Jayewardene, who had A.C.S. Hameed as his foreign minister. As Sri Lankas first foreign minister he travelled abroad so often that some wags said his initials stood for All Countries Seen. The story went that his constituents hardly saw him. So each time a plane flew over Akurana, his supporters would look at the sky and wave enthusiastically believing that their MP would spot them at 35,000 feet.

But even the affable Hameed during all those years as foreign minister, could not have beaten Sirisenas travel record achieved in just four and half years. It is being said that Sirisena is desirous of a second term as president  which he said he would abjure even before he sat on the throne  so that he could set an unbeatable record that Polonnaruwas great king Parakramabahu would applaud from wherever he is.

Maybe he knows something we do not know. Maybe in the coming years very small islands that dot the Pacific and Atlantic oceans will emerge as independent nations and await a presidential visitation, so to say. Or maybe there are a few countries hidden away in vast continents that have not had the supreme pleasure of a visit by our head. I mean there are very small specks in the oceans such as the Falkland Islands in the south Atlantic and some further north that provide succour to those who wish to hide their ill-gotten gains.

But one positive thing happened the other day. The widespread criticism that President Sirisena avoids appointing an acting Defence Minister whenever he travels out of the country appears to have finally gone home.

So when our president took off last week to China while mobs were running amok in some parts of the country burning and destroying homes and shops and others were sharpening their weapons for the days ahead, he made it a point to appoint State Minister for Defence Ruwan Wijewardene acting Defence Minister.

It was just for three days, mind you. But then one has to start somewhere. Perhaps the President felt he should give the young Wijewardene a few days of practice.

Never mind. It would be better he assumes the role for just a few days before all the blame for anything that spells trouble comes crashing on his head.

What is more important for the country to know is whether this arrangement would endure and it is not a one-off move to show that the head of state is amenable to public criticism.

Having handed the baton to young Wijewardene, the President took off with 27 others (or so we gather) to tell the Chinese and other Asians about Sri Lankas glorious civilisation which they were told is 5,000 years old.

Appointing an acting defence minister is a good start. But there is more to be done. Given the state of the country just then with mobs going around looking for targets to demolish or destroy, there is an urgent need to reconstitute, as it were, the National Security Council (NSC). It is a body that discusses important security issues, where vital information relating to the country is made available and decisions are taken which probably should be confidential.

It cannot be treated so lackadaisically that politicians rejected by the people can stroll in and out of meetings as if it is a public park. What is discussed there should remain confidential and not distributed for public consumption like a horse-racing sheet or a kela pattaray.

If the importance of the NSC is not recognised and it is reduced to some nondescript weekly or fortnightly meeting where a cup of tea with biscuits are offered, this body will be of little use to the country, or it might be described as not fit for purpose.

If the NSC is to function, as it did in days gone by, then it must be reconstituted as a tight-knit body consisting only of relevant political and administrative/security functionaries.

Those in the government need to realise that the NSC was established to protect the state and its people and warn of impending danger and prepare to meet it. It was not meant to be a body that serves the governing party or parties and protects them from their political adversaries.

It seems a great pity that in all their travels, our political big-wigs do not appear to have learnt how such security bodies operate in other countries and how politicians are not permitted to interfere in security issues.

To give one example, in Britain, the group called Cobra headed by the prime minister meets whenever there has been a terrorist attack or a threat or perceived threat to the country from attacks, and assesses the situation to take appropriate steps. A member of Cobra being dropped or not invited to attend because the prime minister does not like that representatives face is unheard of here.

Unless this government takes its responsibilities  particularly with regard to security and intelligence  seriously and does not treat institutions dealing with such vital issues cavalierly or as the plaything of politicians, what happened on Easter Sunday could happen again though differently.

It is now known that it was not the lack of intelligence that allowed the Easter bombers to operate successfully. It was the complacency of our political class and the over-confidence and lack of analytical skills and perceptions among its bureaucrats, who under-rated the enemy, that led to the massacre.
Metta in a violent world View(s):

Vesak, celebrated by the Buddhist world and marked by the United Nations due to the efforts of a Sri Lankan Christian Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, is being observed in this country in a sombre way this year.

The reverberations from the Easter Sunday multiple bombings on churches and hotels still resonate throughout the country; the Government trying desperately to avoid more mayhem by those responsible for the April 21 attacks. Compounding matters is the ensuing ethno-religious tension that has taken a different turn.

Life, in general, has been re-calibrated from one of peace and tranquility to the bad old days of not so long ago when terrorism of a different kind prevailed. What was meant to be a joyous occasion for the Christian and Catholic population last month turned into a horrific bloodbath. The natural fury and emotion running through many that could have set off a violent reaction was checked by the intervention of the men of the cloth. It was not a tooth for a tooth response that was needed, they said, it was to forgive them for they know not what they do.

Over the past three weeks, the simmering anger has taken twists and turns. Rascals using social media, transmitting messages that even the best of the citizenry was lapping up, was fuel to the embers of the Easter incidents. Elements who take advantage of such situations, no different to what happened in 1983, were out on the streets again.

Sporadic cases of arson, instilling fear among a minority community, painting them with one brush and turning them against the majority are not just the anti-thesis of what the Buddha and Christ taught, but bear the fingerprints of deep-rooted, more complicated schisms of domestic and international forces at play.

There are the fake nationalists, who want to profit from the carnage and are ready to wade through slaughter to achieve their objectives. Then there are the international vultures waiting to pick on the remains, exploiting sectarian and religious differences.

If the West was the midwife to the birth of the religious radicalisation in West Asia, it is an irony that it is this same West that is needed now to keep track of that very radicalisation that has taken root in countries outside West Asia. It has become Hobsons choice for countries like Sri Lanka that have got enveloped in the process.

Even former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa conceded that during his time, he had sent senior military intelligence officers to the United States to be trained in information gathering on this radicalisation process, including monitoring their activities in cyberspace. A former US envoy to Sri Lanka who has been blamed for spearheading the US sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC in Geneva  which accuses the Sri Lankan Armed Forces of violating International Human Rights laws during the Rajapaksa era for the way it crushed LTTE terrorism  now praises the same Rajapaksa administration for having had technocrats who kept tabs on terrorists from West Asia.

Probably, he does not know that troops asked to flush out the radicalised terrorists and the cop on the street maintaining law and order against marauding mobs are muttering under their breath that they may have to Go to Geneva, a reference to the UNHRC resolution against them for acting against terrorists.

Horror stories have been reported from Europe that records found among ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria as their Caliphate falls apart, refer to the killing of infidel venture capitalists, hacking banks, robberies etc., to fund their special operations and the setting up of a bureau of foreign relations for attacks abroad. These chilling documents speak both of lone wolf hits as well as coordinated ones following the atrocities in a concert hall in Paris in 2015, and the mowing down of pedestrians along the Hudson River in Manhattan, New York in 2017.

These records say ISIS soldiers will send fighters across borders however much they are policed by intelligence agencies. All this raises the question of who is ahead of whom in the cowardly war perpetrated by both sides  the West dropping bombs from drones against the radicalised terrorists with severe collateral damage on innocent civilians, or the manic suicide bombers who target places of worship of non-believers with similar devastating effect on innocent civilians.

As much as the Governments security and intelligence agencies let the whole country down on Easter Sunday, and the politicians, typically, indulged in the blame game (at least the Prime Minister eventually accepted a share of the responsibility, but it may have been to further embarrass the President), it is a fact that a vast majority of Sri Lankans abhor violence.

Yet, it is a fact that deep-seated mistrust, suspicion, bad mouthing in private circles and under-currents persist amidst the facade of apparent normalcy.

This is not necessarily exclusive to Sri Lanka. It exists in countries that love to preach to others, often through NGOs funded by their Treasuries. Amnesty International won this weeks prize for calling upon Sri Lankans to behave after some shops and a mosque were cindered and transitional justice while the West was indulging in Hellfire attacks on the Caliphate.

The Cardinal got it right. He said that after Wor War II, the arms industry that nourishes the West brought the wars away from Europe to our parts of the world. (ISIS is taking it back to Europe now). How seriously will what His Eminence says be taken by the arms merchants and the Governments of the West is the question when the Pope who echoes the same sentiments is not.

At least Sri Lankas clergy have banded together. And it is good that minority political parties are doing some introspection. Notwithstanding the inherent contradiction of a Minister from the south saying that Sri Lanka is not a Buddhist country, when the Cardinal himself says it is, it was heartening to see the high priests (Mahanayakes) of the Buddhist clergy asking politicians not to throw straw to existing fires, and reiterating that though the Sinhala Buddhist nation is divided on caste, language and religious lines, it has been influenced over the centuries by the teachings of the Buddha to co-exist peacefully with all.

Emperor Ashoka who re-introduced Buddhism to India, despite the horrors committed at Nalanda, the worlds oldest residential university, ensured his empire was eventually ruled by social and moral codes based on the Buddhas teachings. It was not a theological realm, but one that respected all religions and all living beings  even birds and animals. That is a thought on this Vesak day.
Calorie Counter  first Health Food Restaurant in Sri Lanka View(s):

Sri Lankas pioneering health food restaurant chain Calorie Counter signed an agreement with Swiss Advantage Systems (Pvt) Ltd to implement the PEx Software -a fully automated Food Safety Management System with the view of obtaining HACCP certification for all their locations in Colombo. HACCP is a globally accepted certification system built around seven principles including conducting Hazard Analysis of biological, chemical or physical food hazards, determining critical control points, establishing critical control limits, establishing a system to monitor control of Critical Control Points, establishing corrective actions, establishing procedure for verification to confirm that the HACCP system is working effectively and establishing documentation and records.

Issuing a statement, Founder and Managing Director of Calorie Counter Duaine Peiris said their decision to invest on the PEx Software was a demonstration of the organisations commitment to their customers to ensure safe food. PEx Software has helped us to bring the worlds best practices in how food safety is managed and reported in most highly developed countries he added.

The system freezer and chiller temperatures are automatically monitored and when temperatures exceed critical limits, auto alerts are sent by SMS to responsible staff for immediate corrective action. This way the management is constantly kept informed of any failures at critical control points, which also include incoming raw food temperatures and cooking temperatures. When routine tasks are due auto red alerts ensure no task is left unattended that could give rise to a risk in food safety. Verification activities are captured by operational staff using mobile phones and transmitted to the management dashboard, where the top management has a complete view of all food safety activities in all their food serving locations in Calorie Counters outlets in Colombo and Galle Fort.

Managing Director of Swiss Advantage Systems, Malik Perera said Calorie Counter is the first small category restaurant in Sri Lanka to implement the PEx Software for their food safety management, complying with HACCP international standards. Obtaining HACCP Certification is very challenging, especially for small businesses due to the very stringent requirements for food safety therein. Managing employee hygiene, cleaning and sanitising of equipment and premises, controlling of suppliers, implementing best practices in food transport, handling and storage including maintaining minimum temperatures when receiving raw materials are some of the challenges the management has taken up to meet with requirements. With this transformation of introducing the worlds best standards the mind-set of all staff is also being changed to view food management different way.
Kandy Fitness Run View(s):

The recently concluded Kandy Fitness Run (KFR) was organised jointly by the Rotary Club of Katugastota and the Rotaract Club of Neptune Edification to create awareness of the health benefits of running among a wider range of people. The event was a measure to increase the health consciousness and commitment of individuals for their own well-being. This even was a first of its kind in Kandy.

KFR was a 5 km fun run. The participants were allowed to choose their own preference of run / jog / walk to complete the 5 Km distance within the given 75 minutes of time. The event attracted over 130 runners from varying age groups. Men, women and children participated with much enthusiasm to complete their run. It was a good sign to see that a lot of runners participated as families or groups of friends.

The Mayor of Kandy Kesara Senanayake declared start the run that commenced from the Kandy Municipal Council junction. The 5 Km distance was completed as two loops within the Kandy City that ended at the Trinity College Junior Grounds. All the participants received a certificate of participation and the runners who completed the distance within 60 minutes were awarded a medal. The two organising clubs the Rotary Club of Katugastota and the Rotaract Club of Neptune Edification took detailed measures to safeguard the environment at the event. The use of plastic was kept at bare-minimum and the event was completed early morning without causing any hindrance to the city traffic or the participants routine activities.

The organisors commented: KFR was a great success and we are so delighted that our initiative was highly appreciated by the participants. Most of the participants were from Kandy but we had participants from Colombo and there were a few foreign nationals as well. We received a lot of positive feedback and mostly that everyone realised their potential to complete 5 km and that they enjoyed the event. As organisors we are happy to introduce the novelty concept to Kandy and we plan to have the event on an annual basis.

The first three finishers in the male category with their finishing time were: Bhagya Ranasinghe (24:19), Tharindu Wikramasekara (24:46) and Kaveen Shashidharan (26:43). The female category lead finishers were: Gayathri Dissanayake (30:54), Jennifer Dias (31:38) and Krishni Balasubramaniam (37:08).
Meditation; the best time to start is when youre young View(s):

As Buddhists across the country mark the Birth, Enlightenment and Passing Away of Lord Buddha with religious observances, Vesak kudus still brighten every home, but the magnificent pandals and long queues at roadside Dansal, eager crowds on the streets sightseeing are less evident.

In the aftermath of the horror of the Easter Sunday attacks and the tensions that have erupted many Lankans find their peace of mind has been disrupted. This Vesak, the Sunday Times Magazine looks at places where anyone can learn and practise Buddhist meditation as part of their daily routine to achieve tranquility of mind.

Gothama Thapowanaya located in Kalapaluwawa, Rajagiriya, is a serene setting to engage in meditation. Here Chief Incumbent, Most Venerable Dodampahala Chandrasiri Maha Nayake Thera took the time to explain the principles of Buddhist meditation.

In order to fulfil the initial requirements of meditation, a layman should observe either the Five Precepts or the Eight Precepts. From the two basic meditation methods of Samatha bhavana and Vidarshana bhavana, the first establishes tranquility and calmness of mind while the latter is used for insightful meditation, explained the Maha Nayake Thera.

Meditation signifies the action of detaching ones mind from the outside world in the absence of disturbances. The wisdom gained through Vipassana bhavana helps to establish the right mindfulness which can be developed by four means of Kayanupassana  mindfulness of the body, Vedananupassana  mindfulness of the feelings, Cittanupassana  mindfulness of thoughts and Dhammanupassana  mindfulness of the reality of life.

The Maha Nayaka Thera said the techniques of meditation should be taught by a teacher who has a thorough knowledge of mediation. A beginner should always be under the guidance of a teacher who can understand the personality of the disciple. If a youth can meditate at least a few minutes, as soon as he/she wakes up, he can complete the daily chores successfully with mindfulness, contrary to what we see in society most of the time, says the Maha Nayaka Thera.

Gothama Thapowanaya Meditation Centre welcomes people from any religion or race. The centre conducts Dhamma programmes on Poya days for all age groups and special residential meditation programmes upon request. Gothama Thapowanaya Meditation Centre, Kalapaluwawa, Mulleriyawa New Town can be contacted on tel: 011 2792826.

Colombo Dhamma Friends of Mahamevnawa situated in Beddagana, Kotte is affiliated to the Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monasteries founded by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thera. Colombo Dhamma Friends of Mahamevnawa conducts Dhamma and meditation programmes in English for children, youth and older adults.

Ven. Kurunegala Rohanakiththi Thera, incumbent of the Colombo Dhamma Friends of Mahamevnawa explained the good qualities that are developed by a youth who follows Buddhist meditation.

Teenagers and youth, by nature, prefer to take independent decisions and think they are mature enough to plan their lives. Meditation guides them through the path of Dhamma, supporting them to lead a mindful life, says Ven. Rohanakiththi Thera adding, persons of any religion or race need good qualities to live in the world such as respecting others, having patience and especially to see good in others. 

According to the Buddhas teachings, if a person observes the Five Precepts and abstains from bad deeds, he will not suffer from fear or hatred. Meditation focuses on growing as an individual with wholesome deeds, detaching from worldly pleasures.

One should understand the things around us are not under our control, they are impermanent and hence subjected to suffering. Youth assume that pleasures in life give eternal happiness and they get attached to impermanent things. When the things they love start to perish and decay, they get worried, says Ven. Rohanakiththi Thera adding thats why the Lord Buddha preached, when one realises the impermanent nature of things, he neither gets attached nor suffers.

Spreading loving kindness (Maitri bhavana) is possible even while you are travelling or at work. By wishing, May all beings be well and happy, free from- anger, ill-will, jealousy, physical suffering and mental suffering one could spread loving kindness while achieving purified mindfulness.

The Dhamma says, Human life is like a drop of dew on a grass tip in the morning-when the sun comes up it evaporates.Thus, human life is brief and fleeting. Meditation guides the mind to realise that when birth happens, death is inevitable. A person with mindfulness will have no fear for death and he will be protected by the Dhamma. Meditation prepares the mind to face the reality in life especially in this time of restlessness and uncertainty, Ven. Rohanakiththi Thera said.

True peace could be achieved only by developing good qualities among all races equally, says Ven. Rohanakiththi Thera while quoting a stanza from the Dhammapada  na hi verena verani, sammantidha kudachanam, averena ca sammanti, esa dhammo sanantano (Hatred never ceases through hatred; by non- hatred alone does it end. This is an eternal law in this world)

Colombo Dhamma Friends of Mahamevnawa offers childrens Dhamma school and Buddhist teaching programmes on weekends, Buddhist retreats, childrens Poya day English programmes and adult Buddhist meditation programmes all free of charge. More details to be obtained on www.serenecolombo.org

Gothama Rajapakse, known as Gothama Guruthuma conducts spiritual development programmes at the Middle Path Happiness Center, Wattegama, Kandy. He teaches Buddhist meditation and conducts programmes for corporates and schools. Youth is indeed the best time to start practising meditation as old age is prone to illnesses and physical discomforts, says Gothama Guruthuma.

He states that to meditate is to explore ones inner self with mindfulness. The Vidarshana bhavana develops wisdom in the human mind while expanding knowledge boundaries. One of the simple exercises I recommend to beginners is to observe a flower with intellect. To generate thousands of ideas by looking at a simple flower, he says.

People can establish mindfulness by the simple act of climbing stairs or walking to office. One can set a target as soon as you wake up in the morning, to spend the day with loving kindness or to abstain from anger and hatred. These good thoughts could become meditation, he says.

Meditation offers mental and physical relaxation. A person who meditates can lead a successful life by mitigating problems and reducing mistakes. Also it will eradicate the three unwholesome roots of Raga (attachment), Dvesha (aversion), Moha (ignorance), thus helping create a purified, enlightened mind.

The Middle Path Happiness Centre conducts Poya and weekend Dhamma discussions and meditation programmes. Call 0711116810 or email gothama.guru@gmail.com for more details. Follow Explore your intellect on facebook. - Pic by M.A.Pushpa Kumara, Pic by Amila Gamage

More places to follow up on Buddhist meditation: Sri Jayawardenepura Silumini Viharaya located at No.50, New Hospital Road, Thalapathpitiya conducts meditation sessions for beginners on the first Sunday of every month. The beginners programme is followed by a residential meditation programme based on Maha Sathipattana Sutta at Sri Samadhi Dhamma Chetiya Meditation Centre at Hindagala, Mahakanda, Peradeniya. Silence meditation is conducted every Sunday at Silumina Viharaya. All meditation programmes are guided by Ven. Mahamevnawe Mangala Thera. Damrivi Foundation at No.51/A, Isipathana Mawatha, Havelock Town, Colombo 05 offers weekly meditation programmes every Sunday and Wednesday conducted by meditation instructor, Gamini Priyantha as well as meditation retreats. For more details call 0112504431. International Vipassana Meditation Centre conducts daily and residential meditation programmes under the guidance of the Chief Incumbent Ven. Ududumbara Kashyapa Nayake Thera. For more information visit the centre at No.108, Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 08 or call 0112694100. Kanduboda Siyane International Insight Meditation Centre located in Kanduboda, Delgoda provides meditation programmes for adults on every Saturday. Anyone interested can participate in daily residential meditation programmes through pre-registration. Call 0112402306 or visit www.insight-meditation.org for more details.
Music that heals This week the Mirror Magazine features the different musical tributes being put together in a bid to spread unity and comfort in these trying times View(s): View(s):

In these times, one of the best remedies to connect and heal people is music. It is a language understood by many, regardless of culture or religion. This week we spoke to several artists who had shared tribute videos for the victims and their families of the Easter Sunday attacks, hoping to spread unity and comfort those who are suffering.

Me Ape Deshayai a cover by EventX

Weve experienced several social media bans this month, owing to the hatred that is being spread around. Yet, there are also those using the platforms to unite people. The unique feature about this video is that its made up of several short selfie videos from strangers around Sri Lanka who call for unity and peace.

Tharaka Siyambalapitiya, with the rest of his team who are all University students, brought everyone together by creating a group called EventX. This song has been close to our hearts ever since it was released after the Tsunami. It brings back memories of how we were able to rebuild ourselves after a terrible tragedy, he tells us.

By requesting ordinary Sri Lankans to sing in the video, they wanted to send out the message that every citizen has a role to play in preserving peace and harmony in the country. The message is stronger because the song is sung in all three languages and thus represents unity and hope.

The video was created in a week, we are told. A karaoke track with the music was produced and uploaded on YouTube. The team also circulated a WhatsApp message about the project and a video with instructions on how to be a part of it.

Each of the clips they received were cropped and synced. This was especially challenging in sections where we had many people singing at the same time. It surely was a labor consuming task, Tharaka recalls.

The team hopes it will foster ideas of peace, sanctity and unity in the minds of people and especially the youth.

Avi Mendis Red Roses

The initial draft of Avi Mendis tribute song Red Roses was a response to the Christchurch shooting. He couldnt possibly have known that in the coming weeks, his home country too would suffer a similar tragedy.

He was saddened after hearing about the attacks, followed immediately by the realization of how much we had taken our peace for granted. Avi was struck by the number of children who lost their lives and families which were torn apart. Most of all, he realized how defenseless we are when our time comes. It did not take much to put all those feelings and channel them through the outlet that is songwriting, he says.

We are so much alike  both attacks claimed the lives of civilians going about with their daily routine and both groups were made targets because of their faith or culture, he tells us.

He started off by writing the bridge and chorus  Our father who art in heaven transitioned to Red Roses on the ground, which had him tearing up. He tells us his favourite line from the song is Were preaching Dharma, want to reach Nirvana but theres so much hate within, as Avi believes the insecurities of modern man have made us targets of influence.

He was careful not to retaliate with hate because he wanted Red Roses to be bursting with emotion. So he poured in compassion into the melody and tone.

I think the journey of this video probably ends here, he tells us. All he wanted was to have a small audience hear his music, without making any personal gains from it. He is thankful to Joshua Perera (who recorded, mixed and mastered Red Roses) and Eshan Denipitiya. We recorded while away from home, family and friends during the crisis  To some extent I think all of us dove into the project as a way of collectively coping with everything that was going on back home.

Sound Scope

The team at Sound Scope, led by Tilanka Jayamanne released a tribute video that features a live performance of 13 musicians who are well established in the industry. They performed a mash-up of the songs  Youll never walk alone and Imagine.

Picking the songs that they wanted to perform was key, Musical Director Nishantha Warnakulasuriya tells us. After brainstorming, they were happy with what they chose, since the music delivered a strong message.

Youll never walk alone inspires people to get through tough and stormy periods with hope and determination. Imagine, a classic by John Lennon, shares the theme of peace and harmony if all of us looked beyond race, religion and possessions.

Nishantha tells us it was an amazing and unique experience for all of them, since it is rare to have multiple artists from different musical backgrounds working as a team. But the result was better than what they expected it to be, since all the artists contributed with their ideas and energy. It was a truly inspired performance.

The track features Chrishantha De Silva (CC, from Salvage), Nathan Eardly (from Funky Loops), Monique Pallegama (from Gypsies), Minesh Dissanayake, Melissa Pereira, Laknath Seneviratne and Daniella Perera on vocals.

It also brings in Nishantha on Piano, Shobi Perera on Bass, Lydia Goonetilleke on Violin, Pradeep John on Guitar, Christo Prins on Drums and Tilanka on Flute.

Collectively they look to spread the message of hope, unity and love by way of making good music. We also hope to make people feel more at ease, and to give them strength during challenging times, Nishantha adds.

Voice Print- Nearer my God to thee

Voice Print has always been a group that traces its roots to hymns and songs of praise and worship. Following the bombings, their first reaction was to try and connect to the people suffering through their music.

Nearer My God To Thee was picked by the group as a call to God to be beside everyone who lost a loved one through these traumatic events.

Once they picked the hymn, they started giving it their own musical touch. This included singing it in all three languages. From the very beginning, the guys had decided they wanted the tribute to be for everyone who was hurting and in despair.

Their hope for this video is that it brings comfort to those who are grieving the loss of loved ones. To reassure them that God has never left their side and will provide them strength to overcome their sorrow. And to mostly continue believing that God will help them find the comfort of heaven their departed loved ones have now found.

Voice Print humbly requests everyone to be empathetic and to unite together to overcome the trauma. We are a country that has suffered enough through war and hate towards communities and races. We are a generation that should be able to see through the temporary pleasure of power and divide and be able to live together in peace not just for ourselves but for the next generation of Sri Lanka! Let this be the last time we speak of Sri Lankans as Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and Burghers.
Easter Sunday attack survivors: Let them grieve View(s):

Nearly a month has passed by since the tragedy of the Easter Sunday bomb blasts. As the communities affected directly attempt to limp back to normalcy and the country as a whole tries to come to grips with what hit Sri Lanka on that fateful day, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist Dr. Athula Sumathipala keeps stressing the need to be cautious on how we handle the survivors.

Restoring law and order and bringing the culprits to book will be the best intervention by the authorities to bring back peace of mind and reconciliation, says Dr. Sumathipala.

With regard to those directly affected by the blasts, he points out that we need to acknowledge that what we see is a normal reaction to an abnormal event. We should not medicalize or psychologise the normal reactions of the victims.

Here are specific Dos and Donts

Dr. Sumathipala urges that Sri Lanka follow:

Acknowledge what you see is a normal reaction to an abnormal event.

Do not medicalize or psychologize the normal reactions of the victims.

Express grief in a culturally appropriate way. Use of cultural and religious beliefs to manage it, even though the challenge is that this incident happened at religious places. Therefore, people especially the youth, may question religious faith which needs to be handled carefully.

Acknowledge that there may be wider grief and bereavement aspects involved in coming to terms with the losses and shock.

To alert people to a dose effect (amount of exposure to trauma) and, therefore, directly affected communities need more psychosocial support/comfort.

Every possible attempt should be made not to separate children from left-behind families and relatives.

Use existing social networks and friends to support them.

Counselling or direct psychological interventions are not indicated in the immediate aftermath and may even do more harm than good.

Open schools as soon as possible, with heightened security.

Restrict TV access of children (disaster coverage).

Organise any kind of play or activity for children.

Teachers should meet regularly to share concerns and ideas and take advice from experts, if there are doubts. There are more than 100 consultant psychiatrists and 100 public health consultants in the country who can provide advice on mental health issues.

Only a minority of people may get a mental illness which needs medication or psychological treatment such as cognitive behaviour therapy that needs to be administered by a properly trained professional.

Anti-depressant and anxiolytic medication should not be used routinely. There is a limited role for the use of anxiolytics such as Diazepam or hypnotics, which should only be used when symptoms are acute and only on the advice of experts. Prescription should not be for periods longer than about 10 days and their use in children should be avoided.

Delving deep into the subject, Dr. Sumathipala says that this is a catastrophic situation, which will result in expressions of grief and shock and could manifest in a variety of ways and with varied symptomatology. Sleeplessness, nightmares, tremors, chest pain and other somatic symptoms will be commonplace. These should be considered as natural reactions to an abnormal traumatic event.

Abnormal grief reactions and depression will not manifest until very much later. Tranquillisers and anti-depressants are generally not indicated in the acute phase of post-trauma unless for people who have a previous history of depression or major mental illness, according to him.

Urging that it is important to reassure people who consult medical professionals, he suggests that they use ways of dealing with grief, which are usual for them  seeking support from the clergy or talking to friends. Encourage them to express their grief, fear and anger in a non-destructive manner.

Where children are concerned, says Dr. Sumathipala, it is important for medical professionals to:

Allow children to talk about their feelings or express them through drawings.

Ensure, if possible, that children are protected from endless repetition of the events. Eg. Watching TV news coverages (there is evidence that such viewing has been damaging to children after the 9/11 incident).

Children should be given other activities  such as playing, reading, drawing etc.

Providing guidance to policy planners, he says that the aim should be to help people normalise their lives as far as possible within this terrible situation so that the need and use of psychological help and/or other treatment is minimised and made available only for those who require it.

Measures that will help this approach are:

Immediate 

Coordination of efforts  Encourage networking and also remain in touch with a central source within the Ministry of Disaster Management and Ministry of Health.

Encourage networking and also remain in touch with a central source within the Ministry of Disaster Management and Ministry of Health. Public information  Make use of the mass media to emphasise that in this situation, grief is NORMAL as are all the symptoms of grief and should be expressed. Feeling guilty for being spared is also NORMAL. Reinforce the use of traditional ways of grieving and seeking solace.

Sensationalised reporting should not be encouraged. Seemingly helpful information may be damaging, generating more fear, anger and hatred.

Children require special thought and specific planning  Children need to be protected from an endless review of events which maximises the impact of trauma. Schools should reopen as a means of helping these children to normalise.

Requests for donations should include requests for simple toys e.g. balls and writing and drawing materials

Children must, as far as possible, be left with family/familiar adults in the aftermath and not taken away from family/familiar people.

Awareness of high-risk groups  Local administrators should make a note in each area of high-risk groups such as workers involved in the disposal of bodies; those bereaved; those rendered homeless; and some volunteers. This information will help in monitoring those that may later require more help.

Subsequent action 

This action should focus on targeted inputs to minimise sequelae of the trauma and requires:

Development of resource groups with appropriate skills. Use must be made of available resources in the country particularly of groups already trained in counselling techniques

A programme of training which will strengthen the existing skills of teachers and supervision of core groups of trainers which would then extend skills to other groups through a planned cascading of training

Make available resource materials. This will include manuals on working with traumatised groups including children.

Implementation of therapeutic help which includes networking with local administrators, identification of high-risk groups, involvement of specialist professionals to provide support and supervision.
After Easter Sunday terror attacks, Vesak radiates waves of resilience By Sandun Jayawardana View(s): View(s):

Grim determination to celebrate the thrice-blessed day with religious observances

Lantern and decor vendors surprised at sudden pick up in sales

In some areas, people of all faiths come together to hold dansal



Though security considerations in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks have led to the cancellation of many public events during this years Vesak celebrations, they have not stopped the people from marking the most significant date on the Buddhist calendar in their own way.

There will be no major Vesak Zones this year owing to security concerns. There are hardly any pandals or large scale Vesak lanterns, while many dansal have also been called off owing to security concerns, as such places attract large crowds. Some temples have even taken the unprecedented step of not holding sil programmes during this years Vesak Poya.

Nevertheless, there appears to be a grim determination to celebrate Vesak in other ways.

In many parts of the country this week, people enthusiastically decorated roads with Buddhist flags, colourful lights and Vesak lanterns. The same was done in their homes and business establishments. People who cannot observe sil at the temple have opted to do so in their own homes. Steps are also being taken to donate money already collected to hold dansal to the poor or to victims of the terrorist attacks.

I feel that, as Buddhists, we have a duty to celebrate Vesak this year even more than we have done during previous years, said Bambalapitiya resident Chandi Ratnatunga (36), who was looking to buy Vesak lanterns at a roadside stall in Colombo on Friday. I hope it will also bring blessings on our country at this difficult time.

M.D. Karunaratne (68) from Bandaragama had even come with some old Vesak lanterns to a stall to try and see if they too can be fixed as he purchased new lanterns for his daughters office. This is the most significant day for all Buddhists. We need to mark it in any way we can, no matter what, he insisted.

Many vendors who sold Vesak decorations told the Sunday Times they were surprised at the number of people who were coming to buy Vesak decorations this year. We start making lanterns more than one and a half months before Vesak. We actually cut down on the number of lanterns we made this year as we feared people wont come due to the situation in the country. But business has definitely picked up over the past few days, said S.A. Gunawathi (60) who has been selling Vesak decorations for over a decade.

Reports from various towns said there were far more Buddhist flags adorning the streets than during Vesak in previous years. Even people of other faiths joined in decorating their areas as communities joined together to celebrate Vesak.

In Galle and Hambantota, main roads and most byroads were fully decorated with Buddhist flags and other decorations.

In Matara, the pandal that is annually erected on Hakmana Road was also erected this year while devotees observed sil at the Matara Bodhi under tight security. The local Young Mens Buddhist Association (YMBA) meanwhile, has initiated a programme to channel funds collected to hold dansal in their areas to have school uniforms tailored for needy children who have lost a parent.

In the sacred cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, there was more emphasis this year on holding religious observances.

While the past week has seen violent attacks against Muslims by mobs in certain parts of the country, there are still heartening signs of unity among different communities.

In Maradana, the dansala that had been held annually for 26 years was due to be declared open last evening by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. United National Party Municipal Councillor Kithsiri Rajapaksa, the main organiser of the dansala, told the Sunday Times that it had always been organised with the participation of all communities in the area. Maradana is a predominantly Muslim majority area and we have lived in harmony all these years. This remains the same even now. The Muslim community also helped in putting up Vesak decorations in the area, he revealed.

Hatred will not cease by hatred, say politicos quoting Buddhas teachingsPresident Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa extended Vesak greetings.

Excerpts from their messages:President Maitripala Sirisena :For a society to blossom without fear, danger and mistrust, Buddha has preached that, hatred will not cease by hatred, but kindness will. It is time we became strong enough to truly, meaningfully and honestly relate to this eternal truth.Prime Minister

Ranil Wickremesinghe:The Enlightened One taught us the path to liberation of the mind. It is relevant to each person individually and the public collectively. Let us abstain from lust, hate and violence, and practice the four foundations of mindfulness. This will open the way for reconciliation, peace and unity in our land.Speaker Karu JayasuriyaThere are no better words than, hatred will not cease by hatred, but kindness will, as preached by Lord Buddha. Sri Lankan Buddhists have not lost their faith or belief as they mark the Vesak festival with memories of terrorist attacks led by extremist groups who have distanced themselves from noble teachings. Opposition Leader

Mahinda Rajapaksa In todays reality the Buddhas message is even more relevant than it was two and half millennia ago. Buddhism advocates peace and non- violence as its universal and core message. The spirit of tolerance and understanding has been one of the most cherished values of Buddhist culture and civilization. Vesak dansal numbers sink to historic low The number of dansal during this years Vesak Poya Day has hit a historic low, with just 94 applying for registration throughout the country as of last Friday (May 17), the Public Health Inspectors (PHI) Union said. Nearly 6,000 dansals were registered last year, the union secretary, Mahendra Balasooriya, told the Sunday Times. There were some 150 dansal in the Colombo district alone last year. Only six dansals had been registered this year, he said. Mr Balasooriya also said most of the dansal that registered were small scale, handing out soft drinks, ice cream, chickpeas and belimal drinks. There arent many large scale dansals [providong meals] that are held over several days. This is due to security concerns. He however, said the union expects some last minute applications to register during the weekend. We think some may apply to register after observing that other dansals are taking place. We have some 1,500 PHIs on standby to attend to these matters, he added. Organisers have been advised to liaise with police in their areas regarding security before registering, Mr Balasooriya further said. Police Spokesman Superintendent of Police (SP) Ruwan Gunasekara though, said only those holding large scale dansals need approval. If they are installing speakers for the dansal for example, they need to obtain a permit from the police. We also need to assess if the location of the dansal will result in traffic [congestion] in the area. Additional police will also be deployed for security depending on the situation, he said, emphasizing that the police have no intention of discouraging people from hosting dansal. Religious leaders share their thoughts for Vesak The Malwatta Mahanayake the Most VenerableThibbatuwawe Sri Sumangala Thera, the Asgiri Mahanayake the Most Venerable Warakagoda Sri Gnararatana Thera and Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith issued Vesak messages. Excerpts; Malwatta Mahanayaka the Most

venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Sumangala Thera: Celebrate Vesak festival by attending religious ceremonies peacefully, safely and intelligently considering the prevailing sad situation. Asgiri Mahanayaka the Most Venerable Warakagoda Sri Gnararatana Thera: Following the Buddhas preaching, every Buddhist should act patiently and remain calm. Usually every Sri Lankan marks Vesak irrespective of their religion, but due to the prevailing insecure situation the festival will not be as grand as previous celebrations. Colombos Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith: We celebrate Vesak this year at a moment in time where out religious existence is being questioned. Terrorists who made hatred their religions have become a huge challenge to the religions that have made love and compassion their basis. But all the religions we worship teach us as a fundamental truth that only love and compassion can defeat hatred and violence. Let us strive to make love and compassion the centre of our spiritual being. Let us extinguish the flames of violence, and spread the message of love and compassion. Through this, let us strive towards a spiritual life. State festival: Low key activities for subdued Vesak PoyaUnlike in the past 10 years, Vesak Poya Day related actives are low key this year, although minority communities have been seen joining to make decorations and walking in multi-religious peraheras.The national Vesak Week runs from May 15 to May 21, but the celebrations were scaled down owing to security fears following the Easter Sunday killings by Islamic extremist suicide bombers.. Official commemorations began on Friday at the Telwatta Thotagamu Purana Ranpath Rajamaha Viharaya in Hikkaduwa under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was due to attend Vesak Poya religious observances at the same temple yesterday.The festival was curtailed from five days to two after the Mahanayaka Theras in a joint appeal, urged the more emphasis on religious activities.The festival is being held under the theme Akusal Durukota Kusal Vadamu (Let us discard evil deeds and cultivate good deeds).Assistant commissioner (development) at the Department of Buddhist Affairs, R.M.N.K.S. Kanchana, said some events were cancelled.A Vesak zone in Hikkaduwa will not be held.The focus will be on developing the spiritual aspect of Buddhists in light of recent events, Mr Kanchana said. The government has also advised the public not to engage in Vesak related activities that attract large crowds, including large pandals and dansals. Temples have been advised to form security committees and consult police and the armed forces. Devotees have been urged to avoid carrying bags to temples. Highland town in Vesak mood

Nuwara Eliya is joining many other cities in Sri Lanka with the residents making a collective effort to commemorate Vesak Poya Day, although religious activities such as observance of Seela and alms givings, are on a much smaller scale.

But while, the dansal have been called off in the wake of the Easter Sunday suicide attacks on Catholic churches, organizers have taken to decorating Nuwara Eliya and surrounding areas with Buddhist flags. An effort is also being made to donate funds already collected for dansal to the hundreds of innocent victims of the suicide attacks. Vendors who sell fabric for sewing Buddhist flags say sales have been three times higher than normal. One shop alone had sold 5,000 metres of fabric. Private bus owners operating on the Meepilimana-Nuwara Eliya route have offered free transport on Vesak Poya Day.

Pic by Shelton Hettiaarachi
Efficiency and efficacy in administration of Justice important for public confidence: CJ View(s):

In addition to the personal conduct of the judges, the efficiency and efficacy of the system of administration of justice is an important factor in fashioning public confidence, newly appointed Chief Justice (CJ) Jayantha Jayasuriya P.C. observed.

He made these remarks while addressing a ceremonial sitting held to welcome him at the Supreme Court on Wednesday (15).

Excerpts of his address:

Examples or illustrations to demonstrate the adverse impact caused on a persons life, due to delayed justice, are too numerous to discuss in detail on an occasion of this nature. Yet, it is timely for all of us as trustees, who are entrusted with responsibilities in different capacities within the Legal framework, whether one represents the Judiciary, the Official Bar or the Unofficial Bar, to think how best we could contribute to improve the existing system and enhance the quality of the final outcome provided to society. None of us can ignore the reality that, we are expected to hold all these positions in trust and play different roles, to the benefit of society.

When we celebrate our personal gains and achievements within this system, it is also important to review our conduct and re-think as to how we could contribute towards the betterment of society, which is the legitimate beneficiary of all these mechanisms. A genuine effort, blended with a strong will of all stakeholders, including judges and members of the bar, will be the sole avenue that would pave way for a change. A change that would lead to the benefit of the real owners on this entire system  members of the society. It is necessary to examine current practices, procedures as well as rules, objectively, leaving aside personal interests of individuals or groups, and take decisions on how best we could improve the existing system. My firm belief is that a collective effort, with a strong commitment, will pave the way to achieve this goal. It is my desire to embark on this journey with the participation of all sectors.

Maintaining Highest Standards of integrity in both their professional and personal lives is a sine quo non of the qualities of a Judge. Their Knowledge of the Law, the ability to analyse Legal issues and to take decisions based on the context of different factual scenarios, deliver their decisions in a cogent and clear manner, are a few of the qualities Judges should be equipped with, for them to deliver justice to the great expectations of the litigants who come before them.

Judges should be fair and open-minded, and should appear to be fair and open-minded. They should be good listeners but, should be able, when required, to ask questions that get to the heart of the issue, before the court. They should be courteous in the courtroom, but firm when it is necessary to rein in a rambling lawyer, a disrespectful litigant or an unruly spectator.

Welcoming the new CJ, Attorney General Dappula De Livera P.C. pointed out that the CJ was assuming office at a time when the country has been plunged into a crisis of Law and Order.

Your Lordships Court is faced with a formidable challenge to uphold Fundamental Human Rights and the Rule of Law. To strictly enforce and follow due process and the procedure established by Law. Arrest is a critical component of due process and the procedure established by Law. The Rule of Law must be upheld to bring every citizen equally before the Law. The weak and the poor and the marginalized should not feel weakened and discriminated by the powerful and wealthy.

President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Kalinga Indatissa P.C., appealed to the CJ to lead the way in enacting Legal reforms through the use of technology, and extended the Bars maximum support in this regard.

During the last few decades, several Legal systems in the world have surged forward and have introduced Legal reforms, which are necessary to keep abreast with the changes that are taking place in view of the advancement of technology and many similar reasons. The Penal Code of Sri Lanka, the Civil Procedure Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure No.15 of 1979 and Evidence Ordinance are the 4 main items of Legislation that are used in our Courts, on a daily basis. The Bar is of the view that the Bench and the Bar should take a re-look at the provisions contained in these statutes. Especially, Laws dealing with Procedure and Evidence. Rules of Procedure and Rules of Evidence need reform in order to simplify the issues relating to these areas. If a collective effort is made, where both the Bench and the Bar are focused in taking the initiative of identifying uniformity of Procedure and simplified methodology relating to Procedure and Evidence, the issue of Laws Delays would be resolved in an effective way. Technology could be used to introduce filing of actions, the relevant pleadings and other documentation, in order to introduce the innovative changes which are necessary, he pointed out.

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Fonseka as Law and Order Minister: 98 MPs sign petition to President By Sandun Jayawardana View(s): View(s):

A petition is to be handed over to President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday, calling for Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka to be appointed as Law and Order Minister .

UNP Parliamentarian Ashu Marasinghe told the Sunday Times they were hoping to hand over the petition, signed by 98 MPs of the United National Front Government, to President Sirisena in Parliament.

The President had not given an official appointment to hand over the petition, but MPs are hoping to hand it over to him when he is in the Parliamentary complex to attend Tuesdays Cabinet meeting, he said.

The petition is part of a sustained campaign by the UNF to persuade President Sirisena to appoint the one-time Army Commander as Minister of Law and Order. The President has kept the Police Department under the Ministry of Defence since he sacked the UNF Government last October.

The UNF argues that the Constitutions 19th Amendment prohibits the President from holding the Police Department under him and insists that it be brought under the Ministry of Law and Order.

President Sirisena has so far refused multiple requests by the UNF to appoint Field Marshal Fonseka as Law and Order Minister and to gazette the Police under the Ministry of Law and Order.
Foreign refugees to be temporarily relocated in Vavuniya By Chris Kamalendran View(s): View(s):

Moves are underway to settle more than 1,060 foreign refugees in a government-run rehabilitation centre in Vavuniya, but opposition to their presence is surfacing even there.

On Friday night, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) officials transported 35 refugees from Negombo to Vavuniyas Poonthottam Co-Operative College Rehabilitation Centre, where thousands of former LTTE cadres had undergone rehabilitation.

Before the transfer, Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana held a meeting at the Vavuniya District Secretariat with area politicians and officials. The Minister told them that the refugees would be sheltered in Vavuniya only for two month as a temporary measure.

However, officials told the Sunday Times that area politicians were not satisfied with the ministers assurance. The politicians had said the centre was the only facility in the district to train co-operative officers and, therefore, the Government should return it to the local authority. It had been under Army control for ten years.

The UNHCR has made arrangements to provide food to the refugees through an area NGO.

The refugees are from countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria. They had earlier been living in Negombo. After the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, they were forcibly evicted from their lodgings by residents. Since then, they have been sheltered in the police station and an Ahmadi mosque in Negombo.
Former Defence Secretary and IGP face criminal charges By Anthony David AG directs CID to probe why they did not act on early warnings; Committee makes severe strictures on them View(s): View(s):

A criminal investigation is under way to find out why former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and Police Chief Pujith Jayasundera failed to act on intelligence warnings about the Easter Sunday massacre.

It is headed by a team led by Superintendent of Police J.T.D. Jayasinghe of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The probe comes on the instructions of Attorney General Dappula de Livera.

This is after he studied the interim report of a three-member Committee appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena to probe the string of attacks by IS-backed Muslim extremists and why no action was taken about the warnings. The Sunday Times learns that the committee had made strong strictures on the two top officials.

The Committee is headed by serving Supreme Court Judge Vijith Malalgoda, PC and includes N.K. Illangakoon and Padmasiri Jayamanne, a former Secretary to a number of ministries.

As directed, the Committee handed in its interim report within two weeks. Thereafter, it sought an extension of its term until May 31 to complete the final report.
Integrated security system to monitor movements of people By Damith Wickremasekera View(s): View(s):

An integrated security system linking key departments, including the Immigration, Registration of Persons, will be placed before the Cabinet soon.

The project is estimated to cost about Rs. 40 bln, and is under discussion by the Home Affairs Ministry in consultation with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the respective departments.

Home Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardena said the funds would be raised through a long-term foreign loan, and from the Treasury and the rest through a grant from the UN which supports international border management.

Under the plan, introduction of software enabling the departments to keep track of movements of foreign nationals, if required, from the time of arrival at the airport.

The minister said the system would also enable the authorities to track down foreigners who overstay their visas.

He said that even the movements of Sri Lankans could be monitored through the integrated system.

He said they hoped to implement the scheme within six months.

We may require changes in the laws. We will seek cabinet approval for the amendments, he said.
NCM against Rishad B: Ten charges for complicity with suicide bombers By Sandun Jayawardana View(s): View(s):

The no-confidence motion (NCM) against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen alleges he tried to pressurise the Army Commander to release suspects arrested over the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, and that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce under him had supplied empty cartridge cases violating procedure to the copper factory owned by Inshaf Ahmed  the suicide bomber who blew himself up at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel.

The ten chages in the NCM claim there is justifiable suspicion that the Minister used political influence to ensure that the copper factory workers, who police claimed helped assemble the bombs used in the attack, were released on bail on May 6.

The Ministers alleged close association with Mohammed Ibrahim, who is the father of two of the Easter Sunday suicide bombers, has also been mentioned.

The NCM, signed by 66 Opposition MPs was handed over to the Speaker on Thursday (16). Party leaders are to discuss when to debate the NCM when they meet on Tuesday.

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya Leader Udaya Gammanpila, who handed over the motion to the Speaker, rubbished reports that they had been asked to resubmit the motion by the Speaker owing to a mistake with the date. The original NCM was handed over with the correct date. The question of a typographical mistake does not arise anyway as what is accepted as the correct date is the date of submission. The NCM has now been listed in Parliaments Order Book, he said.

United National Party (UNP) Parliamentarian Ashu Marasinghe said he expected the partys stance on the NCM to be discussed when the UNP Parliamentary Group meets in Parliament at 11.00am on Tuesday.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) was not consulted when drafting the NCM, its parliamentarian Bimal Rathnayake told the Sunday Times. Our partys stance is that the first person that should be held responsible for the Easter Sunday attacks is the President. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are second. When there is plenty of evidence pointing to the responsibility of the entire Government, we are suspicious as to why an NCM has been submitted specifically targeting one Muslim Minister, he remarked. He added that the JVP would discuss the matter further, if the NCM was to be taken up in Parliament.

Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) Leader Mavai Senathirajah said, A date to debate the motion will be decided at the next Party Leaders Meeting. The Tamil National Alliance Parliamentary Group will then meet to take a decision, he explained.
Now SOFA agreement with US By Our Diplomatic Editor View(s): View(s):

Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana raised concerns of the Sri Lanka Government  during his visit to Washington DC this week  with his US counterpart, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, on the proposed Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the two countries.

SOFA is another controversial agreement the US was proposing to the Acquisition and Cross Services Agreement (ACSA) signed first in 2007 and renewed in 2017.

The ACSA provides for joint military cooperation between Sri Lanka and the United States and includes logistic support, supplies, services and the use of airports and ports during unforeseen circumstances. While the 2007 ACSA permits US military vessels to anchor in Sri Lanka ports on a one-off basis, the 2017 ACSA appears to be open ended.

A spokesman for the Sri Lankan delegation told the Sunday Times that Minister Marapana had raised issues on some of the provisions in SOFA (see Political Editor on pages 12 and 13), including the provision relating to immunity being provided to foreign servicemen on Sri Lankan soil. He said these were matters that related to diplomatic immunity, privileges and local laws.

He said he had consulted President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe prior to raising the Sri Lankan Governments concerns on some of the provisions of SOFA and that the US embassy in Colombo had already been apprised of these concerns.

The US Government agreed to further negotiate the proposed agreement through the usual diplomatic channels, which would initially be at a technical level.

Minister Marapana also met US National Security Adviser John Bolton at the White House on Friday. They discussed cooperation in counter terrorism, with specific areas to be clarified later. With the advent of an ISIS footprint in Sri Lanka, US support was likely to increase with its Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which sent a team to do forensic studies after the Easter Sunday bombings expected to continue its work in collaboration with the Sri Lankan security authorities in the area of cyber security and cracking ISIS codes through the internet.

During his talks with the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, David Hale, Minister Marapana and the Sri Lankan delegation were briefed about the US-led Global Coalition to defeat ISIS, but there was no word yet if Sri Lanka was to join this coalition.

Among the topics discussed was the use of the Indian Ocean through a rule based order, a reference that the US uses aimed at neutralising the growing Chinese maritime influence in the seas. A joint statement released yesterday on the US-SL Partnership Dialogue says that both governments welcomed ongoing bilateral security sector cooperation, including US support for demining, joint military engagement.and visits by US ships and military officials.

Sri Lanka also welcomed the US$480-million compact by the US Millennium Challenge Corporation Board. It requires Congressional approval in the US and cabinet approval in Sri Lanka.

The Marapana visit to the US this week coincided with President Maithripala Sirisenas visit earlier in the week to Beijing where he also signed a defence agreement with the Chinese government. Accordingly, China agreed to grant Rs.2.6 billion for the Sri Lankan security forces along with 100 jeeps to the Police Department.

President Sirisena met Chinese President Xi Jingpin on the sidelines of the Conference on Dialogue on Asian Civilisations which he attended. The discussions concentrated mainly on the Easter Sunday attacks in Colombo and Batticaloa and the heightened security situation in Sri Lanka following intelligence reports that ISIS influence was prevalent among a group of radicalised youth in the country.

He also met with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Wang Yang, head of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference.

Both, the US and China lost some of their officials during the Easter Sunday bombings while they were at the Shangri La hotel. The US official was from the Commerce Department, while the Chinese lost four scientists who were here from Chinas Oceanographic Institute here as part of their study for their BRI (Belt and Road Initiative).

President Sirisena was accompanied by Ministers Thalatha Athukorala, Daya Gamage, State Minister Asoka Abeysinghe and Ambassador Karunasena Kodituwakku.

Foreign Minister Marapana was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha and Sri Lankas EU Ambassador Rodney Perera who this week received his confirmation from President Sirisena as Sri Lankas Ambassador to the US. He is due to take up his posting in Washington DC in mid-June.
Police hunt for more than 80 people involved in mob attacks View(s):

Police are on the lookout for more than 80 people responsible for organising attacks on business establishments and houses in areas in the North Western Province and Gampaha district, a senior Police officer said.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Priyantha Jayakody said that the culprits have been identified through CCTV footage, pictures taken on mobile phones and information received.

He said they have found evidence that organised groups were involved in the attacks and, at times were backed by people affiliated to political parties.

He said 300 to 400 persons had arrived, mostly on bikes, some of them using interior roads to avoid detection by the police or armed forces and carried out the attacks.

The groups, he said, had got the support of criminals and wanted persons who were more interested in looting business establishments after they were attacked.

In one of the locations at Koswatta, Chilaw, a group of 31 hiding inside a house with two gunny bags of stones and bulbs converted into petrol bombs were arrested, he added.
State must not fail in its duty to protect all its citizens View(s):

The Easter Sunday terrorist attacks that took the entire country by surprise, as well as the attacks that took place in several areas in the Kurunegala District, as well in Minuwangoda three weeks later, give rise to some questions that need to be answered.

While the Security Forces had received and were in possession of intelligence that there could be attacks on Churches on that fateful day in April 2019, they failed to take preventive action. As a result, a tragedy that could have been averted occurred, leaving several hundreds dead and wounded.

Thereafter, however, the Police and the Security Forces moved very quickly to arrest those involved and dismantle the network that carried out the attacks. The initial arrests were made within hours of the incidents and, within 2 weeks, the authorities were able to announce to the country that 99% of the suspects had been arrested, with only mopping up operations left to be carried out.

The masterminds and the key figures involved in the terrorist operation have been identified and those not already dead have been arrested.

After a period of three weeks, during which the whole country remained peaceful, despite emotions running high and the people being in shock, the villages of Wariyapola, Hettipola, Panduwasnuwara and Minuwangoda were ravaged by a mob on motorcycles, travelling from place to place, carrying out attacks on Muslims, Mosques and Muslim business establishments. One of the business establishments torched in Minuwangoda was the largest Pasta factory in the country, where the majority of the employees, counting over 200, were Sinhalese.

While it is not clear whether the Security Forces had prior knowledge of the mob, it was apparent that they had not anticipated the attacks, despite the tinder box atmosphere that prevailed in the area, particularly, after the tensions following the Facebook related incident in Negombo.

Once the attacks were set in motion, the Security Forces did not move into action and, by the time they did, the attackers had left a trail of destruction in their wake. Thereafter, nearly 100 individuals were arrested in connection with these incidents, with some being produced in court.

Some of the characters arrested are well known purveyors of hate speech and had been arrested and charged in connection with the incidents in Digana too. This fact also highlights the painfully slow process of justice in the country where, more than two years after the incidents, the cases against those involved in the Digana incidents have not been concluded (probably not even started), leaving these suspects to roam free and wreak havoc on whomever they wish.

Another welcome feature relating to the incidents in Wayamba and Gampaha districts last week, as well as those in Digana in 2018, was that a large number of arrests of suspects have been made, unlike in the case of the incidents in Dharga Town and Alutgama in 2014. It is important that the cases against these suspects are concluded and punishment meted out to those responsible, so as to act as a deterrent in the future, to would-be hate mongers.

What is more important, however, is to identify the masterminds behind the attacks against Muslims last week, as well as in Digana in 2014. In Digana, the Muslims who lived in the immediate vicinity of the victim who was killed by drunken Muslim youths, were not targeted by any of the Sinhala Buddhist villagers. In fact, there were 52 such Muslim families, whose relationship with their neighbours was not affected. The incidents of violence against the Muslims occurred at a considerable distance from the deceaseds residence, and was clearly the work of outsiders working on a pre-determined agenda.

The incidents that took place last week too, had similar characteristics. All reports indicate that it was an outside mob, with the help of a few local thugs, who wreaked havoc on the Muslims.

While at local level there is goodwill and harmony between the Sinhala Buddhists and Muslims, it is often the case that this harmonious relationship is disturbed by outsiders with agendas of their own, and must therefore, be firmly dealt with.

Attention must also be paid to training the Security Forces to be alert to violence unleashed by mobs that seek to disturb good relations between the communities. In the 1980s, the Security Forces were often accused of human rights violations, during their operations against the LTTE, but after intense training in the 1990s, with the help of the ICRC, the image of the Security Forces improved considerably.

Even in the operations against those responsible for the Easter Sunday attacks, television screens showed the policemen and members of the Security Forces taking away suspects, firmly holding them by their shoulders, rather than dragging them by their hands or inflicting any violence on them.

It is in the inability to be alert to possible mob attacks and pre-empt such attacks that the Security Forces seem to be falling short, although they move fast after the attacks commence.

While the Easter Sunday attacks took the whole nation by surprise, it has posed several challenges to the Muslims. Despite the Muslim community having provided the intelligence necessary to the Defence authorities since 2014, and the Muslim community cooperating with the Security Forces to help bring to book the culprits, like vultures swooping down on their prey, the same forces that targeted the Muslims since 2012, are once again in action, seeking to take advantage of the situation.

To these forces, the pursuit of their destructive agendas blinds them to the fact that, destroying businesses owned by Muslims, in fact, amounts to inflicting harm on the National economy.

Ven. Dambara Amila Thera, in a television Talk Show last week, had an interesting take on why Muslim businesses were targeted. He pointed out that Muslims, traditionally, excelled in trade and business, which was why Muslim youth were never seen demanding Government jobs.

He described the way salesmen in Muslim shops were very customer oriented, making it a pleasant experience for those who went into their shops. In the case of a Buddhist priest, after he had made his purchases, the shop owner would also offer him a Gilanpasa, said the Ven. monk.

He attributed the success of Muslim businesses to the inherent skills of those who owned and worked in such businesses, as well as their business acumen. He was of the opinion that the attacks on Muslim business places were prompted by business rivalries and jealousies on the part of those who were unable to enjoy similar success in their businesses.

Since 2012, the Muslim community began to feel insecure, due to the emergence of various forces against it. After the change in January 2015, the Muslims began to breathe freely and get on with their lives. But the fallout from the terrorist attacks on April 21, 2019, followed by the targeted attacks on Muslims last week, have left them in anxiety and uncertainty once again.

It is the duty of the State to ensure the safety and security of the entire country and all its people. The Muslims being an integral part of the Sri Lankan nation, are entitled to such safety and security as well.

(javidyusuf@gmail.com)
Letters to the Editor View(s):

His low profile belied his stellar achievements

Izeth Hussain

The passing of N.M.M. Izeth Hussain removes one of few illustrious civil servants who embodied great intellectual grasp, exacting personal integrity and consequential professionalism in our nations public service.

A career diplomat by profession, he served his country with great distinction but retained a low profile that belied his quiet efficiency and stellar achievements.

As a member of the Board of the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies he played a pioneering role in its formative years from 1989 to 1994. Hussain was an old boy of St. Josephs College, and graduated from the University of Ceylon, with an English (Hons) degree.

In retirement, he reached unmatched distinction as a public thinker defending, upholding and promoting the essential values of a plural, modern democracy. In later years he emerged a prolific writer with a vast number of articles, monographs and lectures to his credit.

His academic forays covered a wide spectrum including Islam, the present predicament of Muslims of Sri Lanka. Hussains was a unique and an objective voice that bore the brunt of a long and arduous struggle to flesh out the truth during the times of mindless attacks on the minority groups within and outside the Muslim community.Yet, he also found time to focus on subjects dear to him such as Urdu literature and Islamic culture in South Asia. Lest we forget, He was the founder editor of the Sailan Muslim website.

His often published positions on issues of national significance were masterpieces of persuasive advocacy, elegant prose and above all beacons of wisdom that avoided rhetoric and insisted on reason. Hussain in his years of retirement developed himself into a sharp social critic. He called a spade, a spade, a racist, a racist, regardless of the faith or colour they belonged to, including those from his own community.

I remain an unabashed and an ardent admirer of his principled life that made him an inimitable adornment of the Muslim community of Sri Lanka. I convey my deep sympathies to his family in their bereavement. May he attain Jinnathul firdhouse.

Rauff Hakeem

We are all responsible for the sorry state we are in

Sri Lanka has now experienced youth uprisings of the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities. One can analyse the particular political, social, cultural, economic and environmental contexts that bred these rebellions and try to understand the dynamics behind them. Obviously different groups of people will have different analyses and conclusions.

Besides the very specific, immediate and medium term factors that propelled each uprising, there must be some basic, fundamental and serious flaws, lacunae and anti-human vestiges in our society that give rise to injustice, inequality, discrimination and no faith at all in our justice system, political and administrative systems (corruption, abuse, nepotism, stealing and mismanagement of public funds). Young people, in particular, have lost all hope  some leave the country and many others can turn violent (disrespect for others, for laws, lack of courtesy, impatience and tendency to violence). Demographics and high density too is a contributory factor.

Unless our politicians and public servants do their jobs efficiently, competently and honestly, this situation in our country can never be improved.

Having identified the bad and the ugly at the country level, macro level, we also have to look at the micro level. The Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims and others have to analyse at the family and community levels what happened to their children  they were born innocent, they were nurtured and supported to attain adulthood. Then where did we go wrong so that our children become suicide bombers killing others and themselves? Who is responsible for this transformation? It is no use pointing the finger at IS, Syria or US. We have to find reasons/causes in our families, schools and in our communities. Finally, we are all responsible for this sorry state.

Jayaweera Henry de Mel Via email

The importance of educating ones own and others conscience

When external forces compel man to do something evil, then that man has no freedom nor is responsible of that evil act. But moral life is decided in the conscience of each person and it is the most intimate nucleus of itself.

Man thinks about every action he does before, when and after doing it, and obtains conscience of its righteousness or evilness. This practical judgement is called moral conscience. The man who does it right grows, and the one who does evil degrades himself. Popular wisdom expresses that saying he is a man of conscience or, in the other case, a man without conscience.

Tertullian calls the conscience the souls teacher, because the human being walks his path in the company of a guide who supports and teaches how to lead him to the righteous way in every moment.

Nowadays, conscience is legally protected against external interferences by the conscientious objection.

Conscience reproaches evil actions and accuses its owner, punishes him, reproaches him, humiliates and shames him. When actions are positive, conscience gives happiness, encourages him, rewards him and, by giving security, it originates a seed of virtue.

In short, conscience teaches us what we must do and must not. In the light of these, it is understood the necessity of educating our own and othersconscience in family, school and society.

Arturo Ramo Via email

When our political history is written in a few decades from now, I hope we can say we chose the right side

On Easter Sunday, 253 innocent people including 45 children were killed in a senseless well-coordinated ISIS-inspired terrorist attack. More than 500 people sustained injuries and are being treated in hospitals as I write this. All evidence revealed to-date suggests that this attack that has terrorized the island and sent ripples across the oceans might have been avoided. However, the self-interests and infighting between President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe appear to have gotten in the way. It seems, through sheer negligence and inaction, President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe exposed scores of people to danger. So what did they actually destroy in the process? 253 lives? Countless families? The economy? National security? The reputation of the country?

All of a sudden, a growing number of people have begun to convince themselves that the island should return to the authoritarian rule that existed prior to 2014, that national security can be achieved through a culture of white vans, moderate Muslims that constitute the vast majority of the Muslim community and have lived among us for hundreds of years peacefully should be banished despite their screams against extremists that fell on deaf ears etc. These very same people have forgotten the fact that the extremist groups that destabilized Sri Lanka in the recent past originated during the time of that authoritarian rule. These groups are being used as a political instrument to manipulate the thinking of ordinary people for political gain. The mutual growth, some time between 2011 and 2013 of the BBS and the SLTJ (and later NTJ) is an excellent example of this classic political opportunism at play. Sadly, we are gullible.

It is in this backdrop that the people handed Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe the torch to carry the promise of a democratic society in 2015. Ultimately, it is democratic values and rule that ensure national security, protection of citizens regardless of religion or race, the reputation of the country, trickling down of economic resources to ordinary people, good governance, creativity and innovation, and social decency, none of which is achievable within an authoritarian rule. Therefore, it is the hope, promise, and the value of a democratic society that President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe dashed right before our eyes along with 253 lives. To me, this is our greatest loss. Surely, given their evident incompetence, the people must demand their resignation.

The global political history has repeatedly shown us that democratic leaders with poor resolve pave the way for brutal dictators. Clearly, the Sirisenas, Wickremesinghes, Rajapaksas, their ardent followers, and ideologies built on crude manipulation of the collective psyche they represent have become political liabilities. Where are our young Jacinda Arderns who can grab a crisis by the scruff of its neck and turn the situation around and push us in a progressive direction? There is no excuse for not finding them. Thus, the great majority of moderates must choose the future direction of the country wisely at this critical juncture. When Sri Lankan political history is written in a few decades from now, I sincerely hope that the vast majority of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims and atheists can say that they chose the right side.

Januka Attanayake Melbourne

Easter day massacre: Some soul searching

Night fell early on Easter day

Darkness arrived

unannounced

Children fell to eternal sleep

in their parents arms

On their knees, in prayer

with hymn on lips

celebrating lifes victory over death

the young, the old, the pious, the occasional

worshipper

entered final rest

I search within myself

for the spring of human hatred that

drives to kill, unprovoked

Am I, being human, also susceptible

to such ruthlessness?

I search again, for the strength to forgive

and find the Nazarene

dying a tortured death

and with last breath, intercedes

on behalf of the hands

that drove nails into his

Father forgive them,

for they know not what they do

Am I capable

of such love?

Hasitha Wickremasinghe

The case for a theocratic state in Sri Lanka

I was pleasantly surprised to hear on the morning of May 10 a news report of a suggestion of MP Dilan Perera to the effect that our Cardinal should take over the control of the State of Sri Lanka. Though I dont agree with the former State Ministers political views I am compelled to agree with his proposal as many of our Ministers from top to bottom are corrupt and abuse their power in the pursuit of political and personal gain.

The Cardinal though most eminently eligible as the head of government is not permitted under ecclesiastical law to exercise political power even as a member of Parliament not to speak of being the head of State. What is more feasible is to appoint a Cabinet of only the clergy consisting of members of the Buddhist Nikayas, Hindu priests, Muslim Mullahs and Christian Bishops to take over the function of governance for a period of five years.

All elected members of Parliament will be in the Opposition more to assist in governance rather than oppose everything good and bad. The Ministers will be only members of the clergy representing all religious groups while the Deputy Ministers who will be actually performing and supervising the work of the state officials could be drawn from all the respective political parties now going to be in the Opposition.

Further details could be worked out by our University dons, like the Professors of Political Science/ Public Administration and senior professionals from both the public and private sectors.

Let this germ of an idea emanating from a mature politician himself, at times a maverick(pardon me for the insinuation made in good faith) take shape,after due discussion to be implemented early.

The country has far too long been ruled by two political parties with the support of smaller political entities steeped in corruption which have left the country with abysmally low GNP, depleted foreign reserves and long term debt while some political masters have been able to amass assets and wealth of gross magnitude and driven the country to a state of war on many occasions after Independence.

Dr. Leo Fernando Talahena, Negombo

Request to remove this senseless carbon tax and adjust the fuel price

Road tax on vehicles was introduced in England as a means to get revenue for the construction of roads. When petrol engines became common, the tax was based on the diameter of the cylinder. Manufacturers started making small diameter cylinders with long stroke. To solve this crisis, the engine capacity in cubic inches was introduced as well as the weight of the vehicle. This system was fair as the more luxurious vehicle owned by the rich paid more.

Now in Sri Lanka we have added a carbon tax. We do not know the basis of calculation. After all we had the Sri Tax in the 1970s. A 1 Sri Mercedes Benz paid only Rs. 100 whereas a 5 Sri Morris Minor was charged Rs. 500. The Morris Minor was the poor mans car at the time.

The carbon tax may be on engine capacity. The carbon emission depends not only on engine capacity but also on hours of use during a day, a month or a year. An aged person having the big car he bought perhaps 30 years back for Rs. 25,000 may use it once a week to do his purchases from a shop just 4 km away. He may also go to a nearby temple or church occasionally. He may not drive 1000 km for the whole year. In my case I bought my Morris Oxford in London for 620 Pounds Sterling, which was equivalent to Rs. 11,000. The tax was just Rs 5,000 in 1970 and I still have the car after 50 years.

On the other hand, a modern car costing Rs 2,500,000 with a light body and smaller engine may be running perhaps 50 km each day. The question is, which car adds more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere? Thus the carbon tax should not be levied when the owner goes for the annual renewal of the revenue licence as it is unjust and meaningless. The carbon tax should depend on how much fuel a person burns in a given period. This can be done by increasing the tax on fuel. To pay the carbon tax at the present time one has to wait in two queues, and we all know how fast our queues move in banks and all other public institutions.

I appeal to the RMV to remove this senseless carbon tax and adjust the fuel price. Then the more a person burns carbon, the more he will contribute to the Exchequer of the country.

Prof. P.A. de Silva Via email

Politicians should show the way by using utility cars

We are a small country with enough and more vehicles. In fact, we have numerous high powered vehicles, some owned by the nouveau riche. That is their individual concern but our concern is about the state vehicle using public funds . Most of the state vehicles are not utility vehicles.

Our state vehicles used by the powerful politicians of various ranks, chairmen of corporations, the heads of services, departments do not come under the category of utility vehicles. What are assigned are very large powerful vehicles like SUVs. A good number are said to be gifts /aid but others are bought with state /public funds (peoples money). It is futile to go through the technicalities of how many kilometres such vehicles or rather gas guzzlers do for a litre of imported fuel. Are repairs possible or done? The only alternative is replacement. These replacements are mostly air freighted from the source country of these vehicles. A few replacements may add up to the duty free cost of the vehicles made available to selected public servants.

There is a social impact too. Those who ride about in these appear to kindle the neighbours desire to possess such vehicles.

My intention is not to describe in detail the cost,the waste,the social impact etc of using those high powered vehicles enticingly offered free by the source more as a bait than a genuine gift with altruistic motives.They can easily reimburse their cost by the after sale service, supply of replacements etc. Most of the vehicles are off the road after five years.

Why cannot the state be more prudent by going for standard utility vehicles instead of the status symbols or look-alike celebrity vehicles plying hither and thither -an eyesore to the suffering public? It appears they are used more for non-state purposes than for assigned state purposes.

The utility vehicles can be comparatively economical in many way. If the state utilizes such vehicles people also will tend to invest in such vehicles for there wont be any ostentatious distractions for them to ape.

R.Suntharalingam Urumpirai
Sacred Relics: from Britain to then Ceylon By Yomal Senerath-Yapa View(s): View(s):

Rummaging through his late great aunts attic in Waxway Cottage deep in Devon, Nick Gilbey was arrested by a paper cutting and a letter from 1940- two documents that pulled him away from the English countryside setting, reminding him of the strong connection his family had had with the East, in particular with India, at the time Victoria was Empress of that subcontinent, and also, much later, Ceylon- the crown jewel of the British Empire.

The paper cutting was from The Times, the most respected of British dailies. It spoke about how, in that year almost eight decades ago, Nicks grandmother Ethel Leslie-Smith and his great aunt Winifred Burrows had gifted to Ceylon the Sacred Bone Relics found in 1851 in Sanchi by Nicks great-great grandfather- Frederick Charles Maisey.

The letter, dated around the same time, was from the Governor of Ceylon Sir Andrew Caldecott, a cordial epistle of thanks to the two sisters where that great British administrator had enclosed more paper cuttings for them, these from The Times of Ceylon and other local broadsheets describing the welcoming of the Relics.

Wrote Sir Caldecott to Winifred Burrows, (your gift of relics) is valued so highly that all the big temples in the island have clamoured for it. For this was no ordinary Relic. As the man who unearthed them with their translucent crystal casket, General Frederick Maisey, believed firmly, these were remains of none other than the Buddha.

Yet who was General Maisey, and how did he come across that beautiful casket and the sacred treasure concealed therein?

Son of renowned artist Thomas Maisey, Frederick was himself an artist with a distinctive flair. But while the father painted rustic English scenes, the son was destined to capture, more memorably, Indian antiquities half clothed by wilderness. Having gone to India in 1842 to become an ensign in the Bengal Native Infantry, Maisey was an ardent antiquarian in love with the vestiges of ancient India that Englishmen were then discovering.

Maisey was best known for his archaeological work with Sir Alexander Cunningham in Sanchi- the most ancient of Buddhist sites in India. It was in Bhojpur, a site near the famous great Sanchi stupa, that Maisey discovered these relics.

Bhojpur has some 60 stupas, in a fortified rocky hilltop where the wind howls over yellow grass and dry bush. It was the large mound christened the Bhojpur Stupa 2 that yielded the Relic casket. Described as the most curious and costly of all the discoveries made there, it contained three small pieces of bone each about 10mm long, and seven precious things as the British Times grandly put it. These were thin round pieces of gold, a bead of garnet, a crystal bead, two beads of pale greenish crystal and some minute fragments of pearl.

Finders not being keepers, Maisey had to hand over the discoveries on the site to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1856. But he managed to retain the objects enshrined within the reliquary. The museum was content with the miniature masterpiece of crystal rock casket, while Maisey, with his deep interest in Buddhism, was delighted to retain what he doubtless knew was the real treasure- objects pulsating with sacred and historical significance.

The Generals firm conviction was that the tiny Bone Relics were of the Buddha. Not only were they discovered in the womb of the most perfectly shaped stupa in the area, but the casket was the most exquisite and ornate to be discovered. But the most sound of his arguments is that it had no inscription- and only the name of the Buddha was then considered too sacred to be put down; designations of any other personage, lay or clerical, could be inscribed on the reliquary.

The General passed away in 1892, and his lifelong labour of love, Sanchi and its Remains, was published posthumously the year after. The Relics were handed down to his son- Colonel Maisey- and through him later to the sisters Mrs. Leslie- Smith and Mrs. Burrows.

So much for the Victorian part of that saga. The newspaper cutting that Nick held in his hands in the Devon attic spoke of the next episode happening in the 1930s. It reported that his grandmother had been in Ceylon- which was news to Nick.

He was, however, then able to piece the story together with the help of a postcard sent by the grandmother to the Burrows great-aunt while on the way to Australia by ship. On that journey Mrs. Leslie-Smith and her friend, Maddie Henderson, had called at Colombo.

It was here that she had met a Buddhist monk (Nick believes from the Gangaramaya temple), who, learning about the great treasure in the care of the two sisters, had enlightened her on how highly such objects would be venerated within the island.

So, in 1940, the two generous women did the best they could and provided the island with a Relic, supposedly of the Teacher held most supreme there. The Times article speaks of a silver tope (stupa) being specially made for the occasion.

It was welcomed with grand processions and was taken amidst peraheras to the Vidyalankara Pirivena temple in Peliyagoda- chosen as home for the Relic by Sir Baron Jayatilaka, leader of Ceylon Buddhists.

Nick, now having put together this family puzzle more or less as an armchair adventurer, wanted to add his own piece. Would he be able to find, in the island now renamed Sri Lanka, memories of the two English ladies, and what they donated?

Travelling to Sri Lanka this April, he found his kith and kin not only remembered, but also thanked, each evening, in the chants recited in the special shrine in the temple. The monks have incorporated the name of Winifred Burrows into the evening worship- and sung her praises for the past 80 years. The warm welcome Nick was accorded would have made up for the fact that he was not able to view the Relic, or the golden and silver caskets it is housed in, these being displayed only during the ceremony in December when devotees queue up to worship.

Part of Nicks quest was accomplished- having seen the relics associated for so long with his family, safely enshrined in a place where it is the sanctum sanctorum. Yet another object, much valued for its academic lustre, is however, lost in limbo- the diary of General Maisey which for some reason accompanied the Relics to Colombo, from where it disappears from record.

All the late antiquarians diaries are held at the British Library in London, save this particular precious volume, written at the time of the discoveries at Sanchi. The British Museum as well as the Victoria & Albert would have coveted photographs of this invaluable record, yet Nick could not provide these institutions with positive tidings following his trip to Sri Lanka. Perchance- it is another quest awaiting him.

Mrs. Burrows

still remembered with gratitude The Vidyalankara Pirivena, Peliyagoda, where the Relics are enshrined and venerated, is one of the largest seats of monastic learning in the island, with a history of nearly 150 years. Sir Baron Jayatilaka selected this temple, from amidst the many shrines that competed for the honour, because the temple accepts no sammadan (money in any form including collection boxes). Flowers and food are the only alms received there. Director of the Pirivena, Ven. Welamitiyawe Kusaladhamma Nayaka Thera, Chief Sanghanayake for Colombo and Chilaw provinces and Chancellor, University of Kelaniya, said that the Relics are worshipped daily with thevava services in the morning and the evening, just as happens at the Kandy Dalada Maligawa. Each December, the Sacred Relics are displayed in their three-storeyed shrine for a selected number of days, in the evening from 5 to 8. The Prelate spoke with warmth of Nick Gilbeys visit, as grand-nephew of Mrs. Burrows, still remembered with gratitude in the central shrine.
The teachings of the Enlightened One as seen in the Agganna Sutta By Satharathilaka Banda Atugoda View(s): View(s):

The Buddha was the greatest Teacher who lived on Earth; the Buddha taught His followers on any subject that was posed to Him. That is why He was revered as Sarvangna.

Buddhist India

Jambudhweepa was a caste-ridden society dominated by the so-called Brahminic caste. The others were the Kshatriya, in which Prince Siddhartha Gauthama was born, the Vaishyas and the Kshudras (the lowest). The Buddha, although of Royalty taught against this social system, giving prominence and supremacy to any human, irrespective of caste and the acquiring of knowledge in this birth and attainment of spirituality, thereafter, thus attaining Nibbana, the Emancipation. He thus ordained persons of all castes in His Sangha. The Sunitas, the Sopakas and Mattakundalis and the Untouchables along with persons of high castes, became monks or members of the Sangha.

Two Brahmin youths, Bharadvaja and Vaseththa, who left their families to become pupils of the Buddha by entering the Sangha, were made outcasts for being among the lower strata of society in the Buddhist Sangha. The Buddha taught the Agganna Sutta, especially to these Brahmins, with many aims, mainly to teach the vanity of the caste system while explaining the origin of the earth to substantiate the thesis. Thus this Sutta is an all-pervading teaching which all humans respect even followers of other religions.

The need for the Sermon

The Agganna Sutta is the 27th Sutta in the Digha Nikaya (Long Discourses). The Buddha at the time was using the temple-abode donated by Vishakha, the mother of Migara in Savaththi. It was customary for the Blessed One to utilize the evenings after meditation to speak to persons who sought His advice. It was on such an evening when the Enlightened One was walking in the open yard that Bharadvaja and Vaseththa, paid their respects to Him and requested a sermon as they had been made objects of ridicule by the Brahmins of their caste.

Brahmins claim they are born from the mouth of the Brahma and that is why they are of bright complexion and handsome countenance. Vaseththa and Bharadvaja who belonged to this so-called high caste were scorned for embracing equal status with the lower strata of society by becoming monks.

Equality and Dhamma

The Thathagatha repudiated these beliefs. He said that Brahmin women too go through the same process of child-bearing like all other women by being pregnant, giving birth and bringing up children. Brahmin children too grow up like others. Further all humans should follow the Samma Ditthi by conforming to Panca Sila, to gain respect from society. Persons of any caste who acquire merit and decide to leave worldly affairs to seek the Truth will ultimately attain spirituality in future births.

He gave the example of King Pasenadi Kosala who was revered by his people and followed the Dhamma propounded by the Buddha. This explanation made the two Brahmin-Bhikkhus strong with the conviction that they had taken the Path of Emancipation, according to the Dhamma taught by the Buddha.

Origin of the universe

The Buddha continued with the origin of humans on this Earth, which is in conformity with the modern scientific explanation of the Origin of the Universe.

The Buddha propounded that the earth shrinks with the passing of eons of age. Modern geology too teaches the five-geological eras. As the earth gradually shrinks, the Buddha explains that the inhabitants perish and those with good deeds (good karma) are born in the heavenly realm of Abhassara (lucid and transparent light). The Buddha explained that these life forms existed as bodiless, with their nourishment being the spiritual joy acquired from past births. This reflects that it is the good deeds of the worldly person that subsist.

Gradually when the world expanded these Abhassaras were born in the newly created spaces of the earth. The other planetary bodies  moon and sun were not fully formed then, and therefore, there was no day and night. The Abhassaras too did not identify their gender. The physical features and earth were composed of a large body of water and darkness, while after some time the water got filled with a kind of soil on earth. This substance looked like a jelly, termed Badalatha. It contained sweetness, colour and smell. Perhaps, the Buddha introduced the origin of elements like Rupa Shabbdha, Gandha, Rasa, Sparsha  Body forms, Sounds, Odours, Taste, and Touch feeling, Pancha-upadana with the development of physical features on earth in this part of the Sutta.

The Sutta describes how Abhassaras, indulged in the five likings Asavas  seeing good things, tasting, smelling, hearing, and touching for the first time. Their bodies due to these sensual acts became moulded as human bodies and the sun and moon too appeared. On the jelly on earth, Badalatha, plants appeared in the form of mushrooms, developed into other edible plants and substances and the creatures on earth subsisted on them. The Abhassaras now changed the form of their bodies, denoting the emergence of the genders, male and female.

Gradually, the earth was giving succour to life forms of humans, animals, vegetation and plants from which the higher living beings could subsist. The rice  harvest was equally divided among the beings. However, some who became more greedy consumed more and took more. Although the rice plant took one night to grow and ready for consumption, with some beings taking more, the plant too, as if to teach a lesson to these creatures, biologically took more time to be ready for harvesting.

Life forms

In the meantime these beings developed sensual attraction for the opposite sex. The five senses became sharp. It was thought to be an unconventional and non-meritorious (Paw) act to indulge in sensual pleasures, that those found so were made outcasts. Those who indulged in these pleasures built dwellings and there arose humans of both genders, plants, other creatures and human settlements. When disputes arose among them for either the distribution of the harvest or other petty wrongdoings, they appointed some wise person to mediate and bring settlement. A person was elected with common consent and was named the Khaththiya. They later usurped power and became the rulers. It was the beginning of the caste system.

Caste system

The Kshatriyas became the rulers or kings. The people bestowed on the king the title Maha Sammata meaning, peoples endorsement for ruling, the title of Raja meant that he enlightens peoples minds with Dhamma, righteousness. Thus the Kshatriyas were the most respected -they stood for democracy and the rule of law.

The Brahmins- meant the One who has won over evil. Some in society lived with no ethical rules and engaged in unmeritorious acts like killing, stealing, debauchery, lying, and taking intoxicants. Having seen this, certain right-thinking persons left to the forests to meditate, while some others among them compiled books on meritorious activities and good living. They were called Brahmins and they became a social group like the Kshatriyas. They too became a caste, but they were not considered supreme to other groups.

The other groups were Vaishyas and Kshudras; the Vashyas were agriculturists and traders while the Kshuddras performed economic pursuits relevant to society as they gathered food from forests. They all were segments of one societal structure.

Thus in the beginning, the caste distinctions did not attach high or low status to persons but as time passed, the Brahmins acquired supremacy.

The Buddha, thus taught humanity how the universe originated and humans appeared while advising them that caste distinctions are wrong conceptions which should not be followed.

(The writer is a former Ambassador)
Drought sharpens Morocco nomads-farmers dispute



Tiznit, Morocco, May 18 (AFP) May 18, 2019



"We refuse to be confined to a cage," declares nomadic herder Mouloud, asserting the rights and customs of his kin as they graze livestock in Morocco's southern expanses.

But the herders' determination to roam freely has brought them into dispute with crop farmers in the region of Souss.

In the village of Arbaa Sahel, arable farmer Hmad and many of his peers are enraged by herds stomping through wheat and corn fields.

Drought has turned parts of these plateaus arid, and when water becomes scarce, tensions rise -- several clashes have been reported by local media in recent months, as the herders seek pasture.

The battle is also playing out on social networks.

Videos show hooded men presented as nomadic herders, equipped with sticks and swords, attacking villagers.

Some villagers have even uploaded images of what are purported to be camel-mounted attacks on their almond groves.

A few residents have fought back by poisoning water supplies and pastures used by nomads, according to testimony on the ground.

"All these lands that belong to locals, (to) fathers and sons -- they're not grazing areas," said 35-year-old Hmad, clad in leather jacket and trainers.

Exasperated, he points to wheat fields "trampled by sheep" around Arbaa Sahel, near the city of Tiznit.

The region has drawn in nomadic herders for decades -- the verdant landscape a major attraction, compared to arid lands to the east.



- 'Identity' -



There has been a "significant rise in the arrival of flocks, due to drought" over the last couple of years, said nomad Mouloud, sporting sunglasses and a blue turban.

This has stoked tensions.

A local land organisation has recorded 18 cases of aggression by nomadic herders against farmers in Arbaa Sahel alone since December, according to Hassan, who sits on this committee.

But Moroccan authorities say only 15 cases have been recorded in the entire Souss region.

The tensions are not limited to farmland -- there has been a spike in incidents in the region's forests, which cover 1.2 million hectares.

Villagers consider these forests to be their property, in line with ancestral customs.

But the nomadic culture, and the right to roam freely, form "part of the Moroccan identity", contends Mouloud.

Clutching his smart phone, he drinks tea and discusses the recent tensions with his nomadic friends, who erect large tents when they set up camp during their search for pasture.

In one such tent, women prepare food for the group -- a metal tray full of grilled livers and other meat.

Abu Bakr, crouching next to Mouloud and sipping a glass of goat's milk, has dropped his studies in favour of the nomadic lifestyle.

His parents come from a desert zone around 200 kilometres (120 miles) away.

Some herders have this year covered distances of almost 1,000 kilometres, traversing immense swathes of desert, Abu Bakr said.

They move in all-terrain cars to escape the drought -- their tents and herds packed into lorries.

When rains are rare, the nomads are constantly on the move, but their movement is more limited when rain is abundant.

"Schooling of children has pushed nomads to opt for stability," said Abu Bakr.



- 'Freedom to roam' -



For Mustapha Naimi, professor of Sahara studies at the University of Mohamed V in Rabat, "nomadism is very old in Morocco, but it has been reduced in recent decades by urbanisation".

Nomadic roaming by entire families has gradually given way to smaller scale pastoralism by shepherds, Naimi explained.

There are currently some 40,000 nomadic shepherds in the country, according to official statistics.

At the same time, "an increase in the number of herds, with 3.15 million heads of livestock... has contributed to conflict", according to the agriculture ministry.

Land committee member Hassan recalls when shepherds would request "permission from residents" ahead of arriving with flocks.

A law has been adopted by the central government that seeks to regulate nomadic herding and allow "a rational exploitation of vegetation".

The legislation only allows grazing of flocks in certain zones and along pre-defined routes. And nomads have to obtain a permit, or face penalties.

But this law has been rejected by both camps.

"We hold to our freedom to roam," said herder Mouloud.

On the other side of the fence, the farmers' land committee firmly opposes government-designated grazing on land that belongs to local residents.
I've had more than one car done at Insultint in St. Catharines on 10 Nihon Drive, 905-935-0341. He has also installed the front clear on a few of my cars including my 370Z. Ask for Gus, you'll need an appointment as he does most of the dealer's cars in that area. Worth the money, quality work, no b.s. You can tell him I referred you, the guy with the red 370Z & '19 grey Mazda 3 Gt, just had it done in April.



Forgot to mention, he tinted my windows too.





2018 Solid Red, 6MT, Touring Sport Coupe __________________2018 Solid Red, 6MT, Touring Sport Coupe
The Kent City of London Fringe Tiara (Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Today in Windsor, one of the members of the Kent branch of the British royal family, Lady Gabriella Windsor, will marry her fiance at St. Georges Chapel. In honor of her wedding day, weve got a look at the Kent City of London Fringe Tiara, a diamond tiara worn by two Kent brides, including Gabriellas mother.

The Kent City of London Fringe Tiara (Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy)

When Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark popped across the channel to marry the Duke of Kent in 1934, the wedding gifts were plentiful  after all, it wasnt every day that a British prince married a real, honest-to-goodness princess. One of the sparkliest of those presents was the elegant Kent City of London Fringe Tiara. (Can you guess who was behind the gift? Youve got it: it was the City of London!)

Princess Marina on her wedding day, wearing a different fringe tiara, the Vladimir Fringe (Photo12 Archive/Alamy)

Some sources claim that Marina secured her bridal veil with the City of London Fringe Tiara, but Marina didnt actually wear that particular tiara on her wedding day. She wore another very similar diamond fringe tiara: the Vladimir Fringe Tiara, which she borrowed from her mother, Princess Nicholas of Greece and Denmark. Marinas father was a Greek prince, but her mother was a Russian grand duchess, and this fringe tiara was an inheritance from her mother, Grand Duchess Vladimir.

Marinas two fringe tiaras: the Vladimir Fringe Tiara (on Princess Nicholas of Greece), which she wore on her wedding day, and the Kent City of London Fringe Tiara (on Princess Michael of Kent), which she received as a wedding gift (Wikimedia Commons/Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy)

The composite image above shows both of the fringe tiaras side by side, so the differences between them are clearer. Both tiaras feature diamond fringes and spikes, but their profiles are slightly different, and the position of the spikes on the Vladimir Fringe makes it appear to have a more solid base than the City of London Fringe. The fringes of the Vladimir are also noticeably farther apart. (Learn more about the history of the Vladimir Fringe here!)

Princess Marina wears the tiara in Ghana, February 1957 (Central Press/Getty Images)

After Marinas wedding, the Vladimir Fringe Tiara was returned to her mother, and Marina began using her own fringe tiara regularly. Throughout her life as a royal duchess, Marina reached for the Kent City of London Tiara often for gala events. In February 1957, Marina wore the tiara as she read a speech from the Queen in the National Assembly, Ghana, granting Independence to the Gold Coast.

Princess Marina and Princess Mary at the theater during the Greek state visit, July 1963 (Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

And here, she wears the tiara during the Greek state visit to Britain in July 1963. On this occasion, she wore the tiara for a special performance of A Midsummer Nights Dream at the Aldwych Theatre in London. Youll also note that her sister-in-law, Princess Mary, is wearing her own diamond fringe tiara, which was sold after her death. (See more jewels from this state visit here!)

Princess Marina wears the Kent City of London Fringe Tiara at the 1937 coronation (Paul Marotta/Getty Images)

Marina also wore the tiara to the coronation of her brother-in-law, King George VI, in 1937.

Princess Alexandra wears the Kent City of London Fringe Tiara on her wedding day (PA Images/Alamy)

Thirty years after Marinas wedding, the City of London Fringe Tiara finally got the chance to appear on a royal bride. Marina loaned the tiara to her daughter, Princess Alexandra, for her wedding in 1963. Alexandra married Angus Ogilvy, the second son of the 12th Earl of Airlie, in a grand ceremony full of royal guests at Westminster Abbey. Her appearance at the Abbey in a family fringe tiara echoed the bridal attire of her first cousin, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1947.

Princess Michael wears the Kent City of London Fringe Tiara on her wedding day (Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy)

When Marina died in 1968, the tiara stayed with the Kents. The piece was inherited by her younger son, Prince Michael. Today, its his wife, Marie Christine, who wears the sparkler. Most notably, she wore it for the reception after their wedding in Vienna in 1978. (More on their wedding here!)

Princess Michael wears the tiara with a fabric kokoshnik backing and a supplemental diamond riviere during a state visit from the Sultan of Brunei, November 1992 (Rebecca Naden/PA Images/Alamy)

Although this particular fringe tiara cant be worn as a necklace, Princess Michael has played about with it a bit anyway, sometimes even adding a velvet backing and topping it with a diamond necklace to really reinforce the kokoshnik style of the piece.

Lady Gabriella Kingston wears the Kent City of London Tiara on her wedding day, May 2019 (Victoria Jones  WPA Pool/Getty Images)

In May 2019, a new generation of the Kent family wore the City of London Fringe for the first time. Lady Gabriella Windsor (daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent) chose the tiara for her wedding to Thomas Kingston at St. Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle, pairing it with a veil and a dress by Luisa Beccaria. Predictably, a press release from Buckingham Palace on the wedding day mixed up Marinas two fringes again, stating that Marina had worn the City of London Fringe Tiara for her own wedding. Thankfully, readers of The Court Jeweller, you know better!

Note: This is an updated version of an earlier post, with new text and images.
Leading global players from tourism-related businesses such as travel agencies, airlines, lodges, hotels and destination management companies (DMCs) will be showcasing their services and products at the inaugural Gulf Travel and Tourism Forum being held in Bahrain.

The event is being organised from October 23 to 25 at the Gulf Convention Cente under the patronage of Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA).

A first-of-its-kind event in the kingdom, the Forum is being held in co-ordination with the Action Leaders for Women Advancement (Alwane). It will be managed by Worksmart for Events Management.

The three-day event will also host a cluster of outstanding speakers to deliver a quality knowledge-sharing platform in the conference.

It will allow visitors to gain a better understanding of local tourism destinations, products, said the organisers.

The forum aims to provide a platform for Bahrainis hospitality industry to promote and market their products and services to all involved in the industry, including the public.

According to the organisers, the events primary objective is to promote Bahrain as one of the top MICE destinations in the region.

On the sidelines of the Forum, a number of activities will be held that reflects Bahrainis hospitality, in addition to a series of workshops and discussions related to the tourism sector, it stated.

The upcoming event is set to attract a number of hotels, airlines, travel agencies and tour operators from across the GCC region as well as leading leisure destinations in Bahrain. Also it will see global travel agencies and international tourist promotion offices taking part, said the organisers.

This initiative comes as a fundamental support to the strategic partnership between the private sector and civil society associations and the BTEA and long-term exhibitions to develop the tourism sector, especially tourism conferences and highlight the tourism components to support the efforts that enhance the contribution of the tourism sector positively in the GDP in line with the vision of the Kingdom Economic 2030, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
Saudi-led coalition warplanes have bombed Yemeni rebel targets including in the capital Sanaa after the Houthis claimed responsibility for the drone attacks on an oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, said media reports.

Meanwhile reports claimed that at least 80 Houthi rebels were killed on Friday in clashes with government forces during the liberation of key areas in Yemens Dhale province. They included their commander, Mohammad Al-Sanhani, said Turkish media agency Anadolu Agency. The army also destroyed a large amount of ammunition and weapons belonging to the Houthis, stated the report citing the Yemeni army's September Net website. The clashes came as the army recaptured a city in Dhale from the Houthis, according to a military source. The army has succeeded in liberating the city of Qatabah from Houthi militants, Yemens UAE-trained Security Belt forces said in a statement.

The new Saudi coalition bombardment came after the UN envoy, who has been spearheading efforts to end more than four years of conflict in the Arab world's poorest country, warned it still faced the threat of plunging into all-out war, reported AFP.

The Saudi deputy defence minister warned that Tuesday's attack by Yemeni rebels on a major pipeline in the kingdom was "tightening the noose" around peace efforts.

Two pumping stations along Aramcos East-West oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia were attacked by explosive-laden drones in the early morning local time on Tuesday, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, citing Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al Falih, who described the attack as one of terrorism and sabotage.

These attacks prove again that it is important for us to face terrorist entities, including the Houthi militias in Yemen that are backed by Iran, stated Al Falih.

This statement came out hours after Houthi-owned TV Almasirah reported that 7 Drones have targeted vital Saudi facilities.

A coalition statement carried by Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV said the sorties achieved its goals with full precision, the coalition said. It had urged civilians to avoid those targets.

One resident reported a strike near a densely-populated district, where flames and clouds of smoke could be seen. A car was half-buried under rubble and twisted metal on a street lined with bystanders.

There was an air strike near us, in the middle of an area packed with residents between Hael and Raqas (streets), Abdulrazaq Mohammed told Reuters. The explosion was so strong that stones were flying. This is the first time our house shakes so much.

The rebels' Al-Masirahn television said the caolition carried out at least 19 strikes, 11 of them in the capital.

A strike on one Sanaa neighbourhood killed at least six people and wounded 10, Dr Mokhtar Mohammed of the capital's Republic Hospital said.

An AFP correspondent saw one residential building that had been reduced to rubble by an air strike. Residents were using their bare hands in a desperate search for survivors.

The raids began around 8 am (0500 GMT) on Thursday while many Yemenis were asleep awaiting the end at sunset of the daytime fast observed by Muslims during Ramadan, a witness told AFP

"There were many strikes," he added.

Sanaa has been held by the Houthi movement since it ousted the internationally recognized government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi from power there in late 2014.

The coalition has previously targeted suspected drone and missile storage sites in the city.

The Houthis said they were responsible for the attack on the Saudi pipeline which did not disrupt oil output or exports, claiming that it was a response to "crimes" committed by Riyadh during its bloody air war in Yemen.

According to the Houthi-owned Almasirah news outlet, Thursdays air strikes on Sanaa killed six people, including four children, and wounded 52 others.

The Saudi Press Agency said that the Saudi-led coalition carried out air operations on a number of legitimate military targets; which military intelligence confirmed are military bases and facilities used by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias for weapons and ammunition storage.

The Coalition stressed that the attacks by the Iranian-backed terrorist Houthi militias on vital facilities in the Kingdom are a violation of International Humanitarian Law and its customs, and amount to war crimes, the Saudi agency reports.

On Thursday, Saudi Vice Minister of Defense, Khalid bin Salman, said on Twitter:

The attack by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias against the two Aramco pumping stations proves that these militias are merely a tool that Iran's regime uses to implement its expansionist agenda in the region, and not to protect the people of Yemen as the Houthis falsely claim.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its partners are once again cutting production as promised in their effort to steady the market, said a report.

Non-Opec compliance soared to 151% last month, compared with 61% in March, International Energy Agency data showed. Opec adherence remained strongalso at 151%versus 158% previously, according to Bloomberg calculations. The last time Opec and its partners jointly complied with their agreement was December 2017.

In April both sides of the so-called Opec+ alliance complied with their supply pact for the first time 16 months, reported Bloomberg.

Field maintenance in Kazakhstan made a huge contribution to non-Opec producers collective conformity, while the Opec continued its commitment to the curbs, it stated.

The alliance began its effort to reduce oil supplies at the start of 2017 but reset the terms of the accord as of this past January.

Opec members Libya, Iran and Venezuela have also been exempt since the beginning of the year.

Saudi Arabia has shouldered Opecs cuts. In April that effort was supported by strong adherence from the UAE and Kuwait, among the organizations largest producers.

Non-Opecs mid-sized producers carried that groups conformity, as Russia failed to fully comply, stated the report.

According to Bloomberg report, Opec is trying to cut output by 812,000 barrels a day below baseline levels. Saudi Arabia alone curbed by 891,000 daily barrels last month.

That buttressed the organisations compliance even as Nigeria and Iraq, Opecs second-largest producer, raised output from March. The non-Opec group is seeking to cut 383,0000 barrels a day, with Russia responsible for 60% of that amount, it added.

Maintenance at Kazakhstans Kashagan field starting in mid-April slashed the nations output, helping the country meet its compliance goal for the second month in a row.

Azerbaijan cut by more than pledged, and Mexico continued its streak of adherence. Russia moved closer to its oil-cut target.

While Opec and its partners have cut production, US output remains near record levels, and oil prices have recently slipped amid the US-China trade war, said .

Other factors are weighing on the market: unrest in Venezuela, the return of American sanctions on Iran and recent attacks on Saudi tankers and a pipeline. For now at least, the Opec+ curbs are set to expire after June.
Saudi Arabia may soak up some of Irans previous market share on the Indian market as Saudi Aramco is set to ship additional 2 million barrels per month to Indian Oil Corp between July and December this year on top of the existing term supply deal between the two companies, reported OilPrice.com.

India, Irans second largest oil customer after China, was one of the eight countries that were granted six-month waivers to continue buying oil from Iran after the US re-imposed sanctions on the Iranian oil industry in November.

The US, however, pursued a maximum pressure campaign against Iran last month and put an end to all sanction waivers for all Iranian oil buyers.

This put Indian refiners in a position to source the market for alternatives, and many of them, especially private companies, did, because they are wary of possible secondary US sanctions if they continue to buy oil from Iran.

We have told them we will be taking 2 million barrels every month for six months from July (about 1.6 million tons in total) and they have agreed, A K Sharma, Indian Oils director (finance), told Reuters on Friday.

Indian Oil Corp has a term deal with Saudi Aramco to buy a total of 5.6 million tons in the financial year 2019/2020, plus an option to buy another 2 million tons.

Indian Oil diversified its crude suppliers in the 2018/2019 fiscal year, and entered for the first time in a term contract to source oil from the United States, boosting its capabilities to process crude grades from a wider and cheaper basket, the company said in its annual results on Friday.

Despite the fact that Indian Oil has asked for extra Saudi supply, Indian refiners as a group are said not to be rushing into buying extra crude from the kingdom, industry sources told Reuters.

Just one Indian refiner has agreed to buy additional crude oil supply from Saudi Arabia to compensate for the loss of Iranian barrels, as Indias firms have been looking for months to diversify their crude sources and as the kingdom raised its prices to Asia to take advantage of the supply crunch.

Of the four state-held Indian refiners that bought Iranian oil under the sanction waivers, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) is the only one to have taken up the Saudis offer for additional crude, it added.
700 cases filed as new top cop takes charge in Islamabad 27 Dec 2021 | 1:04 PM Islamabad, Dec 27 (UNI) At least 700 pending cases have been registered in a single day in the Pakistan capital after newly-appointed Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammad Ahsan Younus directed senior police officers to ensure presence in their jurisdictions after 12 pm. see more..

Nearly 50 flights cancelled in Japan amid snow storm 27 Dec 2021 | 12:57 PM Tokyo, Dec 27 (UNI/Sputnik) At least 48 flights have been cancelled in Japan amid heavy snowstorms, the NHK broadcaster reported on Monday. see more..

Pakistan to get first-ever National Security Policy 27 Dec 2021 | 12:12 PM Islamabad, Dec 27 (UNI) Pakistan government will be announcing country's first-ever National Security Policy on Monday. see more..

New Zealand reports 34 new Covid cases 27 Dec 2021 | 12:08 PM Wellington, Dec 27 (UNI/Xinhua) New Zealand reported 34 new Delta variant cases of Covid-19 in the community on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in current community outbreak to 10,653. see more..
Dhaka, May 17 ( UNI) At least three people were killed and 25 others injured as a norwester lashed over Bangladeshi capital city Dhaka on Friday evening, said fire service and police.

A devotee was killed and several others injured as a makeshift canopy erected over the

southern terrace of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque collapsed after being hit by a sudden
Rabbi Raziel Cohen holds an AR-15 rifle while delivering information and tips on how to deal with an active shooter to members of a Los Angeles synagogue.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

May. 17, 2019 | PADUCAH

By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 17, 2019 | 04:45 PM | PADUCAH

Three West Kentucky Community and Technical College graduates were recognized as "Going Pro" by signing on for new manufacturing careers on Friday.



Signees and companies who participated in the event at WKCTC's Skilled Craft Training Center near Mayfield were Dalton James Leach, who earned an associate in applied science degree and four advanced manufacturing-related certificates and was hired by Briggs & Stratton of Murray; Lucas Andrew Pannell of Mayfield, who signed with Progress Rail of Mayfield after receiving five advanced manufacturing-related certificates; Calvin Joe Shelton of Fulton will work with Kayser Automotive Systems of Fulton after he earned four advanced manufacturing-related certificates from WKCTC.



Each student received a "Going Pro" t-shirt, pens and other items.



There are thousands of open positions in advanced manufacturing, and employers are having difficulty filling these jobs because of a lack of trained workers. KCTCS has more than 300 advanced manufacturing partners statewide, and is the primary provider of manufacturing training in Kentucky.



WKCTC President Anton Reece said, "It's a real challenge, especially for those of us in the west," he said, "just to have people prepared to seize these positions in high wage, high demand areas. Because WKCTC aligns its programs with local business needs, our students are prepared to walk out of college and into a high paying career."



All 16 KCTCS schools and the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers sponsored celebrations for new hires on Friday.



In the 2017-2018 year, more than 300 WKCTC students graduated with a total of 874 credentials from the following programs:



Industrial Maintenance Technology

Computerized Machining and Manufacturing

Welding Technology

Electrical Technology

Computer Assisted Drafting and Design

Air Conditioning Technology

KY FAME - Advanced Manufacturing



More information and videos from today's event are available at the Going Pro website at https://goingpro.kctcs.edu/
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

May. 13, 2019 | WESTERN KENTUCKY

By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 13, 2019 | 03:58 PM | WESTERN KENTUCKY

With the long Memorial Day weekend and summer travel season coming up, Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles reminds Kentucky motorists that Kentucky Department of Agriculture inspectors are on the lookout for credit card skimmers in motor fuel pumps across the Commonwealth.



State inspectors were involved in a 2017 case that resulted in the arrest of eight people in a credit card skimming scheme in which some 7,000 unique card numbers were compromised in several Louisville-area retail locations.



Under state law, motor fuel pumps must be inspected by KDA personnel once a year. Inspectors test pumps to ensure that the amount of fuel dispensed matches the amount shown on the pump, and check to make sure each pump is in proper working order.



Commissioner Quarles advised motorists to be on the lookout for evidence that a motor fuel pump has been tampered with, including scratches or other damage around locks or doors, components that look different from the rest of the device or from other pumps (such as a skimmer placed over a card reader), a loose card reader, and security tape that is broken or does not adhere to the pump.



Authorities suggest filling up your vehicle at a pump as close to the attendant station as possible  thieves often place skimmers in pumps out of sight of the attendant. Motorists may avoid the risk by paying in cash.



Consumers who find evidence that a pump has been tampered with are advised to bring it to the attention to the retailer and local law enforcement. To report possible tampering to the KDA, call (502) 573-0282 or email ag.web@ky.gov.
iStock(NEW YORK) -- A NYPD officer allegedly paid her boyfriend $7,000 to help her hire a hit man to murder her estranged husband and the boyfriend's teen daughter, according to court records.



But the boyfriend turned out to be cooperating with authorities, and following a dramatic law enforcement ruse in which the cop was shown a picture on Friday morning of her husband appearing to be dead in his car, she allegedly began discussing her alibi with the boyfriend in case she was questioned, according to court records.



The boyfriend was wearing a recording device, according to authorities, and the entire conversation was captured on audio and video.



That's when investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the New York Police Department (NYPD) moved in and arrested her.



Officer Valerie Cincinelli, 34, of Oceanside in Nassau County on Long Island, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and held without bail following a hearing late Friday afternoon.



Prosecutors argued in a detention memo filed in court on Friday that "the evidence in this case is overwhelming."



"The defendant was captured on audio and video recording planning the murders, and, once she was advised that the murder of John Doe was effected, she was captured on audio and video planning her alibi and destroying evidence of her involvement in the crime."



Cincinelli, who has been on the job since 2007, had been on modified assignment since 2017 because of prior domestic incidents involving the boyfriend and the estranged husband, law enforcement sources said.



In the memo, prosecutors noted that Cincinelli's first husband obtained a restraining order against her in 2014, that both she and her estranged husband have existing restraining orders against each other, and that she had a "volatile history" with the boyfriend -- who tipped off authorities to the alleged murder plot.



Cincinelli first approached the boyfriend about having her estranged husband -- and his teen daughter -- murdered in February, and continued discussions with him in person and on the phone, according to court records.



The boyfriend told her he knew someone who would commit the murders for $7,000, which he would convert into gold coins to pay off the hit man. Cincinelli allegedly withdrew the $7,000 in cash from a Long Island bank in February, court records show. He then used the money to purchase five ounces of gold coins, according to authorities. The murders were supposed to take place last weekend, officials said in court records.



The estranged husband was to be murdered near his office on Long Island, and Cincinelli and the boyfriend allegedly discussed how the killing "would not look suspicious because the murder would take place in 'the hood' or 'the ghetto,'" according to court records.



At one point, according to court records, Cincinelli seemed to become anxious about why the boyfriend's teen daughter had not yet been killed. After the boyfriend allegedly informed her that the hit man would not commit the murder near the child's school.



"OK, so she leaves school, you said he knows exactly where she lives, right?" Cincinelli is alleged to have asked him. "So what's the problem?"



At another point she allegedly told the boyfriend to tell the hit man to run her the [expletive] over, how about that."



On Friday morning around 10 a.m., Suffolk County police arrived at Cincinelli's home to notify her that her estranged husband had been murdered -- but it was all part of an FBI-orchestrated ruse.



"Then, almost immediately after the Detective left the home, Cincinelli began to discuss...her alibi -- specifically what she would tell the police if she were to be questioned about the death," prosecutors wrote in a detention memo filed on Friday.



Then, at 10:48 a.m., according to court records, an FBI agent posing as the hit man texted a picture of the husband, appearing to be dead in his car, to the boyfriend. Along with the picture, the agent texted a demand for another $3,000 in order to carry the murder of the boyfriends minor daughter, identified in court papers as Jane Doe.



"In response, Cincinelli instructed the [confidential informant] to delete the text messages and photographs, citing her fear that law enforcement could subpoena the phone," prosecutors wrote.



The identity of the boyfriend was not disclosed in court papers, and it remains unclear how he first came into contact with the NYPD.



The target of the alleged attack -- Isaiah Carvalho Jr., according to his attorney Matt Weiss -- only learned of the purported plot on Friday.



"He found out today, just like everybody else," Weiss told ABC News.



Weiss said that his client is grateful to law enforcement officials and that "all things considered, he sounds OK."



Carvalho Jr. sued her for divorce in Nassau County, according to court records cited by the New York Post, and a trial was set to begin next month.



Weiss issued a statement late on Friday saying his client is "still in shock."



"At the outset, Mr. Carvalho would like to thank law enforcement for all of their diligent efforts," Weiss said in the statement. "Mr. Carvalho is still in shock and is attempting to process the events, which have transpired over the past 24 hours. At this time, Mr. Carvalho and his family would appreciate the press honoring their privacy."



It was not immediately clear whether Cincinelli had retained a defense attorney. She was represented in court on Friday by a federal public defender, who could not immediately be reached. The New York Police Benevolent Association, which represents New York police officers, did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.



Cincinelli's father told ABC News that his daughter was being set up by the boyfriend, whom he declined to identify.



In a telephone interview as he drove north from his home in Virginia to New York City to try and assist his incarcerated daughter, Louis Cincinelli said the boyfriend had once accused her of pulling a gun on him and threatening his life, only to allegedly recant that accusation in criminal court in New York



"I don't know what happened but I do know my daughter and i knew this was not true when I first heard it. She was going out with some wacko pathological liar who had her locked up once before, saying that she pulled a gun on him and threatened to kill him, but then he went to court and said in open court, he recanted it and said he had made it up. Now ... she throws this bum out again and two weeks later this happens."



"But she's the biggest idiot for being with him," he continued. "I don't know. I don't understand these kids. But I know my daughter. She wouldn't do this. She's a domestic violence officer, and she knows that that's not the way to handle something like this, to knock somebody off."



Cincinelli worked as a domestic violence officer in the 106th Precinct in Queens, according to the NYPD, but had been working on the modified duty since 2017 in a unit that monitors video surveillance cameras at city housing projects.



"I guarantee you," the distraught father continued, "the bottom line is going to be that it turns out she didn't do this."



The FBI and the NYPDs Internal Affairs Bureau brought the case against Cincinelli.



Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Fruit forks (left) and lipsticks, contributed by The Palace Museum, will go on display at Shanghai Exhibition Center from May 19. [Photo/eastday.com]

Starting on May 19, Shanghai Exhibition Center will be showcasing a collection of creative designs and merchandise sourced from museums and other cultural and art institutions across the country.

The four-day exhibition, which is part of the May 20 to June 2 China Art Festival, will feature items from hundreds of historical and cultural art centers such as The Palace Museum, the National Library of China, Shanghai Museum and Shanghai Grand Theatre.

Organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the event is aimed at promoting exchange and raising awareness of innovative designs, according to the ministry.

A 3D printing table lamp (left) and pendants of dragon and phoenix shapes, contributed by National Museum of China, will go on display at Shanghai Exhibition Center from May 19. [Photo/eastday.com]

For example, Shanghai Museum will contribute more than 60 items, such as eye patches, bags, pen and ink suits, scarves and bracelets featuring a blend of Jiangnan and Shanghai styles to the exhibition, according to Hu Xuwen, director of the Cultural Creation Center of Shanghai Museum.

Visitors will also get a chance to view and buy more than 100 creative products from the Palace Museum.

Arts centers and theaters such as the Shanghai Grand Theatre and the National Library also have many exquisite designs to offer, such handmade bowls and porcelain tea sets that feature Kun Opera and silk scarves inspired by the Yongle Canon.

All products showcased at the exhibition can be purchased, according to the organizers.

A study pack, contributed by Shanghai Museum, will go on display at Shanghai Exhibition Center from May 19. [Photo/eastday.com]

A tea set, contributed by Shanghai Grand Theatre, will go on display at Shanghai Exhibition Center from May 19. [Photo/eastday.com]
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-07 18:44:21|Editor: xuxin

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ULAN BATOR, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian customs officers seized a parcel from Spain containing 3 kilograms of hashish, a type of narcotics, the Mongolian Customs General Administration (MCGA) said Tuesday.

The officers at the Chinggis Khaan International Airport in the capital of Ulan Bator seized the contraband, which is an extract of the cannabis plant containing concentrations of psychoactive resins.

The case is under further investigation, the MCGA said in a statement.

Drug-related crimes has been increasing significantly in Mongolia in recent years.

The Mongolian police have arrested 88 people linked to 29 drug-related crimes in the first two months of 2019, and arrested 412 people linked to 199 drug-related crimes in 2018, according to the National Police Agency (NPA).

A total of 72 drug-related criminal cases linked to 150 people, including 7 foreigners have been registered across the country so far this year, the NPA said in a statement.

A lack of knowledge about narcotics, curiosity, attempting to make easy money and weak law are the main factors for the growth of drug-related crimes, the NPA said.

According to Mongolian law, the person who is found guilty of trafficking drugs will be punished by imprisonment of at least two years.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-17 02:22:16|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 16 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday told the UN Security Council that it is necessary to step up the support for the G5 Sahel joint force.

In a council meeting on the peace and security in Africa, Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the UN, said that the joint force has resumed operations as of earlier this year, overcoming many difficulties such as the deteriorating security situation and the lack of operational capacity and equipment.

"This showed the determination of the regional countries to advance the development of the joint force," he added.

The Chinese envoy called on the international community to provide continuing support to the joint force, adding that the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) should, in accordance with relevant agreements, continue to provide the joint force with the support package.

China backs the United Nations' necessary financial support for the G5 Sahel joint force, he added.

The MINUSMA was established in 2013 in order to support political processes in Mali, to ensure security, stabilization and protection of civilians and to promote human rights in the African country.

In 2017, five Sahel nations, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad and Mauritania, set up the joint force with the aim to roll back terrorism and lawlessness in the aftermath of a Tuareg separatist uprising in northern Mali in 2012.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-17 05:54:24|Editor: Xiaoxia

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A man takes furniture out of a building after it was hit in airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, on May 17, 2019. The Saudi Arabia-led coalition launched airstrikes on Houthi rebels' targets in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Thursday morning, causing civilian casualties and damages, authorities and local residents said. (Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed)

ADEN, Yemen, May 16 (Xinhua) -- About 83 Yemenis, mostly Houthi fighters, have been killed over the past 48 hours as a result of ongoing fight and intensified airstrikes that hit many areas across the war-ravaged Arab country.

Yemenis were hoping that the Houthi withdrawal from three key ports in the country's strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeidah under a UN-brokered peace deal may lead to de-escalation of the conflict, but the latest drone attack on Saudi oil facilities has led to the opposite result.

Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday that two Aramco pumping stations on its main oil pipeline were attacked by armed drones, causing a limited fire and damage.

Earlier in the day, the Saudi-led coalition, backing Yemen's government in the fighting against the Houthi rebels, conducted a series of airstrikes on the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa in retaliation for the drone attacks on the Saudi oil facilities.

One of the Saudi-led airstrikes targeted a residential neighborhood in Sanaa, killing six civilians, including four children, and wounding dozens of others.

Medics and local residents told Xinhua that one of the Saudi-led airstrikes pounded a house in the Rabat neighborhood at the center of Sanaa, killing six people from one family and injured many others.

The pro-Houthi Health Ministry based in Sanaa confirmed in a statement that six family members including four children were killed and nearly 71 others injured, including 27 children and 17 women.

Two Russian women working in the country's health sector were among the injured, according to the statement revealed by the pro-Houthi Health Ministry.

Sources said more than 25 other airstrikes were carried out by Saudi-led warplanes and targeted different military sites manned by the Houthi group in Atan area, Nahdin Mountain, Nuqum Mountain, the former headquarters of the armored division and other military locations in Sanaa.

Meanwhile, intense armed confrontations between Yemen's government forces and the Houthi rebels continued in escalation and expansion to include many areas across the impoverished Arab country.

The two-warring sides were engaged in fierce fighting that mainly concentrated in al-Dhalea Province, 245 km south of Sanaa.

Sources confirmed to Xinhua that non-stop battles hit many areas of Qataba to the northwest of the government-controlled province of al-Dhalea, causing huge explosions that forced many families to flee.

The official website of Yemen's Defense Ministry said in a brief statement that at least 45 members of the Houthi group were killed in battles with the government forces in the northern areas of al-Dhalea over the past 24 hours.

In the country's western coast, 17 Houthi fighters were killed as they attempted to infiltrate into military positions of the government forces stationed in the south of the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

Mamun Mahjami, spokesman of the pro-government Giants Brigades, said the army forces aborted several attacks launched by the Houthi fighters against key government-controlled military sites in Hays district in the south of Hodeidah in the past 24 hours.

The Houthi attacks left several soldiers of the pro-government Giants Brigades and a number of civilians injured, he said.

Meanwhile, media outlets of the Houthi rebels accused the pro-government forces of shelling their military positions in the war-torn city of Hodeidah.

The Houthi-run Masirah satellite TV channel reported that the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces launched more than 20 artillery shells and three missiles against Kilo-16 area in the eastern part of Hodeidah Province.

In Yemen's northeastern province of al-Jawf, armed confrontations broke out between the government forces and the Houthi rebels late on Wednesday, leaving eight dead, including two of the government soldiers and six Houthis.

Sources confirmed to Xinhua that sporadic fighting is still raging between the forces affiliated to the two-warring factions in the eastern areas of al-Jawf.

Also in Yemen's northwestern province of Hajjah, two civilians were injured early on Thursday during a landmine explosion in Haradh district near the borders with Saudi Arabia.

In a statement revealed by the fifth pro-government Regional Military Command, airstrikes launched by the Sauild-led coalition against Houthi-controlled farms in Hajjah killed seven rebel fighters and destroyed a rocket pad launcher belonging to the Houthi militias late on Wednesday.

Yemen has been locked in a civil war since the Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including Sanaa, in 2014.

Saudi Arabia is leading an Arab military coalition that has intervened in Yemen's conflict since 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels forced him into exile.

The prolonged military conflict has aggravated the suffering of Yemenis and deepened the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-17 22:25:11|Editor: xuxin

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DAR ES SALAAM, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania's environmental watchdog said on Friday it has slapped a fine of 5.6 billion Tanzanian shillings (about 2.4 million U.S. dollars) on Acacia Mining's North Mara Gold Mine after it was found leaking contaminated water into residential areas and water sources.

Samuel Gwamaka, Director General of the National Environment Management Council (NEMC), said the mining firm has also been given a three-week ultimatum to rectify weaknesses identified in its sewage disposal infrastructure.

Gwamaka was briefing the Minister of State in the Vice-President's Office responsible for the Environment, January Makamba, and the Minister for Minerals, Dotto Biteko, on their official visit to the mining firm in Mara region.

Gwamaka said an investigation carried out by NEMC and the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) found that Acacia leaked chemical effluents into residential areas and water sources, putting people's health at risk.

The ministers said it was not the government's motive to punish the firm for the leakage but the aim was to ensure the safety of the people and the environment.

"The government wants to get a share of the profits you make from mining gold but we are obliged to protect people's health and lives as well as our environment," said Makamba.

He added: "We have noted that the mining process itself has no problem, so we won't revoke your license or stop mining activities."

Biteko commended NEMC and UDSM experts for conducting the investigation that enabled the government to take appropriate action.

In September, last year, Tanzanian President John Magufuli ordered NEMC to probe pollution allegations against Acacia Mining's North Mara Gold Mine.

For the past 10 years, residents in villages near the gold mine have been complaining that effluents released by Acacia Mining's North Mara Gold Mine were polluting water in Mara River and Tigite River, posing major health hazard to the residents.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-17 23:56:55|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Friday urged East African countries to combat trans-national terrorism-related security perils through new initiatives.

The urgent call was made by Director General of IGAD's Security Division, Abebe Muluneh, who noted that recurrent security threats, mainly in the form of frequent terrorist assaults, "requires a new and determined regional approach to counteract the menace."

"Currently, the region faces serious and complex transnational security threats including financing terrorism, violent extremism, cyber crime, trafficking in humans and drugs," Muluneh told reporters here on Friday.

According to IGAD's security program director, "terrorism has become the dominant mode of disrupting stability in the region," mainly due to frequent and deadly militant assaults by terrorist groups such as the Somalia-based terrorist group al-Shabab.

Al-Shabab, which has long been perceived as a Somali terrorist organization, has now posed "a stern security threat to the wider IGAD region," Muluneh stressed.

He also noted that al-Shabab, since 2010, has transformed itself into "a truly regional threat, with membership and horizons that transcend national borders."

Muluneh also stressed that the terrorist group is presently trying to recruit members from non-Somalis as part of its effort to attack in other territories like Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

"Almost all states in the IGAD region are victims of threats from the terrorist group al-Shabab," he stressed.

Even losing several cities and towns, the group still controls large swathes of territory and taxes trade and businesses to fund its operation and it continues to carry out a complex attacks in the region even against the 22,000 security officers under the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), according to IGAD's security program chief.

Noting that the group is active in six countries of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Tanzania, Muluneh further stressed that new counter-terrorism initiatives are needed to tackle the potential risks from the group.

He also disclosed that following recurrent security threats, "IGAD has come up with a new strategy by revisiting its approach that focuses in conflict prevention, resolution and cooperation against transnational security threats, governance in the Horn Africa region."

"IGAD is now pursuing inter-linked approaches to address the transnational security threat through its Security Sector Program to address the challenges holistically," he said.

According to the Director for Organized and Emerging Crime at Interpol, Paul Stanfield, the IGAD region is "the hotspot of human smuggling and trafficking activities which is making terrorism more complicated."

Noting that organized transnational security threats and crimes are not only the unique features of Horn Africa region, Stanfield stressed the essential need to exercise counter-measures globally.

Stanfield also stressed Interpol's support to IGAD and its member countries in the fight against transnational security threats in Horn of Africa and beyond.

According to Interpol's director of organized crime, Interpol's support to the regional efforts would mainly include collection and dissemination of "good information and better analysis of security issues."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-17 23:56:57|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WUHAN, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Fifteen Chinese fugitives on Friday were flown to central China's Hubei Province on a chartered flight from Vietnam.

The fugitives, who arrived at the airport of Wuhan, capital of Hubei, on Friday evening were suspected to have engaged in illegal consultancy on securities investment, according to Hubei's public security department.

The department hailed it as the first joint mission by the Chinese and Vietnamese police to escort fugitives of economic crimes using a chartered flight in recent years.

The suspects were nabbed in a raid by Vietnamese police earlier this year. They were suspected to offer illegal advisory services via the Internet to the Chinese public.

Police said some gangs have been moving their illegal activities abroad as China tightens crackdown on economic crimes in recent years. In response, the Chinese police are working closely with neighboring countries to launch joint law enforcement missions.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 00:12:19|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government on Friday disclosed a major energy deficit as major electric power plants encountered water shortages.

The ongoing energy shortage has also forced the Ethiopian government to implement electric power ration throughout the country, which will run for a two-month period starting from May, state-run news agency quoted Ethiopian Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy officials as saying on Friday.

According to the ministry, water-level decline in major electric power-plants, mainly the Melka Wakena, Gibe-III and Koka hydro-electric dams, has created about 426 MW electric power deficit.

The ministry, however, indicated that the ongoing short term electric-power ration system will not affect universities, export-oriented entities, healthcare institutions, as well as various public service organizations.

The East African country is currently working to increase the electricity generation capacity of the country from the current 4,300 MW to 17,300 MW by 2020, through ongoing and planned hydro, wind, geothermal, solar and biomass energy projects.

Figures from the Ethiopian Electric Power show that the country has increased its electricity generation capacity about 11-fold during the last 27 years, from 380 Mega Watts (MW) in 1991 to around 4,300 MW currently.

Ethiopia is currently constructing several energy projects, including the 6,450 MW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which will be regarded as Africa's largest dam upon completion with a total volume of 74,000 million cubic meters.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 00:12:24|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BANGKOK, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's new Queen's portraits have been officially published on Friday.

The Public Relation Department of the Thai government on Friday said King Maha Vajiralongkorn has allowed publishing 20 official portraits of the newly-enthroned Queen Suthida.

Government agencies are welcome to use the photos in activities honoring the royal family, the department said.

The pictures depict Queen Suthida in multiple outfits, from royal guard to army and pilot uniform.

Thailand has declared June 3, Queen Suthida's birthday a national holiday.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 00:27:31|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 17 (Xinhua) -- UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock on Friday warned that the recent intensification of hostilities in Syria is unleashing a humanitarian nightmare.

Updating the UN Security Council on the situation in northwest Syria, Lowcock said the last three weeks have seen "a deadly escalation of the conflict." "Despite our warnings, our worst fears are now coming true."

According to Lowcock, the United Nations estimated that 3 million people live in the area of the de-escalation zone in the northwest of the country.

Even before the recent escalation, these were among the most vulnerable people in Syria, particularly the million children, and the 1.3 million people who have fled to Idlib from other parts of the country, he added.

Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria, is controlled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the umbrella group of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.

Since mid-April, there has been an intensification of hostilities in Idlib, which is one of the four "de-escalation" areas agreed by the Astana guarantors -- Russia, Iran and Turkey -- in 2017.

In the last three weeks UN reports showed that up to 160 people have been killed. At least 180,000 people have been displaced, and millions of people are crammed into an ever smaller area, said Lowcock.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 01:58:16|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ANKARA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The first meeting of the Turkish-Russian joint working group on Syria's Idlib issue was held in Ankara, Turkey's Defense Ministry said on Friday.

During the meeting, which was held on Thursday and Friday, the two countries discussed the latest development in the region, particularly in Idlib, and measures to be taken under the agreements reached in Astana and Sochi, the ministry said in a statement.

The working group was established after Turkish and Russian presidents spoke by phone late on Monday in an effort to curb recent escalation in the rebels' stronghold.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his concern over cease-fire violations in the past two weeks by Syrian government forces in the Idlib de-escalation zone.

The fresh offensives by Syrian government's army targeting Idlib harmed prospects of establishing the Syrian constitutional committee, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.

Russia has long been pressuring Turkey to launch a military offensive against the opposition-held areas, saying that Ankara failed to convince the opposition to retreat out of a buffer zone that agreed on the Sochi deal last September.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 02:08:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RIGA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Latvian Justice Minister Janis Bordans announced on Friday that he had lost confidence in Prosecutor General Eriks Kalnmeiers and accused him of a failure to clamp down on money laundering.

The justice minister also called for an assessment of the prosecutor general's job performance, which would effectively start a procedure of his removal from office.

The Justice Ministry and the Prosecutor General's Office are both authorities in charge of keeping the Latvian financial system in line with international anti-money laundering standards.

Bordans claimed that Kalnmeiers' "attitude and activities threaten the implementation of the recommendations" provided to Latvia by the Council of Europe's Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (Moneyval) and thus also the "financial and economic stability" of Latvia, because a failure to comply with the Moneyval recommendations would entail serious reputational consequences for the country.

Under the Latvian law, an inquiry into the prosecutor general's job performance can be initiated by the Supreme Court chairman or at least one third of the parliament.

The justice minister has sent the government a letter calling on ministers to ask Supreme Court chairman Ivars Bickovics to initiate such an inquiry.

On Monday, Bordans is expected to present his report on Kalnmeiers to the government, which for the time being does not give any comments on the issue.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 04:04:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Rosemary DiCarlo (C, front), United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, briefs the Security Council on the situation in Syria, at the UN headquarters in New York, May 17, 2019. UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock on Friday warned that the recent intensification of hostilities in Syria is unleashing a humanitarian nightmare. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Friday called for an immediate de-escalation of violence in greater Idlib, Syria.

"Let us unite today for the first step - to support an immediate de-escalation of the violence in greater Idlib and work towards a political solution that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people," UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo told a Security Council meeting on Syria.

Noting that "we are at yet another juncture in the Syrian conflict where civilians are paying the price for a never-ending war," DiCarlo said that 3 million civilians in Idlib "are at risk."

She told the meeting that the Russian-Turkish Memorandum of Understanding signed on Sept. 17, 2018 "had significantly reduced violence" in northwest Syria. "However, we now see increasing hostilities on the ground."

"If the escalation continues and the offensive pushes forward, we risk catastrophic humanitarian fallout and threats to international peace and security," she said.

"Therefore, the UN welcomes the announcement made on May 15 of a Turkish-Russian working group as a means towards re-establishing a cessation of hostilities in northwest Syria. That cooperation is desperately needed," the UN political affairs chief added.

According to DiCarlo, the aerial bombardment in greater Idlib "is alarming, including the use of barrel bombs on populated areas."

"Airstrikes, barrel bombs and shelling have also reportedly hit multiple health facilities and schools in greater Idlib, several of which had been deconflicted with the UN. There was also reported shelling from the de-escalation zone into areas under the government's control, including a reported rocket strike on the Neirab camp for Palestine refugees," said DiCarlo.

"We appeal to all parties to cease hostilities, uphold international humanitarian law and protect civilians," she said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 04:14:33|Editor: Li Xia

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President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic (R, front) looks at a map of the Preljina-Pozega section of the new E763 highway at the Village of Pakovrace, Cacak, Serbia, on May 17, 2019. Construction of the Preljina-Pozega section of Serbia's new E763 highway was started on Friday by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) near the city of Cacak in central Serbia. (Xinhua/Nemanja Cabric)

CACAK, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Construction of another vital segment of Serbia's new E763 highway was started on Friday by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) near the city of Cacak in central Serbia.

The ceremony marking the start of work on the over 30-kilometer Preljina-Pozega section of the new highway took place near the village of Pakovrace, some 150 kilometers south of the capital Belgrade.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, government members, CCCC President Song Hailiang, Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo, as well as local officials attended the ceremony.

In his speech, Vucic said that several Chinese companies are already at work on the new E763 highway, and that the new section promises to be the most difficult to build as it includes 12 kilometers of tunnels and more than 30 bridges.

The new highway is important for both investors and locals, as it will bring life to the nearby villages and cities, Vucic explained.

He announced that Serbia plans to complete the remaining 107-kilometer stretch of the highway between Pozega and the Montenegrin in partnership with Chinese companies.

Song, the CCCC president, thanked the Serbian government for entrusting his company with this important project and pledged to complete the highway at the highest quality and within the agreed deadlines.

"We hope the E763 will boost the country's economic development and bring prosperity to the Serbian people for a better future," he said.

The new section will count among the most important ones along the entire highway corridor, said Zorana Mihajlovic, minister of construction, transport and infrastructure, stressing that it will have an immense effect on the economic development of this part of Serbia.

"I thank China for recognizing how important this highway is for us, in the same way that Serbia recognized the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative and became one of the first countries in the world to embrace this global project," she said.

The Preljina-Pozega section of the highway will cost 450 million euros (502 million U.S. dollars) and is financed from a loan provided to Serbia by the Export-Import Bank of China.

The new E763 highway will stretch for more than 250 kilometers from Belgrade to the border with Montenegro. According to the government's plans, the highway will fork at Pozega, and from there a section will lead to the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 06:35:32|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ABUJA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 bodies of fishermen allegedly hacked to death by terror group Boko Haram were recovered on Friday near Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri, a local emergency management official said.

The group of fishermen was attacked on Thursday in Alou Dam, 4 km from Maiduguri, the capital of the northern state of Borno.

Bello Danbatta, head of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, said most of the fishermen were from the neighboring village of Konduga.

They were going about their daily fishing activity when the militants struck, killing them and injuring some others.

Abubakar Gamandi, chairman of the Lake Chad Basin Fishery, who also confirmed the killing to Xinhua, described the attack as "unfortunate."

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks on fishermen and farmers in the northeast region of Nigeria in recent times, accusing them of leaking information on the activities of the group to the military.

Farming and fishing activities had almost become impossible in Maiduguri and its environs for the fear of attacks by the terror group.

Boko Haram's militancy has killed about 20,000 people since 2009 and left over 2.6 million homeless.

The group, which is also active in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon, announced its allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2015.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 06:40:36|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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Algerians demonstrate in the main streets of Algiers, Algeria, on May 31, 2019. Algerians staged protests on Friday to ask for postponing the presidential election that will be held on July 4. Algeria has been hit by continuing popular protests since Feb. 22, demanding for radical changes. (Xinhua)

ALGIERS, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of demonstrators across Algeria took to the streets for the 13th consecutive Friday to claim stepping down of the government, as they reiterated refusal of the presidential elections slated for July 4.

They urged rendering back the power to the people after a transition period that would allow for holding fair and free election. This process has been claimed by most political parties of opposition.

The protests started on Feb. 22 when lots of Algerians opposed former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's bid for a fifth presidential term.

On April 2, Bouteflika resigned under the pressure, and cancelled the presidential election scheduled for April 18.

The head of the upper house of parliament, Abdelkader Bensalah, was then named interim president for 90 days, according to the Algerian Constitution.

Bensalah has announced the organization of a presidential election within three months.
FILE PHOTO: Flags of the U.S., Canada and Mexico fly next to each other in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. August 29, 2018. (Xinhua/REUTERS)

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The United States reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico to remove tariffs it imposed on steel and aluminum imports from its two neighbors, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)'s office said on Friday.

The USTR said in a statement that Canada and Mexico also agreed to remove their retaliatory tariffs levied on American products.

The move will lift the 25 percent steel and 10 percent aluminum tariffs the Trump administration placed on Canada and Mexico a year ago in the name of "national security," removing a major barrier to the three countries' new trade pact.

The United States, the USTR said, will re-impose tariffs on "specific steel and aluminum products" based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 if "surges" in those products occur.

"Any retaliation by Canada and Mexico would then be limited to steel and aluminum products," the statement added.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in his speech to the National Association of Realtors on Friday that he is "pleased" to announce the agreement, adding that while the United States has a "great relationship" with Canada, the latter has been "charging us extremely high tariffs."

The president also said he hopes that Congress will pass the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) "quickly."

Signed by the three nations on Nov. 30 to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, the USMCA still awaits approval by the trio's respective legislatures before fully taking effect.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement on Friday that the decision is terrific news for Canadian steel and aluminum workers, their families, and many communities across the country.

According to a press release by the Canadian Prime Minister's Office, Trudeau and Trump discussed the new trade deal between the United States, Mexico and Canada and other issues during their phone call on Friday.

A joint statement from the U.S. and Canadian governments said the tariffs would be lifted within two days, while Mexico has yet to publish its version of the statement.

The United States imposed additional tariffs of 25 percent for steel and 10 percent for aluminum on imports from its trading partners worldwide, citing "national security" concerns.

The Trump administration's reluctance in exempting Canada and Mexico from the metal tariffs had frustrated the two countries during the USMCA negotiation, and was believed to be a major roadblock impeding the new deal's formal ratification.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 10:06:38|Editor: Li Xia

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GUANGZHOU, May 18 (Xinhua) -- It is the persistence of a decade-long struggle to keep the family memory of a certain well-known kung fu master alive.

With its old exterior and furniture, the old residence of Bruce Lee's family in the city of Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, has been turned into a museum of the legendary martial artist after a demolition plan was triumphed by calls for conservation.

The 207-square-meter house, which was obsolete for years on the old street of Yongqing Fang, has recently opened to public for free after a facelift that began in December.

"The renovation aims to restore the ancestral home to the greatest extent and reproduce its original layout," said Yu Minfeng, vice general manager of the Guangzhou branch of Chinese property developer Vanke.

The company in charge of the project said most iconic structures of the brick-and-wooden house, including carved girders and colorful glass screens, had been retained, while Lee's family stories, his kung fu learning experience and posters of his movies, were also displayed.

The house, built in the early 20th century, was owned by Lee's father Li Haiquan, a famous Cantonese opera performer.

OLD NEIGHBORHOOD REBORN

The residence is the main attraction on Yongqing Fang, whose arcade-style buildings are standing monument to Guangzhou's interaction with the West during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Over the past decade, the area has withheld bulldozers and emerged as a new cultural hub popular among the young people.

Now bustling with cafes and boutiques, the street has represented a new, more subtle approach to renovating rundown urban areas, instead of the often-employed demolition and reconstruction.

"It is the first time Guangzhou has avoided a surgery-like renovation that 'rips apart the street's belly' in old urban areas," said Deng Kanqiang, deputy director of the city's planning and natural resources bureau.

In 2006, the Guangzhou city government put Enning Road, where Yongqing Fang is located, on its list of city overhaul. The initial demolition plan, despite being more viable economically, was dropped due to resistence from local residents.

After Enning Road was named a historical and cultural street in 2013, a new strategy of "renovating while restoring the original look" was adopted for Yongqing Fang despite the higher costs.

"Renovating costs 10,000 yuan (1,450 U.S. dollars) for one square meter in Yongqing Fang, which is three times the cost of reconstruction," Yu said. To make ends meet, Yongqing Fang leased out management of its commercial space.

According to Vanke, over 95 percent of the street's shop space has been rented out. With 10,000 visitors a day, the project largely recouped its costs in 2018.

Lin Yanxia, 69, who has lived in Yongqing Fang for over 30 years, is glad that the renovation project has rejuvenated the neighborhood and drawn back young people, who once left for more modern parts of the city.

"In the past, only the elderly lived here, and the whole street smelled of herbal medicine," Lin said. "Now it is much more lively with more young people. I hope my grandson will also enjoy Guangzhou's traditional culture here."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 10:16:40|Editor: Li Xia

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BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The following are the highlights of China's key education news from the past week:

-- More expectant rural doctors

China's medical colleges will enroll 6,700 rural students this year who will work for rural health centers in central and western China upon graduation.

With financing by the central government, the students will enjoy five-year free education in majors including clinical medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Mongolian medicine, traditional Tibetan medicine and traditional Dai ethnic medicine.

-- Less screen time during teaching

East China's Shandong Province on Tuesday asked teachers to spend no more than 30 percent of teaching time using digital screens, as a move of the province, and the country at large, to combat nearsightedness, or myopia, among children and teenagers.

The government plan also required that teachers in kindergartens should not use televisions or projectors to teach for longer than 30 minutes at a time and the annual teaching time using these devices should be no longer than two hours each year.

-- AI in education

Minister of Education Chen Baosheng said that China will continue promoting the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in education to facilitate teaching and learning a variety of subjects.

China has issued several plans for the integrated development of AI and education and supporting the modernization of education with information technologies, Chen said at the ongoing International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Education.

-- "Leader Plan" trains selected youth on rural vitalization

A total of 120 selected young people from China's rural areas have received training on rural vitalization at a Tsinghua University workshop under the "Leader Plan" co-sponsored by the China Charity Alliance, which concluded Friday.

They received a five-month online training session initiated in October 2018, involving around 2,600 outstanding rural young people mostly aged below 45, and were offered courses on rural tourism, community building, financial policies and e-commerce, before qualifying for a five-day Tsinghua workshop on improved thinking, technological innovation, design and research and development, brand marketing and field visits.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 10:21:43|Editor: Xiaoxia

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YANGON, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi has stressed the need to make utmost effort to increase electricity production, saying that the government has set up new infrastructure for the power system including installation of new cable lines and opening of new sub-power stations.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who is also chairperson of the Rural Areas and National Races Development Central Committee, made the remarks at the inaugural ceremony of a 145-megawatt (mw) gas power plant in Belin, Kyaukse township, central Mandalay region Friday, according to local government sources.

She expected that about 50 percent of the country's electricity demand will be fulfilled before the end of this year, which will be up from 30 percent in 2016.

She revealed the government's target to achieve nationwide electrification by 2025.

Of many power plants launched in Mandalay region, the present 145-mw Belin gas power plant has brought the total power produced in the region to 525 mw which will be transmitted not only to Mandalay region but also to the national grid reaching the people in the whole country, Suu Kyi said.

Myanmar is meeting just under 50 percent of its electricity demand which is one of the major requirements for the development of the country.

She added that power and transport are crucial for the country's development and if the people get access to good transportation and electrification, their social-economic life will improve quickly.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 10:36:51|Editor: Xiaoxia

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GABORONE, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Botswana's Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) has vowed to support the government's effort to develop knowledge-based economy.

Raphel Dingalo, chief executive officer of HRDC, told media here Friday that the council plans to host an inaugural National Human Resource Development (NHRD) conference on May 23 under the theme of "Competitive Human Resource -- A Leading Driver for the Economy in the 21st Century."

"We want more of innovation to grow the economy and be an export-led economy," said Dingalo.

The NHRD conference is expected to provide a platform for information sharing for all stakeholders involved in human resources development, Dingalo said.

He added that the conference will lay the foundation for developing human capital in the country under the 13-year blueprint the National Human Resource Development Strategy (NHRDS 2009-2022), which guides the national human resources development.

During the first quarter of 2019, the HRDC hosted a series of events in Francistown, Maun and the capital Gaborone, said Dingalo.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 11:37:11|Editor: Xiang Bo

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ROME, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China's poverty reduction approach can serve as a useful model for developing countries around the world, United Nations (UN) experts and Chinese officials said at a seminar on poverty reduction.

The seminar took place at the third International Seminar on Global Poverty Reduction Partnerships held here during the 2019 International Cooperation Expo earlier this week.

The event was organized by three Rome-based UN agencies -- Food and Agriculture Organization, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and World Food Program, together with China's International Poverty Reduction Center and China Internet Information Center.

Besides the experts and officials, it also involved representatives from various stakeholders, including the Asian Development Bank, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, private sectors, governments and civil society.

China's efforts and results were presented and discussed at the seminar that focused on the role of technological innovation in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG-1 and SDG-2 concerning poverty reduction and zero hunger.

"In the past six years, based on current standards, China has lifted 82.39 million rural poor out of poverty, with the rural poor population decreasing from 98.99 million in 2012 to 16.6 million in 2018," said Xia Gengsheng, vice minister of China's State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Reduction and Development.

"The poverty rate has decreased from 10.2 percent to 1.7 percent (in the same period)," he said, noting that the Chinese government has set a goal to fully eliminate absolute poverty by 2020.

UN officials believe that one key factor that allows China to achieve such results is the ability to lay down a consistent political strategy.

"There are many aspects and many success factors in the Chinese story," Ashwani K. Muthoo, IFAD director of global engagement and multilateral relations division, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the seminar.

"One of the most important factors, in my opinion, is the political commitment to poverty reduction in rural areas, which is also backed by the allocation of resources," he said.

"Often, we see (countries outlining) good policies, but then these policies are not backed up by the resources required for transformation to take place," Muthoo said.

As China is working in line with a post-2020 strategy for poverty reduction already, Xia said over 3 million officials from higher-than-county level departments and public institutes were mobilized, adding to over 1.9 million committed officials in towns and villages.

One crucial task facing the authorities was to clearly define a targeted poverty alleviation strategy, Xia said, adding that six sub-systems were gradually established "covering accountability, policy implementation, fund management, mobilization, supervision and assessment for poverty alleviation."

"We made a lot of efforts to detect who the real poor were, where exactly they lived, and several other specific details. Then, we had to understand why they were poor, since there can be several different con-causes," the official said.

Once the overall picture was drawn and specific measures toward the target population were taken, the impact of the policies was assessed by third-party institutions, not directly by the government.

"We also have a strict system to evaluate the local authorities' efficiency in delivering policies. Local governments are held accountable for the results," Xia said.

This pragmatic approach is valuable and can be replicated in other developing countries, Xia said.

"China is a large country and when we started implementing the targeted poverty reduction policy, our poor population rate was about 10 percent, which means quite a huge number," Xia noted.

"The task of implementing tailored measures would be easier" in a smaller country, he said.

He said the availability of information technology has proved very useful for policy implementation. "Without the tools provided by technological innovation, our work would have taken a much longer time."

Xia said that while each country needs to set poverty reduction goals according to its own situation, the SDGs included in the UN 2030 Agenda provide a very helpful path.

"China has strictly stuck to the SDGs and has been exploring the approach to targeted poverty reduction for six years now. It has gathered a lot of experience and is willing to share with others," Xia said.

Muthoo said two other factors key to China's successful battle against poverty can serve as a good example for other countries.

"The first is the large infrastructure investment," he said.

"I have seen myself the infrastructures developed in China's rural areas, which are providing rural communities with access to markets, financial services, health services and education," he said.

The other is China's project planning and project implementation, and "the efficiency with which they do that," Muthoo added.

"In IFAD's experience, China is one of the countries where our projects function on time, mostly according to the delivery timelines and schedules," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 11:42:13|Editor: Xiang Bo

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CARACAS, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's government delegation has returned from Norway "with good news" that its talks with the opposition had a good start, President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday.

"The talks to advance agreements of peace, of amity, of harmony have got off on the right foot," Maduro said at a meeting with soldiers in the central Venezuelan state of Aragua.

The representatives of each side had held talks in Norway this week "for the initiation and exploration of conversations and dialogue with the Venezuelan opposition to build an agenda of peace for the country," according to the president.

Maduro said that he was committed to respecting the rules established in the exploratory meetings. "I believe in peace," he said. "Dialogue, yes; peace, yes; agreement, yes."

Maduro also thanked the Norwegian government for "supporting the entire peace effort" and asked the Venezuelan people to support the dialogue process.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 12:32:25|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China has launched a campaign on healthcare knowledge and medical services for elderly citizens in provincial-level regions in the west of the country.

The campaign consists of a series of events, including healthcare lectures at local elderly care facilities, promotion of healthcare knowledge at local communities and free on-site clinics for local elderly people, Health News reported.

The campaign is organized by the China Population Welfare Foundation and overseen by the Department on Ageing and Health of China's National Health Commission.

According to the schedule, the campaign will tour 12 provincial-level regions including Tibet Autonomous Region, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Sichuan Province.

In a rapidly aging society, the demand for elderly healthcare services is always rising, said Wang Jianjun, deputy head of the Office of the National Working Commission on Aging at the campaign's launching ceremony, saying that establishing an elderly healthcare system accessible to both urban and rural citizens is a priority.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 12:37:27|Editor: Xiang Bo

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by Misbah Saba Malik

ISLAMABAD, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has delivered benefits to both China and Pakistan, a Pakistani official said, questioning the double standards of certain countries on investment and rebutting the "debt trap" allegations.

The unfounded charges hurled at China's investment in foreign countries are designed to create ill feelings among people by attempting to cast aspersions on motives of Chinese investment, said Asad Umar, chairman of Pakistan's National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance.

"It is blatant hypocrisy, designed simply to malign China," he said. "China's investment in other countries is a two-way thing. It is good for China and it is good for other countries."

The former finance minister defended the CPEC, a major project within the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in his interview with Xinhua.

Umar said that early projects of the CPEC have been completed, but there are still projects under construction such as port infrastructure, power plants and road networks.

The CPEC with more potential to be tapped will help boost economic development in Pakistan in the future, he said.

"China is assisting Pakistan in building basic infrastructure," Umar said. "To take full advantage of the infrastructure, industrialization and business cooperation in the private sector are needed at the next step."

When the International Monetary Fund (IMF) team visited Pakistan, the Pakistani government shared the required details of the Chinese loan and the IMF team found the Chinese loan "so simple and clear," Umar said.

Umar also cited statistics and facts to refute the much-hyped "debt trap" allegations on the CPEC and BRI, saying that only 10 percent of Pakistan's total public debt is from China, while the remaining are all from other countries and organizations, but no one raises doubt about the remaining 90 percent of the loans or calls it a "debt trap."

"Why is investment from any other part of the world a good thing, but from China, it turns evil?" Umar asked.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 13:12:41|Editor: Xiaoxia

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CARACAS, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The Venezuelan government welcomed Norway's statement on the South American country and reaffirmed dialogue as the only way to achieve understanding, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Friday.

Rodriguez tweeted that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro "ratifies and reaffirms the path of dialogue as the only way to achieve understanding among Venezuelans."

The vice president attached the official statement issued on Friday by the Norwegian government, which is mediating to facilitate dialogue between Venezuela's government and the opposition.

"Norway announces that it has had preliminary contacts with representatives of the main political actors of Venezuela, as part of an exploratory phase, with the aim of supporting the search for a solution to the situation in the country," the statement said, and commended relative parties for their efforts.

Also on Friday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza welcomed the beginning of talks with the opposition in Norway.

"What must be highlighted is that it is good news ... It is the only way to find solutions for this situation," Arreaza told Latin American TV network Telesur.

"'There is no path to peace, peace is the path.' M. Gandhi. That is why we will always be committed with dialogue!" tweeted Venezuela's Minister of Communication and Information Jorge Rodriguez.

The opposition leader Juan Guaido also confirmed on Thursday that they have responded to an invitation from the Norwegian government.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 13:27:46|Editor: Xiaoxia

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WASHINGTON, May 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday that he will not comply with a congressional subpoena to turn over President Donald Trump's federal tax returns in six years, likely to trigger a court battle with Congress.

In a letter sent to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, Mnuchin said that the request "lacks a legitimate legislative purpose" and that he would not authorize the release of Trump's personal and business tax returns to Congress.

Tax transparency has been in the spotlight after Trump rejected a decades-old tradition that presidents and White House hopefuls would make their tax returns public.

Democrats have claimed that Trump's business dealings present a host of potential conflicts of interest that they can't understand without his tax information.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 14:07:57|Editor: Xiaoxia

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WELLINGTON, May 18 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand will join Chile and Singapore in talks to establish new trade rules and best practice for the digital era.

"The future of international trade is digital. Our three countries have a strong record of working together on the rules and best practice for international trade policy," Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker said in a statement on Saturday.

Parker, together with Chile's Minister of Foreign Affairs Roberto Ampuero and Singapore's Minister of Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing, announced the start of the negotiations on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade in Vina del Mar, Chile.

The unprecedented growth of digital trade has led to a lag in the development of relevant international trade rules and norms, Parker said, adding these talks are an opportunity for New Zealand to help shape the international rules in this area to ensure they make it easier for businesses and consumers to take advantage of digital trade opportunities, while protecting public and private interests.

"We will ensure that issues of importance to New Zealanders such as personal privacy, consumer protection, data management, transparency and openness are appropriately protected," the minister said.

To a trade-dependent country distant from key markets, digital trade can help businesses, particularly small and medium sized enterprises, overcome the challenges of scale and distance, he said.

"Digital technologies can also potentially support the increased participation in trade by women, Maori and rural communities, helping spread the benefits of trade across our communities and regions -- a key aim of our Trade for All policy," Parker added.

The negotiation with Chile and Singapore on a new digital trade agreement will also complement and support the ongoing WTO negotiations on e-commerce, as well as digital economy work streams within APEC and the OECD, he said.

In light of the March 15 terrorist attacks in Christchurch and the government's strong concern about the role of internet technologies in enabling and promoting violent extremism, New Zealand will also be looking to explore with Singapore and Chile how the agreement might address digital economy issues relating to a safe, secure and free internet, including the issue of eliminating terrorist and violent extremist content online without compromising human rights.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 14:28:03|Editor: Xiaoxia

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KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, May 18 (Xinhua) -- About six militants were killed and four wounded after Afghan security forces launched a night raid operation in the country's northern province of Kunduz overnight, a local official said Saturday.

"A unit of army's Special Operation Forces stormed a Taliban hideout in Aaq Masjid locality, on northern outskirts of provincial capital Kunduz city. The security force tried to arrest militants but a clash erupted during the raid, leaving the casualties," provincial government spokesman Esmatullah Muradi told Xinhua.

The security forces arrested three suspected militants and destroyed the targeted hideout along with weapons and ammunition, the official said, adding no member of security force was hurt before they returned to their camp.

Meantime, Zabiullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesman, tweeted that no member of the insurgent group was killed or arrested outside Kunduz city, adding the troops detained three innocent villagers in Aaq Musjid locality of Kunduz.

The province has been the scene of clashes between Taliban and security forces for long.

Fighting rages across the war-torn country and clashes between security forces and Taliban have been continuing in at least 25 out of the country's 34 provinces since early April when Taliban launched a yearly rebel offensive.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 14:53:16|Editor: Liu

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VINA DEL MAR, Chile, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) members on Friday sent out a strong call for free trade.

"Free trade, openness and integration have undoubtedly been powerful factors of our great leap-forward (in development) that we have given in just three decades," said Chilean Foreign Affairs Minister Roberto Ampuero who hosted the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting here.

"Our economic success is due to open markets and international integration," said Ampuero.

"We also know that the collaborative and consensus-building approach that characterizes APEC continues to shape the way in which we understand trade and investment," Ampuero added.

During the meeting, Director of the Policy Support Unit for the APEC Secretariat Denis Hew presented a report which details the decrease in global trade growth due to restrictive measures on trade.

"Maintaining economic growth amid trade tensions and political uncertainty is a delicate balancing act. But it also presents opportunities such as seeking a more structural reform that fosters sustainable and inclusive growth," Hew said.

APEC was created in 1989 as an engine to facilitate economic growth, boost technical and economic cooperation and improve the facilitation and liberalization of trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 15:03:18|Editor: xuxin

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HERAT, Afghanistan, May 18 (Xinhua) -- At least four Afghan civilians were killed and 14 people, including a district chief, were wounded in a bomb attack in Obe district of western Herat province on Saturday, a local official confirmed.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 15:18:29|Editor: xuxin

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WELLINGTON, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Residents of New Zealand's largest city Auckland is one step closer to getting rapid transit to the airport, and the congestion-free travel to the airport will be welcomed by workers and visitors to the city, the official said on Saturday.

The project will be completed within 18 months of construction, which begins this year, and is planned to be open before the APEC leaders meeting in Auckland in 2021, the country's Transport Minister Phil Twyford said in a statement.

The government understands Aucklanders need better transport, and any Aucklander with access to the rail network will have a fast and convenient 10-minute bus connection to the airport, Twyford said following contracting the upgrade of Auckland's Puhinui Rail Station Interchange.

"It will be a bus service to begin with and in the future, it will become part of a rapid transit route connecting to Manukau and Botany with a dedicated busway or possibly light rail," Twyford said, adding the project is part of the 10-year Auckland Transport Alignment Project to unlock the city's potential.

"The impressive new station will mark out the southwestern gateway to the city," the minister said, adding it provides a modern, safe and weather-protected environment to allow people easily and conveniently to transit between road and rail services.

The total project cost is 60 million New Zealand dollars (39 million U.S. dollars). The government, through the New Zealand Transport Agency, is contributing co-investment funding for the project, with the remainder coming from Auckland Council and the Regional Fuel Tax, according to Auckland Mayor Phil Goff.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 15:43:37|Editor: xuxin

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People carry an injured man at a local hospital in Herat province, Afghanistan, May 18, 2019. At least four Afghan civilians were killed and 14 people, including a district chief, were wounded in a bomb attack in Obe district of western Herat province on Saturday, a local official confirmed. (Xinhua/Elaha Sahel)

HERAT, Afghanistan, May 18 (Xinhua) -- At least four Afghan civilians were killed and 14 people, including a district chief, were wounded in a bomb attack in Obe district of western Herat province on Saturday, a local official confirmed.

"The incident occurred near the Obe district administrative office after a bomb attached to a motorcycle exploded when the vehicle of district chief was passing by the area in the morning," provincial government spokesman Jilani Farhad told Xinhua.

The wounded were shifted to a district hospital where several injured were still in critical condition, he said, adding the explosion damaged the nearby district chief vehicle and a civilian vehicle, and it caused casualties on the people in the car.

No group has claimed the incident so far but local officials blamed Taliban militants for the incident.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since early April when the militant group launched its annual rebel offensive in different places of the country, which had claimed hundreds of lives including militants, security personnel and civilians.

Besides warning people not to support the government, the Taliban has urged civilians to stay away from official gatherings, military convoys and centers which are regarded as the targets by militants.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 16:58:59|Editor: Lu Hui

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Visitors watch the performance of a drone during the Third World Intelligence Congress held in Tianjin, north China, May 16, 2019. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

TIANJIN, May 18 (Xinhua) -- On a stage, a grey human-sized robot named Titan sang the theme song of "The Transformers" with moving lips while dancing to the tune, setting the audience on fire.

It's hard not to get emotional seeing the android rocking the beats dedicated to a fictional alien robot species, even for many of the cool-minded policymakers, researchers and entrepreneurs among the audience.

They are at the ongoing World Intelligence Congress (WIC) in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin to explore the future of artificial intelligence (AI), the technology that powers robots like Titan.

The WIC displays the progress, prospects and opportunities in the field of AI in China, as well as the common concerns faced by humanity as we advance to a future that is expected to be powered by AI.

AI PROGRESS IN CHINA

China sees AI as an innovation focus that will spark technological breakthroughs.

In July 2017, China issued a plan on new generation AI, according to which the industry should be a major new growth engine and have improved people's lives by 2020. It also set the goal of China becoming a major center and world leader in AI innovation by 2030.

This year's WIC exhibition features AI in a wide variety of applications, such as smart homes, smart manufacturing, autonomous vehicles, health checks, education and city management.

"With the increasing presence of AI in people's lives, I think we have entered a time that companies can cash in on AI technology in 2019," said Liu Qingfeng, chairman of voice-recognition giant iFlytek at WIC.

In March, the company's AI-powered machine ranked top in the SQuAD natural language comprehension challenge and outperformed humans.

Other big Chinese tech names are also leading AI developments, with Baidu in automated driving, Alibaba in AI cities, and Tencent in smart medicine and health.

The scale of China's core AI industry reached 68.6 billion yuan (about 10 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, up by over 75 percent year on year, according to Chinese Institute of Electronics.

Industrial policies and investments have also fueled the surge.

According to Economic Information Daily, over 20 provinces in the country had released policies supporting the AI industry by the end of 2018. The sector received over 131 billion yuan of investments last year, up by 107 percent, according to a report from market researcher iiMedia Research.

NEW CHALLENGES

In an automated future with sensor-loaded factories, cars and super intelligent computers, what should we do if man and computer make different choices in distress? Zhou Hongyi, chairman of online security company Qihoo 360, posed the question at WIC.

Although the conflict between humans and machines has long been discussed, new challenges keep emerging.

Zhou cited another example of AI-generated fake videos, adding that seeing is believing might no longer be true in the future.

"The technology surely develops faster than social ethics and legislation can keep up," Zhou said.

Wang Zhigang, Minister of Science and Technology, urged participants to keep a "rational attitude and cautiously positive view" towards AI, citing social ethics and social governance as posing potential challenges.

It is a global concern. In April, the EU published a set of guidelines on how companies and governments should develop ethical applications of AI. On Tuesday, San Francisco became the first major U.S. city to prohibit facial recognition technology by government agencies.

Wan Gang, chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology and former Minister of Science and Technology, said AI legislation is facing challenges in how to avoid stifling innovation while protecting people's rights.

Wan said that China should put security in the first priority when developing AI. It not only means ensuring the security of how the technology works, but also the security of personal data and privacy as well as people's lives.

"We should guarantee the security with clear rules and laws," Wan said.

In March, China's Ministry of Science and Technology set up a committee for AI governance. The committee is drafting a governance code for AI, which shall be released soon.

Institutions like Peking University are also starting to work in these fields, with an AI legal research center set up in 2017 and a prospective study on robot ethics standards published in 2018. Other universities across the country have also rolled out AI majors starting this year.

EMPOWERED LIFE

At the WIC, many companies display cars remotely controlled by an indoor console through the 5G network. Drivers can sit at the conference center in Tianjin but drive a car 100 km away in Beijing.

In the future, people could hop on a car without learning to drive and still be safe with an experienced driver assisting the process in real time, according to Lyu Dandan, a staff member with communication giant China Unicom at WIC.

AI may also allow for more inclusive social development. A pulse-taking machine, showcased by China Mobile at WIC, can relay pulse signals thousands of miles away through the 5G network.

The pulse is then simulated on a dummy hand that doctors can use for diagnosis. The technology could be used in remote or less developed areas for local patients to be diagnosed by top doctors in big cities, China Mobile staff said.

Raj Reddy, the winner of the Turing Award and a guest to WIC, also sees AI as a way to promote inclusive social growth by making it easier for the translation between English and less-spoken languages.

When machines learn these languages, Reddy believes, they become a powerful tool for more people to access the huge knowledge base offered in the English language. He thinks China can have a role to play in this vision.

"China has shown the ability to leapfrog and create a new space where they have become the dominant player in the world," said Reddy, "and, in this respect, the technology is there."

(Video reporters: Zhang Xiaohui, Xu Jian, Tian Tian, Li Shuai, Wang Zhao, Gao Feifei, Zhang Hao, Ma Chen; Video editor: Zhang Xinyi)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 17:34:14|Editor: Lu Hui

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A visitor takes photos of an eBike at the booth of Bosch during the IAA Commercial Vehicles in Hanover, Germany, on Sept. 20, 2018. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)

by Xinhua writer Shen Zhonghao

FRANKFURT, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Although growing protectionism and economic uncertainty are disrupting world trade, Volkmar Denner, chief executive officer (CEO) of Bosch Group, remains optimistic about his company's future growth.

As the sales revenue in China accounted for about 20 percent of Bosch's total sales income of 78.5 billion euros (87.57 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, he foresaw long-term growth potential in the Asian giant, the largest overseas market for the German engineering and technology company.

Keeping a close eye on the development and economic prospects of China, the CEO of the industrial magnate told Xinhua that he is upbeat about China's economic performance in the long run, and that Bosch will further benefit from higher-quality growth in China.

Beyond Bosch, many European enterprises, particularly multinational giants, tend to see China as a stable and reliable "harbor" for overseas investment and business operations amid current global headwinds, and are participating in China's economic transformation and upgrading, as China-EU economic and trade ties become increasingly stronger.

KEY MARKET FOR BUSINESS GROWTH

Beating market expectations to advance 6.4 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2019, China's economy got off to a good start.

For many European companies, the stable and resilient economic growth in this key market is recognized as a significant drive for businesses, which is reflected in their recent annual or quarterly reports.

German pharmaceutical company Bayer said in its quarterly report that pharmaceuticals have registered an encouraging sales growth of 5.3 percent to over 4.3 billion euros (4.8 billion dollars) in the first quarter of 2019, "with business in China developing particularly well."

Similarly, Swiss-based biotech company Roche registered a 63 percent pharmaceutical sales growth in China, resulting in a 17-percent year-over-year rise in international sales in the same period.

Meanwhile, the German auto manufacturer BMW Group delivered nearly 2.2 million vehicles to Asia, increasing by 45,000 deliveries on a year-on-year basis, according to its quarterly report.

"This performance was mainly achieved on the back of continued dynamic growth in China, where the BMW Group delivered 1,686,631 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles to customers, outperforming the market as a whole with a significant increase of 10.2 percent," said the report.

With a comparable sales growth of 2 percent in the first quarter, a spokesman of Amsterdam-based health technology company Royal Philips told Xinhua that Philips recorded in China a double-digit comparable sales growth in its businesses of "Diagnosis & Treatment" and "Connected Care," adding that it also delivered a double-digit order intake growth there during the period.

POTENTIAL IN ECONOMIC TRANSITION

While downgrading global growth forecasts, the International Monetary Fund in April revised up China's 2019 growth projection by 0.1 percentage point to 6.3 percent.

The steady positive growth rate of China's economy as well as the potential momentum of China's new growth model are encouraging European companies to remain optimistic about their long-term development in the Asian market, as well as to grasp opportunities amid the country's economic transformation.

"Philips remains optimistic about the future prospects of the Chinese professional healthcare market," the company's spokesman said.

In Denner's view, the transition of China's economic growth strategy to a more sustainable, innovative and high-quality development will favor technology companies like Bosch.

"Bosch is well-prepared by innovation technology to serve this market ... We think Bosch has very good opportunity to serve the need of the upgrade of manufacturing capabilities in China," he added.

British healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline also observed the encouraging trend, noting in its report that "in China, the authorities accelerated progress towards bringing innovative treatments to market. This included increasing the pace and frequency of reimbursement coverage, especially for oncology drugs."

KEEP INVESTING IN CHINA

Many European entrepreneurs agree that expanding investments and businesses in China is a wise and profitable option in the long term, particularly when the country is committed to opening its door wider.

In March, Bosch held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of its plant expansion in the western Chinese city of Xi'an. Bosch's wholly owned subsidiary Bosch Rexroth invested around 60 million euros (about 67 million dollars) in the new center of factory automation in Asia.

Apart from Xi'an, Bosch also continued to invest in its plants in the eastern Chinese cities of Wuhu and Nanjing, Denner said. "(The) Chinese government is encouraging foreign investors to invest in the country. That is positive for companies like Bosch."

Denner underlined that the high investment rate in China is related not only to manufacturing activities, but to local high-quality innovation.

London-based oil giant British Petroleum (BP) has launched its first branded retail station in China's eastern Shandong province, marking the start of its plan to add 1,000 new sites over the next five years to the existing network in China with more than 740 sites.

Particularly, the energy company opened a dedicated electric vehicle charging station in the first quarter in China, according to its quarterly report.

"I always think of China as the jewel in the crown," said Bill McDermott, CEO of Germany's largest software company SAP. "When you think about the world's second-largest and fastest growing economy, you have to be super excited."

In McDermott's view, SAP is performing well in China thanks to its close cooperation with Chinese partners like Alibaba and China Telecom and contributes to the Chinese economy as well.

"I love being in China. I love innovating in China, for China," McDermott said.

(Xinhua reporters Liu Fang in The Hague, Wang Huihui and Sun Xiaoling in London, Zhu Sheng in Berlin, and Liu Qu in Geneva also contributed to this report.)

(Video reporters: Lian Zhen, Shen Zhonghao, Wang Pingping; Video editor: Luo Hui)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 17:54:25|Editor: mingmei

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KATHMANDU, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China topped the ranking of foreign tourists to Nepal as of April this year although China contributed the second largest number of visitors to the Himalayan country in 2018, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) said in a report on Friday.

According to the data from the Department of Immigration, China sent a total of 70,640 tourists to Nepal in the first four months this year, followed by India, traditionally the largest source market of foreign tourists, sending a total of 60,438 Indian tourists during the period.

The United States came the third by sending 32,740 tourists while Thailand ranked fourth by sending 30,707 visitors during the period.

Nepal received a total of 15,343 Chinese tourists in January, 18,313 in February, 18,660 in March and 18,324 in April.

"Due to increased marketing about Nepal in China, Chinese people are hearing about Nepal in the recent years which has been reflected in arrivals from China," Sriram Thapa, managing director of a travel agency mainly dealing with Chinese tourists told Xinhua on Saturday.

"Nepal does not charge any fee for the visa for Chinese tourists and air connectivity has also been improved, contributing to higher inflow of Chinese visitors to Nepal."

Thapa, however, said despite the rise in overall arrivals from China, the number of high-spending visitors from China is still relatively low.

Nepal has been witnessing a continued increase in the number of tourists in 2019 as the country aims to attract 2 million foreign tourists this year.

A total of 445,109 international tourists visited Nepal in the first four months this year, a cumulative increase of 15.3 percent over the same period last year.

India sent the largest number of tourists as a total of 260,124 Indian tourists visited Nepal in 2018 followed by 134,362 from China.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 17:54:27|Editor: mingmei

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DAMASCUS, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Calm prevailed in the countryside of Hama Province and the nearby countryside of Idlib Province in northwestern Syria early Saturday, a war monitor reported.

The calm in the northern countryside of Hama and the southern countryside of Idlib as well as mountains in the eastern countryside of Latakia Province came as a result of a truce mediated by Russia and Turkey, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

No Syrian or Russian airstrikes targeted the rebel positions in the aforementioned areas as a result of the 72-hour truce, the London-based watchdog added.

The clam came following 18 days of escalation in the airstrikes and battles in the region.

The Syrian army started an operation against the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the umbrella group of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, in the northern countryside of Hama in central Syria and nearby Idlib late last month.

The Syrian government said the attacks are a response to the rebels' attacks and infiltration attempts into Syrian military sites in the region.

Idlib is the last major rebel stronghold in Syria and now controlled by the HTS.

Areas in the countryside of Hama, Idlib and the western countryside of Aleppo are included in the de-escalation zones deal which was reached between Russia and Turkey in September 2018.

The deal failed to materialize as the HTS expanded in Idlib and started attacks on Syrian military positions instead of withdrawing from the designated zone which combines Idlib with Hama and Aleppo countryside.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 17:54:28|Editor: Liangyu

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David Firestein, inaugural executive director of China Public Policy Center in the University of Texas at Austin, receives an interview with Xinhua in Houston, the United States, on May 16, 2019. The fourth U.S.-China Innovation and Investment Summit kicked off Thursday in Houston, bringing a new wave of technology and innovation investment to the city. (Xinhua/Liu Liwei)

HOUSTON, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Local-level collaboration and exchanges are still strong despite the ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions, experts have said here at the just concluded fourth U.S.-China Innovation and Investment Summit.

"They (cities, companies and individuals on both sides) work together every day in ways that you don't see headlines about and that we often forget about," said David Firestein, founding executive director of the China Public Policy Center.

People-to-people and business-to-business exchanges are the basis of U.S.-China relations, said the expert, also CEO of the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations.

Similarly, Chinese Consul General in Houston Li Qiangmin said that the "development of communication on city and local level is of special significance."

The cooperation between China and the United States is unstoppable despite their trade frictions, and the need for innovation remains strong, said Li, adding that the summit has built a bridge for small businesses in the two countries.

The event is "setting up a platform between enterprises in China and the United States, especially for those small and medium-sized ones," Li said, adding that the event has expanded significantly since its first launch in 2016 and that it is attracting more companies and scientific research institutions.

Jointly hosted by the China Science & Technology Exchange Center and U.S.-China Innovation Alliance, the two-day summit kicked off on Thursday and attracted around 300 participants from China and the United States, including entrepreneurs and investors.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 17:59:31|Editor: mingmei

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URUMQI, May 18 (Xinhua) -- A new direct air route linking Beijing and the city of Kashgar, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, will be launched on June 10, according to Air China.

Sources with Air China said the non-stop flight aims to boost tourism and help poverty alleviation in Xinjiang.

The company has already opened an air route linking Beijing and Kashgar, with a stopover in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang.

The flight will take off at 7:35 p.m. in Beijing on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, using a Boeing B738 aircraft and will arrive in Kashgar at 0:45 a.m. the next day. The return flight will depart Kashgar at 1:30 a.m. and land in Beijing at 6:00 a.m.

The ancient oasis city of Kashgar, near the border of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, was an important staging post on the ancient Silk Road.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 18:04:40|Editor: mingmei

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LUSAKA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- As the world commemorates the International Museum Day which falls on May 18, an official at a museum in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, has called for the need for people to embrace museums which are hubs for preserving cultures.

Yvonne Mulala, Education Officer at the Lusaka National Museum said the theme for this year's commemoration "Museums as Cultural Hubs: the Future for Traditions" was vital in inculcating the need for people to value the importance of museums in preserving cultures.

She said museums are a preserve of knowledge of a country's culture which people must take advantage of in order to be abreast of where they are coming from and appreciate their culture.

As part of this year's commemoration, the museum has organized a Miss Zambia Culture modeling show where ladies will adorn traditional outfits from different parts of the country.

The Lusaka National Museum was established in 1996 and has two galleries, one of which depicts Zambia's history from pre-history periods, the political history and the way people used to live while the other gallery is mainly used for temporal exhibitions.

The museum also has a children's reading section aimed at inculcating the culture of reading books among the young people in the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 18:24:49|Editor: mingmei

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XINING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- From gold and silverware dating back to the Tibetan Tubo Kingdom (about 618-842) to thangka paintings, and various garments and accessories in different eras, visitors can learn every aspect of Tibet and Tibetans in the Qinghai Tibetan Culture Museum.

The Qinghai Tibetan Culture Museum, located in the city of Xining, capital of northwest China's Qinghai Province, houses a vast collection related to the ancient Tibetan culture.

Its collection of more than 50,000 works include Tibetan medicine, literature, calligraphy, folk culture and art, and astrology. Many of them are national-level cultural relics.

"Goldware in the Tubo period was known for its exquisite and unique craftsmanship, which was considered a miracle in the Middle Ages," said Dorje Drolma, a commentator of the museum, who tells visitors the history of each piece of the collection.

Dorje Drolma told visitors that diverse patterns on the gold and silverware reflected cultural exchanges and the integration between people living in Tibet and other regions.

A set of 2,000-year-old Tibetan medical surgical instruments, in which Dorje Drolma takes great pride, showed the fineness and maturity of the ancient Tibetan medicine.

"I know that Thangtong Gyalpo was a great architect of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and one of the founders of Tibetan opera," said a visitor, adding that he learned the architect was also proficient in Tibetan medicine after saw exhibits including Thangtong's surgical instruments and prescriptions he wrote down in the museum.

"Visitors can learn the precious Tibetan culture and the ancient history of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau through 'historical fragments' that we display in the museum," said Ngo Tsochen, the museum's curator.

Statistics showed that the museum has received more than 5 million visitors from home and abroad since it opened in 2006. Around 350,000 visitors came to the museum last year, with foreign tourists, students and residents living in the rural and pastoral areas accounting for a large proportion.

Private museums in the vast Tibetan areas have also played an important role in protecting and inheriting Tibetan culture.

Karma Chusang sorts out scriptures of the Tibetan Tripitaka, a treasured collection that records the words and deeds of Shakyamuni, the founding father of Buddhism, every day in the Dongtsang Tripitaka Museum in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu in Qinghai.

The Tripitaka is the earliest collection of Buddhist writings. The information contained in the writings was originally passed down orally and was finally written down in the third century B.C.

The version of Tripitaka preserved by Karma Chusang's family has a history of at least 1,000 years.

The establishment of a Tripitaka museum helped better preserve the Tibetan Tripitaka, Karma Chusang said.

The local government has organized experts to upgrade the fire protection system of the museum and taught Karma Chusang's family members how to deal with mildew, wrinkles, and damages caused by worms on the scriptures.

"The museum is the glory of Tibetan culture, as well as the glory of my family," he said.

Phuntsog Dawa, chairman of the federation of literary and art circles of Yushu, said museums have played a crucial part in spreading Chinese culture and enhancing the soft power of China.

Taking the Qinghai Tibetan Culture Museum as an example, the museum has not only welcomed visitors from across the world but also organized overseas exhibitions in the Republic of Korea, Japan, and other countries, sharing Tibetan culture with more people around the world.

Meanwhile, the museum has developed multi-language services and introduced virtual reality (VR) technologies to attract more Internet and mobile phone users.

The museum has also created more than 200 kinds of cultural and creative products featuring Tibetan culture, including incense, bookmarks, mouse pads, Tibetan table mats and books.

"Tibetan culture is an important part of the Chinese culture and a treasure of the world culture. We try to bring Tibetan culture into people's lives through products with Tibetan culture and elements," Liu Shimin, director of the museum department of the provincial cultural relics bureau.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 18:29:51|Editor: xuxin

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KABUL, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Sixteen Taliban militants were killed following airstrikes in two Afghanistan's southern provinces, Afghan Ministry of Defense said Saturday.

In one incident, 14 Taliban militants were killed and two vehicles loaded with explosives were destroyed after Afghan Air Force struck a Taliban position in Maywand district of Kandahar province Friday night, the ministry said in a statement.

Two militants were killed following an airstrike on outskirts of Tirin Kot, capital of neighboring Uruzgan province on Friday, according to the statement.

The statement came as daily violence and clashes have been continuing in the country.

Warring sides in Afghanistan typically exaggerate the casualties of the opposite side and it is difficult to verify the figures by them with independent sources.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 18:39:56|Editor: Liangyu

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By Xinhua writer Zhang Zhongkai

NANCHANG, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Surrounded by verdant hills and nestled amid bamboo forests and grass meadows, a two-floor wood and earth house is so old and worn that its stairs shake when people walk on them.

However, in the eyes of Tony Fang, an architectural designer, the dilapidated but quaint cottage in Baoentai Village of Luxi County in southeast China's Jiangxi Province is going to be the next must-see and even must-live spot while traveling in the region.

"Traditional village houses have huge potential for drawing tourists and lodgers thanks to their unique charm -- the charm of nature and local culture," Fang said.

Fang is one of the housing designers competing for bed and breakfast (B&B) design prizes worth over six million yuan (about 872,000 U.S. dollars), as the local government plans to leverage these designers' talent to transform not only old houses into charming B&Bs but also the villages into emerging travel destinations.

B&Bs sprung up in villages after the Chinese government unveiled guidelines to vitalize rural areas in 2018, highlighting the development of rural B&Bs with sound infrastructure and diverse functions to promote sharing economy and local tourism.

In addition to developing high-quality landmark B&Bs, the county will increase infrastructure investment such as transport to support rural tourism, said local Party chief Yang Jinsong, who hopes these premium B&B projects will enliven local tourism by drawing more travelers to visit and stay longer.

Rural tourism is booming as increasingly affluent urban dwellers tend to drive to the countryside for leisure during weekends and short holidays. The continuous expansion of high-speed railway networks also makes it more convenient for tourists from faraway places to enjoy different rural landscapes in other provinces.

China's tourism authority issued a general set of tourism standards for B&Bs in 2017, and local governments have been trying to catch up with the sector's rapid expansion by developing tailor-made regulations and support.

The rural B&B market consumption is expected to reach 36.3 billion yuan in 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 16 percent. It has become an emerging opportunity that home-sharing and travel services providers are vying to seize. Domestic home-rental giant Tujia saw a 300-percent surge as of mid-November 2018 for rural B&Bs on its platform over that of the whole of 2017.

"B&B development poses a sustainable path for enriching rural areas. By offering unique and comfortable lodging and cultural experiences, they can lure a steadily growing group of consumers," said Li Yaying, CEO of Beijing-based Duo Meihao, a village cultural and tourism industry chain service provider.

One of the charming villages promoted on Duo Meihao's platform is an ancient fishing village called Huagang. The coastal village in eastern China's Wenzhou City has become famous online, especially among young travelers and on social media, thanks to several stylish B&Bs renovated from traditional stone houses.

"A renovation of a house has the potential of vitalizing the whole village," Li said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 18:50:02|Editor: Liangyu

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URUMQI, May 18 (Xinhua) -- An international air route linking the city of Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Singapore, with a stopover in the city of Wuhan, central Hubei Province, was launched on Saturday.

The air route, operated by Urumqi Air, is the airline's second international route, following the Urumqi-Irkutsk air route launched last year. Irkutsk is a popular tourist destination in Russia.

The flight took off at 9:45 a.m. at Urumqi Diwopu International Airport, arrived in Wuhan at 2:00 p.m., and is scheduled to land in Singapore at 9:15 p.m. (Beijing time) on Saturday.

The trips will be operated three times a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

"The three places are important cities along the Belt and Road, and the opening of the new air route will strengthen their economic ties, boost tourism and promote people-to-people exchanges. It will also promote the internationalization of the regional airline," said Han Luhai, chairman of the airline.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 19:00:05|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) Saturday announced a list of the ten best museum exhibitions in 2018.

The list included exhibitions organized by the Hunan Museum in Changsha of central China's Hunan Province, the Chengdu Museum in southwestern Sichuan Province, the Shaanxi History Museum in Xi'an of northwestern Shaanxi Province, and the Liangzhu Museum in Hangzhou of eastern Zhejiang Province, according to the list published on the NCHA website.

The NCHA also recommended two special exhibitions, one by the Shenzhen Museum and the other by the Anhui Museum, both on the topic of reform and opening-up.

A team of 15 experts on museum and cultural heritage selected the exhibitions from 29 candidates. Another 13 exhibitions received the secondary recommendation, while two exhibitions were selected as excellent ones for international cooperation and two received the secondary recommendation in this category.

The NCHA has published 16 such lists of museum exhibitions since 1997, recommending more than 300 exhibitions to the public.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 19:20:19|Editor: xuxin

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HAVANA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Cuba has implemented an ambitious plan to develop renewable energy sources until 2030, which allowed the island to save almost 33,000 tons of fuel last year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

With the aim of transforming its energy model by 2024, the Caribbean nation expects to generate 24 percent of its electricity through renewable sources like sugarcane biomass, solar panels, wind farms and small hydroelectric plants.

"Photovoltaic solar energy is the one with the most progress, and there are 65 parks built throughout the country and another 15 are in process that will increase the installed power to 42 megawatts (MW)," Tatiana Amaran Bogachova, general director of the Electricity Department at Cuba's Ministry of Energy and Mines, recently told national television.

The cost of production and maintenance of a kilowatt hour (KWh) in a photovoltaic park saves 95 percent concerning the energy generated in a regular thermoelectric plant, she said.

In 2018, the island produced 151,980 megawatt-hours (MWh), and saved 32,873 tons of diesel, the official said.

"Currently photovoltaic solar generation contributes 1.15 percent of the country's total consumption and this year it is expected that 52,199 tons of fuel will be saved," she added.

Meanwhile, Ovel Concepcion, director of renewable sources at the island's Electric Union, said among the main challenges in the sector are installing about 700 MW in solar panel parks until 2030.

"We will also set up some 688 MW in wind farms, 56 MW in hydroelectric plants and provide electricity through photovoltaic panels in all remote homes that have no access to any other source of energy," said Concepcion.

Currently, 17,536 solar panel systems have improved the quality of life in households that previously had no electricity, said Concepcion.

"Today there are four projects in different construction phases of solar energy parks with international investment for a total of 200 MW," he said. "One of them is the first park with 100 percent foreign capital located at the Mariel Special Development Zone."

Another renewable source is wind energy and today there are four parks built experimentally with an output of 11.5 MW, said Concepcion.

Currently, 13 new projects are being carried out in this area, three of them with local investment, nine with foreign capital and another one is under review, which will add up to 688 MW and will represent an annual saving of 540,000 tons of fuel.

Concepcion highlighted the construction of the "La Herradura 1 and 2" wind farms in eastern Las Tunas province, which will have 54 turbines that feature Chinese technology.

When talking about hydropower or water energy, he said "currently there are 147 hydroelectric facilities with a total capacity of 68 MW and the policy until 2030 is to increase the construction of new hydroelectric plants."

Also, sugarcane biomass obtained from the plant's bagasse will represent more than half of the electric generation with renewable sources in 2024 with the construction of bioelectric plants that will process the product.

Meanwhile, Barbara Hernandez, head of power generation at the state-run sugar producer Azcuba, said the electricity generation blocks of sugar factories are being gradually replaced with modern ones that use biomass as fuel.

"The electrical surplus after the sugar manufacturing process will be sold to the Electric Union for the nation's energy system," she said. "It's a way to recover the investments of bioelectric plants and use this model once the harvest is over."

The country's first bioelectric plant is being built in central Ciego de Avila province, about 450 km east of Havana, with a joint investment between the island and companies from China and Britain.

"This plant will generate around 157 KWh for each ton of sugar cane processed by the adjacent Ciro Redondo sugar mill. It's now at 41 percent of its construction plan with the aim of starting operations by the end of the year," said Francisco Lleo Martin, general director of Zerus, a Cuban holding company for foreign investment in the sugar sector.

The government policy for the development of renewable energies and energy efficiency in Cuba was approved in June 2014. Since then, intense work has been done to increase clean energies in the country's electricity generation.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 19:34:11|Editor: Liangyu

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Wu Yifan (C) and Zhou Wenqing (1st R) communicate with their foreign teacher in Nanjing Normal University of Special Education in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, May 17, 2019. Wu Yifan, 22, and Zhou Wenqing, 21, are schoolmates in Nanjing Normal University of Special Education. Both of them lost eyesight in their childhood. In their spare time, Wu likes doing makeup, paper-cutting as well as playing the Guzheng, Chinese Zither. While Zhou enjoys playing the piano. Zhou once developed a computer game for visually impaired people. The two girls have passed the College English Test Band Four (CET-4) at university and decided to take part in the postgraduate entrance exam. They hope in future they would make their own contribution to the society. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 19:50:43|Editor: xuxin

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WELLINGTON, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Police of New Zealand's Canterbury region announced on Saturday that a 100,000-New Zealand dollar (65,238 U.S. dollars) reward for information relating to the unsolved murder of 21-year-old Angela Blackmoore in 1995.

On Aug. 17, 1995, Blackmoore was stabbed to death at home on Vancouver Crescent in Wainoni, Christchurch of New Zealand's South Island. Her two-year-old son was sleeping at home and there was no sign of forced entry, said a police statement.

Her body was discovered by her partner when he returned home from work at around 11:20 p.m. and an intensive homicide investigation was carried out at the time with hundreds of people spoken to.

The case has remained open since 1995.

Investigations Manager Detective Inspector Corrie Parnell said the passing of time has only strengthened his resolve to find the person responsible.

"This was a horrific crime resulting in the death of a young mother with her whole life ahead of her," Parnell said, adding since Blackmoore's murder, the police's focus has been on bringing the person responsible to justice, although many years have passed.

"With the passing of time allegiances may have changed and we're appealing to anyone with information that might help, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, to contact us," he said, adding a dedicated information line has been set up.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 20:05:59|Editor: xuxin

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BAGHDAD, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Exxon Mobil oil company evacuated all its foreign workers out of West Qurna 1 oil field in Iraq's southern province of Basra, al-Arabiyah television reported Saturday.

The company started the evacuation on Friday and continued until early Saturday, as some of its staff were moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and some to the company's main headquarters in Basra, al-Arabiyah said, citing a security source in Basra.

The oil production of West Qurna 1 oil field was not affected by the evacuation as the work continued by the Iraqi engineers, it added.

And "there is no indication of threats and the situation is stable," an official from Iraq's Basra Oil Company told al-Arabiyah.

The evacuation came amid the tension in the region after U.S. President Donald Trump decided not to re-issue the sanctions waivers for major importers to continue buying Iran's oil when they expired in early May, in a bid to pile up pressure on Islamic state.

The United States has also increased its military activities in the region recently, citing a threat of Iranian attack.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 20:11:03|Editor: ZX

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Pokin Polakul, chairman of the Thai-Chinese Culture and Economy Association, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Bangkok, Thailand, May 16, 2019. Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at the opening of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations (CDAC) on Wednesday has inspired the world on exchanges, inclusiveness and cooperation, a Thai expert has said here. (Xinhua/Yang Zhou)

BANGKOK, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at the opening of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations (CDAC) on Wednesday has inspired the world on exchanges, inclusiveness and cooperation, a Thai expert has said here.

Pokin Polakul, chairman of the Thai-Chinese Culture and Economy Association, said Thursday that he highly appreciates what the Chinese president said about respect and equality, and believes it will contribute to world peace and prosperity.

Polakul spoke highly of Xi's point that "the thought that one's own race and civilization are superior and the inclination to remold or replace other civilizations are just stupid."

Nowadays, some people still see his or her nation as superior and as having to come first, which will surely result in tensions and conflicts, Polakul said.

"For any leader, it is right to bring a better life to your people, but this cannot be at (the) expense of others' interests," he said.

Polakul said he also appreciated Xi's offer to the world that "China is ready to work with other countries to protect Asian cultural heritage" and "happy to launch initiatives with relevant countries to translate Asian classics both from and into Chinese and promote film and TV exchanges and cooperation in Asia."

There are several temples in Thailand built for Zheng He, a Chinese mariner who led voyages to Southeast Asia and other parts of the world during the Ming Dynasty, Polakul said, adding that he hopes there would be more film and TV series to tell such stories of Thai-Chinese exchanges hundreds of years ago.

Recalling his visits to China's Guangxi and Yunnan provinces, as well as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Polakul said he admires China's efforts to preserve its cultural diversity.

Thailand should learn from China to preserve its own cultural diversity, he suggested.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 20:36:19|Editor: Liangyu

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MADRID, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The local Thyssen-Bornemisza museum has taken special measures to cater to the increasing number of Chinese visitors, Evelio Acevedo, managing director of the museum has told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview.

"We realized in 2015 that more and more Chinese tourists are visiting our gallery and we decided to act," said Acevedo.

The first actions were to install signs and explanations of the paintings on display in Chinese and after seeing the good results, the museum took the step of becoming a friendly museum for Chinese visitors, he said.

"As well as translating the signs, we adapted the museum for them. Our guides speak Chinese and have been taught the customs which make them feel at home and also to focus attention on the works which they like the most," he said.

"We don't want them to just see paintings, we want them to really feel the museum and for that reason we have also adopted a menu in accordance with Chinese tastes in the restaurant, while the museum shop also has products designed with Chinese visitors in mind," the managing director said.

The Thyssen is located in the heart of Madrid, known as the "Triangle of Art," which it shares with the Prado museum and the Reina Sofia museum.

On many occasions, Chinese tourists have only a limited amount of time to enjoy all that Madrid has to offer and Acevedo believes that the Thyssen has been able to adapt to the situation.

"We have prepared visits of between an hour and a half and two hours which take in the most important works in the museum while allowing time to visit other museums in the city," Acevedo said.

The Thyssen was the sixth most visited museum in Spain in 2018, according to figures published by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport at the beginning of this year.

Another strategy taken by the museum to attract Chinese visitors is to organize activities which tourists or Chinese residents in Spain can participate in.

For example, to celebrate the Chinese New Year, the museum invited visitors to find the animals of the Chinese zodiac hidden in its paintings. This event has been held for two years.

Just across the road from the Thyssen, the Prado museum welcomed 2.9 million visitors in 2018 and the figure is likely to increase in 2019 as the museum celebrates its bicentenary.

The Reina Sofia museum was the most popular in Spain, receiving almost 4 million visitors in 2018, many of whom went to see Pablo Picasso's famous painting Guernica.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 20:46:28|Editor: xuxin

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DUBLIN, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Ireland's trade surplus showed a declining tendency in the first three months of this year, revealed the latest figures from the country's national statistics bureau CS0.

In January, the country's trade surplus stood at 6.9 billion euros (about 7.7 billion U.S. dollars), by February, the monthly figure dropped to 6.1 billion euros, the March figure further shrank to 4.5 billion euros.

The historical data provided by the CSO showed that such a month-by-month decline of the country's trade surplus in the first three months of a year had never been seen since 2016.

Ireland is an export-oriented economy and much of its economic growth depends the country's trade surplus. The CSO figures showed that in 2018 Ireland achieved a trade surplus of more than 49 billion euros, accounting for about 15 percent of its GDP which stood at 312 billion euros.

The declining tendency found in Ireland's trade surplus in the first quarter of this year could have a negative impact on the country's economy if it persisted in the remaining months of this year, said local analysts.

During the first quarter of this year, Ireland exported over 38 billion euros worth of goods while its goods imports were valued at about 20.4 billion euros with a trade surplus of nearly 18 billion euros, according to the CSO.

By country, the United States was the largest export market for the Irish goods while Britain was the largest source for Ireland's imported goods, showed the 2019 Q1 figures of the CSO.

During the January-March period of this year, Ireland exported 10.8 billion euros worth of goods to the United States, accounting for over 28 percent of the country's total exports, while its goods imports from Britain were valued at 5.46 billion euros, accounting for nearly 27 percent of the country's total imports.(1 euro=1.115 U.S. dollars)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 20:51:30|Editor: xuxin

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ISTANBUL, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Amid an unexpected call by the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on the Kurdish militia in Syria to heed Turkish concerns, many feel Ankara may be in talks with the U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters.

The denial of talks by Turkish officials is not convincing given the past government record in this respect, Cahit Armagan Dilek, director of the Ankara-based 21st Century Turkey Institute, told Xinhua.

Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed PKK leader, said in a letter made public by his lawyers early this month that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) should pay heed to Turkey's concerns as they work toward a democratic settlement in war-torn Syria.

"This letter indicates that the Erdogan administration has a positive attitude regarding a settlement in Syria in which the SDF is also involved," Dilek argued, noting the letter cannot have been made public without governmental approval.

Turkey sees the U.S.-backed Kurdish militia, known as the People's Protection Units (YPG), as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, while the SDF is largely dominated by the YPG.

The YPG has carved out two self-declared autonomous cantons along the Turkish border thanks to Washington's military support during the Syrian war.

Ocalan's lawyers were allowed on May 2 to visit him in prison, the first since 2011.

The part connected with the SDF is the most critical paragraph in Ocalan's letter, stated Dilek, a former captain in the Turkish navy.

Back in mid-April, the U.S. Pentagon spokesman Charles Summers claimed that Turkey was in talks with the SDF about "legitimate issues."

Summers' remark came in response to a question about a security zone the United States had proposed to establish in YPG-held territory along the Turkish border to convince Ankara that the Kurdish militia would pose no security threat to it.

Remarks by Ocalan and Summers indicate a sort of back-door diplomacy going on between Ankara and the YPG, said Nihat Ali Ozcan, a security policy analyst.

"But that doesn't mean there is consensus," he told Xinhua.

Omer Celik, spokesman for Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party, denied any talks with the SDF on May 1 when the spokesman of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) asked about the content of the alleged negotiations.

Celik described the CHP spokesman's claim as slander, accusing the party of serving as a tool for U.S. propaganda.

Turkish officials denied negotiations with the PKK in the past, but it later came out that some top intelligence officials had talks with PKK representatives on the government's instructions.

"Negotiating with the SDF amounts to nothing less than recognizing it as a political actor," said Dilek.

Ankara has often threatened to carry out a cross-border operation to eliminate the YPG in northeastern Syria, but has refrained from taking action apparently because of Washington's declared support for the Kurdish militia.

In January, U.S. President Donald Trump proposed to establish a 30-km-deep safe zone on the YPG-held territory along the Turkish border, threatening at the same time to economically devastate Turkey in case it attacks the Kurdish force.

Since then, Ankara and Washington have been in talks about the safe zone which Ankara wants to put under its own control, while Washington does not appear to favor the idea.

There is no agreement on all issues yet, but progress has been achieved, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said early this month.

"It's highly unlikely the U.S. would allow the safe zone to be under Turkish control," Hasan Koni, an analyst on international relations with Istanbul Culture University, told Xinhua.

Koni referred to a U.S. media report about Syrian Christians' opposition to a Turkish-controlled safe zone.

Trump is not expected to take any steps that would risk losing the support of evangelical voters ahead of next year's presidential elections, as a big majority of the evangelical Christians voted for him in the 2016 elections.

What Turkey wants to avoid is the emergence of a YPG-controlled autonomous Kurdish area along its border, remarked Koni.

Turkey is concerned that an autonomous Kurdish area along its border may set a precedent for its own nearly 20 million Kurdish population.

The PKK has been fighting a bloody war for an autonomous if not an independent Kurdistan in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast.

Dilek feels that negotiating with the Syrian Kurdish militia would basically mean Turkish adoption of the U.S. line and that Ankara may be hoping to get in return Washington's financial backing for its debt-stricken economy as well as the support of Kurdish voters in the re-run of the Istanbul mayoral election on June 23.

Turkey's ruling party lost the late March local elections in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, the largest three cities in the country, but appealed successfully for a fresh election in Istanbul.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 20:56:39|Editor: xuxin

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VIENNA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Vice-Chancellor and leader of the right-wing populist Freedom Party Heinz-Christian Strache on Saturday declared his resignation over a scandal in which he appears on video offering government contracts in exchange for political support.

At a press conference here on Saturday morning, Strache said he would step down from all political roles.

Transport Minister Norbert Hofer will take over the leadership of Freedom Party, he said.

The secretly-filmed footage was first revealed by German news outlets the Sueddeutsche Zeitung and Der Spiegel on Friday, showing Strache and his long-time party colleague and MP Johann Gudenus speaking to individuals purportedly representing a Russian oligarch.

In the more than seven hours of footage, a woman posing as the niece of the billionaire oligarch expresses a wish to purchase Austria's most-read daily newspaper the Kronen Zeitung, and use it to provide political support to Strache's Freedom Party.

Strache in turn states that many possibilities would be made available if this were to occur, such as the provision of construction contracts.

The informal meeting took place on the resort island of Ibiza in 2017, shortly before the federal election that year.

Despite Strache and his party insisting that no funds exchanged hands and that it was clearly expressed that laws and regulations would have to be followed, local media reported on murmurs from within political circles that Strache's position is untenable and his resignation inevitable.

Flanked by other ministers from the Freedom Party on Saturday, Strache told media that he had been victim of a targeted campaign.

He said the secret nature of the filming was illegal, and his behaviour was induced by alcohol consumption.

In addition he never offered or received anything illegal, and said he would fight the allegations with all legal means available.

He nonetheless apologized for the incident, including to Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, as well as to his wife Philippa.

MP Johann Gudenus, who also was present in the footage, has also resigned from politics.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 21:11:48|Editor: Liangyu

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LANZHOU, May 18 (Xinhua) -- "Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids," as an Elton John hit goes.

However, a Mars simulation base in the middle of China's Gobi desert might be the perfect place to introduce young, budding astronauts to what life would be like on the red planet.

Surrounded by barren hills and red soil in northwest China's Gansu Province, "Mars Base One" allows visitors to explore a variety of space facilities and the rocky, martian-like landscape.

The white-colored base covers five sq km and features nine interconnected modules, including a control room, living quarters and a greenhouse where wheat and vegetables grow.

The base made international headlines when it started trial operation and welcomed more than 100 local students on a five-hour tour on April 17. Its distinctive landscape was described by Reuters as a close analog of Tatooine, the home planet of the "Star Wars" hero Luke Skywalker.

Since then, Mars Base One has received over 500 visitors, mainly teenagers, from across China who yearn to take a peek at the futuristic base before its official opening later this year.

"This place is so cool; more than what I've imagined. I hope I can land on Mars someday," middle school student Cai Yajuan said after visiting the base.

"Having experienced what life is like on Mars, I'm now more curious about outer space," said another student Li Yaqin, who called herself a big fan of sci-fi hits such as "The Wandering Earth" and "The Martian."

Li Tanqiu, deputy chief designer of China's astronaut system department and a consultant of the base, said the base combines science popularization with tourism, which will enable more people to experience the pleasure of space exploration.

Liu Chuan, operations manager of the base, said he has been woken up by phone calls about the base almost every morning after its unveiling. But he is more than glad to see that Chinese people have taken so much interest in space exploration.

"The base provides teenagers with an opportunity to learn about Mars. We hope to inspire more and more young people to participate in space exploration," Liu said.

He added that staff with the base are creating science courses and designing tour routes to better serve visitors in the future.

"I don't know who will be the first person to land on Mars, but it could be someone who has visited the base," he said.
Photo taken on May 17, 2019 shows the donation of telecommunications equipment to University of Zimbabwe by Huawei. (Xinhua)

HARARE, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Huawei on Friday donated telecommunications equipment worth 98,000 U.S. dollars to the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) to enable the institution to offer the latest training in information and communication technology.

The equipment was handed over to the university by Huawei Zimbabwe (Pvt) Limited managing director Hao Wen to UZ acting vice chancellor Paul Mapfumo.

Hao said his company had become a leading ICT player in Zimbabwe since entering the local market in 1998 and was committed to enhancing technical skills training to students.

"As a result of this commitment, we will, today, hand over the ICT equipment to the University of Zimbabwe. This laboratory equipment will enable the University of Zimbabwe to offer the latest technical training to students and professionals in the industry. We hope they could help develop local ICT talent and boost ICT industry development of Zimbabwe," he said.

He added that the company was committed to building a better connected Zimbabwe, to bridge the digital divide by increasing network coverage and had so far built more than 2,500 km optical cable and serving over 4 million people.

"As part of our ongoing investment, Huawei has created over 20,000 jobs directly and indirectly. We would also like to continue to cooperate with Zimbabwean schools, universities and colleges to build capacity and enhance technical skills transfer to students," he said.

Hao said the company intended to continue creating continuous innovation and cooperation in the ICT industry through its Seeds for the Future corporate social responsibility program.

"We leverage our world-leading ICT technologies in the program to cultivate ICT professionals in the countries where it operates and thus drive the local ICT industry forward." Hao said.

The Seeds for the Future program was launched in Zimbabwe in 2016 and so far more than 40 outstanding students have travelled to China for training.

ICT minister Kazembe said the handover of the ICT equipment would enable Zimbabwean universities to produce world class graduates and professionals as it made learning and teaching skills more effective.

"This will enhance professional skills and competency in ICT among ICT practitioners and science and technology and engineering students and graduates for the benefit of the country as we move towards an upper middle income economy by 2030," he said.

Acting vice chancellor Mapfumo said UZ was looking forward to becoming a center of excellence following the donation of the equipment. He added that given the increasing importance of ICTs, Zimbabwe needed to strengthen its technological base in order to meet the demands of the 21st Century.
Photo shows the China-aided Zambia agricultural technology demonstration center in Lusaka, Zambia. (Xinhua)

CHILILABOMBWE, Zambia, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese investors have been encouraged to consider investing in greenfield investment in agriculture and manufacturing sectors in northern Zambia, a civic leader said on Friday.

Christabel Mulala, Mayor of Chililabombwe town in the Copperbelt Province, said the move will go a long way in helping Zambia diversify its economy from dependence on the mining industry.

"Our appeal to Chinese is to consider investing in Chililabombwe to establish new investments in agriculture, processing and manufacturing industries to help grow the Zambian economy," she said.

Mulala said there is enough arable land for agriculture projects in the border town which shares a boundary with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Agriculture produce has a readily available yawning market in DRC, she added.

The civic leader further said the local authority was also interested in partnering with Chinese enterprises in waste management projects.

She said the local authority will benefit from Chinese technology on how to manage waste.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 22:07:35|Editor: xuxin

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HELSINKI, May 18 (Xinhua) -- A major retail chain in Finland is going to launch a test on drone delivery services at the beginning of June.

S-Group, the largest retail chain in Finland, said that it had made an agreement with American drone delivery company Wing to launch a six-month trial in Vuosaari area, eastern Finland, reported Finnish national broadcaster Yle on Saturday.

Wing is a subsidiary of Alphabet, the parent company of Google.

During the period of testing, customers can order lunch items from S-Group's grocery store Food Market Herkku, located in the shopping center Itis, by using drone deliveries.

The automatic device will deliver the products to customers in a few minutes. according to S-Group.

In December 2018, Wing announced its plan to enter the European market, and Finland was chosen as its first attempt in Europe.

Wing's CEO James Burgess told Yle earlier that his company choosing Finland as its first entry into the European market was due to existing interest in drones in the country.

According to Yle, it is not the first time that the drone delivery services are tested in Finland. The postal service, Posti trialed package deliveries using drones already in 2015.

The drone delivery services are a new phenomenon in the world. So far, only a few countries have tested the operations of the drone delivery services, such as China, the United States and Australia.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 22:17:37|Editor: xuxin

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COLOMBO, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Over 750 prisoners were released on a presidential pardon, from prisons across Sri Lanka on Saturday, in view of the Vesak festival, local media reported.

A prison spokesperson said a total of 736 male detainees and 28 female detainees were released under the presidential pardon at a ceremony held at the Welikada Prison in capital Colombo.

The prisoners were held in five prisons across the country.

The prison spokesperson said those released were facing minor crimes.

The Vesak Festival is one of the holiest festivals celebrated in Sri Lanka as it marks the birth, enlightenment and passing away of Lord Buddha.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 22:22:40|Editor: xuxin

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BEIRUT, May 18 (Xinhua) -- French Ambassador to Lebanon Bruno Foucher warned Hezbollah on Saturday not to participate in a possible war between the United States and Iran.

"Hezbollah is in touch with Iran and the party knows how dangerous the situation is. This is why we want Hezbollah to be alert against being involved in a reaction that would put Lebanon in danger," Foucher was quoted as saying by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper.

He also called upon Iran not to withdraw completely from the 2015 nuclear agreement negotiated between Iran and six world powers, which offers Tehran relief of sanctions in return for restrictions on its nuclear program.

"We are very sorry that the United States withdrew from this deal because it was a good agreement and we will go till the end with the deal," Foucher said.

In addition, the French ambassador reminded Iran that other countries did not withdraw from the deal.

"We are also looking for a new framework to deal economically with Iran despite the American sanctions imposed on the country," he noted.

The new framework will require Iran to adopt legal standards related to financial transparency such as the compliance with GAFI, an inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, Foucher said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 22:32:48|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MANAMA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Bahrain's Foreign Ministry on Saturday issued a travel advisory warning Bahraini people not to visit Iran and Iraq.

The ministry called on all citizens in Iran and Iraq to leave immediately for their own safety and security.

"This is due to the given unstable situation in the region and the recent escalations and threats against security and stability," it said.

The ministry also opened hotlines to assist citizens amid the recent increased tensions from a potential U.S.-Iran conflict.

Bahrain cut all diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016, citing the latter's interference in its domestic affairs.

The move came after demonstrators stormed and set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Iran.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-18 22:53:01|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, May 18 (Xinhua) -- A group of terrorists on Saturday attacked an oil field in southern Libya, killing two and kidnapping four others.

"Oil field 47 operated by (government-owned) Zueitina Oil Company in Zalla town was attacked by terrorists at dawn today, which killed two guards and kidnapped four others," said an official on condition of anonymity.

The attack bears the marks of the Islamic State militant group, the official added.

The east-based army, which has been in control of southern Libya since January, also said it stopped a terrorist attack on the oil field in Zalla.

This is the third terrorist attack on army positions in southern Libya in fewer than a month.

Located some 650 km southeast of the Libyan capital Tripoli, Zalla contains five major oil fields which have repeatedly been attacked by IS affiliates.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-19 00:58:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADEN, Yemen, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's security forces managed to capture one of the most prominent al-Qaida leaders during an anti-terrorism operation launched on Saturday in the country's southwestern province of Taiz.

"An elite anti-terrorism security operation managed to capture one of the most dangerous al-Qaida leaders named Bilal Ali Wafi who is wanted as a global terrorist," officer Abdul-Basit Baher said.

He added that the anti-terrorism security troops raided an old house in the western countryside of Taiz province and succeeded in capturing Wafi who refused to surrender himself and attempted to use children and women as human shields.

A security member was injured during the shooting that erupted while attempting to capture Wafi in his hometown village, he added.

Yemeni security authorities previously accused Wafi of masterminding a series of attacks and assassinations against the country's security and government officials.

Wafi was operating as a prominent member of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and participated in a terrorist attack in 2012 against a military parade in capital Sanaa, killing more than 100 soldiers and injuring nearly 300 others, Yemeni authorities said.

In October 2017, the United States and other Gulf countries designated 11 Yemenis including Wafi as terrorists who were wanted by security authorities.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida branch AQAP, which mostly operates in eastern and southern provinces, has been responsible for many attacks against security forces in the country.

The provinces of Abyan and Shabwa, former main strongholds of AQAP, have also been the scene of sporadic attacks or heavy clashes between the United Arab Emirates-backed security forces and al-Qaida militants from time to time.

The AQAP, seen by the U.S. as the global terror network's most dangerous branch, has exploited years of deadly conflicts between Yemen's government and Houthi rebels to expand its presence, especially in the southern and southeastern provinces.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-19 04:34:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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AMMAN, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Syria on Saturday released a Jordanian couple after they were detained in Daraa province recently.

Jordan's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Sufian Qudah said in an official statement that the couple had arrived in Jordan, adding that they went missing on May 4 in Syria.

The ministry said that it received a complaint, saying that the couple went missing after entering Syria while driving their car.

The ministry added that the Jordanian embassy in Damascus started following up on the issue immediately with the Syrian authorities.

Jordanian sources told Xinhua that the two were arrested for taking photos near a checkpoint of the Syrian army.

Since the reopening of the border with Syria in October last year, Syria has arrested 30 Jordanians. Among them, eight were released, while the remaining 22 are still detained.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-19 06:10:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Libya's UN-backed government on Saturday condemned the terrorist attack carried out by Islamic State (IS) affiliates on a southern oil field, which killed two guards and kidnapped four others.

"The Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord condemns the attack that targeted the (government-owned) Zueitina Oil Company in Zalla town," the government said in a statement.

The government blamed the east-based army, which is fighting the government for control of the capital Tripoli since early April, for "the increased crime and chaos as well as growing terrorism" in the country.

In a statement, IS claimed responsibility for the attack and confirmed that the militants clashed with the army forces in the field.

This is the third attack on army positions in southern Libya in less than a month.

Located some 650 km southeast of the Libyan capital Tripoli, Zalla contains five major oil fields which have repeatedly been attacked by IS affiliates.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
18 morti si 58 de comune inundate in urma ploilor torentiale din Brazilia

Un barbat a decedat in urma intemperiilor care au lovit statul brazilian Bahia (nord-est), ridicand la 18 numarul deceselor inregistrate de la inceputul lui noiembrie in regiune, unde 58 de municipalitati au fost inundate, iar 35.000 de persoane [citeste mai departe]
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Over the previous day,

In the Donetsk region, the enemy opened fire at the positions of the Joint Forces operation three times. They fired with 120 mm mortar, easel anti-tank grenade launchersnear Pavlopol village, with automatic easel grenade launhcers near Novotroitske settlement, with heavy machine guns and small arms near Hnutove village.

In Luhansk region, the pro-Kremlin militants fired at the Ukrainian positions four times. They fired twice with the 122 mm and 82 mm artillery system near Zolote-4 village, with 82 mm mortar near Novgorodske settlement and with grenade launchers of various systems near Krymske settlement.
Volodymyr Yelchenko, the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN, conveyed to Antonio Guterres the appeal of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatar people to the parliaments and governments of the UN on recognition of the Crimean Tatars genocide. This is reported by the Ukraine's Representaion in the UN on Twitter."The permanent representative V. Yelchenko conveyed to the UN Secretary General the appeal of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatar people to the parliaments and governments of the UN member states" On recognizing the genocide of Crimean Tatar people. "The appeal will be circulated as an official document of the General Assembly and the UN Security Council," the message says.

Today, on May 18, Ukraine marks the anniversary of the 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars. The deportation of the Crimean Tatars was the ethnic cleansing of at least 191,044 Crimean Tatars on 18-20 May 1944; one of the crimes of the Soviet totalitarian regime. That day, the Soviet authorities deported the Tatars from the Crimean peninsula to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. Small groups of people were also sent to the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, to the Urals and to the Kostroma region of Russia.

A new challenge for the Crimean Tatars started after Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014. Some of them left the peninsula because of persecution, others suffering from raids, trials, and detentions. Some received a ban to the entry to Crimea, including the leaders of the Crimean Tatars Mustafa Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov.

The struggle of the Tatar people for their land and their rights continues to this day.
The representatives of Ukraine believe this is an attempt of Russia to change the UN into the evening show, like the first channel of the Russian propaganda

Open source

The delegation of the Russian Federation to the UN applied to the Head of the UN Security Council asking to call a session concerning the adoption of the language law by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Oleg Nikolenko, the spokesperson of the Ukrainian Mission to the United Nations, reported on Facebook.

Today, it appeared, that the delegation of the Russian Federation applied to the Head of the UN Security Council asking to call a session concerning the adoption of the law of Ukraine on the provision of the functioning of the Ukrainian language as a state one by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the report said.

Nikolenko pointed out that the Head of the UN Security Council should appoint the date of the session.

To comment on this absurd request, which surprised not only Ukraine, makes no sense. The functioning of the Ukrainian language in Ukraine does not threaten in any way the international peace and security, which is the main task of the UN Security Council. This law is our interior business, which Kremlin tries to politicize, the spokesperson stated.
Belarus was suspended from voting in Eurovision 2019 , which takes place in Israel from 14 to 18 May. This information was confirmed by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to Eurovoix.The reason for this was the leakage of information about the voting of the national jury, the results of which should be classified to the final. This data was confirmed by the contest organizers. The jury members did not vote live , but the day before, during the special performings of the contestants. The national juries from each country send their results to the EBU, which summarizes this data with the points of the audience vote and reveals the final score.Belarus will still vote during finals, but only the votes of viewers will be taken into account.

Earlier Israeli viewers watching the Eurovision song contest on the Kan public broadcasters website were briefly interrupted by a series of threats after hackers apparently broke into a live stream, The Times of Israel reports.

The hacked message replaced the campy song contest with a video of a forged warning from the Israel Defense Forces telling viewers within 1.2 kilometers of the Eurovision song contest venue in north Tel Aviv to seek shelter from an imminent rocket attack.

Aerial images showed simulated explosions at sites near the Eurovision venue. The approximately two-minute video ended with a warning that Israel is not safe, you will see.

Israel's national broadcaster has blamed Hamas for the hacking of the webcast, though the Palestinian militant group has not commented.

Today, on May 18 the fate of the crystal microphone, the main trophy of Eurovision 2019 song contest will be determined. We will find out the country which will host the event next year.
Head of the state is convinced that the right of the Crimean Tatars to live freely on their homeland will be resumed

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko stated that Ukraine will never forget the crime of the Soviet regime against the Crimean Tatars, and the current criminals will be punished for the occupation of the Crimean peninsula. Petro Poroshenko wrote on Facebook.

75 years ago, May 18, 1944, is the tragic date in the history of the Crimean Tatars. The witnesses are perishing away, but the memories of the genocide inflicted by Moscow will always stay in the history of the Crimean Tatars and in the history of the Ukrainian nation. The pain of the Crimean Tatars is our common pain. We will never forget the crime of the Soviet regime. And the current criminals will serve their punishment for the occupation of the Crimean peninsula, for tortures and cruelty over the Crimean people, Poroshenko wrote.

Besides, the President added that he was convinced that the right of the Crimean Tatars to live freely on their homeland will be resumed.

Today, on May 18, Ukraine marks the anniversary of the 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars. The deportation of the Crimean Tatars was the ethnic cleansing of at least 191,044 Crimean Tatars on 18-20 May 1944; one of the crimes of the Soviet totalitarian regime. That day, the Soviet authorities deported the Tatars from the Crimean peninsula to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. Small groups of people were also sent to the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, to the Urals and to the Kostroma region of Russia.
The newly elected president of Ukraine commemorated the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatars

President-elect Volodymer Zelensky expressed the hopes that Ukraine will manage to liberate Crimea from the occupation on the Day of the anniversary of 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars. Zelensky stated this on Twitter.

Today is the 75th anniversary of the deportation of Crimean Tatars. Now they are the victims of the repressions again, as those who remained loyal to Ukraine in the occupied Crimea. I believe that we will liberate the homeland of the Crimean Tatars from the occupation. We will do this together, Zelenske stated.

Earlier, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko commemorated the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatars as well.

Today, on May 18, Ukraine marks the anniversary of the 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars. The deportation of the Crimean Tatars was the ethnic cleansing of at least 191,044 Crimean Tatars on 18-20 May 1944; one of the crimes of the Soviet totalitarian regime. That day, the Soviet authorities deported the Tatars from the Crimean peninsula to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. Small groups of people were also sent to the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, to the Urals and to the Kostroma region of Russia.

A new challenge for the Crimean Tatars started after Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014. Some of them left the peninsula because of persecution, others suffering from raids, trials, and detentions. Some received a ban to the entry to Crimea, including the leaders of the Crimean Tatars Mustafa Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov.

The struggle of the Tatar people for their land and their rights continues to this day.
The United States Secretary of Energy Rick Perry Reuters

U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry will visit the inauguration of the newly elected president Volodymyr Zelensky on May 20, as Interfax reported.

Perry will be the head of the U.S. delegation, which will be present at the inauguration.

Rick Perry became the U.S. Secretary of Energy in March 2017.

Earlier, Maros Sefcovic, the Vice President of the European Commission will be representing the EU at the upcoming inauguration of Volodymyr Zelensky as the new President of Ukraine.

NATO would send Alejandro Alvargonzalez, its Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Security Policy to represent the Alliance during the inauguration of Volodymyr Zelensky. While staying in Kyiv, Alvargonzalez will also participate in the event timed to the 70th anniversary of NATO', the representative of the Alliance told the news agency

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted for the date of inauguration of President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky. Ukraine's Parliament appoints the date of Zelensky's inauguration on May 20.
Runs through 05/18/2019.

Named after the wounded Fisher King of Arthurian Legend, A Prairie Fisher King espouses the notion of home as both a site of idealization and a locus for wounding. Drawing from memory, a narrative is woven in the form of photographs and text of the rural Iowa countryside where my family has lived for generations.

A Prairie Fisher King is an ongoing body of work reflecting on the nature of familial hardship and generational connection through the lens of place. An undertone of violence embodies the emotional distress accumulated with age as well as a looming threat posed upon the landscape.

Initially conceived as a bittersweet love letter to home, A Prairie Fisher King considers the various myths we construct in order to survive in the face of inevitable change. Through the accumulation of intimately described detail a search for reconciliation becomes palpable. I assume the role of reluctant hero and return to seek the damaged king, to seal old wounds and to salve the land.

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Chelsea Darter received her MFA at Columbia College Chicago in 2018 and her BFA from The University of Iowa in 2013. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and featured online by Light Leaked, Aint-Bad, and Fraction Magazine. Her personal work explores themes of place attachment, class, familial connection and local mythologies. She lives and works in Albuquerque, New Mexico.